#i still cant believe that just the sky and ground took me an hour

[siffrinsometimes]

Memory of Touch

[baroquebucky]

embrace

soulmate au where when you touch your soulmate you see glimpses of your future with them; the winter soldier touches you and realizes there’s so much more out there

series masterlist // previous // next

part three

word count: 2.3k

masterlist

a/n: hi bffs !!! here is the third installment for my soulmate au !! i think I’ll make one or two more parts and then end it ! let me know what you guys think i love reading your thoughts !! <3 (bonus points if u find all the parallels heh)

You didn’t hesitate throwing your arms around him, tears flowing down your cheeks as you held onto him tightly. Bucky held you just as tight, burrowing his face in your shoulder and a smile on his face.

Bucky felt home. He felt the way he imagined the smell of freshly baked cookies would feel, he felt warm and fuzzy. Bucky felt happy.

“i- where have you been what happened i thought- we all- oh my god steve he’s been going crazy and-” you rambled, a smile on your face. You looked at bucky, he was just as tall as your remembered, his eyes a bit brighter and you felt your heart flutter.

“oh come in!” You chuckled, pulling him by his metal arm into your home, a smile on your face as you led him to your living room.

“i never introduced myself” he spoke, eyes on the ground as you prepared two cups of hot chocolate. You looked at him, laughing lightly.

“guess you didn’t huh” you replied, taking out the cups and putting in some marshmallows before walking back over to the couch, setting the two cups on the table and turning to face him.

“I’m y/n” you smiled brightly, extending your hand out. Bucky grinned, shaking your hand and introducing himself.

“I’m bucky” you felt your face heat up as he smiled at you, much different from the last time when you looked at each other.

“does Steve know you’re here? that you’re you?” you questioned, eyeing him to try and get read on his body language. He shifted slightly, taking a sip of his hot chocolate.

“not really no, i-” he hesitated before fiddling with his hands and speaking up again, “ive been laying low, i just couldn’t stop thinking about you and the visions i saw” he spoke, blushing and you couldn’t stop the smile on your face.

“i couldn’t either” you replied, looking at him before looking at the way the marshmallows melted into the hot chocolate. “I was so worried these past couple of months, i tried helping steve and Sam but it was so much and we were getting no where” you mumbled, heart falling as you thought of all your fruitless efforts.

Bucky noticed the way your voice trembled as you spoke and how you grilled the mug a little tighter. He felt his chest tighten.

“I’m here now doll” he spoke softly, moving to put your mug down and pulling you to his chest, wrapping his arms around you tightly.

You relaxed into his touch, tears welling in your eyes once more, you let yourself lean into him, closing your eyes for a second and enjoying his embrace.

“i missed you so much, can’t believe i could miss someone i didn’t even know that much” you laughed, sniffling lightly as you pulled away

“we’re soulmates dollface, we’re meant to be” he smiled softly at you and you nodded, a small smile as you wiped away a couple stray tears.

It was easy to fall into comfortable conversation with each other. All laughs and giggles as you spoke, the sun high in the sky already and the city wide awake despite it being early in the morning.

You so happy to have bucky with you, a smile on your face as you started to think of all you had to show him, thoughts of the future you had seen made you giddy with excitement.

“oh you have to meet Sam! The two of you would be so funny together bickering all the time- oh also there’s this coffee shop i really like, very quaint but-” you rambled, trying to fit in everything you wanted to tell bucky.

“I’m moving” bucky cut you off, a frown on his face as he glanced over at you. He focused his gaze on you, stomach dropping when you stared at him with a confused expression.

“like here? to New York?” You were quiet, knowing that’s not what he meant. Bucky but his bottom lip in frustration before turning to you with sad eyes.

“romania, i cant be here- not while HYDRA is still out there and I’m wanted for everything I’ve done” bucky frowned. Your heart broke in your chest, you wanted to curl up and cry.

You just got him back. You had lost him twice already, you weren’t sure if you could handle a third.

“you can’t- i just got you back you can’t go” you shook your head, eyes watery already. You held his hand tightly and bucky wanted to badly to stay.

“i have to” he whispered, “you know i do.”

And you did, you knew this was his best chance and you had to let him go. You knew how painful it would be and how much you would miss him. You thought about the amount of time you had cried at night, wishing you could get to the future already.

But you also knew you would get your happy ending, you knew at some point in your life you would be happily in love and laughing in a meadow of flowers watching a sunset with him. And that’s what you held onto.

“promise me you’ll come back to me” you whispered, scooting closer to him, his hands still in yours.

“I always will doll” he smiled, slipping his hand out of yours and placing it softly under your chin, tilting your head so you could look at him. Your watery eyes met his baby blue ones, you swore they sparkled slightly.

“don’t worry your pretty head doll, we still have forever to be happy” he smiled, leaning in slightly. Bucky stopped centimeters away from your lips, your heart racing at his actions, you wanted nothing more than to kiss him.

“may i?” He whispered. You didn’t reply, instead you crashed your lips onto him. It was needy and rough, your teeth hitting each other at one point but you didn’t care. It felt like your heart were beating in sync, you felt whole.

You both pulled away, breathless before laughing lightly, your hair messy from his hands tugging at it. Bucky ran his hand through his hair, a charming smile on his face as you two regained your composure.

“if you kiss me like that again i don’t think I’ll let you go” you teased, heart heavy as he frowned slightly.

“what if i kiss you like this” he mumbled, softly placing his lips back onto yours. It was much gentler, softer and sweet. Your hand easily finding its way to his hair, fingers cascading through his soft hair. Bucky smiled into the kiss, giving you a soft peck before pulling away.

“you’re gonna be the death of me” you whispered, heart thumping in your ears. Bucky smiled at you sweetly, pulling you into his arms and holding you.

You wiggled a bit, laying your head on his chest and listening to his heartbeat, your eyes closing and falling asleep before you could even fight to stay awake.

Bucky woke you up at around 1 pm, shaking you gently. Your eyes opened slowly and you realized you were back in your bed, tucked in under your blanket.

“i waited a bit before bringing you back to bed, didn’t wanna wake you again” bucky smiled and you laughed, sitting up and yawning, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes.

“i got some food for us, figured you’d be hungry” bucky spoke, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as you walked out of your room when you finished brushing your teeth and changing out of your pajamas.

You looked at bucky with a smile on your face, bounding over to him and tackling him with a hug, kissing his cheek. You silently thanked the universe for giving you bucky as your soulmate as the two of you talked while you ate.

Bucky had never felt so at ease, he wasn’t worried about someone kicking his door down or having to keep running. All he could focus on was the way you would smile anytime he laughed and the way you blushed when your eyes would meet.

The two of you spent the day together, cuddled up on the couch and watching a movie, just like you had seen the first time the two of you ever touched. You smiled to yourself while bucky focused on the movie, his hand mindlessly drawing circles on your arm as he held you. This was how it was meant to be, your soulmate by your side and the feeling of home.

But nothing ever seems to go as it should. By the time night came you were saying goodbye, both of you teary eyed as he held you tightly, not wanting to go but know he had to.

It had taken an hour to move from the couch to halfway to the door, both of you crying messes with soft giggles trying to cheer each other up.

Finally you had reached the door, both of you going through too many tissues and looking at each other with teary eyes and matching pink noses.

“before i go” bucky turned, pulling away from the handle and into his jacket pocket, you could hear the jingling of metal. “I want you to have these, until we can be together again” he smiled, holding out his dog tags.

You didn’t know what to say, tears flowing down your cheeks again as you looked at him. Bucky hugged you, letting you cry into his chest for a moment before you calmed down.

“are you sure buck? I mean they must mean so much to you” you looked at him and he smiled, nodding before easily putting them on you, his heart fluttering as he took in the sight of them on you.

“I’ll see you soon dollface” Bucky smiled, kissing your temple and you nodded, hands clutching his dog tags.

“see you soon lovebug, I’ll be waiting here for you” you smiled, loving the way he blushed at the new nickname.

When you found out about steve finding him in Romania you acted surprised, guilt washing over you for hiding the information from your friend but you knew it’s what bucky wanted.

You offered to go help him and Sam on the rescue mission but they stopped you, telling you it was best for you to stay out of this one. You wanted to argue but you couldn’t blame them, you had been a wreck after bucky left, barely sleeping and crying over your soulmate.

You didn’t expect the bombing at the UN, bucky being framed and the whole team falling out. You had been in New York the whole time, skipping out on the meeting with the accords because you just so happened to have the flu that week.

“oh yeah stay home i can’t afford you getting everyone sick” tony has spoken over the phone, hanging up on you, a frown on your face. Not ten minutes later did you get a notification saying food was being delivered to your house, nice warm soup along with some medicine to help you feel better.

You least expected steve flying you out to wakanda, eyes wide as you took in all the technology, heart thumping in your chest knowing bucky would be right around the corner.

You felt your heart stop as you saw him in a white tank top, running up to him and wrapping your arms around him. Your cheeks hurt from how much you were smiling and bucky held you tightly with his right arm, leaning into your touch.

“oh doll I’ve missed you so damn much” he mumbled, a smile on his face as the two of you held each other for the first time in months.

“missed you so much more james” you spoke breathless, pulling away before placing a gentle kiss on his lips, the two of you smiling and resting your foreheads against each other.

“y/n-” you pressed your lips to his, quieting him. Pulling away you looked at him with love in your eyes, heart racing as he smiled at you softly.

“Steve already told me” you explained, knowing how much it would pain him to tell you. Bucky nodded, his lips curling into a gentle smile as he looked at you. His eyes landed on the outline of his dog tags under your shirt.

“you still have ‘em on” he whispered his eyes soft and his heart melting as you nodded.

“I never take them off lovebug” you replied, holding his hand in your as he smiled up at you. Steve placed a hand on your shoulder signaling it was time.

You stepped away from bucky, his hand holding onto yours tighter, not wanting to let go. You made sure you kept his hand in yours, interlacing your fingers.

“You sure about this?” Steve spoke up and bucky nodded, a tight smile on his face as his eyes flickered between the two of you.

“i cant trust my own mind,” he chuckled dryly, “until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head i think going back under is the best thing” he looked at you with a soft smile, “for everybody.”

You squeezed his hand, nodding your head softly. “don’t worry lovebug, I’m yours forever” you whispered, a smile on your face as he recognized the phrase as the same on you had spoke to him in the flashes when you first touched.

“I’m yours forever, doll” Bucky spoke, kissing your temple before slipping his hand out of yours, and stepping into the machine.

You stood next to Steve as the machine whirred, looking away as it froze over. Steve put his arm around you, leading you away.

You held onto the memories you had made months ago in your apartment. You held onto the flashes you had gotten of the two of you having a picnic in the meadow, giggling with the sunset in the background.

You held onto bucky, your hope.

-

taglist !

@felicityofbakerstreet @newyork47 @classygirlything @ebxny27 @hhaydenn @miaangel24 @shawnie--jo @quinnmaddie @mugscraps @bucky-32557038 @marvelfansworld @hey-there-angels @buckys2thicc @groovyvalentine

[latenightdecaf]

Entry 6 - of light gaze and worrisome face

part of let the pile of good things grow series - series masterlist

previous entry here

Yoongi x reader

Ft. nonidol!bts

Producer!yoongi, roommate!yoongi, soft!yoongi

slow burn romance, friendship, slice of life

series of drabbles/one shots

no warnings for now

A/N: starting to get the hang of this again, it’s been a while so i’m just going where my imagination takes me. So i’ll probably be posting another one for tomorrow before the motivation leaves me. Hope you all like it.

Word count: 1,953

Pacing back and forth in the living room as you’re having this conversation with your friend and also editor, Hye Jin. Talking you out into the possibility of taking in another project that would put an indefinite pause to your own book.

“I couldn’t possibly say no, she had this whole speech on how she wanted to make this book for her baby. To read to her when she’s old enough. Words from a loving mother for her newborn child, my goodness.” You stopped and sighed. “I know, but having to accept this means also putting your book on hold, you’ve been working on that for months now—is that really something you are willing to do?” Hye Jin reminded you on the other end. You stopped on your tracks, not saying a word and just looking blankly over the view from your living room. Thinking to yourself, ‘I can’t believe it’s summer already.’

Yoongi who have just woken up and is getting himself some water in the kitchen and were just looking intently at your back not particularly eavesdropping in your conversation, but just looking. You haven’t even realized he walked in.

“I know you, you’re just running away from this. You’ve been so scared of finally publishing something that is yours and yours only. So when a small window of opportunity presents itself you immediately took the ticket to leave.” Hye Jin, your editor who has became a good friend to you throughout these years, has always been good to you—she can so easily read you, too.

“You know for someone who’s actually trying to get pregnant for months now, you don’t seem to understand her feelings. Of course, I’m just here to help.” Weak argument on your end, you know she’s right when she said that you were running away. “You’re always there to help. But what about you? You know for someone who doesn’t want to have kids. I’m surprised you’re too adamant to do this.” Her statement made you laugh. “Have you changed your mind?” She added.

“I may not want kids, but I’m not heartless.”

And those were the last phrase Yoongi heard from you as we backed to his room.

Your conversation with Hye Jin went on for a couple more minutes only to end up with some sort of a compromise.

“You’ll need minimum 3-4 months, and probably maximum 6/7 months to wrap this all up? You need to get this done more quickly. That’s my only deal.” You sighed in defeat. “I’ll try.” Ending the call and waving the white flag. You too were also not sure of what you’re getting yourself into. Is it just you running away? Or is this the small part of you feeling guilty again.

“You’ll need minimum 3-4 months, and probably maximum 6/7 months to wrap this all up? You need to get this done more quickly. That’s my only deal.” You sighed in defeat. “I’ll try.” Ending the call and waving the white flag. You too were also not sure of what you’re getting yourself into. Is it just you running away? Or is this the small part of you feeling guilty again.

Weeks later, Yoongi’s packing up for their fishing trip that his friend, Jin insisted they would come. He felt like he has no choice but it might be good reason to go our for a change.

“Hey, I thought you said you guys were going camping? Why do you have your equipments with you… you poor corporate slave.”

He laughed at your remark. You’re still looking at his stuff all puzzled and confused by how heavy it all looks. You leaned on the kitchen counter as you watch him put his stuff out from his room.

You asked again, “Dont you think it’s a little too much? Cant you leave some stuff? Do you even have clothes in there? How bout food? Not important? Music is life?” He laughed. You’re good at making him laugh.

He finds all of your worrisome-sarcastic remarks endearing. He looked at you and said, “Look, it’s like you—you not taking your ipad everywhere you go. Or that small sketchbook you have. You draw every chance you get, you draw in the middle of lunch or while waiting for someone. And if not your ipad, you draw even on table napkins and ask the waiter for more. It’s the same for me.”

You let out a smile at his comparison.

“Okay okay, point taken mister. Point. Taken. But my ipad wont break my back—just saying.” You teasingly replied.

“Maybe i can leave some.” Looking at his bags and talking to himself as he puts some of his stuff back in his room and minutes later he’s done preparing for their camping tomorrow.

“All done?” You asked as you look over to a now somehow reduced luggage. “I’ll help you put some of it in your car.”

You carried with him some of his bags as he is the type to have everything ready before leaving.

As you walked down the stairs, just carrying the lightest possible baggage you could ever find. “You sure you have enough food in here?” Lifting the bag and shaking to hear whats inside. “I mean i know you can certainly whip anything and turn it into a meal but this looks like there’s just ramen in here.”

He finds you cute when you worry.

“We’ll do grocery tomorrow on our way, no worries.” That statement puts you at ease. You reached the ground floor and towards his car. “That sounds good. I mean—just incase the fishing thing wont work out. You know, like last time? There might be a lot of fish in the sea and then suddenly there’s none for you—i mean that in the most literal sense. Not just in women, you know—just incase.” Teasing him again and bringing up the time he went home from a fishing trip. He was so tired, they didn’t caught a single fish. And the trip was cut short and they all immediately went home. He declared then to never go with Jin again but I guess, he love that Hyung of him a lot to be packing all these for yet another fishing trip.

There’s a good sense of companionship between the two of you. The way you can always make him smile without even trying. The way you always tease him lightly. He’s known you for a while, has seen you with your friends and he knows that you’re just the warmest person—to everyone, not just to him. But it looks like something has been bothering you lately, he even offered if you wanted to go with him on their fishing trip, assuring you that Jin and Hoseok are good people and nothing bad will happen. But you respectfully declined. Not just because you don’t eat fish but because you just need some time alone. Not that Yoongi has ever been a bother to you in any way too but just alone would be nice, you thought.

Yoongi will be gone for the whole weekend and possibly be returning on Sunday afternoon. You don’t have any particular plans just work and then some more work. As soon as you’re both back into the apartment you asked, “You’re leaving tonight? At midnight?”

“Yeah around that time, why?” Yoongi confirmed.

“Nothing.”

“Are you okay?” He asked, as you stopped in front of the refrigerator to get yourself some coffee.

“Yeah, why won’t I be?”

“You do know you say that a lot.” Yoongi grabbed himself a glass and grabbed the pitcher in your hand and you just smiled. “There’s not much meat left in the fridge, couple of things are missing too. You want me to go to grocery before I leave?” Leaning in the kitchen sink and drinking your coffee. You let out a deep sigh unknowingly. “No, I’ll go. Don’t worry.” You left your empty glass onto the sink. “I’m just saying, I can go if you’re not up for it.” You shake your head to reassure him, “I don’t mind, okay? I’m going to be fine.” You walked passed him as you went to your room.

Yoongi definitely knows that something’s been bothering you for days. He doesn’t want to pry, if you don’t want to talk about it. He just keeps looking at you, just in case you want to talk—these days your mind has always been elsewhere and there’s just so much work to be done.

You wanted to say goodbye before he left but you fell asleep in the middle of the evening and woke up half past one. You went outside to check and it looks like he already left. You got yourself some water from the kitchen and there’s a post-it left in the fridge that says, “Got you some groceries, call me if there’s anything.” You opened fridge and he even refilled your ice creams. You know you couldn’t have a more thoughtful cat. Even when he went away for almost a week for work and you were dying from a sky high fever, you never really called him for anything. But he constantly reminds you that you always can.

Yoongi volunteered to drive this time for some odd reason. It’ll be an almost 2 hour drive from Seoul to Daejeon, he actually doesn’t mind driving and quiets enjoy it more than he’d ever admit. Everything is set, their fishing trip as orchestrated by his hyung, Jin and Hoseok who had no choice but to be dragged unto this trip. They’ve been his friends for the longest time, being in the same company who also works in the industry. Hoseok, a renowned choreographer and Jin, one of the company directors in his agency. He never would’ve agreed to yet another fishing trip if only Jin didn’t promised to have everything paid for and ready to go. He held Hoseok hostage though and so he has no choice but to go as well. Sleeping at the passenger’s seat they both drifted away as Yoongi drives.

They have gone to multiple fishing trips over the years, some where even overseas during their vacation and something wrong always turn out like the time they have to cut the trip short because they have been sitting in the boat for hours and they haven’t caught a single thing. The owner of the boat found it odd too.

But to Yoongi’s surprise everything’s turning out smoothly, on their second day of camping they were able to caught a lot of salmon and have it for dinner. Stuck in his own thoughts while grilling some salmon, Jin shouted. “Yoongi-ah! You’re burning it.” Immediately going back to reality, and thankfully saving the precious fish from burning. “What are you thinking about so deeply?”

“No it’s nothing, Hyung.” He replied as he kept tending to his almost burnt fish.

Once grilling is done they all gathered to have their dinner with some drinks. Soju and beer is always present and with Hoseok around to play some games. In the middle of all the silliness that is Jin and Hoseok and taking the game way too seriously for their own good. Jin asked Yoongi, “Why are you always staring at your phone?” He immediately hide it and said, “No nothing, hyung.”

“What are you thinking of again?” Knowing how Yoongi is sometimes, Jin pried as Yoongi kept looking distracted the entire trip. “Nothing, Hyung. Really.”

“Okay, it’s your turn.” Giving him his Nintendo, he eventually added “If this is about Hyuna, just let me know if you don’t want to work with her again. Maybe we can do something about it.” Yoongi let out a chuckle and drank a shot of soju. “Hyung it’s nothing really, it’s not about her either. The work is fine, we actually finished it sooner than I thought. You must have heard it already.” Jin eventually took the game from Yoongi replied, “I did, you guys were really professional about all this.”

