#i tried to look up how far away something was and my map said five hours and i was like hhhuuuhhhh????

[figuerockfaeth]

my phone thinks i’m in a location five hours away from where i’m at right now lmao??

[misc-obeyme]

Worth It

I was possessed by the spirit of macaron (or barbmon or mambatos or... what was the other one I saw? something to do with greed?) and HERE IT IS. I just- they're so- I can't help it, okay??? This is absolutely ridiculous but I REGRET NOTHING. Left it so I had the option of a smutty part two but I haven't decided if I'm gonna write it yet or not. Also, tagging @lonely-north-star as requested in exchange for the cutest art I ever saw~

Mammon x Barbatos - okay you can read part two here it's smut lol

Warnings: nothing really this is mostly fluff - just some making out and a cameo by Little D No 2

Mammon pressed himself up against the wall of the castle as he crept down the massive hallway in the semi darkness. He knew the passages well enough by now, having mapped out the most important ones. This particular hallway would lead him to the vault if he followed it far enough. However, Mammon also knew this was the way to the kitchen.

Technically, he shouldn’t be here. He should be at the House of Lamentation working on that stupid report for Devildom Law. And yeah, he’d tried to write some of it. It took maybe five minutes before he was bored out of his mind and decided he had something more important to do.

He was so focused on the task at hand that he didn’t notice Little D No 2 until he was tripping over him.

“Ow, hey watch it!” No 2 protested.

“Shhh!” Mammon bent down to clasp a hand on No 2’s mouth.

“Mm-mm!” No 2 exclaimed.

“How many times do I gotta tell ya?” Mammon whispered. “I ain’t nobody’s papa! Now be quiet or he’ll hear you!”

A door opened and light spilled into the hallway, illuminating the scene. Barbatos looked about for a moment before spotting them.

Mammon stood up straight, No 2 still clasped in his hands.

Barbatos shook his head a bit. “Did you truly think I would not notice you sneaking by?”

“I wasn’t sneakin’!” Mammon said immediately.

No 2 kicked his legs. “Mm! Mm-mm-mm-mmmm!”

“Ya little traitor!” Mammon said.

“If you would please let Little D No 2 go,” Barbatos said calmly. “He has his own work to be getting to.”

No 2 groaned as Mammon put him down, surprisingly careful.

“But Mr. Barbatos!” No 2 exclaimed as soon as Mammon removed his hand from No 2's mouth.

“No arguments, No 2,” Barbatos said, though his voice was soft and there was a trace of a smile on his face. “You still have dusting to do, if I’m not mistaken.”

No 2 groaned again, but he scampered away down the hall as he did so.

Barbatos looked across the hallway at Mammon, who stayed where he was, frozen in uncertainty.

“You’re slipping, I fear,” Barbatos said. “Normally you make it quite a bit closer to the vault before being caught.”

Mammon folded his arms. “Yeah? Well if I’m slippin’, so are you. How long have ya known I was here? Didn’t even bother to come lookin’.”

Barbatos actually chuckled at this and Mammon was suddenly fighting down a blush. “My apologies,” Barbatos said. “I’m afraid I was unable to leave the cake I’m baking unattended in order to apprehend you.”

Mammon blushed harder and looked away. “Yeah, well, I ain’t here for the vault anyway.”

“No?” Barbatos asked and there was genuine confusion in his voice. “Then what has brought you here this evening?”

Mammon pulled a small packet out of his jacket pocket. “I-I happened to come across this. Know it’s pretty rare. Thought ya might appreciate it.”

Without even looking at Barbatos, Mammon crossed the space and put the packet in his hands.

“That’s all, I’ll see myself out,” Mammon said, as he turned away.

Barbatos caught his wrist.

There was a brief moment where neither of them moved or spoke. Mammon’s heart was racing.

“This is one of the rarest teas available in the Devildom,” Barbatos said quietly. “Did you really intend to give it to me without staying to sample a cup?”

Mammon gulped, still turned away. His wrist was tingling where Barbatos was still holding on. Barbatos wasn’t wearing his gloves, having taken them off while he was baking. The contact between their skin was both thrilling and terrifying.

Mammon turned around, effectively removing his wrist from Barbatos’s grip. “I-I mean, if ya want me to…”

“I would enjoy nothing more than serving tea to the Great Mammon,” Barbatos said.

Mammon looked up at him sharply. He was greeted by a teasing smile, but also a glimmer of genuine pleasure. Mammon took a deep breath and said, “That’s right! Of course ya want me to stay! I don’t mind stickin’ around for a bit, but ya better be grateful!”

Barbatos stepped aside to allow Mammon to enter the kitchen. “My gratitude knows no bounds.”

Mammon narrowed his eyes at Barbatos as he entered the kitchen and settled on a stool by the island counter. Barbatos went around to the other side with the packet of tea and began to prepare the tea pot.

Barbatos looked up at Mammon through the fringe of his bangs. "If you had no intention of stealing from the vault, why were you sneaking through the hallway in the dark? You should have let me know you were coming."

Mammon huffed. He was annoyed at how hot his face still was. He couldn't seem to calm down. "I just… wanted to surprise ya."

Barbatos chuckled. "Then you have succeeded," he said. "I am both surprised by the fact that you are not here to steal and by the rarity of the tea you've brought me. Do I want to know how you obtained it?"

"I didn't steal it," Mammon said instantly. His blush was gone now and he sat up straight. "I saw it for sale and Lucifer told me what it was. So I earned some extra cash by pickin' up a couple modelin' gigs, that's all."

Barbatos paused what he was doing to meet Mammon's eyes across the counter. "You would do that for me?"

Mammon knew this was his chance to be honest. For how long had he been playing this little game with Barbatos? How long had they been tip toeing around each other, never fully committing, never even acting like they were close. Mammon didn't know what was holding Barbatos back - propriety probably - but for him? It was the knowledge that this demon was too good for him.

Despite that, he wasn't afraid of being rejected. He knew better than that.

"Yeah," he said, easily, not breaking eye contact. "I would. I did."

The smile that spread across Barbatos's face was the most beautiful thing Mammon had ever seen. So often he saw the knowing smile or the indulgent smile, but this was a genuine expression of fondness. Like Barbatos had finally cast aside his mask to reveal how he truly felt.

"Thank you, Mammon," Barbatos said, simply.

Mammon's heart suddenly became noisy in his ears.

When the tea was ready, Barbatos poured them each a cup, then came around the counter to sit on a stool beside Mammon. He placed the cups in front of them.

Mammon took his cup, which was still quite warm. Steam rose from it, fogging up his glasses.

Barbatos shook his head, though he was smiling. He put down his own cup and reached across to take Mammon's glasses off himself. He put them down on the counter. "You really needn't wear your sunglasses indoors, wouldn't you say?"

Mammon was so stunned by this intimate gesture that he didn't know how to respond for a moment. "Y-yeah," he mumbled.

Barbatos sipped at his tea, then closed his eyes in satisfaction. "This is indeed a high quality blend. You must have paid quite a bit of Grimm for it."

Mammon shrugged. "Eh," he said noncommittally. He didn't care how much the tea had cost. Barbatos's smile and his satisfied expression was worth every Grimm.

Barbatos opened his eyes. "Eh?"

Mammon sipped at his own cup before responding. "It was worth it."

Barbatos seemed to understand what he meant, the part that he didn't say. Though it was often hard for Mammon to tell just what Barbatos was thinking. He was too good at masking his emotions. Mammon was aware of how Barbatos only ever let him see what he wanted Mammon to see.

Barbatos put his tea cup down on the counter and slid off his stool. Mammon looked at him curiously, once again unable to read his expression.

Barbatos took the cup from Mammon's hands and put it on the counter next to his own. Mammon let him, responding easily and without resistance.

And then Barbatos moved in between Mammon's knees and kissed him.

Mammon's eyes fluttered closed as he tasted the light flavor of the tea on Barbatos's lips. His hands reached out instinctively to pull Barbatos closer. Even as his heart was racing again and the blush had sprung back up, Mammon also wanted more of this.

To his surprise, Barbatos responded almost as eagerly, one hand on Mammon's waist, the other on his thigh. Mammon thought he would combust when he felt a light nip at his bottom lip, causing him to open his mouth.

The next few minutes was all heat and tongues and the lingering taste of tea. Mammon thought he'd fall off his stool because he felt so dizzy.

Barbatos pulled away for a moment and looked at Mammon with half lidded eyes. "Shall we take this somewhere more comfortable?"

It was a miracle that Mammon did not die on the spot. Instead, he let Barbatos lead him out of the kitchen. When Little D No 2 returned in search of his boss, he found nothing but two cold cups of expensive tea and a pair of yellow tinted sunglasses.

worth it part two | masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[apomaro-mellow]

Dimension hopping 2

Honestly, Eddie was taking to this whole 'waking up in a fantasy world' like a fish took to water. They started on the road to the dragon's keep and Eddie saw every plot point for what it was for. He knew which glowing mushrooms were friends and which would kill them. He knew which cave NOT to sleep in. He even knew when they had time for a break so that he could suck Steve's dick in the woods.

All in all, while the journey was strange, it wasn't as arduous as Steve had been expecting. They came to a new town and decided to make a stop at a tavern. At this point, Eddie was feeling pretty high on life and love and it took almost nothing for him to take grab a lute from some stranger and start playing.

Eddie moved across the floor, enthralling his audience with the tale of a man that always stood between danger and the ones he loved. Who would stand up against a horde of beasts if it meant protecting the innocent.

Steve watched, never taking his eyes off of him. Eddie's theatrics got them a free meal, which they took in a dark corner of the tavern.

"That was risky", Steve said, murmuring into his ear.

"How? I didn't use your name", Eddie said. "And I only looked right at you like two times."

Steve rolled his eyes. Eddie had held his gaze for so long during the song at some moments it was nearly intoxicating. Eddie played it off, sure that no one could tell the man he was traveling with was the prince.

"You know, this little corner is usually reserved for someone dark and mysterious", Eddie said while Steve took advantage of the free food. "I'm surprised we got it."

What they didn't know was that a different dark spot was being taken up by a mysterious group.

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

Eddie and Steve were continuing their trek through the forest. Sunlight dappled through the leaves, the horses were in good spirits, and according the their map, the dragon's keep wasn't too far off. If their hunches were right, winning this climactic battle would take them back home.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here", a woman said, suddenly walking out from the bushes ahead of them.

Steve narrowed his eyes. Her hair was different and of course her clothes were, but still the resemblance was uncanny.

"Carol?"

"Wow Carol, he knows your name", another voice that Steve knew said from behind them. Tommy. And just when Steve had gotten used to the general strangeness of this place.

Before they knew it, they were surrounded by five people. Apparently Steve being gone had sparked a panic. And someone had convinced his parents that Eddie had kidnapped him.

"The king and queen are paying an incredibly generous bounty for your safe return. Or for your thief's head", Carol said.

"And to think that not that long ago, I was the kingdom's hero", Eddie said, annoyance thick in his voice.

"Let's not do anything hasty", Steve said.

Famous last words (or close to them).

When the dust settled and they got away, they were down to one horse and Eddie was bleeding heavily from his torso. Steve's hands shook as he bandaged him up in a cave, fire providing light as the sun was nearly gone. This was too close to their actual lives.

Eddie's injuries weren't nearly so bad as what the bats had done, but it was too close for comfort. Eddie groaned through it, but was cracking jokes to lighten the mood as always.

"Everyone wants a taste of my midsection. What, are my legs not good enough?"

"Your legs are fine", Steve said, hands smoothing over the bandages.

"Mmm, not as fine as yours", Eddie grinned as he tried to rise up for a kiss, only to flinch back as he pulled on something.

"Stop trying to be suave on your death bed", Steve admonished.

"If not now, when?"

Steve made sure he was still laid flat out before leaning down and kissing him. And then kissed him again.

"You know", Eddie said between kisses. "Normally this would be *kiss* our first kiss *kiss* but since we sorta skipped some steps *kiss* we're way ahead *kiss* relationship wise."

"You're point?", Steve asked.

"That maybe we should have another first instead?", Eddie waggled his brows.

"We've already done that. And I don't want you bleeding again." Steve moved to straddle his hips anyway.

The sun had set completely now and in addition to the firelight, the ceiling glowed with crystals of orange and pink. Eddie put his hands on Steve's thighs, looking up at him with adoration.

"We haven't done it on screen yet. And if you're up there, you can do all the work. This invalid will just lie still."

When Steve looked just on the other side of the fence, Eddie tried to get him to cross over by rolling his hips, ignoring the discomfort in his side where a blade had pierced him deep. But apparently it still showed in his face.

"I thought you were going to stay still?"

"Forgive me, Your Highness. For this fool is weak to his love for you."

"If you're a fool, then so am I. For all the jewels I may own, you are my greatest treasure."

Eddie moaned as Steve started to grind against him. Never in a million years did he think he'd get to live this dream. God, he needed to get Steve a costume when they got back home. The man was born to roleplay.

Steve leaned in close to his ear, brushing some of his hair out of the way. "Now obey your prince and stay still."

Eddie nodded frantically. "Yes m'lord."

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

The dragon's keep was in the ruins of a castle upon a mountain top. It was like the beast had destroyed whatever ruler had been there and took it for themselves.

"Steve...whatever happens-"

"Don't start that", Steve cut him off right away.

"Let me finish. There's more than one way these movies can end. One of us may need to-"

"I told you to stop!", Steve kept his volume to a hiss, not wanting to alert the dragon to their presence.

"Steve, come on. It's just a movie. And we, the actors. If one of us dies, it isn't real."

"You don't know that. We don't know anything about this place."

"Well if we both DO survive? Are we going back to your castle? Kind of feeling not welcome back there."

Steve thought about it as he drew his sword. "I've heard the south is beautiful this time of year."

"Me on a beach? Are you trying to kill me?", Eddie teased.

"We'll get you a hat."

A shadow flew overhead and they both looked up. A silhouette was visible in the clouds, moving like the wind. Then it landed right before them, a behemoth of an animal when it was this close. Steve swore he could feel the fire it was stoking in its belly.

"Watch out!", Steve shouted, jumping out of the way as it blew, splitting them up.

Eddie hopped around the ruins, avoiding the flames. "Who needs the beach with heat like this?", he quipped.

Steve tried to think of a way to defeat the dragon but he didn't see how Eddie beat it the first time. He knew the scales were impenetrable. That it could breath fire with a moment's notice. That it's claws and teeth were sharper and more durable than his sword.

"How did you beat this thing before?!", Steve demanded while dodging the onslaught of fire-breath.

"Ha, well, funny thing about that..."

"Not in the mood for jokes, Eddie. If you've got a trick up your sleeve-"

"Not a trick! Just a um, secret."

Steve was about to shoot his boyfriend an incredulous look when he saw that he was right in front of the dragon's muzzle. His weapon was sheathed and he had a look of resignation. The dragon opened its mouth and Steve didn't think he'd ever let out a scream so loud as he watched Eddie get burned alive.

He was ready to turn all of his rage onto the dragon. But as the smoke cleared, he didn't see the charred remains of his love. Eddie was still there, just different. His clothes had been burned away and Steve could see that scattered across his skin were shiny black scales. Atop his head were craggly horns and his canines were so big and sharp that they poked out of his mouth.

"What...?", Steve breathed out.

"Surprise", Eddie said weakly.

"You're...a dragon?"

Eddie nodded.

"That's how you got this one to stop attacking us."

The dragon rumbled and Eddie held a hand up. "Don't be mad, he didn't mean it this way. Um, Steve, this is my mom. Mom, this is Steve. And I love him."

The dragon, Eddie's mother, rumbled again, looking at Steve like she'd rather roast him than extend a clawed hand to shake.

"Wait, you've been a dragon this whole time. This whole time you've known we were coming to...Eddie what exactly was your plan here?!"

"Um, pretty much just blind hope and prayer. I'm not much of a plan guy."

Steve rolled his eyes. "You know I don't buy that shit. You literally spend some of our date nights planning."

"A campaign is diff-"

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am", Steve turned to Lady Munson. "Your son means the world to me."

She looked unconvinced.

"Even if I'm like this?", Eddie asked, pointing to his horns.

"I'm just surprised you kept it from me for this long. The Eddie I know would have told me he was part dragon the moment he saw me."

"Heh, yeah, I know. It just felt like, well, ya know."

Steve shook his head. "No I don't. Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was like a weird thing on top of another weird thing and I wasn't sure how much more you could take. If you could take it?"

Steve dropped his sword and grabbed Eddie by the waist. "If there's a universe where I'm not in love with you, we haven't found it yet."

"That means we're two for two", Eddie grinned. "So Steve, how does being prince consort in the court of dragons sound?"

"I think if the legends about dragon hordes are true my dowry is about to be insane."

Eddie cradled his face and brought him in for a kiss. He was just about to let his teeth get involved when his mother pushed them over with her snout, trying to lay her own affection on them.

They laughed as the scene faded to black and when it faded back in, Steve and Eddie were riding atop her head, dressed in red and gold wedding regalia, and headed for a beautiful sandy shore.

"Should we have sent warning?", Steve asked as they heard the screams ahead.

"And miss out on a free private beach? Not on your life." Eddie kissed Steve's cheek, then his lips and the credits began to roll.

When Steve next opened his eyes, it was to snazzy jazz and in a tuxedo.

Part 4

Tag Team

@goodolefashionedloverboi @xjessicafaithx @newtstabber

[omgiamwish]

Here in the Dark

Fandom: TMNT 2003

Summary: Being trapped in a nightmare sucks. What sucks even more is realizing just how afraid you are of something. Coda to The Darkness Within

Tags: Raphael & Michelangelo, Episode: s03e14 The Darkness Within, Late Night Conversations, Platonic Bed Sharing

Words: 1550

Read below or on Ao3

The ride back home is quieter than usual. Mikey kind of understands that; they may get into a lot of trouble, but what happened today was definitely going on the ‘top ten freakiest things to ever happen to us’ list. Maybe even top five!

Like, between the unkillable skeletons, the giant tentacle monster, the icky gooey cells that they would have died in if Leo hadn’t somehow freed himself and rescued them, and that old guy turning into dust (that Mikey stepped in, ew ew ew ew!), there’s already more than enough material to keep a turtle up at night.

Nevermind the nightmares they had while they were in the cells.

The nightmare is what Mikey’s mind keeps drifting back to. It felt genuinely real in a way his nightmares usually don’t. The solid ground and clammy, cool air. The weight of his body and the way he felt actual pain when Leo landed a hit. Leo’s voice was off, but Mikey noticed it in the moment and that just made the whole thing more unsettling.

“So, were those nightmares like our greatest fears or something?” Mikey asks into the silence, a split second before his brain catches up with his mouth and realizes that this is not a conversation he wants to have. Shell.

Donny, beside him in the driver’s seat, hums thoughtfully. “I don’t know. In my nightmare… Angel followed us and put herself in danger and… I couldn’t save her.” Mikey watches Donny’s grip on the steering wheel tighten. Nobody says anything for a moment. “But as horrible as that would be if it happened,” Donny continues, “I can think of a few things that would make it worse.”

“Maybe there had to be some level of realism,” Leo offers. Mikey turns in his seat to look at him, but Leo has his face turned away, staring intently at the maps even though Donny said he knows the way home. “I saw Master Splinter die… but I just couldn’t believe it. That’s how I was able to wake up.”

Raph snorts. “Maybe the part about needing to believe it is true, but the realism part sure ain’t.”

“What do you mean?” Leo asks.

“Well, I uh…” Raph glances nervously between Leo and Mikey who are now both staring at Raph intently. Probably the only reason Donny isn’t doing the same is because he’s driving.

“C’mon, Raph,” Donnie teases. “Leo and I shared.”

“Mikey didn’t,” Raph argues. “And it was his question that started this talk.”

“Leo got turned into a tentacle monster. It was super gross,” Mikey complies, careful to keep his tone upbeat. This time, even Donny turns to give him a weird look. “What?”

“See?” Raph gestures at Mikey. “No realism needed.”

“Oh, no it was totally realistic,” Mikey argues because it was, but also because he’s really interested in what Raph saw now. “There was context and everything.”

“What kinda context makes Leo turning into a tentacle monster realistic?”

“Well it made sense to me. I guess you had to be there.”

Raph growls and raises his fist, and Mikey yelps even though Raph’s too far away to smack him without taking off his seatbelt.

“Calm down, Raph,” Leo says, laying a hand on Raph’s fist. “You don’t have to tell us about what you saw if you don’t want to.”

Raph crosses his arms and grumbles for a bit before relenting. “You know what? Fine. It’s not that big a deal. It was just ol’ Shredhead, except when I knocked that stupid helmet offa him, it was someone else underneath. Someone impossible. That’s why I said it wasn’t realistic.”

“Who?” Mikey asks, though something between dread and validation makes him wonder if he already knows.

“None a your business, Mike.”

The rest of the ride home is silent.

Mikey tries to sleep, and he tries even harder to stop thinking about what Raph said. He can’t. If he’s right about who Raph saw in Shredder’s place, it makes Mikey’s fear more valid. He doesn’t even know if that should be comforting or terrifying.

He’s out of his bed and halfway out of his room before he catches himself.

“Ooh, Michelangelo, you’re really asking for trouble this time,” he scolds himself, but continues walking anyway.

He tiptoes through the lair, into Raph’s room, and up to Raph’s hammock. Raph looks like he’s sleeping, which is unfortunate; Raph’s not exactly a cuddly teddy bear when you wake him up.

“Hey Raphie, you awake?” Mikey whispers.

“If ya poke me, I’ll break your finger,” Raph mutters without opening his eyes. Mikey quickly retracts his hand, a nervous giggle breaking free. “What the shell do ya want, Mikey.”

“Oh, I was just wondering who was dressed up as Shredder in your nightmare.”

“Mikey, I swear to- I told ya ta drop it!”

“Come on! I promise I won’t judge. I just wanna know!”

“It’s none of your business. Go away.”

“Was it Leo?”

For a moment, there’s silence. Then Raph pushes himself up to look Mikey in the face. “What?”

“Was it Leo in the Shredder armor attacking you?”

