#help me i’m being held hostage /j

[the-catzm30w]

why do autism and rabies have such similar symptoms. for example: making weird noises, rubbing against random things, fear, sensitivity to light, and fear of water.

[1whore1gang]

it's the little things 🤍

Hey yall!!

Sorry for the lack of updates/my disappearance. Life has been 50 shades of crazy. But, as promised here is part 10!

Now this is going to be posted in 4 parts unfortunately so i can get this out to you all. so this is part 10A!!

This is short, so be prepared.

I love all of you dearly and appreciate your patience.

Warnings: Cussing, the usual angst

if I missed any please lmk!! :)

Much love to you friends ❤️

Taglist: @gaymistakeboi @batw3nch @thedevillovesflowers @almightywdm @ghostslittlegf @sketchyfandomgirl @under-the-dirt @clear-your-mind-and-dream @darkangel4121 @vreselia @llemes @stargaliz @rockcollector3000 @nottrosaxx @azu21 @kaoyamamegami @vicktorfan @ghost-is-my-bbg @1234ilikecowsthanyoumore @salsasvault @itr-00

All 3 boys had been under my care for awhile. No contact from John, nor Laswell. I was exhausted and with little to no sleep, I was losing my mind.

“Please stop crying- I want to go back to sleep Gaz.” I was in the hallway, rocking Gaz as he cried and I couldn’t figure out why. “Please!” I begged.

I hear crying coming from inside the room. “FUCK!” I curse as I go back inside with two crying babies. Johnny was inside of the playpen bawling his eyes out now too.

“Please! Both of you! Keeping me up all damn night and I can’t figure out what’s wrong!! I just want some sleep!” Just then, Simon reached out for Johnny, hugging him as they both lay. Johnny’s cries subside and you breathe out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you. If only you could fix Gaz’s cries.” Simon grunts and you set him down in the playpen next to Simon. Simon slowly hands him a toy plane and Gaz sniffles as he inspects it, the room finally quiet.

You begin to break out into tears at the silence. You couldn’t take this single parenting thing anymore. You needed Price’s help.

A hand reached to your phone, and quickly pulled up his number, but your thumb never found the strength to hit call. You quickly closed out of it and threw your phone across the room in fustration.

“Why can’t one of you turn back into an adult.” You turn to the playpen and see Johnny staring up at you now. “I could really use you right now. My little shield.” His little hands grab at the air towards you. “Oh how I miss you.”

You cradled him to you as you lay on your back, listening to his little mumbles.

“I don’t get it. What’s his deal?”

“Johnny it’s fine. Let him throw his fit.” I wave him off in my office after he stormed in.

“No! You don’t get it! I can’t continue to sit back and let him treat you like this! I cannot watch him tear you down like this! I’m losing you to his words Y/N!” I look up at Johnny as he leans over my desk.

“J.” His eyes soften as my nickname for him. “Don’t lose your job.” He scoffs at me. “We have a list of reasons he could kick us both. Let’s not add to it. Please.”

“He can’t use that against us. What were we supposed to do?!” I sigh as I set my paperwork aside, giving him my full attention. “Why would he be mad about that mission? We were being held hostage, and they wanted a show.”

“Johnny, he’d be upset because it was a stupid decision. We aren’t supposed to mix life and work.” I try to read his expression.

“So what if we kissed to save our lives?”

I remember that night, looking down a barrel of a gun. Johnny confessed his undying love for me and kissed me like he’d never get to again. That night always lived in the back of my mind. I never knew if it was true or just really good acting.

You look down to see little Johnny snoring away on your chest and you drink in the moment. “One day I’ll get to have you back.” Looking over to the playpen, you see Simon and Gaz asleep as well. You thank whatever God is out there for finally putting them down.

DING!

You hear your phone go off. Slowly moving Johnny, you get up to look.

J. Price: “Sorry I missed your call. Everything alright?”

J. Price: “Hey, call me back when you get a chance.”

J.Price: “Please let me know you’re okay. I’m worried now.”

Sighing, you curse yourself for throwing your phone. Your thumb must’ve slipped.

Y: “Accidental.”

You left it at that and set your phone down, finally being able to get some sleep.

“Please. You can’t just walk away from this! This isn’t something you can just shove down Y/N. You can’t shut me out this time!!” Johnny yelled after me as I walked down the halls of the compound. The tears were coming, I knew it. I couldn’t let him see it thought.

“Stop!!” I feel his hand grip my wrist. “If you don’t do something, I will.” His breathing was labored and his eyes were wide with fury, his nostrils flaring with each exhale.

“It’s out of my hands. I’m sorry Johnny. What am I supposed to do?” His face softened as he let out an exasperated breath. His shoulders fell and his grip left me. “I’m choosing to keep my job separate from everything else.”

“Fine. But just remember what Simon said, okay? Remember what we swore to you. Say the word and the man is dead.”

I sigh as I look up at him. Johnny recently had found out what happened to be on deployment. The man that hurt me. He’d been fuming ever since. “It’s fine. Go get some sleep, ok?”

Johnny was always the one to get heated about things. Simon was the calm and quiet one. Johnny would be loud and abrasive about a subject while Simon would hold you and quiet your tears.

You spent many nights in Simon’s room crying into his arms, letting your emotions roll off of you as he shushed you and hummed to you. He was soft and gentle, a side reserved for you.

You stared at your ceiling as your alarm went off. All three boys were already up preoccupying themselves. You were so numb after what happened in the hospital.

Seeing Price about to kiss Tia, after leaving you cold turkey on deployment. The betrayal broke you in new ways you weren’t sure you could repair.

Seeing little Johnny in the hospital bed, hearing Price and Tia try to explain themselves.

It burns in your brain, haunts you everytime you close your eyes. Your heart feels the pain all over again every morning when your eyes flutter open. How could you have been so foolish to trust him? After all he did?

Price had done nothing but treat you like shit your entire career and all it took was some babies coming along, who happened to be your colleagues, for him to change overnight?

As if that-

You sat up in bed. A million thoughts were swirling through your mind as Simon looked up at you and tilted his head.

No. It can’t be the reason.

Letting out a sigh and pushing the thought aside, you grabbed the boys and went to the kitchen to feed them. You hadn’t eaten much since the hospital, didn’t have the appetite.

The sunlight through the window felt warm on your skin as you mixed the bottles. Closing your eyes for a moment, you embraced the feeling. It felt euphoric to feel the sunshine brush against your skin.

A cry broke the moment of peace, a fuss from Gaz. You rolled your eyes and gave the boys their bottles. You sat the breakfast bar across from their high chairs and laid your head down in your arms, desperate for just 5 minutes.

“Y/N?” That didn’t last long though.

Slowly, your heavy head lifted to see Laswell standing in the doorway that led to the rest of the building. “Honey you look terrible, oh my God”.

Words didn’t grace your tongue today, instead, tears flooded your eyes as Johnny began to cry. Laswell rushed over to you, embracing you with file folders in her hands. “I’m so sorry I’ve left you to be alone for so long. I’ve been handling things on the outside end of this all. You must be exhausted. Oh…”

You didn’t want her pity, yet having another person around was such a relief. Emotions flooded you and broke open like a dam at her comfort. “You know what. You go rest and I’ll watch the boys for awhile. Then we’ll talk, okay?”

She quickly rushed over to hush Johnny and then shot you a mom glare. You nodded and got up, heading to your room to sleep like she’d ordered.

A couple hours later, you make your way back out the kitchen but stop around the corner when you hear Laswell talking on the phone.

“You don’t understand, she’s in horrible condition. She looks as if she hasn’t slept in days, which isn’t surprising considering she’s taking care of 3 littles by herself. She’s also recovering from major surgery.” A pause in her talking made you listen closer, trying to see if you could hear the person on the other end.

“All Im asking is you take at least one. Theyre your responsibility too. You know damn well it’s not fair. She’s been through hell and back and hasn’t had a moment of peace for over a month. If you don’t start getting your shit together, I’ll force you to.”

You couldn’t hear the person she was speaking to unfortunately, but you assumed it was Price.

You finally make the turn around the corner and watch as Laswell quickly hangs up the call at your appearance. “That wasn’t very long?” She remarks.

“Hard to sleep these days. It’s normal for me after a deployment.” You sit down across from her at the breakfast bar. “How were the boys?” Your eyes drift over to all three of them passed out in the small living area. You sigh in relief at the sight, they’d never sleep that peacefully for you lately.

“They were fine. No issues. We need to talk though. Your plate is all too full right now. We need to take some stress off of you dear.” She reaches and grabs your hands across the table. “I’ve spoken to John. He’s willing to take Gaz to lighten your load. It’s not much but it’ll help. Plus, now that I’ve gotten everything in order on the outside, I can be around more to watch Simon and Johnny for you whenever you want or need.”

“I don’t want anything to do with him.” You look down and take your hands away. “I’m fine without his help-“

“No you aren’t. You’re drowning. Look at yourself. I can tell you’re without sleep and a proper meal. Let me help you, please.” You sigh at her words.

“I wish I had my boys back. They’d know exactly what to do. They’d fix everything. I can’t go on like this, it’s lonely here Laswell.” Tears sting your eyes.

“I know honey. I’ve arranged a time for us to meet John just to exchange Gaz. Nothing more. You don’t have to talk to him or even get out of the car. Just come with so he can take one off of your hands.” She squeezes your hands as she takes them again. “Okay?”

You take a deep breath before nodding at her offer. “When do we leave?”

“In about an hour. Is that enough time to freshen up? I can change the boys and get them in their car seats for you.” She scans your expression looking for any way to read deeper into your mind.

“Yeah that’s fine. I’ll uh, go shower.” You get up and beeline to your room.

The shower washes your tears down the drain as the water burns your skin.

When you exit the shower and get dressed, staring at your reflection for a moment.

You didn’t recognize yourself and you hoped Price would not notice.

You didn’t want his pity.

That’s when a knock appeared at your door. Figuring it was Laswell, you quickly answered it but instead you were shocked.

“Hey girl. Can I come in?”

Tia….

[gay11aliens]

My friend Martinez The O Great One is so cool

(He is making me write this help I’m being held hostage /j)

[sungbeam]

I’M BACKKKK only to see Changmin??? Smth fishy is going awn 🤨🤨/j

No but omg you took the words out of my mouth THE OBJECTIFICATION OF MYSELF AND MY OWN INSECURITIES HAS ME LOOKING AT MYSELF WITH A PROVERBIAL CAMERA AT NEAR ALL TIMES WITH DIFFERENT CAMERA ANGLES TOO AS IF I WAS PLAYING FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S WITH MYSELF MOVING FROM ANGLE TO ANGLE EINFITNUND

Also omg what do you feel abt the new album?? I love Delicious with my whole being 😭 BUT LIP SYNC AND DOOR HAVE A HOLD ON MY SANITY LIKE PHEW I HAVE LISTENED TO THEM AN UNHEALTHY AMOUNT OF TIMES ESP CAUSE THE VOCALS IN DOOR GO CRAZYYYYYYYY Sunwoo esp omg lord have mercy on my soul-

AND JACOB’S COVER OF CEILINGS- REAHHHHHHHHH 👹👹👹👹 I actually astral projected (esp since I was thinking of basing my first fic off of it for a bit now 😳)

Btw this might be random but for love in unity, do any of them have jobs? 😭 I KNOW THATS A WEIRD THING TO ASK BUT I ALWAYS WONDER HOW PPL MAKE MONEY TO PAY FOR GROCERIES AND STUFF WHEN I’M WATCHING TV SHOWS CAUSE IT’S LIKE, MAN, I NEVER SEE YOU LEAVE CAMPUS, OR YOUR HOUSE SO HOW CAN YOU PAY FOR GROCERIES OR RENT IN THIS ECONOMY 😭

Just a silly question lol and if they don’t have jobs, what job do you think they’d have? 🧐 Personally, I feel like Changmin would work at a Target KEHKFHKE he’s just giving those vibes yk? Chanhee gives off retail vibes fs while Sangyeon is giving home depot OH AND ERIC WOULD BE WORKING AT ONE OF THE HOTDOG STANDS THATS ALWAYS OUTSIDE THEM 💀😭 Canada bros would suit the library methinks, they would def be the type to work with kids in the summer programs or would help tutor 😌 I could also see Kevin working at a pet shop or a barista? 🧐 Haknyeon also gives off barista vibes though especially with his fluffy hair these days 😭🫶

Ok that’s enough for my little ramble this week LOLOL happy to see that you finally embraced your Changmin love 🤭 hope you have an amazing rest of your week! :D

(Also if you have any poetry recs then lmk hehe)

- Always and forever, love, 🌷 anon

he won 😔 i wanted out of the basement 😔 and this was the only compromise 😔 im sorry jacob i repent 😔 for my sins 😔

PLS NOT THE FNAF AHAHAHHAHAH BC SAME 🤡🤡🤡 ME FROM MY PROVERBIAL SECURITY ROOM QATCHING MYSELF AND YELLING DONT GO IN THERE U DUMB BITXH

omg honestly i absolutely love love love lip sync, eyes on me, and door like KWNFKSJDK R U SKIFIEBF KIDDING ME??!))<_] HEY . WHAT ABTNE MEU SANITY. HUH???? MY MIND IS NOT ANTIFRAGILE . it's doing things to me omg like i thought the simpery was bad before, but now 🤡🤣 oh boy 🤣🤡 also LOVE THAT FOR JACOB KING SHIT I LOVE ALL THE COVERS HE GETS TO POST CUZ YESSIR THATS MY HUSBAND 😭😭😭😭😭 (chxngmxn pay attention, u ARE THE SIDE HOE don't hurt me) OMG???? UR FIRST FIC???? HELLO HMU ONCE/IF U DO I'D LOVE TO SUPPORT U SKFJEOFJK unless ur uncomfy or shy tho i totally get it 🤧🤧 !!!

HELP ME 💀💀💀 I FORGOT THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE JOBS LMFAOOOO the only one who has a canonical job rn out of the boyz is jacob BAHAHAHHAH STOP. CHANGMIN AT TARGET AJZBDIDJFODJF THATS SO FKN FUNNY HELPMEBDKSNFKJD I AM NEVER LETTING THAT GO AND HELLO???? UR RELEGATING SANGYEON TO HOME DEPOT AHAHHAHAHAHAYYA KDNFKSJFJ IM SCREECHING WHE EZING YELLIGN ERIC AT THE HOT DOG STAND I— 💀😭 pls there r tears falling down my cheeks rn this is hilarious. low-key i think kev could make money via freelance photography and being an ✨influencer✨, and maybe get eric to coach little league baseball LMAO sangyeons prob making big boy money, and haknyeon will prob find SOME restaurant to work at tbh (i can't believe i forgot to give them canonical jobs 💀 i m never letting go of target worker changmin pls that is so funny) omg WAIT haknyeon working at the target starbucks in the same target as changmin 💀💀💀 IMAGINE TBZ!TARGET WORKERS ALCMLSMFKDJF IM CRYING

i did not embrace my love for him 😔😭🤧 I AM BEING HELD HOSTAGE, GASLIT GATEKEPT AND GIRLBOSSED BY A SQUIRRWL A TREE RAT A PLANT RODENT—

ANYWAYS HOPE UR WELL 🌷!! 💖 loved seeing u in my inbox as always :') mWAH

[imaginesfordifferentfandoms]

It's Going To Be You

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Prompt - I knew I did from that first moment we met. It was…not love at first sight exactly, but - familiarity. Like: oh, hello, it’s you. It’s going to be you.

—————————————————–

Spencer Reid knew from the moment he laid eyes on you that you were something else, he could tell from one glance that you would change his life. No words needed to be exchanged for the man to be completely and utterly taken by you. He watched as you walked through the door, though your head was held high, shoulders pushed back giving the impression of complete confidence, he saw the way you fiddled with the strap of your bag with one hand. When he looked at your other hand he could see your forefinger picking at your thumb, clearly a nervous habit. He watched as you looked around the room, watched as Rossi made his way over to you, guiding you over to Hotch’s office with a smile.

“Down, pretty boy.” Derek grinned as Spencer startled, his head snapping around to face Derek just as you entered Hotch’s office. “I’ve never seen that look on your face and you don’t even know her name.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Spencer replied, cringing at how unconvincing he sounded.

He turned away from Derek and tried to focus on his paperwork but he could stop his eyes from straying over to the closed office door every few minutes much to Derek and Rossi’s amusement.

“Who is she anyway?” Derek asked.

“She’s lucky number ten,” Rossi told them, smothering a smile as Spencer looked over, “who knew finding another agent would be so difficult.”

“Wait,” another voice interrupted, “there’s a new person here? Is she nice? Why is that always my first question?” The group laughed as Penelope quizzed Rossi.

“Listen, I know as much as you people.” He said and before anyone else could speak Penelope was being handed a folder causing them all to groan.

-

“Agent Hotchner?” You asked as you were granted access to the office.

Hotch stood as you walked in, moving around his desk to hold a hand out to you.

“Yes and you’re Y/F/N Y/L/N, I presume?” He asked, smiling slightly at you as you nodded, still fiddling with your bag. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, please have a seat.”

“Thank you sir.” You smiled, taking a seat in the offered chair watching as he made his way back behind his desk.

“Your supervisor spoke very highly of you when I spoke with him, your success rate is impressive.” Hotch praised, glancing down at the file in front of him. “Your latest case seemed rather difficult, are you sure you’re ready to be back in the field again?”

“I passed all my psychiatric exams, I was cleared to return.” You told him stiffly.

“I’m aware of your results, I just want to be sure you’re ready. Infiltrating yourself into the life of Douglas Miller couldn’t have been an easy feat.” Hotch watched as a look of satisfaction took over your face.

“I’m ready, sir.” You told him, relaxing slightly. “It was a tough case, I’ll be the first to admit that seeing what I saw had an impact but I can do this.”

Hotch smiled at you before closing the folder.

“I believe you,” he said, “I think you’ll be a valuable addition to this team.”

The words were what you were hoping to hear, you’d wanted a job with the BAU for longer than you could remember but you paused. Surely it wasn’t that easy, right?

“Wait? That’s it?” You asked.

“That’s it.” Hotch confirmed, fighting back a smile at your expression.

“But- but I’ve been here less than five minutes.” You countered back, there were so many emotions going on within you that you felt slightly overwhelmed.

“Y/N, ever since your name was put forward I looked into your work and I was impressed. Your skills at undercover work are far above what I’ve seen in a long time, that alone would be an incredibly useful assest to the team but on top of that your ability to connect and empathise with unsubs, fast thinking and your profiling skills- trust me, you deserve this job and I have complete faith in you.” Hotch’s words had left you speechless, you had no clue how to respond but thankfully you didn’t have to as the door was pushed open and both you and Hotch turned to look at the brightly dressed woman in the doorway.

“I’m sorry to interrupt sir but we have a case.” The woman said and Hotch stood gesturing for you to follow.

“You have a to go bag?” He asked as you both walked out the door.

“Yes sir.” You nodded, still baffled by how well things had gone.

“Good, welcome to the team Y/L/N.”

-

“Everyone, this is SSA Y/F/N Y/L/N. I’m sure proper introductions can be made later.” Hotch said as the two of you entered the room before gesturing to Garcia that she could begin.

“Ok, yes, so, we have five bodies so far found in Wyoming. The first two bodies were hidden amongst some trees close to firehole bay. The ME presumes that the time of death was mostly likely a week ago but we should have full confirmation when you arrive. The victims, who we haven’t been able to identify yet, but I am working on it, were stripped completely and the wounds, that are in your files because I so do not need to see that, show heavy signs of torture. ” Garcia informed you all.

“The next body was a single male, again stripped and tortured and the ME says this death is most likely four to five days old. This body was found a few miles away from Basin Bay Point campsite.”

“Wait a second,” somebody interrupted, causing you to turn your head. There sat a man, younger than the rest of the team, he was…how you had missed him you didn’t know but now you felt like you couldn’t look away. “If I’m not mistaken those places are roughly twenty miles from each other at walking distance.”

“And driving distance?” An older man asked.

“I don’t think there is a way to drive to Basin Bay Point, especially not to where the body was left.” The younger man replied, looking down at the folder he was given with a frown.

“I’ll have a map ready for you on the plane.” Penelope assured him before continuing. “Now, the next two bodies were the most recent, ME says they were killed a day or two ago and these victims we have been able to identify as Taylor Gomez and her boyfriend Jack Gaskarth.” Penelope said as she brought their pictures up. “They were never reported missing because they had told friends and family they were going camping, which checks out because their bodies were found three miles away from Lewis Lake campground. They show the same wounds as the other vics.” Garcia explained.

You grimaced as you looked down at the tablet Hotch had passed you as you saw a young man and woman, naked with slices all across their bodies, as well as deep bruising to the neck.

“What was the CoD, Garcia?” The younger man spoke up again.

“ME still needs to run a full examination but her best bet is that it was asphyxiation.” She told him with a frown.

“That makes sense, there isn’t a lot of blood or scabbing which suggests they were done post mortem.”

“So what,” you spoke up, pausing for a moment when everyone turned to you, “the unsub blitz attacks the victims and kills them before torturing them? What’s the point in that?”

“It could be a number of things actually. Perhaps it’s not about the kills for him but more to do with the fascination of the human body, we’ve seen it before where curiosity leads to this kind of attack. It could also be that he has to kill, he has a compulsion to kill and once he’s given into that compulsion he gets to fulfil other urges. If I had to guess I’d say the victims are victims of opportunity-” The younger man rambled, his hands gesturing in front of him as he spoke causing you to smile.

“Because there is no set pattern, he crosses race and gender lines and there’s no secondary location.” You cut off the other man who looked at you with a grin.

“Exactly, the area is so isolated that he can get away with quick and easy killings but because it doesn’t seem like there’s a secondary location yet we have to presume that the torture is a means to satisfy himself when he can’t hold his victims hostage.”

“It’s a long flight and this unsub doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Wheels up in fifteen.” Hotch said as he stood up, everyone was quick to follow until it was just you and the guy you had spoken to left.

“Hi.” He said, causing you to turn around with a smile.

“Hi.”

“I’m Spencer, Spencer Reid.” He introduced himself.

“Y/F/N Y/L/N, nice to meet you.” You replied, reaching out your hand to shake his, your eyebrows pulling together slightly as he shook his head.

