#i am sick af but i had to finish this

[joifee]

twins need twin swords

I am definitly still not over season 1 and roseblings

[usodeshou]

Guess who's sick! 😬

[owliellder]

Two's A Crowd

College Bully! Leon Kennedy x fem! Reader

MDNI 18+

(Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5)

Description: College is proving to be a lot harder than you imagined. You cannot fail this math class. So when you've tried everything else, a well-known student is recommended to you by your professor for tutoring lessons, not really leaving you with much of a choice but to work with him.

Warnings: Not proofread, No Use of Y/N, Dub-Con, Unprotected Sex, Bullying, Yelling, Cursing

Tags: College AU, Bully! Leon, Shy! Reader, both are in their early 20's, Leon is Rude AF in the beginning, Loss of Virginity, Oral Sex, Fingering, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mention of a Fight, Additional Tags to be Added

Author's Note: Ahh thank you for 1,000 followers!! I don't even know how that happened!! Anyways, I think it's a little anticlimactic? I just feel like since I am definitely not the kind to raise my voice, a shy reader wouldn't either. Besides, disappointment hurts more than anger, right?

Cross-posted onto AO3

Chapter 4:

Leon really did like you, honest. You were such a sweet girl, so innocent and clueless. Maybe it’s because he never gave his one night stands the time of day, or maybe it was just the sheer amount of time he had to spend with you to get this close, but now he knew he was a pretty terrible person for taking that bet

In the beginning he didn’t feel the slightest twinge of guilt due to the words the frat spewed at him. He knew all the right questions to ask, all the right things to say, the sweetness of it all had you under a spell.  It was also such a menial thing to get, a single pair of panties… You probably wouldn’t even know it was missing!

But as time went on, it got harder and harder for Leon to stomach just what he was doing. You’d opened up so much to him about your home life, how stressed you were, how much pressure you were under. Doing this would absolutely ruin you so he did his best to convince himself that he was being the nice one by waiting to complete the bet until you had finished all your finals. All that time spent together had him second guessing, triple guessing, even quadruple guessing his decision to go through with this. The good grades were important to you, he didn’t want to draw your focus away from that.

It was a shame his friends couldn’t keep the damn thing to themselves even if their life depended on it. He’d explicitly told them that it’s done and there was nothing more to it, yet of course they just had to snicker and make snide little comments to each other the next day when they saw you in passing.

Leon wouldn’t admit out loud that you’d really grown on him over the months, so he could only brush his friends off whenever they’d tease him about getting angry whenever the topic arose. Chris was the worst out of all of them, being his best friend, it seemed like his mission was to dance on Leon’s nerves any chance he got.

“Delete that.” A scowl graced Leon’s features as he glared at Chris, who’d stepped back from the agitated man. Almost the entire frat had posed with the panties Leon stole from you, all of them making some form of exaggerated pose and face. What was only meant to be goofy on their part was making the man responsible furious.

“Relax, it’s just a picture. I thought you’d find it funny.” Chris chuckled, bringing his phone back in to look at it again himself. “You’re acting real sour for nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. You’re all acting like a bunch of fucking idiots and I’m sick of it. Now delete that damn picture before I smash your phone with a hammer.” The nonchalant attitude from Chris was driving Leon up the wall. He already knew he’d fucked up big time, and with the way everyone was acting would only get him into bigger trouble.

“Shut up, man.” Chris laughed, like this was all some big joke. Everything was a joke to him. “Acting like you’re gonna explode or something.” This man was an actual dumbass, never taking a moment to actually think about what consequences having photo evidence with the entirety of the frat’s members posing with something stolen would have.

Leon scoffed, holding his hands up before letting them fall dramatically to slap against the tops of his thighs. “No fucking way..” One hand came back up to cover his mouth, breathing out sharply through his nose. It was a sad attempt to keep himself from pouncing on the other man, seeing as not barely five seconds later he tackled Chris, hands scrambling to rip the phone from his hand.

Chris was a few inches taller than Leon, a bit stronger too, so the scuffle didn’t last long. Some punches thrown here, a few kicks there, and Leon had the wind knocked out of him at some point, thrown to the side and left to struggle to get up off the floor while Chris decided to make his way to a different part of the house, muttering under his breath all the while.

“God dammit-” Leon wheezed, on his hands and knees, one hand against his chest as he tried to catch his breath. Sure he reacted purely on instinct, but Chris could stand to be knocked down a few pegs in his opinion. The guy is an ass.

After finally collecting himself, Leon slowly spun around to rest his back against the foot of the couch, elbows resting on his knees. He coughed a couple times and let his eyes fall closed, eyebrows furrowed as he silently seethed. Chris was most definitely going to send that picture around since he obviously thinks it’s the funniest thing to ever grace this planet. You were going to see the picture. That thought alone had his head falling forward in defeat, breathing out a weak sigh and a few more coughs. 

If he had just followed his own shitty advice, he would’ve taken a second to think about it. Why didn’t he just tell you in the first place? Why didn’t he just go to the store and buy a random pair of panties? Why did he follow through on such a meaningless bet?

Now that Leon thinks about it, he was the dumbass in this scenario. A royal one.

He probably sat there for an hour with his eyes closed, mind racing a million miles a minute. Trying not to make another stupid decision, he decided the best course of action would be to tell you before you saw that picture. You should hear it from him and not a total stranger. It was the right thing to do. Right?

He let out a few more strangled coughs and wheezes as he stood up off the floor and threw his coat on, beginning the walk of shame to your building. It wouldn’t have taken that long, but the snow and sludge on the ground made it a bit more dangerous, he needed to tread carefully. In more ways than one.

The extended walk left him alone with his thoughts, seeing as he didn’t grab his own phone to bring with him. With every step his mind grew heavier, an involuntary grimace scrunching his face up as he mulled over what exactly he’d done. He was mentally beating himself up over how easy it would’ve been to avoid this situation if he’d just thought outside of himself for one singular minute.

What had he done? 

Leon stomped the excess snow off his boots once inside of the dorm building, hands hidden in the pockets of his jackets as he meandered over to the stairs to get up to the second floor where your dorm was. He took his sweet time, practicing what he wanted to say under his breath as he stared down at his feet while walking up the steps.

Your dorm was down the hall around the corner, allowing him the few extra seconds it would take to get there to get his heart under control. You would be mad, rightfully so, but would you forgive him? Is it selfish to hope that you would?

He stood in front of your door for a minute longer, hand hovering just in front of it, trying to bring  himself to knock. Licking his dry lips, he quickly hit the knuckle on his index finger against the door three times, his eyes downturned. As much as he wanted to be the bigger person, it scared him to no end. He’s never cared this much before, so why was he so worried about it now?

Leon’s eyes shot up at the sound of the door opening, immediately showing his confusion when it was Sky on the other side. They didn’t say a word, but they looked mad, or at least very irritated. “Hey, I really need to talk to-,” they cut him off by simply holding up the palm of their hand to him, taking in a deep breath. “We saw it.”

Those three words made his heart drop to his stomach, his eyes quickly darting to look through the opening in the door to see if he could see you. “Please, if you would just let me explain I can-”

“Don’t embarrass yourself. Just go.” Sky was just about to close the door before they quickly looked over their shoulder, shutting the door almost all the way. Leon could hear them whispering to you, and though he desperately wanted to listen in, he decided to take a step back from the door and wait patiently. It was the least he could do.

He looked side to side to make sure no one was walking through the hallways, not wanting anyone to eavesdrop on such a sensitive situation. The door reopened, only this time it was you standing in the doorway. You looked so sad, so disappointed.

Leon hesitated before opening his mouth, yet you cut him off before he could even get a word in. “I trusted you,” you rasped quietly, a shaky sigh passing your lips, “I-.. I trusted you… and this is how you treat me..?” His shoulders slumped as he listened to you. He didn’t think he could feel any worse about this, but here you were, reminding him just how much of an ass he’s been.

“All that time we spent together.. all those kind, encouraging words you told me.. were all a lie?” You sniffled, arms slinking around yourself tightly. Sky was standing out of his view rubbing your back, knowing you wanted, no, needed to confront him yourself.

“No- I-..” Leon stuttered, trying to find the best way to explain everything. And no matter how many times he formulated it in his head, the explanation would never justify his actions. Instead he settled on something that would probably mean and do nothing for you. It was worth saying, though. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I’m so sorry,” his voice fell to a whisper as he repeated himself, eyes remaining on yours. What else could he say?

Silence fell between you as you only stared back at him with glassy eyes, your every breath shaky as you held back sobs. Crying in front of him would only give him more fuel, was your thought process. In your mind, he couldn’t even be trusted with your trash. 

By now, Sky had walked over and grabbed your suitcase, rolling it over next to you. You were leaving a day earlier than you said you would, Sky having offered to drive you back home since your hometown was only a couple hours away from where theirs was.

You didn’t give him the satisfaction of a response, instead taking the handle of your suitcase from your friend before silently walking out of the room, past Leon, and down around the corner. He only stood and watched you walk off with a deep frown, head turning back to look at Sky when he heard them lock the door behind themself. 

“You’re only sorry that you got caught.” They grumbled as they walked past him, giving him a quick yet harsh glare. They soon disappeared around the same corner you had, leaving him all alone in the now quiet hallway. 

You were the nicest, most considerate person he’s ever had the pleasure to know and he blew it. The worst part about it all was you didn’t even seem mad, just heartbroken. Disappointed in him.

You had put so much of your trust into him, even after he’d been so nasty towards you in the beginning, and what did he do with it? He basically spit on it, lit it on fire, and then flushed the remnants. He was only annoyed with you the first few times he had to help you study, the bickering the two of you shared easily becoming one of the things he liked about you.

Leon honestly liked you from the start, so determined to pass a class that you’d put up with what was basically harassment from him. When he told his frat buddies about you, they were quick to draw up that bet. Unfortunately, he’d known most of these guys since middle school, and you were just a girl he met on chance. His friends’ words blanketed his own morals, and because they saw you as a target, so did he, that subconscious need for peer approval leading him to make one of the worst decisions he’s ever made thus far.

If he was in your shoes, he’d raise hell, so your decision to leave was completely understandable. For some reason you’d let him off easy and he knew he didn’t deserve such light treatment. 

All he could do now was hope you’d come back next semester. He’d be fine just getting to see you in passing since you most likely wouldn’t want to be anywhere near him anymore, your friends would certainly keep him at a distance away from you. 

Would writing a message be okay? You need time before he approaches the topic with you. Should he leave you be? No, you deserve an apology, even if you don’t want it, nor accept it. 

Someone brushed by Leon, breaking his train of thought. He was still standing in the hallway in front of your dorm room. He needed to go and try to make this right, or at the very least rip everyone at the frat a new one. He wasn’t sure, maybe it was because he was angry at them and himself, but leaving the frat sounded like a pretty good way to start righting his wrongs. Not before he made sure that the picture was wiped from everyone’s phone and the panties he stole were kept far away from everyone there. 

Chris sent the picture to you, which means it was sent to a bunch of other people too. He’ll spend all winter break tracking down every last person it was sent to, tell professors what he’d done just so it didn’t spread any further. And if it meant he’d lose his scholarship, then so be it.

tags:

@kayotee4 @k-fallingstar @bobastayhigh @mi-zer-y @chasingkennedy @l30nva @espressonerd @jjouki @5tarx @bunnybreadloaves @whoisgami @cyanscribe @c4b3r1a @darichvep @mmmangel @kingtacocat @klee-iii @baby--vera @dakiniii @kenma-izhu @aliidarling @leonsmamacita @deadghxsty @nekoheist @dumbassmortal @cassiecasluciluce @iovewilliams @maeplayscello @deddiemunsonsblog @paranoid-but-android @mariesmain @tteokhwaa @bonnibuckets @eilonwykennedy @1dk-anym0r3 @papatyacikcik @animesnowstorm @lexi-zsy09 @mylifedoesntexist @ifeellikedying @yourmommylol04 @ravioli19 @dakiniii @papichulo120627

(few of your blogs won't work, i tried though 😭)

[lordperceval-16]

I Think There's Been A Glitch

Part 2 (part 1)

Thank you so much to everyone who's liked, commented and RB'd part 1. I never imagined people would enjoy it so much 🥹 I've been super busy with work lately but finally got around to finishing part 2 so hope you enjoy it!

Daniel3.jpg

Liked by landonorris and others

Daniel3.jpg: As per usual, Y/N doing all the work and Lando being a pain in her ass.

View all comments

Landonorris notice how you weren't helping AT ALL

Yourusername you're really not in a position to be throwing stones, you didn't do much either

Landonorris I hung the lights?? And the mistletoe??

Yourusername and that's all you did but you 👏did👏them👏so👏well👏

Mclarenfan these two are ridiculous but I love them so much

Y/N_stan the mistletoe??? Oh my god???? they're madly in love and nobody is gonna change my mind about it

Honeybadger3 Daniel definitely ships it I'm calling it now he's one of us.

Twitchquartet these two are like something out of a hallmark Christmas movie. I hope it ends like one

QueenY/N ikr??? And why is nobody talking about the MATCHING PYJAMAS?????

Landonorris

Liked by maxverstappen1, maxfewtrell and others

Landonorris: Y/N: "I'm gonna kick your ass"

Also Y/N: has to he held at all times so she doesn't bust her ass

View all comments

Yourusername that is slander. Lies. Vicious rumours. It was YOU who had to be held up

Maxfewtrell @landonorris you've been exposed in 4k

Landonorris why is everyone ganging up on me we ALL know the truth

Y/nstan_1 oh my god???? They're...holding hands??? What in the lukewarm launch is this???

Livelaughlando lukewarm launch I can't 💀🤣

Danielriccardo 👀👫

Y/nLandoStan not Daniel creeping in the comments with the rest of us

Ricrodeo1 oh he has EXPOSED THEM fr

Carlando DANIEL WHAT? 👀💀

Yourusername

Liked by charles_leclerc, landonorris and others

Yourusername: T-4 days to the best day of the year (yes, Lando made a complete mess making cupcakes are we even surprised)

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Landosgirl oh they're sick for this because what are we supposed to think? That they're NOT in love???

Queen_Y/N ikr??? I mean the way she LOOKS at him I am violently ill

Lando_Y/N brb just going to lay down and sob because how do I find someone who looks at me the way Y/N looks at Lando

Scuderia_Stan Relatable af

Maxfewtrell be honest @yourusername you made those cupcakes, he just posed for the picture

Liked by yourusername

Landonorris stop lying in the comments.

Yourusername 🤨🤨🤨

Landonorris oh don't you start you almost put in salt instead of sugar

Yourusername stop inventing 🤫

Landostan I love how Lando gets consistently roasted by his friends in the comments every damn time this man gets away with nothing.

Carlando not Y/N quoting Carlos AND roasting Lando at the same time oh she's too good😂

Taglist

@holy-macncheese-balls @theunwcnted @nous-aurons-toujours-paris-kid @akahalloween31 @mythunderstorm

[hwanchaesong]

☞🍹Second Drink: Y'all bring gravity to shame because even with its constant pull of 9.81 m/s^2, it still can't put your drunken pieces back together. 🍸

🎧: The Weeknd - Hardest To Love

wc: 1.1k

genre & warnings: angst, fluff, renjun is hinted as an idol, cursing, themes of not taking care of oneself and break-up, reminiscing, exes to lovers, etc etc

a/n: this is a part of The After Hours Bar series. if y'all want, you can read the other album inspired fics of other groups here.

"Thank you for coming, Y/N." Jeno opened the door of their dorm for you, greeting you with an awkward smile.

"It's no problem." you waved him off, going straight to the point, "Where is he?"

Jeno pointed in the direction of his room, thanking the man for his assistance and quickly going off to the ever familiar hallways of their flat.

It was like a routine at this point, you didn't even need to knock, entering the area that you promised not to step foot in again.

"Renjun?" you called but no response was heard, blindly reaching for a switch to illuminate the dark room. Once the light is on, the subject of your visit is now visible.

Thinner than the last time you saw him, tangled in his sheets and sprawled out on the bed, wearing a loose black shirt and an old yellow pajama pants, arms on his face and when the light disturbs his gloom, he lets out an annoyed groan.

"Jeno.. I told you, I'm not in the mood to eat." he grumbles like a child and it seems like he's so out of it that he wasn't able to hear you the first time.

"If you don't eat, you might get sick." you speak, and he zaps out of his mattress, eyes wide open.

He was frozen for a minute before he squinted, rubbing his lids and staring at your standing frame.

"Am I dreaming? Am I dead?" he asks, confusion written on his features and you hold in a chuckle when you saunter towards him, pinching in his cheeks that caused him to whine out of pain.

"See, I'm very much real." you assured, sitting down on the side of the mattress, watching him realize what is actually happening.

When his brain finishes processing the situation, he immediately avoids eye contact, head hung low as he questions why you're here.

You answered honestly with a gentle smile and tone, and it made him feel small. It reminded him how much of an asshole he was back when he can still call you his .(which is only for 3 days, dramatic af)

What the fuck do you mean that you came here solely for the reason of persuading him to take care of himself.

Stupid Jeno for snitching on him, but he's also kind of thankful of his friend's yapping, because he got to see your beautiful face again.

On the other hand, he thinks that it's unfair for you. He is not your problem anymore, yet here you are, giving him the time of your day that he doesn't deserve.

You loved him with all your heart, even so, he wasn't careful when you handed him your fragile purity. His negligence broke your delicate heart into tiny chunks of glitter.

He did watch you pick the pieces up, gluing it desperately because you wanted to stay with him, and that made him an enourmous shit ever for taking you for granted.

The forgotten dates, nonchalant words and actions, not giving you enough time, and the list goes on.

You gave him your everything and he gave you nothing in return.

Still, you always have that angelic smile on your face throughout the dying relationship. You're acting like everything is okay even when the household that you once called your home turned into a graveyard of past happiness.

You did your best to salvage whatever flame is left in your relationship, but inevitably, even God's strongest soldier does get tired too.

Thus, you let him go.

And the freedom that you gifted him brought nothing but misery. Renjun is willing to pay the price for his thoughtless actions, and he kicks it off with a mega sulking episode.

His friends just got sick of his childish tantrums, given that they are merely concerned for his well-being, they had no choice but to use their last resort. You.

"You do not need to do this." he utters, heart fluttering when he sees the bracelet that he gave you on your birthday last year on your wrist.

"I want to." you insist, plopping a plastic bag of food in front of him, "Now eat, you need to replenish your strength. Jeno said that you haven't been eating well for the past three days."

Renjun feels like crying... oh? His cheeks are wet? The fuck, it's salty too?

Ah, he's crying.

Your eyes widened at his tears, heart clenching painfully inside your chest yet you made no move to console him, because you are grieving as well.

"Renjun..." you trail off, staring at the teardrops falling onto his sheets,

"Y/N, why? Why are you this kind I- don't you regret l-"

"I don't." you cut his sentence short, not wanting to stain the flowery memories you have with him with his next words. "I don't regret anything when it comes to you. If anything, I should be thanking you for teaching me how to love, even if you prove it to be difficult to do."

He shakily reaches out for your hand, and you wince at the contact but make no move to stay away from the sudden intrusion.

"I don't deserve you." he whispers, finally looking up to peer at your sullen expression, "I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry but I want to be selfish again. I want you back."

Your features soften, "Yeah, it's true you don't deserve me... Yet."

He is the biggest, fattest jerk of a boyfriend. But you won't be able to shake how caring and attentive he was during the short duration of your relationship. He just doesn't notice it because he was too busy dwelling in his mistakes.

He compliments you everyday, even when you look like bird shit. He cooks for you, helps you with your schoolwork even if he's tired from practice. Renjun is not a grand person when it comes to affection, but his little yet meaningful actions speak louder than words.

He showed you that love works in mysterious ways, not exactly perfect but magical nonetheless.

"Improve for me, Renjun. Be the man that I deserve and I will stay by your side while you go through that journey." you say, landing a comforting palm on his cheek and wiping the tears away.

Renjun hums, putting his own hand over yours, grabbing it and kissing the knuckles one by one, "I will."

He'll willingly cross the moon back to earth this time, make up for his mistakes and he'll ensure that he'll love you right this time around.

