#i think a bunch of us are meeting tomorrow so hopefully i can at least look over condensation reactions and diels alder

[autumnoakes]

how in the hell am i meant to get anything done

[candiiee]

ʜᴇʀᴏᴇꜱ ᴠɪʟʟᴀɪɴꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛʜɪɴɢꜱ ᴘʀᴏʟᴏɢᴜᴇ: ɪɴɴᴏᴄᴇɴᴄᴇ ɪꜱ ꜰʀᴀɢɪʟᴇ

ɪᴢᴜᴋᴜ ᴍ

summary: your childhood

warnings: nightmares, anxiety, depression, murder, death, violence, mention of running away

an: izuku is honestly a cute beam of sunshine here in reader’s sad little life. Not proofread.

“Y/N?�� His soft breaks you out of your self deprecating thoughts. You’re both sitting under a tree, watching Bakugo and his lackeys play heroes in the playground.

You look up into his soft doe eyes. “Yeah?”

“Are you okay? I..couldn’t help but notice you seemed to be sad.” Izuku says, looking concerned.

You smile in fake happiness, “I’m fine. Why aren’t you with them?” You gesture towards Bakugo with a nod of your head.

“Oh..well, cause I’m, y’know, quirkless, and stuff, he doesn’t want me to join in. Cause heroes have quirks..and they're playing heroes. Actually, why aren’t you with them?” He twiddles his fingers nervously.

You frown, “That’s stupid. You can be a hero if you wanted to Izuku. And I’m not with them cause Bakugo thinks a quirk called ‘pickpocket’ sounds villainy.”

He flushes, eyes widening, in hope you think. "Really..?" Practically ignoring what you said after.

You nod, "You can be one, Izuku." Secretly wishing he would assure you that your quirk wasn’t evil, but it’s not like you could talk.

He blinks, a bunch of unreadable emotions going through him. "Thank you.."

You pause, "What time is it? I think I have to go now." He frowns, "You haven't even been here that long." You pause, thinking of a lie.

"Er..I have an appointment." You say, hoping he believes it.

He pauses not quite believing it, but too nice to pry. "Ok..see you tomorrow?" He asks hopefully.

You smile and nod, relieved he somewhat believed you. "I'll try." He hoped he wouldn't question how and why you planned on going home. Or how you even got here at the park for that matter.

Yep, nothing suspicious about a five year old going to a park all by themselves.

You waved bye, “Bye Izuku.” As you left, you passed by Bakugo, and stuck your tongue out.

He glares at, looking like he’s about to say something, but you’re too far to hear it.

The walk home is adventurous. Following your parent’s advice, use and ‘practice’ your quirk’s abilities by ‘borrowing’ wallets. You knew it was wrong. But your daily practice helped your family get by. Granted, the least they could do was be proud of you for helping.

You make it home, dumping your pockets contents, save for some 5 dollar bills. “Mom.” You say, announcing your arrival.

Just another normal day as a low rank thief.

—————

You’re eight now. With a bigger knowledge of the world and reality then any child should know. Using your quirk everyday to see what’s inside other’s pockets, then pickpocketing it.

Downright evil. You can’t help but feel glad Izuku won’t ever get to know. He’d try to save you or whatever.

You still continue meeting up with him at the park, playing together. Even though he would probably like to visit you, and maybe a bit hurt that you refuse.

That is, till you see your parents die.

A completely normal day. Mother hits you for not meeting the quota. You don’t cry. You’re used to it.

Your dad doesn’t show up till late night, and frantic. He immediately starts packing up after a brief conversation with your mom and a lot of yelling. Soon your mom joins in, telling you to make yourself useful and help.

So you do. And right in the process of stuffing your saved and stolen money into all your pockets, you hear someone banging on the door.

And who could that be, so late at night? And why did your parents look so terrified?

“We’re too late.” Your mother utters, standing still in terror. “Late?” You question.

That snaps her out of it. “Hide in the cupboards. Now.”

You blink, “Why?”

“Just do it!”

More banging, and curses.

She grabs your old stuffed dog toy, long discarded, and shoves it into your hands. “Don’t make a sound, and hang onto that.”

She pushes you into a cramped cupboard, and you protest. “Stay here and if you hear anything, don’t scream, don’t cry, don’t make a sound. Got it?”

You blink in shock, “Why..?”

She deeply inhales, “Your father borrowed money from people, bad people. So now they want to hurt him. And they don’t care who. So hide.”

That shuts you up. You nod, and your mother sighs, “Good. And don’t come out till you hear absolutely nothing.” She pauses, and the door breaks. “I love you.” She closes the door, and leaves you in darkness.

You hear screaming, and gunshots. It makes you jump, and you close your eyes shut. You dare to crack the door, just a bit.

What you see makes you wish you had obeyed. Your blood runs cold. Your dad lies dead, bleeding from his head, eyes lifeless but wide open.

Your mom was a gun pressed against her head.

“Where’s the money!” The man, at least you think is on, barks.

“U-under the mattress!” Your mom manages to say.

Which she would be right. If not for the fact that while you were packing up, you had grabbed it and put it in your pockets. You stiffen. If your mom died, her blood would be on you.

One of the men stormed into your shared room. A bunch of noises of things getting tossed around, and he returned, shaking his head. “Nuthin.”

The man cocks the gun. “Last chance.”

“I don’t know!” She cries. The gun goes off. And your mom falls over in a pool of her own blood.

You almost cried out and got out of the darn cupboard. But you remember her words.

You wanted to go out there and kill them. But now is not the time. You grip the stuffie, practically strangling it.

You wake up in a cold sweat. You blink. Oh right. You are not eight anymore. You are seventeen, had some kills under your belt, and was living in a shoddy abandoned shed on the top of a rooftop.

You rub your eyes, thinking about how somehow, your eight year old self had stuffed everything they could into a backpack, opened the window and never looked back.

You even still had that darn stuffie. It was a miracle you had lived this long. No thanks to heroes.

Today was a new day of stealing, maybe killing if anyone got in your way. Granted, you had already gotten your revenge by slitting their throats with a knife, after a long three years of stalking.

And you did feel guilty for indirectly being the reason your mother died. And maybe the authorities were on your tail. But you had outrun them. Maybe. Probably.

You sigh, surveying your scars on your arm. Caused by getting into knife fights with low rank scum.

You get off the floor and your sad excuse of a mattress, and start your day.

@candiiee 2024

Taglist:

@kimyoudraft hereee

@dokidokidraft heree

[apupp3tw0-strings]

Dream Dairy

Date: October 15th, 2131

I'm writing this on the bus to school, but still felt I needed to write this down because well... it felt important.

Its been a couple of days since Spamton started living with us, and he is... even weirder than I initially thought. Not it a particularly bad way just... weird. There's been a bunch of things I've observed, from random glitches to the way its lens static or its weird vocal tics or how it like just, forgets stuff randomly. Papa and Dadaton have noticed even more stuff as they've been staying home with him while I've had to go to school the past few days (Fall Break starts tomorrow so at least there's that.) I've heard them whispering to each other about how it's probably best Spamton's not left alone after Dadaton found him rummaging around the attic on Thursday. (I've noticed it tends to get pretty lonely but have no clue what Spam could've been doing in the attic) Papa's also been planning for CK, Kris, and Jevil to hopefully come over soon so progress can be started sorting through their issues or something. I'm mostly excited for CK to come up here hopefully tomorrow.

Gyeh! But wait, that's not the important thing I was gonna talk about! (Though updating on the Spamton situation is like half of why I've been keeping this blog.) No, I... this is about the strange dreams I keep having. Which I now wonder are tied into the whole Dark World thing. I've mentioned before how I'm no stranger to weird dreams or nightmares, but now it seems my dreams are veering less towards the usual puppet performance stages and strange, blob like audiences and deep, dark waves that drag me under, and more towards the Dark World.

On Friday, I had a dream where I was in my Dark World outfit in a very dark, dark place. I don't remember much, just walking around a lot in the darkness, until I heard... ringing. It seemed to be getting louder and louder and I couldn't tell where it was coming from until I saw a phone. But when I got closer and reached for the phone to make the ringing stop... I woke up. Turns out the ringing was just my phone's alarm and I was late for school. Had to rush to get ready as soon as I could and ask Dadaton to drive me.

And then last night, Sunday started out like my usual nightmares do. On a stage and with a grey crowd. I was Pinocchio and was being held up by strings (likely came from Blane and Blaze teasing me for my nose earlier that day. If only I could have them meet Spamton, my nose seems tiny in comparison.) "I've Got No Strings" seemed to be playing on loop as the strings made me move against my will until it felt like someone or some... thing, picked me up. Suddenly I was in my Dark World outfit again as I laid limp in their hands. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I couldn't do anything until something cut my strings and I fell deeper and deeper, darker and darker before waking up. When I woke up in the middle of the night, I found Spamton sitting on my chest, staring at me. (Also I think he was... purring?)

I don't know what any of these dreams mean, if they mean anything at all, but if I have any more ill be sure to record them here for... mostly myself but also I guess whoever else is reading these posts? For now, we're at the stop for school and Taffy's trying to ask me something so I should pay attention and put my phone away.

[hospitalterrorizer]

diary28

10/2-3/2023

i'm listening to the 1985. they make stupid noise.

today i ate leftovers and recorded vocals, choruses for a song are down now, and i also did vox for one of the new short songs. the bad news is i've gone so long w/o doing vocals (not so long but after getting practiced again and then stopping for like 2 weeks to fix / remaster shit) i've maybe thrown my voice out a little. it's kind of sore, we're gonna see how that is tomorrow, but i should at least be able to do some less intense stuff tomorrow, w/r/t re-recording bits and stuff. and then, i dunno, we'll see, there's at least one song that needs that, and maybe another but i'd probably want to start screeching on the other one, because it's faster.

i've been thinking about fast today a little, a lot of these songs are over 150 bpm, frequently hitting 190, is that a normal bpm for this stuff, is that excessive, some locust songs aren't that fast, should i try a new song where i keep it short and also sit at like, below 150, i dunno. it's stupid anyways. i like 80-ish when i want to go slower, because it's not really slower how i handle it, i just have it at double time mostly so i'm really hitting 160 and then when there's slower ideas i have they feel super slow i guess. but not that slow. really i just like things that are fast and irritating, i talk about that so much.

doing vocals, at least how i was going at it today, was really exhausting even if it's like a bunch of takes on one song and a little less on some parts of another. i felt so lightheaded but i think i'm getting pretty good at just powering through that, which might be stupid but for 40 second long songs it's fine, right. hopefully. and hopefully it doesn't hurt to speak tomorrow.

i also got to write some today, just a little, and i also finally finished this mishima book of short stories i was slowly going through, really good, the last two stories were very strange and the last one especially reminded me of something flannery o'connor might do, someone writing from a place of being obsessed with the consequences of the world as it is, the standard ways of treating people, stuff like that. it's not exactly sympathetic or anything, to the suffering, it doesn't hate them either, it sees the downtrodden as sort of transformed into a force of fate and thus nature, which is not really true outside of the exact kind of character he was writing, an upper middle class person worrying, and her worrying thus transforms them into that, even if she's trying to express empathy, she's already figured that there, beyond her guilt, there is some kind of villain waiting for her, and so there is. the poor are bound to servitude of those psychic fantasies, or something. that feels like what he gets at there, the story prior, is about rich women, and is funny. he really handles the abject's entry/appearance in otherwise "regular" lives very well, as something that can and will meet us all, no matter what, and so the consequences of material reality will always be upon us, even if transformed by our fantasies that freely shape the world (this is the case especially if you are rich).

this isn't some communist reclamation of mishima but i do think even these relatively simplistic stories (the word tales almost seems better (and not all stories in the collection are tales (meaning they aren't quite similar to parables (particularly onnagata and patriotism (interesting that they feel the most tied to his queerness))))) more complex than people would give him credit for. makes me think of what eiko hosoe said when taking photos of mishima, this is a paraphrasing of a translation, it was something about the photos being the destruction of a myth, mishima was always constructing himself and subjecting himself to the elements to return to himself a weathered thing, it felt like, undoing himself as much as possible, because being kept to yourself, subjected to yourself as if it were real, is intolerable. so it makes sense then, to kill yourself theatrically. everyone who tries and succeeds is ultimately a drama queen dealing with this kind of difficulty, probably. i know i am. maybe i just relate too much, and it is different for others. i mean, i know it is, ultimately, but some people are convinced they could wield their suicide as a weapon against life or maybe more so, the eyes that have seen them living and would like to say: this is what you have been. of course, no one really cares that much. people could scarcely hear his speech, because he was cut off from the pa, before he gutted himself, so there he was, humiliated and seen still, at war with himself and putting his sex totally into his final moments, a beautiful man chosen to behead him does so, whatever.

but for some people like me i guess that's an intense thing to know about, it's going to sit in my chest forever and ever i guess.

next i'm going to read gary indiana's gone tomorrow. another gay man. i love rent boy quite a bit, i'm semi worried this one won't give me the same feelings, but that's lame, i shouldn't seek the same things from one artist, what i hope though is his prose is as great as it is in rent boy, loose and sharp all at once, i want to be drawn into the pulse immediately, as i was before. i hear this is a great book from a close friend, so i'm excited.

now, after listening to this 1985 record nerve eighty, and also from thinking earlier in the day, i want a fuckoff annoying trebly guitar, maybe different from the others in some way. sharper, hissier maybe, i'll call it "superhissyfit" if i like it.

before i go do that, i really hope i begin reading more. i think listening to richard hell today and singing along made me feel more literary or something. or maybe it was talking about the birthday party with someone. this record i'm working on started off with me reading rimbaud and baudelaire, at a job on break, and i've read plenty in the interim, but recently it's been missing from my life. i want there to be more. i want everything always though. #stupid.

thinking about "we assume sublime poses deep and true to life"

or whatever the line is.

here's the sound. i've never done this before, but i realized i can, which is fun. i don't know if i'll use any of these riffs here but i like at least 2 and think one unexpectedly works well with another, making something pretty compelling as like, a structure, accidentally. now i have something horrifically annoying that also just does that radio search feedback noise, it sounds just like the noise bits in that first jerome's dream record, a total accident but i like it, it's super irritating and i can put it in / just take it out if i want to. the sound overall has a really compelling tinniness that i think can help out on a couple songs where i'm like, not feeling that enough.

the thing with fake guitars is it gets easier to imitate higher strings, probably because there's less of a range of overtones or whatever, harmonic junk and stuff, that you're hearing. i also really like how this one pitch bends, i guess it was made for that super freakish sound some people make riffs out of, cuz like, why haven't i tried harder to do that, cuz i'm lazy i guess. now i try, and some songs i might go back and fuck around w/ this and throw it in, actually i like that idea for one especially, and the feedback could be filtered in at points in a cool way probably too.

i wonder if there's any other random music stuff to stick in here. right now i'm listening to this record:

it's really good, if you like this kind of thing. shocked honestly a couple times by how good the riffs are, and how this really doesn't fall into the regular "screamo" traps (screamo a delineating line i guess between faster/harder-core things, and stuff like this) but this is good because it veers pretty hardcore, it's never twinkly, it's sometimes really pretty and it uses those really great chords guys at this time became really fond of. idk what they are, they always feel spanish to me, it's fun stumbling into them and seeing their anatomy and not really knowing what to call them. this band also has everything free on their bandcamp, that's sick, the lyrics here are clearly super commie so it's not a surprise, it just also wouldn't be a surprise if they were asking like 5 bux (good enough + i get it (anyone would)).

anyways now i am way tired.

so,

byebye!!

[187days]

Day Twenty

Today was somewhat challenging in Global Studies, and not at all challenging- for me, at least- in APGOV.

If my Global Studies students were on schedule, they were finishing the slideshows they started working on last week (with information and images related to one of the issues referenced in Warsan Shire's "Home"- ie, the use of child soldiers). But some of them were behind schedule, some were ahead of schedule, and that messed with anyone who was trying to figure out what to do based on what a friend was doing rather than by reading the actual instructions.

So reading the actual instructions became one of today's lessons.

And, since a lot of students were distracted (it's a Monday, it's right after Homecoming, there were a bunch of sports dismissals, they were working on their chromebooks...), effective use of class time became another one of today's lessons.

The intended lesson was developing a greater awareness of current events while practice research and citation skills, so hopefully students got some of that, too! I'm going to grade their work in the morning, and I'll give them feedback so they can correct their errors. I can also schedule a meeting during flex time with anyone who's really struggling so that I can help them out before we move on to more complex work. That's the goal anyways.

Speaking of complex work, my GOV students spent the block writing questions for a discussion about Federalist 10 and 51. Most of them read through both texts once last week, then skimmed them again today and formulated questions as they went; some read Federalist 10 and wrote questions last week, then read Federalist 51 and wrote questions today. It didn't matter to me how they did it, but it was interesting to observe their different approaches. And I was mostly observing, I didn't have to field many questions... So it was hard work for them, easy work for me. I think the discussion is going to go really well, so I'm looking forward to tomorrow's class!

[crucifixes-and-chrysanthemums]

I've decided, after Em mentioned her own journaling, that I should probably do it more. Once a week on Mondays at the least.

First off, three things I like about myself. One: I'm a good listener. Two: I am helpful to others. Three: I am good at understanding others' emotional perspectives.

That wasn't so hard, was it? Alright, maybe a little harder than it should be, but so be it. Blame it on the late time and I'm sorta tired. Anyway, it's almost Christmas! This Sunday, in fact. I know a few of my gifts, which is nice. Rice cooker, blanket, heated jacket. All stuff I can use. My secret Santa arrives tomorrow and it's something Lana Del Rey-related. It's Lana Del Rey-lated. Or at least, that's my guess. Mom and I got Pap a holster with a light for his 43X. I got dad a flashlight. I need to just get gift cards for the rest, I think. I don't really have any ideas, unfortunately. A few, but they're too cliche.

Em is breaking up with her boyfriend, and I support her. He gave her the clap and didn't tell her for a week. When he did it came out really shitty. Poor Em. I feel so bad for her. She just keeps getting kicked in the balls by life. Deserves much better. I might be going to visit her around March, for which I'm rather excited. It'll be nice to meet her in person. We've been talking a lot lately which is nice. It's nice to have company.

I'm thinking of going back to school. St. Bernard's school in the city has a bunch of classes I'm really interested in. They're not terribly expensive, financial aid is apparently easy to get, and their graduate certificates don't require an undergrad degree. Hopefully something to help for the future. Maybe, maybe not; still something I have to pray on a lot.

My prayer life has actually been decent lately! Still rather unorganized but pretty much every night I talk to God a little bit. So that's nice. Makes me feel like less of a shithead. Makes a real difference, honestly.

Man, there was something else I was gonna talk about but it totally slipped my mind. Unrelated, Campbell's Chunky Potato Ham Chowder? Bad. Really bad. Steak and potato? Absolutely cash money.

I've also come up with a new aesthetic/-core: Bog Wizard-core. Bog Wizard-core is the music and whatnot of a wizard living in a bog. Away from society, deep within a forest, where the light always seems to be shining, but the shadows are always a little long. Living in a giant boot, or perhaps a mushroom. Something made of nature but still shaped by man. Slow, ambient stuff. Mostly without lyrics. The type of music a Bog Wizard would listen to while brewing potions and observing wildlife and whatnot. Pianos, slow electric guitars, and woodwinds. Earth tones with flashes of bright blue and red here and there. Man, I wanna be a Bog Wizard. Note that Bog Wizard =/= Druid. Bog Wizards live in large footwear or huts augmented by, but not primarily made of nature. Druids live in nature augmented by huts, or right in a mushroom or something. I wanna just live in a bog and make potions and observe the wildlife and whatnot from my hut. Go on silly little walks through the bog with my magic torch to light my path.

That's about it, I suppose. Thanks for listening, diary. You always do.

12/20/22 - 12:26am.

[aseplant]

I GOTCHU!!!

transcript below the cut (hopefully free of typos lol). shaky text is in red!

Mira: Oh! Hi, Siffrin... You, uh, look... Um, are you okay? Did you have a nightmare during your nap, maybe...?

(You have to deal the King the final hit instead of her, you're sure of it, but...) (You need her to learn her shield skill. The one that protects you from anything.) (Come to think of it, you forgot to tell her about the original shield skill, earlier.) (The one you usually tell her about when you enter Dormont.) (Oh well. The shield she learns when you help her with her papers will do the job just fine.) (But you don't have time.) (You need to get to the King)

> Would you like some help with those papers? > I'll be right back. Mira: Oh! O-okay...

Mira: With my papers? N-no, of course not!!! Don't worry about them! They're not important at all, they're--

> They're bonding papers, aren't they?

Mira: HUH?!? How did you--

> Maybe I can help.

Mira: ... I... I suppose I could use your help, Siffrin... Y-yes, let's do it!!! It'll distract us both!!! From our problems!!!

(...) (You sit down.) (Mirabelle looks at you without saying a word.)

Mira: ... So, um... Well, you know they're bonding papers, so I don't need to explain... B-but really it's more like, um, dating? Dating profiles... I-I'm not thinking about being bonded yet... ... Before this all started, with the King... I decided I wanted to, uh, try. To date someone. And so I asked a dating company, and they gave me a bunch of folders of people that I could meet, and that I could date... But I haven't gone through it yet... So I figured I could at least get that done today. And look through all of them, and make a list? Of people I could see myself... Dating. And... I suppose I need help? I'm choosing someone I could spend the rest of my life with... So I'd appreciate another pair of eyes. Or, um, just the one eye. As long as it's not my two eyes looking at this. Um... And also I need a distraction from tomorrow very badly, so I figured I--

(Too long, too long, this is taking too long.)

> You know, you don't have to be bonded to anyone.

Mira: And... Huh? Wh... What do you mean?

> If you're alone for your whole life, then that's just how it is.

Mira: ...Wh... What?

> Isn't it better to just come to terms with it now, rather than later?

> You don't need to be with anyone to be happy, after all!

Mira: ...

> So...

> So you should just accept it!

Mira: Accept... Accept what, Siffrin...?

> Accept that you'll always be alone!

(...Mirabelle slapped you.) (Mirabelle slapped you...?)

Mira: ...How can you... How can you say such horrible things, Siffrin!!!

(What? But...)

Mira: I'll never be bonded with anyone? I'll always be alone? Change, what makes you think you can say such horrible things, Siffrin!!!

(Oh!) > No, I didn't mean it like...

Mira: Then HOW did you mean it, Siffrin!!! What's wrong with you today? You were weird when you woke up, you were walking around and not responding to anyone... ...You knew about my papers even though I didn't tell anyone, and now this!!! Is something wrong, Siffrin? Did something happen? Did you have a nightmare or something?

> No, of course not.

Mira: Then what happened, Siffrin! Because clearly something did happen!!! Otherwise, i-if nothing happened, I'll have to accept the fact that I was wrong about you!!!

(Huh...?) > Wrong about me...?

Mira: ... You always tease me, Siffrin. And it's fine. Everyone does. I guess I have the kind of personality where it's easy to want to tease me. But I know people don't mean it. It's how-- It's how some people make friends. And I thought it was the same for you. I thought, "It's okay, they don't mean it, it's how they are. They tease me, but they're never mean. And Siffrin never really hurts me." "Would never really hurt me." ... But now you have, Siffrin! Thinking I should be alone... Telling me I should be alone... Who do you think you are, to say this to me? Acting like-- Like you know better than me!!! Always soooo mysterious, Siffrin, always talking as if you're better than me! As if you know me!!! But you don't, Siffrin!!! You're just as lost and useless as I am!!! So stop!!! Talking!!! As if you know me!!!!!!

(Mirabelle breathes heavily.)

Mira: ... You've hurt me, Siffrin. And I was wrong. For you to say something like that to me, and think it was okay... You're awful. You're not my friend, not my ally, not anything. You never were.

(...)

Mira: ... I'm going to the Clocktower. I don't want to see you until tonight.

(...) (But you didn't mean it like...) (...) (You... You've made Mirabelle very upset.) (No, no, that's not what's important here, is it?) (She'll get over it one way or loop or another, but you didn't get her shield skill.) (But maybe it doesn't matter that much.) (You can just bring her back to that book about shields in the secret library, before you go and fight the King.) (You don't really need her special skill, after all. The usual shields kill will do just fine.) (It WOULD be nice to get everyone else's special skill, though...) (...) (Back to it.)

Odile: ... ...What's wrong, Siffrin?

> Nothing's wrong, but... > I'll talk to you later. Odile: What? No, wait--

Odile: No, something is wrong. What--

> ...Have you heard of something called a familytale?

Odile: ! ...I may have. What about them?

> I've heard of someone who has one.

> Would you like to come check with me?

Odile: ... Lead the way I suppo

[fast forwards to the boulangerie]

(Don't waste any time.)

> Hi!

Small Boulangère: H-Hi...

> Know anything about a book?

Small Boulangère: A book? Um...

Odile: ...

Small Boulangère: This is the only book I have!

(She happy shows off the Paperasse familytale.)

Odile: !

Big Boulanger: WHAT?

> Oh my!

Big Boulanger: ...So you had it, Charline... Were you two looking for this? Well, I suppose you two can borrow it, if you'd like?

(You got the PAPERASSE FAMILYTALE.)

Odile: Siffrin... ... Thank you both. We'll give it back shortly.

Big Boulanger: Take your time.

> Shall we go elsewhere, now?

