#i was trying to check back in on the prisoner and wandered too close to her sermon

[bumblewarden]

a chantry priestess cornered the ragged elven warden (who had just returned from the wilds teeming with darkspawn after most of camp had lied down for rest) with dark bags under his eyes who was just trying to mind his own business and got so aggro when he was a little cranky about it, but if she had approached any other time (or better yet not at all), he would've ended it with a polite "i'm busy no thank you" instead

but how pleasant for you that you can slot away the issues of the body you represent as "politics", sister. novhen grew up in a ghetto in diaspora as a direct and intended result of them, jumping over rivers of human sewage and penny pinching for sawdust bread. pardon him if he comes off as ungrateful for it

[hemlock-dreams]

Not me absolutely frothing at the mouth about this AU. Can we get an info dump on the Lore? It's making me want to abandon my current Spideypool WIP for this. Absolutely terminal brainrot for this boy

BEHOLD: MASSIVE LORE DUMP!

Peter B. Parker is a young troublemaker who has a problem with authority. He also has a knack for picking tech apart and putting it back together, which puts him on the radar for a small-time gang that needs someone to act as their alarm system breaker for a big score.

Unfortunately, said score had bad intel and what was supposed to be a simple robbery turns out to be manslaughter when the resulting fire that was supposed to cover up their tracks ends up killing two guards.

Peter is tried as an adult with the rest of the gang and sentenced to Rykers for 5 years.

Check out the full page HERE.

At Rykers, Peter meets Marko Flint, who takes Peter under his wing. and teaches him how to survive and thrive when wearing the orange.

Life goes on for 5 years. He learns the trade, gets some tats, learns how to make some great shivs, and becomes a better criminal all around. Yay prison!

Peter gets out at 21, and reunites with Uncle Ben and Aunt May. He does his best to clean up his act, but normal life is hard for someone who spent their formative years in prison.

(He also makes questionable hair and fashion choices. What can I say, he's catching up!)

He goes from job to job, trying to pay back his aunt and uncle for all their support but is completely unequipped for the 'real world.' After a few months working/getting fired from soul-crushing menial jobs (HS dropout!), he agrees to take 'one last job' with Marko that is 'guaranteed to set them up for life'.

*cough*

This robbery goes off without a hitch! No one is hurt and they make off after hitting a heavily armored Oscorp Transport with a ton of documents/tech that they aim to sell to the highest bidder.

The biggest mystery is that one glowing vial of untested, experimental serum they found...

Unfortunately, Oscorp doesn't take robbery lightly. Marko finds out through contacts that the serum (whatever it is) is too hot to sell on the market, so he instructs Peter to get rid of it so it can't be traced back to them.

Peter, a rational 22-year-old ex-con, 'gets rid of it' by mixing the serum into ink and tattooing it onto his wrist, triggering the start of his mutations.

It takes a bit, but Peter get's all the regular spiderman benefits (webs are organic), plus one more. The serum was created from the venom of the Portia Spider, a hunting/jumping spider known to be uniquely intelligent among arachnids.

Alongside the speed/strength/spideysense, Peter also grows some fangs that secrete a powerful venom.

The venom speeds up the body's processes, working almost like an insane performance booster and enhancing an injected person's strength, speed, and senses for a few hours.

Unfortunately, repeated doses also eventually induce shock, paralysis, and, later, death.

He gives a few samples of it to Marko as an exit fee.

Uncle Ben was suspicious of how Peter suddenly got so much money, but took him on good faith. But, while he was watching the news that covered the Oscorp robbery, connected the dots and had a blowout fight with Peter that ended with him having a cardiac event.

Unfortunately, he did not survive.

Aunt May and Peter were estranged over this for several years.

This event crushes Peter, sobering him up immediately. He goes back and gets his HS diploma, and works on night courses in college.

However, he spends much of his days wandering, angry at himself and what he did. He beats up a mugger one day and realizes that he could be using his powers to back up the faith Ben had in him.

Spiderman is born!

Eventually, he and Aunt May reunite, and their relationship is slowly healing.

A few years later, Peter is on the up. He and Aunt May are close again! He's got a bachelor's in computer science, has a (semi) steady job, and is well-liked as Spiderman by the populace at large. His rogue's gallery is roguing- etc.

Unfortunately, a variant of his venom (developed by Kingpin) hits the streets as a drug. It's favored by both criminals for its performance-enhancing strength, as well as civilians, for the time-slowing sensation/high it gives them.

His girlfriend, Mary Jane, who has been sober for a few years, relapses. Peter, knowing that he can't stop her from getting it on her own, reveals his identity and becomes her main source.

At least, this way, he can control the dosage.

Marko (who sold Peter's venom to Kingpin) manages to fire off his only two brain cells and realizes that Spiderman IS Peter Parker.

Then he outs him to the world because Spiderman made it personal.

Peter's life catches on fire. The entire world is after him. His loved ones have to go into hiding because there's no shortage of criminals and psychopaths who want to get their hands on MJ and Aunt May to get to Spiderman.

Peter ceases to exist. It's not safe anymore. He spends days (weeks? months?) in the suit. Eventually, on the run and burnt out, he pleads his case to Dr. Strange in desperation. (Ala No Way Home)

"Everyone deserves a clean start."

Dr. Strange agrees, but the spell can't work with Peter still existing as part of the equation. So it fires him off into a reality where Peter B. Parker, and by extension Spiderman, never existed.

So how's an ex-con/ex-superhero (for now) supposed to carve a space in a world that never knew him? By finding somewhere that doesn't ask any questions.

And it just so happens, that St. Margaret's School for Wayward Children has a reputation for both being a bar of questionable repute and looking the other way.

