#i repeatedly kicked her in the face until she fell unconscious and then gave her a job is that lore accurate

[moghedien]

Someone come get the girl from the lesbian necromancer books off my boat she’s not supposed to be in Ancient Greece I think

[zep-writings]

Multiverse Madness

CHAPTER ELEVEN. Part two.

Summary: The fight is on and Arlo fears her worst nightmares have become a reality.

Warnings: Lloss, grief, bad words, fight and anger.

Pairings: Steve Rogers x OFC Arlo Stark.

Notes: I do not own any of the characters present in this story, except for Arlo Stark, an original character. This is pure fiction.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I absolutely love writing this fiction, so please give me feedback if you can.

Multiverse Madness Masterlist || Main Masterlist.

Chapter eleven, part one

“Okay, Thor. Hit me.” Tony deployed long blaster arms on his back, facing Thanos.

Thor groaned, conjured lightning with Stormbreaker and Mjolnir and banged them together to hit the Iron Man suit. The back of Tony’s suit sucked all the power from the lightning and the metal arms and gauntlets shot a full blast towards Thanos. The alien started twisting his sword really fast, stopping the energy before it hit him.

From the side, Thor grabbed his axe and used it to send his hammer towards Thanos who grabbed Iron Man and used him as a shield before tossing him, unconscious, a few meters away.

“Boss, wake up!” Friday urged loudly in Tony’s helmet, but he stayed down.

It was Steve’s turn to attack Thanos, doing a back flip and kicking him in the face. However, it did hardly anything to the titan, who punched the captain’s shield sending him flying and hitting a rock. Thanos then sent his sword in the air, toward the God of thunder who tucked under it, slipping on the ground before jumping up and trying to hit Thanos with Stormbreaker. The titan had grabbed his sword back and easily stopped Thor, wrenching the axe out of his hand before, throwing it away and doing the same with the blond God. Thor bounced off a tree, before landing heavily against a rock. Before he could even gather his thoughts, Thano’s began kicking him repeatedly in the chest and face.

Arlo couldn’t watch. She pushed herself off the floor, where Thanos had already sent her once and jumped towards the titan and her friend. It was futile as the alien, almost lazily, grabbed her by the throat and threw her away with force. She fell unconscious as Thor took the few seconds of opportunity to call his axe. It flew to him, but before he could catch it, Thanos intercepted it. The titan got a hold of it and tried pushing it into Thor’s chest.

All of the sudden, Thanos was hit by Mjolnir from the back before it flew back and landed with the slap of leather on leather, into Steve’s waiting hand. Thanos turned towards Captain America and a proud and hopeful smirk appeared on Thor’s face.

“I knew it!” The God of thunder exclaimed before Thanos kicked him in the face.

Steve was now the only one left against Thanos, the only one who hadn’t been knocked unconscious by the titan yet and he was ready to fight until the end if he had too. He started spinning the hammer in his right hand, keeping his shield up with his left. He picked up a jog, which turned into a spint as he rushed forward, jumped on a rock and hit Thanos as hard as he could, sending him flying. For a few minutes, Steve had the advantage, hitting him repeatedly with his shield or with Mjolnir, even using lightning bolds which he conjured from the hammer. However, soon enough, things went south. Thanos grabbed him and tossed him to the floor like he was nothing but a doll. The titan picked up his sword and began taking huge swipes at the soldier, the blade slicing through the Kevlar of Steve’s suit, cutting his tigh. Thanos then kicked the hammer out of Steve’s hand and, under the soldier horrified look, his sword started to hack through the captain’s shield as if it was nothing but butter.

Barely seconds later, Steve was on the ground, across the battlefield. He was tired. His hands were shaking, his body was aching, but he knew he had to get up. A simple look at Arlo, who was still unconscious, gave him the strength to roll over, panting heavily.

“In all my years of conquest, violence, slaughter. It was never personal. But I'll tell you now. What I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet. I'm gonna enjoy it. Very, very much.” Thanos declared looking at Steve.

At that moment, Arlo regained consciousness. Everything single part of her body was hurting; her mouth was filled with blood, but her eyes stopped on Steve as he pushed himself up from the floor with a groan. She was about to stand when thousands of Chitauris, Sakaarans, Outriders, and other aliens were summoned to the ground.

“No, no, no…” She whispered, tears filling her eyes as she looked at the armies in front of her.

This was her nightmare, the nightmare she was now re-living for the second time, and her heart sank in her chest. She couldn’t lose them, not again. Her eyes turned to Steve as she watched the determination on his face. He tightened the strap of his shield around his arm and Arlo stood up, limping all the way to his position. Their eyes met for a second and even if every part of Steve’s body wanted to tell her to run and hide because he wanted her to be safe, he knew she wouldn’t.

And even if she did hide, then what? She wouldn’t be safe, because no one was safe. The world wasn’t safe…

Suddenly, the communication made weird noises and Arlo frowned.

“Hey, Cap, you read me?” A voice spoke over their earpieces.

Steve stopped, confused; did he really just heard Sam’s voice? He looked at Arlo before Sam’s voice rose again. “Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me?”

Steve raised his hand, pressing his finger to his earpiece, about to answer, when a yellow portal, like the one Doctor Strange used, formed behind him.

“On your left.” Sam announced and seconds later Okoye, Shuri and Black Panther appeared.

For a moment, Steve felt like he was going to burst into tears as he found Arlo’s hand and gave it a squeeze. Maybe there was hope they could win after all.

T’challa nodded to the captain and soon enough Sam flew by as dozens of other yellow portals appeared in the sky all around and other avengers walked through. Strange, Drax, Mantis, Star Lord and Spider-man emerged through one as Bucky, Groot, the Scarlet Witch, the Wasp and Pepper in her blue suit emerged from others.

Arlo looked at her mum, wearing that armour she knew so well, and they exchanged a quick smile.

“Is that everyone?” Strange asked to Wong who stopped by his side.

“What, you wanted more?” The Asian man answered, getting into battle position.

As more and more people emerged from the yellow portals, a huge Ant-Man broke through the destroyed building and from his hand materialized Hulk, War Machine and Rocket. Steve smiled, glanced at Arlo and turned back to face Thanos as Tony landed somewhere behind him.

“AVENGERS!” Steve raised his hand to call Mjolnir as Thor landed by his side as the hammer swung back into the Captain’s waiting hand. “Assemble.”

And the fight started again.

****

Arlo had no idea how long they had been fighting but the more she looked around the more it seemed like there was a never-ending number of aliens. She was tired, her body was getting weaker, but she knew she couldn’t give up, she never had so she wasn’t going to now. Using her powers and the training she had with Nat and Clint, which she was very thankful for right now, she fought alien after alien.

During this time, she had quickly caught the sight of her dad and Peter Parker’s reunion hug. She had seen Captain Marvel fly through an entire ship, taking it down and she had tried to help get the gauntlet and the stones to the van where Scott had the quantum tunnel.

Now focusing on the fight in front of her, Arlo hadn’t noticed the gauntlet getting carried closer to the quantum tunnel by Carol Danvers. It was only when a huge energy explosion sent her flying a few meters away that her eyes landed on her dad and Thanos fighting for the gauntlet. She quickly raised to her feet and started to run towards her dad. She wanted to help him, she needed to, but she stopped when she felt a stinging pain on her left shoulder. She had been stabbed by one of the Children of Thanos. Her breath stuck in her chest and, unable to move, she dropped to her knees.

All she could do was watch as everything happened so fast. Thor, Steve and Carol trying to fight Thanos as he easily fought them back. Then her dad trying to do the same, but it was too late. The titan had slipped the gauntlet on and none of them could do anything. She tried to get to him, fighting the alien in front of her but she was too weak.

It was all over, thought Arlo as Thanos raised his gauntleted hand.

 “I am… Inevitable.” Thanos said, looking at Tony as he snapped his fingers.

But nothing happened. Arlo frowned, as Thanos looked at the gauntled and then, she noticed the stones were missing from the gauntlet. Her eyes moved around, stopping on her dad, and she immediately understood. He had taken them when he had been hanging onto Thanos’ arm during the fight.

She watched, helpless, as the stones made their way up to Tony own gauntlet and the gamma radiation slowly coursed through him.

“And I… am… Iron Man.” Tony struggled to say before snapping his fingers.

“No!” Arlo cried out raising her hand but dropping on all fours as there was a blinding flash of light.

One by one every alien of Thanos’ army started to disappear into thin air. And one by one all the Avengers were finally safe, slowly looking around trying to understand what was going on. But Arlo’s attention was solely focussed on her dad.

She saw him stumble a little before he collapsed to the floor, sitting against a pile of debris. She watched, unable to move, as Rhodey was the first one to land by his side, taking off his helmet and kneeling near his friend. Arlo couldn’t hear the exchange between the two man but she then saw Peter landing by their side.

“Mr. Stark?” She heard him say as her own eyes started to fill up with tears. “Hey, Mr. Stark? Can you hear me? It's Peter. Hey. We won, Mr. Stark… We won, Mr. Stark. We won. You did it, sir. You did it.”

Peter kneeled in front of Iron Man and broke into tears, his hand covering his mouth.

“I'm sorry… Tony…” Peter sobbed.

At this moment, Arlo didn’t know how, but she found the strength to stand up and walk toward her dad. She didn’t want to lose him, not a second time; the thought of it was unbearable.

“Hey.” The young Stark heard Pepper say as Tony raised his eyes to look into the ones of the love of his life.

“Hey, Pep…” Tony managed to whisper. Pepper kneeled in front of him, placing her hand on Tony’s arc reactor on his chest as he placed his on it with difficulty.

“Dad…” Arlo let out in a sob.

Without turning back, Pepper extended her free hand to Arlo who grabbed it and dropped on her knees by her side.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.?” Pepper simply asked.

“Life functions critical.” The IA responded as Arlo shook her head, tears now running down her face. She couldn’t watch him die. Yet, Tony offered a soft and sad smile to his wife and daughter.

“Please… Dad…”

“Tony. Look at me.” Pepper smiled lovingly at her dying husband, squeezing a little tighter Arlo’s hand in her hers. “We're gonna be okay. You can rest now.” She continued holding back her own tears.

Arlo was completely and utterly heart broken. She brought her free hand to her mouth, letting out a sob as her dad’s arc reactor flickered off and his hand dropped to his side. Pepper let the tears run down her face and Arlo fell back to the ground, her whole body shaking.

He was gone.

****

Arlo didn’t know how long she had been sitting there, incapable of moving, staring into the void at where her dad had been. Rhodey and Thor had taken him somewhere else, somewhere where nothing could happen to his body. Her tears had stopped running and she was now completely numb, as if her brain and body had just stop functioning. Nobody had dared trying to get her to move, none of them had the heart and especially not those who knew how much she had already lost.

Steve stood behind her, his own tears had stopped but he had refused to leave her alone. A part of him was terrified of what losing Tony a second time was going to do to her. He wanted to hold her, to be there for her but he felt like she wanted to be alone for now. That said, sometimes what people want and what they need are two different things. He stood, deliberating for a while, before he finally moved towards her and bent down, his hands gently dropping on her shoulders.

“Come on Arlo. We should move…” Steve spoke in a calm and tender voice.

But Arlo didn’t move, she didn’t want to. She just wanted to forget everything that had happened for the past seventy-two hours. She wanted to go back in time and stop them from getting the stones, from snapping their damn fingers and bringing everyone back but most of all she wanted to stop Thanos from coming back and killing her dad.

“Arlo…” Steve’s voice repeated.

Suddenly, it hit her. Steve was the one who insisted on going back to find the stones, the one who had absolutely wanted to bring everyone back. It was his fault. Her emotions were all over the place, between grief, deep sadness and anger. Yes, she was pissed, at herself for not being able to save her dad, at Tony for not finding another solution and pulling the sacrifice play, but right now, she was beyond livid at Steve for pushing all this to happen. Had she been thinking straight, she might have understood that she was mostly mad at Steve because he was there, and it was easier to blame someone. But she wasn’t thinking straight. She was overwhelmed with grief and sadness.

“This is all your fault…” She stood up, turning to face the soldier.

“What?” Steve frowned.

“This. My dad. This is all your fault. You and your stupid desire to play hero.” She spat. Steve swallowed hardly, closed his eyes for a second and slowly shook his head before he met her angry gaze.

“Arlo I…” He started, meeting her gaze.

“No! No. If you hadn’t insisted on going back and finding those fucking stones, if you had just left it alone then my dad would still be alive! But you couldn’t, you never can!” Hot, angry tears started running down her face again and Steve swallowed.

“You know that isn’t true. Tony agreed we had to do this; he knew just as much as me what we could loose.” Steve tried to explain, keeping his voice calm.

“This such bullshit!” Arlo’s fist hit Steve’s chest.

He knew she was mad but, above all, heart broken, and she simply needed to blame someone. So he took the punches for a few seconds, letting her take out her anger on him, before he gently grabbed her wrists and pulled her into his chest.

“It’s okay, I got you…” He whispered soflty, his hand stroking her hair as she struggled a little. She soon gave up, sobs wracking her body as she crashed completely into him, clinging to him like he was her lifeline.

They stayed like this for a while, Steve stroking her back, Arlo crying into his arms. When she finally calmed down, she was exhausted and all she wanted to do was to sleep for days. Once Steve was sure she was calm enough, he pulled her away a little, his hands resting on her cheek and placed a piece of her hair back behind her ear.

“Let’s get you to an ambulance, yeah? You need to get this checked.” He said pointing at the wound on her shoulder. Too tired to argue or disagree, she nodded, sniffling, and followed Steve, passing her arms around his waist, holding onto him as they walked away. It took them only a few minutes to reach the place where a few ambulances where stationed, taking care of the wounded.

A doctor walked toward her and accompanied her to the closest truck to look at her shoulder. As soon as he started cutting through her suit and handling her wound, she grinned in pain. She had been so lost in her own grief until now that she hadn’t notice the state of her shoulder, or felt the pain that came with it. However, now that she was connected back with reality, it hurt like shit.

“Fuck…” She hissed between her teeth.

She glanced at Steve, standing in front her, and stared at him for a second, realizing he was clearly upset. She felt guilty. She knew she had been horrible with him when he didn’t deserve it.

However, her words had struck, a nerve because Steve knew part of what she had said was true. It was his fault. His eyes landed on Bucky and felt the need to join his friend. He glanced back at Arlo, still worried about her.

“You gonna be okay?” He asked and she simply nodded. “Good. Get some rest, okay?” He dropped a kiss on her cheek and walked away before she had the chance to say anything.

As she watched Steve and Bucky hug, Arlo felt her heart tightened. Not only because she knew she had hurt him, but because Bucky was there, alive and standing next to him. She had been really close to the Bucky of her Earth and knowing that the one talking to Steve didn’t even know her existence was painful. She closed her eyes, holding back the tears and sighed.

She felt the truck rock a little and opened her eyes to see Pepper sitting next to her. Her mum’s eyes, just like her own, were filled with pain, but Pepper offered her a sad smile and, without a word, pulled her into a hug. It was all Arlo needed.

****

Chapter twelve

[waywardwrestlewritingwaif]

Raise the Stakes, Part 13

I just had to sneak in one more part before the big showdown tonight. Aside from this, the card for Resurgence looks awesome!

Pairing: David Finlay x OFC x Jay White

Word count: 2,897

Content advisory: sexual content (not as graphic as previous parts, but still more than just mentions), language

Previous sections (and the prequel) available on the Master List

This is completely normal, you tell yourself. He has a big match tomorrow. He needs a clear head and sleep and, as he’s fond of telling you, he doesn’t get either of those things when the two of you are together. It makes sense that he’d want to spend tonight at his own place, by himself.

So why do you feel like something horrible is happening?

You close your eyes but the second you do, you get a vision ofJay lifting David limp body off the mat. You can still hear that awful crack of David’s unprotected skull hitting the chair and immediately you feel sick to your stomach, just as you had when you’d watched the moment unfold. You were as powerless then as you are now to change it. All you could do was follow the assistants who’d come to help him to the medic’s room.

By the time they got him back there, there was already a red welt visible on his forehead. He was barely conscious, growling at anyone who tried to help him until you approached. He hadn’t said anything, just leaned into your body and let his head fall on your shoulder. He wasn’t aware enough to notice that you were crying, even when a few of your tears dripped onto his skin.

You’d held him tight until the doctor arrived, her expression doing nothing to ease your mind. Nevertheless, after a thorough check, she pronounced that he wasn’t concussed and wasn’t injured beyond the obvious bumps and bruises. Not physically at least.

Of course, you’d insisted that he come back to your place where you could keep an eye on him and take care of the wounds he had sustained. Well, you hadn’t really had to insist. He was happy to go along, laughing at the way you tried to do everything for him. It became a rather hilarious tug of war, you trying everything to keep him still and him doing everything to annoy you, getting himself a bottle of water from the fridge, trying to make something for dinner until you’d literally smacked his ass repeatedly with a spatula, which had you both laughing so hard you almost fell down.

Getting him into bed was a battle, too, and once you got him undressed and relaxed, he’d immediately started to get frisky. He kept insisting that he was fine and had ended up spending time both last night and the first part of the day today showing you just how fine he was.

“I can’t wait until this weekend is over,” he hissed into your skin during one intimate moment.

You’d agreed because, despite the fact that there are other shows and other matches coming up, there does seem to be a sense of finality around their showdown this weekend. Sure after this, Jay’s going to calm down or get distracted and he won’t be so determined to screw with your lives.

“Never again,” Jay had fairly shrieked, sitting on David’s chest, clinging on to his belt. “You will never beat me again.”

Sure, his words made perfect sense within the context of their fight for the belt and Jay’s determination to avenge his loss months ago. But you knew that wasn’t it. The animalistic way they’d stared each other down before the fight, the rush to get started. Jay always loved to tease confronting an enemy but backed out at the last seconds toying with them until he was convinced he’d rattled their nerves. Not last night. He and David had gone right after each other, brawling like they were in a bar.

Thinking of that reminds you of a night you haven’t thought about in years, back in their early days, your early days, in the dojo. It’s not a night you should remember at all, given the condition you were in but you remember it, or at least the end of it, perfectly.

The three of you had been out drinking. Drinking a lot. You’d stumbled back to your barracks leaning on one another to form some sort of solid mass that could stay upright. You’d still ended up tumbling a few times, which was hardly surprising. You must have all had some kind of homing instinct because none of you could tell where the hell you were.

You knew that by the time you made it back, the door would be locked but your super power at that time was that you were small enough and flexible enough to get through the window in the kitchen that was stuck open. You’d needed a boost from the guys, which had taken a couple of efforts, but you were eventually able to scramble through and unlock the front door, albeit after crashing into so many things and making so much noise that there was no way anyone slept through it.

Your room was in another area of the building but you’d just headed to their room. You’d passed out on the floor on several occasions, always on the floor even though you’d already started sleeping with Jay by that point. The two of you were half-assed pretending that nothing was happening, even though you’d very quietly fool around before falling asleep.

You’d been keeping things a secret to avoid gossip but also, at least on your part, because you hadn’t wanted to hurt David. It was clear already that he was sweet on you and you’d figured that as long as it wasn’t right there out in the open, you could pretend that there was no reason for him to feel hurt. Later on, you’d confide in him about how miserable Jay was making you, but at that point, things were still fun, still inconsequential.

In retrospect, you realize this period must have been agony for him. Jay was a braggart and had advertised his conquest to his roommate pretty much right away, but from there, you’d all pretended that nothing was happening. It’s only been in the last few weeks that you found out just how much and how early he’d liked you. Going through that must have sucked.

But on that particular night, there was no problem because you were all feeling no pain, either physical or emotional. You’d ended up crawling up the stairs on all fours, basically pulling both of them along with you. Jay had informed you loudly that he needed to take a piss and you and David had somehow made it back to their room.

It was dark, which meant the two of you were stumbling all over the place, but eventually David had flopped down onto his bed and turned on the lamp that stood on the shelf just above it. Unfortunately, as he did so, he’d knocked the lamp backward and left it hanging precariously, wedged between the headboard and the wall.

“David, get the light!” You’d been laughing so hard you could barely get the words out. There were tears streaming down your cheeks.

“It’s ok,” he mumbled, laughing as much as his semi-conscious body would let him.

“It’s not ok, David, you have to get the lamp because it’s going to…” You could not for the life of you remember the word “fall” in that moment.

