#i hope he's a cat person if not then of fucking well he's gotta deal with my Genshin self insert now

[princeofhorrors]

If i had a nickel for every extremely unethical mad scientist character i was infatuated with that had many of clones of himself and was at least somewhat obsessed with evolution in some way, I'd have two nickels which isn't alot but It's probably concerning that i have two whole nickels over this.

Now if i also had a nickel for everytime i fell for a character who was made by the same company as the above company who's core identity and beliefs stemmed from Christianity but they were just a teensy tiinnnyyy bit majorly not normal about said beliefs, I'd have two more nickels which isn't alot but holy fuck is it weird that it happened twice

[vicsnook]

Never Left Me Pt. 1 | Scott Miller x Reader

word count: 2330

warnings: arguing, Scott being Scott

notes: Hello! I’m still here y’all, just been dealing with a lot of personal stuff so haven’t been able to write as much as I’d like. But here is a little something for this brat of a man who had probably less than 10 minutes of screen time but continues to live in my head rent free. Hope you enjoy and part 2 will be up Sunday! As always, please don’t forget to like and reblog 🫶🏼.

A row of desks is all that stands between me and the man who I once thought might have a soul despite what everyone else said. Everyone that is sitting on the desks is thankfully too busy to see me coming and that’s how I make it past the receptionist and to his office.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, Scott! You can’t go through with this!” I yell as soon as I walk in. The anger is still cursing through me from where I read the termination email.

His eyes lift up from the monitor and I can tell immediately by his expression that he is very displeased by my interruption. Well that makes two of us now, I think to myself.

“Sorry sir, she ran past me,” says the receptionist from behind me and I don’t need to turn around to know she’s giving me a nasty look.

He looks between us before waving her off. “It’s fine, Kathy. Please excuse us.”

“It’s one thing to have investors when you could do our research with grants and not have to be unethical.” I fume. “It’s another to let the biggest asshole in Oklahoma now own half the company and let him fire half of us without cause.”

He scoffs, not bothering to look at me. “I did what was best for the company. Sorry you didn’t make the cut. If you need any letters of recommendation, please let Kathy know.”

It takes everything in me not to walk over and smack the attitude out of him but I know I might need the stupid recommendation so I take a deep breath instead.

“Anything else? Or do I need to get security to escort you out?” He says, looking at me with those icy blue eyes that once gave me butterflies.

“When this inevitably blows up in your face, don’t bother to call.” I respond and walk out, not bothering to close the door on my way out which I know he hates.

The elevator is slow to get me to the lab where I pick up what little I keep in my office and then with one last look to the place that I once considered my second home, I start to head out. Taking down the picture of Javi, Kate, Scott, and I from the wall and throwing it in the trash can before I get on the elevator.

After eating way too much ice cream for dinner and playing darts with Scott’s picture attached to the board, I realize I have no idea what to do next. Only thing that’s for certain is that bills will pile up quickly if I can’t get another job soon though.

So I dial the only person I know might help me and hope my past job is something he can look past. Hope fills me up when he picks up on the first ring. His southern drawl already making me feel like things will actually be okay.

-

“Good lord, Y/N, as I live and breathe! What the heck are you doing here city girl?” Asks Boone, pulling me in for a much needed hug.

“Well the city didn’t really want me anymore so here I am.” I admit, looking at my feet as I blush in embarrassment.

Boone knows me too well and it won’t be long before I know I’ll have to keep him from punching Scott in the mouth. Even if he really deserves it. He sighs in response, looping his arm through mine and leading me to the rest of the team.

“Look at what the cat dragged in, come here girl,” Dani says, enveloping me into a hug that Lily is quick to join into. “Welcome aboard,” they whisper before pulling away.

“Alright, Alright, let’s not suffocate our newcomer. We still gotta show her the ropes.” He says, and I feel my heart begin to race. Damn you, Tyler Owens for having this effect on me, well actually, on most of the female population.

“Thanks again for the opportunity,” I say, turning around to meet his eye. The past couple of months definitely did him well, I think as I take in his physique.

“Don’t mention it.” He responds, leaving me to get acclimated with my new role in his team.

-

Soon enough we’re racing down the road to where a Tornado has begun to form but before we can turn into the street that will lead us right to it, the Scarecrow truck that I once shared with Scott cuts us off.

“God I hate that asshole,” Tyler mumbles as we resume our journey, now trailing Scott who can’t seem to pick a speed. “Turn left up here, then turn right before the dead end, it’ll put us right ahead,” I tell Tyler who is quick to follow instructions as I buckle into the harness and hold the steering wheel so he can do the same.

But the action is over before it’s even begun as the tornado quickly dissipates before it reaches us. Tyler and I look at each other and down at the computer which shows no other storms in the area today.

“Maybe we’ll have better luck tomorrow,” I say, radioing the rest of the team who suggests heading to the diner down the road for dinner.

“So what happened between Kate, Javi, and Scott? Why did they take off?” Tyler asks, as he drives down the nearly deserted back roads that lead to the town.

“Scott had a majority share in Storm Par because of his uncle and after the stunt Kate and Javi pulled in Reno, he had them pretty much fired.”

“Well, I got that already from Kate and being there but why didn’t they come back?” He asks, and I know exactly what he’s really asking. Why did Kate ghost him?

But I don’t know how to tell him the truth. So I try to do the one thing I suck at. Lie. “They just got busy, I guess. Javi got a job with Kate last I heard and it just worked out better up there for them,” I say, avoiding eye contact.

“I bet it did,” he mutters, and I can’t help the guilty feeling in my stomach. But could he handle the truth?

-

We head up to Texas the following week and the ride is mostly silent except for me giving directions to Tyler every once in a while. I don’t think he takes up very well to lying since he’s stopped trying to make friendly conversation and will only talk about work.

The motel comes into view and it isn’t the nicest. But when are they ever nice?

Tyler hands me my room key and I grab my bag. It feels odd being here without the rest of the team but we need to be in two places at once sometimes to get our data.

“Hey Tyler, I just wanted to say I’m sorry for lying the other day. I really hate to start our work relationship on the wrong foot.” I say, as we walk up the stairs to the rooms.

“So why don’t you tell me the truth then?”

His green eyes lock on mine and I suddenly feel nervous. “Kate, she wasn’t ready to be here. After her and Javi got fired, they figured they could make a better difference up in New York working with NOAA.” His face twists into a frown. “For what it’s worth Ty, she almost came back for you but you’ve gotta understand after what she went through, she just wasn’t ready.”

“I just wish she would’ve called.”

“I’m sorry, Ty. But she’s coming to see her mom in a few weeks. Maybe show up? See what’s up?”

“I just might. Now go on and get some sleep. We’ve got a long day tomorrow.” He says, and I nod heading into my room.

-

“Ugh!” I grunt when my alarm goes off the next morning.

Why did I pick this job when I’ve never been a morning person?

I shower quickly and pack my dirty clothes back into my bag and as I put on my shoes there’s a knock on my door. He sure is punctual.

“Hey we’re getting some crazy weather east of here. You ready?” Tyler asks as soon as I open the door. “Yep, let me grab my stuff.”

By the afternoon we’ve already had two F1’s and a whole lot of data collected so Tyler decides we can head for some lunch.

The sight of the Storm Par truck is enough to make my appetite go away as I spot the scarecrow sticker on the back but nevertheless I follow Tyler in and order a burger.

“Hey I gotta make a call, I’ll be right back.” Tyler tells me and I’m left alone in the booth picking at my fries. Unfortunately for me it isn’t for long as Scott slides in to the seat across from me.

“Didn’t think you’d go work for the hillbillies,” he says, stealing one of my fries and I roll my eyes. “What the hell do you want Scott?”

“Just to offer you a job. I need a navigator.”

I scoff. “I told you I’m not working for you again.” I can feel his eyes on me but I refuse to look up.

“Suit yourself,” he says, sliding out of the booth and leaving me alone. God I cannot stand that man.

“Y/N! We gotta go!” yells Tyler, rushing back into the diner and I throw two 20’s on the table and run after him. Noticing Scott also getting up to follow.

The weather has changed in the little time we were in the diner. What was a clear sky is now dark gray and the rain starts to come down hard as I slam the truck door shut.

“It’s coming this way, look at the radar,” says Tyler as he shifts the truck in gear and soon we are speeding down the two lane highway. “Ty, it’s starting, oh God.”

The tornado is forming right ahead of us and as I stare at the screen in my laptop I realize it’s headed straight for the diner.

“Fuck, hold on!” yells Tyler, doing a U-turn and speeding back towards the diner. We need to move fast and get these people to safety.

I hop out as Tyler puts the truck in park and we rush back inside, Tyler yelling out to get to the back since there isn’t a storm shelter. People nearly trample us as they file into the back room.

I turn to the windows, the sound of the familiar sirens is almost deafening and that’s when I see him. Scott is pulling into the parking lot and the tornado is right behind him.

“Y/N! Get in here!” Yells Tyler but it’s muffled. My body is almost in autopilot as I sprint to the door to try to save the man who’d probably leave me for dead.

“Scott!” I scream, the rain is coming down harder and I can hardly see anything. The ground shakes beneath me but I push through to where I think I see him and we collide. “C’mon!” I yell as I pull him with me to safety and it’s like everything is in slow motion.

The windows burst into shards of glass and I duck, hoping Scott did too. My hand never leaving his as I continue to pull us inside and we make it, just barely.

He envelops me in his arms as the tornado goes over the diner and everything around us rattles. The screams of the people around us are terrifying and I think “Is this where we die?”

And just like that it’s over.

We survived.

-

I sit in a booth wincing in pain as Scott and Tyler pull glass shards out of my face and arms. The pain is nauseating and all I want is a shower and a nice bed.

“What were you thinking going after him?” asks Tyler when Scott walks back to the bathroom to get more paper towels.

“I wasn’t.”

He chuckles, shaking his head. “Well that much is clear.”

I nod in agreement as he takes the paper towels from Scott and dabs at my cuts and I wince in pain.

“Yeah, you need to go back home and get some proper rest.” Tyler says, and shushes me before I can protest. “I’ll book you a flight tomorrow. Take a few days off. I’ll be back in Oklahoma by the time you’re good to go.”

I nod reluctantly.

“I can take her back, I’m heading back up tonight.” Scott says from behind Tyler and I stiffen at the suggestion. “Y/N, that's okay with you?” Asks Tyler looking at me and as much as I want to say no, I know if he doesn’t have to buy me a flight, he can use the money to help the community affected so I nod.

“C’mon I’ll take you back to the motel to get your things. Can you meet us there Scott?”

“I’ll be right behind you,” he responds.

The car ride is silent other than the radio reporting the damages and all I can think of is wanting to stay but I know better than to argue with Tyler.

I slowly gather my things when we get to the motel trying to avoid spending much time with Scott. Why did I really go after him?

The hot water feels good on my skin as I wash away the blood and remaining pieces of glass. The alarm on my phone startles me and I step out knowing we have to go soon.

I wince as I apply ointment on my cuts then head out the door to meet Tyler and Scott.

“Drive safe!” Tyler yells as Scott pulls out into the highway and I know it’ll be a long six hours as he turns up the radio.

click here for part 2 🫢

[nix-that-rad-lass]

Legit it just keeps going downhill lol

Idk how I’ve made it the like seven years of owning a phone I have without shattering a screen until now but I did it

[genieofthebooks]

Chaos of 35 Portland Row

Pairing: Platonic!George Karim x Fem!Reader, Platonic!Lucy Carlyle x Fem!Reader, Romantic!Anthony Lockwood x Fem!Reader

A/n: This is an Incorrect Quotes fic. They all belong to the sources that they came from, I got them from an Incorrect quotes generator.

Warnings: Swearing, Chaos.

Lucy, spraying a melted cutting board with a tiny water gun: We gotta cool this bitch down. Cool it down.

Lockwood: I actually just put the cutting board in the oven...

George, visibly confused: Okay, so they decided to put the cutting board in the oven?

Lucy, spraying Lockwood: You FUCKING DUMBASS!

Lockwood: Dude, I forgot-

Lucy: OH MY FUCKING GOD! We're trying to make Chicken Alfredo right now, and you fucking MELT the cutting board in the oven at 400 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT!?

Y/n: *Watching in complete confusion while trying to process this whole situation.*

-

Lockwood: Guess what I'm about to get!

Y/n: On my nerves.

-

Y/n: Is this a good idea?

Y/n: Probably not.

Y/n: Do I care?

Y/n: No

-

Lockwood: What is love?

George: An emotional minefield.

Y/n: A neurochemical reaction.

Lucy: Baby don't hurt me.

-

George: I am convinced Y/n and Lockwood share a brain cell.

Lucy: And it's not in use very often, it seems.

-

Lockwood: That's ridiculous, Y/n doesn't have a crush on me.

Lucy: Yes she does.

George: Yes she does.

Y/n: Yes I do.

-

Lucy: How do Lockwood and Y/n usually get out of these messes?

George: They don't. They just make a bigger mess that cancels the first one out.

-

George: So, Y/n is no longer allowed to take the rubbish out at night.

Lucy: Why?

George: Because I've caught her trying to train raccoons to fight five times in a row.

Y/n, arms crossed and pouting: You'll be thanking me when the third raccoon battalion saves your arse.

-

Lucy: We’re about to do the taser challenge. You want in?

George: What's the taser challenge?

Y/n: We tase eachother, then drink.

George: How do you win?

Lucy: What are you, a lawyer? You want in or not?

-

Lockwood: If you want my advice-

George: No offense but you’re the last person I want relationship advice from. You tried to kill your girlfriend. Multiple times.

Lockwood: First off, that was before we started dating. Secondly, she's also tried to kill me.

Y/n: It’s true. It was mutually attempted murder.

-

Y/n: There's no way he would like me back.

George: Lockwood would throw himself in front of a moving car for you.

Y/n: Lockwood would throw himself in front of a moving car for fun.

-

*George drunkenly wanders around the house and Lockwood is drunkenly giggling*

Lucy, completely sober: *sighs* Well, looks like it's just me and you against the wold, Y/n.

Y/n, going to her and Lockwood's room: Nope, just you. *shuts door*

-

*Lockwood and Y/n are planning to break in somewhere*

Lockwood: We need to distract the guards.

Y/n: Right.

Lockwood: What are we gonna do?

Y/n: I'm gonna break their elbows while you poke their eyes.

Lockwood:

Y/n:

Lockwood: Deal

-

Lockwood: I WOULD DESTROY THE WORLD FOR YOU!

Y/n: Okay, can you do the dishes?

Lockwood: No!

-

Y/n: I wish I was a cat, but not in a furry kinda way, more like a “I can sleep all day and hit people with no consequences” kinda way.

-

Y/n: You don't think I can fight because of my gender!

Kipps: I don't think you can fight because you're in a wedding dress. For what it's worth, I don't think Lockwood can fight in that dress either.

Lockwood: Perhaps not. But I would make a radiant bride.

I hope you all like this, sorry it was not what I normally post

[tokuvivor]

Well, last night, we had the first of three Halloween Movie Nights for this month, all with a broad supernatural/parallel universe theme to them. So, the highlights:

Skeleton Dance

Me: “That’s gotta hurt” (the cats pulling at each other’s tongues)

@writebackatya falling into the well and @tealottie pulling him back out

The stream cut out, so we didn’t get to finish the short. But if you want to check it out, you can do so right here.

Magica’s Shadow War

The fact that the episode was the original inspiration for Lena

Everyone wanting to smash Magica

@spamtoon: “i fucking forgot about 87 poe”

@puffyducks: “it’s ok the writers forget about 87 poe too”

Gyro’s invention being a camera with a spotlight

Puffy: “they just fucking flashbanged her”

Will: “me when Webby kicked the flash grenade back to Gandra”

Scrooge’s girly apron

The guy at the airport (Gus Goose?)

Scrooge White and the Seven Nephews (courtesy of @shewhowantsmouseears)

Evermore/nevermore

Scrooge covering all the bases with the shadow’s pronouns

Scrooge wearing a moose head

Me: “Keel moose and squirrel”

Mel: “They had to make a moose joke, given how her voice is clearly based on Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle” (Since June Foray voiced both Natasha Fatale and ‘87 Magica.)

Magica’s shadow looking like Madam Mim because of the hair (plus some lore droppage from Mel and @emeraldcity1900)

“Magica’s raven” That’s her brother!

AUGH

Launchpad!

Will: “Do you think every family member immediately groans to themselves whenever Scrooge starts his sentences with “I made my fortune””

Several people: “Yes”

Surprise Webby!

@alex31624: “is like... some shadow war...”

Endless drama with the dime (as usual)

Caro: “I was hoping Scrooge would SHPEDEHOOING the dime out of her hands”

The Other Bin of Scrooge McDuck!

Lena time!

Scrooge in a deep sleep

Lena: “Aaaah…”

*theme song plays*

Will and Caro discussing how the theme song playing would impact the characters in real time

@spamtoon: “hi mark”

Webby’s long-ass speech about Scrooge

Magica being a terrible person

Blink-and-you-miss-it animation error where Lena isn’t wearing shoes

Gavin subplot!

Louie’s Kids

Darkwing Duck and Paperinik references (leading into Donkey Kong reference)

Will: “And then there’s Della! She’s dead.”

Sword horse!

Huey and Dewey being jerks to Louie in this episode

Puffy: “dewey time travel adventure is a touching story about him spending christmas with his missing mother and then louie time travel story is him just going to a 23rd century film set”

@godfrey-the-chaos-duck: “huey needed a time travel story”

Puffy: “I think huey experiencing any time travel would cause him to spiral”

Louie finding out Gavin’s conning them (and that his name is Gavin)

Gavin being like Bradley Uppercrust III

“Bigfoot, you just poked the bear.”

“The power…the body…”

Everyone losing their shit at Lena’s dream scene

Louie beating Gavin

“i win”

“Now go back! From whence you cameee!”

Everyone losing their shit again at the last scene

A Nightmare on Killmotor Hill!

The fact that it’s a peak episode

Violet!!!!

Lena’s song and everyone else’s reactions (including Louie’s “TF did I just watch” face)

Friendship bracelets!

Violet being relatable AF

The fact that Boyd and Gosalyn should’ve gotten friendship bracelets in the show

“Let’s eat pure sugar!”

Us watching this episode coinciding with the server’s one-year anniversary

“Me!” “…Sleep.” (plus Dewey’s offended face)

“YOU’RE IRRITABLITY!”

The boys and Violet sleeping

Glowy stars ✨

The fact that we should’ve gotten a second sleepover episode

The sword horse returns!

The finale foreshadowing

What would Boyd dream of? Does he even sleep? (Plus this incorrect quote from Will)

The sword horse disappearing without so much as a sound effect for it

Dewey High!

Dewey’s love interest (queer allegory)

Puffy: “bro thinks she’s bill cipher”

Godfrey: “if they ever made a deal all of reality would collapse”

Cat Louie!

“Meow. Everyone pat my head.”

Wolf Lena!

WHY HUEY WHY

Seriously, long-legged Huey is cursed AF

Phooey!

Whale Launchpad!

“My dream is just to read more.” “Awesome!”

@hueberryshortcake: “the bond between a girl and her librarian is unbreakable”

Now for Lena’s dream

She looks cool in green, though

Lena would make jokes about Poe

Everyone in their dream forms rescuing Lena

Lena and Webby’s conversation (and the feels that come with it)

Mel: “friendship is magic, the ponies were right”

Alex: “friendship is the best magic”

Magica is dead! (Welllll…)

She actually just lost her magic. Which explains her white feathers. (LOL what a loser)

These drawings from Puffy (minus Violet, she will be added later):

Magica trying (and failing) to do a Darkwing-esque speech at the end

Ghoul Friend

Adorable or horrible style? (It was a joke, though.)

Zombie Goofy!

Screaming Squirrel

Goofy Holler!

“You wouldn’t hit a mouse with glasses, would ya?” (Also the only line in the short, which says a lot about how you don’t necessarily need dialogue to tell a story.)

Goofy died because Max failed the perfect cast

Coraline

Alex: “Coraline won, and everyone leaves”

Keith David being in the movie

Looking ahead to Coco, and talking about how much we will (or will not) cry

@ducklooney: “Skeletor robot on motorbike!” (Wybie)

(About Coraline’s dad)

Puffy:

Will: “Are ya winning dad?”

Blue boy in a painting

Puffy: “woah you know who ELSE is a blue boy in a painting”

I ❤️ Mulch

Coraline’s parents being too absorbed in their work to pay attention to her

The fact that her friends in Michigan gave her a whole billboard to say goodbye to her (courtesy of @story-blossoms-ducks)

Kangaroo mice!

Puffy: “woah.. mirror dimension... just li”

“wait everyone that watched infinity train with me is gone”

The food in the other dimension looking fantastic (even though it’s not real)

The mice are friends

Mr. B’s confusion over Coraline’s name

Puffy: “we're not even in the scary world and everyone is still a fuckin creepy weirdo”

Will: “yeah, isn’t it great?” “they’re good people. Just weird”

The fact that everyone is telling Coraline to not go through the door, yet she still does

Will: “I mean they had mango milkshakes”

Puffy: “wait you’re right I hadn’t considered that”

The garden in the shape of Coraline’s face (feat. the mantis cart)

Mouse circus!

How Lena would fit into the role of Coraline

Keith David is the cat!

Me: “That is a lot of Scotties”

Brain bleach moment with Other Spink and Forcible

Shit gradually will start to go down (Coraline given buttons for her eyes)

John Linnell of They Might Be Giants being the Other Father’s singing VA

Cocoa beetles

DuckLooney: “"You will eat ze bugs and you will be happy."”

Puffy: “-the lion king”

“Bad.” “Lost.” “Bad.” “Lost.”

Coraline and her pillow parents

CAT STARE

Mel: “dammit, beldam, spit will out right now”

Breaking the mirror=seven years’ bad luck

Will: “And she’s hanging out with a black cat who’s always crossing her path”

Into the trap!

Puffy: “girl that is NOT your mother”

@kaitosduckmania: “she is mommy tho”

Coraline trying to collect the ghost eyes (and thinking she’s out of time when it’s still going) (shoutout to the cat on the assist with the last eye)

People having the hots for the Other Mother’s spider form

Destroy the key!

Webby Wybie to the rescue!

That’s all folks! (Not really, the sound was messing up)

Will’s cat watching with him

Puffy and Mel with a Simpsons reference (We’re Sending Our Love Down the Well)

Why is Mr. B’s skin blue?

Will: ““So your sister’s dead. But good news; her soul is no longer held captive by the spider woman.””

It was a good movie. Very unique.

[skellys-selfships]

Cat and Mouse

{Author's note: I don't write like this often but, enjoy!! Husker alongside my lil self insert just brings me a ton of joy <3}

Taking in new residents was no easy feat, but none have bested the hotel's owner yet. Charlie Morningstar's shining optimism even convinced the newest patron that there was hope for redemption after all. She's seen sinners of all types and crimes, dealing with people who've taken the lives of others in cold blood has become a normality around the hotel. The newest guest being a former serial killer, taking the name of Malice now, they had a particular chaotic, harsh and rebellious attitude. However, beneath their sour surface, they wished that life could've been more, different from their short lived fate.

After Charlie gives Malice the basic introduction and tour of the hotel, she shows them to their room. They took no hesitation in immediately trying to fall the fuck asleep, slightly regretting even opening up to a complete stranger. Doubting wether this would even work, if this was just an overhyped, uneducated attempt at group therapy or not. They uncomfortably passed out in mere minutes. The next morning they kept a low profile, howerver it wasn't long until Charlie pulled them out of their anti-social bubble. They could only sigh in exasperation as Charlie took them by the hand, leading them to the bar nearby.

"Malice, I'd like to introduce you to someone! He's-......Well, he doesn't talk a lot but I think you two could learn to be-..."

Malice scoffs.

"Be more what?"

"Oh I meant nothing like that! It could help you to talk to someone, maybe someone you can relate to a bit!"

Malice sighs as Charlie excitedly pulls them up onto one of the nearby barstools. She leaned over the bar, kicking her heels as she reached over to the bartender, poking him on the shoulder. He turned around, sighing in annoyance as he furrowed his thick, feathery brows.

"Husker-"

"It's Husk. Whadda what?"

She gestured towards a very anxious Malice. They very obviously avoided eye contact, Husk being almost three times their height, looming over them, came as a bit of a surprise to Malice. They spun around in their seat as Charlie continued to coax Husk into conversation.

"Husk-......Since you're going out to restock some stuff here at the bar, why don't you take our newest resident with you? I'm sure it could be-"

He shook his head, interrupting her.

"You really pairing me up with the miniature butcher? Well shit, ain't I flattered?! The answer is no."