Might as well start there.

~~~~~~~~~

Thank you so much for this lovely, lovely ask! I hope this massive lore dump wasn't overkill, but I'm having a lot of fun with this world and wanted to share.

And I offer this lore dump ONLY on the condition that you do not drop whatever you're working on. There is always space for more spideypool in the world, don't deprive us!!!

[glennrheesworld]

hello ml!! i was wondering if you could do a carl grimes x reader (she’s maggie and glenn’s adopted daughter) where they reunite at terminus after being separated at the prison (reader got out with maggie) tysm 💗

𝐈 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮~

genre: fluff pairing: Carl Grimes x f!reader summary: Carl and reader reunite after separating at the prison warning: none

a/n: hi anon! i hope this is to your liking 😊 also tysm for 100 followers!

You were no longer living at the prison with the rest of the group. After what the Governor had done to your home, you were alone and lost. It felt as if living in a nightmare, losing everyone you knew and loved. This wasn’t the first time you’ve lost those you cared for.

Thankfully, Maggie was there for you, like she had always been since the start, after losing your parents.

Out in the endless roads you both walked, day and night, with Sasha and Bob. You were missing Glenn and the others a lot, only hoping they were all okay and alive.

But you missed one person the most of them all.

Carl Grimes.

Both Carl and you had grown pretty close while at the prison. Always hanging out, telling each other secrets, stealing glances, and holding hands…

Maybe you two got a bit too close.

It wasn’t long before you found Glenn with Tara in that tunnel. Seeing Glenn after countless days of wandering around made you burst into tears. You had thought you would never see him alive again.

You were grateful to have them both by your side, to have them alive and safe.

However, you couldn’t help but think about Carl. Was he okay? You really hoped so.

— — —

You groan, sitting on the floor of the train car you and the rest of the group were locked in. Having arrived at Terminus, you thought it was a safe place to call home. Seeing the crops they had been growing and the kind people of Terminus made you feel ecstatic.

That was until they took all your belongings, threaten you, and then locked you all up in here. It was just perfect, wasn’t it?

It was eerily quiet outside before the sudden sound of shots firing all over the place erupts it. Clearly wanting to know what was going on, you get up and look at Maggie, sharing a look in the dark container.

“What is it?” You whisper to her, watching her try to peek out of the little opening of the car’s door.

“Can’t see.”

She says back, shaking her head while squinting through the crack.

But as quickly as the sounds came, it left. The silence consumed the outside for some time before the big door of the train car slides open. Instinctively you all take a step back, frighten but still ready to fight if needed.

That’s before a figure walks in, followed by another, and another. And then another. You can hear your heart racing inside your chest and your palms become sweaty.

“Rick?” Glenn’s voice breaks the silence as he steps forward. You stand behind Glenn, eyes darting from a dark figure to another dark figure. “You’re here.”

Glenn’s voice is filled with relief and surprise, and when you see Rick’s face through the dimly light coming from outside, you smile. Carl has to be here.

And you were right because not a few seconds later your eyes would catch his face.

When Carl’s eyes meet yours in the darkness of the car, you couldn’t hold back anymore before lunging at him and throwing your arms around his torso. He’s taken aback, letting out a small yelp as he stumbles back.

The warmth from you body and the familiar feeling of your presence quickly makes Carl realize it's you, immediately hugging you back.

You bury you face into his neck, inhaling the familiar scent of the boy you love. You forget about everyone and your surroundings, letting the way he held onto you engrave into your mind.

“Oh my god, Carl.”

You say into his skin, tightening your hug more as you sniff, trying your best to hold back tears. “It’s really you.”

He laughs, pressing his check on top of your head with his arms around you. “I can’t believe you’re here. I thought I lost you.” He sniffs too. You smile with eyes glossy, lifting your head to see him, even if it was too dark.

A sense of relief washes over you two. You both still managed to find each other after having lost everything.

With quivering lips, you whisper to him, “I missed you so much.” Your words hit him; his eyes glossy up too. You couldn’t see it, but you were sure he was tearing up by the way he squeezes your waist.

“I missed you too.” He says back to you, pulling you back into a hug before pressing a kiss on top of your hair. The feeling of his love and care makes your whole body warm up with content.

You felt safe in his arms after so long. You thought you had lost your home forever, but Carl was home.

[sl-newsie]

Melted Mind (Dr. Spencer Reid x OC Coworker)

Summary: The team checks into a hotel and one of their coworkers has never used a sauna, leading to late night shenanigans. (Hinting at intimacy towards the end)

“You’ve never used a sauna?”

I’ve had a lot of strange and unusual conversations with the BAU but this has got to be a very random one. I guess one half-mention of never having used a sauna seems to be the hot topic of tonight.

I shake my head at Emily’s question. “Never had a reason to. I can’t stand being too hot.”

Of course now Spencer has to hop in and give his input. “Saunas actually help us sweat toxins out of our bodies and improve lymphatic drainage. They also reduce stress levels and help strengthen the immune system.”

I love him dearly but he can come in at the worst times. Just because he’s my boyfriend does not mean he can drag me into this too.

Meanwhile Emily is looking at the hotel’s brochure. “There’s one in the pool room. We should try it.”

Um, no. We’ve just spent three hours flying. I feel no need to sit in a boiling hot room with my coworkers.

Quick, grab the suitcase and start walking away. “I think I’m going to relax in my room-”

Morgan grabs my arm. “C’mon, it’ll be fun!”

In the corner of my eye I see JJ and Penelope waving goodbye with cheeky smiles. Hotch has already gone to his room and Rossi avoids the situation by heading for the bar. There’s no getting out of this.

There’s no other way to say it. This is Hell. I won’t sugarcoat it. 

I don’t care how Emily tries to sell this as a good thing because it’s a ‘steam sauna.’ Spencer’s facts from earlier have completely flown the coop because thinking about the positive health benefits of sweating is the last thing on my mind. All I can think of is drinking water and staying alive.

“I’m melting.” We’ve been here for half an hour and I’m already slumped in the corner.

“You look like a lava lamp."

My glare can burn through walls. “Thanks, Morgan.”

“That swimsuit is really cute,” Emily comments. “But why wear a shirt over it?”

The suit I packed is my patriotic one. A one-piece suit with blue and white stars at the top cascading into red and white stripes. When we met up in the hall I threw on a swim shirt and I guess that raised a few eyebrows. Why? I don’t know.

“Some call it image paranoia, I call it modesty. I will not walk around half-naked in a hotel lobby.” Technically my onepiece could count as a leotard but it’s still not modest.

Emily snickers. “Between you and Reid both you guys could give a lecture on social etiquette.”

“I’m giving a lecture?”

Reid pokes his head in and a wave of cold air washes over me. It’s Heaven! But it’s only a split second because he closes the door and I’m submerged in the moist prison once more. He hops up on the seat next to me and from the look he gives me I can tell he’s looking to see if I’m still alive. I think I am. Maybe.

“Here’s the boy genius!” Morgan claps and gestures to my limp body’s presentation of a corpse. “What do you think of this lovely swimsuit?”

Why? Why did Morgan of all people have to find out about us? I’m honestly surprised Penelope didn’t find out first. If only Spencer didn’t want a picture of me on his desk so badly. Ever since we became official he’s been much more manly about it. Like he wants to make sure everyone knows I’m his. It’s actually cute.

Spencer gives me a look-over. “Very patriotic. It looks nice.”

Those eyes say more than that. He loves it.

“Thank you. I’m lucky I brought it with me. Though this may be what I’m buried in if I don’t make it through tonight. This sauna’s going to be the death of me.” 

So the night goes on. My mind dwindles in and out of the conversation but the only thing keeping me awake is Spencer’s occasional squeeze on my shoulder. Though him rubbing my back is definitely not helping. After a while my mind starts to wander.

“Ever notice how radio stations play the same songs over and over?”

The chatter stops and in the corner of my glazed eye I see everyone look at me. 

“That’s kinda deep,” Morgan teases.

“I can’t help it. This sauna’s making me think deep.”

Emily waves a hand in front of me. “Ok, I think it’s time to call it a night. You need to drink some water. Make sure she gets to bed safely, Reid.”

Reid gives me a hidden smirk. He’s definitely thinking about that out of context. Thankfully the others are too tired to notice and we all slowly exit the human vegetable steamer from Hell. 

“I’ll go get you a towel,” Reid says before walking off.

I’ll finally get to go to my room, rinse off and relax- Uh-oh. I catch a quick glance out the window. A pair of blue sunglasses lies on a patio lawn chair. No one’s outside. I guess I should do the Girl Scout routine of returning them to the lobby desk.

Brr! How is the air outside so cold? The sauna must have really gotten to me. Back inside now- Oh no. Is it my wandering mind or am I locked out? No. No! I don’t have a key card!

Inside Spencer walks around the pool looking for me. The towel he’s carrying might as well be a fur coat.

“Oh- Spencer! Help!” I knock on the glass door. “Please! I’m locked out!”

Reid’s eyes widen and he strides over. “How did you get stuck out there?”

“Someone left their sunglasses out here and I didn’t think about needing a key card to get back inside. Could you let me in?”

He starts reaching for the door but then gets an amused smirk. “Hmm. I don’t know…”

Is he kidding? “Spencer! Please! It’s freezing out here!”

Reid checks the thermostat. “It’s only 65 degrees.”

“I just came out of a sauna! Do you want me to pass out?” I put my hands on my hips.

Spencer’s laughter is muffled by the glass but he turns the doorknob anyway. “Open sesame.”

I sigh in relief at the warm air. “Thank you- oh!”

My temperature spikes the instant Spencer’s lips are on mine. He backs me against the cold condensation-covered door and pulls me close to him. I hope no one’s looking!

“It was hard not to do that in front of the team, seeing you in this suit.” Spencer presses a kiss on my cheek. “It looks very nice.”

If I weren’t so exhausted I’d encourage this. “Ready to go to bed? I’m getting tired.”

“Me too.” Reid wraps the towel around my shaking shoulders and we start walking back. “Would you like me to rub your back?”

“I’d love that very much, Spencer.”

The sight of our hotel room is equivalent to scoring an A+. I speed-wash through the shower and all but dive onto the soft bed. I lift my sleepy head up to look at Spencer, who’s sitting in the lounge chair staring at me.

“What?”

“You know my attraction to you didn’t start from your body,” he murmurs, still looking at me as if examining a piece of art.

I smile shyly and look down. “It was my eyes.”

He walks over and kneels down to my level. “It was your eyes. Those eyes that show a deep wisdom but are always wide with excited curiosity.”

Spencer crawls up onto the bed and rests his head on my chest. “Still tired? I can feel your heart rate elevating-”

“Let me pause the lecture, professor.” I put a finger to his lips. “It’s time to sleep. You can resume tomorrow.”

He sighs but gives in to his own tired state by going limp. I’m too tired to push him off. 

“You were right, Spencer. Saunas really do reduce stress levels. Even if I was almost locked out.”

He smiles with his eyes closed and feels around for the bedside light switch. “Goodnight, angel.”

The room goes dark and I give him one last kiss. “Goodnight, genius.”

[bed-chemist]

❝ fortnight ❞

─⋆♡ chapter summary: Michael and Liberty go on a date. well, sort of.

─⋆♡ main tropes: Michael B. Jordan x Fem!OC, Rome Flynn x Fem!OC, Damson Idris x Fem!OC. Bodyguard x Princess, Secret Service x First Kid, forced proximity, forbidden love, tolerated enemies to lovers, college romance.

─⋆♡ chapter warnings: obsession, stalking, eating disorder, angst, 18+ black!writer, language, stalking and obsession from MMCs pov, blood (mentioned), alcohol (mentioned), torture (mentioned), hostages (mentioned), threatening (more like some warnings but that's subjective), weapons (mentioned), physical descriptors (brief discussion about being black in america and body descriptors), characters affected by symptoms of anxiety or depression, lmk if i missed something.

series masterlist ✰ faceclaims ✰ libby’s cabinet ✰ spotify playlist word count: 5.7k ⋆

Michael

The deep vibration on my watch jolts me awake letting me know the guard’s shift change is in progress. My surroundings immediately catch me off guard. The faint morning light shines through the sheer curtains and the smell of vanilla wafts through the room. My entire body is sore and I groan at the shooting pain in my knuckles when I adjust my arm to check my notifications. I should’ve taken some painkillers before smashing my fists into that dick’s face.

Surprisingly, my watch isn't on fire with messages. I sigh and let my arm fall back onto the bed, maybe a little too hard, because Liberty’s warm body shifts next to me. She rolls over until she’s facing me, getting comfortable on my bicep. Her breathing remains slow and even, letting me know she’s still fast asleep.

I take the time to memorize every detail of her face. It’d be a miracle if she ever let me this close to her again unless she’s under duress.

It’s not as if I don’t already know everything about her. I know what she’s allergic to, every broken bone she’s ever had, and every person who’s had the pleasure of fucking her. And that’s not just because I’ve been assigned to her in exchange for my freedom. 

Ever since her picture floated across the metal table on the 30th day of my torture in the same basement we had been in last night, I became obsessed with her. They trained me like a dog, only feeding me and allowing me to rest when they were telling me controlled information about her. 

The name ‘Liberty Washington’ became my beacon of light but remained a subconscious part of my original makeup. The one that reminded me that she is my prison. But my obsession with her continued when they released me. Since they only showed me the photo of her once, I used all the resources available to me to obtain the information they hadn’t given me.

If I were trapped by a 20-year-old for 4 years, I would know how she presented herself to the world.

My eyes wander down from her forehead to her chin, categorizing every part of her warm smooth skin. Her doe-eyes are softly shut and her long lashes splay out against her high cheekbones. She exhales a light sigh from her plum-colored lips and I fight the desire to wake her with a kiss.

She is by far the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. No one can hold a candle to her, even when she’s asleep and isn’t trying. I attempt to smooth the mess of hair secured on top of her head with bobby pins, but all I’m left with is a sticky substance on my palm. 

My touch wanders down to her cheek, caressing her face with the back of my hand. Her breathing hitches momentarily before her eyelids begin fluttering. She hums, nuzzling into my skin. “Mmm that tickles,” she complains.

Shit. She doesn’t want me touching her and I can’t touch her. She doesn’t even want me in her bed. I silently scold myself again for waking her after the traumatic night she had last night. “My bad,” I apologize, removing my hand from her face.

Her eyes snap open as she reaches out, grabbing my wrist. “No, don’t stop,” she whimpers with a scratchy voice.

I untangle our bodies and by the look on her face, I think she knows I won’t return to the action. Instead, I carefully untangle our bodies to slide out of her bed. “Go back to sleep, I need to shower,” I advise her.

She frowns before saying, “I don’t–”

“Don’t argue with me that you don’t need sleep. Those drugs may be out of your system but you're in withdrawal,” I cut her off, scolding her.

She opens her mouth to rebuttal but a shiver runs through her body like a wave. “And by the looks of it, shock. Fuck,” I grumble, pulling the covers up to tuck her into the bed. “I need to get to Jo before she gets to you,” I tell her, knowing that Jo will take one look at her and flip out.

As if I’ve jinxed it, the door to Libby’s room smacks against the wall. Jo barges in with her heels clicking against the floor with every step. Her displeased disposition emanates through the room when she simply states, “We need to have a conversation.”

So much for Liberty resting. “About what?” Liberty questions, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes.

Jo’s eyes flicker back and forth between me and Liberty. “Well now that I see your assigned agent half naked in your bed, we may need to have two conversations,” she snips. The cool air on my skin is enough to determine what she’s irate about.

Liberty groans, sitting up from where she was lying beneath me just moments ago. “We didn’t do anything,” she defends.

“It doesn’t matter. Agent Jordan, need I remind you of your contract? You are only permitted to touch Liberty in cases of emergency. If I report this to her mother, you can kiss your freedom goodbye,” Jo warns. I figured she’d be the first to rat us out if I ever pursued Liberty since she’s always up her ass. 

I take that as a cue to get the fuck out of the bed and I take it, standing from the cool sheets. Liberty scrambles to the edge of the bed, swinging her feet over the edge. I glower at her in warning and she pauses, her toes hovering just above the ground. “No, Jo. Please don’t,” she attempts to plead despite me grounding her to her bed.

Displeasure covers Jo’s face and she turns around when all three of us sense shuffling in the living room. Jo shoos Liberty’s dressing crew away, shutting the door in their faces.

She groans into the wood, “Oh fuck, Libby. Please don’t tell me you’ve become a love-sick idiot in three days. You have a job to do,” and it sounds like a prayer more than a statement.

The air is sucked out of the room and Liberty quickly covers. “No, I didn’t. I just asked him to keep me company last night when I was drunk. It wasn’t his fault.

When I hear her words, I can’t help but feel something tingling in my stomach. What the fuck is that? Disappointment? No. Rejection? Who fucking knows.

“Michael, is that true?” Jo asks me to confirm Liberty’s accounts, bringing me back to the present.

Liberty’s deep brown iris connects with mine, silently pleading with me to keep the full details of last night under wraps. I return my attention to Jo, nodding with my lips pressed together.

Jo squints at the two of us and I can practically feel her scanning my soul for deception. Her face eventually softens and she sighs. “Why were you even drinking?” she questions Liberty.

“Because it was a Friday night and the gi–” Liberty starts before I cut her off by clearing my throat. The more she talks about last night, the more we’ll have to change the little details.

“How old are you, Libby?” Jo cuts the President’s daughter off.

“20,” she murmurs and I’m reminded of the immaturity that comes with her age. 

Jo follows up immediately with, “And how old do you have to be to drink in the United States?”

“21, but,” she says and I can feel the excuse coming.

So can Jo because she stops her from continuing. “But, nothing. Do you see these pictures, Libby?”

“What about them?” Liberty counters.

“What about them? What about them?!” Jo’s voice raises with every passing second. She reaches into her bag pulling out a stack of newspapers. “Liberty Washington, you are the second black first family in this white house. So you already know you’ll be scrutinized more than former president’s daughters,” she rants, throwing the landfield into Liberty’s lap. “I don’t care if someone hands you a ton-sized bottle of champagne, you do not take it before you turn 21.” 

Libby thumbs through the tabloids and I watch as the color drains from her face. She looks up at me and I truthfully have nothing to say to comfort her. This is the outcome of hanging out with those rich ass white girls. I shrug and she frowns, seemingly displeased with my lack of response.

Liberty sighs, removing the pictures from her lap and setting them aside. “Okay, I’m sorry,” she apologizes.

Jo’s face softens and she takes a step forward. “You know I don’t care, but the public does. Now we need to do damage control,” she tells her, sitting next to her on the bed.

“What type of damage control?” Liberty follows up.

“The type of damage control that does not present a hung-over, first daughter,” Jo informs her. She points between the two of us adding, “You two are going out.”

“Out? Where?” Liberty parrots.

Jo sighs standing from the bed. “Lunch. Somewhere well-lit where you can be photographed looking perfectly healthy and not looking like you just escaped death.” She begins typing on her phone and I assume she’s pulling up the closest approved restaurants in the area.

“Go shower,” Jo commands me and I nod, moving to exit from the room.

“I know Harry and Rowan are attached at the hip right now, but it’s worth a shot reaching out to them. Maybe we can fly them out to support you,” I hear Jo advise Liberty and my ears perk up.

“No. They’ve got enough going on right now,” Liberty replies and I glance behind me with confusion.

Who the fuck are Harry and Rowan. Those sound like masculine names and they did not come up on my search. How the fuck are they connected to Liberty. My Liberty. And how quickly can I find out everything I know about them?

The moment we stepped out of the car at the Italian restaurant 30 minutes ago, we got swarmed with cameras. The shuttering sound hasn’t stopped ringing out and I’m consistently triggered. The sound of photos being snapped sounds oddly similar to a knife being sharpened. My upper back carried a ton of weight when I quickly jogged over to Libby’s side of the car to let her out.

When slid out, black heels first accentuating how short her skirt was, a low growl bubbled to the surface. My instinct was to push Libby behind me to hide her but that wasn’t possible. We have one job today. To get her seen looking perfectly fine.

Now, I watch meticulously as Libby swirls the fork in the pasta dish on the patio, bringing another bite up to her lips. The lunch has been mostly silent; she gives me flirty glances and I return them with glares.

In flickering moments, I find myself feeling guilty for the way I’m treating her. How I’m keeping her at arm's length so she doesn’t learn the full truth. It’s fucked up that the person I want the most is sitting within grasp, but touching her means giving up my breath.

She’ll hate me if I tell her the truth about the deal and my obsession with her that came with it. She’ll hate me if I tell her I can’t be with her because touching her means my death follows swiftly. I can’t win. 

I swallow thickly as Libby’s leg drags up the inside of my leg. My gaze lowers on hers and I feel a growl coming forward, “Lib, the fucking cameras.”

I knew this was a bad idea. As soon as I saw the date-like table placement, I should’ve requested we be moved. She bats her eyelashes and my jaw clenches. Those siren eyes alone could send any untrained agent into a spiral. Her charisma and confidence would’ve made her a shoo-in, in a different life.

“What? They couldn’t see that. And besides, I asked you a question, I was just trying to get your attention,” she manipulates the situation flawlessly so it’s impossible to be mad at her. Aside from the straggling tourists sitting at the nearby tables, the Italian restaurant is empty. Suddenly I feel even more guilty for forcing her to only chat with me.

I hold her gaze as I take a sip of water. “You have it, Lib. Always. What did you ask?”

She licks her glossed lips and I want to grab her throat and taste her tongue for myself. “Wanna play 21 questions?” asks suggests.

My brain races with how negatively this could go. She could ask me anything and I know I wouldn’t be able to lie to her. Not because I was trained to see her as my savior, but out of respect. She deserves to know how she’s being used if she’s curious about it.

“Oh come on. I’m not going to ask you anything groundbreaking like the codes to the torture room,” she jokes and I tense. “I just want to know you a bit better,” she continues.

My mouth unconsciously counters with, “You know me already through the file Mommy dearest gave you.”

“I want to know what’s between the pages. Tell me something the government doesn’t know, Michael.”

Her tone is tempting as she leans closer to me, causing her breasts to practically spill out of her top. Against my better judgment, I survey my surroundings. A couple of sleaze bags stare a hole through Libby’s chest and I attempt to shove my irrational self away. “I’ll tell you whatever you want once you sit the fuck up,” the deep grumble slips.

Libby smirks, leaning back into her chair. Her fingers dance on her jacket, pulling it tight around her midsection. “Better?” she tests.

The urge to roll my eyes is intense but I nod, giving her confirmation. I shift in my seat, awaiting her first question when she blurts, “Okay, let me think…Oh, I know! What’s your favorite song?” 

“That's your first question?” I ask slightly baffled. I expected her to come out of the gate swinging.

She giggles, and at that moment, I decide that it’s my favorite sound. “Well I knew you weren’t going to answer anything about my parents so I went with that,” she confesses. 

The watch on my wrist flashes a bright light into her eyes and I adjust it when I see her squinting. “That’s a simple one, Lib. You just wasted a question. Sweet Sticky Thing by Ohio Players.”

I watch her as she processes the information, confusion washing over her face. “What’s a Sweet Sticky Thing?”

“Is that one of your questions?” I counter.

She shakes her head no, pursing her lips. “Good, it’s my turn,” I add.

A soft chuckle leaves her lips and I can’t help but smile. “Go off, king,” she directs me to proceed and I snort.

My brain mentally combs through her file. I know she wants to be a teacher, but I can’t fathom the reasoning behind being around snotty-nosed kids all day. She’d be good at it, though. Her bubbly aura is perfect for playtime while her stern demeanor will ensure her students learn. “Why teaching?”

I study her body as she looks heaven-forward like the answer is above her. “So I can go teach in a country where nobody knows who I am and I have no significant value to the people. It’s my ‘out’,” she tells me with air quotes around the final word once she’s found the answer.

I pop a piece of breadstick into my mouth, responding with a hum. The fluffy substance takes me a bit to chew, giving her the perfect opportunity to ask, “What’s your favorite color?”

“Black.”

She squints at me and her face scrunches with disgust. “Do you enjoy being absolutely predictable?”

My brows furrow, matching her facial expression. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I dig.

“Every man’s favorite color is black. You couldn’t have picked something unique like tangerine or gunmetal?” She scoffs like she’s bored with my response.

My arms slide together to cross, feeling instantly defensive. “I didn’t know my answers had to fit in with your idea of me, Lib,” I say.

She seems to notice my guarded body language, reaching across the table to grab my arm. The contrast of her cold hand against my skin sends sparks to my brain. At that moment, we both hear the shutter roll of a camera, presumably nearby. 

She jerks slightly, but I make no move to acknowledge their presence. It’s what we’re here for, after all. “No, you’re right. I’m sorry. Black is a great color. Suits you,” she stammers over herself.

Although I don’t uncross my arms, my upper body loosens up a bit as she returns to her sitting position. I chastise myself for wishing I could touch her; my head filled with all the things I would do with her. And that moment she made that joke over a fucking color, I wanted to bend her over my knee. 

But I couldn’t. 

She could take all of me, piece by piece. And it looks like she’s going to.

My craving to change the subject causes me to blurt out, “So since mine is so boring, what’s yours?”

“Tiffany blue. Can’t you tell?” she asks, gesturing to her long-sleeved shirt.

“Didn’t notice,” I lie.

I had noticed. In every picture I’d seen her in, she had some type of blue accessory. Her dress was the same color Friday night. And now, she’s a tight tweed dress with soft teal thread on the edges. I’ve counted nearly every stitching by now.

She licks her lips, eyes darting to her lap. Her whole body language shifts downwards with insecurity. Like she’s trying to hide her perfect face from me. “Well then,” she grumbles, obviously irritated.

Fuck. The last thing I ever want to do is make her feel like shit. “What’s your favorite animal?” I ask her, trying to get her mind off my previous statement.

Her eyes narrow and she nips, “It’s not your turn.”