“Of course.” Yoongi proudly replied as he sneaked a peek into his phone again. Unconsciously waiting for some call.

moodboard sr: x x x

[rapspud]

Bittersweet

Bittersweet    A/N: Decided to rewrite this one. Please enjoy.

Yoongi looked at your friends as he sneered at your prone form sprawled out on the ground, your fingers scrambling to find your glasses.

“Aw what’s the matter? The poor baby can't see?” He purred as he picked up your glasses and dangled them in front of your face before throwing them into the dumpster. “Have fun diving!” He cackles as he slides past your prone figure, cruelly stepping on your hand as he passes.

You could hear the snickers of his friends behind you. You watched as his best friend, Seokjin clapped Yoongi on the shoulder, and whispered, “Oi, I get the whole I hate “y/n” thing but seriously—that was a bit much don’t you think?”

Yoongi  couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “She ratted us out! So I fixed it-and now she can’t see to snitch! And shouldn’t you be on my side? You’re in just as much trouble as I am!”

Seokjin could only look at Yoongi like he had a third head, “ Yeah I guess, but still...there is-” at Yoongi’s raised eyebrow he swallowed what he wanted to say, instead choosing to leave rather than to help Yoongi’s victim, “Hey I gotta go I’ll catch you later okay?”

Yoongi smiled and waved good-bye before walking away from the group. How could he possibly explain how much he hated Y/N? No one here knew the truth about your families-how he had to share a home with you,  your family serving his. He had no respite from you. Yeah, Y/N deserved everything she got, he thought as he got into his car. Plus it's not like you wouldn’t rat him out when you got home about what happened. This time as he drove past you and saw you hunched in on yourself, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt as he saw you clutching your injured hand, staring resolute at the dumpster, knowing full well that you would go in after the glasses. After all, he knew how hard your mother worked to buy them for you, he knew how you worked 2 jobs and also kept track of your younger brothers. Deep down, he really hoped that maybe this time you would finally explode and tell everyone about all the horrid acts he committed against you. 

Except that you never did tell on him. 

In fact, you avoid Yoongi like the plague.  After finally scrambling into the dumpster and reclaiming your glasses, you clambored back out, hand still screaming in pain. As you stand there wiping the garbage from the lenses and picking off random refuse from your clothes you honestly don’t think you can sink any lower than this. You swipe grimey hands at your cheeks as hot tears run down them, thankful that you are alone. And as you walk away you begin to make plans. You couldn’t keep doing this. And with renewed energy you begin walking home, not didn’t looking back choosing instead to forge ahead, putting one foot in front of another until finally you were in your mid=twenties, and had your own little place. You were happy with your life. But you should have known. All good things must come to an end eventually. You hadn’t thought about him in years, attending school, graduating, opening up a bakery with your best friend. Essentially you were hiding, but not really. 

And then by some ill stroke of luck, he found you.

You awaken to the blaring of your alarm with a groan. Was it really 8 am? The flashing numbers of your clock inform you that it was in fact 8:59. Shit you were late. Cursing your snooze butten, you scrambled out of your bed and grabbed the cleanest clothes you could find off the floor and stumble as you attempt a whole new balancing act: pulling up your pants while holding a hot cup of coffee and a piece of toast dangling precariously from your teeth. As you run down the street towards the bus, slinging your backpack over your shoulder while you scramble to tuck your shirt in you promptly run into a solid wall and fall on your ass. Your hair is covering your face as you look up at  what you had plowed into, an apology already leaving your mouth when you got to the face. “Um…hi, uh…sorry about that.”

“Y/N. From YHSN?”

“Yes?” you become wary, no one around here really knows you as you chose to keep to yourself…“Do I know you?”

The grin that spread across the man’s face could be described as nothing less than cruel and vicious. “Yeah, Y/N L/N right? I am here to inform you that you have 24 hours to vacate the premises. Good luck.” He stated before unceremoniously dropping an envelope onto your lap and turning on her heel to leave you in a stunned heap on the floor.

What the hell had just happened? Maybe you were still dreaming?

You were dazed for a moment as your brain tried to compute the absolute absurdity of what had just happened and then you were on your feet chasing the man, yelling at him to stop but he just kept on walking.

Finally catching up to the man, you grab her arm, “What the fuck man?” you yell, “this is illegal as hell! Thirty days is the minimum!” You shove the notice back at the man, hitting him in her (very solid) chest hard.

“Y/n, Y/n, I see you're still full of venom huh? It’s completely legal actually-you see I” he leaned forward, “own the building now. And to my delight, what do I learn? I find out that Y/N L/N happens to be a tenant! Guess how happy I was to finally find you again after all these years and then get to have you vacate your home.” he laughs as you gape at him like a fish.

“Min fucking Yoongi, I do not have time for your petty ass childish bullshit! ” you hers, voice laced with venom.

“Aw kitten you remembered! I am truly honored! But alas I cant stay and chit-chat, and well, neither can you. Tata chica!” With that he jerks her arm from your grasp, sending you back to the ground in shock for the second time that morning, before climbing into an expensive black car and driving away.

You scream curses to the sky, because after 8 peaceful years, the man you had spent so long  running from and then finally forgetting, had found you. But of course, the sky only decides to rain. And as you trudge back home to call into work, (because seriously fuck this day) you can’t help but wonder how everything came to this moment. After a shower and change of clothes, you fall into your bed, allowing yourself one moment of respite before you begin to tackle this new problem, closing your eyes.

You were back there again, trapped both in a small body and the cave that haunts you as you watch helplessly at the rising water. Your tiny voice is raised, tinted with fear, “I told you we shouldn’t come here! My mama said-“

The boy next to you cut you off, “Crying ain’t gonna fix it, I will save us”

“You can't even swim,” You yell, unable to remain calm. 

“I AM GONNA SAVE US!” the small boy shouted, “so don’t cry Y/N.” He gave you a small smile, one that made you feel slightly safer and he took hold of your hand. “Follow me and don’t let go no matter what.”

“Okay,” you say, for some reason feeling braver after placing your faith along with your hand into the boy’s hand. He said he would, so of course he would save both of you. After all, he was your best friend and you don’t pick losers.

It was a lot harder though, when all was said and done. Yes, the two of you made it out of the cave alive, but not without nearly drowning, and you had slipped and injured your ankle along the way. Luckily, you did make it out, and while the two of you spent a cold wet night huddled together on the beach, you were alive. In the morning, you were rescued further as the search teams found. And while your mother had you wrapped up in her warmth and was crying and thanking the people over and over that had saved you, the same welcoming was not happening to the young boy. You could hear screaming as a woman in a fine dress and her husband yelled at the boy, your tiny hero, before there was a loud smack. You watch as the boy falls, hand clenched to her face, tears streaming down her face as her mother continues to land hard blows upon her body until she is dragged away. You cried out for you friend and as the two of you met eyes, for the first time you saw hatred reflected back at you. That was the day Min Yoongi stopped being your friend and became your tormentor.

He followed you everywhere, taunting you, breaking your things, and ultimately breaking you. Your mother finally quit working for her house the day he’d thrown your glasses into the garbage and you had come home, broken glasses in hand, face streaked with tears and reeking of garbage -you had finally confessed what had happened, what all had been happening. You had moved away, your mom working several jobs and then as well as yourself working, then you working to  pay your way through chef school and finally moving out into your own place. And all of it had just been destroyed because he found you.

You sigh looking up at your ceiling letting your anger consume you as you curse Min Yoongi to a lifetime of diarrhea. And an itchy butt. And you hoped her eyebrows fell out, just for good measure.

You look around your apartment one last time before closing the door with finality. this asshole, you think to yourself. “Just wait” you say as you look down at the address your brother had just texted you.

An hour later you stand before a gated house and ring the doorbell. And ring it. And ring it. And continue ringing it (after all it was nearly 6 am, and as you had learned that morning, if you want to ruin someone's day, do it first thing in the morning) until a sleepy figure stumbles outside and smacks your hand away. You take this opportunity to dart inside the gate and into the house carrying your things with you.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?” Yoongi yells at you from outside, beginning to stomp back to her front door. You could only grin as you take in the pajama bottoms and robe, while you stand there like a goddamn Amazonian queen, “You took my home. this is payback.” and then you dialed the police, “Yes? Officer? There’s a half naked man on my lawn, please send help! I’m so scared”

You couldn’t help the grin that covers your face as you smile at Yoongi, “Good luck asshole.” You say sweetly, before slamming the door in her face. Nothing had ever sounded so sweet as the sound of the lock turning over, followed a second later by desperate pounding at the door. And Yoongi could only pound on the door until the cops showed up and he explained that this was, in fact, her home, as well as that the intruder was actually you. The officers had asked him if he wanted you arrested and for once he let it go, telling them that you were having a lovers quarrel and apologizing that they had to come out over something so silly. As the cops pulled away, he went to the back of the house and slammed the sliding glass door open only to find the house seemingly empty. As he walked from room to room he couldn’t help but get angrier and angrier. But when he found you passed out on her bed, he paused, somehow her anger dissipating instantly. He stood there, looking at your sleeping body and wondered if you would ever know her real feelings for you. If he would ever be able to tell you. And the real question: could you forgive him? He knew it was asking a lot, but he could only hope. He sat and thought about how to express to you the things he needed to say. He wondered how exactly did one explain how guilty he felt about how he treated you, how he didn’t really understand why he went out of her way to make your life miserable back then…and then you had left him. How, when you left he realized just how broken he was inside. When he bought the building he couldn’t believe her luck when he saw your name as one of the tenants, but her old ways came back hard and for some ungodly childish reason he couldn’t control himself. That he should have been apologizing that morning and telling you how thankful he was that it had also brought you back to him. He guessed that it was far too late for him to ever have your forgiveness and he couldn’t help the smile that played on her mouth as he approached the bed. He reached out a hand to smooth back some hair that covered your face when you wherpered, “Yoongi...” he stilled, “…I’m sorry” you mumbled. What could you possibly be sorry for? He couldn’t help it, but it made him angry that you would apologize to him after everything he’d done and especially while in such a vulnerable state that the next thing he knew he was grabbing the blanket and ripping it away from your curled form. It’s momentum  sends you over the edge of the bed to land in a heap on the floor. You sit up cursing her very existence,

 “What the hell Y/N?!” He yells right back, while you could only manage to stare up at him from where you sat on the floor. But this time you weren’t having any of her bullshit. You jump up and get in her face “ What the hell? What do YOU mean what the hell? Who the hell buys a building solely to evict one person?! Are you that rich? Do you hate me that much?”

Yoongi yelled back, “Hell yeah I do!“ 

"You have issues, Min Yoongi! I did nothing to you except be born! Do you know how hard I worked to forget what you did to me? And you come just back,” you pause, swallowing thickly, you would not cry. Not here. Not now, “But not anymore! I won't let you break me again Yoongi. I am worth so much more than that!”

Exhausted, you  move to push around him but he grabs your wrists instead and pins you against the wall.

“Let me go you asshole!” you yell at him fighting back for once in your life, all while trying to hide your face and the tears that were no longer just threatening to spill over. “Can't you just hate me from a distance? I’m sorry your mom was a horrid cunt to you! I’m sorry, okay! But please, just let me go! Leave me alone” And then her hands were gone, and you were free. You couldn’t help it, you looked up and stared him in the eyes, for once determined to make him see how he wrecked you.

Yoongi could only stare at you, watching as the tears fell, tears once again caused by him, and then he heard the five words that ripped open her wounds, words he knew he deserved, said in a voice so broken he didn’t know where he should start to even attempt to repair it.

“I hate you Min Yoongi.“

He couldn’t stand it, he knew he deserved them but he just couldn’t stand there and just accept them. Accepting those words would be like giving up, and giving up probably the only pure thing he still had in her life. Had. And so he moved, not thinking about consequences, only a desire to cleanse those words from the air around him. He grabs you again, pushing you against the wall, capturing your face in one hand, forcing you to meet her eyes, while he brushes your hair away with the other, "Good. Never forget it.”

And then he crashes her mouth against yours.

You didn’t know how what was happening was happening and some stupid part of you was excited to have him pressed against you,  mouth was moving against yours and then you were responding and for some reason it felt so good–like coming home. It was like your body suddenly was against everything you wanted-you found yourself wrapping your arms around her neck and pulling him closer, deepening the kiss, a giggle bubbling up when you nipped at her lip and he groaned. and then you both were tearing at each other's clothes in desperation. And then the world stops making sense. You and Min Yoongi, enemy of the state #1 were having sex. And it was good. It felt so right, like you two had been made to fit each other only. When it was over he lay behind you, placing gentle kisses along your neck and down your collar bone. The last thing you remember before falling asleep in your enemy’s arms was Yoongi gently wherpering a muffled “I’m sorry” into your ear over and over.

When you wake, you are surprised to find an arm wrapped around your waist and you freeze as the memories of the night before come rushing back and you begin to mentally beat yourself up as you carefully slide out of the bed and grab your clothes, making a mad dash out of the house, dressing yourself along the way.

No way had you slept with Yoongi and enjoyed it. You were an idiot of the highest order. You slept with the man who wanted you homeless because he hated you.

You let out a deep sigh as you did a very new special walk of shame to your job, where your boss, Mandi greeted you by yelling, “Oi ! What cat pissed in your cheerios?”

Causing the other workers to laugh until you pinned them with your patented Crazy-eye ™, at which point they scurried away except for that moron Seokjin who slung his arm around your shoulders jovially, “So why is my favorite girl doing the walk of shame?”

You glare and shrug his arm off, “None of your business.” 

“Dude its obs-you’re like a whole 4 hours late-and you are never late. So what happened? Anyone I know?”

“You’ll just call me an idiot if I tell you.”

“I swear on cake I won't.”

You raise an eyebrow before saying a name you never thought you’d say just to see him eat his words. “Min Yoongi.”

“Shut the front door! You’re an idiot”

“The cake is ashamed of you and asks that you keep your distance.” You say as you move to the back rooms to put away your belongings.

Not giving up, Seokjin follows you, even going so far as to hand you your apron, “Seriously? Didn’t he like-”

“Terrorize me to the point of moving? Then find me years later and evict me? Yep.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“You okay?” Seokjin asked worriedly, For the shit talking between the two of you, you smile to know he does really care.

“I have to be.”

“Did you at least use a condom?” He asks.

“Oh my god.”

“You really are an idiot. But don’t worry…you know I’ve got your back right? Well, we’ve got your back.”

You could only stare at Seokjin as your mind whirls through the consequences of last night, “It should be fine right?” you ask.

“Sure, cupcake. Keep telling yourself that”

There is a ding from the door and you see your brother Jungkook shuffles in with your other brother Namjoon, and giving Seokjin a look that clearly says “Keep your mouth shut if you want to live” you take a deep breath and head behind the counter to wash your hands, greeting them as you go.

“COFFEE. COFFEE NOW.” Namjoon grunts demandingly, taking a seat and burying her head in her hands,  while Jungkook adds a half-hearted “Please…and a raspberry jelly for me.”

“Rough night?” You ask as you pour the two men coffee and grab Jungkook her donut and slide it in front of them.

Jungkook grins, “Nah, Joon thought he could out drink me. He thought wrong.”

“Shhhhhhhhh!! You’re so loud,” hersed Namjoon, shoving a hand at Jungkook’s face and missing entirely.

You grin and speak extra loud, “Shouldn’t you know by now to let the kids drink and you go home and sleep?”

Namjoon just glares at you, “I have a gun.”

“I aint scared of you.”

The shop bursts into laughter as Namjoon buries her head in her arms on the counter, “Why do you hate me so much?” He whines.

“Mom likes you more, and I’m a petty bitch.”

Jungkook grins, “But she likes me most!”

Both you and Namjoon glare at him, “Shut up!”

Yoongi wakes up to an empty bed and he frowns, crawling out of bed and pulling on her boxers. He wanders around the house looking for you, hoping that you haven't run away and when he can’t find you, her heart sinks. Was he that awful that you would still run away from him even after what you had shared? And worse, what if he had gone too far this time?

He makes her way back to her room and grabs her phone, calling her secretary.

“Yo.” Answered Hoseok.

“Really that’s how you answer the phone? You do know that I am your boss right?”

“Debatable today.”

Yoongi rolls her eyes, “Anyways, I need you to find someone…”

“Well you know Imma need a little more…”

“Y/N. You remember her right?”

“You mean the girl you tortured in school because you didn’t have the balls to tell her how you lurrrrrrrved her.”

“I see you wish to die today.”

“No, not today. So you wish for me to find your wayward love?”

“Yeah.”

“Mandi’s shop.” Hoseok cheerfully replied, as if this should be common knowledge. 

“Oh yeah, great idea bring me some coffee please?”

“No, you idiot, Y/N works there. She is actually her partner” Hosoek irritatingly says matter of factly.

“The hell?! Why do you know this but I don’t?”

“Dude, seriously? You do know they were friends growing up and just because you made her run away by being a complete ass doesn’t mean they stopped being friends.”

“My best friend and my sister have been lying to me.” 

“It’s not lying when you never asked. But Yoongi…you should let her go. It’s been a long time and I know you had feelings but with how you treated her–“

"She was here.” Yoongi grunted, running a hand over her face as he stood in her closet trying to think of what to wear. What says “I come in peace”? Maybe he could get Hoseok to dress up as Spock and talk to Y/N before he does. 

“What? And you’re alive?”

“Yeah. We…um…she was gone this morning,” Yoongi sits down on her bed, running a hand through her hair.

"Oh…” and as realization hits, Hoseok intones sagely,” ...oh my god you’re fucking moron.”

“You know I can fire you.”

“Please bitch, I know all your deepest darkest secrets you ain’t gonna fire me.”

“Just…shit…what should I do?” Yoongi asks, finally letting go of her big bad boss act.

“Dude, I don’t know. You slept with her…maybe you should just…”

“I um…fucked up more than that…” He thinks about how you had felt, how he had felt...how absolutely perfect it had been for just one night, A flicker of fear strums through her heart at the thought that this was not salvageable at all. 

“No. no way. Our friendship is over.” Hoseok cracks from the other side of the phone.

“Just help me okay?” 

There was a long pause before he heard a heavy sigh, “Fine, but no games. She has a good thing going on and you-”

“I swear it's different this time!” Yoongi pleads. 

“Whatever. I should warn you though.”

“Warn me about what?”

“Her brothers.”

“Namjoon and Jungkook? We were old friends, what about them?”

“You were old friends until they found out how you treated her. And bonus points-they are both cops now. Partners even, so you should probably pray for your soul.”

With a groan, Yoongi finally gets up and begins to get dressed putting Hoseok on speakerphone. “I’m so dead.”  

“Yep,” affirms Hoseok, “So does that mean I can have your stuff?” 

Rolling her eyes and thinking he really needs a new assistant, Yoongi growls out“See you at the office.” only to hear Hoseok laughing before he hangs up the phone. 

Yoongi finishes getting dressed, and running a hand over her face as he contemplates this new information. You’d been right under her nose the entire time and everyone had kept it a secret. He guessed he deserved it though, he was a complete and utter ass to you. He also guesses it’s time to make it up to you and hopefully, you would forgive him and let him into your heart, where he belonged. After all, you’d always been in his.

2 months later

Yoongi stands outside her (former) sister’s shop watching as you serve your customers, and realizes sadly that it was the first time in a long time that  he’d really ever seen you smile. He wanted that smile for himself and himself alone, but he wasn’t sure how to get it. When he had remodeled your former apartment, expanding it through the two vacant units on either side of you, you just got mad at him for evicting you, when he was just redoing the apartment and you claimed it was far too large for you by yourself now. But that was the point wasn't it? He was hoping that somehow you would just...come back to him on your own and he wouldn’t really have to put any work in. Yoongi realizes then that he is an absolute dumbass.

After all, nothing he’d done so far had managed to make you smile at him or hell just give him the time of day and he was beyond frustrated. Couldn’t you see how hard he was trying for you?

Mandi pokes her head out of the shop interrupting his train of thought,

“What the hell are you doing here?” she snaps at him.

