#i got lucky enough to not fail on night walk once when i got my remix 10 perfect

[zennansr]

[6xillaa]

Ken sato x !reporter reader

oh, how he wishes you saw him as a man and not a boy.

cw for everything below: age difference (its used for the plot), suggestive (depending on who you ask)

thinking about kenji trying to impress reader in his games. the reader who is older, more mature and composed than him. who always comments on his arrogance in their articles or interviews. honestly, you were his harshest critic! it was your nickname amongst your co-workers as well. everyone knew you held hatred for him, and so did he. you frequently commented on his age and how it isn't smart to put so much faith into such a young and ignorant man and call him a living legend. "he isn't mature enough!" you always stated.

he hated that. his age doesn't make him better or worse than anyone else; he was just better because he was ken sato. but that didn't stop him from trying to act older, at least around you. because it was for you.

he's still so desperate to impress you. he'd do cooler moves in games, smile at the camera more in interviews, and, even though it seemed impossible, he became more prideful. but he couldn't help it! feeling your intense gaze on him as he walked onto the field or got into a stance, it was invigorating.

he especially got a rise out of seeing you roll your eyes, slumping back in your seat, crossing one leg over the other once you realized there was nothing for you to comment on his performance. it was perfect. so perfect that it would (sometimes, if he was lucky) get a small, ever so slight, smile from your lips. even better if he saw you nod your head in approval. so after one of (arguably) his best perfomances yet, one he spent weeks practicing just for his pretty little critic, he walks up to you, ready to soak in all the praise he believed he deserved.

"so... how was that y/n?" he teased, slamming himself into your personal space. it's his favorite place! if you thought it belonged to you, it was also his. "leave me alone, sato." you grumble, not wanting to admit your defeat to him. "it was good, wasn't it? right? righttt?" you push him away and begin walking away, eyes looking straight forward to avoid his gaze.

"oh c'mon, am i really that bad you can't even compliment me?" he pouted playfully, poking your oh so soft cheek, giving it a slight pinch. "fine, sato! you're a good player. you impressed me today, enough for me to even say im... proud of you." if you were to sneeze each time kenji's heart began to race, it'd look like you're having a seizure because of how fast it was.

"then why dont you show me how proud you are of me," this made you halt, snapping your head towards him. "how?" you asked, eyes focused on his lips that quirked up into a grin. "take me out to dinner. tommorow night. let me pick, and i'll consider the debt you owe me paid off." he smiled, taking a step back, allowing you to breathe again. when did you stop? "i'm not indebted to you anyway?" you retort, pushing him back even more to feel like you had the upper hand here. "yes, you are! all the times you've doubted my abilities! am i not worthy of getting an apology? a gift?" he said dramatically, placing his hand on his chest.

you sputter nothing in disbelief, until something clocks inside of your little brain. "are you asking me on a date, sato?" you asked, crossing your arms over your chest, a shit eating grin on your face. he leans down to your level, which is when you register how much taller he was than you, and tilts his head to the side. "and if i am?" kenji's voice goes quieter. "you're not my type." you mock, mimicking his tone. "i like them older." to this, he laughs. "you like grandpa's y/n? you like them near their deathbed?" he joked, trying (and failing) to hide his laughter. "yeah, atleast they're gentlemen, unlike you."

"i may not be the most gentlemanly person on earth, but i am a gentle man in everything else."

oh! oh. now you were entering dangerous territory. not for him, for you. it was so clear what he was setting up as a trap, and yet, despite all the warning signs there was, opened your plump little lips and asked with the purest face ever (even though your thoughts were the complete opposite) "how can i know if youre lying or not?"

and kenji, oh the annoying ken sato who you would never admit admired, not even on your deathbed, stepped closer to you, leaned down near your ear, and said in the loudest voice, loud enough so that you cant mishear him, and quiet enough that no one else can, says

"why dont i show you?"

if your composure was a ship, it would be near the ocean floor, the reason for sinkage; ken sato. right when your last functioning braincell is able to deliver a quip before total failure, someone calls kenji over. "you have a interview remember?" it yelled. "coming!" he smiled sweetly, kissing your cheek ever so softly.

the immature baseball player might not be as immature as you thought...

(thanks for the support on the last one, so i thought i'd write another one because im desperate for this man, like he's desperate for the reader, lowk. also i didnt fully proofread itmso sorry if skme names r missing colors and whatnot)

[doki-doki-imagines]

They compliment you feat. mk1 bi-han, kitana, kung lao

author note: felt like I was going to explode if I didn't post them today, I hope it's not complete trash LOL.

Bi-Han: -It was a quiet morning, for once you were the first to wake up, so you started cooking for the both of you. -Then you felt the arms of your lover wrapping around your waist, always so chilly against your body. -You feel his right cheekbone brush against yours, like a kitty searching for affection, then his chin rests on your shoulder, you can feel his black eyes on you. "Dawn creates light and shades on your face, making your feature stand out even more, I didn't think it was possible to make you look even more beautiful." -You choke on your own spit, stunned by the honeyed words dripping from your partner lips. -What was happening? Did Bi-Han hit his head during sparring? In any case, there's no way you'll stop him. -Kettle whistle, but you don't move, still looking at Bi-Han with wide eyes. -He sighs, kisses your cheek, and takes the kettle, pouring the boiling water into his cup, where you previously put the tea bag. -"Moron, if this is your reaction, I'll have to filter my thoughts again." -You shook your head, hell, you don't think you'll ever be able to go back now, his sweet words a drug that got you immediately addicted. Sadly, you aren't used to compliments anymore; you can just stutter out a no, while you feel heath on your cheeks. -Bi-Han smirks at you, a playful gesture you rarely see (and you are still thanking the gods that blessed you this morning) his right hand reaching for the apple of your cheek, pulling it in between his index and middle fingers before snapping it back in place. -"Sit down, I'll make you coffee maybe it will wake you up." -You aren't sure if you want to wake up.

Kitana: -You are waiting for her to return from work, your stomach churning always worried something bad may have happened. -You are reading a novel when you feel the door of the living room opening. You lift your head up, eager to see your lover come in. -And she does, a ray of sunshine deep into the night. -Kitana walks to you, a tired smile on her face, 'till she reaches you behind the armchair you are sitting on. -"Good night beautiful, first time here?" You say, chuckling at your own silliness. -Kitana chuckles along, the kind that shows the wonderful smile that always makes you understand how lucky you are. -"Since you leave me breathless every time I look at you-" Her face lean closer to yours "maybe it is" her plush lips kiss your forehead before she leaves to change in more comfortable clothing. -You curl on yourself, face hidden inside your book, and you are pretty sure your head is fuming for how fast the gears in your brain are working. -"Don't curl up, dear! You know it's bad for your back" Kitana shouts from your shared bedroom "I don't want my princess to get back pain" she whispers the last part. -Maybe one day she will get bold enough to freely speak her mind, for now you'll have to cheerish this rare moment of softness.

Kung Lao: -You tried a new recipe today, made with the fresh vegetables Kung Lao and Raiden picked up at dawn. -Saying you were nervous is a euphemism. You didn't want to fail, but even more to thrash the food your friend and boyfriend grew and picked up after so much effort. -You put the food on the table, useless to say to start the meal, Kung Lao cheeks were already full, and Raiden followed soon. -The judgment arrived soon, the burp coming from your partner mouth a telltale sign and a bad habit you still weren't able to correct. -"My love, the food was amazing, delicious!" Kung Lao stands up, arms open ready to embrace your body "Not that I have any doubts, your cooking skill just another plus of my wonderful-" He kisses your nose "amazing-" his lips touch your left cheek "beautiful dove" his lips finally rest on yours. -You reciprocate the kiss, but your mind is elsewhere, so used to Kung Lao singing his own praises without sparing a nice word to anybody else, you didn't expect so many compliments. -You break the kiss when you hear Raiden coughing in the background, heath flooding your face while your boyfriend was totally unaffected, still looking at you with that softness he always reserves for you. -Kung Lao soon returns at the table to finish the meal together with Raiden, and then they both go back to train. -But not before smooching your cheek, lips staining your skin with, what you guessed was the juice of the peach Kung Lao eat before going back to work. -You clean yourself with the back of your hand before going back to work, the comoliments of your boyfriend still reverberating into your brain, a nice intrusive thought that won't leave you for the rest of the day.

[diorchids]

where ya headed?

simon 'ghost' riley.

cw: simon is southern in this. (walk with me...) age gap, country + southern!simon, unwanted touching, pervert!simon, slight manipulation, oral, penetration, choking.

you shivered in the cold, keeping your head low and your arms crossed as the cold breeze made you practically freeze completely. your bag was almost empty, left with nothing but a lighter and a few loose cigarettes. how lucky you were.

you walk and walk, ignoring any sounds in the woods you wouldn’t recognize in the darkness. as you walk on the sides of the road, the sound of a motor engine nears you, but you continue walking. 

the sounds came from a beat-up pickup truck behind you, low hums of tunes along with it. you turn your head slightly toward it, still unphased from the hissing of the engine. the car seemed to move at the same pace as you, failing to speed up. the red truck ran beside you with a man in the front. he sat with an arm on a seat next to him

plaid button-up, handlebar mustache, blue jeans--he had the whole get up.

he obviously wanted your attention, honking the car horn before rolling down the window. he gave you a once over before speaking, “hey there, you look like you could use a ride. where ya headed, sweetheart?” you ignored any thoughts reminding you of those men. the rapists, murderers, kidnappers, the bad men. 

you hesitantly walked to his window and rested your arms on them, shrugging as you stood. “i’m headed to the motel ‘bout an hour or so away, sir.” he could tell you were cold, your soft sniffles and sneezes giving him a hint. 

he nods and gestures to the passenger seat, “way too cold to be out here, ‘specially at this time of night. hop in, i’m actually headin’ that way myself.” those thoughts plagued your brain again as you ignored them again. you open the door and sat. as you settle in, he turns up the heat and glances over at you. “name’s simon, simon riley. i live in the cabin just up north.” you introduce yourself to him, making it known you’re not versed on the state.

he nods and controls the wheel, “pleasure to meet you, sweetheart. what brings you to these parts?” you straighten your back and tell him where you’re from, about 3 states over, trying to get back to a friend who’s at the motel.

“i’m glad i could help you out. not safe ‘round here for a young lady like you to be wanderin’, considerin’ the weather, i doubt you would’ve made it a mile,” he pauses, “you’re a pretty little thing.

you stutter and mutter out a thank you to him, a warm feeling spreading over your face quickly. this isn’t that, though. this man’s old enough to be your father, he’s just a stranger helping a girl. he notices your expression and interjects. he leans over to you, making you feel uncomfortable as he speaks lowly. “hope you don’t mind my saying so. not many young ones like you out here,”

you nodded and stayed silent before a warm hand planted on your thigh, squeezing with a grunt. “it’s refreshing.”

you try and change the subject “the motel’s a way out, sir--simon. i don’t have the money now, but when i get back home, i could mail you money, really.” you stuttered, trying not to notice his hand perversely trailing up your leg.

“ain't no need for that. think of it as a favor. you could--" his fingers inched closer to your core, “do me one, how’s that sound? a favor for a favor.”

you sat and thought about it. this man’s doing you a huge favor with this, you felt obligated. “okay. a favor.” 

he got you out of the car, calling you over to his side before groping your body disgustingly. you couldn’t say no, this was the favor. “bet you wanted this, didn’t you?” he squeezes your plush ass, grinning as you stood, helpless. his hands continue to wander and grope at your body, ignoring any protests as he gets incredibly handsy.

he rubs his bulge up against you before you touch it, your fingers curving over it. he coaxes you onto your knees on the gravelly road, small pebbles pushing into them. 

you eyed his huge bulge, watching as he unbuckled his belt, planting a hand into your hair as he instructed you to pull his boxers down. “it’s really big, sir,” you whispered, a smile spreading on his face. "go ahead, sweetheart, it won't bite."

you obey, hooking fingers onto his waistband before tugging and taking him into your mouth, gagging on his girthy length pathetically. 

you sat with his cock in your throat for some time before starting to bob your head, hair moving in the cold wind as you tried your hardest not to gag again. your hand wrapped around the base of his fat cock, stroking and squeezing while your warm mouth sucks him off. he grips your hair even tighter when you slide your tongue up a vein, bucking his hips deeper into you. 

“doin’ perfect, baby girl, look at you go,” he groaned, praising the way you squeezed and sucked him like a pro. your hand cupped his heavy balls before they just slapped your chin repeatedly. cars rode past, a couple catching a glimpse of you on your knees, but simon didn’t care.

your mouth, so hot, so delicate, was the only thing keeping him warm in this weather. you were so busy, that you’d practically forgotten you were cold. 

he ended up fucking your throat, making you keep your hands away from your mouth as he used you for his pleasure. you fondled his balls and sucked prettily, batting your lashes while you looked at him with desperation.

his cock twitched in your throat before he thrusts a few more times, causing you to gag uncontrollably.

he was disgusting. 

warm cum spilled from his pent-up cock right down your throat as you swallowed and cleaned up the spend with your fingers, sucking his hot load off your fingers. it was a sight to see, your sultry gaze on his body as you caught your breath. 

you looked up at him, still on your knees, sure to bruise by morning, before he helped you to your feet. he wasted no time to touch you again, but now his slick cock rubbed up against you when he groped you, pinching your nipples and sniffing you. a pervert.

your ass was pushed up against his, still leaking, cock, he groaned out how much he loves your body. your company--your readiness. 

“walkin’ around like that--no business doin’ that ‘round here,” his fingers hook onto your skirt, “barely got anything on.”

he decides to pull down your skirt, revealing your panties with small prints of cherries. “i wanna feel your lil’ pussy around me, need that badly.”

you nod, facing away but your eagerness is still obvious. his thick fingers run over your ass before stopping at the wet spot on your panties. they rub your already swollen clit as you push into his touch, not noticing the cars still riding past, people eyeing this disgusting view. simon pushes his fingers into your underwear, sliding his middle finger over your slit lovingly.

he pulls your panties down hungrily before rubbing his cock against your holes, gripping your hips as he speaks, “fuck, sweetheart,” before his thick tip prods at your tight entrance, forcing it inside as your legs tremble and your grip on the seats tighten. 

your eyes prickle with tears as he forces most of himself in, filling you to the brim as he attempts to thrust, only moving in and out an inch at a time. you grip the seats as he settles into you, but he goes slow for you, knowing it’s too big, knowing he’s stretching you out too much. you cry out, begging for him to go slow, but to get it over with. 

“i know, baby girl, shh, shh, it’s gon’ be over soon. just take it all.” and you did, pushing your ass up against him, making sure to do as he says and take it. 

you sucked him in perfectly, eyes rolling back, back arching uncontrollably as his cock dug through your walls. his red tip bullied your cervix, almost touching it each time he thrust deeper. his hands stayed rested on your hips as he fucked you harder. “grippin’ me like a fuckin’ vice, ain’t ya?” spit fell from his lips onto your ass before sliding down to your hole, serving as a lubricant for his oversized cock. 

his hung cock barely slipped in and out of you, tight hole failing to stretch enough. as you spoke disgusting words. begging him for the worst, to go harder, to make it hurt. talking about how badly you loved his cock, showing how fucked out and dumb his dick made you. 

a big hand wrapped around your neck, thick fingers bruising you, proof of your encounter.

you couldn’t take it anymore, your tummy feeling warm and a tingly feeling in your cunt made you weak as you tried your best to fight it. you couldn’t hold off, though, giving in to him as you cried out and gushed on his cock. your cunt constricted around him as you came. his grip on your neck tightened as you came on his cock, a milky white circle forming at the base of it. 

a car drove past, seeing you bent over with the low, yellow lights of the pickup truck shining on your figure. seeing him behind you, pants down to his ankles, your skirt down to yours. 

you groaned loudly as he continued fucking your soaked hole, juices dripping. his balls feel heavier, ready to let go. 

