#i get my rivals to lovers kicks elsewhere

[cocolacola]

mark ur calendars today was the day i forgave maiev shadowsong

[drkcnry67]

This...

Title: this...

Pairing: Jensen x reader

A.f.g.d: "love you? Don't make me laugh!"

A.f.g.f: free space (soulmates)

A.f.g.b: enemies to lovers

Spn fluff: enemies to lovers

Spn kink: hand cuffs

H&H: "it's time you got know how it feels to be betrayed"

Rating: 18+ just to be safe

Tags: possibly some sexual mentions, enemies to lovers, rival families, undercover meet ups, secret exchanges, soulmate countdown on your wrist... think that's all for now...

Summery: nope not telling

"on this the 14th of September 2012, a set of numbers appeared on my wrist, 95 days, 19hours, 17 minutes, 25seconds. today i guess i am gonna have to start preparing myself to meet my soulmate, the person im meant to be with for the rest of my life. i will do this the only way i can, by allowing myself to undertake as much responsibility as possible. today will be good, i promise. signed, YN."

that was your morning journal entry, what you wrote you couldnt believe it yourself. the numbers on your wrist, you needed to hide it for as long as possible.

Your line of work was dangerous, being a crime scene investigator certainly made your job interesting.

But a few months ago you found out that a family of vamps resided in your territory. You were walking home one evening and were jumped by one such vamp little did you know that you both would become romanticly involved.

Jensen: how would you like to be eaten?

You turned over and kneed him in the stomach sending him backward...

Yn: I wouldn't, you wouldn't find my blood very appealing...

You flashed him your eyes... he backed up immediately.

Jensen: your a wolf but how...

Yn: I was born into it... but you, are you apart of that vampire family in the outskirts of the city?

Jensen: yes, but I was wondering, a ell I mean I kinda noticed when I had your arms pinned but that countdown on your arm, it matches mine as well...

You put yours next to his and that was the start of your long nights of secrets...

Yn: well what do we do? I'm sure neither of our families will accept this...

Jensen: we will meet in secret every evening up on the cliff over looking this end of town... meet me there tomorrow night...

That was the start of the months now of sneaking around but now we go to your day job...

You arrived at the crime scene, you put on your gloves and began looking around the crime scene.

Jerry: find anything yet?

Yn: not so far... but I'm not leaving here till I do... please tell me he isn't...

Jerry: oh you mean the transfer from upstate, ya he's here... so get this he claims this was done by and i quote, "one of those super powered freaks." He is coming this way do you want me to stay?

Yn: no I got this, thanks Jerry.

Jerry walks away and your new rival shows up... you groan as your senses kick high and mighty as he speaks up from behind you...

Jay: yn, slacking off again?

Yn: Jay still trying to steal my job?

you were not sure if this guy was trying to mess with you Or if he was Just dumb...

Jay: you know what I was taught in the academy?

You continued to collect evidence, ignoring him... on the other hand your watch had been buzzing constantly for almost 15 minutes...

You knew there was trouble elsewhere in the city. You knew you had to transform but you couldn't... not in the middle of a case...

you collected and sorted all your samples, labeling it by the areas you found them in... you also took photos of the location spots and of the placement numbers. you bid adieu to your captain and you walked toward the furthest bus stop...

once you were away from the crime scene and out of eye shot of your fellow officers. you felt the power surge within you... you walked down the dark path, through the woods.

you threw your bag hard enough and far enough that it would or should land close to your ancestral home. where you then turned to the sky and howled...

letting your guardian know you were home... you were a werewolf... one of great power, one of nobility, the next in line for the throne of your ancestral home in Deshaan...

yn: ugh, time to do my work...

Killian: and what about your lessons milady...

YN: ill do them when i feel like it, look my parents sent me here to Sunshinevil to lead a normal life. to have a chance at happiness... they sent you here to look after me even though im a grown ass woman.

killian just laughed as he threw your mail at you..

killian: someone sent you a letter with no return address again...

you threw him a dirty look as you ran your fingers over the letters spelling out your name on the envelope. you took all your mail and your bag heading into your room you shut and locked the door.

you opened that no return address envelope first. you could almost hear his voice as you read the letter.

Jensen: hey beautiful, im excited for our nightly jog... i hope that you are ready to once more escape into our own world, live the parts of our lives that should have been ours already... we have talked many times about this, are you still willing to run away with me like we have been talking about for months now? Meet me at the usual spot tonight all my love Jensen

You laid back on your bed and felt your heart beat blissfully in your chest. you now went to start your work but you now were being interuppted by many bright flashing lights outside and screaming yelling and familiar footsteps and voices..

you continued to do your work as your door was pulled off... you were not paying much attention till a loud booming voice spoke up from behind you...

Henry: YN my dearest daughter, i have some good news... your mother is back home finishing up all the details but she said i would be better suited to come here and tell you the news in person!

you didnt like the tone his voice jumped too... you were not sure where this was going so you put down the test tube you were holding and stepped away from the table...

now facing your father you felt your anger rising slowly as you waited for him to continue...

yn: tell me what...

henry: your going to marry the son of a rich family from Wrothgar... they want this alliance between our countries as much as your mom and i do...

you started to shift but mid shift you felt yourself stiffle a bit as your father reached out his arms around you stopping the shift entirely...

yn: why would you guys do that to me...

you scream the tears spilling quick from your eyes.

henry: because we are trying to secure the benefit of the kingdom! and for your future and the future of the bloodline.

Helen: now Henry be reasonable, she is a woman she can make her own decisions.

you could feel the shift beginning again, you couldnt help it... till your father snapped his fingers and used his alpha tone to force you to stop all together. the reverse shift was painful but it worked... you wrapped up in a sheet and dismissed your father to leave the room.

Your mother stayed with you to help console you about your father's actions and tone while you got ready to go out.

you put on the dress for your excursions that night and your shoes and redid your hair. Once all good you finished setting up your equipment to scan the evidence you collected at the crime scene.

You then grabbed your bag and headed out the door of your room. Your father and guardian both staring at your appearance and making judgmental faces.

Kilian: off to party again milady?

Yn: always... Kilian keep my father on his leash I don't want him here when I get back... my mother can stay but my father either can sleep in the shed or I guess with my mother but keep him in check.

Kilian: yes milady.

You leave out the front door, your dress changing into a jumpsuit... once a bit away from home you break into a run through the Forrest line.

Yn: hold on my love im coming.

Your voice carried on the wind, Jensen who was waiting at the top of the clif on the moonlit hill all the way out of town far away from your pack and his clan...

Oh ya by the way Jensen whose supposed to be your enemy, is also your vampire lover. Think Romeo and juliet except way way way worse.

Your father's would absolutely declare war if they found out. But you arrived and saw him sitting staring at the moon.

Jensen: you gonna just stand there or you gonna come out and sit with me.

Yn: I am coming im just trying stay under control...

Jensen: what's got you so flustered my love.

Yn: my father and mother showed up... out of the blue and unannounced, he used his alphas touch to stop me mid shift... to force me back to normal. My mother sat with me for a bit till I got up and came here...

Jensen: come here my love you won't hurt me I know you won't.

You took a few more deep breathes and let all the stress flow away as you cleared out of the tree line.

You stood for a few seconds in the moonlight... you walked over to sit on Jensens lap. As you both watched over the town...

Jensen: what did your father say or do to make you start to shift.

You felt the tears sting your eyes again.

Yn: he basically told me that I am all but engaged to this other wolf prince bastard thing and that it's necessary to continue the bloodlines yack yack yack...

You were shaking, but jensens arms were around you holding your hands with his own.

Jensen: I could kill him if you want...

Yn: I wish but he would sooner force me to rip you to shreds... I just wish he would leave me alone. I just wish he like my mother understood about my lack of interest to this arranged marriage custom.

Jensen: so you wish you could lets say marry me for example.

Yn: exactly. And I would marry you in a heart beat... perhaps one day that will be possible but if our families weren't sworn enemies, We would have already been married.

Meanwhile, as you and Jensen were snuggling on the hillside, neither of you were aware that someone or something was watching you.

Over the hills on the outskirts of 2 towns over, King John and Queen Mary were watching you and Jensen through the eyes of one of their spies.

Mary: who is that girl...

John analyzes the photo but then takes out his phone and take a close up shot of your signat ring.

John: guards, follow this girl in the shadows over the next few weeks... but be careful not to be seen. Just watch her and learn about this new love interest of our sons. For it would seem he has been lying to us this entire time.

Mary: whose ring is that John?

John: the family ring from Deshaan she's a werewolf.

Meanwhile, Henry your father was scolding Kilian as he escorted him to the nicest hotel close to the forest.

Henry: what is my daughter hiding?

Kilian: nothing my king she just isn't in the mood for anything from you.

Henry: well just tell me this do you know where she goes every time she walks out that door...

Kilian: no I don't, I'm not one to pry, I also learned very early not to get on her bad side.

Henry: she has a temper?

Kilian: yep but she does receive letters with only her name on the envelope. She receives one almost every single day.

Henry: see if she will tell you or if you can find out who it is... my daughter is getting mysterious mail and partying and sounds like she doesn't care about the throne. Follow her next time she goes out I want to know where she goes.

Kilian: I will try sir! Good night sir.

Henry is left in the nicest hotel suite that side of town. Puzzled as to what exactly his daughter does with her time.

Meanwhile, you and Jensen had started making out but a sound startles you both... this made you both get up and scan the tree line.

Yn: what do we do...

Jensen: jump? It can't hurt... and if we are found it will be much worse than a moonlight swim in the harbor.

Yn: ugh I guess its gonna be a new phone for both of us...

Jensen: there are worse fates... 3...

Yn: 2...

Jensen takes your hand as you both step to face the ledge.

Jensen: 1... jump...

You and jensen while holding eachothers hands take a running leap off the ledge. not turning back to see who or what may have been skulking towards you. (*more about this later*)

anyway you both made it to the beach, the sand sticking to your now very wet bodies. you looked around and felt a strange sense like you both were still being watched.

Jensen: well yn i think tonight has been eventful enough, but i dont want my princess to catch a cold. lets give it some time before we meet again. at least while your dad is in town...

Jensen kisses you again, before he gets pulled back and you get thrown to the ground.

Jensen: fredrick stop... thats enough....

fredrick: forgive me my prince i was simply doing my job in protecting you...

jensen: go my love, ill send word when i can...

you take off into a run breaking the speed barrier before you can hit the treeline. you slunk in through the front door. and you are met with the glare of Kilian

kilian: milady why are you all wet...

yn: i had to escape some vampires that followed me out from the club i was at tonight... so i made it to the beach i threw down some come and get me taunt knowing that those yawhoos wouldnt follow that close to sunrise, so i walked into the water, held my breathe and swam from one side of the island to the other, so i could get away.

kilian: shall i make you some hot chocolate or...

yn: no thanks i think im just gonna go take a nice hot bath and warm up, then finish my work and hit the hay...

kilian bows slightly handing you a fuzzy throw blanket and a large towel.

kilian: then ill lock up for the night milady... good night milady.

