#i looked around noticed other buildings close by and there was traffic surrounding the buildings (like cars and such

[idgafabyou]

umm i dreamt. do not recommend

[fwckriley]

Just a suggestion but how about a fic where Ghost is incredibly protective over the reader but doesn’t realise it’s because he’s actually in love with her

Simping for this man I swear 🧎‍♀️

The Trials and Tribulations of Being in Love Pt 1.

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Pairing: Simon “Ghost” Riley x Reader

Word Count: 4.098

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He shouldn't have come. This mission was hers, and hers alone. When they told her that Ghost had requested to accompany her on the mission, at first she felt angry, but after they embarked together, that feeling diminished. It was comforting to have someone familiar by her side, of course, she would never admit to him that she was grateful. She and Ghost had participated in previous missions together. However, as much as his presence pleased her, she was still angry that he had interfered in her mission. She refused to talk to him, but he didn't seem affected. Honestly, he even seemed to like it.

She was assigned to investigate an international arms trafficking led by a dealer whose identity was unknown. Her task was to find out who the dealer was, where he was, and to prevent the sale of weapons into the hands of Iranian military.

They had just landed at Tengah Air Base in Singapore. As she and Ghost got off the aircraft, the hot sun of Singapore hit their faces, indicating it was already late. The heat was strong, but there was a gentle breeze that made the weather pleasant. Tengah Air Base was bustling, with many people coming and going. Planes took off and landed, generating a deafening noise that seemed never to cease. There was a crowd of uniformed military personnel running back and forth, transporting equipment and luggage. Some were waiting in line to board one of the planes. Others chatted in groups, laughing and smoking. Some civilian workers in orange uniforms carried boxes and equipment into one of the hangars, while a supply truck entered the base, raising clouds of dust. Soon, a local-looking man greeted them with a polite gesture and signaled for her and Ghost to follow him. He led them to a discreet black car parked near the runway and opened the door for them to get in. The inside of the vehicle was cool and comfortable, a relief from the heat outside.

The agent seemed nervous, gripping the steering wheel tightly as he tried to maintain small talk, but his voice trembled with anxiety. Ghost remained silent, seeming lost in his own thoughts, his face expressionless. Meanwhile, she answered a question or two with disinterest, looking out at the urban landscape passing by. The tall buildings of Singapore rose majestically in the distance, forming an imposing silhouette against the sky. The streets were filled with hurried cars, blaring horns, and pedestrians rushing to escape the chaotic traffic.

Upon arriving at the hotel, which was half an hour away from the city, she and Ghost headed to their assigned room. The environment was simple, with rustic wooden furniture and white walls, without great luxuries or extravagant decorations. She observed the room, noticing details such as the two single beds with white sheets and a small built-in closet in the wall. Upon closing the door to the room, she sighed deeply, feeling the fatigue from the long flight and the confusion of time zones. Her eyes wandered around the room, noticing the open window and the fresh breeze that came in, bringing with it the scent of the forest. With a quick movement, she threw her bag on the bed and turned to Ghost, who was organizing the baggage in the room. He had taken most of her baggage. She didn't even argue against it.

"It's not the best room I've ever stayed in, but it's better than nothing," she commented with a smirk. Ghost simply nodded his head without saying a word.

She approached the window, admiring the vast green expanse of the forest that stretched out before her. The sun still shone brightly in the sky, giving a golden hue to the surroundings. With her hands resting on the windowsill, she felt the breeze hit her face, bringing a slight relief. Turning around, she walked towards her bed, pulling out the black folder she had brought with her. With agile fingers, she carefully opened it, revealing the detailed information about the arms trafficking operation that was inside. Her eyes quickly scanned the pages, absorbing every detail.

She looks at Ghost and asks, "So, what do you have in mind?"

"We need a contact in Singapore, someone who can give us information without raising suspicions."

She crosses her arms and retorts sarcastically, "Oh, is that all? That easy?"

Ghost turns around and faces her.

"No, it's not easy. That's why you're here."

"Oh, and here I was thinking I was on vacation," she says sarcastically. He rolls his eyes and moves away, going to the window.

After a few minutes of silence, she looks at Ghost and says, "There's a guy I worked with once. I met him in..."

"Is he trustworthy?"

She shrugs.

"I trust him as much as I trust you."

Ghost snorted and turns his face back to the window, saying nothing.

"I'll call him and see what I can do," she replied as she got up from the bed and went to a more private place.

❖

After a few failed attempts, she finally managed to arrange a meeting at a bar in the city. When she returned to the room, she found Ghost sitting on the edge of the bed tinkering with his equipment. She approached him and informed him about the scheduled meeting.

"I got it. He wants to meet me at eight in a bar at Marina Bay," she said with a satisfied smile.

“Okay, I'll get ready,” Ghost replied, already getting up from the bed.

“You were not invited, Ghost,” she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

He looked at her as if challenging her to stop him.

"Ghost, seriously. First, he's my contact and a really difficult guy to deal with. He's going to be suspicious if someone he doesn't know shows up, especially if that person is six feet three inches tall and looks like a damn refrigerator wearing a weird skeleton balaclava." As she spoke, her tone of voice increased, not quite yelling, but her previous bad mood was becoming more evident. She stopped herself before continuing. "Second, they might recognize you. And nobody can know we have a SAS lieutenant here, got it? It'll ruin the mission."

He stared at her for a long time. She could see him struggling with his thoughts. After a few seconds, he simply shook his head and went back to tinkering with his gear.

"As you wish," he said emotionlessly. "But you'll keep me updated."

"I'll keep you updated," she repeated.

"And you'll behave. And if anything goes wrong, you'll let me know immediately and find shelter," he continued.

"Whatever you say, goes," she assured him.

He nodded. "Get ready."

And as ordered, she promptly started to get ready for the meeting. She dressed carefully, wearing a discreet outfit and no flashy accessories, so as not to draw attention from the regular customers of the bar.

As she entered the bar, she felt a bit anxious. The loud music mixed with the sound of lively conversations and glasses being placed on tables. The dim lights made it difficult to see the surroundings. She walked towards the counter, where she ordered a drink and observed the environment carefully. Small tables and uncomfortable chairs were filled with a variety of people. Minutes later, her old contact arrived at the bar and he immediately recognized her. He looked older, but equally handsome, his dark skin contrasting with his elegant purple suit. Not at all flashy, she thought. They greeted each other with a nod and sat at a more secluded table, where they could talk more privately.

❖

After the meeting, she returned to the hotel. Ghost was checking his weapons and communication equipment again, a habit he learned over the years in the SAS. He did it a thousand times during missions, always trying to make sure everything was perfect. The only illumination came from a weak and yellow lamp, leaving the room with a dark tone. His bed was full of guns. She entered the room, closing the door softly. He turned around abruptly, holding his pistol firmly. Their eyes met, and he lowered the gun as soon as he recognized her.

"It’s me," she identified herself. Ghost sighed and turned his attention back to his equipment, without offering any response or greeting.

She approached and sat at the table, where there were documents and maps spread out.

"So, what do we have?" he asked, without looking up from the equipment.

"He said the guy we're looking for is known as The Merchant, but he doesn't know how to find him. However, if we want to find out more, we could start by looking for the port of Singapore. Apparently, it's an important trafficking point," she explained, pointing to the map.

“Which means it’s heavily guarded.”

“Wouldn't be fun if it wasn't.” She said with a smile “There’s more. He said he heard that in two days a group of Iranian military officials will arrive to make the weapons purchase.”

“Matches up with the info Laswell gave me,” Ghost said.

“I can try to infiltrate the operation and gather more intel on the flow of weapons and how they’re being transported.” She proposed, confidently.

Ghost nodded in agreement.

“Not going to be easy,” he replied.

She looked at the map attentively, searching for a point of entry.

“Where do you think we can get in?”

“Through the fish loading dock, it's less monitored and gives access to the restricted area of the port,” Ghost suggested.

“And what about the Iranians arriving in two days?” she asked.

"We have to act fast. If we infiltrate now, there will be fewer people present and the darkness will give us an advantage. In the meantime, I'll stay in a strategic position, providing cover and support in case something goes wrong."

She nodded her head, already thinking about the details of the operation. She grabbed her computer and began analyzing the port images, looking for possible weak spots. Ghost approached, getting so close that she could feel the heat of his body. She tried to ignore it as much as possible and continued.

"I don't like this," said Ghost, pointing to one of the surveillance cameras in the port. "They have eyes everywhere."

"If we know where the cameras are, we can avoid them and move more easily."

"It's risky," said Ghost, "You'll have to be very careful..."

"Understood," she said, getting up. She began checking her weapons and equipment, while Ghost prepared his sniper rifle.

"Is everything ready?" she asked.

"Yes, what about you?"

She nodded her head.

"Then let's go."

The two of them left the hotel room and headed for the port of Singapore.

❖

It was midnight and the streets were practically deserted, with few cars circulating that part of the city. The port of Singapore was a few kilometers away and they headed there on foot.

"There's an observation point over there," Ghost said, pointing to a small building near the port. "I'm heading there."

"Great," she said, giving a mischievous smile. "Let's have some fun."

"Stay focused, agent. Security here is tight. One mistake and everything could go downhill."

"Yes, I know," she replied, with a more serious tone.

"Wait for me to give you the signal before you enter," Ghost said.

“Understood.”

“Take care of yourself. I don't want to have to carry your dead body around.”

“Oh, you're so sweet. I'm touched. Really.” She placed her hand over her heart in a theatrical gesture. He ignored her.

They parted ways and went in opposite directions.

When she arrived at the port, she successfully infiltrated it with Ghost's help in avoiding the security cameras. She crept through the shadows, avoiding the most brightly lit and crowded areas. With every step, she looked around, searching for signs of surveillance or alarms. Ghost silently accompanied her on the other side of the radio, giving precise instructions and alerting her to potential dangers only when needed. Typical, she thought.

The night was dark, with no stars in the sky. There was a cool breeze blowing, carrying with it the salty smell of the sea. The stacked containers reached impressive heights, creating a kind of maze. The port lights only partially illuminated the area, creating deep and dark shadows that moved with the wind. She walked quietly, staying low and hidden among the cargo.

Meanwhile, Ghost was stationed in a nearby building overlooking the port. The building he was in was old and had dirty, dusty windows. He used his sniper rifle to keep an eye on the entire area and provide cover for her. There was an open laptop next to him, flashing with real-time images from various security cameras scattered throughout the port.

"You've reached the entry point," he said through the radio. "There are no guards in the area. Enter and proceed forward."

She followed the instructions, advancing towards the entrance. When she arrived, she hid in the shadows and looked around, checking for any more guards or cameras.

"No sign of activity," she said, without pausing. "I'm entering now."

"Be careful," said Ghost.

She let out a mocking laugh.

"Don't worry, Ghost. I won't screw everything up."

"I hope not," he said, clearly annoyed.

"Relax," she said, trying to ease the tension. "I have everything under control."

He didn't respond. She knew he wasn't happy with the situation, but she couldn't help but find it funny.

"You know, Ghost," she said, the malice in her voice, "I love it when you're mad. Gets my blood pumping."

"Don't start with that now," he replied, in a warning tone.

She laughed again. "I know you like it."

He sighed and turned off the radio. She laughed again, feeling victorious. She knew she had managed to irritate him, but she also knew he would never leave her in danger.

"There's a guard coming your way. Get behind those containers," he whispered through the earpiece.

As she approached the heart of the port, activity increased. She noticed an area with reinforced security and armed guards, likely where the weapons shipments were kept. She knew she needed to get closer to get a clearer view. Carefully, she went unnoticed by security guards and walked through dark alleys, alert to any sign of danger.

"You're getting close to the restricted area," Ghost warned. "Be cautious."

She approached slowly, observing the guards' activity and patrol routes. Still hidden in the shadows, she prepared to move when the right moment came.

"There's a guard coming your way," Ghost whispered again.

She quickly hid and waited patiently as the guard passed, unaware of her presence. When he moved away, she advanced again. Finally, she reached the restricted area and peered through a crack in the crates. Inside, she saw a row of reinforced containers, guarded by several armed men. She focused on her breathing, remaining calm and focused.

"Are you seeing anything?" Ghost asked through the radio.

"They're guarding the weapons containers, just as we suspected," she whispered back.

"Okay, I'll cover you from here," Ghost said. "But be careful."

With Ghost's words in mind, she carefully planned her next move. She needed to get closer to get a clear view of what was inside the containers. Cautiously, she approached the entrance of the restricted area, always hiding in the shadows and avoiding the lights.

"Ghost, I think I found something. I'm going to investigate," she said to him through the earpiece.

Ghost remained in his position, watching her every move, ready to intervene if anything went wrong. Meanwhile, she advanced cautiously, dodging the henchmen and hiding behind crates and containers. She observed two men talking in hushed tones near a large green container. She approached stealthily, trying to listen in on what they were saying, but before she could get close enough, one of the men spotted her. The man was about to shout an alert when Ghost took him out. She drew her pistol and fired, hitting the other man squarely. She approached the green container and opened it carefully, finding a large quantity of weapons and ammunition, all American-made and bearing the seals of a US arms industry.

"They're trafficking American weapons to the Iranians," she whispered.

"Copy that. Get out of there fast. There's a group nearby," Ghost replied.

She carefully closed the container and moved stealthily through the port, remaining alert to every movement. Despite the orders to leave, she decided to hide and wait for the group to pass by her. She advanced cautiously, following the group from a distance, hiding behind crates and containers.

Ghost tried to persuade her through the earpiece to turn back and wait for a more propitious moment, but she ignored him. She arrived at a warehouse, where men were loading boxes onto a truck. She watched as they loaded the boxes onto the truck. Unlike the boxes in the container, these bore the flag of Germany.

"These weapons are German," she said to Ghost through the earpiece. However, he didn't respond. She tried to communicate with him a few more times, but still no answer.

That was when Ghost appeared by her side, surprising her.

"You shouldn't have come alone," he said in a reproachful tone. "You're putting your life at risk."

"I thought we could find out more, and guess what? I was right," she nodded towards the boxes marked with the German flag.

He held her arm tightly and pulled her close to him.

"Let's get out of here before we're discovered," he said urgently. "Several cars arrived with guards. Were you listening to me? I told you to wait."

He looked at her with anger. If she didn't know him, she could swear there was concern in his eyes.

"I was following a lead that I deemed important, and I was right. There are American and German weapons here," she replied, trying to justify her actions.

"You don't understand the gravity of the situation. Now we're surrounded," retorted Ghost, his voice growing louder. "Tell me, Y/N, how do you plan to get us out of here?"

He never called her by her first name. She opened her mouth to argue and closed it several times.

"I'll figure something out," she finally said.

"Oh, you'll figure something out. Are you going to teleport us?" he teased.

"You're being impossible, seriously."

"I'm only being impossible because you're being irresponsible," he countered.

The two continued arguing in a louder tone, until they caught the attention of the guards, who began to approach them. Ghost and her stepped back, but the guarda had already spotted them. They drew their guns and began shooting. One of them aimed in her direction, and Ghost quickly moved her aside. Quickly the guards went on alert.

He kept a firm stance and a serious expression as he moved with agility, trying to find cover between the boxes. She could feel her heart racing, adrenaline taking over her body. She tried to argue with Ghost, but he seemed to have taken the lead of the situation and didn't want to hear her suggestions.

"We don't have time for this now. We need to get out of here before they find us," said Ghost, trying to find a way out. "Let's go."

They moved quickly and managed to escape the location before the henchman reached them. As they ran through the port, shots echoed behind them.

"Damn the moment I decided to follow you!" Ghost shouted, still angry with her. "I told you it wasn't safe, but you never listen to me."

"I never asked you to come on this mission in the first place," she retorted, annoyed with him.

"If I hadn't come, you'd be dead by now."

"We won't get anything done if we keep blaming each other," she said.

"I'm not blaming us. I'm blaming you," he said before running towards a clear path to the left. Without hesitation, she followed him and both entered a maze of containers, using them as cover while exchanging shots with the henchmen.

One of the shots grazed her arm, making her groan in pain.

"Are you okay?" Ghost asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. Don't worry," she replied, trying to keep her voice steady as she reloaded her gun.

They kept moving, searching for an exit. The shots decreased, giving them a chance to catch their breath. They hid behind a container, regaining their breath and assessing the situation.

In a stroke of luck, she noticed an open gate and pointed it out to Ghost. He looked in the indicated direction and, without hesitation, started running towards it. She followed him, her quick steps echoing on the ground. The gate was huge. There was an armed guard standing in front of it, but for some reason, he seemed distracted. The open gate led to a wide road with many cars passing by. As they approached the gate, the guard finally noticed their presence and tried to close it, but it was too late. Ghost hit him with a knife, and he fell to the ground soon after.

They ran down the street trying to get rid of the guards who were chasing them. When they saw the entrance to the subway ahead, they approached it without hesitation and entered. People moved away, frightened, as they passed by. She couldn't help but think of the guards who were still chasing them, looking over her shoulder at all times to check if they were being followed. At one point, one of the guards managed to catch up to her and grab her, but she freed herself with an elbow strike to his rib and a kick to his stomach. In the midst of the confusion, she also managed to grab the cell phone of the guard who had grabbed her.

She looked at Ghost and spoke in a low and urgent tone:

"We need to find a way to get rid of them and get out of here."

"I agree," replied Ghost, watching the crowded platform of people coming and going.

They jumped the turnstile and ran to the train platform that was about to leave.

"Let's take the next train," she said to him. Ghost nodded in agreement.

