#he's stoic and then he lets loose. yay!

[steinbecks]

TEAM CHEEKBONES!!!!

[daddyhausen]

Hi!!! Yay for requests being open 😁

Could I please request a smutty Hangman please. Maybe falling into bed together after the first date?

Please and thank you!

• falling asleep on a stranger — hangman adam page •

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{ masterlists } | { aew masterlist } | { hangman adam page masterlist }

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{ summary } — they often say you should not fuck on the first date, but adam’s presence was simply to intoxicating for you to resist

{ warnings } — 18 + { minors do not interact } car sex, road head, mild drunk sex, oral sex { male + female receiving }, throatpie, multiple orgasms, male + female orgasms unprotected sex, rough sex, penetrative sex, vaginal sex

{ word count } — 2.5k

{ pairing } — fem!reader x hangman adam page

{ genre } — smut

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{ taglist } — @cosmoholic13 @boutmachines @thewrestlingbitch @omg-im-such-a-masochist @baysexuality @slut4kennyomega @wardlow @alexisquinnlee-bc @sammiejane22 @im-just-a-mississippi-girl @omegasluvbot @melissahausen @writtingrose @drummergrl1310 @unoficialy-married-to-ace-austin @bonehead-playz @cherrytheeredheadmamaclaymore @crowleysqueenofhell @romanreigns-supreme @janetreader @thenerdybaker523 @sunshinevirus @nicoleveno14 @rubyred1980 @elsteenerico @igncrxntripley

{ beta readers } — @allelitesmut + @legit9thlunaticwarrior

{ comment if you want to be added to the taglist }

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the ambiance of the quaint little italian restaurant left you with a mild flirtatious feeling. yet you could not be so sure if it was adam’s presence before you or the glass of red wine stirring a commotion of arousal in your belly. the date had been going well so far, adam had been a gentleman throughout the night, treating you like a queen despite this being the first time you two had met officially. the night was spent getting to know each other, likes dislikes etc… typical first date things.

the restaurant lights held slight pinkish, almost rose gold hue that accentuated adam’s stoic, almost god-like features, the contours of his face seemed sharper, more masculine and handsome than you thought humanly possible, his golden curls, almost looked strawberry blond under the lighting, tied back into a sleek bun, letting a loose ringlet fall by his left temple, one of which he hastily tucked behind his ear

the blues of his irises glowing that of the blue irises that decorated the footpath leading to the restaurant. his gaze never leaving yours, not for a moment, even in silence as you tried to continue your story, getting flustered by his soft stare. in his gaze twinkled the slightest bit of lust, although you could surely be mistaken, thinking that the wine was to blame. adam still held that same lustful gaze, deep blues concentrated on your lips, scanning down to your cleavage, although the little black dress you wore surely left nothing to the imagination, yet his gaze never felt insulting or demeaning, it was as if he was admiring your body, that of what he could see anyway.

“you’re staring again, cowboy” you reminded him with a playful smile, adam blinked out of his trance momentarily, although how could he not stare with the way your breasts filled the thin fabric of the dress, pushing up against the sleek satin, just about ready to burst out at a moments notice.

“what do you expect me to do when i got the most beautiful woman sittin’ right in front of me?” he remarked flirtatiously, mirroring the same playful smirk as you, nursing the glass of whiskey, stirring the glass against the table, downing the rest in one gulp, never breaking eye contact in the process

“oh you flatter me” you waved your hand slightly in an exaggerated manner, mocking royalty with your gesture as adam took your hand gently, holding it in his palm for a second, letting his thumb run over your knuckles, admiring just how small and petite your hand looked in his, how well it seemed to fit.

“i ain’t lyin’ when i say it…” the silence that fell after was not awkward, it felt rather comfortable just gazing into his eyes, hoping that the feeling you felt were not just that of intoxication. your belly swelled with arousal just at the sight of him. clenching your thighs tightly together underneath the table in hopes to try and quell your lust. just before you were able to piece together a response, adam’s voice broke you out of your trance

“shit…it’s getting late…” adam glanced down at his phone momentarily, breaking apart your hands, much to your dismay. you responded with a solemn “yeah” glancing down at your own phone to see that the clock had just ticked past 10:30pm. the restaurant would surely close soon, but you definitely did not want the date to end just yet.

“i’ll drive you home…don’t want a pretty lady such as yourself walkin’ home all by herself at this hour…if that’s alright with you?” adam’s offer seemed apprehensive, almost afraid that you would reject it and the date would end there and then. you offered him a small nod in acceptance, smiling softly as you watched adam’s muscular chest fall with a sigh of relief.

he held out his hand, awaiting you to accept, which you did graciously. he led you to his car, opening the door for you, a gentleman as always, even buckling up your seatbelt, your bodies felt so close in that moment, his chest against yours so much so that you could practically feel how fast his heart was beating against your skin. you thanked him kindly for the gesture, giving him the directions to your house before eventually beginning to drive.

he looked so concentrated, your gaze fixed on him, something about his posture was so arousing, the way his hands wrapped around the steering wheel, how his fingertips tapped against the leather in almost silent thrums, you only wished for those fingers to fill you up, feel him roam between your thighs, have his hands and tongue explore every crevice of your body, to touch him, to taste him, to feel every inch of him giving you such euphoric pleasure.

“adam…” you mumbled, although it sounded more like a whimper in the cowboy’s ears, a sound that made him hard in his jeans. he turned his attention to you in his peripherals, noticing how tight you’d clenched your thighs together. never were you one to be so reckless and impulsive with things like this, especially on first dates, but adam had this way about him, something that made you want to abandon your morals and better judgement, even if it was only for one night.

“yes, darlin’” the sound of the newly acquainted pet name rang through your ears, only drenching your panties further as you shuffled in your seat desperate for friction.

“i can’t wait…” you leaned over him slightly, palming his already half-hard cock through his jeans. the cowboy gave a soft grunt, trying his best to focus on the road and not on the impure thoughts that raced through his brain.

“i need you…” your whimpers became too much for adam to handle. the cowboy relaxed into his seat, keeping one hand on the steering wheel, the other beginning to unbuckle his belt.

“then you can have me…” he freed his cock, the appendage throbbing against his palm, thick veins littering his impressive size, the tip leaking with pre-cum, glossy against the skin.

you leaned down, offering a small kitten lick to his tip, adoring the way his breathing changed patterns even from the slightest touch, you pressed on, kissing his tip, feeling him grow fully erect against your lips, licking hot stripes up his shaft, a hand caressing the base of his cock, watching him for a change in demeanour. feeling satisfied with your work for the moment, you admired his cock, how big it was, how aroused he had become in the space of a few minutes. continuing with small kitten licks just to tease him

“c’mon now, darlin’ don’t tease me like that” his voice was low, a small chesty rumble rang through the confined space of his car.

“but it’s fun” you playfully tease him, quickly wrapping your lips around his shaft, taking the entirety of his length down your throat, holding yourself there for a moment, letting his hand fall to the back of your head for stability, fingers weaving through the stands of your hair.

“oh shit-“ he muttered through gritted teeth, feeling your cheeks hollow around his shaft, immediately beginning to bob your head. his fingers slowly starting to massage your scalp, a subtle way of thanking you for the pleasure he was receiving

adam tried his best to keep his gaze fixed on the road, but he could not help but let his eyes stare down at you from time to time, loving the way your lips worked around his shaft, how you managed to suck him off with little to no resistance from your throat.

“fuck darlin’ i don’t think i’ll be able to drive for much longer if you keep doing that” adam grunted through a deep throaty moan, knuckles painted white with the sheer grip he held on the steering wheel.

“then pull over…” you pried your head up for a moment to respond to him. a slight pop sound rang throughout the car as you pried to lips from his shaft, wiping the spit from your chin momentarily before instantly going back for another taste. he managed to find an empty alleyway in a desolate side street, away from any potential onlookers.

“i know it ain’t the most romantic place but fuck- i need you so bad darlin’” adam turned off the car, now finally being able to give you that attention you need and frankly you very well deserved. adam glanced down, finally able to watch the way you sucked him off, how you seemed so intoxicated with his cock, how you sat on your knees, pretty ass just peeking out from underneath your tight little dress. he undid the ties to your dress, pulling the thin string that held the top part together, watching the way your breasts fell out from behind the fabric, how your pierced nipples grazed against the denim of his jeans. he surely would have never expected such sultry jewellery from a seemingly innocent woman such as yourself

“you suck my cock so well…i ain’t gonna last much longer-“

adam’s sentence caught in his throat, feeling his first orgasm of the night wash over him, his hot seed filled your throat with little objection on your part, pulling off of him and swallowing his warmth, thankful to receive his cum, you kissed him, a small way of thanking him, he tasted himself on your lips, moaning into the kiss as his large palms, fell to your breasts, kneading the soft flesh.

“back seat…i need to taste you”

you obliged, crawling your way into the back seat, making sure to give him a full view of your ass as you did so. you pried up the skirt of your dress, beginning to trace delicate circles against your clit, the sensitive nub shielded by your soaked panties as adam began to strip himself. you sat there for a moment in complete bliss admiring his sculpted body, as he threw his clothes into the passenger seat.

he nestled himself between your thighs, your scent so sweet, he could practically feel the heat of your arousal radiating from your cunt, he gave a small glance in your direction for approval, one of which you happily obliged with an enthusiastic nod. before he began, he leaned up slightly, placing another sweet kiss to your lips, smearing the remainder of his cum against the petal shaped buds.

he dove in without hesitation, prying your panties to the side with his teeth, his tongue roaming around your void, sucking and nibbling at your already swollen clit, he let two fingers fall down, spreading you sweet folds, before sinking them deep into your cunt, loving the way your walls tightly gripped around his digits. his free hand remained on your breasts, tightening it’s grasp as he played and plucked your nipple piercings

“oh fuck…” you whined, hips moving in sync with with fingers, effectively fucking yourself on them. you felt adam smile into your cunt, wanting to take his time with but also wanting to ruin you then and there.

“adam please-“ your cunt quivered around his fingers, his tongue flicking your sensitive pearl with such speed you felt as if you’d release them and there.

“need to make you feel good, darlin’” he sucked your clit before pulling away with a pop, freeing his fingers from your void before lightly slapping your cunt, your body jolted with pleasure, already so overstimulated as he resumed the pleasure.

“adam! it feels so good…” adam increased the speed of his fingers, yet keeping his tongue to slow, methodical strokes. you whined his name through breathless moans, cumming around his fingers, feeling him moan into you as he sampled your sweetness. you almost felt bad for ruining the upholstery of his car seats. he did not seem to care that much.

“fuck…” he grunted, the sound drawn out as it left his lips, he stared down at your dripping cunt, adoring the way it pulsed around him, still so desperate to be filled, how a small sheen of sweat coated your skin, already so fucked out yet he’d barely just begun.

he reached into his car’s glove compartment, a box of condoms rested inside just in case of occasions such as this one, he pulled one out before you stopped him.

“no” you spoke breathlessly, almost in a daze, cock-drunk and so needy for him. adam gave a small exhale, still holding the condom, he returned to you, pressing his forehead sweetly to yours, remaining still for the moment.

“are you sure? i can always put one on just in case-“

“no adam…it’s okay…”

adam offered you a small kiss to your forehead, placing the condom back in the box and closing the compartment. he positioned himself between your thighs, lining his cock up with your entrance. he pressed his lips to yours, slipping himself inside you with ease. he felt you moan against his lips, arms instantly wrapping around his neck, keeping his gaze fixed on you.

“don’t be gentle, i wanna feel every inch of you” you encouraged, playing the the fallen strands of blonde curls that fell in front of his eyes. he gave a small nod, persisting with a rough thrust, one that made you whine in ecstasy. and feel every inch of him you did.

adam’s movements were relentless, yet calculated, every thrust he gave hit you in just the right spot, sending your body into overdrive with pleasure.

“you feel so fuckin’ good, darlin’. if i could keep my cock buried inside you forever, i would”

you leaned up, kissing him with such intense passion that he almost halted his movements. he was enthralled by your presence, how intoxicating your body was to him, how beautiful you were, how good you felt around him, adam was in complete awe of you.

you peered down, watching the way his cock filled you up to the brim, the way you could see the thick outline of him in your stomach, you were completely in love with the sight.

“adam…i’m close-“ you were on the verge of tears, already feeling them prick your waterlines, adam was a quick thinker, peppering delicate kisses to the tops of your eyelids as a way to soothe you momentarily

“so am i, darlin’” his breath was featherlight against your skin, moving up to press a longing kiss to your forehead “…can i?”

“cum inside me, adam…please”

he obliged, wrapping your legs around his waist, keeping him hooked to you as the distance between his thrusts substantially decreased.

“fuckfuckfuckfuck-“ he groaned through clenched teeth capturing your lips once more as you spilled around him, your sweet cunt pulsing around his cock, bringing him to his own release. he pumped his hot seed deep into your void, keeping himself buried deep until he was certain you’d accepted every last drop of him.

“fuck…you were amazing, darlin’”

“as were you, cowboy”

the both of you got dressed in a comfortable silence, as was the ride back to your apartment. he was still the gentleman you’d come to know, despite absolutely ruining you mere moments prior, offering to walk you back to your apartment.

before parting for the final time you turned to him, planting a gentle kiss to his lips.

“hey adam?” you questioned, watching him turn back to greet you

“how about you stay the night?”

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[chuya-chuya-blog]

I read Empyreal Cabinet today. I like to try the new shonen series so that if it becomes a big deal, I can say I was there first🤣🤣🤣 The first time I tried a newly debuted manga with this clear intent was with Rugby Rumble, and I'm really really enjoying it.

And if I'm curious about a series I don't wanna have to spend a thousand chapters playing catch up. This was a big hurdle for me with MHA, but I overcame and really enjoyed it. It was also fun to experience the ending at the same time as the rest of the fanbase. Gushing about the big moments together in an online discourse is so fun!😊

I'm currently struggling with this hurdle with Dandadan and Black Butler, and I LOVE those manga. But it can be a lot to digest at once, even if I'm in a binging mood. I was a bit late to the party for Dandadan, even though I WAS reading it long before the anime was announced, so yay, I was one of the first!😌

I've been reading Kuroshitsuji on and off for over a decade and finally decided to buckle down and catch up on it this year, so I don't know what to make of that.😅

But Empyreal Cabinet was not for me. Before anything, I will say that the artwork was beautiful and a pleasure to look at. I'm an art lover, a visual person who needs clear art in a comic I'm reading, and when it's also beautiful and practical like it was in Empyreal Cabinet, that's usually enough to get me at least somewhat excited. But while the story was focused, it was incredibly boring. Too many technical terms and formation jargon for me to slog through for a story I'm still trying to see if I even care about. I was able to manage and get a clear understanding of the story, mainly because I wanted to give it a fair chance. (And I also kept saying to myself, come on, you can't get through ONE chapter of a new story? Is your attention span that low?)

I have made it through the first chapter, but was more than halfway finished before I felt even a speck of intrigue. That was on page 46 when they were talking about the high school boys playing a prank. I'm convinced an enemy in disguise dared those boys to commit a prank to let a monster loose. Based on the discussion at the end, I can already see that these monster attacks are probably intentional, and being covered up by the superiors in the organization (yeah, I don't remember the names of anything, I'm already bad with names, but in this manga, I just didn't care😮‍💨). I'm interested to know if I'm right but not interested enough to remember to keep coming back for it every week (like I do with Rugby Rumble, which I why I was even on the app today).

None of the characters interest me. I don't care about anyone's ambitions or motivations, I have no desire to learn anything about them or to see them in action. The main character had this (what I can assume was supposed to be) somewhat badass moment towards the end, but I felt no excitement about it, and didn't find myself rooting for him or any of the others. We learn that he doesn't just roll over and take things, and has a righteous streak and is willing to take accountability, but I just do not CARE. It's not like I DISLIKE any of the characters, they were all just too flat, monotone, and one dimensional for me to care. I'm not saying I need to know anything about their back stories or motivations, I can see they care about their job and want to protect the people, and that's honestly a fine and valid drive for me. I just don't care about them enough to see them do it.

The world building was good, no problems there. It really just felt like Jujutsu Kaisen and Kaiju no. 8 had a baby and the protagonist of Kagurabachi is walking around. But it's like all the necessary story elements are solid individually, but weren't able to create an engaging story together.

Shonen Jump seems to be doing this thing where they're going for more stoic and stone cold protagonists, probably since those characters tend to be popular as side characters. But when they do that, the whole series tends to drag. They're coming out with a lot of manga like this lately, and I can't get into any of them. I think Shueisha should put out a Shonen Jump Dark magazine for all their series like this, since they insist on putting them out.🤣 Anime as a whole used to be more serious and adult like in nature back in the 80s and 90s, anyway, what with things like Golgo 13 and City Hunter. Ninja Scroll is a certified hood classic and Akira is legendary. I feel like Shueisha may be trying to usher back in an era of cool mature works like this in Japan, especially since their birth rate crisis is leaving them with a much smaller fanbase of youth. Less kids mean fewer kids to buy Shonen Jump. At the end of the day, they have a magazine to sell.

It's not just the fantasy series either, Shiba Inu Rooms has a reserved protagonist, and I like her enough. Her dynamic with the dog is cute and sweet. Unfortunately, the story is a bit boring, and I find myself behind a few chapters currently. Sure enough, though, the artwork keeps me coming back for more. The story and characters do their part pleasantly, and the artwork pulled it over the hump enough for me to add it to my favorites.

The dude with the cat was honestly just stupid, and the cat seems out of place with the art style. It actually got on my nerves with how desperately it tried to make its flimsy premise interesting. A house cat also can't actually ease tense muscles with their kneading. They don't do it hard enough for that to even make sense. Just go to a massage therapist, and no, I don't care if he actually has a reason as to why he doesn't, because the whole series was just stupid. Him getting the girl to pet the cat was stupid, too, no self preserving woman would have gone into a guys house to pet a cat. That one was just utter nonsense. I usually don't critique so harshly, but for an author that thinks so little of women, I find no problem.

It's not like I only go for lighthearted series, Drunk Bullet has some fun characters and great art, but I still don't know if I wanna bother keeping up with that. I feel like it might be a banger later on, so I may try to catch up with the chapters while there are still so few of them. I watched Ron Kamonohashi before I started the manga, and while I enjoyed the show, I don't know if I'm gonna be able to catch up on 100+ chapters of detective work, although it may be because I've only read the chapters that were animated so far, so I already knew what was going to happen. The artwork is really nice, and I find myself using it for reference when I need help with natural backgrounds.

I know Shonen Jump wants to fill the hole left by MHA (and soon to be JJK, I've heard), so hopefully more people like Empyreal Cabinet than I did. It may have the potential to start a new big three. It certainly has a similar vibe to Kagurabachi, and that seems to be doing well.

As for me, I'm probably going to drop it. As a fellow mangaka, I like to give series their fair chance, so I'll probably try a few more chapters, but I can tell this one is really not for me. I do look forward to what comes along soon in the future, though. And I hope to be one of the first on the bandwagon if it takes off, too!

