#i should stop i’m probably jumping the gun here

[valkyurii]

so apparently radahn has to be dead before you can access the dlc. wow i wonder why that is /s

[tortillamastersblog]

Back To You - Part 16 | Sam Carpenter

Pairing: Sam Carpenter x reader

Warnings: mentions of violence, death, blood, injuries, and swearing

Summary: When Sam left after turning eighteen, you were devastated. You’d been in love with her since you were kids and her leaving meant you never got to tell her how you truly felt.

Fast forward a couple of years, Tara gets attacked and Sam returns. . .

A/N: Fair warning there might be a couple of typos and shit in this part because I’m too tired to proofread properly

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The door of the theater falls shut behind us with a loud bang and I can’t stop myself from flinching ever so slightly.

Sam squeezes my hand and I squeeze back, letting my eyes roam around the room.

Nothing’s changed since the last time we were here and I cringe once again at the sight of the mannequins on the stage dressed in the old Ghostface cloaks.

It’s eerily quiet, but the knowledge that backup is ready to jump in and help us when Kirby gives them a signal brings me some sense of peace.

When Sam and I came out of the bathroom earlier Bailey had left to go to the station which gave me the chance to pull Kirby aside and tell her about what we figured out while Sam distracted the others, especially Ethan who kept looking at me with his big doe eyes.

She believed me instantly and we quickly came to the conclusion that in order to end this we either have to kill Bailey, Quinn, and Ethan, or get a confession out of them, so they go to prison for the rest of their lives.

I opted for the latter because I’m sick of people dying, but we agreed that should anything go wrong, we will kill them.

We also agreed that the less people are involved the better, so Kirby called the hospital Anika is at and convinced them to call Mindy in Anika’s name, saying she wanted to see her girlfriend.

We tried to come up with a plan to get Chad out of the way as well, but nothing came to mind, which is why he’s here with us now.

Danny’s also here, but we left him outside under the guise of needing someone to call for help in case something goes wrong.

He doesn’t know that the FBI is already stationed nearby, waiting to be called in by Kirby.

Sam, Kirby, and I are the only ones who know and even though I wanted to tell Tara and Chad, I never got the chance because we were never alone.

At first, Danny and Ethan were with us, and then it was just Danny because I managed to prevent Ethan from getting on the same subway as us by shoving a stranger in his way.

I’m sure he’ll be here soon though, just like Bailey who’s in on the “plan”.

We told him we wanted to trap Ghostface and execute him which he immediately agreed to since he doesn’t know we know about him yet.

He was super supportive and even told us to use public transport to avoid getting targeted, and if I didn’t know better I would have actually believed that he was concerned.

I still don’t know why he, Quinn, and Ethan are doing all this, but I guess we’ll find out sooner.

“I cleared the whole place before you got here,” Kirby says, turning to face us. “This—“ she nods her head at the door we just came in through, “—is the only way in or out.”

“What about weapons?” Sam asks, her hand still in mine.

Tara is holding onto Chad’s arm, nodding along to what Sam just asked.

“One gun and I hold onto it,” Kirby lies. She slipped me a knife earlier when I told her about what we found out.

It’s tucked into the waistband of my pants, hidden by my sweater, and not even Sam knows about it.

I know right now would probably be a good time to come clean and tell Chad and Tara everything we know (and tell Sam about the knife), but we can’t be sure that this place isn’t bugged.

“I’m the only one with a badge, so that’s the way it’s going to be,” Kirby says when the others look at her in disbelief. “We’re safe here,” she adds and even though I know the FBI is on standby outside, I’m still not entirely convinced. There’s three Ghostfaces and four of us, and they’re all armed.

This is going to be fun. . .

I wish we’d had more time to plan, because this is all super reckless, but we can’t risk someone else getting hurt, so it will have to do.

The others look skeptical, too, but no one voices their concerns and a moment later Sam’s phone rings. She disconnects our hands and pulls it out of her pocket, her eyebrows furrowing when she sees that it’s Mindy who’s calling her.

She glances at me and I dip my chin, wordlessly telling her to answer it.

“Mindy? Hey, you okay?” she says. She walks off in search of better reception and I let her be, turning to Chad and Tara who are eyeing the glass display cases with disgust while Kirby makes her own way through the theater, looking at everything with her lips pressed into a thin line.

“Sprout. . . Chad,” I say quietly, approaching them. They turn with furrowed eyebrows and smile weakly when they see me.

“Y/N.” Chad exhales sharply and I squeeze his arm reassuringly.

“You guys okay?” I ask.

Tara shakes her head and hugs me while Chad grimaces. “Not really,” she whispers. “I’m scared.”

I sigh and hold her closer. “Yeah, me too.”

“Same. . .” Chad watches us with a forlorn look and I chuckle softly before pulling him into the hug as well.

“You’ll be okay. Both of you, I promise.” I press a kiss to the top of Tara’s head and nudge Chad.

They both shudder and tighten the hug before my phone rings and I’m forced to pull away.

Dread settles in the pit of my stomach as I pull it out of my pocket, but then the sight of Paige’s name flashing across the screen makes me relax again.

It’s not Ghostface, Y/N. Calm down.

“Paige, hey. Everything okay? Are you in the city yet?”

Despite the situation, Paige laughs softly. “Yes, everything’s fine. I’m not in the city yet, I still have two hours to go. I’m just calling to tell you that the hospital called.”

The tentative smile that pulled at my lips just a second ago vanishes and I tighten my grip on the phone. “A-and?”

“Lee’s still in surgery, but he’s stable.”

Tears prick at my eyes and I spin around to avoid Tara’s and Chad’s concerned looks. “Okay, that’s good. That’s really good.”

I swallow thickly to get rid of the growing lump in my throat and Paige sighs on the other end of the line.

“Yeah, it is. . . so what about you? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but—“

The lights turn off and the call disconnects. A scream pierces through the silent theater and I whirl around.

Tara.

She and Chad seem to be unharmed, but they’re tripping over their feet, trying to get away from something, of rather, someone.

It’s hard to make out what’s happening in the dark, but even before a homemade Stab movie gets projected onto the white curtains that have been lowered in front of the stage, I know that Ghostface is here.

Baile, Ethan and Quinn are here, right now, and we didn’t see it coming.

How didn’t we know? There’s only one entrance and we would have heard them come in. Right?

But what if Kirby overlooked a different entrance? What if she didn’t search the place probably?

Speaking of Kirby, my blood runs cold when my eyes land on her. Her face is covered in blood, and it looks like her nose is broken, but what’s more important is the blood on her shirt from a stab wound in her stomach and the knife pressed against her neck by Ghostface, standing behind her.

Ethan or Quinn. . . Bailey is taller.

“Fuck.” I rush to pull Tara and Chad behind me, feeling anger rising in the pit of my stomach when Ghostface tilts his head mockingly.

This is not how this was supposed to go down. Kirby was supposed to stay hidden, she was supposed to observe and call for backup.

Movement out of the corner of my eye makes my heart skip a beat, but when I turn my head, there’s nothing there.

A second later though I feel a presence on my other side, and I whirl around, expecting another Ghostface, but it’s just Sam, wide-eyed and panting.

“They’re here,” she breathes, “They’re—“ she freezes when her eyes land on Kirby, “—Fuck.”

She grabs my arm, and together we shield Chad and Tara while Ghostface continues to watch us wordlessly.

Kirby is deathly still in his hold, despite the obvious pain she’s in because she knows that if she even attempts to reach for her gun or her radio, her throat will be slit.

Some blood is already trickling down her throat because of how hard Ghostface is pressing the knife against her skin, and I shiver, remembering how I was in that same position a year ago.

Every breath, every blink could be your last one, and it’s a horrifying experience.

This is definitely not how I thought this would go. Was I skeptical of our half-assed planned? Yes. Was I expecting it to go off the rails at some point? Also, yes, but I didn’t think shit would be hitting the fan this quickly.

Well, there’s no point in keeping my mouth shut any longer.

“Let her go, Ethan. She has nothing to do with this,” I say lowly. I know it’s him because Quinn is even shorter than her brother and she probably wouldn’t have had the strength to overwhelm Kirby.

Ghostface falters ever so slightly, obviously surprised that I know who’s under the mask, but he doesn’t move or say anything.

“What are you doing?” Tara hisses, tugging on the back of my sweater. “That’s not Ethan.”

Sam squeezes my arm, and I glance over my shoulder for a split second to meet Tara’s eyes. “Yes it is,” I say, forcing myself to sound calm. “He’s behind all of this with Quinn and Bailey.”

“What?” Chad lets out a surprised gasp.

Someone starts clapping slowly behind us and we all whirl around to see Bailey standing there next to another Ghostface.

He’s smiling menacingly and claps one more time before exhaling dramatically. “I knew you’d figure it out. I mean, the way you looked at me at the police station after the bodega. . . I knew you knew something was up.”

I narrow my eyes, but stay quiet.

There’s no way to get a confession out of all of them now, at least not one we can use against them in court because Kirby was supposed to record everything, so we’re moving on to plan b.

Kill them. Kill all of them. Make them pay for what they’ve done to Liam, Gale, Anika, and Brooks, and for how they tired to frame Sam for what happened im Woodsboro.

“Also, Ethan saw you talking to Kirby, so I knew we had to do something sooner rather than later to make you pay.”

“Make us pay?” Sam asks indignantly. “For what?!”

The homemade Stab movie still playing in the background flickers eerily, casting weird shadows over everyone’s face, but especially Bailey’s when it tightens in anger.

He pulls out his gun and waves it around. “For killing my son!”

“Your son?” Tara snaps over my shoulder.

“Yeah, he’s right there.” I gesture at the Ghostface still pressing a knife to Kirby’s neck.

Bailey snorts and the Ghostface next to him takes off his mask.

Quinn.

I knew it, and so did Sam, but Chad and Tara suck in a breath behind me.

Ethan takes off his mask as well, somehow managing to do it without letting go of Kirby.

“Not him!” Quinn snaps with wild eyes before pointing her knife at Sam. “You killed—“

The curly hair, the thick eyebrows. . . E.K. Ethan Kirsch.

“Richie. . .” I say through clenched teeth.

Sam’s hand around my upper arm tightens. “You’re Richie’s family?!”

Tara and Chad shift uncomfortably, but they don’t say a word.

Of course they’re Richie’s family. How did I not see that coming?

They want revenge for what Sam did to him and they started it all by spreading rumors about her online, so when they kill her, kill us, people will just suspect some rando who took matters into his own hands after he found out Sam was the “real” Ghostface.

How fucked up is that. . .

I glance at Kirby while Bailey, Ethan, and Quinn catch the others up on what I just figured out, and nod subtly when her fingers graze against the pocket of her leather jacket.

The radio. . . We need to call for backup. We need to get out of here.

There has to be a second exit we don’t know about because how else would Bailey, Ethan, and Quinn have gotten into the theater unnoticed.

My call with page was disconnected, probably because Bailey turned on some kind of signal jammer, which could mean the radio is also useless, but getting my hands on it and trying to call for back up is worth a try anyway.

I mean, don’t radios and cell phones operate on different frequencies?

All thoughts of frequencies are quickly forgotten when Bailey steps forward and holds out a weathered Ghostface mask.

“This is your father’s, Sam,” he says. “Quinn’s got Stu Macher’s and Ethan has Nacy Loomis’s, your grandmother’s. . .”

“It really runs in your fucking family, doesn’t it,” Ethan pipes up, and the way Sam’s breath hitches next to me makes me want to bash his head in.

This is exactly what she’s afraid of, being like them, and I just know it’s going to take a lot of therapy and a lot of pep talks to make her, once again, believe she really isn’t anything like them

Tara sniffles quietly, and I reach behind me to squeeze her hand when she holds onto the hem of my sweater.

“This is what we’ve been counting down to,” Bailey says, waving the mask around with the same crazy look in his eyes as Quinn. “I’m going to need you to put it on.”

Oh, hell no.

Sam breathes heavily, and for a split second I think she’s going to take it—she’s going to give them what they want after all, but then she lets go of my arm and smacks the mask out of Bailey’s hand.

“Fuck you!” she spits and her confidence fills me with so much pride that I don’t react fast enough when Quinn lunges forward, slicing Sam’s exposed upper arm with her knife.

She was wearing my zip up hoodie earlier, but it’s so hot in here she must have taken it off while on the phone with Mindy, leaving her in only her gray tank top.

Shit, Mindy. . . Why was she calling in the first place? Is she okay?

There’s no way to find out now, so I quickly pull Sam back against me, out of reach of Quinn while she presses a hand to the cut on her arm.

It’s only superficial, but it’s already bleeding pretty badly and it will definitely need stitches.

“Stay the fuck away from her,” Tara shouts, trying to step out from behind me, but Chad holds her back with an arm around her waist.

“You’re a killer, just like your father, Sam,” Bailey says, pointing an accusing finger at Sam and this time, unlike when Ethan opened his stupid mouth, I don’t hold back.

“No, she’s not you!” I snap, baring my teeth. With her free hand, Sam squeezes my arm around her middle, either to silently thank me for standing up for her or to get me to settle down.

“Yes, she is you motherfucker!” Quinn screams. “She killed Richie like the cold-blooded psycho that she is!”

That’s it!

I let go of Sam and rush forward to tackle Quinn, but Ethan is quick to react. He shoves Kirby aside and jumps in my way before I can get to his sister, stabbing me in the shoulder right below my collar bone—right below the scar on my neck where Amber stabbed me.

“Ah, you fucking little twig,” I exclaim, squaring my shoulders, ready to take him down instead when Sam pulls me back by the back of my sweater.

“No, run!” she shouts and I spin around, knowing she’s right.

Tara and Chad are already weaving through the glass cases, trying to get to the metal door we came in through and Sam and I follow them.

Quinn and Ethan are hot on our heels while Bailey shouts how he knew Sam had to die when he saw the pictures of what she did to Richie.

Everyone who had something to do with his death dies. . . Yeah, no thanks.

Amidst the chaos, the fact that we don’t have the key card to unlock the door dawns on me the moment we’re standing in front of it. Chad tries to pry it open, but it doesn’t budge and when Quinn and Ethan’s footsteps get louder behind us I exclaim, “Forget about it. We’re not getting out this way! There has to be another exit!”

“The roof!” Tara says. “I saw an exit sign leading to the roof behind the seats on the balcony overlooking the stage.”

The roof? Seriously? We’ll be trapped there, too, unless there’s a fire escape.

Anything’s better than this though, I think as Ethan and Quinn skirt around the corner.

“Okay, go left! There’s a staircase up to the balcony!” I shout and we start running again, abandoning the metal door, which could possibly still be our only way out.

Somewhere in the theater a shot gets fired, and I pray to God that Kirby is okay, but I don’t have time to dwell on it as we get to the staircase.

I yank on Sam’s arm and pull her in front of me, and usher her to follow Chad and Tara, but she stops when she notices me freezing on the bottom step.

“What are you doing? Come on!” Urgency seeps into her voice and she tries to drag me up the stairs, but I don’t move.

“No, get to the roof and get help, I’ll buy you some time,” I say, pulling out the knife Kirby gave me.

If Quinn and Ethan want to get to the others, they’ll have to go through me first.

Sam’s eyes widen when they land on the gleaming blade and she shakes her head adamantly. “Fuck no! I’ve left you behind twice now, I’m not doing it again!”

“Sam— I—“ I want to protest, but then Quinn appears with a lazy smile, dragging the blade of her knife along the wall, seemingly in no hurry to get to us any more.

No, no, no. Why’s she so calm. What’s going on?! Where’s Ethan?!

“Y/N!” Sam urges, which snaps me out of my thoughts.

Right. We’ve got to move, no matter how slow Quinn is walking, she’s going to get to us eventually if we don’t move.

“Shit. Yeah, okay! Go, go, go!” I follow Sam up the stairs, taking two of them at a time with my heart pounding in my ears until we get to the top.

Oh damn, we’re higher up than I expected.

It’s at least a ten foot drop from the balcony to the main floor of the theater, but that’s not what I’m worried about.

No, what I’m worried about is Ethan, who’s blocking our path to the roof because he somehow managed to climb the scaffolding connecting the balcony and the main floor to our right.

Tara and Chad are rooted to the ground, staring at him while he simply waves his knife mockingly.

“You really thought you guys could get away?” He laughs and I grab Sam’s hand and spin us around when I hear Quinn coming up the stairs behind us. “Yeah, no. You’re all going to die here tonight and pay for what you did to Richie.”

Tara whimpers and she and Chad take several steps back until their backs are pressed against Sam’s and mine.

The weight of Kirby’s knife in my hand, the one that isn’t holding Sam’s, does nothing to ground me.

We’re caged in and there’s nothing I can do without risking getting hurt because both Ethan and Quinn also have a knife.

“Richie deserved everything he got!” Sam spits next to me. “He was pathetic and killed innocent people just so he could make a new Stab movie! A fucking movie!”

“He loved those movies!” Quinn exclaims angrily and I can’t help but scowl at her.

“That doesn’t excuse what he did! How deluded are you to think that it’s okay to kill people just so you can make a movie?!”

“Shut up!” Ethan shouts and even though I can’t see him, I know he’s absolutely livid right now.

