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down-in-devildom · 3 years ago

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Hello! I saw that your request is open. Can I request for some hcs for the brothers with a very giving mc, but when they try to do something nice for them they get defensive/guilty like "who are you why are you nice to me I'M the nice one here, don't do nice things for me I feel bad?!?" And tries not to burden them in any way. Thank you! I love the way you write uwu

Thank you for the request! Also, I hope people will let others do nice things for them without thinking they don't deserve it or something. You are worth being treated well!!!😤 I also had a hard time naming this request...

Brothers react to MC not accepting returned favors

cw: guilt tripping(?)

Lucifer

Lucifer was enjoying a date with MC after completing a sizable portion of his work early thanks to them lending a hand. They were dining at the Ristorante Six when he noticed MC scanning the menu very intensely

The grimace the MC did every so often raises some concerns for him. When the MC says that they want to order a small soup of the day, Lucifer looks at them with a raised brow

He could have sworn MC would be famished after having their lunch stolen from them by Beelzebub around noon. MC could not have possibly have had the time to eat a snack, what with all the paperwork and organizing they did for him after classes to try to lighten his workload

When Lucifer asked if that would be enough, MC's stomach let out a mighty roar in response. Lucifer was now suspicious that MC was holding back for some reason so he decides to order the food for the both of them. He signals for a waiter and makes sure to order MC's soup of the day as well as a dish or two he believes would be to their taste

When MC starts to protest about not wanting to be a burden and have him pay a fortune, Lucifer waves off the concerns and assures them they needn't worry about that. Besides, he wants nothing more than for MC to enjoy themselves after helping him earlier

"I don't want to burden you and make you pay for my meal. I am always happy to help but I don't want you to feel obligated to do something in return."

Lucifer is taken aback before he sighs and gives MC a serious and pointed look. "I am a demon that takes pride in my ability to deal out suitable punishments and rewards as I see fit. It will do you well not to question my generosity"

Mammon

Mammon felt like he was in debt to MC for helping him study and pass his latest exam. He could not afford to fail his fourth semester in a row without Lucifer finding out and skinning him alive! He doesn’t normally feel the need to do anything to actually pay people back, but he felt like he really owed MC for this one

When Mammon and MC were visiting the flea market to find some cool trinkets that can probably be resold for a profit on Akuzon, he noticed the MC’s gaze lingering on a small golden ring with intricate engravings. He makes a bit of a show of paying for the ring before losing some of his bravado and shoving his hand in the MC’s face and demanding they take it

MC looks a bit confused before thinking it was something that Mammon thought would resell well and tried to put it in the basket they carried to hold the rest of their haul

“No, ya got it all wrong. I got it for ya to- ya know- thank ya for helpin’ me the other day. I woulda been a goner without you...or something” he mumbles while trying not to look directly at them

“That’s funny and all but what’s the catch? I’m pretty sure you don’t normally give away things or do anything without expecting anything in return”

Although MC does not appear to mean any harm from the comment, it kind of stung a little for Mammon. They can’t seem to grasp that they were special and he WANTED to give them things.

Mammon becomes a bit more sullen about the ordeal and may not give anything directly to the MC from then on. He will opt instead to leave little trinkets in their room or claim he found some trash he needed to get rid of (even though it would clearly be something of value). He does not really know how to show his thanks in any other way so he is kind of stuck in a cycle of trying to backhandedly show his gratitude without his motives being questioned

Satan

Satan’s room was an absolute mess, more so than usual, when MC was kind enough to lend a hand in helping him organize his massive collection of books into something a little less chaotic

He found an ancient tome full of old runes and herbal medicines that he thought he saw MC flipping through while taking a quick break from organizing his things, and assumed it would be a nice token of his gratitude. It was inlaid with gold leaf and the engraved relief on the cover was done with a clearly skilled hand, making the old book really stand out

“Please, take this tome as payment for your time. I would have lost my mind, surely, if you did not help me in my time of need, like you did”

MC’s eyes widened with surprise before seeming to nod and say they would return the book to him later, after they take down some notes for their next hex exam. When he clarifies that he wishes for them to keep the book, MC looked taken aback

“I couldn’t possibly take one of your books! I don’t expect anything for helping you out and you shouldn’t feel the need to pay me back for something I was more than willing to do anyway. It is kind of weird for you to want to give away your books like this when you closely monitor anybody else that takes them”

Satan’s eyebrow twitches just the slightest and he has to keep his smile in place to try to not alarm MC when his irritation spikes slightly. They don’t seem to understand that him thanking them with a gift versus him guarding his collection from Mammon are two different things entirely

He leans a bit into the MC’s space with his smile still plastered on and looks them dead in the eyes. “Do you mean to tell me that the tome is not to your liking?” MC kind of feels forced to take the book and thanks Satan before making a hasty retreat to their own room. Satan takes the newfound space to clear his mind and start thinking of other ways that he can possibly approach the matter in the future without pressuring MC into accepting his generosity

Asmodeus

Asmo’s life and reputation was saved when MC responded to his emergency text asking for a very specific shirt to be brought to his photoshoot. One of the assistant demons did NOT get the memo when he said that he was more of a skull-scream peach kind of guy then a wailing-melon toned guy and the outfit assembly was not doing his beautiful complexion any favors

When Asmo got out from his shoot, he felt like he absolutely had to repay MC for going out of the way for him. He went straight to Majolish and picked out a new outfit for them that he was sure they would look absolutely fantastic in and then hurried home to wrap it up nicely

Asmo presents the gift with flourish before asking for the MC to open it so he can watch their reaction. Asmo was not disappointed by the stunned look on their face and the silent ‘o’ their mouth made, but got a little put out when they said they could not possibly accept it. Didn’t they like it? Surely he did not pick something that wasn’t to their taste

“I can’t accept this, Asmo, it is way too sweet and generous of a gift! I had to go in the direction of your shoot today anyway so it wasn’t a burden to drop off your shirt. Please don’t reward me for something like that!”

Asmo has met a variety of demons and people over the millenia and can tell that there was something about the gift itself that was making them uncomfortable. He still is firm with them and insists that if he spent the grimm on them, they should take the gift, but starts thinking of other ways to maybe show his thanks in the future

Do words of praise and gratitude make them squirm? How about physical affection? Would a kiss count as a thanks they are willing to accept? He sure hopes so but he wants to show he appreciates them and will try to show it in any way possible until they accept it

Beelzebub

Beelzebub was starving! More so than usual and that is not a pretty sight. He was at RAD during one of the classes when he noticed that his snack bag had mysteriously gone missing when he tried to reach in to pull out a protein bar. His stomach loudly protested and he was starting to eye up some of his classmates as if they were on the menu. MC saved the day when they came rushing in with the aforementioned missing snack bag, that they found in the hallway

Beel was able to happily munch away for the rest of the lesson and it seemed like the whole class let out a collective sigh of relief. Beel was very grateful for the MC taking the time to deliver him his snack bag and decided to treat them to Hell’s Kitchen after school

MC agreed to go willingly and ordered their food while Beel asked for well over half the menu. After they ate, Beel reached for the tab but found slight resistance when he finally looked at the bill and saw MC’s hand was also on it. When Beel stated that it was his treat for them saving him early, he was met with some pushback

“Please do not feel like you have to pay for me. Giving you the snack bag was for everybody’s benefit, so it actually came from a place of selfishness, really. I do not deserve you paying for me.”

Beel’s heart pinged a little at that. Did MC mean he was so close to losing control that they only helped him out of pity? Out of fear? He knew he was a big and his hunger knew no end, but it kind of hurt to be seen as a threat that needed to be controlled with readymade snack bags like that

Beel kind of shakes it off quickly enough and starts to think that maybe they just didn’t like the meal as much as him and was trying to spare him from paying for something they didn’t really want. He takes the time to watch MC over the next few days to see if there are other foods that they may like better. That was the problem, right? Maybe something from Madam Screams was more their style? How about that crepes stand in the park that was super delicious?

Belphegor

Belphegor was not having a great day. For one, he was awake and for two, he was tasked with doing laundry for HoL this week and he was super behind on his assigned chore. If Asmo pestered him one more time about properly separating out the colors and Lucifer lectured him about how to properly fold fitted sheets, he may just have to be imprisoned in the attic again. Luckily for him, MC took some time out of their schedule to help him finish quicker

Belphie was thankful enough that he figured he could allow them to nap with him as an award. Do not mind the fact that MC always takes naps with him but this time can be a little bit special. He nicked a projector from RAD the following day and set it up in the attic so that it would project constellations on the walls and ceilings. He also made a really comfortable pillow fort for them to share. This took a lot of work on Belphie’s part so it was a privilege for MC to join him

When the MC finally arrived at the attic after Bephie texted them to meet him up there, they were not expecting the space to be turned into such a nice and cozy room. Belphie explained that it was as a thank you for the help the other day after they kept just standing in the doorway. He then demanded they came and laid down with him

“You didn’t have to put all this work into making this space for me! It was just folding laundry. It wasn’t that big of a deal, I promise”

Belphie turns his back on them and kind of pouts into his pillow. If they don’t appreciate him sacrificing sleep to make them happy and feel appreciated, then who cares. He can nap just fine by himself and he is hard press to prove the point

After the MC stands there for a little bit and then finally decides to join him in the pillow fort, Belphie ignores them for a bit. Neither of them move from their spots until Belphie sighs and rolls over to use their chest as a pillow. If all this work really was for nothing, he might as well enjoy his well-earned nap better with a warm body pillow

-------

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm....I gave up on proof reading this part way so I hope it is okie dokie

-Leo

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collecting-stories · 4 years ago

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Strawberry - Daryl Dixon

Request: Hi love! I adore your daryl dixon works and i was wondering if i would be able to request a scenario where you risk your life to save a baby that you found and daryl’s reaction (you still survive but it was a narrow escape) to your maternal instincts? 

A/N: I think I went a little off course with this one. To be fair, I tried it out three different ways and settled on this so hopefully it’s good.

The Walking Dead Masterlist

✘ ✘ ✘ ✘

The atmosphere at camp had taken a relatively negative turn after you’d gotten back from the run with Daryl. It didn’t help that you were injured, cuts so deep on your leg that if Daryl hadn’t vouched for them being caused by barbed wire you were sure Shane would’ve shot you on the spot, convinced you’d been bitten. Hershel had to stitch you up and you could hear Andrea bitching the entire time, voice carrying through the door, that this was all a liability. You, your recklessness, your injury, and, most importantly, the baby that you were holding on your lap for the entirety of Hershel’s work.

A little girl without a name, she was wearing pink corduroy overalls with strawberries embroidered into them. The run, which should have been routine, had taken you and Daryl further into town. He’d been spending a lot of time looking for Sophia but when Glenn injured his ankle on a run, Rick nominated you and Daryl to head out in search of supplies.

“When I told you to bring back whatever you could find,” Rick said, watching the baby skeptically, “I didn’t mean a baby.”

She was little more than five months old you guessed, trapped in a car seat in the back of an old Volkswagen that Glenn told you hadn’t been there when he passed through before. “Must’ve been other survivors, travelling through the area.” Everyone seemed to have an opinion on the baby and on your decision to save her, at great personal risk to yourself, but you tuned most of them out. Aside from situationally, most of these people weren’t ones you would ever actually spend time with and you didn’t care if the Andrea’s of the world passed judgement on your personal convictions.

“How’s she doing?” The only one who had been surprisingly without criticism of your actions was the one person you had expected to admonish you for being reckless. Daryl sat down on the porch steps beside you, crossbow on his lap.

You had seen the baby trying to outrun a hoard of walkers and get back to Daryl’s bike. She was inside the car, crying, and you had doubled back for her, nearly killing yourself when you caught your leg on a bundle of barbed wire from a downed fence. Daryl had cut it from your leg, part of your jeans ripping off with them as he pulled you and the baby to safety. He’d been the one to bandage you enough to get you back to the farm too, not a word to you the entire time.

In all honesty, you were waiting for him to be angry. Maybe not yell because you hadn’t really experienced him yelling at you before, but certainly had heard him go at it with Shane a few times. And you expected something, at least a “yer stupid” but so far he hadn’t said anything.

“Alright,” you shifted the baby in your arms and placed the empty bottle down between you and Daryl, “she finally ate.”

He nodded, glancing over at the baby as you laid her against your chest to burp her. “Yer good with her, ya got any experience with babies then?” He asked, more than you’d talked to him since Merle went missing, presumed dead. Probably more than you had spoken to him before that too.

“I was the middle kid of nine,” you replied, “babies are pretty much part of my wiring. I always thought I’d have one.”

“Got one now.”

You laughed, maybe the first honest one since you’d wound up in Atlanta. Daryl wasn’t one to joke around and that, partially, had thrown you into the minor fit but, more over, he was right. As judgmental as Lori and Andrea and Shane wanted to be, this baby wasn’t going anywhere any time soon. None of them would as you to do that.

“I guess I do.” You finally said, “I’m sorry for getting us all mixed up, by the way. I wasn’t trying to jeopardise your safety.”

“I ain’t some heartless bastard, not gonna ask ya ta leave a kid ta die.” He replied.

“Still, thought you’d have something to say about it. Everyone else seems to.”

“Yeah well,” his hands worked to clean the crossbow and he paused his speech for a moment, full concentration on the weapon in his hands. He listened for any sign of footsteps or the possibility of somebody that might overhear the conversation. “Shane woulda just as soon shot ya both in the back.”

“That’s true.”

“Everybody’s losing that bit of ‘em...it’s good ya still got it.” He said quietly and you nodded because you understood what he was trying to say. The same thing that had him out there looking for Sophia had propelled you back to the car. And if he had seen the baby first he would’ve done the same thing.

The baby made a quiet heaving noise before something akin to a giggle and you laid her on your thighs as you reached for the spit blanket that Maggie had given you. Daryl reached a hand over, steadying the baby she didn’t roll off your lap, the infant cooing at him and grabbing at his fingers.

“I looked through her diaper bag,” you finally said, adjusting her again so she could sit up, facing her out to the yard and letting her look around at everything. She seemed transfixed with Daryl, reaching out for him and clapping her hands together when he gave her his hand back. “There’s no name or anything on it…not even on her tags.”

“I ain’t good at naming things,” Daryl said, as if sensing that was why you’d brought it up. “Stray cat used to come in our yard ta eat and all I called him was kitty.”

“Yeah…I’m gonna pass on naming her Baby.” You joked, “just figured since you were there when I found her.”

“She’s all yours,” he replied hastily though he had set his crossbow aside to play with her. Not going so far as to take her off your lap but keeping her occupied, holding her attention.

You pushed open the door to the jail cell, sliding the curtain out of the way as you slipped inside, surprised to see Daryl sitting on the bed in your tiny room, the baby on his lap. You had put her down for a nap only thirty minutes earlier, heading outside to check the snares with Rick and had come back in to make sure she was alright.

“Beth asked if I’d check on her,” Daryl said, not even looking away from her as you shut the curtain and pulled the chair over. “Said Judith was fussing.”

“Thanks, sorry I was out in the field...guess I shouldn’t be leaving her with everyone else if I’m the one who’s supposed to be taking care of her.” You joked. Lori was gone now but the admonishment had been from her. That if you so desperately wanted this baby around than you should be the one to care for her.

“Ain’t just a job for one person.” Daryl replied, “she ain’t hard to take care of anyway.”

“That’s cause she likes you.” You observed. His cheeks flushed and he bowed his head, almost bashful at the thought and you just smiled like you hadn’t noticed his sudden behavior, turning your attention to the baby.

“Frazier,” the little girl rocked back on her bottom, giggling when she met Daryl’s shins and tilting her head back to look up at him. Her knees and the palms of her hands were stained from the grass that she’d been tearing through.

She smiled, rocking herself forward so that she could clumsily stand up, turning swiftly to face Daryl again as she reached her arms up for him. “Daddy!” The moniker was new, ever since Judith had started talking, calling Rick ‘dada’ when she saw him, Frazier had decided that she, too, required a dad. And, naturally, she had decided that it was Daryl.

He shouldered the crossbow he was carrying and leaned down to scoop her up, doing his best to ignore the name. You’d suggested that maybe the term would die out as she got a little older but so far it was sticking and, while Daryl made like it bothered him, it didn’t really. Taking care of the baby, who you’d named from your mother’s side of the family, had seemingly brought the two of you closer. Or at least it had created a reason for Daryl to stay close to you. Looking out for the baby, as he always put it.

“She’s been waiting all day for you.”

Speak of the devil, he turned toward the house to see you coming out to greet them, still pulling a hoodie on to combat the chill that had settled into Alexandria. In the time between Hershel’s farm and now you had seen a lot of bloodshed, lost a lot of people. For a brief moment in time Daryl had been fairly positive he had lost the both of you too, but you had turned up in the woods outside of Terminus, Frazier right there with you.

“Ya been keeping watch?” He asked, jostling her slightly and being rewarded when she giggled and nodded her head.

“Yeah, no naps!”

“Oh Lord,” he muttered, handing her off to you when you reached out for her.

“Come on Frazier, let’s get some food?” You offered, carrying her towards the stairs. She twisted in your arms, reaching over your shoulder for Daryl as he followed behind you.

For all the maternal instincts everyone always said that you had, you thought Daryl was just as protective and acutely aware of Frazier, and now Judith, as you were. He was just less obvious about it. Trying to pass it off as indifference when in actuality you had seen that side of him often and in excess.

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#daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon imagine #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon x y/n #daryl dixon x you #daryl dixon fic #the walking dead fanfic #the walking dead fic #the walking dead fanfiction #the walking dead imagine #twd fanfiction #twd fic #twd fanfic #twd imagine #collecting stories imagine

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random-mha-thoughts · 3 years ago

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Out to Sea | MHA Pirate!AU

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Todoroki Shouto, Bakugou Katsuki, Kirishima Eijirou, Kaminari Denki, Sero Hanta, Ashido Mina, Jirou Kyouka

Genre: Adventure, Pirate!AU

Inspiration: Wellerman Song by Nathan Evans

Word count: 1,682

Tags: @rintomoj @yuki-osaki @yamichxn @lonelyfangirl453 @cyanide9602 @liviitehe @bigkoalafications

A/n: Sooo long time no see... I'm not quite back to a regular posting schedule at the moment. PA school was making me very stressed and depressed™ for the past year and my first rotation was ROUGH, but I'm less S&D™ where I am now and that got the good ol' writing wheels turning again. I wanted to write this bc that Wellerman song has been stuck in my head and I figured it's October, everyone's writing fun stuff for kinktober Halloween so I hope this is something fun that you all enjoy. It's a bit different than what I'm used to and there aren't any ships (wait a second lol I mean like relationships), but it was fun to write.

Life on the high seas has its perks. The fresh smell of sea water, the welcoming chilled breeze of the ocean, the calm rocking that lulls you to sleep, all bound together with a simple, mundane life spent with a group of good friends.

"BLARGHHHHHHH"

"Damnit, Kaminari, what happened to you?"

The new honey-blond recruit's face is a lot paler than usual when he raises it above the bow rail, small bits of discolored acid stuck to the corner of his lip. "Bro," he moans sickly, "You know I get easily seasick..."

At least, those things were perks to some people.

"Hey, you signed up for this," his red-headed companion shrugs nonchalantly, handing him the rag hanging from the waistband of his loose-fitting red pants. The cloth would've fallen off his hips if it wasn't for the black belt so graciously given by his employer. The gold buckle matches the single golden hoop hanging off his earlobe. "You knew what you were getting yourself into."

Kaminari ignores the rag, his shaky arm reaching up to wipe his mouth with the hem of his white and yellow striped shirt. "I thought I coulda controlled it. I was doing well, I don't know what happened. Maybe I ate something."

Living on a ship with limited supplies and even more limited room to breathe has its drawbacks. Being restricted to rationing non perishable foodstuff, most of which is some kind of canned or dried. There's not much in the way of privacy with sharing living quarters among the entire crew. Not to mention certain smells that become too overwhelming after a while, forcing you to stumble on deck for fresh air. Some would even argue that having nothing to stare at but the open sea can get boring. Or maddening. Or just plain sickening.

"Weren't you the one who was helping Mina cook dinner last night?" Sero chimes in, carrying a bucket of water and a mop towards the nauseous boy. "None of us got sick but you, dude."

"It all probably became a little too much for him." Midoriya stands up from sitting on a crate nearby. "Probably nervous about his first trip out to sea. It's been a little more than a week that we've been out here, it's understandable that Kaminari isn't used to this lifestyle yet. Try chewing some ginger, it should help a little!"

"Just ginger?" Sero chuckles. "I woulda thought you'd have some miracle drug for him, Doc."

The boy blushes sheepishly at the nickname. Being the most educated gains you some informal titles. "I do, but I think he should toughen up as much as he can first." It was the first time the new recruit's vomited the whole trip, even after all the nightly drinking. That means he's doing well.

Jirou slides down from the top deck to join the rest, shaking her head. "Captain Bakugo says we should turn back home, we've been at sea for too long without any luck and we need to restock." She eyes Denki, who's knees have buckled and is now leaning his back on the wall. "What's up with him?"

"Tossed his cookies overboard," Sero quips.

She clicks her tongue once in sympathy. "Poor kid."

"Come on, we'll bring home the biggest whale and we'll make a huge fortune!" Kirishima pounds his fists together in hype. "Bakugou knows what he's doing!"

"Ah yes, Captain Bakugou's biggest fanboy." Ashido shows up out of nowhere to slap Kirishima on the back.

Todoroki trails behind her with a tray, probably returning from checking over supplies. Him and Midoriya hold the next highest positions under Bakugou's company, handling the logistics and planning of the trip. They're welcome - but still slightly awkward - additions to the team of loud misfits.

"I brought drinks! Figured everyone's spirits needed lifting!" the pink-clad cook announces excitedly. She passes out wooden mugs full of beer mixed with whatever rainwater they managed to collect from the storm a few days ago. Kaminari declines with a pained groan.

Once everyone has their drinks, Ashido holds hers high. "Here's to the best crew! I wouldn't wanna ride out in the middle of nowhere with anyone else!"

"Here's to hoping Kaminari's stomach toughens up for the rest of the trip," Sero mockingly raises his mug to the newcomer, who’s still gathering his bearings.

"Here's to hoping we bring another bounty on our way home!" Jirou toasts.

"I doubt we'll find anything soon," Todoroki mumbles to himself.

"Don't say that," Midoriya responds sheepishly.

"Here here!" the rest of the crew cheers.

CLINK

"What was that Todoroki said?!" Sero screams from the other side of the deck, steering the sails.

"He just had to jinx us!" Kaminari whines before cutting himself off to avoid seawater getting in his mouth. Jirou has to grab the back of his shirt to steady him, her other hand grasping the agonizingly taut rope.

"Where is she?!"

Bakugou finally steps out onto the deck above us. His red unofficial captain's jacket that's tied around his waist lashes in the wind, his arms folded across his chest and head held high in a powerful and stubborn posture.

"Captain! The whale thrashed its tail and crashed into the ship!" Midoriya reports with a salute from out deck. "We've captured her, but she's so stubborn we can't lead her back to shore!"

As the freckled boy gives his brief, Bakugo slides down from the upper deck and peers over the edge where Kaminari and Jirou are holding onto the weighted rope for dear life. "Stupid hair! Where're the harpoons, damnit!"

"Right here, Captain!" Kirishima kicks the door open, wielding a set of steel, dangerously spiked arrows.

"About freaking time!" The honey-blond boy adjusts his grip on the rope as it slips out of his hands, wincing against the nasty burn it's leaving on his bare palms. "Hurry up already!"

"Bakugou! You can't-" Midoriya starts to protest.

Todoroki appears and dares to whirl Bakugou around by the shoulder. "This is a bad idea. You know towing a deadweight whale is going to put more strain on the ship, not to mention it'll be stale by the time it reaches shore."

Bakugou growls, shoving the hand off him and glaring into Todoroki's singular eye that's uncovered by his eye patch. "Who'scaptain of this ship, Pretty Boy? Besides, I'm not gonna kill her, just wound her enough so she's not thrashing all over the place! Hand me one of those things!"

Kirishima throws one of the harpoons to the Captain, both of them eying over the bow.

"You're just going to anger it even more!" Todoroki screams.

"You gotta show'er who's boss!" Kirishima whoops excitedly.

