#i ask on final birb question

[sage-is-in-fact-very-tired]

vote number two about ash wing (and for this one, I guess tail) things

[clockwayswrites]

Birb in the hand Part 8

Birdritch Masterpost

For several reasons, Bruce hadn’t expected to wake up cuddling a stranger. One, there were enough family in the makeshift nest. Two, there had been no stranger, just a strange bird. Three, cuddle pollen or no, Bruce should have been alert as soon as the stranger became a factor.

Instead, Bruce woke slowly, sleep muddle brain confused about why he was awake until he clocked the uneven breathing of the person in his arms. Bruce’s brain went from asleep to alert in an instant as he ordered ‘breath’.

And in that instant Bruce knew that the person in his arms wasn't one of his.

There was a stranger in the Batcave.

A stranger who wasn’t breathing right.

Bruce walked them through answering questions as he took in everything else. Other than Alfred, his family was close. The furthest away was Jason who was asleep on the meeting table rather than in the next with the rest of them. They were starting to wake up, aware something was wrong.

Noticeably missing was the bird entity.

Instead they had a stranger— a stranger who whimpered in pain as Bruce got them upright.

A shapeshifter? An unwilling shapeshifter, possibly. An unwanted transformation could certainly explain the pain.

Dick offered to get a towel and Bruce mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ at his oldest. Bruce was worried by the fact that the breathing hadn’t regulated yet. At least the cold was enough to shock the stranger into a forced breath and Bruce tried to guide them through it.

“There, keep that up,” Bruce instructed.

The stranger pinched Bruce for that. He hardly jolted, but apparently he had moved enough to make Cass giggle at him. A soft huff of a laugh escaped, mostly at Cass’ amusement, but partially at the sass of the stranger.

“I know you know,” Bruce said in response to the pinch. “Now your body just needs to know.”

Bruce didn’t let the second pinch deter him anymore than the first. Gently, he ran a pattern with his thumb up and down the other’s hand, a silent beat to count to. Their hand was calloused. They were someone used to holding tools and using them, but of a precise sort as the rest of the skin was soft. There were a few bandages on the fingers and palms of the hand. Precise tools they were bad with? No, precise tools but either an absent mind or someone who moved too quickly. The wells of their fingernails were stained with bluing and solder and graphite. A specialty machinist of some sort perhaps, watch maker?

“Well, at least it wasn’t an orgy,” the stranger said, suddenly, voice raspy from the panic attack.

Bruce could see Jason trip out of the corner of his eyes from where he was finally getting up off the table.

“Ew,” Tim whined after a beat of stunned silence. “Oh, ew, no, nope, not thinking of that. Where’s the brain bleach? B, tell me the JL has invented brain bleach.”

“Or that thing from Men in Black,” Jason groused.

“No, Reds, the JL does not have brain bleach or ‘that thing from Men in Black’,” Bruce said dryly.

“Wiping a specific memory is actually incredibly hard,” the stranger said. “We’re still learning how all of those pathways connect and that’s even without considering instinct and muscle memory. Now preventing memories for forming, that’s easy. Take me and why I’m even here, no clue, but much harder to erase something that’s already known and perhaps something that could cause a cascade failure… and shutting up now.”

“Are you always like this in the morning?” Jason asked.

“Believe it or not,” the stranger drawled, “waking up in a cave asleep with a bunch of vigilante and no memory of how I got here is not my usually morning.”

Bruce found himself giving a soft chuckle. Normally he would never, but now that the emergency was over apparently his brain was happy to slip back into the morning fog. He did his best to put some Batman gravel into his voice as he spoke. “Once you’ve rinsed off, we will explain. There was cuddle pollen involved, you need to make sure it’s gone so that you are not exposed again.”

“Okay, well, at least cuddle pollen explains some of this,” they grumbled softly. They made a move to lean away from Bruce but stopped short with a hiss of pain.

Bruce moved forward to keep supporting them. “What’s wrong?”

“Just my body being my body. Where’s my bag?”

Cass appeared holding a messenger bag a moment later with a smile.

“Oh, thank you.” Carefully and with Bruce’s support, they leaned forward to take the bag and start searching around in it. “I’m sorry, I don’t know which one you are without the whole getup.”

“B.B.,” Cass chirped. She sat down crosslegged and helped hold the things that the stranger set aside from their bag.

“B.B? Oh, Black Bat,” they said with a little nod and a soft ah-ha as they found what they were looking for. “Thank you B.B.”

Cass gave an acknowledging little noise as the stranger shook a pill out of a small container and knocked it back with a swig from their water bottle.

“Sorry, alright, willing to offer a hand up, B.B?” They asked.

Cass set the items back in the bag, hoped up, and offered her hand. Bruce made sure to support the stranger as they stood, which let Bruce feel the fine tremors that ran through their body and hear the bitten back sounds of pain. Bruce trusted Cass and Dick to help them to the showers and bring a set of clothing to change into. When he turned around, Tim was already poking at the messenger bag.

“Red,” Bruce sighed.

“B,” Tim interrupted and twisted an ID tag clipped on the bag for Bruce to see.

It was a Wayne Enterprises ID badge the color combination of R&D. Danny Fenton, it read, he/him, R&D.

---

AN: take care darlings, take care and be delightful.

[toournextadventure]

everyone but her pt.14

Summary: Spring break is over, and so are the careless days. School is back and you're avoiding Wednesday. Everyone knows it and she just wants to know why. Why won't you tell her?

Word Count: 6.6k Warnings: hints at child abuse, violence, injuries, blood, swearing, Birb has no filter Pairing: Wednesday Addams x Reader (everyone but her Masterlist) Taglist: @extinctspino @basichextechml @cfvgbhndun-new-blog @jinxscatbomb @awolfcsworld @n0p35 @suzhiman @gengen64 @eclipsesmoonshine14 @asters-abditory @alexkolax @thenextdawn @cacciatricediartemide @cozwaenot @the-night-owl-blr @natashasapphic @parkersmyth @alilbitlesbian @irish-piece-of-trash @rainbow-love4ever @audigay @bakugounuggets

“Thank you again for bringing me here,” you said as you grabbed your duffel bag from Lurch.

The hospital was, thankfully, not too busy thanks to everyone heading home after the holidays. Not that you would ever openly explain it, but it was the exact reason you preferred going on Sundays. Whether by luck or the grace of god, the Addamses didn’t question when you had asked them to make a short detour to DHMC, and they still weren’t asking questions.

“Will you be able to get back to Nevermore?” Morticia asked. Her hand felt warm on your shoulder; it was nice.

“I’ll just fly,” you said simply. “My bag isn’t too heavy.”

“Very well, dear,” Morticia said with a smile before giving your shoulder a squeeze and stepping back.

“A hug for the road, then.” You didn’t have any time to think before Gomez enveloped you in his arms.

It’s prefacing pain, your mind told you as he continued to hold you tight. It’s a hug, your heart argued, just a hug. And you wanted to lift your arms and hug him back because he had been so kind the entire week. He had taught you, respected you, enjoyed having you around. But you couldn’t. You couldn’t fight all those years of staying away, and you couldn’t hug him back and the sting of tears made its home behind your eyes.

He pulled away with a smile and was quickly replaced by Pugsley. This one, you thought, I can handle this one. It was just like a hug from Alex, at least that’s what you told yourself. Your arms felt like lead until finally they wrapped around Pugsley’s shoulders to hug him back.

“Thanks for making my sister happy,” he whispered loud enough for only you to hear.

You didn’t even have time to think about the depth of his words before he pulled away with a closed-mouth smile. He was sweet. Every part of him reminded you more and more of Alex, or even a younger Nicky. You wanted to protect him with every part of your being.

Stop being so sappy.

“Let me know if those guys try anything again,” you said just as quietly so Wednesday couldn’t hear. He smiled.

“Tell your brother I said hi,” was all he said in reply.

Wednesday stepped forward next; you didn’t get a hug, but that was alright. You weren’t expecting one. She gave you a look that trailed over your face almost as if she was looking for something. As unusual as it was to admit to yourself, it felt almost as if she cared. As if she liked you.

She kissed you! Your mind screamed at you. She must like you a little bit! But a kiss didn’t necessarily mean anything, right? It hadn’t meant anything with your ex, why would it mean something with Wednesday? You wanted it to mean something, by god you did, but what if you were wrong?

“Don’t be late,” Wednesday at last. “I’m not checking on you in the morning.”

“I won’t be late,” you reiterated.

Everyone told you their goodbyes one final time before getting in the car and finishing the drive to Nevermore. You stood on the sidewalk and watched until the car was out of sight. Their absence settled in your chest almost instantly, but you pushed it down, grabbed your bag, and started your way into the hospital.

“Welcome back, doll,” Nurse Jackie said when you passed the desk. “Were you on a trip?”

“Spring break at Wednesday’s place,” you answered. “Has he behaved?”

“A good spring break, I see.” You tilted your head at her words, but when she touched a spot on her neck and raised her brow, you felt your entire face heat up. Nurse Jackie just laughed and gestured her head to Nicky’s door. “He’s been good.”

“Sup, dickwad,” you called out as you tossed your duffel into the corner of the room and plopped down in the chair beside Nicky’s bed. “Nurse Jackie said you’ve been a pain in the ass.”

“I did not,” Nurse Jackie said quickly from her desk across the hall, causing you to laugh to yourself.

“Wanna hear about the crime I committed over spring break?” You asked, finally reclining back and putting your feet up on the bed. The heart monitor spiked twice. “Too bad, I’m telling you anyway.”

From across the hall, Jackie listens as you recount your spring break to Nicky. It was always nice to hear you laughing and joking around. Not once did you ever get a response, but it brought a lighter atmosphere to the ICU. Of course there were the days you would succumb to the situation and there would be nothing but silence coming from the room, but days like today? Those were the days that made things a little easier.

Every now and then one of the nurses would go in to check on you and make sure neither you nor Nicky needed anything, and you would have them talking and laughing for hours on end if they didn’t excuse themselves. They had learned after the first few months that it was your coping mechanism. You simply distracted yourself and others from the situation at hand.

“Time to shave,” Jackie said as she finally walked into the room. You were still sitting with your feet up on the bed, flipping through the channels on the TV to no avail. “Wanna help?”

“Absolutely,” you said, tossing the remote onto the chair as you stood up. “I’m gonna make you look so goofy,” Jackie heard you mumble to Nicky.

She kept her own smile to herself as she got everything all set up. Honestly, it wasn’t the most professional of her to allow you to help, but she couldn’t help it. You had been present for most everything over the past three years, she (and all the other nurses, admittedly) could be forgiven for allowing you to help. There was something Jackie had remembered you telling her one night near the beginning of Nicky’s eternal stay in the ICU.

“It feels like I’m helping,” you had said after she had shown you how to turn and reposition him. “Like it’s not my fault.”

After that, you became an integral part of Nicky’s care whenever you visited. The initial guilt (at least outwardly) was gone, but you were still eager to help. Without prompting, you lathered the shaving cream and started putting it on Nicky’s face.

“Behave,” Jackie said sternly when she turned around and saw the… lewd image you were making with the shaving cream.

“Oh come on,” you huffed, “it’s not like he cares.” But nonetheless, you wiped the image away and went back to work.

Jackie handed you the razor once you were done and let you get to work. You always talked while you worked; she assumed it was a nervous habit of yours. Not once did you ever actually talk about your home life, but you would talk about school, or the friends you had, or even just whatever popped into your head. Jokes were common, disregard for your own feelings even more so.

After you had been released from DHMC, she had tried to get you to go to therapy. No, you weren’t her responsibility once you were discharged, but the hurt she could see on your face was too much for her to bear. She had helped take care of you for two months, she could be forgiven for being a tad protective. But after you had very quickly shut her down about the idea, she accepted that maybe that was just how you needed to go about things for now.

“Don’t shave shapes,” Jackie scolded you again. You froze and looked up at her with the same expression one would make if they had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

“He told me this is what he wanted,” you attempted to argue.

“Oh?” Jackie inquired, and you nodded quickly. Too quickly. “He woke up for the first time in four years just to tell you he wanted a dog shaved in his beard?”

“... yes he did-”

“-shave it normally,” Jackie warned you again, “or I’m revoking helping privileges for a month.”

“You’re no fun anymore,” you groaned but did as you were asked. Albeit with a frown on your face, but that was an acceptable reaction.

“And you’re more trouble,” Jackie said, holding the cup out for you to clean the razor. “I think this Wednesday girl is a bad influence on you.”

“She is not,” you said softly with a smile. “If anything, I think I’m the bad influence.”

“I bet you are,” Jackie said, her voice barely covering the sound of the phone ringing at the desk.

You continued to shave Nicky’s face with expert precision, never leaving even the smallest hint of hair. When you weren’t so busy being the typical little sister that you so enjoyed being, it was clear how much you cared for him. The gentleness in your touch and the concentration and effort you put into taking care of him was more than enough proof.

In fact, Jackie was so focused on your focus that she hadn’t heard Angela step into the room. She only noticed when Angela cleared her throat and held up a sheet of paper. A sheet of paper with your last name on it.

“They called again,” Angela said.

“Who called again?” You asked, finishing up the last touches before looking up at both women.

Jackie didn’t want to tell you. She didn’t want to bring that name up when you were in such a good mood. But they had been calling for the past few weeks, and she knew you wouldn’t call them back unless necessary. They hadn’t told her what they wanted, but if they were calling this often then she could assume it was now considered necessary.

“Marcus and Kristi want you to call them back,” Angela said when it was clear Jackie wouldn’t. “Today.”

The fear on your face was enough for both women to figure out what was going on, at least at the moment. Neither of them knew much, just that your parents paid the bills and Nicky’s life support stayed on. You had never explained, and they had never asked. Your reactions were enough of an answer.

“Oh,” you finally said, and you set the razor down before picking your phone up with slow, methodical movements. It was as if you had been replaced by a robot. “Okay.”

“Do you want some privacy?” Jackie asked. She gestured with her head for Angela to leave; she did.

“It’s okay,” you said, your voice sounding detached from your body while you fell down in the chair, “you can stay.”

You put the shaking phone up to your ear and stared into the distance as it rang. Jackie did her best not to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t help it. When you said “hi” in the smallest voice she had ever heard, she couldn’t stop herself. Your eyes were glazed over and your breathing was coming in short pants.

She didn’t have to be a nurse to see you were hurting.

The voices on the other end of the phone continued as your head turned to face Nicky. A single tear fell when you closed your eyes, squeezing them shut and biting your bottom lip so hard Jackie could see the single bead of blood that sprung from the skin.

“Yes sir,” you said. Was that how you sounded as a child? Had you always been so afraid? “Goodbye.”

You sat there in silence, only the occasional sniffle cutting through. With what Jackie assumed to be a great effort, you opened your eyes and looked at Nicky. She knew that look. And she certainly knew the look that came after, with your jaw set and a determination in your eyes.

“They’re not cutting it off,” you said through clenched teeth.

But Jackie could still hear the fear underneath the rage.

—---

Wednesday was mad at you. She was mad at you for giving her emotional whiplash when she didn’t even like emotions to begin with. It was inevitable that you would return to a routine when back at Nevermore, but this? This was almost painful, and she didn’t know how to handle it.

Maybe it was her fault for assuming you would still wish to hold her hand under the table, or come to her room at night to bother her with more of your rambling. To have you sit by her in class and in the quad, to offer to paint Thing’s nails while she was writing.

But no. No, you were only ever with Yoko or on your own. During class you would sit by Yoko without even a glance in Wednesday’s direction, and it was impossible for her to not see you two talking nonstop. You walked with Yoko to classes, around campus, during meals.

Wednesday wouldn’t deny, she had questioned Enid and Divina about it. After all, Yoko was their girlfriend too, did they not find it suspicious? Not even a little? But Divina promised it wasn’t like that, you two had just been friends for longer than any of them had even been at Nevermore. You were both like two peas in a pod.

In a surprising twist, Wednesday believed it.

“Wednesday, just relax,” Enid huffed as she sat down across the table. Yoko and Divina were quick to follow suit. “Unless you don’t trust Eugene now.”

She gave Enid a quick glare before turning back to see you sitting beside Eugene. It was impossible to tell what you were both talking about and she wanted nothing more than to go over and hear for herself. From the look on your face it wasn’t a pleasant conversation, but Eugene was insisting.

At least that’s what it looked like.

With a sigh, you said something to Eugene that made him smile before he got up and ran off. You shook your head and stood up next. Wednesday half-expected you to leave the quad as you had been doing for the past week. Her heart raced when you walked in her direction, sitting down directly beside her with a grunt.

“The matching hickeys are cute,” Yoko said once you were settled.

“Ha ha ha,” you mocked with a quick kick; judging by Yoko’s reaction, you hit your mark. “Fuck off.”

“You ready for the full moon tonight?” Enid asked. “Because I’m not.”

“Why not?” You asked indignantly. “It’s not like you’re going to wolf out- ouch.” You instantly leaned down to rub your knee. “Sorry,” you said when Yoko gave you a, quite admittedly, vicious look. “That was rude.”

“It’s okay,” Enid said even though her smile had fallen slightly, “you didn’t mean it.”

“Isn’t it your date night?” You asked, eyes darting between Enid and Wednesday.

“Yes,” Wednesday answered. Why wouldn’t you actually look at her?

“Any exciting plans?” Divina chimed in.

“Probably just a movie,” Enid said. “She agreed to watch one of mine if I watch one of hers.”

“Well isn’t that cute,” you teased. And finally, for probably the first time since she had left you at the hospital, you smiled. “Don’t eat too much popcorn, that shit gets expensive.”

“Oh don’t worry, we have it all planned out,” Enid said, immediately going into a long-winded explanation of the night.

But Wednesday wasn’t listening to Enid; she was focused on how your leg was suddenly close to hers again and, for the first time in a week, she could feel your warmth again. She had missed it, embarrassingly so. It made her dead heart beat and she wanted more of it.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered into her ear while Enid continued to talk.

“Why?” Wednesday asked back, turning just enough to look at you. She wished she hadn’t when she noticed how close you were.

“For avoiding you,” you said simply. “Can I make it up over coffee on Saturday?”