Odile: ...Lead the wa--

[fast forwards to the clearing]

(You have the book, but.) (Odile isn't following stage directions,) (And is looking right at you.)

Odile: ...

> Quite a fascinating book, isn't it?

Odile: Siffrin. How did you know the little girl had a familytale?

> I figured I should ask.

Odile: Why?

> Why not?

Odile: ... Knowing that little girl owned a familytale is one thing, Siffrin... But... How did you even know I wanted to read one?

(...) (You already failed this one, didn't you.) (Why didn't you remember that she always, always finds out?) (She always figures out something is wrong, when you're not careful.) (Because she doesn't trust you.)

Odile: And even this place... Why did you bring us here?

(You stay silent.)

Odile: ...Siffrin. I don't mind secrets, Siffrin. I have many of my own. If you want to keep yours... That's fine. But what I hate... Is when those secrets are about me, and when people I consider friends keep them from me.

> So we're friends, now?

Odile: "Now"...?

(You don't answer.)

Odile: ...Siffrin... Oh, Siffrin...

(She raises a hand towards you.)

Odile: ...You're shaking.

(You try not to startle.)

Odile: And you're so tense. Like you're about to snap... Siffrin... I was worried before, but now I'm VERY worried. W-What's happening? What's wrong? How can I--

> NOTHING'S WRONG!!!

Odile: Siffrin?

> If you're going to ask questions, instead of acting like normal...

> Then I don't need you!!! I don't need this right now!!!

> If you can't act normally then just leave me alone!!!

Odile: But clearly something's wrong, Siffrin, just---

> Nothing's wrong!!!

> Why are you always like this? So overbearing, always trying to know everything?

Odile: What--

> So blinding annoying, Odile!!!

> You should just leave me behind!!!

> It's your family specialty, isn't it?!?

Odile: !!!

> Just leave me behind! Just like you left Ka Bue behind!!!

> Just like your mom le--

(You don't even finish your sentence.)

(Odile grabs your collar.) (She lets you go.)

Odile: ... ... Thank you for finding that familytale for me, Siffrin. I'm sure you have a lot of things left to do today. I'll be at the Clocktower. Don't come back for a bit.

(What the...) (What did you say?) (Why did you say that?!) (How could you have said such horrible things to her!!!) (She was only worried about you!!! And you said, you said--) (What is wrong with you?!?) (...) (Well, that's fine. You didn't really need that skill, anyway.) (You can barely remember what it does half the time.) (And Odile already has so many useful skills...) (You'll be fine.) (You're the one who needs to deal the final strike, anyway.) (...) (You should talk to Bonnie next.)

Bonnie: Frin...?

> I was thinking... > I'll talk to you later. Bonnie: O... Okay?

> How about I teach you how to fight, today?

Bonnie: R-really? I, I, um... I would really like that. Will you really?

> Of course.

Bonnie: Oh! Then, yeah!!! Let's g--

[fast forwards to the path outside Dormont]

Bonnie: L-Look, look! I'm not scared!!! COME ON!!!

[battle begins]

Bonnie: I'm not scared... I'm not scared... I can do this... I can--

(Too long, too long, it's taking too BLINDING long.) (You only need to fall over to make them act, don't you?) (You just need to make them realize they can protect you.) (You just need) (To fall...) (Now.)

(...You tripped on nothing.) (The Sadness saw you trip, and now has its sight on you.) (Bonnie saw you trip, too.)

Bonnie: Wh-what? What did you... !!! FRIN!!! NO!!!!!!

(Bonnie attacks wildly!)

Bonnie: Ah... Ah...

(You breathe in, and out.) (150 EXP received.)

[battle ends]

Bonnie: F-FRIN!!! Why did you fall?! What did you trip on?!? You almost got hurt!!! You... You... You... Didn't trip on anything. It's like you just... Fell?

(You don't say anything.)

Bonnie: You... You fell on nothing... And you... You didn't look scared... Frin... You... let yourself get attacked on purpose?

(You don't move.)

Bonnie: I saw it, I saw you! You-- You looked around, and the Sadness was about to attack, and you, you just fell... And-- You didn't even look surprised, Frin!!! But why would you do that?! I don't get it!!! You fell, and I... I didn't think you could've moved fast enough, so I... attacked the Sadness... On my own...

> Yeah!

> And you beat it on your own, too!

Bonnie: What...?

> I did that so you'd become stronger! More confident!

Bonnie: ...

> If I get hurt, you protect me.

> And if you get hurt, I'll protect you!

> That's how it is with us, isn't it? We promised!

> I-I just wanted you to be stronger!

Bonnie: ... What...

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?

(You jump.)

Bonnie: YOU GOT HURT ON PURPOSE? SO I WOULD SAVE YOU? WHY WOULD YOU THINK I WANTED THIS, FRIN!!! I DON'T WANT THIS!!! I NEVER WANTED THIS!!! I DON'T WANT TO BE STRONG IF IT MEANS YOU HAVE TO BE HURT!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!! FRIN, YOU STUPID IDIOT!!!!!!!!!

(...) > I...

> I thought it would help.

Bonnie: NO!!! IT DIDN'T HELP!!! IT REALLY DIDN'T HELP!!! I HATE YOU, FRIN!!!!!! I HATE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

(Bonnie cries, and cries, and cries.) (You can't move.)

Bonnie: ...I... I can't... ...

(Bonnie runs away.) (...) (You...) (Because of you, Bonnie...) (Didn't get stronger.) (Not that their attacks got that much stronger after you talked to them, didn't it?) (You'll be fine, as long as you know Bonnie's here to watch your back.) (As long as you defeat the King yourself, it doesn't matter what skills they all do or don't have.) (One to go.)

> Hey, Isa.

Isa: Oh, Sif--

(Your smile stops Isa in his tracks.) (This is not a good thing.)

Isa: ... Um, I...

> What's wrong?

Isa: ... Um, nothing, just... Mira, Odile and Bonnie came to talk to me, earlier... They all looked a little upset. So, uh... Did something happen...?

(Talking behind your back, as always.)

> Nothing happened, no.

> Would you like to go see the stars with me?

Isa: The stars? But those only appear at night... It won't be nighttime for a few hours still...

> Later, then.

Isa: Oh... Sure. ... Sif... A-Are you okay? I've heard that... Well! I've heard from trusted sources that you are not doing very well today.

> No, I'm fine.

Isa: Yeah, that's a lie and we both know it, buddy. What's wrong? Is it something you can tell your buddy Isa?

(...)

Isa: ...Sif... You know, I get like that too. Sometimes, I feel weird, and I wanna push away everyone. But you know it's not good, right? It's not healthy! And I, and everyone else, we want you to be okay. To talk to us! Because we're companions! Comrades in arms! And we want everyone in our little crew to be ready for anything, right? Especially since... No matter what, tomorrow will be our last day together as a family, I guess. So please don't hesitate, okay? And talk to us! Or just me, or just Odile, or whoever! About anything! And you know, I get like that too. Sometimes, I feel weird, and I wanna push away everyone. [repeats over and over until the screen turns dark]

HEY!!!!!

What the... Sif, were you even listening to what I was saying...?

(...)

Isa: Sif... They were right, Sif, something IS wrong! Mirabelle said you were acting weird since you woke up! Odile told me something happened, with a book? That you shouldn't have known about? And Bonnie was crying so much they could barely string two words together! Did you do something? Did they misunderstand? They had to, right? You wouldn't... You wouldn't do stuff like that... What's happening, Sif? Is something wrong? Can you tell me?

(Why is he acting so suspicious of you right now?) (Urgh, so annoying, all of them!!!) (Always talking behind your back, always acting weird, always deviating from their role every time you look away for a single blinding second!!!) (Don't they get it?!) (You just want them to follow!!!) (You just want them to come with you!!!) (You just want them here!!!) (And the easiest way to keep them close is to make sure they don't die, and the easiest way to make sure they don't die is to make them stronger, why can't they understand that?!?) (You don't want to talk!!!) (You don't want to think about your problems!!!) (You just want to follow the script, the Universe, to the end, like always, except this time, you'll break it, and you'll kill him, and you'll escape, and everything will be--)

> Yeah, something's wrong.

Isa: I knew it! What is it, can I help? If you tell me, we can go and talk to everyone, and--

> What's wrong is that you're getting on my nerves.

Isa: Huh...?

> Oooh, Mr Amazing-Wonderful-Funny-Buff Isabeau!

> Look at you.

> You're acting as if you're so calm and reasonable...

> When all you are is weak and useless!

Isa: ...

> Nothing to say this time?

> It's just fine.

> You never could say it, anyway.

> You never could say anything.

> I know what kind of person you are, now.

Isa: What kind of... Person I am?

> A coward, Isa!

> Never able to say what you mean, never able to do what you want.

> Because it's easier, isn't it? To not do anything?

> To only project a facade of confidence, but not doing anything to back it up?

Isa: ...

> It's easier to let people do everything, isn't it.

> To just encourage them, while staying on the sidelines.

> Poor Isabeau.

> You keep changing and changing, from a nerd to a jock to a clothing designer...

> But deep down, you know you can't escape yourself.

Isa: ... I... I don't know where this is all coming from, but... But maybe you're right, Sif. Yeah, I'm weak. Yeah, I'm a coward. Yeah, I feel like I can never do things right. Yeah, I keep changing personalities like clothes, because it's easier than learning to like myself. YEAH, there are things I can't tell you, no matter how hard I try. But at least, I'm trying to change. I'm trying to be someone I can be proud of. I'm trying to be better. So I can help and support the people I care about. Unlike someone else here.

> ...

Isa: ... I don't want to talk to you right now. I'm gonna join everyone at the Clocktower.

> ...I'll see you there.

Isa: Oh, sure. Take your time, though. Take all the time you need!

(...) (It's fine.) (They're all upset right now, but they wouldn't go to the House without you.) (You just need to give them some time to calm down.) (...)

Loop: ...

(...) (And you have one last person to talk to, anyway.)

Loop: ...

> ...

Loop: This was... Not the nicest thing you could've said? To... Any of them?

> Does it matter?

Loop: Well... Um... Yes? Why wouldn't it matter?

> They'll come with me to the House anyway.

> They've always done it before.

Loop: ... Okay, but...

> But it really doesn't matter!

> Because I've found it, Loop!!!

Loop: Found it? Found what?

> How to break the loop! How to escape!!!

Loop: What?! But--

> I'm here to kill the King, aren't I?

> Everyone's been wishing for it, for the King to be defeated, so that's why I'm here, aren't I?!

Loop: Well, um... Maybe? I don't--

> And, and, and!!!

> Mira's always the one, isn't she?!

Loop: The one? The one to what?

> The one to deal the final strike on the King!!!

Loop: ...And?

(Why doesn't Loop get it?!?) > And if everyone's wish is centered on me...

> And if I'm the only one who's looping and remembering...

> And if time keeps rewinding after I kill the King...

> The Head Housemaiden said it might be because the wish hasn't come true, right? So...

> Isn't it rewinding because it's not me, the person who's in the middle of this, killing the King?!?

Loop: ... That... ... It can't be that simple, stardust.

> Maybe it IS that simple!

> We've never thought about it, haven't we?

> Maybe it WAS that easy, all this time!!!

Loop: No, I... I can say with certainty that it's not it. It has to be something else...

> Why?

Loop: Huh? Well, are you even sure you've never defeated the King yourself? I'm sure it must've happened once or twice. You've been looping for a long time, so you might have forgo--

> 'It must've happened once or twice'?

> I'm certain I never defeated him myself.

> And yet...

> How can you say it with certainty?

> Do you know something?

Loop: N-no, I don't know any more than you, stardust!!!

(...)

Loop: It's just... I know that's not it. It has to be something else that's causing the loops, something else that can break them. Something--

> THEN WHAT ELSE, LOOP?!?

> WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO DO? WHAT ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO TRY?!

> SHOULD I MAKE EVERYONE COME WITH ME? SHOULD I RELY ON THE POWER OF LOVE?

> SHOULD I TALK TO THE KING? THE HEAD HOUSEMAIDEN?

> SHOULD I DIE? SHOULD EVERYONE DIE? WHAT? WHAT ELSE IS THERE? HAVEN'T I DONE IT ALL?!?

> THERE'S NOTHING ELSE, LOOP!!! I KNOW IT'S STUPID, I KNOW IT'S A LONG SHOT, BUT IT HAS TO BE THIS!!!

> IT HAS TO BE THIS, LOOP, OR-- OR--

(You fall to your knees.)

> Or, or does it mean-- It means--

> It means I'm stuck here for good, aren't I?

> Forever?

Loop: ... ...

(...) (No.) > You think I'm stuck here forever.

Loop: What? N-No, I--

> Loop.

> You knew.

> You knew this whole time.

> You knew this whole time there was no escape.

Loop: ... Stardust...

(Stars.) > No, no, no, no, no, no...

Loop: S- Stardust, I...

> Why didn't you tell me?

Loop: ...

> Why did you lie to me?

Loop: I- I didn't... I was b- brought here to help you, and- - And I thought, if I was here, we could- -

> You know there was no way to break the loops?

Loop: I thought that if we tried, together, w- we'd- -

> YOU KNEW.

> YOU KNEW!!!!!!

> YOU KNEW YOU KNEW YOU KNEW YOU KNEW YOU KNEW YOU KNEW YOU KNEW THIS ENTIRE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!

Loop: Stadust- -

> DID YOU HAVE FUN, LOOP?

> WAS IT ENTERTAINING, AT LEAST? WAS IT FUNNY?

> DID YOU LIKE WATCHING ME RUN AROUND IN CIRCLES, HOPING, WISHING?

> DID YOU LIKE THE SHOW?!?

Loop: ... No. No, I didn't like to watch this at all.

> Curse you, Loop.

Loop: ... Stardust... I'm sorry... I really am... ... But please, stardust- - Siffrin!!! If we think, if we go through it all again, we can- -

(You don't have time for this.)

(The Clocktower.) (You arrived later than usual.) (Is everyone eating still?) (You need to join them, and act normally this time, so you can all go to the House together tomorrow.) (You don't care if they're not strong enough. You can make it on your own, defeat the King on your own.) (You just want them here.)

(You enter silently.) (...) (You don't hear cutlery or anything.) (Your stomach hurts.) (They must've eaten without you.) (Maybe they're already sleeping.) (But no-- You can hear them talk.) (You get closer...)

Mira: ... And... And then I left. I couldn't... Be there anymore.

Odile: ...

Isa: Why would Sif act like this suddenly? That's not like them at all...

Odile: Clearly, something happened.

Bonnie: B-But what? I don't understand... Why he'd do stuff like that. I don't understand at all!

Mira: Bonnie...

Isa: ...

Odile: ... Everyone. Siffrin might come back any second now... So we need to decide what to do.

Isa: What to do?

Mira: About tomorrow...?

Odile: Yes.

Bonnie: Huh? What do you mean?

Mira: Are you saying... Leave without Siffrin?

Isa: What?! I-I understand how you feel, but... But we shouldn't leave Sif behind! H-He's the one who leads us... We wouldn't be able to evade traps without them! Plus, he's our friend! We can't leave them behind!!!

Bonnie: Yeah! H-He was mean, but, but Frin was always with us, so--

Mira: I agree, but... B-But would he even agree to come with us, still? Maybe they won't even come back tonight...

Bonnie: No, Frin will be there!!! I know it!!!

Isa: And either way, we should wait for them, everyone... We can't...

Odile: Please, listen to me. ... I... I just... I just don't know if we can trust Siffrin anymore. Not at such an important moment.

Isa: But--

Odile: We'll be fighting the King tomorrow, Isabeau!!! It's not just a simple Sadness. It's the KING. The being who has trapped Vaugarde in time. And we need to be a team. We need to be united, we need to trust one another. ...After what just happened to all of us today... Could you do it, everyone? Could you entrust your life and future to someone like Siffrin right now?

Mira: ...

Bonnie: ...

Isa: ...

(...) (You) (You decide to

[fast forward to the House]

:D

this is going to get me cyberbullied but. could anyone reblog with a transcript of what sif says to everyone at the start of the act 5 loop <- (i was physically unable to force myself to watch sif say horrible things and looked away while they talked but i still feel like i should know for the Full Experience™️)

[dashofmonsters]

Snowfall- Pt. 1

Male Orc x Female Reader

You and Sloan have been dating for three months now and everything has been great, well aside from the lack of alone time. You've been inducted into his friend group via Rynan's approval and everyone keeps inviting you and Sloan to hang out. You of course don't mind it but you wish to spend more time with just him. Apparently feeling the same he surprises you with a trip to his family's cabin up north. Just you and him and a cozy cabin with no possible problems or intrusions in sight, hopefully.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and Sloan had just got back to his place after the third barbeque with his friends this week. At first being invited to hang out with his friends was great. You met Rae, his old friend from high school who gave him the butterfly butt tattoo along with some mutual friends of Rynan and Sloan. It's nice meeting new people and everything but you miss spending some quality alone time with your boyfriend.

"I never thought I'd say this but if I have to eat another rack of ribs anytime soon, I'm going to vomit," Sloan grumbles as he collapses onto the couch.

"It's your own fault for taking that fourth helping... Should I go get an antacid?" you ask, setting your purse down on the coffee table.

Sloan peers up at you from the couch cushions with the most pathetically adorable puppy dog eyes he can muster. You roll your eyes and laugh before bending down to kiss him on the cheek.

"Sit up and I'll go get you some water too," you walk off to grab the needed items from the kitchen. You hear Sloan groan as he struggles to sit up and not get sick.

After getting him to take the medicine and drink a couple glasses of water you turn him ever so slightly and start rubbing his shoulders.

"Oh that's nice," he purrs. "Your hands are magic."

"I expect you to return the favor, tomorrow though. You need to sleep this off, and maybe not eat so many heavy foods for a couple days," you lean forward and kiss his neck.

"Probably a good idea...," he agrees and grumbles.

"You ok love?" you ask.

"Yeah it's just that...do you like going to these uh...'get togethers'...gods I sound like my nana...," he groans.

"I do, especially when Rae is around or when Rynan breaks out the karaoke machine...but it is starting to get well... and I'm not trying to sound mean or anything but it's just-"

"Getting tiring?" he tilts his head back with a tired smile.

You nod your head.

"I was thinking the same thing. I hardly get you to myself anymore and I don't want to come off as a jealous sort but I at least want to be able to spend more time with you, alone," he confesses, leaning back further till his head was against your chest.

"Well if memory serves me correct I believe we've been invited to two more cookouts and Rae's cousin's annual bar crawl," you poke at him.

He sits back up and re-situates himself on the couch, dragging you into his lap in the process. You snuggle up in his arms and lay your head against his chest.

"You know how we have winter vacation in a couple weeks, where we'll be off till after the new year? Well what would you say to going to a cabin up north for a week? Just you and me and a bunch of snow?" he asks, sounding a tad nervous.

The thought of cuddling and getting cozy with Sloan in a cabin surrounded by snow sounds enticing. Your brain theater starts playing a bunch of scenarios until you're passed the point of convincing yourself.

"Hmm a week alone with you...And I'll have you all to myself?" you ask, teasing him.

"I'm already all yours angel, but yes, no one else will get to come between us," he replies.

"I take it that you already made plans and everything?" you raise a brow. He knows you don't like doing anything big or pricy when it comes to your dates and that you like planning them with him but he'd occasionally slip and surprise you with a nice dinner or going and doing something. Luckily it wasn't anything too over the top.

"It'll be a two day road trip using my family's camper and the cabin belongs to one of my cousin's up north that she only uses maybe once or twice a year. Everyone in the family kind of uses it so we have to schedule around each other and I always book it for the same week so there's never a fight for it," he shrugs.

You thought you were used to how grandeur Sloan and his family lives but just when you find yourself getting used to it, he throws another curve ball at you. From what you've heard they've fully earned it, everyone having worked hard most of their lives.

Noticing that you're contemplating he adds, "There's also a jacuzzi."

Narrowing your eyes and pursing your lips you pinch his cheek.

"You're at least going to let me help pay for the gas and food ok. I don't want you to feel like you have to pay for everything on this trip, it just doesn't seem right. If we're going to be a couple lets do it properly and share responsibilities," you lecture him.

He gives you a huge soft smile before leaning down and pressing his forehead against yours, "More than anything I want to get this right with you, so if you want to take over some of the expenses then by all means. We'll go over our budget in the morning, how does that sound?"

You nod and kiss him, "Sounds like a plan."

Sloan tells you about the cabin and how his family has used it since he was a little kid. It's currently in his cousin's name but it used to belong to his grandfather and everyone just kind of pitches in for the upkeep now. He goes up there to for a week of relaxing and snowboarding to your surprise. As if picking up on your curiosity he breaks out a couple albums his nana put together for him and a DVD.

"My nana and aunts insist on recording anything and everything, including comical failures. Oh and if the quality seems like shit this was originally on VHS," he laughs, popping the disc in and pressing play.

On the screen was a group of young orcs on snowboards and skis. Sloan points himself out but you already knew it was him since he was a little shorter than the rest. It was his first time attempting to snowboard and he looked excited. As the video played on you try your best not to laugh at how bad his falls and fails were.

"Please tell me you got better," you snicker, watching a young Sloan slide right into a tree, unfazed and then collapse backwards into the snow with a groaning sigh.

"I got a ton better thanks to my cousins. I was going to give up but they were determined to have me on a snowboard and not skis. There was apparently a bet placed on me if I'd go for skis or a snowboard," Sloan shrugs.

You continue the video and eventually get into the albums that are filled with photos of Sloan throughout the years. You notice that it's not till much much later on that he starts bulking up. The cabin shown in the pictures is absolutely fantastic! It makes you think of those winter cabins you see on postcards and calendars. You were excited before, but now you can't wait for winter vacation to begin.

______________

It's been almost two weeks now and you can hardly contain yourself. You and Sloan have been making plans, preparations, and talking about the expenses almost everyday. Yesterday he got the camper out of storage and the both of you spent a few hours dusting and cleaning it up. It's almost surreal to you that any of this is happening at all, a winter get away with your boyfriend to a cozy cabin sounds too good to be true.

"We'll be leaving right after work tomorrow and parking for the night at a RV park right outside the state," he shows you the map on his phone during break.

"Is this the one that's got the little river nearby or is this the one near the winery that I'll need to keep you away from?" you smile with a raised brow.

"I love you my angel but I'm going to get at least one bottle, for when we get to the cabin. But no, this is the one that's near the really really awesome diner," he says, smiling dreamily at the thought of good food.

You roll your eyes before stepping away to put on another pot of coffee. Today hasn't been nearly as busy as it has been but both you and Sloan have been busting your asses getting ready for the trip. This is your first time going on a road trip as an adult so you wanted to do it right even though you know mistakes are unavoidable.

Sloan had confessed that this is his first time inviting someone to the cabin and he wants to make it special but he also knows you don't like things over the top and prefer things a bit more simple so you both decided to compromise with certain things, like the wine.

The day went on pretty uneventfully with two walk-ins that you and Sloan took. Half the staff clocked out early since most of them were by reservation only and everyone else just sort of lingered around the halls and breakroom. Sloan said it's pretty standard on the last couple of days.

Another thing that had become standard was you and Sloan having clean up duty at the end of the day, when everyone was gone. If this was any other job with anyone else, you'd have quit by now. Now though, it was one of the few times you and Sloan got any alone time.

"Thank the gods tomorrow is a half day," you sigh as you toss the towels in the washer.

"Agreed, do you have everything packed and ready on your end?" he asks.

"For the most part, I still have to pick up some stuff I ordered from the store on the way home," you admit. You didn't have a lot of cold weather clothes since it's usually warm. That and you wanted to surprise him with a little something extra.

Sloan nods his head while putting the clean towels up, "Do you want me to come over to your place tonight or in the morning?"

"If you don't mind my house being an absolute mess then you can come over tonight. I tend to panic pack and tear through everything and double and triple check," you give him a flat smile and shrug.

"My angel I have seen your house after your brother's birthday party, I don't think it can get any worse," he replies, grabbing more clean towels to fold.

You laugh and help him finish up folding. The cleaning gets done fairly quick and although you both flirt and tease each other, you decide to lay off the after work fling. Sloan walks you to your car, giving you a very long and promising kiss that sends shivers down your spine. "I'll see you in a few hours my angel," he grins.

Parting with excitement you hit both the clothes and lingerie stores to pick up your winter wear and that little something extra. You're already tempted to wear it but you told yourself it would have to wait till you were at least at the cabin. Once you're home you finish packing and go into hardcore cleaning mode to at least have your room and livingroom tidied.

It's nearly ten when Sloan arrives, looking a tad bit annoyed. Apparently one of the back tires on the camper started going flat as he turned into the neighborhood. He called Rae who's dad has works on the camper and got an appointment for him to come swap out the tire in the morning.

"I knew things were running too smoothly, this was bound to happen," he rubs his face and lets out a soft laugh. "Last time it was the waterline." His eyes widen at the horrible memory.

You give him a big hug and lead him to the couch so he can finally relax and kick off his shoes.

"Have you eaten anything yet?" you ask.

"No and I'm starved!" he groans.

You grab some snacks out of the pantry and start perusing on food delivery apps. Sloan tears into them while you order the agreed upon Chinese take-out. As per usual you throw on some terrible UFO encounter show while eating, the both of you debating on how realistic the stories were.

As the night goes on you start cuddling up to him, touch starved from going days without doing it. The both of you have been too exhausted after every outing that sex hasn't been on the table for a while. Tonight felt no different until Sloan started kissing at your neck.