I don’t shut up though. Not only because I can’t stop myself from going on, but because I need to get him to snap and move so we can get to the roof.

“I mean, how fucked up is it that your dad brainwashed you into avenging your brother’s death? He’s a grown ass man and he’s using his kids to do his bidding. Really gets you thinking about who the favorite child is, or was in this case, doesn’t it?”

Quinn’s face contorts into a grimace of rage and I can see both her and Ethan lunging at us from miles away, so I act before they can.

I let go of Sam’s hand and pick up a discarded scaffolding pipe, shoving it into Chad’s hands before turning back around and kicking the side of Quinn’s knee when she comes at us.

She cries out in pain and goes down, and I spin around just in time to see Chad knocking the knife out of Ethan’s hand with the pipe.

“You piece of shit, you know nothing about us!” Ethan shouts, scrambling to pick the knife back up, but Chad is one step ahead of him.

He kicks the knife under the seats before stepping to the side so Tara can knee him in the face, knocking him out.

Yeah, get his ass, Sprout!

Quinn wails furiously and jumps to her feet, her rage obviously numbing the pain in her knee. She tightens the grip she has on her knife and lunges at Sam who raises her arms defensively.

“Oh no you don’t!” I growl, darting forward and catching her wrist mid-strike. I twist it so the knife is now pointing at her and watch in horror as she runs straight into it, stabbing herself in the throat because she can’t stop her advance in time.

Her eyes widen, and she chokes on her own blood for a moment before Sam kicks her in the stomach, forcing her to let go of the knife and fall backward.

She twitches helplessly, coughing and clawing at her own throat for what feels like hours before finally going deathly still.

“Good fucking riddance,” I spit and Sam nods, seemingly in a daze with her eyes trained on Quinn’s dead body until I grab her hand and pull her away. “Let’s go!”

Tara and Chad have already left and I can only hope that they made it to the roof okay. Where Kirby and Bailey are, I have no idea, but the theater’s been deathly quiet since that gunshots I heard earlier.

Please let that have been Kirby shooting Bailey and nod the other way around.

“We need to call for back—“ My words get stuck in my throat when Sam lets out a surprised cry behind me. Her hand lets go of mine and I hear her knife clatter against the ground before I whirl around to see that she’s tripped over something.

No, not something, someone. And that someone is Ethan who’s got his hand wrapped around her ankle.

“Son of a bitch!” Sam seethes and kicks him in the shoulder, which makes him let go of her, but when they both jump to their feet, my heart drops at the sight of him holding the knife she just dropped.

“You’re not going anywhere!” He slashes the knife through the air, missing Sam’s throat by an inch which makes me see red.

I yank Sam behind me, ignoring the way my back stings because of it, and tackle him.

He grunts when we go down and I feel him dragging the knife across my side, but all I can focus on is the sound of Sam’s voice, crying out my name, and the sensation of falling.

Falling, and falling, and falling.

“Y/N!”

I look up and it’s only when I see Sam bent over the railing of the balcony with a bewildered look in her eyes and an outstretched arm that I realize Ethan and I went overt the edge.

No. This was not supposed to happen.

I want to reach out and grab her hand, but it’s too late. I’m falling and before I know it, everything goes black.

I can’t have been out for too long, because when I come to again, everything is quiet.

There’s no shouting, there’s no police and I’m still in the theater, staring up at the blurry outline of the balcony and the dark ceiling.

Sam is nowhere in sight, but when I turn my head I see Ethan right next to me, sprawled on the ground amidst the glass shards of the display case he fell on.

Black dots are dancing in my vision, and I know it’s only a matter of time before I pass out again, but I know for a fact that he’s dead.

His neck is bent at an unnatural angle and his lifeless eyes are staring at me. His lips and chin are covered in blood from when Tara broke his nose with her knee and there are tiny glass shards sticking out of his cheek and forehead.

That’s two for two, I guess. . .

I avert my eyes and go to sit up to find Sam and the others, only to feel my heart drop when I find that I can’t move.

No. Not again.

I try again, willing every muscle in my body to help me sit up, but it doesn’t work.

All I can do is turn my head, and even that is difficult now that I think about it.

It’s like trying to run in a dream, and before I can stop it, a desperate whimper slips past my lips.

Not again. Please, not again.

The memory of Leroy’s face— the firefighter who pulled me out of my parents car after the accident— makes its way to the front of my mind and when I close my eyes I see his sparkling blue eyes above me.

No, not again. Not again. . .

“Y/N!”

My eyes fly open and I look up. Leroy’s blue eyes swim in and out of focus before they’re replaced by dark brown ones.

Sam.

She’s kneeling over me and has her hands on the side of my head.

“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. What did you do?!,” she whispers frantically, her eyes darting between mine.

I go to say something, but she shushes me by pressing a finger against my lips. “Don’t answer that. Save your strength. Just stay awake, okay, keep looking at me.”

I don’t know why’s she’s telling me to stay awake, but then I feel the almost irresistible pull of sleep tugging on my insides.

My eyes flutter, but I can’t in good conscience rest until I know it’s over— until I know that everyone’s okay.

“T-Tara. . . Chad,” I whisper, my eyes momentarily focusing on the pendant of Sam’s necklace. It twinkles in the low light and fills me with an indescribable warmth, knowing that she hasn’t taken the necklace off since I’ve given it to her. It also somehow chases away the panic that threatened to wash over me just a moment ago when I realized I couldn’t move.

“They’re okay,” Sam says, her voice breaking which makes me look at her again. Her eyes are filled with tears and her bottom lip is quivering the same way it did when I collapsed at the hospital a year ago. “They’re both okay. Kirby’s okay, too.”

I exhale shakily and blink back my own tears. “So, it’s over?”

Sam nods, running her thumbs over my cheek. “It is and help is on the way, so try to stay awake, okay? I know you’re tired, and you’re in a lot of pain because you took quite a fall, but you have to stay awake.“

“Quite a fall” feels like an understatement, but I don’t comment on it. I just shake my head and sigh quietly.

“‘M not in pain,” I slur, feeling my consciousness slipping away again.

It’s true, I’m not in pain. I just can’t move, but that’s okay because I know everyone else is okay. They’re all going to be okay, including Gale and Liam.

“What do you mean you’re not in pain? You just fell ten feet! How can you not be in pain?” Sam grabs my hand and laces our fingers together. I can’t feel it, but I see her doing it. I also see her furrowing her eyebrows when my hand stays limp before realization dawns on her.

“Y/N. . .” Tears roll down her face and I want nothing more but to reach up and wipe them away, but I can’t. “You’re— You’re—“

“‘S okay,” I whisper, trying my best to smile. “I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not, you’re not,” she hiccups and lets go of my hand again to cradle my head and the back of my neck just as my eyes begin to flutter. “Hey, keep your eyes open! You hear me, Y/N?! Keep your eyes open!”

But I’m so tired and she’s here. She’s finally here after everything that’s happened.

“Sam?”

Tara’s voice makes Sam look up and I take that as my chance to close my eyes.

Just for a little bit, I tell myself, but as soon as my eyes close, darkness washes over me.

“Y/N? Y/N!”

They’re all okay.

She’s here.

_______________________________________________

Before you come for me I just want to say that—spoiler alert—we’re going to be okay!

This part was a pain to write, but it’s done and I can rest now.

Only one more part to go!

Tag list: @bella423 @artrizzler19 @btay3115 @canyonyodeler @quadofthec @pussyydestroyer @rqizzu @pithod @morganismspam23 @idontliketoread2137

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Is there a chance you can make the yan! dorm leaders (mostly Leona and Malleus) react to their darling who acts like Jinx from Arcane? if you don't know Arcane you can ignore this.

Jinx Reader | Yandere Twisted Wonderland

You are erratic, you’re creative, you’re always building something, and you always seem to be armed. Hanging from rafters or gargoyles, you fit right in with the colorful characters of Night Raven College. So it's no surprise that so many are enraptured by you. If they can survive you that is they’ll make sure no one else around you does:

Malleus Draconia

“You never cease to amaze me child of man!”

If you are not found conducting major renovations on Ramshackle, your spray paint your tag on different gargoyles of Night Raven

At first, he may not be too fond of this 

but when he finally gets to meet you 

He’s happy there’s a piece of you on the things he loves

He’s aware you're a bit of an outcast but it only means he gets more of your attention

Like with Silko, you establish intimacy without acknowledgment for personal space and he’s all about it

RIP to Sebek should he have anything to say

Luckily for Sebek, you’d sooner point a gun and threaten him than wait for Malleus to exact his own punishment

You scare most people away anyway

So whenever you have doubts or insecurities they come to him 

Malleus is sure to filter out anything that he doesn’t like

“Of course, your toys are appreciated by the student body. No one has died and the screams of joy echo throughout the entire college. Fear not, my love.”

His and your sense of fun and ‘what's okay’ is really skewed

It's so bad Lillia needs to be a father figure the both of you

But since Malleus is so….Malleus, he doesn’t always decide to listen to him

So it's quite possible you two will decide to bring wonderland to an end for funsies

“I’ve always wanted to give the world a taste of me!”

“And they will have it, my Love. Since I will it, your creations will be on everyone’s minds!”

Leona Kingscholar

“You’re such a wreck. I couldn’t call you an herbivore even if I tried.”

He’s mostly amused by your just bizarre nature

You probably first met because you jumped and continued to snuggle him

He’s also enamored with the way you so easily point your guns at the bigger guys in Savvannaclaw

From then on no one's going to question you

In fact, you're so unhinged the Savannaclaw students group around you like they do with Leona

And he couldn’t be happier

It's like you're the perfect accessory to his crimes

In the future, any scheme is proposed by you 

Because your like “If you want it I’ll get it for you”

He’s the one who has to reel you in

He starts having a problem though when people want to take you down a notch

Whether they trash your workshop or severely damage something big you’ve been working on

“T-they-! R-ruined it! It’s all destroyed!”

“I’m right here. I’m right here. You know me, I won’t let them get away with this.”

And he won’t 

while you’re curled up in the fetal position on his bed, he’s hunting down the poor fools who are going to be paralyzed by the time he’s done

“Y-you beat them up for me?”

“You’re my mate. It’s only natural I avenge you. Now stop crying and sleep.”

“Okay!”

Vil Schoenheit

“If only you put as much work into your inventions as you did your reputation.”

He can deal with radical personalities 

He works with Rook every day after all

But unlike his vice warden who is adamant about maintaining beauty 

you care more to build an invention that's going to ruin everyone else’s beauty

But he loves you still

Even when you have a hard time sitting still while he’s doing your makeup he loves you obsessively

“Darling, you left one of your gadgets in my suitcase!”

“Toss it this way!”

“I’m not. I know what your clicker toys do and I have a shoot today.”

He gains an uncanny knowledge of what all of your inventions do

And he gets just as good at dodging anything you throw at him

But of course, he’s not the only one under fire

Some fans eventually do find you despite your reclusive nature

And it's easy for them to threaten you indirectly through your inventive space

Vil will take control as he usually does

He’ll happily create an untraceable potion and invite the aggressors over to tea

And even when he makes them apologize he’s not giving them the real antidote

People from the outside will say he acts like your parent 

But he likes taking care of you

In fact, if you start trying to move on your own 

He tugs you back by your heartstrings

“Don’t you love me? Don’t you trust me, darling?!”

“Of course I do Vil! I just wanted to help pay the bills you know?”

“But Darling don’t you know I already pay for everything? Even all your inventions? Let’s not change that now, okay?”

Idia Shroud

“Oh? A fellow builder, huh? Maybe we can...have a bit of a wager. I’d love to see how you fare against me!”

You and him are two peas in a pod

Both of you are something of mad scientists

So you two are always inventing with one another

Normally in demented competition you both love to test your newest inventions with another

“Ah~(Y/n)-shi let’s make a bet!”

“First one to blow up is the winner?”

“And the loser has to be support?

“And the winner?”

“Hehe the winner…gets to make the loser reenact the actions from the R-18 doujin!”

“Awww poor ‘dia you’ll be so embarrassed when I have you reenact the maid scene!”

“Not as cute as you’ll be when I enact page 69.”

You two love wagers 

It’s Idia’s favorite game

To bet with you is the best

He could ask for nothing more

So its only natural he uses his newest inventions to torment whoever he was hearing through the bug he placed on you

He still gets shy but he can’t help but smile when you turn your attention toward him

“Mine! The winner of this game is me! You’re all mine!”

Azul Ashengrotto

“You truly are an enigma, (Y/n). I insist you join Octavinelle for the next year.”

He’s used to dealing with someone who is heavily swayed by mood

And he always has uses for your newest inventions

And since he’s always keeping you busy theres less of a chance you realize how much he shelters you

“Since you so willingly took up all of our commissions the least I could do was offer you this space.”

“Wow it has all the stuff I like in here! It looks so much like my room! How’d you know?”

“Lucky guess? I also made sure that I’d deliver your favorite meals at the correct hours of the day.”

“Yay!”

He’s merciless against those who seek to cut him out 

And he does whatever he has to to make sure they suffer for the crime of gaining your favor

he blushes when you're comfortable enough to sit on his lap 

he loves it all the more

And he promises to keep this as his special payment

All within the contract, you so easily signed 

He’s completely within his rights to do so

“As per our agreement, you can only build for me or concede and become mine.”

Riddle Rosehearts

“You have no rules or reason! Someone needs to whip you into shape and that will be me!”

He thinks your crazy

Which obviously means he has to take control

Forget about your love for explosives 

And forget about your habits with guns

“You’re royalty show some decorum!”

“Decorum? Forget that I’d rather be poor then!”

“Not possible. I won’t allow it.”

“Oh yeah? Than what do you say to my lovely Pow-Pow?”

“I say: “Off with your head!”

He’s intent on “fixing you” or at least encouraging a ‘better you’

And it's all because he’s grateful

When he was so used to keeping within the lines his mother had placed for him 

You made him happy with that spontaneity you just seemed to have

Now it was his turn

His turn to bring the order that you needed 

You needed him 

not anyone else

He’d sooner let your old habits return than let some plebian steal you away

“Fine I will let you use one of your…toys but I have a target for you. And if you do that successfully I can allow some lee way in your desserts.”

Kalim Al Asim

“Wow your exciting as always, (Y/n)!”

Leave it to you to be matched or even outdone by the prince’s optimism

He’s so enthusiastic about you

there's no reason you wouldn’t agree to date him

“I’m so excited! Now you can stay here forever with me!”

“Hehehe, Kalim I can’t wait either! Now I can show you all the cool gadgets I build and you can help me try them!”

“Yeah!” 

Even with the more violent results, he’s still cheering you on

Something that surprises many 

But should you try to expand your circle or become more adept at speaking to others

Something begins to snap

Slowly but surely the prince is making sure he’s your only close confidant

And at the end of the day, you’ll come to him for cuddles

Just as heplanned always wants

“Haha did you miss me today, (Y/n)? Because I missed you!”

[crowandmousewritingco]

If You're Reading This

Pairing: Joel Miller x nb!reader

Word Count: 4.5k

Rating: PG-13, there's no spice. It's all angst bay-beeeeeee

Summary: You met Joel while out on a 'hunting run', you startle him and in return he almost shoots you. After everything settles the two of you get to talking and decide to stay in contact one of the only ways, via letters. Over the time writing each other, you grow feelings for him, and learn things about yourself that you don't know how he'll handle. Telling him, he goes silent, but you refuse to give up hope. Will your hope be enough to keep you going?

Author: Mod Crow (Got a new job so life has been ahhhhh)

Author's Note: The reader says their age. This was for @burntheedges' Roll-A-Trope! I was very back and forth on how I wanted this to play out, in the end I'm pretty happy with it.

Masterlist

Warnings: Language, mentions of suicide, and mentions of raiders and guns.

Dear Joel,

Thanks for not shooting me today, I wasn’t even in my best attire to die. I’m kidding. Not about the not shooting me thing. 

It was nice really meeting someone who didn’t want to kill me or rob me. It was also nice having the help dragging a deer all the way back to this place. I only hope my butchering and fileting skills aren’t getting rusty. But hey, if they are, you said something about you showing me “the way it’s done in the big beauty of Texas” or however you worded it. I know you aren’t here, but I need you to know that I’m currently laughing. I made myself laugh. Gods, I’m losing it aren’t I?

 Anyways, I should probably start cooking myself something to eat before the sun goes down. If you ever head this way and stop at this place, you should leave me a little letter or something. Obviously, I left this one for you in an obvious spot -and that’s what you should do as well- then after that we can start putting them in more well-hidden places, we can’t have someone finding them before we have a chance to. But that’s for the next letter.

-Y.F.

P.S. Y.F. means your favorite, I know what I am, you don’t have to tell me.

Hey Smartass,

Now that I like the sound of. Oh, and drop the formality, I’m not your pen pal or some shit like that. Ellie wanted me to tell you that “if you try to replace her as my favorite, she will stab you”. I don’t pick favorites. Just so you know. I haven’t had a favorite person in a while now…

God let’s stop talking about the sad shit anymore. I saw a baby squirrel on the porch as I was walking up. I thought maybe he had lost his mama or daddy; I’m thinking that’s what he also thought because when one of his -what I can only assume- parents came back they had scared that poor little thing so bad that he damn near jumped three feet high. I was kind of wishing you could have seen it, I remember you telling me how much you loved nature and all that stuff. Don’t read into that.