Say no, her head told her. You had just openly admitted to avoiding her for the week, after everything that had happened during spring break. All the progress you had both made (at least she felt she had made progress) and then you could still avoid her so easily? No, she wasn’t sure she wanted you to make it up to her.

But she wanted you. Of that she was sure.

The corner of your mouth twitched with the barest hint of a smile that you could muster without the other three noticing. It almost made her want to smile in return. She’s making you weak, her mind told her. But she wasn’t entirely convinced she cared when you finally reached over and grabbed her hand-

-that electric jolt went up her arm once again, lodging itself like a bullet in the back of her skull.

“Eugene run!” You yelled.

Blood.

Screaming. 

The full moon shining down through the trees.

A vicious growl.

“Enid?”

“Hey.” Your voice cut through the vision loud and clear, pulling Wednesday out with a gasp. “I gotchu.”

Your hands felt warm even through her uniform. The grip you had on her thigh was grounding, and for a moment it was as if the vision hadn’t even happened. It was just your hands on her and your eyes looking so very hypnotizing.

Okay. Her visions definitely impaired her ability to look at you neutrally.

“You good?” You asked.

“Yes,” Wednesday managed to get out past that lump in her throat. “Coffee sounds good.”

She hoped you would move along with the conversation as she was trying to. The sound of that scream - had it been yours? - was echoing in her head and she wanted it gone. Wanted you to get rid of it for her. You interlocked your fingers with hers and nodded with a small smile.

It didn’t get rid of the screams completely. But it helped.

—---

“I’ll kick your ass for this next time, Ottinger,” you said as you lagged further behind Eugene’s steady pace.

“It shouldn’t take long,” he told you, “I know exactly where they hide.”

“Well hurry up,” you grumbled, “it’s cold and something doesn’t feel right.”

Eugene knew you only really said those things when you meant them, at least to him. If you felt something was off, then it probably was. He certainly wouldn’t argue with you, that was for sure. So instead of looking for the extra bugs on his list, he made a beeline to the grouping of trees that he knew were infested.

The sound of your wings flapping lightly was almost the only thing he could hear, aside from the crunching of the twigs on the ground. He had told you that you could leave the harness off if you wanted, but he hadn’t actually expected you to. It was nice, really, he didn’t think he had ever truly seen them before now. Almost made him feel like you trusted him.

“Quit staring,” you said with a raised brow, “or you can bug hunt on your own.”

“Sorry,” Eugene said, but the small smile on your face eased his slight anxiety. “It’s just right over here.”

He didn’t wait for you to keep up before jogging over to the small copse of trees that he had painstakingly scouted out over the past few weeks. Without hesitation he got to work; he needed to be careful so he didn’t scare them away. The flashlight flickered once but steadied out, and he could finally get to looking.

“How was your spring break-”

“-Don’t start small talk,” you interrupted. “Just get your bugs, I’m getting goosebumps.”

Eugene turned his head to look at you and he would admit, your stance was giving him the creeps. When he was kneeling down you looked like a giant; a giant being with giant wings and an angry face. It was scary against the moonlight, and if he hadn’t known it was you, he probably would have panicked.

“Right,” he finally said, turning around to get back to his hunt.

You were making him nervous. He wouldn’t admit it to you because then you would think he wasn’t cool, but you were. Just towering over him and looking out into the woods. Almost like some kind of guardian angel, although he was pretty sure you would get mean if you needed to.

“Eugene, hurry up,” you said, your voice suddenly dropping to barely more than a whisper.

“I’ve almost got him, want to see?” Eugene asked.

“Absolutely not- wait, that’s kinda cool,” you said after turning around and leaning closer, squinting your eyes to try and see it better. “Ew,” you mumbled with a scrunch of your nose when the bug in question wiggled around until finally dropping into the collection cup with a little *splat*.

“Just one more and then we can go,” Eugene said, already looking for his other target.

The flashlight trailed over every inch of those trees, but he still couldn’t find the beetle. It should have been here, it was always here. Surely it wouldn’t have vanished, right? Bugs didn’t just do that, especially not in these woods. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, followed quickly by a chill running down his spine.

“The birds stopped singing,” you whispered.

With a turn of his head, he was met with your hand extended toward him. What did you want him to do with it? He reached out to take it - please don’t think I’m lame - and you instantly squeezed his hand in return. You pulled him to his feet and backed up, pushing him into the crowded copse of trees.

“Stay here,” you whispered as you turned around. “I’m gonna-”

-a growl echoed right by his head and your hand was ripped from his grip. He didn’t scream when he saw you hit the ground a few feet away. No, he didn’t make any sound at all, he just forced himself between the trees. Twigs dug into his back but he pushed deeper.

A clawed hand swiped through the trees and slashed the strap of his backpack. It fell to the ground with a thud, and the claws were gone. He hadn’t gotten a good look, but it had been furry and big and-

-and it was a full moon.

The claw shoved through the trees again, this time getting closer and he could almost feel them touching his skin. This time he did scream, and the clawed hand pulled back before a furry eye peered through the small gap in the trees.

A piercing whistle echoed through the air.

“Over here, asshole!” You shouted.

The wolf turned and charged off with a snarl. Don’t do it, all of his instincts told him, but Eugene ignored them and leaned out of the trees right as you were slammed into the bark beside him. You slumped lifelessly to the ground.

“Fuck,” you mumbled as you head fell back against the tree. Eugene could see the blood pouring from your nose.

“Aren’t you a boxer?” Eugene asked, quickly pulling you to your feet and trying his hardest not to notice the blood you dripped onto his shirt.

“I don’t think he’s gonna play by the rules,” you said. It sounded like your words were drowning before you could get them out.

From his spot behind you, Eugene could finally see the wolf. It was big. It was very big. A bit of blood coated his claws - was it yours? - and he looked mean. He could feel your arm pressing against his shoulder as you guided him further away from the danger.

“Eugene,” you said quietly, your eyes never leaving the wolf in front of you.

“Yeah?” He asked; his eyes were locked on the same thing.

“Run.”

“What?” He asked, finally tearing his eyes away to look up at you. You looked angry.

“Now.”

He wasn’t sure he wanted to. Not when the wolf was looking at you like you were his next meal, and you were looking at him like you wanted a total smackdown. But when your bloody hand pushed him back one more time, soft yet forceful, he listened. He turned and ran and didn’t look back.

Not even when he heard the snarl mix with your own shouting.

—---

“Wednesday, you’re not paying attention.”

No. No she wasn’t. She couldn’t pay attention to the annoyingly happy movie Enid had picked out because something felt wrong. What it was, she couldn’t pinpoint exactly, but it was something. It was something in the air, or in her soul, or even just in her gut.

She didn’t know and it was infuriating.

“I know you had a vision during lunch,” Enid said. She paused the movie and turned until her legs were in Wednesday’s lap. “Was it about Y/N?”

Wednesday’s hand rested on Enid’s shin subconsciously - she hated that it was a subconscious reaction - and leaned back. She didn’t know if it was about you. The scream wasn’t clear enough to judge if it was yours or not. Oh god, she hoped it wasn’t yours.

“Would you feel better if we went to check it out?” Enid asked.

“Yes,” Wednesday said without hesitation.

“Then let’s go,” Enid said with her wolfy grin.

She stood up and grabbed Wednesday’s hand to pull her along, and off they went. It was past curfew so they had to be quiet, but it was easy enough to get out. The light from the full moon illuminated the woods in a way that was beautifully spooky. On any other night she would have loved to take you for a walk like this.

But not tonight.

Tonight her mind was running through every possibility of her vision. Screaming, blood, howling. Surely the howling wouldn’t be Enid, she hadn’t even wolfed out yet and it would be quite the coincidence if it happened at that moment. She didn’t believe in coincidences. Surely there had to be some hint in her vision that would tell her something-

“-Look out!”

Was that Eugene?

“Move it!”

No.

“That’s Y/N,” Enid said. A howl echoed through the trees.

I know! Wednesday thought as she started running toward the sound. I know it is! Why had you gone into the woods so late at night on a full moon? Why were you with Eugene? You were both so stupid, you were both supposed to be back at Nevermore-

“-Wednesday?”

What else? Pulling herself to a stop, Wednesday turned around to look at Enid. Or, what was Enid, but was now the beginning of a werewolf. With outstretched hands, Wednesday stepped closer - for comfort or support, she supposed - but quickly stopped herself as Enid finished her transformation.

Her first one.

What else could possibly happen?

Another scream echoed through the woods; much further than only moments ago. Enid’s wolf looked in that direction before sprinting off, leaving Wednesday behind. She stood there in resignation as she realised, no, she couldn’t keep up with a werewolf. So instead she grabbed Enid’s coat and started chasing after her.

She was going to quit questioning what else could go wrong.

“Enid?”

Wednesday would know your voice anywhere. If it was the last thing she ever heard, she would know it was yours. And if you were this far in the woods then it meant you had seen the wolf and-

-she stopped in her tracks the moment she noticed the unusual angle of your wing.

You turned around to face her, and she wished you hadn’t. Truly she wished you would have stayed facing Enid because this… this wasn’t something she was comfortable with. She felt nauseated at the sight of you, battered and broken and babying your left leg while your right arm hung limply at your side.

“Where’s Eugene?” You asked. How was she supposed to know? “Have you seen him?” No, why would you be asking about him when you were clearly standing at death’s door.

You huffed.

“Go help Enid,” you said; it sounded much more like a demand.

And Wednesday stood there as you limped away behind her, your voice echoing through the woods as you screamed for Eugene. She should have been worried about Eugene too; she should have cared. But it was hard to do when she couldn’t stop seeing your broken body.

“Eugene!” You shouted - no, screamed - again, and Wednesday’s eyes squeezed shut because no, it was all too much. She could hear Enid’s whimpering and your screaming and she couldn’t quit picturing your blood and it was too much.

“Willa, did you see that?!” Enid shouted, and even though Wednesday couldn’t see it she felt Enid shaking her shoulders. “I did it! I finally did it!”

“Eugene!” You needed to quit screaming. You needed to quit or Wednesday swore she was going to collapse. She couldn’t hear your voice crack like that.

“You look faint,” Enid said, her hands squeezing Wednesday’s shoulders just a bit more. “Are you okay?” She sounded worried now. Could everyone please keep their emotions in check, this was too much.

Wednesday finally looked and, oh. Oh, Enid was still completely nude. Oh, Wednesday still had her jacket. Her eyes widened just enough to see clearly before pulling the coat tight around Enid’s shoulders. She whispered a “thanks” before grabbing it with her own hands to secure it in place.

“You dick,” you shouted, and Wednesday turned around just in time to see you skip-running to where Eugene had suddenly appeared. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay,” Eugene said, but his words were muffled as your hands checked every inch of him.

Your bloody hands.

“You’re bleeding,” Eugene said as he grabbed your hands to stop them from moving.

“I’m fine,” you repeated, pulling away until you could lean back against a nearby tree. “Did you at least get the bugs?”

“They’re in my backpack,” Eugene answered as he held the torn backpack up.

“Good,” you sighed, “because we are never doing this again.”

It was a slow walk back to Nevermore. While Enid wasn’t injured, she was certainly exhausted and leaning on Wednesday for support. Beside her, you were practically falling over Eugene as you limped forward. The occasional grunts and groans from you went straight to Wednesday’s chest and she grew more concerned with each step.

Weems, of course, was waiting for all four of you when you finally made it back.

After everyone got checked out in the infirmary and the nurse had finally finished bandaging you up - “No flying, no boxing, no exceptions” - you had all been led to Weems’ office. The three of them were sitting outside while you were, admittedly, getting what Wednesday would consider to be the scolding of the century.

And she was absolutely eavesdropping.

"Who's decision was it?" Weems asked. "Which one of you decided it would be a wonderful night for a midnight stroll?"

"I did," you said. "I told Eugene he could hunt for his creepy crawlies if he came with me."

"And Misses Sinclair and Addams?" She pushed.

"I said they should spend date night with us," you said, "and I'd pay for their next date."

Wednesday heard Weems sigh.

"Do you understand how reckless that was?" Weems asked, her voice rising in volume. "How much danger you put everyone in?"

"It was just a walk-"

“On a full moon, no less!” Weems yelled. “You could have gotten all four of you injured. Or killed, for that matter.”

“Everyone is fine,” you argued back.

“What were you thinking?” Weems asked you, her voice taking on a completely different tone. Less angry.

“Clearly I wasn’t.” Wednesday could practically hear the eyeroll in your voice.

A sigh barely reached her ears before being followed by heels on the floor and the door opening. Weems stood there and looked at the three of them for a moment. Only a moment.

“Inside,” Weems ordered as she ushered them into the office where you were already sitting with your head in your remaining functional hand.

“It was my fault-”

“-I don’t care whose fault it was,” Weems interrupted Eugene, who shrunk into his oversized coat. “You all broke the rules and put yourselves in danger.”

“We’re sorry,” Enid said quickly. “It won’t happen again.”

“No it won’t,” Weems agreed. “Your three weeks of detention will ensure that.”

Enid and Eugene groaned and threw their heads back. Wednesday truthfully didn’t care, detention was the least of her worries, but you. You didn’t even seem phased by the punishment. No, you just shifted in the chair and scrunched your nose up as you tried to settle. Did you hurt terribly?

“Every day at 4pm sharp,” Weems continued. “My office.”

Everyone mumbled out acknowledgement of the punishment, but no one seemed over eager about such a thing.

“To your dorms,” Weems sighed. “Now.” You moved to push yourself up when Weems’ hand pushed you back down. “Except you.”

Wednesday followed Eugene and Enid out of the office, looking back only once to see you staring off into the distance with glazed eyes. The red tint of blood was still staining the skin around your lips and eye and you looked… broken. You looked broken and Wednesday didn’t know what to do about it.

All she knew was it made her feel… sad. You made her feel sad.

—---

“Go check on her,” Enid said for what must have been the seventh time since Wednesday had started writing. “You know you want to.”

“I want to finish my writing time,” Wednesday retorted as she started typing aimlessly on the typewriter. Again. It was turning more into a waste of time if nothing else.

“She’s practically been grounded,” Enid continued. “I’m sure she would love the company.”

Wednesday sighed and leaned back in her chair. Enid was right. She knew she was right. It had been a few days and no one had seen you except for class and detention. No extracurriculars, no outings, you hadn’t even been coming down for dinner. And she hated it because, though she wouldn’t admit it, she missed you.

“Fine,” Wednesday said with a sigh.

She didn’t bother even looking at Enid (who was still painting Thing’s nails) because she knew there would be a smirk being sent in her direction. No, she didn’t need that kind of ridicule. It was past curfew, but what was going to happen? Weems was going to give her more detention?

It was a quick walk to your dorm, but she stood in front of your door with her fist raised. Now that she was near you, almost alone with you, her heart was racing in her chest. It didn’t make sense, she had been alone with you plenty of times before, why was this any different?

But when you opened the door and jumped slightly, looking down at her with a black eye and that bandage on your cheek, she remembered why she was nervous. She wasn’t just alone with you, she was alone with an injured you. Could she touch you without hurting you? Would you be okay?

“What are you doing here?” You asked. Did you not want her there?

I’m here to see you, she thought, to make sure you’re okay. She wanted to make sure you were okay, and you were safe, and yes your heart was still beating. Yes you were still alive and not just some ghost everyone saw around campus.

“Move,” she said instead.

She caught the little smile on your face as you stepped aside and let her in. The door clicked closed behind her while her eyes roamed over your room. It looked different. Your usual nest was shifted further to the wall and pillows were shoved in the corner.

“You rearranged,” Wednesday said.

“Everything hurts,” you said with a half-shrug, “gotta sleep sitting up.”

Oh.

“You need rest.”

“Yes, mother,” you said with a roll of your eyes. But Wednesday saw the flush to your neck.

She followed you to your nest and waited for you to get settled before following suit. But once she was close, she didn’t know what to do. Did she get closer to you? Or maybe you would like some space; you were damaged after all. That was obvious by the way your right arm and wing were practically strapped in place so you couldn’t move.

“Just come here,” you said, and Wednesday didn’t have time to brace herself before you grabbed her arm and gently pulled her into your side.

On instinct she held her arm out to brace herself, but when you let out a short groan she tried to back away. Your arm just pulled her closer, and she froze. She froze because now you were leaning against the wall and holding her as if your life depended on it. Her fingers could feel the bandage underneath your shirt and she hated it.

“Chill, Addams,” you said when, supposedly, you realised she was still tense. “We slept together at your house, it’s not a marriage proposal.”

Yes you had both slept together, but it was at her house and it hadn’t been after you had been mauled by a werewolf. There hadn’t been the same tension because it was different. In the time since then you had ignored her, avoided her, apologised, and tried to get yourself killed. Wednesday wasn’t one to allow herself to feel many emotions, but you were starting to make it difficult.

“I guess we need a rain check for Saturday’s coffee,” you said, bringing Wednesday out of her thoughts. Oh yes. You had wanted to make up for avoiding her.

“There will be more Saturdays,” Wednesday said and finally, she let herself lean her weight into your side.

She could hear your heartbeat in your chest. It was fast, but Wednesday had learned it was fairly usual for you. All that really mattered was that it was beating and it was strong and steady. There wasn’t much for her to worry about if your heart would just keep beating.

“Let’s get some sleep,” you muttered, and Wednesday looked up at your face. You did look exhausted. She supposed she should agree and let you sleep, although…

Do it.

With gentle fingers, Wednesday cupped your jaw and turned you to face her. Her eyes darted to your lips just once before pulling you down. It was effortless really, you instantly got the hint and leaned down to kiss her. She let you take the lead so she wouldn’t hurt you, but that didn’t stop the heat building in her chest.

You deepened the kiss, leaning down until Wednesday could wrap her hand around the back of your neck. There was a hunger behind your kiss; something Wednesday couldn’t quite place. But she could feel your pulse under your skin and just knew hers was racing along with it. You shifted and-

“-ouch,” you hissed, pulling back until your forehead was resting against hers.

“Are you okay?” Wednesday asked in a shameful display of concern. She blamed you and the kiss.

“Guess I can’t lift my right arm,” you said with a light chuckle. “Cockblocked by my own hubris.”

“What?” Wednesday asked, pulling back just enough to look you in the eye. You were blushing.

