#i thought about this last night and man…you guys are either lucky and unlucky i wasnt around on tumblr back when kazu’s demo first dropped..

[luvuomi]

watching you go feral over sethos is my girl dinner

VEE HELP😭

relieved to see you actually find my sethos feral hours entertaining hehe…i could go on and on about him for the next 3 days but i shall save that for another time ( but just know i will return bigger than ever )🙂‍↕️

[the-kr8tor]

(Un)Lucky

Pairing: Hobie Brown x Blackcat! GN Reader / Spider-Punk x Blackcat! GN Reader

Word count: 1.9k

Tags: FBW, smut Implied, TW blood, TW violence, TW death, cursing, hurt/comfort. No use of Y/N, no specific physical description of the reader. Idiots in love.

Synopsis: Unlucky in life, unlucky in love. You question your situationship with Spider-Punk.

* I don't consent to having my work translated/ published on other platforms*

Black silhouetted shadows dance around the moon lit mansion, your feet expertly landing on the marbled floors without a sound. Slinking around the fancy beige colored furniture, your focus is on one thing – The safe hidden behind a large modern painting, how very cliché you thought. Swiftly dodging security cameras by climbing up the ceiling using your manicured claws, you finally drop down next to a large pair of concrete doors. You raise your brow at how atrocious it looks compared to the colorful modern paintings you've seen around the mansion.

"God, I hate brutalist architecture" you whispered to no one. 

Bringing out your index finger, you admire your sharp claws for a second before bending down to pick the door's lock. You feel the soft leather of your suit expand at your movement. But before you could pick the lock, you felt a presence behind you. Stopping for a brief moment to slowly grab one of your throwing knives, unclipping it from its holster - you fling it at the presence behind you.

The figure hanging upside down from the ceiling catches the knife's handle gracefully before it could stab him in the face. He lets it fall to the ground, impaling the oak table below.

"Woah, Don't mind me just enjoying the view" the spikes on top of his mask shine in the moonlight, bathing his suit in a soft blue light. 

"Of course it's you, hello to you too, beanpole" You scoff at his appearance, Pretending to be annoyed. 

Spider-punk drops from his web, softly landing on his feet. "I'm offended, after our last encounter I thought we're past the mean nicknames" He detaches the knife embedded into the table and plays with it.

"Oh so that's why you're here, you missed me, web-slinger" your voice saccharin smooth as you confidently stride towards him, your hand reaching out to him, non-verbally asking for your knife back.

"In your dreams, love. The owner hired me to watch over his place, you've been hitting a lot of his friends' places, he figured he's next" he says with a scoff.

Instead of the knife, Hobie puts his hand on your waiting one, You stare at your joined hands, and raise your eyebrows questioningly. Your eyes soften as the whites of his mask widen at his realization. 

"I beg to differ, you dork" you smirk at him. 

He lets go of your hand, and puts the knife on your palm. Hobie's thankful you can't see his face, albeit he still stares at you directly, challenging you to have a go at him like you usually do, you can definitely do better than call him a dork. But you don't for some odd reason.

Putting the knife back in its place you turn your back at him, you continue working at the lock. You bend down again.

"Fuck'n hell, love" he unashamedly groans at the sight of you.

Fully aware of his eyes on your ass. It doesn't bother you, quite the opposite actually, you liked the attention he's giving you, and dare you even say you like the guy. But the words 'I don't like labels' echoes in your mind. You don't like it either, you liked just having fun with him, but the memories of your last encounter with the man behind you keeps playing in your mind. 

The way he kissed and touched you that night, it felt different, a good difference, you think. The entire time It felt like there was an underlying emotion other than lust prevailing that fateful night. You have no idea how to make sense of your situation, or how to feel about him. So you do what you always do, shelf it in the back of your mind, keep piling similar memories on top of it, until one day it bursts out of you like Vesuvius. Hopefully no one's there with you to witness it when it finally happens.

"Oi, cat got your tongue?" His voice snaps you back to reality. You can't see his face with your back turned but you imagined him with a smirk under his mask, the same way you imagined what he would look like. You've only seen the bottom half of his face, the same way he's only seen your face clad in your domino mask. 

"I'm busy" you bite back as you feel for the mechanism to finally unlock with a click. 

"Right, no cat puns when working" he says.

You push the heavy doors, satisfaction on your face. You look over your shoulder to look at him. 

"If you're gonna web me and sell me out to your boss just do it already" you pointedly tell him.

"As much as I'm into the first part, it's a no to the last bit" His comment gets ignored. 

You head inside the office, with Hobie not far behind. You glare at the expansive yet unnecessary room. 

The room's marble flooring is covered in various animal furs, the walls lined with tacky paintings of the owner. A few of the paintings show the greedy man hunting wild animals, you glare at the painting as if your eyes would suddenly cause it to combust into flames. 

"With all the money in the world, he couldn't hire an interior designer?" Hobie grimaces at the various décor around the room. "No cameras" he pointed out.

"Probably to cover his shady dealings with Roxxon" you tell him.

"Tsk, nasty, nasty old man." Hobie finally looks at you taking down the huge painting to reveal the large metal safe. 

He sighs annoyed at your attitude. "Y'know me, cat, I would never actually help people this rich, hell I'd even help you if you asked" 

"Why'd you take the job then?" You ask as you try to crack the safe's code.

Hobie leans against the doorway watching you. "Unfortunately we live in a capitalist society, and I need money to eat. He didn't ask me to catch you anyway, just watch the place. No matter how much I want to burn down this bloody eyesore" And I was hoping to see you again. He also wanted to add.

You didn't bother to reply, you hum at his explanation. You hear the satisfying click of the safe's lock finally unlocking. Why was it so easy?

"What's up with the stick up y –" He cuts himself off.

His spidey-sense kicks in. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion for Hobie, a wave of red hot fear floods his entire body as he sees you slowly open the safe. His mind seems to be stuck in the moment, thankfully his body moves with muscle memory, he swiftly moves away from the doorway, one hand reaches out to web you towards him, his other hand reaches behind him, he webs the wall to pull you both out the room. 

The subsequent explosion can be heard, smoke and ashes fill his vision. The once heavily decorated room now looks like ground zero. 

Hobie's ears are ringing, but he doesn't care, he needs to find you. His eyes pull towards the room where they were both in. The large concrete doors closed, their edges burned from the explosion. The force from the explosion must've closed it.

The heavy doors accidentally saved them, he didn't have time to think how it happened, he just needed to find you, he needed to know that you were okay.

He screams your alias with a gutteral screech. Hobie stands up, his stance wavers but he continues on. He winces when some of his blood gets into his eye, realizing his mask now torned up from the side, only hiding half of his face. His eyes roam around the damaged mansion looking for your figure, his eyes stop once again to the concrete doors. 

His heart sinks at his realization.

"No, no, no!" He limps towards the large doors.

He didn't notice if his web actually reached you in time to pull you both out. 

He pulled and pushed at the comically large doors. It doesn't move.

Hobie's mind plays tricks on him, he keeps seeing in his mind's eye - your charred body, skin turned to ash, eyes burned into your sockets, your jaws permanently set in a scream. His own mind mocks him. Hobie ignores the vision. He kicks and screams for the doors to magically open.

He has no idea how long it has been since the explosion, with his ears still ringing, smoke and dust clinging around the room. His hope dwindles. 

Hobie falls to his knees, eyes unblinking and wide, crimson seeps from the cut on his head. He ignores it and just stares blankly at the gray doors.

It was his fault.

He can't believe he left you, he was too slow. Of all the people in the world why you. Memories of you keep playing in his mind, trying to push away the image of your death.

In his stupor he doesn't notice a shadow enveloping him, arms finding its way to his shoulder hugging his twitching form. For a second he thought you were haunting him.

He finally gets a grip on reality and looks behind his shoulder.

Your domino mask now clinging to one side, mirroring his own damaged mask. Blood seeps from the side of your cheek. Your eyes are dull but open. 

Your eyes are open.

He turns around lightning fast, Hobie clings to you like velcro. His shoulders sag from the relief, as if he can finally breathe again. You sigh at the contact, and let out a small laugh. 

"Oi, what's so funny" he pulls away from you slightly, he looks at your head to assess the damage. 

"I'm not brain damaged," you smile at his concern, you grab his face, cradling it. "I'm fine, we're both fine, you saved me" you look at each other, affection prominent in every crevice of your bodies.

You both now have a clear view of each other's faces. 

"You look better than I imagined," he softly says. 

You giggle at his comment "And you look so much cooler than I thought, it's unfair, I thought I was the cool one" 

"I was this cool the whole time" he teases. 

You grab his neck to carefully put your foreheads together. To calm the lingering tension from it, you rub circles on his skin, In turn Hobie cranes his neck to look at your lips asking for permission. You nod and let him ground you both back to reality with his kiss. 

Hobie reluctantly pulls away "Let's go before they find us, yeah?" He helps you stand up. "You up for a swing 'round the city?"

You give him your signature smirks "your place or mine?" 

"Yours" he grabs your waist. "There's a first time for everything right?"

"Oh you're gonna love my cats" You smile wildly, you don't know if your face hurts from the cut on your cheek or from smiling too much. 

He memorizes the look on your face as if, all of this was just a dream, and he'll forget what you looked like once he wakes up. He grabs you by the waist, and swings out of the wreckage. Just in time before sirens could get closer to the mansion.

As you swing away towards your home, you think about where your relationship currently lies. There might not be a label for your relationship yet, or what this all means in the future. But at least now you know how he truly feels, how you feel.

As for the bastard who tried to blow you both up, revenge can wait, for she is patient.

You'll think about everything later, but right now you enjoy the moment as you cling to him.

A/n: Hope you enjoyed reading it! Likes, comments and reblogs are always appreciated ♥️

[vilyanenyavilya]

Courtiers

By VilyaNenyaVilya

inspired by this wonderful thread

Summary: Tony’s tired of all the dates he brings back to the tower leaving with barely a word. After walking in on a group of some of the Avengers, he gets a big dose of answers about why and… he’ll spin it to his advantage.

Rating: Teen. Wordcount: 2k. Tags: references to sex, fluff?, humor, Tony’s been oblivious but he figures it out, hopeful ending

(We’re in some bizarre AU land pre-IW where Tony’s very single and somehow every Avenger, plus Avenger-Loki, are either living in Avengers Tower or hang out there a lot. To paraphrase MST3K, don’t worry about it and relax. This is for fun)

Tony stared at his phone. The night before, date number five million had made an empty excuse and left Avengers Tower. It was frustrating. He used to be able to flash a cocky smile and well… that was that. After the big breakup with Pepper, he would have thought having become Iron Man would have made it even easier to get back in the casual sex game.

On the contrary, there was no response to his last text, so much for Freddie. He liked them too. Whatever.

He stomped into the elevator, selected the floor where gear maintenance was, and pinched his nose. There had to be a reason he stopped being able to land even a one night stand. He was getting older, but he was still hot, thank you very much. Once the elevator opened, he went through the little lobby right to the door and found the usual set of troublemakers on the team that hung out there.

“It’s been months since I’ve gotten laid. Not for lack of trying with the wining and dining, the razzle dazzle. Then they get back here and leave? Does this place smell or something? You gotta tell me if it does. Two super soldiers, a kick ass spy, an alien wizard, and a human wizard. One of you would have to be able to tell. Thoughts?”

Steve was wiping down the Captain America shield. “No idea.”

Bucky was at the same table as Steve, but he had a sharpener and a row of perfectly lined up knives he was working on. “Beats me.”

Natasha was with them and had her two Bite bracelets in front of her. She kept her eyes on them. “Very odd.”

Loki, at another table, was leaning back in a chair and was polishing one of his magically appearing daggers. “A mystery.”

Stephen was sitting across from Loki and there was a pile of ancient looking books between them. He didn’t look at Tony and instead fiddled with that sling ring he always wore. “Perhaps we’ll never know.”

They were all being super weird. Tony narrowed his eyes and the tracts of his brain snapped together on that particular topic. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed what the little cabal had been doing for months. Months. He thought he was unlucky, not that he was being secretly babysat.

“Wait hold on, where the hell do any of you get off on chasing my dates away? What gives you the right?”

No one looked at him for a long moment. Steve was the one that had the sense to look scolded. Served him right.

The dagger Loki had vanished in green magic and he crossed his arms. He was the first to say something. “Have you forgotten what happened with Marcus?”

“I did not forget the guy who left my bed and tried to break in the lab to steal tech for some HYDRA stragglers.”

“You were lucky he wasn’t an assassin.” Natasha finally looked at him.

“Can’t have any more of those in the Tower.” The timeline ran through Tony’s head… they all hadn’t started to interfere until after then.

Steve put down the shield. “Sophie had made some social media posts about getting herself a sugar daddy to bleed dry.”

Tony wasn’t opposed to being a sugar daddy exactly, but he would like some sentiment involved and not just ruthlessness.

Stephen crossed his arms too. “Joey was deep into drug dealing. To children, Tony. Children.”

So he had missed that. It was a big one to miss, not that he was going to admit that.

Bucky added, “Maria was stalking you.”

“These are situations I’m perfectly capable of handling. Remember when I took a nuke to space?” Tony pointed up. “Saved New York? Most of you were there or in the city.”

JARVIS’s voice came from the speakers in the ceiling. “They have your best interests at heart.”

Tony felt his eyes go wide. “You too, J?”

“I offered to assist.”

“I can spend one night with someone. I’m a big boy.”

“That’s not what you're truly after.”

“That’s enough out of you kiddo. You’re grounded.”

“I’m simply following my programming to watch over you.” There was a long pause. “Sir.”

Tony rubbed his face. So what if what he really wanted was someone to love him and he’d love them back. Someone who didn’t mind sometimes he was a mess or didn’t make the right decisions. Someone who recognized that every minute he was trying to correct those same mistakes and be a good man.

He looked around the gear maintenance room where everyone else had gone back to cleaning or whatever it was they were doing like some secret team-within-a-team. “Okay, fine, you all win. I’m picking up terrible matches for me. Any of you got any ideas who I should ask out?”

There was dead silence in the room.

Tony looked at each one of them, really looked. He could not be seeing what he was seeing. Nope. He kept that realization under wraps and really hoped his face didn’t give anything away. “What am I asking you bunch of singles for? Legolas has got to have some ideas.”

He turned on his heel and forced himself not to run out of the room. All of them? He was panicking but not in a panic attack, thank god. Just good old fashioned ‘my friend is into me’ times five.

He really was on his way to find Clint. The archer-spy was happily married and not poly, so he was the one person in the entire tower he was confident was not harboring feelings and that he could talk to. JARVIS was helpful and said he was in the kitchen. Tony walked quickly out of the elevator, through the little lobby area, and right to the kitchen door. Clint was at the white marble island making a sandwich.

“Oh thank god you’re here. Help. Help.”

Clint reached for the knife on his belt. “What’s the situation?”

“No bad guys, unless you count five of our teammates chasing my dates away and secretly being into me.”

He went back to making the sandwich. “Oh that.”

“You knew?” Tony knew his mouth was hanging open.

“Unspoken, but yeah, I picked up on the looks behind your back. Sometimes at your ass.” Clint cut the sandwich in two diagonally.

Tony needed solid answers and Clint was observant, he just didn’t wave it around. “Who exactly? To be absolutely clear here.”

“Nat, Strange, Rogers, Loki, and Barnes.”

“Not Rhodey, Bruce, Thor, Sam, Scott, Wanda, and Pietro.”

“Right.” Clint got a second plate from the cabinet and two glasses. He opened the fridge for a pitcher of something. Iced tea?

Tony let out a breath. His brain probably would have exploded if the list included the other half of the team. “I just figured it all out and ran away like a damn skittish horse. They probably noticed. I need something to drink.”

Clint poured the liquid into both glasses. “Iced tea is all I’m gonna serve you.”

What a time to be a recovering alcoholic. “Thanks, I know, I know. I won’t. But I… is this bad? This might be bad?”

“J? Get Bruce.”

“Already sent him up, Agent Barton.”

“Eat this.” Clint took half of the sandwich he made for himself and put it on the second plate. He slid it over with the iced tea.

Tony dutifully sat on a stool like he was one of Clint’s kids. “Is it bad? It’s weird? It’s definitely weird. Sort of messed up. Are they all just pretending to be my friends because they want to get in my pants?”

“I am confident that’s not what anyone is doing. Silently pining away for you because they think you won’t be interested is more likely.”

“They’ve been interfering.” Tony’s voice came out a little bitter. So he was a little angry because it was overstepping in a big way. Anything they found out about his dates they could have just told him.

“That’s a hard one, but Freddie is married with five kids.” Clint sipped his iced tea.

“You too? Don’t tell me Laura and you want a third after all. That might break me.”

Clint shook his head. “Just looking into it from a security standpoint as your friend. Promise.”

“Freddie is married.” Tony frowned. That stung.

“Yeah. I was going to tell you next time I saw you.”

“I really liked them. They said they were in the city on a consulting gig for a few months.”

“That part is true. Back home they have a family and are not separated. Sorry man.”

Tony thought he could have more than a few nights with the beautiful and handsome marketing mogul and then maybe it could turn into something more. Damn. “Why can’t I just pick someone good for me. This has gotten to be ridiculous.”

There was movement at the doorway and Bruce walked in. “What’s up?”

Tony gave Bruce the rundown of the situation. As he explained, Bruce’s eyes got wider and wider. Some tracts of Tony’s brain started thinking of ways to resolve everything… Nat, Loki, Steve, Bucky, and Stephen were his friends and… complicated wasn’t the word.

Bruce said, “What? That doesn’t make sense.”

“Exactly! Are we in some alternate universe where Avengers Tower is a reality tv show? There are cameras everywhere, but they’re my cameras. Unless they’ve been hacked and this is the Truman Show.” Tony looked suspiciously at where he knew security cameras for JARVIS to be.

“They’re really interested in you?” Bruce sat down on a stool next to him.

“Who can blame them, look at me, I’m a catch, even with the periods of being a hot mess.” The tracts of his brain now had started thinking they all would be able to understand him… and they all had qualities that if he looked at them in a different way were… intriguing. Of course all of them being hot as hell didn’t hurt. He’d have to choose though…

Clint nodded. “I’d say they are.”

“So I didn’t imagine Loki checking you out lately.”

“You kept that to yourself? Come on, you’re supposed to be my science bro.” Tony poked Bruce in the arm. He could have been having hot and steamy sexy times, or maybe cold -Loki was a certain kind of alien- for what, months? And Clint was just as bad not saying anything. Tony could have been having a lot of great sex with great people that could lead to more.

Bruce shrugged. “I thought I needed my eyes checked. He’s Loki.”

“Maybe I’m irresistible.” Tony perked up at that. Sure, the situation was a shock, but hell, he still had it. He was Tony Stark, Iron Man. People wanted him. Avengers wanted him. Hell yeah.

Clint had sat down too and was eating his half of the sandwich. “This is really going to your head.”

“Once I got over the shock of five of my friends chasing away my dates, I started thinking of the possibilities.” So many possibilities. He took a bite of the sandwich and chewed.

“What are those?”

He took a moment and swallowed the food. One tract of his brain had an absolutely brilliant idea. Maybe his best one since Iron Man. “It’s The Bachelor.”

“We’re still on the reality tv topic.” Bruce rubbed his face.

Tony moved his hand in the air for dramatic effect. “I can see it now. The Bachelor: Tony Stark Edition. Wednesdays at 8pm Eastern/7pm Central on ABC.”

“You’re going on the Bachelor.” It was Clint’s turn to go wide-eyed.

“Correction, all of the Avengers are going on The Bachelor. Both of you have to be with me. I’m roping in the rest of the team to make a panel of guest judges. Help me out? I haven’t been doing great in the dating game lately. Ever, really.”

Clint nodded. “I’m in.”

“You don’t get to automatically vote for Nat.” Tony wiggled his finger.

“Fine.”

Bruce patted his shoulder. “Now that you bring it up, I have a lot of thoughts.”

“Fantastic.” Tony was enthusiastic.

He was going to make the most out of the situation. Step 1: Call ABC or maybe just Chris Harrison directly. Step 2: Convince everyone else to go on the show. Step 3: Find the romantic love of his life. Easy.

FIN

Who does Tony end up with? Pick your own fighter(s).

Ending inspired by @stxrksarc ‘s The Bachelor Tony Stark Edition. not butting in but it just fit for a resolution ya know?

[babymetaldoll]

I love you (and I don't want to) (Spencer Reid/Reader)

Requested: Yes

Summary: After three years in love with Spencer, (Y/N) decides it's time to move on.  He will never love her anyway, right?  

Category: Angst/Fluffy ending

Word count: 4,2K

Warnings: Cursing, but you love me anyway 💜

Masterlist

.

It had been three years of her life. Three whole years she had been in love with Spencer Reid. But (Y/N) couldn't deal with those feelings anymore. She didn't want to continue torturing herself, waiting for him. Why? 'cos for him, (Y/N) was just his friend, his very best friend. But nothing more. And she wanted more. She wanted everything with him, and after three years, she knew she wasn't going to get it.

(Y/N) had hinted to Spencer in every possible way that she was in love with him, but he hadn't acted on it. She actually felt pathetic. (Y/N) thought she couldn't be any more obvious about her feelings. The only thing she hadn't done was kissing Reid. And she wasn't going to because it was clear all she was going to get was rejection.

That's why, after three years postponing her own life, waiting around to see if Spencer might actually see her as a woman and not as a friend, she was done. She had to move on from him, even if it was the hardest thing she had ever done.

But working with Spencer didn't make it easier. There he was, every morning, smiling at her from his desk. Asking her how she had spent the night, what she had done. Even inviting her over to his apartment for a movie night. Which with Spencer actually meant watching movies and nothing else. Nothing. Not even holding hands.

In three years, the most physical (Y/N) had even been with Spencer had been the day she got shot in a leg, and he hugged her when she rejoined the team after her leave.

One hug in three years. That was it. Spencer was way more physical with Morgan, or with anyone else, as a matter of fact. That's why it was time to let him go. (Y/N) knew she wasn't going to find another man like him, though maybe that was the idea.

She loved him so much it hurt, and she needed to get rid of that pain.

(Y/N) knew she could get a man's attention if she wanted to. That's why it was so frustrating not being able to get Spencer's. Decided to get him out of his mind, (Y/N) dragged Emily and García for a "Lady's night." And by the end of the evening, she had given her number to three different guys. Neither of them was Spencer Reid, but at least (Y/N) felt her ego boost from getting their attention.

.

- "(Y/N)! I still can't get over how hot that guy was!! did he call you already?"- Penelope walked through the bullpen straight to (Y/N) 's desk, ignoring everybody but her friend. (Y/N) bit her lips and closed her eyes for a second, embarrassed her friend had literally yelled to the whole FBI they had met a cute guy the night before.

- "What? Who?"- Derek Morgan nearly jumped and rubbed his hands together, excited to hear the story, and walked with Garcia to (Y/N) 's desk.

Spencer raised his eyes from the file he was reading and scanned (Y/N) 's face. She was blushed, obviously nervous, and biting her lips as she smiled. What? Was she excited? Happy? Annoyed? and who was Garcia talking about? what guy? (Y/N) wasn't dating anyone. He would know. He knew everything she did. Not that he was a stalker or anything, but he listened each time she talked, and she usually told him everything she did.

Did she? Maybe not anymore. Spencer realized he needed to know what Garcia was talking about, so he pretended to be working but paid all of his attention to that conversation.

- "Thank you, Penelope"- (Y/N) huffed and shook her head- "I don't think Anderson heard you, by the way."

- "I heard her!"- Anderson raised his hand and waved- "Hot guy, she can't get over him"

- "Thank you!"- (Y/N) smiled at Anderson and covered her face with both hands.

- "Oh, come on! Don't be shy. You are not shy. And last night's (Y/N) wasn't shy either!"- Penelope tapped on (Y/N) 's back, as she grabbed the closest chair and moved it to her desk- "So, did he call?"

- "Who are you guys talking about?"- Morgan asked, crossing his arms on his chest, staring at the two women- "What did you do last night?"

- "Turns out this lady right here is the best party girl I've ever met, and in all these years, she had never shown this side of her! Ever!"- Penelope was clearly under the effect of three cups of coffee.

- "What did she do?"

- "Oh my beloved Morgan, you should have seen her!"- Garcia started explaining, and Spencer realized his stomach, as well as his fists, were tightening.

- "Please, don't!"- (Y/N) begged, but it was useless.

- "She was a lioness in the wild, and the hottest guys in the club were her prey. She danced with only the most attractive men in the whole place. And she flirted, and laughed, enchanted them all. Guys were asking for her phone number the whole time we were in that club. I swear I had never seen anything like it before."

- "What?! this pretty lady right here?"- Morgan pointed at (Y/N), who was still covering her face with both hands- "She always refuses to go out clubbing with me."

- "Well, clearly she was hiding her wild side"- Garcia sentenced and nodded at her own words- "So, did he call already?"

- "No. He hasn't"

- "Who?"- Prentiss asked, joining the conversation- "Bachelor number three? Please tell me you are gonna marry that man. It would be a crime not to."

The fact even Prentiss was drooling over that unknown guy hit Spencer harder. He knew (Y/N) was gorgeous and that she could get any guy's attention if she wanted to. But in the last three years, she had ignored every man who had flirted with her. Why the sudden change?

Spencer knew he couldn't ask (Y/N) not to flirt or go out with anyone, just 'cos he loved her in silence. Reid wished he could tell her how he felt, but he knew it was impossible for her to love him. She always took special care of him. She was always there when no one else was. But Spencer considered it as a gesture of friendship, not of love. He was so blind, he had wasted three years of happiness by her side, only because he was sure someone like her could never want someone like him.

Lucky for Spencer (or unlucky in a way), he didn't have to listen to that conversation for much longer. Hotch asked the team for the reports of the last three cases they had worked on, which meant they had a busy day ahead, and the bullpen was silent for most of the day.

Until (Y/N) 's phone hummed around noon, and Prentiss jumped from her desk.

- "Is it him?! is he?"- (Y/N) looked at Emily in shock- "What?"

- "You are acting like a schoolgirl. Put your shit together."

- "Shut up and let me live my life through you for a second! is that him?"- (Y/N) grabbed her phone and nodded. Spencer looked at her friend and held his breath. What was happening? Why was she clubbing and meeting guys all of a sudden?

- "I can't stop thinking about you. I hope you are having a great day. Wanna have dinner with me tonight?"- (Y/N) read out loud and bit her lips.