You go into your bedroom and shut the door, locking it and your window for the night. You stripped out of your wet garments and ran a nice hot bath... bringing your bath tray, and laptop into the bathroom with you.

Yn(to self): I wonder what today will bring. Ugh I hope Jay isn't gonna be there. That self spoiled pretentious pig...

You Crawled into the bath and out your laptop on the tray and checked your lab results. Finishing your report for work and your other duties as well. Then calling it a night.

Meanwhile Jensen walked through his front door and was instantly met with the disapproval of his parents.

John: JENSEN, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT KIND OF TROUBLE YOU ARE IN YOUNG MAN...

Jensen: shouldn't you be in bed father.

john: okay listen here you little ingraite... your mother and i have worked for years to train you and to set you up with a very very eligible marriage, so what i would like to know is who that snout faced twit was that you were with tonight?

jensen was now enraged his worst fears now realized... and thats when his father and mother noticed the countdown on his arm.

mary: john settle down... our son is merely checking out the world and experimenting... im sure he didnt know that she was a wolf... did you my son?

jensen knew he had to lie, he didnt like it but he had to do it.

Jensen: mother is right, i didnt know that she was a wolf. if i had i would have torn her to shreds.

john sighed slightly, Mary just glanced over her sons wet appearance and blew him a kiss.

Mary: Jensen my son, retire to your room for the night. you have work tomorrow. living normal is still on the table for you... as long as you never forget who you truly are.

jensen: then that i shall take my leave, mother father...

jensen walked very calmly to his room, his expression changing instantly upon locking the door. breathing in a sigh of relief, as his mind slipped out of real world and into his dreams where he would find you hopefully...

Both of you slept alone in mind and body that night, but one day maybe that would change... you woke up the next morning, got up dressed and packed for work, upon exiting your rooom you run into your dad in the kitchen sitting at the table like a normal person. Your mom was standing washing the counter.

yn: before any of you say anything, just know im late for work and i have nothing else to say to you father... on a different note, good morning mother!

Helen: good morning my sweet girl! I trust that after your bath you slept well!

Yn: of course, it was pleasant!

You grabbed a piece of toast, and started toward the door.

henry: well i was simply gonna say that whatever you are hiding from me, i have my way of learning the truth... most of them unpleasent...

yn: and exactly what are you implying...

you roared dropping your bag...

henry: kilian tells me you have been recieving secret love letters... i want to know who they are from, and when this little shenanigan started and i want to be there when you kill him and complete your link to the alpha's throne.

yn: i have mentioned this numerous times, ill do things in my own time and it is none of your god damn business who i choose to be with... so cancel this arrangement cause i will not keep to it, i will not go through with it, and i have no desire at this time to spend another moment in this cottage today. ill spend the night at the station, at least there i can count on civil conversation and no one lurking over my future plans. so good bye ill see you guys when i see you... on a more pleasant note bye mom I'll see you later!

you picked up your bag and walked out the door slamming it as you went. kilian and your dad didnt say much after that...

You arrived at the station still in a huff, you walked in and breathed in the smell of coffee and donuts...

Jerry: what's got you all in a huff this morning?

Yn: my father's in town, the jerk wad I told you about... the one who tried to sell me off to some rich pompous dick so he could keep his power.

Jerry: oh shit... I gather you will be pulling an all nighter here...

Yn: yep, would you like to have the briefing now or later and can we do it in the lab I need to work on whatever there is...

Jerry follows you to the lab, that's when a call comes through the wire...

Jerry: saddle up YN we got another weird one...

Yn: weird how?

Jerry looks around to make sure no one else is in ear shot...

Jerry: one of the bodies was torn to shreds almost as though like a wild dog or something larger tore through him like a sack of dirty laundry, while the other body, completely devoid of blood, puncture wounds to the neck, Jay stumbled upon them this morning... that's who called it in...

You were pretty sure you had steam coming out your ears, you were so mad you didn't want to loose out on this case to Jay...

Yn: what are we sitting around for? Let's go...

Jerry: look I know you can do an excellent job at this but you need to calm down before you can leave the office your eyes are red...

You pulled out your mirror and took a look for yourself...

Yn: first of all its blood orange, cross between red and gold and second your right I know your right...

Jerry watched as you brought out your claws and slashed your forearm, he watched you shriek as the pain caused you to shift back to normal...

Yn: damn can you hand me the gauze that I keep over on the desk... your the one whose gonna wrap this and then help me put my sweater back on so we can go...

Jerry carefully grabbed the gauze and the tape and put some antiseptic on your arm before he wrapped it...

Jerry: why would you harm yourself?

Yn: it was the only way to get myself under control quickly. I wish there had been an easier way but I'll be fine in a few days... werewolf healing takes longer when it's self inflicted.

Jerry: makes sense. Alright let's get you up and let's get to this crime scene. I've told the officers to not let the csi on scene till I get there with you so you can have an equal opportunity to collect your samples and do your thing.

You winced trying to use your arm to get off the table but you were not completely ready for that yet...

Yn: Jerry get me off this table we cannot give that weasel any satisfaction... not a word of my injury.

You felt jerry take your good arm and help you off the table. Jerry carried your bag and walked with you out the back entrance to the cruiser lot.

Jerry drove and allowed you to relax as you both arrived on scene. It was like foggy, and unusual unsettling feeling as you and Jerry got out of the car.

Yn: i don't like this...

Jerry: I'll follow your lead but we should have run into someone by now...

Yn: shit Jerry get back to the car now... go..

Jerry goes back wards watching your back as you go further into the fog and thats when you got jumped.

You threw the vamp off of you and you recognized him it was one of the ones from the night before.

Justin: oh goodie look what I found, the wolf bitch whose been seducing our prince perfect you are coming with me either consciously or not. My king and queen would like several words with you... and to use you to well teach their son a lesson.

Yn: in your dreams pal, im not going anywhere with you.

Justin: oh yes you are...

Justin lunged at you, his full weight now holding you in a choke hold. You Sunk your teeth into his arm and in return he knocked you out.

When the fog cleared the knocked out officers were on the ground but you were gone. Jerry went to help the officers off the ground but was sure you could handle yourself.

Meanwhile you began to stir waking up next too a growing patch of very very potent wolfsbane. You tried to move away from it but your body still felt funky from being knocked out.

Yn: ugh what happened to me...

Justin peaks into the cell which holds you and yells...

Justin: guards drag this bitch to the dinning hall, throw her down before the king and queen and the young prince. We don't want her to miss the show.

You were dragged out of the cell, cross the stone cold floor and down a set of stairs to a giant set of doors. The next words you hear are ones that shock you.

Guard: your majesties the entertainment has arrived.

John: nobles of the court a transgression shall be righted here tonight for just outside the door is a beast, one that howls by the light of a full moon, one who has seduced our son. Bring her in, leave the handcuffs on her, I don't want her to break free...

You were dragged into the room and thrown down on the ground the gasps across the room were as loud as the sound of your name falling from the lips of Jensen who was more shocked to see you in chains on the floor.

Jensen: father what is the meaning of this...

John: your punishment is to beat this girl and break the seduction she has put upon you my son.

Jensen: what the fuck? Have you lost your fucking marbles father? That is absurd she did nothing of the sort... it was my idea, I was baiting her to find out what she knows about the wolf royals...

You snarled at Jensen watching his expression turn sour and angry... you were pissed..

Yn: you traitor why would you play with my heart like that after I poured my heart out to you, after I gave you all of me, we were gonna run away together, i thought you loved me...

Jensen: love you, ha don't make me laugh? Get it through your head bitch it was all an act to gain your trust... now I'm gonna torture you and prove my worth to the court.

Jensen grabbed a bat that has been wrapped in wolfsbane... Jensen then proceeds to swing at you. Each hit making you scream in discomfort.

After 30 strikes your blood splattered across the floor, Jensen turns to the court as you struggle to get up...

Jensen: well now it's just getting fun, guards open the moon roof, lets watch this bitch break further as I strike her down.

Your struggle to get out of the way is useless as the roof is opened and your body starts reacting to the moonlight...

Yn: please Jensen let me go, please I won't survive the change if this continues...

Jensen: no, not this time little bitch...

You scream again indicatingthe change beginning, first your spine begins shifting breaking and cracking, your screams slowly turn to growls and roars.

Your voice comes out as a howl in the next moment as your bones continue to break.

Jensen: look at her, she is gonna be dead soon lets see if we can shake up the fun, boys the spears...

In seconds you are flanked and spears dipped in wolfsbane are pierced into your sides. Multiple times.

Jensen and the court just laugh, you stop mid shift. It's got you fuming but you manage to push through the pain, your claws scraped against the floor leaving marks...

You managed to get to one knee feeling the wolfsbane burning inside you but you fought the pain.

You heard the sound of the boots that Jensen wore approaching you as he lifted up the bat and was bringing it down on you you reached up and caught the bat pushing it away from you as you stood up fully.

John: impossible...

Yn: no not impossible especially when my family has just arrived.

John and the courts attention is drawn to the doorway which is now hosting your father and Killian standing there staring at the room.

Henry: John, I can't believe you... sending a boy to torture an innocent girl, my daughter of all things... have you forgotten the treaty...

John: I have not Henry... I was merely teaching a lesson... though it seems there was no need for my son could never ever have true feelings towards a beast..

Helen and Mary both exchange long glances not listening to anything other than the sounds of their own words.

Helen: it seems like our husband's are at it again.

Mary: it would seem so but our children seem to have quite the attraction to eachother as well...

Helen: im sure all will be revealed in a few short minutes

Mary and Helen realized that their children's marks showed the same time... while you were still being beaten...

You were trying to block out the stings of the wolfsbane, as then jensens voice came into your head loud and clear as a bell..

Jensen: lets show them what we have... let's show them our ways... plus the time on our arms is about to expire... we need to stall for 5 more minutes.

All you could do was smirk... as you run up behind your father and hold your claws at his throat...

Yn: listen and listen good all of you... we arranged this... for you see our bond is deeper than anything a mere treaty could do...

Jensen: my love for yn is greater than my love for my species... we have a way to become hybrids this way we don't have to be at war... and we can procreate. The bloodlines will continue just not by anyone you guys choose.

You lean in to whisper at your father's ear...

Yn: listen to what we have to say father do not use your temper to solve these issues... listen to us please. If you ever loved me at all you will listen.

You walk towards Jensen as the countdown expires and a binding chain wraps around you and Jensen.

The entire room is awestruck. They didn't know what kind of sorcery this was...

Henry: holy shit...

Killian: oh my God...

John: sorcery...

Mary: yay, I get a daughter...

Helen: yay, I get a son!