Loving Huang Renjun is as hard as letting him go, but for you, it’s the opposite. For you, loving him is as easy as breathing, a natural part of the life you’re living, and that is given because it is everything but a sham.

taglist:

@sunghoonsgfreal @yeosayang @mystverse @shakalakaboomboo

[katyspersonal]

nobody:

Kood: Oh, so, you "like" Messmer? Say the exact amount of strength applied which it took him to impale every single Dancing Lion that he hunted. Name the day he finished reforging his spear for it to become throwable and how many times did he have to throw it. Say the exact timing, down to tens of second, which it took him to cu-

Queelign: I am literally lurking in the cemetery waiting for those graceless Hornsents to visit the graves of their killed ones to ambush and kill them too, Queen Marika would be so proud of me! :D

Wego: Man I wish I had friends, too bad I literally have no one, I am so lonely I'll have to resort to resurrecting dead people :( *spoken literally nearby fellow Knights, including his literal pupil*

Salza: Hey just because I take #1 place amongst everyone else in the Crusade in terms of how many villages and houses I've obliterated doesn't mean I am no longer an intellectual elite. I am the most civilised, cultured and intelligent person here.

Hilde: These idiots do not understand that even the Erdtree itself stand on cultural appropriation! How can we fight in the name of Marika and uh... I think that guy literally named Whore at some point, with that big lion...? if we ignore how much was stolen from the Storm Lord and Godskin Apostles? I swear I am the only one who truly gets it smh. Can't wait to get rid of all Hornsent already so we can use their knowledge to build our OWN Divine Spiral, it will be sick af 👀

Messmer: Hahah no one loves my mother as much as I do, I understand what is better for her Order more than she does herself *mood swing* I hate that bitch, why she never loved me?! *crashes a head off a statue of her* *mood swing* Oh god I am the worst being I am more of a curse upon her than any of these graceless barbarians were ever, disowning me was not enough, she should have killed me... *mood swing* I should have burnt her and her Erdtree instead while I had the chance to do so, only in death we could stand equal *mood swing* I love her so much I can at least find comfort in destroying everyone who doesn't fit her world, it is the least I can do to atone for being born graceless myself *mood swing*

Rellana: Pledge to the Golden Order was a weird era but now we are so back, Stars/Moon and Fire have always been together, since the times of Fire Giants and Astrologers! But to think of it, does the 'Fire' that swears to exterminate everything spurned of the grace of the Erdtree count, if it was Erdtree's enemy? Strange, how the very thing that existed as its enemy got tamed to serve it instead? Dammit, my flawless brilliant logic got a crack in it all because of Messmer's mommy issues!!! (still love him and will die for him tho 🥺💙)

Andreas: I can excuse fascism and genocide, but I draw the line at being a SNAKE!

Huw: <prev so real, had I known my bestie was a snake I'd definitely not go and have sooooo much fun hunting Divine Beasts. I am so deceived.

Edredd: To think of it, more soldiers got executed here for no longer wanting to do genocide than fell from the blades of Hornsents, but idk a job is a job 🤷‍♂️

Garrew: *has the most fucking questionable Crucible aspect ever seen except no one wants to actually question it*

[soaps-hoe-141]

Drowning In The Depths

Sorry it took me so long yall, I have been sick af and with school starting back it is kicking my ass. Gotta love them STEM degrees, know what I mean?

Part 12

Pairing: Captain Price x Male!Reader

WC: 18.3k

Synopsis: Who said Price gotta be the Captain all the time? I am so sorry in advance

Warnings: NSFW 18+ smut, blood, canon typical violence

Darkness swallowed the team as everyone jostled against one another in the back. Well, almost everyone. Price and Gaz had both taken up positions in buildings on the North and South sides of the building in their individual sniper’s nest. Fuckin snipers. You had to stop yourself from snickering at the thought of the two of them laying on the floor the past day as if they were statues. It couldn’t be comfortable, that was for sure. 

You stopped yourself though, sniffing as you reached up to wipe at your nose and look around the dark compartment of the van. Konig was sitting next to you on the bench the team had apparently earned after your last successful mission. It certainly made the ride more comfortable as Watcher navigated through the darkened and ghostly quiet streets outside. The terrible thunderstorms overhead were the cause of it this time, and just as the thought crossed your mind a strike of lightning flashed just over Konig’s head where you could just barely see the windshield of the van. His dark hood was hanging loose as he leaned forward between the front two seats to whisper quietly with the young man who was driving, deep in conversation as he took another turn.

Meanwhile Soap and Ghost sat on the bench across from y’all. The bigger man had his knife out as he meticulously, or rather obsessively, honed the edge to a razor-like finish. His black gloved finger ran over the spine of the knife, catching on the serrations that were closer to the hilt before his gaze shot up to find you. The man truly had a sixth sense and it was beyond freaky now. Hazel eyes narrowed into slits as he caught you staring, a smattering of thoughts were undoubtedly going on behind that sharp gaze, before Soap captured his attention completely by tapping his knee against Ghost’s and whispering something into the other man’s ear. The Ghost-whisperer it would seem for he had tamed the wild beast in front of you with merely a touch and a couple words.

The big one certainly had his death stare mastered though, good lord. Your head shook subtly as you suppressed a shiver before you shifted back along the bench and leaned forward with your rifle laying across your thighs while Cerberus laid underneath the bench right beneath you. His nose knocked against your calf as he lifted his head to find your gaze, a slight tilt to it as he expected some command to come from you. There was nothing to tell him right now, not yet anyway. When no order came though the Dutch Shepherd’s tongue lolled for a moment until you reached down to run your fingers over his brindle fur. You could feel the weight of his head as it pressed into your palm for a quick moment. His head fell back to his paws a moment later and you leaned back into the wall of the van as you took a deep breath.

This drive was becoming anxiety inducing as another wheel dipped into a pothole and the thunder rumbled overhead. It felt almost like something was coming to a head, like the crescendo of a song was nearing and you could feel the melody of it in your very soul. The vibrations of an orchestra in the strings of energy that surrounded you and had you sitting on the edge of your seat even as you actively tried to calm yourself down, breathing as deep as you could.

Why was this making you so nervous anyway? You’d gone after plenty of the worst this world had to offer. Amaan was so far from tipping the scales of lecherous actions you’d been witness to that it wasn’t even funny. Hell you’d been right next to the fucking Admiral on that bastard’s worst days. Even on his good days Amaan was far from the worst in comparison to that demon. Al-Mustafa could have been a fucking angel when he was standing next to him, and yet here you were having to actively stop your knee from bouncing while also forcing yourself to put on the persona that was Speck. Not yourself, but the man you were expected to be in this situation. The operator. Master Chief. Your role.

Suddenly the answer to your question hit you like a slap in the face. Back then, when you had been faced with the Admiral, his heinous crimes, and your own very obvious mortality, you’d had nothing to lose. Everything you’d worked for had been stripped from you and your decisions and past had left you devoid of anything to care for. Your family, your job, your home, every cent to your fucking name had been thrust into the incinerator and you’d lost it at the drop of a hat.

Everything had changed now, you had someone, something, to stay alive for and to come back to. It was going to cloud your judgment. You knew that all too well. Hell it already had been affecting your judgment over the past days that you had been digging yourself deeper and deeper into the trench that was Captain John Price. It would only get worse from here on out and you found that the little voice that always told you not to get attached was surprisingly silent.

John Price was an addiction that even your subconscious would forever be unable to shake. You were bound and determined that the only thing that could tear you from him at this point was death itself and you’d put up a fight with any god or ferryman who came after you. Death had, had his chance to take you once before and he’d fucked it up. That fucker wasn’t getting you any time soon if you had anything to say about it. Besides who wouldn’t fight for those beautiful blue eyes and that endearing smirk when he knew he had you right where-

Stop thinking about him, Speck. There was a fucking job to do. Slowly you found your eyes turning to your left where the seat on the bench next to you sat empty. Where he would have been if it wasn’t for the fact he was already in position. A part of you was already missing him and it hadn’t even been that long. You craved the way his calloused fingers slid along your arm, the way his lips felt pressed against yours. The way his striking blue eyes pierced your very soul as he looked down at you with sweat dripping off the tip of his nose. Those quiet words of praise falling from between his lips, amongst other, dirtier words that had your cheeks warming in an instant even now as you sat in the back seat of the van.

A hard shove against your shoulder nearly pushed you sideways on the bench as you blinked a few times and your eyes focused on the other men around you. “You’re listening, ja?” You could almost see the raised eyebrows beneath the hood, the way his forehead creased sometimes when he only had his facemask on. Price’s forehead had lines like that, though his were a bit deeper and a bit more mature in appearance whenever his brows furrowed. Oh and the way the corners of his eyes creased whenever he smiled and made his typically serious face a bit more hospitable when he looked at you.

Fuck, Speck, would you pay attention? “Yes sir, I’m listenin’,'' your accent slipped out as you tried to pull yourself out of your foggy thoughts. You caught the attention of the other two men sitting in the back of the van as well as the southern twang lilted into your words. A moment of distraction and a shard of your past revealed, though they may have been jokesters and enjoyed a good laugh that in no way meant that they were stupid. They paid attention and they noticed the smallest of details, it was in fact what made all of you so great in the field.

Not a word was spoken though…Thankfully. Your past, your heritage, wasn’t exactly something you liked to advertise, it could ruin the idea of who you were. What you were. The idea that you were a chameleon would disappear in a cloud of smoke if they really started to hear that twang that was hidden so well in your voice. Or so you always told yourself anyway.

Ghost grunted out a quick, “We’re a minute out,” as he stood up from his and Soap’s bench. Shit you’d lost track of the time. You quickly followed suit as you stood up and pulled a magazine out of the tac vest before sliding it into the magazine well. It took only a quick pull of the charging handle to chamber a bullet from the magazine and you glanced quickly towards where Ghost was already unlatching the panel that had closed you all into the back. “Thirty seconds,” his voice rasped out into your ear as the van slowed to a stop and Watcher shut the panel between the front seats.

You clipped Cerberus’ lead on before you did a quick check of his gear, tightening the straps on his harness that wrapped underneath his belly. A moment later you joined the other three men at the two back doors. When the lock clicked on the outside the door opened a second later and Ghost jumped down beside the small ginger. The rest of y’all followed close behind the big man with Watcher bringing up the rear. The door shut behind you, though you couldn’t hear it over the pounding of the rain as the storm was raging around you now. You moved behind Konig with Soap on your left beside you.

The four of you lined up on either side of the door with Cerberus between your legs as you kneeled at Konig’s back and watched your side of the dark alley. The dog’s eyes were locked on you, you could feel their gaze as he awaited whatever command you were going to give him or even something as simple as if you were going to move. Watcher moved by you before he stopped to stand in front of a keypad and he plugged something into it. You could just barely hear him as he whispered something to himself and his mic picked it up, along with the sound of him typing numbers into the door’s lock.

It took a few moments before anyone finally started to move and when they did you weren’t surprised by the perpetrator in the slightest. A snort came from somewhere behind you though you heard it clearly in your ear just before a Scottish voice muttered under his breath, “Yer no singing right now are ye? Ye do know we’re in a bit a fuckin’ hurry, right?”

Just as fast as the questions slipped out of Soap’s mouth the quiet muttering stopped as well as the sounds of the young man pressing the buttons, both of them seeming to be distracrted by the other in this tense moment. Rain muted the sounds of shifting from behind you as you forced yourself to stay focused on the alley in front of you and not fall victim to the teasing these two were leveling at one another. “Aye, I am ye bastart. Ye can’t do any better, trust me we hear yer howlin’ every time we try to take a fuckin’ shower,” your brows lifted at the quiet words that came out of the smaller Scotsman. It wasn’t so much the words that had surprised you but the one who had said them.

Up until this point Watcher had been nothing but a sweet, innocent- as innocent as anyone on this team could be anyway -young man who might have seemed a bit too young but it wasn’t like he had ever seemed incapable, quite the opposite in fact. Watcher had been quiet maybe whenever everyone else was around, but never did he seem like the type to mouth off in the way he was now. Especially not to someone who was technically his superior even if Soap didn’t act like it sometimes. There were intricacies to the relationships in this team that you still hadn’t quite grasped it seemed.

“Well get on with it then Freckles, we don’t have all bloody night. It’s pishin’ it doon oot here,” you could hear the smile in his voice just before Ghost let out an exasperated sigh behind you directed at what you assumed to be both of the Scotsmen who were very nearly about to go at it in this fuckin alley if the annoyed huff from Watcher was anything to go by.

It didn’t seem either of them cared too much about the fact that rain was currently pouring down on y’all in fuckin buckets. It had soaked through your clothes nearly the moment you’d stepped out of the van and your equipment had been right behind it seconds later. There was no doubt in your mind if they kept it up, even your waterproof boots were going to give way to the torrential downpour overhead and you hated the feel of wet socks. That wasn’t even mentioning how bad Cerberus was gonna be stinking after this operation.

Just before the tension broke and shit hit the fan though a deep voice came over your ear piece. Deep, smooth, calm, and authoritative, “ETA on your entry, Bravo 0-7.” It was a question yes, including the little lilt up of his voice at the end, but it sounded more like an order coming from that man. Most things in your experience did, you weren’t about to complain about it though.

Without thinking about it the corners of your mouth turned up in a small smile. A rush that wasn’t adrenaline for once, but instead was happiness. A feeling you were beginning to grow a bit more accustomed to after so long without it. You stayed quiet though as Watcher answered the silent question in a hushed tone, “Fifteen seconds.” Ghost quickly relayed the answer before everyone went silent once more. There was a hollow grunt from Ghost who seemed like he was about to say something more but he instead elected to leave it alone once Watcher continued on with whatever it was he was doing. Best not to distract the young man anymore than he obviously already was.

Before Price could speak again the more feminine voice of Laswell came through the ear pieces, obviously broadcasted to the whole team, “Be advised there are two unknowns nearing your location. I estimate thirty seconds before they are on you. You need to get inside the building. Do not alert any guards. I repeat, do not alert any guards. We don’t know what is inside that building.” Your hands tightened instinctively on the weapon as you shifted and your knee dug further into the grime of the alleyway as rain water flowed down the paved road by you.

Watcher behind you was still doing whatever it was he was good at in an attempt to get y’all inside before shit hit the fan. No one said a word for fear it would tip the scales out of your favor too soon and y’all waited quietly on bated breath to get the clear from the ginger to breach. Again an American voice broke the silence as Laswell updated the team, “Fifteen seconds. Your side of the alley Speck.” Your hand shot down to the dog still lying between your legs as you quickly assured yourself that he was still lying on his belly there, as if he could move with the lead still clipped on him.

Both you and Cerberus were tense with anticipation, the only thought in your mind being ‘Don’t let this op go sideways already. It’s too fuckin soon.’ Just as the words played through your mind though water splashed up beside you as Watcher backed up to stop beside you and shove the items in his hand into a small pack at his hip and readied his weapon. Your focus however stayed on the end of the all even as the door opened behind you.

Footsteps, muted by the torrent, sounded off behind you as the other cleared into the building in quick succession. Laswell’s voice was counting down quietly in your ear as the men filed in behind you as quickly as they could. There was a light tap on your shoulder and your eyes darted up to find Watcher just as the young man hurried away from you and inside. You stood and shuffled backwards with Cerberus who backpedaled along with you until you turned into the doorway and Konig shut the door behind you.

Silence buzzed in your ears until the soft sounds of droplets of water hitting the floor found your ears. Your ears adjusted quickly to the lack of the noise as you looked around the dark entryway that you found yourself in. It was like the building was light and soundproof despite you knowing better. Or at least you knew what the building specs had revealed, who knew what was really going on in this fucking building though. No plan, no matter how amazing, survived a battle.

The illusion of the building being sound and lightproof dissipated in a moment though as the sound of rain hitting the roof sounded somewhere above you. While outside the darkness of the storm was interrupted by flashes of lightning that managed to illuminate the hallway though it was only for a few moments. It was just long enough though for you to see Soap at the end of the hallway and his gun pointed into the darkness with Watcher covering the other corner. Both men were holding their respective angles on anyone who might come down the hallway. 

A second later there was a strike of thunder that seemed to rattle the walls around you and also aided to ruin the illusion of sound deprivation, feeling more like an earthquake instead of a storm that was miles overhead. There was still no sound from the team though, even as Konig dropped his night vision into place much like the rest of the team had already done, you were just now noticing. A moment later Ghost finally broke the dead silence as his voice sounded over all the comms, “We’re inside. IR beacons on now Captain,” you reached up a hand to drop your own night vision into place. You reached to the back of your helmet then to turn the IR beacon as well and then Cerberus’ on the back of his vest as Ghost spoke.

It took a second before you heard Price answer in that calm, soothing tone that was all business and formality in the middle of this mission. And despite yourself it had the hair on your arms standing up in response, “Good copy Lieutenant, eyes on.” The big man didn’t bother to answer him and instead he moved up behind Soap as he took a second to survey both sides of the dark hallway.

The masked face turned back to find you as his hand came up and he directed you to follow up behind Konig and Watcher. The moment you gave him a nod he tapped Soap on the shoulder and the two men slipped silently around the corner. Stealth was your friend, at least for now, and was the only thing keeping the local law enforcement off of y’all and the rest of the building quiet as you moved through the building. Just one quick hand motion and Cerberus was out from between your legs as he came to rest at your right hip instead. Stepping up behind Konig you gave him a light tap on the shoulder and watched him mirror the same action on the young man’s before the three of you slipped around the corner and off down the hallway.

Watcher stopped at the first room as he opened the door quietly and his lean form moved with graceful, quiet speed you hadn’t seen from many. As you continued moving you found yourself appraising the skill with which he cleared the room, despite the fact that you knew it wasn’t actually your job to do so. To be so young it seemed he was well enough trained, maybe not as quick or experienced as the rest of the team but you had your suspicions that most of his skills lied elsewhere. Not necessarily just another jarhead with half a brain to throw into the fray when you needed bodies. 

Quickly though you and Konig moved past the room as you watched the hallway behind and Konig the hallway and stairs up ahead. It took only a few seconds before the sharp features of his pale face reappeared in the doorway and you turned to tap Konig as the three of you continued on down the hall. Approaching the second door that branched off the hallway you heard a low rumble come from your right and you hurriedly reached forward to tap the taller man in front of you on the shoulder. He paused for just a moment before he too heard the low rumble just behind him and he gave a stiff nod.

A quick hand gesture and the rumble stopped as Konig lined up on the side of the door before checking to make sure it was unlocked. When he looked back you were quick to give him a single nod as he returned his attention to the door and pushed inside. You didn’t catch what happened in the first moment. All you could see was Konig’s large body that seemed to swallow the nearest hostile as he wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and drug him to the side against the wall, as out of the way as the Austrian could get. You stepped inside in the next moment as you listened to the muffled sounds that came from the man that Konig was fighting to put to sleep.

The wide eyed face of a young man, you’d wager to guess even younger than Watcher, came around the corner in a flash. You barely had enough time to register the fear that had grown there. All you could see was the thought that he was in too deep, that his time had come even as he reacted in his own defense nearly as quickly as you. The silhouette of a handgun began to rise in what felt like slow motion in front of you. Instinct carried you forward as your right hand shot forward as quick as the strike of lightning that flashed outside and blinded you for just a moment. You didn’t need to be able to see though now that you had your hands on him.

Just as quickly as your sight was taken it returned in the midst of your next strike. His trachea slammed into your thenar web and you could feel the way it began to give way beneath the force of the blow. Dark eyes bugged at the sudden contact and immediately the gun in his hand dropped, a metallic clack echoing around the walls as it hit the ground, and he reached for his throat while he struggled to catch his breath.

In the next moment his throat was trapped between your forearm and bicep while his hands clawed fruitlessly at your arms. Nails dug into the fabric of the long sleeved, black shirt that clung to your torso and arms like a second skin. When that didn’t seem to work a primal instinct began to take over that few could have suppressed, and part of you would have gone so far as to say not a soul alive could have fought that urge down.

It was a desire to survive, to continue dwelling in this cruel world that every creature walking this planet had. His sharp elbows drove back into your ribs and you couldn’t help the quiet grunt that he drove from your lungs. The young man’s mouth opened wide in a scream that he couldn’t quite get out but damn did he try. You could even feel the muscles of his neck as they flexed beneath your forearm. A quiet hum passed through your lips as the wild and struggling actions slowly began to ebb into the hazy last ditch efforts to get away. Futile attempts but the human brain responded the only way it knew how, remove the threat and get away from it. Even if the brain knew it could never hope to accomplish that task.

As the fingers around your forearm loosened your gaze darted towards Konig across the room who was lowering the other man to the ground before he turned to find you. Cerberus was still standing idly beside you while his chocolatey eyes stared up at you with reverence as if you didn’t have a man currently struggling in your arms. When the other’s arms finally started to fall back to his sides you took a step back to lower him to the ground before he slumped to the floor and you stepped over his body to join Konig where he’d moved back towards the door. A single tap on the tall man’s shoulder and he stepped outside with Watcher as y’all continued on down the hallway.

