#its like a fucking member of staff finally understood me and took my word for my word

[in-a-slanted-outhouse]

Why do things just keep going wrong and going wrong over and over again in my life just as things are starting to get good?

[scumbagg]

NSFT/18+

Space Ghost Coast to Coast

A/N: I purely wrote this as Bell instead of Y/N since I can’t bring myself to write Y/N fics 😂 

I recently finished MW2 and needed some Ghost food to heal my broken heart after the traumatic betrayal I witnessed. Also maybe a bit of DadPrice! giving a lecture. Here goes nothing..

Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley x Fem Bell

Word count: 3252

Warnings: smut, injury (gunshot), blood, swearing.

“Eyes up, scouts patrolling up ahead.”

Price’s voice in your earpiece came through at the exact moment the two men appeared in your line of vision 40 metres in front of you.

“Dropped him.”

Aiming your sniper, the guard trailing slightly behind fell to the ground before you’d even had time to place your finger on the trigger. Taking aim at the other man’s head, your rifle made almost no sound as you took him out a second later.

“Nice shot. Move up.”

“Thanks.” You whispered back. You turned back for a moment to the place you knew Price was laying hidden almost 90 metres behind you.

“Move, Bell. We won’t have much time before more patrols come along and find those bodies.” Soap’s whispered voice now, also in your earpiece - but you knew he was somewhere to the right of you hidden in the long grass. You crawled quietly through the grass. You heard the brush whispering slightly either side of you as the bodies of Soap and Ghost moved up to flank with you.

“Hold up, two more tangoes patrolling the fence line.” Price murmured a moment later. “Take ‘em out, or let ‘em move on. Your call Bell”

“No stragglers.” You whispered back. You heard the pops from Ghost’s and Soap’s suppressed guns as they took out the two guards ahead.

“Good call.” Price confirmed. “Can’t see anymore inbound. You’re in the clear. House up ahead is empty. We’ll regroup inside.”

“Roger.”

Standing up, you scanned the area out of precaution for more enemies. Satisfied, you nodded to the other two men to move up. The three of you passed the fence line and had almost made it to the back door of the house when it happened.

You heard it before you felt it. The sound of a pistol being fired in your direction had you spinning to face the direction it came from, when suddenly you felt white hot pain erupt in your left shoulder. Dropping to the ground, the sound was over almost as quickly as it started, but your eyesight went black as you squeezed your eyes shut in pain and gripped your shoulder as blood poured through your fingers.

“Bell!” The scream came from within your earpiece at the same time Ghost shouted your name, making your ear throb in pain. You hardly noticed with the burning coming from your shoulder, but you still flinched.

“What the fuck was that?!” You gritted through your teeth.

“One of the guards back there wasn’t as dead as we thought. He fucking is now. Don’t worry darlin’, you’re gonna be alright.” Ghost pried your hand away from your shoulder and replace them with his own. “Soap, get me the medi-kit from your pack, quick!”

“Darlin’?!” Soap laughed as he handed Ghost the pack. Frowning, he looked down at the two of you.

“He’s taking the piss.. it’s an inside joke.. had to be there.” You said through gritted teeth, glaring into Ghost’s glasses. Ghost said nothing as he worked on stopping the bleeding, but the minimal supplies in the kit weren’t doing much.

“Fuck!” Ghost said in a panicked voice. You were starting to feel drowsy, and the sight of all the blood was making you queasy. You could feel your head starting to spin, threatening to send you into unconsciousness.

“Ghost, she’s gonna be fine. Look, the bullet went straight through.” Soap said calmly, pointing at the bullet lodged in the brick in the wall just behind where you’d been standing. “It’s a clean wound, it’ll just need stitches.”

“Fine. We’ve gotta get her back ASAP. I’ll take her, you and Price grab the intel.”

“No, I’ll take her.” Price came into view, rifle slung over his back. “You’re the one that’s better with technology, you’ll get the intel quicker from the computer. Someone’s bound to have heard those gunshots, we’re sure to have company soon. C’mon Bell.” Price hoisted you up under your uninjured arm, replacing Ghost’s hands with one of his. Stumbling, you gripped Price’s arm for support. Looking over at Ghost, you noticed his eyes tighten behind his sunglasses, but he nodded in assent.

“Let’s get moving,” Price commanded, nodding at the other two. “Soap, Ghost, I’ll send for another chopper to pick you up. See you boys at home.”

*****

  Fourteen stitches and a bandaged shoulder later, the infirmary staff finally let you leave. Pushing open the exit door to the outside, you found Price leaning against a jeep waiting for you.

“What are you still doing here?” You asked suspiciously.

“Thought I’d give you a ride home. It’s a bit of a far walk and I assumed you’d be too hopped up on pain killers to drive yourself.” He replied, opening the passenger door courteously.

“Oh… thanks.” You said, taken aback by the display of kindness. It’s not that Captain Price was unkind; he’d just never shown any outward kindness outside of the field. You were surprised that he’d thought to even come back for you.

The two of you drove in silence for a few moments, before the question you were burning to ask broke its way out of your control.

“Did the other two make it back okay?” You tried to sound casual, but your insides were turning with worry.

“Yeah, they got back about an hour ago, no issues.” Price answered, concentrating on the road.

“And the intel?”

‘Acquired.” Price gruffed.

“Hmm, very good.” You stared straight ahead, watching the sun settle in the west. This was the first time in a non-formal environment you’d ever spent a moment alone with the Captain, and you weren’t sure how to make small talk with him. You sat in silence as Price drove you through the city. You wondered how he knew where you lived when it occurred to you that being a member of his team, he’d know where everyone lived. Not that you spent much time in your own house these nights. You thought back to a few nights ago...

The sound of Price clearing his throat awkwardly pulled you out of your reverie. Looking over at him, you watched as he shifted in his seat and waited for him to speak.

“What is it?”

Price sighed. “Look, I really don’t want to have this conversation. But I’ve told him the same thing I’m telling you now. This is one of the best task forces I’ve ever worked with, and I don’t want anything fucking that up. Understood?”

You felt your calm composure slip through the cracks as your eyes widened in panic. You glanced over to see him still staring straight ahead, his mouth set in a hard line.

“Wait, you know about-”

“Of course I fucking know.” Price snapped, watching you out of the corner of his eyes. Shit, so maybe he did know where you actually slept after all. “I know everything that goes on in my team. Look,” he said calmly. “I don’t give a fuck what you get up to in your spare time. It’s like I told him, I’m not going to report it. It’s not been an issue yet. Just don’t let it affect you on the job.”

“I haven’t! I’ve been so careful about trying to keep it professional while we’re on a mission!” Your heart raced at the fact you had been caught out.

“I know you have, Bell. But that man is head over heels for you, in case you hadn’t realised. I’m concerned he’ll let his feelings for you get in the way of the job. Look at today – he’s the best man on our team for tech, and he was willing to throw the whole job, just out of pure panic for you.” Price sighed again. “I’m not sending either of you away. I just needed to remind you of the main reason we are here. If you two can’t handle that, I’ll be forced to find someone to take your place on the team.”

“Does anyone else know?” You asked quietly.

“I don’t think so, but if Simon continues on the way he was today, I doubt it’ll be long until Soap catches on.” Price grimaced, then looked over at you. “Darlin’,” he grinned.

“Ughhh,” you groaned as Price pulled up outside what you now realised wasn’t your house. “I can’t believe he let that slip out.” You unbuckled your seatbelt, careful not to move too much that it pulled at your stitches. Opening your door, you looked back at Price. “Thanks for the ride, I appreciate it.”

Price smiled and nodded in response. “Don’t be too harsh on him about today,” he said, looking over your shoulder as you heard the front door open behind you. You closed the door and waved as the jeep drove away.

*****

  All your anxiety from the conversation with Price suddenly turned to irritation as you turned to face the man in the doorway. You stormed towards him, your uninjured shoulder hitting his lower abdomen as you barged your way past him into the hallway.

“Bell-” he began.

“Get out of my way, Simon. I need a fucking shower.” You snapped irritably.

“Here, let me help-”

“No.”

“Bell!” Simon pleaded.

“What the fuck was that today?!” You snarled. “You might as well just fucking announce to the whole place that we’re together!” You began climbing the stairs towards the bathroom, but stopped halfway there. Staying angry wasn’t one of your strong suits, and seeing him standing pleadingly in the hallway washed away your irritation. “Look,” you sighed heavily, coming back down the stairs so you were eye level with him. “I just had the lecture of a lifetime from Price. I can’t lose what we have here Simon, and he warned if we couldn’t keep it professional out there, then one of us would be replaced.” You stepped towards him, reaching for him in both apology and forgiveness. You placed a hand on his masked jaw, your thumb stroking along his hard cheekbone.

“I’m sorry for today,” he said apologetically, leaning his cheek into your hand. “Seeing you injured and in pain, all that blood… I panicked.”

“It’s okay,” you soothed. Smiling up at him, you smacked his arm playfully. “You’re silly, you know that right. Even I knew it wasn’t bad, and you’ve seen way more injuries than I have. I can’t imagine how you would’ve been if Soap hadn’t been there to pull your head in.”

Simon wrapped his arm around your head, resting his hand at the base of your skull and pulled you in for a hug. You lifted your other arm to place it around his waist and winced. It didn’t go unnoticed.

“How are you feeling anyway, darlin’?” He stepped back to survey you.

“Rubbish. These pain killers are doing their job, but I feel disgusting. I really do need a shower.” You looked over your shoulder towards the bathroom. “I uh... might need a hand actually,” you said awkwardly, wondering how you were going to manage without getting your stitches wet. Surprisingly, this was your first major injury, given your line of work.

“C’mon,” he said, pulling you towards the bathroom.

 Simon turned on the shower and helped you undress, helping remove your shoes, pants and underwear, aware of your fresh wound as he carefully pulled the shirt from your arms and over your head. His eyes filled with remorse as they fell on your injured shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, darlin’,” he whispered. “That guy that shot you… that’s the one I took down. I didn’t know he wasn’t dead.” He looked away sadly.

“Hey,” you grabbed his chin gently and turned his head so he was looking you squarely in the eyes. “It’s not your fault. Stop blaming yourself, no one else does. I’m fine.”

“But what if it had been worse? What if that bullet had landed here?” Simon touched your forehead. “Or here,” he said, touching the base of your throat. “What if-”

“Don’t think about it,” you said firmly, pulling his hand from your neck. “Simon, I said I’m fine.” Still holding his hand, you pulled it up to your lips. “There is one thing I am annoyed about, though,” you smirked as you kissed his fingers.

Simon looked at you quizzically. “Why am I the only one naked right now? Surely you’re not gonna shower in your clothes.” You stepped inside the shower, letting the water run over your head, careful to avoid letting it hit your left shoulder.

Simon’s eyes squinted, and you knew he was smirking behind his mask as he removed the rest of his gear and dumped it on the ground next to yours. As always, his mask was the very last thing he removed. No matter how comfortable Simon was with you, and no matter how many times you’d seen him without it, there were certain insecurities that were too deeply ingrained. The last piece of Ghost removed, and only Simon stood in front of you.

Simon stepped in the large shower with you. Grabbing a face washer and pouring body wash on it, he gently helped scrub off the dried blood that had made its way down your torso. He shampooed, conditioned and brushed your hair, knowing you couldn’t lift your arm to wash any dried blood that had knotted in there. Once you were clean, you grabbed the other face wash and carefully, with your good arm, moved it across his chest and abdomen. He watched as you gently made circles on his large shoulders and down his muscular arms.

You wrapped your good arm around the back of his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. “Don’t be too long,” you smiled as you stepped out of the shower and wrapped yourself in a towel.

Walking to the dresser, you pulled out some clothes and attempted to get dressed but you couldn’t pull the shirt over your head. You sighed, and sat on the bed resignedly, still in your towel. You heard the shower stop running, and Simon stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Here,” you beckoned, reaching for him. Simon came to stand in front of you, standing in between your legs. You leaned forward and kissed his stomach, feeling the warm skin beneath your lips raise with goose bumps. You tugged on his arm, pulling him down towards the ground. He knelt, still between your legs, and leaned forward to bury his face in your neck. Almost a whole foot of height difference between the two of you, yet you were the only person who could bring Simon Riley to his knees.

Your good arm snaked its way around his broad back, tracing his spine, down to his hips to the edge of the towel. You heard Simon’s breath quicken, still lightly kissing your neck, when your fingers made their way around to the front of his towel and tugged it loose, letting it fall to the floor.

You lightly brushed your fingers down his stomach and over his navel, until you reached the base of his shaft. You felt Simon’s breath hitch as you gripped it in both hands.

“Bell..” he groaned.

“Mmm?”

He brought his mouth round to yours, kissing you deeply. His mouth trailed back along your jaw to your ear. “Why am I the only one that’s naked?” You felt his smirk against your cheek as he repeated your line back to you.

“Maybe you should fix that,” you whispered back.

Simon wasted no time in removing your towel and throwing it across the other side of the room. You laid back on the bed as he trailed kisses down your chest, taking a nipple in his mouth and thumbing circles around the other. Your hands threaded themselves through his thick hair as you massaged his head. Simon’s hands followed his head as he made his way down your stomach and down your navel, his hands gliding over your hips and massaging up and down your thighs.

You threw your head back and moaned in pleasure as he buried his face between your legs, his mouth sucking and licking at your clit. You gasped as you felt one of Simon’s fingers enter you, then two, and he slowly picked up a rhythm as his mouth and fingers worked in synch. You could feel your walls begin to tighten as you got closer to your orgasm.

“Stop,” you gasped. Simon looked up quickly.

“Did I hurt you?” He asked worriedly.

“Not at all,” you tugged at his arm so he pulled himself so he was hovered above you. “I need you in me right now,” you purred as you pulled his head down, his lips crashing to meet yours.

You reached down and grabbed his length firmly, stroking it. Simon’s eyes glazed over with lust as he moved his head back to your neck. Guiding him, you positioned him at your entrance.

“You sure?” he asked huskily. You knew he was teasing. He knew exactly what you wanted.

“Yes,” you breathed.

You both groaned with pleasure as he entered you, filling and stretching you out. Simon set a slow pace at first, until he was sure you had adjusted to him, then quickened the pace. His hands moved to your waist as he slammed into you, holding you in place so you didn’t move around too much. He pulled your legs over his shoulders and you gripped his forearms, lost in pleasure.

Simon leaned forward and your legs dropped to his waist. He took one of your breasts in his mouth. You moaned in ecstasy as he hit the sweet spot inside of you.

“Simon.. I think I’m gonna-” you gasped.

Still inside of you, Simon pulled you on top of him as he rolled onto his back. “Not yet, you’re not.”

“Owwwww!” You winced as the action pulled tightly at your left shoulder.

“Fuck! Sorry! You okay?” He asked worriedly.

“Yeah,” you moaned as you picked up the pace again. You brought your legs either side of his waist and pulled his hands to your breasts as you lowered yourself onto him, taking him completely. Now in control, you could feel every movement and every angle as you took him deep inside you.

Simon gripped your breasts firmly as he felt your walls begin to tighten. “C’mon, darlin’,” he groaned. “I’m not far off, myself.”

“I’m gonna come,” you whined. You rocked your hips back and forth and threw your head back as your walls clenched around him. You rode your orgasm out, and heard Simon groan as his own orgasm erupted into you. You fell on top of him, exhausted and satisfied.

Simon gently rolled you off him and onto the bed as he got up to get some water. Your eyes followed him, appreciating his finely sculpted body as he walked to the sink in the ensuite, grabbing a glass off the nightstand and filling it with water. He met your eyes as he walked back to the bed.

“What?” He asked bashfully as he handed you the water, aware of his nakedness.

“You’re beautiful,” you smiled drowsily, taking the glass.

Simon chuckled. “Are you sure you’re okay? They must be some strong drugs they gave you.”

“Hmmm... never better” you sighed as you handed the water back to him. Despite what you said, sleep was already pulling you under.

Simon leaned in and kissed your forehead.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

[skiesofthesketchy]

Midsummers

Pairing: JJ Maybank x kook!reader

Summary: You drag a poor, unsuspecting stranger to be apart of your little scheme, but JJ doesn’t mind all that much. 

Note: Yoooooo how are you guys? This fic is dedicated to my bff @rafej-cambanks​ bc it is her birthday today!! Go send her some love! I figured this might be a nice lil surprise bc it is 1 of the maybe 2 unpublished fics that you haven’t read yet lol. Anyway, I love you SO MUCH and hope you like this :)

Still working on blurbs for my 1k celebration! Sit tight, they will be coming soon :)

Warnings: language, hella fluff, uhhhh yea Word Count: 4k

gif by @toesure​

***

Standing in front of the full-length mirror and gazing at your reflection, you couldn’t keep a straight face. The pretty emerald fabric of your dress adorned your figure perfectly, considering the thousands of dollars your mother spent on it plus having it tailored to fit you so. The hem fell to your ankles, showing off your expensive six inch heels and perfectly painted toenails. Your jewelry consisted of a simple diamond necklace and matching earrings, the sparkle adding to your already glowing complexion. You assumed your makeup would look cakey, but it actually looked quite flawless. That’s what you get when your mother hires a professional to do your makeup and hair for the most prestigious Kook party of the year.

Midsummers. Tonight was the night every Kook family planned for months beforehand, and then talked about the months following after. The party where rich socialites gather to brag about their wealth and successes over lobster and expensive champagne, playing fake nice to uphold their own powerful and pleasant reputations. You hated Midsummers with every fiber of your being, but alas, it was the one event you couldn’t get out of, and you had to attend. 

You bubbled with laughter as you gazed at your appearance, hardly looking like yourself at all. A silly flower crown in your hair and an elegant dress that could probably pay for a trip to Europe. “So this is the daughter my parents have always wanted,” you sighed, coming out of your laughing fit. 

Your parents never really understood you. All they ever wanted was for you to be their perfect princess, hanging out with other Kooks, going shopping, finding a suitable boyfriend from a wealthy family, you know, the whole shabang. And of course, keeping your grades up at the academy so that you can one day work for your father’s multi-million dollar company. It was what all Kooks expect from their kids, but you weren’t about that lifestyle.

Sure, you were grateful for your comfy upbringing, but you couldn’t care less about any of that stuff. You just wanted to have fun, travel the world, figure out who you are. You’d jump off a cliff before you had to be tied down to this boring, money-obsessed world that your parents live in. 

With a quick wink to your alter-ego in the mirror, you sauntered out of the large bathroom, your heels clacking on the white marble floors. You made your way to the extravagant lobby area of the Island Club, staying close to the wall in order to not be noticed. Your parents were thankfully already at the party outside, but there was still someone you were trying to avoid: the pathetic boy your parents had set you up with. 

He really wasn’t that bad, just boring like every other Kook boy your age. Only caring about parties, drugs, and tormenting the Pogues on the island. According to your parents though, he was a “suitable young man” because his parents were wealthy and respected on Figure Eight. 

You spotted your date, Topper Thornton, leisurely scrolling on his phone, his other hand in his pocket. He was waiting for you so that you two could walk down the glorious staircase into the party together. It was tradition for ladies to be escorted down the steps, which is exactly why your mother took finding an escort for you into her own hands. The stupid tradition made you gag. You didn’t need a pretty boy to escort you into a lame-ass party, and that’s why you were hiding from him.

With Topper’s gaze fixed on his phone, you took this opportunity to slip through the large room and onto the balcony, the party happening just down the stairs. With a sigh, you started your descent down the staircase, taking in the scene in front of you. There were pretty lights hung up around the huge tent covering the dining area. People were dressed to the nines, champagne flutes in hand as they giggled and chatted to one another. The live band played classy music while some couples danced, and staff members ran around serving drinks to the attendees. 

Casually walking down the last few steps, that’s when you noticed your parents watching you, and you grinned brightly at them. You knew ditching your date for the grand entrance would piss them off, which is mostly why you did it, and it was confirmed by the sour expressions on their faces.

“Mom. Dad. You guys look great!” you smiled. Your mother only scowled in response. 

“Y/N! What on earth are you doing? Where’s the Thornton boy?” She spoke through her perfect teeth clenched in a fake smile, trying not to draw attention from others. 

You shrugged. “I dunno. Great party though,” you said nonchalantly as your eyes wandered, obviously not bothered by the disappointing looks your parents were giving you. 

“You know your mother wanted you to walk in on a man’s arm,” your dad said. He was trying to console your mom by rubbing her back soothingly. She was not taking this well, her chest rising and falling rapidly in anger. She wanted to yell at you, but wouldn’t dare to make a scene with all of these people around. 

You rolled your eyes. “Why do I have to be escorted by some boy? That tradition is dumb, and sexist, quite frankly.” 

“Y/N, you’re embarrassing us!” your mom whisper-yelled. Her eyes were wide and her lips twisted in displeasure. She’s more pissed than you thought she’d be, and you smiled. “You couldn’t have done this one thing for us? Why can’t you go one night without embarrassing your family?”

“You’re being dramatic,” you sighed. You loved pushing their buttons. They have to figure out you don’t want to live in this Kook bubble for the rest of your life sooner or later. It sucks that they aren’t accepting of who you are and only want you to be their little Kook Princess, but that has never kept you down for long. 

“Don’t talk to your mother that way,” your dad warned in a low voice. You scoffed.

“Tell me why you ditched your date,” your mom whispered, the anger still apparent even with how quietly she spoke. 

“I ditched him because I already have a boyfriend, Mom.” You didn’t really have a boyfriend, but the lie rolled off your tongue easily. Lying to your parents was something you did quite often, and not just to get away with the stupid shit you do sometimes. It was fun to mess with them. They get so upset over silly things, especially your mom. 

A smirk found its way to your mother's face, and you knew she didn’t buy it. “Oh yeah? Then where is he?” You weren’t going to give her the satisfaction of catching you in your lie, especially if it meant she’d make you walk back up those damn steps just to retrieve Topper and do the whole entrance all over again. 

You were already disinterested in this conversation, but you couldn’t just walk away now. Your eyes wandered the party briefly, and that’s when you spotted a waiter heading in your direction. He didn’t seem too busy at the moment, no drinks or plates of food in hand, so the gears in your head started turning. Before you could even second guess your plan, you were stopping the boy’s strides by grabbing his hand and dragging him to the spot next to you in front of your parents.

“Right here,” you said. “Mom. Dad. Meet my boyfriend.” An innocent smile graced your lips as you stared at your parents, awaiting their reactions. You were happy to see surprise and displeasure taking over their features, and the blonde boy next to you looked just the same. You ignored him though and the way he turned to you with confusion dancing in his eyes. You didn’t even care if the stranger went along with it. Even if he walked off and this all blew up in your face, the shock on your mom’s face right now has already made it worth it. You found it all fucking hilarious.

Registering the silence and how nobody seemed to know what to do, you turned your smiling face towards the boy, squeezing his hand in yours and trying not to laugh at this whole situation. You finally noticed his beautiful blue eyes and the way they seemed to ask you what the hell is going on. You shot him a wink, and after quickly scanning your face, something in him seemed to change.

“Mr. and Mrs. Y/L/N. It’s so great to finally meet you.” The boy had turned his attention back to your parents, and reached to shake your father’s hand. You couldn’t help the happiness that swelled up inside of you. He’s actually going along with your idiotic plan to piss your parents off even more.

Your other hand came up to rest on the boy’s bicep as you watched him shake your dad’s hand. Your dad couldn’t form words as he looked at the waiter you clung to. Your mom had plastered on one of her brilliant fake smiles after a few seconds, and nodded her head in acknowledgement. 

This was almost too good to be true. You didn’t know the boy standing next to you, but considering he was part of the staff, he had to be a Pogue. Your parents never allowed you to hang out with Pogues before, so you could only imagine their fury after learning you were dating one. You only caught a quick glance at the blonde, but you noticed the bruises on his face and the cut on his lip. You didn’t know his story, but you knew your parents only saw him as a trouble-making Pogue, and his beat up face only made it better. Not to mention you were in the middle of the biggest party of the year. Your parents wouldn’t dare do anything to make a scene, not here. Sure, you’d be getting an earful at home later, but you were already basking in the pleasure of seeing them so utterly angry and not being able to show it.

“And what’s your name, young man?” your dad asked. 

“JJ Maybank, sir.” You turned your gaze to the boy again, and he smiled charmingly at your parents. “I’ve heard lots about you both, from your lovely daughter here.” He suddenly turned to face you again, the same cute smile on his lips, and released your hand to instead wrap his arm around your waist. Fuck, he’s doing a great job at playing along even though you dragged him into this mess that he had no business being in. You were loving every second of this. 

The way your mom was struggling to keep her calm composure had laughter bubbling in your chest, but you kept your lips shut tight to hold it in. “JJ,” she said through clenched teeth. “Are you working the party?” As polite as she was trying to be, her distasteful glance at his work attire didn’t go unnoticed by anyone. 

JJ wasn’t disheartened by her question, and only smiled bigger. “Yes ma’am, I work at the Island Club for such events. I also deliver groceries and mow lawns. But don’t worry. I still make plenty of time to take Y/N out on dates and treat her like the princess she is.” You found his gaze once again, and you swear you could kiss him. He’s really milking this whole encounter with your parents and you promised yourself to thank him later. 

“Oh, that’s nice,” your dad responded for your mother. She was practically seething underneath that perfect mask of hers, but your father looked quite uncomfortable as well. And here you thought Midsummers would be boring. 

You listened in on the awkward conversation a few minutes more before you spoke up. “I’m glad you guys finally met, but we’re gonna go now. Enjoy the party!” You grinned one last time at your parents before grabbing JJ’s hand and dragging him away, leaving them to simmer in their shock and anger without you.

You had made it all the way to the other side of the dance floor before you burst out laughing. Giggles poured out of you loudly, and JJ couldn’t help but join in. You didn’t even care how awkward that whole situation was, you found it absolutely hilarious and you were happy to see that JJ seemed to think so too. “Thanks for playing along with that, man,” you smiled. “I totally owe you.”

JJ Maybank was confused to say the least. He caught on to your little plan and used his superb improv skills to play along, but he didn’t really know why. He’d never met you before, and couldn’t possibly figure out why you would claim him as your boyfriend. And though you two had never met, he knew exactly who you were. Everyone did. You were Y/N Y/L/N. Your parents were among the richest Kooks on the whole island, and you were their perfect Kook Princess. Why on earth would you ever tell them that he was your boyfriend? He was a low-life Pogue. None of it made any sense. 

He wanted to ask you for an explanation, but he was too caught up in the moment with you. He had never seen you up close before, and had to admit he found you intriguingly beautiful. Your eyes gleaming as your whole face lit up, your dress showing off your nice figure and complimenting you perfectly, even the giggles escaping your lips screamed beauty. He had his mind made up about you, thinking you’re no different than every other rich girl on the island, but now he’s not so sure. From the moment you abruptly grabbed his hand, he could tell you didn’t give a fuck about anything. You seemed fun.

“Do you always try to freak your parents out like that?” he asked with a laugh. 

You chuckled too with a nod. “Yeah. They’re too comfy in their dumb Kook lifestyle, so I like to scare them every once in a while.” You looked up at him with your pretty smile, and he could only smile back. Your words suddenly made him like being in your presence a whole lot more. 

He watched as you messed with your flower crown, the flowers getting caught in your hair as you unceremoniously pulled it off of your head. “Stupid fucking flower crown...” you mumbled before tossing it off to the side on the ground. JJ laughed at your messed up hair, but reached his hands up to fix it for you. You couldn’t care less about what you looked like, which he found odd about you, but you enjoyed the feeling of his fingers running through your hair, patting down the wild strands. 

You took this opportunity to really look at him. His blonde hair was messy and the locks fell over his forehead. The bruises marking his face did little to hide how attractive he was, the cut on his lip seemed to make him even more attractive to you. Even his work uniform was tattered and wrinkled, but he still managed to look good in it. He finished messing with your hair and tucked a strand behind your ear, eyes meeting yours, and neither of you could hide your curious smiles. “Thanks,” you hummed. He only nodded in response.

Your eyes wandered as you tried to figure out what to say, but you caught sight of Topper bounding down the staircase, his gaze searching through the party, probably for you. “Shit,” you muttered under your breath, grabbing JJ’s shoulders and positioning him in front of you. You stepped closer to him as you peaked your head over his shoulder to keep your eyes on the Kook you ditched.

“Hiding from someone?” JJ asked, looking down at you with amusement. 

You nodded. “Just the guy my parents tried to set me up with. I may or may not have ditched him,” you laughed sheepishly. Maybe you should’ve felt bad, but you didn’t.

JJ spared a glance over his shoulder. “Which one of these unlucky bastards was it?” 

You giggled, still trying to hide your frame completely behind JJ. “Topper Thornton. Frosted Tips. Looks like a lost puppy.”

JJ laughed and you could practically feel the warm vibrations from his chest. His pretty eyes met yours again, and he surprised you by wrapping his arm around your waist while his other hand found yours, bringing the pair of you into a waltz position. A smile tugged on your lips as you placed your other hand on his broad shoulder, and you both began to sway. 

JJ never pictured himself in this position before. Slow dancing with you, the Kook Princess of all people, at the Kookiest party of the year no less. He felt a strange sense of pride knowing that you had ditched Topper and are instead dancing with him. Being this close to you, he found himself trying to memorize your features, the color of your eyes, the softness of your hand in his, and the enticing curve of your waist which he had the pleasure of holding onto. 

“So,” JJ spoke softly. “What do you normally do when you’re not attending fancy parties and pissing off your parents?” He didn’t know why, but he wanted to find out more about you. You’re already quite different than what he made you out to be.

“Getting into more trouble,” you responded with a wink. 

He chuckled. “Oh yeah? Like what?”

You shrugged. “Last month, I ran off to Cuba for a week without telling anyone.” You didn’t think it was a big deal, but you noticed the waves of surprise in JJ’s eyes. You giggled at his expression. “What about you? When you’re not serving drinks, delivering groceries, or mowing lawns,” you paused to admire the bruises on his face. “What do you do?”

“Get into trouble,” he laughed, shooting your words back at you. 

You played along. “Oh yeah? Like what?” You don’t know when it happened, but you realized now that you guys were closer than before. Your chest was pressed into his, and his face was so close you could kiss him with the slightest lift onto your toes. 

“Picking fights with your Kooky friends, usually,” he chuckled. 

“If you’re referring to Topper and his goons, we’re not friends.” JJ’s lips lifted into a small smile at your words. If he wasn’t mistaken, you were about as fond of those assholes as he was. 

You both were just staring at each other, choosing to put the small talk to rest and just enjoy the moment. JJ’s eyes never left yours as you brought both of your arms around his neck, leaving him to wrap his arms around your back, diminishing any space there was between your bodies. You thought he might’ve kissed you with the way his gaze flickered between your eyes and your lips, but he didn’t. Instead, his hands found yours and he spun you around so that your back was against him, your arms crossed over your body as you continued to sway. 

His lips hovered over your neck briefly, and you released a sigh, trying to remember the last time you felt so close to someone, so content and in the moment. Something about the boy holding you in his arms gave you butterflies, that warm and exciting feeling spreading through your veins. He suddenly released one of your hands and pushed you so that you were spinning away from him, but then caught you and pulled you back.