Malice began climbing off their seat, slightly hurt by his comment, they made it up in their mind that maybe this whole thing wasn't worth it. First proper day here and it's already shit. Maybe Malice could never repair the damage they caused in their former life. Just as they were leaving, they heard Charlie scold Husk, earning a frustrated groan from him. He slowly followed Malice, his tail and wings dragging behind him as he slouched over them. They started walking faster over to the stairs once they felt his presence above them. As Malice began climbing up the stairs, their ears flopped back in annoyance, even a little in disappointment. Malice squinted up at Husk as he shoved his way past them, blocking their path, he awkwardly leaned against the railing.

"Don't take it personally kiddo-"

"The name's Malice, and I'm not a kid, I'm 21....goddamn."

"21? Just that? Heh, ya got a lot of learning to do. Anyways, what I said back there-"

"Yeah. You don't gotta apologize for Charlie's sake, I don't need everyone to wanna be my fuckin' friend."

Husk sighs and runs his claws over his ears, shaking his head.

"If ya'd quit fucking interrupting me. Don't take it to heart, we've all done stupid shit to end up here. You're not better or worse than anyone here, okay?......Malice."

They look up at him, raising a brow, a smirk curls up their face. They couldn't help but stare at Husk for a moment, as intimidating as his height is, what's not to love? He's a large winged cat....

Snapping out of the trance they were caught in, Malice dryly chuckles. They squeeze their way by Husk, looking back at him with a softer stare.

"So....should I get my coat or not?"

He nods at them, only a hint of a smile spreading across his mouth as they ran up to their room. Husk steps back to the bottom of the stairs, taking a seat on the lower steps, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty for offending Malice. Then again, why should he care? They did horrible things in their past and think they can be redeemed....but they're striving to be better. Could they be better? Why did he suddenly give a shit about someone so quickly? He cupped his face in his hands, groaning in frustration and equally, confusion. Malice soon exiting their room, they slowly walked down to Husk, sitting next to him on the stairs.

"You ok, man?"

His ears perked up, a little confused. It's been a long time since he's heard a question like that. Such a small, simple question and yet it felt so refreshing. His heart felt as if it reactivated upon this question, that someone could genuinely care and be concerned. No, it couldn't be that. Not ever, especially not from someone he knew for only 5 minutes. Not a young, attractive person like Malice. It was just a question and nothing more.

"I'm fine, whatever. Let's just get going."

"You sure, big guy? I mean, we all aren't too ok, we're literally in Hell! But ya know, are you keepin' it together?"

He glanced down at them as the two left the hotel, their eyes were large, yet piercing and malevolent with such microscopic pupils. He couldn't get a read on what Malice's motives were and it slightly angered him. Why did they give a shit how he was feeling? What could they possibly want?

He led them to the car in front of the hotel. The car ride into the city wasn't nearly as awkward as the two feared it would be.

"Ey, Husk...how'd ya end up working for the hotel anyways?"

"Well, ya see...a little advice if you want me to do ANY kinda work, always include free booze."

He chuckled to himself as Malice shook their head.

"I mean, hey...I got no place no judge! I can bet ya that I can smoke more than you can drink, not something I'm too proud of but-"

"Is that a challenge?"

They squint up at him, smirking playfully. "You're a bit of an ass, y'know that? I like that about you."

And now it was awkward. Husk broke any eye contact he'd kept with Malice, keeping his eyes strictly on the road now. His ears shifting back, his breathing became a little hoarse after a moment. It's been a long time since someone's said they like ANYTHING about him, he just wasn't at all prepared to respond to a remark such as that. Malice looked up at him, a concerned glint in their eye.

"Hey uhhh.....sorry?"

"F-for what, kid?"

"Calling you an ass. I didn't mean it like th-"

"It's fine, you didn't say nothin' wrong."

Malice inched out of the car slowly as they stopped at their destination, staring at him, feeling a little embarrassed about actually getting friendly with him. They figured he was a bit more like them than he'd ever admit, that socializing wasn't his strongest suit. They tried not to let his deadpan responses drag down their mood too much. As the two went through a few of Hell's shabby markets, Malice tried their damnest to keep the conversation going between them and Husk. Something about him made them feel comfortable around him, he wasn't exactly friendly, but he didn't feel like a genuine threat. They couldn't help but feel a little bad for him, he's obviously out of his usual element.

"Sooooo....do you just work at the hotel or is the whole redemption thing on the table for you too?"

"Ehhh....Charlie says there's a chance for everyone here. I don't think so, for me anyways. But I gotta respect that girl's effort, dealing with me is enough, but all those other assholes ontop of that....sheesh."

"I don't think she's "dealing" with you dude, ya know that some people just.....give a shit? With no strings attached."

Husk could've shattered the bottle in his hand with how hard his grip clenched down on it. Malice could see they struck a nerve, he hissed through gritted teeth down to them.

"Yeah, sure. I'd pay to fuckin' see that."

"Okay, big guy....I don't wanna spill all my beans seein' as we barely know each other right now, but I had someone like that myself."

"And now you don't..."

They tried not to let his remark bother them, it was factual. What disturbed them more was the thought of him projecting his own feelings onto them, this guy has a LOT of issues, and hard as he's trying to just keep it together. He obviously needed someone to just talk to, it was a sentiment they could relate to, Husk seemed rough around the edges, and while he may doubt Malice's experience due to their youth. They were all the wiser when it came to getting a read on people, one of the many tricks they kept up their sleeve. Maybe they could crack this guy open and find a genuine friendship with him, could be a nice motivator to better themself. Killing two birds with one stone, maybe the two of them could find redemption with each other.

Malice began walking to another isle, leading Husk with them. Their tail swaying back and forth slowly as they tried to think of anything to say.

"Hey sooooooo....do you usually go on outings like this?"

"Eh, yeah. It's part of the job to keep shit on my end together."

"Ya ever, y'know? Fuck around?"

They mischievously smiled at him as his face scrunched up with a confused look.

"Do I wanna know what you mean-"

"I mean maybe we could have fun!"

"And what's your definition of fun?......"

Malice's eyes sparkled with a daring shimmer, their devilish grin stretching wider across their face. Husk's eye was caught by their expression, it was both chaotic and alluring. Something about the way their eyes widened, their long lashes fluttering about, made something deep within his chest spark a sense of warmth. Their laugh was abysmal, sounding similar to a paper shredder filled with shrapnel. And yet....the way their heart shaped nose scrunched up, the way their smile flashed their bucked teeth...was oddly charming. Their unhinged, mischievous joy felt so genuine, Husk couldn't fathom why they'd want to share their little moments of happiness with him out of anyone. Malice chuckled out a few words.

"Maybe we can fuck around! Nothing too extreme but ya know~.....piss around a little."

They ran off to another isle, Husk keeping a close eye on them as he cocked one brow to the side. Following Malice closely, he signed in exasperation at the sight of them teetering at the very top of a shelf, pulling the rusted cover off the ceiling vent. They turn around, smiling at him and squinting.

"Ya get up to the roof through here, jackass!"

He rolls his eyes, gesturing towards the door.

"Don't trouble yaself. C'mere."

Malice climbs down to him, the both of them leaving the store into the back alley. They look up towards Husk, tilting their head.

"Did you pay for ANY of that shit?!"

"Heh....nope."

"We're really on a straightforward path to redemption, ain't we?!"

The two head down the darkest corner of the alleyway, Husk looking up into the crimson light above the building. He knelt down, reaching out a hand towards Malice, his ears drooping down.

"I don't do this for ANYONE, okay? This stays between us...or I'll break your fuckin' neck, kid."

Malice takes his hand, he hoists them up closer to himself awkwardly, avoiding eye contact as he shifted his wings around. Taking flight into the, soon onto the roof, he let Malice back onto their feet, instantly turning his back to them, his wings fluttering and hiding his slouching frame. Malice pulls a cigarette from their pocket, lighting it as they sat next to him, taking a puff from the cigarette as they gazed up towards his deadpan face.

"Whadda ya mean you don't "do that" for everyone? Don't like bein' handsy?"

"I don't use these-.."

He flexes his wings, folding them neatly together behind himself, he holds out a hand, awaiting for Malice to offer him their cigarette.

"Why not? Kinda badass having big fuckin' wings, you can just-.....zizz all around, whenever ya want."

Their eyes soften as he sighs, exhaling a cloud of smoke into the red sunlight above.

"Not much has changed in terms of.....this. Not the kind to look twice at, y'know? Eh, why the fuck am I telling you this-"

"Heyyyyy, ey! The fuck you mean "not the kind to look twice at"?! You sayin' you ain't a motherfuckin' DIME-PIECE, boy?"

He slightly jumps back, his face scrunching up in disgust. Flicking the ashes off the cigarette, he quickly looks away from Malice, taking in another huff of smoke, mumbling to himself.

"Someone needs a pair of glasses...."

Malice snatched the cigarette from between Husk's claws, sitting all too close to him, they squinted at him.

"You're not kiddin' are ya? You actually think that?!"

He shrugs and steals the cigarette back, nonchalantly turning away, hoping to change the subject, he pulls the brim of his tophat over his face. Malice scoffs in disbelief, standing up to attempt reaching his height, they inched uncomfortably closer to him.

"Nah, nah-...you're actually tellin' me that you think you ain't a dimepiece?! Bull-fuckin'-shit!...."

He instantly snaps away in the opposite direction from Malice, nearly knocking over the bags of various booze bottles placed next to him, he desperately tried to keep his balance, but slipped from his seat a little. Malice couldn't help but snicker from the effect their remarks made on him, he definitely wasn't used to this kind of attention, and looked to be in an embarrassing amount of denial. Picking himself back up, he furrowed his brow, angrily pouting, his tail flicked from side to side as he grumbled in a low tone.

"Don't act fuckin' cute, doesn't suit ya."

"Aww you think I'm cute~?"

He groans in disgust, standing up and preparing to walk away, hissing back at Malice.

"Whatever it is you're trying, the answer is no."

Malice tilted their head, their tail wagging from side to side, their eyes following Husk's movement.

"Don't you wanna know why I wanted to come up here?"

He groaned, stumbling back to his seat, sighing heavily in frustration. He fumbled with his claws, looking away from Malice. He despreately wanted to make eye contact with them, but every nerve in his body told him it was a terrible idea. The two sat awkwardly in silence for a moment or two. Only for a moment up until Malice scooted closer to Husk, peering upwards, they waved their hand around in the air, gesturing towards the sky.

"Kinda weird ain't it? Look!.....no stars. No goddamn milky way, no Dippers, Orion's belt damn disappeared on me! Not a shitting star in sight..."

Husk moved a bit closer to them, peering upwards along with them, his face inched towards Malice. Unknowingly, the fluff at the side of his face brushed up against Malice's ear, their large ear beginning to twitch and flap around startled him.

"Ah-....shit, my bad-"

"Oh, it's whatevs, man! Heh, you're lost in the sauce, eh?"

His lip curls into a snarl as he backs away, his eyes returning to viewing the deep rosy skies. Malice leans their head against his shoulder, sighing in wonder."Little stuff you take for granted you kinda end up missing the most, eh?...."

For a while the two enjoyed the silence, Husk resting his head upon Malice's head subconsciously as the two gazed at the skies above....Deep inside, Husk could feel a strange sense of weakness, not completely unfamiliar, but a feeling he's been out of touch with for far too long. He wasn't fully even aware what he was feeling, but it was pleasant. Something about Malice's strange presence made him feel comfortable, not just around them, but comfortable in his own skin.

A feeling he almost forgot even existed. While the two weren't even going out of their way to make physical contact, the touch of another person felt warming, for once it was from someone not completely invading his privacy and personal space. This time it was different, natural.

"Umm...this is nice and all, but I think we should head back, Charlie's probably waiting on this shit-..."

Malice sprung up from their seat, awkwardly chucking as they stood up."Yeah, don't wanna look TOO suspicious, ya know? Know what I mean, eh?!"

The two exchanging a stiff glance, Malice wiggling their eyebrows in a jokingly seductive manner as they finger gunned in Husk's direction. Husk's brows furrowing as he scowled in discomfort. Malice laughing off his reaction, their ears flopping back.

"Oh I didn't mean-....we-...ok yeah, whatevs. Let's get goin'."

The two fumbled with the bags of various booze bottles in an uncomfortable silence. Husk staying completely silent on the short flight down from the building, Malice staring up at him every now and then on the walk back to the car. Everytime Husk felt the presence of their eyes upon him, he'd reluctantly glance down at them, Malice instantly looking away. It was hard for Malice to keep their eyes off Husk, they found him to be very easy on the eyes, but it felt like much more than that. They felt a warm sense of comfort around him, while he seemed to have such a hard exterior, nothing about him felt hostile. Quite the opposite in fact, as if he was in a constant state of self protection.The car ride back to the hotel shaped up to be quiet. Malice felt a little guilty for their one-off joke, they knew they meant nothing by it, but it made the energy between the two uncomfortable, just when things started sailing smoothly. They discreetly looked over to Husk, gathering any and all courage they could, Malice let out a heavy sigh.

"Hey, man....it was a dumbass joke back there, ok? I didn't mean nothin' by it, I swear, I.....sorry if it made shit weird for you."

They curled back up into their seat, a little moment of silence passing as Husk merely shrugged, mumbling in response.

"You're pretty straightforward ain't ya?"

Malice almost jumping out of their seat, scoffed.

"The fuck are you insinuating, you old cunt?!!"

They couldn't help but blush in embarrassment at his comment. Admittedly he was VERY attractive....but things can't move that fast. Can they?

Malice coiled up, scowling at Husk, he chuckled a little upon seeing their scrunched up expression. His eyes were soon fully caught by them, losing his concentration, he couldn't help but stare. Malice was noticeably petite, so tiny and yet so fearsome looking, so small he could probably hold them in their entirety just in one hand.His line of thoughts were cut short when Malice shouted fearfully, slapping Husk on the thigh with one hand, their other hand frantically pointing to the road ahead of the.

"Are you high? You looney toony fuck, are you tryin' to turn us into meat paste?!! Watch the road!"

His eyes snapped onto the road, his heart nearly popped as he quickly maneuverd the car back onto the road. His mind was wildly distracted, trying with every ounce of mental strength to not glance at Malice's hand still gripping his thigh. He tried to shake their hand away, after an attempt he stopped, both out of sudden panic and in slight hopes they just wanted their hand to rest there. As he neared the hotel, he avoided eye contact with Malice, hurrying out of the car, he rushed back into the hotel, Malice following closely behind. They tried to catch up to his speed, attempting to catch his attention.

"Hey, man-..what the matter with you? I'm not pissed at ya or anything! Why the mood swing?!"

As the two entered the hotel, he stopped in front of Malice. Groaning, rubbing his hand over his ears, he heavily sighed.

"Nothin', kiddo.....sorry for almost driving you into a brick wall."

Malice scoffed in confusion as he took his leave, heading to the bar. It was empty, just for now, he enjoyed these quieter moments he could have at the bar before more residents emerged from their rooms. He knew it wouldn't last long, but any time to himself he could manage to get was some semblance of peace. However it didn't feel the same this time, the quiet felt far more empty, being alone felt more....lonely. His mind was drawn to his moment with Malice earlier, sitting quietly, gazing at the skies. Nothing was said in that moment and nothing needed to be said. After a moment of pondering upon his confused mental state, Husk felt a little foolish for even wanting the company of another person, he'd always preferred being left alone, being able to do as he pleases unbothered. No matter what, everyone around him always pushed him to speak, to smile, to act more welcoming, to be something he just never felt like being. But Malice didn't ask any of those things from him. They just let him exist as he was.He couldn't understand it, Malice didn't even seem put off by his attitude, or presence. What could they want from him? He could feel himself growing frustrated even trying to rationalize it, his tail angrily flicking as his ears lay low in an annoyed stance.

Moments later, his ears perked back up as he spotted Malice creeping back into the bar. They struggled to climb upon one of the barstools, panting as they pulled their way up.

"Hey, you-.....you ok, man?"

He was a little shocked by the question. Why could anyone care if he was okay? Why would they ask, or care about his feelings? And most importantly, why did their concern make him feel so warm inside? He could only shrug nonchalantly in response.Malice diving in closer to him, giving him a firm hug. It came as a bit of a shock to Husk, but he didn't find himself recoiling, it was strangely enjoyable, comforting. He attempted to reciprocate Malice's advance, but his entire body stood stiff, his arms felt as if they had frozen. He stood still withing Malice's embrace, awkwardly looming over them. Malice chuckled softly, stretching their tiny arms around Husk, giving him a pat on the back.

"You're kinda weird, ya know that? I like it....I like your vibes, Husk. Catch ya later, tater?"

Malice grinned at Husk as they walked off, heading upstairs, giving him the finger guns as he stood completely still, still processing their touch. It was completely unexpected, yet it didn't feel overbearing.As the night dragged on, Husk could barely focus on his job. Everyone's overlapping voices at the bar were like white noise, none of it mattered, nothing happening as of now mattered. Much has mattered to him at all for such a long time. It was a strange wanting feeling that he slightly disgusted himself with for even thinking, but the temptation to keep peeking around, in hopes that he'd see Malice at the bar, burned into his mind. His thought welling up until he could feel his mind snap from how overwhelming the atmosphere was, coupled with the overthinking building up inside him. He stormed out of the bar, not saying a word to anyone, shoving his way into the nearby restroom, locking the door behind him. Only soon after he shut himself away, he heard a knock on the door, he hissed in frustration as Charlie called out to him.

"Husk? What's wrong...?"

"Everything."

He grumbled, keeping his back pressed up against the door. Charlie sat beside the door, speaking much more quietly to him through the door.

"Husk....c'mon- don't be a baby, use your words.."

"Stop giving me a reason to act like a baby, ya keep talkin' to me like I am one."

A long pause lay in the air before Husk began to speak again.

"Charlie, why did you wanna introduce Malice to me...?"

Charlie sat for a moment, collecting her thoughts before giving a response.

"Well...I think they're like you in some ways!....and they need to talk to people, YOU need to talk to people-"

She cut her own sentence short, taking a few seconds to think to herself before speaking up again.

"Husk? Did something happen between you two....?"

Husk shifted around, attempting a few times to speak, only to find himself stumbling over his own words. Charlie's worry only grew stronger as she coaxed the truth from him. After a few moments he managed to spit out a few words.

"It's-.....complicated. It doesn't fuckin' matter, kiddo..."

Charlie scoffing in response, she wasn't gonna let Husk shut her out, just as he seemed to be getting more comfortable at the hotel too! She partially felt at fault for even introducing Malice to him. She stayed pressed up against the door, determined to get to the bottom of Husk's frustrations, she's never been the type to leave anyone's side. Taking a deep breath, she patiently spoke out to Husk through the door.

"Ya know, Husker-...if any residents here bother my staff, my friends..that's something I can fix-"

With no hesitation, Husk interruped Charlie, in a slightly hurried manner of speech.

"NO-...it's not that. They ain't any bother, it's just....it's stupid, it's hopeless."

Something sparked in Charlie's eyes, she could instantly recognize the dread and neediness in Husk's voice, it certainly wasn't nearly as complicated as he made everything out to be. It took everything in her to not start giggling in excitement over this revelation. She almost ripped the door from the hinges in utter joy, standing up straight next to the door, slightly guffawing, she rhythmically tapped on the door, whispering to Husk.

"Oh my gosh- Husk! Does someone have a crush?!"

Nearly slamming his fist against the door, Husk instantly recoiled hearing those words. He felt a wave of anxiety and disgust with himself wash over his entire body, almost physically cringing at the thought of developing feelings for anyone, let alone Malice. He despreately tried to think of a response but everything went blank, he could only feel his entire face growing warm. Something inside him stirred as he began to stand.For the first time in a long time, Husk felt something in his heart. While the feeling entered his heart completely unannounced, he gave up trying to fight it, something inside his heart fluttered a little, his mind only allowing thoughts of Malice. The time he'd spent with them earlier that day, their touch, the peace between the two of them, their voice ringing through his mind. After a few seconds, his frustration faded, he attempted to speak, nearly feeling ashamed of the things he felt.

"It's-.....just not that simple."

Charlie tried to open the door, only for Husk to press it back close. In a now slightly worried tone, she whispered to him.

"Maybe you need to accept this. Maybe this is the chance you need, Husk.....just try."

Later that night, during the darkest hours, Husk could no longer sleep, his mind couldn't stay quiet no matter how much he longed for it to silence itself. All he could think about was Malice, every little thing about them. Awaking in a cold sweat, he tossed and turned in bed, until he could stand it no longer. Wandering out of his resting place, he noticed a sliver of light shining beneath the door to Malice's room. His ears instinctively perked up, only for him to mentally scold himself for even feeling excited. He stopped in his tracks knowing he couldn't just enter. He needed a damn good reason, and maybe needed to put himself together a little more, he looked and equally felt like a mess. He quietly raced back to his room, frantically searching for something even halfway decent to wear. He threw on the robe he found hanging on the door, as he pulled his wings through the holes in the back, he nearly knocked over his bedside table due to how finicky his wings were in that very moment. Rushing over to the nearest mirror, he combed his claws through his facial fur, he remained unhappy with his own appearance still, but was in too much of a rush to fully care.

He knew he couldn't come empty handed, rummaging through his bedside table, he took the nearest stack of cards and his pack of cigarettes subconsciously. As he once again stood near Malice's door, he took a few deep breaths, convincing himself he had some sense of confidence left within him before knocking. Much to his surprise, his knocks earned an instant response, the door flinging open, Malice standing in the doorway with a deranged smile upon their face. Slightly startled by their uncanny expression, Husk slightly jerked away in the opposite direction, Malice chuckling in response to his reaction.

"What are you doin' up so late, hmmm? Are there monsters under your bed?"

They jokingly questioned in a sing-songy tone. Inviting Husk into their room, they rose a brow as he walked by them. Following close behind, they flopped down onto the nearby sofa. Extending an arm and patting the empty half of the sofa next to them, Malice teasingly shook their brows up and down. Husk slightly recoiled at the suggestive expression on their face before they burst out giggling.

"I'm only fuckin' with ya! Come sit down-....Gotta say though, ya look snazzy!"

Husk sat stiffly, groping his pocket, making sure the contents inside didn't drop out. Being this close to Malice brought him great ease and yet an underlying sense of anxiety, his own thoughts they brought about were nothing short of terrifying but he never wanted this feeling to end. It was his new addiction. His heart felt as if it could burst, as Malice inched closer to him, he felt the tingling sensation of his own purr rumbling in his throat. As Malice slid next to him, a purr escaped from him, it was clear they heard it, but didn't react noticbly. His breath grew shaky as they leaned on his shoulder, smiling while staring right into his eyes.

"Sooooo, ya come here often?"

Malice snickered, Husk knew they were catching onto his nervousness. He frantically grabbed the items in his pocket, hoping he could distract them from the obvious redness in his face.

"Actually I-....well. I think we got off to a weird fuckin' start today and um, I was thinking...."

He pulled two cigarettes from the box in his pocket, waving one at Malice.

"Maybe we can at least end the night off on a less than weird note..."

Malice rose their brows as they snatched one of the cigarettes from between Husk's claws. Grabbing a lighter from the bowl full of various keys and items that was placed upon the coffee table, Malice lit both their cigarettes. Taking a few puffs, Husk spoke more quietly to Malice.

"Ya know, kiddo...I used to dabble in magic?"

He groped the cards in his pocket, nervously chuckling. Much to his surprise, Malice's eyes widened with wonder, their genuine interest struck him straight through the heart like nothing else. A soft, genuine smile spread across Husk's flushed face as he gestured to Malice. Offering for them to pick any card of their own choosing. Malice winking playfully as they pulled a card from the deck.

"I kinda like this one, reminds me of you....an absolute Ace-"

Husk couldn't help but let a raspy giggle slip out, instantly regretting it. Malice reciprocating his response with a smirk. Husk hesitating for a second before reaching out for their chosen card, the cigarette nearly dropping from his mouth as the two held eye contact for just a moment.Husk finally breaking their pleasant eye contact, he shuffles the deck of cards, and begins flipping through them all.

"See ya card anywhere, doll?"

Malice's eyes scanning over each card, unable to find the same Ace they picked out. Their brows furrowing in confusion and yet their eyes sparkled with awe.

"How'd ya do that?!"

Husk merely shook his head, tapping the ashes off of his cigarette in the ashtray on the nearby table. He smiled smugly as he snagged a card from that was neatly sitting in one of Malice's ears. Malice scoffed, playfully swatting at Husk's hand as he held the card in front of them.

He whispered to them with a faint note of pride in his voice.

"This yours?"

Malice giggling, as smoke shot out from their nose, they reach up to pat Husk on the shoulder.

"That's some good shit, my guy. I ain't ever seen a real magician!"