“Wow, do you greet all your customers like this?”

“Yoongi. Listen. Whatever it this is about now isn’t–”

Realization hits for the second time that morning, “Were you ever going to tell me?”

Mandi pauses, looking him up and down, “There’s nothing to tell if you already know.”

He could almost feel the metaphorical walls slamming down around him as Mandi went on guard. “Mandi!”

“No. Not about ther.”

“I’ve known for almost a month.”

“Then you should go know somewhere else.”  Mandi stepped outside, becoming a most effective blockade. If someone was to ever wage war against his sister, his money, hell, his entire fortune would be on Mandi.

“Listen, you’re my brother and I love you and I know you know what you did wrong, and really it's sweet you want to make amends but …Yoongi, sometimes things…”

“I slept with her.”

“Do you want a trophy?” Mandi snapped, her fists clenched, before she  shook her head, “you have five seconds or I’m opening ther door and I’m calling her brothers out here.”

“We didn’t use protection.”

“Well then I guess today you die you little fucking weasel.”

“I love her.”

That’s when he remembered his sister’s left hook and then the lights went out.

Mandi stomps into the store grabbing you by the arm and dragging you upstairs ignoring your protests, shoving you into the bedroom and giving you a look reserved for her son’s Taehyung and Jimin when they are acting up. “Stay.”

Mandi goes back downstairs and motions Namjoon and Kookie over, “Listen, I know you hate Min Yoongi with like the passion of 7 fiery suns but I need you to hold that rage in and help me get his ass inside.”

Namjoon was already up and out the door at the sound of Min Yoongi’s name, and seconds later was dragging a barely conscious Yoongi in by the collar. While Kookie held open the door, Namjoon made sure Yoongi purposely whacked his head on the door frame and when Mandi winced he gave her a look that clearly said “sorry not sorry” before dropping Yoongi on the shop floor like the sorry sack of shit he thought he was.

“I’m sorry folks,” Mandi announces, “due to my crazy family, the shop will be closing early.”

The patrons all scrambled out of the shop while Jungkook handcuffed Yoongi to a chair and dumped a cup of ice water on him.

Yoongi jerked back, fully awake now and met by 3 pairs of eyes. 3 very angry pairs of eyes. He shook his head and tried to move but found himself handcuffed to the chair and he gives Mandi a look that says “Really?”

“Kook uncuff him. Seriously. And you and Joon leave.”

“No.”

“Did I stutter?”

“Okay, but we get dibs if you decide to kill him.” Jungkook, grumbles as he undoes the handcuffs.

“I’m not going to kill him. Today.”

“Fine.”

Jungkook finishes unlocking the cuffs and Yoongi immediately rubs at his wrists and watches warily as Jungkook and Namjoon leaves the shop, rolling his eyes when Jungkook gives him the international sign for “I’m watching you” while Joon drew his thumb across his neck. They were dramatic as fuck, but then again he might just be dramatically fucked.

Mandi pulls up a chair and sits across from Yoongi and stares at him for several long moments until Yoongi breaks the silence, “Just say it.”

“Why?”

“It just happened like that.”

“Bullshit.”

Yoongi sighed, “I’ve grown up since then. I no longer want to pull her hair.”

“Clearly. And you didn’t just pull her hair, you did a lot worse.”

“Shouldn’t you be on my side?”

“I am fucking Switzerland.”

Yoongi couldn’t help the anger that swelled up and choked him, “Clearly not. You knew where she was all these years and you never said anything. This is why you never let me come to the shop then? You knew I was looking for her, that I wanted-”

“Of course,” interrupted Mandi. 

“Why?”

“Because you are an idiot who doesn’t know how to communicate. Look at what happened--when you did find her, your first action was to take her home. Who fucking does that shit?”

“You’re right, I was. I was cruel and spiteful. Keyword: was.”

“Bullshit. Taking away her home wasn’t because you were being spiteful. You wanted what she had. That’s called envy. She left because she wanted to live, and the only way she could was to leave. You made it like this. I almost lost my friend. So of course I kept it a secret.” Mandi sighed, rubbing her hand over her face. “Look I know. I know what y

our mom and dad did. How they treated us. We were mere points on a checklist of creating a picture perfect family. But you had no right-”

“I was stupid. You think I don’t know? That I don’t regret it? I love her. I always have.”

“Actions-”

“Speak louder than words I know. I’m trying to fix that now!”

Mandi closes her eyes, debating her next few words  "Can I trust you? That’s the-“ ”

“Yes. I swear I'll spend my life…”

“Doing what?” You interrupt, “Sorry, since you seem to be discussing me I couldn’t stay put,” you say to Mandi. “Yoongi I don’t want your money and if you are worried because we didn’t…,” you swallow before continuing with a brave face, “....I’ll be fine. but you really have to stop sending me presents. I don’t want them. Can’t you just stay…”

“Y/N I’m sorry. I was an ass.”

“Still an ass.” Mandi interrupts, “Look, you two clearly need to talk this out so I’m out. Come on Seokjin, let’s go see a movie.”

With that Seokjin and Mandi beat a hasty retreat leaving the two of you alone.

“Your jaw is swelling.” You say after noticing the blossoming bruise that marred his handsome face. Handsome? What the hell were you even thinking?

“Mandi hit me.”

“Why?”

“I told her what happened. She’s very protective of you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Y/N…that night…I shouldn’t have that.”

“I let you. It wasn’t just you alone.”

“Please, just listen. I’m sorry. For everything. And I’m sorry for not saying that when we met again. It's just…”

“It's just..what?” You questioned, meeting his eyes. 

“I don’t know. When I look at you I want you. You are so good and pure and you deserve the world. I wanted you to myself but I was scared…”

“Scared of?”

“You.”

“Me?” You scoff at the idea of anyone being afraid of you.

“Yeah,” Yoongi stood and walked over to you. “You had everything even though you had nothing. Brothers who worshiped you, a mother who did everything for you…what if I ruined that? What if my mother-”

“How would you ruin that?” You ask, finding patience from who knows where.

“I was messed up…and the older I got the worse…things got worse. You saw, you can’t pretend you didn’t. I took out my suffering on you because nothing good could possibly exist and you were just hiding your real nature. But you never retaliated. You kept reaching out to me over and over again. ”

“But I did retaliate.”

“By locking me out of my house after I took yours? Not really. I mean…I deserve far worse,” chucked Yoongi. He wanted so badly to touch you, to pull you into his arms and just...feel you. 

You stare at Yoongi. This broken version of Yoongi with tears in his eyes. Could you trust him? You wanted to give him a chance.

“Let’s….go on a date.”

Yoongi’s eyes widened, “What?”

“You like me right?”

“Well–I mean–I did when I was—I do”

“Take me on a date, final offer going in one–two..”

“Fine! I’ll take you on a damn date,” Yoongi smiles.

“No fancy shit tho. $100 limit.”

“I’ll take you on the best damn date of your life!”

“Good.”

Yoongi didn’t know why he was being snippy now, but as he left the shop he couldn’t help but do a little cheer when he got into his car. Hoseok rolled his eyes and politely ignored him.

Yoongi stood at the door of your apartment, and for the first time in his life he hesitated, hand poised to ring the doorbell, and then you swung open the door and suddenly the world stopped. You looked amazing. Your hair was curled, makeup accenting your eyes perfectly, wearing black skinny slacks, a hound’s-tooth patterned sweater over a white button down and pink heels. He took in the perfection that was you and thought, “She was made for me.”

And the fear was gone as he smiled at you and he took your hand, interlacing his fingers with yours, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah let me grab my purse,” you say as you try to let go of his hand to grab the bag on the chair beside your front door but he wouldn’t let go. You couldn’t help the blush that blossomed over your cheeks as he stepped inside and grabbed the bag for you and waited for you to lock up so you both could leave.

He pulled you along, never letting go, until he reached his car and opened the door. It was only enough time for him to run around and get the car moving before he was locking fingers with you again.

“What’s up with you?” You smirk.

“Just…making up for lost time.”

“What?”

“I just…I should have been doing this for years now.”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes, “So…are you always this cheesy?”

Yoongi’s eyes went wide, “I mean…I’m not…no…,” Yoongi stuttered and then stopped, “I guess I am cheesy it's just…I can tell you I’m sorry but…”

“Actions speak louder than words?”

“I see you have met my sister,” he joked softly, “And we’re here.”

“A movie? Really?”

“I always had wished to take you…”

Yoongi’s eyes stared into yours, “Yoongi…” you say timidly.

“Yeah?”

“I’m not her anymore you know? I grew up…you grew up…let’s leave it behind us and start fresh yeah?”

“What do you mean?”

You stick your hand out, “Hi, my name is Y/N. It’s nice to meet you.”

Yoongi stared at you you’d suddenly sprouted a third eye on your nose before awkwardly taking your hand and shaking it, “Min Yoongi…the pleasure is all mine.”

You can’t help but laugh at his stunned expression, not knowing he was just in shock from receiving your smile. To him, your smile in that moment could have powered a thousand suns. 

Yoongi was quiet but still took your hand and you entered the theater with a smile on your face, happy that things were getting better, that you could almost believe you had your first love back.

2 hours later.

“Yoongi,  why are you pouting?” You ask as you take his hand.

“Look no matter how I look at it, it's just not fair.”

“What’s not?”

“Mandi. Seokjin. They have spent years with you…years that should have been with me.”

“I thought we were moving forward.”

“But.”

You sighed. “Look. You want to know the truth?”

Yoongi stopped and stared at you, “yes.”

“Okay then.” You face him, “You crushed me in every way possible. You were my world. I followed you everywhere. I trusted you, and you were always there and then you weren’t. The night we got stuck in the cave I gave you my faith—but it also is and was the moment I gave my whole heart to you, willingly, without any doubt. And the next day when we were found…you stomped on it. And you continued to stomp on it. I cried so many tears everyday because I hoped that one day my hero would come back. But he never did. He became a villain.” You couldn’t help the tears that fell down your cheeks, “And even through all that I still…” you sighed. “I can't do this Yoongi. I can't. I’m sorry,  I was wrong to try.” You turned on your heel and ran away, ignoring him yelling after you, you just ran until you couldn’t hear him anymore. 

And then you found the alcohol.

You sat at the outside bar drinking as you thought about the past two months. All the things you had done with Yoongi , and how disgusted you were with yourself for letting your old feelings come back so easily. You knew it wasn’t the right choice, but it was the one you wanted. You had decided to drown yourself in alcohol,  and you were on your third bottle when the object of your conflicting emotions, sat down across from you.

“Y/N.”

“Mmm?”

“What are you doing?”

“Drinking!” Your giggle turns to a frown when you hear the heavy sigh come across from you, “Are you judging me? It’s not nice to judge you know! “

“Why are you drinking Y/N?”

“Because,” you leaned forward, whispering conspiratively, “I’ve been bad.”

“Bad? How so?”

You sigh dreamily, a wistful smile playing upon your lips, “There’s this guy…”

“There always is.”

“Shhh! This is my story!” You shout.

“Sorry.”

“Where was I?” 

“Something about a guy…”

“SHHHHHH! So rude interrupting me! Anyways…I’m supposed to hate him but…” you thump your chest hard as tears prick your eyes, “But…”

“But what?”

“I can't…I remember him before…and the him that I remember…he’s still there…and all the warning alarms are going off and I’m so scared to love him but I…I think…”

“You think?”

You lay your head on the table, mumbling, “Think it’s too late…think I love him. Think it has always been too late for me. Even after all the bullshit…you see…he’s still here” You thump your chest hard and sigh as you feel the tears slide down your cheek to land on the table, “ I love him and I don’t want to…I didn’t mean too…”

“Mean to what?” 

“To love him, but…”

“You do.”

“Yeah” you whisper softly.

“Yoongi…” you can feel the man smile, you don’t know how you know but you do, “why do I have to love you?”

“You love me?” He asks, the hope wrapped in fear in his voice twisting your heart even more than all the past crap that had happened. You wanted to let it go. You wanted to love him. You can only nod your head as your eyes slide close, and you struggle against the darkness when you hear him whisper, “I love you too Y/N…I’m just scared…I’m not good enough…I was such an ass…and I know you said to let it go…but God Y/N…I should have treated you like a princess…because the truth is…”

Those words cause you to sit up, eyes squinting hard as you try to make out his face, “Yoongi?”

“Yeah?”

You lean forward and his face comes into focus, a smile spreads on your face and you lean forward to press your lips to his, softly at first, and then he responds, a hand sliding up your arm to cup your neck as you express to him what you can’t say in words. This was so much better than petty arguments and revenge pranks.  

You pull away, breathing heavy as you rest your forehead against his, “Yoongi,” you whimper, keeping your eyes firmly on the buttons of his shirt, scared to look up, scared to see the fear in his eyes. Does he not know?  “Can I…can I be yours?“ You ask in a voice so quiet it is almost lost in the noise of the world that surrounds you. 

"Can you forgive me?” The pain in his voice was sharp. “I forgive you.” You whisper into his mouth as you make promises with your lips.

He pulls away for a moment, and you lock eyes finally. “Then believe me when I say, I was always yours, and you were always mine.” 

“I was?”

The amount of disbelief in your voice causes Yoongi to tear up as he pulls you into his arms, “Kitten?”

“Yeah,” you say as you rest your head into the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent.

This time it was his turn to ask, “Am I yours?”

“You always were Yoongi. I was just waiting for you to remember where home was.”

Yoongi places the softest of kisses on each of your eyelids, and then he kisses away your tears and finally his mouth was on yours, and the kiss was full of yearning. “Y/N.”

“Yes?” You ask, sad he had pulled away. 

“Don’t leave me again…I love you too.”

“Okay.”

[reneesi]

i never would have thought // CH.01

CH.01 II a bit of a predicament

WRITTEN PORTION

A/N: Just for clarification the Written Portion is just extra content. If you don’t feel like reading and are only here for the SM crack the WP can always be skipped since it is additional content that is not vital for following along with the story. Anyways, enjoy :)!

(Y/n)’s breath caught, watching in quiet agony as her phone screen flickered off which indicated the end of her device’s battery. The warm summer air enveloped her in a state of weary comfort as (Y/n) sighed, looking up at the lightly clouded night sky. The stars shone in bright patches of half constellations, and in an attempt to gather her bearings (Y/n) had come to a halt and began to study the night sky. She cursed inwardly as she began to walk once more, finally realizing that maybe she should have taken Shoyo’s help, but also noting that it was a little late for such things as her phone was now dead and she was still very very lost.

Coming to another four way intersection (Y/n) shrugged and took a right, deciding that if it turned out to be another dead end she would simply lay down on the concrete and pass away quietly. Slowly, (Y/n) made her way through the narrow street keeping alert while also stifling her paranoia in an effort to stay calm. This however didn’t last, since as soon as the tall wall of neat white bricks came into view (Y/n) had no choice but to let lout a loud, exasperated groan. Dragging her feet in disappointment, she walked up to the cursed Wall of Shame and pressed her forehead into its hardened surface, staring down at the ground beneath her.

“What am i gonna do..” She mumbled, the dread of facing the team after this embarrassing little adventure of “individuality” and “freedom” filling her chest. I mean sure it’s not like they were gonna yell at her, hell she’d be surprised if anyone even reprimanded her given that they generally just tried protecting her for the most part but still. (Y/n) had still gotten lost, she was still irresponsible, irrational and now if she tried to explain how her so desired independence was well deserved no one was going to believe her... Given that she couldn’t even be trusted to walk herself from point a to point b. In her defense she was new to the area but not that new if she was being honest and-

“Boo.”

(Y/n) screamed. And not just a little scream, more of a “I’m about to be killed by an ax murderer with a bloody mask” kind of scream. In other words she almost peed herself. Turning with a clumsy thrash, (Y/n) pushed whatever the fuck had just placed a hand on her shoulder away, pressing her back against the cursed Wall of Shame and thankfully placing a couple feet between herself and the attacker.

Clutching onto her bravery, (Y/n) opened her eyes, allowing them to adjust to the darkness of the alleyway that had previously been behind her. She hadn’t noticed before but due to the buildings and houses the moonlight was only able to shine down at the end of the alleyway and onto the cursed Wall of Shame, somehow managing to avoid the rest of the creepy path leading to its end where she now stood. She raised her fists as if to fight.

“Who’s there? What do you want?” She barked, squinting at the tall figure that was slowly coming into focus...

“T..TsukISHIMA?” She screamed, not as loud as the first time but loud none the less. Said Tsukishima stepped forward coming into the light with a shit eating grin spread from ear to ear. He looked down at the horrified and confused (Y/n) and did the only thing Tsukishima would do after scaring the shit out of Hinata Shoyo’s cousin, he burst into a fit of laughter.

(Y/n)’s expression fell as the realization that she had just gotten “pranked” by Tsukishima set in. She scowled up at him, throwing a punch at his arm as she pushed her way past him.

“You are such an aSSHOLE, Tsukishima!” (Y/n) growled, continuing her tread forward. She could hear Tsukishima‘s laughter die down into silence as he followed her out of the alley way, keeping his distance at least two feet behind.

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to walk alone at night?” He asked, sounding almost annoyed. (Y/n) rolled her eyes.

“For your information i’m pretty sure i’m old enough to walk by myself. At ANY time of day.”

“Why do you have to be stubborn all the time?” Tsukishima sighed, boredom seeping through his words

“How can you even say that, it’s not like you’ve ever talked to me long enough to know that about me.” (Y/n) turned her head, throwing back a glare. Tsukishima only shrugged in response

“Dunno, it’s just pretty easy to tell.”

“Whatever... Why are you still following me?” (Y/n) stopped, turning to face Tsukishima.

“Because your phone is dead and you have no idea where you are...” Tsukishima’s eyes stayed glued to the sky as he spoke, head leaned back into his palms which where being held up behind his head in a sort of laid back stretch. “And also because if i show up to dinner without you Daichi might actually kill me.”

Tsukishima made brief eye contact as he delivered his final sentence, catching (Y/n) off guard as she’d been unknowingly staring up at him the entire time he’d been speaking. Both teens quickly looked away, matching hues of red and pink barley coating their cheeks.

(Y/n) considered denying his offer, thinking of the dignity she had yet to sacrifice. Maybe she was close? And maybe if she just kept going a little longer she’d still be able to make it on her own! (Y/n) looked around again, trying to pick up something remotely familiar, but failed.. for the hundredth time that night.

“Fine. I’ll let you lead the way..” (Y/n) mumbled, crossing her arms across her chest “But only if you promise not to tell them how ABSOLUTELY lost i was.”

Tsukishima had already turned and was walking the same way they’d come, hands now shoved into his pockets. He paused, still looking ahead.

“I’ll think about it.” (Y/n) couldn’t see his smirk, but goddamn it she knew it was there

“God, can’t you just do one nice thing for me one time!”

“And why would i do that?”

Because i’m asking you to!”

“Only if you say pretty please.”

“Are you fucKING KIDDIN-“

“Don’t be so loud, we’re in a neighborhood and people are trying to sleep.” Taukishima yawned, taking a right with the same calm easy steps.

“I’m already embarrassed enough..” (Y/n) growled “i don’t want EVERYONE thinking i’m incapable of taking care of myself.”

“No one thinks that, we just worry because...” Tsukishima paused. Had she heard him right? Did (Y/n) really just hear tHE Tsukishima Kei, the boy who never had even bothered to say a simple hello or pay her a moments glance just say he worried about HER? Had he been paying attention this whole time? I mean sure he liked to pick on her and mess with her from time to time but that was just his nature, it’s not like they’d shared a single moment of friendliness during the 3 months that (Y/n) had been at Karasuno..

“They care about you.” Tsukishima finished, clearing his throat. (Y/n) stared at the back of his head unsure what to make of the (maybe?) friendly words he’d shared, and even more confused by the sinking feeling of disappointment plaguing her stomach. Tsukishima had said “they” cared for her, himself not included.

The restaurants light gleamed in the distance, signaling the end of (Y/n)’s first, and so far only, one on one conversation with Tsukishima and somehow, she was disappointed. It’s not like she actually hated him, and sure maybe they didn’t particularly get along but (Y/n) still wanted to be friends. Maybe not best friends but being rejected by the people closest to her had definitely left an endless hole that craved the approval of everyone she met. Unfortunately, Tsukishima was no exception. (Y/n)’s gaze had fallen to her feet, and as she recounted the last 15 minutes the shame only deepened her stare.