- "Please say yes and ask him for a picture."

- "Garcia already found pictures of him online"- (Y/N) announced Emily and showed her the mail she had gotten from their friend- "She checked his whole life. And he wasn't lying. The guy is a pediatrician, he is single, never been in jail, gives lots of money to charity...."

- "And he is so hot, Ryan Reynolds would be jealous of him. Seriously (Y/N), please date him. You deserve to be happy, and that guy is screaming, "I could make you happy."

Emily had never been the kind of woman to say those things out loud in the bullpen, during work, knowing anyone might hear her. But that was precisely what she wanted.

She knew Spencer was paying attention. And she wanted him to listen to what was going on because it might be the only way to make him see he had to tell (Y/N) what he really felt for her before it was too late.

Prentiss knew Spencer was in love with (Y/N), though he had denied it every time she had confronted him about his feelings. But you can't hide those things from profilers. Less from profilers who are also your best friends.

Emily knew (Y/N) loved him too, and it was nerve-wracking watching them waste their time and neither of them doing anything to be together.

Maybe the fact (Y/N) was getting someone else's attention would make Spencer react. If not, well, maybe (Y/N) would get a chance to be happy with the club's hot guy.

.

The hot guy from the bar had a name. It was Benjamin, and he took (Y/N) our for dinner that night. He had been lovely and charming, just like he had been when they met at the club. So sweet and charming, in fact, (Y/N) felt he might be the one who could take Spencer from her heart. That's why, when he asked her out again later that week, she accepted.

- "Oh my god!"- JJ walked to (Y/N) in shock- "Who sent you these?"- there was a gigantic bouquet of red roses on (Y/N) 's desk, and the owner was staring at them, absolutely blushed. In three years, no one had sent her flowers. It was impossible not to feel special.

- "Benjamin"- (Y/N) whispered and opened the card that came with the roses- "He asked me out, again."

- "You know, red roses are the most common flower to give to a woman."- Spencer had made his best to stay out of that conversation and every conversation related to Benjamin in the last week and a half. But he couldn't do it anymore.

He was done.

- "Worldwide, everybody gives red roses to say "I love you," turning a beautiful flower into a sad and empty cliché."- Spencer stood up from his desk and walked over (Y/N) and JJ, staring at the bouquet.

- "Sad and empty?"- (Y/N) stood up and crossed her arms on her chest, defensive- "Why would you say that?"

- "When everybody does it, the gesture might turn into something meaningless. A banality."

JJ looked at Spencer and at (Y/N). Since Benjamin was in the picture, it was clear their friendship was in trouble. Reid was more distant and (Y/N) was focused on her date. You didn't need to be a profiler to see what was going on, and JJ knew the wise thing to do was to take a step back and leave the two of them to fix their problems on their own.

Something JJ knew was never going to happen, 'cos Reid would be passive-aggressive and (Y/N) would get annoyed and leave.

- "Why are you so bitter today, Spencer? It's just flowers?"- (Y/N) asked him and raised an eyebrow. Reid mimicked her movement and crossed his arms on his chest as well.

- "I'm not bitter, (Y/N). I'm just telling you this gesture of love that's melting your heart is nothing but a cheap way to get under your skirt."

Morgan, Prentiss, and JJ wide opened their eyes at Spencer's words. But (Y/N) didn't even flinch.

- "And since when do you care if someone is trying to get under my skirt?"- she asked, staring into Reid's eyes.

- "I don't."

- "Then why are you telling me this?"

- "I just thought you were smarter than this. I guess I was wrong."

You could feel the tension growing between them. And the sparks coming from (Y/N) 's eyes that were filled with anger.

Spencer regretted every word that had left his lips ever since he stood up, but he couldn't take them back. What was done was done. And so, he could feel (Y/N) 's friendship and love slipping through his fingers with every word he said.

.

Later that night, Spencer couldn't sleep. It wasn't late, but he hadn't had a proper rest for weeks. Since he first heard (Y/N) was out clubbing with her friends, actually. And now that she was dating someone else, there was no way Spencer could close his eyes.

He felt awful after what he had told her, and he kept trying to come up with an idea to apologize to her. In three years, they had never fought before. Well, he had never been so jealous of anyone getting her attention in the last three years.

He couldn't shake the thought of her being on a date with Ben at that very same minute. They were together. She was laughing. And that would be enough for that guy to fall in love with her. How couldn't he? (Y/N) was perfect. Spencer knew it.

Reid paced like a lion in his apartment. He sipped his third cup of herbal tea, trying to follow (Y/N) 's advice to reduce caffeine at night in a useless effort to sleep better. But he knew coffee wasn't the reason he wasn't going to get any sleep that night. It was (Y/N). (Y/N) and all the feelings he had for her.

Why couldn't he just tell her he loved her? Why did he have to hold those feelings back for so long? Was it too late to tell her? Of course, it was! and even if (Y/N) wasn't in love with Ben, that didn't mean she'd ever love Reid. They were friends, and that was it.

The hum of his cellphone took Spencer from his thoughts. Somehow reading "we've got a case" on the screen made him feel better. At least now he had something else to think about. Reid could focus on saving lives instead of his own misery.

The case could be solved. His personal life couldn't.

Work was where Spencer could hide. It was his escape from his own problems, from his head, and his tendency to overthink everything.

Work was his refugee, his temple. A place he could even call home.

And that's why he lost it when he saw (Y/N) holding some guy's hand in the hall outside the elevator, in the BAU.

- "What are you doing?"- Reid wasn't even subtle at that point. He ignored Penelope, Morgan, Prentiss, and JJ. Needless to say, he also ignored that random man he knew was Benjamin.

- "Hi Spencer"- (Y/N) cut him a short smile and tried to act normal, but she knew it wasn't going to happen.

- "We've got a case."

- "Hi! Nice to meet you. I'm Benjamin"- Ben tried to shake Reid's hand, but Spencer didn't just ignore him. The glance he gave him was so cold and annoyed, (Y/N) was embarrassed already.

- "Don't mean to be rude, but what the fuck are you doing here? Do you think you can come and visit the FBI whenever you want to?"

The whole team was silent. Spencer's words resonated through the empty halls. (Y/N) felt her heart stop and her cheeks turning red with embarrassment and anger.

- "I'm sorry,"- Ben whispered and cleared his throat- "I should go."

- "No, please."- (Y/N) held his hand tighter and turned to him, knowing Spencer was staring at every move she made.

- "You have to work. I just came to drop you off. Take care, ok?"- Ben said, smiling. (Y/N) nodded and slowly leaned in and kissed him.

Spencer's heart dropped. That was it. He couldn't deal with that anymore. Reid turned around and rushed out the hall.

What had he done? What had she done? That was it. He was screwed.

- "Spence?"- JJ found him hidden in the conference room, sitting at a chair, his head resting on the table, covered with both hands.

- "What?"- he whispered, but didn't move- "I know, I know"- he added before JJ would say anything- "I ruined it all."

- "Why don't you just tell her what you feel?"- she asked her and sat by his side. But Spencer still didn't move.

- "What for?"

- "For starters, to apologize for being a dick today."

- "It's useless, JJ."

- "Why?"- Reid sighed and turned slowly to look at his friend. JJ smiled at him kindly and shook her head- "It's not useless, Spence. She loves you."

- "She loves me as a friend."

- "No, she is in love with you. The only reason she is dating Ben is that she needs to get over you 'cos she is sure you don't love her."

Spencer looked at JJ in silence, trying to put those ideas together. But they made no sense.

- "There's no way (Y/N) loves me."

- "She does. She has been in love with you for the last three years, Spence. And if I were you, I'd apologize to her, and I'd tell her the truth."

- "She really loves me?"- Spencer whispered, and JJ nodded- "Why didn't you tell me before?"

- "I tried to tell you a million times before, you wouldn't believe me! now try to find a way to fix this before you lose her!"

Reid stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. JJ was right; he had to fix everything. He had to win (Y/N) 's love back.

But Hotch and the rest of the team walked into the conference room that minute, including (Y/N). And his plans were forced to be paused until that serial killer was caught.

That was a miserable case. Not only because the unsub was killing lonely older women, and no one noticed most of the victims because no one would visit them. Which made the trail of murders was nearly untraceable. But because Spencer and (Y/N) weren't even looking at each other during the whole time they were investigating, and to call it "awkward" was being subtle.

It was hell for both of them.

Being in the jet was torture, 'cos there was nowhere to hide from each other. When Hotch asked them to go to the last crime scene together was the worst. (Y/N) had to ask Emily to go instead 'cos she knew she couldn't deal with Spencer at that minute.

And all that time, all Reid could think about was that kiss. The image of (Y/N) kissing Ben in front of him, and the words JJ had said. That (Y/N) loved him, and that was the reason why she was doing all that.

Solving that case was more complex than he expected because he couldn't put his mind to it. All he could think of was (Y/N).

On the jet back to Quantico, Spencer sat in front of her, decided to talk to her. But she stood up and left in a second, not giving him the chance to open his mouth. JJ stared at him and cut him a short smile, trying to encourage him not to lose faith. Spencer knew (Y/N) was mad at him, and she would act her worst when she was upset. But this time, he knew he had fucked it up. There was no other way to explain it.

Saying "Sorry" wouldn't do it. Spencer would have to do better.

But how?

.

(Y/N) reached her house and closed the door behind her back, still making her best not to cry. She had held those tears back for two days now since she had fought with Spencer, and she refused to weep over him anymore. It was a waste of tears.

Spencer Reid was an asshole, that was all.

All there was left to do was to forget about him. Maybe (Y/N) could text Benjamin, tell him she was already back in town, though she really didn't want to. (Y/N) wanted that night for herself, ask for pizza, watch a movie, do nothing. Maybe take a long bath. She could deal with reality in the morning. But right now, she wanted that night for herself.

Of course, she wasn't going to get it. The knocking on her door ruined her plans before she could actually ask for her pizza.

Spencer Reid was holding his breath at the other side of the door and making his best effort not to faint. That's how nervous he was. (Y/N) looked at him in shock, and for a few seconds, she forgot how mad she was with him because the way he was looking at her was heart-melting.

- "I'm sorry,"- Spencer whispered and gave her a gigantic bunch of flowers- "(Y/N), I am so sorry I was an asshole with you."

- "I don't want your flowers."- she refused to take them and took a step back into her apartment. But Spencer followed her.

- "(Y/N), I..."

- "No, you hurt me. You insulted me. You humiliated me and..."

- "And I love you"- Spencer confessed- "I love you, and I have been an insensitive asshole with you. I know you won't forgive me, but I had to try."

(Y/N) stared at him in shock. She didn't move. She didn't even blink. Spencer stared at her in silence, closing the door behind his back. At least they were now inside her apartment, and she wasn't kicking him out. He thought that was a good sign.

- "What are you talking about, Spencer?"

- "I love you. I am in love with you (Y/N). I have been in love with you for the last three years, and I kept telling myself it was useless to feel this way for you 'cos you would ever even look at me that way. But now that you've got that guy, I've realized worse than losing you for telling you my feelings is losing you over some douchebag for not telling you how I feel."

Spencer was rambling too fast, and (Y/N) was not getting what was going on.

- "So you decided to come here and tell me how you feel so I would forgive you?"- (Y/N) asked him, still mad- "'Cos telling me you love me doesn't make me feel any better, Spencer. If anything, it's making me even madder at you! What the fuck is your problem?!"- (Y/N) turned around and walked to her living room, not really knowing what to do.

- "What?"- Spencer asked, confused, following her around.

- "I've been fucking in love with you for years! and you waited till now to tell me how you feel?"

- "I never thought you'd like me!"

- "I don't like you! I fucking love you, Spencer!"

- "I love you too (Y/N)!"

There was a deep silence in the room. (Y/N) and Spencer stared at each other, neither of them knowing what to do. They were in love. Literally, madly in love.

- "I love you, (Y/N)"- Spencer repeated and took a step closer to her.

- "I know, I heard you"- she whispered, confused. She was so upset and so happy at the same time. She had no idea what she was doing.

Reid didn't know what to do either, how to act, or how to fix things. The only thing he could think of doing was simple: to kiss her. Reid took another step closer to her, and she didn't move away. So he wrapped an arm around her waist and held her tight.

- "I love you, (Y/N)"- he repeated for the third time and kissed her with such passion, yet love, (Y/N) 's knees nearly betrayed her. Her head was spinning. Her body was shaking. She was in love, and the man of her dreams was finally kissing her.

Spencer was finally touching her, holding her, kissing her. After three years.

- "You said roses were sad and empty,"- (Y/N) whispered and looked at the bouquet Reid was still holding.

- "I said a lot of things I regret,"- he whispered and kissed her again. This time, less urgently and more sweetly, savoring her little by little- "And these are special flowers."

- "Care to explain?"- (Y/N) murmured and sighed. Spencer nodded and handed her the flowers again, smiling childishly.

- "Purple roses are not nearly as common as red or white roses are. And that's why they indicate a fascination and adoration."- of course, Spencer Reid had a real explanation for picking those flowers.

- "Purple roses are associated with royalty, and they were often given to queens. That's why it's the only flower I could give to you. You are my queen. You have always been, and I've been a stupid blind man not to see it before."

(Y/N) bit her lips and stared at him, not knowing what to say. Spencer sheepishly smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her. But she stopped him.

- "You were an asshole."

- "I know, I'm sorry"- he whispered, honestly sorry- "I'll live the rest of my life making sure you'll forgive me."

- "You won't get tired of me?"

- "Never"- he whispered and leaned over her- "I've been in love with you forever, and I wanna spend the rest of my life with you."

- "Sounds like a lot of time, Spencer."

- "We've waited three years already (Y/N). I'm not wasting any more time."- Spencer Walter Reid held (Y/N) and kissed her. He knew he had wasted three years, but he was willing to do anything and everything he could to make it up for her. All he wanted now was to make her happy every day.

**** 

Taglist

@all-tings-diego​ @calm-and-doctor​

[thefanficmonster]

Unlucky

Part 2: ‘Lucky Me’

Corpse Husband x Reader

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: Fluff

Summary: Corpse decides to email back a person who has sent him quite a few creepy stories. She never seems to run out of scary encounters of both sorts: paranormal and stranger-danger. He gets suspicious that the stories are all made up so she can grab his attention, but he’s in for a surprise.

U/N - username

Requested: No

Corpse’s POV

I’m looking through my most recent emails from fans. They are all of scary encounters they’ve allegedly experienced. By now, I’ve read so many, it’s easy to decipher which are real and which are just made up nonsense. Some, I must admit, give me chills. Big props to the people who write those, especially if they are made up. If you can make someone’s skin crawl with your twisted, frightening imagination, you have one, for lack of a better term and in the most positive way, fucked up mind.

My cursor lands on the familiar username I see almost every other week. U/N. They have been sending stories consistently for about three years now. They, and I’m saying they cause you can never be sure who’s hiding behind the username, are either the most unlucky person to walk the planet or the one with most twisted imagination and story telling skills. I’ll admit, sometimes I narrate a story just because it’s well written. Believability is not the only thing I go by, I also reward creativity. And this person, U/N, has had their spot in many of my videos in the last three years. I’m honestly hoping they are made up, or at least some of them, because not only are there too many of them, but none of them fail to give me that eerie paranoia after I read them or the chills while I read them.

Once again, they have submitted a downright terrifying story. It would be a shame if I didn’t narrate it.

It would be a shame if I....

If I never actually meet them.

This many run-ins with people with malicious intent, always getting away by some miracle, what if they one day don’t make it out alive to tell it.

My heart sinks a little at the thought. I feel like I know this person, like we’ve known each other for three years now. They know the things the whole internet knows about me, and I, along with my regular watchers, know their stories. That’s by no means enough, now that I think about it.

My next action is really out of character for me. I decide to reach out to them. My fingers fly over the buttons on my keyboard too fast for my rational side to try and stop them. Deep down, I know I’m doing the rightest wrong thing I’ve ever done. My previously sunk heart is now in its assigned spot again, beating quickly.

You don’t know what you’re doing

I maybe don’t, but knowing isn’t what’s important right now. I just wanna do it.

~ Hey, this is probably, what, your twentieth story so far. I’m just curious, how many of these are made up? By the way, your stories are amazing and I’ll probably keep narrating them even if they aren’t real. They’re just that good.

I send the email before I can talk myself out of it. I get up from my chair immediately afterwards, putting as much distance between me and the computer as possible, silently promising myself I won’t be checking my mail every five minutes.

Y/N’s POV

I anxiously refresh and refresh my email inbox, waiting for the dreaded email back from my professor. Being halfway through the college experience, I know how tough this professor’s class is and how much I suck at it. I sent him my completed assignment last night, barely making the deadline mind you, so now I’m sweating hardcore, staring my computer screen down.

After refreshing for the millionth time, I’m met with a new email which makes my heart stop for a second or two, my stomach dropping. Then I take the time to read the sender’s name, the subject and the first sentence of the email, and all the previous changes in me reverse. My heartbeat picks up speed, going faster than a galloping horse and my stomach turns, making me feel the sensation everyone calls ‘butterflies’.

Nah, man. This shit ain’t real. It can’t be.

But then again, what if it is. What if I’m about to full-on ignore my favorite youtuber because of my paranoia. Well, it’s not exactly unsupported. My life has been a shit show of unfortunate event and situations I’ve literally had to claw my way out of in order to stay alive. Now, when something of the sort happens, it’s just another weekday. However, I still wanna share these encounters. Not only because they are proof of the dangers girls have to deal with on a daily basis, but they also get narrated by one of my favorite people ever. What more can a girl ask for?

~ Listen, I’m really not looking forward to getting catfished. Please leave me alone

It’s short, not sweet, and to the point. It’s easy to understand, and it clearly states that I’m not falling for it if it’s a scam, but if it’s real....someone call 911 cause I think I’ll faint.

~ I get it, you have trust issues. But that’s understandable. From the creepy guy messaging you on all your social media. To the stalker you had from you high school, or even that teacher that turned out to not be a teacher at all and just a pedo, I see where the lack of trust is coming from. But I assure you, they only thing I wanna do is chat.

The shock and happiness overwhelm me when the reply arrives not even ten minutes later. 

Holy shit, this is him.

I start typing and then erase the typed half-sentence at least three times before receiving another email from him. From Corpse Husband. Corpse freaking Husband. How the fuck am I supposed to compose myself enough to reply to him, let alone sound cool and leave a good impression.

My hand shakes as I click the newly received email.

~ You probably don’t know what to say. Either that or you just don’t wanna talk to me. If you’re just baffled and surprised, reply with your name. If you want me to fuck off, ignore this email completely.

The smile I didn’t realize was there grows into a grin as small bursts of laughter escape me. Laughter caused by disbelief and shock. The type of laugh you let out when you score a good mark on the test you thought you completely fucked up.

~ Y/N. My name’s Y/N. 

PS: The stories are all 100% real. All happened. In the order I sent them too. And before you ask, I guess I’m just unlucky, but you are proving me wrong right now.

I don’t know where that confidence at the end came from, but I don’t care really. All that matters is that this might just actually be happening and it might be the best thing to ever happen to me.

~ Man, you’ve had it rough. Tell me, is there an easier way to access you than email. Like Insta DMs? I feel we have a lot to talk about and email is not the most convenient.

At this point, it feel so much like a fever dream that I decide to treat it as though it is. I just go with the flow.

~ Yeah, but first.....am I really not being catfished right now?

The email I receive as a reply to this message is empty of text but there’s a file attached. Not gonna lie, I am a bit hesitant to open it, but I decide that if this turns bad, I’ll just have to deal with it. In the meantime, I’ll believe it’s not a scam.

It’s an audio file: “No, Y/N, you are not being catfished.”

That voice. That god damn voice. It could convince me of anything. 

And now it’s convinced me into believing him. And finally letting out that squeal I was holding back before sending him my Instagram username.

[jemmahazelnut]

The boss's son

Summary: Freed works as a waiter at a luxury resort, a dream place if it weren't for the hateful boss. When Freed finds out that the boss's son is coming, he thinks the situation will only get worse. At least until he discovers that he's a beautiful guy who doesn't look like his father, and who will drive him crazy in completely different ways. [Freed/Laxus]

Link: AO3

Notes: Basically, a story in which Laxus and Freed make fun of each other, starting with small and innocent pranks to end up being sexual pranks. Rating explicit, this is NSFW and they are not in a stable relationship, so you may not like it (idk, they aren't that assholes but well, they play sexual pranks, just to let you know). For those who will read, have fun!

The boss's son

“You know, usually if someone comes to this club it's to meet people, not to hang out in a corner drinking,” said a voice above him.

Freed looked up and eyed the boy who had approached him. He was blond and muscular, the light and wet shirt he wore left little to the imagination, he had an arrogant smile and two beautiful blue eyes. The typical guy Freed would have had fun with, if only he'd been in the mood.

“I'm not interested,” he said right away. He was the umpteenth man who had flirted with him that night, but Freed had only come there to see Hibiki and let off steam with him on his hateful boss. If only the friend had finished flirting with every Blue Pegasus customer.

The blonde sat down next to him, leaned back and spread his arms out, probably just to emphasize his muscular body. A hot muscular body, highlighted by the wet shirt that clung to his skin. Freed looked at him slightly more interested, even though he wasn't in the mood for flirting anyway. It didn't matter if the man next to him embodied his ideal type, the frustration of the day was still there.

“Your look says otherwise,” said the stranger with a smirk. Freed rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“Did someone spill a drink on you out of your arrogance, or did you spill it on yourself to get my attention?” he asked a little irritably, hoping to get him away. The blond, however, laughed heartily.

“Neither, a guy spilled it on me by mistake,” he replied and then smirked. “Although I think he did it intentionally to see more,” he added arrogantly. Freed snorted and returned to his drink, turning his gaze back to the bar. Hibiki was still flirting with the client and had probably completely forgotten about him. “So why are you in a bad mood? Do you have a crush on that bartender?” asked the blond.

“No, he's just my friend. I came here to talk to him but apparently a muscular man is enough and he forgets that I exist,” Freed commented sourly.

“Well, you can talk to me,” the blond proposed. Freed turned back to him. At least the blonde had taken a more decent stance and now the arrogant smirk had been replaced by a more sincere smile. Maybe that was what broke Freed, or maybe the fact that he really needed to let off steam about his hateful boss.

“I had a shit day, I had a fight with my boss because he's a fucking asshole who can't admit when he's wrong and because he doesn't want me to be a cook, but he's looking for other chefs because clearly the ones who are there, aren’t enough. I’ve a good career as a chef, and he makes me a waiter, damn it,” he snapped irritably.

The blond frowned.

“If you’ve a good career as a chef why don't you go to another restaurant?” he asked.

“Because working as a chef at that resort will give me a lot more chances and give me a good reputation. It seemed like a fantastic idea last year, now I realize that with such a boss it would’ve been better to work elsewhere” he grunted irritably.

The blond was silent for a moment and Freed looked at him.

“If you want to go find another guy to have fun with you can do it, I'm definitely not in the mood,” he said at that point, thinking he was getting bored.

“No, I was actually thinking about your boss. He must be really an asshole if you said so” the stranger commented, throwing him a curious look.

“Asshole is an understatement,” Freed grunted “A spoiled and arrogant man who's only there because his father made the effort to open the resort. He didn't do anything and I also doubt he can handle business, he probably makes other people do everything. He’s there just because he’s lucky. And the worst thing is that in the next few days his son will come, probably another spoiled boy with the stink under his nose unable to do anything, like any son of the boss” he growled irritably, tightening his grip on the glass.

The blond looked at him a bit puzzled and then smiled amused.

“What's funny?” Freed asked nervously.

“Nothing” said the stranger. “Actually I'm sorry for you. I know how annoying guys can be who have done nothing in their entire life and are only there by sheer luck,” he added.

“Have you had anything to do with it too?” Freed asked.

“More or less” smiled the blond. “What's your name?” he asked.

“Freed,” he replied.

“Well, it was nice meeting you. Your friend is coming, so I'll get out of the way,” he said as he stood up and again an arrogant smirk spread across his face. “I'm Laxus Dreyar, see you at work,” he said winking at him, and then walked away through the crowd.

Freed remained speechless staring with wide eyes at the broad back of the blonde who was walking away. That was definitely a shitty day, and probably also the end of his career.

***

Freed had thought things couldn't get any worse after insulting his boss in front of his son. But they actually got worse, because when he had to serve breakfast that morning, he found himself having to serve none other than Ivan and his son.

Really, that was bad luck.

He would probably have been fired on the spot and also in front of the rest of the waiters. Probably Ivan would also put bad rumors about him and Freed would have to run away from Magnolia and also from Fiore to find a decent job. Perhaps he could no longer be a chef.

With those thoughts he reached the tables. The two men were sitting in one of them, and Freed put down the orders they had taken. Two croissants, two coffees and two glasses of water. He met Laxus' gaze who, in addition to being much more beautiful in the sunlight, was clearly smiling at him with amusement.

“Thanks. If all the waiters are so sexy, I think I'll go through here more often” he said and Ivan almost choked on the water he had started drinking, starting to cough frantically. Freed looked puzzled at the blonde, completely at a loss for words. He had thought of many possible scenarios, but certainly not such a thing.

“Laxus,” Ivan growled.

“What's up? It’s true. I was almost afraid you’d only taken girls in short, low-cut uniforms. This is much better, especially with the tight pants he’s wearing,” Laxus continued, eyeing him openly. Freed was still too stunned to have any reaction. Seriously, what game was that boy playing?

“Get out of here, go back to the kitchen” Ivan growled and Freed obeyed, walking away a little dazed.

“What’s up? You should be happy, at least I’ve a good reason to come back here” he heard from Laxus, but soon after Freed entered the bar and could no longer hear the conversation between the two.

He went back to the counter and thought back to the absurd scene he had just experienced. Did Laxus want to embarrass him in front of his father? It didn't make sense, the most embarrassed had seemed Ivan. And honestly, getting a compliment from a man as handsome as Laxus would certainly not embarrass him, on the contrary, it would only make him gloat more. He shook his head in confusion and took another tray, pushing that thought away and thinking about his work. The important thing was not to have been fired.

***

Freed didn't think things would turn out for the better. He had had his job as a cook, and he honestly didn't fully understand why. Ivan had come to him pissed off, told him he could have his job as a chef and told him not to go near his son. Freed had assumed by then that perhaps the reason he would no longer be serving the tables was Laxus' comment. Not that it made any sense, as they could still see each other at the resort. Besides, it was Laxus who hit on him, Freed hadn't done anything. All in all he had nothing to complain about, as he had gotten the job he wanted.