After a few more seconds, you’d gone over to retrieve the lamp yourself, not that you were particularly graceful at it, balancing yourself as best you could on the edge of David’s bed and placing one hand on the wall to try to keep steady, all while trying not to collapse onto David’s chuckling form.

Out of nowhere, he’d snaked an arm around your leg and pulled you down onto his face, which made you both laugh even harder. You’d been giggling as he clumsily pushed your panties out of the way and started licking you with sloppy enthusiasm.

“Oh my god, David, what the hell,” you laughed. “That tickles!”

Maybe you would have told him to stop, or he just would have passed out in the middle of what he was doing because he was just that loaded, but before either of those things could happen, you’d been interrupted.

“What the fuck?” Jay was standing unsteadily in the doorway.

You’d tried to shush him as you fell back a little, sitting on David’s chest. He was laughing too but Jay decidedly was not.

“What are you, eating her pussy?”

You’d just cracked up laughing. David hadn’t opened his eyes, just grinned in a drunk, goofy way and responded, “I don’t know. Sort of?”

“Turn the light off,” Jay snapped.

“I’m trying to!” Another wave of laughter rolled over you as you’d pondered the ridiculousness of not being able to turn off a light.

“Turn the fucking light off!” Jay yelled.

He gave it a hard kick and shattered the bulb, solving the problem. He’d helped you stand up and although you couldn’t see him well, you’d felt like David was already unconscious as Jay led you over to his bed.

He’d pushed you down and started pulling your clothes away, which was unusual. Part of trying to keep things secret was learning how to fool around without getting naked and being as quiet as possible. But that night, Jay had been insistent about getting you naked. He’d been rough and he’d been loud. And he’d bit and pinched and scratched at you until you were loud as well. If you hadn’t managed to wake everyone in the building up with your arrival, that must have done the trick.

The only person it didn’t disturb was David, whose light snoring you could hear while you were going at it.

Jay had never been one to stare into your eyes and focus intently on you during sex, not back then at least. He’d look at you, then away, like he was thinking of what he could do next, or what he could get you to do. But as you remember the night now, you realize that his eyes flickered repeatedly towards the other bed, vibrant with anger. You knew that Jay had come to see you as one of his belongings during the time that you’d been working for him, but it’s only now that you realize how early that had started. Even then, when he’d been very clear that the two of you were not exclusive, he’d been livid at the idea that someone else would touch what was his.

The son of a bitch would have known that David was hung up on you, too. He’d done his best to make sure that he’d hear him fucking you right there in the room, like David didn’t even exist. David who at that point was still his best friend.

You don’t know if David woke up while all this was happening. You hope he didn’t. Although he’d apologized for what he called “his behavior” the next day, you’ve never been sure how much he remembers. Certainly by this point, it might have faded from his memory entirely. You hope that’s the case. You hope he doesn’t remember it anything like the way you do.

In his position, you don’t know if you’d ever be able to trust you, to believe that your emotions weren’t contaminated or at least inconsistent. You can’t believe that doubts don’t start to creep in the second you’re out of his sight, which is why, although it’s understandable that he’d want to spend the night by himself tonight, you feel worried. The second he starts thinking about how many problems you’re causing and how much he’s had to deal with for years because of you, he’s likely to move to Siberia just to ensure he never sees you again.

And as if you weren’t capable of driving yourself crazy with anxiety on your own, Jay’s trying his best to make it worse. Since you are the talent liaison for New Japan in America and Jay is a New Japan performer currently working in America, you’re no longer allowed to stop him from accessing you and tonight, he’s apparently decided to take full advantage of that.

Your phone lights up to indicate another text message. You check every time because it could be David, or someone actually trying to contact you for work, as opposed to what Jay’s doing, which is trying to drive you right out of your mind. But it seems like no one has anything to say to you except Jay.

Are you alone or do you have to take care of your boy tonight?

I hope you’re not wearing him out. I want him to remember how easy it is for me to beat him even at his best. And I know how you can be.

Try not to think about me when you two are going at it.

If he’s not there, come over. I’ll keep my hands to myself if you do.

You know I can get women whenever I want but I never stop thinking about the filthy things I’d like to do to you.

Play the good girl all you want, I know you’re going to be thinking about that last text for hours. I’ll bet you’ll even touch yourself.

Send pictures when you do. No reason for us not to enjoy ourselves.

Wonder how he’d react if I told him you were coming over. Guess I could find out. Not like he’d know I was lying. Or maybe I’m not lying?

That last one does it. You can’t just ignore that because you don’t know if he’s going to make good on the threat. So you type back the only two words you can think of: STOP IT.

Ha. I knew you weren’t sleeping. And I’ll bet your sweet prince is back at his place because he wants to be focused for tomorrow. Poor boy denying himself his last meal.

You flinch and respond again in all capital letters: I MEAN IT. KNOCK IT OFF.

You’re tense. You should definitely come over. I’ll give you a back rub.

You should have just let him keep texting and gone to sleep, not that you can sleep because you’re so tense about things with David and the fact that Jay’s threatening to ruin them. Now you’re caught in one of his mazes that you can never seem to find your way out of.

Fine, you’re not coming over. Phone sex?

NO.

Come on, it’s probably the one thing we haven’t done before. Call me.

NO. GOD WILL YOU JUST STOP? I’M TRYING TO SLEEP.

I know how to help you calm down. Call.

Ok, seriously, let me help you relax. We don’t have to talk about you putting my dick in your mouth.

You roll your eyes and answer: Nothing with you relaxes me.

Seriously, I have a technique.

NO.

You’re no fun. Think I’ll bug Super Dave for a bit.

You don’t even text him back. You call because at least if he’s on the phone, he can’t be texting David to tell him god knows what.

“Well this is a nice surprise,” he purrs.

“You can’t do this. I need to sleep. Hell, you need to sleep. Just let it go, Jay.”

“I don’t really need to be well rested to beat Finlay. He got lucky the one time. Even you don’t believe he’s good enough to beat me twice.”

“Maybe I don’t care if he wins or not. Maybe I’ll be happy because I get to be with him one way or the other.”

“I’ll bet he cares.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“No, come on, I promised I’d help you sleep and now you’re even more worked up.”

You try to think of a smart comeback but you can’t. He waits a minute before continuing.

“Are you lying down?”

“Not that it’s any of your business but yes.”

“It’s purely professional interest, I promise.” You can hear a dark laugh buried in his voice. “Lay flat on your back and close your eyes.”

You’re not sure why but you do as he says. You do need to sleep and maybe the bastard actually can help with that.

“I want you to breathe all the way in, really slowly, through your nose.”

You give it a shot and he immediately interrupts.

“Don’t do it like you’re angry at me. Soft and slow, until your lungs feel full.”

You comply, fighting to keep from getting angry at him.

“Ok, now exhale very slowly through your mouth. All the way.” When he’s satisfied you’ve done that properly, he continues, “Keep doing that, as slow as you can manage. In through the nose, out through the mouth.”

You can’t deny that you can feel your body start to relax after only a few repetitions.

“Now take your hand and place it over your face, right along the hairline. Just barely let your fingers touch your skin. Then run your hand down your face, all the way to your neck. Keep your touch as light as you can.”

The sensation makes you shiver but as much as you feel like your nerves are being activated, you also feel like you’re pulling the tension out of your body. He tells you to repeat this gesture a few times, always keeping your breathing slow and even.

“Good night princess,” he whispers. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The line goes dead before you can say anything.

[monsoonblooms12]

Detectives by Chance: Chapter 8- The Final Bow

Series Summary: It was supposed to be a usual weekend for the four. Coffee, fun, friends and love. But an unexpected case changed their lives in a way they had never imagined. A mystery - a murder - many secrets… Will Ethan, Pooja, Alexandra and Mark, be able to survive? Or will the circumstances twist and break their lives forever?

A/N: This is the end. The end of the first ever series, the first ever fanfics I ever wrote. It's melancholic you know? Bidding adieu to Open Heart and Detectives by Chance all at one? Anywho, I hope you enjoy this piece💕

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey X f!MC (Pooja Sharma)

Rating: Teen (to be safe)

Warnings: Blood, Murder, Swear Words, Gun Violence

I would recommend reading the previous parts first, because I am sure this makes little sense without knowing what happened previously.

Read the previous chapters here!

The trail from the crumpled door to the back ground felt likes hours of navigating through the blazing desert, no one in sight.

The scarlet memoirs of the wounds that now covered her skin did not give her much relief either. Blood soaked into her shirt, colouring it red from cream at a steady rate. Lazy tracks formed as solitary drops slipped down to meet the ground.

Papers clutched with a death grip, her resolve did not waver. After all the goose chase she had done in the manor, she was sure she could do this. But then again, there was not much of a choice there.

Ethan's POV:

A hazy screen appeared before his orbs as they slowly, timidly, fluttered open, as if scared to look around. A blackness had spread around him, and his mind could not make out if it was a musty old dungeon or some place else.

Soft scents of the intoxicating vanilla and bluebell perfume gently let him know of their presence, and he sighed in relief.

Wherever he was, he was close to her.

And with that knowledge came a subtle sense of calm, a realization that as long as he was near her, he wouldn't mind even dying.

He just wanted her, his strength, with him.

He tried to get up, and the wince of pain came almost immediately. His legs ached due to the cramped position in the short space of wherever. As he managed to pull himself up from the sleeping position, a very faint jingle of keys could be heard in the background of his groans.

Then with a click, the front door flew open and he unclearly made out a thud of some kind of folder in the front passenger seat. Soon the driver's seat was occupied as well, and the engine was raved to life.

The scent of vanilla and bluebell grew strong and he knew it was her.

"Pooja?" He whispered so lightly that for a second he wondered if he had even spoken it aloud.

"Ethan! Oh thank fucking god you are- Ah!" She was cutoff mid sentence by a horrifying but muted shriek which had escaped as she tried to close the door.

"Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay!" Worry laced his tone as her other hand painfully completed the supposedly easy task.

"You are okay and I've everything we need to save Lex & Mark. That's all that matters, E."

"What about you?"

But her attention had already shifted to the driving the automobile. She had always been like that, too unconcerned about herself. As well as he knew her, he was sure she had been biting her lip a tad bit harder with every moment just to keep painful screams at bay.

"It doesn't matter."

A shrill roar suddenly invaded the eerie, uncomfortable silence of the abandoned area. The voice was human, but the intensity of the sound reminded them more of an enraged tiger trapped in a cage, ready to pounce at the chance of freedom.

Staying here for a second more could be a dangerous idea.

A slow pain spread though his forehead, an after-effect of whatever that was forcefully injected during his investigation of the murky place, too dishevelled to call it even an office, let alone a hospital. The ache became all-too-consuming, his struggle to keep his eyes open turning futile. The blackness grasped him steadily as consciousness bid adieu and the dangers of the world in front of him, at bay.

End of Ethan's POV

Pooja's clutch on the steering wheel was so hard that the fingernails that dug into its material left deep moon shaped indents, as a mark of their visit. The teeth pressed so deep into her lip that it had drawn blood. The gap of the missing tooth felt like an aftermath of the reckless rescue operations she had led at the building.

Why did her mind refused to cooperate with her now, when she had finally made her way out?

Another line of thought began to form, but before it spread it's being, a second horrifying scream broke through the audible silence like a dagger.

Sweat of hardwork was now the cold sweat of fear. A sense of great danger that lingered now completely flooded every chamber of her heart & she refused to stop.

Digging her teeth into her lips, tears streaming as every movement made her want to shriek and wail in agony, she revved the engine, turned the steering & fled out of there.

————————————

A rash drive followed. She sped through the roads, going straight without a turn until she was sure the they were not being followed.

A safe distance away, she stopped. Every moment was precious now, but she was done. She could not do this anymore.

Hell, she could not do anything anymore.

The left portion of her shirt that she wore was now soaked in scarlet, the stench of blood growing on her. She doubted that if she wasn't a doctor, she would have thrown up or passed out by now.

Pooja looked behind, the scarce daylight making it a difficult job to be done. She was quite sure that Ethan had been overcome by another bout of unconsciousness and the feeling of helplessness spread through her chest, forming a hollow through its path.

Her head felt light too. The injuries were starting to show effects, although the overwhelming sense of failure and danger had already numbed their pain.

Taking a deep breath, and another, and another, she tried to centre herself, though not to much avail.

Something she had realized was now, the necessity to keep moving was a need & not a want.

A slow kick on the gas pedal & she carried on her journey to the final destination.

————————————

At the police station, the unfolding of events occurred like a film sequence set on fast forward.

Pooja had barely made it there, an urgency ringing through her mind, a constant worry that she was late, too late. But thankfully, she wasn't.

Dragging her foot (her entire body, at this point) she entered and almost fell face down on the station floor.

Hastily handing over the evidence she had meticulously collected and suffered all the injuries for, she tried to explain what she had found.

Officers repeatedly asked her to calm down, but she refused. The three of them, Ethan, Alex and Mark, They were her family. They always mattered more than her. They always will.

At last, all she managed was to point a finger at her car, before her body gave up on the fight. A small smile of satisfaction decorated her tired, overworked features. It was a win. A well deserved one. A strange sense of pride, overwhelmed her as she slowly faded into unconsciousness.

————————————

It has been 36 hours since the ghastly raid of Miles's manor.

The evidence collected opened a lot of tied knots, the page from Miles's diary, even though muddy, serving priceless for the investigation. Almost everything got crystal clear from it.

Pooja underwent a major surgery, and was still under bedrest. Minor to Major, there were a plethora of injuries that needed to be treated. Recovery was going to take a long time but her response had been up to the mark.

As for Mark and Alex, the court deemed them not guilty for any of the charges made against them & they were released. The very instant they rushed to the hospital, tears streaming down endlessly both in gratitude & in worry.

Miles Danvers, as expected, was not found. The manor was investigated after the release of Mark & Alex, a big mistake, and nothing was left behind except a few beeping machines & broken furniture. The investigators now await Pooja's recovery for interrogation & to close the case as soon as possible because stories of a deranged murderer roaming around the dark streets doesn't exactly spark a rush of serotonin through the citizens.

Meanwhile in a dark, gloomy alleyway:

It had been seconds too long. The man's pace faltered at slightest sounds, fingers fidgeting the two ring that shone under whatever little light reached the area.

Why were they not here yet?

But his wait was cut off soon. Muffled footsteps echoed like, every step closer increasing their intensity. Even though he had been expecting them, his heart leapt up his throat, which tightened in fear.

He turned around, not being able to make out their faces. But at the time, he found it to be a blessing in disguise, because he was sure he would have thrown up from the fright of being the cause of their anger.

A hand extended out, the silver bracelet dangling from it gleaming in moonlight. It gripped the lapel of his coat, and a scared murmur escaped him without caution.

The person on the other side, let out a slow growl of rage, boiling blood coursing through their veins. The man's teeth chattered, the cold pressing against his skin even more as a chill ran down his spine.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, the touch of cold metal against his neck made him shudder.

It was... It was a gun.

"Thi..s, Th..., This w-was not what, w-what we plann-nned upon." He quietly muttered, shocked that sound still escaped through the dryness of his throat.

"What were you supposed to do?" The person, no, the man, That man, growled, the evil of his heart almost visible in the spoken words.

The man stood soundless. It took two hard knocks of the metal to make him speak.

"K-K-Kill"

"And what did you do? Let her escape with a bagful of evidence." The words were being hissed now, with so much intensity that the man was surprised that he hadn't peed his pants yet.

"And since" The gun was displaced and he let out a sigh of relief. "You did such wonderful work, you deserve to be rewarded."

And before the man could even process what just happened, a single shot pierced through the fog settling around, and hit right in the forehead.

Seconds later, his lifeless body met its origin & any sign of life in the alleyway seized to exist.

End Note: Open Heart ended and it feels unreal. I have had a weird, wonderful journey with it. I would have never come to tumblr, make edits or write fanfics if not for it. It is a series which many of us, me included, hold close to our heart.

Firstly, I would like to thank everyone who provided their precious thoughts over the past chapters of this series. I always have & always will hold Detectives by Chance close to my heart, because it has some of my earliest fanfics & it was the beginning of a wonderful journey for me. So if you took your time & have followed this story from the start, I am so very grateful for you. Thank you❤

With OH ending, many have chosen to continue in this fandom & some have decided to move on. Whatever your decision may be, I hope you be happy & have a good time ahead💕

Detectives by Chance gets a Bonus part, with no relation to the storyline, like not an epilogue, but something that will answer the lingering questions. As for if this is really the end of DbC or not, I will let you guys decide that😉

Tags (Please let me know if you want to be added or removed or if I forgot you):

Perma: @gkittylove99 @neotericthemis @udishaman @aestheticartsx @twinkleallnight @schnitzelbutterfingers @sophxwithers @sweatyrysconnoisseur @nikki-2406 @choicesfanaf @trrfanaddict @starrystarrytrouble @gardeningourmet @parkbarks @mvalentine @lovablegranny @mercury84choices @helloayz

Open Heart (All fics and edit): @lucy-268 @maurine07 @bellcat2010

Ethan x Pooja (fics): @aleynareads @stygianflood @choicesaddict5 @mysticaurathings @jamespotterthefirst @ilikemenbutonlyethanramsey

@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[byrachel]

EMBRY CALL RED EYED WOMAN

word count: 2652

summary: (y/n) decides to walk home after work through the forest, but when she comes across a red eyed woman she wishes she would’ve waited on her dad to pick her up

warnings: angst, suffocation

From a young age (Y/N) was determined to go to college. She wanted to be in charge of her own destiny instead of taking over her family owned coffee shop like her parents wanted her to. When she told them about her plans they weren’t pleased in the slightest, but understood her choice of wanting more than to stay in their small town they grew up in. They decided to save up money, while (Y/N) worked in a store. 

Every day after school she worked several hours and after her shift ended one of her parents would pick her up, because they weren’t comfortable with her going home alone at night. So every night at exactly 10 p.m. (Y/N) would be standing in the almost empty parking lot which could fit just about 20 cars. And on a particular Friday night she was waiting for her dad to pick her up.

(Y/N) was softly bouncing on her legs, trying to keep her them warm in her khaki work pants while her arms were folded over her chest with her hands tucked in her armpits. She sighed in annoyance. The days her dad was supposed to pick her up were her least favorite days, because he was never on time or forgot he was supposed to pick her up until she called him.

She turned around when she heard footsteps coming her way. Richard, her manager walked up to her. “Hey, do you need a ride?” He asked her, jingling his car keys in his hand. 

“No.” She declined with a kind smile. “My dad’s almost here.”

She lied because she would rather walk home than get a ride from him. He never really did anything really inappropriate, but he just gave her the creeps. He was too touchy for her liking and being such a tiny space would make her even more uncomfortable.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I’ll just see you Monday then.” 

“Yeah, see you Monday.” She greeted him as she watched him walk to his car. As soon as he turned around she dropped her smile and fished her phone out of her pocket. 

10:17 p.m.

It wasn’t unusual for her dad to be this late, but in the cold she wasn’t as patient as she usually was. She dialed his number and held her phone to her ear. She expected it to ring, but it went straight to voicemail. She groaned softly. 

“Maybe I should’ve taken that free ride.” She mumbled to herself watching Richard pulling out of the parking lot, following his car as he drove away. She decided to call her mom and put her phone to her ear again. It rang loudly, but after the five beeps she got send to voicemail again. 

What could they be doing? She asked to herself. She tried calling them once again, but she got sent to their voicemails. 

10:34 p.m 

(Y/N) cursed to herself as she saw the time. It was getting colder and colder the later it got and she started to lose hope that her dad was going to pick up before midnight. In the half hour she waited for him she could’ve been home already. She didn’t like the thought of having to walk through the woods, but it felt like she didn’t have a choice.

Her parents probably wouldn’t be happy with her walking home, because in the last weeks there had been sightings of bears which were going around killing people on hikes. She walked to the side of the store which was right beside the woods. There weren’t any trails, because no one ever really walked around there.

The moonlight could barely get through the leafs of the trees, making it even harder to see for any potential dangers deeper into the woods. She inhaled deeply, trying to encourage herself, telling herself nothing would happen. It is a fifteen minute walk, what could go wrong?

She started walking without giving it a second thought, knowing she would probably rethink her decision. She manoeuvred through the tall trees, trying not to trip over any roots she could barely see. (Y/N) constantly looked around her, trying to be aware of her surroundings as her eyes adjusted to the dark. She was holding her hands out, preventing the plants from getting in her face and hair. As she walked deeper into the woods the sounds of the insects and other animals kept her senses alert and jumpy.