You giggled as he twirled you around the dance floor, pleasantly surprised at how good of a dancer he was. Staying hidden from Topper wasn’t even on your mind anymore. With his grip on both of your hands, you both spun around, making the other dancing patrons have to move out of the way. Your laugh bubbled louder, and you couldn’t care less about the other guests. JJ found himself laughing along with you, even though part of him still wondered why he was here, dancing and having fun with you. 

After a moment, he pulled you back against him and you both fought to catch your breaths while the laughter died down. He admired your features again, and the question he’s been dying to ask finally escaped passed his lips. “How come you’re not embarrassed to be seen with me?” He didn’t mean it to sound so insecure, he was rather genuinely curious.

Your brows furrowed slightly in confusion, your grin turning into a frown. “Why would I be embarrassed?”

He scoffed lightly. “Come on, Y/N. We’re from two different worlds.” His eyes wandered for a second, noticing the amount of eyes on the two of you, probably floored at the scene you guys had just made. “Everyone is watching. The Kook Princess dancing with a Pogue...” He didn’t mean to bring down the mood, but he couldn’t help it. He was used to being dismissed, used to being viewed as a disgusting Pogue that only got into trouble. 

You brought your hands up to brush his hair away from his face, your bright smile returning. Your hands then cupped his cheeks, your thumb gently brushing over his split lip. “I don’t give a fuck about these people.” JJ chuckled, feeling his spirits lift once again. Your fingers dragged down his neck and landed on his collar, which you straightened for him. 

“You know,” you started, eyes fixed on the buttons of his white shirt. “I expected tonight to be the absolute worst, but I’m actually having an amazing time.” You peered up at him through your lashes, and JJ smiled. 

“Oh yeah?” he smirked, his usual flirty persona returning. “And why is that?”

You giggled, deciding to humor him. “I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my handsome fake boyfriend has some damn good dance moves,” you winked. Your chest became warm at the sound of JJ’s deep chuckle, his breath fanning over your face.

Among the many judgy looks the pair of you were getting, your parents were also watching from a nearby table. JJ noticed their burning glares, and an idea popped into his head. Gazing into your pretty eyes, he smirked with a nod of his head to the side. When you glanced over and was greeted with the sight of your very angry parents, a grin creeped onto your face. You were making quite the spectacle, but really, who cares? “Want to give them something to be really pissed about?” JJ asked.

You looked at him curiously, but nodded nonetheless. You were already thrilled with how the night was going, and wondered what else he could possibly have up his sleeve. He leaned forward and suddenly, his lips were on yours. Your surprise was soon washed away and you allowed yourself to melt into the kiss, arching your back to press your chest into him. 

His hand rested on the back of your neck, pulling you in even closer as you both indulged in one another. His other large hand squeezed your hip, and you squealed softly against his lips. After a few more seconds, you pulled away from each other, gleaming smiles on your faces. Yeah, that sure made your parents fucking livid. Your mother had excused herself from the table they were sitting at, and your father followed after her, but you weren’t paying attention to them. 

JJ had rested his palms on your cheeks, just looking at you, and he knew then that he wouldn’t be able to get you off of his mind no matter how hard he tried. Your hands gripped his wrists, and you felt sad for a moment, thinking about how JJ probably needs to get back to work. He needs to get back to his life, and you need to get back to yours. “I’ll see you around, JJ?” You held your breath, hoping that this wouldn’t be the last time you saw him.

He kissed you once more, short and sweet, before pulling away again with a smirk. “Definitely.” And with that, he made his way back through the party and into the building while you watched, not being able to hide your giddy grin.

***

Pls let me know what you think :) love you all

Masterlist

***

Obx tags: @sportygal55​ @jazbarnes05 @lovelogan @lannxyz @caseyabel28 @falling-perfectly @thisismynerdyself @mattelblake @justanotherbooklover @hemmingsness @queenofthepouges @dontjinx-it @pink-meringues @outerbnx-stiles @little-miss-rebel3  @shreckluver7​

JJ tags:  @kaylinfayezink​ @unfortunatekiwitrash​ @shy-1234​ @bijleegiregi​ @cheshirecat107​ @yami5525​  @folkloverr​ @dracoswhore007​

[relatable-trxsh]

In Too Deep

Summary: Youre the new girl in the Lennox and Blue quickly takes a very special liking to you.

A/N: Hi! Sorry I suck at summarys I put a warning before the smut starts and when it ends. My requests are OPEN!

Warnings: S M U T 18+ , Soft Blue, Daddy kink, Male oral reciving, cursing, Name calling.

You scream as the two men drag you into the Lennox. You fight against them with every fiber of your being but they are much stronger than you. That didn’t stop you though, you kicked, scream, you threw your body in every direction praying they would somehow lose grip. 

“Please let me go! I didn’t do anything wrong please!” Heads of the staff turned your way, some held a sympathetic gaze others scoffed. Finally, the men stopped walking but your pleas continued, that was until you heard a calm, slightly deep voice speak. 

“Now now, there’s no reason to cry.” you look up just as a hand reaches over and wipes a tear from your face.

“Please I didn’t do anything wrong.” your pleas have quieted down as you look at the man before you.

“Unfortunately I have been told otherwise. What they are accusing you with cant be taken lightly, but you should be glad they sent you here and not some prison.” He moves his hand to your chin and lifts your head a little. “My name is Blue Jones, I run this place. Now come I will show you around, introduce you to the rest of the girls. He smiles and gives your chin a little squeeze before the guards return to their firm grip. As you walk you continuously try to fight out of their grip. Blue explains the rules until you reach a dance studio. There are girls lined up doing various stretches. “Vera this is Y/N, she is our newest patient.” She looks you up and down before nodding. 

“I have a very strict set of rules girl. You follow them, do as your told and there will be no problems.” She spoke in a thick accent. You look at her saying nothing, only trying to fight your arms from the guard’s grip. Blue smirks and Vera sighs. “The quiet ones always cause trouble.”

“You should have seen the fight she gave the guards coming in.” Vere leans in close to your face.

“I don’t put up with nonsense, I am here to help you but I can’t do that if you fight against me understood?” you nod. “Good, I can take her from here. Go join the rest of the girls.” You silently walk and stand beside them. A girl with reddish hair looks at you with a smile.

“Hi I’m Rocket, this is my sister Sweet Pea, that’s Blondie, Baby Doll, and Amber.” You give them all a small wave.

“I’m Y/N” Sweet Pea looks at you and chuckles.

“She’s never gonna make it in here.” Rocket swats her sister’s shoulder.

“Hush, she must be terrified it’s her first day here.”

“Yeah well, it one gets worse from here so you better toughen up Buttercup.” Blondie smiles.

“I like that buttercup I think it suits her.”

You spend the rest of the afternoon practicing dancing, you didn’t fully understand why but the girls told you they would explain after chores.

You felt lost walking around the building, you were desperately trying to find the rooms where the beds were but somehow you ended up at Blues office. You knocked quietly, your heart rate picking up when you heard him sigh from the other side of the door. 

“Come in.” You walked in quietly, staying in the doorway.

“I’m sorry to bother Mr.Jones but I’m lost. I was trying to find the room.” He quickly sits up.

“No no you aren’t bothering at all. Come in, close the door.” You nod and do what he says before walking further into the room, standing in front of his desk. “How have the other girls been treating you?” You bite your lips

“They have been very kind Mr.Jones, they even gave me a nickname. Buttercup.” He chuckles. Blue couldn’t lie, he loved the way his name sounded coming from your mouth. “But I do have a question Mr.Jones if that’s alright…” He nods sitting back in his chair, taking a sip of his whiskey.

“Ask away buttercup” His voice sent shivers down your spine.

“Why does Dr. Gorski have us dance?” He seems a little taken back by your question but doesn’t hesitate.

“On the weekends we do something special, you girls earn me some extra money by putting on a show for some special people, and if those special people spit out some more cash they get a night of fun with one of you, sometimes two.” You were completely shocked by his words.

“You’re going to whore us out?” your words come out with a harsh edge. Blue stands up and walks over to you. 

“You don’t get to judge me Y/N.” he grabs your jaw again and you can’t stop tears from welling up in your eyes front the harshness of his grip. “It’s all part of the game.”

“Sir” your voice is barely a whisper. “Blue please I cant…” You look down at the floor embarrassed, tears falling down your already pink cheeks. 

“And why not? Look me in the eyes when you speak to me Y/N” you eyes reluctantly meet his again.

“I’m a virgin Mr.Jones” He couldn’t stop the smirk from falling on his lips, the vulnerability in your eyes excited him especially since it was a complete 180 from the way you were acting earlier.

“My my, sweet little Butter Cup a virgin.” He clicked his tongue and used his thumb to wipe away a tear from your cheek. “You know a lot of men would pay a pretty penny to fuck a virgin especially one as beautiful as you.” Your lip quivered at his words. “But I have half a mind to keep you all to myself. I always have to share my toys, I never get to keep one for myself, but you,” he sighs. “You are something special and I don’t want to share you.” He leans his forehead against yours, you can’t stop the tears from falling.

“I don’t want to be a whore Blue.” Your voice shook as you closed your eyes.

“If you’re a good girl for me buttercup then you won’t be. I will keep you all to myself, my own little toy.” his hands slid down your shoulders and laned on your waist pulling you closer. If sticking with him meant that you didn’t have to be at other men’s disposal that it’s something you could handle. You open your eyes and look at him.

“Promise I’ll only be yours Blue, promise you won’t let anyone else touch me.” you were terrified he wouldn’t keep his word. Blue says nothing, he just kisses down your jaw to your neck where he starts to bite and suck on the soft untouched skin.

*SMUT*

“Let’s see how good you are for daddy first.” He runs his thumb across your lips before pressing it into your mouth. You take it without protest, swirling your tongue around it and sucking it causing a small moan to leave Blues lips. “Are you sure you’re a Virgin Buttercup?.” You gulp a little before nodding. He smirks. “Get on your knees I want to see what else that tongue can do” You do as your told and sink to your knees. Your hands quickly find the buttons of his pants undoing them with ease, just as you are pulling down his pants, taking his boxers with them. Your eyes widen as they land on his thick large cock.

You lean forward, looking up at Blue as you run your tongue on the underside of his already hard member, he moans as his hand finds your hair tangling into it. 

“Come one princess, stop teasing Daddy and take me in your mouth already.” You bite your lip before leaning forward again, taking as much of him in your mouth as you could and using your hand on the rest. “Now bob up and down princess and use that soft tongue of yours.” You hum in response which causes a low moan from Blue. You start slow, moving your head and swirling your tongue a bit, you wanted to please Blue, you wanted him to want you so you begin to quicken your pace taking him as deep as you could. Your eyes welled up as you tried not to gag.

“Fuck, such a good girl. You look so beautiful with daddy in your mouth.” Blues moans and praises were intoxicating. He pulled your hair harder and you jerked your hands faster. “You want daddy to cum in your mouth” Blue moaned through gritted teeth. 

“Yes, daddy please” You moan and bob your head faster, taking Blue cock in your mouth till he hit the back of your throat. It didn’t take long for his seed to coat your throat as he thrust into your mouth. He slowly pulls out, leaving your mouth with a pop.

 “Now swallow like a good girl.” You do as your told and open your mouth showing him. Blue taps under your chin signaling you to stand you. You do so, rubbing your knees from being down so long. Blue runs his thumb over your bottom lip and smiles. “You did good buttercup. Now let’s get you taken care of before you have to go off to bed.” You bite your lip getting nervous.

“You don’t have to do that Blue, Dr.Gorski must be wondering where I am” You straighten your dress but before you could do anything else Blue grabs your by the waist with one hand and slide the other under your dress, teasing your clit from the outside of your underwear. 

“Nonsense Y/N don’t you worry about Vera, you seem to forget who’s in charge here.” He leans in close and kisses just under your ear before whispering. “Plus I can’t leave my good girl all bothered after she took me so well.” You clung to Blue panting into his neck as he rubbed your clit. He pulled down your underwear and picked you up, setting you on the edge of his desk. Blue leaned in and kissed you rough and full of pure lust. You pull him close tangling your fingers in his hair.

“Please Blue, please fuck me” He chuckles at your eagerness and pulled your dress over your head before kissing down your neck to your chest, taking one of your nipples in his mouth and rolling his thumb over the other hardened bud. He looks up at you with a smirk. 

“More, beg me more pretty girl. Show me how badly you want to be my little pet.” You moan as he swirls his tongue around your nipple. 

“Please Blue, I want you to fill me up. God Blue fuck me make me your whore” Your words drove Blue absolutely wilds. He stood up and pulled off his shirt before spreading your legs, before slowly pushing his cock inside you, stretching your walls. You dig your nails into Blues back and bury your head in his neck. 

“B-Blue its hurts” you whimper and he gently cups your face kissing you softly. 

“Shh baby girl just give it a second and then it will feel much better I promise.” You holding him tighter. It surprised you to see Blue being so gentle, he even surprised himself. It wasn’t like him at all to treat someone with such softness but he couldn’t help it with you. Blue began slowly thrusting into you until your whimpers became moans. Your head fell back as you arched your body into his.

“Please Daddy go faster, fuck” Tangled your fingers in his hair and wrapped your legs around his waist trying to pull him deeper.

“Fuck baby girl you feel so good on daddy’s cock. So tight and wet” you moan louder pulling his hair a little hard which earns a deep moan from Blue.

“I can’t last much longer daddy” you moan putting your face back in his neck.

“Come for me baby girl, come on daddy’s cock.” His words completely undo you and you clench around his cock as your legs shake. It doesn’t take Blue long to cum again, filling your tight pussy up with his seed.

END OF SMUT

 You both stay like that for a moment, a panting, sweaty mess in each other’s arms. Blue was completely beside himself, he could believe the infatuation he had growing for you. He saw you with such vulnerability in your eyes that all he wanted to do was keep you in his arms, and that’s exactly what he planned to do. You were going to be his and only his. Blue pulled away brushing his thumb over your bottom lip. 

“Let’s get you cleaned up and to bed buttercup. Tomorrow we have some meetings to attend to.” You look up at him confused. 

“Meetings?”

“Yes, i told you you are my little pet. I will Inform Vera to get your outfit ready.” you bite your lip and nod not wanting to argue. He walks away for a moment and returns with a warm wet towel, withing up between your legs before putting back on both of your clothes. “Now get to bed Buttercup it’s down the hall to your left.” You nod and give him a quick soft kiss before going to the rooms. The rest of the girls were already there most asleep except Sweet Pea. 

“He’ll get bored of you. Toss you aside like you were nothing to begin with and then throw you away like a whore.” There was a harsh resentment in her voice. You take a deep breath nervously biting you lip.

“Well im in too deep now arent I?” Sweet Pea lets out a dry laugh. 

“Yeah I guess so.”

[youryanderedaddy]

Lady Luck (pt. 1)

I was so hyped to write this lol. Heavily inspired by Kaiji <3

Tw: mafia mention, unrealistic potrayal of mafia, mentions of threats, implied obssessive behavior (will get more hardcore in the second part tho), mentions of gambling, kidnapping /not reader/

 You knew that you were a scum, a lowlife, a miserable loser without much hope in life - that’s exactly why you had no problem joining the deadliest underground paradise and following under the steps of the Lucciano family. They controlled everything - the casinos, the drugs, the guns, the whores, you name it - they provided it. And you had nothing - neither a past, nor a future. But everything changed when the oldest son Thomas decided to help you get out of the mud and step onto your legs - he gave you a home, a friend to return to, a shoulder to cry on when reality felt too painful and harsh, just too much to bear on your own. “Why would you do that for a stranger?” You had asked him once while tipsy, sitting by the hearth, a slight blush adorning your soft cheeks. “That’s easy.” The man had responded right away without giving it much thought. “You remind me of myself.”

 You spent long nights thinking about his words but never came to a conclusion - he was born into a powerful, wealty family, so it made no sense for him to have experienced rock bottom the way you had. And his small black eyes displayed such a variety of terryfing emotions - bloodlust, greed, sin and so much sadness. Why would a monster ever feel scared, you wondered. 

 Working for the Luccianos wasn’t especially hard or even dangerous - you ran small errands for them, took care of the younger kids, helped with insignificant deals, acted as a croupier when their staff was sick or missing or had to be taken care of, but one thing you were thankful for was how they never tried to force you into doing something you would never be able to forgive yourself for. Thomas was kind to you -  always so considerate, willing to listen, to understand how you felt even when the worlds you two lived in differed so greatly. He was supposed to be villain of the story, big and scary, demanding, taking whatever he wants without asking and never feeling an ounce of regret about it. And for a while, you were suspicous of the man’s every move - you were desperately waiting for the mobster to fuck up and show his true colours so you could let yourself hate him, despise him. And yet the sweet, sweet moment of revelation never came. You knew, of course, of the many evil deeds the criminal bestowed upon thousands of innocent people each and every day, but you never witnessed it with your own eyes and when the man was treating you like a part of his family, holding you close and giving you chance after chance to prove yourself, it was slowly getting impossible to view him as the bad guy. Perhaps you should have waited just a little longer.

 It happened during a warm, spring day. You didn’t expect it, you couldn’t. You had just finished your shift at midnight in the small shop you worked in, which belonged to Thomas’ mother, and were heading to the Lucciano mansion. It had been a particularly long and exhausting day, so you wanted nothing more than to feel the soft, silky, white sheets down your half-naked body while the quiet classical music took you to dream land and back. But upon opening the heavy wooden door, you quickly noticed something was different - there was no music, the big black TV in the middle of the hall was set to camera mode instead of the normal one, and it was awfully quiet. “They must have had to leave the country for a while.” You rationalised. “It has happened before after all.” You kept reassuring yourself while taking a tiny step towards the centre of the room where light was the strongest - it could uncover every hidden little detail.

 And then the TV was turned on. You shifted your gaze up, paranoia eating at you from inside out. Soon there was clear image on the massive screen, but what you saw left you speechless. There were hours of footage from your personal life - working, hanging out with friends, eating, bathing. What made the shivers down your spine run cold was a scene where a guy, your boyfriend, was kissing you, touching you, undressing you with his praying eyes. It was nothing unusual for a young woman to have a love life, but this broke the only rule Thomas had told you upon entering the house - you were forbidden from having close relationships with men, especially dangerous ones, and for the longest time, you had no issue living by that as long as you came back to the luxury and warmth the mobster provided for you. Until you met him - a charming, clever member of a local gang. You knew it was wrong and could cost you more than you were willing to sacrifice and yet you still gave in. It was your first time experiencing the highs and lows of love, so who could blame you when it was such a magical feeling, a mixture of adrenaline and opium. Alex made you feel like a real human being instead of someone just existing, leeching off the stronger, wealthier species.

 There was a shadow moving out from the corner, playing into your delusions. But soon enough you realised it was all a reality as none other than Thomas walked slowly towards you, clapping his hands dramatically, a sly smirk on his beautiful, scarred face. Did he...

 "Congratulations." The man started off, dark eyes set on you, slowly coming closer and closer like a big black hole, ready to swallow you whole. "You went and got yourself a little boy - toy." The criminal chuckled viciously under his breath, making you cringe at the crude nickname he used. The situation felt surreal and yet the fear and panic were already suffocating you, making you dizzy wish regret. "I wish you would have told me though... I never thought someone I hold so important would lie to me." The mobster kept rambling, waving his arms in the air theatrically, while holding a lit cigarette, but never moving it to his lips - it was just a prop, a way to create a thick smoke mist in your eyes. It was finally the hour of judgement.

 "What do you want?" You asked, faking confidence, desperate to take control of what was happening. It was a bizarre thing to see your dearest friend act in such a eerie, frightening way, almost treating you like one of his victims - nothing more than an indebted bastard or an unfortunate bystander, unlucky enough to catch a deal unfolding right behind the scenes. It hurt but you had forced this upon yourself and you had to fix it.

 "Nothing much, really." Thomas replied, finally inhaling the deadly smoke into his open mouth. He played with his collar for a while, as if you weren't standing there, scared for your life. "I just want to teach you a lesson in obedience, doll." The mafioso continued, circling you slowly, his heavy gaze never leaving your body. You felt awfully exposed even when all your clothes were present, covering every inch of your skin. With a swift snap of his fingers, the man summoned most of the gorillas that worked under him. Two of them were dragging your kicking, screaming boyfriend towards the centre of the room, but a quick punch in the guts managed to quiet him down. He looked terrified, his face bloody and injured, covered in dust and misery. But he was still alive and only that mattered to you.

 "I wanted to make this entertaining for all of us." The oldest Lucciano spoke out, his husky voice echoing trough the golden ceiling. He moved over to your lover and harshly pressed the cigarette butt against the exposed skin of his unprotected arm. The man cried out in pain, silently pleading you to help with his big, terrified eyes. And here you were, as helpess as he was - if not even more. "So I decided to initiate a little gamble of sorts, ya know?" Thomas winked at you, smiling with malice. You couldn't help, but recall all the times you two had played poker together, betting less than pocket change. You never understood why the man always got so excited despite winning such small sums, especially when his casinos already did well. But now you could see it clearly - he got off crushing his opponent, taking the victory under their noses. Money meant nothing. As long as he was able to ruin your mood, your life, the man was pleased.

 Soft white light lit up the furthest corners of the hall and you saw dozen square boxes, arranged in a circle. It looked harmless enough on its own, still they were stamped with Thomas’ symbol - a dove. You used to wonder why someone in the most dangerous depts of mafia would choose such an innocent, sweet signature pf representation and now the answer was right in front of you - that way it was easier to trick the enemy into thinking they were safe. And how wrong were they. 

 “As you can see, there are nine wooden boxes in total. They look exactly the same and on top of each one there is a hole.” Thomas stopped to point at them, the raw anticipation flooding his otherwise dull pupils. “Six of the boxes are empty. In the other three though, there are placed some of the most poisonous snakes in the world. One bite and you are dead.” The madman gave a loud, breathy laugh while your boyfriend squirmed uncomfortably in place, restrained by the strong arms, holding him down. “Both of you will take four turns putting your hand in the boxes. After every round the box would be closed off and you would be able to choose only from the remaining ones. ” The mobster grinned widely, looking at your horrified expression. You couldn’t believe that the man was willing to put your lives on the line simply because you had neglected one of his orders. “Now you may be wondering where the suspence is - after all you would probaby manage to hear the hissing from afar and avoid the place it comes from. Rest assured, my foolish little friends. Right now the snakes are heavily intoxicated and absolutely silent - which doesn’t mean, of course, that they won’t attack any soft flesh they see. If you die, that’s on you, but if you survive, you will be rewarded.” Thomas clapped his hands together and his man let go of your lover, resulting in his falling to the ground with a heavy bang. Thomas pursed his lips together.

 “Shall we get started?”

[oksana-moods]

Ghost of you - Part 13

Summary: The further Ghost investigates, the further she drenches in blood. And Ghost realizes she’s a fly in a spider’s web.

A/N: Sorry if I took so long. Promise part 14 will be here soon.

Trigger Warning: Violence (a lot), language, mentions of death… If you find any, I’ll be glad to add.

 “I'm prepared for this. I never shoot to miss.”

We left Nice early in the morning, arriving in our Hotel in Toulouse right after lunch. While Carol discussed the news with Nat and Steve, I made myself busy analyzing the bracelet. The rocks seemed genuine, just rare and mesmerizing. Everything about it screamed money, an awful big amount of money. This could be a piece of art. I put it in my arm, and nothing happened. No toxins, no poison, nothing trying to pierce my skin. Just a shiny harmless diamond bracelet destined to grace Carol’s wrist. A piece of star for a star herself. The moment we arrived at Théâtre du Capitole, the staff guided us to Greene’s box. It was bigger than I thought it’d be, with room for the Beauffort’s, Batroc, another two couples, Greene himself and us, his bodyguards would stay behind, of course. We had a frontal unrestricted view of the stage, probably the very best of the theater. After the pleasantries and greetings, we took our sits, and an earpiece found its way to my hand. When the show began, I understood why I had one, this was a business meeting. Hm, clever. They talked about money, resources, transports, then they started to plot an attack in London, to force UN’s hand in signing with Beauffort’s company. With this accord, Beauffort would be responsible for every single immigrant on Europe. We were halfway through the show when a new voice joined the conversation. “Can I offer an opinion?” His voice was loud, so this person wasn’t sitting among the audience. “I think that you people should find a better place to meet.” My brows were furrowed and soon a commotion was visible when people started to get up from their sits and walk towards the exit. One of Greene’s goons whispered something in his ear, but I caught ‘Interpol is here’ very clear, he sent a dark look in my direction and left the box, Beaufforts hot in his heels. I couldn’t afford having Interpol asking me questions, so I stood and picked Carol’s hand and started to walk out of the room to follow them, but we were delayed by the others leaving too. When we reached the hall, there wasn’t trace of Greene, so I pick the first set of stairs to find the exit. After a few flights of stairs, I heard Greene’s distressed voice. “This is on you, Jean. You brought her to me, and I let her in. He’ll kill me for this mistake.” That’s news, I never thought that Greene was the leader but a very high member of Spectre, but his fear showed me that he wasn’t that big or… their leader had history of being ruthless. Beauffort’s voice broke my train of thought. “She’s clean, Dom. She has nothing to do with this.” Thank you, Jean. And is true. We never contact Interpol with what we’ve found. Our feet touched the entrance hall just in time to see the deathly glare Greene shot at Jean. “I’ve made my mind, already.” I took the first door and dragged Carol inside with me to avoid being seen by them. “What do we do now?” Carol whispered. “I’m thinking.” She took a deep breath. Fuck. Who the hell called Interpol? Someone else was being investigated, I could only hope that they’d find out who until tomorrow. After all, tomorrow night we’d go to Chateau de Mercues to meet their ‘very important’ friend for dinner, I wonder if this friend is their leader. And something inside me says that yes, it is. “We’ll wait.” I turned to look at Carol. I realized my hand was still holding hers, so I let go. “We stay here and pretend that we watched the show until the end. I’ll call Jean later and see where we’re standing.” I licked my lips; my mind and heart were racing. This ship can’t sink now. We were so close. “We’ll be fine. As long as we keep together.” I said and Carol nodded. I just don’t know if I was trying to reassure her or myself. ------ “Are you okay?” I asked Carol while driving us to our hotel. “Just a bit tired.” Carol being tired was unheard of, but this past week was demanding a lot, from both of us. We were on edge, chasing an invisible enemy, completely out of our elements. I was about to reply when I saw a car from police signaling for me to stop. Something was off. I instantly felt my bones cold and by Carol’s expression, she felt too. They asked for us to step out of the vehicle and we complied with their request. What was going on? There were two of them, one was talking to me and the other had his hand around his gun in his waistband, like he was ready to draw it. We were two women, visibly unarmed, we were no threat to him. This is no good, something is definitely off. God, I’m glad Carol is bullet proof. Obeying his demands, I opened the trunk, and my blood ran cold in my veins when I saw Jean’s very beaten body laying inside. Fuck. This was enough for them to draw their guns and aim at us, the first cop yelled for me to pick Jean from the trunk and so I did. With the movement, he opened his eyes revealing he was still alive but before anything I heard the gunshot hitting him in the back, I pushed him towards the second cop while I hastily broke the first one’s hand, expertly picking up his gun and shooting them both dead in a blink of an eye. Everything happened so fast that Carol was looking at me as if trying to understand the last ten seconds. Before I could reach Carol, I heard Jean coughing, so I crunched beside him. “Is Lara your name, at least?” I nodded to him, my voice caught in my throat, and he gave me that signature sly smile stained with blood. “I liked you. Truly.” He manages to speak. “I’m sorry.” I just don’t know what for. “Run, Lara. Run from this. He’ll kill you…” He coughed blood but kept with his final words. “He’ll kill her.” He softly pointed at Carol with his head. “Tell Debra… that I… I’m sorry.” I saw the light leave his eyes, the familiarity of this hitting me hard. The light always leaves their eyes, but they still look accusatorily at your soul. I closed his eyes and looked inside his pockets for his wallet. Took the money, his watch and asked Carol to jump inside the car. “May your soul find peace.” I mumbled to his body and ran to the car. Minutes later we arrived at the safety of our room. Fuck. Greene set us up.