Anyways, I don’t know what it’s like heading up from the southwest, but Ellie and I ran into more raiders than we normally do. I don’t know why there’s more, but I’m not liking how things are looking.  

I left you some ammo and rations hidden in the fireplace. Ellie left you something, she wouldn’t tell me, besides that it was hidden in the bathroom. That’s all she told me, so I’m guessing that means good luck. 

-Joel 

I’m not calling you my favorite, I don’t have a favorite between you two nuisances 

Dear party-pooper,

Yes, that’s what I’m calling you from now on, you fucking party-pooper. ANYWAYS, I found your stash, thanks. The ammo was a life saver…literally…the rations could have at least been a good one. You left me some beef jerky (the only good thing in that damn ration), some stale ass cracker, and some unidentifiable fruit-like substance. 

The raiders though, they’ve actually been better. Based on my guess, I think they might have migrated up your way. If you think it’s getting too bad for a bit, I get that, don’t feel pressured to write me back whenever you’re here next. 

On a lighter note, Ellie hid a book that she’d think I’d like. So far, her shot in the dark has struck bull’s-eye. Tell her I said thank you. As for where she hid it -you’re gonna love this- she pulled the medicine cabinet off the upstairs bathroom’s wall, knocked out a small bit of drywall, and hid it in the wall before replacing the cabinet. It took me far longer than it should have, but who the fuck would look behind the cabinet on the wall? The cabinet, mind you, looked like it had never been pulled off the wall. Fuck, I really gotta give her credit for how creative she is with hiding places. You should take notes. Your hiding spots in the past have been…kinda in plain sight. Love you old man, but you suck at hiding. Expect, I give you credit to this last drop, up the chimney fluke. Maybe you still have it in you after all, old man.

Anyways…I left some things for you in the door of the fridge. It’s not much this time, things have been rough at this place. We let in this new couple, and they’ve been super suspicious. The first night they were here, the woman -Gabrielle- was found snooping around in the owner of the farm’s wife’s dresser. Gabrielle couldn’t give us a straight answer as to why she was snooping. That wasn’t even the weirdest bit, that same night the man -Kenneth- was snooping around in ALL of our shit. I woke up at gods only know, probably 3 or 4 in the morning. I didn’t think he got any of shit. I didn’t look though, and that’s on me. He got away with most of the things I was going to give you, what he didn’t take is hidden for you. I left Ellie some magazines I found about alternative bands from before the pandemic. I don’t even know if she knows what alternative music is, gods you probably don’t know what alternative music is. I’ll explain that to you in person one of these days. 

-Your favorite nuisance 

You fucking child, 

You and Ellie act like the exact same person sometimes I swear. Sometimes I feel like it’s just Ellie leaving me these notes. 

Forget all that, you said that the ammo I stashed for you came in handy? What happened? Are you okay? Were you injured? What happened to the other guy? That’s something I would have paid to see. If half of what the shit you’ve said in the past were true, then you’re a pretty good aim. 

What you left me enough, the granola was honestly a god sent. You have no idea how boring coffee was getting. Ellie also said -and I quote- “Hell yeah these bitches look sick.” I have no idea where she’s heard that, because it sure as hell wasn’t me. 

Backtracking -kind of- I know we’ve talked raiders, how have those fucking clickers been? I think because of that “migration” or whatever the hell you called it, they’ve been out there killing those fuckers while they snuck through the shadows. Our raider problem went up, but the clicker problem. It’s been too quiet recently. But following that thought, your raider problem went down, so that means your clicker problem got worse. Didn’t it? Fuck… You’re a pain in my ass, but I like this banter I get to have. You should come with Ellie and I back to our little place. It isn’t much, but Ellie’s been complaining that where we are isn’t “comfortable”. I swear she says what she says just to test my patience. But, yeah, Ellie would love it. She’d never shut up and it wouldn’t be me for once. Just give us the when and we’ll meet you here.

-Joel M.

Hey grumpy,

I think I like this nickname the best so far. I do swear one thing to you grumps, I am 100% NOT Ellie. I’m your…something. I’ve been kinda held up in my room at the farm this past week. I’ve been thinking about some things after the raiders. That’s not something I lied about; I am a pretty good shot. So was the leader of the little gang. He was 100% aiming for my head, I’m only alive because I got lucky. He drew his gun quicker than I did, he aimed quicker than I could, and he pulled that fucking trigger before I could…His gun jammed. It took me a minute to even register that I was still alive. When I realized though, gods, was I ready. Almost dying makes you really think about how you want to be remembered by people. 

I don’t even know if what I’m thinking would make sense to you. Ellie might, but all she’s ever known is…well whatever it is she grew up knowing. These are things that I haven’t thought about since…fuck, well before the outbreak. Bare with me as I try to figure out to explain this in writing that isn’t going to be a fucking novel. 

Actually, before I do that, I want to get this out there first. if you aren’t sure you want to be a part of this emotional blah, I got lucky. Ken left his bag open in Gabrielle’s room right next to her bag in her room! What’s even better? Neither of them were anywhere near the bags, Gabrielle was helping with dinner and Ken was helping with fence repair. I left you just under half of the ammo they had -hey, gotta keep myself safe- and Ken’s utility hatchet like thing (you’ll see what I mean). I also snatched you some more granola. I have no idea how this old couple is doing it, but they have so many oats. They also have a fucking bee house! You know what that means? Fresh honey! And just for you grumps, I snatched a mason jar for the two of you. Honey’s also good for a sore throat. I know it’s getting cold out there. I’ve actually been knitting (I know, I must be lying about my age. I’m not, I swear. I learned how to knit because of my grandma. When I was probably six or seven, I made a huge deal out of wanting to learn to do what my grandma was doing. So, she taught me. After the outbreak, I needed something to do with my hands, otherwise things…things would be incredibly different right now. Gods, sorry about the ramble.) some scarves for the two of you. You have no idea how much yarn got left behind in the stores. If after you read this, you decide you still want me to go with you I will. We can do it the weekend after next. Next week is my birthday and Marieann and George (the old couple of the farm) told me that it was “my day to relax and rest up after the hard year.” Who am I to go against what a sweet old lady tells me to do? That being said, I don’t like not knowing what’s going on and how the two of you are doing. At this point, what’s even the point of keeping track of birthdays anymore? Like, “Yay I lived another horrid year on this dying hunk of space rock, can’t wait to suffer through another one! Anyways, I'm sneaking out past curfew to leave you a note if the plan has changed. Anywho…I found more magazines for Ellie. I’ve hid them in the pantry. She’s smart. Your is hidden in the basement behind that dresser, it’s the same idea as what the kid did in the upstairs bathroom cabinet.

Back to the emotional blah…If anything I write doesn’t make sense, you can try asking Ellie. She may know. Gods, I thought it would be easier to write this out, not having to see your weathered (ignore that) expression change. To what? I don’t know. Anything? Fuck it…Joel when we meet, I thought I had figured myself out. When I met you, I was sure I was a woman. I don’t think that I am…I’m not a man either though. I’m neither? I don’t know how to explain this. Okay, so I was she/her when we met, you were -and still are- he/him. Well, if I’m neither of them I have to have a way to refer to myself, right? I do, instead of she or he, I’m…them. Or they! Well, it’s more like both, they/them. Gods I’m shaking so bad right now haha, I’m just really scared of losing you two…You two have been the first good thing since this shitstorm started. I know I can’t make you write me back, but I can ask you to at least leave me something saying you’ll either come back and write a new note or some kind of…I don’t know sign? That doesn’t feel like the right word, but note isn’t the word I want to use…I don’t know Joel, just please leave something. I don’t care how long it takes; I’ll keep coming back till I get another note from you. Even if that means I die doing this because you chose to leave, and I wouldn’t hate you for it. 

That’s all I’ve to say. I really do…like you Joel, when thinking, remember I am the person from all of those letters and the few times we met.

-Your Raven no    Magpie also no Crow now that’s one I like

Joel, 

Hey, I came back this weekend, I’m 26 now! Yay! I’m not going to lie; I’m terrified right now. The clickers are getting worse around the farm, they aren’t too bad on the way here yet, but I know they will be.

I checked to see if you took the stuff, and you did. I saw that Ellie left me a comic book and a band shirt from one of those mags I gave her. I can’t believe she was able to find one, let alone one in my size. I also saw that you left me some ammo and another ration. I know it isn’t much, but it’s something. It gives me hope, and that’s all most of us have nowadays. Along with that hope, I also hope that you'll come back again. If that’s the case, I’ve left you both some things, same places as last. 

Joel, for you, more granola (enough for the both of you), a scarf for you, some peach preserves (Marieann opened up some preserves she had made to be opened about this time), and some bread I baked. I warn the bread isn’t pretty, but with the chill, it should last a bit longer.

For Ellie, her scarf, a couple of mangas I found (this will be fun to hear how that goes), a Swiss army knife I found on a dead raider (I know it’s gruesome, but it’s the world we live in now), and a slightly used deck of cards. I felt like she could find a way to entertain herself why you do whatever it is you do when you want to be alone.

-Your hope filled Crow

Hey again,

You took the things again, and you left some more for me. It’s still something. No matter how little. It just hit me, these letters are going to be getting shorter and shorter until I hear from you huh?

Should I even keep writing to you? Maybe don’t answer that. Or do. You take all the time you need. I’m leaving you guys some more things, the same place as before.

-Your Crow

Hey, 

I’m sorry about how long it took, I’ll be honest, I didn’t understand at all, and it freaked me out a bit. I asked Ellie if she they understood it and they did. They also came to realize that about themselves too. No, I don't fully understand it, but I’m willing to learn.

Thanks for the scarves, they’ve really helped with the chill at night. Ellie was so intrigued by that one that I’m guessing was the manga. I have no idea if they figured it out, but they’re having a blast trying. 

The clickers have been a bit more active around us too. I wonder where they’re all coming from though. 

Ellie and I are ready to head out, just tell us when. We’ve gathered all we could, the rest of the stuff we’re leaving is replaceable. Thanks to your scarf we’ve managed to carry a bit more stuff, not the way you meant for them to be used but they’re multifaceted. 

I don’t know if Ellie has anything to leave, but I’m assuming it’s in the bathroom. I don’t have much to leave, I found some yarn. I just happened upon it when looting some cars on the main road. I also found a broken bow. I don’t know if you can fix it, but maybe that old man, George(?) could fix it, or maybe someone else in the house. They’re in the basement, it’s the only place they’d fit. 

I want to help you keep that hope alive. I have one of my own, I hope we can get somewhere warm and safe together.

Joel, with…

Holy fuck,

Joel, you came back?! Thank you fuck…thank you. If you could see me, I am a mess right now. Gods you’d get a kick. 

I wasn’t able to fix the bow, but George was! I guess he used to bow hunt back in the day. He said it may take him a bit; he has to dig out his tools. I’ll leave a letter the night before with an update. If you find a letter then there’s kink in the plans, if you don’t find a letter then it’s because I was there waiting, or I died. Or some other third thing, I like being dramatic sometimes. 

With this plan may be happening, I’m not leaving much. This time it’s a kindle of firewood. Dry firewood hidden in the sugar in a mason jar. I remember you saying you drank coffee, and you were growing tired of the taste. So have some sugar, make it sweeter. Maybe add honey too. 

-Your Crow

Dear Joel,

I know you hate the formality of these kinds of letters, but for once, just let it be. See the thing is I’m writing this as a “worst case scenario��� kinda thing… I started writing about an hour ago for me, gods only know how long it’s been for you. To put in perspective the time difference, I’m writing this the same day I read your letter you had left, the letter about the plans about me coming with the two of you to find somewhere else. 

I don’t know what has happened to me to force my hand in leaving this letter, but if I had to take a shot in the dark, I’ve probably been shot by other survivors. I’ve been bitten. If I remember, I’ll try to come back and write what really happened. Anyways, I know we had a plan, I also know that you’re a strong man. You don’t need me; I would have just slowed you down. So now you have to promise me you’ll keep that kid safe. Oh, and if you happen to find yourself in Omaha -I know we’re several hundred miles away, but you never know- stop by 1004 Cicada drive. It’s where I was living when all of the shit hit the fan. Now, I won’t be there to give you the tour, so you better not go tracking mud or anything inside. 

Look, there are some things in that house that I think could be beneficial to you, I know you’ll find what you need. I have some things out in the garage, there’s some other things in the attic, and then there’s some things down in the basement’s crawl space. Now, it’s going to be dusty and dirty down there, but back before all of this, it was a beautiful basement. I had just finished painting it that beautiful blue color that has since been destroyed by some fucking raiders. Fuck, look at me gushing over my old basement. I must really sound like some weird fucker, huh? 

Anyways, if I’m dead and that’s why you’re reading this, I just wanted to tell you some things…Where do I even start? I guess I’ll start light, that’s what you do right? I don’t know why I keep asking questions, I don’t know your answers to them. Gods do I wish I did know your answers, writing this with the unknown has been killing me. If you could see me right now, you’d have a pretty good laugh, I’m shaking like the last fall leaf in a big dying tree in the middle of a tornado. Fuck, I’m rambling…Look I’m really happy we ran into each other when we did, that day you almost shot me in the forest -behind this decrepit house- I lied to you. You asked me why I was out there, I told you I was looking for some animals to catch. I wasn’t…I couldn’t take any more of this bullshit. So, I was gonna beat the zombies to my death, and I wasn’t giving them the satisfaction of bringing me back to be some brainless creature monster. I was going to paint a bit of the forest with gray matter. When you insisted on helping me because you also needed food, I was honestly kinda pissed. But now? Now I’m happy you stuck around. Joel, I don’t wanna make you feel any type of way but…You are the only reason I’m still here on this shithole of a planet. Also…you sticking around had affected me in ways I wasn’t expecting…Joel thanks to you Joel, spending all of that time with you, getting to actually know you, exchanging stories, all of that shit. All of that meant means far more than you could understand, and in that time, I grew to fell in love with you Joel. 

I should have told you in person not through a piece of paper. I know there isn’t much I can say now…. but I am sorry. I wish I could have told you in person, I really do, I wish I could have heard your lips say it back. I can only imagine how your raspy, yet honeysuckle sweet voice would say those three words “I. Love. You.” Gods the thought of it…

Anyways, if I keep going, I might accidently write you a book. For whatever reason it is that made me tell you where to find this, I’m happy I got to meet you when I did. Make sure to tell Ellie I said hi. You make sure you keep that girl safe or so Gods help you, Joel Miller. 

-Your Crow, with love

P.S. Joel I don’t know how much longer I have till I turn, but I just wanted to say before I die, I love you Joel, tell Ellie I love her too. I left you my remaining ammo and handgun. I left Ellie my lucky bullet casing -we both know she’ll love it- and my bracelet, the one with that little metal rabbit foot charm. You have no idea how excited I was to leave that lonely farm. I would finally be with people I cared about and who cared about me. Like who actually cared about me. 

I had a weird feeling that this is how things would go, so I planned. I know I’m leaving you my handgun and ammo. The handgun only has one bullet right now. You can fill it the rest of the way and leave, or you can do what I was too scared to do in the end…Kill me. Right now, I’m in the kitchen writing this. I don’t feel good, I feel like someone beat me with a lead pipe. My head is throbbing, and I can’t tell if I’m sweating because I’m hot with a fever, or if because of a cold chill. 

I thought I’d have a bit of time, you know, write you some more, pour my heart out on paper for you, but I don’t. It wasn’t a deep bite, but it was a bite, nonetheless. I tried to sneak past this clicker, I was doing so well until I lost my balance and stumbled, twisting my ankle. I didn’t try to fight it, I thought I’d have better luck running back here. I didn’t…  

I love you Joel, I really really ….

*Joel’s POV*

Your writing at the end was practically ineligible, trailed off almost. Joel wasn’t quite sure, what he was sure of, was the feeling of his heart break. An all too familiar break, one he hadn’t felt since Sarah’s mom…

Joel quickly and silently tore his path through the house, he was certain that you were playing some kind of sick cruel joke. 

“Joel. Joel! Come on man,” Joel could hear Ellie, but for some reason his legs wouldn’t stop. He had to prove Ellie wrong, that’s why. Yeah, that makes sense. “Joel, Jesus fucking Christ. STOP!” Hearing Ellie’s loud voice had pulled him to a halt. 

“Joel, I know you loved them man, I did too. I don’t know what hell-bent path you’re on, but you aren’t going to find them okay. I know,” Joel looked to Ellie, his unfocused eyes taking a moment. When his eyes finally focused, he could see it, he could see the tears that were pouring from Ellie’s face. That’s when he realized he too was crying. “I looked for them after I found their rabbit’s foot bracelet. I think they’re in the basement, the door is locked or jammed. I can’t get it open.” Joel swallowed the pained howls that wanted to rip through his tired body. Clearing his throat, Joel quickly wiped his face on his jacket sleeve. 

“You stay up here; I’ll get it figured out. No matter what, I don’t care if you're curious or something else, don’t under any circumstances come down there am I clear?” Joel clenched his jaw, he needed something to focus on something, so why not something he can do. 