They got on the subway car and concealed themselves amidst the crowd, blending in with the passengers. Glancing out the window, they saw the guards running towards them. The subway car was packed with people, all squeezing together for space. The air was permeated with a mix of sweat and metal. She and Ghost blended themselves in with the passengers. The guards showed up on the opposite end of the subway car, scanning around. Then, the gunfight erupted. Gunshots reverberated through the subway car, and the passengers shrunk in fear, trying to find a secure place to shield themselves. She and Ghost attempted to dodge the bullets and retaliate, but swiftly realized they were outnumbered. They spotted an emergency door close by and didn't think twice before trying their luck. With a shove from Ghost, the door swung open, and they hurled themselves into the dark tunnel, clueless of where they were headed.

Finally, they saw an entrance to a ventilation duct and crawled inside, trying to hide. Her hearts were still beating, and her breaths were tired as she and Ghost recovered from the escape.

The ventilation duct was dark and narrow, but it would do. She and Ghost squeezed into the tight space, trying to find a more comfortable position. The air was stuffy and dusty. She looked at Ghost and saw that he had a tense expression, probably still processing what had happened. They fell silent, listening to the sound of their own breaths and trying to detect any sounds that could indicate the presence of the guards. Time seemed to pass slowly, and she wondered how long it would be safe to stay there. After half an hour, Ghost spoke:

"You ruined everything. You could have gotten us killed."

"We're running against time, it seemed like a good idea to try and find out more intel. I didn't have a choice."

"You always have a choice," Ghost retorted. "You could have waited for more information, for a better plan. But no, you always have to do things your way and on your own time."

She sighed. She knew she had made a mistake, but she couldn't change what had already happened.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking down.

"I hope so," he said.

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if you've read this far, thank you so much for your patience!!! i know there are mistakes, both in typing and in english, but please keep in mind that english is not my native language. I hope you enjoyed it. ❥ ❥ ❥

[think-like-a-poet]

THE BAR OF LOVE

Seb owns a club in central London. One day the car of the two friends, Logan and Oscar, breaks down. Walking inside the club 'Vettle' they did not know that they would get intertwined with all of their drama.

A/N: Contains, Lestappen. Landoscar, Carlando, Yukierre and more.

-

It was a rainy day in central London, like it was most of the times in the city. The streets were gray and the lights were on. Everywhere you looked, you could see people seeking for cover under umbrellas, their faces bent down against the rain. The sound of dripping water and the traffic filled the air, everyone hurrying to get home.

Oscar and Logan were no exception. They stood under the light of a small street lamp, trying to stay dry as they surveyed the broken-down car. Oscar held an umbrella above his own head and Logan's, struggling to keep it from turning inside out in the strong wind. Logan knelt down beside the car, his eyes scanning the motor as if it was going to magically fix itself. "I don't see what's wrong, we need to get it to the garage," he muttered, his voice muffled by the fabric of his sweater.

Oscar shook his head, water dripping from his hair. "I don't think any garages are open anymore this time. Maybe we should just get a hotel room and get it fixed tomorrow." He closed the hood of the car and took a step back, his eyes scanning the surrounding streets for any sign of life. But everything seemed deserted, as if the rain had chased away even the most hardy of souls.

" Can we just go to a bar? I fancy a drink after this day." Logan gets off from the groan and pets of his pants. The two friends had been on a road trip through Europe for weeks now, and things had been going awry from the start. They had arrived in Belgium with half their luggage missing, thank the airport for that. And then there was the fake apartment in Italy, which they had only discovered when they arrived at the address and found themselves staring at the brick wall. Logan's laptop had gone missing during their stop in Spain, and they had spent hours trying to track it down before finally giving up. And to top it all off, they had gotten into a coffee shop in Amsterdam that turned out not to sell coffee, but some other things. And right now, the car is broken down.

They look around again, this time trying to spot any building with loud music and the smell of alcohol. Oscar's eyes land on a club on the other side of the street. You could hear some soft music and he wonders how that place isn't taken down. As he takes a closer look, he notices that the club's name, "Vettel", is written out in big red letters above the door, illuminated by a bright neon sign that seems to glow with an otherworldly intensity. "Let's go there," Oscar says, his voice low and urgent as he points across the street. Logan follows his gaze, his eyes scanning the club with a mixture of skepticism and curiosity. He can see a few people milling around outside, laughing and chatting as they wait in line or stand at the bar. It looks pretty promising. "Yeah, okay," Logan says, nodding in agreement as they make their way towards the club. As they approach the door, they can hear the music growing louder and more defined, and Oscar can feel the beat pounding in his chest.

As they entered the building, they were immediately hit by a bright, blinding light that seemed to come from the ceiling. The air was electric with the energy of a thousand people. Everywhere they looked, they saw people dancing with each other, laughing and drinking their favorite cocktails. The music was loud and pulsating, with beats that seemed to reverberate deep within their chest.

The couple made their way through the throng of people, their eyes scanning the room for a spot to grab a drink. They eventually made their way to the bar, where they were greeted by a bartender with dark, curly hair and arms covered in different tattoos. He had a warm, friendly smile on his face as he asked, "What can I get for you sweetheart?" The couple exchanged a look, and then turned back to him. "We'll have two beers, please," they replied in unison. The man nodded and went to get two beers from the tap. Oscar took a good look at the bar. There were two other bartenders next to the smiley man. The other was dressed in a red blouse and was making a gin and tonic. He looks like a model and not someone who worked behind a bar. When he looked at the third he couldn't help the blush that formed on his cheeks. The white blouse he was wearing was pulled up to the elbows and the first three buttons were unbuttoned. He was tan and had a beautiful face. Logan had to slap him to stop Oscar from staring.

The bartender walked back to them and gave them their beers. They both thank him and Oscar takes a sip, the cold beverage hitting the back of his throat is a pleasant way. He needed this. "Do you maybe know where we can get our car fixed?" Logan asks the man as he pays for both of the beers.

" There is a shop just down the road. You can call them and the will tow your car. It is quite expensive thought."

Oscar and Logan thank him and walked away, leaving the bartenders to do their jobs.

"Can one of you ask Pierre, Carlos and Max which drink they want? I have to make some cocktails for table 6." Charles asks his coworkers as he takes out the alcohol that he needs for the order.

"I don't want to talk to him." Daniel threw a towel over his shoulder and started to clean some of the dirty glasses. He would rather take a bath in all of these peoples left over drinks then walk up to Max Verstappen and ask him what he wants to drink. Of course he had to ask Pierre and Carlos too, but he didn't have a problem with them.

"You have to get over yourself Dan. What did that man do to you that you don't like him anymore. Did you fuck or something?" Lando meant the last sentence as a joke and Daniel was glad that he wasn't looking at him when he said it. Otherwise he would have spotted the bright blush that had formed on his face. That did happen, five weeks ago and he wished he would get over it. It is not like he had feelings for the man, at least that is what he thought, a pretty sure thought. It is just that Max seemed to totally ignore that it had happened and left him alone the morning after without a note or text. It was a casual hook up and still it hurts him.

"Who did you fuck?" George asks as he takes a seat on one of the bar stools, his eyes fixed on the Australian man with a mixture of curiosity and mischief. George is a stripper at the club, a pretty good one, but Lando would never admit that out loud to his friend. He always just makes jokes about it, trying to get people to laugh at him. George keeps looking at the Australian man, waiting for an answer as he orders a beer from Lando. "You know I never judge," the tallest Brit says with a sly smile as he takes a sip from his beer.

"No one, why is everyone up in my ass today?" Daniel groans out as he walks into the kitchen, seeking a moment alone and away from the chaos. The other three give each other a look of concern and just shrug their shoulders, sensing that Daniel is carrying some weight around. Charles tries to lighten the mood by asking George if he's ready for his set later that night. George gives a thumbs-up, and Charles nods

"I will ask them," Lando walked away towards the three security guards to ask for their drink preference for the night, all did he already know what they wanted. Max always orders a gin and tonic. Lando had laughed the first time the man ordered it. He had expected Max to order a whiskey neat not a tonic. Pierre orders Cognac most of the time, or a brandy. Carlos liked to change it up every time, so he was curious what the Spanish man would order today.

"

READ THE FULL STORY ON MY A3O

[alaydabug2]

Tag list: @sparklenarniawizard @imobsessed123 @thoughtlescat @ilikebookssomuch

Broken heart/Broken mind

Chapter Fifty-two

(Human AU)

Sophie and Keefe met in the children's hospital when they were little. Because of how long they were confined to the four walls of the hospital, they became very close during their stay.

As the years pass, they wind up being in the same classroom together due to their physical conditions. This makes their bond deepen.

But are they able to handle when life gets tough, throwing problems and complications their way?

Sophie pulled up into a parking spot. She grabbed her phone and keys before heading into the building.

The friend group had decided to meet up to play lazer tag for spring break. She had gotten stuck in traffic on the way there. She had already called to let them know she was on her way.

She searched the lobby for her friends when she got through the door. She noticed them in the corner.

When she came up to them, Linh said, "There you are! Come on, we've already got the first game set up."

Linh practically dragged Tam off behind her, leaving behind Marella, standing there looking lost. Eventually, she gained back her free will and follwed. The rest of the group followed in suit.

Sophie grabbed one of the vests, strapping it on. The lazer gun dangled by her side. It kept hitting her kneecap when she tried to walk, so she shoved the barrel of the gun into her pocket to keep it in place.

She stationed herself in one of the corners as she waited for the countdown to zero out. When it did, she set off.

Hiding behind a wall, she waited for footsteps. When she finally heard them, she peeked her head out at shot at Fitz. His vest flashed red. He looked confused before she ran out of her hiding place.

The next person she came by was Marella. Her eyes widened, but she managed to duck before Sophie shot her. In retaliation, Sophie ended up with a flashing vest. She huffed and went to hide behind a wall while she waited to be able to shoot again.

When she was able to shoot once more, she waited for a good opportunity to run. Unfortunately, she heard steps coming around the corner. She was trapped. She aimed up her gun.

When Keefe came around the corner, she was about to pull the trigger, but he put his hands up in surrender.

"I want to make an alliance!" He shouted in his defense.

Sophie squinted. She kept her gun aimed but gestured for him to continue his proposition.

"I want to team up with you. We both don't shoot each other so we can go after other people together. Do we have a deal?"

She lowered her gun and held out a hand. "We do."

He took it and shook on it. "Good doing business with you ma'am." He smirked. "Are you ready to take these suckers down?"

"You bet!" She grabbed his shoulder as she scoped out their surroundings. She heard voices in one direction. She tilted her head to the left. "This way," she whispered.

They pattered through the labyrinth of walls before coming to a stop. Sophie counted off on her fingers before they ambushed Dex and Biana. Her and Keefe ran off before they could hear the reactions. Although Sophie was fairly certain she heard a few curses coming from Dex as she scampered away.

At the end of the round, she was sweaty from being in the hot room. But it was all worth it when she saw her and Keefe's name at the top two spots of the leader board.

Keefe smirked at her and held a hand up for a high five. She gave him one. She was concerned, however, when he cringed and rolled his left shoulder.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My arm is just kind of numb, right now."

Her brows furrowed. "How come?"

He shrugged and started massaging the arm. "Think it just fell asleep for some reason. I'm sure it's nothing."

She eyed the way he tried to shake his arm awake. "Okayyyy," she said slowly. "If you're sure."

"Seriously, Foster, I'm fine. The next round is starting in a moment. Let's go hide!"

She waited for a moment, mentally debating in her mind, but he seemed fine, so she ran off to follow him. They hid behind one of the barriers, waiting for the round to start.

[dcfanficsgallore]

Didn't Plan for This: Chapter 5

Wonder Woman x Demigod!Fem!Reader

Warnings: Not much, just R being suspicious and mentions of bullying ig? if you squint

5.6k words

Chapter 4

Masterlist

Summary: First day at the new place, who will you meet? What will you find? And what is that voice?

A/N: Heyo, I noticed a little more traffic here than normal. Just wanna say sorry for taking so long, I hope I can get into making more in the next few days! Please send your requests, I'm just working on my own ideas rn but I could use a few weird and fun one-shots <3

The plan for the day was simple: get to the new branch, meet my new security people, meet with the supervisor and look through the building to analyze where I can make my magic. The problem is that Diana will be there and my mind will be preoccupied not wanting to be a gay disaster in front of her, I’m her boss now… Gotta be professional. 

- Ana, get up! We gotta catch the bus! - I banged on her door while brushing my teeth.

- Bus? Don’t we have a limo? - I heard from the other side, along with a few curses to me and the sun rising so early.

- No limo, but maybe in a couple months we can get a car! But to get that you have to get the hell u- Oh. - she opened the door fully dressed. - How did you..

- I hate the bus, let’s go. - She pulled me toward the door and I barely had enough time to rinse my mouth before we were off.

A few minutes into the bus drive Ana checked her e-mail and made an ���oh’ sound. 

- Apparently the big boss is going to be appearing today to give the crew an “inspiring speech”. - Ana read out loud as she looked at me with a ‘serious?’ kind of look 

- I didn’t know Mr. Vamp was coming. - I muttered to her

- No, not our boss. THE boss, Lex Luthor is going to be there today.

- Oh. OH. Well, he must really like electronics.

We got off at the stop that was next to the giant building we work at now. This building had 20 - 30 stories, clocking in at about 140 meters it gave me vertigo just looking at it. It looked like it was made of standard concrete but the foundation seemed reinforced with some type of hard rock, maybe the foundation was there before the building? That would be cool. We walked in through the big glass doors and approached the secretary’s desk.

- Names? - She asked us. We told her our names and she gave us two lanyards with our names and occupation, as we thanked her a young man with a clipboard came up to us and said:

- Good morning, you two are required to be at the meeting room with the other heads of departments. Follow me - He said sharply, turning around not leaving much room for a conversation. 

We followed him to a standard looking meeting room, glass walls, a wooden door, a big table surrounded by what looked like 12 chairs that were occupied by other serious looking executives. Only 2 of the 12 remained, thankfully they were next to one another.

As me and Ana took the two last remaining seats (we were 10 minutes early. How were we the last ones to arrive?). The young man that led us there spoke up and said:

- Mr. Luthor will be here shortly, he will tell you all about this branch and what our mission is. Ending it with a small tour of the building’s more important rooms. - He finished before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

I felt a deafening silence spread across the room, no one tried to strike up a conversation or even look at each other, everyone just pulled up their phones and started to do other things, judging by all the serious faces they were definitely all reading smut fanfiction.

The thought made me chuckle softly, earning a raised eyebrow from my best friend and weird looks from a few of the other department heads

10 long minutes later the door finally opened and I saw for the first time in real life, Lex Luthor. The billionaire philanthropist that had a pretty open dislike of the Justice League and superheroes in general. He looked like a regular guy, not that different from other rich executives I’ve met. Bald head, tailored three-piece suit, spotless dress shoes and a blood-red tie.

Immediately after his entrance everyone looked up from their phones and gave him their full attention, the way he commanded the room with a single look gave chills, the bad kind, the kind you get when you make eye contact with a teacher and you know they think you’ll fail a test.

A little bit behind him came in another person, a woman, by the looks of it I’d say assistant. Her suit seemed to have come from the place as his and had similar wear, she was wearing heels but the kind that are low enough to run in. That made me think security but her loose long brown hair didn’t indicate a military background that personal security for the super rich usually had. I had to stop myself from looking at her because I was confusing my brain so much I was worried my nose would bleed.

As they both entered the room the assistant/security closed the door and Mr. Luthor started talking.

- Welcome, I’m sure you are all eager to get to your work stations and prepare for the opening tomorrow but I thought I’d say a few words before that.  - Oh right, tomorrow there was a press conference where the building would officially be open for business, like when a big store opens. But we’re not a store, we work with clients and make software so the whole press conference didn’t make sense to me but what do I know about running a business. - He motioned to the woman next to him - This is my assistant, Mercy, she’ll be accompanying us today as well.

He went on to speak about how we were the best in our fields and together we’d bring this company to the next level, standard out-of-touch boss stuff. But as I looked around I could see my colleagues nodding and being enraptured by this average speech, even Ana seemed to be hanging off his every word.

20 minutes later he finished the weirdest siren song in the world he said

- Now let me give you all a tour of the facilities. - he motioned to the and his assistant held it open for us. We got up and started to file out, Lex Luthor made sure to shake hands with everyone before they left.

As we were all going I made eye contact with the man and saw he was looking at me like I was about to give him the best present in the world, I shook his hand a little confused.

- Ms. L/N, I’m glad you accepted the offer to come here. Your reputation precedes you. Harry has said many good things about you. - I always forget Mr. Vamp’s first name is Harry. And him being on a first name basis with Lex Luthor surprised me a little. - I hope you can bring to this company exactly what it needs.

- Thank you Sir, but what do you mean by my reputation? I just did the security back in New York. - I tested the waters a bit, did he know about the central park fight?

- Oh nonsense, you got all those people out of a building during an earthquake and saved many more with your specially planned contingency. - Okay he probably didn’t know about Central Park. So I was 80% sure only the Justice League and Ana knew about that little romp. But that 20% was saying that he was probably a really good liar. - You’re the mix of bravery and preparation I need in this company.

- Thank you Sir.  - I said leaving the room quickly, I don’t know why I was so weirded out by that interaction. Maybe it was the weird look he kept giving me, not like he was objectifying me, but like I was going to pull a billion dollars from my pocket and hand it to him.

We started the tour, Luthor leading the bunch and his weird unreadable employee bringing up the rear. He showed us a big conference room that could hold upwards to 50 people, a floor specifically made for accounting with all the bells and whistles, a break room that looked like it was in another universe with its decoration making it look more like a bar. Drinks were all still only coffee and water. 

After the break room we all got into the biggest elevator I’ve ever seen. We had been hopping between floors and that elevator was fast and could fit all of us comfortably with room to spare. I saw the assistant hit the basement button.