"Aim for the flanks, don't get her tail," Bakugou guides, raising the weapon behind his shoulder as he readies his throw.

"Aye, sir!" Kirishima positions himself the same way, both of their eyes trained on the large creature.

The whale had sensed the impeding danger and sank under the sea to hide, shrieking as it descends into the watery depths.

"Fire!"

The harpoons fly with incredible speed, glinting under the clear sky like missiles towards their target. As they submerge under, another pained shriek tears through the blustering wind. Suddenly, the rope slips away from Kaminari and Jirou, Kirishima and Midoriya run to grab the section in front of them, the boat rocking side to side as the whale knocks into us as it thrashes.

"Hold on tight, extras!" Bakugou barks, "Don't let her get away! We're taking this whale home with us if it's the last thing we do!"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Another fortune awaits us when we get her back home!"

"Yes, Captain!" everyone choruses again, a certain cabin boy a little more hysterical in the face of all the excitement.

Under the guidance of Bakugou, the whale eventually calms down enough to cruise through the sea. The crew ties ropes through the metal oar holes at the side to stabilize them enough to let go. Jirou and Sero make sure they're still on track to get home as the whale half-pulls the ship towards the shore.

Later under the clear starry night, the crew lights up the deck with torches and drunken songs and toasts of victory.

"Here's to more rum!" Ashido grins cheekily.

"More money!" Sero whoops.

"More tea..." Todoroki mumbles quietly to himself in the corner with Midoriya.

"I just wanna go home," Kaminari whines, drowning himself in more beer as the rest of the crew laughs at him and continues their song.

*~*

"As far as I've heard, the fight's still on/The line's not cut, and the whale's not gone/The Wellerman makes his regular call/To encourage the captain, crew and all," Eijirou sings, rhythmically banging on his chair arm.

The rest of his friends follow his lead in the chorus, tapping out the same beat, "Soon may the Wellerman come/To bring us sugar and tea and rum/One day, when the tonguing is done/We'll take our leave and go!"

Everyone ceases their percussion, the night now still. "Soon may the Wellerman come/To bring us sugar and tea and rum/One day, when the tonguing is done/We'll take our leave and go!"

Cheers and drunken whoops erupt from everyone's lips, glasses clinking from around the fire pit.

"That's a pretty catchy song, Kiri," Mina gulps her drinks down.

"Where'd you learn that from?" Kyouka continues tapping her finger lightly to the beat.

The sharp-toothed boy beams and shrugs. "My grandpa used to sing it all the time when I was younger, something about this sailor crew who used to hunt whales for a living. I think it's much better to sing with a bunch of drunken friends though!"

"I 100% agree, bro!" Denki messily clinks his beer bottle with Hanta's.

Katsuki growls, "You guys just love every excuse to make noise, don't you?"

Izuku walks up to him with his signature shy smile. "Ah, they're just having fun, Kacchan."

"It was pretty cool how they all sang the chorus so well together," Shouto chimes in.

"We should sing it again!" Hanta shoots up and stomps the rhythm out again.

"I WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU!"

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #midoriya izuku #todoroki shouto #oneus #bakugo katuski #kirishima eijirou #kaminari denki #ashido mina #jirou kyouka #sero hanta #pirate au #adventure #wellerman #mha au #bnha au #mha fanfiction #bnha fanfiction

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i-choose-the-danger · 4 years ago

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Giggly Magizoologists and Where to Tickle Them

I know, It’s been a whiiiile... I hope everyone’s been staying safe and healthy through this pandemic, wherever you are. <3 It’s December 6th, the day Newt Scamander came to New York City, so I guess it’s fitting that I post a Fantastic Beasts fic. I adore Newt so so much. 😊 This one takes place at about the end of the first film. Jacob’s been obliviated, but I feel like Newt may have had to wait a few days for the next ship bound for England to arrive in New York. Tina and Queenie wouldn’t let him roam around the city alone (and I don’t think Madam Picquery would allow it, to be honest) so he’s staying in their apartment until he can go back home. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. Stay safe out there, y’all!

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“Newt? You still down there?” Queenie called into the open suitcase that rested on the floor in the corner of her living room.

“Yes, I’m here.” Newt had been inside his case since the morning and the sun was already setting behind the Manhattan skyline. He had been working closely with new creatures, helping them get acclimated to their new environments while he studied them. Newt was currently sitting at the small table in the corner of his shed, concentrating on heavily detailed observations and ideas he was scribbling into his notebook. His head snapped up from his work when he heard Queenie’s heels tapping down the steps behind him.

“You’ve been down here all day, honey. You haven’t even eaten at all.” She held up a plate of stew in her hand and smiled. “I thought I’d bring ya a little somethin’.”

“You didn’t have to go to any trouble.” The scent of the stew Queenie had made finally hit Newt’s nose, and his mouth instantly started to water. And then his stomach growled so loudly that both of them heard it. He grinned sheepishly at the sound, raking a hand through his unruly hair. “Now that you mention it, I am feeling a bit peckish.” He accepted the plate from Queenie and set it on the table. “Wow,” he uttered to himself.

“Aww, it’s nothin’. I usually cook to clear my head and I went a little overboard.” A sudden movement in Newt’s vest caught Queenie’s attention. She sat down on the other chair beside his work table. “The light in here must be playin’ tricks on my eyes.” She closed her eyes tightly and then blinked a few times before looking back at Newt. “I thought your pocket just moved.”

“That’s Pickett. He’s probably just restless.” Newt stuck a forkful of food in his mouth. His eyes closed as the flavor took over his senses. “Mmm…” He looked up and flashed Queenie a very brief half-smile before taking another bite of his food.

“Pickett, huh?” The witch set an elbow on the small table, leaning her cheek against her fist. “Is that another one of those… what did you call ‘em? Nifflers?”

“Oh, no.” Newt could feel his eyelids becoming too heavy to stay open for much longer and decided it best to work on his notes after he’d rested. Newt closed the small book and slid it to the back of the table, patting it once with his palm before letting it go. “He’s my bowtruckle.” A giggle from Queenie caused him to shift uncomfortably while he continued eating.

“Bowtruckle. Your creatures have such funny little names. He sounds cute.”

“Would you… would you like to meet him?” Another forkful of food found its way to his mouth. Newt couldn’t remember a time when he had been this hungry. And Queenie had made what he thought was the best meal he’d ever eaten.

“Oh, I’d love to see the little guy!” Queenie exclaimed with a small enthusiastic clap. She smiled proudly, hearing Newt praise her culinary skills in his mind while he ate. “Goodness, honey, if I knew you’d like my cookin’ this much, I woulda made extra.”

“I’m not used to this. This sort of thing.” Newt gestured to the nearly empty plate in front of him. “Home-cooked meals, I mean.” He put his head down with a tight-lipped smile, untamed curls falling down over his eyes. “Pickett, come on out. I want you to meet someone.” Two small leaves poked out of Newt’s vest pocket, followed by two tiny dark eyes, and then followed by tiny thin green digits on either side. Newt’s voice was soft as he attempted to coax the small creature out from hiding. “Don’t be shy. She won’t hurt you. It’s alright.”

“Oh my.” Queenie now had both elbows on the table, her chin resting on both fists. Taking a cue from Newt’s actions, she kept her voice soft and two steps above a whisper. “Peek-a-boo.” The bowtruckle ducked back down into the wizard’s pocket, very slowly peering out again a second later to glance at Queenie. “I see you,” she cooed in a quiet sing-song voice. She could have sworn she heard the creature chirp out a giggle in reply.

“Well now you’re just acting up for attention,” Newt scolded the creature. He held his left index finger just above his vest pocket, waiting for Pickett to grab a hold of it. Once the bowtruckle’s tiny fingers gripped onto it, Newt calmly lifted the creature from the pocket and safely lowered him onto the table.

“Aww, look at him! Ain’t he the cutest thing?” Queenie was completely smitten. She watched intently as Pickett sniffed at the air. The bowtruckle’s little root-like legs clicked as he trotted around the table. He looked at Newt’s plate, up to Newt, and then back to the plate. “Is he hungry too? I don’t even know what he eats.”

“I… I’ve… never given him my food before.” Newt squinted. He sucked his lips inward and bit down on them while he wondered. With delicate precision, he poked a single corn kernel onto one of the tines of his fork and studied it. After careful consideration, he offered it out towards Pickett. The bowtruckle sniffed at the kernel and stole a lick before backing away. Two seconds later, it snatched the kernel right off of Newt’s fork and proceeded to greedily chomp at it. “Pickett! That’s no way to eat in front of a lady!” He could feel his cheeks getting warmer from embarrassment. His eyes looked to Queenie several times before he spoke again. “I’m so sorry. I raised him better than that.”

“You got nothin’ to apologize for. I take it as a compliment.” She knew that Newt was embarrassed, and she found it quite endearing. No wonder Teenie adores you, she thought.

“Alright, Pickett. Miss Goldstein brought that food down here. What should you say to her?” Newt leaned over and brought his face down to Pickett’s eye level. “Hold out your hand on the table, like this, and stay still,” he instructed Queenie as he opened his own hand and laid it palm-up on the table’s edge. His bright green eyes squinted at Pickett, accompanied by a tight-lipped smile. Newt nodded his head toward Queenie’s open hand as he removed his own from the table.

Pickett looked back and forth between the witch and wizard a few times. His little twig-like hands rubbed over each other in an attempt to calm himself. Hesitantly, he took a few steps in Queenie’s direction. He knew that Newt would never tell him to or let him go near another person if it were unsafe, even though it took quite a few days to forgive him for the Gnarlak incident. Pickett now stood next to Queenie’s hand. He reached out his own and touched his little fingers to her palm. It felt warm. He looked back at Newt, who gave him an encouraging nod. This would be a big step, both figuratively and literally, for the bowtruckle. After a few deep breaths, he climbed onto Queenie’s palm and squeaked out what sounded like a thank you, following it with a short smile.

“Oh, you’re just adorable!” Queenie gushed. She kept Pickett cradled in her left hand and let him lay back against her fingers. Instinctively, she reached her other hand out to him and let a finger delicately brush over his leaves. “You’ve been hangin’ in that stuffy little pocket all day, huh? I’m gonna have to teach you two to get out more.”

“I’ve never seen him this trusting with anyone else so quickly before,” Newt said, ignoring Queenie’s last comment. He reached across the table for his notebook. Holding his quill in his teeth, he flipped through the pages and then quickly scribbled some notes on the first blank page he could find. Newt’s hand paused its writing. He glanced sideways at Queenie and then stared at the space in front of himself. “You’re not, I mean you can’t…” Newt couldn’t think of a proper way to word his question. He decided to simply let out the first words that came to mind. He looked at her again with wide eyes. “Are you able to read his thoughts?”

“Oh boy, I have enough of a time trying to understand people’s thoughts and memories.” Queenie blew out a heavy puff of breath. “I don’t know what I’d do if I started picking up squeaks and growls from other creatures.” She playfully scratched at Pickett’s stomach with her index finger. Her lips stretched into a wide smile hearing squeaky giggles escape him. “Who’s a cute widdle bowtwuckle?” she cooed. She scratched at his stomach again, relishing in Pickett’s continued giggling as he curled in on himself. A second later, the bowtruckle grabbed Queenie’s finger and let out a high-pitched squeal.

“Uh oh, now you’ve done it,” Newt said with an amused chuckle. The wizard shook his head, aware of what was going to happen and finding himself not wanting to warn Queenie.

“Uh oh? What’d I do?” Queenie froze as if she’d been hit by a petrificus totalis spell. “I didn’t hurt him or upset him, did I?”

“No, no. You did nothing wrong.” Newt couldn’t hide the knowing grin that slowly spread across his features even though he had lowered his head. He kept his eyes on the bowtruckle and silently waited.

“What’s wrong, little one? You ain’t upset, are you? I was only teasin’.” Pickett pushed himself up to stand, giggle-squeaking to himself while walking onto Queenie’s forearm. “Where’s he goin’?” She looked to Newt, whose eyes were still transfixed on the bowtruckle. They both watched Pickett hop off of her arm and land on her lap. He was so light that Queenie didn’t even feel him until he walked up to her waist. A second later, he ducked under Queenie’s open cardigan and started to spider his tiny fingers across her side as she had done to him. “Eek! Hehehehey! What’s he doohooin’?!”

“It’s just… It’s a game he likes to play.” Newt could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks, although he wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or from the awkwardness he felt over Queenie’s current situation. “Many creatures bond like that. With touch, you see.” He shifted again on his chair as Queenie continued to giggle. “I suppose it’s not too different from parents bonding with their children or siblings when they play or how most species bond when they ma-” Newt mentally kicked himself for rambling into such an awkward topic before finishing his sentence. “Mate.” If every ounce of blood in his body hadn’t already gathered up into his face before, it definitely would have done so now.

“I’m honored thahahat he’s bonding wihihihith me, but EEK!” Pickett had scuttled up Queenie’s arm and was now hopping across her back. Every little step the bowtruckle made was another ticklish poke that sent Queenie into a fit. “How do you turhurhurn him off?” She was now scrunching her shoulders and her nose while Pickett continued sweeping his leaves over her neck.

“I would just have to ask him nicely,” Newt mumbled, looking anywhere but at Queenie while she continued to laugh.

“Nehehewt!”

“Pickett, you’ve had your fun. Come down, now, please.” Almost immediately, the bowtruckle popped out from under Queenie’s strawberry blond curls, scampered down her arm and hopped onto the table. Newt watched him nearly trip over his little rooted legs to get back to the plate in search of more corn kernels. The wizard found himself quite thankful that Pickett had never been that bold when they had first bonded. All of a sudden, Newt recalled memories from childhood. His brother Theseus used to be annoyingly skilled at finding his ticklish spots and he hated it. Or maybe he just hated Theseus. Or both. The very thought made him cringe involuntarily.

“Newt Scamander, I am shocked. You coulda stopped him a whole lot sooner. Or warned me. Shame on you.” She was only teasing the wizard of course. Queenie went quiet, still rubbing her palms against her neck. She listened. She heard. And then she got a wonderfully mischievous idea. “Hey, Pickett? You wanna know a secret, sweetie?” The creature immediately stopped licking sauce from Newt’s plate and looked up at her with wide eyes. His little feet clicked against the table again as he skittered closer to her. Queenie held out her hand and let him step onto her palm. As she lifted Pickett close to her face and cupped her other hand around her mouth to whisper, she locked eyes with a very suspicious Newt. “Excuse us,” she said with a touch of dramatic flair. Queenie turned her back to the wizard, cupping her hand around her mouth once more. Pickett leaned in close to her, eyes wide with anticipation. Purposely making sure that her voice was just loud enough for Newt to hear, she whispered, “Newt absolutely loves tickles.”

“What?!” Newt felt the pit of his stomach freeze over. “That’s not a secret!” His lisp became more prominent in his poorly-masked panic.

“Well, not anymore it’s not, silly,” Queenie scoffed. She set Pickett back down on the table. “Go get him.” She put the back of a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh, watching Pickett skitter across the table with his twiggy arms waving as he squeaked what sounded like a maniacal battle cry.

“That is not what I meant! That’s not true at all.” Newt looked down at the table and saw a blur of green heading straight for him. “Pickett, don’t you dare. Stop.”

“You heard him. Don’t you dare stop.” Queenie sat back in her chair, settling with her arms crossed over her chest.

“No no no no no no no.” Newt tried to catch Pickett before he ran to the end of the table, but the nimble creature was too fast. Pickett dodged the wizard’s hand and used it as a makeshift springboard to launch himself at his target. If Newt wasn’t legitimately panicked, he would have found the sight of a flailing bowtruckle flying toward his face quite amusing. Pickett landed spread-eagle under Newt’s chin with a splat. A second later, Pickett scrunched his arms together and slid straight down inside Newt’s button-down shirt. Again, the wizard’s hand was too late, patting over the shirt collar where the top two buttons were left undone. “Pickett. Pickett, that’s enough of your shenanigans now.” Newt had spoken sternly in hopes of avoiding an embarrassing scene. Those hopes were promptly destroyed. “Now come out of theheheherere. No!” Newt immediately ducked his head down and scrunched his nose, trying not to laugh in front of Queenie. Between Pickett’s tiny fingers spidering around Newt’s abdomen, his feet tapping against Newt’s stomach every time he moved, and his leaves constantly sweeping across Newt’s skin, the poor man was quickly being pushed to his limit.

“Aww, come on, honey.” The witch craned her head to one side to see Newt’s face. “Just let it out. I won’t judge.”

“Mm-mm!” In his efforts to suppress his laughter, Newt ended up snorting instead. He had never been the type of person to allow much intimate physical contact aside from the occasional hug from Theseus, which he only allowed because they were inescapable. Due to this, Newt had no idea that he was still so sensitive to touch. It was almost unbearable trying to keep from moving and hold in his laughter while the ticklish sensations were becoming more intense. A yelp escaped him as Pickett’s fingers poked around his upper ribs. Newt gripped the table edge with both hands and pushed his chair back, huffing air out through his nose every time he fought to suppress his laughter. He could feel his resolve cracking apart with every sputter that snuck past his lips. As torturous as his predicament was, he had to be mindful to keep himself from batting his hands at the sensation and possibly hitting Pickett. A minute later, the wizard lost what composure he’d been hoarding. Newt was now giggling uncontrollably, twisting himself from side to side every time his little companion hopped around inside his now extremely crumpled shirt. He would be hiding away in embarrassment if he could focus on anything other than the havoc Pickett was wreaking across his abdomen. “Pickehehehett! Please!”

“If Tina could see how adorable you are right now…” Queenie was beaming, her smile wide as she bounced in her chair. “She’d get a kick outta you lookin’ all happy.”

“Ahahabsolutely not!” Newt still had a white-knuckled grip on the table. “This doesn’t leave this ro-AHAHAHA PICKETT!” The little beast had switched tactics and started blowing miniature raspberries around Newt’s navel and the poor wizard was losing the last few threads of his sanity. Pickett kept inching dangerously close to Newt’s worst spots as his little fingers continued to knead around the wizard’s abdomen. Please don’t go near my sides, he thought. And then he remembered that he was sitting across from an extremely gifted Legilimens. Oh no. Don’t think. Don’t think. His efforts to clear his mind were futile. It was too late.

“Pickett, sweetie, I think you’re neglectin’ his sides.” Queenie’s eyebrows twitched upward at the sound of a very tiny but very evil-sounding muffled laugh that came from inside Newt’s shirt. A second later, Newt flinched and his laughter went up in pitch. “I could stop givin’ the little guy ideas if you’d take my sister out before you head back home.” Queenie waited.

“If… ihihihihif I what?” Newt snorted again amid his giggles.

“You heard me. Jacob couldn’t hear your thoughts but even he could see you’re both crazy for each other. Tina won’t say anything about it though, because it’s ‘not proper’.” Queenie rolled her eyes.

“You don’t know what y- AAH!” Newt’s words disintegrated into an avalanche of giggles, snorts, squeals, and chuckles.

“Wooooow.” Queenie shook her head in disbelief. “I think you might be worse than Tina.” At that moment, Newt’s body jerked so violently that he almost fell off his chair. “Yeah, definitely worse.”

“Queeheenie, pleaheeheese.” One of Newt’s hands was still firmly clamped onto the table’s edge, knuckles paling, as his other balled into a fist and pounded down onto the table. When Pickett had shifted over to his side, Newt had taken the opportunity to practically fold himself in half by pressing his chest down against his lap in hopes of preventing another attack on his abdomen. Newt was overheated to the point of sweating. He could have sworn that his lungs were on fire every time he tried to take in a breath. He thought that he would be able to hold out just a bit longer… and then Pickett’s little fingers skittered underneath his arm. Newt let out a sound that could have been confused for a thunderbird screech. “Alright, I’ll do it!” he squeaked.

“Come on out, little guy. I think poor Newt needs a break.” Queenie did feel a little guilty about what just happened, but she was able to sense that the wizard was far from upset and - even though he would never admit it – thankful for a little harmless fun.

Newt lifted his head and took in a huge gulp of air as soon as Pickett stilled. The bowtruckle carefully shimmied back up Newt’s shirt and hopped out from the collar. With what strength Newt had left, he brought Pickett back to the table before collapsing his head into his folded arms at the table’s edge.

“Merlin’s beard,” he mumbled into his sleeve, still panting. Newt continued to rest his head there until he could control his breathing. “You are a very naughty little bugger.” Very slowly, a now messy mop of hair lifted, and Newt’s bright green eyes peeked out from underneath it. Pickett was resting against his arm, staring at him ever so sweetly with his leafy head tilted to one side. “Now that look doesn’t fool me for a minute.” The small bowtruckle hugged Newt’s arm and nuzzled against it, making a soft cooing sound. “You’re lucky that I’m very forgiving,” Newt told him quietly. The wizard gently patted Pickett’s back with two fingers. “You might be a little harder to forgive,” he directed at Queenie, even though both of them knew he wasn’t the least bit serious.

“Say what you want, but you look a bit more relaxed and you’re still smilin’.” Queenie grinned down at Pickett, who had scuttled back over to her for some belly rubs. She kept her touch very gentle so as not to incite another attack.

“Anybody down there?” a voice called from above.

“Yeah! In here, Teenie!” Queenie called to her sister. She gave an innocent grin to Newt, who looked quite mortified at her reply.

“I was starting to think you guys left or somethin’ until l saw the case.” Tina carefully descended the narrow staircase into the shed. Her brow furrowed when she noticed Pickett sitting in her sister’s hand.

“Oh. Newt hadn’t been upstairs all day and I thought he might’ve been hungry. I brought down some food and this little guy warmed up to me enough to say hi!” Queenie grinned and held up her hand to showcase Pickett. “He’s adorable when he comes out of hiding,” she added, referring to more than just the bowtruckle.

“Well, uh, congratulations?” Tina walked towards the table for a closer look when Newt’s eyes caught her gaze. He was still resting his head in the crook of one arm on the table and his freckled cheeks were still quite flushed. “Are you alright? You look exhausted.” Tina put a hand on Newt’s shoulder and looked him over. “And overheated.”

“Yes, yes. I’m fine.” Newt immediately sat up straight when he took note of the concern on Tina’s face and how she was gripping his shoulder. He looked away, blinking his eyes open wide a few times to make himself more alert. “Queenie had just convinced me to come upstairs and rest for a bit. I’ll be right up.”

“Good. I’ll see you both up there.” Tina slowly trailed her hand off Newt’s shoulder, awkwardly jerking it away when she realized she’d been holding it. Noticing Queenie’s smile, she told her in her thoughts to be quiet as she hurried to the steps to retreat from a potentially awkward situation.

“Here you go, sweetheart,” Queenie whispered to Pickett, setting him back down on the table as she stood. She leaned over Newt, her hand on his back for balance as she grabbed his empty plate. “Now don’t let me come back down here and find you sleepin’,” she scolded Newt playfully when he rested his head back on the table, scribbling her nails over the wizard’s shoulder blade. A whine escaped him and he instantly crashed his shoulder into his ear, causing Queenie to laugh to herself. Pointing to Pickett, she added, “You keep an eye on him,” before heading to the set of steps leading out of the suitcase to follow her sister. The bowtruckle straightened and chirped in reply.

“It seems to be hard for him to wind down. I worry about him,” Tina’s voice carried down from the top of the steps.

“Hmmm,” Newt hummed to himself. He wrapped his arms into a tighter embrace under his head and nuzzled into them with a contented smile. Pickett squealed and repeatedly swatted at Newt’s elbow. “Alright, alright. I’m going.” He lifted the small bowtruckle onto his shoulder before standing from the chair to stretch his now extremely tired muscles.

“Don’t you worry, Teenie. I think there’s a way you can help him with that,” Queenie’s voice echoed from upstairs.

Newt’s eyes went wide as saucers. He scrambled over to and up the ladder so quickly that Pickett nearly flew off of his shoulder.

#fanfic #tickle fic #Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them #Fantastic Beasts #Newt Scamander #ticklish!Newt #Queenie Goldstein #Pickett #bowtruckle

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verai-marcel · 5 years ago

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An Unconventional Union (RDR2 Fanfic, 18+, Deputy Arthur x Fem!Reader)

Summary: You told Arthur he had to take responsibility. It was your teasing way of asking him to marry you. You didn’t expect anything; just a small ceremony at the church, but fate had other plans. (Part of the Fortnight of Falling arc.)