Ellie never responded verbally, but Joel saw the stiff nod. Turning from Ellie Joel tried to make quick work of finding the things you left. It took him far less time than he expected. Joel also found a key; one he could only assume you left. It wasn’t particularly noteworthy or showy, but if he had to guess, it would unlock that basement door. Was that even something he wanted to do? Kill you? Or rather, kill the already dead you? 

Heading back to the dining room, Joel looked at the things he had found in the house. The one catching his attention first? Your handgun. The one with only one bullet loaded in it. Picking up the gun, Joel examined it in his hand, the handle was worn, faint groves noticeable to the touch. The metal on it had definitely seen better days, days when the metal was clean and before it was used in all of this shit. 

Swallowing the lump in his throat down, Joel took the key -along with the gun- to the basement door. Standing there, Joel simply stared at the handle. God only knows how long he stood there, but hearing Ellie walk into the dining room, pulled him back to the doorknob in hand. Gripping the gun tighter, Joel carefully put the key into the knob. Giving it a trying twist, Joel felt it resist for a second, before a soft ‘click’ could be heard. Gripping the knob, Joel twisted it slowly and carefully pulled the door open. There wasn’t a single sound coming from the basement, maybe you had found a way to do this. Something he was now dreading. Readying the gun, Joel carefully made his way down the stairs, trying to be as light as possible on his feet. 

Once his feet hit the basement floor, Joel clicked on his flashlight. The basement wasn’t huge by any means, but it did have a smaller room off the back wall. Walking towards the doorway, Joel practically held his breath to listen for the all too well known cl-

The sound of clicking slowly filling the air as he grew closer. The sound put him to a stop. Can he really do this? Yes, because you shouldn’t have to be one of them. Clenching his jaw Joel continued on. 

In the doorway, Joel could barely make out the shadow of you, or at least what used to be you. It was kind of hard to tell for certain where the bite was for certain, but it seemed as if it was your shoulder. As he stood there, Joel was silent, he wanted to remember what you were like, this wasn’t you and he knew that. You were gone by now, long gone and he knew that. Raising the gun, Joel closed his eyes for a moment. Opening his eyes, Joel cocked the handgun, the click of the hammer grabbing your attention. Staring at what used to be your face, Joel could feel the tears run down his face. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t quicker my Crow.” His last word punched through the silence, with the loud echo of a spent shell.

'''''''

The divider was made by the beautiful @mikeykuns

All Works Taglist

@for-a-longlongtime @romanarose

Pedro Character Taglist

@littlemisspascal @burntheedges

@carusolikey @thebeldroramscal

@morallyinept @lady-bess

@pedrostories @rivnedell

@pascalsanctuary @readingiskeepingmegoing

[lavenderleahy]

First Lines of 2025

tagged by @cliophilyra @loucifersbitch @typicalopposite @bidisasterevankinard and @bangpop91 thank you friends!

Here is a little more of my post-8x06 buddietommy fix it!

“Listen, no offense, but his place is a lot nicer than yours. Your apartment is cool and all. Very sleek and modern. But Tommy has a home.” Buck lets that sink in. Thinks about the Muay Thai set-up in Tommy’s fixer-upper. The car lift. The attic that he finished himself. The beautifully painted living room with the electric fireplace and reading nook. The remodeled bathroom that used to have awful pink tiles. Buck’s seen the pictures.  He groans and puts his head in his hands. The weight of what he’s done crushes him a little bit. “Did I completely fuck up?” “No, Buck, of course not,” Eddie says, bringing a soothing hand to rub his back. “You probably just… jumped the gun a little bit.” “But he didn’t say that. He didn’t say we should slow down. He– he– he ended things.” “Well, what did he say?” So Buck tells him everything. Tells him about the Abby of it all. About his conversation with Josh. About “I’m not your last, I’m your first.” It all tumbles out of him in a rush, but once he starts he can’t stop.  And it feels good to get it all out. Once he’s finished, Eddie whistles again. It’s kind of annoying, if he’s honest. Buck thinks if Eddie could stop being astounded by his misery, that would be great.

I feel like most people I would tag have been tagged already, so in an effort to spread the wealth I'm also tagging some non-911 friends under the cut. Feel free to ignore if you don't wish to participate!

@swiftiefirefighters @sleepywinchesters @acesartemis @queermccoy @aplaceinme @comfortingevanbuckley @aringofsalt @miriellesandthegiantpeach @ladyofthe-lake @outhaulscheme @megalod0nn @edmundo-noches-buckley @verobatto @jjudaslips @wanderingcas

[rachetmath]

Jaune's Final Act

Jaune: Okay, so from all the information you all have shown me, again thank you all, I think we should discuss some things.

Winter: Indeed. 

Ruby: We need to do something.

Jaune: Okay, first let's discuss the Crown. As Coco told me they were a horrible organization. They target people, especially with valuable semblances. Not to mention they are now partner with Tyrian. A wild card that we may not be able to predict.

Qrow: Yeah he is a slipper guy.

Jaune: We have no idea what their next move will be so we need to be prepared. So I think we send Emerald Sustrai in to infiltrate and spy on them. 

Ruby: What- No!

Jaune: I’m sorry why not?

Nora: Jaune we can't trust her.

Jaune: why not?

Yang: Well she-

Jaune: Penny is dead. You got a new arm. Your name is clear. Get over it. First off, we don't know what Tyrian knows. Tyrian might not know what's happened in Atlas. Even so, we’re not letting go as she but in disguise. 

Nora: But Jaune-Jaune-

Jaune: The woman helped us in evacuation. And has not she not protected this city from Grimm?

Winter: Well-

Ren: She probably informed Cinder and that's-

Jaune: Has anyone interrogated her? Robyn.

Robyn: Well um-

Jaune: So we jump to conclusions. Plus this is perfect for her to prove herself so why not let her walk?

Blake: Jaune she was a-

Jaune: Blake we have files and you told me about your old life so don't try to play. 

Blake: … …

Jaune: Yang didn't you destroy someone's property and drive past the speed limit? Shouldn't you be in debt?

Yang: … … …

Jaune: Ruby you interfered in the hunting business more than one time. You know you could've been charged a fine right? In fact, you be arrested.

Ruby: Um…

Jaune: And Weiss. You. Your sister. Your mom. Or your brother. Someone's could do some time considering the Schnees' shady deals. In fact, Klian can take the fall.

Weiss and Winter: *scared*

Jaune: Like I said let her walk. We need her. Next is the Grimm attacks. They are skyrocketing. This may be due to our mistake of bringing too many people to Vacuo. Not to mention Vale citizens. So… I am afraid we need to escort some of them out.

Robyn: What?! Objection!

Obleck: I agree, Mr.Arc. That is cruel.

Jaune: Oh really how so?

Robyn: We can't force these people out. They will have nowhere to go.

Jaune: We forcefully brought these people here. They don't like being here let alone with each other. 

Robyn: Well our people-

Jaune: Stop. You talk a big game yet you haven't done jack for your people. Where were you when they needed you? What were you doing besides making their situation worse?

Robyn: EXCUSE ME!? I’ll have you-

Jaune: When you kept stealing from the military did you ever occur to you that could have caused Martial law to be In place? In fact, even without Martial law, you caused more problems like with more security. More guns. Largerer curfew hours. Was what you were trying to accomplish worth that than for your people?

Robyn: … 

Jaune: Not to mention Tyrian wouldn't be here or alive if it wasn't for a certain someone or two people for letting him escape. Was that worth it to you? Considering he hurt your team too.

Robyn: …

Winter: Say that we do consider your suggestion. How would we go about it and where would they go?

Jaune: I already spoke with Mr. Belladonna. 

Blake: My father. 

Jaune: Yep and he agrees to help. In fact, he said he could use some more hands considering the state Mantle was left in.

Ren: That isn't enough. 

Jaune: Well he also wanted to talk with you on this Ren.

Ren: He wants to use my old village.

Jaune: Yep to expand Faunus territory, gain more human relationships, and restore it. He even believes since it's your home you should one day lead it.

Ren: But- 

Jaune: Regardless that village is unclaimed territory right now. If he doesn't get it someone else will. I just want you to have your home back. You can discuss the terms with him. Your choice.

Ren: Okay.

Nora: Wait. Jaune… this could lead to our team- 

Jaune: I know.  

Winter: Okay besides that just Mistral- 

Ruby: Well we have Argus but we also have that one village we went to. And with Apathy gone, we could use that.

Jaune: But if that's the case we still need to send hunters to help.

Raven: Woo-woo kid. We can't send hunters on escort missions. 

Theodore: Yes we need as many hunters as possible. 

Jaune: Yes but we need to escort these people safely out of the city. 

Theodore: Are you suggesting what I think you are?

Jaune: …

Theodore: No.

Jaune: Sir please -

Theodore: They're just kids. First year. 

Jaune: One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. And nine for Pyrrha. Ten of you count Penny.

Theodore: Your point?

Jaune: Pyrrha a first year chosen to be a maiden. She died. Penny, another first year, was placed in charge of an entire city. Became soon after. Died.

Theodore: Mr. Arc I will have you know I am nothing like Ironwood and Ozpin. 

Jaune: I know. But my point still stands. These people, students, wanted to be hunters. But they lack experience. So why not give it to them? Let them show what they got. I mean they will be monitored but still.

Theodore: Very well.

Raven: Now for the tribes.

Jaune: We already set up a meeting with them after this one.

Raven: What?

Theodore: It's true. We need to know what tribes will be against us and who we can trust. You Miss Branwen will be my ascort. 

Raven: ….

Jaune: You have more tribal knowledge than any of us. You're our best shot.

Raven: …

Jaune: So. Does anyone have any suggestions or questions about this? 

Everyone is silent. 

Jaune: Look I understand I sound cruel. But I rather for once be ahead of the game this time.

Yang: You can’t control everything Jaune.

Jaune: I know. But at least I’m doing whatever I can instead of being an ass. 

Raven: We’re screwed.

After a long battle.

Raven: Holy crap.

Emerald: That’s right. That’s right. I did this. I came through. Mercury.

Mercury: I’m officially on the hero’s side. I’m nothing like my father.

Emerald: That’s right. 

Ren: My village will restored. And one day I must lead it. Blake, I hope you will help me.

Blake: Of course my friend.

Oobleck: Our numbers have increased. New homes have been established. 

Theodore: We still have the relic despite losing our maiden. But that was the casualty of war.

Ruby: I got maiden powers now.

Jaune: You're the main character.

Ruby: F*** you.

Raven: We really increased our chances. Get work kid.

Jaune: Yeah… *died*

Ruby: No! 

Cinder: *laugh* F*** you b****!

Ruby: I WILL KILL YOU!

In heaven

Jaune: Damn. Well, at least I turned up one last time.

Pyrrha: Jau-Jaune!

Jaune: Pyrrha. Penny! Alyx! Lewis!

Jaune hugs all of them. 

Pyrrha: I’m so- I’m so- sorry.

Penny: I am too. 

Jaune: Don’t be. I wish I’m sorry I-

Pyrrha: It’s okay. You did great out there. 

James: I think-

Penny: Shut up.

Summer: I mean-

Pyrrha: You died for nothing.

Jaune: I mean, come on, I died but at least I gave the world a better chance to survive. I focused on what mattered in the present instead of the future which changes constantly. I tried to bring humans and faunas together for a common goal and maintain relationships even after Salem was finished. 

In hell

Adam: Damn

In heaven

Jaune: I may have lost my life I didn’t go out like a b****. A coward. And a control freak. I went out like a G. Like Roman. 

In hell 

Roman: Damn right.

In heaven.

Jaune: Now you excuse. 

Pyrhha: *lifted bridal style*

Jaune: I think you owe me something for all my troubles.

Pyrrha: *blushes*Um.

Jaune takes Pyrrha away.

Penny: Have fun you two!

[sociopathicartist]

Heya! I was wondering if u could do a headcanon of how Sans would act to being at disneyland with his S/O for the first time??

hey! thank you for requesting these, this was light-hearted and fun:) i’ve never been to disneyland before so forgive me if some of my stuff wasn’t correct, i’m going off of what i see online.

UT Sans Disneyland headcanons.

Being at Disneyland didn’t appeal much to Sans at first. Why? Standing in 2-hour lines for a ride and seeing characters from movies he didn’t get to watch growing up just wasn’t a very appealing idea to him, at the least, he could only see himself going if Papyrus wanted him to.

So when you suggested the idea on a random whim one night in bed, it took a bit of convincing to get him to go with you. It was a good portion of money that the both of you’d be spending, and he just wasn’t sure if the price would be worth it for the experience.

But eventually, your pleas got to him, and he finally gave in.

➭ road trip

Sans surprisingly did enjoy the drive down to disneyland.

He drove the whole way there for you. Since you took care of him in many other aspects of your domestic life, so when it came to things like cooking or driving, he always jumped the gun and made sure it wasn’t a task of yours.

He kept playing eye-spy the entire way down with you, stopping at the gas station for snacks (a lot more often than he should have), and jamming out to some tunes with you on the radio. He didn’t want you to be bored on the drive there, and his hand somehow kept sneaking its way over to your thigh and mindlessly rubbing up and down without any further motives while you two talked.

➭ hanging out at the hotel

You didn’t ask him, but you were pretty sure that Sans’ favorite part of the whole trip was getting to stay in one of the resort hotels. He always loved staying in the hotels when you went anywhere, which evened out since you also loved doing the same with him, but he was enthralled with the rooms. Why was there disneyland on the headboard of the bed? Why was the carpet fireworks? Why was this bed so damn comfortable? He probably could have sunk into the mattress and stayed there the whole time if you hadn’t pried him away from his all-famous napping sessions.

He also really liked just collapsing on the bed after being outside all day, and if you got within an arm-length radius of him you’d be pulled down onto the bed, trapped with him, and most likely not to be seen again until morning.

‘uh-oh, seems you’re stuck here with me now.’

‘Sansss, don’t do this again, I have to get showered off and changed.’

‘tough, my bones are locking up around you, can’t let you go, babe.’

➭ going around the park

Surprisingly despite his doubts, Sans actually had a lot of fun on the disney rides. He obviously wasn’t a big fan of the lines you both had to wait in and despite the looks you got from other people around you, he kept clinging to you like velcro the entire wait while you both talked to pass the time. You couldn’t blame him, even though he didn’t have skin and the heat didn’t really bother him, he didn’t like standing still for so long without doing anything.

He wasn’t too big of a fan of getting photos with some of the characters, (you could have sworn that he was a bit shy about it), but he did put on some silly mickey mouse ears and snag some fun pictures with you for whatever princesses or mascots you wanted to see. It was just a little bit harder for him to relate to wanting to see the characters that much since he didn’t watch these movies growing up in the underground, but he did love seeing you happy about it.

➭ snacks and food

This may be a huuuge shock, but Sans really liked the snacks and meals. Despite his ick for the expensive price tags, he was almost always dragging you to get snacks with him every time he saw something he could eat. These snacks were just so weird and a bit cool to him, food wasn't mickey mouse shaped or disney movie themed back at home.

‘baby, babe, try this.’

‘Sans, isn’t that your fourth one? Do you want to go get something else to munch on instead?’

‘ehehe, i know something else i’d like to munch on.’

He also really liked the themed dinners, it was pretty cool being able to see characters come out and walk around the tables while you both ate. Needless to say, this man was pretty satisfied with your meal options during your trip.

➭ souvenirs

Sans did find quite a few things he wanted to bring back for Papyrus and your other friends, mostly just cute little trinkets or figures. He did take fondly to some of the more sci-fi stuff they had there, and he couldn’t help but grab some stuff he liked that he swore he’d be able to find a place for back at home in your shared bedroom.

He wasn’t a big fan of the themed shirts, but with some convincing, you both got a matching pyjama set that you said you’d make him wear with you since he held up a doll of stitch and said that it looked identical to you.

‘babe, you can’t deny that the resemblance is uncanny.’

‘Sans, I love you, but it’s time to put the stitch doll down.’

‘i guess you’re right, humans aren’t blue anyway.’

[sporadicthingcollection]

Smash or Pass: Part 1/4 (LA!Buggy the Clown x F!Reader)

Summary: It's the last stop before the Grand Line and you slink away for a quiet evening. The universe, however, decides to clown on you. Sequel to Kiss, Marry, Kill. Pairing: LA!Buggy the Clown x F!Reader Rating: Semi-explicit. Warnings: Alcohol, death threats, implied threat of sexual assault. Word Count: ~3.1k.

Mama told me what I should know

"Too much candy's gonna rot your soul

If she loves you, let her go'

Cause love only gets you down!"

---

PART 1: In which you are threatened with a knife, a gun, and a good time.

You thought the night would be fine. You thought no one in this bar would bother you. You thought you’d have a little nightcap or three and head back to the ship. You thought you’d have one last night to spend on your own before sharing a small space with five other people for the foreseeable future.

But nothing worked out as you’d hoped.

As soon as you got comfy at a table in the corner, a horde of rough-looking sailors descended and lit up the place. Loud. Rowdy. Obnoxious.

Ugh. At least they’re not Marines. You can lay low. Sink deep in your chair and focus on your drink.