Raph stares at Mikey with such an incredulous look on his face that Mikey is now certain he was wrong.

“I guess that’s a ‘no’ then! Night night, Raphie!” Mikey turns to leave, but Raph grabs his wrist and tugs him back. “Ha ha, sorry for bugging you, you can let me go, I’ll leave you alone now.”

“Why. The shell. Did you think it was Leo?”

“Uhhh… no reason?” Mikey tries. Raph clearly isn’t buying it. “Aww man. Promise you won’t tell anyone? Especially Leo.”

Raph nods and releases him. Mikey sighs and sits on the floor next to Raph’s hammock, pulling his legs up to his chest.

“Remember how my nightmare was about Leo turning into a tentacle monster?”

“Yeah. You gonna tell me the ‘context’ now?”

Mikey fiddles with his fingers, wondering why he could never leave well enough alone. “Well, I didn’t know he was a monster at first. He said something about the monster capturing us, but- but being merciful or something. That the monster offered us the choice of joining it. And. And Leo took it. And then he attacked me.”

“That’s messed up, bro.”

“It’s super messed up!” Mikey agrees. “Leo would never hurt us!”

“He’d never betray us, either,” Raph points out.

“Yeah,” Mikey agrees, more hesitant than he would’ve been even a day ago.

“Hey, listen.” Raph leans out of his hammock to smack Mikey’s head. The awkward stretched out position makes it more of a tap. “We’ve knocked sense into the idiot before, we’ll do it again if we have to. As many times as it takes.”

“Yeah, I know. It just sucks how real the nightmare seemed. I didn’t even think to question it.”

“Hey, at least you didn’t-”

Mikey looks up to see a pinched expression overtaking Raph’s face.

“Raph?”

“If I tell you, it doesn’t leave this room, okay?”

Mikey spreads his hands in a calming gesture. “Dude, I literally just gave you blackmail of the century. My lips are sealed.” He mimes the motion.

Raph sighs and adjusts his position in his hammock. “When I knocked Shredder’s helmet off, it was my own face staring back at me.”

“Woah… trippy.”

Raph’s pillow hits Mikey in the face. “It’s not funny, bonehead.”

“I didn’t say it was!” Mikey tosses the pillow back. “I just don’t get why that would be scary.”

“Well, ya don’t need to.” Raph shifts to lying on his shell with his arms crossed. “Point is, I saw that and didn’t question it either. Like I don’t question any of my dreams until I wake up. Don’t know how the shell Fearless managed to do it.”

Mikey shrugs. “Maybe he just has a lot of practice.”

“The shell is that supposed ta mean?”

“You don’t really believe Leo never gets any nightmares?” Mikey asks, though he doesn’t wait for an answer. “But he probably thinks he’s too dignified to have them or something, so he started training himself to recognize he’s dreaming and wake up.”

Raph seems to contemplate that for a minute before he tilts his head in acknowledgement. “Seems like the kinda thing he’d do.” Raph scoffs. “Training, even in his sleep.”

“Dude’s seriously gotta take a chill pill, even if it was useful this one specific time.”

“Since it was useful, he’s probably gonna practice harder. Might even try and teach us how to do it.”

“Aw man.”

“Now, if we’re done with this little heart ta heart, I’d like ta get back to trying to sleep. If that’s alright with you.”

The last part is clearly sarcasm, but Mikey ignores that he knows that. “Sure!”

“That means ‘leave’, Mikey.”

“Nah, I think I’m gonna stay here.” Mikey gets up and throws one leg into the hammock.

“No,” Raph protests, trying to push him back out as Mikey climbs in. “Nuh-uh. Mikey, get out. You little piece of-”

“So cozy,” Mikey says, pretending to be unbothered as he uses all his strength to hold on to Raph and stay in the hammock.

“I hate this,” Raph grumbles as he finally relents.

“You love me.”

“You’re a pain in my shell.”

Sleep comes a lot easier than it did before.

[lemonbxrry]

Doctor's Orders

ZERO / ONE / TWO / THREE / FOUR / FIVE / SIX / SEVEN

Season Two, Episode One: What Lies Ahead

"[NAME], LET'S GO," Dale called out, slapping the side of his RV a bit. I look up from where I was crouched, having been looking through the cars that we were siphoning gas at. I nodded, standing up and dusting off my pants, walking back to where Shane was so we could get into the RV. I tried to keep my distance from him as best as possible, but somehow we always wound up working together.

"You doin' good?" he asked, knowing that once we made the first stop the first thing I did was throw up after getting out of the car.

"Yep, with all the bodies and events of today, I think that was the way of my body pushing everything out," I told him. We head down the freeway, having only two cars fully working now, aside from Daryl driving his motorcycle. I hummed to myself quietly, looking out at the view that we were passing, sitting in one of the seats. I heard Andrea make some small talk with Shane, not paying much attention as we continued down the road.

"Oh jeez," Dale said aloud, slowing down before coming to a stop. I looked over from my notebook, having written down most of what happened the past couple of days, seeing as I couldn't really write as much as I used to at the quarry.

"Aw, no," I muttered, putting it away. Daryl pulled up, talking to Dale before circling around and heading ahead of us again.

"Maybe we should just head back, there's a bypass," Glenn began, looking at the map.

"Can't waste the fuel like that," Dale and Shane said, I give a small sympathetic smile at Glenn before leaning over his seat and looking out through the windshield, watching as we made our way around all of the cars, seeing more and more pileups and abandoned cars. I held my breath, seeing how many still had dead bodies. Then a white smoke popped out where the engine was, causing a sputtering noise to be made.

"Jeez," I muttered, the RV coming to a stop. We exited the RV, Dale shaking his head.

"I said it a thousand times. Dead in the water," he said as we checked up where the engine was.

"Problem, Dale?" Rick asked, popping up.

"Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of," he glanced back, seeing Daryl pick something out of the back of a car. "Okay, that was dumb," he said, sighing a bit.

"If you can't find a radiator hose here, there's a whole bunch of stuff we can find," Shane said as Daryl continued looting the back.

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," T-Dog said, passing by us to check out other cars.

"Maybe some water," Andrea suggested.

"Or food," Glenn added to the list.

"Medicine, there has to be more medicine here," I mumbled to myself, glancing around at the cars, pulling out a bandana I found, and dabbing at my head, wiping off the sweat that collected. I stuff it into my back pocket, hoping to find a hat or something to keep off the heat.

"This is a graveyard," Lori said, we stayed quiet, not knowing how to argue that we were morally right. "I don't know how to feel about this,"

"Come on, y'all, let's look around," T-Dog said after a moment, soon everyone heading into different areas of the board we were on.

I carefully make my way around a couple of cars, peeping in and seeing if there was anything. I looked inside a blue car, grateful that it was unlocked, I opened the door and spot a couple of bags of trail mix on the floor, unopened. I put them into my backpack, looking around for more stuff we could use. When I turn to tell Lori and Carol what I found I see Rick racing towards us, the man obviously running to warn us.

"Get down, get down low and stay quiet," Rick orders us quietly as he could. I do as told, taking out my knife and crawling underneath the car, pushing my bag into the backseat of the car, far enough that I could reach it without the worry of the walkers getting to it. I held the knife tightly, watching as they made their way along the road. I held my breath as they passed by, the car rocking by how many were pressing up against it. I glanced to the side, seeing Sophia, Carl, and Rick in the car line with me. No longer hearing the shuffling I stayed low, not daring to move. After a moment Sophia crawled out, right as a walker stumbled right in front of her. The girl immediately took off to the side where the woods were, and a couple more walkers stumbled after her. I crawled out from under the car, about to run after her and go with Rick until I heard someone shout.

"[Name], you gotta help him," Daryl called out, carrying T-Dog who had fresh blood all over him.

I jogged over to them, "Where is it, where's the blood coming from," I asked T-Dog, grabbing my bandana out of my pocket and putting some of the clean water I had over the bandana, wiping away at the blood that collected on his arm, causing T-Dog to hiss in pain, "Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay, what happened?" I ask, looking back at Daryl, knowing that T-Dog wouldn't be able to really answer from the pain.

"I don't know, doesn't look like it was a walker," he said, I relaxed at his words, before grabbing T-Dog's arm, pushing T-Dog to sit down.

"We gotta keep this elevated," I told him, raising his arm up a bit, at least above where his heart is. Blood trickled down his arm, showing a shallow and long cut going down his arm. "It didn't hit any major veins, so we look good here, however, we might have a chance of infection since we don't know what was on what cut you," I told him, "Shane, grab me some water or something to clean him up," I ordered, applying pressure onto his arm. The blood quickly soaked up the rag, he jogged over with a jug of water, placing it and kneeling next to me to help. "Lucky for you I got some ointment to help clean it out too, it's gonna sting like a bitch though," I told him, grabbing a shirt that I packed from the CDC building, tearing off a part of it, and pouring some of the water onto it, cleaning around his wound and at the edges of it, he winced in discomfort, closing his eyes. "C'mon, keep it together T-Dog, this is the worse of it for right now," I told him, finding the antibiotic ointment and applying it to the wound as best as I could, soon wrapping it with another part of the shirt as tight as I could without hurting him. "Let's get him back into the RV, he needs a change of clothes, don't remove the bandaging without me, we can risk infecting it if it's removed too much," I explained as we helped T-Dog up, seeing Rick come back up without Sophie. I gave a frown, knowing that the news he was to bring us wouldn't be good news at all.

THE WALKING DEAD

I looked through the cars before Shane started pushing them out of the way of the road, finding anything useful we could use, thankful for getting some canned goods and even a small first aid kit someone packed, but it wasn't going to be enough to last two months depending on how severe people's wounds could get. I soon began to head back to where everyone was grouped, helping Lori and Carl stack items that are able to be moved to another area.

"Going back's going to be easier than trying to get through this mess," Shane commented, looking at the cars that lay on the road.

"We're not going anywhere till my daughter gets back," Carol stated, looking like we were trying to abandon her.

"That goes without saying," Lori chimed in, trying to reassure the other mother.

"Rick and Daryl, they're on it, okay? If Sophia is hurt [Name] is here to help too, she knows what to do," Shane said, gesturing at me. "It's just a matter of time,"

"Can't be soon enough for me," Carol told him.

"I'm still freaked out from that herd that passed us by, or whatever you'd call it,"

"Yeah, what was that? All of them marching along like that,"

"A herd sounds about right," Shane mused.

"I feel like it was almost like a migration, like the night the camp got attacked, and how there was a herd of them," I comment, giving a small sympathetic look towards Andrea. "Like when animals have to migrate because of how cold it's getting, they might be migrating because there's no, well, food," I continue, looking down the road that the herd came from.

Shane cleared his throat, looking at me then looking around, "Come on, people. We still got a lot to do," he said, "Let's stay on it. Let's go, come on," he said, pushing us to get right back to work clearing the road and scavenging for what we can. "[Name], let's go look for stuff," Shane said, looking at how many cars we haven't checked out yet.

"Oh, I thought you wanted to move the cars out of the way," I tell him, opening my bag and checking to see how much room I had in it, there was still quite a bit of space left seeing that there wasn't too much of anything in the cars.

"It's fine, let's go," he said, gently grabbing my arm and pulling me along after him, glancing back at where the others were, Lori and I had locked eyes before she was hidden by the cars.

"Why'd you want to go collect with me?" I ask him after checking a couple of cars.

"Just didn't want to be around everyone while we talk," he said, shrugging.

"Oh, what did you want to talk about?" I ask, feeling my hands get clammy and a cold feeling washes over me despite the hot sun beating down on us.

"What happened back there? You looked so out of it when you got back to the jeep," Shane said, grabbing my wrist, stopping me from trying to look further into the car, I look up at him, seeing him glance back at the group, only seeing their silhouettes, then glance back at me.

"Nothing, I just, it took a little longer to convince Andrea," I told him, trying to pull my wrist from his grasp.

"Seems a little more than that, don't think you noticed this but I have seen the glances you throw at me," he replied, turning me around fully to face him. At this, I furrow my brows, and I feel my body grow cold and clammy despite the heat that beat down on us. He knows that Lori told me. "I can protect you, y'know, you can depend on me, you can, need me" he comments. I take in a deep breath, realizing he doesn't know. He thinks I'm into him. I glance back towards the silhouettes of the group, I could do this for Lori, but I couldn't do this to Glenn, it's unfair to him.

"What about Glenn, he doesn't deserve this," I told him, grabbing his forearm, my heart beating heavily against my chest, feeling like I am doing the worst thing morally possible. Shane gave a hum, thinking this over, he rolled his shoulders back, letting go of my wrist.

"Just tell him you guys should stop, easy," he replies, smiling a sickeningly sweet smile, "He'll understand, plus, it looks to me you guys haven't done anything in a while anyway," he shrugged, "You can't depend on a guy like Glenn, you can depend on me, after all, you need me, you need me to protect you, haven't I been doing that from the start?" he asks rhetorically, then glances back at our group. "Just, give it some thought, I already know your answer, but think about it [Name]," Shane said, leaving and heading back. After he made some distance between us, I fell onto my knees, covering my mouth and squeezing my eyes shut. Tears spilling out, I muffled my cries to make sure he wouldn't come back, planning to blame it on me dropping something if he turns back and questioned why I suddenly disappeared from view. I opened my eyes, tears still flowing as I looked back at the whole group, minus Sophia. I can talk with Lori about this, but there's no good way to tell the whole group about Shane and his antics, I scratch at my cheek, wincing as a small stinging sensation appears. I take a deep breath in, wiping furiously at my eyes and cheeks to get the tears away, I stand up, brushing off the dirt that's collected onto my pants, and head back to the others, not daring to look at anyone in the eyes.

"I found some food and some medicine, not too much," I muttered quietly, heading into the RV and setting my findings down on the table, coming back out and looking around, not seeing Carl anywhere in the immediate area. I glanced at Lori, furrowing my brows. "Where's Carl at?" She turns to her side, about to answer before she falls quiet, stopping.

"He was right here with me," she muttered, looking up and around, panic set in between the two of us before we hear footsteps running towards our area.

"Shane!" Carl called out, running with a black object to where Shane was working on a car.

"Carl, what happened?" Lori asked, running up to Carl, I follow after, my anxiety calming down after seeing he was okay.

"I found something cool, [Name], look," he said, putting what he had carried in his arms down on the ground, unraveling it to show some axes and similar, "It's an arsenal," he said excitedly, looking up at me and then back at Shane.

"That's cool bud, go give them to Dale," Shane said, giving just a glance and then back to what he was doing, not sounding at all interested in what Carl was trying to show. I bit the inside of my cheek, he didn't need to be taking out his anger on a child.

"Check this one out," Carl said, not noticing Shane's tone, pulling out a hatchet, "Whoa, it's a hatchet,"

"Whoa, careful there Carl, they're pretty sharp," I tell him, standing beside him while giving him my attention and showing him interest. He still played around with the hatchet though, his mother giving a sigh and holding her hand out to him.

"What did [Name] just say?" she asked him.

"Can I keep one?" Carl asked instead, not paying any attention to his mom.

"Are you crazy?" Lori said in reply, grabbing the hatchet.

"No way. Shane. Shane tell her to let me keep one," Carl begged, looking at the man. I glanced at Shane, looking back at Carl.

"Maybe when you're a little older or something kid," I told him, ruffling up his hair.

"Hey, man, go give them all to Dale now. Go," Shane said, putting his tools down, his voice filled with annoyance. Lori picked up the arsenal, putting the pack back into Carl's arms, Carl looked down, hurt on his features. I gave a look at Shane, an annoyed look on my face as I walked with Carl to where Dale was, rubbing his back in reassurance.

"I'll talk with him, [Name]," Lori said, squeezing my shoulder softly, watching as we walked off.

"Shane might have a lot on his plate right now, still not fair he told you that," I told Carl, trying to lift his mood a bit. Carl only shrugged in response.

"He's been like that for a while I think," Carl told me, we waved at the other members of our small group, them waving back at us. We make it to Dale's RV, put the arsenal into it, and head back out, seeing everyone huddle around the car Shane was working on.

"Is that a local signal?" we heard Glenn ask once we got closer to the group.

"It's got to be fifty miles of here," Dale said, glancing around at everyone.

"Avoid anyone infected at all costs. Remain calm," the radio said, I rolled my eyes, it seemed to be a very late broadcast, "Help is on the way. The emergency alert system has been activated," it continued before Shane leaned down and turned it off.

"Asshole," Shane muttered, shaking his head and looking at all of us, I held Carl to my side, his arms wrapped around my leg a bit, "Okay, let's get back to work," he patted the car door, everyone dispersing. "[Name], do you have all your stuff together?" Shane asked, right as I was about to head off after Carl left with his mom.

"Uhm, yeah, I always keep my stuff together," I furrowed my brows, popping my knuckles anxiously.

"Good, good," Shane said, looking back at the car, seeming to have dismissed me. I blink a couple of times before heading back to the group, wrapping my arms around Glenn's waist, who turns and gives me a soft kiss on my forehead.

"Haven't really seen you too much," he said, smiling down at me. I give a soft hum, nodding, cuddling closer into him.

"Yeah, things have been getting a little too hectic despite how life is right now," I tell him, shrugging. I choose to not tell Glenn about what Shane did earlier in the day, feeling like Lori was the only person I can actually talk to. He gives a small hum back, gently kissing my lips as we set off together to look for more supplies.

THE WALKING DEAD

Dale was showing Glenn and me more about how to fix the engine of the RV, Andrea walking over to where our small trio was.

"Where's my gun?" she demanded to Dale, Glenn, and I standing awkwardly, watching the interaction, "You have no right to take it," she told him, slight anger in her tone. Glenn gently tugged me away, I flashed a small sympathetic smile at Andrea, following after him.

"Do you think Sophia is okay?" Glenn asked as we looked at the edge of the forest, the two of us holding one another's hand. I gave a small frown, shrugging in reply.

"I would like to think that she stumbled upon some people who were kind enough to let her stay with them," I told him honestly, walking off to carry some food in a crate with him, making small talk as we walked back to the RV.

"Oh god, they're back," Glenn said, setting down his crate, I set mine down, putting my hands on my hips, furrowing my brows again, they didn't show up with Sophia.

"We'll pick it up again at first light," I heard Rick tell Carol, getting close enough to hear their conversation.

"You can't leave my daughter out there on her own to spend the night alone in the woods," Carol's voice started to break towards the end, crying. I hold Glenn's hand tightly when he stands next to me, placing my head against his shoulder. Is this what my mom is feeling right now? I can't imagine the grief that she must be in.

"Out in the dark's no good," Daryl said, shaking his head, his voice laced with pity, "We'd just be tripping over ourselves. More people get lost,"

"But she's twelve. She can't be out there on her own, you didn't find anything?" Carol begged, close to full-on sobbing as Lori reassuringly rubbed her back.

"I know this is hard, but I am asking you not to panic," Rick told Carol, "We know she was out there. We tracked her for a while. We have to make this an organized effort, Daryl knows the woods better than anybody. I've asked him to oversee this,"

"Is that blood?" Carol gasped out, looking at Daryl. Everyone's attention diverted to where he stood, he looked down at himself looking back up.

"We took down a walker," Rick explained, trying to calm her down.

"Walker? Oh my god," Carol said, fidgeting around in place, swaying almost.

"There was no sign it was ever anywhere near Sophia,"

"How can you know that?" Andrea asked, antagonizing Rick.

"We cut the son of a bitch open, made sure," Daryl answered, Carol sat down against the railing, muttering a small 'oh god'.

"How could you just leave her out there, to begin with?" she asked Rick, anger, and sadness in her voice, "How could you just leave her?"

"Carol, he might have had reason to, like walkers were around them, he had to steer them away," I tried explaining, wanting to find a reason that he had no choice.

"There were two walkers on us. I had to draw them off, it was her best chance," Rick explained, glancing at me and giving a small nod, giving his attention back to Carol.

"Sounds like he had no choice, Carol," Shane came up beside Rick, looking down at her.

"How was she supposed to find her way back on her own?" Carol asked, tearing up again, "She's just a child," she repeated, now sobbing, Lori having to pull her back away from Rick.

"It was my only option. The only choice I could make," Rick told her, kneeling down and staring up at Carol.

"I'm sure nobody doubts that," Shane said, leaning against the rail, I bit my cheek, he sure sounded like he doubted Rick.

"My little girl got left in the woods," she cried, everyone quiet and hurting too. Rick walked off towards the area Shane and I were looking at earlier, his mind seeming to be filled with trouble.

"Let's go back to the RV," Glenn said, steering me away from where Andrea and Lori were comforting Carol, I gave a small nod, following after him, exhaustion hitting like a brick.

THE WALKING DEAD

"Everybody takes a weapon," Rick said, spreading out the arsenal.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need, what about the guns?" Andrea said, scoffing at Rick.

"I mean, these are the best to have right now. It doesn't draw any noise if used correctly, and they're sharp enough to go through the walker's head," I tell her, looking over it, I decided I didn't need any, seeing as I have my bat and knife that I could use if I couldn't use my gun.

"We've also been over that, Daryl, Rick, [Name], and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds every time a tree rustles," Shane said leaning against the RV.

"It's not the trees I'm worried about," Andrea said, giving Shane a look, before nodding in confirmation at my reasoning.

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happening to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it," Shane slung his bag over his shoulder, making it known he was ready to go.

"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side," Daryl explained, I watched as Glenn picked up a hatchet, a smile on his face as he held the weapon in his hand. I give a small laugh, patting his shoulder before walking over to where Shane, Daryl, and Rick stood, "Chances are she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark,"

"Stay quiet and stay sharp. Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other," Rick said, turning away.

"Everybody assemble your packs," Shane ordered, tossing up his water bottle and catching it.

"Dale, keep on those repairs, we've got to get this RV ready to move," Rick told Dale, the man standing up.

"Won't need to stay here a minute longer than we have to. Good luck out there, bring Sophia back," Dale said in response.

"Keep an eye on Carl while we're gone?" Rick asked him, glancing at his son, I stood near them, having not been told if I was on his pack or Daryl's.

"I'm going with you, you need people, right? To cover as much ground as possible," Carl said, not understanding that he couldn't.

"Your call, I can't always be the bad guy," Lori said, shaking her head.