Author’s Notes: This starts right after A Reason To Return.

Tags: romance, fluff, smut, high honor Arthur

AO3 link is right here, kitten.

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The smell of bacon and eggs wafting through your small cabin made your stomach growl. You finally got up and washed up, putting some clothes on before plopping down at your small square table. A plate of food was placed in front of you, and you ate ravenously.

“Hungry, kitten?” Arthur chuckled as he tousled your hair.

You moved your head out of his reach and grunted an affirmative as you shoved the last bit of egg into your mouth. Then you looked up at him and noticed he hadn’t made any food for himself.

“What about you?”

“I’ll git some food later, just wanted to watch you for a bit,” he said as he tenderly pet your head.

You looked away, feeling shy about his intense fixation with you, and got up to take the plate to the sink. He took it away from you and kissed your cheek.

“So, should we go down to the church today?”

He was wearing just his work pants, black as night, and nothing else. You really wanted to just drag him to bed again as you watched him wash your dish and fork.

“Um, today?” you asked instead.

He smiled. “You told me to take responsibility for ya. Might as well do it today.”

You sputtered. You weren’t a fancy lady by a long shot, but you at least wanted a wedding dress. And perhaps some time to really think about what you were doing. “Could I get a dress first? And maybe we should let the pastor know before we just show up all of a sudden?”

Arthur dried your dish and fork and put them away, biding his time before responding, purposely making you wait. You shuffled on your feet, impatient for an answer, not knowing why you bothered to ask for permission.

Finally, he turned towards you as he spoke. “Sure, you can get a dress. I’ll go tell the pastor.”

“R-right now?”

Arthur was picking up his clothes and putting them on. “Why not?”

“I have work! You have work! Can’t it wait until my next day off?”

He rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He sauntered up to you and poked you gently in the cheek. “But only because you asked.”

***

The week passed slowly, with Arthur still escorting you home every evening, and still letting you have your nights to yourself, even though he’d give you that heated gaze whenever he said good night. Every night, he’d ask you if you’d picked up a dress yet.

“No, not yet,” you’d reply, and he’d raise an eyebrow but said nothing more about the subject.

That was, until the evening before your next day off. The evening before the big day.

“You need a dress,” he stated as you left the doctor’s office.

You merely nodded, falling into step next to him as he walked with you to his horse. You couldn’t deny that you were still putting it off.

“So, I got you one.”

You did a double take and gaped at him.

“I’m sure it fits.”

His confident tone and the twinkle in his eyes made you raise an eyebrow at him as you got onto his horse, him following you up.

He just smiled mysteriously as he took you home.

***

You stood in your cabin, a little concerned that Arthur knew how to get into your house without your key, and stared at the white dress that was laid out on the bed. It was simple, an A-line dress with bell shaped sleeves and an illusion neckline in white lace.

You strained to find fault with it, to find a reason to tell him to take it back. But you couldn’t.

You loved it.

“You sure this will fit me?” you asked tentatively, unwilling to believe in something so perfect.

“Try it on for me.”

You glared at him. “The moment I take my clothes off, I won’t get a chance to try it on.”

Arthur tried to look affronted, but there was a twitch in his lips that gave away his amusement. “You doubt my self-control?”

“Have you given me a reason not to?” you said with a sardonic grin.

He tilted his head back and forth as he considered your words. “I guess I can’t argue with that.” He stepped away from you and tipped his hat. “In that case, I’ll leave you to it, my lady. Meet me at the church, tomorrow at noon.”

You watched him leave your cabin, both apprehensive and excited.

Excited because you were really getting married tomorrow.

Apprehensive because life never went this smoothly for this long without consequences.

***

You stood in the doorway and stared outside, the rain falling like a veritable curtain of water, keeping you from leaving your cabin easily. Sighing deeply, you went back inside and searched for your rain cape and umbrella. Finding them, you set them next to the door and pulled out one of your shabbier blouses and skirts. If you had to go out in the rain, you wouldn't ruin your wedding dress.

You had put on the dress in the morning and it fit wonderfully, as if Arthur had known every curve, every dip of your body. He knew it too well, you thought, for him to get this dress so well tailored without you there. You twirled around in your cabin, loving the feel of it against your legs and skin, imagining yourself a beautiful princess for just a second before you heard the thunder. And then the rain came with little preamble, washing away your chances for a sunny walk into town in your lovely dress.

“Guess I’ll put this on when I get there,” you mumbled to your poor dress, and started to take it off carefully to shove into a suitcase so you could bring it to the church.

A knock on your door startled you. You weren't even halfway out of your dress yet, so you slipped it back on. Cautiously walking to the door, tentatively holding the handle, you called out.

“Who’s there?”

“Arthur.”

Opening the door, you were surprised to see him standing before you, wearing a heavy coat that was soaking wet.

“Get in here,” you ordered, and he quickly came in and peeled off his drenched jacket and hung it on the chair, moving it closer to the fireplace. Then he threw a couple pieces of wood into the fireplace and lit it with a match from your mantle.

“I thought I was meeting you at the church,” you said, watching him take off his boots.

“Saw the rain comin’. Told the pastor we’d come by next week and came straight here. Knowin’ you, you woulda forced yourself through the storm to keep yer word.”

You smiled wryly. He did know you.

He started to take off his pants and overshirt, and you quickly went to grab a towel to dry him off. Helping him lay out his wet clothes on the table and lifting it closer to the fireplace as well, the two of you looked at each other, him in just his short drawers and you in a wedding dress.

At the same time, you both started laughing.

“Some weddin’, huh?”

“Some wedding, indeed.”

Arthur, with the towel wrapped around his shoulders, took your hands and kissed them tenderly.

“We could just say our vows now.”

“I d-don’t know what to say,” you stammered.

“Just say somethin’ from the heart.”

“Y-you first.”

Arthur chuckled. “Alright, kitten.” He stepped forward and held your face in his big, warm hands. He kissed your forehead. Then the tip of your nose. And both your cheeks.

“I’ll always come for you. Through rain or snow, through anythin' that gets in my way, I’ll come when you call fer me.”

You swallowed, the emotion in his eyes threatening to overwhelm you. Your heart pounded so loudly that you could feel it trying to burst from your chest.

He waited patiently for you to say something. But you couldn’t think of anything. Words were lost to you. So you communicated with him the way you always did when you found it hard to speak.

You pressed your forehead against his, and entwined your fingers with his, moving them from your face to your heart. Together, the two of you took deep, quiet breaths, feeling your heartbeat against his hands.

“This,” you finally said in barely a whisper. “This will always be yours.”

Arthur’s smile was warm and gentle, like he was being blessed with the most beautiful thing in the world. He leaned in and kissed you, one hand returning to your face as his other arm wrapped around you and pulled you against him.

“Be a shame to ruin this dress,” he muttered.

“Guess I better put it away for safekeeping.”

“Maybe I can help ya with that.”

“Maybe.”

Arthur reached for the front buttons, undoing them slowly as he looked into your eyes as a covetous heat grew in his gaze. You swallowed, your hands clinging to his forearms as he worked his way down, down, until he got on one knee before you to undo the remaining few buttons, the last one ending right over your lower belly. He pulled you close and kissed you right below your belly button; you could feel the heat of his lips through the thin fabric of your chemise.

Then he stood up, clasped the collar of your dress, and leisurely pulled it off your shoulders and let it fall from your body, revealing your cute white chemise; it was simple, elegant, and a bit shorter than usual, ending at your knees. Arthur’s hands skimmed your hips. His eyebrows rose when he didn’t feel any drawers beneath the fabric.

“That all yer wearin’?”

You smiled shyly. “Didn’t want to keep you waiting.”

“Oh, kitten,” he moaned as he wrapped his arms around you and carried you to the bed. Falling upon you, he kissed you passionately, grinding himself against you as his hands gripped you tightly, holding you like he wanted to melt into you. Feeling how ready he was to take you, your hips lifted, wanting to feel that sublime connection to him.

He got up from you just long enough to drop his drawers before grabbing the front of your chemise.

“I’ll buy you a new one,” he rumbled before he tore your garment open, exposing your body to his eager gaze.

“Arthur!”

He murmured your name before he stole your lips and pinned you to the bed, rubbing the head of his cock against your wet folds, rolling his hips back and forth to tease you. You angled your hips and spread your legs to let him in, and he took your invitation, lifting up slightly and nudging you open. He slowly sank inside of you, both of you moaning, intoxicated by the feel of your physical joining.

“Yer all mine now, Mrs. Morgan.” He thrust hard into you. “My darlin’ wife.”

Arthur started to pound you into the bed, unable to control his movements as he lost himself in your arms, nearly crushing you under the weight of him. He held you close and rutted like a ravenous creature, letting out almost inhuman growls as he grabbed your breasts and squeezed. Bending over you, he licked and pinched your nipples; it was almost too rough for you. You winced.

“Sorry darlin’,” he whispered, letting go of your bruised flesh to hold your hips. “You’re so strong, I forget how delicate you really are.” His pace gentled, taking your thighs and folding you over so he could reach a different angle as he took you slower, deeper. He thumbed your clit, watching your eyes roll back as he stroked you. The pleasure kept building and building until it burst, with you screaming his name as you climaxed around him, your walls clenching around his length.

“So perfect.” Arthur crushed you once more, letting your legs wrap around his waist as he took you faster and faster, his breath in your ear, his moans like sweet music until he shouted your name as he thrust hard all of a sudden and stayed as deep as he could, his hips making little jerky movements as he pumped his seed inside of you.

“Mine,” he breathed, holding you tight as the last of his ecstasy ebbed away. You clung to him, a happy fog surrounding you as the euphoria gave way to a feeling of contentment, like you had finally found your home.

Finally, he rolled over and cuddled you. Half-asleep, he nuzzled your cheek.

“I hope we have a son,” he mumbled as he fell asleep beside you.

***

“I liked that chemise.”

“I said I’d buy you a new one.”

“Yes, but I liked that one.”

Arthur got up on one elbow to look directly at you. “You ever goin’ ta forgive me?”

You turned your head and gave him a gimlet stare. “You’re the kind of person to ask for forgiveness rather than permission, aren’t you?”

“Wouldn’t git anythin’ done otherwise.”

You laughed, thoroughly amused by him. “Mr. Morgan, whatever will I do with you?”

He tenderly smiled at you. “I dunno, Mrs. Morgan.” He kissed you lightly on the lips, a sweet, innocent kiss born out of a moment of pure love. “But I’ll spend forever makin’ it up to you.”

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

End Notes: I had to watch 4 episodes of Queer Eye to get all the happy feels inside of my soul to write this. You’re welcome.

#arthur morgan #deputy AU #arthur x reader #high honor Arthur #writing #fanfic #rdr2 fanfic #lemon fanfic #nsft #deputy arthur #desperate desire

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starker-stories · 5 years ago

Text

An Accord (WIS), Chapter 5

I’ll be re-creating my individual chapter posts for An Accord over here on the blog that replaces starkerstories. Until I hit the current chapter, I’ll be posting daily. They’ll have links to both tumblr and AO3 chapter links. I’m sorry if that bothers people who’ve seen this all before in the tag. I’m content to leave all my other fic as AO3 only, but this is my current favorite child, so I’m spoiling it rotten.

This fic is on a weekly update schedule. Hopefully every Friday. More chapters may appear sooner if the writing is going well. Because I have 0 self-control.

Tumblr Chapter Links: ch1, ch2, ch3, ch4, ch5, ch6, ch7, ch8, ch9, ch10, ch11, ch12, ch13 AO3 Chapter Links: ch1, ch2, ch3, ch4, ch5, ch6, ch7, ch8, ch9, ch10, ch11, ch12, ch13

Tags: Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Anal Sex, Oral Sex, Polyamory Negotiations, Polyamory, Cheating, Past Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Domestic Nightmare Tony Stark, Reconciliation, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, WinterIronSpider, Happy Ending, Clothed Sex, Domesticity, Peter Parker is legal age in the state of New York, College Student Peter Parker, Takes place about 2 years after Civil War. Closeted Character

Summary: “Steve Rogers is the one and only voice of authority for the entire world.” Bucky ducked his head. “I may have asked him when he was going to be fitted for his armband.” ——————————————————————————————

Chapter 5: On accounta the stew

“Oh god that smells good,” Peter said, padding barefoot from the bedroom around ten into the kitchen, wearing a baggy pair of sweats and an even baggier, threadbare MIT t-shirt. “But y’know you don’t have to keep cooking for us.”

“I have to eat,” Bucky said with a shrug.

Tony followed next out of the bedroom, slightly less dressed, wearing only a pair of boxers, but apparently a shower had been taken because he was wearing considerably less dirt. “You don’t have to earn your keep here, Bucky.” Tony opened the drawer next to the fridge. “If I don’t have a menu for a place in here, it’s because their food sucks. FRIDAY, give Bucky level 1A access to you and 2 access to everything else.”

“Yes boss.”

“There ya go. Order what you want whenever you want it. Though not if you want to spend seven billion on a microscope.”

“And put a huge dent in the thing,” Peter chided.

Tony rolled his eyes. “It’s the casing. It doesn’t affect how it works, just how it looks. If it offends you so much, I’ll fabricate a new one out of gold-titanium alloy that’s harder to dent.”

“Oh god you’re gonna do that anyway just to make it red and gold.”

“You know me so well babe,” Tony said, grinning. He went over and looked into the huge pot simmering on low on the stove. “What is that?”

“Our late dinner.” Peter stuck a long spoon into the pot. “Stew. And it’s delicious.” He got a bowl and filled it.

“It’s all right,” Bucky said. “I ate about… oh… four hours ago. Y’know, Tony, soundproofing might be an investment worth considering,” he added, laughing.

Peter turned bright red. “Oh god.” He sat the bowl of stew down at the end of the table for Tony and filled another for himself.

“This is actually… good,” Tony said. “Tastes like the Irish stew Jarvis used to make.”

“Vision cooks?”

“Not JARVIS, Jarvis. Our butler.”

“You had a…”

“Of course he did,” Peter said with a sigh. “You get used to him dropping things like that as if everyone in the world grew up in a huge mansion with a butler and a staff. Do not ever expect him to change the sheets.”

“That’s what the staff is for.”

Bucky sat at the table across from Peter, next to Tony. “Steve would say it’s not proper Irish stew because you didn’t have any stout. Like Sarah ever kept liquor in her house…” He stopped suddenly, caught by the memory. “Sorry.” He hesitated. He wanted to talk about it but wasn’t sure of the reception. He decided to chance it.

“Even after your dad’s experiment changed him, he was still Steve. He was different, but underneath the whole Captain America thing, he was still the kid I grew up with in Brooklyn. He was a soldier, like the rest of us. A little headstrong, rubbed up against orders sometimes, but he took them.”

“I’m sorry,” Peter said, he reached his hand across the table and touched Bucky’s.

“Which is why I couldn’t understand…” Tony shook his head. “A hundred and seventeen countries, including this one… and half of his team… thought accountability was a reasonable request that the world was making of us.”

“It is,” Bucky said. “I spent the last year, since I left Wakanda, listening to Steve. The way he described it, in the context of what happened to SHIELD, not trusting another World Security Council sounded reasonable.”

“Why’d you change your mind?” Tony asked.

“I read them. He had his copy still. I couldn’t sleep. I’d read just about everything else where we were staying. So I actually read the Accords for myself.”

“They’ve been amended since then.”

“I saw that when I signed. I made them wait until I read the addendum pages.”

Tony laughed. “I bet they loved that.”

“After I signed, that’s when I got into it with him. He’s mad I signed. I still don’t understand why he didn’t. You guys, the Avengers, he said you were soldiers.”

Tony scoffed. “I’m not a soldier.”

“Well, you take orders better than one former U.S. Army Captain.” Bucky huffed in anger. “Without an effective chain of command, without oversight, there’s nothing to stop an army from turning on the people and putting someone like Hitler in charge. We both saw that happen. But no. Steve Rogers is the one and only voice of authority for the entire world!” Bucky ducked his head. “I may have asked him when he was going to be fitted for his armband.”

Tony sputtered around a forkful of stew. “I’d’a paid money to see his face.

“But you get it,” Tony continued. “When I found out what Stark was doing — what it was allowed to do — not only by my negligence, but because the DoD writes checks and never pays attention to what’s done with the money — I got out of the business. I couldn’t be a part of that. Is it still a problem with other companies, sure. I can’t right every wrong in the world. But I don’t have to be complicit with it. Rogers, he’s like — anyone who’s an Avenger can do whatever they want, whenever they want, anywhere in the world they want to do it. Which, okay, maybe. There’s less than two dozen of us and we were a team. That’s less of a problem. But there are many more Enhanced who the Avengers Initiative has no authority over.”

“The Accords still don’t,” Peter said. “I haven’t signed.”

“No. Neither has Murdock, Cage, Jones, Skye, Elena, and a whole lot more. A lot have signed, though. But since I’ve been unofficially running things, we monitor those who haven’t. What’s left of SHIELD handles the situation if an Enhanced becomes a threat. You’re not a threat, baby. And if you ever do decide to step out of the ‘friendly neighborhood’, you’re going to have to sign.”

“I will. I’m just not ready yet.”

“And I’m not ready to put you at that level of risk yet either. It’s above your paygrade. Keeping the world safe is my job. Keeping the streets safe is yours.”

“Fury said that for him to be able to debrief me, I had to become part of the Avengers Initiative.”

“So you’re on world-saving duty along with Tony.”

“Peter, that is the highest end dishwasher they make in the world. You don’t even have to rinse the bowl. Just put it in the machine. God,” Tony said exasperatedly as he watched Peter start to lower his bowl into the sink.

“And all you have to do is stretch the elastic corners over the ends of the mattress,” Peter said, noisily clattering both bowl and silverware in the sink.

Bucky laughed.

“Sorry. Old fights,” Tony said.

“We’ve only been together nine months, how can they be old fights?”

“They were old fights two weeks after you moved in and started leaving dishes in the sink and failing to notice that there’s a laundry hamper in the dressing room.”

“Elastic corners, Tony. You don’t even have to tuck them in the way I bet Bucky used to have to do.”

“Oh no. I am not getting in the middle of this. He’s the one who lets me live here, you’re the one who keeps me from destroying the room when I have a nightmare. Nope.” Bucky headed for the sofa. “I’m also not doing the dishes. I cooked.”

“You don’t cook so you can eat,” Tony said in a revelatory tone. “You cook so you don’t have to clean up after!”

“They did tell me you were a genius,” Bucky said, scrolling through Netflix. “After I learned how to cook, my sister got stuck with the dishes because she cooked like Peter says you do.”

“Staff, you guys. We. Had. Staff.” Tony got up shaking his head and emptied the sink of its dishes. He picked up the pot and poured its contents into the side of the sink with the disposal.

“What did you just do‽” Bucky said, leaping up from the sofa.

“You cooked too much. It's no big deal.” Tony started the disposal.

Bucky sputtered. “That was for the next three, maybe four days.”

“Uh, no.”

“Leftovers. Don’t you know the concept?”

“Didn’t most of your generation die of food poisoning?” Tony rinsed the pot and stuck it in the dishwasher with the bowls.

“Because we tried to keep food cold with ICE! Not a fridge that’s more technologically advanced than my arm! Stew is always better on the second day.”

“So’s salmonella.”

Peter came up and put his hand on Bucky’s arm. “It’s useless. I tried to keep leftover Chinese once. Got the same lecture. You learn to live with it.”

“It’s wasteful,” Bucky said, shaking his head. “There are people who…”

“Are eating tonight at one of seven homeless shelters the Stark Foundation funds every year. I am not getting food poisoning over either of yours guilt.”

“Used to be six. But then he threw out my leftover Chinese that I was saving.”

“Make it eight on accounta the stew.”

“If it’ll save my stomach, I’ll make it a round ten. No leftovers.” Tony grabbed Peter’s hand. “Thanks for dinner, pretty. It was good.”

“Woulda been better tomorrow,” Bucky muttered as he headed for the sofa and Tony and Peter headed for their bedroom.