Dreyars were just weird and Freed didn't want to have anything to do with them anyway. Even though Laxus was handsome -and he really was, dammit- he was definitely a weird guy. Plus, Freed didn't really want to piss off Ivan any more than necessary. Now that he had his job as a cook, he wouldn't do anything to ruin his chance. He would work hard until the end of the season, so that he would have a good experience and maybe even a springboard to work at other resorts.

And probably by being a cook he would have had less chance of meeting Laxus.

Probably.

It wasn't quite like that. Either he was unlucky, or that blond was following him, because one evening, as soon as he finished his shift and walked out of the kitchens, he passed Laxus who was talking to a waitress. Freed waved goodnight just out of politeness, and then walked away quickly, but obviously Laxus was there for him, because he reached him.

“I heard you got the job as a chef. You can thank me,” Laxus said. Freed gave him a mixed look between doubtful and frowning.

“Excuse me?”

“The only reason why my father locked you up in the kitchens is because in this way we don’t have a chance to see each other again, you know?” Laxus explained.

“A rather absurd reason, we still work in the same resort,” Freed commented, stopping in the middle of the corridor and glancing around hoping that Ivan wouldn’t pass by at that moment. Just two days ago he had ordered him to stay away from his son, damn it. Even if it was an absurd order, he didn't want to risk his career.

“I agree with you, but he couldn't fire you and he thought that this way we wouldn't see each other again,” Laxus said. Freed narrowed his still doubtful gaze.

“Won't you tell him I insulted him?” he asked, lowering his voice as if fearing Laxus wanted to blackmail him in some way. Laxus, however, chuckled.

“Nah, don't worry. I insult him half the time and to tell the truth I understand you. He's an asshole at home, at work he can't be different,” he replied with a shrug. Freed still looked at him doubtfully. He still didn't understand what Laxus wanted from him.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Know you better. I thought getting you your dream job would melt you a little, ice-boy” Laxus replied immediately. Freed raised an eyebrow.

“So the only reason you made that out of place comment was to get my attention?” he asked skeptically. Laxus chuckled.

“Well, more or less. I also pissed off my dad, which is always fun, and at the same time I did a good deed by getting you the job you wanted. Not that I wasn't sincere, I didn't really think my father would hire a guy like you,” he replied mischievously.

Freed looked at him in silence for a couple of seconds. So that blond was really attracted to him. Or maybe he was angry with him because he had thrown his ego down by refusing him to the Blue Pegasus. Well, whatever he had in mind, Freed didn't want to have anything to do with him. Even though he was probably the sexiest guy who had ever flirted with him, he didn't want to lose his job and antagonize Ivan even more. So he threw all the desire to flirt down his stomach and took on an impassive tone.

“Well, thanks for your good deed then” he said “But as I said the other night, I'm not interested” he replied.

“Not yet” Laxus smiled “Try not to drool behind my body as you did the other night” greeted him and walked away. Freed looked at him in silence, while a faint blush rose up his cheeks.

He shook his head and walked to his room, with a clear thought in mind: the Dreyars would be his downfall.

***

There were advantages to working in a luxury resort. First of all, the fact that when Freed had an afternoon or a day off, he could benefit from his services without having to move. Second, the employee discount.

Freed walked into the sauna, thinking that that would definitely do him good for relieving the nervousness he had built up throughout the day. Like every day, Ivan had been unbearable and for some reason he had taken it out on all the cooks, including Freed. Freed had made a tremendous effort to keep his tongue between his teeth, and for once he had succeeded. It had been a miracle, but he was still thinking about what he wanted to tell him.

He tried to clear his mind and after taking a quick shower taking off his swimsuit, he wrapped the towel around his hips and went straight to the saunas. He entered the first free sauna and sat on the bench, inhaling deeply and trying to relax.

It wasn’t difficult, the heat had a good effect on him and he leaned his head to the wood, enjoying that tranquility more than deserved.

Until he heard the door open. He opened his eyes and was shocked to see none other than the boss's son.

Laxus Dreyar in all his glory, with only a small towel wrapped around his hips.

Holy shit.

“You too here” smiled the blonde sitting not far from him and Freed made a clear effort to take his eyes off his body. Great, his whole goal of relaxing had gone to hell. Why did the Dreyars always have to ruin his days in one way or another?

“Apparently,” he said a little annoyed and closed his eyes, trying not to think about the fact that the incredibly muscular and incredibly naked body of that blonde was just inches from him.

“Stressful day?” Laxus asked.

“Enough, since I've been working all day, on contrary to you,” Freed said and didn't regret his tone in the slightest. He didn't care that Laxus was Ivan Dreyar's son, in fact, that was probably just one more reason to be angry with him, even if he wasn't as much of an asshole as his father.

“Just because I do a different job doesn't mean I don't work,” Laxus replied and Freed heard a rustle, which made him open his eyes. Laxus had stretched his legs on the bench and was staring openly with interest. Hell, if he hadn't been Ivan Dreyar's son, Freed would’ve done a lot of things to that body.

“I guess watching others work and give absurd orders is very tiring,” he said ironically, turning his gaze again.

“You know, mentally it's very stressful to be behind such a resort. And at least you do a job you like,” Laxus replied.

“Sure,” Freed muttered, staring at the door in front of him. If only he hadn't been locked in an extremely hot little sauna with Laxus naked beside him, maybe he would have found a better answer.

“Does it bother you if I take off the towel?” Laxus asked and Freed felt himself flush. Now it was hot. Very hot. And the idea of seeing that body completely naked… no, he really didn't want to.

“No, I'm done,” he said, keeping an incredibly firm tone. He got up and opened the door to get out of there as fast as possible.

“Hey, if I make you uncomfortable, I can stay with the towel,” Laxus said following him.

“You can do whatever you want,” Freed retorted trying to keep a cool tone. It was getting difficult though. He headed straight for the showers, to freshen up a bit and maybe put some distance between him and Laxus. It didn't work, because the blonde followed him.

“You don't have to leave because of me.”

“I'm not leaving because of you,” Freed retorted, avoiding looking at him. He walked over to the showers and turned to Laxus, who was looking at him amused. Freed stared at him in silence, giving him a dirty look that he hoped would push him away. Laxus, however, remained there. “Can you leave?” Freed asked after a while.

“Why should I? I'm here to take a shower. A piece of advice, if you want to do it you have to take off your towel” he added with an arrogant tone. God what an asshole.

“Seriously, get out of here,” Freed said irritably. Laxus leaned his back against the wall, abandoning his smirk and arrogant attitude.

“Are you really not even a little interested?” he asked in an oddly calm tone. Freed hesitated for a moment and again his gaze fell on the incredibly toned and sweaty abdomen of Laxus. Damn, that boy was practically a god. If only he had been dressed Freed wouldn't have been so distracted. And if he wasn't Ivan's son, Freed would have succumbed to flirting by taking both towels off their bodies and touching those gorgeous muscles, letting Laxus do whatever he wanted with him in that shower.

“Look, I'm certainly not going to do it with my boss's son. Besides the fact that Mr. Dreyar clearly told me to stay away from you,” he said, thinking that saying he wasn't interested would be a colossal lie.

“Oh, so that's the only reason you're not giving in,” Laxus commented.

“No. Also because you're not my type.” Freed lied sharply.

Laxus pursed his lips provocatively again.

“Not your type, huh? Yet your gaze says otherwise, Justine,” he said. Freed stiffened and when Laxus approached him he forced himself to stand still and not back away. Not that it would help him much, as he had a wall inches from his back.

Laxus came close enough to make touch their chests and make him feel the warmth of his skin. Once again, Freed forced himself not to move and to keep his gaze, forcing himself to swallow all the excitement that was building up to have such a handsome man so close. Damn close.

“You know, the fact that my father doesn't want me to approach you is just one more reason to do it,” Laxus admitted in an amused tone.

“Because you’re an asshole who enjoys seeing others immersed in problems?” Freed asked trying to keep a firm tone.

“No, because I enjoy pissing off my father,” Laxus admitted and lowered his face to him. Freed held his breath. “But if I'm not your type, I won't stress you out anymore,” Laxus blew on his face. Freed just wanted to get closer and close the distance between them, kissing those incredibly inviting lips. Laxus walked away and the air returned.

“I hope you won't kick yourself, Justine,” he said and a moment later he hit the shower button, and Freed was hit by the jet of water. He opened his mouth in shock but no sound came out and Laxus laughed. “I told you to take off your towel if you wanted to take a shower. See you” he greeted and Freed stared at him with a dry throat and a throbbing heart.

Damn asshole.

***

Laxus had kept his word. He hadn't stressed him out anymore, nor had he flirt with him again. Freed had to admit, with some nervousness, that he was quite disappointed with that behavior. He wasn't kicking himself, he just wanted revenge on him for how he had soaked him in water when he was still wearing the towel. Yes, that was the reason. Certainly not the fact that Laxus was practically a walking God. And certainly not the fact that Laxus was temperamentally much kinder and much friendlier than his father.

Not that it took much to be better than Ivan Dreyar, Freed kept thinking, to get rid of all the good thoughts about that blonde.

It didn't work at all, as Freed had seen with his own eyes that Laxus was really nice with all employees. Everyone loved him and spoke well of him. He looked nothing like his father at all. Neither temperamentally, nor physically.

In any case, Freed kept thinking about how arrogant he had been at first, so as not to kick himself. Because, he could admit at least to himself, Laxus was really handsome and friendly. But he remained Ivan's son and Freed had only had one very specific order from the boss, it shouldn't have been difficult to respect it. So Freed continued to work, insulting Ivan every night -paying attention to whoever talked about him- and trying to think as little as possible about Laxus.

That evening he was walking down the corridor to leave the resort and go to the Blue Pegasus to talk to Hibiki, but when he turned the corner, he collided with Laxus.

“Piece of shit,” the blonde growled.

“You're the one who came on me,” Freed immediately retorted. Laxus looked at him for a moment in silence, then snorted and turned away.

“I wasn't talking to you, sorry,” he said. Freed looked at him a little surprised, just nodded and they both got into the elevator. Freed saw that Laxus wasn't pressing the button, so he asked if he should go downstairs. Laxus nodded and Freed hit the button.

“Stressful day?” the cook asked to break the silence and Laxus smiled bitterly.

“Not really, I just had a fight with my dad,” he said. “You were right to say he's an asshole.”

“I'd rather you didn’t say it out loud,” Freed reiterated. Even though they were inside the elevator, he didn't want to risk being overheard by the wrong person.

“You can rest easy, the asshole is away, on a fucking trip with his new wife,” Laxus growled. Freed didn’t reply and looked at him a little worried. He didn't know anything about Laxus' family and didn't want to ask intrusive questions, but the blonde looked really pissed off.

“I'm sorry,” he just said.

“Nah, it's lucky that he's gone, or I’d have risked punching him. But next week he'll be back with that woman who's even more annoying than him,” he said.

“I find it really difficult,” Freed commented softly and Laxus gave a short, bitter laugh.

“Yeah, I thought so too,” he said.

The elevator reached the ground floor. The two went out and both walked towards the exit of the resort. When they were out Laxus sat down on a bench, running his hands through his hair, obviously nervous. Freed started to greet him, but when he saw him bitterly staring at the grass at his feet, he hesitated for a moment. Laxus was a really good person, he was sorry to see him like that. At that point he decided to take a step towards him.

“If you want to let off steam, on the beach there’s an area with a punching bag.”

Laxus looked up in confusion. “I’ve a gym on the floor above my room, if I want to let off steam I go there” he pointed out in a tired tone.

“Yes, but you wouldn't have the chance to be admired by the guy who destroyed your ego a few weeks ago by refusing you,” Freed said and regretted the sentence as soon as he finished it.

For long seconds Laxus just blinked with a shocked expression. Finally, he smiled in amusement.

“You're kicking yourself, huh?” he asked him.

“Not at all,” Freed replied promptly. “I'm just returning the favor you did me when you got me the job as a chef. But as I returned the favor, I’ll also return a revenge for letting me take a shower with the towel,” he declared.

Laxus laughed slightly.

“If I can make you drool then I accept the invitation” he said, standing up.

“I doubt I'll drool. Rather I can tease you when I see that your muscles are just full of air,” Freed retorted.

“Yeah, I think you'll drool a lot,” Laxus smiled.

***

“My father has always had very high demands, he decided everything for me and made me study economics and then let me take over the resort,” Laxus said as he walked with Freed along the beach.

The two had reached the beach but hadn’t found the equipment to let Laxus vent. On the other hand, they had played basketball, finding an abandoned ball and making a few shots for a basket. Then they walked towards the shore and started walking aimlessly chatting. And apparently, Laxus was now comfortable enough to tell him about his family.

“And I wanted to make him happy, partly so as not to fight constantly, partly because I wanted his approval. And when I finally started working seriously in high school, things almost got better. For a period of time we also got on well, he bragged to me to his partners, and I went to those fucking dinners just to make him happy,” he said and then shook his head.

“Practically I didn't have a social life, but at least I didn't fight it anymore with him. Until he caught me with a guy,” he said. Freed looked at him sorry and Laxus snorted. “He made me an incredible scene, and it’s only thanks to my grandfather that he then 'accepted' me,” he said making the quotes with his hands. “He didn't really accept it, but since I'm his only child and he can't tell me anything about the rest, he just doesn't talk about it and pretend nothing has happened.”

“I'm sorry,” Freed said.

“Nah, I'm used to it now. And it could be worse” he added and then glanced at him. “Anyway, I'm not the only one with a fucking family,” he added. Freed flapped for a moment and then smiled slightly.

“My family is great, they didn't even have to accept it. I think they knew even before I told them,” he revealed with a shrug. Laxus nodded slightly.

“Well, glad to know there are such families,” he muttered. “They probably even took you to the marches,” he later commented.

“More or less,” Freed chuckled. “My mother wanted to support me at all costs and in every moment of my life. She was a little embarrassing, but she’s really fantastic” he admitted and Laxus smiled slightly.

“She must be a really good person,” he said.

“She is,” Freed said confidently. “Even though she came to me one day with a book about gay sex and how to protect myself, I think it was the most embarrassing moment of my life,” he said and Laxus chuckled in amusement.

“Well, you can't say she wasn't close to you.”

“No, definitely,” Freed smiled. “Even if I drove her crazy a lot in the last year of high school,” he said.

“Really? Were you one of those dicks who didn't study anything?” Laxus asked.

“Not at all. I was actually a model student,” Freed revealed.

“One of those nerds with the stink under their nose?” Laxus guessed and for a moment Freed frowned, but then chuckled and nodded.

“Yeah, you probably would have called me that,” he revealed. “Until the end of the fourth year, from there I got engaged to a guy who made me do shit one after another. My mother, on the one hand, wanted to support me, on the other she was very worried,” he said. “Once I didn't come home for a whole weekend, she thought I was on drugs and that I was fucking with who knows who. In reality I was just sleeping with him”.

“Well, from a model student you turned into a rebel,” Laxus teased.

“Not really, I just melted a little,” Freed revealed. “And I think all teenagers have done shit in life,” he added. Laxus frowned and Freed feared he had said something bad. “Sorry,” he said, realizing that Laxus had previously told him that he had spent his entire life under his father's rules.

“Don't worry, it's not that I didn't enjoy. I just... I had a bad temper and got along with very few people,” Laxus said. “I still remember that time everyone went for a midnight swim and I refused and left. It would’ve been fun, but for some reason I was convinced that if I did, someone would steal my clothes,” he said.

Freed turned to him and met his gaze.

“Are you telling me you've never had a midnight swim? If I were you, I’d be ashamed of it,” he said clearly jokingly.

“I never understood the meaning of it,” Laxus objected, frowning.

“The point is to have fun going out first and stealing other people’s clothes, especially if he's the guy you like,” Freed explained. “So, do you want to take a bath?” he asked.

Laxus turned to him recovering the arrogant smile, which sent a shiver of excitement down Freed's spine.

“You're really kicking yourself, huh?”

“You’d like it,” was the presumptuous reply. “If you don't undress, I'll throw you into the sea, as revenge for the surprise shower,” he added with a smirk. Laxus laughed and they both began to undress to go in for a bath.

Freed, even knowing it was a bad idea, because Laxus was the boss's son and because they didn't know each other well yet, decided not to think. There was something about that boy that told him that if he didn't take advantage of it, he would miss a once in a lifetime opportunity.

***

Freed boarded the ferry and took a seat, while Laxus sat in front of him. They had gotten pretty close since they had taken the midnight swim. Laxus had started flirting again and Freed enjoyed flirting back, at least when Ivan wasn't around. Unfortunately, however, due to their work they were unable to see each other often, even though they worked in the same resort. That’s why that afternoon they had decided to go for a tour to the Tenrou island. Freed had the afternoon off, and Laxus had no problem shifting his working hours.

“Have you really never visited it before?” Laxus asked and Freed shook his head.

“No. Unlike you, I work, I don't have time for boat trips” Freed teased him a bit. If at first he had been acid, now he did it jokingly, clearly he knew that Laxus worked.

“Funny,” Laxus commented.

The ferry left and Freed looked down at the brochure he was holding, to read more about Tenrou, the small island that was now a nature reserve. The wind ruffled his hair and threw it in his face and Freed moaned softly as he heard Laxus chuckle. He took the rubber band and began to tie them in a high ponytail, but in doing so the brochure fluttered and Laxus caught it, smiling clearly amused.

“So, you’re interested in the myth of Tenrou?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m interested in history in general,” Freed replied as Laxus leafed through the brochure. “Even if that myth seems more like a way to advertise the island to engaged couples. From what I read, there lived a woman forced to immortality killed by the man whom she loved because of a kiss” he said. Laxus raised an eyebrow as he turned the pages.

“There’s another myth about that island,” he said. Freed became interested and leaned slightly towards him. “My grandfather always told me when I was a child. It's about Mavis' story, how she met her first friends and founded the city of Magnolia,” he explained.

“And what does it say?” Freed asked.

Laxus returned the brochure to the boy and began to tell about the life of Mavis, a girl who had lived for years alone on that island with only her imaginary friend, and how he had met her first friends, a gang of thieves.

When they arrived on the island, Laxus had just finished telling the whole story, and the two boys got off the boat as they began to visit the place. Laxus led him to see the big tree, Mavis' grave and other places while he continued to tell the stories his grandfather had told him, which Freed was very interested in.

They wandered around the island chatting and when they finished the tour inside and returned to the beach Freed realized that time had really flown by.

“I really need to take a bath,” he commented noting he was all sweaty after that hike. The heat of the summer season didn't help at all.

“Well, you can do it. And if you don't have a swimsuit, don't worry, it's a nudist beach,” Laxus said quietly. Freed stared at him skeptically and in silence, a little surprised at the revelation.

“Really?” he asked.

“Of course, it's an isolated beach and there aren't many tourists. Besides, it was written in the brochure,” Laxus said.

Freed frowned, he didn't remember reading such a thing and he was sure that if he read it, he would remember it. He wasn’t modest, but he had never been to a nudist beach and didn’t want to undress in the sunlight, especially when he didn’t see other people around him to confirm that statement. At the moment it was just the two of them on the beach.

“You’re really modest,” Laxus commented with a smirk.

“Because I don't trust you,” Freed muttered as Laxus set the towel on the beach and sat on it.

“Do you really think I would risk getting you a fine?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I think you'd do anything to see me naked,” Freed promptly replied and Laxus chuckled.

Freed sat down next to him when Laxus waved him to sit down, then took the brochure and reread it to find out if the blonde had really been bullshitting him or not. He read it all and eventually found no paragraph, not a single line that said it was a nudist beach. He looked up at Laxus who was clearly looking amused.

“Seriously? You’d have made me get a fine,” Freed said irritably and also embarrassed at being fooled so easily. Laxus laughed.

“Everyone is looking at Mavis' grave. I would’ve enjoyed the view and then I’d have told you to get dressed before the others came,” he retorted. “Or maybe I would’ve made you run around naked until the others came, who knows,” he added amused.

Freed narrowed his gaze.

“I'll take my revenge,” he warned him.

“Nothing happened,” Laxus retorted with a laugh.

“Because I'm smart,” Freed retorted. “I doubt you’ll be able to escape my revenge.”

“Sure,” Laxus said derisively. “I doubt you can be vindictive, you're just a kid who gets embarrassed easily,” he added.

“We'll see,” Freed retorted and turned his gaze towards the sea, thanking the fact that he hadn't undressed.

***

Laxus was having a great time. He'd almost feared that staying at that resort with his father would be terribly boring, but Freed's presence was distracting him enough from the fights with his father and the stress at work. In fact, teasing him or flirting with him had become the funniest thing of the day.

In the end, Freed didn't take revenge, but Laxus wasn't surprised. That guy might be good at flirting and resisting his advances, but Laxus doubted he could really embarrass him. Also, Freed was really attracted to him, he could see it from the way he looked at him. And God, the idea of being able to take such a man to bed sparked arousal throughout Laxus' body. After the sauna he had feared that he had exaggerated and that he had missed his chance, but luckily that wasn’t the case.

Knowing that Freed was still willing to flirt with him and play along with him was exciting.

“Hey Laxus, are you in the world of the living or are you dreaming?” Cana called him back and Laxus returned to reality. He hadn't heard anything about his friends' conversation. Evergreen, Cana, and Bickslow were clearly watching him expectantly.

“Sorry, work stresses me out,” he said.

“Yeah, with that look I guess the problem is work,” Cana commented ironically and Laxus found himself blushing slightly. He had no idea what expression he had, but certainly thinking about Freed couldn't help him keep a serious look.

“What are you talking about?” he changed the subject.

“Later I want to know what you were thinking,” Cana said.

“I'm pretty sure it has to do with a guy,” Bickslow commented amused.

“Not that it's hard to understand,” Evergreen gave a strong hand.

What great bastards.

Laxus just shook his head. “What were you talking about?” he asked again.

“About the waitress,” Cana said with a nod and Laxus followed her gaze. Ah, Mirajane. “So, will you tell me if she’s engaged or not? And even if she’s interested in women,” Cana said.

“She's not engaged and... I honestly don't know,” Laxus admitted.

Mirajane at that moment approached them with a tray in her hand and a dangerous smile on her face. Laxus didn't give it too much thought, thinking that she probably wanted to make fun of Evergreen by telling him about Elfman. This girl had a sadistic streak about embarrassing people publicly, and Laxus enjoyed helping her.

“Here are the orders,” Mirajane said, putting down three cups of coffee and one of tea for Evergreen. Then she gave two slices of cake to Bickslow, two brioches to Evergreen and Cana and then she turned to Laxus and smiled broadly at him placing a slice of cheesecake in front of him.

“This is for you. The cook told me to tell you that it was made by his golden hands, that you adore, just for you”.

Laxus was stunned for a moment, while Mirajane watched him clearly amused. The boy then realized what she had said and felt his face blush furiously. Fuck. Fuck! Mirajane giggled.

“Oh, and he also said to tell you that if you want to see him naked, you don't need to take him to a nude beach, you just have to join him in the sauna or hot tub. And that he’s very pleased to have caught your attention. Enjoy your breakfast!” she trilled and then walked away happily as ever as Laxus's face took on a distinctly red color.

Cana, Evergreen and Bickslow turned to him in shock and with a thousand questions. Laxus suddenly regretted telling Freed that his nosy friends would be arriving that day and that they had fun pissing him off.

“So, who’s this cook?” Bickslow asked with a grin on his face.

“And did you really take him to a nudist beach?” Evergreen asked.

“But above all, what did he do to you with those golden hands?” Cana asked.

Laxus pounced on the cheesecake to keep from answering their questions, thinking he'd take revenge for that stupid fucking prank.

***

Freed smiled broadly as he relaxed in the hot tub. He would have liked to have seen Laxus' expression when he made fun of him in front of his friends, but Mirajane's description was satisfactory anyway. Was he really blushing so much? Freed really wanted to see him.

He chuckled to himself as he turned on the whirlpool and stood in front of the jet so that it hit his back directly. After a day of work it was definitely pleasant to go there and the fact that there were only a few people at that time helped him to relax even more.

He closed his eyes and rested his head on the edge of the pool sliding further down into the tub and muttering softly, enjoying that wonderful massage. Until he felt a shift of water and a warm hand resting on his side.

He snapped his eyes open only to find Laxus in front of him with his lips folded in a smirk that heralded nothing but trouble.

“You enjoyed yourself, right?” Laxus asked as he approached and pinned him against the edge of the tub. Freed blinked for a couple of seconds and swallowed nervously, trying to control the eyes that wanted to travel every single groove of that fantastic body. Somehow Freed managed to fold his lips into a smirk.

“Actually yes, Mira said you were red as a tomato,” he said smugly. Laxus blushed slightly and Freed's smirk widened. “I didn't think I'd embarrass you so much in front of your friends,” he teased again, trying to ignore Laxus's body.

“You're an asshole, you know,” Laxus said.

“Maybe, but I'm not the one who started it,” he retorted. Laxus narrowed his gaze and pushed forward causing their chests to collide. Freed inhaled sharply and Laxus smiled sadistically at his reaction.

“No, but you won't be the one to finish it either,” he said, straddling him and Freed swallowed nervously. Laxus's hands held his hips steady and his thighs prevented him from getting up. Not that Freed would have wanted to do it. “And now I really want to find out what you can do with those golden hands” he blew in his face.

Freed felt himself blush and blinked in surprise. Did he really mean…?

Oh fuck yeah, he really meant it.

Laxus's hand that went down his abdominals and reached the hem of his costume was definitely eloquent.

“Here?” Freed asked hoarsely.

“Well,” Laxus started with a grin as he ran his hand under Freed's swimsuite. “Since you embarrassed me in public, it seems right that your punishment takes place here.”

Freed was about to retort, but Laxus's hand moving under the costume made him forget all complaints. He looked around and noticed that, at least in that room, there was no one. However, in the others there were probably other customers or employees.

Laxus gave his cock a hard pump and Freed moaned. However, that didn't seem like a punishment at all.

“I advise you to be quiet if you don't want to be overheard,” Laxus said as he pulled Freed's cock out of the costume and pumped it faster.

“Shit,” Freed whispered and Laxus smiled, placing the lips on his neck and kissing him voraciously. Freed decided to get busy, if Laxus wanted to know what he could do with his hands then hell, he would.