After we arrived, Carol barely changed her clothes and crawled to bed, claiming she felt being drained. She had a fearful look, and I couldn’t help but think that this was so out of place in her. I was at the door that joint our room with the balcony, I had a perfect view from the door or from the outside in case anyone tried to come flying to caught us out of guard, I stayed the whole night up, but nothing happened. The waitress served our breakfast in the morning and other than that no one came after us. The tv was on, I was looking for any news about last night, nothing yet. “How can you listen the tv? Is extremely low.” Carol’s voice startled me; she had that soft raspy morning tune after waking up. Goosebumps successfully climbed my back and arm. I flashed her a small smile. “Enhanced hearing. Nothing big, though, just a bit more than a normal human.” I lifted a mug with coffee at her. “Feel like eating?” She nodded and climbed down the bed and went to the bathroom to get ready. When she came back, there was a mug with fuming precious liquid and a plate with fruit in front of her chair waiting for her. “Thanks.” She mumbled and I just bowed my head. “Anything yet?” She asked. “No. Nothing in the newspapers either.” I said putting the pieces of paper aside. “Last night… You picked Jean’s money and watch… why?” I sipped from my cup and replied. “That way when the cops find their… bodies, they would think about a possible robbery first. And we’d have time until they come after us.” I felt so uneasy discussing this with Carol. Is not that I felt I’d ever have any chance, but I didn’t want her thinking that I am a cold blood murderer. Too late now, I guess. “How did you think about it? It was too fast.” If she was disturbed because I just killed two cops, she never showed. A weak smile showed itself in my face and I shrugged. “I saw it in an old spy movie. My friend Sam used to like it, a lot.” It’s been years, but I think I’d never stop remembering Sam or Wanda all the time, God, how I miss them. My thoughts were interrupted by a hand reaching mine, I looked up to see Carol’s soft eyes at me. “I’m sorry. I know you miss them.” I wanted to draw back my hand, for her skin was burning mine. “It’s not your fault.” I replied with a small voice, but she squeezed my hand then let go. “I should’ve known about… Thanos. I should’ve been here… with you.” With me? My mind went blank. What did she mean with this? Like being save by the bell, my phone rang, checking the caller id showed me it was Natasha. “Hey Nat.” After minutes explaining what happened the night prior, Steve was perplex with the things I did. “I can’t believe you killed two officers. What were you thinking?” “They were dirty cops, Steve.” I sighed, suddenly realizing how tired I was. “You can’t kill people because you think they’re dirty. And how can you be so sure?” He asked, still pissed and I’m sure he’s right. Just because I’m an Avenger, I can’t do whatever I want. Steve was right. I just can’t bring myself to care, I did what I had to do to protect Carol and I. “Because If they wanted to rescue Jean, they wouldn’t shoot at him when they saw he was alive. This was a setup, Steve. They were ready to draw their guns and they shot Beauffort while trying to shoot at us.” “Are you hurt? Carol?” Natasha asked, concern lacing her voice. I could feel Steve pitching the bridge of his nose, trying not to burst at how stupid I was. “No, we’re fine. Thanks.” “Okay. You two come back and we’ll contact NATO and explain what happened, maybe we still can…” “What?” My voice spoke as if on her own accord. “We can’t go back now, Steve. They’re planning an attack. Haven’t you listened?” I know he was mad, but this? London could be attacked in days, maybe less. “I listened very well, Mav. You’re acting like you run the world, but this is not how we do things! We’re not Hy..” “Don’t even finish this sentence, Rogers. We’re not Hydra, believe me, I know. But I remember when we fought against the Avengers. When we went rogue because you thought you were right, and I believed you, trusted you. And now I know I’m right.” I couldn’t believe he was trying to compare my attitude now with the one I used to have when I was with Hydra. “I’m… I never wanted…” He was out of words; he probably never expected such outburst, but we don’t have time to dwell on such things as past, or… I don’t know what he was implying. “Look, I know what I did was wrong, but that was a choice I made and is up to me to work this through. But we need to focus on what’s at stake here.” I ran a hand through my hair, and I was looking at the phone screen like I could appear at the other side. “We need to keep pushing this. Is the only way.” Even with such small screen I could see Natasha shaking her head. Shit. “No, Mav, you’ve been compromised. They probably recognized you.” I could see Steve agreeing with her. “They sent two cops after us, Nat. If Greene knew who I was, I’m sure he would’ve sent the whole squad.” She looked at me through the phone, but I could see she was thinking, she slowly nodded her head. That’s it! I knew she would see reason. “You’re right. Only Lara is compromised. Still, you need to come back. Is safer this way.” “C’mon, Nat?! You can’t possibly think this is right. What about the attack?” Steve spoke for her this time. “We’ll call the authorities; they’ll work with all the data we’ll send them.” This wasn’t right. It was obvious that they wouldn’t work fast enough. “Steve, what if this isn’t good enough, what if they don’t work fast with all the intel?” He sighed, his telltale that this conversation was over. “They’ll have to.” I closed my eyes and sighed. I couldn’t agree with this. “Mav…” Nat’s voice made me open my eyes and look at her. “We’ll work this through. But we need you two back here in safety.” I nodded at her and she smiled softly. “There’s a flight home in 6 hours, I just bought a ticket for you, girls. We’ll talk when you’re at home.” She sent me one last look, almost pleading for me to be in that plane and I just nodded. “See you in a minute” She finished with a small smile, and she hung up. We would be in that flight, of course. But six hours gave me enough time to attend one last meeting with Greene. “I’ll take a shower.” I said to Carol, who was stunned with our exchange. --------

“Where do you think you’re going?” Carol’s voice startled me at the door. My hand still at the doorknob. “I still have a meeting with Greene. We have a business-lunch scheduled for today.” “But Natasha asked…” I never let her finish her thought. “I know what Nat said. I still have few hours before the flight.” She licked her lips, she was nervous. “But what if he recognized you or try something…” I sighed and pushed away from the door and walked towards her. “Hey, look at me...” Her eyes were locked in mine, making butterflies dance in my stomach. “He won’t hurt me. If anything were to happen, I’ll call you. Is that okay?” She was conflicted and the battle inside her head was visible. She was worried and so was I, but people’s lives were on the line. I couldn’t just sit and wait. “Promise?” She asked softly and my hands found hers, with a light squeeze I let them go. “I promise.”

Greene’s manor was in the outskirts of Toulouse, it was big and beautiful and completely isolated from the other houses. While driving, I devised a plan of action. I would go as if nothing had happened and wait to see his next step. When I arrived at the gates and the security let me inside the property without asking many questions. Hm, maybe it wasn’t Greene who set me up?! However, this thought was soon forgotten, because when I closed the car’s door a fist came in my direction which I easily dodged and kick him down. When I saw a gun aimed at me, I knew that there was no other way around, I’d have to fight to get out of this. I was indeed compromised.

Twelve bodies later, I arrived at Greene’s main room. He was waiting for me, and he wasn’t alone. Batroc was standing by his side with his wicked grin. “Ah, I knew you’d come.” Greene spoke with a cynical grin in his face. “If you knew, why aren’t you prepared?” My comeback was sassy, but dread was roaming in my bones. “I don’t need anyone, except Batroc here.” He said motioning to the man besides him, who started to charge at my direction and before I could even think he knocked me to the ground. Fuck. He was strong, almost strong as Steve was. Who is this guy?

He was trying to break my windpipe with his hands, but after a swift movement he wasn’t pinning me anymore. He came fast and strong with his punches, kicks and different moves, I didn’t know if he was fighting or dancing. I dodged or blocked most of his blows and I got few in. He was fast, but I was faster. His nose was already bleeding when he managed to kick my legs and my back hit the ground once again, before he could try anything else, I kicked his legs and his back found the floor too. I heard gun shots, but my opponent had my undivided attention. All at once, we were fighting on the floor, gripping each other’s legs and arms. Twisting and crawling, pulling and smashing… until he pushed me and tossed over his shoulders, and I hit something sharp when my back hit the table. Fuck. I saw blood dripping from my shoulder blades. With a grunt, I pushed myself off of the sharp edge and got to my feet, right in time to see Batroc charging like a bull. I jumped in his torso, twisting my body in the air making him fall against the broken table, the sharp edge now impaling his back and the tip was coming out of his stomach and he was stuck.

Another gunshot and I stumbled backwards. I looked down and saw my shirt stained with blood in my stomach area. Huh, I fucking hate Greene. I charged at him, he tried to shoot again but I was incredibly fast, even wounded, I took the gun from him and punched him to the floor. Before I could even muster my first question to Greene, I saw Batroc setting himself free from the table. How is he up? I turned and shot him twice in the chest, and with that he fell dead on the ground. I looked at my feet, only to see a very much wide-eyed Greene staring at me like he saw a ghost. Hm, he definitely saw the Ghost.

“I can’t believe you’re real.” His words caught me completely out of guard. “What you’re talking about?” His nose was bleeding and staining his mouth and shirt, but he kept that cynical smile, and my blood was boiling. He screamed after I shot his tight. Good. I wanted to wipe that smile from his face. I picked a chair and sat in front of him. “What the hell?” He screamed clutching his leg. “I asked you a question.” I replied with a flat voice, as if I was asking a trivial question.

“He told me about you. About your arm…” He half laughed and that dread came back to embrace me like a wave. “You don’t know what you’re dealing with. You are a kite dancing in a hurricane, Ghost.” How does he…? I got up and picked him by his shirt. “How do you know this name?” He laughed and I punched him once, twice, and again until blood was covering my metal hand. “You don’t know what you’re looking for, but he’ll come to get you.” I hit him again and again, I just wanted him to stop. “Enough with these riddles. Stop!” I screamed at his face, but he coughed and spat blood on the ground, and he had that smile again. “Look at all these bodies in your way…” He blinked like in deep thought. “Tsc. Is so sad Carol isn’t here to see the type of monster you are.”

At this I felt self-conscious, I used the back of my flesh hand, the one holding the gun, to clean the blood from my lip. “Don’t bring Carol into this.” My voice was so weak, suddenly I felt weak, so I sat in the chair again. “What?” He kept saying with a smile on his face. “You thought she could love you?” My head snaped at his direction. “I never thought…” I began to speak but he stopped me.

“Aah. Please, I saw the way you looked at her. Your desire burned in your eyes…” He coughed one more time, he was paler since he was losing too much blood. “I can see it right now… But she’ll never be with you. How could she? You’re a disaster, you are death… wherever you go, there’s a trail of blood behind.” I tried to run a hand in my hair, but blood and sweat made it impossible. “Stop or I’ll…” He laughed. “Or what? Kill me?” His smile never faded from his mouth but never reached his eyes. “I’m already dead. You are too.” I got up to my feet, suddenly, too restless to stay in that chair. “The only difference is that I’m aware and you’re not.” I walked in his direction. “I said for you to stop!” Focus… Focus… Breathe. I thought to myself. I took a deep breath and turned to Greene one more time. “London. Tell me about the attack.” His eyes focused on me again. “Trying to pretend to be the hero, hm?” He tried to move his body to a comfortable position, but he was too weak, so he gave up. “I don’t know the details…” He sighed. “Is due in a couple of days, maybe in a big event.” I closed the distance between us and punched him again. “Stop lying. Stop with riddles.” When I let him go, he coughed and looked at me dead in the eye. “I’m not lying. We got interrupted last night. We’d discuss this tonight, at the Chateau de Mercues.” Finally, something useful that I can work with. I took a few steps back. “Who else will be there?” He flashed a cold smile at me. “Everybody.” I was about to press further when I heard a faint noise of sirens, and I’m sure they were coming this way. Greene heard too. “Guess we finished here.” He managed to sit against the wall while speaking. “Finish me off. I’ll be only another name on your body count.” I growled at him. I didn’t like the way he talked about me, like I was a wild animal. “I’m not like you, Greene.” I turned to fully look at him. “Oh, of course you’re not like me. You’re worse. You’re the cold murderer they made you to be.” He hissed at me. “Devil created you, Ghost, but I’m not even sure if you’re going to hell or worse.” I shook my head, I had enough of this. I pressed the trigger, but nothing happened, the magazine was empty. I dropped the gun and walked towards him, felling slightly better when he shrank under my glare. “Well, when you see the devil, tell him that I’m not far behind.” Faster than a bullet, my hands moved around his head and a soft snap came from his neck. I got up to my feet. I grabbed his phone and ran down the stairs, the sirens were much closer now. Fuck. This is bigger than I thought. Fuck. Steve was going to kick my ass.

[sanktaleksander]

What about, the prompt number three for Brank? *Puppy eyes*

I’m sorry this took forever but I really loved writing this even when I wasn’t making much progress. I hope you enjoy it!

Brank + 3. touching foreheads

Read on ao3

Billy hated hospitals. He hated everything about them, from all the people always coming and going, the oppressive and glaring fluorescent lights overhead to the constant lack of quiet, be it from the sounds of beeping machines or humming equipment or just the constant sound of conversation. Even the smell, so bracingly potent in its cleanliness seemed to put him on edge. It probably didn’t bother most people, but everything about this place made Billy uncomfortable and ill at ease from the moment he knew he’d have to go inside. Places like this, any clinical setting really, reminded him too much of his past, especially around the time he’d found his mother, practically on life support after she’d nearly drugged herself into oblivion one too many times. The place she was in now still made him uncomfortable, as though he could smell the scent of people’s suffering just from entering the building. Just one more reason he preferred not to see her.

Today though, today he was here for a different reason and if it had been for any other reason, he probably wouldn’t have come simply to avoid stepping foot in another hospital. But he wasn’t here for a friend or even a family member, he was here for someone far more important than either of those designations. 

Billy had taken care of everything personally as soon as he’d been given word. He’d made sure the room was the biggest and best available, had only the best staff on duty with more just a call away if need be and he was sure he could have a jet waiting and ready in under 30 minutes if shit suddenly decided to hit the fan, which Billy always assumed it would even if it never really did. It was the soldier in him he supposed, always having to be prepared for the worst case scenario. He’d learned a long time ago that it paid to have all your bases covered and he was definitely a man with the means to do exactly that.

The ride in the elevator was excruciating, both because of such an enclosed space and the length of time it took to move up several floors even though in actuality it probably wasn’t any time at all. Mostly though, it was because of the series of knots that had formed in the pit of Billy’s stomach, starting the second he got the call. After that, he’d started ringing contact after contact to get everything in place here before ultimately making the trip here himself.

Finally, Billy reached the correct floor and found it blessedly less crowded and a bit quieter, mostly because Billy had demanded the best and was willing to fork over the cash for a bit of privacy. Still, his heart sped up as he made his way down the hall, his expensive Louis Vuitton’s echoing against the tile with every step. 

There was a rather broad man in a black suit standing in front of the door at the end of the hall. His arms were crossed over his chest and his gaze steely. If he was listening to the chatter he was surely hearing from his earpiece, it registered no change in his expression. Billy didn’t have to say a word, the man knew who he was just from sight alone and immediately stepped aside, opening the door and allowing Billy to enter before closing it once he was inside. 

The room was silent except for the steady sounds of the machines that were inescapable in a hospital. It was a rather large space for a hospital room, with an oversized couch and several chairs, some decent wallpaper, and windows that overlooked the city. 

“You didn’t have to do all this.”

Billy had avoided looking at the man sitting in the hospital bed until then, exhaling a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding when he finally managed a look. His eyes landed on the other man’s face, saw the myriad of cuts on his body, some deep enough to require stitches while others were simply bandaged. Not that Billy could see most of his body, just his face, and arms, the rest covered by a gown and the thin blanket that had been placed over him. Still, Billy could see the beginnings of bruises along with other abrasions. He worried about the injuries that he knew he couldn’t see.

It took a moment for him to find his voice as he took everything in. “It’s you. For anyone else, I wouldn’t have but you’re not anyone else.” 

“So I’m royalty now, huh?” Frank’s voice sounded rough and more than a bit tired, but just the sound of it made Billy’s heart beat faster, even as he remained rooted to the spot, still taking in the state of the other man. Leave it to Frank to try and make light of his current situation.

Billy sighed softly then, taking a step toward the bed. “You act like I should’ve done nothing.”

“It’s really not that big of a deal, Bill. Whatever happens to me isn’t your fault.”

“But you could’ve died!” Billy burst out, drawing back a second later, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him. “We’re all going to die sooner or later. You’re still making more out of this than you should be.” Frank insisted. Billy let out a noise of disgust. “Oh spare me that bullshit. Just because we’re all going to kick it one day doesn’t mean we should just act like we have no control over our lives. We shouldn’t just let shit happen as it may, paying no mind to our own safety, just asking for the universe to come and off us.” He shook his head before meeting Frank’s gaze. “Is that what you want? Do you have some sort of fucking death wish that you haven’t told me about?”

Frank scoffed. “You know it’s not like that. I do what I do because I have to, because nobody else will. You know it’s a little more dangerous than some office job.”

“I do but you’re not an untrained idiot who decided to do this for his own jollies either! Would it really be so hard to be a little more careful? Every day I wake up and wonder if this is the day I’m gonna get a call that someone found your maimed corpse in some burnt out warehouse!” Billy was trying so hard to rein in his feelings but this was Frank and nobody else got to him quite like he did and it didn’t help that Frank didn’t seem to understand why Billy would go to such lengths just to make sure he was okay. 

“And so what if I end up dead, Bill? You’d be fine, you’ve got everything anyone could possibly want and if you don’t, you’re more than capable of paying someone to get what you want. The whole fucking world is in the palm of your hand. Compared to all that, why do I even matter?” Frank asked him, watching Billy with almost curious eyes, unused to seeing the other man this way. For a long moment Billy stood silent. His gaze had moved from Frank to somewhere on the floor, but it soon returned to his face and Frank wasn’t sure he quite understood the emotion he saw playing in Billy’s eyes when everything about him was normally so guarded. 

“Don’t you get it?” Billy finally asked him. “Don’t you understand that without you, I’ve got nothing? No family, no friends, or at least none that matter anyway. I’ve got the money and the high powered job and everything that comes with that but none of that matters if you’re not here. How am I just supposed to fucking go on without you, huh? How am I supposed to move on and act like everything is okay knowing damn well I’m never gonna see you again?!” Billy demanded, his voice rising as he began to pace, not knowing what else to do with himself. 

Frank found himself unsure of what to say. It hurt him to see Billy like this, to see him so clearly unhappy when he was usually so calm and practically unflappable in any situation. When they’d been overseas, he’d been a lethal sniper because of his ability to remain in control at all times besides having a perfect shot. He was even like that when they were deep in a firefight. Billy could handle anything. Frank couldn’t remember a time when he’d seen him like this. 

“Bill...I-I don’t…” He couldn’t seem to find the right words.

Billy had crossed to the other side of the room where the windows were, now leaning his hands against the ledge beneath the glass, his eyes trained on the view of the city outside.

“Sometimes...Sometimes I think about trying to convince you to go away with me, to give up all of this, this life you’ve chosen. I think about convincing you to let me take you away from here, off to anywhere in the world that we could want to go as long as it got us out of here and I’d never have to worry about losing you again. We could just disappear, never have to worry about anything anymore. I don’t care about where we’d end up, as long as we’re together.” Billy sighed heavily then, shoulders sagging. “But I know there’s no point in asking. I know I could never get you to agree to it. I may not be able to live without you, but that doesn’t mean you feel the same way about me.”

Frank had never heard Billy speak like that, never understood just how much he cared, not really. He’d always done such a good job of hiding his emotions, but perhaps this time had been one close call too many for Billy. 

“Bill, fuck, I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t realize how you felt. I’m so used to not caring too much about my own survival that I assumed if I was gone, maybe you would be sad, but that it wouldn’t mean nearly as much as it clearly would.” He swallowed, finding a lump had formed in his throat. “But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be lost without you.” Frank managed, his voice much softer now. “I know how important you are to me but I don’t think I’ve been showing it, not nearly enough. I didn’t realize how my own disregard for myself would affect you.” 

Frank’s eyes stayed on the other man as he remained in place by the window, not saying a word. He couldn’t help worrying that Billy wouldn’t say anything else and that he would simply walk out. Frank didn’t want that, didn’t want there to be this tension between them. 

“Bill? Will you come over here? Please? So I can stop looking at your back?” 

For a long moment, Billy still didn’t move. But eventually, he straightened and turned, approaching the bed. Frank recognized the expression on Billy’s face, one he was very much familiar with, the calm, cold look of detachment Billy kept up around nearly everyone and almost all the time. Frank was one of the few people around which he could let that mask disappear and allowed himself to really feel things, but usually only if they were alone. Frank didn’t take offense to Billy refusing to do that now, knowing that the coldness was just his response to his control slipping earlier. It was a defense mechanism for Billy, one he relied on, a sort of self-preservation against rejection or unwanted pain, something he’d been forced to learn from years of being used and having his wants disregarded by people he thought he could trust. He didn’t know how else to handle emotionally charged situations where feelings mattered more than anything else. For Billy, he’d much rather storm a fortified bunker than try to navigate his own feelings. 

Frank wasn’t quite like that, but he understood well enough and he honestly wasn’t much better considering the emotion of his that he was most familiar with was rage. 

But the good thing was that he was also one of the few people who could coax Billy into letting his guard down after he’d thrown every wall back up. It wasn’t always easy, but it seemed Billy responded to him in ways he just didn’t with other people. 

Frank pushed himself up in the bed so he was sitting better, so he could try and get Billy to meet his gaze. “You mean everything to me, you know that?” It wasn’t easy for him to say these things out loud, but they needed to be said and at least they were alone. “I never say it and I clearly don’t show it enough but you’re all I’ve got, Bill. I know I’d never make it if you were gone but I never realized that you would feel the same way about me.” He exhaled a deep sigh, looking down at his hands, the knuckles wrapped up as they’d been split and bloody when he came in. “You’re the only one who even remotely understands the shit that goes on in my head. I don’t have to act like I’m something I’m not with you. You don’t look at me the way some people do, like I’m a ticking bomb they don’t know how to defuse. You’re the only person I know that won’t let me down…” He looked up, surprised when he found Billy’s eyes on him. 

The look in Billy’s eyes was unreadable, those dark eyes revealing little though Frank felt like Billy was studying every bit of him, as though he were peering into Frank himself, picking up on all the things the other man had left unsaid. 

Frank didn’t move when Billy stepped closer, didn’t shy away when the other man carefully reached to touch his cheek despite having several cuts on that part of his face. He didn’t care honestly, he wasn’t afraid of Billy in any sense, but he definitely wasn’t going to pull away now, not when he saw the way Billy’s expression changed. Those eyes were no longer distant, instead, they were now watching Frank in a way he couldn’t quite describe, though he found this look familiar. He’d seen glimpses of it when Billy thought Frank hadn’t been paying attention, only for it to disappear as soon as he realized that Frank had noticed. Frank wasn’t entirely sure what it meant, but he didn’t look away, leaning into Billy’s hand as the man’s thumb brushed over his cheek. Billy so rarely gave out affection, not that Frank was much different, but it was even rarer that Frank received affection nowadays from anyone so he relished it while he could, the look in Billy’s eyes making him feel things he thought he’d long since left behind.

Frank had been so caught up in trying to piece together the thoughts going on behind Billy’s expression that he didn’t even register when the other man moved, not until Billy was already kissing him, almost hesitant at first. For a moment Frank froze, his surprise immobilizing him until his brain came back online and he registered just how good all this felt, from the warmth of Bill’s lips against his own, how unbelievably soft those lips were, to the hands that were now framing his face, cradling his cheeks with the utmost care. 

Frank hadn’t kissed anyone in a long time, enough that he couldn’t even pinpoint the last time in his mind, but he couldn’t recall any of his past experiences making him feel like this, that despite his multitude of injuries, all he could feel was how good kissing Billy felt. 

His bandaged hands reached forward, grabbing handfuls of Billy’s suit to try and tug him closer as he leaned in, kissing Billy back, not expecting the swell of emotion that rose up inside. It felt this was something he’d been waiting to happen for years, like Frank’s whole world suddenly made sense in a way it never had before. 

When they parted, Billy didn’t go far, resting their heads together as his thumbs continued to stroke over Frank’s cheeks. “You’re it for me, Frankie. If you’re gone, then I might as well go with you. If you’re not here, then nothing else really matters.” 

Those words hit Frank especially hard, the look on Billy’s face that he’d been trying to understand beginning to make a lot more sense. “I’m not going anywhere.” He promised softly, reaching up to gather Billy’s hands in his own, pressing his lips to the other man’s knuckles. “I won’t do that to you, Bill, I’m not gonna leave you.” He leaned up and Billy didn’t hesitate, meeting him in the middle to kiss him again as Frank squeezed his hands. 

For a moment they remained that way, neither in much hurry to move. But when they did separate, Frank briefly worried that Billy would change his mind and act as though none of that had just happened. But much the opposite happened.

Billy slipped out of his suit jacket and for a second Frank didn’t understand why, not until the other man returned to the side of the bed and Frank quickly understood what he was silently asking for, even if Billy couldn’t bring himself to voice the words. This wasn’t unusual either, they always seemed to be on the same page about almost everything. 

Frank carefully shifted himself on the bed, moving his body to one side in order to leave enough room for the other man’s long frame. It wasn’t easy and it took a good bit for both of them to get comfortable, minding the wires and tubes attached to Frank as well as his numerous injuries. But soon Billy was tucked under Frank’s chin, a careful arm secured across his torso, his head resting so he could hear the other man’s heart beat. 

Frank wrapped an arm around Billy, nuzzling his nose into the softness of his hair before pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Billy responded by lifting his head to press a kiss beneath the curve of Frank’s jaw. 

“You don’t ever have to be without me if you don’t want to be, okay?” Frank’s fingers traced down over Billy’s arm. “I’m yours if you’ll have me.” 

“Yeah?” Billy responded, “You sure about that?” 

“More sure than I’ve been about anything in quite a long time.” Frank tightened his hold on Billy, tugging him impossibly closer. “I know what I’m asking for, Bill. I know you and I know everything that comes along with you. But you know me too and you know all the bullshit I’ve got hanging on me, always going on inside my head. If you can accept all that and take me anyway, then I know I can do the same for you. I just wish I’d made this decision a long time ago.” 

Billy said nothing for several minutes, listening to Frank’s heart and the steady sound of his breathing. He’d avoided shit like this for years, refusing to let anyone get close enough to be with him like this unless it was some sort of fling and those never lasted long. He’d always moved on eventually. But Frank was different. Frank had been his one constant since they’d met and he was the only person to look every horrible thing about Billy straight in the face and not flinch, not even a little. And if they were going to get to have more moments like this, then wasn’t that all he’d ever wanted all along? No one had ever touched him like this, wanted him like this. If Frank wanted him, would it really be so bad to let Frank have him when he wanted Frank just the same?

This time when Billy lifted his head, he made sure he met Frank’s gaze, looking into those brown eyes that he had always found so welcoming whenever they were on him. “You and me, huh? This mean you’re gonna propose too?”

Frank’s face broke out in a smile at that, one that made his laugh lines come out and his eyes light up. “Whatever you want, sweetheart. I’d be content to spend the rest of my life making you happy.” 

Billy had to kiss him again when he said that, sure this would be just one of many more to come. And as he once again made himself comfortable in Frank’s arms, Billy found himself at ease inside a hospital for the first time in his life. Funny how being with that right person could change things completely.

[papergirllife]

I'll Be Your Home

Chapter 12 of Chasing The Flames

*gif credits to owner

When Jaemin decided to tend to his drunk boyfriend, it was too late. Jeno had just confessed his feelings for you. He looked on at the hallway, your back was facing his, so you didn’t know he was standing right there, watching the tension filled scene unfold before his eyes.It wasn’t supposed to be like this, but what other way to solve this now than to just wait for your reaction?

Y/N backed away from Jeno at what he just said, he could see a bit of her eyes, they were displaying a hint of shock and disbelief, her lips parted, speechless. She finally noticed Jaemin, her eyes tearing up at his sight. Jaemin was going to try to explain himself, but his reactions are still slow from Jeno and Y/N’s sudden confrontation of feelings.Y/N walked up to Jaemin in quick hurried steps, eyes barely looking at Jaemin.

“I’m sorry for everything, I’ll go now.”

Y/N ran past Jaemin, seconds later a loud bang of the door could be heard. When Jaemin finally registered what had happen, he ran to the door, only to notice you boarding the bus that had just arrived. He ran towards the bus reaching your window, only to notice the bus starting its engine, beginning to drive away.

Jaemin desperately banged at your window, mouthing the words ‘I like you too’ over and over, he noticed your expression changing when you finally looked at him, he could see your brows being furrowed, your lips mouthing something, but he couldn’t tell what it meant as the bus picked up speed, sending you away form him.

Jaemin walked back to their dorms, head hung in sadly, his lips were down turned. He walked back into his own room, only to see Jeno silently crying on thier bed. Even though he felt bad, he figured Jeno could be feeling even worse. Jaemin wrapped his arms around Jeno, head dipped into the crook of Jeno’s neck.

“It’s going to be okay, Jeno ah. She’s just in shock, give her some time.”

“I fucked it all up, Jaem. She’s going to hate me.”

“No she isn’t, she’s way too kind to do that. Just wash up and get some sleep, okay? I’ll call in sick for you tomorrow, you’ll need to rest or you’ll get distracted at work.”

Jeno only nodded, his eyes closed, but mind wandering back to that scene, wishing it had never happened.

When I got back, the first thing I did after shutting the door was breaking down behind it. Why did I say that? I could still see the disappointment on Jeno’s face when I rejected him. Was it wrong? What about Jaemin? Did he mouth the words ‘I like you too’ or was it my tears blurring my eyes? My head and heart hurts, I don’t know what to do. What if I’m the reason they’re breaking up if they do? Even if they don’t, I’ll be a wedge in their picture perfect relationship.

I picked myself back up from the floor, footsteps heavy as I dragged my body to wash up for the day with all my remaining will power. Before going to sleep, I called in sick for work for the next three working days, making up a food poisoning excuse.

The next few days consisted of me being numb of all feelings, whenever I ate, I hurled everything out again. Tears staining my face as I was perched in front of my toilet bowl. I don’t know how long this could go on, empty stomach and sleepless nights. I could feel my anxiety levels rising back to the time I was still in high school, the social life there that took a toll on me was also the reason I chose to travel all the way to Seoul, my clean slate.

Would I need to run away again?

Calling Jaemin and Jeno worried was an understatement. These past days, they had a problem practicing the collaboration stage with the 127 hyungs, but they pulled through it, with the encouragements from Jaehyun and Jungwoo who are rather close with Jeno and Jaemin. The other dreamies however, have been stressed over their feelings even yours as days pass and still had no sign of you at work, the projects they had known you were going to participate in were substituted by other staffs.

They had tried calling you multiple times, Chenle tried going to your place behind their backs, but was stopped by Renjun when his plan was accidentally spilled by the all too clumsy Jisung. Renjun said you needed time to think, and that barging on your doorstep would be the last thing you wanted. Although they understood what Renjun was saying and abided by his words, they couldn’t help but to miss you. Other than Jeno and Jaemin being so smitten by you, your personality gave their dorms a sense of homey warmth, the others missing your bubbly presence as well.

It has been two weeks, and still no sign of you. Jaemin was starting to think that you had quit, until he asked Mr Kang of your situation and he had only said that you had went on a holiday after non stop of work those past months, confusion written on his face when Jaemin hadn’t known about it, many staffs were aware of how the dreamies enjoyed your company.

“I think it’s time the two of you talk it out with her.”

Renjun said this in the middle of them having dinner, Jeno having noodles in his mouth, making him choke on his ramyun.

“We don’t even know where she went.”

Jaemin recalled his conversation with Mr Kang, remembering you still had a few days of leave left.

“She’s at home. I check up on her from time to time, but she doesn’t know that, so be careful not to mention that.”

They knew Renjun and you were close, but they didn’t know you were like a sister to him. This just makes Jeno feel guiltier, he fucked up so bad but not once any of his members blamed it on him, not even the usually hot tempered Renjun.

Jaemin was nervous when he was getting ready to meet you that morning. He was always confident, when he first debuted and won the hearts of many nctzens, when he shamelessly pursued for his best friend turned boyfriend Jeno, even when he had hurt his leg he was confident he would’ve been fine. But the Jaemin reflecting back on the mirror was jittery, his teeth chewing on his bottom lip.

Jeno was in no better shape, but the two of them had cleaned and dressed up well to see you, switching out their days old sweats. The two of them had decided to walk to your place, since it isn’t that far away from their dorms. They had picked up a bouquet of flowers from the old lady’s stall by the park near your home.

Jaemin’s hand felt heavy as he reached up to knock three times against your door, hoping for the best.

I should’ve checked to see if it was the delivery man before swinging my door open, I must look like shit now, not having good sleep for days, drinking, I don’t even remember when I last combed my hair, thank goodness I bathed today.

“Jeno, Jaemin...

“Can we talk?”

“I don’t know if there’s anything to talk about.”

Even speaking to them felt like my throat was constricting on its own.

“I think you do, but I’m willing to speak first if you want.”

Jaemin was gentle, the way he carefully picked his words before he spoke them. Jeno was silent, eyes avoiding mine, cheek in teeth. This is all my doing, I thought it would’ve been for the better, to not get involved, to just react the right way, but is the right way always correct?

I went to the kitchen to pour them water with my shaky hands as they sat down on the couch, when I sat down in front of them, their attentive eyes looked up as mine went down to look at a spec of dust on my floor.

“Y/N, I don’t know if you realised, but you were never at fault for anything, Jeno and I aren’t in a fight, and both of us are interested in you, not only Jeno.’

“What?”

“We like you Y/N, I know this sounds very weird to you, and it’s not everyday you’d hear something like this, but both of us agreed to like you, okay wait this sounds fucked up.”

Jaemin was running his hands through his hair as the gears in his head turn, just as yours was spiraling into a heap of messy thoughts. Jeno, who was silent ever since he came in, spoke up.