John and Henry were now fuming and pissed off... in seconds guards were surrounding you and Jensen...

Yn: Jensen let's show them what love really means...

Jensen: Do you have it?

You pull out 2 viles from your boob crevice... you hand 1 to jensen... both of you popping off the lids and downing them in seconds you both hold hands and feel the liquid coursing through your veins.

You both fall to the ground, minutes pass as John and Henry are now preparing to engage in combat. But fate had another idea.

For your body began to convulse and you sat straight shot up. Jensens body began to break every bone he began to shift... well it would be a partial shift it was still a shift.

You began to see things differently, you pulled down one of the nearby guards and fed from his neck draining him of blood.

You felt so much better. Jensen sat up and looked at his new form, then looked at you in your new form.

Jensen: my love, how do you feel?

Yn: how do I feel, I feel fantastic, how do you feel?

Jensen: fantastic. Shall we stop our fathers from fighting...

Yn: hmm I dunno I think they both need lessons on what the new order is to the food chain. Who the most dangerous predators actually are.

You and jensen take your father's by the throats and lift them in the air.

Yn: look we don't want to kill you, but how does it feel...

Jensen: to know that your children who you both claim to love so much are soulmates and now more powerful than even you.

John: you both have betrayed us...

At that point you both drop your father's on the ground to allow them to breathe and speak.

Henry and John exchange glances and neither you not Jensen have noticed for neither of you are paying attention.

Mary: John stand down!

Helen: Henry that's enough!

You and jensen turned your attentions to your mom's as they stand side by side facing you, your father's and the court.

Mary: our children are soulmates

Helen: they're bound together and as such now are our 2 houses. If you both continue to resist this

Mary: we will have no choice but to lock you both up for the rest of your days, or at least till the executioners get here...

Helen: or do we betray them like they are ready to betray us...

Yn: wait mother...

You look at Jensen who nods and you proceed to explain yourself.

Yn: mom, queen Mary if I may... we actually have a confession to make. We had done this months ago, but we were scared if you guys found out we would have been exiled or worse. So we hid the truth with cloaking serum.

Jensen: the vile we drank tonight de cloaked us and made us who we have become. We knew that if something good was gonna happen we were gonna end up together one way or another.

Mary and Helen looked at you guys and ordered the guards to bring your father's to kneel before the both of you...

Mary: John, Henry look at your children, tell me and Helen that you guys don't still see them as the strong minded and willed children you both helped to raise. Tell us that these 2 children standing before you are not those children and we will have you both exiled. If you guys say these are still your children we will let them decide your fates...

Helen: the choice is yours gentlemen, but we would hurry if we were you, are you guys ready with your choices?

John: this is an outrage! Mary, Jensen you both have betrayed me, us, our family, our clan! It is now only fit that I exile you both from this kingdom!

Mary: if that's how you feel John then fine! I have already made plans for a case such as this anyway...

Jensen: fine, you don't have to pretend any further that we are family cause we are now not family, we are far from it.

John struggled against the grip of the guards, as Henry now spoke as harsh and as vile as John did...

Henry: alright I have a few things to say, #1 Helen my love you have been by my side through everything but you have fallen behind in the times. You are blinded by our daughters misdeeds... by this insubordination that our child has committed, she betrayed the pack, the kingdom and our teachings. Which brings me to point #2 yn my child you are my only heir, you had chosen your own path when you left the kingdom to pursue a normal life. I'm not as vain as John is right now but I don't want to cause any more of a ruckus as it is now. I Henry renounce my crown to my daughter I name her queen and leader of the pack, she is an alpha in her own right, she was born an alpha and now wears the crown. Now I Henry also request to live in this new kingdom if you will allow this...

Your mother and you looked shocked as your eyes flashed to blood shot red and you let out an uncontrolled alphas roar. Once you got your voice back you spoke.

Yn: dearest father for renouncing your title and basically apologizing you can live in this new kingdom but under 1 condition... you never ever do something so foolish again.

Henry: of course my alpha. Helen my darling wife I apologize wholly for how stubborn and pig headed I became about yn's love life how vain I got, how angry I was a few moments ago and I promise you that for the rest of eternity I'll spend it making it up to you. If you'll have me.

You move to allow your mother to approach your father. You watch your mother and your father share a moment of passion.

But everything and everyone are interrupted by a loud roar from John.

John: this is ridiculous! You are all fools! Our children are abominations and you guys are all choosing to accept them!

Mary: John stand down or we will make you.

Mary, Helen and Henry now between you, Jensen and John!

John: Mary you would dare to stand against me... why Mary why would you side with those who dare to change the natural order.

Mary: cause I've seen the light I've seen what kind of man you truly are I know what kind of man you are... now I let my son speak cause you are no longer my husband no longer my king.

John's rage shon through, John now shifted full vampire.

John: Mary you defy me, you deny me, you reject me. Fine I don't need you I don't need any of you. In fact I'm gonna kill you, your son his half wit brat and her half wit parentals as well.

Yn: Jensen deal with him in such a way that justice will reign Supreme, actually guards put him on the rack!

The guards rolled in a rack usually used to torture prisoners, but in this case it would adhere to a different purpose.

Jensen: ah good thinking babe, attention everyone, what you are about to see is our new kind of justice, those that oppose us will be strapped to a rack and then made into a hybrid like us and forced to stay that way as they desicat in a cell from which they have no means of escape for all eternity.

John: why you insolent brats, I don't accept this, I'm the king, you cannot do this to me!

Jensen roars and steps to stand beside his father.

John: I don't know what changed in your being to think that anything like this would have been okay in the first place. But you stopped being my son a long time ago.

Jensen: I was never your son, I was just some bargaining chip to use whenever you wanted.

Jensen received the extra vile of change formula from you and became as content as rain when he saw the glint of fear in John's eyes.

The guards forced John's mouth to stay open as the viles contents were poured in.

Jensen: now it's time you know how it feels to be betrayed, father... as your body starts to accept the formula you will start to loose consciousness and then your bones will break and then you may or may not black out as well. Either way guards put him on a one way boat trip to the prison in the southern isles and make sure he is secure wouldn't want him escaping.

The guards do just that, and after a few moments of John leaving the room his screams of pain echo through the entire castle.

Jensen: yn, you are the love of my life, the fire in my soul and I wouldn't be who I am without you. I look forward to uniting our 2 kingdoms merging them so that we all may live in peace and harmony!

The crowd cheered, it was the dawn of a new Era in which werewolves and vampires would never again be at war with one another.

While you and Jensen lived happily ever after well for now at least.

~ that's all for now folks~

[adventuresloane]

“I know it hurts, I’m sorry.” with hurloane, perhaps : o?

((Hey what's up I wrote this on a nine-hour flight and it ended up being almost 3k words lmaooooo. Sorry again for the wait!))

Hurley turned the corner into the alley and saw the blood black and bright as motor oil in the nighttime. She had been expecting and dreading it.

"Shit, Sloane." She didn't remember until a moment later about using real names out in public, nor did she particularly care at the moment. She ran forward to where Sloane sat slumped against the wall and slid to a stop on her bare knees.

Underneath the black, beaked helmet, her breathing came out ragged. She brushed away Hurley's hand when she carefully tried to lift the bird mask away. "Alright, Curls, I'd say you're the healer of our team, right?" Her hand rested on her belly, over the spot where the thin wooden shaft stuck out of her. "Do I leave this in me or pull it out now?"

"Sloane, you need a fucking hospital," she hissed. "I'm taking you."

"Oh, and you're going to check me in there, Lieutenant? That'll look good."

"I'll just drop you off and go if that's what you want! I'll be anonymous."

"No. They could still figure out who I am there, even without the mask." She pushed herself up slowly against the brick wall with one hand. "Besides, I'm not even that bad."

"Sloane..."

"I'm not! Just..." Behind the helmet's dark visor, it was difficult to see whether she was making eye contact. But she turned her head fully toward Hurley for the first time all night. "Just help me out a little now, alright? Then I'll take care of myself afterward, I promise."

She tried to give Sloane a glare that she couldn't sustain for long. She wouldn't be able to see her disapproval in the dark anyway. Hurley finally relented and let out her held breath, though it left her feeling no more relieved. Drops still fell from Sloane's stomach now and again. "If you're going to run, you should take the bolt out. You might bleed more, but it's better than risking more internal damage while you're moving around," she murmured. Then she paused and placed a hand over Sloane's, where it rested over her gut. "Would you...would you rather do it yourself or should I..."

"Could you?"

For a long time, Hurley took in the cold air. Still holding her breath, she wrapped her hand firmly around the shaft of the bolt. She kissed the only exposed part of Sloane's skin that she could reach, where her neck met her collarbone, and then pressed her forehead gently against her chest there, mingling their cooled sweat. Then she removed the serrated arrowhead the only way that one could when one was without anesthetic, surgical tools, and time.

The gasp that came out of Sloane would have been a scream if she'd had just slightly less self-control. "Sorry, sorry, shh..." At once, Hurley tore the fabric from the bottom of her gi--first-aid kit wasn't as easy to reach--and started to press it against the wound. She imbued it with what healing magic she could, but a few seconds of contact would never be enough. It took time to restore flesh. Sloane shook against her but still stood. She shouldn't have had to. Absurdly, she wanted Sloane collapsing into her, wanted to take on all her weight, though it would never have been possible now. "I know it hurts. I'm sorry. I'm..." She swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry..."

"No, it's fine," she croaked. "I asked you to do it."

"Well, you didn't ask for this! I'll kick their asses for you, alright? They're not getting away with this."

Sloane simply took the fabric from her hands and pressed it to her own stomach as she began to move away. "We'll talk later, okay? I'll get--shit." Hurley heard it, too, a second later. The click of crossbows being cocked and footsteps rushing down the street. Without another word, she took off running around the bend.

That left Hurley to turn around and face her troop of fellow officers as they rounded the corner--bows drawn, and by the gods, she was going to report every one of them later for aiming a weapon without a target in sight.

"Hold your fire!" she blurted. Only when they all stopped and stared at her blankly did she realize that she ought to justify that. "Ah...these are apartments along this alley. All of them, I think. I'm not going to have stray bolts going into folks' homes while they sleep!"

It wasn't a good lie. She would've known that even if she hadn't seen the confused glances they gave each other. There was a reason she normally left the lying and the acting to Sloane. But anyway, her officers were meant to listen to her whether they believed her or not. "The Raven's still running. Took off down Hoopoe Street in the direction of Town Hall. You both, head west and see if you can cut her off!" And like that, she sent them off in different directions, none of them the way in which Sloane had gone. Later, they'd talk around the water cooler at the office about how the thief had slipped off again, how they'd practically had her in the bag before she'd just vanished like shadow passing into darkness.

Hurley followed them, but before she did, she looked back to where she had last seen Sloane run, really.