Like a well-oiled machine you cleared every small room on the first floor and rotated with one another all the way to the stairs. As you cleared the final room on your side of the hallway, Ghost's voice rumbled through the ear piece, “Clearing the second floor now. Team three clear the third floor.”

You exited the room with a tap on Konig’s shoulder as the man answered back, “On the way up now.” He released the button on his mic before he whispered just loud enough to hear, “On you, Watcher.” The young man didn’t hesitate even for a moment before he mounted the first step on his way up. His head tilted up as he watched the top of the landing, taking the steps carefully as he went, doing everything in his power not to make a noise. Not a single shot fired so far and the guards weren’t alerted, hell this was going far better than any of y’all had dared to anticipate.

“Be advised, one just left his room on the second floor…” the man paused before continuing with an edge of nervous anticipation in his tone, “No clear shot on my end. He's approaching the stairwell on the north side of the building,” the Brit’s voice reached your ears though it wasn’t that of the man from before. This one was a couple octaves higher and missing the rough tone you loved so much. Watcher stilled on the stairs in response, just barely in front of Konig about halfway up the first flight of stairs. You couldn’t help but cast a nervous glance back the way you had come like you’d just assured y’alls mutual destruction by just daring to think positively for once.

A low rumble began in the dog’s chest that you silenced immediately with a quiet gesture of your hand. Konig took one more cautious step forward to come shoulder to shoulder with the comically shorter man just before a face came into view at the top of the stairs. Your stomach dropped as the middle-aged man froze with his fingers tangled through a long, dark beard. It took a moment for him to process what he was seeing, to register that y’all were the enemy and his life was in danger. The man tried to scream, he really did. At least he made the most honest attempt he could. His mouth opened and he tried to take a step back and turn. He put every muscle into action in order to take off back down the hall, probably to find someone, but his fate was never to walk down that hall again.

He didn’t even get the chance to turn his head all the way back around before a flash came from the end of Watcher’s barrel and then Konig’s. Blood sprayed the wall behind him as the light faded from his eyes and his body began to go limp. It would take a second for his body to realize that the brain had ceased to respond. No loud bangs echoed off the walls though, suppressors kept the sounds quiet especially with the cracks of thunder still sounding off overhead. 

Your shoulders tensed as you watched his body tilt forward towards the two men and he began to fall down the stairs. Without even really thinking about it the two men in front of you stepped forward simultaneously. The weight of the now deceased man hit their shoulders as they let his body lay softly against the stairs before they continued up and you followed right behind them. Avoiding the blood pooling onto the steps and the body that laid there now.

Watcher lifted his gun to inspect the dark hallway for only a second before his eyes returned in front of him and the two men in front of you continued on with that same slow and careful step that you all had been using since you left the van. Again the two men started up the stairs together as you brought up the rear of the group, Cerberus still steady at your side, a rock in this tide of uncertainty. As the three of you crested the top of the stairs two shots fired off back the way you had come. Fuck.

Voices rose in a flurry from the floor below as Ghost’s deep voice growled into your ear, “We’re compromised.” Yeah, no shit.

“Time to clean house lads,” Soap’s voice cut him off, sounding strained as more shots fired off from somewhere below.

More voices began to rise like a chorus from behind the closed doors of the third floor before lights flipped on overhead and blinded each of you with the nightvision. You scrambled desperately to pull the goggles up even as startled shouts hit your ears and you tried to adjust your eyes with a couple quick blinks. Bullets flew past you, slamming into the walls behind you before you heard the quieter pops of either Watcher or Konig’s rifles firing. When you could finally focus your eyes a man was lying dead a few feet in front of you and further down the hall one was coming out of another room.

Watcher was just getting his night vision goggles up while Konig was turning back to check on the both of you. His eyes landed on the ginger first before turning his green gaze to you. Cerberus’ jaws opened in a thunderous bark as a crack of thunder sounded just outside, though you had to admit the dog was easily loud enough to compete with it. All thought stopped though as you watched the door in front of you fly open. You were almost certain you could feel every muscle go rigid in response, a moment of hesitation that would undoubtedly be your undoing.

A figure peeled around the corner that Konig had missed in his worry. You tried to lift your gun but there wasn’t enough time. You could see from here, in this slowed down, distorted version of time, that he was going to beat you to pulling the trigger. That was before glass shattered somewhere ahead of you and the man fell with a hole in the side of his head. Your gaze darted around to find the source of the shot, but Konig was helping Watcher to his feet so it wasn’t one of you. Then John’s voice rumbled in your ear in a tone that was nearly a growl, “He’s down. Get al-Mustafa. That’s an order.”

Your eyes darted to where Konig was already moving forward with Watcher hurrying after him. There was no time to waste now that your cover had been blown. Konig shoved his way into the first door on his right and disappeared inside as you moved to catch up with the other two. You reached a hand down to check on Cerberus as the big dog moved at your side and you continued on past the door to follow Watcher. By the time the shorter man was pushing in to clear the next room Konig was coming up behind you to give you a light tap on the shoulder and you crossed the hall to the next door.

A hard shove inside with your shoulder and it started to give way only to come to a jarring halt as it slammed into something solid which was currently refusing to budge on the other side. Your brows furrowed then before someone shoved at the other side and the door slammed hard into your chest. A quiet curse fell out of your mouth as you took a step back and glanced Konig’s way as he pushed into the room next to yours easily enough while Watcher continued on down the hall past you and towards the last door already. Do not ruin the rhythm, Speck. Don’t be that fucker, get your shit together.

Get it together, get it together, finish this so you can get everything back to normal. Unclipping Cerberus’ lead you took a breath before you stepped forward and your boot collided with a door. The force cracked the wood which might as well have been paper thin at this point as it flew inward. Curses sounded from inside the room as you forced it the rest of the way open with a hard slam of your shoulder. When it finally gave in to the force you felt your teeth jar just before you caught sight of furrowed brows and the barrel of a gun rising your way.

Time was short but the distance between the two of you was shorter. Your gun slipped from your grasp as you shot forward and grabbed his wrist with one hand. You slammed it against the wall with enough force to make the wall shudder beneath it as you slipped further into his guard. The gun smacked against the wall uselessly as you did, your arms straining to maintain control with one hand around one wrist and the fingers of your other hand wrapped tight around the other.

The man growled out more than a few curses in Pashto as he tried to force you back through the door. Even as you held his arms wide and the gun away from your chest he still seemed only to be worried about keeping you out and away. It was like he was trying to get rid of you even as the sounds of gasps echoed from further within all in the span of a few seconds. All of the noises from within quickly turned into cries and sobs as you let your grip slip ever so slightly to wrap your hand around the barrel of the gun and force it from the man’s hand. It only took another half second to flip it around in your palm and shove it into the center of his chest. 

When you pulled the trigger the sound would have nearly deafened you if not for the headphones over your ears. The bang bounced off the walls around you as the man fell to the ground and you turned without thought to find the source of the noises from before. The man’s dead body was irrelevant now and you had no more attention you needed to pay it. Your eyes darted down towards the woman and the little girl she now held wrapped in her arms and as hidden from your sight as she possibly could be. Her face locked you into place as you immediately remembered the way she had looked so confused and pleading at you the last time you had seen her. Your jaw tensed and Cerberus whined at your side, sensing the way your mood immediately changed from business to uncertainty.

She had been at the other compound, you’d sent her directly back into the fray with the foolish hope that her mother would get her out of here, out of this life. Really it had been more like the hope that she could get out there. However even as you watched her you realized there was no recognition behind those eyes. This was the same little girl you had gone out of your way to speak to and she didn't even remember your face, and for some odd reason it made you muscles tighten in response. You were so used to people not remembering you, hell it was why you could do what you did, but you’d spoken to this girl. Killed another man right in front of her. Yet there she was not even realizing the deja vu you should have been causing her at this exact moment.

God you were getting sensitive lately, it was truly becoming pathetic as nearly everything was altering the course of your thoughts. You couldn’t think about that right now Speck, you’d come here for a reason and you had so much more to deal with than a child you didn’t even know. The reason you were here was somewhere else in this building, it wasn’t this little girl and her mother. Amaan was the cause of this girl’s suffering and you had a chance to stop that tonight. He was the reason that all of you were even here. The reason that you all had to be in this place with a dead man behind you and a woman and child who were begging quietly for their lives in front of you. Yet you hadn’t even gotten confirmation of an ID on him to prove he was even in this building.

Glancing towards the door you took half a step forward and leveled the barrel of the gun at the woman. Even as you did it though you felt the finger you had resting against the trigger freeze. You couldn’t kill unarmed combatants, and especially not a child. Not here and not now. Son of a bitch, you bit the inside of your cheek and glanced back at the door once before turning back to the two and growled out a quiet threat in Farsi, the only hope you had of keeping them alive and seeing this through to the end, “Do not move, do not leave. Try to leave and you will be shot. Stay here until we are gone and do not make a noise, do you understand?”

The mother’s eyes glanced at the man on the ground behind you before looking into your eyes once more as she pulled her daughter closer and then gave a few quick nods of understanding. You watched as the mother and Jasra disappeared into the small closet in the room and the door closed behind you as you left the room with a clipped, “Fuss.” The second you turned the corner though and started towards where you knew the other two would be clearing the final room another round of shots rang out through the third floor.

“FUCK,” the Scottish voice yelled out as he fell back around the door frame and his hands reached for his side. Too good, things never went this smoothly and you never should have let yourself believe that it would. You closed the distance in a flash though Konig was there a step before you, speaking words in German that you didn’t understand. His hand shot to grab a hold on the young man’s vest as he pulled him further away from the door. You didn’t stop to afford Watcher that same level of concern, not when the person who had done the shooting could have come out of the room at any moment, besides Konig could handle any first aid better than you could.

Slipping inside the final room you slid around the corner gun first as you came face to face with al-Mustafa who was standing securely behind his two wives with his arms wrapped around both of their necks. He had one hand wrapped around the grip of the pistol as he held it to one of their heads. Your eyes searched them carefully, analyzing and planning in the matter of a moment. There was no way you could fire off a shot and hope to kill the other man before he killed one of these two women though. Again time was short and you didn’t exactly have much time to figure out a way to get through this situation.

Especially not when you could hear the two men outside the door and you were already having to fight to turn off the side of your mind that held the worry and fear for the young man outside the door and everything that could possibly go wrong. Doubly so when you heard Konig’s voice in your ear piece, “Watcher has been shot. Soap, get up here now.” You didn’t flinch, you couldn’t, you were in the middle of a stare-off with a true piece of shit and you knew whoever flinched first was going to lose this match.

The ensuing chaos on the mic nearly broke you but it was still secondary as you continued to watch al-Mustafa. “Come on Amaan, there’s no reason for this. Just come with us,” play your role Speck, like maybe you wouldn’t have put a bullet in his head given the first chance. God you wanted to though, you wanted to kill him more than you’d wanted to kill anyone else before in your life. Your words, which had come out in Farsi, seemed to be a cause of confusion for Amaan though that lasted only a moment before he dismissed your presence as a whole in favor of searching for a way out from behind his two body shields.

There was fear that was evident in both of the women’s eyes and even though you couldn’t see it you knew that sweat was beginning to dot their brows as they watched the end of your gun rather than you. They were both expecting to meet their end one way or another tonight. You need to break that bastard’s concentration, your eyes darted down to the dog at your side who was a steady rock at your side. “Gib laut,” you mumbled to which Cerberus responded with a series of thundering barks directed at the man still searching for a way to get out.

The tension was instantly palpable in the room, the barks served to keep the other man on edge, no respite for the adrenaline fueled panic you knew was currently flowing through his system. Good, the last thing you needed was a terrorist with a fucking plan. “I don’t have a line of sight into the room, Captain, how about you,” Gaz’s voice came through your ear piece and you barely even had the chance to glance at the walls of the room to realize that there were no windows except for the one on the south side of the building.

Of course there weren’t, nothing could ever be that easy huh? It took a moment for Price to answer as well though you didn’t need to hear his answer to know what it would be. Still you enjoyed hearing his voice as he growled out in what you were beginning to learn was frustration, “Negative. Konig status report on Watcher.”

The Austrian was doing his best to hide his worry but it was painfully obvious as he answered, “Two gsw’s, one to the abdomen the other to the thigh, his plates caught the rest. Soap, where are you!?” You could hear the man outside without the need of his mic as his voice rose in what was nearing panic. The worst part about it though were the quiet grunts of pain that the young man was doing his best to choke down. However, as much as he was trying it wasn’t working too well as your imagination painted a vivid picture of Watcher leaking blood all over the hallway. With Konig’s huge hands pressing desperately over two flooded wounds as he tried to staunch the bleeding.

For the love of God, drown it out Speck, focus on the problem in front of you before you get yourself killed, idiot. You blinked once as you tried to push the thoughts into the back of your mind and forced al-Mustafa came back into your forethoughts. Your eyes caught sight of the women’s fear again, their gazes darting towards the door on their left and then back to you. Amaan’s eyes were everywhere but, his gaze was instead now drawn to the escape route he had planned out for himself. A flash of lighting struck outside followed by a series of three more strikes that you struggled not to let yourself get blinded by and instead keep your eyes on the man you were actually here for.

In the next moment though the power flickered and then everything went dark. Son of a bitch this shit needed to make up its fucking mind. Again shots rang out just before glass shattered as you hurried to flip down your night vision once more. When you finally managed to see what had happened the scene in front of you made your shoulders tense in response. A small pit settled in your stomach as you stared down at the floor.

One of the women was lying dead on the ground, the place where the bullet had gone through and left a hole in her skull covered by the headwear she wore. The other woman, presumably her sister, was reaching for and cradling her head as she drug the limp corpse into her lap. Sobs racked her body as she did and when the door to their left opened you lifted your gun instinctively at whoever was coming through. When three young girls quickly ran to their mothers in the dark though you felt that pit beginning to widen. Especially as you caught sight of the blood already soaking into the rug on the floor.

Holy shit. You let the barrel of the gun lower slowly before you reached up to the radio attached to your vest and spoke quickly, “One of the wives is dead, Amaan killed her. He’s gone, but I can still get him, Captain.” Silence took over the line as the sound of a second Scottish voice entered the hallway from a distance. Your mind was anywhere but the three men now outside the door though, you had other things to worry about.

You took a quick step up onto the bed and moved over it to the now opened window. Glancing out quickly at the torrential downpour your eyes narrowed as you inspected the narrow ledge of the window and the straight drop down. Time for retrieval was escaping, Price needed to make a decision and he needed to make it now before his opinion became obsolete. “Speck…” There was a hint of warning in his voice as he said your name, making your jaw tense once more as you glanced the other way down the street towards where Price was nestled in a building somewhere. You caught sight of Amaan’s retreating form as he tried to make his escape for the second time from your team. John was out of time to make a decision now.

“Fuck it,” you drawled out the words as you used the stock of the gun to clear out the larger shards of glass still stuck to the frame. In the next moment you were climbing through the window before you pressed the button on your radio and growled out, “I’m going after him.” It wasn’t a request this time, it was a statement. You were going after him. A woman had died and Watcher was injured and you couldn’t let his sacrifice go to waste…Not if the worst happened.

Glancing down quickly you found the awaiting gaze as you commanded, “Bleib,” and watched the dog’s focus narrow onto you and you alone. Both of you were now actively ignoring the crying children and the one woman still left to deal with the three children. They weren’t your problem to deal with anymore though, you had other things to worry about. Like how far this drop was gonna be and how you were gonna catch up to that slippery bastard. It was time to treat this just like any other obstacle course or training drill now. Just get it done, put this bullshit to rest. 

As you clung to the ledge of the window your eyes searched for the easiest path to the ground, and you could feel your fingers slipping just slightly as you fought to hang on. The shining gutter on the right caught your gaze as you swung yourself off the ledge of the broken window and towards it. Your hands couldn’t grip it all that well but before you slid down you managed to get your feet around it as you controlled your descent to the street below. It only barely broke what would have been a bone-breaking fall, but it broke it enough that you could ignore the pain in your knees and turn to yell up, “Hier.”

Only a moment passed before Cerberus launched himself through the window and you saw his head tilt down as he looked for you. Reminiscent of the way he had launched off the top of the training wall during the training run with full faith you would be there to catch him. It was all the same to him, work and training were no different. So long as you were there he couldn’t have cared less about the situation that he was in while doing it.

Your arms lifted as you took a couple steps back before the weight of the dog landed on your outstretched forearms and you cushioned his fall. Without another moment of thought you  issued a quick, “Fuss,” and then turned down the street and took off at a sprint, not bothering to check on Cerberus. There was no doubt in your mind that he had slipped into his place at your side. 

Where had Amaan been when you last saw him? You were struggling to remember now. He’d turned down a side road and disappeared between the buildings, you could recall that much at least. But had he been at the dead end of this street? He had been, right? Yeah of course he had. For sure…Maybe? Fuck.

“I’ve got eyes on Amaan,” the deep voice sounded akin to the rumble of an engine in your ear as he answered a question you hadn’t even dared to utter. “Three streets to your north, Speck. Move fast, I don’t have eyes anymore,” the callout made your head whip to your right just as you began to pass a side street. It only took a quick glance for you to catch sight of the man in question once more.

Oh yeah, you were definitely faster than that fucker. You could catch up to him easily, you just had to put everything clouding your mind out of it. None of that was important right now. All you had to do was get yourself and Cerberus out of this mess alive now. That was it.

You slipped in the wet streets as you took the hard turn and started after him. Ahead he darted out of sight back towards the west and you had to raise a hand to shield your eyes from the rain pouring into your face. Even your eyelashes were beginning to drip as the thunder continued to rumble overhead and another flash of lightning lit up the sky. Had you been standing still you might have even gotten cold with how wet everything around you was, but with your arms and legs pumping you didn’t exactly have the chance. Instead your skin felt like fire beneath the tight, black shirt and comparatively loose, black cargo pants you’d donned for the mission.

The dog beside you was focused ahead and for the first time it seemed you weren’t the only thing on his mind. Cerberus was well aware that the chase was on. You’d both been on enough together that it wasn’t all that surprising he had realized what was happening by now.

The gun in your hands and the gear strapped to your body felt like a weight dragging you down into the streets that were now turning into mud as you neared the poorer parts of the city. The water that had soaked into your shirt and pants was becoming a fifty pound burden as it slowed your typically light and agile form. You could only hope that Cerberus’ thick-furred body wasn’t feeling the same in these conditions. One of you slowed down was enough cause for concern, the both of you being drug down was beyond concerning.

As Amaan’s head whipped around to find you, you watched his form take another turn, he knew he was being followed. Lovely. He was trying to shake his tail and if you lost sight of him for too long he might very well be able to do that. Cerberus couldn’t track in these conditions…Well that was a lie, he could do it. It would just be painstaking and it was doubtful you’d end with your query in hand anyway, and you weren’t about to let Watcher get shot trying to get this fucker and then have to find out that the bitch got away again. And if the worst happened…Fuck why hadn’t you hurried the fuck up in that stupid fuckin room?

A pit opened in your stomach as your mind tried to backtrack. Son of a bitch you couldn’t be thinking about all of that. Drown it out and focus Speck, for the love of God and all that’s right and holy in this world fucking focus. He wasn’t the priority right now, not yours anyway. Konig was more than willing to take care of the kid and Watcher didn’t need your worry or your pity. Right now you needed to think rationally not with whatever the fuck else your mind was trying to force on you.

Even as the thoughts crossed your mind you heard the crack of the mic as words spilled through, “Someone get the fucking van. We’ve got to get the fuck oot of here.” Soap’s tone didn’t hold worry so much as it did urgency. A need to get out of what had turned into quite literally a bloody mess before things got even worse, or so you assumed. You weren’t exactly there to see how things were going since you left.

“On it,” Ghost’s deep voice answered back immediately just as the man you were chasing made another turn and forced your focus back to him completely. This slippery bastard was gonna be the death of your knees with all these fucking turns.

Catch him, stop him, hell kill him if need be. Fuck the info you could get from him at this point, you’d rather know this was over than worry about some intel. Just end his life and finish this bullshit. You turned the corner around a tall fence and were met with an empty dead end street. Your gaze darted back and forth from the collapsing building on one side and the tall, chain link fence on the other side as thunder continued to rumble overhead. “Where the fuck-”

Pacing back and forth in the alley your mind worked quickly towards a viable solution. One hesitant step forward and then a quick turn back and your eyes slid over the fence next to you. Mud had kicked up on it. No, that was way too high to be from anyone just running by. You froze as you looked at it for a moment, watching as gravity played its part and the silty mud dripped slowly down the fence.