“Sorry, I don’t um,” He said, causing you to drop your hand and nod understandingly, “it’s nothing against you, just…germs.” He trailed off, berating himself in his head.

“No problem.” You smiled again, god that smile. Spencer felt his heart race.

“Congratulations on joining the team.” He praised as the two of you walked out of the round table room.

“Thank you, I’ve wanted this for so long.” He watched as the smile fell from your face before you shook your head slightly.

“Is everything ok?” He asked, understanding the nerves. He couldn’t help but glance down, almost smiling as he saw you picking at your thumb.

“Yeah, I’m just, what if I mess up?” You couldn’t help but ask. After wanting this job for as long as you had, all the hard nights and long days spent training you were finally here and you’d be damned if you screwed everything up.

“You won’t, Hotch wouldn’t have hired you if he didn’t think you were good enough, trust me. I think you’ll be amazing.” He told you, flushing slightly at his own words and the soft smile that replaced the frown on your face.

“Thank you Spencer.” You replied softly and before he could respond the rest of the team was calling for the two of you to head to the air strip.

-

On the plane you were properly introduced to everyone as you took a seat next to Spencer, sitting opposite Hotch and Rossi. On the table in front of you Spencer had both a map of the US and a smaller map of Wyoming. You watched his fingers trace invisible lines as his eyebrows knitted together.

You were trying not to stare, really you were, but there was just something about the man that made you want to get to know him.

Thankfully before anyone noticed your eyes glancing at Spencer every few moments, the man himself spoke.

“Guys, if you map out where the five victims were found,” Spencer began, circling three places on the map as he did, “it looks like the victims might have been hiking the continental divide trail.”

“Pretty boy, isn’t that trail like thousands of miles long?” Morgan asked, watching as Spencer nodded, pushing the little map of Wyoming out of the way for a moment and drawing a line down the map of the US.

“This is the continental divide trail, it’s 3,300 miles long and it’s actually quite difficult to hike. These people had to have been exceptionally fit and healthy which further backs up the theory that these were blitz attacks. You can go days without seeing other people when hiking the trail and most hikers have to give up because of lack of supplies or needing urgent medical care from injuries and illnesses they attract. A part of the Wyoming part of the trail includes a 120 mile stretch of desert with water sources few and far between.” Spencer rambled and you couldn’t help the soft smile, though you did try to hide it behind your hand, glancing away from Rossi when you locked eyes with him and he raised an eyebrow at you.

“So we have a serial killer and 3,300 miles of potential hunting grounds?” JJ asked.

“So far he seems to be focusing on Wyoming, which narrows the geographic profile down to…’ Spencer paused as he pulled the Wyoming map closer to him, “550 miles.”

“I hope you all brought your hiking boots.” Rossi said as groans filled the jet.

“Hello my crime fighters.” Garcia’s voice sounded through the speakers. “Hotch, the families of the latest two victims are at the station waiting for you.”

“Thank you Garcia,” Hotch replied before turning to the team. “JJ, I want you to come with me to the station and help interview the families. We also need to get ahead of the media on this before they start glorifying the unsub. Reid, since the geographic profile is mostly established, I want you to take Y/L/N and head to the latest crime scene. Dave and Morgan, the two of you head to the second crime scene.”

You and Spencer both shared a look at the news you were travelling to a crime scene that couldn’t be driven too. Whilst you managed to pass the FBI’s training and fitness tests you weren’t exactly athletically inclined and seeing from the look Spencer was giving you neither was he.

Judging from the chuckles that filled the plane the others had come to the same conclusion that you and Spencer were not going to recover from this trip.

-

You had driven as close to the crime scene as you could get, which was thankfully closer than the one Morgan and Rossi had to go to. It was still a hell of a hike to get to where the unsub had dumped the bodies.

“Ok, ok,” Spencer panted, cheeks flushed from the heat. “Let’s take a break.”

“Please.” You were quick to agree and the two of you sat down heavily on a fallen tree trunk. You had all been warned that you needed supplies, even for a short hike. So you had both been sent out with backpacks filled with water bottles and food. There were other supplies like maps, compasses and first aid kits that you were hoping you wouldn’t have to use. Thankfully you had been paired with the man with the eidetic memory because you couldn’t read a map to save your life.

After the two of you gulped down some water and caught your breath Spencer spoke up.

“Why the BAU?” He asked suddenly, causing you to look up in confusion.

“Sorry?” You replied.

“You said you had wanted to join the BAU for a long time, why?” He asked again, not pushing you when you paused.

It wasn’t a secret what had happened to your family, Spencer could easily find the information out if he wanted to but you wanted to be the one to tell him. It wasn’t a story you liked sharing with people but something about Spencer made you feel…safe.

“When I was a kid there was a serial killer but he was in the next state over and we were from a small town so nobody thought to worry and after a while things went quiet so everyone just assumed he stopped, you know? Anyway, one day I went to my friend’s house, it was summer and I was always out with my friends. I was there for a few hours but I was always home in time for dinner except for this day, I ended up losing track of time and headed home an hour late. When I got home, my momma was there in the kitchen. She was covered in blood and I just screamed. The rest of my family didn’t make it either. When the police came they said the markings were the same as the victims from the next state over.” You told him, not pausing for breath as you rushed through the story. You watched as his expression fell, his sympathy written on his face.

“I’m so sorry.” He told you and you could hear the sincerity in his tone. You gave him a small smile before continuing.

“I could just never understand why. The thing that kept me up at night was that question: why? Why them? Why did he come here? Why wasn’t I home? Why did I deserve to live? I started researching and somehow came across an article about the BAU, from there I knew I wanted to work there.”

“Most people wouldn’t be able to come back from something like that, especially at such a young age.” Spencer said, causing you to glance over at him. “They’d be so proud of you.”

You couldn’t help but let out what sounded like a chuckle and a sob at those words, causing Spencer’s eyes to widen in fear he had upset you further but then you smile brightly and he couldn’t help but smile back.

“I like to think so.” You said softly. “You ready to continue?” You asked, chuckling as he groaned before standing up.

“I hate Hotch.” Was the grumbled response and the laugh he received in return made every sore bone and the aching feet worth it.

-

“We know that this unsub is a physically fit white male in his mid to late thirties.” Hotch began.

“Looking at the geographical pattern it’s safe to assume that he too is hiking the Continental Divide Trail in search of victims who are isolated from the rest of civilization. He also has no problems taking down two victims.” Spencer continued.

“The period in between kills is lessening so we should expect to find another body soon, have as many officers as possible on the rest of the trail.” You picked up.

“Considering the last kill was two days ago, the average person could walk up to 30 miles a day on normal terrain but we have to consider that the terrain out there is harsh so lets say he walks 20 miles a day that gives up a 40 mile radius he could be in. He is guaranteed to stay on the continental divide trail so stop every male you see.” Spencer told the LEO’s and after some more information was shared everyone headed off in different directions, the BAU members heading into the room they had been given to work in.

“Y/N,” Hotch said, causing everyone to look over at you.

“Yes sir?” You asked, looking up from your laptop.

“You’re probably the most skilled undercover agent in this room,” He said, causing your cheeks to flush and Spencer couldn’t help but smile. “I know this isn’t exactly the type of case you’d usually be assigned but perhaps if we send you out there we have a better chance of catching him. This man is impulsive, if he sees you he won’t be able to control himself.” Hotch explained, ignoring the questioning looks he was getting from most of the team.

You, however, relaxed, thankful that you hadn’t done something wrong. Undercover work was easy, you were comfortable with it, you knew you were good at it. Obviously you weren’t as confident at this part of the job yet, how could you be on your first case, but undercover work? That was your area of expertise.

“Of course sir.” You agreed easily before remembering how fun the small hike to the last crime scene was…your body would not thank you for signing up for a much longer hike.

“Hotch, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Morgan spoke up causing you to frown. Sure they didn’t know you yet but surely your record spoke for itself. “No offence to you,” he said quickly as he turned to you, “it’s just-“

But before he could finish Hotch cut him off, “I have full faith in Y/L/N’s abilities.”

You couldn’t help feeling a swell of pride at Hotch’s words, a man who you looked up to, a man who barely knew you but was trusting you with so much already. You locked eyes with Spencer who smiled at you reassuringly.

“I’m not doubting the kid’s abilities,” Morgan continued, missing the way you rolled your eyes at being called a kid. “I’m just saying maybe don’t send her in on her own on her first case.”

“I’ll go with her.” Spencer spoke up before Hotch could argue back.

Your eyes widened at Spencer’s offer, he did just as well as you did on your first outing and now he was offering to put himself through hours more of that for what?

“Are you ok with that, Y/N?” Hotch asked you.

You didn’t even hesitate to nod, more than happy for the opportunity to spend time with Spencer Reid.

-

“We’ll be close by the whole time,” Hotch told you as he passed you your backpack filled with supplies, “the second we hear something, we’ll be there.” He assured you and you couldn’t help but smile at his concern.

“I’ll be fine, sir. This is actually the part of the job I’m good at.” You laughed, watching as his lip twitched upwards.

“You’ve been a great help in coming up with a profile too.” He assured you and before you could say anything the rest of the team was flooding in.

The plan for you and Spencer to hike up to a specific spot that Spencer had managed to pinpoint the unsub at and set up camp there. From there you would wait and hope for the unsub to appear. The man was impulsive and his need to kill would be overwhelming by now. The two of you were wired up so that if the unsub appeared the rest of the team could step in and help with the arrest.

You and Spencer were dropped off half an hour away from your campsite just so that if the unsub was around he wouldn’t suspect anything.

The walk was mostly silent, both you and Spencer focusing on not breaking an ankle on the uneven terrain when Spencer finally spoke up.

“Morgan didn’t mean anything insulting.” He told you, causing you to pause before shrugging your shoulders and continuing. When you stayed silent Spencer continued, “he’s just protective but sometimes he isn’t really good at showing it and it comes across…”

“It comes across like he thinks I can’t do my job despite this being my forte.” You finished with a huff before sighing. “I’m sorry, I just…you can’t imagine how many times a male colleague has said I can’t do something and then a supervisor has agreed, you don’t understand how hard I have to fight to be given assignments and not have somebody constantly berating me.” You ranted.

“People look at me like I’m a child. When I first joined the BAU nobody would take me seriously, without Gideon I don’t know what would have happened.” Spencer told you quietly, causing you to frown.

“So you can understand why it’s so frustrating that someone who doesn’t know me didn’t even want to give me a chance.” You replied, causing him to nod sadly. ‘I know he probably didn’t mean anything but…”

“You’ve heard that your entire career.” Spencer finished.

“Hotch was the first person to give me a chance without any hesitation.” You told him softly, watching as he smiled at that. “This should be close enough.” You said as you looked around, the place looked similar to the image Spencer had shown the team.

“Please tell me you know how to put a tent up.” You said, watching as his face twisted.

“I know the theory?” The way his response sounded like a question made you smile as you pulled poles and material out of a bag. The two of you staring down at the mess with matching expressions of confusion.

“Now would be a really good time for the unsub to attack.” He muttered, causing you to laugh loudly. Spencer couldn’t help but grin over at you, your cheeks flushing as you caught the expression.

It took longer than either you or Spencer were willing to admit to put the tent up, despite the fact that it wouldn’t get used, you had to make it look like the pair of you were really camping. There was a lot of grumbling, many curse words and a cut or two.

There was also a lot of laughter coming from the comms in your ears causing both you and Spencer to roll your eyes.

Once the tent was up, Spencer lay a blanket down outside of it and sat down, gesturing for you to do the same. Miraculously the two of you got a fire started and as the sun set and the night time air chilled you were thankful for it.

“I don’t camp but I guess I can see the appeal.” Spencer told you as he titled his head back to look up at the stars. You glanced up too, the sky wasn’t totally black yet, more of an inky blue colour and you could see every star on the cloudless night.

It was beautiful and yet you still found your gaze falling back on Spencer.

“Yeah, me too.” You replied softly, your voice quiet so as not to break the peacefulness around you.

Somehow the two of you ended up laying down and looking up at the sky, you had a smile on your face that refused to move as Spencer’s hushed voice told you facts about stars.

“I’m glad you’re on the team.” Spencer whispered after a long pause of silence. It took you a moment to register his words before you turned your head, coming face to face with the man.

“Me too.” You whispered back, meaning the words with your entire being.

Just as Spencer went to say something you heard a rustle in the bushes and locked eyes with Spencer who nodded.

The two of you waited, not waiting to disrupt the operation if it just turned out to be an animal, but as you pushed yourself up on your elbow and discreetly looked around you saw a faint outline of a man. He was hidden behind a tree but he was watching the two of you.

“The hike up here was exactly what we needed.” You told Spencer and through the comms you heard the team moving out.

“You’re right.” He played along, smiling up at you from his reclined position.

Before you knew what was happening Spencer had his gun out and the unsub grabbed you, placing you in front of him as a human shield. If someone asked you, you would never have been able to recall the events that led to you having a knife held to your neck.

You saw the panicked look in Spencer’s eyes but you couldn’t hear his thoughts, they were overwhelming. Thoughts of Maeve passed through his mind as he pleaded with anyone who would listen to let you be ok, he couldn’t lose you too. Hell, he’d only known you a few days and yet he knew you were special, he knew he had to have you in his life. If you died now…

“Just let her go.” Spencer said, keeping his gun trained on the man.

“I let her go, you ship me off to death row.” The man responded, his face close to your face, too close. The smell of his breath had you grimacing.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Spencer responded, not even thinking. He just needed to get you away.

“Spenc, what you doing kid?” He heard Morgan through his ear piece but he just shook his head before shooting you a reassuring smile, trying not to focus on the tears in your eyes or the blood on your neck.

“I’m listenin’.” The unsub replied after a moment of silence, gesturing for Spencer to continue.

“Let her go,” He said, lowering his gun, “I won’t arrest you. You can get a head start before anyone else gets here. Just let her go.” Spencer pleaded.

It was a tense few seconds in which Spencer never took his eyes off you, he hated to see that scared look in your eyes, the fear in them made Spencer ache.

“Let her go.” Spencer said once more and he let out a sigh of relief as you were pushed into his arms.

Just as the unsub ran to leave, you twisted around in Spencer’s arms and drew your own gun, shooting the unsub in the leg. The rest of the team ran in just as the man fell to the ground.

Spencer turned you around so that you were facing him, his hands on your shoulders.

“Are you ok?” He asked, Morgan and Hotch walking over whilst Rossi and JJ dealt with the man.

You didn’t respond with words, instead you wrapped your arms around Spencer. He didn’t hesitate to wrap his own around you, holding you close as you let the tears slid down your face.

You pulled away abruptly, rubbing your eyes as you did.

“Sorry, you don’t like to be touched and here I am-“ You said but Spencer just cut you off.

“It’s fine, really.” He assured you before his attention turned to your neck. The knife hadn’t pierced the skin too badly, there was a small bit of blood where the knife had nicked you when the unsub pressed a bit too hard.

“Are you ok?” He asked again, fingers on your jaw so that he could tilt your face and get a better look.

“Spencer, I’m fine.” You assured him but that didn’t stop him from getting you medical attention the moment you were back in the town.

Spencer watched as you squirmed away from the nurse seeing to you with a soft smile.

There was something about you that made him feel so free, like he could be himself and the thought of losing you…he didn’t want to think about it again.

“You like her.” Derek said as he came to stand next to the younger man.

“That’s ridiculous, I’ve known her for a few days.” Spencer shot back but he knew his friend was right.

“If she’s the right girl, a few days is all you need.” Was Derek’s reply before he walked away, leaving Spencer looking at you with a thoughtful look on his face.

-

The plane ride home was uneventful.

You took the seat next to Spencer again and watched him pull a book out. You couldn’t help but glance down at it, your eyebrows knitting together in confusion as you didn’t recognise the language.

“It’s Russian.” He told you quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone as they settled in for a long flight.

“You read Russian?” You asked just as quietly, watching as he smiled bashfully and shrugged before nodding. You glanced down at the pages again before letting out a small yawn. “Can you read to me?” You asked him, smiling as he nodded again.

“Of course,” He said and with that it wasn’t long before you fell asleep to the soothing sound of Spencer Reid.

-

“Ask her, man.” Morgan said as both he and Spencer watched you leave the office after finishing your paperwork. Spencer too was done and Morgan assured him he’d make sure Hotch received it.

There was only a brief moment of hesitation before Spencer snatched his satchel up and ran to the elevators, getting there just before they shut on you.

“Hey.” He greeted as he stepped in.

“Hi.” You smiled, brushing a piece of hair out of your face.

“I was wondering, I mean if you wanted to, of course you don’t have to, I was only suggesting but I’d really like it if you would,” Spencer rambled before cutting himself out with a groaning causing you to giggle.

“Are you asking me out?” You asked, cheeks flushing as you asked.

“I’m trying to,” he told you, “but I’m not very good at this.”

“Just ask.” You told him softly.

“Would you like to go out with me?” He asked after taking a deep and calming breath.

“I’d love to.” You grinned, thankful that the man had made a move. You wouldn’t have risked asking him on the chance that you were reading him wrong and he didn’t like you but thankfully he had taken it into his own hands.

“Good. Great. That, that’s great.” He repeated, a soft grin spreading across his face causing you to giggle as the doors opened.

The two of you walked out together and there was a moment of awkward silence before Spencer dipped his head down to kiss your cheek, making your blush even more prominent.

You looked so pretty when you blushed, Spencer thought.

“I’ll call you.” He promised.

“I hope so.” You replied before heading towards your car, when you turned around you saw Spencer still stood by the doors with a smile still on his face. You giggled to yourself but couldn’t stop smiling yourself if you tried.

Spencer Reid was something else and you couldn’t wait to learn everything about that wonderful man.

[mytheoristavenue]

Hi I was wondering if you could do a one shot for me. For almost 2 weeks now I’ve been in hospital with an infection in my back and inflamed all the muscles in my right leg. It hurt so much to do even simple tasks. The doctors found out that the infection was in my blood I had sepsis. I’m doing better now that I’m on antibiotics on a drip. However these need to be given for a further 2 weeks after j get a negative result. They have isolated my to a room where people an come in but I can’t go out. I really feel like crap so could you do a reaction to if this happened to Sero’s s/o I understand if you don’t feel comfortable doing this request.

Of course, I hope this cheers you up! Good luck with your recovery!

MHA Hanta Sero x Injured!Civillian!Reader - Visiting Hours

Sero paced the hallways of the infirmiry, eagarly awaiting permission to be let in, discomfort painted on his features. Nurses and attendees had long since given up on asking him to remain seated in the lobby, they were now all too aware that the teen had a hero's level of determination to ensure your safety.

Everything had happened so quickly, but for Sero, things seemed to be moving in slow motion. One moment, he was strolling along the quaint Musutafu streets, on patrol under his internship with Thirteen, the next, he was negotiating a hostage from the hands of the imfamous Himiko Toga. The schoolgirl held you in her grasp, nearly drooling over your fear as Cellophane nervously taunted her, in an effort to seem cool under pressure.

Just as he'd found the perfect opening to capture you from her arms, Toga, having sensed his movements, and thus, his intentions, dove a thick needle straight into your back, the base of it flush with your skin. Sero lunged for you as you crumbled to the cobblestone, screaming in agony, giving Toga the perfect chance to escape, happily skipping away as if nothing had happened.

Now, here he was in the Musutafu General Hospital, pacing skids into the tile, awaiting to hear of your condition. He stopped abruptly hearing the lock to the door you sat behind click, before back pedaling to be even with it. A solum, yet firmiliar face peered out, before a short woman exited, leaving the door slightly ajar behind her. Sero's eyes widened a bit when he saw the Pro Hero.

"Recovery Girl?" he asked, his tone hushed, as he crept over to her, cradling his helmet the crook of his elbow. The old woman looked up at him saddly. "I didn't think it was so serious they'd have to call you in."

She then spoke to him, tone pilled to the brim with pity. "If you'd gotten her here faster, I might've been able to help..."

The young hero's eyes widened with horror as his breath hitched in his throat. "W-what do you mean? Is she gonna die?"

"It's hard to say," Recovery sighed. "The needle peirced into her kidney, and tore the wall of it when it was removed. Her fluids were leaking into her body, into her bloodstream."

"Oh God..." he mouthed, unable to speak as she continued.

"She'd been diagnosed with sepsis before I arrived, and I was able to get her into stable condition, but there's no garentee that the antibiotics she's being fed will be enough to save her in the end."

"Can I see her?" Sero asked abruptly, startling the old woman.

"She's asleep, and you really ought to be getting back-"

"Please." He begged, crouching down to his superior's level, taking her hands in his. "Please, this is all my fault, I've never lost someone I was trying to save."

Recovery's face softened and she sighed once more. "Go on, but don't be too long, I won't be held responcible if you miss your curfew."

Sero smiled with relief, waving to the school nurse as she walked away. "You won't I pormise, see you back at the dorms."

When he was sure she was gone, his attention turned back to the cracked door. He gulped, gently nudging it further open and peeking inside. There, laying on the bed, was you, (H/L) (H/C) sprawled and tangled as you were displayed, hospital gown dressing your modesty, and lungs supplied though a tube. Pangs of guilt shot up Sero's back like electric currents. The sensation reminded him of the time Denki had zapped him in the crotch on a dare. But that was all in good fun, and this was real life.

Quietly, Sero slinked up to your bedside, ever so gently tracing his finger along your arm, all the while staring down at you sadly. Eventually, he found a seat in his path, and took it upon himself to sit down. He'd always gotten uncomfortble with he was sitting and others around him were not, and he wanted to you to be shown that same consideration. After what seemed like an eternity of sterile silence, he finally spoke up, and with a cracked voice uttered:

"I'm sorry." His gaze fell downcast as he found it hard to look at you. "I-I really tried, I guess I got too cocky, usually it works out for me, but this time..." he choked out, trying to hold down a cry. Sero felt aweful for the pain you were in, and blamed himself wholeheartedly. Just as he was about to speak again, a shrill beeping startled him out of his chair, quickly followed by doctors and nurses flooding the room.

"Sorry, kid, but you're gonna have to go." one shouted, ushering him out as the crowd gathered round. Peering in through the crack in the door again, Sero's lip quivered at the sight of a doctor giving you a firmiliar pattern of chest compressions, follwoed by the kiss of life. At this time, he was asked to leave the hospital entirely.