The thought of a wild animal lurking at her, perparing itself to attack, kill her and eat her alive was racing through her mind. Her chest was rapidly going up and down. Her lungs weren’t able to keep up with her legs, but she kept going until she needed to catch her breath.

She hunched over, her hands resting on her upper thighs as she inhaled deeply. There was a trail of sweat on her forehead, dripping to the ground. Her heartbeat was in her throat as her lungs slightly burned from the cold air making its way in.

The sound of a branch breaking made her jump. She turned to the left where the sound came from and stepped backwards. There was a figure in the distance and the silhouette was too human like for it to be anything else in (Y/N)’s eyes. 

“Who’s there?” She called out in their direction, completely panicked.

A gust of wind blew her hair into her face and when her eyes fell to the figure again, it was gone. It was too fast and quiet for it to be human. (Y/N) sighed relieved as a weight was lifted from her shoulders. Her eyes were just playing tricks on her mind. 

As she turned back to the direction she needed to go, her heart raised once again when she saw a woman standing just a few steps away from her. The moonlight shone on her pale face and reflected off her skin like diamonds, almost blinding (Y/N) as she looked in her direction. She would be amazed by her red curls if her blood red eyes weren’t so terrifyingly distracting. The woman just stared at her with a wide grin on her face.

(Y/N) wanted to run, because there was no way two complete strangers would be in the exact same place in the woods at this time of day. She was followed there and she feared she wasn’t alone. She wanted to ask what she wanted, but she simply couldn’t get herself to open her mouth and the fear locked her in her place. There were endless scenarios going through her mind, but every single ended the same.

With her dead.

When the situation finally sunk in, (Y/N) dared to make a move. She put a step backwards, but in a blink of eye the red eyed woman was standing in front of her. (Y/N) yelled hard enough for her voice to echo through the trees and with a loud thud she fell on her back. Her eyes were instantly filled with tears while she desperately tried to crawl away from the red head towering over her.

“Help! Please someone help!” (Y/N) screeched at the top of her lungs.

“You are truly all the same.” The woman chuckled. “This line is getting old. ‘Help’, ‘Please someone, anyone’. Don’t you have anything better?”

“Help!”

As (Y/N) tried to get to her knees, the red head kicked her against her side landing her on her back. She placed her foot on her chest, applying enough pressure to make it difficult to breathe, but not enough to break her ribs, yet. (Y/N)’s lungs were burning and it was getting harder and harder for her to inhale any oxygen. 

“Please stop.” The helpless girl managed to choke out. Her hands were on the woman’s ankle trying to push her off, but she didn’t even budge one bit. She was abnormally strong. The only thing the struggling was doing was making it even harder to breathe to the point her breaths were becoming wheezy.

The woman just laughed while (Y/N) slowly started to lose consciousness. Her ears were ringing loudly and stars were taking over her sight. Fighting was pointless. 

Her hands let go off the red eyed woman’s foot and fell to her side. (Y/N) knew she didn’t have long before she stopped breathing. She never imagined being murdered in her teenage years, there was so much she still wanted to do. She thought of her parents and her friends, how mortified they would be if they found out she was murdered. How her dad would blame himself for not picking her up on time, although she believed it was her fault. She should’ve waited. If she waited she would’ve been safe.

Before she could slip into unconsciousness the weight lifted from her chest, making her burst out in coughs as her lungs were making room for oxygen again. Her hands shot up to her neck as she hunched over, tears streaming down her face. 

Just as fast as the woman got to (Y/N) she was gone again, like she was never there. Her absence was followed by the shaking ground underneath her and loud growling which passed her almost as fast as dangerous red head. She felt a strong wind pass her body like something huge ran just along side her.

In disbelief her eyes were stuck in the direction they went in, but she didn’t have time to collect her thoughts. She heard heavy breathing near by and her head shot into direction of the animalistic sound. She carefully sat up and saw a sandy brown wolf staring down at her. There was no time for her to react when her blood pressure dropped immediately at the sight of the huge animal and made her body drop right back to the ground. This time she really passed out.

When (Y/N) woke up she was in the hospital with a crying mother holding her right hand and her dad at the other side, repeatedly apologizing for not remembering to pick her up. Her parents told her she was brought to the hospital by a classmate she had never really interacted with, Embry Call. He told them he was jogging when he heard her calling for help and he found her unconscious in the middle of the woods. The only thing (Y/N) wondered about was why that the giant wolf had left her alone only for Embry to find her untouched by it. 

The adrenaline of the attack made sure that (Y/N) couldn’t feel her broken ribs, until she woke up in the hospital but that was far better than feeling it break in the moment. She only spend one day in the hospital and in that day she was being interviewed by Chief Swan, because she was the only person so far to survive one of these mysterious attacks. She made sure to leave out some major details that would make sure that she would end up in a mental hospital. 

In the upcoming weeks after the attack Embry Call came to her house a couple times at request of her parents to thank him for saving their daughter from the giant wolf. Surprisingly (Y/N) and him became close right away. Surprising to her he completely wasn’t like the rumors made him and his friends out to be.

He was a nice, funny and pretty caring guy. After she started working again he started walking her home so her parents wouldn’t have to get her everyday and she would feel safer to walk in the woods again. Exactly one month after the accident (Y/N) couldn’t help but think about the woman again and all her inhumanly features.

Embry knew there was something off about her when she gave one worded answers to anything she was saying, she seemed distracted. 

When they reached her front door, he placed his hand on her shoulder stopping her from getting inside. “Are you okay? You’ve been really quiet today.”

She gave him a weak smile and nodded. “Just tired.”

Embry crossed his arms over his chest and raised his eyebrows. “You’re really gonna hit me with the most cliche line of every not okay doing person ever?”

She genuinely chuckled at his dorkiness, but soon after that her smile faded. Embry’s expression immediately changed as well as it seemed much more serious than he thought. He already had an idea that the attack had been bothering her, because he knew she hadn’t confessed about what she really saw that night.

“You know you can talk to me, right?” He said.

“I know, but this will probably just sound stupid.” She sighed looking away from him. 

“Try me.” 

(Y/N) bit her lip. She wasn’t sure if it was smart to say anything, but she didn’t have anyone else to talk about it with. What was the worst that he could say? ‘That sounds ridiculous’, but they would just laugh it off after and not talk about it again. 

“The night I got attacked, it wasn’t the wolf that attacked me.” She started off. She rubbed her neck. “There was a woman there, but she was just. . . almost not human like. She was unbelievable strong, fast. I blinked and it was like she put 5 steps without me noticing.”

Embry could feel a lump in his throat. He knew exactly who she was talking about and only the thought of that leech touching his imprint and him not being there in time made his blood boil. He was definitely blaming himself. Ever since he imprinted on her he was too afraid to make a move, because he wanted her to have a normal life and he knew that wasn’t possible if he was in her life. He regretted making that decision more than ever, because he wasn’t able to protect her like he was supposed.

“It’s stupid forget I said anything.” (Y/N) rattled as he was being too quiet for her liking. She hurried over to her front door, but Embry grabbed her hand stopping her once again.

“No.” He sternly said. “I believe you. I’m just sorry I wasn’t there sooner.”

Her eyes widened and she shook her head. How could he think it was his fault? “It isn’t your fault, Em. You safed me. Without you who knows what would’ve happened to me. If there’s someone to blame, it is me. I shouldn’t have been so impatient and just waited for my dad. Who walks home through the woods at night?”

Embry chuckled and nodded. “Yeah okay, that was pretty stupid.”

“Hey, only I get to say I’m stupid.” She joked and they laughed unison. When their laughs died down they smiled at each other for a moment.

“I should probably go inside before my parents go crazy again.” She told him as her gaze fell on their hands. She could feel her face getting flushed as she noticed how they had been holding hands and slowly pulled away after. 

Embry couldn’t help but smile at her reddening. “You probably should, yes. Tell them I said ‘hi’.”

“I will. Goodnight, Embry.” 

“Goodnight.” 

(Y/N) watched him as he walked away, but something popped up in her head. “Em, wait!” She called out after him. 

He turned around and saw her jogging up to him. He raised his eyebrows. “What is—”

Before he could finish his sentence she placed her hands on his shoulders and tiptoed to plant a kiss on his cheek. “I never thanked you for saving my life.”

He froze in his place not expecting that from her. She giggled at his reaction and walked to her front door, leaving him alone to comprehend what just happened.

After that kiss he would gladly safe her again.

masterlist | not edited | requested

tagged: @embrycallgirlss

[gacuseni]

The last three hours had been not interesting. Batman and Robin were during their daily, or nightly patrol. There was nothing special about it, it had been pretty old fashioned. There had been two attempts of robbery, a minor gangster fight, and one attempt of kidnapping. It wasn't exactly too calm to put Batman or Robin nervous, but it was calm enough for a normal patrol in Gotham.

Batman had never liked the quiet though. And Robin had learnt from his father, he had a bad feeling about it, a feeling he couldn't quite name, but he had a feeling as if someone had could happen at any moment if they lowered their guard.

And they were right. As Robin was talking to the owner of the store they had just saved from a couple of armed guys, Batman heard a noice coming from the back alley, something had fell, at first he thought it could be a stray cat messing around, but he still got closer just to check.

"You better hurry! We don't have all day!"

Batman opened his eyes, he knew that voice, Harley had escaped a couple of months ago from Arkham, but she had gone quiet ever since. What was she doing there?

Robin looked at his father, he said something else to the owner of the shop and quietly followed him to the alley, he was about to ask, but his father make him a sign to keep quiet.

Aside from Harley, there were also some men on the alley. Each one of them was carrying a box and placing them inside a truck, Harley was looking at them impatiently. When the last one man arrived, he almost dropped the box as he placed it.

"Careful!!! We don't want to break it, don't we?" Harley said. And then she kicked the man in the chest making him fall.

The man tried to protect himself as he fell to the ground and covered himself with his arms.

For some reason Harley was apparently not in the mood to punch people, or she was really on a rush to arrive to wherever she was taking the boxes on the truck.

She looked around to check if someone else was following, she didn't notice the couple of bats that were looking at her from the other side of the alley.

Harley looked at the man on the floor. "That's what I thought, now get on the truck!!" The man, who was apparently also the driver followed her orders quickly and got to the driver's seat before the rest got inside and they departed to some place in Gotham.

Batman and Robin hid themselves as the truck exited the alley.

They looked at each other, as is for a fraction of second they had a mental conversation, they already knew what the other was going to do, both nodded before they started following the truck through Gotham's rooftops.

Batman informed to Oracle over the comms that they were following Harley, who was more likely working with the Joker, and that the rest of the bats on patrol should be alert in case they needed backup.

***

After following the truck through half of Gotham they arrived to the decks, more specifically to an abandoned warehouse. Damian was not surprised, the Joker and the rest of criminals should really get another creepy location to do their evil plans. But again, this was Gotham, there were more warehouses than McDonald's in the city.

There was a small window on the ceiling that Batman and Robin used to see what was going on. Joker was already in the warehouse, waiting for the truck.

He smiled with that creepy smile he always had on his face as Harley got out of the truck.

There was too much noice inside and outside to hear clearly what was going on, but Robin knew the couple was talking about the boxes, while they were watching from the hidden window in the corner of the roof.

Robin was ready to jump in the moment it was needed, his father on the other side was observing, analyzing the boxes that the men were opening.

"Hm" he made that noice he used so much as both Batman and Bruce. "They look like materials for his gas. There is also some new stuff, he might be changing the formula." He said through the comms. He then looked at his son, who was not really paying attention to him, but instead was about to jump through the window. "Robin, no. It can be dangerous, you will have to wait here until I say so."

Robin looked at his father, who was back at looking at the boxes, he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, just waiting for some orders. The night had been boring for him, and now that it started to get interesting, he was ordered to wait in there.

Batman was about to go inside when Joker and Harley stopped talking after one of the men had approached the Joker and said something to his ear. Joker nodded and then looked at Harley.

"Bring her here." The Joker ordered to Harley.

Harley nodded with a smile, she left and returned a couple of minutes later with a woman around her mid or late thirties, who was cried on the floor after Harley pushed her.

"No! Please! No! Let me go home!! Please! I have a family!" She was shaking her head as she trembled, tears falling down her face. Robin felt anger through his body as the woman continued pleading for her life and safety. Talking about her family and her home. She was just an innocent woman.

Batman noticed how tense his partner was, he was also not happy about this, but he covered it better than his son.

The Joker's smile was getting bigger and bigger as the woman cried and pleaded. At some point Robin was sure it couldn't get any bigger.

As Harley approached the woman ready to beat her with her bat, Robin decided it was finally time to do something. Orders be damned, so he started moving toward the window.

Batman glared at him, but Robin ignored his father, while he kept approaching to the window. Hiding in the shadows without anyone noticing him.

And finally, he jumped to fight the men.

"Robin, no!" He could hear his father yelling at him, but he ignored him, again. He could hear the exasperated sigh his father gave, he didn't looked back, but he could perfectly visualize his father's frown under the cowl, pinching his nose.

He landed along the shattered glass, making a noisy entrance that directed the attention to him and not the woman. Good, he thought.

"Oh look the little bird is here." Harley spoke, she glared at the men behind her. "What are you waiting for? Go get him!"

Robin took the first two men down, leaving them unconscious in the floor. They were sloppy and useless, he wasn't surprised.

Robin smirked at Harley as another couple of men attacked him and he took them down easily.

"Ugh!! Why can't nobody do something right?!" She screamed, then she looked at other four men "What are you people looking at?! Do something! Or are you waiting for a lollipop?! You are absolutely useless!"

The four men quickly ran towards Robin.

He dodged the first two men easily, but as he was about to punish one of the men, he looked at his left where he saw the Joker about to hit the woman with a crowbar, and Robin got distracted.

He had let his guard down, and never noticed that one of the men had a knife. A knife he used to stab him on his right leg, as the other man hit him on the face.

He was about to get another hit when a dark shadow landed in front of him, taking down the man who had stabbed him.

"Robin!" Batman yelled to his son, as he continued to take down the men. Robin had to admit they were at least brave, or very stupid, as they continued to get up and keep fighting them. "What the hell we're you thinking?! I told you to wait!"

Robin punched one of the men on his stomach as he looked at the woman being hit by the Joker, who had started laughing. Ugh, he really hated that laugh, it always got on his nerves.

"Less talking more acting, you can scold me later father."

Robin quickly ran towards the Joker, who was about to hit the woman once again, she was half reacting by now, Robin wasn't sure if it was because of her injuries or some sort of shock.

He took some speed before he make a flip and he kicked the creepy clown on the face, as he yelled to the woman to move, giving her time to react and get away from the clown. Batman helped her get out of the warehouse quickly.

Robin was supposed to follow Batman and the woman to the outside, but when he was halfway there, Harley grabbed his cape and tossed him to the men who restrained his arms.

He looked at the door, Batman was probably outside by now and would soon realize Robin hadn't got out yet.

Robin tried to kick one of the men grabbing him, but he kicked him first on his stab wound, making him hiss in pain.

Joker looked at him, and finally proved Robin wrong.

His smile could get bigger. And let me tell you, it was not a pleasant image. Damian wished he could forget it.

"Oh look, the little birdie wants to take someone's place."

"Shut the fuck up" Robin was able to kick the Joker on the stomach, but when he was about to punish him again, was hit on his use and fell to the ground.

He turned around to look what was going on, Harley had a grin on her face as she got in position to hit him again. With the crowbar Joker had been using.

"I think the little kid wants more! So fun he could join us in our play date! Don't you think pudding?" She exclaimed as she hit Robin repeatedly, her voice getting angrier as her hits were getting harder.

Robin grunted in pain as he tried to stand up, just as the Joker kicked him to the floor. He used the moment Joker started laughing to kick him on his legs, taking his to the ground and standing up.

He didn't noticed when Harley had got behind his back and was about to hit him with the crowbar until he heard a noise similar to a punch. When he turned back he saw his father was back, and was fighting with Harley, taking her away from him and starting their own fight.

And here is the thing. Robin might be a trained soldier. Damian may have trained his entire life ever since he was born and was able walk and grab a sword.

But the Joker was a hard opponent in a one vs one fight, even to Batman. So it was even harder for Robin, specially with him being injured.

That didn't stopped him, Robin continued to fight the Joker, but he was getting tired, his leg was hurting a lot, the stab wound felt like fire on his leg, he was sure a part of the knife was still in there, and he also probably had a broken nose because it wouldn't stop bleeding, and a small concussion aside with some broken ribs.

The point is, odds weren't good for him, is his father didn't take Harley down soon and helped him, he wasn't sure how long he could keep going.

And the Joker didn't looked like he was getting tired, or as if he was going to get tired at some point soon, or at least soon enough for Robin to get away from him.

Robin tried to jump to avoid a low hit, but when he did his leg starting hurting a lot, causing him to loose balance.

The Joker used this to grab his arm and twisted it in an unnatural way, making Robin to hear the crack of his bone, breaking in two or maybe more parts.

Robin cried in pain. This made the Joker laugh, he was finally getting what he wanted.

The joker grabbed the crowbar that had fell a few inches away from them, and hit Robin on his head. Hard.

He may had hit him more than once, that was very possible. But after that first hit everything had become blurry for Robin, he couldn't focus well and he couldn't keep his balance. He shook his head as he tried to focus and keep fighting. Every time it was getting harder, but he needed to, he needed to-

"ROBIN!"

Robin looked around, someone had called him right? But they had said Robin...Damian knew that a Robin was a bird, his name was Damian wasn't it? Why would someone call him as a bird?

He lost his train of thought, tried to focus on what he was doing, he was on the floor? He didn't really knew, but everything was too dizzy, and he was getting too tired to think, his head hurt, his leg hurt, his arm hurt, everything pretty much hurt and he couldn't remember why.

There was this laughing he could hear distantly, Damian didn't liked it, he wanted it to stop, but he could also hear another voice, and he knew that voice, that voice knew him too right?

While Robin had been fighting against the Joker, Batman had tried his best to get rid of Harley, and get as fast as possible to his son, he knew he was tough, but Jason had also been though and wasn't able to get away from the Joker.

He had already called Oracle and contacted the rest, he just hoped they could arrive soon.

Batman looked at his left, Robin was struggling, he knew it. Joker was hitting him and laughing, and Batman just saw red.

He was finally able to finish the fight, punching Harley so hard she fell unconscious to the floor.

As he turned again to his left, Robin was barely conscious, laying on the ground. Joker had seen how he knocked out Harley, and probably left him there.

"Robin!" He called his son, trying to make him stay awake. "Hang on, hang on." He said as he grabbed his son.

He looked to the place where he had left Harley, she was not there anymore. Batman didn't cared about her, Robin was hurt, and badly.

"Ba bye Batsy! See ya!!" The Joker said through a speaker that had been left in the warehouse. But Bruce was too busy and too worried to get away with Damian, and then get him help as fast as possible.

"Batman to Agent A, I need the batmobile ASAP, Robin injured, what's the ETA?"

Alfred had said something about less than ten minutes and asked Robin's state. Batman was about to answer when Damian talked.

"F-Father?"

"Yes Damian?"

"I-I'm tired..."

"I know you are, but can you please, just stay awake? Can you do that? Just until we get to the med bay and Agent A checks on you, you will rest then." Bruce told his son.

Damian lightly nodded his head, but still his eyes were closing and were not focusing anymore, that was not a good sign, and Damian shouldn't sleep with a concussion before he gets checked.

Bruce had to take him out of there now. Damian was loosing blood, and he was loosing him.

He looked around for the exit, Joker had blocked the main entrance and Bruce wasn't sure he couldn't get them both out through the window with his hook.

Then he heard it.

A bomb.

There was a fucking bomb in the warehouse.

Bruce quickly searched for it with the look.

'Oh shit...please no' He thought.

There were just a few seconds left.

He knew he couldn't get Damian away that fast in his condition. But he needed to try, he took out his grappling hook and started taking them both out, they could make it out, they still had time to at least get to the roof.

Bruce then made the mistake to look back at the bomb.

Three seconds left.

There was no way they could make it out.

Two seconds left.

Bruce hugged Damian in a way to protect his son from the explosion and the impact. Damian curled himself and grabbed his cowl.

One second left.

He was just hopping that he could take most of the impact, as he wasn't sure if Damian would survive it. He closed his eyes and grabbed his son as hard as he could.