“take it--take it all,” he thrusts a few more times before releasing his load into your hole, potent cum sure to get you pregnant. “puttin’ my kids in you.” as his last spurts fill you. 

his cum seeps out of you as your legs tremble. “there we go. there we go, knew you could take it.” 

he helps you fix yourself up before delivering a slap to your ass and hopping in the car. he drove you to the motel and handed you a napkin to write your number down for him. 

“well, don’t let me take up your whole night. i’m sure so-and-so’s wonderin’ where yer at.” you kissed him on the cheek before he left. 

it must’ve been the southern drawl. 

[weirdmorefics]

Could you pls do a fake dating fic with Colin bridgerton? Tysm xx

A Life Long Scheme

A/N- Sorry for the delay! I really do have the fanfiction writer curse! I say that every time but I mean it! I got my appendix out and rode in an ambulance. They don't even play music in them FYI.

Readers Pronouns- She/Her

Word Count- 2,512

Summary- You convince Colin to fake court you to gain the attention of other suitors but jealousy consumes Colin.

I knew I would have a hard time finding a suitor from a young age. My family may be wealthy enough to attend balls but certainly not enough for a sizable dowry for each of their children. I grew up competitive trying to prove myself worthy even if I came with a small dowry. My siblings relied on their looks but I was determined to be the best at everything. I will treat coming out like I do life competitively. As the eldest, I must set an example.

I was lined up with the others coming out into society this year. They all nervously played with their clothes and looked to the floor. I too felt like doing that but I kept my emotions bottled tightly in my chest and held my head high. We all took our turns bowing in front of the Queen she looked completely unbothered by us, dare I say bored.

I was last in line she looked me up and down and said, "I am unsure if anyone qualifies as a diamond this season."

I can't fight back the sharp inhale I take, I can physically feel my heart launch its way into my throat. I feel as if I may hurl as she gets up and walks away escorted by her guards. I look around at others visible shock. I can't help but feel the Queen just left because of me. I mean I was the last one. I need to do something! I can't fail already I just came out into society!

My night was filled with pacing and plotting. There has to be a way to impress Her Majesty. My Mama tried to comfort me but Father quickly told her there was no point in speaking to me when I was like this. I hate to admit but he is unfortunately correct. Once I am in a thought spiral there is no getting out. I thought of other seasons for most of the night as I lay in bed. What did they do to gain the Queen's attention? The most notable season of late would have to be Daphne's. I can't recall the last time The Ton has seen a marriage done with such haste before. She had a massive amount of suitors after her though that was only after The Duke's appearance.

The idea hit me suddenly I launched out of bed, put my carpet slippers on, and ran out of the house. I am lucky my family sleeps so soundly because I am sure I sounded like a horse trotting as I ran through the house. The Bridgerton manor is right next to ours, so close in fact that I grew up playing games with all the Bridgertons. Colin has always been my dearest friend (even though Mama always told me a male friend was improper). I knew Colin would go along with my plan, we have been scheming and pranking since we were children. This should be no different! It unfortunately hit me how late it was when I stood in the darkness of the Bridgerton Garden. I was here now I refused to backtrack just because it was an untimely hour.

I used the bushes to help guide me to Colin's familiar window. Once there I gathered tiny pebbles and started ricocheting them off his window. It did not take him long to wake and open the window with a messy bedhead and a lit lantern. His face instantly flushes at the sight of me.

"My god Y/n what are you doing out here in this state!" He shouts

I follow his gaze to my clothes and feel my face heat. My god, I did not think this through as I stood in front of Colin Bridgerton's window in the dark, in my silk nightgown. I will see this through the damage is done. "I have a plan," I smile.

He sighs and rubs his forehead, "Oh no… you are lucky my sleeping schedule is still askew from traveling abroad. Now get inside before someone sees you!"

I met him in the drawing room and he refused to look me in the eye, "So what is so important that you have decided to grace the house with your presence at this ungodly hour."

"I am here to present you with a proposition," I clasp my hands as he finally looks at my face suspiciously.

"And what might this proposition be? I can assume nothing good," he questions.

I roll my eyes and pace as I recite my plan."As you know Daphne was utterly suitorless during her season courtesy of Anthony. However, the moment a Duke entered the picture she had men competing for hand. They could not care less about Anthony's interventions."

Colin nodded confused, "Your point?"

"My point is I need competition! So I propose that you pretend to court me! If you will? I know you are aware of my Papa's financial situation… I mean the whole ton is after Lady Whistledown published his unfortunate business decisions and his one-too-many daughters for a dowry. None of this will matter if I can get a suitor who loves me and will help my family but that can't be done if I can't attract a suitor!" I continue to pace as Colin looks entirely unsure of what to make of this situation. I take a deep breath, "So what do you say?"

Colin looks at me with puppy dog eyes, "Of course Y/n. You are my dearest friend. I must know why you decided to discuss this so late at night in your…" he flushes again and looks to the ground. "In your nightgown."

I suddenly became all too aware of my attire and became a stuttering mess, "the conversation was of utmost importance the time of day and clothing choices have nothing to do with it!"

Colin smirks, "I see."

"I must save my Papa's business if not for him but for the chance my sisters will get to marry for true love and not for financial gain," I sigh. Colin's eyes which were once teasing turn to sadness, "Do not look at me like that Colin. I don't need your pity, I need your help."

He nods and straightens his posture, "Of course Y/n. Of course, I will help."

I quietly snuck back into the house after speaking to Colin. The plan was set in stone he would be the first dance on my dance card and we would round up potential suitors together. We were joined at the hip for every event and I purposely chose the busiest times to promenade so the most amount of suitors would see us.

I soon began to gain the attention of many suitors and even had many coming to my house to call on me! Mama was so proud I was so happy to take her mind off the situation with Papa.

Mama pulled me to the side of the drawing room, "Maybe hanging out with the Bridgerton boy will help you! Maybe their fortune will rub off on us!" I was proud to inform her I was to promenade in the park today with Colin. It was odd to see her smile with excitement instead of pale at the thought of her daughter spending her time with a man who never planned to court her. I wish she wasn't only proud of me when I wasn't doing something that benefited me in finding a wealthy suitor. It's no matter though, I will do anything to make her proud, and it feels like I'm finally doing it. She spent the whole morning with me to find a suitable dress for my outing.

Colin arrived promptly at the time we set previously and accompanied me to the park. As we promenaded I felt many eyes on us they truly believed Colin would court the daughter of a family barely escaping financial ruin. It is truly almost humorous how easily we have swayed the ton.

"It is truly working Colin! Mother is so proud that I will be the one to save my family's reputation. Such a shame she picked such a layered gown for one of the warmest days of the season," I whisper and fiddle with the seams of my dress.

Colin sighs, "How many suitors are you getting from this Y/n? They can't all have honorable intentions given your beauty and your family's standing."

I roll my eyes, " Why Colin Bridgerton are you jealous? I would not think you are the type. Do not worry you will always be my dearest friend. No husband could replace you."

His face turns serious, "I am just worried. I hope you are doing this for the right reasons and not for the sake of your Mama… and I am most certainly not jealous."

For someone who said he is certainly not jealous he didn't sound quite certain. That, however, is not what distracted me. "You think I want to marry a man not for love but purely for financial gain? It is every woman's dream to marry for love! We can't all have the privilege to do so! Especially one born into a family with a gambling addict for a father and a mother too frail to defend herself. My mother has been preparing me for coming out since I was a child! This is my job as the eldest! To secure a good future for my siblings so perhaps they get the opportunity to marry for love as I will never get to!" I back up as if I may burn from Colin's shocking gaze but I still point a finger at him, "And the fact that you don't already know this Bridgerton is having me question if we ever truly were friends! Perhaps all those travel stories in your head leave not much room for anything else."

I storm away from the Bridgerton, I think after his initial shock he calls for me but my rage prevents me from looking back to see if it was true or a cruel trick of my ears. It was perhaps not the greatest idea to run off from a suitor with no chaperone. Maybe I wouldn't have found myself in such a precarious situation if I had chaperone. I find myself cursing my father in my head for his terrible gambling habits that prevent anyone from wanting to associate with the likes of us. Therefore getting me into this mess in the first place.

"Y/N L/N, we have been watching you for quite some time. Your father never described your intense beauty but how could one put it into words?" The seedy man approached me.

I smiled politely, "Thank you! May I inquire how you know my father?"

"Oh darling I think you know why we are here. I mean the whole ton knows about your father's habits shall we say." He smiles menaceingly and I think to myself of course this has to do with his damn gambling habits.

I back up in case I have to make a quick escape and he unfortunately catches on. He grabs my wrist to keep me in place, "We have been very patient with your father. Given his position in the ton, we thought we could be lenient with his payment schedule. However, it turns out we were mistaken. What is more shocking is the fact that his daughter thinks she has a chance of finding a suitor with no dowry."

"Sir please unhand me," I try to pull away from his grasp.

"You think being in the company of the Bridgertons will help your family situation? Perhaps we could take you as payment? You do draw a lot of attention despite your social ruin. We could use you to bring more men to the establishment," he smiles sinisterly.

I yank my hand away even harder out of fear but his strength still outmatches mine, "Why would I ever help you put more families in financial ruin!"

He laughs, "Darling you think you have a choice?"

His eyes narrow at something behind me and I hear Colin's voice, "I believe the lady asked you to unhand her."

"This does not involve you, sir," he growled.

"You see it is my business when you have your hands on my betrothed, Colin growls back.

My eyes furrowed in confusion. He had been fake courting me of course but we certainly did not discuss a fake betrothal.

The man laughs yet again, "I read in Lady Whistledown that you were courting her but the fact a Bridgerton would sink to the likes of the L/N family."

I took in a shallow breath and Colin growled in response. This situation was going quickly downhill.

"You will not besmirch the lady's name! Now I won't ask again unhand her!" Colin shouts.

"Whatever you say," he smirks and tosses me to the ground. Colin's grimace seems to only encourage the man more, "I'd honestly prefer to use her to replace her father's debt but if you want to drag your family name down with her so be it." He walks away with a peppy jaunt in his step and I glare at him from the ground.

Colin quickly helps me to my feet, "I would have dueled him right here and now if I was not in the presence of a lady."

I brush the dirt off my gown, "It's fine. I'm fine. I will handle it."

"No, you will not! you will not take a step towards that insipid man," he yells.

"Well, Colin you don't really have any choice in that matter! Do you? You are just fake courting me. Or fake betrothing me now? I don't know. I have lost track honestly!" I rant.

His face turns serious, "Y/n I care for you! I would forsake my whole family name for you! You think I do not burn with rage every time I see a new man attempt to call on you after I started court you! I noticed your beauty and your smarts before any of these men did! The fact that they only noticed you once another gentleman entered the picture is disgraceful! I will always notice you Y/n! I will never let your family go through this! I hope to be a love match for you and help your family."

Tears collect in my eyes. As the oldest sibling I've never been the one that was cared for but the one that does the caring. Colin's words made me feel full. I try to tease but it comes more out as a sob, "Mr. Bridgerton are you proposing to me."

He smiles, "I think it is about time I finally proposed to you after you always proposed your schemes to me. So what do you say Ms. L/N? Would you like to continue proposing schemes to me for the rest of our lives?"

I nod aggressively smiling. There was no stopping the happy tears now.

[idontplaytrack]

Six weeks

Janis ‘Imi’ike x fem! reader

Warnings: MDNI, smut. Coarse language, fluff

Peek into reader & Janis’ life postpartum. Other parts to the series are linked here

Never mind six weeks. You don’t even think you would ever be able to let Janis see you bare anymore. It was that same night, and Dr. Aukai rushed over to check on you as soon as she heard from Maia what had happened. You then found out the on-call doctor was a last resort as she was the first available person that Maia ran into after receiving the message that your doctor was in an emergency c-section. You were deathly afraid to use the bathroom, because you knew for a fact that it would be so much more painful than you were expecting, thanks to the episiotomy. You had a catheter in place at the moment, but it was to be removed soon— after dinner, Maia had said. It was so uncomfortable to even sit, but you weren’t strong enough to stand up or walk for long.

Janis was sitting right beside you in your bed, Kalia was in the nursery while you got some quiet time.

“I’m gonna remove the catheter, alright? You ready?”

You shrugged. “I’m sorry Dr. Kim did that, you have my full support in lodging a formal complaint against her. It was completely her fault for not listening to a patient.”

“It was like she had something against her.” Janis spoke up, you watched Dr. Aukai put on a pair of gloves and heard her tell you to shift your legs apart so she could remove the catheter. “How’s it been with the catheter?”

“Really uncomfortable. It feels like it’s poking me every time I try to sit up straight.”

Aukai winces, “Yeah, some patients have this experience. It’s not pleasant, I know. Your stitches look okay, though.”

“That’s the worst part compared to the catheter.” You admitted, staring at up the ceiling before turning your head to look at Janis instead.

“I’m gonna count to three— deep breath for me on three, alright, hun?”

You nodded, holding onto Janis’ hand hastily. On the third count, you felt a quick stinging pain as the tube got pulled out. Once that was done, she taught you what to do when you had to use the bathroom— including ways to keep the stinging and soreness to a minimum. Even how your diet should be like to help with it. You drifted off to sleep awhile after that. Janis stood right outside the room to talk to Dr. Aukai.

“Like, I get that she’s not a local but, she’s just supposed to be a patient who needs care of a doctor and she just put her through that, plus a more painful recovery because of her opinions?”

“Are you saying—”

“I heard her mumbling some really hurtful names. Haole stood out to me.” Janis scoffed, “Was it really worth it in her opinion to traumatise someone? A first-time mom, no less. Kalia is our rainbow baby. We tried long and hard for her, and I’m not saying that y/n’s experience with the on-call doctor discounts how significant this milestone is for us, but that doctor…ruined y/n’s moment that was supposed to be happy. She’s been holding back tears since she fully stopped crying and I don’t know what to do.”

“Fight for her. The no-episiotomy decision was made weeks ago and Kim failed to do the right thing by her. Failed to read the file and get to know her patient. Maia and Zelda saw everything, they can vouch for you. For y/n. You two can win this.”

“Her sister and my Dad are getting things started, we’re so lucky to have you as our doctor. You didn’t have to listen to that. You’ve already done your job.”

“My job as a doctor is not done until she is no longer under my care. My job as a human being and a fellow mother is to empathise. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how terrifying and painful that must’ve felt. If my wife was in front of me, getting cut open against her will— and she didn’t absolutely need it, I will be so furious. I am so angry for her, for you.”

Dinner was more comfortable for you now that the catheter was removed. You were also starving, now that you were more energised and that the adrenaline has worn off. You wanted. No, needed to eat. The food wasn’t great, but you had no energy to object. Well, it wasn’t terrible either. “Do you want something else?”

You shook your head, “It’s fine.”

Once you picked up your fork again, the hospital room’s door opened. Regina walks in holding a bag of food— home cooked food.

“Dinner has arrived.” Regina walked up the table, removing the contents of the brown paper bag. “Don’t eat the hospital food. You deserve the good stuff.”

“Thanks, Reg.” You smiled slightly.

At least this brought a smile to your face, she thought.

“There’s food for you too.” Regina glances at Janis, “Eat up, both of you.”

Regina hung around until some time after dinner, and you didn’t see Akoni until the day after— the day they were letting you go home. Right now, you were waiting for Dr. Aukai to come by with your release papers plus check your stitches and overall condition before discharging you. Kalia was asleep in the bassinet next to you and Janis.

“She’s so cute.” Janis chuckled to herself, “So tiny.”

“You’re good to go, y/n. I’ll see you and Kalia in six weeks for the first postpartum checkup.” Aukai informed, “Remember, your stitches should heal in three to four weeks. Your body will absorb them, they don’t need to be removed.”

You nodded, fidgeting cautiously on the pillow you had to sit on since you couldn’t put all the pressure directly on your bottom.

“This leaflet tells you what to look out for when you’re home with regards to your stitches and after delivery. If you have any concerns from the time you get home to the time you come see me in six weeks, do not hesitate to call my clinic.”

“Got it.” You answered.