- And now our last stop, the laboratories in the basement. - That was new, there’s an R&D department here? That’s cool, but also unsafe. He continued. - These are our in-house research and development team. They will be able to study technology and get prototypes out to the other departments faster than our competitors, this is great for our workload and communication. - He finished with a smile as the elevator doors opened.

Stepping out of it I was awestruck at how professional this lab looked, the whole basement seemed to have been retro-fitted for all the pipes and energy cables in the ceiling, many smaller individual laboratories were sprinkled around the place. They were all empty, the building hadn’t opened yet, I saw one of the emotionless executives get a little twinkle in her eye. She must be the head of Research and Development and was almost salivating at all the high-tech machinery and top of line equipment.

While we were all looking around I caught out of the corner of my eye a half opened door in one the corridors and caught just a glimpse that one of the labs wasn’t so empty and seemed to be in active use. 3 or 4 scientists seemed to be experimenting on a box, red and black with big tubes and wires coming off of it. My curiosity got the best of me and I quietly peeled off of the group to go see what was so important that they couldn’t wait until tomorrow.

As I got closer I noticed that the scientists looked to have a system in which one of them either dripped a drop of a liquid onto the box, another logged the results and the others made adjustments to their formula before repeating the process.

I was just about to get close enough to hear them talking when a hand grabbed my arm and I was looking at Lex Luthor’s assistant with a stare that made me almost yelp in surprise.

- What are you doing? - She asked with a level voice that terrified me. 

- I saw them working on something before I was able to put security on the place, I just wanted to make sure they were safe. - I spoke quickly, hoping she wouldn't look into my motivations any closer.

Her grip was still tight like iron around my arm. She squeezed a little more before letting go.

- Alright, but don’t go off on your own again for the rest of the tour. - She said sharply before escorting me back to the group.

They seemed to have just finished looking at a very interesting fan hooked up into the wall like the rest of the building. It was huge and could be mistaken for a turbine. But I stopped paying attention to the tour and just kept thinking about that box, it looked familiar but I couldn’t remember from where and it was driving me crazy.

When we ended the tour I noticed we didn’t go anywhere near that weird lab. I made a mental note to learn everything about it whenever I was alone again. Our group got shuffled into the elevator and back into that meeting room where we had started.

- I hope this little run-down of the facility you will all be working at has been enlightening. - Luthor said with a smile

- More than you think. - I mumbled to myself

- I’m glad you enjoyed it Y/N - He spoke firmly. Of course his assistant would tell him, now I was on the big boss’s radar.

Everyone ignored this trade of barbs. Wouldn’t expect anything less from my dear colleagues, except Ana, she looked at me with her ‘what did you do’ look and I just shrugged with the promise to tell later.

- Now, I should let you all get to your stations, I trust that everything will be ready for the press tomorrow. - He finally finished before leaving the room.

After he left, everyone started to get up and leave. I was getting ready to head to my office and prepare myself for the people that would be working under me, one of them being Diana so I needed all the time to prepare myself. 

Before I could, Ana grabbed my hand and told me to follow her to her office.

I complied, after a couple of silent minutes in the elevator surrounded by people we eventually made it to her workspace.

It looked like the usual corner office with a big window, a big table, a chair for her to sit and a couple of chairs in front of the table. It was barren with no decorations, we took a couple seconds of looking around and being impressed with Ana’s new office.

- Wow. - I said

- Yeah. - My best friend responded. - Anyway, take a seat. - She said closing the door behind us and closing the blinds.

I took a seat on one of the chairs in front of the table and Ana took hers behind it.

- Now tell me why Lex Luthor called you out at the end there.

I told her what I had seen and my encounter with Mr. Luthor’s agent. Ana got a thinking look on her face.

- What do you think? - I asked her, she usually had a different perspective on problems and could come up with solutions that were simpler than what my brain came up with, so I liked to ask her opinion on things just to keep all the options on the table.

- I think that it’s weird, but there is probably a good reason for it. I’ll look into it. I’m gonna ask you, as your best friend, don’t go back there until I have all the information. - She looked at me with a serious stare. 

- How were you planning on getting that info? - I tilted my head - Something tells me those guys aren’t doing things ‘above board’.

- Just… I don’t want you finding trouble before we open. - She sighed.

- Don’t worry, trouble usually finds me. - I smiled at her. - Didn’t you?

She giggled.

- Be safe, okay? - She glanced at her watch. - I think you should get back to your office first, right?

- You’re right! I should go. - I hurried out, the weird cube could wait. 

I made my way to my new space, it looked pretty much the same as my last office. A few file cabinets, a bookshelf behind the small desk and a chair. I never spent much time there back in New York. Always checking security everyday and attending meetings, but it was nice to have a place to work with all the emails I was going to send so that I could make this building as safe as possible.

Opening a file cabinet I found the names of the people I was going to meet in… I looked at my watch, 10 minutes. I hurried down the elevator while reading their files. I was going to meet a Diana Prince, well… meet is a strong word, actually meet a Jefferson Pierce and a Dinah Lance. Their credentials looked good, they seemed perfect for the job. A little too good, to be honest, they seemed overqualified. Diana’s previous job had been in a government facility providing security, Jefferson had military background and Dinah had bounced around enough companies that I knew I wouldn’t have to teach her much.

Right as I was leaving the elevator I saw them walk in through the front door. They looked just like the pictures in their files. Diana looked as beautiful as always but now was wearing a purple jacket over a white shirt with jeans and had glasses on, she was talking to the other two while smiling. The man I recognized was Jefferson Pierce had short black hair and a beard, he was wearing a green button-down shirt with black slacks. The woman, Dinah Lance, had blonde hair and was wearing a pant-suit.

The fact that they were all talking made me feel a bit of relief, maybe they would become friends while they worked and could help me with all of the security details.

I approached them, trying to appear confident in front of Diana and show her I was a good boss. I almost tripped when she locked eyes with me. But I didn’t fall so I was still confident.

- Hello, my name is Y/N L/N. I hope you’ll find this place good for your abilities, you guys have an amazing background. I can't imagine this place will have as much excitement than in your previous jobs. - I shook each of their hands, lingering a little on Diana’s.

- You found it impressive? - Jefferson asked

- Honestly? - I whispered - I’d say you are a little overqualified - I smiled at them and made a little eye contact with Diana and she stifled a little giggle.

They looked at eachother and seemed to come to a silent agreement

- Well. I guess I just wanted a bit of scenery change. - Jefferson said.

- And I can’t stay still for too long. - Dinah followed.

- Then you’re all perfect for the job! - I motioned them to follow me as I lead them to our floor - Your tasks will be assigned everyday but this is a pretty straightforward company so your task will never be that crazy. Unless we have an emergency in which you’ll have binders detailing what to do in any scenario. They should be on your desks by next week. But other than that… Yes Mr. Pierce - I looked at Jefferson that had his hand up.

- Any scenario?  - A simple question, still made me self conscious as I have been called paranoid on occasion.

- Yes, any scenario that might have enough danger to bring down the building or seriously injure whoever is inside it. I make them myself so when they arrive you may ask me directly any questions about my protocols.

- And they let you do that? - This time it was Diana that spoke, she hadn’t said a word since she arrived, other than hi but that doesn’t count. - Just fill the building with contingencies for scenarios that might not happen?

If that question came from anyone else I’d assume they were mocking me or my bosses. But Diana asked with such earnestness and a want to learn that I knew she was really interested in my answer.

- Yes they do, the plans were the main reason I was put in charge of security for this place. - I said looking at her with a smile that she mirrored. Then in a whispered voice I said to the three. - The budget they gave me though, I’m sure they thought twice. - That got a laugh from them.

When I was finished with MY tour of the place, showing them the fire escapes, where all the extinguishers were and introducing them to Ana, who after laying her eyes on Diana for a little while, didn’t seem to connect the dots... I guess putting on some glasses and wearing regular clothes is enough. I left them at their desk to work out all the paperwork that needed to be filed for tomorrow's press conference. I didn’t want anyone getting hurt on my watch. 

It was a little while after that, when I was dutifully planning for this building and adapting some of my older plans to fit in with new ones, that I decided to go investigate the basement. It was perfect really, the cameras were being installed on the other floors so currently nobody was watching them, I didn’t have a reputation in this place yet so I could play the hard-ass security chief to get my way and the earlier I went the less time they had to relocate.

So I started to myself ready, grabbing a clipboard and a pen. Nobody ever questions the clipboard, when I heard a knock on my office’s door.

- Come in. - I said

The door opened and I saw Diana’s head peek in.

- Hey Y/N - She smiled at me before entering fully and closing the door behind her

- Hey Diana - I said, walking a little closer to her. - How are you enjoying your new job? Not like the government one you had huh? - I asked with a tease.

- I think I like the company in this one a little more. - She eyed me for a moment before her eyes landed on my clipboard. - Are you going to take notes?

I was still admiring her when I processed her question and I had a brilliant idea.

- Come with me!

- Okay. - She said and I paused.

- Just like that?

- I trust you. - I let out an audible ‘awn’ and she giggled

- Okay, but seriously. There’s some sketchy stuff in the basement and I was going to go investigate it alone, but since you’re here…

- I can help you - She smiled.

I opened the door and we made our way to the elevators, the whole ride to the basement level I kept thinking how big these elevators were and how close she chose to be next to me, it was so close.

The doors opened, I immediately went into “security bitch” mode and Diana quickly picked up on it, pointing at random spots on the wall and I started scribbling stuff down all the while making my way to the corridor with the door. Whenever we saw someone we scared them off with our serious looks.

Getting to the door that led to the lab didn’t take a lot of time, I was able to retrace my steps pretty well and whenever we saw someone we looked into a corner and looked busy enough to make them steer clear of the two serious security women.

- There it is - I nodded my head toward the door, Diana and I were a few meters away looking serious at a corner. She walked around me, to disguise her taking a good look at the door, I felt my face heat up a little at the action.

- There’s no one guarding it… - She whispered more to herself than for me.

- Well… I still haven’t assigned security to this floor. - I said back with a little smile.

- Right. Forgot. - She chuckled.

We took one last look down the corridor we just came through before going into the door.

As we stepped in the place was quiet, weirdly quiet. The box was nowhere to be seen as were the scientists that I saw earlier. Everything was cleaned and organized. 

- What… - I said, rapidly looking around. - Where is everything? There were so many people and this weird box… - I started to ramble, would Diana think I was making all this up just to be alone with her? Is she going to think I’m not cut out for the Justice League? Will she-

- Found something. - Diana spoke, snapping me out of my spiral. She was crouched looking behind a desk. She got up and was holding a piece of paper, looking quite pleased. - It looks like these are results for some kind of test, radiation I’d guess - she furrowed her brows looking at the paper. - It seems like they failed if their mission was to get any kind of reaction from the subject.

She looked at me, handing the paper over. I don’t know much about these types of tests but the lack of any reaction from the subject was definitely strange. The notes on the side, from what I assumed was the lead scientist, seemed to be just as confused.

- Well, I’m glad this wasn’t a complete bust. - I said, giving her back the paper. - I’m sure the… Your other job would be able to make more sense of this.

- Yes, I’m certain.

We looked at each other for a long moment. She was about to say something before we heard a click from the corridor door grabbing our attention, I didn’t have time to plan anything before the door connecting this room to the hallway was opened and I saw myself face to face with her

- Ms. Graves - I said, trying to feel brave. She scared the hell out of me. 

- Ms. L/N - She said. - You’re not supposed to be here. - She added coldly. 

I narrowed my eyes. She was right. I wasn't supposed to be here, but you are, a little voice in my head said, what is she doing here without her boss? That made sense, I’m security. I straightened up, vaguely aware of Diana beside me getting ready to scare Mercy into submission, but that wouldn’t help with not getting us in trouble. She’s used to people bowing to her because of her boss, she doesn’t expect any other response, use it. 

- I’m not? But I clearly remember our boss saying I had freedom to look around seeing where security could be reinforced. - yes, she’s going to crack, I started to walk around her, getting more confident with every word that I spoke. - I’m not sure why you are here though. I don’t see Lex around, why would leave his side? Oh dear, did you leave your post? - I feigned a surprised gasp. Keep going, right now you outrank her.

- Well… I… - She started to stutter, this was actually working. Of course it is.

- Tell you what. - Finish her, I stopped in front of Ms. Graves. - You go back to your only job in this building, and if you tell anyone. We’ll see who has more reason to walk around a building alone. In front of the directors, you will find out quickly why I’m the one they personally hired. - She’s done

She gave me a look that I can only describe as murderous, definitely a military background. I could see her racking her brain looking for a comeback, she can’t do anything, it’s not her place, when nothing came out she just turned around and left. The clicking of her heels became more and more faded. I let out a huge sigh of relief, my legs almost gave out before Diana leaned on me.

- That was amazing! - She said with a huge smile. - Are you okay?

- Yeah, just fine. - I nodded my head. - Just, thinking that fast and channeling the girls that used to bully me was harder than I thought. - I let out a breathy laugh.

- Either way, that was incredible to see, you left her speechless, flustered and sent her back with her tail between her legs. - She laughed, helping me to my feet.

- Well, thank you. But I don’t think I could’ve pulled it off by myself. - You could, I turned my body to her, we were now facing each other and by the gods I could not find that confidence I just used on Mercy.

- What do you mean?

- I mean, just knowing you were beside me and had my back gave me, like, a confidence boost? - I shifted my weight to my other foot.

- Are you saying…

- That you make me feel like a wonder woman. - I said without thinking. As soon as it left my mouth I blushed and looked away

She chuckled and said

- You should feel like it, for what it’s worth, I also think you’re a wonder woman.

- Let’s get out here. - I started to lead us out. - Would hate for us to get detained before our date this week.

She smiled and followed me out.

—------

We made our way back to the security floor where Dinah and Jefferson were still working, ignorant to mine and Diana’s little stealth mission. They must have been having a fun conversation before we arrived since they were both grinning.

- Good first day? - I asked. Curious to see what they found so funny.

- Yeah, it was better than my last job’s first day. - Dinah said and Jefferson nodded. 

- And we just got news that our friend has a date with someone they really like. - He added.

- Oh that’s nice, I didn’t know you two knew each other… - I wondered out loud

They exchanged a quick glance

- Small world. - Jefferson explained.

—-----

Diana Prince, Wonder Woman, Feels pretty bad about lying.

Diana looked out into space from a window on the Watchtower. Her first day had gone without a hitch, she even got some intel that told the League they were on the right track! She just had to lie to you about her reasons.

The League never did these infiltration missions, they were too risky, took too much time and 99% of the time someone from the Batfamily could do the job in minutes. But this one was different, the building had only one entrance, the lab was underground and security would be much tighter than any other mission they’ve ever done. 

Those were the reasons she told herself to make lying to you worth it. Sometimes, a bad path was only bad for one person and she couldn’t let herself compromise the mission.

Speaking of, she had to go to the meeting room with the rest of the leaguers to discuss their next move.

Walking in, she nodded a greeting to the other heroes in the room and took her seat. This wasn’t a big ‘end of the world’ mission, it was a slower infiltration mission so there were not that many people in the room. Just herself, Jefferson Pierce - Black Lighting, Dinah Lance - Black Canary, Oliver Queen - Green Arrow, Clark Kent - Superman, Barry Allen - The Flash, Victor Stone - Cyborg, Ray Palmer - The Atom and Batman. 

While waiting on Batman so they could start, Diana thought back to the day she had been assigned for this mission last week.

- Lex Luthor is opening a new company in Metropolis - Batman said, gesturing to the screen in the room showing a big building in the process of construction.

- So? He does that all the time. - Green Arrow spoke, none of them really understood why Batman had only brought them to this meeting. Specifically he said this had to do with Intergang’s attack the other day

- The problem lies with the expanses, he went through a lot of shell companies to mask the fact that the building has an underground laboratory with equipment that you don’t need when making electronics. - He pulled up some bank statements that proved his point.

- And you think this has anything to do with Apokolips why? - Diana asked. - Their tech is more advanced than anything on Earth.

- Lex intends to weaponize it. Either for himself or to sell to the highest bidder, we have reason to believe he got his hands on a piece of tech from Intergang before we were able to intercept and is holding it in this building. - While he spoke, Batman played a video of a truck getting a dark box with red details loaded into it with extreme care. The video cut to show the same truck pulling into this new building in the dead of night and a crew of people taking the cube inside.

- Why not just go public with this info? - Clark spoke up, he knew the only way to bring Lex down was with the media.

- Because this footage was taken by Nightwing. - He said matter of factly.

- So we steal it? - Flash asked

- That doesn’t prove that Lex had it in his possession. We want them to have it so we can monitor it, while also gathering intel on this new place.

- So we go and pretend to be clients and get him to open his doors to us. - Jefferson said, he had done this type of mission before. 

- I was thinking we open the doors ourselves. - Batman pressed a button and three resumes appeared on screen, the name and picture were blank but the rest seemed pretty good. - The company is still hiring a security crew for the building and there are three openings. Any volunteers?

Diana thought back to this moment before the door to the room finally opened and Batman walked in. 

- We have a lot to talk about so, - He gestured to Diana - if you could give us a rundown of what you found.

She nodded and got up. She took the tablet in front of the screen in the wall and pulled up the footage from her contact lenses, courtesy of Oracle, and audio from her comm.

- The lab is big with winding corridors, if it weren’t for Y/N’s knowledge of the place I would’ve been really lost. - She paused before getting back on track. Tapping on the tablet to speed up the footage - We did discover a room that seems to have a lab to experiment on the cube. We know because- Why are you looking at me like that? - Flash looked like he was holding a laugh and the others weren’t doing much better.

- It’s just… - He gestured to the screen behind her, she had accidentally paused at the moment where she was looking towards the corridor with the door that led to the lab. In the corner of the screen she could see you blushing in response to her leaning over you. - Does she know?