BOOOOM

They both were sent away flying, Bruce couldn't protect Damian from more than some rocks and things that were sent flying away.

At some point he momentarily lost consciousness on the air, everything was going in slow motion, and when he gained again he realized his grip on Damian wasn't as hard as he thought, and his son's body slipped away through his fingers.

Bruce remembers how they were both smashed into a wall. Damian hit the wall with his head, loosing completely conscience.

And then Bruce got lost in the darkness as well.

Continue reading in Ao3

[squiggle-dragon]

Faded

Lightning flashed, lighting up the dark sky for but a moment as the rumble of thunder echoed through the land. It had yet to start raining, though it was only a matter of time before the storm would arrive in its full glory.

Labored breathing could be heard as a tall figure stumbled through the vegetation of the countryside, trying to escape from some threat. Pale hair could be seen, though what would normally have been the color of fresh snow was currently dirty with tinges of blood and soil.

The man's foot caught an upturned tree root and he fell forward, shutting his eyes tightly and hissing in pain upon making contact with the ground. His abnormally sharp teeth were gritted as he twisted his body to clutch at his chest, where blood stained his clothing.

Of course, it would choose to start raining at this point and the figure let out a shuddering sigh, "Figures… this is stupid. Damn gods…."

The injured fox demon stared at a particularly large blade of grass several inches away, mulling over his predicament. He was injured - and severely so. It was unlikely that he'd make it out of this alive, especially if those infernal gods were still trying to track him down. 

What did he do to deserve this? Ah, right - killed a bunch of people. It's been at least a couple of centuries since the last massacre, but apparently they aren't willing to forgive and forget. At least a dozen were gods… or was it two dozen? 

Hell, no wonder they were pissed.

The wind kicked up and buffeted against his fallen form, causing him to shut his eyes. ‘Crap!’ He wasn't sure if it was from the storm or one of his attackers had managed to find him. He needed to keep moving…

He needed to hide.

The demon clenched his jaw, hating the thought of having to flee like some coward. The great and powerful Soul Eater, who has taken on great entities and overcame them despite being at a major disadvantage, having to run away. Until now, they feared him….

With a quiet sigh of resignation, Soul closed his eyes again and focused. His physical form shifted and started shrinking. Where there once was a more humanoid figure now laid a small, white fox. Well, mostly white, given the dirt and blood currently staining his fur.

Soul pushed himself to stand, staggering slightly and wincing as more blood dripped from his wound. He couldn't succumb to his injuries now; he had too much to prove to those high and mighty gods. Weak and injured was not how they were going to last remember him.

Ignoring the pain the best he could, the small fox trudged through the grass. His large ears swiveled at another rumble of thunder, trying to also listen for anything unusual. Not that he could exactly present much of a challenge in his current state. Maybe give them a nasty bite on the face….

Soul paused to shake out his fur, sending both blood and water flying. He immediately regretted it, nearly losing his balance and flopping over. 'Smooth move, idiot.' Apparently, the horrid sensation of damp fur outweighed the pain from a bleeding gash in his chest. 'Ew. Ow. Ew…'

Could his situation get any worse? 

It was almost as if the Universe responded with a resounding "Yes!" 

The rain became a torrential downpour, which soaked him to the bone in a matter of seconds. 'Since when did I stumble into an active hurricane? At least this damn rain should wash away my blood trail. The last thing I need right now is-'

He froze, hearing movement in a nearby bush. The fox youkai slowly turned his head to see a hulking silhouette. It was obvious to him what it was and he glared skyward, as if his torturer was among the clouds. '-a bear? Seriously, who is screwing with me right now?! What kind of karmic bullshit is this?!'

Soul arched his back and bristled, red eyes flashing angrily as the bear ambled closer. Once the large beast got within ten feet of him, the white fox bared his teeth and growled lowly, 'You really want to mess with me, you thick-headed nimrod?'

The bear paused and seemed to think things over, which gave Soul an inkling of hope that his tough posturing worked. Not that some 'dumb woodland animal' could ever hope to get the better of him when he was remotely close to full strength. However, the fox youkai was about as weak as an average fox at this point. 

Once again, fate was clearly not in his favor as the bear bellowed and charged at him. With a snarl, Soul ducked as massive claws barely missed grazing his head. The adrenaline was fortunately numbing the pain for now, which allowed the fox to spring upward and latch onto the bear's neck with his jaws, 'Gotcha!'

With an enraged roar, the mighty ursine thrashed about as Soul clamped down harder, holding on for dear life. Unfortunately, being tossed about burned through his already fading strength faster. With one final shake, Soul came loose and flew several feet before making contact with the ground. Due to the force, his body tumbled another foot or two before sliding to a complete stop. 

Soul laid there, stunned and in even worse pain than he had been initially. Hearing heavy footsteps, he mentally screamed at his body to get moving. It obliged, albeit very slowly and not without a large amount of agony. The battered youkai pushed himself up into an awkward seated position, drawing his lips back in a defiant snarl up at his encroaching killer.

He had thought his end would come by one of those pieces of shit claiming to be gods - likely from them raiding him because they sure as hell couldn’t seem to do it on fair terms. But here he was, about to be killed by one of those ‘dumb woodland animals.’ It was so pathetic that he felt bile rise in the back of his throat - or was that a side effect of having the shit beaten out of him? 

Despite his (pathetic) attempts at intimidating the bear, the large creature grunted before taking another swipe at the small fox. Adrenaline and moxie could not save Soul this time and the weakened youkai went flying again, bleeding from the side of his neck where the bear’s claws raked him. He let out a gasp of pain upon making contact with the ground, shutting his eyes tightly. 

His small form laid there, curled up and shivering in pain as the threads of fear wrapped themselves around him. Soul could not remember the last time he felt like this, though he had never before been skirting so close to death. Despite being so long-lived, he really did not want to die here. Not just because of his ego and his soon-to-be-killer being a simple bear, but for whatever reason… the thought of ceasing to exist terrified him.

His ears twitched slightly upon hearing the bear’s heavy breathing getting closer, likely as it moved in for the final blow. Try as he might, Soul could not get his limbs to move at all outside of the shivering. He felt a breath ruffle the fur around the back of his neck and stiffened, holding his breath….

Suddenly, there was a loud raucous that was enough to cause him to fold his ears against his head in an attempt to muffle it. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it sounded like someone was hitting something repeatedly and shouting at the top of their lungs.

*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!*

“Go away! Back off!”

Soul belatedly realized that he no longer felt the bear breathing down his neck and dared to turn his head to look behind him. The bear could be seen running off, disappearing into the nearby bushes. ‘Huh.’

Faintly hearing other footsteps, the fox youkai’s eyes slowly drifted in the direction he made them out to be from. He was quite tired and was more than ready for a nap - even if that nap turned out to be permanent. He’d lost a fair amount of blood and had been in two fights almost back to back. If this new development was how he was going to leave this world, then so be it.

Instead, his eyes trailed up to the form of a human girl as she hurried over to him. He couldn’t make too much out between his fading eyesight and the darkness. There was some artificial source of light, but it only worked to further obscure her. He felt a hand rest on his side and lightly ghost across his wounds, but he found it strangely reassuring.

His ears caught whispers, mostly in regards to her assessment of his sorry state of being at the moment. Soul’s eyes once again traveled up towards her face, but couldn’t make much out aside from a strange - almost childish - hairstyle. Normally, he’d be alarmed in such a situation, but he felt strangely at ease.

There was a peculiar rustling sound and he saw her taking her outermost garment off, which seemed almost like a hooded cloak. Soul winced and squeezed his eyes shut again as he felt himself being scooped up and wrapped in the article of clothing. Everything hurt so badly that he almost wished he was killed by that stupid bear. He apparently let out a whine, because he felt her grip on him tighten before she stood with him in her arms.

“Don’t worry little fox - you’re safe. Rest now and please stay alive….”

The fox youkai was confused by the tone of her voice and picked up the faintest quiver in it. Soul also realized just how cold he was, even while being wrapped up in whatever she had been wearing. Despite his usual pride, he found himself unconsciously snuggling up against her for warmth and let out another small whine from the effort. He could feel them moving - and judging from the motion, she was running. 

He struggled to stay awake and succumbed to his exhaustion shortly after - lulled to sleep by her heartbeat.

[woodrokiro]

Hollowed (fic), Part Nine

Fandom: Bleach

Pairing: IchiRuki: 

Summary: They call her a miracle, but he looks at her as if she’s normal. It scares her. Fantasy/Futuristic/Zombie kinda?AU. Read Parts One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and Eight.

“That is ludicrous.”

“It’s not. It’s true.”

“You’re telling me that you think Measure for Measure is better written than Hamlet--” she watches him sputter, near choking on his own bafflement, “--one of the greatest pieces of literature written, so legendary that what’s left of literary scholars today are still talking about it five hundred years later?”

“I am. You need to read Measure for Measure again.”

“No don’t turn this on me, you need to read Hamlet again--”

“I already did. Four times. I’m not saying it’s bad. I’m. Just. Not. Impressed.” She crosses her arms and looks at him pointedly, working admittedly hard to prevent the smirk working at her face. “Anyway, that’s my personal opinion.” 

“Yeah, well, your opinion sucks--”

“My opinion is pristine.”

“Okay, so-so why would, like, hundreds of literary scholars disagree with you?”

“I don’t know these scholars you speak of that you read from one book, but I can tell you they’re dead and outdated.”

He huffs, twisting around so that his back is turned to her against the screen. Like he’s punishing her. 

She knows he can’t see her, but just in case she smothers her grin into her palm.

It’s strange, she considers as she moves the chair she was leaning against, studying the floor beneath the table. How quickly they’ve fallen into a bizarre sort of friendship--and over books at that. 

At the day’s end after they had exchanged Hamlet and King Lear, Rukia became rather embarrassed at herself. How rude she was at his misunderstanding her proposed arrangement, how quickly she had taken his valued copy from his hands…

How excited she became at the thought of having a reading partner. 

She didn’t sleep well that night. It wasn’t like her to act that way. The fact that she hadn’t had a literary friend in so long was no excuse. As a lady she was to have poise, she was to be elegant and reserved and not expect more of other people than what their duties called for, that was something she swore to herself after Kaien--

She was ready to apologize when his next shift came. Instead, before she could say a word he came back with her King Lear in hand claiming that Lear “was a total pissant.”

She still chose her words carefully around him, and days after the hospital left her not wanting to talk to him at all. 

But today was a good day, and she was rather ashamedly surprised that annoying him so easily was… Quite fun. 

As if on cue, he turns his head--but not enough to look at her. “You’re wrong.”

“On the contrary: I’m always right. I’m the Prized One, remember?”

He scoffs and shakes his head. “Whatever that means, I can see it clearly hasn’t gotten to your head.” He stops, and she can hear him wrapping his knuckles on the floor. “So you’re telling me none of it resonated with you? I mean, this guy’s birthright was taken from him, so he fought--”

“No, not really.” she stops him half-mindedly. Her gaze and attention is really on the small chandelier hanging above her table that needs quite a bit of dusting.”Besides: he doesn’t deserve to be king. His self-entitlement cost lives, and for what? What he thinks may have been a ghost of his dead father?”

“Well no one’s arguing Hamlet’s a good guy, but--that’s my point! Lives were cost at the selfish decisions of the rich. How about Ophelia, didn’t you feel a… I don’t know, a connection to how vulnerable she--um EXCUSE ME what are you doing?”

She looks down at his sputtering expression from where she stands on the table. “What? I’m dusting this chandelier.”

“Yeah I can see that, but Kiyone’s coming later and… I don’t know, has a ladder??”

“Kiyone’s gone for the day, and I need this done now.” She blinks at him. “Did no one tell you? My brother’s coming for a visit.”

“No one tells me anything here.” He grumbles, but still eyes her skeptically as she reaches up to polish the decorative glass petals. “Look, could you just--can you get down from there? You’re gonna get hurt, and he’s not worth it.”

“No I’m not; see? I’m already done.” She drops her rag on the ground below. “And don’t talk that way about my brother. Now, he’s coming soon so I have to--” 

She twists her body to find the chair from which she can step down, forgetting that she’s standing on what she realizes now is a rather slippery paper. 

She hears a shout as she tumbles down.

--

He’s shouting and Rukia is on the ground and groaning and goddamn it he knew this would happen and if the psycho doesn’t answer him this second he’s gonna blame her for the ten years shaved off his life but he can’t think about that now he’s---

He’s inside the room. Holding her. 

He doesn’t remember even twisting the latch open, or the exact moment that he decided to disobey her orders by coming in--but whatever. It wasn’t a question, coming to her side.

“Rukia. Hey! Rukia, answer me.” She grimaces in response, but he near bellows in a sigh of relief. “Jesus! You scared the shit out of me.”

“What are you doing over here, fool?” Her glare and tone could kill, but Ichigo just rolls his eyes. 

“I don’t know, why were you thinking you could just stand up on such a weak ass table and not get hurt?”

“That’s not the point.”

“That is the point, dumbass, that’s why we’re here!” 

“Don’t talk to me that way. Go back to your side, I’m fine--” she starts to get up, but flinches with a sharp intake of breath. 

Her eyes meet his and they stare each other down. 

“Where does it hurt?”

“I’m fine, I just said I was.”

“You just fell four feet at least, so no you’re not fine--”

“Quit overreacting, it’s not like I went unconscious--”

“Even so, you could have sprains. Let me have a look--”

“This is completely disregarding my orders--”

“Rukia, sit on the damn chair and shut up!”

He thinks she’s going to scream back for a moment, until she follows his orders with an irritated huff and pulls herself up to sit in the closest chair he had pulled for her. Ichigo doubts she really  gave up that easy, and that he’ll have to pay for it sometime later.

Whatever, he can deal with it once he finds her injuries.

After giving her head a once over and asking her repeatedly whether she hit it (the answer is a bratty, resounding “no” each time, which leaves Ichigo somewhat relieved), he moves back to look at the rest of her body.

“Where does it hurt then?”

Silence. 

“I’ll wait right here as long as I have to.”

“... My hands broke my fall, but my ankle is rather sore.”

Ichigo nods. “Makes sense, if you twisted it,” he mutters before kneeling at her feet to take a closer look.

Surprisingly the ankle looks fine; a little swollen, but nothing that can’t heal on its own. He gently feels out the rest of the foot, gingerly pressing his thumb into different points of the fragile bones.

“Here? Is it okay here?”

She doesn’t answer, but he can feel her nod. He swallows thickly, moving his hand slowly past her ankle, up around her calf.

Her skin--he tries not to notice--is very soft.

“Here…?” He looks up and finds her watching him. Her lips are slightly parted, and her half-lidded eyes look slightly… Hazy? Dazed? Curious? 

He doesn’t know what to call them, but he knows he’s not able to look away.

He’s caught by the stillness of the moment--his looking up at her, her gazing down at him--and he’s pretty sure the only noise in the room is his breath, the creak of her chair. He should probably do something, say anything to make this normal again--and he’d rather not do anything because the only thing he can do would be very inappropriate and something he very much does not want to do so he opens his mouth to speak--

“My sister Karin is unhappy in the kitchens, would you be able to put her in masonry?”

Rukia’s eyes snap open wide. Her face falls, startled and even a little sad and she firmly kicks her leg from his grasp. 

Ichigo wants to shove his whole fist in his mouth and choke. 

You absolute piece of shit.

“Of course, I’d be happy to put a good word in.” She clears her throat, looking anywhere but him. “Are you done? I’ve told you, I’m all right.”

“Y-yeah of course. Sorry.” He stumbles back onto his heels, brings himself to stand on suddenly jittery legs. “Look, Rukia, I didn’t--that’s not what I--”

“That’s Lady Rukia to you.”

The two of them jump at the unexpected voice, and turn to see where it’s coming from. Byakuya is standing at the doorway, coolly eyeing his sister and her flustered bodyguard.

He sees her get up rather quickly and bow. “Brother, I thank you for your presence--”

“Are you hurt, Rukia?” Byakuya directs the question at her, but keeps his eyes trained on Ichigo’s. “I can only imagine that was what was happening so distastefully with your bodyguard. Though how he would have any medical knowledge is beyond me.”

“My father often offered medical assistance in the Valley--”

“Medical knowledge in the Valley is akin to a monkey learning how to be a doctor here: not even close in their knowledge.” 

Before Ichigo has the chance to snap, Rukia pipes up. “He did well in searching for immediate injuries, Brother. And I have no doubt the medical facilities look for anything he might’ve missed tonight.”

“I would believe so.” He eyes Ichigo sternly for another moment before turning his attention to his sister. “In any case, you know better to be careful Rukia. I don’t need to remind you of your delicate condition.”

“Of course, Brother. I only wanted the room to look nice for you--”

“Guard, you may leave.” He nods curtly back to Ichigo. “I require a private meeting with my sister, and from there I will accompany her to the medical facilities.”

He hears a sharp intake of breath from Rukia. “So early today? Can’t it be a little later--”

“The hospital needs to see you sooner for another test. Their schedule cannot be helped.”

“... Of course.” Rukia bows again, then turns to Ichigo. “Ichigo, you may go. Thank you for your service today.”

Ichigo grits his teeth. He knows Rukia was looking forward to Byakuya coming, but he doesn’t like the idea of this fucking asshole nitpicking her without anyone to protect her. 

But then… He was just a fucking asshole to her, too.

And Rukia’s still not looking him in the eye. 

He walks out of the room, past the captain with tightened fists before slamming the door with a frustrated thud. 

--

Lunch with her brother has never been… Well. Comfortable. Particularly after he’s just found her and her bodyguard in a compromising position. 

Not that it was at all what it looked like; Ichigo was just checking her for injuries, after all. Maybe she felt… Dizzy when he was gently pressing her ankle, his calloused hand moving its way up her calf--but she can blame the lightheadedness on her fall. Besides: it was clear he thought nothing of it, either. The way he asked for his sister… 

She’s not offended, she muses as she pours more tea into her brother’s cup. Not in the slightest. She’s rather used to people asking things of her, and it’s all right. Really. He’s already proved himself a capable servant, he can ask for things. 

It’s better that there’s distance, she thinks as she holds the cup out to her brother with two hands. It’s better to think of him as just that: a capable servant. Don’t blur the lines like last time.

“You look deep in thought today, Sister.” Byakuya observes her from behind his raised cup. “Is something the matter?”

She shakes her head, shakes the annoying feelings of disappointment and loneliness from her mind. “Not at all. I’m just rather tired. I suppose I wasn’t expecting to… To go to the hospital so early today.”

“It is necessary. You know the tests are planned very carefully.” He replies shortly, but there’s a tinge in his voice that she knows is not unkindness. “After tonight, you will get a bit of rest. I have requested that they give you a longer break before your next visit.”

She bows her head low. “Thank you for your kindness, Brother.”

“It is no kindness. I would think it does little good for the doctors to have you so weary, as they have the past few weeks.” He sips his tea nonchalantly, but she knows his action for what it is: a mercy.

They are not common from him, but she knows he does try where he can.

Which is why she knows moments like these are the best times to ask.

“By the way, Brother--if you would be so inclined… I would like to ask for my favor of the month. My bodyguard--Ichigo Kurosaki--”

“I know who he is, you need not describe him by name.”

“Of course. His sister… I believe her name is Karin. If I am to be believed, she does not make a great fit in the kitchens--”

“Has she made your meals incorrectly? Does she need to be reprimanded?” Her brother drums his fingers slightly on the table.

“No! No, nothing like that. Just… I believe she might be better elsewhere. Perhaps Masonry? From what I’ve heard, there are always workers needed there--and I’m sure she is quite capable of the work.” 

Byakuya watches her evenly, and she resists the urge to squirm or gulp down the rest of her tea in distraction. He doesn’t tolerate people that can’t hold a level conversation with him--no matter how intimidating he may or may not know himself to be.

Finally, he lets out a dignified snort. “That group has been spoiled enough already,” he lets out, clearly irritated. “The boy is your bodyguard, one is being led around our classified medical facilities, the others have jobs citizens more qualified than them have been requesting for years. Yamamoto believes they bring good, but I do not.”

“I think--I believe they are just hard working people with no place to go--”

“They could’ve gone someplace else. There are other villages that still exist… But very well. If you request to have the girl moved… Then I trust your judgement.” He looks at her, and it’s subtle--but she’d say it is one of exasperated affection. “You ask too much for others, Sister, and not enough for yourself.” 

She is about to say something, thank him for his kindness yet again when he clears his throat and stands to leave. “Shall we go, then?”