"Well, he has all of you to look after him. Even got a doctor with ya," Dale said, propping his arm up on the door frame of the RV, "I'd say he's in good hands,"

"Okay, stay close with [Name] then, she's the best chance for helping you if you get hurt," Rick said, smiling at the two of us. I give a smile and thumbs up, following after Carl, helping him collect his own bag.

"Always within my sight, you mom's, or your dad's, got it?" I tell him, ruffling his hair as he nodded, I spot Glenn walking over to us, giving him a small peck on the cheek, "Be safe, got it?" I tell him, and he nods, kissing my cheek back.

"When am I not?" he asks jokingly, walking off to his own crew, all of us soon making our leave to the woods.

THE WALKING DEAD

We follow after Daryl, a trail being made for us from when Daryl and Rick looked last night. I hum quietly to myself, looking around, the scenery was beautiful despite the reason we were here. Carl left my side, going behind me to talk to Shane.

"Shane, look, dad said I could carry it and mom said as long as I was-" Carl was telling him excitedly before Shane cut him off.

"Keep it down. We're looking for Sophia, you need to focus on the task," he told the young boy. I walk back to walk alongside Carl, giving Shane a look, he only shrugged his shoulders at me, as Carl slowed his steps, walking dejectedly.

"Got to keep up," Lori said, ushering her son to walk with her.

"Shane, whatever is going on, don't take it out on Carl, he's a good kid and he respects the hell out of you," I tell him, shaking my head.

"Well, more important things are happening [Name], can't coddle him and listen to him all the time," he huffed out.

"Still, he's a kid, doesn't matter if it's the end of the world or not, he's a child who still thinks there's good," I catch up after Lori and Carl, not staying to listen to what Shane has to say next.

Daryl stops us, everyone crouching at the sight of the tent, quiet settling among us.

"She could be in there," Shane muttered quietly amongst the group, the only one standing close enough to the tent.

"Could be a whole bunch of things in there," Daryl muttered, making his way towards it. Daryl, Rick, Shane, and I walk towards the tent quietly, I have my knife out, ready to stab into the walker if needed. Daryl motions for me to follow, seeing that I had my knife out already, we walked to the tent, peeking inside the tent, not seeing anything.

"Sophia, sweetie, are you in there?" Carol called out softly, her voice having hope as Daryl and I stood, ready to attack if it wasn't her, "Sophia it's mommy. Sophia we're all here baby, it's mommy," her voice started to break a little. No movement came, as Daryl unzipped the tent an awful stench came through, showing the corpse of a man inside, having shot his head through his mouth, Daryl grabbed the gun, glancing at me before pocketing it. I shrugged, not caring he took it.

"It's not her," I say, coming out of the tent.

"What's in there?"

"Some guy did what Jenner said. Opted out, ain't that what he called it?" Daryl said, reloading his crossbow. As we looked around to see if Sophia was around here the sound of church bells ringing sounded. We looked around at each other, soon racing to find the source of the bells.

"What direction?"

"I think that way. I'm pretty sure," Rick pointed, we raced forward a bit, losing the sound a bit.

"Damn, it's too hard to tell out here," I mutter, popping my knuckles again.

"If we heard them, maybe Sophia did too," Carol said hopefully.

"Someone's ringing those bells, maybe calling others," Glenn suggested.

"Or signaling they found her," Andrea added.

"She could be ringing them herself," Rick suggested, leading us to follow him.

THE WALKING DEAD

We cross the tree line, coming upon a church, standing on the outskirts of a graveyard.

"That's can't be it. Got no steeple, no bells. Rick," Shane called out, as Rick decided to move forward anyway despite the obvious. Soon he broke into a run, forcing the rest of us to race after him, our bags almost slipping off as we chased after the sheriff. We make it up to the front door, finally catching up to Rick. He motioned for us to be quiet, slowly opening the door to let us see inside, there sat a few people spread out on the pews, looking right where the priest would be. Instead of living bodies, it was the undead, still, in their Sunday clothes, they snarled at our arrival, turning towards us. They slowly got up, not making too quick of moves to attack as a few of us went around to kill the walkers. We looked around, seeing that Sophia was still nowhere in sight.

"Sophia!" Rick screamed, opening doors as we spread around, trying to find out if there was another way she could possibly be arriving at.

"Yo, J.C., you taking requests?" Daryl asked the crucified Jesus statue, I let out a small snort, shaking my head at the dumb joke, or desperation Daryl was coming to at the moment, turning my attention back to looking around.

"I'm telling you, it's the wrong church. It's got no steeple, Rick," I heard Shane say once I got close enough to hear them talking. I gave a small frown.

"Maybe it's a-" I was cut off by the bell ringing again, we all rushed outside again to only see a speaker, and I give a sigh of defeat, "A timer," I mutter, kicking the grass as Glenn tore the wires out to stop it from ringing.

"I'm gonna go back in for a bit," Carol said, her voice sounding far away. Everyone started to follow after, I stayed back for a bit, clenching and unclenching my hands. We felt so close yet so far away from where she could be. It sucked. I glanced to the side, spotting Andrea standing for a moment, I reached my hand and squeezed hers gently, giving her a sympathetic look, and she gave a sad smile before going to the side of the church, and sitting down. I go back inside quietly, seeing Lori and Shane exit, the two of them looking a bit heated.

"Hey, [Name], come sit with me," Glenn called out, patting the spot next to him, smiling as I sat next to him. I give a thin smile back, thinking back to what Shane said. Telling Glenn what Shane did could put the three of us at risk of the ex-cop's wrath, and I would rather not put Lori's or Glenn's life in danger.

"Are you okay?" he asked, seeming to catch onto the low mood I was feeling.

"With everything going on, especially with Sophia going missing, I don't think I can handle being with you like this right now. It sounds so shitty, but I just, I can't right now," I tell him, biting the inside of my cheek as I watch his once-happy smile going into a frown, seeming to have not expected that.

"Oh, oh..." he trailed off, not seeming to find anything to say, "Did I do something?" he asked, furrowing his brows, trying to find an answer to why I suddenly wanted to end things.

"It's not you at all, just with the stress of everything I don't think I can be the right type of support in a relationship," I quickly tell him, not wanting him to think of it as anything else, "I'll always be here to support you but I don't think I can do that as your partner," I explain, trying my best to try and make this situation better. It felt wrong though. This whole situation felt wrong. Right as Glenn was about to talk again Lori walked up, a worried look on her face as her eyes darted between us.

"Um, [Name], I just gotta talk with you," She said, glancing at Glenn.

"Oh, I'll take that as my queue then, I'll talk with you more [Name], don't think you can't talk to me after this," Glenn said, standing up and going to talk with T-Dog.

"Is it Shane?" I asked, my voice soft and quiet so that she can only hear. She nods her head, glancing around.

"He wants to leave, but he seems to want to take you with," she messes with the flannel she's wearing. I blink, absolutely surprised that he would even think about wanting to take me with him.

"What? Why would he be thinking that?" I ask, anxiety already eating, feeling a deep dread within my stomach.

"I don't know, he just seems to think that you are for sure on his side and going with, even after I mention how it'll break Carl's heart if both of you go," Lori explained better.

"That's worrying, I'll definitely see why he is thinking that, I know I don't want to go, at all," I tell her, she only nods in return, squeezing my shoulder in assurance and leaving to go sit behind Carol. I take a deep breath in, clenching and unclenching my hands again, feeling my fingernails press hard into my palms, soon unclenching my hands when the pain got too much. I lost my vision for a minute before I blinked a couple of times, taking in a deep breath, 'Things are getting bad again,' I thought to myself, walking to where Glenn and T-Dogg were at.

THE WALKING DEAD

"Y'all gonna follow the creek bed back, okay? Daryl, you're in charge," Shane said after a moment of talking with Rick outside, "Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, search this area for another hour or so just to be thorough, [Name] is staying with just in case Sophia is hurt,"

"You're splitting us up, you sure?" Daryl asks, making sure that they're certain of their choice.

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you," Shane said, trying to convince us all.

"I want to stay too, I'm her friend," Carl says, taking a step forward toward Rick and Shane. Lori and Rick share a look before looking back at me.

"[Name], can you make sure Carl stays careful, don't want him to get hurt or anything," Lori said, giving a small smile at me.

"You can trust me, no worries here," I tell her, giving her a thumbs up.

"Carl, stay by [Name] as best as you can," she told her son, hugging him.

"I will," Carl said in reply, hugging back.

"Oh when did you start growing up," she said, most likely reminiscing about what Carl was like when he was much younger. Rick then walked over, giving her a kiss and a tight hug, the two saying their goodbyes for the moment. I glance to my other side, seeing Andrea and Shane share a look before she glances at me, and he starts walking off. Andrea lets out a huff before following the rest of the crew. I put my hand on Carl's shoulder, gently leading him after Rick, waving goodbye to Glenn and the others as we make our way to continue searching. Rick walked up to where Shane, Carl, and I were standing, stopping for a moment to talk with us.

"Give me a minute?" Rick asked, heading back towards the church, we nodded in agreement, following after him. We stay out at the front of the church, waiting for Rick to come back, I hold Carl close to my side, trying to make sure Shane doesn't try and snap at the poor boy. I stare at the graveyard, thinking about how I used to go to church when I was younger with my family almost every Sunday, despite my parents having been very religious they still allowed us to go out and figure out ourselves and what we believe in.

"[Name], do you think we can talk when we get back?" Shane asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. I shrug my shoulders, about to reply until Rick came back, seeming to be finished with what it was that he needed to do, "Get what you needed?" he asked Rick, watching him come out of the church.

"Guess I'll find out," Rick answered, walking off in a direction.

We quickly follow after him, keeping quiet, I kept Carl in front of me, glancing back periodically to see how Shane watched the two of us, I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to call out his creepy behavior and cause problems in front of Carl. A branch snaps, stopping us, I put a protective arm out in front of Carl, pulling out my knife and going into a defensive stance. Shane stepped in front of me, we watched as a figure stumble, the trees obscuring our vision. We get to the side, and seeing that it was a deer, we watch in awe, surprised that we were so close to it. I give a small smile, it was a gorgeous sight.

Carl took some careful steps toward it, as we watched him step closer and closer to it. The deer turned his head towards the boy, still standing proud. I held my breath, surprised it was allowing the boy to stay so close. Then a gunshot rang through the air, tearing through the deer and Carl fell flat onto his back. I felt my body grow cold as I ran forward, screaming his name. Shane and Rick yell after and try to help stop the bleeding and see who shot Carl.

[vagueandominousvibes]

Hey remember how I’m doing Febuwhump? I’ve now posted the first chapter on Ao3. All the first chapter does is establish the setting (a sort-of sequel to Silent Fog, though it can be read independently too), then I’ll build from that in February and tie the prompts together in a vaguely-coherent narrative. 

If you want to read it on Ao3, it’s here!

Since Febuwhump is a Tumblr event, I’ll be posting the chapters here as well, so for anyone who prefers reading on Tumblr, you’ll find ‘Chapter 1: The Well’ down below! 

The God in the Well

Chapter 1: The Well

“I still don’t think this is a good idea,” Blue grumbled, stepping over a rotting log and pushing a branch out of his face. Shadow and Vio were ahead of him, carrying the map and the photos from that stupid Old Norse manuscript Vio had come across in his research, which was the entire reason they were out here in Hylia-knows-where in the first place.

He paused to hold the branch out of Red’s way as Red hopped across the log and flashed him a smile. Blue’s insides warmed. It had been a few months since their Mountain Mishaps at Zelda’s family’s cabin, and they had been some of the best months Blue could remember. (Yes, that included getting to ride on the back of the ATV at one of his mums’ place of work when he was five and she did the feeding rounds. Watching the wolverines had been awesome.)

He released the branch in Green’s face.

“Hey!” Green gave him the stink eye.

Blue grinned, shrugged, and followed Red. “My point still stands,” he said as he caught up and took Red’s hand.“Do we really want to get tangled up in weird shit like this again? We don’t even know if this thing —”

“Mímir,” Vio said.

“— is still out here.”

“It’ll be fine,” Red said soothingly. “We have a map, and we know what we’re walking into.”

“We think we know what we’re walking into.”

Red squeezed his hand.

“You worry too much,” Shadow called back. “It’ll be fun!”

Blue snorted.

“You could stay back if you’d prefer to,” Zelda called from the rear.

“Oh, no, I’m coming along. But I don’t like it.”

“Duly noted,” Vio said.

———

To Blue’s surprise and disappointment, the well described in Vio’s manuscript was still very much there, spotted sunlight and everything. Some of the stones, slowly being reclaimed by the spongy moss, had fallen off, the wooden bucket looked too far gone to be of any use, and the rope had long since rotted away. Birds chirped in the branches.

“Well, well, well.” Shadow grinned. “Would you look at that.”

Vio rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hide his fondness. He put the photos away and approached the well.

“Wow, look at these!” Red tugged Blue towards a shaded patch of ghostly white mushrooms under one of the trees edging the clearing. He crouched down, already fishing in his pocket for his glasses, pen, and notebook. “They’re huge! This one’s at least twenty-five centimetres.” He leaned closer to poke the specimen with the butt of the pen. “They’re not supposed to be more than fifteen, give or take a couple.”

Blue knelt next to him. He saw nothing out of the ordinary about the cluster of mushrooms: white caps, curled in along the rim, and a gnarly white stems with rugged white socks. “What kind are they?”

“Destroying angels.”

“What?”

Red peered up over the top of his glasses. They had slipped down to the tip of his nose, and something about it — maybe the way the light caught in the lenses, or the way it made him look older and more experienced, like a golden curly-haired Indiana Jones of mycology, softer, but no less determined. He tried to picture Red in a white shirt, brown tweed waistcoat, and a tie, and yeah, okay, he would have to come up with some excuse to see that in real life.

He met Red’s gaze. Red was staring at him, a bemused smile on his face. Heat crawled into Blue’s face. He looked away. “Sorry, I got, uh …”

“It’s okay.” Red sat back on his heels and pushed the glasses up. “You seemed … distracted.” He grinned and raised an eyebrow.

Blue’s face burned. “You’re distracting.”

Red laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.” He placed a kiss on Blue’s cheek. “I was just saying that destroying angels are one of the seven deadliest mushrooms known in our country.” He rested his head on Blue’s shoulder and sighed contentedly. “In a regular sized one, a cap is enough to kill someone, though it takes hours to actually hit. I have no idea what something this large would do.” He trailed off. “The cool thing is we don’t have specific antidotes developed for it, either. Sure, we’ve got ways of improving survivability, but that’s about it.”

“Are you bringing a sample back to uni?”

“Nope. Didn’t bring gloves.”

“Damn.”

They drifted off into silence, and for a moment, it was peaceful: just them, the spots of warm sunlight that had found his back, and the overgrown destroying angels. Scenic, really.

Then Green yelped.

Blue turned, one arm instinctively flying up to wrap around Red. Zelda had stepped between Green and Shadow, Vio was staring at Shadow, and Shadow stood in front of the well, reading from one of the photos of Vio’s manuscript. His voice filled the air, sank heavy into the moss, and descended down into the well, as if every word was inevitable. His eyes burned. Smoke spiralled from the edges of the photo. It started to crumple into ash between his fingers.

The air over the well shimmered, as if a source of immense heat had materialised down below. In the shimmer, a balding head appeared. The grey skin sagged, thin and crumpled like tissue paper, around a crooked nose. Teeth, as moss-grown as the rocks of the well, jutted out from the open mouth. The beard protruded from the chin like whiskers, and the eyebrows curled up like horns. Long white hair dripped into the well. Below the neck, there was nothing.

Red made a strangled sound and covered his mouth.

The last ashes of the photo slipped between Shadow’s fingers. The fire in him went out and his eyes rolled back.

“Shadow!” Vio dropped the other photos. Between one breath and the next, he had darted forward and caught Shadow. “Hey, Shadow?”

Shadow slumped silently against Vio’s chest.

“Come on, wake up —”

The floating head exhaled. A long deep sigh, like a cold wind in autumn, rustled the leaves. Branches creaked. The birds had gone quiet.

Blue pulled Red closer to himself.

The floating head opened its eyes. There were no pupils. No irises, either. Where its eyes should have been, were black spheres cracked by time. With each inhale, fire flared in the cracks, like embers goaded back to life. With each exhale, the fire died.

The floating head studied them. “Who,” it croaked, “disturbs Mímir’s sleep?”

———

Chapter 2 >>

[humbeestix]

Part of chapter one of my Lego Monkie Kid pirate au!!

With lands far across the world, surrounding it was an ocean never left unexplored. The independence that had replenished the people and creatures alike was a yearning. This hunger for adventure was mouth-watering to those who felt like ghosts. The risks sounded exhilarating to some. However, something was left unseen- the true meaning of being a pirate. The stories that may have seemed to finish, there will always be a new one to start at sea. Those who dare indulge in piracy have that spark in their hearts. But with that spark comes a risk. 

A mysterious, mystical territory of the sea too dangerous to enter holds supernatural beings and treasures no mortal has seen. All are trapped in the cage, never to escape. Explorers have tried to venture off to uncover the secrets held at sea, but all are left to fail. Only the best of the best can navigate through the maze. But who?

The sunset light peaked through the cracks of the alleyways between the stone houses, slowly beginning to retire back into the mountains. Today was a special day, one of tremendous advancement and celebration. The mass of people swallowed the outside of the tired, stoned castle, placed looking over the village from a hill. The palace was large, and some parts were isolated, making it too easy to slink inside. 

“We go through here!” a voice echoed from the dim alleyway. Following behind stacked barrels modeled five men, all crouched around each other in a circle. The sound of laughter and music screamed from outside the alley. The villagers followed in a line. The footsteps beat against the pebbles and soil of the dirt trail, pursuing up the ridge to the ruler's castle. The locals were oblivious to what was going on behind the scenes, but the men knew if caught, it would be the end of them all.

Those natural worries a typical person would fear did not weaken the boys. The scars painted on their bodies have shown stories and adventures such as this one. Tracing back to what the man had stated, he dragged his pointer finger along a poor map in the middle of them, modeled after the village. His finger landed on the side of the castle, confusing as it is, likely to be the most isolated area. The map itself was nothing special. With badly-done sketches, it looked rushed. As filthy as the map was, it would suffice for them.

A tanned skin boy cleared his throat, “Hey, Cap’n Wukong. What are we looking at exactly?” the boy spoke in a hushed tone, adjusting himself to sit fully criss-cross on the stoned ground escaping from his crouched position. He pointed to where his captain's finger was, sheepishly laughing.

“What are you going on about, sport? It's the palace!” Wukong claimed with a grin.

The boy opened his mouth before a pig demon’s head jerked in front of the boy. “Mk is trying to say that we don't know what we’re looking at. It looks like a bunch of scribbles on a piece of paper.” 

“Hey, I went off description by what captain said. You try doing that. You see how hard it is!” a man in glasses yelled from beside the pig man, giving him a stern glare. He snapped his head away, “I'm a fantastic artist.”

The pig demon knitted his eyes brows together. He only rolled his eyes and let out a small puff of air through his nose before paying his full attention to the captain, not hearing a word out of him in a while.

“Come on, just let ol’ cap’n finish!” A muscular fish demon spoke up, shaking his head.

Wukong had been sitting there like a statue as he had been waiting for the others to finish up. He grimaced before his usual bright smirk plastered on his face again, “We done? Good, and thank you, Sandy!” Wukong spoke with a cocky tone tracing his tongue, “Anyways, I’m - well- pointing at the side of the castle, you listening? There’s a little egress window some of us can go through that leads to the winery. I know this place, like the back of my hand,” he said, calmly waving everyone off as if it was no bigger deal than it was initially. Confidence radiated from his light expression like the sun on a warm summer day, “Not to brag or anything. But I stole from this place so many times. We got caught once in a Blue Moon, but the escape was even more exhilarating! The King is so mad at me right now it’s wild.”

“Is this why most of the crew is gone?” the older man in glasses spoke up. He adjusted his glasses upward to fit better on his round face as he gave Wukong a cocky look. He managed to get a chuckle out of a few of the others.

Wukong quickly reached for his chest dramatically, “My, Tang, how cruel of you. You have wounded your captain. Who you should not be oh-so rude to, mister,” he scolded playfully, watching as Tang got up. He scrunched up his face, seeing as the man had completely ignored him. 

“Taken by the map, I don't think we could even reach the palace without being seen with all these people around,” Tang explained straightforwardly, turning his head back to the others. He then strolled to the edge of the alleyway and crept his head outside, watching the crowd walk by. 

The pig demon stood up with a groan, “I agree with Tang here. How are we supposed to sneak inside, Cap’n?” he asked, walking over to Tang. 

Wukong jumped up with a short laugh. He ran over to the two men and wrapped his arms around their shoulders. The men let out a low grumble in protest. From the faint squint of their captain’s eyes, Tang could see that his captain seemed not to be showing any further steps. Moments later, Tang noticed the primate's face light up. He had an idea.

Mk soon followed them, placing a hand on Wukong’s back, “So, what are we thinking?” he questioned with a smile. 

“Follow me, crew,” he looked at the boys as their faces stirred into a glimpse of interest. He kept his head low, pulling his hat over his eyes as he walked into the ocean of people.

The pig demon gasped, “Captain!” he yelled, stomping his foot. Thankfully for them, the music and chatter had drowned the demon’s screams. He turned to the others, “Moron, don’t just jump right into- ARG! He’s going to get us all killed!”

“Come on, Pigsy,” Sandy hummed calmly, “let’s just do what he orders.”

“Yeah, best not to question it,” Tang spoke, rubbing Pigsy’s shoulder reassuringly, “anywho, who wants to go first?” that once calming expression turned into a sheepish smile as a nervous sweat built up on his forehead. He never wanted to go first.

[achitka]

Chapter 30: Perfectamente Imperfecta

Chapter 31 here

Summary:

Isabela wants something she thinks is no longer possible…makes for a long morning. I do not recommend self harm as a way of dealing with issues. Though I do understand why it happens. I say this as someone who once lived in a very dark world…It will get better. Might take longer than you want, but there's always light, even if it's one star a billion miles away.