Peter ducked his head back around the corner of the hall. “There’s wireless headphones in the drawer under the TV. Not as good as soundproofing but,” he added with a shrug before disappearing.

~~~~~

“I was worried,” Natasha said, answering Bucky’s call.

“It's not bad. It's good actually,” Bucky said. “Tony and Peter — the spider kid — are together.”

“Together?” Natasha asked

“Yes.”

“Together together?” she asked again, her voice rising in inflection.

“A couple. Yes.”

“He's a child.”

“He's seventeen. Which is, as he likes to remind everyone, the age of consent in New York state. He’s happy. Both of them are. Deliriously. Noisily. Often. He calls you Ms. Widow.”

“No. Really?” she tried hard not to laugh.

“Yes. It's adorable.” Bucky didn’t bother to try. “You should come back,” he said after a pause.

“I'm a criminal.”

“So was I. Tony can take care of that.”

“Tony's the one who made me a criminal,” Nat said pointedly.

“It's more complicated than that and you know it.”

“I'm not agreeing to house arrest.”

“Lang isn't an Avenger. You are. I am.”

“You are?”

“Part of the arrangement Tony made,” Bucky explained. “Instead of another session with Everett Ross, Fury’s handling my debrief. For that, I had to agree to the Avenger Initiative.”

“Did you want to?”

“There are worse things.” Over the phone, Natasha couldn’t see his shrug. “It’s a chance at a little redemption.”

“I thought SHIELD was mine.”

“From what Tony tells me, SHIELD isn’t what it used to be. HYDRA’s been purged.”

“You believe that?”

“No. But I can help them make sure it is.”

“We’ve been away almost two years.”

“I thought it fell apart because of me. It was the Accords. Tony’s right on this one. It’s been such a waste of time. Running. For what? Steve’s ego?”

“I told the same thing to Tony. It was his ego.”

“I’ve yet to see it show up, Natasha. No worse than anyone else’s. Steve’s wrong.”

“What about Wanda? There was the issue of her not being a citizen.”

“When did you become a citizen? It’s not an issue. Not if she signs.”

There was a long pause. “He’ll be on his own.”

“He’ll come to his senses then,” Bucky said with more heat than he’d intended. “He won’t as long as he has someone to follow the righteous Captain America into battle. The issue if he comes back isn’t the Accords. It’s the damage he did after. Tony says he’ll leave when he returns.”

“And you say you haven’t seen his ego?”

“I’ve seen the pain that Steve’s lies about me caused. The Accords? Steve signs and that’s over for Tony. What happened in Siberia? That’s a broken trust. Harder to set aside.”

“He set it aside for you, apparently.”

“I had no choice in what I did. Steve had a choice.” He paused. “I doubt Tony will walk away, no matter what he says. He won’t trust Steve. But there are very few people who Tony trusts. He works with the others anyway. He’ll reach a peace with Steve, if Steve will let him.”

“We’ll talk about it,” Nat said.

“Talk to the others before Steve. If he knows, he’ll start one of his ‘rally the troops’ speeches and everyone will follow him into hell. On their own, the only hold out will be Sam. He’s starstruck.” Bucky paused. “I’ve seen it before,” he said sadly.

#starker #winterironspider #WIS An Accord #Von writes stuff

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dyketectivecomics · 5 years ago

Text

In Stitches

@thedevilrunsthisnow tumblr ate ur prompt from however long ago, but not before I had this already written out+in dire need of editing? (iirc, the prompt was for something with Raven+the Batfam & Neon lights at 1am? something along those lines?) Using all the bats woulda been a nightmare, so I narrowed it down a couple that I thought would be most interesting. hope you like this!

...

“Shit!” Stephanie bit out as Raven went in for the first stitch.

The Titan-turned-med-student was grateful that the shoulder wound wasn’t so deep as to need anything more dire than a small row of stitches. Most of the Bats she usually found on her fire escape, would come bearing something that would leave them much worse for wear.

And she still hadn’t quite gotten the metallic scent of blood out of her apartment from the last time Dick had brought one of his siblings in, half-dead and needing a miracle.

“Language, Spoiler.”

“Language, Spoiler,” she said mockingly, sticking her tongue out at Jason, who merely scowled back. “Don’t get all high and mighty on me, Hood. B an’ Babs have told me plenty of stories about your filthy mouth.”

“Yeah, from back when I was a kid-”

“If you’re both quite done here,” Raven interrupted, completing another few stitches with a deft hand as Stephanie hissed in pain, “You still need me to help you pop your arm back into place, Jason.”

“No need, sunshine,” Jason grinned, taking his right hand with his left, pulling the limb straight out from himself before tugging it back into place with a sickening pop.

“Oh god! Jay, that’s gross!”

“Jason-”

“No time to chastise me, blackbird, we’ve got Bats to find.”

Raven shook her head, but agreed as she finished the last of Stephanie’s stitches, “No, I suppose there’s no telling what kind of injuries the rest of your family may have incurred tonight.”

“Twenty says Cass walks outta tonight with a new knife wound,” Jason smiled.

“Fifty says she won’t have a scratch on her,” Steph challenged.

The Titan rolled her eyes, “You’re both beyond ridiculous.” She made a motion for Jason to sit as she took a pillowcase from her bed, cutting at the fabric and fashioning the sling for his arm. “And your ridiculous family is costing me my best pillows.”

“We’ll have Babs an’ B reimburse you,” Steph promised, laughing as she added, “Just make sure you itemize everything.”

“Is that light always that bright?” Jason asked suddenly, jutting his chin toward the window.

He was, naturally, referring to the glowing pink neon of the business across the street. The harsh color danced along the curtains and across the apartment’s walls, staining everything in rose hues.

“Hardly notice it anymore, if I’m being honest,” the Titan shrugged, quickly and efficiently clearing her supplies in the kitchenette before quietly admonishing Stephanie for touching at the stitches.

“It’s the dead of the night. Even bars know to shut things down by two a.m.,” Jason said, shaking his head as he stood. “Might not be able to get you your pillowcases, but I can do something right now-”

“Don’t be an idiot, Jay. Your shoulder’s out-”

“You think those assholes are gonna be any less terrified of a Red Hood with a busted shoulder?”

“Oh, now who’s using language-”

“Enough!” Raven hissed, “I don’t care what either of you choose to do! Just for fuck’s sake, do it across town! Or at least have the decency to be more cautious for longer than a week!”

The two bats exchanged a look before bursting into laughter.

“Have you met us?!” Stephanie chuckled, wiping at her eyes as tears threatened to spill.

“‘Longer than a week’! I’m dying!” Jason roared.

“Don’t- Don’t you mean-” Steph gasped, “Dying, again!”

The older bat grew quieter for a second as he gave the younger a more serious look. Only for his lip to quirk and their uproarious mirth to begin anew.

Throwing her hands up in defeat, Raven pushed past them with every intention of heading back to the comfort of her bed.

“I’m done. Good luck with the rest of the night, you two. Lock the door or window or whatever behind you when you leave.”

“W- wait! Raven! Hey, we’re sorry!-” Jason apologized through small fits, Stephanie doing her best to reign in her own giggling.

She paused from closing the door behind her, however, when she heard one last proposal.

“We’ll pass the message to the rest of the fam,” Stephanie promised, “Two weeks. No Bats. Everyone on their best behavior.”

The empath paused, as if tasting the conviction the Bat had, savoring the determination and hope all wrapped in one.

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said with some finality before quietly shutting the door behind her, snickers echoing as the duo did their best to quietly vacate the apartment.

#rachel roth #stephanie brown #jason todd #thedevilrunsthisnow #randywritesfic #it was a LONG while ago when you sent it in & idek when tumblr decided to eat but?????#at least i had the foresight to write it down in my docs lmao and HERE IT IS NOW #didn't feel like starting from scratch tonight when i needed something to do to Distract #so have this lil snip everyone!

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blackpantherismyish · 5 years ago

Text

Teacher’s Pet

Chapter 1

Paring: Greek!Erik “Killmoger” Stevens x Chiron “Black” Harris

Word Count: almost 1.3K

Warning(s): None

A/N: I have been on a writing drought for Idk how long to be honest. But I finally got some shit done.. This is that. This is loosely based off of a story by the same name that i wrote YEARS ago (Don’t go look for it, it’s alotta cringe in that shit. But enjoy

Shoutout to @goddessofthundathighs cause without her, I woulda sounded reeeal stoopid.

...

Chiron put the last of the grocery bags on the floor. He had transferred to a new university in the middle of his fall semester meaning he had to restock all of his favorite goodies.

“Fuck,” he huffed as he dropped the bag of canned goods on the floor with the rest of his haul.

Using the leftover money he had from his tuition check, he moved into a small two-bedroom apartment a short distance from campus, which he shared with his roommate Taylor. The two had met at an off-campus frat party at his previous school last fall. They immediately clicked in a drunken stupor and had been inseparable ever since. Like brothers almost.

“Yo Chi!” Taylor yelled from his room, his voice followed by the faint sound of rapid shooting.

Call of Duty, Chiron thought to himself as he walked around the island and towards the bedroom.

“Wassuh Tay?” he called, stepping towards cracked door where the shooting had gotten so loud that explosions could now be heard.

“Did you get more Hot Pockets?” Taylor sat shirtless in his gaming chair with his ΚΑΨ branded shorts and a PS4 controller in his hand.

“Yes. Steak and cheddar cause yo fat ass ate the last box in 4 days.” Chiron rolled his eyes and folded his arms as he watched Taylor lean on his knees and squint his eyes to focus on the game.

“Man… You still on that?” Taylor groaned as his fingers danced over the controller.

“Uh...Nigga YES! That was a 24 pack of Hot Pockets. Do you know how many Hot Pockets you’d have to eat in a day for that to even be possible?” Chiron stood off the doorframe and walked further into the room.

“Si-,” Taylor started.

“6 gahdamn Hot Pockets nigga!” Chiron clapped to emphasize each word.

“Man I was lazy and I ain’t feel like cookin’.” Tay shook his head and scooted closer to the flatscreen TV.

“Keep playin’. Yo belly gon be so big you won’t be able to shimmy right.” Chiron turned and made his way out of the room and walked back to the kitchen. He opted to put the groceries away himself since someone was preoccupied. It worked in his favor, giving him the advantage of knowing where everything was.

"You just hatin' cause I get all the hoes!" Taylor yelled from his room.

"Nah I'm good. I'm allergic to fish" Chiron yelled back.

…

It was now a few weeks into the spring semester and Chiron was finally getting into the flow of his new college home. He woke early, not wanting to be late for his first class of the day: General Psychology. Footsteps and elevator dings invaded his senses as students began filing into the classroom filling it to capacity. Chiron chose a middle seat, not too close to the front and not to far back that he’d have to squint to see. He pulled out the notebook that he’d designated for this class and flipped through the first few pages. When he looked up again, his eyes fell on a man that he hadn’t noticed before. The man wore a black fitted t-shirt that hugged his body like a fat kid hugs the ice cream man when they get extra sprinkles. The veins that ran down his arms looked like an IV technician’s dream and gold rimmed glasses framed his face while two thick Cuban link chains rested on his neck. As Chiron’s gaze traveled lower, he praised the Lord above for the invention of fitted slacks because they were hugging the hips of this Adonis in all the right places. As his gaze made his way back up, Chiron’s eyes landed on a set of lips that looked like they could swallow him whole, not that he was complaining. As the mystery man talked with the professor, hints of gold reflected off of his teeth. Chiron leaned forward to get a better look at the beautiful mystery.

“Who are you and can I have your number, cause gahdamn you fine,” Chiron whispered to himself. Just as his lust was beginning to get the best of him, Chiron was snapped out of his appreciation by the voice of the young white male at the front of the class.

“Good morning class, I am Professor Wayne and I’ll be your instructor this semester. And this,” he gestures to the Adonis to his right, “is my graduate assistant, Erik Stevens.”

Erik can assist me in taking off his pants.. Chiron thought to himself as he chewed the tip of his pen. His focus on whatever Professor Wayne was babbling about was long gone as more and more lewd thoughts of Erik crossed his mind. Erik stepped in front of Professor Wayne, licking his lips slowly before addressing the class.

“Wassuh y’all. Welcome back to school.” He paused briefly before continuing. “As you heard Mr. W say, I’m the graduate assistant. Some days I’ll be teaching and helping with any questions you may have during my lessons as well as Mr. Wayne’s.” As his speech came to a close, Erik leaned back against the wooden table, surveying all of the fresh faces in front of him.

“I have some meetings to attend so in my absence, Mr. Stevens will go over the syllabus and answer any first day questions you may have. I look forward to getting to know all of you. Have a great first day.” With that, Mr. Wayne grabbed his black leather bag and headed out the door.

Erik took off the gold rimmed glasses and sat them on the table next to him and grabbed a clipboard.

“I’m about to go through roll. Just raise your hand and say ‘here’. Pretty simple procedure, right?” Erik looked around for confirmation. He got head nods and soft mummers in agreement as he scanned the classroom. Chiron had since went back to flipping through his notebook, highlighting things that he would need for the class.

“Chiron Harris?” His voice sounded like the smoothest bourbon you could possibly get your hands on.

“Here,” Chiron spoke, lifting his head and hand simultaneously. Erik gave him a sly smirk before calling the remaining names on the list. Chiron smiled to himself before busying himself with his notebook once more. This was definitely going to be an interesting semester.

…

As he made his way down the hall after his classes, Chiron could hear commotion coming from his apartment. Several voices mixed as Chi unlocked the door and stepped inside. Taylor sat on the couch with his line brothers. The one on the left, Nico, wore a crimson colored dad hat that read Pretty Komplicated in cream letters while the one on the right, Xavier, wore a black basketball jersey that read Kryptonite across the back of it in red letters.

“I’m about to start charging you niggas rent,” Chi called from the doorway as he put his lanyard on the key holder.

“Maaan, I’ma need a room if I pay rent,” Nico called over his shoulder, his eyes never leaving the TV screen. Chiron grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge before walking back to the unoccupied loveseat.

“Woooow,” Xavier spoke from the far end of the couch. “He did you dirty, dawg,” he snickered as he leaned on his knees, fully immersed in the video game.

“What?” Chiron shrugged as Nico pulled his attention from the tv and blinked in confusion.

“You said a room,” he reminded.

“The box that I’m referring to has enough room for you inside. It’s a pretty big box.” Nico groaned and turned back to the tv, causing Chiron to chuckle to himself.

“Listen, I already live with one of you niggas. I don’t need anymore.”

...

Taglist: @goddessofthundathighs @princessstevens @maya-leche @panthergoddessbast @chaneajoyyy @hearteyes-for-killmonger @purple-apricots @thehomierobbstark @amethyst1993 @iamrheaspeaks @blktinkerbell @theogbadbitch

Let me know if you wanna be tagged.

#Erik Killmonger #Kappa #Chiron #college!au

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meetmeinthematinee · 5 years ago

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Torn -- Chapter 3

John Wick x Original Female Character.

Previous chapters: Ch 1 & Ch 2

AN: No warnings. A little angsty, a little sad, a little happy. This took FOREVER to come together. Hopefully the next chapter doesn’t take me as long.

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“Do you like pesto?”

His eyes lit up. “What kind?”

“Honestly? Usually jarred basil but since you’re here and I offered to make dinner...I’ll do it from scratch. Can you cut a big bunch of basil for me? It’s in the planter on the back deck.”

He nodded and took the scissors she handed him, stealing a quick kiss. Gremlin danced around at her feet as she pulled the hunk of Parmesan out of the fridge. “Fine. Cheese for the cheese god!” She said as she held the cheese aloft before she tossed a tiny bit onto the floor. Gremlin snatched it up so quickly he didn’t realise he’d eaten it. John just stood back and laughed at the scene in front of him. “You offer him sacrifices? No wonder he’s such a menace.” He said, leaning against the kitchen island and setting down the scissors. Kristen laughed and nodded in agreement. “Can dog have some? I wouldn’t want him to feel left out.” “Sure.” He said. Dog’s ears perked up and he wandered over at the sound of his name. He gently took the small piece of cheese from Kristen’s hand. “Oh buddy. You’re such a sweetheart.” She said softly to him as she pet his velvety ears.

John washed the basil in the sink and inhaled the fresh and bright scent. God he missed this. He missed the little domestic things. I think she’d like Kristen. That last thought made his heart ache and his breath catch in his throat. “I think it’s clean now. Hey, John!” He startled when he felt her hand on his back. “You ok?” She said hesitantly. “Yeah.” He said his mouth curling upward into a small smile. She kissed his cheek and snatched the basil from him. “I can set out a bowl for Dog if he’s ok to eat what I give Gremlin.” She said as she made her way over to the food processor. “Yes, thank you. I’m sure he’ll be happy about that.” Her thoughtfulness and warmth helped ease the ache in his chest.

Between bites of pasta they got to know each other. Trading likes and dislikes and facts as if it was precious currency between them. “Beatles or the Stones?” He asked. “The Kinks.” She said with a smirk. “Oh, you’re that kind of person.” He said with a sharp laugh as he tipped his glass at her. “You?” She asked “The Stones.” She chewed her pasta for a moment and considered. “Really. I woulda pegged you as a Beatles guy.” “I mean. Yeah. They’re great but if I have to choose…” He said with a knowing smile. “Favourite rom-com, if you have one” She said leaning forward in her seat and raising an eyebrow. “Moonstruck.” He said confidently, setting down his glass. “Oh damn! That’s a good one.” He watched her expression shift from shock to delight. He loved how she had no poker face. Every thought, every feeling was expressed by her face, her body. He wondered what it would be like to be so unguarded. In his line of work that would be a liability. “What’s yours?” Kristen laughed. “What?” John said, his voice low and a smirk on his lips. He sat back and folded his arms across his chest. “This whole thing is just... funny. Here we are in my house eating dinner and getting to know each other. We’ve kinda done everything backwards don’t you think?” John shrugged his shoulders and leaned forward, taking her hand across the table. “I really like you Kristen.” He said simply as he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. His eyes were filled with a warmth and affection that made him look so much younger. She covered his hand with her much smaller one and leaned in. Lowering her voice as if she was about to reveal a deep, dark, secret. “I like you too, John.”

In his feverish state he kept turning their first date over and over in his mind. He was laying in bed willing himself to feel fine enough to take her out tonight. They’d been seeing each other for a couple of months now but John still hadn’t invited Kristen over to his house. She joked that it was because that’s where he hid all the bodies and he humoured her, but in truth it was because his place felt empty. Not like a home at all. Just a place to sleep and recover from whatever he’d gotten himself into last. After everything that had happened with his home with Helen he couldn’t bring himself to make the effort with this new one. It was something he had a lot of time to consider since he’d come down with whatever this was. His eyes felt hot and no matter how many blankets he had on he just couldn’t get warm. He could feel every old injury, everything ached. “Fuck. I’ll have to call off our date.” He huffed and Dog looked over at him from his spot on the bed.

I really want to see you tonight but I’m sick.

Can we reschedule? I’m sorry babe.

-I’m calling you!

“Hey, sweetheart.” His voice was barely a whisper. “Jesus John, you sound really bad.”

“Thanks?” He attempted to laugh but it devolved into a coughing fit.

“I’m coming over. What’s your address?”

“No I’m--”

“Listen it’s not up for debate. Address. Now.” She jotted it down on her notepad. He lived just on the outskirts of the city, right by the lake. “I’ll see you in a little while ok? Please call me if you feel any worse. Promise?” “Yes ma’am.” He croaked out.

“Steph? I’m calling it early today. John’s really sick and it’s only half hour til close anyway so it’s your lucky day.” Steph lifted an eyebrow in amusement. “Closing early? For a man? You must really like this guy.” Kristen pursed her lips in mock disapproval before a shy smile appeared on her face. “I really do. Now go home! I’ll still pay you the difference.” “Niceee!” “You’re right, I am.”

I guess I know who lives in this place now. She thought to herself as she pulled down the driveway of the gorgeous modern house.

-I’m here!

I’ll let you in. May take a min.

Kristen leashed up Gremlin and hauled the groceries out of the trunk. John was just opening the door as she got to the front steps. To say he looked dishevelled would be kind. He was clammy, his normally well groomed hair sticking up at all angles and he had almost no colour to his face. “Don’t worry I feel worse than I look.” He said with a small chuckle that turned into a coughing fit. He reached for the bags but she handed him Gremlin’s leash instead. “I’ve got em John. I’m here to take care of you, remember?” “You didn’t have to do all this.” “I know. I wanted to. Let’s get you back to bed.” “Alright.” He said with a tight smile. She wound her arm around his waist and followed him to his bedroom. It was sparsely decorated, painted white with a king size bed that faced the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the lake.

“Are you tucking me in?” He asked as she pulled the blankets up around him and smoothed her hand over his clammy brow. “You’ve got quite a fever. I’ll be right back.” He sank back against the pillows. He closed his eyes and startled when he felt her gently lay a cool washcloth over his forehead. “That feels so good.” He murmured as she smoothed her hand over his hair. “Get some sleep if you can. I’ll make some soup and look after dog.” He nodded. “Thank you.” Kristen leaned down and kissed him softly on the cheek before shutting the door quietly behind her.

Nothing is more disorienting than trying to cook in someone else’s kitchen. She thought to herself as she got to work on the soup for John. “I’m so glad I came over, Dog. You’re very sweet but no thumbs means you can’t do much for him.” She eyed the contents of the fridge. It was fairly empty. Some craft beer, cheese. Random condiments. Leftovers that looked like they were once pretty tasty. “At least I know he can cook for himself.” She got to work on the soup. It was her favourite quick and dirty chicken noodle. Briefly sauteed veggies, boiling water, bay leaves, chicken breasts and then a couple of stock cubes. When the chicken had cooked through she pulled it out and cut it into bite size pieces before adding it back into the soup. While she was waiting for the noodles to finish she fed Gremlin and Dog. She pulled out her phone and snapped a pic of them eating happily, side by side.

After an hour Kristen quietly slipped into John’s room. He was sleeping on his back, his arms up over his head against his pillow, his face flushed from the fever. She felt a tug in her chest. God it was way too soon for this but she was starting to feel like she could love this man. She sat on the edge of the bed and whispered “John.” His breathing changed but he didn’t wake up. She gently laid the back of her hand on his forehead. Flipping her hand over she smoothed it over his hair. “John, sweetheart, do you want some soup?” He stirred, the corners of his lips turning upward in a sleepy smile. Without opening his eyes he pressed his hot face into her hand. “Helen.”

A surprised “Oh” was all Kristen could manage to get out. His eyes opened and she could see the confusion in them and then something else. Pain. John felt an ocean of grief overwhelm him. He was dreaming when he heard his name and for a brief moment she was here again. His wife. Except she wasn’t. He covered his face with his hands. Kristen just sat quietly next to him on the bed. “I’m so sorry.” He rasped. He curled up around her, laying his head in her lap. “I thought you were her.” He barely got the words out before his shoulders started shaking. Pretty soon he was overcome by wracking sobs. “I know John, I know.” She said softly as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder and cradled his head in her lap. She held him, quietly stroking his hair until he calmed down. Trying to best to keep herself together. Once he was quiet again she leaned down and kissed his temple. “When was the last time you ate something sweetheart?” “I can’t remember.” He turned his puffy and tear streaked face to look at her. He looked shattered. And vulnerable. “Do you think you can stand or would you like me to bring you a bowl of soup?” “I’ll get up.” “Just take it slow, ok?” He nodded and slowly shifted off of her and into a seated position. He covered his face with his hands and took an unsteady breath, resting his elbows against his thighs. She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry Kristen. I. I’m a fucking mess.” “I know.” “What?” He turned and looked at her with surprise. She frowned. “That came out wrong. I meant I get it. First of all, your brain is cooking right now and you haven’t eaten since god knows when.” She took a deep breath. “And you don’t need to apologize. You had a life together and you loved each other. I’m not jealous of or hurt by that John.” He sat up and wrapped his arms around her. “God, you’re an incredible woman. I hope you know that.” “I do.” She laughed a little and got up, tugging him by the hand. “Come on big boy. Let’s eat.”

“Mmm this is so good I might start crying again.” Kristen rolled her eyes. “No, John. Crying because something is delicious is my thing and you can’t have it. But, I’ll take the compliment all the same.” She shot him warm grin and traced her fingers over his upturned palm. “Well, I’ll save the waterworks for the next time you make pesto again.” He smiled and curled his fingers against hers. His smile faded. “Today was the first time I ever had someone to.” He shifted in his seat and fixed his gaze on their entwined fingers. “Comfort me like that. I’m really sorry that I hadn’t invited you over yet. You’ve been here for all of a few hours and suddenly it feels like a real home.” He looked up at her, his face still flushed but his eyes were filled with gratitude and something else. What it was Kristen couldn’t say, exactly, but she hoped it was what she thought it was.

#john wick fanfic #john wick x oc #john wick x ofc #sickfic #I have a thing for making John Wick cry apparently #smut in the next chapter I promise

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ciestessde · 6 years ago

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Phantasma Magica Ch. 3

STORY SUMMARY Clockwork and the Observants send Danny to Hogwarts on a special mission. But, cryptic as ever, that Old Stopwatch never actually told him what would happen on it!!! “All you need to do right now, Daniel, is stay focused on your mission. And remember, the-” “‘The Lions with the time-turner, lightning-bolt scar, and hair like fire are friends; watch out for the rat; and the black dog is not a threat.’ Yeah, you’ve only repeated that a few dozen times today.”

← Previous Next → (First)

Hagrid stood in the center of the room, wringing his hands. Lupin stood next to Hagrid, while Dumbledore sat behind his desk, hands folded underneath his chin. Calm.

He and Lupin were the only ones who were.

At the news that the phantasm had escaped last night, the four Heads of House and those guarding the phantasm, Hagrid and Lupin, had been summoned to the Headmaster’s office to discuss what should be done. McGonagall stood near the wall to the right of the Headmaster’s desk. Snape brooded in the shadows on the wall opposite her, the area around him avoided by the other teachers. Professors Sprout and Flitwick sat on differently sized stools – a normal sized one for Sprout, and a very tall one, with rungs like a ladder leading to the seat, for Flitwick – at a table laid out with now forgotten biscuits and tea.

Forgotten because it hadn’t taken long before Hagrid’s midnight snack – the cookies – was discovered to have been laced with sleep-potion, and, unfortunately… Hagrid didn’t know who had sent them.