This fuckin guy…

In the same moment you saw him through the small holes of the fence as he weaved around a car and disappeared from sight once more. It didn’t take you a second longer to start climbing over after him as you hauled yourself up towards the top. At least until you swung a leg over and then stopped, your eyes surveying the broken down cars and junk piled around the fenced in area. One hand braced against the top as you held yourself in place while the other still held the gun nestled tight against your shoulder as you waited a second.

Stop and take in your surroundings Speck, get your fucking head on right or you’re gonna get yourself killed. There he was. Your brows furrowed and then lowered into a look of frustration as you watched him. The figure's hands were clinging to the opposite fence as he desperately tried to pull himself up.

When he turned to glance back a flash of anger curled your lip up instantly and you couldn’t stop yourself. You lifted the gun and without even a thought your other hand steadied your aim as you fired at the man. Every muscle tensed as you watched him fall backwards off the fence, a yell of pain just barely audible in the rain he reached for his shoulder. You watched for another moment, still holding the gun up though you didn’t really expect him to move again.

But it was raining, it was dark, and you weren’t exactly shooting from a good spot as you straddled the fence. There was just barely a flash of metal that you caught before you instinctively dove head first off the fence and for cover. At least you could take comfort in the fact that the man was on the opposite side of the yard in complete darkness and without your technology to aid him.

Gunshots sounded off from the other side of the fenced in lot as your shoulder slammed into the mud below and you clamped your mouth shut. Don’t yell, that was the last thing you needed. You pushed yourself across the ground as you tried to gather your thoughts and your broken body. One hand was still holding the gun out of the mud as you used the other to push yourself up. You braced yourself against a broken down car as you searched the lot once more for movement. You could only hope he was too stupid to reposition himself. 

The thought that Cerberus had still been on the other side of the fence didn’t quite register until you heard the clink of metal and the scratch of claws on chain link fence over your shoulder. Fear rushed through you for the first time the whole mission as you heard another round of shots fire off from across the lot. You could only hope he was firing blindly into the night and that he hadn’t somehow caught sight of Cerberus in this darkness.

Your gaze darted up as confusion swirled in your eyes along with a hint of pain you were trying to ignore as well. Without any command the dog had leaped the fence as his resolve and patience finally wore thin and ran out. Mud and water sprayed up into his thick, brindle fur as Cerberus hit the ground. He didn’t even take a second to listen to anything you had to say. It was apparent that he was running on instinct, completely wild and untamed now. It wasn’t exactly something you would be inclined to praise in another situation but right here in the middle of a storm and with both of your lives on the line the longer you remained outside the wire you didn’t attempt to stop him this time.

Cerberus, a missile across the ground even in the bog that was this…Was this a fucking junkyard? Oh yeah without a doubt, especially as you hopped the decrepit car you had almost landed on top of. You tried to follow the dog but he was impossibly fast and a thousand times more capable of flitting into the opened skeletons of dead cars. He disappeared from sight as he dove through one frame of a car and scrambled out the window on the other side.

And then he disappeared from sight as you vaulted another car and tried to follow after him. As you jumped to the next car you heard a scream rip through the air. The sight of the person who uttered it was blocked by a stand of cars though as you continued to wind through the junkyard. Rain continued to pound down on your helmet and drowned out the splashing of mud and water as Cerberus wrestled Amaan to the ground. You weren’t there to see the way the skin tore as the man struggled to get away from the iron jaws around his forearm. Nor did you see his arm as it was nearly torn apart and off by the animal that was operating completely rogue at this point.

As you vaulted another car just beside the stand that was blocking your sight your eyes landed on the violently shaking head as Cerberus’ jaws and body kept the man pinned to the ground. Almost dragging him over the mud and now covered the man as you took a slow step forward. You found yourself reveling in the man’s screams, enjoying them. He was a vile man, a demon that had come to visit the mortal world and you couldn’t help the peace you felt watching Cerberus work. This man had killed so many, hurt even more both physically and emotionally with the death he had wrought on this realm. He deserved this. He deserved to feel a fraction of the pain he himself had caused.

“Speck!?” A voice yelled into your ear piece, raspy and deep and probably the only thing that could have caught your attention at this point. He always caught your attention. Your eyes darted around you for just a moment as if you expected to find the man somewhere around you before Amaan’s screams reached your ears again. Growls from the dog in front of you drew your eyes just in time to see the man’s free hand reach for the gun he’d dropped when Cerberus had initially taken him down.

Again your lip curled up in response as you aimed at the perpetrating hand and sent a round straight through the back of his palm. A fresh scream tore from his throat before he drew his hand back towards him in an attempt to protect it. Taking a step forward you knelt on his back before grabbing one of the zip ties that hung from the pouch at your waist. With one quick, “Aus,” the animal’s jaws relented and fresh blood pooled out of the wounds as he did.

His loud barks thundered in your ears even louder than mother nature’s ruckus overhead. It was still all a game to him, even if he had broken his hold for a moment he still thought it was just a game. There was no distinction between play, training, and work, and you’d used him not as a tool but as revenge this time. What the fuck were you doing?

“Speck, answer me!” His voice broke you from your thoughts again as you shot a glance down to the wire connecting your earpiece and the mic around your throat. Hurriedly you drug the man’s arms behind his back, smiling as he groaned out in pain and said a few garbled words you couldn’t make out in the storm. You tightened the plastic around his wrists before standing back up with your foot on the middle of his back to hold him in place. Amaan wriggled helplessly in the mud as rain still poured over the both of you in the dark din of the storm.

Swallowing hard, you took a deep breath and reached up to press the button on the mic, “Junkyard.” Well that was certainly descriptive now wasn’t it? Good God Speck, say something else, give them something else to go off of. What else could you give them?

Your eyes darted around the fenced in lot as you actively ignored the man still writhing beneath your foot. Think, Speck, think of something else to say, there had to be some other way to tell him exactly where you were. “I’m about a hundred and fifty meters from my last known,” silence encapsulated you for the first time that night, even the tumultuous skies overhead went quiet seeming to sense the urgency of this situation. Cerberus had fallen silent at your side as well, his eyes still watching the man at your feet in what was as close to a daring look as you’d ever seen, if a dog were even capable of that.

Seconds passed by as you waited for someone to answer you. Any reply at all to set your nerves at ease. Finally, John’s voice rumbled in your ear again as he asked, “Did you get him?” You could sense the hope in his voice even over the radio, a daring want for this to finally be over.

Your gaze slid to the man beneath you as you rolled Amaan over onto his back with your boot and glared down at him. His teeth were gritted and his lips peeled back over his teeth as he tried to hold back the sounds of pain he was no doubt feeling as he laid on several injuries to his limbs. “Oh yeah, Captain, you bet your fuckin ass I got him.”

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

Bloody hand prints painted the white metal floors and walls as the false panel of the van sat open in front of you. Your jaw tightened as you looked at the evidence of what had happened on this latest mission, the blood that had been spilled on both sides of this war tonight. You were standing at the back of the van with your knees pressing against the bumper, and despite how empty it made you feel you couldn’t find the will to look away from the mess before you. 

Even Gaz passing in front of your gaze couldn’t interrupt your rushing thoughts. Your mind went idle as you watched him spraying the blood out of the back, your arms crossed over your face as you stayed put. Mud still caked nearly every inch of your clothed body after you’d all but rolled in it back in that junkyard. While both specks of blood and dried mud decorated your face like the makeup a toddler would have painted across your skin. Even strands of your beard were stuck together with the dried, brown substance as it cracked every time you reached a hand up to run your fingers through it. You watched with every muscle tensed as the bloody water dripped out onto the cement floor before it disappeared underneath the van to head down the drain.

Not all of the blood was Watcher's at least, half of it belonged to Amaan after Cerberus had nearly torn his arm off at the elbow. You should have let him do it too. It was what that fucker deserved after he shot that poor kid. Sure Watcher had signed up for this just like anyone else had, but it didn’t mean that the whole team wasn’t still feeling this hit. Even you were as new to them as you were.

A door opened somewhere behind you and still you stared ahead as Gaz continued to clean up his friend’s blood slowly, seemingly as lost in his own head as you were. You certainly weren’t blaming him. “Speck,” the deep voice broke your concentration as you turned to eye the perpetrator with a cocked brow. 

John came to a stop beside you finally and you caught his gaze just as it landed on your face. He’d been in an interrogation with Ghost and Amaan for the past few hours as you all waited for the sun to set once more, not to mention the tail end of the storm that was still raging overhead. Your arms dropped from your chest as you turned towards him, your head tilting quizzically. Jesus you needed to get out of your fucking head, that was never a good place to be. “Did he talk? What’d he say?”

Blue eyes held you hostage in their gaze, his hand finding yours as he stood there. It was only for a fleeting moment though, not nearly long enough for either of you. Only a passing graze over the rough texture of your palm that was still dyed a deep red. His index finger felt like a feather ghosting over your skin just as the rest of his hand wrapped around yours. John’s thumb grazed over the back of your knuckles before he pulled away so that the only other man present didn’t see and shook his head in answer, “No he didn’t. I doubt he’ll talk any time soon, Speck.” At his words a flash of frustration passed across your gaze as your eyes flicked towards the door that led into the main room of the safehouse.

You’d been here before in this safehouse, been at the end of this interrogation once already. So why was the only thought crossing your mind, ‘They ain’t tryin’ hard ‘nough.’ They knew what they were doing, you knew that, but you couldn’t help but feel like you could do more. There was this need to seize control in such an unsure situation that scratched at the back of your mind, it was the way you’d been trained. Thrown at problems relentlessly and told to figure it out, it was the only thing in life you’d ever been good at. Or at least that was what you had always told yourself. 

Your features darkened but you didn’t give him a chance to see as you stepped away from him without a word and your eyes shot to the door as you headed straight towards the door back into the safehouse. Until fingers wrapped around your bicep and John intercepted your progress, putting himself between you and the door. “Just let me give it a go, John,” even before you finished though the other’s head was shaking. His strong grip stayed securely around your arm as his other hand came up to rest gently against your chest. Warmth spread into your skin from his palm as it laid against the gear you still hadn’t stripped out of. His head continued to shake even as you pleaded helplessly, “You’ve been in there for hours, he’s obviously not all that afraid of you. Let me-”

“No,” John’s firm answer resonated through the small garage and you heard the hosepipe stop behind you, though the gaze leveled in front of you held you frozen in place. This was the man who had soothed the raging inferno of your temper in the worst of times, and after letting Cerberus nearly tear Amaan apart that fire had burned out to a barely smoking ember as you questioned everything about yourself. You needed something to ground you and as the realization hit you couldn’t help the small huff you let out because of course you did. When did you not need him to stabilize your deteriorating mental state of late? Pathetic. “Go clean yourself up, Speck. Take a break.” Your jaw tensed as you neared an overt refusal of his suggestion. When he sighed deep though and you had to watch his head tilt as he leaned a bit closer, “You smell like shite, Love. Trust me, yeah? We know what we’re doing.” Trust him. Damn.

Your eyes hit the ground immediately as you took a step back to put some distance between y’all. Shrugging his hand off your arm his other hand fell off of your chest and the cold you’d been ignoring began to set into what felt like your very soul. A deep chill rushed through you though you kept your head on as you nodded a hesitant answer, “Yeah, John, I know.” You glanced back over your shoulder towards the van just as Gaz turned his back in an attempt to give some semblance of privacy. Surprising. Turning back to the Brit you found the ocean depths in front of you and took a slow breath, “Where’s the bathroom?” You watched as his shoulders visibly relaxed in front of you and he curled up the corner of his mouth in a half smile.

Nodding his head towards the other door that led off the garage he lifted his arms to cross them over his chest before answering, “Through the door and down the hall on the left.” You nodded slowly and turned, leaving him behind as you headed to clean yourself up. Cerberus lifted his head as you passed where he was laying against the wall. 

The smell of wet dog and the pungent, metallic tang of blood wafted up your way as you went, nearly choking you with the severity of it. Smells had never really bothered you before, but now you felt a roiling in your gut as you neared and unconsciously sped up past him. Cerberus’ head fell back down to the concrete as you passed, failing to signal or call for him. The Dutchie could wait until y’all were back at base, there wouldn’t be much you could do for the smell right now anyway. You’d let him sleep for a bit now, he’d earned that much at least.

Opening the door you stepped through the threshold, letting the darkness of the hallway swallow you into its embrace as your hand reached out to slide along the wall. You weren’t even sure you were actually walking, not until your fingers ran over the knob of a door on the left hand side of the walland you pushed it open. Fumbling for just a moment your hand searched the wall beside the door before you flipped the lightswitch on the wall and your eyes ran over the small bathroom. Your eyes froze as they found the mirror on the wall, swallowing hard as you took in the sight.

You hadn’t truly looked at yourself in so long now that it was hard to recognize the mud and blood covered man who stared back at you. Sure you had shaved in a mirror on occasion or seen yourself in the reflection of a window when you passed, this was different though. You hadn’t actually taken the time to gaze upon the visage of what you had become over what was now nearly three years. Hadn’t let yourself realize this was your life and you had ruined it. And as you looked at yourself you slowly began to realize you no longer recognized the man who looked back.

The deaths you had lived through had changed you, they’d rewritten the etched lines on your face and put patches of gray in your hair. You’d still been a young man when you’d lost them, as carefree as you could have been living that lie anyway. Your mind had still been that of a teenager and in some ways it still was, but you’d lost that bright, young smile and carefree attitude. They had made you callous to the pain of others and you’d lost some of yourself over the years. And what made it all so much worse was that you hadn’t even realized it until Cerberus’ teeth had been tearing flesh from Amaan’s forearm. Hell you’d been more than ready to kill a man who had simply been doing his job and Wade hadn’t deserved that.

Your eyes dropped to the sink below, blinking as you cleared your thoughts of the man you’d seen in the mirror. Taking a deep breath you flipped the water on, trying to smother the way your heart was racing and how clouded your mind was becoming. Water from the faucet ran cold over your hands as you tested the water before sighing and reaching up to the straps of your tactical vest. You stripped it off over your head with a vicious pull and threw it into the floor, the panic still rising as you fought to keep it together. Rolling your shoulders and head you felt the tension in every muscle and you could only wish for a shower at that moment, something warm to melt the ice forming in your veins. Fuck you wanted, no you needed a damn shower.

The skin tight shirt clinging to your torso was still damp and made chills rack your body as you stood there. Reaching down to the hem of the shirt you pulled the thin fabric up over your head and glanced down at the pink droplets of water left behind on your chest that had seeped through the fabric. Diluted by water and mud you watched as they slid down your chest and disappeared into the waistband of your pants.

Christ you were still thinking too much. You leaned down over the sink and cupped your hands underneath the water as the blood that had been caked on your hands and in the grooves of your fingernails began to wash down the sink. Mud turned the typically bright red into a darkened ruddy color as it added to the already dirtied sink. The stains on your hands slowly began to dissipate as you leaned your face towards the sink and dipped your head beneath the water. Running your fingers through your hair and beard you could feel the dried mud and blood begin to loosen in the strands, doing your best to clean up in the small space.

Slowly you lifted your head back up, running your hands vigorously over your hair as if they themselves were towels and in the same moment you heard drops of water hit the murky liquid still attempting to drain below. Your hands braced on either side of the sink’s bowl as you stared down at the rust colored water below. You should have been better, been there. Why hadn’t you been the first one through that door? Because you’d been too busy dealing with non-combatants. You should have been fucking quicker. The tips of your fingers tapped a steady rhythm against the side of the sink as you got lost in the realm of your thoughts once more unable to pull yourself from them.

“Speck,” immediately your head jerked up at the deep voice right behind you and your eyes shifted to his reflection in the mirror, focusing on the face that now stared back at you. The brunette beard drew your gaze first but only for a moment before it shot up to the deep depths of what was quickly becoming your only place of safety and calm. John was the one who broke your locked eyes as he turned to look out of the door before he closed it behind him with a soft, barely audible whisper of sound. In fact the only noise was that of the lock clicking into place though you barely even noticed because your eyes were glued only to that face, completely incapable of looking away. Stock still in his presence.

Turning your head cautiously you glanced over your shoulder, watching him now out of the corner of your eye. Even that was too much though and had your face and the rest of your body warming in response. The second he was there though your mind stopped whirling. How could it not when the only thought running through your mind was, ‘He looks good in black, he should wear it more often.’ The tempest that was raging had come to a halt in the eye of the storm the moment you were captured by his eyes. Standing back up straight you turned, just barely enough to look at him and with one hand still holding on to the sink for support for fear your knees were going to give out.

You watched him for a moment in the precarious silence of the room, in the whole building really, before his head tilted. The blue gaze was unable to stop its descent down your bared chest though, giving his thoughts away like a snitch. There was no doubt he was tracing the droplets of water that were dripping from the strands of your hair and beard and falling over your skin. Without meeting your gaze again and while he was still inspecting the scars and muscle along your stomach and chest, he asked in a voice still laced with concern, “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

Good Lord that was the last thing you wanted to fucking do. Talk about feelings? Right now? Fuck that. There was no way in the fucking world you were gonna allow the boner killer that were your thoughts out. Your fingers loosened on the side of the sink as you turned fully towards him. You needed a distraction, something to pass the time. You needed him.

There wasn’t exactly much space to cover in the small bathroom, only a few inches at most. You were across the short space at the speed of light. Probably faster if you were being honest. One of your hands ran over his cheek before it wrapped around the back of his head to tangle into his short brunette strands there. Your lips pressed to his gently at first before something more needy and wanting overcame you.

His body went rigid at the initial contact, almost like he seemed unsure of what you were doing. Surprised maybe? At least that was until your hand slid against his hip to run across the small of his back and you pulled him closer. You could feel his muscles start to melt in response to your touch then before he was matching your neediness. Matching the desire you had for him at every moment of the day. His need for you was shining through just as much as yours was and God if that didn’t feel just fucking amazing.

For once it wasn’t Price jumping on you, in fact you could still sense some hint of hesitation despite his hungry, devouring mouth still pressed to yours. Your hips grinded against his and you could feel yourself twitching in response, still confined to the tight fabric of your pants. Desire and need and some tail end of an adrenaline high fueled your movements like throwing gasoline on a fire. When John pulled his mouth away to take in a breath your lips moved to the corner of his, pressing a kiss there and then down across his beard and caught the strangled sound of a groan in the air before it cut off.

You were insatiable in your need for him as you nipped at the thin skin of his neck, pressing ever closer to him in search of the warmth you knew radiated from him. Impulsively you sucked at the skin of his throat, not considering the hickey you were probably giving him as you listened to the deep rumble of his throat. It vibrated against your lips and you pressed a quick kiss to the spot before moving a bit lower to do the same thing, his body tensing again in response before melting once more.

Fuck. He tasted like the salty prick of sweat and the earth yet you still couldn’t get enough of it. Enough of him. The fingers that you had tangled into his hair pulled and his chin lifted up in response as you continued to mark his skin. As you continued to claim him as your own even though you knew that he wasn’t yours to claim but fuck he was, wasn’t he? That’s right. He was yours. Yours and only fucking yours.

Your body pushed closer as you shoved him back against the door, trapping him against you and the hard surface as you tried to control yourself to no avail. John didn’t seem to mind too much though as you listened to him let out a huff in response and then he was reciprocating. His hands pulled you impossibly closer as strong fingers grabbed at your hips and you felt him roll your body fluidly against his own. He was urging you on without even needing words and good God it was the sexiest thing you’d ever witnessed.

When his other hand ran over the expanse of your bare back you felt his calluses scratch across your skin, and a noise rumbled deep within you in response. Something primal and animalistic and you could feel John’s body shudder against yours in response. It was a noise you’d never made before that had his hands sliding over your skin and grasping harder at your hips. Searching for something neither of you seemed too certain about yet.

Fuck you wanted him though. You wanted to bury yourself inside of him and never pull out again. You felt like a King when he’d done it to you, you could only imagine how you’d feel sliding into his walls. He’d never let you though. But God did you want it, you wanted him. You wanted just about anything and everything he’d fucking give you or let you take. Fingers grasped at the back of your neck, digging hard into the muscle as you rutted your hips against him again.