As Malice peered up, smiling at Husk, he let slip a soft gasp. Their face was so close to his, so close, so inviting. He hadn't felt this bundle of emotions well up in his chest, bleeding from all edges of his heart, not since he was a young man. Every part of his heart and what remained of his demon soul told him to lean in further, steal a kiss. His mind fought back the urge, too much could go wrong he kept telling himself. And yet...he couldn't keep his eyes off Malice's lips. Their glossy black lipstick upon their small, pouty lips, their wiggling, heart-shaped nose, their glassy, minty colored eyes, shining and sparkling. His entire body craved their touch, to be this close for the rest of his eternity in Hell. His face found itself nearing them, his breath growing heavy, nothing else mattered. His whole body stood completely still, the two had their foreheads pressed against each other. His eyes remained half lidded. Malice softly chuckles, nudging their head against his.

"Ya know....cats rub their heads on stuff to mark it?"

Husk's eyes widened as he sprung back, his face scrunching up as his cheeks nearly glowed red. Malice only giggling in response to his reaction. Husk fumbling with his stack of cards, stubbed his cigarette out on the nearby ashtray. Avoiding any eye contact, he began to storm out of Malice's room, covering his own face partially. Malice springing up after him with no hesitation, they peered up to him with a concerned glare. Husk grunting in frustration as he attempted to exit Malice's room. Malice gripped onto Husk's robe, looking up at him with pleading eyes, they muttered.

"Ain't ya even gonna say good night...?"

Husk grumbled, rolling his eyes, he leaned in towards Malice. Awkwardly putting his arm around them, patting them on the back, he mumbled.

"Ehh, whatever. See ya around, don't make a big thing outta it..."

Malice pulls him into a proper hug, fully embracing him as he sighed. After only a moment they released him from their miniature clutches, playfully waving to him as they shut their door. Husk's mind was restless the whole time he walked back to his room, attempting to sleep once again. He lay awake, considering the stream of thoughts currently plaguing his mind, until he could no longer bare to keep his eyes open.

The morning after, trying to ignore any past events, Husk went about his work at the bar as normal. Avoiding any eye contact or conversations with anyone, up until Charlie approached him, pointing out his behavior. He only responded in a few grunts before turning his back. Only to be startled seconds later after Charlie's departure, Malice took a seat near the bar, flicking their tail tauntingly. Husk's eyes shifted back and forth awkwardly, Malice tapping their nails upon the bar.

"So....Last night was interesting. One-timer, ooorrrrr.....?"

Malice grinned, a hint of anxiety behind their glowing fangs. Husk's tail twitched as his eyes fixed upon Malice's expression.The air was thickened with tension, only followed by silence. Husk sat upon the barstool next to Malice, lifting his wings around himself, seeming to hide away next to them. Pouring himself and Malice a drink, Husk's eyes darted back and forth, drumming his claws upon the bar as he inched closer to Malice. Completely avoiding eye contact, Husk's ears drooped as he managed to choke out a few words.

"It doesn't have to be a one-time thing....If that's fine with you."

He turned away, clearly hiding an anxious smile, his claws scraping against his glass. Malice softly nudged his shoulder, taking a swig of their drink, their hand met his, the two subtly intertwining fingers.

Husk cracking a slight smile, glanced down at Malice, earning an ear-to-ear wide grin from them, he quietly muttered to them.

"Does tonight sound alright?"

Taking Malice under his wing, the two continued to down their drinks, in the peace of each other's company.

❤️💚

[tavyliasin]

ATG 10 - Cat? Claw

In which the master of the house comes home.

Pairing: Haarlep/Tav /Raphael SPICE Rating: 5/5 - this is my peak, loves. Content Warnings:  Sex, BDSM, Power Play, group sex, voyeurism,   

Spoilers Act 3, House of Hope Canon Compliance Canon Is....boring. There's very little hint of canon here, it's purely indulgent. Other Notes (from the original release) I don't have more for now it's just a continuation of 9 and I let all my hinges go for you darlings it's out there now and I'm in my smuttiest era.

Post release note - mmhmm well indeed, my era continued from here, I'm still loving it~ Thanks, Past Lia, you did wonderfully~

Song/Mood Move Your Body by My Darkest Days "The two of us will fuel this fire No way in hell we're slowing down tonight Then just for fun take your tongue and run it over my lip And gotta love the way she does it for the hell of it We're in positions that most people only say they know. You got your hand on a landmine, ready to blow But the devil can hear you when you say... C'mon and get up (get up), move your body Use your body, lose control. Rub it right up, against my body Use my body, make it yours."

----- FULL CHAPTER BELOW THE CUT -----

Raphael frowned across the table. This should have been an easy contract to make, a simple soul wanting to save his business making shoes or watches or… Raphael did not care. It didn’t matter. It was a simple thing to grant a little talent, to pull a few strings and manipulate the world to turn in favour of his designs. Just as easy, too, to pull it all away again should the debtor refuse to hold up their end of the bargain.

Today, however, his mind was being intruded by unwelcome thoughts. Across the planes, a heat kept prickling his skin. Even in his human guise, he felt moments of sensation in the place his tail would be. Haarlep. He allowed his personal incubus their proper name only in his thoughts for now. They enjoyed it too much if he spoke it aloud in their presence, so he withheld it from them as their prize for doing a good job. The kind of good job that he was thinking about now instead of whatever this peasant was rambling on about.

He cursed under his breath as his knee struck the table, another reaction to whatever Haarlep was doing with his body at home. For hells’ sake, wench, can you not wait until I return? Even his thoughts were laced with the venom he was preparing to unleash on the unruly incubus. There was an agreement about when and where they were allowed to use him and today was not on the agenda.

“Yes, yes, everything you want will be yours in short order, Korilla will fill you in on the details. Now, if you will excuse me I have other business to attend to.” He stood without waiting for the peasant’s reply, barely registering the look of perplexed frustration glaring daggers at his back as he stepped out of the dusty little shop. It didn’t take long for him to reach the brothel, quickened steps threatening to break the wood of the staircase as he swept into the room he kept for more important deals and cast open the portal.

Stepping through the shimmering magic and into Avernus in an instant, Raphael absent mindedly licked his lips, the hint of heat there was about to make a lot more sense.

In front of him, he could see that mirrored image of his own back, wings spread wide and shielding him from seeing the full scene.

“Well, well, well,” the master of the house spoke with a practiced air of calm irritation, “I don’t believe we had any scheduled guests today. And what, or rather who, the FUCK do you think you are doing, Harlot?” He spat out the greeting, the calm slipping away word by word. He was just about ready to dispatch whoever it was who had the audacity to lay in his bed, using his personal incubus. The very same who now folded their wings and turned to face him, fingers still buried deep in the body that lay bound on the bed, arms back, legs open, on full display and not even looking in his direction.

“Little Mouse?-”

---

Tav couldn’t hear anything that was going on around her. Her entire mind and body had given over to Haarlep’s control, and gods did it feel so good. Even now their tongue had ceased lavishing its lies of affection, the ground itself warping beneath her with the intensity of pleasure that pulsed through her, she barely noticed the emptiness it left. Fingers were still slowly, methodically teasing out the core of her desire…but the heat within her was spiralling out of control. Dangerously. But perhaps not as dangerous as the wave of rage that washed through the room with the presence she was incapable of noticing.

---

Haarlep stared defiantly back at the intruder. Well, intruder wouldn’t be quite right, this was his house, but he was not the master in this room. But with their guest upon the bed, appearances could be a problem. “She doesn’t know you’re here, not yet.” They warned, idly licking the still heated taste of her from their lips, fingers continuing their work. “Luckily for you, she’s enthralled. Unluckily for her, she took a little too much of a taste of my saliva.” “I do not recall giving you permission to play with my toys.” Raphael stood still, arms folded, though his eyes kept drifting to Tav’s writhing body and away from the incubus’s amused smirk. “I certainly did not give you permission to break them.” “Well then Archduke, might I humbly suggest that the master of the house deal with his own problems?” Haarlep stared defiantly, reaching down to touch themselves in just the way that Raphael would feel it. “If she isn’t sated, that fun little mind might just burn to a crisp.” The cambion stood, unmoving, still in his human form. “Enthralled, you said?” “Yes. Entirely. All she can feel,” they punctuated their point by drawing another moan from her throat. Raphael swallowed involuntarily. “All she can see, hear, is me. Of course it would be the matter of a moment to release her attentions-”

“No.” He replied far too quickly. “No…” Much slower that time, drawing it out as he stroked his chin in idle thought. “Not yet. As you seem to have been enjoying yourself so far, perhaps you should continue whilst you explain exactly how this came about. I shall decide what to do based on your answers.” Haarlep might have been surprised by the shift from Raphael’s usual combative tone, but they knew him far too well. He was calculating, intrigued, and the possibilities were delighting Haarlep no end. They didn’t have any need to fear the wrath of the master of the house, they knew exactly how many lines they could cross without his ire burning them like so many foolish debtors. No, with a new player on the board the game had only changed. They weren’t sure whether to pity or envy the writhing elf, moans increasing as they pressed a thumb precisely where it was needed to draw tiny circles around oversensitive nerves. Oh she was going to prove to be quite the banquet, they might even feel sated for a full week after this.

They quietly observed Raphael, who simply reclined himself in a lavish armchair facing the bed. Ah, so that’s how he wants to play it, they mused. “So, your permission? Nicely, or I might change my mind and make you do all the work.” “Fine, Haarlep, you may have her at your leisure. She did ask for it, did she not?” Raphael was feeling unseasonably generous. This could work in his favour after all, and he didn’t even mind watching the incubus’s wings fluttering in delight at hearing their proper name. The bitch might just earn it. “So very generous of you to give me exactly what you want~” Haarlep gave him just the slightest hint of a wink as they finally stopped working their fingers inside Tav. She lay there breathless, skin flush with heat and longing, not quite able to form words yet. Haarlep looked the master of the house directly in the eye now, licking the flavours from their fingers with well practiced seduction, sliding their other hand inside the lower part of the harness and gripping tightly.

Naturally, Raphael’s bond was stronger when they were in the room together. Instead of the fleeting whisper of feeling, he could now feel the clawed talons gripping him, taste the hint of the Little Mouse’s lust on the tip of his tongue- “Do not leave her long, now. Break her, and I assure you that you will regret it.” “As you wish~” Their reply was playful, but they felt the weight of the threat. “She seemed disappointed that I wasn’t you, you know. But she was more than willing, for all of this, just to learn a few petty little secrets .” They bent down between Tav’s still bound legs, gripping her hip with one hand whilst the other worked themselves - and by extension, Raphael - thrusting their tongue inside to savour every shudder of pleasure they could wring from their new favourite plaything.

“And you kept your mouth shut?” Still in his human form, he began to loosen the fine silks that were beginning to feel like a noose. His ears burned as a low wail reverberated through the room, the almost pitiable mortal writing and shaking as another climax was coaxed from her burning body. Haarlep raised their head slowly, allowing their horns to rake a path along Tav’s inner thighs. “I was not born last century, Archduke. ” They pressed their own clawed nails into themselves, barely registering the pain as Raphael hissed between clenched teeth. “Now do enjoy the show, won’t you?” ---

Tav’s head was spinning. All she could see before her was the sea of flame red skin taut over rippling muscles, wide wings spread above her, wicked horns and hair that was still somehow completely smoothed. They had been looking…somewhere…saying something.. None of it had registered over the waves of aftershock still coursing through her entire being. If it weren’t for the vines still holding her tightly in place, she was almost certain she would have ascended through the ceiling itself some time ago.  

Haarlep bent over her now, gripping her chin and forcing her to look directly into their eyes. The whole plane seemed to be consumed in their gaze, their voice travelling directly from her ears to somewhere far lower. “Found your voice again yet, Little Rat? I told you when we began, you would have use of my name. Tell me, clearly now. What do you want?” Her voice was hoarse, but she forced her tongue and lips to form the words of her desires. “I want you, Haarlep.” Their wings shuddered an approval, drawing a slightly frustrated sigh from somewhere on the other side of the room. A noise that had no chance of reaching Tav’s ears as Haarlep tightened their grip on her chin. “Oh I’m afraid you’ll have to do better than that, Rat. You want me to what ?”

“I want you,” she rasped, “to fuck me. Ruin me. I can’t…” Her voice left her, as her desperate eyes sought approval, confirmation, reassurance that she would get what she needed . “Good, little rat, good. You are doing so very well~” They spoke to her, through her, with a voice dripping with seductive approval. They had her exactly how they wanted her. Helpless, desperate, yearning and oh how they did love to taste it all. They breathed deeply, drinking it in like the finest of wines. But they would not ignore a plea, not when she had begged so beautifully for them.

Raphael watched silently, attention completely captured by the sight further unfolding. Haarlep removed their harness with a wave of their hand, magic was always so much easier than wasting time on buckles. He respected that, even as he sat with his shirt half open, focused entirely on every move his perfect living mirror made. They knew how to seduce him, and watching it work on the Little Mouse, well that was new, it was enticing. Usually the fiend simply concealed himself in another part of the room, reading a book and lazily allowing the sensations to pass over him and through him without getting involved. His invited guests got what they wanted, sex with his body, but he didn’t have to bother with any of the effort or showmanship. Haarlep provided all of that, and fed on the energy they made. A fine contract. But this was not a time he was content to sit back and ignore the proceedings. No, seeing Haarlep running his hands - no, their hands - across the Mouse’s body, drawing forth gasps and moans as they teased her, pressing against her but denying her the satisfaction of entering her until she was almost completely broken. Watching her struggle against the vines that held her, even as Haarlep’s first thrust filled her entirely with his - no, their… The line between his own body and the copy that filled his senses with the experience he should have only been witness to, that line was fast becoming a blur. This was…different. The feeling of being utterly filled by Haarlep whilst the echoes of his own muscles tightened around him was not the same as only having the phantom of her gripping, squeezing, the lewd sounds of her ragged breath and desperate whimpering only making him more…more what? I’m not fucking jealous, I don’t want-

---

Tav rolled her head back as another orgasm swept through her. She didn’t know how long they’d been here, she barely remembered how she even got here, if someone asked her name she would likely get it wrong . But, gods, it did not matter. Not now. 

Above her, Haarlep was relentless. Changing their rhythm every time she thought she was used to the pressure, the friction of hard ridges stimulating nerves she didn’t even know she had. Their voice filled her ears with praise, assurances, everything she didn’t know she wanted to hear as the sound shuddered through her body directly to her core. Tav lit up again, the fire rising, swelling, and bursting in a wave of ecstasy. She strained against the vines, writing for more friction as she rode out the orgasm for the…well she had no idea how many it had been now, she was the beach and their waves kept crashing over her time after time after glorious fucking time. The last corner of her mind clinging desperately to reason, was screaming danger , yelling into the eye of the storm that giving over any further would mean certain death, crying out for a saviour to pull her from the depths of bliss before it swallowed her whole.

---

“Enough.” Raphael stood beside the bed, unsure of how his feet had carried him there, but completely certain of his command. “She isn’t done, you know.” Haarlep tilted their head towards the still all-too-human for their liking Raphael. “Should I release her?”

“Not yet.” He made a swift gesture and an aura of darkness surrounded them. Only the fiend and his incubus could see through the magic, see how Tav blinked in the dark, pulling harder to reach where she last knew Haarlep to be. “Now.” Haarlep released their concentration, allowing the effects of the Enthrall to fade away. Had the darkness not been cast, she would’ve been able to see the look that passed between the devils above her, the silent mouthing of words, the nod of understanding.

---

Tav heard the voice again, breath hot and close to her ear. “Do you want more, Little Mouse?” There was no touch, only sound, and it did nothing to ease the burning ache of need.

“P..please…” Only a single word left her lips, not a thought behind it, not even realising her nickname had changed.

“All our Little Thief wants to do is take .” The sound from the other side, Tav turned her head in vain trying to reach the source. “Then it is about time for the Mouse to take the bait .” She turned again, confused, wanting, unable to untangle her lust enough to see the truth. The next time the voice… voices spoke, it was in an infernal stereo, the heat from two sets of lips burning at her ears and finally bringing her to a very distinct realisation. “We will end your delicious suffering, soon.”

Tav’s mind damn near folded in half as she felt not 2 but 4 hands seeking every oversensitive nerve in her tormented body. It didn’t matter that she had been completely caught in the trap, found in a room she didn’t belong, because the owner of that room had stepped out of her wildest dreams and into shudderingly vivid reality. She wished she could see, but she could tell by the difference in their fingertips that Raphael was still in his human form. Cherries, she could smell them now as lips pressed to her throat. Greedy, messy, devouring. Cinnamon still drifted through the air from Haarlep too, though it seemed they had moved to her legs, alternating between massaging her muscles and digging their claws in to draw blood. Pleasure and pain, everything they had promised, with the greed of the house’s master- Between their ministrations she could hear moments of bickering, instructions passing to and fro accompanied by insults. By the time they release her from the vines that held her, she wasn’t sure which one she wanted to reach out for. But it was human lips that stole a passionate and needy kiss, while his hand took a firm grip around her throat. Tav nearly choked on the tongue that seemed to want to draw her soul out with pure avarice, but she held on, following where she was lead as the pair pulled her up to her knees only to press her back down on to all fours. “Go on, behind, at the back where you belong. You will work for what you want, whether you like it or not.” One voice snapped, a clear command but hard to make sense of who exactly it came from when they shared the same intonations.  But the order was not for Tav, it was for… Well that was surprising. Cherry scent gave way to cinnamon, clawed hands caressed her neck, lifting her chin.

Haarlep’s thumb pressed on her bottom lip, encouraging her to open her mouth for them, just as she felt the vines coil around her body once more. This time her wrists were held firm, with the vines reaching further up to help her arms support her weight. Her legs, however, were not bound alone. She felt the heat of bare skin, the pressure of him behind her, his knees between her own where she knelt on all fours. The vines coiled around them both, thighs pressed together with maddening heat, a final whipping noise from somewhere in the darkness behind her not striking her own flesh but drawing out a tortured groan as he sank deep into her in a swift and brutal motion. Tav gasped, almost choking at the shock of being filled in a split second, but as soon as her mouth was open she had a new reason to choke. Hardened ridges of hot skin grazed her tongue, enticing her to taste. Behind her, vines creaked and whips cracked in the hot air punctuating each thrust with a punishing rhythm. Fingers grasped at her hips, her back, trying to find purchase anywhere just to hold on as the incubus’s infernal laughter echoed around the chamber.

---

Tav’s moans were muffled, but music to Haarlep’s ears. This could hardly be a better day for them, they even decided they’d leave their deal off the table…for now. Raphael was right, this toy was not one they wanted to break. All the potential they saw was now blooming brightly even within the haze of magical darkness that blinded the eyes trying to look up at them. “Don’t stop now, Little Rat, that’s it…feel everything.” Their hands caressed her hair with a deceptive care, right before their tail whipped around from behind them to strike her between her shoulder blades, gentle fingers now clawing into her scalp to keep them in her mouth even as she moaned around ridged flesh.

They cast their gaze back to Raphael, his expression somewhere between a white hot rage and undiluted lust that was destroying his sense of reason.

“Satisfied, Archduke?” They asked, not giving a single care for the answer. They knew. They knew he could feel himself enveloped by her, feel himself filling her entirely from both sides, but they would not let him release yet. Too soon and it may not be enough to soothe the heat of the single kiss that took everything too far. Or perhaps that was just their excuse to keep this going as long as they could, searing it into their mind with every exquisite detail. Haarlep’s wicked mind worked fast, their own toes beginning to curl at the prospect even as the lewd tongue flickering around them tried to drive them to their end. Not yet, they hissed to themselves, the practice of subduing their own climax as easy as blinking. Not so for Raphael, however. The incubus raised a hand, a few motions from their fingers weaving a new design. The latest vine rose up and caught the fiend at the base in a moment between tortured thrusts, the mage hand lashing the whip with precise intervals to keep his pace. The binding would be enough to hold him from release until the true master of the room allowed it. “Harlot.” The fiend complained, the insult little more than a word swallowed by the other sounds being drawn from his throat. It was the kind of complaint made in vain, however. He was greedy, desiring to find release, but he would enjoy it more if made to wait for permission. “Now, if you please, Archduke,” the incubus commanded, the last part of this plan sliding into place, “assume your true form.”

---

Tav was enveloped, consumed, the heated thrusts filling her entirely from in front and behind. She had long since given up on listening to them talk, only letting their voices wash over her and through her, a lullaby of lust as she sank into the sensation. She could feel the sting of fresh bruises from the tail lashing down on her spine, fingers clawing into her hips, the vicious crack of a whip with far less gentle care than the blows on her own flesh driving the fiend to take her entirely. Then she felt the change. The growing, the friction of new ridges of hot and hardened flesh grinding against nerves so tightly bundled that she would have screamed if she had the breath to spare.

It was divine. She was desperate and between them they filled every needy little desire burning her up.

---

“Just a little more, sweet Thief, and you will take everything you wanted~” Haarlep spoke quietly this time, their words meant only for one set of ears. For the other, they sought their reward. “Tell me. Is this everything you desire?”

“You are well aware-” the reply was cut off by another crack of the whip, a firm reminder of what was expected now. “Haarlep, enough-” They glared at him now. A second and much sharper blow cut his voice down to a keening whimper. “Haarlep, please.”

“Very well, Raphael. Do as you wish.” They released the vine holding back his climax, and threw their head back, allowing the senses to rush into them, filling them with the most delicious banquet they could have hoped for as a symphony of pleasure played the melody of their own composing.

--- Tav felt the final climax throw her over the edge and almost entirely out of her body. Clawed hands held her head as she swallowed, while behind, below, a powerful pulsing sent waves of bursting light through her entire being.

She barely noticed the vines receding, the strong arms that caught her torso before her limbs could give way. The whole world was so far away, but nothing mattered. The heat was finally quenched, whether she recognised how close she had come to turning to ashes or not her body finally cooled. Tense muscles released, but bruises were beginning to swell angrily, interspersed with blood flecked claw marks.

---

“You went too far.” Raphael snarled, pulling Tav’s body towards him and leaning her against his chest.

“I went as far as I had to go. I told you, she took too much from me because what she really wanted was you . I gave her that much. You also seemed to enjoy yourself quite thoroughly~” Haarlep laughed, stepping off the bed and walking a little ahead towards the wide open bathing pool on the other side of the room. A small power move, tail swishing happily as they swayed their hips in a mockery of seduction.”She will be fine, bring her over.” Without much choice in the matter, the fiend scooped the exhausted elf up against his chest, tail guiding her weak arms to wrap around his shoulders. To an outsider, it might’ve looked like a lover’s carry, tender arms hooked under knees that had long since gone limp, one hand holding her head against him as she made soft noises now, a barely conscious mess in the aftermath of unbearable lust.

Clawed feet clicked on the hard stone floor, careful footsteps finally arriving at the water’s edge. It was cool, soothing, from the first moment his toes broke the surface. The cambion lowered himself gently into the bath as his incubus scattered scented petals through the water, preparing soaps, oils and salves.

“Such a beautiful canvas, don’t you think? And so wonderfully painted~” Haarlep purred happily, completely satisfied, as they sank into the water beside Raphael. They caressed the hair of their new favourite toy with a smile. “Next time-”

“Next time? Have you forgotten whose home this is? Whose-” The angry snarl was cut off by a sigh from within his arms. The water was beginning to do its work. “Now, now, you can bicker with me later.  Now how about you take proper care of your Little Mouse?” They stroked the wounds they’d inflicted on the cambion’s own back, digging a talon in one moment and soothing the swollen welts with balms the next.

For his part, the master of the house was carefully holding Tav in his lap, letting the healing pool slowly do its work, watching as wounds knitted closed and allowing her to relax further until only her head was above water.  “I could so easily just drown you right here, Little Mouse, and you’d never even know.” He mused, mostly to himself. There was as little chance of her hearing him as there was actual intention behind his words. “Oh you would never.” Haarlep laughed, not letting the chance to mock their so-called master slip through their clawed fingers. “Let her up a little again, that filthy hair needs a wash. Even a Little Rat should get clean now and then.”

“Rat,” Raphael tested the word, deciding it felt entirely wrong on his tongue, “where did that come from?”

“Never you mind about that,” they deflected his comment easily, pouring a little scented soap into their hands and working it into Tav’s hair, carefully massaging her scalp. “Just wash her body down, and use that salve on the bruises, if you please.” Her eyelids fluttered a little, but he could feel her body had yet to regain its strength, muscles completely relaxed in the most dangerous place she could possibly be…and yet she could also be no safer than held between two fiends in the middle of Avernus. The irony might have amused her, had she been able to form a thought yet.

---

Tav was somewhere. Drifting, her consciousness afloat in another space, barely aware of the soothing feeling of gentle hands and healing waters. One by one, her senses returned to her. She moaned softly at the feeling of claws gently combing through her hair, the scent of the soaps warm and delightful. The other warm thing was the…pillow? Wall? Whatever soft and firm thing it was that she was laid against.

“A lost little mouse, scurried through the house, looking for all the things she should not find. Footsteps, tippy tap, the mouse tripped the trap, leaving all her dreams behind.” The rumbling of the deep voice vibrated through the wall…no, the chest, her head was leaning on.