Sprout rose from her seat near the wall, “You ate something that you didn’t know-” “I was hungry! An’ who woulda suspected- I mean, I recognized th’ owl! It was from ‘Ogwart’s Owlery!” “What’s happened has happened,” the Headmaster interrupted, “The main issue is what should be done now that it has. Remus, as the one most familiar with phantasms, do you have any advice?” “I do.” Lupin stepped forward, as Hagrid shuffled nearer the door. “Now that the creature has escaped, I doubt we will see it again. With how notoriously private phantasms are known to be, it’s shocking that one came here at all.” “Do you have any idea what might have drawn it here?” Flitwick asked, the extremely short teacher shifting in his seat and adjusting his grip on his cup nervously. He still didn’t drink. “Unfortunately, no. We really don’t know much about the species. And this would have been an excellent chance to study one up close. But even still, with no one having been hurt, this glimpse was a lucky peak into-”

Snape cut in with his usual sneer, “What about the students?” There was a small pause – the tension rising in anticipation of the forbidding teacher’s next words. “What about them, Severus?” Dumbledore asked, unreadable. Snape’s black cloak detached from the shadows as his menacing figure stepped forward. “Those cookies were likely sent to Hagrid by a student – or group of students – that wanted to get a closer look at the dangerous creature,” his sneer deepened, “And I believe we all have a few guesses as to who those students likely were.” The teachers exchanged glances, but no one dared look at Snape. While they didn’t agree with his attitude, they couldn’t deny the probability.

Dumbledore spoke, “Even if that is the case, we have no way of identifying exactly which students – if it was a student – are responsible. However,” he cut Snape off, raising his hand to silence him before he could protest, “I agree that the students need to be made aware of the consequences of such an action. So I will leave it up to each Head of House to deal with the issue as you see fit among each of your students.” They nodded, the tension dropping slightly. It was a fair compromise. Pacified, Snape returned to his spot near the wall.

“Remus, since it is unclear why the creature came here, I believe we should have a plan in the event that the phantasm should return.” “Well…” he thought for a moment, “The best thing we could do, I believe, is teach the students a basic spell for defending themselves if they run into a phantasm… and have each staff member trained and ready to help capture the creature.” Dumbledore nodded. And thus, with plans for an extra lesson for each of the DADA classes, the meeting ended – with none of the adults any the wiser that an invisible listener had been floating above them.

If he hadn’t decided to follow Sprout (And, really? The professor who taught magical gardening’s last name was “Sprout?” Talk about fate…) in order to burn their supply of blood blossoms so they couldn’t trap him again, he never would have found the Headmaster’s Office – even if he somehow had heard about this meeting! The layout of this… school? … ah, let’s be real, castle- was going to take some time for Danny to get used to. If he ever did. Changing staircases, rooms that appeared and disappeared… Living in it was like playing hide-and-seek in a magical funhouse from his nightmares – where getting caught meant getting sent to jail! He wouldn’t have stayed at all, except…

‘The Lions with the time-turner, lightning-bolt scar, and hair like fire are friends’

When Clockwork gave you a hint, you listened. ‘Cause if you didn’t… Well. They were his only lead to completing his mission. So he stayed close. Which, despite the infuriatingly complex architecture, wasn’t hard. After filling him in on their history with this “Tom Riddle” (or “Voldemort,” or whatever), Danny understood why they wanted to help him find and destroy the random objects Clockwork had sent him after – the “horcruxes.” Apparently, he was a really bad dude (no surprise) who tried to conquer the wizarding world so that “pure-blooded” wizards could rule over “muggles and mudbloods” (a.k.a. non-magic humans and those born from them, respectively). He was responsible for mass-genocide and, more specifically, the murder of both of Harry’s parents. … So, in other words, he was magic-Hitler!

Granted, there wasn’t much the Trio could actually do, but he wasn’t going to refuse the help, either. However, even with their help… They were his only lead. His ONLY one.

HOW WAS HE SUPPOSED TO FIND THESE THINGS?!

Okay. Clockwork did say it would take him three years. But that didn’t make it much less frustrating! And so, after exploring as much of the castle as his brain could take (“Who designed this freaking place!?!”), Danny resorted to following his three companions around. In addition to his frustration, he’d gotten rather bored, and was curious what magic classes were like.

DADA, he decided, was kinda interesting. Snape’s treatment of his students was… way more than irritating, and since there wasn’t anything he could do about it, either, he steered clear of Potions. Muggle Studies was amusing – he could see why Hermione, who was raised as a muggle, enjoyed it. Divination… He couldn’t tell for sure whether the practice was possible or not, but the learning conditions for the students probably weren’t helping any of them. Suffice it to say that he was grateful he didn’t need to breathe, or he might have gotten a headache from the fumes.

Out of all of them, Care of Magical Creatures seemed like the least effective of all. As far as Danny (and Ron, who moaned to him about it) could tell, there was no benefit to knowing what they were currently learning: how to take care of flobberworms. So that class Danny opted to not invisibly attend. Especially with how close it would’ve taken him to the dementors. One class that really caught Danny’s interest, though, was Astronomy! It was (before the accident) Danny’s lifelong dream to become an astronaut! So of course, Danny asked Ron and Hermione if he could help them with that homework.

The three were together in the boy’s dormitory, the door locked (couldn’t have anybody see him…), when someone knocked. “It’s Harry!” came a voice from behind the door. Ron let him in. A soft roar of voices whooshed into the room behind him, returning to a dull white noise once closed. “What’s going on down there?” Hermione asked, moving some papers to clear a spot for him. Harry monotoned, “First Hogsmeade weekend is going to be at the end of October. Halloween,” before plopping down, pulling out his own chart dispiritedly. “Harry, I’m sure you’ll be able to go next time,” Hermione tried to comfort him, “They’re bound to catch Black soon. He’s been sighted once already.” “Black’s not fool enough to try anything in Hogsmeade.” Ron rejoined them, sitting down with a soft thud next to Harry, excitedly. “Ask McGonagall if you can go this time, Harry. The next one might not be for ages–” Hermione, mortified, cut in, “Ron! Harry’s supposed to stay in school–” “He can’t be the only third year left behind,” Ron bulldozed. “Ask McGonagall, go on, Harry–” “Yeah, I think I will,” Harry said, his mood lifting.

Danny, who hadn’t been staying close enough to the wizards to overhear their gossip (they’d notice the chill, and staying invisible long enough for even a single class was draining enough!), asked, “Uh… who’s ‘Black’?” Unfortunately, he was only able to half-pay attention to their explanation (something about this “Sirius Black” escaping prison and being after Harry – THAT got his attention) because he was distracted by Crookshanks. The cat was stalking closer and closer to Ron’s bag, the end of his bushy tail twitching. What was he hunting…? Not knowing Scabbers was in Ron’s bag, Danny didn’t stop the cat when it pounced.

“OY!” Ron roared, seizing his bag as Crookshanks sank four sets of claws deep inside it and began tearing ferociously. “GET OFF, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!” Ron tried to pull the bag away from Crookshanks, but he clung on, spitting and slashing. “Ron, don’t hurt him!” squealed Hermione. Danny grabbed Crookshanks around the middle and turned him intangible, phasing the bag right out of his claws. Hermione took him, the cat’s limbs still flailing, while Ron pulled the shivering Scabbers out of the torn bag by the tail. “Look at him!” he said furiously to Hermione, dangling Scabbers in front of her. “He’s skin and bone! You keep that cat away from him!” “Crookshanks doesn’t understand it’s wrong!” Hermione’s voice shook, “All cats chase rats, Ron!”

Danny floated, unknowingly watching a feud that would continue throughout the rest of that year. Seeing the malnourished, frightened rat dangling there did remind him, though… “… watch out for the rat…” ‘I should… keep an eye out for Scabbers.’ Danny thought to himself, deciding it’d be best to look after the rat’s health.

Later, he heard from the Trio that Professor McGonagall had told Harry, more or less, that “the rules were the rules” so she couldn’t allow him to go to Hogsmeade without a form signed by a guardian. As Danny understood it, “Hogsmeade” was a small town nearby the school that had some fun shops (and other attractions), and during these special weekends the students were allowed to leave the school grounds to visit it. With nothing better to do (and since he couldn’t get past the dementors to get to the town himself, either), Danny cheered Harry up a bit by asking for a tour of Hogwarts. “I’ve explored it on my own, but uh…” Harry didn’t need any more explanation than that.

So, after saying goodbye to Ron and Hermione, Harry started showing the phantasm around the castle, whispering to the invisible spirit to try not to draw attention. He showed Danny several hidden passages, explained the moving staircases, and answered his questions as best he could.

This was the first time Danny had been alone with the younger boy. And it emphasized something he had begun to notice about him. That Harry somehow felt… different from the others. If everyone’s soul has a specific “scent,” then it was like Harry’s was somehow… tainted. But it was so faint… ‘I’m probably just… It’s probably nothing.’

They’d been walking for a while (stopped once by an extremely annoyed janitor named “Filch” … ‘Are their names changed to fit their jobs in magic-land?’) when, on their way to some place called the “Owlery,” a voice from inside one of the rooms called out.

“Harry?” Professor Lupin was looking at him from around his office door. “What are you doing? Where are Ron and Hermione?” “Hogsmeade,” Harry replied – a bit put-out by the reminder. “Ah,” Lupin considered Harry for a moment. “Why don’t you come in? I’ve just taken delivery of a grindylow for our next lesson.” “A what?” Harry took him up on his offer, intrigued by the strange creature pulling faces against the glass of its tank. Lupin closed the door after him. “Water demon,” said Lupin, “We shouldn’t have much difficulty with him, not after the kappas. The trick is to break his grip. You notice the abnormally long fingers? Strong, but very brittle.” He looked around for his kettle, “Would either of you like a cup of tea?”

Danny froze. Harry stared at the professor, wide-eyed. Lupin chuckled, “Yes, I know. I’ve known since you decided to listen in on my classes, really.” Finding it, he tapped the kettle with his wand, “I’ve only got tea bags, I’m afraid – but I daresay you’ve had enough of tea leaves?” he addressed Harry. Giving in, Danny turned visible and floated into a seat. “I, uh… Do you have hot chocolate?”

Lupin smiled and started on the sugary drink. “American? Interesting-” “Professor, I thought… you were supposed to capture the phantasm if you found it?” Harry asked. “Indeed. But, seeing as he hasn’t harmed anyone, I’m in no rush to imprison an innocent person.” He handed them their drinks, meeting eyes with the glowing teenager. “Though I am curious: may I ask why you came here, Mr. Phantasm?” “It’s, uh, Danny. And-” His mind raced even as he accepted the chipped mug. The trio he knew he could trust, but this teacher? No, he needed an excuse! “-I was curious! About, uh… wizards! And humans in general…” He wasn’t a convincing liar. Lupin hummed quietly, debating whether to pry or not. “Danny” really did seem like a normal teenager – aside, of course, from his appearance, which Lupin wasn’t the type to judge by. To Danny’s luck, Lupin’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Snape had arrived with a potion for Lupin, and after Snape left (Danny returning to the visible spectrum to conserve energy), Harry decided to help him by changing the subject.

“Professor, you know that day we fought the boggart?” Lupin sipped the potion, shuddering in disgust. Apparently, it did not taste good. “Yes?” “Why didn’t you let me fight it?” Harry said abruptly. Lupin raised his eyebrows, surprised. “I would have thought that was obvious, Harry.” “Why?” “Well,” Lupin frowned slightly, “I assumed that if the boggart faced you, it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort.”

Danny had no idea what they were talking about (aside from recognizing the name “Voldemort”), but was extremely grateful to Harry for saving him from that conversation! “Clearly, I was wrong. But I didn’t think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the staffroom. I imagined people would panic.” ‘-Wait… “Materialize?” What?’ Danny started paying closer attention.

“I didn’t think of Voldemort. I–I remembered those dementors.” “I see,” said Lupin thoughtfully, “Well, well… I’m impressed. That suggests that what you fear most of all is – fear. Very wise, Harry.” Harry didn’t know what to say to that, so he sipped his tea, finishing it. Lupin glanced at the clock – and winced. “I’m afraid I need to get back to work, but I’ll see you at the feast later – but may I have a brief word before you go, Danny?” It was the phantasm’s turn to wince. Looked like he didn’t get out of that conversation after all. He should’ve known it wouldn’t work.

His feet on the floor for once, he faced the ragged professor. “I won’t ask why you’re really here,” Danny’s eyes widened. For real?! “However,” Oh. Of course there was a catch. “- in exchange for keeping your secret, I would…” Lupin hesitated, slightly nervous, “- be very grateful if you could tell me more about phantasms?” Danny just blinked at him for a couple seconds. Why was this guy trusting him – just like that!? … Well, whatever. He could figure that out later. ‘Don’t look a gift-horse in the mouth’ right? “Sure! I mean- I don’t know how much help I’ll be, but I’ll, uh… I’ll answer some questions!”

The rest of the day, after Harry finished showing him around, Danny spent finding places he could hide inside of the school: abandoned rooms, a weird network of strangely large pipes in the walls (par for the course at this point), and before he knew it, the Halloween Feast had begun. Since he, y’know, didn’t actually eat human food, Danny wasn’t particularly interested in the feast. The performance by the resident ghosts of the castle was okay, but what really peaked his interest – was the commotion outside the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room afterwards.

When compared to every other weird thing about Hogwarts so far, the fact that pictures and paintings moved didn’t surprise Danny much more than the ridiculously large pipes; nor did the fact that they talked, or that one of them, literally called “The Fat Lady,” guarded the entrance to the Gryffindors’ living area. What was surprising was that the Lady was missing – and that her portrait had been slashed to ribbons.

“You’ll be lucky!” Peeves, the only poltergeist at the school, cackled from above the crowd. “What do you mean, Peeves?” Dumbledore asked calmly. He had already started a search for the missing Lady. “Ashamed, Your Headship, sir.” His voice retained its air of glee, but he no longer cackled – for even Peeves didn’t dare taunt Dumbledore. “Doesn’t want to be seen. She’s a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful.” His grin widened. “Poor thing.” “Did she say who did it?” the Headmaster asked quietly. “Oh yes, Professorhead,” said Peeves, excited by the panic he was about to cause, “He got very angry when she wouldn’t let him in, you see.” Flipping over to look at him between his legs, he dropped the bomb, “Nasty temper he’s got, that Sirius Black.”

Perhaps it was the tone of Peeves delivery, combined with the ensuing waves of worry from the crowd, but something in Danny slowly twisted at that news.

Danny wanted to protect his friends… Harry was his friend. Black was after Harry… Black was nearby – and a threat. …

… Peeves knew something about Black.

And so, while the wizards shuffled and organized themselves into the Great Hall for the night instead of their usual sleeping quarters, Danny followed Peeves the Poltergeist.

To somewhere where no one else was.

If you like this, please REBLOG!

(Updates every Wednesday until completion.)

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#harry potter #danny phantom #phantasma magica #fanfic #fanfiction #atrieisan

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leigh-kelly · 6 years ago

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But When She Gets Weary, Try a Little Tenderness

Some new Fire Island!AU.

Each day, you come home from work in the bitter cold to find Brittany stir crazy. She struggles to keep herself busy without the use of her arm and you worry after her when she seems to be taking on too much. Little things keep getting done around the house and though you don’t want to make her angry by telling her she shouldn’t do them, sometimes you gently remind her that the doctor had said she should be resting. Mostly though, she scoffs at the notion that she should just rest, her body is always in motion, and you feel for her, truly.

Just before Christmas, the first snow of the season arrives. Me. Woodhull comes into your classroom halfway through the day to tell you that you’re to send everyone home. You button coats and tie hats and you send your little ones off into the weather that has turned increasingly ominous. Once they’re out the door, you pack up your things and button your own coat to brave the storm. It’s difficult to get home with the wind, but you manage and you sigh a little when you get home and see that all of the shutters have been secured without your help. Brittany is sitting on the sofa worrying her hands together and you unwrap yourself from your winter things.

“I was real worried about ya, I was about to go down to the school and make sure that were lettin’ ya out.”

“I just had to get the little ones off. I worry so much about them walking home in this weather.”

“Least they got out before the storm really started. Looks like it’s gonna rip through here.”

“I ought to call over to Mercy, make sure they have enough of what they need. We’re pretty well stocked up over here, I don’t worry about us so much when the storms come and we’re tucked away together in the house.” You smile, thinking that as hard as Brittany’s injury has been, you’re grateful that she doesn’t have to get home from work on the ferry today.

“Sam came by earlier, he stayed home from work today and did the shutters for us, he said they’re real fit over there.”

“I’m so glad that Sam did the shutters, I’d been worried when I saw them that you did it.”

“I am tryin’ to take it real easy this week. I think ya were right when ya said I was pushin’ it. My arm’s been hurtin’ and I don’t want any more time I’ve gotta be out of work.” She shakes her head and once you finally have your heavy boots off, you go to the sofa to kiss her.

“You did build a fire though, and it’s nice and warm in here.”

“I figured I’d bring one of the warm blankets out of the closet later to put on the bed, I know if gets awful cold upstairs.”

“If the storm is really going to be that bad, that would be best. I ought to get on cooking a stew so it has time to simmer, and perhaps a loaf of bread.”

“I’ll never say no to your stew and bread.” Brittany grins. “How about while ya do that, I make ya a sandwich for lunch?”

“That would be good. Thank you.”

While Brittany works on preparing hot turkey sandwiches with the leftover gravy, you prepare your bread dough and leave it to proof. In order to make your caldo de pollo, you begin cutting the vegetables and then you sear the chicken before putting everything in the Dutch oven to cook down. Once you’re comfortable that you’ll have a dinner that will warm your bones, you sit down with Brittany to eat the sandwiches she’d made. After your long cold walk home, the hot sandwich is exactly what you’d needed and you thank Brittany profusely for making them.

“I sure am convinced ya won’t have school in the mornin’ either.” Brittany tells you between bites of her sandwich. “They won’t risk havin’ anyone try and get through the piles of snow.”

“I’ll be happy to be shut up away from the snow, though I ought to go out and shovel some off the porch and stairs in the morning.”

“Ya know I don’t like that I can’t help ya with it. I know how cold ya get out there.”

“You always do it mostly yourself, I can manage it. I don’t even want you to try and shovel snow.”

“I’m so frustrated by this, ya know. At first when it hurt real bad it was easier to relax. But now that it’s healin’ and itchy and painful, but not as painful, I just want to be doin’ stuff.”

“You only have a few more weeks, sweetheart.” You promise her. “I know it’s been difficult for you.”

“Ya sure have made it better for me, just bein’ around. And I know it upsets ya when I do things while I’m hurtin’ so that makes it easier to remember not to do it.”

You both finish lunch and you wash the dishes, figuring you’ll empty the drain board before dinner. The stew is simmering well on its own so you go into the sitting room and turn on the radio. It’s difficult for you to be idle during the day, perhaps you truly understand Brittany’s plight, but the sound of the wind whipping outside of the window makes you want to drown out the sound and stay warm by the fire. As much as you love the days of summer, where you wander the beach, you go clamming, you take David’s dinghy over to Cherry Grove, you think you like the winter more. It makes you feel settled sitting cozily with Brittany. You feel safe in your well built house and you love that the outside world can’t disturb you.

“Stew sure smells good.” Brittany grins. “What did I do before I had ya?”

“I just cook simple things, not much different than what you did.”

“It’s different though, bein’ able to eat dinner with ya every night. Pop was always workin’ so after Willie left for the war, I mostly ate on my own. I sure do miss them. Today I was thinkin’ I ought to go check on Pop before the storm and then I remembered again.”

“I’m sorry the remembering is so painful.”

“Makes it easier with ya home. I never feel alone and I just think about how hard it woulda been if I never met ya. Ya give me a family even after all mine has passed.”

“You give me a family too. Being so afraid to be far from home, I never imagined I’d find a new one. But there you were and then you built us this beautiful house and you fill it will joy every day.”

“I’ve been a lot of sadness this year, but ya’ve kept me from sinkin’ too far into it. Gettin’ to see your smile is my favorite part of the day.”

“You don’t even know how often I’ve counted the times you’ve smiled at me. I never thought I’d have someone to look at me the way that you do.” You take a deep breath and grasp her good hand.

“I’ve been thinkin’ a little. I’m real worried about keeping’ up with the bills bein’ out of work. Me. Brewster sent that one week of pay home with David, but it’s still five weeks I’m missin’ out on. And I still have to pay the hospital.”

“I think we’ll be alright, so long as you let me take care of things. I know you like to look after the finances and so often refuse to take money from me, but I have a good job. I can afford to take care of the electricity and phone bill and groceries for as long as you want.”

“I don’t like to ask ya to do that. I like ya to be able to send money back to your family and be able to spend it at will. I’ve promised to take care of you in any way I can, and payin’ the bills was one way I did that.”

“But it’s unnecessary.” You shake your head. “We’ve built a life together and that means we both should have a hand in paying for it. You should worry about the hospital bill and let me take care of the rest.”

“That’ll leave so little for ya.”

“I need so little. I have a bit of money hidden away as well, so I’m not awfully concerned.”

“It’s probably time for me to try and rent out Pop’s house. I’ve been draggin’ my feet on it because sometimes I just like to go and sit in the empty house.”

“I don’t want you to rush on that, I know it will be difficult for you.”

“But it means financial security. The rent on there will pay all the bills here, then neither of us have to worry if we’re out sick or with an injury.

“But that’s still your money.” You shake your head.

“I’m sure Pop would’ve wanted it to go to the both of us. He really cared for you and you nursed him in his last days. If ya were legally my wife, it’d be the same thing.”

“Okay.” You concede. “But I’d like to help you with the maintenance of the house when there are tenants.”

“We can do it together, I’ll even let ya go collect the rent if that’ll make ya feel better.”

“Thank you, Brittany, for bringing me into every part of your life.”

“Ya know ya are my gal, all I want is to share everything with ya.”

You listen to the radio for awhile before the power goes out and you’re glad for the fire place and the candles that are readily at hand. You go about lighting them while Brittany finds an old lantern she’d taken from her father’s house and sets it on the kitchen table to set a glow over your dinner. You take the bread out of the oven and set it on the table while Brittany gets the butter from the ice box and then you dish out two bowls of caldo de pollo. You’re just starting your meal when there’s a knock at the door and Brittany stands to go answer it.

“Davey.” You hear her from the entryway. “What are ya doin’ here.”

“I told my pop I was gonna come out and check on things, seein’ as ya have your broken arm. Looks like ya lost power too.”

“C’mon in out of the cold, Santana’s in the kitchen.”

“David.” You smile in the low light of the lantern when he enters. “Let me make you a plate.”

“Aw shucks, Santana, I don’t want to impose.”

“There’s plenty.” You promise him and take another bowl out of the cabinet, dishing him up a generous helping. “Thank you for coming to check on us.”

“It’s a real nasty storm. My mama was more worried about ya both than I was.”

“Your mama’s always worried about me.” Brittany laughs. “Since I was a little gal.”

“She’s seen to lookin’ after ya.”

“Will you be alright getting home in the dark, David? You’re welcome to stay the night.”

“I’ve gotta be back to help my pop, I’ll just stay through supper, unless there’s somethin’ ya need done.”

“Sam came and did the shutters for me earlier, that’s about all there is to be done until the snow stops.” Brittany tells him.

“I’ll come back when it’s done and shovel ya out.”

“There’s no need for you to do that.” You shake your head. “I’m sure I can manage.”

“Ya are a real gentle lady, it’d be wrong of me to let ya do it yourself. Ain’t too much trouble.”

“Well thank you for that.” You know better to argue when Brittany or one of the boys get into their head doing something for one of the others. “Just promise me you’ll come in for another meal.”

“I’m never gonna turn down the opportunity for your cooking, that’s for certain. The soup’s real good.”

“She’s the best cook.” Brittany beams. “And this is my favorite winter meal.”

“It’s just an easy stew.” You flush a little. “But I’m glad you’re both enjoying it.”

You finish up the meal and Brittany sees David out while you set about doing the dishes. She comes into the kitchen when she’s done and puts each dish away for you once they’re dried. It’s awfully quiet in the house without the radio on and you can hear the wind whipping against the windows. Luckily, Brittany built you a solid house and you feel comfortable safe within its walls. Brittany brings the lantern into the sitting room and then there’s another knock at the door.

“Sure is busy here tonight, even with the bad weather.” Brittany remarks. “I wonder who that could be.”

“I’ll go get it while you set that down.” You tell her and you go to the door, opening it to find Sam and Mercy on the other side of it.

“Ana’s sick something awful.” Sam says as he steps inside and Mercy takes off her coat to reveal the listless baby. “We didn’t know where else to go.”

“Can I take her?” You ask and Mercy eagerly hands her over to you. You may have no medical training but you’ve heard enough of your father’s stories and seen enough of your mother’s remedies to feel as if you’ll be some kind of help. “Okay, Ana, okay. We’re going to see what’s wrong with you and then we’ll make you more comfortable.”

You carry Ana into the sitting room and Brittany takes Sam and Mercy’s things so they can follow you. Carefully, you undo her clothing, checking for a rash in case it’s the measles. You had them as a child, so you’re safe if she does but you don’t know about Brittany and you worry about how dangerous it is for a child as small as Ana. Luckily, she seems to be without a rash, but her skin burns to the touch and you know you need to get her fever down. You bring her upstairs, Mercy trailing behind, and you begin to run a lukewarm bath with rubbing alcohol in it. Despite the heat of her body, little Ana shivers as you hold her without her clothes and your heart aches to see one so small so sick.

“Would you like to hold her in the tub, Mercy, or would you like me?”

“I think I ought to hold her. She doesn’t like the bath much and I’m afraid she’ll fuss.”