“Well fine, you go,” I direct pointedly. 

“What happened last night?” she asks.

My neck rolls with discomfort. “What part?” I ask.

A flash of sadness coats her brandy irises. “All of it? Start from the alleyway.”

I inhale sharply before sighing, “Look, I’m gonna be honest with you, Lib. I don’t remember anything between knowing you were okay and seeing you half-naked in the basement.”

“That’s okay, we can fill in the gaps,” she shrugs as if it’s that easy. When I black out, I don’t remember anything, Liberty.

Hesitation overtakes my brain and I search her face and body for the truth. She’s slightly leaning forward with interest but she still looks a bit upset. Maybe this will help her. “When you passed out, I picked you up and carried you to the car. Called Damson on the way back in to get your fucking friends. Meredith is the only one who came back with me so I shoved her in the back seat with you. Told her to make herself useful and hold your hair while I shoved my fingers down your throat,” I rant.

I pause when she picks up her fork and it makes a clanking noise. “Keep going,” she commands.

So, I press on. “On the way back, I coaxed her into telling me about every person she knew. Then I told her the situation and told her to keep her mouth shut. I knew how to take care of the situation and I didn’t want her in it.”

Liberty starts nodding like she’s processing the information. “And then you took off,” she theorizes. 

“No. I had Damson meet me by the front and get you checked out by the doctor. They said you just needed sleep so he put you and Meredith to bed,” I tell her, though I leave the part out about screaming in Damson’s ear the entire time to keep his shit together and take care of her. I wouldn’t have moved forward with picking them up if mine wasn’t okay.

Her nose scrunches. “While you went and got Vanessa and Teddy,” she hits the jackpot.

“I’d assume so,” I confirm.

She stares at me dead on and I feel my jaw clench. My heart begins to pound in my chest anticipating her next words. “Okay,” she utters after what feels like forever.

She begins swirling her fork into her past dish, prepping for another bite. My brows knit and my body doesn’t untense. “Okay?” I parrot. I was half expecting her to rip me a new asshole for my behavior.

She nods, looking over towards the hoard of paparazzi. The flashes are almost blinding as they take advantage of the perfect angle. When her face returns to my direction she nonchalantly adds, “Yeah. I don’t feel the need to know much beyond that. They’re both dicks.”

My brows raise in surprise and I feel myself slowly starting to agree with her. I could’ve done much worse. I wanted to do much worse. But, she stopped me and isn’t harping on it. “Touché,” I respond.

She smirks, bringing the prepared pasta toward her captivating face that I detailed just this morning. “Your turn,” she says before gracefully taking the bite.

My brows crease and I ask, “We’re still playing?”

“Yeah, I mean, we still need to be here for another 10 minutes. Might as well get to know each other,” she explains.

The point is I already know everything about you, Liberty. Maybe not the Rowan and Harry parts, but I’ll find out soon enough.

“What question don’t you want me to ask?” I question genuinely. Not only because I don’t want to piss her off, but because I can just find out without her knowing.

She blinks rapidly as if she’s trying to determine if I’m being sarcastic. After a couple of beats, she responds, “Don’t ask about my dreams.”

Why the fuck would I want to know about her subconscious. I only need to know the substantial things about her. My eyes to the crowd that hasn’t disapparated and grumble at her answer with irritation, “Okay, I won’t. Ever.” 

When I return my attention to Liberty, she looks like she’s about to cry. Tears brim her eyes and it triggers a reaction in me I didn’t know I possessed. I feel confused by the urge to hunt whoever hurt her, but a wave of guilt knowing I might be the cause of her tears. “Why do you hate me so much?” she whimpers.

My hand goes up to scratch the scruff on my chin. “Look, I’m sorry for that—”

“It’s not that. I know we’re still getting to know each other and it’s only been a few days. But, you hate my guts,” She silences me mid-sentence with a sob that leaves me reeling.

I shake my head, telling her, “I don’t hate you, Lib.” I grab the menu closest to me, putting it up by her face to shield her from view. With my other hand, I reach across the table, wiping the tears from where they’re prickling in the corners of her eyes. The cameras snap, but none catch the simple action shared between us.

What I feel for her is far from hate. My desire will have me forever sprinting towards her. Even when she does eventually marry another man, I’ll still be chained to her. I’ll want to kill every lover she has and even then, the feeling will only be temporary. 

My love for her will ruin my life.

She chuckles, releasing a bit of spit flying from her lips. “Then what? Cause you sure as hell don’t like me.”

My chest becomes heaving with anxiety. I touched her for only a night and she’s already crumbling me until I eventually wither away to nothing. “Lib,” I mutter in warning.

She sniffles one last time before straightening her back. The dreaded noise of the cameras doesn't stop once she’s in view again. If anything they only get louder. “You know what I think? You didn’t expect to like me. You were comfortable loathing me because you are chained to me for four years. But then you met me and I’m not ugly. I’m fun, talented, smart as fuck, and that scares you,” she boasts boldly.

The air is knocked out of my chest and my jaw drops slightly. My mouth snaps shut when I realize it’s the one thing I can’t tell her. Her eyes flicker back and forth between mine and she presses on, “It scares you how perfect I’d be for you, or am I wrong?”

I swallow thickly, prepared to confess my feelings for her. 

She is what I want. She is what I need. 

She is the love of my life and I’m sure of it. It might be clouded by quiet treason and I’ve never felt love, but I’d bet my life on it. Everything I feel for aligns with the emotions I’ve mirrored from others. And I’m going to make her mine one way or another. I don’t care if I have to kill every potential heir, get her pregnant, or marry her to get what I want: her waking up next to me every morning.

I open my mouth to answer when Libby cuts in. “Shut up. Don’t answer that. I don’t think I could handle knowing,” she snips before checking her phone. She grabs it and stands from her seat, letting me know it’s time to go. When I join her to exit the restaurant, I’m still reeling.

The heat in my feet sears up my calves as I run to the beat in my gym. 

I’ve come to learn that Liberty and I don’t talk about things, we exercise. If there’s nothing for us to do and we’re avoiding conversating, we’re sprinting right next to each other. We’re running longer than average tonight, cementing the tension between us. We both feel it, but her attempts to put distance between the two of us are futile. 

Being someone’s shadow has never felt so isolating. 

The sweat drips from my face and I pick up a towel to collect the perspiration. I scowl, deciding we both need a shower before eating. My finger flicks the switch on the machine, switching to a cool-down mode.

My head turns to look at Liberty while I begin slowly jogging. Her face doesn’t twitch and she remains looking at the white brick wall in front of her. When I wave, she glances at me for half a second, rolling her eyes before returning her attention to the wall.

Anger bubbles inside my body and I mentally incinerate myself for being upset by not getting attention from a fucking woman. So, she wants to ignore me? Two can play that game.

A few more minutes of my cool down go by before I completely turn the machine off. I slowly wipe my hands and step off the machine, grabbing my bottle of water.

As I take a sip, I glare at Liberty. She seemingly senses me staring and her head snaps in my direction. “I’m not stopping,” she grumbles.

“You need to eat,” I instruct. If she thinks I don’t know about her little eating disorder, she’s out of her mind. The others might not have picked up on it, but the signs have been evident over the past 3 days. She’s so stressed, she barely eats and she runs to process that stress. Every time she looks in the mirror, she seems disappointed, like what she sees doesn’t match herself. 

She crying out for help and I’ve been the only one to notice. Maybe that’s the reason her parents got her a guard; someone to keep an eye on all the kids.

“And I’m not taking out my headphones for you to bark orders at me,” she raises her tone and her voice reverberates off the wall.

Fuck, she’s hot when she’s mad. The growing semi in my pants doesn’t help considering I’m trying to get her to come with me in this situation, not argue with me.

I decide to take advantage of my desires this once, positioning myself directly next to her machine. Applying my dynamic balance skills, I step onto the edge of the treadmill. My left leg swings over to the other side of the belt until I’m standing still behind her with her running in front of me.

I exhale a deep breath before running through this plan. It’ll scare the shit out of her, but I’ll catch her.

“Liberty,” I husk lowly and she screams, tripping over her feet. My hands quickly grip her sides as she becomes dead weight, nearly falling face forward.

My thighs tingle in my squatting position, but she’s unharmed, so I let out a comfortable sign. She hovers right above the rapidly moving belt with her hands almost kissing it. Her extensions drag against the dirty material, giving me even more of an excuse to push her towards the shower.

My body doesn’t move, allowing her to internalize the fear of almost eating shit. Then, I slowly lift her, wrapping my hands around her waist until her back is pressed to my front. My legs swing over the belt once more until we’re both on the side of the machine, stepping down from the death contraption.

I swear I can feel her heart racing through her back as I grip her tightly, pressing my bulge into her. My nose inhales the delicious smell of her pheromones and I fight the impulse to taste her sweat.

I set her down on solid ground, prepping myself for the backlash before I remove my arms from around her waist. I decide to keep her close to me with my hands on her waist so she can’t hit me, limiting her to her tongue. 

She slowly turns around to look at me, her cheeks a dark plum color. It’s clear she doesn't find the situation funny when she hits my chest with the palm of her hand. I look at her face and realize, I’ve unlocked a dragon. 

She raises her voice to say, “Michael!” her voice cracks and she pauses out of breath. “What is your middle name?”

I smirk and look down at her. “Bakari, my lady. What’s yours?” I ask in return, hoping she’ll open up to me. After reading her file, I already know it. Including her most recent STI test, which is clean of course.

She ignores me, stomping over to the wall and yanking the plug out of the socket. She turns back to me with her siren eyes filled with fire. “Well, you know what? You can fuck off Michael Bakari Jordan. What the fuck is wrong with you? I could’ve fucking died. I was trying to get to know you and you fucked with me. From here on out, you can stick a baseball bat covered in nails up your fucking ass for all I care.” 

She whips around with her back facing me, slowly dragging herself towards the door. 

Damn. She used more F-bombs than I thought was even possible in one sentence.

I smirk and rush to stand in front of her, not wanting her to keep running away from me. This is only complicated because she’s making it hard for me. I want her, but I can’t have her because I can’t touch her. They’ll kill me if they find out but if she makes the first move, I’d be willing to risk it. 

She doesn’t want to make the first move because she fears disappointing our country. And I have an inkling that she prefers aggressive men due to her ex history. It might also have to do with the dynamic of our relationship moving forward. All of the things I think about probably swirl around in her brain. Regardless, she still has to be the one to take that step.

My hands return to her sides, lightly gripping them. She shifts, snapping her thighs together but I can practically taste her wetness in the air from where I’m towering over her. There are no cameras in this room, so she is free to act irrationally, she just needs the perfect trigger.

I step forward, uncomfortably craning my neck. My head is directly above hers and her eyes widen from what I assume is our proximity. “You need to stay healthy. Don’t do that to me, Lib. You can be mad at me, but you can’t not take care of yourself in avoidance of me. I will not control you, but I will not watch you disintegrate without being able to do anything about it,” I plead for her to internalize my words.

This is the most vulnerable I’ve been with her about my feelings for her thus far, and I’m hoping she reads between the lines. The air between us crackles and my eyes search her face, awaiting her response. Her eyebrows momentarily stay scrunched before she slowly relaxes her face. 

“You could’ve gone about that a better way,” she huffs, still breathless from running and the shock of falling.

My thumbs slip underneath her cropped tank top and I stroke her damp skin. “And I’m sorry for that. I’ll explore other methods of getting your attention later,” I attempt to hint at the things I want to do to her.

My eyes flicker down to her lips and her pink tongue pokes out to lick them. A low groan emits from my chest. That should be enough of a trigger. She should know that she’s fucking me in the head by refusing to jump in head first.

She glances down at my lips before whispering, “If I do this; if we do this, it stays here. I just need to know.”

My eyebrows raise and I ask, “Know what?”

Her chest rises and falls rapidly. “If it’s real,” she responds. 

Her hands come into view, sandwiching my face between her hands. My blood rushes in my ears anticipating our lips touching. She closes slowly and starts to close the space between us and just before our lips touch, the door to the gym smacks the walls.

She jumps back, putting distance between us and my heart drops into my stomach. Dread rushes through my body and the reality of my decision hits me. If I turn to face the door and it’s not someone we can sweet talk, we’re both fucked.

As if we’re not fucked enough already.

[jumpywhumpywriter]

"The Lost Hero" - Crippled Hero Presumed Dead part 18

Warnings: crippled hero, medical whump/aftermath of operating with no anesthesia, collapsed throat, recovery whump, trouble eating due to excruciating pain

The lights were left on, a minor annoyance, but both teens were exhausted after the adrenaline rush from earlier sapped their stretch, and both of them chased the darkness of sleep.

Logan awoke to find that Noah was already up and pacing, worry lines creasing his forehead. He stopped when he caught Logan's eye, shuffling his feet sheepishly. "Sorry if I woke you up," he mumbled.

"You didn't," Logan reassured. His gaze wandered to Hero, who still laid motionless in the raised bed. "She still out?"

Noah shook his head sadly. "No activity from her, she hasn't moved an inch since I woke up -- I've been checking frequently."

A knot of anxiety tightened in Logan's chest as he stood up and stretched the stiffness from his muscles. He opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly perked up when he heard Hero's steady breathing change, a hint of consciousness to it. Subtle, but not entirely unnoticeable.

"Hero? Can you hear me?" He quickly sat on the edge of the bed she was on, the mattress dipping under his weight.

Hero's fingers twitched, but she didn't react otherwise.

Logan carefully reached out and touched her shoulder to gently shake it, but yelped in surprise when a vise-like grip clamped around his wrist lightning-fast, stopping him in his tracks. His gaze darted up to see Hero's eyes wide open, disoriented and staring up at the ceiling. He winced as the pressure on his wrist increased, bone groaning under Hero's hand. He'd forgotten about her abnormal strength.

"H-Hero... that's starting to hurt... c-can you... let go?" Logan whispered, trying not to spook her. Noah hovered over his shoulder, glancing between him and Hero in alarm.

The charged silence was almost unbearable, each second stretching for an eternity, and Logan's hand was steadily going numb -- he had to bite his lip hard to keep from crying out in pain.

Hero blinked, some of the initial haze in her expression dissipating, and Logan felt her grip slacken and drop, and he snatched his wrist back, holding it behind his back so Hero wouldn't see and feel guilty. After all, it was an accident. But he could already feel his wrist bruising.

"I know this might be too soon to ask since you did only wake up a few seconds ago, but can... can you talk again?" Logan bit his lip hopefully.

Hero sat up with a huff of effort and instinctively reached up and rubbed the side of her neck, face falling, before she shook her head, averting her eyes to the floor.

"What?! But Villain fixed your throat!"

"Yeah, but he hasn't replaced the voice disk yet," Noah interjected knowingly. "The part that magnetizes to the piece near her vocal cords isn't there yet."

Logan's chest tightened with worry. What if Villain never intended to give Hero's voice back? What if his plan all along had been to leave her forever mute?

He jumped when the door to their prison opened, and none other than Villain himself came sauntering confidently in, flanked by two henchmen carrying plates of food.

"Breakfast," Villain announced. The henchmen offered the plates to the three captives - Noah and Logan both got a proper meal of scrambled eggs, pancakes, and vegetables, while Hero got what looked like small bowls of yogurt and applesauce placed neatly on the plate.

"You'll be eating soft foods alone for a day or two while you heal," Villain explained as his henchmen left. But Villain stayed, even as the door to the room locked. "I'm still working on recreating my voice disk invention, I'll bring it in once I'm finished. I may have happened to have your throat device already made, but I didn't anticipate ever needing to use it, so I hadn't put a lot of effort into completing a second model."

Logan and Noah listened closely, cautiously digging into their food after thoroughly checking to make sure it wasn't drugged or poisoned. Villain merely rolled his eyes at their hesitancy, but didn't remark on it.

Hero stared dismally down at the plate in her lap with the yogurt and applesauce, before picking up the spoon it came with and taking a wary bite. Almost immediately, she flinched and clutched at her neck.

"Yes, that's obviously going to hurt for a while," Villain chuckled impassively. "That's what happens when you have a crushed throat reconstructed by someone like me. But you'll have to power through it if you don't want to starve. Unfortunately I can't give you any pain pills for it because I want to study how you naturally heal for my own research."

"That's cruel!" Logan blurted angrily.

Villain shrugged casually. "Hey, I'm a villain. I said I would save Hero's life, nothing more. If I were you, I would be abundantly grateful for the rare show of hospitality."

Logan didn't miss the threatening undertones to Villain's voice, becoming viscerally aware of the boundary line he wasn't supposed to cross. Villain was letting him go with a subtle warning, and he got the distinct feeling that it wasn't something he gifted regularly.

Logan took the hint and clamped his mouth shut grimly, averting his eyes away from Villain to where Hero was struggling to choke down her meal with the agony blasting through every spoonful of food. It was painful to watch how she had to take frequent breaks after every few bites when it hurt too much to swallow. She looked hollow and weary, and relieved when she'd finally managed to get through breakfast.

⏪️ Back Next ⏩️

Masterlist

@scoundrelwithboba @lumpofsand @isikedmyself878 @iamheretohurt @fleur-a-whump

@ay5ksal @otterfrost @sausages-things @i-don't-know-sal @togzy

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

The Bear's legacy

The series finale has already been announced

I still think Sydcarmy will be endgame, of course. But most importantly, I also think that all Carmy said in this scene in regards to HIS LEGACY (because that's what he was talking about, not just legacy in general but his own based on what he learned from the legends that taught him well) is the clearest foreshadowing of what Storer has in mind to wrap The Bear up.

I say all of this now because I believe S4 will be the last one and after this S3 we were just served my mind keeps wandering to: HOW CAN WE GET OUT OF HERE?!?! HOW WILL STORER GET US OUT OF THIS. HOW WILL HE CLOSE THE OPEN LOOP HE LEFT US STUCK AT IN THE SEASON FINALE:

I already went over my idea of how the endgame for the entire series may look like here, before watching S3. But that was just an assumption (yet fully compatible with what I will elaborate on below).

These previous posts of mine, also tap into The Family tree concept and I suggest you check them out for context as well:

The tree

Found Family

What I think will happen in whatever way Storer wants to go about it is that even though The Bear, the restaurant will not go under, at least not as a result of this bad review:

Eventually, it might close its doors like Ever did (after getting 1 or more stars for Sydney), so Carmy can live and escape the prison of his own design that Richie mentioned:

Now, I'm prepared to make a formal prediction based on the script presented in ep 03x07 → Legacy, which I cross-referenced with LWTH.

And the parallelisms, which would take a way longer post than what I have time to make right now, all point in this direction:

The team will spread around the world/country to open their own restaurants/bakeries, etc. - This happens either in the post The Bear era or even if The Bear remains open.

Or in other words, like Storer Carmy said:

This will be the case for each member of the family:

And because the show is about "found family", they still find a way to remain together, even if at some point they go their separate ways to carry on with The Bear's legacy elsewhere as Carmy foreshadowed and just like Carmy carried on with Michael's at some point, which was the kickstart of the whole series.

Thus, it will be a full circle.

IMO, and this is unrelated to the book, The Bear will close its door eventually or change its name and Sydney will open her dream spot, maybe where The Bear once was or elsewhere. Carmy will change careers and will crossover into other arts, such as painting. Let's not forget that he's already an artist of the culinary arts, so it will not be too much of a stretch. He seemed to have found his peace once in Copenhagen doing this and he keeps coming back to it, even now, as he hits rock bottom, he keeps turning to this type of art to try and cope:

He never seems to drift too far away from it.

I think this is where he's headed post The Bear. Back to his solace (which will include Syd too).

And this is what comes to mind → an Austenian happy ending for the entire family that was foreshadowed in 03x07 "Legacy".

The ending will be all about carrying on with Carmy's legacy or better yet, "Sydcarmy's Legacy", one way or the other. Kinda like this fic narrates here.

And I can't wait.

Bonus track: I hope they leave the door open to continue telling this story on the big screen, which if you didn't cheat and carefully read the Found Family context post I linked at the beginning, you now know was Storer's original idea for The Bear. This, unlike all I mentioned above, is indeed a stretch. But... a girl can dream.

[captain-mj]

I'm begging for a second Ghoap Outlander part

Of course!

Ghost tried to escape this weird place. Keyword was try. 

Soap brought him food and untied him again. Ghost waited until he wasn’t looking to grab a small piece of wood to stash up his sleeve. He watched Soap back, getting annoyed with the staring. Soap softened when they made eye contact but Ghost looked away. 

Once he was done eating, Soap set the plate aside and gently tied him up, doing his best not to touch him. It was a small detail, but Ghost appreciated it nonetheless. 

Soap had a pensive look on his face, clearly thinking of something. He scanned over Ghost’s mask before smiling. “Ye look better. More color in your face today.” 

Ghost paused before realizing it was a joke, failing to stifle the small chuckle it got from him. He got flustered and glared at Soap who looked thrilled to get a reaction. 

“Sleep, okay? Ye look tired.” Soap put a blanket over him and left him. 

Ghost started to cut through the binds immediately. It took longer than he would’ve liked, but he managed. He slipped out of the door, surprised by how easy it was to simply break the lock. The hallways were mostly clear, but he still moved quickly. He didn’t want to stick around too long if he could help it. 

The Exit. 

It was so close. Right fucking there. 

Soap caught him just as he saw it and glared at him, arms crossed like he had caught a kid stealing food and not a grown man trying to regain his freedom. 

“Listen up yo-” He started to threaten Soap.

Soap grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder. Ghost was… surprised to say the least. They were the same height and he wasn’t exactly a small person. Soap started to carry him but he noticed he didn’t bring him back to the infirmary room he had been in. Ghost immediately started to fight again. He had no clue what this… deviant was planning on doing with him, but he wanted absolutely no part. 

Soap brought him to a bigger room. It had a bigger bed and it had a flag of some sort on the wall. The flag had a similar pattern to Soap’s clothing and Ghost tried to remember anything about tartans that he could. 

He dropped Ghost on to the bed and shook his head.

“Ghost, you really should not trito escape. You opened your wound again.” He sounded so admonishing that Ghost resisted the urge to salute him. 

Ghost looked down, realizing there was blood dripping through his shirt.

“You need to let me leave. I have people who will be looking for me.”

“No one has yet, so you’re going to stay with me for now.” Soap growled at him, stepping closer and Ghost instinctively leaned away. He roughly moved Ghost so he could lift his shirt and check the wound before rebandaging. The entire time, he kept a steady hand on Ghost’s chest. If Ghost started to breath a little heavier or pant, Soap would order him to breath. It was… odd. Worked like a charm though. Ghost immediately started to breath normally again each and every time.

He glared at Soap who looked amused.

“Once your people come, I will let you go. ‘M keeping ya safe, ya know?” His accent thickened as he looked away. Soap looked almost embarrassed. 

“Am I in your room?”

“You are in my room.” Soap confirmed.

Ghost realized he was sprawled on his bed and quickly sat up.

“You’ll be staying in here since ya don’t know how to behave on yer own.” Soap patted him on his thigh and went to his desk to start drawing again, which is what he was doing before someone told him his prisoner was wandering the halls. He sketched out the landscape quietly, allowing the scratching of the pencil to be the only sound in the room. 

Ghost stayed quiet as well but eventually, the softness of the bed and the bone deep tiredness he had been experiencing since he woke up that morning finally got to him, dragging him into sleep. 

Soap glanced over, seeing him curled up and snoring. He should’ve brought him in here ages ago. Poor guy already seemed more relaxed. 

Soap wished he would take the stupid mask off though. He’d have to think of a way to convince him. Maybe he could beg him. What little glimpses he got of his face meant he knew he was pretty. Very pretty. Even now, where Soap could only see his eyes, he knew he was gorgeous. 

The landscapes could wait. He started to draw Ghost, making sure to include each eyelash, the soft slopes of his body. Soap knew it was all muscle, bastard was heavy but Soap refused to set him down or show weakness, but he had never seen a man with such a…. Small waist in comparison to the rest of him. Despite how big Ghost was, Soap was sure he could fit his arms perfectly around him, pull him flush against his chest. 

Yeah. Ghost was really pretty. 

And Soap was going to make him his. 

[dathomirdumpsterfire]

Chat writes the plot! Time for more 👑🐲🐟 KotD!

Want to be on the tag list? Have an idea for next chapter? Clicked the wrong option? Reblog or Comment! New? Check the very bottom for the Ao3 link. Chapter 4 is down below the cut. 🔥

~Chapter 4~

"Did you…” the jedi trails off, approaching the steaming black ball as it begins to slump in place. “Is this lava?” 

Maul sways around the orb of it, pleased with himself. “There are geothermal vents near here. The source of the Naboo’s prosperity. Surely you knew this? We fought in a plasma generator complex."

"You'll excuse me if I was too busy trying to save the monarchy from the meddling dregs of an ancient, dead order to pay attention to the decor," Kenobi drawls as he approaches.

The jedi's face goes slack when he gets close enough to feel the radiant heat. He tests the surface temperature with the side of his wrist, but pulls back the same as Maul had. It is still very hot.

The reborn sith smiles a wicked smile, and says nothing about his order. Master's secrets were not his to reveal.

