#i mean also once he gets his memories back he’s a hundred years older than he is physically

[boydykedevo]

Rotating Taagnus ethersea au and i guess since elves don’t really exist in ethersea Taako would be a human… (I’d still give him the ears tho if Devo gets halfelf ears it’s only fair)

I’m just trying to think how old I want him to be. I guess the question is whether I’m thinking IPRE ages or BoB ages, like if Mags is 20 or 32. Cuz if he’s 20 Taako’s a couple years older. But if he’s 32 they’re around the same age

[teriri-sayes]

Reactions to Young Master Shield's Chapter 210

TL;DR - GoD agrees with Cale. Sui and CJS versus the wanderer. The wanderer warns Cale. Cale's shield legend returns and he says the iconic line.

GoD Suspects Wanderers Too The reason why GoD left Cale's message on read was because he immediately began a secret investigation on all wanderers and their locations once he read Cale's message. He and CJS also support Cale's speculation that the Five-Colored Bloods were wanderers.

CJS Goes Flying Again There was a scene where Alberu questioned CJS about the wanderer. CJS had replied that it was an enemy and he was not allies with that wanderer. Alberu left to handle the situation, but not before warning CJS to not be reckless and cause trouble.

To be honest, I was confused with that scene. Was Alberu doubtful of CJS because he was a wanderer too? Or was it just MTL messing up the translation again? 🤔

Moving on, Sui switched to his bird form and flew straight towards the enemy. CJS followed him, and the three forces clashed. However... CJS got blown away again and fell on a building roof, destroying said roof.

Seriously, why does CJS always get blown away? 🤣🤣🤣 Alberu had warned him earlier to not cause trouble, and here he is, causing property destruction... 😂

Wanderer is Like CH? There was a scene where CH felt that the wanderer's power was similar to his. If you recall, CH's power was black (despair something something) with some white (hope) in it. And the enemy's power was said to be similar to it, though in a more perfected form.

Hmm? So the enemy had the same experience as CH? Okay, hear me out, I have a crazy theory. Is the enemy wanderer perhaps another Choi Han from a parallel world? After all, Cale's world was called Nameless 1, so it isn't strange if there's a Nameless 2 and Nameless 3, right?

The Wanderer and Cale We did not get any physical description of the enemy, except that it was hard to distinguish if their voice was male or female, and that they spoke coldly. The enemy called out Cale's name, asking if it was Cale who killed the Huayans patriarch back in Xiaolen because Cale was the last person the patriarch saw.

So it seems like they have an ability to see people's memories? But how did they do that when the Huayans patriarch did not even leave behind a corpse?

Anyway, the enemy continued, "You of Thames blood. If you want to protect it, meddle not. Your power is only this much." And the enemy proceeded to send an attack to Cale.

Now, I'm confused again on whom the enemy was referring to when it came to protection. Was it the Thames? Or the audience in the academy's plaza? It seemed to be latter based on the flow of their words, but it could also mean that the enemy would go after the Thames if Cale interferes with what they were doing.

The Shield Will Not Break HE SAID IT! HE SAID IT! Okay, Cale did not really, really, really want to say this iconic line (the amount of sentences in the chapter just describing that he did not want to say that line was 🤣🤣🤣), but he had no choice because people were panicking and he had to reassure everyone.

He was also worried because his younger siblings were present today unlike that time in the plaza terrorist bombing incident. Cale was mentally cursing several times while thinking of how to protect his siblings and everyone.

Of course, when he revealed his silver shield to block the enemy's attack (Raon and Alberu also deployed their own shields to assist Cale), everyone was in awe of the shield's beauty. After he said his iconic line of "The shield will not break," the enemy's attack collided with his shield, and... and... AND... IT'S A CLIFFHANGER! AAAAAAAH!!! 😭😭😭

Ending Remarks There wasn't any funny moments today, except if you consider CJS getting blown away for the nth time. 😂 Now, who is that wanderer? CJS said that the enemy was hundreds of years older than him, and seemed stronger, though he did not recognize the enemy.

Anyway, Cale's speech is as good as cancelled. Or maybe not? If you want to write a transcript of it, it would go like this:

"It's a pleasure to meet everyone." "Damn it." "Silence." "Everyone, please be silent." "Don't panic." "The shield will not break."

Well, Cale, your speech is indeed neat and short like you wanted earlier, right? 🤣🤣🤣

[bluesyjean]

TUA hot takes for 'Seven Bells':

The opening with Luther's time on the moon is the standout of the season for him. Love love love that they went deeper into what all those years were like for him. Luther got so much crap for talking about the moon too much, but it was legitimately traumatizing and I'm all for the reminder. Your moon trauma is valid, Luther. Also showcases some of his best acting, please let him be something other than an oaf way more often it's so much more interesting. (Also was extremely into his scene with Reggie at the end and the shock of what happens to Luther. It's Really Great and terrible and I love that they went there. Reggie is on fire this entire episode and I will talk about him more.)

You can be whatever about the Klaus/Ben implications, but it doesn't take away from the fact that Sparrow!Ben finally started getting a personality in these last episodes. I don't ship the siblings but I was happy they were sharing the screen again.

Reggie's response to Viktor saying "Jesus" when he looks out at the incoming apocalypse: "He's due any minute now" is one of my favorite things Reggie has ever said. Colm Feore is a treasure.

Speaking of: the scene with Five and Reggie talking at the edge of the world is So Good. I use this scene in my tumblr layout for a reason. I love this entire exchange; the fascinating dynamic unique to these two characters, how every line has layers of meaning. Reggie calling Five an 'arrogant son of a bitch'. Five's trademark razor smile. I could go on, it's my absolute favorite moment of the season and I could watch it one hundred more times and still find more things to say about them.

I will never get over Five eating cereal an entire box at a time. The little hints at his eating habits have always been consistently weird, what are you.

The way they shot Klaus' final moments in the White Buffalo suite and it fades to white instead of black. The visuals are stunning, it looks like a painting and it will be burned into my memory forever.

The end of s3 was really stellar. Started off strong with 'Footloose' and lost its way for a few episodes, but I was so into this evil hotel situation with the backdrop of the world ending. Once they got back to the core characters it reminded me of all that I love about the show.

...Even if I was a little WTF about 'should we die or not let's take a vote' but I give it a pass. It's this family's nature to disagree, why would that change when they're wondering if they should save the world? (Sidebar: older!Five seriously screwed with Five's head. He's so stuck on himself telling him not to save the world/always being right that he can't move past it.) Allison should not have had to try this hard to get them on board.

[my-head-is-an-animal]

Home Calling

Talos x Original Female Character/Keller x Original Female Character

Chapter 3

Fury would never understand it, he would never really understand why I never wanted to see Keller again. There was a memory I’d buried deep inside me, one even I would have a hard time finding. Something happened that I’d decided was best left alone, forgotten. And I trusted that instinct more than anything.

    Talos was interesting, he was warm and kind. He seemed to be someone who had a lot of things to deal with on the inside. I wondered a lot about him, where he came from and what he was doing here on Earth, but I suspected I would eventually find out.

    That was the problem with this so called gift, at some point, whether intentional or not, I touch everyone. Of course, the only exception as far as I was aware was Keller. I never dared go near him, not for any reason. Fury and Hill had been an accident once, but I buried those memories and refused to access them again, I wasn’t sure if they believed me or not.

    ‘Maybe it’s best you stay here then.’ Talos suggested. ‘If we’re expecting company we don’t want our best player put out of action. We can bring the suspect to a safe location and, as long as you’re okay with it, you can do your thing and find out what we need to know.’

    You hated the shudder that travelled down your spine, something about him asking permission to use you, had you thinking on Keller, but your reaction seemed somewhat out of place.

    ‘We might not have time.’ Fury argued, leaning forward on his knees. ‘The attack will happen in a few hours and we still don’t know where exactly. We can’t waste time transporting terrorists.’

    There was an awkward silence in the room, before Talos turned to me with a sympathetic look.

    ‘What’s the worst thing that will happen if you come into contact with someone before we capture this guy?’ He asked with a genuine curiosity.

    ‘Erm…’ I couldn’t help but hold his bright blue gaze. ‘It depends, if it’s someone older than fifty, it can be quite disorientating, draining. Older than eighty and I could pass out before I can be of use.’

    Talos turned away, disappointed. ‘Fifty?’ He confirmed and I nodded, confused. ‘So, you mean to tell me that if you come into contact with someone who is say, one hundred and thirty-six in human years-‘

    ‘Best case scenario, I could slip into a coma.’ I confirmed. ‘I take it that’s how old you are?’

    ‘Yeah.’ Talos breathed, sitting back to think. ‘The Skrull we’re looking at is around one hundred and ten years old, relatively young still by our standards, but I’m not confident that you’ll still be standing by the time we’re done.’

    The room took a collective breath, when suddenly I remembered something.

    ‘I still have a syringe.’ I turned to Talos, who frowned. ‘One of Keller’s. It could help to limit the effects?’

    ‘What syringe?’ Hill asked, also leaning forward curiously.

    ‘Keller tried to dull my abilities,’ I explained. ‘He came up with a few different variations on the drug to try and stop me absorbing memories altogether, but he was only able to dull it for a short while. It might work long enough to get what you need, at least limit the damage it’ll do.’

    ‘It could just delay it though.’ Talos shook his head. ‘It’s too risky.’

    ‘What do you think the chances are?’ Fury asked, ignoring Talos’s concerns.

    ‘Fifty-fifty.’ I shrugged.

    ‘I think it’s worth it.’ Hill made her vote clear, and we all turned to Talos.

    ‘I think this is a very bad idea.’ He shook his head.

    It was somewhat settled, Talos would escort me back to my flat to get the last syringe while Fury and Hill tracked down the Skrull they were looking for, by the time we were done, we’d be able to capture him and interrogate him.

    ‘Why are you so against this?’ I asked, watching Talos drive strangely well for someone who wasn’t from around here.

    He gave me an odd look as if it were obvious, one I recognised all too well. ‘Because it could kill you.’ He exclaimed.

    I half laughed. ‘Would that be such a bad thing?’ I asked. ‘I’d finally find a bit of peace in my pathetic life and no one would be bothered by me. I wouldn’t get in anyone’s way or-‘

    ‘Keller would miss you.’ Talos interrupted me, shaking his head. How could he say that? ‘Look, I don’t know why you ran away, but it’s pretty clear to me that you both care for each other, otherwise he wouldn’t be sending you drugs to help you and you certainly wouldn’t look at me the way you do.’

   ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

    ‘It means… my wife used to look at me the same way.’ Suddenly his whole demeanour changed. He was in pain and it was fresh by the looks of things. Talos looked like a man who had lost far too much in such a short amount of time, there was nothing I could do about it.

    ‘I’m sorry.’ I mumbled.

    ‘For what?’ He asked, still annoyed. ‘For my wife? For Keller? Or for wanting to throw your life away so carelessly?’

    I didn’t have an answer.

    ‘I’m sorry as well.’ He sighed. ‘I didn’t mean to get angry or upset you. I don’t know you and I don’t know what happened between you and Keller. But it is obvious, no matter how far down you’ve buried that memory, that something did happen, and I have never seen anything good come from burying that kind of emotion.’

    We sat in silence the rest of the way. Talos led the way up to my flat and deemed it safe enough for me to go in and find the last syringe. He suggested packing a bag as well, I wouldn’t be coming back for a while. For whatever reason, I shoved two bottles of whiskey into the rucksack as well as clothes. I didn’t have much use for anything else.

  If you liked this, please consider supporting me ☕ thanks for reading!

[lewdladylily]

10, 15, 24, 32, 66

Spank, spank

Click 3000

10: Have you ever been caught masturbating?

Yes. It's not a fun story unfortunately.

15: Most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you during sex?

I don't even know. Like, there is embarrassing that's a deliberate part of a bdsm scene, and then there is like stuff like, I don't know, tripping in front of everyone embarrassing except it happened during sex. I've long since learned to roll with it on the second type, I genuinely cannot think of a single embarrassing thing during sex. I know they have happened, but I just don't care enough to remember them.

Now, in terms of deliberate sexy embarrassment during a scene, I have hypnosis triggers designed to make me feel embarrassment and they can be extremely effective. When layered properly I can go from my super slutty and open self to terrified and humiliated to admit even the most mild of kinks.

In addition, my owner has put in enough effort to be able to effectively put me through waking dreams - it feels like a very vivid dream and reality kinda fades into the back ground. She sets the scenario and what happens to me, my mind fills in all the blanks and makes it feel real. I know they are not real, even in the moment, but that hardly matters. These guided dreams are so vivid that I have memories of some of the guided dreams that feel just as real as my real memories. It works extremely well for humiliation and embarrassment play.

Pinning down the single most embarrassing thing we've done with this is hard, but there are two particular things that jump out at me.

The first was a non-con scene where an audience of a hundred or so people watched me get fucked by a dragon monster of some sort. This one made me safe word so I could calm down a bit midway through, it was a bit too intense and was making me cry.

The second, I'm really into Tifa and Aerith from FF7, so Raven made a scene where they played double domme on me, pushing very heavily on overwhelming and embarrassing me. We've done several iterations on that, it's really fun.

I have to say, Raven is really clever being able to run complex scenes like this, I've done it from the dominant side through text with another partner and it's hard. Raven does it over voice in real time, I don't think I could.

24: Would you have sex with your best friend?

One hundred percent.

For many years I had untreated bi polar disorder, which means sometimes I went through manic phases. Keep that in mind for a minute.

So I used to be part of a TTRPG weekly group, and everyone in that group was at least hot enough I would sleep with them, and three people in that group were super hot, I would have fantasies about them level hot.

Among those three were my best friend at the time, a guy like 5 years younger than me who was super cute. He let his hair grow out once and it was like oh my god. This guy is literally how I finally got it through my head that I was bisexual.

Now, I would have 100% had sex with him. I actively wanted to suck his dick, but it was just never going to happen. He isn't into low commitment sex thing like I am.

But his older sister. She was also in our ttrpg group, and she is equally hot. But you really can't hit on your best friend's sister like that, right? So I showed some restraint, kept it to some very mild flirting that no one picked up on, you get the deal.

Except during my manic periods it became so fucking hard not to call them up and say "hey wanna fuck nasty?". I did this a few times with a several people I knew actually, to surprising success. No one was weird about it or got offended, and I got positive responses from a few people. One of those positive responses was when I finally broke down and asked the sister if she wanted to fuck.

Unfortunately, to my ever lasting regret, the covid lockdowns happened right after so we never got to actually get together. I did get to do some phone/texting sex with her. She was very cute, very embarrassed as it was the first time she had ever done anything sexual with someone. It was fun to have her masturbate for me.

I should see if she wants to get together now.

So yes, I would fuck my best friend. And I would fuck their sister too.

32: Have you ever tasted yourself? [If no, would you?] [If yes, what did you think?]

Yes I have. It's fun as part of dom/sub play. Like, for example, I wrote a post a couple weeks ago and I mentioned how my mistress had made me ruin myself on a leather boot and lick it off. As far as taste? *Shrugs*, it doesn't exactly taste good, but it isn't bad either.

66. What is the strangest thing you have ever put up your vagina/anus?

I stick to normal toys for health and safety reasons, so really nothing. I find the idea really hot in erotica under certain circumstances, but it's just not terribly practical.

Thank you for the triggers and the questions!

[samsayswhatever]

Loki's age at the start

So, Loki was 1,047 in 2018, and this Loki variant was taken from 2012. So at the start of the show, Loki was 1,041 years old.

How to measure age

Measuring age in the TVA is odd, because their bodies don't age but their brain/memory does.

Then of course, Mobius's memory has been wiped at least once by the TVA. And Loki time traveled constantly at the end to learn everything that OB knew about time and engineering.

Body age

So if we think of age as being body age, then Mobius is just 55, in human years.

Using Loki's actor's age as their equivalent age in human years, then Loki would be 44.

Making Mobius 11 years older than Loki.

Mind age for Mobius

But if we think of age as being mind age, then Mobius's age would be however long it's been since his last memory wipe. So possibly as old as the day the TVA started running. So at least 400 years old, based on OB's comment. Making Loki older by 641 years.

Alternatively, Renslayer said, "Eons of friendship. And you threw it all away on a couple of Loki's." This implies that they had been friends for at least 2 Eons, and an Eon is one billion years. So, theoretically, Mobius could be 2 billion+ years old. That would make Mobius at least 999,998,959 years older than Loki. Ooof. That is an age gap.

However, Renslayer's comment might have meant a non-literal Eon, possibly referring to centuries or millenniums. So maybe the aforementioned 400 years, or possibly thousands of years. Meaning, yet again, that either Loki or Mobius could be more than twice as old as the other, while appearing to only to be a decade apart (which means less in your fifties/thousands).

Mind age for Loki

Loki's mind my the time he sits on the throne is much much older than his initial age on 1,041. He spent centuries learning everything that OB knew, and probably decades more getting to the point where Victor actually made it down and back. Then he probably spent years fighting Sylvie at all the different points in time, plus talking to HWR.

So in total, maybe he added 241 years to his age? Absolutely made up number, but whatever. That would make Loki 1282 when he gets on the throne.

Although, if Loki can see into the timelines by touching them, and see individuals lives on the timeline, like the last smile suggests, then maybe the second he touches a timeline, he is already beginning to add trillions of peoples experiences to his own, making him very very old by the end of the show. So even if Mobius is billions of years old, Loki would still be 998,000,001,282 years older than Mobius the second that he touches the first timeline. Because I would assume that each timeline has trillions of lives by themselves.

Conclusion

Age means nothing if you both have hundreds and hundreds of years of experiences and memories, and your bodies look like you're 50. I think I just need to treat them as basically the same age. Therefore I can have them kiss in my fic, and it will be fine.

But, it also means that I probably won't write anything where Loki remembers seeing all those trillions of lives on the timeline. I just don't know how I would write someone with that much character growth lol.

And I also probably won't write a fanfiction between Don and Loki, because thats still a 986 year difference. But that's just me. Y'all do what you will. Thor had a human gf so idk.

I'm pretty sure Loki still thought Mobius was a normal 2-digit-old human until OB mentioned 400 years old.

S.G.

[pegasister60]

NO. 22 PICK YOUR POISON

Toxic | Withdrawal | Allergic Reaction

(In the end I did not end up talking about the homes Billy’s been in in detail. You’re getting this instead.)

--

You don’t really remember the Before if you’re being honest. That was always your brother’s to carry.

You’ve been with Liam for as long as you can remember. You’re twins, technically triplets if you count Mary. (And of course you count Mary, you’ll never stop looking—)

You’re not sure which of you came first, but you know you’ll always be the older twin anyway. Liam’s always as young as he’s ever been and you’ve never found that odd. He’s still your little twin brother that you’ll throw hands for.

And you have. Multiple times.

Not all of the foster homes you've been to were garbage, admittedly, but they were never right for Liam. The older you and the body you shared with him became the more strained your foster parent’s relationships with Liam would get.

That, and your foster siblings could be mean as hell. 

Thinking about the amount of times you’ve had to pull Liam away from their bullying to throw hands in his stead still gets a rise out of you. Nothing about those situations struck you as fair at all, but at least they never lasted.

Between Liam’s “oddities” and your aggression, you went through homes like tissues for the better part of a year. Your social worker did try, but she didn’t understand. 

You didn’t really understand it to be honest. You were aware that none of your foster siblings shared a body with anyone, much less a sibling, but it also never bothered you. You didn’t need words for it or to know how it happened (though you did try looking it up once). You had everything you needed.

You had a sibling no one could take from you. Not Uncle Ebenezer, not the state, no one.

And you’d be damned if you let anything happen to him.

So you protected him however you could. You’d hide him away whenever things would get rocky with your foster siblings. You’d take all the not-so-nice memories from the foster homes you lived in and tuck them out of sight.

The memory thing in particular helped so much with keeping Liam safe. It also made for some epic sibling bonding whenever you’d have the time to ask Liam about Before.

You don’t remember your mother’s face or your dad’s laugh, but he could remind you. Liam’s memory is for all the good stuff, you’ve found. And you let Liam believe that all the bad stuff just pours out like a strainer. There’s literally no reason to tell him otherwise.

-

When you turned nine you were shuffled into foster home number eleventeen and you kept the bar low. Liam was excited to meet your new siblings but you convinced him that he should hang back for a little bit. They shouldn’t overwhelm their new foster family too soon, yeah?

Best decision you’ve ever made. That was the house that convinced you that you could do a better job raising Liam and yourself than any of those people could. You got up in the middle of the night, broke the lock on the pantry, and shoved as much food as you could carry into your worn Superman backpack to take with you for the road.

You didn’t make it more than a week, but that didn’t matter. You left the very next home with a deeper resolve to look after Liam by yourself, a mouth full of someone else’s blood, and four hundred dollars in small bills. You’d learned, you were willing to adapt, and you’d survive. 

For both of you.

-

And then the subway thing happened.

The Wizard, Shazam, said you had a pure heart. You were eighty-five percent sure he was talking about Liam, because your heart didn’t feel very pure with how desensitized you’d become to committing petty crime (it’s always been for survival’s stake).

When he started to actually describe what he was asking of you though, you straightened up. Because it did sound like he was talking to you. Protecting the source of all magic, fighting to contain horrors that should never see the light of day, throwing hands with beings who mean you harm? It all sounded right up your alley even if the scale of the problems you’d face terrified you.

The Wizard assured you that you’d be granted the powers of six gods. The Wisdom of Solomon, the Strength of Hercules, the Stamina of Atlas, the Power of Zeus, the Courage of Achilles, and the Speed of Mercury.

You politely did not point out that some of those weren’t gods, though mostly because his confidence had you second guessing at the time. 

And in the end it wasn’t much of a contest. The Wizard chose you, your only hang-up had been addressed, and you had nothing else going for you besides looking after Liam. And with the powers of Shazam’s patrons you’d certainly be able to do a better job of it.

And you were right about that, just not how you imagined.

Because all that power? It was heavy. Too much for you to handle and it had nowhere else to go. Something had to give.

So something did. And suddenly the body felt different and your headspace was crowded and you had no idea what the fuck was going on–

And then the headmate you’d later come to learn was named Solomon got to work immediately. He tucked Liam somewhere further back and less stressful, got you acquainted with Achilles who helped with your panic, and started explaining what the fuck just happened.

He also explained it to the Wizard, who had apparently never seen that happen before. First time for everything, hooray!

-

It took a while for everyone to find out what was working and what wasn’t. In the early days you bounced between co-fronting (the word you learned when Solomon gave you your first taste of the Wisdom of his namesake) and looking after Liam. Though Liam was ecstatic to have more people to hang out with and clung to your new headmates like a baby possum, you supervised those interactions very closely for fear that they wouldn’t like him back.

That fear wasn’t unfounded but it was put to rest. Every single one of your headmates would kill for Liam without hesitation and learning that filled you with so much relief. You started spending more time in front again while your headmates that almost never fronted looked after your twin.

And it’s a good thing you did. Turns out that when a Champion of Magic is chosen every malevolent magic user and their mother shows up wanting a piece of the Rock of Eternity’s magic. There were non-magical villains out and about, yeah, but the fact that they were even weirder than the magic users sometimes was not comforting.

And then there were the trips to hell and the natural disasters and all the things that make you very fucking glad that Liam rarely ever fronts anymore. Courage of Achilles or no, shit gets fucked up sometimes.

And for a little over two years that was your life. Being a part of Captain Marvel, making sure enough food got in your smaller body to keep you going between bouts of crime fighting, and moving from sleeping place to sleeping place.

-

You thought that joining the Justice League would be like the day you held those powers for the first time: a lot of adapting, awkwardness, and compromising but ultimately the weight you all carry together would be spread more evenly. That you’d become part of a greater whole capable of so much good.