Perfectamente Imperfecta

(Perfectly Imperfect)

Dolores finished her breakfast quickly and left the table to go to Mirabel’s room. She probably should have asked first, but Mirabel was busy looking after Paola and she did tell her mother what she was about, so Dolores hoped Mirabel wouldn’t mind. Keeping track of the people in the mountains was far more interesting to her and a better use of her time. In fact, she honestly thought this was the happiest she ever felt about having this magical ability.

After last night, Dolores noticed Casita had improved the map. More areas showed either rocks or trees. The larger group had halted near a previously unknown river. It made Dolores wonder how Doris and Inez had gotten the children across it. Dolores looked at the group of children, they were still pretty deep in the forested area and were nowhere near the place Camilo had returned to Casita from.

She was watching three separate sets of lights now. The larger group, which had been camped by the river, came into view just after breakfast. She had been watching for them since Antonio came to her to tell her Tina the owl had returned and said they took down the houses. She assumed that meant they’d broken camp and were on the move. She had managed to have Casita label the leader, whose head now floated near the front of a line of dimly glowing lights. She guessed there were a total of twenty-five. Fernando was easy enough to spot since he was by himself, and Casita labeled that light as well. He did not appear to be following the women, he was instead skirting the larger group. Doris and Inez had at least five additional children with them. Most were likely younger than Paola, since their heart rates were faster than hers. Only the women ever spoke. The children, aside from an occasional cough or whine, said nothing.

Dolores let out a squeak when she heard:

Isabela (Let me help.)

Mirabel (sigh)

Isabela (Our family, was given a miracle. Or more rightly, our Abuela was given a miracle. This was passed on to us…we were each given a magical Gift to help the people of our community. I can grow, literally anything.)

There was a popping sound and everyone else went silent

Mirabel (Are you trying to frighten her?)

Isabela (I do not think a small cactus is frightening… See it’s beautiful.)

Mirabel (Then why grow it under her nose?)

Isabela (Why not?)

Tiles clattered and Mirabel snapped (Stop it Casita. I don’t need any help.)

More angry tiles rattled, there was a pause then Mirabel (I’m sorry, Issa, I keep forgetting.)

After a short silence, someone got up. Isabela said (No, I shouldn’t have done that. I am sorry, Paola. I really did not mean to frighten you. Please accept this as part of my apology, it will match your pretty ribbon.) another short silence (I’m going up to my room to get ready for the meeting.)

Abuela said nothing during all of this, but her heart rate had gone up and though Isabela had sworn her to secrecy, Dolores was really concerned about her prima. That was why she told their Abuela the things Isabela had told her. Those scratches on her arms were showing up more and more frequently. Never too deep and at first, there were only a few, but by the end of last night and though she tried to hide them, even Antonio had noticed. He whispered his question to her when Issa had gone to the other side of the room when Abuela came in. She hoped she had reassured him, but the way he and Camilo were talking during breakfast made her wonder. It had also made her more aware of how stressed Isabela’s voice sounded.

Last night, when Mirabel was dealing with whatever had happened in her room, Issa seemed genuinely worried about Mirabel’s fear. Today she sounded like the old Issa, the one that was jealous of and pretended to dislike her little sister. Dolores wondered if that was what the real problem was. Isabela, Dolores knew, actually liked being the center of attention. It had been trained into her for almost twenty years. Now that their roles were switched and Mirabel was the focus, Isabela was not sure how or where she fit into things or even if she wanted to. Once Casita was finished, she confided, she planned to leave the Encanto and travel the world. Dolores had thought that would be wonderful and with Luisa planning to leave and become a vet, she needed someone to point her in some direction. But what she really needed was for their Abuela to apologize and accept her as she was.

Camilo appeared shortly thereafter but said nothing about the almost argument Issa and Mira had had. He said he was there to get a good look at the map. Like Mirabel, he poked at the floating heads and seemed surprised that he could not hear them. He was curious where he had actually been last night, and Casita did something neither were expecting. It recreated the route he took the night before. It appeared as a lightly glowing line, but thankfully this only took a few minutes, not the actual hours it took last night. While they watched, she asked if he was going to the meeting. He said no, since he did not feel he had completely recovered from his excursion the previous day. He left shortly thereafter to go eat second breakfast and start studying the books given to him by the headmaster at the school. It was weird, she thought, her bothersome little brother was going to be a teacher.

Dolores had had no specific requests either, or rather, no one really wanted her to be listening in on their conversations. If they did, it was mostly petty nonsense, so no loss there. Mariano was going to be at the meeting because his mother was on the council. He did promise to let her know if she should listen in. Sylvia Guzman, Dolores knew, wanted Mariano to take her place on the council one day. He was less than enthusiastic about that, but being a dutiful son, he went. Dolores thought he would actually be excellent at that, he was intelligent, charismatic and very well thought of. She had told him everything she knew about the mountain travelers while he was having breakfast with his mother. He tapped his fork on his plate twice, and Dolores stopped talking. They’d worked out that signal to let her know the other was listening to whomever was in front of them.

She was waiting somewhat impatiently for him to respond to his mother’s last question when she heard.

Tío Agustín (Mirabel, there’s something you need to know about Paola.)

Mirabel (Oh?)

Tía Julieta (Paola is a boy.)

Mirabel (What? But why would…)

Tía Julieta (I’m sure ‘she’ has her reasons, Corazón. They’ve clearly been through a lot, so I’m going to get the ‘girl’ clothes as she requested. If that is what it takes for her to be comfortable, then so be it.)

Tío Agustín (We just did not want you to find out in an awkward way.)

Dolores looked over at the label that Casita had assigned to Paola. It showed the smiling face of a little girl wearing a flower crown in her hair. Dolores hoped no one would make a big deal about it and she most certainly wasn’t going to mention it. There were others in town who did similar things, and she was thankful her Abuela had never asked her to listen for them. She knew about them, especially those that would pray so fervently to the Virgin for peace and for answers as to why they felt the way they did.

When she was younger, and less able to shut out voices, it always made her sad to the point that either her mother would take her with her to the fields and let the thunder roll or her father would take her out to the woods. Far enough away that she could relax. He was the one that built the little shed she’d taken Mariano to.

She recalled another that would dress as a man but her memories of him were few, but she recalled he was a small man with a thin mustache. He was good friends with her Tío Bruno and his name was Jorge Rodriguez. For almost thirty years Jorge lived alone at the edge of town and made the most beautiful women’s shoes in the Encanto. Even though this was considered women’s work, everyone had at least one pair of his shoes.

When he died, unexpectedly, and it was discovered they were not a man, it caused quite the uproar. Because of her Gift, she heard it all and the days that followed were just horrible for her as the more spiteful folks wanted to put him in a dress to be buried, as God intended. Others were somewhat kinder about it but seemed to hold the same opinion about the dress. And most said less than generous things about Jorge’s reasons for doing it. She learned a lot of words no eight-year-old should know. However, because Jorge Rodriguez had no family in the Encanto, her Tío asked Abuela if they could oversee the funeral arrangements. Abuela agreed but the folks who showed up to see how the body was dressed were disappointed to find her Abuela also insisted that the casket remained closed.

There were only a few other people in the church besides the Madrigals. Dolores was sitting with her family at the front of the church, and she heard Isabela ask Tío Bruno, “Do you think God will be mad at us for not letting the people say goodbye to him?”

Her Tío put an arm around her and said, “No. I don’t think most of those people outside came to say goodbye to Jorge. Considering they never had a kind thing to say about Señor Rodriguez when he was alive.”

“Oh…Tío why would they want to put Jorge in a dress?” Isa asked in a whisper and Tía Julieta, who sitting next to them rubbed her forehead.

Her Tío just said, “Just remember to always be yourself, don’t let anyone tell you different.”

People outside the church were gossiping up a storm and Dolores whimpered as she crawled into her father’s lap and pushed her head into his chest. She closed her eyes and listened to his heart beat as he covered her other ear with his hand and began to hum. It filled her whole head as she relaxed and at some point, fell asleep.

Mariano (Dolores, mi vida)

Dolores started and looked at the town for Mariano’s light. It was no longer in his house but on the street in front of it.  She touched it lightly saying “Yes, Mariano?

Mariano (We are leaving for the meeting now.)

“Alright.”

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

Isabela walked into her room and almost turned and walked back out. She examined all the scratches on her arm and frowned. She was finding it more and more difficult to control some aspects of her Gift. Or, more rightly, aspects of her anger. What happened during breakfast highlighted that major flaw to everyone in her family. The fact that she still wanted and needed her Abuela’s approval irked her, and she saw now she was yet again trying to use Mirabel to get it, and not in a good way. She thought she was past all that. Her Abuela’s non-reaction to it all, not only made her feel foolish, worse she had acted childish. She knew Mirabel really was the one best suited to take over for Abuela one day. Isabela did not want that job, in the same way she did not want to be tied to a man she did not love. Then why did she frighten a small child in an attempt to embarrass her sister? Why would Abuela want her to go early to that meeting? Mirabel was the one…Her thoughts were interrupted when there was a gentle tap on her door, and Luisa slipped in and closed it behind her. Isabela braced herself and turned toward her sister. But there was no anger in Luisa’s expression, just concern. This annoyed Isabela even more than the potential confrontation, and she snapped, “What do you want?”

Luisa did not respond, but her eyes flicked to the thorns as they made new scratches on her arms. Isabela belatedly tried to hide them behind her. She forced the thorns that had popped out to retract, and Luisa asked, “Are you okay, Issa? I’m sure I’m not the only one to notice those cuts.”

“Well, that’s nobody’s business but mine,” Isabela said flatly.

Luisa made no reply and in the past, this would have been enough for her sister to leave her be, but Luisa continued to stand there looking around. Isabela felt her jaw clench, and she said, “You still haven’t said what you wanted.”

 “I do not actually want anything, Issa. I’m just worried about you.”

Shortly after the breaking, they had moved from the church to Abuelo Joseph’s house. The three sisters shared a room and at first, it was weird. There was nowhere to hide or just be by yourself unless you left the house. Not wanting to deal with the townsfolk and their pity. They remained at the house when they were not working on Casita. They did at least have their own beds. This had led to many late night talks about what they wanted to do in the future. New things they wanted to try. Isabela even found a kindred spirit in her Abuela Valentina who encouraged her to learn all she could about the plants she was growing in her garden behind the house.

At Isabela’s insistence, the sisters also made a promise to one another to make sure they paid attention to how they were feeling. To not look away but try to help if they could. She glanced back at Luisa who was still looking around and Isabela realized she was picking a fight with her sister to try to push her away. Luisa, however, wasn’t budging, and Isabela closed her eyes as she let her arms drop to her sides. She sighed and said, “I’m fine really, just a little confused, I guess.”

“So, is this actual fine,” and Luisa paused and said, “or…Madrigal fine…”

Isabela gave a snort and frowned. Madrigal fine is what they’d taken to calling their state of mind before the breaking when they didn’t want to face a problem. She wanted to believe she’d done a good job of letting go of old habits, but she knew in her heart, she was still stuck. In a lot of ways, she was still unwilling to believe in herself or that she could ever be more than she was before the house fell. Often she would pretend to ignore Mirabel when their sister offered a suggestion on how she could improve whatever it was she was trying to work through.

“Ah, so, Madrigal fine,” Luisa said with a nod. “I know I’ve already said this Issa, but maybe you should try talking to her,” Luisa said this carefully, but Isabela knew who she meant. “She’s not the same as before, and I mean I did not think talking would make anything better either. I was wrong and since the magic’s come back you’ve been, well, there’s no good way to put this, you’re being downright mean to Abuela. I mean, I get it, but don’t you think you’re going a little overboard with that? And why start picking at Mirabel? I thought you wanted this for her. You said you were happy you weren’t required to be Señorita Perfecta anymore.” When Isabela still did not answer, Luisa idly kicked at the flagstones waiting, but then said in disbelief, “Oh Dios Mio…you are jealous.”

The conviction in Luisa’s voice made Isabela immediately snap back, “I most certainly am not! How can you even think that?” Isabela shouted as she threw up her hands in exasperation. A wall of vines erupted between them and Isabela cringed, she had not actually meant to do that. Still Luisa pushed them aside with no effort.

She stood in front of Isabela with her hands on her hips and said, “Really?” Her tone was calm and while she was a very patient person, eventually even she would get angry if you pushed hard enough. Now Luisa was waiting. Waiting for Isabela to repeat the lie. Her look was telling, and Isabela looked again at the thorns that were once again evident. Again, she forced them to retract, but was finding this harder to do with each incident.

Luisa noticed her struggle and her face softened, and she hugged her sister as she said, “We can talk about that later, and we will talk about that later.” Luisa let her go and after a brief awkward silence asked, “So, why do you think Abuela wants you to go to the meeting early?”

Isabela, grateful for the change of topic, replied, “Don’t know, the first I heard about it was when she asked me at breakfast. Maybe it was because she used to take me to those things…most boring thing she ever asked me to do.”

Luisa nodded, but from her expression she must have a few ideas, but instead asked, “Have you made any decisions about what jobs you’re going to take?”

“Probably all of them. Most of them are pretty simple flower arrangements. Nothing challenging, for sure, so none of them will be difficult. What about you?”

“I do not know. Likely just the ones related to the windmill project and the ones requested by the elderly. Everything else are things they can either do themselves or, based on what Antonio said, shouldn’t be done at all. I also wasn’t expecting so many issues with my Gift, hopefully, my stamina will improve quickly.”

“You know, maybe it’s a sign you should focus more on being a vet. I mean, if you can get to Bogotá by going through that door in the tower, possibly you can do a little of both.”

“Gosh, I really hope so,” Luisa said wistfully.

Issa smiled at her sister’s tone. Luisa’s goals were something of which she was envious. Isabela had no goals, no plans for the future. Everything she had been told she was good for, had turned out to be a lie. There was another knock and Casita opened the door and Isabela was not pleased to see it was her Abuela. She did not just come in as she would have in the past. She waited and Issa just stared until Luisa nudged her from behind. “Come in, Abuela,” Isabela finally said.

She did and Luisa went to excuse herself, but her Abuela asked her to stay, since what she had to say concerned them both. The two sisters looked nervously at one another and sat on the bed. Isabela filled in her vine sleeve with leaves to hide the newer scratches, that were bleeding a little. Casita pushed the desk chair over and Abuela sat down.

Isabela was staring past her Abuela, refusing to look her in the face. She waited for the scolding she was sure was coming, but why pull Luisa into it. She had not done anything. Probably going to convince her she needed to do more training to improve her Gift.

Her Abuela did not speak right away, instead she was watching Isabela, and this only served to make Isabela angry. After a few moments, her Abuela turned to Luisa and said, “To start, Luisa, now that we know that the red door in the tower does, in fact, go to Bogotá, I’m hopeful we’ll be able to get you registered for school as soon as possible. Though the coming and going through the Church may prove to be a problem.”

Luisa smiled despite her obvious concern. She had already gotten her hopes up once, only to have them crushed.

“However,” her Abuela continued, “that leads to the bigger issue, finding a place for you to live if there are no dormitories for women. That’s where I was hoping you would come into this, Isabela. There was, and possibly still is, a botany program at the college. I know you have an interest in such things, that way your sister would not be in a strange city by herself. The world has changed so much on the outside, from what we’ve learned from the newcomers, that it would be advantageous for both of you. I used to have family in Bogotá, of course I do not know if they still live there, but I am willing to find out if it helps get you both where you need to be. I have not spoken with your parents about this yet, though I am hopeful that the both of you will be able to take advantage of this once we’ve dealt with the current situation.”

Isabela was confused. None of what her Abuela just said had anything to do with their Gifts. Maybe Luisa was right about the change and though she saw the logic of them both going, she was struck by a nasty thought and could not stop it coming out of her mouth. “You aren’t just trying to get me away from Mirabel, right?”

Her Abuela looked surprised at the question, but after a moment she said firmly, “No, but I do understand your concerns, Isabela.”

“Then what about that door in Mirabel’s room? Why did you ask for that? Is it, so you can watch her all the time? Keep her in line?”

Her Abuela listened to each question but did not interrupt and said when Issa stopped, “I did not request that door, and it took me a few days to puzzle out its purpose. I was told recently that it was your mother who did. It appears she also has similar concerns,” her Abuela said with a small smile. “Nevertheless, it has turned out to be a blessing I was not looking for, and it is helping me make better decisions to make sure nothing like that happens.”

“I am gonna go now,” Luisa said. Alma nodded, and Luisa started for the door. “We can talk about the other stuff later.”

Isabela did not respond, so Luisa stepped out. Isabela really did not want to have this talk with her Abuela. Better to be angry, but the longer she put it off, the worse she felt about all the mean things she had done of late. She did not fully understand how her sister was so easily able to forgive the many sins of Alma Madrigal. She did not quite understand why she, herself, wanted to be able to, too. She was no longer sure of her motivations, and again felt the pain of the thorns in her arms. She closed her eyes, forcing them back with the tears that threatened to come tumbling out.

She felt her Abuela move next to her on the bed, and Isabela felt a gentle hand on her arm. The leaves she grew to cover the scratches wilted and Abuela said softly, “Isabela, I see the harm that I’ve caused by trying to live a dream I lost through you. I can only apologize for the past and I know I cannot change it, but most importantly I want you to know that I have never seen you as a failure, mi vida. Before and most especially, not after the breaking. You are as precious to me now as ever, and I know why Mirabel relies on you. She sees you more clearly than I. My reason for asking you to come early is because you are more experienced with the townsfolk than your hermanita. I know you will be able to help guide her better than I.”

Isabela did not respond or open her eyes. She just couldn’t look at her Abuela at that moment. Isabela would break down for sure, so she remained motionless and silent as she felt her Abuela get up and heard her as she moved slowly toward the door. There was a pause and her Abuela said before leaving, “This past year, I have watched you and I see that you are so much more than I ever allowed you to be. Something I regret with my whole heart, mi vida. My hope, is that you’ll allow me to get to know this new woman you have become.”

Isabela heard the door close, and she finally looked up. Tears slipped down her face, and Issa had to admit, Luisa was right. Not only was she trying too hard to maintain her righteous anger, but she was also, once again, perversely jealous of her Giftless little sister. What is wrong with me, she wondered. There were times she woke up in the middle of the night as her memories of her less than sisterly treatment of Mirabel rushed through her head. This always led to her overcompensating the next day because she really was convinced that her sister had not, in fact, forgiven her but was playing a game. But like her Abuela Valentina said, Mirabel really was a transparent person. What you saw was what you got. What do you see in me, Mirabel, Isabela wondered?

She flopped back on her bed and was staring at nothing until something small and blue, flitted at the edge of her sight. She tried to focus on it, and she saw it again. It was a butterfly, she realized, and it was not alone in the canopy of trees above her. There were dozens and dozens of them. She watched, entranced, as they alternately shown bright blue then seemed to disappear into the shadows.

She reached out as one broke away and gently came to rest on her outstretched fingers. It was considerable, at least 17 cm with its wings outstretched. This weirdly reminded her of that door in Mirabel’s room, and she smiled. So, it was her mother who had been the one to ask for that door. Protecting Mirabel from her Abuela had been her main motivation these past few weeks, whether Mirabel wanted her too or not. She could see her efforts had been misdirected. It had not actually occurred to her to ask Dolores, and that probably meant her prima had told their Abuela what she had said on that topic. Isabela tried to muster anger, but she knew Dolores, like Luisa, was concerned about her. That made her feel a bit more at ease, knowing she did not need to be a one-woman army. Her mother as well had been dropping hints about her behavior of late. But she had been so focused on her ‘mission’ she did not notice that her mother and probably their father had already seen the potential problems.

Isabela marveled once again at the room Casita had made for her. The last had felt like a flower lined prison. Now she was surrounded by living plants, not just millions of flowers. She thought back to the feeling she had when she first grabbed that doorknob when she was five. Such a feeling of exhilaration and when she had opened that door and gone inside for the first time was something she would never forget. Something Mirabel only just got to experience. I am a fool, she thought.

Isabela sat up, and the butterfly flitted over and landed on her head. She thought back to the previous evening and asked. Casita, what happened last night?” The house responded by creaking the shutters, and Isabela asked, “How bad was it?”

There was a longer response, and Issa started to realize just how deep Mirabel’s fears of Casita falling were. Why she froze up at seemingly random times. That was why the house intervened as it did. It told Isabela about the ‘prank’ gone wrong, and she remembered then what Dolores had told her. How when Mirabel came back to her room with those sketches she had tried to pretend that never happened, but Dolores had heard it all. And here she was being a crappy sister.

“Casita, thank you for stopping me from making a complete idiot of myself, I know you were only trying to help Mira,” Isabela said sitting up.

Casita rustled some vines growing on the wall, and the wave had her focusing on a corner that had a small wardrobe. She walked across the mossy flagstones, opened it, and smiled. Inside were a pair of deep lavender trousers with a shirt of similar color that looked much like the one her father had made for Tío Bruno. There was a leather belt with a pink bow and small letter attached.

She touched the shirt and pants, then took the belt down and detached the letter. On the front, it read: For Isabee. It was her father’s handwriting, and Isabela took all the clothes and went back to her bed. She laid them out and carefully opened the letter.

Isabee,

A few weeks ago, I overheard you and your sisters talking about making pants and thought I would make you a pair. Mirabel will probably wonder where all of her notes went when she finds time to look for them. Besides, you likely wanted them sooner and not later.

When you were little, you and I always talked about your day. Watching you discover your world always brought me endless joy and though years have passed and though it’s not every day, I’m glad to hear your voice.

You are my little flower, busy as a little bee, bringing sunshine after a rain. Beautiful and capable, you have always been my bright beacon of hope, Corazón, and few love their daughters, the way I love you.

Your ever adoring Papí

Isabela read the letter several times before she put it back in its envelope and under her pillow. When they were growing up, she often felt her father favored Luisa or Mirabel over her, but in hindsight she knew he never pulled away from her, it had been the other way around. She stroked the fabric and was amazed at how soft it was. She stripped off her dress and looked at it. She loved that dress and all the changes she’d made to it. But it also represented a past she wanted to avoid returning to.