Days passed and Sero never missed a visit with you. He'd bring you a new bouquet of flowers each time, now effectively lining your hospital room with organic decoration. You like waking up to that, right? On one occassion, he'd come while your parents were visiting, and had the chance to pass on his condolences, and was thanked for his efforts in saving you from a villain. It was this such visit that he was able to learn more about you through your family, sitting for hours while they indugled in embarrassing, yet cute stories of your early life, as well as some of your likes and dislikes. After this, Sero began alternating the gifts he brought you, sometimes instead of florals, neatly laying out packages of your favorite candies or candles with scents that you supposedly liked. It gave him a great deal of relief that your parents didn't bear any ill will against him, however, he did still blame himself.

While he never had the inkling to stop visiting, as days morphed into weeks, it began to occour to him that the chances of you waking from your coma were becoming slim, more and more so with each day. On one day, like any other, Sero exited the front enterance of his school and began his trekk to the hospital, stopping at a stand on the way to grab a smiple bouquete of daisies before continuing on. Typically, he'd try to spring for more lavish florals, such as roses, but today he had a special gift for you: an autograph from your favorite Pro Hero, Thirteen!

Just like any other day, Sero strolled into the lobby, checking in with the receptionist, not paying attention to the room number she gave, he already knew. Whsitling lightly as he went he approched your door, immediately letting himself in. He stopped short, however, when he found you, not only in bed, but awake, and eating from a small tray. You blinked at him, confused as to why this stranger just interupted your first meal in three weeks.

"I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong room." you spoke quietly, voice cracked from lack of use.

"(Y/N)?" he asked, staring in disbelief.

"Do...I know you?" you asked, feeling a bit uncomfrotable.

"No, you don't!" He blurted, rushing over to you. "Y-You don't know me, but I visit you every day! I'm so happy you're okay!" he quickly threw his arms around you, prompting you to tense and wince from the pain. "Shit, sorry, my bad! I'm just so happy to see you."

"Who are you? You better tell me before I call security!" You warned, leaning to the left to put a bit more distance between the pair of you. A look of hurt washed over his face as he withrew entirely, even taking several steps toward the door.

"Please, just give me a chance to explain, then I promise, I'll leave." he sighed, raising his arms and showing his palms in defense. You gave a cautious nod, signaling that he had permission to continue. He went on to explain the encounter with Toga and his status as a soon to be Pro Hero, as well as your coma and what Recovery Girl had said. "At first, I kept visiting because I guess I felt guilty, like if I didn't that made me a dirtbag, but then I met your parents and they told me all about you and...I guess I was just really excited to meet you."

"So..." you began, trying to wrap your head around everything he'd said. "You brought all these flowers?"

"Most of them, your family brought a bunch too. Oh," he said, spinning on his heels to grab a candy bar off a nearby table. "I gotcha a buncha these too, your mom said you liked them." You smiled, taking the candy into your hands and inspecting it.

"Too bad I can't have it, the doctor's got me on a strict diet. But I've waited this long, right?" you both shared a chuckle before Sero remembered his special gift.

"Oh, and by the way," he started, dismounting his backpack and rummaging through it. "I heard you liked Thirteen, so I got you her autograph." he said sheepishly, handing you a framed photo of your hero with her signature at the bottom left corner. your jaw dropped before you broke into a fit of laugher.

"Oh my gosh, I love Thirteen, how'd you get this?" you asked, frantically looking it over.

"She's kinda like my boss. I'm interning at her agency for the semster." Sero replied cracking a grin, which you eagarly returned.

"Thank you so much, Sero."

///Hope you liked it, please like and reblog!///

[biisexualemma]

pretty boy. peter parker

word count: 1279

warnings: teeny tiny bit of swearing n some flirting

requested: no! i saw a tiktok (found here) where y/n calls peter pretty boy and from that, this was birthed

plot: you both like each other what’s new

a/n: this is my first peter p writing that i’ve posted so pls tell me what u think ! i like it

masterlist

"pretty boy, with me!" you called, edging towards the exit. cap made to move towards you until you shook your head. "not you— peter come on!"

peter's eyes widened, taken aback by your comment. "w—what? me pretty boy?" his cheek flushed a subtle shade of pink, stuttering around his words.

you rolled your eyes, a small smirk on your lips as he wore a bemused expression across his face. you motioned for him to come with you, impatiently. "yeah, you pretty boy," you poked at his nervousness. it was sweet how flustered he'd gotten over a simple comment.

nat watched the encounter unfold quietly for long enough, she couldn't hold in an amused snort of laughter. "jeez' peter, we don't have all day— do as the girl says— go."

peter seemed to shake out of his daze, his eyes widening and locking on you. he nodded. "r—right, yeah— of course—" he stumbled all over the place, grabbing his mask from the desk beside him, pulling it over his head. "let's go."

"how does it feel having been demoted, cap'n?" tony wore an amused smirk on his lips, watching steve frown, a little embarrassed for being so presumptuous.

"you're a pretty boy in my eyes, if that makes you feel any better, cap," nat teased, letting out another bout of laughter. steve just rolled his eyes, grabbing his shield.

"let's just get this mission done, ok?" he was so serious, you must've really embarrassed him.

you and peter turned away from the group, speed walking down the corridor towards the exit. peter was lagging behind you slightly, trying to keep up but he was still in a bit of a daze.

"you clear on our task, spidey?" you glanced back to make sure he was following. you raised an eyebrow at his vacant expression, his eyes locking with yours when you spoke.

he opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish. "w—what— sorry— i didn't catch what—"

you abruptly stopped walking, peter crashing into you as you did. you rolled your eyes again but couldn't disguise the look of amusement on your face. this boy was really all over the place when it came to girls.

"s—shit— sorry! i didn't mean to— you just stopped right in front of me— not that it's your fault! it's my fault! my peter tingle's been off late— i mean— not my peter tingle— my spidey senses. my aunt may calls it my peter tingle even though i've asked her a million—"

"oh my god, peter," you chuckled, your eyebrows raised in surprise. this boy could talk. he stood bewildered in front of you, and very flustered. "peter, as much as i'd like to hear all about your peter tingle—" peter's face went a deep shade of red when you said this. "we have a mission and i need you to focus."

you thought he was the sweetest boy you'd ever met but you needed his full attention right now and the only way to get it, was to be stern. he responded to authority. he nodded hectically.

"ok," you nodded. "let's go—"

"wait—" he interrupted, his hand touching your shoulder before you could turn back. "j—just so i can get this out of my head— you think i'm pretty?"

you smiled at the innocence in his tone, his eyebrows furrowed trying to desperately understand how someone as beautiful and badass as you could think he was pretty.

you shrugged. "pretty cute, yeah, pete."

"pretty cute— huh," he blinked a few times, before letting a relaxed smile fall on his lips. "i always thought you were really pretty too, by the way."

it was your turn to falter a bit, you weren't expecting that from him. you just smiled in return and shook your head. "thanks— but maybe we'll talk about this when we've beaten up a few bad guys and retrieved the hostages inside— sound good?"

"oh, yeah," peter was drawn back to reality. "right, bad guys."

you turned, peter following you again towards the building you were supposed to be infiltrating. he caught up, striding along next to you, glancing at your look of steel every now and again, completely in awe.

"do you think you'd want to go out with me? sometime?" peter kept moving. you, taken aback by the question, stumbled over your feet, catching yourself before your slammed into the floor. peter's hands moved to your arms quickly, guiding you back up. "woah— falling for me already?" he joked, now relaxed by the whole situation. he had taken the time to process the information. he really liked you, he always had, and now he had the confirmation that you liked him too— or at least found him attractive— he felt confident enough to speak his mind.

you snapped yourself quickly out the daze you found yourself now that his face was inches from yours, his clothed hands touching your bare skin. you let out an awkward laugh, trying to brush it off.

"if you focus and smash this mission with me— i'll go out with you," you nodded, walking away from the boy who was now grinning like an idiot. you ignored him, you were desperately trying to focus but with him looking at you like that it was so hard.

"i can do that," he nodded, catching up to you with a light jog. "this should be fun," he cheesed, approaching the back door to the building. you both turned on your comms, listening as the others got themselves into position before you could go any further.

"cap and nat— are you guys in position?" tony's voice rung through your ear piece. you held your hands up defensively, facing the door, ready to knock it down as soon as you got word. your hands glowing a red colour as you powered up.

"affirmative," cap answered.

"peter, y/n?"

"all ready," peter answered before you could. he slammed his wrists together, activating his web shooters. he leant in close to you, whispering in your ear. "you look pretty hot all geared up like that."

your eyes widened, turning to face him with raised eyebrows. peter wore a cheeky smile, he could get used to teasing you like this.

"oh my go— peter— keep that to yourself next time or at least wait till the missions over," you snorted at tony's comment, laughing at peter as his eyes widened now. he stuttered to apologise but tony cut him off. "i don't want to be hearing that shit— you're kids— jesus christ."

you wore a soft smile hearing tony tell peter off. you couldn't stop yourself from taking it a step further, it was one of your many pleasures in life, making tony uncomfortable.

"if it makes you feel better, that suit really works for you— i mean seriously— it hugs you in all the right places—" peter wore a look of surprise but still, he smirked at your comment.

"jesus— stop that please i'm begging you," steve huffed through the comms. you and peter stood waiting, still amused.

"alright," nat interrupted, though you could tell she was holding in her laughter. "we're all in position— let's kick some ass."

"anything to get the horny kids to focus on anything but each other," clint muttered for the first time, causing you to snort. you couldn't help it.

"jeez— alright, everyone move in," tony ordered. you and peter did as he said, you grabbed the door handles with your red hot hands and yanked them clean off before kicking the doors open.

"so cool," you heard peter mutter under his breath as he followed you inside.

[mango-bango-bby]

hello momma mango! i see you take requests for ushijima now and i just can't let that slip past me ;-; so can i request a yandere ushijima x reader? where reader is chubby and very insecure of their body and when reader and ushijima is going to do the nasty reader just suddenly freezes because they keep on overthinking and ushijima is just holding them, confused why they suddenly froze and he becomes all gentle and stuff like that AAAAAAAAAA

♡ Perfect ♡

(A/N: As a chubby girl, I related to much to this ask. Also, I hope you like!!! I tried to make this a comforting as possible 👉👈)

Summary: During a rather heated moment with your captor, you begin to feel insecure about your chubbier build. Eventually you break down, leaving Wakatoshi completely concerned and confused (Yan!Ushijima x GN!Reader)

(⚠️ Dry humping, making out, insecure!chubby!reader  ⚠️)

Even while sitting in Wakatoshi’s lap, he still towers over you. You can feel your stomach erupt into butterflies when you feel one of his large hands gently cradle the back of your head while you two kiss. Despite being his hostage, you felt so loved by him. You felt special, important, loved when Wakatoshi held you in his arms and spoke sweet words in your ear.

“‘Toshi” You whine, feel one of his hands slowly creep up your shirt. Wakatoshi’s never been shy about telling you what he wants. Ever since he took you, he’s been very open about what he wanted from you. So when he dragged you to the couch, sat you in his lap, and started kissing down your neck, you knew exactly what he wanted.

Wakatoshi uses his thumb to draw small circles on your plush hips, pushing you down slightly onto the bulge in his pants. You let out a small moan, Wakatoshi taking his mouth off of yours and placing soft kisses on your neck.

You can feel his muscles through his shirt, which you’re tightly holding onto. He could be a model if he wanted too honestly. Tall, beautiful face, built body, you never really knew why he chose and took you when he could’ve dated any person he wanted (without kidnapping them, might you add). You probably shouldn’t feel insecure about your looks around you captor. But when you can feel his muscles under his cotton shirt, you can’t help but feel bad about you bigger build.

You can feel Wakatoshi’s fingers dig into your hips slightly, you can also feel your plush hips spilling through his fingers when he grips you. You just try to ignore your insecurities and just try to focus on the feeling of pleasure pooling between your thighs at the dry humping.

Although, that quickly stops when Wakatoshi begins running his thumb over your stretch marks. You try to break your and his kiss, but he pushes you back. “S-Stop” you whine, pushing your hands to his chest so you can separate yourself from him. Wakatoshi only raises an eyebrow at you before speaking “I thought you liked it when I touched you like this?”

“I d-did! I mean, I- I do!” You exclaim, fiddling with your fingers. You glance up at his handsome face before bursting into tears, leaving Wakatoshi completely confused. You cover your face with your hands, standing up on your knees so you’re no longer sitting in his lap.

You let out a small sob when Wakatoshi holds onto your hips again, pulling you back down. “Y/n? What’s wrong?” He asks, his eyes still unwavering and half-lidded. “I- I’m sorry” You mumble. You just wish you could be more attractive for him. More thin, less like... less like you.

Wakatoshi just stares at you, while you try to cover your sobbing face with your hands. “Sorry for what?” He quietly asks, grabbing your wrists and prying your hands off of your face. You let out a small sniffle before trying to answer him, “I j-just, you’re s-so attractive and I-I’m just not!” You cry “I- I just wish I was skinny so I can be p-perfect for you” You whisper, suddenly being gently pulled towards his chest for comfort.

You snuggle into his chest, relaxing slightly at the feeling of him soothingly rubbing your back. “Y/n, listen to me. You’re beautiful. No matter what size you are, I fell in love with you. And, I will do anything for you. And, I will take all night to show you that”

[journalxxx]

By Hook or by Crook (4)

Oh God, there’s another one.

The thought came unbidden to Toshinori’s mind, and it engulfed him in the closest thing to pure dread he had felt in years. It had taken two centuries, the sacrifice of seven One For All users, and two of his own major organs to take down a single All For One wielder, and now a brand new one had somehow sprouted right in front of him.

Now. Now that he had finally decided to tackle the hurdle of entrusting a relatively stable Japan to a successor, now that he was weaker and less capable than ever of defending it from a new threat. Now that the deadline of Nighteye’s prophecy was drawing closer and closer. His own gruesome death on the battlefield, and the sudden reappearance of All For One’s quirk. The unavoidable connection between the two facts almost robbed him of his breath.

Toshinori couldn’t tear his eyes away from the boy’s hand. It looked diminutive in comparison to his own, and completely inoffensive. It had the soft, unblemished appearance that suited someone who had never hit anything bigger than a fly, whereas the hero’s skin had long since been roughened by calluses, and his joints slightly thwarted by the occasional fracture. Yet, that single, unassuming dimple in the middle of its palm made it more potentially destructive than a hundred of Smashes combined.

A sort of choked whimper made Toshinori finally raise his gaze. He realized he had stopped trying to school his expression only when he saw his own strung-out stupor mirrored in Midoriya’s features. 

“I-I… Sorry, I r-really have t-to…” The boy took a step back, his hand slipping from the man’s grasp, then he suddenly turned on his heels and motioned to sprint away.

“Hey, hey!” Toshinori reached forward, grabbing Midoriya’s wrist by sheer reflex. He had already wasted enough time and energy chasing slimy villains and rash teenagers all over the town that day, thank you very much. “Where are you going?”

Midoriya froze on the spot, as if shocked by an electric current. His arm was rigid in Toshinori’s grasp, pulling away from it but without any real conviction. His head turned slowly towards the hero but not fully, letting him see only half of the boy’s face. The unmistakable terror etched in those wide eyes made something constrict in Toshinori’s chest.

“I-I’m… I’m so sorry…” The boy’s voice was down a trembling, barely audible whisper.“I didn’t mean to d-do that… I’ve never… I won’t do it again, I swear, j-just…” 

Midoriya’s free hand hovered over the hero’s, maybe having half a mind of prying it open, but he didn’t even dare to touch it. Toshinori let go of him immediately. The kid wasn’t expecting it, judging by his flabbergasted expression, and all he did with his regained freedom was backing away from him with a couple of uncertain steps, bumping into a nearby electric pole with his backpack and just standing there, pretty much like a cornered mouse cowering before a lion.

The sight jolted Toshinori back to reality with brutal efficiency. God, what was wrong with him today? He was handling this abysmally. That was no two-hundred-year-old manipulative slaughterer, that was a child. A child rapidly working himself into a panic, if his onsetting tremors were of any indication. Ironically, the realization grounded Toshinori even more. Frightened victims and distraught relatives were a daily occurrence in his line of work, and his professional composure slipped back in place almost subconsciously.

“You don’t need to apologize. Quite the opposite. You saved everyone. The hostage, the bystanders… even me. I’m not sure I’d have had the energy to keep up appearances after another smash.” He put up his hands and showed his palms with slow movements, keeping his voice low and level. “You did nothing wrong back there.”

Midoriya slowly slumped down the pole, his limbs huddled in a distressed heap. He blinked quickly as his eyes shied away from Toshinori’s, hands bunching up the fabric of his trousers nervously. “...I-I can give it back. The quirk. I want to give it back to its owner.”

“That can be easily arranged.” Something about the whole situation was nagging at Toshinori, but he pushed that feeling aside for the moment. The boy wasn’t holding himself in any way that hinted at specific injuries, but fear could be one hell of an anesthetic. He gazed up and down the road, finding it completely deserted. He still felt slightly abuzz with the adrenaline rush caused by his second encounter with the sludge villain and the recent revelation of Midoriya’s quirk. He gauged that he could probably (possibly, maybe, hopefully) abuse One For All for another twenty seconds or so if need be, just the time to scoop up the boy in his arms and power run back to the ambulances at the site of the accident. That was likely to cause even more distress to the poor kid though, so he’d rather hold off on it unless clearly necessary. “Are you sure you aren’t in any pain?”

“I-I’m f-fine.” The boy wiggled the backpack off his shoulders and rummaged through it shakily, a few tears rolling down his cheeks and his hiccups becoming harder to contain. “I’m fine…”

“Hey, kid. Look at me. Deep breaths.” Toshinori finally ventured a step and a half towards Midoriya, squatting at a reasonable distance to his side instead of right in front of him, to make sure he wouldn’t feel too crowded. Toshinori offered him a couple of tissues (always plentiful in his pockets) while the boy tried to regain a semblance of calm. “It’s all right. I am here.”

That got the boy’s attention. The catchphrase had slipped out of him automatically, without his trademark panache or blinding smile or overflowing optimism, but Midoriya looked at him like he’d been thrown a lifeline nonetheless. The dam broke and big, shiny tears erupted from his eyes as he accepted the tissues and buried his sobs in them. They remained like that for a while, the kid quietly working through his sniffles while Toshinori sat cross-legged on the dusty asphalt, reminding him to take his time whenever he got a little fidgety.

“Sorry if I spooked you.“ Toshinori eventually offered with a small smile, after Midoriya had finally settled down. “I’m a little out of it myself, today. Not the most auspicious first day in my new neighborhood, but what can you do?”

“Uh? Do you mean you’re moving here?” Midoriya asked while he accepted the fourth tissue and wiped away the remaining dampness from his face.

“Mh-hm.” After the debacle on the rooftop, this didn’t feel like too much of a sensitive bit of information to share. Besides, the kid was a fan, so maybe throwing him a bone would help him relax a little more.

“Why? Isn’t it inconvenient for you? I thought you lived in a penthouse above Might Tower, in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, Roppongi 6-12-”

...Ah, he was that kind of fan. Obviously. “Indeed, but I’ve decided to move to… broaden my professional horizons, so to speak.”

“Oh! Are you planning to open a branch of your agency here? Or are you joining some local long-term operation?“ That spark of morbid curiosity in the boy’s eyes made Toshinori regret bringing up the topic in two seconds flat.

“I’m afraid that’s all I can say on the matter, everything’s still under tight wraps. You’ll hear all about it from the news, eventually.” He stood up and patted some dirt off his hands and pants. “Do you live far from here? I’ll walk you home if you’re feeling better.”

“Oh, uh…” The boy gaped at him in surprise. “Thank you, but there’s no need for you to go out of your way! I’m fine, really!”

“Think nothing of it.” Toshinori hooked three fingers under the strap of the boy’s backpack and hauled it over his own shoulder. It hit his back with unexpected oomph. What did kids even put in those things, weren’t textbooks all digital these days? “Clearly this isn’t your lucky day either. I’ll sleep better tonight knowing that you reached your house safely without being run over by a truck or abducted by aliens.”

The joke got a half-smile out of Midoriya, at long last. He held out his hand to the boy to help him back on his feet. The obvious hesitation and near disbelief he couldn’t hide before gingerly accepting the proffered hand gave Toshinori another small wave of unease. There was definitely something strange about all this, aside from the obvious. He gestured for the kid to lead the way, and they set off towards their new destination.

Toshinori granted him a few minutes of silence before breaching the pivotal subject. “So… you have quite the interesting quirk.”

“...Mh.” Midoriya visibly stiffened. So it had been the quirk talk to give him cold feet, rather than a generic reaction to the day’s stress...

“Why didn’t you use it against the villain the first time he attacked you?” Toshinori asked, opting for a more roundabout approach.

“Ah… I’m sorry. I really should have. You wouldn’t have had to waste your power if I’d-”

“Forget about me! Why didn’t you use it to defend yourself? Did you panic?”

“Uh, well, not too much.” The kid shoved his hands in his pockets and dropped his gaze to the ground, his voice lowering to a droning mutter. “I can take quirks, but I don’t automatically learn how to use them. The villain’s quirk looked like it may be difficult to handle. What if I couldn’t maintain a solid form and just turned myself into a puddle of goo? What if some parts of my slime got detached from the main body during the scuffle, and I found myself missing chunks of flesh upon turning back human? What if the sludge was only an outer layer over my body, and without fine control I ended up drowning in it? Stuff like that… I should have just taken the villain’s quirk without activating it, but I was afraid that he’d get even angrier and he’d just beat me up anyway. I’m not, uh, strong. Or fast. At all. I didn’t consider that he might freak out long enough for me to run away…”

Toshinori blinked. “...Sorry, how long had that guy been harassing you before I showed up?”

“Oh, not long at all. Twenty or thirty seconds, I think.”

“And you went through all of that in twenty seconds. While being ambushed and choked.”

Midoriya just shrugged.

“That is… some quick thinking, all right.” Toshinori commented. He omitted the fact that it was a brand of quick thinking that was more likely to get you killed rather than saving your skin during an emergency. Apparently Midoriya would hesitate to protect himself from a violent attacker, but he’d run for the hills the moment the Symbol of Peace gave him a bit of an odd look. The kid’s fight-or-flight response was all over the place.

