#just have a mild dislike that kinda fades out most of the time

[nervocat]

Okok before I try to go to bed I'm curious but um. Are my favorite test characters so far predictable.. like was it expected that they're my favorites......

[radioisntdead]

Too sweet

Alastor x gn reader,

Warnings!!

Mild ooc, reader is dessert themed also kinda imagining they have eyes that resemble 1930's animation but that's just me, casual backstory drop in the middle that's just never brought up again, death, pacing is a little off, Alastor is prepared with angelic steel this time! It does not help whatsoever!

Song: Too sweet

It wasn't a secret that Alastor strongly disliked sweet things, it wasn't a complete hatred but he wouldn't willingly eat any, he preferred bitter things.

It can't be said I'm an early bird

You were as sweet as pure sugar, with that oh so charming smile of yours, your big ol' cartoony eyes, eccentric and positive attitude, not to mention you were quite literally dessert themed, Cake themed outfits, frosted purses, phone case adorned with spackled frosting, sprinkles and charms.

It's ten o'clock before I say a word

You were the most recent addition to the hotel, a few of the hotel's residents didn't quite understand how someone as sweet as you could've ended up in hell, it was theorized that maybe it was an act, a honey coated trap that would lead to the hotel demise or something.

Baby, I can never tell

That was thrown out rather quickly when you kept the same sweetheart persona even when alone, it was just how you were.

How do you sleep so well?

It was concerning to a certain few hotel residents when it was discovered that you had a thing for the Radio demon,

The way your eyes would linger on him for a moment too long, the way you would gaze at him love evident in your eyes.

You keep telling me to live right

Husk gave you a warning one night at the bar, you were sipping on a drink that had more sugar then any drink should, he was cleaning up the bar.

"Look kid, Alastor is a bad decision, this won't end well for you."

"I know." You had responded, twirling around that sickly sweet drink of yours

You weren't naive like your personality seemed to make people think, you knew Alastor was a bad idea, bad news, he was a cannibalistic murderer for heaven's sake!

To go to bed before the daylight

But it was alright to have a small crush that you wouldn't act on, it'd pass eventually but for now it wasn't bad to fantasize about dancing with him, cooking together or about doing something unholy like handholding! Nothing would become of it, you didn't have a good history with relationships anyways.

But then you wake up for the sunrise

Charlie was supportive of your little crush, she had found out about it after accidentally overhearing you drunkenly tell Angel Dust about it, that sugary little drink really did a number on you.

She decided she would try to push you and Alastor together, gently, She was such a great wingman!

After all Alastor tolerated you more than anyone else in the hotel so that's a indication that you might have a chance right? A truly slim one but a chance nonetheless!

You know you don't gotta pretend, baby, now and then

When Alastor began enjoying your company a little too much for his liking it was like he, from his prospective had been thrown into a horror movie and trapped with little to no way out.

He enjoyed some of your antics and reactions.

Don't you just wanna wake up, dark as a lake?

You were helpful around the hotel, helping out with advertising, you'd proofread scripts he had written for his radio broadcast, every time you went out for a treat you brought back some type of pastry or snack for the hotel residents, in particular you'd travel all the way to cannibal town to pick up something for Alastor, you didn't have too, but you did.

Smelling like a bonfire, lost in a haze?

As time went on the feelings didn't fade, especially since Charlie heavily suggested that the two of you should work together on hotel related things, and that pinwheeled into the two of you spending more time together, getting closer, and eventually you began to avoid Alastor, you had a tendency to ditch the people you were fond of in a way usually in a cruel fashion, you didn't mean too, truly! But you did and you didn't want to risk it with Alastor for his sake and yours.

If you're drunk on life, babe, I think it's great

You were a known partier back in your day, you died back in the heights of the roaring twenties where you had the money and privileges to go to lavish parties where anyone who was anyone could attend much like the parties Gatsby held in the great Gatsby, you lived what some folks thought the roaring twenties were all about, Flappers, speakeasies, parties and short-lived prosperity.

You were in your twenties, rebellious and reckless, drinking any drink given to you, playing around with people's emotions with those sickly sweet words of yours, taking whatever substance you were given, and a year before the stock market crash, you were found dead on the dancefloor poisoned by a former darling of yours who didn't like that you had left them because things were getting 'too serious' for you.

You didn't handle death well, and in order to keep at least some of your sanity you went to hurling yourself onto the hellish party scene, frequenting speakeasies, trying to keep some sense of what you knew, repeating harmful cycles, but you couldn't do it forever.

And so you gave up the party scene around the mid 40's, burning bridges and leaving behind many scorned people behind.

You were more unstable back then, but you had improved, at least you thought you did taking up the sweet attitude by a couple notches, switching from drinking alcohol each day to drinking sweet smoothies or milkshakes.

You cleaned up your act and you were continuing to keep it clean especially as you checked into the hotel.

No one there knew about your track record and you would like to keep it that way.

But while in this world

The avoidance didn't last long since Alastor cornered you asking why and you blabbered out your feelings in one big ramble.

And that was that.

I think I'll take my whiskey neat

Charlie was ecstatic to learn that you and Alastor had gotten together, Others were concerned particularly Husk, his bets were that either Alastor would end up owning your soul, you'd become just as twisted as Al or you'd end up dead.

None of them would end well for you.

My coffee black and my bed at three

The two of you were opposites, while he took his coffee black and bitter you loaded yours up with milk, sugar and whatever other toppings you wished, when he stayed awake for multiple days in end you snoozed away at night, when he was threatening someone who was messing with the hotel you were trying to defuse the situation with sweet words.

You're too sweet for me

Alastor didn't like sweet things, but he didn't mind you and your sugary sweetness, infact you could say he was growing a little bit of a sweet tooth.

Just the sight of your sweet little smile was enough to cause a slight ache in his heart and that fact that you could be called his now was just wonderful!

You're too sweet for me

He could see himself getting used to all this sweetness, he just needed to make sure no one knew that.

I take my whiskey neat

You smiled, listening intently and sipping on your sweet alcoholic drink while Alastor recounted an encounter he had, a glass of whiskey in his hand whooshing around as he spoke.

My coffee black and my bed at three

It was after a hotel game night mixed with alcohol, the two of you were tired and intoxicated, you were a giggly drunk, laughing at the most mundane things, Alastor was escorting you to your room and much to his surprise it was a challenge as you would stop every few steps to laugh at how the crack in the wall looked like a giraffe or how that stain on the carpet looked like a birthday cake!

You're too sweet for me

By the time he had finally gotten you to your room he was exhausted, you kicked off your shoes leaving them on your floor as you dived into your bed, reveling in the comfortable blankets.

Alastor rolled his eyes as he entered your room leaning down to pick up your discarded shoes to properly put them away in your woredrob, he intended to leave to his own room but you reached out your arms to him making grabby hands, he walked over and leaned in to see what you wanted only for you to suddenly grab him, pulling him down and covering him in the blankets before promptly passing out with your arm wrapped around one of his.

You're too sweet for me

He was going to get up, he truly was but he hadn't slept in hell knows how many days now, and the bed was warm, before he knew it his eyelids were drooped. His shadow thankfully decided to close the door to your room.

I aim low, I aim true and the ground's where I go

The next morning he was greeted by you humming while gently petting his fluffy ears, he wasn't sure you knew he was awake at that point, but he rather liked having his ears petted, at least by you and it wouldn't hurt to savor this moment for just a few more minutes before the two of you would have to deal with the duties that the day held for you.

I work late where I'm free from the phone, and the job gets done

Alastor preferred to have his radio broadcast aired in the morning but sometimes he wouldn't get the chance too, [Maybe he indulged a little too much in his morning time with you]

He would air around eight pm and sometimes you would hang around his tower, doing whatever activity you had brought along until he was done and the two of you would walk back to the hotel, maybe grabbing a bite to eat.

But you worry some, I know

Other nights you would turn on the radio in his room and curl up in a blanket on the leather chair he had, closing your eyes and listening to his oddly soothing voice.

But who wants to live forever, babe?

Alastor didn't particularly believe that heavens gates would accept sinners even if they were redeemed, but nothing is impossible and he, although he doubted it, could be wrong and the Hazbin hotel could be a success in redeeming sinners left and right and you were one of the residents checked in for redemption.

You treat your mouth as if it's Heaven's gate

Alastor moved a piece of your hair away from your face, careful not to disturb your sleeping position on his chair, he could admit to himself that he had gotten attached to you, and he couldn't just have his darling little partner leave him behind to fraternize with the winners above now could he?

The rest of you like you're the TSA

He picked you up from the chair and moved you over to his bed, tucking you in.

If anyone in this damned place could get redeemed it was you.

I wish that I could go along, babe, don't get me wrong

And Alastor, well he wasn't the type to be looking for redemption or redeemed, he was even less of the type to blindly follow someone somewhere even if it was you.

He did wish he could see his mother who obviously was in heaven but that simply just wasn't in the cards for him, it was tragic but he did murder people, he died while burying a body after all!

You know, you're bright as the morning, as soft as the rain

Alastor cut into the dead deer he had just sat on his table, he was about to take a bite when he caught a glimpse of you shooting up from his bed looking around in hasty panic before you visibly calmed at the sight of him, with one of your signature surgery sweet smiles that caused swirls in his heart you bid him a good morning.

Pretty as a vine, as sweet as a grape

Alastor strolled into the hotel after a day of errands, only to see everyone cluttered together looking at something you were holding that he couldn't see, you noticed him and waved him over, grinning as you held the red creature in your arms that looked strikingly like Alastor, you went on a small tangent about how you had found the little guy while taking a stroll around the hotel.

If you can sit in a barrel, maybe I'll wait

In all honesty he wanted to hurl the creature out the window but you were stubborn in saying that the two of you should keep the catlike creature immediately dubbing it as your son much to Alastor's displeasure.

Until that day

He and the little creature begun a little rivalry, whenever he had his arm around you that thing would try and headbutt it off.

On the plus side you had taken to dressing the little one up in ridiculous little outfits, usually to match you or Alastor, from dessert themed outfits to Alastor's signature suit.

The creature did not like being dressed the majority of the time as the little thing felt it was taken less seriously thanks to the outfits.

It was right, when the little one would strut around the hotel he was usually awe'd over by Charlie and Sir Pentious.

I'd rather take my whiskey neat

Time flew by as extermination day drew closer, preparing became the focus in the hotel, coating weapons in angelic steel, in particular you had a axe that you covered with dessert themed charms finding it funny, because imagine getting taken out with a dessert themed axe of all things!

My coffee black and my bed at three

You had just barely convinced Alastor to prepare to use an angelic weapon, borderline begging him to do so, you didn't know what you'd do if he got taken out or injured because he was too prideful and foolish to use angelic steel in some way.

You're too sweet for me

He just couldn't say no to you when you looked at him with those cartoonish eyes that reminded him of 1930's animation and surgery sweet smile!

You're too sweet for me

It was the night before extermination, everyone was ready, living this night as if they were going to die tomorrow, which they probably will but they had something to fight for! You indulged on the classic surgery sweet drink that you always got, sipping on it as Niffty declared Alastor king roach leading to you chuckling.

I take my whiskey neat

It was the time where everyone retired, laying in bed you gently brushed a hand through his awful haircut, the two of you chatted about what could happen tomorrow and what the two of you would do afterwards because obviously the two of you didn't intend on dying.

You let out a yawn, deciding to call it a night you gave Alastor a light peck before laying your head on your pillow.

My coffee black and my bed at three

Alastor channeled his inner Edward Cullen and watched you sleep, blanket curled around you, that little creature was snoozing by you, dressed in a onesie that you had obviously put on him.

He didn't say it often, or at all honesty but he adored you, the only sweet thing he would willingly indulge in.

He would do anything to protect you, you would survive the extermination, he would make sure of it.

You're too sweet for me

He, infact did not make sure of it.

It was during his little encounter with Adam, the first man had gone to attack him but you had ran in, taking the hit for Alastor.

Resulting in a large gash in your stomach, blood pooled around you as Alastor got a few hits on Adam before turning to you, clutching your body as shadows overtook the two of you, taking you to his radio tower.

You're too sweet for me

Alastor scrambled, his usual composed self gone as you were actively bleeding out, he tried to stop the bleeding but you had already lost too much.

I take my whiskey neat

He held you as he demanded to know why the hell you would jump Infront of him.

You simply smiled, lifting your hand to touch his face, you said three simple words that would be your last, the last thing you saw was Alastor's strained smile.

My coffee black and my bed at three

Husk was right, it would end one of three ways, either Alastor ended up with your soul, you became just as twisted or you died.

And many died that day, the hazbin hotel lost two of its residents, Sir Pentious and you.

Sir Pentious had died for his friends and you had died for the person you loved, sacrifices that landed the two of you into heaven.

You're too sweet for me

Alastor sat in his newly built radio tower, that damned creature that you had brought by his side.

He had managed to survive the hotel collapsing, good for him, unfortunately the person that brought him there didn't survive, and now he was stuck with Alastor, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing anymore.

You're too sweet for me

Alastor despised sweet things, they were filled with sickly sweet sugar that would leave cavities behind in it's wake, even after being brushed away it would still leave some damage like you did, you left him like you had left others before only this time it was unwillingly, you were the sweetest thing he'd ever known, he made a unfortunately decision to get attached to you and now he paid the consequences, he would be unintentionally haunted by you, reminded of you every time he saw the portrait they hung of you in the hotel along with Sir Pentious or even with the cat that looked like him.

He wouldn't be making the mistake of falling for someone again that was for sure.

It's not like he could if he wanted to anyways.

Good evening folks! I hope you enjoyed this! I wrote it all in one day, I didn't write it because I got tired but the reader is totally fighting people to go back to Alastor, just "I JUST DIED AFTER TELLING HIM I LOVED HIM, THAT IS TRAUMATIZING"

[clumsy-jiminie]

ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ ᴄᴏᴅᴇꜱ | ᴊᴊᴋ | ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜰᴏᴜʀᴛᴇᴇɴ

◦ ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢ :: mafia!jeongguk x mafia!female reader

◦ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ :: 18+

◦ ɢᴇɴʀᴇ :: mature content, angst, smut, mafia!au

◦ ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ :: 11.4k

◦ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ :: cursing, pda ( very light ), use of weapons - guns, violence - fist fighting, choking, mc gets backhanded, non-major character death, fear of falling, mentions of domestic abuse, use of pet name - kitten, mild description of a panic attack

◦ ɴᴏᴛᴇꜱ :: this chapter took me FOREVER to write. I think I lost steam a couple of times while writing and started thinking about other stories to write or chapters far off in the future. it was rough man lmao. I gave up on pre-writing as well. the chapters will come out when they come out 😭 (( but I will try to aim for fridays )) I hope you enjoy! 

if you have any questions, comments, or concerns PLEASE don't hesitate to message me or send me an ask! my inbox is always open. 💖

◦ ᴄʀᴏꜱꜱ-ᴘᴏꜱᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴡᴀᴛᴛᴘᴀᴅ

↠ ɴᴇxᴛ :: ᴘʀᴇᴠɪᴏᴜꜱ :: ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪɴᴅᴇx ↞

Just like you thought, Jeongguk dropped you off at your room after an intense make-out session. He kissed you good night and walked down the hall, returning to his room. Maybe tonight, you'd be able to get some real rest. You did have an extremely productive day. You crawled into bed after changing into some pajamas. Your bed never was this comfortable before. In no time, you were fast asleep.

You woke up to the sounds of muffled yelling. It sounded like Seokjin and Solar were having another experimental night. As you sat up while rubbing your eyes, you realized one of the voices sounded a little too deep. You sighed deeply, having only an hour of sleep at most. Feeling fully awake, you hopped off your bed and briefly walked to your door. You cracked it open, peeking your head out into the hallway.

"Get the fuck out!" Seokjin yelled.

Their door then opened. "With fucking pleasure!" Hoseok yelled back. Your eyes widened, chills running down your spine as you opened the door. You leaned against the frame, overthinking your breathing as it may have been too loud. You've never heard Hoseok actually yell before. It didn't help that the house was quiet, with the odd creaking of the old floorboards settling into place. Hoseok soon stepped out into the hallway. The dim glow from the hallway window barely illuminated him. He turned his head, looking into the room. "If you just asked me to leave, we wouldn't even have this issue. You're completely inconsiderate."

Then there was a groan, assuming it was Seokjin, before the door slammed in Hoseok's face. Hoseok snickered, pulling out his phone from his pocket. He began frantically typing away, cursing as he shook his head. He glanced up for a second, his eyes meeting yours. You inhaled as he took a few steps toward you.

"You OK?" You asked softly.

He nodded his head, "Just fed up, honestly."