It was difficult, when she got back to the office in the wee hours of the morning, to convince her superiors that she was simultaneously too hurt to perform the rest of her shift and not hurt enough to be immediately sent to an ER. The signs of a scuffle with the Raven helped, though--she hadn't even thought to point out her torn clothes until someone mentioned it. In any case, after filing the most perfunctory of reports, she sped on foot through the city to the safehouse that Sloane had set up for herself. It wasn't soon enough that she finally got to the door and rapped out the special, encoded knock signaling that it was her.

There was silence from the other side for so long that she started to wonder whether Sloane had gone elsewhere, or whether she had made it anywhere. Already, Hurley had wasted so much time trying to get the militia off her back without them suspecting how urgent it was. She might not have been quick enough.

She was just preparing to knock again when she heard shuffling from deep inside. It must have gone on for a couple of minutes before the door finally creaked open. Through the crack slipped a hand clutching the shining, gold-painted horn of her familiar ram mask.

She blinked at it. "Why--"

"Just put it on!" Sloane's voice hissed from inside.

Hurley obliged and stepped through to see Sloane still in the helmet that enclosed her whole head. Without a word, and without allowing for a chance to ask how she was feeling, she turned and walked away. Sloane was a good actress, Hurley reminded herself. She was pretending not to care. That didn't mean she might not have also been angry about being shot by people under Hurley's command.

"You know, Raven, I think I recall you being the one who wanted to keep this on the down-low." The call came from the living room of the abandoned apartment, slathered in mock-sympathy. "Just between us and all that. Wouldn't want word getting back to the other racers that you weren't in top shape."

"Yeah, well, you're shit out of luck, because it's no one you can gossip with here. It's just my partner."

That word again. It was the only one she had ever heard Sloane use to refer to her, to what they were to each other. "Racing partner" is what she meant, of course. Hurley wasn't sure if she intended for the plausible deniability about what sort of "partners" they were aside from that. But no other word like "girlfriend" or "lover" had been used by either of them, at least not out loud. The question had been, after maybe the third instance of supposedly "no-strings-attached" sex, Hey, so is this a thing now? and the answer had been, Looks like it. It had seemed simple and natural. They hadn't been anymore specific than calling it a "thing" at the time.

Though it wasn't like they talked about their relationship with anyone but each other regardless.

"Oh, I know who it is." Hurley pushed past the old woven rug that hung in the doorway to come face-to-face with someone who looked as though every part of them had been stretched out. They were human, tall and narrow as the gap between jail bars, with long arms full of measly muscles and straight hair down to their knees. There was smile on their face and a shine in their eye. "Well, hello, Ram! You clean up alright. I'm used to seeing you covered in dirt." They said this as Sloane sat down in front of them and they laid hands back on her belly, where the wound had begun to close up.

Hurley took one look at Crane and then glanced back Sloane's way. "Raven, seriously?"

"What? They know what they're doing!"

"Why, thank you! I absolutely do know what I'm doing," said the person who, despite not having won a race in months, could easily clinch the award for Shadiest Cleric on the Racetrack, and Most Likely All of Goldcliff. (Honestly, maybe they were lying and were actually some bizarre kind of warlock.)

"They're going to bleed you dry at best and might make it even worse if it suits them. You know that, right?"

"On the contrary, I think you'll find that I'm doing a fine job stopping her bleeding, no thanks to you."

"Hey, I didn't ask you to come and watch," Sloane said with a half-shrug, as though entirely unbothered one way or the other.

She was a good actress. But that, quite frankly, was a little much. Hurley chewed on the tip of her tongue until it just barely began to hurt. It was bad enough, she thought, that she wasn't the one doing the healing right now, that someone else was laying their hands on her. She could, just barely, watch strands of this asshole's foreign magic slither like worms into Sloane. But to imply that she'd ever choose not to be by Sloane's side was adding too much insult to injury.

On the other hand, it wasn't like this was anything new. Given how many racers engaged in worse illegal activity on the side, rivals were always loathe to show their faces to one another, let alone share personal details that could be used against them. For her and Sloane, that had always meant keeping their closeness under wraps in front of everybody. In front of criminals and law-abiding citizens alike.

Finally, Crane stepped away and let Sloane run her hand over the spot that had just healed. "See, now, you're good as new! Be back to eating shit on that racetrack in no time. That'll be 700 gold, my dear."

"That's a funny way of saying 300 gold," Sloane quipped back.

Seeing where this was going and not especially keen on a five-minute-minimum bargaining session over how much Sloane's actual life was worth, Hurley stepped forward to drop a sack of coins into Crane's hand. "That's 650, alright? Now please leave."

"Ram, fuck's sake, don't give into them like that!"

"Aw, very sweet of the little sheep."

"Fuck you," Sloane said. A selfish part of Hurley hoped that was for her.

"So it's true, then?" Crane's grin stayed smug, but it was no longer satisfied. There was something new in the way they held themself. The way their head tilted as though trying to see from a different angle, the little bounce in their knee as they stood there. Behind those thin, grinning lips, they salivated for an answer. "What they say about the two of you, I mean."

"They say a lot of things about us. Now kindly fuck off out of my safehouse." Her tone was flippant, but the skin stretched taut over her knuckles as her fist kept tightening at her side. She had one arm outstretched toward the door, and that was held tensely, too.

But she might have just said yes. There weren't many these days in the racing scene who didn't at least suspect, and these were people who would wear their "lucky" boxers for two months straight if they thought it would let them win a race or outrun a cop. If they had a suspicion, any inkling of what might give them even the barest advantage, then they were acting on it already. Sloane lost nothing by confirming what everyone already thought they knew anyway.

As for what the pair of them stood to gain? Admittedly, Hurley wasn't quite sure. Maybe freedom, or maybe just a way of knowing that they'd been free all along. Free to share their victory kiss out in the open, drenched in sweat and the sun and the clamor of the crowd and each other. They didn't always have to crash together rough and quick as they ducked down a shadowed alleyway after a race.

"Sure, sure." They sneered. "I was just wondering if I could tell everyone that I heard wedding bells."

Her fingers uncoiled only to snap to the handle of the dagger at her thigh. Her shoulders were forward, the ruff of feathers around her collar seeming to puff out like the neck of a frilled lizard. She walked at them quick enough to startle them back a step, the black beak of her mask inches from their eye. Hurley had seen her like this before, this posturing. There was a time when she might have fallen for it herself. That was before she knew to look for the quickening of Sloane's breath, the way her whole body stiffened as if bracing for a blow. "Crane, if you fuck me over--"

"Alright, alright!" Their hands were up in front of them. "Fantasy Jesus Christ, you woke up on rather the wrong side of the bed, didn't you?"

"I got shot."

"And you're a very bad sport about it." They spun on their heel and raised their hand without looking back. "Happy trails, you two."

Sloane slumped as soon as their footsteps had faded completely. She was stable now, and the only blood left in the room had long since dried to shit-brown, but exhaustion pressed down on her like a hand on the place where her neck met her spine. Hurley saw it and had the thought, as though it had been whispered to her without warning, One of these days, I'm going to make you honest.

As soon as she sat on the bench, Hurley joined her. "Sloane?"

Sloane turned her way. This time, when she tried to lift the raven mask away, she wasn't prevented. For the first time since yesterday, she saw bright green eyes underlined by dark crescents, looking her softly all over. She brushed aside the strands of hair that had been plastered to the side of her face by sweat since last night, rubbed lightly at the indents in her skin that had been left by the mask. She closed her eyes slowly when Hurley ran a thumb over her cheek, and she turned her head to the side when Hurley tried to get a better look to see if she was okay, and this was how Sloane loved her, by giving way to her like this. And this was why she loved to be loved by Sloane, because she relented for no one else, because she let herself be cared for by no one else. This belonged to Hurley alone.

Though that didn't mean it always had to he behind closed doors.

"What are you lookin' at?" Sloane finally murmured with a small, tired smile. "I know I look like shit."

"I'm sure I do, too. We both haven't slept." In the growing light just before sunrise, she could see what she hadn't before, the smaller cuts across her chest and over her arms. Nothing big, but there, and red. "They missed all of this."

Sloane raised her brows a little. "I didn't ask them to take a look."

"You shouldn't have to ask." Hurley stared her down on purpose as she said it, to make sure the words stuck out to her.

It was unclear whether they did. She glanced away and scratched at her hairline. After seeming to think for a moment, then, she quickly said, "Well, they would've charged me more for that, I bet. Speaking of which, I guess this means I'm paying you back, huh?"

"You're an ass," Hurley said just before kissing her, slowly this time. Sloane placed her hands over Hurley's where they rested against her damaged chest, keeping them pressed there. She had her eyes closed, since she didn't have to look to feel the way the warm healing magic flowed from her fingers and into Sloane's body. She could sense the cuts in her skin closing one by one.

If she could help it, she'd always be the reason Sloane turned honest. She'd be the reason Sloane showed her exhaustion, the reason she felt safe enough to doze at dawn in a run-down old apartment the way she was now. She'd be the excuse for Sloane not to play hard all the time.

And it didn't have to be now, but someday she'd love her so hard that they'd have to be out in the open about it.

[luckbeabugaboo]

Misdirection

October 6th entry in my “kiss a day” challenge (requests open).

75. Kiss Meant To Distract The Other Person From Whatever They Were Intently Doing  (Ladynoir; enemies to lovers soulmate AU)

Ladybug sidestepped, barely evading claws. She felt the race of adrenalin fueling her footfalls, giving her the agility to duck beneath his swings and bounce out of range when he lurched forwards to trap her in his steady grip. Something in her ached when their eyes locked. An impossible amount of pain was woven into the green strands of his irises. This had be to just as excruciating for him as it was for her. 

Master Fu had told her a number of times that the ache was a burden they both had to carry until the universe was set right. Balance couldn’t reign if creation and destruction were on opposing sides of the playing field. Her back pressed to cold metal and in an instant, she was cornered. He had every opportunity to strike to kill. From this altitude she could be sent plummeting with a simple shove. But that wasn’t the game they were playing. Cat and bug played a trickier game, the kind where no one was meant to get hurt, they were just meant to surrender. 

His staff made a loud ‘clank’ as it connected with the iron behind her, effectively barring her in. “You know what comes next, my lady.” He hunched over her, domineering but deceivingly gentle. “I’ll be taking your Miraculous.” 

“When has that ever actually played out for you?” Ladybug stood her ground firm, glancing over his shoulder for a way out. Her partner was still tied up in combat with Hawkmoth’s latest victim, which meant she was going to have to find her own solution. These kinds of odds were familiar in a depressing sort of way. “If it were really that easy then you would have gotten them by now.”