She tried on the shirt first. The scratches, while not deep, had not completely stopped bleeding, and she decided she would see her mother about that. Wouldn’t do to get blood all over her new shirt. That also meant she would need to explain how she had gotten them, and being angry all the time was something she did not wish to continue. As always, her father’s clothing fit her perfectly. She looked in the mirror and thought, she’d finally shed the last of her old skin and asked, “Casita, where’s Papí?”

There was a quick clatter and Isabela walked around her room getting used to the feel of them. She tucked in the shirt and put the belt in place. After putting on her shoes, she looked in the mirror again and noticed her hair. She had never considered cutting it, but she’d probably regret that decision so put it out of her head for now.

Isabela left her room, feeling as if she were someone new. Someone who could believe in herself. Maybe going to college would be just what she needed to do to find out whom she wanted to be. She went up to the library and her father was sitting reading a book about herbs and their many uses. He turned as she approached, and smiled.

“Ah, you found them mi vida,” he said and set the book on the table next to him.

Isabela twirled once and nodded. She noted he was missing his flower from his vest, and she said, “I did, thanks Papí. They fit perfectly too.” Isabela sat on the ottoman and gently touched his lapel. The flower that sprouted was not the usual one she made for this. Instead, she made a blue petaled daisy, and said, “For a new beginning.”

The wall clock chimed, and Isabela rolled her eyes and sighed as she got up. “Time for that meeting.” She said and went to head for the stairs but stopped. She turned back as her father rose from his chair and said, “Umm, if you’re not doing anything later, maybe we can have lunch and drag Mamá along, there are some things I want to talk about.”

Her father nodded, gave her a hug, and said, “I would like that, Isabela.”  He looked down at the flower and smiled as he said, “Yes, a new beginning.”

Isabela waved as she started down the stairs, feeling better than she had for a while. That is, until she ran smack into Mirabel on the landing. Mirabel suddenly overbalanced, landed hard on her back, knocking her glasses off. Isabela fell back but did not lose her footing. Mirabel groaned and sat up and said, “Oh my gosh, Issa, are you okay?”

“You’re the one on the floor,” Isabela said as she picked up her sister's glasses and helped her up, “I’m fine, how are you?”

Mirabel put her glasses back on and said, “I’m ok…oh wow…” Mirabel was walking all around her to look at the new outfit.

“I know, right?”

“You look stunning, as usual. I’m sorry I did not get yours done faster.”

“You’ve been busy.”

“And about this morning, I did not mean to get angry,” Mirabel said as Isabela watched her sister start to shrink in on herself, hands balled up in front of her, fear creeping in saying, “I’m sorry about-”

“Don’t you dare apologize, Mirabel Madrigal,” Isabela said cutting her off.

“But I…”

“But nothing, you had every right to get angry. I was being rude and stupid. I’m lucky Casita didn’t throw me out a window.”

Mirabel relaxed and tried not to smile. She nodded because she knew this was as close to an apology as Isabela could manage. “Oh, Tío and Abuela have already left. Abuela sent me to find you.”

“Yeah, we should go, but I need to talk to Mamá for a minute.”

They walked into the kitchen and saw that their mother and Tía were sitting at the table, drinking coffee. Her mother smiled seeing the new clothes and Tía Pepa was sitting with her mouth hanging open.

“You two should get a move on, or you’ll be late,” her mother said.

“We are going, I just got some scratches that need to be healed first,” Issa said and rolled up her sleeves.

Her mother had come around the table and gently traced the cuts. Isabela was surprised that she did not ask that obvious question as she reached for the small plate of cookies on the table. Her mother took one and handed it to her, and Isabela ate it.

The scratches and cuts disappeared, and Isabel said, “Thanks, Mamá. Probably gonna lay off the vine sleeves for a while.”

Her mother smiled, and nodded. Isabela smiled when her mother smoothed her hair behind her ear and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Her mother always seemed to understand what Isabela was trying to say without actually making her say it.

“You ready Mira?”

“No, but you’ll be with me, so hopefully I won’t make a complete fool of myself in front of the whole town.”

Isabela laughed as she turned her sister toward the door, giving her a gentle shove, “That’s the spirit. Hermanita.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Next Chapter:

Previous Chapter

[milkinghomelander]

Untitled Kylo Ren Fic: Chapter 3

It might fly off the rails eventually because I'm starting to have too much fun with it.

When I wake up this time, he’s already got the pill and the water bottle. I sigh and stare at them with my eyes half open, just waiting. It feels like something is playing a tug of war with the back half of my brain. I open my mouth so he can tilt the water in for me. I take the pill from his fingers, my lips brushing the tips of his gloves, drinking the rest of the water with it. Some of it falls down my chin. He wipes it off with his sleeve. I rub my lips together hard. It was oddly intimate.

“How long have I been here?” I ask. He adjusts his posture.

“Between five and six hours.” Huh.

“Wow. It’s been…eventful.”

“You wanted to know about me.” I sigh.

“Yeah. I guess I asked you something before. It’s a little hard to remember because you’re trying to tear my fucking head off, though.” He just stares at me a moment again.

“Guess you didn’t like that,” I say, taking another look around the room. Just blank steel walls still. 

“I lost my parents, too.” I lock my eyes back on his mask. I shouldn’t, but I feel a little bad for him. 

“How?” 

“I started training for the light side of the Force with Luke Skywalker.” He pauses, like he’s waiting for a reaction. I narrow my eyes a little, but try not to give him one other than that. I want to know why he wants this map. Also, to be fair, Kylo’s pretty distracted trying to get me to open up to him. Poe must be far away by now. He must’ve found that droid.

“My master had reached out to me by then. Luke could sense it. He tried to kill me,” he continued.

“...and you fled to save your life,” I finished for him, “but you could’ve gone back to your parents. You chose whatever this is, and what I saw at the village was a good enough preview for me to know this isn’t it.”

“Would you dedicate your life to a cause that wanted you dead, or the comforting voice on the other side?” This time I don’t say anything. That was the only thing he’s said that’s made sense so far. 

“I’m sorry.” It eventually comes out. I don’t look away from him. I can’t see him, but I get the idea he doesn’t know what to say anymore.

“You’re really bad at this interrogation thing, aren’t you?” I ask. 

“Have you ever done it?” That makes me huff out a laugh. I try to hide it. 

“I need to go to the bathroom.” 

“I’ll take you.” He pauses, but moves over to the button that’ll release my restraints. I don’t understand the hesitation. Even if I hadn’t had my brain thrashed back and forth and my ass beat for the last six hours, I wouldn’t try to fight him. It’d be dumb. When he finally lets me go, I jump down and immediately rub my temples.

“Jesus fuck.” The pressure release sends relief down into my jaw. I spot him pulling cuffs out of his pocket slowly, like he’s ashamed.

“I’m sorry.” I cock my jaw and peer at him.

“For the headache or what you’re doing to my wrists?” I put them out anyway, watching the deep metal clamp down. I meet the reflection where his eyes should be again.

“For both.”

“Sure you are.” He grabs the back of my shirt and jacket roughly, pushing me to lead me out the door.

“Oof! I kind of liked that.” The way my top is twisted makes my shoulders bunch up uncomfortably, but there’s not much I can do about it. I have to piss. He passes me a quick glance for the comment, but doesn’t say anything once we reach the hallway.

The rest of the ship is almost as bleak as the room I’m being kept in: gray, cutout doors with no handles, keypads, hallways of the same variety as the one I walked through. Stormtroopers would pass by occasionally, along with people in black uniforms with shitty high collars. Sometimes you’d see one of those hefty sliding doors that splits in half. We were a bit away from a bathroom, apparently.

We come up to a door like every other. He puts a code in and it swishes open. He stood in front of the keypad so I couldn’t see it, not that it would help me much with the restraints and all. Then he walks in and nods for me to follow. I stop and look at him for a second. He yanks his hold on my cuffs and causes me to tumble inside, catching my shoulder on his bicep. I hum in slight pain as the door shuts behind me. I push off of him and straighten up, looking around. It’s a boring white bathroom. Easy to clean, painful to the eye. 

“Did you like that too?” he asks. I look at his stupid mask and smirk into a grin.

“What are you in here for?”

“I can’t let you out of my sight.” He reaches forward and takes the cuffs off. I rub where they laid on my raw skin and watch him go lean against the wall. My lips smack as I look him up and down.

“Al-right.” I walk towards the toilet and undo my belt, keeping my eye on him. He does the same. I’m wearing red striped boxers that poke out of the top of my pants. It takes me a moment to wanna push them down. I’m getting a little turned on. Wrong situation for that. A blush warms the corners of my cheeks and I stare at the wall in front of me instead of at him, pushing my boxers and pants down at the same time as I sit. I rush through it, but now I can’t pee. I feel like I have to say something to fill the silence. God forbid masked torture man knows I have stage fright. Humanity is a curse.

“Is this the first time you’ve watched someone piss during an interrogation period? I wanna feel special.” I peek over at him really quick. He doesn’t move or speak. I start just pushing hard, but it’s scared to come out.

“Do I get to watch you pee after this?” That one does it. He goes. The door slams. 

“Let me know when you’re done,” it echoes from the hallway.

“You know, I really wouldn’t mind!” I yell, right over the sound of myself finally pissing. I’m not sure anyone can hear me. I get up and re-dress myself, flushing the toilet and going to wash my hands.

“You have two more minutes,” he calls through. I decide to take that offer. I need a moment to myself where I can move. I look in the mirror. I don’t look much different now. It’ll probably be different when I wake up in the morning, after the bruises set in. There’s a part of me, though, that wonders if he isn’t lying about how long I’ve been here. I don’t think he has any other leads yet. 

And I don’t know what he’s trying to do. I can almost believe he does feel bad about this, that he’s conflicted somehow. Or maybe I’m so shaken up I’m falling for the “friend” bullshit. This is a little hard for me.

“Time’s up.” The door slid open and he had walked in behind me. I didn’t know. I was staring off into the mirror the whole time. I think he noticed. It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t say anything. He turns my body at the shoulder and binds my wrists. 

The walk back is mostly silent. I don’t see anyone out of place from the first time. The weirdest part about it is how quiet everyone else is. I suppose I expected more on a military ship, maybe some murmuring from room to room. Things must be at a lull right now. His grip on my shirt is lighter this time. When he leads me back inside, there’s a tray with some bread and milk on it laying on the floor beside the restraint stand. The door locks behind us. 

“Eat,” he commands. He really doesn’t have to tell me twice. I plop down on the floor and lean my back up on the leg pads of the device. I didn’t even know there was padding. It never felt like it. I take the tray into my lap and inspect the bread. It looks like standard issue round bread, specks of grain and powdered nutrients ran spots throughout the crust. I’d had this before on the ship; most of us had. It was useful when you wouldn’t be back down on the ground for a while. I take a bite. It crumbles over my tongue. The bread never had much of a flavor. 

“You thought you were being funny out there,” he says. I gulp some of the pale blue cream down, licking it off my top lip.

“So did you, watching me take my pants off and all.”

“We never searched past your pockets. I didn’t know what you had on you.” I laugh dryly and take another bite.

“Yeah, sure.” 

“It’s true.”

“I wish I could see you blush.” I take another drink. He ignores me.

“Are you being so nice to me because you found what you were looking for last time?” I ask. The thought didn’t occur to me until now.

“No.”

“Well…” I break off a little piece of the bread, “What did you find then?” He’s standing at the door, just watching me. I need something to pass the time. I can’t get high. In a weird way, this might even be therapeutic for me.

“You got upset with me last time.”

“What do you care?” I finish chewing and wash it down, sighing as I slouch back into the leg pads, hands folded in my lap. I just want to relax. It’d be nice to get high, I’ll admit, but there still isn’t a thing I can do about that. I could whine about how it’s unfair and I should be knee deep in spice right now on my way to a dropoff on Tatooine, but I’d feel bad. I’m doing this for Poe, and he said he’ll come back for me. I just have to endure this a little bit. Play nice with the scary guy. I could even have fun with it.

“I would like you on my side.” I smirk and wink at him. His arms are crossed. I fidget with the charm on my necklace, a midnight blue fungus preserved in glass. Poe found it in an abandoned hut on Jakku when we were nine. Our parents were hiding something there.

“Then tell me.” He lets out a heavy breath and uncrosses his arms, relaxing against the door. 

“You found an abandoned temple on a forest planet in your teens. There were a group of other kids there. You stayed all night.” I think about that one often. A few points in my life, if we stayed somewhere long enough, I did have a friend group. There was one other human named Serenity, a trandoshan named Sekko, a rodian named Skylock, and Poe. We snuck in a bottle of whiskey and an old radio my dad had forgotten about in a drawer in our laundry room. We had a lot of fun. Poe and I knew we were going to leave again soon. 

“You had a thing for Serenity.” 

“Yeah, well, who didn’t?” She had dark hair braided on both sides of her head down to her ribcage with sharp purple eyes and freckles. She laughed a lot. 

“What happened?” I smile at him.

“What? You couldn’t see that?”

“I get bits and pieces.”

“Oof. We could be here a while, then, huh?”

“No. Not exactly.”

“What does that mean?”

“Your time will run out. I’ll look again.”

“Why haven’t you already?”

“I’m trying to minimize the brain damage.” I look away and lick my lips before rubbing them together.

“What do you mean?”

“This could kill you.” I look back at him. I guess I knew that. It just sucks to hear. I want to get high now more than I’ve wanted to since I’ve been here.

[zydrateacademy]

Current Activities in Warframe #8

So Zariman is a clear shot to max it out, just time gated. I even have everything I need to get myself to 5, I just need to farm out a handful of voidplumes to make sure I can max the rep every day. I think I'm two days out from maxing it, then it's just a straight voidplume grind so I can get some of those sweet, sweet arcanes.

So that's going to have to be one of my "spend an entire off day doing" kind of situations, like when I spent an entire day cracking open relics with new friends and acquaintances. I'm up to 1800 ducats right now, some of those future primed SHALL BE MINE.

Meanwhile I've been pushing Duviri properly. I didn't quite realize that there are several upgrades in there that continually increase your random "pool" of gear and frames to choose from which makes it more likely to get something I can actually use. So far I've acquired the Syam (a friend on Discord swears by it. It's... fine, not sure it performs any better or worse than my Skiajati, though. I have the Azothane 2 hours out but I'll be in bed by then so I'll have to grab it in the morning. I hear it's the best of the five.

Running into a slight block with Duviri... random groups seem fairly incapable of Steel Path. I've managed one out of the four rounds I've attempted. Those failed three had a lot of people bail quickly, probably due to bad RNG for their gear which I can understand.

After having pushed Duviri enough to get a couple weapons and some other rewards, I find it's not quite as frustrating as other content islands, to a point. I can't speak for the Incarnons but so far I haven't had too much trouble getting the things I want from Duviri, which so far is mostly just those melee weapons. As far as I understand it, the incarnons are a bit more involved and it seems getting those Kullervo tokens is based on completely random luck since his objective only shows up on certain spirals. Unfortunate.

Related, Duviri has interested shuffled my useage stats a bit. Helped me discover some neglected gear that can be fairly powerful in their own right, like the Phantasm. The circuit is also a fairly unsung new source for cryotic, having several excavation rotations. Just 300 here and there unlike going for ~1500 in a single game but when you do a lot of circuit it adds up passively without having to go do full on excav missions for it. I approve.

It also reminded me how fun Mirage is. I once used her as a defensive map ass kicker, as she functions a bit like Saryn and Volt for clearing rooms miles away. Put some strength and range on, her Sleight of Hand ability with the Explosive Legerdemain augment turns every item into a mine. Like I said in my "most used frames" post, I'm just not sure how well it scales or if she'll just be doomed to haunt low level content. I recently got her mirrors augment (5% more damage from your clones per kill, but I discovered it caps out at 25%), which sort of encourages a more active runny-stabby-shooty playstyle over the minefield build. It's been fun with the Syam, running around and popping shockwaves everywhere.

So my general plans are coming well to fruition. I'm just incredibly arcane starved and much of the content they're hiding behind is fucking irritating, or simply requires specific pre-arranged groups to do. Trust me, I've tried hunting Eidolons with randoms and it takes forever as most of the time they don't know what to do any more than I do.

Some even come out of Railjack, which is a big consensus that everyone actually likes running around in the RJ but somehow nobody ever fucking joins me when I host them. Because nobody is doing them. The consensus is that RJ is just underutilized, but there's a lot of power behind those missions that people just don't do anymore. I tried one and got destroyed, and most (not all) of the equipment on it is Mark 3.

I'm trucking along without a lot of it, but man a lot of it looks just so damn useful.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Looking for a Place to Happen

Warnings: non-consent sex and rape (series), age gap, general stupidity.

This is dark!biker!Sam Wilson x reader and explicit. 18+ only.  Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Series Synopsis: There’s lots happening in Birch and you find it all too amusing.

Sister series to Smalltown Bringdown, When the Weight Comes Down, Little Bones, and Fully Completely

Note: We’re starting Sam’s installment but this weekend I’ll probably only be catching up on my headcanons and drabbles because I’ve been a lazy bitch and I’m sorry to those who have been waiting.

Thanks to everyone for their patience and feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

Chapter 1: I've got a job, I explore

💀💀💀

The sleepy town of Birch was awake. 

In those last weeks, the arrival of outsiders had roused the attention of many once passive residents of the timeless territory. Those brick buildings unchanged by the tick of the clock inlaid into the old tower above the library that chimed every hour on the hour. They still stood with only chips in the mortar but the air tasted different. The frost was more bitter and the sky more grim. An omen of something no one could predict.

It was the perfect setting for a screenplay. The isolated town with its unsavoury secrets and the visitors who threatened to bring them to the surface. It was inspiring to you, to imagine what was hidden behind the stern wrinkled faces of the town elders and under the jackets of those men who wore the cut of the local club. The bikers ruled the town covertly but everyone knew that Bucky Barnes’ palm was lined with the map of Birch.

As a bystander, an unnoticed observer, just another ant in the hill, you watched from the side and amused yourself with the drama of others. It was like a soap opera or another HBO hype machine. Those things you aspired to when you could be free of this ho-hum town.

The snows added to the natural gloom of the place. The deep heaps smothered the noise and harkened back to those days of colonial settlement. Forgotten, desolate, fearful. 

You ventured down in your heavy boots that stretched to your knees and pushed your chin down into your scarf. As a child, you ran and jumped in those piles, now you were out of breath just trying to walk past them.

You stopped in the bakery that doubled as the only café, a place where the owner, Babs, tried to to intimidate the last caffeinated trends. She was always a few seasons behind but you didn’t mind so much. 

You ordered the salted caramel mocha and waited patiently as the quiet woman fought with the steaming machines. She was older than you but you’d work with her for one summer during high school, only five years ago. She had the eyes of a child still, but there was something worn in her. As if she’d been exposed to far too much in her three or so decades in that place. She was a harbinger of what you didn’t want to become.

You thanked her for your drink and set out once more into the billowing winds. Birch winters were never kind but this one was crueler than most. Your teeth chattered as you blew the steam away from the lid and hugged it with your mittened hands.

You stopped short as you heard the familiar ding of the diner door across the street. You recognised the mechanic who kept to herself and once growled at you in the grocery store. She stormed across the street, followed closely and quickly by a black-haired man you’d only seen once before. He was one of those outsiders who came to deal with the club men.

You sped up as you sensed chaos brewing and pulled out your phone as you balanced your paper cup in your other hand. You flicked your camera on just as you got to the front of the shop and the man grabbed the mechanic. You let out an ‘oop’ as she turned on him and you aimed the lens at the couple as they fell into the snow, the man’s shoes giving little traction to his steps. 

You moved closer, stunned by the scene, and kept your cell phone rolling as you found a better angle around the snowy walks. As she choked him on the ground he elbowed her and she coughed as she rolled away. She snarled as he clamoured to his feet, slipping and sliding as he marched away.

You killed the recording and watched the man cross the street again, nearly wiping out as he did and when you looked back to the mechanic, she was gone behind the clattering door. You chuckled to yourself and tucked away your cell. It was prime footage for TikTok; with a bit of editing, it would be comedy gold.

💀

You stomped up the steps of your grandmother’s house, this time through the front door as you heard her chair rocking in the front room. You usually took the stairs in the back as you paid her to live on the upper floor of the duplex. You checked in with her daily, she didn’t get out much more than the occasional trip to the grocery store when you couldn’t or you dragged her out to join you for a tea at Babs’.

“You’re late,” she grumbled as you set your cup down and unzipped your coat.

“For what?” you scoffed.

“It’s after noon and you don’t even come down to say hello? A ‘good morning, nan’,” she harrumphed.

You chuckled and hung your coat before shoving your boots over on the mat. You grabbed your mocha and leaned on the doorway as you watched her crocheting in her chair, reruns of some court show playing from the boxy television.

“I was working,” you said, “sent in some stuff for review. Hopefully not much work to be done.”

“I don’t know how you make money on that interweb,” she bemoaned, “I don’t trust it.”

“Maybe you’d trust it more if you used the Netflix subscription I got you,” you crossed your arms, “then you wouldn’t have to watch trash daytime TV.”

She shrugged and muttered under her breath. She could be crotchety but you liked her sense of humour. Your aunts and uncles never came around because they just took it as spite. You were the only one who knew how to handle the jaded old lady.

“Maybe you coulda looked out the window,” you snickered, “quite a show going on in town.”

“Hmm, what’s that?” she stilled her needles and reached for her tea stained cup.

“Just a fight. You wouldn’t believe it, that lady mechanic beat the shit--”

“Language,” she huffed.

“Anyway, she had this guy in a chokehold. It was awesome.”

“What guy?” she squinted at you over her glasses.

“I dunno. Some out of towner. Remember I told you about that burly dude hanging around the library?”

“There’s more?” she sucked on her teeth, “those bikers have never been good news and now they’re bringing in more.”

“Yeah, well, what’re you gonna do?” you sniffed as you took out your phone and rewatched the scuffle with the volume down. You shook your head and opened up your TikTok. 

“I don’t understand why you’re always on your dang phone,” your grandmother pestered.