[cat3ch1sm]

Hey!! 👋 Could you please do black butler headcannons on what the phantomhive servants look for in a s/o? Appearance, temperament, etc? Please and thank you !! :)

🐢~ yes of course!!

bardroy

༊*· appearances ultimately won't matter to bardroy, but they will be what attracts him to you first.

༊*· if you have long hair, dress sort of elegantly, and have an innocent-looking face, you're pretty much already in the running for bardroy's partner. i also think bardroy doesn't care for excessive amounts of makeup- just wear something simple and natural if you want to make him notice you.

༊*· as for bodies, i think he's into girls with fuller, curvier figures. i think he's really fond of plus-size girls mainly

༊* bardroy isn't picky when it comes to personality for the most part, but mainly he likes shy, soft-spoken girls. while he may not seem like it, bardroy is a thoughtful man, and appreciates people he doesn't have to be big and outgoing around. however, he also wants you to know how and when to be outspoken and stand up for yourself.

༊* temperament- get angry as much as u want. he thinks it's hot LMFAO just don't be mean angry

༊* if you can cook, yay! you can teach him how to not blow up the kitchen. if you can't, yay! he'll have fun showing you how to blow up the kitchen. if you're good with tools and whatnot, then that's just another bonus- you can help him clean up the kitchen when he blows it up.

mey-rin

༊* mey-rin actually doesn't care what you look like. as long as you're nice, she'll love you!

༊* mey- rin would probably want to date someone who works with her; she would want to be with you all the time!

༊* mey-rin wants a fun person, someone she can let loose with and laugh with. she also wants an open, accepting s/o who she doesn't have to fake being stupid around or behave all seriously around either.

༊* mey-rin needs someone with a lot of patience, too. she knows she can be a bit insufferable, and she wants someone that can bear with her most of the time- but she doesn't want a doormat. if something does bother you, she wants you to admit it, so you can help her improve!

༊*- temperament- y'all both have quick tempers💀💀 get angry as all hell

༊* if you tell her "this ______ reminds me of you," mey-rin will love you forever fr

༊* i think mey-rin prefers girls over boys. just saying lol

finnian

༊* finnian has a thing for people a lot taller than him. tbh at his height he doesn't have much of a choice anyway but he loves it, it makes him feel kinda safer

༊* that's basically all he cares about when it comes to appearance

༊* finnian will want someone peaceful- probably. he needs someone to balance out his general chaos.

if you're like alternative or something, you'll definitely catch his eye. lots of cool makeup, an interesting hairstyle, or lots of jewelry are super attractive to him; he loves people who stand out and are not afraid to be themselves.and he will definitely want to try out your style. put whatever you want on him- finnian is down!

༊* finnian loves those little games like puzzles, jenga, board games, things like that. he often embraces his inner child, so if you're someone who does the same, finnian will love u<3

༊* if you're super insecure? no matter. he'll tell u every day how amazing and attractive you are

༊* finnian wants someone who makes time for him and really shows him they care. he's someone who needs a lot of affection and warmth- so if you're on the stoic, more aloof side, finnian isn't for you.

[levis-hazelnut]

Levi x Reader Hate At First Sight

Summary: after hearing about you getting into a fight with some Military Police, Erwin and Levi go to try and enlist you as a scout, much to Levi’s dismay. Though, after some months spent there, you found yourself to be disliked by many scouts.

(a/n: look at my baby his side profile he’s so beautiful. also i do not hate petra it’s just for the sake of the fic so please don’t @ me lmao)

You gripped your knees, your back hunched while your chest rose and sank as you tried to catch your breath. The reason you were running was that moments ago, some men tried to molest you. Though you were able to beat them down, you obviously didn't want to stay around that area of filthy MPs. Yes, they were everywhere, but that particular place isn't somewhere where you should be late in the evening. Only whores would walk around there. And you definitely aren't one of them. You may have the face and figure of one, but you would never stoop to that level just to get money and to pleasure foul men who treat women as objects. It's good that you're poor because then you have loose clothes that don't make your curvaceous body show. Walking at a slower pace, you made your way to your 'home' which was just a place behind a store, which had sacks piled on top of each other, making it comfortable enough to sleep there rather than the gelid ground. And to be able to get the owner to let you stay there, you had a massive dispute that caused you to get attention to yourself and you were on the verge of pulling out the blade you keep in your boot. But now, you are on good terms with him.

A lot of the friends you had didn't remain with you because of your temper. Or they would have been caught by the Military Police. Either way, you don't have any of your past friends. Hey, it's not your fault you would go out of control at any time, sometimes for no reason. Well, it is your fault but you didn't make yourself this way, so tell that to whatever god is up there.

You plopped down onto the stack of sacks, staring up at the midnight blanket, where stars sparkled in and the gleaming moon gazed down at you. As you rested your head on your arm and your other arm laid across your torso, your stomach slightly grumbled from being deprived of food. Sighing, you jumped up, heading inside the shop you laid behind. Thankfully, it was a small restaurant. As you walked in, the owner glanced at you with a frown. "(Y/N), it's closing time. Why are you coming in now?" You put a hand to your stomach. "Don't tell me. It's my hollow stomach." "Here." He chucked you a whole loaf of bread and an apple. "Now, leave. I've got to clean up." "Thanks.” Sitting back down, you threw the apple up in the air and caught it in your left hand as you ate the bread. After finishing the food, you relaxed and closed your eyes, so you could escape from the life you have and dream about living somewhere else, somewhere cosy, somewhere warm and more home-like. And maybe even someone you could spend your life with without them leaving you because of your fierceness or dying. ~/~ "Corporal Levi?" "What?" aforementioned person replied with an exasperated sigh. "Commander Erwin said he needs to talk to you." "Tch. Okay." He walked away with profanities soaring through his mind, wanting to just go to his office and avoid people that were getting on his nerves. Stepping into the Commander's office, he crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned against the wall after shutting the door. "What do you want?" The Commander gestured to a chair in front of him so the other male could sit down and he could inform him of the situation. "A while ago, in Wall Sina, there was a woman who got in a fight with a few Military Police and took off with ODM gear. She isn’t a soldier or anything, so she most likely hadn't handled gear before, but she was able to use it with ease, meaning she's someone skilled." "So?" "We need to go get her to enlist as a scout." "Tch. Why? She already sounds shitty and bratty." "We're going tonight, Levi." He stood up and left the office, clicking his tongue. All he wanted was to avoid people and now, he has to go get some bitch who probably doesn't even know how to wipe their ass. An hour, or so, ago... A group of four Military Police surrounded you, all of them having smug expressions that made you want to punch them in their faces... and then their balls. You wouldn't let them get away with only a punch to the face. Who do they think you are? A princess? You steal some gear thingy, that looked intriguing to you, from one of them and suddenly you're the bad guy? These idiots think they can beat you as well. You could just laugh. "Do you really think you can beat me?" you chuckled. You did just laugh. "We don't want to hurt you, darlin'. Just give us back the gear." "Who said you can call me darlin'?" you snarled and fly kicked one of them. He ended up slamming against the building behind him, sliding down the wall, knocked out. You charged at another, kicking their crotch and punching the top of his head as he dropped onto the ground with a thud.

Two more left... One of them came towards you with their fist drawn back to punch you with a force meant to harm you but you caught their fist and twisted their arm, pushing it towards their chest as they let out a cry of pain. You thrust your foot at his abdomen as he held his arm, groaning.

"Are you really going to try and beat me?" The last one only smirked, approaching you, so you pulled out the blades from the equipment you took from him and pressed it to his neck. He froze on the spot and gulped, cold sweat appeared on his flesh and dropped with a patter on the ground. "I'm going to give you five seconds to take your comrades and get your asses out of here." You put the blade back into its place and watched the panicking man pick up the other dirty humans and hurry away, not wanting to wait to see what you would do after five seconds. Ignoring the people gawking at you, you dusted your clothes before figuring out how to use the gear to head to your favourite shop, wanting something to drink. You were able to do it with ease, flying through the doors and swiftly landing on your feet. The bell rang to notify people that someone came in.

You sat on your table. Yes, it was your table and all the regulars knew that after seeing you pound a man for taking your table. Ever since then, no one has sat at that table apart from the drunk idiots who want your attention or people that haven't been to this place yet. It was near the window and it had the sofa seat so you would lean your back against the window, stretching your legs across the seat. You placed the equipment you took on the table.

"Oi, Luis," you called to the owner, and he looked at you from where he was at the counter. "The usual." He nodded at you and proceeded to make you your black tea with no sugar. After about five minutes, he placed the cup of tea in front of you as you handed him some money you were able to 'earn', paying him for the food he gave you the last few days as well. But you always got a discount so it wasn't too much of a problem for you to stea-- earn a bit of dough. "Hi, (Y/N)~" Yay, another drunken fool trying to hit on you. You rolled your eyes, disregarding his presence that sat opposite you as you drank your tea. He was saying shit you weren't listening to. But, seriously, who gets drunk during the day? He's probably just another jerk whose wife ran away from and took most of his money or something like that. All these snobby, egotistic people, who live within Wall Sina, piss you off to the extent that you want to make sure that their pained screams reach Wall Rose, so that those citizens would know what would happen if they pissed you off. "Hey, idiot, I'm going to give you three seconds to get out of my sight," you growled. All he did was smirk and lean over the table, trying to get closer to you. You punched him the middle of his face, but it didn't look like he could feel it. You stood up and dragged him off the seat, kicking him over and over as he laid on the sparkling, marble floor. "Hey, hey, hey!!" Luis jogged up to you. "(Y/N), you need to stop beating up my customers! Soon, you'll be my only customer." "Tell this bastard to get the fuck out and leave me alone, then." "I can't kick someone out for you." "Tch." You trudged out of the shop, wandering around the streets, hiding from any MPs that walked past, so you could evade another fight since you weren't in the mood for any action. "Hey, (Y/N)!" "Moritz," you greeted as he came up to you. "I haven't seen you in a while." "Just trying to stay away from any bastards. So, get away from me," you joked to which he chuckled softly. "My offer still stands... I'd like a daughter like you." "Sorry, Moritz. Leon isn't my type." "My son is in love with you. He's a kind and soft lad and if I'm being fair, he's handsome." "Exactly. That isn't my type. I want someone strong, feisty and someone able to handle my temper and maybe get into heated arguments with me. But of course, I want someone attractive." Several hours later... "Levi, are you ready?" "Yes." The stoic man let out a heavy breath and proceeded to leave his office, following the tall blonde. They both got their gear before leaving the building and entering a carriage waiting for them. "Why is this brat special? There are so many cadets that can use ODM gear." "As I said before, she isn’t a soldier and was able to use it without practice." "What's her name?" "(Y/N) (L/N)." The rest of the journey was quiet, only a few words of what they were going to do and the occasional click of the tongue because of how long the trip was. Finally, they arrived in front of a classy restaurant and it was filled with people due it being the evening when couples go there. You shimmied past the couples all dressed up in fancy clothes and you were able to make it out of it. Looking back over your shoulder, you rolled your eyes before frowning when you saw two men standing in front of you. You crossed your arms over your chest and arched an eyebrow. "Look, I took your friend's gear hours ago. Why are you still chasing after me? It's not that big of a deal." "Are you (Y/N) (L/N)?" the taller male asked. "... Yes. What do you want?" "May I see the gear you were talking about?" "Are you going to take it?" "No." "Okay. Follow me." You walked to your pile of sacks, expecting them to be behind you but they were in their place. "You coming or what?" They slowly approached you, wary of their surroundings. "What is this place?" the stoic male questioned, clearly disgusted. "Welcome to my humble abode." You ignored his criticism. You looked about for the gear but you couldn't find it, that's when you realised that you had left it in the restaurant. You hoped that no one took it. You sighed and looked into the restaurant, telling the two males where you left it, so they dismissed you, allowing you to get it and they followed you but waited outside. You opened the door, pushing people out of the way. "Move out the way, you fucking arrogant idiots," you muttered. You looked around your table where a couple sat but you didn't care since you weren't going to sit there and there wasn't any other space. You frowned when you didn't see it. Who the fuck took it? ... Oh, they did. There were two men and a woman on a table with the gear in front of them as they all put their nasty hands on it. The woman was drunk and holding a wine glass filled with a red liquid, one of the men was smoking and the other had a beer. You barged through the crowd, striding to their table. "Excuse me. This is mine." You tried taking it, but the man closest to you stopped you from doing that as he stood up, coming closer to you so you backed away. You could smell the cigarettes emitting from him as you held your breath at the foul smell. "Now, why would I let you take this without anything in return?" "Tch. Give it before I prevent you from having kids." "I wouldn't mind having a baby with a gal like you." "Get your breath out of my face. And give it to me. I swear, I'll knock you down so you won't be able to get up ever again," you grumbled. "I like my women feisty." You punched his left cheek and he stumbled back into his seat as you picked up the gear, turning around to face the entrance but all you saw was more people entering. Okay, you didn't care anymore. You swiped a man and stepped on him to get closer to the door but a woman came in your way, her boobs blocking your way. You slid through what little space there was and jumped over a short person, enabling you to exit and go back to the two men outside. The one with blue eyes looked surprised as you passed him the material. "That was impressive." "What?" "How you got past all those people." "Eh, it was nothing." "Anyway, are you able to use this properly?" "Yes. It isn't that hard." "Can you show me your skills with it?" "Why? Wait... how do you even know my name? Who are you people?" you inquired after realisation hit you. "I'm Commander Erwin Smith and this is Corporal Levi Ackerman. We're from the Scout Regiment and we heard that you got into a fight with some MPs and you were able to easily use this so I wanted to see your skills and see if you're worthy of becoming a scout." "Why would I want to join you? All of you are stupid to leave the walls to fight titans. I don't want to become like you. And there are a lot who don't even know how to fight and I don't want to fight with morons,” you responded. "Yes, I don't have a great life but it's better than risking it to go do something stupid. I don't care if you're the Commander and he's Humanity's Strongest Soldier, I'm not becoming a scout." "Tch. We don't do something stupid, we fight for humanity. You only fight to get away from trouble. I don't know why we have to save the likes of you but we do and we don't do it because we want to, we do it because we have to. And they may be idiots, but they're damn good soldiers who shouldn't be ill spoken about by someone like you," Levi growled lowly, venom laced in his words. 'Someone like you', who does this fucking midget think he is? You were probably around his height but women are generally shorter than men. You narrowed your eyes and proceeded to thrust your fist at his face but he dodged it before headbutting you. He punched your nose, causing it to bleed and he struck your gut straight after. He threw punches at you, one after another, until you had enough, bringing your leg up to kick the side of his head. He put his hand there, weakening the blow, and grabbed your ankle, slamming you down onto the stone ground. You felt slightly dizzy but you shook it off, standing up immediately, ramming your knuckles into his face and you tried to trip him over but he kept his balance. After punches being thrown and both of you being beaten up, to finish the fight off, he slid behind you and twisted your arm behind your back, stepping on your foot as his other hand held your wrist by your side. You tried shaking him off, but it was futile. He twisted your arm more, getting a quiet hiss of pain from you. "You may be able to beat up some useless MPs but we, at the Scout Regiment, are nothing like them. You better think twice before you try to fight with me." "Thank you, Le--" Erwin started but was cut off. "(Y/N)?" a gentle voice uttered, and you turned your head towards it. "What are you doing here, Leon?" "I-I came here to see you..." he shyly said, his ginger hair hiding his emerald eyes as he gazed at the ground where blood trailed. "What's happening? Who are these men?" He looked back up with concern pooling in his orbs. "It's nothing. Do you want to talk about something?" "It can wait. It looks like you have to deal with something." "Oi, get off of me. I won't try to put up a fight, or run away." "I don't trust you." You clicked your tongue and lifted your foot up to kick his groin but he wrapped his leg around yours so you weren't able to strike him. "Can I not talk to him?" you snapped. "Levi, let her go." "Idiot," you murmured loud enough so he was able to hear but he didn't say anything. You walked up to the boy. "Leon, I don't think you should tell me anything important because I don't know if I'm going to be able to see you after today. They're from the Survey Corps and they want to enlist me. I don't want to go, but it looks like they're going to force me." "But--" You could see the tears welling up in his pretty eyes. "I love you, (Y/N)." "I know. But that's how it is. Sorry." You didn't sound sorry at all, your tone was your usual dull, yet harsh one, but you genuinely did feel a bit of compassion for him. After two years of trying to get you to be his wife, you're going to leave his life without leaving any feelings for him. He was a gentleman and you liked him, however, not as a lover or whatever, he was just delightful to have around. You didn't want to leave him like this so you embraced him, gently rubbing his back and whispering a few words. "Will you ever come back?" "I don't know. It's a high possibility that I won't." "If you do, will you marry me then?" "We'll have to see," you smiled; it was the first smile you ever let break out onto your lips since you were around ten. "Tch. Why did I come to see this?" "Shut up, Levi. Just be glad that you'll have a valuable soldier on your side." A scowl replaced your smile. He scoffed. "We've got plenty of useful soldiers, including myself." "I might see you later, Leon. Bye." "Bye, (Y/N)." He took your hand and softly kissed it. And with that, you left the boy in heartbreak and started a new life as a scout after showing them your skills, which Levi scoffed at so you backhanded him. On the way to headquarters, you and Levi sat opposite each other and argued as Erwin silently sat there, wishing for the ride to be over. Since the journey was long and it was around midnight, you had fallen asleep after some time, allowing peace to settle into the carriage. Once you reached HQ, Erwin stepped out and stood by the carriage, waiting for you and Levi to get off. "Oi, brat, get up." Levi tried to awake you. "Brat, wake up." "Who you calling brat?" you asked tiredly, failing to convey your irritation. "You. Now, shut up and get out." "Tch. Don't go telling me what to do, Ackerman," you muttered angrily, too tired to put up a fight. All three of you entered the building and coincidentally, you were walking next to Levi, starting another argument so Erwin walked in between the both of you, leading you to his office, while Levi went to his.