Her eyelids fluttered, the world still a blur of ambient light, the feeling of cool water becoming clearer as she moved her fingers to test if they were still there at all. All present and accounted for, she thought, relieved. There were places on her body that stung and ached, but this seemed to be dissolving away.

“Slowly, Little Mouse, do not run too fast. Trip now, and the fall could be your last.” The voice was closer now as she became more fully present in her body.

Tav suddenly realised who it belonged to, a swell of panic rising up from her guts as that little part of her mind that had been screaming danger for hours finally made itself heard. Oh fu-“Drink up, Thief. You might as well enjoy the spoils of your adventures to the full~ Oh, and consider the deal on hold, for now.” The owner of the second voice came into view, holding out a large chalice. “Drink first, there’s food after. You did so very well, I’m almost impressed.” They understated their satisfaction, unwilling to give too much praise to a mere scrap of a mortal…yet not withholding their smile either.

“We can discuss exactly what in the hells you were doing here later. I look forward to hearing your excuses, Little Mouse, so do make them entertaining.” His voice was cold and flat, yet his arms remained around her, not yet willing to cast her aside even though she was recovering.

---

Several hours later, Tav had been allowed to leave on the most infuriatingly awkward walk of shame in all her days. She was loathe to explain exactly what had taken her so long, though she had the distinct feeling that perhaps she didn’t need to. She had entered a bedroom through a broken balcony dressed in rags, and left through the front door smelling of delightful lotions, her hair still slightly damp, and wearing a well tailored - if plain - leather and silk outfit that accentuated every curve of her body.

At least her companions had spared her the questions she dreaded. Although she did note Astarion mouth the words “Rule Four” at her with a sly wink. Fine, she thought, I will have to record this in that damned book… I doubt they will let it happen again, anyway. Might as well preserve it in my own memory, at least. ----------- ----------- ENDING NOTES ----------- -----------

Ah, one of my favourites~ Finally letting the three play together, even getting some soft Raphael in there at the end with the aftercare. It might not be natural to him, but he can be all too easily pushed by Haarlep into doing exactly what they want of him. In this case, it's ensuring their new favourite toy will be able to play again. I need to write more of these three at some point, naturally. Perhaps some shorts, though they tend to run long as this was all meant to be in one chapter until it became two~ Well, until the next chapter loves do take care, and enjoy your stay in Avernus~

[filmofhybe]

Honeymoon Avenue | Yang Jungwon

SYNOPSIS: knowing that you are at the end of your relationship, wishing it would never come to an end and go back to the beginning and start over.

(BASED ON THE SONG “HONEYMOON AVENUE” - A.G)

pairing: non idol! jw x fem! oc

genre: mostly angst , flashback fluff

word count: 853

"y/n I'm sorry, but we both know our relationship isn't working out."

"I know. Please take care of yourself."

"I will. I guess this is a goodbye."

  Raindrops fell on the window of our old apartment. The same exact scent candle he gets me for our anniversary every year, "Honeymoon Avenue" by Ariana Grande, is playing softly in the background as I sob quietly into the soft blanket while hugging a soft cat plushie.

"I looked in my rear view mirror,

and it seemed to make a lot more sense

than what I see ahead of us."

  Photo albums of us and Polaroids of us shattered all over the coffee table. Memories of every single date we went on flooded into my mind as I held each one high, admiring him. Yang Jungwon himself Looking back at our sweet-looking smiles, which could probably light up the world even at its very darkest, but now we are both stuck in the darkness. Losing each other was like losing our light to find our way back out.

  "I'm ready to make that turn.

Before we both crash and burn.

Because that can be the death of us.

  “Y/N, my love I have work, and I can't make it to our date. I'm sorry."

"Jungwon is the fourth time. What’s going on..”

“I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you. I gotta go."

the phone call ended, and I sighed deeply, feeling our relationship fading away. Is it okay? Our relationship is still strong, right? He's only busy because of work. At least I hope he will make up for what he missed.

  Remembering that phone call and realizing that was a sign our relationship was not working out anymore. But none of us knew or thought much of it.

"Baby, you know how to drive in the rain.

And you decided not to make a change.

Stuck in the same old lane

Going the wrong way home."

  "You say you're going to make up the time you wasted!"

“I'm just too busy! I can't be bothered to!"

"So is our relationship a joke to you?"

"I never said that!"

"You don't understand how much pain I'm in! You don't understand how much fucking effort I put into you at all!"

“Just shut the fuck up y/n! I’m stressed as well oh my gosh!”

  I scoffed before slamming the bedroom door, pissed off at his stupid actions.

  Jungwon stands still in the middle of their bedroom, taking his phone out and texting his friends. Asking if they are down to hang out to get his mind off of the sudden argument. Of course, he had a way to deal with the pain. On the other hand, you know it's his fault that you both are now stuck in this toxic relationship. Where one person puts so much effort into the other, but the other can't even fucking return or make up for the effort because they are constantly "busy".

  "I feel like my heart is stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

I'm under pressure because I can't have you the way that I want.

Let's just go back to the way it was."

  "I miss the old you, Jungwon, where you spent time with me."

I said as I continued watching the drama that's on TV. Jungwon is next to me. But he's a few meters away.

  "People change y/n. I'm sorry, I'm a bad boyfriend."

  My heart is under pressure because of you. Because I know you're not the old you anymore. And I can't have you the way I wanted at the very beginning of our relationship. And I wish we could go back to how we were. The honeymoon phase: close, affectionate, loving

"When we were on Honeymoon Avenue

Honeymoon Avenue, baby

Coasting like crazy"

  “Baby, look over here!”

Jungwon exclaimed excitedly that I was holding up an adorable cat plushie in the air that he just won for us. I smiled brightly as I heard he had taken a picture of me.

“Hey, should I help you guys take a picture?”

A young lady came up to Jungwon, offering to take a picture of both of us. He nodded before standing beside me, arms wrapping around my waist. I gave him a big smile. The lady took multiple pictures of us. One with Jungwon kissing my cheeks, another was us looking at each other lovingly, and the last one was our bright smile.

"Wonnie! Look, this is your favorite food!"

"Oh my goodness, can I have it, please?"

"Of course anything for my baby!"

  I handed the money to the cashier before he handed us a hot bowl of curry. I blew off the curry before feeding it to Jungwon. He hummed at the amazing curry taste. I admired his gorgeous face. Oh, how lucky I was to be with you. He thanked me for buying him his favorite food by giving me a few kisses on my lips. We smiled at each other before digging in again.

only if you didn't throw our relationship away so easily.

only if you continued to put effort into our relationship.

 Oh, can we get back to the way it was.

     © filmofhybe on tumblr — do not copy , translate or share.

 taglist : @surefornext

application form is now opened on my navigation post! If you want tag you can also comment here or dm me :)

a/n: Yall girl feeling sad at 3am but I hope you guys enjoy this jungwon oneshot, Stream “Yours truly” ten year anniversary by Ariana Grande herself!

[phantom-ellie]

The Art of (Smashing) Crockery Chapter 9: Spooky Scary Skeletons

Summary: Stede takes Ed to BG&E's "swanky" Halloween party and encounters strange new possible friends and old enemies.

Click here for CWs/Full Chapter List

Stede pulls into the parking garage at PG&E with Ed in the passenger seat of his car. It had been a quiet drive. There had initially been a brief exchange as they met up (“So what are you supposed to be, then?” “I’m a Greybeard, you know, from Skyrim.” “Is that a TV show, or…?”) but Stede had been too distracted for a real conversation.

This is the last time he has to do this. It has to be. He hopes he’ll be able to hold on and deal with whatever they have in store for him tonight.

Ed doesn’t seem worried. “You gotta relax, man. Who cares what a bunch of assholes have to say? Free food, free champagne, it’s gonna be great!”

Stede nods. Free food and champagne isn’t exactly a draw for him, he can have that on his own, any time he wants. What he can’t have is a genuine connection with another person. Ed is the closest he’s ever come. And Ed wants to have fun, so Stede’s going to make sure he does.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s usually a pretty great party. Lots of food, live music, everyone goes all-out. It’s Geraldo’s first year putting it together, I hope he did his homework.”

“Who the fuck is Geraldo?”

“He’s in marketing.”

“Man, fuck marketing.” Stede laughs at that.

He doesn’t mention that Geraldo is his former assistant. Geraldo had been the type to do whatever it took to make it to the top, and wasn’t the best listener. He had delighted in spreading all kinds of gossip to the higher-ups about Stede, not all of it true (not that they cared whether or not it was). It had earned him a promotion, and Stede hasn’t been in a hurry to find a replacement and start the process over again. Stede doesn’t think that Geraldo has what it takes to do his new marketing job, but he is a useful toady to sociopaths, and that will always be a greater asset to people like the Badmintons (and his father) than talent or experience.

They enter the building and make their way to one of the conference halls. Stede stops Ed just inside the door so he can take in the surroundings. And Stede is blown away by what he sees. Unfortunately, not in a good way.

The decor is… well, something out of The Office rather than a fancy masquerade like they’ve had in previous years. There are cartoony jack-o-lantern and bat decals all over the walls, paper cut outs of cats and spiders hanging from the ceiling. The dining tables to his left have their required place settings and name cards, but on each one has an ugly pile of fake cobwebs unceremoniously plopped dead center. It looks like an accident.

Then there’s the live band. It appears to be lead by its guitarist, a man dressed as the Witch from the Wizard of Oz (down to the green skin paint and pointy hat). The long black sleeves of his dress appear to be getting in the way of his guitar playing and he keeps readjusting while he plays, occasionally interrupting the song (Spooky Scary Skeletons) to shout something about a raffle and a free trip to Barbados. The band’s bassist is a giant of a man dressed with-to-toe in an executioner’s outfit… and for some reason, he has a pair of cat ears on over the hood. Stede isn’t sure if the man can see out of the hood at all. The drummer is a balding man with stringy blond hair falling down the sides and back of his head. He appears to be wearing a mermaid costume, complete with tail, which poses a problem with playing the drums as he has to use both feet at once to hit the bass. Finally, on keyboard is a blond man dressed in a blinding-white angel costume. His voice is surprisingly angelic, but Stede isn’t sure that that’s what the song calls for.

Across the hall are large buffet tables covered in hors d’oeuvres, pastries, punch, and spirits. The food doesn’t look bad from where Stede is standing, but there isn’t a lot of variety and nothing in the way of a main course. It’s all piled on various cake stands haphazardly. Stede knows that there has to be a catering company in the mix somewhere, but it’s hard to separate caterers from guests. He spots two men dressed as Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy (from Spongebob, and Stede regrets the amount of it he’s had to watch with the kids to where he can recognize them by name) who are sort of standing next to each other behind the table whispering and not doing much else. The rest of the staff is nowhere to be found.

Dad will hate that, Stede thinks, and actually he will hate all of it. Stede hates all of it too, but he isn’t about to let it show that he shares something with his father, so he smiles instead.

Speaking of…

“Hey, is your dad here? Tell me who I gotta look out for.” Ed darts his eyes back and forth suspiciously.

Stede glances around and sighs. “He’s the only one not wearing a costume. The Yale Blue suit, three o’clock.”

“Oooh, Yale Blue, he really knows how to live.”

Edward Bonnet would never, ever wear a costume. Stede is surprised he goes to these things. But, he assumes, it’s just another way of maintaining control. Father can check up on his worker bees and make internal notes about the various ways they are disappointing him at any moment. Everything is a disappointment to Stede’s father. Stede suspects he was born with a scowl on his face.

The scowl gets even deeper as the emcee of the band starts shouting with his mouth too close to the microphone.

“That’s right, we areFrancis and the Business Professionals, that’s us, here to play you music and win you a trip to beautifulBarbados!” The guitarist elevates that last word in a way that suggests he’s expecting everyone to cheer about it. Nobody does.

“Hey Stede, we can win a trip to Barbados!” Ed looks genuinely excited by the raffle, and not depressed about it like everyone else.

“Ed, it’s a raffle. There’s nothing worse than a raffle at an office party. Nobody is going to want to do it.”

“That just means we have a better chance of winning!”

Stede laughs. If he wanted to go to Barbados, he could do it tomorrow. But if Ed wants a raffle, Ed gets a damn raffle.

“Let’s go then, try not to attract too much attention from people yet.”

“Stede, you’re the one wearing that.”

“I’m a pirate, this is a costume a pirate would wear.”

“No mate, no pirate in history ever wore anything like that.”

They approach the creaky metal raffle wheel, conveniently located next to the drummer for the Business Professionals, who has to stop drumming every time someone attempts to talk to him about the raffle.

“Yer no a ghost, are ye?” He practically yells Stede with wild eyes.

“No! I’m a pirate!” Stede huffs, turning to show his outfit.

“Oh.” The drummer just stares at him.

“How much are the tickets, then?” Stede wonders how soon tomorrow Geraldo will be pulled into a meeting after hiring this lot.

“Three thousand dubloons.”

“Dollars. He means dollars.” The bassist says, rolling his eyes.

“Three thousand… You could just go to Barbados on your own with that kind of money!”

The drummer looks at Stede like he’s stupid. “Aye, that’s the point.”

“It’s for charity,” adds the bassist again.

“Which charity?”

“You know, poor kids. Like with cancer and stuff.” This is so dodgy that Stede can’t understand how the band was even allowed in the building… but it isn’t his clusterfuck to solve.

Stede looks at Ed. “Interested?”

“Uh, I’ll have to think about it.” Ed indicates that he doesn’t want to go to Barbados that badly. “Maybe we can see how much the food costs first.”

“Right. Good luck, gentleman!” Stede smiles and waves at the man at the keyboard as he plays the introduction to Spooky Scary Skeletons for the third time since they’ve arrived. Stede is beginning to be genuinely concerned for Geraldo’s safety.

They wander over to the buffet, grabbing plates and filling them with pastries. A caterer (dressed Commander La Forge from Star Trek: The Next Generation) is replacing the chosen pastries with new ones using a pair of tongs.

“Would you two stop making out and help with this? I can’t do it on my own!” He snaps at Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, who are practically crawling inside each other at this point.

“Frances and the Business Professionals thank you for contributing to tonight’s raffle for a trip to Barbados! Only three-thousand dollars, proceeds go to poor children with cancer!”

The two men back away from each other and Mermaid Man (thank god he has a shirt under his tit-clams) rolls his eyes.

“Everyone here is too drunk, stupid, or rich to give a shit, Wande! And I’m not getting paid enough to” He grabs his partner’s ass, eliciting a squeal, before noticing Stede. “Um, no offense?”

Stede laughs. He doesn’t want these guys touching his food after that display. “I’m only rich and stupid right now, pour me some champagne and make it three for three and I’ll look the other way.”

Ed makes a serious face at the caterers. “Hey mate, this is a fancy party, show some fucking decorum, all right?”

“Ed!” Stede smacks him on the shoulder and turns back to Mermaid Man. “Seriously, though, you won’t want anyone else here to hear that kind of talk if you want poor Geraldo to still have a career by the end of the night.”

“Who the fuck is Geraldo?” asks Barnacle Boy.

“He’s in marketing,” Ed replies.

“Well, fuck him then!” Mermaid Man answers viciously. Stede gives him a friendly wink and goes to find their table.

“Nice tit-clams, by the way!” Ed calls back at them after snatching up a glass of champagne before following behind Stede.

“Thanks, babe!” comes the reply.

Stede places his food and champagne in front of his name card and heaves a sigh when he sees the other three meant for his wife and children.

“I told him they weren’t coming this year,” Stede mutters.

“It’s no problem, I’ll just be one of your family tonight. Do I look like a Mary to you?”

Stede smiles. “No, but if you sit there and leave the Alma and Louis cards on either side of us there will be a nice buffer against a bad conversation.”

“Might be quicker to just kill ‘em if they’re talking too much.”

Stede chuckles as he takes a sip of champagne and pulls out his chair to sit down.

“Baby Bonnet!” The smile is wiped off of Stede’s face and he freezes. Ed looks behind them and makes a startled choking sound.

“Here we go, Ed,” Stede whispers before turning around and making a similar sound in his throat.

Nigel and Chauncey Badminton. Are wearing. They’re wearing… They’re dressed as breasts, a giant pair of breasts (nipples tastefully concealed under an equally giant bikini half each). Nigel is the lefty, Chauncey the righty. They look absolutely stupid, completly ridicous, and utterly pleased with themselves for their genius.

Stede flashes a gracious smile and beckons them over. “Ah! Ed, these are two of my coworkers I’ve been excited for you to meet.” He gives Ed a (hopefully) imperceptible nudge with his foot.

“Uh, hi, I’m Ed,” he says, shaking his hands. “And you are…?”

“Two halves of the hottest broad in here,” Chauncey jokes, and Nigel bursts out with his horrifying giggle-laugh that has always haunted Stede’s dreams.

Stede maintains a straight face and indicates towards them. “Ah, I see, you appear to be a pair of breasts.”

“I’m surprised you even recognize them, Baby Bonnet,” Nigel giggles again. Stede allows his eyes to go dead and his mouth to assume a neutral position as he quickly puts up his trusty emotional shield.

“Ed, this is Nigel, and that is Chauncey. Badminton. We hold them in high esteem at this company.” He hears Ed breathe out quickly through his nose in what Stede hopes is suppressed laughter.

Chauncey does a weird little side-to-side wiggle that gives the impression that one of the breast implants has acquired the gift of flight.

“Where’s the wife, Baby Bonnet? Finally walked out on you? She is the smart one in the family, after all.”

The twins laugh, and Ed mutters, “Shit, they don’t even try to be nice here.”

Stede shakes his head, maintaining eye contact with the brothers. “Yes, well, we decided it was more important for the kids to go trick-or-treating this year than… you know,” He waves his hand in the vague direction of the breasts and the band (‘Win a free trip to Barbados! Only three-thousand dollars per ticket!’). “I should stop by and thank Geraldo for all his hard work, of course. He’s done quite a… job.” He sips his champagne with wide eyes.

The band has finally ended their run of Spooky Scary Skeletons and launched into the Monster Mash. The bassist has opted to replace the spoken parts of the song with metal growling. And actually, Stede doesn’t hate it, it’s kind of fun, but he knows that everyone else is probably having a terrible time.

Nigel elbows his brother in the boob. “Any day now she’ll realize what he is and head for the hills.” He sneers at Ed. “Do you think you’re his boyfriend? He hasn’t lied about his family, has he?”

Stede and Ed look at each other. Stede’s facial expression is completely neutral, a wall put down behind his eyes. Ed should do the same, but he probably doesn’t know how. Instead, he looks completely taken aback. Stede flashes a quick smile and him and turns back to the twins.

“Ed is a friend of mine, and he knows that I am has happily married as you both.” This is a lie. Despite the problem in Stede’s marriage, he’s pretty sure the Badmintons’ relationship with their wives is even worse than his own. “Where are the lovely ladies, by the way?”

Chauncey waves it away with a hand. Stede knows they have their target now, and Operation: Ruin Stede’s Friendship has begun. Stede turns to sit down and motions for Ed to join him.

“Seriously, mate, do they do this all the time?” Ed takes the chance to whisper.

“Yes. It isn’t so bad yet. When you want an out, bring up oranges and we’ll go.” Stede takes a knife and fork and slices off the edge of a croissant. He notices Ed glancing at him and then eyeing the silverware in confusion.

“Which fork is the croissant fork?”

Stede laughs. “Don’t worry about it, the party is a dump this year, eat however you want. Nobody worth knowing will care.” He glances up as the Badmintons sit down across from them.

“I’m very flattered that of everything in this party, you find my attention the most gratifying,” Stede said to the twins, “but aren’t you going to get something to eat? Or are you just here to watch us?”

Nigel looks around. “Don’t flatter yourself, Stede, everything here is so terrible it makes you look better by comparison.”

“Does he even talk?” Chauncey asks, pointing a fork at Ed.

“Yeah-”

“Table manners, Chauncey, Christ.” Ed and Stede reply at the same time, look at each other, and then burst out laughing.

“It is pretty rude to point a fork at me, isn’t it?” Ed asks. He picks up a butter knife and waves it around like a magic wand.

“Your friend is incredibly childish,” grumbles Nigel. Stede rolls his eyes and switches Ed’s “Mary” nameplate with “Louis” and changes his own for “Alma.”

“There, now we both have an excuse. Now, as you recall, my friend here has a name, the name is Ed, and as he is a human being and not a dog, you should ask him your questions instead of going through me.”

“Nah, Stede, I don’t blame ‘em, I’m pretty intimidating.” Ed shoves half of a croissant in his mouth. Reasons unknown to himself, Stede desperately wants to watch him shove down the rest, too.

“Intimidating?” The twins chuckle, and Stede isn’t watching to see which one is talking. “What are you supposed to be, anyway? Some sort of hobo magician?”

“I’m a Greybeard. From Skyrim. They literally kill people by shouting at them.”

“It’s from a video game, right?” Stede is tired of talking to these assholes. He wants to talk to Ed. The Badmintons laugh even louder.

“A video game?! How old are you?”

“I’m not the one who came dressed as a literal tit, man, how did you even find that costume? Googling ‘boobies’?” Ed eats the other half of the croissant.

Nigel sneers again. “Oh, he’s really funny. Where did you pick this one up again, Stede? A gay bar? Under an overpass? Prison?”

“Take your pick, any would bless me with better company than you right now.” Stede tries to sound snarky, but it comes out in a mumble.

“Think they have any oranges up there, mate?” Ed asks, looking behind Stede at the food table.

Stede drains his glass of champagne. “I don’t know, Ed, let’s go look. Have fun, you two.” He gets up out of his chair nervously, and motions for Ed to follow. He’s grateful for the suggestion, because his ability to banter is dying quickly. He’s found it easier than normal to engage with the Badmintons, probably because he’s defending a friend rather than himself, but it is taxing and he feels deeply ashamed for subjecting Ed to it.

“Stede, you weren’t lying, they are huge dicks.”

Stede swallows and nods, fighting the urge to withdraw within himself. The ability to fight disappears entirely as Chauncey calls out behind him.

“Make sure to show Ed the bathroom in case you want to suck him off!”

Stede stops and closes his eyes, and realizes that Ed has stopped at the same time. He feels a hand on his upper arm and knows the evening has gone too far.

“Maybe we should-”

“Keep walking mate, don’t give them the satisfaction,” and Ed escorts Stede back to the buffet. He grabs another glass of champagne and puts it away as well.

It’s too fucking much. It’s sexual harassment. Anywhere else, at any other company, they would have been gone years ago. Their careers would have been over. If Stede described the reality of his situation on a forum somewhere they would laugh him out as making it up. But the Badmintons can do it, have done it, and will continue to do it, because they have support and backing from none other than Edward Bonnet himself.

Stede wishes he had grabbed that stupid fork from Chauncey and shoved it in his eye.

“I actually do have to use the bathroom, mate. Could you sh… point me the way?” Stede swallows and does, watching Ed stalk off.

He knows Ed won’t be coming back. It’s been another Badminton success. Another Bonnet personal failing.

He stands with his hands pressed down on the buffet table, taking a few breaths. At least with Ed gone, he can get the worst bit over with. The man in the Yale Blue suit hasn’t taken his eyes off of Stede since he arrived. It’s time to talk.

Stede grabs two flutes of champagne and walks towards his father. It’s any wonder where the champagne will actually end up after this conversation, but either way Stede knows at this point that he won’t be able to drive himself home.