It was sort of like that. You definitely carried your share of slack and then some when it came to magical problems; your teammates helping you fight the Monster Society Of Evil in turn. You went on off-world missions to face threats you never would’ve even heard about if you weren’t in the League. So in that respect it was similar.

The big difference was one you didn’t really anticipate: you couldn’t get close to these people. Or, more accurately, you refused to let them get close to you.

With your headmates there are no secrets. There’s information withheld from you, yeah, but that’s mostly because you’re not able to handle it all the time. And you in turn have been withholding information from Liam since forever, so you understand why it’s necessary.

With the League, you’re not lying by omission to protect them. The secrets you’re keeping and the truths you talk around could’ve been laid bare to them the day you got recruited. But you decided not to tell them and it’s left a one-way wall between you and your teammates.

They’ve opened up to you over time. Hell, you know some of them so well they gave you their names. And it’s not the trust they’re giving you that’s odd, or even that they want to get to know you.

You got to know your headmates. You learned that Mercury is a skilled musician, that Marvel remembers several lifetimes, and that Achilles will go on and on about Patroclus if given half a chance. They’re your headmates, your people, and you care for them all so much.

And you care for the League, really you do.

But you didn’t give them your name, you didn’t tell them about your small form, and you’ll never elaborate on how your powers work.

It’s not their business. They’re your teammates, your coworkers, but not your people. You would go on a week-long space mission with them despite the consequences your small form would face, but you’d never let them take care of said small form afterwards. Not when you’d rather let Mercury and Marvel take care of it instead.

You trust them with your life but not with your life. And it’s coming back to bite you the way you’ve known it would.

You can’t bring yourself to regret it even now. You were doing what you thought was best to keep your people safe. You would do it again in a heartbeat. You’ve done worse than hold your tongue to protect the people that matter to you, and you’ll probably have to start biting again if you don’t get some fucking space.

--

Whumptober: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, ALT 12, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, ALT 1, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31.

[kyufessions]

Facebook Friends

inspiration: facebook friends by NIKI

synopsis: when you see a facebook post from your ex boyfriend, choi taeyang, flashbacks of the memories you shared come rushing back to you.

pairings: college boyfriend! theo x college s/o! g.n. reader

word count: 2.2k

a/n: italics are flashbacks btw! also, i imagine theo a bit older in this. like a year or two older but that’s it. part two of my nikiwon series ♥︎

-

after a long day of learning, you cuddled up into your couch with your tablet in your lap as a random TV show played in the background. your finger scrolled mindlessly through facebook, seeing updates on high school friends and family. pictures of engagements, of new pets entering their families, it all made you happy to see. sure, you were growing older and had none of the slife of life they were being handed, but seeing your loved ones happy made you ecstatic as well. you commented on a few, congratulating them on their celebrations. but once his familiar face popped up on your screen, your face dropped.

your ex posted an update, nothing special, just a selfie saying how he’s enjoying life. no specifics or anything. and although you were curious as to what he’s been up to, you never dared to message the man. it’s been years since you last spoke, and although the break up didn’t end terribly, it still hurt. choi taeyang was your first love, your first real boyfriend. and for that, you’ll always hold a special place in your heart for him.

first days of college were always stressful and overall nerve wracking, but when you met taeyang it made it easier. coincidentally, you had three of the same classes that semester. so when you both ended up becoming eventual friends it just made sense. he’d share his notes when you weren’t there and vice versa, he’d sneak you food into your morning class when you were running late and were unable to eat that morning. he’d even memorized your coffee order from the on-campus coffee shop for when you needed a pick-me-up. that’s why for your first semester, you two were just known as the two close friends who you could find in the corner of the library both goofing off and studying hard. it wasn’t until the break between semesters when you both realized your feelings for one another, the time apart from each other making you realize you both liked each other more than just classmates and friends. and on the first day back on campus, you both confessed to each other in the cafeteria of all places. well, taeyang confessed first. you wanted it to be more special but taeyang just couldn’t hold it in any longer, thus you both becoming official between bites of the horridly buttery garlic knots the college provided for lunch.

you shut off your tablet for the night, sighing as the memories flooded back to you. that was years ago, and tears pricked the corners of your eyes as they threatened to fall. but you swiped them away, not wanting to spend another night sulking over the loss of the relationship. i mean, it’s been a good three years. why does it still affect you so highly?

for some reason, taeyang always crossed your mind. you wondered what it would be like if you met him now instead of all those years ago, both of you grown and in different places in life with a fully developed mind. you both were young, young and foolish. foolishly in love with the idea and presence of one another. it was the definition of young love, a young love everyone thought would last. but sadly dissipated into thin air.

you always held onto the idea that maybe the universe would reward you with a reunion with him, that maybe that spark would flicker and it would overwhelm you both to the point where you would sit down and catch up. you imagined it hundreds of times, sometimes it would creep into your dreams as well, but it hasn’t happened. and probably won’t.

you tried to move on, you truly had. but when someone doesn’t treat you with the same amount of respect taeyang had, you break it off before it can get anywhere. they don’t know your favorite coffee? or your favorite movie that makes you feel safe and sound? you delete them from memory and your phone. because if taeyang could memorize your simple pleasures, why couldn’t someone else? to you it was the bare minimum.

a laugh escaped your mouth as you entered your dorm room to see your boyfriend cuddled up into your wall-e blanket, both of your favorite snacks sprawled across the floor in no particular order. he looked utterly adorable on the carpet flooring, his widened eyes staring up at the TV waiting to

press play on the movie he put on. when he heard your laughter, he looked up at you and pouted his bottom lip.

“what’s so funny?” he questioned, clutching the blanket in his hand.

you shook your head, taking your place next to him on the floor as your eyes never broke from his. “you're so cute, choi taeyang.”

he wrapped the blanket around your shoulders, his hands snaking around your waist and placing multiple cheek pecks to your reddening cheeks. “and you’re cuter.”

you decide not to argue with the man, just giggling as he pressed play and watching the movie he picked. it had been his night to choose the movie, so you expected to watch a movie you had never seen as you both liked different types of movies. but when the name of your favorite movie popped up on screen, you looked over at the smiling man who schemed the small plan to brighten your day. he knew how hard the semester had been for you so far, so he wanted to cheer you up with a simple act. when he saw your smile, he knew sacrificing such a simple, small thing for your momentary happiness was worth it. he just hoped that he would be able to do bigger gestures for you in the future, and for many years to come.

you shut off the tv as you pushed the same wall-e blanket you kept on your couch to the side, a sigh escaping your lips as you stood to your feet. the sound of your feet shuffling to your room echoed through your small apartment, your mind blanking on the thought of your ex-lover. you didn’t even bother turning on the bedroom light, knowing you were just going to go to sleep- or hope to anyway. lately, your insomnia has been kicking your ass. cuddling up to your stuffed pink bunny didn’t help much, although you liked to pretend it did. but having it beside you at night made your bed feel less empty, missing the feeling of having someone next to you as you slept.

taeyang let out a dramatic grunt as he put down the last cardboard box full of kitchen items, exhausted from the last hour of activities of walking up and down creaky stairs in a cheap apartment building. but it was his apartment too after all, so why wouldn’t he do his part? he skimmed over the multiple boxes, smiling to himself at this new beginning with you. his head turned in the direction of your exasperated huffs as you closed the door behind you with your foot. he watched as you set down the box next to one of the others, laughing as you looked at him through tired eyes. his arms opened, signaling for you to walk into them. you did as he offered, releasing your body weight into his arms as you wrapped your arms around his chest.

“next time, we’re getting movers.” you mumbled into his chest, the vibrations of his laughter bringing a smile upon your lips.

hours later and twenty boxes down, midnight was slowly approaching as you both finished assembling your new shared bed. you both cheered quietly, hugging another with the proudest smiles on your faces. you shared a peck before throwing yourselves on the bed, sinking into the cheap mattress that felt comfortable enough for the time being. within minutes you both fell asleep in each other’s arms, thankful that you no longer had to share a twin XL.

you shifted onto your back from your side, the stuffed bunny still in your grip. empty eyes stared up at the ceiling as a smug smile was evident on your face as you recalled your move-in day. but a frown soon replaced the temporary happiness, remembering why you rented this crummy apartment in the first place. it was supposed to be you and taeyang’s, not just yours. you both rented it out during your last year of college, having been together for two years already and feeling ready to do so. you both saved up from your full-time retail jobs to be able to afford one of the smallest apartments you both have ever seen, but for the remainder of your relationship you both loved it. it was both of yours, and the pictures of you both scattered on walls throughout the apartment said so. but those photos were now replaced with random ones you found online and printed out, attempting to wash away any remaining thoughts of him. it started working eventually, but at first it felt weird to see swirls of art instead of both of your smiling faces.

you felt your eyes get heavy as minutes passed and the sound of owl’s hooting drowned out your thoughts. and although you missed your ex, you felt at peace knowing he was okay. sure, he might be doing better than you after the departure but you were still happy to see him happy doing what he always wanted to do. he landed his dream job in a company four towns over, traveled often, and had a great group of friends that seemed to treat him how he deserved. while you stayed in the same town and same apartment; the only difference being how you now had a big corporate job that paid well.

that’s why whenever you, on the rare occasion, brought others over to your place, they expected something nicer and more grand. but only to be met with maroon brick walls and wooden panel flooring, the small hallways shocking for the amount you made annually. but you didn’t want to let go of your greatest love, not until a month ago

a month ago you made the decision to apply to an apartment complex closer to your job, and got accepted almost immediately. that’s why as you turned to your side to get more comfortable, your eyes found themselves staring into the packed up brown boxes. in order for you to fully move on, you had to let go of the past. and you finally realized that. so, first things first, you had to let go of the one who left.

you sat across from each other at the dining table, the afternoon gloom peaking through the curtains as the rain pattered down with rhythm. your boyfriend's hands were in yours, rubbing circles into the back of them.

“i can just come with you!” you spoke as you attempted to keep back tears.

“you know you can’t. you have a job lined up already in the city and-“

“i can find another, it’s not a big deal!” your voice cracked at the final word, your tears glossing your eyes over.

“it’s your dream job! i’m not letting you leave your dream job that you haven’t even started yet.” he interrupted, a few loose tears streaming down his cheeks as he looked down in his lap to allow his tears to drip into his lap.

he was right. and you knew it. he knew it. but you didn’t want him to be. you applied at your dream job for fun, thinking you wouldn’t get in. but when you did, you automatically told taeyang with pure happiness and the brightest smile he’d ever seen. but when he applied to his dream job too and got in, he held it off until the last moment. thus sparking this conversation he dreaded for the past four months. he didn’t want to leave you, but Lord knows he couldn’t pass up this opportunity. and neither could you.

“i don’t want to lose you, taeyang.” you mumbled, reaching over to swipe his tears away when he looked you in the eyes.

but you did. and that same night, he packed up his things and left. for the remainder of the semester, he shared a dorm room with his friend jiung that just so happened to have a spare bed. but not a day went by where he didn’t regret leaving. that night, and for several nights after that, he cried himself to sleep imagining you doing the same. all because of him. sleeping in a twin XL wasn’t the same if it wasn’t with you.

you thanked the last of the movers that helped pack the moving truck you rented for the day, not wanting to walk up and down those old stairs you know you won’t miss. they went off in their own van, getting ready to follow you to your new destination. before closing up the back, you snapped a quick picture of the boxes and closed the back door of the truck. when you sat in the drivers seat, you started the truck and made a quick post to facebook, adding the picture you just took with a caption that read, ‘moving day! don’t worry, i hired movers this time :)’.

[yourlmanburg]

hello 🕺

could I request a male swan hybrid reader who randomly wanders off n comes back with lil stuff he found to give to his family (sbi 🙌🙌)? :]

i am so sorry this took so long to get done, i'm definitely hoping to start writing regularly again!! i struggled with this one a little bit but i hope you like it <3 also i did this as headcanons bc i feel like it fits better (if it's not what you were after i have no issues with doing a rewrite!!)

---

You’d always been the same, wandering off at the most inconvenient times to pick up random things for your father and brothers

You saw a rock you thought Tommy would like? Yep, you were gone and off to grab it for him.

When you were young it worried Philza, especially the first few times you disappeared. But when he realised you always managed to find your way back and you always brought something for someone? It warmed his heart, honestly

It was sweet as a child, and your family made sure they kept everything you gave them and treasured them so much

Even Techno, your most distant sibling, kept a box underneath his bed with all the little trinkets you’d found him - leaving them behind hurt him more than he’d ever like to admit

Lord knows what he’d do if something happened to his favourite brother and all the memories he ever had of you were gone forever, just because he couldn’t afford to have many attachments for the sake of his motives (Steve is an exception)

But once you all started to get a bit older and you eventually moved into the Dream SMP, everything changed but your kind habits

In the end it was the only thing even remotely keeping your family together, aside from all the conflict that had happened over L’Manberg and all of that funky stuff

Although he really struggled to show it, Tommy was by far the one who got the most attached to things with even the smallest amount of sentimental value to him

So when you found out that he always carried around the shell you gave him all those years ago, you were shocked to say the least, not in a bad way though

He was so embarrassed as you pulled him into a hug, gushing about how much you loved him; you were brothers after all, and moments like this had become incredibly rare

Wilbur cared just as much as the other two, except he showed it a little more

Even while the whole Manberg and Pogtopia ordeal was happening, whichever side you decided you were on (if one at all), he made it clear that he still cared about you just as much

The little things you gave him were so dear to him that just before that fateful day when he pressed the button, he made sure to bury your little gifts deep underground in a chest hundreds of blocks away, assuring himself that no matter what happened his memories of you would be safe

His favourite was definitely a little tree branch you gave him as a kid, even if it was in a disgusting condition by now

He remembered receiving it so clearly, the way you ran, almost flew, up to him with a gigantic grin on your face, waving the branch around and casting all sorts of nonsense “spells” as you passed it on to him

But surely, a tree branch means nothing, right?

Yeah, no, you two were the most imaginative kids out there so of course you believed it was a real wand

And even though you were both old enough to now know that it’s nothing more than a stupid piece of wood, he likes the memories attached to it

Even Ghostbur knew there was something out there that he had to find (that being the chest he buried) but sadly he didn’t have enough time to figure it out

And much like Wilbur, Philza cared a lot about everything you gave him

He has the things stored away in his attic somewhere, you two haven’t exactly spoken in a while.

He misses you a lot, so of course he occasionally pulls them out whenever the pain becomes too unbearable

Don’t tell the others, but you are his favourite child and he really wishes he could’ve spent more time with you

All in all, your family treasures everything you’ve given to them and they love you more than anything. You’re the glue that held everybody together for so long, even if you never see it.

[thejudgingtrash]

11. “...did you just sniff me?” for percabeth pretty please 🙏🤍🤍🤍

Heya! I’m finally here to come back to this request 😄😄 It took me only a little bit in comparison to other requests, but I'm here!

Also since @percyheartsannabeth, @skaterannabeth and @not-optimistic-petrol-biscuit had asked about fluff. Here you go... Kinda? 😬 Anyway. Here's a monster sneak peek into may I introduce you to my beloved wife? 😋

It took me all day yesterday, but I managed to pump out 11k words. That's a record for a single session in one day (with like two breaks). And yes, that is still not the entire chapter. Here are roughly 9,2k for you to consume!

TW: alcohol, overbearing relatives not minding their own business, a tiny section talking about domestic abuse and Athena and Frederick Chase ain't shit but that's nothing new. Poseidon too, for once. Enjoy!

may I introduce you to my beloved wife?

(*absolutely not proof-read, my bad)

Annabeth sighed. You can do this. You can do this. You’ve already finished the week. Think about the money. Think about the move to California. Push through this day and next week, think about the money and the minute you’ll hand your termination in. She wanted to splash some water up her face, but the makeup that tinted her lips in a luscious rose and added some bronze to her high cheekbones was too expensive to be washed off and hastily reapplied.

It was pre-Dionysus Day, which meant it was merely the calm before the storm. The first sparkling sip of an impending disaster waiting to rollover the roomy Greek villa Percy forced her to stay in. Well not really forced. Forced and bribed her to stay in. That made it sound slightly better. Just think of the one-hundred seventy-five dollars he’s going to transfer into your bank account for your new start in California. I should renegotiate. California is also expensive. Make it two-hundred fifty thousand.

The tall blonde looked at her reflection in the mirror. A young woman full of life was the first thing she had seen in the morning but now she looked tired and annoyed, just how she felt. Something crashed in one of the dozens of rooms next to her and people laughed. Annabeth sighed again. It was the only thing she could do, otherwise she would scream like a banshee, making sure that at least Hermes and Prometheus would check her, if it wasn’t for Percy stuffing socks into her mouth to make her shut up before they got to her. The majority of his Greek relatives had been lovely if not terribly nosy and overbearing. It was the opposite of her family. His was warm and chaotic and for the most part welcoming. Hers? Cold, apathetic, disapproving of everything she did. She had no family in comparison, and neither would she want to compare this wholesome messy bunch to the cold-hearted Athena Pallas and the monster that was Friedrich Chase.

Annabeth respected Hera and Hestia, she definitely side-eyed Aphrodite who was cheating on her husband and she would definitely stay away from Zeus. Crossing paths with him occasionally in the New York office of Atlantic INC. was terrible, seeing him openly be flirty and loosen up during a forced trip was way worse.

This was a bad idea and I have a terrible feeling about this. The burgundy wrap dress that hugged her skin was soft and light but in the Thessalian heat it felt like a sticky cocoon caging her. She wasn’t a beautiful butterfly, ready to burst out and wow everyone. Neither was she a moth drawn to a flame. She was a bug that had been sprayed by Percy with a pesticide, wrapped in toxic chemicals which were slowly dissolving her body, piece by piece.

A knock shoved the horrendous image inside of her head aside. “Yes?” she asked with a firm voice. Too firm with a hint of annoyance, but she was not a professional actress and could not switch her emotions off as she pleased. She was a junior marketing manager for Christ’s sake. Not for much longer. Only two more months…

Percy opened the door. “Are you ready?“ he asked with his usual pleasant baritone reaching her ear.

He wore light linen pants that hugged his legs loosely and a light blue shirt with the first buttons opened up. She could see his defined chest and the swirls of black hair peeking through. The hair was styled into a disheveled curly mess which suited him way better than the gelled back corporate look and he forgot to trim his beard like the day before. Annabeth couldn’t deny what she saw – her tormentor was a very attractive man.

“Do you want to bail?” His sea-green eyes darkened a shade. Worry flashed through them.

Annabeth exhaled sharply for the last time. “I wish I could but then I’d leave you without a fiancé,” she smiled through the pain.

Her glance found her reflection again. The topknot was still intact, and a few strands carefully framed her heart-shaped face. She looked perfect on the outside and she wanted to commit manslaughter in the inside.

“Let’s get over with it,” Percy sighed and stretched his hand out. It seemed like Percy was the one that would rather bail.

Annabeth took it without any complaint. She was the happy girlfriend soon-to-be-wife and holding hands was way better than being forced into kissing him during Sports Day. The Theodoropoulos family truly had planned activity after activity during those two weeks in winter.

“Oh!” Sally peeked into the bathroom and saw her son holding Annabeth’s hand.

“There you are! Is everything okay, mija?” she asked with her sweet Dominican accent and looked at Annabeth.

Annabeth automatically smiled back. Sally was the mother she never had, and it broke her heart crumble by crumble by the sheer charade Percy and she were forced to display for the next six days. Sally Jackson deserved the best. She certainly didn’t deserve being deceived and lied to by her terrible son and his tag-a-long coworker.

“Yes, Percy was just making sure we’re arriving on time.” Annabeth got on her toes and placed a soft kiss on Percy’s stubbled cheek. It tickled but by now she had gotten used to it.

He rolled his eyes, smiled at his mother, nonetheless. Sally’s eyes sparkled and she clapped, clutching her hands tightly. “You don’t know how proud you’re making me, mijo,” she then said teary-eyed.

“You finally found a great girl and she is standing next to you.” Sally wiped a tear away and the awful feeling that sat on Annabeth’s chest and made everything heavier, amplified by a thousand times.

This was way worse than being referred to as the woman that would bear him three to five children presuming with the first one sired on this current vacation by Ares. Yes, Annabeth wanted two children at max, but not definitely now. She was twenty-eight and in the prime of her life! Note: Percy would certainly not be the father of said two children. Unruly blond waves and a mischievous grin blitzed through her head. Pale blue eyes came back from the deepest pit of her memory. Luke. Fuck no, that was even worse than Percy. His betrayal… Annabeth tried to shake the memory off and focused on the ongoing situation in front of her.

Sally truly hoped her son found love and not a quick fling. Oh shit, Annabeth thought and looked up to Percy whose face expressed similar thoughts. His conscience nibbled and guilt flooded his body.

“Mamá,” Percy began and released Annabeth’s hand in order to grasp the older woman’s shoulder.

Sally brushed his large hands off. “No, no! Off you go! You younglings should be downstairs celebrating your reunion with the entire side of Poseidon’s family.”

Annabeth appreciated the fact that Sally was invited and flown out each winter holiday by the Theodoropoulos’. Despite having been divorced from Poseidon for over twenty years, she was still a popular and welcomed guest, not just because of her son’s attachment to the Greek side and his tied division of the Greek family company.

Sally gave each of them a last smile before entering the women’s bathroom. Percy exhaled and pinched his nose. After ten seconds he released the nose and looked back at Annabeth. “Ready?” he asked a final time. Annabeth nodded.

The loud singing, yelling and talking that had been muffled by the bathroom hit her by a tenfold. The place had all the Mamma Mia vibes without the fun singing four days ago. Not anymore, as drunk relatives hit up the shore with loud music and talked loudly in their Pontic Greek dialect.

As the couple descended the stairs and walked through the parlor, a new wave of guests arrived at the same time. Three people that have just entered early adulthood looked up to them. Two men, one blond with a stoic face and bronzed skin, the other was shorter with spiky black hair and a beautiful grin on his lips. The woman next to him was the tallest out of the trio and possessed a high ponytail that would leave Ariana Grande dying out of envy. The dyed lilac hair swung around and nearly reached the middle of her thighs, meaning the hair was even longer without its tight prison on top.

“Thanatos, Zagreus, Megaera!” greeted Percy and gave each one of them a rib crushing bear hug. They looked pleasantly surprised at seeing Percy being accompanied by a pretty woman his age. It seems like the proposal didn’t reach all of the ends of the Greek world.

They fell into a short conversation in Greek and Annabeth smiled politely next to Percy as she fell entirely out of place. The evil Duolingo owl didn’t prepare her for this experience. Neither did her mother bother teaching her at least their Athenian dialect properly. She could introduce herself in Greek, order a beer, say goodbye and that was it. Thank you, Athena. For nothing again.

“Oh, you must be Annabeth,” Megaera eyed her carefully and Annabeth had the feeling that she could split her open with her hands. Weirdly enough, Annabeth was kind of into it. Megaera wasn’t only as tall as Percy but she was clearly the one with the toughest workout regimen as she displayed her muscular legs and defined arms with a short cocktail dress only a few shades darker than her hair.

“Yes,” Annabeth squeaked. She nearly added a ma’am towards the end. Megaera cocked her dark eyebrow. She had an aura that demanded respect.

“Interesting to see the woman who captured Perseus’ heart. It seems that he did develop a good taste after all. Calypso was as pretty as the crescent moon flower but sadly as dull as his corny jokes are.” Megaera’s deep smirk was a stamp of approval as her eyes roamed all over Annabeth.

“Hey!” Percy interrupted and placed a firm hand on Annabeth’s waist, as if he was trying to mark his territory.

“You have your own toys right to your right,” he then added with a playful tone.

Megaera actually laughed and waved dismissively. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more.” A clear offer which left Annabeth’s face turn into a fiery tomato red.