“I’m not always on my phone,” you smiled at her smugly, “there are those time when I’m listening to you prattle on or you know, making you tea, oh, and cooking you dinner. What was it I did last week? Oh that’s right, I got Pippin out of the crawlspace.”

“I’m too old to be chasin’ that cat all around,” she huffed, “where is he anyway?”

“He’s your cat, I don’t know? Last time I saw him, I sent him back out the window for shredding my charger.”

“He knows you need to give it a rest,” she laughed to herself, “got your nose to that screen too much.”

“And what do you do, old lady? Crocheting doilies to put where exactly?”

She gave you that dry smile, the one that said watch it but carried a hint of humour still. You hit post and put your phone away as you waved off her irritation.

“Well, you know what, I sit all day at my computer, doing who knows what and you know what it got me?” you taunted, “a large mocha!” you sipped as you sat on the sofa and grabbed the remote, “and it’s paying my rent and putting bullet points on my resume.”

“Mhmm,” she scowled, “just remember, real life ain’t online. Those videos you’re always laughing at like hyena, that’s not reality. You forget it and it’ll come back and bit you. ‘Specially with those bikers.”

“Oh, nan, you know too well, don’t you? Didn’t you have a fling with one back in your hippie phase?”

“Two, actually,” she raised her brows, “I was young and stupid. Not like you, but still.”

“I love you too,” you chirped and sipped from your cup, flicking the station to Jerry Springer, “that’s more like it.”

💀

Your usual TikToks were sarcastic and dull complaints about your small town life. The response was less than pleasing but it gave you an outlet to vent. You liked to goof around and document the very specific type of weirdos that resided in Birch. But the video of the fight in the snow blew up your phone and made it difficult to ignore the buzzing as you went back up to your room to eke out the last of your captions for the ad agency.

When at last you could call your day hard-earned, you logged off and sent in your hours to the agency. Social media promotion was easy enough but the working gigs for a thousand different companies was tedious. You hoped you could build your portfolio enough to manage a single corporate page as you continued to chip away at your creative outlets.

You picked up your phone as you waited for Netflix to load on your tiny smart tv and flopped onto your bed, not two feet from your desk. You hit the icon in the upper panel of your phone and scrolled through the notifications, pausing to turn on another episode of the cable sitcom from ten years before. You snorted as you read each comment but the number under the video made your eyes round. The thing was bound to go viral.

As usual, you went down to help with supper. Pippin, the orange tabby, returned to cry at his dish and you fed him too. Your nan peered through her glasses at a crossword as she tasted the tangy pasta sauce. 

“More basil,” she snipped.

“Well, I asked if you wanted to help,” you muttered, “I think it’s good.”

“Hmmp, I need milk,” she jutted her chin out, “for my after-dinner tea.”

“You couldn’t say something like three hours ago?” you blinked.

“I could have but I didn’t,” she snickered. You rolled your eyes and she took another forkful of penne and filled in another line on her puzzle, “ah, no hurry, girlie, you know I’m patient.”

“Patient? You?” you chuckled as you took your plate and shoved it in the microwave to keep it warm. The ancient thing had a dial and the door stuck, “I’ll just go get it over with.”

“Don’t forget your mitts,” she called after you as you tramped into the front room, “it’s cold.”

You pulled on your knitted cap and matching mitts. You zipped up your parka and shoved your feet into the deep boots. You grabbed your wallet and buried it in the spacious pocket. You bounced out the front door and down the steps as the sky sent down another coat of powder for the night.

You went up White Forge Street and through the short path behind the diner that led to the main road. You glanced over at The Asp, the beacon of the dull town, and turned towards the grocer. Like anywhere in Birch, the store was outdated and stuffy. It felt like stepping into another time with the paper bags and chunky tills.

You went down the center aisle and stopped at the fridge to search through the frosted glass. Your nan only drank whole milk and the last time you carelessly grabbed skim, she whined that even Pippin wouldn’t drink it. She was particular but that was just her nature. You couldn’t say you were any less fussy in some instances.

You grabbed a jug and the door slapped closed against the worn rubber seal. You headed up the candy aisle and brushed your woolly thumb over your chin as you considered gummy bears or Reeses’ Pieces.

“Hard choice?” The deep voice jolted you.

You snatched the box of chocolate and looked over at the man in leather, his chin tucked down behind the collar as snow dusted his shoulders.

“Sure,” you said as you brushed past him.

The cut of the leather told you he was better not entertained. While you thought the men amusing, you weren’t stupid enough to engage with them. You rarely listened to your grandmother but she was wise in her own way. 

You knew a girl in highschool, she was fucking around with one of the club men in her junior year, she ended up with a baby and no support. You didn’t think he was into you that way but he could hardly have innocent intentions.

“How’s the old lady?” Clayton asked as he rung in your order at the end of the belt, you moved along with the groceries and pulled out your wallet.

“The usual, you know? She’s tryna quit again. Don’t know how long it’ll last.”

“Oh yeah? I’ll keep a carton aside for her,” he kidded as you felt your phone vibing in your back pocket.

“Don’t encourage her,” you swiped your card and punched in your pin, “although I don’t know what’s worse; the smoke or her sucking on those mints all the time.”

“Oh, it’s not the bitchin’?” he laughed.

“That, too,” you scooped up the paper bag and put your wallet away, “have a good one.”

As you came to the end of the first counter, you were nearly cut off by the club member as he swept around from till two. His own purchase of a car magazine and jerky was tucked under his arm.

“Ah, sorry,” he smiled, a sparkling smile, almost charming.

“No worries,” you continued on and he followed close behind.

“Those mitts look real warm. ‘Specially in this weather,” he said as you pushed open the door.

“Uh huh,” you kept on as your boots crunched out into the snow.

“You know where I can get a pair. Leather isn’t exactly thermal, you know?”

“These? My nan made ‘em. I’m sure Clayton got some hung up back there,” you looked across the street as you stepped up onto the ledge of snow between the sidewalk and the road.

“Am I bothering you?” he asked.

You looked at him dumbly and almost laughed in his face. You glanced back across the street then down towards The Asp.

“Sorta,” you answered.

“Make you a deal. Leave ya alone for your name.”

You eyed him. He was older than you like many of the Commandos. At least a decade, likely more than that. You chewed on your hesitation and cradled the bag more firmly against your side. His eyes strayed as he tried to see through the thick layer of your coat.

“Nah, I’m not s’posed to talk to strangers,” you said and hopped off onto the road.

You heard him behind you as he struggled to follow and as you came up to the other side, he came parallel with you and kept stride with you easily.

“I know you’re young but you’re not a kid,” he intoned, “what’s the harm in a name?”

“It’s a small town,” you stopped short of the end of White Forge, “I think I know enough about you to avoid you.”

“Oh ho, is that it? Well, I’m Sam, I’m not a stranger now, am I?”

“Not interested, Sam. Sure there’s women your own age over at the bar,” you nodded behind him.

“You wanna come see? Maybe have a drink?” he gave a crooked grin.

“You don’t give up, do you?” you shook your head, put off by his forwardness.

“Well?”

“Not tonight, Sam,” you turned around and headed down White Forge.

“Then what night?” he asked but you didn’t answer and he didn’t follow.

You turned down onto your street and refused to look back in case. It would be best not to mention the run-in to your nan, she was paranoid enough as it was. Besides, you’d forget about it by the end of next week.

[imaginesfordifferentfandoms]

It's Going To Be You

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Prompt - I knew I did from that first moment we met. It was…not love at first sight exactly, but - familiarity. Like: oh, hello, it’s you. It’s going to be you.

—————————————————–

Spencer Reid knew from the moment he laid eyes on you that you were something else, he could tell from one glance that you would change his life. No words needed to be exchanged for the man to be completely and utterly taken by you. He watched as you walked through the door, though your head was held high, shoulders pushed back giving the impression of complete confidence, he saw the way you fiddled with the strap of your bag with one hand. When he looked at your other hand he could see your forefinger picking at your thumb, clearly a nervous habit. He watched as you looked around the room, watched as Rossi made his way over to you, guiding you over to Hotch’s office with a smile.

“Down, pretty boy.” Derek grinned as Spencer startled, his head snapping around to face Derek just as you entered Hotch’s office. “I’ve never seen that look on your face and you don’t even know her name.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Spencer replied, cringing at how unconvincing he sounded.

He turned away from Derek and tried to focus on his paperwork but he could stop his eyes from straying over to the closed office door every few minutes much to Derek and Rossi’s amusement.

“Who is she anyway?” Derek asked.

“She’s lucky number ten,” Rossi told them, smothering a smile as Spencer looked over, “who knew finding another agent would be so difficult.”

“Wait,” another voice interrupted, “there’s a new person here? Is she nice? Why is that always my first question?” The group laughed as Penelope quizzed Rossi.

“Listen, I know as much as you people.” He said and before anyone else could speak Penelope was being handed a folder causing them all to groan.

-

“Agent Hotchner?” You asked as you were granted access to the office.

Hotch stood as you walked in, moving around his desk to hold a hand out to you.

“Yes and you’re Y/F/N Y/L/N, I presume?” He asked, smiling slightly at you as you nodded, still fiddling with your bag. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, please have a seat.”

“Thank you sir.” You smiled, taking a seat in the offered chair watching as he made his way back behind his desk.

“Your supervisor spoke very highly of you when I spoke with him, your success rate is impressive.” Hotch praised, glancing down at the file in front of him. “Your latest case seemed rather difficult, are you sure you’re ready to be back in the field again?”

“I passed all my psychiatric exams, I was cleared to return.” You told him stiffly.

“I’m aware of your results, I just want to be sure you’re ready. Infiltrating yourself into the life of Douglas Miller couldn’t have been an easy feat.” Hotch watched as a look of satisfaction took over your face.

“I’m ready, sir.” You told him, relaxing slightly. “It was a tough case, I’ll be the first to admit that seeing what I saw had an impact but I can do this.”

Hotch smiled at you before closing the folder.

“I believe you,” he said, “I think you’ll be a valuable addition to this team.”

The words were what you were hoping to hear, you’d wanted a job with the BAU for longer than you could remember but you paused. Surely it wasn’t that easy, right?

“Wait? That’s it?” You asked.

“That’s it.” Hotch confirmed, fighting back a smile at your expression.

“But- but I’ve been here less than five minutes.” You countered back, there were so many emotions going on within you that you felt slightly overwhelmed.

“Y/N, ever since your name was put forward I looked into your work and I was impressed. Your skills at undercover work are far above what I’ve seen in a long time, that alone would be an incredibly useful assest to the team but on top of that your ability to connect and empathise with unsubs, fast thinking and your profiling skills- trust me, you deserve this job and I have complete faith in you.” Hotch’s words had left you speechless, you had no clue how to respond but thankfully you didn’t have to as the door was pushed open and both you and Hotch turned to look at the brightly dressed woman in the doorway.

“I’m sorry to interrupt sir but we have a case.” The woman said and Hotch stood gesturing for you to follow.

“You have a to go bag?” He asked as you both walked out the door.

“Yes sir.” You nodded, still baffled by how well things had gone.

“Good, welcome to the team Y/L/N.”

-

“Everyone, this is SSA Y/F/N Y/L/N. I’m sure proper introductions can be made later.” Hotch said as the two of you entered the room before gesturing to Garcia that she could begin.

“Ok, yes, so, we have five bodies so far found in Wyoming. The first two bodies were hidden amongst some trees close to firehole bay. The ME presumes that the time of death was mostly likely a week ago but we should have full confirmation when you arrive. The victims, who we haven’t been able to identify yet, but I am working on it, were stripped completely and the wounds, that are in your files because I so do not need to see that, show heavy signs of torture. ” Garcia informed you all.

“The next body was a single male, again stripped and tortured and the ME says this death is most likely four to five days old. This body was found a few miles away from Basin Bay Point campsite.”

“Wait a second,” somebody interrupted, causing you to turn your head. There sat a man, younger than the rest of the team, he was…how you had missed him you didn’t know but now you felt like you couldn’t look away. “If I’m not mistaken those places are roughly twenty miles from each other at walking distance.”

“And driving distance?” An older man asked.

“I don’t think there is a way to drive to Basin Bay Point, especially not to where the body was left.” The younger man replied, looking down at the folder he was given with a frown.

“I’ll have a map ready for you on the plane.” Penelope assured him before continuing. “Now, the next two bodies were the most recent, ME says they were killed a day or two ago and these victims we have been able to identify as Taylor Gomez and her boyfriend Jack Gaskarth.” Penelope said as she brought their pictures up. “They were never reported missing because they had told friends and family they were going camping, which checks out because their bodies were found three miles away from Lewis Lake campground. They show the same wounds as the other vics.” Garcia explained.

You grimaced as you looked down at the tablet Hotch had passed you as you saw a young man and woman, naked with slices all across their bodies, as well as deep bruising to the neck.

“What was the CoD, Garcia?” The younger man spoke up again.

“ME still needs to run a full examination but her best bet is that it was asphyxiation.” She told him with a frown.

“That makes sense, there isn’t a lot of blood or scabbing which suggests they were done post mortem.”

“So what,” you spoke up, pausing for a moment when everyone turned to you, “the unsub blitz attacks the victims and kills them before torturing them? What’s the point in that?”

“It could be a number of things actually. Perhaps it’s not about the kills for him but more to do with the fascination of the human body, we’ve seen it before where curiosity leads to this kind of attack. It could also be that he has to kill, he has a compulsion to kill and once he’s given into that compulsion he gets to fulfil other urges. If I had to guess I’d say the victims are victims of opportunity-” The younger man rambled, his hands gesturing in front of him as he spoke causing you to smile.

“Because there is no set pattern, he crosses race and gender lines and there’s no secondary location.” You cut off the other man who looked at you with a grin.

“Exactly, the area is so isolated that he can get away with quick and easy killings but because it doesn’t seem like there’s a secondary location yet we have to presume that the torture is a means to satisfy himself when he can’t hold his victims hostage.”

“It’s a long flight and this unsub doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Wheels up in fifteen.” Hotch said as he stood up, everyone was quick to follow until it was just you and the guy you had spoken to left.

“Hi.” He said, causing you to turn around with a smile.

“Hi.”

“I’m Spencer, Spencer Reid.” He introduced himself.

“Y/F/N Y/L/N, nice to meet you.” You replied, reaching out your hand to shake his, your eyebrows pulling together slightly as he shook his head.

“Sorry, I don’t um,” He said, causing you to drop your hand and nod understandingly, “it’s nothing against you, just…germs.” He trailed off, berating himself in his head.

“No problem.” You smiled again, god that smile. Spencer felt his heart race.

“Congratulations on joining the team.” He praised as the two of you walked out of the round table room.

“Thank you, I’ve wanted this for so long.” He watched as the smile fell from your face before you shook your head slightly.

“Is everything ok?” He asked, understanding the nerves. He couldn’t help but glance down, almost smiling as he saw you picking at your thumb.

“Yeah, I’m just, what if I mess up?” You couldn’t help but ask. After wanting this job for as long as you had, all the hard nights and long days spent training you were finally here and you’d be damned if you screwed everything up.

“You won’t, Hotch wouldn’t have hired you if he didn’t think you were good enough, trust me. I think you’ll be amazing.” He told you, flushing slightly at his own words and the soft smile that replaced the frown on your face.

“Thank you Spencer.” You replied softly and before he could respond the rest of the team was calling for the two of you to head to the air strip.

-

On the plane you were properly introduced to everyone as you took a seat next to Spencer, sitting opposite Hotch and Rossi. On the table in front of you Spencer had both a map of the US and a smaller map of Wyoming. You watched his fingers trace invisible lines as his eyebrows knitted together.

You were trying not to stare, really you were, but there was just something about the man that made you want to get to know him.

Thankfully before anyone noticed your eyes glancing at Spencer every few moments, the man himself spoke.

“Guys, if you map out where the five victims were found,” Spencer began, circling three places on the map as he did, “it looks like the victims might have been hiking the continental divide trail.”

“Pretty boy, isn’t that trail like thousands of miles long?” Morgan asked, watching as Spencer nodded, pushing the little map of Wyoming out of the way for a moment and drawing a line down the map of the US.

“This is the continental divide trail, it’s 3,300 miles long and it’s actually quite difficult to hike. These people had to have been exceptionally fit and healthy which further backs up the theory that these were blitz attacks. You can go days without seeing other people when hiking the trail and most hikers have to give up because of lack of supplies or needing urgent medical care from injuries and illnesses they attract. A part of the Wyoming part of the trail includes a 120 mile stretch of desert with water sources few and far between.” Spencer rambled and you couldn’t help the soft smile, though you did try to hide it behind your hand, glancing away from Rossi when you locked eyes with him and he raised an eyebrow at you.

“So we have a serial killer and 3,300 miles of potential hunting grounds?” JJ asked.

“So far he seems to be focusing on Wyoming, which narrows the geographic profile down to…’ Spencer paused as he pulled the Wyoming map closer to him, “550 miles.”

“I hope you all brought your hiking boots.” Rossi said as groans filled the jet.

“Hello my crime fighters.” Garcia’s voice sounded through the speakers. “Hotch, the families of the latest two victims are at the station waiting for you.”

“Thank you Garcia,” Hotch replied before turning to the team. “JJ, I want you to come with me to the station and help interview the families. We also need to get ahead of the media on this before they start glorifying the unsub. Reid, since the geographic profile is mostly established, I want you to take Y/L/N and head to the latest crime scene. Dave and Morgan, the two of you head to the second crime scene.”

You and Spencer both shared a look at the news you were travelling to a crime scene that couldn’t be driven too. Whilst you managed to pass the FBI’s training and fitness tests you weren’t exactly athletically inclined and seeing from the look Spencer was giving you neither was he.

Judging from the chuckles that filled the plane the others had come to the same conclusion that you and Spencer were not going to recover from this trip.

-

You had driven as close to the crime scene as you could get, which was thankfully closer than the one Morgan and Rossi had to go to. It was still a hell of a hike to get to where the unsub had dumped the bodies.

“Ok, ok,” Spencer panted, cheeks flushed from the heat. “Let’s take a break.”

“Please.” You were quick to agree and the two of you sat down heavily on a fallen tree trunk. You had all been warned that you needed supplies, even for a short hike. So you had both been sent out with backpacks filled with water bottles and food. There were other supplies like maps, compasses and first aid kits that you were hoping you wouldn’t have to use. Thankfully you had been paired with the man with the eidetic memory because you couldn’t read a map to save your life.

After the two of you gulped down some water and caught your breath Spencer spoke up.

“Why the BAU?” He asked suddenly, causing you to look up in confusion.

“Sorry?” You replied.

“You said you had wanted to join the BAU for a long time, why?” He asked again, not pushing you when you paused.

It wasn’t a secret what had happened to your family, Spencer could easily find the information out if he wanted to but you wanted to be the one to tell him. It wasn’t a story you liked sharing with people but something about Spencer made you feel…safe.

“When I was a kid there was a serial killer but he was in the next state over and we were from a small town so nobody thought to worry and after a while things went quiet so everyone just assumed he stopped, you know? Anyway, one day I went to my friend’s house, it was summer and I was always out with my friends. I was there for a few hours but I was always home in time for dinner except for this day, I ended up losing track of time and headed home an hour late. When I got home, my momma was there in the kitchen. She was covered in blood and I just screamed. The rest of my family didn’t make it either. When the police came they said the markings were the same as the victims from the next state over.” You told him, not pausing for breath as you rushed through the story. You watched as his expression fell, his sympathy written on his face.

“I’m so sorry.” He told you and you could hear the sincerity in his tone. You gave him a small smile before continuing.

“I could just never understand why. The thing that kept me up at night was that question: why? Why them? Why did he come here? Why wasn’t I home? Why did I deserve to live? I started researching and somehow came across an article about the BAU, from there I knew I wanted to work there.”

“Most people wouldn’t be able to come back from something like that, especially at such a young age.” Spencer said, causing you to glance over at him. “They’d be so proud of you.”

You couldn’t help but let out what sounded like a chuckle and a sob at those words, causing Spencer’s eyes to widen in fear he had upset you further but then you smile brightly and he couldn’t help but smile back.

“I like to think so.” You said softly. “You ready to continue?” You asked, chuckling as he groaned before standing up.

“I hate Hotch.” Was the grumbled response and the laugh he received in return made every sore bone and the aching feet worth it.

-

“We know that this unsub is a physically fit white male in his mid to late thirties.” Hotch began.

“Looking at the geographical pattern it’s safe to assume that he too is hiking the Continental Divide Trail in search of victims who are isolated from the rest of civilization. He also has no problems taking down two victims.” Spencer continued.

“The period in between kills is lessening so we should expect to find another body soon, have as many officers as possible on the rest of the trail.” You picked up.

“Considering the last kill was two days ago, the average person could walk up to 30 miles a day on normal terrain but we have to consider that the terrain out there is harsh so lets say he walks 20 miles a day that gives up a 40 mile radius he could be in. He is guaranteed to stay on the continental divide trail so stop every male you see.” Spencer told the LEO’s and after some more information was shared everyone headed off in different directions, the BAU members heading into the room they had been given to work in.

“Y/N,” Hotch said, causing everyone to look over at you.

“Yes sir?” You asked, looking up from your laptop.

“You’re probably the most skilled undercover agent in this room,” He said, causing your cheeks to flush and Spencer couldn’t help but smile. “I know this isn’t exactly the type of case you’d usually be assigned but perhaps if we send you out there we have a better chance of catching him. This man is impulsive, if he sees you he won’t be able to control himself.” Hotch explained, ignoring the questioning looks he was getting from most of the team.

You, however, relaxed, thankful that you hadn’t done something wrong. Undercover work was easy, you were comfortable with it, you knew you were good at it. Obviously you weren’t as confident at this part of the job yet, how could you be on your first case, but undercover work? That was your area of expertise.

“Of course sir.” You agreed easily before remembering how fun the small hike to the last crime scene was…your body would not thank you for signing up for a much longer hike.

“Hotch, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Morgan spoke up causing you to frown. Sure they didn’t know you yet but surely your record spoke for itself. “No offence to you,” he said quickly as he turned to you, “it’s just-“

But before he could finish Hotch cut him off, “I have full faith in Y/L/N’s abilities.”