Kenobi reaches out in the force, and starts rolling the slowly demorphing ball over to his corner. He watches the man make a sad little barrier of it, getting his back to the cave wall and sliding down in range of the heat. 

The jedi sighs in relief. “Thank you, I suppose.”

He snorts, neither wanting nor needing such wasted words. “What else?”

“Mnn?” the jedi asks, eyes closed and head leaning back against the stone.

Maul smacks his leg with a fin. “What else is killing you?”

The other man chuckles wearily, “Besides you? Exhaustion. Leave me be.”

The dragonfish sith is instantly in his space, draped heavily across his legs, hands around that pale throat and squeezing. "Rrragh!"

Kenobi chokes, grabbing at his forearms with a furious glare. “Gnh-!”

“Weak jedi should remember their place,” he hisses. “You are my prisoner, and I am in control.” 

The warm body beneath him struggles, trying to push him away. “Gnn mau- hhnkk blast, khgh-!” 

Redness rises to Kenobi's cheeks, a pretty flush in response to suffocation. Maul holds it for longer than he had meant to, smiling with teeth as he watches the jedi struggle for air. Kenobi’s weakened force signature is flailing. He kicks at Maul's scales, but the sith is too enraptured by the sight of his suffering to really feel it.

When tears start to build at the corners of blue eyes he lets go. There is barely a sign of where he had pressed, just a fading whiteness. Hmm. Hopefully it bruises. He likes the idea of leaving marks.

His prisoner glares up at him, rubbing at his throat and coughing, mulishly silent. A droplet falls from the corner of one eye, trickling down into his ginger beard. Maul gazes at the trail it leaves, fascinated. 

“What?" the jedi spits when he's stared too long. 

The sith blinks several times, recoiling. “Hnn… sleep then, jedi. I will return.”

As he's slipping back into the water, he hears a disgruntled, “I'm sure you will. You're unfortunately very good at that.”

In truth Maul does not go far. He too needs sleep, and the odds of Kenobi attempting an escape are high. Likely to fail and kill him regardless, but high.

The sith dares not rest in the seaweed and moss in the sunken sections of that room either. It would be just like the cowardly jedi to strike when he is unawares. His personal cave is too far away as well, with it's comfortable sand bed and myriad treasures. 

As a compromise, Maul wanders the tunnels nearby until he finds an underwater knoll of bubblegum pink coral and neon yellow sea sponges. The sith coils himself down onto the sandy floor of it. The arrangement is… less than comfortable, and he prefers to sleep in air pockets rather than underwater, but, it will do. 

The dragonfish sith dreams. Vivid visions of angry blue eyes lined by tear tracks, then and now. The biggest difference is whether it is facial hair or metal floor that catches the drips. The afterglow trial of rapidly moving lightsabers. The distant lava fields of Mustafar overlay with newer memories of oceanic magma geysers. 

He twitches in his sleep, muttering scraps of thoughts, eyes moving under his lids. As he sinks deeper, old nightmares and lost hopes lead him around in circles. Dreams blend into horrors, and horrors wash into nothingness. 

It is in a still space between one ephemeral vision and the next that the force twinges, hard, knocking the sith up out of sleep. Maul uncurls muzzily from his sandy knoll, feeling around in the force for the source of the disturbance. 

Nothing nearby…

Just in case, he goes to check on Kenobi. 

The sith swims into the prison cave, and pokes his head out of the water, expecting to be met with a jedi fast asleep too close to slowly melting stone. Or perhaps it has cooled too fast, and he is cold again? 

Instead, he emerges to a battle.

The purple-black tentacles of a giant gorogoro octopus writhe around the cave, trying to catch a Kenobi who is too fast, dodging with the liquid acrobatics of a jedi master. 

Maul snarls.

How dare this creature invade his caves and try to steal his prey!

With a roar worthy of his zabrak heritage, Maul propels himself from the water and barrels down on the offending mollusk. He lands on its bulbous head, and starts clawing into colorshifting skin. Pink and green spots bloom across it's pebbled hide.

He assumes that color indicates fear.

Tentacles flail and ink spills across the rocks as they fight. Utterly incensed, Maul finds it's beady little eyes and shoves his thumbs into them. They pop like grapes. Then, he rips into the body of the beast, finding and tearing out each of it's three hearts, and digging to crush all nine lumps of it's grey matter. Maul screams his fury and desecrates the corpse, sundering and smashing until it's all just so much pulp.

It's blue blood coats everything by the time his wrath is sated. 

The dragonfish sith withdraws from the corpse, dripping with gore, panting, his eyes a luminous green. 

He turns to seek out the jedi, swaying his way around the rocks. The man has tucked himself down behind his radiant barrier again. Maul comes about the side of it to find him clutching his shoulder, expression set to a grimace. 

“It,” the jedi breaks off, coughing, “It got me.”

-Tag list- (Comment if you want added!)

@obimaulartfire (<- the artist who inspired it all) @savageopressbignaturals

New? Start from Chapter 1! 👇🏽

🔥 PLEASE REBLOG FRIENDS! TYSM💕 🔥

enjoy the adventures of mermaul & kenobi this holiday season✨

[the-delta-42]

The Walking Dead Game What Ifs: What if Carver shot Clementine instead of Walter at the lodge?

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Survive

What if Carver shot Clementine instead of Walter at the lodge? Prompt Submitted by Darkwubs on AO3

Requests On Hold

Everyone jumped when a window shattered and one of Carver’s guys, Johnny, fell to the ground dead. Sarah stared in horror as Carver grabbed Clementine and hauled her over to a window, with her group yelling at Carver to let Clementine go, before he shoved her to her knees. The man pulled out his gun, placed the barrel close to Clementine’s head and pulled the trigger. Clementine’s head snapped to the side as she fell to the floor, with the bullet impacting a column on Clementine’s left. Sarah let out an involuntary scream, as blood pooled around Clementine’s head.

“That's for our man!” Yelled Carver, ducking behind a column, “Now, I didn't want to do this, but you ain't leavin' me much choice! So, here's what's gonna happen! I'm gonna march another one of your friends out here and I'm gonna put a bullet in the back of their head! Or you can give up now! Your choice.”

A bullet impacted the column, making Carver growl, rolled his eyes and silently tutted, before he grabbed Alvin, “Hi, Alvin.”

“You motherfucker.” Cursed Alvin, glaring up at Carver.

“Alvin!” Yelled Carlos, as Carver walked Alvin towards the window.

“Bill, no!” Cried Rebecca, “Tell him to stop! Kenny, stop!”

“Do you remember George, Alvin?” Asked Carver, casually, “You see, I do. I remember a guy that was your friend named George. I remember when you murdered him in cold blood. And why? Because you didn't like me? You could've lodged a complaint. You could've... well, you could've been civil.”

“Bill, no!” Screamed Rebecca, “We'll do whatever you want!”

“I love you, Bec.” Said Alvin, as Carver put the gun to his head.

“Bill, please!” Screamed Rebecca, as Alvin looked down.

A groan made everyone freeze, before Clementine sluggishly got up, the girl turned around and looked up at Alvin, revealing a bloody mess that covered her right eye.

“Clementine?” Asked Alvin, as Clementine sluggishly looked around.

“My head hurts.” Slurred Clementine, before trying to wander off. Alvin had shifted to the side, giving Kenny a clean shot at Carver. Carver fell to the floor, as the bullet pierced his shoulder. Clementine stumbled towards him and went to grab his gun, only for the man to get back up and grab her. A few moments later, Kenny stalked into the lodge, glaring at Carver.

S

Clementine spent most of the journey to Carver’s camp in and out of consciousness, with Carlos making sure she was still alive. Kenny had spent the journey trying to come up with a plan to escape, while Walter tried to question the others on Carver. Clementine’s right eye had swollen slightly, so they didn’t know if Clementine’s eye could be saved.

The truck stopping made them all go silent, before Troy appeared and ferried them into the community. Kenny heard some of the people gasp when they saw Clementine, before a man pushed his way to the front, “Troy, what the fuck did you do?”

“Vince—” Bonnie spoke up, as Vince glared at Troy.

Kenny noticed that Carver wasn’t with them, as a woman joined them and started checking Clementine’s eye.

“We kept telling Bill that Troy’s dangerous,” Spat Vince, “I guess we should consider her lucky that Troy’s aim is—”

“Bill’s the one that shot her.” Interrupted Bonnie, “One of them killed Johnny and Bill—”

“Shot her?” Scoffed a boy, “She must’ve—”

“He shot her at point blank range.” Said Walter, getting their attention, “He had us as prisoners and chose to shoot her.”

The woman looked up from Clementine’s face, “The swelling’s too big for me to see properly. I’m going to check again in the morning.”

With that, the group was guided towards a yard, where they talked to a guy in there and Alvin was carted off to Carver. Eventually, everyone went to sleep, with Clementine waking in the middle of the night wondering where the hell they were.

S

Clementine bit her bottom lip as the woman, Shel, prodded at her eye. Shel had a sister that was a couple years older than Clementine, who was watching as Carlos instructed Shel through the task.

“She’s lucky,” Said Shel, after a moment, “looks like the bullet skimmed across her skull.”

“So, she’ll probably have a concussion,” Said Carlos, after a moment, “given the amount of force that was behind that bullet.”

Shel nodded, before looking at Becca, “Becca, can you take her to the greenhouses?”

Becca rolled her eyes, by led Clementine to the greenhouse, scoffing when she saw Sarah, “Ugh, she’s such a baby.”

Clementine gave Becca a look, “What do you mean?”

“She’s useless, all she does is whine and follow her dad around.” Sneered Becca, “She’s such a baby, I wish she’d stayed gone.”

Clementine was giving the back of Becca’s head a hard look, she was tempted to push Becca, but Carver’s voice stopped her, “Now that isn’t very nice, Becca.”

Becca ducked her head, as Carver walked around them.

“Why don’t you work in the greenhouse today,” Ordered Carver, “I need to talk to Clementine.”

Becca hurried into the greenhouse, leaving Clementine on the roof with Carver.

“I suppose you think me shooting you was something personal.” Said Carver, as Clementine squinted up at him, “It wasn’t, your friend killed one of my guys and—”

“—and that’s something you can’t let slide.” Finished Clementine, “Negan said the same thing before beating someone’s skull in.”

Carver frowned at her, “How do you know that name?”

“I met him once.” Responded Clementine, “He was a better people person.”

Carver frowned and said, “Get in the greenhouse.”, before walking away. Clementine followed his instruction and looked up at Reggie, who had her pruning a plant with Becca and Sarah.

S

Clementine had watched as Sarah was guided to the medical area and Becca was given a bucket of nails, before Bonnie took her to a room to fill up gun magazines. The woman made some small talk and gave her a jacket she’d taken from the Ski lodge. A woman called Tavia turned up and took Clementine to help Becca carry the nails. The trip took a turn for the unexpected when some Walkers got in and Clementine had to fight a couple off.

Clementine had then been called to Carver’s office, passing Rebecca and spotting a bloody and unconscious Alvin. She’d then been taken back to the yard, where the rest of her group were having dinner. She heard from Kenny that Luke had flagged him down and they were working on getting him a radio, which Clementine found she’d been volunteered for. She managed to get a pair of radios, which they planned on getting one to Luke.

Halfway through the night, Becca and Shel were shoved into the Yard by Troy, waking everyone up.

“We didn’t do anything!” Yelled Becca, as Shel cradled her face with blood running through her fingers.

“Bullshit.” Sneered Troy, pulling the gate shut.

Becca screamed and banged on the gate, as Carlos sluggishly got up and guided Shel over to the fire.

“What’s going on?” Asked Rebecca, looking over at Carlos.

“Bill…” Shel winced, “Bill’s gotten paranoid. Someone took some food and medical supplies, and a pack of cigarettes. Since it happened on my watch, Becca and me got the blame.”

“What’d he do?” Asked Mike, frowning.

“He beat her up.” Scoffed Becca, giving them a suspicious look, “One of you must’ve taken it.”

“When?” Asked Clementine, “While we were working? None of us know where any of that stuff is kept.”

Shel let out a pained cough, now that she was in the light, her face was heavily bruised and one of her eyes was almost swollen shut. Clementine saw Shel flinch slightly every time Carlos moved. Rolling over, Clementine got herself comfortable and went back to sleep.

S

In the morning, everyone was directed to their tasks, a dark-skinned teen gave Shel and Becca a hate filled glare. Becca was assigned to the greenhouse with Sarah, while Clementine stowed one of the radios in her pocket. Shel was carted off by the teen, roughly jamming the barrel of his gun into her back.

After getting close to Kenny, Clementine slipped him the radio, before following Tavia to Bonnie. Clementine hoped that Kenny was able to get the radio to Luke, when Troy stormed in and roughly grabbed her arm and all but dragged her back to the yard.

Carver, evidently, discovered Luke and one of the missing radios. Before she could offer an excuse or explanation, Kenny took the radio from his pocket and claimed responsibility for taking it. Which led to Carver beating Kenny with the object, Clementine ran forward and got hit on the gash on her forehead by Troy. Through bloody vision, Clementine saw Shel trying to restrain Carver’s arm, when the teen from the morning shot her in the head. The last thing Clementine heard before darkness claimed her was Becca screaming.

S

Groaning, Clementine sat up and looked around. Carlos was hunched over Kenny, while the others were talking around a fire by the walls. Shel’s body hadn’t been moved, the bullet had entered through her eye and exited out the back of her head. Becca was curled up by the fire, hugging her legs.

“What…” Clementine groaned, “What did I miss?”

“Bonnie’s helping us escape.” Said Nick, quietly, “Becca hasn’t said anything since Shel got shot.”

Clementine nodded, before reaching up and feeling the bandage over her forehead.

“Carlos had some to spare,” Said Nick, “most were used on Kenny though.”

The pair made their way over to the others, Sarita was crying and being comforted by Rebecca while Mike and Luke spoke to Bonnie through the door to the yard, before the woman left. Mike and Luke joined the others.

“What'd she say?” Asked Rebecca, comforting Sarita.

“She said she can get us out of the pen if we can get the PA system going.” Said Mike, folding his arms and looking around them, “Second she hears it, she'll run over and spring us.”

“That's great.” Said Rebecca, as Clementine frowned.

“It's not great.” Argued Luke, dropping to the ground.

“What're you talking about?” Asked Rebecca, as Becca looked at Luke.

“Look, I know part of this is my fault, I... I know.” Winced Luke, “I was hungry, I got reckless tryin' to steal some food and I got caught...”

“Can we even trust Bonnie?” Asked Becca, sullenly.

“We got no reason not to trust her.” Sighed Luke, as Clementine hesitantly put a hand on Becca’s shoulder and gave her a wincing smile, “I mean, if she wanted us caught, we'd be caught. But tonight... tonight is risky.”

“It is pretty damn risky, guys.” Agreed Nick, as Walter shifted where he stood.

“Risky? Did you see what that son of a bitch just did?” Mike gestured towards Kenny, “Look, the plan works. Nothing needs to change. It's all set up. The hard part is done. This guy's fucking crazy. Who knows what he'll do next?”

“Yeah, but now we're dealin' with a guy beat to shit, Sarita in no shape to do anything, and I'm a goddamn mess.” Luke looked around them, “Look, we should rest up, okay? We should bide our time, and we should wait for an opening.”

“Bonnie's agreeing to help us tonight.” Protested Mike, as Becca glared up at him.

“And that doesn't mean she can't do it some other night.” Said Luke, looking at Mike.

“I don't know, guys. Luke's makin' sense.” Nick glanced around, “Maybe we should wait.”

“We're not waiting.” Scoffed Rebecca, giving Luke a dark look.

“Bonnie’s going to fall back in line with Carver.” Scowled Becca, as Clementine looked towards the gate.

“Ain't nothin' out there, guys. Trust me, I looked.” Said Luke, “There's no food, there's no supplies. They picked everything clean. I'm just sayin', we gotta be sensible about this.”

“This is being sensible.” Argued Mike.

Clementine tuned the others out, with Carlos joining them and relaying Kenny’s condition to them, only snapping out of her thoughts when Luke said “Okay, look... maybe I'm just playin' devil's advocate here, but if... damn it, if y'all are serious about goin' tonight, then we're gonna have to start talkin' about maybe... leavin' some folks behind.”

“No!” Snapped Sarita, as Walter glared at Luke.

“There is no other way.” Argued Luke.

“This is bullshit.” Scoffed Rebecca, crossing her arms.

“Well, I don't like it either, but guess what? It's where we're at.” Snapped Luke, glaring at them.

“Kenny, Sarita and I are only here because of you people, and now you intend to leave us behind?!” Demanded Walter, “You killed Matthew and led Carver to us!”

“So we should risk all of our lives?” Asked Carlos, callously.

“What are you saying?” Seethed Rebecca, glaring at the doctor.

“Nothing. I'm...” Carlos backtracked, “I'm just thinking out loud here.”

“We are not leaving him!” Snapped Sarita, glaring full force at Luke.

“No! We're not leaving Kenny!” Protested Clementine, “That's not fair! We stay together!”

“Life ain't fair, Clem.” Said Luke, “We're just tryin' to make the best of a bad situation, here.”

“You should be left behind.” Said Becca, “You can barely walk and you want to stay.”

“I know I’m a mess.” Sighed Luke, “But, I’m walkin’, Kenny ain’t. No one wants to leave Kenny.”

“Good, 'cause...” Kenny’s voice reached them, “you won't have to.”

S

Clementine and Becca were sent to turn the PA system on and, after Bonnie returned and spoke to Mike, get two people, Vince and Wyatt. Becca mentioned that they were part of the group she was with when she and Shel joined Carver’s group. Along with the guy that killed Shel, Russell.

“Found them.” Whispered Becca, as she and Clementine slowly climbed down, “Vince!”

The Asian man that Clementine saw talking to Tavia the other day looked up at them, “Becca!”

Giving the girl a quick hug, he checked her over, “Are you alright? I heard Shel had been shot.”

“Russell shot her.” Said Becca, before looking over at Clementine, “What are you doing?”

Clementine looked over from where she was stuffing bullets into her pockets, “…stocking up?”

“Those are rifle rounds,” Said a man with glasses and a thick beard, “useless in pistols.” He lifted a couple of bags up, “Besides, we got some supplies here. Bonnie heard that everywhere’d been picked clean.”

Clementine slowly nodded, “I’m going to turn the PA on.”

She quickly climbed up to the window and climbed out, with Becca joining her a moment later. They set the PA up and Clementine said her goodbyes to Alvin. They found Carver pointing a gun at the rest of their escaping group, with a guard and Russell with him. Thinking quickly, Clementine jumped and landed on guard’s back, burying her teeth into the side of his neck. Following Clementine’s example, Becca jumped on top of Russell, punching him in the head.

Hearing the two guys yelling made Carver turn around, giving Kenny the opportunity to shoot Carver’s leg. Finally managing to throw Clementine off him, the guard went to shoot her, only for Kenny to nail him in the head. Russell fell to the floor, with Becca still punching his head. Vince grabbed Becca, while Wyatt grabbed Russell and dragged him outside with the others following after him.

Clementine looked up at Kenny, as the man grabbed a crowbar. Looking around, Clementine decided to stay with Kenny and Rebecca, she was vaguely aware of Becca being guided outside by Vince. Watching someone get their head bashed in wasn’t something new to her, not after she and Christa stumbled across the Saviors, with Negan beating a guy’s head in. Compared to Negan, Kenny was rather tame.

Joining the others outside, they took out a couple of Walkers and covered themselves in their guts.

“This is disgusting.” Grumbled Becca, as they covered themselves.

Clementine noticed that Russell was covering himself as well, but her attention was drawn to Troy appearing and yelling at them. Jane offered for him to come with them, before shooting him in the dick.

Troy screaming drew the attention of the Walkers, allowing them to head off. Then they started getting shot at. Carlos was trying to keep Sarah calm, when a bullet went through Walter’s neck and grazed his arm.

“We need to hurry.” Urged Carlos, “Stay close to me Sarah.”

Clementine silently watched as they were guided away, before she saw Russell. He was struggling with a Walker biting his wrist. Clementine noticed she wasn’t the only one who was looking, before she moved forwards and brought her hatchet down on Russell’s wrist. After a couple of blows, Russell’s hand came off. He stared at his bloody stump and started screaming.

Russell’s screams drew the attention of more Walkers, with Clementine quickly moving over to Becca and pushing her forwards. Soon, the two girls found themselves with Rebecca and Jane. After Jane ‘disarmed’ a Walker, they soon found themselves in the woods, away from the Walkers.

They ended up meeting with Luke, Carlos and Sarah, with news that Nick was shot in the shoulder.

“You and that Lee guy walked through a herd like that?” Asked Luke, breathing heavily.

“No, it was bigger.” Answered Clementine, “This one didn’t have my parents in it though.”

“Jesus.” Swore Luke, glancing around at their small group, “When’d you lose ‘em?”

“At the start.” Shrugged Clementine, “I didn’t find out until three months in, though. Found out a week after my birthday.”

“How old were you?” Asked Luke.

“Nine.” Answered Clementine, “I found them the same day Lee died.”

Despite the pain she was in, Rebecca cleared her throat and gave Luke a pointed look. Wincing, Luke looked away. They’d walked, or in some cases limped, for nearly an hour, before Clementine spoke, “Are we there yet?”

“No, still got some more walkin’ to do.” Answered Luke, as Rebecca let out a groan, “We’re close though.”

Clementine let out what sounded like a profanity ladened grumble, but kept walking.

S

They found the others at Parker’s Run, with Sarita checking Nick’s shoulder. Vince was the first to notice them, with Kenny spotting Clementine and rushing over, “Clem! You alright?”

Clementine nodded, “Walter’s dead, and that Russell guy got bit. I cut his hand off, but he got swarmed by Walkers.”

“Yeah, Nick’s in rough shape.” Sighed Kenny, before spotting Carlos helping Rebecca, “We’ve done a couple of checks, we ain’t found any Walkers.”

“There’s a gift shop near here,” Said Luke, “if we can get it open, it might be a safe place for us to hunker down.”

Kenny nodded, “Right, anyone know how to pick a lock?”

“I’ll do it,” Said Jane, before glancing at the girls, “I’ll take them with me, keep an eye out while I work.”

S

After leaving Jane and Luke, after Jane and the girls encountered a stranger called Arvo and Jane tried to rob him. Clementine had remembered the last time she stole from someone, she didn’t want to get more people killed, like last time. Sarah had gone and helped Carlos and Sarita with Rebecca, while Clementine went down to Bonnie and Mike, and Becca found herself on watch with Kenny, Nick, Vince and Wyatt.

A little while later, Clementine, Bonnie and Mike came back with some big bottles of water and a thick coat. Noticing the Walkers that were being attracted by Rebecca’s screams, the group fell back to the gift shop, Nick stumbled and ended up wrestling with a Walker before he managed to get away. They arrived and found Luke and Jane having sex, but they decided to focus on getting everyone onto the balcony, making sure to lock the gate to prevent the Walkers from following them. Clementine winced as Kenny started giving Luke and Jane the third degree, while Vince and Wyatt worked on getting a fire going. Carlos and Sarita managed to get Rebecca’s baby born with little complications. Rebecca looked tired, and looked like she was going to fall asleep.

“Here.” A portion of food was presented to Clementine, “You must be hungry.”

Clementine nodded, taking the food from Kenny, “Mike wanted to eat a raccoon we saw down at the museum.”

“Can’t say I blame him.” Chuckled Kenny, looking around the group they were in, “We’re gonna have to move on soon. This place is too exposed, there’s nothing to hunt and we don’t have the supplies to last the winter.”

“There’s a town across the lake,” Said Clementine, “maybe we can find a house and stay there until it’s safer for the baby to travel.”

“Does give us a problem for moving to Wellington.” Remarked Kenny, looking down at Clementine, “Clearing a house or something might give us somewhere safe and warm to sleep, until we can decide what we’re gonna do.”

Kenny let out a sigh, “Get some sleep, Clem. We’ll work on it in the morning.”

S

They’d started walking towards the town, the group, except Clementine, Luke and Kenny, found out that Jane had left in the night. Nick looked sick, but Carlos was more concerned about Rebecca and her baby, while Sarita kept an eye on Kenny. Bonnie volunteered to check Clementine’s forehead, reminding the girl that she had a massive gash from the bullet that skimmed across her skull.

They ended up running into the guy from the day before, along with his group, which was dwarfed compared to theirs. They’d asked about Jane, before Nick gave a violent cough, and sat down. Clementine ignored the ‘discussion’ instead focussing on Nick, seeing him slump forwards a bit. Frowning, only slightly because it made her forehead hurt, Clementine watched at Nick twitched. Now that she thought about it, Nick looked like Duck and Lee did when they…were…

“Fuck!” Clementine raised her gun and shot the Walker in the head.

Chaos erupted, everyone made a dash for cover, Luke got shot in the leg, Wyatt got hit to the arm, Kenny, Vince and Mike were exchanging fire with the Russian group, Sarah ended up tackling Clementine behind a rock, with the pair finding themselves between a dead Nick and a shrieking baby.

“Ugh, why is he so loud?!” Groaned Sarah, as Clementine grabbed him and pulled him out of the line of fire, just as Becca hit the group bleeding from her ear.

“Son of a bitch!” Becca held her bleeding ear, before Sarah grabbed her collar and pulled her over to them, depositing her on top of Nick, “Ew!”

Clementine winced, before looking at Nick and spotting that his shirt had ridden up. After a moment, Clementine lifted the shirt up further and found a bite mark, “…Shit.”

The gunfire stopped, soon a shadow was over them, and the baby was roughly taken from Clementine.

“Careful!” Snapped Carlos, taking the baby from Luke, “Clementine, what happened?”

Clementine pointed at the bite on Nick’s side, “He got bit.”

“Fuck.” Swore Mike, as Clementine slowly got up, “It must’ve happened yesterday.”

“How?” Demanded Luke, “Why was he so close to a buncha Lurkers?”

The group stared at him, before Becca, through her pain, said, “When two people who barely know each other get freaky—”

“It happened because you and Jane were rolling in the hay, like a pair of fucking teenagers.” Scoffed Kenny, as Wyatt and Vince secured the only surviving Russian.

Clementine looked past them and saw one of the Russians, a woman, reanimating. The survivor, Arvo, noticed and started calling to her, before realising she was a Walker. Arvo started to uncontrollably sob, as Clementine put the Walker down.

S

They ended up walking to a power station, where they camped for the night. Clementine ended up having some rum and letting slip that Nick gave her some moonshine, which went over well with Kenny. Arvo had been reclusive, so they hadn’t worried about him. Luke mentioned that it was his birthday, or his birthweek, he said he wasn’t sure.

Clementine wasn’t sure who started the fire, but she was grateful for some warmth. Rebecca named the baby, taking Kenny’s suggestion on board, after his father. They’d already started calling him AJ, Becca and Sarah declined the offer to hold him, Becca because AJ threw up on her and Sarah because AJ peed. Keeping him clean, warm and happy was harder than any would’ve liked, but Wyatt had packed diapers.

“Everybody better enjoy the peace while it lasts,” Said Kenny, gruffly wincing as Carlos and Sarita checked their injuries, “He’ll be screaming his head off in a few weeks.”

“But he’s always sleeping.” Said Sarah frowning.

Clementine found herself starting to laugh, “Christa said they do that, after the first few weeks they’ll be needy.”

“Christa have experience with children?” Asked Bonnie, looking at Clementine.

Clementine’s mind went back to Christa giving birth, Kenlee lived for a few hours, before the cold took her. Clementine burnt anything she could find to keep the baby warm, especially since Christa had passed out. She’d woken up to Clementine wrapping Kenlee up in her hoodie, before taking over trying to keep the baby warm, sending Clementine off to grab anything they could burn.