- Not yet. She still thinks Jefferson, Dinah and I just met that day. - She sighed, you were going to hate her. - We’ll tell her at the right moment, won’t we, Batman?

- Of course, she’s still waiting on our callback since she accepted. - He replied with a nod.

- She also thought our references were way too good for the job - Dinah spoke up. - We’re lucky she’s so trusting. - She gave Diana a look that made her feel even worse.

She could only hope you were as understanding as you were smart.

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

A/N: Again sorry for the wait, send requests if you have them <33 Hope you have a nice day

[acertainmoshke]

Snippet: Dream Part 3

in which I set up a plot point for book 3 because I am Like That (also this is the last part of this dream)

Content warnings: general death and a little blood I guess, but not as intense as the first two

“I came to save you,” I tell her.

She smiles sadly. Sweetly. Perfectly. “Nothing can save me. But I was harsh before. Perhaps you don’t deserve this. You’re going to get it either way.”

And the world crystallizes into somewhere else. Somewhere new. I don’t recognize the icy street, the piles of snow taller than Kris that line either side, the buildings around us containing far more glass than stone. The cars are odd too, larger and rounder than any I’ve ever seen. Cassandra still stands beside me. Her skirt whips in the winter wind, but she doesn’t seem to feel cold. The snow crunches sharply under my feet, but neither of us leave footprints behind as we walk down the street.

I look harder at the cars.

This is the future.

I wonder when this is and if I’m dead yet, but it doesn’t seem likely. I’m not so lucky.

As soon as I realize that even the wind is silent, the sound returns in a painful roar that makes me flinch before settling into the mostly-expected: howling wind, the distant thrum of traffic, voices yelling and laughing. But there is an unexpected noise, too. It reminds me at first of the clatter of pots pushed off the shelf when you’re too small to grab them properly. But no, I know this sound. It sounds like…fighting. Weapons clashing and angry yells, but on a larger scale than any battle I’ve been in.

Cassandra is walking calmly towards the sound, so I follow her.

We started off several blocks away, and as we approach the clatter becomes a roar. I recognize the red and gray uniforms from the Veil Guard posters. Their enemies, to my shock, are clearly actual Fae in actual armor with crystal weapons. There are many more humans, but even so they seem impressively evenly matched.

The human closest to us is a beautiful man with bright red hair, uneven teeth, and freckles scattered like stars over his skin. He’s laughing in the same kind of ferocious delight I hate myself for when a sword sprouts through his chest. A shining metal sword. His blood arcs in bright droplets onto the snow and when I look for the human traitor behind him, I see no one there. The man gurgles and falls, kept half on his knees by the hilt sticking out of his back.

None of the other soldiers seem to notice right away, and I’ve just taken a step forward when the scene melts again.

For a long stretch, we are Nowhere. There is no color and nothing to see or hear. It’s not dark or light. The usual weight and soft rush of silence are gone. I am surrounded by true Nothing. Cassandra is still next to me, but we are no longer standing because there is no ground beneath us.

Before I can open my mouth to complain about any of this, Cassandra speaks in her soft, sad voice. “That was, perhaps, unfair. Let me make it up to you.”

I’m not sure I understand what was unfair. What did she just show me? A battle I wasn’t part of? A stranger dying? Fae overtaking a city I’ve never been to? I feel like every time I was stuck in a conversation that made no sense to me as a child, with everyone else nodding along.

But the world is already resolving itself into something new. I’ve never seen this particular small apartment before with its faded blue curtains, cracked dining chairs, and dusty lamps. But I recognize it in a general sense. I know the stone making up the view across the street and the chill radiating from the closed window. The radio on the hearth looks like the one Jim owns. We’re back in the city.

It takes a moment, in that dreamlike way, for me to realize the room isn’t empty, and that I know the woman sitting in the rocking chair. Her dark hair is limp and uncurled, her wrinkles deeper, and her eyes dull, but standing across the room from Mom still sends a jolt down my spine.

I turn to scream at Cassandra—and maybe to see if she’s real enough to be stabbed—when Mom opens her mouth to cough. And cough and cough. She doesn’t stop for a long time. No one comes to check on her.

“This is today,” says Cassandra, her tone unchanged. “She will be dead by next week.”

I let that sink in. Mom, finally gone. Mom, alone and uncoiffed, dying in this sad little apartment.

At last, I smile.

And then I remember something. “But you can’t want this.”

Cassandra only shrugs. “Like I said, I’m not here.”

I look at her, harder this time. Her face is more expressive than mine, but I’ve only seen her express a graceful sadness that would get old fast if she didn’t smile and nod when told to. Her hands are still but her shoulders hunch a little, like she’s trying to disappear into herself. I wonder if they wouldn’t be as happy with her as I thought.

“Thank you,” I manage, before the scene melts again.

General tag list: @ashirisu

Cold Iron tag list: @amielbjacobs @stesierra @ettawritesnstudies @the-inkwell-variable

[jpitha]

The Dreams of Hyacinth 19

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Nick and Eastern ate dinner in silence. It was a lot to take in. When the server returned, Helen had ordered for everyone. They had brought out things Nick had never heard of, things he didn't even see on the menu. He had to admit, it was all delicious.

After dinner, Helen called two Hoppers. As they slid down through the evening she looked at them. "I've called you a Hopper, you can take it to Houndstooth One and go to bed, or go back and talk to Star and do more training if you'd like. I have to go... do some more work." Her eyes flashed blue and Nick felt the tingle of a file being delivered. "Here. It's a Hopper login for my account. Feel free to avail yourself while you're still on Hyacinth. Better than taking the Omnibus at least." She smiled and stepped into the waiting Hopper. "Remember what we talked about." She gestured grandly out into the evening. "This is all mine. I'll share it with you if you would like, but we do things my way." She waved. "See you!"

Helen's hopper lifted into the night sky and in a blink, was lost in the overhead traffic and lights of the other arms.

Nick heard Eastern exhale. She turned and looked at Nick. "Nick hon, we're fucked again."

Nick sighed. "Eastern, we're fucked in ways heretofore unknown to sapient kind. We're either dead, or employees of the Empress. I don't even think there's anyone on Hyacinth we can tell."

Eastern thought for a moment, and then brightened. "There's one. Let's try Jameson."

"Eastern, if I use the Hopper account that Helen just gave me, she'll know where we've been, what we've been doing. I have a hunch she won't appreciate us going to tell the only other AI we know that might have an issue with her."

Eastern nodded and took out her pad. "That's why we'll use my account. It probably only delays the inevitable, but that might be enough."

This time, a regular retail Hopper came down, with it's fanfare and sickly sandalwood smell and automated voice welcoming them. "Nick sighed and looked at the other black Hopper. "What about that one? Helen will notice we didn't ride it."

"Hold on a moment." Eastern's eyes flashed blue and the black Hopper's door shut and lifted up. "There. It's going to Hyacinth One, then the doors will open for a few seconds, and it will close. As far as the Hopper knows, it delivered us to Hyacinth One." She winked at Nick. "You're not the only one who has been getting some practice in with your implants."

Nick whistled, impressed. "Eastern, you're becoming one of those hackers from the novels."

She laughed. "There's more to it than looking serious and whispering 'I'm in' when you get through a login, but the implants make it more... intuitive than it was before. Come on. The hacked Hopper will buy us time to talk to Jameson."

Eastern and Nick climbed in and set off to the other arm and Jameson's house. While they were soaring over to the other arm, Nick realized that he's ridden more Hoppers this week than he ever had before.

When they got there, Jameson was gone. Jameson's building was gone. It's not that the warehouse was destroyed.

It was gone.

"Eastern, is this the right place?"

"You know it is, Nick. But fuck if I know what happened. They looked around. The place that was formerly occupied by Jameson's warehouse was a rectangle of ground, smooth and raked. Surrounded on three sides by other buildings and facing the alley, it was obvious in its absence. There wasn't even conduits or pipes leading down into the basement.

As they stood there gawking at the... erasure of Jameson, Kelly walked by. "Kelly!" Nick shouted and waved. She stopped and looked confused. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Kelly, we're looking for Jameson, do you know where we can find him?"

"Who?"

Nick had another yawning moment of realization. A feeling of the world sliding out from under him, with its associated piercing icy stab of adrenaline. Kelly had no idea who they were or who Jameson was. Something was wrong. "Kelly. Um, do you know me?"

She squinted at Nick and Eastern a few moments. "You look familiar, but I'm sorry, I can't place you. Do I know you from work?"

Eastern blinked. "Sort of. Um... Sorry if this sounds odd, but where do you work?"

Kelly smiled and laughed lightly. "Oh it's not odd at all. I work over at the Houndstooth down-arm sorting facility, outside of Gladiolus. I just got the job two weeks ago, everyone has been really nice!"

Nick looked around at the warehouses and then towards the bare patch of ground and finally to Kelly. "Then... what are you doing here, on the other arm in the industrial section?"

"I'm.... I'm..." Kelly blinked and looked around, as if for the first time. "What am I doing here? Nick? Eastern?" Her eyes went wide, fearful. "Where's J-J-Jameson?" Kelly started shaking. Her knees buckled and she fell into Eastern's arms. "What's going on? W-What happened?"

"I don't know Kelly. We were coming to talk to Jameson and we discovered this." Nick gestured at the empty patch of ground. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Kelly winced, she was in some pain. "It's hard to remember. It's like I don't want to remember. Someone came to the door, and said something, I don't know what she said though. That's so odd. Her voice was so nice. The next thing I knew, you were here asking me where Jameson was. Do you know what happened Nick?"

"I'm starting to think I do know what happened. It nothing good." Nick looked at Eastern. She shrugged.

We've got too much going on to get involved. You know Raaden did this.

Nick nodded at her and turned back to Kelly. "Do you have a place to stay that's not your house?"

She let go of Eastern and looked around. "I can stay with my friends outside of Tulip. They're usually good for a couch."

Eastern nodded. "Go there. Stay away from home for a couple of days." Eastern gestured to her pad and a Hopper started it's siren. "I called a Hopper. Go to the square, take it to your friends house, my treat."

"Thanks Eastern, but... what's going on?"

Eastern frowned. "Trouble. I had a brief moment when I hoped it wasn't, but it's trouble."

Nick looked up at Eastern. "Eastern, I..." He looked out at the empty street and looked back to her. "What do we do next?"

Eastern sighed and looked Nick. She leaned over and hugged him tight. "Hon, the first thing we do is go check on Sel. Once she's up and walking around we can... I don't know. Get out of here. Book passage somewhere. Leave the system. Go to Meíhuā maybe."

Nick sighed and put his head into Eastern's shoulders. He knew that probably wasn't going to work. "Sure. Let's go check on Selkirk. Maybe we can get her and get out of here."

They decided to ride the Metro down this arm all the way to the base of Hyacinth, and then walk over and up to Congregation square. Eastern dozed on Nick's shoulders as they rode the empty Metro all the way to the base for the transfer to the other arm.

The base of Hyacinth is huge. Holding the arms that people live on as well as the mirrored arms that direct light into Hyacinth, it's a circle, miles in diameter. Back when it was built it was mostly empty, other than the equipment needed to keep Hyacinth comfortable, but when artificial gravity was developed, it was realized that there was a lot of unused space in the base. By installing artificial gravity in the base, 'down' could be oriented perpendicular to 'down' on the arms, adding thousands of square meters of space to Hyacinth. The metro ended on the arms, and it was a short walk down a large spiraling ramp to the base of Hyacinth. If you were distracted you hardly noticed the transition from centripetal to artificial gravity. Ships docked at the base and it was the main point of immigration for people coming to Hyacinth. It was effectively a huge spaceport.

In the base, Nick and Eastern walked past closed duty-free shops, restaurants, and the Hyacinth offices of cargo, freight, and passenger carriers as they moved to the residential arm and back to exit onto Congregation square.

It was after midnight when they got back to Hyacinth One, but as soon as they walked towards the building, one of the large, black doors hissed open for them. They entered the lobby and as they looked over to the bank of elevators, one dinged and the door opened for them. Nick looked at Eastern who looked back at Nick and shivered. "I don't know either. I don't want to, but I think we have to see where it takes us."

They stepped in.

The elevator whisked them to the hospital level. Even at this late hour, the hospital was a flurry of activity, even more so than when they first visited Selkirk. People were running around, their eyes flaring blue as they all shouted and talked over their cybernetic implants. As they stepped into the lobby looking around, a nurse glanced at them, turned and stared again, wide eyed. "What are you doing here? Did someone call you?" She shook her head. "No matter. Come follow me, she's in surgery now, but we can get you in a room to wait." They took off down the hall without waiting for an answer.

With an icy pit in his stomach, Nick followed the nurse with Eastern close behind.

The waiting room was comfortable, quiet, and designed to put fear out of mind. The very fact that it was designed to do that was making Eastern more nervous. She stayed standing and paced around the room while they waited. "Nick, what's going on? Why are we here. Where is Sel?"

Nick looked pained. "I don't know Eastern. But, I think she's gotten worse since we left."

"We should never have left. Damn Helen. She knew, I think."

"Maybe she just wanted us not to worry while they worked."

Eastern's eyes flared blue and she looked at the door expectantly. Helen! Empress Raaden! Can you hear me? What's going on with Selkirk?

Nick and Eastern both heard her voice. She sounded... distracted? Her body is rejecting the implants, Eastern. She's septic. It's a small comfort that K'laxi don't have shock. The surgeons are trying to remove the implants now.

Eastern sank into one of the chairs with a thousand yard stare when she got the news.

Is she going to be okay?

There was a pause. She'll be fine Nick. I have the best doctors - human and k'laxi - working on her now. Why don't you head up to the penthouse and get some rest. There won't be any updates tonight. I'll tell you what's going on in the morning. Go get some rest, please.

Nick looked over at Eastern. She was staring at the wall, not blinking. "Hey hon." He patted her shoulder. She flinched and looked up at Nick, her eyes wet. "Come on. Let's go back to the room. Helen said we'd learn more in the morning."

Eastern stood, shaky. "O-okay Nick. Let's go."

They made their way out of the hospital, ignored. Nobody stopped them, nobody even acknowledged their existence. They rode the elevator up to the penthouse. When they entered, they noticed two steaming cups of tea on the table, and a plate of cookies.

Nick and Eastern went into their bedroom, the snacks ignored. The bed was already turned down, and the lights were low. They took off their clothes and fell into bed. Eastern fell asleep almost immediately, but Nick laid awake and stared at the ceiling.

Finally, he fell fitfully aleep.

Nick dreamed.

Nick was back in the last year of school, sitting at his desk in the morning, half listening to the Colonial History lecture. Nick's parents thought that history was important to know, so they went over things that Nick mostly knew already. He remembered trips to historical locations on Parvati. Touchdown Beach, the first buildings on Parvati, even a trip to Colonial Station One, the orbital built out of the colony ship that took the first colonists to Parvati. As he doodled on his notebook while the teacher droned, the PA crackled to life. "Nicholas North, please come to the office."

With the sharp ice of adrenaline, Nick remembered what day this is.

This is the day his parents die.

Blissfully, he did not have to relive the worst days of his life. Everything happened back then was a numb blur of doctors, lawyers, friends and family offering condolences and sadness. Crushing, bleak, sadness. He missed graduation, and his diploma was mailed to him. The school didn't mention it, and he didn't care.

The dream transitioned to the funeral. Nick was sitting on the bench next to the urns of his parents again, still surrounded by flowers and photos, Nick still in the uncomfortable rented suit. The same train of well wishers came by. No Eastern this time.

His parents walked up to him. His Dad in a severe black funeral tuxedo. Looking up in surprise, the first thought he had was that he was glad that his parents were cremated. His dad hated suits. He would go out of his way to avoid wearing one. He'd much rather be in light linen pants and a brightly colored loose shirt. His mom was head to toe in a black sari. The soft silk was matte black with glossy black printing of stars and galaxies. The subtle gradient of the fabric would shimmer in the light.

"Oh Nick my boy. What have you gotten into?" His dad sighed softly and touched his shoulder. "I always said you never did things by half measures. You're in it now."

"Avan, be nicer to our boy. Can't you see he's in mourning?" His mom frowned at his dad and gestured towards Nick."

"Reva my love, I know that he is. We wouldn't be here if he wasn't. He knows Selkirk is dead."

Nick looked up sharply at both of them. "No! Sel is fighting! She can still make it."

"Nicholas, you know that's not true." Nick's Mom spoke softly towards her son. "Selkirk is dead. She was probably dead before you went to dinner. We know this because you know this." She bent down and hugged her son tightly. Nick couldn't take it anymore and started bawling. He hadn't cried at their real funeral, why is he crying now?"

"You're crying now because this is a dream, and it's a reflection of what you wanted to do the entire time you took care of our last rites." His father answered the question that Nick had only thought. Dream logic. "Nicholas. Know this: we love you. Now and forever."

Nick's mom stood up and nodded. "Always have, always will. No matter your choices."

Nick sniffled and wiped his eyes and his father continued. "Nick. Too long you have been following. You follow Eastern and Selkirk because you like them and following is easier than leading. Both of them are nice, and kind, and respectful, and neither wish to lead you to a place you don't want to go, so it's easy." Nick's dad looked over at his mom and smiled with a small blush. "Believe me, I know."

Nick's mom smiled back at her husband. She turned back to Nick and her face took on a serious expression. "Nicholas. Now is not the time to follow." She bent down and hugged him one more time. While she was bent over she whispered in his ear. "Now?"

"Now is the time to lead."

Nick opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. Turning his head, he saw Eastern, still asleep, her cheeks wet. Turning the other way, the clock shows it was early, early morning. They had only slept two hours. Nick sat up and gently touched Eastern's shoulder. "Hon. Wake up. It's time to go."