You couldn’t help feeling a swell of pride at Hotch’s words, a man who you looked up to, a man who barely knew you but was trusting you with so much already. You locked eyes with Spencer who smiled at you reassuringly.

“I’m not doubting the kid’s abilities,” Morgan continued, missing the way you rolled your eyes at being called a kid. “I’m just saying maybe don’t send her in on her own on her first case.”

“I’ll go with her.” Spencer spoke up before Hotch could argue back.

Your eyes widened at Spencer’s offer, he did just as well as you did on your first outing and now he was offering to put himself through hours more of that for what?

“Are you ok with that, Y/N?” Hotch asked you.

You didn’t even hesitate to nod, more than happy for the opportunity to spend time with Spencer Reid.

-

“We’ll be close by the whole time,” Hotch told you as he passed you your backpack filled with supplies, “the second we hear something, we’ll be there.” He assured you and you couldn’t help but smile at his concern.

“I’ll be fine, sir. This is actually the part of the job I’m good at.” You laughed, watching as his lip twitched upwards.

“You’ve been a great help in coming up with a profile too.” He assured you and before you could say anything the rest of the team was flooding in.

The plan for you and Spencer to hike up to a specific spot that Spencer had managed to pinpoint the unsub at and set up camp there. From there you would wait and hope for the unsub to appear. The man was impulsive and his need to kill would be overwhelming by now. The two of you were wired up so that if the unsub appeared the rest of the team could step in and help with the arrest.

You and Spencer were dropped off half an hour away from your campsite just so that if the unsub was around he wouldn’t suspect anything.

The walk was mostly silent, both you and Spencer focusing on not breaking an ankle on the uneven terrain when Spencer finally spoke up.

“Morgan didn’t mean anything insulting.” He told you, causing you to pause before shrugging your shoulders and continuing. When you stayed silent Spencer continued, “he’s just protective but sometimes he isn’t really good at showing it and it comes across…”

“It comes across like he thinks I can’t do my job despite this being my forte.” You finished with a huff before sighing. “I’m sorry, I just…you can’t imagine how many times a male colleague has said I can’t do something and then a supervisor has agreed, you don’t understand how hard I have to fight to be given assignments and not have somebody constantly berating me.” You ranted.

“People look at me like I’m a child. When I first joined the BAU nobody would take me seriously, without Gideon I don’t know what would have happened.” Spencer told you quietly, causing you to frown.

“So you can understand why it’s so frustrating that someone who doesn’t know me didn’t even want to give me a chance.” You replied, causing him to nod sadly. ‘I know he probably didn’t mean anything but…”

“You’ve heard that your entire career.” Spencer finished.

“Hotch was the first person to give me a chance without any hesitation.” You told him softly, watching as he smiled at that. “This should be close enough.” You said as you looked around, the place looked similar to the image Spencer had shown the team.

“Please tell me you know how to put a tent up.” You said, watching as his face twisted.

“I know the theory?” The way his response sounded like a question made you smile as you pulled poles and material out of a bag. The two of you staring down at the mess with matching expressions of confusion.

“Now would be a really good time for the unsub to attack.” He muttered, causing you to laugh loudly. Spencer couldn’t help but grin over at you, your cheeks flushing as you caught the expression.

It took longer than either you or Spencer were willing to admit to put the tent up, despite the fact that it wouldn’t get used, you had to make it look like the pair of you were really camping. There was a lot of grumbling, many curse words and a cut or two.

There was also a lot of laughter coming from the comms in your ears causing both you and Spencer to roll your eyes.

Once the tent was up, Spencer lay a blanket down outside of it and sat down, gesturing for you to do the same. Miraculously the two of you got a fire started and as the sun set and the night time air chilled you were thankful for it.

“I don’t camp but I guess I can see the appeal.” Spencer told you as he titled his head back to look up at the stars. You glanced up too, the sky wasn’t totally black yet, more of an inky blue colour and you could see every star on the cloudless night.

It was beautiful and yet you still found your gaze falling back on Spencer.

“Yeah, me too.” You replied softly, your voice quiet so as not to break the peacefulness around you.

Somehow the two of you ended up laying down and looking up at the sky, you had a smile on your face that refused to move as Spencer’s hushed voice told you facts about stars.

“I’m glad you’re on the team.” Spencer whispered after a long pause of silence. It took you a moment to register his words before you turned your head, coming face to face with the man.

“Me too.” You whispered back, meaning the words with your entire being.

Just as Spencer went to say something you heard a rustle in the bushes and locked eyes with Spencer who nodded.

The two of you waited, not waiting to disrupt the operation if it just turned out to be an animal, but as you pushed yourself up on your elbow and discreetly looked around you saw a faint outline of a man. He was hidden behind a tree but he was watching the two of you.

“The hike up here was exactly what we needed.” You told Spencer and through the comms you heard the team moving out.

“You’re right.” He played along, smiling up at you from his reclined position.

Before you knew what was happening Spencer had his gun out and the unsub grabbed you, placing you in front of him as a human shield. If someone asked you, you would never have been able to recall the events that led to you having a knife held to your neck.

You saw the panicked look in Spencer’s eyes but you couldn’t hear his thoughts, they were overwhelming. Thoughts of Maeve passed through his mind as he pleaded with anyone who would listen to let you be ok, he couldn’t lose you too. Hell, he’d only known you a few days and yet he knew you were special, he knew he had to have you in his life. If you died now…

“Just let her go.” Spencer said, keeping his gun trained on the man.

“I let her go, you ship me off to death row.” The man responded, his face close to your face, too close. The smell of his breath had you grimacing.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Spencer responded, not even thinking. He just needed to get you away.

“Spenc, what you doing kid?” He heard Morgan through his ear piece but he just shook his head before shooting you a reassuring smile, trying not to focus on the tears in your eyes or the blood on your neck.

“I’m listenin’.” The unsub replied after a moment of silence, gesturing for Spencer to continue.

“Let her go,” He said, lowering his gun, “I won’t arrest you. You can get a head start before anyone else gets here. Just let her go.” Spencer pleaded.

It was a tense few seconds in which Spencer never took his eyes off you, he hated to see that scared look in your eyes, the fear in them made Spencer ache.

“Let her go.” Spencer said once more and he let out a sigh of relief as you were pushed into his arms.

Just as the unsub ran to leave, you twisted around in Spencer’s arms and drew your own gun, shooting the unsub in the leg. The rest of the team ran in just as the man fell to the ground.

Spencer turned you around so that you were facing him, his hands on your shoulders.

“Are you ok?” He asked, Morgan and Hotch walking over whilst Rossi and JJ dealt with the man.

You didn’t respond with words, instead you wrapped your arms around Spencer. He didn’t hesitate to wrap his own around you, holding you close as you let the tears slid down your face.

You pulled away abruptly, rubbing your eyes as you did.

“Sorry, you don’t like to be touched and here I am-“ You said but Spencer just cut you off.

“It’s fine, really.” He assured you before his attention turned to your neck. The knife hadn’t pierced the skin too badly, there was a small bit of blood where the knife had nicked you when the unsub pressed a bit too hard.

“Are you ok?” He asked again, fingers on your jaw so that he could tilt your face and get a better look.

“Spencer, I’m fine.” You assured him but that didn’t stop him from getting you medical attention the moment you were back in the town.

Spencer watched as you squirmed away from the nurse seeing to you with a soft smile.

There was something about you that made him feel so free, like he could be himself and the thought of losing you…he didn’t want to think about it again.

“You like her.” Derek said as he came to stand next to the younger man.

“That’s ridiculous, I’ve known her for a few days.” Spencer shot back but he knew his friend was right.

“If she’s the right girl, a few days is all you need.” Was Derek’s reply before he walked away, leaving Spencer looking at you with a thoughtful look on his face.

-

The plane ride home was uneventful.

You took the seat next to Spencer again and watched him pull a book out. You couldn’t help but glance down at it, your eyebrows knitting together in confusion as you didn’t recognise the language.

“It’s Russian.” He told you quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone as they settled in for a long flight.

“You read Russian?” You asked just as quietly, watching as he smiled bashfully and shrugged before nodding. You glanced down at the pages again before letting out a small yawn. “Can you read to me?” You asked him, smiling as he nodded again.

“Of course,” He said and with that it wasn’t long before you fell asleep to the soothing sound of Spencer Reid.

-

“Ask her, man.” Morgan said as both he and Spencer watched you leave the office after finishing your paperwork. Spencer too was done and Morgan assured him he’d make sure Hotch received it.

There was only a brief moment of hesitation before Spencer snatched his satchel up and ran to the elevators, getting there just before they shut on you.

“Hey.” He greeted as he stepped in.

“Hi.” You smiled, brushing a piece of hair out of your face.

“I was wondering, I mean if you wanted to, of course you don’t have to, I was only suggesting but I’d really like it if you would,” Spencer rambled before cutting himself out with a groaning causing you to giggle.

“Are you asking me out?” You asked, cheeks flushing as you asked.

“I’m trying to,” he told you, “but I’m not very good at this.”

“Just ask.” You told him softly.

“Would you like to go out with me?” He asked after taking a deep and calming breath.

“I’d love to.” You grinned, thankful that the man had made a move. You wouldn’t have risked asking him on the chance that you were reading him wrong and he didn’t like you but thankfully he had taken it into his own hands.

“Good. Great. That, that’s great.” He repeated, a soft grin spreading across his face causing you to giggle as the doors opened.

The two of you walked out together and there was a moment of awkward silence before Spencer dipped his head down to kiss your cheek, making your blush even more prominent.

You looked so pretty when you blushed, Spencer thought.

“I’ll call you.” He promised.

“I hope so.” You replied before heading towards your car, when you turned around you saw Spencer still stood by the doors with a smile still on his face. You giggled to yourself but couldn’t stop smiling yourself if you tried.

Spencer Reid was something else and you couldn’t wait to learn everything about that wonderful man.

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 52: Tattoos

When he left the Wizarding World, Harry hadn't thought too much about what would happen to Draco Malfoy after he testified for him at his trial.

If pressed, he probably would have assumed that Malfoy would have continued in his father's footsteps. He would have imagined well tailored suits and robes, long blonde hair, the same aristocratic nose tipped in the air.

So, perhaps his jaw all but hitting the floor when he saw the other man for the first time in five years was understandable.

And it wasn't the fact that he was walking into the muggle bar that Harry worked at that shocked him, it was the fact that Malfoy had trimmed his hair short on the sides and left the top long; it was that he'd dyed it hot pink.

It was the fact that his left arm had a muggle tattoo covering the dark mark that had once been there with beautiful, bright flowers; new life coming out of death. It was the dragon tattoo peaking out of the collar of his shirt, that Harry guessed, was shaped around his namesake constellation.

It was the loose, black v-neck, muggle t-shirt tucked into skinny jeans that were cuffed just above his ankles. And the three earrings in the cartilage at the top of his right ear.

It was that he looked nothing like the stiff, tidy, pretentious twat that Harry would have envisioned him growing into and it made Harry wonder what else he was wrong about.

Malfoy caught sight of him a few second later and literally froze in place.

"What can I get you?" Harry asked, giving him a little smile.

"Sorry," Malfoy said, cocking his head uncertainly, "You look like someone I used to know."

(Read more below the cut)

And that was fair, too, Harry supposed. He didn't look anything like the scrawny, desperate teen he'd been the last time Malfoy saw him, either. Harry had grown a good six inches since then, his shoulders had filled out, he'd grown his hair long because the curls were less messy that way, he'd grown a beard that he kept short and tidy, and he had a few tattoos of his own. "You look like someone I used to know, too," he replied, "But you can't possibly be the same person that I thought I knew and I'm sure that I'm not quite what you thought either." He tilted his head at Malfoy, "What can I get you?" he repeated.

"What would you recommend?" Malfoy asked as he slid into a bar stool with a touch more caution than Harry liked.

"Do you like sweet drinks?" he asked, "I have this cotton candy drink that we make with cranberry juice and raspberry vodka," then he added, "And cotton candy, obviously."

"That would definitely be something I've never tried before," Malfoy replied with a little smile.

"Done." While Harry was making the drink he said, "So what brings you so far from home?"

Malfoy cocked his head, "I left home ages ago," he said. "Disowned, as a matter of fact."

Harry frowned as he reached under the bar to fetch the cotton candy, "What? Why?"

Harry saw him lift one shoulder casually before having to stick his head into the cupboard below to reach the bag of cotton candy in the back, "Apparently, Malfoys are allowed to make all sorts of mistakes and commit all sorts of atrocities, but being gay was just one step too far for them."

Harry bashed the back of his head against the bar in his haste to stand up, "Wait, you're-?" he started before registering just how badly that had hurt, "Ouch, fuck," he said, rubbing the back of his skull.

"Here," Malfoy murmured, holding out his hand, "Let me."

Harry leaned over and Malfoy gently cupped the back of his head and murmured something under his breath. A moment later a warm, tingly feeling suffused Harry's head and all of the pain disappeared.

"Wow," Harry said, rubbing the back of his skull again and feeling for any tender spots, "That was amazing."

Malfoy shrugged and Harry went back to working on the drink. "I was training to be a healer," he confessed softly so no one would overhear, "But then I had one too many people refuse to let me help them because of-" he broke off and shook his head, "Well you know."

"I'm sorry that happened to you," Harry said with a frown as he slid the drink across the bar. He was about to say more when Ben, one of his regulars, came up to the bar for a refill, "Hold that thought," he said, making his way over to get him another bourbon.

"This," Malfoy said, pointing to the drink Harry had made him when he returned a few minutes later, "Is actually quite tasty, Potter."

He laughed, "No need for the tone of surprise, this has been my job for nearly five years now. And you can call me, Harry," he added.

The corner of Draco's mouth tilted up, "Oh I can, can I?"

Harry nodded, "And I think I'll be calling you Draco."

"Bold of you," he said but he was smiling so Harry didn't take him too seriously.

"Gryffindor," he replied, pointing to himself with a wink. "So tell me about yourself, Draco," he said.

And to his surprise and utter delight, Draco did. He sat at the bar, sipping that martini before switching over to lemonade, all evening, telling Harry about his life and asking questions about Harry in turn.

One things led to another and by the time Harry was getting ready to leave, Harry was really not ready for the night to end.

"Can I walk you home?" Draco asked, apparently he wasn't ready for it to end either.

Harry smiled at him and nodded toward his house, they set off down the street talking about nothing. He only lived a few blocks away and they found themselves standing at the bottom of Harry's steps all too soon.

"Will you punch me if I kiss you?" Draco asked him.

Harry shook his head with a smile he couldn't quite hide, and leaned forward to meet Draco halfway. The moment their lips met, Harry's veins felt like they'd been set on fire. He reached out and clasped the fabric of Draco's t-shirt in his hands and pulled him forward, crashing their bodies together.

"Come inside," Harry begged against Draco's lips.

Draco pulled back, brow furrowed slightly, "You want this? With me?"

"Godric, yes," he groaned. "Please."

The other man gave him a breathless little smile and Harry dragged him up the stairs and straight to the bedroom.

Afterward, Harry got up to order them some pizza and when he returned, Draco was laid on his back on the bed, his pink hair fanned out across the pillow, Harry couldn't help but think that his body looked more gorgeous than any work of art he'd ever seen. And Harry sat up beside him admire him better, "I thought this one was your constellation," he murmured triumphantly, stroking his fingers over the dragon that curled over his collarbone and up his neck.

"Well spotted," Draco said, a smile in his voice.

He brushed his fingers over the snitch on Draco's chest, "I've got one of these, too," he murmured, leaning a bit so Draco can see the snitch he has on his own hip.

"Yes, I noticed," Draco replied, giving him a little smirk, "What does it say under it?"

"I open at the close," Harry said.

Draco hummed, "You'll have to tell me the story sometime."

"I'd like that," Harry told him, surprised to find that it was true since he'd never wanted to talk to anyone about the war. He trailed his fingers over the flower that had been tattooed over Draco's heart. "For your mum?" he asked.

He gave him a sad smile and nodded, "The black narcissus."

"These are for my parents," he told him, pointing to the antlers adorned with lilies along his collarbones.

"What are these ones?" he asked, trailing his fingers over the Marauder's map style footprints on his bicep and shoulder.

"These," he said, twisting to show Draco that they wrapped around his shoulder and onto his back, "are names of the people who have held me up, some of them still living, and others who live on in me." He grinned at him, "I'll show you the map they're modeled after the next time I have it out."

"Do you have any others?"

"Yeah," Harry said, collapsing onto his back so he could show Draco his ankle, "Deathly Hallows on my ankle."

Draco's fingers brushed lightly over his skin and Harry's spine tingled pleasantly.

"Do you have others?" he echoed

He nodded and rolled over onto his stomach and Harry had to hold back a gasp, "Beautiful," he whispered, trailing his fingers lightly over the wings covering Draco's shoulder blades.

"They're to remind me that I am free. I made my choice to fly instead of staying shackled."

"They're beautiful," Harry repeated.

Draco reached back and pointed to his neck and Harry's eyes followed to a compass. "To remind me that I choose the direction of my life from here on out."

"I love that," Harry replied, flopping back down on the bed next to Draco. "I'm planning my next one."

"Oh?" Draco asked, turning his head to the side and resting it on his forearms so he could look at Harry.

Harry nodded, "A constellation as well, Sirius, and wolfsbane incorporated somehow."

"Are all of yours for people, then?"

"Yeah," he replied, about to say more when the doorbell rang. "That'll be the pizza. Do you want to eat in here or in the kitchen?" he asked as he stood up and started looking for a pair of pants to put on to answer the door

"I should go-"

"Draco," he said, leaning in and stealing another kiss, "Stay. Please."

"For how long?" Draco asked.

The doorbell rang again and Harry stumbled into his boxers, "For as long as you want. Stay forever if you like."

And he was surprised to find that he was only half joking.

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

Please go look at this GORGEOUS art by @pato-roldnart. I'm completely in awe of how talented they are. It's just like I imagined it and I am totally in love!

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

Day 51: Parents | Day 53: First Anniversary

[familyfriendlyweed]

late night snaps (quackity x reader)

a/n : before we get into the story, i wanted to thank you all for such support on my first post - i only posted it yesterday, and got a hell lot of likes and reblogs and even gained 23 followers, which is insane for me (or maybe i just don’t know how tumblr works, haha)! anyhow, i’m really happy you guys enjoyed it <3 

 it was 02:37 and you were editing your newest video. you had no idea it would take so long, though! even if you were used to staying up very late, you knew you have to put away your laptop and go get some sleep. 

 saving the video as a draft and shutting your computer off, you started to blindly search for your phone, since your eyes didn’t get used to the darkness yet. finally finding it, you turned it on to set an alarm for the next morning when you suddenly saw a snapchat notification from ten minutes ago. it was from Alex. you curiously unlocked your phone and tapped the little notification to be led straight to snapchat.

idiota : hello mamacita

 your face instantly lit up in a childish smile. you started to type your response eagerly like it wasn’t 2 am and you didn’t have online classes tomorrow. 

 you : why hello there, el señor

 you saw Alex’s silly bitmoji pop up as he started to type.  

 idiota : what is my chica bella doing up so late?

 you giggled, getting comfortable in your bed - this meant a long chatting session on its way.

 you : YOUR chica bella? when did that happen?

 idiota : ANSWER THE QUESTION!!!! >:((((

 you : fine you big baby, i was finishing editing a new video

 idiota : hmm i see, i see

 you : what about you though? u should get some sleep!!! :(((

 Alex’s bitmoji started typing, then stopped for some reason. you lifted your eyebrow at that. then he continued, but it took a while for him to finish.

 idiota : why, i just couldn’t fall asleep when you were on my mind all the time, mi amor

 your cheeks grew red in an instant. you knew you could handle jokes pretty well, but this was quite too much. Alex never got so far as to actually flirt with you.

 you : eh??? what drugs are u on

 idiota : the only drug for me is you mamacita

 you snorted. you had no idea if he was being serious or not, even if the second option was more likely.

 you : literally go to sleep wtf

 idiota : i’d sleep better if you were by my side ;)

 this was enough for you - you felt as if you got one more message like this from him, you’d die from the hotness in your cheeks. setting your phone down, you made your way to the bathroom before bed.

 you came back five minutes later, only to see your phone full of notifications from Alex. your heart was thumping really hard, you weren’t used to this, but you opened snapchat anyway.

 idiota : mamacita?

 idiota : ....

 idiota : mamacita, don’t joke w me like that

 idiota : did you really just leave me on read wtf

 idiota : i’m sad come back :(((

 and at last, there was a snap from him. you were quite scared at this point. with a shaking hand, you opened it.

 you laughed so hard that you seriously thought you’ll have a seizure. still laughing, you snapped a selfie with a cute filter on (you really thought you looked horrible at the moment), captioned it with “your chica bella had to take a piss u simp” and sent it to Alex.

 he opened the snap almost imediatelly and started typing afterwards :

 idiota : mamacita!!!! you look hermosa!!!!

 you : that’s because i have a filter on lmaoo

 idiota : mamacita don’t let yourself down, you are so beautiful :((

 you started to text a sarcastic reply, but stopped. for some reason, Alex seemed like he was being truthful. he wasn’t joking around when he called you beautiful, that was too affectionate.

 you : ...really?

 idiota : si, si! <3

 you tugged at your lip in a thinking manner. true, you had feelings for Alex, but you never thought he had something similar to you. or maybe... maybe he was just supporting you as a friend. figuring that was probably it, you texted :

 you : thank you quacker B]] ur also v handsome

 idiota : mamacita likes me!!!!!😍😍😍

 you smiled sadly. Alex was definitely playing around. you got lost in thought for a few moments, thinking about how would he act if he was actually in love with someone. would he, perhaps, be more mature? that would be very weird to look at.

 finally coming back to planet Earth, you looked at your phone only to see that Alex has written a shit ton of messages again :

 idiota : i want to see you, mamacita

 idiota : it’s fine if u don’t want to, you’re probably going to sleep anyway...

 idiota : but maybe let’s meet tomorrow?

 idiota : mamacita?

 idiota : ....

 idiota : i’m coming over <3

 your heart gave a leap of embarassment and surprise. why would he even say that?

 you : wait what

 you : wdym “i’m coming over”

 you : no tf ur not

 you : go to sleep

 idiota : doesn’t mamacita want to see muah???

 you : no, that would be awesome, but you should go to sleep, really :(

 idiota : y/n, i already told you, i can’t sleep when you’re on my mind

 you froze in spot, staring at your screen for what felt like an eternity. did he just call you by your name? you knew he only says it in serious situations. deciding to change your tactic, you started texting seriously :

 you : are you like... for real now?

 you : because i know you call me by my name in serious situations, but maybe it’s only a prank, so just answer me truthfully, okay?