You could feel yourself harden at just the thought of fucking him like a man gone feral, and you were well on your way to that exact point. “Spe-” his voice sounded strained as a moan escaped and cut off his pleading voice. When you glanced up through dark lashes you could see his teeth biting into his bottom lip hard enough to draw blood and part of you wondered if he had. God why was the thought of that so hot? “Speck,” he finally managed to groan out as your thoughts ran rampant with the many different ways you could ravage him right here in this bathroom. “We need to talk.”

Fuckin hell, John, not right now. The hand you had at his waist slipped around to his front as your hand groped blindly at his hardening length. He twitched beneath your palm as his cock strained for more. “Ya really wanna talk right now?” You could barely catch your breath enough to ask the question and to be fair he didn’t seem much better either. Your heart was racing in your chest and your head felt like it was swimming with so many things you couldn’t even begin to identify exactly what it was. At least whatever had been bothering you before was long forgotten now though.

Without waiting for him to answer your mouth was on his neck again as you pressed a trail of gentle kisses on your way up his neck. One after another they pressed into his skin until you felt the hairs of his beard tickling against your lips and the tip of your nose. He hummed in response for a moment before he finally tipped his head back again and groaned out, “Fuck no. Later.” Unable to resist your teasing mouth you felt his throat rumble against your mouth again with pleasure. Slowly, you made your way along the underside of his jaw with your fingers still pulling at the short strands of his hair to keep his head from tilting back down. You were holding him in place with just your body now and the gravity of the situation was starting to sink in.

You were in control. He was letting you do whatever you wanted to him and he wasn’t stopping you. God you could feel him still straining against the fabric that held his erection at bay, the buttons of his pants straining to keep the fabric closed now. Glancing up you watched his face as something close to a smile found his mouth at the attention you were paying to his neck. At the claim you were steadily etching across his skin in what would be small purple bruises in a few hours. Fuck.

Letting go of his hair, both of your hands made for his waist as you grabbed hard at his sides, your thumbs pressing against the bones of his hips hidden just beneath the muscle there. The moment you released his hair though his chin tilted down and you felt his fingers pull your face back in range so he could press his lips to yours. You pulled him off the door with a sharp tug and spun the two of you around slowly as your hands slid behind to grab at his ass. One palm for each perfectly shaped globe.

God he was perfect. All you could think about was how it would feel to sink inside of him, how tight his walls would grip your poor, neglected erection. What he would sound like and what it would feel like to hear him moan as you fucked him until the only thing his foggy mind could think about was you, and how good you felt. You wanted to fuck him stupid, and christ right now you certainly had the stamina too. God just to fuck him until he came on your cock like he’d done to you so many times already.

A strained moan left you at the thought as his teeth sunk into your lip and you pressed him back slowly into the sink. Without so much as a single thought going through your head your hands grabbed at his backside and you lifted him up sliding him backwards to sit on the rim of the sink. He grunted and you felt him stiffen again as he pulled away with a bit of surprise in his eyes. You froze in place with your hands still holding him tightly and with your hips slotted perfectly between his thighs, just a bit too far for either of you to feel any friction though. “Bloody hell, Speck,” his voice was quiet and just barely reached your ears as he watched your expression.

Dark brows furrowed and you watched the tip of his tongue slide out to wet his lips before he leaned forward to press his forehead into yours. His fingers dug into the locks of your hair that had grown out way too long these past months out here, pulling at the strands with a spark of something unidentifiable in his eyes. When your jaw tensed though you saw his mouth turn into a smirk before he muttered, “You’re always surprising me, Love.” The tension in your jaw dissipated slowly as you watched him without a hint of what was going through your head now.

Slowly your face tilted up until you felt your nose tap against his. When you leaned forward again though he pulled away with a teasing shake of his head. You couldn’t help it when your gaze darted down to his lips and narrowed, before you jerked him forward until he was flush with you once more and nearly falling off the sink. Grinding against him you muttered quietly, “Full of those, ain’t I Angel?” The corners of his mouth turned up just a bit more and this time he was the one who bridged the gap as he pulled at the hair still trapped between his fingers and he captured your lips once more.

It didn’t take long before your head was swimming in him once more. After y’all had been stopped last time that feral need for one another was boiling hot and you needed him. Every single thought was lost in the way he felt pressed against you. Lost in the way he kept one hand wrapped around the back of your head and the other was sliding around your throat and then down your chest slowly.

Blunt nails drug over your bare flesh before you felt fingers pulling deftly at the belt around your waist. You couldn’t help the smile that raised the corners of your mouth as he did. Something far more primal than you’d ever felt was clawing its way across your mind now. As his fingers moved on to the buttons of your pants you felt the friction as it grazed over your sensitive member.

You couldn’t stop yourself as you bucked forward towards his hand, your mouth falling agape with a low groan. John’s amusement came out in a short huff as his hand delved inside of the black cargos, pulling your member free quickly. The moan you let out was sinful before he shot forward to cut it off with a hard kiss. Strong fingers slid along your shaft slowly as he swallowed down your quiet groans that you couldn’t hold back despite your desperate attempts. It didn’t seem to matter though, John had no qualms with keeping them quiet himself at this point.

Fingers wrapped around your length as you leaned further into him with a groan. Begging him wordlessly for more. You tilted your head down and you could hear him give a low hum of appreciation at the weight of you in his hand. Your head had already been swimming before he’d even gotten his hand around you, but now? Now you were drowning in the attention he was lavishing upon you in heaping servings.

Still holding tightly onto his backside you knew you were denting his perfect flesh, dotting it with even more bruises. You couldn’t wait to see them. God just the thought was enough to send you near spiraling again. “Fuck John,” you managed to whisper as his free hand moved up to cup your cheek and his thumb ran over your skin with a delicate touch. It shouldn’t have been so intimate. You’d never meant for this to be sensual, you were in a bathroom for fuck’s sake. This should have been rough, quick, distracting, no room for thought. Yet here you were as he tried to hold your gaze with his. 

The need to be something more would never escape you when it came to him, you knew that somewhere deep down, but you couldn’t deal with that, not right now. His thumb grazed slowly along the head of your cock and you barely stopped another moan as you watched his deep blue gaze, your eyes half lidded and barely managing to stay open now. There was a smirk on his face as he realized he had you like putty in his hands once more despite that for the first time you didn’t want to be.

Fuck it. Your hips rolled forward with a fluid motion as you thrusted into his open hand and simultaneously pushed him further back onto the sink. When his head tilted, your eyes shot down to avoid his gaze and your hand slid over his hip and then around to the inside of his thigh.You drug your thumb slowly over the closure of his pants and your fingers dug into the flesh of his thigh he hummed in satisfaction. “When did you become a tease?” His voice was husky as his hips pressed up into what little bit of friction he could get from your feather-light touch. Meanwhile his own hand was still pumping up and down your throbbing length in slow, careful strokes.

Giving him a nonchalant shrug you answered back in a slow drawl, “What can I say?” You pressed your hips closer as your lips once more dipped in search of his neck, wanting to feel his pulse against your sensitive skin. They pressed lightly against the dark stubble, once more tasting the earth and salt of his skin which for once was absent of his usual chocolatey taste that you knew came from his cigars. When you pulled back again your voice was lower as you rumbled out a quiet, “You bring out the best in me, Angel.”

His chin tilted up just before you felt a heel hook around your thigh and he pulled you closer. The hand that was still around your length stilled. It was like he was frozen in place and in that moment you realized just exactly what you were doing to him. This was a two way street, he felt it too. You were doing to him exactly what he always did to you and you couldn’t stop the smile that bled through as you continued to press kisses against his neck and popped the buttons on his pants. The pulse that thudded beneath his skin almost felt like it quickened against your lips.

However, you were certain you felt it quicken when your fingers slid into the waistband of his underwear to graze over the length of his cock. The man beneath your mouth and touch shuddered and squirmed against you, nearly begging for more before you pulled his length free. Your mouth stopped its relentless assault on his neck as you leaned away for just a moment before your forehead tilted down to lay gently against his shoulder. John copied the motion as you felt his beard scratch against your cheek, the longer hairs grazing over your skin and making it tingle with an itch that you ignored.

Both sets of eyes turned down to watch as your hands moved in sync along the length of your erections. Precome welled from the tips slowly and you could feel his calluses catching along the veins of your cock and you knew that yours were doing the same along his. Especially when you heard a mumbled, “Shite,” into your shoulder as he tried to keep himself quiet. The pressure was building though as your heart began to beat a solid rhythm that you felt not only in your chest but throughout your length as well.

This wasn’t the same as being buried inside him but you’d take what he was more than willing to give. Best not to push your luck for now and you’d take anything he gave you in truth. Twisting your wrist at the head of his cock you heard him gasp before his hand let you go and his head tilted back. “Bloody hell, Speck. I can’t-” You repeated the motion and his words turned immediately into a moan as his head tilted back.

There it was. He was losing himself in the moment as you continued to jerk him off, eating up the sight of him getting lost in the way you could make him feel. His mouth was babbling nonsense as he tried to keep his thoughts together and failed miserably. God almighty, you could listen to these breathless gasps for air and his quiet pants for the rest of time and be completely happy standing right there between his thighs.

Blue eyes disappeared behind pale lids and his cheeks flushed red before your eyes. The collar of his shirt dipped just barely low enough that your gaze could pick out the dark dustings of hair at the top of his chest along with the smallest hint of his collarbone. A treat for your eyes just as much as every facial expression was. Good God he was beautiful and you could feel a near painful throb in your length just as you thought it.

When his cheeks flushed deeper your hips bucked forward instinctively, your cock searching for something and something it found as the head of your dick ran along the underside of his. The moment you felt that little bit of friction you just couldn’t stop yourself as your fingers wrapped around both of your leaking erections. Newfound need had your hand pumping quicker and it was obvious both of you were feeling yourselves getting closer and closer to the finish line. Hell John’s mouth was held agape as he tried to catch his breath while the rest of his body worked relentlessly to reach that peak.

One hand held painfully tight on to your shoulder as the other seemed to dig into the side of the sink. His muscles tightened but it wasn’t the same as last time even though you weren’t sure what he was doing. Not until you felt his hips thrust up towards your hand as he tried to speed his climax along. His member ran along the underside of your own as he moved and you sucked in a breath just barely holding in a long moan and instead let it out in a quiet hiss that was covered up by a soft groan of pleasure. “John,” you paused and he hummed in response with his eyes still closed while your hand continued dragging up and down your lengths. “Angel, you’re being too loud. Someone’s gonna hear us.”

John whimpered deep in his throat before it escalated into another moan and you watched as he tried his best to bite it back. Teeth dug into his bottom lip before he leaned his head forward and forced his eyes open to find you. Blue hues searched your face half lidded and lazy as he gazed at you. The blush across his cheeks deepened and the Brit let his mouth fall open again as he panted into the stale air of the bathroom. “Sp-” Your thumb ran over the head of your own cock and gathered some of the precome before continuing on to graze over the tip of his.

This was a completely different man in front of you now. You’d broken him down and God it felt good to know that you even held that  power over him, over anyone really but especially John Price. Even more though was that you had him at your very whim right now, there was no doubt in your mind he’d have given you anything in that moment. John was completely under your spell and you’d never felt more in control of another human being as you did now. “Shhh sweetheart, I’ve got you,” your voice was quiet as your eyes stayed locked for as long as the other could manage. When you said that you had him though and you implied that he could trust you, that he could let go of that dominant persona he always seemed to exude, that was when the last of his resolve evaporated.

You rolled your hips forward again in a fluid motion and as you did the last hand you’d been holding onto him with shot up. Your palm slapped over his mouth and you just barely managed to muffle another whine that would have undoubtedly given the two of you away. John’s head fell back hard and smacked against something behind him but the both of you were too far gone to really piece together what exactly had just happened. Heads so far in the clouds someone could have been firing a gun outside and you would have been none the wiser.

With your hand still muffling the noises he couldn’t hold back and the way he continued to thrust in your still pumping hand you knew he was about to finish soon and you doubted you were going to get a warning. Not with how he was still panting into your hand and the flush on his face only seemed to get deeper by the second. Hell the throb in your own member was beginning to edge nearly into pain as the pressure continued to build, just aching to be set free. 

Fuck you were close, so fucking close now. You couldn’t help the low grunt you let out as your hand tightened around the heads of your erections. Pumping one more time your eyes darted down as you felt his body stiffen and his cock twitch in your hand. Your eyes landed on his cock just in time to watch his cum paint the back of your knuckles and the front of his black cargos. It almost felt wasteful in that moment but in the next you couldn’t even remember what you were thinking about.

He whimpered against the flat of your palm as his body spasmed once and he thrusted into your hand again, another shot spraying along the head of your cock and dripping slowly down your length. Your eyes darted up to find his beet red face as you quickly continued to pump up and down the length of both of your members. Letting him ride out his orgasm while you still hungrily chased your own.

Slowly his muscles unwound and John slumped back against the wall and mirror behind him. Pale eyelids lifted tiredly and revealed the ocean hues to you once more as you pulled your hand away from his mouth finally. You slid it slowly to his cheek as you cupped his face with one hand, still chasing your own climax with the other to no avail. 

The air was too warm against your skin though. Everything felt too tight and too close even though he still wasn’t close enough. You couldn’t imagine how John felt with his t-shirt clinging to him. God why hadn’t you pulled that fucking thing off of him already? You wanted to see his chest now, that gorgeous fucking body that you knew was hidden beneath as you still tried to find your own release.

It was escaping you though, dancing tantalizingly out of reach. When one of Price’s hands wrapped around your wrist and stopped your rapid chase as he mumbled out, “What’s wrong, Love?” The hand that had been cupping his cheek fell away as you ducked your head and your hand fell away from your throbbing member.

It felt like all the energy dissipated from your limbs the moment he stopped you as you leaned forward and relaxed into his chest. Your forehead nudged lightly against his shoulder as his arms wrapped around you and you felt your length dragging against the fabric of his pants still throbbing painfully as the pressure at the base of your cock begged for release. Your own hands settled at the small of his back as you continued to roll your hips forward against him unconsciously. 

As you turned your face into his neck you answered quietly, “Nothins’ wrong. Just tired.” He hummed his acknowledgement of your statement as his fingers traveled slowly down your back and side until he halted at the bone of your hip, his thumb rubbing slow circles into it as he took a pause. You waited a moment before you questioned him quietly, “Why’d you stop?”

John’s shoulders moved up in a quiet shrug before he muttered out, “Thought you said you were tired.” You pulled back to look at his face and found a lazy smirk on his features before his fingers tightened around your hips to keep you from moving too far away.

Your brows furrowed before you gave him an annoyed huff of an answer, “Tired, Angel, not fuckin stupid.” The smirk turned into a look of amusement as his hand trailed across the muscle of your stomach. John’s fingers wrapped gently around your length as you thrusted up into his hand unable to control yourself. You were already nearly gone before he got here, and he was only igniting that inferno again that you’d been afraid had danced too far out of reach. You should have known better when it came to John Price though.

His hand slid down your length once before he released you and lifted his hand to his mouth. You asked a silent question with a tilt of your head but he didn’t need to respond as he spit into the palm of his hand and returned it just as quickly as he’d pulled it away to your length. The burn of his calluses disappeared as his saliva and cum slickened palm slid over your sensitive skin. A much needed relief as his hand tightened around your length and you felt your release racing forward once more. It was crowding in on you so fast now that the fog in your mind was returning with a vengeance. The fog you’d been chasing earlier and been unable to find shelter in was now clouding every thought as you struggled to remember why you’d even been upset.

Your lips parted in a silent gasp as he trailed his thumb against the underside of your cock and then over the head. Leaning forward you tried to capture his lips for a kiss but he pulled away and instead your chin tilted down and you felt your forehead rest against his chin as you panted into the stale air once more. Your gaze traveled slowly down his front to where his hand was pumping steadily over your member. 

Closing your eyes for just a moment you missed it as he added a second hand to the mix. It was the straw that tipped the scale as you hissed out a quiet, “Holy shit.” There was a pulse in your length and then your whole body went rigid. Your hands fell a bit lower on his sides and you jerked John forward to press his chest to yours. You let your eyes shut for a moment and you somehow managed to hold back a moan that would have most definitely traveled beyond these walls as you focused instead on the way his hand felt still traveling up and down your length.

A moment later your muscles began to unwind as you relaxed into the grip he had around your shoulders and John’s hand pumped slowly as the last vestiges of your climax began to dissipate. Everything stayed silent for a few long moments while you regained your thoughts and the fog over your mind cleared in that post-fuck haze. Even though you had been the one in control he still had your head in the fucking clouds. It wasn’t fair and truly you couldn’t have cared less. Not in that moment…Not ever.

[the---hermit]

A few of my favourite pictures I took in the past week of holiday.

10|08|2024

I know that just a little over a month ago I was complaining about the cold, but what the fuck is this heat? Every day it gets to at least 40°C and I feel sick. Honestly I have been visiting amazing places, seeing lovely architecture and eating great food, but everyday when midday hits I start feeling weak af and I only want to stay inside eating gelato. This holiday has been a bit weord for various reasons, but I am making the best of it, and other than all the exploring and visiting new cities I have been reading a lot. I have actually had a great week of reading. I finished The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher and absolutely loved it. I loved the setting, the narrating voice was very fun and engaging, and I cannot wait to get my hands on other horror books by this author. Those will definitely be the next books on my to buy list. After basically finishing that in two days I decided to do the thing, and started rereading lotr. I only read the book once before ten years ago and I very few memories of my reading experience. I have been wanting to reread it for years, and actually listened to the audiobook of the fellowship of the ring as well as a short part of the two towers years ago, but it just didn't hit the spot in the same way. And I have also been dreading my reread because I love this story so much, but it's a very long book and the narration is quite slow, and I was afraid adult me would struggle with it and maybe not love the book the same way. But actually I am havinng a great time with it. It has been a great companion through these slow and hot days. And I decided that if I need a break from the slow narration I can always read a couple of books in between the three main parts of lotr. We'll see what happens. I have also been thinking of just doing a random thread of posts of little thoughts and feels I have during my reread but i am not sure about that, again we'll see.

[hyperactively-me]

Since requests are open I am sick af. Fever, Sore throat, cough, and ear infection that won’t let me sleep, and it keeps getting worseee. Can u do a sickfic w either Simon or din where reader is super sick and they take care of her 🥹.

hope you don’t mind me doing din 🥹 it was hard to choose between them. also, i hope you feel better! being sick actually SUCKS, especially having a sore throat…that’s my #1 opp

sick -- din djarin

You’ve been sick as a dog recently, and the cold of the Razor Crest has not helped one bit. 

You were sectioned off into Din's bed, and he erased any doubt you had about staying in his bed. Din had bought you thick blankets on a planet you had recently touched down on, and the softness of the material provided a stark contrast to the cold, metallic surroundings of the ship.

The ship’s hum and occasional creaks became a quiet lullaby as you drift in and out of a restless sleep.

The dim light of the ship’s interior barely illuminated the room, creating a cozy haven from the harshness of the galaxy outside. Din, clad in his beskar armor, moves silently around the room, tending to your needs with a quiet determination.

Din, ever watchful, had set up a small makeshift bedside table with a bowl of hot soup, a water flask, and a few other essentials. He sat nearby, his helmet carefully placed on the table, revealing his furrowed brow and concerned expression. The warmth from the blankets couldn't quite chase away the chills that racked your body, but Din’s presence was enough to keep you cozy. 

He looked up attentively as you stirred, a string of coughs pouring into the ship. “How are you feeling?” he asks, shucking off the glove on his right hand. The ungloved hand reaches for your forehead to check your temperature. He brushes some stray strands of hair away from your forehead with the pads of his fingertips.

“Better with you around,” you replied hoarsely, attempting a smile. A small smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. 

He hums, standing from his position in search of something for you to eat. A few minutes later, he reappears with a steaming cup of broth. With one good look at his face, you know he’s trying his best to conceal any signs of worry. 

“Here, you need to keep your strength up,” he says gently, his voice comforting despite its lack of emotion. You muster a smile, grateful for his care, and sip the warm liquid, feeling its soothing warmth slip down your throat. He watches you intently, ensuring that you don’t choke or spill on the broth. After a while, he starts to spoon-feed you the broth. 

The rhythmic clinking of the spoon against the bowl and the warmth of the broth bring a comforting routine to the small, dimly lit bed. 

Din, still at the edge of the bed, brushes his hand against your forehead once again. “You're burning up,” he remarks, his concern evident.

As you finish the last sip, he sets the empty bowl aside and retrieves a small datapad from his belt. 