"Take a seat, (Y/N),” he told you. "This is the key to your room. We'll fill out the paperwork and do everything tomorrow. For now, just go sleep and I'll tell you all you need to know tomorrow." "Whatever." You left his office after he told you the directions to your room and you went there, finding a single bed with a bedside table that had a lit lantern. The first thing you wanted to do was have a shower since you felt sweaty from all the action you had today. Once you showered, you went straight to bed, snuggling into the blanket, able to have a good night's sleep for once in ages. ~/~ After changing into your uniform, you looked at your reflection. It fit you very well but you didn't want it to. You don't like showing your curves, but it's not that you feel insecure with people looking, you just don't like it. You don't want your body to be the thing that attracts people and you don't want people coming after you because of your alluring figure. With no hesitation, you would punch anyone that tries to touch you. As you were told to, you went to Erwin's office before breakfast started, ignoring the gazes that were focused on your form. You rolled your eyes as you stepped into his office, slamming the door behind you. "Gosh, these idiots don't know how to keep their eyes in their sockets." You turned your head to the door, not noticing Erwin's cerulean eyes on you. He blinked to break himself out of his daze and cleared his throat as he gestured to the seat in front of him. You sat down casually, not caring about being formal. "Sit up, (Y/N)." "Tch." "Sit up," he repeated. "You shouldn't disobey your superiors." You sighed and did as he said. "Happy?" "I've got these papers for you to sign," he told you as he handed a few sheets. "And these papers have information that you'll need to know but I'm going to go through it with you. I'm going to put you in Hanji's command..." After about half an hour, you were able to leave his office and make it for breakfast. You entered the mess hall with him and grabbed some food, sitting down on an empty table since you have yet to get to know these people and you thought that people would come up to you first. "Who is she?" "Mmm~ Look at that ass." "Look at those boobs." "You lot are pervs." "You only say that because you have Krista." "Yeah, and she's better than whoever that woman is." "I think she's pretty." "She's certainly not ugly." "Eren?" "Mikasa, do you not say anything else?" "Eren?" "What?" "Stop ogling her." "I-I wasn't." "Yeah, right, Jaeger. Wipe the drool from your mouth." "I'm the one drooling? You look like you have rabies." "You want to take this outside?" "Both of you, stop being children." You glanced at the table making the most noise and saw that all ten of them were looking in your way. Some averted their eyes as others smiled at you, however, you gave a cold stare in return before looking back at your food. It wasn’t exactly intentional to look at them like that, it's basically just your usual expression. "Did you see that?" "She may be pretty, but she's rude." "Who does she think she is? Looking at us like that." "I didn't see what happened." "Of course you didn't. You were too busy stuffing your face with food." "I think we should go talk to her." "Yeah, teach her a lesson." "Guys, sit down. You can't do that do a new person." "Yeah, guys, what's wrong with you?... Wait like a week, then you can teach her a lesson." "Jean! Don't encourage them!" "Oi, you lot?" You stood at their table, their heads turning your way as they had just noticed that you were there. "If you try to beat me up, you'll be s-- What the hell are you doing?!" you yelled at the person on your left who just touched your ass. "Feeling your ass," he stated nonchalantly. "You people are pervs. I agree with whoever that it is." "Whoever that it is, is Ymir," said girl inserted. They all introduced themselves to you but you couldn't be any less interested. "Okay, whatever. I don't give a shit about who you are. I came here to tell you that if you, Eren, Ymir, Jean and Reiner, try to beat me up, you'll be sorry. And I don't understand, do you want to grope my ass or beat it, Reiner?" "Who said I can't do both?" he smirked as you rolled your eyes, about to go back to your table. "Wait, (Y/N). Why don't you sit with us?" "So I can get harassed? No, thanks." "Just sit with us. We promise we won’t do anything," Jean told you. With slight reluctance, you got your plate from the other table and sat on the end of the table next to Armin, everyone focused on you as you spoke about your life before you came here.

At times, you would notice brown eyes belonging to a strawberry-blonde girl and grey eyes belonging to a raven man flutter towards you, but every time you looked up, they pretended as if they weren't staring at you. You could feel their glares burn into you. And you knew Levi's stare was of anger, but what was that girl's problem? ~/~ You wore a vest top and shorts, training with Reiner who volunteered to, probably just so he could see you with fewer clothes on. It's been going on for the past few weeks. You were a bit distracted during training because you felt as if someone was watching you and they were giving off a dark aura. You looked around but couldn't find anyone. "(Y/N), are you okay?" "Yeah. Come on." You waited for him to attack you and he did but you were able to knock him down before you saw the cause of the dark aura in the distance. "Hey, you!" you shouted, going towards them. "Do you have something to say to me?" You crossed your arms over your chest. "No. Nothing at all." She clenched her jaw. "You're Petra, right?" "Yeah. Actually, I do want to tell you something, you stay away from Corporal Levi," she growled, scrunching your vest in her fist. "Woah, Petra! What are you doing to (Y/N)?" Reiner jogged up to the two of you. Damn, now you can't beat the crap out of her. She let go of you and put on a bright smile, facing Reiner who knew that that smile was fake. "Nothing. I was just giving her some advice about making friends." "We need to train so leave us alone," Reiner took your arm protectively and dragged you away, but you protested. "Wait. I'll train with Petra today," you smirked devilishly. "No." "Oi, Petra! How about you spar with me?" "... Why?" "Just." You shrugged. "Sure," she agreed when she saw Levi come outside of the building, taking the chance to get his attention. You knew she wasn't strong enough for her to beat you, so this wouldn't end well for her. You both got into a fighting stance, before you threw your fist forward at her face, but you stopped just before you hit her so she dodged the potential blow and wasn't able to elude the kick you gave at her side. She was about to topple over but she caught herself, not letting you be victorious just yet. She attempted to punch your gut but you blocked it by making a cross over yourself. A crowd formed around you two, including the Corporal that Petra seemed obsessed about. But, of course, with his short stature, he wasn't able to see who exactly was fighting, so he pushed people out of the way, able to reach the front and see you and Petra. She tried to trip you over but that failed miserably and she fell flat on her face. A few from the huddle snickered quietly as others applauded even though it wasn't a real win. You crouched down and whispered, "Good luck in impressing that stubborn idiot." You got back up, grabbed your uniform and walked off, ignoring Levi who called for you. "Hanji!" you called to get her attention as she strolled through the castle. "Yes?" "Does Petra like Levi or something?" "I think so, yes. Why are you asking?" "During my training, she was watching me and she said to stay away from him. We got into a small fight which quickly ended because of her stupidity. I'm guessing the only reason this happened is that she's jealous. But she's moronic if she thinks that I would try to move to Levi." "Who's moronic?" a familiar voice spoke from behind you. You turned around. "Petra. Why the fuck would she think that I like you? You're bothersome, you're stubborn, you're irritating, you're an ass, you annoy the hell out of me and you're a bastard." "Thanks," he replied sarcastically. "The same can be said about you." "Tch. Shut it, Ackerman." "You know, you have a temper problem. And you shouldn't talk to me like that." "This is who I am. I can talk to you in any way I like." "You might not be able to talk after I knock your teeth out," he threatened with a glare. "I'm not scared of you." "We'll see about that," he muttered before walking away. "And put some clothes on." "What did you do to Shorty to make him so angry with you?" "I called soldiers stupid. Got in a fight with him. We've argued a lot of times." "Oof. I would have advised you to stay on his good side." "Too late." You shrugged. "It won't last long. He'll soften up after some time." "I don't think he will. Whatever, I need to go 'put some clothes on'." "Okay. Can I borrow you after for help with experiments?" Hanji asked slowly, hoping you wouldn't yell at her like last time, saying how you didn't give a sh*t about it. "No," you bluntly said as you left her, going to your room but was stopped by an annoying figure who you rolled your eyes at. "Looking good, (Y/N)." "Shut up." "You look a little dirty, want to have a shower with me?" You grabbed Jean's collar and brought your face close to his, a glare etched on your visage as you saw his Adam's apple move down and then back into its place as he gulped. "Shut the hell up and I'll let this one time slide." He nodded and scurried off once you let you go of him, entering your room and locking the door behind you. You decided to shower since you were covered in sweat and you felt nasty. ~/~ "Eurgh, look who it is," a voice whispered a little too loud as you entered the mess hall for breakfast, striding to your usual table with a few of people that you don't mind being around and the few that aren't annoying you or bothering you in any way. "She doesn't belong here." "You know, I heard that before she came here she worked in a brothel." "Everyday, she wears her vest top and short shorts, acting like a slut." "The other day, she was being a bitch to me. She laughed at my figure when I was looking in my reflection. Then, she said that no one would love me when I have a body like this." "I've heard that she's flirted with every man she's had contact with." This has been going on for at least three months: people making fun of you, talking about you, pushing you about, calling you names and such. You haven't taken any of it to heart, but you wondered what happened to make nearly everyone despise you. Everyone but superiors and the ten scouts you had befriended first, and even though Levi dislikes you, he doesn't contribute to the crowd that is being cruel to you. He already hated you from the start. "They're still going at it?" "Forget about them," Erwin told you. "How can I when they're practically saying it to me? All of what they're saying isn't even true. And they shouldn't try to start a fight with me because I'll beat the sh*t out of them." "Well, you are a bitch, so that's true," Levi murmured. "Ackerman, I suggest you shut up before I beat the shit out of you." You rammed your heel into his foot under the table since you were opposite him. "Tch. You should be happy that some of us aren't part of those dumb brats." "Dumb?" you repeated. "So, you're saying that they're dumb for saying all that stuff about me?" "... No... They're stupid in general." "Mhm." "What was that?" He frowned. "What?" "That 'mhm'." "Nothing." After staring at each other questioningly, you both went quiet as the other superiors on your table carried on their own conversations. Halfway through breakfast, you felt something cold and wet being poured onto your head, soaking your shirt and falling down your shirt which sent a shiver through you. You stood up and turned around to the laughing bastards, kicking the boy in the nuts and slapping the girl which shut them up. "What the fuck is your problem?! What did I do to you?!" "Someone decided to go braless today," the girl whispered to the other. You looked down and felt your cheeks growing red, out of rage and embarrassment. Something landed on your head and hung over your chest. You realised that it was a cape that Levi threw at you, which you wrapped around yourself before heading to your room to change out of the drenched clothes that you had just changed into. "Why the hell are you doing this? Yeah, she can be a brat, but all of you are, so I don't know why you lot are acting like this towards her when she didn't do anything. Both of you have kitchen duty for two months. If I see you one of you two do anything to her, you won't see the end of it." "Yes, sir." "Now, get the hell out of my face," Levi ordered as he sat back down in his seat, the others on the table looking at him with surprise. Who knew he would stand up for you like that? "What are you looking at?" "How come you stood up for (Y/N) like that?" Miche asked. "I didn't stand up for her. I was scolding them for acting like that towards a cadet." "Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say," Hanji said quietly with a smirk. "You shut up, Shitty Glasses." "I'm just saying that I don't think you would have done that for any other scout." "... That may be true, but they're mistreating (Y/N) for no reason." "Getting close to her, are we?"

"Tch. Just shut up." "Shorty has a crush~" Hanji sang in a low voice near his ear as she sat next to him, her 'best friend'. "I've only known her for five damn months. How could I already like her?" "Why are you asking me? And five months isn't that short, it's quite long if you think about it." "I don't care. I don't like her." "Okay~ Whatever you say~" Levi shot daggers at her before going back to eating in silence, not interacting with any more annoying people who seem to have a habit of bothering him nearly every day. One day, they'll leave him and he can live in serenity. One day, when all the titans are rid of and he can leave this shithole. All he has to do wait for that damn day that's taking its time to arrive. Can't it be a little more considerate? "I have to agree with Hanji. You seem to be a little protective over (Y/N)," Erwin stated after some time. "I. Don't. Fucking. Like. That. Brat." "Calm down, Levi. It's not a bad thing to like (Y/N)," Moblit teased. "Tch." The raven stood up and left the mess hall as he could hear the others laughing at him in the background. He slammed the door shut and trudged to his office with a scowl. He found you standing outside his office, your hand reaching for the handle but you stopped when you saw him come your way. "What are you doing, brat?" "I was going to give you your cape back. Thanks," you muttered. "Shut up," he grumbled, snatching the material from your hands and stepping into his office, locking the door. "Oi! Why are you telling me to shut up when I said thanks?" you shouted. "Get away from my office!" he yelled back. You rolled your eyes and started to go back to the mess hall. "Last time I thank you, bastard," you mumbled to yourself. ~/~ Your door shut with a bang after you had stormed into it, and leaned your back against the wood, hiding your face in your hands as you cried. Your legs gave out so you dropped to the ground with your legs arched and your arms resting on your knees as you placed your head on your arms, feeling tears drop onto your lap, seeping through your clothes. Two minutes later, you heard laughing, yelling and then footsteps approach your room. Light knocks sounded from the door with the soft call of your name. You knew who it was, but didn't respond so they turned the handle, slowly pushing the door open, however, you prevented that from happening by sitting by the door. They slid through the small gap before closing the door again, crouching down to you. "(Y/N)." "Leave me alone!" you shouted, though it was muffled behind your sobs and your face was hidden. "No. You obviously need someone right now." "I hate you! I hate all of them! Just get the fuck out!!" you roared, tearing your face away from your arms and looking at Levi's gentle expression. He didn't seem startled at all. "... Why are they doing this to me?" you whispered and concealed your face again, not wanting Levi to see you in this state. "Ignore them." "You know, it's all that Petra's fault. The bitch is envious of me and just wants to break me down into nothing. All because she's in love with you and she thinks that I like you!" "Tch. I don't even like her. She can fuck off. And how is doing this going to make me fall for her? I was wondering why she was being more clingy than usual," he muttered, but it was more to himself before he turned his attention back to you. "Don't let her break you down. You're a strong woman, so don't let something petty like this ruin you." "What am I meant to do? You don't know how hard it is to overlook them. You don't know how hard it is to keep a straight face when I'm hurting inside. I don't care if Petra may be making them do this, I hate it!" Surprisingly, you felt arms loop around your cowered form and haul you onto Levi's lap which made you remove your head from your arms again, looking at the raven, who was now right in front of you and gazing at your bloodshot eyes. He gently wiped your tears away and brushed a few (H/C) tresses that stuck to your tear-stained face.

More tears escaped as you shoved your face into his chest, soaking his shirt with the salty moisture and snot. He cradled you in his arms until you stopped crying which was about under an hour. "Are you okay now?" "Yeah. Thank you," you murmured as you wiped your face with tissue that Levi got for you. "Don't mention it. Do you need to talk?" "What's there to talk about? Petra hates me so she got people to make my life hell and I broke down." "I don't know how you were able to put up with it for half a year." "Barely. I just put on a poker face." Levi gently grabbed your chin in between his index finger and thumb, tilting your head towards him as you saw a slight smile creep onto his lips. "Don't hide your feelings anymore," he whispered before tenderly kissing you, his eyes fluttering shut. You were taken aback before you were brought back to your senses, finding yourself kissing him back as you cupped his face with a single hand. One of his hands trailed up from your hips to your scalp, tangling his slender fingers in your tousled locks. He was the first to pull away with gleaming orbs gazing at you with affection, licking away the strand of saliva that connected his lips to yours. "I'll always be here for you. To protect you, to talk, to comfort you, or whatever else you want." "Thank you, Levi," you hummed, leaning your forehead against his, pecking his lips once more. "Come on. Let's go eat." "I don't want to go," you said with pleading eyes. "I told you that I'll be here for you. You have to eat something before you sleep." "Please, don't make me go." "Just sit with me. I'll make sure that no one does anything to you." "I can't." "You need to endure it to become stronger. I'll be right next to you, okay?."

Sighing shakily, you stood up with a nod. "Okay." "I like seeing this vulnerable side of you," Levi teased as he walked out of your room, you padding beside him. "Shut up. You aren't allowed to tell anyone about this." The Corporal only smirked as you rolled your eyes.

As you strolled through the corridors to get to the mess hall, a few people were lingering, standing on the side and snickering when you went past. You tried to ignore them, though, it was difficult. "I heard that she got Corporal Levi drunk to sleep with her." "I can't, Levi. I'm going back to my room." You proceeded to turn and walk away but he grabbed your forearm. "(Y/N)." He cupped your face with both of his hands, making you face him but you averted your eyes, feeling tears welling up. "Look at me." You reluctantly brought your eyes back to his. "She's a whore. She tried to make me have sex with her and my friend. She wanted a threesome!" "Levi, I'm going." You tried freeing yourself from his hold, but he didn't let you. "No. Look at me. Ignore them." "How am I meant to ignore them?!" "Look at me!" he commanded. "... You can ignore them if you put your mind to it. Don't let them cause you grief because then it pains me to see you hurt. I don't like seeing you in pain so don't get affected by them. Ignore them and keep your eyes on me." A tear rolled down your cheek so he embraced you tightly, stroking your back soothingly. He let out an inaudible huff, wishing he could relieve your pain. "I won't force you to go to the mess hall. Go to my office, I'll bring you food." You nodded and pulled away from his grip. When you made your way to his office, people would say or do things but you stayed strong, and you were kind of proud of yourself once you made it into his office. You sat down on his sofa, waiting for him to come back. About five minutes later, the raven appeared with a tray of two bowls, bread and two glasses of water. He settled it onto his desk after you helped him clear the surface. You both sat down and ate together, allowing him to see your smile that he was deprived of ever since people started to harass you. After years of dreaming of having a home, having someone to stay with you, they came true. You have someone strong, feisty and you're sure you'll have plenty more heated arguments to come. On top of it all, he was damn sexy.

[ultraintrovertedgryffindor]

Hi do you think u can do a Roman Godfrey imagine where they are dating and y/n is a good innocent girl but freaky with Roman and her parents want to Roman over for dinner Roman wants to piss off her dad and does subtle things to annoy him like touching y/n at the end of the night when they are saying goodbye at his car they have a heated make out sesh and Roman knows her dad is looking through the window so spices it up a bit

Of course! I will always remember you, Anon, as the first person to make a request ❤ I really hope you enjoy! Being the first request I’ve had, it might flop lol. But I hope this is at least close to what you had in mind!