He ran his hands around his muscular body that he had admired for far too long and gasped at the sensation. God, he hardly believed he had such a man sitting on top of him. His hands quickly went down to his stomach, he pulled down the costume directly and, after taking a look at Laxus's cock, wrapped it in his fingers and started pumping.

“Fuck,” Laxus muttered and moved to remove the costume from both himself and Freed. Then he positioned himself on Freed again and pushed their cocks against each other.

“Oh shit,” Freed moaned.

“Shut up,” Laxus whispered.

Freed wrapped his fingers around their cocks and started pumping them together, all thoughts focused on that wonderfully sexy body and the contact he had craved. Laxus bent over him and took Freed’s face in his hands, kissing him.

Freed inhaled sharply but didn't take long to reciprocate, while he felt Laxus' hands go down his neck and then his chest, until they reached his nipples and teased them. Freed glanced at the door to check that no one was arriving. Damn, the fact that anyone who could arrive at any moment was exciting him even more.

Laxus moved his lips back to his neck stifling another moan and Freed increased the movement of his hand. Then Laxus pressed the whirlpool button which hit Freed's back directly.

“Fuck” he moaned too loudly.

“Faster,” Laxus gasped on his neck.

Freed obeyed, unable to restrain himself any longer and felt his orgasm approach. He increased the movement of his hand and with the other hand he grabbed Laxus's hair, forcibly turning his head and kissing him intensely, while he felt his orgasm rise again. Biting Laxus' lip he cummed into the water. He kept moving his hand until he also felt Laxus's cock squirt and his body shaking at the sensation.

When it finished Freed stood still enjoying the last moments of the whirlpool, with Laxus's body still attached to him and his breath tickling his face.

“Fuck” Freed muttered after a few seconds.

Laxus smiled wearily and Freed smiled back, exhausted and high.

“Shit, you're fucking awesome,” Laxus said, kissing him again. Freed reciprocated without having the slightest desire to break away from that incredibly sexy body. “Now I can tell, your hands are truly magical,” he said and Freed laughed slightly.

Laxus moved and grabbed his swimsuit and put on it, then grabbed Freed's. The boy reached out and thought he was going to pass it to him, but Laxus grinned and walked out of the pool without giving it back.

“Have a nice walk, asshole,” he said as he walked quickly to the door.

“Laxus,” Freed called as he stood up to follow him, but the blond was already at the door and Freed was still in the tub.

“I advise you not to scream if you don't want to attract attention,” Laxus mocked, then grabbed his and Freed's bathrobes and hurried out of the room.

Freed could only watch the glass door move and remain naked and red-faced in the tub. Embarrassed, he covered his crotch with his hands, thinking that he would soon take revenge on that sexy bastard.

***

Laxus had discovered that Freed had managed to reach the towels without being seen by anyone, but then he had had to walk all the way down the hall with only that miserable piece of cloth around his hips to his room. It wasn't that bad, but Laxus laughed when he imagined the scene.

And well, thinking back to that night and how Freed had touched him, gave him constant ideas about how to take that boy and what it would be like to run his hands over his body again. Damn, that boy was a natural temptation, Laxus had thought that from the first time he had seen him sitting on the loveseat of the Blue Pegasus. Who knows what it would have been like to fuck him, have him under him and hear his loud moans instead of the muffled ones he had heard in that tub. Laxus smiled, thinking that at that rate it wouldn't take long to get him to bed, especially if Freed was so responsive.

At the moment, however, he had something more serious to focus on, like the meeting between his father's partners, which would have unnerved him even more. So after having breakfast, he went to the elevator, adjusting his jacket and waiting for it to arrive on the ground floor. He glanced at his watch and then realized that someone was approaching. It was Freed. He frowned slightly.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I forgot something in my room,” Freed said, admiring him. Laxus smiled slightly, Freed wasn't as discreet as he thought he was. But it was okay, and Laxus enjoyed knowing he had an effect on him. Especially considering how crazy that green-haired devil drove him every time Laxus saw him.

The elevator arrived and the two went up.

“Do you have a meeting this morning?” Freed asked.

“Unfortunately,” Laxus commented, glancing at him.

Freed smiled devilishly and pressed a couple of buttons, sending the elevator into a tailspin.

“What are you doing?” Laxus asked.

“You'll like it” was his reply and without wasting time Freed stood up on tiptoe and kissed him, running his hands over Laxus’ pants. He unfastened his belt and with a sharp gesture opened his pants. Laxus gasped on his lips.

“I’ve a meeting in five minutes,” he said.

“I bet I'll be able to get you to cum within that time,” Freed smiled.

Laxus would have turned him away. Damn, even if that cook was sexy as hell there was no way that he masturbated him in the elevator risking to dirty his work clothes. And in five fucking minutes he wouldn't be able to do anything. But before he could say anything, Freed reached down between his legs and all the words Laxus wanted to say caught in his throat.

Freed lowered his boxers and took his cock between his fingers, gave two strong pumps and then put it in his mouth. Laxus's eyes widened and a whimper escaped his lips without him being able to hold it back. Shocked he watched the boy move his mouth over him.

Oh fucking hell.

Freed looked up at him and Laxus groaned just to see those evil eyes. Freed increased his speed, moved his tongue to its full length, and then rolled it over the tip of his cock.

“Oh shit,” Laxus moaned as he felt his legs shake. The elevator started up again and Laxus pressed the buttons again to stop it. “Freed… holy shit,” he gasped and leaned his head against the wall, thrusting his hips forward asking for more. Freed picked up speed and took it down his throat, Laxus cursed again.

“F-Fuck” he moaned but the lift started up again. Before he could stop it a third time, Freed stood up and took Laxus’ face in his hands, kissing him. Laxus let himself be carried away by the kiss and placed his hands on Freed's hips, even though his cock was demanding attention.

He felt a sensation of panic when he realized that the elevator was going up and he broke away from Freed. At that moment the cook adjusted his boxers and pulled up the zipper of his trousers.

“I lost the bet,” Freed said with a shrug.

“What?” Laxus asked stunned as the elevator stopped at his floor.

Freed just stamped a kiss on his lips and smiled wickedly. “You don't want to be late for the meeting,” he said.

At that moment the elevator doors opened and Freed walked out, greeting Jellal Fernandez politely and walking down the corridor. The man entered the elevator while Laxus was still looking at Freed in disbelief, excited and pissed off.

“Isn't that your plan? The meeting has started,” Jellal said.

Laxus without answering came out of the elevator, with an erection in his pants and an incredible desire to fuck that asshole's mouth. He barely wondered how he was going to get to that fucking meeting in those conditions. All his thoughts were focused on the revenge he would organize. That damn cook was playing with the wrong person.

***

When Erza came to call him saying the boss wanted to talk to him, Freed felt panic envelop him. His first thought was that Ivan had discovered that he was having fun with his son. Fuck, it could be. Maybe Mr. Fernandez had understood this when he got to the elevator, or maybe someone had seen them in the tub, or had heard them flirt. Maybe Laxus had talked to his father about him after he got pissed off. Freed immediately dismissed that thought, Laxus was an asshole, but not such an asshole. He wasn't going to get him fired and for something like that, and then it seemed to him that he was having a good time.

This didn’t mean that Ivan couldn’t have found out about it some other way.

Freed went up the stairs anxiously but when he got to Ivan Dreyar's office floor, he noticed that Laxus was outside the door. He approached a little hesitantly.

“As you can imagine, I called you,” the blond said.

Freed felt the worry vanish, replaced by a completely different anxiety. An anxiety full of expectation and excitement. Freed knew that Laxus would organize a revenge. He knew it from the moment he got out of that elevator. He didn’t care in the least, on the contrary, he was looking forward to Laxus putting something into action, if that meant touching that wonderfully sexy body again.

“Isn't Mr. Dreyar there?” he asked.

“Yes, but it's in his office. Follow me,” Laxus ordered and turned.

Freed couldn’t help but obey him, until he reached Laxus' office. As soon as he entered, he looked around, almost envious that the blonde could have such a beautiful view when he was working. A large table was positioned on one side of the room, with the windows behind which you could see the beach directly, on one side there were shelves full of books and in one corner there were two armchairs with a small table in the middle.

“Why did you make me call?” he asked turning back to Laxus, who was looking at him smiling.

“Oh, you really don't get it?” the blond asked, approaching him and taking him by the shoulder. He led him to the windows and Freed felt a thrill of excitement go through him as Laxus showed him Magnolia from the windows. “Nice view, right?” Laxus asked blowing in his ear.

“Yes,” Freed replied, trying to chase away all the perverse thoughts that were coming to his mind. Laxus fucking him against the window. Freed fucking Laxus against the window. Laxus bending him over the table and fucking him there. Whatever his revenge had been he was already getting tough.

Laxus' hands rested on his hips and Freed held his breath, agitated and with the adrenaline flowing through his body. His big hands pulled his shirt off his trousers and then climbed under the fabric and Freed shivered slightly.

“You really like the idea of getting fucked by your boss in front of the window” Laxus commented amused with his lips on his ear. Freed thought of Ivan Dreyar and made a face.

“God no,” he said seriously. Laxus stopped.

“What?” he asked incredulously.

Freed turned to him and leaned his back against the windows. He realized they were closer than he thought. And elegantly dressed Laxus was terribly hot.

“You're not my boss,” Freed said trying to regain a certain demeanor “And let your father fuck me... definitely makes me pass all the excitement” he said seriously. Laxus was surprised for a moment in silence and then chuckled slightly.

“Well, I'll be your boss.”

“I doubt it,” Freed said. “For sure it will be years before you can become one and I’ll be gone by that time,” he said. Laxus frowned but Freed continued. As much as the idea of Laxus fucking him appealed to him a lot, he didn't want to give him all the power. If he had managed to reverse Laxus' revenge it would’ve been much more satisfying. “Also, using your power against me is pretty unfair, as well as pathetic. Can't you really think of anything better?” Freed asked him.

Laxus narrowed his gaze and was silent. Freed smiled victoriously and ran a hand through Laxus's shirt, enjoying his slight gasp. Perhaps reversing the situation would have been easier than expected.

“You can't wait to fuck me, right? Ever since I turned you down at the Blue Pegasus. But if you want to do that, you'll have to think of something better than using your role. If you can,” he added, grabbed Laxus' tie by pulling it and forcing him to lower his head. “Clear?” he asked.

Laxus had dilated pupils and the two boys breathed in their faces for a moment. Freed wanted to close that distance and jump on him, let Laxus kiss him and do whatever he wanted with him. His cock was pressing on his pants. But he didn't want to give up.

“You know what, I changed my mind,” Laxus said hoarsely. Freed frowned but didn’t have time to think that he felt grabbed by the legs and Laxus without too much effort made him sit on the desk. Freed felt the excitement rise again, but he forced himself to stay still.

“Fucked on the desk? Really obvious”.

“No,” Laxus smiled as he stroked over him. “I'll make you cum in your pants, and then you'll have to go all over the resort with a nice spot here,” he said running his hand over his cock.

Freed swallowed hard but instead of pulling back, he wrapped his legs around Laxus’ hips.

“Let's see if you can,” he challenged him and grabbed his hair and then smashed theirs lips in a passionate kiss, made of tongues and teeth. If Laxus wanted him to come in his pants, then Freed would have made him come with him.

He began to rub against him, running the hands over his ass as he felt Laxus' lips travel up his neck, and his hands back under his shirt. God, Freed didn't know how long he was going to last, but he hoped he would last long enough for Laxus to come too.

He unbuttoned Laxus's shirt and ran his hands under it as he continued to rub against the bulge in Laxus's pants. When the blonde tried to take his pants off, Freed grabbed his wrists and smiled against his lips.

“Afraid of coming before me?” he asked panting.

Laxus took a step back but Freed kept his thighs around him not wanting to give him even the slightest chance to undress. That movement caused him to move off the desk and inevitably he slid down. Laxus lowered himself to the floor with him and pinned him underneath, grabbing his wrists and holding them over his head. With the other hand he undid his belt and Freed tried to free himself from his grip.

“Are you really about to come already?” he instigated him.

“Fuck you, I'm not going to cum in my pants,” Laxus snarled on his neck, biting him. Freed groaned but struggled again, determined not to come until Laxus was on edge. He managed to free one of his hands and grabbed Laxus's wrist with his, preventing him from taking off his pants.

“We'll see that,” Freed moaned.

Laxus growled again and again their lips collided, while the hips continued to move against each other. Freed never thought he'd ever done anything this hot, locked in a fucking office rubbing against a terribly hot guy who could really be his boss. He moaned into Laxus's mouth and heard the blonde swear.

“Fucking shit,” he gasped and Freed smiled. Laxus wasn’t supposed to be better off than him.

The smile disappeared when the blonde ran his hand under the shirt, reaching his nipple and teasing it with his fingers. At the same time a stronger push hit him.

“Fuck” Freed whimpered.

“Are you cumming?” Laxus said with a victorious smile. Freed tried to restrain himself and gritted his teeth even though he was terribly close. He wanted to take Laxus to the limit with him. Something occurred to him and he sat up, fighting the blond who was trying to keep him sprawled on the ground.

Freed managed to win long enough to sit with his back against the window. He wrapped his arms around Laxus, now sitting astride him, and Freed grabbed him by the hair and forcing him to rest his chin on his shoulder and look out the window.

“Nice view, huh?” Freed asked.

“Shit,” Laxus cursed.

“You wanted to fuck me here, huh?” Freed asked continuing to move their crotches against each other. God, he wanted to take those damn pants off both of them.

“Fucking shit,” the blond moaned.

“You wanted to fuck me and show me to all of Magnolia, huh?”.

“Shut up, oh fuck. F-fucking… fuck,” Laxus moaned and tightened his grip on Freed's hips. He pushed against him and came into his pants, increasing the thrusts and friction between the two. Freed threw his head against the glass and finally let himself be overwhelmed by orgasm, completely disinterested in where he was cumming, happy to be able to take Laxus with him.

Laxus stood with his chin resting on Freed's shoulder and his arms wrapped around his body for a long time, and Freed didn't even try to move. He just caught his breath, panting deeply and running his hand through Laxus's hair. They were both tired.

“You... you're a bastard” Laxus said after a while and Freed smiled, while the blonde sat down in front of him, running a hand through his hair. Freed looked down at Laxus' pants, pleased with his small victory, even though he was in the same condition.

“I am,” Freed agreed.

“A fucking bastard,” Laxus added.

Freed's smile widened.

“I know,” he replied. “You can add irresistibly sexy, devilishly intelligent and fucking good in bed,” he added. Laxus laughed.

“God, you’re more arrogant than me.”

“I doubt it,” Freed commented with a chuckle. Laxus joined in but soon calmed down and became serious again. He looked at him intently.

“Let's go to my room, I've seriously had enough of all this teasing. I want to fuck and you want it too,” he said.

“In your room?” Freed asked surprised.

“Yes, I don't want to put on a public show,” Laxus replied. Freed found himself giggling again.

“Really? I thought public sex was your favorite thing,” he commented and Laxus smiled.

“Oh, there are so many things I like. You’ve no idea” he said passing a hand over Freed's bangs and moving it behind his ear. Freed looked at him in surprise, finding himself blushing at that unusually sweet gesture. “And then we can go out on our second date, and maybe hang out seriously” he said.

Freed frowned. “Second date?”.

Laxus nodded. “When I took you to Tenrou was our first date,” he explained.

“Oh really,” Freed said skeptically. “So, on a first date you usually take the guys to the beach and get them naked by humiliating them in front of everyone.”

Laxus laughed. “Only with those assholes” he replied “So, you're not afraid of my father, are you?”.

“Afraid,” Freed scoffed. “No, on the contrary. I can't wait to fuck in every corner of this resort just to annoy him” Laxus laughed heartily.

“I see that you understand”.

[rjhpandapaws]

Strictly Professional Feelings

Ch 1: Midlife Change of Pace

There was a list of things Hank assumed he would do once his midlife crisis hit; going back to working a desk job wasn’t one of them. Cole had left for university and the empty house was starting to get to him. A bad case with the DPD a few years back had sent him into an early retirement and now that Cole was out of the house boredom was starting to set in. Not quite the best word for it, but it was the one he chose to use. It sounded better than stir crazy. He had applied to a few places, he needed something to keep him busy that wouldn’t fuck with his injuries. Arkait Medical Enterprises had been the one to respond. It was an office job in the business division, the pay was good and he would have full benefits. It wasn’t too far from the house which was an added bonus, less of his paycheck would be going into his gas tank. He hadn’t worked an office job since his college days, but he was relatively sure the biggest changes would be in the computers themselves. He was probably working for some guy his age that had gotten a lucky break. He would be surrounded by people in their thirties, maybe their forties, but he wouldn’t get his hopes up for that. The usual pecking order was probably still in place, so he would probably be the coffee runner until some unlucky intern was added to the team. He started work on Monday, so he had four days to figure out if he had office clothes. Perks of being a plain clothes detective he supposed.

Four days turned out not to be as much time as he had hoped. He went shopping and bought a few shirts that weren’t as loud as his usual choices and dark jeans. There was no amount of money that could get him into a pair of slacks. Sunday night he did what he could to calm his nerves, short of drinking of course, he didn’t want to be hungover at work tomorrow. Soberly calming his nerves amounted to relaxing with Sumo on the couch. He didn’t normally let the massive dog up on the couch, but tonight was an exception. Monday found him awake before his alarm. He knew he wouldn’t be getting a back to sleep so he rolled out of bade to start the coffee machine and then shower. The one nice thing about Cole being away at university was that he didn’t have to mind his volume all that much. There was no one else here to wake up. Hank took a quick a shower and then got dressed. He decided on glasses since he would be staring at a computer all day and tied his hair back in a loose ponytail to keep it out of his face. he scrolled through the news on his phone while he drank his coffee. He fed Sumo and then left a little earlier than he probably needed to but he wanted to miss the worst of the traffic. This was Detroit after all. The one thing you could count on was that there was going to be traffic, you either left early enough to miss it or you were going to be late. Hank was hoping for the former.

He made it to the office early enough to find a decent place to park. He got out and headed for the building, he had a guest code to use for today. He had a meeting with someone named Connor to get his ID card and such today then he’d be able to work. He has prior office experience, so it would only be a matter of learning his way around the programs they used. That shouldn’t take long, he wasn’t the best with technology, but he was a quick learner. He stepped inside and Stephanie, the receptionist from his interview day waved at him, “It’s good to see you again Hank. Mr. Arkait is in his office on the seventeenth floor. he should be ready for you, so head on up. Have a good day.” “You too Stephanie.” She waved to him as he headed for the bank of elevators. He wondered what Mr. Arkait was like. Those business types tended to be snobbish, or if they were younger, a bit odd. He hit the up button and waited. he supposed he would rather someone like Elijah Kamski, eccentric and somewhat self absorbed, but oddly pleasant. The elevator to his left was the one that opened he walked inside and hit the button for the seventeenth floor. He was on his own until the sixth floor when he was joined by a green eyed brunette who looked like he hadn’t slept a day in his life. He was in business clothes under a hoodie that had seen better days. He hit the button for the eleventh floor.

“You up to see Connor?” The man asked gruffly, “Tell him that twin brother of his is an asshole.” Hank raised an eyebrow but nodded, “If I get the chance I will.” He said with absolutely no intent to do so, “Who should I say is sending the message?” “He’ll know.” The man gruffed again before going quiet and scrolling through his phone. Hank leaned against the wall and did the same. He had no plans of giving Connor the message, he didn’t want to lose his job on the first day of it. Silence floated in the elevator until it chimed for the stranger’s floor. He left without a word and Hank was on his own for the rest of the ride. The elevator chimed for his floor and he put his phone away before he stepped out. He was in a hallway, to the right of him was a conference with glass walls, and on his right was a standard wall with a couple of unmarked doors and your usual scenery paintings. He continued down the hall, he was looking for an office and so far he hadn’t come across one yet. At the end of the hall he found what he was looking for. A closed door with Connor Arkait in plain white script on the outside. This was what he was looking for so he raised his hand and knocked firmly three times.

Hank had assumed ha knew what would be waiting for him on the other side of the door. The bright eyed, curly haired thirty something wasn’t what he had in mind. He was pretty attractive and Hank hadn’t been ready for that. He smiled pleasantly and beckoned him inside, Hank followed without giving it much thought. He was talking on the phone. “Look, Silas, I’ll try and talk to Gavin about not drinking so close to his computer; but your issue kind of lies with Richard. He’s the one that brings him all that coffee.” He sighed quietly, but it was very clear that it was a noise of frustration, “Hank is here, if it’s bothering you this much, you can come up when the meeting is done and we can try and figure something out.” Whatever his companion had said was satisfactory enough because he nodded and hung up before turning the rest of his attention toward Hank. He wasn’t ready to bear the the full wait of those deep brown eyes and did what he could to collect himself. “Sorry about that,” The brunette said as he held his hand out, “My name is Connor, it’s a pleasure to meet you Lieutenant.” “Just Hank is fine. My Lieutenant days are behind me now.” He said as he shook Connor’s hand. Connor gave him another friendly smile and gestured for him to take a seat. Once they were both seated Connor looked through the files on his desk until he came away with what he was looking for. A key card on a lanyard and a name tag that had a magnetic bar along the back of it. “Alright Hank.” He said as he handed them over. “These will get you into the building anytime. They both do the same things so just carry whichever one is easiest.”

Hank nodded as he took them from Connor. He stuck them in his jacket pocket for safe keeping, “Thanks.” Connor nodded and moved on, “You’re on the business office which is on the eleventh floor. You’re in an office rather than the bull pen, so hang a left once you leave the elevator. You’ll be the last door on the right.” Hank nodded along as Connor spoke, “They’ll have the name plate on your door by tomorrow. Silas should be down to help you with your computer in a half hour at most. Any questions?” Hank had a few. Mostly along the lines of how someone who couldn’t be any older than thirty-five at best was the spearhead of a medical company that was rivaled only by CyberLife; but he had the feeling Connor wouldn’t like that. He shook his head, “I’m good, thanks.” “Alright,” Connor said with a nod. “I’m just a call, email, or elevator ride away if you have any questions.” Hank nodded as he stood and made his way for the door, “Thanks for your time Connor.” “No problem Hank.” He got back to work as Hank left. He made his way back toward the bank of elevators again. He was one of three supervisors for the business floor. It would be a nice change of pace. He felt odd, he would be in charge of a group of people he hadn’t met. It didn’t feel like something he had earned, more like he had been slid into a place that wasn’t his. It  would pass soon enough.

The elevator to the far left of the bank opened up just when he was about to press the call button. Two near identical copies of Connor stepped out of it. He found it safe to assume that one of them was Silas, though Hank didn’t have enough confidence to venture a guess as to which one he was. He gave a polite nod as he passed and both of them returned it. He stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the eleventh floor. He figured he could get settled in and then make introductions if he remembered. Computers tended to give him trouble. He didn’t get any company on his ride down. Once he was on the right floor he made his way to his office. He didn’t have that much in the way of things to put on his desk yet. He would bring his bonsai tree tomorrow unless he forgot, and pictures of Cole and Sumo. Just some things to make it a little more comfortable. There wasn’t much for him to do until Silas came down so he opened the messages on his phone to see if he had anything from Cole. He had received several pictures from around the campus, but not much else. He sent back a picture of his office. It was maybe fifteen minutes later when there was a series of rapid knocks at his office door. He stood stiffly, he would need to make some adjustments to that chair, and opened the door. On the other side was one of the doppelgängers from the elevator. Hank stepped out of the way so he could come in. “You’re Hank right?” The Not-Connor asked as he stepped into the elevator.

“You’re Silas I’m guessing.” He responded trying his best to keep out of the way. Silas smiled, “You’re one of the few that can tell us apart?” “I’ll be honest with you, its only because I met with Connor this morning, and he wasn’t wearing glasses.” Hank admitted, “If I were to pass any of you in the hall way I don’t think I would be able to.” Silas laughed as he made his way to the desk, “I’ll take that. Now let’s get you set up. I’ll run you through the programs if you need it, but they’re pretty similar to Microsoft.” “I think I’ll be alright then.” He said as he came to stand beside Silas. “If you need anything I am down on floor six or you can email me.” He woke up the computer and then made room for Hank at the desk, “Your username is just your work email and your temporary password is the number on the back of your nametag. Once you’re logged in feel free to change your password.” Hank nodded and signed himself in. After he had changed his password Silas gave him a quick run through of the programs, it turned out they were a little more different than he had been expecting do he appreciated the help/ Which ones did what, the ones he would use the most, and how to fix common problems. He even wrote the fixes down and put the sticky note on the bottom right corner of his monitor. “That should be everything.” Silas said as he stood up and stretched. “Thanks Silas.” He said as the brunette left. He got a wave in return.

Other than the stranger in the elevator, everyone he had met so far had seemed nice enough. It was definitely a change of pace from the station, less chaotic, and a corner office was better than retirement. It was just a matter of adjusting.

[koreaweeb]

Marionette - Dealer’s Choice (1) *Side story

@i-should-be-writing-my-own-fic @laraplisetski @omegahighendpro

TW: SWEARING, VIOLENCE, SEXUAL VIOLENCE, SEXUAL CONTENT

-

-

Her name was Nakamura Aimi.

When she came to this world, she had no idea where she was and how she ended up here. Everywhere she went, it was empty as if Tokyo had been abandoned for a decade. Then she was approached by someone.

She did not understand initially, what being a dealer entailed. 

In order for her to survive in this world, she had to make sure those participating in games died. It sounded cruel at first, but then it made sense. It was either her or them, and she chose them to die. 

It was not long before she adjusted herself in this new world. As crooked as it sounded, she looked forward to every night. Even when she was not setting up a game or participating in one as a fake player, she sat in front of the monitors, laughing whenever a player would fail at their task. 

“Hey, I have a game tonight, Eight of Clubs. It’s going to be escape rooms. We need someone to set up and possibly take part as a fake player. Who’s up for it?”

Aimi’s hand was in the air almost immediately.

Her visa did not expire for another three days, but it did not matter to her. She just wanted to have some fun tonight.

“Alright, here you go,” the man smiled, handing over a folder. “Orders from above, although the rules don’t say how many survivors are allowed, you gotta make sure only one of them survives. You get an extra day visa if all of them die.”

Looking through the folder, Aimi grinned to herself.

This could not have been easier for her. And with nine participants allowed in the game, she could earn ten days on her visa without so much as lifting her finger. 

For the next few hours, Aimi set the game up, humming to herself the entire time.

--

Game time.