"Totally understandable…" You shifted awkwardly for a moment. You were still sour about him decking you in the face, and him moving on as if it didn't happen didn't help. It's been nearly two weeks since, and you still don't know how to feel about it. You know Hoseok was doing his job, but that didn't excuse it from hurting. At the same time, you kinda wish you wouldn't have put him in that position, either. But for the past week, you've listened to that same door open and close, followed by angry footsteps until they faded out. That couch was comfortable but not enough for anyone to sleep on consecutively. You could dislike him as much as you wanted to, but you weren't cruel enough to deny help to someone in need.

"You want my room?"

Hoseok raised an eyebrow inquisitively before chuckling softly. You were indeed something special. You have no reason to be nice to him, especially after what happened. But here you were, offering the very little you had.

"And where were you gonna sleep?" He questioned.

Your eyes widen, glancing away from him for a second, "Uh…." You quietly cursed under your breath. Hoseok smirked, making a whip sound with his mouth. A smile grew on your lips despite the heat rushing to your cheeks. "Shut up, this isn't about me…," you whispered, though your tone was more playful than harsh.

"I'm just saying," you could hear the grin in his voice. Mr. Know-It-All. "But I'm fine. I'm gonna get a room for the night."

"OK, good. That's much better than being on the couch."

"I'm assuming you're still going to his room, though."

Your face started to burn once again as you pushed at his chest, causing a soft laugh to erupt from him. Hoseok was right anyway. If you were being honest with yourself, it didn't even take loud obscenities to make you escape down the hall. A pen could've dropped, and it would've been enough reason to sleep in Jeongguk's bed. He walked ahead of you, knowing your footsteps would follow in the same direction. Then he stopped, which prompted you to do the same. He turned around to meet you. Even in the dark hallway, you could see a prominent frown on his face.

“Y/N…” Hoseok startled quietly. He hesitated, causing you to tilt your head to the side slightly. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I didn't want to hit you that day. I hate hitting people or any kind of violence, so I drive the cars solely. I just kinda panicked and didn't know what to do. If I didn't return to the house, or without you, I…" He trailed off, his eyes now looking past you as his mind wandered to the different endings playing in his head. All of them ended badly.

Just as you expected, it was a part of his job. He wasn't like Taehyung, who seemed to get a buzz from hitting you. The fact that he even stopped to apologize made you realize how this was affecting him more than you. A non-violent person committing violence in fear of his boss? If you were in his shoes, you wouldn't have thought twice. "It's fine," you said. "I get it. You had to do what you had to do."

"You sure? I mean, you don't have to forgive me. I wasn't looking for that. I just wanted you to know that I am genuinely sorry, and it won't happen again."

You stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to say. Where you came from, apologies were scarce. Your father barely made a mistake; it was still your fault if he did. Your various stepmothers soon adopted that ideology as well. I'm sorry became a term to always fall from your lips and never anyone else's. You always thought people apologized only to be forgiven, but Hoseok doesn't want that?

Hoseok watched as the wheels turned in your head, his lips forming a sad smile. He touched your shoulder, bringing you out of your thoughts. "Have a good night, Y/N." He nodded before turning around and walking towards the staircase. He left you with your thoughts, trying to figure out why he wouldn't want to be forgiven. His apology sat in you weirdly because of this. Could it be that he valued this blooming friendship more than being pardoned? Was he going to allow you to take whatever time you needed, and he would be there with his sunshine smile and teasing words?

You sighed, deciding this was a topic to further process after some sleep. You continued on the familiar path to Jeongguk's door. You developed a special knock so he would know when it was you on the other side. You tapped your knuckles against the wooden partition twice, then, after three seconds, you knocked once more.

Jeongguk opened the door right away. "Took you long enough."

You raised an eyebrow slightly as a smirk formed on your lips. "Says the one who opened the door in half a second."

Jeongguk rolled his eyes as he smiled lazily, making your heart skip a beat. This man. He stepped to the side to allow you to walk in. You took steps to his bed, a trail you could do in your sleep.

"You know I only come here for your bed, right?"

He snorted, "Yeah, OK."

As you crawled into the side closest to the bathroom, he got in on the opposite side. The weather was getting warmer, so Jeongguk only had a thin blanket on his bed to keep the both of you warm.

"It's the truth," you said after hearing the disbelief in his voice. "This bed is like a slice of heaven."

As you stared at the wall, trying to make sense of the artwork hanging on his walls, you lazily felt his arm drape over your midsection. The gap between you two was way too wide for either of your likings. He moved forward while pulling you back into him, your back becoming flush with his chest. It was this. This was the tiny sliver of heaven that kept you coming back almost every night. Feeling how your frame fit into his so effortlessly. How his arm ensured you were close and protected. Feeling his hand slip underneath your shirt just so his fingertips could caress your smooth skin. Heat ran to your cheeks for the umpteenth time tonight. What were you, some middle school girl? Blushing at such a simple act like he wasn't the same man to have your panties around your ankles earlier. His nose then brushed against your nape, indicating he was getting comfortable. It would only be a few seconds before he fell asleep.

Jeongguk hummed contently, inhaling your semi-sweet scent. After everything today, this was the only way he could see ending it. He's been up since he dropped you at your room, waiting for you to come crawling into his bed complaining about some noise. Maybe you were a light sleeper, but considering how often you slept through his alarm, maybe not. You both grew accustomed to this — the cuddles, the warmth, the impromptu kisses, the softness.

"Whatever you say, smalls."

The way his breath tickled your skin left it aching for more. You inhaled deeply, convincing yourself to keep those thoughts away. You placed your hand over his own, intertwining your fingers with his as you let your eyes flutter shut. Like this, it took only a short time for both of you to fall asleep.

Jeongguk's alarm went off like it does every morning, and you ignored it like you do every morning. As Jeongguk sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he noticed how much you moved in your sleep. Though you started spooning, you winded up laying diagonally across Jeongguk's bed. One of your legs was intertwined with his own while your arm and pillow were barely even on the mattress. He stared at you, perplexed about how one could be comfortable while you slept peacefully. You looked pleased, at least. Your hand was underneath your shirt, exposing your midriff and panties to him. This girl, he thought to himself. He glanced at his phone screen; if only he had more time, he knew you wouldn't have minded being woken up to a few well-placed kisses. He untangled himself from your legs, causing you to whine as the bed moved around too suddenly. But as soon as he got up and it settled, you quickly returned to your deep slumber. He looked at you for a moment — your hair sprawled out all over the place in combination with your light snoring was enough to make the corners of his lips smile. He walked over to you and brushed the hair out of your face before kissing your forehead. You hummed quietly, lips forming a half smile before fading. He grabbed a random shirt from his drawer before leaving his room.

"Morning," Jimin said, startling Jeongguk as he barely got the door closed. He looked at the man across the hall, leaning against his door frame with his arms folded over his chest. He noticed a slight tone to his voice like he was annoyed Jeongguk ever got out of bed.

"Uh, good morning," Jeongguk replied somewhat awkwardly as he pulled the shirt over his head. He started walking towards the staircase, and Jimin joined him.

"Had enough rest? I didn't hear you come up until late." His demeanor didn't change in the slightest. What could've Jeongguk done to make him so annoyed when he just woke up?

"Yeah, Y/N and I were discussing some things." The topic at hand was about how good your lips felt against his, mixed in with a bit of temptation to repeat the activities that took place earlier that day.

"Mhm, I'm sure there was a lot of talking between you two."

Jeongguk stopped in his tracks, staring at the back of the blonde's head as he walked down the stairs. What was his issue this morning? He wasn't so concerned about Jeongguk's sleeping habits before, and he usually doesn't have that much attitude in the morning. With pinched brows, Jeongguk continued down the steps and into the dining area. Namjoon was already sitting at the head of the table, waiting for everyone to take their seats. Namjoon was quick to give out assignments as breakfast was being served.

"Oh," Namjoon voiced before swallowing. "JK, Y/N still needs clothes, right?" The younger nodded, humming in agreement while his mouth was stuffed with pancakes funded by Seokjin. "Take her to the mall today, and use the same card as yesterday." Jeongguk nodded again, smiling to himself slightly. He enjoyed his one-on-one time with you, and not only because you were very attracted to one another. You were fun to talk to and tease. He loved seeing your cute, pissed-off face. You really thought you were intimidating like that. It was also a plus to have the night end like yesterday, with you pushed against the car, unraveling under his touch.

Jeongguk was huffing and puffing quietly as you walked through the mall. He trailed begrudgingly behind you and Jimin, half listening to you two as you caught up. Jimin has been going out on many assignments, sometimes with Namjoon even, which left him completely exhausted by the end of the day. Last night was your first time around him since the dinner party. The crowded mall only aided his irritation, not allowing him to eavesdrop appropriately because of all the outside noises. If he had to guess, Jimin was probably sweet talking you. Telling you how great the food was last night, making you blush, saying how you need to cook for him again. He really knew how to get under Jeongguk's skin, especially when it came to you.

You glanced over your shoulder to peek at Jeongguk, giggling once you noticed his signature angry pout. "What's wrong, Ggukie?"

"Nothing," he pouted. God, you were gonna kill him with that nickname. His heart can't keep racing like this whenever it leaves your lips.

You shook your head with a smile planted on your lips before leading the two men into a store you would frequent. It had cute basics for a low price. Despite growing up wealthy, you were never one to seek out name-brand clothing solely for the name. If it was cute, you'd buy it, but if you found something more appealing at a cheaper place, you would catch yourself debating if the name-brand item was even worth it. You stood towards the side of the entrance to avoid blocking traffic flow. Jeongguk stood beside you, and Jimin stopped in front of you both.

Jeongguk then eyed Jimin. "Why did you have to come?" He asked bluntly.

Jimin's brow furrowed as he looked at him. He raised his shoulders, shrugging a little. "Just a precaution. You guys took four hours just to grab some groceries."

Was it really that long? You thought to yourself.

"OK, but have you tried going grocery shopping? It's a lot, especially when you have to feed a football team." You sold the lie well, your poker face not wavering even under Jimin's intense stare. Jeongguk let out a small chuckle as Jimin rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, alright. Namjoon just wanted me to keep an eye on you two."

"For what? We don't need a babysitter," Jeongguk commented.

"Exactly. We're grown," you co-signed, standing a little closer to Jeongguk.

Jimin's eyes danced between both of you, shaking his head once he decided being tag-teamed wasn't worth it. He may have suggested to Namjoon that a third set of hands would make things go as quickly as possible, only after the events of last night. He knew that it didn't take that long to go grocery shopping. He was incredibly familiar with it since Seokjin declared him his errand boy. To think that you guys were slick. Like he didn't notice the longing stares or the late-night talks you seemed to have. After Jimin walked away, you and Jeongguk approached a clothing rack. You wanted to avoid anything flashy or actually cute, considering you would spend who knows how long in the house. You just needed some comfy clothes, and some clothes for when the weather got warmer.

"What about this?" Jeongguk asked as he held up a pair of grey shorts.

You looked at the shorts briefly before narrowing your eyes at him. "Fuck no, those would be panties on me!"

A slight smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as he wiggled his brows at you. "That's the point."

Your jaw dropped slightly, reaching out to playfully slap his arm that held the shorts. "Shut up!" Jeongguk chuckled as you turned away to resume looking for yourself. "Find me some sweatpants or something…."

"But you look so good without pants," he mumbled.

Your eyes went wide for a second while heat rushed to your cheeks. "What?!" You exclaimed, glancing at him. You heard what he said but wanted him to repeat it for confirmation. Was he bold enough?

He raised an eyebrow slightly, accepting your challenge as he approached you. How he maintained eye contact with you made you a little weak in the knees. "I said," he started, his tone low.

"Is this gonna take long?" Jimin's voice suddenly bouncing in your ears startled you. You backed away from Jeongguk, causing you to bump into Jimin. You glanced up at him, quietly apologizing as you resumed your place between the two men.

"No," you answered, "I just need some essentials."

Jimin then proceeded to hold up a crop top and shorts combo. The texture of the fabric was plush, like a blanket, and the color was a pretty pastel blue. "Do you like this?"

"Yes!" You chirped as you reached out to touch it. You could already imagine how it would feel on your skin. "This is so perfect."

Jeongguk rolled his eyes, and Jimin smiled down at you. He then held up the same pair of shorts from earlier. "But these are too short?!" He said, causing you to turn your head towards him. "They're practically the same length!"

Jimin pressed his lips together to form a line capable of holding back his laughter while you rolled your eyes. You sighed deeply. "The material matters too!" You exclaimed as if he should know this. "These," you tugged on the shorts Jimin was holding, "have a thicker fabric!"

"It can't matter that much!"

"My ass would devour those," you deadpanned as you reached out to grab the other pair of shorts. You pulled at the material before glaring at the man. "Look! They even become see-through when stretched!"

"So don't bend over," Jeongguk shrugged.

"Are you gonna pick up everything I drop if I get them?" You questioned while raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Jimin chimed in, "you gonna be her hand and foot boy?"

Jeongguk glared at you and Jimin while you guys laughed.

"You know what?" You said before grabbing the shorts from Jeongguk and putting them in the growing pile. "I'll get them just to see that happen," you grinned.

Jeongguk rolled his eyes, fighting the corners of his lips to not mirror your contagious smile. "You guys are both assholes."

"Aww, but you like it," you said playfully. Jeongguk huffed quietly, finally letting a smile form on his lip as he turned away from you. The three of you continued to search around the intermediate area. Occasionally, one of the men will call out your name for approval for something they picked out. Soon enough, you had a small pile growing. Jeongguk's phone ringing caused you to turn your head towards him.

"Hold on," he said while digging in his pocket for the device. He glanced at the screen with furrowed brows. "I gotta take this." He mumbled before walking away. Jimin watched you watch Jeongguk, eyes lingering a little longer on the man as he walked away before returning to the clothing. What was this build-up inside of him? It was heavy in his chest and exceptionally annoying. He shook it off for now, deciding to revisit it later.

"So, the grocery store was packed?" Jimin asked.

"Eh," you shrugged while looking at a shirt, "not really. There was just a lot of stuff to get."

"Were hickies on that list as well?"

Your eyes grew wide, gulping as your face began to heat up. Your hand subconsciously went to your neck, feeling the particularly tender section of skin. "It's a mosquito bite…"

"Bullshit," Jimin chuckled, that feeling growing inside him. "I know too well what a hickey looks like." You inhaled deeply, accepting defeat as you nodded and resumed looking. Your mind searched for ways to bribe him instantly. He had to know that you guys hooked up at least once now, and you couldn't see why he would keep that to himself. "You know he's not a good guy, right?"

That was the last thing you thought he was going to say.

"Well, neither are you," you replied casually.

Jimin glanced away from the clothes to look at you, taken aback for a second. “I…uh…”

"You're in the mafia," you continued despite his stuttering. "I'm sure you've both killed people, stolen from people, and sold drugs. That doesn't necessarily make you good either."

The corners of Jimin's lips formed into a slight frown. "Yeah, sure, but some of us do it because we don't have a choice. Some of us are forced into it."

You froze briefly, his words hitting a little too close to home. You looked up at him with those eyes that made him weak in the knees. Could it be possible that he didn't want this life either? But he seemed so comfortable here, doing whatever Namjoon asked with ease.

He cleared his throat, abruptly stopping your thoughts. "That wasn't my point." He regained his confidence with each word. "He's not good in relationships."

Why was he telling you this? It's not like you had feelings for Jeongguk. He's just…, nice sometimes and really good at sex. Sure, he's also kinda funny, handsome, protective of you, comes to your defense, makes sure you're OK…

Shit.

But he's an asshole. He kidnapped you. And is forcing you to work with them while they hold you captive. Plus, he says some inconsiderate things and riles you up on purpose. You glanced in his direction again, quietly hoping he would give you some weird look to confirm your doubts. But instead, as soon as your eyes lock, he offers you a smile and a little wave with his free hand, making your heart flip.

Shit.

You looked away from him. "We're not dating." It was more of a reminder to yourself than a response to Jimin. You focused on the clothes before you, feeling the fabric between your fingers.

"Well, you surely aren't just friends," Jimin countered.

Your eyes shifted to Jimin, brows furring slightly. "Why do you care so much anyway?"

"Because I consider you a friend!" He answered quickly. "I don't want you to get hurt…" His tone then softened, eyebrows pinching upwards slightly as he looked down at you.

Your features softened as well, glancing away. "No one will get hurt because no feelings are involved."

Jimin sighed loudly, looking over at the cause of this conversation. He's seen so many girls go down this path and end up destroyed. So many radiant smiles were dimmed because of this man. He couldn't let that happen to you as well. "You sure?" He asked while he returned his gaze to you.