“I found some information about the planet we’re headed to next,” he says, his tone shifting into a more business-like demeanor. “There’s a settlement known for its herbal remedies. I thought we might find something to help you recover faster.”

Gratitude swells within you. Despite his gruff exterior, Din is going above and beyond to take care of you. You shift onto your side, reaching out to place your hand on top of his. The warmth of the palm of your hand momentarily distracts him from the datapad.

“Thank you, Din. I really appreciate everything you’re doing for me,” you say, your voice still raspy but filled with sincerity. He nods, his gaze softening as he covers your hand with his. The corners of his mouth quirk up in a half-smile. It’s a rare sight, and you realize just how much he cares, even if he struggles to express it in words sometimes. 

“You need to rest, mesh’la,” he replies, his voice a gentle command. “We touch down in two hours.” 

You nod somberly, taking a deep breath before shutting your eyes to try to sleep in the meantime. He doesn’t let go of your hand, squeezing it a few times before you fall asleep. 

Din resumes his post by your side, monitoring your condition with a watchful eye. As you drift in and out of sleep, you can feel the gentle vibrations of the ship signal its descent onto the next planet, where the hope of finding herbal remedies awaits.

Din stands, carefully releasing your hand. “We're here, cyar’ika,” he says, his tone a mix of determination and reassurance. You nod, grateful for his initiative in taking care of you. As the ship touches down, the familiar hiss of the hatch opening echoes through the small room.

Din helps you sit up, ensuring you’re as comfortable as possible. He fluffs the pillows behind your back, ensuring they’re supportive. The warm blankets still cling to you, keeping you as warm as possible. You watch as he secures his helmet back in place, the distinctive T-shaped visor concealing his face once more.

“I’ll get you what you need,” he promises, his voice now modulated by the helmet. With a brief touch to your shoulder, he heads toward the exit, leaving you to rest while he explores the settlement for remedies.

Alone in the dimly lit room, you close your eyes, feeling the effects of the broth and the gradual improvement in your condition. Time seems to blur as you wait, the gentle hum of the ship’s engines becoming a soothing melody. Eventually, the hatch opens again, and Din returns with a small bag containing various herbs and medicines.

“I found these,” he says, his gloved hands carefully holding the bag of remedies. You can sense a quiet determination in his actions, a silent promise to do whatever it takes to make sure you recover. He removes his helmet and sits down next to you, setting the bag on the makeshift bedside table.

“A local healer recommended these,” he explains, sorting through the bag. “They’re supposed to help with your symptoms and speed up the recovery process.” 

Your heart flutters in your chest as he carefully lays out the herbs, steady hands making sure he has everything in order. He explained how the herbs are going to be used in a drink. Every swallow makes your throat feel as though there’s knives under your skin. You nod, appreciating his attentiveness. 

As you prepare to take the herbs, Din sets up a small area in the corner of the room where he can brew a concoction using some of the herbs. The aromatic steam fills the air, and you can't fight off the heat arising in your cheeks at the effort he’s putting into making you feel better. 

Din glances over at you, noticing the subtle change in your expression. He meets your eyes with a reassuring nod, knowing how much you want to convey your gratitude. It’s in these moments, stripped of his helmet, that you see the man behind the armor—the one who cares deeply for your well-being. It’s in his nature to be protective of who he cares for. 

The air in the room becomes infused with the herbal aroma as he brews the concoction. Din moves with a quiet efficiency, his movements deliberate and purposeful.

When the drink is ready, he returns to your side with a steaming cup of the herbal infusion. The warmth emanating from the cup is inviting, and you take it from him with a grateful smile. Din settles down beside you, and you can see a softness in his eyes that contrasts with his usual intensity.

“Drink it slowly,” he advises, his voice gentle. You nod, sipping the herbal mixture. It’s earthy, and slightly bitter. It’s not the most pleasant taste, but you can sense its potency, and the soothing warmth it brings to your throat is undeniable. You sigh happily, settling further into your pillows and blankets as you let the warmth seep into your hands. 

Din watches you closely, his gaze never leaving your face. “Try finishing the whole thing, mesh’la,” he says, resting his hand on your knee over the blankets. 

As you finish the herbal drink, Din takes the empty cup from your hands and sets it aside. “How are you feeling?” he asks, his gaze hopeful.

“A little better, actually,” you reply, a genuine smile breaking through your tired features. “Thank you for going out there and getting all this for me, Din.”

He shrugs, a small smile playing on his lips. “It’s my job to take care of you,” he admits, his voice soft. “And I want to do it well.”

You grab his free hand, squeezing it tightly in your grip. “You’re doing more than your job, you know,” you say, rubbing your thumb over the back of his calloused hand. “You’re being really sweet.”

Din shifts in his seat, still not entirely accustomed to being on the receiving end of such compliments. “Well, you’re too pretty to be sick like this,” he mutters, a hint of embarrassment in his tone. His cheeks are turning flushed, and you know you’ve made him fall into that rare moment of vulnerability. 

You chuckle softly, the sound turning into a cough. Din's concern flares up again.

He reaches for the water flask on the bedside table, offering it to you. You take a few sips, and he watches with a slight relief. “But, I want you to know that I appreciate it. A lot,” you reassure him.

He nods, accepting your words with a quiet gratitude. Din leans in and plants a feather light kiss on your forehead. “Rest for now, cyar’ika. We’ve got a bit of a journey ahead of us, and I need you back on your feet.”

You settle back into the pillows, fatigue tugging at your consciousness. Din remains by your side, a silent guardian watching over you. He kisses the back of your hand before you drift off to sleep.

[dirtysvthoughts]

hi !! for the time stamp event, could i please request prompt 55 and 80 with jeonghan or wonwoo if that’s okay with you ? thank you sm <3

dirtysvthoughts hits 100 followers!

a/n: decided to make this one for wonwoo since i did get a lot of jh requests previously! i hope that’s okay anon! 🤍 also we’re not gonna question kenny on why she always does bratty! reader x wonwoo (which probably stems from a personal desire to have wonwoo blow her back out after testing his patience 🙃)

tags/warnings: hard dom!-ish (?) wonwoo, female! reader, bratty! reader, boyfriend! wonwoo, vibrator usage, petnames (daddy, my dear, sir, baby girl), reader is defiant AF y’all, so bold if you will, oral panty stuffing (?) y’all idk how to explain it lol, but it’ll make sense when you read dsjdjdjdj, i keep writing absolute filth IM SICK 🥹

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

55. “i think i like you better with a gag in your mouth.”

80. “want me to give it back? make me.”

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

you lay sprawled out on your bed, no comforter, blanket, or duvet to cover up what you were doing to yourself.

“mmmm, w-wonwoo..” you moan out your boyfriend’s name, your eyes tightly shut trying to picture him on top of you. you had your vibrator pleasuring you underneath your lace panties with one hand, and the other hand was on your breast, feeling your nipples perking up.

your boyfriend was out and about and wouldn’t be back home for a while, or so you thought. you were so focused on your own pleasure that you didn’t even hear your apartment door open or keys jangling.

“baby, i’m back,” you hear your boyfriend say from outside your room, but before you could toss your vibrator to the other side of the room, wonwoo opens the door revealing your beautifully fucked-out state to his surprised, yet intrigued eyes.

“w-wonwoo! uh, y-you’re back early,” you try and feign a normal voice, but you knew you weren’t fooling him. he really wasn’t supposed to be back for a while, you think to yourself. what could’ve brought him back ahead of schedule?

“i am.. and i see that a certain someone couldn’t wait until i got back to get her pussy filled,” he crosses his arms and smirks at you.

“well, what do you expect me to do when you’re not here? the temptation-“

“i expect you to follow the rules we have established.. so tell me what rule did you just break?”

you roll your eyes and stay quiet, fiddling with the vibrator that was still in your hands.

“i’m waiting,” he says refusing to break eye contact with you. “don’t touch myself unless i have sir’s permission,” you say quietly but enough for him to hear.

“so if that’s the rule, then why do i see a vibrator in your hands?” he slowly approaches you and sits on the edge of the bed, desire and lust in his eyes.

he takes the vibrator from your hands and you daringly try to take it back. “i wasn’t done you know! lemme finish with that and then i’ll get back to you,” you say trying to gain the item back.

he’s amazed at how defiant you were being today. as much as we wanted to change your attitude, this side of you was always a turn on for him. “heh, want me to give it back? make me.”

the second you try to take the vibrator from him again, he pins both your arms to the bed, causing the vibrator to fall to the floor, becoming quickly forgotten.

“oooh, baby girl,” wonwoo chuckles into your ear as he lays on top of you. you might never admit it, but his deep voice when he whispers always affects you to your core. “you’re so in for it now.”

he roughly kisses your neck, feeling his teeth leaving hickeys into the sides. you push his head in deeper, moaning when the lower parts of your bodies begin to make contact with each other.

“f-fuck, w-wonwoo, i-”

“that’s not my name, baby girl,” he cuts you off. he couldn’t be serious right now.

“s-sir,” you fix your wording, barely getting it out now that he’s moved from your chest. he fondles your breasts as he pulls your shirt up, you help him out a little until he gets it off you and tosses it to the other side of the bedroom.

“that’s better,” he says, cockiness laced in his voice. he works on your lower body, taking off your lace panties and tearing them in the process.

“won- sir!” you exclaim, softly hitting his chest. “ugh, those were new!”

“and? you know i’ll buy you several new ones anyway.”

he continues to play with your breast, but a familiar sensation creeps up and you can’t contain the loud moan you let out.

“you can never get enough of my hands, can’t you my dear?” he laughs, clearly enjoying how frazzled you are. two of his fingers were pushing in and out of you at such a delicate, yet somehow fast pace. you continue to call out of him, extremely sensitive even by the slightest touch.

and normally, wonwoo loves hearing you moan for him, but since you were disobedient, he had to punish you. “bad girls never go unpunished,” he told you once when he caught you touching yourself in the shower and he told you to wait for him.

he finds one half of your torn panties in the comforter, and stuffs it in your mouth. you nearly gag at the feeling of the cloth in between your teeth, eyes blown wide open at how rough wonwoo was being with you today.

“hmph, i see that look in your eyes,” he says as he kisses you from your forehead down to your neck. “this is your punishment, baby girl - you’re gonna be so quiet, the only thing i wanna hear my skin slapping against yours. do you understand me?”

you nod furiously, in hopes that if you follow his directions, the quicker you’d get to make noise again.

he takes of his shirt, followed by his pants, and then he takes his dick out of his boxers, his tip hard and oh so delicious. you whine against the panties still stuffed in your mouth. you had to get him inside of you now.

“besides, i think i like you better with a gag in your mouth,” he smirks as he aligns and enters inside of you in what would be a long night and a sore morning.

[myships-storys]

your cool no matter what part 2

Chapter name: sick love

FLUFFY TIME

this is based off my headcanon of what happens when sevens sick

Also @biblicallyaccuratefour is in this

Cover by @almostholysandwich

Nine pov:

I was hanging out with two, as they were teasing me about what happened yesterday with seven. "Somebody's in love~" Two said mocking me

"I AM NOT" I yelled out, feeling embarrassed. All the sudden I felt something wrap their arms around me, I tuned around to see it was seven. I was flustered out of my mind from this.

Two noticed seven didn't look so well "hey seven, umm your not looking so great today, are you ok" Two asked. I looked at sevento notice he didn't look so good, making me worried.

I placed my arm on his to feel he had a fever. "Sev seems to have a fever" I said as seven tightened his grip on me making me blush a little more. "I need help~" Seven said ad he grumbled

"I think me and two could help" I said as I looked at two. "Uhhh I actually gotta go so uh, bye" two said as they disappeared

I was mad at the fact two left me, but I had to focus on seven right now. "Come on let's head your place, I think you'd be more comfortable with that" I said as I dragged seven to her place.

When we got there, I went to the coach to sit down, followed with seven sitting close to me. "Ok so I will watch over you for the day until you get better, you got that" I asked as I looked at seven. Seven looked at me and started clinging on to me as the looked at me all sad like, making me blush slightly "but your gonna get sick though" seven whined as I sighed. "I don't care, your my friend, so I can't just leave a friend sick like this. So try to get better ok" I said to seven, almost sounding like a parent. "Oh- ok" seven said with a groan at the end

a few hours have passed with seven getting worse by the second. I was getting worried about her, I didn't know if this was normal or not. I thought about getting some soup, but I realized I would just start a fire. I had to find four or x to get some soup. I walked to seven who was sitting on the couch, covered with blankets.

"I'm going to get some soup from four and X, so wait here" I said to sev as I started to walk away. All the sudden I felt something pulling my leg, I turned around to see it was seven, I was blushing like crazy from this. "S-sev! Let me go! You need to get rest! I have to go to four and X to get some soup, we both know I will just start a fire if I tried to cook" I said, as I was super embarrassed.

"Nooooo! I'll die here alone"sev said as he was on the ground trying to get mw to stay. All the sudden I herd a knock on the door. "Seven? You in there, what's going on" I herd faux af the door, making me sigh in relief

I opened the door to let him in. "Nine? What are you doing here" "sev is sick and is clinging on to me so I have to take care of him" I explained to faux about the situation. "Say could you make sev some soup, I'd do it but I'd somehow burn the milk or something" I asked looking concerned. Faux sighed then looked at me "fine I'll help" he sad making me happy and relieved

"But after that I got to go, I have to go to the hospital to see ten with eight" faux explained to me "ok bro, I understand" I said. After a few minutes, faux finished the soup and brought it to me "There you go, now I have to go, see ya" faux said as he left the house. I walked upstairs to see seven in bed, he had a super high fever so I had to give him the soup.

"Here's some soup bro, eat up" I said, holding a spoon full of the soup and having it out so seven could eat. Seven chuckled and looked at me, "how about I eat you instead, because of the joke 7 8 ni-" seven said, as i blushed alot from the joke "just eat this please" is said cutting seven up. Eventually seven ate the soup.

I checked up on her a few minutes later, and they're fever was starting to go down. "I'm so bored~" seven whined out. I looked around for something, then found sevens tablet, seven didn't have a password so it was easy for me to get in. I put on war of wonderland (my object show I'm working on) as she started watching it, laughing at the funny parts.

I blushed at sevens laugh, it was kinda... cute- WAIT NO?! I shouldn't have these thoughts, sevens just a friend, right? I had these thoughts yesterday also, what is going on?! I looked back at seven who wad relaxed. I sat down on a chair next to sevens bed, and watched war if wonderland with her.

To be continued

Hope you guys enjoyed chapter 2. See you next chapter

[doubledyke]

dissociatED: ch. 1

Eddy is depressed and goes to Ed for help.

**details are subject to change cuz im essentially making this up as i go along, with a pretty vague outline.

Eddy's teal '91 Camaro rumbled through the parking lot of Peach Creek Rolladium, and stopped in the usual spot in a far corner, under the shade of a tree. For most people, arriving twenty minutes early would provide plenty of time to spruce up, get inside, and clock in. For Eddy, it was a crunch.

Booming bass from his souped-up sound system rattled the rearview mirror, making his pre-shift primp a bit dizzying. Ever the trooper, he pushed through and tousled his hair, swiped gel through his brows and practiced an unconvincing smile. Countless keychains rattled when he shut off the ignition, silencing the thunderous engine and stereo. He adjusted his seat to it's original position and threw his head against the back. 

Eddy liked his job at the roller rink, since it gave him the opportunity to show off his impressive skate skills - plus the uniform was cool. But since graduating two weeks ago, he couldn't help but wonder where his life was headed. Mister Big Shot was finishing his first year in college, having graduated early; The Lump had his art and a fawning girlfriend. Eddy had...

The ashtray opened with a click and he plucked out the crispy half-joint he'd been nursing over the past few days. It didn't take a lot to get him where he wanted to be. He lit the blackened end and took a stale drag from his poor rolling job. Despite quickly feeling sufficiently fuzzy, he decided to finish it, knowing that the flavor would be even worse if it sat any longer. When it got too hot to hold, he tapped it out on the underside of the side-view mirror, then flicked it onto a pile of roaches he'd later gift to Ed. 

After catching a glimpse of the time, he accepted his fate with a grumble and pulled himself out of his slump to rifle around the glove compartment for some cologne. With a few spritzes, he was ready to grace the masses with his presence. Just in case, he tilted the rearview down for one last ogle.

In his altered state, the glassy eyes that looked back looked just different enough to make his heart skip. From this angle, and in this lighting... His hands shot up to press and pinch at his features, attempting to convince his uncooperative brain that he was tripping.  

Family members had often commented on Eddy's resemblance to his brother, but he was quick to disagree. He, of course, insisted that he'd inherited his mother's natural good looks, while the rest of the men in his family shared an uncomely mug. But in this drug-induced frazzle he felt unable to pull away from the menacingly familiar eyes that followed as he squirmed. 

Any other time, Edd's voice nagging him about what to do would've been brushed to the back of his mind. Now he was desperate to remember what guidance his friend had for moments like this. 

His chest tightened while one hand white-knuckled the steering wheel, the other clutching at the front of his shirt. Unseen hands clenching his neck made it impossible to swallow the growing lump in his throat. Now sweltering, the cabin was shrinking around him.  

Five things you can tas- wait no... Was it three things you can smell? Am I s'posed to be holding my breath?

Just as his vision became spotty, he shouldered the door open with a metallic crunch. He'd barely made it over the door sill when the otherwise empty parking lot echoed with the splattering of his stress response onto the black top.

He wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm and released a sickened groan. After ensuring that he was indeed alone, a shaky hand turned the key, still in the ignition. The stale air from the vents made it a little easier to breathe and gave him the wherewithal to dig his phone from his back pocket. Trembling thumbs composed a simple message to his manager.

sick cant come in

-

Eddy's parents were familiar with the signs of depression - after all, facial features weren't the only things their sons had in common. They'd seen many of the emotional and behavioral disturbances that plagued their firstborn passed on to their last. Despite their wealth of experience, neither were any good at addressing the issue in any meaningful way.

Eddy Sr. was of the opinion that mental illness was all a big ruse perpetrated by pansies who didn't want to get a job. The real psychos were the ones down at the state hospital who'd murdered people - or in severe cases, were cross-dressers. Of course his son was sad: he hadn't been laid in 18 years! A nice lady friend would be just the thing to help him through this transitional funk. 

His mother knew better, having experienced severe postpartum depression after her first pregnancy at the tender age of 16. She knew her sons' plight but was nonetheless at a loss. Her standard offering of consolatory cooking wasn't cutting it this time. Haunted by memories of her eldest's many attempts on his own life, she did what she the best she could to alleviate the youngest's misery.

"Eddy you're wastin' away in here! Unless you're sneakin' food again, I don't see how ya haven't starved to death." She stood in the doorway, the light from the hallway allowing a glimpse at the unmoving mass on the bed. 

It had been a week since Eddy's dissociative ordeal and by now the physical symptoms were overshadowed by unrelenting mental static. Recurring nightmares meant that most attempts at escaping his waking misery with sleep were a gamble. It was all he could do to get a glass of water since the once ordinary interior of his home now seemed unfamiliar and surreal. Chronically sour stomach allowing, he'd pinch from dishes of leftovers his mother stored in the packed fridge, but hadn't had a proper meal in weeks. Even showering had become an arduous task requiring intense mental preparation.

He'd worked his way up to shift manager at the beloved rink, but an inability to get out of bed cost him the only source of stability left in his life. So much for that "work family" the boss always touted. At just 18, he was plagued by uncertainty regarding his future. From what he could tell, he'd undoubtedly end up bagging groceries or scrubbing toilets for the remainder of his days. It wouldn't be long before he shacked up with a barefoot and pregnant Lee Kanker at the Park N' Flush. Or worse, he'd end up working under his dad at the dealership, wearing a kipper tie and sipping whiskey for breakfast. His eyes shot open to clear the gruesome images from his visual cortex. He was brought back to his bedroom where, after a lag, he processed what his mother said. Fifteen hours of sleep a day failed to provide the energy required to respond to his mother.

"Honey, that school Eddward's going to ain't but a couple hours away. When was the last time you seen him?" Eddy's mouth tightened upon hearing his friend's name. "Er, where's Big Ed? That guy's always a hoot and a half..." She suggested while rounding the darkened room to gather dirty clothes and empty cups. There was no response from inside the comforter cocoon. With a deep breath she slung the laundry over her shoulder and sat at the foot of the bed.

"Son, I want you to know that I love ya." She placed her free hand on what she guessed was his covered leg. "No matter if you're a queer, or if you're normal."