Warning: Slightly NSFW

~~~~~~~~~~

Having such a sweet personality made everyone think you were innocent and you were, for the most part. Roman was one of many people who thought this, comparing you to Shelley or Letha levels of innocence.

But when Roman decided he wanted to play games with you, he was shocked to find out you could play games just as well as he could.

After getting to know you some, he quickly realized that the sweet innocent side to you actually wasn’t a front like some people faked. You were genuinely caring, and probably the sweetest person he’d ever met besides Shelley.

But something about Roman could make even the most angelic human on earth act like a demon behind closed doors once in a while.

Roman definitely brought out your wild side, not in a bad way either. He surely got you to come out of your shell.

For as long as you can remember, you’ve always been sweet and you knew that’s how you wanted to live. But you’d admit, it was fun letting loose with one of your favorite people. Not having to worry so much about consequences and such.

Yours parents were bewildered and astonished that their sweet little girl could date someone so...not like you. They didn’t know how to react when you told them, especially your mother.

Your father however, organized his feelings pretty quickly. The first thing he wanted to do was find Roman, kill him, and feed him to the family dog.

But instead, he asked you to invite Roman over for dinner.

Now if it was literally anyone else, even the Rumancek boy, you wouldn’t feel as panicked to invite them over. But knowing Roman, you knew it had no chance of ending well.

But you couldn’t exactly say no to your loving parents. You knew they just wanted to protect you, even if it was unbearably annoying.

You internally groaned when you saw Roman smirked evilly when you asked him to have dinner with the ‘rents.

You told him and made it very clear that your father already did not like him, but he only responded with, “I’m not gonna let an old man scare me away from being with you.” Then giving you a quick kiss on the forehead before walking off to find his sister.

Off to a fabulous start...

Roman already knew how he was going to act at your place as soon as you told him to behave. He wasn’t one to take orders, even from you. He wasn’t going to be disrespectful per say, but definitely wasn’t going to be intimidated by some old guy. Even if he was your father.

Getting ready for the dinner was nerve wracking already. Your palms were already starting to sweat slightly, heartbeat irregular, some of your nervous ticks sticking out like a sore thumb.

Your mother noticed this of course, you smoothing down your blouse to the point of your hands turning a soft pink was a clue indeed.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. I’ve already convinced your dad to kill him quick and painlessly if he chooses to go that route.” She joked, showing a sickeningly sweet smile.

“Ha ha, not funny.” You huffed.

You almost screamed in terror when the doorbell rang twice. Roman had already texted you that he was on his way, but you were so nervous that anything could’ve spooked you at this point.

“I’ll get it!” You quickly voiced, running to the front door.

You opened the door, revealing the man you’re so fond of. His hair was slicked back and his mouth upturned in his usual smirk that made your knees go weak.

“Hello, my dearest.” He smirked, leaning over to give you a kiss but you quickly dodged it, making him place his lips on your cheek instead. “It’s gonna be that type of dinner then.” He hummed disappointedly.

You chuckled softly. “Not when my parents are just five feet away from us.”

Roman rolled his green eyes. “Fine.”

You brought Roman into the kitchen where your mother was currently doing some finishing touches on the main course. “Mom, this is Roman.” You introduced.

You could tell your mother was wary at first, eyeing him up and down subtly. “It’s so good to finally meet you, Mrs. Y/L/N.” He smiled warmly, reaching out his hand.

Roman’s charm quickly put your mother’s worries at ease, her giving a similar warm smile and taking his hand for a tender handshake.

“The Godfrey kid here?” You heard your father’s unnecessarily booming voice call out, promptly entering the door frame of the kitchen.

You turned around to see your father’s stoic face and almost laughed. Your father was a pretty joyful man, so seeing him play up the role of protective papa bear was a sight to see.

“Dad, this is Roman.” You said, a more obvious nervousness to your voice than before.

Roman did the same thing before. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Y/L/N.” Reaching his hand out with a smile.

“You can call me Sir, little Godfrey.”

“Dad...” You whined.

Roman only smiled, laughing it off. “Yes, sir.” He said, a slight annoyance in his voice. He wrapped his arm around your waist, and you could feel the anger by how hard he was gripping you.

You could see your father fixate his glare on his hand that was around you, and you immediately got the hint, gently removing Roman’s arm. “Dinner’s ready! Right, mom?” You voiced suddenly, trying desperately to break some of the tension.

“Uh, yeah! Pretty much!” Your mother grinned.

“Yay! Let’s go!” You exclaimed, pretty much dragging your parents and Roman to the dining room table.

Despite your nerves being through the roof, the smell of delicious food eased it just a tad.

Until Roman started to act up. Wearing a skirt was definitely a bad idea. The whole night was a bad idea, but oh well, couldn’t change it now.

While a friendly conversation between Roman and your mother started, he placed a hand on your exposed knee.

It was innocent as first. He always had been a touchy feely type and usually it didn’t advance any further than that unless he wanted sex, so you didn’t really think anything of it. 

Then you felt his hand slowly trail up your thigh, moving the delicate fabric out of the way.

You looked at Roman with a subtle glare. You balled up your fist in anger when he only gave you a playful wink.

You stopped his hand from moving any further, but he really only saw it as a challenge.

While you were struggling not to make a noise or squirm in your seat, Roman was carrying on the conversation effortlessly.

Roman finally won, reaching the spot that was aching for his touch against your better judgement.

You gasped softly, quickly covering it up with a cough. “Chicken’s a bit dry, ma.” You chuckled nervously, trying to squeeze your legs together.

Roman gave you a questioning look, feigning innocence. “I think it’s perfect, Mrs. Y/L/N. Probably the best home cooked meal I’ve had in, well, ever.” He chuckled.

Roman suddenly hit that perfect spot, causing you to spasm and slam your fist on the table. “Suck up.” You coughed out. 

“Y/N, are you okay?” Your mother asked with concern.

“Yeah, you good babe?” Roman asked, putting the emphasis on babe and faking concern.

Your father was less than pleased, glaring at Roman with such intensity that could scare most people away, but Roman just smirked,

“I’m alright!” You almost shouted. “Just suddenly not feeling well is all! Think I just had some bad cafeteria food.” You forced a laugh.

“That’s why I’ve said to always take your own lunch!” Your mother said, unknowingly saving you from being center attention.

The rest of the dinner went, well...it went.

Being teased by Roman most of the time, you were almost overjoyed when the night was finally coming to an end.

“Again, the food was fantastic.” Roman told your mother, kissing her hand, her smiling in reply.

Roman turned and kissed you on the cheek, just close enough to graze your lips. Then he turned back to your father, who’s glare never left Roman. “It was nice to meet you...sir.”

You bit your lip, waiting to see if this was the moment your father was going to finally snap. “Was nice to meet you too...Mr. Godfrey.” He said, basically gritting his teeth and holding his glare.

“Okay...well...time to go!” You said, almost pushing Roman out the door.

As soon as the door closed, Roman let out a hearty laugh. “Your old man is really something!” He put his hand over his chest while continuing to laugh, leaning against his red convertible to keep himself from doubling over.

You only glared at him. “Roman.”

“What?” Roman asked, wearing a cheeky grin. “Oh! Are you jealous that I kissed your mom’s hand? Milfs aren’t my type, darling.” He chuckled, but stopped once he realized you didn’t find what he was saying funny. “You have your father’s glare.”

You sighed, rolling your eyes and shaking your head. “I can’t believe you. I specifically told you to behave!” You fussed.

“Oh, really? Your soaked panties told me otherwise.”

You blushed, biting your lip in frustration, then letting out a tiny laugh. “I hate you...” You smiled lovingly.

Roman straightened himself out and beckoned you over with his pointer finger. And like a magnet, you gravitated towards him and into his arms.

You loved Roman’s hugs.

While still enveloped in his arms, from the corner of his eye, Roman saw someone watching the two of you at the window. He smirked when he saw that it was your father.

Being the little shit that he is, Roman pulled away from the wholesome hug and brought his lips down to yours, devouring you in a not so wholesome kiss.

You were shocked at first, but soon relaxed into it, now not having to worry about your parents seeing.

But your father was, and Roman knew that, causing him to deepen the kiss just to spite him.

Feeling Roman’s tongue massage against yours felt heavenly, making you let out an involuntary moan.

Roman opened his eyes to peek to see if your father was still at the window, and to his amusement, he was.

Roman knew he was testing his luck, but that was part of the fun. He brought his hand up to your throat and squeezed gently, while the other hand was brought down harshly on your ass with a loud smack.

You squealed happily, loving the feeling of his hands on you. But you knew it was time for him to leave, so you pulled away.

You smiled when you saw how swollen his lips were. “Alright, Casanova. Time for you to go.” You voiced, bringing your mouth just below his ear. “I’ll come by your place later.” You whispered seductively and pulled away.

“As much as I’d love that, I have a feeling sneaking out won’t be so easy for you tonight.” He said, trying to hide a smile.

You furrowed your brows and smiled confusingly. “What makes you say that?”

“Tell your dad that it’s rude to stare.” Roman said, quickly getting into his car and driving away.

It’s rude to stare? What the hell does that mean?

Turning around to head back inside your house is when you finally realized what Roman meant. You saw your father glaring at you from the window, arms crossed and his face noticeably a shade of red.

Fuck...

~~~~~~~~~~

[ae0nx]

FRUITS BASKET S2 EPISODE 24 (SEASON 2 FINALE PT 1!!)

Ahhh... yes. I'm finally here. A slow, crawl to catch up but I'm getting there lol. These last two episodes were pretty great and fluffy and then just ended with a crescendo with Kureno that just... abruptly moved me at 1am in the morning! (I didn't ask for it, except I did by just watching this show)

Anyways, let's get into it!

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

- Awww, yay! End of year party for the presidential club!

Fuckin' RIGHT, Kakeru?! 😂

But for real, I love that Yuki makes such a real effort to make sure Machi is included. Even if it is kinda his responsibility, you can really see the side of him who's desperately nice towards people because he really wants people to like him. However, with Machi specifically, it's the same attitude in a slightly different tone... I wonder why.... <3

- Also, I love Kimi but she sidelines Machi so hard in this episode, like why, dearest, why?!

- Yuki and Kakeru's easy friendship makes me smile almost as much as Kyo and Tohru's cute moments

- The english VA for Machi's mum hit extra hard for some reason. It felt so mean! Great performance, but damn dude lol

- Machi and Yuki noticing each other silently from afar is killing me with it's cuteness and it's so old school romantic? Yet so delightfully awkward as well, it's amazing

Damn, Machi... Fruits Basket's depictions of depression and anxiety have always been pretty spot on through the visuals and through the expressions and metaphors used to describe it. I just really appreciate that Takaya-sensei was so honest with the portrayals of different factions of mental health while still making the story something you still want to come back to.

...But yes, please help Machi! 🥺

Pshhhh <3 Their flustered, anxious, frustrated energy is a lot but I'm here for it

Group shot! Yayyyy :3 I also just wanna say Kimi and Kakeru were contenders for Outfit Appreciation this episode but this episode was bursting full of good looks! Let’s just say... they were 4th and 5th place.

Speaking about flustered, anxious, frustrated energy...

Kyo: ...please, guys. 😅😂🥰 

(Tohru would’ve been in Outfit Appreciation as I love this outfit but I already gave it to her the first time she wore it so...)

Ahaaaaaa 🤣- I love when Tohru gets to be funny!

But awww, Tohru and Kyo staying together at Shishou’s for New Year’s is so cute! <3 Kyo’s definitely right in saying that it feel’s like a proposal... tee hee 

Oh. my. God. A goddess is amongst us. This one was so tough as I love herrr and this might be my 2nd favourite look from her but... she’s 3rd place in Outfit Appreciation. You’ll soon understand why... don’t kill me lol

Lol, so much alpha energy.

Ok.

Ok.

Are you ready?

😍😍😍

...Hatori’s so pretty! And I think he’s wearing the same outfit he was wearing in the illustration in the ending credits? Yes, he gets no. 1 in Outfit Appreciation mostly because he looks amazing in it but I don’t care. I’m biased. I’m imperfect. But I... I’m in love lol

Ritsu gets no. 2 in Outfit Appreciation because you can tell he tried and it’s vibrant and prettier than Hatori’s and I feel bad for not putting him first because of my FEELINGS.

Anyway...

He’s a bitch but he’s right. It was from here that I started to suspect that Shigure’s energy this episode was a little bit more shifty than usual...

Ah... my baby boy. I’m so happy he got this moment. To make it a 100% clear about where and who he is now despite the oncoming backlash. At first, I was a bit concerned about him taking the complete blame for all the abuse that people put on him when he was a child (and technically still is, for now) but I also think in a way he’s trying to be gentle with his approach of being honest with Akito in the hopes that she seeks redemption too. 

As a certain doctor says later, “You’re so kind.”

- Akito’s reaction of course was on brand. But, it was pretty stylistic with the call back to Kureno’s curse breaking

- There’s something about Eric Vale’s performance of Yuki in this episode that’s so... human? I know, that’s a weird way of saying it but Yuki’s so normally put together (on the surface) and it has shown in his voice pretty much since the start of the anime. But slowly, Eric has been adding different and more expressive fluctuations and tones in Yuki’s voice episodes since the beach arc and it feels like in this episode he just completely let loose and it’s now completely slipped into Yuki’s casual conservational speak now. It’s just neat :)

And, I think I can say the same for Hatori’s VA Kent Williams. This is the most expressive Hatori has been in this show so far! It’s great. :3 Although, I think for Hatori he’s only stoic when he feels he has to distance himself to keep himself together from either the situation or the person. Very Doctor-like.

But back to the story, I appreciate that Takaya-sensei thought to tie up their relationship with each other and have them be cool because honestly? I even forgot that Yuki didn’t trust Hatori around Tohru for a while. This moment was so nice and warm! <3

- ‘Don’t turn into Ayame’ 😆

Stop it, Goblin King.

Did she fall asleep standing up because... you know...

I’ll show myself out.

Lalalalala Tohru and Kyo being cute and pleasant and sharing stories from their past lalalalala 🎶☺️

Lalalalala 🎶☺️

Lalal- wAit. Flirty Kyo?! 😳🤡

...stupids. <3

Ok, I just wanna end this by leaving some screen caps from the final moments because it just solidifies why I love this anime :3 

👀🤡

<3

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

Wow, recapping this episode was oddly refreshing as I’m still living with the climax of episode 25 and Kureno...

So, that means... I’ll see you soon >:)

[panevanbuckley]

Speirton+5.Wait a minute. Are you jealous?”❤️❤️❤️Thanks!

omg i'm so sorry it took me so long to get to this, life suddenly got in the way and then my ronnix obsession caused me to stare at a blank word doc for an hour before i decided to change my idea to create this. it's now my longest flufftober fic so yay! i hope it's not too ooc 💜

also on ao3

“So,” Lew said, sliding up beside him with that sly grin on his face, “how've you been?” Carwood shrugged, circling the rim of his glass until Lew sighed and bumped their shoulders together. “C'mon, what's old Lip been up to since we got back home?”

“Not much, really.” he lied, the metal chain around his neck burning his skin. It'd been almost ten years since the war ended, ten years since he'd returned to Huntington with a particular captain, ten years since he made a promise that felt more lasting than any scar that the war left him with.

Lew tisked, swallowing the last of his drink and glaring at him over the rim of his glass. “Sure.” he drawled. Carwood didn’t go for the bait, remaining as stoic faced as possible. He wondered, briefly, where Dick had gotten to. “I heard Ron moved to Virginia.”

Carwood bit his tongue, taking a deep breath before painting his face with curiosity. “Oh, really? I should meet up with him.”

“He's here,” Lew gestured around the hall that was currently overflowing with joyous veterans catching up after a decade apart, “sure I saw him.”

Carwood nodded, feigning interest. Of course Ron was here; he'd driven them both. But Lew wasn't to know that.

“So,” Lew trailed off, hand reaching out across the small space between them, his fingertips dancing down Carwood's arm. The smirk he shot him sent nervous butterflies through his stomach. And then, quicker than Carwood could blink, Lew had a hold of his left hand, fingers laced loosely as he brought it up between their faces. “No ring, huh?” He quirked a dark brow.

Carwood shook his head, “No, she left me.”

Lew frowned, looking genuinely sorry. Carwood hated that; he didn’t want his friend's pity. Especially not since he was much happier now than he ever had been before. “Ah, well that sure does suck.”

“Yeah,” Carwood glanced over Lew's shoulder, finally spotting Ron stood at a nearby table with Luz and Liebgott. The two men were laughing, leaning on Ron gently in a way nobody would've dared back in Europe, and there was a flicker of a smile dancing over Ron's lips. Carwood smiled too, unable to help himself when Ron looked up as though he'd felt him watching.

Lew turned, following his gaze and chuckling. Ron noticed him then, eyes flitting to where their hands were still clasped tight and a miniscule frown appeared on his face. Carwood took his hand back, ignoring the quiet protest from Lew, but Ron had already turned away.

He sighed.

“Speirs is as aloof as always.” Lew teased, smiling at him. Carwood struggled not to laugh, trying hard not to recall earlier that morning when Ron had been stressing like crazy over tonight's reunion. “Anyway,” Lew pinched his cheeks suddenly, eyes playful, “what person wouldn't want this cutie? Your lady must have been out of her mind.”

“Still not learnt personal boundaries, Nix?” a voice spoke up and the two of them jumped. Standing behind Lew, glowering down at them both with a rather unimpressed look, was none other than Ron.

Lew's smile brightened, if that were even possible, and he spun around to grab Ron by the shoulders. “You finally came to say hi to your old pal!”

Ron rolled his eyes, gaze trailing to Carwood again and lingering before settling back on Lew. He shook his hands off of him. “You really ought to not touch everyone all the time. It'll get you into trouble one day.” The words could have been a joke, if it weren't for the mildly threatening tone laced between them.

“Wait a minute,” Lew smirked, “are you jealous?” Ron didn't deem that question worthy of a reply.

Carwood muffled a laugh behind his hand, causing Ron to look over to him again, his face softening the moment their eyes met. The butterflies returned tenfold this time; Carwood would never get over the affect he seemed to have on Ron.

Lew gasped and honestly Carwood could envision a tail wagging at his backside with the way he was almost bouncing on his feet. “You are!”

Ron glared at him, stepping closer to Carwood in the process. “Shut up.”

Lew merely laughed, shaking his head. “I knew it! I knew you guys had something going on.”

“Wait, were you trying to make Ron jealous?” Carwood asked, more surprised over the fact that he wasn't surprised at all.

“Obviously.” Lew sighed as though the question was stupid. It probably was. “Oh, come on, it's not like you guys are very subtle. Half the boys had bets om you two fooling around at the very least. I, however, am an intellectual. I knew it was more than that. When I heard of Ron's move...well, that's confirmation enough isn't it?”

Carwood shook his head in disbelief. “I can't believe you knew.”

“You don't know anything.” Ron snapped, but there wasn't really any heat in his words. Carwood yearned to reach out and lace their fingers together but he didn't want to push their luck.

“Oh yeah?” Lew didn't hesitate, reaching over and pulling the silver chain from Carwood's neck until it emerged out from under his shirt, revealing a single silver band now hanging alongside his old dog tags. He smirked, clearly proud of himself, directing his gaze at Ron. “I bet you have a matching one, huh?”

Ron opened his mouth, probably to deny any such thing. He could argue the sky was green. But Carwood didn’t give him the chance. “How did you know?”

Lew crossed his arms, looking offended. Well, as offended as someone can look whilst also being unbelievably smug. His gaze drifted across the room for a second and Carwood followed it, not really surprised to find Dick milling between some of the boys with an unmatched grace. Dick catches their eyes, his face splitting into a wide grin as he looked to Lew. “Please,” Lew started, his voice now much softer, laced with a fondness that Carwood recognises from Ron, “I know what love looks like when I see it.”

Carwood smiled then, sharing a knowing look with Ron.

Lew cooed, ruffling their hair. “You guys are perfect for each other. I'm happy for you.” He met their eyes, hands landing heavy on their shoulders and squeezing. “Seriously.”

“Thank you.” Ron said, matching Lew's smile with his own.

“I better get an invite to your Thanksgiving this year then!” Lew teased, poking at Ron's chest, “I know you cook and I have been dying to visit.”

Ron groaned but even the idea of Lew at their little Thanksgiving dinner couldn't wipe the smile from his face. “As long as you provide the drinks.”

Lew did an exaggerative bow, tipping an invisible hat. “Of course, kind sir. What do you take me for?”

“A pain in my ass.”

“Love you too, Sparky!” Lew chuckled, patting him on the back before making his leave. Carwood watched him walk off into the crowd of their friends, not quite able to believe what just happened.

“Well...” Ron said, sounding just as confused as he felt. He took Lew's place in front of Carwood, perhaps a little closer – Carwood bit back a smirk at the possessive side of his partner showing. “I guess we have guests this year.”

“Yeah,” Carwood cast his gaze over the hall, already wondering whether he could convince Ron to let him invite some of their closer friends too. He smiled when a hand came up to tuck his chain back under his shirt, touch lingering as Ron smoothed his collar out. He blinked up at Ron, overcome with love for the man that had somehow decided that he was worth spending the rest of his life with. “I guess we do.”