You looked over towards Jeongguk one last time. He was still on the phone. You could see his brows squished together as he tried to focus, pressing his lips together. You gripped onto the clothing in your hand as you looked away. "Yeah," you almost whispered, uncertainty hovering around the word, "I'm sure."

After a few moments of silence, Jeongguk rejoined you two. He instantly felt how different the energy was compared to when he left. There was tension, leaving him to wonder what you guys talked about while he was away. He placed a hand on your lower back, forming goosebumps on your skin. "You almost done?" He asked you in a gentle tone. "Or do you wanna go to a different store?"

Your eyes met with his for only a second before you looked away. You handed him the pile of clothes you accumulated while you've been in the store. "This should be fine. Let's go." Jeongguk barely heard you. He had to put the pieces together as you walked towards the register. Jeongguk looked at Jimin, exchanging the same look of concern. Jeongguk followed after you, causing the other to sigh. It was like watching the same movie with new characters repeatedly.

Once Jeongguk finally caught up to you, he stood by your side. "What's wrong?" He whispered, looking down at you.

"Nothing," you said quietly. You avoided eye contact with him altogether, staring at the ground instead.

Jeongguk didn't accept this, though. His brows furrowed, shifting the pile of clothes to one arm. With his free hand, he cupped your chin and tilted your head upwards. Once your eyes locked with his, it suddenly felt like a damn burst open. All your feelings for this man you've been shoving away overflowed, spilling into every crevice of your being as you melted into his touch. Butterflies filled your stomach as you saw concern in his eyes, making you doubt if anything Jimin said was true.

"I know something is wrong." His tone was so genuine, sweet, and comforting all at once. "So, if you want, whenever you want to talk about it, I'm here."

You nodded once, allowing the corners of his lips to turn upward into a small smile. After he paid for the clothes, the three of you leave the store and walk towards the entrance you parked near. Jimin and Jeongguk were in front, leading while they discussed the details of something you paid no mind to. Instead, you silently followed behind, absentmindedly sipping the lemonade Jeongguk brought you while your mind wandered elsewhere. Feelings? For Jeongguk? You thought about it once, maybe twice. Sometimes when he kisses you, you feel things you know that aren't typical in a fuck buddy relationship. Warm and fuzzy things that make you feel like you're floating. But what were you? A cliche? A standard case of Stockholm syndrome? No. You refused. These feelings were a bluff. It was only because he was the only one providing you an endless stream of attention. A river of affection. **Anyone would feel what you were feeling in a situation like this. So many cases of captives falling for their captors and trying to justify what they do. You're just one of them. That's all. They never discuss how strong these feelings appear or how unbearable they could be. You wanted the sex; you've said that since the first time. You didn't like what came afterward. You didn't want your heart to race whenever he smiled at you. You didn't want goosebumps or chills whenever he touched your skin. You didn't want to get lost in his brown, doe eyes whenever he looked at you. You didn't— Suddenly, a sound pulled you out of your thoughts.

A gunshot.

Everyone around the three of you instantly went into a panic. The sound came from ahead of you, causing the crowd to do a 180 and push in the opposite direction. You froze, remembering what happened to you the last time you were found in the middle of a crowd. Jeongguk reached out to grab you, but several people pushed between the group. You found yourself separated from Jeongguk and Jimin. You flowed along with the crowd instead of trying to fight them. You caught glimpses of Jeongguk trying to push through to you. It was no use. He began to grow smaller and smaller. Jeongguk called out for you, your name breaking through the loud uproars of the crowd. The desperation in his voice was enough to make your heart pang.

You were carried away until the crowd slowly began to thin. Then, you could start slipping between people until you were out completely. You found yourself in a vacant area. It was eerie how quiet this area was compared to the distant screaming and footsteps from the chaos behind you. Ahead of you was the dim, red glow of an exit sign. It hovered over a set of double doors with a matching red push handlebar. This was it. This was your out. Your chance at freedom. Your opportunity at normalcy. Your chance to see your people again.

But how come you couldn't take a step?

You felt frozen once again. The bottoms of your sneakers were glued to the ground below you. What was this? A heavy feeling in your gut kept you in place by sinking your ankles into the linoleum tile. You had to fight it. You wanted freedom, right? It was right there in front of you. All you had to do was move. Just as you prepared to take a step, arms wrapped around your chest. They held you in a bone-crushingly tight grip, constricting your breathing as they dragged you away from the exit sign. The red glow grew dimmer until it was no longer legible.

Your body assumed autopilot. You grabbed the person's arms, raised your foot, and bashed your heel down hard onto theirs. They groaned loudly, pausing momentarily, allowing you to step to the side. You swung your balled-up fist into their groan until their hold released on you. As soon as you were free, you ran. You needed to find a more popular area or that exit sign, whichever came first. But two steps in, you felt a tug on your hoodie. You stopped and swung your leg back, spinning until your foot connected with their face. You took a few steps back as the man held his jaw, figuring he would be a problem as long as he was conscious.

You put your fist up, assuming the position Jeongguk helped you perfect while the man cracked his neck. He swung at you, causing you to duck and throw a jab at his rib cage. You wanted to avoid using your injured hand as much as possible, trying to dodge mostly but attack with the opposite hand whenever you had an opening. Your assailant noticed this, taking you by surprise when he faked you out. You naturally blocked with your injured hand, taking the blunt force. You winced as a sharp pain shot through your system.

Within the split second that your guard was down, he threw a haymaker toward your face. You barely avoided it, but the momentum caused you to stumble back. He took the opportunity to grab you by your hoodie before flinging you into the nearby barrier. Your back hit the metal bar, knocking the wind out of your lungs. You pushed yourself off the bar only for him to slam you back into it. The man threw another punch toward your face, further disorienting you before he wrapped his fingers around your throat. He applied pressure, squeezing to either knock you out or worse. The metal bar dug into your back as your airway quickly became limited. Your brain quickly tried to come up with a way out.

This man was big — easily over 6 feet and had to be at least 200 pounds of muscle. You wouldn't be able to break his hold on you. You knew you were on the top floor, so there had to be at least a two-story drop below you. Your body was already halfway over the railing. Your lungs began to burn from the lack of oxygen. God, you didn't want to do this. It was the last thing you wanted to consider, but you had no choice. You wrapped your legs around the assailant's torso and flipped both of you over the barrier.

Gravity aided you as it took all your strength to lift the man. The barrier dug into your spine, furthering your will to get him over the edge. Once it happened, it felt like a weight lifted from you. His grip on your neck loosened as he realized you had succeeded. Time slowed, and for a few seconds, you felt completely weightless as your body flipped in the air. It was utterly terrifying. Time returned to normal, and your hands caught fire, set ablaze with pain as they collided hard on the cold metal bar. The railing for the second floor came quicker than you could imagine. You couldn't help the loud whimper that escaped your throat. The wave of pain that started at your pinky and spread down your arm to your stomach was enough to make you nauseous. Your eyes welled with undesired tears as you tried to pull yourself up. You quickly stopped, feeling the surge of pain intensify. You inhaled deeply, shifting your weight slightly as you heard a deafening crash below you. When you glanced down, your once huge assailant looked too small to be recognizable. He lay on top of a now-destroyed kiosk. You noticed a red-stained bar sticking through his midsection, causing you to quickly glance away before the image was burned into your memory.

Jimin and Jeongguk found you just in time to witness you flip a man twice your size over the railing. A feeling of helplessness overcame Jimin for a moment. He instantly knew what to do when someone was shot or knocked out, but this? His brain went completely blank for a moment. Then, hearing a loud crash made him assume the worse. He stood there, frozen, probably longer than he should have before glancing to his side only to find Jeongguk had disappeared. As soon as Jeongguk saw you fall, he sprung into action. He searched for the nearest staircase or elevator, praying you had a plan. After hearing the crash, he stopped to search harder for a way to the second floor.

With Jeongguk gone, Jimin's curiosity fueled him to peek over the ledge. He sighed in relief when he saw your body hanging a floor below. You heard your name being called out, prompting you to look up. "Just hang on a little longer! We're coming!" Jimin yelled down before disappearing from your line of sight.

You could only let out an aspirated sigh, feeling your grip on the metal bar giving way. You tried to readjust yourself despite the pain, using your remaining strength to try and pull yourself up again. You failed, losing your grip for a second. The thought of the fall began to consume you. Your hands started to grow sweaty as fear spread to your fingertips. You kept slipping. You closed your eyes as you tried to focus solely on your grip, but your fingers gave out anyway. You shrieked, not ready to suffer the same fate as your attacker.

Then a hand gripped onto you.

You opened your eyes to see Jeongguk's face. He was heaving slightly, but his grip on you was tight. "I got you." Just like that morning on the roof, in that same protective tone. He had you. And as long as he was around, he made sure to have you. He had his fingers wrapped around your forearm as you did the same. He pulled you up with ease, helping you climb over the barrier. When you were on solid ground, your arms wrapped around his torso. The force from your body colliding with his caused him to stumble back a bit before returning the embrace. You were shaking as you quietly wept into his chest. You didn't care about the pain from your hands as you gripped the back of his shirt. He rested his chin on your head as he caressed your hair. He comforted you, silently telling you that everything was OK. That you were safe now. Even when your crying slowed to quiet whimpers and odd sniffles, he cradled you in his arms.

You soon heard Jimin's muffled voice. His words were of no importance to you. He said a couple of things before Jeongguk nodded his head. Stillness overcame the two of you after until he pulled away from you. As he looked down at you, noticing the cut on your lip, his hand gently cupped your cheek. You flinched, pain coming as quickly as it left. Jeongguk frowned deeply as a wave of guilt washed over him. If only he was a step closer to you — a second faster — you wouldn't have been put in this situation. He would've been there with you, helping you however he could. You wouldn't have resorted to such measures if you knew he was there.

"Let's go," he said softly. You nodded your head before he wrapped his arm around your shoulder. He led you towards the exit that Jimin walked out of.

"You were attacked?" Namjoon asked Jeongguk as he lowered himself onto the couch arm. He glanced at you occasionally as Seokjin tenderly assessed your swollen pinky. You held an ice pack against your lip, preventing it from swelling further.

"Yes," Jeongguk answered. His eyes were glued on you, watching like a hawk to ensure that Seokjin wasn't unnecessarily rough. "We weren't there to witness everything, but from what I saw, the man was huge."

"Why weren't you there?"

"We had lost Y/N for a second," Jimin said. "I believe whoever attacked her used gunshots to cause panic, separating her from us."

"So you think she was sought out?" Hoseok questioned.

Jeongguk and Namjoon locked eyes briefly, both thinking the same thing. "Could've been," Namjoon said vaguely. "She is a mafia princess."

"Who's missing," you added, glaring at Namjoon.

Namjoon furrowed his brows while returning the glare. "You really think people are searching for you?"

"It's not even about that!" You snapped while throwing down your ice pack. You pulled your hand away from Seokjin, prompting a frustrated groan from him as you turned to face Namjoon. "I wouldn't even be in this situation if it wasn't for you!"

Namjoon quirked a brow, scoffing softly. "Oh, sweetheart, I think you meant that you wouldn't be in this situation had you given us the fucking code and location of the safe."

You quickly stood up, standing in front of the man. For once, you towered over him as everyone in the room watched silently. Jeongguk's muscles tensed, unsure if he should grab you now or try to let you handle your own problems. You were strong for your size, and watching you flip over men twice your size confirmed it for him.

You leaned in, getting the closest you have ever been to his face. You could see the hatred burning in your eyes, something you expected more from Taehyung than him. "Fuck you," you fumed through a clenched jaw. "I wouldn't even waste my dying breath to help your broke ass."

Jeongguk's jaw dropped as he looked at the two of you. Everyone else drowned in the uncomfortable energy that you've created. Before Jeongguk even could move a muscle, a loud slap echoed in the room. You fell to the ground, holding your burning cheek. But the pain didn't matter because all you saw was red. Before you could get up, Namjoon stepped towards you and grabbed your cheeks, squeezing them so hard that your lips puffed out. You tried to pull away, but he held you so tightly that it hurt.

"You forget your place," he warned harshly. "You forget that I would love nothing more than to have that arranged. To have your face underneath the heel of my foot." He burned a hole into your soul. He wasn't exaggerating, not even a little. You've been a nuisance since the day you got here.

Namjoon glanced up at Jeongguk, whose hand was already balled into a fist with eyes piercing his soul. Jeongguk desperately wanted to take a step, but did the actions outweigh the consequences? His instinct was to protect you, but who would protect him?

Namjoon returned his gaze to you, seeing the tears brim your eyes. "Keep playing with me and see where you end up." With that, he let go of your face roughly. Your head turned to the side as he straightened himself out. As soon as he took a step away, you sprung up, arms outstretching towards him, but your body was held back. You felt a familiar arm around your waist holding you in place as you watched Namjoon's back disappear from view. All you could do was scream, frustration pouring out from your vocal cords. It hurt, but you didn't care. He couldn't keep putting his hands on you like this. Your soul couldn't take it anymore.

Jeongguk dragged you towards the staircase, but you had no fight left for tonight. You let him, catching a glimpse of Jimin's sad eyes. You felt so embarrassed. Seeing the pity on their faces didn't sit right with you. You held your tears back until you reached the interior of Jeongguk's room, where they fell without hesitation. You balled, hands covering your empty face as Jeongguk picked you up bridal style. All he could do was soothe you for now — placing you in his bed and holding you as you drenched his shirt again. It reminded him of the first time you were in his room. And, like then, you didn't want to talk about it when your crying slowed. You wanted silence and the safety of his arms. He gave it to you without second-guessing, holding you until your quiet snores filled the room.

Nightfall arrived not too long after you fell asleep. Your head shifted from Jeongguk's chest to his pillow. Jeongguk couldn't bring himself to join you in slumber, though. There was something inside of him that didn't sit right. So he watched you for the time being. As he brushed a rogue strand of hair out of your face, faintly seeing how much worse the bruise on your cheek looked, that thing inside him snapped. This was Namjoon's fault; he did nothing for you besides watch. He wasn't there for you at all today. Though he could no longer do anything about the man from earlier, he could do something about Namjoon now.

Jeongguk carefully got out of bed, making sure not to disturb you. He left his room and went directly across the hall. He didn't bother knocking before turning the doorknob and letting himself in. As he entered Namjoon's room, he could feel the anger boiling inside him. Namjoon could piss him off until no end, insult him until he felt like nothing, or hit him until he was black and blue, and Jeongguk wouldn't care at all. But to do that to you? He wasn't going to let it slide again. After approaching his sleeping brother, he stared at him briefly before hitting his balled-up fist on his sternum. He didn't hit him too hard, just enough to shake him up. Namjoon stirred awake, desperately coughing for air as he sat up. He looked up at his assailant as Jeongguk grabbed his shirt collar, pulling him close.

"Next time you wanna put your hands on her, you'll be dealing with me as well." He growled as Namjoon's eyes widened.

Namjoon blinked at his younger a few times. "Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"No, but keep playing with me, and I'll show you crazy."

Namjoon's brows lowered as he stared at Jeongguk. "You're not seriously in here threatening me over some bitch."

Jeongguk's eye twitched, his grip on the other's shirt growing tighter. It took everything in him not to swing and bust his lip so he wouldn't speak for a week. "Watch your fucking mouth," he hissed. "You know her name, so use it."

Namjoon's brows furrowed as he continued to eye Jeongguk. This type of anger from him seemed familiar to Namjoon. A distant memory suddenly formed in his mind, causing a smirk to play on his lips. His once confused look transferred to Jeongguk. "You like this one, don't you?"

Jeongguk's eyes widened, his anger melting into fear as he thought about Namjoon's words. He thought he was being discreet, with only Jimin and Hoseok genuinely knowing. Unless that one time that Taehyung caught him… No, he wouldn't have been stupid enough. He could only imagine the consequences now that Namjoon knows. With his sick mind, nothing is off-limits. Jeongguk couldn't let you fall victim to Namjoon's disgusting plans.

"I don't have to like her to have an ounce of respect for her," Jeongguk said confidently. "You never put hands on a woman. I would've thought that watching Dad beat Mom senseless was enough getting it through your thick skull."

Namjoon gulped, though the lump that formed in his throat failed to fade away. "Watch it," he warned. Namjoon had those memories and scars tucked away so well that he almost forgot. He would've thought Jeongguk did the same.

"No. You're acting like Dad would and wondering why she's not cooperating. It's honestly sad." Namjoon fell silent, giving Jeongguk some odd sense of power. For once, he felt like he was in control of the conversation. He wasn't a yes man or a verbal punching bag. He was calling him out on his shit, and Jeongguk had to suppress the smile that wanted to form on his lips. "I thought you were better than him."