“No sex for six weeks. Might be more time for some moms, and especially since you have stitches.”

“I know.” You nodded, staring at the floor. “Any pain should be helped with ibuprofen. If it doesn’t get better or if for any reason, you are concerned. Please come in.” Dr. Aukai continued. “I’ve talked to your sister and your father to give them a quick rundown, they’re all filled in and told me that they’ve got the legal matters going. So in the meantime, focus on yourself, focus on your baby girl, focus on being in the moment. Everything else is secondary until you recover.”

You decided to walk your way out to the lobby where Akoni was waiting with the car. Goes without saying that it took you pretty much forever. You were almost clinging onto Janis while she held the baby, who was probably still asleep. Regina opened the car door for you and helped you get inside, Janis set the baby down in the car seat that was already set up. Regina sat in the front, and you sat in the back with Janis— and Kalia in between.

The drive home felt like it was too long, but even walking around was a challenge now. You needed quite a bit of help. Your insides felt like they were going to fall out of you, honestly. You were warmly welcomed home by Carl and Grace with a couple of hugs, then Janis helped you to take a shower.

Help, was one word for it. You didn’t want her in the shower with you because you didn’t want her to see you naked after having a baby. And it wasn’t like you weren’t needing any help doing most things, but you toughed it out until you couldn’t. That was when you’d be sitting in bed and just starting into space. Most of the time, that would be when you had to feed Kalia. So as much as your mind emptied itself, holding your baby in your arms pulls you back into the bubble that was reality. There wasn’t any moment of complete silence or peace for you ever since Kalia came into your lives. You’ve been feeling overstimulated as hell and just pushing it aside, your main downtime was at bedtime. Your bedtime. And Janis’, but you had to be awake every 2-3 hours to feed Kalia. All in all, rough.

Six weeks went by, and you were more sleep deprived than ever. You were surprised you even left the house looking slightly presentable. But, it was time for your first postpartum checkup. Walking to the car holding Kalia in your arms, Janis leans over to press a kiss to your cheek and you cringed. You didn’t even hide it. She thought you were in pain.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” You answered quickly, getting seated in the back while Janis drove. The last 42 days have been a major adjustment period and absolutely tested everything you had in you. New sleep hours, mealtimes, new diet, new chores and new responsibilities. Seeing your new reflection in the mirror, you got a shock. The weight, the loose skin, the stretch marks…the moment you managed to see yourself after having Kalia, a frown hung from your face. You’ve been doing everything you could to get started with getting back in shape, but you have lost your confidence. You couldn’t allow yourself to get any sort of affection from Janis. You simply couldn’t see how she was still able to kiss your face, your lips…or tell you that she loved you.

You sure as hell couldn’t right now, you didn’t love yourself. And any moment of peace you got, your mind automatically started to fill itself with noise…with harsh words and thoughts that ran through your brain on a loop. And god did it remind you of high school you all over again. There were moments where you knew it was wrong to think that way, that you knew you had so many people around you who loved you and cared about you. But the negativity won, despite you trying your damn best. So, now you were back to battling with your mind. Only now, it’s got higher stakes. What you choose to do or don’t, affects not just you, and not just Janis, but her family, and your family, and your daughter.

Not that you were no longer seeing your therapist, you were. But you were just going through a rough patch lately. On the way to Dr. Aukai’s clinic, you took the time to send your therapist a quick text to see if she could fit you in for another session this week. If she could, this one you were requesting would be session number two of three. Between the postpartum lifestyle and having to go to your therapist up to three times a week, your days sure seemed busier than you knew deep down it was good for you. You were helping yourself get out of this bad place.

“Everything looks great for you, mama. Pain level’s normal for your current stage and your bleeding has also stopped. As they should be. Plus, Kalia’s growing very well, so…nothing to worry about there.” Dr. Aukai summarised, “Since it’s been six weeks, and given that you’ve healed so seamlessly, plus you don’t have any concerns right now…so I’m giving you the all clear should you feel like you want to engage in any intercourse.”

Right before Aukai ended the session, she asked if you had any questions or concerns. Janis didn’t have any, while you said you did. So, Janis took the hint and waited outside with Kalia.

“I’m all ears, mama. Go ahead.”

“For the last week or so, I’ve been feeling the urge to engage in intercourse come back. But because of the birth and the stitches, I have been so apprehensive because I’m afraid it’ll hurt. And I’m not talking about badly healed, not healed enough type of thing. I’m thinking— you checked me earlier and I’ve healed properly so everything looks fine but what if it just somehow doesn’t feel fine and we don’t know why?”

“Nine of ten mothers I see don’t deal with that sort of pain, but I get your worry because it is still a possibility. Ease into it, go slow and if the pain feels unusual, tell me— either at the next appointment or you can just call.”

“Okay.” You nodded, nervously chewing on your lower lip. “I’ve um, I’ve been working way more closely with my therapist lately… these last six weeks. I feel like I’m back in high school— low moods, low energy, low confidence. I am back to disliking myself…what I see in the mirror. It’s like my body can’t bounce back. I guess my hesitance to do anything, when it comes to intercourse or just intimacy, it’s been harder for me to just feel it, experience it. I dodge, and I hate that I dodge. I just don’t feel like myself and it’s been so much work.”

“Is everything going alright with Gibbs? Or do you want another referral?”

“Yes. I’m getting used to her now. Been with my old therapist back home for so many years, so I needed to adjust.”

“Your feelings are valid. Your body, your mind, everything…had been through a big change. You’re in a new stage of life too, and big change sometimes mean big adjustment is needed. You need to fight back harder. But it’s okay to feel what you feel, sometimes you need to feel it to get through it. Not liking your body now, I feel you. It is so hard to see something so different, so abruptly. But I need you to know this. You have a wonderful village behind you, and you being able to recognise what and why…tells me that you’re aware, and you’re actually pretty damn clear on what’s really what you think and what’s just a ‘dark cloud moment’— like you mentioned before today. Sometimes those voices contradict, but you’ll be okay. Let go of your thoughts, let them float away. Focus on your present, beyond what you see and what you think you see. In mirrors, or in life. Accept help with things you need help with, bask in the fact that you are not alone. Remind yourself that. Feel what you need to feel, ask someone to baby sit Kalia for a couple hours…take a walk with Janis, chat with her, do more…give in to your urge if it feels right. This time can be tough and I know it as a mother myself, it might seem like the last thing you want because of those moments of being unhappy with what you think about your body now, but rekindling that passion, and the closeness might help more than you can imagine currently. This too shall pass, y/n. You are more than your appearances.”

“Thanks, Doc.” You chuckled tearfully, “I really, really appreciate that. I guess I just need to hear it again, from someone. I uh, I meant to ask…why, why do you care so much about me? It’s…I’ve never had a doctor like you.”

“Honey, I was you. I just want to help, as a mother, that instinct is strong. But also as your doctor, as another human being. Look at me now, you got this.”

————

“Jan, I wanna talk to you.” You said while Janis parks the car in the garage.

“Of course, honey. Let’s just head inside?”

After putting Kalia in her crib for a sleep, you and Janis were on the front porch. “I uh, I talked to Dr. Aukai about how…I’ve been feeling regarding by body image and my self-confidence and doubt. I’ve been sharing with Gibbs too, but Aukai actually said things that gave me some clarity instead of dwelling on those feelings even though feeling them and acknowledging them helps.” You looked at Janis, she looked at you…listening so very patiently.

You continued, taking in a deep breath, “Anyway, I uh, mentioned to her that for the last week, I’ve been feeling the urge to…um, get some relief. She suggested that we get a little bit of alone time to work on physical closeness, rekindling the passion and just…focus on each other for a bit instead. I knew that deep inside me, but lately I just don’t have the guts, or the confidence to act on it. But fuck, I really wanna go for it. I’m done being upset, my body’s been through a lot, my mind’s been through a lot. I have been through a lot. But I’m still here, getting the privilege to experience being a mother, being a parent with you. My body’s got me through it all so far, I should be proud of that. I have so much to be proud of. And, gosh…having you by my side through everything. I am so lucky to have my family. Life is so much more than what those voices in my head tell me to focus on.”

Janis’ face relaxed, and she leans in closer, hand cupping your cheek. Her thumb caresses your cheek and her lips tug into a warm smile right before her lips crashed into yours. First, a gentle peck. Then another, and another. Then the kiss deepens according to how you were reacting and responding. This goes on for a good while, easing you into the mood. “To the bedroom?” She asked with a cheeky grin.

“Yes, please.” You muttered, she hoisted you up and carried you to the bedroom then set you down on the bed before quietly shutting and locking the door. She gets back to you, returning to the same position. The heated makeout continued until you showed her that you were ready for more. A tilted neck, fluttering shut eyes, and the slightly heavier breathing. You also fell onto your back, so Janis being cautious laid next to you. “All good?” She asked, gaze worried.

“Mm, yeah.” You mumbled into the kiss before she detached her lips from yours with a wet noise. Janis began to kiss her way down south, leaving a trail of desire in her wake and you an ache that was pooling in between your thighs. Eventually, a forsaken whine falls from your lips. You shocked yourself, but Janis was thrilled.

When your hips bucked, she slid your pants off, hand gliding down onto your cunt, cupping it as her fingertips rubbed your clit over the cloth. You writhed, biting down on your lower lip to keep it quiet. You had a sleeping baby in the crib a few feet away. “Want me to take it off?” Janis asked quietly.

“You can.” You agreed, “Yeah, I want that.”

When the thin fabric got tossed aside, her hands were entirely on your bare skin. You exhaled harshly, feeling her gain a momentum and feeling your arousal grow. At the same time, your nerves kicked in. Nerves about what she’d think seeing you naked after the baby, nerves about whether or not it’d hurt. It’s just been a long time.

Janis started soft and slow, her middle finger moving down towards your entrance and began to push into you. Your breathing hitches, it felt uncomfortable but wasn’t painful. It wasn’t painful until regular movements started. The push and pull motion made you feel pain. At first a twinge, but then you couldn’t ignore it and told her to stop. Shit. You were really hoping that it wouldn’t hurt. “I’m sorry, baby, I’m sorry.” Janis stopped instantly, a soft gasp was heard from her before she apologised over and over. She clambered back up to meet your face, reconnecting your lips.

“I’m okay.” You assured, “Too worked up to forget about it though.”

“You wanna try a vibe?” She asked, kissing you deeply, “Otherwise, from what I recall, my mouth alone works wonders.”

You laughed at that, your focus shifting away from the discomfort from penetration. “I’m fine with both.” You told her, eyes flicking down to meet hers.

“You wanna do both?” She asked, brows raised for a beat.

“Sure.” A grin forms on your face, you captured her lips into your own this time.

“One second.” Janis reached over to the nightstand and opened up a drawer, pulling out a vibrator and inserting a new battery before she powered it on. Laying next to you again, Janis holds the toy up against your clit while making out with you. It was simple, but so goddamn effective. You felt yourself getting closer to your high already.

“Fuck.” You cursed, voice breathy in a way that riled Janis up. She pressed it against the bundle of nerves harder for just a second. You flinched, she laughed, her tongue sticking into your mouth once again like minutes ago re-exploring each and every little crevice of your mouth like it hadn’t done so before. So eager, it was driving you nuts.

“Mm.” Janis chuckled huskily, sending a chill down your spine, “Feel good?” Then, her lips were on your neck after a very swift moment of objection from you. She shut you up by sucking at a specific spot along your neck, just like she always has. You moaned, “Oh, fuck. Fuck.” The vibrations from the toy was steadily bringing you closer and closer to your climax. Your head was spinning with pleasure as it coursed through your veins too. And then you felt that hypothetical coil in your core reaching its breaking point. A lewd noise erupted from your throat, high pitched and needy. It let Janis knew you were so very close…and the woman just deprived you of stimulation from the vibrator like it was a reflex once she heard that noise from you.

You whimpered, going, “Oh, my God.” Panting and squirming, tears pricking at your eyes.

“Hey.” She says softly, kissing you one more time, “It’s okay.”

“Fuck—” You gulped, “I need you.”

Janis stroked your cheek lovingly, kissing you so much that it was like you were a drug. “You’re so stunning, ipo.”

You whined this time, feeling the raging ache between your thighs. The tears welled up again, “I need you.”

Janis resumed her tactic, kissing her way down from your lips to your abdomen. Giving your tummy extra attention and love, peppering kisses across each and every inch while her hands on your sides moved along with her. “My beautiful wife.” She muttered to herself, thumb brushing over a faded stretch mark. You made a noise that sounded like you were trying not to cry, mostly due to that little action of hers and those three words she just said. “You are amazing. This body is amazing. Look at how much of the world we got to see thanks to it, How far our feet managed to carry us. And…I’m only a mother now because of you. Your selfless act, thanks to this body of yours giving our baby her first home. You’re incredible, y/n. You.“

The waterworks began now, you were tearing up and you couldn’t stop it if you tried. Lower and lower, Janis went. Eventually, she stops, lifting your leg and resting it on her shoulder. Then, her tongue darted out and she began lapping up and down your folds. At first in a fixed direction, then erratic and random. The coil in your core wrung itself up again, the pleasure intensified. You honestly weren’t sure how you were keeping this quiet at this point. But you were, mostly because you didn’t want to get caught lest someone came home. Janis only gradually increased her pace, but it was clear she was being careful. “My God—” You cursed in a whisper, “Fuck. Oh, that’s so good.”

You feel Janis smile against you, the strokes of her tongue intentionally slowing down, circling your clit for some time before she kissed your clit. Then she sucks at the nub causing you to gasp. Janis kept at it, going and going until you began throbbing harshly against her mouth. “Oh my God.” You kept mumbling over and over, fingers tangling into her hair. Feeling her right hand grabbing onto your right inner thigh somehow did something to you. Feeling her squeeze the flesh gave you another rush. Right as you arched your back, the movement of her tongue became stronger than ever, then it pressed flat against your clit as a finishing move. Swiftly, her hands found their way to your hips, keeping you stable as you attempted to find your breath. Your chest was heaving, your heart was racing and your eyes? They were all out of focus and blurry. Even your hearing was a mess. “Fuck— mm, sh— shit.” You swallowed thickly, ears now ringing for some reason. Janis’ touch was comforting as her palm caressed your abdomen and settled on your inner thighs— both of them. “You’re okay, honey.” She hummed, “You’re okay. Look at me.” So you did, your eyes flicked downward to look at her. You watch her crawl back up and lay next to you, wiping her mouth and chin off before giving you a sweet kiss, “I love you.” Your fingers comb through your hair as the kiss deepened, “I am so in love with you. No matter what, no matter what life throws at us, you’re still you.”

Then she broke away from the kiss, pulling back to look at you. Her eyes…they mesmerised you. They always did. Made you fall in love with her all over again every time, every single day. The way she looked at you made you believe. Believe that she loved you like she’d said. Now more than ever, you needed this reminder.

“I love you.” You replied, voice slightly shaky. You were trying your best not to cry. You weren’t exactly the quietest crier, and well, Kalia was still asleep, but judging by the time…she’d be awake soon for a feed.

“You want a bath?” Janis asked, pecking your lips, “Or shower?”

You sleepily nodded, “A bath sounds nice.”

“Okay.” Janis held your face in her hand still, the smile doesn’t leave her face just yet, “I’ll go fill the tub. Just wait here.”

“Milk’s in the freezer, just heat it up and feed her if she wakes up while I’m in the bath.”

“I will, baby.” Janis sat up, “Be right back. Just get your clothes ready, hm?”

She quietly exited the bedroom, and you just sat there for awhile, watching Kalia asleep. Shifting closer, you gently stroked her cheek with your pinkie. “Hi, princess.” You mumbled, “I love you.”

She doesn’t even squirm, still soundly asleep. You watched her chest rising and falling consistently with the biggest smile on your face. You were still in awe of your life now despite the moments of uncertainty and anxiety. The good always overpowered the bad, for you, that’s how life’s always been. You just needed to take a deep breath, take a moment to breathe and really listen. Listen to the people around you, not just the voice in your head. Because you definitely didn’t see yourself the way they saw you sometimes. And they were always going to be there to lift you up.