“I would have used my quirk to fight back eventually, if you hadn’t arrived so soon… probably…”

“...But?” Toshinori encouraged, sensing the unspoken addition.

“But… not many people know about my quirk. Very few, actually. And I’d like to keep it that way. If it’s possible.”

“Why?”

“...It’s not a good quirk.” Midoriya frowned, hunching his shoulders a bit. “One could do really bad things with it.”

“I could squash a man’s skull with my thumb and level a city block with a punch.” Toshinori countered plainly. “It doesn’t mean I’m going to.”

“It’s… it’s different. You can choose to use your quirk only for good, but mine requires…” The boy trailed off, then hazarded a glance at the hero. “You know what I mean. You understood as soon as I told you, I saw it.”

Toshinori couldn’t argue on that point, unfortunately. Still… 

There could be a perfectly innocent explanation for Midoriya to wield All For One. For one, it could be a different quirk altogether, one that simply mimicked Toshinori’s nemesis’, but that wasn’t quite the same, maybe with some unmentioned limitations (although the palm marks made for quite the uncanny similarity). Moreover, much like look-alikes, duplicate quirks between unrelated people weren’t unheard of, although said quirks were usually quite simple ones, like basic physical enhancers or elemental emitters.

What really bothered Toshinori were the boy’s evident sense of guilt and fear of exposure. Virtually any moderately powerful quirk could be employed to ‘do really bad things’, but hardly any children grew up to be so blatantly scared and ashamed of their own abilities. Family and school usually nurtured a degree of confidence and trust in their own capabilities. Toshinori’s knee-jerk reaction was a byproduct of specific knowledge and experience, but Midoriya’s? If only few people knew about his quirk, it must mean he hadn’t used it much, if at all, in the past, ruling out peer pressure as well. What explanation, what innocent explanation could there be for such a strong negative bias, aside from knowledge and experience he wasn’t supposed to have?

“At least your parents know about your quirk, I hope?”

“My mother doesn’t. My father… isn’t really around.” Toshinori couldn’t decide if that last bit of information was a good or a bad sign.

“So… who did you tell?”

“Just one friend and my father.” Ah, we had one likely culprit then. A father that was around but not really. Suspicious. “And now you, I guess. And… everyone who saw what I did to that villain… including the police…” Midoriya looked just about ready to dig a ditch and roll in it. 

“Well, as I said, everyone seemed to think I took care of the matter, so-”

Midoriya shook his head, utterly demoralized. “Kacchan will tell them.”

“Kacchan?”

“Ah, the hostage. He’s my friend, the one who knows about my quirk. I don’t think he’ll lie to the police for my sake.”

“Ah, I see. I hadn’t realized you two were acquainted.” Toshinori offered him a supportive smile. “I guess that explains your burst of heroism.”

“...No one else was doing anything. I saw you among the crowd, but… I thought you couldn’t help.”

The boy had an almost tortured expression, which reignited the deep-seated guilt that had plagued Toshinori in those harrowing minutes. “...I thought I couldn’t help either.” 

“But you did jump in though. Even though… it hurts you?” Midoriya scanned him from head to toe in concern, as if looking for unnoticed signs of damage. “Why?”

“Why did you decide to intervene, despite your fear?”

“I… I just couldn’t let my friend suffer because I messed up.”

“Well, there you have it.” Toshinori simply said. The boy stared at him thoughtfully, apparently weighing his words carefully, before nodding slowly and resuming his perusal of the ground. Toshinori let the silence stretch for a minute. There was still plenty he wanted to ask, especially regarding Midoriya’s father, but-

“I really do want to give the quirk back.” The kid mumbled. “Should I just… go to the police and ask them? They’ll come looking for me anyway, I guess, but…”

Toshinori pondered the issue for a moment, then he pulled his phone out of his pocket. The least he could do was make this whole ordeal as smooth as possible for the kid. “I think I can help with that. Give me your number. I’ll text you to let you know when we can visit the villain. If we’re lucky, it may be as early as tomorrow.” 

Toshinori registered the boy’s contact information as they entered a quaint residential area with neat little rows of numbered buildings, pleasantly tinged with the warm hues of the sunset.

“Ah, that’s where I live.” Midoriya said afterwards, pointing at a nearby apartment complex. “Thank you for everything, All-”

Toshinori shushed him with a sharp gesture as he gazed around the street nervously. “Please, don’t call me that when I’m in this form.”

Midoriya froze, then bowed respectfully. “R-Right! Thank you, sir! I’m sorry for causing you so much trouble, and taking so much of your time, and-”

Toshinori waved the upcoming barrage of apologies off and bid him a good evening, waiting for the boy to leave. Which he didn’t do.

“Uhm.” Midoriya pointed at Toshinori’s shoulder with an awkward smile. “I need that…”

Oh, right, backpack. “Whoops, there you go.” He tossed Midoriya’s belongings to their owner and watched the kid bustle up the stairs of the building and into one of the apartments. Then he fetched his phone and picked the third number on speed-dial.

“Tsukauchi? Do you have a moment? ….Ah, fine, thank you. Listen, can I drop by your place this evening? Something’s come up and I’d rather not discuss it on the phone… No, but definitely worth looking into sooner rather than later…”

He hung up a couple of exchanges later, after agreeing on the time for the meeting. Toshinori decided he had enough time to make his way back home, shower and have some sort of passable dinner before ruining his friend’s evening. And then he would head back home and he would sleep, even if he had to repeatedly bash his head against a wall to achieve that. He inhaled deeply and let out a long-overdue, exhausted sigh. 

What a day. 

Hopefully tomorrow wouldn’t be quite as taxing.

“THIEF”

Izuku was stuck on the spot, his feet and ankles wrapped in a thick layer of sludge that stretched on the ground as far as the eye could see. The faint light filtering from both ends of the underpass gave it flickering, changing hues, now green like bile, now brown like vomit, now black like tar. It smelled like sewer and dirty toilets. 

“BASTARD”

The slime clung to the walls of the underpass, climbing on them as if endowed with its own will. It crawled up higher and higher, and then went on to expand onto the ceiling. Its surface boiled and squirmed producing disgusting squelching sounds. Izuku looked away from the revolting goo-coated structure he was boxed in, he looked towards the exit, hoping that something, someone would show up to drag him out of that hell.

“GIVE IT BACK”

Someone emerged from the sludge, a few meters ahead of him. A man. A flabby, hairless, mucky man, with haunted eyes and a mouth open in a silent scream. He sweated slime, cried slime, drooled slime, from every orifice and every pore of his body. He waded towards Izuku slowly, an arm extended before him as if to grab him. Izuku couldn’t stand that sight either. He aimed his gaze at the ceiling, right when a huge bubble of gunk popped right above him, and chunky dollops of filth splashed on his face, into his nose and mouth.

“OR I’LL RIP IT OUT OF YOU”

Izuku coughed and heaved, trying to expel the repulsive substance from his pipes, but two cold, slick hands clamped around his throat, trapping it in his body. He could feel the ooze drip down into his lungs, his stomach- he could feel it wiggle and push, like a living parasite trying to break free from the flesh constraining it. Izuku scrambled to tear the man’s hands off him, but those too melted under his fingers like the same fluid that was everywhere, closing down on him, choking him, pulling him apart from the inside-

 Izuku woke up with a whole-body lurch that nearly sent him rolling off the bed, sweaty and breathless. He took in the familiar shadows of his room, and the red numbers of his alarm clock floating in the darkness at his eye level. 

6:20 AM.

Izuku turned on his belly with a frustrated groan, sinking his face into the pillow. Sure, he’d had a pretty harrowing day yesterday. It was bound to leave him a little shaken and maybe disturb his sleep for a while. But seven nightmares in the span of as many hours seemed slightly excessive. Especially seven instances of the exact same nightmare, sentient goo and Munch-like villain and all. The boy fumbled blindly for his phone to check if he’d received any new messages in the last fifty-five minutes. He hadn’t, of course. He prayed that All Might would contact him soon, it didn’t take a degree in psychology to guess the nature of the ‘unfinished business’ his subconscious was so keen on grilling him about.

He stared at the screen blankly, wondering, for roughly the hundredth time, if he should call his father. On one hand, he very probably should. If the man had deemed that little scuffle with Kacchan emergency-worthy, surely a mess this humongous in size warranted a call as well. On the other hand… Izuku didn’t really want to. 

The previous night’s news broadcast had covered the sludge villain incident rather haphazardly, it being a relatively contained accident with no serious consequences or injuries. Izuku was sure they had bothered to touch on the fact in the first place just because All Might had been involved, and the number one hero would receive prime time coverage even for something as trivial as being spotted buying soda at a convenience store. Curiously, Izuku hadn’t been mentioned at all, not even indirectly. Kacchan had been named and shown as the victim, the other heroes had been acknowledged, but All Might had been appointed as the sole person responsible for the resolution of the mishap. Not a word about any irresponsible middle schoolers joining the fray.

Izuku had taken it as a promising sign. All Might had likely interceded for him with the police and obtained a modicum of discretion about his involvement, at least in regards to the media. The hero had been so very understanding the previous day - just thinking about it made the boy almost tear up anew. He had barely reacted to the shocking revelation of his quirk, he had tolerated his unseemly outburst, he had spoken to him as if… as if Izuku was just another innocent victim caught up in a bad situation, rather than a potential menace. He hadn’t hesitated even for a second to offer him his hand, despite knowing the threat that Izuku’s own hands posed. He had… he had made him feel safe, and trusted. He had allowed Izuku to hope that maybe, just maybe, this whole thing could be fixed, that Izuku could handle it with his help, even without subjecting his father to undue sniveling.

And, objectively speaking, what could Izuku’s father do at this point? Izuku doubted that, regardless of his governmental position, the man could prevent the truth from spreading once it had reached both the police and the number one hero. Izuku could make an educated guess about his reaction too, and it wasn’t all that encouraging. It was too late for stern recommendations about secrecy, or for disappointed sighs and gratuitous snark about Izuku’s blind faith in All Might’s mediation skills. And, to be perfectly honest, Izuku dreaded the possibility of finally and completely alienating the sympathy of the one person that had supported and advised him for his whole life, in his own peculiar way. Yes, it was childish of him. Yes, he would have to tell his father anyway, eventually. But he’d rather do it after the matter had been settled, hopefully for the best, and after he’d had a little more time to gather his thoughts and figure out how to word it a little less unfavorably for himself. So, there. It was the 28th of April too, he could wait another day or two, at least. No biggie.

By breakfast time, Izuku had reviewed the issue three more times, had another nightmare, and accepted the fact that this was going to be a long day. 

School went by in that typical hazy fashion that was the result of intellectual activities synergizing poorly with a sleep-deprived brain. Izuku kept eyeing Kacchan warily throughout the first three classes, harboring the half-baked notion of addressing yesterday’s events. He regretted doing it the very moment he opened his mouth to greet him during recess.

“What?” Kacchan growled without sparing him a single glance.

“Uh, ah, I…” How are you was one possible conversation starter. A bad one, for sure. Worrying about Kacchan’s well-being implied that he may not be okay, which implied weakness, which invited aggression as a counter-argument. Did you tell anyone else about what I did yesterday was downright rude, as if Izuku’s quirk was more important than his friend being almost murdered. In fact, any reference to the villain incident was a minefield. Braver classmates than Izuku had already made their inquiries during homeroom, and Kacchan hadn’t taken kindly to their snooping. This really was a bad-

“WHAT?” Kacchan barked, turning sharply towards Izuku and banging his fist on his desk for emphasis.

“Uh, nothing! Just saying hello! Hi! Bye!” Izuku fled the classroom without looking back before Kacchan decided to force-feed him his own shoes.

The first bit of good news of the day reached him during lunch, under the guise of a text.

Hey kid! We can drop by the police station this afternoon at 5 if you’re free

Izuku brought up the virtual keyboard to reply, but he stopped with his finger poised over the screen. He blinked at the unlabeled string of digits identifying the sender.

He had All Might’s phone number. One of many, probably. Definitely one of the lowest priority lines. Or maybe just some sort of burner phone for communications with civilians only. Still. He had All Might’s phone number. All Might was texting him. The realization made him half-choke on his rice.

Should he save it? Would that be a breach of confidentiality? Even if he used a not-too-obvious handle? N1? SP? AM? Ante Meridiem? ...That would just make it more suspicious, wouldn’t it? He’d just… commit it to memory for now. In case he ever needed it again. For purely altruistic reasons.

Sure, I’m free! Thank you very much for the help!

Izuku’s phone chimed again a couple of minutes later.

We’ll come pick you up at your place

That ‘we’ raised a small wave of anxiety in Izuku, but he willed himself to suppress it. He couldn’t expect All Might to shield him from any and all interactions with the force. It’d be fine. He could handle this.

The perspective of visiting the villain revived Izuku’s attention for the remaining lessons, only for him to crash back into fidgety inactivity as soon as he got home and found himself without anything to do for almost two hours before the agreed time. Homework was out of the question, he was too distracted. He figured a nap would be the most inoffensive way to while away the time while also recovering some higher brain functions. And so it was only with a mild heart attack that Izuku was roused by the ringing of the doorbell at 4.50 PM.

“Young Midoriya! Good afternoon!” Even at a glance, Izuku could tell that All Might was in better shape than the previous day. He stood a bit straighter, his smile was a bit wider, his hair was slightly less chaotic. He was also wearing slacks and a button up shirt that, while still dramatically oversized, made him look a bit less like a phthisic hospital runaway. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yes! Thank you so much for going out of your way to take care of me!” Izuku declared with a rigid bow to All Might and to the other man standing by his side - definitely a detective, judging by his stereotypical trench coat.

All Might patted the man on the back with an even bigger grin. “This is Naomasa Tsukauchi, my favorite detective on the force! You may speak freely before him, you won’t find anyone more trustworthy in the whole of Japan!”

“A pleasure to meet you, Midoriya.” Tsukauchi politely removed his hat and shook the boy’s hand with an amused smirk, a sign that he was probably familiar with the hero’s odd choice of an introduction. He then peeked behind Izuku’s shoulders towards the inside of the house. “Isn’t your mother going to join us?”

“Ah no, she had a doctor’s appointment booked for today. It’s fine though, I’ll just send her a text to let her know where I’m going.” Izuku had warned his mother that he may have to visit the precinct soon. He had had to justify his singed and grimy school uniform the day before, so he had told her that he’d been marginally involved in the sludge villain incident, and the police was likely to want to collect his statement on the matter. It was only by pure chance that the news broadcast hadn’t outed his abridgment of the facts.

“Ah… We were hoping to have a few words with her too, actually.” Tsukauchi glanced at All Might, whose eyes darted briefly between the detective and the boy.

“I… may have forgotten to mention that.” All Might scratched the back of his neck with an apologetic grimace. “Well, I guess it can’t be helped. We’ll catch up with her another time, if necessary.”

Izuku had the sneaking suspicion that being All Might’s favorite detective came at a price. Tsukauchi just sighed, before regarding him with a gentle smile. “Well, if you are sure you don’t mind coming with us all by yourself…”

“I don’t mind at all!” Izuku hurried to reassure them. 

A minute later he was in the backseat of Tsukauchi’s speeding car, typing a message to his mother and struggling to suppress a monstrous yawn, courtesy of his interrupted nap.

“Tired?” All Might asked, intercepting his gaze in the rearview mirror.

“A bit. I didn't sleep well last night.”

“Ah, I know that feeling.” The hero’s expression mellowed in sympathy. “I’m sure you’ll rest more easily once this is over and done with.”

“I hope so.” Izuku pocketed his phone and gazed at the moving buildings out of the car window, mostly just to break eye contact. Somehow All Might’s open kindness felt undeserved, especially for something as trivial as a bunch of spooky dreams. He focused on more urgent matters. “So, uh… how are we going to do this? Does the villain know I’m coming, will I explain things to him? Will you, uh, keep an eye on things from outside or accompany me...?”

“Well, we were thinking of throwing you into his cell, locking the door and letting the two of you fight for dominance and ownership over the quirk- “ All Might grinned widely in response to Izuku’s exasperated gape.

“Yagi!” The detective reprimanded him, only mildly scandalized. The name bounced a few times around Izuku’s brain, plain and mystifying at the same time.

“Sorry, just trying to lift his spirits.” 

“You have nothing to worry about, it’ll be perfectly safe.” Tsukauchi provided, clearly having a much better understanding of the state of Izuku’s spirits despite knowing him for a scant ten minutes. “The villain will be in his cell and we will escort you inside, of course. You won’t really interact with each other, as he’ll likely be deeply asleep.”

“Asleep?”

“Yes. The apparent loss of his quirk has upset him greatly. He’s barely spoken since we took him into custody, and he’s spent the whole night in severe emotional distress. We would have transferred him to a hospital this morning if you hadn’t agreed to help so promptly. As things stood, we simply had a doctor prescribe him a strong sedative. Hopefully he’ll settle down spontaneously after you return his quirk.”

The man’s words weighed on Izuku’s heart like a ton of bricks. Damn, that was… horrible. He’d been holding onto someone else’s quirk for barely a day, and it had already caused that much sorrow. That wasn’t how Izuku’s power was supposed to be used. It would never be, as far as he was concerned.

“I’m sure he will.” All Might commented, all traces of humour vanished from his demeanor. “Don’t worry, kid. It’ll be a matter of a minute.”

Izuku nodded, and didn’t speak again for the rest of the trip. When they reached their destination, he let All Might guide him towards the detention area of the complex while Tsukauchi wandered off somewhere else, probably taking care of the bureaucratic side of things. He reappeared relatively soon, and they entered one of the cells all together.

The cell was small and mostly barren, furnished with only the most essential goods and surfaces for a relatively short stay. Idly, Izuku wondered what systems they had in place to prevent a… slippery criminal such as the current occupant from escaping from toilets or sinks. Surely they were prepared to- he realized he was spacing out. He should just get on with it.

The villain was indeed sleeping, huddled in a small foldable bedding on the floor. Izuku had barely caught a glimpse of the man’s human form the previous day, yet he was identical to how he’d envisioned him in his dreams. His subconscious was just that observant, apparently. It suddenly occurred to Izuku that he hadn’t even asked for the man’s name yet. The news broadcast hadn’t reported- he was procrastinating again. Just do it, Izuku.

The boy glanced questioningly at the detective, who made a small gesture to indicate that he was free to proceed. He approached his assailant and crouched beside him. The villain’s hand was sticking out from under the blanket, next to his head. Izuku rested his palm against the back of it, and simply willed the quirk out. 

Just like that, it was done. Izuku stood up and stepped back as the man’s body swiftly changed its texture and color, morphing and rearranging itself until a vaguely man-shaped, green heap of goo had replaced the slumbering human. The villain remained dead to the world throughout the entire process.

“...I’m done.” Izuku whispered, quite redundantly. He peered back at the two men at the opposite side of the room, and he didn’t miss the quick, sharp side-glance they’d just quietly exchanged.

“Thank you very much for your cooperation.” Tsukauchi said with the utmost honesty once they were again in the hallway. “While you’re here, would you mind if I collected your statement about the incident? It won’t take long, we already have a clear picture of the situation thanks to All Might.”

“Uh… Okay.” Izuku had hoped, rather optimistically, to skip that part, but he had no reasonable excuse to refuse. Tsukauchi led them to an empty room a couple of corridors further ahead, and held the door open for them. All Might lingered on the threshold.

“May I sit in?” His question was aimed at Izuku for some reason, rather than at his friend. 

“Of course!” Izuku confirmed, when both adults just stared at him in silence, clearly waiting for his permission. The hero thanked him with a small nod and an equally small smile.

They all sat around the desk in the middle of the room, Tsukauchi on one side, and Izuku and All Might on the other. It struck Izuku as a little strange, automatically expecting the two upholders of the law to face him side by side. He wondered if it may be a setup for some sort of good-cop-bad-cop routine. Not that either of them seemed especially suited to the latter role. Tsukauchi was very much the embodiment of professionalism, and All Might… All Might looked especially non-threatening in that moment, almost meek. He was sitting very tidily, big hands folded in his lap and long legs pressed against each other, occupying a remarkably small space considering the size of his frame. It made Izuku straighten his back and sit more neatly by reflex.

The questioning did proceed very smoothly at first. Tsukauchi let Izuku narrate his version of the events without interrupting at all, just humming and jotting down a few lines in his notepad now and then. All Might was just as unobtrusive, volunteering a sentence or two when Izuku happened to stumble on his words, or when he openly allowed him to recount the little scene on the rooftop, since the detective was already in on the big secret. Smooth sailing all round, until the point when Izuku had to bring up his quirk.

“On the subject of your quirk… when did it first manifest, exactly?” Tsukauchi asked.

“A little less than two years ago.”

“Ah, you’re quite the late bloomer! And you’ve only shared that fact with your friend Bakugo and your father, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“And your father is one... Hisashi Midoriya, right?” Tsukauchi fished out a sheet of paper from the folder he’d retrieved before beginning the interrogation. He slid it across the table so that the boy could read it.

“Yes.” Izuku blinked, an undefined sense of unease gripping him all of a sudden. “...Why did you bother printing his personal details?”

“You’ve been filed as quirkless in the national registry after a routine medical examination when you were four years old. Your registration hasn’t been updated since then, as far as I could ascertain.” Tsukauchi explained calmly.

“Y-Yeah. I know.”

“...That is a punishable offense, I’m afraid. An accurate quirk registration is mandatory for all citizens.” Tsukauchi’s expression softened when Izuku utterly failed to hide his dismay. “This has no consequence on you, as minors aren’t expected to take care of these things by themselves, especially since quirk recording is often carried out when they’re extremely young. Your mother bears no blame either if, as you say, she’s as clueless about it as the rest of the world. But if your father knew and neglected to sort out the necessary paperwork for so long-”

“Oh.” Oh. Oh crap. Izuku had never thought of that. Why on earth had he never thought of that? Why, in almost two years, had he never considered the legal implications of all that secrecy? Why hadn’t his father? “Are you going to press charges against him?”

“Not yet. We’re at least going to get in touch with him and hear him out before taking any further steps.” The detective gave him a genuinely reassuring smile. “But even if we did, there is no cause for concern. These bureaucratic hitches are usually settled with a small fine.”