Already in his lap he starts to peel off your clothes little by little, kissing your bare skin ever so softly. His hands start petting you all over, teasing you as he touches ever so close to where you're most sensitive.

"If you're too tired tell me to stop and I will," he pauses his hands when he hears you yawn.

"Don't stop," you sigh, guiding his hand back down.

Sloan picks you up then and hauls you off to the bedroom, laying you down and dragging your panties off. His tusks touch your inner thighs as his thick tongue laps at your folds with vigor. It feels like it's been ages since he's gone down on you with this much excitement, but you're not complaining. Instead you're arching your back right up off the bed as he plunges two fingers in you with no warning.

It's rough and hot and everything you've come to love. Sex with Sloan has truly been one heck of a learning experience but he's a quick study and always remembers what you like. His tongue teases that little bundle of nerves as he pumps his fingers faster and faster, adding another when you start bucking your hips.

He's winding you up so tightly you feel like you're about to snap but you knew better than to expect this to be done anytime soon. He removes his fingers as you expect but instead of teasing you with kisses, he strips in a mad haste and he's crawling on top of you.

His lips are on yours within seconds, devouring you as if he's been starved. You gasp when his cock suddenly thrusts into you and you grasp his shoulders, nails digging into his skin. He kisses your forehead and starts to move slowly. This is different from what you've grown used to but sometimes different is very good.

Sloan's thrusting drives in deeper and harder with every passing second and all you can do is hang on. He's kissing you breathless, only your collective gasps and moans a break for air. He pulls out only to change position, placing your legs up against his chest as he sits up. You're shaking and grabbing at the sheets as he thrusts even harder and faster into you, making you tighten around him even more.

Your orgasm hits you hard and he knows it by the way you dig your nails into him and how you curse and scream his name. He lets go of your legs and leans back down and kisses you so softly that it felt betraying of how fast and frenzied his pace had become. Within seconds he's pulling out and spilling all over you, his breath ragged and hoarse.

"That...that was something," you laugh, still catching your breath.

"I've been pent up," he sighs, basking in the A/C that just kicked on.

"I can tell, so have I," you admit.

The both of you take in the cool air a moment longer before deciding to take a quick shower and head for bed. Sloan helps you wash your hair in the shower, something that he loves to do when you wash together. He massages your scalp and shoulders as he works in the shampoo.

"Now this is the kind of spoiling I can get used to," you laugh, rinsing your hair off.

"It's a shame I can't spoil you even more tonight," he slides a finger up your leg and tickles at your slit.

You yelp and swat at him, but he catches your wrist, "Want to make another bet?"

"Oh so I can beat you again?" you raise a brow with confidence.

"We can touch each other all we want but no sex, no release, and no masturbating," he gives you a smug look then kisses your hand before releasing it.

You turn the shower off since the water is starting to get cold and shake some of the water off as you exit and grab the towels. Another bet would be interesting and if the first one was any indication of his taste in prizes you definitely wouldn't mind betting again.

"And I take it that you already have the winnings in mind," you hand him his towel.

He only gives you a smile and a smack on your ass as he leaves the bathroom. You chase after him and pinch his as you pass him up, a sort of unofficial official game you play with each other.

You both dry off and get ready for bed, both of you agreeing on the bet starting once you hit the road since another round is apparently an option when someone remembers where he put the condoms.

The next morning you both get ready and text Miles that the both of you will be running a little late due to issues with the camper. Rae's dad, Charles, luckily shows up early and with the needed replacement. Sloan offers to help but Charles dismisses him since he's already in his nice clean work clothes.

"I've been working on this old piece of work for the last twenty years, if ever I need your help kid please call my wife and tell her I'm either sick or dying," Charles laughs.

"You're sure you're fine? You'll be alright if we leave?" Sloan asks.

"I might be getting up there in age but I'm still able to kick your ass. Now get out of here, you're distracting me!" he points a wrench at Sloan.

Sloan looks like he's about to argue so you grab him by his arm and start escorting him to the car, "You heard the man, leave now or suffer the wrath of an ass kicking.

Charles snorts at hearing that and waves the both of you off. Luckily you get to work only ten minutes late instead of the thirty you were expecting. The half day before vacation is usually a last minute clean up, order supplies, and go over reports, complaints, and so on. Miles is running around making sure to take everyone's lists and pass out paperwork while everyone is just hanging back.

"I'm guessing this is normal?" you ask Sloan who was putting together his supplies order.

He pauses, counts on his fingers and the turns to you, "Sorry, head math blank out. What were you asking?"

"Is Miles running around like this normal? I've never seen him this frantic," you glance out in the hall and see him on the phone pacing in a circle looking over some papers.

"No this is a first, Miles usually hands out reports and complaints and Rachel takes the supplies request. I wonder...Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Rachel for the last two days," Sloan mutters and you're about to add to that thought until Miles comes bulldozing in.

"Supplies Lists on the managers desk in five. Your report files and bonuses are there. Sloan can you give me a hand here, you've helped Rachel put in orders before right?" Miles looks to him with tired eyes.

Sloan agrees to help and hands you his list to take with you. When you get to the office to drop them off, you're surprised to see that all of Rachel's personal belongings and décor are nowhere in sight.

Well this is something.

Ignoring the matter for now, you grab the reports and bonuses with Sloan's and your name on it and take them to the respective rooms. You pass the front and see Sloan walking Miles through some websites and a few of the staff waving goodbye and telling everyone to have a fun vacation.

Hours pass and the half day is nearly up, everyone gone except you, Sloan, and Miles. Two and two eventually got put together and you find out that Rachel quit due to some family problems. Everything was now riding on Mile's shoulders apparently as the owners named him the new manager.

"You two can head out soon, I'll be fine..." he sighs, sliding down against his chair.

You really want to, especially since you still have to pack up the camper but both you and Sloan decided to stay as long as you can to help Miles.

"We've got five more suppliers to go over, then we'll all call it a day," Sloan taps the desk.

Miles groans and looks to you for support, "The sooner you get it done the sooner we all get to go."

"You heard her boss man, let's get to it," Sloan smiles.

It's two hours after the half day that you finally get that sweet taste of vacation freedom! Two weeks of paid winter vacay! It's organized chaos once you both start packing up the camper and double checking your bags and fridge to make sure you have everything.

"That should do it, did you make sure to lock up?" Sloan asks, stuffing a duffel bag under the bed.

"Yes, I think...I'll be right back," you dash out of the camper and quickly give the knob a jiggle. Locked.

You rush back inside and see Sloan doing a quick once over of everything and giving a firm nod, "Yeah no I think we're good to go. Is the door locked?"

"Yes it is," you smile.

The beginning of the drive is spent in a bit of an awkward silence until Sloan turned on the radio. That luckily started conversation going.

"I usually just play music from my phone or listen to a podcast or something when I drive up to the cabin so I really don't know how to...entertain someone on a long ride," he admits as he turns the volume down on a commercial.

"When I was little my family and I would take a one day road trip to this sort of off brand run down amusement park and we'd usually just listen to whatever was on the radio or whatever CDs my mom brought with her...lots of Celine Dion and Cher," you laugh.

"Any games? My cousins said they'd play a few when they road tripped with their families but never told me what they were," he asks with a soft smile.

You remember that he was raised by his grandparents and from what you've heard about them, they probably wouldn't have indulged in a long game of punch buggy and I spy, "We played the usual road trip games that you've probably seen or heard of, but we also put twists on them. Like if you saw a pink Volkswagen and claimed it with a punch you got to call shotgun on the way home or my personal favorite was would you rather, we always got creative with that one."

Sloan hums something then gives you a quick and sly side glance, "Would you rather eat soggy potato chips or soggy corn chips?"

You roll your eyes but you can't help but to smile at seeing how happy Sloan looks, "Neither if I had a say in it but I guess corn chips... Would you rather live the rest of your life as an Elvis impersonator or a Dolly Parton impersonator?"

"Easy, Dolly Parton. Would you rather eat mayo out of a jar or drink an entire bottle of vinegar?" he laughs.

You dip your head back and laugh a little yourself before looking him dead in the eye, "Is the mayo warm or cold?"

He looks a bit taken back but answers warm.

"Then I'll eat the mayo," you grin.

"Do I even want to know the reasoning behind that? I feel like the question on its temperature was deliberate," he asks.

"Sibling dares, the warm mayo is honestly the least disgusting of it all. Even the microwaved cereal with mustard wasn't as bad as the other combos..." you pause, cringing at the memory.

"I think that just explain why I saw your brother putting ketchup on his ice cream at his birthday party..." Sloan sighs.

You snicker, "Yeah but he also likes grossing people out for the fun of it."

The both of you go back and forth for a while like this, playing would you rather in between fun or interesting childhood stories. Sloan starts straining his eyes and he eventually makes the call to pull over for a couple hours before making it to the first stop. You both get out to stretch your legs and breathe in that gas station smell.

"I think I need some caffeine if I'm going to get us to the stop tonight," he yawns.

"Want me to run in and grab some energy drinks or coffee?" you ask, about to run in and grab your purse.

"Coffee please," he smiles and before you can run in to grab your purse he pulls you up to him by your hip and he kisses you on the cheek. "Thank you angel."

You run into the gas station and grab the drinks, a couple snacks and a pair of tacky sunglasses for the hell of it. When you return Sloan is back in the camper and resting his head on the table.

"Love, I've got the coffee," you wave the cup in front of him before setting it on the table.

He stretches as he sits up and you hear something pop.

"You're going to let me give you a massage tonight ok," you tell as you start to tear into your snack.

Sloan smiles at hearing that and takes a sip of the bitter coffee and winces, "No objections here."

After refueling you're back on the road and within hours you finally hit the rest stop. It's a small RV park with only two campers there. You help Sloan hook everything up and lock it down before heading to the diner he mentioned a couple days ago.

It's a small old fashion diner with the neon lights and chrome frame. The food is amazing and you're surprised how diverse the menu is, especially the desserts. Sloan and you agree on a pie and take it back to the camper and enjoy with some hot cocoa and a movie.

The night was a lot colder than either of you anticipated but that only gave you an excuse to cuddle even closer. Eventually you made good on your promise to Sloan and started massaging his shoulders. It's not long until he's taking you to the bed where you both lay down and get into some hot and heavy touching and kissing.

Sloan's hand moves down to pull your pants off but you quickly straddle him, "Oh no sir, did you think I forgot about the bet?"

He gives you a sly grin, "I obviously got my hopes up."

"Just be glad that I'm not a fan of distracted driving or else I'd have given you road head hours ago," you laugh and grind yourself against him.

He groans and bucks his hips against you, "Fuck me for making this bet."

"Oh I'll fuck you once we get to the cabin," you laugh and roll off of him and back onto the bed.

He snuggles up to you and kisses your cheek, "I'm glad you agreed to come with me. I've really missed it being just us, no parties or hang outs or whatever we were being invited to do."

"I'm happy to be wherever you are, regardless of the place. But yeah I'm really happy that it's going to be just us," you sigh as you push yourself up. Sloan gives you a quizzical look. "I'm not going to sleep with pie in my teeth."

You both begrudgingly get out of the bed and ready yourself for sleep. Sloan looks at the weather and suggests to dress warmly for the night since a cold front is rolling in.

The next day is very much the same as the prior, you get up and going and make a few stops to stretch and refuel at gas stations. Sloan continues the would you rather game with more explicit add-ons though.

"Would you rather do it on the beach or in a field of flowers?" he asks.

"Oh that's a tough one... run the risk of sand getting in places I don't want or getting bug bites in the middle of sex... I think I'll go with beach. Ok, would you rather do it in high heels or thong on the entire time?" you snicker.

He gives you a suspicious glance, "And who's wearing them?"

"You obviously," you laugh.

He takes a few deep breaths and makes a face, "I'll go with heels."

You double over laughing, not because of his answer but the pained length of time it took him to make it.

"May I ask why?" you wheeze.

"Rae..." he sighs.

"Why is she usually at the center of more than half the bs you get into?" you ask, trying to compose yourself.

"She has this way of getting to people and not just me. If summer camp is my blackmail to behave then Rynan's is Rae's twenty first birthday. I won't go into too much detail but lets just say we all were a little scarred that night," he cringers.

You had learned a while ago that Rae was like the older chaotic sister of the group and you were pretty sure you should keep her away from your older chaotic brother.

"Now then, would you rather...," Sloan pauses as he brings the camper to a stop at the light. He looks over at you with a soft adoring smile and reaches across for your hand, "take a little detour or keep going on to the winery?"

You look around outside and see that it's crisp and clear. It's been a while since the last break and this trip had taught you that you were not meant to be seated for so long.

"I think a little detour would be nice," you squeeze his hand and then point out that the light had turned green..

Sloan drives a little bit longer before pulling over into a small parking lot that looks like it was meant to be a rest stop but never was completed. You pull on your jacket and follow Sloan out who is breaming with excitement. He takes your hand and leads you along a small gravel path that's been hidden away by the brush and trees.

"I found this place about six years ago when I started taking the camper up north. At the time I was just bored and needed to stretch my legs, I had no idea where the trail would take me but..."

He pushes some of the overgrowth aside and helps you down and out into a beautiful clearing filled with wildflowers and deer running across it. It feels like something out of the old romance movies and you can't help but to place your hand over your heart.

You feel his gaze on you and look up to see him smiling with the rings on his tusk glinting softly in the sun. He pulls you closer to him as he lowers himself to kiss you. You feel your heart flutter and almost laugh at how this is making you feel.

"Kissing me in a field of flowers? You really are a hopeless romantic," you sigh against his lips before kissing him again.

"I'd do more than just kiss you but you chose the beach over this," he grins.

You try and smack his arms but he's lifting you up in his arms and hauling you further into the field where the warmth of the sun can be felt. He lays himself down while still holding you, your head coming to rest by his heart. "This is a very pleasant detour," you mumble, face smooshed against his chest.

"If I hadn't been an idiot I would make it a very pleasant detour," he says, lifting your face so you can look at the stupid smug look he's making.

You grin in retaliation as you sit up and grind against him, "It's a shame that you had to make another bet that I'll be winning."

Sloan bucks his hips and you gasp at the friction. You've been wanting to get on with this bet and settle it once and for all since you were hoping to fool around a little more.

"Mmm I love me a confident woman," he moans as you unzip his pants and free his half hard cock. You shimmy out of your pants and panties, feeling the bite of the cold air against your skin as you lower yourself on him. Sloan grabs a fist full of the grass when you start rubbing his cock against your already wet slit.

Once his cock is hard you guide it inside and start rocking your hips. Sloan rolls his to match your pace and you feel yourself already getting hot and tight. You tell yourself not to come, at least not until he does. But Sloan obviously has other plans. He starts to rub a finger against that little bundle of nerves and you quickly have to stop yourself with how close you already are.

"Fuck..." you hiss, grabbing fist fulls of his jacket.

"Was that too much my angel?" he grins up at you.

You roll your eyes and circle your hips, pulling a delicious growl from his lips. "What's wrong? Was that too much?" you mock him with a sly smile.

It's been a while since you've had it rough so when Sloan rolls you off of him and onto the ground you almost blank out when he shoves his cock back in. His hands are holding you up by your hips as he thrusts in and out, desperate for a release that he hopes to make yours.

Teasing is easy, foreplay is fun, but denial is probably the hottest thing you've experienced in a while. Sloan's pace quickens but suddenly stops, his breathing ragged. You know he's getting close, maybe closer than you already are. You start to circle your hips again and even though he tries to stop you, the movement feels too good.

He's shaking, breathing hard and sweating as you keep moving against him. Sloan tries to match your pace but can barely keep himself up.

"Dammit...fuck angel...I..." he quickly pulls out and spills his seed onto the grass. You were already seeing stars as he pulled his cock out so you can't tell if it's a tie or if he won.

Sloan collapses next to you, shoving his now soft cock back into his pants.

"That...that was not as bad as I had thought it would be...I need my pants," you gasp as the cold wind nips at you.

"Any bug bites?" Sloan asks while enjoying the breeze.

You check your legs and dust yourself off real good. You don't feel the stinging itch of any bites which is a good sign. "I think I'm in the clear. You?"

"I think an ant got me but other than that I'm fine," he shrugs.

You both get decent and straighten your clothes up after cooling off. By technicality Sloan had won and you made sure he knew. You might be competitive but a poor sport you were not.

"Oh...oh this is going to be fun," Sloan laughs, moving the overgrowth aside as he starts to lead you back up.

You try and ask what his winning is but of course he's saving it for the cabin, a surprise. That's fine you think, you have a bit of a surprise waiting for him.

The detour ended up putting you two hours behind but with still enough time to hit the winery and buy a bottle and set up the camper for the night. The next day Sloan gets up early and starts on the road a few hours ahead of schedule. You wake up a couple hours later and quickly throw on something warm as you see patches of snow out the window.

"I really wanted us to stop at the river today but the weather isn't in our favor. Looks like the snow hit this area a little early this year," he sighs. "But on the up side with that stop not an option I should be able to get us to the cabin by tonight."

Sloan told you that the cabin was four hours away from the riverside stop. He's usually too tired to drive anymore once he hits that stop for that going the extra miles wouldn't have been an option.

You go into the kitchenette and make a pot of coffee, being extra careful with some of the bumps in the road. The stops are few and pretty quick today and you only play 'would you rather' when it seems like he might need a little help staying up. The last fifty miles are the hardest on him, it's dark and he's been driving all day that not even a drop of coffee will lift him up anymore.

The road up to the cabin is slick with ice and he has to go extra slow as he drives up the spiral drive. When you finally land it's already past midnight. You almost don't want to bother with the bags and groceries but you knew they had to come in.

You agree to only bring in the necessities and worry about the rest for tomorrow, both too tired to do anything extra. You try and take in the beauty of this rustic cabin but it's currently lost of your sleep eyes. You'll marvel at it in the morning you tell yourself. After putting up the food, Sloan shows you to the bedroom which is the only thing your brain can marvel at.

The bed is huge and loaded with blankets and pillows. You flop onto it and kick off your clothes, Sloan following right behind you.

"We made it," he wheezes as he flops onto the bed.

You crawl up into his arms and curl up against his side, "You did good love, get some rest."

Sloan kisses your cheek and pulls you closer, his tusks tickling the back of your neck.

"I love you my angel," he whispers to you.

"I love you too."

Pt.2>

[kuroopaisen]

takes one to know one || fushiguro megumi

➵ megumi just wants to buy some flowers from the nice stall attendant he definitely doesn’t have a crush on in peace. gojou has other plans.  

wc: 2.4k

warnings: gn!reader, incoherent chaos

a/n: gracie dearest this one’s for you :( you are so sweet and so lovely to me and i’m so, so glad we met in this hellscape (i would personally like to thank psycho-pass for existing) i hope i did your boy well! 

By the time he arrives at Jujutsu Tech, Megumi knows the flowers are a mistake.

“For me?” Gojou gasps, hands clasped and mouth agape in perhaps his most punchable smile. “Oh, you shouldn’t have.”

Megumi’s fist tightens around the handle of his bouquet. Today, it’s lilacs, irises and white lilies. It’s also much bigger than usual – too big to inconspicuously leave on someone’s fence or place in the school gardens.

“You can have them if you want,” he murmurs. What else is he supposed to do with them?

The delight on Gojou’s face collapses into a precarious mix of genuine confusion and insatiable curiosity. “Hah? They’re not for anyone?”

“No,” Megumi says. And if they were, I wouldn’t tell you. Although he doesn’t say that last part. Gojou would perceive it as a challenge, and the less he knew about Megumi’s private life, the better.

“So…” A grin splits Gojou’s face. “The person you bought them from must be special, then.” 

Megumi freezes for just a second. But he knows a second is enough for Gojou to glean all the information he needs.  

“Ah,” Gojou hums. “I see.”

“No, you don’t,” Megumi mumbles, well-aware of the heat rising in his cheeks.

“But why would you go out of your way to buy a bouquet of flowers, hm?” Gojou grins, shit-eating grin back on his face. “They don’t hand these out for free, you know.”

Megumi’s grip is so firm he’s scared he’ll crush the stems.

Although, he still doesn’t know what he’s going to do with them. It doesn’t feel right to throw them out – not when you’d spent time putting it together – but he wasn’t about to revamp his room with a distinctly floral accent.

Is it against social protocol to give the flowers back to you? Not now, of course, but maybe on his evening walk… or tomorrow morning…

He still doesn’t know why he didn’t just walk past you that first day.

But something about the way you were gazing out into the street, eyes wide and hopeful as you watched people ignore you on their daily commute… something about that drew him in.

And once he’d bought something from you once – just a small flower, one he didn’t know the name of, but seemed appropriate behind a cute girl’s ear – he couldn’t very well start ignoring you.

Not when your smile is so bright, your eyes sparkling with gratitude whenever he takes whatever floral arrangement you’ve lovingly bundled together out of your hands.

But now he’s paying the price – in more ways than one.

✧ ✧ ✧

Your flower stall is just a few feet away from one of the trendiest cafes in this area of Tokyo, and whoever oversees your little operation is obviously trying to capitalise on that. Setting up so early must be an attempt to catch the rush of bleary-eyed corporate workers craving their necessary morning coffee.

What use an office worker has for flowers, Megumi doesn’t know. But he has a feeling that you’d probably say something along the lines of “it’ll help brighten the place up.”

As usual, you’re waiting there patiently, eyes hopefully scanning the streets for any potential customers. Your face positively lights up when you finally catch sight of him – something that still makes Megumi nearly trip over his own feet.

“Good morning!” You call out, waving to him.

Megumi raises a hand in response, shuffling towards you with all the embarrassment of a high schooler on their way to their first date.

“Can I interest you in a floral arrangement on this fine Saturday morning?” You grin, eyes twinkling as you make your marketing pitch.

“Sure,” Megumi sighs, scanning the vast array of flowers currently on display. He’s getting better at picking them out, but he still can’t name any of them on sight.

You wait patiently, hands folded on the counter. If you think he’s an idiot, you keep it to yourself.

“Those ones,” he says, pointing at a group of blue heart-shaped flowers.

“The morning glories?” You ask reflexively, reaching over to pluck a bunch out of their display.

“Yeah,” Megumi shrugs. He has no idea what a morning glory is. The term sounds like something Gojou and Yuji would snicker at.

“They’re gorgeous,” you smile, taking a moment to admire them.

“Yeah,” Megumi says again.

Flowers aren’t really his thing; God help him if he was ever asked what his favourite kind was. But there’s no point in saying any of that – not when he’s already spent an embarrassing amount of money at this one stall.

“You’re keeping the business afloat, you know,” you giggle, as if reading his mind.

Megumi blinks at you. “Really?”

“Mhm,” you nod. “It wouldn’t be amiss to say you’re our most important patron.” You beam at him, same sparkle in your eyes as always.

He’d be furious, if you weren’t so nice.

How is he supposed to focus when you’re looking at him like that? How’s he supposed to ask who ‘we’ is? A business partner? A partner partner?

But you look so young. You can’t possibly be running a business. But you might have a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend. Or both. Or a partner of an otherwise non-binary gender.

Too many questions, no social capacity to ask them.

“So,” Megumi begins, his voice calm and composed as ever. His mind, however, is scrambling around like a fast-food joint at rush hour, trying to string together a sentence that’s not only coherent but also fascinating.

“How old are you?”

Whoops.

It’s the forbidden question. Or, at least, that’s what people always say. People, in this case, is Gojou. It usually is.

You seem unbothered. “I turn seventeen this year.”

Was it only a forbidden question for people who’re older? But in that case, surely knowing someone’s age was pertinent for the whole ‘respect’ thing. Maybe Gojou just didn’t think he should ever ask anyone’s age because then he’s not beholden to honorifics.

But Megumi can’t imagine him using them properly anyway.

That’s not the point. The point is that you’re the same age as him. You weren’t somehow twenty-seven with a baby face.

“Oh,” Megumi nods. “Me too.”

The smile you give him is almost unbearable. How is it even more of a smile than your usual smile? That doesn’t make any sense.

There’s a certain excitement bubbling in his gut that he doesn’t recognise or like.

Wait, if you’re his age, then…

“Do you not go to school on Saturdays?” He asks.

Is this conversation too dry? He’s not sure. He doesn’t usually make an effort at this sort of thing.

“My school doesn’t have classes on Saturday mornings,” you smile, meticulously wrapping brown paper around the stems of a set of particularly bright morning glories. You always do it so delicately; where on earth do you find the patience?

There’s something… graceful, about how you go about it. Sure, it’s your job, but Megumi still enjoys watching you work because—

“Hello there!”

Megumi knows that voice.

Oh no.

“Hello!” You fold your hands in front of you and give your new customer a bow. But your usual smile has been replaced with an expression of middling confusion as you look him up and down.

Megumi doesn’t need to turn around to know who’s standing behind him.

“Who’d’ve thought there’d be so many kinds of flowers in bloom, huh?” Gojou grins, slinging a lanky arm around Megumi’s shoulders.

Megumi glances to the side.

A pair of startingly blue eyes peek at him from behind black shades.

“What are you doing here?” He asks through gritted teeth.

“Oh, I thought I’d just come out for a morning stroll,” Gojou sighs, gesturing to the sky. “Don’t you think it’s gorgeous?”

Megumi’s ready to commit a murder.

“And look at all these flowers!” Gojou exclaims, bending down to peer at some asters closely. “Did you grow them all yourself?”

“Of course not,” you laugh. “I just sell them.”