His lips curled into an indignant sneer, but the words they wanted to form never found her ears. She leaned back against the wall, yo-yo in hand, and kicked into his gut. Without waiting to see the damage, she threw the unending wire upwards, watching it loop around the scaffolding, before she zipped up and out of reach. She didn’t love dangling above an angry feline, that never ended well for insects, but she hadn’t thought up the next step in her plan yet. “Come on, Carapace.” She barely managed a groan as she swung up and landed on a thin steel ledge.

“You’re aiming pretty high for a ladybug without wings.” Chat Noir taunted, his voice taking on a metallic reverb that sent shivers down her spine. “Cats are natural climbers, you know.” She heard the sound of metal hitting metal long before she processed the visual of him sitting atop his extended staff a mere handful of feet from her. “Peek-a-boo, bugaboo.”

For a moment, they sat in stalemate. Suspended in silence that both refused to break. Chat Noir watched her with an antagonizing interest, his gaze latching onto something in her soul and threatening to rip it open if she didn’t comply with his wishes. In another world, they could have been good friends. That was something she used to remind herself often when they first began this dance. 

His reasons for lashing out against her and for blindly following Hawkmoth weren’t hers to know or judge, but they were variables she hated calculating around. Chat Noir was the paragon of devotion to his cause, eager to impress the disembodied voice on the other side of the dark butterflies that tainted so many Parisian hearts. The most willing puppet she’d ever seen. Whatever strings bound him were invisible to her eyes.

Despite the fact that he was her true rival, Ladybug had yet to ever meet Hawkmoth in person. He was the whisper of doubt that created monsters. He was the dark butterfly wings that gave nightmares flesh. But she had no way to reference him in her mind. When she put a face on the things that troubled her it was almost always Chat Noir’s. He had been the only tangible constant in her time as a superhero, unpleasant or otherwise. 

“Ladybug!” Carapace broke the stupor as he called out to her. “Get the wand!” 

The heroine turned her head fast, glancing down two levels to find her green suited partner squared off with the akumatized victim. He was dressed in full magician costume, his face painted white and a magic wand poised in his hand. He went by the name ‘Presto’ and Ladybug was unfortunately not able to say much else about him since Chat hadn’t given her much chance to assist. 

It was time to whip out that big guns. Pulling her yo-yo back into grasp, she was about to call for her Lucky Charm when she felt fingers on her wrist. The grasp not tight enough to hurt, but tight enough that she wasn’t about to get free easily.

“Leaving so soon?” Chat was at her side, having closed the distance while her eyes were elsewhere. She shouldn’t have let her guard down. “I a-paw-logize, teenage mutant magic turtle, but I’m not quite ready to part with her yet.”

Carapace groaned. She didn’t need to see him to know that his eyes were rolling. “Can you kick his butt already?”

“I’m working on it!” Ladybug huffed. Her partner made it sound like it was easy to get the upper hand, an assumption that could only really come from someone who hadn’t had to deal with Chat in large doses. “You don’t have to do this, Chat.”

“Neither do you.” The edge to his voice was cutting, almost accusatory. “But here we are.” With that, he tugged her forwards. 

The grasp on her wrist was kept tight, likely because he knew if he let go she’d just grapple away. She searched for every possible escape route but was finding herself at a loss. He was close enough that she could see how many strands made up the stunning green and yellow of his eyes, which meant he was close enough to stop her from making any quick motions. 

His free hand rose up, clawed fingers brushing against the stray hair beside her left ear. He was so careful in the way he tucked it back, it almost seemed tender. Alarms were screaming in her mind as she tried to think of some way out. Doing the only thing that seemed reasonable, she began to take steps backwards. Any space she gained from him was immediately taken back and no matter how she thrashed her hand around there didn’t seem to be any chance of freedom. 

“Don’t…” He whispered. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

Fight or flight adrenaline was searing through her veins as she looked at his troubled eyes. There was story in there, one that she hoped someday she could learn. But right now her priority was giving him the slip. A single idea was running around in her skull, a really stupid, really bad, not at all good sort of idea. It had a slim margin of success, but slim was better than none at all.

“Okay.” She relaxed her frame, doing her best not to flinch when his hand settled on her cheek. “You win.”

Confusion lit every corner of his face, but she didn’t waste too much time watching it. Instead, she leaned in and placed her lips over his. Something sparked. Electricity in her soul igniting every nerve in her body. This felt so right, to be connected so intimately with Chat Noir. Her fated partner, the other half that was meant to make her powers whole. His grasp on her wrist loosened enough for her to slide her hand free, first lifting it to settle on his chest. 

The kiss was fake. She had to keep reminding herself that as she felt the way her heart was racing. It was a means to an end, a distraction meant to take his mind out of the element long enough that she could make a bold move. 

And said bold move happened fast. The hand on his chest pushed him back and she watched his balance falter on the thin metal perch. 

“Wh--” He opened his mouth to question her, but was cut off when she tossed her yo-yo up to the sky.

“Lucky Charm!” A flourish of ladybugs lit around her, sparkling brightly before dropping a rabbit into her hands. “Oh jeez… They can’t ever make these easy.”

“Why did you--” Chat seemed to have regained some of his wits and was about to lunge at her again. Or at least that was her assumption. 

Instead of waiting around for him to make his next move, she offered him a salute before cradling the rabbit to her chest and stepping off the ledge. “Bug out!” Soon enough, she was swinging back into the real fight.

“Welcome to the party.” Carapace shot her a smile.

“Sorry it took so long.”

[bipolyjack]

Please tell me more about why you like sheith, I'm very curious to hear the rest of it.

(alright luckily i had the beginning of this saved elsewhere when tumblr just randomly sent it early so imma just begin by pasting. also spoilers for voltron s4 obv) 

the original ask was something like “curious why u like sheith? ive thought abt it and i think i prefer klance”

rubs hands 2gether Thank U for Asking

first of all, thats chill! if klance is ur thing, fuckin go for itmy dude, have a great time with that shit. the fandom’s huge andtheres tons of content. im all for ppl shippin what they want and imnot here to tell someone to ship or not ship something. if u do trulywant to know why im a sheith tho, buckle the fuck up cause im awashin sheith feelings at every moment and i got Things 2 say

alright so the main thing with sheith is that it feels realhealthy and good. (well it did. things are weird this season bc shiromay or may not be a clone but up until his disappearance at least.)they’re rly good abt checking in with each other to see how theother one’s doing and feeling, and they lean on each other a lotfor support. they also treat each other as equals and respect each other’s choices (again, with minor exceptions in the current season). they got that good good hidden backstory together. they got that good good star crossed lovers thing goin on where the universe keeps ripping them apart, fucking them over and tossing them back together more fucked up than before and my dude i Eat That Shit UP. also that good good height difference.the show gives them lots of moments where they’re either alone in a room together havin a private moment or havin an equally private moment in front of the whole fuckin team where fuckin everybody can see them (like the first Hug tm). they’re openly physically intimate with each other (which keith is not with anyone else) and they’re not like. ashamed of that. there’s so much canon content i cry daily. 

here lemme break it down

we know they knew each other in the garrison, and not just like in passing, like acquaintances, but enough that keith was the only person there to see shiro off when the kerberos mission launched. in s1ep1 lance says of shiro “omg that guys my hero” and of keith “you’re my rival” but neither shiro nor keith know who lance even fuckin is. bc presumably they didnt hang out. everyone in the garrison knows who keith and shiro are but they - keith especially it seems like - dont keep track of the other students. also theres this whole fanon thing where shiro and matt were best friends in the garrison and hung out all the time before kerberos, but in s4 when matt greets shiro hes incredibly stiff and awkward and calls him sir and shiro just goes “pidge never gave up on u buddy” which i guess could be a clone thing but could also be him bein like “i totally did give up on u tho, whatever” (and i can totally buy that considering how pidge’s whole personal arc this whole time has been looking for matt and their dad, and while shiro has been supportive of that, he’s also been like hey dude that’s not our top priority as a team). so from that i infer that matt and shiro werent best buds in the garrison, and that he must have spent a lot more of his time with keith bc in s2ep1 keith makes it clear that shiro made a significant impact on his life and that he still thinks about things shiro said to him before kerberos. which we havent seen. bc theyre hiding the pre-kerberos backstory from us and i cry. also their flashbacks in s1ep2 (i think, i dont exactly remember which ep but i think its that one) when they all put on the headsets and we see their fondest memories, shiro’s is the day they were separated and keith’s is the day they found each other again like jesus.

then there’s keith’s first scene in the show. the first thing we see him doing is kicking the shit out of like three garrison guys to rescue shiro. we get that close up of him touching shiro’s unconscious fuckin face and his first line in the whole show is him saying shiro’s name. like shit dude how am i supposed 2 not ship that. the first time keith and lance interact, its lance butting in on that moment and keith being like “who the fuck are u” and its. uncomfortable. we also know that keith has been livin alone in the desert and obsessing over these lion carvings bc he got kicked out of the garrison for basically insubordination sometime after shiro went missing. we get that scene in the shack where keith talks abt feeling lost until shiro showed up and everyone else in the room looking all confused and uncomfortable as these two dudes who clearly already know each other well and have been separated for like a year just stare into each other’s eyes or what the fuck ever. also the scene outside the shack where keith comes and finds shiro and puts a hand on his shoulder and asks him how hes doing - theyre alone for that part. also worth mentioning is that keith has no hesitation touching shiro’s galra tech arm, whereas lance hesitates before shaking his hand. we see a bunch of times that keith is touch averse with almost everyone except shiro, in a way that indicates a degree of prior familiarity and a good understanding of boundaries that keith hasnt had the time or inclination to set up with lance, hunk, pidge, allura, coran etc. also the one time he holds lance when sendack attacks the castle and lance is unconscious, lance sort of blows it off later and basically goes “no homo” when keith brings it up so that was a bummer

i also love some of the Pauses they put into shiro and keith’s dialogue, some of them are just. so choice. like when keith proposes a crazy plan that puts him in danger and shiro just takes a sec, closes his eyes, then goes “alright i’ll back u up, do what u gotta do” like!!!! boi!!!!!! thats good shit. also in s2ep9 during the blade of marmora trial when keith is basically having this nightmare about shiro rejecting him because of his connection to the galra, (which real actual shiro can see because this whole ep was a fuckin fanfiction) and he does that same thing where hes like “shiro... *pause, close eyes for Just a sec* you’re like a brother to me” which! by the way!! i have said the same thing!! to a friend i had a crush on!!! who was straight!!!! and i was a little baby who didnt know i was into girls yet and we used to say we were like sisters bc i? didnt know i?? was gay???? we shared her bed whenever i stayed over and she really did see me as a sister and i would just lie next to her and daydream about touching her boobs,, anyway keith is so relatable there i could yell forever but continuing on,

can we, real quick, talk abt the first time keith flies the black lion? bc in s2ep1 hes not the black paladin yet. real shiro is still around. and keith legit goes up to black, puts a hand on her big ole nose and goes “ur boi is in trouble, we gotta help him” and she goes “yeah dude hop in” like?????????????? thats some fanfic shit again! black Knows! also dont even talk to me abt how many times keith and shiro yell each others names in that ep its unreal. also the trope (that i eat the fuck up every time) of one member of the otp lying trapped and injured somewhere and talking to the other member of the otp thru a helmet comm or whatever and they cant see each other but they can hear each others voices, so they have to keep talking to like reassure each other they’re both still alive and okay?!!! im such a sucker for that shit!!!! ummmmm the fact that shiro keeps reassuring keith that hes fine when theres a gaping glowing wound in his side and hes like visibly in pain, clenching his teeth, eyes closed, groaning, sweat beading on his forehead, the whole fuckin thing?? and josh knocked it outta the park with shiro’s voice in that ep making him sound like he was trying not to sound hurt and exhausted so that keith wouldn’t worry too much like Fuck me up!! smiling thru the pain when keith talks abt how much shiro changed his life and made him a better person??? boi!!!!!