But, nothing changed. Kenlee died, and part of Christa died with her. The woman started teaching Clementine how to hunt, cook, treat injuries, everything she needed to survive.

“She… she had a baby.” Answered Clementine, looking down, “A girl, Kenlee. She… she died a few hours after…”

“Christ.” Swore Kenny, before running a hand down his face, “What happened?”

“Christa put her down.” Said Clementine, “We moved on, ran into a guy who was with the Saviors and had a run in with Negan. We managed to get away, but we got ambushed by some bandits and got separated.”

The group stared at her, before Kenny awkwardly cleared his throat, “Let’s get some sleep, we got a long journey tomorrow.”

S

“I think some Walker’s heard that gunshot.” Said Wyatt, as they walked on the frozen lake. It’d been decided that Kenny and Luke would go with Arvo. Carlos and Sarita walked with Vince and Mike, while Becca, Sarah and Clementine walked with Rebecca and AJ, with Bonnie, Wyatt and Jane bringing up the rear.

Clementine looked back and spotted some cracks, “Guys—”

The ice broke and Bonnie and Wyatt fell through. The hole caused more cracks to spread across the lake, looking around, Clementine realised that one of the cracks went under her, while Becca, Sarah, Rebecca and AJ managed to get to the other side. The next thing Clementine knew everything was cold, she saw Walkers reaching up to her. She couldn’t breathe, then a hand grabbed her jacket and she was hauled out of the water. Clementine coughed, as Jane hastily made her way to house, where Luke had managed to get a fire going.

Everything for Clementine was a cold, loud, blur. Sarita and Rebecca turfed all the guys out of the room, while Jane pulled some dry clothes out of one of the bags Vince and Wyatt had taken from Howe’s. Clementine was so cold, that she didn’t notice them undressing and redressing her, she thought she heard Sarita say something about a period, but she ignored it. Soon afterwards, everything went dark.

Sarita carefully shifted Clementine so she was close to the fire, before looking over at Rebecca and AJ. Jane was wringing Clementine’s wet clothes out, so they could be dried, while Bonnie took Sarah and Becca outside. Everyone soon came inside, with Kenny and Luke keeping an eye on Clementine.

“I can’t believe Bonnie and Wyatt are gone.” Said Vince, looking around, “What happened?”

“The ice broke.” Answered Jane, “Clementine fell through a crack that ran underneath her.”

“I’m gonna work on the truck outside,” Said Kenny, “but someone might want to check the town for any other working vehicles.”

“I’ll take Mike and the kid,” Said Vince, “we’ll look for an RV or a people mover.”

Kenny nodded, waving a hand, before heading outside to work on the truck.

S

Clementine woke up confused, she’d seen Lee in the RV after Lilly killed Carley, so finding herself in a house wasn’t something she was expecting, then she spotted Luke and Jane by a window, Rebecca and AJ were closer to her, while Carlos quietly spoke with Sarah and Sarita was talking with Becca.

“Where—” Clementine winced at how raspy her voice sounded, “where are the others?”

Rebecca handed Clementine a bottle of water, “Kenny’s working on a truck outside and Vince had taken Mike and Arvo into town on a supply run.”

Clementine nodded, before looking at the clothes and frowned, “Did someone undress me?”

“We had to get you out of your wet clothes,” Said Sarita, getting up, “I’m going to let Kenny know that you’re awake.”

Clementine nodded, looking around, before Kenny rushed in with Vince.

“We managed to find an RV.” Said Vince, panting slightly, “Mike and Arvo were got by Walkers.”

“And I got the truck running,” Informed Kenny, “Now, we just have to decide what to do.”

“We could go back to Howe’s and raid whatever supplies they’ve left behind.” Suggested Vince, “If we’re going to be moving on, we’re going to need a lot of supplies.”

“And it would be the best place to get formula.” Said Jane, before looking at Rebecca, who was feeding AJ, “You know, for when Rebecca’s asleep.”

Kenny didn’t look happy, but agreed with them. They agreed to leave first thing in the morning.

S

“That’s the last of it.” Said Becca, as they finished loading into Kenny’s truck.

“Hey, Kenny?” Asked Clementine, making the man look up.

“Yeah, Clem?”

“What are we going to do if Wellington doesn’t let us in?”

The group froze, while Kenny frowned, “We’ll… we’ll move on, keep travelling, until we find a place.”

S

The group had all piled into the vehicles and started driving for Wellington. As Kenny said, they kept moving when they were refused entry, eventually running into a small family, Randy, Patricia and their son, Gill. Javi, a former baseball player, his sister-in-law, Kate, and her two step-children, Gabe and Mariana, before the travelling group stumbled upon a boarding school with kids surviving in it.

Their group grew as it was travelling, with Luke and Jane having a little girl, Jamie, and Kenny and Sarita having twins, Lee and Maddie. The boarding school’s nurse, Clarissa Martin, welcomed them, especially when she met Carlos.

Next Story: What if Nick shot Clementine?

[wolf-among-mechs]

Clan Wolf Dropship Elysium Coreward Periphery 24 August 3049 

Asuka closed down the Chatterweb function on the computer. 

“Good to know that the trial of grievance is just a very roundabout way of punching out the problem with someone.” The room was sparse and mostly built for function and quite small. It wasn't a great room to have claustrophobia in. It was better than a brig at least. But not by much. It had a table currently occupied by the computer. The bed wasn't very comfortable and a bit of a mess.

“I never understood the point of making the bed anyway.” She thought to herself looking at it. The last thing of note was a nightstand next to the bed. An empty water bottle stood on it.

“Might as well go fill it up while I look for something to substitute for a candle.” She picked up the water bottle and stuck it in her pocket for now. “Sometimes I forget how big these pockets are.” She said to herself.

The last couple of days hadn't been very good. The bed was far too hard for her, the food was taking a lot to get used to and she had been captured by enemies who for some reason didn't treat her quite like a prisoner. She was free to walk the ship as long as she didn't go somewhere sensitive such as the bridge, engine room or armoury. It was like she was a passenger. But they treated her somehow with more respect than that. Like an invisible set of arbitrary rules she had no control over. To the credit of her captors, they seemed interested in telling her the rules when she was able to identify them, which was quite a bit better than similar experiences in the past. Nevertheless it was making her frustrated. They kept using words, terms and rules that were completely alien to her and yet expected her to follow and know them! So when she couldn't and didn't they got upset and talked down to her. Some of them clearly tried to start fights with her, as a matter of fact they postured like drunk mercenary hotshots at a bar trying to prove who was the toughest and roughest mechwarrior. Yet when she tried to call them on it they fell back on alien rituals and words and if she stepped out of it, then the performance had to be called off. Yet there were people here who nearly walked on eggshells around her, like they were afraid of making her angry. It just didn't make any sense to her. Thinking about it was giving her a headache.

Acknowledging that headache made it worse. There was a soft ringing noise in her ears and Her fuse and temper were growing shorter. She pinched the bridge of her nose. It had been a really long time since she felt this irritated. She needed to keep it in check before snap, lose control of herself and lash out in anger to force the world to make sense. Every act felt like she needed to reason it out with her anger, her beliefs and even sense of self. It was like attempting to move an Atlas through a swamp. She took a deep breath. It didn’t help. Sleeping wasn't going to help. Resting wasn't going to help. She needed to do something. Find a way to meditate and clear her mind. Push all the errant thoughts out of her head. She was going to need a candle or a substitute. With that in mind, she stepped out into the walkway outside her room.

“I am going to need a piece of string to act as a wick…” Asuka said to herself as she wandered The corridor between the Mechbays and the crew quarters. A sign crosses her vision pointing to the mess hall. An idea enters her mind. Cooking oil. That would be flammable enough to burn. But also not enough that it would immediately flash. She could make an oil candle of sorts. She walked in that direction.

The mess hall was empty and quiet. It was made for feeding maybe around a hundred people. As far as Asuka was concerned it followed the conventions of a normal army mess hall. A flag of a wolf with stars hung on one side, she had identified that as the emblem of Clan Wolf. It was kinda cool as far as Asuka was concerned. She had always liked the wolf imagery since she was a teenager. She even had a tattoo on one shoulder of a wolf's head. She made the mercenary company she founded have one as its emblem too! There were also some posters of people she had never seen trying to convey some sort of inspiring message.

On closer inspection the tables were marked. Something she hadn't noticed earlier during lunch. Some of them had more cushioning and were marked with some sort of starburst symbol. It looked familiar somewhere but she couldn't place it. When she had taken a seat, or attempted to, on the cushioned starburst tables the warrior Karen had confronted her. Only now did it occur that maybe she had taken a seat somewhere she wasn't allowed to sit. She surmised that the fancy tables were for warriors. As a bondswoman it wasn't her right to sit there… but she couldn't rule out that Karen was just a bitch.

There was movement inside the kitchen.

“Hey!” Asuka called out as she approached the counter. A man with long black hair tied back looked over. He had a hat to keep the hair from the food.

“Aff? Are you looking for something? Lost?” He sounded a little stressed but ultimately trying to be helpful.

“Oh no. Well actually I was looking for the kitchen.”

“Why?” The man asked.

She tried to snap to an excuse. Something to get ahead. But her mind was unfocused, scattered and in turmoil. 

xxxxxxxxxx

“I doubt he will hand you cooking oil. What you are doing is a fire hazard.” Her mechtech heritage said.

“Who cares what he thinks. He is just a cook. Shove him into a locker and take what you want. He is nothing to you.” The feral wolf stirred within her.

“He is not a warrior. He may not be a target of your anger, to assault him would be a great shame upon you.” Her bushido spirit spoke calmly.

“There is a strong smell of food here. A lot of food. Some of the spices are really good. Stuff that would be good on the food. Something sticks out. It is souring the rest. Its presence causes interference” Her autistic sensor suite reported.

“The smell reminds a bit of pizza, doesn't it? Oregano or something. That'd be great by now. Something a bit greasy and just slightly overcooked would be so good right now. Do you think these deep periphery weirdos have pizza?” Her inner sphere pride distracted her.

“Lunch was pretty bad. The spices tasted like vinegar. I could only eat the rice, the sandwich and the cucumbers. I am pretty hungry.” Her autistic sensor suite had logged earlier in the day.

“But the thing you truly hunger for is a fight. Especially with the fucks who took our guns and our swords.” The feral wolf growled.

xxxxxxxxxx

The world felt a bit heavier from the thoughts swirling in her head. She felt slow and unresponsive as a mech operating with the blank setting on the neurohelmet.

“Because I was assigned to help cook dinner! You know… the whole bondsperson thing.” Asuka held up her bondcord and tried to smile.

“Really? How come you are not assigned to the mechbays? That is where warriors taken as bondsmen usually are assigned.” The man in the kitchen said.

“Uh well.” Asuka hesitated. “I do not know. I was just told to report to the kitchen.” She shrugged.

“I had not been told nor will I require extra hands. It is tomato soup tonight. There are only so many hands that can aid with it.” The cook said and moved a pot up on a desk. Asuka felt her shoulders tense up. The consistency of soup had always been difficult to keep down. Usually it just came back up again. The taste and feeling of tomatoes like that too felt vile. She would rather eat a stale military ration. She'd hate that too but at least it would stay down. She forced her shoulders back down.

“Are you alright?” The cook asked, seeing her tense up.

“I… do not like soup. Would it be possible to cook something else for myself?” Asuka frowned slightly. The cook stared at her.

“You are not assigned to the kitchen quineg?” He raised an eyebrow.

“No…Neg.” She swapped to the words they used around here.

“You are the bondswoman who had the brawl around lunch with Warrior Karen quiaff?”

“Aff.” Asuka nodded.

“If you want to hide in my kitchen I will allow you on one condition, bondswoman. The power connections for my equipment are damaged somehow and I need them fixed. Since nobody else is helping me, could you get some equipment? I will require a multimeter with probes and wire cutters. I can at least figure out the problem then.”

“Multimeter and wire cutters. Got it. I will go look around the mechbay.” Asuka said and headed out again.

++++++++

She wandered into the mechbays of the dropship. The noise of welding, cranes and drill machinery met her with an overwhelming salvo along with the fluorescent lights attached to the ceiling and the flood lights mounted in mechbays.

In the first mechbay she entered was a single technician currently fitting armour plates on a mech's legs. Changing and moving an armour slab and welding and cutting. She looked at the mech in question. 

“Looks like a Thunderbolt.” She said to herself. The mechtech stopped his welding and looked back at her.

“Thunderbolt? This is a Summoner.” The mechtech folded up his welding mask.

“Sorry. I am not familiar with your mechs. I am Asuka Hoshi, Bondswoman.”

“I am Jin. Technician. I have already heard that you might be working in the mechbay with us during your time as bonded. I also saw you caused a bit of trouble with Warrior Karen.”

 “I think it is more fair to say she was causing trouble for me. But yes. I was told I need to be of some use around here.”

“Aff. You do.”

The words felt sharp and pointed. Something about them pierced through her in the moment. Part of her knew that wasn't the case. Yet it sparked something inside her. A deep anger roared to life.

xxxxxxxxxx

“The fucking mechtech does not know his place. He maintains warmachines. You are a warmachine. Show him what you are made to do. Destroy him.” The feral wolf within her snarled. She could already feel her hand clench to a fist.

“He is of a different path. It intersects with your own. If he is to respect you, Asuka-dono, you must respect him.” Her bushido spirit pointed out.

“Hey wait, look. There's something strange in this mechbay. One of the gunpods is empty and hollow. That looks like a pulse laser hanging on the crane. Is it in the middle of a refit?” Her mechtech heritage was excited. It dispelled the anger she felt. Curiosity took its place. A distraction she welcomed.

xxxxxxxxxx

Asuka's nostrils flared as she narrowed her eyes at Jin. However, a distraction presented itself. The gunpod of the Summoner had a really strange design to her.

“Is this "Summoner" undergoing a refit?” She asked after a moment's thought.

“Neg. The omnipods are being changed. Warrior Sean changed his mind five minutes later so I had to tell him to make his mind up. As well as if he wants to put an autocannon there instead he should also make sure there is ammunition.” The mechtech Jin responded. He shook his head as if dealing with a rookie mistake.

“Is that why there is a large hole in the gunpod?” “Aff. Thanks to the Omnipods all we really need to do is remove what is there and put another pod inside. Maybe fit it a bit and just slot it back in, wire it and connect the ammunition system. As long as the tonnage and spacing fits you can do it pretty quick.” “So you could swap a Medium laser for a pulse laser? Or… SRM for LRM rack? How long would it take?” “Aff. As long as the weight and spacing works out. It would take about two hours maybe? The gyroscope computer realigns and balances the myomers and the chassis on its own. If you need to put on larger weapons such as gauss rifles or PPCs it will take a bit longer.”

“Owing to their much higher power demands.”

“Aff. You are from the inner sphere quiaff?”

“Correct” Asuka nodded.

“Then you have probably never seen this kind of thing before.” technician Jin leaned against the scaffolding. 

“No. It is actually quite amazing that you could change the weapon loadout for an entire mech in a single day. The ones I am used to require extensive calibrations.”

“I bet. But I am pretty sure you will get the hang of it. If you can maintain mechs the old way, this should be a breeze.” Technician Jin grinned.

She felt taunted again. A heat rose in her as a result and her shoulder and hands tensed up.

xxxxxxxxxx

“He's calling you backwards.” Her inner sphere pride told her.

“All the more reason to fuck him up.” The feral wolf concurred.

“Then let us go forward instead. Show them how much you have to think on your feet in the inner sphere.” Her mechtech heritage grinned.

“Accept his challenge and win. It is the way.” The bushido spirit calmly nodded.

xxxxxxxxxx

“Probably. If nothing else it must make repairs easier. Which must be pretty useful. But I suppose in the inner sphere they know exactly what goes where regardless of what the mechwarrior thinks.” Asuka shrugged one shoulder and grinned back.

“So what? The modularity allows us to refit it for anything. Whatever the warriors want.”

“I do not doubt that, Jin. But a well drilled technician team can put a torn apart Warhammer-6R in a couple of hours. Saw them work in the stock battles on Solaris 7. Made it into a form of art.”

“But they would have to rebalance it then quiaff?”

“Indeed. But surely so would you if the pods were blown off.” Asuka smirked.

“Are you under the belief that the inner sphere technicians are superior then?” Jin crossed his arms, shooting the warrior a very slight glare.

“I would not know. How quickly do you think you could remove an armour plate and replace it?” Asuka shrugs. “Like on the side of the other leg there?

“On my own? A single armour small piece of ferro-fibrous armour like that will just take me fifteen minutes... But I could do it in maybe eight.”

“Engineer time dilation huh? Well how I about I time you, see how quick you can do it?”

“It is a bit of a waste of time to start the repair on that leg already.” Jin looked annoyed that she didn’t believe him. But there was definetly something stirring in him. It sounded like fun.

“It would however be very instructive to see a skilled technician in action and compare to what I already know quiaff?” Asuka put a hand on her hip as she looked down at the technician. He thought for a moment and then nodded.

“Aff I suppose.”

“Think you can do it in seven minutes?”

“That would be a fun challenge... Bargained well and done bondswoman. Let me try. Grab the noteputer and use the timer.” Jin grinned. Asuka looked at the work table and grabbed the noteputer.

“And… Go!” Jin worked furiously removing the armour plate with deft hands. While the workmanship of such experienced hands was impressive and the tools being used among the clans were interesting her eyes drifted to the work table. A power pack laid there on the tool table. Charged too. While Jin was busy, Asuka’s hand swiftly slipped over and grabbed the power pack and pocketed it. She could easily use it to light something. Or at least use another tool if need be. They were a dime a dozen in any mechbay, nobody would miss it.

“Done!” Jin held his arms up as the armour plate was fully attached on the Mech's foot.

“Six minutes. Thirty six point eighty-seven seconds. Impressive.” Asuka nodded appreciatively. As she was concerned it was a genuinely good time.

“Told you!” The technician pumped his arms victoriously.

“Very good. You have some very interesting tools here. I look forward to using them as well.”

“You should see the tools we use for the omnipods.” Jin grinned to Asuka.

“I am certain I will in time. Oh! By the way, Jin. The kitchen needs to borrow a multimeter with probes, wire cutters and some spare wires. Kitchen power connections are apparently broken and if they cannot repair them soon it will be rations tonight. I was asked to find some tools for it.” Asuka said, remembering why she was in the mechbay in the first place.

“Why did you only bring that up now?” Jin laughed. “That cabinet over there. The yellow one.”

“Sorry I got really lost in looking at the cool omnipod things. Thank you Jin. Much appreciated.”

“Just make sure they get the kitchen fixed so we get dinner.” Jin turned to return to his work. Quite satisfied he had shown her what he was capable of.

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

Asuka continued through the mechbay. She passed by another work desk on wheels and had a look at it. In front of another mechbay, she stopped and looked at the mech inside it.

“Looks like an Enforcer 4R. Except bigger. And two autocannons instead of one. Bore is smaller than on the 4R though. And a missile pod underneath it. Original setup. I was going to say it looks kind of striking and cool but from underneath it almost looks like it has a giant jaw or moustache and I cannot unsee it.” 

She looked at the yellow work cabinet in order to distract herself from the moustachemech.

“Let me see here… There is the multimeter. Wow, that looks more advanced than the ones in the company. Wirecutter and some wires… I think they might need some insulated gloves for working with electric stuff in a kitchen. Better safe than sorry.” She grabbed them and put them in a robust looking blue toolbox to carry them in. A few excess pieces of wire she pocketed for herself. She could use that to create a spark for ignition easily enough.

“Nobody is going to miss it.” She nodded to herself.

She walked back through the mechbay with her direction set on the kitchen. While on the way she kept an eye out for other useful items in her candlemaking endeavour. The other mechbays were filled with mechs she had seen already. In the far end a timber wolf. The same one she had trampled before. Although it had been repaired by the looks of it. It must have taken a better part of the week. In the gantry above the mechbay she could make out two people talking. It looked like Maddix, the mechwarrior who had piloted the timber wolf in the group of mechs that she fought the other day. He was talking to another she didn't recognise. The uniform suggested it was a mechtech.

xxxxxxxxxx

“Those two people up there are talking. But what about? It is the warrior Maddix and a technician. There is a clear pecking order at work here. One is higher than the other. The mechtech looks almost servile.” Captain Obvious surmised.

“Maddix is annoyed at you. He called you dezgra before. That must be bad. It sounds bad. It sounds like something you call someone you hate.” The Feral Wolf observed.

“Their discussion is not about you. Maddix has yet to see you. This must be instructions to outfit his mech.” Captain Obvious told her. She squinted to better see.

“The floodlights are causing damage to the eyes. The glare is interfering.” Her autistic sensor suite reported. Her entire vision grew out of focus and blurry for a moment by the light.

“That bastard took the other of your guns. Take it back. Tear him apart. Assert your dominance and claim it back.” The feral wolf snarled.

“By trial of grievance? That seems to be the path to do those things.” Asuka questioned her own words.

“Trials? Fuck the rules. He took YOUR GUN. Take it back.” The feral wolf countered.

“The people here appear to abide by tradition. Playing by the rules will not only give you the firearm back, but also respect. If you can walk the same walk they do. They will also learn to respect you.” The name in blood advised her.

“No. They are still human. They claim to follow these rules and ideals. But they will betray you and stab you in the back just as easily as anyone with a noble title would.” The Feral wolf snarled again.

“The Chatterweb has been the most telling. The warrior Rose seemed to be in disbelief that Karen would turn on you if adopted. They seemed excited for you to get a chance to join the clans. They speak highly of it. The warrior Jehan seems very impressed by what you spoke of. They consider it a waste if you were not adopted. Perhaps even to the point that he may very well issue a challenge to gain you for themselves. This is consistent with what Arvidia told you as well. You are neither slave nor prisoner here. Far more than both. You have been given the chance to become one with them. A member among them. That is what they hope you will be. Even if you were to somehow fail to be adopted among the warriors. You may find peace in another task.” The name in blood laid out for her. 

“Asuka-dono. Yours is the path of the samurai. To you there must be no other path. Between act and thought there is clarity. In that, your path will forever be that of the honourable warrior. You will not fail. Instead, welcome the challenge. Be tested. Become a better warrior.” Her bushido spirit concurred.

“It may mean waging war on the people you fought for though. Remember what Jaimie told you? That the clans would come and wage war against the inner sphere. How can they expect you to pick up arms against them? That's part of who you are isn't it?” Her inner sphere pride told her.

“The inner sphere was happy to raise arms against you when it suited them. You owe them nothing. Least of all our loyalty.” The feral wolf snarled.

“Did somebody just yell?” Captain Obvious wondered.

xxxxxxxxxx

“Hey!” Maddix shouted out from atop of the mechbay gantry. Asuka snapped back to the moment and looked around searching for what he was yelling about. “I mean you, bondswoman.”

“huh-What?” Asuka snapped back from being lost in thought for a moment.

“Get back to work and pull your weight!” Maddix yelled out.

“I have not received any orders.” Asuka shrugged. “It had been mentioned she would work with the mechtechs. But no direct orders had been given”.

“Do you believe that gives you permission to be a lazy surat?” Maddix looked annoyed.

“I have no idea what in the hell surat is. What do you want me to do you, dummy? Grab a hammer and bang the mechs with it and sing blessed chants of Blake like a fricking comstar Acolyte?” Asuka gestured towards one of the mechs. “Besides I am running an errand for the kitchen, asshat.” She showed the toolbox in her hand.

“An improvement on starting a fight with Karen at least.”

“Karen started a fight with me. The bitch.”

“Karen has issued a trial of grievance against you. Who started it is immaterial.”

“Well she immaterially started it so there! Oh yeah! Actually. I want to issue a trial of grievance towards you! You took my gun. I want it back.” Asuka almost huffed.

“I took it as isorla at your defeat. You are lucky I stopped there, had it been up to me I would have seen you killed for your dezgra tactics and killing Star Captain Stefan. But William had other plans. Somehow.” Maddix narrowed his eyes. He clearly was angry with her. He was following the rules even when his spirit told him to go down and beat her up.

“You did not defeat me idiot! I knocked your mech out first thing in the battle! If anything I should be claiming isorla from you!” Asuka glared back at him.

“You did not fight by the rules and made a mockery of our traditions. As I said. You are dezgra.” Maddix crossed his arms.

“So what do the rules say about taking isorla from someone you did not defeat?” Asuka put a hand to her hip. Maddix narrowed his eyes. “At least I had the excuse that I did not know the rules. What is yours? Or are you the real dezgra here huh?”

“I will make you eat those words.” Maddix said and walk towards the lift.

The grip on the toolbox in her hand tightened. She felt anticipation and even a feeling of fun and joy at the notion of using it on Maddix.

xxxxxxxxxx

“Smash his head with the toolbox when he comes down. He will not stand a chance. You will enjoy it.” The feral wolf growled.

“Wait. Challenge him! Follow the tradition and the rules. He will have to respect you if you do.” The name in blood told her.

“But do not hold back. Assert your dominance. Conquer him. Beat him at his own game.” The feral wolf snarled.

xxxxxxxxxx

The sudden idea that rose in her head felt better. To fight in the best kind of way. The most suitable way. However fun it would be to smash Maddix’ face. But to return to the seat of a mech and pilot it in a battle, that felt much more fun.

“How about a trial of grievance instead of a brawl? Let us settle it as mechwarriors. Like true warriors.” Asuka yelled out. Maddix stopped in his tracks. He thought about it for a moment.

“Aff… I would love a rematch against your sorry hide. If only to put you in your place. But there is one problem with that. Your mech is in tatters.” Maddix returned to the railing. “You will have to borrow one. I will find you a spare mech and our circle of equals. Then I will put you in your place.” Maddix pushed himself off the railing to stand. “Tomorrow we fight.”

“Had this been the inner sphere I would cast doubt on you picking a mech for me. But I believe you are an honourable enough warrior to not saddle me with a Stinger against that Timber Wolf or whatever.” Asuka called out before he had a chance to leave.