Namjoon flinched a little as if Jeongguk's words slapped him in the face. He admired his father so dearly until his downfall. He looked up to him when he was in his prime. His father got what he needed to be done, and everyone respected him. Namjoon wanted to be like that, and he still does. He looked down as he reflected on his actions, seeing way too many similarities between the monster his father became and him. To have his younger brother tell him this made his ears burn.

The silence was enough for Jeongguk to know that a nerve was hit. Without another word, he walked away from Namjoon and left his room.

Taehyung burst through the front door. His hand was wrapped around a girl's forearm, dragging her behind him. The significantly smaller woman pulled against his hand, trying to pry his fingers off her arm. "Ow!" She squealed, feeling his grip tighten. "Let go of me!"

"Shut the fuck up," Taehyung growled as he pulled her up the stairs.

The girl resisted him as much as she could. She pulled, hit, and pried even as her arm stung and burned. She gave up, for now, figuring she could get him whenever he let his guard down. Taehyung dragged her to Namjoon's door, where he banged on it with his balled-up fist. Namjoon opened his door within a few seconds with Taehyung on the opposing end of his glare. Today was supposed to be an easy day. He had Jeongguk handling some of his business, giving him hands-on experience of how things were expected to run. He even had Jimin and Seokjin join the younger to ensure no problems. That's all he wanted; no problems. As his eyes landed on the petite woman standing next to the group's hothead, he could only sigh.

"What's the issue?" He asked begrudgingly.

Taehyung then pushed the girl, causing her to stumble a few steps toward Namjoon. "Tell him what you told me," Taehyung said. She remained silent, her eyes glued to the wooden floor. Growing frustrated, Taehyung nudged the girl once again.

"I don't have your guns," she admitted quietly.

Namjoon stared down at her. His eyes became engulfed with flames like her words were gasoline. His jaw clenched as his hands balled up into a fist. "What?"

"I…" She stood there, frozen, deathly afraid to breathe the wrong way. She didn't have to look at him to know how enraged he was. If there was one thing you didn't want to do was get on Namjoon's wrong side.

"How much money did I give you?" Her muscles tensed as her mind instructed her to remain silent. But her silence only further infuriated Namjoon. "How much fucking money did I give you?!" He yelled, causing both her and Taehyung to flinch. "Do you have a death wish? What could've possibly compelled you to think that returning to me empty fucking handed would've been a good idea?"

The loud sound startled you, causing you to wake up. You've been laying low for the past few days, as per Jeongguk's request. He suggested being out of sight if you couldn't be cordial. You almost laughed in his face at the request. You? Be nice to someone who put their hands on you several times? Ha, maybe when pigs flew. Even Jeongguk knew Namjoon was entirely out of line for what he did and agreed, but someone had to be the bigger person for now. So he made you promise, reminding you of his temper. Even though you wholeheartedly wanted to say, "fuck his temper," you saw the worry overcome his eyes. Then you had a weird little tug at the strings of your heart, ultimately making you agree.

You decided to do the latter, figuring it might be the easier of the two. Jeongguk warned you that he'd be out for a few days for some business Namjoon didn't want to handle. It's been quiet, until today at least. Muffled yelling leaked into your room. It uncomfortably filled you with curiosity until it forced you out of bed. Upon entering the hallway, you saw a small girl standing between two men. She flinched at every syllable that parted from Namjoon's voice. This did nothing to feed your insatiable need to be in the know. Should you make an attempt at being cordial? At least for a while, just until you figure out why there's so much yelling. Your brows furrowed as you approached them.

"What's happening here?" You asked softly. Namjoon instilled fear in you. You knew he meant every last word he said, and your goal was to make it out here alive. Play nice until you have an out, and once you are out, you can hurt him.

"Nothing that concerns you," Taehyung spat while glaring at you. Your eyes narrowed, taking a mental note to put him on that list, too.

Play nice, Y/N, you thought to yourself. "Well, if you didn't want the whole house to know, you would've dealt with this quietly, correct?"

"Go back to your room, Y/N," Namjoon said as calmly as he could. Jeongguk's words from the other night repeated as if they were just spoken.

Your eyes glanced at the woman before looking at Namjoon. "Maybe I could help," you offered as you folded your arms over your chest. Namjoon quirked an eyebrow at you, and before he could open his mouth in protest, you cut him off. "You interrupted my nap, and I would rather resolve this quietly." It was at least partially true.

Namjoon stared at you, not completely sold on your reasoning, but released a sigh as his arms folded over his chest. "This is our arms dealer. We gave her quite a chunk of our budget—"

"Which was way more than she deserves," Taehyung interjected.

"Just for her to return to us empty-handed. She lost our shipment and still had the nerve to come to us." Namjoon continued, eyes unmoving from the girl.

"I didn't lose them!" She looked up at Namjoon and you for the first time. Instantly, you can notice the reddish bruising around her eye. It was fresh, maybe a few hours old. She also had some of the same bruising on the corner of her mouth. The red pigment stood out against her fair skin, making you wonder how either of these idiots didn't notice it before. Her burst of confidence was short-lived, though, only being able to hold Namjoon's gaze for a few seconds. "They were stolen…"

"Stolen?!" Namjoon and Taehyung repeated.

"Oh, you stupid fucking bitch," Taehyung added.

"Hey!" You glared at Taehyung, who didn't hesitate to mirror your expression. "Completely unnecessary. Can neither of you guys see the bruising on her face?!" You took her hand, causing her to look up at you. You couldn't help but frown, imagining how she was put through hell to return to bullshit. The girl teared up as if she could sense your pity. "I'm sorry this happened to you," you said softly. You needed to be delicate; that's the least you would want if you were in her shoes. "Do you remember what they looked like? Maybe we could find them…"

She sniffled, shaking her head a little, "Barely, but I kinda remember where they took me after they stole my car."

You nodded your head, offering a small smile. "OK, we can work with that. If you remember anything else, you can let me know. We'll figure this out."

She tried to mirror your smile as she nodded, but it wavered and was soon replaced by a small sob. You didn't hesitate as you wrapped your arms around her, holding her small frame to your body as she wept. Namjoon watched as you handled things, pleasantly surprised. To think you could be valuable when you wanted to be.

"We give you too much money to afford any fuck ups, Soyeon," Taehyung said. "So you better pray these guys have our shit or—"

"Can you shut the fuck up? Just for a second?" You tried to keep your volume hushed, though your tone was as harsh as ever. "You need to learn there's a time and place for threats, and this is neither," you scolded.

Taehyung blinked at you. Was he more offended that you scolded him or that you were somewhat correct? "Don't think you can talk to me any fucking way because she's here. I will still gladly beat—"

"That's enough, Taehyung," Namjoon interrupted. Taehyung quickly pressed his lips into a line, silencing himself. Namjoon looked down at you as you rubbed Soyeon's back soothingly. "I'm gonna make a call. Keep her downstairs with you in the meantime." You nodded before he disappeared into his room. You pulled away from her, allowing her to wipe away her tears before leading her towards the stairs.

"If it was me in charge, I would've had your head on a platter," Taehyung said to your backside. You paused for a second; it took every ounce of self-control you had to not indulge in his stupidity. Freedom might be closer if you kept this up. As you led Soyeon down the stairs and to the living room, tears still quietly rolled down her cheeks. Once sitting down, you gave her a few moments to calm herself. It wasn't long before her sniffles stalled, and she leaned back into the couch. You took it upon yourself to ask her some questions — like how she knew Namjoon, how long she has lived around here. Just questions to get her a little more comfortable. She was born and raised here a year after you, and she and her friends fell into this business of selling weapons. She usually enjoys it, but recently the clientele has been getting ruder and more demanding. It wasn't like when her father used to run things.

"Men always try to take advantage of me because 5'2 and petite, and it pisses me off," she vented, her brows furrowed as her lips pulled down into a frown. "Like that shouldn't give them a reason to try me!"

"Exactly, and then you're seen as crazy and over-emotional because you played their game." You agreed with a roll of your eyes. Soyeon huffed, folding her arms over her chest. You continued to small talk from there, mostly about how disgusting the men of this generation turned out to be. She was a sweet girl, and you saw a lot of yourself in her. Sad you had to meet her this way. You were afraid to lose touch with her considering you had no means of contact.

As you joked, footsteps came down the stairs. Namjoon and Hoseok stood behind the couch in front of you. "You said you remember where they took you?" Namjoon questioned, looking at Soyeon. She nodded her response as you noticed her tense up a little. "OK, we have someone on the way who can take you there. Hoseok will be joining you." Hoseok did a little wave as the girl inspected him, eyes squinting at the brunette man with a soft smile.

"Is Y/N coming?" She asked as she glanced over at you.

Namjoon furrowed his brows for a moment. "That's not necessary."

"I'm not going anywhere without Y/N." She deadpanned as she sat up straight. "I'm supposed to trust being alone with your men? Your wanna-be King Pin already slapped me in the face, so who's to say what this guy will do?"

You noticed Namjoon's jaw clenched, causing you to raise an eyebrow. Interesting how he held back with other women. "I can assure you that Hoseok isn't that type." You and Hoseok made eye contact, pressing your lips together tightly. You didn't want to ruin the chance of her going by adding your own two cents.

"I'm not going without her," Soyeon said once again. The two stared at each other intensely as if they were now arguing silently. Something suggested to you that they do this often. They both had headstrong personalities, so it was inevitable.

Just as Namjoon narrowed his eyes at her, there was a knock on the door. Hoseok instantly walked over to open it. He grinned widely as a man walked in. Well, tried to. He barely stepped in before Hoseok wrapped his arms around the other in a tight embrace. The unknown man scrunched his face with disgust, his arms planted by his side until Hoseok released him. The brunette seemed content with his attack of affection, stepping away with a satisfied smile. The man who walked in joined Namjoon behind the couch. He had a black backpack on, which seemed heavy with how it weighed his shoulder down to one side. His Snow White skin made his dark hair and rose-shaded lips stand out. His midnight hair fell over his forehead, covering most of his eyebrows.

He eyed you as he stood by Namjoon. "This her?" He asked while pointing at you casually. Your brows furrowed for a moment, glancing at Namjoon for clarification.

"No, it's the one next to her." Namjoon said as both of their eyes landed on Soyeon. "But Y/N will be joining you anyway." He sighed deeply, reaching up to pinch the area between his eyes. "Find my shit, please. I need a fucking drink." And with that, he turned around and walked down the hall towards his office. He left you with Hoseok and the mystery man.

The man then pointed at you again, "So you're Y/N and…" Then he pointed at the woman next to you, prompting her to introduce herself. He then nodded, "Yoongi. Come on." He shook his head towards the door before walking out.

Both of you quickly got up and followed after Yoongi along with Hoseok. He was walking towards a van disguised as a postage delivery service.

You stopped for a moment, pointing at the truck. "Is that legal?"

"Does it matter?" Yoongi answered as he tossed the keys to Hoseok. "You're driving. Soyeon can sit up front with him and lead the way. Y/N can sit in the back with me."

No one objected, simply following his orders. Yoongi opened up the back door, allowing you to walk inside first. The back of the van was different from what you expected. It was decked out with technology on both sides. Screens were aligned on one side with a built-in desk and two chairs in front of it. The other side had two columns, assuming it was a power bank for the screens. As you crawled in, sitting in the first chair, you stared in awe at all the buttons. Now, you were no gamer, but every button looked screamed to be touched. You reached out to one.

"Don't touch that," Yoongi said while sitting beside you. He didn't even spare you a glance like he had eyes in the back of his head. He reached into his bag and pulled out a laptop. As he placed it on his desk and started typing away, Hoseok began to drive. Besides the faint conversation between the two in the front, it was quiet. You got bored quickly, and since you weren't allowed to touch anything, you gazed at the new face. His features were delicate — a button-like nose, medium-sized lips, and a jawline that wasn't too soft but wasn't too harsh. He was attractive. Anyone could see that. In fact, now that you think about it, everyone in this crew was so in one way or another. What were the odds?

"So, how long have you known Bangtan?" You asked, trying to fill the silence with more than the clicks of his keyboard.

"Only a few years." His voice was deep, nothing like Namjoon or Taehyung, but definitely close. It was also monotone, lacking an infliction of emotion. He seemed straight to the point, so it made sense.

"How come you don't live in the house then?"

"I never said I work with them."

Your eyebrows squished together as the car came to a step. Soyeon peeked from behind the curtain separating the driver's seat and the back. "We're here."

Yoongi nodded and flipped a switch, causing the monitors to turn on. You could see a gate of a mansion along with the front door on one screen, while the other two had views of either side of the property. You gazed at the screen, eyebrows furrowing as a weird wave of deja vu came over you. It fell quiet again as Yoongi went to work, his fingers swiftly typing away as you watched in awe.

"How long have you been doing this?" You were determined to get to know this man, especially considering he was a fresh face.

"Long enough," he deadpanned.

"Are you always this cold?" You retorted while frowning.

The curtain pulled back again, followed by Hoseok's face peeking out. "Don't mind him, Y/N. Pretty girls make him nervous," he grinned at the man.

"Ah, come on," Yoongi groaned, turning to look at Hoseok.

You giggled with Soyeon, surprised by how Hoseok could easily pull emotions from Yoongi. You even noticed the tips of his turning red.

"Aw, it's OK, Yoongi," you cooed. "Nervous guys can be cute."

He turned his head to look back at his laptop. "I'm not nervous."

You raised an eyebrow slightly, your smile softening. "Don't lie. Your ears will always tell the truth."

Yoongi then turned the chair to face you fully, his eyes meeting yours for the first time since you've been acquainted. His stare was intense, like a tiger gazing at his prey. His feline eyes left yours only to linger down the rest of you. Suddenly, your heart rate increased as the energy in the small area shifted. You were now in his world. The corners of his lips tugged into a faint smirk as he leaned in, resting his forearms on his legs. The chairs were already placed close, and he filled the gap between you two.

"Aw, kitten," he purred, stirring something inside you. "Who's nervous now?"

"Well played, newbie," you smirked. You inhaled deeply, catching a whiff of his cologne. Kitten. How it rolled off his tongue easily made you wonder if it was him or the pet name. You didn't think about it too much since Soyeon suddenly rushed to the back area. She stepped on Hoseok in the process, causing him to help.

She sat between the chairs, making herself more petite than she already was. "He's here," she whispered while staring at Yoongi.

"Who's here?"

"The guy who kidnapped me…."

You and Yoongi looked toward the three monitors. The screen showing the front gate was empty, and so was the one leading to the left side of the house. But on the camera showing the right side of the house, closest to the van, a man with a garbage bag in his hand stood. The green tint of the lens made it harder to see discernible features. Still, you noticed a cigarette between his fingers. Your palms suddenly grew sweaty, watching the man hold the toxic stick between his pointer finger and thumb as he took long drags. He tossed the bag into a growing pile of trash before leaning against the fence. Yoongi then zoomed in on the face while running something on his laptop. Your heart instantly dropped.

Hoseok glanced at the screen before looking at Yoongi. "Do you know who it is?"

"Nah, I'm running a scan now."

You tried to open your mouth to speak, but barely a whimper came out. Your throat burned so severely that it silenced you. All you could do was sit there, endlessly wiping your hands on your thighs as they never seemed to dry. Your heart was beating a mile a minute. Your body froze you to the seat, locking you in uncomfortableness.

"Is he walking over here?!" Soyeon asked as the man was suddenly getting close to the camera.

Yoongi glanced up, "Fuck. Hoseok, there's a hat and a shirt in the glove compartment! Put it on!"

Hoseok scrambled to get the disguise over his clothes discreetly before the man could see. He approached the car, banging on the window. Hoseok, startled, rolled down the window and looked at the man. "Um, yes?"

"Y'all got my package?" No. "It should be under Hyunwoo, Sohn Hyunwoo."

As if the voice wasn't enough, the name confirmed your worst thoughts. How… What were the odds that they would be the ones to steal your captor's guns? What kind of sick and twisted game was the universe playing? Yoongi mumbled the name to himself, typing it into a search bar as he did so.

"That's not him," Soyeon whispered after seeing a picture of a tall man with dark hair.

"Lemme check in the back real quick," Hoseok smiled at the man before he dipped past the partition. "Did you hear his name?!" He whispered while reaching for a random set of boxes Yoongi had stacked in a corner.

"Yeah, but it's the wrong guy."

"How is it the wrong guy?!" Hoseok whispered a little louder, panic painfully evident in his voice. "Who asks for someone else's packages?!"

You swallowed hard, your spit failing to soothe the never-ending burn in your throat. It was hard to breathe, like your ribs had been broken, and each inhale stung your side. Your leg bounced uncontrollably as you looked around for anything that could distract you. Your soul was screaming out for help from any of the three. Someone had to notice your quiet breakdown.