then there are the times when shiro talks abt something happening to him and keith taking over as voltron’s leader, and keith gets all panicked about it like he cant stand the thought of losing shiro again (this happens a bunch of times but the ones that are coming to mind are s2ep1 and s2ep9 bc. again. those are the fanfic episodes). and then he Does lose him again and he’s so clearly grieving, lashing out at the rest of the team, super obviously feeling shiro’s loss more than the others (and lance is a real dick about it a bunch of times which really rubbed me wrong), going out to look for him over and over bc he wants to believe so bad that shiro’s out there somewhere. omg the “please no” when the black lion accepts him that shit Fucked me right up!! he wants to honor shiro’s wishes!! but some part of him knows that’s like admitting that shiro’s gone and isn’t coming back. and then!!!!!! when they find kuron and its just the red lion and the galra ship floating alone in space just like. gently drifting toward each other. keith’s little tired smile there. fuck me up. and then we find out in the next scene that keith has been the only one in shiro (kuron)’s room while he’s recovering and shiro (kuron) hasnt bothered to shave or cut his hair or get dressed yet and he lets keith see him like that and not the rest of the team. fuck. keith looks Exhausted in that scene. hes got bags under his eyes, hes kinda hunched in on himself, arms crossed, like something in him Knows this isnt his boi but he wants to believe it’s him so bad and its. god. its a lot. and Then when hes turning to leave and kuron is like “how many times will u have to save me before this is over” and keith’s face just relaxes into this legitimately genuine smile when he says “as many times as it takes” like!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! fuck me

this is where it starts gettin awkward with them bc kuron isnt shiro and he doesnt treat keith the way shiro would but he Tries, like after keith fucks up that one mission and kuron comes and finds him (again, in private) to touch his shoulder and be like “im proud of u boi” when keith clearly Did Not Do A Good Job and keith just looks bummed like “thats. thats not tru” and it Hurts me bc we know real shiro doesnt do fake praise. also kuron orders keith to put himself in danger more than once and doesnt give a shit that keith and the others get hurt because of it which also real shiro would never do - we’ve seen him react when his teammates take hits before, but especially keith, like during the bom trial. then theres s4ep1 where keith sort of drifts away from team voltron in order to do more stuff with the blade of marmora and everyone’s pissed at him but then as hes walking out kuron’s like “you know we’re here for you if you need us” and keith gets that soft smile again like “i know and i cant tell you how much that means to me” and then they do that good good hand clasp that turns into a hug which by the way is a stark contrast to when other people hug keith and they just kinda grab him and he goes all stiff and it takes him a sec or three to put his arms around them if he even does that at all - with shiro they do the hand clasp first and then walk into the hug together and keith buries his face in shiro’s fuckin shoulder and smiles and closes his eyes and i wanna die. and theyve done this twice now which makes me think they probs did it before kerberos too and that also hurts me. 

then theres s4ep6 where keith has gone the whole season feeling like he was a bad leader. it seems like voltron doesnt rly need him and his friends dont need him and shiro doesnt need him and hes been hanging with the bom who have their whole philosophy of not going back to rescue their own guys if it means putting the mission or the rest of the team in danger (which keith already was saying when allura was captured - how very galra of him) and now keith’s having to readjust to that mindset after being part of such a close knit team. so when he sees a way to take that shield down, he just fuckin goes for it. hes started to see himself as expendable. when shiro thinks hes about to die, we get all kinds of flashbacks, the first of which is him and keith alone outside the shack. there are no flashbacks with keith. he just closes his eyes. and shiro (kuron) congratulates him. like obv its before he knows what keith was about to do, but still, thats some fucked up shit. 

now this wasnt rly part of ur question, ie u didnt ask me how i felt abt klance, but i feel like i gotta say: lance just grates on me. im sorry i know lots of people who love him but he just. isnt my cup of tea. and i do think the relationship shown in the show between keith and shiro is a lot more mature and healthy than the one shown between lance and keith. lance has some good moments! but canon lance and fanon lance seem like two entirely different people to me a lot of the time and thats all cool and fine if ur lookin for that, again im not here to stop ppl from having fun, but there are so many good sheith moments in the show and im just glad to see the relationship between two dudes depicted that way regardless of whether it becomes canon or not. also lance in the show is only shown being attracted to girls, and in kinda a skeevy way - like ive met guys who treat me like that and been Very off-put by that kind of behavior. and it would put me off if after all that they got him together with keith. like hes just superficially interested in all these hot girls but keith, who he has very few heartfelt intimate moments with onscreen, is his True Love? like thats,, not good bi rep. i Do rly like the bond hes been building with allura since they switched lions, that seems like its going in a direction that could turn out to be very wholesome and sweet. but again, if klance is ur thing, by all means have a ball.

k that was a lot but tl:dr i like 2 cry and sheith provides me with lots of opportunities to do that,, if u read it all then thank u deeply and truly for ur attention, u probs Understand me as a person a bit better than before lol

[unbreakablejemmasimmons]

Dear Yuletide Writer,

Thanks for signing up for this superfun exchange! This is the fourth year I’ve participated now, and I’ve always enjoyed it-- I hope you do, too.

Below you’ll find the following:

General Likes/Kinks

General DNWs

Fandom Specifics/Prompts

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - Rebecca Bunch, Greg Serrano

Schitt’s Creek - Stevie Budd, David Rose

The Good Place - Eleanor Shellstrop, Trevor the Demon

Newsies - Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, Jack Kelly

I’ve tried to list some varied prompts for each fandom, but please don’t feel like you have to stick to what I’ve come up with! If the rest of my letter gives you another idea you’d like to write, I’d love to read it!

A little about me to start:

My AO3 name is SuburbanSun; you can also check out my Tumblr if you’d like, and my tags for each of my requested fandoms (that I’ve posted about before-- apparently that excludes Schitt’s Creek!) here: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Good Place, Newsies.

General Likes/Kinks:

I’m a big trope fan in general– faves include rivals/enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, bed-sharing, trapped in an enclosed space, mutual pining, secret dating/sneaking around, slow burn, FWBs that turns into something more. Subversions of tropes are also great, so don’t feel like you have to go the obvious route if you choose to write something tropey!

I have a weird (not weird because it’s uncommon, more weird because it doesn’t fit in obviously with the rest of my likes and favored tropes) love for Secret Service/bodyguard/witness protection AUs and private eye AUs.

Epistolary fic, either as part of a story or as all of it, is always fun to me, if it’s up your alley. 

I love strong female friendships, strong-but-flawed-and-realistic female characters in general. Ladies kicking ass, preferably through cleverness and wit and competence as much if not more than through brawn, is the best, and I love it when they’re allowed to make mistakes and fuck up and dig themselves into a hole, too. That said, I will literally never turn down a Vampire Slayer AU. They’re among my faves. (I loved the one I got for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend last Yuletide, but am always excited to see more of them for other fandoms!)

Smut is cool and fun and here are some kinks that I like to read: Teasing. Phone sex/sexting. Semi-public sex (not actually getting caught though). Workplace sex. Dirty talk. Light domination (aka more like just bossing each other around rather than actual D/s stuff). Oral sex. Playfulness/joking around during sex.

General DNWs:

Darkfic. Sad endings. Gore/intense violence. Miscommunication that could super easily be avoided. Babyfic/kidfic/pregnancy in general. Self-harm/abuse. Noncon/dubcon. A/B/O, mpreg, incest, bestiality, hard kink. Poly/threesomes/orgies. Members of my ships being paired romantically with other people (unless it’s just briefly, on the way to an OTP-happy ending). First person POV.

Fandom Specifics/Prompts:

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Rebecca Bunch, Greg Serrano

I love this show so much. It’s clever, it’s feminist, it’s funny, it’s real (even as it features elaborate musical sequences!), and the characters are so flawed but so great. I got a couple of great giftfics for this fandom last Yuletide that I loved, but I’m always excited to read more.

I ship Rebecca and Greg so hard, in spite of their many flaws, and am bummed that Greg’s gone, and hope they find a way to bring him back someday. I just love their chemistry– bickery battle-of-wits style relationships are a huge favorite of mine. I also really just love Rebecca as a character. She’s such a mess and makes so many mistakes but I find her really relatable.

I’m very interested to see where the show goes this season with Rebecca’s revenge plot and seeming descent into (back into?) madness, but I don’t know that Greg easily fits into that trajectory for now, so don’t feel like you need to write something that takes place in current canon. I’d be happy with a story set while Greg was still in West Covina, or a future fic, or just a total AU.

Prompts:

Rebecca/Greg + any number of tropes– stuck somewhere together; inconvenient bed-sharing; fake dating, the works.

Rebecca’s blindness toward money is intriguing to me, in a “when is this shit going to REALLY hit the fan” kind of way. What if that had come to a head somehow and she had to get a second job at Home Base? How would she and Greg have taken to working together into the wee hours of the night? (Store-room sex could be a good addition here if you’d like!)

What’s their dynamic like in a couple of years when Greg returns from Atlanta? Are they over each other or not quite so much?

Conversely, what if a couple years go by, and Rebecca feels compelled to leave West Covina? Maybe she moves back to NYC (hopefully after a few hundred hours of therapy with Dr. Akopian to give her the coping mechanisms she needs to be happy there). Maybe Greg moves to NYC for a job after graduating Emory. Have they kept in touch enough to know they’re both in the same city again, or do they run into each other randomly, an echo of her NYC run-in with Josh in the pilot, only better, because she’s older and wiser and hopefully better-adjusted?

Schitt’s Creek Stevie Budd, David Rose

This show is so funny, dry and ridiculous at the same time. I love how absurdly out of touch the Roses are, and how the show balances their outrageousness with the humdrum middle-America of the town of Schitt’s Creek.

I can’t help but ship Stevie and David, and I hope the show leans into that. If you aren’t into them romantically, though, that’s okay-- they are also fab as begrudging BFFs. I love how they challenge each other and one-up each other, always smirkingly pushing each other’s buttons.