“Nothing,” you mumbled, very quickly leaning back and pulling Wednesday down with you. “Guess I’m just tired.”

“Sleep,” Wednesday said. She had meant to sound demanding, but her voice was far too soft. Too caring.

“Sleep with me,” you said even though you were already fading.

Wednesday didn’t have time to give you an answer before your eyes closed and your breathing evened out. She just watched you, felt the rise and fall of your chest beneath her fingers, the occasional brush of your good wing against her arm. And as you slept, her lips brushed against the itchy fabric of the bandage as she leaned up to leave a lingering kiss on your cheek.

She settled into your side once again and closed her eyes. It was too intimate, too close. But your warmth enveloped her and you subconsciously pulled her closer with your good arm. And just like that, Wednesday fell asleep and, for the first night since the full moon, her dreams were void of nightmares.

[nerdyvocals]

9 People to Know Better (except I'm not tagging 9 people)

I don't normally do tag games, but I got tagged in this twice (by @jealous-kippen and @remmixx, my beloveds <3) so here I am! (also as I'm writing this out I am realizing that while both posts were titled the same way, it looks like they had different question prompts??? So I'm just gonna combine the two)

Favorite Color: Purple! Any shade will have my heart but I am partial to more red-toned purples. (PV, if that means anything to anyone who sees this other than me, you know who you are)

Currently Reading: Three things! In terms of actual books, I've been slowly making my way through the Riordanverse since my university did The Lightning Thief in my second year (first school in my state to do it once the rights were released!) since I somehow never got into Percy Jackson as a kid, and I'm currently on Son of Neptune. I'm also one like my third or fourth re-read of Eurydice by Sara Ruhl, since that's the play I'm designing the costumes for for my senior project. And in terms of fanfic, I woke up to a notification about this yesterday and Actually Screeched.

Last Song: Dial Drunk by Noah Kahan (ft. Post Malone), which was a bit of an accident. I use siri to request music while I'm driving and I asked for Dial Drunk and was singing along until I got jumpscared by the slight difference before Post Malone's verse. Although if you look at my spotify, the ROTPL album has been on repeat for weeks.

Currently Watching (Series): I've been hyperfixated on ROTPL and have watched it over a dozen times at this point, which is probably not healthy, so I put on NCIS last night for background noise while I ate dinner and accidentally watched like six episodes.

Currently Watching (Movie): Saw the Barbie movie the night before the actual opening with my coworkers (We don't cross picket lines people! I was not asked nor invited by any company, and I paid full price for my ticket. There's a one-screen theatre in the town where I'm doing summer stock, this relic from the 50's, and they were able to get access to the film a day early and did a special first come first serve premiere.) and we all sobbed the entire way through.

Current Obsession: Rise of the Pink Ladies. Full stop. I'd seen clips of it when it first aired in April but I was iffy on it in spite of how good it looked. Like most, I'm a little tired of reboots and remakes, and while I did clock Cynthia as being queer within two seconds, (I believe my exact words were "That's either a very butch lesbian or the eggiest egg to ever egg.") I was Convinced it was a queerbait situation. Plus I was nearing finals and didn't have time to get into a new show. But then Crushing Me was trending on tiktok and I realized this was not queerbait, so I put it on to have something playing while I packed for summer stock and it's been the only thing I can think about since mid May. It got me writing fanfic again for the first time in years, if that tells you anything. Speaking of,

Currently Working On: A follow-up to my previous fic, Steady, Steady! I wanted to have it up this week, but it is a behemoth. I'm a little over halfway through my plot outline and I'm at 10,441 words. Fun fact, this will be my longest single-chapter fic so far. Not just in the fandom, not just on AO3, but ever (so far!)

No-Pressure Tagging: @merely-a-player, @penguin-writes-books, @el-fandom-birb, @marley-barnes112, @isweartheyregayyourhonor, and @look-at-those-niceass-rocks (since I've already dragged you back to tumblr kicking and screaming)

[casp1an-sea]

100 follower event!

I finally figured out what to do for 100 followers! I’m going to make a digital sticker for everyone! (If your an irl I can technically give it to you in person) I know it’s not much, maybe I’ll think of something to add to it later, but I’m really exited about reaching this milestone and I wanted to do something for you guys! I may not be as fast as I want to because i have A LOT of unanswered art asks spanking months but I am going to commit to this. I am working on a post about how everything Will work so please wait till then to ask questions. I Will be tagging all my moots in it, but if you are a follower of my main blog or my side blog @hux-and-gay you can be included :)

—————————————————————————

@xen-blank, @thehollowwriter, @l7k-a,, @keii-starz

@krenenbaker @elenauaurs @the-banana-0verlord @edith-is-a-cat @dove-da-birb

@theosb0rnway @fizzydreamz @ravenwing0110

@diabollicallyangelic

@dragonflies-draw-flame @sunshinechildskywalker @silly-little-goober-core

@nancyreadsandwrites @cyan-magenta-your-mom

@lessdenied @fives-ren @thegeneralorder

@existing-sadly

@hpdmism @fridayincarnate

@rommonoch @tomatette @jaynesilver

@transmasc-vampire-is-tired

[bluiex]

I got to pirates smp an hour late and then had to dip before the stream ended nonetheless I was watching Scar's POV and now I'm having Scarian thoughts.

Mostly spoiler free all I really share is a mention of Scar's faction.

-@scitties-enjoyer

---

Scar drops the anchor on his boat. It's not much now, but one day he'll have something grand, he's sure of it. He hops down onto the rocky shore and picks his way inland.

In hindsight, maybe a single knife was not the right weapon, but Scar doesn't have anything better. Yet.

Scroll, scroll.. where was- Ah

Scar spends more than a moment reading the piece of paper... 'return to the mainland with the head of the isle's monster for 300 gold'

Yep, that's a good deal. Hopefully.

Unless it's something really vicious in which case, Scar is absolutely being ripped off here. Goddamn inflation.

Again, all he has is a knife.

This is... fine, probably.

Scar can hear Jellie meowing from his ship "I'll be back before you know it!" He reassures his cat.

It takes hours. He scours the island at least twice, with no success.

Then he spots a cave he didn't notice before, stepping in to an animal den of some kind where... a bird creature is goring the wolves.

Yeah this is ... fine actually. Mhm, definitely fine. Definitely not terrifying.

It's even more fine when the creature looks up at the sound of Scar's presence, dark eyes locking with his before it scrambles back in fear, wings braced around itself as if that can possibly protect it from him.

Scar makes a reckless decision, carefully putting his knife down behind himself. He's not completely stupid, if the bird-thing makes a lunge for his knife, he's dead.

Scar had been expecting an animal, not something that had the intelligence of a human. And Scar knows what it feels like to be hunted - or, knew once - so in a moment of uncharacteristic gentleness he's opening his heart to this so-called monster.

"Do you understand me?" Scar asks, softly.

The creature flinches at the sound of his voice. So it's that bad...

"I was sent to bring back your head. But neither of us want that."

The thing curls tighter around itself.

"My name is Scar. If we play our cards right we can get the reward money without you getting hurt."

The bird hisses. Which is progress, in Scar's eyes.

"I know how you feel, I do. If you come with me- if you come aboard my ship, you'll be safer." Scar feels a little faint, thinking of how mercilessly some of the other pirates would no doubt have already slaughtered this bird in Scar's shoes. "You could be my bird! Every pirate needs a bird!"

---

It's three days back to the kestrels' tavern base of operations. Or, it should be. It ends up taking Scar around a week, because Grian - the bird creature has a name! - doesn't quite have his sea legs yet so they have to stop at this island and that island and then Grian has to hide from other pirates

.Grian had gotten washed up after they left the cave, and it turns out that he's completely adorable under all that blood and viscera. Scar thinks it's very unfair that he can't just spend hours watching Grian, and instead has to steer his little ship.

Grian spends his time on the boat playing with Jellie, and honestly it warms Scar's heart.

It's one such stop where Grian finally accepts more than the bare minimum of physical contact necessary from Scar. It's particularly cold that night, sleeping under the stars, and Grian huddles up to Scar for warmth, burying his face in Scar's hair.

After that, it's like a switch has been flicked in Grian's brain. He's constantly latched onto Scar's arm, or perched on top of his hats, or his shoulder, asking questions.

---

Insert continued falling in love here I've run out of traction. Anyway the quest loophole Scar had *worked* so they do get the reward money

OOOOH BROOO THIS IS SO CUTE. PIRATE SCAR TAKING A CONTRACT TO KILL A CREATURE

And it being birb Grian- AAAAH this is so good Scitties. I love it so VERY MUCH

It takes awhile for Grian to come out of his shell fully and start speaking to Scar- he's started with the physical touch and protectiveness because Scar's his flock now

[jazzthatonewriterchick]

When I Get Home (Hawks x Black!Fem!Reader 18+ Angsty One Shot)

"Can really love a monster like me?"

Pairing: Keigo Takami x Black!Fem!Reader 

Synopsis: In which Keigo realizes how truly lucky he is to have you by his side despite his refusal to open up to you and show you how deep his scars run, so he decides when he finally gets home from his stupid fucking mission, he’ll show you his scars, his heart, and everything more. 

Warnings: MAJOR SPOILERS; Smutty Smut; 18+ (MINORS GTFO); Angsty Angst/Hurt/Comfort; Mentions & Use of Marijuana; High S*x; Shower S*x; Possessiveness; Scar Appreciation; Edge Play; Sensitivity; Marking; Biting; Foreplay; Cunnilingus; Deepthroating; Doggystyle; Mating Press; Subby, Feral Hawks; Unprotected Sex; Creampie, Facial; Wing-Stroking; Breeding Kink; Aftercare 

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters mentioned in this fic. However, as this is my writing, I do not give permission for my work to be reposted on any other sites that are not from my own accounts. Thank you!

Writer’s Note: Got another one shot for y'all and it's my first Hawks fic!! I love me some of that birb man. I was listening to Faith Evan's "Soon As I Get Home" & got inspired lol. Enjoy! AND FUCK ENDEAVOR. -Jazz

*********

Keigo hates the rain. 

It reminds him too much of his childhood days when he would aimlessly wander through the wet streets of his childhood home of Kyushu, looking for shelter and a place to lay his head and tired wings, too wet and weak to fly. 

A rainy night like this reminds him too much of those nights where he would escape his home to find solace in the streets, only to get nothing but some firsthand experiences of the hostility and black-heartedness of humanity: crime; abuse; violence. He’d find himself in the slums, surrounded by the degenerates of Kyushu, soaked to the bone in rain, shivering his poor little feathers off. 

But now, sitting and watching the sheets of rain fall along the city, his legs dangling off of one of the highest buildings in downtown Musutafu, he finds the rain a little comforting. Especially given his circumstances. 

He is in his hero gear, gloves, goggles and boots included. He isn’t sure why he decided to change into it before he left the penthouse, but something told him just to do it. After all, a hero’s job is never done. Maybe he just might get lucky and find himself stopping a robbery or a carjacking to distract himself. He’d need a lot of it to make himself feel less like shit for tonight. 

Whenever he closes his eyes, all he sees is you and the hurt in your pretty, brown eyes. Those eyes he wants to stare into forever. How could he hurt you so badly? How could a night that went as well as it could go at a charity ball end in such turmoil for the both of you? 

“Fuck,” he hisses, his head dropping into his hands as the memories of the past few hours begin to rewind in his head: 

“I just wanna know who she is to you,” you declared as you sat on the couch in your shared living room hours later. You were still in your gown from tonight–bright crimson to match Keigo’s wings, your hair curled to perfection and your heels making your legs look fantastic. He stared at you from the kitchen then while you unstrapped your Steve Madden heels, his hands itching to do it for you. 

“Why?” he asked, doing his best to not scoff at the question. “There’s nothin’ to tell, Y/N; I told you that.” As he headed into the kitchen, he loosened his tie with one hand and popped a button to his Armani button-down, glad to be out of his suit jacket and shoes. Though he looked good, he felt like a little kid being forced to dress for church. 

He went into the back where the walk-in pantry and wine cellar is to get himself a much-needed, chilled bottle of Merlot wine. When he returned to the kitchen, he glanced at you from across the marbled kitchen island. You were already staring at him from the living room, your red dress standing out against black couch.“But she isn’t a friend to you?” You asked, sounding agitated at his answer.“Or a coworker? You barely introduced me to her tonight, Keigo.” 

Now Keigo was agitated even though he shouldn’t have been. But damn, you always did this. You always tried to dig into him at the worst possible moments. Especially during a moment where all he’s trying to do is just relax after a night of acting.“Why the fuck does it matter?” He scoffed flippantly. 

Your eyes flared angrily at him.“First of all, don’t talk to me like that,” you sternly said, jabbing one acrylic nail at him.“You don’t have to be like that, okay? We’re just having a conversation here.” 

Keigo turned his back to you to get the corkscrew out the drawer next to the $800 stove with its electric stove top and Stirling steel oven.“No,” he argued, bumping his hip against the drawer to shut it.“What you’re doing right now is putting me on the spot when you know tonight took a lot out of me. You know I’m not built for shit like that wack ass fuckin’ ball, Y/N.” 

You gaped at him, dumbfounded.“I told you we didn’t have to go tonight, Keigo!” you protested, anger evident in your tone.“You wouldn’t listen to me!” 

You crossed those gorgeous legs over each other, the light glowing against your skin still shining with coconut oil. Keigo was initially excited to get you home tonight just to feast on those legs and perhaps fuck you in that dress before stripping it off of you. It was the only thing he had looked forward to for tonight despite being forced by the Hero Commission to attend that stupid charity ball to prove that Japan’s heroes were “conscious of civilians’ needs all over the nation”. 

It isn't that he hated charity. He wasn’t an asshole. He made sure to give his portion to hospitals, animal shelters, and homeless shelters all over Japan. He just hated being forced to put up with the annoying reporters and cameras in his face all night while he pretended to enjoy socializing with people that weren't his cup of tea and his nosey coworkers. 

He especially wasn’t looking forward to it when you had asked to go with him. He hadn’t ever taken you to a ball or any kind of event that was associated with his hero work in the time you’ve been dating him, but you understood the strict ways of the Hero’s Commission and how it was important for Keigo to keep up his “bachelor” image for as long as he could to gain more popularity. 

At least, that’s what you told him when he explained things to you. 

He had figured tonight wouldn’t be a big deal since security kept the paparazzi and reporters outside the venue, so he let you come along and met you inside the building after he was done dealing with the zoo animals with their note pads and microphones on the red carpet. 

However, he quickly realized how bad of a decision that was when his coworkers began swarming, asking him who “the beauty” was sitting with him; how you were; how long you two have been together; where he’s been hiding you at. 

And then, of course, Wanna had to show up. Fucking Kanna! Keigo would have rather had forgotten she existed, but there she was, in the flesh in her skin-tight dress with her publicist. She was a simple fling; a past summer he spent with a model before he met you. That was a different time for him. A time where he didn't give a fuck where he stuck his dick because he was desperate to rid himself of the nightmares for a night in someone’s bed. 

But seeing his past and his hopeful future interact the way you and Kanna did after Kanna made a show of throwing herself at Keigo and making conversation made him want to off himself right there. Especially when he saw your face when he didn’t introduce you to Kanna–disappointment; confusion; hurt. So much hurt. 

But you didn’t understand. And though you never will, Keigo knows that it is for the best.

“Correction: you didn’t have to go,” he cooly stated.“But I do! Are you forgetting I’m pro no. 2? Publicity matters. If I wasn’t there, the whole fuckin’ nation’s eyes would’ve been on me wondering where I was and coughing up shit for the next magazine cover.” 

He huffed to himself as he turned away from you once more to jab the screw into the cork to try and open the wine. When that didn’t work, he flung the cork screw away, nearly breaking it, and took the cork into his mouth. He pulled on the damn thing until it finally popped out of the nozzle. He then spat it out and reached above to grab himself a wine glass from the suspended wine glass rack before pouring himself a much-needed glass and taking a long gulp. 

As soon as the wine was in his system, he felt an inch better, but that anger at himself still chugged in his veins. Anger for not being real with you. For never telling you the truth. For never being the man you deserved. 

A tense silence coated the air between you in his penthouse. Ever since you started visiting since the first night you spent the evening with him in his bed, you’ve been here more than at your own apartment. Keigo doesn’t mind one bit. He feels so at home with you here, but even when you aren’t together, he feels at home with you….so why can’t he make you feel the same way? 

“Keigo, I didn’t mean to upset you,” you finally sigh.“I just felt like tonight you didn’t really want me there. I felt like you were embarrassed with me.” 

His eyes widen at the confession and fear grips him. ‘Oh, no,’ he lamented internally. ’Oh, no, no, no.’ That was the last thing he wanted to make you feel like ever. When he looked over at you, you had a despondent, oh-so sad look on your pretty, beat face. All because of his stupidity. “Why would you think that?” he all but whispers. 

“You barely looked at me,” you reply, your voice soft and defeated. “Barely touched me. Half of your coworkers didn’t even know you had a girlfriend, Kei.” 

Keigo pinched the bridge of his nose. He thought you’d been through this already.“You know why I can’t just go public with my relationships, Y/N. Don’t even start with this shit.” 

You stared at him for a moment, sizing him up, and for a moment, he thought you might start wilding on him. Your silence scared him even more though.“C’mon now,” he tiredly sighed. “It’s been a long night. Can’t we just forget tonight and roll somethin’ up?” He gave you a smile, hoping you’d say yes to some wine, some smoke, and some much-needed TLC after tonight’s events. 

But instead, you gave him a tight-lipped stare with a wall behind your eyes that made him realize that he’d be getting none of that tonight with you. He watched in utter defeat as you rose from the couch and strutted away upstairs to your bedroom, never turning to look back at him. 

When he heard the door slam behind you, he knew he fucked up. Epically. He put his head in his hands, feeling like screaming until his throat was raw, but he knew that would do nothing to fix this. This was a reoccurring problem between you two; one that always seemed to end in arguments and nights where he spent spent either on the couch or out among the skies. 

The truth was he wanted to desperately open up to you. He wanted to tell you why he hated every social event the Hero Commission forced him to attend. 

Why he hated the entire organization he worked for so passionately, but still allowed himself to be manipulated and exploited to save others. 

Why he had trouble sleeping and drinking habits. 