“Aff. We will fight as equals, available mechs permitting. It will be a field of honour, bondswoman.”

xxxxxxxxxx

“You know the word that sits on your tongue. You have heard it among the Dragoons, your kin. Speak it and he will know you will fight as warrior to warrior.” The name in blood told her.

xxxxxxxxxx

“Seyla.” Asuka said. It felt like instinct despite never having spoken it her entire life. It felt natural. It probably wasn’t correct looking at Maddix’ expression. But it felt right.

“Seyla.” Maddix replied after a short pause. He flashed a surprised look at her for but an instant. He wasn't sure how or why. But clearly his foe was trying to play by the rules. She simply didn't know them. An earnestness he couldn't deny. She wasn't trying to mock him or traditions. She was trying to learn. He nodded to himself and then wandered off to prepare for their battle.

“Well that went well.” Asuka told herself.

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

“Hey! I got your multimeter.” Asuka cried out from the counter to the kitchen. The cook appeared.

“Here. Everything is in the toolbox. I brought some extra wires and tools while I was at it. In case you need It.” She handed the blue toolbox over. The cook looked through it. Grabbed the multimeter and the toolbox and stepped into the kitchen.

“Great work bondswoman. Come on in and hide from the warriors. Try not to make a mess of the kitchen though.” The cook smiled at her.

“So is there a cook caste or something?” Asuka asked as she stepped into the kitchen and closed the door after her.

“What? Oh wow you have no idea how it works around here do you?”

“No-Neg. Fuck. Sorry. I am still getting used to the whole… Aff and Neg thing around here.” Asuka grumbled.

“Avoid cursing Bondswoman. It will rile up most people in the clans. The kind of people who have never hammered their own thumb working anyway.” The cook snickered as he put the toolbox next to one of the stoves and pulled it out to reveal the power connection. “You will want to put the gloves on. So you do not get shocked.” Asuka said as she followed to look.

“Oh good thinking.” He stopped what he was doing and did just that.

“So no cook caste then… Quineg?” She tried to fit in. 

“Neg. I am of the labour caste. Lifting, carrying, farming, cooking and cleaning. Stuff like that. Lowest of the castes.” He sounded like he didn’t really care about that last part.

“So who is at the top?” Asuka crossed her arms in thought.

“Warriors.” The cook answered.

‘Huh. Well that explains how they act.” She leaned on a counter.

“What do you mean?”

“Just the way they posture and talk like they own everything. Just rubs me the wrong way is all.” She shrugged one shoulder.

“They do. They are the ones keeping the rest of us safe. Without them there would be no safety at all!”

“Yeah but that is no reason to be dicks to people.” Asuka rolled her eyes. “I have had to cut down so many people to size for acting the same way. So maybe I am biassed.”

“Well it is their right to be. But make no mistake. Every caste is important. In clan Wolf we get treated pretty well. I hear in some clans it is far worse.” He says as he works with the power connection. Asuka looked at him with a tilted head. “Well that is good.” She nodded. All the warriors she had encountered thus far had acted a lot like bullies though. She couldn’t let that thought go so instead she chose to focus on something else instead.

“Hey. Do you mind if I make something for myself to eat? I am not a good cook but I am pretty sure I can make something for myself.” Asuka pushed herself off the counter.

“Sure. Go ahead.  Tara should be around here somewhere. She can probably help you if you need something.” The cook said.

“Tara… Alright. What is your name by the way?”

“Fei.”

“Nice to meet you Fei. I am Asuka Hoshi.”

“Uh. I think you are just Asuka now. But nice to meet you too.” Fei said while unscrewing something

“What do you mean?”

“We do not have last names. We are part of the clan so it is the same family. Warriors can earn the right to have a bloodname. The right to have one of the founders’ names.”

“Huh… That is a new take. I will keep that in mind. Thank you Fei.” Asuka said and scratched her head. “I will go and see if I can find something to eat.”

xxxxxxxxxx

“What? You have to give up your last name? That sounds like a freaking cult!” Her inner sphere pride exclaimed.

“Even if it is not. Hoshi is from mom and dad! You cannot give that up! It is important. You are family!” Her mechtech heritage said.

“Hey look! Cooking oil!” Captain Obvious pointed out.

“They were part of the Dragoons’ founding. That means they are of Clan Wolf. They told as much. You are not being made to give anything up. You have a chance to be part of the same family.” The name in blood pointed out.

“But… It is still part of who you are. All the times you have written down Hoshi as your last name. The idea of giving it up… That feels weird.” her mechtech heritage shuddered.

“There is an awful smell here. Source unknown. It may be the spice from lunch.” Her autistic sensor suite reported.

“According to teachings, your last name is your parents' gift. It would be inappropriate to give it up. In the current circumstances however, you may dishonour them more by not striving to achieve the rank of warrior. That would make them proud.” Her bushido spirit noted after contemplation.

“There is no apparent source of the smell. It feels like it should be a lot more visible.” Captain Obvious searched around.

“The fluorescent flicker of the kitchen lights is causing interference again. The artificial light they use is causing damage.” Her autistic sensor suite flashed an alarm. Her vision blurred from the lights and she winced.

“What are the Dragoons going to do now? What about Warsong? If you become a warrior of Clan Wolf and join their war. You have to fight them do we not? You do not want to do that.” Her mechtech heritage said.

“Then you fight them. They are your pack so you can offer them mercy but if they fight you must not hold back.” The feral wolf snarled.

“There is a fridge over there. It is labelled something. Cannot make it out from here.” Captain Obvious thought.

“Picking up an electrical hum from the lights. Auditory buildup detected. Acoustic filters over capacity. Noise levels affecting other processes.” Her autistic sensor suite warned. A low ring started to sound in her ears again.

“Fucking rip the lights out or something and shut the fuck up.” The feral wolf barked.

“They may be your kin. But this is your kin too. Every step you have taken has been one to bring us to where maybe we were meant to belong.” The name in blood thought aloud.

“No fuck that. They have fought every step you have taken. They are enemies. To be torn apart.” The feral wolf snarled again.

“A water faucet. We can refill the water bottle there.” Captain Obvious interrupted.

“There are rules here. They are clear. They spell them out to you. The inner sphere never told you where the lines were, except for a map. And even that depended on who you asked.” The name in blood was snarling too now.

“New contact at two o'clock” Captain Obvious reported.

“You must meditate and learn more. Only after considering all of this and more may you achieve wisdom.” Her bushido spirit spoke with determination.

xxxxxxxxxx

Inner turmoil raged inside her and her head was starting to ache. The entire world was starting to feel like too much. The train of thought was interrupted by a voice repeating itself.

“Hey! Can I help you with anything?” A small woman spoke up. Asuka almost had to crane her neck down to look at the short thin woman. She was like a mouse.

“Oh. Hey. I was just looking for something… I am trying to make something to eat.” Asuka smiled. “Fei let me in.”

“Well we are serving tomato soup in a few hours. I can get you something in the meanwhile if you would like.” The woman returned the smile a little awkwardly. 

“Aff. I know. I just cannot partake of it.” Asuka sounded strained.

“Are you allergic?” The woman frowned.

“Well… no. I… soup just does not agree with me I am afraid. So I was looking to make something else… I was honestly hoping I could get my hands on a pizza because I am starving.” Asuka chuckled.

“Pizza? Huh…” the woman said, sounding even more surprised. “Well… I could make one for you if you want. Oh I am Tara by the way.”

“Pleased to meet you Tara. I would appreciate it if you could… I am not very good at cooking. I can microwave. That is as far as my skills go.”

“Most warriors usually are. But that is okay. Wh-”

“Oh no I am just a bondswoman.” Asuka held up her wrist with the bondcord.

“You look like a warrior so… Well anyway. What would you like on it?” The woman offered a small smile.

“Well… Just ham, cheese and tomato sauce would do.” Asuka shrugged.

“Oh. Simple! I can make that in 15 minutes.” Tara smiled.

“That… would be most welcome Tara. Thank you.” Asuka smiled too. “I… will wait in the mess hall then.”

“Very well. I will get on it then.” Tara scurried off like a mouse through the kitchen to begin cooking. She was nothing if not quick and effective. She seemed happy at getting something new to do.

Asuka took a few steps to continue her search, but stopped to close her eyes and shook her hands almost as if they were wet. It usually helped when her head was like this. Her brow furrowed in frustration. Shaking her hands like this usually helped her bring back some focus. Right now it felt like it barely did anything. She grumbled and opened her eyes again, doing her best to filter everything out. Didn’t work. The engines reverberated through the entire ship. The artificial lightning. The hum of the electricity passing through it. Noises of the kitchen appliances. A bad speaker playing music. Somebody humming. The far noises of steps. The ventilation system fans and the refrigerator. It was draining to hear. There was nothing to focus on.

She looked around again. She finally found cooking oil standing in a small pantry. She looked around making sure she wasn’t observed and pocketed it. It felt greasy. But it would do the trick.

“Now I just need something to keep it in… and a string.” She had a look around. She didn't see anything that fit either of those criterias right now but she did see a water faucet. With that in mind she found the water bottle from her pocket and filled it up and took a drink. She breathed a small sigh of relief. It cooled her down for a moment. A couple of small empty glass jars stood upside down in an attempt to let the last water run out. Asuka pocketed one of them and the lid for it.

“That will do nicely as a container.” She told herself. “If I can find a knife and punch a hole in the lid that could hold the wick.”

Finding a knife proved easy enough. It was reasonably sharp even. She brought out the lid and made a few holes in it.

“There.” She nodded to herself and was about to put the knife away when she suddenly saw something. An apron. A thin piece of fabric hung from it to tie it back. With the knife in hand she went to cut it off. Sure the apron wasn't usable now, but she did have her wick. She put the string in her pocket and put the knife where she found it.

“Might something to secure the string…” she searched through a drawer and found a fork. 

“That will have to work.” Asuka said to herself and pocketed it. It made a lot of noise as it clicked against the glass jar in her pocket. They felt a bit full. Only one thing struck her now. A paper towel. She was going to need one of those. She had everything she could want now. She took another sip of the her water and went to find Tara again

“Hey. Miss Tara. I have to return to my quarters for a little while. Keep the pizza warm for me if it is not a problem for you.” Asuka asked after she found Tara. The small mousey girl almost jumped in surprise as she had rolled out a dough on a platter.

“Oh. Aff. Certainly. If you would like I can come with it to your quarters if you would like.” Tara offered.

“You do not have to do that. But… you know what? I would greatly appreciate it if you could so I can eat in peace and quiet.” Asuka had a grateful smile on her face.

“Aff! I will take it there. You are probably in corridor C2?” She asked just to be sure.

“Yeah that sounds about right. Thank you very much Tara. I owe you one.”

+++++++++

After returning to her room. Asuka tied a knot on the string, filled the jar with cooking oil. Drenched the string and pulled it through the lid and screwed it on. The fork helped hold it in place. With the wires and power pack she made a small spark and ignited the string. It produced a flame. It was a bit bigger than the kind of candle she was used to but it would do well. She killed the lights in her room and sat on her knees in front of the candle and stared at the flame that sat on top of the desk. It danced around vividly and it looked almost blurry. She focused on the flame and its dance. She slowed her breathing. The flame's dance lessened. The sound of the engines, of work and chimes disappeared. She, the flame and her thoughts were all that existed in this moment of time. She drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Her thoughts continued to flash in her head. But the chaos lessened with deprived senses. It helped her straighten her other thoughts and much like her breathing. Calm them, focus them and seize control of them. With each inhale she soothed one thought and with each exhalate she felt calmer. Her breathing slowed down further. Over the course of a few minutes it slowed even further. She felt at peace with the world and in control of herself again. She opened her eyes. The flame was nearly still, it was . It still danced gently to her breath. But it was far more calm. It mirrored how she felt in the moment. She rolled her shoulders, they felt less tense than a few minutes ago. Her ears didn’t ring any more and the flame had a clear outline.

There was a knock on the door. That must be the pizza. She blew out the flame and turned the lights back on. The world didn't feel as heavy or as difficult. She didn't have to push through her own thoughts anymore. She was focused and ready to begin unpacking whatever all of this was.

[my-head-is-an-animal]

Problems With The Heart

Greg House x Dr Anna Harding (OFC)

Story Masterlist

Chapter 32 - Parole

House finally got out of jail on parole thanks to Foreman. Wilson wasn’t impressed, he’d spent long enough trying to help Anna get back on track, she finally called him two months after House had crashed into Cuddy’s house. She was losing the plot, she was in tears and closer to death than she’d ever been.

Wilson picked her up from a hotel room in Vegas and for two weeks she lay in bed going through withdrawal and struggling to get her weight back up to a reasonable number. She did well and she stuck to her treatment plan, she showed the signs of wanting to get better that he wished House had shown. She had a couple of slips, but she always called Wilson when it got to be too much. She was being responsible.

Anna got back to work and no one was the wiser, she told people she had family stuff to take care of back in England and took some time to go rock climbing again, which covered for her weight loss. She agreed to let Wilson be her doctor and they had regular check ups.

However Anna was more resistant than House had ever been when it came to talking about her feelings. She still cared about him, enough that she kept up with what was going on at the prison. She had briefly worked with a doctor who was there and occasionally took a phone call that made her heart hurt.

Wilson was unsure whether he should have told her that he was coming back to the hospital, but he couldn’t exactly let him just reappear in her life like that.

‘We don’t have much choice,’ Wilson said over dinner in the cafeteria. ‘None of us have been able to figure out what’s wrong with these lungs. Even you can’t do it-‘

‘And he is a better diagnostician.’ She nodded in agreement. Anna ran her hand over her face and breathed out.

‘You okay?’

‘I don’t know.’ She shook her head. ‘I have no idea. But she needs these lungs. What about you?’

Wilson shrugged. ‘Our friendship is over. I don’t feel anything about it.’

‘Liar.’ Anna smirked. ‘You going to punch him?’

‘What? No!’

‘Yeah, you are.’

‘I am not.’

‘Fifty says you do.’

Wilson chuckled and agreed.

House needed to think. Park was okay, but she was far too fresh for his liking. Wilson was being distant with him and the only person he hadn’t seen yet was Anna.

‘She’s around.’ Foreman assured him. ‘Probably dealing her own patients.’

‘She okay?’ House asked, trying to seem casual.

‘She’s fine. She’s the same as ever.’

House nodded and wandered up to the ICU to try and come up with a new idea. He caught a glimpse of her walking with a file toward the elevator, she was engrossed in what she was reading and House didn’t have the heart to stop her and talk to her again. She looked good, healthy and revitalised.

Anna was the one person he didn’t want to disturb or to be upset from his presence in the hospital. He stood and watched her step into the elevator, closing the file and looking up just as the door was about to close. Those bright blue eyes found his and he felt his heart stop for a moment, she was still beautiful and he felt his anger flare. He never deserved her in the first place.

He solved the case, occasionally his gaze would connect with Anna’s, but he couldn’t find the courage to speak to her.

He was glad Wilson punched him in the face, his friend was back and maybe his life could get back to normal.

‘You should talk to Anna.’ He said, handing House some Chinese. ‘She doesn’t say it, but she misses you.’

‘I don’t think so.’ He shook his head. ‘She’s better off without me.’

‘Maybe, but she still misses you.’ Wilson said again. ‘She’s the only doctor at the hospital who does. She’s been doing well and she’s been clean for four months tomorrow, you should congratulate her.’

House shook his head again. ‘She won’t wanna talk to me. I think it’s best I just leave her be for a while.’

House knew he was right, but Wilson had other plans. He’d managed to find a way to bring them together over lunch. It was awkward and brief, Anna getting paged the second House actually sat down.

‘She obviously doesn’t want to talk to me,’ House said, lowly. ‘Why can’t you just let her be?’

‘Because she hasn’t been the same since Vegas.’ Wilson sighed. ‘She was focused before she left, but now she’s quiet. Sophia left, something about her brother in New York, but since then I’ve been the only one she has had to talk to when things were tough, when she felt like using again, but she doesn’t actually say anything. She’s been having episodes again that I don’t know how to handle. House she needs you, whatever it was she got from you before, she needs it again. Help her.’

House thought about it, he really didn’t want Anna to suffer, but he also didn’t want to upset her and make things worse. He should’ve just talked to her.

House had had a good week. Cardiology needed some new equipment and he decided it was as good a time as any to finally talk to Anna. He went up to her office at the end of the week when there was hardly anyone around and put a cheque down on her desk.

She cleared her throat and picked up the cheque, barely reacting to the amount.

‘If this is compensation,’ she started. ‘You’re going to need to double it at least.’

‘I heard you needed some new equipment.’

Her blue eyes scanned him suspiciously. ‘Okay, I’m a little rusty so I’ll bite. Why are you giving money to my department.’

‘It’s a good conversation opener.’ He tried. ‘And Wilson thinks we need to talk, but I think you’re better off without me hanging around so the cheque is just an excuse to say that. It is however, convenient that that is the exact amount you need to replace a few things.’

Anna again, looked at him curiously. ‘Okay. Thank you.’

House nodded and went to leave, but he couldn’t go without saying what Wilson urged him to say. ‘I don’t want you to get upset or angry because I mean it, but congratulations on four months clean. I’m happy you’ve been able to focus without me being here.’

For a moment he thought she might have cried, but she held onto it and sighed, featuring to the seat in front of her. House cautiously sat down.

‘Wilson has been telling me to talk to you as well.’ She said. ‘I’m not upset or angry with you congratulating me, so I would ask for the same in return…’ House nodded, he’d do his best. ‘I had another miscarriage… it was a little after you and Cuddy got together and I’m sorry I never told you, it just never seemed like a good time and I convinced myself that as long as patients didn’t suffer, everything would be okay.’ She swallowed hard, but House just felt his heart stilling before beating harder than it had for a long time. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell my parents that we broke up, I’m sorry that I ran away to Vegas, but if anyone understands what I was feeling, it’s you. And I’m sorry I never visited you in jail. I should have done.’

House took a moment to take in everything she said, she looked relieved to have gotten things off her chest and that made him focus his attention.

‘You had other things to worry about than coming to see me.’ He shook his head. ‘Did you tell Wilson? About the miscarriage?’

Anna slowly shook her head. ‘No. He doesn’t know anything.’

‘You should tell him at some point. He’d want to know and if there were any lasting effects, you should at least get yourself checked out.’

‘I know.’ Anna nodded and for the first time since jail, he was happy to see a small smile appear on her face. ‘You’re giving me that look.’

‘What look?’

Anna shook her head again. ‘I can’t talk anymore.’

House understood and soon left her office. He didn’t upset her and that was the point, he couldn’t say for certain if he made things better, but she wasn’t angry and that was good.

If you liked this, please consider supporting me ☕ thanks for reading!

[cammie-morgan-goode]

Hello i'm new here, can you pretty please make a blurb/prompt on how Zach "went crazy" looking for Cam? Thanks!!!!!!!!

The moment the words left Rachel Morgan’s lips was the moment that my world tilted on its axis. (Had Liz not reminded me by saying that the world was still in fact spinning at roughly 460 meters per second, and that it was in fact not tilting on its axis.)

I stared at her. I really stared at her, sitting across from me at the table of a safe house. What did she mean that Cammie wasn’t here? Wasn’t safe in her room? What did she mean she wasn’t here with her? With Bex, Liz, and Macey? With me?

“What do you mean?” I said. The words felt like they got stuck in my throat.

Rachel Morgan folded her arms across her chest and looked at the table. I noted how tired she looked. Her hair was a mess and even though she looked fine, every good operative could tell that she was anything but. She took a deep breath and then continued. “Cammie didn’t check in. She just… Rebecca was the first to inform me. I know just about as much as you. She left a note and a CoveOps report from last semester and…” Headmistress Morgan blew out a breath.

“She’s gone, Zach…”

And the only thing that kept repeating in my head was that she was gone.

And she didn’t take me with her.

•••

I tug my jacket tighter, wandering the streets of the small town of Roseville Virginia. There’s shops and families wandering around, the bustle of a small tight knit community. I watch as a mother picks up a small child and kisses him on the forehead. The father laughs and pushes a stroller. I frown.

I never knew my father. And my mother… well. I wonder if Cammie is there, wherever my mother is. The thought makes my stomach turn. I had gone to her usual hiding places and counterparts but I knew that if I got too close, Catherine Goode would not stop until I was “home.” Home being the Blackthorne Institute for Boys. Home being a prison facility training assassins. Turning boys into cold blooded killers. Like Joe. Like me.

I keep walking and find myself at a fork in the road. A crossroads if you will. To my left, I would find myself heading out of Roseville. To my right, I would find myself going deeper into the sleepy town.

I knew then that I had two options. I could go to the Gallagher Academy and practically beg Rachel Morgan to allow me to help look for Cam… Or I could try to find her myself.

I didn’t give it a second thought.

•••

2 weeks later

My feet hurt, my body aches, and I feel as though my head could burst if someone so much as touches me. I know I look ragged. I can’t remember the last time I had a proper meal or a proper haircut and I know for a fact that I probably smell as though I lived in a dumpster. But I walk up to the giant school anyways.

I consider trying one of the secret passageways that Cammie told me about but I know that Rachel probably upped the security of the school since her daughter left. I probably shouldn’t risk it.

I take another step and watch as the doors fling open. My heart leaps in my chest thinking it’s Cammie. But it isn’t. And I try not to wonder if that day will ever come.

“Zach,” Bex says, throwing her arms around me. The sudden movement throws me for a moment but I regain my composure. A small smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. I hug her back and Bex let’s out a breath I didn’t know she was holding.

And then another set of arms wrap around my waist and Liz rattles off something at the speed of light. (Obviously not really) Her tiny body seems like it’s even tinier. I’m suddenly afraid that if I move, I’m going to break her.

She pulls away and I look up at Macey. She has her arms wrapped around herself and she looks angry. She stares at the ground and doesn’t make any move towards me. Macey McHenry looks at me as if she wants to kill me. And I know she could do it. And I probably wouldn’t put up a fight.

“Any news?” I ask, knowing the answer before I even asked.

Everyone shakes their heads.

Rachel Morgan ushers me inside and it’s nothing short of protocol. Bex is with me the entire time. She seems eager but utterly pissed off too. Macey is worse. But Bex… she’s just itching to do something. Anything. Deep down I know she’s upset even though she hides it well.

I get debriefed and once that’s over, Rachel offers me a place here. And so does Bex. I want to be out there looking for my girlfriend but I know I won’t be any use to her if I’m dead. So I comply.

It feels like I’m going crazy. It feels like I’m losing my mind. It feels like the world is coming to an end. But I know that if roles were reversed, Cam would do everything in her power to make sure I came home safe.

And that’s what I was going to continue to do.

For as long as it takes.

Until she’s safe in my arms and with the people who love her most.

(Written by: @cammie-morgan-goode)

[serotonincemetery]

Platonic!Bench Trio + Reader

The basic rundown of it is that its an AU where Tommy doesn't get freed from the main cell and its Ranboo, Tubbo, and your, not really "responsibility" but you feel like its up to you to break Tommy out of prison and still keep Dream in there somehow.

NOTE// I used the idea of Eburnean Tommy for this story, but it's more like gonna be Eburnean!Reader, but please go check out the creator of EB!Tommy by @Blublu_by On youtube! All credit goes to them!!

TW//Angst, Profanity, Blood, Death, Manipulation

Pronouns: He/They

You were antsy, you were restless and irritable beyond belief. Everyone around you could see how the absence of one of your best friends affected you. You were constantly surrounded by Ranboo and Tubbo, but the absence of Tommy was indescribable. He was such a big part of your guys' little quadrio, he always had a way to make everyone smile and laugh, but now with Tommy being stuck in prison, it really hit everyone hard.

You had the greatest urge to get up and do something and you could tell Tubbo and Ranboo did too, but none of you acted on it. You were all too scared to do anything just in case if it backfired and somehow put the rest of you in danger.

You had been living in Ranboo's house which was on the same property as the infamous Technoblade, also known as "The Blade" and the "Blood God". He seemed scary and brooding on the outside but in reality, he was a softy once he warmed up who loved romance movies and chick flicks.

Philza was like a father to you and the rest of both the Bench Quadrio and the Sleepy Bois. You were grateful for him once you had found out Tommy was locked in with Dream for an extended period of time. He held onto you and cradled you as you cried out for Tommy and didn't criticize you for it or judge you in any way.

You were thankful for both of them, and ever so grateful for Ranboo and Tubbo. Everyone was at a loss currently.

You didn't sleep last night, the constant restlessness and tossing and turning on your mattress on the floor of Phil's home, wanting to try and sleep peacefully without the interruption of Ranboo's enderwalking and randomly talking throughout the night, but in hindsight it wouldn't've mattered because you couldn't fall asleep anyways.

You sigh and roll out of bed and find your change of clothes on the kitchen table, having been laundered the evening before, you quickly changed and went out into the cold winds of the early morning.

You wandered aimlessly throughout the property until the idea struck you. You had to break Tommy out. With or without Tubbo and Ranboo's help. You had thought of this before but never wanted to act. In total honesty. You were scared if you made a mistake and ended up hurting Tubbo and Ranboo in the process. But you now were craving the adrenaline.