🏷️Tag list:

@ashecampos @auliisflower @cheesysoup-arlo @frogs00 @ludoesartandstuff @pda128

💭A/N:

Not my best work…🫠🥲

[hknightdai]

(REQUEST) Beating Bronze - House of the Dragon

Rhea Royce x Male Reader

Tags: Noncon, Oral, Face-fucking, Vaginal, Creampie, Anal, Public Sex

Request: Rhea Royce she keep acting cocky towards reader so one night reader drag her and fuck her in front people until she pass out

XXX

‘Daemon’s a lucky bastard,’ A common thought of yours these days.

Somehow, your brother managed to get his way and fuck off; leaving you to marry the so-called “Bronze Bitch” of the Vale. Admittedly, the first week wasn’t the worst. You fucked on your wedding night, left immediately afterward, then didn’t talk for the rest of the week. It’s not as if she’s unappealing, you simply didn’t know her nor had any wish to. Perhaps in the future, you’ll get to know her.

The future turned out to be a few days later.

You were returning to Runestone after riding your dragon, Velnias, when you ran into her. Or more accurately, her horse.

“So you’ve decided to stop hiding, Husband,” Rhea said, bringing her horse to a stop.

Stepping back so you don’t have to look up too much, you say blandly, “I wasn’t hiding, Dear Wife. I was merely getting used to my new surroundings.”

“Getting used to your new surroundings,” She said. “So that requires you to run from our bed once the deed is done, like a shy boy?”

She smirked down at you from atop her horse. It's fortunate you weren't your brother. Your hand twitches slightly, alongside your eye.

Flexing your jaw, you took a breath and replied.

But she quipped, “I see I’ve left the dragon silent. Maybe you ran because your “performance” was your best.”

The implication was clear enough and your face morphed into one of rage. Seeing so, Rhea laughed before riding off. That was when you found out more about your “Dear Wife.”

Those interactions would continue throughout the first week of your “marriage,” and into your second. She had certainly proven herself to be the bitch Daemon called her. The bronze part, however? No. You’d make sure her attitude went away, you just had to be rough

After some planning, you throw a feast. Certainly not what a person who wants revenge would go for, but you've got a plan.

On the day of the feast, the festivities begin early. The hall of Runestone is filled with the faces of lords and ladies you don’t know, all jolly and laughing with one another. Even your wife joins in. Good. With everyone chugging their drinks down, you mingle about, sipping from your tankard of water.

Hours pass into the late night and everyone’s drunk. Including Rhea.

Walking over to her, you grab her and say, “Come dear, you’re wasted and it’s time to sleep.”

And she very much was. Stumbling simply from your grip, she still has enough attitude to spit a response, “O-ooh look! My husband deigns to give me his presence. Even theee shy dragon has his moments.”

Lost in her drunken stupor, Rhea roars with laughter alongside those she was talking to.

Your face gives for a moment, sneering at her, and then you regain control. Smiling at the others, you tighten your grip and pull her back to your room. The trip to which, breaks you. Rhea stumbles so much that you practically drag her across the hall. You only make it a few more steps before bursting out in anger and pushing her against a nearby wall.

She lets out a shocked cry, “W-what the seven hells, Y/n!”

She goes to continue, but you wrap a hand around her throat.

You get in her face as you squeeze tightly, and hiss, “I’ve had enough of your shit, Rhea! It seems you’ve forgotten that I’m a Prince, not some minor lordling. As a Prince, I must rectify your attitude.”

Rhea grasps at your hand, weakly trying to pull it away but fail. Once her eyes start rolling back, you let go and she drops to her knees, gasping. Saliva already drips from her mouth as she coughs; screwing her eyes shut as she gulps down precious air. With her eyes closed, you drop your pants. Your cock stands stiff in the hallway.

Slightly kneeling, you grip her jaw and her hair and slam into her throat.

“KRRRGLHK! KRPHLK! KRPHLK!”

“Not so high and mighty anymore are you, Bronze Bitch?!” You hiss.

Left weak from her earlier drinks and lack of air, the proud Lady of Runestone is left grasping and clawing at the floor. Though she does try to bite down, your grip on her jaw is enough to stop any such movement. The attempt does however draw our ire.

Your fingers clench hard enough to leave bruises. The hand in her hair yanks her head back, slamming it into the wall.

“Grrglk!” She cries.

“I see I need to beat harder,” You snarl.

Her head hits against the stone with every snap of your hips. Glaring down at your “wife,” you can see how pathetic she now looks: Her eyes are screwed shut in pain with tears running down her face; spit spews from the corners of her mouth, dripping down onto her clothed breasts as they heave.

Grinning, you hilt inside her throat. Rhea’s convulsing throat brings you to the brink and you pull out. Rhea hurls and coughs as you jerk your cock until you cum on her face and tongue.

Breathing heavily, you grab her messy face with the same hand that just jerked you off, you say, “I don’t think you’ve learned your lesson, but still. Are tamed now, Dear Wife?”

Rhea glares up at you, her breaths coming as rasps. She sneers for a moment then tries to spit in your face. But you quickly raise the hand on her jaw to block it, getting even more spit on it. At that moment, she tries to stand but trips, her legs still wobbly from the alcohol and kneeling.

Your hand whips out and grabs the front of her shirt. Pulling her towards you, you smack her with the spit-covered one and let her fall on her stomach.

“Stupid bitch,” You say, though you expected it. “On to the next part then.”

Flipping her over, you enter a pitiful struggle as you rip her shirt open and she tries to stop you, hitting you with lackluster smacks and punches. When you get to her pants, she seems to regain some power. A kick scraps you while another nearly catches you in your exposed bits.

“RHEA!” You roar.

Your voice spooks her for a moment and you yank her pants and undergarments down as best you can. Despite your best effort, they catch on her knees before she resumes her struggle. But it’s enough for you. Grabbing her frantic legs, you squeeze them tight and bend her half.

“Yo-ou Bastard!” Rhea hisses, her breath being knocked from her with the force you used.

“It’s our child, Rhea. It’s not going to be a bastard.”

And with that, you spit on her lower lips and sink into her.

You let out a moan, not bothering to hide your pleasure as Rhea clenches her jaw, the sound of her sharp breathes is the only reaction she reluctantly gives. Pulling back, you slam into her. The smack of flesh rings out. Rhea claws the ground as you fuck into her.

“Are you enjoying my performance, dear Wife?” You taunt. “Or would you like more?”

Reach around her legs, you palm her breast, squeezing it. Rhea lets out a low whine as you pinch and pull on her nipple. By now, your cock practically slides in and out of her with how wet her cunt has become from your abuse.

“So you are liking my performance. It seems the Bronze Bitch is merely a whore with a hard shell,” You say, grinning.

Moving from her tits upward, you grab her throat, “Look at me, Rhea. Watch as your husband rapes you in your own home!”

Rhea’s face turns a shade of red before she finally opens her eyes. You take a sick pleasure from watching her mouth fall open as she gasps and drools while you fuck her. Clenching your jaw, you snap in and out of her cunt. Soon enough, your thrusts stutter and the sopping smacks die down as you hilt inside of her and fill her with your cum.

When your hand leaves her throat, you immediately have to catch yourself as you fall atop her in exhaustion.

“I…I take it that was enough for you, Rhea?” You say after a moment.

She doesn’t answer.

Looking at her, you catch a glimpse of her taking a deep breath. Then she strikes. A punch to the side of the head knocks you off of her and you go tumbling. Clenching the wound, you whip your head to see her hurriedly trying to get up as she scrambles away.

Furious, you have little trouble standing and stomping over to her.

Rhea’s barely got a foot fully on the ground before you grab the pants which are now around her ankles, and yank. She falls into the stone ground but barely manages to stop herself from faceplanting. She pushes herself up before you grip her brown mane and force her face into the ground.

She cries out as you hiss in her ear, “I was teaching you a fucking lesson, bitch! But it’s clear I need to stop holding back.”

“Beating a drunk enemy, you’re real tough, Bastard!” She barks, glaring at you in the corner of her eye.

Sneering, you spit in her face. As Rhea clenches her eye shut from the stinging pain. With both arms in one hand and her hair in the other, you yank her to her feet before marching her down the hall, back to the feast.

“You damn fool!” She yells, seeing where you’re taking her. “They’ll never stand for this. You’ll be dead before the sun rises.”

“I’m certain those fuckers are too drunk to even stumble towards me. And if not, well.” You shrug. “Velnias should be enough of an incentive to sit the fuck down.”

Once the hall is in sight, you have to struggle to keep your bitch from escaping your hold. Yanking her into the doorway, it takes a few moments before anyone notices but when they do there are mixed reactions. Some gawk at the sight of their friend/lady almost fully naked, her clothes being either around her ankles or torn apart, barely hanging onto her. While others, the more agreeable ones, laugh and howl in drunken amusement. Then there are the yelling ones.

“What’s wrong, my lords?” You shout in merriment. “Can’t the freshly married enjoy some fun with their friends?”

You clench Rhea’s arms and quietly hiss, “Go along with it, bitch. I die, Velnias goes wild.”

You can see her work her jaw side to side before purposefully slurring her words, “Enjooy yourselves. We cerinlly will!”

And the merry howl as the gawkers merely shrug and continue on, though some do still gawk. And the yellers, well they aren’t happy. Some leave, but many just laugh, so lost in the alcohol they won’t likely remember. But Rhea will.

Tuging her along to the head table, you slam into the side of it, giving everyone a great view of your cock rubbing between Rhea’s cheeks. Grabbing a tankard of wine, you drink some before spitting it onto her back and ass.

Rhea sharply inhales, “You fu-”

She almost gives the game away but stops herself.

Rhea trembles beneath your touch as you rub the alcohol against her asshole.

“How about next time you decide to mouth off, you remember this night, Rhea,” You mutter.

Pulling back, you slam into her wet cunt before pulling out and slamming into her tight hole. Rhea’s eyes go wide and she tries to muffle her scream. Veins pop out along her neck as her face goes red from the strain.

With your grip on her arms still in place, you use it as leverage as you pull back and slam back into her. Showing her no mercy, your cock stretches her ass open wide as you fuck her in front of everyone. Rhea tries to hide her face away against the table, but the raucous laughter is a constant reminder of the audience.

Your cock practically saws in and out of her, but despite how uncomfortable it is, her hot ass clings to you tighter than anything else. You can’t help slamming back into her.

For a few moments, there are no words between you two, just the labored breaths of you two.

Despite the pleasure, you grab the tankard of wine again. Tilting it over your wife, you drench her in it. From head to toe, wine drips from her shaking form as she whines from the pleasure and pain.

One of the men quips, “She must be thirsty!”

“You’re damn right!” You shout back.

Rhea’s breathing quickens as she quakes. The shame of this act combined with the fucking itself, leaves her in shock. Unable to hold back any longer, you feel her ass clench around you as she lets out a croaking moan and squirts onto the floor before falling unconscious on the table.

Caught unsuspecting, you let out a groan and fill her ass to the brim.

Once you've caught your breath, you look out to the room of merry men. You notice many groping their partners while other men lay unconscious themselves.

“It seems I’ve fucked the Bronze Bitch unconscious!” You bellow into laughter.

In the coming days, many don’t recall much of the night, which is good. But Rhea does. She remembers every instant of your punishment, which is good. You don’t think a second public performance is going to go as well as last time.

Oh well, at least the Bronze Bitch has learned her lesson.

[final-girl96]

Ageless Secrets Chapter Fourteen

A/N: This is a longer chapter. It took me longer to write it than I thought it would. I was ready for this scene but at the same time wasn't. Hope you enjoy it, and I'm sorry if you cry a little.

As we got closer to Bill and Franks, an airplane came into view. It was one of the many that fell from the sky and crashed on the night of the outbreak. I remember Tess putting the car in reverse, backing up, and turning around, putting the pedal to the floor to try and get out of the way as a plane came spiraling out of the sky. We could feel the heat after the plane hit nose first into the ground and caught fire, killing everyone inside.

“Holy shit. You fly in one of those?” Ellie asked. “A few times, sure,” Joel told her. “So lucky,” she whispered. “Didn’t feel like it at the time. Get shoved into a middle seat, pay 12 bucks for a sandwich.” I hummed in agreement. “I remember going to Disney World when I was about eight or nine with my grandparents. We had to fly, and it was pretty cool seeing the world below. Everything was so small.

“Dude, you got to go up in the sky!” Ellie said excitedly. “Yeah, well, so did they,” Joel mumbled and kept walking. Ellie looked over at me with raised eyebrows. “Grim.”

We walked past the plane crash, and Ellie was still asking questions. I couldn't blame her. She wasn't even born when the world went to shit. She's just curious about what the world was like before and what happened that night of the outbreak.

“So, everything came crashing down in one day?”

“Pretty much.”

“How? I mean… no one was infected with Cordyceps. Everybody’s fine, eating in restaurants and flying in planes. And then, all at once? How did it even start? If you have to get bitten to be infected, then who bit the first person? Was it a monkey? I bet it was a monkey.”

I laughed a little, “It wasn’t a monkey. I thought you went to school," I said. “FEDRA school. They don’t teach us how their shitty government failed to prevent a pandemic.” Fair enough.

Joel spoke up then on the subject. “No one knows for sure, but, best guess… Cordyceps mutated. And some of it got into the food supply. It was probably a basic ingredient like flour or sugar. There were certain brands of food that were sold everywhere, all across the country, across the world. Bread, cereal… pancake mix.” He paused and had that distant look in his eye like he was replaying a memory from that day or before. He took a deep breath and exhaled, continuing what he was saying.

“You eat enough of it. It’ll get you infected. So the tainted food all hits the store shelves around the same time, Thursday. People bought it, ate some Thursday night or Friday morning. Day goes on… they started to get sick. Afternoon, evening, they got worse. Then they started bitin’. Friday night, September 26, 2003. And by Monday, everything was gone.”

Silence fell between the three of us. That night replayed in my head like it was a movie. Everything still felt like it happened yesterday. We were sitting at the table eating dinner, and then Tess and I were running for our lives. Andy was dead on the floor, and Chase was locked in the basement, which no doubt he's still there today.

“It makes more sense than monkeys,” Ellie said, breaking the silence.

“Thanks,” Joel said with a shake of his head. I scoffed out a laugh. “Sure,” she said. We walked a little ways until we stopped. Joel looked over at me, and I nodded. “What?” Ellie asked, looking between us.

“We’ll cut across the woods here,” Joel told her. She looked confused. “Isn’t the road easier?” She asked. “Yeah, it’s just… There’s stuff up there you shouldn't see," I told her. “Well, now I have to see.”

“I don’t want you to. Seriously. Ellie!” Joel said sternly. “Can it hurt me?” She asked, and he answered with no. “You’re too honest, man. Should’ve said axe murderer. Uh… whatever it was… I think it’s gone.” Ellie ran ahead of Joel and I. “Guess we're going that way,” I said, walking after her.

When we caught up to her, she was looking into a pit full of bones. “About a week after Outbreak Day, soldiers… went through the countryside, evacuated the small towns. Told you you were goin’ to a QZ, and you were… if there was room. If there wasn’t…” Joel trailed off.

“These people weren’t sick?” She asked. I shook my head, “No, probably not,” I said. She shook her head, trying to understand. “Why kill them? Why not just leave ’em be?” She asked. “Dead people can’t be infected,” Joel said and walked away. I sighed and wrapped my arms around Ellie's shoulders. “Come on, we're almost there.”

After walking a few more miles, we finally made it to Bill and Franks. As soon as the fare came into view, I had an overwhelming feeling of dread. I stopped walking and looked out in front of me. The grass was long, brown, and dry. The floors were dried up. There was absolutely no life behind those fences.

“Something isn't right.”

I rushed forward, punching the gate code in and pushing the gate open. Joel and Ellie were still at the gate when I rushed into the house. “Frank! Bill!” I called out. I came to a dead stop in the dining room. Everything was  covered in a layer of dust. The table still had dishes and food from the last time it was used.