*Note: Season 3 was only just added to Netflix US this week, so when I wrote this letter I hadn’t seen it yet. I just marathoned it (loved it obvs) and it’s pretty clear that they’re not going go lean into Stevie/David, and that’s ok! I’m really digging the Patrick thing so far too. For the purpose of Yuletide, feel free to write something that takes place earlier in the series, or goes AU, etc. 

Prompts:

David finds out Stevie’s birthday is coming up, and decides (or perhaps is convinced by Alexis) to throw her a party, as posh as the parties of his old life with the limited resources of Schitt’s Creek. Of course, everything goes wrong.

I love Stevie teaching David how to adult. What other normal things has he never experienced before that she needs to walk him through?

Schitt’s Creek throws a fall festival, complete with a parade. Stevie gets chosen to be Sweet Potato Pie Queen or something equally ridiculous, and David will never. Stop. Teasing. Her. Until the Sweet Potato Pie King (or similar) comes down with shingles and Roland insists David step in.

Somehow (perhaps through a series of dares?), Stevie winds up running for local government. 

The Good Place Eleanor Shellstrop, Trevor the Demon

There’s not much on Earth I love more than a Mike Schur show, and I’ve always loved Kristen Bell, so I was pretty destined to dig this show. It’s just so clever and interesting and fun to watch!

That said, I wasn’t really shipping anything on the show yet. I like all the characters but nothing leapt out for me romantically. But then they introduced Trevor, and the thing is, Adam Scott is my weakness. If he exists on a show, I can’t help but ship him with somebody, and I have loved his and KBell’s chemistry together in other shows (Party Down! VMars!). I’m not proud of it, but my mind immediately went there.

But things are a little more complicated now! Is Trevor just a Bad Place demon who was acting like the head of the Bad Place, or does he actually hold some kind of leadership role? Is “Trevor” even his real name?? There are so many possibilities! I’m cool with fic that assumes any of them are true.

Prompts:

Trevor has a bad day at the "office," because he's really just a Bad Place underling who enjoyed the chance to play a big-shot evil-doer in Michael’s first attempt. He somehow runs into Eleanor get sloppy drunk together.

Eleanor and Trevor have to team up for some reason-- so he can get ahead in Bad Place bureaucracy, and so she can try to defeat Michael, for instance. How does that work out?

Any sort of stuck together/trapped in an enclosed space tropefic would be great– especially if they start to have feelings for each other.

Nothing wrong with a little good oldfashioned hatesex.

Newsies Jack Kelly, Katherine Plumber Pulitzer

A friend of mine invited me to go see Newsies when they did the first Fathom Events screening early this year, and I had nearly no familiarity with it-- hadn’t even seen the movie. So naturally, I loved it and immediately fell down the Newsies rabbit hole.

I love Jack and Katherine individually and together. I love how cocky he is, and the vulnerability that cockiness masks. I love how headstrong she is, and ambitious. I would love to see fic for them that takes place after the events of the show-- what happens next? How do they begin to have a real relationship, as different as they are, now that the strike is over? Does Jack take that cartoonist job? Does he keep selling papes, too? Where do they live? What do they do on dates?

Prompts:

Even out from under her father’s thumb, Katherine’s lifestyle is certainly a bit ritzier than what Jack’s used to. How does it go the first time she has him over to her apartment?

Jack likes to leave little notes around for Katherine to find, sketches, doodles, and the like. I’m not opposed to epistolary fic here or elsewhere.

Katherine has to plot with the other newsies behind Jack’s back, for some reason (surprise party? Surprise gift?).

So, that’s that! I really hope you enjoy the whole process this Yuletide season, and thanks for participating! Happy writing!

[worryinglyinnocent]

Fic: Extraction (14/16)

Summary: Intelligence Agent Belle French has been given her most challenging assignment yet – one that will provide her agency with absolutely vital information on a practically untouchable arms dealer.

In addition to all the usual dangers any assignment carries, Belle also faces the edifying task of convincing Rum Gold to return to help the agency one last time. Agent Gold left the world of international espionage years ago, after an assignment went terribly wrong and ended in his imprisonment and torture, and he vowed never to return, but the agency cannot complete their mission without him…

===

Read the previous chapters here on AO3.

===

Fourteen

Using Regina as a hostage and human shield, Killian corralled them all into the living room of Graham’s basement apartment, where Cora, Zelena and the heavy were waiting. There was, Belle noted grimly, no sign of Graham. Cora was sitting primly on the sofa as if she owned the place, looking around her surroundings with distaste, whilst the other two were standing looking menacing. The man was wielding a prototype pistol that Belle had seen in conjunction with Leo White’s arms deals before, officially a model still in research and development that was officially called a Sweeper but colloquially known as a Room Broom, a handgun with the same specifications as a shotgun. No wonder there had been such a commotion above them when they had been trying to get out. Zelena did not appear to be armed, but the crazed look in her eyes was more than enough to send a shiver down Belle’s spine. When Gold entered the room, leaning on Daniel since Killian had taken his cane, the redhead’s eyes widened and she licked her lips.

“Well if it isn’t the delicious Agent Gold,” she said. “Did you enjoy my company so much that you came back for round two?” She crossed the room leisurely, running a fingertip down his cheek. “I did miss you, darling. It’s been no fun without you around.”

In response, Gold backhanded her around the face. She hissed, her eyes flashing dangerously as she dabbed at her cheek, and Gold brought a hand up to block her before she could return the favour. Killian just gave a snort of laughter as he manhandled Regina into the middle of the room.

“Zelena, dear, leave him alone,” Cora said. She sounded bored. “You’ll get to play with him later, no use breaking your toys now. Charles!”

The muscular man cocked his gun, levelling it at Gold, to whom he was closest in the room. Belle knew enough about the Sweeper to know that if he fired at this close range, all that would remain of Gold above the waist would be a red mist splattered against the wall. Her stomach churned, thinking of Graham in the safehouse above them and hoping that he was all right up there.

“Not him, you fool, I want him alive!” Zelena snapped. Charles retrained his gun on Belle instead, motioning for her to put her hands on her head with jerky movements, the gun heavy and unwieldy in his hand. His obvious inexperience with the weapon gave Belle a little hope for Graham’s survival. Zelena returned her attention to Gold. “I’ve got all sorts of lovely new games to play with you, my dear. We’re going to have so much fun.” She grabbed the arm he wasn’t using to support himself and twisted sharply. Gold’s face contorted in pain but he remained silent, automatically shutting down, endurance training from years ago kicking in again. Defiant to the last in the face of his torturer, he spat in her face.

“You’re going to regret that,” Zelena snarled.

“Zelena!” Cora snapped. “We have bigger fish to fry here!” She got up and came across the room towards her daughter, smiling benevolently and touching her cheek, soothing her as she struggled against Killian’s chokehold on her. “Oh Regina, my darling. After everything I’ve given you in this life, everything that I did to ensure that you had the very best of this world, and this is how you choose to repay me? Do I mean so little to you?”

“I don’t understand how you found me,” Regina said. “My phone, my computer, I left everything at the house, Killian didn’t know where I was coming, how did you track us down?”

“You’re a sentimental one, Regina,” Cora said with a shake of her head, tutting in disapproval. “It was a trait that I always tried to discourage in you, and for good reason.” She grabbed Regina’s hand, holding it up between them, and the small costume stone in Regina’s ring caught the light. “I know diamonds, darling, and this little beauty is glass. I knew that there was only one person in the world who would buy you fake stones, and I knew that you never wore this ring before today. But I also knew that being the sentimental fool that you are, you wouldn’t be able to leave with your pathetic lover without taking with you this little piece of your tomfoolery, just in case something went tragically wrong, you’d always have a piece of him with you. It’s really quite nauseating when you think about it.” She yanked the ring off Regina’s finger and prised the stone off it, showing her the neat little tracking device beneath it. “It was really as simple as that. You should listen to your mother’s advice, darling. It might save your skin.”

“I hate you,” Regina snarled.

“All girls hate their mothers at some point in their lives, my dear,” Cora said. “Your rebellious phase has come a little late, but like all things, it’s something that can be stamped out of you. You’re an adult, Regina, and it’s time to start thinking about these things like a grown up instead of a spoiled child.”

Regina scoffed. “If I’m a spoiled child, it’s only because you made me that way. You were the one who drove me to this! I am not you, Mother, I don’t want to be like you! All I ever wanted was my own life but you treat me like a piece of meat! A bargaining chip for your high-flying deals! You want to whore me out to Leo White to distract him long enough for you to get his head on a platter and then what? Which of your rivals will it be next, because I’m young and pretty and fertile enough to get a few more husbands under my belt before I’m thirty-five!”

“Regina, stop this,” Cora said coolly. “You’re being hysterical.”

“I’m being held at gunpoint on your orders!”

“Regina! It’s really very simple. You can watch Zelena work her particular brand of magic on the other three miscreants in this room, or you can come back with me quietly and do as you’re told.”

“It’s too late anyway!” Regina yelled. “They’ve already got all the information they need to take you out, it’s all safe elsewhere, it doesn’t matter what happens to me, or them, or anyone!”

“Regina, dear, we find our information leaks and we plug them. We always do. Wherever the intelligence you stole has gone, it has gone somewhere, and we have the resources at our disposal-“ here she nodded to Zelena “-to find it.”

Regina was panting, the wind taken out of her sails with the force of her tirade against her mother and the constant pressure of Killian’s arm around her neck. With a final yell of frustration, she slammed her foot down on Killian’s and elbowed him in the groin. The double agent swore and let go of her momentarily before lashing out with his gun and catching the side of her head. Regina staggered into Cora’s waiting arms.

“Fool!” Cora yelled to Killian. “You don’t damage the merchandise! I can’t hand her over to White with her face scratched up! I told you to be careful!”

Belle’s hackles raised. Had she really just called her own daughter merchandise?

“Besides, there’s a much simpler way to get Regina to behave herself, isn’t there sweetheart?” Cora cooed, reaching into her handbag and pulling out a delicate, pearl-handled revolver, a weapon so quaintly old fashioned in the midst of all their top range firepower. Barely sparing a second glance, she pulled the trigger, shooting Daniel squarely in the chest.

“Daniel no!”

Regina threw off her mother’s hold on her, ignorant of the blood pouring down her face from the gash over her right temple, and she raced across the room as Daniel fell to the ground, sending Gold sprawling as well, his bad ankle giving out completely and toppling him. Belle took half a step towards them on instinct, but then Charles and the Sweeper were in front of her, the barrel of the gun pressed into her own chest.

“Daniel!”

Belle had been in all sorts of deadly situations before. She had been in simulations of many more. She had never yet faced a stand-off like this one. There was no way to win, she realised. Their opponents had got the drop on them; Cora had bested them like she always did, and there was to be no coming back from this one. Once again, they had walked straight into a trap of her preparing, just as Gold had done on his own all those years ago, but this time, it was worse. The stakes were so much higher.