“Sorry for getting so aggressive, i was just mad at myself for getting lost and defensive and i shouldn’t have taken it out on you.” (Y/n) muttered, keeping her voice low as to maintain a steady tone.

Tsukishima stumbled, caught off guard by the sudden apology, but he didn’t reply. At least not right away. The two walked for another couple minutes, heavy silence wedging itself into the already existing physical gap that separated the two. But, once they finally reached the entrance of the restaurant that space evaporated as (Y/n) caught up, moving to stand behind Tsukishima who was blocking the door. He had paused, hesitating to walk inside.

“I’ll keep your secret.” Tsukishima finally said, tone stiff and unfamiliar. With that he ducked inside, followed by a somewhat surprised somewhat relived (Y/n). Both were met by a sea of screaming team mates, but only (Y/n) was tackled. Nishinoya and Tanaka clung to her on either side blubbering on about how worried they’d been for their “baby girl.”

(Y/n) giggled

“Guys guys come one, it’s not like i almost died.”

“YoU ALMOST DIED?!!” Hinata Shoyo, who had just returned from the restroom, stood only a couple feet away gaping at his cousin.

“God this is why i CaNT TRUST YOU TO BE BY YOURSELF! SuGAWARA TELL (Y/N) sHEs gRoUNDED FOR A MONTH!” Shoyo screamed, shaking Sugawara by the shoulders

“Hey that’s not fair!” (Y/n) argued, prying herself from the clutches of her upperclassmen and approaching the table. She took her seat and continued to argue, yelling across the table and recounting the last  hour or so with a couple of fudged details. Within minutes her team mates had joined along and were pulled into a full blown discussion over the validity of (Y/n)’s story, laughing along as the Hinata’s pulled at either side of Suga, begging him to take a side. After some time the conversation shifted to the upcoming training camp and exited chatter filled the air as the team recounted old memories and cracked a couple jokes. (Y/n) smiled, looking around the table and suddenly remembered Tsukishima’s kind gesture. She glanced over at him, and caught him mid chuckle as he watched Hinata tell one of his loud sound effect stories. Her heart surged, finally after all this time (Y/n) was starting to feel like maybe she could actually belong.

previous I next

MASTERLIST

[ineloqueent]

time enough

Gwilym Lee x Reader

synopsis: you’re stressed and Gwil’s busy, but he’s always got time for you.

warnings: descriptions of anxiety, mentions and description of a panic attack

word count: 1.5k

see the moodboard here!

⭒

It had been a rough morning.

Scratch that.

A rough day. A rough week? Month? Year?

Whatever it was, it wasn’t going well.

You were studying ceaselessly, because attempting to get a doctorate in history was not what one would call “a walk in the park.” In fact, it was quite the opposite. You felt as though you were running down a steep, steep slope, at the end of which lay a cold, dark lake, which you would have no choice but to swim across in order to climb the mountain on the other side, atop which the Ph.D. was being held captive by a dragon, like some fairytale princess.

Indeed, your Ph.D. seemed like a fairytale, because how you were ever going to finish earning it was beyond you. You’d been at this for years and years already, and it seemed as though there was no end in sight. However much you loved history and that which you were studying in particular, the process of getting such an advanced degree was an arduous one, and some days, you thought you’d never make it.

For instance, today, one week before the final exam of your entire university career, the sky was falling down upon you.

It was Friday, and you’d been studying for this exam since four Fridays ago, and you were going around in circles. It seemed impossible to memorise all of those people, and all of those dates, all of those fucking movements, though you were sure they’d been in your head before.

You needed to get out of your apartment. You’d opened the window, but the air had remained stuffy, and the sun which beat down heavily was of no help. You were tired, running on a combination of caffeine and nervous energy, your hands growing shakier by the minute.

The pen fell from your grip as you stood up, knocking your chair to the ground in your hurry.

Out, out, out, get out. The room was too small, the walls were up against you, and you were finding it difficult to breathe.

You threw on your shoes and fumbled for your house key, stumbling out the door and only just remembering to close it behind you, let alone lock it.

You needed to get this off of your mind, this endless loop of studying and writing papers and reading papers, and there was only one person capable of helping you.

You knew where the shoot was, and it wouldn’t take you long to get there by car, but you wanted— needed—  fresh air, and didn’t trust yourself to drive with your quivering hands, so you began to run.

You nearly got into a road accident numerous times, and angry shouts followed you everywhere you went, but you could only hear the wind rushing in your ears and the hard concrete beneath your shoes.

You ran all the way to set, and when you got there, you faced the inevitable obstacle of a barricade and the security guard reluctant to let you in. But then you spotted Gwilym.

For a moment, you held your breath, your knuckles turning white as they gripped the barricade.

You didn’t want to trouble him. And he was very obviously busy, going over the delivery of a particular line with his co-star, prior to the shoot which awaited them on the footpath by the road, where the cameras were stationed.

But then for what reason had you come all this way?

By no small amount of courage, you called out to Gwil.

He spun at the sound of your voice, just as an assistant touched his arm to get his attention concerning the start of the shoot.

Your stomach dropped to your toes. He hadn’t seen you.

There were tears in your eyes now, and you couldn’t stop them, couldn’t even wipe them away for your shaking hands, your shaky breaths.

He hadn’t seen you, and he was going to leave and you were going to stay here behind the barricade, tearful and panicky and embarrassed and ashamed.

There was commotion over by the camera crew, but then one voice, assured, firm, clear, cut through.

“If you’ll excuse me, please, that’s my girlfriend you’ve barred from the premises.”

You were sinking to the ground by the barricade, your chest contracting, your skin cold and clammy, and then Gwil was jumping the barricade and kneeling on the ground beside you.

“Gwil, we need to—”

He raised a hand, and the gesture silenced the assistant. It wasn’t an impolite gesture, simply one which asked respect of the recipient, and for Gwil’s reputation of going out of his way to help others, the assistant nodded and walked away.

You were dimly aware of Gwil’s fingers curling around your own. He didn’t get in your face, but he also didn’t shy away, frightened by the panic which wracked your body.

“Hey, love?”

You turned your head to find him looking at you, all soft eyes and even breaths, and there was a calmness in just looking at him.

“You’re going to be alright. This’ll be over in a little bit, and then we can talk and go anywhere and do anything you like, yes?”

He was being so gentle, so kind, and the ghost of a smile touched his lips when you nodded in response to his askance, so much that you almost nodded again, just to see him smile fully.

But your vision still blurred at the edges— green and purple and black— and you remembered, all of those people, and all of those dates, all of those fucking movements, all of those things you were never going to remember, and you gasped as the intake of air constricted your lungs.

“You’re okay, I’ve got you. Just breathe with me.”

His thumb traced a gentle line at the base of your palm, and then he began to count slowly.

“One, you��� the only one who matters right now. Two, how many days it took me to fall in love with you. Three, the number of drinks I had before I mustered the confidence to talk to you. Four, how many times I tried to talk to you on the same night before I gave up. Five, the number of weeks I thought about asking you out before I actually did it.

“Six, the hour I arrived to pick you up that first time. Seven, the time I was actually supposed to pick you up, but I’d forgotten about daylight savings. Eight, the number of constellations I memorised to try and impress you on that first date. Nine, the number of constellations I forgot how to identify, but you looked so happy staring up at the stars, so I pretended I knew them.

“And, because I can’t count, ten million billion trillion, how many times I will tell you I love you, if it makes you even half as happy as the first time I told you.”

That soft smile had reappeared on his face, and the colours were returning to the world.

You noticed that Gwil had sat down beside you, not minding his costume, or the fact that the ground would dirty it beyond all repair.

“I’m so proud of you, you know that? This Ph.D. thing… I could never do it. But you…” Gwil exhaled, shaking his head almost imperceptibly, as though he truly could not believe how you managed. There was a great, unspoken respect in his words, and his confidence in you was far lovelier than anything else you had ever been given. “You work yourself too hard, beautiful. Breaks are good. We all need breaks.”

With a tenderness, he smoothed the hair from your forehead, and your breathing began to return to normal.

“Do you…” your voice hitched on the words, and Gwil was passing you a bottle of water he’d conjured from god knew where. You sipped a little, then handed it back to him.

“Slowly,” he said. “Take it easy.”

“Don’t you need a break from me, sometimes?”

His brow furrowed, but you kept talking.

“I mean, I turn up out of nowhere, and I— I— I ruin your day, the shoot, the—”

“Shh, love,” he touched your hand. “Breathe in and out. Slowly.” He then shook his head again. “You could turn up out of nowhere any day of the week, and I’d be over the moon to see you. And you haven’t ruined my day or the shoot or anything. I’m only sorry I wasn’t at home with you today.”

“But you’re busy and I—”

“I’ve got time enough, and all the time in the world for you.” He canted his head slightly, looking at you. “I think I should tell you, you are my world, and taking a break from the world would mean giving up on life, and while you’re here, there is no thought further from my mind.”

There were tears in your eyes again. But these were not tears of panic, of fear. Your heart swelled with happiness, with hope.

He kissed your hair. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you whispered, and held onto him until the light faded from the sky.

[southsidestory]

Hey! I LOVE all of your writing! Thanks for sharing your work with us! I saw that you like kakasakura... any chance you would ever write for them? 🙏☺️

Thank you so much, nonny! I’m so glad you enjoy my writing.

As for KakaSaku... well, there’s definitely a chance I’d write for them, because I already have. 😅 I’ve just never posted it.

But since you sent me this sweet ask, I’ll share the first scene of a KakaSaku fic I’ve been toying with. FYI even though Sakura is a chuunin and this is in the period when Naruto is traveling with Jiraiya, Sakura is 18. Because I said so, and this fanfiction land, where my rules are the only rules lmao

.

.

Kakashi’s mission ran over. It turned out that quietly assassinating a samurai lord constantly surrounded by underlings wasn’t as simple as he’d expected. The assassination itself was almost absurdly easy, but getting Lord Akinobu alone long enough to do it wasn’t. He ended up spending almost two weeks in the Land of Iron before an opportunity presented itself.

The trip back to Konoha was uneventful. He should report to the Hokage right away, but he felt a shower and nap were in order first. After he woke up, he watered Mr. Ukki, who had withered a little in his absence. Kakashi suspected that his house plant was indestructible, but two weeks was a long time even for it to go without attention.

He would ask someone to look after Mr. Ukki when he went on missions, but he didn’t have anyone. His neighbors resented him for coming and going at all hours, and his friends were… well, kept at arm’s length. Which was how he liked it. But unfortunately his independence meant poor Mr. Ukki sometimes went without water for a while.

Kakashi meant to go directly to the Hokage tower, but he spotted Gai buying watame from a street vendor and couldn’t resist getting two for himself.

“You only did that to one-up me,” Gai said sourly.

Kakashi continued on, cotton candy in hand. The blue one was the same soft shade as the sky overhead, and the pink was almost the exact color of Sakura’s hair. Like the smooth inside of a conch shell, or the cherry blossoms she was named for.

He hadn’t seen Sakura in three or four months, and he wondered how she was faring. He heard about her occasionally from his fellow jounin. What a skilled kunoichi she’d turned out to be, with the promise of becoming as strong as the Hokage herself someday.

Not much surprised Kakashi, but Sakura did.

He handed the blue cotton candy to a passing child, whose mother immediately yanked it out of his hands and glared daggers at Kakashi. The little boy wailed and reached for the spun sugar treat while his mother lectured him about not taking food from strangers.

Kakashi ate the pink one as he meandered his way toward the Hokage tower. By the time he arrived, he’d finished the cotton candy. He pulled his mask back up over his face, dropped the plastic stick in the lobby trash can, and went up the stairs to Tsunade’s office.

“You’re late,” she said, without looking up from her desk.

Kakashi leaned against the wall, tempted to pull Icha Icha out of his kunai pouch, but Tsunade’s temper and monstrous strength were a formidable combination. He’d like to keep his nose unbroken.

“It was hard to get Akinobu alone.”

Tsunade snorted. “You were the youngest shinobi to be promoted to chuunin in the history of Konoha, and you know a thousand jutsu. You’re creative enough to kill a measly samurai in a timely manner.”

Kakashi didn’t argue. Fighting with the Hokage was an exercise in futility.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “I ought to dock your pay.”

He shrugged. “If you want.”

He had a nice nest egg set away, thanks to his thriftiness and over ten years of A-rank and S-rank mission rewards.

Tsunade sighed. “I expect your report on my desk by twelve tomorrow. And I do mean twelve in the afternoon, not midnight.”

Kakashi nodded with all the deference he could muster. “As you say, Lady Hokage.”

She didn’t look like she believed him, even though he did plan to turn in his mission report on time.

Probably.

Someone knocked on the door, and Tsunade called, “Come in.”

It was Sakura, carrying a stack of binders and looking very harassed. “I got those files you asked for, shishou—”

She stopped dead, green eyes wide as she looked up at him.

“Kakashi-sensei!” Sakura’s words were ruthless and so painfully high that he almost winced. 

She hurried to set the binders on Tsunade’s desk, then turned back to him.

"Hey, Sakura. Long time no see."

The surprise fell from her expression and something harder took its place. 

"Yeah," she said. "Been busy?" 

"I was on a long mission," Kakashi said. 

She raised one rosy eyebrow. "Oh? Four months long?" 

Apparently Sakura hadn't grown out of her passive aggressive streak.

"Two weeks,” Tsunade said. “And it shouldn't have taken that long.”

Sakura smirked. "Are you losing your touch, Kakashi-sensei?" 

He laughed a little. "Don't get too big for your britches. I can still take you."

She opened her mouth, no doubt to toss some retort at him, but Tsunade beat her to it.

“Don’t be so sure. You might be surprised by what she’s accomplished.”

“With a proper teacher,” Sakura said sweetly.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. “Don’t blame me. If any students besides Team 7 had ever passed the bell test, I would have had more practice before you guys.”

“Please. You didn’t have any problems teaching Sa—” She paused for a moment, and in that brief silence Kakashi heard everything she wasn’t saying. She shook it off and went on. “You taught Sasuke fine. Naruto too sometimes, even though he was dead-last in our class.”

Kakashi canted his head. “Sasuke and Naruto were focused on becoming better shinobi. You were too busy nursing a school-girl crush.”

That was a low blow, but he wasn’t going to take all of the blame here. Sakura was as responsible for her lack of growth as a genin as he was. 

She clenched her fists at her sides. “So I wasn’t worth your time? Is that it?”

“I didn’t say that—”

“You might as well have!” She took a few steps toward him, glaring ferociously enough to intimidate a lesser man. Too bad for her he’d seen worse than a spitting mad chuunin. “At least you’re finally honest enough to admit it. Not that you haven’t already made it astoundingly clear how weak you thought I was.”

Tsunade stood up and put her hands on her desk. “If you’re going to brawl, take it outside.”

Sakura’s chest was heaving with ragged breaths, her gaze fierce. She barely topped five feet and might weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet, but size didn’t mean much for a kunoichi of her caliber. Especially a girl trained by one of the legendary Sannin.

“Fine,” she said. “Let’s go to the training grounds.”

“Come back and challenge me when you’re a jounin.”

He ruffled her hair, and Sakura smacked his hand away.

“Don’t treat me like a child, Kakashi!”

That brought him up short in a way that her temper tantrum hadn’t. She never called him by his name alone.

“Then don’t act like one.” He looked to Tsunade. “Am I free to go?”

She waved at him vaguely. “Get out of here before Sakura kills you.”

Kakashi took the shortest route home, barely hearing the hustle and bustle of the village around him. Mrs. Kurosawa, one of his neighbors, berated him for something on his way up the stairs to his apartment, but he didn’t bother to listen. He locked his door behind him, took off his hitai-ate, pulled down his mask, and went to the kitchen for a glass of water. He should read, maybe watch TV. Reruns of his favorite soap opera would start airing in an hour, and he needed to catch up before watching the new episode. Immersing himself in Marriage Contract would help him wind down from his overdrawn mission.

And his fight with Sakura. Which, if he was honest with himself, bothered him more.

He shouldn’t have called her feelings for Sasuke a school-girl crush. He’d watched Sakura’s childish infatuation grow into love, and diminishing it was downright cruel.

Some people would say that thirteen was too young to understand love, but Kakashi knew better. Shinobi learned hard lessons of the heart long before other children. Rin had loved him, and Obito had loved Rin. Kakashi didn’t know who he’d loved. He lost them both before he could figure it out.

Maybe if their team could bring Sasuke home, things would turn out better for Sakura.

He hoped so.

[mageicalwishes]

Read on AO3: Here

Rating: Teen And Up

Summary: My interpretation of "I was a 15-year-old closet case whose parents pretended they didn’t notice when the family dog disappeared".

"A shallow grave. So much less than she deserves. But … I can’t breathe. I can’t even think. I’m running on autopilot and adrenaline alone. Everything is just - I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how I got here. I'm losing control. I can't - I can't even look at her. She's still wrapped in my sheets. I can see her bleeding. I still want it. I still want more.

Carry On Countdown, Day 7 - Animal @carryon-countdown​

Key Info: Inspired by this artwork by one of my fave artists on here @cynopoe​

TW: Slight Emetophobia Warning!! (Non Graphic. Final line of first paragraph, feel free to skip if you're concerned!) & Hemophobia Warning!! (This is a very Vampire-heavy fic, so unfortunately there is frequent mention of blood). I have both these phobias (Lol RIP me) and faint when I see them IRL, but this was fine for me to write so I don't think it should be anything too major. However, everyone's phobias are different so I wanted to give a heads up. Please be aware of these warnings before reading, and feel free to skip over this if it's not for you!

Tags: Heavy Angst, Angst, Biting, Blood Drinking, Mild Blood, Pain, Mordelia Trying To Be A Nice Sister, Baz’s Dog, BASICALLY I’M REALLY SORRY FOR THIS IDK WHAT DEMON MADE ME WRITE THIS, Big Sad,  Carry On Countdown 2020 Day 7

Words: 1,116

Baz

A shallow grave. So much less than she deserves. But … I can’t breathe. I can’t even think. I’m running on autopilot and adrenaline alone. Everything is just - I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know how I got here. I'm losing control. I can't - I can't even look at her. She's still wrapped in my sheets. I can see her bleeding. I still want it. I still want more. My hands - I’m trying to dig but they won’t stop shaking. My stomach is churning, sick with the guilt, I have to - I stop and heave once more, the remnants of my crime splattering grimly on the dampened soil. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to hurt her.

 The Change had started a week or so after I returned home from Watford. At first, it was nothing more than a minor irritant - A stinging in the sun, a bone-deep chill. But … it worsened. 

First, came the dryness of my throat. That unceasing thirst no amount of water could quench. And then, came the mind-clouding obsession. My every thought consumed by blood. The steady slog of it through my family’s vessels so distracting that I couldn’t so much as look at them - The people that I loved - without that incessant need to take. Their blood. Their life. Their everything. 

It wasn’t me, not really, but I couldn’t stop it - Couldn’t fight it. Frozen, weak and powerless, my humanity withering away before me as the monster took it’s hold. I didn’t know what to do - Didn’t know who to go to - and so … I hid. 

I thought that if I locked myself away and waited for the initial thirst to subside, that everyone would be safe. That I’d make it through without hurting anybody - Without losing myself. 

I didn’t know much about Vampirism, but I’d been assured that the effects were at their worst on initial onset. If I endured, it would become more manageable. If I bared it, I could live with it. I’d pinned all of my hopes on that promise, but it had let me down. 

Father had a key to my door - An emergency plan. If I needed it, he could lock me in. But I didn’t, I had it under control. I thought that I was alright. That I could make it. No matter how hazy or desperate I became, how thirsty I was, they were safe. Everyone was safe. And then … Mordelia tried to be kind. 

She couldn’t have realised what she was doing. She didn’t know (None of the children did). She just didn’t want me to be lonely anymore. And so … she let Dotty in. 