"Muwa? Huh? Okay." Eastern rustled and started to get up on automatic, pulling her clothes on. After ten seconds she stopped and her eyes focused on Nick. "What's wrong?"

Nick met her gaze. "Selkirk is dead."

Eastern's nostrils flared as she breathed in sharply, but nodded. "I felt it too. How do you know?"

"I don't. But we know it's true. Helen has been lying to us."

"That's why she took us to diner isn't it? She wanted us distracted, out of the way." Her lips formed a snarl and she turned away. "How long was she going to keep it from us?"

"I don't know. But, I bet she was going to use is as leverage a long time." Nick stood and started putting his own clothes on. "Come on. It's time we took the initiative. We need to leave."

"Eastern zipped up her jacket and started combing her hair. "Where are we going to go?"

"Off Hyacinth. Maybe out of Sol. Somewhere she can't get to us. Somewhere we can get help."

"Help? Nick. We're two small time criminals who just lost our partner - who was also a criminal. Nobody is going to help us."

Nick sighed. In his bones he felt there was more to it than that, but for now, he had to agree. "Well then, off Hyacinth. Maybe Luna?"

"No." Eastern was emphatic. "Not Luna. I'm never going back."

"Okay then. What about the OPA? The free cities might be a good place to start again?" Nick looked at Eastern to try and judge her receptiveness to what he was saying. "We could even go to Meíhuā, or... Parvati." Nick surprised himself. "I'd like to show you home sometime."

Eastern looked at Nick surprised. "You know what Nicholas North? I'd like to see Parvati. Why don't we go with that as our long term plan." She picked up her pad, folded it and put it in her pocket, "But for now, let's concentrate on surviving and getting off Hyacinth."

Nick nodded. "Agreed. Let's go."

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[imavillainok]

[ Chapter 2: New Home, New Mission ]

Masterlist / Menu、Chapter List

ー ♡꒱・！Tags！ : Feitan Portor Fanfic, Series

ー ♡꒱・！Word Count！: 1388 words

Pairing [ Feitan Portor x Original Character ]

ー ♡꒱・！Warnings！ : None

Feitan carefully held the little girl's hand. He had never held another child before, but he knew that he had to be gentle. The little girl seemed to have calmed down when he held her hand, but she was still silent, her big eyes fixed on Feitan's face.

He walked through the city streets, avoiding the busy crowds and the noisy traffic. He lived in a dirty alleyway on the outskirts of the city, in a small tent that he had set up against the wall of a building. It was a quiet and secluded place, hidden away from the rest of the city.

As Feitan approached his tent, he saw that the little girl was still looking around, taking in her new surroundings. He carefully let go of her hand and spread out a small pile of blankets on the floor, and he sat down.

"This my home. You live here" he said. "This where we live now."

Feitan spent the rest of the day showing the little girl around their little home.  The little girl watched his every move with a mixture of curiosity and caution. She still didn't speak, but Feitan could tell that she was beginning to feel more comfortable around him. He knew that it would take time for her to trust him completely, but he was patient. He was determined to give her a safe home, no matter what.

As the days passed, Feitan and the little girl settled into a routine. They would wake up early in the morning and Feitan would go out to scavenge for food and supplies, leaving the little girl to explore their little home.

The little girl was still mostly silent, but she would occasionally make small noises or gestures that indicated that she was beginning to understand Feitan's language. He was grateful for even the smallest signs of progress, and he made sure to reward her with smiles and gentle touches whenever she did something new.

Despite the difficult circumstances of their lives, Feitan and the little girl were beginning to find a sense of comfort and security in each other's company.

One day, while sitting in their home, there was a whistling sound outside of their tent. The little girl looked up, startled, and Feitan could hear the hesitation in her breathing. He quickly stood up and walked to the entrance of their home, cautiously peeking out.

To his surprise, he saw his fellow Troupe member Shalnark standing outside. Feitan hadn't seen him in a while, and he wondered why he had come to visit.

"Hey Feitan," Shalnark greeted him with a smile. "Long time no see. Can I come in?"

Feitan hesitated, unsure of what to do. He didn't want to bring any unnecessary attention to himself or the little girl, but he also didn't want to be rude to Shalnark.

"Hmm, sure," Feitan finally replied, stepping aside to let Shalnark in.

Shalnark looked around their tent, taking in the small space and sat on the floor. He noticed the little girl sitting quietly in the corner and gave her a friendly wave, but she didn't respond.

"What bring you here?" Feitan asked, trying to keep his tone casual.

Shalnark's expression turned serious. "We're having a meeting. The Troupe. Tonight. Everyone's going to be there. I thought you should know."

Feitan hesitated for a moment, thinking about what to do with the little girl. He couldn't just leave her alone, and he didn't want to bring her to a Troupe meeting. But he knew he couldn't ignore Shalnark's request either.

Feitan looked at the little girl, who was sitting quietly on the blankets. He knew he had no choice but to take her with him.

"Ok. Will come" he said to Shalnark.

Shalnark nodded, sensing that Feitan didn't want to talk about it further. "Okay, let's go then."

Feitan picked up the little girl and held her close to him as they walked to the meeting place. He could feel her small hand trembling against his, and he knew that she was scared. He tried to reassure her by patting her head, but he could tell that it wasn't working.

When they arrived at the meeting place, Feitan saw the rest of the Troupe sitting around the old building. They all looked up when he entered with the little girl in his arms. There was a moment of silence as they took in the unusual sight.

Feitan walked over and sat on a huge rock then made the little girl sat down next to him. He could feel her tiny hand clutching onto his shirt tightly, as if she was afraid he would leave her alone.

The meeting began, with the Boss discussing their next job. Feitan tried to pay attention, but he couldn't focus with the little girl sitting next to him, her wide eyes taking in everything around her. He knew he had to find a way to take care of her while also being a member of the Troupe. He would have to figure out how to make it work.

Chrollo could sense Feitan's distraction and looked over at him. "Feitan, is there something you want to share with the group?" he asked, his tone even.

Feitan hesitated, unsure of what to say. He didn't want to reveal that the little girl's presence was bothering him.

"Nothing." Feitan answered.

Chrollo raised an eyebrow, but didn't press the issue further. He knew that Feitan would share more if and when he was ready.

"Very well," Chrollo said.

The Boss continued with the meeting, explaining that their mission was to steal a supply of food from a truck that was delivering it to a nearby village. The people in Meteor City were in desperate need of food, but the truck was owned by a rival gang who had no intention of sharing their resources.

Feitan listened intently, his mind racing with ideas on how to execute the mission. He knew that the Troupe had to act quickly, as the rival gang was notorious for their violence and would not hesitate to retaliate if they discovered the theft.

After the meeting, Feitan pulled Chrollo aside. "Boss, I need to ask for your help with something," he said, looking at him seriously.

"What is it?" Chrollo asked.

Feitan explained the situation with the little girl and his concern for her safety during the mission. Chrollo listened carefully, nodding understandingly. "Don't worry, Feitan. We'll figure out a way to keep her safe," he reassured him.

The day of the mission arrived, and the Troupe set out to intercept the truck. They had planned the operation meticulously, with each member assigned a specific task to ensure the success of the mission.

Feitan's role was to disable the truck's security system and keep watch for any potential threats. He slipped into the shadows, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of danger. Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He tensed, ready to attack, but then he saw the little girl's face peeking out from behind a nearby tree.

Feitan's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't believe that the little girl had followed him, but there was no time to dwell on it. He quickly scooped her up and hid her behind a nearby bush, telling her to stay quiet and out of sight.

With the girl safely hidden away, Feitan resumed his position and successfully disabled the truck's security system. The rest of the Troupe quickly moved in and began to unload the food from the truck.

However, their success was short-lived as the rival gang appeared on the scene, armed and ready for a fight. The Troupe quickly took defensive positions, their weapons at the ready.

Feitan's heart was pounding in his chest as he watched the rival gang approach. He was ready to fight to protect the Troupe and the little girl, but he didn't want to risk her safety. Suddenly, he heard a loud explosion, and the rival gang was thrown back, their weapons flying out of their hands.

Feitan turned to see Chrollo, standing confidently with something in his hand. "Let's go, Feitan," he said calmly, gesturing to the rest of the Troupe who were already making their escape.

Feitan grabbed the little girl and followed after the Troupe.

Chapter 1: The Little Girl

Chapter 3: Something Sharp

[tonybina-india-2020]

Day 4: The Claridges - New Delhi

12th March 2023

The old fella is 60 today !  We had our evening meal at Pickwick last night, one of the six restaurants that are within this Hotel.  The menu consists of British / European food with an Indian slant and was delicious. There were four empty plates to prove it.  Afterwards we decided to retire to Aura for a final evening drink. This bar is all decadence with lipstick shaped sofas, fluffy, hairy cushions, dark red velvet seat coverings and, bizarrely huge holographic faces of women who glance at you as you enter, they also blink and have different facial expressions. We decided to sit outside on the patio, however the only seating left was a high top table. I pitied  the poor waitress as she assisted me onto the chair as I tried to clamber up onto it whilst it slid about on the marble floor. Once I was on, she then tried to push the chair under the table , poor thing was only a slip of a girl but somehow she managed it, all of this as we were falling around laughing.

Finally all four of us were seated comfortably and our drinks were ordered.  On the next table, about a foot underneath our eye level were two young men, who on seeing the struggles of two older ladies, offered us their seating. Rita and I declined because it would have been even more of a hassle getting off our lofty perch. These two guys were on a Saturday night out, smoking Shisha and having a few jars, they were very amiable and I think they enjoyed the spectacle that we were putting on.

We enjoyed a very expensive round of drinks, but it was worth it for the ambience, the service, the warm night air and the company.

Very lucky to have a little lie in this morning and we went down to breakfast about 8.30am.Once again it was scrumptious and I had enough North Indian delicacies to keep me going until dinner time.

Ashok picked us up at 10.30am and we were on our way to the Sanjay Slum Colony. I sat in my seat looking out of the window at the crowds of people, the long wide roads, the tumultuous traffic and  pondered on how I would feel, coming face to face with with men, women and children who had nothing and survived on just hope. 

When we arrived at the Colony the first thing that I noticed was the smell, an acrid aroma of cooking, cow and general rubbish.

I got off the Tempo and was surrounded by children wanting to say hello, beautiful children with wide smiling faces, black eyes and ebony hair. They jostled and pushed each other just to be close to us and elbowed each other out of the way. My heart broke to see this, I tried to stop the tears from forming at the corner of my eyes, but all wanted to do was to scoop them up, each and everyone. Their small faces so full of joy and happiness at seeing us. I wondered how they perceived us, with resentment ? I truly think it was with utter pleasure.

We met our specialist guide and ventured into the Colony, the kids keeping pace with us, still pushing and shoving to try and get close and then one by one they veered off as other interests caught there eye.

We were heading towards a clothing sorting factory, I did notice a sign saying “ no child labour” on the side of the building, how true this is, I don’t know.

 Finally after stepping over dozing dogs, side stepping assorted debris, negotiating rivers of water we came to a group of women sorting out strips of clothing.

These large bundles of cloth are bought from the clothing factories and then all the scraps are sorted into different piles depending on colour, once this is done the factories buy the cloth back, melt it down and re use it.  For this arduous, tedious work the women are paid 2£ per day, it’s back breaking, repetitive and soulless, but it’s done with a smile, light chatter and satisfaction.

Did I have any questions ? Of course I did !  Whilst the women toiled, a group of old men sat around them smoking and chatting,  relaxing against the huge bundles of cloth.

My question was “ What do the men do ? “

The answer was that they were waiting for the women to finish so they could sell the sorted bundles.

What can I say ? 

We ventured on further in to the Community, besieged on all sides by interested children, women carrying huge bundles on their heads and motorbikes, and came upon the doctor in a tiny room about 6 x 5 feet, he was sitting at a table doling out medicine to a lady in a colourful sari.

On asking his credentials I was told he wasn’t a doctor but a pharmacist, or maybe just a quack Googling what he needed to know ?  We passed a sweet shop, I wished I had bought some for the kids, over gulleys of dark, dank water, through low arches and alleyways, cow pats and sleeping dogs. We saw brightly coloured saris hung over balconies, we saw Brahma cows feasting on a rubbish dump.

Finally we came to the end of the tour and what an eye opener it had been. We spent over £60 on a round of drinks last night which equates to a months wages for these people, it’s obscene really.  I left the Sanjay Colony Slums very humbled, these people were better than me. they saw through their adversity and  tried to make something of themselves, against the odds, they have survived.

These ever optimistic people have communal toilet blocks and showers, imagine that ? Imagine no running drinking water, imagine no sewage system, imagine having a guillotine over your head, wondering when the next slum clearance would be?  We silently boarded our bus and drove to our next stop, the Lotus Temple.

This Temple is a Baha’i house of worship and is inspired by a lotus flower, which is a symbol of purity and is associated with worship and religion in India.

It was built in 1953 and sits on 26 acres of landscaped gardens, overflowing with flowers, shrubs and trees.

The Baha’i faith is of oneness with God and humanity and free from prejudice, where men and women are judged equal. They believe in harmony between religion and science and the importance of education. The Temple is indeed beautiful, stunning even, however it looks rather like the Sydney Opera House, with its lotus leaves thrusting out into the vibrant blue sky.

We didn’t go inside as the queues were so long, but it was enough to say that we had been there and it’s safe to say that if I wasn’t a Hindu, I would follow the Baha’i religion.

Well Ashok took his leave of us and left us with our driver and mate, who were to take us back to our hotel.

We had a few problems not least of which a puncture, which took about an hour to sort, apparently the jack was so old that it had jammed, however finally we were on our way back.

We ended up in Aura for a few drinks to celebrate Tony’s birthday and now we’re off for a celebratory meal .

No photos of the Sanjay Slum Colony out of respect for the residents 

[marvelslegacies]

Cass | How To Break And Enter (And Other Life Skills) (1) | Past Paragraph

In the car with his father, Cass kept a hand weakly pressed to his uneasy stomach. The chair was set for someone with incredibly perfect posture, probably due to the fact that Walter had never once had another passenger in his car. Cass tried his best to relax and kept his head pressed against the glass window, even though the loud city traffic and high speeds made it difficult to drift off. His eyes were darting back and forth in a frenzy as he took in the chaos of cars, trucks, and SUVs swerving and shifting as they switched lanes and fought their ways outside of city limits.

Other than outside noises breaching their bubble of existence, no music or radio show voices filled the car, instead the silence was filled by Walter explaining away the major parts of their mission. Begrudgingly, Cass added in his “okays” and “i understands” at the right cues and hoped to God that Walter would be finished briefing him soon.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Walter demanded, his eyes traversing between his son’s face and his son’s stomach. Cass jumped internally at the sudden exclamation but kept his cool composure.

“What, you’re not doing this?” he questioned, a hint of apathy in his tone. Walter shook his head, now focusing on the road but glancing back at Cass every fifth word in the conversation.

“No, son. Trust that if it was me.. you’d have puked by now.” The colorful language was almost as colorful as Cass’ mental image, which he felt no reluctance about planting in Walter’s head. Cass relished the face of quiet disgust his father wore for only a moment, and smiled to himself as he returned his attention to the blurred mess of vehicles on asphalt beside them.

The rest of the ride was silent. They drove until they reached Maine, the apparent location of this top secret SHIELD facility. They parked just close to where the building was a black speck on the horizon. “Get us inside, son.” Cass’ inner child wanted to tell Walter not to call him ‘son’. “I can only teleport to-”

“to places you’ve already been or places you can see.” Walter finished for himself, producing a resentful scowl on Cass’ face. Cass glared at Walter. “I know all the rules and tricks and loopholes, son, so don’t try to talk your way out of this.” He stepped out in front of Cass so that Cass had a great view of the man’s back, “I can cause you more pain than you could ever imagine..” Walter said simply.

Cass bowed forward, almost falling to the ground, and clutched his abdomen with both hands. He grit his teeth and growled in pain.

“..should you decide to be disobedient.” The pain disappeared in an instant. Cass straightened, trying and failing to regain his dignity.

“It’s there.” Walter pointed out into the bleak horizon. “Get us there now.”

Cass stepped up beside his father, focused on the dot, and then placed a hand on the man’s shoulder.

They were there, just behind the fence that encompassed the facility. Those guards who occupied a position on the fence didn’t seem to notice that Cass and Walter had just appeared in front of them out of nowhere and then blinked right out of sight. Now within the facility fences, Cass looked up at Walter; he noticed that the man’s eyes were closed in concentration, or perhaps he was adjusting to the dysphoric sensations that teleportation first caused people. Cass rolled his eyes, deciding that he didn’t care either way, and looked around, taking in his new surroundings.

The dirt was a dull orange, much like the rest of the landscape… they were in some desert area uninhabited by common U.S. citizens. The fences stood tall, almost thirty feet. A steel cubic watchtower was in place at each corner of the rectangular perimeter as well as two watchtowers on either side of a large medal door which, Cass reasoned, was not about to simply open up for two intruders.

“Now what?” He asked his father, bored and slightly annoyed he was giving Walter the opportunity to order him around.

Walter shrugged, not to show he was unsure or did not have an answer, but to express how nonchalant this whole business of infiltrating maximum-security government facilities was to him.

“Now we walk in.”

[black-kitties]

Chapter 4

Start reading from Chapter 1

There was a noticeable shift in Jaz’s surroundings that tipped her off that she was now entering Suicide Slums. The streets were lined with three to four story condos, each dedicating their first level to business fronts. The facades shifted from large window displays and neatly kept exteriors to metal bars protecting the door and windows. Old spay paint was left to weather on buildings and windows. The buildings were older in this part of the city, with crumbling brick and cracked stone veneers, mold and dirt caked to their exteriors. The foot traffic in the area changed too. People wore older clothes, huddled and rushed about trying to avoid bringing attention to themselves. Jaz realized she was being watched from window fronts of businesses, and by other pedestrians smoking outside. She pulled her hood up and picked up the pace.