Why he never tells you about the past hookups and flings. 

Why he would sometimes smoke an entire bag of weed to rid himself of those horrible, itching thoughts of the past. 

Why he never visited his mother. 

Why he never visited Dabi in prison and who he was to you outside of a mortal enemy. 

Why he feels like he is undeserving of any success or good thing in his life. 

Why he hates himself. 

Why he doesn’t truly love himself at all. 

But he can’t lose you, and he knows if he were to ever reveal who he is behind the dazzling smile and charm, you would be gone for good. It’s better to keep those wounds closed anyway. 

You didn’t seem to think the same though. A half an hour later, while Keigo was sitting on the same couch you abandoned with his second glass of wine and the balcony door cracked to let in some of that cool spring air, you returned to the living room. You were out of your dazzling outfit from tonight, your face scrubbed free of makeup and only wearing one of his old shirts. You looked amazingly sexy to him like this. 

But he didn’t try to make a move or grab at you as you sat down. He didn’t even look at you. He knew you were there for a reason. You reached a hand out to stroke the burn scar that jet from the side of his jaw down to the column of his neck. “Your burn is healing,” you softly pointed out. “You know, you never really told me what happened to get you that.” 

Your fingers gently stroked his jaw, tentative and tender. “You never asked,” Keigo muttered, sipping on his Merlot. You leaned your head against the back of the couch, giving him a soft-eyed stare. “That’s ‘cause you’d never tell.” 

Keigo did his best to keep calm, but he hated this game you were playing with him. You were crossing a line with him here. He finally looked at you, accusingly.“What are you doing, huh?” He uttered, irked.“Why are you doing this?” 

“Doing what?” You asked. “I’m only asking you a question, Kei.” You truly didn’t know which pissed him off even more. “No, you’re trying to act like you’re asking a question when really, you’re poking the bear and blowin’ my buzz.” 

His tone was harsh and so are his words, but they were enough to coax you to speak your mind. You sat up and hugged your knees to your chest as you stared at him.“You never tell me about your scars.” 

Keigo flinched at your statement and his ghosts of scars littering his body seemed to itch.“That’s not true.” 

“It is,” you protested, your voice strained. You sounded close to tears and that hurt him even more. “You never share anything with me. Nothing about your missions, your friends, your past, nothing. I feel like I barely know you and we’ve been together for a year!” 

The frustration you were feeling was evident in your voice. Keigo sighed, placing his wine glass down on the glass coffee table in front of him. He looked at you, noticing how exhausted you looked aside from your irritated: dark circles under your eyes, a tight jaw.“Y/N, it’s just hard, okay? It’s not that simple to just tell you shit like that.” 

“Even though I have?” you retorted harshly, tilting your head to give him a fixed, sideways stare.“I’ve told you everything about me from the jump, Keigo. Even the things I wouldn’t even tell my closet friend! Don’t I deserve the same transparency?” 

Keigo heaved an exhausted sigh and ran his hands down his face. In the darkness behind his hands, he saw Twice’s body go limb, the blade of Keigo’s sword impaling his body.“I’ve done some fucked up shit,” he whispered into his hands. 

You placed a hand on his back.“I’d never judge you,” you promised. "We all make mistakes and none of us are perfect.” 

‘But you are,’ he thought. You are more than perfect. Way too much for someone like him. “I just can’t, okay?” he huffed, moving away from your touch. He ignored the hurt in your eyes. “Some things are just too painful to go back to, and I’d think with as much as you love and respect me, you’d respect my decision to keep things to myself.” 

“Well, I don’t!” you shouted abruptly, standing up to glare down at him. “So…now what?” 

Keigo stared up at you, feeling a flood of emotions begin to swarm him: gratefulness for your determination and stubbornness; confusion as to why you want someone like him; and anger for your refusal to leave this alone. He just wants to protect you from the messiness of himself. Why can’t you see that? 

The words are out before he can stop them and he regrets having that second glass:“Why are you so hellbent on making me your fuckin’ project, huh?” he cooly asked you, his voice as cold as ice. 

Your glared softened a bit.“What are you talking about?” 

He stood up too, giving you a sharp glare that made all of the color in your face drain.“You look at me as this tragic hero you’re tryna fix, don’t you?” he snapped. “I may have the sob story that almost every fuckin’ pro has, but I’m not a puzzle for you to figure out and I don’t appreciate being seen as that.” 

You gaped at him, your mouth open agape.“Are you serious right now?” you scoffed incredulously.“Keigo, I’m only trying to get to you to know you. And you’re not a project or a puzzle–you’re an amazing, passionate man that I adore and I just want to fuckin’ know you!” 

The scream ripped from your throat after being buried under months of frustration and stress. Keigo could hear it as clear as day. He stood there, shocked, as you began to break down, your hands covering your face as you cried. 

“Is that too much?” you sobbed into the open air.“Why won’t you let me in? Why won’t you let me see you?” He could see every ounce of frustration and hurt that he was causing you begin to take its toll, rolling down your cheeks in fat tears that plopped onto the cherrywood floor below your painted toes. 

Keigo immediately strode over to you and closed the gap between your bodies by wrapping his arms around you. He held you as you quietly sobbed into his chest, gripping his arms as you did. He felt horrible. He had never felt more like shit for making you feel like this.“I’m sorry,” he whispered.“It’s not that I don’t want to, baby bird. But I’m just too ugly.” 

You stared up at him, astounded at his confession. “Just trust me on this, okay? You’d need a fuckin’ team to help clean this mess up. I don’t want to burden you with that.” 

“But you’re not a burden!” you protested, tears in your pretty eyes.“You’re anything but a burden to me, Kei! I just wanna understand you.”

You cupped his face in your hands, forcing him to stare at you.“Why do you feel the need to hide yourself from me?” You implored, begging him to answer. 

He groaned tiredly, gently taking your hands off of his face. “Y/N, just drop it, alright?” he implored. He turned, wanting to walk away from this entire situation. 

You followed, ever the stubborn one. “But why–“ 

“I said drop it!” Keigo bellowed, and his wings flared before he could stop them, his feathers sharpening to points. You frozen immediately, your eyes widening in fear like a deer in headlights. 

He and you were both shocked at Keigo’s sudden change in demeanor. He had never reacted this way towards you, because you were never perceived as a threat to him. But something in his hawk-like instincts saw you as one right now. In that brief moment, you were a villain to him, and that frightened him beyond words. 

Quickly, his muscles loosened and he fluffed his feathers out, lowering his wings down against his back. “Y/N,” he began softly, wanting to apologize. But it was too late. Instantly, you turned around and sprinted away from him until you were up the stairs and slamming the guest room door behind you once again. 

Keigo was left standing there, feeling like the worse person on the planet. And he was. His head began to fill with every negative thought that haunted him at night: You’re a loser. You’re a fake. You’re a horrible boyfriend. You don’t deserve her. You should just leave so she can find someone better. 

So what does Keigo do when his head is his worst enemy? He goes out and patrols. 

He finished his wine before heading upstairs to his bedroom and entering his walk-in closet to suit up. After putting on his hero gear, he passed by your room. Though the door is unlocked, he knocked anyway and waited for your little grunt of acknowledgement before he entered. You were sitting in the black armchair facing the small balcony of your guest room, your legs tucked against your chest. 

You didn't face him when he slid inside. “I’m gonna go out and patrol,” he said, getting right to the point. “You know the alarm code to turn it on, right?” 

“I’ve got it, Keigo,” you muttered numbly. “Just go.” You still didn’t look at him and it pained him greatly. “I’ll be back tonight as soon as I can,” he weakly said, trying to vain to ease the fire he caused. 

“Don’t bother,” you grumbled. “Just go. I’ll see you whenever you get back…if you decide to come back.” 

Realizing you were never going to acknowledge his presence, Keigo silently left your room, his heart breaking in two. He then strode over to the balcony in his living room, slipped out the door he left unlocked specifically for himself, and took off from the terrance, his crimson wings flapping into the night. 

He has been out here since, desperately trying to clear his head as he stares into the night and the rain. He stares up at the sky, watching the droplets fall. "Give me some answers here,” he pleads, not sure who he’s talking to–God; the rain; the universe. 

Almost as if he is heard, his work phone suddenly rings. He usually keeps it in the pocket of his hero gear pants, fully-charged, of course. 

He slips it out and looks down at the caller ID, finding the HPSC chief’s name on his screen. 

“Fuck,” he mutters, rolling his eyes. He knows that whatever it is, it can’t be good. He answers the call with an annoyed, “Hawks.” 

“We need you out and patrolling,” the HPSC chief bluntly said, his voice gruff and aggressive. “We got another tip on the villain that has currently been terrorizing the city since the beginning of the month. A couple of civilians reported that they spotted him near the bridge. We’ve already got Mirko and a couple of others down there patrolling in different areas. We need you to join in case he attacks and civilians may need help.” 

Immediately, Keigo rises from his spot on the building and cracks his neck. “Got it. I’ll be there in five.” As soon as he hangs up, he stretches out his wings and proceeds to head towards the bride that hangs above the Musutafu river, doing his best to fly among the pounding rain and thunder. 

When he finally makes it to the bridge, he finds himself breathless at the chaos: the bridge is completely cut in half, one of the sides slipping down into the murky depths of the blackened water below; vehicles slide across the apsault into the water as their passengers scramble to safety, being escorted by other heroes to the other side of the bridge that is still intact. Yellow, inflatable lifesaver boats bob against the black water below, either to catch anyone who falls or look for bodies. 

The villain has already begun his attack, Keigo realizes. He doesn’t see the guy now, but he knows he’ll have to put everything into stopping him if he’s this powerful and deranged with his quirk. He cannot be Keigo tonight. He has to be Hawks. 

But before he springs any further into action, he quickly flies over to the rocks several feet away from the bridge onto the river’s shore. The only things here are the waves, the rain, and him. His hands shake as he dials your number, tiny, wavering breaths leaving his lips. He doesn’t know why he feels so small and so scared right now, but something about this mission and leaving things with you the way they are don’t sit right with him. 

So he calls you. When you don’t pick up, he expects it, but even so, he wants to hear your voice before he goes into this fight. But at least you’ll be able to hear his. When the beep signals the beginning of his voicemail, he doesn’t have time to think of what to say. He just says it. 

“Hey, it’s me,” he sighs. “Hero's Commission called. They need me down at the bridge in case a villain attacks tonight. Supposedly, he’s been making trouble for over a month now and we’ve been trying to track him.” 

He trails off, his brain trying to think of what else to tell you. Anything he’s sure he’d regret not saying sooner if he happens to kick the bucket tonight. “I’ll be home as soon as I can, but if for some reason that doesn’t happen, just know that I’m so sorry I’m so fucked up.” He presses a fist to his pounding head, gritting his teeth in frustration. “I just don’t tell you about it, about me, because I don’t want you to worry and…” 

He pauses, gnawing at his bottom lip. The words push at his throat, threatening to rip from his chest. 

“Dammit, because I love you,” he declares, strained and his heart pounding as fast as a hummingbird’s wings. “I’m so, so in love with you, and I’m so afraid that if I’m to ever tell you why I am the way that I am, you’ll never love me or want me in the same way. I…” 

He trails off, a sob leaving his mouth. He covers it at first, afraid someone might hear, but no one is around. No one but him. “I’m so scared you’ll leave,” he confesses, his voice wavering. “But I just keep pushing you away from me,” he says, his voice trembling. “I keep fucking this up for myself.” 

The dam behind his eyes breaks and he begins to softly sob to himself, keeping himself as quiet as he can so he doesn’t scare you. How lame to be crying to your girlfriend in a voicemail. 

But as quickly as it came, it vanishes and he pulls himself together. He clears his throat and takes his goggles off to wipe at his eyes. “This voicemail didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” he chuckles dryly. “Just know that this is how I feel about you and I promise I’ll be home.” 

Without another word, he ends the voicemail and stares out at the bridge. The sound of terrified and panicked screams echoes in the wind. Sounds of chaos. 

Keigo balls his hands into tight fists at his sides and pockets his phone. But not before turning it off entirely. 

************* 

“Just take a deep breath, honey,” your friend soothes you over the phone. “Everything’s gonna be okay.” 

“But what if it’s not?” you pitifully sob into the phone. “He’s out there right now, I have no idea where he is, and the last thing on his mind conscious is us fighting!” 

You’re sitting on the couch now in Keigo’s penthouse, still in his shirt. His coffee table is littered with a half-empty glass of wine, his opened bottle of Merlot that you started guzzling down, and bits of weed from the clumsy blunt you rolled for yourself to soothe your nerves. 

None of that helped you, so now you’re here, about to tear your hair out. When Keigo had left, you ventured out of the guest room to rummage through his wine and his weed since both aren’t hands-off for you. “Anything that’s mine is yours, baby bird,” he had told you a year ago when you had spent the night and forgot your toothbrush. He shared his with you with no problem. 

That was the first time you had spent the night with him after a magical date and some even more magical sex. You had fallen hard, and him even harder, since the first day he saw you, in fact. 

You had been walking to work, looking so pretty in your pink blouse and your work slacks with an ass that could stop traffic. It had stopped Keigo dead in his tracks. He was doing day patrols and had caught sight of you, causing him to lose track of his conversation with a police officer about the possibility of new villains. 

He didn’t catch up with you and spit game immediately as he usually did with women he was interested in. First, he flew alongside you at a distance you couldn’t see him to make sure you got to work safely. Then, after realizing you worked as an interior designer, he had pretended he was in need of renovating his agency. 

“I just need a little bit of color, y’know?” he said as he sat in your office, loving your smell and your eyes. “Like this pretty pink you’ve got on.” He eyed your blouse, smirking at the way you froze when you realized he was flirting. 

You had never been flirted with so openly before like that, especially by a pro. And especially by someone as sexy and as charming as Hawks. His boldness and confidence turned you on and you found yourself wanting more of him. When he asked for your card (for business purposes), you had agreed. The renovations for his agency never happened, but a date did. 

That was all just a year ago. Now here you are now, all stress and uncertainty and marijuana smoke in your lungs. “I should’ve never brought any of it up,” you lament. “I feel like a fucking asshole.” 

“Sweetie, you’ve been with the guy for a whole year!” your friend argues. “If he hasn’t opened up to you by now and shown you the him he is without the cameras in his face and his hero facade on, then he isn’t the one for you.” 

You know she’s right, but the idea of leaving Keigo pains you beyond words. You have too much invested into him to just leave when things get tough. You knew what you were getting into the moment you decided to embark on the journey of a romantic relationship with him since he happens to be a hero. 

You told him and yourself you were fine with the late nights where he’d be MIA and the missed calls. The constant wondering and worrying. The sneaking around and being discreet about your relationship for the sake of his status. 

All you want in return is some closeness. Some vulnerability. Something to make you feel like you’re wanted and cherished the way you want and cherish him. But he’s never given you any. You sometimes question if you’re asking for too much from him, knowing how hard his job is and how stressed he can be. 

But even so, the yearning to know his secrets still pushes at you every time he brushes off a new scar or tells you vague events of his past that end in him not wanting to talk about it anymore. And though you respect him enough to leave it alone, you know you need more. 

“Has he even told you he loves you?” your friend asks, bringing you back down to earth. 

You flush at her words. “We haven’t gotten there yet,” you reply, almost embarrassed by the fact. “I’ve been holding back telling him because I know his job is hard and…” 

‘And I don’t wanna scare him,’ you think. You know this is the longest relationship Keigo has had. You as well since your past relationships had never gone past a couple months or sex. But with Keigo, it’s different. You feel safe with him. You can be wholeheartedly and undoubtedly yourself. You love him, but you keep it inside. All to keep him comfortable. 

“Now what if I don’t get the chance to tell him at all?” you ask, quickly beginning to cry again. Every word left unspoken begins to bubble at your throat, coming out in anguished sobs. 

“Okay, stop,” you friend firmly says. “First off, put down any alcohol or smoke ‘cause it’s making you paranoid.” You eye the wine and the weed littering the coffee table. 

“Second, Keigo is going to come home to you. He just went out for a breather and he’ll be back. Plus, he’s a smart guy and he’s a pro! He knows how to get himself out of any kind of situation.” You listen to your friends word, taking deep breaths to calm yourself. “I guess you’re right,” you weakly say. 

“I am right,” she states with conviction. “Just rest for now and when he comes home, give him time to decompress. Then tomorrow, you can apologize and talk about what happened. Simple, right?” 

You nod, but even as you try to persuade yourself that your friend’s words are true, you still feel that twist in your gut at the idea of tomorrow. What if he isn’t here tomorrow? What if you pushed him so hard that he left? Or what if something worse has happened? 

“Just sleep, honey.” Your friend’s words drift to your ear again like a prayer; beacons in the void of darkness. “Everything is going to be okay.” 

Though you don’t really believe her, you do as she says anyway. After she hangs up, you clean up the living room and venture back to your guest room to sleep off your frustrations. The effects of the wine and the blunt combined with the aftermath of crying hit you immediately, making it easy to drift off to sleep. 

You sleep for over three hours until you awaken in the darkness of the guest room. Groggily, you look at the clock: 2:04 AM. Immediately, you reach for your phone which you put on ‘do not disturb’. There, on the screen, are one missed call and one voicemail from Keigo. 

Your heart skips a beat and the fogginess of sleep leaves your head as fight the urge to ignore it. This could be important. You click on the message and put it on speaker, placing your phone flat on the bed. You bring your knees to your chest and hug yourself, tucking your nose into Keigo’s shirt collar and breathing in his cologne. 

The beginning of the message is disoriented and loud, the sound of the wind cutting through before you hear Keigo’s beautiful, wonderful voice. As soon as you hear him, you’re calm. 

“Hey, it’s me. Hero's Commission called. They need me down at the bridge in case a villain attacks tonight. Supposedly, he’s been making trouble for over a month now and we’ve been trying to track him.” 

Your heart drops into your stomach. A villain attack. Of course! That’s why he isn’t home yet. “Oh, my God,” you fearfully whisper, covering your mouth. 