I shook my head and ran up the stairs. “Frank!” I checked each room upstairs first before heading down the stairs to their bedroom. When I tried the door knob, it was locked. “No no no no. Frank! Bill!” I pounded on the door with my fists calling their names. A hand placed itself on my shoulder, and I shrugged it off, then walked towards the front door. Tears stung my eyes. I've lost everyone I've cared about. Tess is gone, now Bill and Frank are gone too.

“Yn.”

I stopped and looked into the dining room, Ellie sat at the table holding an envelope. “This was left for you.” She held it out in front of her, and I slowly walked over and took it out of her hand. On the table lay another envelope with Joel's name and a key to the truck. Joel came into the room, and Ellie read what was on the envelope.

“To whomever… but probably Joel.” She looked up at us and said. I figured I fell under “whomever.” Came with this.” She slid the key across the dusty table.

“So they’re dead?” Joel asked quietly. I could feel his gaze on me. Ellie was looking at me too when she hummed a yes. “Mm-hmm.” Silence filled the air a few long minutes.

“You, you wanna?” Ellie asked, holding the letter out.

“Go ahead. You do it.”

I didn't really know if I wanted to hear it or not. I had so many mixed emotions. I clutched the letter that was left for me from Frank and listened as Ellie began to read Bill's letter.

August 29, 2023.

If you find this… please do not come into the bedroom. We left a window open so the house wouldn’t smell, but it will probably be a sight.” I had to choke back a sob that was bubbling up as my eyes started to burn with tears.

I’m guessing you found this, Joel, because anyone else would’ve been electrocuted or blown up by one of my traps.

Hehehehehehehehe.

I rolled my eyes at how Bill always found himself funny when it came to blowing people up who tried to break into the complex.

Take anything you need.The bunker code is the same as the gate code but in reverse. Anyway… I never liked you, but still, it’s like we’re friends… almost. And I respect you.

So, I’m gonna tell you something because you’re probably the only person who will understand.

I used to hate the world, and I was happy when everyone died. But I was wrong because there was one person worth saving. That’s what I did. I saved him. Then I protected him.

That’s why men like you and me are here. We have a job to do. And God help any motherfuckers who stand in our way.

I leave you all of my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep…”

Ellie trailed off not wanting to finish the letter. Joel walked over to her and grabbed it to read it himself. By the look on his face I would say it had to do with Tess.

“Stay here,” he told Ellie and walked out the door. She looked at me and asked, “So you wanna know what it said?” I didn't answer, but I didn't move.

“Use them to keep Tess and yn safe. And p.s. get your head out of your ass and tell her how you feel. Everyone can see it. Don't be a dumbass and lose something that could be great.”

I didn't say anything, just walked out the door, across the street, and into my house, slamming the door shut.

I didn't get very far, just to the living room. Everything in here was dusty too. I would need to clean it up later at some point. I sat on the couch and held the letter from Frank in front of me.

My hands shook as I turned it over to pull the letter out. I had to take a deep breath before unfolding it and reading it. And as I did tears streamed down my face and blurred my vision.

Yn,

You've probably figured out already before you even opened the gates that something wasn't right.

You've always had that intuition of knowing when things were off or if somebody was bad or good.

You always follow your gut feelings, and I admire you for that. 

I'm sorry I didn't try and contact you first about how bad things had gotten shortly after you left. But I didn't tell you because I didn't want you worrying and fussing over me.

You're young, and even though the world isn't like it once was, it doesn't mean you can't have a life. You deserve to be happy.

If you want to stay here, then you're more than welcome. You know where everything is and how to work all of it.

But I would really like you to make up with Tess. She's all you left of your past life. She's your sister and she loves you.

I always want you to admit your feelings for Joel. He might not show it, and he might push you away, but he cares about you. He's just scared to get too close to people. He and Bill are a lot alike.

I can see the way he would look at you when you weren't paying attention. He gets angry when you put yourself in danger. I know he can be a hard ass but he does care a lot about you. He denies it. He acts like he doesn't have feelings for you even though he does.

He closes himself off so he doesn't get too close. He probably thinks he's too old for you and that you could do a lot better.

When he pushes away, you need to push forward. It's not Tess he wants. It's you. You're the one who had his heart. You're his weakness. He would kill anything and anybody who tried to hurt you. He'd probably burn this world down if you asked him to.

So stop being a hardass. Get out of your head. Take a leap of faith for me and for you. Tell him how you really feel about him and don't let him run away.

I love you, and I'll always be watching over you. You're never truly alone in this world. I will always be with you. Go live your life as best as you can. Don't regret anything, and don't overthink everything either.

Frank

xoxo

[angstysebfan]

Mist Series-Book 1

Chapter 1- The Beginning…

Summary: Melanie Stakes aka Mist looks like a normal person to the outside world. What no one but her and her mother knows is that she is a secretly trained assassin who is being forced to do the bidding of her mother to save the life of those she loves the most.

A/N: I’ve had this idea for along time. I hope you like it. Eventually Bucky will be involved but that won’t but mostly not until book 2. Each book will be probably like 5 chapters or so. Maybe more maybe less. Depends. Enjoy!

--

When Melanie Stakes was born to Martha and Sean Stakes, no one but her mother knew what her future would be. As soon as she was able to walk, Martha would take her to “mommy and me class” when really she would bring her to her organization, “Renown” to start training her to be an expert assassin.

Her father didn’t realize his wife was the head of this secret organization. Thankfully when their second daughter Ashley was born Martha didn’t do the same to her. Thinking her too weak. Melanie didn’t want to be an assassin, but with her mother threatening to kill her father and sister, she knew she had no choice.

---

10 years old

“Again until you hit the bullseye every time!” Yelled Martha.

Pop,pop,pop,pop. Melanie once again fired off 4 shots from her little 9mm gun.

“What is wrong with you? Stop being incompetent and hit the damn bullseye!” Martha yelled.

“I’m doing my best mother,” mumbled Melanie.

“Well when you lose your father and sister then tell yourself that,” threatened her mother.

A chill ran through Melanie as she reloaded, aimed and fired, hitting the bullseye each time. She smiled at her mother waiting for praise.

“What are you smiling at girl? It took you too long to get it done. You must get better. You know what’s at stake.”

Melanie lowered her head in shame and then nodded. "I'm sorry mother. I promise I'll do better."

That night you're having family dinner pretending to be the happy family you know your not. It kills you having to lie to your father about everything. The fact that he has no idea who he is married to and had children with breaks your heart. He is just to kind and trusting.

"So Melly, how was school today?" your father asked.

Before you got a chance to respond with another lie your mother stepped in. "I got a call from your teacher that you are not putting in enough effort and that you are about to fail."

"Melanie that's unacceptable!" your father said loudly.

You once again bow your head in shame. "I'm sorry daddy. I am going to do better. I promise. I won't let you down," you say.

You feel the small hand of Ashley in yours. You look at her and she gives you a small smile.

"Can I go to the special school Melly goes to?" she asks your parents to change the subject somewhat.

"Absolutely not," your mother says. "We were lucky to afford her being there. We cannot afford you as well Ashley. Besides you're doing well where you are," she says.

Ashley, only 7, looks disappointment and removes her hand from yours. You lean over as your parents start to talk.

"Don't worry Ash. My school sucks. You don't want to go there," you whisper making her laugh.

You smile and look back toward your plate and notice your mother's glare. You knew you were in more trouble now.

---

When summer was coming, your father and mother agreed to send you away to summer camp. You were almost excited that you could have a normal summer when you remembered who your mother was.

"You should be excited because you are about to be trained by the best assassin in the whole world," she said happily.

You were confused not knowing who she was talking about.

"You're going to Hydra. You're going to be trained by the Winter Soldier."

--

Hope you are all as excited for this as me. I know I'm tagging Bucky stuff but it's because eventually this will turn into a Bucky x OC fic. You just gotta be patient. Hope you like this!

[naomihatake]

Piece of peace

Summary: first meeting between Female!OC and Naruto at Cherry Blossom Festival. 1700 words

TW: fluff, mentions of death and hospitals, brief description of a wound, discrimination, mention of orphans

A/N: I don't know if I will continue this with little chapters, but I really wish to. I never written so much in English all in one sitting. Initially, I wrote this for another purpose, not to post it here, but lately I realized that sharing bits of my thoughts on here is freeing. So, here we go.

Excuse any grammar mistakes or misspellings. I'm open for opinions and constructive criticism!

She got rid of the sweaty ANBU uniform she's been stuck in for the entire mission, hissing at the dark material of her clothes that got glued to a wound because of the blood. With no mercy, she dragged the grey flak jacket off even as dull pain ran through her body, only to throw the black turtleneck into the washing machine.

The only reason why she took her time in treating her wound was because she hated the smell of the hospital, place in which other comrades of hers were now stuck. One of those comrades was Kakashi, the captain of the team, who once again overused his Sharingan. She healed herself until nothing was life threatening anymore and she wrapped bandages around the wound.

Outside the window people were chattering and kids were giggling. There was more fuss than usual and the reason for that was the Cherry Blossom Festival. She was lucky enough to get back into the village so soon, only after three days of a mission that could've left her without limbs.

While she dragged some comfortable and large on her, she got out of the apartment, looking like a mere civilian. The only thing that distinguished her from the people was the small black bag wrapped around her thigh, where she held some kunai and shuriken. She never got out of the apartment without those, a habit since becoming a shinobi.

Ruffling her dark short hair, she looked around, trying her best to ignore the worries regarding the mission she just finished. Her turquoise eyes were carefully analyzing her surroundings, but her walk was slow and steady, as if she took her time relaxing — an almost failed attempt.

A young woman, a kunoichi of only 21 years old, trying her best to act like a civilian for a night, even as the dark circles under her eyes were getting more visible with each sleepless night.

As she was walking, approaching the centre of the village, where the festival was held, her eyes fell on a small boy with hair as the sun. She blinked, remembering for a brief moment the appearance of the Fourth Hokage, who's been resting in the ground for six years. It was his kid.

She stopped in her tracks, meters away from him, figuring out what he was doing. Her eyebrows pulled together into a frown when she saw the man from the stand get angry at the boy for looking at his masks for too long. He shoved the mask out of the boy's hands while shouting loudly.

"You're scaring my clients!"

With a few quick steps, she got there in seconds, holding back from glaring at the man much taller than her.

"Give me this one and the kitsune mask," her voice gave away the anger boiling steadily in her veins. The way she stared into the man's eyes didn't help the startled reaction and the cuss words that left his lips.

She gave him the money and took both masks, handing the blond boy the one he initially chose. A soft smile painted her face, genuine kindness dancing in her eyes.

"Here, little one. It's for you."

Initially, the boy looked at her with wide eyes, as if not believing what he heard or saw. He was hesitant, probably expecting to be spitted on. When his hands finally took the mask from her hands, he smiled so brightly her heart melted.

There were enough orphans left after Kyuubi's attack. There were many people who were mourning their friends and family and they were blaming the little child standing in front of her in that moment. Everyone threw such ugly glances towards him it made her want to puke. As if it was his fault. As if he controlled the beast locked inside of him when he barely got born.

"Thank you, Nee-chan," the boy smiled up at her.

She arched her eyebrow for a second at the casual language, but she didn't mind it it.

"What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto!" the child grinned.

Naruto. Right. That was his name, she thought.

"Then, Naruto, let's wear the masks together, alright?"

Why let him wear that mask on his own when she could wear one as well? Obviously, she always wears one, she got so used to it she felt more protected when her face was covered. She understood only half of the reasons why her anbu captain kept on wearing that damn mask over the lower half of his face.

Probably the reason why the kid stayed beside her for the night was the fact that he wasn't being shown kindness a lot of the time. She didn't mean to make him cling to her, but his presence was grounding. She hasn't talked with someone out of her anbu teammates in a month. It became almost suffocating, the way she forgot how to socualize, the way gruesome missions blurred her days.

She slowed her pace down just so he didn't have to rush, looking down at him from time to time. Chattering about nothings with the blonde kid felt good, almost freeing, and she guessed it must've felt pleasant for him too. He was probably alone too much of the time, discriminated, pushed away by everyone.

She knew that the mask he wore made it easier for people to ignore him and she knew he was well aware of it, even if only on a subconscious level. Such a young soul, already experiencing too much. It reminded her own her own childhood, the childhoods of her friends, people were already adults, junins.

"Do you want to watch the fireworks together?" she asked him, taking her mask off only to let him see her smile. She'd give him as many smiles as she can, the same way she smiled at any kid, at any animal, at each one of her friends.

"Can we?" Naruto's happiness seemed so fragile, even as his eyes sparkled with hope.

"Of course we can. Come here," she chuckled, picking him up, sitting him on her shoulders.

But she wasn't a tall individual either, so she raised on her tip toes between the tall men that stayed in her view. The fireworks didn't start yet, there were just two "dragons" — men distinguished as such — dancing around in a circle, but she could only hear the specific music.

"Don't get scared, alright? I'll find a better view."

She formed the tiger sigil with her hands and she used Shunshin to teleport on the rooftop of a house, where the view was much better. She heard Naruto's surprised voice at what she did and she could only chuckle at his reaction at such a lame jutsu. It's a D-rank jutsu.

She sat down and put him down as well. Her legs were parted, her feet planted on the rooftop, her elbows resting on her knees as she looked up at the sky. Fireworks were so beautifully painting the sky, the loud sounds muffled by the happy voice of the child by her side. It pulled a smile on her lips as she left the mask next to her.

"They're so beautiful!"

"They are," she admitted in a faint voice.

"At the next festival I'll do that jutsu on my own, dattebayo!" Naruto turned his head towards her, his mask down.

"Really?" she challenged him with a playful smile. "I can't wait to see that, then."

"You're a shinobi, right? What's your name, Nee-chan?"

"Naomi. Asahi Naomi, and, yes, I am a shinobi."

She didn't mention her role in ANBU, since it was forbidden.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" He suddenly got up on his feet.

The place stable, since they were on a rooftop, so he almost tripped, but she quickly steadied him, her hands carefully gripping at his shoulders.

"I wonder, can I?" she tilted her head. "Maybe. Depends on how quick you learn."

"I'm a fast learner!" he bubbled with happiness at her response.

She let out a light laugh at his attitude, shaking her head, strands of brown hair falling over her cheeks.

"We'll see that later, Naruto."

She watched him pout at her and turn his back again when another round of fireworks started. She stared at them as she got locked in her own thoughts, wondering if she should give in to such a request.

She was a busy shinobi, she was walking on the edge of death with every mission. All anbu missions are S-ranked and it's for a reason. So many comrades die in missions and it's maddening. She's still wondering how she's alive, how she manages to smiles at anyone except herself. She can never muster the energy to smile at herself in the mirror.

Should she teach him? It's a big commitment. He's been denied of help and kindness for so long, it makes sense he clung to her after that small gesture. A meaningless things for everyone but him. For him it probably meant more than she could ever understand.

She blinked as she looked at the ruffled blonde hair in front of her. She let out a small sigh.

"I will. I'll teach you how to handle shuriken first, kunai, then we can jump to jutsu."

She had no clue how hard it was for the little boy to understand some basic information, but the moment he actually got it, he was good at it. The moment he understood how his chakra worked, which would happen only with exercise, he'd be so good at it she was surprised. He learned slowly and so fast at the same time, which was a weird way to explain it.

But it brought her some normalcy. She didn't have to think of deaths and missions when she came back to Konoha and he'd run into her randomly. There were months in which she didn't even time to stay for a day in Konoha, but the smile on his lips when he finally saw her felt unreal.

Such a sweet soul was waiting for her to come back alive from missions, even if he had no clue what could happen. He didn't know how her mask looked and she was happy that way. He didn't know the danger she was put through, but he had enough to deal with. She'd do anything to lift something off his tiny shoulders.

[100beep]

Solace in a Hopleless Place

“Gorou.”

His name snaps him out of his shock-induced haze. “Yes?”