They were burning daylight at this point and if she was going to be out of the area before nightfall, she’d need to find this vet clinic fast. She’d heard there was a church in Midtown right next to Suicide Slums that let transients like her sleep in the pews; she hoped she’d be able to make it there before ten pm when they closed their doors.

The vet was difficult to find, she ended up walking circles around it before finally realizing she had to enter the alley way between the two buildings. A left turn in the middle of the alley was all she’d missed. It opened into a cement courtyard with a building wrapped around it. To one side several parking stalls lined it and on the other were beat down trash bins. She would’ve completely missed it if it weren’t for google. Who chose to rent a business space in a place like this? One look at the door told her it had been busted in nights prior and hastily repaired. Hanging on it was a dirty looking ‘Open’ sign in red lettering. She looked to Hero, “Well. This is the place.” Uncertainty coloured her voice, but she didn’t let herself hesitate. The doorknob turned but she had to kick the door to unstick it from the jam. “Hello?”

The interior looked clean and well lit, as if walking into any normal vet office that was operating anywhere else in Metropolis. It didn’t feel like it matched the exterior at all. The door didn’t close behind her and she had to kick it again before it clicked. “We’re closed. Didn’t you see the sign?” The sudden male voice behind her caused Jaz to yelp and spin.

Standing in the door behind the reception desk was a tall man with long dar brown hair down to his shoulders. He filled the entire frame with the physic of a body builder, his eyes were yellow and the way they were leveled at Jaz made the hairs on the back of her neck raise, as if meeting with a wild animal. His white lab coat was open at the front and the sleeves stretched against the strain of him crossing his large arms. He was wearing a collared blue shirt underneath it and brown pants. Despite his attire something about him felt… Feral? It was like seeing a beast dressed in a doctor’s outfit.

“Uhh. Oh well, the sign out front says you’re open.” Jaz quickly regained her composure taking several steps towards the front desk.

She watched him eye up her dog before quickly returning his attention to her, “Your dog looks fine, come back tomorrow when we’re open again. Flip the sign on your way out.” He turned to leave the room-

“Wait!” He paused, turning back to her with an expressionless face. At least he wasn’t outright hostile, “I came all this way on foot ‘cus the dog is lost. I just need you to check his chip and contact his family.” When he didn’t speak she added, “Please. Everywhere else is closed.”

He sighed after a moment, running his hand through his hair. “I can’t help you today. Come back tomorrow and we can check his chip for you.” Jaz waivered for a moment, reluctant to have to make the trip into this neighborhood again. “Let me walk you to your car though, its getting late.”

“Oh, that’s fine. I can walk myself out. I’ll see you tomorrow, what time do you open?” She’d prefer not to reveal to him that she didn’t own a car.

“Ten.” He slipped back through the office allowing Jaz a momentary peek inside. She caught a glimpse of another man before the door closed.

The door was stuck fast again and the force of her kick flipped the ‘Open’ sign to ‘Closed’. Sighing, she distractedly scrolled through her phone trying to parse out a route to get to the church she’d heard about. A warning growl from Hero brought her attention back to her surroundings. He’d stepped in front of her between her and the figure who had turned the corner from the alley way. The figure was impossibly tall for a human, its features were obscured behind a comically large trench coat and wide brimmed hat.

And then it lunged. The hat of the stranger flew off him revealing its metal reptilian features. Hero leapt through the air intercepting the lizards path knocking it off balance, but not enough to stop it from reaching her. Jaz’s movements felt sluggish compared to the dog or the Dino but she managed to roll her way to the side dodging its first attempts at grabbing her. Instead it slammed its heavy hand into the back of Hero trying to get a grip on him. A scream ripped from Jaz’s mouth, and she dashed to help Hero. The metal tail of the Dino slammed into her side throwing her through the air. Her crash was softer than she’d been expecting, when she realized she’d been caught and plopped back on her two feet.

“Get inside.” The vet set her down behind him. Jaz’s side stung and it hurt to suck in air into her left lung. Stars were beginning to flash in her vision.

“He’s got Hero!” She yelled. The Dino was trying to drag Hero away while the dog bravely tore into its metal carapace. Her dash was blocked by his arm. His yellow eyes were now glowing in the dim light outside and his pupils had turned into slits. Fangs protruded over his lip and the tips of his ears had elongated with little furry tufts topping them.

“You’re a werewolf.” She breathed. He flinched clearly bothered by the description before lunging towards the Dino. Jaz stumbled backwards feeling the shock of each step reverberate through her head.

 -          -      -

 Claws erupted from the tips of Brin’s fingers and he leapt with unnatural speed through the air landing behind the Dino. He slashed into its back. It spun around whipping its tail at him but he bounced backwards just in time for it to slash harmlessly through the air. A growl ripped out of him as he surveyed the situation. The girl looked dazed but she hadn’t stepped back. Her hands were balled into fists as if she intended to fight. He’d have to keep an eye on her. The Dino had a tight grip on the dogs torso, though it didn’t appear injured yet judging by how much it struggled.

He took a step forward, it took a step back. Another surge of power rippled through his body as anger welled up inside him. These things had been attacking across the city and had attacked this place three nights in a row now. He should’ve insisted on walking her to her damn car, maybe then-

The Dino lunged at Brin with its free arm. He side stepped it and grabbed its arm instead digging his claws satisfyingly between the metal armour it wore. It’s tail slammed into his shoulder but he’d braced in time that it didn’t send him flying. He punched his free hand under its arm where there was a weak spot in its armoured plates shooting his nails like bullets into the metal torso. The Dino began convulsing and the dog wiggled free, dropping out of its arms.

“Hero!” The girl ran towards them.

“STAY BACK!” Brin roared but the Dino had seized that moment to lunge towards her a second time. Somehow the human seemed to read its intent and dropped herself into a slide grabbing onto her dog as the Dino leapt above her. Brin slammed into the back of the Dino. The force of its leap coupled with the force of Brin’s tackle sent it tumbling to the ground and Brin stabbed his hand into the armpit of the machine claws first grabbing a fist full of electronics before ripping the arm of it clean off. The creature let out a metallic screech as if in pain while its tail flailed wildly. The shriek sent a thrill through him. He stood on top of the creature, stomping his foot against its hip while he pulled on its tail. The metal strained and struggled but ultimately his strength won out and the tail was ripped from its body. He made quick work of its remaining limbs before remembering the girl. She wasn’t in the courtyard.

-          -      -

Jaz carried Hero through the alley way stumbling as she went. Her vision was blurring at the edges and any light she saw was burning into her skull. Still she had to get them to safety. The scene she saw was savage, a wolf like creature ripping into that Dino; and that scream. That scream put to rest any doubt she had that it wasn’t alive. That was pain, pure and simple. Hero was panting in her arms letting her carry him but he leapt out of them when she screamed. A heavy hand had grabbed her shoulder, spinning her on the spot while the werewolf called, “girl.” Instinctively Jaz punched him with her fist, wincing when his face didn’t even budge and her hand came away bleeding. “I will not harm you, I swear.” He lifted his hand from her shoulder hovering them both in front of him as if to show he meant no harm. That façade quickly crumbled when he caught her fist the moment she jerked away to run. Hero was at her side hackles up growling. “Please. Just let us treat you, you can barely walk, its clear you’re injured.” The force of his grip made her wince again.

“I’ll be fine,” She started but he cut her off.

“You’re clearly not.” He blew air out of his nose frustrated. “Look, you’re in no condition to drive and I can’t in good conscience let you go stumbling around like this. Not here. Just take some time to rest at the clinic first, I can drive you home after.” As much as she feared what she’d just seen, he was beginning to make some sense… And… She stumbled, leaning to the left. If it weren’t for him holding her fist she’d have fallen. Hero whimpered and looking down he’d lowered his hackles and seemed to indicate that they should follow.

“Alright. Just- Just for a little bit.” He nodded. He wrapped her arm over his far too tall shoulder and she expected he was going to support her as she hobbled towards the clinic only for the ground to be ripped away from her. “Put me down!”

“Ow, that was right in my ear.” He grimaced. The fangs on his face were smaller now, and the furry tufts on his ears were disappearing.

“I can walk just fine, put me down!”

“You walk slow.”

“You didn’t even give me the chance to.” She winced resting her head against his shoulder for a moment. Lights had just grown blindingly bright.

“You ran slow, now stop yelling and just wait until we get to the clinic.” He shot back annoyed. It was no more than a minute before they’d reached the clinic on his long legs. He didn’t set her down at the door though and instead carried her in princess style to the gasp of his colleague.

“Brin, is that the girl from earlier? Are you ok miss?” An older dark-skinned vet with greying white hair and a bushy salt and pepper walrus moustache followed them into the veterinarians office. “Here,” The sound of metal scraping against metal filled the room forcing Jaz to screw her eyes shut against the pain. She felt herself be set on a cool metal surface. “There we go. No, no, no, just relax,” He gently stopped her from sitting up. “This is my office. Not as comfortable as ones made for humans, but you’re in good hands here, I wasn’t always just a vet you know.” His smile was warm and kind. “Now just relax. I’m going to give you a check over, make sure nothings broken inside. Brin, where are you going?”

“Going to check on our friend outside. Left that one still alive.” She heard the click of the door but kept her eyes closed.

“Is the light bothering you?” She could hear the noises of the veterinarian searching through drawers and the light clattering noises as he placed things onto his metal tray.

“Yeah. Bright lights, noises. My head hurts.” She could tell the lights dimmed through her eyelids. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Did you hit your head out there? Where did those metal bastards hit you?” The sound of little nails against the ground eased Jaz’s worry that Hero wasn’t with her.

“Yes and no,” She made eye contact with the doctor, “It hit me here.” She indicated to her side, “And I hit my head three days ago, was just discharged from the hospital.”

“Ok, I’m going to touch you now, just to check on your body. Tell me when it hurts.” The man really did seem to have clinic experience, he was acting just like her family doctor back home. “Oh, gosh me. My names Jason by the way. Jason Niles. I’m the owner of this veterinary clinic.” He spoke while he poked and prodded her sides, testing her ribs, listening to her breath. Checking her head.

“Name’s Jaz. Jaz Heller.”

“Now tell me Jaz. Why, after waking up in the hospital, did you decide to come all the way here?”

“To get Hero’s chip checked.”

“In your condition you should’ve gone straight home and rested. The hospital did recommend bed rest, right?” He even had the same chiding tone typical of a doctor’s bedside manner.

“Figured I’d do that first before going home.”

“Right.” He chuckled in face of her stubbornness, “Well, nothing is broken or bleeding, save for your hand. I’ve bandaged that for you so why don’t you come upstairs and rest for a bit on the couch. When you’re feeling better, we’ll take you home, ok?” She simply nodded, allowing him to help her up and relying on him to help her navigate up the stairs.

“So is Brin…” She didn’t know how to finish the sentence.

“Brin has been my assistant for many months now. He’s a decent fellow, got a temper on him, but he’s good at heart. He’s been protecting this side of Metropolis since he’s arrived.” He set Jaz down on a large well worn leather couch. The kind that you sunk into and could curl right up on. “You have no reason to fear him.”

 She just nodded in response before resting her eyes for just a moment.

Chapter 5

[neopuppy]

Whatever you want to write for Jungwoo🥺 Love you💓💓

🥹💙💙💙

the best part of your new apartment is definitely the balcony, far out enough from the city to be surrounded by tons of greenery. away from the hustle and bustle of rush hour traffic, a perfect to way to start your mornings and end your nights cozied up in a comfy chair with a mug full of hot tea.

it’s peaceful, serene, and even better because your attractive next door neighbor never shuts his curtains.

his name’s Kim Jungwoo, you’ve learned in the first week since moving in with his mailbox being next to yours. he’s tall, slender, walks through your buildings hallways broad shouldered and modelesque.

it wouldn’t have taken much time for you to notice him, Jungwoo’s your type; especially because he walks around his apartment in nothing but a pair of briefs quite often.

you know you shouldn’t stare, but it’s hard not to when you’re enjoying a night out on your balcony deck again and Jungwoo isn’t alone this time.

it’s not that you’ve even had much interaction yet, he never maintains eye contact with you when you pass each other outside of your apartments. eye contact would mean he’s interested, and by the looks of his current situation, he’s not.

as easy as it would be to get up and drag your ass to bed, you can’t tear your eyes away. huddled up in a blanket surrounded by late night breeze, you find yourself tantalized by the vision across from you.

Jungwoo’s slow at first, inching close to the girl sat by his side. whatever they’re watching seems to have her shook up, shrieking and burying her face to hide in his shoulder. a pleased smirk crosses his lips, cooing something you can only try to imagine as ‘it’s okay, don’t be scared. I’ll protect you.’ because that’s what you would love to hear during a moment of terrified weakness.

they slowly lose interest in the film, locking eyes and lips, stirring a bitter hint of jealousy to rise in your chest. it’s none of your business but Jungwoo takes command of the kiss, completely covering the sides of her face enough to make it easy for you to imagine yourself tucked into his chest.

easy enough to lose yourself as his shirt comes off revealing the smoothest toned chest and abdomen you’ve ever seen.

‘I should stop’ that’s what you mutter to yourself, shifting in your seat uncomfortably. just as you toe at your slippers to step back into and head inside, a slam against Jungwoo’s sliding door catches you off guard. shooting up with a gasp, the woman’s naked form presses up to the glass, engulfed by his larger frame and hands buried into her hair.

as the side of his bare thigh catches your eye, you think ‘I should stop’ once again. stuck to your chair as if wet cement is dragging you deeper and deeper inside of its clutches.

he grips her thighs, hoisting them up causing a squeak to erupt from the door as the skin on her backside tugs painfully. the way the back of her head bangs into the glass lets you know he’s filled her up. chewing and kissing a trail along one of the arms thrown around his neck, Jungwoo sucks on her shoulder, languidly lifting his gaze directly to yours.

all you can do is sit there with your jaw hung open, awestruck and mortified that your neighbor knows you’re watching, he’s known all along.

the fierce gaze he sets you with never breaks, each rattle and bang against the glass only intensifies the blazing heat in his eyes burning your soles to the ground to not move.

sleep never came that night, the touch of your hand accompanied tossing and turning for hours until sun rise broke through your window.

it was still early enough for Jungwoo to be fast asleep after his eventful night; you hoped anyway. too humiliated to so much as have to wave a casual greeting the next time you see your neighbor.

too dazed from lack of rest with a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee in hand, you step out to take in the fresh air. morning dew, early birds chirping their morning greetings, and a crisp aroma of green tea circles around.

green tea, with honey, and a splash of milk..

that Jungwoo sipped on across from you sat on his deck. a messy head of black hair that he ruffled through a few times, pouty lips blowing above the mug in his grip, and a watchful gaze focused on your look of surprise.

he waves first breaking your initial stupor, sitting up straight to give you the full show off his bare chest, cotton sweats sit much too low on his hips allowing you to see a thin faint trail of hair disappearing beyond the hem.

setting down his tea, he stretches letting out a cute yawn. never once losing your eyes following his every move. patting his chest as he brushes down to rub on the pronounced muscles lining his stomach. he traces the divots, creeping lower and lower, letting out a soft huff of a laugh as he circles lightly around his navel.

who really knows when Jungwoo caught on to you watching him, only time would tell.

but as he teased the tips of his fingers along the entrance of his sweats and toyed with the drawstring in other other hand, you realized.. he liked it. he liked that you watched him, maybe a little too much.

arching back his lengthy neck, Jungwoo bites down on his lip, burying inside past the hem to fist the bulge sitting between his thighs.

it’s eerily silent, cold, warm, every tug and jerk he gives feels stronger, more intense. your coffee long forgotten, unable to remove yourself from watching your neighbor jerk off right in front of you.

each vein lining his inner forearm pumps vibrantly with his working wrist, each muffled sound amplified tickling your ears, each twitch his stomach gives feels earth shattering.

Jungwoo doesn’t take too long to cum, worked up faster by your squirming and pitiful stare, the way you continuously lap at your lips like a bloodthirsty animal.

and when he finishes, he winks, picking him his tea to ‘cheers’ you from a distance, returning to enjoy the light morning hours when everyone should be asleep.