“Anyway, we have some catching up to do,” Thanatos proposed as Zagreus and he silently watched the conversation blossom. He sounded as reserved as he looked.

“Indeed,” Zagreus agreed, surprising Annabeth with a posh English accent. “Father will murder me if we miss out on his moussaka. It’s to die for you need to try it, Annabeth, at least before Hephaestus gets ahead of himself.”

Annabeth laughed. The Theodoropoulos did have their positives. “I will, Zagreus,” she nodded.

“Oh please, if aunt Sally gave her go for you to stay here, you’re as good as family. We’re Than, Zag and Meg for you,” Zagreus offered.

“Annabeth is already my nickname but thank you for the kind offer!”

The three new guests went on to join relatives and friends at the party which seemed to get more chaotic by each passing minute as the volume seemed to increase.

“My cousin Zagreus from my uncle Hades’ side,” Percy explained as the three went out of his sight.

“Are they friends? Or…”

“Pretty sure they’re polyamorous. You know, I don’t know, and I honestly don’t really care, I see Zag once every twelve months at max. Just don’t stick to Meg’s side for too long otherwise she’ll turn you into her fiancé.” Percy’s tone suggested that he was not joking.

“Oh.” Annabeth didn’t know what to think of it.

Percy closed his eyes as if he was making a silent prayer, before his sea-green met Annabeth’s light gray ones. She smelled like lemon with a hint of lavender, instead of roses like normally. Delicious. If it weren’t for the fact that it was Annabeth.

“So, listen. You know I’ve talked about Dionysus Day and how his birthday brings out the worst side of everyone.”

Annabeth nodded as Percy went on to explain.

“Pre-Dionysus Day is basically same with the only exception that my great-grandmother’s house is filled with the entire family. Yes, we’re expected to eat, drink, laugh, drink, dance, drink, reminisce on our past, drink, make fools out of ourselves in order for them to take blackmail pictures and drink some more, but no matter how much they want you to open up… try to control yourself. Everything you say can and will be used against you.”

Annabeth’s stomach started to churn, and her knees slightly gave in. “Look, I’m truly sorry for the mess that I’ve caused,” Percy looked directly into her eyes and tried to ignore the rosy streaks across her flushed cheeks. “And my relatives can be overbearing. But if we manage to stick through this night and the next one tomorrow, we’re as good as done with playing games.”

“Fine,” Annabeth gritted through her teeth. She had agreed to the terms and condition. She didn’t need a reminder of the stupid decision she made two months ago.

“Let’s go.”

She placed her hand on the doorknob that separated the parlor from the huge living room. Percy followed her as she opened the door. A wave of laughter, wine, ouzo, discovered secrets, cigarettes, sweat and fun hit them.

“Oh wow, someone should open a window.” Percy suggested as he coughed. Luckily cousin Metis had the same idea. No, aunt Metis. Or was it Thetis? Why did Percy need to have so many relatives with similar names again?

“Oh, Annabeth, look at you!” Aphrodite had snuck up behind them and surprised the fake couple by hugging each of them and nearly spilling the expensive Greek vintage in her hand on Percy’s shirt. The red alcoholic liquid carelessly swirled in her glass and more than often seemed to want to escape from her clutch.

“Aphrodite, be careful!” Percy reminded her as she dug her fingers into his arm. Her nails were as fake and bought as was the bond between Annabeth and Percy.

“Oh, please cousin, you should learn how to loosen up!” She laughed, but it sounded more like the shrill sound a bird made when it got nearly hit by a car. The high pitch made Annabeth slightly frown.

“Take your girl upstairs and show her all the Zorbas moves you got!” She wiggled her badly overdrawn eyebrows.

Aphrodite had always been the poster child of perfection. She knew how to dress her curvaceous body the right way, she knew how to apply the perfect touches of makeup on her face and she was the most graceful being Annabeth had ever met. Seeing her so disheveled left the blonde American content. It showed that Aphrodite wasn’t one of the gods, she was a mortal mess like they all were. That, and it was kind of funny seeing the abrupt transition from oozing perfection to looking like a rough mess after a couple of glasses of wine.

“If you know what I mean, you two know what I mean, right?”

“Yes,” Annabeth and Percy answered. Unfortunately, they did.

“That reminds me, this is such a pretty dress that you got!” Aphrodite’s eyes widened and she tugged at Annabeth’s sleeve that went slightly over her elbows. “Percy needs to bring me a couple of those the next time he visits. Oh wait! You’re about to marry, Annabeth can take me shopping. I want to visit New York next summer. When was your wedding again?”

Panic filled Annabeth she tried to stutter a lame excuse like they had done the entirety of the stay. Aphrodite’s brown eyes found something else to focus on in the meantime. Her hand went out to poke the tall blonde’s chest as she went on to pull on the thin fabric.

“You should show the men what you got! Free the girls!” Aphrodite yelled over the loud music, pushing Annabeth’s C cup to its limits. “Let Percy stand in the corner with that stupid frown, all jealous and depressed while you’re out on the hunt!”

Percy did not look amused especially since he tried to pull Annabeth away.

“Yeah, just like that!” Aphrodite’s glass pointed directly at his face as Annabeth tried to shove Aphrodite’s fickle fingers aside. “Oh, if I were just a little bit younger and not tied to your cousin…”

“You mean cousins,” Percy corrected and made a step backwards as Aphrodite’s dreamy and drunk dazed focus shifted from Annabeth to him.

“Aphrodite, leave Percy and his future wife alone,” Hera arrived to save the stressed couple and rolled her eyes. “Go harass Hephaestus and try to be a faithful wife for once in your life.”

She still looked like she had a massive stick shoved up her ass by the way she stood entirely straight next to them, but Annabeth appreciated the gesture. If Hera didn’t like Aphrodite much, Annabeth would rather join Team Hera than stand alone by the bleachers and under Aphrodite’s charmspeak. Aphrodite pouted and stomped with her feet twice as if she were a toddler and not a grown woman marching towards her forties. Then she stormed off and ran into the arms of her lover, nother husband to spite her mother-in-law and embarrass her even further.

“Malàka,” Hera cursed and lost her cool for one second, before clearing her throat and focusing on the already tired fake engaged couple in front of her. Not even Hera seemed to be averse from drinking a glass of wine or two. “You two definitely need a drink.”

Annabeth agreed with her for once.

She pointed at the bar behind her, which was managed by Dionysus and his wife Ariadne. The number of relatives ganging up on them and demanding new drinks was frightening. Surprisingly Dionysus kept his cool and shoved drinks in people’s hands at an impressive speed.

“Yeah, let’s get over with it,” Percy sighed and took Annabeth’s hand again.

“Are you okay?” Annabeth asked him. She knew from Thalia that Percy rarely ever drank and that his family was to blame for most of it. Percy seemed stiffer and graver than usual as well. As much as she disliked his jokey nature and easy-going demeanor he displayed at work, she’d much rather have that Percy by her side right now. Dionysus Day and the day before seemed like it was hell on earth for him and walking through it each year must take a toll on him.

“Yeah, let’s just each grab a glass of wine. Let them be happy about me shoving this disgusting stuff down my throat.” He thanked Ariadne as she prepared two glasses of the same vintage Aphrodite seemed to have inhaled earlier.

“Thank you.” Annabeth took her glass and sniffed. The wine smelled sickly sweet with a hint of the bitterness that the fermentation process had left. The glass in her hand weighed surprisingly heavy, not because of the wine itself but because of the golden swirls decorating it. The glass transitioned from the crystal-clear transparency into a deep black. A lyre surrounded by a bigger laurel wreath decorated the middle section and a golden snake was wrapped around the stem. The golden rim gave it a nice finish.

“Into a fruitful night,” Percy darkly mumbled over the music. He was really not looking forward to it, which confused Annabeth immensely. She didn’t understand why he pushed himself through this if he really didn’t like the drinking activities. He surely had his reasons, hence her not starting a fight with him over it. It was his family and their tradition after all.

“Into a fruitful night,” Annabeth instead repeated.

Issuing a weird toast as well. Percy Jackson was clearly not a drinker. Their glasses clinked and each of them took a sip. Thankfully grandma Rhea made sure they were well-fed before the festivities began.

“Fuck,” Annabeth muttered. A fine vintage as well. Not as sweet as she thought, it left a hint of sweet cumin as the lingering aftertaste. Her lipstick left a mark on the glass, but she didn’t bother to care as she took another gulp. The wine was nearly finished. She slowly started to understand why ancient civilizations went crazy after this stuff.

As she looked at her so-called fiancé, she saw that his glass was already empty. A grimace rested on his face as well.

“Err, Percy?”

“What?” The dark brooding look on his face was no more.

“Shouldn’t you take it easy?” Annabeth carefully asked. His eyes narrowed.

“I am,” he stated and cocked his head towards his cousin who was still busy playing the barkeeper but kept an overall watchful glimpse on the guests that flooded the gates.

“Dionysus saw me drink. Most importantly he saw us have a drink. That should be enough for me, but if you want some more, be my guest.” He shrugged.

Annabeth felt that she should probably drag his mopey ass out of the party, but it was way too early to leave. “Fine,” she said and asked Ariadne for a refill. Annabeth went in for another long sip. She should definitely stock her wine cabinet once she was back at her shitty apartment. Before the glass reached her lips again, Hermes snatched it away and chugged the remaining wine.

“Hermes, what the hell?!” Ariadne grabbed the glass and pushed her husband’s cousin away. The bored postman was back with his shenanigans.

“My bad, dear wifey, but I’m on a mission here to abduct sweet Annabeth,” Hermes winked and placed his hands around Annabeth’s shoulders.

“What are you up to?” Out of all of the relatives she’s met so far, Annabeth was convinced that everything Zeus had ever sired was a mistake. Zeus himself was a mistake.

“Can you stop being German and boring for once?” he joked. Annabeth’s eyes narrowed. She did not like this one bit. She turned her head around and saw that Percy had been pulled into a conversation by Hypnos and Morpheus. He had completely forgotten about her. Great.

Hermes guided her through the crowd, towards the middle of the room. They had to dodge chairs, drunk relatives, a sofa, chatty relatives, the coffee table and dancing relatives before they made it.

“There she is!” greeted Achilles the confused marketing manager.

Paris, Helen, Patroclus, Hermes and Achilles stood in a circle around a table. Dozens of shots of all sorts of colors were displayed. Annabeth had a terrible feeling about this.

“What is this and why are you pulling me into this?” Annabeth asked and did not like the mischievous grin they all shared. She wanted to go back home and cuddle with Daedalus on her sofa and push his cat ass out of the way before the next steamy Outlander scene hit the screen. Yes, Annabeth was that much of a single that seeing some on-screen action was the best she could get. She hoped that the mangy cat didn’t bother Thalia all too much while she was staying in Greece. She owed her so much already.

“Well, I stayed in your country,” Paris started. “And they have a weird tradition with ouzo. They don’t drink it the way we do, watered down and slowly at lunch and what not…”

Annabeth was still American for the most part and had nothing to do with Germany. The last time she stayed there was nearly thirteen years ago. She didn’t want to have anything to do with Germany. Friedrich Chase lived in Germany. And she fucking hated Friedrich Chase. Therefore, she hated Germany. Things that would never change. Okay, Hamburg was a cool city and she was glad her father moved to Cologne. Should she feel the urge to travel back to Germany for a week or less, she’d go to Hamburg, take ten thousand pictures, and post them on Instagram the minute before she was boarding her flight back to New York. Helping her to enrage her stupid father was all Germany had to offer.

“Germans do ouzo shots,” Patroclus cut to the chase. “And since you’re the newest member of our family…”

“And German!” Paris and Hermes added simultaneously.

“We’ve decided to play this little game,” Achilles added.

“What’s the name of the game?” Annabeth asked. She was only slightly curious. Emphasis on slightly.

“Last man standing. Oh sorry, ladies. Last person standing,” Hermes corrected himself as he placed four shots in front of each person. That was way too much hard liquor to handle. But if she did Jägermeister bombs in her sophomore year of college without any issues, this should be fairly easy.

“What are the rules?” They all looked at her in silence. No rules. No prize. Just drink.

“Oh wow.” The urge to roll her eyes and walk off came back with a force.

“I think I’m going to pass,” Annabeth said and already turned to her right.

“Why?” Helen asked innocently. “Need your man to look after you? The one who’s having an amazing time back there with his third glass of wine?”

Foul game. Annabeth’s head shot to the right. Helen was right. Percy was laughing and looked like he was having a great time chatting with Oceanus and his wife Tethys. Tethys refilled his glass as her husband and Percy broke into laughter once again.

If that’s the case…

“Fuck it, I’m in,” Annabeth agreed. She swallowed the bait and she knew it. There was no reason why she should feel upset about Percy opening up all of a sudden. He desperately needed it. Why she wished to be a part of that, Annabeth did not know.

“Great!” Helen threw her brown mane over her shoulders and grabbed the first glass.

“Για μας!” they all yelled and chugged the liquor. Gia mas, the Greek toast, was repeated every time and it seemed to brighten the mood, despite resting heavily on Annabeth’s stomach. Her college days were over, but she was glad she resisted coughing repeatedly.

Patroclus clutched his stomach after the second shot, Helen ran out after the third, Paris and Achilles were laughing maniacally after the fourth and Hermes mysteriously disappeared after the first one. Annabeth was the last person standing. She placed the crystalized shot glass back on the table and examined the messes around her. The only thing that had happened to her, were that more golden locks escaped from her bun and her lipstick needed some reapplying as she left marks on each glass.

Annabeth tried to take a step away from the table and felt how the world slightly shifted around her. The fact that she would curse and hate herself for her behavior in just six hours, was something drunk Annabeth gladly put aside. The headaches that definitely would haunt her for the rest of the trip didn’t matter, she won and that was all she cared about.

“Hell yeah!” she yelled as all inhibition faded away, leaving pure and raw life force behind. Unbeknownst to her, Annabeth had moved right into the circle of dancers.

“Perseus, get your bride before she breaks her legs!” someone laughed. Was it Iapetus? Or was it Hyperion? Who even cared at that point?

The next two hours were a blurred mess. A blackout slowly crept through her mind, leaving foggy memories behind. Annabeth felt how she was dancing with people and how people were laughing. Were they laughing at her or with her? Did it really matter? Why was her hair repeatedly slapping her face, didn’t she tie it up?

She danced with different people, men and women. She really hoped that the guy that looked like a naked Danny DeVito with longer black hair was not Zeus who had lost his shirt and pants. Who was the guy with the sea-green eyes again? Why was he clapping and laughing whenever she was busting a move next to Hermes? Was he important? Why did he remind her of work? The shots might have been a short-sighted idea after one and a half glasses of wine. She probably overestimated the amount of food she had consumed at dinner prior. Wasn’t she supposed to try someone’s moussaka?

“There you are! Ares, stop dancing with her for once. We’re about to leave.”

Ugh. Ares. Not Zeus, but still yucky.

Sea-green eyes. Percy, of course. How could she have forgotten the asshole that brought her into this whole mess? He seemed fairly sober, didn’t he have a glass or three of wine? Annabeth was certain, she’d be able to drink him under the table. His height and his build might put him at an advantage, but if he wasn’t used to drinking, she might have a fair shot.

A rock song was the next song that appeared. Percy wanted to drag Annabeth off the dance floor.

“Oh no!” Aphrodite intervened with a shrill screech. “Give the two lovers some room to show each other affection!”

Hera actually raised her glass for once to show that she actually agreed with one of Aphrodite’s wild ideas. Someone fumbled with the playlist and a Greek slow jam roared through the old speakers.

“Are you guys fucking serious?” Percy muttered under his breath. But roughly eighty pairs of eyes were all but watching the soon-to-be betrothed and waited for a romantic dance which reminded Percy more of the horrors that the eight-grade dance was.

Annabeth drunkenly hiccupped and looked at him in surprise as she felt one of his hands around her waist and the other one taking her hand. They rocked as if it was the final dance at prom. Annabeth barely remembered prom. Oh right. Her mother had forbidden her from going. She never attended prom.

A casual glimpse through the crowd showed her that people were actually filming this nonsense and some women were actually cooing. Did… did they seriously think this back and forth with sweaty clothes on was romantic? Her eyes found Percy’s again.

“So…” he began.

“So…” she repeated.

“Careful!” he warned her before twirling her through the tight circle. People screamed and applauded. A camera flash blitzed through the darkness twice.

“Oof,” Annabeth groaned. Her stomach and equilibrium did not appreciate that sudden movement.

“I’m sorry, I won’t do that again,” Percy swore. The rocking motion made both of them sleepy. Annabeth suppressed a yawn, rested her head on his shoulder. Percy could make the perfect comfy bed, if he wanted to.

Percy, sensing that people were awaiting some action from either of them, placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face up. Annabeth’s eyes widened. Is he going to kiss me in front of them? Again? her panicked brain asked. She was turned into stone, not by Percy’s distant cousin Medusa who had eaten most of the truffles, but by the tenderness of his actions. He was one solid actor.

Percy placed a soft kiss on her forehead, before moving on to a temple. Annabeth blushed and buried her heated face in his chest as he released her. Intimate, soft and sweet. The screaming relatives disrupted their comfortable silence yet again. The slow song came to an end and the next upbeat one invited everyone back to the dance floor. Annabeth released herself from Percy’s tight embrace and just bolted. Damned be nausea. A wave of coldness hit her. She felt something she didn’t like the minute Percy had softly kissed and soberness woke her at a start. What was it? Anger? Disappointment? Longing? She didn’t know and she didn’t want to know.

“Annabeth!” Percy shouted, but the amount of people standing in his way made it more difficult for him to keep up with her. His hand brushed over his own lips.

Annabeth opened and closed doors left and right. The kitchen, the dining room, the smoking room. She hasted through the first floor until she found another lost soul in the fireplace room. Why the villa had a fireplace room in the first place, she did not know. It had been super-hot the entire time but what Annabeth understood as heat and what native Greeks deemed as hot temperatures didn’t have to correlate.

Great-grandmother Gaia’s humming faded away. The eldest of the Theodoropoulos looked up from the pair of socks she was knitting. When she came to find out the intruder was Annabeth, joy spread over her face.

“Come, come!” The broken English that she softly spoke reminded Annabeth of her own grandmother. She hadn’t seen Elsbeth Lilienthal-Chase since she had left Germany. And since her mother didn’t give her a chance to say goodbye, she didn’t have a phone number to reach her with. The only way would be through that asshole Friedrich Chase, and the only time she’d willingly let someone contact that man was if she had been six feet under and he would be forced to show up for one important family event for once.

“I was unable to sleep. Parties aren’t something for me. I’m too old and boring for my children and their children,” Gaia sighed as Annabeth took a seat on the green sofa next to the light blue armchair. All of the cushioning seemed to have been made by Gaia as the socks had the same pattern as the pillow that Annabeth leaned against. Balls of wool surrounded the older woman as if she sat on a field of fresh tulips.

“Drink, drink! You need water. I’m pretty sure you danced a lot.”

Annabeth kindly took the offer, grabbed the carafe and poured herself a little bit of water into a small glass. The water was surprisingly cold and refreshing.

“My children deem me crazy,” Gaia continued. “The war with the ottomans. Deportation. Fleeing and seeing death everywhere. Losing my father in the chaos. Then the big world war after that twenty years later. They don’t want to listen to the same stories. They only want to have fun. So, they sent me away.”

Annabeth felt terrible for the old lady. It looked like she had been through hell and back in her youth. She didn’t look like she needed much, only someone to listen to her.

“I won’t bore you much,” promised Gaia.

Gaia’s tanned leathery hands continued working on the little socks. “Don’t worry about tomorrow, dearie. We have plenty of acetaminophen and other hangover remedies. Tomorrow will be even worse, because Dionysus wants to celebrate his birthday with even more wine,” the old woman laughed, and her green eyes twinkled full of life.

“I also was young once…”

The two sat in comfortable silence, only interrupted by Gaia’s humming or Annabeth refilling her glass of water.

“So,” Gaia began.

“So?” repeated Annabeth.

“You are the woman that tamed my little Perseus,” the older woman grinned.

Oh no.

Annabeth had a lump in her throat and drinking water to solve it, didn’t work. She wasn’t just lying to Zeus and his wife. She was lying to an entire clan, from the youngest to the oldest members. What Percy and she were doing wasn’t right, neither was it fair. Sure, Percy’s shitty uncle didn’t help much by forcing him to marry the next person, but did the rest of the family deserve to be deceived as well? No, they didn’t, and that truth rested heavily on Annabeth’s narrow shoulders.

The fact that Gaia looked so much like her great-grandson was crazy. They possessed the exact same shade of sea-green. It was passed onto Rhea, Percy’s grandmother, and then Poseidon, Percy’s fucked up father. Always full of intelligence and calculation. Shifting easily from delighted and full of life to the crashing anger of a storm. Power and knowledge were key features of Gaia’s eyes.

“How did you meet my sweet Perseus again?” Gaia innocently asked but Annabeth knew that there was some sort of ulterior motive behind her question.

“At work,” she honestly answered, and Gaia smiled. The old lady was able to sense the truth.

“He’s not my direct boss, but we run into each other a lot. And we hated each other from the moment we saw each other.” Annabeth remembered how she accidentally spilled her hot coffee all over his shirt. She had been public enemy number one from then on.

“He’s an excellent boss, as much as I hate to admit it. He knows his ways around and is passionate about the ocean and its inhabitants. Definitely more passionate than me, I’m just there for the money. He actually wants to make a difference. And he’s extremely annoying, might I add.”

Gaia burst into laughter and needed a minute to calm down. Annabeth cracked a toothy grin. “Ah yes, I can see how you fell in love with him.”

Doom. Uneasiness. Discomfort. The lump in Annabeth’s throat grew bigger and bigger. Why was her vision so blurry all of a sudden? She looked down at her dress. Dark dots appeared. More sprinkled across her lap as Annabeth realized she was crying.

“I’m so sorry,” Annabeth sniffled. “I… Percy… I…”

Gaia put her knitting utensils aside and set herself upright in the armchair. “Oh no, what is going on, Annabeth?”

The calming hand on her back did not help the young professional at all. No, Gaia’s honesty and curiosity made it way worse.

“Percy and I… we’re not engaged. We did it because Zeus-” Annabeth tried to confess, but Gaia brushed her off.

“It’s okay, Annabeth. I know,” the old woman smiled.

The tears that smeared her foundation or rather what was left of it ceased to fall. “You what?!”

Shock widened Annabeth’s light gray eyes.

“I knew from the minute you stepped into my house. I’m pretty sure Rhea knows as well.”

Annabeth’s jaw fell open. “B-but how?!” she stuttered and felt like an utter and complete idiot. The first few days had been rough and difficult, but now she thought that Percy and she conveyed the illusion of being a happy couple.

“You were scared of everything including him the minute you arrived,” Gaia warmly smiled. The infectious warm smile of a grandma looking out for her little chicks. Was Annabeth now one of them?

“I knew something was off with that sudden engagement of yours with the way you two behaved. Either you were pregnant, or it was a ruse. Since you are heavily drinking and paper thin, it was clear that there was no pregnancy. You young people truly don’t eat enough anymore,” Gaia shrugged, patted Annabeth’s knee and went back to knitting the sock.

“But now… it all makes sense. You do feel something for each other. Even if you are blind to it for now.” She continued to hum. “I just hope that my dear Perseus will be the young and carefree boy he was all those years ago one day again. And I do believe that you are the key in finding him hidden underneath all those layers and walls he had put up due to his father.”

Annabeth didn’t even close her mouth during the elder’s monologue. Did Gaia seriously connote that she… that Annabeth Chase… might feel something for her soon-to-be boss? Madness. Absolute madness. She took everything she had thought of the friendly old woman in front of her back. Maybe her relatives did have a point, when they decided to brush Gaia off due to her old age.