I tried to get her away from me, tried to get her out of my room. But she thought I was playing, so she just kept running and jumping up at me, tennis ball held happily in her mouth. She was so warm, and I was so weak. All I could see, and think, and feel, and hear was her - Every breath she took, every maddening thump of her heart. I couldn’t escape it. I’d craved it for so long, and here it was, trapped in a room with me. I didn’t - I didn’t mean to do it. I don’t know what happened. One second I was shoving her away from me, and the next, I’d done it. I’d bitten her. 

I’ll never be able to escape the echo of her cries. How she whimpered beneath me, high pitched and betrayed. The fragment of me that remained, screaming, begging it to stop, to just let her go, overpowered by the darkness. By the need.  

I couldn’t let go. I just kept biting and biting and biting, pushing my jaw harder against her flesh. Blood suffocating me with every move, tacky under my nails and dripping from the lengths of my hair. I didn’t even care. I couldn’t care. Finally … I was satiated. 

And so … Here I am. Slathered in mud and crimson, desperately trying to bury my beloved dog in the shallow pit I’ve scraped out of the ground. Trying to forget it. Trying to pretend that this is some sick, perverted nightmare - That I’ll wake up and be me again. Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch, not whoever did this. Not whatever did this. I cant - I won’t - I don’t …

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

When I make it back to the house, the sun is hanging fire in the sky. 

I don’t know how long it has been since I took her - 4 hours? 5? How many moments have I had to bear it so far? My mind is clearer now, but I’m still lost. It wasn’t me, it was … I don’t know. 

Daphne screams when she sees me, and Father comes racing down the stairs in a panic. I didn’t think about them being awake. I should’ve just waited. I should’ve just stayed hidden. I should’ve just stayed gone. But it’s too late now. He’s pushing her behind his body, shielding her with his presence. Protecting her from me. I can see the realisation dawn on his face as he takes me in - My unmistakably bloodied figure, her yellow-spotted collar still clutched in my muddied hands. Disgust. That’s what I see. Pure, unrelenting disgust at what I’ve done - What I’ve become. 

“Mother, Father, I didn’t - I didn’t mean to. Please, you have to believe me," I’m sobbing, chest rattling as I try to explain - Try to somehow absolve myself of their justified hatred. It’s sick. A truly disturbed little performance. But, they have to know. They mustn't think … “I wouldn’t hurt you - I wouldn’t hurt anybody - Anything. It was an accident. I tried to undo it. I tried to heal her, but my magic wouldn’t come, I was too … I didn’t have enough in me. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Please don’t-” 

With a lift of his hand, he silences me. “Go and clean yourself up, Basilton,” he says, voice flat and hollow. “We’ll deal with this later.” 

We won’t talk about it, I know. We’ll act like it never happened. But it did. And I don’t know how I’m supposed to go on pretending anymore. 

 Later, as I was scrubbing the shame from my body - Watching the whole diabolic night swirl down the plug, as I scoured my tainted skin raw. The reek of Copper and Dirt, poorly masked with lashings of Cedar and Bergamot - I heard the unmistakable locking of my door. A vicious creature finally confined to it’s cell. That final, damning confirmation. My own family - Scared of me. They can’t even trust me not to hurt them anymore (And neither can I). Not like this. Not with what I’ve become. One of them. Crowley, Mother would be so disappointed in me. 

[magpiemorality]

Platonic intruality with Remus as Patton’s guardian angel :0? Idk it’s an idea I had that I don’t think I could execute well but I think you could!! If I may add one more thing, could it be hurt comfort? I don’t wanna specify more because I wanna see what you do with it!!! (Okay bye now ily!)

This spiraled into something monstrous and painful and very, very cathartic. I hope it doesn’t hurt anyone to read, do watch the warnings. And remember; it is a story, and not an instruction booklet. Because of subject matter I’ve put a little summary in so there’s more warning about what’s coming!

And to you Chris, thanks for the prompt. It was special to write, in many ways.

The Hardest Fight Of All

Guardian Angel Remus has been assigned to help Patton Abbott, a sweet high school student with a very normal, decent life; nothing easy to spot for Remus to fight. But if the threat isn’t from outside, then it may be coming from within.

Warnings: Mental Health Issues, negativity, Unreliable Narrator, Self-Esteem Issues, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Emotional self-harm, what might be construed as bad handling of an individual with mental health issues, death mention (metaphorical). 

AO3

***

Patton Abbot didn't deserve his guardian angel. No really. He was sure he was nice enough, and he tried to be kind to everyone he could and forgive anyone that did him harm, but he didn't deserve a guardian angel for that! He wasn't in much danger, he didn't have a lot to complain about, with his perfectly normal life and normal parents and normal school. He even had normal friends! It felt selfish to have a guardian angel when he wasn't suffering at all really, and he hadn't earned it through doing anything particularly good either.

His guardian angel loudly, passionately and regularly disagreed, but Patton had yet to be convinced. Remus was lovely, but there were so many more deserving people that needed his help! He was flattered Remus seemed to enjoy being his guardian angel and hanging around with him but it was probably only because he was forced, and Patton was good at acting nice so at least he hoped he wasn't making the angel's job too awful.

That was if you asked Patton, at least. Remus would have a different perspective on things. But Patton hadn't... actually asked him? Because he was so obviously lying when he insisted Patton did deserve his presence and protection, because Patton didn't deserve it.

Over time though, something changed. Remus started to lose his glow, his wings began to droop and he stopped skipping and floating around above the ground, steps dragging heavier and heavier on the floor. Patton was terrified, constantly checking in with him because Remus was too important to feel bad, or get sick, or whatever it was that was happening! Patton had to help him!

When he woke up one morning to find Remus leaning on the windowsill, gazing despondently out at the garden and the rest of the houses he started to really panic. He had to be hurting the angel somehow, but how?! And how could he fix it?!

"Remus? What- what's up bud? You know you can always talk to me right? I think you're awesome, and you deserve to be happy!"

"I'm not so sure."

"You do!" Patton insisted, placing a hand between his wing joints on his back. "You do so much good, you're always taking care of me and you're so kind and lovely and fun and you-"

"It's taken me a while, you know," Remus interrupted. Patton went quiet apart from a soft, questioning hum. "To figure out why I was sent to you."

Ah. "Well it must have been a mistake, like I said before, but that's okay, you can consider-"

"Patton for the love of the sky and the stars; shut up."

Patton shut up, trying not to let the harshness hurt. He knew he'd been babbling on a bit, so it was probably his own fault, and after all even angels only had a certain amount of patience. And Patton knew he was annoying. But it still hurt just a little bit.

Remus rounded on him, eyes alight for the first time in weeks. He grabbed Patton by the shoulders and steered him back to the bed, sitting him down on the edge firmly and moving back to pace in front of him. Patton waited, still conscious of the reprimand, until Remus finally burst.

"I can't believe it took me so long! Honestly, I wasn't sure there was much to do here; you seemed so happy so much of the time, and you get along with almost everyone! Sure there's the odd bully, but its only ever in situations you put yourself into knowing they'll come, like that video channel thing of yours, and I suppose I assumed you realised you could just leave if you didn't want to see it all. You were so nice to them, too nice! But even when I visited them, sorted that out for you, or got you to spend time away from it, you were still... so hurt. And now, now I see the true problem. It's worse than I thought, and I'm- I'm so sorry I didn't see before, but I'm also angry, and it's not at you but it is-"

Unsurprising, Patton thought. That made sense, after all.

"Because the evil that I'm supposed to battle for you... is you."

Slightly more surprising. "Come again?" Patton asked, apologising quickly for speaking up. Remus bared his teeth as fury flashed over his face, flaring bright again for a moment. He looked... terrifying, but glorious. An angel in battle.

"There is no greater threat to you than yourself. And I don't know how to fight that! I'm angry because I'm sad; why would you attack yourself so viciously day after day, hour after hour, word after word and never afford yourself a single iota of the kindness you afford others?!" He stopped, chest heaving, and Patton felt the weight of an expected answer. He couldn't reply, just shrugging, which only set Remus off again. "You, the nasty horrible thing inside you, it's killing you! You feel like you're dying, and you just let it happen. I don't- I don't know how to fight that, I don't think I can fight that, and you just- " He growled, his morningstar appearing, only partially there, for him to swing in fury. "Everything they say to you that you rail against in public, you bite back against if those very words are turned on your friends with no mercy, you say the same things in your own head. You are so awful to yourself, you're just like them! I cant fight that!"

Patton swallowed. "It's not a big deal," he said weakly, heart hammering in his ribcage.

"But it is! And I can't do my job if you're the one stopping me at every turn! You don't even know you're doing it, or maybe you do and just pretend you don't, I'm not even sure anymore. But you desire so much better, why can't you take your own damn advice?! I don't- I don't think you even want to feel better sometimes, you've turned your suffering into so much of your identity. Do you actually like being this way...?" He cut off, narrowing his eyes at Patton suspiciously. Patton felt part of him squirm under that gaze, but another small part was quietly begging for the angel to go on, to finish lancing this horrid, deep-seated, ancient boil of Bad.

"It's not fair!" Remus finished. "You're doing it to yourself! Do you know how easy that is to stop?!"

Those were the words that finally got Patton up on his feet. Because no matter the truth of the rest of it; that was a lie. "It's not easy! It's not!" Thoughts of therapy and mental health diagnoses and the difficult of facing everything alone when it was easier to just suffer and frame it in martyrdom and help everyone and hope, pray that one day someone would help him too.

(And then push it away away away when that same help was offered back, falling into misery when that endless push- desperately testing his friends to their limits because he knew they'd get tired eventually- turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy as they ran out of support to throw against his walls of self-hatred and negativity)

Remus stepped forwards until they were chest to chest, gazing down from his height, fully blazing bright in the innocuous setting of Patton's bedroom. "But it is. If you want to."

Patton sat down again with a thump, feeling faint and nauseous. There was a moment of silence before he burst into tears, pulling his knees up to hide his face in. He wasn't even sure why he was crying. Because of the horrible cruel words? Because he didn't deserve even this harsh kindness (that felt like staring at the sun without protection or touching electricity, raw and painful and unfiltered for his comfort) after how awful he'd been? Because... because it felt terrible to even think about the fact that this could be his fault in some way?! And now Remus hated him just like the rest and he was going to leave and Patton would be alone and-

Two warm, gentle hands came up to cup his face and tilt it back into view, and Remus was there, looking stern and serious but not angry anymore. The relief that flooded through Patton was almost euphoric, like the weight of the entire sky lifted back up off his lungs. "I can't fight this battle alone, Patton," the angel said. "And I can't fight it at all if you don't truly, deeply, one hundred percent want me to fight it. To do that you need to understand that it's your battle too, that you have to put your armour on and go to war alongside me, if we're to have any chance at success. Because right now you're on their side, and you're sabotaging us from within."

"But it's my condition! My brain doesn't-"

"You think I don't know about that?" Remus frowned, rubbing his cheeks gently. "You've got medication. You've got a therapist, you have people who are trying their hardest to love and support you. But you can't survive the ocean on a raft of other people's making. It will stop you sinking, for a time- perhaps even for a long time, but you won't get any closer to shore unless you start to paddle. And as you paddle you'll also have to patch up any cracks in the raft with your own hands, perhaps with the materials you're given but the work to stitch it all together and sail it has to be your own. It's- I'm not a fan of metaphors but do you see? You can't be the only one not contributing to your own recovery."

"I'm not recovering from anything, I just have a negative self image and... and some other things. But they're bad! They're not things you get better from-" Patton tried, voice trembling and weak. Remus just looked at him, hands still on his face.

"Aren't they?" He asked simply. "You don't think you could ever manage to feel better than you do right now? You think all the stories of people improving their lives are... made up? You think, perhaps, that the medication is all a placebo, that once you've labelled the problem it's made permanent and nothing can ameliorate the symptoms or make life easier to live?" The angel leaned in and dropped a kiss to Patton's forehead, leaving a warm tingling in its wake. "The world would burn, if that were true," he whispered, before standing up.

Patton just kept on sitting in silence, face itching as his tears started to dry on his skin.

Remus gave him a small but real smile. "You've got plenty to think about. Consider my pitch; without you I will continue to fight the war, hopeless though it may be, but with you..." He grinned properly then. "Oh the things we could achieve, dear one."

And off he vanished, in a flutter of feathers and the sound of moving light.

It left Patton feeling as though, in the space of only maybe half an hour, the entire world had changed around him. He wondered, as he lay down on his bed, exhausted and reaching for his favourite plushie for comfort, whether what Remus said was what his therapist secretly wanted to say. It was a funny thought, mild-mannered Dr Picani ranting like the passionate angel, but Patton barely managed a lift of his lips. He needed to rest, and then he'd start to think about all this. If it wasn't true, if the angel was mistaken, seeing things that weren't there because of how boring it was being Patton's guardian; then nothing really needed to change except he would renew his efforts to get Remus reassigned.

If it was true though? Then that changed everything, and Patton Abbott would have a lot of hard work ahead.

He wished he knew which one he was hoping for.

-

[iamtheempress]

A Vegeta x OC Fanfiction (part 5) ¤ ¤ ¤

With this holo map lain out in front of them it was time to plan a first attack. A city not 70 miles away was perfect. 

"You remember what i told you right?" Vegeta asks first, exiting the ship, and moving hair from his face. "Yes Vegeta. When does the moon rise?" He beeps the scouter on his face and looks to the ominous twilight sky. "About 3 hours. I wouldn’t suggest you look to the moon seeing as though you haven't changed into a Great Ape yet.. hideous being but it does its job and it does it well." He comments closing up the holo map and strides right past her

 “Cant wait to actually see it!” Vegeta chuckles “That’s depending on the  and crosses his arms over his chest looking at the slightly shorter Saiyan with an uncurled tail. Excited. Ready for action. Her blood was already pumping!

"We go there. Clear the area. Scout for food or signs of lifeforms and return back. This planet is enormous so i don't see this being a problem for you. As long as you follow my orders." His tone of voice really started to grate her nerves… “Lighten up Vegeta! Were going to be fine! I promise ill listen to you.” She punched his shoulder making him look back at her with an almost annoyed look on his face. It really made her feel a little wary, then she did beforehand.. if that were even feasibly possible..

 "Do you plan on turning into your Great Ape form yet?" He rolled his eyes and squinted a bit, deep in thought, taking in some fresh air before doing anything yet. “You'll see.” He watched her tail winding around her tight waist as she adjusted the suit to fit her more comfortably.  Vegeta scoffed. "Can't believe they made you wear that here…" he grumbled beneath his breath tightening his fist as he blasted from the entryway of the ship. Calamatta followed close behind after closing up shop.

It was now that she noticed the way the sun shone through the atmosphere made it perpetually twilight, it was beautiful and picturesque scenery of a brand new landscape giving way to rolling hills and mountains that looked untouched by anything even closely resembling a bipedal intelligent lifeform. A herd of animals ran beneath them as they made their way to this dystopian cityscape, shrouded in fog and lit up in a bright light.

SHe wondered to herself if this is the type of scenery they would see before terraforming a planet, it was romantic even in a sick and twisted sort of way.

The city came into focus and the time was nigh. To lay waste and do a job. Lives, alive or dead….or otherwise meant nothing. Vegeta landed in a city center. Void of life and anything at all. Overturned vehicles and blown out buildings stretched the alien metropolis. Vegeta turned to Calamatta and nodded.

 "Do the honors, Calamatta.. if we get no action soon ill fall asleep standing up." He told her as he crossed his arms and stood close to her.

The small Saiyan smirked and flicked her wrist pointing up at the sky blowing out the city surrounding them in a hellscape beyond measure. This eruption caused the city to crumble into cinders beneath their feet. Flattening it to molten slag… the hiss of the hot ash settling on the ground earned her a slow clap from Vegeta. "Well done." 

"Learned from the best." She bumped him with her hip, playfully. 

All playfulness flew out the window when she locked eyes with the prince staring out at his scouter, beeping rapidly. 

She looked in that direction and saw 6 lanky arms protruding out of the ground and pulling out a large bipedal creature.. mold colored and large eyes staring back at them opened its maw and croaked like a frog. "Oh hell…" Vegeta cursed and shot up into the air out of reach as it lunged like a spider  to Calamatta earning a loud shriek from the saiyan and a panicked ki beam to the face blowing it to meaty chunky smithereens.  Laying the field with snapped bones and limbs. 

"What the hell was that???" She screamed up at Vegeta pointing at what's left of that thing. "Get the hell off the ground and up here before more come! They croak as a way to communicate!" She gasped and started to fly off the ground. Only to be grabbed by skeletal arms beneath her. Gripping her ankle and leg pulling her hard to the ground beneath, Vegetas look of blind shock was brief but he managed to slice these skeletal hands away as quickly as they clamped onto her meaty thigh. The 7 finger like appendages wrapped fully around her ankle and thigh causing a bruise to take its place. "This is worse then i imagined.. we cant remain on the ground! Stay up here woman i dont need you dying already!" He shouted and two more of those things came from behind a scalded rock, Burnt and mangled but still charging for them.

They ascended further and watched them leap aggressively for their legs. The two Saiyans look at eachother and blast these mindless monsters to smithereens. Their entire bodies turning to ash and flying away in the wind. “Those… are the inhabitants?” “What's left of them.. They’re zombified. Its that virus that took them over and reanimated them.” Vegeta warns turning to the perplexed female saiyan, she simply gulped and met the princes eyes.

 “We wont be reaching any form of diplomacy.. Were only going to have to take them out the old fashioned way…” He growls and cracks his knuckles, his scouter beeps and a small smirk spreads on his face.

 “The moon is almost up and I'm becoming already impatient.” He turns directly to her and places a hand on his hip, puffing his chest up. “We need to speed up this extinction event abit. Don't get in my way and watch your prince in action..” With that he blasts in a direction opposite her, she whips around and shouts after him “Hey!” She charges in the direction of the prince, keeping distance and just all over confused, miles upon miles later Vegeta comes to an incredibly large city. A grin growing on his face when he lands upon the highest building, “Calamatta!” He calls out to her though the scouters mic, she looks to the prince silhouetted against the rising moon and questions out of complete confusion and frustration. 

“Vegeta what the hell are you upto! Didnt you just give me the third degree about 3 hours ago about doing anything drastic..?” She nags in his com, only earning a bark of laughter. 

“Silly woman! You are not yet skilled enough to control your Great Ape form! It would be absolutely idiodic of you to do that! So do yourself a favor and relax and watch the best of your race in action.” He barked harshly at her, his words started to sting more and more and goddamn did she hate it. She crossed her arms and kept her distance as Vegeta turned his entire head to the sky and drank in the power of the full moon beaming down upon him. Igniting the great Oozaru that dwells inside of him like a match in a house full of open gas tanks.

He cranes his head back and roars loudly his entire body morphing from his original height into a massive ape. Calamatta was impressed.. terrified even, by the sheer magnitude of an untamable beast.

Upon hearing his roar of the Saiyan Prince made Great Ape came a cacophony of croaks rapidly approaching and thunderously loud approaching of feet, scuttling rapidly. The Ape turned his head and looked upon the small Saiyan pointing a thumb to himself. “Observe, Woman.” Vegeta boasted and turned back to the city scape back handing the sky scraper over, crushing smaller buildings beneath his boot. Devastating crush for smash the buildings came down and these creatures were being crushed like bugs. Scaling his boots only sealed their fates when he would kick buildings. His maw would open and a beam of chi would explode forth devastating everything within its path. He looked like he was having the time of his life. Leveling city block for sky scraper with a thwip of his tail. 

Everything seemed so simple. Like these creatures only needed the touch of some Saiyans to get the job done. With this thought came that cocky demeanor yet again. Calamatta lowered herself to the roof top of a lower building and marveled at the Saiyan princes destructive wake. His roar enraptured her and made her feel alive… Something small within her that made her start to see what being a Saiyan meant. She hoped she could be exactly like him. Maybe stronger. She considered herself just as strong but didnt fully grasp the sheer magnitude of power she has within her little Saiyan body.

Unbeknownst to her and Vegeta she was being crept upon by an even larger zombie, a loud croak spooked her from her  seated position and she was grasped tightly by this creature around her waist. A shout comes from her throat as she fires a beam of ki into his face only angering it as it smashes her against the side of a building, gaining Vegeta’s attention. He snarls and took one solid leap into the air to come down hard onto its back arms and dead legs. 