“I-I see.” Izuku gulped. He wasn’t going to wait until May. He was going to call his father as soon as he was alone. This probably wasn’t going to snowball into a lengthy legal conundrum, but still…

“What’s his occupation? I’m reading ‘administrative assistant’ here, which is a bit generic…”

“I don’t know much about that. He works for the government, I think, and he always says that all his activities are classified, so I try not to pry... Too much…”

“That is very judicious of you. I wish you could teach some of that tact to my sister…” Tsukauchi sighed, only half-jokingly. All Might let out a low chuckle at that. “Does your father know that you’ve been so reserved about your quirk so far?”

“Yes.”

“And he didn’t find it odd in the slightest?”

“...No.” 

“Why do you think that is?” Izuku was suddenly very aware of both adults observing him quite intently. He really didn’t want to make things look any worse for his father. He could… slightly reframe the truth, maybe.

“I, uhm… Mine is a bit of a unique quirk. Difficult to use without, uh, stepping on other people’s toes. And I’ve been quirkless for most of my life, and… it’s no mystery that I envied other kids a lot because of that. I was worried that my schoolmates could be wary of me if they knew that I could… act on that envy now.”

Tsukauchi hummed, twirling his pen slowly between his fingers. “I can understand your concern. But quirk counselling is specifically designed to help children cope with such issues, and you’ve been missing out on it because of this extreme discretion. Your father should have realized he was doing you more harm than good by letting these fears fester in your mind.”

Izuku dropped his gaze on his father’s profile sheet. Detective Tsukauchi had a point, but… the matter was more complicated than that, as well as intricately intertwined with his father’s job and the troubled history of their quirk, and… Izuku didn’t want to delve into any of that at the moment. 

“We’ll definitely schedule some counselling sessions for you in the future, I’m sure you’ll find them beneficial.” Tsukauchi hesitated. “...Did something catch your attention?”

Something did, in fact. Izuku was idly skimming through the content of his father’s profile, and a couple of details were giving him pause. The first was, unsurprisingly, his father’s listed quirk. Fire Breathing.

...nor do I have it printed in bold letters in my personal documents…

Yeah, Izuku wasn’t going to bring that up. The other thing, a little more surprisingly, was his photo.

“Oh, it’s nothing, just… I haven’t seen any photos of my father in a long time.”

“You haven’t seen ‘any photos’ of him?” Tsukauchi cocked his head curiously.

“Yeah… I’ve never met him in person, he travels a lot because of his job and he never has enough time to stop by. I only know what he looks like because of an old photo my mother showed me. I haven’t seen it in years too, so…”

“Only a single photo, uh? And this picture here doesn’t strike you as familiar?”

Izuku observed it more closely... No, he was surely mistaken. “No no, there’s… there’s definitely a resemblance. Mine was a very old photo, taken before I was born. And it wasn’t even a photo of him specifically, he just happened to be in it, at an odd angle and in the middle of a crowd… I’m sure this one is more accurate.”

“Are you still in possession of that photo, by any chance?” All Might chimed in unexpectedly, his bright eyes narrowing slightly.

“Yes, I think so… Hang on, let me check.” Izuku fetched his phone, opened the internet browser… Crap, it really had been a long time since he’d looked at the thing. Back then, he’d saved the file his mother had passed him on a free online storage site that… hopefully still existed? He hadn’t used it in at least four years. Was his account still active? Could he even retrieve the credentials with his current email address? “Uh… Actually, I don’t think I can get it right away. But I printed a copy of it once, it should be at home… somewhere…” Stashed in one of those boxes of old notebooks and magazines on top of his wardrobe, right? Or had it been thrown away when they had moved to their current apartment…? He fiddled with his phone with growing discomfort, acutely aware of the utter unhelpfulness of his babbling.

“We’d certainly be grateful if you could retrieve that photo for us, when you have a minute.” All Might finally conceded, taking pity on Izuku's floundering.

“Sure! I’ll try to find it as soon as I get home.”

“Much obliged.” Tsukauchi flipped quickly through his folder. Izuku was about to ask why the mention of that photo had sparked their interest so much, when Tsukauchi put Hisashi's file back into the folder and closed it with a snap. “Well, I think we’ve covered everything. Again, you’ve been immensely valuable to us, Midoriya.”

Izuku let out a breath he hadn’t noticed he was holding. All Might positively beamed at him and flashed him a thumbs up, which was its own, heart-warming reward. They all stood up and made to leave, when Izuku remembered he owed the two men a proper thanks.

“Ah, I really appreciate that you used your influence to… to get the papers off my back. It was… unreasonable of me to ask, but I  really  appreciate you humoring my hope for discretion anyway. I hope that it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience.”

Tsukauchi and All Might traded a puzzled glance. 

“We did nothing of the sort, kid. What makes you-” All Might stopped, as if struck by a sudden thought. “Ah! You did mention it yesterday, didn’t you? That you were expecting your friend to expose your quirk…”

“Yes. I… I imagine Kacchan told the journalists, and you took care of, uh, correcting his version?”

“No, no, there was no need to.” All Might waved his hand dismissively. “Your friend didn’t mention you at all. He was on the verge of fainting when you rushed in, he’d been strenuously fighting back against the villain for a while by that time. He was too exhausted to notice your intervention, and you bolted immediately afterwards. He never realized you were there.”

Izuku’s jaw dropped half-way open, but he shut it immediately with an audible click. 

“...Ah.” Kacchan hadn’t realized. The bystanders hadn’t realized. The police hadn’t realized. All Might hadn’t really realized. That meant that no one, no one, would know about his quirk right now… if he hadn’t gone and spilled the beans about it himself. If he hadn’t dumped an unnecessary confession to the number one hero out of sheer, emotional anxiety.

...Boy, that next phone call was going to be one for the ages.

[word-scribbless]

Seen My Hoodie?

Gibbs x female reader

Summary: Gibbs can’t find his hoodie because Y/N is finding comfort in it.

Thank you so much to @hopscotchandlemon for reading this for a second opinion and giving me encouragement to post it!

Masterlist

———————

Y/N sat on her favorite chair. She was curled up with a blanket and a book she hadn’t even opened yet, because she couldn’t stop thinking about Jethro Gibbs. A man she had met many years ago on the first of many cases she worked together. Y/n was a forensic anthropologist who often helped NCIS or the FBI with cases.

Early this week they had just finished a case, but not before Y/N was captured by the killer at a crime scene. She had gone with Gibbs to help identify another body, which was a usual task for her. What they didn’t know this time was that the new scene was a trap. The suspect was the one that called it in by the time Gibbs realized what was going on it was too late. Y/N was used as leverage by the killer before Gibbs and the team got her to safety.

She shivered as she thought of the case and snuggled deeper into the sweatshirt she was wearing. Mind drifting back to it’s owner.

She was sitting on the edge of the ambulance after her brush with danger, Gibbs hadn’t left her side since he’d got her back from the suspect. Even when she was being checked by EMS and he was briefing Tony, he was still close enough to hold her hand if she needed. She shivered from the cold after the EMT checked her blood pressure and Gibbs quickly shed his sweatshirt he had donned when he was called away from his house that night. He gently slid it over her head and assisted her in sliding it on.

If she wasn’t already secretly in love with him, that would have sealed the deal.

The though made her pull her phone off the table next to her and dial the number of the only person who could ease her mind.

“Yeah Gibbs” she heard his gruff answer through the phone.

“Hey, you working on the boat?” She asked.

“Hey,” he said, voice getting softer when he realized it was her. “nah just got out of the shower why?”

“You answered all professional, like you didn’t know it was me.” She said with a small smile he could hear through the phone, causing him to smirk softly.

“I didn’t, looking for something to wear.” She heard him shuffling through his closet and tried not to picture him in just a towel.

“Mm, got a hot date?” She asked nervously. And heard him huff a laugh.

“Yeah with some bourbon and a hand sander.”

“Ooo sounds steamy” she laughed and her heart melted at his chuckle.

“How are you-“ he stopped his question short, huffing a “dammit.”

“Wow aggressive, I’m okay.” She laughed

“No, I can’t find- have you seen my hoodie?”

“Nooooo” she said guilty as she snuggled further into it. She had purposely “forgotten” it when she had gone to NCIS for her debrief the day before.

“You’re wearing it aren’t ya?” He asked with a smile.

“I mean I was just held hostage... doesn’t that give me a little leeway?” She asked and accidentally sniffed a bit, giving away her true state of overthinking and crying. Of course Gibbs didn’t miss it.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah I just-“

“don’t need to lie Y/N/N”

“Been better” she sniffed again.

“Hence the hoodie?”

“Yeah, needed some comfort.” She admitted

“I could do you one better.” He offered and she heard him going down the stairs, his keys jingling and his front door open.

“Gibbs you don’t need to come-“ she began, and even she knew she didn’t sound convincing.

“Save it I’m on my way.” He cut her off and she let a relieved sigh.

“Thank you”

“Mhm, see you soon” he said before hanging up.

By the time he let himself in with his ‘emergency’ key that was more often than not used for things that weren’t emergencies, Y/N had fallen asleep in her chair and was already having a nightmare. She had been having them whenever she closed her eyes since that night.

“Hey, hey, shhh” Gibbs soothed as he gently woke her up.

“Jethro!” She whispered and reached for him. She rarely called him that, but he didn’t have much time to think about it. Instead he scooped her up in his arms, shifting so he was in the chair and she was on his lap.

“Thank you! “ she whispered as she snuggled into his embrace.

“For the sweatshirt?” He smirked

“Noooo. For-“

“You never have to thank me for being here Y/N.” He ensured, kissing her head.

“You’re always taken care of me.” She sniffed and nuzzled into his shoulder.

“Mm we take care of each other.” He hummed.

She looked up and nodded at him.

“Jethro,” she said, surprising him with his first name again. He looked at her softly, urging her to continue. “If I try to kiss you right now are you gonna stop me?”

“I should” he sighed. Truthfully, he never wanted to stop her.

“Why?” She deflated

“You were just held hostage y/n/n.”

“So what’s made me want to kiss you for the past 3 years then?” She asked quietly, rubbing her thumb across cheek.

“Y/N-“

She leaned in and his hand went to cup her face.

“I’m not gonna regret it J.”

He knew he’d never stop her, and knew she’d never kiss him just to escape, she wasn’t like that.

“I trust you” she whispered.

He finally gave in to his years of love and want, capturing her lips with his.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and enjoyed being so close to him, In every way.

When they pulled away they smiled to each other before Y/N laid her head on his chest. She smiled up and him as his arms tightened around her.

“This looks good on you” he said, tugging on his own red sweatshirt sleeve that she was wrapped in.

“Mmm I’m torn between trying to keep it, or giving it back because it looks good on you.”

He chuckled and kissed her head.

“You keep it, I have the black one that you like.”

It made her smile that he knew how much she loved him in his black USMC sweatshirt.

“So is that like giving me your varsity jacket? You asking me to go steady gunny?” She asked running her fingers through his hair.

“Maybe I am” he said kissing her.

“Good” she said laying her head back down and falling into the first peaceful sleep either had had in a while. Both happy to finally let themselves be together.

@diesinspanishbcimhispanic @averyhotchner

[slasherbastard]

Stockholm Syndrome - Brahms Heelshire

(gif credit: boodalinski)

Request:  Thank you, so I was wondering if I could get one for Brahms. Where the reader (preferably a girl you can do gn, if you like!!) moves from the states to the u.k for a job. And she comes across Brahms home bc she got lost. And she steps inside and spends the night there and he like stalks her from the walls. And the next morning he like knocks her out and takes her hostage after she tries to leave, bc shes his new obsession. Maybe Stockholm syndrome if you’re comfortable with doing that. I’m not sure if you write smut or anything like that.

Warning: light smut Word count: 2639 Notes: okay okay so I redid the ending and added the smut, that’s the last time I try to write when sleep deprived

Brahms wasn't expecting guests that night but then you stumbled upon the manor. Ever since Greta left to who knows where Brahms had no one to look after him so he was left to look after himself. Now that he didn't have to worry about hiding away from any nannies he was free to roam the rooms of the house instead of just observing from the walls. It was nice for him, being able to eat warm meals whenever he pleased without having to worry about them being freezing out while he waited for the nanny to stray far enough from the kitchen that it'd be safe enough for him to leave the walls and steal the food like a rat.

It was getting late and Brahms couldn't sleep, the loneliness was eating him alive and he was starving because apparently 4 PB&J sandwiches weren't enough for him. Brahms hated to admit it but he missed Greta and needed her - no, he needed someone to just care for him and love him the way she could've. The next thing Brahms knew he was out of the walls and making yet another PB&J for himself, rubbing his tired eyes as he screwed the lid back onto the jar of jam.

That's when he heard the front door open and he froze. There was definitely time for Brahms to grab his sandwich to run back to one of the few entries into the walls but worry filled him as he abandoned the meal and found the hole in the parlour where a mirror once hung. Within a few seconds you walked past one of the slits in the wallpaper and Brahms held his breath as a stranger walked into the kitchen.

"Hello? I'm sorry to intrude but I'm lost and-" She stopped as she saw the freshly made sandwich sitting on the counter and spun around and Brahms watched her every move. He watched as this girl cautiously looked around before grabbing the sandwich and taking a bite out of it, Brahms expected himself to be angry. How dare a complete stranger just waltz into his home and eat his food? But for some reason he wasn't mad, in fact, something about the stranger fascinated him. "Whoever made this, this is a surprisingly good PB&J. Is this place haunted?" She muttered the last bit to herself and Brahms quietly chuckled behind his mask as she put away the items Brahms had left out and finished the sandwich before walking upstairs and continuing to talk to herself, blabbering about how she was giving herself 'horror movie' vibes.

She yawned as she reached the top of the stairs and peaked into the bedrooms still quietly calling out just in case somebody actually was home, and nobody was to her knowledge. Brahms followed her through the walls as she found one of the guest bedrooms and yawned again. The stranger dropped the bag she was holding onto the floor and crawled into the bed, tiredly talking to herself. "Alright, Y/N. Just go to sleep then leave as soon as you wake up." 'Y/N' what a beautiful name.

Brahms quietly chanted the name under his breath as he watched her fall onto the bed and snuggle into the small stream of blankets. He didn't have Greta anymore but that didn't matter because now he has you, Y/N.

--

You opened your eyes as the memories from last night came back to you. You'd caught a bus straight from the airport to what you were hoping was a cheap motel but instead you managed to miss your stop and got dropped off in the middle of nowhere. This would've been fine if it wasn't the last bus scheduled for the night and you weren't suffering from the effects of jetlag after leaving the states for a job you didn't even want in the first place, you tried calling a cab but your phone couldn't pick up a signal.

A lot of the night was a haze. Most of it was spent walking in the dark until you found a manor, then you decided that going inside would be a great idea, then you fell asleep in said manor, and now here you are awake in the manor. You grabbed your phone off the stand beside the bed and realised it was dead before taking it and sliding out of the bed. A sudden loud noise came from downstairs and really woke you up.

You'd been so caught up in your thoughts that you didn't realise someone was standing right next to the bed, until you looked over and saw the towering figure of a masked man. You tried to scream but before you knew it you were waking up again with a raging headache and your arms bound behind a wooden column. You tried to scan your surroundings but it was too dark to see anything, now this place was really giving you horror movie vibes and you weren't going to be the final girl after this.

The ropes around your wrists were starting to burn as you continued to struggle against them, biting your lip as the pain got stronger. You let out a frustrated groan and slammed your back into the column. "Hello!" You yelled out. Now you were 100% certain that somebody was home, what if they were watching? "I swear my damn arms are gonna fall off." You felt the ropes loosen as your arms moved a little more freely but you were still stuck.

"Don't." You stopped and looked up. The light flicked on and a familiar figure stood a few feet away from you just staring at your helpless position on the floor. "You'll hurt yourself." He got closer and you continued trying to free yourself from the ropes as he got on his knees and was only inches away from your face, you hadn't realised he was wearing a mask this entire time - of course, this was the first time you were able to get a proper look at his face. You felt the ropes slip and one of your arms was free but the man was too distracted to realise this as you freed your second arm and held the rope in place. He stroked your cheek and tilted his head slightly, his cold touch made you cringe and he pulled back for a second before continuing. You could hear him whispering something under that creepy mask. "Y/N, Y/N, Y/N, Y/N, Y/N."

You almost didn't realise you had kicked him until he fell back, your delayed reaction wasn't enough to help you successfully escape as he was onto you the second you had stood up, pulling you back down as you screamed for help even though you knew nobody could hear you. He dragged you over to a small bed in the corner of the room and threw you onto it, you tried to get off but he was on top of you before you could make another move. Through that mask of his you could see his eyes, they looked desperate and hungry for something.

"Are you going to kill me?" His expression softened at those words but he gripped your arms tighter just in case you used this as a chance as to attempt another escape but instead you just watched him, expecting him to either wrap his hands around your neck or maybe stab you but he just watched you.

"Why would I hurt my pretty Y/N?"

You felt your heart stop and your chest ache at the same time. "Who are you?" You tried to wiggle free from his grip but he wasn't letting you go anywhere.

"Brahms."

--

You were supposed to be preparing lunch but you couldn't focus. You don't know how many days or weeks or even months have passed by now but somehow you were still alive. Brahms wasn't shy to show his obvious feelings towards you just hoping that maybe one day you'd return them, maybe you'd stop trying to run away if he showed you how loved you were by him. Brahms hasn't stopped trying to prove to you that you don't need anyone but him, especially considering that he was the only person you were going to be seeing for the rest of your life.

While Brahms wasn't afraid to show you that he loved you, you weren't afraid to show him how much you hated him - although, you weren't exactly sure why you acted that way. Sure, you were pissed that you ended up getting held hostage by a captor who wears a creepy mask the night you arrived in a new country but there was something about him that made you want to stay. In fact, you hadn't attempted another escape in what felt like forever. You didn't want to hate Brahms but there was a part of you forcing yourself to - maybe it was because you didn't want to admit that you had developed feelings for him.

You had no idea if Brahms noticed that your hatred for him was just a façade now. At night he'd cuddle up to you and you wouldn't try to fight him off like you used to, you also stopped ignoring him anytime he came into a room but that didn't mean you were getting friendly with him. Neither of you had gotten to that point in this unlikely 'friendship' where you felt like you could tell this man anything but you did wonder what would happen if you just told him. Sighing, you turned around and bumped into none other than Brahms.

Gasping, you quickly apologised and tried to run off somewhere but he grabbed your upper arm and held you in place. Looking up at him through the eyeholes of at mask you waited for him to tell you that he was hungry but instead he just looked at you. "What is it, Brahms?"

"Come with me." He didn't wait before he dragged you out of the kitchen and eventually you were both outside that loft when Brahms slammed your back into one of the walls. You groaned and cringed in pain before looking at up Brahms.

"What the hell was that-" Brahms threw a hand over your eyes and you froze when you felt hot breath on your neck. "Brahms?" You shook your head, trying to get Brahms to remove his hand from your face but it wouldn't budge as you suddenly felt his lips on your neck leaving light kisses heading up towards your jaw, sucking and biting on the areas. You bit your lip and tried not to react while also focusing on the sensation of his chapped yet soft lips against your skin. You felt your body moving on your own as you tried to get closer to Brahms needing a bit of friction to continue but he denied it and continued his little act before moving away for a brief moment then connecting his lips to yours. Taken aback, you hesitated trying to figure out whether you should kiss him back but before you knew it you'd lost control and your lips were moving in sync with his.

Brahms wanted to feel your body, to explore it, but he couldn't with one hand hiding himself you and the other clutching the mask. He wanted to drop it, shatter that porcelain thing into pieces just so you could see who he truly was without any restrictions. If you reacted badly then glue could fix the mask but nothing could fix what was your relationship.

Just as the two of you were getting into it Brahms broke away and you took that moment to catch your breath before Brahms removed his hand and you could see him readjusting that porcelain mask of his as you turned to run and find your way out of the walls but you stopped when you heard his voice. "Y/N I know you love me." You stopped and heard gentle movements behind you before Brahms appeared in front of you. "You do love me, right?"

You looked up at him with wide eyes at the realisation that he knew that you'd let your guard down ages ago, and you clearly didn't just kiss him for no reason. It was so damn obvious but you still wanted to say no. "Yes." dammit. Brahms looked at you as if he was waiting for you to say something else but you couldn't find the right words. Taking a breath and looking him dead in the eyes you finally spoke. "I. . .I-"

He got closer to you. "Tell me you love me, Y/N." Something within him seemed desperate as he tried to close in the small space between the two of you until your chests were almost connected. "Y/N?"

"I love you Brahms." You don't know exactly what you'd expected in that moment, maybe a hug? Did you expect him to cry? Whatever wholesome reaction you waited for from him never came. Instead, Brahms stuck a hand out for you and you took it without really thinking much of it as he slowly lead you into the loft. Although he was taking his time there was a sense of desperation circling him as he sat down longways on the bed and pulled you onto his lap and held onto you, his hands moving down to your lower back. This whole time his eyes were on you and your eyes were on him. "Brahms?"

"Mhmm?" He hummed, his hands now playing with the bottom of your shirt.

You leaned in close to Brahms' ear and whispered. "If we're going to do this, then I want to at least be able to see who's fucking me." You pulled away and planned to make eye contact with Brahms again but you barely got the chance before he switched the position.

"No." You felt your stomach churn as he said it, his voice had dropped as if he were pissed off but there was still a playful tinge behind it. Brahms wasted no time ripping your shirt off and bringing his masked face down to yours and kissing you through the mask. Suddenly he pulled away and reached over underneath his pillow and you threw your head back and watched as he pulled out a long piece of fabric. "Do you trust me?"

You were hesitant for a few seconds as Brahms messed around with the makeshift blindfold, still waiting for your reply. "Please, Y/N. I promise I'll make you feel good." He whined but you didn't need to be asked twice as you sat up and Brahms covered your eyes with the fabric and tied it off behind your head and pushed you back down onto the bed. You heard a light clank and tried to peak under the fabric to catch a glimpse of Brahms without that creepy mask on but all you saw was his head of dark curly hair as he began planting kisses, making his way down to your core.