"I dunno! But Soyeon said that's not the guy!"

Hoseok cursed under his breath before returning to the front. "I'm sorry, sir, I didn't see your package back there. If anything, contact customer service, and I'm sure they'll assist you from there." He said with a dazzling smile to the man.

The man rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Useless," he mumbled before taking another drag, "have a good night then."

"You too, sir."

The man walked away from the van, entering the cameras' view again. You watched him walk from one screen to another before entering the house. Hoseok returned from the front, peeling the shirt off of him. You let out a shaky sigh, your shoulders dropping as you finally felt like your lungs weren't being constricted. The burn in your throat was able to be soothed as you gulped.

"It's Jooheon," you said, rubbing your throat as the name fell from your lips hoarsely. You cleared your throat as you felt all eyes on you. "Lee Jooheon."

"You know him?" Yoongi asked the question everyone wondered.

Your eyes met his, feeling your throat threatening to shut again as you massaged it. Tears brimmed your eyes as you tried to force down the feelings that desperately wanted to resurface.

"Yes."

[uwuwriting]

Boyfriend w/ Megumi, Itadori and Gojo

Request: hii I just read your jujutsu nightmares piece and oh my god I am indeed a very simple simp and your writing just makes my heart go uwu so may I maybe req a very soft, fluffy s/o for Megumi, Itadori Sato and maybe Sukuna if you write for him? I hope it's not too much, thank uu <3 - anonymous

I can’t get enough of the JJK content, I love them so much my heart can’t take it. Sadly I don’t write for Sukuna *I think I mention it in my rules but I’m not sure*, he pissed me off big time in the manga so yeah sorry about that. Really all the curses have kinda pissed me off but that’s a story for another day lmao. Love ya.💖💖💖

masterlist II rules

warnings: boyfriend things lol, fluff, maybe some angst sprinkled on top but not a lot. 

Fushiguro Megumi 

-Megumi reminds me of Suna from Haikyuu. 

-Like a lot. 

-He will put effort in the relationship of course but he won’t flaunt it around in everybody’s faces. 

-Yes he has a s/o and yes he is in love but in his book that should be mostly kept in between you two, no one else has to know. 

-So at first your relationship isn’t really acknowledged by the others. 

-It’s so subtle at casual that everyone around you thinks that you’re merely best friends and close to each other. 

-Only Makki knows that you two are a thing since she sees how you worry and take care of him after he has been injured. 

-It’s different from platonic concern and she knows what’s going on. 

-Plus she saw you steal a kiss one time and that sealed the deal. 

-Eventually the others figure it out and they are losing their shit, for completely different reasons though. 

-Nobara can’t believe Megumi got a s/o before she did. 

-Gojo is hurt because neither of you said anything and he has been trying to hook you up for the past two years now. 

-Itadori is just confused because he thought that you were like that to everyone. 

-Now PDA is non-existent with this one. 

-He doesn’t feel comfortable touching you in public even if it’s a small peck. 

-He prefers showing his love behind closed doors or through acts of service. 

-So expect to find multiple bentos waiting for you in the kitchen each morning or a hot bath on the ready when you come back from a long mission. 

-You are okay with the no PDA rule, your only request is that he at least hold your pinkie when you need it. 

-It grounds you and who is he to say no to that?

-During missions he doesn’t underestimate your strength and let’s you do your thing. 

-He only interferes when you ask for help or when he notices that you’re extremely overwhelmed. 

-He doesn’t smother you and you are eternally grateful for that. 

-Training sessions between the both of you are brutal. 

-Neither holds back and you're left a panting, sweating mess at the end, crawling to your respective rooms to change before you settle for a movie later that afternoon.

-If either of you gets injured it’s mama bear time. 

-You need to change your bandages? Megumi has already taken out the kit and all the essentials. 

-He needs to take some meds to calm the pain in his ribcage? You have the pills in hand. 

-He is a shy boy so even in private he hesitates to touch you. 

-Don’t get him wrong he loves holding you and feeling you close to him but he is also afraid he will make you uncomfortable or overstep. 

-So you will be the one initiating cuddle session during the first months of your relationship. 

-After a while he will simply pick you up and carry you to his bed for cuddles if he needs them without uttering a word the whole time. 

-Good morning/Goodnight kisses are a must. 

-It’s a ground rule that he follows religiously since day one. 

-It doesn’t matter if it’s a simple peck on his lips or a passionate kiss, he just wants to get a kiss before starting/ending the day. 

-Sleeps on his stomach with an arm always draped over your waist. 

-Isn’t really into the whole sleeping on each other thing but he won’t say no to being the big spoon or even better the little spoon. 

-He gets flustered when you kiss his knuckles or trace patterns on his palms. 

-He knows his hands are rough from all the training but after your touch they feel tender and gentle. 

-Prefers indoor dates rather than outdoor ones. 

-His favorite  is cooking dinner together and then cuddling on the couch *in hopes you won’t get interrupted by Gojo*.

-The only thing he dislikes about the whole relationship thing is the teasing he receives from Gojo. 

-He is ready to rip his ears off. 

-Boy has murder on his mind 24/7 and it is all directed to his mentor.

-Gojo noticed that Megumi had you as his wallpaper ONCE and now it’s game over for your boyfriend. 

-The thing is that you don’t get teased as much and he is *salty*. 

Itadori Yuuji

-He is such a lovable boy, how could you NOT fall in love with him?

-Your relationship is naturally effortless. 

-Everything flows so naturally and without even trying you two have formed such an unbreakable bond that not even Sukuna himself can tether even if he tried. 

-Many MANY spontaneous trips to the nearest convenience store at 3 am.

-Oh you are craving some popcorn? Well go on, get your shoes, we are going grocery shopping. 

-Won’t hesitate to do anything for you and when I say anything I mean it. 

-He ditched Gojo once because you had bad period pains and said you needed cuddles. 

-What cruel creature would he be if he denied his beautiful girlfriend her cuddles??? 

-Sukuna has cockblocked you two and has ruined your cuddles on multiple occasions. 

-From weird noises to rude comments to interrupting Yuuji’s thoughts with random shit. 

-Real party crasher. 

-Yuuji’s love language is touch mainly so expect a shit load of hugs and kisses. 

-Won’t let go of your hand while you are out in public. 

-If he can’t hold your hand he will place his palm in the small of your back or wrap his arm around your shoulders/waist. 

-It’s a physical need. 

-He has to be touching you at all times because that reminds him that you are truly here beside him and that you are okay. 

-The sorcerer's life has already taken a toll on his mentality and he hates leaving you alone so most of the time you go on conjoined missions. 

-Unlike Megumi he tries to protect you during fights by all means. 

-He doesn’t do it because he sees you as weak and in need of protection it’s just an instinct that he can’t control at all. 

-He will put himself in immense danger, taking all the blows just so you can leave the scene unscathed. 

-You have scolded him on his complete disregard of his own life and the tears that pooled in his eyes as he explained that his body moves on its own when he sees anything darting towards you, breaks your heart. 

-If you kiss the little marks under his eyes all his worries fly out the nearest window. 

-He forgets about everything around him, about the looming threat of his imminent execution, the only thing on his mind are your lips on his cheekbones and your thumbs rubbing circles on his cheeks. 

-If you pepper him in too many kisses he will begin his own assault by first tackling you to the floor or the bed and capturing you in a hug before the smooches begin. 

-He has a tendency to leave hickies on your neck which you struggle to cover each morning and you are always real close to glaring at him when he beams like the sun itself at you in the morning but your mild anger fades the moment his lips meet yours. 

-You have your suspicions that he knows what he is doing with that, he knows his kisses make you weak so he uses them to his advantage. 

-Will never admit it but it always places a small smirk on his lips every time you clutch his shirt for balance or rest your forehead on his shoulder to regain your composure. 

-An I love you a day is required for good vibes. 

-Won’t hesitate to shout it even in front of others, he just has no filter and no shame. 

-Makes you turn tomato red and he snickers. 

-Fuck him, literally. 

Gojo Satoru

-This fucking tease. 

-He has no chill!!!!!!

-How are you with him?!?!?!?!!

-My man fine af and he drinks his respect for y/n and y/n alone juice every morning. 

-That doesn’t mean though he won’t try to fluster you throughout the day. 

-It’s his main goal really. 

-Full blown make out sessions in the hallways of the school, ass smacks in front of others and trying to leave hickies on your neck during your lunch break. 

-It simultaneously pisses you off and turns you on so you can’t decide if you should smack him or jump his bones. 

-It’s a never ending debate and his chances of getting the quawk quawk 5000 are 50/50. 

-He respects your boundaries when you give him a sign that you really don’t want him to be like that on certain days. 

-He is a very observant individual in general so it’s not hard for him to take note of the signs of pure discomfort or awkwardness. 

-True he loves flustering you but the moment things get out of hand and you don’t feel okay with how he is acting, he is throwing his attitude out the window and becomes respectful Gojo in a flash. 

-Likes having his arm draped over your shoulder. 

-He is super tall so chances are he towers over you. 

-He has used you like an armrest several times which resulted to a trip to Shoko for a dislocated wrist/shoulder. 

-You make him bentos almost everyday and he waits for them like a lost puppy. 

-No matter the time, he doesn’t care if he is late, he will wait for you to make him a little bento to take with him. 

-Curses can wait, he needs to receive his first dose of y/n love of the day. 

-Brags to his student about you and to Nanami, much to the blonde’s dismay. 

-Talks everyone’s ear off. 

-He becomes super protective when an elder shows up or at the mere mention of them. 

-He will grasp your hand, keeping a firm grip as those pretentious fucks stare down at you. 

-They really don’t care about Sato’s happiness and they will never show you a fiber of respect despite being chosen by the strongest sorcerer. 

-You are not part of one of the three clans so you are worth nothing in their eyes. 

-Gojo hates them for that. 

-Deep rooted hatred that could turn into a mass murder if one of them call you a distraction or a slut one more time. 

-You are really grateful for him in those moments. 

-You are grateful in general but during those times when you are being bombared left and right with rude comments, he will remind everyone in the room that he doesn’t give a flying fuck about what they believe. 

-He fell in love with you because you are your beautiful self and not because you are a powerful sorcerer. 

-He wants to imagine your kids as a sign of your love and not as an item of power, as a weapon like many of these people see him. 

-He has ditched the elder meetings on many occasions just because he wasn’t in the mood of listening to their bullshit so he came home to you and spent the rest of his night cuddled up under the large comforter, watching a movie while peppering your shoulders with kisses. 

-Adores seeing you in his clothes. 

-They are so big on you that you wear them as dresses around the house. 

-He especially loves the sight of your bare legs peeking from underneath his black t-shirt. 

-99% of the time this ends up in you getting your guts rearranged. 

-Surprisingly remembers all the important dates and he makes it to as many dates as he can. 

-Being a sorcerer is difficult man, give him a break curses he has a date at 8 and he needs to get his formal glasses. 

-All in all he loves you to the moon and back and would do anything to keep you safe and next to him. 

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[redorich]

Hello! Can we get a little something for the hermit canyon AU? I was thinking something Karl centered, maybe they accidentally find his library or otherwise find out about his "travels". They're probably invisible for the whole thing, but do they do anything afterwards? Do they leave little notes and reminders? Would they try to help at all? Or would they push it to the back of their minds and try to forget about it?

Unlike most discoveries made by Hermits, Joe does not find a secret location on a normal surface run. When Etho found the Pogtopia ravine, it was a mystery to him, unsettling and vivid. When Grian found Technoblade's snowy cabin, it was on complete accident, just because Grian needed to explore, to get out of the canyon for a few hours.

When Joe exits the canyon, as he rarely does, he makes a beeline for Karl's library. Time is... not something Joe concerns himself with, but he prefers to constrict himself to the linear travel of the fourth dimension nowadays-- if such a thing as "nowadays" can be said to exist when tangling with time.

Where was he? Ah, yes. He moves quickly, because he dislikes spending more time away from Xisuma's side than absolutely necessary, even if the admin has been having a run of good health days and there are twenty-two other Hermits to attend to the admin in an emergency. He doesn't bother with invisibility, or walking, or other mundane things. Joe simply hovers in the air, flying toward his destination and perhaps fiddling with the tick speed just a little, just enough to get him there faster.

There's a residual feeling of familiarity, like a relationship with an ex-girlfriend which has long since turned sour, near the canyon. There's a whisper there of magic, of gleaming white spires, but all Joe can see is red.

"It's a shame, what they did to this library," Joe mutters with a tsk. Posters of hazy LSD-esque drawings of various time periods and locations line the walls, molding away as red vines climb on them, devour them.

He shrugs. Might as well move on; nothing of value remains here.

To the south is a place Etho has visited only briefly and in passing: Kinoko Kingdom. It's a hotspot of activity at times, and a ghost town at others. Etho didn't even know the name of the place until Puffy reported it. Joe doesn't care. For all that Etho likes to present himself as a cryptid, scaring poor innocent wood-dwelling folk who are just looking for a big fuzzy triclopean spouse, Joe is the one with experience as a cryptid. Let them see him. What are they going to say, "I saw Herobrine"?

He touches down, finally, in front of another library made from mushrooms and wood. Allowing his eyes to flash white for a moment so that he can ferret out the building's secret room, he is both disappointed and unsurprised to see it empty of life. Karl Jacobs, resident time traveller, is not there.

Joe closes his eyes. He doesn't want to have to do this. For decades, there was a place he called home, a place he built from the ground up. It was a place in between life and death, and so he called it the Inbetween.

He opens his eyes, and he is there. It's like walking down a street you've been down a hundred thousand times before; even with your eyes closed, you know where you're going. There are no longer dozens of imperfect copies of himself running around, brainless and waiting to be culled like lambs to the slaughter in order to fuel an affront against nature. Now, there are many iterations of Karl, all wandering aimlessly... save one.

The only version of Karl wearing color stands in an open-air corridor near the courtyard. Even from a distance, Joe can see his chest rise and fall far too rapidly for him to actually be getting any air. (Joe sees everything here, where his eyes are white and cannot be anything but white.)

"Why am I here?" Karl babbles to himself. "I haven't time-travelled-- or did I already forget?"

"You didn't forget," Joe reassures him. It does not have the intended effect.

Karl screams, turning around so quickly that he falls on his ass. He scoots away like a crab missing a leg, scrambling for some distance. "Your eyes--!"

"Come closer," Joe says. "I won't hurt you."

"You're Herobrine!"

Joe exhales slowly. "I was Herobrine. What I am is the only person who can help you."

Karl warily clambers to his feet. None of the other Karls dressed in white pay the two men any mind. "What do you mean?"

"You've got yourself stuck in a dimensional loop of Homestuck proportions, Karl," Joe says. "So did I, when I built this place. It took me decades to figure out how to get out of it, and I knew what I was doing. You don't have that."

"Am I stuck here forever, then?" Karl says mournfully. He waves a hand at the carefree automatons wearing his face. "Will I become one of them?"

Joe takes a few slow steps closer, keeping his hands where the stressed-out time traveller can see them. "I'll take care of things on this end. You won't ever have to come back here again."

Karl sags in relief like a marionette with its strings cut.

"Does the name Eret mean anything to you?" Joe asks. It's a name he's heard from Puffy's lips once or twice, and if her information holds true, things could get much easier.

Karl blinks. "Uh... Yeah? What about them?"

Joe continues. "Dark hair, tall, white eyes like mine?"

"I've never seen Eret without their sunglasses, but I guess, yeah," Karl replies. Of all the things he would have expected Herobrine to ask about, Eret isn't one of them.

"Imagine what Eret looks like," Joe suggests. "Think real hard about them. Imagine them here, in the Inbetween, right in front of us."

Karl has no idea why Herobrine wants him to daydream about Eret (even if their voice is very nice), but if the man is pulling his leg, well-- it's fucking Herobrine, he can do what he wants.

Speaking of that nice voice, Karl hears the voice in question scream out of nowhere. Karl flinches away from the sudden loud noise, before his eyes catch up to his brain and he realizes that he just magicked Eret into existence in the Inbetween.

"What the fuck," Eret says. "H-Herobrine, uh, long time no s-see..?"

"Sorry about that time I kinda tortured you," Herobrine says brightly. "I'm nicer now."

"I doubt--" Eret begins caustically, then remembers exactly who they're talking to and shuts their mouth. "...Why is everything so dark?"

"Take off your sunglasses," Herobrine suggests.

Eret grimaces, but obeys. This place is practically humming with magic, so they just know they're going to get blinded by it the moment they remove their glasses, but they remember what happened last time they pissed Herobrine off.