Eddy couldn't stop his face from contorting at her well-intentioned but clueless attempt at offering comfort. The last thing he needed right now was to open a Pandora's box of faggotry. Instead, he pretended to be asleep and devoid of thoughts about his brother, the future, being a homo, or "Eddward".

"Well, anyway, Dad's grillin' tonight." She grunted as she rose from the bed. "I'll bring ya a plate when it's ready, and you better eat it!" She knew he wouldn't, but a mother can't help but try.

-

Two more weeks passed before Eddy's father burst into his room to deliver an ultimatum: 

"Alright son, listen up. You gotta get a goddamn job, learn a goddamn trade, or ya gotta go." The hulking man grimaced into the void of his son's room before flicking the light switch with his thumb. "And for Christ's sake, eat somethin'! Your mother's liable to have a conniption and I ain't dealin' with two of ya sad sacks." A slamming door ended their only interaction in recent memory.

Eddy rolled over onto his back, squinting at the now illuminated ceiling. His head rushed, causing spots in his vision when he sat up for the first time in a couple of days. Clammy hands rubbed harshly at his eyes while his father's demands sunk in. Still blurry from the adjustment, he scanned the vaguely familiar surroundings and let out a hoarse whine. He swung his legs sluggishly over the bed side and took a sip from an old glass of water on the night stand. 

Simultaneously blank and bustling, his thoughts were difficult to organize. With no solid concept of how much time had passed, he was dumfounded when his phone indicated that nearly two months of his life had been squandered. The revelation made his heart palpitate, brought him to his feet and sent him barreling into the bathroom.

He cursed himself upon finding that the entire five foot mirror was covered by crudely ripped cardboard he'd taped up in the early days of his fugue. 

"What kinda nutjob..." His voice barely cracked a whisper after being scarcely used for so long. Shaky arms pulled him onto the bathroom counter to begin peeling the blue masking tape from each corner. Piece by piece the corrugated coverings slapped onto the counter, gradually revealing the young man's likeness.

"Oof," he exhaled. Kneeling closely before the glass, he chuckled darkly at his haggard appearance. Dark circles exaggerated the bags below his eyes. Shadows of sparse facial hair further aged his overly mature face, and his naturally blushed skin was pallid. Most notable was the bit of weight he'd lost by subsisting on fingerfuls of cold lasagna and meatloaf. He raised a scraggly eyebrow at the subtle differences in his shirtless torso. The looseness of his shorts only served as a reminder of how hungry he was. 

"Weird." 

After shedding the rest of his stale clothing, and ensuring that the water was sufficiently scalding, he stepped in. Luxurious pressure pelted his atrophied muscles, sending a shiver down his spine. Several minutes beneath the soothing downpour made gradually him feel like himself again. The zesty aroma of his favorite bar soap invigorated his mind enough to assess his situation.

One thing was for sure, he didn't want to be depressed and on the street. Or worse, depressed and attending school. The reminder that he'd lost his job of more than two years made his heart sting. Despite threatening to walk out every other day, he'd gotten comfortable at the rink. Who wouldn't want to get paid to yell at kids? 

He turned to let the water smack his face and conceded his only option.

-

A job at the automotive assembly plant was mindless enough; if Ed and Jonny could do it, it couldn't take more than one braincell. With Ed's referral, and due to their high turnover rate, Eddy was offered a job on the spot.

He quickly got the hang of the process once his fingertips were accustomed to being burned on the machinery day after day. The toughest part so far was maintaining his already tenuous grasp on sanity during the ten hour days. 

"I'm tellin' ya! Look it up, 'queen shape shifts during press conference'. A minute thirty into the video, her eyes go all weird. I heard it's a third eyelid..." Jonny shouted over whirring machinery. "Makes ya wonder who - or what's livin' among us, huh buddy?" He nudged Eddy's bicep and let out a curdling cackle.

"Yeah, well I heard that if you hold the new $10 bill up to the light, you will see the ghostly face of H.G. Wells!" Ed added at a tinnitus inducing volume. The volley of conspiracies would often continue for the entirety of their 3:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. shift. Being stuck between his dopey coworkers was more likely to have him considering offing himself than the depression. Whenever he opened his mouth to protest an especially egregious remark, he was conveniently interrupted by a headrest in need of a cover rolling up to his spot on the line. 

He soldiered on for two months because the pay was double what he made before. The drivel between Ed and Jonny was soon a welcome distraction from his brutal inner narration. Having a routine helped Eddy begin to feel normal again and his mental fog was dissipating. With even slightly clearer thinking, he realized that the whole "blue-collar" thing wasn't for him. 

If not for his peace loving comrades, Eddy would've been involved in several skirmishes with the good ole boys that made up most of the plant's workforce; he didn't get what was so funny about knowing how to style a pair of overalls.

"Double Dee is right, Eddy. You are indeed, uh..." Ed's eyes darted while he tried to recall the word. "Truculent." He tutted, using one arm to restrain the fuming flamer.

"Truck-yer-WHAT?"

The plant itself didn't exactly accommodate a man of such short stature. At six-foot-six, Ed cheerfully offered to give his vertically challenged pal a boost if they were on a particularly height dependent rotation. Understandably, Eddy wasn't too keen on being hoisted into the air just so he could do some lousy job. It was either struggle through it, or quit entirely. Naturally, he chose the latter. 

-

Ed and May moved in together the summer before senior year. The one bedroom hutch wasn't exactly in livable condition when her late father left it as a pathetic attempt at reconciliation. But as far as they were concerned, the house of a dead, chain smoking hoarder was an expedient escape from their turbulent home lives. 

Before leaving for college, Edd insisted on helping make the "home" - he used the term loosely -  more comfortable and less pathogenic. In his non-expert opinion, the structure should be condemned, but he'd long grown out of his habit of snitching. Though outwardly selfless, the project served as distraction from the anxiety that had reached a peak at the time. Overwhelming as it was, he was able to make several repairs and address the most emergent safety concerns though some of the issues were admittedly beyond his scope. He finished by decluttering and decontaminating the derelict domicile, and left behind a spare copy of "How To Clean Practically Anything" with hopes they'd build upon his work.

"This edition includes a comprehensive stain removal chart!" Edd gushed while pointing at the book's cover. The couple obviously weren't as ecstatic as Edd anticipated, staring blankly at the virtually spotless interior. He rationalized it as simply a delayed reaction. Unsurprisingly, the fruits of this labor of love were spoiled by the third month they'd been in the home. What kind of wack job wanted to clean after working all day? It was lucky for them that Edd hadn't returned for a visit in the year since.

Eddy had only been by a handful of times - you didn't need a degree to know that any space Ed occupied for five minutes would end up a sty.

"You're givin' 'em a book?" He'd gibed, watching Edd prop his gift on the freshly polished breakfast bar. "That's actually the perfect spot for it since it'll probably end up being used as a plate ." 

Since he was leaving the plant, he knew it would be shitty not to accept when Ed invited him over after what he gleefully deemed his last shift. 

His assumptions about the place were confirmed as he followed the path Ed was kicking through scattered shoes, an overflowing hamper, and stacks of half unpacked boxes in the entryway. The commingling of burnt bong resin, stale incense, and long forgotten bags of trash evidently didn't bother Eddy's begrimed brotherly figure in the slightest. 

"Ed, you-know-who's gonna bust an artery when he sees... and smells this place." Eddy warned with a scrunched nose. He used his steel toe to gently nudge an unlabeled jug of green liquid he could've sworn was glowing.

"You're tellin' me! Maybe I will finally get to experience the dark side of the Dee..." He grinned before hanging a left in to the small kitchen, flickeringly lit by one exposed fluorescent tube. From the dust caked fridge top, he grabbed a tightly rolled bag of cheese curls, then a dented two liter from inside. Eddy waited where Ed left him, gaping at the teetering towers of video tapes lining multiple exterior walls.

The living room was surprisingly undecorated, with only one of Ed's prized posters hanging randomly. Countless fast food bags and cups littered a small glass-top coffee table. The lumpy green futon against the wall cracked under Ed and Eddy's weight as they sat together. After a short pause, the men cracked up in unison. Eddy popped open one of several un-chilled beers he'd filched from his dad's stockpile in the garage. In one breathless gulp, the can was emptied of its bitter contents.  

"You heard from him recently?" Eddy asked as casually as he could while stifling a belch. 

Eddy found himself talking to Ed's exposed crack as he crawled across the un-vacuumed carpet to push in the unknown tape poking out of the VCR on the floor. 

"I missed a call from him uh... I think it was y-yes-terday." The last word was broken by a grunt when he lifted himself back onto the couch. Eddy watched with a cocked eyebrow while the man dusted the imbedded debris from his palms. Ed shrugged and presented an expertly rolled grape blunt. "We are playing phone tag now." He bit his lip excitedly before giving the wrap an indulgent sniff, lighting an end and huffing down an inch on his first pull. 

"Damn," was Eddy's response to both Ed's impressive toke and the lack of an update on Edd. "Wonder what Poindexter's up to anyway..."

Ed was clearly not paying attention; his squinting eyes were glued to the comically oversized rear projection TV, watching the tape's pre-movie trailers. 

Same ole lump.

-

An hour in, the slack jawed Ed was engrossed in a bizarre '80s horror movie about malevolent yogurt. At least, that's what Eddy gathered from the few glimpses he caught in his cross-faded daze. He'd been staring at the cracked ceiling through most of it with his head pressed uncomfortably against the wall behind them. Normally the two would have to remind themselves to keep quiet while May slept in the next room. But conversation had been sparse that night. Eddy's mind was at it again, now going back and forth about whether to return to the plant the next day. Of course, he didn't want to, but he wasn't sure if he should hold out until he found another gig. 

He could just imagine what Edd would say: "Eddy, abandoning one's job without providing written or verbal notice in accordance to company policy is not conducive to successful employment seeking in the future. Not to mention the loss of reliable income. And-"

/What does he know?/ Eddy interrupted the hypothetical chiding. Besides, he'd managed to save up a decent chunk of change since he went straight home from work. Having hyped himself up with the fake disagreement, he huffed and crossed his arms. A sudden wave of heat washed over his body and reddened his face. It was the same feeling he got any time he and Edd would have a real argument. He felt overwhelmingly guilty that most of his thoughts about his best friend recently had been negative. The guy was only looking out for him, after all. Or it could be the six beers he'd guzzled on an empty stomach. He closed his lolling eyes, overcome by a sickening urge to expel something from his gut.

"Ed, am I a bad person?" He instantly regretted blurting out such a desperate question. It was bound to happen when he drank: he became an unbearable sap. Add to that a few healthy smacks of Ed's favorite strain, and he was surprised he hadn't embarrassed himself sooner. Being cautious not to turn his dizzied head too quickly, he checked for a reaction from the red-eyed giant beside him who was adjusting from terrible posture and blinking quizzically.

"Whadja say, Eddy?" He hollered over farcical screaming that accompanied the flashing images on screen. 

"Am I a bad person? Like, I dunno evil or somethin'?" 

It had been quite some time since Eddy came to Ed clawing for reassurance like this. As kids, and into their early teens, it was fairly a common occurrence. It was clear to his closest friends that Eddy not-so-secretly harbored profound guilt and embarrassment about the avaricious antics of his youth. In their opinion, he'd more than atoned for his actions when he was pummeled mercilessly in front of his entire peer group. But he worried he'd gotten off too easily. When the shame became unbearable, he'd go to Ed with a myriad of troubled questions, as if he were some sort of jaundiced magic eight ball - sometimes even giving his sticky shoulders a shake for good measure. 

Once the words finally slogged from his brain to his mouth, Ed slipped into the nostalgic role with ease.

"My sources say no." Two index fingers raised to accentuate his judgement.

"Then I'm a loser, right?" The futon creaked with the sudden movement of Eddy scuttling across the cushion to cling firmly onto the pilled fabric of Ed's hoodie. The stench of alcoholic breath mere inches from his face didn't faze the blissfully blazed Ed.

"Don't count on it."

Eddy's bottom lip bulged out pitifully. Before the malodorous mystic could get back to his entertainment, another question was posed in earnest.

"D'ya think Double Dee hates me?"

Ed crossed his arms and shook his head while the pathetic man stared up through wide eyes.

At this point in the trio’s friendship, Ed was used to Edd and Eddy’s frequent fallings-out and knew the drill: they’d come to blows, ignore each other for a while, and suddenly one day things would be back to normal. Stubborn as they both were, it wasn’t uncommon for their spats to last days, or even weeks. With this being the longest stretch of silence between his friends thus far, Ed was obviously concerned, but knew better than to press the issue. Being the middle man was easy enough, providing the occasional update when they'd inevitably ask about each other over the phone. It was only a matter of time until one of them - usually Eddy - would crack.

"Very doubtful." 

Eddy's face pressed hard into his friend's chest, letting out several muffled sobs. Without hesitation, the taller man rubbed his heaving back and rested what chin he had on the accommodating dome below. His one-armed embrace tightened. Loosened by inebriation, Eddy's body melted into the claustrophobic affection. They relished the sentimentality for a while with only the occasional snivel breaking the silence. 

"Aww. There, there, little man." Ed smiled and smacked his buddy's back with enough unintentional force to make him flinch.

There had been several of these moments between the boys throughout their years of friendship - something that was unbeknownst to the third member of their trio. Both of his friends were happy to lend Eddy a shoulder, but Ed did so without the garrulous deconstructing and overanalyzing. And it was way less embarrassing to cry in front of the lump. 

"Am I a fag?" Eddy sniffled and slipped from Ed's painfully loving grasp, watching the trademark goofy face morph into a facetious pout. He nodded slowly.

"Signs point to yes."

[ladykagewaki]

WIP: I Am Mrs Hemlock

I dabble in writing now and then, and the Bad Batch finale inspired me to think about the other people in Hemlock's life. I can't seem to finish this fic, but here's a little bit of it below the cut.

@zaya-mo @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @ladykatakuri @marierg @thecoffeelorian @salubriousbean

Childhood

Ereene stood on the stoop of the Hemlocks house and knocked on the door. She couldn't quite reach the doorbell. She waited patiently until the inner door opened, and Mrs Hemlock looked down and smiled at her.

The young girl with white ribbons tied around her light brown pigtails said "Hello Mrs Hemlock. I have the homework for this week. I hope Royce is feeling better!"

Royce's mother smiled and said "Thank you, Ereene. He gets stronger every day." Royce's mother took the school datapad and said "I hope you and your family are well?"

"Oh yes. Both mother and father are back from the Core and Tam is back from his school. We're going to have a family dinner today!"

A sick little boy with dark hair, ghostly blue eyes, and an anemic complexion lay in an oversized bed upstairs in his home. He wanted to read, but could hardly keep his eyes open. Then he heard a knock on the door downstairs and perked right up! He flung his blankets aside and slide out of the high bed. Once his two bare feet hit the ground his head began to spin. He took a few wobbly steps in his bedroom toward the door then fell on the wooden floor. Royce got to his knees and crawled through the door.

The noise of the boy falling on the floor caught his mother's attention "Oh!" She looked behind her and saw her sons head poke around the corner at the head of the grand staircase.

Royce saw Ereene and disappointed it wasn't one of his friends sighed. He saw her smile and wave, and found he couldn't help but return the gesture.

His mother, the loving and caring woman she was, saw the waving and instead of chastising her son smiled sadly. He was lonely and this was the only interaction with kids outside his brothers she could think of in weeks. Mrs Hemlock thanked Ereene and sent the girl on her way.

Royce watched his mother, hair and makeup done, and dressed in one of her favorite printed house tunics start up the stairs. She held up the datapad and said "Maybe this will entertain you?"

He took the datapad, leaned back on the Bannister in his pajamas and skimmed the assignments while she took a seat on the steps next to him "Hardly" he answered sullenly.

With a mix of pride and heartache she said "Well, maybe it's better that these assignments aren't too challenging. The doctor did say getting over such a poisoning will just take time." She stroked his thick black hair cherishing her eldest son. She had suffered through the loss of her first infant and had trouble conceiving for years until Royce arrived. He was later joined by two younger brothers, but Royce was the family's golden child. All the children were well cared for and doted upon.

"Thanks mother. Will father be home for dinner today?"

"Unfortunately no. His work at the factory will keep him late. The business is expanding and he is negotiating with some Republic officials. He told me this could really help expand the business!"

The boy sighed but did not make a fuss. His mother helped him back to his room and into bed. She sat with him and chatted until the nanny droids commed her about the baby and toddler they were minding elsewhere.

Ereene joined her governess droid on the sidewalk and it escorted her to the transport waiting for her. Ereene liked this neighborhood and noted the big tree lined street and decorative wrought iron gated homes. Her mother had said this neighborhood was *af-flu-ent* but very *new credit.* The little girl didn't understand what that meant, but she knew her diplomat parents thought it was bad. She thought the neighborhood was very nice. The gardens in front of the large red stone houses were tended by droids and Ereene happily skipped along in her frilly dress into the transport.

Teen Years

"Oh my stars, he's graduating with us?" whispered Ereene to the young lady next to her. "I figured with all his illness he would've been behind a year at least!" Rows upon rows of human students sat in alphabetical order costumed in the ceremonial graduation garb on the manicured lawn of their esteemed academy. Their guests and family members sat beyond them to observe and celebrate the day.

The young woman whispered "Royce Hemlock? Are you kidding? I think he was faking because school was boring. School was no challenge for him, even missing all that time."

A girl behind them overheard and leaned forward contributing "I don't think he was faking. I heard his father is grooming his younger brother to take over the family business because he was so sickly!"

"What's he doing up on the stage?" Asked Ereene. Hemlock's face was neutral, revealing none of his thoughts about this momentous day. He wore the distinctive tasselled cap and a billowy robe of black with a green and gold sash indicating his status and role. He was gazing at the crowd with his hands resting on his knees. His father had an unfortunate accident at the factory forcing his mother to step in as head. Despite the loss of his father his mother was there with his two brothers. Once he spotted them in the crowd he gave them a subtle nod.

The girl behind Ereene scoffed and said "He's our valedictorian. I hear he has full scholarship to some science university..."

As the two other girls gossiped with each other Ereene accidentally made eye contact with Royce. They both recognized each other and a small smile curved his lips. With a slight cock of his head he subtly lifted his hand from his knee to give her a tiny wave. It caused a broad smile to break out on her face and she gave a small wave back.

After the graduation ceremony the students wandered the lawn searching for their family members. Ereene heard her name as she searched the crowd for her parents and brother. "Ereene, is it?" The voice was soft spoken, but held a charismatic power. She turned towards the voice and saw Royce approaching her, hands folded behind his back.

She suddenly felt a bit dizzy. "Um, yes! Hi, eh, Royce! Congratulations! I, uh, I had no idea you..." She gestured to the stage upon which he had given an eloquent adress speech.

He said "I credit it all to your help"

They both chuckled and she replied "Well, dropping off your homework once may have tipped the scales, but I can't take ALL the credit.

They both allowed themselves to laugh unabashedly but did not break their eye contact. They were connected. His gaze on her was deep, but not unpleasantly intense. They gazed in each other's eyes silently for a few long moments. The din of cheers and the giddy cries of happiness around them faded away. Hemlock's soft voice carried over all of it into her ears "Perhaps later this week we could meet for caf?"

And they did.

[alloveydovey]

Dramas from this past month. I'm having such a hard time finishing things 😭

The Forbidden Marriage (rewatch) (kdrama) 9 ⭐️

A broken-hearted king imposes a seven-year ban on marriage, and after claiming to be able to channel the deceased crown princess, the FL ends up as one of his court ladies. Both the king and the officer assigned to protect her (the king's closest friend) end up developing an interest in her.

I love it so much that it became a comfort drama. I’m not into love triangles (who is?), but I looved every aspect of it. It’s a bit crazy how they go from extreme comedy to extreme drama, I’ll admit, but the actors deal with it really well. Romance is 11/10, the usual historical visuals are stunning, and the comedy had me laughing hard.

Love Me, Love my Voice (cdrama) 7.5

Nothing more soft and warm than watching these two characters fall in love. There are no obstacles here, just a doctor/voice actor wooing a senior student/singer/composer with the magic of cooking.

On the other side, because there are no complications, it gets boring. The characters get together way too soon for a drama where nothing happens. Luckily the second couple is as entertaining (if not more) as the leads. So, the main reason I continued watching, honestly, was because of them.

Secret Playlist (kdrama) 7

Cute 8 episode drama about an internet music composer and an idol who join forces to create music. Romance was a bit mid, but the songs were cute as hell, and so were the leads.