Jealous maybe isn’t the right word. But there is a twisting in Megumi’s gut upon the realisation that within minutes of meeting you, Gojou had made you laugh. Megumi, on the other hand, was yet to do that.

“Well, either way, my student is a big fan,” Gojou smirks, shaking Megumi’s shoulder. Megumi’s soul is currently leaving his body.

“I was just telling him that he’s our most valued customer,” you smile, tilting your head at the pair of them.

“Ah, is that so?” Gojou grins. It’s amazing, really, how he manages to capture all the terror of the apocalypse in one smile. “I never really took him as a flower guy.”

“Everyone’s a flower guy, sir,” you tsk, shaking your head. “Even you.”

Gojou places an affronted hand on his chest. “So quick to make assumptions!”

“Not at all,” you smile. “You’d be surprised by what our customer base looks like.”

“You don’t say,” Gojou grins, turning to Megumi.

Megumi considers the consequences of punching Gojou right in the nether regions. He doubts he’d be punished for it by the higher ups; if anything, he’ll probably be rewarded. Maybe even pushed up a grade for his invaluable service.

“Fushiguro!”

Oh no.

Megumi’s eyes widen ever so slightly. His head whips round to Gojou. His teacher is already looking straight at him.

“Ah,” Gojou grins. “I told Yuji to meet me here this morning.” The glint in his eyes strikes terror right through Megumi’s departing soul.

Sure enough, Itadori barrels his way towards them, damn near colliding against Megumi with a ‘thump’.

Megumi can do something but stare into the abyss, hoping, wishing, praying this is just a nightmare.

Unfortunately, it’s not.

You give the newest addition to this strange little posse a customary bow. “Good morning!”

Itadori beams at you, his entire face lighting up. “Good morning!”

A strange panic starts to rise from Megumi’s gut. If he thought about it, you and Itadori would get along well. Too well.

Thoughts of you and Itadori walking hand in hand down the street as you laugh, Itadori offering you his coat on a clod morning as you blush, Itadori walking you home, rubbing the back of his neck bashfully as you lean towards him and –

Megumi blinks the thoughts away. What is wrong with him today?

You and Itadori have just met. And what was it to Megumi anyway? It’s not like he—

“Megumi?” Itadori tilts his head at him.

Megumi stares back blankly. “Hm?”

“I wanted to know how you found this place,” Itadori asks, voice bright but with the uncertain quality inherent to repeating oneself.

“Oh,” Megumi murmurs. “Well, I…”

In truth, he doesn’t remember. He just saw you one morning and decided to approach. He still doesn’t know why. But he doesn’t regret it.

“I roped him in with my charm,” you piqued up, picking up the lull in conversation.

Try as he might, Megumi just can’t concentrate. Itadori’s pressed against him, Gojou’s still got his arm slung around his shoulder, and—

“Ah, Nobara’s here!” Gojou beams, waving a hand over his head.

“What are you doing here of all places?” Nobara frowns, raising an eyebrow at Megumi. “I wouldn’t have taken this as your sort of scene.”

If there’s a hell, Megumi’s sure it’s this.

Conversation is bubbling around him but none of it is registering in his mind, he can see Nobara’s dissatisfied look as she takes in the situation at hand but he doesn’t have the energy to retort, Gojou is playing with the petals of one of the display flowers but Megumi knows he’s not going to buy it and—

“Hey, Megumi?”

He snaps back to reality at the sound of your voice, gentle and concerned.

“Are you alright?” You ask, tilting your head to the side. It’s as if you’re completely ignoring the rabble, as if you see him and only him.

Next to him Gojou, Yuji and Nobara watch with rapt attention.

“Yeah,” he lies. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”

You frown at you look at him. Something flashes in your eyes and you suddenly duck beneath your countertop.

Megumi and his gaggle of fools blink in surprise.

In a moment you hop back up, something purple bundled up in your hands. “Here,” you smile, handing it out to him, “this is supposed to help you sleep.”

One whiff and he knows it’s lavender.

“How much?” Megumi asks.

You shake your head. “Oh, no. It’s on me.”

Megumi’s heart flutters as you smile. Despite the chaos going on around him, despite the fact that he knows he’s going to be mocked for this for weeks to come, he’s grateful.

Somehow.

“Sorry about this…” he mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck.

“It’s fine,” you giggle, shaking your head.

Megumi feels Gojou chuckle quietly, his chest rattling. Itadori is unusually quiet and Nobara seems moments away from a laughing fit.

“I should go,” Megumi says quickly and suddenly. He doesn’t give you time to respond, zipping down the street as fast as his feet can carry him. He needs a shower and then a run and then he needs to beat a training dummy up and then—

“Wait, Megumi!”

He freezes in his tracks. That’s… your voice.

And around his wrist is… is…

He turns to look at you over his shoulder, eyes darting for where you hand wraps around his wrist. Why is his heart racing so absurdly fast? Why does it feel like his head’s about to explode? You’re just holding his wrist. You’re not even touching his skin. Not that it matters—

“Will I see you tomorrow?” You ask, not quite able to meet his gaze.

It brings him back to the moment.

“Of course,” Megumi answers reflexively.

You finally lift your eyes up. They seem to be sparkling. “I look forward to it.”

Before he even has time to process it you’ve let him go and trotted back to your stall, tending to your flowers as if nothing’d happened.

This has been too much embarrassment for one day. He’s not entirely sure what’s going on and he’s not sure he wants to know. But man, he needs at least several hours alone to process everything.

As Megumi shuffles away, Gojou bounds after him, still grinning like a fool.

“So, Megumi’s got himself a—”

Megumi elbows him in the stomach before Gojou even has a chance to finish his sentence.

[wordsfromthesol]

Hunted

Author: @wordsfromthesol​ Taglist: togasbetch malfoys-demigod pricetagofficial Pairing: Dick Grayson x Reader Summary: You're a detective at Bludhaven PD with Dick Grayson and when a serial killer your after starts hunting you down, you have no choice but to ask for his help. Warnings: Kidnapping, stalking Word Count: 2.3k

You had been working at Bludhaven PD for about 2 years before the hotshot Dick Grayson came on the scene. Though you had grown into friends or at least friendly coworkers…he annoyed the shit out of you. After all, everything seemed to come so easy to the pretty boy Grayson and you could count the number of times you had actually seen him at the station on one hand. Thankfully this happened to be one of those times because you had run out of options.

"Dick, can I get your eyes on this case? I'm been staring at these files for hours and can't find the pattern. Yeah, they've obviously got a type. But that's not enough to go on."

Dick briefly runs through the file before staring blankly up at you. "You can't be serious, right? You need to take yourself off this case."

"People are dying, Dick." You had already assumed you would get some pushback from the star detective.

"I can't let you go after this guy. You're an exact match to all 5 people they've killed." Dick attempted to reason with you, to no avail.

"Then I'm the exact person who should go after this guy. Rather it be me than some civilian." Finally, Dick relented and gave you some useful information.

"Well…everyone was taken near an abandoned subway line." He takes out a highlighter and marks up the map. You tried to mask your nervousness as the bright yellow line stopped a block from your apartment.

"Thanks…I didn't even notice that." He nodded, still apprehensive about giving you the information, as he handed the file back to you. Tucking the papers away, you decided to finish up the research at home. 

As you sauntered home, you were barely able to keep your eyes open. Stopping at the crosswalk, you noticed a man staring at you in your peripheral vision. You swore he was the same man from five blocks ago. Surely you were just paranoid…right? You began weaving in and out of the crowd, making a complete circle back to the crosswalk. Yet there he was in the corner of your eye. This wasn't paranoia. This was real. You pulled your phone out of your pocket and pressed Dick's contact card.

"Hey, uhm…remember that case we were talking about today?"

"You mean literally 20 minutes ago? Yeah, I remember."

A nervous chuckle escaped your lips, "Well you were probably right." Dick could hear the shakiness in your voice.

"He's following you, isn't he?"

Your current situation momentarily left your mind as the words tumbled out of your mouth, bypassing the brain. "How the fuck could you possibly know that?!"

"Don't go home. I'm coming to get you." You wanted to plead with him to stay on the line, but your stubbornness got the best of you. Slowing your pace, you attempted to stay in the crowd and walked straight. How was Dick even going to find you? As soon as the thought danced across your mind, there he was, as if you summoned him from thin air.

"Y/N!" The familiar voice called out from the street. A deep sigh of relief flooded over you as you trotted over to him. Crawling on the back of the motorcycle, you didn't bother asking where he was taking you. Anywhere was better than here.

**

"Wow. Just wow." Dick shook his head in awe as he climbed off the bike, ushering you into the apartment building.

"It's not like I planned it." You tried to force the uneasiness from your voice.

"Right, of course not. You realize he had to have been following you for days now, right? He knows where you live. You can't go back there." You hadn't really thought about that, yet where were you supposed to go? You looked at him pensively, unable to form a proper sentence. "Looks like you're staying here then." The alacrity of the statement caught you off guard.

"I can't just --"

"Right right. So let's go antagonize the serial killer. Genius." The sheer amount of sarcasm took you aback, this was a completely different side of the infamous Dick Grayson than you were used to.

You glared at him as he opened the door to his apartment. "So dramatic…besides, someone has to stop him. He's already after me, so I'm the perfect bait."

Dick's eyes went wide. He looked at you like you had three heads before bellowing, "ABSOLUTELY FUCKING NOT!"

"Do you have a better plan?" Part of you hoped he would begin rattling off some convoluted trap. One that didn't hold your life in the balance.

"Well…not yet. But I'm sure we can think of something. Give me a few days."

**

A few days came and went and you were losing your mind in Dick's apartment. The worst part was, you were never alone. Dick or one of his family members was always by your side. You weren't quite sure how some 14-year-old kid was supposed to do anything if said serial killer showed up, but Dick was insistent.

Finally, you caught a break. Jason, your latest babysitter got called away on some emergency and Dick wouldn’t be home for another hour. Of course, Jason informed you to tell Dick he left just moments ago, which actually worked in your favor. You dialed Captain Holt on your phone and began to strategize. The captain wasn't keen on using you for bait either, but eventually, you swayed him. Everything was planned to take place tomorrow afternoon, a time Dick just so happened to be testifying in court.

"Y/N?" The confusion spread across Dick's face as he opened the door.

"I'm here!" You called out from the bedroom before stepping into sight.

"Where's Jason?"

"Oh, family emergency. But he left like two minutes ago. Nothing to worry about."

"Okay…" Dick didn't sound convinced.

"I also got a call from the captain today. He wants to meet with me tomorrow at 2." You tried to play it off as a casual request, but you knew it wouldn't be that simple.

"What? Why? We still haven't caught the psychopath…plus I have court tomorrow."

"Dick, I'll be in a police station. You can drop me off on your way."

Dick let out an exasperated sigh, "Fine. But I don't like it."

**

You were absolutely terrified, but you tried your best not to let it show through. After all, you asked for this. Dick still seemed uneasy, even as he dropped you off at the precinct. You wondered if he could tell something was wrong. Though there wasn't much he could do at this point, considering he was due in court by noon.

"Y/N. Are you sure about this?" Captain Holt questioned as you walked into his office.

"No. But something needs to be done. This guy doesn't just give up. So either I'm bait and we have a chance at catching him, or I die a horrific death for no reason. Not the best of options."

Holt nodded in understanding, "Well everything is set up. We have snipers in position around the perimeter of your apartment and a dozen plain-clothed in the vicinity."

"So hopefully we have a chance. What about near the abandoned subway entrance? That's how Dick thinks he's staying out of sight."

"Covered. We are ready to go on your command. Though I still think Detective Grayson should be informed of the plan."

"He's in court. So he couldn't help out anyways. The fewer people that know, the better. Let's move."

**

You arrived at your apartment without any issues, though you could feel a million pairs of eyes on you. With everyone watching you, it would be hard to notice one more face. Nevertheless, you persisted, attempting to go about your day in your apartment. The apartment that now seemed so foreign to you, though you had only been unexpectedly ripped from it a week ago.

As the day went on you began to feel more and more lightheaded. Normally, you would chalk it up to stress, but given the situation, you decided otherwise.

"Captain…"

"There is still no sign of him," he ignored the strain in your voice.

"I think…he's already…here." A crashing sound was left ringing through the earpiece.

"I want everyone on her position now! Get me a visual!" Captain Holt's booming voice commanded those around him. "Where are my snipers?!" An eerie silence crept over the line. "Shit." He mumbled before pulling out his phone. The dial tone appeared to mock him until finally the other end picked up.

"What happened?" The stringent words reverberated in the air.

"He has her."

"Goddammit. How did he get her out of the precinct?" Dick didn't wait for an answer. "Because she wasn't in the precinct. How could you let her be bait? You've seen what this guy does!" The anger was bubbling up inside him. Out of everyone, why you. Why did he have to go after you?

"I know."

"How long? HOW LONG HAS HE HAD HER?!" Two cops turned towards Captain Holt as Dick's voice echoed from the speaker.

"About a minute. From her apartment." As soon as the word left his lips, the line went dead. Holt buried his head in his hands. If there was any hope of finding her, it was Dick Grayson.

**

You woke up in a cold, dark, concrete room. "Well, guess that didn't work out as planned…" You mumbled to yourself, or so you thought.

"Really? You thought a bunch of cops in blue jeans could stop me? I've been hunting you for months. Along with the others.  But you. You were my challenge. I memorized everything about you. Your favorite breakfast, your confidants, what time you call your family. Lovely little folks, by the way. And then you thought you could hideaway in that pathetic little Richard Grayson's apartment. The only reason I didn't take you then is because I didn't want to. What kind of challenge would that be? That would have diminished everything!" He carefully stepped around your chair, weaving your hair in and out of his fingers, until he turned to face you. "But now, here you are! My masterpiece! My coup d'etat!" His lips forced their way to yours. "Don't worry, my sweet. I'll take my time with you. After all, the grand finale demands perfection!" The crazed man turned on his heel and sauntered out of the room, leaving you with your own horrific thoughts.

It felt like hours had gone by before he returned. When he walked in, his eyes went immediately to your wrists and fingernails, which were now bloodied beyond recognition. "Now I wish you hadn't done that. Blood does not make for a spectacular fossilization." He walked around and surveyed the damage. "I guess it was to be expected though. After all, it wouldn't be fun without the challenge."

"You know, you keep saying that this is some big challenge, yet you gassed me and then tied me up. That doesn't seem like you are really challenging yourself."

"Simple-minded fool! Challenges are not always those of brute force. It took planning and timing to get you here. Those 4 snipers set up on the surrounding roofs? Had to get them out of the way. A delay in your communication device? Truly a necessity. And though you had the foresight to add a few men to the abandoned subway tunnel, they neglected to surveil the associated maintenance hatches. So you see, your perfect encapsulation proves to be quite the…" You noticed a slight furrow of his brow as the sentence broke. "Challenge. Now to finish preparing the resin!" Off he galloped, but you swore something was off. A slight change in his mood.

You heard several loud bangs before your captor fell backward through the door. Nightwing loomed over his grisly body. Then his eyes shot up towards you.

"I'm okay." The words were forced from your throat. With those two small words, Nightwing glared down towards the man and began throwing punch after punch. "STOP! Please!" You screamed out the words, shocked at the vigilante's ferocity. Nightwing's eyes slowly shifted towards you. It was as if a twinge of pain ran its way through his body as he crept towards you. Once close enough, his hands carefully cradled your face until finally, he spoke.

"I don't know what I would have done without you. Why did you do something so stupid?" You could tell he wanted to say the words out of anger, yet a euphoric aura surrounded them instead.

Still confused, you began to answer as he unbound your wrists and ankles. "He wasn't going to give up. This was our chance to catch him…"

"I would've found another way!" The words burst out of him louder than expected. Nightwing let out a sigh as he helped you out of the chair.

"Alright, Dick, I'm sorry." You glanced at him for a reaction...nothing. Worried he didn't hear you, you pushed the point further. "Guess I should be glad you weren't in court long."

Dick stopped in his tracks, finally realizing his mistake. "I…uh…left early." As the two of you got outside, there were a dozen cop cars already swarming the area. Two of the officers came up to meet you.

"Detective! Are you alright? What happened?!" The first began to raddle off questions, but Dick quickly deflected.

"You can find out later. I'm taking her to the hospital. Your man is inside, unconscious."

"I can still talk ya'know…" You mumbled as the officer ran off to inform the others of the new information.

"Yeah, but then you'd try to convince me not to take you to the hospital. And that's not going to happen. But don't worry, the captain is on his way there now. You'll get to regale the entire course of events with him."

It was almost scary how well he knew you. "You'll stay too?" The simple question caused an oversize grin to spread across his face, but all he did was simply nod.

[hereintheinbetween]

I wish I could describe to you the noice I just left out something between a whale, a yodeling cat and a snort 😭😭

I've literally been on my phone disassociating for hours so brace yourself

**I referred to the female character as "her" even tho its supposed to be the reader just to make things less weird

First and foremost shes giving me Little mermaid vibes. I'm here for it tho. As someone who had some serious restrictions growing up, I think it's only natural to wonder what's outside your boundaries

I think that her stubbornness and determination is probably part of what's attractive to him. Imagine wanting something so bad you were willing to literally risk everything for it? Also, his people literally worship him and have his whole life. It has to be a bit refreshing to encounter someone who doesn't fully fall in line. Even tho he's very much in a position of power still, she's kind of a slight resistance to him by breaking his biggest rule. As contradicting as it is I get why he likes the defiance.

Her constantly wandering further towards the boarders (so to speak) also gives me Moana vibes... I finally made a Disney plus account yesterday. Sue me (gotta brace for BPWF coming to streaming lol)

The way he tossed a whole person on to dry land like the catch of the day was hot as hell. It shouldn't have been, but it was. The strength. The aggression 🤌

"Do as he says and he will spare you. No matter what he asks." Namora... what kinda deals have you seen make before to say this?? 🤔🤨

Someone should not be able to manage charm while threatening to lie to your parents about your death. The fact you managed that is A+ writing. I sound sarcastic but I mean that sincerely, I'm just judging myself (down BAD)

The smut is well written and I'm going to use what's left of my composure to not act a fool over it but... EVERY other night?? Several times a night?? Got damn can she walk swim?!

Idk if you've ever seen the movie Like Mike but this same thing happens. There's an orphan who asks to meet potential families that want to adopt him. The person running the orphanage wants to keep him there as he's generating money. So he sets up the WORST families for the boy to interview with. It was about as affective as it was here but also hilarious. It should have been obvious it wouldn't work. If someone is optimistic and is shown all the bad of a situation, it will just make the good that much more alluring. I like that she unintentionally forced him to acknowledge the good of the world. Even he can't dent the beauty of certain places. Plus assuming they went on land somewhere in Mexico, it really is beautiful.

does he somehow have a Spidey sense for pregnancy cause....

i wonder who goes to get her for him and if they have any idea what's going on 🤔

This shows a really great progression of the relationship in a condensed way. It's almost like a montage was painted without it being explicitly described. I admire that. The same with the sex. You feel the shift to things being more tender. Accurately depicting emotions during sex/sexual situations is hard. Even movies often struggle to get it right. Being able to do it thru words is a skill I do NOT have (at least not yet) so you should be proud of yourself.

I said it already but I hope there's a part two. This would honestly be fun to read as a fullblown series because of how much there is to tell. There's a bunch of perspectives you could touch on (his thru their time together, hers as she fails at dating, namora catching her/seeing things develop between them, her parents failing at discouraging her etc. ) My mind is literally hardwired to think of all these different "what ifs". I get that your probably working on a bunch of different things for the same reason tho so I respect that.

behold my random ass unhinged thoughts and comments *takes a bow*. The days over so I'm kinda late, but hopefully all this helps you have a better day tomorrow.

Namor likes to find you and use you whenever he pleases. It's a deal you have. He has full access and your family will never find out that you visit the surface.

ooh interesting. A little bit of dark Namor I think.

Summary: It was a scandalous secret you kept with the King, of all people. He took you to the surface to quell your curiosity and in exchange your body belonged to him.

Kind of Yandere!Namor some smut.

Namor hated the surface world. He knew the danger it posed to his people so he actively kept them from it. The only Talokanil that ever saw the surface were those who fought beside and for their king. But in such a sheltered place, no matter how peaceful and self sufficient, there would always be a curious few who wanted to see the world outside.

The King ordered his soldiers to stop any Talokanil who may venture too far from the kingdom or try to see the surface world. It was for their own good that they be kept in the confines of Talokan.

You were one such member of Talokan who yearned to see the surface. To feel the legendary sun on your skin and to see how atrocious it was with your own eyes. You had slowly been testing your luck, swimming closer and closer to the surface at the far edges of the country.

Between the underwater ravines was the only place that no one could see you. One day you finally broke the surface, keeping your eyes above water while you still breathed beneath the surface. The sun was dazzling, the sky a shade of blue you had never seen before. You longed to rise up further and feel the sunlight on the rest of your face, but suddenly you were dragged back into the water.

There was a firm grip on your ankle as you were pulled back into the sea. You couldn't shake off your captor as they sped through the water, through the cyclones and the darkness. Soon, you were surrounded by underwater caves. You stopped fighting and felt your heart sink as you recognized who was dragging you, the King.

Suddenly you were thrown up into one of the caves, broke the surface of the water, and landed harshly on the dry stone. It only took moments for you to begin gasping for water. You had fallen hard onto your hip and couldn't get yourself to stand with the constricting of your lungs keeping you on your knees. You began crawling back towards the pool only for the tanned and winged feet of the King to come into your vision.

With his foot he turned you onto your back. You continued to choke on the air as he crouched over you. From your peripheral you could see the King's commander, Namora, hand something to the King.

"Hush," K'uk'ulkan bent over you and grabbed you by your jaw. You could feel yourself going lightheaded until he placed a breather over your mouth and nose. The rush of water brought you instant relief. The King watched as you regained your senses than stood up.

"Namora, bring her to my tent when she can stand," K'uk'ulkan commanded as he disappeared into the hall of caves.

You took deep breathes and sat up slowly. Namora approached you, shaking her head in disappointment. She offered you her hand as she spoke, "Silly girl. You will regret trying so hard to reach the surface. K'u'kulkan is not pleased."

You could feel yourself shaking, not from the cold but from the fear of being punished. Your parents had told you since childhood to stop daydreaming about the surface world. They had warned you that it was a huge offense to K'uk'ulkan to seek out the outside lands. But you never listened. Even when your father punished you when he found you on the outskirts of the country for the first time. Even when your mother had yelled at you for being insolent and too stubborn for you own good. Now the person who could truly make you regret it had already threatened your life by dragging you so suddenly into the air.

On shaky feet you followed Namora down the halls to a tent that sat in the center of a much larger cave. She left you at the flap entrance and gave you one last look, "Do as he says and he will spare you. No matter what he asks."

With those words as her parting gift, Namora dove into a pool to the side of the tent.

"Come," The voice of the King called to you.

You entered the tent to see the King sitting on a stool, a cape covered his shoulders and part of his chest now. He was writing something in a journal, not looking up at you. You bowed deeply then showed the sign of respect with your hands, "K'uk'ulkan. I am honored to be in your presence."

The King scoffed and looked up from his writings, "Come."

He commanded as he put the book and brush down on a small table next to him. You approached him slowly, not meeting his eyes as he observed you. You could practically feel his eyes raking across your body. Your hands were clasped in front of you and you focused on them. His tan hand found your clasped ones and he pulled you close to him.

You stood now between his spread thighs. From your standing position you were taller than him and looking upon his face. You had never seen the King up close before. The rumors of his handsome face were not unfounded, he was as godly as he was said to be. The piercing eyes, the curve of his nose, and the smirk on his lips. Your heart was racing at the proximity. You could feel his thighs against your own, he ran warmer than anyone you had ever met.

"You are beautiful for such a curious fool," the King mused as he leaned back to look at you. The back handed compliment was unexpected. You looked away, embarrassed. But the king nudged your chin with his knuckle to make you meet his eyes again, "Do you wish to see the surface world?"

You hesitated. You knew he knew the answer, that's why he had so violently dragged you there. But he still waited expectantly, his eyes glimmering with mischief.

"Yes, I've always wanted to see it," You replied, trying not to let your voice tremble in the face of the King.

A smile alighted his lips as he stood, keeping you close to him, your front flush against him. He roughly grabbed your jaw with his hand, looking into your eyes, "What price would you pay to see the surface?"

"Price?" You asked, trying to ignore the heat rising to your cheeks.

His hand moved from your jaw to your cheek, "I can grant you your wish to see the surface, keep it a secret from the rest of Talokan, if you strike a deal with me."

"If I don't?" You asked, defiantly,

The King chuckled in amusement, "I kill you and tell your parents you ventured to the surface like the fool that you are, where you were killed by surface dwellers."

You gulped loudly, surprised by the callous way he threatened your life while still smiling slightly down at you.

"So will you make a deal?" He asked, stroking your cheek affectionately. You tried not to flinch.

"What is the price?" You asked, shivering under his touch.

"You are the price. You will be mine. You will come to my palace whenever I call for you," He purred the words against your cheek, a tinge of amusement in his voice. The King wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you closer, his hand still on face. "And whenever you wish to see the surface I will take you."

Your heart was racing. You were no young maiden ready to be handed off to a husband. You had accepted a life alone with your fantasies of the surface. The very curiosity that had made many Talokanil turn away from you as an option to court. Now here was your option of not only survival, but getting what you always wished for, more than anything in the whole of Talokan.