“I’ll be home as soon as I can, but if for some reason that doesn’t happen, just know that I’m so sorry I’m so fucked up. I just don’t tell you about it because I don’t want you to worry and…” 

He trails off and you swear, your soul leaves your body as you anticipate his next words. But nothing could’ve ever prepared you for them. As soon as you hear those three little words that mean so much to so many, your breath hitches and you come back to life, feeling like you’ve been dead all night: 

“Dammit, because I love you. I’m so, so in love with you, and I’m so afraid that if I’m to ever tell you why I am the way that I am, you’ll never love me or want me in the same way. I…I’m so scared you’ll leave.” 

His voice begins to tremble and waiver, hitching as he begins to cry. You’ve never heard him cry before. Your heart aches for him, your body desperate to be against his. 

“But I just keep pushing you away from me. I keep fucking this up for myself.” 

“No,” you whisper, beginning to cry yourself. The fact that he’s felt this way for so long, suffering in silence, is a reality that is worse than anything you could’ve imagined. 

Finally, he clears his throat and you know that the end of the voicemail is near. “This voicemail didn’t go the way I wanted it to. Just know that this is how I feel about you and I promise I’ll be home.” 

When the voicemail ends, you sit there in silence, the newfound information processing in your brain. All you can think about is one thing that you still cannot believe is a fact as true as day: ’He loves me. He really loves me.’  

Suddenly, everything makes sense and the world is clearer to you. All the uncertainty and doom you felt have vanished, replaced with a fluttering in your heart that belongs only to Keigo. Delirious with need, you jump out of bed and immediately go to his bedroom to search for his sweatpants and a hoodie. ‘I have to go find him. I need to see him.’ 

You don’t know where he is or where he could be calling from, but if there is a villain attack then social media will have the first place to search. As you venture into Keigo’s master bedroom to search for clothes, preparing to fight the rain and the city’s chaos to find him, a sound stops you. 

It is the sound of the click of the lock to the balcony doors. Then the sound of the doors as they slide back. 

“Hawks,” you immediately whisper to yourself. Then, louder, “Hawks!”, as you immediately race out of the bedroom to the living room just in time to see him walking through the doors after landing on the terrace. 

“Keigo!” you gasp, every emotion hitting you at once watching him in the dark living room. The only light is from the big, silver moon illuminating Keigo while the rest of him is shrouded in darkness. 

“Hey,” he tiredly greets you as he shuts the door behind him. You feel like God as blessed you bringing him home in one piece. Now, you can really tear into his ass. “God, why didn’t you call and tell me you’d be back?” you snap, not daring to let him rest for a second. “I’ve been worried sick about you! I was gonna…” 

Your words die in your throat when the overhead light that automatically switches on according to body movement flicks on, coating the room in a golden glow that shines right on Keigo and the fresh bruises and scratches he’s sporting. He doesn’t look that bad, but you can tell his right eye socket is swelling and his wings look ragged and worn “Keigo,” you softly gasp, the word almost getting caught in your throat. That’s all you can begin to say. 

“You listen to my voicemail?” he asks curiously, but not rudely. You nod slowly, mouth still open in awe. “A villain destroyed the bridge and nearly had every vehicle on there goin’ into the river. He has the ability to extend his limbs, so he made a couple of other extended arms and legs to go along with ‘em.” He huffs in annoyance. “Motherfucker looked like Doc Ock from Spiderman.” 

“Is everyone okay?” you softly ask. 

“After a couple of my coworkers and I got to the guy, yeah,” Keigo replies, kicking off his boots. He places his goggles on a nearby table. “First, I had to fetch as many bodies as I could that the fucker kept flingin’ over the bridge to taunt me. Gang Orca and Eraserhead took care of the rest of the civilians once I caught up to the villain. Then it was just us vs. him. Once Eraserhead got near him, he took the fucker's quirk and the cops put him in handcuffs.” 

“That’s good,” you reply, relief filling you. Mostly at the fact that he’s still here, alive and breathing. Silence falls between you, tense and filled with unspoken words. You nervously wriggle your fingers, feeling small under Keigo’s unwavering gaze. “Listen, Kei,” you nervously begin. “I’ve been goin’ crazy in here ever since you left and I’m so, so sorry for–“ 

Keigo suddenly puts up a hand to silence you. Your words abruptly cut off and you button your lip, your heart pounding in your chest. You wonder if he can hear how loud it is because you sure can. It is pumping wildly in your ears, making you even more of a nervous wreck. 

“Since you got my voicemail, you probably already know a lot of what I’m about to say, but I’m goin’ to tell you properly because you deserve it.” He takes a deep breath, preparing himself. You stay silent and patient, waiting for him to come to grips with whatever he is fighting. “I suppose I should be grateful that eight-armed dickhead decided to cause commotion tonight,” he dryly chuckles. “I had went out to clear my head; to distract myself. What better way to do all that than to kick some ass and save some lives?” 

He unzips his jacket and lets it fall to the floor, revealing his shirt and toned arms underneath. “But while I was doin’ all of that, other than thinking about stopping that villain and saving the innocent lives of all of those people, all I could think about tonight was you.” 

His gaze soften as he looks at you. Your heart pumps a bit faster. 

“I thought to myself, ‘when I finally put this motherfucker behind bars, when my mission is finally done, I’m going home’.” 

He steps toward you, eyes still locked with yours, never wavering. It makes you tremble in your position. “‘And as soon as I get home, I’m falling to my knees, begging for forgiveness, and showing my baby all of me and more because she fucking deserves it’.” 

He takes another two steps toward you before suddenly dropping to his knees in front of you. “So this is me doin’ all of that now. Plus, showing you how much I love you.” 

He leans toward you and wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him so his face is pressed into your stomach. You stare down at him in awe, unable to speak. You’re afraid that if you do, the moment will disappear and so will he. 

“I never said I before,” Keigo continues, “because I was afraid it wasn’t the right time or I’d end up fucking everything up for myself. Plus, loving someone always seems to backfire on me.” He strokes up your thigh, holding onto your hip. “So I kept it in, just like everything I haven’t told you yet.” 

His hands, so careful yet so strong, trail up your hips and ball into his shirt, gripping the fabric. When his hands and shoulders begin to tremble, you realize he’s crying. You’ve never seen him cry before. It is a sight you never want to see again. 

“I’m a mess, Y/N,” he tearfully says. “When we met for the first time, I never wanted you to see any of that. I didn’t even want this to turn into what it is now, but I’m so, so grateful it hasn’t.” He looks up at you, eyes red and wet with tears. “I’m so happy you didn’t leave.” 

Your heart wrenches at the sight of your boyfriend–so sad and so broken. How is a person as bright-eyed and confident as Hawks also someone like this? He must have hid all of this from you for some time. You wrap your arms around his neck, cupping the back of his head in one of your hands. “Keigo, I’d never leave you.” Your fingers caress his blonde curls, stroking his head softly. “I promise.” 

“You can’t promise me that,” he croaks, shaking his head. “How do you know you won’t get tired of me? How do you know I won’t scare you off?” 

“Keigo, you’re scaring me now,” you confess, feeling your own fresh set of tears beginning to make an appearance. “I’m scared we won’t make it because you refuse to open up to me.” 

Keigo’s expression changes to one of confusion, his eyes narrowing as he scowls at you. “So you’re telling me that if I tell you all about my childhood, you promise you won’t leave?” he asks, a bite in his voice. “If I tell you about the abuse, the trauma, the shit I witnessed from my own parents, being stripped of my name when the Hero’s Commission picked me up, learning that the same man who saved me and inspired me to become a hero is a fuckin’ abuser, you’d stay?” 

You stare down at him, dumbfounded and horrified. You never knew any of this, though you did know the part about Endeavor since it was all over the news. But that other stuff? Keigo kept entirely to himself, leaving you in the dark. 

“What about the scars?” He moves away from you slightly to strip himself of his shirt, revealing a very impressive, toned upper body and a slew of scars–some new and some healed. “All the training I forced to undergo by the Hero Commission. Some that have barely healed from nearly dying during missions. This burn here that I got tryna save a fuckin’ villain.” 

He points at the burn on his jaw and your stomach lurches. “Twice?” you ask, your eyes wide. “You tried to save Twice?” You know a little bit about this event, mostly because it was publicized everywhere and Keigo was forced to tell you some of what happened after he had nightmares. But now that a year has gone by and most of the LOV have been arrested, it has become old news. People have moved on. 

But Keigo obviously hasn’t. He visibly cringes at the sound of Twice’s name, the trauma still fresh. “And what about him?” He demands, his voice cracking. “What about the fact that I fucking killed him?” 

“Keigo, he was a villain,” you firmly respond, taking his hands into yours. “You gave me a chance. He didn’t take it.” 

But this isn’t enough to calm Keigo down. He crumbles again, his lips trembling and eyes welling with tears. You instantly wrap your arms around him and hold him, cradling his head. “I feel like a fucking monster, Y/N,” he sobs into your stomach, gripping you for dear life. “I feel like I’m drowning and I’m gonna pull you right in with me. I don’t want that. I just wanna make you happy…” 

His fingers slide under your shirt to expose your stomach and he presses his face there, wetting your skin with tears. “Can you really love a monster like me?” he whispers against your skin. 

He begins to cry again, his body wracked with sobs and soft whines that tear at your soul. A lone tear drips down your face as you continue to cradle your boyfriend like he’s a child. And right now he is–he’s the exact neglected, abused, broken child he alluded to minutes before. You picture him as a little boy, roaming the streets of his home, doing anything and everything to survive because no one cared enough to care for him. You’ll make sure that never happens again. You swear it. 

Gently pushing him away from your stomach, you take his hands into yours and join him on the floor. He stares at you in awe, eyes red and face wet. “I have two answers for you,” you gently coo, smoothening his hair back. “To answer your first question is yes, I promise I’ll stay as long as you show me everything.” 

You cup his jaw and caress the burn scar. His eyes flutter closed at your touch, tears sparkling on his blonde lashes. “I want it all, Keigo: the scars; the bruises; the wounds. Tell me every secret you have; every dream and aspiration; every fear that keeps you up at night.” 

You lean in to kiss the burn then his bruised eye. “Let me take all of it, especially your pain.” You continue to kiss his face before trailing down to his neck and shoulders; his arms and collarbone; his chest and pert nipples. You kiss every bruise, scar, and burn you find, your fingers trailing over them. You treasure every soft moan and gasp he lets out, happy to have them over sobs and whines of anguish. 

“I don’t wanna fix you–I just wanna water you; nurture you; watch you grow the way you’ve done me.” You look at him then, cupping his face in your hands. “I just wanna love you the way you deserve to be loved.” 

His eyes widen an inch at your confession. “Yes, I love you, Keigo,” you softly giggle. “That’s my answer to your second answer: yes, I can love a monster. But you’re not a monster, Keigo. You’re just a human, even with these big ass wings.” 

You gently tickle a wing with your fingers, making him laugh under his breath. “You’re an intelligent, strong, beautiful man who deserves every inch of my love,” you whisper to him as you lean toward him, nuzzling your face into his neck. You breathe in his scent of sweat and cologne, committing it to memory. 

Keigo holds you to him, cradling your head to his neck. His hold on you is fierce and passionate, validating his feelings for you even before he utters them. “I really love you, you know that?” he whispers against your ear. Your heart jumps and a joyful grin stretches across your face. You look up at him, tracing every single feature of his pretty face with your eyes. “I do now,” you softly reply. 

He smiles at this, the act finally reaching his beautiful eyes. You trail your thumb over his bottom lip, your stomach curling at the plumpness of it. “Wanna smoke?” you ask, raising a playful eyebrow. 

At the mention of rolling up, Keigo’s wings ruffle excitedly and you giggle. “I thought you’d never ask,” he sighs, sounding like he needs it. With no hesitation, you help him to his feet and proceed to set up. You ask him to roll the blunt which he does, his fingers and tongue working expertly to tighten the blunt in a way you can’t. But then again, Keigo has always been good with his hands and mouth. 

After he finishes, you begin to pass the blunt back and forth between each other as you play your music from your phone, the sound of SZA filling the living room. Soon, you’re feeling light as a feather and high as a kite. Your body and mind are relaxed, especially feeling the solid chest of your man underneath you as you lie against him. 

The blunt lays on the ashtray on the coffee table now, smaller now after use. You reach for it and pinch it between your index and thumb before taking a puff, the end of the blunt turning red like an angry firefly. As soon as the smoke hits your lungs, you’re falling deeper into that sea of bliss. You look up at Keigo, finding his eyes fluttered closed. At first you think he's sleep, but his arm circling around your waist tells you different. “Feelin’ good, Kei, baby?” you coo to him, your eyes flickering between his eyes and his lips. You desperately want to kiss them. 

“Mmm,” he hummed, a content smile on his pretty face. The sight makes you giggle. You start to laugh even more when he suddenly circles his other arm around you and pulls you into his lap. “Don’t want you to leave,” he mutters to you as he grips your waist, firmly holding you to him. 

You wrap your arms around his neck, kissing his forehead. “You have me,” you whisper to him. He looks up at you, eyes slightly red and glinting with adoration for you. “And you have me,” he replies, soft conviction in his voice. 

“Promise?” you utter hopefully. He slowly nods, staring at you the same way you do him: intensely; adoringly. Your fingers trail up his chest, his heart pounding underneath your fingertips. ‘He’s real,’ you think. ‘And all mine. And I need him.’ 

The want and need for Keigo and his body dawns on you quickly, quickly taking its toll on you. Your nipples harden and your thighs squeeze together as you begin to strip him out of his clothes with your eyes. “Prove it then,” you demand, need crawling into your voice. “Prove how much you love me. Prove to me that things will be different.” 

Realization alights behind Keigo’s eyes and his expression darkens slightly. It excites you. He coaxes you off of his lap before standing to meet you. “Come here,” he coos, already taking your hand in his. “Let’s get cleaned up.” You nod, excitement and anticipation filling your core with warmth as he leads you up the steps and straight down the hallway to his master bedroom. 

Keigo has over four bathrooms in his penthouse: in his bedroom, guest room, down the hall, and living room where his washer and dryer sit closest to the kitchen. The bathroom in his bedroom is by far the most beautiful, complete with marbled sink counters, a whirlpool tub, and a walk-in shower with a sliding glass door and one of those shower heads that make the water look like a rainforest waterfall. 

You watch, trembling in anticipation as Keigo gets the shower ready. He makes sure it’s at the right temperature to warm you up but not burn you before turning to face you, lust in his eyes. He then begins to undress himself, taking everything off until his hero gear is on the floor and he’s standing before you, completely bare. 

You’re silent, unable to speak. You’re too tongue-tied at the sight of your man’s body displayed before you like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Keigo is not extremely buff, but he still has some impressive muscles, including well-defined abs and a V-line that trails down to his tufts of darker blonde curls that you desperately want to venture towards. His gorgeous, muscled body is unfortunately scarred as well, fresh bruises and cuts coating his skin from the mission he just completely tonight. In addition, he still has scars from where Dabi burned him a year ago, the skin tight and pruned. You feel tears prick your eyes, realizing that it’s quite possible that you would’ve never seen his gorgeous body again. 

You close the gap between you and lay your hands flat on his chest. With your eyes locked with his, you begin to kiss every single old scar and bruise that adorns his soft, tanned skin. You’re careful with those that look fresh, making sure to skip those and focus on the ones that have been on Keigo’s body for months if not years. 

As you do, you find pleasure in the tiny sighs and groans that leave his lips, knowing he’s enjoying this TLC. It makes you feel good to know you’re making him feel good. You want him to know you enjoy every single part of him, no matter if he’s scarred or not. You think he’s beautiful. 

Finally, he pulls you away and gives you an excitably, darkened stare. You know what he wants now. Quickly, you go to strip yourself of his shirt, but he stops you. “Let me,” he gently orders, and you let your arms go limp at your sides. He presses his lips to yours and pulls you into a passionate, wet kiss as his hands slide up under his shirt. 

You softly moan into his mouth as you feel his hand on your bare skin. “You look so fuckin’ good in my clothes,” he whispers against your lips. “Even when you’re pissed at me, you still wear my shit.” 

He brings the shirt up more, exposing your panties, stomach, and bare breasts to him. He groans as he pulls the shirt up over your head and flings it across the bathroom before ducking down to play with your tits. He latches one of the hardened peaks of your nipples into his mouth, swirling his tongue around and around. 

You moan a little louder, your hands grasping his shoulders. “Missed you,” you softly utter, biting back another moan as his tongue teases your hardened nipple. He peers up at you, smiling. “I missed you too, baby,” he whispers. “So much.” He presses his lips to your other breast, his fingers sliding down your sides. “M’so sorry for everything. I never should’ve pushed you away. I–“ 

“Hush,” you say, pressing a hand to his cheek. He looks up at you, regret in his eyes. “Show me how sorry you are now.” He doesn’t need to be told twice. Immediately, he stands and takes your hand to walk you into the steaming-hot shower. As soon as you are under the jets of hot water, Keigo pushes you against the tiled wall and presses a passionate kiss to your lips. 

You moan softly against his lips, wrapping your arms around him to bring him closer to you; as close as he can possibly be. He puts one hand above your head against the wall as he begins to grind his hips into yours, his pelvis pressing delightfully up against your clit. You whimper into his neck as he continues to move against you, his lips caressing your neck and that spot behind your ear that makes your pussy wet and your nipples tingle. 

“You’re so fucking pretty,” he coos. “So beautiful…so sexy…and you’re so mine.” 

The feeling is too much. It overpowers you, making you delirious with need. “I’m all yours,” you practically sob. “Please, Kei; don’t tease me.” 

Keigo moves his head away from your neck to smirk at you. “And so impatient,” he chuckles. His hand sneaks between your thighs where he presses his index and middle fingers between your pussy lips. You gasp at the sensation of his touch, your clit jumping against his palm. “Naughty girl. You’re already wet for me,” he groans. “I suppose you’ve been waitin’ long enough though. Time to show you how sorry I am.” 

After sucking on his fingers, he proceeds to get onto his knees and press his lips against your inner thigh before showering your pussy in kisses that quickly turn into open-mouthed sucks and licks that have you seeing stars. Your hands grab his shoulders, gripping them tightly as his tongue licks every bit of your pussy up, his lips pillowy-soft against your clit. “Fuck, Keigo,” you moan, leaning your head back against the shower wall. “You’re so good at this.” 