“The charges are treason, conspiracy to commit high treason, participation in a banned terrorist group, and four counts of manslaughter. How do you plead?”'

As was previously planned, he says “Guilty.”

The judge says “You are hereby exiled from Inazuma. Leave before sunset tomorrow and return on pain of death.” Then she bangs her gavel.

The rest of the trials pass in the same haze. Every important member of the Resistance is there, plus any common soldier that didn’t manage to escape. The leadership is given the same sentence of exile, while the soldiers are let off relatively easy, their only punishment being a few years of hard labor rebuilding the Tenshukaku.

He’s halfway to Dornman Port when he shakes off the last of the shock from the disastrously failed assassination attempt. It was an all-or-nothing bet, he knew, but he didn’t think he’d properly understood what failure truly meant until it happened.

He arrives in Dornman Port in the early afternoon two days after the trial and decides to make the trek to Mondstadt the same day. Unfortunately, it’s longer than he reckoned on, and it’s nearly midnight when he arrives.

Upon arrival in Mondstadt, he explains his situation to one of the Knights at the gate. Visitors are apparently not supposed to enter the city after dark. As he’s arguing with the guard, who seemingly wants to let him in but can’t, a wandering bard comes from the inside, winks at the guard, and pulls Gorou inside. And then drags him off to a tavern to tell his story properly.

Once he’s done the first telling of his story, the bartender asks “What exactly went wrong with your plan?”

“They had a spy,” Gorou almost growls. “They knew we were coming, they knew our every move. And it’s really damn hard to touch the Shogun if she knows you’re there.”

“There are few things that can derail a plan worse than a traitor within your ranks,” the bartender says, as if speaking from experience.

“Did you ever catch whoever did it?” asks one of the tavern’s other patrons - one who’s extremely drunk.

“Of course not! The entire Resistance disintegrated after we failed. We never got the chance.”

“What do you plan to do from here?” asks the bartender, heading off Gorou before he can get any more riled up.

“I have no idea,” answers Gorou. “I’m only here because the first boat I could get on was coming here.”

The bartender nods. “I suppose you need somewhere to stay for the night?”

“I could use one,” Gorou admits.

“I can help with that,” says the bartender. “The tavern’s full, but Barbatos knows I’ve got enough spare rooms for you. Which is probably why he brought you here.”

Someone calls across the room. “Diluc! Not just any stray you take in can replace me!”

The bartender - Diluc, apparently - glares across the room at the shouter, then says “Ignore him. He’s my… was my… it’s complicated.”

Gorou nods. “I won’t ask. But why is it you’re willing to take me in so quickly?”

Diluc sighs. “I’ve had my share of failed assassination attempts.” He doesn’t elaborate.

Later - Gorou thinks it’s about half past one in the morning - Diluc announces last call. A loud chorus of groans follows, and the tavern slowly empties, the last few people being chivvied out by Diluc after fifteen minutes or so.

Leaving the city is a lot easier than entering it. Diluc just nods at the guards and opens a postern gate. Apparently Diluc comes around this late at night regularly.

They walk mostly in silence for about fifteen minutes before Diluc points out the winery mansion.

“You weren’t joking about having a lot of spare rooms,” Gorou says, mildly surprised.

Diluc flushes slightly. “Lucky birth.”

Once he’s shown Gorou to one of the spare rooms, he says “Let one of the maids know if you need anything” and leaves Gorou to collapse on the bed for his first proper sleep since the trial.

Gorou wakes up around noon the next day. He rolls out of bed and does his best to tidy up the room. It’s not like he’d made much of a mess, or that Diluc needs it, given that he has maids, but it’s the principle. He makes his way downstairs and is greeted by one of Diluc’s maids, who seems quite happy for a chance to stop mopping.

“You’re Gorou?” she asks.

He nods.

“I’ve been wondering when you’d show up. Diluc’s out in town - I don’t know what he’s doing. There’s breakfast waiting for you in the dining room… although you should call it lunch.”

Gorou thanks the maid, then calls her back to ask where the dining room is.

In the dining room, he uncovers what amounts to a pile of steak, potato, and cheese, stacked up. There’s a note next to it, from Diluc, which he reads as he eats. He’d spent so long being insanely busy with the Resistance that he’s used to such multitasking.

It’s fairly concise, as Gorou would expect from Diluc. As Gorou was told by the maid, Diluc’s in the city and invites Gorou to join him. He doesn’t say what he’s doing, just that he can’t be missed. He says that Gorou is welcome to stay as long as he needs to, as he’s a person that won’t take advantage of another’s kindness. And he mentions that he’d made the meal and used his Vision to keep it warm. At first, Gorou does a double-take at his ready admission that he has a Vision before remembering that it’s only in Inazuma that they’re banned.

Once he leaves the mansion, he returns to the city, mostly so he can find work. Diluc is entirely right that he doesn’t want to stay for free if he can avoid it.

“Katheryne? What are you doing here?” he exclaims, seeing her at her kiosk at the entrance to the city. She never leaves her desk in Inazuma.

“I have always been here,” she replies.

“What about the Katheryne in Inazuma?” he asks.

“Information on the workings of myself through Teyvat is limited to Adventurer’s Guild members,” she responds as if she’s giving a canned response. “And unfortunately for such a promising young adventurer such as yourself, we do not accept new adventurers during Mondstadt’s harvest season. Even those we previously tried to recruit.”

Gorou shakes his head in confusion. He’d been previously recruited by Katheryne in Inazuma, which means that they’re the same person or they somehow share memories…

He abandons that line of thought. He won’t be able to get any answers out of an uncooperative Katheryne. Instead, he asks “What stops you from hiring during the harvest?”

“Mostly tradition,” answers Katheryne. "The farmers of Mondstadt need as many workers as they can get during the planting and harvest seasons.”

Gorou’s eyes narrow. Adventuring is rather useless if you can’t feed the city, but he wouldn’t expect the Guild to bother with that. He doesn’t pursue it though - again, Katheryne won’t talk about anything that doesn’t suit her. “Can you point me to any of those farmers that are hiring?” he asks instead, not expecting an answer but thinking it’s a better chance and more useful than anything else he can ask.

Katheryne answers nonetheless. “Dawn Winery is currently in the midst of their semiannual hiring spree. In fact, Master Ragnvindr is currently in town for that purpose. He’s in the main square - just go up, you can hardly miss him.”

“Thanks,” Gorou says as he turns and walks up the main stairs of the city. As he climbs, he mutters to himself “So that’s what he meant by ‘can’t be missed.’” Whatever he was expecting, it wasn’t that.

Ten minutes later, a slightly out of breath Gorou makes it to the main square of Mondstadt. The disadvantage of building your city into the side of a hill is that it makes it somewhat more difficult to get around. To his immediate left is a sign advertising for the Good Hunter. Underneath that sign is another sign advertising for work at Dawn Winery. There’s a small crowd - thirty people or so - mostly waiting around for their chance for Diluc to take their name. Gorou takes a seat and waits for Diluc to work through the rest of the crowd.

“Next,” calls a bored-looking Diluc as the current person leaves, looking somewhat annoyed. Someone else walks up to his table and starts talking - for some reason, no one else can hear them.

“How do you know who’s next?” Gorou asks the person sitting next to him.

“Whoever gets up first, mostly” is the answer. “They always hire everyone they can, it’s not like there’s much competition.” Gorou nods.

A moment later, he asks “Are you that Inazuman revolutionary that appeared at Angel’s Share yesterday?”

Gorou blinks in surprise. “That would be me. Why?”

“Is it true that you took the first shot at the Shogun?”

“I’m a… was a general, not an assassin.”

The man nods. After a moment, he asks “Did you take any shots at the Shogun?”

“It’s rather useless to try once she knows we’re there. She can grab arrows out of the air,” Gorou grumbles. “Didn’t stop me from trying, but most of my arrows went to her soldiers.”

Diluc calls “Next,” and Gorou answers the call.

“I thought I’d see you here,” Diluc says. “I suppose the Guild sent you here?”

Gorou nods. “What is your arrangement with the Guild?”

“The Knights mandated it after one year when the entire workforce quit to join the Guild,” Diluc responds. “When neither they nor the owners would back down on their wage demands, the city nearly starved. And despite Barbatos’s calls for a revolution - or so they say - the Knights stepped in and stopped the Guild from hiring anyone new during the harvest.” He shakes his head as though to get rid of an unpleasant memory. “But enough of ancient history. You’re here for work. I assume you’re more interested in actual harvesting rather than the administrative work?”

Gorou agrees. “Tracking supplies and the like was the worst part of the Resistance.”

Diluc holds back a sigh. “Very well.” He briefs Gorou on pay - which is surprisingly generous - duties, hours, and such - long hours this year because of an early winter and limited demand for ice wine - then ends with “You start tomorrow in the vineyard at half past eight.” Then he calls “Next.”

The next three weeks are extremely busy for Gorou. He’s busy the entire day in the vineyard, after which he has little energy for anything else. He’s told that it isn’t normally this busy except after the freeze, but this year’s freeze will be sooner than normal.

Little time for anything else also includes finding another place to live. As convenient as it is to not have to walk into the city every night, now that he has work, he’d like to avoid living on charity.

Gorou and Diluc eat together almost every night, mostly in silence as both of them are too tired for small talk. Most nights, Diluc cooks, which Gorou is almost more grateful for than the room. About twice a week, he’ll get too wrapped up in papers to remember, and twice he falls asleep in those papers, in which case Gorou sighs and throws together dinner for the two of them. And on the one occasion where Diluc goes missing for two days straight - he’s told that it happens occasionally, it’s nothing to worry about - he’ll cook for himself. He’s not a bad cook, he just doesn’t enjoy it much, nor does he have the energy to.

(When asked why he doesn’t let the maids cook, Diluc laughs. He doesn’t trust them to not burn down the house, he says, and it’s far too hard to find a half-decent chef for hire.)

Three days in a row go by when the morning starts with a frost. There’s no effect on the harvest, other than a lot more workers bringing gloves.

The next morning, Gorou wakes up to a howling blizzard. He gets out of bed, noting that the house is somehow warmer than normal, and walks to the kitchen, where he finds Diluc with a cup of coffee.

Diluc greets him, then points out the window. “That is Barbatos thinking he’s being funny.”

Gorou blinks. “Barbatos does things like that?”

Diluc scoffs. “Only to me. I’m convinced that if you could get out of here, you’d see the storm is entirely contained in the vineyard. Shows what I get for asking for a cold snap.”

“Why would you want a cold snap?” Gorou asks.

“An experiment with ice wine,” Diluc answers. “I’m told that if you freeze the grapes before harvesting, it concentrates the juice, which makes for far sweeter wine.”

“And you couldn’t get a Cryo user to freeze them for you?” Gorou asks. “I’d think that would be easier than getting a god to change your weather.”

Diluc sighs. “You underestimate how pliable Barbatos can be. And even if he wasn’t, I have a talent for driving off Cryo Vision holders. Diona hates the entire wine industry. I’d have no chance at convincing Rosaria to take on any additional work, and she’s not leaving the Church anytime soon. Eula hates me for some reason, which she’s passed on to Mika, and Kaeya is… well, he’s Kaeya.”

Gorou nods. He briefly considers asking about Kaeya - he’s heard stories - but decides against it. “It would probably make a better wine from a natural freeze anyways,” he says instead.

“Perhaps,” replies Diluc. “Whatever the case, it’s not going to happen, as convenient as it may be. Are you cold?”

Gorou blinks at the sudden change of topic. “No - I don’t understand it, but I’m actually warmer than before,” he answers.

Diluc nods. “That would be my Vision. I wasn’t sure if it was affecting the entire house - normally, I only bother to keep myself warm. Surprisingly, it’s not that much more effort.”

“Increasing area-of-effect somehow doesn’t increase the power needed,” Gorou replies. “Unless you’re doing something with a lot of precision.”

“I wonder why,” asks Diluc, not expecting an answer. Gorou doesn’t give one - he doesn’t know either.

After a moment’s silence, Diluc says “Well, this day’s going to be completely useless for the both of us. We won’t be able to get out through that storm, either to town or to harvest and I can’t work in the cold - Vision heating is too distracting.”

“I’ll appreciate the day off,” Gorou replies. “Your harvests are rather exhausting.”

“I have been working you rather hard,” Diluc admits. “But winter would be here early regardless of what Barbatos did, and I’m not banking everything on an experiment. Thanks to your work, we only have a day’s worth of harvest or so left.”

“I’m not complaining,” Gorou answers quickly, “but I do need a break.”

The rest of the day is spent mostly quietly. Neither of the maids show up through the storm, which leaves Diluc and Gorou alone together the entire day. They talk more than they have ever since the first night when Gorou showed up in Mondstadt, mostly for lack of anything else to do. Diluc is very interested in the details of the Resistance to the point where Gorou almost suspects him of trying to create his own revolt.

When asked why he’s so interested, Diluc answers “I also had my time as a rebel. My motivations were far more selfish than yours - entirely revenge, to be honest.” And then they’re on to talking about Diluc’s misadventures in Snezhnaya.

“…I managed to actually land a hit on Dottore,” Diluc finishes. “To this day, that’s the closest I’ve come to revenge.”

Gorou nods along. From his one-time dealings with the Fatui, they’re not worth it to work with. Still, he has to ask: “What caused you to go on such a quest for revenge in the first place?”

Diluc grimaces. He doesn’t want the details publicized, but he can tell Gorou is trustworthy. He tells Gorou as much, then begins with the disappearing children. The only part of the story he leaves out is his messy breakup and disownment of Kaeya.

The next morning dawns cold and clear… in the sky, at least. The ground, less so. There’s about a foot of snow on the ground, ending right at the boundary of the vineyard and confirming Diluc’s theory of the localized storm.

The crowd gets to work. They know where the remaining unpicked grapevines are and, almost more importantly, where the already-picked vines are to dump the snow.

About half an hour in, Gorou asks Diluc - who, for the meantime, is working with the other pickers - if he can use his Vision to melt the snow.

“I doubt that I can control it enough to not thaw the grapes,” Diluc answers. “And thawed grapes are completely useless.”

“I might be able to shield them,” Gorou answers. “At least enough to clear the paths.”

Diluc raises an eyebrow. “Care to demonstrate?”

Gorou digs through the snow to the ground, then pulls off a glove and touches the ground. A thin wall of earth erupts through the snow, then curves over the tops of the grapevines.

“Impressive control,” says Diluc. Then he sends a wave of flame down the path, causing a massive cloud of steam and almost entirely clearing the path of snow.

The wall shatters as Gorou releases control over it. Underneath it, the snow covering the grapes remains mostly intact. The top had slightly melted and then refrozen into a somewhat solid chunk of ice, which Diluc picks up and throws onto a pile of waste snow. The grapes underneath are still frozen solid.

Diluc nods in approval and the two move through the vineyard repeating the process. It takes about an hour - there isn’t much vineyard left unharvested, but making such barriers is fairly exhausting for Gorou.

Once they’re done clearing the paths, Diluc leaves to begin the wine processing. This will continue through the night, with only Diluc and a few backup workers, pressing all the grapes before the weather has a chance to warm up.

Diluc comes in at half past four in the morning. He’s not as tired as you’d expect - he does have experience working through the night. But he still collapses on his bed the first chance he gets.

The next night, the entire collection of harvesters is invited to Angel’s Share for a night of free drinks. There’s enough of them to fill the bar, and regardless, it’s closed to everyone else - except that one bard that brought Gorou here when he first arrived.

Diluc, who for tonight is on the other side of the bar, sees the bard and shakes his head at him. Venti, of course, doesn’t leave and instead takes a seat next to Diluc.

“Was the cold snap to your liking?” he asks.

Diluc sighs. “Well, I can’t say it didn’t work.”

“Whatever did the two of you do cooped up together?”

Diluc blushes furiously. “We talked.” Then he looks around for Gorou, who is, thankfully, on the other side of the room and apparently not listening.