“I told you,” Cora said plainly. “Oh, do man up, Killian, your crown jewels will heal but your head won’t if I put a bullet through your skull for your sheer stupidity. Now Regina, dear, might you reconsider your proposal now that there’s really no point in running away any more?”

Regina was not paying her mother any attention; she was focussed solely on Daniel, talking to him, keeping him conscious as she tried to stem the blood flow from his wound, scarlet seeping steadily over her fingers as she ripped off her shirt and bunched it up as a compress. It was clear that her entire world had been reduced to just her and Daniel, and the life-threatening situation that she had ended up in the middle of was just periphery in her mind. Cora rolled her eyes. “Well, it looks like we’ll have to wait for him to die before we get any kind of answer out of her. Still, there are other things to be getting on with.” She crossed the room to Gold, who was staggering unsteadily to his feet. Zelena held out a hand to help him with a look of faux concern, but he refused her.

“I really am intrigued as to why you dragged yourself over here after all these years,” Cora said, watching him struggle with an amused expression. “I mean, it’s hardly the best holiday destination in the world and you know that you’re still technically a wanted man here. My late husband and father-in-law were popular and influential people and I know that there are still several people out there screaming for justice for their killer.” She smiled sweetly. “Knowing all this, I can’t fathom why the service would send you. Unless…”

She looked from Gold to Regina on the floor and back again, giving a squawk of laughter. “Unless you thought she was yours. Oh my word, Gold, you really thought she was yours and you came all the way back out here to rescue your baby girl from her big bad Mommy.” She burst off into peals of laughter again. “Oh Zelena, he’s all yours. The look on his face is worth it all.”

Zelena grabbed Gold’s chin, turning his face towards her, and for the first time, Belle saw genuine terror in his eyes, and she knew she had to act fast. In that moment, time slowed down. She focussed on her heartbeat pounding in her ears, and forced herself to focus. Emma was pinned down in the garden by an unknown number of assailants, her condition unknown. Graham was upstairs in the safehouse, definitely injured and possibly dead. Daniel was bleeding out on the floor, Regina was tending to him and on the verge of hysteria. Gold was quite possibly about to pop his cyanide. She only had seconds to act.

It was quite possibly the rashest, most stupid decision that she had ever made in her life, and she knew that the only way she would get away with it would be because it was something that her attacker would not anticipate her doing.

With a roar, she launched herself forward against the barrel in her chest and shoved Charles away from her, making him stagger, and she kicked out, knocking the gun from his hands and rushing him again. She was never going to be able to take him in hand to hand combat, he was twice her size in all directions, but she could certainly antagonise him and cause a distraction. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Killian let go of his privates and aim his gun at her.

The shot was very loud in the small room, and the silence that followed it was positively deafening.

For what seemed like an age, although it could only have been less than a minute, Belle was convinced that she was dead. She couldn’t hear anything, and she couldn’t feel any pain. It was only once she took in the rest of the room that she realised that the bullet had missed her.

In fact, the bullet hadn’t gone anywhere near her, because Killian had not been the one to fire. Instead, all eyes in the room turned to the centre as Cora fell to the ground, dark mulberry rapidly staining the floor beneath her. Regina was holding Daniel’s sidearm in shaking hands, silent tears streaming down her face as she stared, unseeing, at where her mother had been standing the moment before. All eyes in the room were on her, and Charles and Killian, completely wrong-footed by the death of their paymaster, looked at each other in total confusion. Then movement returned, as Gold took advantage of the distraction to loose himself from Zelena’s grasp, grabbing the woman by a handful of hair and slamming her head against the wall. She slumped down with a groan, losing consciousness immediately, and Belle ran to grab the Sweeper from where it had fallen from Charles’s hand during their scuffle, and she trained the weapon on the larger man, backing him up against the wall beside Zelena’s crumpled form.

“Don’t move.”

Killian also took advantage of the distraction caused by Cora’s fall to shove his weapon in his belt and make a break for the door. Belle turned to fire after him but he was already gone, and she did not want to leave the room. She returned to covering Charles and Zelena, watching Gold out of the corner of her eye. He limped heavily across the room and bent to take Cora’s pulse, giving her Belle a curt nod of confirmation. Cora Mills, the Queen of Diamonds, was dead. He left the body, moving over to Regina, who was still holding the gun, frozen in place.

“Regina,” he said softly, kneeling beside her. “Regina, sweetheart, give me the gun.”

He closed his hand over hers on the pistol and she relinquished her hold on it, pressing her hands over her face and dissolving into a flood of tears. Gold flicked the safety on and put the gun beside him on the ground before turning his attention to Daniel. The younger man had lost consciousness and his skin had a horrible deathly pallor, but he was still breathing, and he looked over at Belle.

“We need an ambulance stat; I’ll cover those two, you get upstairs to send a flash to Mal.” He picked up the gun that he’d taken from Regina and trained it on Charles and Zelena, his other hand doing what he could to try and help Daniel. Belle needed no further encouragement, racing out of the room and up into the safehouse. On her way past the room where they’d been monitoring the CCTV, she saw Graham crouched in the corner, wedged down behind an easy chair.

“Graham, are you..”

“I’m hit in the leg but I’ll be ok!” he called from his position. “I sent a flash to Mal, the residency should be sending in backup any moment now. Just… an ambulance sounds like a great idea at the moment.”

Belle wasted no time, grabbing her phone and placing an emergency call, calmly stating that two people had suffered gunshot wounds in a domestic dispute and answering all the dispatcher’s questions before hanging up; naturally given the state of Daniel and Graham, they needed medical attention as soon as possible, but there was going to be a hell of a lot of explaining to do considering their current situation. She looked out of the bust open front door to see a familiar white van careening down the road and pulling up outside the safehouse, the plates were different to the ones they’d used the previous day, but Mal, Rory and Leroy all jumped out.

“I reckon we’ve got eight minutes before the ambulances arrive,” Belle said as they rushed into the house, Leroy shouldering the ruined door closed after them. “I’ve got Cora dead, Graham and Daniel bleeding all over the place, Gold holding down Charles and Zelena in Graham’s apartment, Killian’s done a bunk and Emma’s held down outside.”

“Fear not, Killian’s not done a bunk and Emma’s not held down outside.” Emma came through the house with Killian at gunpoint, his hands cable-tied together. “Sorry I couldn’t get in touch, one of his mates jumped me and knocked my earpiece offline. The guy in question split but I thought it would be better to get this one rather than go after the muscle. I believe this is yours,” she said, nudging him forwards towards Mal, who raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

“I’m sure you’re aware, Killian, that I’m not known for leniency. Leroy, take care of our lovely traitor. As for the rest of it all, we’re going to need a cover story, and fast, and you, Gold and Regina have to get out of here as quickly as possible. I don’t want you still here when the authorities arrive, that will open up a whole other can of worms. Who killed Cora?”

“Regina,” Belle said. Mal let out a low whistle of approval as she pulled on a pair of latex gloves, moving through the house towards the room in which the massacre had taken place.

“That girl is going to need so much therapy,” she muttered under her breath. When they arrived back in Graham’s living room, Mal and Rory immediately started faking the scene. Regina had calmed down and was back taking care of Daniel whilst Gold provided cover. Belle noticed that Charles had also lost consciousness and she was pretty sure that had been achieved by means of the butt of a gun.

“Emma, can you go down into the cellars and check our exit route is clear?” Belle asked. The blonde woman smacked her earpiece against her palm a couple of times, listened to it and gave a nod before reinserting it into her ear.

“On it.”

She sped out of the room, Mal and Rory were working out the cover story between them.

“Cora’s known to use safehouse locations like this to do deals in,” she said. “She came to a deal that went south; Daniel took a bullet to protect her but couldn’t prevent a second shot…”

“Belle this is Emma, you’re clear.”

“Copy.”

Belle went over to Regina and Gold.

“We have to leave, now.”

“No!” Regina exclaimed. “I can’t leave him!”

“Regina, you have to. If we’re still here when the police and ambulance crews arrive then you’re not going to get out of the country, period. The plane leaves at six and we have to be on it.” There was no time for pussyfooting; Belle could hear the sirens blazing down the street. Mal went to greet them and Rory came across to take over first aid on Daniel.

“Go!” she said. “If you’re still here they’ll start asking what the hell happened!”

“We’re leaving,” Gold said, taking Regina’s shoulders in a firm grip and pulling her off the floor. He grabbed his cane from where Killian had discarded it, keeping his free arm around Regina as he bundled her out of the room and towards the kitchen and the their way out. Belle brought up the rear with their gear, gun still at the ready, and Emma met them at the cellar door, running point as they made their way under the terrace of houses through the darkness, just the light from Emma’s pocket flashlight illuminating the debris strewn path ahead of them and the small square of light at the far end that showed freedom. The four of them scrambled through the hole, out into the overgrown garden at the end of the terrace and into the narrow alley that led down between the streets. They were out. All they had to do now was leave the country.

Emma made them wait at the end of the alleyway, pulling off her jacket and handing it to Regina, whose shirt was still bandaging Daniel, and she stepped out into the street, looking around before motioning for them to follow her. They wound around a few streets into a quiet area before she stopped, pulling a screwdriver from the pocket of her jeans and jacking open a small car.

“All right, everyone in. One ride to the airport coming up.”

“We’re stealing a car?” Regina asked.

Emma shrugged. “Desperate times call for desperate measures and I think someone might notice us if we get in a taxi like this.” She jumped into the driver’s seat and got the engine turning over; Regina and Gold got into the back with the gear and Belle took shotgun, still looking out for anyone that might be following them. “Regina, Gold, you’re going to want to maybe get rid of the bloodstains.” She rummaged through the glovebox and tossed a pack of wetwipes into the back. “If there’s one thing every woman should know, it’s how to change in a moving vehicle. If you can change whilst you’re driving the vehicle, that’s even better.”

Regina gave a weak snort of laughter as she cleaned her hands and face and rummaged in her backpack for another top; Gold doing likewise. Emma was taking them through the back roads, and it shouldn’t take them long to reach the airport hopefully undetected.

With Gold and Regina cleaned up, the car fell into a tense silence, Belle keeping watch and Emma concentrating on the road. Regina was shaking violently, her hands pressed over her face again as she tried to keep it together. Without any prompting, Gold put his arms around her and she leaned in against him.

“It’s all right,” he soothed. “It’s all over now. It’s all going to be ok. You’re going to be safe, I promise. I’ve got you.”

The airport came into sight, and Emma pulled into a side street so that they could abandon the car. Belle looked up at the skies and the plane just taking off, thinking about everything that had happened since they had arrived only a few short days ago. In spite of it all, their assignment had been, so far, a grim kind of success.

They had Regina, and they were almost home.