Annabeth? And feeling something for Percy? If that something was hatred and the utmost rage, absolutely yes. But… anything else? She would receive a hefty sum on her bank account and would put in her two weeks the minute she found a better job in California.

“You know… there is a tale I’d like to tell about men.”

And Annabeth would prefer to place the glass back on the table, throw the heels away, storm out and run to the next airport.

“They are stupid vapid creatures,” Gaia carried on.

Annabeth snorted behind her glass. “That is certainly true,” she agreed and earned an honest grin from Gaia.

“My dear husband Ouranos with whom I had all of my dear children decided one day that one woman was not enough. And that twelve children were not enough.”

Twelve children?! Annabeth's womb just twisted and turned in protest. The shocked expression on Annabeth’s face made Gaia chortle loudly.

“Oh yes, back in my day we were all very fruitful,” Gaia affirmed.

“That sounds horrible,” Annabeth interjected.

“Oh, only the birth part and the eighteen years after it,” the older woman dismissed her which made Annabeth in turn laugh again.

“My father was a farmer and he had one piece of advice: never let someone toy with you. You are not a doll; you are a person with morals and dignity, a person with feelings and dignity. Let no one, especially not a man, treat you like a commodity or something to kick around. Well… when dear Ouranos left me and sought our neighbor with bigger breasts… I taught him that lesson. And I did so with my father’s trusted knife that I hung on the wall afterwards.”

There was no knife displayed on the wall. It was a fucking scythe. Large, frightening, brutal. A golden great long sickle with jagged teeth rested on the wall as if it were ready to cut you up into one thousand pieces. Was there really dried blood stuck on the teeth or was Annabeth’s drunken mind making things up?

“The minute our youngest turned eighteen he took off and was never seen again. And now, should a person, in that case my Perseus, not know how to treat you properly, you know what to do,” Gaia advised and took a sip out of her own glass.

“Uh… you mean threaten to cut his genitals off with a large and sharp family heirloom?” Annabeth’s eyes widened again.

“No, dearie…” Gaia gave it some thought. “Well maybe so, dearie,” she then went on. That made Annabeth chuckle again.

“But demand absolute respect from him. Don’t ask him for it. Demand it. I don’t know how but he has dragged you into our family and expects you to play the perfect fiancé. This will eventually blow up in his face and he will drag you along with him. Teach him a lesson, however.”

“You know what? I will!” With Gaia’s official blessing, Annabeth was all smiles and scheming new plots. If the head of the family gave her the approval of kicking Percy’s ass, she definitely would.

Steps echoed in the fireplace room and Annabeth and Gaia’s heads turned to greet the intruder. They didn’t even realize the door opened and closed again.

Gaia’s younger twin who still had some black streaks in the braids marched into the hall, curious about what the two women in front of her were previously talking about. Gaia’s youngest daughter Rhea had joined them. The large blue floral dress made her seem like she never left the late 1960s and the two long braids only added to that sentiment.

“Mamá, what is going on? By the way Percy is looking for you, Annabeth,” Rhea informed her grandson’s alleged fiancé before taking a seat in front of her and grabbing one of the many balls of yarn in front of her mother. Rhea then went on to play with it as if she was a six-year old.

“Oh no, Rhea, Annabeth and I were just chatting about love and life,” Gaia batted her eyelashes.

“You see, I gave Rhea the same advice about her disgraceful husband when he went out to seek another woman.”

Rhea rolled her eyes behind the large pentagonally glasses. “You and your stories about the scythe, mother,” she sighed.

“I have to make sure the younger generation knows!” Gaia huffed. “I won’t be here for much longer and then-”

“We'll regret all the things we’ve said and done to you, I know mamá, you have been telling me this since I was four years old and spilled my apple juice,” Rhea completed her mother’s sentence.

Rhea’s attention shifted to the smiling blonde in front of her. She grew to like Percy’s fiancé. She had a fire within herself and a backbone, all great things to handle a Theodoropoulos man.

“But my mother is right when she says that the scythe is a trusted tool. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades did scare Kronos with it after he tried some foul things with their sisters. Treated them worse. Did overall horrible things. He never wanted daughters, only sons. Didn’t seem to accept the fact that it was out of my hand.” Rhea squished the ball of light blue yarn in her hand.

“My children were always looking out for me and I will be forever grateful for them. I do hope that you will have the same feelings and love for your children.” It was clear who their father was supposed to be.

“Yes, I hope so as well,” Annabeth squeaked. Did it get hotter in here all of a sudden?

The door opened, and a worried Percy stepped into the fireplace room. “Oh, there you are,” he sighed as he immediately sighted Annabeth’s blonde unruly curls. He had been running from the basement all the way to the roof searching for her. Relief washed over his face like some shower gel from a cheap commercial. Only then did he realize that Annabeth had been cornered by both his nosy grandmother and his even nosier great-grandmother.

“Whatever they’ve been telling you, it’s a lie, it’s wrong and it never happened!” he warned her as he took a seat right next to her.

“Oh please, relax,” Rhea rolled her eyes and threw the wool at her grandson. “We have been talking about mamá’s scythe.”

“Hey!” both Percy and Gaia complained. At least they hadn’t dished out embarrassing stories of him taking off in diapers at night.

“This is expensive! You young people show no respect towards others' belongings,” Gaia cursed.

Annabeth took the blue yarn and placed it back on top of the pyramid of other colors.

“Thank you!” Gaia smiled before she focused on finishing the sock.

“You’ve found your fiancé, Perseus. Now go off back to celebrate and let us old people reminisce about the past and talk.” Rhea lazily waved at them whilst Gaia didn’t even look up from her craft.

“We will,” Percy said while getting up and casually dragging Annabeth along. He kissed both Gaia and Rhea on the cheek, Annabeth threw a hasty “See you in the morning!” over her shoulder before the couple left.

“Are you okay?” Percy asked as he pulled Annabeth aside for a small breather.

She nodded. “It’s just a bit overwhelming with the amount of people that either want to take pictures of us, hope I remember when their youngest kid’s birthday is, or they tell me they hope we have our first baby preferably in less than a year.”

Percy blushed. He didn’t think it was that bad, but then again, men are mostly left out of the baby talk until their mother’s saw that their best friend’s children had their first grandbaby. He truly didn’t have any intention of having a child before the age of forty. He had to save a business from his damned uncle, run and manage said business and preferably find a woman he tolerated enough to marry before he could even think of children.

Percy apologized again. “One week,” he promised her.

“One week,” Annabeth repeated and nodded.

“We’re going in, you’ve missed the high of the party with your talk with my yai yai, but that’s perfectly fine. The first have already left, let’s just mingle for ten minutes or so before we can-”

The door flung open. “There they are!” yelled Hermes who was followed by Zephyrus and Hercules.

None of them had any intention of letting the party stop before five in the morning. It was merely two. The minute Hermes had his sights on Annabeth, he knew that he had found his best drinking buddy aside from Dionysus himself. Oh no, Annabeth thought and rightfully so.

The minutes of calmness and rest next to Gaia did their wonders because Percy and she were thrust back into the party at full force. She didn’t exactly remember when the blackout happened, but it was roughly thirty minutes later. She was drinking, she was dancing, she was completely making a fool out of herself. The hair? A mess. Annabeth herself? Don’t even think about it. She had been dancing with Hermes and Patroclus, Aphrodite accidentally stepped on her foot one time when Ares approached her.

Percy broke his own promise and accepted a fourth glass of wine from Dionysus who insisted on it. That glass was his doom. The last droplet touched his tongue and his world turned into a flashy mist, his consciousness was broken into pieces, fragmented and sprinkled across the floor. Where he was, when he was and who he was were things he couldn’t remember. The only thing that popped up in his mind were waves of solid gold. Was it hair? Could hair truly move like that and possess that texture? And a whiff of lemon with a hint of lavender crawled up his nose. It was an odd combination, but it felt safe and like home. He liked this smell. Where did he smell this before?

Percy didn’t care, he had other matters to attend to. The first thing on the docket was finding the bathroom, he had drunk way too much. The house had weird rules in regard to bathrooms. Was it the left side or the right side that the young men could use? Why did his uncle Hades have to break two sinks in a span of a week when he was sixteen again? Why were women and others allowed to do whatever they wanted? His great-grandma and her weird plans were always set to make him fail somehow. Things that she had thought of decades ago still bore fruit today.

Percy stumbled upstairs and turned right and prayed the doors he was opening were empty bathrooms and not relatives making out. That was just what he needed. The first door he opened was of his great-uncle Oceanus and Tethys who had a face mask on her face and pink curlers up her hair. At least the old people still knew how to behave. He hoped his mother had left the party hours ago. He apologized and closed the door. The next one was an empty bedroom, his even maybe. No, his bedroom was on an entirely different floor. Or was it?

The next bedroom was closed off thank god, but from the sounds on the inside it seemed like cousin Eos and her newest catch Orion had some fun. Disgusting, Percy thought before he moved on. The next door was what he was looking for. A bathroom. Lit up, clean and empty. Empty if it wasn’t for this one woman who was clutching the brims of the polished sink. She was tall, the golden hair equaled a rat nest and her red dress seemed to have witnessed a lot.

“Ugh,” she muttered and looked into the mirror. Her eyes found his immediately.

“Percy?” she turned around.

Oh right. He was Percy Jackson, thirty-one, single, hopefully the new CEO of Atlantic INC., he had a fantastic apartment in the Upper East Side with an amazing view and he was in Greece to impress his family with his fake fiancé in order to secure his father’s legacy. His fake fiancé being Annabeth Chase, a woman he loathed, had to pay a little hush money and hoped would leave the company fairly soon after.

“You’re in the men’s restroom,” Percy then stated.

Annabeth looked around. No, it was not the same bathroom she used in the morning. Oh yeah, Gaia’s weird bathroom rules.

“Honestly who cares?” the junior marketing manager complained. “A toilet’s a toilet, no matter who uses it.”

Percy shrugged. Annabeth had a point but it wasn’t their house so they couldn’t dictate the rules.

“I wanted to retouch my makeup, but I didn’t find my makeup bag.” She walked steadily to Percy, but it was clear to both of them that she had her fair amount of shots in her system.

“Yeah, it’s probably in the other bathroom. Wait, let me use the bathroom for a second and then we can head back to our room and you can look for your makeup.”

Annabeth nodded and waited on the outside while Percy was tending his business. After drying his hands, he opened the door and found Annabeth yawning in front of one of his yai yai’s paintings. It showed the scythe from the fireplace.

“In all honesty, your great-grandmother is an amazing woman. I admire her. Showing kindness and strength each day. How old is she?”

“Turning 106 next October,” Percy smiled at her. “She always said she wanted to live long enough to see her favorite descendants find their own happiness, whatever it may be.”

The softness in his voice made Annabeth’s heart ache. She turned her head back to the painting. She was a nobody. She had no family, no traditions she could upkeep. She didn’t even have a steady relationship in the past five years. Fucking Luke Castellan. He also had to take that from her as well. Make her suffer. That’s what Athena, Friedrich and Luke all thought at the same time. And they all had nearly reached their wicked goal if it hadn’t been for her stubbornness and will to eventually blossom into something else. The first step towards that something else resided within her move to California. She wanted to leave everything and everyone behind and start a new life, somewhere where no one knew her.

A thumb brushed over her cheek. Annabeth looked up to Percy. She hadn’t even realized she was sobbing again.

“Whatever it is, it’s going to be okay,” Percy assured her. His hands found her sides, pulling her into a soft hug.

A true fiancé level hug. Annabeth had never felt that comfortable within a man’s reach. Percy might have been an awful and annoying coworker, but he truly cared about his fellow people. The way they slowly rocked and kept hugging each other reminded her of the school dance work they had put on the floor earlier. But this time it was real. This time there was no one taking pictures or yelling into their ears, or the demand to see a kiss.

Annabeth rested her face in his chest and Percy leaned his head on hers. It was like they had been made for each other. A welcoming scent greeted Percy. Lemon and lavender. The person stuck in Percy’s crumbled mind had been Annabeth. She was his anchor in the havoc his relatives had created in such a short time. He took a deeper breath. It felt reassuring.

“Did you just sniff me?” Annabeth laughed as she pulled away from him.

“You do smell good!” he defended himself with a stupid grin on his mouth.

“Oh, wait you’re super drunk,” she giggled again as she saw his widened pupils that had pushed the darkened sea-green iris away.

“Well, look at you,” he retorted.

They looked at each other. Aside from the bumping music and the noises people made downstairs it had been completely silent. He missed her warmth; she missed his comfort. Neither would have guessed that a simple embrace could offer so much. Neither would have thought they would take it to the next step within a split second.

One last look. A last time sea-green and light-gray met before each set of eyes closed and their lips met with a brutal force in the middle. Their teeth clacked but it didn’t matter to them. What mattered now, was the moment. Forgotten was the alcohol, forgotten were the troubles of past, present and future. Forgotten were the friends and relatives in the building and back in New York.

So... what do you think? 😄 Like I said, this is not the entire chapter 🤷🏾‍♀️ I honestly feel bad for cutting the chapter off because it's really getting more interesting from that point on 💁🏾‍♀️ I'll probably continue working on this once I've published the next act of The Fool 🥳

Also Greek people, if something seems off with this (aside from random English at times lol) hit me up, I definitely have to do more research!

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

chapter list 🧣 previous chapter 🧣 next chapter

summary: believing your father’s concerns as a black family living in the secluded mountains of Wall Maria to be simple paranoia, a you naively set out on your own to discover the world and what it truly holds. yet after encountering another family secluded in the mountains, the Ackermans, you realize that maybe his concerns weren’t so unfounded in the terrifying yet beautiful reality you live in. befriending their daughter, a fellow survivor in what it means to be the last of their kind, you finds your path leading to the horrors of the fall of maria and the 103rd cadet corps.

tags: fem!reader, black!reader, canon typical violence and maturity, replies and reblogs appreciated, the reader is older than mikasa by one year, reader is also a hunter by family trade so if you don’t like that i wouldn’t read

chapter specific c/w: extremely racist comments from the three men who kill mikasa’s parents, suicide mention 

a/n: ah yes, chapter three. where things get.... i mean, y’all know what happens to mikasa’s parents lmao. sorry mr and mrs mikasa’s parents but... your time has come. pour out for the parents lost along the way. also eren the aries is now here.

now to press on forward with the story of romance, unhealthy attachment issues, and titans. pls pls pls reblog and comment whether it’s in the tags, replies, or ask box. it helps spread the word of the story and it’s nice knowing your opinions of the story!

Now on AO3 if you would like to follow along there!

Chapter Three

You closed your eyes as you rested your chin on the palm of your hand. It was raining this morning. It was a relief in a way. The rain prevented any sort of travel up the path that would lead home and Uba had yet to stumble upon the Ackerman cottage as well.

You closed your eyes, enjoying the constant pitter-patter against the window pane and roof.

Really it was only luck that Uba hadn't come this particular direction, so it meant that you could enjoy the remainder of your time with this family. Still, you'd think he would've come up the mountain by now and tried searching other directions. When you felt a tight grip squeeze your right hand, you opened your eyes and stopped dwelling on it. Across the table, Mr. Ackerman was peeling potatoes and to her right, Mrs. Ackerman was placing a brand on Mikasa's right wrist. "You can do it, Mikasa!" You cheered, carefully raising your left arm in the air. This had been going on for at least twenty minutes and Mikasa did her best to brave it.

Mr. Ackerman smiled and joined in, "you're doing very well, honey." He reassured.

Mikasa only grit her teeth as she continued to watch her mother carve a third sword onto her skin. Together, it was an 'A' with three swords. You watched in awe. "I don't think we have a family crest." You shuffled through your memories for any sort of mentions of a crest by Uba and couldn't find anything. Maybe your family never had one or maybe they had stopped carving it a long time ago. You would have to ask Uba about that. "What's your family like, Mrs. Ackerman? Uba never told me other races got into the Walls too. Then we wouldn't have been alone this entire time."

Mrs. Ackerman spared you a short glance from her work before looking down once again. "He might not have known, dear." She said softly. "A hundred years is a long time, things can be forgotten easily. What's matters is sticking together now, it doesn't matter where as long as we're together."

You hummed, not really mulling over the answer you received. I guess adults don’t know everything, after all. You squeezed Mikasa's hand and got a squeeze back. "Did your family always live here?"

"Mom said she and grandma and grandpa used to live in a small village when she was younger." Mikasa answered instead.

Mrs. Ackerman nodded, "that's right. But we weren't allowed to stay, so we traveled around a lot before I met your father and we settled down here."

"Uba said that we always lived in forests and mountains to avoid other people." If Uba had realized the Ackermans were around, he might've moved you both away instantly. You was glad that he hadn't, you wouldn't have met Mikasa otherwise. Wouldn't have known there were other kinds of humans in the Walls besides the Nwabu. You weren't the same, but you were. That had to count for something.

Mikasa looked over to her father, "but why did people push your family away, Dad?"

Mr. Ackerman looked at her thoughtfully, "I've never figured that out myself. I always figured it might have been something to do with housing and food shortages."

"But that doesn't matter." Mrs. Ackerman declared, finally setting down her tools. "What matters is that we're together, remember?" She kissed Mikasa's forehead and bandaged her wrist. "You were very brave, Mikasa. Remember, this is something you'll give to your own children one day. And them to theirs. Make sure not to show anyone else." You leaned forward to get one last good look at Mikasa's wrist before the brand was no longer visible.

"How do I have children though?"

"Well..." Mrs. Ackerman glanced over to her husband nervously. "Why don't you ask your father."

"Hey, Dad-"

"You know, sweetheart!" Mr. Ackerman coughed, setting his knife and potato down. "I don't know either. We should just ask the doctor when he gets here, don't you think so? I think so!" You blinked in realization, you had forgot about that. They had said a doctor would be coming today last night at dinner to look over Mrs. Ackerman about her having a baby.

"Well it goes in your stomach." You mumbled, staring at the woman in question's tummy. It was as flat as ever though, no signs of a baby present. "Did you eat a seed?"

Mikasa's looked at Mrs. Ackerman excitedly, "oh so it's like flowers?"

A knock prevented Mikasa's mother from answering and Mr. Ackerman was all too happy to stand to his feet. "Oh it looks like Dr. Jaeger is finally here! Enough asking questions, you two, we need to let the doctor in now."

"But-"

Mr. Ackerman turned around promptly and you rolled your eyes while Mikasa pouted. Adults never told them anything. "It's probably a flower seed Moms have to eat and then they just keep drinking water 'til their stomachs get big."

"But then how do they get it out?" Mikasa countered, though she sounded more thoughtful than disagreeable. "Do they pop out of the Mom's stomach like a flower does? Or-"

Mikasa stopped talking when a loud thud sounded and your eyes looked over in time to see Mr. Ackerman collapse to the ground, slumped over.

You blinked as she looked up at the wide open door.

Once, twice.

Three men stood at the door where Mr. Ackerman just was.

One of them wearing a cap stepped forward. "Good afternoon." The capped man said politely. Was he the doctor? Why were there other people here then? Who were they? You suppressed a shudder, you didn't like the air any of the strangers gave off.

"You'd be wise the listen to us." A different brunet growled aggressively as he raised a large ax into the air. "Not unless you want to get your head cracked open with this."

It was with a scream that Mrs. Ackerman suddenly bolted forward with a scalpel in hand and you nearly fell out of your chair in her surprise. In a matter of seconds you watched as Mrs. Ackerman, kind and beautiful and loving Mrs. Ackerman, tried to stab someone in the throat. The brunet with the ax yelped in surprise as he caught Mrs. Ackerman's arms before she could land a hit on him. "M-mom-" Mikasa stood up, tearing your hands apart as she trembled.

Mrs. Ackerman looked back at you both like a wild boar that had just been cornered, "Both of you run away now!"

Blood rushed in your ears as you watched the struggle play out, slowly standing to your feet. Mr. Ackerman still wasn't moving, his orange vest was stained red as blood dripped from the wound. You stepped back slowly, throat dry. Mikasa didn’t move an inch. 

"... Mom, Dad isn't..." Mikasa trailed off, she hadn't moved an inch.

"Hurry and leave!" Mrs. Ackerman screeched, looking back at them once again. The look she gave was one you knew you’d never be able to describe. It was like the woman was trying to convey every last second of her thoughts to you. That she knew that nothing would be the same again. That you couldn't tell Uba about the other kinds of humans in the Wall. How they needed to stick together. To keep each other safe. But no other message was more apparent than Run. 

You grabbed Mikasa's hand and sprinted for the back door.

"Damn it, you fucking broad!" A man shouted. "Go and cut them off! I've had about enough of you!"

Your heart stuttered at the sound of a scream and blood spatter. "You idiot, I told you that it was only the dad we were supposed to kill!"

"She was attacking m-"

"Quit your excuses! Just hurry up and grab the brats!"

My rifle, where's the rifle? You could hear the storm of footsteps following behind you, your thoughts racing just as fast.

"W-wait!" Mikasa yelped.

It's in the shed. I can't get to it in time!

"We left Mom behind!"

Damn it!

"We have to go back!"

"We can't!" You could barely stop yourself from slipping as your bare feet touched the wet wood of the back porch. Mikasa wasn't as lucky and you tugged Mikasa onto her feet as quickly as possible. The trees!

You could lose them in the trees and hide until they were gone and run to Uba's.

But it'll take almost a week to get there. Your eyes were blurry but you couldn't tell if it was from the rain. "Uba!" You called out, hoping somehow that he would miraculously appear and save the day. When your movement came to a halt due to a harsh tug, you almost thought that maybe he had. Yet when you turned around, all you could see was the looming figure of the man with a cravat holding onto Mikasa's arm, tugging you back harshly as his friends arrived. With all your girlhood fury, you aimed a kick for the man's shin but despite his wince, his grip was steadfast.

The man with the ax was approaching them, ax looming. "You knock that off now or else-"

The capped man grabbed him, seething. "No more threatening for you, not after the last one! This isn't just some kid covered in mud and dirt, he's special!" He hissed at his comrade. The ax still had blood on it as he tugged it out of his hand. Just like when we cut up the geese. You couldn’t help thinking briefly amidst the chaos. "So I'm not letting your trigger happy ass kill our meal ticket just because the brat was kicking people! Just hurry up and knock them out so we can get out of here."

You tried tugging at Mikasa's hand again but the cravat man separated you both. "I don't think so." He spat.

"Mikasa!" You called after her when ax-wielding maniac who killed Mrs. Ackerman took your friend. You struggling increased as you watched him strike Mikasa’s face. "Damn you!" You barked, not caring what swear words would leave her mouth. "Bastard! Shit head!"

The last thing you saw before you could spit something out again was a white fist hurling towards you face and the first thing you saw when you woke up was Mikasa being rolled onto her back. "Not bad, but she's just a kid. Doesn't really strike my fancy."

"I don't care about your tastes, the fact is that she's an Oriental." You blinked groggily. Your head was killing you and you could barely breathe with how stuffy your nose felt. You pushed a harsh breath through your nostrils, red spraying from them. You tried to say something, anything, but couldn't. Finally you noticed how your mouth was covered by cloth. "That one over there's a Black. A long time ago, there were different kinds of humans. These two are the last descendants of their kind."

Unable to move your hands you tried inching onto your knees, but you choked as you felt your stomach crash down to the floor. "Damn it, stop doing that before you damage him even further!" The man with the cap snapped angrily. "It's bad enough you killed the Oriental girl's mother, but you broke the Black's nose! We don't need you giving people more reason to skimp out on paying less for him when he's the only pure blood we have now for those perverted fucks in the capital!” When the foot on your back was removed, you struggled to catch your breath. 

“Even if she’s mixed, the pay’ll be decent enough. We’ll sell the girl to the highest-paying pervert and this boy would make a decent slave. They said in the past Blacks like him were as strong as ten men combined."