Keigo moans into your pussy in response, lashing his tongue in different shapes across your clit. When he suddenly hooks your leg over his shoulder, you squeak in surprise. He looks up at you, eyes shining and a love-drunk look on his face. “I’ve got you, baby,” he coos, staring up at you lovingly. “You know I do, don’t you?” 

Then he’s diving back in, one hand gripping your thigh hiked up to his ear and the other holding you steady by your hip. You’re losing your shit, one hand in his hair and the other gripping his shoulder for dear life. “Shit, Kei!” you cry out, your cries of ecstasy echoing off the shower walls. “Fuck, baby, that feels so…oh, my God!” 

Meanwhile, Keigo won’t shut the fuck up about how amazing and pretty your pussy is. “You have the prettiest fuckin’ pussy, baby,” he coos into your clit, his words slightly muffled. “You’re always so open n’ wet for me. How could I ever neglect this cunt?” 

His words ignite something in you that have you crumbling, all self-control abandoned. The porn-worthy sounds slipping from your lips are drowned out from the sound of the shower as Keigo continues to go waaaaay down south, never letting up. It doesn't take long for that knot in your core to begin to tighten, signaling your oncoming orgasm. “I’m close!” you whimper. “So close! Don’t stop!” 

“Mmm-hmm,” Keigo mumbles into your pussy, still flicking that magical tongue. But when he inserts a finger and curls it up against your G-spot, you just about see God. “Go ahead and cum for me, baby,” he practically begs you, his finger encouraging you further. “Cum for me. Cum all over my face.” 

Your eyes close, plummeting you into darkness as your peak begins to dawn closer and closer the faster Keigo’s finger fucks you. “Please, baby,” he pleads. “I need you. Need all of you.” He dives back into your pussy, sucking on your clit softly in time with his finger stroking your insides and your G-spot. 

Finally, finally, you fall off that hill and cum all over your man’s face as requested. Keigo moans and whines in appreciation as you scream his name, nearly losing your voice. He grips your hips with such force that you can’t move as he licks you clean, his tongue carefully licking over and around your sensitive pussy. When he finally pulls away, his hair is wet and his face gleams with your cum. 

You help him up and clean his face off, running your thumbs over his plump lips. “That was amazing,” you breathlessly giggle. Keigo smiles proudly at you, happy with the praise. “I try.” 

You press a passionate kiss to his mouth, rendering him speechless afterwards. “Now, it’s your turn.” A newfound boldness courses through your veins as you press down onto his shoulders, forcing him to sit down on the bench. “You sure, baby bird?” he asks, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t have to–“ 

“Nah,” you interrupt him firmly. “I’m gettin’ that dick down my throat and you’re gonna enjoy every single second of it.” You settle down onto your knees in between his thighs, your hands trailing up his legs. “My amazing, intelligent hero deserves it.” 

Keeping your eyes locked with his, your nails gently graze up and down his thighs, earning a shiver and a delicious moan that escapes his luscious mouth. His cock quickly hardens even more between his legs, dripping with pre-cum all for you. Without wasting anymore time, you wrap your hand around the base of his length and begin to light peppering his dick in kisses, playing close attention to the sensitive spot at the underside of his cock. 

“Fuck,” he whispers, eyes fluttering closed. You stare up at him, his dickhead in your face, near your lips. “You deserve all of this, honey,” you coo before you wrap your lips around his cock. You take your time with sucking him off, starting by sucking on the pink dickhead as you slowly pump your hand up and down, spitting onto his dick if necessary. 

By the time you take him deeper into your mouth, Keigo’s dick is nice and slick with water and your spit, allowing him to easily slip into your mouth. You continue to pump him up and down, stroking the rest of the length that you can’t fit in your mouth. You swirl your tongue around his head and along his dick, loving how warm his skin is, his masculine scent, and the taste of salt on your tastebuds. You commit all of it to memory, including his beauty face etched in pleasure. 

You take a bit more of him, your mouth stretching around his thick cock, but you don’t do it enough to hit the back of your throat. Not yet. Keigo is in his world. His blonde brows are knitted together in concentration while his chest heaves up and down. His hand immediately goes to your hair as he watches you bob your head up and down on his cock. “Just like that,” he hisses. “Such a good girl. So good for me.” 

His hand travels to the back of your head and gently pushes you down, causing his dick to slip farther into your mouth. You feel him hit the back of your throat finally, causing you to gag and your eyes to water. He keeps his hand on your head as you begin to gag on his cock, your throat pumping up and down, back and forth. 

Despite the year you’ve been with him, you still can’t believe how big he is. He practically fills your throat, stretching out the wet, inner walls until your jaw aches and your eyes begin to tear. But you do it for him and those lovely sounds dripping from his lips. “Fuck, baby bird!” He groans through gritted teeth. “So good! Such a good little slut for me!” His toes curl beside your naked thighs, his hand in your hair and gripping it tightly. 

You continue to give him the Glock Glock 3000, taking extra care to fondle his balls with your other hand. He loves that. He’s a whimpering, whining mess as you continue your work, working him so good that he’s seeing stars. You want to show him you can take everything. 

Finally, he growls deep in his throat and wrenches your head away from his dick. “Enough,” he firmly says. You gasp as you pop off of his dick, a string of saliva following him in his wake as he pulls his dick out of your mouth that droops from your bottom lip. 

You softly pant, catching your breath but also to calm yourself down. You’re becoming hornier by the second. Your pussy is wet and wanting, desperate to be filled, leaving you to rub your thighs together to give yourself some relief. Keigo’s eyes are blown with lust, filling you with excitement and a slight twinge of fear. “Get up,” he demands. 

You oblige and stand on shaky legs. You fortunately don’t have to move on your own. Keigo does the work for you. In an instant, he is behind you with his hands on your hips, forcing you to bend forward. With a squeak, your hands fly to the shower wall and your back arches, presenting your ass and dripping cunt to your boyfriend. 

“So fuckin’ pretty,” he growls, giving your ass a sharp smack that echoes off the shower walls. “Yeah, you like this, don’t you?” He hisses, spanking you again. “Nobody could ever make you feel like this, could they?” 

You whimper, the stinging of his spanks making your pussy tingle. He spanks you again, harder this time, and you yelp. “I didn’t hear that, gorgeous,” he snickers. “Louder for me.” You whimper when you suddenly feel his cock slide against your pussy, nudging your sensitive clit. 

“Yes!” you wail out. “No one makes me feel like you do, daddy!” You turn to look at him, arching your pretty ass further into him and whining your hips around for him. “Please, please fuck me, Kei. I can’t take much more!” Keigo watches your hips and ass, slowing growing more and more needy by the second. 

“Fuck!” The word leaves his lips in a hiss. He instantly grabs your hips, lines his dick up, and sinks inside of you. Finally home. A gasp falls from your open mouth as he sinks in deeper, stretching you out. No matter how many times you do this with him, you’ll always feel full with him. 

Keigo holds your hips and slowly begins to roll his hips into you, sending your clit into hyperdrive with pleasure. You’re a mess at this point, grinding your ass back into him despite his slow pace. “Keigo,” you whine in need. 

Keigo chuckles, still rolling his hips, his dick pumping in and out of you slowly. “Patience, baby. I wanna make it last.” He suddenly lets go of your hips and grabs your tits, squeezing them in his palms and emitting gasps from you. 

“You’re mine, you understand?” He growls into your ear. “You’re. Fuckin’. Mine.” Each word is punctuated by sudden, rough trusts that make your eyes blow and your mouth fall open in a wordless, pleasured O. Now Keigo begins to go faster, snapping his hips forward as the water continues to fall around you in sheets. The only sounds are of the water hitting the shower floor, skin slapping against wet skin, and your breathless moans and gasps of pleasure as Keigo continues to pummel your cunt. You go to rub your clit as he does, but he shoos it away and does it for you, rubbing the bud in time with his relentless thrusts. “No, no, no, baby,” he coos into your ear. “I told you you're mine. Which means this is my pussy too.” 

His other hand suddenly moves to your leg and lifts it up, just enough for you to feel his cock sink deeper into your walls. “Oh, my God!” you holler, your head falling back in pure ecstasy as Keigo continues to fuck you silly with your leg up and his hand on your clit. “Shit, Kei, I’m gonna cum soon!” 

You can feel your orgasm quickly building, that knot in your core about to snap. Keigo moves his body closer to yours and pushes it against the wall, causing your tits to squish erotically against the wet shower door. “Do it, baby,” he growls into your ear, his breath fanning over your face. “Cum for me. Cum all over this dick. Your dick.” 

His words send you over the edge. You tumble down that hill hard and fall into a sea of bliss as your second orgasm washes over you. All you can say is his name and God’s name in vain as you cum all over his cock that has begun to replace its fast pumps with slow strokes, Keigo’s hips doing wonders behind you. 

Keigo holds you to him as you continue to cum, breathlessly moaning into your ear. “You’re so good for me, baby,” he whispers, peppering the side of your face in kisses. “So tight…gonna make me cum soon too…” 

“Do it,” you beg him. “Please cum for me. Cum inside me, daddy.” 

You’re delirious with need for him, all logic going out the window. You and Keigo have always been careful, leading to him usually pulling out before cumming even though you’re on the pill. But after tonight, you want to feel all of him. 

“No.” Keigo’s voice is firm and deep, almost a monstrous growl. It renders you speechless as he suddenly slips out of you and places your leg down. Before you can process what’s happening, he twirls you around and scoops you up into his arms. 

You squeak in surprise at the sudden action, but say nothing as he slides the bathroom door open and exits the shower, causing the water to cut off. He is swift and quick as he makes the trip from his bathroom to his master bedroom. He wastes no time tossing you onto the bed. You gasp as you bounce slightly against the mattress, still wet and naked from the shower. 

When you finally settle onto your back, you stare up at him in confusion. “What are you doing?” you ask, a little giggle leaving your lips. But you stop when you get a good look at him. 

In the dim light of the moon that shines through the window, Keigo looks less than human: his eyes are a dark gold and glowing brightly as he stares down at you, his crimson-colored wings fluffier and frazzled as if someone has touched them too much and caused them to become oversensitive. Gone is the Keigo you know, replaced with a man starving for release and you. 

He suddenly gets on top of you, pinning your hands over your head with one hand. “Here’s what’s gonna happen, baby girl,” he softly growls to you. “I’m gonna put your pretty ass into a mating press. Then I’m gonna fuck you deep, hard, and fast until I spray my cum all in that pretty lil’ pussy of yours. Then, when I’m done, I’m gonna pull out and spray you in the rest of it so people will know you’re mine. And you’re gonna like all of it and take all of it like my good little slut.” 

He leans down so his nose is pressed against yours, his face like a full moon emerging in the sky. “Is that clear?” he gutturally asks. 

Fear and arousal curl in your stomach, chasing each other around so one can be dominating your body and mind. You don’t know how you manage to speak–your mouth is so dry–but you do. A tiny “yes, daddy” leaves your lips as your pussy throbs and begs for him. “I understand,” you whisper. “Please fuck me.” 

That is all Keigo needs. In a blink of an eye, your legs are thrown over his shoulder and he’s sinking his cock deep inside of you. A loud moan leaves your lips as he fills you to the brim, so deep that his balls hit your ass and his pelvis presses against your sensitive clit. You swear he’s never been so deep inside of you before. You can almost feel him in your stomach! 

Keigo leans down so you’re face to face, chest to chest. “Can you feel me, baby?” he coos against your lips. “Is it too much for you? Am I fillin’ that poor pussy up too much?” 

You whine in response, your hands gripping his shoulders. He wolfishly grins down at you, loving your submissive, dumb little state. “Don’t worry; you can take it. You’re a big girl, right?” He begins to rut into you, hips snapping against yours and cock pumping deep into your pussy. “Right?” he growls, purposely angling his hips to aim at your G-spot. 

You’re seeing the entire galaxy now, your pussy spasming around his dick that mercilessly strokes your walls. When he begins to slow down to tease you, you open your mouth to cuss him out, but all that leaves is a high-pitched, incoherent whine. Keigo laughs right in your face, loving this shit.

‘Bastard,’ you think, the only clear thought in your dicked-down, fucked-out mind that isn’t the pleasure or the scent of your boyfriend. ‘Two can play at this game, bitch.’ 

You then take two of your fingers and proceed to lightly stroke Keigo’s feathers, taking extra care to touch each overly-sensitive, buttery-soft feather. It is enough to have Keigo’s eyes widening and his body tensing. You smirk up at him and his reaction, continuing to torture him. “Somethin’ wrong, daddy?” you innocently coo. 

You then move your hands to the tips of his feathers and stroke them one at a time, running the tips of your fingers over each of them. Keigo lets out a high-pitched whine that has your pussy spasming and clenching around his cock. “D-don’t!” He cutely begs. “Gonna cum if you do that!” 

“Then you’d better fuck me then.” You lock your legs tighter around his head and your hands grip him tighter, locking him in. “Cum inside of me,” you demand. “Cum with me.” 

Keigo doesn’t need to be told twice. He snaps back into position and continues to pummel your cunt, his hips snapping forward again and again, driving his cock deeper into you. You gasp and moan beneath him, egging him on as you bounce against the mattress that shakes with the force of his thrusts. “Yes, baby!” you moan loudly, your voice bouncing off the walls. “That’s it! Keep going! I’m so close!” 

You continue to stroke his wings, up and down, in circles, in aimless patterns that start to lose shape as he starts fucking you harder. His hands suddenly take your legs off his shoulder and pin your open thighs down as far as they’ll go as he settles deeper into you, practically mounting you now. 

“You see it now?” he hums hotly against your mouth. “You see how much I love you? How much I need you?” You can’t answer him because he is now kissing you–hard, passionate, and rough. It has you seeing stars and barely catching your breath as he continues to fuck you into the mattress. 

Finally, you begin to feel it: his cock swelling inside of you, signaling the beginning of his end. You look up at Keigo and find his eyes locked with yours, blonde locks in his face and sweat coating his body. “Gonna cum,” he warns. “Gonna fill you up, baby. Fill you with all of me. Gonna fuckin’ nut…” 

You deliriously nod as your pussy spasms and your clit jumps, your third orgasm of the night present. “Me too!” you cry out. “Cum with me, Kei! Fill me up! Make me yours!” 

Keigo doesn’t need you to say anything more. He swoops down to press his mouth to yours in an open-mouthed, tongue-swirling kiss, eating the sounds of your pleasure up as you finally cum all over his cock. He cums too, spilling his seed inside of you without a warning or a second though. A loud moan of your name and a whine of ecstasy leaves his lips as he cums, his hips stilling against yours. 

You feel his cum stream inside of you, warm and overflowing. So much so that your mouth drops open and your eyes widen, the feeling foreign and intense. He coats your inside in all of his nut and doesn’t stop fucking you until his cum is finally dripping down your ass and onto the sheets. 

Keigo pulls out of you quickly, making you whine at the sudden loss. His cum spills out of your pussy, the sight of it lewd yet so arousing. “God, that’s so hot!” he groans, pumping his dick in front of you, his shaft slick with his cum and yours. “Makes me wanna cum again.” 

He suddenly scrambles on top of you and straddles your chest, his dick now in your face. “Open your fuckin’ mouth,” he growls. You do so, opening your mouth and sticking out your tongue for all of him to coat it. 

Keigo cums again, tossing his head back and moaning to the ceiling, his voice echoing off the walls. His cum coats your mouth and tastebuds as well as your tits and face, causing your eyes to flutter shut to avoid getting nut in your eyes. He coats every single inch of your skin in his cum, marking you completely as his. You feel like you’re his now, and you love every inch of it. 

When you finally open your eyes, your face is wet and sticky with cum as are your chest, lips, pussy, and ass. Keigo is coming down from his high, his dick growing soft and eyes dimming. When he finally comes to and gets a look at you, he grows as red as his feathers. “Fuck, look at you!” He gasps, horrified. “Don’t move. Lemme go get a towel.” 

He nearly falls out of the bed trying to get up fast enough to go run to the bathroom. You lie there, covered in cum and sedated by your three orgasms of the night. And then you begin to laugh. They come up in short giggles that reach hysteria until you’re full on guffawing in Keigo’s bed. 

When he finally comes back with a soft towel wet with warm water and a glass of water, he stares at you in confusion. “What?” He asks curiously. 

“Nothing,” you giggle. “That was just…really nice.” You smile sweetly at him as he crawls onto the bed and proceeds to clean you up. He moves the wet towel across your sticky, sweat and cum-soaked skin until you’re finally free of it all. Then he moves to the bedside table to get the massage oil that he’s used on you and himself many times. 

You smile contently as you watch him squirt the tropical-scented oil into his hands and rub them together. He takes his time and is extra careful with your legs as he moves each one into his hands, starting from your feet to your thighs to kneed the tender flesh and massage the oil into your skin. 

His hands are warm and feel so nice against your body as he rubs you down, now moving to your stomach and shoulders. He then works on your arms and hands, taking each finger and gently tugging on each one. He is an expert, paying close attention to your bones and muscles on your hand. You can’t help but be aroused from it, loving the way he takes care of you. 

When he finishes with the front, he turns you onto your stomach and coaxes you to lie flat on the mattress. After he gets more oil, he continues to massage your body, his knuckles pushing into your back muscles and hands kneading the globes of your ass. Your head falls onto the bed in utter pleasure and relaxation, making your muscles less tense and loose.

“Mmm,” you moan as Keigo’s fingers start to kneed into the bones of your shoulders. 

“Feelin’ good, baby bird?” he hums happily.

You nod lazily and he laughs, continuing to work your body into an absolute puddle. You love this: the tenderness that comes after some good sex. All you smell are your boyfriend and the massage oil, the scents relaxing you even further and pushing you towards sleep. 

When it’s finally over, Keigo scoops you off of the bed and you let him, too relaxed and exhausted to do it yourself. “Come on, gorgeous,” he coos. “Let’s get you into bed.” He coaxes you under the covers before settling in beside you. As soon as he’s in bed with you, you snuggle up against his side and he wraps his arms around you, holding you closer than close. 

“Love you,” he murmurs against your forehead that he lays kisses upon. “Love you so much.” 

“I love you too, Kei,” you whisper into his neck, breathing in his smell. Your hand falls to his chest and presses against his heart, feeling it beat against your palm. “I always will.” 