“Y/N, we’re both bisexual, and when I first saw you, I was really frustrated with myself, I thought I only liked men, because I was never attracted to the women in the company, even when Jaemin made me confront my own identity, I was angry. I might be wrong, but maybe you’re in denial as well. The times we spent together, you and me, you and Jaemin, all three of us, those times felt so right,, don’t you think?”

Jeno reached forward to hold your hands in his, his thumb tracing shapes on your knuckles, his fingers loosening up your tensed ones, his eyes gentle, far from the ones that were full of charisma on stage. I swallowed down the rock that was caught up in my throat and started to speak.

“You want us to date? As in all three of us in one relationship?”

“It’s called a polyamorous relationship, but only if you’re comfortable with it, we don’t want to rush you into anything you’re not ready for. But the real question should be, do you like both of us, Y/N? Have you ever thought about it?”

“It’s the one thing that keeps me up at night. How can I like both of you? Is that natural?”

I could feel the tears threatening to escape once more as I recalled the many times I thought of myself as a freak, a greedy bitch, a homewrecker, and many other ugly things.

“Y/N, calm down. Look at me, it’s alright, Nana’s here, no one’s judging you, and there’s nothing unnatural about what you’re feeling, feelings can’t be defined as normal or not. And to be honest, I’ve grown to not bother to define them as I grew up. Isn’t it better to always follow your heart? Just like how the fairy tales teach us, instead of what this cruel society spews on the internet?”

Jaemin was kneeling in front of me, his hands cupped both mine and Jeno’s, his eyes full of sincerity, just like his words. I looked at Jeno, his eyes looking into mine as he gives me a supportive smile along with a slight squeeze. The reasons why I fell for them are evident as I take in their caring expressions and words. This small little house suddenly feels more like a home then it ever has.

“Okay, I won’t beat myself over it anymore. and if I do, will the two of you be there for me?”

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

Jaemin reaches up to gently wipe away a tear that escaped the corner of my eye.

“So is that a yes? You’ll be in a relationship with us? We’ll take it slow, I promise, no rushing.”

Jaemin asked as his eyes scan my reaction, Jeno looking silently, praying for my approval.

“Yes.”

Jaemin reaches out to hug me, his warm embrace lasted short however, when Jeno pulled him off of me.

“We agreed to take it slow, Jaemin.”

Jaemin immediately went back to his seat, a guilty look on his face.

“Sorry Y/N.”

“It’s alright, you can hug me. Come here Jeno, Jaemin.”

The two boys hugged me so tightly, I had to remind them to not squeeze me to death. Even though this was not how I planned my first relationship to be like, I don’t want it any other way, as my cheeks start to get sore from all the sudden smiling.

Jeno and Jaemin after facing so many difficulties and set backs, finally won your heart, as their arms wrapped around you, not wanting to ever let you go.

There would probably have other problems that they’re going to have to face, but they’ll never be alone.

*Guys, this is the end of Chasing The Flames. Thank you to everyone who read this series, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever wrote, and I know that many of you may wonder why I didn’t write about their first date or something before I ended this series, it’s because I think it’s time to say goodbye to this work of mine, it’s been almost a year I think. The good news is that you can always request for scenarios from this story, like their first kiss, date, fight, or even smut. Lastly, I would like to thank all of you once again, for supporting me along this journey, thank you.🥰

[sweet-little-bird-fanfic]

YOUNG K - Pure Desire

Masterlist & Chapters: Check my bio for the masterlist link.

Summary: A young writer that’s struggling with her work until she crosses paths with an intense and fated new type of inspiration; An inspiration called: YOUNG K!

Genre: Fanfic; Romance; Not as smutty as the precious chapters but still hot (っ˘ڡ˘ς)

Warnings: Swearing?

Chapter 8 – Burning Feelings

 Young K

“Are. You. Fucking. Kidding. Me?” I thought to myself the whole day whilst trying to stop thinking about her, it was like I was intoxicated and drowning in her. Her lips, her gentle caresses, her touch… I wished she was touching me, I missed her and I wished she was next to me. But she wasn’t. I was at work and I should be focusing on the tracks for the next album, instead of thinking about how precious and burning hot she looked like when she was sucking me off. Exactly, I should definitely be absorbed in work and not be thinking about hot showers or the fact that I almost said I loved her. “What the F-U-C-K. Get a grip.” Yes, I decided to ignore that last subject and disguised it with all the lusty excuses I could find. That was something that wasn’t hard to do since I had a lot of those on my disposable.

Usually, the studio was really loud and there was a lot of movement, but not today. Today, I was alone with my thoughts while Sungjin and Wonpil went to help some trainees, Jae was busy recording some crazy video of his and Dowoon was practising non-stop.  

I looked down at my notebook and all I saw was a blank paper filled with distraction and unproductivity. As I leaned my head back on the chair, I felt my back cracking and stretching to the right place whilst my stomach decided to become louder than my tangled thoughts for once. I looked at my phone to check the time and I decided it was late enough to call it a day.

In one of our million exchanged text messages, Violet had mentioned a food stand near the JYP building that she was addicted to, she told me she would go there every time when she had to meet her brothers near their working hours. “Waiting for them to finish work with an empty stomach is torture! Plus, that lady cooks tteokbokki like no one else! She’s the best”, since she texted me that I’ve been curious to check it. And what a better way to stop thinking about her, other than going somewhere she loves? Great idea. So, I gathered my things and went to meet Dowoon before leaving.

When I opened the door of the practice room, I saw our cutie maknae sweating and lost in his beats.

- Hey there, are you hungry? – I asked him looking for some company to share a meal.

- Oh, I’ve just eaten a snack. I’m really feeling it, right now! – Dowoon said as he jumped around on his seat and made some sweat drops fly around from his hair.

- Alright! You keep it up. I’m going to head out and get something to eat. When the others get done, go home with them. I’m going to walk around for a bit.

Dowoon nodded and gave me a kind smile as if he understood I needed some alone time before I left the room. The point wasn’t that I needed to relax and be alone, I desperately wanted some alone time, yes, but with Violet. But that was not going to happen.

I faced the chilly weather and wondered down the busy street of the city. It was filled with delicious warm fragrances which were provoking my stomach and making me drool. To console myself and to stop the torture, I stopped at the “precious food stand” she adored so much to eat some tteokbokki. The lady served me a very generous portion, probably even too generous, she was really nice indeed, just like Violet had previously described. Her kind smile warmed my heart as it made me feel somehow closer to Violet. When I paid for the food, I told the lady she could keep the change. It was only fair since she had served me way too much food.

With the tteokbokki as my consolation, I continued with my lonely walk. Luckily, the streets were busy enough for me to not be noticed, which made me be just one more guy wearing a black hoodie in the crowd. My mind was now beginning to be clearer since I wasn’t starving anymore.

As I faced the cold breeze with the warmth of my meal burning up my lips with its sweet spiciness, suddenly I saw some perfect bouncy curls passing by, not too far from me, walking in the opposite direction where I was going. My heart skipped and I stopped breathing from the expectance of seeing her right when I was craving for her presence so much, but when I turned around, I couldn’t see her anymore. Perhaps, I was merely hallucinating from the lack of her attention which was not lacking at anyway. She didn’t lack anything and even though she wasn’t perfect, together we were clearly my kind of perfect and that thought alone made my feelings impatient and greedy.

There I was, eating and walking down a busy street, surrounded by people I didn’t even bother to look at, with only a single thought in my mind: Violet. And with that revealing confection, I stopped lying to myself and let my hopes and courage be fuelled with my true desires and passion. “I think I like her a lot.” I concluded and let the nervous excitement invade me as it burned me, wet me and made me stumble. “Wet? Wait what?” When I looked forward, I realized I was burning and wet because someone, who didn’t even bother to apologize, had spilt their coffee on me.

Great.

- Look where you’re going. – The rude man said as he vanished in the crowd.

For my luck and out of reflex, I was able to avoid the coffee to damage my jeans. After taking some deep breaths and trying to contain my anger, I looked around to find a store so I could change my wet hoodie. That was certainly an easy task, it took me less than thirty seconds to find a clothes store and I thanked God for that since it was so chilly outside, it wasn’t comfortable to walk around like that. As I stepped in the store, I regretted it immediately, the environment was so warm and cozy, going back outside would be a big challenge… or at least that’s what I thought.

I could’ve picked anything without thinking too much, but then I saw a light blue hoodie that reminded me of her room. So, of course, that was the one I went for, plus it would definitely look great on her and I was also definitely buying it for me, just for me.

After paying for it, I asked one member of the staff if I could use the fitting room to change into the clean hoodie and thankfully she was really discreet about my presence. I put my wet hoodie in the paper bag of the new one and started heading outside, as my phone vibrated. When I lit up the screen everything disappeared around me and all I could do was smile and try to contain the butterflies that had invaded my stomach. It was Violet.

I smiled at the image that had popped up in my mind, as I imagined how cute she must have looked while eating street food in this cold weather. Then, suddenly, all I could feel was the loud thudding of my heart when I took a second look at the picture she had sent me, and I realized she was at the food stand I was at earlier. Without thinking much and ignoring the fact that we had only texted and never even called each other, I started running to that direction and hit the call button with no hesitation. The wind had become colder as I moved faster than previously on that early night, but for some reason, it had become easier to face it with the sound of the telephone line guiding my hopes and needs. However, that hope was nothing compared to when those long sounds were interrupted, and she picked up my call:

- Do not move! – I said between breaths without breaking my pace.

- Oh, no! Is this an assault? – She laughed on the other side of the line.

- Are you still near the food stand? – I almost screamed as my excitement took the best of me.

- Yes! Going for a second here, Sir. – She says between giggles before noticing my heavy breaths – Young K?

I sped up a little and tried to sound normal on the phone, the food stand was right at the corner of the main street. I was nearly there.

- Are you running, or something? Are you okay? – Violet asks with her month audibly filled with food.

- I was. And yes, everything is okay. – I whispered hiding my face in the hood as I finally reached her and hugged her from behind to feel her holding her breath from the fright – I just missed you all day, that’s all.

Violet stood there rigid in my embrace for a few seconds before relaxing and trying to turn around so she could face me. When she looked me in the eyes, what I saw was a mixture of confusion and comfort. She was more than happy and also relieved to see me standing in front of her. God. How cute she looked as she tried to chew her food in the most delicate way she could, I guessed that she put too much inside her month since no one was watching her before. But I would never complain, I loved it. She was adorable most of the time and then in the next second, she would be so daring. And yet, “always so thoughtful” I caught myself thinking as I noticed she was looking around the crowd to make sure no one had seen me and that I wasn’t in trouble.

- God. I want to kiss you. – I started to murmur whilst my hands travelled down her soft cheeks and teased her jawlines.

- Right n-now? – Violet stuttered as the panic in her voice made me wake up from my trance.

We were surrounded by people that would not be a good idea at all, even though my whole body and will were saying the exact opposite. I stared at her reddened nose from the cold and examined the shade of her cheeks, hopefully, that shy colour wasn’t provoked by the weather but my presence.

- You’re right. – I admitted, backing off slightly and increasing the space between us, to see her tender lips part in defeat as she stared at mine.

- But I want to… I just fear for you… – Violet reassured me as her eyes lit with the expectance of a distant kiss.

- I can see you do. – my teasing words touched her conscious and she forced herself to look me in the eyes as my lips burnt from the intensity of her stare.  

In between timid smiles, we walked around as the sun started to set and the streets got less busy since we were heading off the main courses and our conversation about work filled the silence

With our hands brushing slightly against each other accidentally, the need of holding hers was progressively being fed and increased as the minutes spent next to her went by. Finding Violet there, out of the blue, was a gift from destiny or whatever you want to call it. I was simply so grateful for her presence and also going crazy for repressing my urge to kiss her tender lips. What a twist of a feeling. My mind couldn’t be more lost than it was at that moment, but my heart was in an accelerated pace that I had never experienced before.

- What were you doing around this area? – I asked trying to fill the comfortable silence that engulfed us a few minutes ago, leading to giggles and shy smiles.

- Oh, I had dinner with the bros. Big bro is going to work late tonight and the little brat is going to sleepover at someone’s house. – Violet replied with her steps turning into nervous fidgeting movements.

- What did you eat? – I asked not just trying to make conversation but because I was deeply intrigued to know every single detail of her day, so the time I was away from her could be compensated.

- A sandwich from subway. Just something fast. – She replied biting her lips immersed in her thoughts.

The simple action drove me insane. I was trying my hardest not to kiss her but seeing her biting her lip was the final blow to completely knock out my self-control. As we passed by a dark alley, I took the opportunity and grabbed her wrist and guided her deeper into the shadows of the hidden street. Being controlled by my thirst, I grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the wall as I gently, in a slow pace, rubbed my lips against hers and unconsciously held my breath between accelerated heartbeats. My hands let go of the hoodie paper bag and trembled with the feeling of touching Violet again, they trembled with the anticipation of the moment I could feel her skin against my hands and travelled leisurely through her body; so, one rested on her waist and the other grabbed her neck possessively. Violet’s eyes were drowning in expectance for my kiss, our kiss. I probably made her wait too long for it since she offered me a kind smile filled with thirst and embarrassment, perhaps I took too long adoring the features of her majestic face and delayed the kiss, or perhaps I couldn’t fight my own nature and had to keep teasing her.

I let go of a breath, I forgot I was holding and kissed her like she was the air that I needed. I kissed her deeply and devoured her mouth with my feverish tongue, needing to taste her after a long day of missing her sweetness. Exploring her mouth as if it was our first kiss.

I felt Violet’s legs give away as our tongues played with each other, so I increased the pressure of my body on hers and made all the tiny distance between us disappear as my leg slid between hers. Violet moaned softly in response to the vigorous contact, making me groan in unison as my body started reacting towards hers and my bulge began to grow. Suddenly, her nails scratched the skin of my neck and then pulled my hair in the urge for a deeper contact.

Restricting myself from committing a public offence on a dark alley, I bit her lower lip to progressively distance ourselves from our frenetic kiss. Caressing her cheeks, I winked at her, grabbed my paper bag once again, and walked away from the shadows and heading back to the street. I could feel she was still standing there on the same spot, but I gave her a few moments to pull her herself together.  

Violet soon joined me again, maintaining her distance from me, probably trying to avoid getting me in trouble in public. Though that distance killed me, how I wished to hold her hand and make her understand I wanted her… I wanted her to be mine. Suddenly, that distance increased, and I stopped feeling her next to me, I looked back at her and noticed she stopped.

- What’s wrong, Beautiful? – I asked her worried as I followed her stare, she was looking at a movie arcade there.

- It’s a weekday, there’s probably no one there… and it’s dark, I guess. – She replied unsure of her request.

“How precious,” I thought to myself as I gave her the only answer I could probably find, I smiled in agreement and followed her inside.

- So, I’ll buy the tickets. Hide that gorgeous face behind your hoodie and pretend to look at your phone.

I watched her do her thing, Violet was polite and delicate to everyone when she was buying tickets for the movie that she didn’t even know what was about. She was cute, very cute. Violet even got us popcorn and cold drinks, the whole package for the date. Date. “Fuck!”

- Next time I’ll pay, I’m sorry. You caught me off guard! – I apologized almost in panic for not paying our first date out.

Violet placed a popcorn between her lips and then caught it with her teeth, playing with it with her tongue to finally eat it, as she looked at me smirking for my comment. My friend down below started flinching inside my pants with the visual audacity of her provocation.

- Uh! The first sign you can’t keep up with me. I’m winning. – She giggled as she tormented my longing desires.

- Declaring war, are we? Careful. – I managed to say in an attempt to tease her back.

To be honest I didn’t think we would watch the movie, because the theatre was empty. “Oh, Jesus! Help me.” I begged in silence. We sat at the far back seats in the middle since she said it was the best seats to watch the movie. “Are we actually watching?” I asked her in my mind and tried to suppress the detailed image my imagination was creating of her bouncing on top of me as she rode my cock in an empty theatre. “Stop it.” I told the beast inside my pants as I tried to find a comfortable position to sit down next to her.

Violet nudged my hand to hold hers and I thanked the heavens for the fact that my eyes had adjusted to the dark so quickly. Once I held her hand, I noticed how she squeezed her legs adorned by her ripped jeans and I started wondering how easy it would be to touch her skin. I leaned towards her ear to whisper something, but I was startled by the couple that walked in and I rapidly sat straight on my seat. I heard her giggle at my behaviour, mocking me as they sat far away from us. I looked at her and saw how relaxed she was, she was probably certain that I wouldn’t do anything too daring to her there.

She. Was. Wrong.

We were talking quietly about everything and nothing, none of us was paying attention to the movie. I started to slowly caress her here and there, just a light touch and then I let my finger play with the exposed skin of her legs, when I nipped her earlobe, and I could feel her skin shivering under my fingers. With the reaction I inflicted on her a devilish need grew and burnt me, so I flatted my hand on her thigh and squeezed the flesh under my palm making her squirm and fidget on her seat. Violet grabbed my arm and dug her nails in my skin, trying to make me stop. I didn’t. I kept touching her and found my way to her top, exploring her tummy beneath her blouse, as I went higher, I felt her stiff trying to suppress her reactions. When I sneaked my hand under her bra and coped her breast, she almost jumped but the only response I got was a glare and her hand covering her mouth muffling the moan that erupted from her throat.

- What a good girl. Not making any noise, I didn’t know you had it in you. – I whispered to her near her sensitive ear.

Violet grabbed my chin and leaned towards my craving lips when suddenly we were interrupted by the noise of soft husky moans. She blinked frenetically and rolled her eyes as she understood what was happening with the other couple and let a disappointed breath got away.

- Well… she doesn’t. – Violet said already smiling – Let’s get out of here.

I watched her get up loudly, that was probably her way to show her discontent about the noises they were doing. I hurried after her without forgetting my paper bag and before we exited the theatre, I stole her a kiss. She grabbed my waist to pull me closer to her as she felt my hardness, this time she was the one who pushed me against the wall and without breaking our synchronic lips and starving tongues. Her legs trembled once again when I explored the inside of her mouth deeply smiling between our kiss. That was one of her weaknesses. But she knew mine too, to wipe my smirk away she bit my bottom lip and stared at me with fire in her gaze that could burn me for hours, or even days. She gave me a good squeeze on my thrilling bulge and walked away. God, how I loved this side of her.

- I need to use the ladies’ room. – She informed me before disappearing into the toilet. Even though I was the one who needed to go to the toilet more than her… to take care of some business if I could.

I waited for her as I leaned breathless against the wall and accidentally let my paper bag slid through my fingers. I took the black hoodie out of there and noticed it had dried, there wasn’t any spot adoring the material. Then, taking a closer look the blue hoodie I was wearing, I thought “well, I did buy it while thinking about the colours of her room”. And with that mindset, I hurried to the toilet myself and changed into the old hoodie so I could lend the new one to her and got rid of the annoying bag.

I was faster than her. When she walked out of the toilet, I was already waiting outside for her. Violet had now drops of water running down her face, but refreshing her cheeks with water couldn’t hide how blushed she looked. And the way that she was walking let me know how horny she was.

- Let’s go. –  Violet said when she saw me.

I stood still since I couldn’t focus on what she was saying, feeling distracted by her ass swaying from one side to the other, but when I didn’t answer she turned around and then she noticed that I changed my clothes. I gulped and searched for my pride when she noticed I had changed, but I couldn’t find it. I had lost already. Clearly.

- It’s probably too cold outside, right now. Put this on. – I suggested as her eyes lit up and her dimples surfaced.

Once she put it on, it was game over. My heart almost jumped out of my chest, she looked so small in it and yet so powerful, nothing could compare to that feeling. That feeling, as if she was already mine… as if she was accepting we belonged to one another. And just like that, I caught her gripping the hem of the hoodie’s collar and inhaling a deep breath to absorb all my fragrance present on the fabric. Trying to avoid getting my hopes too high and feeling a soft blush invading my expression, I tried to escape her spell with a joke:

- Pervert. – I said making her stop abruptly from adoring my perfume.

- Le..let’s go! – She said running away outside.

I put my hood on and followed her outside, the fresh breeze surprised us both, and perhaps it was because we were too hot at that moment. The wind was cutting us like knives; she slipped her hands in her pockets, protecting them from the cold.

But even though the weather wasn’t pleasing we kept walking in silence. It was comfortable and we were aware no one wanted to go home.

- I don’t feel like going home. – She admitted.

I laughed and punched her arm, she soon did the same and we intertwined our fingers just for a few seconds.

- How about we… – I stared as I looked around to scan what we could possibly do together – oh, let’s go there!

- It looks shabby. Are you sure? It’s fine by me but …

- Come on! It’s going to be fun! – I tried to appeal to her and whispered against her ear – I’ll sing to you. It will be a private concert. You can even make demands, Princess.

Violet blushed and bit her lip, I knew she was crazy about my voice and there was no way she could resist the temptation of me singing just for her. As she made her mind about my suggestion, I followed her in the direction of the karaoke joint.

Masterlist & Chapters: Check my bio for the masterlist link.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed reading this. According to my plans, next chapter will be hotter... as in ... burning hot!

Sweet Little Bird.

[rainsonata]

Doppelgänger 13/15

Chapter 13: Transformation 

Fandom/Pairing: Elsword; none Rating: T Word Count: 10,034  

Summary: It was like looking into a mirror. What happens when one’s reflection talks back and throws uncomfortable questions? El Search Party struggles to find entrance into the Demon Realm, but Dominator has a plan.   

Alternative Title: Dominator fucked up and now everyone meets their alternative selves    

AO3 Link  I  FF.NET Link

— [Chapter 01] [Chapter 02] [Chapter 03] [Chapter 04] [Chapter 05] [Chapter 06] [Chapter 07] [Chapter 08] [Chapter 09] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14] [Chapter 15] —  

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

Class Notes: 

Canon Path: Knight Emperor, Aether Sage, Daybreaker, Rage Hearts, Code: Esencia, Comet Crusader, Apsara, Empire Sword, Doom Bringer, Ishtar and Chevalier (Innocent), Bluhen   

Alternative Path: Rune Master, Oz Sorcerer, Anemos, Furious Blade, Code: Ultimate, Fatal Phantom, Devi, Flame Lord, Dominator, Timoria and Abysser (Catastrophe), Richter

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

Herrscher 

Immortal’s friends called it the Demon Realm. Demons referred to the region they have arrived at as Varnimyr, a land of darkness inhabited by the Dark Elves and demonic creatures. This Demon Realm was similar to the one Herrscher and Immortal’s friends came from. It was in the sword user’s interest to regroup with the rest of the El Search Party, or what was left of it, to acquire the Dark El. Herrscher no longer cared for the El, but it was important to Immortal. 

Unlike Immortal’s friends, he wasn’t as concerned about the trivial details of concepts like timelines and dimensions. Herrscher went wherever Immortal went. Humans, elves, and demons were not aware that timelines and dimensions overlapped with each other. How could they be when most were more concerned about themselves?

“Why do we bother waiting for them?” Paradox was referring to their counterparts. In his child form, the time traveler groaned. “We can’t stay longer than we should.”

“When did you start to care about that? You made it very difficult to find you.” Offering his hand to Herrscher, the redhead felt how cold and lifeless the other being’s hands were, “Are you okay, Ain? I didn’t come too late, did I?”

Herrscher shook his head. Fighting Richter would not be an inconvenience, he wanted to tell Immortal. He would have been able to deflect his alternate’s attacks but accepted his friend’s concern.   

Lying on the floor with his face half turned, Herrscher took Immortal’s hand without hesitation, noting how warm they were in contrast to his. He too used to possess the same warmth humans had. Without attachments to the Goddess, he was beyond redemption, yet Immortal allowed him to stay by the swordsman’s side.  

“You weren’t supposed to find me,” Paradox sneered. 

If looks could kill, Immortal would have been six feet under from the glares Paradox was sending to the multiweapon user. Herrscher couldn't understand why Immortal placed trust in him (“A bad decision, really.” Paradox quipped. Herrscher agreed.). Appearing when opportunities of scourging the El arose, Paradox’s appearances were sporadic with no apparent objective in mind. His unorthodox fighting style made him a formidable ally, but only when their objectives happened to align. 

Rubbing the back of his neck, Herrscher let a breeze cool down his core from its excessive use. Dimension traveling was more of Metamorphy’s area of practice than his, which was manipulating and traveling in between the void of the abyss. Not that Immortal understood that no matter how many times he explained it.  

“Finding you was such a hassle,” Immortal complained. “Do you know how many dimensions it took to get here? Did you know there’s a dimension where people pay millions of ED to watch girls like Aisha sing?” 

“Why should I care?” Paradox deadpanned. 

“There was a dimension where we were all maids,” Immortal ignored the snide question. He grabbed Paradox by the shoulders and dropped his voice into a stage whisper, “You wore pigtails and said some very rude things to me.” 

With little clues to where Paradox could have gone, it took Herrscher and Immortal several attempts to guess the correct coordinates. Herrscher was omniscient to what happened in the void, but not what happened to inhabitants in other dimensions. Immortal proclaimed he had a hunch for the fifth time before Metamorphy unceremoniously took over the team despite the younger man’s protesting. It appeared that Metamorphy did not place as much trust in their leader as Herrscher did, but he had to acknowledge that their method was not efficient in finding Paradox. 

“Where are the other losers?” Paradox searched for the fourth member of their team. 

“You mean our friends?” Immortal snickered when he caught the time traveler scowling. “Come on, did you think I would be that irresponsible to bring a bunch of people with me?”

“Why would that be a problem?” Furious Blade examined Paradox’s child form. He didn’t explicitly voice his thoughts, but his emotions were clear from the confusion in his knitted brows to the existence of the time traveler. “Tell me what happens if there are too many of us.” 

“Having all of you here is making everything unstable,” Paradox said with a bored expression. “When there are too many of you, it overwhelms the dimension until it’s forced to reset itself by destroying everything inside it.”

“Which is funny because that means some of you will stop having noses and turn flat like a pancake,” Immortal laughed. “Then the sky turns upside down and you’re breathing underwater.” 

“Not funny,” Paradox growled, displeased by Immortal’s side comment. “If I have to clean up another mess you made one more time, I’m leaving you here.”

“That’s cruel,” Immortal chuckled. “Anyway, it’s impossible to get everyone here.” He stopped smiling and leaned his head back. His eyes turned glassy and his voice became quieter, “I haven’t seen Elesis in weeks and I’m not sure where Lu and Ciel went.”

Herrscher exchanged a dark look to Paradox, who averted his gaze and feigned a yawn of disinterest. The time traveler’s face relaxed, but the rest of his body was tense and his shoulders rose to the mentions of Bloody Queen. Restless and unable to remain idle in the wake of the El’s instability, she disappeared one night with a cryptic note that spoke little of her whereabouts. Immortal shrugged it off as his sister leaving with good intentions, but Herrscher had come to understand that he was doing what humans called a facade. Their leader was pretending that he wasn’t bothered by his sister having gone missing. 

Iblis and Anular’s presence was as erratic as Paradox, coming and going whenever Immortal and his friends were fighting bigger monsters and demons. Anular was nothing more than a shadow of his former self, silently following his master without raising his voice. He was what Herrscher was if he still had devotion for his creator. There was nothing but the void to answer his calls. 

“Why did you look for me?” Paradox asked. 

“Can’t a guy call his friend when he misses him?” Immortal feigned a hurt expression. 

His eyes grew bigger in what he called ‘puppy eyes’. Herrscher didn’t see the resemblance because Immortal wasn’t a canine with ears and a tail. However, it was a human expression used when the late Sieghart wanted something from the person he was talking to.   

“Spare me the excuses.” Paradox rolled his eyes.

“Fine, you’re no fun.” Immortal dropped the farce and snorted, “We tried to get back into the Demon Realm, but got lost because we don’t have the right coordinates. So we went to look for you since that’s your thing.” 

“And if I say no?”   

“Then we’ll be stuck here to annoy you until you help us,” Immortal said with a lazy grin. 

Light flashed around Paradox. His limbs elongated into thin lanky appendages and his hair reached to his ankles. As an adult, he was almost a head taller than Immortal. He looked down at the redhead and crossed his arms as the two of them engaged in a staring contest.  

“Tada~ Raven and I are finally here!” A small shadow appeared with one hand on their hip and flashing a victory pose. “Sorry to keep you waiting ♥.” 

“There were more demons than we anticipated,” Nova Imperator apologized. Dressed in black and red, the former leader of the Black Crows carried a heavy blade over his shoulder with a Nasod arm. Towering over Metamorphy, he made quiet footsteps and always placed care in his words. 

“I knew they didn’t come without you,” Paradox continued leering at their leader.

“Hey, don’t ignore a girl when she talks to you!” Metamorphy growled. Walking between the two men, she had to tilt her head back to glower at Paradox. She jabbed a glove finger into his chest where the glowing core was. “Do you know how long it took us to figure out which dimension you were in?”

“Yes, yes, Elbrat told me.” Paradox rolled his eyes again. “And I suppose you’re going to say I messed up this dimension too.” 

“Yes, you did!” She waved her arm in reference to the corrupted sky, “Look at it, it’s tearing itself apart!”

Ms. Magical Girl was correct with the sky breaking up like the static of primitive human devices Immortal once found under wreckage in Altera. Deep shades of red and violet cracked beneath the sea of blue, giving a crackled effect from the shards created by Paradox portals. Herrscher had visited many dimensions, but seeing structures of the current one become undone reminded him of Henir.   

“That’s flattering, but not everything is my fault.” Paradox cackled, “I’m not the one bringing over extra people to break the dimension further.”

“So it’s my fault because he wouldn’t stop asking me where you went?” Metamorphy gestured to Immortal. “He kept saying ‘Add would help!’ and now you’re acting smart with me?” 

“I’m already smart,” the man smirked. 

Metamorphy screamed. 

“Aisha, no!” Immortal fought to pull the staff away from Metamorphy. “You can’t hit our ride home!” 

The magical girl held her staff high with both hands like a baseball bat, tilting it to one side and aiming for Paradox. She lost her balance and fell headfirst into the ground when Immortal wrestled to stop her. 

“It’s always ‘Aisha, take us to Elrios’, ‘Aisha, we need to get to the Demon Realm’. We looked for this guy because you asked nicely,” Metamorphy sat up and dusted herself. “I’m the only one who can do that because this brat only shows up when he feels like it. Ain only does it when Elsword tells him to.” 

“That’s why I need you to stop fighting long enough so we can get home.” Immortal let out an exasperated sigh, “I don’t need us to break another dimension.” 

“Another?” Blade repeated. 

“It must be confusing and overwhelming to see all of us,” Nova slapped his hand over Paradox’s shoulder. “Hope our lost cat didn’t give you trouble. How many of you are there?” 

Paradox scowled; he shoved Nova’s hand aside and hissed in being compared to a small animal. Even in his adult form, he appeared shorter than his actual height with his head lowered and having a crouched back. His tails twitched and coiled against his thigh like an angry feline. 

Unoffended by the time traveler’s rejection, Nova exchanged a sheepish smile to Blade’s wary one.   