"The last one we found certainly put up a fight." The ax man snorted, his irritation easily noticed even in this situation. "Damn shame the fucker bit his tongue off before we could even get him to the capital."

"Doesn't matter. We salvaged what we could. Only real miracle is that we found two distinct families in the same mountain chain, otherwise thanks to someone over here we wouldn't even have two people." The capped man only got a grunt in return from the other. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! You couldn’t get the last look Mrs. Ackerman gave you out of your head. You had to think clearly. Whenever they stepped out this cabin, you’d get up and run. We can still hide, we can figure out what to do about the cloth afterwards. You weren’t going to be a slave, Mikasa wouldn’t be sent to wherever they were going to take her. You’d get out of this alive and together. 

"I wondered where the kid was when we searched the house and came up with nothing. Glad to know the brat was down here with the Orientals the entire time, certainly made everything easier."

At that, you froze before raising your head at the men with wide eyes.

"What, miss your daddy?" Mrs. Ackerman’s killer jeered and you felt dizzy, breath sporadic. "Sorry but he's gone now. Not that you would've been sold together. He would've been a real good-"

"Quit antagonizing him." The capped man interrupted. "The point is that that was a lesson learned, we should've gagged him before he cooked up the idea to bite his tongue and off himself. Not making that mistake again. And if anything else, we learned never let you be the one with the a-"

The door creaked open followed by a hesitant, "um, excuse me?"

The angry brunet stomped forward, "what the hell do you think you're doing here, kid?!"

"I-I got lost in the forest." Came the teary reply of a young-sounding boy. "And then I saw this cabin so..."

There was a pause and the capped man waved his hand forcefully before the first man continued on, a nervous chuckle in his voice. "That's really bad, you know! A kid really shouldn't be walking around the forest on their own. "There's all sorts of dangerous animals! Wolves and bears, all that jazz! But you won't have to worry about anything if you come with-" the man stopped talking abruptly.

"Thanks, Mister." The boy's voice was eerily calm as spoke. "I get it now, so die, you bastard." A thud followed after.

The capped man jumped up in surprise, grabbing their blood-encrusted ax to chase after whoever had come. The last thing you were expecting seconds later was the man collapsing to the floor right beside you, a boy charging right through him with a hastily made weapon. "You damn animals!" The boy shouted. His eyes a blazing green as he stabbed and stabbed and stabbed, screaming at the man to 'die' repeatedly. "This is what you bastards deserve!" The brunet screeched. "You had it coming!"

You stared dumbly for a moment before you brought your knees to chest and forced your way onto your feet. Not taking your eyes off the boy, you hovered over Mikasa clumsily.

When the boy finally calm down and looked at you, you couldn't suppress a flinch when he approached and glared in his direction. "It's okay." He took another step forward, reaching for your gag. "I won't hurt you guys. I'm Eren, Dr. Jaeger's son. Who are you? I know she's Mikasa." He said as he made quick work of cutting off the rope around your wrists.

"_." Your voice was ragged but you paid your soreness no mind, pulling out Mikasa's gag quickly. You winced at the blank expression on Mikasa's face. A far cry from the smiling girl you were used to seeing. And Uba is... You shook your head. There was no time to cry and grieve, not when there was still the man with cravat. Mrs. Ackerman had already told you what to do. "We need- we need to hurry up." You pulled Mikasa onto her feet and ignored the throbs of pain from your nose and chest. She wouldn't let these hands go again, not until they were safe. "There's a third outside.”

You ran to the door but you were barely able to react as the man with cravat came into your line a sight. Damn. was your last thought before he swung and sent you flying down to the ground. Your vision was filled with black spots, barely managing to see Eren get wiped out just as quickly. "Did you do it!?" The man roared, lifting Eren by the neck tightly with both hands. Eren kicked his legs as he struggled for breath. "You're fucking dead, kid!" The cravat man swore.

You gasped as flood filled your mouth, spitting it onto the floor. Your head was dizzy and your mouth didn't stop filling up. You lost a tooth, you could see the white of it in the pool of red on the floor. "Fight!" Eren was shouting. "You need to fight!"

You looked up with a grimace, barely able to stand.

"If you lose, you'll die!" Eren went on, his face a blur. "If you win, you'll live-augh!"

"What the hell are you talking about!?" The man with the cravat spat while tightening his grip.

Mikasa reached for the knife. "I can't..."

You shook your head. Why can't I get up! "Don't... Mikasa, I'll do it. It’s fine." But your body wouldn't move any further. Move! Move! Move! Damn it, don’t stop working on me now! "It's no different from hunting. No different..." You wanted to scream at yourself for being so weak. Eren wasn't shouting anymore. Maybe he wasn't even alive. Maybe he was gone, just like Uba. Like Mr. Ackerman and Mrs. Ackerman.

When you heard a loud crack, you half expected the sound to be Eren’s neck. Surprisingly enough, what you saw was Mikasa’s foot passing through the floorboard like it was nothing before charging with a scream, your vision finally blacking out completely.

[;’;]

"Eren!"

Mikasa looked down at you as the doctor yelled at his son who had saved your lives.

You had taken most of the traders’ abuse, your head and nose wrapped in bandages. The doctor said it would heal in due time with your lower ribs only bruised. Wrist stinging, Mikasa held your hand. It was like a reminder of what had only been only hours ago in the morning.

Mother had baked fresh bread for breakfast, the house still smelling just like it as it was baked to a golden brown with the last of the cheese they had as a topping. You and Father had stayed home for it, unable to hunt due to the rain that also kept you from returning home. Then Mother sat Mikasa down and told her she would finally be receiving their family crest today, a memento she would be able to have with her for years.

Mikasa's grip tightened around a brown hand that didn't squeeze back. The hand that snatched her away before Mother was taken from her by evil men that killed Father moments beforehand. A hand that had taken the lives of many animals Mikasa did her best to ignore. The hand of her best friend.

You couldn't go back home to the garden that hosted bugs that would eat others of its own kind that Mikasa turned a blind eye to.

Cat and mouse.

Hunter and prey.

Three traffickers and two families.

This world is cruel. Mikasa thought plainly. It always had been no matter how much she tried to ignore it. Mom said we had to stick together. Mikasa remembered her mother's face as you pulled her away and into the rain. But where do we go in a place like this. Mikasa thought of the cottage she had spent her entire life living in. She'd collect the eggs and eat breakfast with Mother while you left with Father to hun, then she'd tend the garden and collect any vegetables that were ready to be picked and wait for you and Father to come home. You could never go back to the way things used to be.

"Mikasa." Dr. Jaeger's deep voice pulled Mikasa out of her thoughts. "Do you remember me? I'm Dr. Jaeger, we've met a few times when you were younger." Mikasa paused, trying to remember the man before nodding slightly. "Do you know if your friend has a family that's nearby that we can take them to?"

Mikasa shook her head. "She doesn't." She recalled softly. "They took her father away too." It was just the two of them now. "Dr. Jaeger," Mikasa started slowly. "where should we go now? It's cold."

There was a beat of silence before Mikasa felt something wrapping around her neck. She looked over her shoulder to see Eren as he finished haphazardly tying the black fabric of his scarf. "There." He finished looking embarrassed. "It's warm, right?"

It is. Mikasa looked at you again, a jacket had been placed over you like a makeshift blanket.

"Mikasa, why don't you come and stay with us?" Dr. Jaeger suggested, much to the girl’s surprise. "You've been through a lot. You need plenty of rest and my wife would be happy to care for you."

"... And _?" She tightened her grip.

Dr. Jaeger smiled, "she'll be in my clinic until her injuries heal, but if there isn't room for a third we do know a family that may be willing to take her in. Don't worry, she'll be taken care of and you'll be able to see each other everyday."

"But we'll be in the same place first?" Mikasa felt a prickle of anxiety as she searched the man's face for any sort of deceit.

Dr. Jaeger nodded once, firmly, "in the same district too."

"It doesn't matter where as long as we're together." Mother had said.

After a moment, Mikasa nodded.

It wouldn't matter where.

They only needed to be together.

They were the last ones, after all. 

The last of their kinds. 

And the only thing they had from Before.

[snackhobi]

pairing: jungkook x reader / word count: 7.4k / genre: pacific rim au with brief smut (NSFW, 18+)

summary: there are no secrets in the drift. if jungkook were to see the mess inside your head and heart, laid utterly bare, he’d turn away from you.

warnings: sexually explicit content (briefly), unprotected sex (please be safe when you have sex) / reference to injuries but nothing graphic, giant robots powered by love punching big alien monsters

a/n: this is a birthday gift for the amazing @yeojaa​. happy birthday, erin. this is completely self serving and is stuffed full with inside references that I hope you’ll enjoy. I wrote this in two days and it kicked my ass because I did so much reading and researching that turned out to not even come up in the story 👁👄👁 you know when I said I was studying? I lied. I was writing HAHAHAH ily I hope you like it hhhh (this is unbeta’ed so please forgive any mistakes it’s 1:30am as I’m scheduling this) (also summaries are so hard, I’m sorry)

Jeon Jungkook really is the perfect posterboy for a Jaeger pilot.

Broad across the shoulders and trim at the waist, all sharp punches and hard muscle, resilient and tough, with a face that’s the perfect balance of angles and softness; the cut of his jaw easing up and into his pretty mouth, the line of his brows subdued by his warm eyes—he’s a Goddamn vision, raw masculinity overlaid on rich veins of boyishness, glittering stratum that sparkle and shine even under the harsh lights of the Shatterdome. 

He pouts when he thinks and his hair hangs a little in his big, big eyes and he has dimples that appear when he grins, teeth poking out onto his pretty pink lips, like someone took a rabbit and turned it into a man and packed on pounds of muscle alongside. Undeniably powerful and strong, but youthful and sweet, too.

Alongside Kim Taehyung—arresting and beautiful and somehow affable and approachable, all at the same time—they’re exactly what South Korea needs right now, propelling the country’s new look for their renewed assault against the kaiju. They’re the lucky new Rangers who’ve claimed ownership of the only Mark-5 that their homeland has produced, Bulletproof Striker, a fucking gorgeous Jaeger bristling with the latest and greatest technology that the world has produced.

But that doesn’t mean they’re the best that South Korea has to offer.

Cypher Zero is smaller, lighter, older, but she’s fierce. Just like her pilots. You and Yoongi might not be the burning beacons of hope that Jungkook and Taehyung are, polished and buffed to a squeaky shine, but you don’t need to be. You’re vicious and victorious and show no signs of stopping. The kaiju kills painted on your Mark-4’s shoulder are evidence enough of that, notches for each monster taken down, spray painted in one tiny corner of the huge swathe of burnished metal plating, the red edges of her midnight skin.

Bulletproof Striker is almost untouched, deployed just once since her recent launch, flawless exterior so at odds with Cypher Zero’s battered facade. Cypher’s beautiful, of course, but bears the history of your skirmishes, inside and out: scuffed paintwork, dented metal, rust dripping down from the ladder rungs dotted across her, melting into the obsidian of her hull. 

Jungkook and Taehyung move in a way that’s practiced, disciplined motions of combat that their Jaeger echoes in turn. Her mechanical movements reflect those of the men inside her head, skilled and superb. Stunning. But you and Yoongi? You fight dirty, violent and rough; messy bar room brawls; shattered glass and clawing hands in beer soaked backrooms, tinged sulphur yellow under dirty lightbulbs; two kids who fought against a world that was against them. 

(Two damaged people coming together in the Drift to make something even stronger than the sum of your parts.)

(Two damaged people who survived the rough hands of the Jaeger Academy, trying to take them, push them, shape them, break them.)

(Life isn’t kind. You’d learned that young, surrounded in the splintered remnants of your childhood home, the facade of family and happiness already gone, long long long ago, leaving you aching and lonely and cold. The prospect of fighting thousands of tons of alien hatred, lifting out of the depths of the uncaring, dark sea? At least you can see the kaiju coming. Broken households and loneliness? A little harder to lay your hands on.)

(But out of everything you lost, you’d gained one thing—Min Yoongi, another quiet, damaged thing, but with the biggest depths of warmth and love underneath that hard surface; your best friend, your brother-in-arms, growing alongside you, with you. Damaged kids turned bitter teenagers turned razor-edged adults, outcasts in solitude, but together. Not alone.)

(The deeper the bond, the better you fight. Falling into the Drift with Yoongi had been easy, years of tangled connection bleeding into the images that flashed across your brain. The same memories from different angles, overlaid with different emotions, undercurrents eddying under the surface that caught both of you and swept you up in its flow; the same mind, bridged by hundreds of tons of metal and technology and firepower underneath you, linked together in the silence of the Drift.)

There’s reverence, in the way these two new pilots look at you both, reverence and awe and respect alike: older Rangers, more experienced, history written across the worn edges of your Drivesuits, the paint flaking away from your battle armour, scuffs and scrapes on the once unblemished veneer; knowledge etched into the feline slant of Yoongi’s eyes, the turn of your shoulders and hips. 

You know Jungkook’s track record. You know of the endless months of assessment and sparring and psych evals and Drift tests and simulation drops that every successful Ranger has to go through, and Jungkook had trumped them all, stood atop them like a conqueror surveying his hard-won lands—gifted, talented, some even said God-touched. And yet for all this indomitable talent and skill, there’s still humility at his core, a willingness to defer with respect.

That deference is obvious whenever he sees you. Jungkook’s dark eyes will touch your own, for a moment, dark and deep and bright—and then his gaze will skitter away, cockiness and bravado dissolving into something submissive, yielding. (Shy.) You’ve watched him orbit you, the younger ranger caught in your gravity, always nearby—the Shatterdome is only so big, for its magnitude and sprawling corridors—but never broaching that final gap, that little step, into Cypher Zero’s space, Yoongi’s space, your space. Keeping himself at arm’s length.

South Korea’s golden boy, less afraid of the Kaiju than he is of his sunbaenim.

Jungkook and Taehyung are both beautiful. But you and Yoongi are less so, unapproachable in ways that the younger pilots aren’t, private and prickly, like grasping a patch of stinging nettles with bare hands, stinging and burning.

As if Jungkook isn’t terrifying and gorgeous in his own ways. As if he doesn’t shine brighter than the sun himself. Taehyung moves through the world with a thoughtless, charismatic ease that Jungkook doesn’t share—but he’s still magnetic, bold and brilliant, monstrously skilled at everything he puts his mind to, training again and again and again to get it right, get it right, get it right. 

To get it perfect. 

But there’s no level of perfectionism that can surmount the twisted, unpredictable nature of the kaiju belched forth from the breach. No matter how good you are, how strong or fast, how smart or seasoned, sometimes you still get caught in that hurricane, even in a Jaeger.

It doesn’t matter how many engines are packed into each muscle strand. It doesn’t matter how fast the pistons and levers and gears shift and move. It doesn’t matter that the pilots in her cockpit are impeccable and incredible. Under the cloak of deepest night and pouring rain, blanketed in darkness and water from the heavens above and the sea below, movement is impossible to track—and when Steelbrute rises from the waves, no one sees the kaiju coming.

Bulletproof Striker takes the hit. Jungkook and Taehyung fight back but they’re blindsided and overwhelmed, and their Jaeger falls to her knees in the churn of the Pacific Ocean, salt water crashing over her in choppy waves as Steelbrute’s merciless maw gapes wide open.

Cypher Zero is 250ft tall and weighs 1410 tons. You and Yoongi are tiny specks of organic matter in a fearsome behemoth of titanium and tungsten and graphene and circuitry, commanders of a weapon that’s the same size as a skyscraper—and yet you wouldn’t think that for how fast you move. Zero hesitation. No verbal communication. Cypher’s legs cut through endless waves and gain momentum with each crashing step that slams into the seafloor before you leap forward in a flurry of motion and Drift powered fury. 

Your motions in the Conn-Pod are ragged and incensed, your arms and legs moving in sync with Yoongi, with Cypher Zero, a snarl ripping out of your co-pilot’s usually quiet mouth as the kaiju lurches underneath you. The world narrows down to this: throwing yourself into the fray, jagged knuckles edged with plasma pummelled into Steelbrute’s skin in a scuffle that’s vicious, aggressive, until Bulletproof Striker regains her footing.

The sun is rising, grey and cold on the horizon when Steelbrute finally sinks into the sea, toxic blood flooding the water with neon blue. When you step out of the cockpit, Yoongi’s fringe is matted with sweat, and you can feel all the places the circuitry suit sticks to your skin—piloting a Jaeger is mentally and physically exhausting, every muscle and organ and bone working overtime for endless hours as you fight tooth and nail. Without the helmets in the way, there’s nothing stopping you bumping your foreheads together, heedless of the sweat slicked there; Yoongi’s hand rests at the back of your head, a familiar cradle.

“All good,” you say. Yoongi lets out a quiet bark of a laugh, rough and exhausted.

“I want a nap,” he says, like he always does, even if you’re a long way away from that, still fully suited and due to speak to the Marshalls. There are so, so many things separating you from the bliss of sleep.

One thing that’s not part of the normal routine, though, is the other pilots catching you, demanding your recognition, respectful (Taehyung) but insistent (Jungkook). You know that Yoongi doesn’t like attention or hero-worship, but there’s nothing except gratitude, here, bent heads and words of thanks. You’d saved their lives, after all. Saved their Jaeger from being torn apart, pain screaming through their own bodies of flesh and bone, connected to their metal monster. Of course they’re grateful.

You dismiss it with a hard cut of your hand.

“It’s nothing,” you say. 

You’re speaking the words you know are in Yoongi’s head—years of friendship and shared Drifts leaving his thought processes wide open to you—although you know you’re sharper than he is, harsher than he is, even, for all that he looks like the cold one from the outside. Long lashes and silken hair don’t translate to something soft and feminine and pretty, and you’re all ragged edges and rough parts, bleeding into the delivery of your words. Yoongi rounds the words in his mouth and places them into the world with a rumble of quiet strength that belies his past, but you? Your tongue is cutting and terse and drips with distrust, even when you don’t mean it to, staring at these two boys, Jungkook’s eyes so brown and large when he stares back at you.

The truth is that you care about humanity, of course. You care about humanity and you care about the millions of people in the cities that line the coasts and further inland, and you care about your fellow pilots, skilled but soft-hearted as they are. You’re stronger. You have to be. That’s what Yoongi is, that’s what you are: fighters. You fight dirty because you fight to win, not to protect yourselves. You’ll fight and you’ll die for this, for them, even if there’s no friendship there. Not yet. You’re still too distant, for all that you’d thrown yourself in the line of fire to rip the kaiju from the younger Rangers. 

And when Jungkook levels a look at you, there’s a flicker of something. A spark. All the glittering of his warm eyes comes together like the cascading sparks of molten fire that fall when metal is cut through— his eyes score through you, down down down, right to your core, underneath all the armour you’ve laid about yourself throughout your life. Your heart stutters. You’ve been watching Jeon Jungkook, and he’s all cocky Ranger bravado, or innocent brown eyes and shy, curving smiles, and yet. 

And yet. You know he sees this soft part of you, somehow. Past the thorns and sharp leaves, past the hard husk, into the rich, bursting sweetness inside, oozing red gems of pomegranate that yield so easily to the fingers and mouth.

(He’s temerarious and modest and wickedly perceptive too, it seems.)

“That was our kill,” he says suddenly. Taehyung—the voice piece of the two, the one who’s been smiling and speaking, easy and slow—goes still at his side.

“What?” Yoongi’s eyes pierce through him, but Jungkook keeps his focus on you.

“Steelbrute. Our kill. It was a hit from our rockets that took him out,” Jungkook says, eyes still glinting with that sparkling shine. Slicing through you with an explosion of light. “Not your blades.”

Silence steals over you, for a breath. It’s never truly silent in the Shatterdome, an iron fortress that never sleeps, but for a second, there’s quiet. It wraps around you. Tight. Almost deafening.

But then you break that silence.

You laugh. 

You laugh at the cheeky grin that pulls at Jungkook’s lips, the boyish lift to his face.  You laugh at his shamelessness, the sudden 180 from his earlier fear. You laugh at the way he’s diluted this astonishing, formidable thing—humanity coming together to destroy alien predators that threaten the planet—into a competition.

“You’re a menace, Jeon Jungkook,” you say.

Stinging nettles you might be, but if you’re grabbed hard and fast by confident hands, you don’t wound. Jeon Jungkook defers to respect, avoids confrontation, bows his head and quiets his mouth, but he knows, now, that he can do this. That he can push you like this, and you’ll let him, sway against it, let yourself be pushed.

Yoongi slides you a glance out the corner of his eyes, a light touch, a tacit agreement to an unspoken question.

“You can have it. Steelbrute’s yours.” There’s the smallest curl to your lips as you speak for you both. There’s something weirdly easy and familiar to this, to this interaction, even if you’ve barely exchanged words before now, giving this triumph to the other pilots hand over fist.

(Giving it to Jungkook on a platter.)

You can see the flare of triumph in Jungkook’s eyes. You know it’s not for the notch of their first kill, one they can add to their Jaeger. It’s for something far harder to achieve, something far more ephemeral: digging down and past your cool veneer and lifting out a smile, spreading it across your lips like warm butter, liquid gold.

And he keeps making you smile. 

Jeon Jungkook, you find, is a force of nature, relentless, an ocean. Sometimes he’s soft, loving waves of glittering blue that crash on pearly white beaches, playful and bright. Sometimes, he’s intense, the crashing waves of a storm tossed sea, powerful and unstoppable. Always, he’s striking, even when he’s not trying—even more so because of it, moving without thought or uncertainty, a silence settling over your thoughts whenever you see him like this. See him in this raw state, so unafraid where before he’d curbed his tongue and bent his head in front of you. Now, he’s just himself, without filter.

Taehyung is there too, of course. Both pilots join your small, fiercely private circle, not just a path from you to Yoongi any more. They become intertwining lines, a pattern that’s drawn between the four of you, pilots, friends. And you learn, that for all that you’d thought that Taehyung was the dominant one outside of their Jaeger, social and extroverted and unabashed, Jungkook isn’t quiet. Not when he’s comfortable.

(Not, now, when he’s with you.)

He’s a myriad of things, endlessly deep, so different from you, from Yoongi, but—the truth of it settles inside you, your joints, the marrow of your bones, the blood that pulses forth from your heart each time it beats in your chest, liquid life running through you. 

Drift compatibility.

Not that it matters. You already have a partner. You’re never going to open yourself up to anyone that isn’t Yoongi, who’s seen every part of you already. There’d been no fear about letting Yoongi see inside your brain, your heart, the raw, bleeding parts of you—because he’d already known them. Just like you’d known his. Yoongi stands to your right, inside the Conn-Pod and out, a driving force, even in his silence. 

But Jungkook is softer, sweeter, for all his raw power and skill, respect engraved into his every motion, even when he’s teasing and making you laugh. Even when he ignores the social guidelines that he should follow, does follow for others, everyone except you. 

And you don’t mind. You don’t bite out insults at him when he slides into the quiet hollow you’ve scraped out, a small space with just enough room for the people you keep in your heart. You’re still barbed and spiked, warding away unwanted attention, but for Jungkook, the claws retract. 

You’re still you, of course. Jungkook calls you mean, says that you bully him, even as he’s flopped across your bunk, eating your rations, shovelling coveted popcorn into his mouth. He might pout and sigh and cry oppression, but you’re soft on him and he knows it. That quiet hollow in your heart is a little larger, now, a little louder. Jungkook is brazen in his claim of this space, spreading each of his limbs wide as he fits himself into every part of it. He doesn’t know every piece of your past, and you don’t plan to let him see all the messy parts bundled in your chest, but. But he’s still there.

And you let him stay. You make a home for him inside you and let him take the key. He might tilt his head and goad you, might pretend there’s a genuine challenge in the set of his jaw, but you know it’s all tempered with admiration, veneration. Friendship.