[boxoftheskyking]

Something Good, Part Six

There are so many babies you guys. I miss baby snuggles

In which children don’t sleep

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five

---

Liquor doesn’t technically bring him peace—he supposes Yanli and Wen Qing were always right about that. But it certainly doesn’t upset him, and the buzz is helping him focus on the little doses of pleasantness in this tiny closet room. A storm outside always helps remind him of warmth inside, and while there is a leak in the corner that drips against the floor, the mattress is dry, the blankets are scratchy but warm, and there’s a calm yellow glow visible in the cracks in the floor, rise and fall of tipsy conversation from the late night crowd downstairs.

He doesn’t think he’ll sleep tonight, but he’s letting his mind wander when a huge crack of thunder jostles him out of his daydream. The rain intensifies, the drip in the corner shifting from a two-step to a hurried run of triplets. He almost misses the tiny knock on his door.

“W-Wei-qianbei?” a hesitant voice floats in from the hall. Wei Wuxian tucks away his empty bottles and sits up, wiping over his face and schooling it into a sober and attentive expression.

He cracks open the door to find little Lan Sizhui, ghostly in his white sleeping robes and chewing on the edge of his sleeve. He looks uncertain, eyes flitting from the open door to back down the hallway. He looks almost about to leave when lightning splits the air around them, followed by a mighty crash, and he closes his eyes and dives into Wei Wuxian’s arms.

“Oh, A-Yuan,” Wei Wuxian murmurs, laughing lightly into the facefull of bed-hair. “It’s okay. It’s just a storm.”

Sizhui mutters something inaudible into his neck but refuses to let go when Wei Wuxian tries to shift him away. He hauls the child up into his lap and settles back on the mattress, leaning against the wall and away from the insistent drip of the rain.

“What’s the matter, little one?”

Sizhui wipes at his red face with his sleeve, and Wei Wuxian leans in closer to hear.

“There’s so much water,” Sizhui cries. “What if the ghouls come back in the water?”

“They won’t. They can’t live in the rain, only in big bodies of water that stay in one place, like a lake. You see this drip in the corner here? Give me your hand.”

He gently pulls Sizhui over to the leaky corner, holding his hand into the path of the water. Sizhui flinches away, but Wei Wuxian insists, tucking his fingers into the stream

“You feel this? All the little drops? Even big rain is made of tiny drops that are far too small for a ghoul to live in.”

Sizhui’s brow furrows and he pulls his hand back and forth, in and out of the water. “What— what if you’re wrong?” he asks, looking up at Wei Wuxian with big round eyes.

“A-Yuan, I promise you are safe here. I will always protect you, and so will Hanguang Jun and Zewu Jun.”

“But what if—” Sizhui trails off, chewing on his lip and resting his forehead on Wei Wuxian’s collarbone. “What if something gets you? Or Baba?”

That answers that, Wei Wuxian things, stamping down on the curiosity. If Lan Wangji is your father, then who… But he’s not going to ask a four-year-old to recite his lineage.

“Even if the water ghouls came here, they’re no match for us!”

“But you… “ Sizhui looks down at his hands. “Hanguang Jun had to save you.”

Isn’t it just like children—so sweet, so kind, so accurate with the knives they don’t even know they’re holding.

“And he’s here. And if he needs help, there’s a whole class of seniors right downstairs. And if they need help, Wen Ning is here, and all your friends. And we’ll all take care of each other. Yes?”

Sizhui nods and leans in for another hug. Wei Wuxian is just settling in for a long term cuddle when another crack of thunder makes Sizhui bury his face in Wei Wuxian’s middle. Wei Wuxian is rubbing circles into his back when he hears another knock on the door.

“Come in,” he sing-songs, and Ouyang Zizhen pokes his head in. “Scared of the storm?” Wei Wuxian asks.

“Of course not!” Zizhen’s eyes dart around the room before finding Sizhui’s huddled form. “I was— I was checking on A-Yuan. I thought he might be scared.”

Wei Wuxian grins and claps him on the shoulder. “Of course you did. Tell me, how many other disciples are up worried about A-Yuan?”

Zizhen chews on his lip. “Everyone?”

Wei Wuxian grins wider and tugs on Zizhen’s ear. “Well, we’d better go reassure them all.”

He bundles Sizhui into his arms and nods at Zizhen to lead the way. 

I may be useless in battle, he thinks, the sting of it fading with each step they take. But this I can do.

As expected, all the juniors are awake, some still lying top-to-toe and others bundled into blanket piles on the floor. When the door opens, nine little faces turn to him like a cluster of round, startled moons.

“Ah, disciples!” he says cheerily. “Your poor Wei-qianbei has a leak in his room. Will you allow this humble servant to join you in this nice dry room for the night?”

“Yay!” Lan Feifei shouts, popping up from the end of the farthest bed and immediately toppling over onto Lan Ting. Wei Wuxian wonders if spending so much time with the bunnies is teaching them more than he and Lan Wangji combined.

The children make room for him in the middle of the room, huddling in close around him on all sides.

“What, no one is tired? After that long walk down the mountain?”

Wen Ning wrinkles his nose, looking around at the younger kids like he’s responsible for their wakefulness. Thunder shakes the walls and the little ones cover their ears.

“It’s pretty loud, huh?” Wei Wuxian asks.

“It’s loud like the big wave was,” Lan Ting pipes up, worried little eyes shining in the lamplight like polished river stones.

“Ah, yes, that was scary, wasn’t it?”

Nods all around. The best thing about children, he thinks to himself, reaching out to work a tangle out of Su Meiling’s hair, is that they aren’t yet ashamed to be afraid. He smiles a little sadly to himself, thinking about Jiang Cheng. Remember when he used to come to his big brother, say he was scared?

“Do you know what I like to do when I’m scared?”

Lan Yixian gasps from over his shoulder. “Wei-qianbei, you get scared too?” She’s seven, she maybe hasn’t ever heard that from an adult before. Knowing the Lans, their stoic nobility, he wouldn’t be surprised.

“Yes, Xian-Xian, I get scared just like you. And I’ll tell you a secret.” He lowers his voice, relishing in their held breath, leaning in. “Hanguang Jun gets scared, too.”

“No he doesn’t!” Su Ming declares.

“Sure he does. Ask him sometime.”

The gasp of horror that whooshes around the room threatens to put out the lamps. Wei Wuxian laughs in delight.

“Scarier than the storm, huh?”

“What do you do when you are scared, Wei-qianbei?” Lan Ting asks.

“I’ll tell you. Sometimes I feel scared, and when I feel scared it’s usually because I don’t feel very strong or powerful. After all, I am not a mighty cultivator like all of you!” It hurts slightly less to say it to children. The more he says it, the easier it goes down, like building up a tolerance to straight strong liquor.

“So what I like to do is think about all the things that keep me safe. Here, I’ll show you.” He sets Sizhui down beside him and holds his hands flat up on his knees, just like Uncle Jiang taught him when he was small and still had screaming nightmares. “Let’s see, to begin, I am glad for my strong legs that help me run and my strong arms that help me carry lazy disciples.” He raises one hand on an inhale and pushes his palm outward on the exhale. Focus on your breath, Uncle Jiang says in his head, kind and patient and dead. 

“I am glad for my strong lungs which help me yell for help when I need it.” He lifts and pushes his other hand, and a few of the children start to mimic him. “Good job, breathe nice and slow. I am glad for my talismans, which help keep me safe.”

“Will you teach us talismans?” Lan Bin asks, perking up like a rabbit smelling sweet grass. 

“If you are very good and very quiet. Here, Wen Ning, you try one.”

Wen Ning looks around, embarrassed, but seeing most of the children’s eyes closed he says, “I am glad for my jiejie who taught me medicine to help when I am sick.” The room breathes together.

“Yao Hualing?” Wei Wuxian prompts.

“I am— I don’t know. I am glad for my Mama who taught me how to punch really hard.”

“Very good. Zizhen?”

“I am glad for Wei-qianbei who takes care of us and feeds us.”

“Ah, sweet boy. Jingyi?”

“I am glad for being small so I can hide from a monster.”

A crack of thunder, but only a few jump.

“Very good everyone. Now we can all say at the same time, nice and quiet. You can say whatever you like, no one is listening.”

Wei Wuxian looks around at all of them, eyes closed and breath stirring loose locks of hair. He listens to the breathy chorus of gratitude: “My gege who protects…” “Hanguang Jun who…” “... because I am good at…” “...who taught me to…” “Wei-qianbei who cares for me…”

He is suddenly glad their eyes are closed, because his throat goes tight and tears start pricking the corners of his eyes. He raises his right hand on the proper inhale and wipes at his cheeks quickly. 

When he looks up again, the door is cracked and Lan Wangji is staring at him from the darkness of the hallway. His hair is down from its customary ornament, falling softly along his cheeks, his neck. Wei Wuxian sniffs and tries to school his expression into something professional without stopping the gentle inhale exhale. Lan Wangji is staring through to the back of his skull, it feels like, unblinking, before he looks around at the room of murmuring, meditating children. His lips part as if to say something—disciples should be sleeping! You are not to teach them anything! Meditation is practiced in silence!—when Lan Sizhui’s little voice carries over the room.

“I am glad for my Baba who loves me and teaches me to be strong and for my Wei-qianbei who loves me and teaches me to be clever.”

Lan Wangji’s mouth stays slightly open but his eyes snap to his son, watching his calm breath, his tiny wrists sticking out of his sleeves on every exhaled push. When he looks back to Wei Wuxian there is something broken open in his expression and Wei Wuxian almost wants to close his eyes against the shine of it. Almost.

He’s not sure what his face is doing, but something about it must be right because Lan Wangji holds his gaze for a long, long moment before nodding once and sliding the door closed. Wei Wuxian buries his face in his hands for a minute, shaking for reasons he couldn’t quite explain.

“Wei-qianbei?” Lan Ting says, louder than the rest. “I’m out of things to be glad for.”

“Me too!” comes another voice from somewhere.

“Very well. Good job everyone, I think we beat the storm. Now your humble Wei-qianbei is very sleepy, and it’s going to be morning soon. And then we need to climb all the way back up the mountain together. Let’s all try to sleep, can we?”

With a gentle rustles of cloth and a couple of sleepy hums, Wei Wuxian is surrounded by a circle of black-and-white mounds. He feels like he’s sitting on the top of Gusu Mountain, a few dark rocks peeking through the snow. But, like in a dream of winter, it’s warm, quiet, the only wind to be felt is as soft as breath.

Part Seven

[twinkleallnight]

Marshmallow

(Part-5) Frozen heart

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Liam x MC, Drake x ??

For previous chapters: catch up here

Thank you @bbrandy2002 for prereading and listening to my blabbering last two weeks. Blessed to have you here.

A/N: This is my first attempt at wacky drabbles. It's wacky drabbles #58. "Where are you going? It's not safe out there." It will appear in bold.

Tags: @ao719 @bbrandy2002 @choiceskatie @drakewalker04 @gkittylove99 @glaimtruelovealways @hopefulmoonobject @jovialyouthmusic @mrswalkers-blog @mom2000aggie @speedyoperarascalparty @texaskitten30 @wackydrabbles

I stand frozen at the door steps of the Nevrakis’ chateau till a soft voice calls out my name. I see Hana queueing up behind me. She is holding my forearm in both her slender hands and shaking vigorously. I give her a questioning look.

She lets go of my arm suddenly realising, and says, “My apologies! I called you out few times but you were lost in your thoughts.”

“I am sorry for blocking the way.” I reply, shaking my head in an attempt to clear it of any thoughts of what I saw moments ago.

I start dragging myself ahead to my room. My mind is replacing previous thoughts with new ones. ‘Why am I here? My job is back at the palace, taking care of their farms and horses. I don’t have any part to play here besides, maybe, to play the role of Prince’s best friend or to look out for his favourite suitor, as he has asked me to.’

A beep on my phone brings me back. It’s Max's text message calling me out for ice skating.

I text him that I will join later; Max is always full of energy. After this long drive, he has not wasted a minute and is already out on the frozen lake with Riley.

I stand at my window, looking out toward the lake and watch the small group gathered at the lake. I can see Liam is with Riley now while Max is skating to the other end with Livy. They are all enjoying themselves. Then there are others whom I don’t know much or care about.

I get back and settle my things in my room. As I relax down, my phone beeps again. This time, Liam asks to join the group for skiing with a special request, 'watch her back.’

I meet Riley soon and we decide to race. As we ski down, we cross Liam and Livy. Riley distracts them and I catch a glimpse of Livy’s annoyed expression. I don’t understand if that look is for me or Riley?

I get up with a sigh. This guy is going crazy. What wrong can happen while skiing unless she is trying it for the first time? I gear up and walk out.

I land at the base a few seconds after Riley. “ Yay! I win!” She exclaims.

“ Okay! Point granted. Sadly, the happy part ends here today. From tomorrow we will be all back to the balls and the gowns. Hope u are as smooth at waltzing too.”

“Not at all. I need lot of lessons.”

“I am surprised. House Beaumont is sponsoring you. As cool as Max may be, I don’t think the elder Beaumont will leave any stone unturned in your grooming.”

“Bingo. Bertrand is very strict, I must say, unlike his younger brother, Max. But he was busy with some official work and left it to Max to teach me Cordonian waltz. But five minutes into training, all we did was Max's favourite breakdance moves.”

“So how do you plan to impress tomorrow?”

“Oh, I have Hana.”

“Don’t tell me, Hana is going to teach you. How does she know it so well?”

“Oh, yes, she is. That girl can handle anything from a needle to a sword.”

“Wow!” I must admit, Hana surprises me with her treasure chest full of talent.

“You wanna join?”

“Not my cup of tea”

“Come on. You can at least watch.”

“Okay.”

Shortly the party moves to the lodge. I join Max, Riley and Hana, sipping hot chocolate.

We sit there planning Riley’s dance lessons when Max suddenly straightens up. I follow his eyes and see Livy walking towards us. Unknowingly, even my back tightens up.

Livy’s sharp eyes catch the change in our demeanour and her lips curl up in a smirk.

“Hello everyone I hope you are enjoying the Lythikos hospitality. Max that’s your favourite flavour. You must be loving it,”

“As always!” He replies, raising his glass.

She ignores my presence, turns to the girls, and starts talking. I make myself scarce and walk out of the lodge. It’s cold outside, but I take few steps into the woods. I stand there for sometime, looking up at the sky.

“Where are you going? It’s not safe out there.” Max calls out.

As he comes closer, I quote C.S. Lewis from our childhood,

“If belated drops yet fall,

From heaven, on these her plastic power…”

I pause and shift my gaze to look at Max. Now he stares up at the evening light and completes the verse.

“ Still works as once it worked on all,

The glad rush of the golden shower.”

He looks at me and suddenly realises the hint. As if on a cue, we both start running, trampling over the snow cover, in a rush to reach our favourite spot. We always came here to see the meteor shower as kids.

I fall back, and I see him lying flat on his back, when I reach the spot. I huff, bending over, “you win again!”

Without a word, he kicks behind my knee making me topple, and I land on my back next to him. We both peer at the sky quietly for sometime when he speaks, “ I miss it.”

“What?” I ask knowingly.

“ The carefree days. Our vacation here when it was four of us. I hate to see you guys growing up.”

“You never grew up?”

“ Not quite like you. I am living, enjoying not dragging myself.”

“ You mean by keeping your joker mask on? Showing others that you are happy? Is that what you call enjoying?” I question him.

“ If you can’t change it, at least learn to drive some happiness out of it.”

“I am happy for Liam and Riley.”

“And what about Livy?”

“What about her?”

“ Have you looked into the mirror lately? That long drawn face of yours? Even today, when she was laughing and enjoying, you couldn’t reciprocate with a smile?”

“I .. I hurt her.” I fluster.

“ It doesn’t matter what you did then. What matters is, what is here now. Live in the moment.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm.” He hums after me.

We lie down, gazing at the sky until the meteor showers ends.

As Max starts, I join in.

“Among the hills, a meteorite

Lies huge and moss has overgrown,

And wind and rain with touches light

Made soft, the contours of the stone.

Thus easily can Earth digest

A cylinder of sidereal fire,

And make her translunary guest

The native of an English shire.”

I will digest and will make the changes, my native - part of my life. I resolve as we walk back to the chateau.

The next day, I spend most of my time in my room catching up with some reading and calls from the palace, managing the administrative work until it’s Showtime.

Reluctantly, I make my way to the ball room of the chateau. I search through the name plates on the tables to find my place. A big smile of relief spreads across my face when I see it on the last table in the corner, away from the crowd. I make a note to thank Livy. She remembered to keep me away from all the hullabaloo. Complacent, I take my seat and wait for the rest to join.

I wonder why Riley and Hana are sitting with me or why Livy has not chosen a place closer to Liam for Riley. Soon both the girls find there way to the table.

When the dishes are served, it becomes evident that this table was the chosen one; to be left out. The service remains poor at our table throughout. The food served is cold. There is a stark difference in the staff's attitude towards us, as if they are trained specially to ignore us.

I understand it might be her grudge against me, but why Livy is putting Riley and Hana through this?

Next I see, Livy is up there on the dance floor announcing the commencement of Cordonian waltz. Riley and Hana both get up while I remain seated.

Hana asks, “ Are you not coming?”

“Sorry, I am not comfortable with the dance. I will enjoy watching it. Thank you.” They leave me alone.

Livy being the host, starts the dance with Liam. A loose circle forms around them but my eyes keep following her. The partners keep changing. Now she is dancing with Max. They exchange small talks, and she is bubbling until she changes partner and is in Liam’s arms again.

Her expressions seem different. What is she up to? I am trying to decipher, and then it happens. No, maybe I am dreaming, but I hear gasps and loud whispers around me. Livy is kissing Liam! On the dance floor! In front of the whole court?

Liam moves away a bit from her politely and gestures at her to follow him outside. He is the typical stoic self. He won’t let it show. He has been trained to hide his emotions well.

I don’t know what to do, where to go. I keep sitting there till the crowd fades away into the night. The ballroom is vacant. A staff shakes me out of my thoughts.

I get up and walk to the foyer. The flickering light in the east wing catches my attention. But I don’t know where is everyone.

I walk to the wine cellar with heavy steps in a hope to find some solace. That’s been my hiding place here since teenage. I slowly climb down the spiralling stairs, but a sound stops me. There is already some one there.

And then I hear a male voice.

“Livy… Livy? …. Livs!…. What happened… come here..”

“I..I..I can’t..” I hear her trying to speak between the sobs.

I bend down to see someone curling his arms around her. “Hey…. Shhh.. it’s ok.. it will be fine.. we will be fine..”

“No.. it will never be the same again. We will never be same again.” She cries harder.

“I know dear. This is all we have now. But I am here . I will always be.”

She hold his arms. Her face digs in his chest, and she wails out. He holds her tight.

I quietly step back and walk out into the foyer.

The words resonate in my mind. “ I am here. I will always be.”

Now it’s not just my mind or thoughts. I feel I have a frozen heart.

[kingofbr00klyn]

Newsies prompts! Yeah! Um... 1. Jack being a big brother to Race. 2. Crutchie and Racetrack getting into some trouble together. 3. Jack and Spot caring for some of the littles. Pick one or write them all idc. Can’t wait to read!