You had no idea as to why you did, but something - or someone, was telling you to do it, your brain was switching onto autopilot as you scampered back to Phil's home and grabbed a few of your things and then rushed to Ranboo's home and geared yourself up even more. You organized extra armour into your ender chest and took a few golden apples from Techno, silently reminding yourself to replace them later. As you closed the chest you looked towards the stairs to come into eye-contact with red and green mismatched eyes.

"What are you doing?" Ranboo asked.

You opened your mouth to speak. Nothing came out. You really didn't think up a lie to tell them if the found you before you left, hell, you didn't plan for them to find you in the first place. You sighed and opened your mouth to speak but only let out your saddened and broken voice. "I need Tommy." You whispered out. "I can't keep living with out him Ranboo." You sighed.

Ranboo pondered for a moment on how to handle the situation. How should he react? One of his best friends is sneaking off and taking gear that isn't even theirs and using it to get one of his best friends out of prison? Ranboo thought for another moment before sighing.

"Let me get my things and we'll go get Tubbo, he'll wanna help." Ranboo muttered as he went back upstairs and shuffling and things moving could be heard.

You let out a sigh of relief as you reordered stuff in your ender chest one last time to make sure there was some extra room for a few other things just in case. You turned back around to face the stairs when you heard Ranboo shuffle down them again, seeing him all geared up and a messenger bag full of clinking potions and required items like milk for the elder guardian and Efficiency V pickaxes.

You smiled and closed the chest and spoke softly. "Thank you Ranboo."

"Let's go get Tubbo, we don't have lots of time." Ranboo said as he walked past you and pat your head and grabbed your hand and pulled you along as you then both were marching your way to Snowchester, which was a new country Tubbo was building up currently.

You and Ranboo walked for at least 20 minutes in silence before you got relatively close enough for Ranboo to teleport closer. Teleportation made you dizzy and you struggled to stay on your feet once you realized you were at your destination quicker than it should've been.

You and Ranboo walked up to the door of the smaller house and knocked on the door and opened it to find Tubbo slinging a backpack over his shoulders. He made eye contact with the both of you and you all had the same idea. You nodded and so did Ranboo, Tubbo followed suit and nodded as you all left the house and made your way to the prison still in the relatively early morning.

It took a while to walk to the prison itself but soon enough the dark shadow of obsidian and blackstone stood before you and you all took a mental note on which side you would be digging into.

"Ranboo, potions and pickaxe?" You ask.

He nods and pulls out two drinkable potions of fire resistance and the Efficiency V pickaxe and an Axe and hands them to you. You read the labels and they're marked as 8 minutes and you look over the shiny pickaxe and axe. You smiled softly.

"Ranboo I want you to follow Tubbo and watch the escape, I will dig in the side, it will cause the alarm to go off and they will rush to over here while you and Tubs dig another exit further away in the lava chamber and I will guide Tommy to it once I get to him. You will lead him out and to a safe place. I will be a bit behind because of the warden and the guards." You explain.

"Alright." Tubbo breathed out. "Let's get Tommy back." You and Ranboo nodded and you departed from the group as you found the side of the lava chamber and took the pickaxe and set a few things aside and started digging.

When you thought earlier, on how it would be easy to mine through to walls, once you broke the last block to the inner chamber a loud alarm blared through the SMP. You internally panicked before you quickly downed the potion and slowly swam through the lava to the main cell.

Tommy watched as you emerged from the lava. The molten dripping off your shoulders and down your arms without a single burn or scratch. You made sure all the lava was off before you quickly ran and embraced Tommy. He quickly wrapped his arms around you and you tightly clung onto him.

No words were spoken as you buried your face into his shoulder. You both stayed like that until you were interrupted by a slow clapping. You both pulled away to look at Dream.

His mask gone and face revealed with a wide grin. "So touching." He mocked.

"Im not here for you Dream. I'm only here for Tommy." You said firmly.

"Oh I know, but I'm leaving with you too." He said as he walked forwards. You felt as Tommy grasped your arm and shifted so he was hidden behind you.

You tried to make sure Dream had no way to grab Tommy. You narrowed your eyes. "Not happening Dream. Tommy shouldn't be in here, you deserve to be in here."

You took steps towards Dream until you were right in front of him. Your eyes met and you scowled. You heard the voice of Sam on the other side of the lava walls.

"The walls are coming down! Prepare yourself, men." He spoke most likely to his guards.

You turned to face Tommy. You shoved Dream back with as much strength as you could and you sent him into the back wall with a loud thud. You pulled out an ender chest and grabbed a few things and handed them to Tommy so you two could make your escape.

As you were reorganizing your inventory to give a few things to Tommy. You realized Ranboo only gave you two potions. You checked your watch to see you only had a minute thirty left. You pulled out the potion and looked to Tommy.

You smiled and handed it to him. "You'll need this."

He took it in his hands and looked to watch you take out everything in your inventory and hold it out to him. "What?" His accent shown through. "What are you doing?"

"Only one of us can make it out of here, my potion won't last long enough to get through the lava. And frankly, I came here to rescue you." You explain.

"Wait, wait, no, you're supposed to get out of here too." Tommy muttered as he looked distraught at the idea of leaving you behind.

"Tommy Innit, you are to drink that potion and take my gear and get out of this god forsaken cell. Swim towards the back and in the bottom right corner there should be an opening that Ranboo and Tubbo mined out." You said as you gave him a hug.

"No, no, I'm coming back, I'll get to Ranboo so he can give me another potion and I'll bring it back!" Tommy said hastily.

"No, Sam will be here by then. Now drink the potion and go!" You ordered. You never raised your voice at anyone, you were a calm, collected person. Tommy would be lying if he said you didn't frighten him.

As Tommy opened the bottle, Dream lunged at Tommy and tried to grab the bottle from his hands. You acted quickly to pull Dream off Tommy and to throw him back. Only to watch him get up and charge at you. "Dream, you bastard!" Tommy exclaimed as Dream tackled you to the ground. "Let him go!"

"Tommy stop! Drink the damn potion and go!" You shouted at him. Tommy's eyes looked fearful. He quickly nodded and drank the potion and checked everything before facing the lava.

"I'll be back [Y/N]." Tommy said as a tear cascaded down his face.

You watched Tommy push himself through the lava as you felt Dream straddle you and wrap his hands around your neck. Your eyes widened and you reached your hands to try and move Dream's hands.

You couldn't breathe.

By the look on his face you could tell that he couldn't control his movements, he was in a pure blind rage.

You gasped for any kind of air as you struggled to get his hands off your neck. You started to struggle. You wiggled your body to try and get him off or to get away but nothing was working.

You felt your consciousness slip away and you let your head fall to the ground and let your hands fall and your body go limp.

A single mistake Dream had made. The moment he watched you go limp, his brain was telling him you were dead. So he had stood up and removed his hands from your neck and turned away from you only to hear you gasping for air and pushing yourself away from him.

Dream turned and watched you push yourself into the wall behind you. He smiled maliciously. "You know why you're here?" Dream asked you. You were gripping the sides of your neck. "Because Tommy just left you, Tubbo and Ranboo didn't even try to help you break him out, they left you to go on your own to come here."

"No-" You croaked out. Trying to explain you came in here on your own.

"No, they knew something like this would happen, they decided to stay back because they didn't want to end up like poor little mister [Y/N] here." He taunted. You knew better than to believe him, but as the human brain does, you actually thought about what he said.

"Now that you're in here with me, I can do whatever I want, I could kill you over and over again, I could torture you, I could revive you as much as I want. I could break you." Dream said the final sentence and he turned to you with a insane look on his face.

He knew you had been in here in one spot already your respawn point is already somewhere in this room. Dream shuffled over and quickly swung his foot to your gut.

You let out a strangled cry as you gripped the area and let go of your neck. Dream quickly crouched down and wrapped his hands around you neck once again. By the time you were struggling for air again, the lava had gone down all the way and your turned your head to make bold eye contact with Sam.

Everything sounded like it was underwater. You could hear Sam barking orders at Bad and Antfrost to hurry up and you watched as Bad and Ant run to the platform. You feel Dream pull you up, but he pushes you over the ledge and holds onto you by the struff of your shirt. You're now dangling dangerously close to the lava. You were gasping for air once again but you couldn't focus on that right now.

You tried to lift your arms to hold onto Dream's hand so you wouldn't fall but all of the strength in your muscles disappeared and you were left there helpless. "If any of you as so take another step I will drop him into the fucking lava and you can watch them burn." Dream threatened.

That made Sam, Ant, and Bad stop and stare. "Sam." You croaked out, loud enough for him to barely hear you, more tears falling from your face as you kept eye contact with Sam.

"Back down Sam." Dream ordered. You watched as Sam pulled out an ender pearl. "Ah! No! No fucking pearling. Stay over there and go away! This is a situation me and [Y/N] have to resolve, you're just in the way." Dream said. "If you put down the lava again I'll let them live." Dream said with a smile.

"No! We know that's a lie!" Bad exclaimed. Not caring for Dream's language at the moment.

"Sam, please." You whimpered. You didn't wanna die, and if you did, you could be killed once more, you're on your second canon life. After that. You would be dead.

"Alright! I'll put down the lava, pull them up, the lava comes down quicker than it goes down." Sam said to Dream, which Dream replied by pulling you up and throwing towards the back of the cell. You watched as Sam pulled the lever down and you watched as the lava fell again.

Dream laughed and turned back to you, he grabbed the from scruff of your shirt and reeled his fist back before it collided with your face. You raised your hands to block the incoming hits, it didn't do anything Dream still continued to beat you. And quickly you knew you were losing the fight, your hands fell to your side for a fourth time and let death take you.

You never know how fast someone respawns, everyone respawns at a different time. For you though, it was just enough that the rest of the SMP got the alert on their communicators:

[Username] was slain by Dream

Everyone had been in shock.

You had died? You were well loved so everyone was on edge and unhappy the moment they got the alert. They didn't know that the alerts would still be coming for days on end

[Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] has left the game

[Username] had joined the game

[Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] has left the game

[Username] had joined the game

Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] has left the game

[Username] had joined the game

Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] has left the game

[Username] had joined the game

By the time you had been killed and revived so much, you gave up caring. You had died so much within the run of two days, your once [color] hair was now a platinum white and your eyes were empty. You sat there after you had respawned after however many times. You didn't care when Dream beat you again and killed you again

Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] has left the game

[Username] had joined the game

You sat there, not caring, you didn't react to him killing you anymore, where you respawned is where you stayed, after respawning you didn't move from the spot, knowing you would be killed again.

Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] was slain by Dream

[Username] has left the game

[Username] had joined the game

After about a week of this and everyone's communicators blowing up with alerts of your death and revival, people were banding up to set you free, Sam had even been willing to take the risk now.

There was a day where the lava went down, and you lolled your head to the side uncaringly and watched as the lava had dropped and you watched as armoured men and women were standing there. Dream was watching as well with a grin plastered onto his face.

You watched as 7 of them came over on the platform, the moment their feet came in contact with the main cell you watched Dream charge at them. Six of the armoured men held Dream down as the final boy walked over to you, unarmored, and weaponless. The last boy, in a reindeer onesie cautiously waddled up to you and held a hand out to you for you to take.

You looked at his hand and didn't reach out to take it. He looked as equally confused. Callahan bent down and reached his arms under yours and pulled you up and he walked you to the platform. He nodded to Sam and Sam switched a lever and the platform moved under your feet and took you across the lava sitting at the bottom.

Once the platform docked and Callahan pulled you off it you were quickly hugged by three people. In your head you recognized them as Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo.

They noticed something. You didn't hug back. They pulled away from you to get a better look at they all saw the major change in you. Your bright white hair, empty eyes and all of the scars littering your arms and neck from Dream constantly killing you. They glanced at the black-purple permanent bruises on your neck moulded with the shape of Dream's hands.

They looked at how the wounds littered your body. The cracks in your once porcelain skin from the revivals looked unnatural. As they were. Between the cracks was laced with a deep red.

You stood there and looked around. You felt as though something was missing? Like a bone? Or maybe an emotion? You were too confused with where you were to really think into it more.

Tommy grabbed your hand and laced his fingers with yours. Tubbo did the same with your other hand. Ranboo had grabbed Tubbo's free hand as Bad led the four of you out. Bad led you out of that nightmare? Was it a nightmare? You couldn't really tell with your own emotions. All you knew is that everyone around you was glad you were out, to match them, you were glad too.

[semisgroupie]

unethical techniques

scumbag lawyer!gin ichimaru x lawyer!fem. reader (ft. serial killer!aizen)

word count: 7.0k

warnings: noncon drugging, blackmail, noncon recording, aphrodisiac use, unprotected sex, multiple creampies, public sex, fingering (f! receiving), mentions of murder, use of legal jargon, consumption of alcohol, spit, praise, reader is called sweetheart

synopsis: never wander into the lion’s den, you’ll never like what’s inside

a/n: this is for my love and my heart @maitaro’s FAME collab! Please check out the other amazing works and thank you so much for letting me join! And this fic takes the cake for being my longest fic!!

PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS BEFORE YOU READ THIS FIC I DO NOT CONDONE OR APPROVE OF THIS BEHAVIOR THIS IS SOLELY A FICTIONAL PIECE AGAIN PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS THOROUGHLY BEFORE READING THIS FIC

You always wondered how Gin Ichimaru was able to have such a high success rate with cases. Even against the best prosecutors he would come out on top. Hell, his client could confess on the witness stand and he’d still win the case. It didn’t make sense to you, it never made sense. You even hired private investigators to sit in during the trials you couldn’t attend and hired them to follow him around and they would come back with nothing. Then when you would sit in during his trials you couldn’t pinpoint his technique, you just saw it as weird. But whenever he made eye contact with you or just looked in your direction you felt a chill run down your spine. It was all unusual and you just couldn’t figure it out from just being a viewer.

So, when you were given a case that he was involved in you saw it as a way to finally have all your questions answered.

You looked through all the documents of the case and you grew horrified at the gory details. You’ve handled murderers and serial killers before but this one gave you the creeps. Then it really bothered you when you saw his photo, he looked like a normal guy, like a guy you’ve passed by on the street hundreds of times. But of course Gin would be his lawyer, scum attracts scum.

Over the course of a couple of weeks you set up meetings with all the detectives working on the case and wrote up a list of possible witnesses you could use during the trial. You met with some of the family members of the victims and after 3 weeks of interviews and meetings it finally came to the day where you would meet the defendant and his attorney. You had to drive to the maximum security prison where he was currently housed since his bail was remanded due to the nature of his crimes and since he posed a high risk of reoffending if bail was set.

You sighed as you parked in front of the maximum security prison, you’ve been here quite a few times over the course of your short career but as you got out of your car and walked to the entrance you felt a cold chill run down your spine. You opened the door and clutched your briefcase tighter as you walked to the security check. You greeted the correction officer there and set everything down on the conveyor belt.

“Hello Miss L/N, who are you here to see today? And if you just came to see me you could just call, I could show you that I can dress up fancy too.” You laughed at his words and shook your head. He was a nice older man that had always kept a close eye on you whenever you came to visit an inmate and always had chocolates to give you once you were done with your visits. It’s been three years since you first met him and he had shown you nothing but kindness and always found a way to lighten your mood whether it was through harmless flirtatious comments or fatherly wisdom and advice.

“No, no Mr. Hiro. I wish I was here to visit you and what did I tell you about being so formal? Please just call me by my name. I’m here to visit Sosuke Aizen and his lawyer, they want to try to discuss a plea deal before the trial starts.” The normally crinkly eyed smile that was on Mr. Hiro’s face dropped once he heard the name fall from your lips and he grabbed your wrist to pull you close before you walked through the metal detector.

“Please drop this case or hand it down to another attorney in your office Y/N. That man is no good and neither is his snake of a lawyer. I’ve worked in this prison for 10 years and saw the worst of the worst but this guy is no joke, he’s the worst of them all. Please, just turn back now and forget all about this case. Nothing good is bound to happen.” Worry oozed through his words and your eyes widened. Was this man really that bad?

“Don’t worry Mr. Hiro, I’ll be fine. I have spoken to some of the families of the victims and they are putting all their trust in me to put this asshole in the electric chair, I have to do it. I’m the only one in my office with an almost perfect win record. If I feel threatened or endangered in any way I promise I will drop this case and hand it to one of my colleagues.” You placed your hand over his and gently squeezed it as a form of reassurance but he just shook his head and let go of your wrist.

“Just please be careful, you’re like a daughter to me and I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you.” You hugged him tightly and nodded before going through the metal detector and heading to the security desk to get your visitor’s pass. Your heels clicked against the floor as you made your way to the elevator and once you reached the floor where the room for the meeting was located you felt the chill run up your spine again. You shook off any nerves and you made your way to the room. Once you reached it you saw two large corrections officers standing on each side of the door and you nodded at them and took out your identification.

“Hello, I’m the state attorney for this case. Is the prisoner inside?”

One of the men nodded and pointed to the window, “his lawyer is inside too.”

You walked over to the one way mirror and saw both men. One with brown hair and wore a blue prison jumpsuit, signaling to you that he was a dangerous felon and the man next to him was someone you easily recognized. Gin Ichimaru. His silver hair was pushed back neatly and he wore a suit that was extremely expensive. You sighed as you looked at them then made your way back to the door.

“The inmate is handcuffed to the table and once you are done just knock on the door or window twice and we’ll let you out, we’ll keep a close eye on you while you are inside just in case he tries to become violent.” With that one of the officers opened the door and you made your way inside.

“Good morning gentlemen, my name is Y/N L/N and I am the prosecutor assigned to this case. I am here because you and your attorney would like to make a plea deal” you sat down in the chair across from the two men and you burned under their gazes. You set your briefcase on the table and opened it up to take out the file you had and opened it up. “Mr. Aizen, you are on trial for twelve counts of capital murder, thirteen counts of kidnapping, one count of attempted murder, twelve counts of abuse of a corpse and one count of resisting arrest. With all these charges you will most likely be sentenced to death, what would you like to discuss?”

You closed the file and looked at the two men, your gaze fell on Gin. Was he smiling? The sight of the smile on his face repulsed you and as he leaned forward you moved back a bit. “Well my client has already confessed to the murders and shown police where all the bodies are so with all his cooperation I’m thinking we should lower the sentence to 25 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 5.”

Your eyes widened and you scoffed at his words, “I’m sorry but is this a joke? You want your client to receive the sentence that is the equivalent to second or third degree murder? That’s just absurd, your client brutally murdered twelve people and would have murdered more if his thirteenth potential victim didn’t escape. He’s a threat to society.”

Aizen shook his head and rested his hands on the table. “We all make mistakes ma’am, I just made mine too many times in a row. I don’t deserve to die, I know what I did was wrong and I am sorry for what happened.”

You couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth and how Gin sat next to him with a smile on his face. How could he believe those words? How much was Aizen paying him? You stood up and placed your card on the table, handing it to Gin. As his fingers brushed against your hand you felt like your skin was burning under his touch and quickly moved it back. “When you’re serious about a plea deal, call me.”

You grabbed your briefcase and walked to the door, knocking on it twice. As you exited the room you could’ve sworn you heard Gin and his client whispering to each other and snickering but you just shook it off and made your way to the elevator. Just as the elevator opened you felt someone standing next to you so you looked to your left side and saw Gin standing there. That same grin was plastered on his face.

“Have I met you before this? You seem very familiar.” You walked into the elevator with him and stood at one of the back corners while he pressed the button to the first level and then moved to the back of the elevator with you.

“No, this is the first time I’ve been assigned as opposing counsel to a case you’re involved in but I have attended some of the trials of my colleagues when you were the defense. You have quite an impressive record, no losses.”

He nodded and moved closer to you, almost towering over you. “Wanna know the secret?” Without waiting for an answer from you he leaned down until his mouth was at your ear, “I always get what I want and I stop at no bounds to get it.” Your eyes widened and goosebumps rose along your skin and before you could react the elevator reached your floor. Gin backed away and looked back at you with that vile grin, “hope you continue to bring your A-game for trial, I love a challenge and you seem like the most difficult puzzle I’ve come across in years.” He walked out and you were left frozen in your place.

After a few deep breaths you quickly walked out of the elevator and walked to the parking lot so you could drive back to the office and gather yourself. It was probably some stupid tactic to psyche you out and throw you off but you weren’t going to let that stop you and you definitely weren’t going to forget what he told you, the words still ruminating in the back of your mind. “Always gets what he wants, fucking weirdo.” You shook it off and drove back to your office to somewhat prepare yourself for the next grueling weeks before trial.

After weeks of interviews, investigation, pointless plea deal requests and trial prep it was finally the day of the beginning of the trial. You could barely sleep the night before, something you just noted as pre-trial jitters. Then as the trial began you were completely unsure of what possible tricks Gin could have up his sleeve, his opening statement sounded like it was whipped up last minute, during his cross examination of your witnesses he didn’t even ask any relevant questions or questions that could make the jury question the witness’ credibility.

Everything was easy for some odd reason, when his witnesses took the stand you easily shred their credibility to pieces when it came to your cross examination. You were positive that you were going to win the case and send Sosuke to death row.

And still after every day of trial he had that smirk on his face, like there was something he should be proud of. It baffled you, why was he smirking and smiling all the damn time? You had to find out, so when Gin offered to discuss another plea deal over drinks you jumped at the opportunity. You just had to find out what tricks he had up his sleeve.

After he gave you the paper you went home, freshened up and made your way back to your car with the paper in hand. You glanced at the paper he had given you, an address written messily on the torn paper and furrowed your eyebrows. It didn’t seem like a bar you went to before but you just shrugged it off and put the address in your gps and followed the directions. It wasn’t a long drive from your condominium and your eyes widened once you parked in front of the building.

A luxury building, one of the most expensive luxury buildings in town. You got out of your car and fixed the skirt of your dress and made your way inside the building. The concierge took your name then led you to an elevator that would go straight to where you were meeting Gin and once you were inside you felt the nerves in your stomach.

Your boss had always warned you about meeting another attorney in such a private setting and it only intensified when one of your coworkers mixed business with pleasure during a meeting and got their case thrown out.

Once the elevator stopped and the doors opened you stepped out into the penthouse apartment. You took in all the expensive furniture, the beautiful view of the city, the shelf of expensive liquors and spirits as you stepped further inside. You looked over to see the door to the balcony open and you walked to it and peeked your head outside to see Gin leaning on the balustrade with a half empty glass in his hand. You took a few more steps out and caught his attention.

“Hello Miss Y/N, thank you for meeting me here. Come join me.”

You walked over to him and faced him as you leaned on the balustrade, keeping some distance between you two, “well I’m just here to listen to whatever deal you want to make, hopefully it’s not as ridiculous as the one you made when we first met.”

He laughed and shook his head as he took a step to close the distance. “All work no play I see. Well what would you like to drink? I would still like to be a good host while I have you here.”

“A scotch please and I hope you’re not a heavy handed pourer, I still need to drive back home.”

The smirk grew on his face as you told him your drink of choice. “Don’t you worry, I’m not heavy handed at all. I still want you to be coherent and please feel free to sit inside, it is getting a bit windy and it doesn’t seem like you brought a jacket. Come on.”

His hand rested on the small of your back as he followed you back inside. You took your seat on one of the plush couches and continued looking around the penthouse while he walked over and made your drinks. He glanced over at you and chuckled as he made your drink and refilled his.