He stares down at you, his gaze soft yet serious. “Then if you ain’t too tired, you in the mood for a very sad backstory?” He asks, a wry smirk playing at his lips. 

Suddenly, all sleepiness and the fog of relaxation are gone. You sit up onto your elbow, your heart beating a bit faster. Keigo is still staring at you, dead serious and waiting for a response. You give it to him by pressing a soft kiss to his lips, cupping his face as you do. “Always,” you whisper against his lips. 

Keigo smiles and presses another kiss to your lips before you lay back down beside him, mentally and emotionally preparing for his story. He doesn’t look at you as he prepares himself, mentally pulling back the pages to the book of his life that he swore not to tell you. But after tonight, that promise is broken. 

“It all starts on the little island of Kyushu,” he begins softly. 

THE END. 

[unphasedwriter]

Technoblade's Unintentionally Wholesome Orphanage [Sneak Peak]

Technoblade might’ve accidentally adopted a kid.

It wasn’t his fault the child decided to cling to him! Sure, he gave them some of the -stale, not particularly tasty- bread he’d bought a while back, but that was not a good enough reason to imprint on him like a bird. Wait- maybe it was? The kid appeared to be an avian of sorts. Ah.

baby birb chirpchirpchirpchirp lil bby bird <3 technodad DADNOBLADE!!!! poggers can we keep them? Do theY hAve a Name? ASKKSK! smol bean I want to nom on them EEEEEEeeeeee

‘Chat, if I acknowledge them they’ll think I’m accepting their claim or something.’ He wasn’t actually sure about that. Techno’s knowledge on avian hybrids was extremely limited. He’d only seen one of them before, back in Hypixel, during the MC Monday. They were to far away for him to make out their features, but the huge black wings were hard to miss.

SIR BLADE HOW DARE aWHH Pls ask!! so rude smh you don’t understand, we NEED to know their name bruhh technolame rudenoblade *sad chirp* WE WANT A NAME! GIVE US A NAME! Either find out or we’re naming them.

“Bruhh, we only met the kid like an hour ago. How are you already attached?!” Techno quietly complained. Not quietly enough, clearly, as the child in question let out a confused coo. The older let out an apprehensive sigh, unsure how to proceed now that Chat made it clear that they weren’t on the same page as him.

He glanced down at them, meeting their questioning gaze with his hesitant one. “So, what’s your name?”

Instead of answering, they tilted their head slightly, eye-brows furrowed in thought, before finally settling on a shrug.

“Okayyyy. Do you want to like- pick? A name?” He offered, unsure how to deal with the situation. The kid perked up at that and excitedly pointed at him. “Me? What about me?” Undeterred, they repeated the same motion again, more insistent this time. “You want me to what? Choose a name?” Got it in one, the child grinned and nodded. ‘Bruh why me-’

Ohohoh! How about Nathan? no, they look like an Angel! Bird. Tabris maybe? carlcarlcarlcarl caaaaaaaaaarl i agree with @meloncoook, it should be bird. techno jr.!!

Chat descended into chaos, throwing name after name at him to choose from, some more… original than others. Whoever said Technoblade Jr. will be banned later. One of the names stood out to him though, a genuinely fitting one, in his humble opinion.

“How about Tabris?”

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

It's a work-in-progress, and what I'm sharing right now will be rewritten 4-6 times before I'm actually going to post it along with the rest of the chapter. But I thought I'd share the beginning, and maybe get some ideas/suggestions/feedback or whatever.

I'll make sure to announce when the first few chapters are up on my ao3 (@capnko).

Thank you for reading! <3

[bluesylveon2]

AOT Season 4 The Final Chapters Thoughts:

Crunchyroll won't let me screenshot so I will write out my thoughts instead:

I like how this part of Season 4 is Armin-centric. The first part was dedicated to Eren and then the second part was dedicated to Mikasa

Yall I lowkey forgot Armin gets kidnapped by the okapi titan

The cgi continues to improve for aot. However, you can tell MAPPA's budget went to jjk because of the amount of fanservice they are giving 😂

The Survey Corps vs past titans shifters fight was so good!!! I liked watching it more than reading it because you could see what happens in the action. Also the scene with Pieck running toward the Warhammer titan was hilarious

I like the detail of the gray people and the colored baby. The baby represents the future and it being colored represents the hope of getting through the Rumbling. I like how everything became colored once the titans stopped moving.

Levi finally killing Zeke was satisfying. Now Zeke can be reborn as Toji in jjk because we know stuff is going down there too lol

Can I just say that I love the aruani scenes? Like Annie immediately asks where's Armin but tries to play it off and Mikasa was not buying it! Then there was the other part where Annie saves Armin and AHHHH I loved it!! Her dad better be impressed if Annie got with Armin cause he is so cool

Okay that hallucigenia thing needed to go. We don't even know where it went after Eren died. We assume it died with him because everyone turned back to normal. Also, I guess every titan had a piece of hallucigenia in them, specifically in their spine that connects their CNS and their PNS. It turning others into titans was it's way to "multiply" and keep it alive

The eremika kiss was not as creepy as I remember in the manga. The lighting helped it a lot. I remember reading that part and questioning what was Isayama thinking when he wrote that

I like to think of Eren as Lelouch from Code Geass, except Lelouch lived to see the effects of what he did. Eren had no choice but to die after wiping out 80% of humanity.

On that thought, there was one part where Armin was like "we can't have conflict if we destroy the outside world." Well, we already saw at the beginning of S4 that is not the case. There will always be conflict in the world. We even see it today. Sure, Eren could have killed everyone, but you still have conflict within Paradis. We saw it already with the Jaegerists. Eren helped his friends have a peaceful life but that would end eventually once they passed.

I sobbed at the part with everyone reuniting. It was sweet in the manga, it was sweet now

Historia's daughter is so cute!!!!

I like the ending even if it is slightly different from the manga. Of course you get the 104 + Pieck coming to Paradis (Jean looking great as always lol), Mikasa seeing birb Eren, Onyakopon and Yelena (finally) helping out, Levi with the kids, and Falco/Gabi planting a tree to signify new beginnings

Now...my only complaint about this episode was the credits. WHY DID THEY MAKE IT SMALL??? i WANTED TO KNOW WHO MIKASA MARRIED!!!! I liked the detail with the other kid tho. The boy sees the tree with a hole and walks in. I think this is Isayama's way of showing that titans can return and Eren would be the new Ymir. I'm not too certain, but it would suck for Eren because he would not be free. Maybe the kid could be the new Ymir? Who knows? My question would be how would titans survive modern day. Obviously they would evolve, but can they survive modern technology. We may not use swords much anymore but there is nuclear technology.

(Edit: it is possible Mikasa married Jean based on what we see in the anime/manga. I feel like that's not a good ending for either one of them because a) Mikasa's heart belongs to Eren. It's like Rose from the Titanic. Basically, Mikasa won't love Jean or whoever she married fully. b) Jean seems to be busy conducting the peace talks with the others. Idk if he would have time for Mikasa unless they were both cool with it. c) I think it's just not a good ending for either of them. I felt bad for Mikasa throughout the whole episode and that as her ending is...idk...I would feel even bad for her)

I know Isayama is done with the series but i have questions I want answered!!! 😭 Still, I got into this fandom back in 2013 and it has been a good 10 years. I met a lot of great people from the fandom who I still talk to today. Aot is my favorite anime and I plan on rewatching the anime or buy the manga in the future. Now it is time for me to go to the next fandom aka twst lol

[tnc-n3cl]

The Tale of the Realm Walker

Behold, the first (chronologically speaking) arc of my LoZ fanfic saga, The Realm Walker! The Tale of the Realm Walker is set 20 years after the events of Wind Waker, and is a crossover of sorts with Twilight Princess. It's been brought up before in my other fics, "The Ballad of Kass", and "Shifting Tides of Fate" mostly. But know I'm letting you finally see the madness in my head! Here's a summary!

Kass stands in the clearing at the center of Korok Forest, the dappled sunlight shining off his nearly sky-blue plumage as he unfastens the strap holding his accordion to his back.  He unfolds his cherished instrument and moves to stand in front of the sleeping Great Deku Tree.  He plays a few notes to warm up before speaking… “The Rito have kept this story to ourselves since we lived on a lonely island upon a Great Sea; however, given recent events, I believe now is the time to share it with you, as it is my firm belief that this story is the missing piece of the puzzle that is Hyrule’s long and complicated history.” He takes a deep breath before continuing, “Now, before I begin, I have but one request.  I humbly ask all of you to save all questions and comments until after I have finished this tale as it is quite long and I’d rather not be away from my wife and daughters for longer than I need to be.”   His crest collapses in anguish as he looks down for but a moment before looking back at his audience, “I’ve… been away from them for too long already…” After a moment, Kass begins playing his accordion.  It’s a more upbeat and faster paced variation of the music he plays with his daughters back home.  An ancient version of the song, played by the Rito in days long since passed…

Okay maybe that doesn't tell you much... Basically Kass is telling everybody this some time after the Divine Beasts are free. Yes, he's playing appropriate music for each section of the story (staring with the Dragon Roost Island theme). Lets see... Rated M for Mature (for safety in case I get carried away with the violence), Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings (I will post specific warnings in each chapter.) Post canon, AU, Blood and Violence, Profanity, may have Suggestive Themes.

Characters: Lots of OC's! Twili OC's! Rito OC's! Midna, Medli, Komali, even Valoo!

Check out this spear I did for the main character!

I've retconed the Rito for this story. BotW style full birb, except they can change their wings into arms like in WW (scaly birb arms, no feathers after the elbow, claws on fingers), and WW style clothes.

You want a more descriptive summary? Okay! 20 Years after Wind Waker, the Great Sea lies mostly abandoned. Most of the human population has left for a new land. The Rito stayed behind because Valoo could not or would not leave Dragon Roost Island, the Koroks didn't want to leave the Great Deku Tree alone. Now, a mysterious stranger from another realm arrives on Dragon Roost Island....

(That's it, that's all your getting. Wanna know more, read the fic!)

[iobsesswaytoomuch]

Hi!! I've been re-reading all of the stuff you have so far for your Herculean Cerulean au and am curious about a few things.

How did you come up with everyone's names?

How did Leoclese learn to make portals via lightning?

Similarly, how did Donotos learn he could fly? (I have this funny image of him just falling off a ledge or something by accident and he just kinda... floats there 😂 that's probably not what you have planned, but that's what popped up in my head)

I know answering these are probably going to require spoilers, so you don't have to answer them, there's absolutely no pressure :] I'm just excited and curious! (Also, I found the part where it mentions Donnie's older brother figure and I'm SO ready to meet this guy)

Anywizzle, I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day/night! 😁

EEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHE THANK YOU FOR ASKING :)))))

It was pretty random. For Leocles, I literally just changed his name to Hercules but with a Leo, since that's who he's sort of going to be modeled after. For Raphodius, Michelantius, and Donotos, I literally just searched up Greek names, noting the endings and just their... Vibe? Idk, but anyway, I tried looking up different meanings too but don't remember what they were of the original names, then once I found a greek name I liked I changed the turtle's names based on them, just to make it different from the original show, and make them sound more ancient greek. For yuichio, I did the same, and realized it didn't sound greek, and instead sounds more italian, so he might be from another place or something. I was considering Rome because italy, but decided I didn't want to have greece and Rome existing at the same time. Then, he's going to follow meg (megara)'s storyline (kind of), hence Mesagi. He's going to be nicknamed Yui (by Leo heheh. I have plans for short. Splintoctetes, changed to sound like philoctetes. Maegasus, a combination of mayhem and pegasus. Baron Hades speaks for itself.

2. I have. NO IDEA :D. I haven't thought that far ahead, but he is the son of the lightning god. I was mostly trying to figure out how to incorporate his ninpo. It'll probably appear in either the first or final fight (heheh the climax is going to be fun) and, won't be like. Summoning lightning, it'll probably just be like canon's portals, but more electric looking.

3. I don't know either. I just wanted to give him ninpo, but didn't want to stick to canon (as you can see I dont want it to be too much like the show). He's the son of Athena, who's sacred animal is the owl, which is a bird, and birds can fly, soooooo... Yeah that was basically my thought process. It will only show up in the climax most likely. (that'd be hilarious can I please use that?)

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE QUESTIONS AND ASK!!!! I had a lot of fun answering these, even if I can't give very clear answers. Never be shy to ask about my au I swear I will love any questions. :]]]] (HEHEHEHEHDHSHEHHEHEHHHDBSDHCBJWDHBCJHB I'M SO EXCITED TO BRING HIM IN YOU HAVE NO IDEA. I HAVE SO MANY PLANS FOR HIM. HEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE IT'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN. FOR ME. Also, little spoiler; he's going to be a bird yokai :> I like birbs :>)

Have a marvelous day/night that's just as amazing as you are!! :))

[fdelopera]

Two Moon Knight Headcanons for Pesach…

As we prepare to sit down for the second night Seder, as we prepare to dip our karpas in salt water and eat charoset and maror, here are two Moon Knight headcanons, one sweet and one bitter. These are in remembrance of tears and sweat and blood, but also in celebration of the freedom from the “Pharaohs” that hold us captive…

1st Pesach headcanon:

This Seder takes place a few years after the events in 2025 (Jewish year 5785). The MK System have had more time for system communication, and Jake starts reaching out to them. They're celebrating Pesach, all crowding near the front. And this night (unfortunately the same as most other nights), Khonshu shows up unannounced and uninvited. So predictable. After all, he's a "I am feel uncomfortable when we are not about me" kind of birb.

Pesach celebrates the Jewish people's escape from slavery in Egypt. And Khonshu is, of course, an Egyptian deity, still holding a Jewish system captive.

The irony is not lost on Steven.

So the MK System are reclining at the Pesach table. Layla's there too. Steven is reading from the Haggadah, and they get to the recitation of the 10 Plagues.

Steven starts listing off the Plagues, placing a drop of wine on the plate for each to remember the suffering of the Egyptian people, and as he does, he makes full eye contact with Khonshu.

“Water turning to blood ... frogs ... lice ... wild beasts ... pestilence of the livestock…”

And Khonshu starts feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

Finally, Steven gets to the plague of "boils" and Khonshu has had enough. He gets up from the table and makes some moon-related excuse (since of course Pesach starts on a full moon). Then he gets really tiny, and woosh! He just nopes right out of there. Layla and Steven breathe a sigh of relief, while Marc and Jake can relax a little. There will be more than enough time for Khonshu’s shenanigans after Pesach is over.

2nd Pesach headcanon:

This headcanon is from their childhood. It seems likely that Steven was around for a lot of their Hebrew studies. The extreme cognitive and emotional dissonance of having to pretend to be a "good Jewish boy" from a good family in Hebrew school was not safe for Marc or Jake. Plus, Steven was always interested in historical languages, and so whenever they're in a Jewish context like at Shabbat service or Hebrew school, or celebrating some semblance of a Jewish holiday at home, Steven is often triggered front.

But one Pesach, Steven isn't out. It isn't safe. Wendy has been trying to keep up appearances, making some attempt at kashering the kitchen. But this year, it's just led to more screaming. It's the last year that she even attempts to prepare for Pesach.

Then in a last ditch effort to salvage the holiday, Elias reaches out to a cousin, and they get invited over for the Seder.

This tía and tío don’t know the extent of what goes on in the Spector house. But the tía welcomes them in, and she is kind to Jake. He doesn’t even mind that she calls him Marc. It’s enough to have a place that is safe from the yelling.

The MK System are maybe thirteen or fourteen at this point. And since the tía's children are all older, in their late teens, she asks "Marc" as the youngest child to ask the Four Questions.

But Jake is fronting today. And Jake doesn't know Hebrew. (That's Steven's thing.)

The Haggadah has a Hebrew transliteration, but even with that, Jake stumbles through. He tries his best to wrap his tongue around the unfamiliar words.

Jake begins by asking the question:

Mah nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilot?

(How is this night different from all other nights?)

Then he asks the Four Questions:

1. Sheb'chol haleilot anu ochlin chametz umatzah, halailah hazeh, kuloh matzah.

(On all other nights, we eat leavened foods and matzah. Why on this night, only matzah?)

2. Sheb'chol haleilot anu ochlin sh'ar y'rakot, halailah hazeh, maror.

(On all other nights, we eat all vegetables. Why, on this night, bitter herbs?)

3. Sheb'chol haleilot ein anu matbilin afilu pa'am echat; halailah hazeh, sh'tei f'amim.

(On all other nights, we don't dip our food even once. Why on this night do we dip twice?)

4. Sheb'chol haleilot anu ochlin bein yoshvin uvein m'subin; halailah hazeh, kulanu m'subin.

(On all other nights, we eat either sitting upright or reclining. Why on this night do we all recline?)

Jake stammers, and repeats words, and tries his best to dig into the memories that he knows are there somewhere. The memories of ... someone learning this at shul. Even though his memory of their Hebrew school is so hazy. It’s just disjointed images, and the remembrance of muffled voices as if he’s underwater, as someone else goes through the motions of studying. But he’s always watchful, in case one of the bullies in class starts making fun of their rumpled clothes and mess of unkempt curls, and the way that they quietly rock in their chair and fiddle with the cuffs of their shirtsleeves. Jake is great at making escapes from bullies and finding places to hide ... and when push comes to shove, his arms and legs are proficient at punching, kicking, thrashing...

Right now, Jake wants to run and hide. He is terrified that he's messed up. He’s terrified that the tía is going to yell at him. Or worse, that Wendy is going to start in on him. The expectation is clearly that he should be able to pronounce the Hebrew words fluently.

But to his surprise, the tía tells him, "Thank you, Marc. Good job." And she smiles at him.

That little gesture of kindness makes him want to cling to her. To beg her to stay at her home, at least for that night. He dreads going back. Wendy looks displeased with his performance, and Elias looks worried, and Jake is sure he's going to hear about it when they get back to the house.

But for those few hours celebrating the Jewish people's escape from slavery, Jake feels relatively safe. His tía and tío will protect him while he's a guest in their home.

That night, Jake realizes something profound. He realizes that Wendy is his Pharaoh.

At Pesach, we Jews are often asked to think about who is the "Pharaoh" in our life. Who or what is it that is keeping us trapped? And what are some ways to break those chains that bind?