(And where he clearly respects you, you admire him in turn. You’re reminded of your differences every second he moves and breathes and just exists in front of you, but you don’t have to be similar to someone to realise just how incredible they are.)

(But though you’re different, there are similarities. You’re not a mirrored image, a reflection, like you are with Yoongi. Instead, you’re a line drawn between two separate places, an isohel, sun lighting up your world for the same sweep of the clock even for how far apart you are. Sharing that same, tenuous thing, for all your contrasting parts.)

(This thing that’s growing, held in your hands. This soft, gentle thing, shimmering, frail, unfurling slowly but undeniably. Tinged with happiness, disbelief. Disbelief that you’ve found this, that you can see Jungkook across the echoing cavern of the Shatterdome’s main hall, so far in the distance, barely visible at the foot of his Jaeger—and something will settle in your chest. Featherlight, iridescent. Something comforting.)

When you fight the kaiju, now, it’s with a deeper reserve of desperation. Taehyung and Jungkook aren’t just fellow pilots, dongsaeng that you’re obliged to look after: they’re your friends, something more than that too, part of the rare handful of people in the world who understand, this overwhelming pressure to fight and win and protect the things you love. The people you love. They understand what it’s like to step into someone else’s head, to be connected to that person on a level that’s unfathomable, anchored in a depth of love that’s endless. You’re their aegis, now, their shield.

(Jungkook’s shield.)

Maybe that’s what’s to blame. Maybe that’s why you’re so sloppy, this time. Maybe that’s why you throw yourselves in the way of the blow that was meant for Bulletproof Striker. Maybe that’s why Ojousan shreds Cypher Zero’s chest apart, her head, why Yoongi is almost ripped from you, his fear and pain screaming through your neural connection. You feel everything he feels and more beside, your heart hammering in your throat as you scream, Jaeger’s arm swinging up and around in tandem with your own motions as you try to rip the kaiju away, anything to protect Yoongi, so scared of losing him, always always always, scared of being left alone.

But you’re not alone. 

Bulletproof Striker lifts up like an avenging angel. Her horns roar a challenge, an echoing battle cry as the younger pilots move in. Heavier and stronger, keeping her balance even in the turbulence of a fight, she takes the hits, gives back her own, sends the kaiju down into the crashing waves, waits for it to rise. But the monster is crafty and quick and even as you’re lifting your left arm—Yoongi’s hurt, so hurt, you know this, feel this, but he moves with you to ready the plasma cannon buried in the mechanics of your Jaeger’s hand, even if he’s keening with pain—you watch as the other pilots, too, fall victim to the clawed tail of the kaiju, screeching through layers of alloys and across their Conn-Pod.

Terror strikes through every part of you and morphs into hate. You hate the kaiju, hate your own weakness, hate the pain that’s been saved from being written into your own body while Yoongi screams and sobs even though he still fights. Your motions are anguished and desperate as you battle to overcome this beast that’s almost taken away everything that matters to you—and Cypher Zero, Yoongi, as damaged and hurt as they are, come through. (Like they always do, for you, always.)

And somehow, despite everything, for all the self-hatred and pain and fear, you pull through. You pull through. Damaged and hurt but alive.

Barely.

Barely alive. 

(One hand gives, the other takes away.)

It takes hours for them to pick Yoongi’s Drivesuit from his body, crumpled around him from Ojousan’s claws, cutting into the soft flesh of his body, body ruined further by the fighting he’d been forced into despite his injuries; so many of Taehyung’s bones are shattered, and when you finally see him awake and with his eyes open, there are burst blood vessels that cast red across the usually warm expression, his friendly eyes.

You should be grateful that they’re alive. You should be on your hands and knees, weeping, benedictions dripping from your graceless mouth as you thank whatever merciless God above decided to turn their gaze on you and grant you this leniency. So many pilots have died and will continue to die, you know this, but somehow your partners are still alive.

And you are grateful. You are. But there’s bitterness on your tongue, twisted across your palate, sour and acrid and filling you with its taste. You’d been foolish and reckless and you’d almost lost the things you cared about most, even if you’d destroyed the kaiju, torn it apart and left its fluorescent indigo blood to corrode the ocean. 

That’s what’s important, isn’t it. Saving humanity. One person, two people, four people—you’re the tiniest cogs in a whirring engine of billions. Unimportant. Just a spinning part that keeps the machine going.

When you’re not with Yoongi or Taehyung, an unmoving presence from their hospital beds, a hovering gargoyle carved from stone, you’re with Jungkook. Always, always, always. Somehow you’d both escaped without the injuries inflicted on your partners—you’d manage to break your little finger, and Jungkook had a black eye and a twisted ankle, and the both of you had mottles of bruises cast across your skin, pulled muscles, an ache carved into your bones, but that was it. That was it. It was almost laughable, how unscathed you are.

You hate it.

(It should have been you.)

Your legs—unbroken, unharmed—hang over steel scaffolding, motionless as you watch the tiny specks of people scuttling across the catwalks that criss-cross Cypher Zero’s body. You can see under her skin, damage peeling back all the layers of metal that should be holding her together. Endless showers of sparks fall and scatter as she’s stitched back together. Your beautiful girl is so damaged, so disfigured.

(You’d caught Yoongi as he’d fallen from the harness, listened to the horrible noises that had torn out of his lips as he’d dripped blood and pain over your shaking hands.)

The bland food you’d scraped off your dinner tray settles fitfully in your stomach, still one second, nausea bubbling up your throat the next. 

It’s one of the rare times you’ve been alone, since… since everything. You’ve been taking comfort in Jungkook’s presence, unwavering and understated, needing someone there when staring at Yoongi’s battered face proved too much. Even with his own upheaval Jungkook’s been there, at your side, always close. Eyes locked on you and taking everything in, the tired set to your face, the expression that tugs down your lips, and still, he stays.

But he’d disappeared after you’d eaten, a peculiar look on his face—you know him well enough now to recognise that look, that it means he’s got something in his head, some plan he means to unfold. It’s the first time you’ve seen it since Taehyung had been pulled out of the Conn-Pod. It’s some semblance of normality, an expression of something other than pale-faced dread and bone-shivering guilt. 

(You feel it too, that survivor’s guilt. Taehyung and Yoongi will recover but it’ll take time and so much suffering and you wish you could take that from them, heft that burden onto your own shoulders.)

(You know Jungkook feels the same.)

(You see it written in the tense lines of his body. Hear it unspoken in the words he shares with you. The bruises on his skin melt from red to purple to blue to yellow, but even if his body heals, his brain and heart bear the scars of helplessness.)

Jungkook reappears, finds you at the heavy steel door that leads into your room, rusted and worn but silent as it swings open in front of you. His eyes are wide and he’s breathless, like he’s been running, chest heaving as he sucks in air through his parted lips, a flash of teeth and tongue as he smiles.

Despite everything, you smile back. Helpless for that smile, always, happier now for the sight of it, for how little you’ve seen it. You want to see that smile every day. You don’t want him to worry for anything. You want him to feel the same way you do, when you see him: that quiet, maybe selfish thought that things are okay. 

Maybe he does. (His eyes are so warm.) He presses something into your hands, something soft and round like a well-practised secret, and then he’s gone. You can tell by the gait of his stride that he’s going back to Taehyung, giving you a moment of lonely reprieve to wash the grime and dirt off your useless body before you follow in his footsteps, stationed at Yoongi’s side.

The door swings shut behind you.

You lift your hand.

It’s an orange.

It’s a small, overripe thing, hard nub of the stem falling away from the skin with only the lightest brush of your fingers. You stare at the fruit, its brightness cutting through the muted sepia tones of your surroundings, a point of colour in an otherwise dull room.

You haven’t seen an orange in months. Rationing is tough on everyone, even Jaeger pilots. You’d mentioned in passing, so long ago, an old habit of yours. Before something else floated above it, more important and interesting, you’d made a fleeting statement that had flitted across the surface of the conversation: you liked eating oranges in the shower. Liked that nice, cool citrus sweetness in your mouth while the rest of your body was caught in the fall of warm water.

It’s such a small, tiny thing. Just the briefest lament—there are more important things than the fact you can’t have shower oranges any more, after all—and you’d forgotten you’d even mentioned it.

But Jungkook hadn’t.

It’s almost syrupy sweet, this orange. You savour each slice, pressing them between your teeth, feeling the rush of juice burst forth through the pith and skin, and it’s so good you could cry. 

You do cry.

Your mouth is full of orange and your eyes are full of tears and your head is full of—of—something, something so all encompassing that it overwhelms you, water cascading down the aching planes of your body as you crumple inwards. Jungkook had protected you with the overwhelming power of Bulletproof Striker, and he’s protecting you now, soft and considerate and kind, vulnerable and human. Stripped of tons of metal and technology, Jungkook wears his beating heart on his sleeve and is none the weaker for it. 

This seemingly small thing means so much, so so so much. You understand him, and he understands you too, knows that this gesture is indicative of support and care and nurturing, a tiny fragment of peace he can offer you in the tumult of everything out of your control. 

A tiny fragment of peace that’s part of a greater whole, all the things that Jungkook gives to you.

When the Marshalls gather you and tell you the plan going forwards, you’re unsurprised. 

It makes sense, of course. Four pilots down to two still leaves a pair, and Bulletproof Striker is nearly functional even if Cypher Zero will stay out of commission while she’s rebuilt. Simple maths. One Jaeger, two pilots. You and Jungkook.

You’re scared.

You know you’re Drift compatible. Every fight in the Kwoon Combat Room is evidence enough of that. A dialogue, each challenge is meant to be a dialogue to show physical compatibility, and it is: there’s perfect sync in how you each move to strike, even if your motions are so different, muscles burning and breaths coming faster each time you attack, parry, strike, block. It’s not about winning or losing. It’s a conversation, one that you and Jungkook fall into without thought.

And he would be the perfect partner. That much isn’t in doubt. Loyal and open and strong, honourable and brave and kind—and you know him, have grown to learn so much about this golden boy, this bright, brilliant boy. He’s fucking indomitable and anyone would be lucky to find themselves in the same Jaeger as Jeon Jungkook.

But there are no secrets in the Drift. 

To let someone in, you have to trust them. And you do, you do trust Jungkook, probably far more than makes sense, some unspoken thing between you burning like a wildfire. But while you trust him, confident in his strength and his heart, you trust yourself less.

You’ll be flayed open, naked and defenceless. He’ll see right to the core of you, every dirty corner of your crumpled soul, every shameful part of your foundations, uneven brickwork layered into your shaky temperament; strong one second, weak the next. He’ll see that you’re hard inside, too, biting and acidic right down to your shrivelled heart. This nascent thing that you’ve been building with Jungkook, been keeping safe in the cradle of your careful hands, will sputter out and die.

“Baby.”

Yoongi’s voice is comforting, a familiar rumble that rolls through your ears as you rest your head in his lap.

“And I mean that you’re literally being a baby,” he continues, and you curl your lip back from your teeth in a small snarl, menacing.

Yoongi just continues to thread his hands through your hair.

You’ve Drifted with Yoongi often and long enough to know how every thread of thought unspools in that skull of his. You know he has every confidence in the unshakeable pillar of your soul. He’s a brother to you, a connection that thrums deep in your veins even without the intimacy of the Drift, and the love you hold for him is undying and true.

But whatever you have with Jungkook is so timorous in the face of that.

“It’s different.” Yoongi looks down at the twist of your face. You know his thoughts and he knows yours too, your face and heart an open book to him. “But different isn’t bad.”

You keep your mouth shut, keep the words swallowed down in your throat, shoved down to the pit of your stomach. Keep it secret. Keep it safe.

“Baby,” he says again, softer, lower. This time, you know it’s an endearment. 

At the end of the day, no matter what fear grips cold and endless at your insides, you’ll do it. You’ll Drift with Jungkook. You’ll throw everything you have into the pyre, watch it burn and turn to ash, if it means you can keep everyone safe. To save Yoongi, Taehyung, Jungkook—you’ll open yourself up to the mortifying ordeal of opening up, laying yourself bare. You have to.

It’s chaotic, anyway. The day that your practice Drift is scheduled is the day the next kaiju rises out of the breach, that dreaded rift between our world and theirs, because why would you be allowed to breathe, even for a second?

It’s a scramble into the cockpit. There’s no time for trial runs or test Drifts. You fly or you fall. Everyone’s in a state of orderly upheaval as you’re suited up and left to stride forwards into a Conn-Pod that isn’t yours, in a Jaeger that isn’t yours.

(Left to stride forwards to stand next to someone who isn’t yours.)

Your Drivesuit is grey. Jungkook’s is white. There’s a subtle hologramatic sheen laid across the planes of his armour, leaving him a multicoloured vision that shines out under the flicker of the cockpit’s endless tiny buttons and lights. Your own suit is a matte, gunmetal with accents of burning scarlet, far more battered and worn. Dark and wild in the face of Jungkook’s radiance. He’s the perfect answer to the kaiju invasion. You, though, feel like an interloper in a space that wasn’t designed for you, this circle room that’s been home to Jungkook and his true, real partner. 

But he’s looking at you like there’s no one else he’d rather have by his side. 

He doesn’t care that everything about this moment just cements how he’s too good for you in every conceivable way, elevated above you. Doesn’t care that you’re just a temporary stop gap. There’s trepidation, of course, skittering nerves that dance across his face for this first Drift, surrounded by all the commotion that’s swallowing the world up outside the cockpit. But there’s also that fire in his eyes, one you’ve learned to expect: Jungkook is a wildfire and will surmount any obstacle in a blaze of white-hot light.

And he wants you along for the ride.

(Burns bright for it.)

“You ready?” He asks, and the tiny tremor in his words takes you off guard even as it soothes a balm over the rash of apprehension that prickles across your skin.

(Because he’s nervous, too.)

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” you answer, truly.

His eyes crinkle into a smile, crescents of happiness as his lip peels back from his teeth. It should be jarring, seeing his sweet bunny smile in the pit of a Jaeger, so at odds with the military polycarbonate that girds his body with protection, the masculine edges of his face—but it’s not. The world is just a backdrop to Jeon Jungkook, dropping away as you fall into his eyes, twinkling stars of brightness and warmth that hold you safe, even now.

Peace and contentment steals over you. You’re almost shocked by it, the way your own face softens into a smile, the rising beat of your heart. Every ragged messy edge in you is smoothed over by Jungkook’s presence and you glow for him.

When the Conn-Pod drops, there’s the familiar weightlessness, the sway of your body in the harness as you fall. Anticipation roils through you as Bulletproof Striker’s head locks into place, whirring mechanisms securing you to nearly 2000 tons of metal, so much heavier than your own Jaeger. You’ve taken Jungkook’s usual place and he’s taken Taehyung’s, the right hemisphere, the dominant pilot, familiar with this machine in a way you’re not.

Not yet, at least.

“We’ve got this.”

Jungkook’s voice cuts through the noise, the AI talking at you, a narration of events you’ve long grown used to. You turn your head to look at him. He’s already looking at you, intent and sincere. Like always.

“Yeah,” you say. “Yeah, we have.”

There’s no point being afraid. In a few seconds, Jungkook will be in your head, washing over every part of you—and you’ll be in his, pressing your ethereal touch into every facet that comes together to make Jeon Jungkook who he is.

Seconds pass. There’s a little hitch in his breath, a stiffness to his limbs, and he shuts his eyes. You breathe in deep, deep, deep, sucking in a harsh breath into your greedy lungs—

—the timer hits zero—

—and then the Drift slams into you all at once, all encompassing and consuming, threading your minds together.

(Drifting with Yoongi is easy, the familiarity of coming home after so much time away.)

(But this?)

(This is throwing yourself into a cold lake on a hot summer’s day, bracing and refreshing and breath-stealing all at once, shocking life into every one of your limbs, so sharp and fast you’re scared you might drown before you breach the surface, water holding onto you and not letting you go. This is driving reckless and fast down empty roads, watching the world pass you in a blur, laughing in delight at the pleasure of it all. This is scaling a cliffside with nothing but your own hands and determination, digging your fingers into the unyielding rock, pulling yourself up-up-up, never letting yourself fall.)

(This is having Jungkook beside you. This is having Jungkook diving into the lake with all the grace of an Olympian before he rises to the surface, tosses his hair carelessly out of his face, and spits a mouthful of water at you with laughter in his eyes. This is having Jungkook behind the driver’s wheel, shifting gears without thought, looking away from the road to watch the way your hair dances in the wind. This is having Jungkook climbing beside you, waiting for you at the top, holding a hand out to pull you up and over so you can sprawl out beside him, exhausted and exuberant at the top of this mountain, basking in the sun with Jungkook just a hair’s breadth away from you.)

(He takes one look at you. He takes one look at all the dark of your memories, the cascading mess of your insides, the hidden things that are open to him in the Drift, cut open and peeled back for his gaze—and he doesn’t look away.)

(He sees everything, past skin and muscle and bone and nerves, even deeper, right into your heart—)

(—all the torrents that eddy the deep waters of your soul—)

(—and he doesn’t look away.)

(He doesn’t look away.)

(Can’t look away.)

(Doesn’t want to.)

(Never wants to.)

(Jeon Jungkook takes one look at you, your whole being, and he knows you.)

(And he doesn’t want you any less.)

It’s just a second, a flicker, a breath, this first connection in this Drift, falling into each other. But it’s also a lifetime, two lifetimes, four lifetimes; your memories, Jungkook’s memories, Yoongi’s memories in yours, Taehyung’s memories in Jungkook’s. Layers and layers and years and years piled over one another, a tumbling sprawl—but it’s easy. It’s easy, so easy, Jungkook seeing you, you seeing him, everything he is, everything you are, everything you are to each other, with each other, for each other. The important things. The things you need to know to navigate this together, in sync even before now, reading each other to a level neither had even realised.

And when you’ve killed the kaiju. When you’ve walked Bulletproof Striker back to shore, brought her back to the Shatterdome, back home, it doesn’t end. You lift out of the Drift, step out of your Drivesuits, as different as they are (as different as you are), and it doesn’t end. 

Jungkook’s eyes linger, as heavy as a physical touch, and even as congratulations for a successful drop are bandied about you, he doesn’t leave your side. He keeps his hand against yours—not intertwined, but brushing, the curl of his fingers against your own. Touching. You’re not the protector here. He’s protecting you, in a way that doesn’t leave you feeling inferior or weak. You feel soft and warm and small and safe, pulled inexorably towards him, supported, buoyed up, and you don’t feel selfish for it.

Because he wants this.

He wants to be your comfort and your support.

He doesn’t want it to end.

(You don’t want it to end.)

And when you finally break away from those crowds, released from the shackles of responsibility and expectation—when you’re finally left alone, the two of you with each other, there’s no hesitation when you come together.

He lays you out beneath him and has you sobbing, back arching into the pleasure he draws out of your body, playing you like a maestro. Because he knows you, after all. He knows exactly how to trail his lips across your skin, your neck and stomach and thighs, painting marks across your body like it’s his personal canvas. He knows exactly how to have you twisting underneath him, how to pull those pretty sounds from your lips, fucking you with his fingers and his tongue until you’re a shaking mess. He kisses you sweet, merciless, letting you claw at his skin as you beg for more, more more more, wanting it, needing it, wanting him, needing him.

And you know he’ll give it to you. He’ll give himself to you, give you everything you ask for. You know how he wants to see you fall apart and you know how to move your body to have him gritting his teeth and staring in awe. You know how desperate he is to worship you, to show you his adoration and reverence, and you open up for him, unfurl like a flower, dripping nectar. When he finally presses into you, hot and long and thick, it’s so good you could cry. You draw him in-in-in, into your body and arms and heart, pressing your lips to the sweat at his brow, the taste of skin and salt and Jungkook bursting across your tongue.

There’s no Drift here, no curl of memories and unspoken thoughts between you. It’s physical and human, the crash of your bodies against each other, skin on skin, the thrust of his cock pressing into the dripping folds of your cunt. It’s the other half of that connection, the final piece, this thing you have with Jungkook, this perfect balance you have with him. It sears itself across your body and into your soul: it’s pleasure and passion and devotion carved into each touch of your lips and fingers, each roll of your hips, each time Jungkook makes you cum, gasping for him.

When he’s finally come apart inside you, spilling into your willing heat as you shake beneath him, arms and legs wrapped around his body as you pull him as close as you can, unwilling to let go—it still doesn’t end. You’re so wrapped up in Jungkook, in his arms, his heart, and you know he won’t let you go, either. He presses his lips against yours, chases those kisses, quiet and chaste to open-mouthed and dirty as the mood takes you, and then Jungkook rolls over you again, a spark in his eyes as he decides he’s still hungry for you.

You know, now, that all that time ago, when you carved that space for him into your chest, he’d done the same for you. He’d laid his heart at your feet and waited there, kneeling, for you to accept it, patient and willing. Staring at you with all the deep love you never thought you deserved, never thought you’d receive. But here he is. Here he is, love burning in his dark brown eyes. Eyes that have seen all the damaged, aching parts of you and love you anyway.

“I’m yours.”

Jungkook shines so bright at your words, a supernova of joy. His smile is so wide and his gaze is so soft, for you, for you, for you.

“Everything I am is for you,” he murmurs, letting the words curl into the air, settle across your skin, sink deep inside your chest. Your eyes flutter shut as you feel this touch of him inside you, wrapped around your heart.

And when you lift your hands, he comes so easily. He presses his cheek into the curve of your fingers, lets you hold him, lets you cup those lovely cheeks in your palms.

“I love you,” he says.

Right now, in this instant, there’s nothing but him. No kaiju, no Jaegers, no crumbling world, nothing. There’s only him, and you, together.

“I love you too,” you reply—and when you smile, gentle and tender, Jungkook falls in love all over again.

Burns bright for you.

[dickwheelie]

this is a ficlet based on @tired-dummy's star!martin, an immortal who can make stars, who falls in love with jon, a human, despite how short jon's existence is in comparison to martin's eternal lifetime. it's such a romantic concept that I had to write about it. all credit to them for the concept of this fic!

_____________

There are no stars in the sky that night.

In places like London and New York, no one really notices or cares, but where Jon lives, out in the Scottish countryside, in a village of less than five hundred people, the stark blackness of the night sky has everyone standing out on their porches, staring up in puzzlement and concern.

Jon knows why, but he doesn't tell anyone. He just looks up at the empty sky through his kitchen window as he washes the dishes, and when he is done, he draws the curtains.

The following night, the stars are back, though Jon thinks they might be dimmer than they had been before. Just when he is about to dress for bed, he hears a knock on the door of his tiny cottage.

Martin is on the other side, his amber glow lighting the surrounding forest, the constant, faint hum he emits disturbing the frogs and porcupines, who scuttle away towards less strange locales. White-hot tears still pour from his eyes, falling to the ground at his feet with a hiss. "I'm so sorry about last night," he says at once, his voice split into several frequencies speaking in unison, giving his speech a haunting, melodic sound. "I despaired, and lost control. But I put them back. I shouldn't have taken them away."

"People were scared," Jon says, not unkindly. "They thought they were gone for good."

"I know," Martin says, and his voices are remorseful. "I--I wish I hadn't done it."

A cool breeze blows around them. "Here, come inside," Jon says, opening the door wide. Though Martin seems somehow too big to fit within the confines of the doorframe, or indeed Jon's cottage, he has no trouble placing his physical from on Jon's sofa, with enough room that Jon can sit next to him. Jon makes them both tea, and Martin's hands fit just fine around the mug. His glow alights the entirety of the living room, so Jon turns off a couple of lamps before joining him on the sofa.

They drink for a while in silence. Martin has stopped crying, at least. Jon wishes he could wipe his tears from his eyes himself, but he's afraid of burning his fingers.

Eventually, Jon says, "I'm sorry, Martin."

Martin glances up at him, his bright white eyes wide. "Why?"