Arriving at the arena (an abandoned factory), Aimi was quick to adopt a facade, looking as fragile and scared as possible. There were already two other people waiting, and she walked up to one of them, asking in a croaking voice if they knew what was going on, and why did everyone in Tokyo disappear. 

Her acting was immaculate as they took pity on them, explaining that they too had no idea what happened but they did know that they had to play games to survive. It was hard to try and keep a laugh in, but somehow she managed. Perhaps she would let them live, just for the little kindness they showed her.

Players were arriving one by one, and the last two were a man and a woman. They seemed to be partners. It was always a challenge to separate groups, but Aimi liked a challenge. Friendships meant nothing in Borderland. She had seen even couples fighting to be the one who survived. 

As soon as all players arrived, they entered the arena together and were locked in the first escape room. 

Aimi took her time, wanting to let them relax before she started her plan. Once they started to solve the puzzles and earned a sense of achievement, that would be her turn to shine.

She kept quiet, continuing her act while she observed the group. There were a total of five women and four men. Among them, the only person she was a little worried about would be the big man with the muscles. He had a scary look on his face, and scars all over his body. He was the survivor type. Even if he did not have the intelligence, he would be fighting to get out of here purely physically. 

The other three men were nothing much to look at. There was the kind one who answered her questions. He looked young, and perhaps already participated in a few games before. Then, there was an older man, perhaps in his fifties. He had the word ‘arrogant’ practically written on his forehead. He would be the one causing trouble for the group, she could use him. The last guy was probably the youngest of them, and with his glasses, he looked fresh out of high school. Perhaps a smart guy, a gamer.

Looking over to the women, Aimi could not help the small grin on her face. Three of them had grouped together, and they looked no older than twenty-five. The confused look told Aimi that they were probably first night participants. How unlucky for them. There was an older woman, who seemed calm on the outside but the tapping of her foot was telling another story.

That was when Aimi locked eyes with the last woman.

Wearing denim shorts with a hoodie, she looked as if she had just come back from a vacation. But it was her eyes that bothered Aimi. She had been observing the group too, keeping quiet as everyone began discussing clues and puzzles. And she was looking at Aimi like she knew what she was doing. 

The game masters would not be sending another dealer in here without telling her, would they?

That was when the woman looked away, walking through the arguing group and up to the bookshelf. She picked a book off the shelf, flipping through until she got to a page, pulling out the next clue. Reading the clue, she then moved on to the next. She was solving the puzzles one after another as if the answers were all written down for her. 

“Anyone here know what the Fibonacci sequence is?” the woman asked, walking up to the safe where the key was. 

“Fibo-what?” One of the three women asked.

“The Fibonacci sequence. It’s a string of numbers where each number is the sum of the previous two.”

“Oh, we have a smarty pants in the house,” the woman smiled, turning the knob on the safe. 

With the safe opened and the key obtained, they easily got out of the first room in just ten minutes. All the players were starting to trust that woman, and Aimi was not liking it one bit. As much as she liked a challenge, it would be a lot harder now to get people to believe in her words if she wanted to point them the wrong way. She needed to form a plan, and quickly. Perhaps it was time to use that older man.

Sliding next to the man, Aimi could see the dislike on his face.

“She’s so smart, isn’t she? She even knows what the Fibonacci sequence is. I didn’t know that until today.”

“Smart? You call that smart? The Fibonacci sequence isn’t obscure information, any idiot knows what it is. She just got lucky.”

“But she solved all the puzzles and got us out.”

“Don’t be so naive, kid. In these situations, the first room or puzzle is always the easiest. That’s how they get you to let your guard down. Don’t go worshipping someone just because they showed a little intelligence.”

Oh, but you’re the naive one, Aimi thought.

Having planted the seed of doubt in his mind, Aimi walked away and looked around the room, pretending to be looking for clues. 

Everyone else was doing the same, and anything they thought could point to their escape, they brought straight to the woman. Humans were fascinating in a way, how quickly they always looked to one person to lead was amusing. Why could they not just rely on themselves for their own survival?

“Oi! Why are you all bringing her the puzzles?” the old man asked. “There are nine other people in this room, don’t you think someone else might know the answer? Why are you all relying on one person? You don’t even know who she is. She might just kill you, and you are letting her with a big stupid smile on your faces.”

Here we go.

[sergeant-donny-donowitz]

The Lady in White: UtivichxFem!Reader

Happy Halloween guys! :))) Here's a lil spooky basterds fic for y'all 

TW: Gore/blood/animal attacks/ghost stories

@owba-chan @war-obsessed @inglourious-imagines @tammykelly @struggling-bee @frozenhuntress67 @kwyloz @sodapop182 @marlenemarauders @what-the--curtains @taikawho @spookybearlandtaco Let me know if you wanna be added to the IB or OUATIH taglists! :)

******************************* 'Baba Yaga brodit no lesu dazhe zdes...' "Baba Yaga wanders the forest, even here."

Aldo narrowed his eyes as he stood over a heavily wounded Soviet spy with weary eyes and a frightened whisper. The basterds had been hunting a patrol, and just when they were close, they heard blood curdling screams. All they found was this Soviet spy, tortured half to death...who could only speak Russian, German, and French. "What's he sayin' Wicki?" The spy was loosing blood, but seemed to speak with a sly smirk, repeating it over, 'Baba Yaga brodit no lesu dazhe zdes...' Wicki shrugged, "I don't know he's saying it in Russian now." Hugo hovered over the wounded man, "Deutsch sprechen?" "You speak German?" The agent's eyes darted, and looked directly at Hugo, speaking with as much conviction as a half-dead man could, "Baba Yaga wandert auch hier durch den Wald." Aldo nodded, his hands at his hips, "That. What's that mean?" Wicki turned back, "He's saying Baba Yaga wanders in the woods, even here." Donny narrowed his eyes, "Who, or what the fuck is Baba Yaga?" Hugo grunted, "Slavic myth. A witch." Smitty, who had just returned with a member of the resistance the basterds were friends with, managed to sputter, "W...witch?" "It's only a myth. Besides, he's lost a lot of blood. He's delirious." Wicki chuckled, though he looked back at the agent, "Die Franzosen werden sich um Sie kümmern." 'The French will take care of you.' The day went on as usual. Evening came, and the basterds sat around a fire, eating some Hershey bars as the wind tussled the red leaves of autumn. "So... suppose the patrol did see something out in the woods, and they left the commie behind..." Smitty looked around, hoping for some reassurance. "There's nothing in the goddamn woods, Uti." Hirschberg rolled his eyes, though he held his breath, and turned to the others, "Right?"

Wicki, who loved a good scare, chuckled and shrugged, "I don't know, kid. The Soviet said somethin' about 'dama v belom'. Know what that is?"

They shook their heads. "Lady in white." He smirked, and Hugo muttered, with a slight nod, "Haus Ausel..." referring to an old German myth about a ghostly lady in white. Wicki chuckled, but shook his head dismissively. "He was delirious. There's no such thing as ghosts." "But...we heard the screams. Krauts wouldn't have just left a high stakes prize like a Soviety spy behind like that." Donny shrugged, grumbling with a mouth full of chococlate, "So they saw a wolf or something." Smitty shook his head, "When have you ever seen a fucking wolf around here?" "Well.....fucken..." Donny scrunched up his nose in thought for a moment, then muttered"...just eat some hersheys damn it." Wicki smirked a little, "You afraid of a ghost story, Utivich?" "Wh....no...."

Aldo smirked, catching on, "Well, you ain't been scared till you seen the ghost of Sadie Baker." "Who the hell is that?" Omar rolled his eyes, though...he did love a good ghost story. "Well ain't you a lucky man," Aldo cleared his throat, snorting some tobacco, and then facing the boys, about to make them 'unlucky,' and telling them about Sadie Baker. Omar laughed, "Get the hell outta here." "You got a better one?" Aldo leaned back against a tree with a dismissive smirk, and Omar shrugged, "Better one? Here's a good one: Ghosts aren't real."

Hirschberg shrugged, "Maybe not...but you ever hear of the Jersey Devil?" Omar rolled his eyes, "Oh again with this shit? There is no Jersey Devil!" Donny frowned a little, "You ever hear about somethin' called the wendigo? Now...I'm not sayin' it's real...but that is some scary shit...if you believe in those things.... Which I don't." The night went on, the leaves rattled in the breeze, the yellow moon rose. There was wild screaming in the distance the likes of which they had only heard in chilling radio shows or horror pictures. Wicki and Hugo smirked seeing Smitty jump and look around nervously with every snapping twig and falling lead. They started joking around about the supposed 'lady in white,'. The only one who seemed fully unfazed was Aldo. When asked why, he replied simply, "Down south everything's either built on an Indian burial ground or on a civil war battlefield. This ain't nothin'." Though Utivich was the only visibly frightened basterd, the others were beginning to wonder about the howling in the distance. "Maybe there is a wolf..." "So that explains the screaming?" "If you saw a wolf you wouldn't scream?" "Not like that." Omar smirked, "Hey...isn't there a cemetery around here? Between that last village and the forest?" Smitty narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "You're setting me up, aren't you?" "You think I'd make all this up to get to you? I have other things to do." Omar rolled his eyes, and Hirschberg sighed, "Cemetery's down that way. Southeast." They heard another bone chilling scream, followed by an echoing howl. "It's...uh....just the wind." Hirschberg cleared his throat, crossed his arms, trying to look unbothered. "Hell of a wind," Donny mumbled as he looked up and around. Omar was smirking, poking around as he walked away from the group, "Aldo?" "Yeah?" "Can we go check it out?" Aldo sighed, having just taken off his boots for the night. "Take two of the boys with ya. Come back in an hour. We got a long day ahead of us, and ain't no ghoul out there gon' help us scalp nazis. Got it?" Omar nodded, "Got it. Come on." He grabbed Hirschberg and Utivich. Hirschberg seemed game, being bored out of his mind and not quite tired enough to get to sleep yet. Utivich....well... he stammered "Oh no. No fucking way. Take....take literally anyone but me. Take Hugo or-" Hugo scowled. "Or maybe not....How about Wicki?" Wicki was already laying down, his arms crossed behind his head, and his coat draped over his upper body. He sighed, half yawning, half disinterested, and one hundred percent too old for this shit. "Not tonight, boychik."

"But...but..." Utivich turned to Donny, panic seeping through his wide eyes, "Donny?" Donny was sharpening his knife, "You heard Aldo. We got a big day tomorrow, kid" He smirked, not just because of the big mission, but because he got a kick out of giving Utivich a good scare. Which wasn't very hard to do. "Come on, we're just checking it out." Omar nudged Smitty, who sighed as he dropped his head and followed along. About thirty minutes in, he asked "Are you sure you know where we're going?" Omar turned around, "Look." he sighed, "Ghosts aren't real. You know that." "Yeah but...." "For the last time, Uti, there is no wolf," Hirschberg chuckled and patted Utivich on the back as they kept walking. Omar asked, "What are you scared of anyway? If anyone's out there, they should be scared of us." Smitty chuckled a little, "I guess you're right." "Atta boy, now-" They reached the last few trees, and could see the looming, ancient gates, and the silhouettes of crooked and broken tombs just beyond it beneath the silver moonlight. And just as it came into view, they heard a shrill, guttural scream of a man. "It's uh...coming from the cemetery..." Hrischberg stalled for a moment, and Omar rolled his eyes, pulling them both behind him. "Come on." "You know...in the pictures, it's always one dumbass that gets everyone killed." Omar shook his head with a smirk, "Yeah, well we ain't in the pictures, Hirschberg." Omar pushed open the rusting, dusty, forgotten gates, and stepped in. "Footprints. Ghosts don't leave footprints." He turned around, "And no, a dybbuk wouldn't either." Hirschberg narrowed his eyes, "How do you know..." "We don't have time for this! I'm just saying that w-" There was another scream. "This way..." He seemed a little more hesitant, but still, made his way toward the screams, towing along the other two basterds. The cemetery seemed to go on for miles and miles, almost as if it were endless. "See? Nothing. I told y-" Omar's eyes went wide as he wobbled at the edge of an open grave, "WHOA-" Hirschberg grabbed onto Omar's arms and pulled him to safety. "Alright. That's it, asshole. Let's go home." "Aww you scared of a little wind?" "No." He clenched his jaw, "I just...it don't seem too respectful to be stompin' around these graves." Utivich nodded hastily, "Y-yeah...r...respectful..." "You coulda gotten hurt, Omar. Let's go." Omar sighed, "Just a few more minutes. I wanna see if-" They heard a low, ghastly groan, "Hilfe..." it almost seemed to be begging for mercy. Begging for death itself, "Hilfe!" 'help...' It was German. Omar then peered over the ditch he nearly fell into....and realized it was far deeper than six feet. And it was far from empty. There was a pile of men, bloodied, seeming as if they'd been gutted and torn apart by a wild animal. "Hilfe...." 'Help...' Omar's eyes shot wide, his heart stopped, and his blood went ice cold when he saw one of the bodies reach up with a shaking, bloody, mangled hand, eyes looking directly into Omar's. Hirschberg then peered over, "Holy shit. It's a nazi!" He laughed, putting his hands at his hips as he looked on at the bloody masterpiece. "I-it is?" Utivich felt significantly less scared, as he  looked between his friends' shoulders, and saw just that. An endless pile of dead nazis in a seemingly bottomless pit. "It is!" He smiled, though he was still a little uneasy with the idea of being in a cemetery in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. Hirschberg kicked some dirt in, "Wonder what happened." "Who cares." Omar crouched down, wondering what to do next. Killing the nazi was too much mercy...leaving him be meant a small chance that he'd survive and tell someone he saw the basterds. Hirschberg seemed to read his mind. He called out, "English?" The nazi sobbed, "Ja...Yes!" "What happened?" He sputtered, blood trailing out of his mouth, his eyes shifting back and forth as he struggled for a breath of air long enough to speak. "W-woman...." He looked with blank eyes remained unblinking and unresponsivein fear, gasping for breath,  "W-white...white dress..." he gulped, "Wolf....attacked..." His mangled  arm wrapped around his sliced abdomen. Omar looked back at the other two basterds, "Ok...so he's delirious." "Omar, I don't think-" Smitty peered over, "Are you delirious?" Hirschberg rolled his eyes. "Hey." Omar threw a rock into the pit, but the nazi didn't answer. His wide, yellow eyes glazed over. His mouth dropped open as final streams of blood poured out. His arms fell to the sides. His organs spilled out. "....A wolf could do that..." Hirschberg pointed at the evisceration with a shrug. "Let's go." "Don't you wanna know how the bodies got here? I mean-" Omar loved a good mystery. "Why would a wolf drag bodies to a grave? A spirit can't pull bodies into a ditch. A spirit wouldn't care if all the evidence was found! Someone's gotta be out there." "Or....s-something...." Smitty's hands were shaking as he looked around. Omar rolled his eyes, "For the last time, there is no such thing as ghosts." Hirschberg pushed Omar, "Who cares. It's late. It's way past the hour that Aldo gave us. Leave well enough alone."

"You too, Hirschberg?" "What!" Hirschberg was visibily irritated, and uneasy, mostly because of the pungent smell. He didn't care about the nazis...he cared about being in the middle of a graveyard in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, with the possibility of a wild animal attacking. "You're scared too." Omar grinned smugly. "I'm scared of Aldo knowing we stayed out here for more than an hour on purpose. Sure. Come on, kid." He pulled Smitty along, and Omar sighed, "Fine. Fine, lets go." The three wandered back through the gates in silence, not even commenting on what they found. "Umm...Omar?" Omar sighed in annoyance, "What, Smitty?" "Do you know where we are?" He slowed down, beginning to realize they had been walking for a lot longer than when they left camp. He looked around, suddenly not recognizing anything despite having known this side of the forest like the back of his hand. "Uh..." He practically turned in a circle, squinting, trying to make something out of the dark, vast nothing among the dense trees. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" Hirschberg groaned, more annoyed than scared, as he sunk down on the ground, catching his breath. "What? We can't be that far!" Omar stepped a little further into the woods. "I...think we should stay here till morning." "Oh is someone getting scared?" Omar smirked a little as he glanced back at Smitty. "This isn't fucking funny, Omar. We're lost!" Hirschberg crossed his arms, and Smitty said, "Besides...even if there's nothing out here, it's fucking cold." "Then let's keep moving." Smitty  shook his head, "No."

Hirschberg knew Omar wouldn't stop.. As much as he hated the idea, he couldn't let Omar go on his own. "Fine." Smitty definitely couldn't handle being alone, so he quickly followed. After what seemed like a thousand years, Omar stopped to catch his breath, finally conceding, "Ok...so we're lost." "Fucking knew it." Smitty looked out into the darkness, whispering under his breath, "lost..." Omar and Hirschberg stood beside each other, looking up at the towering trees.Suddenly, they both felt a heavy, iron grip grab at their shoulders, and pull them back. Both of them screamed at the top of their lungs. "What part of 'one hour' and 'big fucken day tomorrow' did you not fucken understand?!" Their hearts eased, and the color came back to their cheeks when they turned and saw it had been Donny who snuck up on them. "Oh fuck...." Omar rested his hand over his racing heart, "Ok..." he took a deep breath, "Ok..." Donny saw how pale they were. Smitty suddenly hugged him. He'd always been like a younger brother to Donny, though Donny found the hug odd as it seemingly came out of the blue. "You uh...you alright, kid?" Smitty looked up at him, and said about a million words in half a minute, none of which were understood by Donny. "I'll take that as a no?" Donny then glared at Omar and Hirschberg ,"What'd you do to the kid?" Donny knew it was a sort of favorite past time among the basterds to scare Smitty, but this seemed to have gone too far. "Nothing!" Before Donny could respond, they heard a howling sound. It wasn't the wind because there was no wind. And it wasn't a distant figment of their imagination. They all heard it....and it was close. "Can we please get back to camp for the love of- They heard snarling and growling as if they were surrounded by a single creature. The four basterds stood back to back, keeping their eyes ahead of them. A pair of glowing, pale, yellow eyes appeared in the underbrush. "oh shit..." Donny's heart skipped as he fumbled with his gun, trying to load it. Just before he could, they all heard a distant, bubbly, almost innocent laugh. Smitty's hands shook almost as violently as his voice when he raised his finger, pointing at something behind the wolf's eyes, "Wh-what the fuck is that!" It was a white silhouette, barely within sight.

He shut his eyes, and as if in response, there was a whistle. The snarling stopped, and was instead replaced with a whine, and the sound of retreating paws. The figure was gone, along with the glowing eyes. Donny still had his gun aimed at the now vacant forest. He didn't dare look away yet. He did ask one thing. "You...you wanna run that story by me again, Smitty?" ***** Aldo didn't believe a word of it. Neither did Wicki, or Hugo. After their mission, they went back to the cemetery with the younger basterds. Aldo joked as they stepped through the gates, "Whatever it is, it's making our jobs a hell of a lot easier." "There." Omar pointed to. The rest of the basterds huddled around it....a patch of dirt... "I swear it was right here." Hirschberg and Smitty looked on in shock. There was dirt where there were bodies the night before.  Wicki shrugged, "You dragged us all the way out here...for an unmarked grave?" Hirschberg picked up a handful of soil, letting it sift through his fingers, "Why is it so fresh?" Smitty nodded, "Yeah...it looks like it was just dug." Hugo grunted "Maybe because we're in a cemetery." Donny shook his head, "No. We saw something." He was so adamant, it made Aldo pause for a moment. Donny had never lied to him before, why would he now? "Alright." Just as the basterds were beginning to push dirt aside, they heard an old, creaking voice that nearly stopped the hearts of the younger basterds. " Puis-je vous aider?" 'Can I help you?' Omar, Smitty, and Hirschberg immediately held on to each other. Aldo rolled his eyes. It was an old man in worker's clothes, and was presumably the graveyard's care taker. The old man repeated again, "Puis-je vous aider?" In broken French, Wicki and Hugo pieced together a story: The kids heard a ghost story in town, and they'd all leave and stop bothering him. Instead, the caretaker invited them all to his house, seeing as though they might be hungry. Smitty shook his head, "Creepy old man in a creepy cemetery with a creepier house..." Aldo, being a southerner, and  therefore literate in the art of hospitality, knew it was rude to say no. "Just cause he's old, and we're surrounded by dead people don't mean you get to be rude. Ya did break into the man's property, after all." And with that, the basterds followed the old man through the cemetery to another gate, newer...and less creaky, behind which there was an open space, and a small cottage, with a fresh coat of paint in whatever spots weren't covered with bright bougainvillea. It seemed so out of place, so charming, almost enchanted. It didn't seem to belong there, like an oasis in the middle of a barren desert, but boy was it a sight for sore eyes for the tired basterds The old man apologized, as all he had to offer the brave basterds was some stale bread and water. Rations had been cut in half in the village. He sighed with a smile, though. "She'll be home any minute with more." Wicki asked, "She? " The heavy wooden door opened with a slight creak, and in appeared a figure in a deep green dress, with a basket, "Je suis de retour, papa!" you announced your return, and just as you stepped in, you spotted the crowd of strangers.  "Visiteurs?" 'Visitors' you asked, seeming a little uneasy, unable to identify their allegiance. 'Soldats américains,' He explained with a hearty laugh, "american soldiers"  with pure joy in his eyes and all the hope an old man could have. Wicki began to explain, "Well..." Hugo waved it off dismissively. Your dad explained that the younger basterds had heard some scary story around the town, and had come by to investigate. You laughed, though nervously...it sounded familiar to at least one Basterd. Smitty mumbled, "It's you..." Donny instantly caught on. He nudged Smitty, "Shut up." Aldo introduced himself, and each of his basterds to you. You nodded with a simple innocent smile, and introduced yourself, as shortly as possible, "Y/n." Aldo nodded, "Pleased to meet you, Y/n..." He turned to Smitty, "Utivich, why don't you go on and help Y/n." "I....ok..." You forced a polite smile to keep up appearances, and he followed you into the kitchen to put away what you'd brought. You were both quiet for a moment, though at one moment, you both looked at each other. You spoke at the same time saying, "I know who you are." You both raised your eyebrows, stepping back in shock, and again on the same beat, quipped, "No you don't!" "Quit it!" You put the tea kettle on, and arranged some cakes you'd brought into a tray, remarking, "You're a basterd." He raised his eyebrow with a smirk, as he leaned against a cupboard, "And you're a ghost." You rolled your eyes, "Really?" You tapped on your left forearm, "I think I know a dead person when I see one, soldier boy. And you should, too." He was quiet as you turned around to pour the boiling water into cups. You sighed reluctantly, "Sorry....that was mean," You sighed sighed again, "Things have been so..." He nodded, having seen the decimated, occupied village himself not too long ago. "I know everything." You looked at him, "You know nothing of hell." You stepped outside through the back door, into a peaceful meadow, seeming even more out of place than the cottage itself, and he followed, "I saw you." "I don't know what you're talking about." "The lady in white bullshit everyone's talking about. Killer wolf. Unmarked grave with a stack of dead nazis in it? I-" You turned around, "Do you see me wearing white? Don't you see endless graves around here? And killer wolf? Here? That's absolutely ridicu-" You both heard a whining.... You shut your eyes, and sighed, and muttered through gritted teeth, "Pais maintenant, Brouillard..." 'Not now, Brouillard...' Smitty saw a greyish-white wolf standing by your side, "No wolf, huh?" "He's not a wolf," you crossed your arms defensively. Smitty looked at you, absolutely puzzled for a moment, and you muttered, giving up. "He's a wolf-dog." "So it was you." "You're lucky you weren't here a few nights  too soon, or Brouillard would've howled, and papa would have shot you down." "Your dad? That sweet little old man?" You chuckled with an understanding smile, "It doesn't seem like it, but he takes his job real serious. And well... last night of course you know Brouillard wasn't here to warn him about your little...uh...escapade... We had our hands full." "Does he know?" Smitty spoke softly now, looking at you with wide eyes. "No. And..." You smirked a little, "Let's keep it that way." He nodded, and you stepped back inside, reaching for the tray with cakes as he took the tray with tea, "Wait..." You glanced back, "Yes, private?" "Why?" "Why?"

"I mean...thank you for the help and  all, but...why you?" You sighed, putting the tray back down on the counter. "Let me show you something..." You pulled him back outside, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw the wolf again. Brouillard trotted up and rubbed his head on Smitty's leg, as you laughed, "Go ahead." Smitty smiled, and patted Brouillard on the head, commenting, "Your laugh is a lot less ominous now....I mean...I...uh..." You laughed again, taking no offense, as you reached for the young soldier's arm, "Come on." You climbed up a trellis hidden by the vines, and sturdy enough to hold you. You popped into the second floor, and peeked over the window, "You won't fall, I promise!" Smitty nodded, trusting you for reasons he'd figure some day. You helped him in, and he looked around, immediately blushing realizing it was your bedroom. "Ummm..." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, and chuckled, "No one's going to come up. It's the only room up here." You still peeked into the hallway and half down the stairs before slowly shutting the door, and then the window, and closing the curtains. "Y/n....I hate to say this...but I-I think y-you, this is a misunderstanding! I-I don't want to- I mean you're gorgous but. Fuck! I mean-" You opened a dresser, produced a long, lovely, lace and pearl dress, and laid it over the bed. He stopped stammering, and was more intrigued than embarrassed now. He spotted the ragged, torn bottom, with leaves and twigs etched into the lace. "It's a wedding dress." He looked up at you with a sly smirk, "Impressive...Nice disguise." "It was my wedding dress." You sighed, as your fingertips brushed over pearl buttons. Smitty caught his breath, knowing there were a million things that could have led to this: Number one: Widowed by the war But he was wrong... And when he heard the truth he wished he had been right. "No." You smiled a little, "I was happy here. We all were. Then the nazis came." You held the dress up, "One of them, a sergeant... He saw me, and demanded I marry him, or he'd never stop terrorizing the town." "Y/n..." He shook his head, heart broken by the extent that war could go. "The night before the wedding," You turned to him, with the glint of a grin hidden behind your eyes as they wandered over the lace, "He was in the pub, and I knew it. I knew where he'd be. I knew where he would go. And..well, people here are very superstitious. Everyone knows these old myths.  Especially in small, isolated places like this. So, naturally, if a...say....vengeful spirit appeared when the town was disturbed, no villager would really say it was fake. They wouldn't dare." "You killed him?" Smitty was grinning a little, as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Me?" You smirked, pleating the white dress against your chest, tracing the details with your finger, "I simply lured him into the forest." "You?" "Well," You shrugged, "You know what they say. It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding." His jaw dropped, both in awe and in shock. "Now, it looked complicated, but Brouillard is a watch-dog...wolf-dog. Very protective. But, it's also not uncommon to spot wolves around here every few years. So naturally, have him howl around a little for a week or so before the deed, and people think it's just one of those wild lone wolves wandering in the woods. So...when a nazi turned up mauled in the woods, well, c'est la vie." "It was that easy?" "Easy?" You scoffed, "It was messy. But...there was no blame. Oh, no. Just what a tragedy before a wedding. Killed by a wolf, well, no one's to blame but his drunken self... Now, when his mates refused to leave town, a little more luring and a few more unpredictable wolf attacks meant the town was free. Well..." "Till more nazis showed up?" "Well...the people seem to understand that wandering the forest late at night might not be the best idea. Naturally the new nazis always want to be the one to solve the mystery of their missing soldiers, they want to get a prize.... So the nazis have no problem ending up at say, the wrong place at the wrong time. Still, Brouillard is a lone wolf. He can't get to each and every one of them so quickly, so, a few have gotten away having spotted a 'lady in white,' But, as of last night, the town is free of nazis. And when the next patrol arrives, I'll be here, waiting." You sighed, placing the dress back into the dresser. "I never would've....This..This is fucking amazing! How have you not been caught?" "The last place anyone would look for a dead body is in a graveyard," you smirked as you sat by him. "You're fucking brilliant..." "Well...I don't  know if I'd say 'brilliant,' but...." You stammered a little, tilting your head down, though you now shyly glanced up. You opened the curtains and the window, and stood there for a while. You felt him standing by you.  You both looked out at the endless graves, and he asked, "Do you ever feel scared by that?" "Scared?" You shook your head, though your eyes didn't part from the cemetery bathed in the falling red light of sunset. "I think it's peaceful...Though, maybe a little lonely at times." Your shy glance met his timid eyes, and you both smiled softly. In only a moment, you both began leaning in for a kiss, before sneaking back down to the garden, and back to the kitchen.