And Yet, You Are So Sweet (jmovie) 7

This was adorable af. A little silly (as usual with school love) but I liked the vibes. Girl confesses to her crush, he turns her down harshly and popular boy offers himself as a replacement for the crush. They both start a game where he basically lends himself to her so she can have a fake crush on him and forget about the other guy, except he obviously has feelings for her and she starts having real feelings for him as well. It’s a weird premise, but it gave out a lot of cute moments.

D.P. Season 2 (kdrama) 10

I’ve never watched a season 2 from a drama, and from what I’ve gathered, most of them usually disappoint or are good but don’t come close to the first season. Well, for me, this one was not the case at all. It just felt like a continuation of the first part. I'd say I even enjoyed this one more. Also, I miss theeeeem.

Sixteen Shoukougun (jdrama) 7.5

Okay, so basically, a fuckboy with mommy issues wants to get in between a "tomboy" girl who is known among girls as a prince and her best friend, a girl suffering from severe PTSD. He initially tries to go for the PTSD one, but soon realizes that her friendship with the "tomboy" girl is a little... special. After a few interactions, though, he begins to actually like the "tomboy" girl. In between all this, a sensible boy who is deemed "feminine" is thrown into the mix.

I'll be honest, I went into this one thinking it'd be gl but got disappointed it wasn't the case. At the same time, I actually enjoyed tomboy and fuckboy's relationship too. It's all a bit crazy, especially the friendship between the girls, but I was low-key into it. Fuckboy redeems himself, so I was okay with it, I guess? I don't know, jdramas are extreme, man. What I liked a lot about this one (apart from the sick intro that goes really hard) was how they showed the characters' feelings and the overall theme of just being 16 and growing up around prejudice, abandonment, and liking someone regardless of gender.

Our Secret Diary (jmovie) 8.5

Girl finds a love confession note on her classroom desk from the popular guy in school. Confused about it, she decides to answer him and soon begins exchanging secret notes until she realizes that the note was actually meant for her best friend.

This cute little school movie was very cliché but absolutely perfect.

I am Not a Robot (kdrama) 8/8.5

Here's to me never adding this one to my list because I was not into robots and stuff like that at all, and then completely ignoring my watchlist and going for it since I've read it's very cute.

The comments were right. The storyline is a bit wack and unreliable buuuut, as usual, the main leads make up for it with good acting and adorable scenes.

I'm adding these ones even though I didn't really finish them he ⬇️

The Matchmakers (kdrama) 8/8.5, because it's actually good, just a bit heavy.

Another comedy with Rowoon, sign me up. This one took me a while to get into because even though it was clever, the comedy was really good, and the mockumentary style rocked, there were just too many politics in it for me to fully dive into. I’d get lost and bored at times. It picked up after episode 5, though, and by episode 7, it was definitely more fun. It's more entertaining when they focus on the leads and the ladies they are supposed to set up. I still haven't finished it yet because... I don't know. It is a kind of slow drama, and I don't think I fully get what's going on with the murder and politics.

I May Love You (cdrama) 6.5

Oof. I have so many opinions about this one. ML asks FL to help him woo her best friend not knowing that FL has been in love with him for the past four years. FL fails to help him (on purpose lol) and after spending some meaningful moments together decides to confess in what I like to call the lousiest confession ever. ML rejects her but regrets it later on.

I'm always a girls girl, but here... FL was testing me. The ML spends most of the drama groveling because the FL is mad and upset he asked her for help wooing her friend and then rejected her (also rejected her book project which is possibly the worst thing he did) But the thing is, ML didn't even know FL liked him when he asked for help in the first place, and I believe he had every right to reject her after she told him she liked him because he was rich and handsome. Like?? Who confesses like that? And that's basically the whole drama. I don't know why they thought it'd be cute for the FL to have a wall full of his pictures and then forcefully kiss him. Truly not a good-written character.

A Good Day to Be a Dog (kdrama) 8

I'm gonna finish this, I swear. The whole girl turns into a dog and boy has to kiss her in dog form to break the spell is a bit... weird. Buuut aside from that, these characters and their interactions are just the cutest. It works well because Park Gyu Young is amazing with comedy and her chemistry with Eun Woo is perfect.

Now, the past lives part of the story? A bit too much meh. Some aspects are interesting (the whole story of the mountain spirit and the lady. I thought I'd die of boredom, but they actually made it cute and sad lol). The revenge thing? Boring and so over it. Still gotta watch the last four episodes.

[soap143]

Hii, so I really liked your lee Han fic and was wondering if you could write a lee Seungmin Ler skz fic where skz find that after seungmin read some mean comments about his smile, he started covering his mouth in pictures and they wanna convince him of how pretty his smile is. You don't have to write this though! Have a great day!!! I love your fics so much!!🩷🩷

Hey! I’ve seen this idea before and I think it is vey cute. Seungmins smile is the best!

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Smile

Lee! Seungmin

Ler! Skz

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Just go to sleep…

Seungmin kept repeating those words in his mind, desperately trying to ignore all the harmful thoughts that kept on tormenting his mind. He has seen these comments a million times, how come they still hurt him?

He flipped onto the other side of the bed, now facing the blank wall. He wished he could just dissapear into it. Seungmin closed his eyes in hopes of never oppening them again…

“Omg helppp your teeth are still crooked after braces?”

“Am i the only one who thinks his smile ugly af…”

“Aint no way he thinks hes cute”

“Just close your mouth please, youre so ugly and annoying”

They didn’t go away even in his dreams. The poor boy shook his head side to side in his sleep, trying to shake those thoughts away. He suddenly woke up, covered in sweat. Thank God it was just a nightmare. Except it wasn’t. People really said that to him without any shame.

The puppy pressed his hand againts his forehead. He felt sick. So sick and tired. Nonetheless, he knew he wouldn’t fall back asleep. So, he grabbed his phone from the nighstand and turned it on, checking the current time.

6:23 am

He groaned in dissapointment. He had at least an hour or two before having to wake up. But, of course, he would simply waste the precious time staring at the blank ceiling. Dissapearing into it wouldn’t be so bad either.

In about an hour (which felt like 37 days to Seungmin) Minho woke up. He lazily walked down to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the kids. He wasn’t called the mom of the group for nothing. Seungmin heard his every step. Minho was so strong compared to him. And so much more beutiful. He covered his eyes, squeezing them tightly. But nothing came out.

Soon enough, Seungmin heard Felix strolling to the kitchen aswell. He has lived with long enough to recognise their footsteps. Well, if the sunshine boy was awake, he should get out of bed too. Unfortunetly.

Seungmin slowly got out of bed, forcefully taking his tired body to the bathroom. After finishing up, he walked back to his bedroom to get dressed.

The pup felt like shit, but the smell of delicious food was basically forcing him out of his room. After slumping his body down and kicking around childlishly one last time, he finally got up and made his way to the source of the amazing scent.

He was soon met with the gaze of Minho, Felix and Jeongin, which was surprising because hadn’t heard the maknaes footsteps.

“Morning, Minnie” Minho greeted from his spot at the stove “Good morning, hyung” Seungmin tried his best to not sound grumpy and sad, but he knew he could not pretend to be someone else around his bandmates - they knew him far too well for that.

Not even a minute after the second youngest of he group walked close enough for them to see his face, they knew something was wrong. The rest of the members could always tell what his mood was like just by the way he walked, talked. Hell, even breathed.

“I can’t be only one who thinks that Seungmin is… off” Felix whispered into Jeongins ear “Uhm, that was exactly what I thought, he seems upset about something” the maknae agreed “We should ask Minho about it, I wonder what he thinks…” Felix pondered, walking to said man.

“Hyung, I’m sure that you’ve noticed Seungmin’s strange mood by now. What do you think it is?” the cat man turned his head towards his dongsaeng “I know what it is. I’ll tell you after breakfast. Don’t wanna spoil anything, but I have a plan…”

Felix was satisfied with his answer, updating Jeongin on the exciting news that he had just gotten from the eldest in the room. Both of them started brainstorming in their thoughts about what could the plan be.

Right after breakfast, Seungmin basically ran to his room, not even thanking for the food. However, Lee Know wasn’t bothered, he knew that he could properly punish the younger later…

“Right, and bring the rest of the kids with you, alright?” the second oldest said as he finished his call with Chan “Well?” the sunshine impatiently asked “He said he’ll be here any time now. I made he sure he would bring Han, Changbin and Hyunjin too” “Yay! This is the best plan that you have ever made, Minho hyung!” the fox happily showed his dimply smile after hearing the long awaited news.

You have probably already guessed the plan of the mischevious bunny, but let me tell you anyway:

1. See if Seungmin was actually hurt by the comments.

2. Call everyone over.

3. Tickle the sadness out of him!

Sounds like the best plan ever, right? Well, maybe a bit too simple, but that’s all it took, really.

The first two steps had been completed. They were only one step away from success!

Luckily, Minho knew very well how to complete the remaining step. It was much easier than you might think.

“Your plan is so stupid though, we’re gonna need at least another 37 step plan just to tickle Seungmin” Han rolled his eyes after hearing the amazing idea “No, Jisung, we’re going to convince him to let us wreck him!” Lee Know smiled “Are you serious?! That would require another 1000 steps!” Chan laughed.

To Minho’s advantage, the rest of the group agreed upon his amazing invention, so he won’t have to deal with more than two grumpy party poopers.

“You guys are not listening! We need to put Minnie in a lee mood!” the bunny proudly announced “What is that?” Changbin asked as the quokka started reddening up “Oh, I forgot that some of you are not aware… Well, a lee is someone that-“ Minho’s sentence was cut short by some very much aggressive coughing.

“Hannie, are you ok?” Chan asked with a very concerned look “Uhm *cough* I think I-I’m fine…” the all rounder was slighly relieved when he saw Jeongin and Felix blushing as well.

The leader of danceracha smirked and continued talking “Uhm, I think I’ll explain that later. Now let’s go, we have a mission to complete!” Everybody ran, screaming like a pack of children, pretending to be soldiers.

“MISSION TICKLE SEUNGMIN!” I.N. screamed as the him and the rest of the members barged into the victim’s room “Hyunjin, Han, grab his arms. Changbin, Innie, grab his legs. Felix, Chan and me will take care of the rest!” Minho instructed everyone like the professional he was.

Once everything was finally set up, was when Seungmin came to realization: he was completely inmobile and about to get wrecked. There was no way he was going to let this happen.

“Let go you bahastards! What have I done to deserve this?!” the second youngest started squirming around like crazy in an attempt to free himself.

“Nu-uh you’re not going anywhere!” Hyunjin said with a smile, securing his arms under his butt. Han did the same “Thihis is so unfair! I can’t even move!” the pup whined, trying to get his arms from under Hyunjin.

Felix and Chan took the initiative by poking the boys sides repetitively, making him giggle “Nohoho please~ Anythihing but this!” the lee hysterically giggled, still trying to get out of their grasp.

“Hmmmm, how about no!” Hyunjin happily smiled shoving five of his fingers into the yoonger’s vulnerable armpit “YAHAHAHAHA HYUHUHUHJIN DOHOHON’T!” “Oh you just set yourself up so good” Jeongin murmured in sympathy. Everyone quieted down. Seungmin was scared out of his mind “Hyung! Hyunjin hyung! Please, I-I didn’t mean it…” the pup tried to maneuver his way out of the situation, but it didn’t look like that was going to pay of…

“You’re in deep shit, Seungminnie…”

All seven of the members dug in without a warning “NOHOHOHOHOHO PLEHEHEHEASE! H-HYUHUHUHUHNG! ANYONE! PLEHEHEASE~~” Seungmin wildly cackled.

The scene looked rather… Interesting. Hyunjin and Han were having a hard time holding the pups hands down, yet both of them were roughly digging their fingers deep into the victim’s armpits. Minho was situated on his hips, trying to hold the younger’s midriff still by pushing his fingers into Minnies V-line(which was just making him squirm more). Chan and Felix were both attacking each one of Seungmin’s sides, switching in between his ribs and sides. Jeongin and Changbin were keeping themselves occupied by digging their fingers into their bandmate’s thighs, knees and occasionally scratching his soles.

The mean comments were the last thing on the tickle attack victim’s mind - he was much more busy trying to stay alive.

Obviuosly, Seungmin couldn’t handle so many rough tickles all over his body at the same time. The rest of the kids could feel that too. They all slowly stopped, but still didn’t let the poor boy go.

“Let’s play a game to make this interesting, Minnie” Minho fondly smiled looking down at his dongsaeng “P-Plehease no more…” Seungmin’s chest rose up and down restlessly, trying to pump his tired body with blood. Apparently it was doing that quite succesfully, considering the latter’s wine-red face, ears and neck. Not to mention that he still had tears running down his neck, wetting the collar of his shirt.

“Say, how many hyungs do you have?” Lee Know didn’t let up “I-Ihihi don’t know, 7?” “Is Seungmin our new maknae now~?” Jeongin teasingly asked “Nahaha I don’t know…” the “maknae” tiredly grumbled, almost falling asleep on the spot.

“Well, if he insists on having 7, then I don’t see why we should disagree with him!” the leader of danceracha smirked “What do you even mean, hyung?” Changbin whined from the end of the victim’s body “That is exacly how many raspberries he’ll get… From each one of us!” The bunny proudly announced.

Suddenly, Seungmin flinched awake. 7 raspberries?! From EACH one of them?! He is not making it out alive.

“WHAHAHT?! WHY! I don’t deserve this please~~~” “Oh yes you do, did you see how sad and grumpy you were this very morning?!” Felix frowned, poking the younger “Couldn’t even thank me for my amazing breakfast…” Minho mischeviously mentioned, leaving the pup wide eyed.

“Let’s start!” Chan exitedly declared, placing his lips onto the second younger’s side “One…” the kangaroo mumbled into the sensitive spot and blowing the ticklish air into the vulnerable spot “AHAHAHA CHAHANIE HYUHUHNG!!”.

Chan was only on the third raspberry and Seungmin was already dying, there was no way he was going to survive 49 raspberries…

“Mihihinho hyung, yOHOHOHOHUR BREHEHEAKFAST WAS AMAHAHAZING, CAN YOU PLEHEHEASE MAKE AN EXCEPTION FOHOHOHOR MEHEHE~!” the oldest member of vocalracha begged when Chan pressed his lips onto his side for the 4th time.

“Hmmmm… Ok, I’ll forgive just this one time… Only if you can endure raspberries from all sven of us, at the same time, without laughing.” Was he being serious? Migh aswell just say that they were going to kill him.

The pup took a deep breath in and waited in anticipation. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait for long. But was he really thankful? I mean, Han and Hyunjin had their lips pressed against his neck, Chan and Felix were both ready to wreck both of his sides, Minho was smiling into his stomach and Changbin with Jeongin both had a strong grip on both of his legs. Both of them were ready to blow some ticklish air onto God knows which part of his leg.

Just a few second later, he could feel every. single. body part being destroyed. Some of them were cheating by using their fingers to tickle aswell, but he definetly couldn’t tell who those cheaters were.

“p-plehehease…” His laughter was so silent, that the members stopped after only one time “Wow, I honetly didn’t think he would make it!” Han praised the younger, petting his head. Seungmin was so tired and his brain was so fuzzy and empty, that he didn’t care nor hear anything.

“Hey, are you ok, Minnie?” Hyunjin softly asked, signaling the rest of the boy’s to climb of the latter.

No response.

“Seungminnie, are you alright?” Jeongin slighly shook his hyung.

Nothing.

“SEUNGMIN!?” Chan agressively shook the younger with worry in his eyes.

“Huh, w-what…” the poor, tired boy finally woke up, relieving all seven of his bandmates.

“Oh my GOSH SEUNGMIN DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOU SCA-“ the eldest grabbed the puppie’s shoulders “Calm down Chan… He’s ok” “Are you?!” “Yeah, did we take it too far?!”

The lee was so overwhelmed and exhausted that it took him a few moments to catch up. Though once he did, he made sure to calm everyone down.

“It was fine, guys. I promise. I didn’t mind…”

One thing that he also noticed is…

He had completely forgotten why he was upset in the first place.

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I hope you enjoyed! Do you guys like the long buildups? I love writing them.

I’ve been putting this request away for a while, so glad that finnished it. Hope you have a nice day/night!

[mchlgayser]

( ✮ ) TWO WORLDS III ft neymar jr

🧺 𓂃⭑ᜊ an: HELLO! As promised, here is the third and last part of my short series of two worlds featuring neymar jr!!! Thank you to those that have been reading this from the start and along, I love you guys and hope you like this one too xx

🗯️ 𓂃⭑ᜊ content warning: pregnancy (and poor translation)

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yourusername My blessing. His blessing. Our Godsend. We are thankful for all the meaningful words from both parties fans and supporters, you guys are just THE BEST! Thanks to all xx 💘🙏🏼

yourmother I can't wait to see the baby! Bring her to my home soon 😂

@neymarjr said don't forget to make him your best dish mama lol

@yourmother I will not

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@fans1 SO CUTE!!!!!

@fans2 we can clearly tell y/ns mom favor ney sm LMAOOO

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yourusername 20 weeks done! 16 weeks left to go! Can't wait to see our spicy, kickin' baby girl! ❤️ #shekicksalot 😂😂

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@fans1 I can't wait to see an angel with a goddess beauty face of Y/n's and the distinguished talents of Ney's WOOHOOO LETS GOOO!!!!

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@fans2 IM SO EXCITED!!! LETSGO BBG Y/N 🤩🤩🤩😘

liked by yourusername

@fans3 LMAOO SHES LIKING ALL OF THEIR FANS COMMENTS GIMME ONE TOO PLITHH 😂😂🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

yourusername your wish is my command 😉

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fans4 OMG LIKE MINE TOO PLSSSSSSSS

fans5 Welp fuck- pls now I want one too 😭

fans6 she's so cute doing cute things with her fans like this

yourusername replied I'm showing them how grateful I am to have you all xoxox

fans7 I love her and if you don't you are sick in the head somewhere cus she's an angel!!! She's so nice brb I'm gonna cry

neymarjr

❤️🚀💬

Liked by lucaspaqueta, richarlison and 9,373,110 others

neymarjr Meus amores. O Deus nos deu uma linda menina perfeitamente saudável. Minha esposa, Y/n, muito obrigado por este presente incrível. Palavras não podem descrever o sentimento que sinto agora, mas Obrigado. Você é para sempre minha melhor amiga, minha namorada, esposa e mãe de nosso adorável filho. Eu te amo. (My loves. God delivered us a perfectly healthy cute baby girl. My wife, Y/n, thank you very much for this amazing gift words cannot describe the feeling and how I feel right now but thank you. You are forever my best friend, my girlfriend, my wife, and a mother to our lovely child. I love you) To my daughter, Angelina. Thank you for coming to this world as our daughter. Your mere existence changed both me and your mom drastically. You will be the only reason we change and become the better person from now onwards. I love you ❤️ To my fans, supporters, friends, and family who had been there all along with us, helping us with our lacks, thank you very much. I am so thankful to all of you. May God repay your kind deeds for us. 🙏🏼🥰

yourusername

❤️🙏🏼💬

Liked by yourfriend and 3,497,393 others

yourusername Us today because @angel.lina keep pestering me saying that she wants to see her papai 😹

p/s: she was enjoying the game more than I do Loll

yourfriend pls tell Angelina I want her at my house this weekend so you and your hubby can spend your days alone 😆😆😉 thank me later

yourusername What are you suggesting???? 🤨😒

yourfriend she prolly wanted a younger bro or sis or sum like that 🙄🙄🙄😬

yourusername I'm currently considering it rn

fans8 They are hilarious af LMAOO replying to each other things like this like they're on their dm

neymarjr @yourfriend @angel.lina will be at ur house by 9, be ready

yourusername OMFG

notes: the series has officially ended!!! YAYYY and NAYYY!!! Yay because I had finally finished it and saves it from rotting inside my draft but Nay because it ended. I fell in love with the series. I think I grew fond of the pregnancy and baby parts but most of it, I enjoyed it ALL! I think I pretty much did a great job LOL but yes as I said, I'm sad because it's ended. Oh well, who knows I might as well do another series similar to this one but much longer and fluffier!!! I love babies OMFG you don't even know!!! I need to write another one ASAP Ok I think that's all for the ranting, I hope you enjoyed it, please, as much as I do SKSHSKSK nah jk. Enjoy it or not doesn't matter at least I know I did a pretty fucking great job hehe hehe Goodbye xoxox