 Alex started typing, it took even longer that before, but at last you saw his message, this time without caps, spammed question/exclamation marks, nothing silly at all :

 idiota : i am serious, y/n. believe me, this is not a prank. i just really wanna see you. 

 your heart skipped a beat or two, your face renewed its redness. you felt as if you were dreaming.

 you : okay... i’m really glad. come over, please

 idiota : thank you so much

 you started pondering in your head - how did this happen? how did this silly conversation turn out like this? 

 but what if Alex texted you because he wanted to come over in the first place? after all, he knew how shitty your sleep schedule was. that would be awesome, you thought, a small smile dancing on your lips.

 you checked the snap map only to see Alex about 100 meters from you. wait... what? 100 METERS??? was Alex near your place the moment he texted you for the first time?

 you jumped up, starting to tidy up your messy room up, only to remember you look like poop at the moment - hair messy, face tired, clothes scrunched. 

 exhaling heavily, you tried to change your appearance quickly - you ran into the bathroom, brushing your hair panickily. then you wrenched the makeup bag open and started to rummage through it trying to find some mascara or something...

 ding ding! 

 you froze, your eyes widened. he was already here, what the hell?!

 you quickly put on some mascara, ran into the hallway while brushing your face with your hands from stress (completely forgetting you have mascara on, somehow) and unlocked the door.

 Alex’s figure was dark, since the lightbulb in the corridor wasn’t working, and it almost gave you a fright. but as soon as he engulfed you in a warm hug, the tension in the pit of your stomach vanished. you hugged him back almost unsurely, but smiling.

 “hello, mamacita”

 you giggled. for some reason, you got the strongest urge to cry. probably from happiness, but it still was confusing to you. nevertheless, tears started running down your cheeks, mixing with mascara, probably making you look like you were going to a halloween dress up party. 

 “hey, why are you crying?” Alex asked, brushing a strand of hair from your face.

 “i look horrible.” you laughed, wiping your tears away.

 “nooo, why won’t you listen to me? i already told you you’re beautiful.” he said with a cute pout. 

 “alright, alright, i’m very beautiful, let me down now.” you said, noticing that he was still holding you in his arms tightly. 

 “whatever the chica bella says.”

 he put you down.

 “aren’t you going to turn on some light? i feel like i’ve gone blind!” Alex exclaimed jokingly and you giggled.

 “i’m like a bat, i hate much light, sorry. buuuut i could turn on this little lamp.” you said, making your way to your desk and turning on a cute little lamp the shade of warm pink.

 “perfect.” Alex said, eyeing you in light now. you thought he’ll make a comment about your awful mascara-stained face, but he said nothing, just smiling and looking at you in awe, like you were some princess in a ball dress instead of a tired college student in messy shorts, an oversized t-shirt and two different socks, because you couldn’t find a pair of the same ones.

 “perfect.” he repeated, shrugging with a smile on his face, like seeing you was everything he needed.

 you laughed and hugged him, muttering a “thanks for coming”. Alex didn’t hesitate and also hugged you, holding you as close as possible, as if he let go of you, he’d drown and would never come back to be by your side again. 

 little did you know, he felt the exact same way.

[darling-i-read-it]

Comfy

Karl Heisenberg x reader

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: injury, cussing

Author’s Note: I hope you like this babes! Karl my beloved omg, slight re8 spoilers

Requested: by anon, Ooooo requests? Maybe? Idk it says open so I shall ✨request✨. M’kay, so I’m thinking that Karl has a gf that likes soft things (blankets, sweaters, pillows, pjs, that kind of stuff) and small enclosed spaces, so Karl makes a small-ish room for her to put all of her stuff in and cuddle up to for when she’s cold/wants to relax. Like she has a switch and a tv and wifi- it’s like a soft man cave but for her and Karl. Anyway, Ethan is looking for baby and comes across her room and tries to hide in it, not knowing she’s IN there and asleep. He gets in there, notices the blankets and pillows and accidentally steps on her ankle, which HURT and makes her scream. Karl hears said scream and comes barrelling over in protective bf mode to beat Ethan up. It’s up to you whether gf goes “oi don’t be mean he’s looking for his baby” or not

Summary: the request

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director/creator

(not my gif)

“I just think that it couldn’t be that hard for you to make a small place, hidden away.” Your voice didn’t carry far in the small room but it didn’t have to. You had a blanket over you as you sat up at the edge of the bed. Karl was walking back and forth around the room as he grabbed things to start his day. “You’re very good with your hands,” you said pleasantly. He pointed at you.

“You’re right about that.”

“Come on Karl. Just a small place. You can use it too if you want to run away for a minute.” He stopped in front of you, the first time he had stopped in a couple of minutes. You looked up at him and he looked down at you, caressing your cheek. He took a deep breath.

“I will see what I can do.” You grabbed his hand and slid it to your lips, kissing his palm.

“You’re the best.”

“I know.” He paused. “Say it again.”

“You’re the best Karl.” He leaned down and gave you a kiss before backing away to the door.

“You better believe it.”

===

You didn’t bring up your small place for a couple of days, just in case he really didn’t want to do it. You just figured that you could have a small room in the factory that no one but the two of you knew existed so you could finally have some privacy. You could fill it with soft things, blankets, pillows, all of that. And entertainment as well of course.

But he didn’t bring it up and you didn’t want to push it. He had a lot to do during his days and you didn’t want to add more stress.

You were sitting behind him, arms around his waist as he massaged your hands gingerly. You had your cheek pressed flat against his back as you both breathed, telling each other about your days.

“I made it.”

“Huh?”

“I made the room.” You backed up, pulling away from him. He had to turn because he wanted to know what your expression was. He was very pleased to find an overjoyed look.

“You aren’t messing with me are you?”

“No. Maybe. No, I’m not. I finished it earlier today, do you want to see it?” He had a goofy look on his face, like you wouldn’t want to see it.

“I would love to see it!”

He grabbed your arm and dragged you out of bed. You were allowed to walk around the factory but it still left you dizzy after walking around too long. Karl had given you a map and you had been around enough to know where you were going but there was still so much going on.

Fortunately Karl didn’t walk far as he led you down a hallway with a dead end.

“Not too far from the room so you won’t get lost,” he said condescendingly. You shoved him but he just smiled his little sarcastic smile at you. He kicked at the wall and a door opened just a little bit. You watched as he moved the very small door open to reveal a small cubby hole of a room. It was tall enough to fit the both of you which was preferred so you could both get in and out. There were blankets inside, along with things to entertain yourself.

You clapped your hands and fell onto the comfy ground, landing on a stuffed animal, pillow and blanket. You grabbed his hand.

“Come here, lay with me.”

“Maybe later kitten, I gotta get back to work,” he told you, leaning against the door frame.

“Well at least shut the door. We don’t want our little secret getting out or else Mother Miranda will find us here as well.” He rolled his eyes and stepped inside, careful not to smush anything with his work boots. You grinned as the door shut behind him. “Five minutes,” you whispered.

He let out an annoyed sigh despite not being annoyed in the slightest.

“Five minutes.”

You pulled him down to lay with you and started to explore the small place that he had built for you.

=====

All Ethan Winters knew at this point was running away from danger. He was always exhausted when the adrenaline wore out and he was sick and tired of having to find hiding spots.

That being said, he was currently looking for a hiding spot to guard him away from the horrors of this factory.

Breath heaving, he stopped running as he came to a hallway with a dead end. He turned around, hearing the horrific sounds of something or someone gaining on him. He put his back against the wall and then fell through it, surprised to land on a pleasant cloud of pillows and blankets. Realizing that this was a room he quickly shut the door with his foot so that no one would be able to find him in here.

He held his gun in his hand and put his back against the wall, looking around feverishly. The rooms were tall but the width was very very small, just enough space for maybe two people if they were really close to each other. Blankets covered the ground, making lumps and lumps of comfort.

Ethans eyes narrowed in confusion. Had he made it outside of the factory? This definitely didn’t look like Heisenbergs doing.

You opened your eyes slowly at someone landing on your feet. Naturally you figured it was Karl so you didn’t even raise your head much as you waited for him to search the blankets to find you. As you woke up from your sleep you heard the unfamiliar breathing of someone you did not recognize.

Your eyes snapped open and your heart started to beat quickly. You stayed still but the person stood up, standing very harshly on your ankle which must have twisted it or something but it hurt like a motherfucker. You yelped and sat up, eyes narrowing in on Ethan Winters, who you recognized from some pictures. He held the gun up to you but didn’t shoot, thank God.

“Hey hey hey!” you yelled, hands up. “I’m unarmed.” He looked terribly confused and didn’t lower his gun at all. You yanked your leg back to you and moved the blankets aside to see that your ankle was twisted in some kind of way. You couldn’t even tell what he had done but his boots were heavy and so was his step.

“Who are you?” he asked, breath not slowing down to an even pace.

“Y/N. You’re Ethan yeah? You stepped on my ankle!” He lowered his gun to your ankle to look and agreed, it did not look good.

“Listen I’m sorry I’m just trying to get out of-”

The door swung open causing you both to jump in surprise.

Karl stood there, big hammer in his hand as he looked between you and Ethan. He quickly surveyed the situation and noticed you holding your ankle. One look and he could tell, Ethan had done something to it.

Ethan raised his gun to Karl, annoyed he hadn’t been able to catch a break.

Karl felt his anger bubble in his chest at the sight of you hurt. He moved forward, grabbing Ethan by the shirt and lifting him in the air.

“You think you can just come into my factory and hurt Y/N of all people?” he sneered, voice deadly. Ethan had always heard a kind of sarcastic tinge to his voice but right now he was deadly serious. It sent a chill down his spine.

You stood up, using the wall to anchor you and gingerly holding your foot up above the ground to not put pressure onto it. You put a hand on Karls arm.

“He didn’t mean to. I’m sure you have plenty of other things to crucify him for but take it out of my room.” Karl didn’t even look over at you. You and Ethan met eyes and he weighed his options on trying to get sympathy out of you. He decided he probably could’t, not with Heisenberg right there.

“I’ll be right back,” Karl muttered. He took Ethan by the shirt and threw him out the door, following close behind. You looked down at the boot prints on your blankets and sighed.

====

Karl wasn’t gone more than 20 minutes and he came rushing back to you. He hated feeling so vulnerable, knowing people had the ability to hurt him so easily through you. He opened the door to your little room and started to panic when he saw you weren’t there.

He turned around, walking swiftly, trying not to act like he was panicked, back to yours and his room. You sat on the bed, some of the blankets from the tiny room on the ground. You had a first aid kit on the bed beside you as you attempted to bandage yourself up. It looked like you were failing.

“Where the hell did you go?” he asked and he meant for it to sound angry but it came out sounding more worried. You gestured to the blanket pile.

“Needed to clean the blankets. And also wrap this ankle up. Where’s Ethan?”

“Taken care of.” He kneeled in front of you and grabbed the wrap from you. He fumbled with the first aid kit. “How do you feel? Broken? Should I cut it off?” You scoffed.

“Maybe you should. It hurts like a motherfucker.”

“Well let’s get it wrapped and see how it does.” You nodded and let his fingers work their magic. When he was done you grabbed his hands.

“Thank you Karl.”

“I’m sorry he found you. I thought I hid it well enough.”

“It was an accident, don’t worry about it.” He nodded and you kissed his forehead with a smile. “Now go wash those blankets. Those are your boot prints, mister.” He wrapped his arms around your waist and laid down on the bed beside you.

“No, but thank you for asking.”

“Pff if you weren’t comfy I would kick you out right this very second.”

[vngelis]

You're going to play now - Shigaraki Tomura

Pairing: Shigaraki Tomura x fem!Reader

Summary: Quirkless!AU. Your boyfriend will give you the attention you want but don't you dare lose his progress in his game.

Content warnings: NSFW. Minors DNI. Fingering. Edging. Praise kink. Pet used as a pet name. OOC Shiggy.

A/N: I wanted this to be slight praise kink but no lo logré lol, sorry for the extremely ooc Shiggy that I created. Also my brain stopped working and forgot how English works so the writing is probably trash.

WC: 2.1k+

Masterlist

You look up from your phone and see the same you’ve been seeing for the past three hours; Your boyfriend sitting in front of the screen of his computer playing that stupid war game. You sigh. You were absolutely bored.

“I’m bored.” You say, with the hope that he will give you attention now.

“Yeah.” Was his only answer. You sigh again.

You let your phone fall in his bed, where you were laying and push yourself up, stretching your back and arms and letting out a satisfied moan, Shigaraki didn’t hear or he just didn’t care, the later was most likely. You started walking in his room, observing the few things he had. A couple of action figures in his shelves, one poster so old that it looked like a blank paper, some clothes in the floor and a mirror. You paused in front of the mirror and looked at yourself. Today you had put a little more effort in your appearance, with the hope that that guy who was ignoring you paid you a little attention.

You brushed your hair with your fingers and huffed, letting your arms fall at your sides.

You looked at him and walked the four steps it took you to stand behind his chair and made eye contact with the back of his head for five second before taking a hold of his hair and pulling it so his head was inclined against the head rest. He locked eyes with you with an annoyed expression on his face.

The both of you opened your mouth to say something but were interrupted by some shooting sounds and a change of colors in the computer screen.

A banner that said “you were killed” appeared in the middle of the screen.

“I was going for a flawless victory, pet.” He said with such a monotonous voice that it made you shudder a little.

“Sorry.” You said. He rolled his eyes and tried to look at the screen again to continue his game, but you pulled at his hair again. He groaned annoyed.

“What?” He asked harshly.

“I’m bored.” You repeated your sentence from minutes ago. He rolled his eyes and sighed, after looking at you for like ten seconds he sighed one more time before pulling his chair back. You smiled, thinking he was going to stand up and finally spend time with you, but he just took your hand that was still on his hair and pulled you until you were standing in front of him but facing the screen. All this while muttering something along the lines of “So fucking annoying.”

“What ar-“ You were interrupted as his hands on your waist pushed you down into his lap.

“Grab this.” He handed you the joystick and started pointing at some buttons. “This one is to aim, this one to shoot. This one right here is to move and this one is to recharge.”

“What do you m–” You tried to say again, but your boyfriend interrupted you once more.

“You’re going to play.” He said, with a firm voice.

“Oh...okay?” You pressed the button to resume the game and slowly and insecurely started moving where you thought you had to.

“You’re going the other way.”

“Shit, sorry”. You chuckled nervously and started to move the other way.

“You better not lose.” He said lowly as his thumbs stroked your waist. “Or I'll be really pissed.” You gulped.

As soon as he finished speaking someone started shooting your way. You clumsily aimed where you thought the shots were coming from, when you spotted an opponent you pressed the bottom without thinking.

Headshot.

“Oh my god, look!” You squealed happily. His hands in your waist gave a short squeezed before descending to your hips, where they squeezed again. He leaned his head against your shoulder to have a better view.

“Good girl.” He praised softly in your ear, making your face heat up. “You better not lose.” He repeated as his hands went even lower, reaching your thighs and going under your skirt.

“Sh–Shiggy.” You muttered nervously, looking down at his hands. He pinched your thigh lightly, just enough to keep you looking up.

“Eyes on the screen.” He said firmly, returning his hand under your skirt. ''You wanted my attention, now you have it. Don’t lose.”

You looked up and continue to roam the area, searching for other opponents. Hard task with his hands slowly approaching your panties tho.

Not long after, you noticed someone looking away from you. You aimed and shot, this time it took you two shots, but you managed to kill them anyway.

“You’re really good at this.” He murmured, kissing your temple at the same time his fingers grazed the edge of your panties. “Maybe I should had let you play sooner.”

“Maybe you should had.” You murmured back. He scoffed pinching your inner thigh again, making you squeal.

“Don’t get cocky.” You let out a little giggle at the same time you killed someone who started to shot your way. This time his fingers grazed softly over your clothed clit. You shuddered and Tomura laughed softly. “Keep playing.” He murmured in your neck before giving a small kiss.

His fingers started to rub against you more firmly now. You let out a choked moan as your legs tried to close but he avoided that putting each one of your legs over one of his, keeping them spread. You tried to kill another one, but you missed and they managed to escape. Tomura let out a discontent groan and his fingers left you and rested on your thighs again. “N-no. Don’t stop.”

“Keep playing then.” Was his only response.

You started searching for more opponents slightly desperate so he could be happy and return his touch, but you couldn’t find anyone. “Where the fuck is everyone?” You muttered lowly. He lightly chuckled behind you.

“Look in the small map in the bottom left, the red dots.” He guided you. You looked at the map and started running to where the nearest dot was. Aim and shot. Another kill.

“Yeah, that’s more like it.” He praised as he moves your hair from the side of your neck so he can start leaving open mouth kisses there. One of his hands went up your shirt and started stroking your navel as he continues kissing your neck, the other one rest over your clothed clit again, without enough pressure to get you off but enough so you know his hand is there.

You killed one more and you started to get more confident in the game, starting to get the hang of it, and without the touch of your boyfriend you could starts to get focused. But without your cute sounds and reactions, he was the one that started to feel neglected.

His hands went to your underthighs and roughly pulled them even more separated, your eyes waver between the screen and what his hands were doing, but some shootings made you keep your focus on the game. You started to shoot back but failed. At least the other person failed too and you manage to escape. When another group of people came near your position your boyfriend pulled your panties to the side and made direct contact with your slit.

“Fuck, you’re already so wet.” He whispered as he dragged his fingers up to your clit.

“Shit, I can’t concentrate like this.” You cried out and blindly shoot around you, surprisingly killing two of them.

“Too bad. Try.” He used your slick to push one finger inside of you and you let your head fall against his shoulder. “Hey, hey, eyes on the screen, you are doing good, don’t stop now.” The hand that was on your navel went up to your jaw, positioning your head straight.

“You say it like it’s easy.” You said in between moans.

“You were the one crying for my attention, now deal with it.” He finished his sentence with a pinch in your clit and a squeeze at the bottom of your neck, making you moan.

He moved his fingers down your slit again and this time pushed two digits inside of you, he groaned as you squeezed around them. “So tight.” He muttered against your neck again.

His fingers started to drag against your walls just like he knew you like it and your eyes fell shut for a couple of seconds, enough seconds for the other players to find you and kill you. Your eyes opened immediately when Tomura stopped the movement of his fingers inside of you.

“You can only die three times per mission before it makes you start from the damn beginning. Don’t you dare lose all my fucking progress.” He says with a low and threatening voice. “You only have one life left.”

“Yes, sorr-Ah!” You’re interrupted with the touch of his other hand’s fingers in your clit. “No! Tomura! Too much! I’m going to lose” You squeaked as one of your hands left the joystick to grab at his wrist,

“Both hands on the controller.” He warned without slowing his movements. You loosened your grip and bring your hand up again while your legs began to shake.

Both of his hands started to move in that complex synchrony that you never manage to do on your own and your moans got louder. Your hips were bucking down into his, your grinding making your boyfriend moan underneath you. “Fuck, don’t- Look, look at the screen. Focus.”

Even though he could easily get lost in just your movements on top of him, his hands never falter, and you began to feel your climax approaching.

“Shiggy, I- I can’t.” You whined trying to keep all your focus away from his fingers inside you.

“Yes, you can, look how far you managed to get. You’re doing. So. Good.” Every word is emphasized with a deep trust of his fingers, aimed at that one spot inside of you that makes you cry in pleasure. “You’ve been doing so good, I know you can manage a couple of minutes more.”

“Yeah.” You cried. “I can.” With that you killed one more person in the game, winning a kiss in the temple from your boyfriend.

“Good girl.” He whispered in your ear, and that caused you to clench around his fingers, making him groan. That sound brought you even closer to your orgasm.

“Fuck, don’t say shit like that.” You whined, making him laugh softly. “I want to cum.”

“Not yet.” You whined once more. “Come on, keep being my good girl and kill one more.”

You half conscious started to search for more players so you can make Tomura happy. You killed one more, and you won one more kiss on your temple, at the same tame his movement sped up, your moans and whines getting louder.

“I’m gonna cum.”

“Look, there’s 30 seconds left, just hold it. You’re always so good for me, I know you can.” His words were not helping you, nor did the fact that his movements sped up even more. “Just don’t die, okay? There’s still 15 seconds.”

“I-I can’t.”

Once the chronometer in the screen got to 10, your boyfriend started to count with it. You were trying so hard not to cum before you were allowed, but his fingers just felt so good.

“Three, two, one. That’s it, you can cum now, pet. It wasn’t that hard, was it?” He murmured in your ear. His word fell in deaf ears as you felt like you fainted once you let it go. You were letting out moan after moan. Your legs were shaking over Tomura’s and your hips couldn’t stop grinding against your boyfriend’s hands. He couldn’t help to slightly buck his hips up into your ass.

“Fuck.” You sighed once you started to get your senses back.

Shigaraki took his fingers out of you slowly and you hissed because of the sensitivity. He started to stroke your still shaking thighs with his still slightly wet fingers. “Did you like the game?”

“I mean- Yeah?” You said unsure, you just killed people after all, didn’t know shit about the game itself. “I did’t catch anything of the story, that if it even has one.” You glared at him accusingly.

He ignored you and tapped you legs, signalizing for you to stand up. You complied and smiled at him when he also stands up. It instantly disappears when he makes you sit again, this time alone.

“What happened?”

“Read what is says in the screen. There’s still four missions lefts.” He starts kneeling in front of you. “Now maybe you’ll understand a little more about the game.” Shigaraki smirks as he pulls your legs over his shoulders. “Remember, don’t lose my progress.”