Rukia nods, stacking her dishes neatly for Kiyone to take while she’s gone. 

She tries not to think about discomfort she’ll face tonight, the raw pain that’ll sure enough be in her shoulder.

But It is worth it, she tells herself until it gives her the strength to stand taller. 

So long as I’m helping people, it is worth it.

[incoherentbabblings]

Happy birthday! May I request Kiss #7 and Random #29 with Timsteph? Also, will you post these on Ao3?

Birthday Ask Game

Hello! Yes, they will be going up on Ao3 under Little Lovebirds once I finish up all the prompts (two left)! I’ll tidy up some grammar and such so it may be another day or two - but that’s the plan. Thank you for the ask!!

Kisses #7 Exhausted parents' kiss & #29 “How is my wife more badass than me?” TimSteph

Never had three flights of stairs seemed so long to climb. Tim jumped three at a time, frantic.

Steph and the baby were in trouble Steph and the baby were in trouble.

Steph and the baby were in trouble.

The front door was smashed in, forced entry, with splinters of wood scattered and jutting out at dangerous angles. He burst into the hallway, to see one unconscious masked figure facedown against the wall, body bent at a 45-degree angle. The sound of cries urged Tim forward into the kitchen, whereupon he found a very pregnant Stephanie with one man’s head in the refrigerator, slamming the door repeatedly on him.

She was grunting with the effort, using both hands to get enough momentum for it to do damage sufficient for unconsciousness. When the guy did go limp, she huffed, gripping the door to keep her balance.

Tim moved closer, and she smiled seeing that he had come home as fast as he had.

“Hi, honey.”

“I needn’t have bothered, huh?” He looked around, seeing a kitchen knife on the floor, but no blood. “You’re not hurt?” He checked.

Shaking her head, Stephanie stepped away from the fridge, broken shelves and food spilt everywhere. Bare foot, she carefully navigated the mess so she could hug Tim.

“Are the other’s okay?”

Tim exhaled, the relief almost too painful to bear. “Yeah. Cass got mobbed on the subway, as if an enclosed space with civilians could stop her. Babs was attacked at the college library, which now needs a new stained-glass window… Jason in the farmer’s market, Dick and Bruce at the courthouse, me and Damian at WE.”

“And me at home… nice.” She backed off and smooshed Tim’s cheeks. “I’m glad you’re all… Get down!”

She shoved his head to the side, and he collapsed onto the floor out of the way. Bending over, she slammed a third figure who had emerged in the dark apartment hard in the chest. They were bearing a knife, raised high, to stab Tim in the back. Stephanie’s body slam caused them to flip up and over her spine and gave her an opening to grab the knife and fling it out of the way. The fast movement hurt though, and she gasped, falling forward into the kitchen cabinets. Tim rose at the same time as the attacker and socked him strongly in the jaw. Clambering up, Stephanie used the cabinets as a base to build momentum, raising her right foot and kicking the man so hard he fell backwards. With his consciousness already weak thanks to Tim’s solid hit, he fell back into their glass coffee table, shattering it. He lay limp and blacked out.

Tim looked back to Stephanie, who was bent strangely from her belly getting in the way. He burst over to get her upright and sat on the counter. She grunted as her posture was corrected.

“How is my wife more badass than me?” Tim joked, holding her cheek.

“Maternal rage. Tell you what,” She huffed, face red from exertion. “If this makes my water break, I’ll be so pissed off.”

“Will it?” Tim pressed a shaky gentle hand to her hard stomach. She wasn’t due for another month, but events like this tended to trigger early labour.

Stephanie grunted and took his hand away, holding it tight. “Check no-one else got in please. I don’t want to break any other furniture or appliances.”

Tim kissed her, and she gasped. The kiss was a tired one – she’d overexerted herself, whilst Tim was tired from bolting what felt like halfway across Gotham – but it was warm and sweet.

“I’ll pack you some stuff. We can stay with Bruce until our front door is fixed.”

Steph winced, “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that.”

Startled, Tim looked at her with his jaw against his neck. “Wait that was you?”

Stephanie shrugged unhelpfully. “They surprised me.”

Looking back at the three figures passed out, Tim couldn’t help but laugh. “Sure Steph. Whatever works.”

[stilessdylanobae-ddixonlove]

Surviving The Walking Dead - The Darkest Parts (Chapter 19)

Author: @stilessdylanobae-ddixonlove

Characters: Daryl Dixon, Carol Peletier, Evan, Will Barbor, Lydia, Aaron, Yumiko, Magna, Beta, Alpha, Negan, Maggie Rhee and Reader.

Plus Merle Dixon in some more visions.

Summary: What happened with Y/n and Magna is revealed, Daryl continues with his desperate attempts to find you. 

Note: Yes, some of this chapter is taken from The Walking Dead’s Season 10 Episodes 9 and 10. Some of the ideas and some of the dialogue are very similar and I do NOT take credit for those. As always. However, I’ve still changed quite a bit and added my own twist to things. I love the idea that Daryl helped keep you safe by holding Alpha off without even knowing it.

Warning: Cursing, graphic violence, death, blood and gore, painful triggers/loss, hallucinations, phases of denial.

Chapter Nineteen - Chapter Twenty

It was hot. Boiling hot. Daryl’s sweaty palm slipped down the small mountain of rocks as he blindly continued to dig. He removed every rock he could, searching for even the smallest crack. That would be a good start; even seeing just a hint of an opening would give him a little comfort. His mind was racing but he never slowed down. He wanted to break through so badly. He wanted to call out your name and maybe be able to hear your voice from below. But what if he heard nothing-what if you didn’t respond. His heart was pounding and his chest ached. Aaron approached with caution, unable to watch him struggle any longer.

“Daryl?” He urged. “Daryl?” He voiced a little louder. “It’ll take us a week to clear this.”

“Then help me!” Daryl finally stopped and looked at the mortified faces behind him. He began to softly sob, thinking about all he most likely lost. But then something within him wouldn’t let that fully sink in. He found a glimmer of hope and would hold onto that until he succeeded in getting you and his unborn child back. He climbed down from the debris, Aaron lending a hand until he reached the bottom safely and came face to face with Carol again.

“You were right. I’m so sorry.” She cried. “You cared about her, loved her and now she’s gone because of me.” Carol remained hunched over, holding her stomach in agony. She needed him to tell her how mad he really was. But he didn’t give her the satisfaction. He remained silent and walked away, leaving them both beyond devastated.

“Where are you going?” Evan asked as a tear escaped his dirt covered cheek.

“To find another way in.” Daryl's voice was firm and it cracked with grief. And then he left. Lydia approached Carol and she glared hard, the tears pouring from her face while Will remained on his knees, unable to move. Unable to speak. Unable to even cry.

________________________________

It’d been days. 

Two days since Daryl took off from the rubble you still laid beneath. No one knew if you and Magna were dead or alive and they still could not reach you. Daryl woke up in a tent he’d made from an old tarp. He built it right in the middle of Whisperer territory, hoping to come across them and do whatever he needed to get them to mention another way inside the mine. 

It was morning. The birds chirped and the sun was shining bright and high in the sky. It peaked through the holes in the tarp, blinding Daryl’s left eye as he sat up. He squinted and ran his hand through his messy brown hair, lowering his head as he thought about having to bare another hopeless day. He approached the creek and splashed some of the ice cold water onto his face to cool him down and wake him up. He thought about you. He thought about the last conversation the two of you had-the regret was crippling to him. He grabbed a large rock from his feet, where the river barely passed over it. He tossed it as far as he could out into the water making a very loud splash while his breathing grew heavier. He grunted, taking uneven breaths and forcing back tears. He’d been out here for days and nights without any success. He never spotted a single Skin, despite being completely at risk of being caught by one. He snatched his crossbow from the ground beside the tent and decided he couldn’t sit here in this spot any longer. 

So he marched through the forest, kicking mud up from behind his boots as he walked. He was almost back to the main road when he finally heard voices. He crouched down in the bushes and remained behind one large tree, trying to catch a glimpse of whoever stood before him. He could see her dark black hair as she stood in the road talking to someone. It was Yumiko, Magna’s girlfriend. He stood from the bushes and saw Aaron standing in front of her, who scratched his forehead; he slouched and his posture was rigid. 

Daryl huffed and made his way through the bushes, making his presence known. “Hey!” He spoke, the first time in days. The two slightly jumped in surprise, clearly being interrupted from an argument. “What are you doing?” Daryl questioned. 

“You aren’t the only one with a missing girlfriend.” Yumiko explained with a shrug. Daryl turned to Aaron, knowing he was still angry with you the last time they saw eachother.

“And you felt guilty?” 

Aaron sighed heavily. “I’m just trying to help.” 

“Yeah well, it’s don’t matter.” Daryl threw his right arm out in frustration. “I’ve been here for days, ain’t no Whisperers coming through here.” 

“We know.” Yumiko rubbed her arm, nervously. 

“Come back to Hilltop with us, it’s what I was just trying to tell Miko.” Aaron stated. 

“I ain’t gonna stop looking.” Daryl stated harshly. 

“I know. I’m not asking you to.” Aaron said. “Just come eat something decent, take a shower. Maybe we can talk to Maggie-” 

“Maggie ain’t gonna help us, you know that.” Daryl glared.

“I was just going to say that maybe Maggie will let you stay in the house for a few, I imagine you don’t wanna go back to Alexandria right now.” Aaron replied.

“Yeah well, Hilltop’s no better.” Daryl quickly replied, thinking about Maggie’s disapproval of you.

“Shit.” Yumiko shook her head. “Let’s just go.” Aaron nodded, finally getting her to come to his side. “You coming?” She asked Daryl, who instantly stood back.

“Nah, not yet.” He refused. He eyed Aaron hard before disappearing back into the woods alone. ________________

Daryl walked the opposite side of the river, inviting any Whisperer near by to come and take him on. He all but shouted for them as he angrily stormed through the fallen sticks and leaves. He spotted a few walkers slowly approaching from across the way, where he had been earlier. One sideswiped his tent and he felt that glimmer of hope again, figuring that killing walkers on Whisperer territory would surely earn him their attention. He raised his bow, aimed and shot the closest one directly through it’s rotting face. Then the next one. But just as he was about to let his third arrow fly, he heard a voice in his head that stopped him and instantly gave him goosebumps. You’re being reckless, Little Brother. It said. Daryl lowered his weapon and shook his head. He brought his crossbow back up to his cheek and prepared to continue by killing the next couple. All this for one woman? Let it go before you do something stupid. He heard Merle’s voice again. “Shut up!” Daryl yelled, fuming with uncertainty. He was so focused on the voice of his dead brother that he didn’t notice what approached him from behind. Hey, dummy! Turn around! Merle’s voice hollered just as Daryl finally turned, some part of him clearly hearing the trouble. It was just one walker, one that had been dead for so long he couldn’t even tell what it used to be. Man or woman, old or young-he didn’t know. It had gotten too close and as Daryl went to shove it away, he stepped back and tripped over a large rock. He fell into the cold water, hitting his head hard against more rocks below, the walker still on top of him and forcefully trying to bite. Daryl pulled out his hunters knife, stabbed the corpse in the back of the head and crawled halfway out of the river before he blacked out completely. 

Blood ran with the rivers current. The walkers along with a little of his. 

He could see a bright light shining behind his eyelids and the forest around him was now silent, his hearing temporarily impaired. A shadow suddenly stepped in front of him, blocking the light and he couldn’t help but finally blink his eyes open. He saw Merle standing over him with an irritating smirk on his face.    Say she is still alive, you know she’s pissed as shit. You knocked her up and then told her you didn’t want the kid. Merle laughed. Who does that? Daryl closed his eyes again, knowing somewhere deep inside that he was hallucinating and wanted it to stop. “I told you to shut up.” Daryl stated, much quieter this time. She won’t want you anymore. Merle insisted. But it don’t matter, you know she’s gotta be dead and now you’re alone again. “I’m gonna get her out.” Daryl mumbled to himself. I told you before, ain’t nobody ever gonna care about you except me, Little Brother. Now, get your ass up! Daryl slowly opened his eyes again to see no one this time. He was in fact, all alone.

__________________

~Two days ago~

In the dark, dust covered caves you sat sulking amongst the rubble. Magna rested across from you, where she remained unconscious. Your left arm was stuck under a large boulder, mostly caught by the sleeve of your hoodie. You coughed repeatedly, worried that Magna was dead and you would slowly die of starvation. You kicked Magna’s leg that you stretched to reach and coughed some more. She very slowly came to, sitting up and holding her pounding head. 

“What happened?” She asked, barely able to make out your face. 

“You hit your head. You alright?” 

“I think so. You?” She asked, coughing. You looked down at your arm and wondered if there was anything left of it. “Shit.” 

“There’s a small opening there, I think it missed but my sleeve is caught and I can’t reach to cut it. 

“You sure?”

“Either that or my arm is too damaged to feel it anymore.” You eyed her. Magna grimaced over the thought. 

“Do you want me to look? Can you move it?” 

You tried to wiggle your fingers, tried to concentrate on their existence. Finally, you did it. “Yeah, yeah I can move it.” You said. 

“Thank God.” Magna noted as she scooted in amongst the rocks and pulled out her knife. She cut away at your hoodie and pulled at your arm. 

“Ow, ow!” You screamed and hollered some more, pushing against the ground with your right hand. And to your surprise, you got free. Your forearm was already turning different shades of blue and purple but it was in one piece. 

“You’re lucky.” Magna coughed. She looked around at your surroundings, wondering how you survived. You’d brought her to a spot where the wooden frame of the mine was sturdy and sat directly below it. “And a genius.” She complimented. 

“Don’t thank me yet. We’re still trapped down here.” You looked beyond the debris, back towards where you’d all came from that would still allow passage. Magna helped you stand and pulled your water bottle from your bag, it was only half full. “Savor that, we might need it.” You insisted. She sighed heavily. 

___________________

~Present time~

After the sound of the creek came back and Daryl managed to get back onto his feet, he made his way to Hilltop’s doors and watched them slowly open. His crossbow rested against his back as he stumbled inside, the back of his head still slightly bleeding. He was overly dehydrated on top of suffering a head wound. Yumiko and Aaron ran to him, helping him inside the house as Evan and Will watched, this the first they’ve seen of him since the accident. 

They brought him inside and to the room you and him once shared. Aaron handed him a clean, damp cloth and he laid back on the bed with it resting between the pillow and his head. The coolness of it felt good, now fully letting in the pain. 

“Take off your shirt.” Yumiko stated as she entered the room next. Daryl raised an eyebrow. “Just do it so we can check you over for any other wounds.” She said, recognizing his uncomfortable body language. 

“What happened out there?” Aaron asked as Daryl sat up and took off his shirt and his vest, then laid back down. Yumiko checked him over, then left to report to Maggie. 

“I just fell.”

“So, you didn’t find them?” Aaron sighed. Daryl painfully eyed his friend, both physically and emotionally strained. And now he let out a heavy sigh.  

After a few more minutes of quiet, Aaron left as well to allow Daryl some much needed rest.

Daryl had fallen asleep for a couple hours, unable to hold it off any longer. And when he woke up, he was surprised to see Maggie sitting by the windowsill, waiting. He sat up and reached for his boots and missing top. Maggie fidgeted with her fingers and popped her knuckles, awkwardly. 

“I ain’t staying so quit worrying. I’m going back out there.” He mentioned, tightening the laces of his boots. 

“Fine.” Maggie replied, harshly. “But if you find her, don’t bring her back here.” She left the room fiercely, without even needing to say much of anything. Daryl was thankful for that though, he did not feel like talking about the rivalry between her, you and Negan. He did not feel like talking at all.

____________________

Meanwhile, you and Magna could hear the horde again as you came up to the arrow engraved in the wall, this time only pointing to a dead end. You stared at it, desperately wanting to believe that there was another way out of here. “I need to stop for a minute.” You said, sliding your back down the rock wall to sit. Magna huffed, then came and sat next to you. 

“Your arm hurt?” She asked you. 

You nodded. “Mhm. But not as bad as other things.” You admitted, lowering your head shamefully. 

“Yeah.” Magna understood. “How long do you think we could be stuck down here?” She wanted to change the subject to the more obvious problem. 

“Hopefully not longer than 9 months.” You quivered. 

“Jesus, don’t even say that.” You eyed her, unsure how to even respond. Suddenly a Skin appeared from the other direction, coming at you fast with a knife. Magna stood and grabbed her arm, then kicked her in the stomach. She fell and grunted. “How did you get in here?” Your new friend hollered. 

“Hey, you’re out numbered.” You added, standing up. 

“For now!” The Skin whimpered from the ground. 

“Just tell us how to get out.” Magna ordered. 

“The horde.” She smirked. “Let them end it for you.” You shook your head and removed your knife from your belt loop. “Whoa, no. Okay!” The woman put her hands up in surrender. “But my people are coming. You won’t make it far.” You and Magna made eye contact, knowing you had a long way to go before reaching any kind of safety.

____________________

Daryl walked the empty and lonely woods, heading back in the direction of the mine to take another look around, hoping this time he might be able to track where else the Whisperers leave and enter it. Maybe he’d been looking in the wrong area.

He was a little stunned when he spotted Alpha, a few of her people and several walkers finally walking along the river, which instantly changed his plans. Overcome with anger and not thinking about the consequences, he shot a Skin with his crossbow. The man fell to the ground while the surrounding real walkers began to feed on him, alerting Alpha of her enemies presence. With the dead distracted, Daryl jumped out in front of her with his knife raised and quickly took out two more of her people when they tried to protect her. This was a personal, close combat fight. She raised her double barrel shotgun and smirked devilishly, the same as when he last saw her but this time she wore her mask. He instantly kicked it out of her hands while one of her fellow minions grabbed Daryl’s knife and turned it around on him, slicing his forehead. Daryl then stabbed him in the stomach with his other knife-sending the man to the ground screaming. Now without a weapon, he reached for a large stick at his feet and ran back for Alpha, jamming it into her shoulder. She hollered as he pushed harder, knocking her flat on her back and grinding onto the stick further while keeping her away from her gun.

_______________

Back in the caves and within minutes of your previous conversation, several Whisperers joined you and your prisoner. You immediately recognized Beta as he pushed his way to the front. You took note of where they came from, obviously having missed an existing path. 

“Remove your weapons.” The giant man demanded. You tossed your knife to the ground and Magna’s soon followed. 

“What’s the matter? Thought we were all dead?” You glared up at him. He growled at you through his mask that only covered the upper half of his face. Suddenly, another familiar foe appeared from the small crowd and your chest instantly lightened. Negan, who stared at you with his eyes wide and his mouth gaping open.

“Kill them both.” Beta enforced as he picked up your weapons.

“Whoa whoa, Frowny McTwoKnives!” Negan’s sarcastic, defiant voice filled your ears as he stepped forward. “Now, Alpha purposely trapped them down here. You really think she’d want you ending the fun?” He vouched for you. Magna tilted her head and squinted her eyes in disbelief. Beta growled some more as he looked to his most recent and annoying travel partner. 

“Fine. They come with.” Beta countered. Negan looked to the ground in defeat, knowing your fate was sealed once Alpha got here. He would have to help you escape or find another way to keep you safe. 

As you and Magna joined the Whisperers on their way to the horde, Negan stealthily made his way over to walk next to you. Your enemies had tied your hands and pulled you both by a single rope, reminding you of the day you met Daryl. 

“Beta told me to take over.” Negan told the Whisperer who pulled you and Magna behind him. He rolled his eyes and handed the rope over, clearly not caring enough to verify those orders. “Sorry, Princess.” He said to you quietly. 

“Got any bright ideas?” You questionably mumbled. 

“Not yet.” He admitted. “But we don’t have long. Alpha is on her way to move the horde again.”

“Does she know the others got out?” You asked. 

“Yeah, thought you all did.” Negan shrugged. 

You sighed. “So, what’s taking her so long then?”

_____________________

Daryl twisted and pushed on the large stick he still had plunged into Alpha’s shoulder while the cut on his forehead bled into his eyes. “Where are they?” He demanded. Alpha quickly reached over to her fallen ally and removed the knife from his stomach, thrusting it deep into Daryl’s right leg. It got him off of her as he groaned in searing pain, allowing her to pick up her shotgun.

Daryl was forced to flee the scene.