Brahms woke up and immediately looked down at the girl in his arms and smiled under his mask and held back the urge to caress her face or move the hair away from her eyes, afraid he'd wake her. Y/N shifted her weight in her sleep and cuddled into Brahms' chest as he continued to hold onto her not daring to move. He wanted to laugh, cry tears of joy, because he really couldn't believe that he finally had the one thing he'd wanted ever since his own parents stopped treating him like their son, he finally had someone who loved him. "You're finally mine, Y/N."  He whispered and nuzzled his face into her hair.

[organic-guacamole]

episode 210 here we go

awww seb doing the intro

congratulations to milky white and her baby chocolate milk😌

seb is so funny

but seriously, clean up that milk fast or else it will smell so bad in there....

was that Lauryn just randomly doing cartwheels? idk any theatre kids irl but that seems like it's a common thing...

is it just me or has ms Jenn been getting more harsh to Ricky and Seb mainly-

like what did they do to her

no because I actually snorted with laughter at the "you came back" WHAT IS THAT VOICE-

AND THE MASK OMG

yeah so my throat hurts now

I'm dying over here

KOURTNEY'S FACE

SAME GIRL SAME

Ricky's fake death got the whole place in tears /s

he looks like an asthmatic walrus

Seb's on piano, I love

we all know if he was the beast we'd all actually be crying✋

ok but I listen to Julia's version of home on Spotify when I want to cry-

right so gimme a second

is Ricky scratching his face.....while he's dying?

"belle i-" *flop*

round of applause to Ashlyn for trying to make Ricky's earthworm seizure look less.... yknow

Kourtney's just dying there

WAIT IS THAT NATALIE

did she really just disappear for 9 episodes just to come back and stare dramatically into the camera

WAIT SCRATCH THAT SHES HERE TO MURDER ASHLYN AND RICKY

oh so Ricky's wearing a gay shirt now too

so that's the real reason why Rini broke up, see y'all next season when Gini and caswen become canon /j

wait that was a long intro scene-

what was that look Carlos-

TALK TO MY BOY OR ELSE

carlos' run is so funny to me

therapist Ashlyn to the rescue

"that is...super" son you good?

ms Jenn call Benjamin, he would willingly put his loved ones on a rocket and blast them into Venus for you....

maybe

"I don't want you kids to be disappointed" girl you do realise you're the one that's most invested in this?

"a smooth opening night" wasn't there just 1 show though-

like their opening night was closing night too

"I think I was Troy at one point" PLEASE THATS THE MOST ACCURATE DESCRIPTION OF THE SEASON 1 FINALE

me Jenn looks like a serial killer during that clap and I'm lowkey scared for zacky

"I have notes"

oo if you're taking suggestions, lemme get my list

"mother is freaking out" uhhhhhh

right....'mother"

"is everyone sitting down?"

*looks around awkwardly*

*big red slowly sits*

"no..."

please seb was the only one sitting-

does that mean Carlos looked at Seb as soon as he walked in and assumed that everyone else was sitting too or am I a seblos clown🤡

"is this about the transformation"

WOW MAYBE OT IS RICKY

WOW HES A DETECTIVE FOR FIGURING THAT OUT SO QUICK🤩

YO WHY IS NATALIE HERE-

she just shows up when it's convenient? is she gonna be at the sleepover too?

Seb's heavy swallow after Carlos shouts at him makes me so sad

"I never learned how to lie but I figure if I keep my mouth closed, I can't tell the truth" *nods and smiles at Nini when she asks*

why are they casually standing up all over the pizza shop, just sit at a big table and talk instead of blocking passageways and blocking off at least 6 tables-

"how about I invite myself" WHY DO PEOPLE ALWAYS FEEL THE NEED TO INVITE THEMSELVES TO ASHLYN'S HOUSE-

YOU CAN ASK BUT JUST FORCE YOUR WAY IN?

so Cash Caswell has a bigger house than... Dennis Caswell.... who would've thought

ah yes there's the good old EJ 1.0

Nini: "boys vs girls"

Gina: *looks devastated and glances longingly at EJ*

way to be inconspicuous

"but north high should be" *cracks her knuckles in the most uncomfortable way*

good for Ashlyn for getting more confident though

oo bossy big red

"i get bossy around the power tools"

is that why Ashlyn was holding up the drill in episode 8 orrrr 🤠

oh

Lily, leave him alone please

she's literally not blinking, is that what makes her creepy?

the diss at big red and his face afterwards is priceless

isn't that similar to what Gina's mom said to her in season 1? hmmmm

but seriously please don't try to redeem lily, let us have a character to hate, or to love because they're evil.

not everyone's a good guy.

"im not liked here and I don't know what to do"

let antoine finish his salad and it'll fix everything

"hug emoji" *gags*

y'all realize Lily's literally 14?

why is she calling a 16/17 year old from another school for personal advice-

"he gets weird around tools"

I shouldn't be laughing so hard

"deja vu maybe?" awkward silence

I'm dying here I love EJ so so so so much

"where's seb"

*cuts to seb being held hostage hoping that they'd notice he's missing and go look for him*

"don't ask"

"oh ok"

"100% real faux fur" as you should queen

sponsored by target

Kourtney is singlehandedly saving the entire show.

Seb making finger guns make me happier than it should

why is this kinda making me want to have a co-ed sleepover with my non-existent theatre friends

YES YOU DO NEED TO TALK/SING TO SEB CARLOS THANK YOU FOR KNOWING THAT

wait what-

you haven't talked to him all WEEK-

Carlos are you stupid /hj

Benjamin is so adorable I can't

he turned around to come back for her instead of going home. you're "what do you want Jenn🙄X act isn't fooling anyone Benjamin 🙃

10101

1+4+16= 21st?

they placed 21st?

or do I just not remember how to convert to base ten

GIRL DON'T BE RUDE TO HIM, HE'S GONNA SAVE YALL

no ms Jenn, the kids are not eccentric 35 year olds.

aww sebby

is he thinking that Carlos is only with him cuz he's the only other openly gay guy at school-

son you are a perfect little bean don't put yourself down

yes they all ship portwell as they should.

they'll be throwing risotto at the wedding.

not the chocolates. stop there are no chocolates. please stop I'm dying.

Gina you don't have to explain yourself to her

it was a misunderstanding and it's in the past

why is Ashlyn still laughing-

exactly it wasn't a big deal please just move on Nini

Kourtney really be out here saving everything

WHY IS ASHLYN STILL LAUGHING

why do I feel like when Gina finally told Ash about it, she didn't think it was that funny but wanted to feel included in the inside joke so now she brings it up randomly to show that she's in on it....I totally don't do that...

"idk, the farmer type" oh son...

Ashlyn and big red are just spilling the secrets back and forth huh?

OOO EJ AND GINA SITTING IN A TREE K-I-S-S-I-

cmon guys don't look at me like that-

"she is the best" and "we're buddies" don't sound right together

"pretty boy" "sweet boy" best ways to describe EJ

I love him.

and aw he's scared of rejection so he'll hold back just to keep her happy and not awkward how sweet

is Ricky wondering if letting her go(literally his song from last episode) was the best thing he did for Nini because he doesn't feel like it now? hmmm this is getting good

why is everyone so invested in Kourtney and Howie's relationship

PACK UP THE LAZY RICKY THING

oh yes Benji, that's exactly what she's doing

she couldn't follow her dream or whatever so now she's using the kids to gain some of the success she craves. why else would she have that massive hsm poster with her name on it in huge letters in her office.

just casually grab his hand with both your hands and stare at him creepily 🥰

ship jennzzara y'all

the first bump was a missed opportunity to do the baymax "falalala" as a reference to the fact that they watched big hero six while committing arson✋

wait so big red and EJ just left Ricky in the basement and now Ricky invited Carlos when they're supposed to be at the stage?

help no Ricky looks like he's about to tell Carlos he likes him (I know it's about writing the song for seb but still, look at his body language and tell me it doesn't look like that)

Ricky is so mature about this, he really just wants Nini to be happy even though he's hurting-

baby you deserve love, maybe Nini isn't the one for you but don't say you don't deserve it

why does he keep adding bro to the end like he doesn't know how to address Carlos

PLEASE CARLOS HAVING TO ADDRESS THE BRO THING

"let's write a song when we have like 45 minutes to get to the place and help our friends possibly win $50000 at the show in 2 weeks"

"can you hit a high C?"

"that's like the bottom of my range"

why am I laughing

this is so cool to see friendship interactions that we don't normally get to see

Nini why are you being like this-

Gina did nothing wrong??

I saw that, EJ and Gina being the only ones going in the same direction👀

right so obviously Kourtney's waiting until after the menkies to get back with Howie just in case he really is just using her as a way in to east high... obviously... right?

CARLOS

OK ITS COMING GET READY YALL

Why is portwell so awkward all of a sudden

OMG EJ

OMG GINA SAY YES or not, do what you want.

the way she doubts that EJ would genuinely ask so she has to make sure it's not Ashlyn behind it

OH

THE "NOT THAT I KNOW OF"

LIKE WHAT GINA SAID TO JACK ABOUT EJ BEING HER BOYFRIEND

GUYS THEY'RE SOULMATES

I want risotto now please

THEY'RE SO SWEET AND ADORABLY AWKWARD ITS LIKEEK LITTLE KIDS

OOOOOOO what is this place that seblos is in, looks fancy....and secluded

oh wait no Ricky's just standing there

wait is it the bomb shelter

it looks so good what

HSKAGSJAGAJAGWISGSKAUASBWKSVAIWBAISBQKSHIQBWOABWOABDOQBZIQBAIAQBSIWBQISVQKSIANSGOQBSAISBKASBKWBAIABQOSBBSJAHAJAVAJSBAJHSKAHSJAHAJAJAAJAHHHHHHHH

@youranxiousnerd ARE YOU OK?

CUZ IM NOT OK

LOOK AT SEBBY'S FACE

LOOK AT HOW ADORABLE IT IS

THE LYRICS ARE KILLING ME

SEBLOS IS KILLING ME

I AM DEAD

PLEASE SEND HELP

I like to imagine that Frankie and Joe practiced this in their apartment and just had a blast with it.

or maybe that Frankie practiced in secret like what Joe did for the climb

OH THE SUITS

THATS WHERE THAT CLIP IN THE PROMO WAS FROM

AWWW SEBBY'S SO CUTE

HE'S A LITTLE MARSHMALLOW

they're still so awkward with the dance I cant

let's appreciate Frankie's voice though

this episode really was made just for the seblos and portwell stans and you gotta love it

BIG RED GET OUT

WHY DOES HE ALWAYS DO THIS

Seb's little "yeah" IS ADORABLE

you can't tell me that wouldn't have been the best time for them to say I love you....IF FREAKIN BIG RED WASN'T THERE

ok but wait Ricky needs more hugs like that, look at his face

the boy needs love

"bro" please don't let Ricky and Carlos go back to not talking because their friendship is amazing

EJ laughing at Ricky sounding like a cat coughing up a furball is so funny to me

RICKY'S FLOP GETS ME EVERYTIME

I knew it was too good to be true

ok so Ricky's dead, next in line please

this episode was so short but I love it so much. this is what I signed up for for season 2✋

[samthemarvelfan]

You Found Me: One Shot

Summary: Bucky Barnes always came home to you. What happens when he doesn't? Worse than that...what happens when he forgets you existed?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: A bit of angst and then the squishiest fluff. Mama likes her happy endings, y’all ;)

A/N: I wrote this in an hour and i have no idea where this idea came from lol enjoy! <3

The metal of the chair was as cold as the room. They liked to keep it cold to help him acclimate to being thawed out.

Again.

He sat with perfect posture and waited. What was he waiting for? He didn’t know. He never knew, he wasn’t the one in charge here.

“Soldat.”

He was greeted by a Doctor—at least he looked like a doctor...had the lab coat and everything.

The doctor held a folder out to the him. “Extraction. No witnesses. Eliminate as needed and return to base. Understood?”

Soldat nodded. “Understood.”

He walked with a purpose. He walked like he knew where he was going; like he’d been here before.

The streets were flooded with people. Why wouldn’t they be? It was high-noon on a warm autumn day in New York City.

He didn’t have to look unassuming here, the people didn’t care. He liked that about this place, no one bothered anyone else unless they had a good reason.

And even then, they often didn’t.

About two blocks from the park, the wind shifted, blowing East. Normal, expected; especially with the seasons changing. On his next inhale, he caught the scent of something mouthwatering. Something savory—no, sweet. Buttery too, something he could practically taste on his tongue. Something almost familiar.

He ignored it though, of course he did. His mind and body were on autopilot at this point. Sanction. Extract. Eliminate if necessary.

He looked at the sign that showed the location he was in the park, he was here. Right on to of it—on top of her.

Scanning the field, he spotted her immediately. She was stood on the bridge above the tunnel connecting the two sides of the park. Not an easy escape if she tried it. She’d hit water if she ran left, and the busy New York streets if she ran right.

She’s never going to see it coming...see him.

He rounded the bridge on the city side. If she ran, he’d rather the water be an ally in eliminating the target, instead of the messiness of a car.

Her back was to him while she talked on the phone. She was so unassuming, smiling even, then she laughed.

He froze. Soldat froze. It was like the air had been snatched from his lungs. She laughed again, and suddenly time stood still. His brain fogged with different images. All accompanied by that sound, by that laugh.

He stumbled. The Winter Soldier actually stumbled. “No.” He groaned, closing his eyes tightly and rubbing them with his palms. Another image, accompanied by a feeling. Warmth, elation, safety. Still faceless, but all real and true.

“I’m gonna go, I’ll see you tonight.” He heard her say into the phone. “I love you.”

His heart pounded. Loud, rhythmic thumping in his chest and ears. Another picture floats into his mind...

It’s you.

It comes in flashes at first, like the shuttering of an old film. In a bed, with him. You’re saying the exact same words while you stroke his beard. “I love you, Bucky. I love you.”

Bucky? Who the hell is Bucky? He thinks.

He’s a few steps from you now, four at most. Then he smells something else, something he recognizes immediately—it’s you.

Another chord struck within him, another memory invading the assassins mind.

“James, I cant do this anymore! You leave for days on end, and I never know if I’ll see you again.” You cried.

“Sugar, I’ll always come home to you. I promise.” He reaches for you and pulled you in closed, inhaling your scent.

“What if you don’t? What if they find you?” Tears coat your cheeks.

He shook his head, “No one can keep me from you. No one, I’ll always come back, I’ll always find you.”

You sniffle agains his chest, tightening your grip on him like you’re afraid he’ll float away. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t, doll. You won’t.”

He shakes his head. “Stop it.” He curses to himself, but it was too late. You’d heard him.

It’s was like everything moved in slow motion. You turned around, eyes wide, like you were staring at a ghost.

“J-J...Bucky?” You call, almost in disbelief at your own words.

He was frozen, you—whoever you were, weren’t supposed to know him. He doesn’t even know himself, why would you?

“No.” He said roughly.

You shook your head and looked down. “They got you. They got you and now you’re here for me.”

“Yes.” What more could he say? 

You look back to him, piercing eyes boring into his, “Will it hurt?”

The soldier looked confused, “Will what hurt?” He asks.

You sniffled, “When you kill me, James.”

A punch to the gut. That’s what your words felt like...why? Why did they feel this way? You were a target, a mission. Just another mission.

He swallowed hard. “No.”

And he means it. It will be quick, he’d make sure of it. You weren’t made for suffering, and by the circles under your eyes, you’d been suffering enough.

You nod, accepting your fate, and close your eyes. Bucky takes a step towards you.

“Now, Tony! Now!” You shout, eyes still closed.

Before he knew what was happening, he was grabbing at the sharp pain stinging in his neck.

The last thing he saw was your face, then the world went black.

The beeping wakes him.

Looking down, Bucky sees the wires and tubes connected to the machine next to him.

A hospital. He thinks.

Scooting back, he groans as the muscles that surely haven’t been used for a while protest, and ache.

He tossed his head back against the pillow.

Remember. Remember something...anything.

“You’re awake.”

The melody of your voice brings an immediate calm to him. He sits up, ignoring the pain.

“Relax, you must be hurting. Here,” you held out the cup, “Drink this, it’ll help.”

He looked from you to the mug for a moment, hesitating.

You sigh, putting it in his nightstand, then placing a hand over his. “You’re safe here, Bucky. I promise.”

And he believes you.

“Wh-where am I?” He asks, a voice sounding like he’s swallowed gravel.

You once again hand him the mug, and he sips it eagerly. Tea. He thought. I like tea.

“You’re at a facility in Upstate New York.” You said calmly.

“Why...how did I get here?” He rubbed his eyes with his free hand.

“You needed help. You were being held hostage by HYDRA. Tony...Tony Stark helped me find you. He helped me save you, Buck.”

Stark. Stark. Stark...Howard Stark. December...cold. A crash, the accident...the blood.

“No one here is going to hurt you. They’re helping you, I swear it. They’ve been helping me look for you for the last five years, they never stopped.” Your voice was shaking now. “Dr. Banner developed something, you’ve been sedated for about a week. He’s hoping it will fill the gaps in your memory. A serum of sorts.”

Great. Bucky thinks, Just what I need, another serum.

“And you?” He asked softly, not wanting to upset you more. “Who are you?”

You let out a defeated sigh, he watched you, seeing the pain on your face. Before you could speak, he cut you off.

“I know you, or...my mind knows you. My body. I have all these memories filled with your face. Who are you...to me?”

You look a bit more relieved. “I...I’m...it’s hard to explain—“

James put his hand over yours this time. “Try me, Doll.”

Doll. It came out so naturally, and without inhibitions that it didn’t take a brainiac to know who you were. Not wholly, but he felt it.

He saw the goosebumps on your skin, “I’ve loved you forever, James Buchanan Barnes. There was a time you loved me, too.”

Bucky felt a warmth spread through his chest. It climbed his throat, invading his brain and bursting into fireworks of memories. All vivid and sparkling and bright.

Your name comes out as a whisper at first; so soft you truly didn’t know if you’d imagined it.

You nod frantically. “Yes. Yes, that’s me, baby. That’s me.” You sit next to him, and cup his face in your hands.

He closed his eyes tightly, willing the information to show up.

“Sokovia...they got me in Sokovia. I didn’t...I didn’t keep my promise.” James felt his throat tighten.

“Wh-what promise?” You asked. He opened his eyes and saw the tears pooling in yours.

“I didn’t come home to you. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Sugar.” James cried. For the first time in years, he was crying...feeling.

He knew he loved you. That much was clear. His mind was still in shambles and he knew that too.

“Yes you did. You found me again, I’ve been on HYDRA’s radar for years trying to get them to send you after me. I knew you were coming for me, so I had everything on standby waiting to get you out of there.” You were proud of yourself, he heard it in your voice. Hell, he was proud of you too.

Bucky sniffled, “My girl took down HYDRA. Damn, I’m a lucky son of a bitch.” He laughed.

Your hand cupped his cheek, the warms bringing so much comfort to him. “I love you, Buck.”

Bucky cupped your face in return, “I love you, too.”

He was nervous, but he leaned in anyway. The kiss was soft and gentle. The feeling of the two of you melding into one was more familiar than anything.

When you pulled away, Bucky kissed your closed eyes. Something he remembers doing a thousand times before.

“What do we do now?” He asked.

“Steve’s on his way. I have a feeling we’re going on a bit of a trip.” You say smiling.

Bucky smiles, grateful he remembers Steve. “A trip? Where to, Doll?”

You smirk and kiss his nose. “To see another old friend of yours—in Wakanda.”

[yeahimaloser]

Cutie 2

Hawks x shy!reader

Ok, so I wanted to make a part 2 of Cutie bc a lot of people really liked it!

But I didn’t think it had any spice, so here it is!! (just fluff tho nothing more :))

no pronouns mentioned!

Warnings: kidnappings

please enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You shuffled against your boyfriend Hawks, also known to you as Keigo, trying to get out of his grasp. But he just groaned against you. He was snuggling up against you in bed, being the little attention hog he is.

“Mmmm, babeeee don’t leave,” he held your waist tighter and nuzzled his face into your neck as your back was pressed up against his chest.

You were glad he couldn’t see your expression because of how flustered you were. “Keigo, we need to go to work.”

You wiggled a little bit more out of his grasp in order to turn and look at him. You cupped his cheek, making him hold tighter to you.

You and Keigo had been dating for a year now. And the both of you we’re so happy together.

...but no one else knew.

It was mostly for his job, but also for your safety as well. 

No one in the office knew ethier, in fact Keigo acted like he didn’t even know you. But that was mainly because you asked him, you didn’t want any special treatment from him. 

That being said, when you had to drop off some documents to him in his office he would give you a few quick kisses before you left. But besides that, Keigo was an amazing actor.

“Kei-”

This morning Keigo seemed particularly handsy. His hands ran circles on the sides of your waists, kissing down your neck.

“Y/n, as your boss it’s your job to stay in bed and cuddle with me.”

You gave a little giggle, “Kei, I love you a lot, but we really need to leave.”

At this, Keigo groaned.

“Lets just take off work,” he said, “I promise to make it up to you, I'll make breakfast~.” 

You looked away from his face, “No Kei, p-please just let me go.” You didn’t mean to stutter, it would just come out when you were embarrassed.

But to this, Keigo just groaned, “Then stop being so damn cute. Do you realize how hard it is to stop cuddling you when you get all flustered like that?”

This just made you more flustered.

Keigo looked at the time and growled, “Damn, ok,” he said letting go of you, “you win, we should probably go.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and Keigo had fingered out a system in order for you two to arrive at different times.

It was quite simple, he would fly as you took the bus.

Keigo actually told you that sometimes he wished you two would go public with your relationship so he could escort you to the office himself.

When you finally walked through the doors, you felt something hot poor down the front of your shirt. 

“Y/n! I’m so sorry!”

You told your co-worker you were ok, but your clothes weren't. The coffee would probably make stains on your clothes.

“Do you just want to go home and get something?” your co worker asked. “You’ll have to ask Hawks first, but he' a good guy. I'm sure he’ll be fine with letting you go home or something.”

You nodded, making your way to Hawkses office. You gave a light knock.

“Come in.”

After you entered and he saw you, Hawks seemed very concerned, “Are you ok? Did it burn you? If it did I’m ok with you going home for the rest of the day. Lemme take a look-”

“Keigo,” you said, giggling a little. Keigo was always a little protective of you, but you thought it was adorable. “I’m fine, really, I think I have an extra sweater,” you gave him a little kiss on his cheek, “But thank you honey.”