“Like what you see? Maybe once you leave that crummy state attorney’s office, you can become a wealthy defense attorney.” He made his way over to you and handed you your drink, which to his delight you quickly took a sip and he sat on the opposite end of the couch from you.

“Maybe that is what I should do but I love sending people to prison too much and I could never imagine defending the monsters you defend.” You took another sip and shifted a bit so you could face him and your eyes quickly skimmed over his body. He wasn’t wearing one of those expensive suits he normally wore to court but his outfit was still fancy. He wore a burgundy button down satin shirt, with a few buttons popped open and black slacks with black dress shoes that look like they’ve never been worn before.

When you met his eyes it seemed like he was doing the same to you, making your cheeks burn as you didn’t wear something as fancy as him, just a simple black v-neck cocktail dress that you often wore to work whenever you didn’t have to go to court. You downed some more of your drink and leaned in a bit, “so what did you want to discuss?”

“Ah of course” he moved a bit closer but still kept his distance as he swirled the liquid around in his glass. “So I still think you should reconsider my most recent offer, 50 years with a minimum of 10 to 15 years. He’ll still go to jail but he won’t die, I think that’s a good deal.”

You scoffed and finished your drink and just before you could set it down on the coffee table Gin reached over and took the glass from you. “I’ll get you a refill, don’t worry I won’t put too much.”

You nodded and watched him walk to grab the scotch bottle before speaking. “That’s absurd, he murdered all those people Gin, even you must know that’s absurd. I could never accept a plea like that, the lowest I’ll go is life in prison without the possibility of parole. I’ll take the death penalty off the table.” You knit your eyebrows together and pinched the bridge of your nose as you felt something course through your body, you just had one little drink so it couldn’t have been any effects of drunkenness and you knew how you got when you drank so it would take a few more drinks to get you to even feel tipsy.

But this feeling was different, like there was a fire burning inside your body. You shifted in your seat, trying not to make it noticeable to Gin but it was too late, he handed you your drink and his classic smirk was plastered on his face as he reached a hand out to touch your shoulder. “Are you alright? Don’t tell me you can’t handle your liquor.”

You moved from his touch, as it felt like his fingers were going to burn through your skin and shook your head. “No I’m fine, I just need to stand outside. It’s getting warm here.” You stood up and made your way outside, it was like every single step you took this burning grew and traveled further south. You quickly made your way to the balustrade and leaned over it, gripping the glass tightly as you took deep breaths and downed everything in the glass. “What the fuck is going on?” You pressed your thighs together for some relief but it made the throbbing between your thighs worse. Your mind ran in circles trying to process what was going on with you but you couldn’t figure it out.

“Have you figured it out yet?” You looked over to find Gin standing extremely close to you, that damned smirk still on his face. “Have you figured out what’s going on with you yet or are you still clueless?” He lifted his hand and brought one finger up to drag it across your cheek and jaw, chuckling at the little whimper you let out. “Do you know what this burning sensation is coursing through your body? Do you know why your cunt is throbbing? Why you’re so sensitive to just the slightest touch?”

Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked at him and shook your head. “What did you do to me, Gin? What the fuck did you put in my drink?”

He laughed as he made his way over to the outdoor sofa and you whined at the loss of his touch. He took out his phone and put it down on the glass table in front of him and looked up at you. “Come and I’ll tell you.” He patted the spot next to him and your body moved instinctively to him and filled the empty cushion. He placed his hand on your thigh and looked you in the eye. “I only did what had to be done sweetheart, remember when I was with you in the elevator after our first meeting? What did I tell you?”

Your mind was growing fuzzy just feeling his touch again and you couldn’t remember a thing. “I’ll remind you, I always get what I want and I stop at no bounds to get it.” He moved closer to you and his eyes scanned your face. “Do you know how difficult it is to get dirt on someone who has a squeaky clean record? Not even your exes have anything bad to say about you, you’re too fucking clean. There’s nothing else I could’ve done but this.”

Your breath hitched as his hand traveled higher and he moved to your ear, “you’re also so fucking naive, didn’t anyone tell you to keep your eyes on your drink when it gets poured for you? It was so fucking easy to slip my special little powder in and give it to you. So sweetheart, what I gave you was an aphrodisiac and the only way to get rid of all this burning and throbbing is me. I’m your only solution.”

You backed away and shook your head while your body was screaming at you. The amused look on his face never lifted as you muttered how it was unethical and how much trouble he would get in for what he did. “Won’t show up in drug tests silly girl, so you could deny it all you want and shake your head but I am the only one who can help you. You just need to say the words sweetheart, all you need to say is ‘please Gin, please help me. Please fuck me.’ It’s not that difficult. You could try to masturbate but that fire won’t quell quickly, it’ll probably take you one maybe two days to really satisfy yourself and we have court in two days. What are you going to tell judge Fujimoto? ‘Sorry your honor but I need to make myself cum for the rest of the day, can we postpone closing arguments and move the date to the end of the week?’ Just repeat what I told you and I’ll help you, then you can be nice and chipper for court.”

This was against every ethical principle you had and you cursed yourself, how could you do something so stupid and let him slip that into your drink? You glanced at him and sucked in a breath, this was how he did it. This is how he always won his cases, that fucking snake.

“And don’t get me confused with a piece of shit that uses drugs to get what he wants, sweetheart, I don’t drug every lawyer I go against. Normally the other ambitious prosecutors had some dirt, bribed their way to get their license, were abusive to their spouse, had a crippling gambling addiction, just other shit I could use against them but you my dear, are the first and will be the only person I drug. Now, what do you say?”

You let out a sigh, he was right. You couldn’t explain this to anyone and there was no way anyone else in your office could execute a closing statement like you could, you needed this. Sad to say, you needed him. “Please Gin, please help me. Please fuck me.”

Just as the words left your lips he pounced on you, caging you beneath him as he captured your lips in his. His hands roamed all over your body until it reached the hem of your dress and he hiked it up to your hips so his hands could explore where you needed him most. You normally would’ve felt embarrassed with how wet you are but right now you just needed some form of relief, you needed Gin to help you. He slipped your panties to the side while his tongue explored your mouth and he pushed two fingers inside your soaked heat. You gasped against his lips and pressed your chest against his as you broke the kiss.

He kissed down your neck and bit down as he started to pump his fingers. Every drag of his fingers, every press of his lips against your neck, every gentle nibble against your neck, every suck on the sensitive skin on your neck, every brush of his thumb against your clit was heightened and was more pleasurable. “So fucking beautiful, every single time I’ve seen you sitting in the gallery you’ve caught my eye. Then finally seeing you in action, fuck it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen, even makes me feel a little bad for doing this.”

His murmurs against your neck became a second thought as the squelching of his fingers in your cunt grew louder as he sped up his motions. His thumb rubbed at your clit more furiously and his free hand groped and gripped your breasts through your dress. You wanted to feel him more, you wanted to feel him against your skin completely, you couldn’t even care about the cold air nipping at your skin. He slipped in a third finger and pressed them against your g spot as he thrusted them in. Your thighs shook and your body quivered while your moans grew louder.

“Gin! Gin fuck! I’m cumming!”

He continued pumping his fingers and pressed his lips against yours in a deep kiss that you could barely return as you couldn’t stop moaning his name. Once you stopped quivering around his digits he slipped them out and looked at them, the moonlight making them shine and he slipped them in his mouth, cleaning your cum off of them with a groan. “I think you might just be an aphrodisiac yourself.” He leaned down and gripped your cheeks so you could open your mouth and he spit on your tongue, the action mixed with the effects of the drug turning you on to no end.

You looked down at the bulge in his pants and licked your lips, just from the bulge you could see how thick and big his cock was. “Please fuck me Gin, I need your cock. I need you to fuck me.” You sat up a bit to undo his pants and he gently pushed you on your back and shook his head. “No no sweetheart, I’ll do all the work. By the time these drugs wear off I want the association between me and pleasure to be imprinted in your mind. I want you to look at me and press your thighs together subconsciously, got it?”

You nodded at his words and your attention quickly shifted from his eyes to his hands as they undid his pants and pulled his cock out. Your eyes widened at the sight, it was thick and long and the angry red tip was leaking precum. “Blink a little sweetheart, don’t tell me this is the biggest cock you’ve ever seen.” You bit your lip and spread your legs more, opting not to say anything since he already knew the truth. He spit on his cock and stroked his cock to lather his spit on it and he moved closer so he could drag his cock through your puffy folds. Up and down and each time he dragged his cock up, the tip of his cock brushed against your clit, making you whine and mewl.

“Please Gin, I’m wet enough. Just stop teasing me and just fuck me!” He chuckled, muttering something about your lack of patience before pushing his cock through your folds, splitting you in half on his cock. He continued pushing his cock inside you while getting a firm grip on your hips and one his grip was firm enough he slammed the rest of his cock inside you. “Fuck you’re tight! Like you’ve never been fucked before or is it that you haven’t been fucked properly yet? Don’t worry about answering sweetheart, just focus on how good I’m making you feel.”

He dug his fingers into the soft skin of your hips while he thrusted into you hard and fast, your slick soaking his cock, balls and thighs. The wet slapping of skin filled the air along with your whines and moans of his name. “So good Gin, so fucking good don’t stop.” He picked up the pace of his hips and moved one hand to slide your dress higher so your breasts could be exposed to him, so he could watch how they bounced and jiggled with each of his hard thrusts.

They looked perfect, your nipples were perked up because of the cold wind and how turned on you were. He toyed and teased your nipples as the tip of his cock pressed against your g spot, hitting the spongy spot repeatedly as his thrusts grew even faster and harder. Your back arched into his touch and your eyes shut due to all of the overwhelming pleasure. “Please don’t stop Gin, please please please!” You lifted your hands to grip his arms and ground yourself as your second orgasm of the night quickly approached. Seeing you like this was a complete shift from how you normally carried yourself, normally you were so composed and stoic and now you were a complete mess, whining and whimpering as tears and saliva coated your face.

He brought his hand back down from your breasts and to your clit, rubbing it quickly in time with his thrusts and he leaned down to bite down on one of your nipples, sending you head first into your second orgasm. You cried out his name loudly and he continued thrusting you through your orgasm. He latched off of your nipple and looked up at you, “where do you want my cum sweetheart?” His hips didn’t stop as you thought of your answer.

“Inside me Gin, please cum inside me.” He thrusted a few more times and came deep inside you, his thick seed filling you up. He slowed his hips as the last drops of his cum filled you up and he slowly pulled out of you. His cock throbbed at the sight of his cum seeping out of you, he couldn’t take his eyes off of you. You whined and bucked your hips as you felt the throbbing intensify.

“I need more Gin, I need more of you. Please Gin I need you, I need you so badly, please fuck me more please!” He stood and fixed his pants so they were back on his hips and he chuckled at the way your eyes widened. “Don’t worry I’m not gonna stop until that ache is gone, I just want to take you inside, don’t want you getting sick.” He took his phone and leaned down to pick you up and walked with you inside as you clung to him. “I’ll fuck you in every room and on every fucking surface. You want that?” You nodded and held onto him even tighter as he walked with you into his bedroom. He dropped you on his Alaskan king bed and you quickly glanced around to see the lights were dimmed and turned your attention back to him.

You sat up on your knees and took off your dress while he set his phone down and you pulled him over to you, making quick work of undoing the buttons of his shirt and quickly moving to his pants and briefs. “Don’t be in such a rush sweetheart, you’ll get cock.” He shrugged off the rest of his clothes and laid you back down on the bed while he slotted himself between your legs. He hooked his hands under the backs of your knees and pressed your knees to your chest before plunging his cock inside you, the action making the both of you moan and roll your heads back. His grip tightened on your legs while he started thrusting. “Fuck I think I’m even deeper now, look at you, taking me so fucking deep.”

Your eyes rolled back with each of his thrusts and fucked out babbles left your lips. “Don’t stop fucking me Gin, need your cock inside me all the time don’t fucking stop! I want your cum to leak out of me for days, please Gin fuck.”

He was eating up every second of your fucked out state, it was a shame that it did have to end at some point but with what he had planned for you, you’d be in the same position very soon. He gripped your legs tighter at each of your pleas and his heavy balls slammed against your ass with each of his thrusts. Your hands wrapped around his neck and pulled him in closer so he could kiss you again, it was like you were getting addicted to his lips and touch in this state. He kissed you deeply and his tongue explored your mouth while the tip of his cock pounded your sensitive spot over and over again.

It didn’t take long for the knot in the pit of your stomach to tighten again and signaled that your third orgasm of the night was going to approach. Your fingers gripped his hair and tugged on the silver stands as you feverishly kissed him back. “Gonna cum again Gin please don’t stop!” Your legs shook in his hold and tightened as the knot in your stomach snapped. You moaned his name against his lips and tugged on his hair harder, making him hiss and his cock twitch. He continued fucking you through your orgasm, feeling your juices gush out and soak his skin more. He groaned against your lips and felt his own orgasm approach quickly.

He continued pumping his hips against yours and stilled them as the first rope of cum spilled out, “fuck fuck take it all sweetheart, take all my fucking cum. It’s all for you, all of my fucking cum is for you.” He rocked his hips against yours and bit your bottom lip, slowly tugging it as he pulled back and pulled out of you. He quickly moved to look at how his second load leaked out of you and groaned at the sight. You bit your lip and whimpered as he stared and you shifted a bit so you could sit up and look at him. Your cunt was still throbbing and the fire in the pit of your stomach was still burning.

“Gin I need more, I need more of your cock. It hurts Gin.” He leaned back against his bed and beckoned you closer. “Then come here sweetheart, ride my cock and take all the cum you need. I’ll fuck you all night long until it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

He was the one that put you in this state but right now he was your savior. He was the only one that could provide you relief and you were going to use him as much as you needed to.

You two spent the rest of the night fucking, fucking on every surface of the penthouse apartment he could get you on and it was all in a lust filled haze. You don’t even remember when you fell asleep but when you finally came to your senses you were in his bed, his soft velvet blanket covering you. You rubbed your eyes and sat up slowly, wincing at the throbbing pain between your thighs. You hoped it might’ve been a very vivid sex dream but as you heard footsteps enter the room, you were met with the reality of the situation.

“Hello sleeping beauty, it’s 3 in the afternoon so I wasn’t sure if you wanted breakfast or something for lunch so I just made what I felt was necessary. You need to eat up, we had a very active night last night.” He was shirtless and you felt your cheeks burn as you saw all the marks that littered his body, all the scratch marks, the hickeys and everything that reminded you of the events that happened last night. He set the tray of food down and laid down next to you, pulling you in and pressing a kiss on the crown of your head.

You felt sick to your stomach. How could he act so normal after everything that just happened? You moved from his grip, wincing again as the slight tinge of pain coursed through your body. “What do you want, Gin? If you wanted to just fuck me then you didn’t have to slip something into my drink, you could’ve just waited for after trial.” You glared at him as the smirk grew on his face.

“Wow, no thank you or anything. Well, since you want to get straight to business I’ll tell you” he leaned in close and gripped your chin between his index finger and thumb, tilting your head up. “I want you to accept the plea deal I’m about to offer you. 50 years in a medium security prison with a minimum of 10 to 25 years on good behavior.”

You moved from his grip and pushed his hand away. “No! Are you insane? There’s no way in hell I’ll make a deal like that.”

He sighed and reached over to his nightstand to grab his phone. “I figured you were going to say that, so predictable, good thing I have my little insurance plan.” He scrolled through and turned the phone to you, showing you what was on the screen right before he pressed play. It was you from last night while he fucked you, your face was right in perfect view and the fucked out babbles you made were blaring through the speaker. “Would be a real shame if judge Fujimoto and your boss saw this, not only would you lose the case but you’d lose your job. I’d hate to see that happen to you but I could always offer you a job at my office. The thing is that no one would take you seriously when you’re in the courtroom and that would be a waste of your license to practice. So, have a change of mind?”

Tears brimmed your eyes as you watched the video, it was disgusting that he would put you in this position. Still you needed to play his game and play by his rules. “Fine, I’ll make the deal and it’ll be ready by tomorrow.”

He pressed his lips to yours in a soft kiss and put his phone away. “Good girl, now eat up.” He stood by your side the rest of the day until you were ready to head back home and write up the deal. He escorted you to your car and pressed a kiss to your temple. “Drive safe, pretty girl, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He waved you off and you were left with your thoughts and soreness between your thighs and that’s when it all hit you. There was no way that after tomorrow he would leave you alone, he had that video and probably much more of the events that had transpired. He was going to use you as a pawn in his game of chess and your fate was sealed.

Once you got home you wrote up the deal, showered and then went to bed, not like you actually slept since you spent the entire night tossing and turning. When your alarm went off in the morning you got dressed and made your way to the office to tell your boss the news. Surprisingly he took it fine, he had no doubt in your abilities and knew that the families of the victims just wanted Sosuke in jail, no matter how long that time would be. Then you made your way to court, once inside the courtroom you felt your stomach turn into knots when you saw Gin and Sosuke and winced when Gin winked your way.

“Okay Mr. Ichimaru informed me that there was a deal on the table?”

You nodded and stood up, glancing over at Gin and watched his finger tap his phone as a silent warning to you. “Yes, the deal is 50 years in a medium security prison with a minimum of 10 to 25 years if the defendant is on good behavior.” Judge Fujimoto nodded and wrote it down in his notes.

“Sounds good to me. Mr. Ichimaru, since you and your client accepted just know it would be difficult for an appeal and if that’s all then court is dismissed.” He banged his gavel and stood, you gathered your things while Sosuke was escorted out by the court officers. You took a deep breath and left the courtroom, giving small smiles and hugs to the grieving family members of his victims and then walked out to your car. Just as you fished your keys out of your pocket you felt a hand on your shoulder.

“Leaving so quickly sweetheart? You didn’t even let me congratulate you properly, this is technically my first loss since my client is going to prison.” He chuckled and moved in front of you, “but, I wouldn’t have wanted to lose to anyone but you. So, how about we celebrate? I’ll order some takeout and you can come over at around 8? And bring some clothes with you since you’ll be spending more nights at my place from here on out.”

You nodded and looked up at him, “I’ll be there at 8 Gin, and if that is all then I’ll see you later.”

“Ah, never leave without a goodbye kiss sweetheart.” He cupped your cheek with one hand and kissed you softly before pulling away and headed to his car. You got inside yours and drove back to your office, cursing yourself the entire way there.

If only you weren’t so curious to find out the tricks of his trade. But it’s like they always say, hindsight is always 20/20.

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Behave | Fushiguro Toji

Contents: Toji the hitman infiltrates the local prison to get a job done. That’s where he meets you, a mentally unstable inmate who’s as twisted as he is, if not more.

Warnings: MDNI, Toji Fushiguro x fem!reader, prison au, reader is lowkey not really insane, smut, rough sex, mandhandling, degradation, name calling, face slapping, cum eating, no aftercare

w/c: 1k

Reblogs and likes are appreciated!

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who gets hired for the job honestly by chance. He somehow passed the criminal background check and he is now here, having to care for people who have committed unspeakable things. He isn’t much different, he just did everything under the protection of the Zen’in clan, so his tracks are covered.

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who lowkey befriends a few inmates. They’re not all evil, and under the rough exterior, he sees himself in them. He finds himself playing cards with them at times. He’s really good at it too, but the not really former yakuza down the corridor always manages to beat him.

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who, one day, finds himself in the female section of the prison. His coworker called in sick and he has to cover for her. He‘s never been there, and a few inmates whistle at the man, excited to have such a tall, muscular man guarding. He doesn’t pay too much mind. He's used to being wooed by people.

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who has to break up a fight in the yard. It seems that an argument escalated. He unexpectedly struggles to divide the raging women; they are definitely stronger than they look. He’s sedated the brawl and that’s when his eyes land on you on the floor, bleeding. He’s not shocked, he has seen - and done - much worse. But he can’t forget the way you smile while wiping the blood from your nose. It’s sinister, almost crazy. He asks himself if you have a few loose screws in that head of yours.

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who is creeped out by the way you keep staring at him while in the nurse’s office. He does his best to ignore it. He’s trying to strike a conversation with the nurse, but he’s an old man who kinda hates Toji, so he doesn’t answer when he speaks to him. Toji himself looks like a criminal

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who has to take you back to your cell and has to deal with your curious questions. He thinks you’re positively mad when you're skipping instead of walking normally, the handcuffs still on your wrists

When did you start working here?

It’s been a few months

But this is my first time seeing youuu

I had to substitute someone.

Oh okay…welcome then, and enjoy your stayyyy

This will be my first and last time, so do not worry

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who finishes his shift, vowing to never go back to the female section. He shares his experience with those inmates he’s grown close to and they already know you, explaining everything they've come to hear on your account. Comes out, you killed a few people. Well that explains a few things.

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who is sent to supervise a few prisoners while they do their chores. Contrary to what he promised you, he’s in the female section again. And there you are, again, showing a bit too much interest in him. You’re scrubbing the showers, but you still find the time to hassle him. He was handsome, built and that scar on his lips made your mind wander a bit too much. Besides, he emanated something you had not felt in a long time, not within the walls of this lousy prison.

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who has to try his best to not look at you while cleaning. You look good, he has to admit it. He eyes your figure, bended over to truly get the grime off the tiles. And fuck him, especially after you not so accidentally get water on yourself. The sheered out shirt definitely has him licking his lips. Your plan worked.

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who is called in to help get you into solitary confinement. You were acting up again, getting into a fist fight with another prisoner. He somehow knew it was you when they asked of him. You really loved trouble, huh?

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who finds out who you really are after you tell him who he is. You’re not stupid, the few inmates that disappered just after he arrived were old targets of yours. Besides, he reeked of cursed energy, even if you could tell that he wasn’t the source of it.

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who smirks at you blowing his cover. You were crazy, but crazy smart as well. He came here acting all innocent and friendly, yet you found a way to see right through the bullshit. You and your pretty self knew too much, he had to cut you off

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who ponders your offer and accepts. What was there to lose?

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who fucks you against the wall of your cell, his fingers down your throat. All the mercy he had for you went into letting you live, none left in his thrusts. He didn't understand how this was a fair bargain, but he obliged. He was only going to benefit from it.

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who calls you names while he pounds into you from behind. Bitch, slut, whore. You seem to love it, by the way you moan around his fingers, saliva bubbling at the corners of your mouth. You’re so fucking filthy and he has to let you know

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who grunts into your ear about how much he hates you, but your pussy feels good so he keeps going, amply contradicting himself. You’re his little fuckthing now, and he’ll gladly use you in exchange of your silence

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who slaps your face when you don’t answer him after he asks you to ‘shut the fuck up’ because ‘you’re making too much noise’. You giggle in response, giddy on your creeping orgasm paired with the sting on your cheek

Thinking of prison guard!Toji who cums on your ass, leaving you like that in your cell, legs quickly giving out without his support. The view of you wiping your buttcheek and popping the finger in your mouth told him everything he needed to know. He was gonna have fun with you, all you had to do was behave

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