Chapter 10

[gojology]

Intense Healing Session.

the request :

pairing : caring! healer! fem! reader x gojo satoru hehhehe warnings : cursing, implications of seggs after sum intense kissing, pet names wordcount : 2.0k a/n : yoyo i’m back!! semi-long one for u all. cute request, anon. sorry for late delivery. pls dont rate me a 1/5 on yelp </3 hehe the title is kinda funny LOL

     You’re beginning to hate Satoru.        Surprisingly, it’s not for the reasons people dislike him- he’s a bit of a blabbermouth, never quite learned how to seal his lips just because of how important he was to the jujutsu world. Unsurprisingly, he gets away with everything because he’s attractive and crucial to defeating curses, and there’s no shame in admitting it.       People hate Satoru for his destructive personality, he’s carefree and doesn’t let anything get to him. This may be a good trait for the untrained eye, but look carefully and you’ll see just how hectic he gets. It’s manageable since you don’t have to deal with him at the level of the Jujutsu elders.       You don’t particularly hate him for this, though.       It’s the fact he puts you through so much work, for almost no reason. You’re a healer- something very important to the quaint school that you worked at. Healing abilities are often overlooked, it’s often said that if a jujutsu sorcerer can’t provide offense, then they’re not much of a jujutsu sorcerer. Unfortunately, you have little to no talent in the battlefield, so essentially you’re a meat shield to everyone.      It was a growing occurrence to see him after every business trip, slightly roughed up but not enough to kill him. He comes into the room you share alongside Shoko, almost always when she’s not there, takes his shirt off, and displays a wide variety of cuts and bruises on his back like he’s a museum. You’d scold him, asking him how he’d get such abrasions with his infinity up constantly- but Satoru would hum, unanswering while you’re working your hands on his back.      Maybe you’re overreacting- but something tells you he does this on purpose, perhaps to fuck with you, and you’re bitter about it.     So it wasn’t surprising to see him whistle a sweet tune, hands shoved deep into his uniform pockets, casually strolling into the medical attention room for the fifth time this month.    “Gojo Satoru.” you say his full name aloud, just so he knows how much you hate his presence. Turning to look at you, his face displays innocent shock, but you just know that he’s probably rolling around in the inside seeing how riled up you got just by him stepping into the room.     Drained, lifeless eyes stare back at his childish bright ones.     Gojo places a hand on his chest defensively, “Well, I’ll be, Y/N. When did you want to disrespect your senior?” he snickers before shutting the door behind him. “You mad?”      “Unbearably. Lucky I care for you.” you utter back, venom dripping in your words, you feel like you’re making a fool of yourself as you shove your lunch aside that you had been enjoying on the tiny table next to you, sighing and rubbing your temples, tugging and effectively straightening your coat. “Get on the bed, let me work my magic.”     Looking at you with a shit-eating grin, he whistles, placing his elbows against the mattress, his roughened hands caressing his cheeks. “Working your magic? I’m interested. Tell me more, Y/N. Does this involve... Getting naked, perhaps?”     Staggering, you give him a dirty glare, “Satoru! I’ve been working my ass off like every week to get you all healed up, and you dare be perverted in my-”     “No cursing, lil girl! You wouldn’t want this rubbing off on Yuuji-kun and everyone else, would you? You’d be charged with a felony!” leaving you stunned for a second time- the first time being when his lanky figure strode into the room like it was his room- you don’t even know how to respond. How could one possibly be so... Ungrateful for your work?  Well, then again the elders existed... That was besides the point, though. You’re not even sure if Yuuji knows what the word fuck or shit is.     He drags his finger lazily along the cot, drawing various shapes into existence, giving you a skeptical look. “Not gonna answer? Stumped?”     He broke through your train of thought, and you shake your head. “Satoru, I don’t know any sort of fighting jujutsu, but I will fucking pulverize you and make sure you’ll be dust by the time I’m done with y-”     Butting in, he raises his hand as a way to shut you up. “Honeybun, you’re an amazing jujutsu sorcerer, but I hope you realize why they call me the strongest of all time. If you haven’t noticed, it’s because I have a constant shield. The closest you can get to doing that is maybe poking me.”     Giving him a snooty face, you’re frankly about to push him out of the room with sheer willpower and hatred alone. It seems he realizes this, a moment of adoration flickering across his eyes before finally neutralizing. “Alright, alright, I’ll stop playing with you. You’re so cute when I do though, like a little... Rabid raccoon! How can I not resist?”     It’s difficult to tell if that’s a compliment or an insult, with Satoru, it could be several things. But, you’re still slightly flattered, knowing him he’d go out of his way to lengthen his insult if it was one- just another reason why you hated him. Being called a rabid raccoon was definitely not on Satoru’s top 10 utterly offensive insults.       “Shut up, Satoru. Here, take off your shirt, what did you get yourself into this time?”       He obliges with a nasty grin on his handsome features, hastily yanking off his uniform. Underneath was a very meticulously trained body, toned muscles and all. You can’t help but to also catch a glimpse of his collarbones, which were so defined it looked like it could cut your butter for your morning pancakes. You gulp, blinking, you had forgotten just how well-shaped he was in the one week you hadn’t seen him.       “No need to stare, sweetums.” he chirps, realizing your darkening cheeks. “Feed my ego any more and I’ll probably burst and my organs will decorate your walls. You can donate my body to the local college, they’ll be surprised by how top-notch they are.”       Giving him another stern, but much more sheepish gaze, he snaps his mouth shut, but a triumphant smile replaced his grin in place.      “Please, no gruesome detailing. I’d much rather my cute kitten posters.” you motion to a white cat slumbering peacefully in a basket.      “Looks just like you.” he says.      You close your eyes and pretend he’s not there, choosing to ignore yet another one of his compliments, but your heart thumps faster in your heaving chest. Heaven knows how curious your hands could get if you could see where you were touching-      “Those are my abs, Y/N. I think we’re focusing on my back.” he muses aloud in an almost teasing tone. You can already imagine how obnoxious his face is, opening your eyes hesitantly, blinking to adjust to the bright room lights. Your hands are still hovering above his abs, his gaze is upon yours, looking at you with a mix of speculation and speechlessness. Instead of his unusual smug smirk, there’s an almost coy expression on his features, which shocked you.        “How’d your hands get there? Last time I checked, abs are at the front, not the back, hmmm?”        You grit your teeth, your face flush with warmth at your sudden realization. There was no cheeky retort you could’ve possibly come up with, after all, he was right, how did your hands wander to his abs? You weren’t thinking of doing it. You weren’t interested in him either, but he was attractive. Of course you’d be too curious for your own good.. Yes, that was it..       “Your hands are still on an inappropriate place, Y/N. Except, a lil lower than last time.” he chuckles wholesomely as you jerk up, straightening yourself and clearly sweating, your arm wiping your brow and exhaling a drawn-out and awfully dramatic sigh.       “Give me a break, Satoru. I just, um, you know... Zone out.” your pitch was unconvincing, high-pitched and wavering, bringing your chances of believability to a low.      “So, this is like, the 375th time since you’ve zoned out, lil girl.” he tsks, “You’ve gotta sound convincing if you wanna fuckin lie, you know.”      “I--” you falter, now clearly a shade darker than you were just 5 minutes ago. Your heart beating so rapidly it was almost like you were running a marathon. Why was your pulse so quick? Why was everything in the room a blur besides him? Why couldn’t you focus on healing him? What was he doing to you?      “You haven’t even begun the healing process.” he murmurs, his large hands caressing your arm that was by your side. “Anything you want to tell me, pumpkin? I’m on a tight ass schedule, but I’ll let Ijichi solve that. Spit it out.”       His voice rang out high and clear amongst the hectic fight that was going inside your head, steadying your thoughts. A few moments pass by, studying him, lips moving but no words coming out. Why was it so difficult to say through the insults, you cared for him, and wanted him to be more careful? Was it because of the monster inside of you, who wanted him to get hurt, to spend his time with you, listen to his horrible compliments and giggle at the jokes he made as you worked at a snail’s pace on his back, that weren’t even funny, but was funny because of his presence in the dead room, his boyish laugh very much needed in such days of flatness?      “Satoru..” you finally muster out, his eyes flickering on you once more as he was studying the kitten poster with much boredom. “I just.. Care for you.”      “Huh.” is all he says, face falling and examining the spotless floor. “Is that all?”      Acknowledging his body language, you huff, suddenly filled with the need to defend yourself. “What else did you want me to say? I just feel like you’ve gotten yourself hurt a lot more recently and... I just, want you to be more careful. That’s all.”     “No.” he was barely audible, so you had to lean down to hear him. “No, that’s not it at all. You’re hiding something. Do you prefer me to say it?”     Puzzled, you peer at him with childlike curiosity gleaming in your eyes. What did he know about you that you didn’t? Surely, you knew all about yourself?    “You’re not that fucking dumb, are you?”     “Huh?-” you begin to speak, clearly offended, but you’re stopped.     By none other than his lips.      They’re soft, pillow-like even. A familiar warmth floods inside of you at the sudden physical contact from Satoru, except it’s amplified by 10 times. A moan slips out of your mouth, his hand against your back so suddenly you could’ve sworn it wasn’t there just a millisecond ago. His lips were mashing against yours, as if he wanted to have done this a long time ago. You hungrily push back, teasing your mouth with his tongue that slipped just barely into your mouth before indulging in you, which you thought wouldn’t had ever happened prior to this.      You grip the back of his head firmly, as if he were to escape, other hand tangled in his snow white tufts of hair. Eyelashes fluttering, heavy breathes fanning out both of your noses, your lips were sure to be swollen after this. Your tongues dueling each other, working your mouth against his. His unoccupied hands start to play with the hem of your shirt, and another moan slips out of your mouth, anxious to have progressed so far to the removal of clothing, but at this point, you’re ready for anything.    ‧₊˚✩彡.       “I don’t think Gojo-Senpai and Y/N-Senpai are just in an intense healing session.” breathed Yuuji with a terrified look in his eyes, clutching his arm that was bloodied up, his head leaned close to the firmly shut door.        Nobara looked like she was about to faint, looking at the door as if it was a several feet tall monstrosity of a curse.        “What? What are they doing in there?” Megumi knelt down to where Yuuji was, pushing his ear against the door, and immediately his eyes shot open, a traumatized look in his fearful eyes.        “What the fuck.” 

[kkusuka]

hiii I was wondering if you could do a threesome w kuroo bokuto and y/n?? plsss💞

i can actually, that’s the fun part.

(I'm going to try to use gender-neutral pronouns, but the reader has female anatomy, I hope that’s ok!) 

I deadass just took this and ran with it oml. 

All 18+, public sex, circumstantial humiliation, slight voyeurism, orgasm denial, threesome M/F/M, they’re both kind mean but not really, slight degrading 

Synopsis: Your college chem class is kicking your ass so when your professor recommends you to Kuroo, who seems to come in a package deal with another owl-ish boy, you were more than thankful. 

4/25

You couldn't believe it, you were so sure you had done well on this test. You made flashcards and even scoured the web for as many quizlets on the subject as you possibly could. But one thing remained the same: Masahiro sensei’s chemistry class was kicking your ass. 

No matter how many times you looked at the reference tables and started at the elements you didn't understand a single word that came out of that man's mouth. What’s worse is that you seemed to be the only one who ever had trouble in his class, and he always made sure to let you know. 

Side glances during lectures, calling you out when he knows you have no clue what the answer could be, talking about how 'some people’ would do better if they tried harder. You just didn't know what else to do. 

So, in some twisted way, you were thankful when he requested to keep you a few minutes after class requesting to talk about some personal issues. Issues you wished would include a new grade and easier tests. 

But him telling you about a boy with exceptional grades who would be a perfect fit to help you out, was something you had expected, but did not want. You felt more embarrassed than you already were, couldn't he just give you a website where you could watch videos about ionic and binary compounds? 

Looking back to the phone number he had written for you on an index card, you relent. Sending a quick message to the number you shut your phone off and tried to get to your dorm, dropping onto your bed faster than you’d like to admit. 

Hey, this is y/n l/n, Masahiro-sensei gave me your number for possible tutoring, if you're up for it of course. Any time for me works. 12:56 pm 

Yeah, he let me know about a possible tutoring session, how about the library tomorrow at 4? 1:03 pm 

I'm Kuroo Tetsurou btw. 1:07 pm

And like that your day got 10x worse, you don't even know who this way. You at least hoped it was the boy with the fluffy hair in the first row. At least Masahio told him, you assume it may have gone worse, tomorrow at the library at 4. 

You could deal with that. 

-- 

Your first meeting had gone fairly well. You arrived that the library entrance five minutes early reaching for your phone to let the mysterious Kuroo Tetsurou know that you had arrived, but before you could get that far- 

“No need babe, I'm right here, L/n right?” 

He was tall, taller than you at least. Tall enough to be able to lock down at you. Looking at you with his narrow hazel eyes and his sleazy yet comforting cat-like smile. His hands were shoved into the pockets of a bright red- volleyball jacket? Nekoma volleyball club must be from high school. 

He led you to an isolated corner of the science section on the third floor, a place you had frequented during your mid-semester crying chemistry sessions-- hopefully your tears have dried up by now and you won't make a fool of yourself. 

He wasted no time asking exactly what you need help with and seemed more than surprised when you told him everything. He let out a laugh that made you want to get up and run away before letting you know that it was normal to be confused and that you would just start with the electron configurations. 

It was going great, he was an amazing teacher and knew exactly what to tell you to make you remember all the rules of the SPDF configurations and everything leading up to the oxidation states of the transition metals. It was just sad that he had to go over everything a second time just for you to get it in your mind. 

In the middle of explaining lead’s second oxidation state, Kuroos phone lit up with a notification a Bokuto was calling. Without a second glance, he declined the call and went right to the first state of silver. 

Three seconds in this same Bokuto called back after a few choice texts, letting out a sigh he apologized muting about a stupid owl not giving him a moment of rest no matter the time of day. 

He picked up and tried to walk away as quick as he could, the only thing you could gain from the conversion was a 

HEY HEY! you still at the library? Though you’d be done by now Kuroo!

To which Kuroo told whoever was on the end of the line, that he didn't mind and they should mind their own business. Then you were out of earshot. when he came back he looked as if the life was sucked from his soul. 

He plopped into the chair across from you and sat for a second before releasing a deep breath. He looked back at you connecting eyes--they looked impossibly cat-like under the lights of the library-- before shooting you a shifty smirk. 

“Babe you're doing great but I've gotta cut it off for today, and you don't mind if a friend joins us for the next few sessions? He isn't that bright.” 

It took you of all five seconds to think of your answer, another person who wasn't the brightest will make you look less stupid. Just the thought made you feel bad, you're sure that Bokuto was a wonderful person, hopefully, and did not deserve to be used to make you seem less hopeless. Yet still, 

“Yes! That’s totally fine, I'll see you in two days?” 

“Sounds great” 

--

“‘C'mon babe what's the dashed configuration of bromine?” 

You didn't know, or maybe you did. It's not like that would matter considering the two fingers curling into your sweet spot. You could only focus on the way he rubbed your throbbing nub that sent sparks straight beach into your core. 

“I-i I don’t- god, please, please, need to cum.” you were so close, Kuroo had already ripped two orgasms from you because you didn't know the answer, and you were going to scream if he did it again. “Please, wanna cum” 

“No can do baby Owl, that’s the deal no cumming until you get the question.” 

Bokuto. 

You would have forgotten he was there if it weren't for his piercing gaze on Kuroo’s fingers drenched in your slick. Not once has it wavered from you, your silt to you tits up to your lips. 

You had to try, he’ll stop. Somewhere in the back of your mind you know the answer, they know you know the answer. Somewhere else in your mind you think about how you got caught up in this in the first place. 

How Kuroo was frustrated and told you the if you got another wrong answer he would fuck the right one into you. Or bokuto purposely mocking him that sent him further until his hands were pulling your panties down your legs stuffing two fingers in your cunt, saying how he won't stop until you get all the answers right. 

“Two- e-eight- eight-teen- please please, si--six- NO seven, it’s seven. ‘M so close please” 

Kuroo seemed pleased with your answer, his hands moving quickly around your bud and curling further into your g-spot as Bokuto makes his way around the table to where the two of you are seated. 

Pulling the shirt above your head, Bokuto circles a nipple through the fabric of your bra commenting on how quickly it had pebbled, attaching his mouth to your other as Kuroo commanded you to cum around his relentless digits. 

Clenching around his fingers you hadn't noticed a head of white and black hair moving towards your center. Coming off the high of your orgasm you felt Bokuto’s tongue spread your lips as his nose circled your clit.  

“Oh, dude! You gotta taste ‘em! Like liquid gold, Man!” 

You flushed further, if possible, tethering a hand into Bokuto's hair. Understanding the compliment Kuroo swiped a finger along your slick-covered thighs and let a mockingly loud moan fall between his lips. 

As if you could be more embarrassed by the noises of Bokuto slurping whatever he could catch in his mouth, Kuroo’s coos of how red you look and how delicious you look, as the man under you eats as if it was his last meal. 

Two hands grabbed your waist and lifted you off Bokuto, placing you back on your feet. Turing you toward the wall of windows and hand on your back bent you over the table surrounded by all of your notes. 

“Look at that, she’s just gushing all over the place. All this over a chemistry lesson? Who knew I was teaching such a cockwhore this whole time.” a hand met your clit as Kuroo began to push into you, forcing you further into the table. 

You heard a gasping moan as he bottomed out, glancing over to where Bokuto sat hand around the base of his cock, standing as Kuroo waved him over to you. 

“I think you can fit two, right?”  and just like that bokuto was forcing his way into your clenching walls. There was discomfort until a soft pop to which both the boys let out a sigh. 

You feel so full. You didn't know who but one of them was brushing against your cervix. The first thrust came to you as a surprise,  following with a second's rest before the two of them created a steady rhythm.

The faster they went the more apparent it was, they were using you like a fleshlight. You couldn't even speak as a cock hit right at your g-spot. Back arching you let out a series of small “ahs” much to Kuroo’s enjoyment. 

“You fucking like this! Getting dicked where everyone can see. By two cocks no less!” he laughed pulling your head up from its place in your arms, making you have to look at your reflection in the glass. 

“No-no I-” a smack to your ass stopped you from trying to defend what little dignity you had left. There was no defending as Bokuto leaned towards your ear, never breaking rhythm. 

“No?,” he was practically snarling, “Then why the hell are you clenching our dicks so well, Baby Owl?”  

As if he flipped a switch your world went dark as you clenched further on the two men as you came. Riding out your orgasm neither of them let up the pace as they jackhammered into your poor pussy. 

Bokuto came first, with a loud groan of your name before he slumped into the chair he previously inhabited.  Settling to watch as Kuroo pulled your chest up to meet your back to his chest. Rutting into you as his orgasm rapidly approaches. 

If you weren't so sure this place was desolate you would be worried about someone hearing the slaps of your skin, or Kuroo’s final grunt as he filled you with his load, dropping you to lean on the table. 

At least your next chemistry test was graded with a 21/25, you’re sure the two of them will love to hear about that.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Canary, Part 1

It was a good day. Why did stuff always have to go wrong on ‘good days’, Marinette thought bitterly as she rushed through the city, the rough edges of her phone digging into her palm. The message she’d been sent was burned into her eyelids.

She pushed the spiraling thoughts from her mind as she stared at the street sign nearest her. Only a minute and she’d be there and her fears would be either confirmed or denied.

She leaned against the wall to gather her thoughts. If she had messed up it had to have been today because, otherwise, he would have done something earlier. Did she mess up? She allowed her eyes to flutter closed as she thought back.

~

She’d woken up on an uncomfortable mattress on the floor and rolled off of it, the sheets sticking to her sweaty skin. It had been a particularly hot day for Gotham and she had been too concentrated on typing up a report for work to turn up the AC before her impromptu nap (translation: she’d passed out).

She rubbed her eyes until she managed to get her brown contacts out and set them in the weird not-quite-water that she had never bothered to learn the name for so her eyes could rest while she took a quick shower and changed.

Then, she’d waited. She sat in the window, eyes barely poking over the sill as she watched the building across the street. She didn’t feel like moving for a long while but, alas, the meeting was supposed to be that day and she was running out of time for that thing with Calendar Man and… yeah. Unfortunately, Marinette had to be productive that day unless she wanted more enemies.

She saw movement and her face lit up. She might get everything done soon, at least, and then she could pass out for a hundred years like she oh-so-desperately wanted to.

She checked that her gloves were firmly in place, pulled on the plague doctor (gas) mask that had accidentally become her trademark, and toed on her boots.

Then, she made her way up to the alleyway next to the building she had been watching. She’d been lucky enough to have a job right next to one of her safe houses and she kinda wished that it would happen again. It was nice to not have to travel a half-hour or more just to listen in on one boring conversation.

She pulled out her knives and, after testing to make sure they were still strong enough to hold her weight, began picking her way up to the roof.

She set everything up for the thing with Calendar Man. It took approximately five seconds. Yay her.

Alright, next thing: listening in on a boring conversation that, if she was lucky, would end in someone getting shot so it wouldn’t last too long. It was going to be even hotter inside the vent and she did not want to end up cooked. That would be embarrassing.

She crawled into the vents and dutifully wrote down everything they said on a notepad. They were negotiating a drug deal and her client wanted to intercept it to try and get both the money and the (… Big D? What the fuck is Big D?) drugs. From the sounds of it, it wasn’t possible but, hey, her job wasn’t anything more than gathering intel. If her clients wanted to die stupidly that was on them.

… maybe she’d kill her client herself, she thought angrily as she readjusted in the vent in hopes of not getting stuck to the metal. It was easy money but wow was it awful.

Or, at least, it was awful until a hand grabbed her by the hood of her leather jacket and started dragging her out. She tipped her head back, grin on her face in seconds.

“Signal. Hi.”

He sighed and pulled her the rest of the way out. She let herself hang from his grip like a reprimanded cat.

“So, what’s up?” She asked brightly, as if hadn’t just caught her listening in on a private conversation.

“Great, thanks for asking,” he said. “Even better now that I’m taking the famed Canary to Arkham.”

“We both know that’s not going to happen.”

He leveled her with a cold look for a few more seconds before splitting into a grin. “Yeah. Probably not. Got a backup plan?”

“Of course.”

“Is it even worth trying?”

“Probably not. But who knows? You could get lucky.”

She waited for a minute as he mulled over the idea in his head before he sighed. “I gotta ask: what’s with the egg?”

She swatted at his hand until he let her down and then led him over to her science experiment. “Know how there’s that expression that says ‘it’s so hot out you could make eggs on the sidewalk’ or something?”

“Yeah…?”

“Well, the pavement physically can’t get hot enough to do that and also we’re up north so: aluminum foil to try and get the process to work a little better.”

He stared at her for a while before snickering. “Need a magnifying glass? We can ‘kid with an anthill’ this.”

“Sure.”

He reached into his tool belt and started looking for his spare. Unfortunately for him, it seemed to be gone.

She could feel his sharp gaze turn on her even if she couldn’t see his eyes behind his helmet. He wasn’t stupid and magnifying glasses don’t usually just disappear into thin air unless they’re Plastic Man in disguise. She held up her hands for a quick search but, when he couldn’t find it on her, he just sighed and looked down at the science experiment. It didn’t seem to be going well. The egg was still distinctly not cooked.

Eventually, he groaned and sat down. The light around him flickered and started to move at his will. Marinette watched intently.

Ten minutes later, they had a cooked egg. They high-fived, delighted. They weren’t going to taste it, obviously, it had been out for a while without supervision and who knows what could have happened to it… but it was an egg! Yay them!

“My old science teacher would be so proud of me,” Marinette joked.

“My current science teacher would be proud of me.”

“Oooooh, going back to school?”

He smiled. “Yep! Robin is finally in college and Red Hood convinced me to go with him. You should, too, it’s actually not that bad.”

“Please. If I was going to do that I’d go back to my home country. American school is expensive and not all of us are sponsored by billionaires.”

“... aren’t you a millionaire?”

She grinned. “Of course. But why would I want to spend that much of my own money?”

He hummed his understanding. Then, she pushed herself up with a groan. “Right, we both have jobs. See you later.”

He hesitated and then held a hand out for her notepad. “Is it bad?”

She held it out of reach with ease. “Nah, just drugs. Unless someone got shot while I was gone but I doubt it. They’d been almost as bored as me last I heard.”

“If it’s nothing then let me see.”

“Ugh, do you really want to fight? It’s too hot for that,” Marinette complained. He started to square up and she, after a second’s thought, added a little something to convince him: “Also, there’s going to be a breakout today so you should really save your energy.”

“... really think I’m going to fall for that?”

There was an explosion in the distance.

“Yeah. I’d hurry. I’m pretty sure it’s Joker’s turn to get out.”

She waved him off with a smile… only for her smile to drop when she remembered her other job. She groaned again and stretched out while she still could.

Tikki floated over the side of the building, a magnifying glass as big as her head in her tiny paws.

Marinette rubbed the kwami’s head. “You’re the best.”

Her kwami sighed. “That I am,” she said.

Marinette grinned and sent the film of Signal using his powers to her computer so she could give it to Calendar Man when it was due.

People were always so predictable in Gotham.

~

She supposed she really had been tempting fate when she’d thought that. Still, that didn’t mean she liked it that Fate had called her bluff.

But, actually, it seemed that Fate was the one that was bluffing. That had been her entire day. She had finished up her work and then went to one of her more stocked safehouses for a nap. She’d woken up to the buzzing of her phone when she’d gotten the message. She didn’t think she had messed up anywhere…

Her shoulders relaxed. She was probably fine. Which meant it was just Oswald Cobblepot being annoying. As usual.

Marinette flung the doors to the Iceberg Lounge open. Every eye in the room fell on her, but she only cared about the eyes of one person.

She stalked through the lounge, pulling one of her twin karambits from its sheath and pointing the curved blade towards him.

“What the fuck do you want? You really think that, after almost seven whole years of rejecting your wrinkly ass, I’m suddenly going to say ‘oh, yeah, I guess I’ll work for him now’? Leave me alone!”

Cobblepot wasn’t concerned even as her knife came to rest under his chin.

“Canary,” he greeted, regarding her cooly through his monocle.

Guards surrounded them. Marinette somehow managed to look unimpressed without anyone being able to see her face.

Everyone present held their breath… except for the two with weapons pointed at themselves. They knew that they would never follow through with it, especially not in a place as public as this. It was little more than a warning, a reminder, that either of them could kill each other at any given moment and chose not to.