“Twenty-four. He kidnapped one of our friends,” Blade said without tact.   

Herrscher heard footsteps from behind them. There were many of them. It sounded like there were at least half a dozen of them. A deep frown indented into Herrscher’s features, unable to recognize the sound of the strangers’ footsteps. They belonged to people he had not met before. They must be the people Daybreaker coaxed Richter into alerting about their presence.

“They’re here,” Herrscher said. 

A man stormed into their circle with a wild look in his eyes, his face identical to Paradox’s. Having a set of Nasods circling around the scientist, Dominator walked around half-dressed with bed hair and his jacket sliding down one shoulder. The sleep-deprived scientist ignored Herrscher’s presence but gawked at Paradox, recognizing his own face in a mix of awe and disgust.   

“There’s five of them now?” Dominator stopped to catch his breath. 

“You’re already out of breath? You don’t look like you’re used to doing more than lifting a pen.” Empire observed Immortal’s friends bickering, “They all look and act so different.” 

“We arrived as soon as we heard from Richter about new people coming,” Crusader was behind Dominator. “Has there been any conflict?” 

“No,” Blade shook his head. “It looks like they’re here to take back Paradox. They came here with the help of their Aisha and Ain. Those two seem to have control over dimension and space.” 

Eyes turned to Herrscher, who was standing as still as the dead trees the Dark Elves used to make their bows at the edge of Varnimyr. Not as talkative as his teammates, Herrscher was one to let others discuss what was needed to fulfill their needs. There was little to be added to the conversation when they could continue talking without him. 

“You’re Ain?” Empire stared. 

“Yes,” Herrscher said. “Is there something you want to address with me?”

“N-no,” she waved both hands and shook her head.  

Queen’s alternate momentarily lost her composure and gawked at the celestial. Herrscher didn’t mind the stares, but the captain of the Velder Knights did. Forcing her eyes away, Empire turned her head and faked a cough. Her face tinged pink from the blood rushing up to her cheeks as she mumbled an apology for her rudeness. Herrscher never would have seen such a display of emotions from Immortal’s sister.   

“Their team has three people with dimensional powers?” Dominator frowned.  

“Other members of the party are on their way,” Ultimate reported. The Nasod queen of destruction gazed at Paradox’s adult form, analyzing the time traveler’s machines and processing the data from the rest of the third El Search Party. “Rena said it was urgent.” 

“She makes it sound scarier than it actually is,” Crusader chuckled. “It’s like a giant union party. I didn’t think more people would show up.” 

“Let’s hope there aren’t more,” Dominator had a dark expression. “According to Dynamo, we’re pushing this dimension at its limits.” 

“Who’s fault was that?” Blade deadpanned. 

“Are you placing the blame on me?” Dominator feigned a surprised gasp. 

“Yes,” Ultimate and Blade said.   

Worn down with heavy eyelids, the former mercenary rested his human arm over the base of his blade. He, the elf, and Ishmael’s idol were on watch and patrol when Herrscher found them by Immortal’s orders. Their whispers reached into the depths of the woods where Herrscher overheard their conversation. Relaxed and without concern for the dangerous world around them, Daybreaker and Richter’s conversion reminded Herrscher of a more innocent time. When Herrscher first met Twilight and was curious about her upbringing in an elven village, before he lost sight of the Goddess and could no longer hear her. 

“Then who was the one who kidnapped Elbrat and made us go on this mad chase?” Dominator huffed. 

“We can blame each other all day, but that’s beside the point.” Empire said, “Look, I know our actions have made us look bad.” 

“Taking Elsword hostage increased our stay and the likelihood of the dimension becoming unstable,” Ultimate stated. 

“Taking hostage?” Crusader laughed nervously, “Those are strong words, Ultimate.” 

“I know,” she said. 

“Yes, that.” Empire agreed, “but we cornered Paradox. My brother said he could control time and space. Can’t he return everyone back to their dimensions and reset everything? That should reverse the damage, right?” 

“Can you do that?” Metamorphy looked at Paradox. 

“If that was the case, then I wouldn’t be here,”the time traveler said.  

There were two instances Paradox left an impression on Herrscher. When they first met, Paradox was known as Diabolic Esper and caused a wreckage in Hamel to rescue their leader. The second time was when Paradox returned from the Forgotten Elrian Sanctum, laughing and crying about how he couldn’t save Her. Despite having powers beyond human technology, Paradox rarely smiled.      

“That brings us back to the drawing board,” Crusader groaned. 

“I should have known at least one version of myself would actually attempt time travel after talking to the meathead.” Dominator paused, “Wait. Why are you smiling at me?” 

“Did you enjoy my present?” Teeth exposed, Paradox bared a wide grin. “It was sad seeing you try so hard to jump dimensions.”  

Dominator fumed. 

“You made us enter the wrong dimension?” Blade asked. 

“He made those coordinates, not me.” Paradox shrugged, “I just gave the device a power boost.” 

“What were you doing in their dimension?” Nova asked. 

Paradox giggled for an answer. 

“If we don’t act quickly, things will get worse.” Empire looked to Metamorphy for answers, “Isn’t there something we can do? We told the El Masters we would retrieve the Dark El, but we also promised to protect the people that live here.”  

“Protecting demons? How chivalrous and unlike you,” Metamorphy said with a coy smile. “There’s one person who might be able to fix your problem. Perhaps we can ask for his help, right, Add?” 

Paradox hissed. 

“Who is it?” Immortal asked. 

“Why are you acting like you don’t know?” Metamorphy shook him by the shoulders, “You’re pretending to be funny, right?” 

“Actually…” Immortal scratched the base of his neck with a sheepish laugh. 

“Dimension has reached its capacity,” Ultimate interrupted the two. “We have fifty-nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds to evacuate and resolve the issue before this dimension disintegrates.” 

“This can’t be good,” Nova sighed. 

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

Nova Imperator

Crimson bled into the deeper indigos, casting away the night and molten light peering past the dusted clouds. Wind picked up loose strands of Nova’s hastily done ponytail. Portals cracked split the skies into smaller fragments, crystals forming around the edges like the ones created by Paradox. Fireballs escaped from portals and crashed at their feet, sending seismic waves through the ground. An unsettling feeling rose from the pit of his stomach as the former mercenary shielded his eyes.  

Empire drew her blade and stabbed it into the ground for stability. The captain knight held her ground with gritted teeth. She kneeled down and clamped her eyes shut from the brightness of 

the fireballs. Crusader mouthed unheard words over the chaos, reaching out to check on his teammate. 

Smoke and fire lingered in the air when the shaking stopped. The fireballs ceased but Nova knew that wasn’t the end of it. The earthquake opened to be brimming with agate and crystals from the Shadow Vein nearby. It wouldn’t be long before demons show up in the wake of the dimension’s demise.      

“We need to evacuate everyone,” Nova shouted to his teammates over the chaos. 

“There’s twenty-four of them and five of us,” Metamorphy did a quick headcount. “Three of us can take them to a safe place where time and space won’t be affected by all of us existing. This means…” 

“Ten people for each of us,” Paradox said. “One of us will only have nine people including ourselves. You two already have the coordinates. I won’t waste time explaining something you two already know.”

For once, Herrscher and Metamorphy didn’t stop to argue the time traveler. Paradox wasn’t an easy person to work with, but was the most familiar with traveling between dimensions. Delaying their evacuation could spell the end for all of them. 

“We’re going as smaller groups to find your friends,” Metamorphy explained to the strangers. “Once everyone in our groups are here, we’ll be taking you to a safe place. Why don’t you and Eve come with me?”

His concern mirrored Nova’s. A man who rarely raised his voice, Blade was more comfortable letting others talk while he processed their words. He wore a permanent frown and wasn’t quick to trust, putting thought before he spoke and asking questions before making final decisions.     

Ultimate assessed the offer. Examining the new El Search Party with mild interest, Nova caught a faint smile at the edge of her lips. The simple gesture was a reminder that she was sentient and alive, a contrast from the Eve that went by the name Code: Sariel.     

“I will join,” Ultimate said after an uncomfortable moment of silence. It was Moby who beeped, bouncing up and down midair in agreement to the Nasod Queen’s decision. “Do you want me to notify the two El Search Parties about the new arrangement?” 

“That would be great!” Immortal beamed, “Add will tell you where to meet up and how to split the groups.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Paradox scowled, but pulled out a set of screens to type in the locations and details to send over to Ultimate. “Will this be enough?”

Ultimate didn’t answer immediately. A small ping caused her eyes to briefly light up as the Nasod queen scanned Paradox’s message. With a small nod, her lips quivered as she drafted a message to send to the two El Search parties. Remy beeped once as Ultimate promptly dispatched the memo. 

“Thank you, Add.” Ultimate closed her eyes. “We will be meeting them in our respected groups.”

“Hey, you.” Paradox waved his arm over to Dominator. “Edgy brat and the mouse will be with us.” 

“I’m edgy?” Immortal looked pleased at what was meant to be an insult. 

“Why am I a mouse?” Crusader asked. 

“I have a name!” Dominator exclaimed. 

Nova had trust that Paradox would stop the group of four from sidetracking. The time traveler was more goal-oriented than Immortal, who sometimes liked to stop and smell the roses. Eye shadows formed under his eyes, likely from lack of sleep and from the amount of energy required in dimensional traveling. The excessive portals in the sky reminded Nova of the man’s antics. He was happy to see Paradox being cooperative with their plan of escape, although the time traveler often took their orders as mere suggestions. 

“Is there something you wanted to say to me?” Paradox looked at Nova with suspicion. “Did the brat bring you here to convince me to stay with you losers?”    

“Something like that,” Nova laughed. “Good to see we caught up to you before you left. Ain and I were starting to think we wouldn’t find you.” 

“I doubt that,” Paradox said. “Am I really worth that effort?”

“Worth it or not, I’m happy to see you will be helping us in evacuating the people we have involved ourselves with.” Nova remarked.   

“Yeah, I’m a wonderful person.” Paradox rolled his eyes. “That leaves you with the rest.”

“I’m fine having Ain and Elesis join me,” Nova looked to Herrscher and Empire. “Do you mind?”

Herrscher shook his head. 

“We just met, but I will trust you because my teammates do.” Empire agreed.   

Before they left, Nova and Immortal made sure they all had the details sent to them by Ultimate based on Paradox’s coordinates. There wasn’t much time before the worse was to come. With little else left to say, Nova made eye contact with the remaining members of the opposing party before parting ways. He had to hope that all of them would act fast enough to avoid premature death. It won’t be long before demons are triggered by the increase of energy coming from the portals.

They headed to the eastern side of the main camp. The sun was starting to sink lower into the horizon when they made their way over with time to spare. Herrscher moved silently beside Nova with no word coming from the abyssal being, a single eye glued to the ground. Empire was more apprehensive, dashing forward with an alert eye over her shoulder with one hand ready to pull out her claymore. 

“We’re about five minutes away from our destination,” Nova announced. He slowed himself into a light jog to check the map again. This part of the Demon Realm was similar to the one he and his friends had visited in the past, albeit the falling sky and crumbling dimension.

“Did Paradox make your communicators too?” Empire asked. She showed interest in the devices he and Herrscher possessed. 

Designed as an earpiece, each was individually designed to fit comfortably into their owners’ ears. Each device was pristine white with its edges bordered in thin lines of black and pink. Light glowed from its centered blue core marked by a gold trim. With the newest updates, it was able to pick up signals as long as each member was within a short radius.    

“No,” Nova said. “Eve did.” 

The ground shook. A group of Shadow Drillers emerged from the caverns of the Shadow Vein, scurrying out on their fours and shrieking. Dozens trampled over each other as they struggled to run away from the chaos of the shaking earth. One stepped over another’s tail and snarled. Their cries enraged the rest of the group. One of them made eye contact with Nova and charged.

“Not good,” Nova crossed his blade with a Shadow Driller skull bashing into the base. 

“They think we’re the cause of this?” Empire whipped out her claymore. “They’re agitated!”  

“Not my concern,” Herrscher said. Pulling his scythe from behind, he produced a white sharpened edge. Dark clouds formed as he suctioned the demons inward to immobilize the frenzied crowd. Black blood squirted out from where Herrscher marked them. 

Nova wrestled for control of his blade from a trio of the shadow monsters lunging after his weapon. Flames burst from his Nasod arm to ward off the rest of the Shadow Drillers. Dashing inward, he coated his blade with fire. The demons cried from the intense heat and lashed back.    

Red sparks flew from Empire’s blade. She threw herself to the side from a demon curling itself into a ball and rolling out to the red knight.  It fired hardened spikes out from the sharp stubs on its body. Empire hissed in pain and let out a warrior cry. Her blade lit up red and gold as she spun around. Demon bodies were tossed into the air and Empire struck through their bodies before they could hit the floor.

Sweat collected at his forehead and energy concentrated from the core of his Nasod arm. Sparks flared from his fingertips. Heat rose and fanned the back of his hair. Flames ignited and burned the demons down, rising higher. Another source of fire exploded from the sides. That wasn’t his flame. A fire demon?    

“Sword Fire!” A red-haired man stepped into the flames. He pulled out a great blade and swiped at the masses. 

Red runes with the fire insignia became visible in the air. Nova and the demons looked up at the curiosity. The runes glowed a brilliant light before imploding onto their targets, setting the shadow monsters into ablaze. The demons scattered in the surprise ambush, bumping into one another in their attempt to escape. 

“Supreme Punishment!” Two figures appeared together. 

The enemy was cornered by larger demons summoned by blue flames. The Shadow Drillers and the Shadow Guards whimpered when they were tossed aside. Their eyes glowered at being outnumbered and sank back into the shadows. 

“How anticlimactic,” Timoria yawned and pointed to the brawler on her right. “It’s his fault we showed up late. You were the last to wake up.” 

“How is it my fault?” Bringer twitched, “You took forever to pack when the elf woke you up first!” 

“Lu, it’s too early to argue over something so trivial.” Abysser sighed, “Can’t you take this argument later when we’re evacuated?” 

“Sorry to keep you guys waiting!” Rune grinned, “Hope we weren’t being an inconvenience!” 

“Is everyone all right?” Daybreaker rushed over to inspect the burns on Nova’s arm. “You should get that checked! You’re losing blood!”

“I’ll heal him,” Bluhen said with an easy smile. 

“The dimension will collapse soon,” Herrscher started. 

“We are not leaving,” Daybreaker snapped. 

Her pale face illuminated under the moon to show the shadow under her eyes. She glared at Herrscher as if challenging the abyssal being to ignore her. Herrscher had a cool expression and lowered his scythe. Nova mouthed a thanks for Herrscher to see. This Rena wasn’t Twilight, but her words still had bite if tempered enough. 

In contrast to Herrscher, Bluhen was if someone took the abyssal dweller’s color scheme and saturated it by several shades. Bluhen’s face was framed by bright green eyes and gray feathered hair. Carrying a mischievous smile, there was no weight in his steps as he blasted away the remaining demons before hopping over to Empire with his hands behind his back. 

Taking the former mercenary’s injured arm, Bluhen produced a water bottle to clean his wound. Angry red flashed across Nova’s skin. The familiar pain hissed through his pores as Bluhen applied pressure into his wound. Dense light sang through his skin and Nova felt a jolt of energy travel through his body. When he opened his eyes, the wound had closed and appeared to be a few days old. Bluhen didn’t break a sweat. Impressed by the healing magic, Nova commended the priest and thanked him with a curt nod.  

“You’re lucky there’s a healer,” Bringer said. 

Nova looked up from where he sat to see a set of narrowed eyes. The brawler crossed his arms with a haughty look on his face. This was Add? Lacking the black sclera, Bringer made himself appear bigger by standing with a straight back and had more color in his complexion than Paradox.  

“You don’t need to make everything sound like a vague threat,” Empire facepalmed.

“No, he’s right.” Bluhen agreed. “They would have lost the fight because they were outnumbered and outpowered.” 

Bringer gawked at the priest, surprised by Bluhen’s response but said nothing. He blinked a lot and coughed to cover his embarrassment. Placing a hand over his mouth, Nova could see Bluhen fighting back a smile.  

“Of course, I’m right.” Bringer boasted.  

“It’s good to see you had no trouble finding us,” Nova said. He hid his bemusement in the silent exchange between the two. “We’ll be leaving once my friend completes the preparations.”   

Bluhen lifted Nova’s arm up, applying pressure again to the previously injured joints to check for broken bones he may have missed. Pleased with the results, he offered Nova an elixir often used for soldiers suffering heavy blood loss. Judging by the panicked look in Empire’s face and Daybreaker’s reaction, his injuries must have been concerning for the group to halt everything. Nova accepted the elixir, popped open the flask, and chugged it in one gulp. He focused on the bitter taste from the berries used to make it. 

“He drank it all?” Rune’s jaw dropped. 

Herrscher floated over to Nova, ignoring the stares from the strangers as he pulled out his scythe. People stepped back, raising their weapons before Nova shook his head and waved his Nasod arm. 

“He’s going to open a rift for us,” Nova explained. “I’ll stay at the end to make sure everyone makes it to the other side. There isn’t much time before it closes, so we’ll have to be quick.”  

Bluhen’s eyes fell over to Herrscher with interest. The priest had his hands clasped together as he carefully studied the celestial. It was a shame their stay was temporary. None of the differences will matter at the end of the day unless Metamorphy was willing to do more interdimensional traveling.     

“Richtie told me about you,” Bluhen said without looking up. He saw Herrscher’s confusion and explained, “The one who tried to kill you.” 

“Celestials don’t die,” Herrscher said. “I’m not as human as you.”

“Then why do you help them?” Bluhen asked. 

“Elsword told me to.” 

“I see.” Bluhen’s pleasant smile wavered, visibly disturbed by Herrscher’s indifference. More questions threatened to roll off his tongue, but instead turned to Nova, “Everything is healed. Don’t strain that arm for at least a few days.” 

“Thank you,” Daybreaker said. “Will this world be destroyed?”

“I don’t know,” Nova admitted. “But we’ll do everything we can to make sure everyone makes it out of this.” 

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, Daybreaker crossed her legs and ran a finger over her bow. The resemblance between her and Twilight was strong in the way she looked past Nova’s relaxed smile. 

Swinging his scythe to the side, Herrscher dragged the sharp blade from across. Green light shone as he ripped into the hems of space to cut open a thin line. Pulling back, Herrscher forced a portal open to reveal a dark void looming back at the abyssal being. The opening was big enough for a person to walk through. 

“The portal won’t remain open for long. ” Herrscher said. “Elsword, you should go first.” 

“Go ahead,” Empire nodded to Rune. “We’ll be right behind you.” 

Everyone gathered and filed into a line with Rune at the front. Winking to his teammates, Rune turned around to walk through the portal. In a flash, the redhead had disappeared before being followed by his sister and the rest behind them. Nova was left with Herrscher maintaining the portal. The celestial remained still.  

“Do you think there really is a way to undo this mess?” Nova surveyed the damage caused by Paradox. 

Herrscher replied, “That is not my concern.” 

“I would be surprised if it was,” Nova chuckled. “We should join them before they worry about us.” 

Herrscher nodded. 

Walking past the lines that blurred between different dimensions, Nova’s vision went black. His surroundings vanished as he was joined by Herrscher beside him. They had to hope that their teammates were as lucky as them in escorting the other El Search Parties. It wouldn’t be long before they learned if their plan was a success. 

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

Mad Paradox

Being the generous person he was, Paradox agreed to go with the edgy brat’s plan. What else was there to do with a dimension threatening to burst open from the insides? Not that it was his intention. If he wanted to wreck a dimension, there were more efficient (and better) ways to do it. 

There was no benefit out of destroying the current one where Knight and his… friends resided in because they probably wouldn’t even notice until it was too late. What was the fun in that? Watching Knight squirm from demons was enough entertainment for the time traveler, but alas, that came to an early end. He wasn’t going to pit himself against a mob of adventurers over one boy. 

A loud crack snapped from behind Paradox. Gravity pulled him in and the man fell through the portal he had created, landing neatly on his twos and balancing on Dynamo to support his weight. The screams of full-grown men followed coming from Immortal, Crusader, and Dominator crashing at his feet.    

“Your cannon is on my foot!” Immortal shouted. 

“I’m sorry!” Crusader pulled the oversized weapon away from the researcher. 

“Both of you are too heavy!” Dominator complained. 

How could those three make so much noise when they were the only ones here? Paradox hopped off Dynamo to watch the three idiots fumble around. Crushed by Crusader and Immortal, Dominator came out at the bottom of the pile. He waved one arm to grab onto Crusader’s cannon and glare at the blond. The guardian of Hamel scratched the back of his neck with a feeble smile. 

Immortal sat on top of the two with one leg over the other. He screamed when Dominator sat up and had Dynamo nudge the sword user away. Waving his arms around, Immortal hopped around before falling over Crusader. Both men howled in pain because one jabbed an armored elbow into the other’s stomach. 

“If you’re done, would you like to stand up so I don’t look like a fool when the other brats are here?” Paradox drawled.  

“Why couldn’t you just portal us then go back to rescue the others?” Crusader asked. Pulling one knee up, he got up on his feet with his Destroyer over one shoulder. 

“I’m not doing more work than I need to,” Paradox scoffed. 

A set of eyes landed on Paradox. Their gaze fixed onto the back of his head as he gingerly flicked a piece of dirt off his plugsuit. He knew whose eyes they were. Who else would it be? Paradox had lost track of the number of times this similar scenario had occurred, too many times for it to bother him. He was reluctant to admit that he missed the novelty of discovering alternate dimensions when the other El Search Parties marveled over their counterparts.   

Grumbling to himself about being dogpiled by heavy people, Dominator was busy patting the dust off his clothes. He Dynamo was a set of magenta-colored cubes, blinking light as they floated beside the scientist. Looking at Dominator was blinding. Dressed in a white suit with lilac and gold accents, his appearance and behavior was exactly how Paradox remembered. How could someone wear so much white? 

“Can I help you?” Paradox tried not to laugh when their eyes met.

The time traveler recognized the stare he was receiving from Dominator. It was the analytical gaze, fighting to make use of every bit of knowledge the researcher had about Nasods and time travel to understand Paradox’s existence. He knew a part of his shoulder chipped every few minutes or so. Not even the heaviest jacket could hide that because it also disappeared with the rest of his body if he wasn’t paying attention. 

“Does it exhaust your energy to maintain two forms?” Dominator asked. 

Of course Dominator would want to know. Paradox wasn’t fazed by the intrusive question, tucking his limbs inward and gloved hands over his knees while sitting on Dynamo. Crusader and Immortal exchanged questioning looks to each other, debating to themselves whether or not to join. The guardian of Hamel chose to sit on the ground while Immortal leaned back against one of his swords planted in the rough terrain. Dominator remained standing, ignoring Dynamo nudging the scientist to sit down. 

“No,” Paradox laughed. This Dominator was faster about asking personal questions than the last one. “I simply choose to be one form more than the other.” 

It was easier to conserve energy by investing in one form than the other. He often opted for the child form for its utility but preferred his adult form when given the chance.  

“And this is all done with Nasods?” Dominator asked. 

“This is beyond technology and science,” Paradox said. “Having second thoughts about time traveling, Domi?” 

“Domi?” Crusader covered his mouth mid-yawn. 

“No,” Dominator stiffened. Good, then Dominator must have done the calculations to realize that genuine time traveling to their past wasn’t possible. The scientist crossed his arms and looked over to Dynamo in deep thought. “That’s not my current goal.” 

At least one of them was the sensible one with realistic goals. 

“Why would you waste your time dealing with us?” Dominator asked. 

“Would you prefer to stay and become an inverted donut?” Paradox drawled. “It’ll be over before you can even think about it, but fun to watch.”

“A donut?” Crusader squeaked. 

“An inverted one,” Immortal said unhelpfully. 

Paradox grinned. 

Making the El Search Party squirm never became old, unless it was the transformation path. Then it became a hassle because none of them took Paradox seriously or laughed with him. He fought the urge to roll his eyes about his teammates, or whatever they were. Teammates was a loose interpretation of his relationship with the people he sometimes chose to involve himself with when wandering through time and space was getting dull.   

Dominator was less affected by Paradox’s threat and rubbed his chin, likely musing over his words and rendering its meaning. The scientist was never one to take words at the surface level. None of the Adds did, but Dominator liked to tread over his thoughts and actions before settling on one. 

“You’ve gone through many timelines to be familiar with what happens when you mess with time and space,” Dominator stated. 

Perceptive as always, Paradox rested his head back. He couldn’t expect less from his counterpart’s intuitive eye.

“Then it shouldn’t be a surprise that you’re not the first Dominator I’ve met.” Paradox winked, “Did you say hi to Doom Doom for me?” 

A small noise of discontent came from Dominator. ‘Cat’ came to mind when Dominator tucked his arms over his lap and mumbled something about a meathead. Dominator waved away Dynamo bouncing against the side of the scientist’s head.    

“How did you know about that nickname?” Crusader asked.

“As I said, this is not the first time I’ve met you.” Paradox said. 

Observant, but still reactive to the unknown. It was too easy to spook his alternate, Paradox giggled. He knew it was easy to scare Crusader too if he was in the mood to test how jittery the guardian of Hamel was. Better not push them to the edge so early when the rest of the party hasn’t arrived yet. They were waiting for six more before departing to the next world. 

“How did you learn to control portals?” Crusader asked. 

Paradox continued smiling, showing his sharp teeth for an answer. The question in itself didn’t bother him, but the number of times and how it was a different person from each dimension asking the question did. He lost track of how many times a person asked the big old question as if he was obligated to retell them his sob story. It reopened old wounds to form new ones on his visible failures to save Mother. They didn’t need to know about her or why he was partially stuck with the form of a child. 

Immortal forced a laugh. The sword wielder raised one arm and smacked Crusader’s back with enough force to make the blond straighten his posture. 

“No need to fuss about the details,” the sword wielder beamed. “You can forget about us once this is sorted out!” 

“How can we forget about you and the other people we’ve met?” Crusader said, “Everyone is so different from their other selves, but it helps cover all our weaknesses in the things we usually can’t do. I know it’s best that we all return to where we came from, but I think it would help if we were to learn from each other before we leave.” 

“That’s for the man to decide,” Immortal shrugged. “As you may know, we’re not meant to be together without threatening our worlds.” 

“Are you talking about Paradox?” Crusader was confused. 

His question was thankfully interrupted by the sound of a woman screaming. Good, no more questions from the brats! Crusader was almost as bad as Dominator about asking questions and Immortal was no help warding them off his back. Continuing to lean back in a pose he claimed was ‘cool’ and feigning an innocent smile made it clear that Immortal was enjoying seeing the time traveler gain the spotlight.   

Immortal and Crusader rushed over to see a young woman at the bottom of a steep hill. She was lying on the floor with her legs comically sticking up in the air. Her white gown hung her body like tissue paper and her face was bruised by her poor landing. 

“Are you okay?” Flame frantically went over to check on Apsara. There were five other strangers with the Flame Lord with different reactions to their fallen teammate.  

“I warned her about the hill and she still fell,” Oz sighed. 

“Is this the feeling humans call disappointed?” Esencia asked. 

“That’s a strong word to use,” Crusader sweatdropped.  

“Can you feel your fingers?” Anemos asked. 

“I can feel them fine!” Apsara sat up and pouted. Her eyes lightened up when she saw Crusader, “Chung! Are these the people who will be helping us?”

“You mean Paradox and Immortal?” Crusader asked. “I think so. We can leave once everyone is here, right?” 

This wasn’t a party of adventurers, it was a mob. There were still a lot of people even after splitting them into three groups. It wasn’t there was a fourth person who could consistently transport multiple people to another dimension. 

“Thank you for helping us,” Rage said. He was a masculine man, whose armor barely covered his body and was recognized by the grotesque Nasod arm. The arm was a living organism that breathed in unison with its host.   

“Sure,” Paradox said. His muscles tensed in response to the El Search Party’s gratitude and reliance on him. 

“What took you so long?” Dominator asked. 

“We got lost,” Oz said. “Even with Escencia, it isn’t an easy map to read when the landmass is shifting.” 

“That’s because of all you extras,” Paradox snarked.  

“Which will be fixed soon,” Immortal added while glaring at him. 

“How can you say that with so much confidence?” Anemos asked. “Will this plan restore what has been lost?” 

“There’s no need to fight,” Apsara protested. “They’re offering to help us. Isn’t that enough? I’m sure more will be explained once we’re in a safer place.” 

“Since we are the cause of the world becoming unstable, removing ourselves would be the first step to repairing the damage.” Escencia said, “There’s no need in delaying our departure.” 

“Then a neutral zone where all of us can exist is the best place to be?” Flame asks. 

“Try not to throw us to the side or upside down this time,” Dominator waved his hand. “Some of us get motion sick.” 

Paradox made a note to absolutely open a portal flipped upside down. His smile made Dominator turn paler than he already was. The scientist sweated when Paradox opened his mouth to show pointed teeth. Black saliva dripped from his mouth and cackled when Dominator screamed.  

“Enough, already!” Immortal lost his patience and snapped, “Quit fooling around!” 

Sticking out his tongue, Paradox manipulated Dynamo to give a few twirls before opening a series of portals. They merged into a bigger portal. Its outer edge was formed by time crystals channeled by El resonance. Pink sparks flew dangerously from them, but it wouldn’t be a problem as long as Paradox was still here to control it. 

Turning to grin at the bewildered adventurers, Paradox laughed. No one could understand time and space travel, not even him. Maybe Immortal’s insane plan would work, but he wasn’t one to hold his breath. After all, repairing dimensions was a messy business even Paradox had little experience in. However, Paradox wasn’t going to be the one fixing the mess. That was someone else’s problem. 

As each group member exited into the portal, Paradox closed his eyes. The sky was a ruinous red. Dust and ash from shaken earth were still coming down. It wouldn’t be long before this dimension would see its demise unless that someone could fix it. Well, that wasn’t his problem. The last to leave, Paradox leaped onto Dynamo and flew through the portal, following the screams made by the rest of the El Search Party.  

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

Metamorphy

No amount of glitter and magic was going to resolve Metamorphy’s problem sitting opposite to each other and avoiding eye contact. Knight and Aether arrived at their meeting spot in a shouting match before Furious Blade had to separate them, still shouting to each other as Metamorphy begged them to calm down. Code: Ultimate’s glassy eyes reflected when the queen of destruction said the new members were not part of their original party. 

No matter, that didn’t change the original plan in gathering everyone to fix Paradox’s latest fuck up. Or at the very least mitigate whatever damage was done to the current world to prevent its complete collapse. There was still time. 

The tension in the air was palpable between Knight and Aether. Covered in a thin sheen of dried sweat, Knight had his hands curled into fists over his lap in a quiet fume. Aether was less secretive about it and had her arms crossed, turning her head away from the redhead with a small huff. Her counterpart was cruel in giving Knight the cold shoulders, but Metamorphy also didn’t know what could have caused Aether to give the redhead that type of treatment. 

“Are there more coming?” Blade asked. 

“We’re still waiting on five people,” Metamorphy said.  