Gazing into the scrying beer glass, you let your mind wander among the swirls. Thoughts ebb and flow.

Like how you need to remember to get more sutures before you cast off. Or how heavy your fingers feel under all the jewelry. How naked your ring fingers look with no adornment. Your family would be nagging you to get married by now. They’d like Sanji.

But they wouldn’t like that stupid, stupid clown.

He’s been on your mind a lot lately. You hate it. But how could he not be? Made you an offer you had to refuse. You tell yourself it wouldn’t have worked out. Where was he last month when you were looking for an escape? You hope you never see him again.

…but if you did see him again, you wouldn’t complain. He’d probably sidle up to you and say something like—

“Well, hello, gorgeous."

Yeah, that's exactly what he would say.

Wait. That was loud. That wasn’t your thoughts. It can’t be. You turn. 

Buggy the Clown grins at you. “Fancy meeting you here, Miss Sawbones."

You dive to the floor as he pulls a knife from his sleeve and throws it at you, sinking up to the handle in the wall. You clamber to your feet, put on your best snarl, and raise your fists.

All eyes are on you and Buggy as you size him up. The clink of chains and scrape of drawn swords sounds all around you. You’re not sure who your allies are, but you’re grateful for the support.

Especially because there’s just as many goons behind Buggy. He looks as surprised as you feel. His stance softens as he glances around. You could get a punch in while his guard is down—

“Hey!”

A gravelly voice splits the very air of the room. Like a child caught in the cookie jar, you freeze. You’re in big trouble.

Buggy freezes too. His shoulders hunch and his eyes go wide. He glances at you, and then to the side. You look in the same direction.

Standing behind the bar is a stout woman in an apron. A cigar dangles from her lips and she wields a wicked glare. Along with a very, very large shotgun.

She points at a big sign hung above the shelves. NO FiTiN IN DaH baR in big red letters on weathered wooden planks.

“‘No fittin’…?'” Buggy mutters.

“If you’re gonna kill each other,” the matron says, “do it outside.”

Due to a sudden lapse in self-preservation, you speak up. “He started it—“

Everyone jumps as she fires into the ceiling. “And I’m ending it. Get along or get out.”

You glance at Buggy. He glances back. You can see the whites of his eyes, even from all the way over here. Slowly, he replaces his knives back into his jacket.

You lower your fists, feeling awful sheepish.

The bar matron nods. “Back to your drinks, all of you,” she says. 

You can’t help but feel a little embarrassed as the crowd disperses. You can read. You’re very literate. How’d you miss that?

“Guess we both need glasses,” Buggy says right next to your ear.

You jump and nearly swing on him again, but you pull the punch. You have no interest in being shot tonight. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

“Getting a drink, same as you. Last stop before the Grand Line.” His voice dips low and he leans in close. “And last chance I’ll likely get to cut you and your little captain’s throats.”

You scowl. “Over my dead body,” you growl.

“That’s the idea.” The matron clears her throat loudly. He flinches and pulls back, but the glare remains. “Once you leave, babe— snnckt!” He draws his finger across his throat and his head rolls off his shoulders and into his arms. You yelp and he cackles as he puts it back.

Well, now you’re in it. This wouldn’t have happened if you stayed on the ship, you dumb lush. You could have just drank with Zoro. Or shot the shit with Usopp while he shot at shit. Or let Sanji hit on you while you sharpened his knives. Literally anything would have been better than this.

But here you are. Time to get yourself out of it. Somehow.

"Well, I’m not going anywhere," you tell Buggy. You sit back down at your table. "So get comfy, clown."

He places his hat on the table and plops into the seat across from you. He snatches up the mug -- your mug -- and takes a long, long, long pull. He tips his head all the way back, throat bobbing with every swallow.

You try and fail to drag your eyes away. You like sharp throats.

When it's drained, he slams it back down on the table. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and how he doesn't smudge his makeup, you'll never know.

“Don’t mind if I do.” He kicks up his boots onto the table. “So what’re we drinkin’? Rum? Ale? Whiskey? Bet you’re a rum kinda gal.”

This is gonna be a night.

---

One bottle in. You glower at him and he smiles back, eyes twinkling in the dim light.

Second bottle. The sun is fully down. He’s started chattering about nothing and everything. Rage roils inside you.

Third bottle. The room slowly spins. He’s still talking. You might leave just so you can strangle him.

Fourth bottle. You flip him the bird. He just giggles.

Fifth bottle. You mix it up a bit and order some shots. The matron brings the glasses and leaves the bottle. 

“Hey, the good shit.” Buggy pours two glasses and raises one. “Cheers.”

Something bubbles up in your chest. The urge to speak. You’re gonna say something stupid. You just know it. And you’re just lubricated enough that it slides through. 

You raise your glass. “Another day, another bender. No retreat, no surrender.” You toss it back and it scorches your throat on its way down.

Your head is so full of cotton that it takes you a moment to notice the laughter. Strong. Sharp. Bellyful. Contagious. You like that laugh. You’d like to hear more of it.

And then you realize it’s coming from Buggy. He has his head tossed back and his eyes scrunched and he’s letting out the most glorious laughter you’ve ever heard.

Before you can be properly disgusted with yourself, he recovers. “I got one.” He pours another pair of shots and slides one to you. “Here’s to our wives and girlfriends. May they never meet.”

Two more shots tossed back and two more glasses slammed on the table. It’s all going right to your head and the more it does, the more you’re enjoying yourself.

“Everyone knows that one,” you say. You pour. “One drink is good, two at the most. Three I’m under the table, four I’m under the host.”

His eyebrows shoot up, lips pursed into a circle. Then he laughs again. “Workin’ blue tonight! Alright!” Two more shots poured. “It ain’t the length, it ain’t the size, it’s how often I can make it rise.”

You weren’t expecting that and you almost spit the shot out. You hack and sputter as it goes down the wrong pipe, but you recover.

Though now you’re thinking about Buggy’s dick. You should probably stop that. You wonder if it’s small and that’s why he is how he is.

“Y’alright, babe?” He takes a pull right from the bottle and spills some on his chin and shirt. He’s sauced too. Small comfort.

One more comes to mind. You reach across and snatch the bottle. “Now he lays me down to screw.” You pour one shot. “I pray this clown knows what to do.” You pour the other. “If he should cum before I end…” You raise yours. “I swear to God I’ll fuck his friend!”

He stares at you a moment, grinless, just long enough for you to worry. And then it returns with a howling cackle. He slams his glass into yours hard enough to slosh some whiskey out and you both shoot it back.

You stare at each other, giggling like hyenas. Some part of you knows this is ridiculous. You’re getting smashed with a guy who tried to kill you and your friends. Who was just ready to kill you. Who is plotting to slit your throat right when you’re not expecting it.

You just laugh harder. What’s your life come to?

You come back down to see him staring at you, head resting on his hand. "You laugh cute."

“Nuh-uh.” You take a swig from the whiskey bottle. “I laugh like a News Coo.”

“News Coos are adorable!” He snatches the bottle back and takes a pull. “We switchin’ back to rum after this one? Or do we wanna get avden— abvench— adventurous?”

A good question. "Let's go nuts."

"My kinda woman!" He slams the table to catch the matron's attention. "Bring us something strong!"

---

Bottle six is gin. Neither of you like it and you both down the whole thing. Bottle seven, you're back to ale.

On eight, you wonder if the throat-cutting threat was a ruse and he's really just going to give you alcohol poisoning.

At least it's a fun way to go.

"So there I am," Buggy says, "looking at the giant hole in the hull where the cannon once was, holding a cannonball like this--" He jumps to his feet, pops his head off, and clutches it to his chest like it weighs fifty pounds. "--when the first mate himself walks in."

Your jaw drops. "What'd you do?"

"Only thing I could do.” He pauses for dramatic effect. “Threw the cannonball at him!"

He lobs his head to you. You squeal in surprise, just barely managing to catch him before you fall out of your chair. The giggles flow from you like water from a spigot.

He grins as you look at him. "Gotcha," he says with a wink.

Maybe it's the booze. Maybe it's the surprise. Your cheeks heat up all the same. You throw the head back and clamber to your feet.

A moment of clarity hits you as you sit back down. "Why are we drinking together? You wanna kill me."

"It's not that weird. Best drinkin' buddies I ever had tried to kill me. When I tried to skip out on the tab, but... y'know." He takes a gulp from his mug. "’Sides, I like you."

"Why?"

“Barber. Cute laugh. Helluva haymaker." Another swig. “You'd do better with me than that group of losers."

"I am not joining your crew."

He watches the ale swirl in his mug, tracing the rim with his fingers. His lips purse and he glances everywhere but your face.

You try to wait for him to speak, but music catches your attention before he can reply. A lively tune, one perfect for dancing. It looks like some of the pirates pulled out instruments and are entertaining their fellows.

"Aw, I love this song," you chirp. “Luffy’s right, we gotta get us a musician already.”

A chain of dancers sails past. You wish you could hop in, but you’ve got two left feet in ill-fitting high heels when you’re sober on a good day.

Buggy watches you watch them. “Go cut a rug. I’ll watch your shit.”

You shake your head a little too hard and the universe spins. “No way. Can’t dance worth a damn.”

“I’ll give you a hand.” His left hand detaches with a little flourish. “Or two.” Off goes the other one. “Or all of me, if you want.”

“Then who’s gonna watch my shit?”

He blinks, then sits back. “Whatever. I gotta piss anyways,” he mutters. He tries to stand, only for his feet to slip out from under him. “Can I get a hand?”

“Alright, but I’m not helping you aim.” You’re less sober than he is, but you’re drunk enough to try. Hauling yourself to your feet, you offer your hand. He takes it, pulling himself upwards.

And then you see the smile on his face. In a burst of coordination, he pulls you into the throng of people.

Oooooh no. No. No no no. He whirls you around, making your head spin. You step on someone’s foot. “I. Cannot. Dance.”

“Can’t?” He lifts you up, moves you to the side, and places you down again. “Or won’t?”

“Both!”

“Bullshit. Hand here.” He plants your hand on his shoulder and places his own on your—

You slap the smile off his face. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make your point. He accepts it.

“Sorry, thought you were shorter,” he mutters. He puts his hand on your waist. Even through his glove, you can feel his warmth. “Stand on my feet.”

“I’m not a child!” You try to pull away, only to collide with a very large man and get knocked back into Buggy. You’re trapped. No way out but to dance.

You know what? Fine. You stand on his feet — making sure to stamp his toes good — and glower at him. “What’s next?”

The smile returns. “Hold on tight, sweetheart.”

You clutch him as tight as you dare. And thank God you do, because soon you’re spinning like a top.

He guides you over and under, side to side, forward and back. And you don’t trip once. Neither of you do. You don’t even feel nauseous. How is he doing this? Is he magic? Is he just that good?

You glance down. Detached from his ankles, his feet support yours as they scoot around. The rest of him glides through the air, guiding you among the other dancers.

It might as well be magic.

"Light off your feet!" you say.

Buggy's chest thrums with a chuckle. Your stomach jumps into your throat as he drops you into a dip just long enough for him to wink at you. "Ain't I clever?"

He pulls you back up and your stomach slides into your boots. The dance continues.

Whirling, twirling, ducking, weaving, bouncing, bobbing… Is this what a dolphin feels like, swirled around by ocean currents? Or a kite, floating on the breeze? Or a princess swept off her feet by a dashing scoundrel?

Somewhere in the recesses of your mind, you ponder what your life has come to. A pirate, dancing on the feet of a clown who tried to kill you and your friends. Who then stole several kisses from you and made your heart flutter and got really drunk with you and now you're a little in lo--

No. Don't say it. If you don't say it, it won't come true. Unless it's the other way around?

It is the other way around. If you say it, you'll jinx it and it won't happen. So you admit it to yourself: you're smitten with this psychotic jackass.

The laughter bubbles forth and it just won't stop. You don't want it to stop. You never want this to stop. This feeling, this dance, this fit of hysterics.

But it must, as all things do. With one final fiddle run, the music stops and everyone applauds. You would join them, but you’re too busy holding onto Buggy for dear life, catching your breath and trying to stop the room from spinning.

“Can’t dance, huh?”

He’s as breathless as you, mouth parted as he takes breaths deep enough to shake his shoulders. Sweat glistens on his face. Glows, even. A few shimmering strands of hair have slipped from his bandanna and stick to his forehead.

What little breath you’ve recovered vanishes from your lungs. Your heart flutters — no, it flaps, like a gull fighting a gust.

You wanna kiss him, but that last shred of self-restraint stops you. “Let’s go again,” you say instead.

His face lights up. “Lemme-- Lemme get rid of this.“

His forearms slip out of his coat and fly to his shoulders, catching his coat as he shrugs out of it. They zip over toward your table. Pretty slick, you admit to yourself.

And then it gets caught on a chair. The arms yank and yank, but it’s snagged good. You giggle.

“C’mon, you piece of…!” He huffs. He pecks your cheek. “Don’t go anywhere.”

He scrambles over to the snag, tripping on every table and chair along the way.

And then you realize he kissed you. Your spine goes rigid.

A tap on your shoulder knocks you out of your stun and you turn. You half-expect it to be one of his hands, but a rather large pirate is there.

“My captain fancies you,” he rumbles. He nods at a smug-looking blond with the worst come-hither face you’ve ever seen. “He would like the pleasure of your company.”

Nnnnno, you think. “Nnnnno,” you say. Buggy has freed his coat and is draining the rest of the bottle you’d abandoned. “Already spoken for.”

The man’s hand engulfs your shoulder and pulls you around. “It wasn’t a request.”

The blond snakes his arm around your trunk, his hand going to your breast. You try to pull away, but the goon’s grip is like iron.

A sharp whistle makes everyone turn. Buggy stands there, arms behind his back. His expression is neutral, but you see his clenched jaw and the bulging tendon in his neck.

“And where are you going with my leading lady?” He’s got the showman voice on. “Our number isn’t over.”

The captain smiles. “I’ll return her once we’ve had our fun,” he says.

He takes a few meandering steps towards them. “Look, gentlemen: we can play this as a tragedy or a comedy. Your choice.”

The goon straightens up. He cracks his knuckles with a chorus of pops. The captain draws a rapier. You’re not sure how well a Chop Chop man handles being stabbed.

Buggy glances between the two of them, nonplussed. “Comedy it is.”

Two disembodied hands slam a bottle over each man’s head. Shards of glass and drops of rum fly everywhere. The pirates’ grips go slack, and you jump away as they hit the floor with dull thuds.

Chaos erupts.

---

⬅⬅⬅ | To the "Curious Courtship" Masterpost | To the Mastahpost | To the Tip Jar | ➡➡➡

[goldenfigtree]

The Porch Swing

Summary: PART TWO of the Noise Complaint

You apologize for calling him a stripper while being drunk with a box of donuts and an invite to a barbecue at you and your older brother’s place.

Pairing: Leon Kennedy x Fem Reader (no use of y/n)

Warning: fluff

A/N: Sorry this one took a while guys! But I hope you like it :)

A box of donuts is plopped onto his desk, startling him enough to stop signing paperwork and look up. Your eyes meeting his in an instant,

“I am so so sorry” you begin, “for calling you a stripper” 

He lets out a sigh of relief as he listens to you ramble apologetically 

“I was drunk, and stupid and drunk” letting out a sigh you look at him guiltily, nudging the pink donut box closer to him, “I wasn’t sure which donut you liked so I just got you a box”

“It’s no problem at all” Leon replies sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, “I’m new around here so you probably didn’t recognize me” 

“That’s probably what it was, it still wasn’t right for me to assume you’re a stripper though,” you say with a nervous chuckle.

“There you are!” Before you can react, an arm slings over your shoulders, Leon’s blood begins boiling at the sight, unsure why, he tries to shrug it off, “I see you’ve met my sister, Leon” your brother, Will greets with a broad smile, 

“Yeah, we’ve bumped into each other a couple times” Leon responds nervously, trying to cover up his relief.

“Well, I just came over here to invite you to a barbecue at my place Saturday. The rest of our crew is coming so don’t be a stranger!” And with that, Will lifts his arm from your shoulders and points finger guns at him before walking around to invite others around the police station. You merely chuckle and pull a nearby chair to sit in. The motion of it made Leon’s stomach jump, thrilled to hear more of what you had to say. 

“They do it once a month, it’s sort of a work community thing. Ya know, “we’re all family here”?” You explain with a shrug until you notice his lack of response. Little did you know, he was hanging off of every word you uttered for dear life. The way your lips moved and shaped to project your words was almost hypnotizing. Noticing your expression, he realizes how silly he must have looked at the moment and runs a hand through his sandy blonde hair,

“Yeah, I’ve heard that phrase a couple of times. Everyone seems so nice here” he says almost breathlessly, mentally beating himself up for it. You only warmly smile back at him and nod,

“You’ve been placed with good people. You should come— to the barbecue, I mean” you say sheepishly, finding yourself tripping over your words as well. But he didn’t notice, all that was captivating his mind right now was the exciting thought that you wanted him to come to the barbecue, 

“Will you be there?”

“Of course I’ll be there, it’s at my brother and I’s place” you jokingly quip, standing up from your chair, “does that mean I’ll see you there?” 