[emile-hides]

H*lding H*nds Imagines

I am once again making content for me and me alone because I have an unhealthy obsession for BNHA blond boys

BNHA Blond Boys X GN!Reader h*nd h*lding moments

Characters: All Might, Present Mic, Fatgum, Twice, Aoyama, Ojiro, Kaminari, Bakugo, Honenuki, Monoma, Mirio

All Might

Knuckle brush

You handed him things before

Stacks of papers to grade, coffee after a long day, a napkin when he goes into a coughing fit

But something about this time turns his face a deep red

He withdrew quickly, in a jerking manner that dragged more attention than you’re sure he meant it to

He cleared this throat and thanked you quietly before shuffling off

It took a few moments to really set on you

You’d made contact

Such little contact you’d barely even felt it

He was cold, his skin rough and calloused, wrinkled and dry

How you managed to notice so much with such brief contact is astounding

And also incomparable to how much he noticed

He’s thinking about it all day, glancing at where the contact was made, shuffling, flushing to himself, holding his knuckles to his lips

Do it on purpose next time you hand him a stack of papers and he’ll drop them

Present Mic

In a crowd

It’s LOUD

You and Hizashi are trying to get home after a live show

The crowd is huge and still hyped from the concert

The quarters are tight, the space is limited, and without his towering hair spike it’s hard to keep track of your loud blond

Eventually a strong clasp from a hand horribly decorated in rings, fingerless gloves, and black nail polish claps on your wrist as your continued to be pulled though a crowd

When the world finally starts to calm and you have room to breath his hand slides to connect to your palm

Fingers intertwine with yours as a series of “Y’all good?”s start, followed quickly by an excited narration of the chaos that just ensued

He’d taken your hand so causally you barely even noticed

The two of you walked in a much calmer crowd, hand in hand, as Hizashi randomly picked bystanders out of his vocal range and made up their life stories to tell you

Fatgum

Big hands

You laid idly on the couch in Fatgum’s office, the interns long sense gone home

A pile of paperwork blocked your view of your hard working hero as he sat at his desk

You slumped and slid off the couch, boredom rising as you phone lie dead on the table nearby

A loud groan drives a “Just a bit longer, gumdrop” from behind the piles of unfinished work, a bit longer could be years for all you cared

Sliding across the hardwood floor on your back, you found yourself beside Taishiro’s desk, looking up at him from an angle you were rather use to

He was focused, with a smile still on his face as he worked, writing with one hand, the other causually turning Takoyaki in the grill built into his desk

You sat up, watching quietly. He was typically pretty observant, but he may not yet have noticed your approach

When his hand stopped turning and released, you took your chance

Both your hands snatched his wrist, sitting up a bit to rest yourself on his lap, you examined his large palm

He chuckled, “What’cha doin’, cupcake?”

His hand was massive in your own, enough to make anyone feel like a child. It could engulf you, hold half your torso and still have a pinkie to spare

You pressed on his palm, he hummed and returned to work, leaving you to admire as you pleased

His knuckles were scarred, several gashes and scrapes from punching at materials harder than even his fat could handle

Old burns from cooking, white spots on his finger tips from a time before he learned patients

You leaned back on him, holding his hand in your own, and watched him work

He seemed much more blissed from your company

Twice

Not enough hands

Jin’s a very physical person

He hangs off you every chance he can get, coddling and loving on you

He finds it annoying

So it’s not surprise as you two settled down for a movie night he was instantly on your lap like a cat

He lays over you like a blanket, limbs tangled every which way, head on your chest, looking at you more than the movie

One of your hands lay idly by your head, that one he has his own over, fingers tangled messily, almost uncomfortably

His other arm trapped under you, a hug from below, resting also uncomfortably against your spine

Leaving your free hand to tangle in his hair, a rare sight to have his mask off, though it probably wouldn’t last the whole movie, it should be cherished until then

When you notice his staring at you more than the screen, you choose to join him

You slide your hand from his hair to his cheek, he leans into it with the most lovestruck puppydog look a man his age could muster

He then starts to fidget around, moving like he’s stuck

It doesn’t take long from there for him to start getting frustrated with himself, splitting an argument for two between just him

You gently lift his head to regain eye contact and ask what’s wrong

He nearly starts crying

“I want to hold your cheek too but I don’t have enough hands!!”

He’s not willing to remove your hand from his hold or pull his other arm out from under you to compromise his own needs

He does eventually start crying over his lack of extra limbs to love you with

Aoyama

Standing ovation

Roaring applause rippled thought the auditorium

It wasn’t a big show, or a big stage, but it was your first written play, and seeing it go over so well was enough to bring a tear to your eyes

You joined the audience in standing to applause as the actors took the stage for the final bow

Only the lead, your star, wasn’t there with them

You blinked once, twice, three times before panic set in

There’s no way Yuga Aoyama would miss the chance to stand center stage in a spotlight. If he wasn’t on stage something must have happened

You tried your best not to look around too fervently, not wanting to startle anyone else

When a hand clasped yours

“And let’s not forget the playwright~✨”

Before you could question how he said that with his mouth, you were dragged onto the stage by your previously mentioned star, with his own mic in hand you don’t remember giving him

He held your arm up above his head as he runway walked his way along the stage, you closely in toe

You were going to go on stage eventually but you’d planned to be a lot more quiet about it, when more people had left early not wanting to sit though the applause

But instead, here you were, center stage, hand held high like you’d just won a boxing match by your own and only Aoyama

How he could stand being this bright all the time way beyond you

For now though, it was rather nice 

Ojiro

Lost and found

You stepped out of your class stretching, ready for a well deserved lunch break when you heard your classmates muttering

“Isn’t he from the hero course?”

“What’s he doing?”

Being nosy wasn’t usually your strong suit, but the mutterings has peaked your interest

You followed the eyes of those speaking to find a blond boy sitting in the floor of the hall, knees pulled to his chest to keep his legs from disrupting the flow of traffic, with his tail resting over his feet to protect them from being stepped on

He smiled and gave a light wave to your class as the dispersed

You alone approached him, curiosity peaking. Why was he sitting out here in the hall?

When question he very sheepishly answered, “I, uh.. I got lost on my way to class”

There was several things wrong with that

Number one being, he’d been at this school half a year now. He has one classroom, a big classroom, in the hero course. It’s not easy to miss??

Number two, it was noon. Lunchtime. He has one classroom. How long had he been lost???

These questions had answers and he was, while slightly embarrassed, happy to share he had, in fact, been lost all morning. Not just in finding his class, but also in finding the exit to the building, any teachers he knew, or his phone to call for help

You began to feel sorry for the guy, as this seemed to be a common occurrence in his daily life

With a sigh, you offered your hand to help him up

It was lunch, for all courses, so surely he’d see his hero course classmates in the cafeteria. No one turns up Lunchrush’s food after all

He smiled and took your hand, lifting himself from the floor with a thankyou

“I’m Ojiro, by the way. You are...?”

He was rather polite to talk to the entire walk, his grip on your hand was soft, gentle, and his smile never seemed to waver

Kaminari

Swing yer partner round and round

“Oh this is my JAM!”

Mina excitedly turned up your shitty little radio before kicking herself up off the floor, grabbing Sero all in one quick motion

The two danced horribly off beat, you quickly guess Mina had never heard this song before in her life, just wanted to get moving

“Come on you two, it’s dance break time!”

You found yourself enraptured with her energy, already forgetting the homework you all were doing

Kaminari took your hand much like how Mina took Sero’s and began to dance just as off beat and spuratic as queen pinkie had

You laughed, stumbling with every step, same as the others, the giggling energy filling a previously silent room

Denki’s fingers dug into your knuckles as he smirked, suddenly spinning on his heel and dragging you with him

The two of you became a tornado in your tiny dorm room, barely keeping from knocking into your tea table as you spun like a couple of children

You could hear Mina cheer and laugh, a brief glanced told you Sero was recording this silly moment

You looked across the way at your dance partner

Spinning, laughing his head off like this was the most fun he’d ever had, eyes closed, caring not for his surroundings

You decided to let go

The momentum sent you both toppling, you safely into Mina, who was more then ready to catch you

Denki got the much less desirable aforementioned tea table, which sent him toppling backwards over the also aforementioned homework

If you all could have laughed any louder, you would

Bakugo

Sweaty hands

You always knew when Bakugo was going to hold your hand

He may think he’s smooth, wiping his hand on the pocket of his pants before reaching behind himself to grab at you

But you’d always notice

It was a good indicator you were walking too slow for his liking, or the area up ahead was crowed, or that he simply felt you were too far away

You couldn’t initiate holding hands, when he didn’t actively want to be in contact he’d keep his hands shoved deep in his pockets

So you just had to wait for him to wipe himself off and reach for you

You were free to wrap yourself around his arm whenever, though

He’ll look pissed, but won’t say a word

And if you move away, he’ll wipe his hand on his pants, and offer it to you, a silent plea for you to come back

Honenuki

Magic hands

You stretched out over the couch of the 1-B common room with a whine, the rest of your class in a similar state

Training was hell today, sparing with class 1-A was never a joke, and with Monoma egging the whole game up to be more than it should have been, it all just escalated to a point you all wish it hadn’t

“Alright, next.”

Honenuki, a godsend, your blessed angel, helped Tsuburaba off the second common room couch, his typically wide eyes closed and relaxed as he wobbled his way across the room

You happily took his place, stretching out on your stomach before your classmate with the magic powers of massage

His hands pressed into your back and you instantly relaxed, letting out a low hum as you snuggled the pillow under your chin

Honenuki returned your hum, his hands pressing into all your tenses spots, almost instantly releasing them from their knots

You’d probably have fallen asleep, if it wasn’t over so fast

He had the entire class to get though after all, though he hated to rush an art form

You took his hand as he helped you stand, the actual minute of his touch enough to wobble your legs

Kissing his knuckle and thanking him for sharing his magic, you found yourself plopped peacefully on the couch beside Tsuburaba

Honenuki chuckled at you as he called next, happy to be of service

Monoma

He’s showing off

You’d known for a while now Monoma didn’t know how to shut the fuck up

He’d brag about anything, over anyone, to everyone

He’d always loudly bragged about how much better his class was, how much stronger his friendships were, how absolutely amazing his partner was

You being said partner didn’t make said bragging less annoying

The two of you had been together less than an hour and he was already boasting about your perfection to all who would hear

Some genuine, loving, almost gaggingly sweet comments

Others just to rub it in the face of class 1-A as much as possible

A week into this relationship and people were starting to think you must be come kind of god with how Monoma spoke about you

You’d been on two dates with the guy

Now here you were, holding his hand on the walk to class, and regretting every step

As every single person who passed must take note of the fact you were holding his hand

And also must be aware how blessed he is to be holding your hand in return

And really you started to understand the concerned look Kendo gave you when you told her you’d agreed to date Neito Monoma

Still his words were genuine, no matter how they came across, and he truly had a million and one things to say about you

So you could hold though the embarrassment his overexcited bragging may cause

He just wants to show you off

Mirio

Quietly

You sat by his bed side, holding gently to his limp hand

Moments ago he was inconsolable, crying and screaming his lungs out

His quirk gone

His teacher gone

Everything he worked so hard for seemed to vanish in an instant

His grip, still so strong, had left your hand bruised, circulation cut off

It wasn’t a concern you really had

Sleeping, his pain was still so obvious

Bags under his eyes, dried streaks of tears still down his keeps

And your hand still tightly gripped in his

What would happen next, where he would go, who you all would become

They were all problems for the future

Tomorrow you could work on a solution

Tonight, you could hold his hand

[frostedfaves]

Naive (3)

Masterlist

Pairing: demon!Wanda Maximoff x fem!reader

Summary: You pick up on the lies in Wanda’s life and she decides to show you the truth.

Warnings: 18+ ONLY, dark!fic, demon things™️, more hints at dom/sub because I’m a whore for demon!Wanda

A/N: I can’t believe that it’s been a month since I posted the last one 😭 I have some things planned for the next part and so on but I also kinda wanna take requests again??? idk we all know how I get overwhelmed easily with that so we’ll see what happens there. anyway tell me your thoughts on this please!

Previous part

Waking up feels like gasping for air after being trapped underwater. You aren’t sure how long you were asleep, but the mid afternoon traffic quickly alerts you of how much of the day has passed. 

Despite your head feeling like it’s made of cement, you manage to stand up, slipping off thin pajamas as you walk into the bathroom and stop at the mirror. Your skin seems tender in places and you’re a little bit startled when there isn’t a single indication of the bite marks and scratches you feel, even after rubbing your eyes a few times and turning in every direction possible. Deciding to let it go for now, you reach for the shower stall to turn on the water, detouring to the bedroom instead when you hear your phone ringing.

“Hello?”

“You didn’t save my number, did you?”

“Wanda?” You pull the phone away long enough to quickly clear your throat. “I mean hey, Wanda! What makes you think I didn’t save your number?”

“You answered like you didn’t know who was going to be on the other end.”

“Okay, you caught me,” you admit after a moment of silence. “I promise I’ll save it as soon as we hang up. Anyway, what’s up?”

“Remember that pet adoption center you pointed out to me?” You acknowledge her with a hum. “I was thinking about getting a cat…Wanna tag along?”

“Absolutely! I was just about to shower though so I can be ready in an hour or so.”

“Perfect! I’ll text you when I’m outside.”

The two of you say your goodbyes and you keep your promise of saving her number, typing in her name and hesitating on the emoji keyboard. Realizing you’d spent far too much time contemplating this, you simply save what you have and hurry back to the bathroom, something in your brain urging you to not keep her waiting.

-

Within an hour, she sends you a text in all caps and a smiley face that tells you she’s arrived, and you can’t hide the fact that you’re surprised when you come outside and she’s waiting on the passenger side of the car.

“Hey! How are you?” she greets cheerily as she approaches you with a hug, and you shiver when her hand touches your lower back. “Are you cold?”

“No, I’m okay.” You smile and thank her when she opens the door for you, attempting to collect yourself as she crosses to the driver’s side again. “I’m really happy to see you again.”

“You are?”

“Yeah,” you admit quietly as she pulls away from the curb. “Is that such a bad thing?”

“No no, I just didn’t want to assume you were enjoying our time together as much as I was.”

She places her hand over yours while she glances at you, smiling as she squeezes your fingers and thigh lightly. You feel a rush of something traveling from the places she touched to your brain, only slightly aware of the fog settling in your mind.

“Well I didn’t want to be too enthusiastic about it and scare you away if all you wanted was friendship,” you clarify, meeting her eyes when she reaches a red light.

“I suppose you’re looking for more too, then.”

“I am now.”

The light turns green and she breaks eye contact, but the little smirk that follows tells you everything you need to know. At least, you hope it does.

-

“I think he’s the cutest one we’ve seen yet,” you comment about the kitten that hasn’t looked away from Wanda since you approached his area. “He seems really drawn to you, too.”

“How did he get the name ‘Baby Satan’?” Wanda inquires with an employee, who approaches you with a chuckle.

“It’s actually Baby Stan, because we used to have an adult cat named Stan as well and needed to tell the two apart. We were going to give him a new name but decided to leave that up to his new family.”

“It says ‘Baby Satan’ though,” you cosign with Wanda, gesturing to the extra A mixed in with the magnetic letters that spell the kitten’s name.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I don’t know how that got there,” the employee apologizes as she reaches over to fix the sign, and you watch her freeze as Wanda touches her arm.

“Don’t be sorry. Keep it; I want to adopt him.”

“Okay, right this way,” the employee mumbles as she turns awkwardly and stumbles over to a desk, and as the two of you follow her, you look back to see Baby Satan still staring at the woman beside you.

“What was that about?” you speak up finally once you’re in the car with her new furry friend, and Wanda frowns at you while fastening her seatbelt.

“What?”

“Why did that employee react to you like that? You touched her and she started acting really weird after.”

“Oh, Kim’s fine!” she assures you as she fixes her mirror before pulling out of the parking lot. “I actually asked her about that while you were looking at scratching posts and she said I’d overstepped her boundaries and made her uncomfortable. Don’t worry, I apologized and everything’s good again.”

“She told you her name?”

“She was wearing a name tag, babe.”

Babe...that’s new. Still, the sudden nickname doesn’t completely distract you from the fact that you’re certain there was no name tag on Kim’s uniform. You’re debating with yourself about bringing this up when you notice her heading toward Lane County.

“Are you taking me to your house?”

“Yeah, if you don’t mind.” She glances at you and over her shoulder toward Baby Satan before turning back to the road. “I figured I could introduce both of my kittens to the place they’ll be spending a lot of time in.”

Her fingers brush over your knee as “my kittens” leaves her lips, and you’re almost embarrassed when your hips involuntarily buck slightly. Noticing the small change in your behavior, she takes advantage of your head turned toward your own window and allows her instincts to continue driving while she stares at you, placing her palm on your thigh and rubbing circles on the fabric covering it that brings her closer and closer to your core.

“Home, sweet home,” Wanda announces as she pulls her wandering hand away to park the car, jumping out a second later and grabbing her furry son from the backseat. “Hey there, Baby S.”

You step out of the car in a similar fashion of pulling yourself out of a swimming pool, taking in the fresh air and trying to relax yourself as you follow her into the apartment building. The hallways reflect the quiet and clean neighborhood as you make your way into the elevator and up to the 6th floor, suddenly entering the most empty apartment you’ve ever seen.

Of course there’s furniture: a couch with a TV mounted on the nearest wall, a dining table with a set of matching chairs, a few stools placed at the island and kitchen appliances that are shiny and new. But there isn’t any personal artwork, posters, books or even just a lamp that you could tell Wanda purchased herself with one glance.

“Are you staying in an AirBNB or something?” you ask as she carefully places Baby Satan’s carrier next to the couch, and she chuckles.

“I guess technically it was one before I moved in, but I’ve been here for two years.”

“Okay...so where are your pictures?”

“What?”

“Where are your pictures?” you repeat, maintaining a steady voice despite the expression she gives you as she faces you again. “Pictures of your family, friends, you as a child?”

“If you knew my family, you’d understand why you don’t see them here.” She startles you by practically growling her words but you press further.

“Okay but you also said you love plants and we’re the only living things in here.” You step back to put more space between you while quiet shuffling noises are heard inside the carrier. “What’s really going on here?”

You can easily spot the shift in Wanda’s emotions: going from defensive, arms crossed and eyes glaring to resigned with slightly sagging shoulders and a defeated sigh.

“Fine, you got me.” She bends over to pick up the carrier again and passes you on her way to the door, stopping a few feet away. “If you’re serious about pursuing a relationship with me, then I should probably show you my real home.”

“I don’t know...”

“Come on, love.” She comes just close enough to bring your hand into hers and a tingle spreads through your body, causing you to pull away but her grip only tightens. “I promise I’m not going to hurt you, and this is the only time I’ve lied.”

You find yourself being drawn closer to her, and an almost familiar feeling washes over you when her thumb begins rubbing gentle circles into your jaw. The metal on her ring is so cold it almost burns upon contact, yet you nuzzle into her more with each pass along your skin.