He just chuckled, pulling you into him, “You're so cute, you know that?” The embarrassed look on your face made his smile brighten.

He gave you a small kiss, and then you left.

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

If you thought your day couldn’t get worse, you were wrong.

Apparently one of your coworkers got sick, and the paperwork he needed to fill out needed to be signed by today. And for whatever reason, you got handed the job.

This was the one time Keigo wished he could use his power to make your life easier, but he knew better.

That being said, he pulled you away for a second to talk to you.

“Love bird, I’m so sorry. If I could, I would help you-”

You sighed, but smiled at him, “Kei, just go home and make something to eat. I'llI'll be home before you know it,” you ran your hand through his hair, “ok?”

He smiled and kissed your cheek, he chuckled at your flustered face, “Baby, we’ve been dating for a long while now. How are you not used to me kissing you?”

You shook your head, “J-just go home! I n-need to go to work,” but Hawks just chuckled in your ear, “Ok honey. I love you.”

You smiled, “I love you too.”

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

You thought that this wouldn’t take as long as it did.

But here you are, 2 hours in and all you wanted to do was go home to Keigo and cuddle with him while eating chicken and watch bad movies.

But, you had to get this done. You just had a few more documents to get into and then you would be done.

That was until you heard a loud crash.

Now, you were all by yourself. No one else was in the building, so needless to say you were scared.

Your first thought was to call Keigo and tell him that your concerns. But you decided against that, he was probably so tired and most likely it was nothing. Something probably dropped.

So you went to investigate.

You wished you hadn’t.

When you turned the corner to check on the sound, you saw 3 villains.

They all turned to look at you, and you tried to run but one of them got to you first.

“Awww shit, I thought you said no one was going to be here,” the one who caught you said.

“No one was supposed to be,” the bigger villain said, “The agence was supposed to be empty.”

You struggled against the villains grip, but he just held you tighter.

“I wouldn’t do that. Hey, I got an idea. Lets just use this dumbass as a hostage!”

The rest of the villains agreed.

All you wanted to do was run home to Keigo, for him to comfort you and tell you everything would be ok.

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

Keigo was getting worried about you.

It had been hours, and you weren’t home.

Keigo tried to calm himself by watching TV, but someone decided to call him.

He checked the caller ID to see it was his sidekick. He was confused, why was his sidekick calling him so late? He had the night off.

“Hello?”

“Hawks sir! Someone broke into the agency! And it looks like they have a hostage!”

Keigo’s mind went blank, he knew that only one person was left in the agency. You. 

He quickly got his hero costume on, and was out the door under in a few minutes. He flew into the night sky, going as fast as his wings could carry him.

Keigo wouldn’t lie, he was terrified. You were his salvation, his whole world, if anything happened to you…

He shook his head, he couldn’t think about that. He just needed to get to you.

When he finally landed to assess the situation, he wanted to run in and kick the shit out of anyone who hurt you. But he strained himself, he needed to assess the information. He needed to calm down, he needed to find you and save you.

“Hawks sir!” his sidekick made his way over to him, “The coworker is still insi-”

Hawks cut him off, “I’m aware, what are you doing about it? '' his tone was cold, but he couldn’t care. You were the only thing that was important to him at that moment.

“No sir, we didn’t want to move in until you got here,” his sidekick informed.

Hawks thought for a minute “Ok, here's the plan…”

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

You were so scared.

The only reason you weren’t losing your mind, was because you knew Keigo would come and save you.

But that didn’t help you calm down. 

“Did you make the demands yet,” one of them asked the other two.

“Yup,” the bigger one said, “the only thing they asked for was the hostage unharmed.”

“Well, I th- AHHHHHH!”

Your head shoots up to look at your captured scream, only to see your amazing hero boyfriend instead.

Hawks quickly finished off the other villains as well, tieing them up and knocking them out.

You’ve never seen him this mad in your life, but once his eyes turned towards you, he immediately softed.

“Hey baby, it’s ok,” he quickly untied you, and as soon as he did he enveloped you in a hug. He wiped the tears off your cheeks, you didn’t even remember crying.

“I’m here dove. I’m so sorry, I-I flew as fast as I could. But it wasn’t fast enough.” He kissed your face trying to calm you down, but all you could do was cry and cling to him.

He took a deep breath, “Sweetheart, I need you to stand up ok? I need to get you checked for any cuts or… deeper wounds,” Hawks sounded down right pained, you could tell he was worried about you. You just sobbed harder.

“I-I’m O-ok, j-just wanna g-go ho-home,” Keigo messaged your back, he looked so upset. He knew that he had to get you to the paramedics first, but all he wanted to do was go home with you and cuddle you to death. Tell you everything was going to be ok, tell you he would protect you with his life.

But his logical side took over, he needed to be rational.

“Love bird, we need to get you checked. I have dinner all made and I’ll run you a nice warm bath when we get home. But you have to do this one thing for me. Ok?”

You just nodded, tears still running down your cheeks.

Hawks helped you out of the building, being as gentle as he could.

After getting you checked and having the villains arrested, Keigo took you home.

As he promised he practically did everything for you. Made you dinner, ran a nice bath, he even offered to feed you.

You could tell how badly he was feeling, “Kie r-really, I’m o-ok,” you tried to stop the nervous stutter but you couldn’t.

But Keigo still felt like his heart was bursting into a million pieces. “My love, all I want is for you to feel safe again. I don’t think I can forgive myself for this, so please just let me pamper you.”

You looked down at your feet, “Kei, really it’s not your fault-”

“But it is,” when you looked back up at him, he looked so distraught. “It is my fault, I should have stayed with you. Or at least checked up on you,” Keigo grabbed your hand, “what kind of hero would I be if I can’t even protect the one I love? I-I thought you could be hurt, and I’m so glad you wernt love bird.” His eyes were casted downwards.

He sounded so… sad.

Before he could say anything more, you leaned into him and gave him a kiss.

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

When you kissed him, he felt his whole body melt into yours. The softness of it all was so tender and sweet. He leaned more into you, hungry for your love. He wanted to feel your love and warmth, he needed it. It was practically intoxicating. The way you shyly squirmed under his grasp, the way you kissed him to let him know how much you loved him.

He wanted it

But you ran out of breath, so you tried to pull away.

But Keigo wasn’t letting you, not yet.

He just needed your tenderness, your softness. Just for one second more.

But he let you go, and he took a shaky breath.

“Sorry about that honey, I probably should have let you pull away,” he said nervously.

Your face was just so cute. Your embarrassed expression, your heart achingly soft eyes, everything about you was adorable.

“It’s ok Keigo, really, I just want you to feel better,” you stroked his face, he put his hand over yours.

“I should be the one conferting you dove,” Keigo said, giving you a sad smile, “I should be your hero. I want you to feel protected and safe, and I failed.”

“Keigo, I’m still scared. But you're with me, and I know that you’ll always protect me. And,” you looked down at your feet, “Maybe I can help protect you too.” You gave him the sweetest smile that made him almost burst into tears just because of how full of love his heart was.

He pampered your face with millions of little kisses, “God dove, I’m so lucky to have you. Thank you.”

But you gave him a shy look, “o-oh, Kei,” you stuttered. “B-but I should thank you too. You amazing Keigo, I love you so much. Everyday I-” you stopped, just for a minute, “I want  to be happy with you. I’m so glad that I found you, e-even though I get so shy and anxious you always make me feel loved. Do I want you to feel that way too! Because you deserve it.”

A tear slipped from Keigo’s eyes.

You quickly wiped it away, “Keigo! I’m sorry, did I say something bad? I’m sorry, I just-”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Keigo kissed you, but this time it was more rough and passionate. Full of need and want, he wanted you, he needed you.

You kissed back harder, trying to tell him how much you wanted him too.

After dating Keigo for as long as you have, you thought you’ve seen it all with him.

But you realized you were wrong. 

You had never felt him this needy.

His lips felt like they needed you to tell them how much you cared. He ran circles down your sides, cradling your body.

He pulled away, “I love you so much, my cutie.”

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

hehe, I hope I did ok!

Also master-list should be uploaded tomorrow!

[goth-girlfriend]

okay, but mirio with a crush/friend that’s in 1a? like the reader is lowkey a bit more shy and quiet and everyone thinks their dating.

I SQUEALED, I LOVE IT 😭🥰

🤍🤍🤍💛💛💛💙💙💙💛💛💛🤍🤍🤍

The first you saw this boy, he was at the front of your class, smiling, and you made eye contact. Your eyes widened, and you forced your eyes closed gripping at your skirt and you ducked your head. The words leaving his mouth didn’t make it to you, but his laugh, it was more than enough to make you blush and avert your gaze to anything other than the boy in question. Now, being this way, wasn’t much different from how you usually acted. You completely collapsed on the sideline the moment his clothes fell off when he challenged your class, luckily your stoic friend to be questioned was there to help you stand up.

You didn’t dare approach the grounds where he took your class out one by one, you were amazed by his strength and the story he told you. Inspired really but, the shell you were in held you in tight and you weren’t exactly determined to break out, so like a starved man to a king crab, Mirio took a liking to your shy personality and wanted to help you the same way he’d helped his friend Amajiki. Slowly he approached you outside of class or in luck with a smile and wave, and sheepishly you’d wave and smiled with a whisper of a greeting back. It wants until one day you found him while taking out the trash.

*********

“Hey!” I screamed and fell back the bags of trash I was just hugging fell scattering on the floor as I struggled to breath normally looking at the wall to see the face or Mirio, “Sorry if I scared ya!” He stepped out I sighed.

“Oh, it’s fine,” I whispered looking down feeling heat spread to my cheeks I install felt vulnerable.

“Let me help you!” I watched as he picked up some of the bags I’d struggled to carry.

“Ah, thank you.” I nodded and stood up, he definitely still towered me, we walked in silence, I was a bit fidgety, until he spoke up.

“L/n?” I turned to see him staring at me already, I snapped my head away.

“Y-yeah?” I asked looking down at the floor.

“Let me walk you to class tomorrow, I’d like to get to know more about your quirk. You remind me of a friend and I think I know exactly how I can help you! But I don’t have much time so the morning are better if your free?” I blinked a few times, feeling the heat on my cheeks intenseify.

“I-uh,” you shook you head, “y-yeah, thatd be great.” You lied, honestly, you don’t how great this would be, Mirio Togata, a BOY, you struggled to talk to boys you didn’t like now him? Someone who you think you might fancy? ‘This is gonna be terrible if can’t get a word out!’

“Great! I’ll come by the dorms tomorrow and then we can head to breakfast!” He smield as we finally stoped and threw the bags into the large bins.

“Yeah,” I nodded with a smile, “I’ll see you then.”

“Don’t say bye now (l/n), I still have to walk you back to the dorms! What kind of hero would I be if I let a lady walk herself back in the dark.” He smiled brightly, and I felt like I should’ve shirked my eyes, the sun, he definitely shines brighter than the sun.

We made our way silently to the dorm buildings in silence, I fidgeted with my fingers and the hem of my skirt, I was dying both internally and externally. We stopped at the door and I sighed, and turned to Mirio, he smiled and I smiled, I HAVE TO SAY SOMETHING A THANK YOU AT LEAST DO IT NOW COWARD!

He turned to walk away and I screamed “Mirio!” He turned around a bir shocked looking, “Thank you for walking with me...” I whispered and could hardly manage to look up at him.

His face changed to a gentle smile, “No problem, I enjoyed our talk,” he gave a small wave, “I’ll see you in the morning (l/n).”

“Y/n,” I mumbled. “Hm?” He hummed, “Call me y/n.”

“Alright then y/n,” he faced me completely and tilted his head closing his eyes as he smiled, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning.”

I gave nod and a small awkward wave as he laughed and turned to leave, sadly I didn’t know I was being watched. I enetered and let out a heavy shaky breath, that was a lot of effort. I made it to my dorm door and was stopped by Minas Pink hand grabbing my wrist, “Tell me everything.”

***********

I got ready in the morning, having been kept up all night by Mina as she squeezed everything out of me, my feelings, what happened, what I was going to, what I was going to wear, I don’t exactly have much of choice considering it’s STILL a school uniform. I made my way down the building to the front door where Mina was standing with my bag.

“Don’t take your bag! Carry a book! If he’s a real gentleman he’ll offer to carry it! I’ll take your bag for you!” She shoved a my English book and notebook into my hands, I felt myself start to shake.

“Mina!” I whined, “It’s nothing! I promise!” I felt like crying.

“Just try it please! Entertain my ships, Kaminari isn’t doing to good with my plans pLEASE!” She begged.

“Okay,” I gave in quickly and took the books rushing out before she started crying.

I ran straight into Mirio, “so hard,” I mumbled feeling plastered against his chest. He hands touched my shoulder and moved me back a little, “Are you okay y/n?”

I flushed and looked down, “Oh! Yeah.” I mumbled, why did I say my first name yesterday?!

“Well let’s get going then!” We started to walk and it wasn’t long until it came, “Do you need help? You don’t look to comfortable carrying those!” He said and took my books befor I answered, “thank you, my bag, was... being held hostage so I ended up carrying my books this morning.”

He laughed and I smiled, “That’s a weird one.” I smield slightly feeling a bit comfortable.

The weeks passed slowly, every morning meeting with Mirio, he’d carry my books we’d eat breakfast and talk briefly about my quirk, and that lasted the first day, after that he just started talking to me the rest of the week telling me stories about himself during breakfast and the walk to class. I found myself smiling meow openly and being able to look at him, every now and then I still looked away and get flustered at just his bright smile. That wa sinful one day I bumped into someone while we walked to my class.

“Watch where your going idiot!” I stepped behind Mirio and held his hand with both of my knees weak and shaking.

“Mirio,” I whispered tears stinging my eyes as the guy got closer glaring at me as I moved further behind Mirio.

“Hey!” He smacked a hand on the shoulder of the guy, “We don’t wanna cause any trouble! I’m sorry my friend here bumped into you.” He smiled and the guy just scoffed.

“Whatever just make your girlfriend watches where she walks.” He turned and left and I sighed still squeezing his hand.

“Thanks Mirio.” I didn’t want to let go.

“No problem, now let’s get you to class, but you should watch where your going.” He said and brought his free hand to pay my head.

We got to class, my knees still a little weak, as he stood by the door, he waved at Midoriya and I didn’t let go of his hand, I clung, I couldn’t fight the feeling of comfort I got from holding his hand. He pulled me to the door, “Clas is starting soon you should get to your seat.”

He smiled and I nodded looking up at him, another cliche blush on my cheeks, “Right,” I nodded. “I’ll come by for lunch.” He called as he leaned into the classroom and disappeared. I felt the stares boring into me before Mina said it, “SO IS IT OFFICIAL?”

I tilted my head, “What?”

“You WERE HOLDING HIS HAND!” She shook me by the shoulders.

“It’s kinda obvious,” Denki shrugged in his seat, “What’s obvious?” I asked.

“That’s you two are dating dumbass.” My face went blank at Bakugo’s words.

“Dating?” I asked and looked at Mina, “YES!” She screamed.

“No, were not I j-” and class started.

***********

For the next two months I found myself being freed from the shell that held my captive, I smield more and laughed with Mirio, and my heart, always felt calm and content hearing his terribly cheesy jokes, but it didn’t change the fact that when it came to talking I was a mess, I couldn’t make eye contact and I speaking became more than just a chore.

But here we are, walking the trail behind the school around evening, “hey y/n, you’re a girl.”

“Mm, yes, I am.” I answered looking ahead at the sunset, “So how do girls like getting love confessions? In public? private? Letter? Out loud? Because there’s this girl, I didn’t know when, but I think I fell in love with her.” My heart sank, it’s probably Nejire... “We started off as friends, and I don’t know when but know when I talk to her it’s the highlight of my day, her smile, her laugh.” Definitely sounds like Nejire... “I don’t know how she does it but now I feel like if she leaves my life, it’ll be like the sun will never coming back up.”

“Oh, well,” I shrugged feeling a bit bitter, “Most girls like letters usually in private, something to keep, but honestly, even with the way I am, I’d love to get a vocal confession infront of someone, I feel like it shows their not afraid to say it or prove it.” I shrugged.

“Huh, that’s great advice,” he pat my head and smield, “I’ll keep that in mind.

***********

Another month passed and Mirio kept me company on the walks to school, class, lunch, breakfast, dorms and everywhere else he could squeeze in. The time we spent together started to add up and I can see why people thought we were dating especially my class that saw all of this happening, as this point I couldn’t deny it, I could but they wouldn’t believe me anyways. I sigehd day dreaming about what a love confession would feel coming from someone who genuinely meant it.

I tried to pay attention in class but I couldn’t, Midnight definitely caught on to this having called me out three times. Each time I was scolded and teased by Mina about day dreaming of my ‘boyfriend,’ sadly, I couldn’t say he was. I was deflated, defeated feeling when I watched him walk to my class with Nejire, beside him, “y/n! I hope you don’t mind Nejire is joining us!” He smield and I smield back feeling weak.

“No problem, the more the merrier right?” I lied.

We spent lunch eating, they talked and I just poked around at my food, I didn’t give much thought on the conversion until I noticed Mirio stepping into his chair and then the table. He smield and got everyone’s attention before he started, “I want everyone to know this!” He screamed.

“Right now, I’m about to tell the most beautiful girl in my eyes that I love her I want everyone to know that I’m not afraid or ashamed to do it!” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, Nejire looked up at him stars in her eyes. I sulked looked down at my food, feeling a familiar sting in my nose.

“Every morning I wake up and the first thing I do is think about your smile, and your laugh, you always seem full of life and I love that about you. The way fidget when your anxious and the way you cling to me when your anxious or nervous always make me feel like I could be so much better than hero. Our endless conversations and the time we’ve spent together never leave me. When I always feel like I’m at my lowest or to the point of defeat I remember your smile and encouraging words and I know I have so much more to fight for. I love the way you smile, the way your eyes shine when you let the passion flow. This might be embarrassing especially infront of everyone here but I wouldn’t do it any other way, I want everyone to know how much I love you, and care for you, so,” he paused, “Nejire,” I felt the tears drop and looked straight down, I heard Mina gasping and then curing along with a few recognizable mumbles from my class mates.

“Please move so I can’t get to y/n.” I got whiplash form how fast I looked up at him, he saw the tears in my eyes his face softened, he whispered a she jumped down, “y/n?” He took my face in his hands thumbs wiping the tears, “Will you be my girlfriend.”

I smield as tears feel and his eyes widened, “Mirio,” a shaky breath, “Id love to.” He smield and crushed me in a hug, I hugged his chest and felt him kiss the top of my head.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, “you can cry if you want to, I’ll be here for you always.” He rubbed my back and I just smiled against his chest letting the tears fall.

“I don’t know when I fell for you, but I know, I’d never change it.” He whispered.

“I love you,” I mumbled, “and your cheesy jokes.”

He laughed and I could feel smield as he squeezed a bit harder, “good because I never run out.”

💛💙💙🤍🤍💛💛💙💛💛🤍🤍💙💙💛

I hope you like it 🖤

[magioftheseas]

Sonia & Yasuke

Summary: Sonia Nevermind’s FTEs in the SDR2 Protagonist Matsuda Yasuke AU. FUCK YES. A slightly divergent take on the originals.

Rating: PG

Warnings: Language. Brief discussions of cults and kidnapping.

Notes: Sonia was neck and neck with Tanaka for the poll and I was going to do hers soon anyway, so I just went ahead. Sometimes, life just shakes out that way. I really do love Sonia so much. The bias is strongest for Sonia, so I really hope I did her justice. Only the best for our kween. (Btw, the formatting for this couldn’t fully carry through so some stylistic choices on Ao3 are absent here.)

Read this fic among others HERE

Main story is HERE

Commission? Donate?

He supposed he had been in an antsier mood than usual. In one hand, he read his manga. In the other, he played with and twirled around a pen. He’s practiced enough that he doesn’t need to look. It’s just something for his other hand to do. Something that would, ideally, work off some jitters.

He had almost been too worked up to read. Unfortunately, he’s still having a hard time trying to get into the book. He can’t tell if it’s because the story is dragging itself or because he’s just not in the right headspace. What a nuisance.

He catches the pen between his knuckles, tapping the end against the table. A surprised gasp. A round of applause. Matsuda glances over his book to meet the beaming face of a certain princess. Even in a hotel this cafeteria this tacky, she shone like a precious jewel.

What a nuisance. Except—

“So impressive, Matsuda-san!” she squealed. “You truly have fury skillz, yo!”

I guess of all the people here, she’s the most tolerable.

“Impressive, huh,” he mused. “I could probably twirl a scalpel, too.”

“Ooh!” Sonia clasped her hands. “Matsuda-san! Will you perform?!”

“No.” He shook his head. “I’m not going to risk cutting my fingers just to show off. I’ll twirl the pen some more.”

“Oh, I understand...” Quieting, Sonia still watched him twirl with intent eyes. It’s like he’s center stage at an opera house. Sonia hums and her fingers even twitch along. “Matsuda-san, such talented fingers... I truly do applaud you.”

Matsuda flipped the pen, catching it before it fell to the ground. Sonia let out another gasp and clapped some more, giggling.

“Bravo, bravo!”

Jeez. She’s so likable that it’s sickening.

It’s almost like he wouldn’t have a choice in the matter should the two of them become friends.

I guess...there are worse relationships to be forced into. Even if I already have a headache.

Still, the mood couldn’t help but be lightened whenever Sonia laughed. Scary.

--

His fingers were a bit aching, and holding a cold drink alleviated some of the stinging. Sonia, ever the prim and proper young lady with her mouth shut, simply sipped tea from across the table. The picture of elegance. Even in a cafeteria this tacky.

But it’s not like any location short of the azure sky and sapphire ocean could do someone like her justice.

“This island truly is sublime,” Sonia hummed. “The weather is always so serene, and the ocean is as blue as it is endless! Truly! It’s a perfect resort, wouldn’t you say, Matsuda-san?”

“I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say perfect,” he replied. “There’s a little too much fucking walking. I’m not big on sweating.”

Even if big hospitals had fancier equipment, I still hated having to rush back and forth.

“To be more contained can have its benefits,” Sonia agreed good-naturedly. “Still, I must say I am quite happy with what we have.”

Matsuda hummed right back.

Happy...