Venti laughs. “Oh, I didn’t mean to imply anything… inappropriate. It seems your mind went there all on its own.”

“You knew exactly what you were doing,” Diluc says, face still red.

“Perhaps,” answers Venti. “Although if I did, I’d imagine that it would work better.” Then he walks away, to where Gorou is in a rather heated argument with a few others on how, exactly, a Pyro arrow flies without lighting the entire arrow on fire.

“It doesn’t have time to burn,” Venti interrupts. “Any fool with more arrows than sense can try it, you don’t even need a Vision.”

“Thank you!” someone exclaims to Gorou. “If I wasn’t drunk, I’d show you - you don’t need a Pyro vision, I’ve done it before!”

Gorou throws up his hands. “Fine!”

Venti laughs, then drags off Gorou. “Tell me, what went on during that snowstorm?”

“Very little,” Gorou answers. “I needed a rest, Diluc kept me far too busy. And it’s not like there’s much to do trapped inside by a storm.”

“Oh, I’m sure you could’ve come up with something,” Venti answers. Then he walks away, leaving a very confused Gorou.

Later in the night, Charles announces “Last call,” to an even louder chorus of groans - no one likes the end of free drinks. The trickle out starts with Diluc, as he’d been almost the only one paying attention to the time. Gorou follows soon after - he’d stopped drinking about an hour ago to avoid a hangover.

They walk in silence, as Gorou would expect from Diluc, but this time it feels somewhat more awkward. Eventually, Gorou asks “What exactly did that bard say to you?”

Diluc blushes again, mutters something about “meddling gods,” and doesn’t answer the question.

“I see,” Gorou replies.

“What exactly do you think you see?” Diluc says. “You like someone, but you don’t want to admit it to yourself,” Gorou answers.

“I have no feelings for you, despite what that damned bard might say,” Diluc grumbles.

Gorou stops walking. “It’s me you like?”

Diluc freezes. “That is not what I meant to say.”

Gorou takes a breath and says “But what you wanted to say, I think.”

Diluc tries to deny it as he starts walking again. Gorou says “I like you too,” and Diluc stops again. Then he turns to kiss Gorou.

Gorou hesitates half a second before kissing back.

When they break the kiss, Diluc is smiling for the first time Gorou’s seen.

[eightsisterofmatariki]

Shazam!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

!! TW: child abuse !!

Billys P.O.V

I walked home and sighed in relief that the guy who owned the house was asleep, he was supposed to be my new dad and he was failing, hell even ignoring the abuse I didn't even know his name! I sat in my 'bedroom' and sighed. I wanted to run away, forget this place, welcome the streets.

And it's not like the guy upstairs would even notice until he missed a child support payment, but once CPS was alerted I was screwed. I doubt I could run form CPS for long as Billy and Captain Marvel would have no means of making money, at least as Billy I could beg which got me the food I needed. And here, when I was lucky, I could sneak a microwaveable meal, they weren't that bad raw, really.

Okay, that sounded pathetic even in my head. But another -more solid- reason was that the basement didn't freeze, even in winters, even if I was stuck awake I wasn't going to die from the cold, and most of the year it stayed warm enough that the abuse wounds healed by the time I went on patrol. Even ignoring what abuse wounds would do to my public image, I don't think I could deal with two sets of injuries. I was sure heartless muggers could and would replace a nameless drunk.

I sat down in my bed and my stomach rumbled, I ignored it, it was stupid that I was hungry. I could survive of meals from begging, the watchtower, and if desperate the cupboard. I snuggled into my jumper, pretending that there was someone in it, someone who cared enough to lie still of me; and if I cried myself to sleep that night, well that was none of your business.

I woke up with a sigh and as I sat up Phantom appeared "Why are you here?" I asked, Phantom held out a meal, a warm meal which varied from ration bars

"You can't check if it's poisoned." Phantom offered gentely, I took the food and ate it happily without checking. I was sure Phantom could've killed me by now, poison would be a waste. "I promise I'm here to help." Phantom said

"Why?" I asked suspiciously, something broke in Phantoms eyes

"Superheros- esspecially minors, often value their jobs above their own well being; and while I can't say that's bad even more hours for begging could change your life from what I've seen. I've never been in a situation like this but I know that presure and limited time can have effects, I just want to help." Phantom exlained, I hesiatated and Phantom opened up his... soul? Emotions? Mind? What ever it was it radiated safetruthcareprotect worriedconcernrelate helpnurtureteach protectsafe childghostlingbaby

"Okay," reliefhappydetermine "But nothing too big, I don't want to owe you or anything."

"Don't worry, I'm not a rope into deals kinda guy." Phantom said "I'll get you some food and heal what inguries I can." Phantom explained,

"If you're not lying... thanks." I said.

That afternoon I walked downstairs and found another meal, I ate it slowly and savoured the taste of actual warm food, I slept with a full stomach for the first time in a while that night. Next morning I woke up to the smell of another meal and relaxed when I realised it wasn't a dream!

-

A few weeks later when I walked downstairs Phantom was sitting there, "Uhh, hi." I said, he handed me a plate of food and I started eating,

"I looked you up, you have wisdom of soloumon-" I winced at how bad his pronunciation was "-or something. Does it apply to homework? For example can you know which one is the right answer on a multichoice math quiz?" Phantom asked while glaring at a book, I laughed

"I don't think so, I'm not going to be much help with math considering I dropped out before primary even ended." I mentioned, Phantom gave a long suffering sigh

"You know how to spell right? All my friends are busy and Clockwork's dealing with all the knots your speedsters keep making in time and Frighty and Pandora keep saying my grammars incorrect and suggesting words like 'twas' and 'shall' and stuff that belongs in a medieval movie!" Phantom complained, I made a mental note to look into Clockwork and tell Flash that he was pissing off someone powerful enough to have at least some control over time and know the ghost king.

"I can spell, just not really big words." I confirmed, Phantom gestured for me to sit next to him

"Great, you're helping me with my english homework." Phantom informed me

"You have to do english homework?" I asked in shock

"Yeah, I kind of want to strangle the guy who said that death is like sleep right now. Mr Lancer is relentless, oh and he doesn't know I'm dead yet." Phantom mentioned, I choked on the mouthful I was trying to swallow

"What?" I asked, Phantom gave me a small smirk

"What summoning book about me did you read? I'm a halfa, half human, half ghost," rings of light wrapped around him and showed me a very human looking teenager, almost 20, black hair that no longer defied gravity, teeth that have sharp canines but to a convincibly human level, freckles that were the same shapes as constellations but didn't glow, blue eyes that flashed green when the lights hit them just right, pink blush instead of green, a tan skin tone instead of a deathly pale, white and red socks, and a normal jumper and jeans with silver stars embroidered onto them. "I still live as Danny Fenton, not in this realm of course." Phantom said

"Wait, Danny Fenton, Danny Phantom... seriously?" I asked

"No ones put it together yet, I mean at the very start I looked pretty much like I do as a human only I glowed, and had green eyes, and white hair, and just happened to be wearing a hazmat suit. But I grew up within... two days I'd say, got a few more ghostly aspects, ghost instincts replacing or clashing with some human ones, and control over my powers. Then at two years of death I went through ghost puberty, Vlad is lucky, he just sped through it all in a hospital bed, I had to grow a mouth full of sharp teeth and deal with my nails turning into claws before I could control that stuff! Oh and get different forms and became way stronger but like, the teeth were really annoying and I accidentally sliced a door handle off when walking into class." Phantom ranted, I giggled

"That's gotta be hard to keep your secret identity." I said

"You'd be surprised what people are willing to overlook if you play it right." Phantom said, he waved his hand and a small portal appeared "Can you keep a secret?" Phantom asked

"Have you seen my secret identity?" I retorted, the portal cleared into an image of a guy with glasses opening a door and accidentally shattering the handle, another scene where the same guy pulled a different door off it's hinges, and accidentally lifted a weight which was definitely heavyer than most weightlifters could. "Is that... Superman?" I asked and I moved closer and sat down to watch

"Also known as Clark Kent, I'm the Ancient -which are... ghost gods? Kinda- of Space, Protection, and Heros. I have all of their moments." Phantom said happily, he pulled up a portal of some guy with spiderwebs in red and blue spandex swinging straight into a building, then a lamppost, then stopping while being chased by a giant man in a rhino suit to pet a cat. Then another portal of (IS THAT BATMAN!?) setting a pan on fire while trying to cook something, then deciding he could totally do that obstacle corse in high heels, then piercing his ear with a medical needle. I laughed as the scene changed and Flash ran into several walls, then managed to be late for work 3 times.

As I moved my hand up to cover my mouth it moved Phantoms bag and a few school books fell out, he sighed and closed the portal "Okay, okay, we're writing a novel on Frankenstein, how do we start this?" Phantom asked while clicking a pen

"Uhh, introduction, three paragraphs, conclusion. It should be TEXT, Topic sentence, Example, eXplanation, and then Tie back, you can swap the e's." I explained,

"Okay, uh, what about..."

-

The next morning I woke up leaning on Phantoms shoulder and curled into his hoodie, I sat up slightly and Phantom woke up

"Morning." Phantom said as he got up and stretched, turning back into the king he opened a portal "I'll get breakfast, take aways or cereal? The cereal might be slightly contaminated but it never really died so it won't come back to life."

"Your food comes back to life?" I asked

"That's not normal? I'll uh, get you a pastry and a smoothie." Phantom said, "I thought everyone's hotdogs unionised?" I heard him mutter as he stepped through the portal

[that-one-gay-writer1227]

30-Day Writing Challenge: Day five, Protecting and Comforting You After a Bad Day

A/N; Hey everyone, I just wanted to let y'all know that today's submission is very self-indulgent. I've had a harsh few days and so I made this fic into a bit of a pick-me-up for myself. Also, I apologize for the late post, I guess I should work on my time management a little bit more lol, but to make up for it I wrote this one to be extra long. Remember, take time for yourself, stay happy, drink water, and I love you, you lovelies <3

Warning: cussing, a smidge of angst, your co-worker is a jerk who should be arrested (physical fight), people are jerks, mentions negative self-image/thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~

Today you were late again. It wasn't your fault, you got preoccupied with some hilichurls on your way. Though you might not be the strongest or flashiest fighter, you still knew enough that it kept you safe on days like this.

Once you finally arrived at work, your co-worker was livid. Yelling at you for the first half hour of your shift, as if he didn't have his own work to be doing. It was one thing for there to be a snide comment every now and then, you'd learn to expect it. But a whole 30 minutes of hearing about the ways "you failed the company" is where you draw the line.

You had walked into the building, and went to grab your uniform to start commission work when suddenly you find that co-worker-kilo was standing at your desk, a sour look very present on his face. You took a breath and walked over not knowing what you'd gotten into.

"Where. the hell. have you BEEN y/n?! Do you really think we have time to wait almost 40 minutes for you to show up late? Seriously. I'm disappointed. Makes me wonder why the company keeps you around sometimes." His face was red and his breath heavy. He pinched the bridge of his nose and scoffed disgustedly. "I hope you know you're only around cuz' you got lucky. You didn't earn this nor are you worth the title so don't act like Lei won't replace you."

Wow. You hadn't even sat at your desk and this asshole decided to start talking down to you. Normally this kind of talk didn't bother you as much as today, but something about how he worded it really hit you where it hurts. You felt a lump in your throat and opened your mouth to talk but no words came out.

"Exactly. Good job. Now you're starting to see. But hey since you wanna be late all the time, why don't you make up for it by picking up some of the loose work around here." Kilo said walking to his desk not too far from yours, picking up a few client files and dropping them onto your already mountain high pile. "These are due by the evening by the way."

As he walked away to start his own work, you took a seat and began sorting through the papers that you had taken home the night before to work on.

It took a little less than an hour, but you were finally finished with the stationary paper-pushing part of your job. You picked up all of the files that weighed a ton, and put them in your side bag, then headed out the door.

Your first client was a younger woman who lived just outside of town. You made your way down the path to her family abode. You looked at the exterior, feeling a slight tinge of jealousy. It was much larger than your apartment and from what you knew is that your client was around your age. It made you wonder what you were doing with your life, feeling a little down about what was said earlier.

You shook the thoughts from your mind, remembering you had a job to finish. You walked up to the front door fully and knocked on the door. An older man who looked to be in his late 50s opened the door and stared at you absently.

"Hi sir, I'm y/n from Lei's tailors. I am here to see ms.-" But he cut you off by holding a hand up to you. He sighed and stepped to the side, allowing you to walk in. He guided you through the entrance, to a room on the left.

"Wait here a moment" Is all he said to you before he left. You took this opportunity to look around. The furniture was white with this white lace embroidery pattern, and most of the decor consisted of glass or porcelain. The walls had this wallpaper of white with gold trim and designs. To be honest, it made you a little nervous standing in there since everything was so clean. There was a small, older-looking desk that you walked over to. The wood was smooth and looked worn, but not in any way that would be considered tacky. More or less like an antique desk would.

"Mx. Y/n, This is lady Jing. Lady Jing, This is the artist commissioned for your dress." The man who led you to this room earlier broke you from your thoughts. You turned around and looked at Ms. Jing.

Ms. Jing looked to be slightly older than you. Not by much, maybe a year or two. She had long cascading black hair and bright green eyes. She had a slim frame, and was much taller than you are.

You felt your face heat up when you realize that you were staring a little too long. You began apologizing quite but profusely, but Ms. Jing only chuckled. "It's quite alright. Shall we sit down and discuss designs?"

You nodded in response, and let her lead the way. You both walked into another room next to the one with the white and gold theme, and out another door to a patio. The patio was still white and gold, but the columns and beams were covered in well-kept green vines.

The two of you sat at a round glass table. You pulled out your sketchbook and flipped to a plain page.

"Ms. Jing, were there any specifics you'd like to request for your design?" You asked, breaking the silence. Ms. Jing nodded curtly.

"Yes. You see, This is for a presentation event my father has planned in a few weeks.. He sells weaponry at a few shops you might've seen in liyue harbor. He recently made a new line of bows he'd like to present. My fiance is coming with us on a date and he's decided on wearing purple formal wear. I need something tight fitting and a medium purple like this so our clothing matches." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small purple cloth. The purple wasn't very vibrant, but a medium shade of imperial jasper.

You gingerly took the fabric and began sketching. It took you about 30 minutes, but after you both were talking about shapes and styles, you'd draw a tight-fitted, purple cheongsam dress that had light purple flowers towards the hems. The dress had a neat slit on the left side that went from the hem to around 3/4th of the way up. You turned to draw around and Ms. Jing's whole face lit up. "Oh my archons! This is beautiful. You really are quite talented!"

You smiled feeling very proud of your work. You said a quiet thank you as you gathered your materials into your bag. You pulled out her file and settled payment methods rather quickly.

This led to you exchanging goodbyes and on your way to the next client. His house wasn't too far from Ms. Jing's so you'd begin walking.

This client wasn't nearly as kind though. He was incredibly rude the entire time. Telling you about how "shitty your work was" or how he hated every design you had made. Eventually, after an hour of his insisting on rambling, you made something he was content with and practically shoved you out the door after payment was settled. This is similar to how all the rest of your clients were. rude and insensitive to your work.

It was later that evening when you finally made it back to the shop. You had made it through over 12 clients, each taking anywhere between 20-40 minutes except for one, which isn't too terrible.

By the time you made it back, the sun was setting and you still had to submit the designs and files after logging the information in the archives. Well, the only problem with this was the fact that kilo was the only one in the office since everyone else's shift ended.

You were sure that he stayed behind to belittle you more, simply because that's what this deadbeat did normally. You set your bag down next to your station and opened your bag, pulling out the files, you walked over to the archive room ignoring kilo standing to follow you.

The room was dimly lit by a single lantern, coasting across all the bookshelves and file cases. You walked to the appropriate stand and began working. 

Kilo was walking behind you. Just as you went to turn, he slammed you into the table locking either side of your body with his arms. "Nuh uh, your ass isn't going anywhere honey." He leaned in staring at you with absolute disgust. "I was thinking about earlier, and I wanted to apologize. I should've been a little more clear with what I meant." 