"For . . . what I told you, yesterday. That I . . . that I love you. I--I didn't mean to hurt you, a-and to be honest I'm still not sure how I did, but I did hurt you, so I wanted to apologize." He stares down at his tea. "I-If you could tell me what I did wrong, I'll try to fix it. I just . . . I don't want to see you cry anymore."

"Oh, Jon," Martin breathes, and there's a thump as his empty mug falls to the carpeted floor. Jon looks up, alarmed, and Martin is still sitting next to him, on his sofa, in his cottage, but he is also somehow infinitely large, larger than a planet, than the sun. His eyes blaze, and his amber glow is so bright it's almost orange. "Jon, you've done nothing wrong. The only thing that is wrong is how dearly I love you."

Jon's heart leaps at the words, but then sinks with realization. "Oh," he says, faintly.

Martin blazes even brighter. "No. That--that isn't what I meant, I--" His voices grow discordant, before he seems to calm slightly and they harmonize again. "You know what I am, Jon. I am so, so old. I will go on to become much older. I will live beyond humanity, beyond most life in the universe. The life of any human is far too short for me. It's gone so quickly. I . . . I am better off alone. I always have been. To love is . . . is to hurt, so I try not to get too close to anyone. But I couldn't help myself with you, Jon. You caught me so easily, so quickly, I was yours before I even knew it. I--I wasn't sure, until yesterday, how much I felt for you. Maybe I was just trying not to think about it. But when you told me . . . when you told me you loved me, I . . . I knew. I'd fallen in love with you, too, and . . ." Tears spark in his eyes again. "And that meant I would have to lose you."

Jon's chest aches. "But . . . I'm here, now. Is loving me so . . . so horrible?" He swallows, trying not to let tears form in his own eyes.

"It will be," Martin says. "One day I'll blink my eyes, and you'll be gone, and then . . . I don't know if I'll ever stop crying."

"But . . . until then, we can be together." Jon takes Martin's hands in his own, hands that have shaped galaxies and placed stars in constellations. They are warm and calloused, and big enough to engulf Jon's entirely. "I know a year is barely any time for you, but we can still make it count. We can make every day count, stock them so full of memories you'll feel like you've lived a dozen lifetimes."

Martin sniffs. "I . . . I don't know if that will work . . ."

"Have you ever tried it before?"

Martin shakes his head. "I . . . this is the first time I've ever been in love. I've never allowed myself to get close enough to anyone before. I don't know what to do now. I can't . . . I can't stop myself from loving you."

"Do you want to?" Jon says quietly.

"No," Martin says at once, and then his eyes widen, as though surprised by his own certainty. "I . . . No. To not love you . . . that would be worse, so much worse, somehow." A burning tear traces his cheek. "But I can't keep taking the stars from the sky. And I can't keep crying like this."

Jon's heart burns. "So . . . so let's try it," he says, squeezing his hands.

"Try it?"

"My idea. Let's be together, and try to make each other happy, as well as we can, one day at a time. Live in the moment." Jon tries a smile. "Humans are good at that sort of thing. I can teach you, if you like."

"I . . ." Martin's voices tremble, overwhelmed. "I . . . I don't know . . ."

Jon presses a kiss to his knuckles, rubs a thumb over them. "You don't have to decide tonight. Despite what you think, we have time."

Martin looks at him as though Jon were the one who created stars. "A-Alright," he says softly.

"Would you like to spend the night?" Jon says, nodding towards his bedroom door. "I was about to go to sleep when you knocked."

"I . . . yes. That sounds nice. Thank you, Jon," Martin says, his voices sounding like a lullaby. And then he kisses Jon. It's gentle, so unbelievably gentle, and it burns in a lovely way. Jon kisses back, pushing a bit, letting Martin know he needn't be so careful, that he is adored and he is allowed to adore.

Later, in Jon's bed, Martin lies against his back and wraps his arms around his waist, holding him so tightly. Jon knows Martin does not sleep, and he knows he will not let Jon go until he wakes the next morning. As Jon drifts off, he stares out through his bedroom window, at the sky full of Martin's beautiful stars, and he thinks that perhaps he was wrong before.

The stars are not dimmer than he remembers. If anything, Jon thinks, tonight they're brighter than they've ever been.

[yannowhatigiveup]

T.W.A.A: The Eccedentesiast

This is a one shot I started last night and I finished it at around 2 am because I’m an insomniac. Sadly this isn’t the 10k+ word one shot I was talking about (I’m still writing it aaa) but this one is around 4-5k words long so I hope you enjoy. This is rushed, badly written, badly plotted and badly named.

TW: Dark topics such as sexual assault and suicide is mentioned in this piece of writing.

Paris, the City of Love, what a big misconception that was. If anything, Paris should've been labeled as the City of Misery considering the fact it was haunted by a villain who preyed on negative emotions. No one outside of Paris knew though, they were oblivious to the fact hundreds, thousands even millions had died in the city home to the Eiffel Tower, only to be resurrected and tormented with the memories of their death. It was worse for Marinette though, she had watched all the citizens, her beloved citizens, die before her eyes and she was powerless to help them. Their screams of anguish and cries of pain forever ghosted her nightmares. It wasn't just their blood that she drowned in, she was bullied, abused and betrayed in her civilian form by those she trusted the most.

Her classmates. She thought she could trust them but they left her for someone shinier and newer. They all hurt her, destroyed her hard work, verbally and physically bullied her. Nino and Kim, her childhood friends had turned their backs on her too, even joining the others in causing her physical and emotional pain. Alya, her best friend, had become her main abuser. The reporter stabbed the poor bluenette in the back, figuratively. Lila was the one who did it literally. Lila, the sound of the name itself made Marinette sick, after all, the brunette was the one who did this to her. She made her friends turn their backs on her, she made them abuse her and she only watched with fake crocodile tears and a smug smile when no one was looking. And Adrien, he was the worst of all. When Marinette was younger, Adrien was the embodiment of perfection. But now? All she could see was a spineless coward and a predator.

As Chat Noir, he wouldn't participate in the battles, only flirting with her hero persona. He would whine like a toddler when she rejected his advancements. Even when he did join in the battles, he was useless, ignoring anything that Ladybug would tell him and go straight for the kill which never worked. Chat Noir was incompetent and a sexual harasser. As Adrien, however, he was much more. Just two days ago, he had tried to sexually assault the young bluenette. The blonde had underestimated the girl and she managed to get away but nothing could erase her memory of the event.

The ultimatum Lila had delivered to Marinette when she thirteen seemed over-dramatic and seemingly impossible at the time. Yet three years later, she was at the point of no return. Her classmates, her friends, her teachers, the boy she once loved, her partner, her parents. They all left her. Mayor Bourgeois, fearing for his daughter's safety, had sent Chloe to New York with her mother. Luka was on tour with his father so they could build a better relationship. Kagami had a family affair back in Japan that would last for at least a month. She was truly alone. Her parents had fallen victim to Lila's lies and Marinette overheard them discussing about kicking her out. The only one by her side throughout the whole ordeal was Tikki, her beloved kwami. Even Master Fu had to leave her.

Marinette felt shut out by the rest of the world. Sure, Paris adored Ladybug but it felt different. She was fighting battles alone, she stood as the last survivor, the last protector of Paris. She took that title in stride, or that's what the Parisians thought. In reality, she was hiding behind a mask.

The bluenette had suffered endlessly for years, she was ready to break that cycle of torture. Yesterday, she came to the solid conclusion of who Hawkmoth was, who is accomplices were and what his motive was. Gabriel Agreste was the man behind Paris' torment, Nathalie Sancœr was one of his accomplices and so was Lila Rossi. For his motive, he wanted to bring his wife back. Marinette understood the pain he was in but she wouldn't go to such extreme lengths as he did. Many years ago, Marinette made a friend, one of her very best friends who she fell for. But she never told anyone who he was, where he came from or even the fact that she met someone. The reason behind this was the fact she witnessed his murder. That death, of all she witnessed, was the most heartbreaking. Even when all these years have passed, she never truly got over his death. His green eyes always lingered her mind.

The bluenette let out an anguished sigh, she was on the Eiffel Tower, admiring the city's skyline despite all its obvious flaws under close inspection. Though Marinette had drastically mentally changed, she would always put on the same mask, she would always portray herself as a regular school girl. This was the one time she felt a little peace in her chaotic excuse for a life. Her blue eyes stared off into the distance, focusing on nothing in particular when she heard footsteps coming from behind. In her peripheral vision, Marinette could see the figure of Gabriel Agreste slowly approaching. Not wanting anything to happen, she made her knowledge of her appearance known.

"I never expected to see you somewhere so public, Monsieur Agreste" Her voice remained neutral. Gabriel didn't flinch meaning that he had expected her to sense his arrival, it made the young girl slightly unnerved but she refused to show it.

"The Eiffel Tower holds the greatest inspiration, as a designer yourself I'm sure you are aware" Marinette was used to his cold voice by now, she kept her guard up reminding herself that this was Hawkmoth was standing a few feet away.

She hummed, putting the two miraculous users in a deathly silence, until she decided to break it. "You know, you could've just asked" The older man raised an eyebrow in confusion but Marinette never looked in his direction, "It would've saved a lot of bloodshed"

Gabriel managed to catch up with what she was saying. "Are you implying that I am Hawkmoth?" He didn't sound offended or defensive, merely curious.

"I'm not implying anything" She replied curtly, then turning to face him. "I am merely stating a fact"

The miraculous user turned away from her, focusing his gaze on the city's skyline once more. "What are you going to do with this knowledge?"

The question confused Marinette, surely he would've attacked her or try to get her to remain silent?

He must've noticed her confusion. "Even if you wanted to, you wouldn't say anything"

Marinette turned her full body towards the taller man, she was going to end Hawkmoth's reign as quickly as she could. "I can heal her"

"What?"

"I can heal her" The bluenette repeated. "Emilie"

Gabriel also turned to face her, his usual cold scowl was replaced with a staggered expression. "Y-you can? Even after all I've done as Hawkmoth?"

Her head twisted back to portrait that was Paris. "To end it all, yes I will"

"Then please, follow me and I promise I will give you my miraculous as well as Mayura's. Just, heal my wife please" His tone changed from intrigued to pleading, Marinette could see that he meant every word.

"Oh don't worry... I will"

~~~

"I did it!" Tim's voice echoed in the Batcave.

"Did what replacement?"

"I found Hawkmoth's identity!"

Around three months ago, Wonder Woman had noticed Green Lantern trying to delete a video. She stopped him before he successfully did the task and watched the video herself, calling a meeting to express her anger about the situation. Most were shaken since they had never seen the Amazonian this livid before. She briefly explained how her mother was once a miraculous user and how powerful these magical jewelry could be. Aqua Man also shared his concerns, revealing that the fall of Atlantis was due to the miraculous. They knew the logical decision was to work on this from outside of Paris, the villain preyed on negative emotions and they had been ignoring the Parisians' calls for help for four years. Their sudden appearance would definitely trigger the heroes. So in the last month, they had gathered files of nearly every person in Paris as well as all the necessary information about every akuma attack. It was tiring for the Bats but they trudged through it anyway.

Damian had taken a special interest in the spotted-heroine specifically, without the knowledge of any of his family members. She appeared similar to a female friend he had made quite some time ago, the one who had witnessed an assassination attempt on him. He saddened him to no end knowing that the friend he loved thought he was dead. The green-eyed boy became one hundred percent convinced that this hero was his friend.

One day, Dick had caught him in the Batcave observing a recently taken image of the Ladybug heroine. His older brother thought that Damian was crushing on the lady and began to tease him as others entered the cave.

"Tt, that's not true" the green-eyed boy retaliated.

"If you don't have a crush on Ladybug then why are you staring at an image of her?" Dick added more information necessary so that his younger brothers could join in on teasing his youngest brother.

The Robin vigilante sighed and brought everyone's attention to the screen. "See that?"

"All I see is this little lady Demon Spawn" Jason's smirk was quickly gone when he noticed Damian's serious expression.

"She's alone" he stated simply and before anyone could get a word in, her explained further. "There is usually a team with her"

Everyone seemed to lean closer to the screen.

"She's fighting alone. Her 'partner' doesn't participate in the battles anymore, he stays on the sidelines, observing" He let the others catch up to what he was saying. "The attacks have been lasting a lot longer than usual, Ladybug leads a super hero team correct? Then why is she fighting alone this time."

"They could have all been killed... We have to go to Paris to help the poor girl" Dick turned to Bruce. "Who knows how much longer she'll last alone fighting a psycho butterfly man!"

Bruce's fatherly instincts were screaming at him from merely looking at the photo. "I'll announce to the League that we'll be joining the fight in Paris"

~~~

Gabriel lead Marinette to his office, Nathalie wearily watching. Just as he was about to open the double doors, his assistant collapsed in uncontrollable coughing. Marinette was much faster than the older man so she got to the woman first. The bluenette carefully put Nathalie down on one of the chairs available while putting her hand on where she thought the assistant would where the peacock brooch. The blue-eyed girl could sense the broken miraculous' energy trapped in the woman so she did the only reasonable thing she could at that moment, she extracted the corrupted magic, healing Nathalie almost instantly. Marinette ignored Gabriel's relieved expression and gestured for him to lead her to Emilie.

"When this is over, I wish to have a restraining order against your son"

"May I ask why?"

"..."

"...I understand, I'll make sure to tell Nathalie"

The older man stopped before a painting of his wife, his fingers reached for the painted shapes and pressed on them, revealing an elevator to which he went down in. Following his motion, Marinette placed her hand on the painting and allowed herself to descend down the mansion. It lead her to a repository with a catwalk which lead to a circular platform covered in luscious greenery. In the middle on the platform was a class-covered cryogenic pod which the sleeping body of Emilie Agreste lay. The bluenette carefully made her way to the glass casket, placing her hand on the transparent material when she finally reached her destination. Focusing all her energy, a red light erupted from her finger tips and it soaked into Emilie's skin. Gabriel opened the pod, carefully watching his wife as Marinette took a step back. Suddenly her eyes fluttered open.

"G-Gabriel, what happened?"

The man didn't reply, he simply hugged the woman of his dreams before turning the the young girl.

"I... Thank you Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, I can give you the miraculous now if-"

"Ladybug will be at the Eiffel Tower soon, I suggest you give the miraculous to her then"

Gabriel nodded and thanked the girl once more as she left. Before she reached the lift that would lead her back up to Gabriel's office, Marinette turned to face the newly reunited couple.

"Enjoy the happiness in your life, Monsieur Agreste, you never know when it may end"

She then turned to leave, not wanting to here what her former idol had to say. When she reached the main floor of the Agreste Mansion, Marinette was greeted by Nathalie. The bluenette acknowledged the assistant with a nod, meaning that Emilie was awake. The assistant let out a sigh of relief and rushed to Adrien's room, not wanting to be around the blonde boy, Marinette promptly left. Once out of the premises of the mansion, she transformed and waited for Gabriel to return the miraculous. What she didn't realise was that the Justice League would also be coming to pay her a visit.

It felt like an eternity, waiting for the miraculous to be handed back to her but the bluenette was patient. She waited four years for this moment, but she had to share the moment alone. It was bittersweet. Soon enough Gabriel arivied, hastily giving Ladybug both the brooches with apologetic eyes and leaving without a word. The spotted heroine presumed that he wanted to get back to his wife and son, she couldn't blame him. Ladybug reached for her yo-yo teary-eyed, she was going to put both miraculous in her weapon before returning them in the miracle box but she stopped when she heard multiple figures approaching where she was standing.

~~~

Batman and his sons were the ones to go to Paris and alert Ladybug of their findings. The five men found themselves in front of the Eiffel Tower, Tim found out that was were the heroes would return to after their patrol.

"We must tell Ladybug right away" Batman pulled out his grappling hook and flung himself to one of the higher levels, all but Robin followed suit.

The vigilante had a feeling to remain on a lower level. He wanted to be reunited with his long lost friend but he couldn't find the words. Simply, he used his grappling hook to bring him onto one of the beams, low enough so he couldn't be seen but high enough to hear any conversation.

"Greetings, Ladybug" His father's voice echoed through the quiet building.

"Monsieur Batman? Wh-what are you doing here?" Her voice sounded almost exactly as he remembered, of course it sounded deeper and more matured but it had a more desolated edge to it.

~~~

"We apologize for not intervening earlier but we didn't know how well we needed to control our emotions" Red Hood watched as Nightwing brushed a hand through his hair nervously.

"But we can help now!" Red Robin's excited voice came out of nowhere, Ladybug looked at the vigilante in surprise. "We found out Hawkmoth's identity so we can finish this once and-"

Ladybug put a single hand up, a small smile on her face, silencing Red Robin's rambling. "That's very considerate of you, all of you" Her gaze landed on each vigilante one at a time. "But I... have things sorted" She pulled out two brooches from behind her back to show the men before putting the miraculous in her yo-yo. "I appreciate all you've done, truly I do. But can I ask one for one more favor?"

"Of course, what is it?" Nightwing asked, clearly wanting the spotted heroine to be gleeful once more.

"Could you... help the other heroes to help the Parisians to heal?"

"It's the least we can do" Batman replied. "Will you be there too?"

"I'm afraid not" Ladybug turned around and leaned forward on the banister. "You know how Hawkmoth prays on negative emotions, so I've had to deal with my emotions in an unhealthy manor but now... Hawkmoth is no more. I can be free"

"Wh-"

"Thank you, truly" Ladybug jumped up on to railing, facing the group of vigilantes. Her sad smile faded as she stared at the floor.

They didn't even get a chance to process what was happening before it did. A bright light surrounded the young hero and they were forced to close their eyes. As the light died down, Red Hood saw a small bluenette. She looked so weak, so pretty, so... fragile. It hurt the vigilante's heart seeing someone like this being the sole protector of Paris with no one by her side.

"Hey little lady-"

"I'm sorry Tikki"

The girl looked at all the vigilantes slowly, mouthing a 'thank you' before letting herself lean backwards.

Gravity took the Parisian heroine and she fell.

A small creature holding something shiny stared in horror as its owner fell."MARINETTE!" The small creature's anguished scream seemed to bring the vigilantes back to reality.

~~~

"MARINETTE!"

Robin's head shot up, that name was all too familiar. Suddenly, he took note of a figure falling fast from above, her raven hair flowing in the wind. Without giving a second thought, he bounded down the ledge he was on, landing on one of the platforms and had his arms out ready to catch the fallen angel. The bluenette was close enough for Robin to grab her and he pulled her in so that her feet landed on the platform, her body still looming over the edge of the building. His brother and father landed not far from him, bounding over to help the bluenette but Robin took no notice of their presence.

"Why didn't you just let me f...all" The girl's voice trailed off as her eyes widened in recognition, the air in her lungs escaped from her lips. "...d-Damian?"

The two friends took no notice at how the vigilantes behind Robin stiffened. Her eyes developed a watery sheen as the situation began to really hit her. Tears threatened to spill as her lip quivered. Robin pulled her away from the ledge and she jumped into his arms, she was heavily touch-starved. Much to his family's surprise, he didn't push her away. In fact, he hugged her back. They heard what she said next.

"I... I thought you were dead, Dami"

"...why? What made you do this, Malaki?"

They didn't hear what she said next as her mumbling was muffled in Robin's chest. Nightwing walked up to the two first, kneeling down to be eye level with the girl.

"Hey Sunshine... we don't know what you've been through but we're willing to help you though it okay?" The girl looked at his sincere gaze, her eyes were so round with innocence, Nightwing thought he would melt.

"I... thank you, I'm sorry for worrying you when I... jumped" No one failed to notice when Robin ran his fingers through the bluenette's hair.

"Don't apologize Little Lady" Red Hood walked over to where Nightwing was kneeling, sitting next to his older brother. "Hawkbitch forced you to bottle up your emotions, you were just strong for too long."

Marinette looked between the two men, a grateful smile on her face while she wiped the tears of pure happiness running down her cheeks. "Thank you, I- this... this is the nicest I've been treated recently"

"If you don't mind me asking," Batman walked over and Marinette felt slightly intimidated you his presence as well as his tone. The dark knight must have noticed this since he cleared his throat and began talking in a softer manner. "What happened to cause you to go to such extremes? You're obligated to not having to talk about it right away if the subject makes you uncomfortable"

"Well I guess I do have to talk about it eventually..."

Recognising the bluenette's discomfort, Red Robin stepped in. In his palm was the shaken kwami who flew straight for Marinette once the vigilante got close enough. "Since you know Robin's identity, and we already sorta know yours, it's only fair if we tell you who we are, right?" He looked at his two older brothers and then at his adoptive father. "My name's Tim Drake nice to meet you"

Marinette was about to take his offered hand when the vigilante she presumed was Red Hood took it instead, "Jason Todd, Robin's most charming and handsome brother" She giggled at Damian's obvious annoyance.

"Well I'm Richard Grayson, Robin's favourite brother, but you can call me Dick" The vigilante in the suit who comforted her first, introduced himself.

"It's nice to meet all of you"

Batman soon came over as well to aquatint with the young heroine, offering out his hand for a handshake. "Bruce Wayne"

She returned the hand shake and brightly smiled, it blinded nearly all those near. "Thank you, Mr Wayne. Wait..." she turned to face Damian, one of her eyebrows raised. "Wayne?"

"I may have failed to mention that part" To Robin's surprise, Marinette started giggling so he huffed in taken offense.

"Sorry it's just- a girl in my class as been boasting about dating you and about the Wayne Family seeing her as their 'honorary member'. I knew she was lying I just didn't know that I would bump into the people she was lying about"

Bruce hummed. "We'll have to do something about this girl you're talking about. In the meantime, why don't you come back to the hotel with us? You and Damian can catch up" The older man saw the hesitation in her eyes but he also saw the willingness that shine through the most. "If you're living in a bad environment then you do have to escape" His sons nodded along.

"I'll come, can I bring some overnight clothes? It's been a long day..."

"Of course, you go get your belongings and you can meet us at the Grand Paris Hotel"

"I... thank you again" She transformed and headed in the direction of her house, leaving Robin at the mercy of his brothers.

"You like her, Brat" Red Robin spoke up first.

Nightwing pretended to wipe his tears. "Baby Bird's all grown up now"

"That means you can't adopt the little Pixie, don't think I haven't seen the adoption papers"

~~~

When Marinette destransformed on her balcony rooftop, she quickly went inside, packed some clothes as well as some essentials. When she was satisfied with her belongings, she gave a macaron to Tikki before heading downstairs where she was met with two disappointed looking parents.

"Is something wrong?"

"We've decided," Tom began. "We're kicking you out for what you've done to your lovely classmate, Lila"

"We don't recognise the person you've become, Marinette. You are not the daughter we raised" Sabine added

"May I pack my things in the morning?" Marinette inquired, her eyes void of emotion. When her parents nodded, she left the bakery and down to the hotel where Damian was waiting in the lobby. As she approached, he took her bag and intertwined their hands together. She blushed at the contact but leaned into his embrace.

When she entered the hotel room she was greeted by the vigilantes who were now changed and unmasked. The bluenette was welcomed with open arms, she felt the warmth in her heart for the first time since Lila's Tyranny. She briefly explained Lila's lies, what she had done to Marinette and how the bluenette was able to protect Paris. She would've carried on longer if it weren't for the hotel phone ringing. It was the receptionist, saying that someone had asked to see Marinette. Confused, she went down with Damian, Jason followed closely behind since he had grown quite attached to the little fairy. Waiting at the front desk as a woman, Damian and Jason recognised her instantly as Mayura. Damian tried to step in front of his friend but she completely ignored their futile attempts to keep her in reach.

"Ah, Hello Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng"

"Hello Nathalie, we're you the one who asked for me?"

"Yes, I just need to clarify a few things"

"Go ahead"

"You're request for the restraining order has been fulfilled" the bluenette nodded, waiting for Gabriel's assistant to continue. "May I ask what did he do to make you request for it?"