Angered by the attack, Alpha put her plans on hold to follow Daryl, hoping to see the end of him. She tracked his messy footprints and blood drops to an abandoned gas station, where he limped and staggered his way into a small and cluttered corner to hide. Still gripping onto her gun, she made her way inside but her shoulder was slowing her down. She grunted and removed her mask, revealing her pale skin under all the dirt.

“I don’t know what that insane move was going to accomplish. I don’t know who ‘they’ are but I promise you when I find out I’ll kill them immediately.” She harassed, looking around the area and listening for any sign of movement. “Now you’ll bleed out here for nothing!” She hissed. Daryl gritted his teeth and looked to his leg, unsure of how to safely remove it. Alpha heard nothing but a few walkers, giving her an idea. She began knocking her shotgun against the metal garage door, calling them in. She grinned, decided to sit down and wait for them to finish him off for her. Her vision had grown fuzzy and she felt lightheaded from her blood loss. Daryl was beginning to feel the effects of his as well when he reached for items to protect himself. He struggled to stand, struggled to see, was winded and in agonizing pain. He reached his arm up onto the counter he leaned against, feeling around and found an old pipe wrench. He pulled it down and held onto it tightly while he waited for what came next.

Three of them had gotten there all too quickly. While Daryl tried to scoot away, Alpha smiled at the show. Daryl used the wrench on the first one, then knocked down a dusty fire extinguisher and hit the second one over the head. He grew exhausted and struggled to find another weapon source as the last one fell on top of him. So, without another option he pulled the knife from his leg and killed the final walker with it. Blood poured from his leg and he tried to hold it off. But he would surely bleed out, just as Alpha said he would. His vision was fading. As was hers across the room. She thought about Lydia, who randomly appeared before her. To their surprise, Lydia had found and followed Daryl after leaving Alexandria in hopes of helping find you. Instead, she found her mother. “Oh, Lydia. You’re here.” Alpha moaned, uncertain of whether her daughter was really here or not.

“I didn’t come for you.” Lydia replied, looking up to where Daryl laid, dying. He thought of you. His only regret being how he left things. The pain of it all being too much to hold onto any longer so he closed his eyes and he let go.

__________________________

@jodiereedus22 @dashesoflipstick @theunofficialduke @dixonluvv@nikki082489 @jordangdelacruz​ @lunatheumbreon @dbtvluv​I @letsstarsfalling​

Thanks for reading! 

I would also like to note that I have not read The Walking Dead Comics. I only know what I have seen or read online about them. I wrote Chapters 14 and 15  (the chapters where it’s revealed that Y/n let Negan out of his cell) of this series way before AMC aired Season 10 Episode 12 (The episode where it’s revealed that Carol let Negan out of his cell). Now, I heard rumors/theories that Negan joined the Whisperers as a way to help and based my version of the story around that. However, I wrote it before knowing that it was Carol who let him out. So....I kind of gave myself a pat on the back for that one, wishing though I’d have finished the last chapter (Chapter 18, where it’s revealed Y/n let Negan out to kill Alpha) as well and published it before that Episode aired. Oh well, though. It really makes no difference right? Just had to point that fact out because I’m an ass like that. Lol 

<<Chapter 18, >>Chapter 20

[fuckallthegood0nesweretaken]

The Dove and Her Hound CH. Three

Title: The Red Wedding

Words: 1,365

Warnings: Violence, strong language, ANGST

A/N: Taglist at the end. If you want to be added, just shoot me an ask or comment!

Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

Sandor Masterlist

Game of Thrones Masterlist

Masterlist

~~~~~~~

Sandor had hitched his horse to the wagon and now the three of you were almost at the Twins. Night had fallen and you were in the back of the cart with Arya, Sandor holding the reins up front. Both you and Arya were silent, not wanting to draw any extra attention to yourselves. As you approached the gates, your heart started beating fast. You were so close. So close to family you haven’t seen in almost a year. You couldn’t believe it. But something was wrong. You could feel it in the air and in your gut. Your heart beat faster and your hands clutched at your cloak.

 “Where’re you goin’?” A Frey guard asked Sandor.

 “Got salt pork for the feast.”

 “Eh, the feast is over.” Sandor looked around.

 “Doesn’t sound like it’s over.”

 “If I tell ya it’s over, it’s over,” the guard said. “Turn this cart around and get the ‘ell out o’ here.”

 “I got pigs feet too,” Sandor tried to say.

 “Are you soft ‘n the ‘ead? Turn this cart around!”

 Sandor turned to look at you and Arya. Panic was on his face and you turned to see Arya missing. Your eyes were wide and your breathing went shallow.

 “Alright, alright. We’re leaving now.” You could see the smug look on the guards face but the only thing running through your head was Arya. Once you were out of earshot of the guard, you faced Sandor.

 “Where could she have gone?” Your voice was panicked and you ran your fingers through your hair.

 “Most likely inside the castle. Don’t worry,” Sandor said. “We’ll get her back.”

 You nodded and calmed down a bit. Sandor helped you off of the wagon and started unhitching his horse. The two of you mounted the horse and rode back to the castle. Out of nowhere, the Frey’s started killing all of the Stark men. You couldn’t believe your eyes and you shut them quickly, not wanting to see. Sandor spurred his horse faster and soon you found yourself past the gate.

 “You stay here, on the horse. I’ll go find your sister.” Sandor slid off and ran away. You kept looking all around you for Arya. You caught sight of her just when Sandor found her. He said something and when she fought him, he knocked her unconscious. You rode over to them quickly.

 “You’re going to have to ride with us,” you said, taking Arya from him and propping her up in front of you.

 “Aye. He’s not going to like it though.” Sandor swung himself up behind you and took the reins. The horse whinnied in complaint, but he was ignored.

 The castle doors opened and you saw a scene that would haunt your dreams forever. Robb’s headless body was propped up on a horse, with Grey Wind’s head sewn on crudely. Arya chose that moment to wake and with bleary eyes, she saw the same. Tears were falling from your eyes and you pulled Arya close to you, shielding her from seeing anything else. Sandor kicked the horse into movement, grabbing a Frey banner, and weaving through the chaos. It felt like an eternity before you had gotten to safety.

 Sandor then slipped off the horse to give him a break from the extra weight. No words were spoken. Tears were on your face, old and new. Arya was shocked and clung to you like her life depended on it. Sandor could only watch on, his heart heavy and gut clenching when he saw your face.

 Soon it was early morning. Arya had fallen asleep in your arms and had woken up a couple minutes ago. You could tell that she was hungry, so you coaxed some bread and meat into her. She was also very clearly tired but determined to stay up. It was only when you approached a group of men did she perk up.

 “—sounded like a cow in heat,” was the first thing you heard, along with laughter. Then you heard them mention the Starks.

 “I’ll tell you what, though. The hardest thing was gettin’ that wolf’s head to stay on the body,” one of them said. Arya’s eyes hardened and she got off the horse. You went to follow her, but Sandor held you back.

 “I’ll get her,” he muttered. You nodded and watched the scene unfold.

 “You sewed it on?” Another one of the men said.

 “I did.”

 “I bet there are a thousand men claiming the same!” Scoffs were heard. You slipped off of the horse and walked to Sandor quietly. He just gave you a look and you shook your head.

 “It was me! And Malcolm and Albert. Thing was so heavy, it fell off the first time. Took the skin right with it,” the first man said. He quickly shut up when he noticed Arya behind him.

 “What do you want?”

 “Mind if I keep warm?” She asked them.

 “Fuck off,” he sneered.

 “But I’m hungry.” Arya was pulling off pitiful really well.

 “Does fuck off mean something different where you’re from?”

 “I can pay you. I have money.” Fumbling around in her pockets, she pulled out a silver coin. “It’s worth quite a lot.”

 The man reached for it and she dropped the coin. “Sorry,” was all she said. The man looked at her like she was stupid, and bent over to grab the coin. When his back was bared to her, she took out a knife and stabbed him repeatedly. His friends drew their swords and Sandor rushed to get in front of Arya. You snuck up from behind and killed one of them while Sandor killed the rest.

 “Where did you get the knife?” He asked Arya.

 “From you,” she replied. She held up the blade and he took it from her.

 “Was that the first man you’ve killed?”

 “The first man.”

 “Next time, you’re going to do something like that, tell me first.” He walked away from Arya and towards you.

 “You’re not hurt, are you?” Sandor asked, examining your face and arms for injuries.

 “I’m not, don’t worry.” You smiled at him and the two of you sat down by the fire. It felt good to be out of the saddle and on solid ground. Sandor picked up some of the food the men were eating and handed some to you. You took it and ate, not realizing just how hungry you actually were. Arya joined you after some time and ate as well. When the food was finished, you felt very sleepy.

 “It’s time to go,” Sandor said.

 He got up and walked the horse over to you. You stifled a yawn and got up onto the horse, Arya in front like always. Soon, you found yourself falling asleep, the swaying of the horse not helping you stay awake. You couldn’t keep your eyes open. Your body hit Arya’s, mouth open with soft snores. Sandor stopped walking for a moment, and Arya looked at you.

 “Help me switch places with her. She’s going to fall off if she stays there,” Arya said. Sandor just grunted and moved Arya behind you. Her arms went around your middle and your head fell on her chest. You let out a noise and moved slightly in her hold.

 “We’ll stop in an hour or so,” Sandor said. “Think you can hold onto her till then?”

 “Yes.”

 They rode in silence for a while until Arya broke it.

 “Do you love my sister?” Sandor almost tripped over his own feet.

 “What?”

 “Do you love my sister?” Arya repeated.

 “Aye,” he said after a moment. “I do.”

 “Are you willing to do anything to protect her?”

 “What sort of question is that? Of course I fucking would.” Arya stared at him for a moment, eyes boring into him.

 “What’s with the questions?”

 “I just want to be sure.”

 “Sure of what, girl?”

 “That she’d be safe with you. We have nowhere else to go, all of our family is dead. All we have is each other.” The sadness in her voice was very clear.

 “You have an aunt in the Vale. I’m bringing the two of you to her.”

~~~~~~~

TAGLIST:

@affection-rabbit​ 

[capricornus-rex]

A Test of Wills (5)

Requested by Anon. Prompt:

What about...Cal x reader fic, getting stuck on Jakku because the Mantis needs repairs?

Cal Kestis x Reader

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | Masterlist

5 of ?

You kissed Cal on the forehead and you called for Rani to take him out to the ring. The spectators gave way as you gently pushed Cal out of the ring and handed him over to Rani.

“Mind his head,” you stammered.

“I got him, I got him,” Rani said as she caught the wounded boy in her arms. She wrung his arm around her shoulders and supported his back with her other hand.

Rani then looked to seeing you in the ring again. She may have spoken highly of you back at the cantina, but tonight, immense concern outweighed her high regard for your prowess.

“What are you going to do, [y/n]?” her voice was shaky, she shuddered at the idea.

“What else?”

“[Y/N], NO!!”

Rani’s call fell to deaf ears. Her voice soon drowned in a sea of barbaric cheers and whoops. It was all that you could hear until the silence faded in.

“Let me take a shot on Four Eyes over there!” you roared.

“Well now, this is an interesting turn of events!”

The Aqualish chortled, underestimating your threat. He took pride in being a defending champion after taking down Cal.

Unkar chuckled, he repeated the rules for you—the same set of rules that he announced when it was Cal in the ring. In the midst of the excitement, you slipped on Cal’s climbing claws—you’ve swiped them off his hands when he was being taken away by Rani.

Your opponent began in the offense, brute strength gravitating to his fist; at the last second, you evaded it with lightning speed, followed by a kick to stagger him and the claws slashed on its exposed chunk for a neck the moment he turned to face you.

“Come on, you scummy lug!” you taunted.

“Go get ‘im, [y/n]!” Rani cheered from the crowd whilst still supporting an unconscious Cal.

He gurgled—possibly saying something to you in his native language—and then charged at you in a bear-hug position, you dodged it by a hair. You rolled over his back while he was still crouched and uppercut his side with the claw. You were suddenly a fan favorite. Each blow from you was repaid with a cheer from the crowd—and the hollering got louder and louder each time you overwhelm the opponent.

The thrill was nostalgic. Every sensation back in that fighting ring came rushing into you like an untamed river current. Your vision narrowed, your periphery was a shimmering blur. He was still on his toes, he still has some life left in him.

But not for long. You thought.

The Aqualish’s hand was covered in blood, he dismissed it as a scratch. You’ve made him angry, though. You let him lunge at you, to which you dodge and then quickly follow up with a punch or a kick. He afforded a few punches on you but you didn’t allow yourself to falter and be overtaken by this creature.

The precise calculation of your moves was your advantage—mixing both Jedi arts and common hand-to-hand combat skills—compared to the opponent’s cantina brawl moves.

Survive—in a way you know how!

A part of you gave a little push until it came to shove. That wild current in your streams flowed again. Energy courses through you—unsure whether it was the Force or your raw willpower—and guided you to every dodge, kick, and punch.

Eventually, you’ve overwhelmed the Aqualish with the swiftness of your moves. He couldn’t keep up to your agile attacks. Every time he would turn to one side to hit you, you’ve already switched and dodged to the other.

There was a graceful viciousness about your form and fighting style. Your evasive maneuvers adopted the gracefulness of the Jedi combative arts, while your offensive attacks were that of a cantina brawler’s caliber.

“Come on! I thought you were a champion!?”

Aqualish gurgled again, the appendage where his mouth should be began to bleed, but he doesn’t seem to be backing down at any moment. The right side of your lip curled upward, shooting a smug face at him, taunting him. It was a common strategy: taunt the enemy until they’ve become reckless enough to lower or disregard their defenses. Surely, a few from the crowd have seen it coming—but perhaps they were too ignorant and blinded by the bloody glory of the ring.

Your opponent managed to throw a series of punches—that you either successfully blocked or dodged—and when his pattern finished, it was your turn to throw some of yours. Your target was his face and neck, with the climbing claws there was sure to be a lot of damage and a considerable amount of blood.

A punch, a jab, and then with a sweeping kick you’ve got your target to the floor.

“This! Is! For! Cal!” you said with each blow you landed.

The thought of ripping his face open was satisfying, but you weren’t that person anymore. You know you’ve won. And you know when to stop.

You pulled away from the Aqualish, cuts were all over his face and mouth appendage; the crowd was jeering at him—at least the ones that didn’t root for him—mockingly tapping the floor as if they were the referee doing the counting. One of Unkar’s thugs had that task. Ten counts later, the bell rang repeatedly—it was almost just as deafening as the crowd’s howls and whooping.

“Looks like scrapper girl is tonight’s star of the show!” Unkar announced.

The crowd showered you in cheers and applause. You did not bask in it, your eyes surveyed for the sight of Cal and Rani in the sea of spectators. Rani could see that your breathing was labored, you were exhausted, your knees could barely hold your weight but you fought it, it was only a matter of time for you to feel your body aching all over—but you couldn’t fall, not until you name your boon.

The applause finally died down. On the top of your lungs, with what little energy you have left in you, you declared your prize.

“Parts and fuel for my ship—that is my boon!”

Unkar Plutt ordered his men to pull out the unconscious Aqualish from the ring. Once the knocked out opponent was out of sight, the Blobfish entered the ring himself—he had to take a special set of small stairs and unlatch one end of the rope so he could enter without getting his body mass stuck between the clotheslines.

“What kind of parts?”

“Hyperspace compressor, power cells, and fifteen tanks of fuel for an S-161 Stinger XL. I name my price: half of its actual grand total.”

“And where did you manage to get yourself a luxury yacht, girlie?”

“And since when did you add “20 Questions” into your program flow?”

A low series of “ooh” rang amongst the crowd. Unkar was impressed with your bark and your bite; he may not have feared you, but you somehow got his respect, as well as the crowd’s.

Without any pressing questions, Unkar ordered his thugs to gather the parts that you asked.

“I want them ready by tomorrow morning,” you demanded.

Exploiting this somewhat flawed system, you took advantage of the boon system in a way that will get you what you needed for less. A part of you felt heavy like an anchor. It was the lingering thought that you were responsible for what happened to Cal. Now, you’re uncertain if what you did was justice—but then again, what is justice in an unforgiving world such as this?

[slushrottweiler]

Is this a date? ~ Xandrian Fanfic

Where two doctors cannot figure out if they are attending the carnival as friends or ... more. They’re both oblivious and Xan is Panicking.

Credit for Adrian goes to @lazyvoyager

~~

The heels were too much.

Or maybe it was the dress?

If she ditched the dress and wore pants, maybe she could get away with the heels and fancy the whole thing up with nice earrings.

No, that would make it obvious she was trying really hard. And what if that made Adrian uncomfortable? What if he didn’t realise this was a date?

Which is was… right?

Xan huffed an aggravated exhale and dropped face first onto her bed; jostling the mountain of clothes she had tried on and discarded over the past hour. A tangled lump of necklaces slipped off a pile of scarves and fell to the floor with a jangle. Inanna snorted at the sound, rising from her own bed to nudge at Xan’s hand. Peeking out of the corner of her eye, Xan saw Inanna’s ears flick in question before the wolf nudged her hand again.

With a pout, Xan levered herself up just enough to quickly sign ‘I’m fine’ at her father’s familiar. This seemed to satisfy Inanna’s curiousity, as she nuzzled underneath Xan’s hand to plop her head down on the bed; wide puppy eyes demanding pats. Xan obliged with a roll of her eyes, absently scratching behind the wolf’s ears as she turned her attention back to the task at hand.

The velvet top was too flashy for a carnival; date or no date. The wrap dress she had on now was more suited, but it wasn’t all that fancy and she wanted to impress. But not be so flashy as to put her fellow doctor off. And she was making too big a deal out of this…

Xan pushed herself up so she was properly seated, freeing up her other hand to sign at Inanna.

“You don’t know how lucky you’ve got it Inanna”, she signed, pinching her forefinger and thumb together and wiggling them just beside her eye to signal the wolf’s sign-name. “Human mating rituals are too complicated. Nothing is ever easy.”

Inanna rose up and gave herself a thorough shake, and Xan exhaled her silent laugh, shoulders jiggling to portray her humour. “Fair, most human things are —”

Three careful knocks interrupted her conversation with the canine; as a jolt of nerves zipped down Xan’s spine. She lunged out of the room, crashing heavily into her door jamb as she tripped in her heels. With an angry grunt, Xan kicked off the spiked shoes and launched herself down the stairs; thumping her palm repeatedly against the bannister to alert her family that she would get the door. She skipped the last three steps, landing with a thud that had her father turning to shoot her a look as his reached for the doorknob.

Springing between her mountain of a father and the front door, Xan gestured wilding in the negative, keeping her back pressed to the wood as she swung her arms in an exaggerated, “NO!”

Her dad took a step back to keep out of the way of her flailing hands, his heavy brows drawn down in confusion.

“What?” He asked. He glanced over his shoulder at Xan’s mother, who was watching the whole exchange with a soft smile. Of course both of them were in the main room, with a clear and uninterrupted view of the front door.

“I can get the door.” Xan explained quickly, hands flying faster than usual with her frayed nerves.

Her dad’s scowl only deepened. Xan raised her hand to gently pushed her father away, only to jump like a startled rabbit when the knocking sounded again.

“Who is at the door?” He asked.

“No one.”

The knocking repeated and Xan’s nerves now felt like sparks flooding her bloodstream and rapidly heating her cheeks.

“Who is at the door Xan?” Her father asked again, arms crossed to form the perfect image of an overprotective parent.

“It’s just Adrian.” Xan signed quickly, her fingers fluttering over her right cheek to indicate a scattering of freckles that she used as Adrian’s sign-name. A sign-name he did not know about because how do you explain to your co-worker and friend that you talk about him so much that you needed to give him a sign-name. “We’re going to the carnival.”

Her father’s scowl deepened further still, but before he could say anything, Xan’s mother chimed in. “That’s lovely peanut. Isn’t that nice Muri?”

Caught out by his partner, Xan’s dad could do nothing but glower before taking another deliberate step away from the door. Xan sent one last, pleading look at him before she turned to open the door.

And those nerves turned to full blown butterflies when her eyes met Adrian’s.

Caught in the midst of knocking again; Adrian’s eyes were wide with shock, the orange flow of late evening warming the smoke grey. The corner of his lip quirked up when he saw Xan, causing the freckles Xan was so fixated on to shift across his cheeks. It took a second for Xan to catch her breath and return the friendly smile.

“There you are,” Adrian chuckled softly. “For a second, I thought you’d forgotten we had plans.”