“Definitely” Leon responds, starry eyed, “What time?” 

“12 pm, see you there” 

—

Leon had to remind himself to breathe as he walked up to the front door of your home. With one final calming breath, he knocks on the door. Waiting a few seconds, he checks himself out in the glare of the glass front door. He straightened his short sleeve button down, patting down the rebellious hairs atop his head. Then came the door swinging open, revealing you in a floral sundress. The breeze comes in from outside, rippling the fabric of the dress and blowing some of your hair back. He could feel his cheeks exceeding natural temperature as they bloomed a scarlet shade, 

“You made it” you greet sweetly, gesturing for him to come inside. Gingerly he does, his words doing otherwise,

“I like.. your dress is nice” for a split second he could’ve sworn he saw you blush at his compliment before beaming at him,

“Oh, this old thing? Thank you!” With no hesitation, as if you’ve done this before, you grab his forearm, “Come on, the party is outside” You lead him through the house’s dimly lit halls and into the backyard filled with his fellow officers and their families. The mixed scent of smoke and hamburger patties along with the murmur of multiple conversations occurring at once erupt both your senses. To his dismay, you let go of his forearm, leaving him to socialize with everyone else that was there. Little did you know the real reason he attended in the first place. 

A few hours pass and Leon couldn’t help but admit that you were right, he was placed with the right people. Everyone made him feel like he was a part of the family already, despite only being there for a week or so. Especially you. Every moment and every conversation with you felt so easy. So easy, he could talk to you for hours uninterrupted. But sadly, you knew everyone there, which meant constant interruptions and brief intermissions. Eventually, the sun had set and the amount of people in the backyard began to lessen. After bidding a few goodbyes, he makes his way to the front porch where he sees you rocking back and forth in the porch swing,

“Hey” you greet before taking a sip of coffee from your mug. With a grin he didn’t even try to hide, he makes his way to sit next to you, a respectful distance away, 

“Sobering up already?” 

“Let’s just say I learned my lesson” You retort,

“That’s good” Leon says through a sheepish chuckle, “I don’t think I could handle you calling me a stripper again” 

“I said I was sorry” You exasperate, while you two share a laugh together, “Did I say anything else that I might regret now?” 

“Well, you did say I was too hot to be a police officer” You roll your eyes at the smirk that was very apparent on Leon’s boyish features, 

“I said, anything I regret now remember?” You quip, shyly looking down to see your hand and his one swift motion apart. Your teeth sink deep into the skin of your lip as you focus on the swaying of the porch, 

“So, you don’t regret it?” Leon asks. 

Wasn’t that obvious? 

You chortle at his cluelessness and finally look up, scooting closer to him, your fingertips now grazing his own. His hand didn’t pull away, surely that was a good sign, right? 

“Have I not made that clear?” You ask, leaning forward to take in his features. His crystal blue irises, his sandy blonde hair shimmering in the sunlight, his plump lips. You wondered how those lips felt on your own for a brief moment before you realized that you were shamelessly staring at them. Lifting your eyes quickly back at him, you pull your hand away and turn your face away, a bit embarrassed by your sudden forwardness, that is, until you feel Leon’s hand on top of yours. You snap your head back toward him and are quickly met with his soft lips atop yours. Pulling away slightly, he looks at you, his eyes alone asking, 

Is this okay?

To answer his question, you lean back in to kiss him again. The touch of his lips alone making you feel as if you’ve gotten a small taste of heaven. His soft, nervous breaths blow against your lips before going back in to kiss you again. With your fingers finding the collar of his shirt, you tug it toward you, his body following after. His hands find their way to your waist and slide up between your shoulder blades as your arms drape around his neck. His touch alone was accelerating, addicting.

Then an ear shattering crash made the both of you pull away in a gasp. Holding in a sigh of disappointment that the moment was over, you look down to see Leon’s beer bottle and your mug had fallen off the porch swing. A splattered mess of beer and coffee colliding together on the white wood of the front porch. Leon notices it and presses a small peck on your cheek, 

“We should probably clean that up” You softly utter, your mind protesting your words as you stare at those pink lips. 

“Yeah” 

It was nothing a quick sweep and mop couldn’t fix. After cleaning up the result of your newfound affections for the new rookie, you walked him out to his car. 

“Thanks for the help” 

“Well I wasn’t going to sit there and let you clean it up by yourself” Turning and leaning against his jeep, He crosses his arms and averts his eyes, “I think you’re hot too… by the way” He bashfully admits. You snicker to yourself, eyebrows raised as you take a step towards him,

“Hot enough to be a stripper?” You tease, Leon looks down at the floor and chuckles, clearly flustered, as he scuffs his shoes against the pavement, 

“Definitely” He admits before reaching a hand out to grab your waist and pull you closer to him, “Could I… take you out sometime?” 

Leaning forward you place a kiss on his lips, a warm smile apparent as you pull away,

“Is that a yes?” You can’t help but laugh,

“Yes”

[breella]

Of Course I’ll Kill it For You

Ruhn’s girlfriend is deathly afraid of spiders and it causes a commotion.

A/n: This was written on mobile in like 10 minutes so I’m sorry for any mistakes. I love Ruhn so much.

Content warning: Cursing and spiders. I think that’s all but if you see anything else please let me know.

Y/N: I’m scared

You sent the text to Ruhn without even thinking about it. There was a giant spider by your bedroom door and there was no way you were moving past it. You kept your eyes on it, making sure it wasn’t going to attack you.

Y/N: I think it’s going to kill me.

You fired off another text to your boyfriend.

You could have sworn the spider was looking at you. It was definitely plotting your untimely demise. You should have been getting ready to meet Ruhn and your friends at the White Raven, but there was no way in Hel you were walking past that evil creature to get to your closet. You picked up your phone again a few minutes later to see why Ruhn wasn’t texting you back.

“Shit” you muttered to yourself. Your phone was dead and the charger was of course in a different room. You were trying to muster up the courage to run past it. You even stood up from the bed. As soon as you began to take a step the spider scurried across the wall stopping directly across from where you were standing.

“Ahh” you scream and jumped back on the bed. You were under no circumstances trying that again. You made peace with your fate. You were either going to die from starvation or be eaten by that damn spider.

You should be meeting Ruhn and your friends any minute. They would never let you live this down if they found out you were cowering in the corner of your bed from a spider.

You heard the faint sound of footsteps down the hall of your apartment. Relief washed over you. Maybe Ruhn had decided to pick you up here before heading to the White Raven. The footsteps were gettin closer but there was more than one set. There were multiple people and it sounded like they were running. You slumped against your headboard. It was probably just your neighbors.

Suddenly you were startled by loud banging on your apartment door. “Y/n! Y/n answer me!” You heard Ruhn yell. He sounded frantic. Worry settled in your gut. Something awful must have happened.

“Ru-“ you started to call back to him but were cutoff by the sound of your apartment door being busted open.

“Y/n where are you?” Ruhn called sounded just as panicked as before. You could hear him and the others walking around your apartment.

“In here” you called. You were filled with dread and worry. You couldn’t think of anything that would make him barge in your apartment sounding like that. You had never heard him sound so upset. He was usually calm and collected in alarming situations.

Your bedroom door slammed open with force. Ruhn ran to you cupping your face and looking you over as Declan and Flynn walked in the room with confused looks on their faces. Both were holding guns and scanning the room.

“Are you alright? What happened?” Ruhn asked.

“I’m fine” you said slowly. Confusion taking over the worry you were previously filled with. “What do you mean what happened? You are the one who barged in here like a mad man. What’s wrong?”

Declan and Flynn exchanged glances but put their guns in holsters.

“Your text.” Ruhn replied. His hands were still holding your face. His eyes were staring in to yours. “You said something was trying to kill you. Then you wouldn’t reply or answer my calls.”

You had forgotten about the stupid texts you sent to him before your phone died. It never even crossed your mind that he would think you were really in trouble. He must have been thinking the worst the whole way to your apartment. He probably thought you were already dead when you stopped responding.

“0h yeah… the texts” you whispered.

“Well what happened?” He was still staring at you intently with his hands holding your face as if he was afraid to let you go. Your eyes wondered across the room to the spider who had made its way to the corner of your ceiling during the commotion. Ruhn’s eyes followed yours landing on the spider with a look of shock on his face. His friends’ eyes soon followed when they realized you were both staring at the same spot on the wall. Shock took over the features quickly followed by a burst of laughter. They were both laughing so hard they could barely breath. They pushed each other out of the room when they saw the angry look Ruhn was giving them.

“Really y/n! A spider? A fucking spider? I thought you were dead!”

“Oops…” you shrugged. “I’m sorry. My phone died and the charger is in the living room. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Ruhn let out a long sigh and rubbed his face with his hand. His features were a mix of relief and annoyance.

“Will you still kill the spider for me? Please?” You batted your eyelashes at the prince.

“Of course I’ll kill the fucking spider for you.”

[soulofapatrick]

Instant Attraction - Tommy Miller x reader

Summary: Upon meeting Tommy with Joel and Ellie you find the pair of you have immediate attraction for each other

Words: 1.7k

Warnings: none 

Notes: Part one of the Instant Attraction series

Y/N’s POV

“What!” Ellie snaps at the girl who’s been watching us from afar, she’s been hiding behind one of the support beams with her. Tommy, Maria and Joel all turn to where the girl is now running off, Ellie having scared her. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Joel elbows Ellie lightly, his southern heart probably so embarrassed my Ellie’s wild behaviour and I try to stifle a laugh at the embarrassment in his voice as this is a very different side of Joel. 

“What about her manners?” Ellie looks at Joel then me. 

“She’s just curious,” Maria speaks up, “Kids around here don’t usually look or talk like you.” 

“Right,” Ellie’s voice dripping with sarcasm as she rolls her eyes, “Well, maybe I’ll teach them. I want my gun back.”

“Eleanor!” I use her full name, tone as stern as I can make it at the surprise on Maria’s face while Joel looks mortified and there’s an amused smile playing on Tommy’s lips. I can’t help but feel relaxed despite how tense it feels between Joel and Tommy. Ellie grimaces at the use of her full name and just goes back to stuffing her face, this being the first real meal she’s ever had. 

It’s fucking amazing compared to the beef jerky that Joel keeps on him at all times. It’s like a full Sunday roast, gravy and chicken and all and my mouth was salivating so much at the sight of it being placed in front of me. Ellie and Joel dug into it like they hadn’t eaten in months which is somewhat true and I wanted to do the same but every time Tommy’s intense gaze landed on me I felt myself flush because he’s good looking. 

Ellie picks up on it as she’s wiggling her eyes suggestively which has me kicking her under the table and she lets out a slew of swear words in pain that has Joel fixing me with a stern look like the one I gave Ellie a few minutes ago. I mumble out a sorry before going back to demolishing my meal, a snort coming from Ellie. 

“Thank you ma’am,” I mumble under my breath, mocking Joel’s tone and it has Ellie snorting and Joel’s head turning our way again with a defeated sigh. 

“My apologies about them ma’am,” Joel says to Maria, defeat in his tone, “You know how kids are.” 

“I am 20 thank you.” I speak up and Joel doesn’t even bat an eyelid, keeping his head turned away from me as his whole body gives Maria a see kinda look. 

“Child.” 

“Asshole.” 

“Manners.” 

“I like her, she’s fiery.” Tommy drawls, amusement still playing with the corner of his lips as his eyes flick from Joel to me. I think my heart stops when his dark eyes shift from my own to my lips and then away because I definitely imagine that, proven by the elbow in my side from Ellie. 

“Pain in my ass, is what she is.” Ellie put on her own Joel voice and the man just drops his head when Tommy and Maria actually laugh. The tension in Tommy’s shoulders seems to fade as he throws his head back in an unstrained laugh and I think this is when I really fall for the man. Something tells me not to get my hopes up despite his eyes following my lips every so ofter because of the way Maria seems to stick by his side like glue. 

“Should have left you at Bill’s.” Joel grumbles, grabbing all three of our plates and getting up to follow Maria to do his part in cleaning up. It leaves me and Ellie at the table with Tommy but of course Ellie doesn’t even try and be a wingwoman. Instead she’s jumping up, kicking her chair back and heads in the direction Joel and Maria disappeared off too with a call of “I’m not sitting in that bubble of sexual tension.” 

“Ellie!” I call after her, my face burning at the way Tommy raises an eyebrow at me while I just keep my eyes on Ellie’s retreating figure until she disappears and then my hands seems the most interesting thing around. 

“Sexual tension, huh?” There’s movement and then the chair Ellie was previously  sitting on is moving until a calloused hands reach for mine, stopping me from picking at the skin around my nails, “Hey darlin’, don’t do that, you’ll make yourself bleed.” 

I keep my head down, knowing my face is the colour of a tomato, and I drop one of his hands so I can turn the other hand over so I can lightly trace the lines on his palm. I usually do this with Joel when I’m feeling anxious but this feels different because Tommy’s scooting his chair closer so his hand settles in my lap while I continue to trail my fingers over the lines and the other arm is thrown over the back of my chair so he can lean in closer. 

“You got any family?” Tommy asks, voice quiet as if not to scare me.

“Joel and Ellie are the closest left. I had a younger brother who I lost before Joel and Ellie found me.” I tell him, finally daring to glance up and my breath hitches at how close his face is to mine, our noses almost able to bump and it has my cheeks flaring up again. 

I can’t look away despite how much I would like to. I’m usually loud and boisterous, Joel is always telling me that, but when it comes to guy I like I find myself getting flustered and forgetting how to breathe let alone formulate sentences. It’s what’s happening right now, my eyes are stuck searching Tommy’s face and taking him in. He and Joel look enough alike to be brothers: it’s mainly in the nose and mannerisms. Unlike Joel his skin is sun kissed and his freckles are visible from a distance and he’s sporting a moustache that makes me wonder what it would feel like in a kiss. I find myself acting on autopilot, one of my hands is running through the ends of his naturally slicked back hair as I find myself enthralled with the way it curls, curling strands around my fingers. His eyes are such a deep brown they’re almost black, reminding me of the night sky reflecting on water in the quietest hours of the night. His eyes hold so much passion and optimism I envy his way of seeing the world. 

A clearing of the throat has me snapping my head away from Tommy to find Joel standing there with Ellie and Maria, all three of them watching us. Ellie and Maria have proud looks on their faces while Joel just looks like a father who’s caught his kid sneaking out. It makes me shrink into my seat but Tommy doesn’t even flinch, if anything he acts bolder by moving his arm from behind me to fall onto my shoulders, thumb rubbing soothingly. 

“I want to stay here.” Ellie speaks up and I meet Joel’s eyes, seeing the same shock and hope reflected in them. We had talked about what happens after we hand Ellie over the fireflies and find Tommy but this… we never had a plan for this, “Fireflies were never my family, I’ve never had a family until now.” She turns to Joel because she knows she’s already got me sold. I have always seen Ellie as a daughter figure despite her being only six years older than her. 

“Joel?” I ask quietly as he just stares at Ellie, chest heaving as if he’s having a panic attack. Before I can move Ellie’s wrapped her arms around him and I see the glazed look in his eyes: he’s fighting guilt and want but it seems the want wins because he’s giving in and hugging Ellie back. It makes me relax and I realise I’ve been gripping Tommy’s thigh with nails digging in so I quickly withdraw my hand with an apology but he just squeezes my shoulder, looking at Maria. 

“There’s that house by the strawberry plot they can have. It’s two bedroom though and…” She’s trailing off, eyes flicking between me, Joel, Ellie and then Tommy. 

“I’ve got a spare room in mine,” Tommy answers her unasked question before Joel can open his mouth to say anything. He just gives Tommy a pointed look that Tommy seems to understand by the small nod Tommy sends back. Maria then tells Ellie and Joel to grab their packs and she’ll show the way to the house while Tommy finally takes his hand from mine and also stands. 

I copy and suddenly arms are wrapping around me and Ellie’s mumbling against my shirt, “You better not fucking disappear on us.” I laugh softy, pressing a kiss to there hair and hug her back until Maria’s calling for her. 

I’m being guided back against the door when it closes behind me, Tommy caging me in with arms either side of my head. He doesn’t make any moves other than that, just watching my expression for any signs of discomfort or fear but despite having only knowing this man for less that eight hours I feel completely safe. I feel like I know everything about him from all the stories Joel told me. 

“This is crazy,” He murmurs, testing the waters and closing the gap a little more, “We’ve only just met.” 

“Crazy,” I breathe, a small smile on my lips because yeah, he feels it too. He definitely feels it too when wind-chapped lip land on mine and steal all the air in my lungs. I’m grabbing the collar of his blue fleece jacket and pulling his body flush against mine as I melt into the kiss, body already wanting more. I feel alive for the first time in ages and want whatever Tommy is offering me despite the speed of all this. 

It seems he wants the same with the way his hand tangles in my hair and pulls, drawing a gasp from me before he pulls his body away from me enough to take me in before he’s groaning, “Can’t, I promised Joel I’d behave.” 

“I want this.” 

“So do I,” He whispers, “but I promised Joel we’d be sensible. Let me show you the town and it’s people first, take you on a date first and let you settle in.” 

“But-“ 

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop kissing you.” 