Passing Ana back to Mercy, you step back and give her space to hold the baby in the bathtub, room lit by candles. Brittany and Sam are at the door and she gently slips her hand into yours, squeezing it tightly. You know that seeing illness makes her heart lurch with fear and it’s difficult to watch as Sam enters the room and helps Mercy with the baby. She whimpers in the tub but is still fairly listless and you just hope you’ll succeed in getting her fever down. You think of calling for Dr. Chang, but you’re unsure how he’d be able to get so far down the beach in a blizzard and you know it would be unsafe for Sam and Mercy to take Ana to him. Just like the day she was born, you realize the harsh realities of living so far from anyone else and you try to hold in your heavy sigh.

“I ought to get some blankets ready for when she’s through.” You tell Brittany.

“I’ll go, you stay.”

You stand at the door listening to Mercy sing to Ana and you realize that she has a beautiful voice. It’s soothing in the terrifying atmosphere that is tending to a sick baby and when she finally lifts her from the tub, you hand her a soft clean towel and she wraps her up, holding her close to her chest.

“She hasn’t eaten and her diaper has been dry.” Mercy tells you and you nod.

“It sounds as if she has influenza. My youngest sister had it when she was smaller than Ana and my father was insistent that my mother keep trying to get fluids into her. Brittany went to get blankets, but you can take her anywhere you wish to try and nurse.”

“I’ll come down to the sitting room, I’d like you to be near in case something happens.”

“Santana, you should really be a doctor.” Sam nods and you shake your head.

“I’m just a doctor’s daughter. I’m glad to help when I can, but it isn’t the profession for me.”

“You’ve been a source of comfort to us.” Mercy looks down at the baby and Brittany comes into the room with the smallest blankets you have. “Thank you, Brittany.”

“The guest bed’s got clean sheets on it so ya can stay and not have to brave the storm with a sick baby. I don’t know much about carin’ for sick little ones, but I’ll do what I can.”

“She really is the gentlest with little ones though.” You say, as if Mercy hasn’t seen her play with little Ana before.

“I ought to go back on home and get some diapers for Ana.” Sam suggests. “But Mercy, I don’t think it’s wise for you to go back out with her.”

“I don’t think so either, we just got her fever down. You’re sure you don’t mind us spending the night?”

“We wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Sam hurries back off in the snow and Mercy takes the blanket wrapped Ana down to the sitting room. You sit beside Brittany and hold her good hand while Mercy nurses. You see her smiling a bit and you know that she’s managing to get some milk into the tiny girl and you feel relief course through you. You hope that the storm passes by morning and they can get her to Dr. Chang, but for now, the bath and the milk seem to be helping to soothe her. Sam comes back with a bag of things, presumably things for him and Mercy as well as the baby, and you send him up to the guest room to get settled.

For her part, Mercy looks worn out and though you offer her some stew, she shakes her head. Sam eats a bowl of it but you tell Mercy that she ought to sleep while Ana is down and she agrees. You’re uncertain what kind of night it will be for the baby, but you instruct Mercy to call for you if there is any change. You think so much about nursing little Mariana and you remember the feeling of pure fear that something would happen to her. She’s not your daughter, so you’re certain that the fear doesn’t even compare to that of Sam and Mercy.

Once they’ve gone upstairs, you and Brittany wait for the fire to go out and then you go up to your own room carrying the lantern. Just a few weeks ago, you would have felt funny sharing your bed with Brittany with Sam and Mercy in the house, but now that they know of your love for each other, you feel comfortable as you get into your nightgown and help Brittany get her arm through her shirtsleeve. After you wash up for bed, you lay beside each other and she turns to face you.

“I got real scared tonight when they brought Ana here.” She confesses, looking deep into your eyes.

“I know, so did I. I think I was more afraid than when she was born.”

“Ya sure didn’t seem like it.”

“I feared she had the measles. I worried for her as well as you, I didn’t know if you’d ever had them and I feared you’d be infected.”

“I haven’t had it, neither did Willie. We were real lucky, we always managed to stay healthy when everyone else was ill. Ya don’t think Ana has it?”

“She has no rash, so she’s safe for now. It’s likely influenza, but I don’t think Sam and Mercy should take her back out until she’s better. I know they’ll fear they’re imposing on us...”

“I’ll call for Guy when the storm breaks. I don’t know how easily he can get down the beach, but it’s worth a try.”

“I was just thinking earlier how much I love the winter here when we’re nestled away from the world. But when illness comes, it’s not an easy thing.” You sigh heavily.

“At least we’ve got the telephone now, makes it much easier than last winter when Davey was runnin’ messages. And at least we all have ya to help us when we’re ill.”

“Truthfully, it scares me to be the one who can do it. I worry about what happens if I’m wrong.”

“Sweetheart.” Brittany kisses your forehead. “Ya can only do the best ya can, it’s still a lot better than nothin’.”

“She’s so small, Brittany. I looked into her little dark eyes when I was checking her over and I was just terrified that I wouldn’t be able to help. Luckily the bath did something, but I’m not like my father with medications and things.”

“But ya still have knowledge from him and knowledge from your mother. Ya sure are smarter with it than I could ever be.”

“When I was ill, you were a good caretaker, I knew I was in good hands.”

“That was only after Doc told me what to do. It just comes natural to ya.”

“How is your arm feeling tonight? I know you climbed up to get those blankets for Ana.”

“It’s alright, ya don’t need to worry about it when ya have so many other worries.”

“You’ll always be my first worry.” You promise her and listen to the howling outside of the window. “I’m sure it will be quite a long time before we have the electrical lines up again.”

“We’re so far out, I wonder if they’ll even remember us.”

“Perhaps we should call in the morning, just remind them. Luckily we have heat and we have the fireplace and the lanterns for light. You’re always so well prepared.”

“I’m sure we lost power much more here than ya did in the city. Lines are so shaky that it seems like they come down with the slightest breeze.”

“It doesn’t make me nearly as nervous as it did during that first hurricane. But I’m glad you’re home, I never feel right when you’re gone during a storm.” You tell her, playing with a lock of her hair.

“I guess I would’ve gotten home before the worst of it, since Davey did. But I do like that ya don’t have to worry.”

“It’s so early for there to be so much snow. I fear that when you go back to work it will only be worse.”

“I’ll get to ya, any way there is. And now that we’ve got the phone and neighbors, ya don’t have to be stuck alone if it takes me longer than usual.”

“I know, but my worry doesn’t come from being alone, it comes from the fear of you being out there in it.”

“We don’t have to worry about it tonight, ya got me. How big were ya when ya had the measles?”

“I must have been about eight, it was before the little girls were born. My mother kept me in a room in the dark even though my father said that’s mainly for rubella. She was so afraid of me being blinded by it that when she would come to bring me something to eat or drink, she’d turn out all of the lights in the apartment. I had a rough time of it, I would hear my parents whispering that my father was afraid I would die. I was delirious from the fever, but I’m certain he said that.”

“Ya must have been so afraid.”

“I was. I couldn’t have read my books, even had I been able to turn on the lights, because I was so ill, but I lay with my doll whenever I was awake and I’d whisper to her that I didn’t want to die.”

“I’m sorry ya went through that. I was rarely ever sick when I was a child so I didn’t start worryin’ that I’d die until lately. Must be much scarier for a little one.”

“My grandfather had died just a few months before that, so I thought quite a bit about him lying in the box. I wondered what my mother would dress me in and if me shoes would still fit. My mother cried when my fever broke.”

“Ya were her only baby then.”

“I was. But she tended me night and day. I remember waking up delirious to the sight of her face. Even though my father is a doctor, it was always my mother who nursed us.”

“I wonder what it would be like to have a mother.” Brittany looks off dreamily. “To be able to picture her face when things get difficult.”

“Brittany, I’m—“

“Don’t be sorry for havin’ her and talkin’ about her. I just always wondered, I suppose.”

“I’m sure she loved you deeply in the brief moments she had with you.”

“I hope so. I wasn’t a screamin’ baby, Pop always said, so maybe I was peaceful for her.”

“That would be a nice last sight, I think. The beautiful face of a baby at peace.”

“I love lookin’ at Ana, and she’s not even my baby. Santana, I sure hope she’s okay.”

“Bringing her fever down was a good start and Mercy getting her to take milk was even better. We’ll just have to see how she holds up throughout the night.”

“I put the robes on the bureau, in case Mercy comes for ya in the night.”

“Thank you for that. I suppose I’ll still feel odd in front of Sam in just a nightgown and a robe, but it can’t be helped if she needs me.”

“I’m sure he’ll avert his eyes, he seems like a gentleman like that.”

It’s not long before you and Brittany cease talking and you fall asleep with your head on her shoulder. You still can’t sleep in her arms with the cast on, but you’ve learned to improvise and you’re comfortable enough like that that you’re able to fall asleep. You’re not sure how long you’re asleep before there’s the sound of a knock at your door and the sound of the crying baby and Brittany gets up first, lighting the lantern and the sliding into her robe before she hands you yours. Once you’re decent enough, Brittany opens the door and Mercy stands there with Ana wrapped in a towel.

“Her fever’s up again and she’s been wailing. I tried to put her back in the bath, but she thrashed so much that it didn’t help.”

“Lay her on the bed.” You instruct Mercy and you catch a glimpse of Sam in the hall. You appreciate that he doesn’t cross the threshold into your bedroom and you hover over Ana, trying to soothe her cries. “Okay, sweet little one, I know you’re suffering something horrible, but we’ll make you better.”

“There’s nothing we can give her?” Mercy asks, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“I wouldn’t know how to dose the aspirin for a baby so small and it won’t bring the fever down. I’m going to unwrap her from the towel and let her lay in the cool air of the bedroom.”

When you unwrap Ana, she shivers with cold and you’re certain you’ve made the wrong choice. Carefully, you wrap her up again and Brittany chances to pick her up with her good arm. Though she has so little experience with infants, all children tend to calm around her and she paces back and forth, rocking Ana, humming some Etta James song to her and trying to get her to settle. Both you and Mercy feel quite helpless, but you think that if Brittany can get her to stop crying, perhaps Mercy can get her to take more milk and then she’ll be drowsy enough to fall back to sleep despite the fever.

“I’ve never felt quite so unsure what to do with her. It makes me feel like I shouldn’t‘ve left being close to my mother. It would have been easier to get a doctor, even in these conditions.”

“I know it’s terrifying, Mercy, but we’ll get her through until Dr. Chang can come. If we can calm her, then you can get more milk into her and she won’t dehydrate.”

“Santana, she’s shiverin’, I need to wrap her in a blanket instead of this wet towel.”

“I’ll go get the blankets.” Mercy offers, knowing that you’re modest and would prefer not to walk about the halls so underdressed.

“Are you alright, Brittany?”

“Yeah, I’m just real worried for her. I just figured I ought to give it a try, help ya out.”

“Thank you for that.” You nod as Mercy comes back in with Ana’s sleep things and the small blankets Brittany had given her earlier.

“Alright, little gal, I’m gonna wrap ya up real good so ya stop the shiverin’.” Brittany tells the baby and forgoes the pajamas, instead just wrapping her up and putting her back over her shoulder. “That feels real nice, doesn’t it?”

It must be close to an hour before Brittany is able to soothe Ana nearly to sleep. Once she’s no longer crying, Brittany hands her to Mercy, who perches on the edge of the bed and begins nursing. You see her breathe a sigh of relief when she begins and though you know Ana is still warmer than you’d like, to see her drinking calms your fragile nerves. Though you have no desire to be a doctor, in these late night hours, you wish you had the skill that your father does, you wish that you could tell Mercy without a doubt that everything would be just fine, you wish you had a black bag that carried the magical things that would help to make her better.

When Ana is done nursing and falls back to sleep, Mercy stands from the bed and thanks both you and Brittany for your help. You wish you could have done more, but you suppose it’s sometimes better just to have someone who will try. Sam is good, you’re certain of that, but Ana is primarily Mercy’a business and to be surrounded by other women must calm her nerves. You hear them talking lowly in the hallway as you take your robe off and climb back into bed, but even with your head in Brittany’s shoulder, you find it difficult to fall asleep.

“Are ya up?” Brittany asks a while later and you turn to face her.

“It’s difficult for me to sleep. Now that Ana’s fever is back up, I keep worrying that she’ll take a turn for the worst.”

“Should I brave the storm to go for Guy?”

“It’s too dangerous, Brittany. It was dangerous enough early on, but you setting out in a storm at this time? You could end up in the ocean or lost.”

“I just don’t know how to help Ana.”

“We’re doing all we can. You can’t put yourself in danger at this late hour. I don’t know what I’d do without you if you were hurt out there.” You feel tears spring to your eyes and Brittany wipes them, even in the dark of the room.

“Okay, okay, I won’t go, I won’t leave ya.”

“You always put everyone before you put yourself. All I want is for you to just be safe.”

“I try for ya. I know I’m reckless and it hurts ya when I get hurt, but I’ve never known anything but that.”

“It’s not just you anymore, sweetheart. If you hurt, I hurt. I don’t want to sound selfish, but you putting yourself in unnecessary danger is painful to me. We’ll care for Ana as best as we can throughout the night, you going out in a blizzard and walking the beach is careless. Somehow, we’ll get Dr. Chang in the morning.”

“I’m tryin’ real hard not that put myself in danger for ya. I saw how scared ya were at the hospital but I think of my Pop who captained the ferry u less the coast guard told him he couldn’t...”

“The coast guard would have told him he couldn’t tonight. He’d be safe in his bed like you are. I’m not a doctor, but Ana will make it through the night. She’s still taking milk. That’s a good sign.”

“It took so long to calm her...”

“I know, but you did. Your presence is so important. I can’t believe sometimes that you never spent time with small children.”

“I always thought I was bigger than I was.” Brittany shrugs. “Even when I was small myself I always spent times with Willie’s friends.”

“The little ones love you. My sisters, Ana, the small children of the women of the island. You have a way. That’s what we need you for tonight, not to venture out into a storm.”

“I love ya, Santana. Much as I’m brave, I’m scared to leave ya.”

“I know. I’m scared to have you leave me too.”

#brittana #starlight!verse #fire island AU #1940s fire island

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sparkledeerfr · 6 years ago

Text

Other people: Work for years to gain power, notoriety, and a title.

Adeline: WHY GUYS

(Yup, it’s the slight continuation of this. No warnings.)

“OKAY,” Adeline said, putting both hands on the podium and gripping it, trying not to let her frustration boil over as she stared down at the papers in front of her. They had gathered in the city square to hear the results of the vote, a thing that rarely happened, and there had never been this many people that had decided to show up.

That they had set out folding chairs and a drink and snack table and were now all looking up at her, trying not to giggle, told her they knew exactly what they’d done, and if one person wasn’t directly involved they still wanted to watch this. Even August and Jesse were hanging out at the back, clearly entertained.

“First of all I’d like to remind everyone what happened with the last two votes,” Adeline started. “‘What Should Our Emblem Be’ had the top three picks of, and I quote: ‘One) A Bagel. Two) A Butt, and Three) A Nice Butt.’” There were scattered giggles across those gathered, maybe from what she said and maybe because they knew she was mad at them and thought it was hilarious. Probably that one. “Our last attempt to name the overall city ended up with five people voting, and the top result was ‘Robot Moron Empire’.”

She paused to lean on the podium and look out over the gathered crowd, most looking back up at her with a smile, waiting. Might as well get this over with. “So how in the hell,” she paused again when she heard an ‘oooo’ from someone at the swear. “With sixty-seven percent participation-”

“Missed it by two!” Sparks called out.

“Did this get voted in?” Adeline continued. She glanced to West who was casually leaning back with his arm slung over the back of the chair, flanked by Sparks, Viltri and Sefka. “Granted there were two votes for ‘No’,” she said in a lower voice, knowing those two came from Katsu and Walter respectively. “And three for ‘water slide’ but…”

“That was us,” August said, leaning over to talk to Jesse in a lower voice. She nodded and patted his shoulder. “Woulda been neat, is all I’m saying.”

“Stop stalling and read it!” West said in a rare moment of him raising his voice.

“Fine, fine,” Adeline muttered, staring down at the paragraph in front of her. “‘In regards to what should be done about The Castle, it shall be put in place that from the moment of this being voted in and read, that it will serve as Adeline’s new office space. Adeline will live in The Castle and will henceforth be granted the title of….Queen,” she faltered at the word and looked up with a sigh, everyone attempting to sit still and waiting for her to finish. “Failure to do so on the part of Adeline will result in new titles and honorifics being added on a once per week basis until this law is complied with. Examples include ‘Empress’, ‘Pope’ and ‘Blessed Holy Wanderer.’ More elaborate items of clothing and headwear will also be purchased in accordance said timeline, the money coming from the account listed in...you know what I’m skipping that part.”

“Time starts now by the way!”

“‘The Castle will be used as Adeline sees fit, including continuing the allowance of those already in said castle and office to reside there or move. PS- We voted this in so you either have to do it or you can ignore us and admit laws are bullshit. Ha ha got you now, sucker’,” she finished, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a finger. “Who the hell wrote this?”

West raised a hand. “Viltri helped,” he said when Ade’s eyes landed on him.

“I- I just added a few things,” Viltri replied, trying not to stammer at being singled out. “To make it more clear, you understand.”

“Yep...yep I do,” Adeline said, nodding. “Well, I’m going to take a few minutes to think about this. Thank you all for coming and participating, I hate all of you except apparently like twelve of you. You’re welcome to stay and chat or drink.”

“Oh man, we get to do a castlewarming and coronation party!” Sparks said, raising both her hands as Adeline walked away and into the winding streets of the city, intent on finding Walter. She didn’t notice that one figure raised from his seat and followed.

----

“Addeeeee,” Grenfell said, watching her eye a building that she was about to climb up. She paused and turned around.

“Yeah, Gren?” she said, sighing and reaching out for Pietro, who climbed from his father’s shoulders and into her arms. It was kind of weird holding him, as he felt somewhat...soft, like a hairless animal covered in strange adornments, but he liked being petted. “He’s still kinda skinny. Has he been eating?” Adeline asked, looking down and scratching gently on his neck.

“Yes, he eats quite a bit,” Grenfell said. “Remember I had to apologise for it.”

“He ate someone’s pet,” Adeline replied, continuing to scratch as Pietro’s odd sickly purr started up. He was directly in between ‘kind of sweet’ and ‘something that might burrow directly into your midsection’, but thus far giving him affection when he wanted had worked. “He might have a blockage. That happens with animals sometimes.”

“Look he’s fine, and that person should maybe have thought about teaching their stupid fangar to run faster,” Grenfell said, snarling and showing those long fangs he had. “You’re distracting me. Shut up a second and let me think of what I was going to say.” She waited, knowing him snapping was irritation at having lost his train of thought, not any actual anger directed at her. “Ah! Yes! I wanted to tell you that I’d be very happy to formally give ownership of the city over to you, since I technically built it. That combined with Nimue releasing the castle will make everything official. A short line but a long history here, one might say.”

“That’s...” she said, crossing her arms under Pietro and holding him like a baby. He noticed that she seemed drained and tired as she looked up and closed her eyes. “My problem isn’t the legality or lineage or whatever.”

“Then,” he said, tilting his head, not understanding. “What is? Most people would be very happy to be royalty, and it could be fun.”

“Gren,” she said, taking out a hand and clutching her fingers slightly in irritation as her voice changed to a sort of raised whisper, the tone people used when they wanted to yell but didn’t want anyone else to actually hear them. “I have no idea how to run a damn kingdom! None! I have no training! I don’t know how any of that works! And neither does anyone else aside from West, who won’t tell me because he thinks it’s funny! Everyone’s lucky I know how to goddamn read considering my background, and now I’ve just gotta stumble through figuring out how to be royalty? It's not some joke- everyone expects things from a Queen and I’m not it.” Grenfell pulled his head back slightly, assessing what she said for a moment as Adeline touched the hand to her forehead. “Look, you didn’t-” she started when he began laughing.

The laughter continued for longer than probably necessary, him bending over and putting a hand on a knee. “That’s it? That’s the problem?” he said in between gasps as though he had to get his breath back. Pietro’s stolen dog ears perked as he watched this play out.

“Yeah, I mean,” she said, tucking the hand back under Piet. “There’s a huge difference between being some resort town and being a kingdom. It's a whole different game and ...I don’t know if I can play it. I don’t want to put everyone in danger.”

“My, I forget how limited people’s thinking is,” Gren said, straightening himself. “Don’t you get it, Adeline? It's all made up! Rules, laws, formality, it's all a game like you said. Do you think the gods descended and declared what the proper fork to use is?”

“I...” Adeline paused, bouncing Pietro nervously. “I guess not?”

“Everyone’s stuck in a little box, hoping that the other person won’t figure out that they’re not holding all the right cards. They say things like ‘When I rule’, never thinking that they should destroy the rules, keeping that power structure that they hate intact and thinking themselves better than the last fool in the slot. Even I gained the title of King, through no effort and with no one to rule, because people want to quantify things. It's all fake, Adeline,” he reached out and touched her on the shoulder. “Do you know why I am so very proud of my son? He was born knowing this. There are no rules to being a person, or a people, and there are no rules that will save you in the end. You make up your own game and then everyone else has to play it if you tell them to. The more you put them off balance the more you reveal their flaws instead of your own.”

“That’s...weirdly inspiring. Thanks,” Adeline said, looking down to Pietro. Yeah, she could definitely see what he was talking about. “I guess I just don’t want to disappoint people, or offend someone.”

“Please,” he said, waving a hand. “There are tyrants of all stripes all across the globe, and they don’t often stay up at night worrying about such things. I think your particular brand of leadership would be refreshing rather than irritating. No matter how hard you push your morality would stop you far before someone else would.”

“Even if Etzel sometimes gets mad that I eat with my hands when I’m not supposed to?”

“See? That’s fun. I want to see what game you come up with.”

---

She walked back to the office, intent on taking at least the night to mull things over.

She hated that stupid castle. It was a huge nightmare of a building, one Grenfell couldn’t keep and one that each time she looked up at it reminded her of what would happen if she failed. She’d probably end up like Nimue had- angry, holing herself up and blaming herself for what had happened to her friends and charges. There was nothing good about the place, really, and now she was expected to live in it? Maybe she could talk them out of that after a week or so.

Adeline paused in her thoughts when she saw March walking up to her. Alone, which was unusual, aside from the times when he’d get bored and want to spar for fun. It had never been particularly fun on her end, but he was definitely teaching her how to take a punch, and maybe one day she’d actually win.

Well. Probably not, but it was good practice. He wasn’t doing his normal fast paced walk towards her if that’s what he wanted. “Yeah bud, what’s up?” she asked him. March stopped about a foot away from her, crossing his arms and tilting his head.

Usually that meant he wanted to know something. He raised a hand and slowly signed out: “Queen now?”

She let out another irritated and defeated sigh. It seemed that’s all she was doing tonight. “I...I don’t know. I guess?” He was just standing there, head tilted at the slightest angle. “Look if I do become a Queen, I promise that if I ever get out of hand I fully expect you to break my arms. In fact I’d want you to.”

Still standing there, arms crossed. “Arms and legs?” she tried. Nope, no change. “Okay...everything except my skull and neck?”

He nodded, raising a hand again to sign out: “Enforcer?” before pointing to himself.

“I….if you want to?” she said as a squeak. He probably did know how ranks and titles worked more than she did. “What does an enforcer do, exactly?”

“Hit people for you,” he signed. “I will do that until I do not like who you ask me to hit.”

“Deal,” she said with a smile.

#sparklelore #if you need someone to talk you into doing something Gren isn't a bad choice #or he's the worst choice depending on how bad the idea is #either way he's p supportive #anyway it's dumb time I'll do serious later maybe eventually #everyone forgets that she literally came off the side of the road guys #she's making this up as she goes

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cricketchaology · 6 years ago

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Crutchie's Adventures With the Five Love Languages!

Crutchie spends some time in love and being loved in return.

/// I found this half finished in my notes from back in June and decided to finish it! No warnings for this one, just fluff.

AO3 Version

Gifts.

It was an above average fall day. The streets were dirty but not too hot; a cool breeze ran through a tousled Crutchie’s hair where it peaked out from under his hat. It was a good day. He had woken in a good mood, rested well on the rooftop with a sleeping Jack still by his side. He hadn’t expected anything special from the day, just a nice headline and calm weather. What he got surprised him.

He wandered for a while for a selling spot. His leg wasn’t hurting, and he decided to take advantage of it. Somehow, he ended up near a park a couple miles from the lodge. He sat down on a bench, taking in the weather and resting his body for just a moment before he started selling, setting his papers on the ground next to him. He noticed that, while his bum leg didn’t hurt, his foot did. He glanced down at his shoes; they were a size or two too small, and the soles were worn, holes appearing in the material. He dismissed it, noting that he’d have to save up for a new pair or see about trading for used ones.

After some ten minutes, he stood, pulling a paper from his stack and calling the headline into the air, catching the attention of some nearby women and pulling them from their gossip for just a moment, the papers giving them more to talk about. He watched them walk off, smiling at them pleasantly. He continued to sell papers till about half his stack was gone. Then, he settled back on the bench for a well-deserved break.

He glanced around the park, looking at the passersby. His eyes caught on someone in the distance; a woman clad in a pink skirt and fancy looking blouse headed his direction.

“Katherine?” He called out, moving to stand and meet her halfway. She was a lot faster than him and caught him at about two thirds.