"What say you?" The King asked, looking down into your face.

"Deal."

~~~

K'uk'ulkan captured your lips in a consuming kiss as he thrust into you. His hands were around your face while you clawed at his back. Your legs were hooked around his waist as he pounded into the softness of your pussy. You whimpered at the assault on your senses. No matter how many times he took you it was always so intense.

He pulled away, wrapped a hand around your throat, cutting off your blood flow as he sat up and fucked your pussy deeper. You held onto his wrist looking up at the King as his eyes bore into your own. Then with a grunt and three hard thrusts he came. K'uk'ulkan released your neck and peppered your jawline with kisses as he pulled out of you.

You were breathing heavily, body melting into his large bed. He was particularly insatiable tonight. You had lost track of how many times he had filled you, and how many times he had made you cum for him. The King pulled you into his side and kissed your forehead softly. The gesture no longer surprising despite the disconnect of the soft affection to the hard way he used you.

The King had called for you every other night since the deal you had struck with him. During the days when he didn't call you, he would take you to explore the surface.

K'uk'ulkan had been sure to show you the worst of the surface world. He explained the wars, the colonization, and the destruction that had befallen each end of the Earth. He had taken you on a tour of the waste lands, of the ruined waterways, and the polluted tributaries. He tried hard to make you hate the surface world the way he did.

But eventually, realizing that your curiosity was not satiated, he began showing you the beauty left behind. The jungles, the oases of the world, and the elegance of some of the modern societies. He relished in the stories of the ancestors you shared with some of the surface dwellers and how remnants of the old civilizations still remained. You were fascinated in the new world, and enamored by the man who showed it to you.

It was wrong in so many ways, falling for a King who would strike up such a salacious deal. But he had been kind to you in that aspect. That first night he had been gentle. He had taken his time, showing you every part of your body and his that could bring pleasure. The way K'uk'ulkan looked at you when you shared his bed would convince anyone that you were too precious for the world.

You were ashamed to admit that you had fallen so easily under his charms. His kisses and touches pulling wanton moans from you so quickly it made him chuckle against your thigh before he tasted your center. The King had taught you what it meant to be worshipped with his fingers, tongue, and cock.

Some days he was rougher than others. You could tell when a day like that was coming because he would be more quiet when he adventured to the surface with you the day before. The following night when he would call you to his chambers he would waste no time in ripping you from your clothes, throwing you on the bed, and shoving himself inside you.

You hated yourself for liking his rough and dominant side more than the gentle one. He knew this. That's why on nights like this one when he had torn your clothes and told you to get on your knees and take him into your mouth, he had swiped his hand between your legs on your way down. He would lick your arousal from his hand as you took his hard cock into your mouth. The King punctuated his thrusts into your mouth with praises of how wet you were for him every time.

It was now a muscle memory response. The moment someone came to take you to him, your thighs would grow slick with anticipation. You were hungry for him and he had trained that hunger into you.

As you lay in his arms now, he reached over, sliding his hand down your belly to the apex of your thighs. He nudged you to kiss him as he thrust his fingers into your pussy, making you moan.

"Ride me," he whispered into your cheek and you obeyed. You straddled his waist and thrust down onto his hard cock. K'uk'ulkan let his hands roam up and down your body as you fucked him. He pinched your nipple and guided your hips. The King smirked at you as you moaned.

You shifted the angle as you leaned down to capture his lips in a wet kiss. Your tongues swiping against each other. You shifted your hips again and the deep moan he made in response made you smile.

"You siren," he mumbled against your mouth before he flipped you over. He hooked your leg up onto his shoulder as he thrust furiously into you again. You whimpered and moaned with each thrust. You were so close.

"K'uk'ulkan," You barely moaned.

"Tell me what you need, precious girl," he kissed your leg, and palmed your breast as he continued his steady pace.

"I'm so close, please. My king, please."

"Please what?" He smiled down at you again with that mischievous smirk.

"Please make me cum," You moaned, grinding into his thrusts.

"Gladly," his fingers found your clit and he rubbed it in time with his thrusts. You felt yourself grow wetter and more sensitive by the second, '"Cum for me, in yakunaj,"

The words took you by surprise just as the tidal wave of your orgasm crested and hit. You moaned loudly as the King continued his thrusts and ministrations on your clit. You felt his cum spurt inside of you as you came down from the mind shattering pleasure of cumming on the King's cock. A luxury you were now used to.

He did not pull out of you as he pulled your leg back down around his waist. K'uk'ulkan seated himself deeper making both of you groan. He leant forward and leaned his forehead against yours as your heaving breaths intermingled.

The gently kiss he gave you was surprising. Coy almost in how he barely touched your lips. When you opened your eyes there was something in his that was unreadable. Then he pulled away from you completely and left the bed, and the room.

You lay there dumbfounded. Why had he just left you? What had you done wrong? At that moment you felt a queasiness in your stomach that had you rushing to the lavatory to empty your belly of its contents. The King did not return as you sat in the lavatory dry heaving.

....

I know, I know, I left it open ended again. I can't help it.

all comments and reviews and reblogs and tags are appreciated and welcomed.

[fwkei]

Remember...?

Draken x fem!reader (mainly fluff slight angst)

Finally got my first request yall 🥳 I couldn’t strictly follow the request like i wanted to but i hope thats alright, the gist is still there. anyways thank you sm for it and i hope you enjoy 

TW/CW: Mentions of sex, mentions of alcohol, mentions of sex work

WC: 7k (omg the most ive ever written🙆🏻‍♀️)

Note: I changed my writing style a bit for this request so i hope yall don’t mind! and again i dont read my stuff over so my apologies if theres any mistakes lmao

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You sat on the street, overheating as you watched the ‘heat waves’ coming off the ground. You held your hair up with one of your hands since you had nothing to tie it with, while the other held a lukewarm water bottle. You sighed, you felt so anxious and frustrated.

What now?  

You thought letting your mouth part due to your heavy breathing 

You took things too fast. It had been about 3 weeks since you left your parents ‘home’ and why did you leave? Well there were a number of reasons that are a bit too much to list, but all that matters now is that you’re completely and utterly on your own. 

You only managed to scavenge small jobs here and there to get some money to buy some basic necessities but nothing more. 

“Sorry Y/n, my niece is coming down to Tokyo and I told her she could have a job here and stay at the studio above...I’m gonna have to let go. I’m sorry.” said your boss to you only a couple hours ago, with pity filled eyes 

“...No it’s fine really! I understand.Thank you for taking me in while you could.” you said bowing your head at the man, biting your inner cheek trying to keep a level head 

“I’m happy you understand. You can leave your apron and hat on the cashier. On your way out.” he said patting your shoulder as you slowly brought your head up 

“Right..” you said taking off your apron and hat as you walked slowly to the cashier, placing it down 

You brought your hands to your temples out of stress, trying to figure out what you could do now. You only had very little money, and there was a heat wave striking Japan this week. At least your boss allowed you to live and pay rent in the small studio right above his store, which had an AC, but now that was for his niece.  

This had been the first time in a while where you had no idea what to do. You had always been the type of person to be able to take care of yourself and your problems..on your own. All your life since you can remember, you always had to be the one to take care of others, not that you mind or minded...but you were only so young. You never really had a childhood, at least not that you can remember. You do remember cleaning up after your parents who lost all will just to even... parent. You remember taking jobs as a babysitter at a really young age in your apartment complex to make some money.. You remember being the reliable older kid of your school and complex, where kids would come to you asking for help with things like homework all the way to buying something for them to eat because they were hungry. Not once did you ever say no, because you really did want to be there for those kids who’s parents didn’t give them the care they needed. But it just became too much.. You ended up spending all of your saved up money on them, just so they could have something to play with or something to eat. 

Before you even realized it, you were in your last year of high school, with no money saved over, no scholarships, no one to rely on but yourself. Not even a friend. Was it really the right thing to do? Use all your money that you worked so hard for to help kids he lived next door? Or just plain stupid? You knew you couldn't support them forever...but you tried so hard to. All you wanted was to give them a childhood they never had, and someone to look up too. But now you left them. All because you were frustrated. You felt so unbearably guilty. All the work you put into your studies to get at least some type of scholarship just went to waste because you couldn't handle your life anymore. You were being so so so stupid. 

Before you even knew it, the sun was going down, and you grew even more tired and sleepy. You signed, taking a jacket out of your bag and placing it on the ground so you could rest your head on it. You brought your hands to cushion your cheek as your eyes started to close. The air finally got a little cooler making it easier to breathe and well...do anything. 

As you were falling asleep you could hear chatter and laughing, and finally a tap on your shoulder waking you up. You cringed your eyes before opening them up more to see 2 women. One had blonde hair and the other had pinkish hair. They looked older than you, maybe in their 20’s. One held a bag and the other held a bottle of wine with two glasses, they bent down so their heads could be closer to yours. After examining you for a bit they turned to each other and smiled happily before turning back their gaze to your confused face. 

“Hey?” you said sitting up more, a little startled by the intimate contact they were giving you 

“Hey there, say...what’s a pretty girl like you sleeping on the street for?” asked the girl with pinkish hair that was tied into pigtails 

“I uh..don’t have a place right now so..” you said scratching your head 

“Really? Hmmm.” said he one with blonde hair 

“How old are you? And what’s your name? I think we can help you out! Woman to woman!” said the pink haired girl smiling sweetly making you feel fuzzy at their niceness 

“18, and it’s Y/n.” you said smiling nervously 

“Nice to meet you Y/n, I’m Remi, this is Rema, my twin sister.” said the pink haired girl pointing to the blonde as she waved sweetly 

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you too..!” you said bringing your hands to your thighs smiling 

“So did you just turn 18?” asked Rema 

“Sorta, 2 months ago, why?” you asked 

“Oh good!” they both said 

“Well, it’s your choice really. One of the girls left today, and the boss sent us to scout another girl to take her place, buttt we just went to buy food with no intentions of finding someone but luckily we just found you! It’s perfect!” said Remi 

“Oh? What work?” you asked getting excited 

“Oh silly, we live in a brothel! It’s really not all that bad you know, great pay and rooms...so what do you think?” asked Rema 

“A brothel..” you said under your breath 

Your mind was in a serious state of concentration. 

It can’t be all that bad, right? You just have to please people and go on with your day so… that’s what i've been doing my whole life… plus… there's a bunch of women in those things right? I probably won't get too much attention from customers if there's sweethearts like Remi and Rema walking around...so...just for the time being… I think it could really work out in my favor. 

You thought to yourself 

You brought your head up, giving the girls a closed eyes smile before shaking your head ‘yes’ making them jump in excitement. 

“Oh good!” yelled Remi grabbing your hands 

“I’m so excited! We haven't had a new girl in years! How do you think Ken will react?” asked Rema smiling as you 3 all started to walk 

“Ken?” you asked furrowing your eyebrows at the familiar name 

“Oh right, We’ll have to introduce you to him and everyone else tomorrow. He’s the bosses foster kid..I think you two are actually the same age.” said Rema bringing her pointer finger to her chin 

“Mhm mhm! Oh and since you're new, tomorrow I will take your pictures for the board, you can borrow one of my sets till you can afford to buy one for yourself, how does that sound Y/n?” asked Remi smiling and holding your hand 

“It sounds..great! Thank you so much.” you said bowing your head slightly 

“No worries! Hopefully the boss will take you in.” said Remi patting your head 

“Yeah..” you said as you 3 continued to walk to the brothel 

You couldn't seem to get your mind off of that familiar name..Ken? You swore you knew someone named that. It definitely wasn't a popular name so it’s not like you knew it from some type of T.V program.. After thinking hard your whole way to your new home you couldn't seem to remember them. The person named Ken. And so you decided to brush it off for the time being. 

The brothel was pretty big, and consisted of 12 girls, not including yourself. It was really late so everyone was asleep. Remi and Rema showed you to your room which was much more spacious than your room at home. They told you that you were allowed to decorate it and style it however you wanted. But they told you it was important to know that this was the room where business would be done, and not to leave important things around since some of the men came into brothels for the sole purpose of stealing. Remi even told you a story about how one of her clients tried to steal one of her panites, but then the boy named Ken stopped him by knocking him out with one punch to the stomach.   

“He sounds strong-” you laughed as they gave you a small tour 

“He sure is! Like the bodyguard of this place! He’s a sweetheart!” said Remi smiling 

“I’m sure..!” you smiled 

“Alright that’s about it, you should shower now and get ready for tomorrow. The boss will probably wanna take a look at you before seeing if he wants you. But I'm sure he will! You're pretty so it’ll go smoothly!” said Remi handing you her shower stuff for you to use for tonight and a set 

“Got it, and again...thank you so much. I really appreciate it.” you said again 

“Of course! Remember..we’re neighbors so feel free to knock whenever you need something..Also I can give you some tips before your first client so you know what to do.” she said smiling 

“Right, goodnight then!..” you said feeling your face get hot at how she so easily talked about sex. 

After that, you did exactly as she said, you showered. You thoroughly washed your body, face, and hair. Getting out you looked down at the set Remi gave you. It was just a black bra and matching panties with a silk cover up which made you feel better knowing you could cover up with that.  

You rubbed your mouth as you started to rethink your decision. I mean...you respected sex workers..but was this life what you were willing to settle for? Aimlessly waiting around for some random horny man to choose you and do things with you just for you to get only 40% of the payment? Was this all really worth it? Leaving home to avoid your problems...to end up here? You were grateful, yes, Remi and Rema were so sweet and open with you. You could only hope that the others were just as nice. You really wanted things to go well, and that can only start with some good rest. 

You woke up to a knock on your door, to see Remi and Rema walking in with a smile 

“Morninggg!” they sang as you quickly got out of bed 

“Hi!” you said frantically 

“No need to rush! Usually men start coming in at 10, but since you don't work here officially yet you got to sleep in a bit! But the boss called for you, you should go to the set up room down the hall to get ready, remember it?” asked Rema 

“Yeah I do. Thank you for waking me-!” you said smiling and grabbing your stuff and shoes 

“Course, good luck Y/n!” they said as you quickly walked out of your room to get ready 

As you walked in, there were a few other girls getting ready. You smiled and introduced yourself to them, and them to you. They were all so nice and pretty. It made you feel a little bit better about being here, and less nervous since they complimented your looks. You got ready in about 10 minutes, letting one of the other girls help you out with your hair and stuff like that. You gave yourself one last look in the mirror before stepping out and waving to the girls ‘bye.’ 

You nervously walked to the boss's door. You took a deep breath before knocking. You heard a muffled ‘come in!’ so you walked in smiling while holding your covering close. You gave a nervous closed eyes smile before seeing his office was simple, just a desk with a bunch of papers and a chair on the other side. 

“Y/n, correct?” he asked placing down his paper and taking off his glasses to look at you

“Yes.” you said smiling 

“Pleasure-” he said leaning over the desk to shake your hand 

“Likewise.” you said smiling, shaking his hand firmly before sitting down

“Well, I’m sure Remi and Rema told you just about everything you need to know, I take 60% of your earrings, I use that stuff to pay for rent and bills for you girls and my kid… which usually takes up about 30% of that 60%, meaning you make a profit of 40, while I make only a profit of 30 per girl.” he said 

“Yeah, I was told.” you said smiling nervously fiddling with your hands

“Good good, now that that's over with..” he said getting up ad signing 

“I’m just gonna take a look at you, no need to be nervous I’m not gonna touch you or anything, so please don’t feel worried.” he said smiling 

“Right!” you said getting up 

“Alright just do a quick 360 with arms up.” he said smiling 

“Okay.” you said doing as he said 

He looked you up and down but not in a lustful way at all, it was more of like a ‘just seeing how you’ll hold up’ kinda look, almost like he was a bit worried for you. 

“Thank you-” he said sitting back down as you did the same feeling nervous

“I was also told you’re 18? Right?” he asked looking down at his papers 

“Yeah that's right.” you said 

“Well I don't usually have this talk with the other woman because they're older. I know the age of consent in Japan is 16 and blah blah, but you’re still pretty young, are you sure you wanna work like this?” he asked looked into your eyes 

“...Not entirely but it’s the best I can do right now.” you said with a determined face

“I see- we’ll then welcome, and just remember you can leave whenever you want, but give a 2 weeks notice. When Remi is done, ask her to take your picture.” he said 

“Understood, thank you!” you said said smiling and leaving   

You walked out of the room, closing the door carefully signing in relieve 

That went pretty well.

You thought 

You started to walk down the hall so that you could ask Remi to take your picture. But when you put your ear to the door, you heard lewd noises letting you know she wasn’t done just yet. It was already 5, and the brothel closes at 10. You didn’t really know what to do, so you walked over to the kitchen, sitting down at one of the stools waiting for Remi and or Rema to finish up with their work. You tapped the pen that was on the table and started to look around the kitchen. You remembered Remi told you there were snacks in the cabinets, so you got up and started to open and close them one by one to find something to eat. You finally found a cabinet filled instant ramen, you grabbed one and started to pour water into it, popping it into the microwave that was on the counter top. You stood in front of it waiting, playing with the loose strings of you covering when suddenly you heard the door open. 

“I’m home.” said the tall boy with dark hair tied back to reveal a dragon tattoo on the side of his head 

Is this Ken? 

You thought as the microwave beeped, making his eyes turn to you

You quickly shot your eyes to the microwave, hoping he didn’t notice your stare. He looked so familiar it was almost irritating how you couldn’t remember him. You took the hot cup out of the microwave, placing it down on the counter top, ignoring his presence as he walked over, placing down the plastic bag in his hand, noticing your frustrated face trying to figure out where the utensils are. 

“Left of the sink are where they are.” he said sitting down on the stool across from you after looking at your face a bit 

“Thank you.” you said smiling nervously turning around to grab a pair of chopsticks 

“Are you new here?” he asked taking out a styrofoam box from the plastic bag, opening it to reveal a hot meal of meat and rice and vegetables 

“Yeah..I was supposed to start today but I don’t have my pictures taken yet.” you said smiling turning back to mix your noodles 

“Could you grab me a pair too?” he asked realizing he forgot to take a pair of chopsticks from the restaurant 

“Sure-” you said turning back quickly to grab some for him, placing it in his hands as he gave you a soft smile making your eyes widen slightly. 

“You look familiar..” you both said at the same time making both your eyebrows raise in shock then turn into a slight scoff from the both of you 

“Glad we’re on the same page then.” he said taking a bite of his food as you did the same still standing 

“You know you can sit down, don’t feel nervous.” he said looking up you slightly 

“..yeah.” you said smiling, walking around and sitting next to him. 

“So when’d you come?” he asked turning his head slightly to see your mouth filled with noodles making him smile a bit 

“..I came by last night, really late with Remi and Rema.” you said after finishing your bite

“I see...I feel like I remember you from somewhere, can’t pinpoint it though.” he said looking back down at his food 

“Same here, and you must be Ken though, right? When I first heard your name I swore the same thing but I just can’t remember..” you said before sipping some of the broth of your soup

“Yeah, but you can call me Draken and your name?” he asked getting up to grab a napkin from across the table 

“Draken...sure! Oh right, my bad. It’s Y/n. Nice to meet you-” you said smiling holding your hand out for him to shake

He only completely shot up to look into your eyes with his wide ones. You gave him a confused look as you watched him get knocked out of his thoughts, bring his hand up to shake your hand before clearing his throat and walking back over to sit. Maybe you struck a nerve? Maybe had the same name as someone who hurt him in the past? You really didn’t know but it made you feel interested. He looked like he just had his life flash before his eyes or something. 

“Are you okay?” you asked 

“Uh yeah, I’m fine. My head just hurts a bit.” he said looking as if he was deep in thought 

“Oh? I have some tylenol in my room.. You want one? Or I can make you a cold drink, you’re probably dehydrated?” you asked smiling a bit 

Draken turned his head to look at you, his mouth was parted, and he just looked so..anxious? You couldn’t even tell, almost like congested because he wanted to say something. 

Draken felt his heartbeat quicken when he heard your name. As soon as you said it, a random memory that was buried deep in the back of his mind hit him as he quickly re-lived it. But could it really be you? The Y/n he knew from so so so long ago? Around 10 years ago? There could be no way, he remembers the girl moving to a different city..the chances were so low that it could really be you already. 

But the second you said those words.. Those words of offering to make something for him, or give him something, despite you thinking you only just met him...Made him know that it was really the Y/n he met when he was only a little boy...but how the hell did you turn up here? In a place and part of town like this? He was so confused and just wanted to ask you...but you still didn’t remember him. 

“..No I’m alright, thanks..can I ask you somethin-” said Draken before being interrupted 

“Y/n!! Come on, let's take your pictures!” yelled Remi coming out of her room waving as a man walked out too buttoning his shirt 

“Sorry, just remember what you wanted to say and tell me later.” you said smiling and standing up and walking over to Remi

Draken watched you as you walked away. He saw Remi give you a hug, and the man that was walking out checked you out to which Draken gave him a pissed off look. Making the man smile nervously, wave, and leave. 

Do you really wanna live your life like this, Y/n?

He thought to himself before packing up his trash and throwing it away

Remi took your pictures, telling you to do different poses etc, and you finally settled on one. You walked over to the front of the house to place your picture in its designated area above your name. You signed, stepping back to look at it, fixing your gaze to see Draken was walking over with his hands in his pocket, looking as he was going to leave. You saw him glance at the photo making you feel slightly embarrassed.

“Nice.” he said smiling but looking into your eyes in a way where it looked like he was concerned for you. 

Just as you were about to thank him a man walked in and started looking at you making you feel nervous. The man requested you, and so you smiled at him pointing your hand to where the showers were, as you started to walk behind him, you turned your hand giving a thumbs up to Draken with a nervously flushed face, smiling, as he he brought his hand up giving you a thumbs up with soft and concerning eyes before opening the door and leaving. It made your smile fade slightly, you’ve seen that face before from him. But not from today.. And it was all you could think about during your work. 

As you laid in your room, after work you couldn’t help but feel a little bit...stupid? You felt so unsatisfied, not because of your customers but because you just couldn’t remember. It felt like an itch you couldn’t scratch hard enough, and with every interaction you had with the boy almost felt like a tease, like the itch just became more itchy and your scratches just became more weak. Maybe if you spend more time with him, you’ll remember? 

It had been about 4 weeks, 4 weeks of saving your money, and every 4 weeks the boss collected his fair share of the cut. It wasn’t a pretty 4 weeks, it was probably the worst 4 weeks of your life. But... you and Draken would often exchange stories about your lives late at night which you enjoyed a lot. It always makes you feel better. But yet again you still couldn't figure him out. You felt as though you’ve met him before, and as though you two have had these kinds of talks before. 

Draken only grew more and more helpless, seeing how you still haven’t remembered. He was slowly watching your life crumble. He felt so angry that you settled and believed you deserved to live like this, barely scraping by. He felt so awful, and saw how you grew so tired of it all. He just so badly wanted you to remember him, so that he could once again talk to you like he did before.

You had one last customer before closing, going through your usual routine, this n that, the man offered you a drink. You stupid obliged drinking it, hoping it would make your time more enjoyable but you were wrong, so very wrong, and so very stupid for drinking that stupid drink. You remember some parts, you did your job, then it all went black.. You woke up after hearing knocking on your door. You jumped out of bed, confused. You remember seeing the man leave as you started to fall asleep but that's about it. Usually you never fall asleep after the work because you never do much, your mind started to panic. But the door opened revealing Remi smiling.

“Hey sleepy! Boss says it’s your turn, come on, get your cash!” she said smiling 

“Right let me just..it’s in my drawer..I don't know why I fell asleep so fast I think alcohol makes me sleepy.” you said getting out of bed and kneeling in front of your drawer to get the envelope of cash you had been saving.

“Heh, same here. I never accepted drinks from clients..they never had good intentions with that!” she said coming over and sitting at your bed 

“..yeah.” you said starting to feel that panic arise in your body when seeing the envelope was...gone.

“What's wrong?” asked Remi noticing you were frozen 

“I- the money..It’s gone..he took it..” you said with wide eyes feeling as though you were about to sob realizing you had just lost thousands of yen.

“Don’t say that..it..it probably just got misplaced! Come on, I'll help you look!” said Remi getting up  

You couldn't even respond because of the amount of panic you were in. Your heart was racing and you felt tears fall from your eyes. After about 15 minutes of looking, you two found nothing. Absolutely nothing. You sat on the floor with your hand over your mouth, again, trying to keep a level head. 

What now..?

You thought to yourself feeling hot tears stream from your face.

“Hey..guys? Boss is calling for you Y/n..what’s going on?” asked Rema walking in seeing you covering your face, crying 

“She was robbed by the guy who just left, he put something in her drink to knock her out while he looked around and took the money...she doesn’t have the money.” said Remi 

Rema’s mouth parted in shock and pity. 

How could you mess up something so easy? All you had to do was keep your money safe. But you even failed at that. 

“You have to tell him, Y/n.” said Rema rubbing your back

“Yea..yeah, could you two just give me a second? I’ll be right out.” you said smiling while wiping your face 

“Sure.” they said frowning and walking out 