“Situation could be better,” he said. “Would really fucking love if we weren’t being held hostage by a homicidal fucking bear.”

“Indeed,” Sonia agreed solemnly. “Quite regrettable.”

Matsuda waited for her to continue, but she merely took another elegant sip. Still the picture of calm. Sonia’s eyes do flicker open and it’s then that Matsuda takes notice of the color. They’re a clear, soft green. It’s a unique shade. One he thinks he’s only seen in...

“As long as no murders take place, everything will be alright,” Sonia spoke with conviction. “What happens next...will depend on our own inclinations and choices.”

I shouldn’t compare them too much.

“That’s a reductive way of looking at it,” he said. “Even if we have the resolve, I don’t doubt that our hands are going to be forced.”

Sonia slammed her cup onto the table. It cracked just the slightest bit.

“Then, we should cooperate with one another so that we can return home as quickly as we can,” she said sunnily. “Matsuda-san, I trust you to tell me any ideas you may come up with. I shall do what I can.”

“Well...” Matsuda directed his stare towards one of the security cameras. “We’d first have to come up with something to do about those.”

“If we simply shattered them, we would get punished severely,” Sonia recalled, lamenting as she did. “We would have to act... And perhaps...”

She dropped into lower mumbles that Matsuda couldn’t make out. Perhaps out of precaution, in case they were being recorded. Matsuda watches her sink deeper and deeper into thought.

Even she can’t be serene and optimistic all the time. She’s still managing better than anyone else here.

“Do you understand, Matsuda-san?” she asked, tone serious. “Or must I repeat myself?”

“If you did, it’d have to be a little louder, so it’d be better if you could write it down discretely and pass it to me later,” he said, sighing. “It’s a little too risky discussing anything out in the open.”

Sonia clapped with glee.

“A handsome remark! This is why I know I can rely on your intelligence and wit, Matsuda-san.” She gave a few nods of approval. “It might be better for our moral to chat amiably for now.” With a dazzling smile, she then inquired, “Is there anything you’d like to ask of me?”

Matsuda blinked at her.

“Not really.” I am curious about one thing. Given the circumstances, it’s best to hold off on that. “What about you?”

“There is something! That I AM quite curious about!” Sonia exclaimed, suddenly excited. “Who has captured your heart? And who do you plan to settle on?!”

Matsuda stared.

“...?”

His head tilted in confusion, so Sonia went on to explain.

“This situation—it is similar to The Summer Story of Seven Men and Seven Women, wouldn’t you say?! The standard practice, then, is to start wavering and swapping partners!”

“The...J-drama?” he asked, no less confused but Sonia was more incited regardless.

“No just the J-drama, the legendary J-drama! The original trendsetter! Starting with an upbeat tone... Before shifting to surprisingly serious!” she swooned. “I couldn’t believe my eyes, and yet I couldn’t look away! Momoko’s feelings...! Wow, so intense!”

“Uh-huh...” Matsuda’s eyes rolled back. “Well... I’m not sleeping with anyone on this stupid fucking island, so it’s not going to be that similar. That, and there are more guys here than girls to begin with...”

“That is true!” Sonia gasped. “Someone will have to be unlucky! I wonder... Who it will be...?”

Didn’t I just say I wasn’t going to...? Not to mention some of the guys flat-out wouldn’t be interested. Although I don’t think that’ll keep someone from being unlucky, huh...

It looked like he wouldn’t get in another word in edgewise.

This still isn’t going to fix the declining birthrate.

At least Sonia seemed to be having a hella time theorizing. Matsuda just let her...do that.

--

“I managed to find a couple of books on Novoselic,” he said, setting the stack of books on the table before a sparkly-eyed Sonia. “Since we don’t have the internet, this was the best I could scrounge up and even then I don’t know if they’re all that accurate.”

“Oh, Matsuda-san, I would have told you anything you needed to know!” She does take one of the books. “That said, I recognize this author. You can trust them! Oh, but this one...” She takes another, frowning. “If I recall... No. You should not trust this one at all. In fact, I would burn every copy of this book.”

“I could kind of tell from the tone,” Matsuda hummed, setting it apart and pushing it far away. Sonia’s frown was still a deep mar on her face. “So, these books are accurate?”

“As I have said, Matsuda-san, I do not mind telling you about my country,” she said, smiling again. “Or! Is this courting? I’m afraid I will have to sadly decline, much as this feels like something out of a J-drama...”

She says while looking disappointed in herself...

“It’s more that I thought you should know what other people are writing about your country,” he said. He paused. “Ah, I guess that was pretty presumptuous of me.”

“Not at all!” Sonia shook her head. “Awareness and control of the media are essential! Not to mention you have informed me of quite the pressed issue! I will have to take care of it when I return...is what a responsible, attentive ruler would say.” She sighed. “Sadly, I will have to inform others and hope for the best.”

She has said in the past that she’s more of a figurehead than a leader.

“That’s a part of being young,” he remarked. “Don’t let it get you down too much. Just prepare for the future to the best of your ability.”

Sonia does giggle at that.

“Matsuda-san... Sometimes, you remind me of the male lead in a J-drama.”

“No comment.”

She laughs again. “In my humblest opinion, the best J-dramas are the ones aimed at women between the ages of 20 to 34. Just before Japan’s economic bubble burst! You would not believe how many times I have seen I Will Arrest Your Eyes! Why, when I first arrived in Japan, the first thing I did was run across the Spain-zaka!”

As fascinating as that all is, what gets my attention is...

“Hold it. Were you calling me mature or were you suggesting that I speak like an old man?”

“You certainly do have a worldly weariness to you, Matsuda-san,” Sonia went on to sigh. “Broody and broken down by life... While it would be attractive on the screen, it is worrisome and exhausting in person.” She perked right back up. “But have no fear! For a fairly dreamy maniac will someday come into your life! And the two of you can partake in the ritual entrapped within the blizzard!”

“I hate the cold,” is Matsuda’s only reply to whatever the fuck all of that was.

“Then when will you cuddle under a blanket in the nude?!” Sonia gasped, aghast. “Will you do so at a different temperature?! Is the blizzard not necessary after all?!”

“First off, you’re referring to a cliché rather than a ritual,” Matsuda said, waving his hand. “Shouldn’t the fact that it was happening during a damn blizzard tipped you off? Not every couple is going to go to the fucking mountains.”

“So...” Sonia quieted. “It is not like the Makango?”

The Makango? Matsuda remembered. Ah, the Makango.

“We don’t have anything like that as far as I’m aware,” he said. “Mind you, I’m...not aware of much...”

Thinking about this gives me a headache. Actually, it really, really fucking hurts right now.

“I see...” Sonia pursed her lips. “So peculiar. Oh!” She blinked, realizing. “Matsuda-san, you look pale.”

“Sorry,” he mumbles, rubbing his forehead with a wince. “I think... I’m gonna check out.”

“You should check out what’s wrong with you!��� she exclaimed. “Do better for yourself, Matsuda-san!”

“...right.”

On that note, there wasn’t anything else to do but stumble out.

--

It’s another calm day at the library. Sonia, however, snaps up immediately when Matsuda walks inside. It’s scary how alert the princess is, but that was probably a good thing considering her situation. Matsuda sighed, waving and taking in how she lit up and eagerly saluted him.

He also takes notice of the book that Sonia had been reading. The cover—looks quite gruesome.

“How are you feeling?” Sonia asked kindly. “You are not in pain, yes? Matsuda-san?”

“I’m doing fine,” he said, stretching as he makes his way over. “I’ve been dealing with headache after headache since I got here, so I’ve gotten used to them.”

“I see,” Sonia murmured, downcast and sympathetic. “I will trust you to your own mechanics.”

“Devices,” Matsuda corrected without thinking as he seated himself. “Anyway, I’ll be reading. Don’t mind me.”

He does pull out a manga he brought with him—the library was just a better environment for reading than the cafeteria hence him making the trip. He cracks it open, but he doesn’t get very long to enjoy it. He gets maybe five minutes before there’s a nudge at his side.

He ignores it, but Sonia elbows him with enough force that he nearly yelps. With a now throbbing side, his gaze drops to see a folded-up piece of paper tucked between Sonia’s delicate fingers. Her nails are perfectly manicured yet polished to give off the illusion of natural beauty.

Hm.

He takes the paper, unfolding it and—

What do you know about the occult?

Sonia is feigning innocence. She’s scarily good at it. If not for the flicker of her intense stare to his, he wouldn’t have suspected a thing. That...and his side still...stings. Seriously the princess had a bony fucking elbow.

“Princess. What the hell is this?”

“Shush!” she ordered and he dutifully shut his mouth without a second thought. Sonia looked around discretely, lowering her voice as she leaned in to whisper into his ear. “Any information you have on cults would also be appreciated, Matsuda-san.”

No, seriously, what the fuck?

He does try to make sense of it. If Sonia felt the need to convey these questions inconspicuously, then, maybe—?

He takes out a pen and writes down his response. He hands it under the table for Sonia to read.

Do you think our kidnappers are part of a cult?

“Oh!” Sonia gasped. “I never thought of that! What a fascinating theory!”

Guuuuuuess not.

“If it just interests you, you don’t have to be so fucking secretive,” he griped. “Just ask me outright like a normal fucking person.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she apologized quickly. “I truly didn’t think the way I was conducting myself was...regal. They pass notes like so in the dramas. Is that not normal behavior, Matsuda-san?”

Oh.

“I...no, actually...” Matsuda shrugged helplessly. “I...guess that is in fact a way high schoolers communicate sometimes...”

I haven’t gone to a normal high school...or a normal middle school for that matter.

“It is quite—unheard of if not prohibited for a princess to have such interests,” Sonia sighed. “But even if it is forbidden, my heart still longs for more when it comes to the subject of Freemasonry! Oh, but it’s purely academic!” She looks quite serious as she insists, “I could never dream of conspiring against the government.”

“A lot of people do find that stuff interesting,” Matsuda said. Sonia lit up only to deflate when he added, “I don’t think it’s that deep.”

“No?” Her head tilted. “You think it...kiddy?”

“In a way,” he admitted. “Cultism comes about through societal failings and instability. Political turmoil, lack of education, paranoia, peer pressure... People long for a sense of community by nature and they’re drawn to a charismatic figure who knows how to prey on the insecure and vulnerable. People just want someone else to tell them what to do, what to think, like fucking children and obviously, obviously, they get taken advantage of by the worst fucking types...”

Sonia’s eyes were wide.

“Oh! Matsuda-san, have you been in a cult before?!”

Matsuda immediately jolted. For some reason, he broke into a sweat. For another, his head hurt so much that he wanted to shut down then and there.

“...Matsuda-san?”

He needed to grip his hand and will them to stop shaking.

“...I... No.” He shook his head firmly, digging his nails into his arm, would’ve raked them through the flesh if not for the sleeve of his coat. “It’s, uh, just something I read one time.”

“You are looking quite pale,” Sonia remarked worriedly. “I apologize, Matsuda-san. I—think we should drop the subject for now. I do not wish to cause you untoward pain any longer.”

She draws back from him as if he’s too fragile to be near. It’s seriously annoying, especially when not only does Sonia look stricken with guilt, she also looks lonely.

“I...” He swallowed. “While I don’t think much of it, I do think it’s important to understand. It isn’t productive to just...dismiss it wholesale.”

Sonia does perk up.

“I agree,” she says, albeit tentative as she does. “To dismiss a different sense of values due to ignorance is foolish. Such ignorance leads to bloodshed. And—it is important for a member of the royal to expand one’s knowledge.”

He nods.

“I just...” He wants to bite his tongue clean off. “I guess it’s a sore subject for me...”

But w̴̟̹̠͐̿̋ḧ̶̟́y̷̘͓͛?

“I understand.” Sonia nodded back. “I apologize.”

“It’s fine,” he said. “Just...do what you can to guide your people right.”

With that, he gets up.

“Sorry,” he said, acting on autopilot now. “I need to go.”

He doesn’t look back.

--

“Oh, Matsuda-san!”

As usual, Sonia looked delighted to see him.

“What a pleasant surprise!” she exclaimed, every word dripping with sincerity. “Come, come! Sit with me! There is much I wish to discuss with you!”

“Yeah?” The closer he comes, the more she can see her stack of books. Quite a few of them have been shoved away, but the other titles—there actually seemed to be a couple of romance novels and recognizable manga. “What about...?”

Those are titles that have been adapted into TV dramas.

“The friendship between men and women as depicted in Turn On The Heart,” she explained. “If you do not know that title, then will a different J-drama suffice? Perhaps one of these?”

She offers one of the manga. Her intentions are clear, and he truly appreciates the gesture—but he’s read that title. It was one of the worst fucking things he ever skipped through. The love interest in it was just scary. And he was a spoiled rich brat. Urgh.

But the princess really isn’t that bad. She’s really trying to get along with me. Not a lot of people have done that unless they wanted in my pants or something.

He’s not so fucking full of himself that he’d assumed a goddamn princess would be interested. That, and he’s conscientious of that shit to begin with. Sonia was just friendly, not flirty.

“I do mostly read manga,” he said. “I guess I could recommend a title or two that’s been adapted?”

I haven’t watched a lot of dramas actually. I’ve had them going on in the background, but that’s...

His sharp eyes do notice the titles that Sonia had pushed away. They were various studies on cults throughout history. And an anthology on ghost stories.

“Matsuda-san.” When Sonia spoke, her tone was low. She stood up and bowed, making him jump. “I wish to sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart! If I could, I’d throw myself at your feet! Alas, it’s improper for a princess...! I’m so fucking sorry!”

“Wow.” He didn’t even know how to respond. “If this is about what happened last time, it’s fine. It’s water under the bridge. I...”

I actually—don’t remember what happened. I ended up taking a lot more pills than I should’ve.

“Still!” Sonia exclaimed, shaking her head. “I asked you a very inappropriate question! It was quite uncouth! Thus—I wish to make out with you for it!”

“You don’t have to do that,” he said, meaning it figuratively and literally. “It’s fine.”

“Are you sure?!” Sonia’s frown deepened. “I... Despite my status, here I would like to be equals, Matsuda-san. Is that not possible?”

Equals, huh.

“When I came to Japan, I thought I could be considered a normal girl,” she said, and it sounded like a confession. “Perhaps...that had been...immature of me.”

It is immature, Matsuda agreed with as he bit his tongue. It’s beyond fucking immature. Even if you learn the language and go along with trends, you live in a fucking castle, Sonia. That’s not normal at all. Normal people are one bad fucking month away from losing everything they care about. It’ll take more than a damn month for a monarchy to topple. Especially one that’s absolute.

“If you insist so much, can I ask you a question?” He studied the way she perked up. How annoyingly eager she was to hear it. And how he—“It’s not going to be a pleasant one.”

“As long as it is about my personal inclinations or government secrets, I am willing to speak about it,” she told him, smiling sweetly.

She really was so painfully sweet sometimes.

Ä̷̮̖͇́̅̅͝ ̷̬̎̽c̴̨̛̥̳̙̔̈̊ͅo̵͕̤͠ṃ̵̻̒ͅp̸̭͕̽͝l̸͍͈͎̀è̶̛̝̫̒͗͝t̸̗͒̂̐e̴̛̳͔̾͐ ̵̧̼̐ô̸̞͇̖͋̽̀́ͅp̵͉̘͗̅̍͝p̴̖̙͑̊̒̆o̸̧͙̹̘̠͂s̴͈̀̕ị̶͇̅͛͝t̶͉͊e̴̲͈̩̫͠ ̴͔̺͔̙͗́̓̓̋f̶̺͂̚͘r̴̛̘̾͝o̶͍̭̯̖͐̐̓͛m̶̳͑̋—̷̱̘̩͙͓̇͒̏̋̉

“This isn’t your first time being kidnapped.”

It hadn’t been a question, despite himself. But a statement. A statement that drained all that sweetness from Sonia’s face, leaving behind calm stoicism. She looks so at ease and unshakeable that Matsuda could draw several conclusions if he wanted to.

But it seems tacky to make assumptions about what were traumatic experiences, regardless of those involved.

“I’ve read up on your country and there were reports of the royal family being abducted by insurgents,” he said, keeping his voice level. “It hadn’t mentioned those affected by name...but you were among them, weren’t you?”

“Yes,” Sonia spoke as if she were untouchable. “I was.”

“No wonder you’re so damn calm about all this,” Matsuda went to remark. “It’s not your first time. And...quite fucking frankly, this is literally the Bahamas of hostage situations.”

“Haha, I do not think we are in the Bahamas, Matsuda-san,” she replied, casual—but still with that flaring distance. “I believe we are in the middle of the Pacific, rather.”

...hah.

“That’s not important,” he snapped. “What was important was... Clearing the air, so to speak.”

“I see.” Sonia agreed with him like he’d kill her if she didn’t. “Then, have I been to your satisfaction, Matsuda-san?”

Matsuda stared at her. He reached out, and she didn’t even flinch. Not even when he snapped his fingers in front of her. Impressive, honestly.

She’s completely shut down.

“Do you want to talk about dramas? I kind of enjoyed Hana-Kimi.”

Sonia blinked, and it was like nothing happened at all. Especially with how she went back to smiling as she always did, dazzlingly open and amicable.

“I haven’t heard of it! Please tell me all about it!”

“If I remember correctly there were like, four adaptations, the first Taiwanese and the most recent a K-drama, actually, so...”

The two of them chat lightly like this for a while. Like a normal pair of high schoolers.

--

“Greetings, Matsuda-san! I have read the illustrious Hana-Kimi! And! I enjoyed it!”

“Good to hear...”

“There is much I wish to discuss about it!” Sonia exclaimed, but there was something strange. Her smile was so wide it looked strained. She was wearing more makeup than usual, especially on her cheeks and around the eyes. “I would also like to hear more recommendations, so...”

“Rough night?” Matsuda asked, and Sonia shut her mouth.

For a second, Sonia looked lost before she gave a weak laugh.

“Ahaha, I should’ve known that Matsuda-san would not be fooled. You’re quite sharp, after all. It’s one of the reasons I admire you.”

“Did you want me to pretend nothing was wrong?” Matsuda huffed. “I’d rather you not have to force yourself around me. With how shitty my attitude is, I’d be a hypocrite if I expected everyone on their best behavior....especially in this situation.”

“Truth be told, I do not mind it,” Sonia murmured. “In a way... I find it refreshing. Around Matsuda-san, I can just scream at the top of my lungs—Jesus Fucking Christ Bastard Of A Fuckity Fuck Bitch! And you wouldn’t bat a tongue-lash!” She took a deep breath. “That said...if we are to discuss further. I’d prefer we do so in my cottage.”

“Fine by me,” was Matsuda’s immediate response. That was all there was to it.

Without another word, he followed Sonia to her cottage. She led him inside, and the interior was so fancy that he felt like he’d be stoned if he didn’t remove his shoes right away.

Polished floors, elegant rugs, ivory silk sheets, and plush furniture—even a damn chandelier hanging about them... It at least looked like the inside of a high-end hotel suite. Even the way plants were arranged from the ones hanging from the wall to the potted plant in the corner and the vase on the table by a wide-screen television felt so prestigious and artful.

“Would you like a seat?” Sonia asked, indicating a loveseat that definitely costed more than he could get selling his ass on the street for a week. He sits down on it anyway. It’s annoying supple, and he can’t help but relax. Sonia is giggling at him, “I apologize for any messes. I am still getting a handle on cleaning as it were. And the shower.”

The rug had been a little damp under his feet. She must’ve accidentally flooded the floor. He should probably help her wash it so that it didn’t contract mold, but... There were more pressing matters.

Sonia clearly wanted to speak to him, but she was just standing there. Fidgeting and wavering.

“Nightmare?” he guessed. “Homesickness?”

“Both,” Sonia replied, chuckling a little. “As well as—that conversation we had earlier...weighing on my mind...”

Matsuda clicked his tongue but said nothing. Gave Sonia the time to take a deep breath.

“Back then, I was not permitted to show fear for my people’s sakes,” she recounted. “I was, after all, a princess before a person. But here... I do not know what I should do. Must I wait in silence for rescue? Shall I allow myself to scream and cry?” She was fidgeting. No, she was trying to distract herself from how badly her hands were shaking. “Say, Matsuda-san... You are...quite intelligent. And you never—you do not sweet talk. Tell me...what I should do.”

Matsuda stared at her. She kept her head bowed.

“Fuck if I know.” Matsuda sighed loudly. “Like holy shit, why you think I’ll know what to do? That’s illogical as fuck. You’re just being a coward by forcing someone else to make the decisions, princess.”

“I am aware,” she whispered.

“I’m not Togami,” he said. “I’m not going to seize control and tell everyone that it’s going to be fine. I’m...”

...not going to lie about that shit.

“I thought not.” Sonia laughs again. It’s almost an ugly sound. Scratchy and unbalanced, completely unbefitting and yet—perfect in this situation. “Matsuda-san, you may have the signals of a legendary hero... But, in reality, your scowling face is too remarkable.”

...

...

...

...

...

...

What the fuck did that even mean?

“The legendary hero of legend,” Sonia reiterated with the utmost seriousness. “The only fault with that—is your face, Matsuda-san! It’s not just remarkable, it’s beautiful!”

What the FUCK is she talking about?

“I would still like to take you with me to my kingdom, once we escape from here,” Sonia went on. “Even if you are not a destined one, you would make for a wonderful advisor and companion. I wish to continue our conversations—and even if it is cowardly, I also wish to look towards you in times of need.”

What the fuck is going on?!

“I...” He’s confused. He’s so hopelessly confused. And yet... And yet... “I heard the medical practice in your country is nothing to sneeze at...so I can’t deny being interested.”

“Splendid! Then—let us continue working together, Matsuda-san!” Sonia clapped her hands. Another dazzling smile, an even more radiant laugh. Just like that, she was back at peak princess. “Ho, ho, hey!”

“Hey, hey, ho...”

Despite that, there’s a lot unsaid. We haven’t really talked, either. We’re just pushing on with forced optimism, filling our heads with empty reassurances and promises in the hope that it’ll be enough to carry us through.

It could very well be. In a situation like this, keeping ahold of one’s morale was pretty fucking prudent. Even if he and Sonia knew shit all about how to lead, they had no choice but to keep stumbling and scrambling. Hoping for the best.

Sometimes... That’s all we really need.