**** The basterds were walking back to their camp out in the woods, and Donny smirked, "So, Uti...." "What? Yeah?" Utivich snapped out of a trance where he was smiling dreamily at nothing. Donny raised his voice up a few pitches, "YoUr LaUgH is LesS ominous..." "Fuck. You." Utivich blushed as the basterds cackled, and Aldo sighed with a smile, "So? What'd she say?" Utivich sighed and explained the whole story. Aldo nodded, "Well...I'll be damned." Omar grinned, "Ha! No ghost." Hirschberg nodded, "No...but that's one hell of a girl..."

For as long as the basterds hid out in that part of the woods, a year or so, Smitty snuck off alone into the woods late at  night, no longer scared of howls or shadows. Where he went....well it didn't take a genius to figure it out. All it took was a minute of bravery to run through the graveyard, luck to not trip over any crooked tombs, and a good grip to climb up to your open window. When the inevitable day came for the basterds to move on, Smitty went back into the woods one last time. This time, he didn't run through the cemetery. He took his time... He'd take his time for once. He walked around to the back of the small cottage that didn't seem to belong, and found a dim, orange glow in the second story. He climbed up carefully after petting Brouillard once more, and bribing him with some dried meat so he wouldn't blow his cover with whines. You heard the familiar shuffling and rustling. You smiled, as you met him with an open window, and a kiss. He couldn't stay much longer, though you knew the day  would come. So when the night was over,  the dark blue sky began to give way to a new day and mission, he was off to a town in the other side of occupied France called Nadine, about thirty kilometres from Paris, to meet a British contact. Smitty said goodbye to you... But not before swearing he'd come back some day, when the war was over. You watched, as you sat by the window, as the basterd disappeared beyond the forest, as the moon faded and the sun rose. You smiled softly, knowing he'd be back. And, you'd heard that patrols in the area would be discontinued until an investigation gave an answer as to what lurked in the woods... So, as you wondered about the end of the war, you put the dress away with a soft, and relieved smile. You knew he'd be back...and when he was, you knew just what to do. Maybe the dress needed some mending....maybe a new one was in order... But, he'd be back. And when he was, you'd leave the window open and the candle on just for him.

[jingabitch]

Armed to the Fangs ch.7

SUMMARY: you grew up in the hunter’s guild, understanding that it is your sacred duty as a hunter to protect humanity from the vampires that lurk in the dark, draining the life from anyone unlucky enough to be caught. while making the rounds one night, you encounter taehyung, a fabled born vampire - not that you know that when he tries to entice you into a dark alley. next thing you know, you’re kidnapped and taken to their home, where you realise that all of them somehow crave your blood and seem to know more about your past than you do. finding out about where you came from might be the key to setting humanity free.

PAIRING: eventual ot7 x reader

WARNINGS: some description of violence, angst, pining, maybe eventual smut but not for a looooong time, slow burn (really the slowest of burns), injeolmi being adorable, argument between some of the boys

RATING: T

WORD COUNT: 3k - this one is a lil shorter!

A/N: yay hobi finally makes his appearance!! thank you @pasteljeon for looking over this for me.

Also, small announcement - I doubt anyone will really care, but ATTF is going to be put on hold for a little while. I’ve decided to give writing my own original work a try, and am hoping to self-publish my work on kindle! since I only keep 2 AUs going at a time, I will be focusing on DADT and my original work for now. ATTF will be continued when I complete DADT. :) I’m really excited about this new project and I hope you guys will support me!

series index

If Hoseok heard one more word about the hunter ‘ambassador’ who’d taken up residence in the manor, he thought he would scream. The younger ones were especially enthusiastic about you and your cat, and even Yoongi walked around with that dumbass smile once in a while, usually after spending time with you.

Thankfully, they’d quickly realized that he wasn’t all that interested in talking about you after he shut them down or walked away mid-conversation. It wasn’t the most polite way to go about it, but telling them with words hadn’t really worked to dampen their enthusiasm.

It was just that Hoseok didn’t really feel like meeting anyone new. It wasn’t anything personal, it was just that he didn’t quite have the energy to engage with anything much these days. The others, for the most part, understood, especially the older ones who knew exactly what he’d been through.

Instead of spending his time out and about like the others did, he was holed up in his suite most of the time. He’d had a small fridge installed so he could keep his blood there instead of going down to the main fridge every day like the others did, and usually spent hours staring at the miniature portrait of Minhee. It was the only rendering she’d posed for before she died. He knew his brothers didn’t think it was the healthiest thing to do, but they left him alone for the most part.

After all, it wasn’t common for a vampire to survive losing his mate – they agreed that all things considered, Hoseok was doing fairly well, even if he was a shell of his former jovial self. If they hoped he would come out of his shell a little more to make friends with the human girl who now lived with them, they mostly kept it to themselves after Hoseok had made it clear that he wasn’t interested in playing nice with hunters.

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

Injeolmi had really taken to life in the manor, you were pleased to note. You weren’t quite ready to let him just run around without your supervision yet, but he was growing more confident whenever you let him out of your room to run around the mansion. There were litter boxes installed in various other rooms, too, like the library where you tended to spend a lot of time. You were on your way there again, Injeolmi following you like he did most days, when the cat suddenly made a break for it.

You were stunned for a moment, trying to process what had happened. Your sweet baby had never done something like this before, and it took you a second to gather yourself enough to run after him. “Injeolmi, stop!” you called, but since today was apparently a day of firsts, he ignored you.

As you rounded the corner, you wondered why there were so many random hallways in this manor, anyway. It looked like it was just the seven of them (and you now, of course) and they didn’t even have any servants. You were still unsure of how the whole place stayed so clean, since it wasn’t like you’d ever seen any of them pick up a broom.

Hoseok was having a normal day – for him, anyway – up till that point. He had the miniature of Minhee in his hand as he sucked down his snack, his door slightly ajar to let the others know that he was feeling up to their company that day. He heard the ruckus occurring outside and rolled his eyes, but stayed on the couch. Hopefully, the noisy new human resident would just run past. He didn’t think she’d ever been in this wing of the mansion before, and she definitely didn’t know it was his room.

Hearing the door to his room move slightly, he whipped around in surprise, half-expecting you to be standing there. He didn’t see anyone in the entryway, however, and sat up more fully to peer over the back of the couch. A small chatter caught his attention, and he craned his neck further to see a cat standing in the gap he’d left.

“Hello,” he said out of habit to the cat, which meowed again at him and took a couple more steps into the room. “What’s a cat doing in the house?” he asked no one in particular, having forgotten momentarily that you’d brought your furry companion with you when you moved in.

Injeolmi, showing a remarkable lack of fear, just waltzed right in and hopped up on the couch to sit next to Hoseok, chattering at him. Belatedly remembering that you’d brought a cat into the compound, he just sighed and frowned at said cat. “You’re really a hassle, you know that?” he grumbled, gently shooing the cat away so that he wouldn’t have to return him.

Flicking his ears, Injeolmi just turned away, as if he couldn’t be bothered to dignify Hoseok’s complaints with a response. He could hear you approaching, still calling for your cat and stomping down the hallway.

“You little prick,” he accused, though the words didn’t have any heat behind them. Gently, he picked the cat up – and cats had no business being this big, he thought – and carried him back to the door, putting him down on the floor and patting his butt to get him to leave. “Go on,” he urged, although the cat hardly seemed interested, instead sprawling out across the floor.

The footsteps were coming close now, and he knew you were about to walk past at any moment. Perhaps if everything was quiet, you wouldn’t notice, and would just walk by…? He could kick the cat out of the room once you rounded the corner, and wouldn’t have to make any awkward introductions.

Of course, he could never be so lucky. Just as you were passing by his room, the goddamn cat let out the loudest meow he’d heard in hundreds of years on this earth. Panicked, he leaned down – just as you heard Injeolmi give what you assumed had to be a wail of distress and burst into the room, gun cocked and ready to defend your baby.

“Back the fuck away from the cat!” you cried, immediately aiming your gun at the man who was leaning down towards Injeolmi, for whatever nefarious purposes. He looked up at you in shock, and your aim faltered for just a second as you recognized the man in the painting. The last vampire. Who was glaring up at you in irritation, and none of the fear you would expect from someone who had a gun trained right between their eyes.

Instead, you watched as his furrowed brow smoothed for a second as he gaped, his eyes wide with shock, at you, before resuming his initial stern expression. “Your cat was the one who barged into my room,” he snapped, although his voice hid an odd tremor. “Just take it away.”

“Uh, okay,” you said, sliding your gun back into its holster since it didn’t look like he was a threat to either you or Injeolmi. You were about to ask whether he was doing all right, since he looked a little pale and off, but he got up abruptly and turned away from you, walking back to the couch and sitting down. He stubbornly refused to look at you again, and you felt a little sulky, since you’d been curious about him for a while, and now that he was here you wanted to ask him some questions and find out more about him.

Still, since he’d walked away from you, there was no way to assuage your curiosity today. “Come on, baby,” you said in a far higher-pitched tone to Injeolmi, squatting to gather him up in your arms. He was pliant and obedient for you as always, happy to be held by you, and it was almost hard for you to believe that this was the same cat that had run off earlier. Injeolmi was the laziest cat ever, and that had been wholly uncharacteristic of him.

Standing up with Injeolmi cradled in your arms, you turned to leave the room. “Ah, do you want the door open or shut?” you asked as you hovered right outside.

“Shut,” the mysterious man inside said firmly, and you shrugged as you followed his instruction before continuing on your path to the library.

“You’re a really naughty boy,” you cooed at Injeolmi, jiggling him a little in your arms nonetheless. When you let yourself into the library, you put Injeolmi down and he went and settled down in the one spot where there was sunlight, streaming in through a small crack in the floor-to-ceiling curtains that had been left there specially for him.

Shaking your head at him, you drifted further into the library, to the sitting area near the back. Namjoon was already there, with Jin. They had their little blood bags in front of them on the coffee table, which you could mostly ignore as long as you thought of them as Capri Suns. “Hello,” Namjoon greeted, while Jin just smiled at you. “I chose something new for you today,” he continued, leaning forward to tap the cover of a book he had resting on the table.

You smiled at him. “Thank you,” you said, coming to sit next to him. Leaning forward to pick up the book, you completely missed the way he stiffened as you sank into the comfortable couch, and Jin’s responding smirk at his brother’s momentary loss of composure. Because you’d never had much time at the Guild to pick up hobbies like reading, you’d been completely blown away by the size of the library, and Namjoon had taken it upon himself to pick different books of different genres and on various topics for you to decide what you liked reading. So far, you were really into thrillers and memoirs, but you were definitely hiding a secret love for romance novels.

Opening the book, you were soon so immersed in reading that you completely forgot to ask them about the man you’d just met.

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

Hoseok was, to put it mildly, freaking out. He held the portait of Minhee in his left hand, while reaching for the bag of blood he’d been nursing with the right, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to drink it. His hand shook slightly as he raised his drink to his mouth, hoping against hope that he was wrong.

The moment the blood bag neared his mouth, though, the smell of the blood became too much, and nausea bubbled up in him.

“Fuck.” He tossed the bag back down onto the table, grimacing.

There was no way this was possible. You couldn’t be his mate. Vampires didn’t get more than one, and he still remembered her dying in his arms, despite his frantic attempts to stop the bleeding. Her whispered apology as her life slipped away haunted his nightmares.

And yet… you smelled just like Minhee. You’d think that four hundred years away from his mate would have dulled the memories, but he recalled exactly how her blood had smelled and tasted, like absolute perfection. When he’d scented you, it had taken all his willpower to stop his eyes from changing colour and his fangs from descending.

“Minhee-ah… what’s going on?” he murmured, tracing the edges of the portrait with his thumb. His mind raced, and he knew there was only one person in the house who might possibly know the answer to that question.

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

Conveniently, Namjoon was in Jin’s study with him that evening when Hoseok came, so he could tell them both about the problem he’d encountered today.

When he knocked and entered the study, Jin and Namjoon both gaped at him for a second before Jin gathered himself. “Hobi, hello,” he said smoothly, covering up his surprise. “What brings you out here tonight?”

Hoseok frowned. Seokjin was talking like he never came to hang out with his brothers, which wasn’t true at all. He’d been getting better about spending time with others… at least until you arrived.

“I met our new housemate today,” Hoseok said by way of greeting.

Namjoon and Jin exchanged slightly panicked glances. “And… what did you think?” Jin prompted, trying to hide his unease. Hoseok hadn’t been the most cheerful or chatty person for a long time now, and this whole situation, while not ideal for anyone involved, was definitely something that would upset him.

Hoseok hummed, trying to find the words to explain. He didn’t know whether to ease into it or just blurt it out, and he didn’t know how much his brothers already knew. They’d been good friends with Minhee as well, since the four older vampires had always been together.

“Do you remember Minhee?” he asked, sidestepping his hyung’s question.

From the way both Namjoon and Jin gaped at him, he had a sinking feeling that both his brothers knew exactly where he was going with this.

“When were you going to tell me?” he said tiredly, running his hand over his face.

“Uh…” Jin started getting a deer-in-the-headlights look, so Namjoon stepped in.

“We just weren’t sure what all this meant, and we didn’t want to bother you unnecessarily,” he explained. “The whole situation is really strange, and none of us really know what to make of it…”

From what he was saying, it seemed like there was more at hand than this girl’s unexplained connection to Minhee, and Hoseok’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean by this ‘whole situation’?”

“Jesus,” Jin muttered under his breath. “Good going, Joon.”

Namjoon cringed, knowing he’d messed up.

“You guys seem to have some explaining to do.” Hoseok pulled the chair out from Jin’s desk and slung himself into it casually.

“Right, I suppose we do,” Jin sighed, massaging his temples.

“Well?” Hoseok asked, his brow raising as Jin didn’t say anything else after that.

Jin looked over Hoseok’s shoulder at Namjoon, who was still sitting on the couch in his study. “Would you like to take a crack at it?”

“Sure, throw me under the bus,” Namjoon grumbled, but got up and came to sit in the chair next to Hoseok’s anyway, so the three of them were seated around Jin’s desk.

“So, Taehyung found Y/n, and, uh…”

“Spit it out, already,” Hoseok snapped, accompanied by an eye roll.

“It turns out that she’s his mate…?” Namjoon said, so uncertainly that it sounded like a question. He eyed Hoseok warily, hoping he wouldn’t blow up at the unexpected (and likely unwelcome) news. He hadn’t even finished telling the story.

Hoseok turned to regard Namjoon more directly. “How can she be his mate? He’s been eating fine, hasn’t he?”

“Uh, we aren’t that sure about that,” Namjoon admitted. “But he isn’t the only one.”

“What.”

“As it turns out…” Namjoon paused and looked over at Jin for help. Jin nodded encouragingly for moral support. ��Uh, all of us… are her mate.” He cringed away from Hoseok as he said it, bracing himself for the inevitable explosion.

“How the fuck is that possible?!”

“Hobi, please.” Jin held his hands out placatingly, trying to calm his brother down. “We don’t know what’s going on either, but we’re trying to figure it out, okay? Joon and I are spending all our free time in the library, trying to find out more.”

Hoseok put his head in his hands and groaned. “Why can’t things ever just be normal around here?” he mumbled.

Namjoon, sighing, patted Hoseok’s shoulder, trying to offer whatever comfort he could. “I’m sorry, bro,” he said, the words falling flat because he knew even as he was saying them that it wasn’t enough. “We’ll figure this out together, all right?”

“This is fucked up,” Hoseok said shakily, and Namjoon wasn’t sure if he’d even heard him. “All of this is so messed up, I can’t believe it. How can the seven of us be mated to the same girl? We’re going to drain her dry.”

“Hobi, let’s not get ahead of ourselves…” Jin looked slightly alarmed, reaching over to pat the top of Hoseok’s head.

“I never wanted any of this, losing Minhee was bad enough. I can’t deal with any more mate drama,” Hoseok complained, ignoring his hyung.

“Hobi, come on!” Jin lost his patience finally and snapped, raising his voice. “None of us know what’s up, and we’re all trying to get through this together, so will you please get it together and stop playing the victim?”

From the way Hoseok looked up at narrowed his eyes, his brothers knew they were in for it. “Together?!” Hoseok asked derisively. “Right… is that why you were hiding Y/n from me?”

“We weren’t hiding her,” Jin said, offended now. “We told you about her; you just didn’t want to meet her because you’d rather stay holed up in your room by yourself all the time!”

“Jesus Christ!” Hoseok slammed his fist down on Jin’s desk. “Maybe, just maybe, if you had started with ‘Hobi, by the way the hunter you’ve invited into our home smells like Minhee and is apparently our shared mate’, I might have paid more attention to her!” With that, Hoseok stormed out of the study, done with interacting with his brothers.

In the wake of his outburst, Jin and Namjoon sat quietly, the silence ringing loudly in their ears.

Jin was the first to break the silence with a loud, gusty sigh. “It’s so hard to talk to him nowadays,” he complained to Namjoon. He still remembered the jovial, smiling Hoseok of years past, back before everything had changed. As much as he understood the anguish his brother was going through and wanted to be there for him, it was just so difficult when Hoseok was belligerent like this.

Namjoon nodded in agreement, resting his chin in his hand. “If nothing else, hopefully Y/n will be able to help him.”

Jin hummed. “Do you think we should tell the others?”

“They wouldn’t understand, you know that,” Namjoon responded. Reluctantly, Jin agreed – the maknaes had never been quite as patient with Hoseok as the older brothers. They just didn’t understand why he was so angry all the time, and Hoseok didn’t like discussing what he’d gone through. It was difficult keeping secrets from their brothers, but it was necessary in this case to protect Hoseok.

[crowryes]

dr hunger games au

as you may or may not know, i just finished tbosas a few days ago. though of an au where the thh survivors are victors of the games so uhh yea!

this is a big mess

-  Togami Byakuya-District 1

Togami was a big hit during his games, gaining popularity from the moment that he got chosen during the reaping. He acted so capitol like that people had a genuine hard telling if he was district or not. 

Byakuya refused to ally any of the other tributes from the stronger districts( 1, 2, and 4) and somehow made it through the games alone. This made him gain even more fans and sponsors He sat tight for the majority of the games, being showered in gifts by sponsors. However, when it came to it, he killed the last tribute that stood between him and victory. With an extremely intricate plan set up, he killed the last tributes with only a few strands of rope and some of those rations he’d been saving up. This proved him a true capitol man, refusing to get his hands too dirty.

- Asahina Aoi- District 4

Asahina gained popularity through voluntering for her little brother. Most of the capitol thought she’d die early in the games (getting only a 8 during her session with the judges), but her friendship with Oogami Sakura, a tribute from district 2, showed itself to be usefull. During training,the two bonded over their hate of the games. It seemed almost as Oogami actually cared for Asahina’s wellbeing (she did). Their alliance made them gain many sponsors. But at the end, with only 4 tributes left in the arena, Oogami sheilded Asahina from a fatal blow. Asahina was then gifted a trident, the most expensive gift ever given in the games and, full of rage, killed the remaining tributes with it.

- Hagakure Yasuhiro - DIstrict 8

Hagakure was extremely unlucky. He was picked at the age of 18, only a few weeks away from being away from the games for ever. He didnt come from a remarkable district, not much attention to himself. He did have a quite charming sense of humour, as seen during his interview. Other than that, he had nothing going for him. As soon as the games started, he rushed into the wilderness, hiding there for almost the entierety of them. Hagakure showed an aptitude for finding food in the wild. He foraged vegetation and the occasional fish for most of the games, hinding either in trees or in caves.

After most of the wilderness burned (apparently, some district 12 girl was burned on a stake  burned by a bunch of crazed tributes), killing some of the tributes. Hagakure just hid behind the cornucopia as the few remaining tributes fought it out, all bleeding to death.

- Fukawa Toko - district 10

It’s an understatement to say that Fukawa as disliked by the capitol. Such a raggedy, disgusting girl was not worth the capitol’s attention or money. Even during her interview, she barely spoke, mumbling nonsense the whole time

However, unkown to the public, Toko had decided to not stop her alter, Syo, from surfacing. 

Gaining a 12 after her time with the judges (mostly because Syo threw daggers with terrifing accuracy at them), the capitol couldnt help but wonder what this terrified district 10 girl could of done to earn such a high score.

Her hunger games where the shortest that there had ever been. During the first day, she ran straight to the cornucopia and stole as many daggers and knives as she could get her hands on, and slaughtered three of the tributes from the stronger districts.She would actively seek for people to kill through the arena, ending up with 5 murders on the second and third days.

Sponsors loved her, giving her food and water through her time at the games. Syo simply ignored the ressources. When toko would go back to normal, she always felt too guilty too eat anything and would simply curl up in a ball, crying herself to sleep

After seeing her craft makeship scissors with her daggers, she was gifter a pair of silver scissors, with blades like rassors,

She, in total, killed 11 people during the course of her games. Rumors say that upon arriving on the airship, she simply collapsed, almost dying from lack of nuttrition

- Naegi Makoto - District 12

Naegi’s victory truly was only caused by a string of fortunate events. The capitol warmed up to the small, charming boy. Ladies swooned when he made his way upstage for the interview. He seemed timid and sweet during his interview, however... he was exactly like that, much to the audiences surprise.

Naegi gathered a few allies that were much like him, unlucky tributes who came from much poorer districts. Those included and were limited to; A district 8 girl with a beautiful voice, a bashful girl from district 3 (who, later on, much to the audience’s shock, turned out to be a boy) and an angry redheaded boy from district 6.

He believed in his allies, even stopping one of them, the district 8 girl from killing him by calming her down with soothing words, telling her how she was able to get out of here alive. Sadly, the same night, that same girl killed her ally, the redhead, and he did the same.

With only one ally left and despair slowly infecting the duo, Naegi still held onto hope. He believed that he and his ally (who he now knew was named Fujisaki) could win the games. This shocked and slightly angered the audience, who knew there could only be one victor. But he kept talking about victory as if they could win together, as a team. 

Fujisaki devised a plan. She’d run wires around the cornucopia, connecting them to all of the surounding lakes in the arena. If they were lucky, lightning would hit it, the remaining tributes, who were camping it out by the lakes, would be shocked and would die a short and almost painless death.

Much to the audience’s confusion, that was something that the two held to heart. Not making anyone suffer for too long.

Fujisaki’s plan worked, but not without it’s consequences.

Standing too close to the wires, she was electrocuted by the current going through them. Her feet covered in soot, markings running up her legs, she somehow looked peaceful. Like her plan had, in fact, worked the way she wanted it.

Inspecting her closely Naegi was shocked (funny pun go zzzzzzzzzzzap). The girl- no boy- he knew so well was a guy. He shed many tears over his dead boy, closing his eyelids and putting him to rest in a field of tall grass.

Only 3 tributes were left. He was going to win this. For Fujisaki’s sake, and for his own.

He sat next to the cornnucopia, waiting for the others to show up. Two rogue tributes ran out of the wilds, both obviously wanting his death. One of them threw a spear, flying towards him.

A girl threw herself in front of him, piercing her. Tears running down her freckled cheeks, blood on her lips, whispering her last words in his ear. 

I want you to win. I’m unworthy

Naegi grabbed a mace from the weapon stash and bashed the other tributes head, blinded by the tears in his eyes.

---

watch as i progressively get out of writer’s block while writing these lmao

also can you tell i spent my daily bikeride exclusively thinking of naegi’s victory and how much he hates the fact that he had to take a human life

totaly didnt crash when i thought of making chihiro his ally no no nope

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt.81

Lance was silently fuming in his grave. He’d lost his temper with his friends, and now he’d exiled himself to the backyard to avoid them. He didn’t want to be mad at them, but when they pulled stupid shit and made jokes over becoming a vampire, he couldn’t cope. Coming home to a home that kind of no longer felt like his was bad enough. He’d hoped that what Matt wanted to show him was him kicking Pidge’s arse at some video game and Matt was simply making fun of him. Not this. Not some half baked idea of investigating Lotor. Rieva had been so scared they’d been forced to return to Platt, and now she was happily conspiring with Pidge and Hunk, like that fear didn’t matter. There was a reason hunters existed. They took care of things like this. Not two werewolves and two humans who’d only just found out that things really do to bump in the night. He wanted his life back. He wanted things to go back to hunting dumb ghosts and the occasional yucky feeling of death when they did. Why couldn’t they understand how he felt? He shouldn’t have lost his stupid temper, but being a vampire wasn’t something to joke about.