Hi this took me like 4 days to write, I thought it was longer than that but okay, I have loads of other stuff in the works, this is just the first one I finished. Sorry for the wait. So this is for the prompt we’re Crutchie and Race get into trouble.

I tried to mix both 1992sies and livesies in this, but I don’t think it really comes across. Also, this story is ever so slightly exaggerated, but oh well. But it’s been a while since I’ve written anything, so this probably isn’t the best.

This will also be found on my AO3 account.

"Remind me ta never listen ta you again."

"How was I'se suppost ta know this would 'appen?"

"Well, I dunno. But now I’m in trouble because a’ summing I didn’t even do."

“Oh c’mon! Nuthin’ bad happened. I came out worse than you did. You get to go home scot-free.”

“But still. This is all your fault an’ I’m gonna make sure everyone knows it.”

"Wow, Crutch, whatta' way to throw a pal under da bus."

"You'se deserve it."

Race rolled his eyes and sulked further down into his chair, only to regret it when the hard plastic rubbed uncomfortably into his back. He glanced at his companion, who looked just about as shit as he felt. Crutchie kept nervously running a hand through his hair and fidgeting with the helm of his shirt, he looked like someone who had just been caught doing something illegal. Oh wait, that's because he had. Let's take a step back, shall we?

2 hours earlier.

Crutchie stood outside his door step, awaiting Race's arrival. The two had decided to spend the evening together, since none of their other friends were available. Race had said he would pick him up at 6. After Crutchie's watch ticked 6:15, Race's old TP Cruiser pulled up. He wore a bright, cheeky grin as he leaned over to open the passenger side door. "Get in loser, we're going shopping!" Crutchie gleefully obliged, grabbing his crutch and sliding into the front seat.

"Are you ready for the funnest night of yer life?" Race asked, a unlit cigar hanging loosely from his mouth.

Crutchie laughed. "We'se just goin' ta the diner on 4th, ain't we?"

"Nope," Race grabbed something from the cupholder beside him and handed it to Crutchie. "Just got this from my guy. Thought we'd treat ourselves tonight." It was a fake ID.

Antonio Higgings

11/12l1997

XXX XXXX XXX

XX/XX/XX

XX/XX/XX

"Yer guy?" Crutchie snorted, handing the card back. "You'se mean Albert."

"Maybe I do. Anyway, I'm low on cigs and shit, so I thought we'se stop by a corner shop and see how well this baby works." Starting the engine, Race pulled out of Crutchie's drive and set off for the nearest place that would give them what they wanted.

"What if we'se get caught? I don't wanna be done just because you'se got a nicotine addiction." Crutchie offered, messing with the diles for the radio.

"Then I punch Albert in the face," Race resorted. That drew a snicker from the blonde. "But seriously, don't worry 'bout it. Everthin's gonna be a-okay!"

Spolier altert; it wasn't.

After 10 or so minutes of driving, Race pulled to a stop and poorly parked the car. "Eh, good enough." He got out, with Crutchie tailing right behind him.

"You don't gotta come in. Ya know, cuz yer so scared of gettin' caught." The taller boy mocked.

Crutchie retaliated by hitting Race in the leg with his crutch. "I'm comin' wit' cha so you don't get punched in the face." Race forged offence, but waved off the comment.

The shop was small, just your regular off-licence, cheap booze with an even cheaper taste, the perfect thing to fuel Race's needs. A little bell rang as they opened the door, there weren't many people inside the shop, Crutchie noted the few middle aged men who were likely in there for similar reasons as themselves. Race swaggered to the front counter, an air of confidence around him. The shop clerk, a young man with a stoic expression, rolled his eyes at the tall blonde.

"What can I get you?" The clerk's tone was as cheerful as expected.

Race grinned cockily. "A smile would be a start, sweetheart," The shop clerk didn't respond, but continued to glare the boy down. "Okay then… A box o' ya finest Corona's and summa that scotch ya got up there." Race slapped $50 on the counter, along with his fake ID.

The clerk picked the card up, eying it suspiciously. Crutchie had a feeling this wouldn’t end well. “Yah think you’re funny, kid? Think I don’t know what a fake ID looks like?” The clerk said. “I’m gonna have to call the cops, you know.”

Race’s expression floored. Disbelief and fear quickly made itself at home. Crutchie felt a similar dread rise up in his stomach, he looked to Race for an inkling of what to do next, but the tall boy just continued to stare dumbly. Until he finally said, “I’m gonna fuckin’ kill Albert.”

As it turns out, the shop had an undercover officer outside the shop to deal with instances like this. The clerk called him in, and he escorted Crutchie and Race to the local station. Luckily, they had pretty much just been given a slap on the wrist and a call home. Except, since this wasn’t Race’s first offence, so he had also been slapped with a $50 fine.

The boys anxiously awaited the arrival of the parents. Race had already had a million and one messages from his brother, Jack. The sonva’ was having a field day with this. Text after text about how much trouble Race would be in, how he was grounded and how much shit Jack’s going to give him for this. Race ignored his brother, instead opting for spamming Albert with a variety of angry messages in all caps.

GottaGoFast - RedHeadHoe

19:05

GottaGoFast: ALBERT FUCKING DASILVA

GottaGoFast: U FUCKING BITCH

GottaGoFast: IM SO GOING TO KILL U

RedHeadHoe: ???

GottaGoFast: im at the police station

RadHeadHoe: oh what did u do now???

RedHeadHoe: OH

RedHeadHoe: YOU GOT CAUGHT

RedHeadHoe: HA

GottaGoFast: YEAH AND ITS ALL UR FAULT

RedHeadHoe: how is it my fault???

GottaGoFast: BECAUSE UR THE 1 WHO GAVE ME THE ID

RedHeadHoe: dude u didnt have to use it

RedHeadHoe: also i dont make them so it aint my fault

RedHeadHoe: blame my guy

GottaGoFast: ur guy?????

RedHeadHoe: ye

RedHeadHoe: skittery

GottaGoFast: ok but ur still dead

RedHeadHoe: cool

GottaGoFast: dentys gonna be here soon so gotta go

RedHeadHoe: good luck my dude

GottaGoFast: fuck u

RedHeadHoe: :)

Race slipped his phone into his pocket, just in time to see some familiar faces walk though the station door. Bryan Denton, Race’s foster father, walked up to the receptionist desk, before being pointed towards where the boys were sitting. Race looked at Crutchie, before straightening his back and putting on his most charming smile. "Heya Denty!" Race beamed, hoping to the gods above that this would go in his favour. Bryan didn't look particularly mad, but Denton never really got mad. It was like the man was incapable of it, it was great, and Race had done a lot of things that would cause any parent to flip their shit.

"Race," Bryan started, calm and collected as always."What were you thinking?" Okay, maybe it wasn't as great as Race thought, Denton's tranquill state was quite unsettling at the moment, Race had no idea what he was thinking.

"We'se just wanted to have a bit a' fun, ya know, teenage stuff," The blonde rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Did they'se tell ya 'bout da fine?"

"Yeah, they told me over the phone," Denton said. "I'll pay it and then we'll go home. Jack's waiting for us in the car.”

Race rolled his eyes. "Oh yay."

Crutchie didn't really pay much attention to the scene in front of him, he was too caught up in his own head. Fear and worry filled his thoughts, his grandmother wasn't the most forgiving then it came to things like this. Crutchie remembered once when he was 7 and snuck out of his room in the middle of the night to get one of the freshly baked cookies his grandmother had made that day, the elderly woman had found out about his midnight snack and boy was there hell to pay. She wasn't particularly mean or nasty, she could just be strict at times.

Times like these, Crutchie thought as he saw his grandmother barrel towards him with an expression that would make the toughest of men wet themselves. "Charles Andrew Morris! You are in so much trouble, young man!" Oh no, she used his full name. He really was a goner.

"Race, I don't think I'm comin' outta this alive…” Crutchie said.

Race snorted. "Don't worry, my dude, I got this." Crutchie didn't have time to ask what 'this' was, as Race stepped in front of him and greeted his grandmother.

"Mrs Morris, so good ta see ya 'gain," Race started. That diverted the woman from her path of destruction, as she instead gave the blonde a striking glare. The Italian tried not to shrink under her gaze, opting to continue with his sentence. "So um, ya see, Ma'am. It wasn't actually Crutchie's fault, it was mine. So, err, don't punish him for my mistake."

What?

Crutchie was in complete disbelief. And he wasn't the only one, Bryan shared a similar expression. While Race was a good friend, he was also a bit of an asshole, so him taking all the blame for this (even though it was his fault), was a surprise.

Crutchie’s grandmother eyed the boy suspiciously, before she turned on her heels and walked away. “Come on, Charlie, it’s time to go home.”

Crutchie was slightly dumbfounded, but didn’t question as he hugged Race. “Thanks man.”

Race winked and smiled. “No problem, Crutch. Text me if you ain’t dead!”

“Will do!”

RiceCrutchies - Racer

21:35

RiceCrutchies: Guess who aint dead :)))

Racer: yayyyy

Racer: so what happened

RiceCrutchies: Gran wasn’t very happy but she wasnt too mad

RiceCrutchies: Im grounded for 2 weeks tho

Racer: oh well at least we had 1 last night of fun before that

RiceCrutchies: Yea so how’d it go with Denton???

Racer: not too bad

Racer: im also grounded but they took my cigs at the police station so i need to get more from Albert

RiceCrutchies: You think you would have learnt your lesson but ok

Racer: 👌

Racer: i gotta go crutch see you in school???

RiceCrutchies: Yeah, see you and try not to do anything illegal between then

Racer: no promises

RiceCrutchies: 🤦‍

[samsexualdeancurious]

His Own Hands | Chapter Seventeen

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Words: 1,253

Summary: Bucky is settling in well with the Avengers but he keeps having nightmares - flashes of repressed memories of a girl being tortured by his hands and then vanishing into a swirling black portal. He's not sure who she is until Fury introduces them to their newest potential team member, a girl Bucky recognizes on sight and Fury calls "Portal".

Warnings: Hurt!Reader, Lack of Communication, torture, trauma, PTSD

Written for Nanowrimo 2020

Betaed by Saxxxology and Amory

Cover art edited by me

---

“Incoming up top, Buck!” Y/N says, back pressed tight to his as they fend off the bad guys that are ganging up on them from both sides. Before Bucky can react, though, she throws one hand up and he hears the now-familiar sound of a portal opening followed by what sounds suspiciously like a roaring Stuart. Most of the aliens coming at them hesitate at the sight and sound, and Bucky grins.

“Stuart feel up to helping us out a little more?” he asks just as one of their attackers regains its confidence and charges. Bucky takes it out with a well-aimed shot, dropping the strange, purple, almost humanoid-but-not-in-a-good-way creature to the ground. It makes a horrifying chittering scream as it goes.

“Only if we feel like taking down the whole building,” Y/N points out.

“Steve?” Bucky says.

“It’s a condemned building and the top floors are cleared.” Steve’s voice is a little tiny in Bucky’s ear. “You guys are the only ones on that side of the building anyways so it’s up to Stuart.”

Bucky grins over his shoulder at Y/N. “Couldn’t hurt to ask, right?”

She rolls her eyes even as a well-aimed knife tears through the side of one alien’s neck and lodges itself in the throat of the one right behind, dropping both. “We better get out of the way, then.”

“On it.”

He loops his flesh arm around her waist, spinning them both into a small room off to one side. At the same time, a large portal opens and the huge dark form of Stuart bursts out.

“Shit,” Bucky gasps when the walls immediately start crumbling.

“Didn’t think that through!” Y/N yells over the ruckus of Stuart fighting the aliens and the building starting to fall.

Bucky pulls her to a crouch, curling his body around hers as the ceiling above them cracks and small pieces begin to fall.

“Hang on tight, babe,” Y/N says, gripping his arm with one hand and opening another portal with the other.

Bucky sees a flash of darkness and then they hit the ground, soft overgrown grass cushioning their fall a little. Some debris falls through the portal before Y/N can close it, striking Bucky’s back and shoulders. He winces but there are only a few pieces and nothing penetrates his body armor. He’s just going to be a little bruised up.

“Fuck,” Y/N breathes, relaxing against the grass. “We really didn’t think that one through.”

Bucky chuckles, still crouched over her, and she rolls to grin up at him just as the familiar woosh of Tony landing beside them.

“You two good?” he asks, helmet opening to reveal his face.

“A little bruised but we’re fine,” Bucky assures him, rising and offering Y/N a hand. She pulls herself up.

“Glad to hear it. The team’s wrapped things up on the other side.”

Stuart roars and Bucky turns to see one side of the building crumble to reveal the giant beast. Stuart shakes dust and rubble from his coat, stepping out of the ruins of the building. Y/N brushes herself off and runs over to her friend. Bucky follows at a slower pace.

The beast snorts, crouching to greet Y/N. She pets his nose, murmuring softly, and Bucky can’t help but smile at the sight.

“Thank you,” Y/N is saying when Bucky gets close enough to hear. “Ready to go home now? I think we’re done here.”

Stuart makes a low rumbly noise, almost like a purr.

Y/N laughs, patting his forehead. She flicks her wrist and a large portal opens a few feet away, angled so Stuart can step through it easily. Stuart bumps her gently with his nose and enters the portal.

“He’s so gentle for such a big guy,” Bucky observes as the portal closes behind Stuart.

“I know, right?” Y/N is smiling when she turns to face him. “Reminds me of someone.”

Bucky’s cheeks warm and she laughs, sidling up close to him and looping her arm around his waist.

“Guess I have a thing for gentle giants,” she teases before kissing him softly.

“We’re done over here,” Nat’s voice says through Bucky’s earpiece.

“Great,” Steve’s voice replies. “Let’s wrap this thing up with the authorities, then, and head home.”

“Yay, home,” Y/N says brightly, leaning against Bucky.

“Hey, love birds!” Tony calls. “C’mon!”

--

“That was crazy,” Y/N says, balancing on one foot to unzip her boots before kicking them off. They land in a heap near the foot of Bucky’s bed.

Bucky comes up behind her, curling his arms around her waist. “Aliens. Who would’ve thought?”

“Well, I’ve dealt with aliens before,” she tells him, leaning back into his embrace and laughing softly when his fingers find the zipper of her jacket. A couple of months ago, he would never be this forward. Now? He’s a lot more confident, especially with Y/N. Because of Y/N?

“You have?” he inches the zipper down until it comes undone and he can slide the jacket off her shoulders. He tosses it over her boots before both hands return to her shoulders.

“Yeah, a couple of times after the Battle of - oh, right there.”

Bucky grins, guiding her to sit on the bed with him behind her before resuming massaging her shoulders.

“Tell me more?” he prompts.

“Only if you keep doing that.”

He presses a kiss to the curve of one shoulder. “I’ll keep going. I want to hear your stories.”

She hums softly. “There weren’t any alien encounters before the Battle of New York - at least, not that I know of. There’s probably something. Fury would know. He probably wouldn’t tell any of us but he would know. Anyways. I only came into contact with aliens a couple of times, all when I helped Coulson and his team. Nothing too exciting - small invasions, even smaller than what we dealt with today. Chitari are ugly fuckers up close, we ran into a couple of those once. The Kree are assholes.”

Bucky laughs, slipping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. “I’ve only heard of the Chitari. What are the Kree?”

“Blue, humanoid, scary stoic,” she explains. “They basically want to rule everything.”

“Sounds like a bunch of dicks.”

“I can’t speak for all of them but the ones I’ve met definitely are.”

Bucky hums softly, nuzzling against the curve where her neck meets her shoulder. “Wanna celebrate defeating an alien invasion properly?”

Y/N laughs, squirming away when he tickles her neck with his stubble, and twists around to kiss him. “What do you have in mind?” she asks, straddling his lap and letting her arms settle loosely around his neck.

He pulls her close, almost purring when she runs her fingers through his hair and scratches her nails across his scalp, and then tips them both onto the bed. Y/N giggles as he fits himself between her thighs and blankets her body with his own.

“I’m sure we can think of something.”

Y/N holds his face between her hands, drawing him into a slow kiss. “I’ve got some ideas. Are you gonna be a good boy for me?”

Bucky groans against her lips and feels her smile as her hands start working at his clothes, eager to get at the skin underneath. He gets so wrapped up in Y/N, he doesn’t realize until the next morning that he never removed his metal arm.

---

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—

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[ashleyswrittenwords]

How To Be A Queen

Note: This is my debut LoZ fanfction! Yay! I really want to explore a deeper part of Zelda’s character, and eventually Link’s later on. I think it’s interesting to explore the mental and physical toll of what it is to have a planned fate. I just think it’s neat. Also hopefully a slow burn somewhere in there, well, a lot in there. Lots of ZeLink slow burn. Is it obvious I like those sorts of things? Anyway, please critique. It’s going to be very AUish because the games don’t exactly spit out Link’s personality, but it will be heavily based off of BOTW. Let me know what you think!

Summary: Princess Zelda is at a loss. Her handed royal responsibilities have begun to weigh heavily on her and she is eventually backed into a corner. Live a life she loathes or run away from everything she's ever known? Navigating life is hard, and Link forces her to learn that she doesn't have to do it alone.

Warning: Some mentions of body weight and general mental health.

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How To Be A Queen

“Princess?”

Goddesses spare me.

Please, what did I do to deserve this.

Just a few more sips and I’ll be done. That will be it.

Oh, Hylia, end this suffering soon.

“Princess?” Old Grog Guildford sounded concerned.

“Oh! Yes, Lord Guildford?” I replied attentively, trying with every once of my will to not sound adverse. Lord Guildford is a minister and a relatively good friend to Father. Don’t get me wrong, he’s well-meaning but Goddesses in heaven can he make awful bread pudding. I can’t even remember why I’m here to taste it.

“How is it?” He looked at me eagerly expecting. One look at the old man’s face and I realize why no one has been truthful to him. He’s like a little boy asking if his art is good, only the cold-hearted can say anything negative. But, wouldn’t it spare the other poor bastards that would fall victim to it if I spoke up? I cleared my throat, trying to find anywhere else to look at beside the brown puppy dog eyes of Old Lord Guildford. Alas, I couldn’t escape.

“It’s delicious!”

Hylia, forgive me for I am weak.

“Oh, joy! I must share it with the chef for the next festival! Your Father comes up with the most fantastic ideas, Princess.”

I smiled weakly and nodded. I watched as he talked his way into the kitchen. Something about the winter solstice festival. I stood slowly, afraid to upset my stomach anymore. The dining room was one of the largest in the castle, and here I was alone and possibly poisoned by bread pudding. Well, it wouldn’t be the worst fate. I grinned up at the large, stoic murals. Here I am laughing at my own jokes as I stare up at ancestors who were able to do so much more than I ever will. Somehow I feel at ease, it’s been a while since I was alone today.

“Princess Zelda!”

The irony of it almost hurts.

“There you are!” It’s one of the head maids. She looks relieved to see me. “You must come for a dress fitting for the solstice, Your Highness.”

A feel myself politely smile and my hands grip themselves behind my back. So close. “We should be on with it, yes?”