Jake understands that Wendy is the one keeping him in chains. And in that moment, like Moses, he starts looking for ways to escape captivity. There's got to be a way out, a Red Sea that will part for him. On that night, Jake starts making plans for extraction.

Throughout their life, I imagine that Pesach would resonate with Jake. And it is not a decision he takes lightly to stay bound to Khonshu after Marc and Steven are freed. It's for their protection, but at what cost? The bonds of servitude are never worth it. And Jake knows that at some point, he's going to have to start making extraction plans again.

[clockwayswrites]

Bitty birb in the nest is worth...? Part 19

Masterpost This is going to have many typos and spelling issues, but it currently feels like I've got an ice pick in my temple and my skin hurts so there's no rereading happening atm. Sorry!

-

Danny looked up as Tim Drake-Wayne strode into the lab and closed the door quietly behind himself.

“Tim?”

“Mm-hum?” Tim hummed as he sat down his thermos before he shed his messenger bag, coat, and school jacket onto an open part of desk.

Danny watched on with bemusement. The kid looked half asleep. “Not that it isn’t great to see you again, but what are you doing here, honey?”

“Bruce is on a call running Luthor in circles and then has to talk to legal about some stuff because Luthor is always an ass. We’re supposed to go run an errand and then to dinner together, so I’m stuck here until he’s ready to leave for the day.”

“I’m sorry,” Danny said honestly.

“It’s okay, at least Bruce won’t forget, not like—” Tim shut his mouth with a snap, seemingly suddenly thinking about what he was saying.

“It’s okay, I get it,” Danny said, because he did. “You need somewhere to hide out then?”

“Yeah, it’s… calm here.”

“Okay. Sit wherever you want that’s clear. If you need to move something, let me know first, okay?”

“Thanks,” Tim said, shoulders finally losing some of their tension.

“Of course, whenever you need.”

Not wanting to push Tim in any way, Danny kept a subtle eye on the boy as Tim absently wandered around Danny’s office. To Tim’s credit, he did try to touch anything or move things around, even as he obviously grew increasingly tired.

It would be a lot, Danny supposed, to be a teen ager trying to live up to the legacy of two important families in the area, learn the business, go to school, and (hopefully) also spend time with friends. Danny knew how hard it had been only having Phantom as an obligation.

While, sure, Danny wished Tim had made chosen a less neck cramping spot, he was happy to see Tim finally settle down and seemingly fall asleep… under one of Danny’s work benches. Danny couldn’t fuss too much, he’d done that plenty in grad school himself. Once Tim seemed properly asleep, Danny got up to fetch his cardigan from the hook by the door and took it to drape over the sleeping kid. Tim let a little huffed breath of air before he snuggled further into the cardigan and settled back into sleep.

It made Danny’s heart melt in a way that he didn’t want to think too hard about.

It really was no surprise when about forty-five minutes later one Bruce Wayne poked his head into Danny’s office. The door was hardly open when Danny had his finger up and over his mouth in the universal sign of ‘shush’.

Bruce titled his head curiously. Danny gave a little nod of his head towards the workbench that Tim was sleeping under. Silently, Bruce moved to the work bench and crouched down next to it. There was a soft, amused sound before Bruce reached out to brush his hand over Tim’s forehead, as if habitually checking for a fever.

When Bruce returned to where Danny was working, he asked softly, “How long has he been asleep?”

“A little over a half hour. It took him about ten minutes to settle in,” Danny answered, voice equally quiet.

“Then do you mind if I let him keep resting for another fifteen minutes or so? He’s likely to wake up on his own then.”

Danny shook his head. “Nope, let the kid rest. He seems like he needs it.”

Bruce glanced at Tim, his expression that soft sort of worried only parents seemed to get. “He does. He works too hard at… everything. He’s always trying to prove himself even when he doesn’t need to anymore.”

Danny made a little questioning noise as he got back to fiddling with the annoyingly tiny screws.

“His parents were… demanding. They had very exacting ideas of what proper high society behavior was,” Bruce explained. “I’m sadly not the best suited at dismantling those ideas either.”

“Ah… well, what do you do that encourages him to be a kid?” Danny asked.

“He skateboards, actually. And he enjoys photography, but even that became a goal what with art competitions at school.”

“Maybe take him and Damian on a mini art vacation? Somewhere pretty. Somewhere where it’s not about judges,” Danny suggested. He finally got the last screw seated so he glanced up at Bruce’s thoughtful face.

“That’s a good idea,” Bruce said. “I’ll start looking at what might work. Thank you.”

“Sure, ideas are kinda what I do,” Danny said and motioned to the office around him with the screwdriver.

Bruce’s answering chuckle was low and warm. “I suppose it is. I hope you’re also not overworking yourself.”

“I’m doing much better,” Danny assured Bruce. “I just needed some rest.”

“Which my children made sure you got. I’m still sorry that they kept you so long on Friday.”

It was Danny’s turn to laugh. “Honestly, I don’t think you really have much control over what they do.”

“No, I really don’t,” Bruce admitted. “But I wouldn’t have them any other way.”

“That’s good; they’re a pretty amazing family,” Danny said with a soft smile. “And if I don’t get to be sorry about falling asleep, you don’t get to be sorry about making me rest.”

“You drive a hard bargain, but deal.”

“I am a master business man,” Danny teased and ducked his head to hide his smile.

“I’ll have to watch for corporate take overs. Keep an eye on the stocks and papers.”

“Maybe. Oh, speaking of… Well, not speaking of but sort of related? You know, I was joking about us making the papers.”

Bruce hummed curiously so Danny set aside his tools to pull up the story that several coworkers had sent him on his table. He spun it to face Bruce. The picture of them in the box was big on the screen. They were pressed almost chest to chest with Bruce’s arms around Danny. It certainly looked incriminating.

“Well shit,” Bruce said with a sigh. He picked up the tablet to scan through the article. There wasn’t anything in it, of course, just wild speculation. “I hope you haven’t been harassed about this by anyone.”

“I don’t think anyone knows who I am to harass me,” Danny said honestly. “Some coworkers have sent me it, but apparently it’s just my luck to have both randomly run into a Wayne and be invited to an event and have one of my ‘spells’ when I’m around them.”

Bruce looked at him with one well manicured brow raised. “You have interesting luck.”

“Yep. It’s been quite a life so far. I was pretty much born into interesting luck and life has really lived up to that luck and died by it,” Danny said with a little chuckle as he took his tablet back.

“I feel concerned by that last part.”

Danny hummed in question, distracted by pulling his notes back up.

“The having died by the luck part.”

“Oh.” Danny smiled, but he knew that expression was less than a happy one. “I think I mentioned that there was an accident when I was a kid?”

Bruce nodded and lean his elbows on the work bench and crosses his arms. “You did. One that is apparently still affecting your pulse to this day.”

“Yes, well,” Danny glanced away from Bruce. Why was it still so hard to talk about. “When I was fourteen, I was electrocuted at at an… industrial level of voltage. Unsurprisingly it killed me. And hey, obviously I came back! But that sort of thing sticks around.”

“I’m sorry.”

Danny looked back at Bruce, honestly startled. In all this time, Danny wasn’t sure if he’d ever heard a ‘I’m sorry’ about his accident, not without strings attached. His lips quirked into a smile again. This one felt more pleasant. “Thanks. Trust me though, I’m grateful that life has, had been calmer.”

Whatever Bruce was going to say to that was cut off by a loud yawn, the sound of someone shifting around, and then the unmistakable bang of a limb against the metal legs of one of the workbenches.

Quiet cussing followed a moment later.

“You okay there, Tim?” Danny asked.

“Fine,” Tim hissed back.

“I’m sure I have an instant icepack in my office. We can grab one before we leave,” Bruce said.

“B?” Tim asked, voice noticeably brighter. A moment later he appeared out from under the desk.

“Hi, sweetheart, sorry that I had to take that call,” Bruce said as he stepped over to Tim. He reached out to brush the teen’s hair a little straighter.

“It’s fine, it’s Lex, I get it.”

“I know you get it, but that doesn’t mean it has to be fine.”

Tim just shrugged. The action made him notice the the cardigan draped over his shoulders. A little blush rose on his cheeks as he took it off and handed it back to Danny. “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for Tim, you weren’t any problem,” Danny assured him. “You’re welcome in my office whenever.”

“You’re going to regret that,” Tim said.

Danny just shrugged with a smile.

“Come on, chum, let’s go find that icepack. We’ll still get to your store before it closes,” Bruce said and started to guide Tim out by the shoulder.

Bruce glanced behind him and Danny gave a little wave to the retreating Waynes.

His luck indeed.

-

“What happened in Danny’s office that’s bothering you?” Tim asked. He had the icepack pressed against his elbow and was sitting almost sideways so that he could take in all of Bruce’s expression.

Bruce was doing that thing where he was feeling big, complicated emotions and wishing he wasn’t. Tim could read it in the way that Bruce’s shoulders were set, that little bit of tightening under his eyes, and the way he was very purposefully not frowning.

“B,” Tim pressed.

Bruce sighed, the sound all of his air. “I think we should leave Danny alone, both as Waynes and as Bats.”

Tim jolted and scrambled to sit up further. “Wait, what? Bruce, what happened?”

“Nothing bad,” Bruce assured Tim. “Nothing bad happened. Vicky got a picture of Danny and I at the ballet. We spoke some about it and Danny talked about how he had interesting luck. He said he was grateful that life has been calmer; he had to change that to had.”

“…oh.”

“It’s just that—”

“No, you’re right. I’ll try to talk to the others about it because you know they won’t listen to you about it.”

“I’m sorry, Tim.”

“It’s fine, I get it.”

[krenenbaker]

Stop the World - 3: Please

Pairing: Malleus/Cater

Warnings/Features: Angst with a happy ending, (somewhat?) possessive Malleus Draconia, questionably suggestive at the end... but that's COMPLETELY up to the reader's interpretation :)

Summary: Cater and Malleus have found a comfortable rhythm to their lives in their last year at Night Raven College. But as the threat of change creeps closer, their fears about the future do too.

The Couple: Looking ahead, into the future

Notes: Finally, after over a month (oops!), this short fic has concluded! This was a good learning experience for me, and I had quite a bit of fun writing it. It ended up taking a slightly different direction than I had originally anticipated, but I like how it turned out here. :) I know that many of my lovely moots are more 'canon x reader' fic readers/writers, so I really appreciate your support on this 'canon x canon' piece!

Tags: @dove-da-birb, @inkybloom-luv, @silvers-numberonefan, @azulashengrottospiano (if you'd like to be tagged, or not tagged, in the writing I post, please let me know!)

Part 1 | Part 2 | AO3 Version (ft. all chapters)

After the sun dipped past the horizon, Cater glanced up towards his boyfriend. "What's running through your mind there? You look, like, super serious right now."

"Hm?" Malleus turned his gaze from the sky. "Nothing serious, I assure you.  You seem cold, we should head inside."

"Ehh, no, I'm a-okay rn!" Cater shook his head.  "But Mal, I've got to know. What were you thinking about?"

"I was contemplating our future."

"Ah."

Cater tore his line of sight away from Malleus' intense gaze, and the air seemed to grow still around them, even though the leaves in the trees were rustling audibly.

Cater then heard a quiet chuckle, before Malleus murmured into his ear, "You now appear deep in thought, Treasure.  Is there something troubling you?"

"Oh, I'm just... thinking."

"Well well, I'm not sure I knew you could do that."

Cater turned to face a small smirk. "Hey!" Cater laughed, with a gentle smack to Malleus' arm. "That was totes rude, Mal! I'm wounded!"

Cater's smile faltered, then dropped as he looked off into the distance again. "Malleus, what's going to... no, never mind."

Malleus gave his darling's hand a small squeeze. "Please, tell me."

Giving a gentle squeeze in return, Cater took a shaky breath. In as measured a voice as he could manage, he asked, "What's going to happen to us? Like, at the end of this year?"

Summoning up the courage to turn back to Malleus, Cater looked back into his eyes. "Listen, I don't want to get all sad or whatever here, but, I've been thinking... what if this was a mistake?"

Malleus's expression fell, a flash of darkness crossing his face. "Excuse me?" Does he think we shouldn't be together any more? Or at ALL?

"No, no, no. I mean... ugh, I'm terrible at this." Cater took a deep breath and ran his free hand down his face. "We've got our internships next year, right? And I thought, we probably won't go to the same place.  And I mean," he began to speak faster, "I'm used to moving by now, you know? Just going to a new place and leaving people behind and stuff.  It's become normal. But I just..." Cater paused, forcing himself to slow down, "I just feel like this time it's different... 'cause I'm with you. 'Cause I love you."

"What do you mean, Cater?"

He used my first name? "I mean," Cater swallowed thickly, "I don't want to leave.  I don't wanna leave you. "

Malleus placed his hand on Cater's cheek. "Do you think you must?"

"I...", Cater froze, then slightly leaned into the touch.  "I don't know. I don't want to. I just thought I'd need to, I guess, since we'd both be away from NRC next year."

"You're correct about that, I suppose," Malleus said softly. "But, what if... we could intern in the same place?" 

Cater's eyebrows rose in surprise, "Wait, pause there.  What?"

"I will go where you go. Or you can come with me. If it's alright with you, I want to find a way to remain together, because," Malleus drew his arms around his Treasure, Cater, before whispering, "I love you with my whole being, and I won't lose you. Not now."

Cater's breath caught in his throat. He'd come with me? He wants to stay with me? Nobody, in the dozen or more places he'd moved had ever wanted to stay with him; to follow him. This was new. This was... nice.

"Okay," Cater murmured into the dark fabric on Malleus' shoulder, before drawing back to look into his eyes. "I won't lose you either, Mal. We'll figure something out... together."

A soft breeze picked up a couple of fallen leaves in front of the couple, swirling them in a sort of gentle dance.

"Um, but first, Mal," Cater said, getting to his feet, "Let's go inside. I... actually am kinda cold." Cater held out his hand for his love (even though he knew he didn't need to).

Malleus smiled, taking his human's outstretched hand and standing up. "I thought you may be."

"Oh shush. You and your... what, intuition? Powers? I don't even know, babe. Anyways, do you want to come in for some tea? I think we have time before Riddle would call us out for it being too late," Cater said with a smile.

Malleus dipped his head. "As always, my dearest Cater."

Even if the school year was coming to an end, the love and support that Malleus and Cater found in each other would continue, however they chose to do so. For now, they would simply enjoy their time, their tea, and whatever else the evening had in store.

[rainbowangel110]

📷 What’s set as your phone’s lockscreen?

🎵 Last song you listened to?

🐰 What do you think says the most about a person?

🐶 Are you more of a dog person or a cat person?

🎧 Headphones or earbuds?

🌼 What’s the last thing you said out loud?

🙃 What’s a weird fact that you know?

👖 Jeans or sweatpants?

🧡 A color you can’t stand?

💎 What’s your most prized possession?

🌴 Desert island item?

🔮 What’s your dream job?

🌿 Describe your favorite outfit.

🎤 Is there a song you know all the lyrics to?

🤎 What color is your hair?

💌 Do you talk to yourself?

🌸 Best compliment you ever received?

💞 @ your favorite blog.

Here's a shitload of questions lol. go ahead and answer as many or as few of these as you want

Subtle ace flag (it's really neat!)

"Under our Spell" (haven't listened to anything lately all that much)

Hmmm good question. If I vibe with someone they're alright in my book!

Cats (kinda scared of dogs)

Headphones for sure. I don't know how people wear earbuds properly.

"7 out of 10 I guess." (Response after my dad asked how was driving practice today and how confident I am about it)

Sea slugs poop out all of their organs to detract predators and then go in an animated state to recover.

Jeans

Hot pink or any color that just leaps out and stabs your eyes.

Desert island..... coconut I guess. (Was gonna say date fruit, can those exist on islands???)

Oooo would love to work as a researcher at NASA or something

This hoodie and jeans

"Everybody Wants to Rule The World" "Runaway" and "Under our Spell" (Yes I know I'm cringe hush)

Really dark brown.

No not really.

"You're a real hard worker kid." (My physics teacher after I somehow clutched the semester average and final exam (still need to do course recovery to make up last semester's disaster (not my fault)))

Make that blogs: @bloodied-dagger @haystarlight @el-fandom-birb @stars-and-birds @idontliketomatoesleavemealone @mistyfoxxy

[toournextadventure]

WHATUP BESTIE I HAVE A QUESTION okay so like lets say that birb gets sick - I don't know if the sicknesses birb might get would be like bird-related, but that isn't important, I'm dying for some Vada/Wednesday headcannons of what they'd do to take care of birb. THANKS ILYYYY -🎲

Okay okay, I'll split it up cause I think they would have two totally different reactions

Wednesday is no-nonsense when it comes to taking care of a sick Birb. She knows they get all pitiful and almost always act like a baby. It's irritating and not the least bit endearing

Maybe a little

She demands Birb stays in bed, only ever getting up when necessary. Not too many blankets, the AC is turned to the perfect temperature, and meds are taken on a strict schedule

If asked for (or begged for), Wednesday will make caldo de pollo to keep Birb's strength up. She does not take suggestions for food, snacks, or drinks. Birb will get whatever Wednesday decides they'll get

Only if the sickness lasts more than a few days does Wednesday finally cave and climb into bed, allowing Birb to cuddle with her (she would never admit it's because she didn't like them being sick and wanted them to feel better)

Whereas VADA, on the other hand, is practically the complete opposite

The MOMENT Birb starts sniffling, Vada is ON IT. She's got blankets, she's got pillows, she's got all kinds of snacks that aren't exactly healthy, but they're comfort foods so it's fine

She's got the meds but forgets to set timers so it never overlaps even though it would probably be better if they did just a little bit. But it's okay, she's trying really really hard

Want some soup? She knows a place that has fantastic takeout, AND they deliver. Want some juice? Cool, she'll go down to the little bodega real quick, stay right there. Wanna watch a movie? Perfect, she's got ALL the streaming sites, both legal and... slightly less legal, just tell her what you want

It always ends up with Vada getting sick too because homegirl doesn't know the meaning of personal space, but that's okay because it's all out of love, right? The roles will just be switched a bit. At least she's cute