“Don’t you want to be good for me without being forced to your knees first?”

If the fog surrounding your consciousness wasn’t so thick, you might’ve been shocked by this side of her, so calm yet demanding you serve her. But the hand on your jaw seemed to cover every inch of your body and sink into your nervous system, forcing you to fall into her and let her lead you back to the car with a simple arm around your waist. You’re buckled into the passenger seat again and a slightly blurry grin greets you from behind the wheel seconds later.

“I can’t wait to make you mine.”

Your head falls against the car window as she drives to the edge of Lane County, and your altered vision picks up on businesses turning into isolated suburbs into grassy fields into forests. You travel along narrow, winding roads past the tallest of trees with very few spaces in between, and your hazy state of mind prevents you from panicking when Wanda turns onto a dirt path that doesn’t even seem to be safe for bicycles. The wheels bump along the forest floor until she comes to a stop just outside of a two foot dwelling, similar to a cave.

Once the two of you are out of the car again, she holds your hand with her free one until you reach the cave, instructing you to sit in front of it while she does the same. She places her palm on the door, and her rings seem to come alive as they interact with it for a few moments before it swings open and the three of you are sent flying through a tunnel. You land with a groan on the hard floor and dust yourself off as you carefully stand, any questions dying in your throat as you face Wanda again, now standing before you in her true form.

“Welcome home.”

[sour--disposition]

It’s Been A While

-

harry lewis x fem!reader

-

requested: hii idk if you’re taking requests but if you are can i please have one with harry where he has just come out of a long term relationship and so has the reader, and they really like each other and wanna date but they’re rusty on the flirting and dating thing? just a funny, fluffy one if you can 🖤 ty

please see my pinned post for masterlists/request info :)

“Oh, sorry”, you blurted when you almost walked into the chest of the person leaving the lift.

“No worries”, the man smiled. “Y/N right? The new neighbour?”, he asked.

“Yeah”, you nodded. “Sorry, I don’t think we’ve met”, you said awkwardly.

“Oh, yeah I think you met my flatmate…”, he trailed off awkwardly. “Cal?”.

“Oh, yeah. You must be Harry?”, you asked.

“That’s me”, he smiled, scratching the back of his neck. “Nice to meet you”.

“Nice to meet you, too”, you smiled. “See you around?”, you asked, pointing to the lift awkwardly.

“Oh, yeah, sorry”, Harry fumbled. “See you around”.

-

You knocked on the door, taking a step back as you waited for someone to answer. “Y/N”, Harry said, seeming pleasantly surprised. “Nice to see you. To what do I owe the pleasure?”, he asked.

“I made cookies”, you said,  presenting the plate you’d brought with you.

“Good for you?”, Harry said, face contorting in pain from just how awkward the situation had gotten.

“Sorry”, you mumbled. “I made cookies and I thought I’d do the neighbourly thing and bring some round”, you said with a smile before thrusting the plate forward.

“Oh!”, Harry chirped. “You didn’t have to do that, but thank you very much. D’ya wanna come in?”, Harry asked, stepping back so you could walk into the apartment. “The kitchen is just through here if you wanna put the plate down”, he said, leading you through the apartment.

“They might not be any good, it’s my first time using this oven”, you told Harry with a soft chuckle as you followed him into the kitchen and slid the plate onto the countertop. “And I haven’t baked in a while”, you added.

“Well, they look lovely”, Harry assured you.

“Well, I won’t keep you”, you said abruptly. “I’ll see you soon”, you told him with an awkward wave before turning around and walking out of the flat.

-

A knocking on the door ripped you out of the imaginary world you’d surrounded yourself in after becoming absorbed in your book. You placed it down after marking the page, wrapping the blanket around yourself as you walked through the dark of your flat.

“Harry?”, you asked, opening the door. “Is everything okay?”.

“I don’t suppose you have any candles I could borrow? Or a torch or something?”, he asked you awkwardly.

“I’ve got all my candles lit, sorry”, you told him apologetically. “You can come in, if you want?”, you offered. “Is Cal there?”.

“No, he’s with his girlfriend”, he scoffed lightly. “Would you mind? My phone’s running low anyway and I don’t want to waste my battery on my torch”, he excused.

“What good are neighbours if you can’t stay in their flat during a power cut?”, you laughed, stepping back so Harry could let himself into your flat. “Can I get you a drink or anything?”, you asked him.

“No, I’m fine. Thank you, though”, he smiled.

“There’s some blankets on the back of the sofa”, you told him with a smile that you knew he wouldn’t be able to see. 

You walked back over to the sofa, situating yourself on the side that Harry wasn’t sat at, smiling secretly at the cocoon he’d made for himself out of the blanket he’d picked up. “This is good”, Harry sighed, pulling the blanket tighter around his body.

“Good”

-

“Just ask her out, Bog”, Cal said, watching as Harry paced around the living room.

“What if she says no?”, he asked, voice laced with panic. “I’ve not asked someone out in years!”, Harry exclaimed.

“Well, she seems to really like you. The worst she can say is no. She’s not a bitch so she’s not gonna be nasty about it, even if she does say no”, Cal explained. 

“Okay”, Harry said, his wavering voice letting slip just how uncertain he was.

“Good luck!”, Cal called over his shoulder as Harry walked down the hall and towards the front door.

He hesitated outside of your door for a moment before knocking. You came out with a bright smile, something you always seemed to sport whenever you were around Harry. “Hey, Harry”, you smiled.

“Hi”, he said awkwardly, itching the spot on his chest as he kicked at the floor slightly.

“Is everything okay?”, you asked him worriedly. “Do you want to come in?”, you asked him, stepping back so he could follow you through to the kitchen.

“I was wondering if I could maybe ask you something?”, he asked, stumbling over his words.

“Sure”, you said sweetly.

“I was wondering - Would you want to maybe - Do you think you’d-”, Harry cut himself off, words seeming to get stuck in this throat. “Sorry”, he sighed.

“It’s okay”, you smiled gently, as pure and sweet as ever.

“Would you like to go out? With me? At some point? Maybe?”, he asked abruptly, eyes going wide as he froze on the spot.

“Oh”, you chirped.

“Nevermind”, Harry dismissed. “Sorry I asked”, he rushed.

“No!”, you blurted. “I mean yes. Not no. Yes”, you fumbled. “I’d like to go out with you”, you told him quietly.

-

You waited outside for Harry outside the bar that you’d agreed to meet at. He was already running 10 minutes late, but you were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. You’d seen him rushing to the lift, furiously typing on his phone, as he ran late for whatever it was he was desperate to get to.

“Hi, sorry”, Harry exclaimed as soon as he saw you. “Sorry”, he breathed out. “Traffic was awful, I actually set off in time, I promise”, he explained, panic rising in his voice.

“It’s fine”, you assured him, resting a hand on his shoulder. A violent blush rose on your cheeks as soon as you’d both taken notice of your hand. “Sorry”, you whispered, dropping your hand.

“Don’t be”, Harry said, reaching forward to take your hand in his own. “Is this okay?”, he asked, looking down to your entwined fingers.

“Yeah”, you smiled, your blush waning ever so slightly. “Yeah, it’s more than okay”.

“I - erm…”, Harry trailed off. “I’m not very good at this”, he admitted quietly. “Sorry”.

“Neither am I”, you told him. “This is my first date in, like, 5 years”, you admitted.

“Same”, Harry said, a little bit more confident. “Well, my first date with someone new”, he told you. “Shall we go in?”, he asked. Harry waited for you to nod before leading you into the bar and heading for a secluded table. “So, what are you drinking?”.

-

“I had a really good time tonight”, Harry said as you walked away from the taxi and towards the doors to the apartment building hand in hand

“So did I”, you smiled. “And you’re walking me home? What a gentleman”, you giggled softly.

“Oh, you know me”, Harry laughed. It was a soft, shy laugh that you had a feeling was reserved only for you, given the howls of laughter you’d heard coming through the walls of his and Cal’s flat.

“Ladies first”, Harry said, opening the door for you and stepping back so you could go ahead of him.

“Don’t think I don’t know you’re just looking at my bum”, you stage whispered to him, slipping your arm through his as you walked towards the lift.

“Guilty”, Harry laughed, blush rising up his cheeks. “It’s a good view, though”, he teased. 

When you reached the corridor, you and Harry both slowed down. He walked you the few steps past his front door to yours. You turned to him once you’d slowed to a stop, looking up at him through your eyelashes.

Harry cupped your face with one hand, leaning ever so slightly closer to you. “Is this okay?”, he whispered into the small gap.

“Yeah”, you whispered, letting your eyes flutter closed before reaching up on your toes to close the gap between your lips.

Your first kiss with Harry was very much like every encounter you’d had with him before, messy and fumbled until you both figured out what was going on. His lips were soft against yours, not pressing too hard or being too rough. Harry’s hand kept cupping your face, holding just under your jaw as his fingers slid into your hairline.

When Harry pulled back, he kept his face close to yours. His smile was bright and pure and honest and one of the most beautiful things you’d ever seen.

“Kiss me again, Harry”.

[whisperofsong]

Among The Stars

Chapter Two

Pairing: Riff x Latina! Reader

Summary: During her day off, Olivia spends time with Theresa and a few surprises are in store for her.

*Disclaimer: Surprise! Double update today:) I decided to post two chapters today because this is going to be a hectic week and I won’t be able to release another chapter until Friday or Saturday. Thank you for all the support thus far and please let me know if you would like to be tagged in upcoming chapters! ____________________________________________

As I stand there, pondering Riff’s words, heat rises to my cheeks and my eyebrows furrow. How dare he say such a thing to me! He doesn’t even know me. Granted, I don’t know him and his friends either, but I know enough to recognize his gang members are morons. The way they strut down the sidewalk, terrorizing innocent people in the neighborhood, committing petty crimes, carrying on like children. People behaving in this way are clearly no good; it doesn’t take a genius to arrive at that conclusion.

I gather my things and lock the door to the diner behind me. The night air is muggy, but cooler than the stifling air that enveloped me earlier today. As I walk home, I absorb my surroundings, taking in the dark sky, the light illuminating various windows, the altering traffic lights despite the limited traffic.

When I enter my apartment, the TV is humming while Papi sleeps soundly in the recliner and Mama is likely fast asleep in their bedroom. I carefully close and lock the door behind me, heading straight to my room. I sit on the edge of my bed and just as I reach down to take off my shoes, my phone pings. When I glance at the screen, I read the following text from Theresa: “Want to accompany me to the convenience store tomorrow? We can get coffee afterwards and walk to the park.” I immediately text her back with “Absolutely!” and a smiley face.

After changing into my pajamas and brushing my teeth, I slide my window open and breathe in the fresh air. Somewhere out there, I think to myself, is a real life waiting for me…

The next morning, I hop out of bed with purpose. Mama and Papi are still sleeping, so I attempt to move around the kitchen as quietly as possible. I grab a piece of toast, but end up taking a few measly bites before confirming I have my purse, wallet, and keys and walking out the door. Theresa is waiting for me outside my apartment building, sporting a sincere smile and a yellow and white sundress.

“Hey, chica!” she says sunnily.

“Well don’t you look nice. Aren’t you a little dressy for errands?” I ask.

“It is Sunday, Olivia. I wanted to look my Sunday best” Theresa replies matter of factly.

“You definitely do,” I say, nudging her playfully with my elbow.

We walk along the bustling sidewalk, observing the vast array of sights and sounds surrounding us. “Here we are, Theresa chirps, opening the door to the convenience store. There are only a few customers present when we enter the store. Upbeat music emanates from the speakers, along with some static. As Theresa scans the various aisles, I peer out the window behind me and notice a stand selling artwork; it instantly catches my eye. “Take your time, Theresa. I wanna check something out across the street.”

“Mhm, okay,” Theresa responds absentmindedly, clearly distracted by her current task.

I look both ways before crossing the street and as I step onto the sidewalk, I rummage through my purse in order to see how much I have in my wallet in case I’m interested in purchasing anything. I abruptly bump into something hard and muscular.

“I’m so sorry! I was-“

As I glance up midway through expressing my apology, I am face to face with none other than Riff. Of course he’s smirking.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t Miss Know It All,” he says smugly.

I roll my eyes and cross my arms. “If I knew it was you, I would have saved my apology.”

Riff throws his head back in laughter. Surprisingly, he has an infectious laugh. However, my stubbornness prevents me from joining him.

“You really are something…if we keep running into each other, I should probably learn your name.”

“I don’t plan on making this a habit,” I shoot back and move around him to examine the artwork. As I scan the displays, Riff comes to my side.

“C’mon. Just tell me.”

I ponder this for a few seconds and decide to tell him. “Olivia. My name’s Olivia.” When I look at him, awaiting a snarky reply of some sort, he only nods. “It’s nice to meet you Olivia…er, judging by your expression, maybe not.”

I ignore him and my eyes land upon a piece of jewelry. It’s a handcrafted ladybug broach, something Mama would like. I pick it up and decide to get it for her; a little something to brighten her day. As I pay for it, Riff remains by my side. I thank the woman as she places my change in my hands, throw it into my purse, and begin to walk away as Riff jumps in front of me. “Going already?” he asks.

I snort. “I’m sure you’ll manage. After all, don’t you have a neighborhood to vandalize or some people to steal from?”

His features harden and he juts out his chin, swallowing hard. As soon as I say it, I realize it was wrong, even if I was thinking it.

“I’m sorry,” I say rather quickly. “That was…uncalled for.” Riff nods, but doesn’t reply. Instead, it appears as though he’s studying me and it kind of makes me self-conscious.

“I should be going. My friend’s waiting for me,” I say softly, pointing behind me and beginning to make my way across the street.

“Wait,” Riff commands suddenly. I glance over my shoulder, meeting his gaze with curiosity.

“See ya around?” he asks hesitantly.

I hesitate, too. “Umm…I guess.”

Riff nods in confirmation and begins to make his way down the opposite side of the street. As he walks away, I stand on the edge of the sidewalk, confused at the events that just transpired.

Once I cross the street, I spot Theresa paying at the counter. Hopefully she didn’t see me interacting with Riff. If she did, I would be bombarded with numerous questions. She pushes the door open and asks, “Find anything good?” When I show her the broach, Theresa agrees it’s perfect for my mom.

The park is packed with people. Some are sitting on benches, reading and chatting, others are walking their dogs, and a few people are playing frisbee. Although the sun is bright, the humidity dropped significantly and there is a slight breeze. What a lovely day, I think to myself. Theresa and I spend a couple hours there, talking and sharing in each other’s laughter. Her company always makes me feel better, lighter even.

When I get home, the rich aroma of food permeates our apartment. “There she is!” shouted Mama. “How was your day?” she asks enthusiastically.

“It was good. I accompanied Theresa on some errands and then we spent some time in the park.” I decide to omit the part about encountering and conversing with Riff. Besides, why do she and Papi need to know? It’s not like it matters.

“Also…I got you a little something” I reveal. Mama perks up, her eyes sparkling. “Oh yeah? Let’s see.”

I place the wrapped object in her hand and nod, signaling for her to open it. Mama gingerly unwraps it and gasps when she sees it.

“Muy bonita, Olivia!” Mama exclaims. “You’re always so thoughtful, mija.” She kisses my forehead and I beam. Regardless of my age, I am always pleased whenever I make my parents proud. As Mama continues preparing our Sunday supper, I retreat to my room and lie on my bed. My mind wanders to today’s earlier events. As much as I tried to resist thinking about Riff, my interaction with him is on a continuous loop in my mind. Why did he pursue me? Am I a joke to him? Does he enjoy teasing me? Wait…why do I even care? He’s a gang leader and it’s best for me to stay away from him.

After dinner, my cell phone rings. Theresa’s name lights up the screen.

“Hello?” I answer.

“Guess what?!” she asks enthusiastically. Before I even have an opportunity to make a guess, she gushes, “There’s going to be a dance on Friday night at the St. Mary’s gym! It’s a social mixer, so there’ll be lots of people, ages 18 and older, meaning potentially some nice guys for us to dance with!” She is clearly ecstatic about the whole thing.

Internally, I’m groaning. When it comes to socializing, Theresa is the go-to-girl. She can effortlessly engage with anyone about anything. Meanwhile, I often feel uneasy in such situations and prefer to remain in my bedroom, under the covers with a riveting read. However, as Theresa likes to remind me, life is meant to be lived outside of your bedroom. I guess she has a point.

Theresa’s prompts jolt me out of my dissociated state. “So will you go with me? We’ll have a blast!” she eagerly assures me.

“Okay,” I exhale. “But if it gets too rowdy or the music’s boring…”

“We can leave,” Theresa says sternly, clearly intending to hold firm to her promise.

Once I hang up with Theresa, I peek out of my bedroom and notice Mama working away with her sewing machine in the nook of her bedroom. “Can I come in, Mama?” I ask tentatively, awaiting her response.

“Si, Olivia. Is everything alright?”

“Oh yes, everything’s fine. It’s just…there’s a dance on Friday and I was wondering…if you might…make me a dress?” I bite my lip, hoping she’ll agree to it.

Mama eyes me, looking me up and down. “Why do you want to go to this dance?”

“Well…” I begin. “I’m dedicated to my studies and work, as you and Papi know, and I think it would be good to experience more things.”

Mama stills, thoughtfully considering my words. She purses her lips and makes eye contact with me once again. “I suppose I could make you a dress. After all, it’s important for young women to socialize. And to look stylish while doing so,” she remarks with a wink.

I grin and run over to envelop her in a hug, squeezing her with all my might.

@inkandpen22 @riffheartsgraziella @loverisi @sondheim1fan @lovinghunty @leviecharmed86 @grxceordxr