You fisted your hands, and grabbed your covers before screaming into them to muffle your sounds..

Okay..it was a couple of thousand yen...not too bad right? I can promise the money by tomorrow..I’ll pick up some sort of street job...yeah! That’s good. Everything is fine..it’s fine.

You thought to yourself before wiping your face on more time and slapping both sides of your cheeks to wake you up.

You got up and walked to the bosses door feeling the eyes of people on your back. You knocked on the door before opening it slowly, refusing to make eye contact as you went to stand in front of the man with your arms behind your back.

“Alrighttt, let’s see here, in the last four weeks you had a total of 37 customers, so you should have around 300,000 yen, correct?” he asked looking at his paper 

“Yes.” you said still looking down

“Alright, just hand it to me so I can count and divide it, you can sit.” he said smiling holding his hand out 

“I..I don-” you said before being interrupted by a knock 

“Come in.” he said 

“Hey sorry dad, Y/n left her money with me while she went out. Thought I should bring it to her. Remember, Y/n?” said Draken walking in with an envelop in his hand smiling as he came to stand next to you, as you nodded your head ‘yes’ 

“Oh, thank you Ken.” he said smiling and taking the envelop 

Your mouth parted as you gave a confused look, Draken only smiled and gave you a thumbs up while his dad counted the money. You felt so guilty and shocked, and all you could do was just stand there, like an idiot. 

“Here you are...120,000 back..” he said, patting the money on the table to make it flat, putting it back into the envelope and handing it to you

You hesitantly brought your hand to grab it, glancing over at Draken who gave you small smile

“Thank you-” you said to him seeing Draken was already opening the door to leave 

You quickly followed after him as he walked into his room. Before entering his room he turned around and looked down at you 

You felt your eyes soften as you felt as though you were about to cry again, you tilted your head and neck down biting the inside of your cheek to keep in your cry. 

“I promise I’ll pay all of it back by tomorrow, all 300,000.” you said 

“Do you ever give yourself a break?” he asked as you brought your head up to look at him seeing he looked almost irritated 

“You didn’t even ask why I did it, you just immediately jumped to feeling guilty. And you don’t need to pay me back. Really.” he said bringing his hand to close to the door, but you stopped him by grabbing his wrist making his breath hitch 

“Why?” you asked looking into his eyes 

“You still don’t remember? Even after all this time we’ve spent together?” he asked smiling as you took your hand off his wrist 

“Remember...?” you asked furrowing your eyebrows in confusion, but then it suddenly hit you

“I swear it wasn’t me! I didn't steal!” yelled a little boy with blonde hair as two cops stood in front of him 

You tilted your head and walked closer, but still keeping your distance to hear. It was a winter day and you were on your way to the corner store to buy some snacks, but you were met with an interesting scene. You kept your hands in your pockets as you listened over to the boy screaming and pleading his innocence 

“I wouldn’t steal something so stupid! What would a kid like me need a lighter for!! I don’t know how it ended up in my pocket! Lay off!” he yelled as the officer dangled the lighter in front of his face

A lighter?

“Keep it down! We know how troubled you kids are here! Especially with those tattoos!” yelled back the cop as the boy grew angry and fisted his hands, ready to punch the cop

“Hey!!!” he heard a voice yelled 

“Hey wait a minute!” you yelled waving your hand smiling as you ran to the scene 

“Can we help you?” asked one of the cops in a soft tone 

The blonde boy grew quiet, and you saw his hands loosen as he looked at your smiling face 

“Yeah, why are you two yelling at my brother?” you asked furrowing your brows at the two grown man 

“...Your so-called brother stole a lighter from the corner store right behind you, where are your parents? We would like to have a word with them.” he said standing up straight 

“Yeah, and talk about how they let their son tattoo himself already..” said one under his breath making the other laugh 

You looked over at the boy growing angry, you gave him a smile..making him calm down.

“He said it was just an accident, I asked him to pick up a lighter from the store so that we could light a candle at our father’s grave! See!” you said digging into your bag to pull out a candle 

“He probably felt pressured because I asked him to get it, so if you’re gonna get mad at someone, get mad at me!” you said as you started to fake cry 

“It’s our father's death anniversary, and you're yelling at kids for making a mistake.” you faked cried

“Yeah!!” yelled the boy making you smile under your hands as the two officers became anxious, feeling bad for what they had just done.

“..we’re sorry. Please let us apologize.” they said slightly bowing at you two 

“I don’t think we can accept it...you two also made fun of the dragon tattoo on his head!...dragons were our dads favorite animal. He risked his life fighting for Japan and you two are laughing at him! Is that how your mother taught you how to behave?” you asked pretending to wipe you tears as the blonde boy watched you in awe seeing you toy with grown men 

“Please let us treat you both to whatever you’d like from the corner store as an apology!” they both said bowing lower making you smile and look back at the boy. You gave him a thumbs up as a smile grew on his face 

“Fine..come on then?” you said as both the officers raised their heads, opening the doors of the corner store for you both 

You and the blonde boy walked around the store, filling your baskets with all types of things. The blonde boy watched you in just pure awe as you walked around picking your favorite snacks, as he did the same, glancing at you every now and then. 

“Here.” you said smiling at the cops 

“Right!” they said frantically taking out their wallets as the boy placed down his stuff nervously, still watching you

“Oh and-” you said reaching your hand to grab the lighter from the officer and placing it into the bunch of snacks 

You smiled, your hands were behind your back as you watched the officers pay for yours and the boys' food, placing them into bags for you guys too. You grabbed the lighter and your bag, as the boy did the same 

“Mom told us to meet her at the cemetery steps, remember?” you said looking into the boys eyes

“..yeah, I remember.” he said smiling feeling his face become hot 

“Let’s go then.” you said smiling and taking his hand as you two ran out of the store 

After a bit you two stopped and sat on the curbside while you both chose a snack to eat.  

“Here’s your lighter, you don’t have to stay with me by the way.” you said handing him the steel lighter 

“..Thanks” he said 

“Sure- what do you need it for anyway?” you asked smiling 

“My boss asked for it.” he said putting it in his pocket

“Oh, are you in some type of delinquent group?” you asked looking at him 

“Yeah..” he said smiling 

“That's cool, what do you guys do?” you asked taking a sip of your drink 

“We kinda just...like...do stupid stuff and fight..” he said 

“Sounds fun, but...stupid.” you said laughing making him scoff 

“Why’d you do it?” he asked 

“Do what?” you asked back turning you gaze to him 

“Come in to cover me. You could’ve gotten in a lot of trouble because of me.” he said with a frustrated face 

“You’re right, I just wanted to, that's all.” you said smiling making his mouth part and cheeks redden

“You seem pretty fun too so I thought we could be friends or something..” you said nervously 

“Yeah! Sure- We can be friends!” he said happily making you feel flustered 

“Well then, it’s nice to meet you, my name is Y/n, yours?” you asked holding over your hand 

“Ken, but you can call me Draken-” he said taking ahold of your hand gently as you gave him a closed eyed smile blushing 

“where the hell did you find that candle and com up with that whole sob story Y/n?”

“Dunno, I saw the candle on the ground by a newspaper, I kinda just winged it- “

After that day you remember hanging out with Draken almost every other day. You remember him telling you how he and his close friends started their own gang and needed some sort of funding, and so you gave it to him, on his birthday.

“I saved up! You said that you and your friends needed some money to start off so that you guys could buy a flag or banner? Right? Well, here’s 30,000 yen for your birthday!” you said handing him an envelope and a small balloon.

“Are-are you serious right now Y/n?” he asked taking the gifts, opening the envelope to look inside to see the money as his eyes lit up 

“Yeah, I babysit more kids now so I was able to put some aside for you.” you said smiling satisfied with his reaction 

He didn’t even say anything, all he did was bring his arms around you upper body, hugging you tight making you laugh as you brought yours to hug him back 

“Thank you- you’re the best! The guys will be so happy!” he said smiling while grasping your wrists in excitement. Your eyes traced over his face as they soften. You smiled. 

“Likewise.” 

And- after that, you remember the day you 2 separated as friends. You both sat on the curbside, you remembered you called him to come and see you. It was a winter night and the sun was going down. 

“I uh..well I don’t really know how to say this without sounding cliche but-”

“What? Are you gonna confess that you’re madly in love with me or something?” he asked grinning, making you sweat drop 

“Jeez be quiet...I’m trying to make this a memorable moment-” you signed smiling, placing your palms on the cold cement 

“Alright let’s hear it then Y/n-!” he said bringing his hands to the back of his head as he laid down looking up at the stars 

You only frowned slightly, you shifted your position so that you could sit beside him and have a good look at his face. 

“You’re scaring me..” he said jokingly making you smile 

“It was really fun the past year.” you said smiling as Draken shot his head up to look at you face to face 

“The hell are you talking like that for?” he asked furrowing his brows 

“My parents can’t afford living in any districts in Tokyo anymore, so we’re moving to another city… about 4 hours train ride from Tokyo so-” you said looking down at your hands on the floor

“So? You act like I won't be able to come and see you or you come and see me..” he said ducking his head a bit so that you could look at him 

“Draken, train tickets are about 220 yen per person, I can't afford it, and if you came by to see me I'd feel guilty because you’d be wasting your money just to only see me for like an hour.” you said 

“How can I be wasting my money on you? It’s not wasting if I wanna do it and see you, plus what makes you think it'll only be a couple hours?” he asked 

“I’ll have to start working once we get there, so I wouldn’t have anytime...I wanna start saving so that one day I can come back to Tokyo and live here, so that I can see your dream come true of helping your friend create a ‘new era of delinquents’ you know? I’ll even help you guys if you want with financial stuff or something.” you said smiling at him 

Draken bit the inside of his cheek. He wanted to tell you so bad how he felt but..

“Look, I have a feeling I know what you’re gonna say..just remember what you wanted to say and tell me later, okay?” you said placing your hand on top of his causing his eyes to widen 

“...You’ll remember me, right?” he asked looking into your eyes deeply making your mouth part 

“Yeah, I’ll remember you as long as you remember what you wanted to tell me. Cause I feel the same” you said smiling as a tear fell from your eyes 

“good...I will.” he said smiling back and tilting his head and wiping it off your face

After the memories hit you, you stood there with wide eyes and tears, with your wrist covering your quivering mouth. You had completely suppressed your memories of Draken, and your feelings because you knew you wouldn't be able handle being apart from him for so long. And he did the same. You couldn’t imagine how unbearable it was for him to be waiting up like this. You looked up at him seeing his eyes were softly looking at you. You could do nothing but bring your arms around him hugging him, as he brought his arms around you to do the same. You were still such in shock. 

“I never thought you’d end up in a place like this, living a life like this.” he said against your ear 

“I don’t wanna see you like this, please let me take care of you like you did for me..” he said said tightening his grip slightly  

You could only cry at his words, you didn’t even wanna try to speak because you knew it would only come out as a sob. Was it really alright for you to rely on someone so much?

He pulled back from the hug and looked at your face, seeing you were still crying as you nodded your head ‘yes’, he smiled and wiped them away with his thumb. The smile on his face...he looked so satisfied...and happy...happy that you finally remembered. Finally remembered him.

[chasingpj]

𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐳𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬

"I might spread a rumor about you and Percy rendezvousing at midnight. The Aphrodite cabin will have a hoot with that one."

pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader

words: 4,931

warnings: none

timeline: post sea of monsters

if you want to be tagged every time I update this story, click here

a/n: hi hi! this is part one of a self-insert series I'm working on. in this story, y/n is a child of hecate, and this storyline follows the books. the current timeline here is post sea of monsters and will continue through the Heroes of Olympus books. though it follows the original plot, y/n has her own storyline and quests. i tried to make y/n gender-neutral but as I continued to work on the timeline for this project, i had decided that this fic is for a fem reader. guys, this is really just me projecting my fantasy into fanfiction lol. i feel like this is a slow start?? and there is a lot of info dumped in this so bear with me. it'll get better and I'll be working to improve my writing as the series continues. I was on a writing hiatus for a really long time and I'm out of practice so this is my way to get back and hopefully, exceed the skills I had when I was a consistent writer. anyways, if you have any feedback, let me know! I'd love to hear what you think. as i get deeper into the series, i might ask for some suggestions on what to do with the fic. anyways, i'll stop rambling and i hope you like it!

Part One Part Two

You ignore the aching in your neck as your focus is fixed on the herbology book in front of you. You’ve been seated at your desk for Zeus knows how long reading and taking notes in your Book of Shadows, determined to finish reading it as fast as possible. Your half-brother, Alabaster, insisted that you need to memorize all the herbs and their properties before he can properly teach you how to use them in potions. Even though you understand its importance, you hated introductory work. You are itching to get to the real stuff, resulting in you glued to your chair, studying through the night as your cabin mates were fast asleep in their beds. But as determined as you are, Ambrose, your familiar, wasn’t much help. Ambrose whines as he rubs his head against your legs like a needy kitten, making it difficult to ignore him.

“What is it, Ambrose?” You whisper, sitting back in your chair in defeat. You take a second to massage the back of your sore neck before turning to face the translucent hound sitting attentively at your side. His tail sweeps the floor as it wags excitedly, and a short huff leaves his snout as if he was proud to have finally gotten your attention.

Your eyes meet his, racking your mind to figure out what Ambrose needs to tell you. At first, you thought he wanted to play, but you didn’t have time for that, so you decided to ignore him. Usually, after being ignored for a while, Ambrose will give up, finding something else to occupy him. But tonight, he was particularly persistent, and he’s only like this when he needs to tell you something.

Before you can ask what he wanted again, Ambrose gets up from his seated position, running over to the small table that stands beside your bed. You furrow your eyebrows, the first thing you notice when you walk over are your crystals neatly placed in front of your spell books as usual. Seeing them made you suddenly remember what you had planned to do.

You had told Ambrose to remind you to charge your crystals and collect water from the lake since there is a full moon tonight and of course, Ambrose being your loyal companion, did exactly that. Before looking down at the hound, who now is breathing heavily, his tail somehow wagging faster than before, you smile to yourself.

“I told you to remind me earlier, didn’t I?” Ambrose snorts and runs around your feet enthusiastically. You couldn’t help but giggle at his excitement as you reached down to pat his head. “Good boy. What would I do without you?” You continue to praise him, grabbing a black pouch and carefully placing the crystals in it. You put your index finger to your lips, signaling Ambrose to be a little quieter despite his excitement. If he accidentally wakes anyone up, then you definitely weren’t going to be able to fulfill your plans.

You bite your bottom lip as you tiptoe out of the aisle between the bunks. You look around the notoriously cramped Hermes Cabin to make sure your assumption that everyone was asleep by now was correct. It wasn’t hard to make out the faces of your cabin mates since seeing clearly in the dark was one of your many gifts, so you carefully walked along the bunks, being as quiet as you could. You are especially cautious as you approach the front where your cabin leaders, the Stoll brothers, slept. You study them for a second, knowing for sure Travis was asleep since he was snoring and loudly at that. Before you can check if Connor is asleep, you hear him shifting in his bed. You stand frozen in your spot, hesitantly looking over and you were expecting to be met with the usual mischievous grin. Instead, his back was towards you now. You have a feeling in your gut that he wasn't asleep, the timing of his moving was much too convenient. You really didn't want to wait any longer though so you decide that you might as well leave before he could stop you.

You turn on your heels, walking over to the window before you push it open. You cringe softly as the hinges creak, and you look back at the cabin to double-check if anyone has woken up from the sound. You sigh in relief when you see no one has moved, and you turn back to the window, carefully crawling out of it. This wasn’t unusual for you. You’ve done this so many times that using windows as a mode of exiting and entering a room was as natural to you as walking in and out of a door, and soon you were hopping down onto the grass. Your back is pressed against the cabin as you walk the side of it. You look up at the trees and the sky, eyes scoping around for any harpies hanging around. After deeming that you were alone, you begin making your way to the lake, Ambrose walking by your side attentively and cautiously to make sure you are safe.

The night was clear; the stars and especially the moon shone brightly in the sky. You sigh softly, taking in the stillness of the night, admiring the glistening lake reflecting the full moon placed above it. You’ve always enjoyed how quiet and cool the nights were, preferring it more than the daytime.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t avoid it as much as you wish to. Most of your siblings can agree with you that they’d prefer to sleep in most days so that they can study and practice their magic at night. However, that wasn’t the schedule of the Hermes Cabin. It was pretty impossible to sleep in since the mornings were always hectic. In fact, the cabin was just hectic, period. There was always something going on, whether it was an elaborate prank or the guys arguing over who gets to shower first after coming back from training which usually resulted in an intense game of rock, paper, scissors. You can’t say that you didn’t like it; at least you were entertained.

You also always had someone to talk to, and because there were often new campers coming in and out of there, you have easily familiarized yourself with a lot of the kids at camp. However, like your mother, you did enjoy and yearn for the occasional periods of solitude. As fun as living with the Hermes kids was, you and your siblings did find yourselves getting a little irritable at their shenanigans. It was at those times, you did wish that your mother, Hecate, had a designated cabin.

You and your siblings had always said if they ever got a cabin of their own, they would make sure everyone had separate rooms and would have designated spaces to socialize and practice their magic so that it was quiet for the most part. Alabaster, especially, was really passionate about this topic. He complained how it didn’t make sense that your mother wasn't recognized since you and your siblings were a powerful little bunch. You all needed a space to practice your magic and practice preferably at night since you were the most powerful at that time of day; you were also less prone to making mistakes in your spell casting at night. You agreed with him and would get upset about it sometimes, but the Hermes Cabin was a place you considered to be a second home. The communal feel of the space was something you enjoyed, it was one of the few places where you felt fully accepted which was rare to find being a demi-god with abilities like yours. In return to the Hermes Cabin welcoming you with open arms, you accept the inconveniently loud environment as an admirable quirk and went on with your days.

Then to compensate for the lack of silence and solitude, you would often stay up late, taking advantage of the quiet to focus on your studies. Even if you had to sacrifice the amount of sleep you got, you felt like it was worth it.

It doesn’t take you long to arrive at the dock, sitting down close to the end with your legs folded under you. You first collect lake water in a jar before carefully taking out the pouch's crystals. Assuming you had only a few left in the pouch after laying most of them on the dock, you tilt it with your hand under it, only for the crystals to come out all at once. You fumble, hands trying to bring them to your chest, but with your luck, one of your crystals falls right into the water with a plop.

“Dammit!” You peer over the edge and groan, Ambrose whining at your misfortune as he stands beside you. You look down at the water, noticing Ambrose’s and your dim reflection in it. There was no way you could get that crystal now because you didn't know how to swim, and you consider that maybe tomorrow you can convince your twin brother, Atticus, to look for it or Alabaster if Atticus refused, which you were expecting him to.

Your breath hitches at the back of your throat, jumping back as a head of dark hair abruptly pops up from right where you were staring. Ambrose barks loudly next to you, equally as startled, and your eyes widen. You stand up hastily at the realization that Ambrose's loud barks in the dead of night will catch the attention of the harpies, and right now, that was more important to you than the mysterious person that just sprouted up in the water like a zombie coming out of a grave.

“Shush! Ambrose, quiet!” Your frantic command was enough to make him stop with a whine, and you sigh shakily, turning towards the camp to check if there were any harpies.

“I think you dropped something.” Ambrose moves in front of you protectively, a low growl coming from his chest as he cautiously studies the person. You look back where the voice came from and to your surprise and your relief, you find that the mysterious person in the lake was no other than Percy Jackson. You never had a conversation with him before, but you definitely knew about him. It was kind of hard not to know who he is since he’s been the talk of the camp since he’s arrived. Your thoughts about him weren’t any different from most of the camp. You’ve seen him fight and use his powers during capture the flag, and you were just as impressed as everyone else. You did have to admit that you found him to be pretty cute too. His eyes were gorgeous, clear, and bright like a shallow, cyanic sea. You also found it adorable how his hair always looked a little disheveled.

Your (e/c) eyes met Percy’s green ones before looking at your rose quartz in his hand. You smile sheepishly, noticing the amused look on his face.

“Ah, yeah, that’s mine.” You walk over to him, but as you get closer, so does Ambrose, and his growls get louder. "Ambrose, heel. It's okay," you say softly, and he stops in his place, but his stance is still at alert, his eyes watching Percy cautiously. You pat Ambrose's head before walking past him and over to Percy. "Thanks," you smile, taking your rose quartz from his hand.

"No problem… I don't think your ghost dog likes me," Percy jokes, moving to look past your legs at Ambrose, who’s standing tall on your left side.

"Yeah, well, you kinda scared the crap out of us," you point out, amused. You take in Percy's goofy smile as he pulls himself up from the water, and you notice that he’s completely dry as he settles on the edge before turning his body to look at you.

“It’s y/n, right?” He asks, and you nod, figuring he’s probably heard about you in passing from Connor and Travis since he was friends with them too. “What are you doing out here so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing," you retort playfully, making him smile. You move to sit down where you were standing. You spread the crystals neatly on the wood, making a mental note to get them before you go to bed.

"I couldn't sleep, so I came out here to hang out, but then a hippocampus swam up. One of its friends got stuck in a fisher's net not too far from here, so I went to help," he explains, and you nod. "I told you my excuse, so what's yours?"

You hum, "It's a full moon out tonight, so I thought I should take my crystals out. I also needed moon water for a potion, so I collected some for that," you point over at the big mason jar full of lake water. "It’s not as cool as your excuse,” you say playfully.

A short laugh comes from Percy, and when you look up from your crystals, you notice he was looking at Ambrose again, who was still in his tense stance. Ambrose was especially protective of you and Atticus, and it wasn’t unusual for him to be cautious of the new people you come across. You assumed that Ambrose was particularly tense with Percy since he had successfully caught you both by surprise.

"Ambrose, relax.” You pat the top of his head to soothe him. "Lay down." Ambrose whines, licking your hand affectionately for a little, and you can tell he was still uneasy about the other. He was hesitant, but he follows your command anyway, laying down with his head on your lap.

"You can touch him?" Percy asks, his eyes wide and curious as he watches you pet Ambrose.

"Yeah, I can touch ghosts in general. My mother is Hecate, goddess of necromancy, along with magic, the night and the moon," you tell him. "This is Ambrose. My mother gifted him to me to be my familiar, kinda like a guardian." You look down at the hound, smiling softly as you scratch behind his ear softly.

Ambrose is a burly Molossian Hound who lived in the time of Alexander The Great. From what your father told you, his breed was well valued in Ancient Greek and Roman times and was often used in war. It is easy to understand why the breed was used in war. Ambrose is huge and muscular, about 6 feet tall when he stands on his hind legs, and he weighs around 200 pounds. At first, Ambrose can come off as a little intimidating. You remember how your siblings had avoided him when you first arrived at camp before they realized that he was the clearest definition of a gentle giant. Even though he was trained to fight when he was alive, he was still as gentle as a well-trained house dog unless he was given a reason not to be.

"When did you get him?" Percy asks, his eyes focusing on Ambrose’s translucent body that looked like it is made up of this gray swirling vapor. He couldn’t exactly wrap his head around how Ambrose’s head was comfortably propped up on your thigh.

"We met on the night I was on my way to Camp so about 2 years ago. Without him, my brother and I probably would have never made it to the borders.” You look up at Percy, meeting his eyes again; you watch as his face softens as he shifts to lean back on his hand.

"Really?" You hum and nod, ready to drop the conversation there, thinking you shouldn’t bore him with the details. You didn’t really like talking about it much, but the way he was looking at you made you feel like he was inviting you to continue talking.

"We got separated from our father at the gas station a couple of miles away from here. He went inside the convenience store to get us snacks, and while he was in there, a cyclops had found us, tried to grab us out of his car. We jumped out and ran into the woods nearby," you explain as you look out at the dark horizon.

You remember the sound of your father yelling after you and Atticus and how it broke your heart hearing, for the first time, such despair in his voice. You knew your dad didn’t want to bring you guys to camp, but he knew it was in Atticus’s and your best interest to come here and be with other people like you guys.

When you and Atticus started developing your powers, your father had simply told you guys that you were special and to refrain from using your telekinesis anywhere else but home. He didn’t say anything more until one night, you and Atticus had gotten in a screaming match about a reason you don’t even remember. However, in your screaming match, the both of you were so angry that a green aura had formed around you both, and books, magazines, even cutlery were being flown across the room because of the sheer energy you were admitting as a unit. It was then your father had decided to take you and Atticus to the camp to control and learn about your powers before you guys destroyed the house over a dumb argument like who’s turn is it to have the TV remote.

"We were more concerned about the monster hurting our dad, so we decided on a whim to run in the forest. My brother and I have telekinesis powers, and I aimed well enough to send a rock right at the cyclops eye. We lost him a little after that, but we didn't know where we were. We made too many twists and turns; we had no idea what direction we came from. And then, this buddy appeared out of nowhere from a distance. I saw him glowing from far away and couldn’t make out what he was, but I felt that I had to follow him. So we did, and he got us to camp with no detours for any other monsters. He's been with me ever since," you say, and a low whine comes from Ambrose’s mouth as he nuzzles the side of his face on your thigh contentedly.