The two notices how Marinette stiffened. She contemplated before sighing. "Attempted sexual assault. If you look at the camera footage outside of the Louvre from two days ago, seven pm onwards, you'll see your evidence." Marinette turned away from Nathalie and walked back to Damian who, once in range, pulled her in for a hug.

"I'll never let him near you again, Angel"

~~~

The next day, Bruce had shown up with Marinette at her parents' bakery. Upon hearing about the young bluenette being kicked out, he had asked for her permission for him to be her Guardian until she was old enough to live in her own. Marinette accepted his offer. When they had entered the building, her parents had greeted their customers kindly before recognising Marinette. Bruce turned to the young girl next to him and smiled.

"You go pack your things I'll deal with this" She smiled and bounded upstairs, leaving Bruce to talk with the bakery's owners.

"Hello Sir, how may we help you?" Sabine began, wanting to know who this man was.

"I've come to gain guardianship of your daughter, Marinette Dupain-Cheng"

"Why should we give you guardianship?" Tom asked.

"I'm sure you know the liability for child neglect, Mr Dupain" With his words, both adults seemed to turn white. "I will file the necessary and submit it with the court, I'm sure you'll be willing to give your approval"

Both Marinette and the mystery man left, true they were glad that their mistake of a daughter had gone but they wondered who she had gone with.

~~~

Later that afternoon was a charity event which the Waynes were supposed to attend as they were invited by the mayor himself, the plus side was that the Akuma class would also be attending and they had no clue the Wayne Family would be there.

"...And finally I'd like to thank the Wayne Family for joining us this evening" Mayor Bourgeois finished his speech and all heads turned to the table the Waynes and Marinette were sitting on. As his speech was over, a teenage girl with glass and a very pale brunette came over to the table.

"Hello Mr Wayne, My name's Alya and I'm your honorary daughter's best friend and I was hoping-"

"Marinette" Bruce began, cutting off the aspiring reporter. The Alya girl only then seemed to notice that the bluenette was sitting at the table. "Is this girl you're friend?"

The bluenette took one hard look at Alya before shaking her head, "No"

"Marislut what th-"

"It would be appreciated if you did not talk about my honorary daughter and future daughter-in-law on that manner" Both Damian and Marinette turned red, one much more than the other. "In fact we should be leaving" Bruce and the rest of the family got up. "Miss Rossi, I will not tolerate your lies. You will receive a lawsuit for defamation and slander. Have a good evening" They left, leaving a reporter, a liar and a class speechless.

When they reached the hotel room they finished packing up, they would be leaving that night. Marinette made a few phone calls, telling her friends that she would be moving to Gotham. They had their belongs taken to the limo downstairs and had a few snacks before making their way down. In the lobby were many different people around the bluenette's age, she recognised them as her classmates and continued walking beside Damian until Alex came over.

"Marinette... we're sorry. We understand that you probably won't forgive apps but we wrote you letters anyway" the skater girl gave Marinette a pile of enveloped letters, ones she put in her bag straight away.

"Thank you for your apologies but I don't think I can forgive you just yet, goodbye Alix" the bluenette got in the limo and let out a breath she knew she was holding.

Her eyes glanced out the tinted window, she smiled knowing that she was leaving Paris for a better life. A better life with a friends, a better life with a new family. A better life with Damian.

~Bonus~

The harsh blizzard outside was definitely being felt from inside the manor, leaving a cold and tired Marinette on the couch. Damian, noticing his girlfriend's state, went to grab a blanket to cover both Marinette and himself. She snuggled into the green-eyed boy, taking all the warmth she could get, and slowly she drifted off to sleep. Damian too felt drowsy so soon followed his girlfriend into dreamland.

Jason came in a few moments later to find the sleeping couple, he was then reminded by how tired he was so he went on the couch and leaned his back against his youngest brother, himself too falling victim to slumber.

The next person to walk in was Dick, he had just finished training so he was exhausted. But he couldn't help to coo when he came across the scene in front of him. The eldest son then got on the sofa and carefully leaned against Marinette, similar to what Jason had done with Damian. It didn't take long for him to join them in dozing off.

Tim arrived with a big cup of freshly made coffee, one which he was about to drink until he noticed his siblings all curled up on the couch sleeping. The co-CEO went back to the kitchen, left his cup of coffee then went to grab a blanket to join his family. Wrapping himself in a blanket burrito, Tim placed himself on the floor pressed up against sofa.

When Bruce returned home safely, he went to the main living room to see his children, and his future in-law who was basically his own by now, sleeping soundly with the TV still running. Reaching for the remote, he turned the television off and grabbed his phone to take a picture. He planned on printing it out and having it framed in his study. Bruce sat on one of the armchairs, taking a book to read. If there was peace in the house, he might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

[ragsweas]

Hobbit Fic Rec List!

MODERN AU!

Hello! I always wanted to share a gigantic list of awesome works in Hobbit fanfic, but realized they are too many. So let's start small. A few modern AU that everybody has to read!

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How to fall in love in 100 days by Kytanna

As their lives intertwine, Thorin, Bilbo, and their nephews learn the meaning of finding a family, love and the hard path towards healing. All, over the course of a hundred days.

A lovely piece with all the cuteness and fluff.

Softer Strokes by autisticalistair

Thorin is a well-known artist living a secluded life in the Swiss Alps. Bilbo is a former history professor living in a trauma rehabilitation centre after a devastating accident that took his parents lives. Through a mutual friend, Bilbo finds himself in Switzerland, and Thorin finds himself with company for the next few months, and neither of them are prepared for what that will bring.

I'll never say 'I love you' by JustReadingMaybeWriting

Bilbo is a veterinary student who one night saves the life a handsome but wounded man. Bilbo should have called an ambulance. If he had called an ambulance, he wouldn't be in this weird mess. He certainly wouldn't be falling in love with the man he saved, who can't seem to leave him alone.

This one's a bit dark, but I love it.

painted blind by nasri

The last time Bilbo stepped foot in Aberdeen it was with a broken heart and a bachelor’s degree. All things considered, this time isn’t so different.

Plan B by Drenagon

Plan B: an alternative strategy; a contingency plan, devised for an outcome other than the expected plan.

Or, sending an unqualified temp to act as Thorin Oakenshield's PA because no one qualified can put up with him.

(He'd say they can't meet his standards. Of course he would.)

Meet Bilbo Baggins. He just became Plan B.

One Modern!AU I always wanted to read and this is just it! It's amazing!! And the whole COmpany is there!!

A Land Far Away by Prollyaghost (Callmerin)

"If we were in a different time or place, this story may have begun with ‘once upon a time’, or even ‘In a hole in the ground, there lived…’ But as it so happens, we are in this time and place, in the outskirts of London, where there are no ‘once upon a times’ and the only holes in grounds lead to sewage tunnels. There does happen to be, however, a man who has dedicated a great deal of his life studying these ‘once upon a time’s. He is an English teacher, enjoys afternoon teas with homemade raisin scones, and he most certainly does not believe in fairy-tales.

His name is Bilbo Baggins, and that last bit about him is about to change."

Bilbo Baggins, an English teacher who has never been outside of England, suddenly finds himself thrust into an adventure when a strange man named Thorin Oakenshield requires his help to fulfil his father’s dying wish. Turns out studying the niche topic of the ancient, fictional society of dwarves was more useful than his parents could have imagined. Plunged into a forgotten land, Thorin and Bilbo must find the mythical Arkenstone, before the legends of the past come back to haunt modern society.

Okay, this one's a WIP, but damn the premise is super interesting and honestly can't wait for the next update!

Nothing Gold Can Stay by perkynurples

Bilbo Baggins led a rather peaceful life, thank you very much, until an old acquaintance decided to turn it upside down, and he found himself agreeing to take a job that’s… let’s say not exactly up his alley, and might eventually cost him a little more than his treasured cozy lifestyle. Who would have thought tutoring a slightly menacing monarch’s more than slightly overbearing nephew could prove to be such an adventure?

This is one of the fics that does not need an introduction. No matter how many times you read this, it isn't enough. And we all love Fili and Kili here.

What to do When Your Cat is an Asshole by lily_winterwood

“You have a cat?” asks the face on the screen. “Yes. His name’s Smaug, he’s orange, and he’s an asshole. Aren’t you, Smaug?” Surly Food Provider glowers at me, which, of course, I am immune to. “Aren’t you a little asshole?” I don’t see why he needs to call me that. My butthole is perfectly licked, and it smells wonderful.

The AU where Smaug is Thorin's asshole cat. Written for the Bagginshield Unexpected Anniversary.

This one's small, and hilarious and even better if you imagine Benedryl Cucumbersnatch narrating the whole thing

No Ordinary Love by badskippy

Bilbo and Ori have been best friends since they were ten years old and tragedy brought them together. Now, a new job, a sudden rainstorm, a chance meeting and budding romance with a burly, handsome stranger will not only alter their lives, but set in motion events that will change everyone around them, and reveal how lies, deceit and assumptions can leave deeper scars than the ones that can be seen.

WIP, unfinished, but damn was this an interesting tale. For anybody who loves angst, go give it a read!

Remember Me by thehistorygeek

Bilbo Baggins and Thorin Oakenshield are destined to suffer. In every life they live, in every age, in every era, they meet, and this meeting brings back all the memories of the lives that have come before. But every meeting serves also as a death sentence, for once they have met, one of them is doomed to die soon after, usually tragically and prematurely. They remember nothing of their past lives until they meet, and once they have there is nothing that can be done to stop their fate.

For anyone obsessed with Reincarnation and/or History, this is it.

A Remover of Obstacles by MistakenMagic

"Dis often chided her older brother for being a misanthropist. She did it so often it had become a term of endearment. It was true that Thorin struggled with people; he struggled to form and maintain relationships. Dr. Grey had diagnosed him with this and Thorin hadn’t the heart to tell him this wasn’t a symptom of his PTSD, it was a symptom of his personality. He exercised a sense of apathy with almost everyone he met… But Bilbo was different. Thorin actually found himself wanting to know more about him."

Another fic that DOES NOT need an introduction. I have read it thrice and every time the emotions are still the same. Trigger Warnings, but damn this is all worth it.

An Unexpected Meeting by what_am_i_even_doing_tho

This is the chronicling of the modern day shenanigans of Bilbo Baggins, who is an absolute gay disaster, and Thorin Oakenshield, who is unashamedly enamored. Aka, the modern Bagginshield AU that no one ever asked for but they're getting anyway.

green and gilded by nasri

The next time he visits his parents there are flowers left in the grass, pressed back against the gravestone. They are yellow and white daffodils, plain and wilting.

“Who’s been to see you?” He asks, taking a single photo of the flowers with their drooping stems and curled petals and the wet winter grass that surrounds them. His mother would call it kind, his father might say it's curious, and Bilbo takes another petal to tuck into his pocket.

You know those stories that you read once and then they never leave your head? And somehow your whole life begins to revolve around that one story? Yeah, this is it. Spoilers in tag and I would suggest you read before advancing cause many people do not like it, but even if you are not in that group, just give it a read. This story deserves all the reads.

Bran' New Suit by pibroch (littleblackdog)

Andrew's description had been sufficient to recognize him— a riot of honey brown curls, short in stature, a well-favoured face with expressive features— but it hadn't quite been enough to prepare Tom for the sharp, almost painful tug in his gut at the sight of the man. They had never met before, to the best of Tom's recollection, but there was something eerily and inexplicably familiar about him all the same.

One of the first Modern AU I read and dauym...you won't get it until the end but then...it's fun.

Under New Management by frostyjack

Fili's life is pretty good -- he's doing well at university, he gets on well with his uncle and guardian Thorin, and he's never likely to know what it's like to be poor or unwanted. Then Thorin takes in a foster child -- Kili Oakenshield, a long-lost relative whose past is a total mystery. Suddenly, Fili's life gets a whole lot more complicated. But maybe it gets better, too.

Lots of trigger warning for this one, but when the end comes, you'll know it's all been worth it.

One-Sided Conversations by northerntrash

"Thank you for listening," Thorin said, getting to his feet. "I hope to be able to return the favour, one day."

The man on the bed didn't respond, but since he'd been in a coma for longer than Thorin had known him, that wasn't entirely surprising.

(Not Quite) Prince Charming by manic_intent

The problem, Bilbo would later tell Gandalf in aggrieved irritation, was not so much the unannounced visitors, oh no, but the fact that due to the lateness of the hour and sheer merciless fate, it came to be that at the respectable age of forty, Bilbo was being introduced to a real, live king while wearing striped pyjamas and fluffy slippers.

The Making of a Story by northerntrash

When Bilbo finds a case of old family photographs, he becomes determined to find the original owners: what he does not expect is to become quite so involved in their lives, or that those photographs should prove quite so important.

Misunderstandings and other obstacles for love by ylc

This series dammit! It's amazing, and the dynamics you would ask from a Modern AU.

Candle Glow and Mistletoe by euseevius

Bilbo and Thorin have been married for six months now. The thing is, Thorin’s family doesn’t know this. And because pretending to be just friends for the three weeks you’re going to spend at the family cabin is so much easier than telling the truth, that is what they will do.

(Of course Bilbo has his own ideas of how believable it is for a grown man to bring a friend to spend Christmas with his family. That’s why they make a bet out of it.)

For days you need to just laugh at these two idiots.

The Lost Kingdom of Erebor by Twisted_Barbie

AU. The Lost Kingdom of Erebor is shrouded in myth, likened to the heavens and compared to Atlantis. Until an archaeological discovery unearths that which was lost and awakens the Mad King from his cursed eternal rest.

Not a happy ending, and mysterious and you need to give it a read. Just, do it. It will all be worth it.

Of Palaces and Ruins by livelongandgetiton

Slow burn. Bilbo Baggins is a half-baked archaeologist who has put his dreams of adventure on hold to teach secondary school. Thorin is the grandson of a politically powerful figure in the historically rich and deeply isolationist country of Erebor. When he flees conflict and corruption in Erebor to settle in London, he finds his hands full with two young boys. Gandalf meddles, and Bilbo signs on as a personal tutor for the boys in hopes of getting a foot in the door to archaeological work in Erebor. He soon discovers that Thorin is a tough nut to crack. As Bilbo takes care of the boys he and Thorin grow closer, and secrets about not just the brooding stranger, but the mysterious country and politics of Erebor begin to unravel. It turns out that Bilbo isn't leaving adventure behind, after all.

WIP, updating. JUST READ IT!!!

Write Me Down Easy by lucyraebrown

Bilbo Baggins, a simple man with a wish for something more than his life teaching high school English, is obsessed with a famous author by the pen-name Oakenshield. Although he knows the future is dim for his chances of finding out about the man behind his favorite book, it's reassuring to know someone has the same thoughts about the world.

WIP, updating. It's mostly fuff and happiness, so yesss...feed your inner Bagginshield!

Show Me My Silver Lining by BiSquared

Three years after the hostile takeover of his grandfather's record label by one DJ Smaug, lead singer Thorin Oakenshield is ready to give up on his dreams, even if his band isn't ready to give up on him. If Thorin can convince talent scout Bilbo Baggins to sign them, they might just have a fighting chance. Of course, this is the night when Thorin gets stage fright.

The music industry AU no one asked for.

Love-In-Idleness by perkynurples       

Taking Bilbo Baggins, a successful movie actor who is only just getting used to the perks and intricacies of becoming A Face People Want To See, and putting him together with Thorin Oakenshield, with his very traditional (read: slightly backwards) ideas about what constitutes Real Art and Real Talent, might very well be viewed as just some clothead’s idea of a joke. But there are jokes, and then there are carefully calculated risks the size of controversial reproductions of classic Shakespearean plays - for Bilbo, it is the chance of a lifetime to prove himself to all those who have ever deemed him too one-dimensional to even attempt stage, while Thorin has the opportunity to get out of the rut that’s been hindering his career for so long now, and shine in a role worthy of his talent once again. That is if the two learn how to share the same space for more than ten minutes without wanting to tear each other’s hair out. The course of true love never did run smooth, after all…

Did I read this in one go? Yes I did. Did I fall in love with Bagginshiled all over again? Yes I did.

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And that's the list folks! I hope you guys have fun reading all of these nice fics! (And all the bagginshield angst/fuff)

[imaginegladions]

One More Time, Like You Mean It

Xiao, Genshin Impact

A/N: Hehe, you guys haven’t heard from me in a while but surprise I am alive! And absolutely being devoured by work. I’ve been able to play a bit of Genshin in between to tide me over until I can play more Pokemon Games. But, I gotta say it’s pretty refreshing to write older characters. I hope you guys will forgive me for my fluctuating interests, have this... little gift from me. Not Gladion but he’s pretty damn similar.

The moment Xiao set foot on the bridge he heard them. The voices grew louder, screaming for salvation, for him to purge the evil. It was always loudest during the Lantern Rite but he had hoped with how well he had been doing recently he could risk it for a moment. Clearly, the years have made him complacent. He motioned to try and grab hold of his spear but instead found a hand tugging at his own. He followed the hand with his eyes until he caught sight of a shoulder and then deep blue eyes were staring into his own. 

Right, he thought. 

[You] invited him. 

The person in question squeezed his hand once and started gently pulling him towards the myriad of stalls that had been set up. Some kids called [you] over from the corner, engaged in a game involving little multi-colored towers. [You] waved to them and posed for the shop owner next to them in time for the audible click of his camera. 

“Doing alright?” [You] asked. And the Xiao one year prior would have sneered at that, not wanting [your] pity. But [you] only asked out of care for him and he’s come to appreciate [you] for that, for the charm that caused the lantern maker and grilled ticker fish seller to offer [you] freebies. For the charm that convinced the Vigilant Yaksha himself to cease his vigil if only for one night. 

Xiao kept quiet as he took in all the festivities, not overwhelmed but also not quite comfortable with his surroundings. 

Thankfully, [you] seemed to notice and quickened [your] pace until [you] reached a dock tucked away in the dark corners of the harbor with a single boat attached to it. Beside it sat a crate of fishing gear. 

“My fishing boat.” [You] confessed, gesturing for him to sit across [you]. Inside the boat were a couple of cushions, a blanket, and a basket of assorted snacks. 

Xiao scoffed. “You drag me to the city only to get away from it?” He raised a brow at [you] but got in anyway, unmoved even as [you] began to use [your] control over the water to gently push [you] out to sea, past several larger ships whose crewmen waved at [you]. 

“There’s that charm again.” Xiao thought, the notion clearing his mind of dark thoughts just enough for him to admire the way the Mingxiao Lantern loomed in front of [you]. 

[You] stopped the boat, leaning forward. And before Xiao could protest, [you] grabbed his hand again. He stared down at the offending appendages aghast. He doesn’t think he’s ever allowed anyone this close to him in the hundreds of years he’d been alive. The last he’d remembered were Bosacius’ shaking hands, Skybracer’s bloodstained shoulders, and all the friends he’d held as the light left their eyes.

“Xiao.”

[Your] palms, small and warm in his own, squeezed once. It was as Xiao lifted his head to meet [your] gaze that he realized [you] had been trying to get his attention. “What?” He hissed quietly.

But [you] only laughed breathlessly, nodding towards the direction of the harbor.

The entire city was dark, not a single person making even a whisper of a thought. Xiao was almost horrified at the sight. Was it possible that in the mere seconds he’d been caught up in his past, he’d been unable to protect the people of Liyue? Were they perhaps decimated in the blink of an eye?

The Skybracer made of bamboo and plauserite came to life, the fire within burning and revealing swirling patterns of gold against dashing blue. Behind it, fabric in luminescent azure and stark white fluttered in the evening breeze mimicking Skybracer’s full tail. And as if the spectacle hadn't surprised Xiao enough, the lantern began to move. Enchanted, he thought, as one by one the lantern’s limbs and neck began to shift and twist, the great deer shooting across the sky in wide arcs and in its wake the glow of thousands of lanterns carved out a path in the sky.

Xiao watched it happen with a wonder he thought he wasn’t capable of feeling anymore, only faintly aware of himself through his hands still linked with [yours]. It was so incredible, he’d almost giddily pulled [you] into his arms at the warm feeling rushing through him. The moment he hesitated, [you] had no qualms pulling Xiao in [yourself]. 

And as the glow of lanterns reflected in [your] eyes, he couldn’t deny how much he wanted to kiss [you]. 

Xiao held dominion over the wind, but never before had it been knocked so boldly out of him. He could scarcely believe it was caused by the mere realisation of his own feelings. [You] sat there, fireworks exploding in the sky as [you] stared at each other. For once, Xiao’s mind was clear of just about everything except the sound of [your] breaths, the curve of [your] lips, and [your] voice as [you] said his name.

Wait, his name?

“Beg your pardon?” 

[Your] nose scrunched up in amusement and wow, Xiao doesn’t think he’s ever seen anything as adorable. And Xiao has a soft spot for little ones, not that he’d ever admit it. “Right here, right now. Don’t you feel like you’re part of this?” [You] asked, cupping Xiao’s hands in both of [yours]. 

Xiao willed himself not to be distracted by the myriad of ways [you] liked to show [your] affection with [your] hands and tried to decipher [your] meaning to no avail. “What do you mean?”

“You said that not having a care in the world, being at peace, and feeling joy was not something you understood. But I feel your joy here,” [You] rested [your] fingertips gently at his collar where [you] could feel the flutter of his heartbeat, fast as a butterfly’s wings. 

He was about to protest [your] warm hands leaving his when [you] continued. “I feel your peace here.” [You] said, hands grazing up his throat to cup his cheeks. 

“And your care-” [You] smiled faintly, brushing [your] thumb over the tip of his nose. “Right here.”

Xiao clicked his tongue, lips drawing down into a slight frown at the teasing. His mood however was betrayed by the way his pulse grew ever quicker under [your] touch. 

“As I have said, most mortal entertainment is fleeting, a short-lived spectacle.” He said in a tone notably softer than the growling timbre [you] were used to. He had declined, repeatedly, when [you] first asked him to join [you] for the festivities in a voice that struck fear into the hearts of heavenly and hellish creatures. 

But Xiao the Vigilant Yaksha, [you] had discovered, who always donned his mask in a way even when he wasn’t exorcising demons was not the Xiao that sat in front of [you]. He was not in the Xiao that gently took [your] hands back in his, nor the Xiao that pulled the blankets up and wrapped them around [you]. He was not the Xiao that [you] dared to hope in the dead of night, when demons stole him away from [you], could possibly return [your] feelings. 

[You] breathed in shakily, Xiao’s grip on [you] tightening at the sound. “Is this not?”

Xiao was somber, not unlike he was in the moments when his memories overcame him and he needed a minute to fight the darkness that clung to him like a second skin.

And in that serious tone of his, he spoke. “If you think that this relationship is something fleeting to me, then you are greatly mistaken.”

“You mean-” [You] choked at the words and the meaning behind them, startled. 

“Will you-” 

[You] didn’t let him finish, leaning all the way into his arms as [your] lips met, Xiao holding [you] so the boat wouldn’t tip over. [You] parted almost immediately, chaste and in awe of each other. 

“Give me permission to court you?” He continued, a little breathless as [your] cheeks heated in embarrassment. 

“O-Oh! I’m so sorry I misunderstood and I was too caught up in the ambiance and the way the moon and the lanterns lit up made you look so amazingly ethereal and unreal, I can’t believe you’re real and that you like me even though I-I make mistakes like think you want to kiss me-”

Xiao stared at [you] and his lips, the ones [you’d] kissed, curved into a smile brighter than any dawn [you’d] seen traversing Teyvat. The sheer joy and hope and affection in it infectiously warm. “You’re forgiven...” He murmured. As Xiao closed his eyes and rested his forehead against [yours], he whispered into the lantern filled night. 

“Only if you’ll let me do it again.”