“Crutchie! I’ve been looking for you all morning!” She exclaimed, smiling widely.

“Oh? What for?”

“Can’t a girl just want to see her friend?” She pouted falsely for a moment, then dropped it, returning back to her smile. “I heard your birthday was coming up soon, I wanted to give you something.”

“My birthday ain’t for a month, Kath,” Crutchie smiled at her lopsidedly.

“I got excited! You protest a lot, I’m trying to be nice,” She pouted again, thrusting a wrapped box towards him. He took it, eyeballing her awkwardly. She looked at him expectantly.

“Are you going to open it or are we going to stand here all day?” She smiled, joking, crossing her arms. “A girl’s got places to be, Crutchie.”

“Ya chased me around all mornin’. A girl with places to be today woulda just caught me tomorrow,” He smiled back at her. “Can we sit?”

She nodded, following him to the bench. He leaned his crutch against the seat on his side opposite Katherine. He looked over the package in his hands, taking in one of his fingers and catching an uneven edge in the paper. He opened it slowly; painfully slowly.

“Come on, you’re killing me,” She groaned. Crutchie laughed and pulled the paper off, crumpling it in a ball to be discarded later. He was greeted with a plain brown box with a lid which he pulled off. Inside the box was a pair of leather work boots, shiny and new in a way he had never seen shoes before. He felt his jaw go slack, running his hands over the black laces.

“Try them on!” Katherine nudged his side. He nodded, propping his foot up on the edge of the bench and untying his ratty shoe. He slipped it off and dropped it, pulling on the new one. It fit nicely- thought somewhat strangely. He pulled the laces tight, looping them and then repeating the process on his other foot. He stood up, taking a step back so Katherine could see him in full.

“How do they fit?” She asked, looking down to his feet. “I had Jack help me a little- he measured your foot for me while you were asleep-”

Crutchie pulled a face to which she replied, “The ends justify the means,” her comment accented with an eye roll.

“They’s perfect, Katherine. Thank you.”

She smiled, standing and throwing out her arms. Crutchie hugged her.

“No problem,” She said, kissing his cheek. “Anything for my boys.”

Quality Time.

Sometimes, when the stress of being the leader of Brooklyn became too much, Spot called Crutchie over the bridge for an ‘emergency discussion.’ This usually meant Spot wanted to talk but also he didn’t at all, that he wanted to sit in silence but not be alone. It was times like these that he did not invite Race over. He was looking for company, not… company. Crutchie understood. It was the same as him wanting to be with Davey over Jack sometimes when he had a nightmare.

It was a particularly bad day in late fall. Queens has been giving Brooklyn nothing but trouble, and one of their strongest men and the best seller had just aged out, then promptly been arrested for loitering, of all things. As soon as the news reached him, he took the trip to Manhattan himself. Spot said hello to Race and Jack briefly, not disclosing any details about his visit except that he wanted to speak to Crutchie. Crutchie went with him back over the bridge, and they made their way to Spot’s private ‘apartment,’ an unoccupied space that no one had a clue as to why he had access to it.

Spot ran to a nearby cart and picked up two green apples. He carved them into slices with a knife in silence, dropping them into a bowl and then setting it on his bed aggressively. Crutchie had seated himself on the couch and had sat in silence until Spot climbed up on the bed and sat next to him. Spot reached for one of the apple slices and bit into it, eliciting a soft crunch in the otherwise quiet room.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Spot shook his head no and then stilled for a moment, seeming actually to consider the question then.

“It’s just… exhausting, sometimes.”

Crutchie nodded and then reached for Spot’s hand. Spot took it and then scooted over a little closer to Crutchie, dropping his head back against the wall. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep, his head drooping to the side and landing on Crutchie’s shoulder. Crutchie squeezed his hand and moved the bowl of apple slices with his other hand, grabbing one and biting into it.

Spot woke back up about an hour later, a blush rushing over his face once he realized he fell asleep. He apologized, but Crutchie smiled and shrugged.

“It’s all good,” he said. Spot smiled back as much as Spot ever smiled. He brought out a deck of cards, and they played a couple of games. He noticed eventually that the sun was starting to get low.

“You should probably be gettin’ back. It’s gettin’ late,” Spot said, beginning to gather his cards.

“I can handle myself, you know that,” Crutchie replied.

“I know, I’m just gettin’ tired. I don’t have the energy to deal with a concerned Jack Kelly,” Spot replied, yawning as if on cue.

“Understandable,” Crutchie laughed softly, gathering up his cards and handing them to Spot. “You’se gonna walk with me?”

“If I’m allowed,” Spot smiled.

Words of Affirmation.

Crutchie rarely sold with Davey and Les, but when he did, he always had a good time. Les was a bundle of joy most of the time- almost to a point where it was infectious. He was always smiling, tooting his own horn with every paper sold. He’d often whisper to himself, “good job,” in an echo of Davey’s praise. The three of them made a good trio; they day usually flew by with little trouble, and they laughed throughout all of it.

Still, selling papers was hard work, especially on cold days, when people were in a rush to get back inside. Because of his bum leg, cold days were worse for Crutchie than most. He felt stiff on cold days- uncomfortably so, and some days were worse than others. Still, on most days he was able to push through the pain with only minor difficulty. He had thought this day would be one of those days.

He sat on the curb, out of breath, his teeth clench as jets of pain ran through the nerves in his lousy leg unforgivingly. He had tried, he really had, but the pain had become too much all at once about halfway through the day, and he had begun to collapse. Davey had helped him to the ground, where he sat, panting for breath, rolling his leg awkwardly in a desperate attempt to appease the pain. On the bright side, they had sold a large portion of their papers already, but he could not imagine himself being able to push through the rest of the day.

Les lowered himself to the ground next to Crutchie and grabbed one of his hands, gripping it tightly. Davey crotched down and watched Crutchie’s face.

“I’m sorry,” Crutchie mumbled, his grip on Les’ hand tightening. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think it’d get that bad today.”

“It’s okay,” Les said, smiling. “You did good. You did good, Crutchie!”

Davey nodded softly at that, smiling as well and looking over his brother.

Crutchie smiled, beginning to breathe more steadily as the harsh rush of pain began to dissipate. He shook his leg softly, testing his control over it, which seemed to have returned enough for him to make the journey home.\

“Thank ya, both,” he said softly.

“It’s no problem, Crutchie,” Les said quietly, standing and offering a hand to help Crutchie do that same. “We love you!”

Acts of Service.

When Davey first started offering to carry Crutchie’s paper bag, Crutchie had been offended by it, as he was most of the time people offered to do things for him. He was strong, despite the assumptions commonly made against him. He knew that, and he was always hurt when his friends seemed to forget.

Davey continually offered to carry Crutchie’s bag, regardless. He offered to carry his meals when they ate at Jacobi’s and wanted to help him take off his dirty shoes as he entered the lodge. Davey always wanted to help. It annoyed the hell out of Crutchie, who was just as capable as everyone else, for a long time.

That is until Crutchie noticed Davey doing the same thing for everyone else. When Les wasn’t situated on Davey’s shoulders, Race was on his back. Davey was always carrying bags and papers- anything heavy but not too heavy for him to lift. He was still helping people peel off wet clothing, tucking the younger boys into bed. Suddenly, Crutchie felt guilty for ever having been angry because he realized that the servitude wasn’t about pity- it was about Davey showing he cared. Still, his moderately hostile responses to Davey’s attempts had turned him off of offering- probably convinced Davey that Crutchie was mad at him. He had to find a way to fix it.

“Hey, Dave, wait up,” he called one day as they left the center, a heavy tote full of papers lifted on his shoulder precariously. “Mind carryin’ my bag for me to my spot? The leg is killin’ me today.”

He would always remember the way Davey had silently beamed.

Physical Touch.

Late nights of the rooftop with Jack were always Crutchie’s favorites. The roof was quiet and isolated; it was a place where they did not have to pretend to be anything but what they were. There, alone, under a sky of nothing but stars, they were two boys in love; no questions about it.

Under the stars, they would run their hands against each other, fingers tracing against each other’s soft skin and toned muscles. They would move slowly, would press their lips together and feel the heat of each other's breath ghost over their faces. They would pretend like the world could not hurt them.

Sometimes, when Crutchie had a nightmare- or Jack had one- they would just sit in silence, kissing tears off each other’s cheeks and praying to, one day, be alright.

But most night, they just fell asleep, wrapped around each other like security blankets, hiding from a cruel world in soft embraces and sweetness.

When they would wake up, they would do so slowly- carefully pulling themselves apart while discussing dreams that would never be real and lives they would never live. They would look out on New York City and pretend it was their own, holding hands as they did so.

Jack kissed Crutchie before he went down the ladder and into the world, holding him tight.

“Ya mean the world to me,” Jack mumbled into Crutchie’s skin. “Ya know that, right?”

“Yeah, Jack. I know.”

#my works #my fanfic #crutchie #Newsies #newsies fanfiction #fanfic #crutchie morris #jack kelly #davey jacobs #katherine pulitzer #newsies live #Les Jacobs #spot conlon #its been a while huh #hello everyone... sorry for my extended absence i have depression #i love yall

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dreamingofjoon · 7 years ago

Text

You’re Special

Johnny Seo x Reader and Lee Taeyong x Reader

Word Count: 9k (WWHAATTTT)

Warnings: Stalker!AU, Sexual Content (Dirty Talk, Masturbation), Some triggering acts forced due to blackmail

A/N. There’s a lot of background info, sorry lol but YES. IT’S BEEN WEEKS BUT IT’S DONE! I’m so proud;-; I love Johhny so much you guys have no idea but this idea was just too good to pass up. Hope you enjoy it and please, please, please, make sure to provide feedback.

This photo does not belong to me. Credit is given here

Another night, another sob story. Tonight, your reclusive tendencies returned once again. Your roommate invited you to a party in one of the frat houses of the campus. As per usual, you shut her down, wanting nothing to do with loud music, skimpy clothing and strange looks from girls you barely knew, and random men standing abreast to you in uncomfortably close proximity.

Once again, you were seated in your room, unwillingly sulking about a subject all the people you knew found trivial. Throughout all of your years, you had not been in a relationship. None that you would have claimed, that is. Your only mistake was Jaehyun yet after him, there was no one else. At least that’s what you tried to tell yourself.

In junior year of high school, he approached you randomly and asked for your number. You oddly gave him your information and began talking to him. From what you could collect, there was nothing bad about him. No venomous comments came out of others mouths about him. With all of your friends in relationships, you had been speculating as to why no one had been interested in you as of yet. His presence soothed many insecurities you held. He would reassure you with the simplest words but it turned out that his comforting words about not worrying when you gave yourself to him were merely pleasantries to get in your pants sooner. He succeeded which earned you your first heartbreak.

He tried to pull the “We can still be friends” card which only made you burrow your feelings further until a close male friend named Johnny managed to coax you into telling him what was wrong. As you told him your side of the story, his face slowly contorted in anger. His face became more sanguine as you poured the feelings you had been storing for the past two months. He comforted you and reassured you that you could do better and you would be able to find better. He allowed you to rest on his lap as his hand patted your hair gently.

Johnny had always been there through your fits of anger, sad moments, and then, your first heartbreak. You could not have asked for a better male to associate with. You used to be the one who would watch him be confessed to as often as three times in a single month. It amazed you as to how he attracted so many people but you soon found the answer afterward. Of course, Johnny had shown no interest in you as other than a friend but after your break-up, you could not help but see him in a different, if not brighter light. Who knew if you just wanted a rebound or if you wanted Johnny for the guy he was. When you spoke to him, your stomach would act strangely. It was not exactly butterflies but the feeling certainly alerted you further of your feelings for the guy you often ranted to. You trusted him with details that you couldn’t even tell your mother at times.

All through the metastasis of becoming a junior to a senior, your feelings did not subside. If anything, they grew to the extent where you would embarrass yourself in front of him. Although you had often embarrassed yourself in front of him previously, you were new conscious of how much it affected your chances with him. You knew he wouldn’t go for a clumsy girl. His girlfriends had always been the graceful type even when doing the most menial tasks. He had only gotten even better looking which prompted further interest in your best friend. You, however, looked the same if not with deeper bags under your eyes. The only thing that really changed was that you wore your glasses less and contacts more. You had also learned a bit about makeup but found little time to do it before leaving the house.

Time was running out and Johnny was not going to be around forever. If you had something to say, you would have to say it soon. The soonest you could think of at the time was prom but you chose not to go to prom, thinking it to be both a waste of time and money. Instead, you went from museum to museum and ate at two restaurants, trying food you never thought you’d ever consume. You even met some people along the way and made a “friend”. By the time you got home at around one in the morning, you were content with what you had done and were smiling blithely to yourself as you approached the steps to your home.

It wasn’t until the next morning that you noticed the swarm of messages that you received from your friends that went to prom. You smiled at the videos, photos, and messages sent, happy that they all had fun. You were finally at the last set of messages and found them to be not what you expected.

JohnnyBoy [10:46am]: I didn’t think you would actually stay home on prom??

JohnnyBoy [11:20am]: Why didn’t you come?

JohnnyBoy [11:54am]: Bet you would of looked gorgeous…

JohnnyBoy [12:48am]: Is it because you had no date? Not everyone needs a date Y/N

JohnnyBoy [12:59am]: I woulda dropped my date for you y’know

JohnnyBoy [1:02am]: What good what I be if I didn’t for my best friend;)

His needy tone had you staring at your phone for much longer than needed. Some of the texts had actually gotten your hopes up as to the confession you were planning. That was until you read the last message.

Best friend.

The phrase resonated in your mind as you sighed in disappointment. Of course, it lessened your prospects for a deeper relationship in future. How could it not when it literally put you in a box as to what Johnny thought of you?

You [10:21]: I had fun. I hope you did too last night

You [10:22]: It wasn’t because I didn’t have a date. It just didn’t seem fun

You [10:23]: Thanks for the offer though

You sat your phone down on your nightstand before returning to bed. You had to lug the covers over your head because of the bright rays of the sun. You had no school and you were planning on milking the situation the best you could. Even on regular weekends, your mother would wake you up earlier than preferred to make you complete chores before allowing you go back to bed. Knowing that you were almost done with the hell that was high school, she allowed you to sleep in as long as you wanted those days. It was the best feeling to not wake up unwillingly and so you stayed for as long as wanted in the warm blankets that contrasted from the tepid room.

It was already two in the afternoon when you woke up and it took a while before you realized your parents had gone out. The only thing on your mind was to find food. Any other thought would have to come after. As you shuffled around the kitchen, you prepared the ingredients needed for a sandwich. As you toasted the bread, the front door rang and you briskly walked to open it. Upon its opening, you found Johnny with a broad grin on his face. Your eyes had probably widened to the extent where one would describe it as barmy.

“Hungry?” he asked as he lifted a bag with a picture of a bowl of rice on it.

You only nodded and invited him in before asking why he had visited.

“I’ve been texting you since morning but someone didn’t think it’d be right to respond, apparently.” he quipped.

“I went back to bed and just woke up. I didn’t think about my phone.”

“So, what did you do last night?” he queried as he began to empty the bag set on the kitchen island.

“I went museum hopping and ate out. Much more fun than prom and I spent about the same amount.”

You smiled to yourself as you remembered the gallivanting of last night. What you hadn’t realized, however, was the way Johnny had looked at you when you smiled. It prompted him to do the same albeit unknowingly.

When he finally set out the food, you were not shy about digging in. No matter how much of a crush you had, that did not prevent you from being the fat ass you usually were. Johnny only continued to smile as you scarfed down as you pleased. You realized a bit too late how you may have looked considering you had woken up not too long ago and then started cramming food down your throat like you had been starving.

“ I’m sorry for eating like that Johnny. Must be the reason why you haven’t touched your food yet.” you apologized as you shied away from his gaze and started eating slower.

“Don’t be sorry. You eat well and I love watching you eat”, he smiled. “It’s very entertaining.”

“Well, I know you didn’t come here to watch me eat. Why’d you come over?”

“Well for one, you weren’t answering my texts.” he began.

“Yeah, sorry. I knocked out right after answering.”

“Can’t blame you. But anyway, second is that I had a question.” he said slight hesitation.

You had set down your food before giving him the go ahead. “Shoot.”

“Do you have a crush on me?” he queried which automatically made you choke on your saliva.

“Excuse me?” you asked as you got yourself a glass of water and coughed.

“Do you have a crush on me?” he reiterated.

You sat back down slowly, chugging the entire glass of water before you looked at the man in front of you. You held his quizzical gaze before taking a deep breath.

“Yes.” you breathed out. “Why do you ask?”

He only let a small, sad smile grace his features before he began to answer you with confidence.

“People have been telling me that they thought you liked me. I didn’t believe it at first but then I started noticing some things.” he answered.

“Guess I suck at hiding things, huh?” you awkwardly chuckled to which he nodded.

“Kind of.” he acknowledged.

“So? Is that it? Are you going to do anything about it?” you asked hopefully although your mind was filled with one answer.

“Y/N, I like you too. Hell, I love you. Just… not like that.”

Although you were expecting it, your heart still sank. You fought back tears as you acquiesced with his decision.

“But you shouldn’t be hung up on me. You could get any guy you wanted. You just need to put some more effort-” he cajoled before you stopped him.

“It’s fine. I was expecting it. That’s why I wasn’t planning on telling you.” you admitted. “Was that your only question? Is that why you came over?”

“Well, yeah. I thought it’d be better for you to get it off your chest face to face.”

“And what if I had said no?”

“I would’ve known you were lying but I would’ve let it go. You would’ve gotten over me.”

“Johnny, you’re usually the smart one. The one that’s always right. So why would you think letting you see me on the brink of tears would be better?” you asked as tears began to emerge in your eyes. You tried to blink them away but that only allowed a few to escape.

“Y/N-”

“I’d like to be alone right now.” you said coldly as a means to tell him to leave.

Johnny suddenly realized that he hadn’t thought everything about this through. He thought that it was a little crush that had been on and off for a few weeks now. When you were rubbing away tears, however, he realized that this crush meant a great deal more than what he assumed. He got up from his seat on the other side of the island and made his way to the front door. You followed him on his way out but moved back a bit when he tried to hug you goodbye. At your apprehensiveness to his hug, Johnny really noticed how he had hurt you more than intended although none was ever intended.

“Call me when you feel better?” he asked as he stepped outside.

“I’ll try.” you sniffed as you wiped your face with your sweater sleeve and closed the door.

You cried nice and hard that day. Instead of binge eating, you refused to consume anything. The day that you were to go back to school was one you dreaded. It was not you to skip school for bad reasons and you did not want to end the year that way. You had avoided all contact with Johnny. At school, however, you shared half of your classes with him. There was no getting away from his acquisitive nature.

You flipped your hood over your head as you walked in the classroom. Although you were lucky you did not have to see him until third period, you did not want anyone to see how terrible you probably looked.

As the day went by, you could not help but dread the moment you would have to face him. Not only had he tried to reject you in the nicest way but you also ignored his concern after the fact. Johnny was indeed one of the most caring people you knew yet you were acting like this.

All day, you had done nothing and the same went for third period. It was so close to graduation that your professors let you do as you pleased, seeing as though there were still a few of you who came. When you walked in, you were met with Johnny. More specifically, Johnny smiling at a girl he had been talking to for a while. He had confided in you that he liked her and thought that she reciprocated his feelings. The memory only made your stomach churn even worse than before you stepped foot in the classroom. You kept your head low, wanting nothing more than to sit on your phone like you had done the past few hours and waste time instead of confronting the problem. The problem would solve itself. It would go away if you ignored it.

For the first thirty minutes of the period, it actually seemed as though your plan was working. Your earbuds were in and you were trying to take a nap when your phone vibrated in your lap. You took the phone out and looked at your screen, thinking it was a notification from social media.

Johnny [12:54pm]: Hey, do you want to meet up after school?

Johnny [12:54pm]: I’ll treat you to whatever you want

The message made your heart pound solid against your chest. You looked behind you to see Johnny looking back with an unreadable expression on his face which made you both embarrassed and confused.

You [1:00pm]: I’m not hungry. Just meet me at the park by my house

You set your phone on do not disturb and laid your head back down on your desk, not daring to look back at whatever face he was making. You just needed to get through the rest of the day. And hey, maybe talking about it would give you closure.

You sat at the park, waiting for him. As soon as school was let out, you raced for the park. Johnny probably had something to do so you thought it best to leave without him and wait. Wait for the further heartbreak and possibly a portend of closure. You waited and waited.

He never came.

You waited three hours for someone who did not plan to come.

Why not? He was the one who wanted to talk. He was the one who had been contacting you the entire weekend. He was the one who made you feel as if for once you had a chance even with someone seemingly out of your league. He was the one who gave you false hope when you thought there was still a chance for you to finish strong! To finally move on! So why didn’t he want to talk then?

You trudged home, limp. At the very least, it wasn’t raining. It wasn’t dark. I wasn’t terribly cold. Just a slight, mocking breeze. Birds chirped, children played, people happily walked. All was happy. All was normal. Except you.

Whatever mess of feelings you felt at the time were something worse than your first breakup. Something you couldn’t compare. Yet instead of blaming him as you should have, you stuck with questioning his actions which came back to you. What had you done? Had he been fed up with asking how you were? Was he ready to move on from you? The questions hung with you until you got home. Until you sat in your bed and stared at your phone, hoping he would explain why he had done as he had.

Nothing came. No one called. Not even one text.

He ignored you. As if you had not existed. As if the two of you had not been friends. You watched as he got another girlfriend. Another stunning, picture-perfect student. Volunteer work, great grades, even a bit of commercial modeling on the side. One you would expect for him. You sat through graduation with a heavy heart as each of you were called. Instead of a graduation party, you secluded yourself in your room for a week. You came in and out of the house. You still had your fun. You heard that Johnny’s graduation party was fun. You weren’t invited though so you couldn’t have known.

Your mom had been asking about him yet all you could answer was “I’m not sure”, or “I don’t know”. You didn’t know anymore. You just breezed through the time. Your summer break was over and it was almost time for university. In freshman year, you were excited. Higher knowledge was always an exciting subject for you. By sophomore year, you were tired. You went out with your friends when you could but it was not as often. Now in your junior year once again, you barely went to those stupid parties. You missed having fun though. You had the first of a few one night stand in sophomore year and you could’ve sworn that it was one of the most exhilarating things to ever happen to you.

Now, here you were, grumbling about not having a boyfriend and remembering the hurt of the past. It was time stop being pathetic.

You took a shower and put on black, leather skirt that was a bit higher than mid-thigh. A black turtleneck bodysuit was under it. Matched with a pair of black thigh high heels, you wondered why you didn’t dress like this more often. It was certainly something that took away your insecurities. After some dark makeup, wanting to be bolder than usual, you left your shared apartment with the idea that you would definitely get someone’s attention.

You skipped the idea of the frat house party house party and automatically went to a club. You hadn’t been to one for so long that it was hard to believe you were in one at the moment. A drink or two in and you were still seated at the bar, watching people dance and have fun. Maybe you should have invited someone to come with you. You were contemplating on dancing when a cute stranger sat next to you at the bar. Under the neon lights, it was hard to inspect him thoroughly but from the big eyes to the sharp jawline, you could tell you already liked this guy.

“Can I buy you a drink?” he asked as he looked you up and down, unabashedly.

“Sure.” you nodded before ordering an Old-Fashioned to which he ordered the same.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing, sitting alone?” he questioned.

“Looking for fun, I guess.” you answered before grabbing a hold of your drink.

“I could show you a fun time if you’re up for it?” he sipped as he raised an eyebrow in challenge.

“What did you have in mind?” you asked as a handsome smirk graced his features

He only chugged the rest of his whiskey before holding out his hand to you. You did the same before delicately placing your hand in his. He led you to the dance floor and moved along with you under the flashes of red and green in the club. Close bodies became sweatier as you had a good time dancing with him. Eventually, a time came when he wanted to change up the tempo. Grabbing your hips, he slowly ground into you which prompted you to wrap your arms around his neck.

“I don’t even know your name yet, handsome.” you addressed.

“Taeyong. I would’ve thought you’d recognized me, Y/N. I’m disappointed.” he pouted a bit.