“Goddammit you cant stay out of trouble cant you?” He snarls at her as he snaps the arm holding onto her like a pencil in his hands. With his free hand he grabs the croaking monster by the face and crushes it hard in his grip, holding the caged saiyan in his other hand. Giving her full attention with a disappointed face. “C-Can you get me out.” She asked him struggling to pull the fingers from her torso and leg. “Youll only cause more trouble if i do so i will keep you like this till we return back to base.” His booming voice reverberated sounding more and more condescending by the second. 

Calamatta pouted and retorted “This isnt remotely fair!” Vegeta snapped, tired of being back talked. “Its not fair i have to watch over you like an unruly infant so remain still in my hand or ill leave you to die and I will do this goddamned planet on my own!” His teeth bare and foam spills forth from his teeth. The prince is fuming, if his bright red eyes had blood vessels they would have been long burst now. 

Calamatta had heard enough. That one sentence struck a chord in her. It stabbed her right to the core. Vegeta just stared at her merciless in his words. He meant that. She knew it. Theres no question.. She took a breath and nodded, only to earn a single growl and a flash of his canines, as he turned back to the city to continue his onslaught. 

Over 3 hours and the city was leveled entirely. Vegeta had been quiet as well as Calamatta. Her eyes remained fixed upon Vegeta as he finishes his onslaught. 

Not a croak for miles. Not a peep from Calamatta’s pretty lips. “Hear that Calamatta…” 

He says flatly in his godlike deep voice. She listens to the wind and raises a brow confused “No i dont hear any-” “Exactly… Silence. Sweet silence… Now i would like to hear it the entire trip back… and ill release you.” “B-But Vegeta!” “Not a word from you.. This is your punishment for being caught, woman.” She goes quiet and slumps into his hand. “Fine…” Her voice cracks and keeps her head turned away from him Quiet. Solemn. Forfeit…

¤ ¤ ¤

Tags: @memevember @dragonblobz @lizardhipsdontlie @nikabriefs @gonuclear @msgreenverse @fallen--lilith @lilhemmo @supremeleadershitlord @thotful-writing @dragonball-hcs-or-sum-shit @solidsock @jimbobslurpnchug

[illfoandillfie]

No Particular Place To Go

Pairing: Roger Taylor x Reader

Summery: Roger takes you on a drive

Warnings: None really. Some swearing, some talk of sex but nothing explicit, driving without a seatbelt

Words: 1724

A/N: I didn't really plan to write this but I was sitting on a bus listening to my 50s playlist today when No Particular Place To Go by Chuck Berry came up on shuffle and it inspired me. Something short and cute to tide you over until I can finish one of the other things i'm working on. 

Also did you know seat belts weren't compulsory in the UK until like 1983!

Taglist:  @laedymoon  @dtfrogertaylor  @vee-ndetta​ @atomic-watermelon @kellypenac​ @labessieisallama​ @deakyclicks​ @jennyggggrrr​ @drowseoftaylor​  @hannafuckingsucks​  @i-cant-hangout-im-drumming​ @queenmylovely​ @supersonicfreddie​

You knew it was Roger’s car coming down the street the second you heard the growl of the engine. It didn’t have the low whine of the woman next door’s car or the sickly chug of the one from across the road that pissed Roger off every time he heard it. He strongly believed a car that nice should belong to someone who’d look after it properly and not the prick who had it. As if to prove that he made sure his own set of wheels was at its cleanest and smoothest running whenever he picked you up for a date. You weren’t sure if it was a pride thing or just a determination to be better than annoying assholes or if it was because he’d caught the guy checking you out one hot afternoon. Whatever the reason it kept things interesting. And stopped Roger from outright punching the guy. Plus it meant you could recognise Roger’s engine within seconds, having heard him purr his way to your door every time you had a date. Which is why you were already skipping down the front steps before he could step out of the car. “Hi love,” he grinned as he pulled you into a hug, “you ready to go?” “Yeah, where are you taking me?” “On a drive,” He shrugged as he pulled the front passenger door open for you, “nowhere particular. Just thought it might be a bit of fun, you and me and the open road.” “Sounds very romantic Rog.” “Damn fuckin’ right it will be.” You couldn’t help but laugh as he shut the door and made his way round to the driver’s seat. He looked bemused as he glanced over and saw you buckling your seatbelt. “You are the only person I’ve ever met who bothers with that thing.” “You say that like you meet hundreds of people every day when we both know that’s not true. Honestly, I can’t believe you don’t buckle up. The number of scrapes you’ve gotten into.” “Hey! It’s not that many,” he half laughed as he pulled out onto the road. “There was like three last week if I’m not mistaken – the pole you hit when you were reversing, that scratch you spent hours buffing out from that little red car you got too close t-” “Okay okay, point taken. But,” he glanced in the mirror as he pulled up at an intersection, “counter argument.” It was a good thing the road was quiet because Roger leaned in to kiss you softly, fingertips dancing over your jaw, making you entirely forget what your third example was. If you hadn’t been sat in the passenger seat of a running vehicle you would have been more than happy to let Roger keep kissing you. But, instead you whispered his name against his lips the first moment he pulled away long enough for you to get the word out. “Said you were gonna take me on a drive,” “Technically I did.” “Only three streets from home,” “Exactly, three whole streets. Haven’t gone too far to turn around yet,” “Rog, c’mon,” He sighed and leaned in for one final kiss before he faced forward again, looked right and left and then kept driving, “You sure you don’t wanna head home?” “Get me more than three streets away and you’ll get more than a kiss.”

The sun was beginning to set as you reached the highway. Roger had stolen a few more quick kisses at various red lights and stop signs, but for the most part he was well behaved. You fiddled with the radio as he drove, trying to find a decent station to listen to as you got further and further away from home, singing along to whatever songs you landed on between bursts of conversation. It was while you were singing along to an advertising jingle you’d heard a thousand times that you caught Roger looking at you. “What is it?” “Nothing. I love you,” “I love you too, Rog,” A giggle was pulled from you as Roger threw his arm around you and tugged you to lean against his side, pressing a quick kiss to the top of your head. It did absolutely nothing to stem the rising urge to kiss him again. But he was driving and, now that you were out of the backstreets, there were more cars around to be mindful of. So you leaned your head on Roger’s shoulder, fingers twitching in your lap with the desire to get closer, to hold him properly, no steering wheels or seat belts in the way. You tried to distract yourself from those thoughts by suggesting you play eye spy or something similar, but the game didn’t last long. The dying light made it harder and harder to see things clearly enough and, though you thought you were doing an admirable job of keeping yourself under wraps, Roger wasn’t doing so well. His breath was coming noticeably harder and seemed to catch in his throat whenever you leaned your head against his shoulder, his voice was rougher, and you could have sworn his pants were a bit tighter than they had been when he got into the car.

When you noticed the first stars appearing in the sky you spoke up, “should we pull over?” Roger nodded and jerked the car onto the grass on the side of the road. You hoped he hadn’t done something stupid and got the wheels stuck but the thought was driven from your mind when the noise of the engine died down. “Been wondering when you’d ask instead of making all those cute little needy sighing noises. And you’re nipples have been poking through your shirt for so long now it’s a miracle I stayed so focused on the road.” “Shut up and kiss me again,” Roger’s face broke into a grin as he did as you’d requested, clearly as eager to get his hands on you as you were to touch him. He twisted towards you more as his tongue ran over your bottom lip, one hand cupping your face. His other hand dropped down to your chest, pinching and squeezing over your shirt. Your arched into him as much as the seatbelt would allow, torn between grabbing him back and undoing the belt. Your nails scraped over the release button, bumping against Roger’s as you both fumbled with it. But neither of you managed to hit it properly, the belt staying tight. You let out a breathless chuckle that Roger happily swallowed as you moved your hand up to his jaw, letting him unbuckle you. He groaned softly when there was no pop and shifted in his seat. “Stupid fucking thing,” he mumbled against your lips as he tried a second time to release you. When he was met with the same problem he pulled away, focusing all his attention on the buckle. “Rog, what are you doing?” “It’s not….You try, I’m at a bad angle,” You rolled your eyes, “Y’know if you used yours more you’d know how to get them un- Fuck. It’s not working,” “What?” “Rog I’m stuck. Your piece of shit car has me trapped,” “Hey, she’s not that bad,” “Mmhmm, sure,” you tugged on the belt, the panic rising in your chest and not being able to get loose, “because everyone knows the good cars have these sorts of problems,” “Stop talking shit about the car, you’ve obviously buckled it wrong. Give me a second,” Roger said in response to your look, flinging his door open so he could run around to yours. He wrenched I open hard and bent over your lap to try and get a better look as he once more attempted pressing the button in. It didn’t budge. “Well?” you pulled on the belt again. “It’s gone all stiff, I need more leverage I think,” he half climbed into the car, only one leg remaining on the ground outside and tried to put more of his weight into it. You burst out laughing, unable to hold back at the sheer ridiculousness of it all. Roger joined in, his face falling against your neck as he tried to collect himself. “Is there anyway you can just fuck me like this?” You asked, through the laughter, wiping tears from your eyes. “Don’t think so. Maybe I could get my finger’s in there?” A fresh burst of laughter took you both over, Roger stumbling backwards out of the car again.

When it finally passed the worry kicked back in, your chest tightening at the thought of never being free. It was the same feeling you got when your head got stuck in your shirt. “What are we going to do, Rog?” Roger looked you over, scratching his head, “I don’t know. Something.” “That’s not helpful. I’d really quite like to not be stuck like this for the rest of my life, thanks.” “We’ll get you out, just keep trying while we drive, okay? I’ve got some oil back at my place that might help,” Roger let out a breath and shook his head, “Can’t believe my piece of shit car fucking cockblocked us.” You giggled again as he got back into the drivers seat, shaking his head, “So you agree it’s a piece of shit,” “Uh, no, you don’t get to bash on my car, only I get to do that. And if you just didn’t bother with the belt like a regular fucking person. Or if you’d let me turn around before we got too far,” You poked your tongue out at Roger. It was quiet except for the radio and the engine as Roger turned the car around and headed back the way you’d come, he mood so different to when you’d pulled up. Your body still hummed with desire but it was more subdued now, though you were sure it would be back in full force the second you broke loose. “I promise I’ll get you out,” Roger said softly, glancing over at you, “even if I have to cut the belt in half.” “I know,” you tugged on it again, hoping that the movement of the car would loosen it somehow, “But can you also promise that if I manage to get it undone while we’re driving, you’ll pull over the first chance you get.”

[spiriituma]

||--not sure what, if anything, to tag this as but !! potential trigger warning for death, some gore... basically magic horror beneath the cut, so have fun !!--||

IT WAS AN ALL BUT SILENT NIGHT. The witch’s heart pounded in her ears, she could feel it rising up into her throat. Each footfall was more panicked than the last, and though the sirens were far enough behind her to fade into obscurity behind the thick curtain of fog that followed, the fear that they would catch her couldn’t help but creep into her thoughts. Lee’s white-knuckle grip on her cloak and the bag she carried over her shoulder only grew tighter as she barreled through underbrush, deeper and deeper into the thicket, paying little attention to where she was headed, only looking to get far, far away from where she’d been.

Once she could no longer hear the sirens, the girl stopped, doubled over coughing, trying to catch her breath. She didn’t know how long she’d been running, how far the town she’d just booked it out of was behind her. A shaking hand reached out to grasp at the nearest tree, nails digging into the bark. She’d gotten a little bit too cocky with her thievery; breaking into a pawn shop to rob them of their most valuable objects only to find an armed night guard hadn’t exactly been a shining moment of hers. (She was a teenager with magic too strong for her own good; it was bound to get to her head eventually.)

A few minutes passed before the blonde finally stopped shaking. She took a tentative step forward, pulling the hood of her cloak back up around her. It had just begun to drizzle; thunder rumbled in the distance, lightning flickered faintly overhead. If she didn’t start moving now, she’d never make it to somewhere she could keep dry before it started to downpour. The last thing she wanted was to be rained on when she had only one other set of clothes to change into and nowhere warm to sleep. If only she could start a fire that wasn’t cold, something that she’d have to teach herself later; maybe she could practice while she walked.

Muttering to herself, playing with a small blue flame, Lee picked her way through the woods, starting down a little dirt trail that looked like it hadn’t been trod down in years. A half an hour of walking, of practicing, and an iron gate blocked the young girl’s way. Soft, blue-gray eyes gazed up at the wrought iron design arching above her head. There was no name on the gate, but the headstones just past it led her to believe she’d just stumbled upon an old cemetery, seemingly forgotten to all but her.

The witch very cautiously pushed the gate open with a loud creak, fog pooling around her ankles as she wiped the rust on her tattered jeans. It must have rained rather hard there before she arrived, puddles lined the gravel road down both sides; the gravestones, some of which appeared to be old, scuffed marble shone with a new glory, the dust and dirt washed away. As she walked, she read the names, the inscriptions. A married couple resting side by side. A young boy. A woman taken in her prime. Several stones with no names, names that had faded away with time. Feeling the tears begin to well up, Lee paused, squatting beside them, fingers grazing over the still wet stones.

Condolences were whispered to the souls who laid beneath, an apology uttered along with it. A fascination, a connection, with the dead had always bubbled within the witch. As a child, she had spent a lot of time in cemeteries, more so after the loss of her grandmother. A witch herself, Lee’s grandmother had been the young girl’s rock, teaching her the basics, helping her control her magic. When the woman passed, Lee was lost-- completely devastated. Her one solace was visiting her grandmother’s gravesite every evening... until their family moved. And kept moving. With every mistake that Lee made regarding her powers, the girl’s mother grew more and more angry, holing her away from people save to send her to school. The blows to her psyche kept coming, and the pent up anger and aggression rose ever further to the surface.

Until the girl blew a fuse. Quite literally.

Lee visibly winced, trying to push the thought out of her conscious as she stood, casting a lingering glance at the wordless grave markers before continuing on. The thunder she’d been trying so hard to avoid boomed louder, echoing around her, seeming to shake the cemetery itself. Her breath hung in the air like dragon smoke amidst the fog around her; a quick peek over her shoulder determined there was no going back-- she was far enough along that the gate had since disappeared. “Well...” The word was breathy, quiet, said to no one in particular, not even herself. “I guess the only way out... is through.”

Continuing on, Lee had to stop herself from stopping at more headstones, telling herself that it would be fine, that those who rested there would forgive her for not acknowledging them. All that mattered was making it to a safe, dry, and preferably warm location before the oncoming storm finally touched ground. As she reached what she presumed was the edge of the cemetery, about to hop over the rusty iron fence, something caught her eye. There was a portion of the wrought iron that was broken, overgrown by a large tree. Past it, an even lesser traveled path poked out from underneath loose leaves and brush. She paused, fingers tapping against the iron; teeth bit down hard on her lower lip. Keep going keep going keep going-- Her mind told her to keep going straight.

BUT IT WAS HER HEART TUGGING HER TOWARDS THE SHADOWS.

Lee jogged over to the broken portion of fencing and hopped the roots that had overtaken it, pushing past the underbrush as she moved forward, keeping her eyes on the gravel path so that she wouldn’t be lost in the fog were she to want to head back. There was an air of excitement, of mystery, around the place. She had never been one to find cemeteries spooky; in fact, the contrary was true-- walking through one’s gates felt like going to visit friends. However, what she stumbled upon in the woods was a sight unlike anything she’d ever seen before.

A hauntingly beautiful mausoleum stood among a circle of trees, seemingly protected from time itself, and standing in front of it... A STATUE OF A HORSE. She was transfixed by the creature, and how could she not be? The piece was immaculate, sculpted from what appeared to be black marble or granite, though a more exotic kind than she’d ever seen, shot through with swirls of red and gold. What intrigued Lee most of all, however, was not what the horse was made of, but its posture, its physique. It looked to be a mare, standing alert, one ear pricked forward, her neck arched and nostrils flared-- though the horse was not rearing up or striking, all four feet planted on its base, something about it sent a chill down the witch’s spine.

SHE WAS A PROTECTOR. A FIERCE ONE. A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH.

It was clear to her that the mare had been placed at the site as a memorial, but also as a warning-- one that she would later regret not heeding. Though, in that moment, she was desperate. An idea had worked its way into her mind. She remembered a spell in the book her grandmother had given her that would give life to an inanimate object, long enough for the object to provide a service to its creator before turning back into whatever it had once been. A loud crack of lightning across the cloudy night sky told the girl all she needed to know. She needed to find that spell, and she needed to find it fast. This horse could help her. Maybe it could protect her, be her guide; if nothing else, it would at least provide a way out of the woods that was faster than her own two feet.

Setting down her bag, Lee dug through it and grabbed the musty, torn spell book her grandmother had given her. Flipping through it, she occasionally cast a glance up at the horse; maybe it was just her own paranoia from the events that had transpired earlier that night, but she felt like it was eyeing her. Sizing her up. Upon finding the spell, Lee set the book down onto the wet ground (how odd that the page had already been marked, and not by her own hand,) before taking a deep breath and stepping back towards the statue. Her tongue stuck out from between her lips in concentration as she began to draw a circle around the base with her magic, lighting up the surrounding area with an eery blue glow. 

Lee checked the circle once, twice, three times, going back and forth to her spell book to make sure she had everything right. Stepping back to admire her handiwork, eyes closed tight, a plea to a higher power slipped past her lips. The witch swallowed thickly and opened her eyes-- it was time to try out what she’d learned. Hands hovered above the book, she stood square with the statue’s base, looking up at the stone mare. This had to work. IT JUST HAD TO WORK. 

“Veni... ambulabunt mecum.” (COME... WALK WITH ME.)

Another crack of lightning split the sky, though it was Lee’s magic that still illuminated the clearing and everything in it. Leaves began to swirl at the statue’s base, and the witch felt her breath hitch in her chest. Her hands trembled, fingers tense from holding the spell, but she simply had to see it through its completion. Lee’s teeth gritted, brows furrowed, fighting the urge to stop. I can take it. I can do this. I’m strong enough. Gramma wouldn’t have given me the book if she didn’t think so--

Blue tendrils of magic branched out of its circle, snaking up the statue’s base and around the horse’s legs, up its chest, barrel, haunches... crawling up and wrapping its neck and head. Suddenly there was a CRACK that wasn’t from above; Lee’s eyes shot up, the circle she had created around the statue’s base ceased to glow, fading into the ground. The clearing was silent.

DEATHLY SILENT.

The statue began to twitch. Head canted to the side; stone crackled and chipped as its ears flicked back and forth. Eyes forced themselves to blink; hooves were picked up one by one off of the base, the creature gaining its footing for the very first time. Lee’s magic still ensnared it, the mare’s eyes glowing a bright blue. From her position on the ground, Lee took a step back, a small smile of disbelief on her face, watching the creature. She’d done it, she’d completed the spell--

She tripped over her backpack, sending her falling onto her backside with a thud. Breathless, the witch’s eyes locked onto the statue, meeting the creature’s gaze. Something felt wrong. A sudden terror struck her as the magic that had been meant to fade began to change; the blue tendrils warped themselves, swirling faster around the figure and changing from the electric blue that Lee was so familiar with to a blazing blood red. Scrambling backwards, desperately trying to get herself untangled from her backpack, Lee’s heart nearly froze in her chest.

THE MARE’S JAW CRACKED OPEN IN A SILENT SCREAM, AND THE CREATURE RAISED ITSELF ONTO ITS HIND LEGS. 

Within seconds, it sprung towards the witch, Lee having just barely managed to kick herself free and get to her feet, throwing herself in the direction of the path she’d traveled earlier. Once again, she found herself in a desperate chase, though this one easily felt more LIFE AND DEATH than the previous. She couldn’t stop shaking, sparks flying from her fingertips with each stride; the girl dared not look behind her, for it was enough to hear the stone horse crashing its way through the underbrush. 

There was a slight bit of relief as the broken portion of cemetery fence she’d jumped earlier came back into view through the fog. Frantically, Lee leapt the fence, but she was stopped short upon landing, her cloak caught on the wrought iron spikes. She stumbled to the ground, choking, clutching at her neck in an attempt to free herself of the garment. Just past the fence, the horse had come into view, menacing red eyes shining through the heavy fog. IT WAS AFTER HER. IT WASN’T STOPPING. IT WAS GOING TO KILL HER.