You leaned away and try to push him off of you. "Get the hell off me kilo. " 

"No, you're gonna stop!" He slammed a hand over your arm, pinning it to your side and growling at you. "Listen here you little bitch, you act so entitled and I think you need to be taught a lesson-"

You interrupted him but kicking him in the shins and running out the door, forsaking your paperwork. At this point you only had one thought in mind: run. 

Racing past the desks, and through the doors, you moved as fast as your exhausted legs would take you. Making it down the pathway, you felt beyond exasperated. 

Now, during the most inconvenient moment of all time, you remember that you haven't taken care of yourself at all today. You hadn't eaten and you only drank a cup of (f/d) to start your day. Maybe that had a part in why you now felt so tired after only running a few minutes. 

You couldn't keep moving, your legs were burning and you were sure that you'd made enough distance. You found an alleyway on the other side of town. Slipping in you slid down the wall and sat there catching your breath.

You felt hot tears falling down your face. You honestly just wanted your boyfriend at this point. Xiao always seemed to brighten even the darkest of days. Remembering him and his comfort, you remember what he always said 'whenever you need me, call my name.' You knew you shouldn't bother him, especially for something as small as this, But you couldn't stop his name from falling from your lips as your cries grew harder and more sorrowful. 

Within a flash, he appeared in front of you. Xiao looked ready to fight to the death of whatever foe stood in his way of protecting you. It took him a moment to realize that you were not in physical danger right then and there, but he also took notice of your crying and shaking figure. 

His eyes widened for a moment before he crouched in front of you. Now bear with him please, he's never been exposed to any comfort like what you need, so he kind of has to guess at this moment. He took both hands to cup your cheeks and look into your eyes. 

"What happened?" Was all he uttered, his tone beyond gentle and caressing. He gently glided his thumb under your cheeks to catch your still-flowing tears. You went to speak but all that came out was strangled words and sobs, leading to you giving up on talking and just hugging him. 

His body stiffened for a moment before he wrapped his arms around you, letting you cry out everything you needed to. 

Without realizing it, he teleported both you and himself back to wangshu inn. 

It took you some time, but you were finally able to calm down enough to talk. You told him about everything that had happened today, explaining how you felt and even the fact that you forgot to eat that entire day. Xiao was a good listener. He soaked in every word attentively. (Plus he was internally planning on teaching kilo a few manners) by the end of it, he even gave you a rare smile. 

"You are stronger than you accredit yourself for. You shouldn't listen to the darkness around you. It will crawl into your soul and consume you. You need rest. I'll get you food when you awake." His comfort, although it isn't helpful in terms of advice, was still warm enough to hit your heart and make you feel happier than you did earlier.

You went to hug him again, and this one he returned almost immediately. Placing a hand around your waist and a hand in your hair. 

"Thank you Xiao, I would be lost without you."

[shamelesssunshine]

About a girl

Showki fanfic

Everything here is fiction and nothing represents the real person they're named after.

All pictures taken from random pinterest pins

Enjoy

TW. Alcohol and drugs

Ch.1. The girl

No lights, only moonlight.

Hyunwoo’s truck arrived at the same spot where the same loud, chaotic music was embracing the same careless people.

There was a mess all over the place: discarded empty plastic cups under messy bushes, snack’s empty bags that looked like they belonged to the previous century decorated every rock, big or small, and a few small, almost unnoticeable rubbers signaled someone had gotten lucky tonight… and if said luck was the good type there wouldn’t be any surprise in the following weeks.

Hyunwoo walked straight to the “big fire” as broke, drunk and stupid college students called the old trash can where the fire had been lit every Friday night to Sunday since everyone in that party could remember, it was usually fed with failed tests, old love letters and moldy leftovers, with the occasional pitch of weed to spice up the ambient.

You late. I thought you wouldn't come. - 

Hoseok, the hottest guy in the town, if you asked about the last stall in the guy’s bathroom where his name was just under Roseanne Park, nobody knew who did it, but it was a truth that couldn’t be denied. Therefore, nobody took it off either, offered Hyunwoo a cheap unopened beer and a cig.

Now my parents know I’m good at law stuff, but it’s hard to get rid of them. They expect me to be successful now. -

They both laughed; Hyunwoo’s parents owned a nice BBQ restaurant in the rich part of the town. It was nothing too glamorous, but it was still rich enough to keep him as a law major without asking him to work. That was kind of super well-off in a small town with only two supermarkets and a raggedy theatre.

Poor guy, can afford dreams, hopes and expectations. -

Hoseok was more of a regular person in the town; he was extremely handsome, but that was about it for his luck, no money, four siblings, not especially good at school and working part-time at one of the supermarkets to pay for his college. However, he’s been thinking about dropping off more than once now that his siblings are growing and showing skills at things. He may dream of being a model, but he could actually step down and provide real chances to others.

Let’s run away to Seul; you’d be a model, and I’ll be a family shame -

Both had been friends since they could remember, even though they were in pretty different life conditions. The town was small enough for people to cross their way into each other. They grew up together and went through thick and thin already; they’ve shared everything they could along the way: toys, emotions, resources and even girls.

Both were popular enough to have each their fair share of girlfriends, affairs and lovestruck, to the point of being called dangerous and unserious. Luckily, they weren’t girls, and their lives would've been way too difficult at that point.

The night grew old, and everyone got drunk, forgetting their problems. New couples were made, some broke up, and some swore eternal love. Hoseok found the love of his life, an unknown girl from a nearby town who’s probably using a fake name and won’t come back to his mind ever again.

Now Hyunwoo had too much beer, and nature was calling him, so he went to the far end of the party where there were more chances to find a couple doing funny stuff than to see your further away than your nose, found a lone three, undid his zipper and let himself go, eyes closed realizing he was dizzy. Now, his mouth had a bitter aftertaste of beer. He was annoyed and disgusted by everyone in the party, so he turned around, ready to leave, when he heard a gasping sound. It took him a few seconds to focus his eyesight, but then he saw her.

She was there: pale, thin, long black hair, looking almost like a ghost, but weirdly, the ghost looked scared. They both looked each other up and down, and she looked more scared than before. Did he forget to zip his pants? He checked he was fine.

Sorry is something-

NO! Sorry I didn’t see anything, bye, sorry -

She left so suddenly and pretty fast, too, it took him a few seconds to react and follow her, but when he did, she was already out of sight behind some tree or maybe jumped into a bush? Who could tell? Not him.

He let her go and went back to where he parked his truck. He should've followed her she could have been lost in the goods he hadn’t seen her before. Therefore she wasn't form here. 

He turned around, ready to look for her, but she was in the woods, and she wasn’t from here. She looked scared and ran off as soon as she had the chance. Was she doing something? Someone?

He returned to the path to his truck, but she was all dressed and looked pretty. Girls who do someones in the woods end up all messy and with missing clothes, maybe she was just lost

maybe she was.

maybe she wasn’t…

alone? With someone?

Was she real? He was pretty drunk. Could someone have put something on the fire? He arrived late and didn’t start it himself.

He slapped his face hard, took a moment, entered his truck, started the engine and left; he’d check if Hoseok were still alive tomorrow. He was looking at ghosts and ready to throw up. It was time to go home.

[dopenightmaretyphoon]

That night M.T.

Reader's POV

I was so tired but just couldn't sleep. Stupid nightmares, I decided to go for a walk to hopefully make myself tired enough. Getting up i put on a pair of joggers and a hoodie to be comfy. I grab my phone and quietly leave my dorm. Walking around the school I notice a light on in one of the teachers dorm and panic. Trying to sneak away without being caught I knew i had failed and heard a soft voice behind me.

"Y/N what are you doing out of bed?"

Slowly turning around I see a sleepy redhead in her robe. Blushing I try to think of a lie but can't so deicide to just tell the truth.

"I couldn't sleep so I wanted to see if a walk would help, I'm sorry if i woke you Ms Thornhill"

Searching her face for a reaction expecting to see disappointment or annoyances I'm quite surprised when I see her amazing smile take its place on her face.

"That's alright my dear, I'll walk back with you to your dorm so you don't get in trouble"

Smiling back at her I nod and she quickly grabs her phone and dorm key and follows me back to my dorm.

Once we were back in my dorm room I flop on the bed and Ms Thornhill let's out a little giggle at my childish act and sits on the sofa I have in my dorm. Luckily for me I don't have a roommate. Miss thornhill's voice breaks my out of my thoughts

"Is there a reason you couldn't sleep darling?"

Trying to hide the blush I got from the nickname I just shyly nod, when I look up at her face i can see she is expecting more of an answer.

"Yes Miss thor-"

She cuts me off because I can even think about saying anything else

"Please call me Marilyn when we aren't in class"

Nodding to show I have understood what she said I continued

"Yes Marilyn, I get nightmares and I can't sleep without someone being in the same room as me but unfortunately I'm on my own"

Giving me her amazing smile once again she seems to think for a couple of minutes before speaking.

"Well I'll stay here until you fall asleep if you'd like me to"

Already feeling comforted by her just being there I nod and yawn which causes her to giggle.

Marilyn's POV

After reassuring Y/N for about 10 minutes that I will stay she falls asleep giving me time to admire her. I know it's wrong but she is so sweet and kind even with the people that don't really deserve it. After sitting on the sofa in her room for about an hour I decide its probably best I go back to my own dorm.

Standing up I walk over to Y/N's bed and lean down to kiss her cheek, although when my lips came in contact with something I quickly realise it wasnt her cheek but her lips. I take a step back hoping she is still asleep and just as I think I haven't woke her I hear a tired voice.

"Please kiss me again"

Shocked I just stood there not knowing if it was my mind plating tricks on me until I hear her ask again and reach for me.

Leaning down I carefully move my face towards hers again making sure to give her plenty of time to move away but she never did, when our lips touch again this time she kisses back and I'm sure my heart is going to jump out my chest. Pulling back I see she still has her eyes closed but the biggest smile on her lips.

"Stay please"

Not wanting to argue I climb in beside her and pull her close to me preparing little kisses to her shoulder.

Reader's POV

My smile grows bigger if possible as I feel Marilyn kissing my shoulder, I roll over so I am facing her and kiss her again. She smiles into the kiss only pulling away when we need to breath. Cuddling into her chest she rubs my back and whispers into the dark.

"I will always protect you my dear"

I thank my lucky stars everyday for that night. Me and Marilyn spent the rest of the year cuddling every night and 2 days after I graduated she proposed.

[azucar-skull]

ROTLOU One-shot - "Lies"

Another one-shot for ROTLOU that has been sitting in my docs for a week and I forgot about it whoops my bad

ROTLOU Masterpost

Genre: Post-apocalyptic

Word count: 994

TWs: Dead bodies (skeletons)

Walking. Walking. Walking.

Nothing but walking. And Casey is getting bored. He looks around the woods they’re in and the pathway they’re taking until something piques his interest.

“Holy shit.”, he chuckles.

A crashed plane, settling and rotting on top of a hill. Casey can only imagine what it’s like when that thing was in its heyday. Casey and Leo slow their pacing to stare at the site. It looked so cool.

“Did you ever fly in one of those?”, he asks.

“A few times, sure.”, Leo hums. “More or less. My brother kinda made his own thing to fly in.”

“So lucky.”

“Didn’t feel like it at the time. Get shoved into a middle seat, pay 12 bucks for a sandwich—”

“Dude, you got to go up in the sky.”, Casey sasses, his smile still wide on his face.

Leo didn’t seem to like that smile. “...Yeah, well. So did they.”

The turtle keeps walking after that, bringing the mood down with him. Casey frowns as he starts walking again.

“...Grim.”, he mutters.

They walk more, and Casey starts to ponder. Those people in the plane were going from one part of the world to another. But they crashed? Did the infection start in one spot or all over the place? How does that even happen? The curious teen voices his questions, a 50/50 shot whether or not Leo is in the mood to answer.

“So, everything came crashing down in one day?”, Casey asks.

“Pretty much.”, Leo nods.

“How? I mean…no one was infected with Cordyceps, everybody’s fine, eating in restaurants and flying in planes. And then…all at once? How did it even start?” The teen begins to ramble in thought. “If you have to get bit to be infected, then who bit the first person? Was it a monkey?! I bet it was a monkey!—”

“It wasn’t a monkey. I thought you went to school.”, Leo rolls his eyes in annoyance. He’s not the only one annoyed to be with the other.

“FEDRA school. They don’t teach us about how their shitty government failed to prevent a pandemic.” (ooooo too close to home lmao)

They keep walking for a bit, Casey noticing how Leo is thinking about something. Then the slider speaks.

“...No one knows for sure, but, best guess…Cordyceps mutated. And some of it got into the food supply. Probably a basic ingredient like flour or sugar. There were certain brands of food that were sold everywhere, all across the country, across the world. Bread, cereal…pancake mix…” Leo pauses, his expression dimming for a faint moment. “You eat enough of it, it’ll get you infected. So the tainted food all hits the store shelves around the same time, Thursday. People bought it, ate some Thursday night or Friday morning. Day goes on…they started to get sick. Afternoon, evening, they got worse. …Then they started biting.”

Casey’s brows furrow at the layout of what happened that day. At how Leo is explaining it all to him. To be perfectly honest, this is probably the most that Casey has ever heard Leo talk. The dude is always so quiet, it’s so awkward.

“Friday night, September 26, 2031.”, Leo says definitively, as if he’s memorized and recited the date over and over again. “And by Monday, everything was gone.”

The two are quiet for a while after that. Casey can tell that Outbreak Day still weighs heavy on the red-eared slider’s shoulders. He’s lost something. Lost everything. Casey doesn’t know what but…he’s not going to ask about that now.

“...It makes more sense than monkeys.”, Casey finally says. “Thanks.”

“...Sure.”

Leo looks up ahead, recognizing something. He stops, putting his hand out to stop Casey too.

“What?”, Casey asks, looking around.

“...We’ll cut across the woods here.”, Leo points to the trees in the distance.

“Isn’t the road easier?”

“Yeah, it’s just… There’s stuff up there you shouldn’t see.”

Interesting. Casey smirks, continuing to walk, going backwards as to face Leo. “Well now I have to see.”

“I don’t want you to.”, Leo warns. “Seriously. Casey!”

He begins walking after the kid who turns back around.

“Can it hurt me?”

“...No.”

Casey flips back around to the slider. “You’re too honest, man. Should’ve said axe murderer.”

They keep walking, Casey taking the lead to see what it is that Leo is so afraid of. But…there’s a whole bunch of fucking nothing up ahead. 

“Uh…whatever it was…I think it’s gone.”, Casey calls out.

Casey might’ve well just jinxed himself. He takes a look to his left, down the hill, and is disgusted by what he sees. Bones. A bunch of bones, skeletons. Still in their clothes, different shapes and sizes too with discarded suitcases galore. They look like they’ve been there for a while, the earth below coming to claim the bodies.

Leo walks up next to the kid, Casey looking to him for answers but doesn’t know how to ask. He doesn’t have to though.

“About a week after Outbreak Day, soldiers…”, Leo glances down at the bodies, Casey looks back too. “...went through the countryside, evacuated the small towns. Told you you were going to a QZ, and you were…if there was room. If there wasn’t…”

Casey’s expression softens with confusion and sorrow as he stares at all the bodies. How horrible… His eyes start to water but he tries his best to hide it.

“...T-These people weren’t sick?”, Casey mutters.

“No, probably not.”

“...Why kill them? Why not just leave them be?”

“Dead people can’t be infected.”, Leo spats. So calmly, so nonchalant.

FEDRA are a bunch of fucking sick people. They’re supposed to be on our side. They raised Casey, he thought he could trust them. But ever since he’s escaped outside their walls, all he’s been hearing is nothing but lies lies lies. They tricked him. His friend tricked him. April tricked him. Who was he to trust anymore?

Leo nudges the teen. And so they keep walking.

Woooooo angst, apocalypse bullshit, but more importantly F!Leo and Casey Jr bondingggggg