For now, at least.

Cobblepot dismissed the guards with a wave of a gloved hand and she, after a few seconds, lowered her knife.

“What do you want?”

“Currently? For you to get off my table,” said Cobblepot.

She snorted but hopped down with ease. “I meant: why did you call me here?”

“... we should go somewhere else to discuss this. I assume you don’t do all of your business meetings in public?”

“Only if I know ahead of time that I’m going to say no,” she said.

He motioned for her to walk with him to a private room and, reluctantly, she followed. He had to think he had something on her, otherwise he wouldn’t have tried calling her there. She was curious.

They came to a room with a metal door and she cringed a little. Fun.

She dropped eight knives down into a tray and Cobblepot put down a gun, a knife, and his umbrella. She let a female goon pat her down and then checked Cobblepot over herself. Nothing she could find, but she was sure he had found some way to hide one somewhere.

They stepped inside as a pair and each took a seat on opposing ends of the wooden table stationed awkwardly in the middle of the room. She leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up.

“So, what’s the job?”

“I’m surprised you’re even going to hear it.”

She shrugged. “I’m curious.”

He nodded slowly before leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table, steepling his fingers in front of his face.

“Power poses don’t actually work, you know, that’s just lies so companies don’t actually have to deal with all the discrimination.”

“Is that true?” He asked.

She shrugged again. “Probably. I’ve never worked for anyone, so…”

He chuckled. She didn’t like that.

But he didn’t say anything on that subject. Instead, he just smiled a smile that looked weird on his face and gave her her mission briefing: “I want you to figure out the bats’ identities for me.”

Marinette stared at him for a minute before breaking out into laughter. She couldn’t seem to stop. She stood up to leave, still giggling. Really? Did he really think that would work? People had asked many times, of course, and the bats’ identities weren’t common knowledge so she had to have said no. Why would she suddenly do it for him? She didn’t even like him.

She rested her hand on the knob but held off on leaving for just a second. She flashed a grin at Cobblepot. “Interesting offer. Bold. But no. Couldn’t pay me enough to do that.”

“Good thing I have no intentions of paying you, Marinette.”

~~~

And behold a new section I call ‘Marinette is a menace to society why would anyone let her on twitter’

(… the name may need a little work)

OliverQueenOfficial: Why does that one Gotham villain go by Canary? Black Canary already exists.

TheBetterCanary: if youre gonna vague tweet maybe dont put my name in it

TheBetterCanary: but anyways someone else named me that and it stuck before i could think of something to change it to

ScareCrane:… @/RiddleMeThis she’s dissing you

RiddleMeThis: LISTEN UP. IT WAS THEMATIC. DON’T ANY OF YOU KNOW ANYTHING OF DRAMA? EVER HEAR ABOUT CANARIES IN COAL MINES? FUCK ALL OF YOU AND YOUR UNCULTURED, UNEDUCATED ASSES. NOT TO MENTION IT WAS MAKING FUN OF THE BIRD THEME ALL THE VIGILANTES HER AGE SEEM TO HAVE. (1/14)

TheBetterCanary: @/ScareCrane why would you do that you knew he was going to do this

ScareCrane: Joker just broke out so Arkham is boring… needed to entertain myself somehow

TheBetterCanary: fuck you im not visiting this weekend

OliverQueenOfficial: Wow do I regret asking. I didn’t need all this family drama in my comments.

~~~~~

Next

Perma taglist: @nathleigh @peachmuses

[moonbaby26]

(gif from Jason Passaro’s youtube edit here)

Title: One Shitty Friday Night (Part 1)

Pairings: Peter Maximoff x Fem!Reader, Colossus x Shadowcat

Summary: Set after the events of Deadpool 2, you and your boyfriend Peter are on a double date downtown with your fellow X-Men Piotr Rasputin (Colossus) and Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) when Deadpool and Russell arrive unexpectedly. Chaos and violence naturally ensues, including taking down mafia henchmen, dealing with news media and paparazzi who circle in with the action, and a jealous Peter. This will be concluded in Part 2 with the mixed reactions of Logan, Charles, and Erik when you all bring Wade and Russell back home, etc. 😄

Notes: For simplicity’s sake as Piotr R. is normally called “Peter” as well, he’ll just be referred to as Colossus here.

Warnings: Some alcohol use. And it’s Deadpool, so a lot of cursing and irreverent jokes of course. This started out as just crack!fic that became actual fic that had to be split into two parts because it hit post limit. Holy cow.

Peter Maximoff x Reader Masterlist

—————————

Kitty all but snorted, trying to put her drink back down on the table before it could end up fully sideways instead as her laughter left her trembling.

Colossus sighed quietly, but you could still see the warmth in his eyes as he looked down at her before helping dab up some of her errant wine off the table with a thick cloth napkin.

It was late Friday night, and save for your semi disapproving, large and very Russian designated driver, the other three of you were now several drinks deep and a bit too loudly enjoying Peter’s retelling of the Led Zeppelin cover band debacle. You’d been there with him that night, but it never got old the way Peter told it.

“I shit you not, and this guy still keeps hitting on Jean.” Peter continued, his third nearly empty glass of craft beer still in hand. “Scott’s about to fry the dude. They’re playing Immigrant Song, and these lasers start up. All dudebros in the club go wild, and Scott tries to sneak off a warning shot. Freaking air balls it! I have to move like forty people and it still blows a damn hole in the wall. But nobody even noticed! Fake Robert Plant is screaming his heart out and everybody is just eating it up. I swear my Dad could have flown in there, cape billowing and they still would have thought it was part of the show!”

You were at risk of being elbowed in this small restaurant booth, with how animated Peter was as he spoke beside you. But you didn’t mind. The lighting was dim, possibly verging on romantic, the smell of good food from the kitchen reminded you of what was to come, and you were just enjoying time with some of your favorite people.

When Peter did finally drop his hand again though, the not so subtle movements of it then up your thigh also promised something much more personal later tonight. Maybe it was the warmth from the mixed drinks you were also nursing, but you shifted your leg a little, pushing even more into his touch under the table. Your movement just signaled your silent agreement to him that tonight would be a perfect night to be throwing clothes on the floor as soon as you got back to your shared room at the mansion.

It’d been a long, tiring week after all. Helping teach classes during the day and training your ass off in the danger room every night, you didn’t think it was unreasonable to cut loose a bit now.

Even Colossus was chuckling a little at last, but the big guy was always softest around Kitty. You in particular had been one of her biggest supporters when she’d first confessed her attraction towards him. You’d noticed his bashfulness with her as well, and all the little glances he’d given her long before she’d ever worked up the courage to ask him out.

But that seemed so long ago now, it was hard to really remember a time when they weren’t together. Almost as long as you and Peter really.

You glanced up as the waiter came back by to check on you all, saying your food would be out in a few more minutes and asking if anyone needed more drinks.

“Oh gosh, we’re really running up the tab right?” Kitty smiled.

You could see the little bit of relief in Colossus’ expression as she waved the waiter off though, her current wine glass still nearly full. “I’m fine for now, thank you.”

Peter glanced at you and you nodded as well. A buzz was fine, but you didn’t want to be climbing the mansion stairs full on drunk tonight. “I’m good.”

As the waiter left, your conversation got a little more subdued. You leaned into Peter somewhat, hip to hip in the booth as he put his arm around your waist.

Kitty was now talking about a movie she thought you should all go see next weekend if you could. You were just in the process of agreeing as you’d wanted to see it too, when Colossus suddenly went stock still, a look of real surprise on his face.

Kitty evidently noticed as soon as you did, you both staring up at him in unison.

“Do not turn around,” He instructed to you and Peter, eyes locked on something behind you.

Of course when told to do one thing, it would take everything in Peter’s willpower to not do the opposite. But to his credit he actually did hesitate. “Do we need to be dodging something? I mean, I can move us if I need to, man. You just gotta let me know.” Peter stated.

“I don’t think he’s seen us yet. Please do not draw attention.” Colossus responded, still frustratingly vague to the rest of you.

But he hadn’t metaled up yet, his skin still entirely human looking. So on the plus side, it couldn’t be someone he thought an immediate physical threat.

You glanced to Kitty for some hope of explanation as she was seated beside Colossus and facing the same direction. But she was too short in comparison to him, and couldn’t see all the way across the booth dividers as easily as he could. “Well who is it?” Kitty demanded quietly.

But you heard an impatient voice carry over clearly from the nearby restaurant entrance.

“Look, you know he’s here. I know he’s here. Don’t make me leave you guys a bad Yelp review. I will totally Karen that shit up. I’m just here for him.” A pause. “...And some of the cannolis. God, I love those things. You went a little scarce on the filling last time though. Don’t make me add that to the Yelp review.”

You heard the hostess stutter, fear evidently building. “Sir, firearms are not allowed in this restaurant. The owner, he, I...I can’t.”

There was a loud sigh from the man, the distinct sound of a gun cocking, and then all hell broke loose.

“WADE!” Colossus screamed, your entire table flipping as he stood up, metal now encasing him in this even larger form.

Abruptly you were now standing back by the entrance yourself. Peter had one arm around you, and the other around Kitty as he let you both go just as instantly, having just brought you there before he disappeared again.

That little flare up of vertigo from the speed and sudden stop didn’t mix well with the alcohol, and she and you both stood there another moment, queasy as Peter appeared again with an armful of guns.

It would have been comical as he clearly had no idea where to put them now, but everyone else that had still been in the restaurant was already screaming and running for the doors in a panic.

The owner of the multiple guns couldn’t care less about the crowd however, only turning his full focus to the lot of you then in exasperation.

“Oh my God, you anti second amendment, mother fuckers. I’m in the middle of a job here!”

“You can’t just point guns at innocent people, Wade! We have talked about this many times!” Colossus retorted, all seven foot of him now standing over Deadpool with paternal like annoyance.

“For fuck’s sake, it’s called a threat. I wasn’t going to kill her you overprotective, asshat! Now Giovanni is probably holed up in some pussy ass panic room, or he’s already ghosted me out the back door! And yes, I know that is such a stereotypical mob boss name and totally sounds like the Pokemon villain. Fuck him and his always trying to take Pikachu! He had a talking cat the whole time who just wanted his love, but no, got to have the electric rat. Fuck!”

“Language, Wade!” Colossus scolded. “There is still a child present!”

And honestly in all this insanity, that was the first time you actually noticed Russell also still standing there. Everyone else in the room had now fled out into the street.

“I’m fucking fourteen,” The boy replied defiantly. “And yeah, we were working!”

“Daddy and angrier metal daddy are just talking, hon.” Deadpool commented, waving a hand.

There was a small gust of air beside you and you looked to Peter knowingly. Wade’s guns were now all on a table, though intentionally still distant from your current position. “So I just made a couple laps.” Peter spoke up. “The cops are already coming, and there’s still a bunch of guys in the basement. They were opening some crates, probably getting weapons? I didn’t know if we were taking them out yet though. I didn’t touch anything. But is Giovanni like a big dude with gold rings and all?”

“I’m telling you besides the drug and human trafficking, it’s practically more criminal how much he sets back Italian-American stereotypes. They are an honest, manicotti making people goddamn it.” Deadpool answered.

You really were starting to regret the amount of drinks you’d had. If you’d known tonight was going to be anything like this, you would have gladly stuck to water. Your head was already trying to throb a little as you finally spoke. “So, does this guy actually have warrants out on him? If the cops come, they’re all going to end up shooting each other most likely. Can we just defuse this by giving him up to them?”

“I would say we assist to prevent unnecessary bloodshed, if that is the case, yes. I’m sure the Professor would prefer that.” Colossus agreed.

“Freaking goody two shoes, all of you.” Wade sighed. “But he has to get arrested or dead okay? I don’t get paid otherwise.” He paused though, then looking back up to Colossus before suddenly elbowing him. As if he’d even really feel that. “And hello rudeness, are you not going to introduce me to your little girls night out club here before we go bust some heads in a gratuitous X-Force/X-Men hotties crossover?”

“X-Force?” Kitty asked, sounding as already over this as could be.

“Well, we are a little empty on the roster at the moment. Some...unfortunate parachuting incidents. Wind advisory that day. You know how it goes.” Deadpool shrugged.

By her expression, no. She did not know how it went.

But the sooner you started, the sooner this could be over. Colossus motioned to each of you in turn, “Peter, (Y/N), and Kitty. These are my teammates and friends.” He nodded back to Deadpool, “And this is Wade.” And then to the boy. “And Russell.”

Of course you already knew who they both were. It’d been a bit of a scandal really, with the whole Essex House fiasco and the deaths that had occurred there. Fair or not, a lot of the blame had ended up on Juggernaut the second time around though you thought. Which is why Charles hadn’t had to deal with too much bad press in the aftermath.

You could not let this become another Essex House situation for the X-Men though. You were about to speak up about heading to the basement together and Deadpool staying out of your way so you all could neutralize everyone without any fatal hits, when he gasped dramatically, making you freeze again.

“Kitty!? Like an actual girl named Kitty? Oh my God, this whole time I thought you were his cat!” He hit his own leg, laughing. “I’m thinking, holy shit this guy loves his goddamn cat, but who am I to judge you know? I had a dog named Mr. Shuggums. Cutest little fucker.” He took a breath. “I miss him.”

“Wade.” Colossus groaned. “We do not have all night.”

Okay, so there was still something sweet about Colossus gushing about his girlfriend even to this manic mercenary. But no kidding, this show really needed to get on the road here.

“Guys, why don’t we just let Peter disarm them all, Colossus, you grab Giovanni, and Kitty and I deal with anyone who still resists? No one has to get hurt, and then it’s all done, easy.”

“And then we go find somewhere else to eat. Killing me here. I wanted that damn calzone and tiramisu.” Peter sighed, pulling his goggles back down over his eyes again. “More guns coming up.”

He disappeared at once, but when he didn’t return immediately as you were so accustomed to, you and Kitty exchanged a nervous look.

And after only another few seconds, your instincts told you something had definitely gone wrong.

“Is the basement directly beneath us?” You asked Deadpool sharply, already reaching out a hand to Kitty. Your adrenaline was starting, all good feelings gone as it was now time to act.

But you’d worked together long enough now, you didn’t have to explain your plan to her or Colossus.

Yet when the previously mouthy merc had no instant response, just staring at you in thought, it was clear he hadn’t done any recon beforehand at all. He’d literally just walked in here and expected everything to work out.

“Perfect.” Kitty said sarcastically, glancing quickly to Colossus as she took your hand. “You’re our backup, dear, in case our vertical entrance doesn’t work out. Come find us.”

“Always.” He said, already turning, his weight shaking the floor as he ran to look for any stairway downward while you and Kitty dropped straight through the floor.

It was surely a risk of its own to use her phasing ability so blindly as this. You could end up in a too small crawlspace, in underground piping, a sewer system, anything really. She’d make sure not to go solid until it was safe, as to not impale or bury you alive of course. But if Peter were in trouble, there was no time to waste by ending up at a dead end and having to go back up and try again.

You’d held your breath, as there was no way for you to process oxygen either as your lungs and every other part of you shifted through the other matter. It was darkness and insulation, pipes, and conduit that flashed by at first. But in the fractions of seconds that it took to fall, you had already powered up. The white light of your energy field overtaking your body, shielding you both as you did fall into a larger open area.

It was even darker than the restaurant above, all concrete and dampness. The glow from your body was the brightest thing there as much more men than you’d expected all turned in surprise. You saw the glint of multiple gun barrels now, but the thing you wanted to see most was Peter’s silver hair as you’d scanned the area for him instantly.

There was a stairwell in the distance. He was laying near the bottom of it. But you had no time to be shocked or afraid, only anger swelled as you released Kitty’s hand, making you solid again. “I’ll get him.” Was all you said. Letting her know to protect herself as you flew to him. Bullets couldn’t hurt her if she was ready for them. But Peter would be defenseless without one of you now, and by means of your power of flight you were the faster of you and her.

The man closest to Peter had a different kind of gun though you realized. Something you didn’t recognize at all as he aimed at you. You splayed your palms to create an energy shield in front of you as he pulled the trigger.

It didn’t make a sound though. But everything around you instantly distorted as pain exploded through you. You saw five or six of him now, as your feet hit the ground, unable to concentrate enough to fly then. But even as you stumbled, realizing your shielding wasn’t fully stopping whatever that weapon was doing, you were still able to expand your shield rapidly, hitting the man with the force of a car in your pain and sending him flying into a nearby wall, the weapon clattering to the ground lightly against his now limp body.

But you still felt like you were going to puke.

“Kill them you idiots!” Someone screamed.

You dropped yourself, laying over Peter just as quickly, grateful to feel him breathing as you focused through the pain to extend a shield around you both as the gunfire started.

“Bitch!” Another man yelled as Kitty just walked unharmed through all the flying bullets towards you.

“Shadowcat actually,” She said, skilled enough in her powers to choose what was solid and what wasn’t. Just the outside of her fist being all she needed to crush his nose in one punch with a squirt of blood, and only the end of her foot used as she swept her leg after to knock his own right out from under him.

Even among your own team, sometimes people could forget that that petite Jewish girl was about as skilled a martial artist as anyone could be.

“Babe?” You heard against your ear though, glancing back down to Peter. There was real relief even in the chaos as you saw him smile up at you.

He talked back against your ear in the noise as Kitty continued to utterly wreck the guys around you. “I fucked up a little, right? That gun...they already had it going, aimed at the door when I came back, a trap...I think I hit every stair on the way down...I still see like three of you right now.”

“Ditto.” You breathed.

And then there was another even louder noise as the remnants of a door also came flying down the stairs. Colossus barreled in behind it like a stampeding elephant, Deadpool right behind him as they leapt over the both of you and joined the fray.

“We found the basement!” Deadpool announced gleefully, swords swinging. “Don’t think they’d even locked the door back actually, but fuck if big Russki doesn’t love a dramatic entrance!”

For a moment you thought all your words about at least trying not to kill had been for nothing, thinking Deadpool was going to chop these men into literal pieces. But even as blood sprayed left and right, you realized he was just cutting tendons. The men then unable to hold their guns, unable to stand at all as he crippled each he reached in succession.

It was still completely horrific, but hell, how much could you really ask for from someone like him? Especially when you yourself had slammed that one man into a concrete wall as if he were a ragdoll. You glanced over anxiously for a moment, glad to see him shifting a little, but still crumpled exactly where you’d thrown him. He was alive, a small relief at least.

——————————

Obviously the other gunmen hadn’t had a prayer either though once you’d all been down there together.

Colossus already had a still cursing Giovanni slung over one shoulder as you were now helping Peter back up and trying not to step in all the blood as you all walked over to Kitty.

“What a mess...very interesting weapon though,” She spoke of that odd gun that’d been used on you and Peter, it now in her hands as she turned it one way and then another examining it. “I’m bringing this back with us. The police don’t need anything like this. Hank and I can figure out how it works. And how to defend against it hopefully before we run into another one of these out in the field.”

“It seems this Giovanni was more a threat than expected,” Colossus said, giving the still squirming man an unhappy look, before looking back to you all. “Are you alright, Peter?”

“I’m still hungry.” Peter grumbled, an arm over your shoulder to still help stabilize him as his other hand went to his head as if it were pounding. He also had some bruising starting on his face, no doubt from his tumble down the stairs. “I wouldn’t have drank so damn much if I’d known we weren’t going to eat...”

With the speed of his metabolism, that alcohol likely was hitting him pretty hard now on his already empty stomach.

“We should turn this guy over and get out of here.” You agreed. Though you didn’t feel so hot yourself. Still a little nauseous from whatever that weapon did to your senses. But at least you weren’t seeing triple of everything anymore.

“Hold it, girl scouts!” Deadpool piped up, chipper as ever as he grabbed something at Giovanni’s neck before any of you could think to stop him.

The man choked just a moment though, before a piece of metal snapped off into Wade’s hands. It was a necklace, with a symbol of some sort. You saw just a glimpse of it before Deadpool pocketed it. “No proof of finishing the job, no payday for DP. No payday, then no liquor, no coke, no hookers. Am I right?”

It was too difficult to tell when if ever he was serious, and you all chose to ignore his comment, starting back up the stairs. The odd sounds of bullet fragments falling back down the stairwell caught Peter’s attention though as he gave a grossed out look to Wade for a moment.

The now impact deformed bullets were starting to work themselves back out of all the bloody holes in Deadpool’s costume. You knew where you’d seen that before of course, but Peter was the only one that actually said it aloud.

“Damn, you and Logan would be a pair.”

There was a pause, and you could swear even with the mask, you thought you saw Wade’s cheekbones move in a way that signaled he was outright grinning from ear to ear. “At least someone gets it. He still won’t return my calls though. Such a diva lately.”

Once you did get to the top of the stairs, you only found a very agitated Russell standing there, Wade’s guns in his arms. “You took long enough, the cops are outside you know. I’m not going back to jail for you!”

“Cool your tater tots, kid.” Deadpool responded lazily, in no hurry, but grabbing the weapons back to holster them all regardless.

“I could have finished this faster! I would have fried their asses!” Russell argued.

“You would have been shot. Fire does not stop bullets.” Colossus only answered matter of factly.

Russell made a face, but Wade cut him off before he could say any more.

“Now now, listen to metal daddy. No sass. And actually, I think there’s something we should talk about, champ. X-Force is way more badass and all, but we don’t exactly have a training and junior member tier yet. Maybe later. You might want to think about riding home with these guys and checking their setup out. I don’t have any powers myself to relate to you like that, except me being very shootable, devastatingly charming, sexy, smart, and a competitive level Skee-Ball player...”

Deadpool sighed, continuing. “But these guys have a Danger Room. Which is totally not a sex dungeon, yeah I was bummed about that too. But they could let you unleash that school shooter level teenage angst and burn all the shit you wanted until you really figure out your powers.”

Russel bristled. “I’m not a school shooter you prick! And you always said the X-Men were neutered dweebs and-”

Wade coughed loudly, ushering Russell forward suddenly as you all continued to walk. “Hah, kids. Such darlings. Mishear everything don’t they?”

Colossus only answered without offense though. “The offer is still open, Russell. Though you have said no before. The Professor would never turn down a young mutant in need.”

It was Peter who surprised you a little, a smirk on his face as he contributed. “Freaking sweet house too, man. Xavier’s loaded. Big screen TV, a pool, basketball court, your own room, supersonic jet. Bunch of cute girls as well, or cute boys, you know whatever you’re into.”

“I’m not gay.” Russell huffed, but actually looked to be listening now as he didn’t immediately spit back with a sarcastic retort.

Though you gave Peter a weird look and he just grinned. “What? I stayed for you didn’t I, babe? Just saying. I wasn’t exactly on board with the whole team thing before that either. I know where he’s coming from is all.”

“It’s up to you, Russell.” Kitty said more diplomatically, before returning to the matter at hand. “We’re parked at that parking garage two blocks south. Everyone meet back there, Colossus and I will hand this guy over to the cops out front. The rest of you, I’m sure there’s got to be some emergency exit you can sneak out of. Probably better to split up actually. Less attention.”

—————————

Just as Kitty had suggested, Deadpool and Russell went out one way, and you and Peter another. You came out onto another street behind the restaurant. And you’d just finally started to relax again, Peter taking your hand in his own and walking away like an honest to God normal couple for once, just out on the town together before you noticed an oddly placed white van with distinct lettering on it.

Peter saw it too just as the light from a camera hit you both.

“Hell,” You breathed.

“Want to run?” He asked seriously.

“Too late, they’d just film us ditching, and say we had something to hide.”

Your headache was returning in full force you thought as you steeled yourself, seeing the reporter now in a full sprint towards you.

“It’s Quicksilver! And (your codename)! The X-Men are here!” A woman shouted.

As you walked closer to the news van, the camera flashes only increased. It looked like a small group of paparazzi had also camped out here, hoping for this exact result. How did word travel so damn fast?

“Marcia Fletcher, WAFN nightly news!” She introduced herself at once, her camera man there just as quickly, huffing a little from the run as he got you both in focus.

You could see the lights on on his camera as she shoved her microphone in front of you and Peter. “You’re on live coverage of the Ruffiano’s restaurant shootings with WAFN. Is it true that Giovani Marcello was apprehended here tonight by the X-Men? And how did you know he was here when he’s been on Interpol’s most wanted list for four years?”

You knew without looking at him that Peter was happily deferring the speaking role to you now as you tried not to look rattled. You attempted to think of what Charles would and wouldn’t want you to say, even with the pain in your head and lingering nausea. “We didn’t know who was here. We were in the area and saw people running and went to help, that’s all.” You lied.

“But the reports of gunshots, witnesses also said Deadpool had drawn a gun on a restaurant employee and Colossus was seen inside. Is Deadpool now affiliated with the X-Men again? Did he shoot anyone?”

“Deadpool is not affiliated with the X-Men. Colossus was here tonight, but he only would have been defending anyone he thought in danger. Deadpool did not shoot anyone.” You tried to keep to short truths that time.