“Thank fuck.”

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

Part One // Part Two // Part Three // Part Four // Part Five

[topazy]

Little dark age

Paring: Rick Grimes × reader

Warning: Swearing, violence

Chapter: 1.02

It’s hard to hold a smile back when Glenn looks so happy when he speeds by the van in the sports car. Everyone was so caught up in talking about Merle being left behind that they failed to notice.

“Who’s Daryl?” Ricks asks.

Morales snorts, “Merle’s brother, he’s going to be so pissed. It's probablyIt's probably best if Sammie tells him Merle was left behind.”

“Yeah,” T-dog says in agreement. “He won’t beat her ass.”

You turn back to squeeze his shoulder and say, “T, this wasn’t your fault; it was an accident.”

The rest of the ride back to the hilltop where your camp is set up is mainly in silence, aside from Morales giving the new guy directions. The guys weren’t wrong; Daryl Dixon was going to kick up one hell of a storm when he found out his brother hadn’t come back with the rest of you.

When you finally reach the camp, the first thing you see is Glenn standing by the red sports car. He drove back proudly, a wide smile on his face. Flatly, Rick asks, “Is this the place?”

“Yeah, home sweet home,” you snort. “It’s not so bad; most of the guys here are alright, a couple of assholes, but you’ll get used to working in law enforcement.”

“A cop?”

“Oh yeah. He’s told us plenty of times how he was a sheriff's deputy.”

You slide the door open, jump down from the van, and immediately receive a warm hug from Dale. “I’m glad to see your back without a scratch on you. Glenn told me you both had a couple of close calls.”

“It’s definitely an interesting story,” you laugh. You catch Shane’s gaze and greet him with a slight head nod before looking over your shoulder at Rick; he was still sitting inside the van, rubbing his eyes.

As others in your group reunite with their families, Shane asks, “How’d y’all get out of there anyway?”

“A new guy helped save our asses.”

“New guy?” He questions.

You walked towards the truck and knocked on the side of it, getting Rick’s attention. “Hey, sheriff, you should come meet everyone.”

Looking sad and unsure, Rick gets out of the truck and slowly makes his way towards everyone. Your eyes shift between him and Lori, who was consoling her son, who was crying. You really hoped, for the sake of the sake of the kids, that your theory was right. After a few seconds, Rick stops walking. He points and whispers, “Oh my god.”

Rick and Carl run to each other and say, “Dad! Dad!”

Lori looks shocked at first and stares stunned at her husband and son. Carl leaps into his dad's arms, causing them to both go down to the ground. While sobbing, Rick picks his son up and goes over to his wife for the three of them to reunite as a family.

Tears swelled in your eyes; it was the first time in a long time you’d seen such a sweet interaction.

—

Sitting atop the RV, legs dangling over the edge, you keep watch while everyone else is tucked up in their tents. There had been no movements, and the only sounds you could hear were light snoring and animals in the distance.

It was starting to become concerning that Daryl hadn’t returned from tracking since you'd been back.

Hearing footsteps, you flick the torch on and shine it where the sound is coming from while hoovering your thumb over your gun's safety. When you see it’s only Shane, you lower your weapon and say, “I thought Jim was on the next shift.”

“He was, but I couldn’t sleep, so I told him I’d take this one.”

He climbs up the RV and sits down beside you. Shane wasn’t one to usually show his emotions, but it seems like something has gotten under his skin. You reach for your backpack and say, “I got you something.”

“Oh.”

You pull out two packs of cigarettes and hand them to him. Before the apocalypse, you only ever smoked when drunk at a social gathering like a party, but now you allow yourself to indulge every once in a while. It was something you needed to completely nip in the bud, but the stress that came with living life the way you did didn’t make it easy.

When you pop the cigarette between your lips, Shane lights it for you, then does the same for himself.

“What do you think of Ed?” You ask quietly.

“He’s an abusive asshole. Why?”

You try to figure out the right wording for what you want to say next, and eventually you lick at your lips. “We have all seen the bruises on Carol. How long do you think it is before we see them on Sophia?”

“If it’s true, then Sophia’s life will become worse the older she gets.”

Everyone knew how bad of a man Ed was and that he abused his wife. But recently, there had been whispers about how he ‘looked’ at Sophia. The main reason you became a cop was to keep kids safe, but it was much harder to do that in a world already gone to shit. You finish your cigarette, then toss it to the ground. “Everyone is so concerned with keeping an eye on the dead that we forget how monstrous humans can be.”

Shane takes a deep inhale before saying, “I’ll keep an eye on it.”

—

Hearing a commotion, the closer you get to camp, the more you draw your weapon and step in front of Amy protectively. It’s not until you hear T-dog say someone’s got a knife that you sprint forward, holding Amy’s hand tightly to make sure she doesn’t get lost behind you.

When you reach the RV, you see Shane putting Daryl into a chokehold and then forcing him to the ground. “What the hell is going on?”

“Daryl didn’t take the news about Merle well,” Glenn says.

You swat at Shane’s shoulder, “Get off him.”

The former cop moves off him, then Rick kneels down so he’s eye level with Daryl. “I’d like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?”

Shaking your head, you offer Daryl your hand and help pull him up. Merle was the only family Daryl had left; of course, he wouldn’t take it well that his brother was left behind to die. As Rick and T-Dog explain what happened, you watch as Daryl wipes tears out of his eyes. He was struggling to hold it together.

You felt bad for him.

After some back-and-forth discussion, Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog decided to go back into the city to the building Merle was left in. Much to Lori and Shane’s dismay, understandably Lori didn’t want her husband gone again, and Shane was worried about the lack of bodies around camp.

Reloading his gun in preparation to leave camp, T-dog asks. “Sammie Rose, are you coming?”

“No, she’s staying.”

You frown at Shane, who answered for you, “Excuse me?”

Sighing, he steps out of earshot from the others and waves you over. Arms crossed, you walk over to Shane, waiting to hear his explanation: “Rick’s taking a lot of manpower with him; I’m going to need all the help I can get. I would massively appreciate it if you stayed in camp.”

You contemplated what to do; you had a routine with Glenn whenever you went on supply runs, and it went without saying you trusted him, T-dog, and even Daryl to watch your back. But at camp, who would have your back the same way they would? Something so minor has your head spinning.

“Sammi?” Carl walks up beside me, his eyes bloodshot from crying. “Are you going back into the city with my dad?”

You look behind the young boy and lock eyes with Rick, who looks beyond guilty. It couldn’t have been an easy decision for him to make. Smiling, you look back down at Carl and say, “I’m staying where you are. Besides, I believe I promised to show you how to start a fire. But only if your mom and dad are okay with it.”

Rick looks over and nods.

Lori sighs. “That’s fine, but Carl, you stay close to Sammi Rose and don’t wander off.”

—

Crouching down by the rocks in the quarry, you do your best to stay out of view of the other women. You liked them but didn’t want to revive another lecture about smoking, so until you’d finished your cigarette, your plan was to stay out of sight. Sitting in the long grass, you lean back against a rock, enjoying the peacefulness, until you hear Shane’s agitated voice.

“Lori, I don’t think that’s fair.”

“Shane, shut up. Don’t!”

You were confused. The last time you saw Shane, he was teaching Carl to hunt for frogs, and they seemed to be having a lot of fun. Curiosity gets better if you and Lori look over just as Lori walks over to him and pushes him back before slapping at his chest. You suspected they had sex previously, but listening to them argue only confirms your theory.

“Sammi?”

You leap to your feet and loudly ask, “Did you catch any frogs?”

“No,” Carl says, shaking his head. “My mom says I’m to go back to camp.”

You glance over the young boy's shoulder to see both Lori and Shane staring at you wide-eyed and terrified. You just hoped the kid didn’t hear anything. Smiling, you say, “Your mom’s just coming.”

Lori keeps her head low as she walks by you; Shane, however, doesn’t move his gaze from you.

—

“It’s not my business, Shane. I don’t want to hear about it.”

“I thought Rick was dead,” he murmurs. “He’s my best friend... I never would have—”

You toss the butt of your cigarette on the ground and start to walk towards the water to finish doing your laundry. “Seriously, the less I know, the better.

Rick seems like a nice family guy, but you weren’t about to get dragged into some kind of soap opera drama. When you get closer, you look down and see Ed gripping ahold of Carol on the arm and dragging her by it. The other women were trying to intervene, but it only caused Ed to become aggressive towards them as well.

“Shit!”

You jump down the small path and slam into Ed, causing him to stumble back and let go of his wife. Andrea catches Carol, who is sobbing, before she falls back. Ed regains his balance and slaps you hard across the face; your cheek stings almost immediately.

Shane appears behind Ed, gripping him by the shirt. He drags him further away, tosses him to the ground, and starts punching him repeatedly. It’s only when Carol begs for him to stop that Shane stops beating him.

“You put your hands on your wife, your little girl, or anybody else in this camp one more time; I will not stop next time. Do you hear me? Do you hear me?”

Ed slurs in response, “Yes.”

“I’ll beat you to death, Ed.”

Shane punches him once for time, then stands, kicking him in the side. Carol runs to her husband's side, sobbing apologetically, while the other women stare at Shane, horrified. Finally, lowering your hand from your cheek, you chase after him. Maybe it was wrong, but Ed was nothing but an abusive asshole who had it coming; it would just take the others time to see things that way.

Shane flinches when you grab his arm. He raises his arm to swing it back, but stops noticing it’s you. “I—he—fuck.”

“Come back to camp with me. I’ll clean your knuckles up.”

[enchantedflameandflower]

A Billy Butcher Christmas

YOU try celebrating Christmas with Butcher...

Co-written with CheshireCat

*-*-*

Waiting alone in your dark apartment, you wondered what could possibly be keeping Billy so long.  

M.M. had texted you that they were wrapping up the stakeout for that Supe they were trying to tie in with a known gun-runner and explosives smuggler. His contact had gotten spooked and never showed. 

You stopped pacing and sat down on the couch again with a huff and then a long sigh. Billy was probably in some bar drinking away his anger. You only hoped he didn't start a brawl. "I suppose I should check my first-aid supplies," you griped at the empty room as you got up to check the kit you kept in a cupboard in the bathroom. 

On your way back to the living room, you glanced out at the Christmas lights on the houses below your balcony twinkling like multi-colored stars in the dark. "Yeah...Merry Christmas," you said softly, thinking the best gift you could have would be Billy coming home safe and not too badly banged up.

Sighing softly, you went to the kitchen to pour a glass of whiskey. Pulling the bottle down from the top cupboard you tipped a bit of the liquid into your glass and then you poured some more. It was rich and warm on your tongue and burned just the right amount going down. Kind of like Billy. 

Turning all the lights down, you went curl up in your favorite chair and just gaze at the lights. Billy would be here soon, and the alcohol helped to calm your worry.

For a bit, you made yourself relax but when you finally heard the keys jingling in the lock you jumped up from the couch, almost spilling your drink.

Damn...you could hear him grumbling and cursing through the door before it even opened. You knew how any perceived failure that amounted to wasting a night without nailing the perps they were after frustrated and angered him. You just hoped the end result wasn't too bad. Well, at least you knew you had plenty of everything to patch him up, if needed.

Setting your glass on the coffee table, you went to the door just as Billy got it open. “Hey,” you murmured. You couldn’t help but scan him head to toe checking for both injuries and his mood. He had a small cut on his temple, but that seemed the extent of his physical ails, at least. 

You inwardly breathed a sigh of relief but put on a sympathetic face nonetheless.  "M.M. told me tonight was a bust. What happened?“ 

You knew it was good to let him grumble a bit and get it off his chest while he actually processed things. As soon as he shrugged out of his coat you took his large hand and pulled him inside leading him to the couch. 

Good thing you'd thought to bring the bottle of whiskey and an extra tumbler to the coffee table. 

He sat down heavily and looked up at you, dark eyes swirling with emotions but warming and calming a little as he gazed up at you. He poured himself a measure of whiskey and put his strong arm around you when you curled up on the couch beside him, pulling you in against him, tucked into his side. 

Happily, you nestled in against him and waited while he gathered his thoughts.

“The cunt never even showed,” he growled. “Worthless piece of shite. I should have known better than to think he would come through. He were only someone Frenchie knew through someone else and M.M only met the fucker once.” He huffed a sigh and took a long drink of the whiskey before setting it aside. “Fucking waste of a whole night.”

“I’m sorry,” you said softly, nestling closer to him and rubbing your hand over his chest. “There’ll be another chance. It’s Christmas Eve, maybe something just threw his plans off.”

Billy turned to look at you. “It’s what?”

"It's...it's Christmas Eve," you said again softly then cleared your throat. You'd told yourself you would not be disappointed if he didn't remember, but you'd still kind of hoped maybe he felt a little of the magic in the air and would want to share that just with you. 

You looked over at the little tree you'd bought and his present you'd wrapped last night and tucked under the branches. You knew he didn't have the fondest childhood memories of Christmas and had hoped to maybe make it special for him this year. 

You swallowed down your own disappointment. "I just meant he might have family or a girlfriend or something and had a last minute change of plans. We’ll get another chance.”

Billy looked out the window as if he was seeing the Christmas lights for the first time and the expression on his face lightened just a little…

*-*-*

Let us know if you want more! 🎄❤️

Part 2

[zablife]

Hello, Lee! ❤️

Ok, John. No request but imagine/headcanon/something.

John climbing through the window to meet his girlfriend or s/o in the middle of the night? And the next day he returns to Small Heath with leaves on his clothes or perhaps a thorn in his hands, but it was certainly worth it 😂. Probably Arthur finds that very funny, and Tommy "not again" but if his brother is happy...

Flor, I took inspo from your lovely ask and included it here, but perhaps not quite the way you meant. I hope you still like it! In this one Y/n is healed from her wound and is ready for trouble which is good bc she finds it with John right before Tommy's wedding! This is prob the closest thing I will ever write to crack fic so enjoy this bit of utter nonsense!

Read previous parts here.

Plus One (Partners in Crime AU)

John Shelby x Y/n Solomons

“Who’s your man, Ada?” Polly asked, eager to know everyone attending Tommy’s upcoming wedding. “He’s not from one of your political meetings is he?”

“Tommy would hate that, wouldn’t he?” she asked with a smirk. “But no, he’s not. I’m bringing a man from the library.”

“John that only leaves you, love,” Polly noted. “Grace doesn’t want uneven numbers so you’ll have to find someone.”

“Why don’t you ask Y/n?” Ada asked, trying to be helpful.

John pulled a face at her remark before exclaiming, “Are you daft? I can’t ask her!”

“Why not? You’re always together,” Polly pointed out.

“We work together, Pol. Thought this was supposed to be a night off. Besides, she’s a pain in my arse,” John replied, twisting the toothpick in his mouth with great agitation.

“I think you fancy her! Are you afraid she’ll say no and break your heart?” Ada teased, shoving her elbow into his ribs playfully.

“Fuck off!” John said, stomping away. The family had noticed he was spending more time with you recently even when you weren’t on the job and he was tired of the insinuations that there was anything more than friendship between you.

As he took a stroll outside the Garrison, he made a mental list of everyone he could possibly ask, but the only girls he could think of were whores. A few of the girls had serviced Tommy after the war so that definitely wouldn’t do. After careful deliberation, he hated to admit that you were looking like the best option after all. He just didn't know how to ask you, knowing you'd hold this over him for months.

————————————

Despite his predicament, there was work to be done. Tonight your brothers wanted you to report back on the Russian royals living in Hampton Court Palace and their jewels, an interesting task considering the orgy of epic proportions going on in the parlor.

John stole a glance at you from his position at the door, gun in hand in case a partygoer or member of staff should wander in unannounced. “Three minutes,” he reminded you of the time you had left before the guards would check the rooms again.

“Four! Get a watch that fucking works!” you hissed in return.

John tapped at the glass above the ticking hands, then held the time piece to his ear as you continued to pry at the case holding the jewelry Alfie instructed you to find. There would be no robbery tonight, only reconnaissance so you knew you had time for a bit of fun. 

After taking a quick inventory of what was kept in the duchess’ bedroom, you took up one of the rings, admiring the biggest diamond you’d ever seen against your fingers in the dim light. “Look at this beauty,” you cooed at the gem.

“Stop playing dress up, Y/n! Do you want to get shot?” John warned you harshly as he moved away from his post.

“By the cossacks or you?” you asked cooly. Standing to your full height, you paced toward him so he could see the irritation in your eyes as you pushed his arm away from you carefully. “Watch where you’re pointing that thing! You know I don’t like it when you bring that one.”

“And what’s wrong with me Webley?” he asked, looking down at the gun.

“Jumps on the hammer, don’t it? Nearly shot your bollocks off last week,” you said at full volume.

“Stop talking so loud about my balls, alright?” Glancing down the hall, his eyes grew wide as he whispered, “Someone’s comin’” and began dragging you away from the door.  

You tried to shake him off reasoning. “I been practicing my Russian accent. We’ll be fine. Let me do the talking,” you said, attempting to jerk your arm from his grasp.

John whipped you around to face him arguing, “What are you going to say? You brought me up here for a shag?” Looking at you doubtfully, he added, “No one here is going to believe you’re Russian.”