Being the light of his undead life, Hunk was the one who came to talk to him. Shovelling off Lance’s death dirt, Lance faked death until Hunk made it impossible to ignore him

“Lance... I don’t know if you can hear me... but... Can we talk, buddy? I’m not used to this... You look dead in there and I don’t like how it feels seeing you dead”

That was the nicest thing Hunk had said in ages. That he didn’t like seeing Lance laying in his shallow grave

“I’m not changing my mind”

Hunk sighed, Lance hearing the way his clothes rustled as his friend sat heavily, just short of where he’d dug Lance up

“I don’t like this either... but Pidge wanted to help... and she needs someone there to keep her grounded”

Hunk was good at that. Provided Pidge was still listening and not swept away in an investigation

“She needs to leave it alone before she ends up dead”

“But you’re dead... and you’re okay?”

He wasn’t okay. He’d just gotten very good at existing

“I’m not going to watch her go through what I went through”

“What... I mean, you totally don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I guess... maybe I don’t see the problem with you being a vampire”

Hunk wouldn’t. He saw the absolute best in everyone. Even when they didn’t see it in themselves, he kind of... brought it out of you. Lance couldn’t tell him. He didn’t want Hunk to pity him. He’d barely been able to tell Matt without Keith’s support

“I... I can’t tell you. I can tell she should fear being a vampire. If Pidge was turned, she’d never be the person we know again. That’s if she kept her mind”

“But you... kept yours? You’re not secretly a serial killer are you?”

Lance could almost see Hunk worrying his pointer fingers together

“No. I was turned young. Too young... My mind and body were more flexible. When we get older we get set in our ways. Our sense of self evolves as we grow. That’s the secret to keeping your sanity. It’s holding onto every little bit of humanity you can find”

“That had to be rough... I...”

Hunk was so pure he wasn’t seeing the truth

“You don’t know what to say. You’re cautious. I can hear the way your heart beats increased. I did everything I could to keep you out of this. But that all went up in flames in an instant. Yeah. I knew Matt was a werewolf before he came back. I prayed Pidge wouldn’t find out... and look what that got us. A whole lot of awkwardness and mistrust. You guys can talk and laugh about it because you’ve never seen a vampire properly. You’ve never seen humans paraded around as fresh meals on a lead. You’ve never felt hunger that robs you of your sanity. Pidge only saw a sliver and you were there to witness what that did to her. This isn’t a game and we can’t just drink slushies to feel better after a bad hunt. A bad hunt means you’re dead. Throat torn out for the fun of it... if you’re lucky. If you’re unlucky... it’s not a quick death”

If you’re unlucky you turn out like Adam, but that wasn’t Lance’s secret to share.

Hunk fell silent. Lance’s hearing not good enough to hear the metaphorical cogs kicking over. It was a long moment before Hunk replied

“You’re right. We don’t understand. It scared me when Matt suddenly showed us his wolf. I don’t know how to cope with any of this. I can’t even tell Shay and she totally thinks I’m flaky”

That wasn’t fair. Hunk was only flaky in the sense he was like a warm croissant

“I know. Since I met you guys... I... I was scared. I’ve never had friends as close as family before. I’ve never loved having people around like I love you and Pidge. I’ve spent my adult life trying to atone for what I am. Realistically I should have died when I was a kid. I never enjoyed lying. My ego never thought I was better than you. If anything I envied you both. You both grow old. You grow old and fall in love. You make families and you know love. When you don’t age you get to watch everyone you love grow older and die before you. I love you guys warm and breathing...”

“I don’t think Pidge is going to give up. Her... um... dad... he like knows about this kind of thing. And her mum... she’s pretty mad at both of them”

That made sense. Kind of... He’d thought Colleen and Sam had some sense that he wasn’t human. Though how they knew hunters wasn’t as clear. Platt was a big place. Most vampires and werewolves knew how to keep their heads down when they really needed to

“I love her. I love her and I don’t know if I can support this. I can barely support Keith and he’s been a hunter for years now. I don’t... I spent a long time not being part of that world for a reason. Nothing good ever comes out of it”

“Keith did...”

Touché. Keith and Shiro... they were a different kind of hunter. Eyes opened by personal tragedy that should have left them blood thirsty

“Keith... with him... it’s different. He feels like... he feels like he’s been our friend for years. He was really hurt over what happened. He’s not the best with social cues and friends. He’s been through so much and I was so happy that you guys wanted to be friends with him”

“He’s... nicer then when we met him”

“That’s because he was convinced I was a blood sucking monster that fed on you as you slept”

“That doesn’t make me feel good”

“Relax. I swear I never ever fed on either of you. I had blood bags, and I never wanted to. I wanted to be human”

“Is there a way to cure vampire-ism? Is it “ism?”. Do you guys have like a preferred term?”

“I’m fine with whatever. But no. There’s no cure. I’m as dead as I can be without being in a hole in a ground”

“Dude, you are literally in a hole in the ground”

Touché again. He was kind of cold buried up to his shoulders... His poor death soil hadn’t been taken care of at all. Stupid dandelions had invaded... He’d always kept the garden so meticulous

“I know... Hunk, I don’t know what to do”

“I don’t know what to do either, bud. What would Keith say?”

“I don’t think he’s talking to me. I told him I was coming back here today and he didn’t reply”

“Oh, man... I’m sorry... I didn’t know you two were...”

Two were what? Fighting? Lance thought they’d made up...

“I don’t think we’re fighting... he just normally answers or he’s working... or sleeping. Shiro did get slightly drunk last night”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yep. Curtis finally took him on a proper date”

“Like in public?”

“No. They went to this underground vampire fighting ring that serves great wings. Yes, in public. Just because Curtis is slightly cursed doesn’t really mean anything”

Lance could hear Hunk scratching the back of his head

“Dude. Relax. I’m joking. Curtis’s curse doesn’t mean he can’t go out and enjoy himself with Shiro. He styled his hair to hide his horn”

“So like curses and magic are real? That’s a real thing?”

“Yeah. I only found out about it not that long ago. Curtis used to be a hunter. I suppose he still kind of is, but he works for Coran now”

“Like you work for Coran?”

Hunk was curious, yet kind of freaked. Lance could hear it in his voice. He’d come out here for peace, but instead found himself having a much needed talk with Hunk

“I don’t work for Coran. Coran takes care of like all the supernaturals and hunters in Platt. I’ve known him since I was turned. He helped me and my family out a lot with adjusting to me being the undead”

“So if anything goes wrong...?”

“I go to Coran. He’d welcome you guys too. He’s heard all about both of you”

“I don’t know how that makes me feel”

“Nothing bad. Just... you guys really mean a lot to me. You’re not the first humans I’ve been friendly with, but you’re the most important people in my life to date. And Keith. I didn’t even tell him I was coming back today. I messaged him... but he didn’t reply...”

Silence fell between them again. Lance content to let Hunk take his time, which he did, before finally starting to talk again

“Lance. Is there a reason you left Platt? If you were happy there... you could have stayed to be with Keith if you’d wanted”

“I was in Platt because Rieva was concerned for our safety with Lotor around. Lotor comes from a really bad family. Like worse than every vampire movie you’ve seen put together. His mother’s worse than Elizabeth Bathory. Hell, she probably got her twisted ways from her...”

“Or from pop culture”

Lance shook his head, sending dirt across his face. That was the trouble with burying himself. Maybe it was time to invest in a nice body bag, or a proper coffin to keep the dirt out

“She’s been alive longer than pop culture has existed. If Lotor suddenly proclaimed she was Elizabeth, I don’t think I’d actually be surprised”

“Is she really that bad?”

“Rieva didn’t tell you? The woman’s got a screw loose up there. More like she’s walked into a hardware store, pulled every packet of screws off the shelf, opened them all, then thrown them everywhere as she then bosses the staff into cleaning up the mess she’s left”

“That doesn’t sound good”

It sounded like a total chaotic shit show. Kind of like how the Blades conveniently marched to the beat of their own drum

“Not particularly. Bud, I know you always see the good in people, but you need to see Honerva isn’t a person. Those invisible lines the of law that keeps us in line doesn’t apply when you’re that powerful. Going after Lotor could bring that madness down on all of you. Not just us, but everyone you love. I’m so happy you and Shay finally started dating, and I’m not telling you to choose but if you ever feel you have to, then please choose her. You two are so perfect for each other. I want to see you grow old together... I want you both to be happy”

Hunk sighed heavily

“I... don’t know if I can ignore what’s happening... I don’t want... I don’t want to see people hurt because I wasn’t brave enough to do something”

Because Hunk loved his friends as fiercely as Lance loved them

“Then... then I don’t know. But don’t chase anything. I can let Keith know, or Coran, but I can’t lose you, even if it makes you hate me. The world is a better place for having you and Pidge in it... always remember that. I’m going to take a nap out here”

Moving seemed like effort. Inside smelt like werewolf. The gremlin was cranky. Here seemed as good as any spot to wallow

“You’re going to take a nap?”

Hunk sounded surprised. Then again, he wasn’t used to Lance napping in the ground. Lance wasn’t used to Lance napping in the ground, but the soil felt kind of reassuring

“It’s fine. I spent three months making this soil. It’s actually good for me. Helps promote healing all that... I’ll be okay”

“I don’t like leaving you in there alone”

Lance snorted, mentally imagining Hunk trying to climb in beside him

“I’ll be okay. Just don’t let Matt pee on me. I think I need some me space”

“Should... should I cover you back up?”

“If you want to. I’m pretty cozy in here”

“But... don’t you need to breathe?”

“Eventually. I breathe. But I can also hold my breath a ridiculous amount of time”

“Dude... that’s so weird”

“Welcome to having a friend who’s a vampire. Seriously though. I really love you guys. I want to be here with you... I... Thanks for coming to check on me. I know this isn’t easy for you”

“Well... like... you know... we’re like best friends... right?”

“Best friends forever, buddy”

** I can’t help it. I love our boy interacting with his besties and being friends again**

[hawkbucks]

Number One With A Bullet

I saw a prompt comment on the WinterIron subreddit, and I thought I’d try my hand at it. It read:

Tony grows up in an average household, but his brain still lands him at MIT. One unlucky night, his trip to the bank gets interrupted by a robbery. However, the criminals leave as soon as they see Tony’s face. Looking into it, it turns out Tony was put on the No-Harm list by the leader of a global crime syndicate who goes by the Winter Soldier. He is completely flabbergasted when the Winter Soldier looks exactly like his ex-boyfriend, Bucky Barnes.

Tony doesn’t live in a bad neighborhood per se, but he wouldn’t be caught at an ATM in the dead of night with no more as defense than his keys poking through the slits his fingers make when they’re balled up in a fist.

And yet, that’s how he finds himself, standing under a cloth awning with a yellow light doing its best to illuminate him and provide a feeling of safety. He slides his card into the slot and waits for the mechanical voice to tell him to punch in his PIN. Damn the fact that the nearest convenience store is cash-only (seriously, they might as well be an inconvenience store with that policy in his very humble opinion), and damn the fact that he’s pretty sure he’s going to need at least 2 extra cans of Red Bull to get through his courseload tonight. He squeezes his keys harder, his keyring starting to dig almost painfully into his palm. Maybe leaving New York was a bad idea. Maybe he should’ve just went to NYU; at least then he’d be surrounded by familiarity.

The ATM asks for his PIN.

As his thumb hovers over the keypad, something sharp presses into the base of his spine. He freezes, breath catching in his throat, and hopes to god that he’s just imagining things.

“We just need you to withdraw a li’l something for us, alright?” a raspy voice sounds from over his right shoulder. It’s muffled slightly, probably due to a ski mask or a pulled-up scarf covering a mouth. “We don’t want this to get ugly.”

Yeah. So much for imagining things. He has his makeshift claws, sure, but he never thought that he’d actually have to use them, and the usage of ‘we’ isn’t exactly instilling any sort of confidence in him, especially when the presence of another person is confirmed by a low hum in agreement.

‘Course, it’s either stand here and let these guys bleed him for all the money he has in his account, or act out—and possibly get stabbed to death—in hopes of scaring them away once they see he isn’t going to be that easy of a target. If he’s being honest, he doesn’t mind doing a little tango with death if that means he isn’t going to be evicted from his apartment and end up living out on the streets. It’s not like he has that much to lose anyway (unless you count his piles of rising student debt and well-worn clothes as something).  

“You know what to do, right?” the voice continues. “Just give us some money, and we’ll be right outta your hair.” The sharpness grows insistently, and he knows it’s only a matter of time until it breaks through his clothes and sinks into him.

“Just money?” he asks, swallowing down any residual fear.

“Just money.”

He blinks and nods twice. Now or never, Stark. Now or never.

He wildly turns around and punches out with his “claws,” satisfaction settling in his chest when he hears a grunt of pain. The knife clatters to the ground, and he watches as they reel back, holding the side of their face.  

He sets his shoulders, adrenaline coursing through his veins as his breathing becomes heavy. He glares at the other, daring them to come forward.

Except that the other doesn’t come forward. No, their eyes are wide through the holes in their mask, and their knife is hanging loosely at their side. “Oh, fuck,” they start, their voice higher-pitched and more nasally. They look at recently-punched-guy out of the corner of their eye before looking back at him. “Uh, shit. Dude, it’s him. Norman, fuck, it’s him.”

Tony furrows his brows together. “It’s him”? What the hell does that mean? Last he checked, he wasn’t anyone that would get people caught up while attempting to rob him, unless he somehow turned into a celebrity overnight.

“Aw, man,” recently-punched-guy—or Norman, as he’s recently learned—moans, looking at Tony, knees buckling from underneath them. “The Soldier’s gonna have our heads.”

The Soldier? The closest person he knows to a Soldier is Rhodey, and he’s pretty sure Rhodey isn’t the kind of guy who would go around threatening to have people’s heads if they screw with him. Or maybe he is, but he’s definitely not the kind of guy who would make good on that promise if the way his would-be robbers are looking like they’re staring their death sentence in the face is any indication. (Speaking of which, probably not the smartest move to have given Tony one of their names.)

“We didn’t know it was you, man, we swear!” Not-Norman pleads, sounding on the verge of hysterics. “Dude, you gotta tell the big man that we didn’t know!”

He stays silent, racking his head and trying to figure out who this Soldier could be and why it seems like they want to protect him so much. Rhodey’s out, obviously. Pepper may be the next most likely candidate, but there’s also the fact that she has better taste than to call herself the Soldier. It can’t be Peter, that kid he tutors, since Peter is 12, and it’s not Peter’s Aunt May because he’s pretty sure she wouldn’t hurt a fly even if it was buzzing all over her lasagna.

Norman and Not-Norman, however, take his silence to mean that he is, in fact, considering not telling the “big man” that they didn’t know. “Listen, if we knew it was you, we wouldn’t even have approached you!” Norman says. “Just tell him that, yeah? ‘Cause we have to go. You—fuck—you hit hard!”

“I’ll tell him,” he says. If he could ever find out who “he” was.

“Okay, okay. We good?” Not-Norman’s already backing away.

Tony nods.

Norman, still holding his face, turns tail and runs. “You can keep the knife!” he shouts out, Not-Norman lagging just a few strides behind him.

Tony looks down at the knife, considering.

See, someone calling themselves the Soldier sets off alarms in Tony’s head. Unless they’re some 14-year-old on an MMORPG, they’re probably involved in some shady, shady business, and it’s not like he can just Google who they are. Fortunately, Tony knows someone who deals in shady businesses (mostly because they’ve been friends since elementary school and, while they went down incredibly different paths, she’s always looked out for him). He sprawls himself out on his couch and dials a familiar number.

“Who the hell’s the Soldier?” he asks once he hears her pick up.

“Wow. Not even a hello,” Natasha quips dryly. Rustles of cloth and faint shouting can be heard in the background.

He decides not to ask. It’s probably for the better. “Hello.” He pauses for what he assumes is an appropriate amount of time. “Who’s the Soldier?”

“What makes you think that I’d know?” Natasha says in a tone of voice that makes it painfully clear that she does, in fact, know.

“C’mon, ‘Tasha. I’m curious.”

Natasha hums in acknowledgement. “Answer one of my questions first.”

Oh, great. Intelligence for intelligence, as she says. “I—sure, okay.”

“You’ve never asked me about them before, which leads me to believe that you’ve never even heard of them until now. Who told you about them?”

He stares at his ceiling. “Uh, Rhodey? You know how he works for the military and all? He—”

“The truth, Tony,” she sighs exasperatedly, cutting through his lie like a knife through butter. So much for that.

He mumbles, “I was in the middle of… getting robbed—”

“Getting robbed?” Natasha’s voice is razor sharp, concern seeping through.

“It’s not—that isn’t important.” He waves a dismissive hand although he knows she can’t see. “I wasn’t hurt, which is exactly why I’m curious, because those guys stopped once they saw me and then they started acting like this Soldier was gonna kill them.”  

“Who was trying to rob you?”

He could rat out Norman and Not-Norman, but he thinks that not even they deserve whatever kind of hell Natasha would rain upon them. “Not important.”

“It’s important to me.”

“Not to the story overall. ‘Tasha, please, I don’t want to talk about this any more than I have to.”

“…Fine,” Natasha acquiesces in her own way of apologizing. “I know him. Not personally, but I know him. Give me an hour and I’ll send you his address.”

“You can’t just tell it to me now?”

“I’m working, Tony.” With that, she hangs up.

He wonders if it’s revenge for him not telling her about Norman and Not-Norman. Knowing her, it is.

His base is near Boston, Natasha’s text reads, his text tone startling him awake. You’re lucky. Tell me how it goes.

If he’s being honest, he didn’t expect the base of someone with enough power to make a couple of simple-Joe-robbers nearly piss their pants at the thought of them to look so… plain. Bricks stained a dark red from the passage of time and accumulation of grime, black-tinted windows denying any nosey onlookers the pleasure of being able to look in, and a rather nondescript sign proclaiming the building to be under the ownership of a company calling themselves HC Inc.

He takes a deep breath and enters.

There’s a receptionist there, maybe a year or two younger than himself. Blonde. Her eyes widen when she sees him, but she quickly clears her throat and goes back to typing on her computer.

“Hi!” he greets once he’s up at the counter. He flashes her what he hopes is a friendly smile, because something about her tells him that she won’t hesitate to put him through the floor if she thinks he’s suspicious in any way, shape, or form. “I’m looking for, er…”

She smiles back up at him, eyes glinting. “The boss, right? Don’t worry, I’ll phone him.”

He nods politely before backing up and walking a few steps away, just far enough that he can still hear her without looking obvious (or at least he hopes he isn’t looking obvious).

“There’s someone here to see you, boss man,” he hears. “No, it isn’t her. It’s—” she glances at him— “it’s Stark.” A pause. “I’m sure. He looks like the picture.” Another pause. “Yes, of course.” She places her hand over the mouthpiece and beckons him over. “Can I see ID?”

He fumbles with his wallet as he fishes it out. He flashes his MIT ID, hoping that’s enough.

And enough it seems to be. She nods towards a hallway off to the left. “There are elevators down there. The boss is on floor 30.” She uncovers the mouthpiece as he walks away. “I’m sending him up right now.”

The room the elevator opens up to is far more extravagant than he would’ve expected looking at the outside of the building. A heavy-looking mahogany table sits in the middle, magazines splattered all over the surface, while a pair of thick maroon curtains help block out anything the tinted windows can’t. A chandelier illuminates the room in a soft yellow light unlike the harsh flickering from the ATM before.

Either he’s about to be served the finest glass of red wine he’s ever had, or he’s about to be executed while Chopin bombards his eardrums. It could be both. Not that he’d mind.

He takes a few careful steps, looking around the room. “Uh, hello?” he calls out, trailing his fingers on the table. After a couple of seconds of no response, he picks up a magazine and flicks through it. He can play the waiting game.

“Tony?”

He yelps, turning around to smack whoever that voice belongs to with the magazine, but is stopped when a large hand wraps around his wrist. “Wh—” he starts, then everything he’s about to say dies in his throat. No way, right? There’s no way?

It’s been a few years since they’ve seen each other, since they broke up because he wanted so desperately to go to MIT, to leave their state, but he’s pretty sure that he’d recognize the other anywhere and in any life.

“James?” he squeaks. James is taller now, broader and more muscular with a fair amount of scruff on his chin and hair that reaches his shoulders, but his eyes have always stayed the same: this cool blue that brings him back to the ocean. “You’re the Soldier?”

“Winter Soldier, technically,” James says, releasing his wrist. “Sorry, I—I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Winter Soldier?” Tony narrows his eyes and rubs at his wrist. He doesn’t doubt that James didn’t mean to harm him, but his grip is strong. “Like… like from when we used to play Runescape?”

James cringes, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “I couldn’t think of anything else. What are you here for anyway? I never thought that you’d… that you’d find out.”

“I—” Tony throws the magazine back on the table— “was approached by a couple of lovely guys, and they mentioned you. Said something about how you’d have their heads for even coming near me.” He crosses his arms. “I’d like an explanation, please.”

James rubs the back of his neck. “There’s a list that I have of people that, uh, that shouldn’t be hurt. You’re on it. So are a couple other people, but… yeah, you’re on it. You’re number 1, actually.”

“Number 1?” Tony isn’t sure if he should be flattered or afraid. Flattered because, well, it shows that James still cares for him, still thinks of him, and he’d be lying if he said that didn’t send his heart aflutter. Afraid because there’s bound to people out there that aren’t scared of the Winter Soldier’s wrath, and the fact that James just offered his name and face up on a silver platter… he’d just have to hope, as with most things.

“Yeah. You’ve always been my number 1.”

No. Tony can’t have that. His head is already spinning what with all of this information that he’s under the protection of some mob boss (although Tony strongly suspects that James is the head of more than just a mob) and that mob boss is his high school boyfriend that he thought he left in New York. He can’t have old feelings resurfacing. He can’t think about the nights where he stared at James’ contact information in his phone, never quite building up the courage to call or text. “We haven’t talked in years, James.”

“Doesn’t mean you’ve grown any less important to me.”

Tony exhales. He can’t really come up with something to say against that. Or at least he can’t come up with something to say that wouldn’t make him feel like a monster (which is funny, because James has probably dealt with much worse people than an old flame with a lashing tongue). “What is that supposed to mean?”

James shrugs loosely. “Whatever you want it to mean.”

Oh, no. Oh, no, Tony, don’t, his mind says. James has changed. He isn’t the same boy that used to quote Star Wars with you all day. He’s dangerous, more than likely. “And if I want it to mean something along the lines of us trying again? As friends, and maybe… maybe we can see where it goes.”

James smiles sanguinely. “I can accept that definition.”

[starker-eternity]

Going Once, Never Twice

So I’m sitting down, watching a favorite musical of mine and I’m hit with a Starker drabble idea... wow, I need help. In other words, you know you’re in trouble when everything starts prompting fics/drabbles... Trying to write a soft, fluffy piece and my mind runs away screaming...

Pairings: Starker with background Stucky, Phlint, Thorki, Brutasha

Warnings: AU, no powers, kidnapping, inference to non-con/rape, human trafficking, characters aged up, dark avengers

****

NEW YORK CITY

In the hallway of the building, the squeaky wheels of a cart could be heard as it was pushed by the closed doors. No one paid it any mind if they heard it, background noise as it was. As it neared its destination, music could be heard coming from behind the door that it stopped at. The European folk music that was playing completely covered the slight noise of a key being slid into the well-oiled lock and the door opening.

A young, auburn-haired woman was sitting on a couch in the living room, back to the opened door. She was humming along to the music playing as she was browsing on a Stark tablet.

All of a sudden, hands came into her vision before her face was covered with a sweet smelling white cloth. The woman struggled for a brief minute before her body went limp. A pair of strong, leather covered arms lifted the sleeping woman and deposited her body into the waiting cart. The music was turned off and the apartment was vacated, squeaking wheels echoing in the hallway.

****

STILL NEW YORK CITY

Ned laughed at MJ’s latest quip about Flash’s latest embarrassing debacle at Columbia University, the prestigious university that all three attended. Flash Thompson was one of their high school tormentors that unfortunately followed them to the same place for higher education. The guy was a Class A Douchebag, but he was sadly also intelligent. Luckily for them, he was too busy being a “small fish in the suddenly bigger pond” to give them much trouble.

As they passed a smaller newsstand, one of the dying breeds that sold physical papers, both young adults waved to Mr. Lee, the owner. Neither paid the loud headlines “HOW MANY MORE WILL GO MISSING?” from the local newspapers any attention.

Ned opened the door to their apartment building, The Priscilla, and was about to hold it open for M.J. when her raised eyebrow made him think better of it. Knowing her disdain for “gallant gestures”, even if they were more suited to be labeled “general politeness”, Ned rushed through the door and M.J. followed. Both automatically headed to the front desk to see if they had any mail waiting on them.

As they neared it, both noticed a young man standing at the desk, two medium sized suitcases and a back pack lying on the floor next to him. Ned took note that the man was a respectable height, with a head full of chestnut curls. His body seemed to be on the leaner side, but hard to tell as it was covered up by a shapeless tan sweater and baggy jeans. MJ was more interested in his non-descript luggage, trying to see if she could deduce where he was from without asking.

As both young adults stopped near him, the young male turned and gave them a shy smile. “ Hello,” he greeted, his voice light and cheery.

“Hi!”

“What’s up loser?”

The young man looked surprised by MJ’s caustic greeting, so Ned quickly rushed to assure him. “Don’t mind MJ, that’s how she greets everyone she doesn’t find currently offensive. It means she might like you if you don’t do anything incredibly stupid.”

The other man’s smile grew strained as he replied, “That’s both encouraging and terrifying really.”

MJ stared at him for half a minute before she gave a smirk and declared, “Cool. I’ve decided you can hang out with us. You know, if you want. I’m MJ.” She shook his hand briefly before turning her gaze on Ned.

“Oh! I’m Ned. MJ and I live on the 14th floor, apartments 1402 and 1404.”

Ned shook his hand as the brunette started to introduce himself. “Pleased to meet you, I’m Peter -“

“Here’s your ID back, Mr. Parker. Everything seems to be in order.”

Ms. Hill, the front desk manager, interrupted the introductions, coming back to the counter from the back room. In her hand was the aforementioned ID, which she handed back to Peter. As Peter busied himself with putting his card back into his wallet, Ms. Hill turned to Ned and MJ.

“Afternoon Mr. Leeds, Ms. Jones.”

“Afternoon,” they both chorused.