AND SHE WAS RUNNING OUT OF TIME.

With enough struggling, the cloak ripped, sending the witch flat onto her face, but providing a bit of a distraction for the ghastly creature that had hunted her down. As Lee scrambled back, the horse became tangled in the cloak. It had no voice, it could not speak, but THAT DIDN’T STOP IF FROM SCREAMING. Eyes were still fixed on the young witch as she backed away from the creature, her thoughts a blur, mind racing, trying to determine a plan of action-- or if there even was one. Her ankle was twisted from the fall, running would no longer be an option; the book that contained her spells was somewhere past the horse, on the other side of the fence, still at the mausoleum, there was no way she’d be able to reach it in time.

WHAT DO I DO WHAT DO I DO WHAT DO I--

The stone mare had finally freed itself from the cloak, shaking the garment that was now tattered beyond recognition off of her hooves and facing down the witch. Save for Lee’s ragged breathing, the cemetery was quiet; the sense of dread that had overtaken the witch was soon replaced with anger as the creature stood there, a ways in front of her, watching her with an almost disappointed gaze. AS IF SHE WERE WOUNDED PRAY THAT THE HORSE HAD EXPECTED MORE OF A CHASE FROM.

“Wh-- What do you want--?!” Maybe SCREAMING AT IT wasn’t Lee’s best option, but... she didn’t see any way out of this in which she was STILL LIVING. Tears began to stream down the witch’s battered face; she clutched at her side, knees trembling, trying to convince herself to KEEP STANDING. “What do-- do you want from me? You wanna kill me? IS THAT IT?!”

There was no response from the horse. Had the girl really expected one?

Letting out a shaking, choppy breath, Lee spat blood at her feet, keeping her eyes trained on the mare. It had finally hit her, the anger that she had kept deep inside ever since her grandmother’s death. Still willing herself to keep standing, the blonde gritted her teeth, staring down the horse through her tears. “THEN FUCKING DO IT! GET IT OVER WITH! Look at you, you fucking bitch-- you’re a MONSTER. And I’m the one that made you--

I’M NO BETTER THAN YOU ARE.

I’ve wasted this life. I’ve wasted my life, a-and I’ve played god, and I DON’T DESERVE A SECOND CHANCE, SO WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR--?!

JUST GET IT OVER WITH ALREADY!”

And so, it seemed, the mare would, launching forward at Lee from her end of the small cemetery. There was nowhere for the girl to go, and as she faced down the horse, she knew then and there--

Wait, no-- NO NO NO. SHE DIDN’T WANT TO GO.

Before the mare could finish the job, Lee held both hands out in front of her, willing her magic to do whatever it needed to protect her. Never before had she put such faith in her powers, but with her life dependent on them... she didn’t have a choice. A burst of electric blue beams shot from her palms at the horse, seeming to blind it. Sliding to a stop, the stone creature reared up and backed away, the blast hitting it square in the chest. Though the horse wasn’t knocked over, it had stopped, and as the magic faded from Lee’s palms, it stood quietly, blinking at her, the red fading to a soft magenta. Lee’s hands fell to her sides, a breathy laugh of relief slipping past her lips. Whatever she had done... the horse now seemed... normal. Friendly. Curious, even. It looked like her magic had--

WITHOUT WARNING, THE GIRL FELL TO HER KNEES.

A searing pain shot through her chest, and she doubled over, forehead resting on the ground, hands wrung together at her throat. What was happening? It was pure, blinding agony; Lee had never felt something so powerful in her life. Her breathing ragged, the poor girl frightened and confused, a blue glow began to seep past her closed eyes. She dared not look; teeth gritted, Lee tried her best to curl up even further, but it was no use. The witch’s chest split open like someone had taken an ice pick to a frozen pond, her whole torso starting to crack, the veins resonating from the area above her heart. 

“P-- P-Please--”

Sobbing, the witch was knocked out of her fetal position, the magic coursing through her forcing her up onto her knees. Blue tendrils surrounded her, one of them BLASTING her full in the chest.. and retrieving HER STILL-BEATING HEART. Lee watched on in horror, unable to believe that the organ had been so easily taken from her, UNABLE TO BELIEVE THAT SHE WAS STILL ALIVE WITHOUT IT. Yet, that wasn’t entirely true-- rapidly, the witch’s body began to change. 

HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN SAY THAT THEY HAVE WATCHED THEMSELVES DECAY? 

Her skin became pale, ghastly, with the very hint of rigor mortis setting in. Bruising seeped into her finger tips, causing the beds of her nails to turn a dark black-ish purple; the same could be said for the area surrounding the witch’s eyes, creating almost a mask-like appearance that stretched over her face. She shivered, both trembling from shock and the newfound COLDNESS that crept into her body. Lee’s hair, which had been neatly braided, hanging roughly to her waist, burst from its tie, growing wild and unruly to the full length of its potential. If it were cut, it would never grow back, for it had done all the growing it ever would in this lifetime. 

Still in shock, her thoughts drifted-- THE HORSE. Where was the horse? The creature that had attacked her had turned tail, absolutely terrified, though it seemed that LEE’S MAGIC HAD CAUGHT UP WITH IT. Electric blue tendrils grabbed the horse’s legs mid-stride, pulling it backwards and onto the ground, dragging it nearer to the human heart that floated just above them both, still beating, surrounded by a glowing orb of magic. Lee locked eyes with the creature; there was a part of her that felt for it, despite the fact it had tried to kill her. 

IT WAS CONFUSED. SCARED. 

Lee was about to reach out to the animal when the heart-- HER HEART --split in two, rocketing one half into the witch and the other... INTO THE HORSE. The force of her heart reentering her body sent the girl flying onto her back, though she managed to shakily position herself so she could see the animal in front of her. LOOKING BACK, SHE WISHED SHE HADN’T. 

The animal’s stone facade CRACKED AND SPLIT, down her spine and in veins across her barrel. Magic whisked away into the woods surrounding them, sucking the life out of everything around them-- trees lost their leaves, wilted, decayed; birds fell from the sky. WHAT LEE HAD GIVEN WASN’T ENOUGH; more had been needed. Her eyes were no longer a solid, glowing mass, but the whites now shown, the magenta orbs pleading with Lee for help. BUT THERE WAS NOTHING SHE COULD DO.

Both of them exhausted and bleeding, Lee crawled her way towards the scared creature. Its mane and tail that had once been sculpted stone were now long and slick; as the girl pulled herself closer, she could see fleshy areas on the animal’s hide. The mare was CHANGING, like Lee had changed, though were life had been taken from the witch... it was rapidly, TOO RAPIDLY, being given to the mare.

Lee managed to reach the horse, one hand lifting to shakily press against the creature’s now warm, soft muzzle before the girl passed out, everything around her fading to black.

[im-just-having-fun-karen]

✨Febuary Dances

Heya everybody! This is a Aoyama x reader! Basically UA has a dance and you and Aoyaoma bith want to wear dresses so you decide that both should! No one said you both couldnt wear dresses together! Also i dont his backstory so im making it up so please dont be mad or offended.- Author-san

Aoyama x reader

Gender neutral reader and nonbinary Yuuga Aoyama

Quirk: light dance, you can manipulate the light when you dance such as making it shine in certain places or making it burn someone, this can also cause you to glow when flustered or excited

Warnings: mentions of high heels and dancing

Begin!

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Y/N PoV

"-there will also be a Febuary dance to celebrate all of your successes as coming this far in your training. It will be on Febuary 13th an begins at 7:30. I hope to see you all there" the class 1B teacher said. Febuary dance? Huh, sounds fun i guess... I began to think of who to take with me when the bell rang and everyone got up to leave and head to lunch. "Bonjour Y/N! Would you like to sit with me?" Aoyama asked as i stopped walking to let them catch up. "Huh? Sure!" i smiled with closed eyes before continuing to walk with Aoyama.

"So, you hear about the Febuary dance Y/N?" i looked up at Jiro with confusion for a moment, "huh? Oh! Haha yeah, not sure who im gonna bring though.." i said as glaced over at Aoyama who was currently talking with Midoriya at the other end of the table. "Really? Well I heard Kirishima was going with Bakugou so thats new!" Kirishima and Bakugo? "Really? Good for them! Im glad they finally decided to come out about their relationship!" i genuinely am happy they came out and that they're going together, i wish i had that confidence with Aoyama. I still remember when we were little and how they were so much less confident back then.

3rd person PoV

Two small kids one with short blond hair and the other with (your hair length and color), both just sitting on the young blonds bed talking. "Its flashy but its useless if i cant use it for more then a second" the young Yuuga said as their eyes began to fill with tears. "Then you'll just have to train more! That way eventually you'll be able to use it as long as you want!" a young Y/N spoke with such determination that it almost convinced the young Yuuga, "b-but I'll never be as strong as you! I'll never be a good hero!" young Yuuga shouted crying at this point, But of course our determined little Y/N wasnt having it. "Of course not with that attitude!" young Y/N spoke with determination as they stood above their best friend, "You cant give up without even trying! Would almight give up!? No! So why should you! We'll train together and both become great heros! No matter what happens we'll always stay together! I'll make sure you become a good hero!" the young Y/N spoke with so much power that Yuuga swore that day to be as confident as them..

Y/N PoV

"Y/N??? Yyyyyy/nnnn! (your full name)!" "eep!" i squeaked as i was suddenly supried out of my spaced out state. "What! What happened!?" i said as i looked around frantically. "Haha! Calm down! Nothings wrong you just spaced out is all" Jiro said as i calmed down and sighed. "So who are you gonna bring to the febuary dance?" "dude i already said i dont know yet." i said with a dead panned look sighing, "well how would you like to go dress-" "or tuxedo!" "yes, or tuxedo shopping with us?" Momo asked as Hagakure interrupted. "Sure, sounds fun."

(time skip because i still cant write you walking to places)

"So wich one do think looks better?" Mina asked me as she showed me two similiar pink dresses. "Hmm, the second one i guess"

I said as she smiled and went to go put the other back.

"Dont forget to get something yourself Y/N!"

I nodded and began to look around for a bit before finding one i really liked. It was long and a bit flowy, it was a beautiful golden yellow with yellow tinted clear fabric covering the legs and beautiful swirly accents, it was a bit open on the sides but it had orange accessories on the belly, legs and upper arms. It had an light orange bra like top with a yellow lace cover and soft yellow clear fabric. The sides, back, and middle front of the dress were a silky soft fabric with a yellow orange gradient. It had a golden orange neck peice like the ones female Egyptians used to wear along with one gold triangle earing on one of the ears.

"..woah.."

I said as i reached to touch it, the fabric was so soft.

"Find one you like y- woah! Thats stunning!"

Mina said as she was awwed by the dress

"I can get it for you Y/N"

Momo said as she walked over to us and smiled

"H-huh!? But its so exspenisive! I-"

She cut me off,

"Its fine Y/N! Really! I dont mind"

I stuttered an ok and she pat my head

"You should try it on Y/N! I wanna see how good you look in it!"

Mina said as she jumped,

"S-sure"

I stuttered as i grabbed the dress and left to the changing room, a bit later and i walked out in the dress staring at the ground.

"Well? How do i look?"

I heard a few gasps and suddenly i was hugged by Jiro, Mina and Ochako

"YOU LOOK AMAZING!!"

(Again i really need to learn this)

"Well we're here!"

I heard Mina shout as i got out of the car and began to walk to the doors with her and Jiro next to me. I walked over to the benches to sit and look for Yuuga, see they asked me to go with them about two days before the dance and right after i picked out my dress.

"Bonjour Y/N! You look absolutely stunning darling but if i knew we were both wearing dresses i might have said something!"

I hear them laugh as i turned around to look at them, they were wearing a wonderful dark blue dress with a light blue cover that had sky blue swirls and dots. It had a cream colored ribon tied into a rose with greyish blue outlines, neon blue dots on the bottom and white swirls on the chest piece, it had a blue neck piece with a small white rose keeping it together, they had black gloves and a beaded arm piece on one arm. It was flowy and long like mine but the bottom split to show their legs and black rose vine heels with blue roses.

"You look amazing Yuuga!"

I blushed as they laughed and saw that they were wearing soft yellow lipstick, i was wearing dark blue. We really fit together,

"Well thank you! Care to dance?"

They asked holding out their hand.

"Of course!"

I grabbed their hand and we went to the dance floor, i put my hand on their waist and they put their hand on my shoulder, our other hands locked together and we begun to move to the song.

I nearing the end of my fourth year

I feel like ive been lacking, crying to many tears

Everyone seemed to say it was so great

But did i miss out? Was it a huge mistake?

I spun them a bit and we moved faster

I cant help the fact i like to be alone

It might sound kinda sad, but thatd just what i seem to know

I tend to handle things usually by myself

And i cant ever seem to try and ask for help

We clapped and they spun me our movements faster, one foot after the other i danced with them

Im sitting here, crying in my prom dress

I'd be the prom queen if crying was a contest

Makeup is running down

We laughed a bit and contuined

Feelings are all around

We blushed as we looked at each others eyes

How did i get here? i need to know

I guess i maybe had a couple expectations

Thought id get to them

I begun to dance away from them without realizing, my quirk was activating nad the light followed a pattern around me as i danced

But no i didn't

I guess i thought that prom was gonna be fun

But now im sitting on the floor and all i wanna do is run

I realized what i was doing when i felt everyone staring at me, i looked around scared before seeing Yuuga looking at me wide eyed.

"....i-i im sorry!....."

I ran out of the building in fear, i cant believe i did that! I kept running until i made it back to my dorm, i knew it was a bad idea to go to the dance.

(a few hours later)

*Knock knock*

"Hello? Darling its me"

I heard Yuuga through my door

"Darling im coming in.."

I heard the door open and saw them close it behind them

"..hey.."

I mumbled a "hello"

"..Yknow i thought your dance was amazing darling."

I looked at them with shock,

"Really?"

They nodded

"I'd still like to finish our dance if you dont mind.."

"Here?"

They hummed a "no"

"Not here, somewhere special. C'mon get cleaned up and we can go"

"...alright...thank you"

They hummed a response and waited outside while i fixed my makeup and put my shoes back on.

"Alright, where are we going?"

"You'll see"

(Wow so many of these in one story like damn)

Thousands of colored lights shined below us, we were on a grassy cliff aith a few trees.

"....woah this is....amazing.."

I felt Yuuga hug grab my hands with theirs and turn me around to face them

"So, wanna dance?"

I nodded glowing a soft gold

One foot after the other we danced slowly and calmly, it was peaceful and quiet besides the hum of the city below us.

We stared into each others eyes, the soft glow of the lights below us illuminating our faces. Closer amd closer our lips touched and our eyes closed, it was soft and a bit longer then a peck but it was amazing. Softs gasps as our eyes and lips parted,

"I...love you"

They sighed a bit

"I love you too Y/N.."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Done! I really hope you all enjoyed because it took me a week to finish this, again none of the art or music in this is mine, Yuuga Aoyama belings to Horikoshi. I tried hard to make this longer and im glad it came out with over 1,000 words! Its the longest one ive written so far! Im proud of myself and again i hope you all enjoyed, if you have any tips feel free to send them to me as im always open to criticism - Author-san

[might-guys-acorn]

So I wrote this whole post, and it didnt post correctly so I deleted it like a dumbass. So I decided to rewrite it because I liked it a lot. Heres prompt number 7 "If you want to leave, then walk me out." (Alone with You by Canyon City) with the one and only, Sasuke Uchiha. Thanks for all the love and support❤

-🦎

===============================

Okay, yes. He left the village. He betrayed everyone. He has lifelong vendetta against his brother that causes him to be a raging asshole sometimes. But as he stands here, looking as though hes seen a ghost, staring at you in your chunin vest in the middle of a clearing in the woods outside the village, your head isnt filled with memories of contempt or hatred, but of your own childhood. Him as a child, on the swingset, telling you that you have pretty eyes before running away with a toddler blush tinting his cheeks. Feeling his hard gaze on the back of your neck at the academy. Bring him dango as he burns his face and hands over and over while practicing his fireball jutsu. You were kind of friends, once upon a time.

"You look well." His voice breaks your thoughts and many more rush in to fill thier place. You look well? Really? After everything hes done, thats all he can think to say? Seriously?

"Wish I could say the same for you." Your reply was meant to sound irritated or malicious, but came out more sorrowful than anything.

"Id like to think I look stronger." He replies with a smirk.

"You know thats not what I meant, Sasuke." You meet his eyes and watch him flinch at the sound of his name leaving your lips. Your heart clenches at the sight if him and you cant help but think this was an awful mission to send you on. The whole basis of this assignment reeked of Orochimaru's involvement and it had been rumored that Sasuke had joined him. But, still, Lady Sixth couldnt have known of your past with the Uchiha, after all it was only a faint whisper of fondness from what felt like a lifetime ago. So why did it have to effect you so much, now?

"Y/N, I dont want to hurt you. So leave before I have to." He looks at the sky, avoiding your unrelenting gaze.

"Im sorry, but what makes you think you have the right to talk to me as if I'm a child." You could never stand being patronized, by anyone. Its half the reason you became a shinobi. He looks at you, surprised at your tone, but before he can say anything, a man with silver-white hair and glasses emerges from behind him.

"Sasuke, Lord Orochi- Oh, what do we have here?" The man looks over at you, his voice was soft but had an edge to it that sent shivers down your spine. As you look at him, you see an awful lot of scratches and bruises, almost as if he'd been in a fight-

"Where are my teammates?" You ask, not letting the worry in your heart seep through your words. The man, Kabuto Yakushi you believed was his name, smirked at you. You glance at Sasuke, but his eyes remained glued to the forest floor.

"In a cell, having their blood drawn for some tests." Before you could even try to deflect, Kabuto had tossed a needle at you, peircing your upper right shoulder. "Just like youre about to be in 10 minutes."

His words at the end were garbled to your ears, the poison on the needle quickly rushing through your veins. Before the darkness took hold, you caught a small glimpse of regret in Sasuke's downcast glare.

===============================

You sat up quickly, and felt the whole world lurch at the movement. The poison had not fully left your system, so everything had a fuzzy filter overtop of it. You glaced around, taking in the large stone cell in front of you, the glare of torchfire on the moist rock walls around you, and your 3 teammates still unconscious on the ground. You stood up slowly, using the wall next to you for support, and noticed a small gauze pad taped to the crook of your elbow. That asshole took my blood, you think with a grimace.

Moving your gaze to the bars in front of you, you notice a familiar figure resting against the wall in front of your cell.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Your voice is raspy after a couple of hours of rest.

"Im free to go where ever I like, its not like they could stop me." He says back, meeting your gaze. Still as cocky as always, isnt he?

"Let me rephrase, why are you here?"

"I should ask you the same question." He raises his eyebrows, clearly asking what brought your team around the unknowingly claimed neck of the woods.

"We were sent on a mission to recover a stolen document on a forbidden medical ninjutsu. It was my first mission as team captain." You didnt want his sympathy for this failure, but you were clearly frustrated with the concept of being captured.

"I see. Well I cant say Im thrilled at the thought of you being here. Unfortunately, Im still nostalgically fond of you." He replies, his words ringing in your ears as you struggle to grasp what he's saying.

"If you want to leave, then walk me out." You say, under the impression that he may have changed his mind about Konoha.

He laughs at your statement. "I'll stop by later." He says over his shoulder and you curse quietly to yourself, watching his retreating figure flicker in the torchlight of the cave.

===============================

God, how long has it been since youve all seen another being? You pace the floor of the cell and hear your team mumbling about possible escape plans in the corner behind you. Theres been no food, not water, no human presence, other than that of the ones sharing the cell with you. It must have been at least a day and a half now. You turn on your heel and start to pace the other direction, but stop at the mysterious figure in front of the bars on your confinement. Your teammates notice him as well, and take up arms to defend themselves.

"Youre back." You say flatly, knowing full well the posture of the man in front of you.

"I told you I would be," he says quietly, your comrades arms fall to their sides in surprise at the semi-friendly interaction. "Now keep your voice down, everyone is asleep."

The light in the cave never waivered, so you had no concept of time. If it was night, than it had to have been 2 full days already. Damn.