This has been amongst the many things that have conspired in the recent weeks. As Father grows older, he’s believes that more responsibility should fall onto me. Whether it be bread pudding taste testing or short discussions about land disputes, it has indeed begun to take a toll.

It’s been so hectic that I’ve barely been able to think. Learning who the ministers are, their wives, their political leanings has been one thing. I can deal with simple studying. An entirely different venture is the world of pandering.

Forget physical activity, trying to suck up to people is by far the most exhausting activity I have ever experienced in my life. Oh, Lord Hicks how impressive it is to learn how to differentiate milkwine by simply looking at it. Lord WhatsYourName, how is the mistress you’ve been having an affair with? And the kids?

Can you believe I was taught how to laugh properly a week ago? And here I thought I laughed just fine. Oh no, how wrong I was. Last week I was introduced to a woman who told me I sounded like an old rat stuck in drain pipe. I still haven’t recovered from it.

A middle-aged blonde woman pulled a measuring tape around my waist. I looked at myself in the mirror as she focused. It’s been a while since I was last measured. I stood there in my shift and stared. The old woman made a weird noise, “It’s been a couple months since I last measured you, girl.”

“I believe so, Mrs. Bea.”

“You’ve widened by a few centimeters, Highness. Tsk tsk,” she shook her head.

My cheeks lit up in embarrassment. Did she have to say that in front of two other maids? I didn’t really know what to say. Sorry? It was the bread pudding, I swear. I have a feeling if I told her the joke wouldn’t land well.

I looked at the mirror again as she took measurements elsewhere. It wasn’t like I was overweight, but I suppose my cheeks did fill out a little. It wasn’t awfully noticeable, but being the person that stares at themselves every other hour – it was more apparent now.

The day trudged on, and my thoughts moved elsewhere. To say that my head wasn’t with my body was an understatement. Too much was going too fast. Between the pudding and the Mrs. Bea incident, the day was already becoming bigger than I can take on. With the sun now descending, I was able to slip away from preparations to climb the staircase. My quarters were on the fourth floor and what a long journey it was. I started to reconsider if I should exercise more.

Once I made it to the hallway, I saw a man standing next to my door. He stared straight ahead as if studying the lines on the opposite wall. There was a law somewhere in the books that soldiers were not to make eye contact with royalty. One of the many questionable rules that leave me wondering “What’s the point?” Link always stood very straight. It’d been a couple years since he was promoted to my guard and the man had said a handful of sentences to me since then. There wasn’t a law about talking to royalty, so instead I suppose he doesn’t like talking. Or maybe just talking to me. It makes the relationship as awkward as you can expect. The castle walls aren’t as thick as you think and I’m positive he’s heard me ranting to imaginary no ones more than a few times.

I tried catching my breath before speaking, but the words came through breathless anyway.

“Um, Link,” I spoke.

Much to my disappointment, he didn’t answer. But the small shift in his step told me he was listening. As I looked up at him a thought occurred to me. We could easily have that forbidden Princess/Knight relationship. It’s not like I lock my quarters anyway, with having one of the top men in this society outside to protect me and all.

Oh, Hylia, I need some sleep.

Not without a light flush, I responded to his lack of, “Link, could you keep anyone from disturbing me? It’s been an awfully long day.”

Again, he didn’t move to say anything. So, I continued, “Tell them something along the lines of how I’m planning out my solstice speech.” Which wasn’t a complete lie. I’d at least think about it. And Link didn’t disagree, I assumed it sounded alright. He was dressed in the traditional royal guard uniform. It was plated in a type of metal and I wondered if it weighed down on him.

You know… there’s nothing wrong with a man in uniform. Or one without for that matter.

I told myself to shush and smiled a little, “I trust your day went well?”

Again, no response. Oh well, a girl can try. I walked past him and went for the door handle, “If another guard in your squadron comes by, you should tell him to cover your shift tonight. I know it’s not the most thrilling job.”

With that, I went into my quarters and shut the door behind me. I want to say we were close despite the lack of words, but we aren’t. I don’t know too much about him other than that he came from a small village in the southeast, my father trusts him, he talks to his peers often (those thinner-than-you-think castle walls), and that he’s a prodigy in his profession. He also tends to fidget with his holster sometimes when I have a one-sided conversation with him. It’s quite the resume.

I put down whatever journal I was holding for my manners courses and try to undo the outer layer of my dress. The laces have a tendency to tangle if I don’t focus. The dresser mirror only gives so much visibility.

So what I have eaten a little more than I usually do? I’m a little stressed, okay?

I frown at my inner dialogue and shift my thoughts away from Mrs. Bea. Finally, the laces come apart and I lift the mess of fabric over and away from my form. What is left is my white shift. I sigh and sit in a red cushioned chair. It’s in front of my desk filled with small trinkets. This is when I realize the fatigue in my legs and I almost slump over. I swear aloud at the relief and fumble through my things to find a small book.

Meanwhile I hear conversations outside. All I can make out is Link’s deeper tone and a lighter, more uplifted voice – probably Anju, a personal maid. I can’t help but smile a little, she’s probably just checking in, but I appreciate Link’s attentiveness. I don’t think I can handle another interaction now. I grasp the metal ink pen and wipe off dried ink from the tip with a loose garment. The lid of the ink pot always gets a little stuck. I flip through my diary to find a blank page and fill my lungs with a breath.

“Dear Diary,” I mouth, it does make me spell better if I do so. What follows is a recap of today’s events and general frustration. Much of how I hated that bread pudding, the fake laughter, fake smiles of the court, Mrs. Bea’s comments, and my inability to be able to connect to people on a personal level. The latter concern bothering me the most. Based on the books I’ve read and the interactions I’ve witnessed, every person I’ve talked to has been on business terms. The lords, the maids, and even Father at times.

I frown deeply as I spell out my thoughts in whispers, “One night many years ago, not long after Mother’s passing he told me after hours of drinking that my conception was for the state’s sake, and only for the state’s sake.” My throat closed, but I continued scratching the words into the paper.

“I’m starting to believe him.”

[neverwatchedonepiece]

609-610: "Luffy Dies from Exposure?! The Spine Chilling Snow Woman Monet" and "Fists Collide! a Battle of the Two Vice Admirals!"

Surrounded by trash, unsure of location or direction. Too real, Luffy. Too real.

I feel like a broken record at the moment but Punk Hazard really is delivering.

Across 609 and 610, we had Law vs Vergo with a surprise interruption by Smoker. Caesar was the subject of unexpected character development. Even Luffy vs Monet had a twist, with Luffy falling into a trash compactor and meeting a tiny talking dragon.

I bet that’s Foxfire’s son. The little dragon had a kid’s voice.

I’m just glad the big dragon the Strawhats roasted wasn’t Momonosuke (@mrkashkiet, I am looking at you sternly. xD)

Law Just Cannot Quit Smoking

And does not want to.

The action picked up with Vergo hoofing it to the SAD Room. Speed lines ahoy!

Inside, Law slowly drew his sword in front of a vast tank of SAD Gas. Not sure what he was planning to do, but let’s not dwell on it, in case his plan was literally explosive.

Vergo appeared at the door. “I feel like my hand has been bitten by my own dog. This is too much even for a mischievous child. You were always too smart for your own good. People like you tend to die young.”

You know, I’m not keen on stoic villain types but I’ve got to admit that Vergo has some killer lines.

“It would be easiest to crush your heart but I won’t do that. I’ll torment you slowly as I please and warp your smart ass face with fear.”

Like I said, good lines.

He wailed on Law with grim purpose to the point I found myself shouting, “Come on, Law! ROOM YOURSELF OUT OF THERE!”  Law was not having a fun time. (Dare I say, he was SAD?)

But his instinct for shit-talking was irrepressible. “Are you guys frustrated because your scheme is coming crashing down? Is this thing that important to you?”

Well, yeah... If Caesar is *the only person* who can make whatever it is that Doflamingo wants, then SAD must be profitable. Profits before pals seems to be Doflamingo’s modus operandi, but I don’t get the feeling Law is all that surprised Vergo is trying to kill him.

Law did fight back. There was an attempt.  He tried to Room his heart back. But Vergo is fast and snatched Law’s heart from the air.

The worst thing, though? Vergo punched Law so hard he lost his hat. That is not cool. It must have riled Law enough for him to try his (awesome) Counter Shock attack. It was big, flashy and high voltage, but it only left Vergo lightly toasted.

Vergo must have decided to kill Law then because he said, “I have a message from Joker. He said, ‘What a shame.’”

Law was weirdly zen about the whole situation. “Oh, well. It didn’t work. I was pretty sure I could take my heart back from Caesar, but I didn’t expect you here, Vergo.”

The lack of -san honorific was the last straw for Vergo. He squeezed Law’s heart like a stress ball. Toei’s red filter descended. Soul-shredding pain was experienced. Law screamed a lot. As you would if your heart was being squeezed by a maniac.

Then, a shaft of light descended from the vaulted heavens.

Except not really because it was Smoker.

It’s almost the same thing.

Vergo was typically cool about the interruption. “I’m in the middle of something. Does it have to be now, Vice-Admiral Smoker?”

And I did a backflip. Yes. Excellent interruption. Great timing, Smoker! Now stop being so fixated on the Big Tanks That Go “Blort” and execute your glorious revenge!

Really, now I think about it, Vergo is almost as bad as Caesar. When Smoker called Vergo out on his deceit and told him not to tell the G5 Men as he was a father figure to them, Vergo said, “Don’t tell me you actually care about those guys? I’m a base commander. I can do whatever I want to my no-good subordinates.” Another one who treats other people as disposable pawns.

Unsurprisingly, Smoker and Vergo came to blows. Smoker seems to be having more luck than Law, but then Vergo does not have Smoker’s heart in a box. What I’d like to happen is Smoker retrieving Law’s heart and they tag-team Vergo into oblivion.

That sounded wrong. But you get what I mean.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Rubbery Hope

How did Luffy end up in the Death Star’s trash compactor? 

His battle with a bird woman from Hoth went south. Literally.

And I cannot believe I am about to say this, but I kind of wish Luffy’s fight with Monet was a little bit longer. Her powers are great. Her self-awareness and cunning are too.

She maintained those ten layer kamakura walls without breaking a sweat. When Luffy smashed one layer, she wrapped another around her frozen prison without missing a beat. Luffy knew she was stalling for time and said he’d just break every layer quicker than she could replace them.

“I bet,” she said. Then swept up behind Luffy and, in an oddly flirty manner, whispered in his ear, “I don’t think I’ll win if I fight you, but the strongest isn’t always the winner in a fight.”

Then she grabbed him and wrapped him, literally, in winter’s embrace. 

That hypothermia power was quite cool (no pun intended). Paired with those desolate, snowy vistas and her eerily calm voice urging Luffy to let go, to sleep, relax and let it be, Monet’s Devil Fruit seems pretty strong to me.

But just as Luffy was about to pass out, Zoro’s voice - the very warning he yelled at Luffy a couple of episodes ago - cut through the darkness. “THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW WORLD!”

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of the blue filtered haki moments. When he sprang up and let loose that Jet Spear attack, I cheered.

Then he fell through the floor into a garbage chute and I laughed.

It was cool, though. He’s rubber. He’d bounce. And sure enough, it wasn’t long before he was raking through broken gadgets for food. At which point a tiny dragon spoke to him and that is where the story ended.

I am now 75% sure that tiny dragon is Momonosuke. It had a kid’s voice. Probably should be a higher percentage than that but I like to hedge my bets, haha.

Chopper Looks Like Every Harried Substitute Teacher Ever

While Luffy was readjusting to life in a trash compactor with a small talking dragon, Monet flapped away to tick off another box on the never ending to do list: securing the Addicted Experiment Kiddies.

Said kiddies were knocking lumps out of Chopper with their ferocious addict strength. He could not restrain them without hurting them. He tried to convince them not to eat the candy. “I know it’s hard but you have to endure it!”

The thing is, Chopper was dealing with a double helping of trouble here. Not only are they kids, who are naturally more self-centred due to their developing brains. They are also addicts who are so far down the rabbit hole of whatever drug Caesar was peddling they’ll do anything for a fix.

When Chopper’s rumble ball wore off, the kids trampled him and thundered straight for the Biscuit Room, where Mocha was waiting alone.

Luckily, he was picked up by Nami, Zoro, Usopp, Robin, Brook and Foxfire. (Do not remember Brownbeard hanging around. Did he leave or did he just not have any lines?) 

Robin tried to restrain the kids. That was interesting for two reasons: one, I didn’t know Robin could feel damage sustained by her extra hands, and two, she asked Usopp and Brook to try and find a pair of Sea Prism Stone cuffs because Luffy had asked her to. (I bet his plan is to cuff Caesar!)

The kids charged Mocha, who tried to tell them the candy was evil! Then Monet whirled into the room on a frosty zephyr. (The best part of this entrance was when Usopp shouted: “I TOLD YOU THERE WAS A BIRD WOMAN!” He was finally vindicated.) 

Yay, thought Mocha. It’s Monet-san. She’s lovely!

Nooooope. Monet told her, in a sweet, ever-so-reasonable voice that it wasn’t nice to keep all the candy for herself. Mocha should share it with the others, like always. Mocha’s little face when she sensed betrayal was just heart-wrenching. “Why?” she whispered.

Because Monet is a nasty piece of work just like Caesar? Just a thought.

Not sure what’s going to happen here. There are a *lot* of Strawhats in the room, so I’m guessing Monet will be defeated by them. Then they’ll push through, deliver the cuffs and - BAM - we have one angry, kidnapped scientist. 

Sanji Acquires Unexpected Fans

This was a short scene but the fact that Sanji has a cadre of devoted fans in the G5 is hilarious. Yeah, he claims he doesn’t want their approval. And he probably doesn’t.

But Sanji cannot stop himself running back to save the poor saps who can be saved.

This is the Sanji I like: surly on the outside with a golden heart on the inside. More, please!

And the Academy Award for Best Actor goes to . . .

CAESAR CLOWN!

Seriously.

The yarns this guy can spin could crush the GDP of a small textile-dependent country.

Caesar should run for office somewhere. Then he could appoint himself head of the science department.

For that is exactly what has been bugging him for years, it seems. He wants Vegapunk’s job.

Well... maybe not the job. (He’s getting by just fine thanks to pirates. A Government job would ruin that). It’s the fame and kudos. That’s what he’s after.

Plus he has a weird goal: to achieve world peace by obliterating all sources of conflict - collateral damage be damned. Unless he’s lying about that. Given his oscar-winning performance, that would not surprise me.

The action picked up with Caesar caesaring through a pipe and landing outside the Secret Room (I laughed when I realised everyone on Punk Hazard literally calls it the Secret Room).

He was bitching about having to enter the room because it was Vegapunk’s old office. Still, he claimed it was the only place where he could “pull it off”. (I am unsure why he had to go to Vegapunk’s old office just to close some doors, but I’ll chalk it up to plot and say no more.)

He promised to make Luffy, the Strawhats, G5 and Trafalgar Law pay for ruining his plan. It was all their fault! The experiment could have been a great show - everything perfect and beautiful and befitting of the world’s greatest scientist (Vegapunk says hi!) But they screwed it up. He couldn’t let the Strawhats do as they liked. They’d pushed it a little too far and he has Joker on his back now.

He ordered a minion to close the gates to Buildings C and D. This would lure all survivors into one narrow room. His plan? Trap them in the bottleneck and pump the room full of his poison gas through the air vents. He would broadcast it as a snuff movie for the brokers. That would show them what he was really made of!

But the minions hang on his every word and they caught one small discrepancy.

“Um... did you say that *you* had created the poison gas, Master?”

Caesar’s haughty reply was, “Yes, I did.”

“But it’s like Vegapunk’s gas. It freaks us out.” Understandably, the minions probably have ptsd from four years ago.

The moment when Caesar realised he’d let his ego run away with him and opened his big mouth was glorious. How could he spin this? How? The animators did a great job here. You could see the evil, conniving cogs turning in his mind. 

Then he broke out his Oscar winning performance. 

“This is . . . an avenging battle of science. My people! That day, I tried to stop the mad scientist, Vegapunk. No! If such a weapon exploded, what would happen to the people on the island?” Caesar even threw in a melodramatic “YAMEROOOOO, VEGAPUNK!” for some extra emotional sparkle.

“But the accident happened. And he still lords if over us as the head of the science department of the Marines. and he’s considered the world’s greatest scientist. I cannot tolerate it! He’s the cruel man who hurt you all! Do you think it’s right that people still call him the number one scientist? That’s why I want to prove them all wrong. I didn’t want to make a weapon of mass destruction! But I want to show them that there is a greater scientist here. That I am the greatest scientist in the world! When the Marines acknowledge it and when I become head of the science department, my dream will come true. I can use my scientific knowledge to bring peace to the world!”

I honestly had to stop myself giving Caesar a standing ovation. What a performance that was.

You know, it’s weird. Every lie Caesar told there has a basis in truth. That’s the most dangerous liar right there because the lies they tell are more believable. Does the Gas-Gas Fruit confer gaslighting powers too? Because Caesar is a hellishly efficient manipulator.

And while Caesar was congratulating himself, a flashback happened!

Caesar is Prime Material for /r/IAmVerySmart

Caesar with a bob was weird. I’m guessing when he moved to Punk Hazard, there was a lack of stylists, so he just grew his hair out. That hair you see right now? That is four years of growth.

At any rate, Caesar was doing something a bit more important back in Vegapunk’s lab. He was debating morality with some other scientists. They begged him to stop his experiment. If it exploded, it would kill everyone on the island. 

Caesar was typically receptive to criticism. “STFU, boneheads! Where do you think you are? This is a Marine research facility. They want to kill as many pirates as the can. What they need is a weapon that will do it for them.”

“But they don’t want one that will also kill civilians!”

Caesar’s rebuttal? “It’s called collateral damage! If we blow away everything, we can bring peace to the world.” (Does he genuinely believe that? That’s a properly depressing view of the world he holds there, if true.)

“You’re so...”

Caesar had a, “I’m gonna stop you right there” moment. They wanted to say he was cruel? What a joke. They were using prisoners as guinea pigs as if they were trash. What was the difference? (Fair point, Caesar.) Moreover, Admiral Sengoku was too soft, but Akainu, if he was in charge, *he* would want a weapon Caesar made. (Also interesting. I hope Caesar never decides to change sides again. He would be dangerous in Akainu’s hands.)

He went off on one about how Vegapunk had failed to turn people into giants again. Caesar knows you can’t turn people into giants in a short period of time unless you use magic, so had suggested Vegapunk just kidnap some kids and feed them drugs until something worked. What a lovely idea, Caesar! xD

The flash forward revealed Caesar’s “William Birkin Moment”.

Just as he made a significant discovery, Marines burst in and cuffed him with sea prism stone. Vegapunk himself came to see off his old colleague. I was ONE HUNDRED PERCENT HYPED for about half a second. But there was no face. 

Blue balled. Again. xD

Caesar was summarily dismissed from the Science Department. “Your eccentric behaviour is intolerable and I cannot protect you anymore, Caesar.”