“I see you’ve already met Mr. Parker.” As they both nodded, she continued to state, “Excellent. He’s moving in today. Short notice, but lucky for him we had a vacancy. If he has any questions and can’t reach someone at the desk, he can ask either of you. Makes my job easier. He’s actually your neighbor as he’s leasing apartment 1403.”

Both Ned and MJ looked at each other in surprise. Ned spoke his thoughts first, “1403? Wasn’t that leased to Wanda Maximoff? She just moved in!”

Ms. Hill looked at Ned, a slightly annoyed look on her face. “Wanda Maximoff just moved out,” she replied. “Said something about missing Europe too much and not being able to handle Americans very well.”

“Wow,” MJ murmured. “She didn’t even give it a chance.”

Ned and MJ shrugged at each other while Peter stood by, his fidgeting fingers a clear indication that he was slightly uncomfortable. MJ looked back at Ms. Hill and asked, “Mail come yet?”

“Mail was delivered, always something for you two,” she said, even as she was leaving the counter to retrieve it.

Ned looked at Peter and explained, “Mail is delivered to the front desk everyday and the building staff sorts it for everyone. Since the desk is usually manned 24/7, you just ask for it.”

Ms. Hill came back and handed a few envelopes to MJ and several to Ned. “Looks like your mother wrote you, Ms. Jones and there seem to be several letters from Ms. Brant, Mr. Leeds.”

Ned blushed, but said, “Yeah, Betty’s on her 6 month Humanities Internship and has no access to email or WI-Fi. Snail mail is her only option. Luckily her handwriting is much better than mine.”

“You still have to send her replies, dork,” retorted MJ.

“Oh, that’s right,” Ned replied, his expression falling for a moment.

Ms. Hill shook her head slightly before looking at Peter. “Will you be receiving regular mail from family members or significant others, Mr. Parker?”

Peter smiled sadly at the older woman before shaking his head. “I don’t have anyone to write to me,” he explained. “My parents died when I was 6 and my aunt and uncle died last year. I don’t have any known family left.”

Ms. Hill’s gaze suddenly grew sharper at Peter’s words. Her body straighted and she suddenly seemed much more interested in the conversation. Peter noticed this immediately, but dismissed it as neither Ned nor MJ seemed to noticed. Ms. Hill looked him straight in the eye as a slightly creepy attempt at a sympathetic smile crossed her lips. “So sad to be all alone in the world,” she murmured.

Peter nodded and dropped his gaze from hers. He was uncomfortable, but didn’t want to insult the staff of his new landlord on the first day.

“Well, make sure to come to our social Friday night, Mr. Parker. I’m sure you’ll make dozens of new friends,” assured Ms. Hill.

“Yeah, and we’ll help introduce you to everyone on the 14th floor,” cheered Ned. The trio moved away from the desk, Peter moving to grab his suitcases and backpack. He followed the other two to the bank of elevators, a necessity in a high rise building.

“So the 14th floor? How many residents are there on the one floor?” Peter asked Ned as the trio waited for a lift to arrive.

“Actually it’s the 13th floor, but the complex was built by superstitious engineers. They didn’t want to label the floor with the unlucky number 13, so they skipped it and labeled it 14 instead.”

As the arriving elevator doors slid open, allowing the three to enter and began to close, MJ could be heard saying, “And according to urban myth, the hotel is actually built on an ancient burial ground. Some say they can...”

Maria Hill waited until the trio was definitely gone before she called out, “Jasper? Come man the desk. I’ve got to talk with Fury.”

****

MALIBU

Genius. Billionaire. Playboy. Philanthropist.

All tags that accurately described the 35 year old man that sat in the conference room, signing some digital paperwork. Impeccably groomed and well-dressed, Tony Stark was a man that exuded wealth and privilege. His genius was not a trait detectable with the naked eye, but anyone who owned a smart phone or tablet clearly held the results of just two pieces of his work. Of course he was a philanthropist, he had to constantly work on his public image. Not only for the good of his company, Stark Industries, but also so that nosy paparazzi didn’t focus on other things that went on in his life.

Playboy. Naturally his other titles encouraged every gold digger and fame seeking maniac to accost him. Men and women, he loved them all. But after almost two decades of flitting amongst the debutantes and trust fund babies, Tony was tired. He wanted to settle on a more permanent arrangement. Something similar to what his friends had. Alas, he hadn’t found “The One” yet.

His friends.

Tony looked around at the men and woman he chose to surround himself with. All with talents and gifts of their own, they had all combined their resources together to form Avengers Incorporated. AI was a company that just about had their fingers in every pot. Military weapons, espionage, technology, bio-engineering, pharmaceuticals... the list went on. Stark Industries was his legacy left to him by his father, but Avengers Incorpoated was his baby. And it was because of some of the work done by AI that the government and law enforcement turned a blind eye to darker activities that might cross their paperwork and desks concerning the founding members.

Tony cracked his neck before setting his tablet down and said, “Well, congrats to us, Gentlemen and Lady. We’ve just closed the deal that will net us an easy $500 million in profit.”

Smiles were shot his way as the others wrapped up their paperwork. “I think we deserve some R&R,” he declared. “Let’s escape to The Compound for a few weeks. Let Pepper and her team earn their ridiculous salaries and hold the fort down. Bring all of your partners.”

Natasha, a fiery red-head, gave Tony a sharp grin. “It’ll do Bruce some good to get out of his labs for a bit. He won’t admit it, but he’s getting stressed.”

Phil, head of AI’s legal legions smiled softly. “Clint’s been such a good boy lately, he deserves such a treat.”

Tony swiveled his head towards the other two men in the room. “How about it, Point Break? Buckaroo? Steve and Loki are the newest pets to the group. They good for an escape?”

Thor frowned, but he agreed, “Loki needs some discipline work. It would be good to get him isolated where I can devote my full attention to his conditioning.”

James, or Bucky to his friends, nodded his head. “Steve’s not completely there yet. It would do him good to interact with Bruce and Clint. See that it’s okay to surrender. Little punk keeps trying to test the boundaries,” he added, his tone fond despite his criticism.

Natasha turned to Tony, “What about you?”

Tony grinned at her, “ I’m sure I can find -”

Tony was interrupted by a chime coming from his phone. It was a chime that was echoed simultaneously by every cell phone in the conference room. The tone was unique, easily recognizable by everyone present. With raised eyebrows all around, each adult took out their phone and opened the text they all received.

AUCTION LOT 23-WM-PBP. 5 Min. Click link if interested.

Tony leaned back in his chair, even as he clicked on the provided link. He was prepared to be disappointed, as the last several dozen offerings had left him uninterested. As the link was loading, he noticed the others putting away their phones. Made sense, after all they had already won their auctions and had their prizes. No need to look anymore for them.

As the link opened on his phone, Tony took one look at the provided pictures and nearly fell out of his chair.

Perfection.

Clearly pictures lifted from an ID card and from a surveillance camera, the details were still captivating enough to knock the breath from him. Whisky-colored doe eyes stared up at him, almost teasing beneath a delightful mop of chestnut curls. Pale skin, complimented by smooth lips in an adorable grin, teased with a light brushing of freckles across an impish nose. A full body shot hinted at a lithe body, but gave no more tantalizing details.

Tony felt interest immediately spike in his lower regions, just from looking at those lips. He could already imagine those eyes filled with shining tears as those lips were wrapped around his cock. A red collar would look stunning around that pale neck. He eagerly absorbed the provided basic details.

AUCTION LOT 23-WM-PBP

23 year old Caucasian male.

Name: Peter Benjamin Parker

Status: Orphan

Current Location: New York City, USA

Height: 5’10”

Weight: approx 167lbs

Hair: brown

Eyes: hazel

Availability: immediately

Starting Bid: $100,000USD

Tony clicked on the provided link, which he knew from experience would redirect him to a secure server that housed the auction house, Black Noire. He was going to win this auction, no matter the price. And he was absolutely sure it was going to skyrocket.

As he waited the few precious minutes before the bidding frenzy went live, he glanced up at his friends. By now, they all had noticed he hadn’t put his phone away in disinterest, so their curiosity was piqued. He smirked, waggling his eyebrows, watching as delighted smiles crossed his friends’ faces.

Another soft chime echoed from his phone, indicating bidding was now open. As he confirmed his first of what he suspected would be many bids, Tony couldn’t help the already possessive chant going through his mind.

MINE.

[jameslockley]

Paul Wesley+ Cismale + He/Him.┊ ❛ ━ hey, is it just me or do you hear ( Bat Out of Hell By Meat Loaf ) playing in the distance ? oh, thats just ( Sunflare ), a ( Chaotic Good ) member of the league of ( Heroes ). i suspect they might be ( James Lockley ), a ( Thirty Two ) year old ( Club Owner ) with the ability to ( Absorb Solar Energy). according to my sources, ( He ) can be ( Charming ), but also ( Hedonistic ) which is probably why they remind everyone of ( Nights filled with debauchery and Mornings spent in confession) so much. anyway, a (Superhero) or not, crystalline city is keeping a close eye on them! (Peanut, 23, EST, he/him)

Personal Stats:

Name: James Lockley

Age: Thirty Two

Date of Birth: June 6th

Place of Birth: Crystalline City

Current Place of Residence: Crystalline City

Occupation: Owner of The Black Marble Night Club

Networth: $50 Million USD

Alias: Sunflare

Identity Status: Secret

Combat Stats: 

Strength: 9/10 (At peak Solar Energy Capacity. See Powers)

Offense:  8/10

Defense: 8/10

Speed:    9/10  (At peak Solar Energy Capacity. See Powers)

Durability: 9/10  (At peak Solar Energy Capacity. See Powers)

Accuracy: 5/10

Agility: 3/10

Stamina: 9/10  (At peak Solar Energy Capacity. See Powers)

Teamwork: 5/10

Stealth: 1/10

Close combat: 7/10

Bladed weapons: 1/10

Blunt weapon: 1/10

Ranged weapons: 1/10

Superpowers / abilities [solar energy absorption]: 9/10

Traps/Setups: 1/10

Medic: 1/10

Powers: 

Main: 

Solar Energy Absorption: User can absorb solar energy into their body and use it in various ways, gaining some form of advantage, either by enhancing themselves, gaining the drained power, using it as power source etc., either temporarily or permanently.

Variant Applications: 

Personal Gravity: The ability to alter one’s own gravity. This allows for flight.

Solar Empowerment: The ability to become faster, stronger, and more durable when one comes into contact with sunlight

Solar Attacks: The ability to project beams, balls, and bursts of solar energy from one’s body

James’ Solar Energy Absorption:

James’ use of solar energy absorption is comparable to that of a Kryptonian from the DC Universe. The solar energy absorbed into his body causes his cells to become more dense, strengthening his physical durability and strength. It also allows for him to alter his personal gravity, granting him the capability of flight. Finally, he can use the stored solar energy in his body and project it into solar energy attacks.

James’ body works like a solar powered battery. He absorbs solar energy into himself, giving him a finite use of all things listed above. At peak solar capacity, he is capable of lifting several tonnes, and is heavily resistant to physical damage. However, the use of his powers causes his solar energy reserves to deplete. The more he uses any of these abilities, the less energy he had stored, and the less effective these abilities become.

As an example, at peak solar capacity James would be capable of stopping a crane from crushing someone. However, if his solar energy reserves were at half or less, then the crane would be too heavy for him to lift. Similarly, at peak solar capacity, James’ skin would be capable of deflecting a bullet, but at half, it would not. 

The use of certain abilities exhausts the solar energy he has stored faster than others. While the use of his strength and durability don’t deplete a lot of energy, the use of flight and solar rays do.

Furthermore, unlike Superman, whose body naturally takes in solar energy on it’s own, James must consciously focus on absorbing the energy into himself.

Weaknesses: 

Lead (direct): For reasons that cannot be fully explained, James’ body has an adverse reaction to lead, comparable to Superman’s reaction to Kryptonite. Lead that comes into contact with his skin renders him incapable of tapping into the solar energy store inside his body until the lead is removed. This weakness is known to very few.

Solar Energy Depletion (Indirect): Because there is a limit to how much solar energy his body can store at one time, and the use of his powers causes that energy to deplete, weakening his abilities over time, James can be rendered increasingly vulnerable if he is forced to continue using his powers for an extended period of time. If the solar reserves in his body run out completely, he has only the capabilities of the average human being, apart from possessing some skill as a hand to hand combatant.

Flaws:

moody | short-tempered | emotionally unstable | whiny controlling | conceited | possessive | paranoid | lies impatient | cowardly | bitter | selfish | power-hungry greedy | lazy | judgmental | forgetful | impulsive vengeful | stubborn | sadistic | petty | unlucky

Strengths:

honest | trustworthy | thoughtful | caring | brave patient | selfless | ambitious | tolerant | lucky intelligent | confident | focused | humble | generous merciful | observant | wise | clever | charming cheerful | optimistic | decisive | adaptive | calm

Fighting Style:

commander  /  duelist  / honorable  /  dishonorable /  would have others do their fighting / stealthy  /  long-ranged  / melee  /  technological  /  sorcery  / superhuman abilities /  has fought in a tourney / a lover of fighting  /  a hater of fighting  /  cowardly  / reckless /  strategic  / uses underhand tricks /  renowned for their skill /  trained  / untrained  / keeps what little skill they have secret /  won a battle  / lost a battle  / merciful / unmerciful

Any lasting injuries from combat?:

A series of scars on his torso from when he was shot with lead bullets

About: 

- James Lockley was born into a rich family, and never found himself really wanting for much of anything, always being granted whatever his heart desired, the moment he desired it.

- When he turned 18, he was granted his portion of the family fortune, and used it to open a night club in Crystalline City called The Black Marble, turning it into one of the premier night clubs that the city has to offer.

- James has always been a lover of the vices in life. He’s extremely hedonistic, and so he gives in to his impulses night in and night out. 

- This has always been a bit of a struggle for him, because he’s always been a devout Christian. And yet, for the past 14 years, he’s been heavily self indulgent and sinful. He’s spent many mornings in confession. He feels guilty for always giving in to his impulses rather than listening to the moral side of himself, but he doesn’t know how to stop.

- The discovery of his abilities two years ago brought about a revelation in his life. He figured since he was unable to bring himself to change, to be better, that God had given him a means to make up for his sins by granting him powers to protect, and save people from danger. James took up the mantle of Sunflare, and ever since then, he’s tried to serve as a symbol of hope, optimism, and bravery, all while continuing to live his sin filled life of debauchery and hedonism at The Black Marble. There is a huge amount of duality to the man, and both sides represent a genuine part of him; the difficult part is getting those parts to reconcile with each other.

Additional info: 

Hi everyone! I’m Peanut and I’m thrilled to be here with you guys. If you would like to plot anything with James, please don’t hesitate to shoot me a message! Same goes for if you have any questions about anything explained here!

[aufbrechenumauszubrechen]

aufbrechen, um auszubrechen – Finding the love of my life in Ottawa

Hello world!

You might be wondering why this entry is written in English. The answer is simple: It's because this is a very special one for a very special person. Exactly two years ago I met a man that I've been in love with ever since. And this is how our two paths crossed...

I arrived at the Ottawa airport in the late afternoon. Compared to Vancouver it was freezing. Snow was covering houses, trees and streets. One could assume it was actually winter. I took an Uber to my Airbnb which cost me about $30. When I had booked the Airbnb everything around looked pretty close. I actually thought I could walk into the city within 45 minutes. Oh, what a fool I was. After I arrived at my apartment in Gloucester, a suburb of Ottawa, and logged into the wifi I soon found out that the next grocery store was a 30 minute walk away. Needless to say that there was 10cm of snow covering the streets.

But since I was hungry and the owner of the apartment was not home yet, I decided to go for that walk to buy myself some dinner. Except for that huge scarf I had bought in Revelstoke my winter gear was rather uncommon – two t-shirts, a sweater, a light jacket, a pair of jeans and runners. I'm still freezing just thinking about that walk. But when I came back I had dinner and some snacks in my backpack. So it was definitely worth it. I made myself some food and had great company – the owner's two cats. With my stomach full of spaghetti I went upstairs to my room. One of the reasons I went to Ottawa was to meet the OTM crew. OTM stands for One Track Mind and it's a group of people training for the decathlon. Kevin, head of that crew, vlogged about his life as a decathlete and put the videos on YouTube. I had been watching his videos for quite a while now and was eager to finally meet and train with the crew. Before I started my trip I had been emailing Kevin about the possibility of training with them. He liked the idea. So now I emailed him again asking about their training schedule for the week. While I was waiting for him to reply I opened up Grindr on my phone. I hadn't touched the app since Vancouver so I was interested to see if the Ottawa users were less creepy. And indeed most men on there seemed to be rather ordinary judging by their profile pictures. Also, I did not get any dick pics. So I was regaining trust in the app. Still, I did not use my real name on the app. I was Ben. Nice to meet you! Since I was still home alone I spent the night scrolling through numerous profiles of gay Ottawa men. If you are interested in a person you can either text them right away or send that person a flame to see if they like you back. Since I'm not good at taking the first step, I usually waited for people to text me or send me a flame. There was only one person that night that got my flame. His name was Brennan and I liked his greenish blue eyes. There was something faithful in his look. It did not take long for him to send me a flame back. My heart jumped a little when I saw that notification. Now it was time for me to take the first step. I started texting him on the app. Honestly, I don't even remember what my first lines were, probably something like „Hi, I'm Josef... I mean Ben. Nice to meet you!“. But whatever I said first, it must have worked because he texted back. I was super happy and we texted back and forth for quite some time. Finally, I got a text message from Kevin that there is training tomorrow morning and that he's gonna pick me up at 9am. It was 2am. Time to go to bed. I put my phone aside and fell asleep with a happy smile on my face.

I got up after less than six hours of sleep. But nothing could worry me because Brennan still texted back. After a quick breakfast Kevin picked me up to go to training. What I really like about Canadians is that they are so open-minded. I mean, Kevin just picked up a random German guy to take him to training. We had only texted a few times and soon after I was joining the OTM training session in the Dome at Louis Riel. I had never seen a 400 meter indoor track in my entire life. It was awesome! Unfortunately, none of the other OTM crew members showed up for that training. But two girls that I knew from Kevin's vlogs – Charlotte and Sveta – were also there. So that made it a bit less awkward. We spend the next two and a half hours doing long jump drills, short sprints, hurdles, med ball exercises, some weight training and finshed off with 2x300m. It was a lot of fun. I was super out of shape, but they still made me feel like I was part of the group. In the end, I got a cap from their coach James and two Ottawa Lions t-shirts from Zach, another coach from that club. I had a great time! Thanks a lot, Kevin!

Back at home, I took a shower, ate the rest of yesterday's spaghetti and went to a thrift shop that was next to the grocery store. I desperately needed a warm jacket. But I was unlucky. They did not have any jackets that I could wear with confidence. So I walked back to my Airbnb. I was lucky that I just made it before it started to snow like crazy. When I arrived I finally met the owner, Mark, and his girlfriend Kaitlyn. They were both super nice. While they were preparing their dinner we talked a lot about travelling and cats. After lots of laughs I went upstairs and started texting with Brennan again. We agreed on exchanging numbers and continued our conversation on WhatsApp. Since Kevin had told me that there was free ice skating Downtown and I needed to go buy a warmer jacket anyway, I knew that I was heading to the city the next day. So I suggested meeting Downtown. When Brennan did not they no right away I figured my chances were really good to actually meet that man with the beautiful eyes. Again, I went to bed with a smile on my face.

When I went downstairs to make myself some breakfast the next morning Mark offered to take me Downtown since he had a meeting there anyway. An hour later I found myself standing in the cold wind of Parliament Hill. I had booked 30 minutes of ice skating online. So I just rented some skates and had a great time on the ice without falling once.

After freezing my butt off on the ice it was finally time to get some winter clothes. So I went to the Rideau Mall to get a nice warm jacket and some shoes. I texted Brennan to see what his plans were for the day. He actually considered coming Downtown to meet me. But I had some convincing to do. He told me how gross he looked today and I told him that I would really like to experience his complete grossness first hand. It kind of worked. He agreed to come and meet me at The Highlander Pub. We had a date! So now I did not only need a warm jacket and shoes but also a nice pair of jeans and a sweater since I was wearing some super worn out travelling clothes. I found everything I needed, got changed in the bathroom, stuffed my old clothes in a backpack that was way too small and looked in the mirror. Just one little detail was missing. I was still wearing my glasses. But since I did not have glasses on in any of my profile pictures I figured to better not wear them. So I didn't. It made my vision worse but helped my confidence. I checked my phone and Brennan just texted that he was sitting in The Highlander Pub, in the left corner when you enter. I loved how specific he was because it lowered the chances of awkwardly not finding each other immensely. And that's when I walked in and saw him for the first time. He smiled at me and I smiled back. I said hi and the rest is history. We had an apple cider and some good talks. We was funny, asked smart questions and made me feel super comfortable. After our Ciders we had some pizza at The Grand Pizzeria and Bar. That's where he asked me if I was actually gay. I had a good laugh and confirmed my gayness. Time just flew by. He showed me around the city. He took the picture of me hanging from the T of the famous Ottawa sign. We walked through the snow.

To Parliament Hill where we saw a little light show.

After our amazing first date he drove me to my Airbnb. We hugged and said goodbye both knowing that this would not be the last time we saw each other. I went to bed with the biggest smile on my face.

After all the excitement the day before I slept super long. I went to get some Christmas presents for my family and headed to training after. This time the whole OTM crew was present.

We did some sprints, weight training and shot put. It was fun to get back into training. After a shower at home Brennan picked me up to get some burritos at Mucho Burrito. On our drive there I took all my courage and placed my hand on his that was on the gearshift. I asked him if that was okay. He said yes. That made me really happy. At Mucho Burrito I ordered a Mucho Veggie, the vegetarian burrito option, and was asked what kind of meat I would like on that. Classic. Brennan and I had a good laugh about that and ate our delicious burritos. We headed to his place to watch a movie. Julia Roberts ate, prayed and loved. And we cuddled. The weather outside got super ugly. Snow fell like crazy and the wind was picking up. We both decided that it was not the best idea to drive or be in a car right now. So I stayed the night. To not rush things I slept in the guest room which is something we now laugh about a lot. Whenever I visit Brennan nowadays he asks if I want to sleep in the guest room again. Probably I should some day to relive the memories.

They next day started with lots of cuddles and breakfast. It felt like the right place to be. Brennan took me back to my Airbnb so I could make it to training in time. At training we just did some running and pole vaulting. I took an Uber home, showered and prepared my dinner. I spent the night at the kitchen table talking and laughing with Mark and Kaitlyn. They gave me a little guestbook to sign. Here is what I did.

After that I went upstairs, packed my things and fell asleep right away. My Ottawa experience had been amazing so far. The next destination was Montréal although I liked Ottawa and especially Brennan so much that I just wanted to stay there.

The next day I left Gloucester and took the train to Montréal. The train ride was quite scenic so the time flew by and suddenly I arrived in the most populated city of Québec. When I left the train station to walk the few blocks to my hostel a windy negative 15 degrees celsius blew into my face. I had never experienced anything like that. It felt unreal. And very, very cold. I made it to the hostel in one frozen piece, checked in and got to my room. At hostel looked nice at first, but the eight bunk bedroom looked and smelled like prison. We had a little bathroom in there that probably hadn't been cleaned in two years. It was a mess. But it was cheap. I just put my stuff in that room and left it as fast as I could. The common area was nice though. And they had a big room for reading which nobody used. So I sat down there and started writing on my blog. After a while I could not concentrate anymore so I decided to go ugly Christmas sweater shopping. It's a family tradition that I started a few years ago. I basically put on every piece of clothing I had in my backpack and went outside. After a few failed attempts of finding a really ugly one I found this one.

After my shopping success I went to the Museum of Modern Art. They had a Leonard Cohen exhibition. All I knew about him was that he wrote Hallelujah. So I was eager to learn more. I walked out of that exhibition three hours later thinking that I learnt a lot. But now the only thing I remember is his quote: There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in. I really like that quote, but still feel embarrassed about not being able to remember more. Not to blame anyone here but I was constantly texting Brennan while walking through the museum. One could say I might have been a bit distracted. After that nice educational visit I got a delicious falafel and went back to the hostel. The room was still smelly but so was I after the falafel. So I called it a day and fell asleep.

The next day I slept in a little, took a shower in one of the hallway bathrooms, got my breakfast and went into the city. I bought a few postcards and a nice sweater for Brennan as a surprise. After that I felt like I had seen enough of Montréal since all I could think of was Brennan. So I went to the train station to change my train ticket to be back in Ottawa earlier. That way I could spend one more full day with Brennan before leaving for Iceland. I paid $21 to change my ticket and was a happy man. Through the freezing wind of Montréal I walked back to the hostel to relax in that reading room nobody was using. When I went back into my room I met Charlie from London. He told me about a Christmas Market he wanted to go to and asked if I wanted to join. So we walked to that Christmas Market which felt a bit like a German Christmas Market. Just that it was trying too hard.

But it was at that place and time that I had my very first poutine. I felt super Canadian right away. The poutine itself was okay. It was more about the experience anyway.

After that Charlie went to a party and I went to bed.

The next morning I got up early to catch the train to Ottawa. On the train ride I watched Home Alone 1 on my laptop. It's the kind of nostalgia I like. With the perfect timing of Kevin hugging his mother in the end I arrived in Ottawa. Brennan picked me up at the train station. We went to our favourite – Mucho Burrito – and with a full stomach made it to his place. We spend all day watching movies and cuddling on the couch. I enjoyed every minute of it. Julie Andrews taught us the Do-Re-Mi as we were watching The Sound of Music. Later Melissa McCarthy food poison pooed in the sink in Bridesmaids. All in all, it was a successful day that ended with pizza and more cuddles. This time I upgraded myself to sleeping in his bed. We were both happy with that decision.

The next day it was time to say goodbye for now. I was headed to Iceland next and Scandinavia after. But I was already sure that I would pass on the last Scandinavia week and get on a plane back to Canada. I gave him the sweater I bought. And he gave me some beautiful gloves. I was so happy and so sad at the same time. He drove me to the airport, gave me one last kiss and the next thing I know is me waving him goodbye. At first, there was a lot of sadness knowing that this part of our story was over, that I was about to continue my travels and that I would not see him for some time now. But soon after I realized that it was just the start of it all. The start of something so beautiful words fail to describe. So I sat there at the gate waiting for my flight. I checked my phone. He texted. Heart emoji. This is just the start. There is so much more to come.

Ich liebe dich, Brennan.