“But then why was Deadpool there? Should people really believe it would be a coincidence that the X-Men and Deadpool would be at the same incidence at one time if not working together?”

“Well you’re here aren’t you? Are you affiliated with us?” You replied before you could stop yourself, though still restraining the annoyance you really wanted to put into that statement. “Trouble attracts a crowd.”

Peter made a sound, a restrained laugh you knew. But before the reporter could blurt out another question, one of the now growing number of paparazzi called out, “(Your codename), hey look here! Is it true you and Quicksilver are still dating!?”

You knew better than to be baited, humoring any of them just made it worse. They were like piranhas. But Peter couldn’t help it, turning to look as so many cameras flashed. His arm slid around you protectively. “Why wouldn’t we be, dude?” He called back.

“Are you saying the photos of (your codename) and Gambit were before you two reconciling?”

It took every ounce of your self control to not respond, but oh God did you want to. It was the mission in Tanzania. You knew it. You, Storm, and Gambit. Peter had stayed in the U.S. for that one as it’d been the holidays and his Mom had wanted both he and Wanda over for some time together.

After the mission was over, the three of you had ended up on one of the beautiful Tanzanian beaches for a single day. Just a single day to yourselves.

You’d had the audacity to wear a revealing bathing suit though and you and Remy had been photographed together, him shirtless of course because it was a goddamn beach. And laughing and smiling because, surprise, you were friends! And they’d cropped Ororo out in all the closeups for complete loss of context.

It’d been a thing in some of the tabloids for a while, but you really thought that had finally blown over. Of course if anyone asked Remy, he liked to play coy on the whole subject to keep up his God’s gift to all men and women sex symbol status.

“Peter, let’s just go,” You whispered in his ear, sure anything else said would only make things worse.

But you could read him all too well, and when he turned his face to look back at you, you already knew what he was going to do. You didn’t try to stop him, because never would you humiliate him on live television with any type of rejection, but oh, you would never live this one down. Never.

He kissed you hard. And there was nothing fake about it, honestly the kind of kiss usually reserved for your bedroom as you felt heat rising up in you. The camera flashes clicking over and over as you could still taste the alcohol he’d drank before.

When he finally released you again, you gasped a little. He gave the photographers a ‘fuck you’ look, before speaking just to you. “Now we can go.”

“Fly or run?” You breathed.

“Fly please. I’m still about half out of it.” He admitted.

You powered up to some surprised and excited sounds from the crowd. Your whole body glowing white again in the energy you emitted.

“Wait, aren’t you going to stay and talk to the police!?” The reporter shouted.

“They know where to find us if they need us.” You answered, extending your energy field around Peter, before you took off vertically, making sure to get sideways over the rooftops as soon as you could though to breakup their camera angles and finally give you privacy again at last.

You landed gently atop the parking garage only a few moments later, letting him go again as you powered back down.

“Are you mad at me?” He asked, just taking your hand again though.

“No.” You said truthfully. “But, I have no idea what we’ve really just done. We still have to go home...home where the Professor always watches the 10:00 news with his late night tea.”

Peter sighed, only half joking. “We could always go stay with my Mom for a while?”

You just moved in closer, pulling him against you as you laid your head on his shoulder. “We’ll survive, babe. Somehow we always do.”

“I think that says more about you than me though. Pretty sure I’d be face down in a ditch somewhere already if it weren’t for you.”

You chuckled, wrapping your arms around his neck then before raising your head back up to kiss him once more. Much softer this time, and even longer than his jealous little display a few minutes ago.

He made one of his little noises of contentment, hands sliding down to squeeze your butt through the thin pants you were wearing. As he pulled your hips tighter against him, he broke the kiss enough to speak regretfully. “I really was hoping to get lucky tonight...”

“Same.” You smiled. It had been a while. Mostly from you both being so tired by the time you finally got in bed. Passing out on each other had more been the norm the past couple weeks. “We get some food in you, and see where things go?”

“Gross! Get a room!”

You startled at the sudden shouting, having wholly thought yourselves alone up here in the moonlight.

Peter rolled his eyes, yelling back at Russell, “Kid, we have one! And we’d already be back there by now if it wasn’t for your little mafia hunting shenanigans!”

You looked over to see Deadpool and Russell both standing in the doorway to the parking garage stairs.

Wade whistled, leaning back against the doorframe. “Way to take down that Marcia Fletcher a notch! I always found her too uppity to be honest. I think she’s still butt hurt that they didn’t give her the lead anchor spot when Carl Sanderson moved to the early bird morning show. Tanya Meyer on the 5:00 news though, that’s my girl.”

You blinked. “How...how do you know-” It was literally minutes ago, it would have taken them just this long to walk here.

Deadpool lifted up his cell phone. “Facebook live, bitches. Don’t you follow WAFN? The recipes they post from Saturday morning cooking with Pat are always delish.” He looked back down at the phone though, happily reading. “Hah! Peggy Fredrickson from Brewster, New York thinks Marcia’s contouring and drawn on eyebrows are getting worse. Fire your makeup person, Marcia.” He tapped something on the screen. “Like comment! Oh, and Michael Morris from Ridgefield says who wouldn’t do Remy LeBeau. Damn, Michael, all out and proud on main.”

Peter let go of you, taking an annoyed breath. But then looking back to you. “Please let me at least prank Remy, something, anything.”

“But he didn’t do anything.” You replied, though only more stressed now that this was already blowing up on social media.

“Exactly! He should have at least denied it! But no, Mr. cool Cajun can’t admit that you’d actually choose me over him.”

“Hey now, I think you’re looking at this the wrong way, Quickie.” Deadpool interjected. “There’s always the ménage à trois option. I mean he’s French right? And Michael from Ridgefield is just spitting truth. Who wouldn’t want to do Remy LeBeau? He could shuffle my cards anytime.”

“You guys are so fucking weird.” Russell groaned. “Can we go find your damn car now?”

But you didn’t move yet, still looking fully at Peter. “Wade’s just trying to get under your skin. We all know how Remy is. He’d flirt with a piece of cardboard if it suited him. It doesn’t mean anything to him.” You recognized that Gambit was physically attractive of course, you had eyes too after all. But that was the only extent of it. You loved Peter. Not to mention you wouldn’t at all want to get on Rogue’s bad side. She and Gambit were tumultuous enough without someone else being added to the mix.

“This is adorable, really. But I did bring ‘good job team for sending a little girl selling, gentrification funding, pencil dick mob boss to butt fucking federal prison’ cannolis. Want some?” Deadpool offered, lifting up a large takeout box you somehow hadn’t noticed before.

Peter’s shoulders dropped a little, still heavily annoyed though eyeing the box. “So does this mean you’re coming back with us too?”

Wade shrugged, “The kid doesn’t know you guys. What kind of daddy would I be if I didn’t at least go and make sure he actually wanted to stay in your little mutant commune before I ditch him there?”

“You aren’t my damned dad.” Russell said, though almost sounding too tired to argue further at this point. He reached up, taking a cannoli from the box and biting into it as he started to walk back down the stairwell. “What floor is the car on?”

“Just one down from here, you already passed it. Black SUV,” you answered. Colossus and Kitty must not have been here yet if Wade and Russell had made it all the way to the top deck without finding them.

Peter grabbed your hand again, walking with you to the doorway as he grabbed three cannolis out the box begrudgingly with his other hand. He passed one off to you, before biting into the other two in quick succession.

And you only had a moment to see all the thick scarring under Wade’s mask as he lifted it just enough to start eating one himself, before turning to follow you both out and down the stairwell.

———————————

(Concluded in Part 2 here)

[bqstqnbruin]

Priceless

Ok so here I am somehow with a second fic in a matter of, what, two ish days? Anyway, this is one that I wrote and posted last year but I reread it and it sucked so I took it down and rewrote it. Hope you like it!

Word count: 5.5k

Warnings: none? swearing? Typos for sure.

_______________

You loved him with your whole heart; there was nothing that you wouldn’t do for him, and you knew that he felt the same about you. At least, that’s what you used to believe.

Ever the one for dramatics, a three am alarm was what made you question not only your whole relationship but your whole existence. The witching hour was an ungodly time to be waking up and getting ready, no matter what the reason was. Even when it involved flying off to Europe for a destination wedding that involved Jake’s entire team.

“Babe?” you call to him, the shower just turning off. He pokes his head out, hair wet, droplets of water rolling down his face as he waited for you to answer, “We’re going to have time to stop at a Dunkin’, right?” you whine, doing everything in your power to not pass out then and there instead of finishing your packing.

“Maybe?” he says, ducking back into the bathroom before coming out with just a towel on, hanging on his waist. If you weren’t so exhausted, the things you could be doing right now, your mind wanders as he continues talking, “We have to get through TSA and I don’t think they would allow you to bring that through security, would they?”

“Fucking hell,” you mutter to yourself, throwing the last of what you needed into your suitcase, trying to find anything of Jake’s lying around that you knew he would forget. “What if I finish it in the car before we go through security?” you beg, hoping he’ll cave.

“Y/N,” he sings, “then you’re going to have to use the bathroom a million times and it’s going to be my fault.”

“Do I have to be pleasant before I get coffee in me?”

You hear him laugh from the bathroom as you lean back on the bed and close your eyes. “You wouldn’t be you if you were pleasant before your coffee, babe.” You do everything in your power to try to stay awake while he gets ready, him saying random things as he runs around getting dressed, you murmuring weak responses in return. “Hey, come on, sleepyhead,” he says, pulling you off the bed, “We’ve gotta get to Logan.”

You drive there in silence, praying for the moment you get coffee in you as you still struggle to stay awake while Jake keeps talking. The car stops, Jake pulling down the window when you finally open your eyes, seeing that you were sitting in the drive-thru line at Dunkin. “God, I love you,” you say, leaning over and kissing his cheek, a smile covering his face.

“Who’s paying, you or me?” he asks, not letting you answer due to the voice of the cashier inside coming through the speaker to take your order. Two small coffees, enough to hold you over for the drive to the airport before you get more coffee once you’re through the gate. He looks at you as you stare down at your phone, having to check your bank account to see if you even had the money to begin with. “I’ll pay for both,” he says, a calm tone covering her voice.

Money for you was tight. You had never really struggled to pay your bills and your share of the utilities, but you definitely didn’t have the amount of extra cash that Jake did because of the seemingly never-ending student loan payments you were making. “I’m sorry,” you say, taking the coffee from him so he can get to driving again. You hated having the money conversation; no matter who you talked to, they always seemed to bring up the fact that your NHL player boyfriend made more money in a single season than you had seen in your entire life. It always left things awkward, as the implication of you being a gold digger hung in the air between you and the person you were having a conversation with. “I can probably transfer some money from my savings for extra stuff, but I had really only planned on buying a few meals and a few other trinkets for my family,” you admit, staring at the low number that showed in your checking account.

“Hey,” he says, resting his hand on your thigh, not taking his eyes off the road, “It’s fine. Anything you want, I’ll pay for it.” You smile at him, hoping he couldn’t tell from the corner of his eye that it wasn’t sincere. That was another thing you hated: other people covering for you. You grew up being taught that if you didn’t have money for it, you either didn’t pay for it until you had the money yourself, or you forewent it entirely. Having to worry about paying someone back was unnecessary stress in your life. Or, if they were like Jake, then they would insist it was their treat, not taking the money you owed them no matter how much it was.

You look out the window, the empty, tree-lined highway lighting up as the sun rose over it, the sky turning from the dark purple night to a brilliant orange right in front of you. You had never been one to wake up for the sunrise, taking in the sight for what was probably the first time in your life. “It’s so beautiful,” you say, taking a sip of your coffee, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this calm and quiet before.”

“I’ve seen one thing more beautiful than this,” he says, a huge smile on his face.

“What?” you ask, bracing him for the cheesy comment you knew he was going to make.

“You,” he says, proudly, trying to find your hand without looking away from the road, bringing it to his lips before connecting his back to the wheel.

“God,” you moan, both of you laughing, “That was so corny.”

“Well, they call me Chef JD, gotta have some corn sometimes,” he says, resulting in you screaming.

“I will in fact leave you if you say something like that again,” you tell him.

“Yeah? Where would you live, then?” he teases, immediately regretting his words, “Fuck, sorry.”

“I’d figure something out,” you tell him, trying to match his teasing tone so that he doesn’t think you took it the way you did. The rest of the ride to the airport is in silence, you both finishing your coffee as you pull up, seeing some of the guys getting their stuff out of their car at the same time. “Hey, aren’t international flights normally at night?” you ask Jake, Charlie, and Matt coming over to help you guys get your bags.

“Bergy booked the flight for all of us and we don’t question him,” Charlie says, pulling Jake away from you, the two of them wandering into the airport with Kylie trying to keep up with her own boyfriend

“It should be more concerning to all of you that he has to act like your father,” you say to Matt, walking with him to security. Besides Jake, you were closest to Matt. He adopted you as a pseudo younger sister, the one who knew just as much, if not more about you than your boyfriend.

Matt shrugs, watching Charlie and Jake mess around with each other in line in front of you, “It just kind of happened that way. None of us ever questioned it, like Chuck said.” The two of you watch the boys, bickering about something as they seemingly all forget their girls were standing right around them. You and Matt fall into a mundane conversation, watching Jake and Charlie together as they pass through security. The five of you gather your things, trying to find which way your gate was so you could meet the rest of the guys before boarding the flight.

Matt figured out that you were supposed to head to the left, so naturally, Jake and Charlie veered right, leaving you and Kylie with all their stuff to lug to the gate. “Where are they going?” you ask Kylie, dumbfounded as you struggle to carry Jake’s bag along with your own stuff.

“Charlie mentioned he was hungry on the way here, so I’m just hoping that’s where they’re going,” she mutters, “Dealing with all of them together is like herding cats,” clearly as cranky as you were earlier that morning as you try to stifle your laughter. Just like you, Kylie was not a person to interact with before she had caffeine in her, one of the reasons the two of you got along so well.

You get to the gate, Jake and Charlie nowhere to be seen even though you were suddenly surrounded by the rest of the Bruins roster. From the looks of the waiting area, the flight was mostly the guys and their families, and thankfully so: you would hate to be on a plane with the Bruins organization if you were outside the organization itself. You loved the boys, but god, they were loud and annoying sometimes. Everyone else on the plane would definitely hate the group, but they didn’t care. The city was fueled by the hate of everyone who wasn’t them.

Jake and Charlie finally reappear, more coffee and now food in hand. Jake hands you what he got you as you reposition yourself so you’re sitting cross-legged on the seat, slightly uncomfortable due to how scrunched up you were so you could face him. You lean over, kissing his cheek before you start eating

He turns his head to smile at you as you catch him off guard and kiss him again. “What’s this for?”

“I don’t tell you enough that I appreciate you,” you say to him, taking a bite of the breakfast sandwich he got you.

Jake smiles at you, turning himself so he faces you. He wraps his hand around the back of your neck, gently pulling you towards him so he can kiss your forehead, mumbling something you can’t quite make out against your skin. Charlie starts chirping Jake over something, resulting in him leaving you to go argue with his teammates. You can’t help but smile as you watch Jake and his teammates. You knew he loved them, just like they loved him.

“You didn’t have coffee in you when I was talking to you before and you were actually pleasant?” Matt plops down next to you, taking your attention away from Jake.

You roll your eyes at him, even though you knew he was right, “Shut up, Gryz. Jake and I stopped for coffee on the way here. This is round two,” you say, raising the cup to him. The two of you watch some of the younger guys aggregate around Jake and Charlie, Jake telling them some story while they hang onto every word of his, laughing their heads off with every sentence. “God, he loves you guys.”

“Yeah, but you know he loves you more,” Matt says, nudging your shoulder.

“I think he loves Oreos more than he loves me sometimes,” you joke, knowing that it’s not true. Hoping that it’s not true, more like it.

“Trust me, JD loves three things in this order: you, hockey, then Oreos. He loves you more than he loves hockey. Nothing you can do will change that.”

You both laugh, the announcement for your flight to board interrupting the noise the rest of the guys were making. Jake rushes over to your side, picking up the bags both of you were planning on bringing onto the plan, practically pushing Matt out of the way. He kisses you on the cheek, a soft smile on his face.

“What?” you ask him, linking your arm in his.

“I love you,” he says, getting in line behind some of the guys.

“I love you, too,” you say, leaning your head against his arm.

“Ready for seven hours on a plane with these fools?” Jake asks, using his other arm to gesture to the rest of his teammates.

“I’m only ready because you’re with me,” you say to him in a sing-songy voice.

“Woah! So you can be corny, but I can’t?” he jokes, sending you two into a flirty bickering match as you board the plane with everyone. You get settled into your seats, resting your head on his shoulder to hopefully fall back to sleep despite the amount of caffeine coursing through your veins. You can hear the guys talking around you, probably annoying the rest of the passengers on the flight more than they intended.

You end up in that half awake-half asleep state while on his shoulder, the sounds of the rest of the guys fading in and out as you did. You could feel Jake occasionally kissing the top of your head, resting his on yours in an effort to go to sleep like you were. Both of you were woken up by the sound of the flight attendant coming through with food, the long flight warranting a hot meal, you and Jake being handed something different than the rest of the people around you.

“What is it?” you whisper to him once the flight attendant has passed by you.

“None of the free meals looked good so I got us something different,” he says, taking a bite of what looked like chicken covered in some sort of sauce.

“We could have just done the free meal so you wouldn’t be paying for me again,” you mumble, a little annoyed that he didn’t even ask when paying for food made things awkward earlier that morning.

You sit there in silence, eating the food that Jake bought you. Honestly, it was airplane food, not something that you had even wanted in the first place but you couldn’t let it go to waste now.

“I think I’m gonna go sit with Charlie,” Jake says, getting up without saying another word once the food is gone, leaving you to sit there by yourself with the other people in the row.

You try to find something to watch on the screen in front of you, only to be interrupted by Matt appearing and Jake’s seat, startling you as you rip out the headphones you had on while the first movie available was starting to play. “Your boy just kicked me out of my seat by sitting on top of me.”

You can’t help but laugh, picturing the other passengers' reactions around then as the grown men that were Jake and his teammates acted like absolute children. “I don’t know what’s worse: the fact that he did that or that fact that I’m not shocked that he did that.” You watch him with Charlie, your smile fading as his grows.

“Hey, what’s up?” Matt asks, pulling your attention away from Jake.

“Same argument that we haven’t really fought over yet.” Matt was the only one on the team that knew about the seemingly never-ending awkwardness that surrounded you and Jake when it came to money. “It’s not getting worse, but it’s more frequent. I’m just worried we’re gonna end up blowing up at each other and losing each other in the process,” you tell him, fixating on the screen in front of you.

You hear him exhale, looking over to see a sad look on his face. A single lock of hair falls down in front of his forehead, moving along with the rest of his head, “Couples fight. I don’t want to tell you that you should have this argument this weekend, but you have to talk about it. And I mean really talk about it, not just the vague undertones you two constantly have dancing around the subject.”

You stare at him, slightly confused at how something like that came out of him, “I don’t like how you said that so eloquently,” you laugh, Matt throwing his head back to join you.

“But you know I’m right,” he says.

You roll your eyes. “Yeah, yeah,” you huff, waving him off.

Without another word, he hands you his other earbud, starting a movie on his screen that would hopefully last the rest of the flight. You rest your head on his shoulder to get a better view of the screen, picturing Jake in his place.

You didn’t remember falling asleep, but you must have at some point because the next thing you know, the movie is over, the plane is about to land, and Matt is trying to get you off his shoulder so he can get back to his seat. “Hey, Y/N,” he whispers, nudging his shoulder gently. “Jake’s coming back,” he says, acting as if he didn’t want to get caught with you asleep next to him.

“Hi,” you yawn, rubbing your eyes as he plops back down in his seat, him kissing your cheek as you now struggle to stay awake. “It’s like, the middle of the night now, isn’t it?” you ask him, having no idea the time difference between Boston and where you were.

“I think it’s like 10 pm. I didn’t realize I was dating an old woman,” he jokes, pulling a laugh from you.

“You wear me out, babe,” you say, everyone getting up from their seats, the boys making more noise than anyone on the plane as people anxiously waited to get off.

“And you keep me young,” he says, giving you a quick peck before handing you your bag.

You hear someone groan behind you, turning to see Matt standing there already waiting for the two of you to move out of his way. “I’m not going to hang out with you if you’re like this the entire trip” he teases.

You can’t help but scoff, playing into the teasing nature of his comment. “Sorry, bubs, you’re the only one who didn’t bring a date so that makes you our third wheel.”

“I could third wheel any of the guys here and you know that,” he tries to defend himself as Jake grabs your hand and starts to pull you off the plane.

“That’s a weird thing to brag about,” you tell him, the three of you walking in a line to go get your bags, you and Matt carrying a conversation while Jake stands off to the side, not paying attention to the movement of the unfamiliar airport around him.

Everyone waits outside for whatever transportation Patrice had arranged to the hotel, still unsure how he swung any of the details he did. The guys had way too much energy considering how many hours they spent cooped up on a plane. You were exhausted, the coffee practically gone from your system as you tried to convince Jake to just go back to the hotel room with you and spend the night in. “Please?” you beg him, draping yourself on his arm as he waited to get your room keys.

“But the guys want to explore the city,” he whines, jutting his lip out to you.

“I have no more coffee in me,” you whine back. He pouts at you, contemplating whether or not it’s worth it to try to convince you to stay in or go explore with the guys. “I will do anything you want.”

He raises his eyebrows, pulling you close to him, “Anything?” he asks, forgetting the guys surrounding you as he kisses you, his grip around your waist tightening as his teammates start teasing the two of you.

“Hey, JD! Save that for the bedroom!” Matt chirps, your face turning bright red at his words.

“Ah, fuck off and let me love her,” he says, his forehead against yours. “I think I like the sound of the bedroom.”

You ignore the chirps from the boys as he kisses you again, the heat in your cheeks not subsiding until the two of you get to your room. “Are you sure you don’t want to go out with the guys? Apparently, the nightlife is supposed to be awesome in the city,” Jake says, flopping down on the bed. You had been there all of two seconds, and he was already starfished on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling.

You sigh, sitting down next to him. “I told you I don’t want to go out,” you repeat, a little more annoyed than you intended to sound. “I’m tired, and when we go out, we’re going to end up spending more money and-” you stop, cutting yourself off as Jake sits up.

“Hey,” he says, taking your hands in his, “I told you I would pay for you. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is, though. To me it is. I don’t need you to keep paying for me for everything. I don’t want you to.”

“What’s the big deal?”

Were you really about to have the fight you and Matt talked about on the plane in your hotel room? “Don’t you get it? You have so much money while I’m constantly struggling to make ends meet because of fucking loans. Do you know what it’s like to be a grown adult and live off someone else's money, the constant looks from people when I talk about you that say they think I’m just dating you for your money? That unless you’re home and go grocery shopping for us, I have to choose between food and gas until you get back? All I am is a fucking burden.”

“What, you think I don’t know about all of that? Why do you think I pay for you? So you don’t have to worry about food and gas,” he says, getting up.

“And I hate that you do that!” you snap, “That you feel like you have to. It’s like a slap in the face that I can never pay for anything and you have to pay for everything.”

“So what do you want me to do? Stand by and watch you struggle when I have the means to help you?” The volume of his voice matched yours, hearing doors in the hallway opening and closing, praying that it wasn’t other guests trying to figure out what room the screaming match was coming from.

“I don’t mind if you help out once in a while when I really need it but it’s stuff like the second round of Dunkin’ when I could barely get the first, the meal on the airplane when they give out free ones, or when you keep asking to go out, knowing that we’re going to spend money after I told you no.” Jake rolls his eyes, pushing past you and out the door. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going out with the guys. You want something, you can get it yourself, see if I care,” he hisses, leaving you standing there with the door propped open by your foot, watching him walk away. Matt gets off the elevator when he tries to get on, saying something you can’t make out when the elevator door closes.

“What the hell happened?” Matt asks, looking between you and the elevator.

You shake your head, trying to hold back the tears that were forming, knowing that there were other people in the hallway that had just witnessed the end of whatever that was. “Remember the fight you said we would have? We just had it,” you tell him, flopping down on your bed with your hands over your face. You let out a long groan, feeling the weight of Matt’s body sink the corner of the mattress down. You knew he was giving you that sympathetic look that was going to make you more upset, feeding into your already upset nature just that much more.

“What happened?” Matt repeats.

“We just finally snapped. God, of all places to have a stupid fight like this, we have at the night before your teammate is supposed to get married. I mean, fuck, we’re in Barcelona, for god's sake and you and I are here watching me mope instead of exploring like we should be.”

“Well, who says we can’t?”

“My bank account.”

Matt pries your hands off your face, forcing you to sit up despite you clearly not wanting to. “There’s so much to do in Barcelona at night that doesn’t involve spending money. We can find the guys no problem, probably doing something free.”