Wincing, they remove the sunglasses, expecting pain and receiving... nothing. The glint of light on quartz is a bit uncomfortable, but that's a normal human uncomfortable that Eret hasn't experienced since they were a teenager.

Herobrine smacks them on the forehead with his palm. "I take back what I said about 'living with this power for the rest of your life', and all that," he says. "You can turn 'em off now. I'd recommend not turning those eyes back on, though-- at least, not here. It's a little bright, magic-wise."

Eret gapes. All these years, they feared the day they'd meet this powerful man again, imagined what they'd say as they cursed his name or begged his forgiveness... and here he is, giving them exactly what they desperately hoped for but knew they'd never receive simply because he's 'nicer now'.

"Herobrine," Eret says, "why have you done this?"

"Call me Joe," Herobrine says.

Karl interjects, "Joe mama," under his breath. It is with the utmost shock on Eret's behalf that Karl does not in fact get immediately smited into oblivion, merely smacked on the forehead.

"Now you won't forget," Herobrine-- Joe says. "Anyway, I have shenanigans to be up to back in the canyon, so I'll send y'all back now. Those red vines are bad news, and so is their egg, so y'all better take care of that, please. It's really messing your server up."

Karl blanches. "The canyon?"

"Oh, look at the time. Have fun, be safe, bye," Joe says with affected mild disinterest.

Both Karl and Eret have so much to say, so many questions to ask, but they fade away before they get the chance.

[pinkhairedlily]

Blue Fire Tree

Prompt: Everlasting (last day omgggg) | Gift for @tinaillustrations ! Hope you like this fluffy piece! I enjoyed writing this one. 🤗| Happy HitsuHina Week! @hitsuhina-week 💛💙

“Fire trees should be blue not red,” Ichika mumbles while filling in the traced pattern of the tree on the canvass as Hinamori gathers her unruly red mane into a semblance of a bun. Her charge was a Shinigami apprentice and had the hodgepodge attitude of both of her parents. She was sarcastic, blunt, inquisitive, passionate, and kind.

Renji thought she was the best person to teach his daughter common spells to start off her training. Not that Hinamori disliked being the resident kido expert. She particularly loved the monicker, but there were times she felt she didn’t deserve the title. Like today when, for some other reason, Ichika and her was blindsided by arts and crafts.

“Wouldn’t you like the flowers to resemble your hair?” Hinamori clips the last of the strands and looks over the child’s shoulder. The colors spill out of the lines and the scenery seems to change from summer to winter.

“But blue is the hottest color. Imagine trees blooming with the brightest flames, the most intense warmth, and the most lasting flowers.” Ichika finishes the piece with a last dash of blue paint. The apprentice turns to her and asks, “Does it look so desolate?”

“No, not really. To me, winter has always been warm.“

Someone coughs behind them to get their attention. Hitsugaya Toushiro, captain of the 10th Division, stands awkwardly at the entrance of the dojo with a tray of tea and pot of biscuits. It doesn’t escape her notice that he used the tea set she gave last Christmas, and this observation makes her feel giddy inside.

Maybe I’m just appreciative of people who use my gifts, Hinamori justifies to herself.

“Hello, Captain Hitsugaya. Is that for us or for Vice-Captain Momo?” Ichika greets him as she takes the tray off his hands.

The blush creeps on the captain’s face just as quickly as his brows furrow in annoyance. He quickly glares at the mischievous remark of Ichika and redirects his gaze to his equally flustered childhood best friend. “This was not of my own good will. I was threatened by Byakuya to take good care of his precious niece, and it just so happens that this space is under my jurisdiction.”

Hinamori tilts her head in a slight apology. “I hope we don’t bother you too much. Would you like to join us for some art session? Ichika loves to paint today.”

He almost says something, but he stops himself. His stance goes from alert to rigid, and tension fills the air. “Maybe some other time.” Ichika glances from her current teacher to the captain and back to her teacher again.

“Oh, sorry for taking up your time.” Hinamori slightly bows, unsure of what transpired just now, and Hitsugaya nods in return. Before he is completely out of her sight, she calls out to him again.

“Shiro-chan?” He glances back at the sound of his nickname. “Thanks for the tea.”

He smiles in mild annoyance before he flash-steps out of their sight. “It’s Captain Hitsugaya to you.”

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

“Something’s bothering you,” Rangiku says to Hinamori as she slides beside her in the ramen booth. “Your treat in exchange for my wisdom.” She proceeds to order her usual ramen and sake combo.

“How was your trip to the Land of the Living?” Hinamori asks, obviously skirting the issue she wishes to raise.

“Kazui is subdued and gentle like his mother, but somehow, he manages to get into fights with bullies on the street. It’s his Ichigo genes.” The combo meal arrives along with two shot glasses. “How are you doing with the chaotic devil spawn Ichika?”

“She’s progressing really fast with the kido, but she gets so distracted easily. It’s cute though that Renji and Rukia are not pressuring her. Great parents. How nice it must be.”

Rangiku side-eyes her while slurping the thick noodles. “How nice what now – “

Hinamori plays with her empty bowl and fidgets with her chopsticks. “To not be alone.”

She chokes on her noodles and quickly downs half of the sake bottle. “Oh, this is great news! I have someone on my mind who would like to be in your company forever.”

Hinamori gives no response and instead continues fiddling with her bowl. “How nice it is to be also like Shiro-chan, content and busy enough to be single. How do I become like your captain, Rangiku?”

The smile fades from the woman’s face and is replaced by a bustling vein near her temple. “I’m sorry what did that short man do or say to you?”

“I asked him if he would like to do some art with us, you know, help me with babysitting for a few minutes, but he literally stiffened like a stick. Seems like he doesn’t want to waste time with kids or do any family-related activities. Or maybe he’s just too busy, captain duties and all.”

And yet he took the time to bring you tea, a voice screams inside her mind.

“That’s….rude,” an exasperated Rangiku remarks. She pours a glass for Hinamori and decides on a plan. “Unless you’re seeing him as….?”

“Huh? Oh no no no.” Hinamori downs the liquid in one gulp, suddenly embarrassed by her friend’s insinuation. “We’re just friends, childhood friends. I…don’t see Shiro-chan that way.”

“Sure, whatever you say Momo. Do you want me to introduce you to some people?”

Hinamori looks up at her, doe-eyed.

“I guess that’s a yes.”

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

Hinamori actually forgot about her request to Rangiku as she and her student started to settle in a rather serious kido training. The plan apparently was set to happen after a week when she came across a bulletin announcing her quest for a perfect match through a one-day interview application. This was the first time Hinamori wanted to be swallowed by the void and never return to Seiretei.

She finds herself visiting Division 10 HQ every afternoon but to no avail since coincidentally, Rangiku has some errands to do in Karakura, and won’t be back until the date of the interview. Or maybe it has also something to do with Hinamori avoiding Hitsugaya and having to do all the explaining. And so she had no choice but to wait for the inevitable day.

“Uhhh Vice-Captain Matsumoto, you said introduce, not organize a whole dating screening process!” Hinamori’s voice goes a pitch higher for each word, but Rangiku is too busy arranging the people lining up to notice her.

Her current captain, Shinji Hirako, chuckles beside the blondie, amused by the growing line of eligible Shinigami singles in their HQ. “You are quite the eye candy in our division, huh. Didn’t expect you’d have this many suitors.” He squeezes his vice-captain’s shoulder as form of reassurance. “You should have told me, Hinamori. I could have set you up in an arranged marriage.”

“Captain, that’s atrocious!” Hinamori protests. She walks over to Rangiku to disperse the line, but Yumichika and Ikkaku move to her side and grabs her midway through her litany of objections. They lead her to a makeshift container with two chairs facing each other and a table in between.

“This is ridiculous,” Hinamori mumbles her breath, her energy already defeated by the two dumbasses in front of her.

“Well to be fair, Hinamori, this is a long time coming,” Yumichika says.

“And the result necessitates this kind of method so stop mumbling and screen your admirers, babe,” Ikkaku supplies. Irritated, Hinamori chases them off with two fireballs.

The first ten Shinigami ‘applicants’ were too insufferable as they were clearly aiming for the prestige of her position.

“If dating a vice-captain would give me a higher seat in Gotei 13 then why am I still single?” she bats the question to the 11th person who sat across her. When they didn’t give her an answer, she sighs, “Next please.”

“Would you know what’s my favorite brand of tea?”

“Uhh, Robusta.”

“I believe that’s coffee. Next please.”

“Hello, vice-captain Hinamori, I brought you peaches. They’re my favorite.”

“I’m allergic to them. I’m sorry. Next please?”

“What are your strengths?”

“Well, I can do shunpo.”

“That’s basic Shinigami skills.”

“…………..”

“…………..”

“I’ll see myself out. Thank you for your time, vice-captain.”

“I know you’re traumatized by Aizen-“

The container collapses as Hinamori summons Tobiume.

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

“I think I will be forever alone.” Hinamori looks on as her fellow vice-captains clean up the mess she incurred over the unfinished statement earlier.

“I’m really sorry if I did the whole thing over the top,” Rangiku tells her sincerely. She hugs the raven-haired girl and waits in silent for the commotion to die down. “Though the last one was really foul, and you were valid to be angry.”

“I was afraid I’d burn down Captain Shinji’s quarters.”

“You can, just to piss him off. The whole process is so draining, huh?” Hinamori nods at the observation. Rangiku continues, seemingly voicing her own thoughts, “It’s hard to put yourself out there especially when they don’t know batshit about you. Would be easier if you have common interests or when they’re already your friend.”

The last phrase is said so pointedly that Hinamori’s mind automatically pictures Hitsugaya. She runs along with her imagination. How easy it would be indeed to spend the rest of her life with him. And as if her mind conjured him, the 10th Division Captain comes into view alongside Ichika. It looks like her student dragged him to the unfortunate event.

There’s an angry glint in his eyes that Hinamori noticed. It was the torn expression he wore when she wounded her knees back when they were kids, the same frown when she told him she would kill for the traitor, the same worried eyes when she almost died. But his eyes refuse to meet hers.

“You missed all the fun, Captain.” Rangiku stretches out her arms as she stands up. She gestures for the rest of their friends to come nearer so they could re-group and go home. “It was a bad plan, and I owe Hinamori one. So we’re kinda ready for your scolding.”

Hitsugaya stays silent throughout the shuffling of his fellow Shinigami, in fact he remains frozen for too long that Ichika elbows him to get a response out of him. “Come on, you ruminated one week for this, and I had to physically stop you from harassing the interested applicants.”

“Shut up, Ichika,” the silver-haired captain mutters.

“I’ll tell on you to Uncle Byakuya!” the redhead sticks out her tongue and runs over to the side of Rangiku.

More annoyed than ever, Hitsugaya grunts and storms off towards Hinamori. “I’m not here to scold anyone. I’m here for the….dating application,” he gulps amid the collective gasps that ran through the group and the muffled laughter of Rangiku who clearly foresaw this.

“Well, what can I say, but fucking finally!” The blonde swigs a new bottle of wine from inside her robes and goes to do a little crowd control.

Hinamori’s eyes get a little bit bigger, and she stares at him with mouth agape, but she lets him grab her hand, in a gentle manner that he usually does, and brings her to the farthest fire tree in the area.

“Shiro-chan, what did you mean……” She continues to stare at his hand who somehow refuses to let go of her yet.

Ironically, he is also staring at the same hand, unsure whether to let go right now before he can actually say something. “I don’t know why you had to go through all of that.”

“I’m..I’m still confused, to be honest. It was just a passing feeling of loneliness, and I rambled to Rangiku which she took seriously….” Hinamori knows she is starting to word vomit out of nervousness, but she halts when he finally lets her go. Maybe she has misunderstood his presence again.

Hitsugaya raises his palm to her. “Would you let me…uhhh…word vomit this time?”

She slowly nods, rather shocked at his insistence, and even more so when he chooses to ramble.

“Momo, I have a cold reiatsu. My touch is never warm. But I know you like green tea, steeped in warm water for exactly 10 minutes, and that you don’t put sugar. You are afraid of storms, and you need a blanket around you to calm down. You like watermelon, but I think it’s because I subjected you to multiple summers of conditioning. You’re my childhood best friend. You’re hardworking. You are a kido expert. You earned your right to be a vice-captain, and you’ll do greater things.

And I know it’s not enough to say that I know you, I’ve always known you, but will it be enough for you to allow me to stay beside you?”

Hinamori leans against the trunk of the fire tree, breathless from his train of words. “Oh my god, this is too overwhelming. I thought you hated being not single.”

“What?” Hitsugaya looks at her with a puzzled expression.

“You don’t like Ichika. Or doing art…with kids.”

“Well, Ichika is a brat to me, but she’s a good student and will be a good Shinigami like her parents.” He nurses his temples for the growing headache. “Momo, listen to me.” He steps closer to her and makes sure she’s only looking at him. “I panicked because I visualized you and me….and you know. It wasn’t right when I haven’t even told you anything yet.”

“Oh.” The moment of realization dawns on her. “Oh, that’s great.”

“So we can finally go back to how we were.” Hitsugaya lets out a shaky breath as he sits on the grass and watches as the red petals of the fire tree shower them lightly.

A blushing Hinamori crouches down to his level. “Well, not quite. You should know, Shiro-chan, your reiatsu has always been warm and comforting to me.” She reaches out to take his hand and intertwines their fingers.

Hitsugaya smiles as he silently thanks himself that he outgrew her by two inches so he could easily slip a kiss on her forehead. “It’s Captain Hitsugaya.”

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

Ichika tries to see beyond the wall of spectators but Rangiku is not letting anyone through. She huffs indignantly, wanting to know whether her incessant prodding and pestering of the oblivious Hitsugaya bore some fruit. She has no choice but to juice out all the details later on from her uncle.

On second thought, maybe she won’t have to. Blue petals swayed with the light breeze of the wind, and on the far edge of the Fifth Division’s HQ is a lone blue fire tree.

[lollytea]

Fearless (part 1/3)

(Ty/Louie fairytale au fic. i am simply a bitch writing about my au and my oc so it is all very catered to me personally and im aware not a lot of ppl will read it. but if you DO read it, i love u so much. i guess tw for blood/serious injuries relating to teen characters. nothing too graphic but be warned. Also if you’re curious, info on the au here, here and here.)

_________________________

[OCTOBER 22ND, 6:19PM] The sky was bleeding pink and orange and Louie tried to focus on it. Didn't take much brainpower to appreciate a sunset. He clung to the sight with desperation, muttering the simplest thoughts under his breath like a mantra.

It was pretty. He liked sunsets. He liked pink. He liked orange. The distraction wasn't working. The unpleasantness that was already writhing in his stomach churned. His finger was on his temple, idly tracing delicate circles against the tightly wrapped bandage. His head hurt. The point where his shoulder met his upper arm was also dressed. The stitching still had to heal up. That hurt too. Louie was pretty stupid. Which was not something he usually thought. But it was a real kick in the confidence when someone sharp-witted did something stupid. And it was a real kick in the heart when someone who didn't wanna hurt anybody ended up hurting somebody. This was stupid. He had already tried reading as a means of distraction. Too hard. Too many words. Way too much of a strain on his mild concussion. This was so, so stupid. Sitting by his windowsill, he hoped this dumb bandage would be gone soon. His forehead felt sticky and damp with sweat. He was stupid. He wished Webby were here. If she were, she'd be in the courtyard below his window sparring with Dewey. At least then, Louie could watch and keep his mind occupied. No. No, that wasn't right. If Webby were here, she would've attached herself to Louie by now, hugging him tight until his injury healed. If it had been any other incident, Louie would let her, crumbling into her arms and whimpering about the pain as his amazing, magical sister made it all ebb away. But this wasn't any other incident. If Webby were here, he wouldn't be able to accept her hugs. The very idea rubbed him the wrong way. If anyone was entitled to healing hugs, it wasn't Louie, it was--.... His face twisted up. Webby wasn't here. She was off on some quest with Lena. Probably wouldn't be back for days. So there was no point in dwelling over hypotheticals. Louie would heal on his own. They were both gonna have to heal on their own. The sunset was fading.

It was pretty. Pink... Orange.... He couldn't do this. 

Why was he doing this?! Louie always knew himself to be a coward but this was to a pathetic extent. Depraved even. He felt sick. 

He couldn't. He just couldn't. Every additional second he spent hiding in his room was weighing him down. It was suffocating. But he couldn't leave. He was too scared.