Interesting that what the rest of the scientists did was viewed as fine and dandy, but Caesar taking it a step further was regarded as “eccentric”. First off, eccentric is a gross understatement. Secondly, what they’re doing is pretty evil too. Caesar is just overtly, unashamedly amoral. They hide it better.

Suffering such a humiliation, Caesar had his “SCREW YOU!” moment and pushed the big red button. Punk Hazard went up in a Mighty Kaboom-Boom Cloud. 

Still wondering how they all survived that, but I will chalk it up to plot and say no more.

Of course, after Caesar’s theatrics, his minions fell over themselves to apologise. Sorry, Master! You are the saviour, after all.

“Thank you... thank you all,” Caesar simpered, while inside he called them unintelligent fools. So easily manipulated. Dumb as bricks.

This guy needs taking down several pegs. Maybe an entire cloakroom rack.

Luffy, please oblige asap.

Caesar tells a rip-roaring, thigh-slapper of a yo momma joke. 

(No one laughed.)

[iliketowrite1996]

Sinking Ships and Loose Lips 9

TRIGGER WARNINGS AND THEMES- Infidelity, casual hookups, sadness, insecurities.

T’Challa Udaku has always considered himself a pretty stoic individual. He doesn’t let his feelings affect the way he runs his country. He could have a problem with someone, and they’d never even know. He’d still be kind, courtesy, and charming.   

    But sometimes the prim, proper, ‘’perfect’’ king gets tired of being so prim and so proper and so… well..

    ‘’Perfect’’.

    When he was younger, he’d confide in Nakia. She was always his best friend, always the one who would tell it like it is. However, given the status of their relationship now, he called N’Jdaka last night.

    ‘’Look, T. I don’t know what to tell you. That sucks. But you a whole king now, man! That’s dope, and girls know it. You can easily bag any girl you want.’’

    T'Challa has never thought about ‘’bagging’’ any girl that he wants. It’s always been about Nakia. She was, and is, the love of his life. And when it wasn’t about her, it was about you. Somehow, he’s been caught between wanting to fix things with Nakia and wanting to see what could've happened after that night on the beach with you.

    He feels terrible about those both. He really does. He’s got a whole country to run. No time for frivolous things.

    That’s what he tells himself, at least, when you or Nakia pop into his mind. He’s always putting others and their needs ahead of his own, so it's very easy for him to get back on track when his wandering mind tempts him to let his thoughts stray to you or Nakia.

    So maybe that’s why he takes N’Jadaka’s advice.

    Finishes his work early. Heads to a bar and allows himself to let loose, avoiding cameras and even going as far to use an alias in case anyone would want to sell some pictures tot e tabloids.

    Meets a beautiful girl.

    Kisses that beautiful girl.

    Invites that beautiful girl back to his hotel room for the night.

    And that, my friends, is where we find him this morning.

    The beautiful girl is currently pressing kisses to T’Challa’s lips. His hands are tight on her waistm wrinkling the fabric of her blouse.

    ‘’I’ve got to go,’’ she chuckles against his lips, eyes still fluttering and head still spinning from the previous night's events.

    ‘’Maybe you could come back tonight,’’ T’Challa murmurs lowly, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ears, ‘’Repeat performance.’’

    ‘’If my boss lets me off early. I’ll definitely meet you tonight if I can get off work on time.’’

    ‘’Mmm, can’t wait’’ T’Challa sighs, pressing a final kiss to her waiting lips, ‘’I’ll see you after work.’’

    For once in his life T'challa is glad that he took N’Jadaka’s advice. Even if all they did was kiss, it was nice to be so close to someone again. She’s a beautiful girl and he spent the night cuddling said beautiful girl and not thinking about Nakia or you or regrets or nights on beaches and you in that red dress…

    Until he does. When she leaves, the euphoric feeling isn’t long lived. He calls right back into thinking about you, into thinking about you in that red dress, into thinking about that night on the beach.

    And he doesn’t know why…

    But T’Challa Udaku gets the feeling that you’re hiding something from him.

    And he’s not sure why, but that feeling won’t stop gnawing at him at all.

    He’s pretty determined to get to the bottom of it.

    Sunlight filters into the room that you share with one Tony Stark. It bathes him in a golden haze as he presses sweet kisses to your face, running his hands over the satin fabric of your purple pajamas.

    ‘’Baby,’’ you giggle before he finally presses a kiss to your lips ‘’I’ve got to get ready for work.And you’re already dressed!’’

    ‘’Mhm. No you don’t. You work for me. If I’m late, you can be late.’’

    ‘’Hmmm, but what will the people say?! It’d be such a scandal,’’ you make the sarcasm evident, and Tony responds with a deep laugh.

    ‘’Let’s give them something to talk about, then,’’ Tony captures your lips with his, and you hold onto his tie to bring him even closer.

    Suddenly, though, you hear the pitter patter of to pairs of feet, and Tony pulls away from you with a groan.

    ‘’And five, four, three, two, one…’’

    ‘’Victoria and Benjamin burst through the door, crawling into your bed.

    ‘’Mommy, daddy, no school!’’

    ‘’I know, princess,’’ Tony presses a kiss to the top of Benjamin’s head before picking Victoria up and swinging her around, ‘’It’s the first official day of summer break! You two will be spending the day with the nanny.’’

    ‘’Yay! She promised me we’d have a tea party today.’’

    ‘’And she said she’d show me how to shoot my free throws for the next game,’’ your son reveals, excitement evident in his voice.

    ‘’Sounds fun. Right now, though, momma has to get ready for work.’’

    Your son nods before giving you both a hug, and grabbing his younger sister's hand and guiding her out the room.

    ‘’Should I help you get dressed,’’ Tony asks suggestively, causing you to throw your head back with laughter as you get out of bed.

    ‘’Tony, go feed my kids. Make their nanny's job a bit easier.’’

    He sighs but does as you say, pressing a final kiss to your lips before leaving to the kitchen to give Victoria and Benjamin their breakfast so that the two of you can go meet with Nakia and Shuri.

    After showering, doing your hair and makeup, and picking your clothes, you emerge from the room. Your white blouse is pristine. Your tapered, purple pants are perfectly ironed and your heels have Tony eyeing your legs as your kids finish up the last of their pancake.

    ‘’Mommy, you look so pretty. Like a princess,’’ Victoria beams.

    ‘’Thank you, baby girl. You’re looking beautiful, too,’’you push some of her curls off of her forehead before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

    ‘’Where’s the nanny?’’

    ‘’She messaged me. She got caught up with something. She’s on her way,’’ you inform Tony, pouring a bit of coffee into both of your travel mugs as he packs both of your bags.

    Just that, the door opens and you hear the sound of sneakers slapping against the wooden floors.

    ‘’I am so, so sorry I’m late,’’ the children’s nanny is out of breath, starting her car keys on the counter, ‘’It won’t happen again.’’   

    ‘’Don’t even worry about it, Ashlynn.’’

    ‘’Yeah. Nakia and Shuri will be a bit late. So, we’ll head out now.’’

    Tony and you both press kisses to the children's foreheads, thank their nanny, say goodbye and head out of the door.

    Tony, for one, is gla that any thoughts of T’Challa seemed to have left your body, You're practicing skipping to the car, Friday night’s events a distant memory. It’s Monday morning and things are new.

    It’s a brand new day.

    And he, for one, is so grateful that T’Challa Udaku can’t possibly ruin it.

    But what he seems to forget is that sunshine can be interrupted by dark clouds, rain and thunderstorms coming in on even the brightest of days.

    You'll Laugh And discuss business with Nakia and Shuri for about two hours, then make your way to lunch.

    That’s when the flood of messages, notifications, and tabloids will cause his skin to pale as your heart beats wildly inside of your chest.

    ‘’Tony Stark’s Wife CHEATING?!’’ tiles will scream in angry red letters, as if they know all about that night on the beach and the red dress and T’Challa pressing kisses to your shoulder before you two made that big mistake.

    Below, a picture of you and T’Challa from the other night will be featured.

    This is it- the grey storm cloud coming in to ruin your day.

    And you’re not sure who or what leaked the pictures, but you have a strong feeling that you know.

    And you’re going to get to the bottom of it.

    No matter what it takes.

Okay, I know my story has a lot of angst and plot twists and cliff hangers. But there’s a reason for it, so just hang in there with me , please! There’s only 3, maybe 4 chapters left. Thank you all for reading.

DISCLAIMER- I do not own any Marvel characters or their fictional 

@ashanti-notthesinger @destinio1 @afraiddreamingandloving @starsshines-blog @airis-paris14 @syreanne @chaneajoyyy @90sinspiredgirl @shemiahsmelanin @zillmonger @skysynclair19 @marvelpotterlove @constantlycravingtheunknown @imaginewhoever @wakanda-inspired @pocmarvelworks @theunsweetenedtruth @dreampovx @adrioola21 @supremethunda @thisiskayesworld @mcusocialimagines @kumkaniudaku

[mistical52]

At Your Service - Chapter 1

Hey everyone, I’m back with an Overwatch fanfiction. Yep, I’ve been hooked and dragged under by this epic fandom. Yay! XD

Please enjoy this work! 

Description: Jesse doesn't get picket up by Blackwatch, he joins the Shimada Clan instead.

Soulmate AU.

Chapter 2 (link)

---

Six hands tried to hold Jesse down. He wasn’t strong enough to warrant that many people, but the way he was bucking and squirming, combined with his biting and scratching made him harder to keep down than a wild stallion.

When they finally managed to get his hands behind his back McCree responded by kicking. His heel connected with something and was satisfied to hear a loud yelp.

Jesse’s satisfaction didn’t last long when he heard yelling in Japanese calling another person over to help restrain him. The group of people managed to hold McCree still long enough to snap the restraining cuffs on him.

A man wrenched Jesse to his feet and McCree didn’t hesitate to headbutt the guy. There was a crunch and Jesse knew that he’s broken the man’s nose.

The cold click of a gun and a warm barrel to McCree’s head caused him to freeze.

             “Behave.” Came the heavily accented word. Judging by the voice it was a woman, and looking through the corner of his eye Jesse could see that he was right.

Jesse would have raised his hands if he could, but the bite of the cuffs on his wrists reminded him that he couldn’t. “Well since you asked so nicely.” McCree responded instead straightening up.

             “Move.” Commanded the woman with the gun.

McCree took half a step forward before he stopped, “If you don’t mind could one of you please grab my hat?” Jesse asked nodding his head to where his fallen hat was.

There was a moment when no one moved. Then the man with the broken nose slowly picked up the battered hat and cautiously moved in front of McCree. Jesse bowed his head, letting the man put on the vital piece of his aesthetic. The man with the broken nose gently put it on wary of another attack, but McCree did nothing.

             “Thank you kindly.” Said McCree and finally started moving in the direction the woman wanted him too. Just because Jesse was captured that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be civil, at least until he found a moment to escape.

 They took McCree outside and shoved him into the rear of a black van. In the back sat a few members of the Japanese organisation along with the head of Deadlock, Arron Knight and his right hand, Izzie Mendoza. Jesse sat with as much dignity as he could muster across from Deadlock’s leader. Before the door was slammed shut McCree saw Peacekeeper tucked into a man’s waistband. Well at least they hadn’t left his gun behind. Hopefully he could get it back when he escaped.

It wasn’t long before the van started moving and McCree couldn’t help but be uncomfortable with his hands behind his back. So Jesse fidgeted, every five or ten minutes he’d adjust to a new position, trying to work around the hands at his back.

             “I don’t think I’ve ever seen your soul mark before.” Commented Knight.

Jesse curled his fists and shifted them behind his back, trying to hide the twisting dragons which danced from knuckle to wrist. Too many people had seen the mark today. Jesse had lost his gloves in the brawl. Someone grabbed his wrists and he slipped his hands out of the gloves to punch them square in the jaw. Jesse wasn’t dumb, he had a feeling something else was going on here.

             “Can I have a look? It’s a bit boring in here.” Knight said casually and nodded his head to indicate to the van.

“No. You don’t get to talk about that. It’s because of your stupidity that we’re in this situation. You’re the idiot who double crossed the Shimada clan.” McCree snapped, “I was against that plan. And now look what’s happened, Boss, they came back and wiped out Deadlock.”

“Now boy, you don’t get to talk to me like that. What I say goes, if you didn’t like it, you could’a left.” The grin which Knight gave said otherwise.

“We all knew this would happen if ya’ crossed them, but you got greedy an’ did it anyway!” Jesse retorted ignoring Knight’s comment, “And now probably everyone’s dead ‘cept us!” Jesse didn’t really consider any of the people in Deadlock friends, but some of them weren’t half bad. McCree had seen the best members kick the bucket during the ambush, and he was sure a coward or two had escaped. Torres, that annoying little weasel, probably made it out during the first two minutes.

“McCree, leave it.” Mendoza ordered giving him a side-eyed scowl. Her dark skin was pulled into a frown which scared most other Deadlock members.

McCree grumbled, but ultimately decided that he didn’t want to continue the conversation anyway. He’d already said everything that he needed to.

  The whole trip was a little under two hours and they had reached a large town on the outskirts of the desert. It was a nice town, Jesse had been here a few times, which is how he recognised his location. After being directed out of the van at gun point Jesse could just see the town from the property they were on. The property had surprisingly green grass and a huge pre-Civil War home. The garden was well maintained and mostly contained plants that could handle the dryer climate. The only thing that disturbed the pretty picture was the hefty number of guards dotted through out the property. Some guards were patrolling while others stood stoic and vigilant.

The three remaining Deadlock members were lead up to the front door and pushed through. Jesse paused at the door and quickly wiped his boots on the mat.

From behind Mendoza snapped at him, “McCree this is not the time to have manners!”

             “I an’t gonna walk into someone’s home and track dirt all over the place. Especially not one as nice as this.” Jesse called back. This trip was coming to it’s end. If McCree was going to act he had to do it fast.

The remnants of the American gang were lead up an almost too clean staircase and too what was probably a meeting room. It didn’t look like a western style meeting room. There were no chairs, however there was a long table and some mats on a raised platform in the back half of the room. Most of the chairs were occupied, a third however were vacant, but a screen at the end of the table was likely to be connecting the absent members to the conversation.

The man at the head of the table, Mr Sojiro Shimada himself, looks unimpressed at the interruption.

The man with the broken nose, which looked like it had been somewhat repaired during the journey, said something in Japanese. Not a moment later every member of the ambush in the large room bowed, except for the members holding guns at the Deadlock members.

Jesse didn’t like this room, he had an uneasy feeling and he wanted out. Jesse shifted uncomfortably and used that movement to hide the lockpick he pulled out from the waist of his pants. Maybe he should have taken his chances in the confined van.

All the yakuza members rose with a word from Mr Shimada, from there the man with the broken nose reported how the ambush went, or McCree assumed he was reporting. Mr Shimada asked the occasional questions while the man with the broken nose did most of the talking.

McCree looked around the room noted the only exit and observed the people sitting at the meeting table while he cautiously picked the lock on his cuffs. Every person at the table except one looked thirty and over. The group was mostly men however all the woman at the table had an air of confidence that not even Jesse would mess with. At the head of the table to Mr Shimada’s left was a vacant chair and to his right, the youngest member who, like Jesse, was obviously under twenty. It was likely that the guy was one of the Shimada heirs, however Jesse didn’t know their names. The young men had long dark hair and angular features with sharp eyes.

The heir looked at McCree and Jesse grinned and tilted his head. The heir scowled at him and Jesse knew that he was enjoying this interaction far too much. McCree realised that he probably shouldn’t be practically flirting with the heir of the Shimada clan, especially not with Mr Shimada sitting right next to the man.

The conversation in Japanese continued as more of a background noise, but soon Jesse started to get nervous about what they were saying, especially when the council, the heir and Mr Shimada kept glancing or looking at him. They looked at the other Deadlock members sure, but as the conversation continued they turned to McCree more and more. This could not be good.

Finally McCree was just about done picking the lock and for once his luck came through. The man with the broken nose gestured for someone to move forward, and they stepped on a squeaky floorboard, giving Jesse just enough time to unlock the cuffs with a small and drowned out click.

The young man stepping forward started to walk past McCree with Peacekeeper held out like an offering.

Well it was now or never.

As the young yakuza stepped past McCree’s left Jesse kicked out at the man’s knee. Not a moment later the man was falling, and McCree had snatched Peacekeeper into his hand. Peacekeeper, the beautiful thing was fully loaded. A man from McCree’s right started to charged at him. Jesse spun and shot the man in the thigh before shooting under his own arm at the woman behind him. He hit exactly where he wanted too, her upper arm, and she dropped her gun. Before the gun clattered to the ground McCree had Peacekeeper aimed at Mr Shimada.

With an easy smile Jesse started to talk, “Now we’re gonna take this nice and easy. If I wanted your people dead they would be, and the same goes for you Mr Shimada.” There was respect in Jesse’s voice, he may not know a lot about this clan but he knew they should be feared.

McCree’s eyes flicked the room taking in everyone’s position and their readiness to reach for a weapon.

The heir was standing and had an arrow loosely slotted onto a bow. The man’s left sleave, which must have been draped over his shoulder, had fallen down to reveal an intricate tattoo with a dragon wrapped around his arm. McCree paused for a moment, then changed his mind.

             “I was just going to be on my way out, but now I have a couple of questions. The first, do two dragons mean anything to you?” Jesse got his answer by the multiple sets of eyes which narrow at him. “Well then, that’s good to know. Don’t try anything, any of you move an’ your boss gets it.”

With steady hands McCree swapped his gun to his left hand, “Next question,” Jesse was directing this one at the heir and Mr Shimada, “This ring any bells?” Inquired Jesse giving everyone at the table a good look at the twining dragons on the back of his right hand.

The heir’s eyes widened a fraction before his features were schooled back into place.

McCree switched his gun back to his dominate hand. “Right then. Final question, do you have one to match?”

The Shimada’s exchanged a quick look.

             “Do I have your word that you will not shoot?” The heir asked, lord McCree couldn’t believe he had to wait almost eighteen years to hear that wonderful voice.

             “So long as no one tries to shoot me I have no reason to shoot.” Replied Jesse easily giving a half shrug.

The heir hesitated a moment before lowering his bow and removing an archer’s glove. Jesse knew, he knew even before the glove came off, this man was his other half.

The young Shimada showed the back of his hand and McCree couldn’t stop the wide grin that reached his face.

             “Aw now ain’t that cute, you got Peacekeeper!” Even half a room away Jesse could make out the inky image.

             “What?” Asked the heir’s confusion obvious.

             “My gun.” Replied McCree simply still grinning.

             “Of course.” Said the young Shimada with spite.

             “I’ve been hoping I’d get to meeting you. Where are my manners, Jesse McCree at your service.” Jesse introduced with a tip of his hat.

             “Hanzo Shimada.” Informed the young Shimada, Jesse’s soulmate.

McCree’s grin got infinitely wider when Hanzo introduced himself. “The pleasure’s all mine. I’m at your mercy.” The last sentence was accompanied by Peacekeeper hanging loosely from a finger and hands out in surrender.

That seemed to surprise Hanzo and the heir still hadn’t schooled his expression by the time several Shimada members tackled and pinned McCree with no resistance.

---

Chapter 2