The magical girl checked the message sent by Ultimate and forwarded to dozens of other people. As expected from Seraph’s alternate, it was succinct with a set of precise directions and a map leading to the meeting location. They were to meet north of the camping site, still within the range of the canyons surrounding the Shadow Vein. She was expecting the El Search Party to arrive as a group, but Knight said something about Chevalier still packing for the trip. Metamorphy recently received two messages that Herrscher and Paradox had gathered their groups to leave. She didn’t expect her group to be the last one! 

Man, this blows. Metamorphy blew a stray strand of hair hanging over her eyes. Watching herself pretend Knight wasn’t sitting across from her was painful. Placing one finger under her chin and tilting her head to the side in thought, Metamorphy frowned. It looked like it was time for her to interfere before one of them did something stupid out of spite. 

“Hey, do you have any questions you want to ask before we leave?” Metamorphy asked in the most cheerful tone she could without twitching her eyelids. She leaned against Aether and forced a smile, “I’m sure you must have a lot of questions about where we’re going!”

“I would if someone would stop hesitating every time we’re trying to save ourselves.” Aether purposely gave a side-eye to Knight with venom in her voice.   

“It’s not always about us,” Knight lost his temper. “We’re going to leave behind the people we said we were going to help!” 

“You can’t help people if you’re dead,” Aether said. 

“We’ll figure out how to save both of us without abandoning them,” he argued. 

“Like you did when you committed suicide by sacrificing yourself to the El?” She snarked. 

“Is this what it’s about?” Knight growled, “I wasn’t trying to kill myself! It was either me or Elesis. I only wanted to save her and everyone else!” 

“That’s so heroic of you,” Metamorphy feigned a swoon and batted her eyelashes. She tried not to laugh at Knight’s blank look and stiffened posture. The boy was clearly unused to that sort of response. “Giving yourself away because you see little value in yourself over that of something bigger than you.” 

Metamorphy beamed when she felt two pairs of eyes glaring at her and did a little curtsy with her skirt. She knew she had hit a sore spot because Knight clawed his hands over his armor with extra fervor and gritted his teeth. The magical girl could see the wheels turning of Knight fighting back the temptation to snap at a stranger that shared his teammate’s face.  

“Is that what you think he did?” Aether was the first to speak. Good, her attention was directed to someone else than the person she was taking her anger out on for the last twenty minutes. She was looking at Metamorphy as if she was seeing a ghost. 

“Did I get the details right?” Metamorphy asked with an innocent smile. She switched to a darker expression and lowered her intonation into a more sober one, “All Elswords share the same brain cell. Every one of them will do some variation of the same event. Yours isn’t any different than ours.”

“What did your Elsword do?” The Eve called Ultimate asked. Her cold exterior was veiled by concern and curiosity, traits Metamorphy hasn’t seen on Seraph in years. It was saddening to see that most Eves retained their emotions except for the one Metamorphy grew up with.  

“Gave himself away to the El to save his sister,” Metamorphy said. “His sister was saved, but he wasn’t. We were lucky to find his body and pull him back before the El permanently consumed him. The El extended his powers over the Dark El and made him stronger. ” 

“But his sister isn’t here?” Blade noted the use of past tense.

“No one has seen her in weeks,” Metamorphy showed her discomfort. Immortal put on a happy face, but she knew it was all a farce. Pulling the team together was his last attempt to find a purpose in retrieving the El as a guise to relocate Bloody Queen. “We came here looking for Paradox because Immortal wanted everyone together to fight against the new enemy. It didn’t occur to us that there would be more of you.” 

Knight was silent. All of his anger disappeared in place with a solemn smile. He was sympathizing with Immortal, nodding in understanding despite little else being said about the sword user. Metamorphy didn’t have to say more. 

No matter the size of the enemy or new cause, all Elswords saw the importance of gathering as many allies as possible. It made hiding from enemies difficult because of the sheer size of their group, but it gave them an advantage in number. However, with Queen missing in addition to Paradox and the demons appearing sporadically, their current team was standing at eight permanent team members. She knew it broke Immortal’s heart to see it remain relatively small for an adventurer party in comparison to the other paths. 

“No one would be angry at you for leaving,” Metamorphy looked at Knight with a kind expression. “You did what you could to help them. They would have liked you to take care of yourself too.” 

“That’s what Elesis told me too,” Knight said. “I feel like leaving is letting them know I failed.” 

“Failing in what?” Ultimate asked. 

“Helping them from the source of their home being destroyed,” Knight explained. “Someone out there is going to use the Dark El for selfish reasons.” 

“As to be expected,” Blade said. “When something of great power exists, there will always be people seeking for it as they did with the El. I haven’t met these people you speak of, but they have made it to this point on their own before you step foot here. Like you and your friends, they will find a way to make it through today.” 

“Are you saying there might be another way to save the El other than the Dark El?” Knight said. 

“I don’t know,” Blade admitted. Dressed in white, his Nasod arm was structured with balance and weight in mind. His face wasn’t framed in as many scars as Nova’s. “I do believe that you don’t need to sacrifice a part of yourself to help others. No war was won by a single person. It takes a group of dedicated people to make the changes that matter the most to people.” 

“Do you value yourself so lowly?” Aether asked. “Is it because of something we did or say to you? I just wanted you to know that you’re so important to the team. Without you, I don’t think we would have gotten to Velder, let alone to the Demon Realm. Our team would have fallen apart before that.” 

“I know,” Knight said. “I didn’t say anything before, but I’m scared. What if all of this was for nothing? We help the demons, but then there’s no Dark El. Or the Henir cultists found it first. So many things can go wrong…” 

Aether let out a soft laugh. Quiet and melodic, it bounced off the canyon walls surrounding the outside of Shadow Vein. Knight looked up from his lap, confused by her reaction and looking over to Metamorphy for a hint. The magical girl shrugged. 

“We place so much weight on you,” Aether said with a sad smile. “You didn’t have to take the lead, but you always did. With enthusiasm, but then that went away because of all the danger we were always in.” 

“Raven or Elesis should have been the leader,” Knight said. “They have more experience than me. What would a kid like me know?” 

“At eighteen years old, you are no longer a child.” Ultimate said, “but I agree that your current arrangement is not productive for the party. It would be more effective and efficient if you were to make more decisions as a group rather than rely on one person.” 

“Is that something your team does?” Knight asks. “Rune told me about it and I thought it was strange how different even our teams operate.” 

Is that how it worked for these two parties? Metamorphy was interested in hearing more. Every El Search Party had a different setup. Some relied on a single person as their leader, often Elsword unless he was killed or the responsibility was handed over to another person, usually Raven or Elesis. She once met a party led by Ciel. It was… strange and more often involved searching for ingredients for new recipes. Other parties made decisions as a group or focused on a few key members to make important decisions.       

“You don’t have to choose the path others did before you,” Blade said. “I think you of all people know that the most. Choose what works for you so you don’t overwork yourself.” 

“I want to help everyone,” Knight said. “But that isn’t possible, is it?” 

“We’ll help you,” Aether went over to sit next to Knight, leaning against the knight with a bright smile. “Once we’re back together with the others, we can start making decisions as a team.”

“Thanks, Aisha.” Knight smiled back, “You’re not so bad when you’re nice.” 

Aether twitched and threw her staff at the red-haired knight. Folding her arms across her chest, the mage spun around and scowled. So much for a short moment of peace, Metamorphy laughed.  

“Since when wasn’t I nice?” Aether asked. 

“I’m joking, I’m joking!” He held up both hands, “I didn’t mean it like that! I mean you’re cool, uh, thoughtful!”

“I suppose I’ll take that as a compliment,” Aether picked up her staff and pouted. 

“You’re expecting a lot of him to take a hint,” Metamorphy winked at her counterpart. “He doesn’t know, does he?”

“Know what?” Knight asked. 

“Thought so,” Metamorphy smirked. She cupped Knight’s face in between her gloved hands and gushed, “You’re so cute not knowing anything.” 

“Hey!” Aether protested. 

Knight’s face turned into the same color as his hair. 

Metamorphy dropped her hands and jokingly stuck out her tongue to her counterpart. She could see why Paradox was inclined to stay with the two groups. They were so much fun to talk to! She couldn’t wait to tell her teammates about the new people she had met.  

“They’re here,” Ultimate said. Pointing through her line of vision were five silhouettes framed by dark shadows cast by the sun against the granite floor. 

A woman in a black cocktail dress walked beside a man wearing white armor and a blue scarf. Devi was chuckling at something said by Phantom, who was pointing to Metamorphy and making gestures to himself. The cyan colored eyes and hair gave away Richter’s identity in how he kept looking back at the two demons walking behind him.  

Hulling heavy bags were Chevalier and Ishtar. Their eyes shone like stars, lost in their own separate conversation. Metamorphy overheard mentions of food and exotic spices from a faraway land. It was strange to see the demons be talkative over the dreaded silence she more frequently witnessed between Anular and Iblis.  

“There you are!” Metamorphy ran up to them with open arms, “Now we’re ready to take off!” 

“Where are we going?” Richter asked. 

“Will there be demons?” Devi smirked. 

“No demons,” Metamorphy shook her head. “I think you’ve all been to this place. Henir's Time and Space?”

“I see.” Phantom said, “It’s a neutral space because Glave made it so that there can be multiple copies of the same person.”

“You think Glave can fix this?” Chevalier asked. 

“He certainly has the abilities to suggest he can,” Ishtar remarked.  

“After telling us about the corrupted monsters, Glave must have seen some kind of use in us,” Blade said. “It wouldn’t hurt to ask him for help.”  

“Exactly!” Metamophy said, “Besides, I think there’s a way to reset this dimension so that any of the damage done right now will never happen.” 

“How?” Aether asked. 

Metamorphy looked at the nine people entrusted in her hands, knowing fully well that Immortal trusted her in taking them to safety. It was a lot to ask, but she wasn’t ready to give up on these people just yet. Despite the number of dimensions she had visited, she never stayed long enough to see the fates of their denizens. She wanted to see the future of the lively people she had barely talked to.  

“Why, I’m glad you asked!” Metamorphy heard herself speak. She clasped her hands together with a cheerful smile, “It means we’re going to let this dimension collapse on itself!” 

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

Author Notes: When I first drafted the outline for this fic, I imagined it to end by chapter 8. I started this fanfic out of the wish to see all the paths interact in some shape or form. It means a lot to me to see that many people want the same. Everyone’s feedback was encouraging and it helped me keep going. I’m not sure when the next update will occur because of work, but I plan on continuing with the story until the very end. Sorry for the long chapter. 

[laceymorganwrites]

Gravity boy

Word Count: 3.020

Pairing: Chuuya x reader

Warnings: swearing

A/N: this was very much fun to write! I hope you like reading it as much as I liked writing it

“How do we know you´re not a spy?” you asked the newest recruit of the agency, crossing your arms. He just smiled sadly. “Because I promised a good friend of mine to be a better person”.

His words and the sincerity that came with them left you speechless.

Dazai was a strange person to say at least, you thought.

It was your job to research every potential new member of the agency and the things you found out about Dazai scared you. He was one of the strongest executives and part of the strongest team in the Mafia, all the things he has done… and now he asked to be part of the agency?

It didn´t make any sense. At least not to you.

But for whatever reason the director gave him a chance anyway.

Time passed and Dazai proved himself a valuable member of the agency, thanks to him you solved many mysteries and finished missions in almost no time whatsoever.

Your first suspicions went away and it was as if Dazai has always been a part of the agency.

Nevertheless he couldn´t run from his past any longer.

You had your hands full of research on your current enemy, your eyes scanned the screen of your computer as you desperately tried to find out anything useful. Ranpo sat next to you to figure out a plan of attack, you were in a heated conversation about whether you could risk a raid or should attack from afar.

Ranpo was in favor of the raid, he argued it would be done quicker and nothing could go wrong.

You on the other hand were in favor of the attack from afar, you were a sniper and you could control the situation better this way. With the overview this granted everything would go smoothly.

“You wanna bet? We could split up, whoever finishes the mission first wins” you suggested, still not paying any attention to your surroundings.

“Bet on what?” Ranpo asked, but you could already tell he would accept.

“If you win, I´ll buy you your favorite snacks. And if I win…” you had to think a while.

“If I win you have to do my paperwork for a week!” Ranpo whined a bit, but in the end he gave in.

“We found their hideout, guys!” you announced happily.

Ranpo and you were just about to decide your teams when a deafening rumble occurred.

Your eyes wandered to the direction of the strange sound and you watched as the entrance door fell down with a loud crash.

Jumping slightly at the loudness, you got up from your seat and walked over to where Dazai and the rest were standing, Ranpo following close after.

“Chuuya-kun… I see you still haven´t grown an inch” Dazai spoke up with a weird undertone.

So the person who kicked down the door so rudely was his former partner in the mafia.

When he finally showed himself and entered the room, you couldn´t help but feel like time stood still.

You couldn´t help but notice the fire in his steel blue eyes that seemed to pierce through everything. And the way his hair seemed to dance around his shoulders, you imagined its softness. Lastly there was something about his facial expression that made the heat rise in your cheeks.

If somebody told you beforehand there would be handsome men like him in the mafia, you      would´ve considered changing jobs.

“Shut up, Dazai! I´m a grown man” he snapped at him and pouted a bit.

“Cute…” you whispered, earning a raised eyebrow from Ranpo and a shaking head from Yosano.

You blushed at the realization that you just said that out loud.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Dazai asked, you never saw him this annoyed, it made you chuckle ever so slightly.

“I come in peace, you idiot. Don´t make me change my mind” Chuuya growled.

You used the moment of disbelief and silence on Dazai´s side to speak up.

“Um… Sorry to interrupt, but was it really necessary to kick our door down? It doesn´t really give a peaceful impression” you asked, pointing at the broken door.

Chuuya gave you a look of confusion before replying: “Erm… I guess not” he mentioned flatly, glaring at you two seconds longer before turning to Dazai again.

Why did no one tell him the Agency hired such beauties? It took a while for Chuuya to finally take his eyes off you, normally he never lost his cool but there was just something about you that made him forget all his words. How could a single glance at you have such an effect on him? The suicidal´s face held an amused expression.

“Cat got your tongue, Chuuya-kun?” Dazai chuckled. “Shut up, Dazai!” the ginger yelled at him.

Why did the suicidal maniac always have to embarrass him like that?

“Do you mind telling us why you´re here? I have a bet to win” Ranpo chimed in, making you scoff. As if you´d let him win…

“Oh, right. The boss told me to help with your current mission. As a sign of good will for the new alliance” he spat the words as if they were poison after he finally found his voice again. He practically had to rip his eyes off you forcefully and it hurt him as much as that sounded.

You exchanged suspicious looks with your colleagues.

An alliance between the agency and mafia? As if that would ever work… but then again, the director went out to have a talk with the mafia´s boss today.

“Ranpo-kun, you can pick first” you told him, it was nice to know the director succeeded in pursuing the mafia boss to accept the alliance.

“Yosano” he smiled and you took your turns until your teams were chosen.

Team Ranpo consisted of him, Yosano and Dazai. You got Kunikida and Chuuya who was still a bit confused by the situation.

“Ranpo and me have a bet. Whoever finishes the mission first wins. He and his team are gonna raid the base and we are gonna attack from above” you filled him in.

“Understood” he nodded, still hanging at your lips as if there was no tomorrow.

Chuuya didn´t have his actions and thoughts under control and it annoyed him to no end, this never happened to him before.

“Alright! I´m getting my gun and then we´re good to go!” you chirped as you hurried over to your desk, grabbing the needed equipment.

Ranpo´s team were already on the move and you followed close after, positioning yourself on the roof of the opposite building of the enemy´s hideout.

“Kunikida, stand watch outside and take care of the escapees, Chuuya, secure the entrances and make sure nobody can get out the back” you ordered.

While the two did their jobs you put together your gun and laid flat on the roof, taking your aim.

Now you just had to wait for the right opportunity.

The target, the boss of the enemy´s organization, entered the building and you were almost ready to shoot when Ranpo´s team barged in. The people tried to flee from the backdoor but Kunikida and Chuuya did a good job defeating them, giving you time to take out the boss.

Two minutes after Ranpo´s team entered your team finished the mission and won the bet.

You grinned widely, escaping the roof of the building and joining your team.

“Good job, everyone!” you announced and walked over to Chuuya.

“You still have to fix our door, gravity boy” you teased him, making him blush slightly.

“Don´t call me that!” he groaned, resulting in your giggling.

“But it´s your power, isn´t it?” you continued.

“Yeah, but… I don´t call you sniper person!” he argued.

You laughed out loud. “You wouldn´t be wrong” you smiled at him.

“Chuuya-kun, stay away from our lovely (Y/N), would ya?” Dazai came up to you.

“We were just having some fun, Dazai” you defended him.

“He´s not the kind of guy to have fun with. I don´t want you hanging around him, (Y/N). He´s only going to break your heart” he let you know.

The cold look he gave Chuuya made you uncomfortable, you just teased him a bit, it didn´t even mean anything. You wondered why those two hated each other so much.

“I´ll let the boss know the mission succeeded” Chuuya told you.

“It was nice working with you, (Y/N)” he cracked a smile you could only return.

“Likewise, gravity boy” you giggled.

“Stop calling me that already!” Chuuya whined, making you laugh.

Hearing the sound of your laugh made his heart jump in his chest, he felt dizzy for a reason and couldn´t help but smile at you.

Then he saw the way Dazai looked at him and left for his headquarters.

“I hope you never have to see this man again, (Y/N)” Dazai told you when you got back to the agency.

You rolled your eyes, you knew for a fact Dazai didn´t like you that way, so why was he behaving like a jealous bitch?

“Could you stop it already, Dazai? What´s so bad about him? You´re acting as if it´s the end of the world when nothing happened” you groaned, just wishing he´d stop being so over dramatic.

Dazai chuckled in a dangerously low way, he did this sometimes to intimidate enemies.

You gulped, having a bad feeling about this.

“What´s so bad about him? I can tell you all about it, (Y/N). But all you have to know right now is that he´s a dangerous man who doesn´t have himself under control and when he wants something he uses every means necessary to obtain it. He is very violent, very angry… I just want you to know this now. I don´t want you finding out when it´s already too late.” he warned you.

You couldn´t help but burst out in laughter at Dazai´s try to scare you.

“All that you just said, isn´t that kind of what the mafia is all about? I bet you were just the same when you worked with them. And besides… weren´t you two partners? And very effective as a team? Isn´t it obvious to have that kind of attitude to achieve those things. That doesn´t mean he is like that in private. But all that doesn´t matter because like I said: it doesn´t mean anything” you crossed your arms.

In the same instance the director walked in, nodding at the two of you as a greeting.

“Gather around everyone, I have a few announcements to make” he said and promptly the whole staff of the agency gathered.

“First of all I want to congratulate you on completing the mission so splendidly. This is the perfect example for the ability of this alliance to work. Because of this we were invited to a party at the mafia´s headquarters tonight. Please make sure to behave.” he dismissed you.

As soon as you heard that there was going to be a party you asked yourself who the hell thought that would be a good idea.

Seriously, the mafia and the agency, in one room?

Were they out of their fucking minds? It´s like they wanted people to go at each other´s throats.

Normally you wouldn´t go to such events, you thought it a waste of time. Despite, you were just the office staff, were you even allowed to attend such an event?

Well, that was until a certain handsome ginger factor rapidly changed the equation.

You were so going.

Saying you panicked trying to figure out what to wear and how to approach Chuuya would be the understatement of the century.

You almost lost your mind and in the end you decided not to go, but luckily Yosano dragged you to the headquarters herself.

Now there was no going back.

Entering the big room the party was already going quite well, nobody seemed to notice you.

You should be sad, Yosano left you alone to hang out with Ranpo and the others, nobody even seemed to see you yet alone know it was kind of you who made the mission a success.

It was like you didn´t even existed.

Any other person would be sad, but not you.

You never felt comfortable boasting about your success or having everyone´s eyes on you. That´s the reason you signed up for the office job when you could have very well been more than capable of being a field agent.

You used this situation of being invisible to think about how you could leave this party.

“(Y/N)?” Chuuya approached you, the last thing you thought would happen.

This did mess with your plan, but also with your brain, how did you speak again? “Oh, um… hello Chuuya.” well, that certainly wasn´t how you did it.

Somehow you always managed to make a fool of yourself when you were around pretty boys.

“I didn´t think you´d come...” he mumbled, not meeting your eyes and fidgeting his with his hands in his pockets.

“And miss a chance of seeing you, gravity boy?” you giggled, where you got the sudden confidence? You couldn´t tell, must´ve been the energy radiating of Chuuya. “Not a chance” you stretched your words and gazed into his eyes a bit, smiling at him.

And before he knew it Chuuya returned your look, getting caught in your beautiful eyes that seemed to long for something. He bet he had the same look right now, only that he was longing for them.

“Well, that´s nice… but I don´t think Dazai would approve” he sounded sad and it infuriated you.

“Dazai has no say in with who I spend my time with” you told him.

Chuuya nodded and then gave you a warm smile.

“You know I hate parties like these, you´re just forced to talk to people you don´t like. And honestly the only person I want to be around right now is you” he sighed.

And you could use someone to pinch you right now to prove this was in fact happening and not just a stupid dream.

“Do you want to go out with me?” Chuuya asked you boldly and you asked yourself again if you weren´t dreaming.

“Me? You want to go out with me? Are you joking?” you tried to formulate your confusion but  didn´t even recognize you were talking.

“Well yeah, I wouldn´t be asking otherwise. But I understand if you don´t want to, I won´t bother you again” he sounded glum all of a sudden and you finally realized that this wasn´t a dream but really happening. You could wonder why later, now you needed to make the best out of the situation.

“Chuuya wait! Of course I want to go out with you, I just wasn´t sure if you were serious. I mean I´m just an office worker and you´re the top executive…” you mumbled, you knew someone like you would normally never be approached by someone like Chuuya but for whatever reason it happened.

Chuuya chuckled. “Don´t let our jobs and ranks interfere with this… I want to go out with you because you´re beautiful and I want to get to know you better, that´s all there is to it” he explained.

His words somehow touched your heart and you had to smile.

“Well, let´s leave this party then” you suggested bravely.

“Gladly” Chuuya said relieved, putting his arm around your waist gently.

You felt yourself get dizzy at the sudden contact.

The two of you walked for a while until you arrived in a park where you sat down on a bench.

During the way you talked a lot and the atmosphere was magical, Chuuya was incredibly funny and such a gentleman.

“You know, I don´t get what Dazai has against you… all these things he said about you just aren´t true. Honestly, he talks about you as if you are some kind of monster” you laughed, trying to lighten up the mood, but oh how you failed.

Chuuya´s body stiffened. “He´s not wrong, (Y/N). I am a monster and I´m reminded of that every day. There are thigns about me you don´t know, the things I do when I lose control of my ability… it scares me” he whispered.

You frowned, gently taking his hand into yours.

“I refuse to believe Dazai´s words are true. He´s just trying to prove his nonexistent superiority over you. Besides… aren´t monsters ugly and hideous? And if I can tell you one thing I know for sure you´re not it´s ugly and hideous. Like honestly, if you were truly to be a monster as you claim to be, I´d be having a problem. Because that would mean I´m attracted to a monster. And I just refuse to believe that monsters are as handsome as you! But what´s more important is that you´re very kind, monsters are not. Monsters don´t give a shit about you, they just kill you. And you´re funny too. Now I´ve never seen a monster that´s funny, well, maybe in really bad movies, but this isn´t just a bad movie, this is reality, you know? And…” you were lost in your thoughts, rambling on and on about all the reasons Chuuya couldn´t be a monster and Dazai was an idiot for saying so. Chuuya looked at you all the way through and for once in his life felt like an actual human being.

He smiled to himself, thinking about how this wasn´t a dream, but he just had to make sure his mind didn´t play tricks on him.

So he leaned closer to you, interrupting your speech by grabbing your face gently and softly pressing his lips onto yours, muffling a surprised gasp of yours with a kiss.

And for goodness sake you would be damned if monsters kissed like that, made your knees melt like that. You pressed your body closer to his and wrapped your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

You never wanted it to end, fuck oxygen, if this was how you would die, then so be it, it´d be with a smile on your lips.

[bat-losers-inc]

Collisions in the Dark (Ch 21): Checkmate

Warnings: depictions of violence, language.

Pairings: Jason Todd/Tim Drake

Summary: They go to face Ra’s together: as a family. 

Chapter Notes: Checkmate: Threatening the capture of the enemy king such that it cannot escape. This wins the game for the attacking side.

“When you turn to leave, he will use your name like a choke chain.” — “ Lessons On Loving a Prophet ”, Jeanann Verlee

The whirl of the snow dropped away as Cass pulled the stone door shut behind them and with it so did the whistling whine of wind against Tim’s ears. Tim almost would have preferred the noise… anything to distract him from the fears he was barely holding at bay in the corner of his mind.

The hallway they’d entered into was deserted as they expected, having seen no visuals from the tech on the Batwing. By the time they reached the lower levels, though, they’d expected to have found a ninja or two, but the hallway ahead of them was empty. As were the ones after it.

Batman, who’d been leading the group around one corner and then the next, finally stopped and spoke quietly to them over his shoulder. “Ra’s has pulled all of his men back to the central chamber as we feared.”

“When we attack, we’ll have to be ready to give it our all.” said Dick, “We’ll be going up against his entire army… or close to that at any rate.”

“There’s still time to call Alfred back and blow up the chamber with the big guns on the Batwing,” said Jason.

“No,” Bruce grunted. “It’ll be too hard to guarantee that we hit the right target.”

Jason exhaled a long breath. “Alright then, I guess we’re all planning on dying the hard and painful way.”

Tim skimmed his knuckles across the back of Jason’s hand. Jason glanced down at their hands hanging next to each other and then pulled his gaze back up to Tim’s eyes.

Tim tried for a smile.

It was hard when the knots in his stomach left him feeling nothing but queasy with unease. “Not planning on dying on me so soon are you?”

Jason refused to make eye contact, instead he look out over the top of Tim’s head. “Not planning on it, particularly, but if I did…  What then?”

Tim swallowed thickly. It took everything in him to say the next words, but he said them anyway because he meant them this time. He’d learned his lesson and he didn’t plan on making the same mistake twice. “Then I’ll keep my promise to you this time.”

Jason’s eyes returned to him in a flash. The intense expression on Jason’s face fixed Tim to the spot. He was aware of the fact that he’d also drawn the eyes of his family members, though they said nothing to draw attention to themselves.

Tim squeezed Jason’s fingers tightly. “But don’t expect me to let you go gently into the sweet goodnight, or any of that bullshit.”

Jason gave a faint smirk. “Death would have to drag me kicking and screaming to get me to part from you.”

Tim smiled but his mood didn't lift. He longed for the time when every choice he made didn’t feel like an even bigger mistake than the one before it. It seemed like years ago when he could make a decision and know the outcome for certain… and know that it wouldn’t end in some kind of catch-22 situation.

Bruce coughed into his fist. “We should keep moving.”

They continued on.

When they rounded a torchlit corner and stumbled into the first guard they were all more than a little startled. Cass came from the side with a throat punch that never connected. The ninja sidestepped and caught her arm . He shoved her back towards the group.

The ninja didn’t follow the move with an attack. They stood warily together, hands hovering over a variety of weapons, nobody moving except to exchange confused glances.

“The Demon’s head wishes to speak with the one he calls ‘Detective’.”

Bruce stepped forward. “Tell Ra’s that I— ”

“He doesn’t mean you.”

Ouch. Tim understood the meaning of the guard’s words and he knew that Ra’s meant to insult Bruce with it. Tim wondered quietly to himself what had caused Bruce to fall from the pedestal that Ra’s had once placed him on.

Tim’s hand moved from his bo staff to Bruce’s arm. Bruce turned to look at him.

“I can do this.”

There was a long pause before Bruce stepped back and to the side. Tim took his mentor’s place.

He raised his head to address the man standing before him.

“If Ra’s wishes to speak to me he’ll do it in the company of my family or not at all. It’s your choice. Risk angering your master if you’re feeling brave.”

The ninja didn’t hesitate before stepping to the side and extending his hand towards the set of closed double doors he’d once stood in front of. At least Tim knew he still held some lingering power around here… at least while he was still considered the Demon Head’s chosen one. Or play thing. Tim tried hard not to think about that.

Tim pulled open the double doors and forced his feet to keep moving and carry him towards the chair where Ra’s lounged like a king before his court. Tim’s muscles tensed at the sight of so many ninjas standing in formation on two sides of the room. He walked between the two columns of men, his family following a step behind him, stopping a few feet from Ra’s.

Ra’s smiled at the sight of them. “What’s this, Detective? Did you bring your whole family for an official goodbye?”

“I won’t be going anywhere with you, Ra’s.”

Ra’s’ smile widened. “Oh, Timothy, Timothy. That’s not how this game works, remember?”

"I'm putting a stop to this, Ra's," stated Bruce. “Tim has made his choice very clear and you’re either going to respect that or we’re going to make you in whatever way necessary. Either way, this ends tonight.”

Ra's laughed and sat forward in his chair. "Oh, now you're putting a stop to it? You? Who sold him to me in the first place."

"That was a stratagem. Tim understood that the part he played was necessary— "

"You sold him. Tossed him to the wolves with such carelessness. Do not come here making demands of me now that you've realized the precious asset you stand to lose."

"Asset?" scoffed Dick. "He doesn't want a fucking asset. He wants his son back, you bastard."

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” said Ra’s. “You see, Batman, you gave me a taste of the forbidden fruit. You can’t blame me for developing an appetite.”

Nausea rose violently in Tim’s throat and he stepped backwards so fast that his shoulder blade came up hard against Jason's chest. Jason reached out and steadied him with a hand on his arm. At Ra's words however, Jason didn't release his hold. Instead his grip tightened, fingers pressing into the bend of Tim's elbow hard enough that Tim swore Jason could feel his fear thumping through the veins that rested under his fingertips.

“You do realize,” said Damian, “That when you say creepy shit like that, other people can hear you. Right?”

“Damian,” Dick hissed under his breath.

“What?” Damian snapped. “We were all thinking it. How else is he going to learn if nobody—”

Dick elbowed Damian in the ribs. “Shut. Up.”

Ra’s smiled venomously at the pair, but didn’t grace Damian’s comments with a response. When he turned his gaze back onto Tim, Ra’s’ expression seemed to ask, this is who you would choose? This band of orphans and street rats, over the man who could give you the keys to world power?  

“This is the last time I’m going to make this offer, Timothy. Join with me and I’ll spare your family and friends. They can walk out of here without a scratch on them.”

Tim swallowed thickly, the muscles in his neck so tight that he could feel them jump at the movement. “And if I say no?”

Ra’s eyes narrowed. “Then I’m going to make you watch as I cut every one of them down. And that one,” he stabbed a finger at Jason, “isn’t going to die before experiencing a lot of pain.”

“I’ve died twice already.” replied Jason. “A painful death doesn’t scare me.”

“Let’s see if you still think that after I bring you back and repeat the process a few times in new and creative ways. I’m sure Timothy wouldn’t care to see that again.”