You look at him, and watch as he makes the signs for a familiar lightning style jutsu. One that your godfather, Kakashi Hatake, had passed onto you. Your surprise at his use of it wained when you remembered that Uncle Kakashi had once been Sasuke's sensei, a long time ago. The Uchiha aimed the lightning blade at the lock on the cell and it burst open.

"Sasuke, what are you-"

"Hush and move quickly" he whispers forcefully. You usher your teammates out of the cell, and as soon as you step beaide him, Sasuke grabs your hand and rushes your through the labrynth of the hideout. Finally coming to a unsuspecting wall, he signs for the Lightning Blade again, and tears a large hole into the night. The quiet footsteps inside the cave are replaced by a loud rhythm of cicadas, and a few thuds of some fallen rubble. The five of you move quickly, into the clearing where you had come face to face with this man from your past two days ago.

Why did he do this? You think to yourself, and then standing in the clearing, the quiet footsteps, the lightning blade, it all made sense.

"You made it look like we escaped ourselves." You say to him, and then another moment of realization, "Youre not coming back with us."

He took a step towards you, grabbed your hand and placed a small scroll into it. It took one glance for you to realize it was the medical document you were sent to retrieve. He not only saved you, but made sure your first mission as captain was a success. You stare at him blankly, and he smirks as he touches two fingers to your forehead, "Dont get caught up in this again, I cant always come to your rescue."

"I dont need your rescuing, after all it was my jutsu that helped us escape." You laugh at him, and then turn, passing the scroll in your hand to your teammates behind you. You send them on, leaving you alone for your goodbyes.

"Dont say anything about this, I was simply training tonight, and didn't hear the commotion." He looks at you, and you nod, a secret understanding between two old friends.

You take a step towards him, lean up on your toes and kiss his cheek lightly, "I'll be saving some dango for you, when you finally decide to come home."

You turn and take off, following your teammates, the small smile and light blush on his cheeks burned into your brain. Oh how your childhood can sneak up on you.

Smiling in the treetops, you can't help but think, He really did walk me out.

[jadekitty777]

See You Heal

Hey everyone, long time no update, right? Aha!

Alright time for something a little different but still sweet. This entry is a work entirely inspired by @ladyrobiness‘ beautiful Slow Sunrise series. I woke up one morning and the idea just hit me like a truck and well... I had to write it out.

This is a continuation to that series so, reading it first is absolutely required. But why wouldn’t you? It’s a beautiful Fix-It fic with lots of tender moments of healing for Qrow and Clover both along with them just falling in love like the adorable dorks they are <333

Here are the Ao3 links to both:

Robiness’ Story: Slow Sunrise series

My Story: See You Heal

It’s also below the cut!

Rating: K+

Pairing: Qrow/Clover

Word Count: 2800

Summary: Qrow knows ignoring the problem only makes it worse. Unfortunately, dealing with it has its own set of problems too.

~

Sometimes, Qrow wished his standard for dealing with shit wasn’t ‘‘Ignore it until it goes away’.

It didn’t work. He knew it didn’t work – and yet sometimes his traitorous brain thought: maybe this time it’ll be different. So, when the issue of Clover not liking anyone at his six came up, like a scroll that had been factory reset, he defaulted. Hoped in the most ironic ways that the problem would just fix itself or at the very least, never become a problem.

That was why, as he gusted through the air trying to spot the nearest nomadic settlement, all he could see instead was Clover’s dismayed expression.

Really, he only had himself to blame.

They’d been traveling through Vacuo’s unforgiving desert for hours. It was a six-day journey to reach Shade Academy, most of which they had to do on foot as no locals at the city border ever escorted anyone across the desert without a price. Though they’d gotten an early start, beginning their trek even before the sun had peaked the horizon, as the day waned the sands around them began to shimmer as the heat rose to unbearable heights. Add onto that an unstable ground that left them all unsteady on their feet, relentless winds that whipped sand along exposed skin and eyes, and the occasional Grimm or wildlife lying in wait for an attack, and it just seemed like a recipe for disaster.

So, when the Sidewinder Grimm leapt from the dunes they were walking across and struck out at Weiss, all but two of them either didn’t react fast enough, or stumbled when they tried. The first of the two that had was Clover, who had his fishing line around Weiss in an instant and yanked her his way. The second was Ruby, who sped above the field like a shot, petals and dust following her wake as she managed to get in the first blow.

Within seconds, the rest of them recovered and suddenly the snake had ten skilled opponents bearing down on it. It certainly wasn’t a long battle, but enough to get the adrenalin going. The kids seemed to take it as they saw it, realizing the threat was over once the smoke cleared. But more veteran huntsmen like himself kept on guard a little longer.

Or like Clover – who wasn’t expecting Jaune to come up behind him and give him a congratulatory pat on the back.

The reaction was instantaneous. Clover yelped as he twisted and swung Kingfisher right at the boy’s head.

The clang of metal hitting metal seemed to echo the world into silence.

Jaune, shield shadowing his face, looked tense and a little frightened.

Clover just looked horrified.

And then he was faltering back, dropping his weapon into the sand. “I’m- I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to- are you okay?!”

“I’m, fine.” Jaune answered a little shakily, trying to laugh it off. “I don’t think now is the time for a training exercise though.”

Clover tried to meet him, but his own chuckle rang hollow. “No. No it’s not.” He ran a hand agitatedly through his hair. “I really am sorry. I, I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s too hot.” Weiss was the one to offer, turning the attention her way. “I’m having trouble too.”

It sounded logical. Believable. Of course the Atlesians weren’t accustomed to blistering heat like this and would be most likely to succumb to its’ effects.

Only Qrow knew the truth of the matter. Tried not to think how a desert wasn’t so unlike a tundra – open space, unsteady footing, extreme weather.

“We need to get out of this sun.” Blake decided.

Ruby nodded in agreement. “Right. Uncle Qrow, can you scout ahead and see if you can spot something?”

That’s how he ended up in the sky, canting in great big circles like a vulture and looking to every horizon as he tried to make out a camp or an outcropping or a cactus. Anything that might provide shade or water. It took a few cycles, increasing his radius at every turn, before finally managing to see several flutterings in the distance. Upon closer inspection, he knew it was the tarps of caravans, moving southwest. Which meant stable ground and civilization.

He dove back towards the group, morphing just shy of his landing. “Looks like someone’s on the move several miles that way. There’s probably a temporary camp nearby.”

Or if there wasn’t, there would be.

“Right, then let’s move.” Ruby ordered, turning to the robot beside her. “Penny maybe you can try and keep us cool in the meantime?”

“I will give it my best shot!”

Their conversation faded to background noise as his focus instead shifted to Clover who, for the first time since they’d begun traveling together, took lead instead of rear. A silent attempt to rebuild goodwill. But his posture was held straight, an unnatural rigidity to his movements.

Qrow joined him, not quite reaching for his hand, but allowing their knuckles to brush together. The effect was miniscule, but there, just the slightest drop of his shoulders as his face eased into a small, not-quite-there smile.

Okay. He could work with this.

~

It was funny how easy it was to trick a Vacuon when they thought they were the ones playing it. All it took was some altruistic speeches from the kids about wanting to help because that’s what huntsmen did and the words “free of charge” and suddenly they were traveling with a whole parade of people who thought they were getting protection for nothing. Which was mostly true – except of course, now they had a place to stay in and quicker way to the academy.

It also kept them busy, trading off shifts throughout the day to keep watch on their surroundings. Which meant it was almost two days later before he finally had a moment alone with Clover. The wayfarers who they were assisting had a strict habit of bearing down at the hottest part of the day to conserve resources and energy. With JNPR 2.0 on duty and RWBY helping with lunch, Qrow took the opportunity to retire to their makeshift quarters.

As he stepped into the tent, he found his segue into the conversation was going to be more on the nose then he’d planned for.

Clover was seated on one of the various sleeping mats, Harbinger in his lap as he tended to her gears. “Hey.” He greeted. “How’d scouting go?”

“Uh. Fine.”

Seeming to sense his unease, the huntsman paused, looking between him and the weapon. “Oh, sorry! I guess I should do this later.”

“No!” The word burst out of him, startling them both. Qrow cleared his throat, repeating more levelly, “No, it’s fine really. I told you to take care of her.”

To prove his statement, he took the few steps forward to sit directly across from him.

Clover eyed him skeptically for several long moments, perhaps trying to puzzle out if he was trying a backwards form of recovery or just talking big. He seemed to decide the former as he bent back over the sword. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. A lot of grit is getting in-between the gears. But I’m worried about messing up the mechanics.” He offered him a smile. “Harbinger’s really intricate. You did an amazing job.”

“Laying it on a little thick there, aren’t ya Ebi?” He scooted forward just a little, pointing to the correct parts as he spoke. “First loosen the spindle here. Then you can take out the suspension spring and remove this gear.”

They spent the next several minutes just going about the task. Even though he was guiding another’s hands through the motions, the work was so familiar it was relaxing. He even found it possible to keep hold of the small, easily lost pinions as they were removed. All the while, he studied Clover as he worked, the way his brow furrowed with deep concentration or how his strong hands never faltered as he took out each gear with care and reverence. As if the weapon was as cherished as his own.

“Last one.” Qrow announced as the fifth pinion was dropped into his palm.

“You know, before I really was praising you.” The smallest cog came out with a small pop, being added to the growing collection on the cloth Clover had laid out. He finished his statement with a mirthful smile, “But now I’ve determined you went too far.”

He snorted. “Sorry my sword-scythe-shotgun hybrid is a little more complicated than your basic fishing rod.”

He gasped in mock offense. “My darling may not have all your weapon’s fancy little tricks, but it gets the job done with just as much grace.”

“Oh, that’s what you call all that flailing around?”

“Watch it Branwen.”

“What? Am I-” The rest of his words ‘on thin ice’ died in his throat. “Uh-”

This time, Clover misinterpreted his floundering. “What, am I doing it wrong?”

He focused on where the other’s hands were, his own quickly reaching out to catch his, only to abort the motion just as quickly when his fingertips skimmed Harbinger’s surface. That Clover noticed.

He ran the same hand over the back of his neck. “Uh, don’t remove that unless you want her coming apart completely.”

“Alright.” Clover lifted his hand from the center plate obediently. “Are you doing okay or should we stop?”

Dropping the pinions onto the cloth beside the other parts, he tried not to let it feel like too much of a failure. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“Why would I be uncomfortable?” He replied with a frown.

Qrow stared. Was he being serious right now? “You’re kidding. If anything you should be more repelled to be holding her than me.”

“But I’m not. I never have been.”

The frustration broke over like a wave so that his next words flooded out like a tide of turbulent emotions, “Why not? You’re the one who got hurt! Why is it so easy for you?!”

No, no. Shut up.

He slouched over, scrabbling hands through his hair, tugging at the ends as if it would ground him back to the present.

This was going all wrong. He wasn’t supposed to be getting angry.

“I-I mean-” He started to say.

Clover cut him off. “Have you ever considered things were different from my perspective?”

He blinked. Looked up. “What?”

The other huntsman’s gaze drifted, falling down to the blade still in his lap. He ran his palm along the surface. “I never saw it. Or if I did, my mind’s blocked it out. I… remember pain. How hard it was to breathe. But as far as anything I saw in that moment? All I can think of is gray. A dark gray, almost black, but kind of green too?”

Qrow frowned, trying to piece that together. Atlas wasn’t exactly known for its abundance of greenery. The only green thing he could think of was Clover’s own pin. Maybe it was just his body going into shock, making him see things that weren’t actually there.

“Either way,” He continued, idly tracing the intricate patterns embedded in the sword’s metal. “What I’m getting at is, the only reason I know this was the weapon that struck me is because I was told it was. To me, it’s kind of removed from the whole event.” His movements stopped, that same dismayed look from several days ago clouding his features. “Instead, I have other problems.”

Seemed like they were going to have that conversation after all. “Like what happened with Jaune.”

“Yeah. I hadn’t meant to attack him. I just thought…” Clover slumped, trailing off.

“That he was someone else. I know.” Qrow said in the space left behind. “Known for awhile, actually. I knew it was an issue, but I hadn’t said anything. Tch. I should of. Maybe then-”

A flick to his forehead had him jerking back.

“Stop.” Clover’s fingers soothed over the spot, sliding down along the contours of his face to cup his jaw. “You’re not responsible for my problems Qrow. It’s my job to acknowledge them and ask for help if I need it.”

There was a lot of things he thought to say, the most prominent being how Clover never seemed to have an issue laser focusing on Qrow’s problems and addressing them (though, to be fair, those results didn’t always pan out) – but what he finally decided on saying was, “Do you need help?”

Teal eyes went wide and he drew back. The look on his face, vulnerable and lost, was heartbreaking. “I, uh. I don’t know.”

“Would you like to try something?” He pressed on gently.

“Like what?”

“An exercise.” He waved towards Harbinger. “Set her aside and take off your shirt – Don’t smile like that, I’m not gonna do anything lecherous.”

Clover laughed. “Ah, there goes all my hopes and dreams.” Still, he did as commanded, laying the blade to his left before peeling off the green shirt he wore.

Qrow managed not to stare at the metal plating built into the center of his chest, stitching his body together like a broken doll. Instead he reached forward, undoing the red bandanna around the man’s arm – one of the only things he’d kept of his old uniform, besides the boots – and tied the cloth around his eyes instead.

“Uh, Qrow?” Now blind, Clover sounded a lot more uncertain.

He ran a hand through short brown locks. “When I used to teach, I would do this with the students.”

“Lot to unpack with that statement.” He was barely containing a laugh.

It was his turn to flick him. “Shut it and listen.” He got to his feet, speaking as he rounded the other. “It was usually for typical stuff. Figuring out what movements they knew by reflex and what they needed to work on. Keeping an ear on their surroundings when their eyes can’t. But sometimes,” He stopped directly behind him. “It was to help break bad habits.”

Clover was already tense. “Really?”

“Ruby’s footwork used to be terrible. Got worse when she discovered her semblance – she was tumbling all over the place. Taking away her sight made her focus harder on every step she made. Made her more aware of everything she was doing.” Qrow reached out, fingertips brushing along the base of Clover’s neck, the skin shuddering under his touch. “That’s what I want you to do. Focus on the way your body reacts and correct it.”

“This… seems a little unconventional.”

He knelt down behind him. “Sometimes it’s the unconventional methods that work. Now,” He laid his palm flat along metalwork layered over his spine, hearing the sharp inhale. “Let’s get started.”

~

Qrow couldn’t say for how long, exactly, the exercise went on for – but it was certainly not as long as he would have kept one of his students at it. Where he’d push them to continue even just a minute longer, he was more willing to pull back with the brunette, knowing this was taking a mental toll along with the physical one. So, when he noticed Clover’s efforts were turning to frustration, he was quick to call for a break, offering that maybe they could finish up with Harbinger in the interim.

Clover, stubborn man he was, didn’t want to quit entirely though.

That was how they ended up sitting back to back as Qrow polished off the gears and pins and Clover set them into place.

Healing takes many forms, Qrow mused as he handed over the third cog and reached for the next, the anxiety he normally felt completely, blissfully absent.

Felt the stretch of muscles against his own as Clover worked, his erratic breathing and shakes having steadied a while ago.

One day, he hoped they could come out of this without their demons controlling them.

Yet, he knew recovery was a difficult, haphazard mess of a journey; so that day was in a future he still couldn’t quite discern, no matter how hard he looked.

Not that he could say he was surprised. His life had never been simple and that track record wasn’t going to let up a four decades’ long streak so easily – but, for once, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

For the one brightness he could see in all this was right behind him.

Qrow slid down, just enough to rest his ear against the metal along Clover’s back, the reassuring thump-thump-thump of his heart a gift he’d never waste.

For it beat with the promise that he was here.

He was alive.

And, Qrow recklessly dared to believe, he was his.

Another gift he’d never waste.

A devotion he’d never dishonor.

A love he’d forever hold onto.

[shewhowritesbooks]

Hagrid had managed to clear some debris and make way to rescue Harry from a wreckage which was just another well lit house with laughter and joy few hours ago. Holding little Harry in his giant arms Hagrid wiped out the blood on his forehead with his enormous handkerchief. He couldn't control his sobs. Lily and James were killed. He couldn't afford to even take a glance at their bodies before melting into a pool of tears. When he struggled himself out of the house, he could see a shining star in the dark sky but the star was moving, enlarging every second and Hagrid realised it wasn't a star, it was Sirius on his motorbike. When the bike landed with a thud on the ground Hagrid could now see that Sirius wasn't alone. Sirius got off the bike followed by Remus. They couldn't believe their eyes. Everything around them became a blurred vision. Sirius had managed to explain the plan of changing the secret keeper to deceive Voldemort to Remus on their bike journey. After seeing neither any sign of struggle nor Peter, they were hoping against hope that it didn't happen. They are safe. Peter will be back soon.

But standing in Godrics Hollow in front of the house of their two best friends in the world, every air escaped their lungs as they saw Hagrid holding a bleeding, horrified and crying Harry. Sirius took Harry in his arms, trying to calm him but all Sirius and Remus could think was he doesn't deserve this. He is just a baby. He asked Hagrid to hold Harry again and then at the speed of light Sirius hurried into the wreckage, half knowing he'll go mad after seeing what he is expecting but half hoping that there's a slight ray of hope, that somehow Lily and James survived. Remus retaliated just as quickly. When they pushed passed the scattered doors, glasses and pieces of furniture, moonlight reflected at them by a pair of specs.It felt as though every inch of Sirius ached with pain, agony, despair. He and Remus knelt beside the motion less body of James. Remus couldn't understand till what extent did it damage his mind and soul to see James's face without his smirking smile. Tears streamed down his face before he could stop but when he looked to his side, Sirius wasn't crying. Sirius shook James's body a little and let out a low whisper in his breaking voice, " Prongs ? "

"Prongs get up please. You are a hell of a prankster please get up now it's gotten really far now. Plea-se Ja--me-s".

There was no movement. Sirius looked as motion less as James. Remus now got up softly and walked ahead, what for Sirius couldn't understand. Sirius didn't want to leave James , not now not ever. Sirius couldn't contemplate what hurt more, the fact that his only family, Lily and James, the two people who made the world light up in the times of terror, Lily and James, the two people Sirius swore to keep safe, Lily and James, were now far away from the reality of things. The fact that he won't see James messing up his already messed up jet black hair again. He won't get a chance to say "nice one, James" as James fires a hex. He couldn't understand if that hurt more than the fact that Harry will never get to grow up with the love Lily and James would have showered upon him. He couldn't even bring himself to sanity when he heard Remus howl from upstairs. And suddenly Sirius came back to his senses only to loose them again when he ran up and saw the red blazing hair laying lifeless on the floor. He saw Remus drenched in his sobs, clutching Lily's hand. Sirius collapsed to his knees. Wishing that at any moment Lily will get up laughing and say, " that's how Halloween is done, Marauders". By just one look on Remus's face he knew Remus was wishing the same. They couldn't understand if hoping it will happen was more unbelievable or accepting that they have left this world forever. Sirius still wasn't crying. He got to his feet and started walking away. Remus ran up to him and asked, " where are you going?". Sirius let out an hollow laugh and said , " I am going after him of course."

"you cant do that ! not now." Said Remus almost begging him to understand.

" YOU THINK I WILL LET HIM WALK AWAY AFTER TAKING EVERYTHING FROM HARRY ! AFTER TAKING EVERYTHING FROM US! HE IS GOING TO HAVE A HELL TO PAY, REMUS" shouted Sirius, he couldn't control his rage. "EVERYONE KNOWS YOU WERE THE SECRET KEEPER.IF SOMETHING HAPPENS, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO THINK YOU SOLD THEM OUT ! ", Remus shouted back.

"You can explain it to them."

"Who is going to take the word of a werewolf ? The ministry ? Definitely not."

They came rushing out of the wreckage. Sirius took one last look at Harry and sealed his faith.

"You can take the motorbike Hagrid, I won't be needing it anymore", said Sirius and apparated in a second before Remus could make another argument.

Remus stood beside Hagrid and hoped that Sirius hadn't lost his sanity completely. He couldn't afford to loose another lifeline now.

@marauders__forever__ (insta id)