Freezing up just like always. Just stop being so fucking scared! He would have to confront what he did eventually. There was no way around it. So, why couldn't he just go now? Louie had far worse things in his life to be dreading. Far worse. A ticking clock of trepidation was seated deep inside him. A predestined future he couldn't rewrite which, on all accounts, should render him paralyzed. But he wasn't. This was the sort of thing to demolish him. Apparently. Stupid. This shouldn't be overdriving his other senses. This shouldn't be flooding his mind. He shouldn't be drowning right now. This shouldn't have his hands shaking. This shouldn't have him pacing the length of his room. This shouldn't be stealing the oxygen from his lungs. His brain was pounding against his skull, protesting his rapid back-and-forth movement. He was dizzy. He shouldn't be crying. Fuck it! He was always crying, who cares about that?! Just stop panicking, just stop crying, just stop being so selfish for once and just own up. Louie's back crashed against his door, gasping for breath. Stars were blotting his vision and he couldn't breathe and it was the end of the world. Okay. Okay. He was spiraling again. That was all it was, it would be okay. It would be okay. The prince's bed chambers, alive with the choking sound of contained distress, subsided to complete silence for just a moment. Inhale. Exhale. And then all to be heard was a small, crackling voice straining to sing himself a quiet little lullaby. ___________ [OCTOBER 22ND, 10:07AM] "Your highness, don't be an idiot. You can't just---Hey! Wait up!" "H'oh boy..." Louie's eyes flicked to the high heavens. Right now he felt like he was tasked with personally escorting this goddamn boy across this goddamn forest by the goddamn ankles. He whirled around impatiently, crossing his arms with a flourish. "Pick up the pace, Tiberius. We don't have all day." "Can you maybe not be a huge pain for like... I dunno, five minutes?" Snapped Ty, his dearly devoted retainer and most notorious pain-in-the-tail. "Can you maybe loosen up? Y'know it's a real mood killer when there's a paranoid guy on my case all the time, insisting that the whole world is out to get me. Being constantly reminded of my fragile mortality? Woo, talk about fun times." Scowling, Ty stumbled his way over a protruding tree root. "You've got a bad habit of attracting danger, you know that, right? I'm pretty sure it's a Duck thing." The remark slapped the annoyed expression right off Louie's face. Ty quirked an eyebrow. "What's that look for?" Before he could further analyse, Louie sharply turned on his heel and strode on. "It's a Duck thing." He said, keeping his tone even. Both of them knew it was a Duck thing. Ty just didn't know the half of it. "Your highness," He heard Ty gripe. "You know this is a bad idea. A prince shouldn't be out in the open like this without proper protection. And I'm unprepared right now. I can't--" If Ty weren't yakking so much, Louie wouldn't know if he was still there. He wasn't wearing his armor for once so the familiar clank and clatter of metal was nonexistent. "You got your sword, right? You can do a lot of damage with that thing." "Yeah but no juice. And I need juice. See, 'cause what if we get in a tight spot and you--?" "What do you think is gonna happen, Ty?! For the love of all that is gold, It's just a party." "It's never just anything." He grumbled. Ty jogged ahead a little, matching his pace to Louie's. His footsteps alongside him were purposefully heavy So, he was stomping now. Real mature. Louie rolled his eyes. He was fully aware Ty was pissed, he didn't have to go above and beyond to make his anger known. "You really think I'm an idiot who doesn't take safety precautions? I'll have you know keeping Prince Louie alive isn't just your problem. Prince Louie is pretty serious about that too." He gestured to himself. "If you haven't noticed, I'm incognito today. I've got no crown, no mantle, no status whatsoever. And look at these ugly peasant threads," Louie pointed out, tugging at the hem of his dull green tunic. "It's actually kinda depressing how drab I look. I'm never gonna do this again actually. But! See how committed I am right now? Who's gonna recognize me? As we're all aware, I'm pretty well known for my pizzazz." "Just 'cause you stop being a prince doesn't mean danger stops existing." "No but it makes you way less of a target. Now, are you really gonna spend your whole day off bitching at me?" 

The glare Ty shot him was petulant at best. "Well, I didn't wanna. But I got dragged along on this little adventure so guess I gotta." Louie pursed his beak, irritated. He did not drag Ty along anywhere. 

"Come to think of it, I don't remember saying you had to follow me." Well, that came out as harsher than intended. Ty didn't seem hurt. At least, there was no sign that he was. No expression cracked his stone mask. "I've got a duty." Louie scoffed. Ty and his stupid duty. It was really starting to wear on his nerves. But not today, absolutely not today. On this fine, glorious day, Louie was intent on having fun. He would show up at this little forest shindig and he would drink and dance and schmooze and whatever else any carefree person at a party would do. He would forget about everything that was eating at him. He wasn't gonna let it consume him, he wasn't. He was gonna live. While he still could. His sixteenth birthday loomed closer. Six months left. "Sorry." Said Ty, unprompted. The shadows festering in Louie's head cleared out as he snapped back to the present. Ty had his eyes firmly downcast, a noticeable slump to his posture. "It's not like I wanna be running around killing the fun all the time. I really don't. But I gotta." Louie said nothing. His eyebrows rose in quiet astonishment as he studied Ty's side profile. He remembered when Ty first came into his life. Twelve years old, brandishing a sword too big for his body and grinning lopsidedly in an unmistakably trouble seeking sorta way. A real firecracker of a boy, loud and bright. Hungry for adventure and excited to throw himself head first into the action. He remembered one of Ty's earliest and most confident statements. When he lowered himself to bow to Louie in his uncle's throne room and declared that the prince would never fear for his life again. Because Ty would protect him and Ty was fearless. Louie believed him. Make no mistake, Ty had plenty of bite back then too. He had disliked Louie and the feeling had been mutual. But he never doubted that Ty had spoken the truth with his entire heart. Ty was fearless. When Louie was with Ty, he was safe. He believed that and he always had. Despite how they clicked as well as a dagger and a keyhole. Despite Ty being annoying. So annoying. He was still annoying. But it was different now. Louie couldn't pinpoint when that permanent glowing smile of his had dwindled and a thin frown had become Ty's default expression. His sword, something he always used to proudly haul around over his shoulder, now unceremoniously sheathed against his belt. Although Louie had noticed that his right hand never strayed too far from the hilt.   Protecting royalty with your entire being was an all-consuming duty and it seemed, at some point, the reality of such an allegiance had slapped Ty across the face. He had this distinct way of holding himself now. Always stood straight and rigid, coiled up with agitation. He was prepared to fight at a moment's notice but it was clear the thrill of doing so had been long since drained out of him. He still smiled. He still laughed. But only sometimes. Ty was annoying because he was paranoid. Because he was snarky. Because he was too stiff, too protective. And man, what Louie wouldn't give to have Ty's former brand of annoying back. At least never made him feel sorry for the guy. "Can I ask you a favor?" Louie finally spoke, pushing back a drooping tree branch so they could walk below it "You can try." Ty shrugged, his gaze still fixed ahead. "What if we just turn off this whole 'Prince and Retainer' thing today. Whadd'ya think?" He turned to him blankly, complete with a slight tilt of the head that made Louie a tiny bit weak. "Wha....?" Ty was simply not computing. He looked as though Louie was throwing out algebra equations and he was supposed to solve them right on the spot. And he was not a math guy by any means. The cute clueless expression was making it a little hard to focus. Louie swallowed. "Listen." He began, his thumb dragging itself across his sweaty palm as he struggled with how to phrase this. Louie had a way with words, always had. But he had a tendency to trip over his own tongue when Ty was involved. Especially when Ty was staring at him with his soft cande-light eyes and doing that stupid adorable head tilting thing and-- "You need a break." Louie blurted out. "You're stressed like constantly and it's getting kinda insufferable and I think your Dad would sick a dragon on me if his barely fifteen year old son suddenly kicked it 'cause of a paranoia overload so I think you should just forget about being my big strong hero for today and come hang out with me at this stupid peasant party and we can just be two regular kids instead of a royal and his bodyguard do you think you could give me that Tiberius?" It was only in the following beat of silence that Louie realized how fast he spat that all out. He struggled to catch his breath. One second. Ty blinked. Two seconds. A flicker of vacant eyes and then a rush of realization. And then disbelief. And then-- Three seconds. His brow scrunched together and a snarl crinkled his muzzle. His eyes flared. Oh, he was mad.... "Are you crazy?!" Ty shouted. He was beside himself with a malfunctioning mix of fury and incredulity that had him stammering his words. "You-You can't just--.....D-do you even-- you don't...do you realize how disrespectful that is? For you to say it? For-For me to do it?! I was given this duty by the King! The fucking King! To just suddenly "turn it off" would be--....I can't--!" Maybe "mad" was an understatement. "Ty--" Louie tried. He was cutting across Louie, treading back and forth on their forest path,. Not going further, not going back. Just walking to nowhere for the sake of being too scandalized to possibly stand still. Louie was attempting to get Ty's attention by grabbing his tunic but he kept shaking him off. "I'd be a disgrace! An embarrassment! I'm trusted by the royal family to keep--...to keep you safe! I-I can't just walk around with my liege like I'm on vacation and not be on guard! You don't even get it, you--" "Ty!" Louie said loudly."You wanna maybe listen for a sec?!" Frankly, he was surprised Ty halted his tirade. His eyes were blown wide, stunned and Louie wasn't quite sure why until he followed Ty's look, snapping down. Seems in his effort to get a hold of the guy, he had instinctively reached out and snatched Ty's wrist. They stood frozen for a moment, each set of eyes boring into the touch that tied them together. Louie's fingers began to uncurl. Then he decided no. His grip on Ty tightened with a purposeful squeeze. Ty met his gaze, looking....panicked? Confused? Didn't matter. He could besottedly dissect his unreadable facial expressions later. Louie inhaled, deciding to shoulder his dignity for just a second. No safety rails of snark this time. Ty might make fun of him for being sincere later but this was important. "Don't you miss being a kid with nothing to worry about?" Louie implored. "Because if we're being real, I don't think we're ever gonna get to live like that again." Ty muttered something to himself, shaking his head a little. "But listen," Louie continued, taking a step into Ty's personal bubble. Ty took an automatic step back. But since he was still holding his hand, Louie was led a step forward. It was difficult to tell with the pink fur but he could've sworn Ty reddened. "Look I know it's weird for me to be asking but....can't we just take a risk today? It's just a party in the woods. Literally the least likely place to find any danger in the whole kingdom." "We shouldn't--" "Ty, please." Honestly, Louie was a little surprised at himself. He hadn't even planned for Ty to accompany him anyway. But in the heat of the moment, everything had shifted upside-down. Turns out there was something inside him willing to beg. Something that wanted more than anything, for Ty come along. He just wanted a simple memory of just killing time with Ty. Separated from the castle and everything that reminded him of his fate. He would like to smile without a hint of dread for once this year. So, he said just that. "I'm not just trying to make you come along 'cause I'm stuck with you. That's not it." He swallowed. "You're--....you're cool. You're fun. I wanna have you around. You know, when you're not so worked up and you're just being yourself, I like hanging out with you." He tugged Ty's hand a little. Further from his sword and closer to Louie. "I want you to come with me. And I want you to try having fun too." He may as well just tell the idiot he thought about him every time he saw a sunset. The hand he was grasping flexed its fingers. Ty abruptly broke eye contact and glanced to the side, his tongue poking out to pierce the tip of his jagged tooth. His indecisive face. "I just--.....I dunno...." He muttered. "If something happened to you--" "Nothing's gonna happen to me." Said Louie immediately. "I've got a good feeling about this. And c'mon Ty, that coming from a coward?" "You're not a coward." He said, barely a whisper. He was now staring at the ground. "I promise." "Huh?" Louie smiled tightly as Ty looked to him questionably. "I promise nothing is gonna happen. I'm gonna be fine. You're gonna be fine. Now, can you do me this favor and maybe, I dunno, trust me?" The look Ty gave him was a little sad, but it was soft. And then with only a tiny twitch, it shifted into something else entirely. It was trust. Blind trust. Maybe stupid trust. A minuscule pang of guilt jabbed at Louie. Of course he wanted Ty to trust him. He needed him to if there was any hope of achieving his goal here. But objectively, he really shouldn't. Louie was hiding way too much from him. It wasn't fair. Then Ty broke the world, shattered orbit and played around with reality itself by cracking a smile and Louie forgot every coherent thought he ever possessed. He would never put on record just how long he spent pre-preparing jokes, gunning to get the corner of Ty's lips to flick upwards. Made him seem kinda desperate. Which he was not. Ty had that oh, so stereotypical "cute boy" smile. It was crooked, cocky, it was utterly obnoxious. Louie hated it. And worst of all, it was like a little spell to kick Louie's heart into high speed. Sometimes it dazed and confused him like a blinding light flash. But other times, it was warm and if he stared long enough, he'd fall asleep. Louie loved Ty's smile. Every time he tried to convince himself he didn't, he ended up dwelling on it too much and the way his mouth would quirk up would play in his mind on a maddening loop and then it would be too much to handle and the truth that he loved it would always overpower him. So, whenever that happened (like right this second.) he gave up and admitted it. To himself, anyway. He loved Ty's smile. He loved Ty. ......Wait. That last part was new, hold up. Rewind. But he didn't get the chance because Ty was talking now. Still a little dazzled, Louie didn't catch what he said but he figured it was good since he was still smiling. And then that smile broke into a huge grin, his eyes flashed with trouble and his hands were on Louie's shoulders and-- "Race ya!" Ty cried. With a light push, Louie was stumbling backwards and Ty kicked off into a sprint. For a brief moment, Louie could only gaze after him, stupefied. Love, huh? Like the real deal? That was crazy. But then he snapped out of as he recalled the audacity of this bastard. "You just pushed your liege!" He shrieked, receiving a loud "WOO!" from Ty as a response. And then Louie was grinning. He was giddy. He didn't quite know if he forgot about love in that instance or if it was the force powering him but he was tearing off after Ty, yelling about the latter's totally unfair head start. In hindsight, he should've figured it was love a long time ago. Who else would get him to run for no reason?

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Welcome To Backwater ch.2 (spicyhoney)

Summary: Stretch isn’t running away, not really.

He took the bus.

Only to end up in a little town in the middle of nowhere, meeting unusual people, dealing with unexpected happenings, what the hell is going on in this place?

Content:  Spicyhoney, Midwest Gothic

Note:  Just as a heads up, I'd give this story a warning for mild horror and mild gore. None of our boys, but better to let y'all know!

~~*~~

Read Chapter Two ‘Meet and Greet’ on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

For the next week Stretch spent most of his time trying to figure out the method in the madness to Red’s store management. His first day of ‘training’ pretty much consisted of Red showing up long enough to demo the cash register and then shuffling off to the apartment at the back where he lived. Not that pushing a couple of numbered buttons was that complicated, but that wasn’t the only issue cropping up around here along with the local corn.

First of all, nothing in the shop was priced. All the items were recorded in a ragged notebook with coffee ring stains on the cover, where Stretch got to figure out if an item fell under the category of ‘toilet paper’, ‘paper, toilet’, ‘ass wipers’, or ‘shitty ass wipers’, all written in Red’s sloppy handwriting. The sheer number of items that fell under ‘ass’ and ‘shitty’ were staggering.

Turned out, the little store actually did a fair amount of business. Plenty of Humans stopped in to pick up one or two things rather than drive to the nearest Wally World which according to Granny Collemore, who Stretch was guessing was the unofficial town gossip, was better than a thirty-minute drive away.

“Don’t need to be driving an hour for a little bum tissue,” she bellowed happily, “shopping day is Sunday, we’ll stock up then!”

Stretch nodded as he rang her up, wincing away from her volume. He’d figured out pretty quickly that the old woman was stone deaf, but she didn’t seem to care if all she got was a smile and plenty of nods, so that was fine.

She handed over a wad of cash pulled from a little embroidered change purse that let out a puff of lavender so strong when she opened it that it overshadowed the store’s normal musty smell, hollering the whole time. By the time she left, Stretch knew enough about the local weather patterns to make a rain prediction and that the way someone named Pritchard was hamming on a pretty young’un Eloise meant they’d best they be married soon ‘fore it turned into a shotgun wedding. He nodded along with every proclamation, hurrying around the counter to open the door for her and ended up spending five minutes waiting for her to shuffle her way out, her bunny slippers leading the way.

But as she was leaving, she reached up and gave him a gentle pat on the cheekbone, her wrinkled hand barely able to reach. “You’re a nice boy,” she told him, too loud and with a pink, gummy smile.

Stretch was too startled to flinch away and only managed to mumble a thank you as she headed off into the growing heat of the morning, a hunched figure in a flowery dress and pink slippers, her bag of emergency tp bumping against her hip as she trundled along.