A severe concussion could not have caused her to forget. Her stomach had been tied in knots for days. Instead of blurting that out, Xan shook her head as she signed, “I’m not that forgetful.” She exaggerated her pout, so that he would know she was just being playful.

She needn’t have, since Adrian had spent enough time around her to catch her meaning.

“Says the person who went out to purchase leeches three times, because she kept forgetting that’s what she neededto acquire.” Adrian unconsciously shifted his weight back into a cock-sure stance, looking far more like his father and sister than he’d likely wish to.

“Hey! Those bagels were amazing.” She shot back, letting herself fall back into their usual dynamic.

“Everything Selasi makes is amazing.” He countered.

Xan had her hands raised to rebut, but she couldn’t honestly disagree with that statement. Instead she let her hands fall as her shoulders shook with laughter, conceding to his superior point. She could feel her nerves settling, the comforting rhythm she had with her fellow doctor causing her muscles to relax and her smile to broaden.

Adrian took a step back, “Shall we go? I heard the fire-mages will be performing soon.”

Xan nodded and moved to follow after him, only to freeze when someone roughly cleared their throat behind her. Flinching, Xan turned to face her parents; one who was glowering at Adrian over her shoulder, the other who was patiently patting the first’s arm - both comfort and restriction.

“Aren’t you forgetting something peanut?” Xan’s mother asked.

What? Why was everyone treating her like a scatterbrain? Did she want to be introduced. They had met Adrian before, at the clinic numerous times. Ok, never as their daughter’s date (which this may not be), but it was clear from her parents’ faces that they were treating this as such. How did they even know? It was the dress wasn’t it? It was too much…

“You might want some shoes doctor?” Adrian’s voice murmured from behind her. Heat flooded Xan’s face as her gaze snapped back to Adrian then down to her still bare feet. Shit, Shit, and Double Shit. The tips of her ears were on fire as she rapidly scanned the entrance-way, only to spy her usual boots propped up beside the door.

Refusing to meet any of their gazes, Xan jammed her feet into the well-worn boots, hopping to keep her balance as she rapidly tied the laces. Keeping her attention firmly fixed on the ground, she threw a wave over her shoulder at her parents before barrelling past Adrian and into the street. Real smooth there doc. You’re a real catch.

Her heartbeat was elevated, embarrassment causing her fight or flight reflex to flood her full of energy to escape. Her fingers had started to tingle and she clenched her jaw tight as she made her way through the busy street. She knew she should slow down, take three deep breaths to steady her heart rate. Better yet, she should call the whole thing off, say she’d see him tomorrow at the clinic. If she was lucky, Adrian would chalk it up to another of her absent minded episodes and move on —

“Xan wait!”

Warm, slender fingers wrapped around her forearm and Xan jerked to a stop. Her attention whipped up to meet Adrian’s as he caught up to her. A few more wisps of his hair had come free from his ponytail as he’d hurried to keep up with her, his freckles seemed to glow in the setting sun. Was he… blushing? Colour was definitely painted high on his cheeks, and he wouldn’t meet her eye. Xan’s heart thumped. Hard.

Adrian gestured with his head. “The fire-mages are that way.” He explained as he moved them down the left road, heading toward the city centre. Xan followed, easily keeping up with his long-legged stride.

As they made their way toward the carnival, Adrian’s grip loosened. His fingers skimmed down the inside of her wrist, causing goosebumps to pebbled on her skin, until his hand softly clasped her own. Neither Xan nor Adrian mentioned it, but Xan couldn’t help the giddy smile forming on her face.

He didn't let go the entire way there.

Maybe it was a date after all.

***

Ok this was definitely not a date.

Adrian had held her hand for most of the way to the show. The Countess’ carnival was scattered throughout the city, little hubs of activity set up where people can wander through and enjoy games, shows, street-food — anything the city had to offer. The stage where the fire-mages were performing was on a strip of road cluttered with magical delights, and Xan had needed both of her hands to accurately convey her enthusiasm at all the creative ways people were using their spells. Adrian had joined in on her excitement, picking apart techniques from various acts to brainstorm how they could be used in a more practical setting. Both doctors had discussed at length how they could use a bubble spell to move air through the body of someone with damaged lungs, and only stopped when the fire-show finally began.

Xan had stood shoulder to shoulder with Adrian, toward the back to let shorter people have a clearer view. And whilst the gleaming coloured flames had been dazzling, Xan had found herself sneaking peeks at her friend; marvelling at how the colours reflected in his eyes, and cast complex and interesting shadows across his face. His furrowed brow made it clear he wasn’t just enjoying the spectacle, but was already formulating some clever plan to adapt the spell. His lips moved silently, like he was murmuring suggestions to himself, and the glint in his eye sparked brighter than the performance around them. Without meaning to, Xan had begun nibbling her bottom lip, and had proceeded to watch Adrian watch the rest of the show.

And now?... Now Adrian had spent the last thirty minutes talking animatedly to one of the performers. As soon as the mages had taken their final bows, Adrian had begun making his way through the crowd, throwing an excited grin over his shoulder at Xan and stating he’d be just a few minutes. But their conversation seemed to be going far better than expected, and Xan was left to wander the neighbouring attractions as she waited for him.

She could see them just passed the stall she stood beside. Whatever the fire mage was saying, it had Adrian hanging off their every word. He’d pulled a little notebook from his waistcoat and was scribbling in it at a rapid pace, stopping every few moments to ask another question. Normally, that kind of zeal was something Xan loved to see on his face. It meant new finds, new experiments, perhaps even new ways to heal people. Normally she’d be excited to hear whatever he had learned, keen to add it to her own knowledge and put it to use. But tonight… well, she’d been hoping tonight would be, a little different.

Which was ridiculous.

Xan aggressively shook her head and turned back to the stall in front of her. It was a simple game, made fresh with a magical twist. Contestants aimed a slingshot at a wall of crystals. But rather than fire pellets, the slingshots fired a tiny beam of light that, if it hit its target, caused the crystals to glow. Each contestant was given five shots. Hit three crystal that glowed the same colour, and you won a prize. Xan paid the attendant her fair and picked up a slingshot, aiming carefully down the sights at the quartz.

It was ridiculous to have expected more from this evening than any other outing they had been on. They had travelled far and wide, and any demonstration of new or creative magic had Adrian enthralled. Hell, this wasn’t even the first carnival they had been to together, the last one was in Nopal when they were scouting for herbs with interesting properties. They had ended up in the tavern with a town elder, discussing amaris root long into the evening.

So what if this one was at home, or that she had asked him specifically to attend. That didn’t mean he was going to spend the evening glued to her side. Neither of them were so pathetic that they needed to hang off each other. Adrian was her mentor, her colleague and her friend. So what if she had a bit of a crush, one she had hoped was reciprocated. She was not going to ruin a perfectly good friendship if he didn’t think of her that way. Nor was she going to ruin a perfectly pleasant evening because he got caught up in his research again. He had called her forgetful. The damn idiot could get so wrapped up in his work he’d forget to eat! Why would tonight be any different?

“Congratulations! You’re a winner!”

Xan blinked. Three crystals glowed a stunning green, the glow refracting through the surrounding prisms to throw rainbows over the stall. The game attendant grinned at her, and a few people applauded as she was presented with her prize. Shaking her head to clear it, Xan smiled her thanks at the attendant as she carefully placed the slingshot down. She had won a long red ribbon, beautifully coloured and laced with tinkling golden bells. The length chimed lightly as it was placed in her hands and Xan felt some of her disappointment fade away as she stroked the length of it.

“I didn’t know you were such a good shot.” For the second time that evening, Xan jumped at the sound of Adrian’s voice appearing behind her. Spinning to face him, Xan found he was only a few paces back, giving her an odd look. What was that face for?

“My mother taught me.” Xan signed awkwardly, one hand still clutching her bells, and causing her prize to jingle. “How long were you watching?”

“I only saw your last three shots.” He answered as he came up beside her. “Sorry I kept you waiting. I just got —”

“Caught up.” Xan finished for him. Adrian gave her a wry smile, cupping the back of his neck in a bashful gesture.

“You know me too well.” Adrian chuckled.

And she did know him. Which is why she felt the rest of her irritation melt away, and she found herself smiling back at him. Smoothing out her ribbon, she presented it to Adrian with a little bow, hoping she could put all her negative thoughts behind them.

“For me?”

Xan nodded, gesturing again until Adrian moved to take the ribbon from her. But instead of taking the strand, Adrian curled her fingers closed over the bells.

“No, you won it. I couldn’t after I kept you waiting.” He explained, dropping his hands from hers. The rejection was a quick sting, a sharp slap across the knuckles, as though she was being chided for hoping.

“Besides,” Adrian continued. “I’m surprised you didn’t score full points. Didn’t you see the trick?”

That startled the hurt way, and Xan shot Adrian a puzzled look. Her fellow doctor grinned, excited he’d seen something she hadn’t and turned toward the game. Another competitor was playing, and had managed to hit two crystals, one yellow and one blue. Adrian pointed toward the blue one, leaning close to Xan to whisper conspiratorially.

“When the light hits one crystal, it refracts through the surrounding ones, throwing little rainbows.” Adrian explained. “But whatever spell they’ve placed on the crystals is affecting the refraction. The crystal absorbs the colour it glows, so its missing from the rainbows. It wont emit that colour until its directly hit.”

Xan squinted closely at the rainbows cast by the blue glow and surely enough, Adrian was right. Which meant two crystals to the left was another stone that would glow blue if hit. The one next to it would glow orange.

“See, simple.”

Xan gasped, giving Adrian a little shove for having cracked the code. Shooting her friend a challenging smirk, Xan signed. “Alright doctor. You do better.”

That had him spluttering, and he was already shaking his head as Xan called over the attendant. “No wait. Isn’t it cheating, if I know? I have an unfair advantage.” He stuttered as Xan passed over the money and scooped up another slingshot.

She pushed the weapon into Adrian’s hands and grinned. “You have to hit them first.”

Challenge and bashfulness warred across Adrian’s face for a brief moment, before he took up the slingshot and took aim. Xan grinned smugly when he held his elbow too high and squinted down the sight at the wrong angle. His first shot flew wide, hitting the wall between to crystals with a shower of sparks. The gobsmacked look on Adrian’s face had little huffs of laughter escaping Xan’s chest.

“You made this look easy.” Adrian mumbled, retaking his stance. This time, he was aiming a touch better.

The shot whipped out in a gleaming gold beam and hit a crystal just shy of its centre. But a hit was a hit, and the clear quartz began to glow a soft pink. Adrian let out a short crack of laughter, looking down at Xan with pride. She beamed back at him, waggling two fingers to remind him he needed at least two more hits.

Adrian turned back to the game, examined the lights cast off his prism until he found the next crystal he wanted to hit. As he took aim, Xan took pity on the man and reached up to lower his elbow. But the shock of her touch startled him and the shot flew wide.

“You are a paragon of fair play doctor.” He scolded, poking an accusing finger at Xan.

“I was trying to help. You're holding it wrong.” Xan signed rapidly, but they were both still grinning.

“Here,” Xan said. She quickly looped her prize around her neck like a scarf, the bells jangling discordantly as she fished her long hair out of its loop. She took the slingshot from Adrian’s grip and aimed, holding her stance longer than she needed so Adrian could take it all in. When she loosed the shot, it hit the crystal Adrian had been aiming for dead centre, and more soft pink light filled the stand.

With a nod and a smirk, Xan handed the slingshot back to Adrian. When he didn’t take aim immediately, instead just looking at her with that odd expression again, Xan gestured to the awaiting stand with a flourish.

Adrian seemed to shake himself from whatever had caught his attention and took aim at his next target. Whilst his technique was better, it still wasn’t perfect. “Like this?” He asked, peeking over his hands to see her sign.

Xan shook her head at him, a little exasperated chuckle escaping her. Signalling more clearly that she was about to touch him, Xan reached up and adjusted Adrian’s hold on both the sling and the grip, lowering his elbow and raising the sights higher.

Once he had that right, Xan tilted her head to try and see his line of sight. When she couldn’t quite see, she stepped in closer and rose up onto her tiptoes until she was eye level with him. As she moved, Adrian shifted slightly, arm raising back up, so she placed a soft hand on his shoulder and gently guided him back into place. She lined up the shot with Adrian’s hands as best she could, teetering slightly on her toes as she did. She could feel Adrian turn to face her slightly, his breath ghosted over her cheek as he moved to ask a question.

With a strangled gasp, Adrian released the shot before Xan had everything lined up. The shot pinged off the outer wall and Xan dropped back onto her feet, her attention zipping up to shoot a confused look at Adrian.

Whose face was very, very close to hers. And who was turning a blazing shade of red and refusing to look anywhere near her. He kept opening and closing his mouth, like he couldn’t quite get the words out. His freckles stood out against the pink glow and red flush, those bright grey eyes darting around awkwardly.

Xan couldn’t help it. She laughed. Her shoulders shuddered as she shook with silent mirth, causing the bells looped around her neck to tinkle in time with her breath. The sound floated around them, like crystal being jostled in the breeze.

When she finally collected herself, Xan pressed the back of her hand to her lips and finally met Adrian’s gaze.

He was still blushing, but it was softer now, just a dusting of colour made even more subtle by the pink glow of the crystals. But he was looking at her with such gentle fondness that it sent a pang straight through Xan’s chest. The little smile on his lips stayed in place as he reached up to stroke the bells draped around her neck.

“It’s like I could her your laugh.” He murmured just for her, and that pang turned into a flutter of her heart.

“It was nice.” He whispered. They were leaning close, each holding the other’s full attention. “You have a nice laugh.”

[gaybastard2]

IDFC- Chapter 7- He’s Back

Text

[He's Back]

Warning: This chapter will contain gore and homophobic slurs

I stood up and stretched while we discussed who our favorite character from Heathers was. Mine was JD, he's a crazy motherfucker and I love him. Everyone was just fucking around and laughing. It was nice, it's been a while since everything was just calm. It was also nice with Travis. He's fucking adorable, like holy shit, how does he do that? He's a smart ass, but still. He's just so Travis. That doesn't make any sense but whatever.

Aggressive knocking from the door rang threw the room, making Sal flinch and Travis cringe. Both of them are kind of sensitive to loud noises. "I'll get it." I murmured, walking to the door. Who the fuck is trying to break the door down? Just as I approached the door it swung open, reveling a scowling , slim middle age man with short blonde hair and stubble on his chin. He wore an open, black suit jacket that showed his white button down shirt underneath. He had black slacks and black dress shoes. Basically, he looks like a jackass. My eyes lingered on a red stain at the bottom of his otherwise perfect shirt. Huh, that's kinda weird.

My eyes shoot up as he clears his throat obnoxiously, now sporting a plastic smile. I sighed, clearly annoyed, and leaned against the doorway, crossing my arms. "What do you want?" I asked, scowling. I know I'm probably being a dick, but I honestly don't give a shit. I just wanna get back to my friends and boyfriend.

His left eye twitched as his smile faltered for a second before going back to his fake-ass grin. He stuck out his hand as he spoke. "Well, young man, I believe my son is here. I would like if you would please bring him to me." He demanded gruffly. My eyes widened as I shot up from my lenient position on the doorframe. I pushed his hand back towards him.

"Sorry, your son isn't here. You can go now." I said quickly, beginning to shut the door. Kenneth stuck his foot in front on the door right before it closed. Shit. "I know he's here, Johnson." He growled, pushing the door open and walking in. Oh hell no.

"Get the fuck out!" I screamed as I kicked his stomach, pushing him back out the door. I quickly slammed the door shut and locked it before running back to the living room, trying to ignore the booming voice from the door. I ran up to Travis and cupped his face gently. "Travis, your dad, he's here. Go to the bathroom and lock the door. I promise, I'll keep you safe." I explained in a hushed tone,

He gasped, nodded, and quickly pecked my lips before shakily running to the bathroom and hopefully locking it. I turned to Sal and Ashley. "It's Kenneth. Sal, please go grab the bats from my closet. Ash, go and try and keep the door closed." They both nodded. Sal ran to my room to grab my bat and Ash ran to the door and leaned all her weight against it as Kenneth repeatedly kicked it.

Soon enough Sal ran back into the room, holding two metal bats. He handed one of them to me as we approached the door. We knew that Ash could only hold the door for so long before the grown man would fucking kick it off it's hinges. After a few more kicks from Kenneth, Ash was launched forward onto the floor as the door was finally knocked off its hinges. I looked over at Sal. Fear and anger was prominent in his eyes, even with his emotionless mask. His grip tightened on his bat as his arms slightly shook.

We had done some research and came to the conclusion that Kenneth Phelps was most likely a cult leader for the Devourers of God. Sal thinks that he's the person that killed his mom and disfigured his face. We also now know he physically and mentally abused Travis. Yeah, this man is scum of the goddamn world. I took a step closer. "Listen, if you don't get the fuck out, I swear to whatever god there is-" Before I could even finish my sentence, Sal launched himself towards Kenneth, bat first, aiming for his head.

Apparently Sal's aim isn't the best because he missed and hit Kenneth's shoulder. He merely winced before yanking one of Sal's pigtails upward and right hooking the side of his head. He yelled in pain, dropping his bat as he tried to break free. Kenneth repeatedly punched the side of Sal's head again, ignoring his screams, until he went limp, his screams stopping.

All I could do was stare. I physically couldn't move. The boy that's basically my brother just got beat till he was unconscious, unmoving in this bastard's hands. Silent tears ran down my cheeks. Kenneth chucked Sal onto to the ground next to me, laughing slightly. I turned to him, shaking. "S-Sal? Are..are you okay?" I got no response. Blood was oozing out the bottom of his mask and the side. "Sal....please..a-are you.." I started, my voice shaky.

My eyes went to his chest. It was rising and falling slowly. I sighed in relief and turned back to Kenneth, holding my bat higher. Then we heard a loud sob from my bathroom. Shit, Travis is still there. My grip tightened on my bat. I need to protect him. His head jerks to the bathroom and he smiles sickeningly. "I can hear you, faggot!" Kenneth yelled. I looked behind him. Ashley was laying on the ground, unconscious. She shifted slightly, beginning to gain consciousness. Fuck, I hope she wakes up soon, Sal needs help. I took a deep breath.

"If you even think about touching him or any of my friends, I will bash your goddamn skull in." I threatened. He snorted and made eye contact with me. "Go ahead. I wanna see what you can do." He has this sadist look in his eyes when he said that. I don't know what he has planned, but goddamn I'm pissed. I ran forward and swung my bat, praying to hit his head.

The edge of my bat did end up hitting his temple, sending him stumbling to the side. The hit opened a small gash in the side of his head. Blood trickled down his face as he laughed hysterically, his eyes both far off and manic at the same time. I slowly backed up, worried what he was doing, blood dripping off the end of my bat. Kenneth clutched his side as his body shook with laughter. Oh goddamn he’s crazy. The sobbing from the bathroom was getting louder, only making him more hysterical. I need to get Travis out of this situation, Sal needs help, and Ashley needs to wake up. I’m at a fucking loss. This whole situation is a cluster-fuck.

After Kenneth finally stopped laughing, he opened one side of his suit jacket, shakily reached hand in, and pulled out a revolver. I went stock-still. Holy shit. I dropped my bat. I was paralyzed. My mind was racing as he raised his arm up and cocked the gun. He smiled once again.

“Bye bye, Johnson.” Kenneth said quietly, his voice unsettlingly calm. He pulled the trigger, aiming for my chest. I tried to jump out of the way, but I was a bit too late. I felt a piercing pain in my shoulder, almost white hot, feeling worse by the second. Oh my fuck. I shrieked in agony as the world spun around me. The pain was almost numbing. I was shaking and hyperventilating, my heart pounding in my ears. My legs gave out and I fell to the floor.

I felt hot liquid running down my chest and staining my Sanity Falls shirt. I brought my hand to my shoulder and the liquid, biting back a scream as my hand grazed the wound. I shakily brought my hand back to my line of sight to see scarlet blood coating my finger tips. I turned my head to look behind me. There was a bloody bullet laying on the ground. Oh my god, it went though my shoulder, and I have no fucking idea if that’s a good thing or not.

Holy shit, this is it. This is how I die. My best friend badly injured next to me, my other best friend unconscious behind a piece of shit man and could wake up at any point, and my dear boyfriend stuck in a bathroom, his awful father right outside. My mother is going to come home to her dead son, or even worse, this motherfucker.