Tim squeezed his eyes shut and tried to breathe evenly.

“Are you remembering what it was like, Detective? How he choked on his own blood as he struggled for breath. His dead eyes staring up at you. I’ve heard that death by anthrax poison is especially gruesome towards the end. The entire thing must have been horribly…   traumatic for you.”

Tim’s eyelashes were wet when he opened his eyes to stare at him. “And you wonder why I can’t love you. You’re nothing but a fucking monster.”

“I am what you make me, Detective. But, whatever you think of me, remember this, I’m a man of my word. So think wisely before giving me your answer.”

Tim looked around at his family members. Every single one of them knew the risks of being in the vigilante business. On some level you have to be willing to walk into a fight with the knowledge that you might die there. He knew that they could die here today, but it still bothered him… the thought that because of him, an entire legacy might be wiped out all at once. Yes, there would still be Barbara and Kate and Alfred, but to have all of their hard work cut off in one final blow felt like the cruelest thing of all. Could he really live with the knowledge that he was responsible for everyone’s deaths except his own… because he knew that if they lost this fight, Ra’s wouldn’t give him the opportunity to kill himself. Tim would be trapped with his decision.

Tim met Ra’s’ gaze head on. “I made myself a promise a long time ago that if I was going to lose, I would do it on my own terms.”

Tim reached over his shoulder and pulled his bo staff from his back.

“So I choose my family.”

Ra’s nodded and out of the corner of his eye, Tim could see his family members reaching for concealed weapons. Damian’s sword sung as it was freed from its scabbard and held in a two-handed grip in front of him.

Under his breath Dick was issuing quiet orders. Tim only caught a fragment of them at the end. “ — eyes on Tim and Jason at all times.”

Ra’s raised his voice as he stood from his chair. “Anyone who brings the detective to me alive will be granted the greatest gift that I can offer to anyone. A second life on this earth.”

“Oh, fuck,” Tim hissed in time with Steph. This fight was about to get a lot more intense.

Steph closed ranks on his left just as the columns of ninjas turned and charged them. For one horrible minute Tim and Jason were crushed in the center of a mass of bodies, their weapons uselessly pinned against their sides. The pair were jostled as their family members jabbed, kicked, and punched to gain some room to move to expand their small circle outwards.

Tim felt Jason’s hand grasp onto his wrist and he turned in time to see Jason angle his head before dragging him through the mass of bodies towards Dick. His older brother had his escrima sticks out and they got there just in time to watch Dick catch a ninja under the jaw with one, knocking him off his feet.

Jason charged past Dick into the space that had just been cleared and caught the next ninja that came at them with a knife in his gut. The man dropped like a rock.

Hands clutched at Tim from all sides. Tim spun with a vicious sweep of his staff that knocked all of them back, before taking on the group of three in front of him, trusting Jason to defend him from behind. It was difficult to use his staff while fighting back to back with Jason, his moves limited by the fact that the wrong one might injury Jason just as much as it injured his enemies.  

Someone, Tim thought it might have been Bruce, dropped a smoke bomb to give them cover. It had the unfortunate effect of aiding the fighters on both sides. A body erupted from the smoke and barreled into Tim from his far right.

Tim was slammed backwards into Jason, lifting the other boy off his feet. The trio hit the floor, the ninja’s hands locked onto Tim’s staff, pinning Tim underneath it. Tim released his staff with one hand and punched the man across the face twice in quick succession. It stunned him long enough for Tim to get a foot planted underneath him and flip them. They rolled until Tim was straddling the man’s waist, Jason shoving at the ninja’s shoulder to free his pinned legs.

A stranger’s hand fisted in Tim’s hair and yanked him backwards. Tim dropped his staff  with a scream and scrambled to free himself. The other ninja, whose chest he’d previously been straddling, started to move as Tim’s weight was lifted off him. Tim kicked at him, catching him in the shoulder and the the cheek. Jason punched the ninjas from behind, his fist landing a blow behind the man’s ear.

Tim’s fingernails were leaving blood scratches in the man’s hand as he tried to find the man’s thumb, hoping that if he broke it with a hard yank backwards, the man would release his grip on his hair. Jason beat him to it, twisting his body around on the ground to aim his gun and blasting a bullet into the ninja’s skull. Tim gasped as blood and brain matter splattered across his neck and back, but didn’t have time to freak out more than that as he was attacked from below.

Tim threw himself on top of the man who was trying to rise from under him and slammed his arm against the man’s windpipe.

“Knife!” he screamed, reaching towards Jason. Jason’s blood-slicked hand slapped something in his palm. Tim took it without looking at it and stabbed the ninja in the shoulder before twisting it.

Without even looking, Tim knew that Dick was standing behind him. He could hear every solid thack as Dick’s escrima sticks made connect with flesh and bone.

Jason rose up onto his knees and reached to help Tim up.

“Come on,” he said, breathing hard. “We have to get on our—”  

Tim looked up at him.

He gasped and seized at his staff. “Jason—”

The man barely had time to lay hands on Jason before Cass was there, climbing up the man’s back in two strong strides before she could wrap her legs around the man’s neck and snap his neck with a sharp twist of her legs. She fell to the ground on top of him and shoved Jason and Tim to their feet.

She pointed to the path that Bruce, Steph, and Damian were working hard to keep clear.

“The command center.” She panted. “Go! Now!”

Before he knew it, Jason’s hand was on him again, tugging Tim fiercely towards safety. They ran full speed down a number of dark hallways, knowing that if they stopped to figure out where they were they would be set upon from behind again.

“Left! Jason go left here!” Oracle’s voice erupted loudly from their comms.

Running side by side with him, Tim caught a glimpse of Jason’s grin. “You’re a lifesaver, Babs.”

“Save that thank you until you can say it to me in person, alright? We’re still miles from the finish line.”

“Will do, Coach.”

Oracle directed them through the dark and empty corridors until they reached the locked doors of the command center. Tim pressed his face to the opaque glass and cupped his hands next to his head. Nothing stirred within the room.

Tim shifted over to the keypad and pulled a piece of his tech from one of the pockets of his bandolier.

“Still have that knife?” he asked over his shoulder.

“I think you left it in that guy’s shoulder.” replied Jason with a distracted glance over his shoulder to see if anyone was heading their way.

“Right,” Tim sighed and fished out a birdarang. He wedged the sharp edge of the blade in between the two panels and snapped it open with a hard whack of his palm. He connected the wires and let his tech do the decrypting, flashing through variations of codes before the keypad chimed and the lock on the door popped open.

 “Here,” Tim tossed Jason a USB drive as they entered the room. “There should be a main driver on that far wall that stores all of the league’s information. Plug that into one of the ports and I’ll start transferring the files onto it.”

Jason went to the far wall as Tim spun a chair around and sat in it. As he decrypted the login into the league’s server, Jason called out to him, “Weren’t you only in here, like, twice? How do you know where they keep everything?”

Yeah, thought Tim. Once, at the very beginning. The second, to watch you die. Both times I wanted to be looking at anything other than what was right in front of me.

“It’s similar to how I would set up my own command center if I were running a worldwide league of assassins.”

It was actually how Tim would have remodeled the batcave’s command center if given the chance. He hoped that didn’t reveal more about him than he was ready to admit. Tim had just finished pulling the files over to the drive when an explosion sounded in the distance. He watched the progress bar as it inched forward on the screen.

Dick’s voice came shaky and out of breath on their comms.

He was running.

“Ra’s— is heading your way guys—  Bruce and I are— in pursuit. Shit—”

The line was quiet for a moment before Dick’s voice returned. “Others are holding back the ninjas for as — long as they can. Whatever you’re doing, do it faster.”

Tim looked at Jason and then the progress bar. Thirty-seven percent complete.

He placed his finger against his comm unit. “There’s no way we’ll be finished in time.”

“Then barricade the fucking door!”

“Right,” Jason looked around him before pulling a filing cabinet onto its side with a bang. Tim ran to the doors and slammed them closed. He initiated the security lock code on the keypad and then ripped the entire thing out of the wall and severed the wires. Together they pushed the filing cabinet against the doors and stacked anything not bolted down on top of it.

“I just want to state that none of this would have happened if we’d just blown the place up like I suggested in the first place.” Jason wedged a desk chair against the pile.

“I’m beginning to see the logic in that.”

A sword blade punched through one of the glass doors above the handle. Tim stumbled back into Jason with a shaky, “Fuck.”

Jason dragged him away from the door.

“The files.” he said. “Are they transferred?”

Tim ran over to the monitor. “Transferred!”

Jason yanked out the drive. “Alright, trash his tech. Now!”

Tim tossed Jason the drive with his own personally designed virus. As he implemented it, he was aware of the glass exploding inwards as Batman’s body was thrown through it. Jason planted himself between the door and Tim, his guns held in both hands, firing at any movement through the doorframe.

The virus was working its magic with every line of code.

The sound of glass crunching under boots had Tim turning in concern. Why wasn’t Jason firing? Tim stepped out from behind Jason’s tall form and could only stare at the sight in front of him. Bruce half risen onto his knees on the ground, and Dick arching perilously against the insistent pressure of Ra’s’ blade to his neck.

Ra’s, with blood dripping down the side of his face from a wound at his hairline, met his eyes from across the room. With a venomous smile, he asked, “Shall I start with this one, Timothy?”

[chisie12]

Gency Week Day 1: Snapdragons/Strength

Day 1: You're My Strength To Go On

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19071907 I would have married her if not for Jack.

Jack.

John Francis ‘Jack’ Morrison.

Now, I suppose that you want to ask how I found out.

But, I also think… you’d rather ask me why I killed him.

……

…

Six months prior.

"Yes, don't worry, boss. Everything is all settled for tonight... Yes, understood... Don't worry, leave it all to me. I got this!"

The man's voice drifted with the wind. He turned to sweep his gaze around the vast field before him. He stood tall and proud on the erected stage, an arrogant smirk on his thin lips. The crew members around him were busy hustling about as they made the final checks of the equipment.

‘Everything would begin tomorrow night... Yes. All their plans could finally resume after a month of suspension! If not for those pesky –’

In the wake of the sleeping sun, the blond man with the thin tips barked some orders at the crew one more time. "Make sure nothing goes wrong! Has anyone checked the fog machines yet?"

A dashing young man sporting the signs of a new stubble upon his chiselled face quickly went over to report in his southern drawl: "Yes, sir! All the smoke machines have been checked and thoroughly tested. They're in working condition!" He was tanned with quite the muscular body and a charming smile.

The blond man nodded approvingly. "Good! Good! When the festival tonight becomes a hit, I’ll treat everyone to food and drinks after!"

Waves of excitement danced across the stage, from the platform to the back as every crew member cheered.

“Thanks, boss!”

“We’re gonna drink up all your money!”

The boss smirked as he watched their wide grins and cheerful manners.

Yes, after tonight.

‘I'll treat all of you if you're still alive by then,' the man sneered inwardly before walking off stage.

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of dark eyes that exuded such an excited gleam earlier sharpened at the retreating back even for just the briefest moment before humming and resuming work. He scratched at his stubble, thinking how great it would be to finally be able to grow it out again. Soon, so soon. It was only during his break that he finally took out his phone and sent off a quick text before they were hollered at to continue the checks for the final touches.

'Finally, this month-long operation can come to an end.'

...

That night was particularly clear with no clouds, where even the moon and stars were hiding; Perhaps from the knowledge that they knew something terrible was going to happen. Yet, down below, large black masses were congregated before the stages that were specifically raised just for this occasion.

Once the masses had walked through the large doors of the festival grounds, they were greeted by an outer-worldly sight of dreamlike structures. Past the entertainment grounds and side stages of various designs (like rose gardens, giant mushrooms, theatres, and organs), the audience arrived at the main stage – The main highlight of this two-day weekend event. With the year’s theme being all about water, the main stage platform was a width of 120 meters and a height of 28 meters, that was centred by a golden gigantic mermaid which towered over two hundred meters. In the dark, its eyes shone like emerald amongst the lights flickering like fireflies. When the stage lights lit up in colours of white and blue while a euphony of magical hums danced through the quiet anticipation, the scene of ivory coral-like platforms being submerged in water had the audience gasping at the scene of absolute wonder. The mermaid was majestic, with water walls running in water basins as tall as 200 meters sheltering it. The full length of the stage design was easily a few hundred meters long and roughly as tall as the mermaid.

“People of Melodia, embark with me on a journey and be guided into a new adventure on life.” A deep voice resounded loudly in the skies, its effect magnetic and charming, and the excited clamour hushed into silence once more. “Open your eyes and take a closer look at those embraced by the tears of Mother Nature.”

The water walls rippled like glitters as the lights reflected off its surface and everyone waited while buzzing excitedly. When the main platform lit up with the first DJ, screams erupted across the audience and the first introduction track blasted through the massive speakers.

Hidden amongst the screaming audience and the staff members were a few individuals that stared intently at the stage platforms, or more specifically: the fog machines.

As I wade my way through the masses, I glanced at the crowd around me with their bodies dancing and jumping to the beat. It’s been so many years since I’ve had this hairstyle, but it was necessary to blend in. Yet, even with my bright green hair, I wasn't out of place at all; some sported dainty pink hairs that reminded me of the cherry blossoms back home and others rocked theirs in an electric blue hue. I tugged the light scarf higher around my face. Concealer and makeup covered my scars, but it still irked me — that someone could easily distinguish and make out those ugly scars my body carried. Because they were still faintly, just faintly, visible.

The music boomed louder. My body remembered every dance move I rocked many years ago — back when I played around, clubbed and drank with no remorse, but now, my muscles shivered at the live experience of the festival, the pleasant memories fading away. Life's cruel that way and I deserved it. I hate to say it, but my older brother was right: Evil cause, evil effect. I suppose… your Western equivalent was ‘You reap what you sow’.

Beep. "Sparrow, are you in position? Over." A southern drawl sounded loud and clear in the communication earpiece despite the noise.

With a finger pressed onto the device, I flatly replied, "Not yet, McCree. I will be in 10 minutes."

"Alright. If it goes according to schedule, the fog machines will start going off in 30 minutes. When the drugs administered are fully combined with the fog fluid, it loses its potency after 30 minutes and that’s long enough to drug the entire crowd because according to the schedule, the main DJ would play, attracting the biggest crowd ever!"

"We got it. You've drilled it into our heads long enough, son." Another voice cut in.

"But, commander! I've been undercover for so long and it's finally going to end! I want to grow my beard again." Yet, everyone could hear the pride in his voice. Anyone would be in his situation; So close to a successful undercover and infiltration mission! And he was the main intelligence gathering officer!

I, like the rest of the team, ignored McCree's whining towards Commander Jack Morrison and went in favour of getting into position. Slipping through the sweaty crowd, I circled the edge of the secured perimeter while avoiding the gazes of the security team. The team and I had successfully infiltrated the festival grounds when dusk hit, blending in with the partygoers upon the opening of the gates.

Nearly reaching the end of the perimeter, I stopped and observed the guards standing by. I turned back towards the stage and began dancing to the dropped bass. At the peak of everyone’s euphoria, I roughly pushed a man dancing by my side.

"Hey, hey! Watch it, man!"

"Fuck! It was an accident okay! Someone goddamn pushed me!"

As they started arguing and getting rough with each other, I quickly and nimbly slipped to the side as the guards rushed over to end the fight. Undetected, I jumped over the low, metal fence and dashed off into the shadows. Clothed in black, I pulled the hood over my distinctive hair and made my way over to the platform’s backstage. The few years of experience shone through at this point: Only a black silhouette stealthily slipped and ducked through the shadows, past all the personnel directing the concert backstage and the security guards posted outside, effortlessly landing on higher platforms as quiet as a mouse, and arriving by the large fog machines.

“I’m here. And they’re being guarded.” I stealthily relayed to the team.

“I’m in position too. And I see guards,” McCree replied.

A chorus of agreements and similar communications of positions echoed in my ear as I peered at the people below me. I was currently perched atop an oversized seashell, back hunched as I made myself as small as possible. Majority of the fog machines were placed on the lower platforms, near the audience, with only four spread out on the upper platforms roughly fifty meters from the ground.

My task?

Was exactly those four fog machines spread out on the upper platforms.

After all, this was easy for a ninja.

There were still 24 minutes till the fog machines were due to go off, having arrived just slightly under 10 minutes. “Is everyone ready? I’m going to disable the machines in 3.”

“Copy that, Sparrow. I’m all good to go when you are,” Commander Jack replied, promptly followed by Gabriel voicing out his agreement.

With a word of acknowledgment, I quickly scanned the other three fog machines, silently noting down the distance in between them and calculating the quickest and most effective route to take. It was dim backstage with only the occasional light shining over from the stage lights.

“Commander, exterminate or incapicitate?”

“Incapacitate. We need the suspect alive.”

“Understood.”

Taking a deep breath, I felt my nerves calming and my muscles relaxing.

‘It’s time.’

Gripping onto the seashell decoration with a hand and lifting myself up into a crouch, I waited patiently for the opportunity. As the stage lights disappeared into the other direction, I nimbly leapt off the seashell, feeling the power in my calves while pouncing onto a defenceless staff member whose back faced me. With a strike of my hand, my victim began to fall as he was knocked unconscious. Before his knees touched the ground, his coworkers only saw a black blur when they turned around before similarly descending into darkness just as the stage lights swept back. With every known obstacle heaped unconscious on the ground, I hurriedly checked the liquid in the fog machine and frowned. A dark green liquid stared back at me under the light, the sight glaring and mocking. Without enough time to empty the heat exchanger compartment, I decisively flicked my right wrist and slashed apart the connecting cords with the hidden dagger. Retracting the blade back inside, I spared the audience below a single second of a glance before leaping and latching onto another platform. Soundlessly hauling myself up, I made my way over to the next one, repeating the same actions swiftly and effectively with no hiccups, until the very last one.

When I was about to slash at the cords, a cold sensation prickled down my neck and I instinctively pushed off my left foot, barely dodging the throwing knife to my back as I rolled to the side. It clanged when metal hit metal. I threw out my arm upon rolling upright, only to see the attacker parry my shuriken with a second throwing knife. A dangerous glint flashed through my eyes when he threw it at me. With a flick of my wrist, I easily parried it with my hidden dagger and rushed forth with a great leap. The enemy jumped back to increase the distance, his actions calm, as though he’d faced many similar situations before.

‘Want to run? It’s not that easy.’ I sneered and with another flick of my right arm, I felt the hidden dagger detach itself from its compartment. Gripping the removed dagger by its handle, the feeling smooth and cold under calloused skin, I slashed upwards with my blade.

I could hear the man mocking me mentally, but I simply smirked back as I instantly brought my arm back down. In that split second, two large gushes of blood spurted out from the pair of gashes crisscrossed against his body. I flicked my now transformed katana, the droplets of blood splattering across the metal ground and leered at the enemy.

“H-How —” The fear and confusion were clear from his eyes. I scanned him top down, noticing the thin lips that McCree constantly complained about and yeap, blond hair, before taking a step forward and lifted his chin with the tip of my foot.

“Tito the Slick?”

The man’s eyes widened like saucers. “Who —”

I lashed my foot out before Tito could even finish his question, kicking him unconscious. Ignoring him, I walked towards the fog machine and cleanly sliced off the cords.

“Commander, I’ve got Tito.”

“Great work, Sparrow.”

There came a pause when Gabriel continued for Jack, “... Is he still alive?”

A dark chuckle escaped my scarred lips before I caught it. “Yes, sir. Like I always do, to the best of my abilities."

Gabriel Reyes released the earpiece's microphone and coughed nervously, before finally responding, “Good job.” In holding back, was what he didn't say. Having worked with the Shimada back in Blackwatch days told him all he needed to know of the young man's bloodthirsty nature, especially when it involved a certain blonde doctor. Withdrawals, clearly.

I checked the time. 7.22pm. Still 8 more minutes till the fog machines were due, and with the panic of the fog machines not going off, to them finding the reason and then a replacement, there would be enough time for the drug to lose its potency. Shrugging my shoulders, I carefully scooped up some drugged fog liquid into a small test tube, safely put it away and picked up Tito with an arm and began making my way off the mainstage. I circled around the back, still in favour of leaping off the metal platforms and seashells, and ended up at the rendezvous point; a location on the far side of the walls covering the festival's perimeter.

Not long after, familiar silhouettes appeared in my vision from the shadows. I walked out with a still bleeding Tito. From the looks of it, it was a definite success. I suspected that Tracer alone took down half the fog machines with her speed from that grin she carried, ignored McCree's sulking lips, nodded at both Sombra and Symmetra, and gave my curt greetings to Jack and Gabriel. With the whole team assembled, we easily slipped out of the festival grounds undetected — praise Sombra and those skills of hers — and at long last, we could return home.

And home for me? Was where she would be.

On the way back, I came across a florist, the scent of the flowers pervading my senses. I tugged at the scarf higher.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"... What are your best flowers?"

"We have a fresh batch of Snapdragons that just came in. They would look absolutely lovely in a bouquet!"

~*~*~

Muffled bustling of people echoed through her walls. Another busy day, as usual, but for the first time in forever, she had a break; Break from missions, break from healings and a break from people in general. Because of that, she had her nose buried in a medical book on cybernetics in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Stacks of books, files and papers were neatly arranged atop her wooden desk. Her white lab coat hung over the back of her chair as she looked snug in her cream turtleneck sweater and dark framed spectacles, with her blonde hair naturally gathered into a ponytail.

With a sip of her hot coffee, she flipped a page of her book, the sound of rustling paper pleasing to her ears like birdsong.

Knock, knock.

Wrinkling her nose in annoyance, she looked up at the door with a frown. "Come in. Oh, Jack. It's you. Mission accomplished?"

Jack walked in with a smile, one end tilted higher than the other as he strode towards her. "Yeah. We got the suspect for questioning too. It won't be long till we can take the entire group down." He glanced at her closed book before gesturing at it with his chin. "Taking a break?"

She heaved a long sigh and slumped against her chair. "Finally taking a break, you mean. There's been a higher number of casualties since you've been gone on that mission with Gabriel."

"The others couldn't support you?"

"No, it's more like the snakes are finally coming out of their caves. More and more agents are getting hurt from apprehending them and protecting civilians." She eyed him seriously and rested her chin on interlaced fingers. "If this goes on, then the number of casualties will be far greater than what the bureau can handle. Make sure you get intel from your suspect asap. We need to destroy this underground drug ring."

Jack smiled helplessly at her. "Yes, ma'am."

The pair went on to catch up on the events that happened over the past month before Jack left, albeit reluctantly, Angela's office. Angela slumped back onto her chair with yet another sigh the moment the door clicked closed and reached out to pick up her book, when —

Tap, tap.

Who in the hell — !

A surge of furious annoyance burst inside her, rising from the pit of her stomach and up her chest when the words were lodged in her throat at the sudden realisation that…

That sounded like… the window?

Turning on her heels, she spun to look at her window and sure enough, he was perched there like a sparrow. With his cheeky smile that she could just imagine beneath that mask, the tiny wave of his hand and… the bouquet in the other?

"Are you going to let me in?" I chuckled lowly against the glass.

Snapped out of her thoughts, Angela walked over to stand by the window, fingers hovering above the latch. "Oh, you’ve dyed your hair green.”

“Yeah, I did for the mission.”

“It’s been awhile since I saw you like this,” she giggled.

A helpless smile crawled onto my lips and I instinctively tugged at the scarf, suddenly feeling uncomfortable without my suit. Green hair was when she first saw him, lying in a pool of blood, left for dead.

Seeing his unease, Angela frowned and forced a smile. “What are the flowers for?”

Pulled out of his panicking mind, he plastered on his usual charming smile as though there was nothing wrong and leaned in closer, his breath slightly misting the glass.

“Open the window and you’ll find out.”

“Well, I wouldn't have to if you used the door like you usually would."

I burst into laughter at her smirk. "But then I wouldn't be able to surprise our resident angel if I just told you.” Holding the bouquet of pastel coloured snapdragons closer to her, “This is for you."

Angela's smile grew wider and she unlocked the window for the ninja to climb through who sat comfortably on the window sill and passed the large bouquet over. “Permission finally granted,” I laughed.

Grinning, she easily teased back. “Of course. With the right code, permission is always granted for you, Genji.” She breathed in the smell, her muscles relaxing at the fragrance. "Thank you. They're lovely. What's the special occasion?"  

I, Genji, or specifically known as Sparrow during missions, shook my head. "No special occasion." I just thought they were fitting. After all, you're the reason for my strength. For me to continue living even though I'm a monster. For me to find what it feels to be a human again.

Angela hummed thoughtlessly while softly caressing a petal. "How was the mission?"

"It was alright. Boring because I couldn't see you," I teased.

With a soft laugh, she leaned against the wall by the windowsill, already used to my teasing. I then proceeded to brief her about the mission specifics and watched her as she listened intently despite having to later read about them in the reports. Since the mission was drug-related, she'd have to perform tests on each member to clear us after.

A gentle breeze wafted through the open window, carrying with it the soft strands of her hair and sweet fragrance of snapdragons. Her soft smile. Clear, vivid blue eyes appreciating the buds. The curve of her long lashes kissing the highs of her cheeks.

I stared dumbfounded at the scene before me. Heat rushed to my cheeks and the machines in me began to whirl in attempt to cool my body down. Did I just feel steam coming out of my body?

"Genji! Are you okay!"

Shaking my head and scooting further away, I reassured her that I was fine, but my heart was in no way fine. I tugged the scarf higher to cover half my face, avoiding her concerned gaze. She can't pull those shots at me after not seeing her for over a month and expect my beating heart to not stay still! Fine, even if I saw her everyday and it'll still be the same, but still!

Angela watched me warily and forcefully turned my head to her. We stared at each other for moments I couldn't track. My eyes bore into hers and I swore, my heart melted at the concern scanning my face, seemingly as deep as the ocean.

Pulling myself together, I leaned forward. Lifting her chin up higher with my fingers, I softly caressed her cheek with my thumb. Confusion aroused in her gaze and I wished to kiss those wrinkles. My lips parted, but they closed after a long while of silence. I cursed inwardly in my heart as my burst of confidence suddenly ran away. For someone with years as a playboy, I can't seem to be able to ask her out.

A doctor that saved your life.

A BEAUTIFUL doctor that saved your life.

Hush, you're ruining the moment.

Your existence ruins everything.

I released my hold on her face and rubbed my temples at the angelic and devilish voices arguing in my head.

"Genji…?"

Angela reached out her hand to me, but I swiftly turned to the side. "I-I'm fine!" With a nervous chuckle, I continued, "Will you be staying late here again?"

She pursed her lips and took a step back, but never questioned it. Turning around, she set the bouquet on the table. "Yeah, I will be. You coming for coffee?"

"Of course. And I'll bring dinner."

"Sounds perfect to me."

There, that smile. So beautiful and charming. Oh, my heart. Shit, I'm overheating again.

"Great, I'll see you at 9."

~*~*~

"The notions of feedback loops and homeostasis are also essential to molecular biology and biomedicine. There are some issues of non-linearity and non-equilibrium that the author poked at is being addressed everywhere. It's a good progress in the industry!"

I smiled and nodded as she spoke. In my hands were a box of bento and a pair of chopsticks. Dinner, as I would call it. A pair of now cold coffee mugs stood to the side.

"I mean like, in the field of prosthesis, people are working to understand, create and improve artificial limbs to main normal body functions even after the loss of limbs. I even saw that a child using her new robotic arm for the first time and it worked perfect! Isn't that amazing? The nerves must have…"

I lost her from then on, but I still listened nonetheless. Gradually, I finished my meal, but my sweet Angela was still going on about her medical stuff. With eyes still trained on her, I gently nudged her hand with the chopsticks to start moving and chuckled softly when she subconsciously moved to pick up a piece of chicken and chew.

"Science and technology have come so far! I'm sure that ordinary people can afford this in the future too!"

"Mmm," I nodded, nudging her hand once more and silence veiled us for the briefest of moments as she ate and swallowed her dinner. I sipped at the coffee, welcoming the burning alcohol sensation mixed with the bitterness of the beans down my throat. This pattern would go on into the late of the night, where the exhaustion of the mission finally made me succumb unwillingly.

"Then, do you know —"

Angela halted mid-sentence as she watched the overworked agent napping. Chin resting on his palm, the arm propped against a knee and a coffee mug dangling dangerously off a relaxed hand. With a smile, she stood up after finishing the last of her dinner and started to clean up the small coffee table.

Click.

With the door locked behind her, she picked up her unfinished book and sat down on the sofa next to the asleep young man. Fair slender fingers gingerly lifted his head as she maneuvered his body so that he could comfortably lie on her thighs. With the spectacles perched on her nose, she began to read once more as her free hand repeatedly combed through his bright green hair, the bouquet of snapdragons standing proudly in a vase on the coffee table. Soft yet prickly to touch, and occasionally, she’d massage his scalp. If he had been awake, just open his eyes at that moment, he'd see the adoration reflected in her eyes. The appreciation, the tenderness. Her fingers traced the scars on his face, just lightly like a feather for fear of jolting him awake, and imagined kissing each one slowly, telling him: 'You're strong. Perfect the way you are. These scars don't define you.' She lifted her fingers to her smile, gentle like the ocean breeze, and pressed the fingertips to her lips. They lingered there for a moment as her gaze upon his face softened. She then dropped her hand, those fingers pressing lightly against his own scarred lips.

'Goodnight, Genji.'

The next month passed by like a routine. Tito confessed and provided intel as persuaded (threatened) by Gabriel Reyes, and so every agent was being posted more often.

Angela was staying late a lot more too, each night later than the one before and I realised she never left her office unless necessary as well.

I rapped at her door twice, thinking nothing of it. For this past month, I've been using the door like any other normal human being. Just the thought made me grin.

A group of doctors passed by Angela's office and with my back to them, I failed to see their bodies stiffening, huddling closer together, and footsteps rushing to leave faster.

"Going on a mission?" Came her gentle voice.

"Mmm, a solo one. It won't take long."

She nodded her head and I left with her well wishes, grinning like a man that won the lottery beneath the mask.

"Hi commander," I greeted Jack as I bumped into him in my way out of her office.

"Good morning. Good luck on your mission."

"Thank you, sir."

I walked away, past the corridor and out the building as Jack walked into Angela's office. "Going home soon?"

…

In the past month that passed, I still saw Angela from time to time, and it was more than before. Occasionally, I'll inform her of my mission status like I just did; a sorry excuse to see her really, but she never pushed me away. And there was still the snacks of Swiss chocolates, and dinner dates, at least I hoped they were, with her coffee.

But to be sure, I still planned to formally ask her out. Looking at myself in the mirror, at all the scars, the disfiguration, the ugliness… — it would be fine. It would definitely be fine. Combing my hair and straightening my back, I put my mask back on, the cool metal washing my nervousness away just by the slightest.

I grabbed the two unconscious snakes of the underground drug ring on my way out the door, my footsteps lighter and quicker than usual. My mission today was complete and it had taken nearly a week. These snakes were so slippery I wished I could just burn them all, but the head hasn't appeared, so that idea was scrapped. For now, time to go home.