“Yeah? Well, no one’s going to believe I’d fuck a bellend like you either! Not for all the money in—” but John cut you off, shoving you out an open window. He came barreling out after you with a grunt, rolling toward you into the flower bushes.

Just as he did, two men went rushing past, unaware of your presence on the well-manicured lawn. You didn’t understand what they were saying, but the sounds echoing inside of their rough curses and heavy boots were enough to make you grateful you hadn’t attempted your plan.

————————————

As you drove home John stole a glance at you, a smug smile tugging at his lips. “That’s two for me,” he commented.

“Two what?” you said, picking leaves from your hair.

“I’ve saved your life twice, alley cat. Three if you count the lie I’m going to have to tell to keep anyone from finding out you stole that ring tonight,” he chuckled, gesturing toward your left hand. 

You gasped as you realized that in the chaos of your escape, you absconded with the jewel you’d been admiring earlier. “Fucking hell!” you exclaimed, trying to wiggle it free. However, it wouldn’t budge and John watched you claw at your hand helplessly as he shook with laughter.

“That’ll teach you to impersonate a bloody duchess!” he roared.

In desperation to remove the ring, you began sucking on your finger to use your saliva as a lubricant, but John quickly pulled your hand away.

“Stop it! You don’t know where that thing’s been,” he said, disgustedly. “You wouldn’t believe the things Tommy’s told me about what they do with their gems.”

“Like what?” you asked in a distracted, far off voice, too busy watching your finger turn from red to purple as you squeezed at the metal band painfully.

John snickered as he replied, “Tatiana said that’s been inside her aunt’s dusty old cunt!”

“Get it off me!” you cried, thrusting your hand in his face and slapping at his shoulders as though the ring was burning your skin.

The car swerved as John batted you away, scolding you in his deep fatherly voice he reserved for his errant children. “Behave yourself, Y/n. I’m fucking driving!” 

You slumped back in your seat with a frown, feeling the gem snag your dress as you crossed your arms over your chest. Thinking of Alfie’s explicit instructions not to take anything from the house, you lit a cigarette and began to ponder a way to hide your accidental theft. 

It wasn’t long before John’s taunts drew you from your sulking. “So what’s Russian pussy taste like, Y/n?”

Exhaling smoke in his direction you retorted, “Probably the same as the cock you had to suck to get in the front door, you fuck wit. Now help me figure out what I’m going to do about this!” you cried.

“I’ll sort this for you,” John said confidently, eyes trained on the road once more. He knew Tommy would do anything to keep Grace happy, even concealing this massive fuck up from Alfie.

“Yeah, how?” you challenged him, exhausted and definitely not in the mood for his scheming.

“Let’s go see Tommy,” he announced.

“Now?” you shrieked. John just nodded. “Is he even awake?” 

“You’re asking the wrong questions, sweetheart,” John said with a smirk. 

You rolled your eyes at him, letting your head drop back against the bench seat in frustration.

“So do you like weddings?” he asked nervously clutching at the steering wheel, though he had no reason to be. You’d have to say yes after a favor like this.

—————————————-

The light of the pre dawn hours had not yet breached the Shelby household when an ominous scratching noise woke Tommy and Polly. Giving up any hope he had of resting the day before his wedding, Tommy rose cautiously with his pistol in hand. Creeping toward the steps in the darkness, he held his breath as he heard the thud of a body tripping over the low windowsill. 

“On your fucking feet before I put a bullet in your head,” he warned in a low growl. He readied his weapon, fearing the worst before seeing a lighter flicker to life before him and John’s face appear in an orange halo of light.

“For fucks sake, it’s me Tommy!” he called out, brushing off his jacket which was still coated in dirt and grass, a few leaves sticking out from his back pockets.

Tommy came forward to light a lamp and took in the sight of his younger brother helping you through the window, a large diamond ring shining brightly on your left hand. He blinked several times at the sight, rubbing his eyes to be sure he wasn’t dreaming. 

“We need your help, brother,” John said cryptically.

Tommy stood still for a moment, running a hand down his face before exhaling a weary reply. “What have you two done now?”

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

Read next part Birthday Gift

[cheesesoda]

Carnival Date

rookie!leon x gn!reader

a/n: nothing bad happens!au, where leon is just a normal rookie cop!! also this is kinda bootyhole cuz i got tired lmao but enjoy!

genre: FLUFFFFFFFF

summary: you and leon go on a carnival date :)

cw: none!

—————————————————————————-

“pleaseeee? it’ll be fun!” you begged your boyfriend. “fine” he chuckled and you grinned with excitement.

once you got to the carnival you wanted to go in the haunted house. “wait, leon, you go first.” you said as you walked in. “what? why?!” he asked. “you’re the cop! i’m just a civilian!” you teased and he relented. he jumped at the jump scares and cursed out the scary parts, which made you laugh. you finally made it out and he was still on edge. “thank you, officer.” you winked at him and kissed him on the cheek, causing him to blush.

“want to get some cotton candy?” he asked as you passed a stand. “hell yeah!” you smiled and he laughed at your response. as you bought the cotton candy, you noticed a carnival game. there was a large, fluffy teddy bear, probably about 3 feet tall. leon noticed you eyeing the bear and dragged you over. he gave the guy working the game $3 and picked up the fake gun. you ate your cotton candy in astonishment as you watched leon effortlessly hit every target. perks of having a cop boyfriend? the guy working the game looked a little shocked too but asked leon which one he wanted. he looked over at you and gestured for you to pick. “that one.” you smiled as you pointed at the bear. he handed you the bear and you were on your way. “that was so cool, leon! you hit all of them!” you grinned at him, your arm linked with his and your other arm holding the bear. “thank you!” you hugged his arm.

after, you decided to go on the ferris wheel. you board the wheel with leon and your new gift from leon. as the seat you and leon were on approached the top, you rested your head on his shoulder. “thank you for everything, my love. this was so fun.” you say softly, intertwining leon’s hand in yours. “i should thank you for bringing us here. i love you.” he says. the seat reaches the top and stops and leon gives you a kiss.

[bangtaninborderland]

Risk It All (22) - Don’t lie, We aren’t friends.

Genre: Chishiya x F! Reader, smut, angst.

Warning: mentions of abuse starting from “you don’t so someone has to.” You can skip this by jumping to “you watch his face as tears flood your own.”

A/N: I’m sorry to leave it on a cliff hanger 😭 I’ll write the other chapter up today/tomorrow for y’all 😭

Ch.21| Masterlist| Ch.23

“I care about you too.” You whispered, your heart racketing against your chest. “I really do Chishiya.”

He pressed his forehead against yours for a moment longer, his breath heavy. “Let’s go.”

“Okay, where?” You asked, stepping back as he released your shoulders.

“There are a few stores a little further out, we could walk to the edge of the games, it’s likely the shooter won’t come that far out we will have to take back roads, we could stop in the house to gather whatever is there. Anything else we will get on the way.” You watch as he packs up the medical gear back into the small pouch of the backpack. “Are you okay to walk?”

“I’m yeah, fine.” You mumble, the pain slightly kicking in. “We can take the road behind the church a few minutes away, my dad took us a few times as kids.”

He looked at you almost as if analysing your opinion before nodding his head, slipping the straps over his shoulders. “You never talk about your dad.”

“You never ask. Besides what’s the reason for telling a story that holds no good.” You shrugged, regretting it instantly as your arm roared in a dull pain.

“Oh yeah, I should have mentioned that, don’t move too much and you shouldn’t have any pain.” He chuckles.

“You couldn’t have mentioned that before?” You hiss, cradling your arm.

His gaze is empty. “I could have I just didn’t, besides I didn’t realise I had to state the obvious. Stay here and let me check outside.”

“Whatever.” You groan, resting carefully against the wall.

You watch as he ducks his head outside the emergency exit, the electricity somehow disabling the noise of the alarm usually accompanied with the opening of the fire door. “It’s clear we can go just stay low and be quiet until we are a little further out.”

You watch the floor as you walk over to him, slipping out of the ajar door. “Do you think he is near?”

“I doubt it. There are no rules he can go whenever he wants, he is probably looking for the most populated area. The only way to stop him is to probably kill him but with all those guns it seems impossible.”

The faint sounds of gunshots linger in the air, the city smelling lightly of iron, of blood. “So what we head back to the house and then mountain climb? I think Usagi would be a better fit for that. Don’t you think we should find everyone else first?”

“That would be pointless. We would have to go back to the city and we would put ourselves and everyone else in danger to try and find them. Being in a group bigger than 2 is a risk, even us being together is a risk.” He explained, although his eyes were trained on the plainest of things such as the overgrown greenery or the rocks beneath his feet it was easy to see he was aware of everything. Anticipating the worst with every step.

“I guess you’re right, I just worry. Do you think they are okay?”

“How am I supposed to know, I couldn’t really care.” He shrugs, frowning.

“Seriously why are you such an asshole? I refuse to believe you were born like this.” You huff, kicking a stone at him. Regardless of the childishness of the action, you felt it was very much deserved.

“Because the world isn’t as good as you like to believe it is, you have misplaced hope.” He laughs lowly, shaking his head In bemusement. “It’s adorable actually.”

“I would take that as a compliment if It didn’t sound so condescending. The world has good you just have to know where to find it.”

“If the world is so good why isn’t your sister with you?”

You don’t know when you started crying but you felt the tears fall, the sentence enough to cause you more pain than a gunshot ever could. “Fuck you.”

“Oh come on don’t tell me THAT's what gets you upset.”

“You have no right to talk about her.”

“Well, you don’t so someone has to.”

“You fucking asshole. If you want to know so bad then it’s because she was different, she was blind and because of that, my father killed her. He hated her, hated that she was so independent despite her difference. My mother moved away when we were kids because she was tired of my dad hitting her, she couldn’t take us so she got another job in another country and left us behind. I tried to protect my sister but I couldn’t. One day he had too much to drink and within seconds he turned. He started hitting everything, there was glass everywhere. My sister was trying to protect me from him but he pulled her down the stairs. She slipped on a piece of glass and it killed her instantly. She didn’t have a moment of freedom from him. They ruled her death as an accident due to her blindness. He got away with a suspended year-long sentence for abuse. I left straight after and tried to live a good life, to honour her and to see the good in every moment of darkness just like she was for me. So yes I believe there is good in the world Chishiya because someone like my sister existed. Someone who despite facing the worst every single day came through it with a smile on her face.” You pulled out the necklace that had once belonged to her. “This is all I have of her, this is all that’s left of my family.”

You watch his face as tears flood your own. Maybe it was the blurry vision you had but for a second it almost seemed as if he was sad for you, upset. His eyebrows furrowed in shock. “That’s… quite the story.”

You realised then you’d given him exactly what he had wanted, you’d told him everything about the worst you’d been through. You knew he was smart but to trick you into talking about it was something else. “You did that on purpose.”

He laughed, nodding. “You are starting to understand me more.”

“I’ll never understand you.” You shook your head, tucking away your necklace with your good hand.

“I see why you believe in good now let me tell you why I believe in bad. I was a doctor before we all came here.”

“Your patients must have really hated you with your shitty bedside manner.” You rolled your eyes, he really wasn’t what you thought he would be.

“My patients were children and for the most part they actually liked me but regardless of what I did, I could only save the lives of those that had parents to bribe the hospital. Transplants weren’t given to those that needed it but to those that could afford it. I watched child after child die all because of corruption. That is why I believe there is no good. Because even when doing a job that is perceived to be good it is built on an ugly foundation.”

“That’s horrible Chish I’m so sorry. That doesn’t mean the world is bad, the place you were in was bad, the corruption was bad but the children were good.” You wanted to plead with him, to show him how good the world could be but even you knew he would have to see that for himself.

“You’ve got to let that nickname go.” He states bluntly. Checking around a corner as you continue your journey back to the small house.

“I couldn’t ever do that it annoys you too much. So did you become a doctor because you wanted to help people?”

“No. My parents.”

“Oh. Are they still alive?”

“Let’s not do that thing where we share life stories like we are best friends.”

“One second you worry about me the next you hate me, pick a side already. Are you SURE you’re not bipolar?” You laugh. Hoping to lighten the sudden tension between you.

“You confuse me and I don’t like that.” He huffs in irritation.

“Why?” You cock your head, your eyes were wide.

“Because caring in any situation is dangerous.”

You don’t press any more, leaving him to his thoughts as you consider your own. The walk is quiet, thankfully, with no close gunshots or dead bodies. The other games hadn’t seemed to have started yet. The indication lights on the other blimps are off rather than shining the red light as the King of Spades did.

You reach the new place you’d called home an hour or so later, the sun still bright in the sky. You turn to Chishiya. “Do you think everyone else is back home living normally? Having lunch? Playing sports?”

“I would like to think that this is some sort of mental thing, maybe our bodies are elsewhere. Maybe this is a drug trial gone wrong.” It secretly scares you just how little you all know, the world you are in is utterly different from the one you knew for the entirety of your previous life, the life that feels so long ago.

“Whatever it is let’s figure this out. So what we head to the mountains? I don’t think I can climb with my arm like this.”

“Well, then you should stay here.” He continues walking around the house, shoving things into his bag. “I’ll be gone a few hours and then be back it’s not a big deal you can just rest and make food or something.” Maybe see if you can find an old map and trace the borders that we know on it.

“You can’t go alone Chishiya.” You were firm, the thought of him going out alone scared you. “I’ll come with you it will be fine.”

He pointed to your bandages. “Let me check your arm.”

“You dressed it a few hours ago it’s fine.” You shook your head.

“I’ll go by myself then.” He heads towards the door, looking for a jacket of sorts.

“No, NO!” You shout making him turn to you. “You can check it.”

“Well, that was a short tantrum. Sit down.”

You take a seat on the small stool in the kitchen, close enough to the table so he can lay out whatever he needs. “I couldn’t see it properly in that building it will be safer to check it again.”

“Please just don’t hurt me.” You wince, already imagining the pain of the wound.

“I’ll try my best.” He is careful as he unwraps the bandage. “It looks deeper than I thought, I'll have to stitch it up.”

“Needle and thread stitch?” You feel your palms begin to sweat.

“Unfortunately yes. I have some numbing cream it should take away the pain.”

“What about pain killer?” You ask, hopeful.

“I have a stronger one here but you have to take it crushed up.” He explains, watching as you consider it.

“What will happen if I don’t?”

“It will take twice as long to heal and it could get infected. I’m sure even you know what that means.”

You hated how he sounded whenever he explained things to you, always sounding as though talking to an inferior child. “Why do you treat me like I’m so dumb.”

“How do I know you’re not?” He smirks, opening the painkillers.

“I studied literacy, I am a writer. I am educated. Stop acting like I’m so dumb-witted person because I have just as much knowledge as you do, maybe not in exactly the same way but I’m not unequal to you.” You wanted respect from him. Maybe too much.

You watch as he grinds them down, pouring them into a cup of juice. “This will take away the bad taste. Take them whilst I prepare the thread.”

You took the drink silently, gagging at the taste of the crushed pills but thankful for his idea to add the flavouring. “Chishiya how bad will it hurt?”

“I’ll try my best to make it easy just relax.” He explains, threading the needle.

“Will you talk to me whilst you do it? Help distract me?”

“Okay. Just don’t move too much.” You winced as he rubbed in the numbing lotion. “Leave it a minute and I’ll begin.”

“I’ve had stitches before but I was a kid in an equipped hospital and it certainly wasn’t like this.” You gestured to the table and then the window. He seemed to understand as he laughed lightly.

You watched as he picked up the needle, bringing it to your arm. “You know I was working the day I came here?”

You bit down on your tongue as the thread pierced the skin. “Fuck.”

“I know I know, don’t talk okay just breathe. It was late and I didn’t know what was going on. It was weird when I got here there didn’t seem to be so many people. I was supposed to assist a heart transplant for a child, it was the first time I’d actually seen a transplant to be given under the first circumstances. I wanted to be a doctor because of my dad, I thought I’d I became a doctor we would have more in common and he would have liked me a little better but that didn’t happen. It was an immature wish.”

You were thankful for his speaking, it served as a great distraction. “I’m sorry you deserved, ouch, you deserved better chish.”

“I said don’t talk.” He shook his head in disappointment.

“What do you want to do after we get out of here?”

“I’ll quit my job. I don’t know anything else I don’t think about it. There’s no point in thinking of a future that may not come you have to be present at the moment. You have to think for the you that exists now, not the you that will exist in however long.”

When he stopped to explain things without having a condescending tone it was easier to understand and accept things from his point of view, regardless of how warped it was. The you that existed now will be the you that exists in the future, but you didn’t tell him that. You couldn’t. “How much longer?”

“You’re all done.” He smiled, closing the stitch. “It doesn’t take long, how was the pain?”

“Better than being shot again I suppose.” You refrain from shrugging remembering the pain from earlier.

“How do you feel?”

“Really uh- dizzy?” You stood up, holding on to the table for support. “Chishiya I don’t feel good.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

That was the last thing you heard before everything switched off, a darkness encasing you. When you opened your eyes it was dark, the sun had set, and the house was only illuminated by the small lamp. “Chishiya?”

You had no response and the lack of movement in the house only spoke to one thing… he was gone.