Taeyong? The name sounded familiar but you could not pinpoint where you remembered it from. You furrowed your eyebrows, trying to remember seeing the gorgeous specimen in front of you somewhere previously. Taeyong made it harder, though, when he managed to wedge his thigh in between your legs as you danced. You bit your lip, continuing to wonder where you had heard the name.

“I bet all you can remember is braces and bad hair. As you can see, however, I’ve grown.” he added when you started to tug at the hair at the nape of his neck.

“In more ways than one.”

That was it. Taeyong from last year. During sophomore year you had a project with Taeyong. He did more than his share of work even though you told him you had everything under control. He was what you would’ve described as the cutest nerd you had ever seen. His smile showed off his braces and it always prompted you to do the same when you saw him. He wore the same style as you for the most part which consisted of hoodies and jeans. He was such a kind guy which made you feel bad when you allowed him to do more work than he needed to. You were fine with the workload and felt as if you were burdening him but he was unyielding. On the last day that you spent together, celebrating the completion of the project, you bought him coffee and sent him off with a friendly kiss on the cheek. His red face made you giggle as you said goodbye but you never got a speak afterward.

He had been working out. He got his braces taken off. He was definitely more confident which revamped him from a cutie to one of the hottest guys you had seen in your three years as of yet.

“You really did change.” you breathed out as he pulled your head back a bit by your hair and started kissing your neck.

There, on the dance floor, you were practically fucking with your clothes on. His hum reverberated in your neck which made you moan lowly at the feeling.

“You want to show me how much?” you challenged.

The man only smirked at you again before he had led you to a booth. Here, the music of the open floor was muffled, although the vibrations of the beat could still be felt. The room had an intense red light that shone all over the room. His eyes inspected your body as you stood there almost awkwardly. Were you going to have to make the first move this time? Taeyong had obviously started this interaction with the intent of claiming you for the night. Now, he sat in front of you, anticipating what you would say or do next with that cocksure smirk on his face.

Taking the chance to be more assertive, you sauntered towards his seated figure and turned around before sitting down on his lap. This surprised Taeyong a bit but he showed no signs of helping you. You took his hands and let them stay on your hips before you started slowly grinding forwards and backward. Taeyong enjoyed your teasing before he chose to move a well. His hands slowly made your way to your exposed thighs, parting them enthusiastically as you continued. You smiled to yourself as his hands moved again- one towards your chest while the other went underneath your skirt. You only allowed him one soft squeeze before closing your legs and standing up again to straddle him instead.

“Impressive so far.” you sassed as he grasped your thighs.

“Had to become impressive to earn this privilege, didn’t I?” he asked as he found the zipper on the side of your skirt and unzipped it completely. “To be able to fuck you like I’ve wanted to.” he grunted as he unsnapped the opening of your bodysuit.

“You wanted to fuck me?” you raised your eyebrows at the confession.

“And have those pretty lips on mine? Damn right.” he laughed.

“Where else did you want these lips?” you bit your lip as his hands squeezed your ass.

“Second place would have to be on my cock.” he whispered low and dangerously to which you moaned. “Maybe even while mine were tasting that pretty pussy. But we have to be quick so I can’t- not tonight.”

You nodded and complied as he pushed your panties to the side and moved his fingers up and down your slit.

“Looks like you’re ready for me, baby.” he smiled as you started pushing down his pants and boxers. You pulled his cock out and reveled in it. The head was incarnadine, making you almost salivate at the sight while each vein in it pulsated.

You licked your lips before standing up and lowering yourself on him. You basked in the feeling of being full since it had been so long. Taeyong’s groans only spurned you into moving. You looked at his expression and could not help but indulge in the sexy expression. His head was thrown back as he bit his lip in bliss. Your gaze shifted down towards his impressive jawline until it came to his strong, pristine neck. You made it a point to tarnish the untouched skin.

You began to bounce up and down, eliciting a hiss from the male under you. The rhythm started to pick up as Taeyong found purchase on your hips and helped pull you up and down. You nipped constantly at his neck before the two of you shared an ardent kiss which involved a clash of tongue and teeth. Your lipstick was probably all over him as you pulled him closer by the back of his head. You could tell that you were close. Apart from the panting in between the clashing of mouths, high whines began to recur more frequently.

Taeyong was whispering the most enticing expletives to you which only brought you closer with each new fantasy. The release of pressure was only that much greater with the descent of your orgasm. You allowed Taeyong to continue to move you, making sure that he got his as well. He pulled you off of him right before he was about to finish and you watched with heavy, lidded eyes as he pumped his cock.

His cum landed on your black body suit but you couldn’t have cared less. As he slowly finished riding out his orgasm, you giggled at his fucked out face. A smile slowly made its way onto his face as you hooked your index finger under his chin and kissed him again. This time, slower but there was still passion nonetheless. As you pulled away, you saw the slightest movement of his head following your lips.

“Better than I could have ever imagined.” he concluded in a breathy voice.

It only made me you smile like a fool as you stood up and began to fix yourself.

“Much better than I would’ve thought.” you mused. “Didn’t expect to get cum on my shirt though.” you joked.

“Oh! Sorry! I’ll get something to clean it up. Don’t move.” he said before tucking himself back into his pants and walking out of the compact room. You left your skirt off because the stain and sticky feeling was lower than the waistline of it. You looked at yourself using your phone camera and tried to wipe away the smudged parts of your lipstick. Waiting patiently, you looked around the room, now sober enough and not clouded with lust to think about your surroundings. The door finally opened, making you light up, thinking Taeyong had come back. Your smile automatically dropped when you saw another couple, stumbling in with their lips locked. They hadn’t noticed you as they staggered about, desperately devouring each other. You thought it would be better to gather your things before alerting them of your presence.

As you were about to say something, the door swung open and Taeyong came rushing in a handful of napkins.

“They only had-” Both him and the couple stared at each other before resting their eyes on you.

“Sorry. I- I was just leaving.” you stuttered.

“You were so busy, that you couldn’t tell that someone else was already in the room?” Taeyong directed towards the guy on the edge of the couch you were seated on just a few minutes ago.

“Sorry. I was too busy. She didn’t seem to mind watching though.” he sneered but you were too embarrassed to look in his direction. “Did you, sweetheart?”

“I wasn’t watching. I just wanted to get dressed and get out as soon as possible, thanks.” you muttered before moving towards Taeyong’s side.

“Don’t be a dick, Johnny.” he spat before pulling you closer by the small of your back.

You paid no mind to the name and glanced over to where a tall male with honey brown hair stood with a mischievous smile. When your eyes rested upon the male, they must have blown out of proportion at which his expression mirrored yours. There stood the guy who walked past you and paid no mind to how you felt about it. The man who allowed you to believe that you meant less than nothing after he made you feel as if you were on top of the world. Correction; the spineless, brainless, idiot that taught you not to put yourself in the same situation.

“Y/N?” he asked in disbelief, forgetting about both his date and his friend.

“Taeyong, can we go?” you asked almost desperately, tugging on his shirt.

“Sure, let’s go.” he said as he pulled you closer to him.

“Y/N.” Johnny said more firmly this time.

You only ignored him but it prompted Taeyong’s interest. He could obviously see how uncomfortable you were, however, so he just walked quicker with you in hand.

“Y/N! I know you can hear me!” he yelled as he tugged on your arm.

You only jerked it away to finally face the man right in front of the entrance of the club.

“You. I don’t want to talk to you. I certainly don’t want to see your face. Just… just leave me alone.” you firmly said as you dragged Taeyong off with you. In the parking lot, you stood still, trying to calm your pounding heart.

“Want me to take you home?” Taeyong asked assuredly.

“That would be wonderful, yes.” you said as he led you to his car.

Once you began driving, Taeyong couldn’t help but begin the myriad amount of questions.

“So… how do you know Johnny? Ex-friend? Ex-boyfriend?”

“I guess,” you chuckled. “We just know each other from high school. It’s been a few years. Friendship kind of died off.”

“Oh. Sorry for that.” he mumbled as his eyes stayed on the road. “For both Johnny and your shirt.” he elaborated which made you laugh.

“It’s cool. I could always send you my dry-cleaning bill.”

“How about you leave it with your number of course, and I’ll call when it’s ready to pick up?”

“Sounds like a plan.” you happily complied with his flirting.

He dropped you off at your home but not before getting both your number and a good night kiss. You smiled to yourself as you walked up the stairs to your apartment complex. You were in such a stupor that you hadn’t noticed the car that had followed behind you since the club. The sleek black vehicle only drove away after ten minutes after you entered the building. You had no idea that it would be back again.

Taeyong had texted you the following morning. You hadn’t slept during the night but talking to him actually took your mind off of Johnny. You didn’t realize that he had become such an ass. His attitude was obviously a confident one. Much more so than when you knew him. People change. You knew that. You just never expected him to change so much. He wasn’t worth your time. You had to stop thinking about him and the asshat he had become.

Unknown [11:54am]: Hey, guess who?

You [11:55am]: I’m not sure. Who is this?

Unknown [11:56am]: Oh um it’s Taeyong

Taeyong [11:56am]: You gave me your number last night?

You [11:57am]: I know lol

You [11:57am]: I’m sorry for playing with you like that

Taeyong [11:57am]: You really scared me! I deserve a better apology than that!

You [11:58am]: How about coffee today? At 3?

Taeyong [11:59am]: It’s a date. I’ll pick you up:)

It surprised you to no end that Taeyong could still manage to be so sweet when just last night, his assertiveness got you wet in little to no time. Just the thought of what went down last night had you biting your lip and wondering what else he had in store for you.

As you left the confine of your room, you were met with your roommate already using the shower.

“Hey, where’d you go last night? You came home later than me,” she whined. “If you were at another party, why didn’t you invite me?”

“I just went out for a bit. Don’t worry about it.” you chuckled before beginning to brush your teeth.

You had to look decent today. In fact, you had to look great today. Seeing as how Taeyong looked, you had to raise your usual standard. Maybe it was a sign. A sign that you needed to get off your ass and start pursuing people with a positive attitude and more effort. After last night’s effort’s you were finally engaging with someone and that was what mattered. Johnny was no one to cogitate about. You didn’t have time to be hung up on him again. Taeyong would be the main priority. He would be the harbinger of good news.

It was all going well. In fact, it had gone much better than you thought it would have so far. Although you were the one who offered to buy coffee, Taeyong kept insisting that he be the one to pay for it. You talked, caught up, and laughed. There was still something that you itched to say but found it hard to bring up. Finally, you found the courage to tell him.

“Taeyong, you look… great.” you started which made his smile broaden.

“Thanks. So do you.”

“But I just want you to know that it’s not why we’re on a date today,” you continued. “I always thought you were cute it’s just… last night, you were assertive and we clicked. I really don’t want you to think I’m here for shallow reasons.” you admitted.

“Oh, I know.” he laughed.

“And how would you know?” you inquired while you took a sip of your coffee.

“You remember what I said last night, don’t you? I knew I didn’t have a chance and at first, I thought it was because I was the stereotypical nerd but I realized that you just didn’t seem to like anyone. Surprising, seeing as how many guys were after you but-”

You almost spit your coffee out at that line. “There were guys after me?”

“Well, of course…”

You began to burst into laughter.

“Wow, that’s hilarious.” you chuckled as the laughter died down and you wiped a tear from your eye.

Taeyong’s expression, however, told you that he wasn’t joking.

“Oh? You’re serious.” you frowned.

“Do you think that lowly of yourself?” he asked in true curiosity and a hint of pity.

“No… It’s just hard to believe some things. I haven’t ever really been sought after.” you sighed.

“Well I went after you last night, didn’t I?”

“Yeah. Says a lot, considering you could do better.” you sadly smiled.

“Do I have to fuck the idea that you’re sexy back into you?” he asked in a low voice that made you straighten up.

“I wouldn’t mind.” you mumbled making him playfully growl at you.

“Sexual acts and jokes aside; you’re beautiful. It’s true. If you want another opinion, I can call up a friend.” he said, while pulling his phone out.

“You’re joking,” you snickered as you watched him shake his head. “It’s ringing.”

Taeyong put the phone on speaker and it rung a few times before a deep voice on the other line picked up.

“What do you want?” he asked irritably.

“I need your opinion on something and don’t hold anything back. Do you think Y/N is hot?” he inquired casually as he grinned at you.

“What kind of question was that? Yeah, she’s hot. Aren’t going on a date with her? Why would you if she’s not hot?”

“What about her is so attractive?”

“Her legs, her eyes, her ass, wow, I could go on. She even has this tiny mole near her left collarbone and it drives me crazy.” his friend said.

Your cheeks heated up at his analysis of your body. It boosted your confidence yet also gave you a gross feeling to be spoken about in that manner. It surprised you that he knew about your mole, though. You didn’t think many of the clothes you wore would allow anyone to see such a small detail about you. You didn’t even think you allowed people to come close enough too see it. It was strange the stranger had checked you out enough to remember it’s location, much less its existence.

“A mole? Hm, didn’t notice.” Taeyong commented as he bent over the table for a closer inspection.

“How was last night, by the way? How did you fuck her? How wet was she? Did you take control?” he bombarded him with questions that only made him blush, thankful that there were no passersby who would hear this.

“None of your business.” he grunted.

“Wish it could’ve been. I’ve always wanted to do the nastiest things to her. She seems so pure, doesn’t she?”

“Hey, I don’t think you should be talking about her like that.” Taeyong firmly said, putting an end to his friend’s tirade.

“Anyway, where are you guys meeting for your date?” the stranger asked queerly.

“I’ll tell you later, bye.” he promised before hanging up. “Sorry about him. He’s very blunt.” he tried to explain which only made him even more flustered. “I’ve never spoken about you that way, don’t worry.”

“I know. You’re too sweet to.” you replied.

The date went without a hitch and so did the next one as well as the one after that. After a few more dates and great amount of your time spent texting each other, Taeyong asked you to be his girlfriend. Although your exterior was as cool, inside, you were screaming like a school girl. Taeyong brought the best out of you. He made you want to dress better and become more social. The two of you still didn’t go to parties much, knowing it wasn’t your thing.

One night, Taeyong had gone to a party that you weren’t feeling up to. You sat in your room, wondering what you should do. Boredom overtook you and you ended up doing what every bored adult does. Masturbating. Taeyong wold probably rush over as fast as he could if you had texted him and let know that you were horny but it had been a while since you were left to your thoughts with no one else to satisfy you. It was a nice change of pace, to be honest.

As you slipped out of Taeyong’s borrowed joggers, you thought back to the man you were lucky to call your own now. The idea of his warm nature quickly transformed just like he seemed to do at intimate times. His bright smile that shone at you during the day soon became the sexy smirk he wore at night. The way his brown eyes tinted black when he became lustful. Everything about him was a turn-on, especially how much of a gentleman he became once his rough, dominant nature subsided. It was wonderful. Taeyong was a beautiful mix.

You thought about your gorgeous boyfriend as you let your hand glide down your body and into your panties. You sat propped against the wall on the side of your bed as you let two of your fingers roll your clit gently. As you continued however, the feeling of your panties were too sticky against your sweaty skin. You took them off and went back to work, playing with yourself with your legs spread wide. By the time you finished, the room was entirely too hot for you. You stood up and took off your shirt, thinking that a shower was in order. Once you came back, you went to open your window and let in some fresh air but as you approached your window you were frightened when you caught a glimmer of something outside. If you moved too quick, it could have been missed completely. It took effort to even maintain sight of the position it was in. When you opened the window and reached for the object, you came to realize it was a camera.

A camera.

Someone had been filming you. In your room as you slept, changed your clothes, studied, hung out, and now, as you got off. The thought made you wretch, wondering who would have planted it by your window? The fire escape was not something you would have wanted to be on unless it was an emergency. You wanted to destroy the infernal device but could not, thinking that if you brought it to the police, it might lead you to the pervert who planted the microscopic object.

Thoughts of what the footage could be used for were running through your mind. What if someone was selling it- selling you off? What if it was a pervert who planted multiple and was using girls as porn? What if it was a stalker? Fear of whatever was going on took over and you ran out of your room while yelling your roommate’s name.

“Y/N? What is it?” she asked when you stormed in her room and alerted her of what you had found.

“Okay, first, we should call the police. I’ve heard of these things. They can send footage wirelessly or the culprit has to come back and get it. If he does, we’ll catch the bastard.” she instructed.

You nodded frantically and called the police, frightened to no extent. You even called Taeyong after the police had come and confiscated the camera. He rushed over and comforted you the best he could as your ceaseless tears continued to flow. Of course, you were too frightened to sleep in your room so he brought blankets and pillows for you two to sleep in the living room.

“It’s okay. We’ll find who did this and when we do, I’ll make sure to kick his ass.” he promised as your tears slowly diminished into hiccups.

If Taeyong kept true to his promise, you were going to make sure to be there along side him, serving the justice you knew you deserved.

Days went by and campus police had warned of the suspected pervert. Many other females took precautionary measures including you. Covering your window and locking everything was just the minimum. It had all calmed down as two weeks went by yet the fear of being watched still stuck with you.

One night as you walked home from a gathering of friends, you could have sworn there were footsteps behind you. When you turned around, you saw a lanky man walking as well. As it was winter, their scarf covered their face as they continued walking while looking at their phone. Paying no mind to it, you continued your trek back to the apartment. As time progressed however, it seemed as though he was going in the exact same direction as you. Being a little paranoid, you took a detour. Instead of going straight, you took a left and entered a neighborhood you were not very familiar with. The stranger followed tout suite. His head was no longer staring at his phone when you turned back but was instead staring back at you. His eyes held a mischievous glimmer which only made you fearful of what he was capable of.

As you continued through the twists and turns of the neighborhood, you eventually ended in a dead end and began to panic as you saw the man slowly approaching. You contemplated Scaling the fence behind you but you were in heeled boots which seemed too large to climb with. Surprisingly, the last thought you had was to call Taeyong. He knew of all the places on and near campus. Hopefully, he would find you. As you turned and called the memorized number, you could hear the shuffling of gravel. You turned to look the stranger in the face and see his eyes turn up as if he was smiling underneath the large scarf.

Taeyong did not pick up and your frenzy only grew. You tried calling the police next but the stranger snatched your phone as you tried to make some space between you.

“You only get one call, princess. Should’ve called the cops first.”

“What do you want? Money? I don’t have any on me.” you nervously said.

“Oh, I don’t want money. I want you.” he cooed.

“I have a boyfriend. And you’e going to be sorry when he hears about this.”

“Thing is, he won’t hear about it. Not if you want me to keep that video of you from going viral.”

“What video?”

“Oh, don’t be stupid. When I went back to get my camera, you already found it. Good thing the footage was already saved. And believe me, there’s still more you don’t know about.” he hummed.

“Now,” he said as he took a step closer to which you moved back. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Which would you prefer?”

“Neither.” you finally said before kicking the man in the shin. He dropped your phone and hissed in pain. You were able to grab the device to find a small crack in it. It still worked, nonetheless.

You ran around him and out of the alley, screaming for help as you bounded. It didn’t seem as though he was following you anymore but that only made your heart race faster, not knowing where he was. No one came out to help, seeing as though it was nearly one in the morning already but you managed to make it out of the neighborhood and sprinted the best you could in your boots. You managed to make it to your apartment and ran into your room, already tearing everything up to find where he may have placed more cameras.

You found one on the lamp at your desk, another by the mirror next your closet, and one more by the window. You crushed them all under your heel then breathed deeply, looking at the mess you had made and cried hysterically. Was that it? Please, say that was it.

As you sank on your bed and continued to look around, a call came on your phone from an unknown number. You automatically declined. It called again but you declined. When the same number called a third time, you finally picked up, yelling “Yes?!”

“You missed one.” the raspy voice said on the other side as you looked witlessly around the room.

“What do you want?” you began to sob as the voice chuckled.

“Told you, princess. I want you.”

“What does that even mean?” you cried into the phone, covering your face.

“I’ve always wanted you to be mine. But then Taeyong came along. So we’re going to show him who you belong to.” he said bitterly.

“I’m not yours!” you yelled into the phone.

“Oh, but you are. Now, we’re going to have a little fun if you don’t want Taeyong to get hurt or your fellow classmates to see you having fun with yourself, okay?”

You nodded reluctantly before listening to what he had to say.

“You’re going to do a strip-tease for me. Get to it, princess.”

“I’m not getting naked for you.” you warily muttered.

“What was that? Send the video?”

You sniffed as you stood up and took off your jacket and the sweater underneath.

“Now we both know you can do better than that.” he growled, making you flinch.

You reluctantly took off your shirt and jeans after a while, leaving you in your underwear. You tried to cover yourself as much as possible with your hands.

“Now isn’t that a pretty sight? Why don’t you give me a spin?” he smugly said to which you turned in a robotical way, in place. “There’s that beautiful mole. that I love. You should show it off more. It’s one of my favorite things about you.” he complimented and you felt as if you were going to throw up.

“I guess that’s it for tonight. Not the worst thing that have happened, was it, Y/N?”

You only tried to put on your pajamas as quickly as you could before exiting the room.

“Sweet dreams.” he wished before hanging up. You sunk onto the couch, crying your eyes out at what you just been forced to do. You could have refused but he threatened to hurt Taeyong. He threatened to expose your intimate time and now he had even more for the spank bank. Your head was light and you felt weary as a strange detail of his commentary came to mind. You couldn’t sleep, knowing that someone had broken into your room to commit such horrible acts. You had been violated and no one else knew. Your roommate was gone, spending the night with her boyfriend while you still wondered about where yours was.

Ten in the morning rolled around when you chose to arise from your spot on the couch. You had slept none, wanting to nullify or finalize your suspicion against something that happened before.

You called Taeyong, hoping he would be up and you sighed in relief when it turned out that he was.

“Taeyong, I have a very important question.”

“Go ahead.” he spurned in a groggy voice.

“On our first date, who did you call to say I was hot?”

“It was… Johnny.” he replied after some thought. “Why?”

“Sorry for disturbing you. Go back to sleep.” you quickly said before hanging up and making a call to the unknown number.

“Good morning princess. Hope you slept well.” he yawned.

“Cut the shit, Johnny. You’re going to jail and then I’m going to make sure hell is next.” you threatened.

“Wow. Impressive deductive skills. How’d you find me out?”

“Why does it matter? All that matters is that I know who to get a restraining order against and who to file a police report against.”

“I still have your videos. You want them exposed?”

“Do what you want. All I care about is you being locked up now.” you iterated before hanging up.

You immediately set out for the police station, paying no mind to your disheveled appearance. As you spoke about your current case, the officer warned that they could not trace the camera back to determined IP code. You told him about the disturbing experience you had the night before and suggested that they acquire a warrant before checking it out. You allowed them to take your phone to try to trace back the phone number as well but the number was led to some old phone that seemingly had no determined names attached to the phone company.

After a while of waiting in fear and avoiding all contact with those outside of your apartment, they finally caught him. With the help of the warrant, the police were able to check out Johnny’s dorm and although he did a good job at hiding everything, he wasn’t immaculate in a clean up. When his laptop had been taken to the station, it took a while of trying to get rid of the encryption he had on a file but they finally found it. A video of you uncomfortably in your underwear, playing his game. His arrest was no small matter but it finally allowed you freedom to come out with what he had done and tried to do to you.

Taeyong blamed himself when he found out about his former friend’s horrible deeds but it was not his fault. He didn’t know what had been going on but had gotten a weird feeling when you obviously did not want to see Johnny as time went on but he constantly asked about you.

“It isn’t fair!” he yelled in court. “I had her first! She was wrapped around my little finger. I don’t know where he came in the picture but it was ridiculous that she ended up with him!”

You didn’t want to even look at him so you didn’t go to the court hearing. Your room mate had gone and told you what he had been ranting about in court.

“Thank goodness he never came.” you muttered to yourself as you reminisced about the moment he did not give you the time of day.

“Who never came?” Taeyong asked as he pulled you closer with his arm around you.

“I don’t want to even think about it,” you shivered. “I get chills. The bad kind.”

“I’ll be here to warm you up.” he whispered into your hair.

“I know.” you smiled.

He would keep you from remembering the chill of that winter. Spring was already underway and all you wanted to do was bury the past under that winter weather. The cold, the cameras, the memory; gone.

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