Percy nods, and he huffs softly, "You guys got lucky. How old were you and your brother when you got to camp?"

"12, we're twins. We actually got here a couple of weeks after you did,” you mention. You watch Percy’s mouth curve into a half-smirk.

“Wow," he says, amused, and shakes his head. “So you have a twin and a dead dog, no fair," he jokes. You giggle, rolling your eyes playfully,

"Oh please, and you have crazy water powers. You’re completely dry after swimming! I think that's pretty envy-worthy."

"Hey-,” he shrugs, taking a second as if to form a protest. “I guess you're right,” he admits and laughs. You laugh with him, opening your mouth to say something else but unfortunately, you were interrupted by a screech echoing in the distance.

Both you and Percy stand up quickly, trying to figure out which direction it came from. “The harpies,” you both mutter in unison. You bend down to grab your things, and you look at Ambrose.

"Go distract them, bud," you tell him, and Ambrose jumps up to his feet, and you watch as he runs away, barking to get their attention. Just then, you see the wings of the Harpies coming up from the trees of the forest. You turn to Percy, grabbing his hand quick,

“Incantare: Transpectus!" You exclaim confidently, closing your eyes to envision you and Percy becoming transparent on the dock. You've never tried doing this spell before, but you've gotten better at visualizing and setting intentions, so you had some hope in yourself. You open your eyes, not feeling any different, and you hoped that you just didn't make a fool of yourself in front of Percy. But when you look down at your hand hesitantly and notice it was hard to make out since you were see-through like glass, you sigh in relief. You smile to yourself, more than satisfied that you were able to pull that off.

"Woah, are we invisible?" You look over at Percy, able to see him just fine since he was under the spell with you. Percy looks down at himself, eyes widened as he processes he can’t see his body anymore. You observe him for a second, finding it cute how he looked surprised and obviously entertained at the fact that he was completely see-through. You feel yourself growing a little flustered, trying not to focus too much on the fact that you were holding hands with him.

"Something like that. C'mon, it won’t last too long," you whisper, and your grip around his hand tightens as you guys begin running to his cabin. You hear the harpies screeching in frustration as they swoop down to try and grab Ambrose, only for their claws to go right through him. While the harpies were growing more annoyed, Ambrose, on the other hand, was having way too much fun, running in circles and barking at them as if he’s teasing.

"Man, I wish I had a ghost dog," you hear Percy mutter behind you as you arrive at the steps of his cabin.

"Yeah, Ambrose is pretty great," you admit, watching him play with the harpies before shifting your gaze over to Percy. "Thanks for getting the crystal for me." As much as you wanted to stay talking to him, you knew you couldn't stay too long. You were still eager to finish studying, and Ambrose can only hold off the harpies for so long.

"It was no problem. It was on my way up anyways," he shrugs, and you smile, trying to ignore the fluttering feeling in your stomach. You look down, the two of you still holding hands even though the spell wore off already. You awkwardly let go of his hand, shifting on your feet.

"Well, I'll see you around," you say sheepishly, fiddling with your fingers.

"Yeah, I'll see you.” His hand comes up in an awkward wave. You nod, returning the wave. Your eyes meet Percy’s green ones one more time before turning on your heels and walking down the steps of his cabin. You notice that Ambrose is now long gone into the forest, taking the harpies with him to give you time to rush to the other side where your cabin is.

As you hurry back to your cabin, you couldn’t help but smile to yourself as you replayed the interaction you just had with Percy, and you couldn't help but wonder when would be the next time you could talk to him.

You carefully hoist yourself up, climb back into the cabin through the window, sighing softly once you get in. You slowly close the window, your face scrunching at the creaking sound, but you successfully get it closed before turning around, only to be faced with Connor Stoll standing a few feet away with his arms crossed over his chest. You gasp loudly, almost dropping the mason jar in your hand, being startled for the second time tonight.

“Oh, look who’s back,” he says, his lips pulled in his usual mischievous smirk, his right eyebrow raised as if he's suspicious of you. You shift, giggling nervously under his graze,

"Hey, Con.” Shit. You knew he wasn’t asleep, and a part of you wasn’t surprised that he had caught you sneaking out again. You weren’t too worried since Connor wasn’t one to be strict or easily angered, neither was Travis, but you can understand if he did get a little upset with you since the cabin could also get in trouble, and he worried about you getting hurt.

"You leave so often, I'm starting to think you're seeing someone," he teases, and you furrow your eyebrows, not really sure what he was trying to get at.

"I'm not seeing anyone. You know what I do when I sneak out," you tell him, putting your hand out to show him the jar full of water. After being caught the first couple of times, you had explained to Connor why you occasionally needed to head out at night. He was understanding of your reasons, telling you to try and not sneak out as often. When he did catch you, he always kept your outings secret. It came with a price, though. You were sometimes stuck doing extra chores, especially anything that had to do with cleaning, since he hated doing anything that had to do with mopping or sweeping.

"So that wasn't you and Percy on the dock?" Your eyes widen, and you feel your face get hot again. You shake your head, stumbling over your words for a second.

"Uh… n- that was a coincidence!" You hear him snort, laughing quietly as if he didn't believe you. Even though he couldn't see your facial expression very well in this lighting, he can still tell how flustered you were at his sudden question.

"Yeah, sure," he says sarcastically, and he hums, "Anyways, what are you going to do for me so that I don't tell on you?" He asks, and your mouth drops open. Usually, he wasn't so forward, and he never threatened to tell on you. "I might spread a rumor about you and Percy rendezvousing at midnight. The Aphrodite cabin will have a hoot with that one."

You gasp, "Connor, are you blackmailing me right now?" You narrow your eyes at him, and he shrugs,

"I guess you can say I am." You shake your head, walking over to your desk to put down your moon water before turning toward him and crossing your arms in front of your chest.

"... what do you want?" You ask, expecting him to make you take up one of his chores. But from the way he was smiling at you, you can tell that there was something more he wanted, and you were beginning to worry.

"Help me turn the Ares Cabin into bunnies," he says, and you shake your head frantically,

"No way! Clarisse will kill me," you whisper. Connor smiles,

"No, she won't. She can't kill you if she's a bunny," he points out, and your face falls flat,

"They're not gonna stay bunnies forever," you say, and you fiddle with your fingers nervously at the idea of the outrage you'd get from the Ares Cabin after shifting back from being bunnies. "I don't know, Con. I don't even know if I can turn all of them into bunnies at once."

Connor waves his hand at you, dismissing your concern. "I don't care for the logistics now. We can work on that later, but you have to agree to at least help me," he says. "Or I'm telling everyone I saw you smooching Percy on the dock."

"What!? We didn't even kiss. We talked for like 5 minutes!" You whisper-yell, your reactions much too entertaining for him, and he was having a hard time holding in his laugh.

"Your decision, y/n."

You sigh, throwing your head back. You look at the ceiling for a second as you consider your two choices. And you decide that getting your head potentially put on a stick by Clarisse was better than the burning embarrassment of Percy thinking you're spreading rumors about kissing him. "Fine, whatever. I'll help you do the bunny thing," you mumble, your shoulders slouched.

Connor nods with a proud smile on his face for trapping you into helping him. "Good choice. I will be going back to sleep now. Good night… again," he announces, turning on his heels and walking over to his bed. You frown a little as you walk back to your desk to study. Plopping down onto your chair, you decide that you’ll worry about Connor’s little plan later so you can focus on your studying. After a while, Ambrose comes trotting in, joining you by the desk as usual. You smile at him, praising the other for distracting the harpies for you before he lays down, his head laying on your foot.

As you study, you find that you couldn’t help your mind drifting back to Percy once and a while. You deem that there was no way that you could have a crush on him since you guys have only spoken once. In the midst of your internal debate to decide what you felt for him, you suddenly remember the crystal that was retrieved for you. You remember how Percy presented it to you, holding it out for you with his fingertips. It was your rose quartz. What a coincidence. You smile, rolling your eyes as you tell yourself that you’re thinking too much into it. You look over, noticing the dim illuminating light of the beginning sunrise shining through the curtains. You sigh, deciding that you should probably get to sleep and take advantage of the maybe, four hours of sleep you’ll get tonight. You close your herbology book before making your way to your bed, and with a soft sigh, you retreat under the covers, and finally, you surrender to your drowsiness.

masterlist

[dreamsoflevi]

Love Was Not Enough | Part 1

Summary: A titan shifter is working in the Scout Regiment with a plan. Growing up with hate for Paradis takes a complete turn when falling for a certain Captain and developing friendships. Is it too late to make a change?

Word Count: 4.2k

CW: Some fluff, angst, mentions of violence, description of an emotional breakdown, stress.

Author’s Note: My first post on Tumblr! I’m so slow when it comes to using Tumblr lol. Starting off with an angsty story because it's raining and gloomy. It was supposed to be an one-shot but it ended up being super long. There will be 1-2 more parts. Hope you enjoy! ♡

You loved him.

You really did.

You still do.

When you first met him, you were surprised this was the person everyone was referring to when they would mention Humanity's strongest soldier, Captain Levi. His aloof and brash attitude would prove those thoughts drilled in your head about the devils in disguise living amongst the lands as you. He didn't care for anything and he wouldn’t hesitate to remind you of that. “You will become titan shit.” His exact words spat to your face. Who does he think he is?

You were exceptional at what you did, full of intellect and skills landed you on his squad along with a group of newer cadets. The 104th cadets. You were all replacements for his previous squad who were killed by the female titan, your comrade Annie during the 57th expedition. You were trained for this after all. You were prepared and you had a plan along with a few others. Secret glances, nods, and meetings were shared amongst you four any chance you could get.

You ended up befriending a few too. A shy yet wise Armin, an extremely passionate Eren, a wild and resourceful Sasha, and some others. A bunch of children putting their lives on the line for a better tomorrow, a hopeful future. Aren’t you doing the same too?

During expeditions, you would watch Captain Levi swinging through trees on his ODM gear, slicing through the napes of every titan he landed his eyes on. Now you understand why he is humanity’s strongest. Slicing through titans without a struggle and with immense strength and speed.

He'd frantically look around making sure the others were okay. He'd shout the names of his squad and any other names he could remember hoping to get a shout in return. The panicked look on this face when he would hear screams and race to the source of them. Maybe he does care. When returning to the walls, you could see him grimace watching the gates open only for it to quickly change back to his normal neutral expression.

-

“L/N!” A voice breaking your thoughts as you walk back inside the headquarters after training. You turn around to see Captain Levi standing behind you with a small stack of papers in his hand.

“Yes, Captain?” You wiped the sweat off your forehead with your sleeve.

“Are you doing anything after this?”

You shook your head. “No, sir. Do you need anything?”

“Yes. Deliver this paperwork to Commander Erwin. He should be in his office now.” He handed you the small stack of papers he was holding.

“Yes, sir.” You nodded your head grabbing the papers and walking in the direction of Commander Erwin’s office.

Approaching his office, you knocked on his door. You heard a deep voice respond and turned the knob to enter. Opening the door, you see the distressed Commander sitting at his desk. One hand resting on his forehead and the other scribbling away. He glances up and sees the stack in your hands.

“Ah, thank you (Y/N), I was waiting for these.” Raising his hand in anticipation of the papers.

You walked up to his desk handing it to him. “No problem, Commander.”

You look around his messy desk. Papers spread all around, empty teacups resting on the side, and two ink bottles sitting on his desk. Your eyes take a peek at his face, dark circles under his eyes, and his hair slightly messed up. You couldn’t help but feel bad for him. No. You try shaking those thoughts away. They are the devils and we are paying for their actions.

But you take another look at him. Imagine being in his position. Are you aware of what your ancestors did, Commander? He’s shuffling through the small stack of papers that were just handed to him. You can see the squares and circles in the form of a large triangle. The formations. The lives and the future of thousands rest upon this single man’s shoulders. Of course, he has to spend hours on end meticulously planning the expeditions and making sure the formations are properly formed. A plan for a better tomorrow, a hopeful future. Don’t you want that too?

You internally sigh in defeat. “Um... Commander?” You nervously play with your fingers.

“Yes, (Y/N)?” He looks up at you, hand still holding the quill and the other now resting on the desk.

“Do.. do you need help? I just finished training and If you need help, I…” You bite your lip, your nerves getting the best of you as his eyes remain in contact with yours.

The curves of his mouth turn upwards. “If you can, please.” He gestures to the seat in front of him.

You flash him a smile, nod your head and take a seat. He hands you a stack of papers. “For these, you just need to write today’s date under the line where it says date received. Then organize them alphabetically.”

That’s where you found yourself at least twice a week. Helping the commander out whenever you could, organizing his paperwork, and filling them out whenever he needed you to. Sometimes you would work in complete silence. The sounds of pens scribbling, paper shuffling, and the sips the Commander took of his tea. Sometimes he would tell you a little story about his life and of his childhood. He would speak of his father being a major inspiration in his life and the reason he pushes forward every day. He had a sudden death, though the Commander never told you why, you can imagine it was a traumatic one for him.

A couple of months pass by and you are now sitting in the Captain's office. Coming into Commander’s office one day and seeing his surprisingly organized desk for once and him telling you that he didn’t need any assistance today. However, Captain Levi might need help with the reports from a previous expedition. Nodding your head and giving a quick salute, you made your way to Captain Levi’s office.

Working with Captain Levi was soothing. His office was very neat. Paperwork in his office sitting on his desk in organized piles. You can smell the faint scent of lemon which was refreshing. You visiting his office became a more frequent occurrence since he appreciated the assistance he would receive though he’d never tell you that. He would have a stack ready for you set up on the side table in his office. He was not much of a talker like Commander Erwin nor was he someone who reminisces his life it seems.

However, you would still have conversations here and there. He would ask about how you were feeling with training and if you dared to complain about the exercises he was giving, he would simply tell you to get better with the exercises or get eaten. Then realizing his bluntness and the silence that filled the room after, he would elaborate on his statement.

What he means is, he would say, these exercises help with increasing stamina and balance that will aid us on the battlefield. Outside the walls, anything can happen. Titans pop out of nowhere catching you off guard and little mishaps like getting tangled, being too slow, or even aiming your anchor wrong can lead to a fatal mistake. You could agree with that.

“(L/n), why did you decide to join the scouts?” He asked without looking up from what he was doing.

You stilled for a second and looked up at him. His eyes were still on the paper in front of him. This question always catches you off guard even if you rehearsed it so many times. It makes you nervous and vulnerable as if the person asking can see right through you and your facade.

“Same reason as everyone else, sir.” He glanced at you now and you immediately looked back down at the paper in front of you. You tried to avoid as much eye contact as you can.

He cocked an eyebrow. “Which is?”

“F-freedom.. from the titans.” You heard a scoff.

“Now you sound like Eren.” He was still looking at you. You dared to meet your eyes with his. He still had a stoic look on his face but there was curiosity simmering in his eyes. He was waiting for an answer. You had no choice but to give one. How would you say it though? You don’t want to lie. Captain Levi can be very perceptive and you’re sure he could see through your facade.

You bit your lip. “I… I want a better future for myself, my loved ones, and future generations. All my life, I’ve experienced confinement and.. oppression. But I have been given the power- er, the opportunity I should say to aid in defeating our e-enemies and... and I hope to accomplish that to live a more liberating life.”

He remained in eye contact with you without saying anything. The silence was deafening in the room and you hoped he would say something. Each second of silence was building the temperature in your body as your nerves were starting to get the best of you. Your chest was burning and you could feel a bit of sweat forming on your scalp. Did you say the wrong thing? Or maybe you said too much? Why isn’t he saying anything?

Your lips parted in anticipation to say something. But what else were you going to say? Before you can process what you are going to say, he hummed and looked back down at his work.

“You are right. We all have the same reason, more or less. To break out of these confined and oppressive walls and defeat these shitty titans. Whatever is out there must be better than what we live in now.”

You internally sighed. It’s not better but hopefully, it will get better. I guess we have the same mission, just different targets. You and everyone else here being mine Captain. You felt your throat dry up. Can you imagine killing these people? Watching Captain struggling on his last breath? Commander Erwin? Hange? Connie, Sasha, Jean, Armin? But your ancestors... Now you are suffering because of these devils.

Shaking your head of these thoughts, you try to focus back on the paper in front of you. “Ar-” You cleared your throat. “Armin believes there’s a sea out there.”

He snorted. “That kid and his shitty dream...” You could see a hint of a smile forming on his face. “Who knows, maybe there is.”

You come to realize that he’s not rude, he just doesn’t know how to express himself. His actions speak louder than words and you can’t help but grow a lot of respect for him. But he’s still a devil. But he has a heart and he cares for every single person in this regiment, including you. It doesn’t matter. They caused your people pain and betrayed them.

-

A perk of being on Captain Levi’s squad is getting to sit on meetings planning the expeditions. Commander Erwin would call these meetings for input on observations made from previous missions. Armin enthusiastically shares what he learns from the missions. Plans are being formed around Eren and his abilities. He’s learning new things about what he can do every day and recently he learned about hardening abilities from Annie. Working with Hange to train how to harden properly to be able to plug walls in the future.

They have no idea though. No idea what is beyond these walls, where these titans come from, where do they go, or anything else. They are risking their lives for the answers, the answers that you already know.

Walking through the dark hallways, you step into the mess hall. There sitting on a table in the dimly lit corner were Reiner and Bertholdt. The ones on the mission with you alongside Annie.

“Where have you been lately?” Reiner asked as you sat down on the bench. You usually had these meetings at least once or twice a week, but since Annie was captured, things have gotten more hectic. In fear of getting caught or being busy with so many tasks, you haven’t had the chance to meet with them as often as you should.

“Sorry.. I’ve just been swamped with training, meetings, and helping the higher-ups with their paperwork.”

Reiner narrows his eyes at you. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with them lately.”

“Yeah but I’ve managed to learn a few things.”

“Like what?”

“Well, Eren is close to figuring out his hardening abilities. Hange had taken the sample from Annie but she didn’t get far with that. Now she and Eren are working together to see how Eren can unlock his own ability.”

Reiner hummed. “If Eren learns how to harden, he could start landing attacks on me. He’d still be no match for Bertholdt though.”

You nodded in response. There was an awkward silence. No one had much to say which was a huge difference from before when you had to plot your next moves and practice your stories together. Usually, Reiner was the one who would come up with the plans and assign tasks to the rest of you three. This was before the fight between Eren and Annie. You didn’t expect Annie to lock herself into the crystal.

You looked at Reiner who seemed to be deep in thought. “What are you thinking?”

He sighed. “I think another attack is coming soon.”

Bertholdt and your eyes widen. “Are you sure? Isn’t it a little too quick, Reiner?” Bertholdt wearily asks. You nod your head in agreement.

“They already have Annie. We need to get Eren and try to get Annie out of there as well.”

“Yes!” Bertholdt interjects. “We do need to save Annie.” Bertholdt always had a soft spot for Annie. You have an inkling he has a crush on her because he gets flustered and avoids the topic every time it’s brought up.

You don’t know if you’re ready for another attack. The last one was devastating. The fight between Eren and Annie destroyed so many homes and lost lives. Children losing their parents, parents losing their children, lovers lost… It is heartbreaking. You don’t know if you can stomach another attack at this point. What are you saying? That is what you’re here for. You need to do this for your people back home. You let out a long exhale and close your eyes.

“It bothers you too, doesn’t it?” You open your eyes to Bertholdt looking at you.

“They are people… just like us.”

You nod your head meekly. “Just like us.” You repeated in a whisper.

Reiner sighs. “And they have no clue what is happening.”

“No clue.” You and Bertholdt breathe simultaneously. You three sit in silence, all three of you lost in your own thoughts. Why did it have to be us?

-

During training you noticed Captain Levi limping a little more than usual. Since the 57th expedition, his leg has been in bad shape. He still supervises your training and some days, he can walk properly and some days he’s limping. You turn back to your task at hand, slicing through the titan dummies set up.

“(Y/n)! Straighten your back!” He yells from the field and you obey, straightening your back while you and Connie swing to the titan dummy.

“Oi Sasha! You have to aim your anchors a bit higher!”

“Mikasa, don't go too fast!”

The comments usually went like that for the entire training session. Watching all of you train and critique your performances. You’re not going to lie, it was a pain in the ass. But you noticed it does help you outside of the walls. Captain Levi is good at what he does. He’s perceptive and knows exactly what to do and when. He is a natural titan killer. Being able to take down small to abnormal and maybe even ones like you. After you were done, you all were panting and sweating while walking back to the field.

“Phew! That was some training today,” Connie wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

Jean clicked his tongue. “That was nothing! Probably too much for you right Yeager?” He smirked at Eren.

Eren rolled his eyes. “You wish, Jean boy. That’s why you’re drenched in sweat.”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

You all groaned as Eren and Jean started arguing for the fifth time today. The first two times Armin tried to interject to try and diffuse the argument but at this point, even he gave up.

“You’re on Yeager. After dinner, we’ll have an arm wrestling match.”

“After dinner,” Eren confirmed. “Don’t horse around Kirstein.”

“Shut up titan freak.”

“Are you ladies done bickering?” Captain Levi glared at them with his arms crossed. Eren clicked his tongue and Jean muttered under his breath. Captain narrowed his eyes at them, a warning to fix their attitudes. They immediately straightened their backs.

“Yes sir!” A few of you silently giggled watching them get scolded by Captain Levi.

Watching them with a smile, you loved the banter between Eren and Jean. Despite the arguments, you know deep down they have respect and admiration for one another. It’s distinctly shown during battle when they are looking out for another. Even during Eren’s fits of rage, Jean is understanding and never attacks Eren for his impulsive decisions. He might get a little bit of teasing though.

They were very friendly with you too. Always giving you a pat on the back or a cheesy grin whenever they see you. Looking back at you when riding through the gates to make sure you’re okay or screaming your name to make sure you are fine when fighting titans. And let’s not forget Jean’s flirty nature. His love for Mikasa is strong but he can’t help it when he sees any walking and breathing female. Just kidding. He’s not that girl crazy.. maybe. It’s too soon to decide that.

I think another attack is coming soon. You heard Reiner’s voice suddenly appeared in your mind. You suddenly started feeling a bit nauseous. Another attack on these people. These people you are considering your friends. You felt the salty taste in the back of your throat. Trying to calm your nerves, you took some deep quiet breaths. It wasn’t helping. It was getting harder to swallow with your throat tightening. You silently walked back hoping no one starts a conversation with you. As soon as you get back, you were planning on taking a very, very cold shower.

Grabbing your clothes, you ran into the showers. Breathing hard and with shaking hands, you turned the shower knob. The cold water hitting you and startling you for the first few seconds. You can’t. You can. You can’t. You have to. But these people, you can’t do that to them now. Not when they are just started to grow on you. They were normal people with normal feelings. They’re not… devils? Yes, they are.

You remember the attack in Trost. The chaos that spread through the walls. These same cadets hopelessly try to fight the titans. You were all newly graduated. Thomas getting eaten by a titan. Screams and cries filled your ears along with the sounds of loud thumps and bone-crunching.

When you were discussing things with Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie, poor Marco being in the wrong place at the wrong time. How devastated Jean was losing his best friend and not knowing ultimately it was you three that led to his death. Not only his but everyone else’s. The way Armin looked when Eren sacrificed himself to save him.

Can you do this again?

A sob escaped from your throat. Tears flew down your cheeks getting mixed in with the water. You are no different than them, aren't you? The blood of these innocent lives on your hands. But they were the reason for all this, no? Except they don’t know. Is it justifiable blaming them for something that happened so many years ago? While you are oppressed by the Marleyeans, they are oppressed by these titans. Aren’t you any different from the Marleyans then? Punishing innocent people for things out of their control?

Leaning your head on the tiled wall, you needed to make a decision. Whose side are you on? No, whose side do you want to be on? Do you want to continue the same treatment you received? Do you want to be the reason a child loses their mother? Their father? You need to make a decision and make it quick. You grabbed the soap bar and cleaned yourself off. You will make a decision. You just need time.

After your shower, you remembered you were going to go to Captain Levi’s office to help him with his paperwork. You also remembered how he was limping badly today. Before going into his office, you decided to make a trip to the infirmary.

Asking the nurses for some balm for Captain Levi’s leg, you grabbed a small jar and made your way to his office. What’s the reason for this? Are you trying to relieve some of the guilt eating away at your conscience?

Entering his office, he offered a small greeting before pointing to the paperwork that needed to be done today. Before getting seated at the table, you walked over to his desk and held out the small jar. With an eyebrow raised, he looked at the jar in your hand.

“It’s for your leg. You were limping today and I thought this might help sir.”

He took the jar from your hand. The curves of his mouth turned upward, not enough to call it a smile since he hardly ever did. “Thank you.”