And just for the sake of continuing the tradition, I even stopped by the florist and got three stems of a red rose.

~*~*~

The room was dim. Almost like it was… lifeless. I knocked against the window again, but like my attempts before, no one responded.

Did she finally see my ugliness and wanted to stay at?

No way. She's not like that. Did she go home?

She hates you now. You can't give her anything she wants. You were just a medical experiment of hers.

No! She's kind and loving. And she just wanted to save you.

I clutched at the rose, the plastic wrinkling and its stem snapping. A dull throb drummed my head. That's right. I'll try her apartment.

But it was to no luck. There was no one. Not even furniture. Did she move? But where? But why?

Slumping against the wall, I ignored the friction and tried to suppress the ache in my heart as I slid down, inch by inch, until my metal butt touched the floor.

Where did she go? Shrouded by the shadows of the evening sunlight streaming through the window, I hung my head low. The rose falls listlessly.

It hurt. Hurt being left in the dark, hurt just being left. I scratched at the spot above my heart, but I only heard the pained beating in my chest.

No, I refuse to believe in anything bad. Angela will never do this. Something must have happened to her!

She was strong. She always was. And I believe in her.

~*~*~

A week ago.

A deep sigh escaped her lips. Dark bags weighed on her blue eyes as all the fatigue settled into her bones. Her days in the Investigation Bureau hasn't been easy. If she wasn't assigned to missions of saving people, it was examining dead bodies, and if not, it was to survive the politics of the bureau.

Dumping her bag onto the table, hands brushing against the snapdragons she brought home, she walked into the kitchen and pulled open the cabinet door before going to the fridge, her mouth wide open in a yawn.

Angela grabbed and attempted to unscrew the 1-litre juice bottle as she yawned again, tears instantly springing into her eyes. "Ugh, why the hell — so difficult! Just open already! ...aha! Finally!"

Now successful, she turned around.

"Oof!"

A sharp pain assaulted her head as she knocked onto the open cabinet door. The juice bottle she painstakingly opened slipped and fell as her hands automatically flew up to cradle her head.

"Shit!" Angela tried to clear her head as she heard and felt the juice pulp splashing and pooling by her feet and proceeded to bend down when her foot slipped. "Fu - ahhh!"

And then there was a loud crash.

…

"Angela? Angela!" Heavy footsteps cautiously walked into the room after he inputted the passcode into the electronic door lock.

A sweet fruity smell filled his senses, yet he saw no one.

Until he came around into the kitchen.

"Oh my God. Angela!"

[shawnsorangeglasses]

Better Conversations - Part 3

2.3k words

Get you some tea, it’s BC Part 3

Hello yellow, you gotta read part 2 if you haven’t already. Better yet, here’s the masterlist.

It feels like the whole world has gotten wrapped up in Shawn’s appearance with (Y/N) in the streets of New York. She faces some consequences.

warnings: a little dramatic, sweeter ending

......................

News of Shawn’s mystery “girlfriend” caught fire and spread rapidly across all social media platforms. Fans were either happy, suspicious, or appalled. No matter what they felt about it, young girls from all over the world began to analyze and pick apart pictures of them together in the streets of New York. The group of fans they met at the diner took a video of their meeting with Shawn and that only stirred up some more talk online as well. There were screenshots and red circles and literal YouTube videos on this. It’s not like (Y/N) and Shawn were caught holding hands or making out, but all the gossips sites wasted no words and no time getting their articles out for clicks.

The video of them only caught her from the chest down, a snippet of her voice, and Shawn’s full body sat at the lunch counter. Some people were kind enough to comment that whoever this mystery girl was had really nice legs. That seemed to be the only positive aspect in all the chaos.

Bea, (Y/N)’s sister, only recognized her because of her clothes, specifically the boots she always wore. She was just as confused and shocked as the rest of the world when she called. It took about ten minutes to calm her down and explain the whole mess.

Shawn still had to leave for Toronto that night. Goodbyes weren’t even an option. His people wanted him and him alone at the airport, which (Y/N) understood. In her mind, she had already caused enough trouble.

Miraculously enough, not one person had been able to place (Y/N)’s face or social identity. She never really posted pictures of herself online and rarely allowed anyone to take a picture of her and post it without permission. Her Instagram page only had three posts, all city photography, and her profile picture only displayed a solitary bumblebee doodle. For a while, it seemed like the damage would repair itself. (Y/N) thought she may have been in the clear.

Then she woke up. More photos were published. Her phone had ten missed calls. Eight from Jason and two from Lawrence Derringer, the head executive of his branch. (Y/N) prepared for the worst.

It was Sunday by now. The Jason and Mr. Derringer opened up their offices just to talk to her in the conference room. She wore the most conservative outfit she could find in her closet.

“Ms. (Y/L/N), are you aware of the story that has surfaced about you and Mr. Shawn Mendes in the news?”

“Yes Mr. Derringer, but I can explain. Nothing happened at all between Shawn and me. I would never get involved with a client in that fashion, and as far as I know, they never even got a picture of my face.”

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Ms. (Y/L/N).” They present a laptop screen to her, opened to a TMZ article with her and Shawn stood at the gemstone pop-up shop. Her face is clear and visible. “This was published eight hours ago,” Jason mumbles.

“I know your intentions must have been pure, Ms. (Y/L/N). What I’m struggling to understand is why you never questioned any of the endeavors you had with Mr. Mendes. Harmless as they may have been, this could have a negative effect on our firm’s relationship with him as well as our image in the industry. Did this not occur to you when you realized you were being photographed? Surely it must have.”

(Y/N) doesn’t answer, right away. Saying no, would have been a lie. She did consider the possibility of them getting a little publicity, but she didn’t think so far ahead about how that might affect the company.

“I suppose you’re going to have to fire me then?”

Mr. Derringer glances at Jason, then back at (Y/N). “Fortunately, no. You will not be fired for this. Apparently, Shawn called our offices several times last night trying to get a hold of one of us. He managed to reach me and said the day out was his all idea and that you should not be fired for the events that followed.”

“So, I’m not in trouble?”

“Well yes and no. I told him you would keep your job but that does not mean you can get off without some repercussions. Since Whitman was the one who hired you, I figured he should be the one to enforce that.”

Jason steps forward, looking like he was trying so hard to be authoritative in front of his superior. “I made the decision to prohibit you from attending any future corporate events where Shawn or any other Island Records artist may also attend. It’s probably for the best that you don’t see Mr. Mendes anymore in public for any reason. Your recent promotion has also been revoked as well and your salary will revert back to the earnings you made prior to said promotion.”

(Y/N)’s jaw set, keeping her tongue from saying everything she wanted to spit in his stupid Ivy League face. Everything she’s wanted to say to him for the past eight months feels like holding acid in the back of her throat. She swallowed her thoughts.

“I understand. My sincerest apologies, Mr. Derringer. It won’t happen again.”

“I certainly hope not, Ms. (Y/L/N). You’re a valued member of our staff and you contribute so much to the floor and the board. It’d be a shame to lose you over something like this. Jason will see you out. Have a good evening.”

(Y/N) is already at the elevator smashing the down button before Jason can even make it down the hall. Tears of humiliation sting her eyes as the elevator slowly takes her and Jason down from the top floor. He tries to lay a hand on her shoulder, apologetically, but she shrugs it off and steps further from him. If he was sorry, it only because he felt like he had to be, not because he actually was.

“Are you seriously pissed at me? You brought this on yourself.”

“You have no right to try and keep me from seeing him or anyone.”

“That’s what you think this is about? Maybe you ought to think twice before sleeping your way through our list of clients.”

Of course, it’s all my fault that I didn’t feel like eating alone one afternoon.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware going to lunch with one man is the equivalent to shoving my tongue down his throat.”

“You might as well have been, the way you were smiling at each other in those pictures.”

“I knew it. I knew you had a problem with me seeing other people. You can go and fuck every girl in Times Square if you want, but I have to sit idly by like your personal dumping ground?”

“You can see whoever you want. Just not him. You should know better. This firm—”

“Like you give a damn about the firm. This is about you and your fat ego. You can’t handle the fact that somebody might even be a little interested in me because you know that as soon as I find someone who actually gives a damn about me, I won’t have a reason to come back to you for a goddamned quickie in the janitor’s closet.”

“It’s that kind of thinking that keeps you behind that desk.”

(Y/N) falls silent. No more words are spoken. There was no use in trying to argue or be right. Jason was jealous again. He’d done this once before when another coworker, someone on (Y/N)’s pay grade, showed interest in her. The elevator doors finally open and she treads heavily out the front doors, never looking back.

…………………..

(Y/N) spent the rest of the evening wrapped in her bed sheets, at first crying with her makeup still on, then eating leftovers and watching Criminal Minds reruns. Hearing Dr. Reid talk about m.o.’s calmed her down. She’d turned her phone off hours ago just to get some peace. Family and friends were calling and texting her non-stop yesterday evening about her appearance with Shawn. At the time it was too much to handle with possibility of getting fired still looming over her head. But now with the worst over, (Y/N) figured she should probably check her notifications for anything important.

Through all the messages from cousins and people who barely knew her, one single text from Shawn floated to the very top.

[please call me]

He sent it about an hour after (Y/N)’s meeting with Mr. Derringer. It’s 1 AM now but Shawn was in LA. She checks the time zones first then finds his contact and presses the call button. He picks up on the first ring.

“Hey, are you okay?”

(Y/N) grins for the first time today, more than happy to hear that soft voice again. “I should be asking you that. Every news outlet has a story on you. And me, I guess.”

“Yeah but are you okay?”

It sounds like he’d been waiting to ask her this question all day. Technically, (Y/N) was okay, but she could be better, given the circumstances. She chooses her next words carefully.

“I…I will be. I didn’t get fired if that’s what you mean. Thank you for that by the way.”

“I’m so sorry. I said everything would be fine and I should have known this would happen.”

“It’s not your fault. People aren’t that crazy about it. Your fans are being relatively nice to me, now that they know my face.”

“They know your face?”

“Yeah. More photos came out this morning.”

Shawn goes quiet for a moment. It sounds like he’s moving into another room away from the chatter in the background. “Could we video chat?” The new echo of his voice sounds like he’s moved into the bathroom.

(Y/N) looked at her reflection in the mirror on the wall across the room. Dramatic streaks of mascara still trailed down her cheeks and her eyes were still very red. She should say no, but she desperately wants to see his face. And this technically didn’t go against Jason’s stupid new rules for her.

“Give me a minute.”

She washes her face in the bathroom the best she can. Her eyes are still red when she’s done. Fuck it, she thinks. Maybe he won’t notice.

(Y/N) flops back down on her bed and opens the app. Shawn’s face pops up on her screen, riddled with concern. He’s sat in the bathtub, one in a hotel probably, wearing a white t-shirt, hair fluffy and wild without its gel. One “s” curl fell on his forehead.

Unfortunately, he does notice. “You’ve been crying?”

(Y/N) bites her lip. “Maybe.”

Shawn doesn’t speak. He just wants to look at the girl on his screen. The truth is he didn’t really have a good reason to facetime her other than just wanting to see her again. He was so sure that she would never want to talk to him again after all of this.

“I want to know why, but you don’t have to tell me,” he says.

“No, it’s alright. I’m not fired but I am never allowed to be seen in public with you again as long as I work there.” (Y/N) sniffles. “Which is fucking stupid.”

“So quit,” he mutters. The words leave his mouth before he can think twice about saying them.

“Quit?”

“I mean—I’m kidding, that’s not what I meant. God, that sounded really bad.”

“It did,” she says through a smile. “But I have thought about it. About a year ago actually.”

“What changed your mind?”

“I met someone. At work. We’re not a real couple but...” (Y/N) realizes she doesn’t have an appropriate label for whatever she and Jason are, but Shawn seems to understand. “I wasn’t trying to get ahead. I did actually like him once upon a time. But he never wanted to be anything more with me. Then he became my boss and things just moved under the table.”

Shawn thinks this time before speaking. “Was it that guy you were with at the party?”

“Damn, you’re good. How much of that did you see?”

“I saw when he tried to get you to dance. And when he was at the bar.”

“Well if this music thing ever bombs—it won’t—you should be a detective.”

Shawn gives her a weak smile. A piece of his heart broke a little when she admitted to being in a relationship, albeit a noncommittal and toxic one. Someone already had her heart and her eyes.

“Do you still love him?”

(Y/N) thinks about it for second. Love? It seemed so unattainable for her at this point. At the start, Jason was romantic but never with the usual gestures. Just clever lines and secret lunch dates on the rooftop. Then one day he just stopped. Looking back, it doesn’t seem like love anymore. Just regular sneaking around. “I don’t think we ever made it to the love stage of it all.”

Shawn slouches down into the tub more, forcing his long legs out and his feet up on the tiled wall in front of him.

“I take it back. Maybe you should quit.”

(Y/N) blinks at him. “Very funny. I may be unhappy, but I still have bills to pay. That bastard docked my salary too, so I’ll be working double shifts again.”

“No, I’m serious, (Y/N). If you go in tomorrow and put it your two weeks’ notice, you can have a job as my assistant.”

She sits up in her bed, not believing a word of what those bright pink lips were telling her. “I thought we we’re joking when we talked about that.”

He shrugs. “I wasn’t.”

“Doesn’t there have to be a few more conversations with a few more people before you just bring a new person on board?”

“I’ll talk to Andrew tonight,” he promises. “He knows who you are, and I’ve told him how hard you work.”

“I’d have to think about it Shawn. That’s a big leap.”

“I know, but I do mean it. You have a job waiting for you whenever you want it.”

(Y/N) tried feel good about this, but everything about working for Shawn scared her. She knew his intentions were good but there was more risk than that. What if she fell into the same hole she did with Jason? What would fans say? What would people think?

“I call you when I have an answer.”

......................

taglist:

@spider-mendes @sebsdreamboat @innositer

[imagining-sio]

Red Blood & Heart of Gold II

Summary: Guess who bitches

Jason Todd x reader

Chapter 2

————————————————————————

“You picked a hell of a place to die, honey.” the lead man scoffed.

“Technically you picked it,” I smirked.

“You’re gonna regret that honey.” the man was just ready to pull the trigger.

“Famous last words.” A voice rang out through the cemetery.

“What the fuck.” the lead man pulled my own weapon away from my forehead. The other four began to whirl just as wildly. A fog seemed to emanate from the marshy cemetery, through the deluge. Only adding a sense of terro rto the situation I was in.

I took the opportunity to yank the lead goon onto the ground, quickly trying to subdue him in order to get a hold of my belongings, the priority being my own weapon. I elbowed him in the face; well mask, as we wrestled, the gun was strewn in an unknown direction. The man rolled over, pinning my back to the earth. Gunshots fired off nearby, and screams were heard, but the most pressing matter was the man in front of me.

In the midst of the struggle, he somehow slipped on some brass knuckles and began punching into my side. I felt the agonizing pain but I refused to give up. I retaliated by kneeing him in the groin, although it seemed to not do me any good.

“You bitch!” His voice evident that he was struggling as well. As he began to try an reach into his pocket again, I head butted him, thus removing him from atop of me. I scrambled to find the gun, endlessly searching with my hands amongst the thick fog. A hand grabbed my ankle and dragged me backwards. I shrieked, my fingers digging into the earth for some sort of resistance. I tried kicking the man repeatedly with my free leg, but to no avail. The man pulled out a knife just as my eyes spotted my strewn pistol. I reached toward the pistol, only to feel a sharp pain in my shoulder. The man now towered over me, with my own blood cascading down the blade of the serrated knife, dripping on my face.

“Say goodnight, sweetheart.”

A gun went off, spraying the man’s blood all over me. He flopped on top of me, and I frantically crawled out from under him, not caring I was just beaten and stabbed no less. Replacing his once towering figure was alone man. The smoke still slowly spilled out of the gun. The lightning flashed in the background, illuminating his red helmet.

“Goodnight.” he said lowly.

This was not happening.

I pointed my pistol directly at him. He stood unfazed by the item, or the woman lying on the ground, beaten and bleeding.

“I just saved your life and you are gonna kill me?”

“GPD, ass-hat.”

“Yes, you did a wonderful job of throwing a wrench through my plans tonight. Thank you, Officer.”

I groaned as I stood up. He killed not only the five men I opportunistically tailed, but the other eight that were his bait in to the trap. I did not want to take any chances, keeping my pistol trained on him even though the pain in my shoulder was growing worse and worse.

“That’s Detective Jones to you, Hood. Now, if you would kindly put your weapons down, and put your hands on your head.”

“We’re really gonna do this?” he sighed. Like he didn’t want to fight. “I just did you a favor.”

“As far as I’m concerned, you aren’t Judge Dredd, now get down on the ground.” I rebutted, yet he refused to move. I started to notice that my vision was getting a little fuzzy.

“Look I don’t wanna hurt you,” he started, “But-“ his head caught the bouquet of flowers upon my friend’s tombstone. His figure stiffened, a soft “holy shit” cursing out of his mouth. Well, helmet.

“I won’t ask again.” I slurred, my legs growing weak. My vision getting worse.

“Shit! Hang on, Jones.” He easily disarmed me, flicking the safety back on before placing it back into my holster. I collapsed in his grip. His gloved hands were surprisingly gentle, holding me upright by my waist. He gracefully slid one up my back, and the other hooked under my knees; lifting me up off the ground like I weighed nothing. He turned in the direction of the all too bright glistening lights, ones that only an hour ago, were nothing to me.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“As of right now; it’s a work in progress, Jones.” he replied, his tone was frantic.

“C’mon you gotta stay with me, detective.” He drew me from unconsciousness.

My vision was now permanently blurred, and I fought tooth and nail to keep my eyes from closing. The pain in my shoulder was a blistering, burning sensation. My entire body felt heavy. I had gone far enough in life not being stabbed in any shape or form, so it’s my fucking luck that the one time I return to my hometown, the crime capital of the world; I get stabbed. Disregard the fact I’ve already been here for a month. The situation still stands.

I was drawn out of my thoughts by Red Hood groaning. It wasn’t from muscle pain however.

“Really old man?” He asked my attention turning to the cloaked figure standing a few feet away from my own motorcycle, and the one that was much more modern than my old bobber style. It most likely belonged to Hood.

“What did you do?” The bat asked angrily.

“Take a wild guess; Bats.” he was careful as he spoke, like he knew I was still conscious.

“Look; this wasn’t supposed to happen, just let me fix this; … please.” he pleaded with the bat.

“Gotham central is the closest hospital. You better hurry.”

Hood breathed a relieved sigh as he ushered me onto his motorcycle. He made sure I sat in the front of him

“This isn’t over.” The bat said, his last words before I lost consciousness.

————————————————————————

When I came to, everything was way too bright.

“Ow.” I mumbled. My hand reached for my head, only to find an IV strapped to it. Looking around, I was soon able to recognize where I was. The extreme brightness were do to the fluorescent lights and the white walls. the only thing that looked to be color were the chairs and my folded clothing upon the bedside table. The windows were drawn shut, and I couldn’t tell whether or not it was day or night given from what peeked through the cracks. It was still raining, so that was a sign, maybe.

“How are you feeling.” the gravelly voice returned.

“Like shit,” I grumbled as I spotted his fuzzy form from the corner, Gordon was asleep in the chair beside me. However, the other figure lurking in the corner stuck out like a sore thumb. Though, that’s what happens when you dress in all black and wear a cape in a hospital room.

“What happened?” I asked, my hand coming up to soothe my pounding head.

“You were attacked,” the Bat deadpanned, “You have a cracked rib among your three bruised. You also have a heavy concussion so try not to move around so much.”

I stared blankly at him.

“Those men could have killed you.“

“Yeah I got that. Why do you care? I’m trying to arrest you just as much as I am Black Mask and Red Hood.” He stood silent.

“I am on your side, (Y/N). I’m here to help.”

“What else did Gordon tell you?”

“Enough.”

“Really, what did you two chat over coffee?”

He gave a small smirk.

“That’s unsettling; stop it.”

“We’ve talked before.”

“Noticed. Look don’t expect me to be grateful because you got me here, okay?”

“I don’t expect you to.”

“Mind telling how you knew where I was? And how did you know where Red Hood would be there?”

“Clairvoyance.”

“Humor is not your strong suit.”

He raided a masked brow.

“You should get some rest. I’ll be in touch.” The bat walked out the door, unnoticed by the passing staff.

I was only reminded with why I hated Gotham.

————————————————————————

It had been a couple of weeks since the incident at the graveyard. I managed to get Gordon out of worrying over me with every shallow breath I took. I understood where he was coming from, given everything that happened with Barbara, but I had very thin patience. I got paid leave from the force, and they let me work from home; by home I mean my grandmother’s old apartment. She moved away but gave a good word to the landlord which gave me the apartment. Which is great, not Monica’s apartment but it’s up there, maybe.

The unsettling part was that it was across the street from where I grew up. I would walk by what used to be my childhood home every day, and instead of children playing it was met with gang members upon the steps. Jason’s house was two doors down, it shared the same fate as mine.I was physically able to go get some groceries from the mini-mart on the corner, but living on the top floor certainly had its downsides.

Stairs.

Stairs were the absolute worst. Hulking up six flights with handfuls of bags was not something that the doctor recommended, but I was stubborn enough not to want to take two whole trips. Besides, I was getting tired of microwavable Ramen noodles.

I grunted up the final flight of steps, my front door coming into view. The cactus themed doormat stood out against the linoleum tiled hallway. Setting one handful of bags down between my legs and the door, I began to sift through my messenger bag for my keys. There was a great relief as I unlocked the door, shuffling myself inside with all of my goods.

I tossed my keys into the empty fruit bowl upon the counter, heaving the groceries onto the breakfast bar. I quickly began to store the items I bought, the orange juice and the milk going into the fridge while other meals went into either the freezer or pantry. There was an eerie silence as the fridge light was the only thing illuminating the entire apartment. Distant sounds of thunder were now far too close, the lightning ushering in another nightly downpour upon Gotham. Throwing the plastic bags into a small drawer, I dusted off my hands and began walking into the unlit apartment.

A bright flash of lightning made me stop in my tracks. Not because it was too bright or too close, oh no.

There was someone in the apartment with me. Sitting in my armchair.

My late Grandmother’s favorite armchair.

“Hey there, sweetheart.” he said from beneath that stupid red helmet. Personally, it wasn’t all that intimidating to me, his recent escapades however, they were a different story.

I instinctively put a hand on the concealed weapon upon my waistband.

“Would you relax? I’m not here to hurt you.” he said, unmoving, unflinching from his spot. Lightning flashed a second time, thunder following close behind, only adding to the tension in my own apartment.

“How long-“

“Long enough to judge your tastes there, honey.” he answered. I could almost hear that smirk.

“Why?”

“Wanted to check on you, see how you were holding up.” he stood up, but I swear I heard a soft grunt of pain as he did so.

“I highly doubt that.” I cocked an eyebrow, questioningly.

“Oh do you, detective.” he seethed through his teeth, by the sound of it at least, you can really tell with his face muffled beneath that red helmet.

“You’re hurt.”

“I would love to prove you wrong, but unfortunately, I may pass out.” he began to teeter on his own feet. If I weren’t there to catch him, he may have fallen unconscious. Simply feeling around for any contusions I felt blood upon my hands.

“If I find out you bled on my favorite chair; I will kill you myself.” I ushered him to the nearest, and frankly, only bathroom in my place of residence.

“Wouldn’t be the first time, honey; wouldn’t be the first time.” he chuckled, only to cough painfully.

I flicked the light to the bathroom on with my elbow, setting him down on my toilet so I could grab the first aid kit from the linen closet. He shrugged off his jacket, revealing his compression shirt with a bullet hole in his side. He was slightly hunched over, his knuckles were bloody, but more importantly they were bare, revealing his ivory skin tone.

I set the kit down onto the rim of the bathtub, grabbing the washcloth upon the rail.

“Shirt off, now” I began to dowse the washcloth in the rubbing alcohol. He chortled.

“Should you take me out to dinner first.” I rolled my eyes, how did I know he was going to say that.

“Helmet too, Red.” I gestured to his head.

“Whatever you say, doll face.”

————————————————————————

Message me if you would like to be tagged!!

[pixelpolaroid]

Ripples of the Past- Chapter 16

A single audience member

He wasn’t sure how long it had been. Hours? Days? Weeks? Who knew. He wasn’t sure how time worked in this dimension. For all he knew it could’ve just been a few minutes. It felt like eternity though. His mind felt like it was made of mush, and his body was weak.

The sudden light that slowly began to tear through the absolute darkness had zero effect on him. The magician kept his eyes down. When the door opened on him, a shadow was cast over his kneeling body. His arms stayed down at his sides, and in the dead silence his breathing could hardly be heard.

There was a long moment where nothing happened, Marvin wondered if he was only here to check if he was still alive. He wouldn’t be surprised if he was left in the darkness for another however long he’d been here. It wasn’t like he didn’t deserve it.

“Have you had enough time to think?” Phantom sounded just as displeased as he did when he left the magician. Marvin just nodded weakly. His face was still sore from where he’d been hit with the cane. He flinched when strange appendage wrapped around his chin and forcefully pulled him to look at the demon. “Look at me when I’m speaking!” Marvin shook, feeling the harsh tug of Phantom’s manifested powers. “So do you have anything you want to say to me?”

Marvin knew how this game was played out. He screwed up. He made a huge mistake and didn't bother to think about the consequences of his actions. He was only thinking of himself. “I’m sorry,” He finally said, knowing he’d let Phantom wait for too long. “I was careless with your gift. Please forgive me, I’ll do anything to make it up to you.”

The demon’s expression remained stoic, looking down at the magician before him as he seemed to consider his words. A wicked smirk slowly began to appear on the demon’s face, as if hearing exactly what he wanted. “You made a mistake, but you’re learning. That’s good Marvin, I’m glad that you’ve come to your senses,” The magician felt his body being assisted to stand. He was physically weak, and he did notice that his powers seemed to be stilled.

As he was led out of the void, he felt whatever filter was blocking his powers seem to lift, making himself feel stronger again. It still took a moment for him to fully register where he was. They weren’t back in his dressing room where they had left. Phantom had brought him to the main tent. It was later in the day, he could tell that much, and no one else was around them, except for one person.

The magician’s eyes landed on a figure tied to a chair in the center of the stage. Marvin was slightly horrified at the person before him. Their body was completely grey, black veins were spread out like a shattered mirror. The figure’s face was almost completely mutilated. A large gaping mouth seemed to almost split the creature’s head in half, along with layers of jagged long teeth to go with it. It’s eyes almost looked melted over, and whatever showed had gone completely milky white. Marvin could barely tell if it was once even a person.

“This is what happens when a corruption fully takes over a host,” Phantom whispered into Marvin’s ear. He slowly began leading him closer to the figure before them. Marvin could see a golden vine like necklace draped around their shoulders, one that was similar to what he’d seen Cris wearing. “I was able to hold it captive,” Phantom explained. “That’s a seal that keeps the infection from growing further, it protects us.”

Phantom began stepping away and the magician found himself wanting to pull him closer again. He didn’t like the idea of Phantom leaving him now. It made him think he was still mad. But he simply approached the creature slowly, swinging his cane almost carelessly. “This one is too far gone to save, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be of use to us,” He turned and smiled to Marvin. “Prove your loyalty to me. We finished the practice, this is the real deal.”

Marvin fully understood what the demon wanted from him, he didn’t need to say it. He looked down at his hands, they were shaking rapidly. He turned back to the phantom, he was waiting there patiently. Marvin felt he needed to win him back and make up for his mistake, so without a second thought, the magician lifted his hand towards the restrained creature. Phantom smiled and backed away.

The magician felt his soul reach out towards the corrupted creature’s. Strangely though, he didn’t sense anything dark about it. It seemed almost pure and innocent in a way. That only lead Marvin to believe the person it took over was still there suffering. Regardless of the conflicting feelings this brought him, Marvin felt the power from it and took it in his hands. It was strong, and fought back more than when he would practice with Phantom, but he kept his grasp tight.

The demon watched from a distance as what looked like a battle of strength went on before him. Marvin’s blue aura illuminated around him, while a weak yellow light lit from the captured human, its soul trying to resist being pulled away. It was going exactly as he wanted, and Marvin was none the wiser.

The one in the chair thrashed about, trying to break free, to call out to Marvin, but there was something preventing him from screaming anything coherent. Why couldn’t he see who he really was? He tried to call out to his dear friend, but nothing worked, he felt like there was a barrier between them that Marvin couldn’t see past, so he had no idea that he was sucking the life out of Chase’s soul.

The tied figure tried to fight back, to show him any sign that it was him, but Marvin was completely oblivious to what he was doing. His struggles became less and less effective, his body growing weaker by each agonizing moment that passed. His very life energy was being pulled from his body, to the point where Chase couldn’t even keep his head up.

As the opposing force began to weaken, Marvin found it easier to empty it of its powers. He opened his eyes, his breathing heavy, and found an orb of yellow light in his hands. The deformed creature’s body went limp and he looked to Phantom for guidance from this point. He’d never done this for real before.

The demon held out his cane, which was enough for Marvin to understand his next move. The magician held the power out to him and transferred it into Phantom’s staff. Once the energy was gone from his grasp, Marvin felt his own body grow slack, but it was easier now, since he’d been practicing so much with Phantom. The demon looked to him with pride. “You’ve done perfect,” He praised, and Marvin felt his soul be lifted, unaware of the red circling his iris.

The moment was shattered by a loud yell that rang out from the entrance of the tent. “Chase!” He heard a familiar scream. The two turned, and Marvin was quickly met with the red covered figure of Jackie pinning him to the ground after tackling him in the chest. Marvin tried to catch his breath and looked up to see Jameson and Henrik quickly following behind. It actually took a moment for Marvin to even recognize who was on top of him, Jackie was gone for so long, even before he left.

“What did you fucking do to him Marvin!” Jackie yelled in his face, the fury rising in the hero was clearly shown on his face, and he provided no sign of pulling it back. Marvin had no idea what he was talking about. He wasn’t able to comprehend why Jackie was so angry at him. He hadn’t even seen him in months.

Before anymore questions were thrown, the hero was begin pulled away by and unseen force. When Marvin obtained the chance to breathe he looked up to see Phantom standing behind them, his four black tendrils proudly protruding from his back. He had Jameson wrapped in one and Jackie pulled back by his ankle with another. The two remaining had grown enough to elevate him high above them.

He looked down at the three other egos with a rage that Marvin had never seen before. He carelessly tossed Jackie and Jamie aside, hitting Henrik in their direction soon after and lowered himself next to Marvin. “I’ve had enough of these people interrupting my work!” He shouted, the tent shaking like a thunderclap. The demon looked to Marvin next. “Help me remove these pests before they ruin our plan.”

Marvin didn’t seem to comprehend fully what the demon wanted him to do. All he knew was that Phantom had giving him an order and that they were trying to stop them from saving Cris. Marvin’s eyes turned fully red, he felt a building pressure in his hands as he began to summon his powers. “Yes Phantom,” He said, as the pair began an attack on the three remaining egos.