Hot tears cascaded down my cheeks as my body rocked with sobs. “Your fucking pathetic.” Kenneth spat. He then turned to Ash, who was now awake and crying hysterically, and smiled. “Time to get rid of the witness.” Then the door to my left opened, and I almost forgot about my pain, almost. What I assumed was a fucking angel walked out of the door. Oh wait, that’s just Travis. Eh, same thing. He gasped and cupped his hand over his mouth.

“Lar-Larry, please, p-please...be-be okay! Please don’t l-leave me!” He whispered, his voice barely audible. Tears starting to stream down his cheeks and he shook uncontrollably as his eyes stayed on my shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry, I-I’m sure I’m gonna-gonna be fine” I whispered weakly. God I hope I’m right. My head was dangerously dizzy. Travis sobbed quietly, only getting louder when he saw Sal.

He quickly took off his sweater and kneeled next to me. He speedily wrapped it around my wound and tied it to stop me from loosing more blood, murmuring quit apologies when I wince. Travis kissed me gently and pulled away. “I’m so sorry.” He whispered, more tears running down his cheeks as he pushed a piece of hair behind my ear. It killed me to see him like this, especially with the hot pain in my shoulder. I kissed him, cupping his cheek gently when he kissed back.

He pulled away carefully and turned his head to see Kenneth yanking Ashley’s hair up. Travis gasped and went bright red with anger. He stood up and looked down at the bat next to me, the blood now dried on it. Travis picked it up and before I could object, silently approached his father from behind.

“Trav, please be careful..” I whispered to myself as he crept closer to Kenneth.

[my-name-is-alice-ayers]

Chaos Theory Pt 6

@topstory21

"Love, you have to wake up," Erik kissed at your temple as he softly shook you away. The plane had landed shortly and you guys needed to get with Charles for a plan.

You groaned stretching on the small bed as you grabbed your shoes heading for the bathroom to get ready. In a flash you were changed and ready to attempt to save the universe. When you emerged from the bathroom all the guys were standing at the front of the plane chatting.

"So what's the plan?" You asked zipping up your boots as everyone filed out of of the plane into a private car that had been waiting for you guys at the air strip.

"Hadn't gotten that far," Charles admitted reaching to hold the car door open for you as you slide in the front seat.

"This would be so much easier if you had your powers..." you muttered sliding in the center as Erik slid next to you. Hank went for the driver's seat and Charles and Logan filed in the back.

"I think kicking the door in makes the most sense," Hank interjected, "Erik and Chloe can use their powers to get us in the room, then hopefully from there we can just talk her out of it."

"That's a big if.." you shook your head, "what do we even say?"

Hank shrugged shaking his head, none of them had taken the news of Logan time traveling that well, maybe Erik but he had been happy just to out of that cell.

They neared the facility and immediately things happen so fast. Erik moved the security gate up to let the car pass as you waved your hands making the guards hit the walls. You slam them hard enough till they were unconscious as Erik slid another metal gate over their bodies to contain them. You all file out of the car in a hurry, Erik grabbing your hand to keep you close.

You spun your fingers casting an illusion on anyone you passed till you made it to the board room. Logan went to kick the door in but you stopped him.

"I got it," you stood in front of the door throwing your hands up and red energy burst the wooden door to shreds. It didn't take long to spot  Raven. She was standing on the table in her lovely blue form pointing a gun right at Trask as everyone in the room was standing back in horror.

"Charles?" She looked at you sadly, "Chloe? I'm so sorry.." but in a flash a solider from behind her shot a taser at her chest.

You flinched as you watched her fall to the table and Erik came beside you quickly waving his hand to pull it off of Raven, throwing it at the guard who fell to the floor shaking from the electricity.

"Raven, We've all come for you, Erik, Chloe and I, together," he began brushing his hand across her face.

"I never thought I'd see you guys again...," she moaned in pain.

"I made you a promise to protect you..and I know I haven't kept to but..." Charles whispered to Raven softly. He meant to appeal to her humanity and maybe that was the right move.

Logan looked down at the solider on the ground. His eyes caught the name on the dog tag..Stryker. The man was convulsing from the taser shot. Chloe watched in a instant as Logan's face turned pale as he backed himself against the wall, his eyes rolling in his head.

"I'm going to keep you safe, I'm going to keep you out of their hands." Charles soothed.

"Wait, somethings wrong with Logan," you nudged past Erik as you crouched in the floor next to Logan who was groaning and whimpering. His claws were retracted as he swiped at the open air until you restrained him with your powers.

Erik stepped past you suddenly, waving his hand until the gun was in his hands. He looked over at you, watching you try your best to soothe  Logan. He loved that about you, your good nature. That was what he had to protect, your heart. He took a deep breath before pointing it directly at Raven.

"Erik?" Raven cried as she stared down at the barrel of the gun. The panic in her voice got your attention as you looked up.

"Erik, what are you doing?" You asked confused, this wasn't part of any plan you had discussed.

"Securing our future. Forgive me, Mystique. As long as you're out there we'll never be safe," Erik's voice was so steady it made you sick.

Hank stepped towards him, "Come on Erik give me the gun." He reaches a hand out for it calmly, all of you kept looking at each other confused.

"That's not going to work," you replied, "Erik stop, you don't have to do this."

"Stop him Charles," Raven grasped Charles.

"I can't.." Charles replied softly, shame washing over his face.

"He can't," Erik stated. Everyone stood still for what felt like hours before Raven stood, bolting for window. You watched Hank throw himself at Erik, causing the gun to fall but Erik waved his hand causing it to fire. The bullet followed Raven out the window and hit her in the leg as she fell to the ground.

You hear screaming outside and scattered glass as everything in the room seems to be a blur. Erik fought past Hank punching him hard in the face as he moved to the window looking back at you for a moment before floating down like a God.

"Hank, Chloe..." Charles growled at you both. "We have to stop him!"

Logan looked around in confusion grabbing your hand, "Where am I?"

"You're in Paris.." you responded quickly.

"What? How did I get here?" Logan asked confusion apparent in his voice.

"I think he's slipping between the past and the future, whoever sent him here is losing there hold on him," you realized as you watched him practically in a panic.

"What are you talking about you came to us..." Charles answered now brushing his hair from his face.

"Who are you?" Logan asked again holding his head.

"I'm Charles." Logan pushes past you and  grabs on to him, panic quickly turning to anger.

"Charles Xavier, this is Chloe...we're all friends here.."

"I don't know you," Logan stated shaking his head.

"Logan look at my eyes, you're safe.." you reached your hands out for him to take, "You can trust me, just relax. Listen to my voice...you're safe with us."

He calmed down for a moment and began to take a step towards you but Hank stood up behind you, now transformed into the Beast. He growled as he shook off the punch Erik had given him.

"What the hell is that?" Logan's claws come out almost cutting your hands. You jump backwards your hands casting big spheres of red energy to protect you.

Charles moved in front of you, "It's okay. I got this. Hank go stop Erik," he stated softly and you watch Hank jump out of the building. You can hear more screams from downstairs and your stomach is in knots. 

"Charles, Erik isn't going to listen to Hank. I have to go out there," your voice cracked as you held your powers back trying to inch closer to the window.

"What's wrong with her hands? Who are you people?" Logan rambled.

"Chloe, I need you here with me for a moment. I promise Erik will be all right. Listen to my voice... You're Logan, this is Chloe, I'm Charles Xavier and that was Hank. You've spent the last couple of days with us," Charles began but when nothing seemed to jog his memory he responded frustrated,"You're on acid. Someone gave you really bad acid. Yeah?"

"You have to be joking," you groaned. You leaned out the window watching Erik rip the bullet from Ravens leg. He held his hand open as the small bit of metal was suspended in the air. You couldn't hear what they were saying but you watched Hank suddenly jump on Erik's back giving Raven a moment to run away.

Logan's eyes finally shifted back to black, "Professor? Chloe?" He called out to you both.

"What the hell was that?" You asked turning back to him.

"I just saw someone who's going to bring me a lot of pain one day..." he ran his hands through his hair.

You watched Erik in a struggle with Hank, who had managed to toss him in the fountain. Your stomach drops, "Charles, get Logan downstairs, I'm going to try and stop Erik," you shouted diving out the window before they could protest. You floated down quickly hearing both men call your name for you to stop.

Your feet crunched on glass as your shoes touched down softly. You could hear gasps of people as camera clicked in your direction. You could feel the magnetic field Erik had cast as every piece of metal nearby flew at the fountain trying to stop Hank who was dipping his head under the water repeatedly.

You swung your arms casting a small hexagon sphere tossing it towards Hank just close enough to get his attention, "Stop! You're going to kill him!"

Hank didn't even look at you as you watched him hold Erik down longer. Your heart was racing as you took a deep breath manipulating your energy as you pulled the metal from the fountain, bending in until it wrapped around Hanks limbs. It folded around him suspending him above the water. It gave Erik enough time to breathe as cars and metal dropped all around you. Erik coughed trying to sit up in the fountain.

You ran over to help him stand, blood was dripping from a cut on his forehead as he leaned on you till he was standing on the pavement. "What were you thinking??" You screamed at him.

"You have to let me go Chloe..." he choked out as he watched people look at you two screaming and scrambling away.

"What are you talking about?" You couldn't believe this, yes you understand why he tried to kill Raven, she could be the key to changing your future but this..was something else.

"I promised you from the beginning that I would keep you safe, so I'm asking you to trust me. Look into my eyes, I need to go.."he practically whispered reaching for you. He pressed a soft kiss to your lips and you felt your heart drop.

"Erik, you just promised me..in the plane.." you choked on your words. Was it all a lie?

"Chloe, I swear to you I want to give you all of that. Let me go secure our future and I will be back for US. I have to keep you safe, I can't let Trask get you," he explained hugging you tightly.

"Chloe!" You heard Charles yell from a distance behind you. Tears streamed down your face, as you clutched onto Erik afraid you two would never see each other again. He laced his fingers with yours and you could feel your heart pounding loudly in your chest. "Chloe, stop him!" He yelled again.

"Go.." you cried. You felt Erik lace his hands with yours, cool metal touching your palm. He grabbed your chin kissing you hard before he took off running down the sidewalk. In the rush of the crowd he was gone in an instant.

"Jesus Christ Chloe! What are you thinking!" Charles screamed at you as he finally jogged over.

"Charles, go easy on her," Logan warned watching the color drain from your face as you looked in the direction Erik had run off one more time, but he was long gone. Hank had managed to escape his hold, dropping in the water as he transformed back into himself.

You looked down at your palm, a long thin gold chain necklace with a diamond ring laced through it. Your fingers played with the cool metal as you felt tears stinging at your eyes.

"Hey, kid...it's okay," Logan spoke softly watching practically shaking.

"You just let him go?" Hank yelled at you shaking water from his clothes.

"Raven was long gone and you were killing him, what was that going to solve?" You snapped at Hank as you shoved the ring and necklace into your pocket.

"Chloe I understand, but we're meant to do this together. Where could he have gone?" Charles huffed looking around.

"I didn't know he was going to do that," you cried now, burying your face in your hands. Your face burned with embarrassment as you felt Logan wrap an arm around you.

"We need to get out of here, I've got her. You two can yell at her later," Logan pulled you close as he lead toward the car, with Charles and Hank following him.

[shewolfofficial]

Can i get a scenario where levi's innocent s/o who hasn't killed anyone, killed a man to save Levi? Like when mikasa killed the man strangling eren when they were kids and she has a power like the Ackerman power for Levi?

Warning: Mentions of Blood, Violence, Cursing

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s been a week since you’ve been taken, the usual shy and innocent L/N abducted? Why would anyone do a thing?

It happened while you were out shopping with Sasha and Christa, Levi was supposed to be tagging along since he thought he would have a free day off since he finished his paperwork but he got delivered more that morning. It was in a crowd where it happened, you told Christa and Sasha to go on ahead since you were looking at a nice dress through a window. That’s when you were grabbed and dragged into an alley where you were knocked unconscious.

The news spread like wildfire and the MP’s were notified to keep a strict eye out for you. Eren was furious when he heard what happened but Levi was a complete other situation.

He had a bloodlust for whoever the fuck had the balls to take you.

// Current Time \

Laying against the wall hunched over you winced at the painful burning feeling of the rope tied around your wrist, you felt numb. Half-lidded eyes staring off to the filth covered wall opposite you. Gruff voices echoing back and forth to one another as you listened.

‘‘She’s a pretty little thing isn’t she’‘

‘‘I think I saw her from somewhere before..’’

‘‘Huh what do you mean? Hey you two, the MP’s are looking for her right?’’

‘‘Yeah.. I’m going to go out for a few minutes, I’ll be back later’‘

The sound of the door shutting a few seconds later meaning one of the three? Maybe four? Men had left to do whatever. Silence filled the thin air as you drifted your hazey gaze around the room, pain searing through your neck as you attempted to crane your head to the side to get a better look around.

Knock knock..

‘‘What the fuck was that?’‘ a short fat little man huffed getting up and trudging over to the door, swinging open the door with a bang which made you flinch the stumpy captivator gasped a little from surprise and shock as he subtly started to shut the door over behind him hiding you from sight from whoever it was at the door.

‘‘C-Captain Levi! Wha-What brings you here?’‘

Levi..

Huh wait..

Levi!

‘‘Well I saw the fucking state of this cabin and wanted to know if the owner knew how properly clean. It’s disgusting’‘ Levi replied cooly yet with an intimidating glare set on his features as the stumpy gnome in front of him gulped ever so slightly before awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. Bringing yourself to your knees you ignored the burning on your tightly knotted wrists and flung your body forward creating a loud thump sound, the entire room went silent, including the doorway where both men stood. 

The male which was supposed to be looking over you was wide-eyed in horror as he looked at you. A loud thud came from the doorway as the fellow who was guarding it lay on the wooden floor in a puddle of his own blood. Stepping over the blood calmly Levi’s mood darkened when he saw you laying on the floor with a cloth covering your mouth and binding your wrists together. 

Grumbling under his breath you didn’t even notice Levi had sprung across the room and swiftly sliced the taller male’s neck in an instant. E/C lighting up as the ebony haired male sent you a soft nod and knelt down next to you. Carefully taking your wrists and easily slicing open the fabric that clung to your wrists before setting the blade down by his side. 

‘‘F/N? You’re alright now’‘

Turning to him with a small smile you took him in a hug silently thanking him before you pulled back and rubbed your wrists. Levi rested his hand on your shoulder carefully watching you. Your smile immediately faded into a slightly scared look as you switched your orbs to him. ‘’Where’s the last one?’’ you whispered as Levi furrowed his brows at you. ‘’Wait there was one more-?’’ he was cut off when a boot roughly hit against his back making him snap his head around in anger only to get put into a tight headlock and dragged away.

‘‘You’re the bastard that killed them.. I knew I recognized her from somewhere.. That’s your bitch’‘ the insanely taller stranger growled in Levi’s ear before he wrapped his hands around his neck. Driving a kick to the male’s gut Levi almost flinched seeing as the man didn’t seem to be in any pain at all. Pinning Levi to the ground the taller male squeezed tightly around his neck as Levi clawed and kicked at him.

Eyes widening you sprung to your feet. Jaw slightly dropped in horror as you began to shake. Drifting his eyes to you from the corner of his eye Levi kept trying to pry away the larger hands that wrapped around his neck in a tight grip before averting those steel-like iris’ back to the man that held him down ‘’pick up the blade.. Stab him! Get him!’’ Levi choked out as you swiftly picked up the blade in your hands, shaking uncontrollably you looked at the two men with fear. You hadn’t killed someone before. The only thing you killed were titans. You couldn’t kill a person! But then Levi would die! 

Gripping the handle of the knife in both your hands you felt your legs go weak as the colour drained from your face. ‘’I- I don’t think I can! I’m- I’m scared!’’ you squeaked out as Levi snapped his gaze to you one more time. ‘’You- can! Don’t think.. J-Just do it! Yo-You’ll be alright! Fucking get h-him!’’ he said arms beginning to go limp as they soon fell to the side.

That’s when you felt something in you jolt awake.

Shaking coming to a stop, you stood there with the blade steadily in your hands as you stared on towards the two. Heart beating loudly in your ears as you felt some electricity like feeling shocked through you making your eye twitch.

Get him..

Fight!

Protect Levi..

Protect Levi!

You felt as if a whole bucket of ice cold water had been dumped onto you as you blinked, you didn’t think, you let your body take over. The wood snapping beneath your feet along with the handle of the knife breaking light zipped throughout the room like a lightning strike had occurred bolts of electricity moving through the room in a large wave hearing the man shrieked in pain as he fell off of Levi hissing in agony.

Screaming you dashed towards the man as he only attempted to back up against the wall; yet you were too fast, you arrived at him in a matter of a second and plunged the knife in his chest repeatedly. Finally calming down you felt your heartbeat calm down as if you hadn’t stabbed someone and sent electricity through a room. Sitting on the male’s stomach with the knife stuck in his chest, blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth as he stared up towards the ceiling with an empty expression. 

‘‘You did it..’‘

Snapping your head to the side you watched as Levi sat up gently rubbing his neck as he looked at you with a curious aura. ‘’I killed someone..’’ you mutter sliding off the guy’s stomach arriving in front of Levi as he inspected you with squinted eyes. ‘’What was with that electricity shock.. Don’t tell me you can fucking make electricity or something’’ he said as your face scrunched up in confusion, he seemed to notice this and sighed. ‘’I can’t make electricity.. I don’t know what happened but I just felt as if I just woke up… No, it felt as if something woke up in me.. I don’t know what..’’ you say averting your gaze as he stands up helping you up, stepping towards the man Levi hauled the knife out of the chest of the corpse. The handle snapped and splintered from your surprisingly new strength. Stealing a glimpse back to the shattered floorboards Levi was every so slightly wide-eyed with shock. What if your family had a type of strength like the Ackerman one? If so, did that mean that your one has been based on Levi? 

// Time Skip \

Two weeks had passed, you and Levi had both fully recovered and Levi had told Hanji and Erwin about your supposed electricity-strength like power. Erwin was extremely confused at first but Hanji jumped at the opportunity to experiment and find out what you could actually do. 

That’s what led up to now.

Levi stood in a row of your friends, spaced out evenly as Sasha held a bow, you were blindfolded and were sat down next to Erwin as the mad scientist next to you called out what this experiment was about. It was about your reflexes and senses to when it came to sensing danger and how easily you could react to it and probably stop the issue. A few days earlier you had found out that your reflexes had increased more than even Mikasa’s when it came to her and Eren. Yet, you only seemed to have access to this power when it was with Levi, or when he was in a dangerous situation. Hanji wanted to find out if you had some sixth sense while being blindfolded to stop an arrow from skimming past Levi. If you succeeded the experiments would continue on until you have met your boundaries or until Hanji settled on that you would be ‘’the best bodyguard to shorty and we don’t need to do more experiments’’ as she said before.

‘‘Alright! F/N I won’t be telling you when Sasha sets off the arrow, all you have to do is ‘save’ Levi before he gets ‘shot in the head’ got it?’‘ she explained as you nodded, not having a clue that she was quotation marking some words. Turning to Sasha she gave her a silent thumbs up, letting the girl know she can start by firing arrows at the people lined up in front of her when she was ready.

Shot by Eren.

Nothing.

Shot by Mikasa.

Nothing.

Fired by Jean.

Not moving an inch.

Missing Armin by an inch

You didn’t even flinch

Readying the next arrow she stepped opposite Levi as he sent her a firm nod, aiming a few inches away from his head Sasha breathed out feeling the string of the bow slip from the grasp of her fingers as the arrow set off in a thunderous speed.

Flinching ever so slightly you suddenly shot up and before anyone even noticed it, you turned to a blur of speed before you stood in front of Levi having the arrow gentle held between your index and middle finger as it aimed Levi’s way. A few gasps rang from around you as you lifted off the blindfold switching your gaze to the arrow that you stopped mid-air. ‘’Woah..’’ you heard Armin mumble from your side, blinking in surprise you looked at the arrow in wonder before switching your vision to Levi who stood behind you unscathed. He looked at you in wonder and gave you a subtle nod letting a small smile slip.

‘‘WOAH! F/N! THAT WAS CRAZY CRAZY AMAZING! HOW DID YOU MOVE SO FAST?!’‘

Hanji was full on screaming with wild hand motions as she continued to screech about you catching the arrow while being blindfolded. Handing the arrows back to Sasha you returned to Levi’s side with a gentle smile.

‘‘I have to admit, that was cool’‘