Thank you. You felt your heart flutter. You barely hear words of acknowledgment from him and you can’t help but feel happy that you were on the receiving end of them. So what? Why do you care? Because you do admire him. After all, he was your Captain and you respect him. And he is looking nicer than usual in his black suit and cravat. What? Are you okay? You’re just acknowledging his looks. It means nothing-

Wait, he said thank you. You need to answer him instead of disputing with your own self.

“It’s no problem.” You smiled at him and walked over to your seat and began working.

-

That is how things went for a while. You have been avoiding Reiner and Bertholdt any chance you can get because you were unsure of how to explain the inner turmoil you are having with yourself. You are close to walking away from it all, officially dedicating your heart to the Scouts, to Commander Erwin, to Paradis. You are willing to throw it away. Your family, friends, and everyone else back home. They don’t understand what you’re going through. The struggle you are facing. It’s easy to be on the other side of things but when having to see these losses head-on, it’s gut-wrenching.

You managed to get even closer to everyone. Sharing laughs and jokes with your squad during breakfast and dinner, working with Commander Erwin more closely and offering suggestions when he’s planning the formations, engaging in more conversations with Captain Levi, and even spending time in Hange’s office.

“Oh! Hello again (Y/n)! Guess what Eren is doing today!” Hange exclaimed while wrapping her arm around Eren’s neck. Eren holding onto her arm trying to relieve some pressure on his neck.

“What is he doing today?” You gave Eren a little smirk.

“Drinking a lot of water. We’re testing out his pee!” She shoved a large canteen into Eren’s chest.

“Pee? Wait, why?”

“Because Eren, we’re tested your blood but we haven’t received consistent results. So we are going to try your bladder. So drink up! We need at least a liter.”

“A liter?!” Eren squeaked.

Hange cackled. “A liter indeed!”

“(Y/n), do you want to help Eren out?” She flashed a grin at you.

“Sure,” you shrugged. “What do I have to do?”

“Just make sure he drinks this entire canteen of water. And if he doesn’t..” her smile dropped and she grimly looked at you, “Force him.”

Eren managed to drink the canteen of water and he also managed to give a liter of urine samples. Unfortunately, Eren had to run to the bathroom every half hour for the rest of the day. This resulted in a very irritated Captain Levi and a snickering Jean.

“What experiment did four eyes do on the shit head today?” He asked you when you walked into his office.

“She needed urine samples from Eren so she forced him to drink an entire canteen which is a gallon of water in one hour.” You grinned while grabbing your stack of papers.

He cringed. “Poor Eren.”

You snapped your neck to look at him in shock. “Did you just have sympathy for someone, Captain?”

“Oi, shut it. Don’t get mouthy with me.” He teasingly pointed a finger at you.

You snickered, taking your usual seat at the table. “I mean… It’s Hange. I always have sympathy for anyone who works with her. Look at poor Moblit.” He chuckled.

His chuckle rang through your head. He chuckled. You quickly caught your thoughts and felt heat rushing up to your cheeks for getting flustered about him chuckling. Why are you feeling like this?

“Captain, what’s the occasion? I don’t think anyone has ever heard you laugh.” You grinned at him.

“That wasn’t a laugh.” He immediately responded while scribbling on papers.

“Fine. A chuckle.” You rolled your eyes and began shuffling through the papers and organizing them.

“Well feel special I guess. You heard your captain chuckle.” He mockingly repeats the word in your tone.

Special. You smile. I do feel special.

[icequeenbae]

Daddy’s Struggles (m) | BBH

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader

Dad!Baek, domestic au, established relationship (duh), a slice of life, fluff, a lil smutty(!)

Warnings: some friskiness between mom and dad if you know what I mean, mentions of teenagers watching porn (I’m not promoting it, you guys lol), also this gets fluffin’ sweet get a bucket in advance

Word Count: ~2.2k

Summary: Baekhyun overhears your teenage daughter watching porn. You have to handle a small crisis.

Event: the BBH day @supermwritersnet​

© Please do not copy/ post on other platforms without permission.

Author’s Note: This… came out of nowhere:D I blame my dear beta @baekshoney​​ – we'd once discussed the idea of Baek being a teenager’s parent (in relation to a different story). Don’t we all love dilf Baek though? lol Anyways, this is a tiny glimpse into his future as a cute af father and husband <3 Let’s name him puppydad!Baek 😊 I hope this lifts your mood a little on a day like this!

On that note – happy birthday to our genius idol (aka mochi-cheeked hyperactive puppy), I wish that he stays healthy and happy and on the radar throughout the next 2 years (and forever)!! Don’t be too sad, guys, he’s hopefully going to finally lead a somewhat normal life for a bit 💞 Ok, I’ll let you get to it already~

A yawn.

You rubbed your tired eyes and dictated a reminder for tomorrow morning to your AI assistant. It was pretty late and you had your hands full all day with your kids. And while family time was always great, there hadn’t been a spare moment for you to tend to your own business. But two decades of dealing with your hyperactive yet loveable children (and husband) taught you to make the most out of what you got. So you were doing just that, organizing your errands and sorting important emails after everyone had scurried off to their rooms, and your husband — to the shower.

Baekhyun was quite exhausted himself, so you realized he must’ve gotten in the common bathroom by the time you exited the one in your bedroom. He did that sometimes when you locked the door out of habit. Not that he couldn’t come in, it was just… You used to scold him pretty badly for breaking into the bathroom. Picking locks wasn’t something you wanted your juniors to acquire as a habit. They had enough of their daddy’s traits as it was.

The thought made you chuckle. Your eldest son had already outgrown his father by at least five and a half – gotta be precise here! – centimeters (which made daddy very proud, but also a teeny tiny bit jealous). Despite his height, which, you were sure, was going to break the golden 180cm in the next few months, your boy’s build was exactly the same as Baekhyun’s. His shoulders were broad, his hips wide, and his waist was naturally narrow. Legs long and lean, and eyes always mischievous. He was eighteen and already seemed more like Baekhyun’s best friend rather than his child. Being both the hyung and the oppa of the household, he was the most mature out of the bunch, and always a big help to his parents.

Your middle child, your precious daughter, resembled you a lot. Her wavy hair and her big eyes with the longest eyelashes either of you’d ever witnessed. Seriously, that was the first thing Baekhyun’s friends had commented on when they came by to meet your new baby. ‘Is this even normal? Can she see through those? That’s one pretty baby!’ She was even prettier now, at her sweet sixteen, cheeks still a bit chubby, which – just as her button nose – were definitely an homage to her dad. Not to mention her hands that were even more delicate and exquisite than his.

The youngest, your six-year-old son, was a blessing. You weren’t planning to have more children after the first two until you suddenly thought… why not? Cannot say that you weren’t a little bit under the influence at the time. It was one of those rare weekends when your kids had a sleepover at their grandparents’, so you had the whole house to yourself. Deciding to have a domestic date and enjoy shameless daytime drinking, you indulged in a whole glass of wine before both of you were tipsy and giggling, then you added one more to the mix. At that point, all kinds of crazy things were brought up.

‘We should do this more often…’ You informed your partner. ‘This is exciting! We can walk around naked the way we used to before we had teenagers in the house!’

‘I miss our naked Saturdays…’ Baekhyun whined, almost spilling his wine while trying to sip it gracefully. ‘Now I barely even see you naked with your shower locking obsession!’

Pursing your lips, you dismissed his complaint.

‘After that incident… You cannot blame me for my caution.’

The incident was, well, your son needing to use the bathroom while his sister was taking too long and heading to the one in your bedroom. He nearly walked in on… an adult scene.

‘He didn’t even see anything, Y/N-ah,’ your husband grumbled, but you waved him off, downing your drink as if it was a shot of tequila rather than a glass of wine.

‘I don’t see a problem though,’ he blinked at you, not following. ‘We’re alone. Why not… See each other naked again?’

‘Right. We can also- Y/N-ah!’

‘What?’ You eyed his suddenly enthusiastic form with nothing but suspicion.

‘We can create a distraction!’

‘Hm?’

‘A distraction for them. So that they’d be busy with something else while we’re away.’

‘Hmm?’ You still couldn’t locate the source of his excitement.

‘Lemme show you,’ he slurred, tugging on your wrist to get you up and dragging you to the bedroom.

Let’s have another baby – that was his brilliant idea. Had you both not been such poor drinkers, one of you would’ve thought this through.

Nevertheless, you were glad that you didn’t. Because your little angel, who could sometimes be more of a tiny demon, to be frank, was the single sweetest thing to ever exist on planet Earth. He had his entire family wrapped around his little finger, and you – most of all. How could anyone blame you? That troublemaker was the spitting image of his dad and had a personality to match — just as playful and affectionate.

The chill spring breeze from the window licked at the bare skin of your arm, causing you to shiver slightly, coming back from the land of reminiscing. You stretched on the bed, noticing how protruding your nipples became from the cold even while hidden by the gentle fabric of your nightgown. Pulling the covers up, you grunted under your breath, wondering what was taking Baekhyun so long.

Just as you did, the door cracked open, and your husband sauntered into the room.

‘Ah finally, I thought I needed to go rescue you again,’ you chuckled.

That had happened before. He once used the common bathroom to shower before bed and ended up captured by your daughter, who was around six or seven at the time, in the hallway. She then demanded cuddles, knowing that her father was too weak to turn his precious girl down and send her back to bed. You found them both huddled up asleep on the couch, with your husband’s head tilted dangerously to the side. Terrible sleeping postures always had consequences, so you spared him the agony of the next morning, waking him up mercifully and helping to get your little girl to her bed. This was only one of many occasions – Baekhyun was a softie.

This time, however, he was a bit stupefied.

He didn’t react to your remark and seemed like he was going on autopilot when he came closer and sat on the bed.

You lifted the covers, inviting him to join you, and he followed your lead, still staring at the wall across the room.

‘Yeobo,’ you called, getting slightly alarmed. ‘Are you okay?’

He blinked, the stupor breaking, and looked at you with astounded eyes.

‘I- I think,’ he began, making you shift to face him properly. ‘I think I just overheard our daughter watching porn!’

His voice lowered to a whisper by the end of that sentence.

‘Oh my god,’ you whispered back. ‘How do you figure?’

‘I was walking down the hallway, and I thought I heard something from her room. I didn’t fully register what it was, but now that it processed… It was definitely porn!’

The signs of distress on his face almost caused you to break down in a fit of laughter. You held it in with all you got. Fathers and daughters, the eternal struggle.

‘First of all, ew. Aren’t you even a little bit ashamed to be eavesdropping on your kids like that?’ You didn’t let him protest. ‘Also, how do you even know it was porn, you know she sometimes mumbles and whimpers in her sleep. Like someone else we know…’

Giving him a pointed look, you leaned over his chest to turn the lights to the lowest mode, leaving the room dimly lit. It was always effective when you wanted to help him relax.

‘I wasn’t ea- And you think I can’t tell what porn sounds like? There are some generic… sounds. That give it away.’

‘When was the last time you watched it?’ You murmured, eyeing him curiously.

Of all people, you knew best how short his attention span was. Sometimes it could work to your advantage. Like right now, when you needed to de-escalate this before you could reason with him.

‘I- wh- I don’t know, probably when you were pregnant,’ he recalled. ‘The third one was somehow the toughest on me. You looked way too attractive for a heavily pregnant lady, let me tell you.’

‘Heavily pregnant??’ You scoffed, softening right after. ‘Well, you have a point, he was pretty huge. I swear, if he doesn’t grow up to be taller than Chanyeol, I’d be offended. That boy’s giant head prolonged my healing by at least a month.’

Baekhyun sighed and looked up at the ceiling, thinking back to that time.

‘He was the only one who caused you to tear, right?’

‘Yeah. Which is weird, considering that he was my third one. Ah well, I guess I’m not getting any younger…’

‘Aren’t you though? I’m constantly being asked about my pretty young wife,’ Baekhyun smiled at you charmingly. ‘And you only became prettier after the third pregnancy. I say it’s the hormones.’

Your cunning little plan was working. He was incredibly easy to distract.

‘Tell me the truth, was it the boobs? Or my butt? I did gain the most weight with the little daredevil, that’s for sure.’

‘It was all of you. You always looked so sexy when pregnant, I just wanted to have you all to myself,’ he cooed at you. ‘To feed you handpicked strawberries. And smother you with kisses. My beautiful young wife.’

At some point during this conversation, you shuffled closer to each other, now cuddled up snugly on the bed. Your finger slowly traced abstract patterns on his chest, happily exploiting the access to his skin where his pajama shirt was unbuttoned.

‘Ah, you’re just saying that to get under my nightgown,’ you batted your eyelashes at him, and he shook his head.

‘Maybe a little, but that’s true. And it’s not surprising that people are noticing – you are younger than me.’

‘A couple of years is nothing at our age,’ you murmured, bending your knee and moving your leg slightly up his to get cozy.

‘Well, you know what people say… Small kids make parents younger. Wanna have another one?’ He nudged you gently and laughed at the dirty look you gave him.

‘Yeobo- please don’t make jokes like this. I’d rather look for other elixirs of youth than go through that entire ordeal again.’

You knew that he was kidding, but the thought made you shiver.

‘I know, honey, I know. Like I said, you’re not in need of any elixirs.’

At this you relaxed, melting into his shoulder, and guiding his arm to wrap around you, warming your exposed shoulders.

‘Well, Mr Byun, same to you. Still as charming as two decades ago.’

‘Hey, I’d like to think that I’m more charming now. The experience and all.’

‘Who helped you gain all that experience though?’ You poked him lightly, and a low chesty laugh escaped his lips.

‘Of course, it was my one and only, my young, and beautiful, and smart and sexy little wife,’ he punctuated each compliment with a chaste kiss to your cheeks, nose, lips, and neck.

You squirmed in his arms.

‘Ah, you make a woman go mad,’ you purred into his lips mockingly.

He snickered softly, ready to lean in, but then stopped abruptly.

‘Wait a second- What about-’

‘Baekhyun…’ You murmured as he fussed on the bed.

‘I should probably go in there, and-’

‘And what? Embarrass your daughter?’ You held him down. ‘She’s sixteen, honey, it’s just the hormones. We’ve both been there. Let her be.’ You nuzzled his neck, pressing your lips to his sensitive skin lazily.

His mind was growing cloudy again since your hand was now caressing his inner thigh foxily. He’d probably realized what you were doing by now, but you were right, so he allowed you to sway him into giving the idea of an immediate intervention up.

‘Besides, I’m sure you wouldn’t be nearly as appalled if that was our eldest,’ you scoffed and added in an exaggerated tone. ‘Never took you for a sexist.’

‘But- he’s eighteen, and she- she’s my little girl…’ He mumbled in a small voice, hazed further by your not-so-subtle seduction. ‘I can’t let her- watch that-’

‘Don’t worry, yeobo,’ you whispered soothingly in his ear, slipping your hand into his loose pants. ‘I’ll talk to her tomorrow. Without you. No need to traumatize the poor girl, that’s how daddy issues develop.’

‘You should know,’ he bit back meekly, sighing when you finally wrapped your fingers around his semi-hard length.

‘The sass! It’s almost like you still got it, Mr Byun. Care to impress that young wife of yours?’

‘I sure will, you cunning woman,’ he growled playfully, completely giving in to it and attacking your laughing mouth as he lifted the covers over your head.

A/N: Thank you for reading! As usual, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments/ asks, and if you’re new – check out my Masterlist ^^

[thedelusionreaderbitch]

Kaz Brekker x Reader - Your What?! Part 1/2 (Soulmate au)

A/n: So I can't believe I'm doing this but... This a soulmate au! With Kaz fucking Brekker! I'm just going to cry in the corner now... I also decided to split this into two parts, so part 2 will be out tomorrow!

Warnings: language, mentions of trauma, mentions of the menagerie, mentions of death, I think that's it? You have been warned!

Summary: You and the crows are on a mission and your soulmate mark starts burning

All rights go to Leigh Bardugo, Netflix, and you! I just own the plot!

Soulmates are the bane of my existence.

You can say otherwise, tell me that I live in a wonderful world to have a chance to even meet my true love or whatever. Personally, I think it's bullshit.

Come on! Most people probably don't even meet their soulmate because the whole system is stupid! Maybe it was different billions of years ago when people couldn't have the same initials but now it's not about the initials.

It's about the pain.

Knowing the initials is just a slight sign to help you along your journey. The pain where those initials are is what it really is.

When your soulmate is hurt or in danger you mark will burn. Depending on the level of how much pain or danger they will be in it could feel like a mosquito bite... Or feel like your getting stabbed multiple times.

In my opinion well really... I don't give two fucks about it. It is what it is but the worst part about soulmate marks is when the person dies.

So when your soulmate is going to die, or is VERY close to death your soulmate mark fill start to flicker. Apparently it's worse then the normal pain you face with soulmates. When the person dies though...

In the case that your soulmate dies, the mark will slowly fade away causing you excruciating pain that could last YEARS. (Dramatic I know.)

That's what I used to think anyways.

When my sister finally escaped the menagerie I was ecstatic, but then she got dragged into the whole 'ice court heist,' so that was fun. In the time that everything happened I eventually got dragged down with her when Ketterdam was on lock down looking for criminals.

Then I found my soulmate.

Kaz fucking Brekker. Or Kaz Rietveld would be more correct, I guess.

After the whole heist was finally over we decided that fine, we could bond and we did. Being us, we didn't tell anyone not to stir up trouble, (we both had enemies) and because Inej Ghafa was my sister. Her and the others would be very protective of me.

Not like they can stop me though.

"Y/n." I snapped my head to look up to Kaz and he raise's an eyebrow at me.

"Don't kill Pekka." I roll my eyes at him. Since Kaz did tell me about his past I told him if he wouldn't kill Pekka I would.

Or at least his son.

I sigh. "Fine but don't expect me to give him a fucking birthday present."

"I never said you had too." Kaz says blankly and I almost grit my teeth together at the thought of Kaz having no emotions. Wow, people really don't know him. Though I guess that's the point.

The Crows and I start walking towards the warehouse-club and Kaz walks with me step by step. That must means he's worried because most times he doesn't even look at me when we're on a job to not show weakness.

Shit.

I brush my hand quickly up against Kaz's gloved ones and I give him a nod.

A promise.

A promise to make it out alive as long as he does. I step back and lower my pace so I'm not leading with Kaz anymore and I fall into pace with Inej and Nina.

My mind goes to when Kaz found out I was his soulmate. I had found out on when he went on a mission one time and I just... Didn't tell him.

*Flashback*

The walls of the Crow club all the sudden become suffocating as I stare intently at Kaz. I spin on my heels and dash out the doors tears filling my eyes. I don't even know where I'm running, I just needed to escape out of the Crow Club.

I need to escape the disappointment.

I slide down onto the wall of the alleyway feeling like a fool. How could I have ever thought someone like Kaz could love me. Regardless of the soulmate mark he didn't even know about.

I sense a someone is in front of me and I go to lift my head up and a man has me at gun point. I go to grab my knives. Shit. I curse every saint ever in existence. They aren't there. I don't even have a gun.

Bare fists I guess it is for me.

We turn in a circle and he clicks the safety off his gun and in a split second I duck when I hear a short, boom!

I growl in pain as a bullet goes through my shoulder and he goes to shoot again and...

BANG!

The man drops dead to the floor.

I turn around and behind me is Kaz holding a gun, but his face is in pain and worry is there as well, spread across his face more plainly then I had ever seen before.

"Your my soulmate." He mutters and I barely hear it. My chest heaves and I just nod my head not being able to speak.

He come's over and pause's right in front of me, just a foot away. Slowly, he takes off his gloves and he nervously takes my hand and laces our fingers together.

Then we start walking back to the Crow Club.

To a new future. Together.

*Flashback over*

"What do you even have against Pekka Rollins anyways, Y/n?" Inej questions me as we speed-walk to the warehouse where some Dime Lions are stirring up trouble.

My brain scrabbles to put something together but I have always been a efficient liar. No offense to my sister she's fantastic at what she does, but lying had never really been her thing.

"Rollins is a barrel boss." I shrug my shoulders seemingly uncaring even though there is so much more layers to it. But I guess I'm not lying.

Yet.

"So is Kaz." Nina points out but I already planed for that response.

"And we're dregs. Pekka is a big barrel boss, he scares off people from coming to the dregs. It's a problem and it's getting on our ass's." I grumble.

"I didn't know it mattered to you that much." Inej states. I wanted to scream in her face. He killed Kaz's brother! He almost killed Kaz! He creates monsters where ever he goes and tries to control them like caged lab rats! But I couldn't do that, so furiously I snap at her.

"Well it should to me, it's my job."

Nina and my sister both look at me weirdly, oh crap. They don't know I have basically the same authority as Kaz. Fuck.

*Flashback*

"Why give me a promotion? Isn't there other people who could use it? Who would do better than me?" I ask Kaz as he goes through the papers on his desk.

"I wouldn't trust anyone else to do it." He looks up to me and starts to get out of his desk. He goes to the door but before he can open it I grab his arm.

"I basically have the same power over the dregs that you do. I don't think that's a good thing."

Kaz just shrugs his shoulders and opens the door.

"What's a king without his queen Y/n?"

*Flashback over*

"Wait what?" Nina asks confused.

At least it goes off the topic of me hating Pekka Rollins with everything I have. Internally I sigh at my foolishness, I had only accepted Kaz's request recently, so no one really knew who was helping him out all the time.

*Flashback*

"Nemesis." The man whispers as I circle around him using the blinding light and the darkness to my advantage.

"Yes, and I get to decide if you live or die. Tell me, did you kill that little girl - Oh what was her name? Sarah was it?" I say loudly my voice confident and dangerous.

"No-no!" The sleaze ball yells and I throw one of my knives at his hand. The knife goes through his hand sticking it to the wall. The man screams out in pain.

"Liar." I hiss.

"Fine! Fine! I killed her!" He manages to scream out. "I killed her." He sobs as he says those three words again.

"Good." I say as I secretly pull a knife out behind my back into my right hand.

"I will grant you mercy." I whisper into his ear.

"Oh thank you!" The man sobs. "Thank you!"

I quickly slit his throat and he chokes on his blood for a few second and horror frames his face, before he falls to the ground.

Dead.

I hear a click of a cane and I whip my head around to face the one and only Dirtyhands.

"You know killing him was accepting my offer, right?"

"I know." I don't have to look at him to know a small smile that has become reversed for me, is sitting on his face.

Then I remember what he said to me when he first gave the offer. I turn to face him as I try to hide my smirk, and I look at him right in the eye.

"My Crow king."

And I turned and walk away.

*Flashback over*

"Well-" I start to say but I'm cut off from Jesper's very excited 'we're here!' Thank the saints though, because it gives me time to escape they're questions for now.

"You all know the plan."

Nina puts her hands on her hips. "Only the parts you deem important enough for us to know."

I nearly snort and a small smile grace's my lips. They really have no idea, well obviously some idea being that the ice court heist existed.

Kaz rolls his eyes and makes a go motion.

Inej goes to slip through the shadows but before she's totally gone I make eye contact with her before she leaves. It clearly says our conversation is not over and stay safe.

I suck in a breath, I always hate it when I have to say goodbye to anyone. Especially when that some person could die.

Running over to back of the warehouse, I pull my hood up trying to be the most concealed that I can be.

Wylan is going with Jesper to go make a distraction so they'll be going through the front doors. Nina will be going to go flirt to go get some extra info, perhaps steal some things on the way and wiggle her way into the top floor where the Dime Lions are. Matthias and Kaz will be going together with them posing as the warehouse-club guards. Inej will be going through the roof, while I'll be going through the back.

In the end everyone will get to the top floor so we can exterminate some Dime Lions, and get into the vault where a whole bunch of kruge is. Hopefully there will be enough so I can put my share's with Inej's so she can get that upgrade on her boat that she needs. It's not like I'm going to use the money to do anything useful, she deserved it and plus I intended to stay with this city.

I silently slide sneakily into the window, coming out of the other end with a knife in my hands. If I have learned one thing from living in Ketterdam, it's that you can never be too prepared.

I stay close to the wall as I see someone roll down the rope-ladder. I grin to myself,

Right on time Inej.

I climb up the ladder without fear of falling down even if the ladder was just made out of rope. I get to the top and Inej offers me a hand and I take it.

The top floor is basically empty except for some Dime Lions henchmen that are laying around, dead or knocked out.

Then, I guess there is also the vault full of kruge.

I look around the room everyone is here except for-

Kaz.

"Where's Kaz?"

Matthias looks a bit uncomfortable and guilty as he shifts nervously on his two feet.

"He said he had to take care of something and to just go."

I sigh, well I know he isn't in danger... Yet. My heart is screaming for me to go after him, but it wouldn't look good for Dirtyhands or Nemesis. Knowing Kaz he's probably fine, he would just want me to open this vault I guess.

The fact that my soulmate mark isn't burning is probably also a clear sign that he's fine.

Get yourself together Y/n.

"Can we open the vault without him?"

The others look mildly surprised at my response (excluding Nina, and my sister).

"You might be able to do it, your one of the best lock pickers there is. Only second to Brekker." Nina states.

I bit my lip and start to walk over to the vault. I let my hand fall over the lock. I let it feel the certain gears and the parts that make up the lock.

The shank of the lock would be easy enough to undo with some man strength to help pull that open. Though that would be the last step - I need to stop thinking too far ahead.

It's a very simple lock that any petty thief could probably do in 32 seconds flat. Besides the fact that it was absolutely ginormous to fit over a fucking vault.

"Inej I'm going to need some help!" I yell across the room to my sister who is in the shadows on a look out, to make sure no ones coming here.

She comes and strolls over to stand beside me. I put my hand up the lock, and I grab one bar and I move it to the side but I hold it there with my hands.

"Can you find the bar to the left and pull it up once?"

Inej does and I hear a huge click! ring through the room.

"We should wait for Kaz till we open it." Inej states and I nod my head in agreement.

"So while we wait." Nina start's talking... Oh no, that can't be good. "We should maybe share the fact that Y/n is Kaz's second hand!"

Angry courses of what! come throughout the room.

"The fuck does Kaz think with putting you in all that danger!" Jesper yells and I see Matthias nod along with him.

"I'm already in danger most of the times I'm Inej's sister!"

"You should have told us!" Nina shoots back.

"You guys are really talking about this while were on a heist!" I shoot back.

My soulmate mark starts to tingle a bit but I ignore it, being that this conversation will most likely take a lot of energy.

"It still puts you in unnecessary danger." Inej and Wylan point out.

Fury rakes through my body. Who are they to tell me that's it's 'dangerous'?! I live in fucking Ketterdam!

"I don't know if you haven't noticed, but I'm not a doll! I can take care of myself! And you can't say anything because 60% percent of you guys don't even fucki- Ahhh!" A string of curse leave my mouth as I collapse against the vault.

"Y/n!"

To be continued...

Words 2480

-thedelusionreaderbitch

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