“And how do you expect we do that?” you ask him as he tries to drag you off the bed, grabbing the room key on the way out the door.

Matt waves his phone in the air, a smug look on his face. “I have the location of everyone on the team, past and present, on Find My Friends.”

You hesitate for a minute, your wallet and bag sitting right there by the door for you to grab to go join your boyfriend and his teammates and try to enjoy the night despite the fight you just had. “Matt,” you try to protest, your eyes darting back and forth between him and your bag. You didn’t want to worry about Jake on the night out, but you knew you couldn’t be spending a lot of money. You had been out with the guys too many times before when Jake promised they wouldn’t be big spenders, only to go home and have to worry about how you were going to survive to the next paycheck.

“If you want anything then I’ll pay for it and you pay me back with food or something. Y/N, Jake is wandering Barcelona with Charlie right now, probably just as upset as you are,” he tries to reason with you. “There’s no point in sitting here alone in your hotel room when you’re in a city that you’ve been talking about visiting for as long as I’ve known you.”

You let out a groan, knowing that he was right. “I can’t stand you,” you mumble, grabbing your bag and heading out the door with him.

Matt had his phone pulled out, trying to navigate the city based on a little dot that showed your boyfriend’s location. You had no idea where you were going, and, to be honest, you weren’t sure that Matt had any idea either. You had never been in a situation where the two of you had to wander through unfamiliar territory before, but something told you it was going to be a while before he figured out how to get to the rest of the guys.

“Matt, this is useless. We’ve been walking around for over an hour already,” you tell him, sitting down on the bench that was just off the path you had been taking.

“It hasn’t been an hour, you’re being dramatic.”

Matt sits down next to you as you pull out your phone. “We left the room at 10 pm. It’s 11. That’s an hour,” you snap at him, clearly hating that you can’t find them. “I just want to see Jake,” you mutter.

“Have either of you calmed down enough to have an actual conversation with each other? You know, not a screaming match?” Matt asks you, watching the small dots that represented his teammates move around his phone screen. “If you want to try to figure out your way around here, when neither of us speaks the language to ask for directions, we can. If not, we go back to the hotel.”

You stare at his phone, seeing JD, CM, TF, two JS’s, and a DP altogether, somewhere off the road where neither of you were able to figure out how to get to them. You shake your head, thinking about Matt’s words: you weren’t sure you were cooled off enough to talk to Jake rationally, and you had a feeling he was still the same. “Let’s just find our way back to the hotel,” you tell him, getting up off the bench.

You look at Matt, the look of sympathy covering his face as he follows you back the way you came. You probably could have easily found Jake and the rest of the guys, working out whatever the hell you needed to before the wedding tomorrow. If you couldn’t work it out, what did that mean for your future, though? If you didn’t live with Jake, you would be struggling way more than you were now, probably living paycheck to paycheck without the luxury of everything Jake did for you.

Were you wrong to be mad that he was trying to help?

The two of you get back to the hotel, the empty lobby eerily echoing with your footsteps on the marble floor. You hadn’t even noticed it before, the hotel you were staying at was probably the nicest one you had ever set foot in. You were tempted to sit on one of the chairs in the lobby, wait there for Jake and the rest of the guys to come back despite the fact that they would probably be drunk off their asses when you saw them.

Matt puts his hand on your arm, snapping you out of your thoughts. “Do you want to stay down here and wait?” he asks you, reading your mind, “Or, do you want to go back to either your room or mine?”

“I don’t want to impose,” you try to protest.

“So, you’d rather go back to an empty room and wallow alone instead of sitting on my bed, eating ice cream, and watching a movie,” he tempts you, raising his eyebrows with his offer.

“I don’t want ice cream.”

Matt scrunches his nose, letting out a laugh. “I never said the ice cream was for you. It’s summer, I can cheat on the nutrition plans a little more right now.”

He manages to pull a laugh from you, the two of you heading up to his room. You plopped yourself on his bed, your hands behind your head while you couldn’t take your mind off Jake. You really didn’t want him to be as miserable as you felt, but part of you also did want that. Was that bad?

You knew you had to set boundaries. You knew you couldn’t live without him, both financially and in life in general.

“You know,” Matt says, pulling you out of your thoughts yet again, “The guys are back here at the hotel. If you wanted to go back to your room, I’m sure you could talk to him now.”

You roll over, your back facing Matt. “I don’t think he would want to talk to me.”

Matt sighs, lying down next to you and staring up at the ceiling. “Like I told you in Boston, Jake loves you more than anything. If I know anything about him, he’s just as miserable as you are, probably back in your room panicking about where you are.”

You turn to him, narrowing your eyes. “This is your way of trying to get me out of here before the ice cream comes and you feel like you have to share with me, isn’t it?”

You both laugh, sitting up to get ready to go. “Oh, of course.”

You head out, opening the door, caught off guard by who was standing there. “Jake?”

He shoves his hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet. “I thought you would be here.” You nod, both of you standing there in an awkward silence as you held the door to Matt’s room open. You didn’t know if you should speak first or wait for Jake to do it, and apparently, he felt the same.

“As much as I love just staring at you two,” Matt breaks the silence. “Would you be able to do this with my door closed? You can be in here, but,” his voice trails off. He wasn’t sure he wanted to hear whatever it was you were about to talk about even though he already knew.

“We’ll see you tomorrow,” you tell him, letting his room door close behind you as Jake took your hand in his, leading you down the hall to your room.

You don’t say anything until you get into your room, both of you sitting at the foot of the bed.

“I’m sorry I got mad,” he says, his hand still in yours but unable to look at you.

“I’m sorry I got mad,” you repeat, for lack of better words to say. “We need boundaries. I get that you want to pay for things, but I need you to ask me before you do, especially if it’s something we don’t necessarily need.”

“Ok,” he draws out, trying to figure out how to frame his words. “Would you be ok with asking me for help when you need it? You know I can help you, and it kills me seeing you struggle when I have the means to make this stop.”

“I just want you to ask.”

He smiles at you, raising his hand to cup your face. “I will,” he says, his lips finding yours for a soft, sweet kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

You spend the rest of the night together, trying to figure out boundaries of what and when Jake can lend you money, what should be paid back, what he doesn’t want back, everything. It was the conversation you should have had years ago, yet never did.

The next morning, you get ready for his teammate's wedding, slipping on the dress, your back towards Jake while he put on his suit. “Can you zip me up?” you ask him while he adjusted his sleeves.

He comes up behind you, his fingers holding the small zipper and slowly pulling it up your back. Jake wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you in front of the mirror hung on the wall of the room, his head nestled on your shoulder. “I can’t wait until we get married.”

You laugh, craning your neck to kiss the side of his head. “That’ll be an expensive day, won’t it,” you joke.

“Yeah, maybe. But spending the rest of my life with the girl I love? That’s priceless.”

[milkacchan]

Request for anon: Can I have Present mic, Aizawa, and all might where they learn their young student is fatherless? Like... their father walked out/went to prison when they were young. I'm sorry if this is time consuming, but I can't stop sobbing over my father.

I'm the situation baby but remember it wasn't your fault

I changed it up a little bit with Mics- I hope you don't mind

Present Mic:

• from the getgo something was wrong

• The moment you walked into class he could tell

• You looked like shit

• Dark bags under your eyes, hair messily brushed, just to get it out if your face, and your eyes were a light red.

• You didn't look particularly happy to be there either

• something turns in his stomach, a gut feeling that something really had went down

• And he hated seeing his students upset

• but he was relatively close to you to begin with, his felt different

• He felt like he had to do something

• Everyone settled into their seats as the bull rung but his eyes remained on you

• You honestly didn't pay attention during the lesson

• He could tell as much

• class finishes and the bell rings but you sit still, and it's not until most of the students have trickled out of the room do you start packing up

• He walks over and kneels in front of the desk "You okay there? You don't look so good," he looks concerned and his heart drops when he sees your lip start to quiver

• It takes you 0.27 seconds to break and you're frantically wiping your eyes as sobs wrack your body

• He's got his arms wrapped around you in seconds and you're leaning into his shoulder.

• He isn't sure exactly how long you're crying for but eventually you calm down enough to get out a coherent sentence

• "My-My dad was arrested Friday night. He won't tell me why- he won't let anyone else tell me why and I don't know what else to do," you cry, "I miss him so much and its only been a few days- I don't- I don't have anyone else, Mr. Hazashi,"

• And you're crying again.

• He has you take the rest of the day off, in fact he takes the day with you

• He calls in a sub (you don't know what strings he had to pull for that but you don't ask, at this point you don't care) and you two dip

• He takes you to get food, real food, that'll make you feel better

• He knows that'll help a little

• and after that he takes you to get something sweet- that tends to help mood and blood pressure and anxiety

• So he does his best with you

• He nutures you the best way he knows how

• if you need anything and I mean ANYTHING this man has you covered

• He does his best to step up in any way he can

• first off he extends his assignment deadlines and cancels two tests. Who needs them anyway.

• And you eat lunch in his classroom because he can well tell you don't want to talk to anyone else right now

• He closes it off (seemingly) so in reality its just you and him

• He'll probably tell Aizawa too but on the downlow (just so he knows)

• When holidays roll around, the dorms close.

• In this case- he let's you stay with him. He has an extra bedroom. He doesn't want you to stay in an empty house.

• You also get his phone number (which you gladly use) for anything really

• Bored? He'll deliver some shitty puns.

• Confused about homework? Text him.

• having a mental breakdown? He's got you covered.

• You got memes? Please for the love of God send them to him.

• The dynamic eventually shifts to a VERY father daughter relationship.

• He knows he'll never replace your dad. He understands that wholeheartedly, but he wants you to have someone

• He actually gets a letter from your dad, thanking him for taking care of you

• but he really doesn't mind

Aizawa:

• He had a feeling that there was something going on at home. Or rather, a lack of something.

• He's dealt with it in the oast- with himself and with past students and current ones

• Shinsou

• I mean, aside from that fact whenever parents were mentioned, you'd either stiffen up or wrinkle your nose

• You didn't really like the subject of parents

• There was an essay prompt about parents (nothing too personal) nd you ended up writing it on the extinction of dinosaurs and why God fucked up instead

"It'd be absolutely stellar to see huge lizards roaming the earth and occasionally stepping on people, you know? Jurassic park was onto something."

• Man's couldn't even fail you on it because it was written v well

• Anyway, he doesn't pry too much. He just silently figures it out by process if elimination and pattern.

• He doesn't really care too much

• In the sense if it doesn't define you and he doesn't help you because he pities you

• he helps you because he seems potential

• He takes you under his wing with shinsou

• Yall spend a whole summer training

• And that's when it all came out

• It was an accident really.

• Shinsou was tired, exhausted really

• and when people get tired- that tired- sometimes they spout random shot they wouldn't usually say

• and thats what he did

• he went on about his home life

• and if he could, you could too right?? You could trust them.

• "My dad walked out when I was a kid. Little, like 3. I have a few pictures of him holding me, but I guess it wasn't enough. I don't have any desire to meet him. Not anymore. But it left me feeling like I did something wrong? I guess? Which I suppose is why I train. Because then I feel strong. Which is a good difference from how it usually feels."

• He knew it.

• He called it.

• He was right again.

• He reassures you that you are good enough, strong enough, and his decision to leave had nothing to do with you

• and when he saw you give him a soft smile, he warmed.

• I mean really, it only goes up from there

• he'll deny it, or grumble under his breath, but he seems you two as his own

• Like these aren't my kids but they are my kids

• When dorms close on holiday yall get to stay because that's where he lives too

• Like if you chose too

• he's not gonna force you to stay but if you don't want to go home, you don't have too

• He has that power

• He will buy you food

• all you gotta do is ask

• and he'll roll his eyes and grumble something he doesn't really mean, just secretly happy that you feel comfortable enough around him to ask for something

• lmao family group chat

S: 'Hey Mr. Aizawa I found this cat. Hold on lemme send a pic'

A: 'Dont need a pic. Bring him home'

Y: 'What if he's ugly??'

A: 'gremlin. Bring him home.'

Or

Y: 'Hey I saw this tweet that said 'kids be like watch this and do a half roundhouse spin kick clap and waste my fucking time' and it make me think of you.'

S: @ mr. Aizawa when he has to watch deku do sumn

Y: Lmaoooo like when he threw the baseball

S: LMAOO

A: Me watching you too try to figure out how to beat me in training

Y: Yikes bro

S: That was a rough one

• Does he regret giving you and shinsou his number??

• Maybe

• Not really

• Lmao super secret lunch movie days

• Every week on wendesday yall watch a movie. Usually it takes 2 or 3 days to watch the movie since lunch is only 70 minutes

• @ you accidently calling him dad one day and shinsou snickering but it stuck

• dadzawa lmaoo

Allmight:

• Man's has 2 underlings.

• You and Deku.

• Picked you up when he started teaching at UA

• Ion know let's say one day you popped off bc he said some dumb shit and you were like no sir that's clearly wrong

• schooled him in his own damn subject

• the other kids were like 😳

• what the fuck

• Anyway

• He see's you have potential

• And though he's not the best teacher, you seem to respond better to the way HE was taught

• So tbh its easier to teach you

• 'okay, now I want you to beat the shot out if that wall,'

'Okay lmao bet'

• Midoriya is like, hey mayhaps we should analyze the situation

• N ur like noe

• You just don't give a fuck

• about anything really

• other than moving up the ranks

• But even then- its not a super super big deal, you're just gonna do your best but you aren't gonna stress

• However he noticed a pattern w you (even before Midoryia brought it up to him)

• You don't let anyone in

• Midoryia knows a bit more than the other students but that's really only because he's always with you

• a good majority of the week he's w you

• but its not really a deep connection

• you don't rely on either of them

• You do your best to do things on your own.

• He knows midoryias life story

• he knows why he acts the way he does

• but he doesn't know why you do

• he has a gut feeling it could be the same as midoryia

• I mean he already had one kid who's dad dipped

• he'll surely be able to figure out you too??

• So he makes himself a promise that he'll figure it out and he'll become someone you trust

• And he does just that

• When you tell him about your nightmare of a family history he's like mm, makes sense

• but he's happy that you trust him!!!

• He's a BIG suckered for movie nights

• he's got popcorn, snacks, candy, chocolate, soda- he's prepared

• list of movies lined out all ready

• I lowkey feel like he'd be into lord of the rings or fast n furious

• fast n furious at LEAST

• He's really into American action movies

• and he has no problem sharing those movies with you

• he doesn't have a whole ton of money, like he's not rich, but if you or midoryia need something he's definitely there to get it for you

• even if ur like fam no you don't need too

• he'll buy yell food a lot

• a l o t

• and cards

• when you and midoryia get him a father's day card he thinks he's gonna cry

• You guys also have a group chat

• 'da faemilee'

• Y: "Hey dad do you have milk?"

A: "???? Do I have milk????"

Y: "ya I'm looking in your fridge n ion see any???"

A: "How'd you even get in????"

Y: "Izuku."

I: "lmaoo"

Or

Y: Izuku you dumb bitch I left for ONE day

Y: And you got into a fight with Bakugou

I: He wanted to throw hands. I just did what you would do.

A: He's got you there

Or

A: What do you guys want for dinner

I: Sushi

Y: Chicfila

Y: Izu square up

I: K

Or

Y: Izu is fighting kacchow again

A: Beat his ass young midoriya

Y: Lmaoooooo

[happys-crazy-queen22]

A Fling With A Surprise

Gif credit @stilinski-ortiz-dolan

Gif credit @bodybebangin.

Requested by @stellarosedutton. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for the request.

My first Walker and Colby imagine. I hope it's okay.

"Go get grandpa". Your daughter, Amethyst Rose squealed running on her wobbly feet. She had just started walking and she is now on the go all the time.

"Paaaa". She stumbled and fell but got right back up.

"She's like her momma, doesnt cry when she falls". John chuckled as he picked her up. 

"Yeah, I was taught to be strong". You smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Your husband is down at the barn". John said looking away. He wasnt to fond of Walker. No one really was. But you saw something in him that no one else saw.

"I was just heading that way. Amethyst has a doctors appointment". You say before walking to the barn. Your father took Amethyst into the main house to spoil her even more than she is.

"Hey beautiful". Walker spoke before you even got into the barn.

"How do you always do that"? You giggle wrapping your arms around his waist from behind.

"I know your foot work".

"You ready? We gotta be there in thirty minutes".

"Yeah, let me go change my shirt and I'll meet you at the car". He kissed your temple and started to the cowboys bunk.

Going back up to the main house, you saw Colby talking with your father and Rip. Then you heard screaming and giggling coming down the steps of the house. Tate was chasing Amethyst and ran right past Colby.

You might think nothing of it but Amethyst is Colbys. You had a fling with him one night and never spoke about it since but then you got pregnant and just never told anyone that she was his. Then you met Walker when you were six months pregnant, got married four months later and he's been Amethyst dad. Oh I didnt mention that Colby never knew I was pregnant, I hid it from my family until I met Walker.

"Amethyst". You called after her and ran scooping her up. "Thanks for watching her dad.  I'll see you later". You didn't look at Colby as you walked away but his eyes were on Amethyst.

"Y/N, hold up". Colby called after you and now the cat was out of the bag.

"Yeah"? You gulped as he came closer. Amethyst laid her head on your shoulder sleepily.

"I know this might be off but um is she mine"? Colby scratched his chin, just gazing at Amethyst.

"Yeah".

"Why didnt you tell me"? Colby asked. He was wasnt upset or angry.

"You didnt speak to me after we hooked up. So I figured you were just ignoring me and staying away".

"It was awkward. Rip found me coming in late and I told him. He knows about us".

"I know. No one else knows. Not even Walker. I'd like to keep it that way. I don't want any riff between the two of you".

"So I'm supposed to let Walker raise my daughter"? Colby scoffed.

"She's my daughter". Walker scared you both. You seriously needed to work on your tracking.

"No, she's mine. I didnt get the chance to be there for her cause I didnt know". Colby protested.

"I'm on the birth certificate. She calls me daddy. I'm not confusing her. So stay away". Walker warned Colby but Colby being Colby and not backing down. Colby threw the first punch and smashed his fist into Walkers jaw.

Walker stumbled but striked back hitting Colby in the nose. You covered your daughters eyes.

John and Rip tried pulling the cowboys apart but they weren't letting each other go.

"Walker stop". You yelled. This was not how it was supposed to go when it happened or if at all.

A gun shot rang through the air. Rip stood there with his gun pointed to the sky. Colby and Walker panting. Their shirts ripped, faces mangled.

"Colby, get out of here now".

"But-". Colby tried to protest but Rip wasnt having it".

"Now".

"Get him out of here, Y/N". Your father told you and you grabbed Walkers hand pushing him into the car. The doctors appointment would have to wait.

Arriving at your house, you laid Amethyst down and patched up Walker.

"Why didnt you tell me"?

"It wasn't your business. Plus I didnt want to make it worse for you than it already is".

"It is my business. I'm your husband. I'm her father". Walker hissed when you put peroxide on his wound.

"I know. But now I'm thinking I should've told him. Gave him a chance to be a father figure in her life".

"I'm her damn father. No man is going to replace me". Walker hit the table. You jumped, you never seen him this mad. Walker got up and stormed out, slamming the door. Waking Amethyst.

You had to go see Colby. It wasnt right not having him know and now you felt guilty. Heading back to the ranch, giving Walker time to cool down. You went and saw Colby.

"Hey". You stepped threw the door. Rip, Ryan and Colby were talking.

"We're just leaving". Rip spoked, nodding to Ryan.

They came to you and Rip picked up Amethyst. "I'll take this". Rip said with a chuckle. Ryan giggled. They both adored her.

"You okay"? You bit the inside of your cheek.

"You should have told me. I would have been there". Colby sighed.

"I didnt know that. I was young. We both were. But that's no excuse. I should've told you". You walked over to the table and sat down beside him.

"I'm not trying to replace Walker as her father. I just want to be part of her life. She looks like me".

"She does. Has a smaller head then you though". You tease. Colby gasped and nudged your arm.

"I want to be there for her. Like I could babysit when you and Walker need a break. I just want her to know me. I dont have to be her dad. I can be an uncle".

"Yeah. She'd like that". You say with a smile.

"Can I be honest"? Colby looked into your eyes.

"Of course".

"When I saw her coming out of the house. I thought I was in a dream. It wasn't real. Like this little girl looked just like me. I was scared when you said she was mine. I wasnt ready to be a dad. I guess you saved yourself a hassle. Walker stepped up and I'm grateful for that cause he's probably doing a better job than I would have. I'm just not ready to take on that responsibility. I'm a horrible person". Colbys head hung low.

"Colby, you're not a bad person. I'm glad you told me this.  I'm relieved to say the least. She'll be honored to have you as an uncle. We'll just keep this between us six. No one else has to know". Your squeezed his arm.

"Thanks. I'm sorry".

"Nothing to be sorry over. We just deal with the hand we're dealt with. I'm a mom to an amazing little girl. You're going to be an awesome uncle".

"What about Walker? He'll kill me".

"Dont worry about him. I'll take care of that". You say with a smile. "But I need you to put those uncle skills to the test". You said with a smirk.

"Oh god, what have I gotten myself into"? Colby chuckled, shaking his head.

Deciding to leave Amethyst with Colby and the others for a few hours, you headed home. Hopefully by now Walker has cooled off.

Walking into the house, it was quiet. But you heard some rustling in the bedroom.

"Babe"? You called out, coming into the bedroom. Walker was laying on the bed shirtless and his pants unbuckled as if he was going to bed.

"Where's Amethyst"? Walker asked, taking the rolled up toilet paper from his nose.

"She's with her uncles".

"And her new daddy". Walker scoffed. "You here to get your things and move in with him"?

"No, you dipshit. I'm here to tell you that you're the only daddy she will ever know. Colby doesnt want that role. He's uncle Colby. He's thankful that you stepped up and took care of her. Of us". You replied, getting on the bed and sitting up beside him.

"He wouldnt just do that. He's crazy if he did".

"Baby, he got scared when he found out that she was his. He was just putting on a show. He doesnt want to ruin her life. You're daddy and he's uncle Colby. We're fine. Theres only six of us that know and we're all keeping quiet. Amethyst has a great thing going, none of us want to ruin it". You kiss his check quickly.

"Sorry, I got angry. I just didn't want him to step in and take away our bond. I didn't want to lose my family ".

"You're forgiven and you're never going to lose us". You moan, running your hand down Walkers chest, slipping your hand down his pants. "He's promised to babysit when we need a break". You whisper into Walkers ear as you nip at his ear lobe.

"I'm liking uncle Colby". Walked flipped you over on your back, his hands went to your clothed breast, squeezing them and then raking his fingers down your torso.

"Come here". You grabbed Walker by the back of his neck and pulled him to your lips. Walker shimmied out of his jeans and pulled your dress up around your hips.

"I love you so much". He grunted into the kiss as he pushed your panties to the side and thrusted in you.

"Fuck. I love you". You gasp, as he lifts your leg over his shoulder and thrusts in deep. He kissed up and down your leg. Your fingers pinch your hard nipple through your bra.

"Mmm. We should give Amethyst a sibling". Walker said way out of the blue.

"You serious"? You panted, licking your lips.

"Why not"?

"No reason". Your head fell back as the tip of Walkers cock, brushed against your gspot.

"I'm taking that as a yes". He growled, speeding up his pace. He wrapped his arm your neck and kissed you deeply with passion and lust. This little break, you could get use to it.

While Walker and you were deciding on a sibling or not. Amethyst was having the time of her life. Colby was playing tea party with her and making mud pies. He was making mud pies. She was throwing them at her other uncles as they watch.

"She's going to need a bath. A hosing off before she goes home". Lloyd chuckled.

"I'm not sure I'm fit for that. I agreed on watching her. Not putting her in water and trying not to let her drown". Colby said a little scared. The others laughed.

"Just take the water hose and rinse her off. Itll be alright". Ryan suggested.

Colby of course listens to them and starts to wash Amethyst off, well he lays the water hose down and she happily picks it up and starts spraying everyone. Theres laughter and screaming as they got sprayed.

"What's going on here"? Walker came up to the water hose party.

"He did it". Ryan, Lloyd and Jimmy all pointed to Colby who was soaked from head to toe.

"Great job". Walker shaked his head. Colby frowns. "Baby, put down the hose, please". Walker walked slowly up to Amethyst and snatched the hose away.

"I'm sorry. I'm not fit for this". Colby sighed.

"No. You're not. But she's having fun and she's alive. That's all that matters. Y/N and I have a date night every Friday night. You're going to watch Amethyst for us. Just try and not burn down our house". Walker laughed, sticking out his hand.

Colby smiled and shook it. "No promises.  Thanks Walker".

"Sure. Oh and clean this mess up. See y'all tomorrow". Walker picked up his muddy little girl and headed home. This was the life for everyone. Didnt matter how it got this way. It just is and theres no use in fixing something that isn't broke.