That was another thing. He’d thought that the Humans around here would be distrustful, even malicious, but that wasn’t proving to be the case. Aside from a little surprise when they first saw him, all the customers so far were small-town kindly. Kids came into the shop to raid the nickel-candy rack, their bikes left in piles outside as excited groups came roaring in. Mothers came in with babies wearing only their diapers, fanning themselves and laughing out their, ‘my, isn’t it a hot one today?’ as they bought a half-gallon of milk and some fresh apples to put in the bottom of their strollers.

No one in town seemed to care that he was a Monster past asking his name and maybe it was just ‘cause of Red being a skeleton, too. Could be that Granny Collemore was out there somewhere bellowing that the local shopkeeper had family visiting, who knew? It was sure different than he was used to. The general sentiment in Ebott about Monsters was resentment; over them taking jobs, enrolling in the schools, whatever it was, they didn’t want Monsters doing it.

It was…nice, he decided, to not have someone dislike him on sight.

That was how he spent his mornings. He worked in the shop, idly dusting, putting away the deliveries that a guy in the pickup truck and overalls brought in daily, and borrowing Red’s wifi to listen to soft music on his phone. The calls had trickled to only once a day and the glaring red alert number of his messages kept climbing.

Stretch didn’t look at them, only skipped right over to Spotify and the 'The Wedding Singer Divorce Special pt 2' playlist.

Red came in every day to relieve him at around two. He grunted out something that resembled a hello as he heaved himself up on the stool, leaning his cane against it as he pulled out a battered romance novel from beneath the counter. The creased covered did not in the slightest hide the young, scantily-clad woman caught up in a fiery embrace with her highland Lord.

“be back later,” Stretch said as he hung up his apron. Not that it mattered, wasn’t like Red was his dad or even a friend, not really, and he didn’t care when Stretch came home. A couple times they’d eaten together, takeout from the local diner that was imaginatively called ‘Mama’s’, not ‘Eats’, watched a little but that was it. His lack of idle chitchat was the complete opposite of Blue’s constant stream of chatter and after years of that, the silence was kinda disconcerting, but maybe not in a bad way.

Red didn’t even look up from his book, only pulled a crumpled bill out of his pocket and pushed it across the counter, “pick up some beer at the station, wouldja?”

“sure,” Stretch said, almost grateful for something else to do. It was miles better than sitting the rest of the day in his little room with its faded, floral wallpaper where the air conditioning wasn’t quite able to combat the heat of the mid-afternoon sun. He’d done that once, the first day, and after that made a point of staying out of his room until sundown to give it chance to cool off.

The town itself wasn’t much more than a bunch of ramshackle houses. To the west were fields, the leafy tops of what Stretch was now certain was corn rustling in the wind. Off to the east, the landscape slowly went from flat plains to trees, their wilting leaves yellowing in the heat and ending in a wooded area that surrounded maybe half the town. Shame it was too far away provide much shade unless you went walking right into it. Main street consisted of a few other public buildings; a tractor store right up next to the thrift shop, a little one-room schoolhouse with an attached shed that served as the town library, the Sheriff’s office, and the movie theater.

On the outskirts of town there was also a bar, The Whistling Cow, its glowing neon sign a single point of orange light on dark nights. As much as Stretch wanted a drink, he stuck with filching beer from the cooler Red kept under the counter. Hanging around with strange, drunk humans usually didn't end well for him.

The movie theater was where he’d taken to heading after work. Someone with a sense of humor must’ve named the place, since ‘The Grandeur’ literally only had one theater and maybe thirty seats, if that. The proprietor ran the ticket booth and the concession stand, and in his threadbare uniform with its yellowing shirt, he looked a lot like Lurch's second cousin, once removed.

But he was a nice enough fella and it was a good way to waste some time. Even if the only movies showing were old black and whites, the popcorn was fresh, with real butter, and the added bonus of air conditioning. Besides, the Three Stooges were funny as shit any old day.

That was where Stretch was headed today; the afternoon showing only cost two bucks, then another for popcorn and he was set for a few hours. It was better than trying to get anything to tune in on the television in his overboiled room. With a lot of coaxing, he might manage to get a PBS channel, but there was only so much time a person could spend sweating their way through a staticky version of Sesame Street.

Stretch got to his seat just as the lights were going down, settling in with his popcorn. Before the movie there were a few cartoons, and it was kinda wild to get to see Steamboat Willy chugging along on the big screen again.

Today’s flick was an honest to bitsy silent movie and Stretch watched with a wide grin as Charlie Chaplin slap-schticked his way across the stage. There were a few other people in the seats, at least one of them snoring; probably only came to get out of the summertime heat.

But it wasn’t really the movie he was here for. Not today.

He’d seen her the first time he came. Sitting in the far back row, not that uncommon, some people liked to sit far away. No one else seemed to notice her and that wasn’t strange either. Normally even he didn’t pay much attention to anyone else in the theater, who did? So long as a person was quiet, made no ripples in the pond, no one saw them. Movies were for escapism, not to make new friends.

But this lady. To begin with, her clothes were about a century out of date, with her pink suit and matching pillbox hat, her white gloves, and whenever the house lights came up while they switch the reel, she vanished without even a shimmer of dust motes, only returning once the darkness did.

He’d been back three times so far and she’d been in the theater for every showing. Sitting on her own watching the flick, always in the same seat. This time, Stretch was sitting in the seat next to it. He munched his buttery popcorn and watched as Charlie Chaplin-ed his way through the movie. He didn’t have to wait long.

None of the Humans noticed. The black-and-white light coming from the screen was dim enough that anyone sitting in the audience was nothing but a shadow. Humans tended towards the unobservant side, anyway, none of them had to be as aware of their surroundings as a Monster did, especially one like Stretch with only 5 HP between him and dust.

Besides, there wasn’t any fanfare about it. One minute the chair next to him was empty and the next, a young woman was sitting there, her hands clasped primly in her lap as she looked up at the movie with rapt attention.

“like the movies, huh?” Stretch said, very softly. “always wanted to be an actor myself, but i don’t have the guts for it.”

Waste of a good pun, he didn’t even think the woman had a chance to notice he was a skeleton. She startled, one faintly translucent hand flying to her mouth as if to stifle a scream. Stretch only munched on another piece of popcorn and let her gather her wits or ectoplasm or whatever ghosts had. Wasn’t like he had room to talk, the inside of his skull was as hollow as a drunken apology.

She settled quick enough and asked in a wispy little voice, “you can see me?”

Stretch slouched back and propped his sneakers up on the seat in front of him. “sure. it’s a monster thing. we see things that humans don’t, sometimes.” Or didn’t bother to see, Stretch wasn’t sure which.

“Sometimes they see me,” she admitted. “but they always run away.”

Yeah, Stretch couldn’t really blame them for that one. Humans weren’t used to ghosts, not the way Monsters were, and now that he was sitting up close, he could see the way she flickered a little, that pretty face sometimes flashing onto something else, half still pretty as a picture from an old magazine and the other a bloody ruin. There was a gaping hole on one side of her head, her blonde hair matted into dark clumps, and one blue eye stared out, unseeing. There were flecks scattered on the shoulder of her pink suit, chips of ivory, and Stretch knew enough about bones to recognize skull fragments. Another flicker and it was gone, only a pretty young Human woman looking back at him. The effect was a little off-putting, true, but it wasn’t like she could help it.

Besides, Stretch didn’t have to look. He was watching the movie.

“what’s your name?” he asked, softly.

She hesitated and he wondered if she didn’t want to tell him or if she didn’t know. Her eyes were large, absurdly long lashes sweeping against her cheeks as she considered. When she spoke again her voice was a little stronger, surer, “Doris.”

“doris, my name is stretch,” he told her, “and it is a pleasure to meet you.”

They sat together in silence for a little while. The music coming brightly from the speakers was as cheerful as a carousel, offering happiness and humor when she spoke again abruptly. “I know this is very forward. But. Could you do something for me?”

“maybe,” Stretch said, a little wary. Better not to make promises to unknown ghosts, they could get tetchy.

She smiled, a wry curve of lips as if she could hear his thoughts. “Your popcorn.”

He looked down at the paper cup in his hand, still half-full of buttery kernels. “you want some?” he asked, bemused.

She let out a whispery laugh, like a wind rustling through summer cattails. “No, but. Can I smell it?”

Oh. “sure.” He held the cup out and she leaned over it, inhaling deeply, or, well, looked like she did, he didn’t think ghosts actually breathed, but who knew? When she bent down twin ribbons of blood ran from both her nostrils, dark and slick. It didn’t drip into the popcorn, couldn’t, it wasn’t present in the same way the little carton was, but he felt his appetite fade. He still politely pretended not to notice.

She leaned back with a happy sigh and all signs of the blood were gone. “Thank you. I go behind the counter sometimes to smell it, but it’s not the same.”

“i bet. gotta be in a paper bucket or it ain’t right.” If she could go out to the concession stand, that meant at least she wasn’t stuck sitting in this one seat. Maybe it was just her favorite. “you get out much?” He jerked his head towards the door, “outside, i mean.”

“No,” She shook her head sadly, and her hair brushed her shoulders. “I have to stay in the theater.”

He nodded sympathetically. That was gonna make this a little harder, but not too much. He liked the movies, anyway. “yeah, it works that way sometimes. but hey, i’ll stop back in and see you again. if that’s okay?”

She brightened visibly, coming sharply into focus like a lens turned on a camera, until the chair behind her only barely showing through. “Would you?”

Now that was a vow he could make and Stretch sketched a cross over his chest with a finger and said solemnly, “i promise.”

Their chat must’ve been getting a little loud. Someone was turning around in the front seats. The room was too dark to see, but he didn’t have to witness a glare to feel it. Stretch slouched down in his seat and took the hint.

Hey, he’d made a friend. Well, most of one and it was the important part. A soul without a body was a lot nicer than a body without a soul, hands down.

Which made him wonder about the gas station attendant, because Mitch made Red seem like a warm, outgoing person.

The ancient artwork on the front window of the gas station showed a shiny, smiling attendant in a tidy uniform, his neatly cut hair almost hidden beneath his cap as he held up a dripping gas nozzle in offering. That guy must’ve gotten promoted out of state, because the only dress code Mitch followed was ‘fuck it, looks clean.’ Long, straggly hair poked out from his dirty baseball cap and, of all things, he was reading the New York Times, the business section.

His saving grace was that his disinterest in all customers was universal. Mitch was an equal opportunity kind of guy; he didn’t give a shit about anyone.

Stretch opened the door carefully so that the cowbell only gave a muted clang. He hesitated inside the door and decided to brave a question. Hey, he’d made one friend today, may as well push his luck. “you got any coffee on?”

It was a pretty safe bet, even as hot as it was. Coffee wouldn’t help with the sweat that was already dampening his shirt from walking over from the theater, but Stretch felt a little unsteady from meeting Doris. He could use a dose of caffeine to shore him up.

Mitch didn’t look up from his paper, but he jerked his chin towards the back wall. “Yep, but the only coffee I got is hot. Ain’t no ‘spressos around here, Slick.”

“Hot is fine.” He didn’t bother correcting him on the name. Started with an S, close enough, they’d be best pals in no time. The carafe of coffee smelled surprisingly fresh, considering that Mitch looked like he’d been holding that chair down for a few hours. There was a plastic basket next to the carafe filled with little coffee mate creamer cups. He added four French vanilla, carrying his murky coffee up to the counter with Red’s six-pack. Beer was one thing they didn’t sell at the store, no alcohol at all, something to do with the liquor laws in this county and Red not paying those skinflint jackholes for a license, not on his ass, thanks much.

He paid for both, picked up his change from where Mitch tossed it unhelpfully on the counter and went outside, fumbling out his smokes on the way.

Stretch sat down on the crumbling curb, drinking his coffee and smoking, letting the caffeine and nicotine wash over him in a twin, soothing rush. He’d been trying to cut down with his funds being on the uncertain side, cigarettes were a pricy vice, and he couldn’t bum any from Red the way he did the beers.

The sun was still high overhead pouring down the heat, coming up off the pavement in shimmery waves. Sweat was rising up on his bones, his t-shirt clinging damply to his ribs and spine. Somewhere nearby, he could hear children playing, the hollow thud of a basketball and their laughter carrying on in the still air. He didn’t have anywhere he needed to be, no one’s expectations to live up to.

When his cigarette was done and pinched out, Stretch climbed back to his feet and headed for the grocery to drop off the beers before they got warm. Again, he went easy on the door, keeping the bell to a faint rattle rather than a clang. It was only when he turned around that he saw the front counter was empty, Red’s book bent open on the counter but no skeleton around to pick it back up.

He set the beers on the counter, calling, “red?”

No reply and that was strangely ominous in a little store where even a short skeleton would be hard pressed to hide.

There was a long hallway in the back that led past a couple storerooms to the apartment Red lived in. He gave the storerooms a glance, just in case Red had a sudden urge to restock the sanitary napkin display, and wasn’t very surprised to find them unoccupied. He saw the door to Red’s apartment was open a crack like it never was and that cranked ominous up to sinister. The lingering sweat on his bones was chilling in the air conditioning, but that wasn’t the only reason a sudden shiver rattled him.

“red?” Stretch called weakly as he pushed open the door.

The living room was small with a ratty plaid sofa and a coffee table littered with beer cans and balled up chip bags, and standing in the center of it was a person who was not Red, not unless he got one hell of a growth spurt while Stretch was gone.

Once, Stretch would’ve just taken a shortcut out, right the hell to the Sheriff station down the road and never had he missed the skill more than when the guy-who-was-definitely-not-Red started to turn around. The instinct to teleport was still there even if the ability wasn’t, fizzling out with an aching pain right in the middle of his chest.

It was only a minor distraction and Stretch blundered over to grab a lamp from a side table, yanking the cord right out of the wall as he brandished it over his head like a club, yelling shrilly, “what the fuck are you doing in here?”

The guy turned around, looking back at him with deep crimson eye lights that flicked briefly up to the lamp before meeting his wild gaze. His voice was as smooth and dark as deep water as he stated coolly, “I believe that’s my question.”

Stretch could stare and the only coherent thought amongst the many tangled ones scrambling through his mind was only two words. Simple. Descriptive.

Oh, shit.

-tbc-

[twistedsinews]

2, 15, 20 and 25 for Gat/Faith please?

2. If they could each describe each other in one sentence, what would it be?

Provided they’re not in the same room and in introspective moods, you’re liable to get things like,

“He’s the most badass person I’ve ever known.”

“Stronger than she thinks she is.”

If they are in the same room, you’d get one or two word descriptors like “Prick,” and “Stupid motherfucker.”  :P

15. What are traits they dislike in one another?

It fades as the series goes on, but Faith starts out as mildly perturbed with how far Gat is willing to go to get the job done (to the point of excess and for the fun of it) while Gat thinks she doesn’t go far enough.  Later on, she’ll get a twinge of it occasionally, but she’s always been far more like him than she’s ever willing to admit.

Gat never liked her habit of sleeping around, which he fully owns as a jealousy thing.

20. What is a promise they have made to each other?

After getting Gat back but before managing to bring Zinyak down, they got into a late night, sleep deprived argument that basically boiled down to “Who gets to die first?”

The promise that came out of it is that they die together or not at all.

25. What moves do they know work on the other?

I have a longstanding joke about how utterly incensed Faith was about Gat’s “Who wants to die for a blowjob?” quip back in SR1, that she nearly blew her cover.  She takes pride in her… skills, apparently.  Whether he’d die for it is up in the air, but he has come to appreciate them for himself.

Regardless.

Adrenaline works an aphrodisiac to both of them, so there’s that.  Faith knows Gat gets off on physical pain, both inflicting and taking, and is willing to take a lot more than she enjoys to make him happy.  She’s kinda adapted to it, but.

…he also has a thing for ripping her clothes off.  Which she knows but it also pisses her off because she’s usually the one making and mending them.  Fortunately for both of them, it’s a mild one.

For Gat’s part…  I mean, considering she’s hypersexual, he doesn’t have to try that hard (to get her turned on, anyway - getting her to the point she’s satisfied is another matter entirely).  But he does know all the soft spots on her neck, and down her back, and usually settles for teasing her just right those times when she can’t get her clothes off right then to get her flustered.

On a sappy note, Faith is probably the only person other than Aisha that Gat’s ever been genuinely sentimental around when it comes to private time.  Usually that’s an after sex thing, though.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #154

“the wind is screaming, it’s screaming your name; it sounds like fear.”

What is your opinion on sex without emotional commitment?  nononononoNONONONO. Last time you puked from drinking?  Never. What books, if any, have made you cry?  Johnny Got His Gun, Old Yeller, The Outsiders (I think; I know the movie did), The Notebook, uhhh others, I'm sure. Does it get annoying when somebody says they’ll call you, but doesn’t?  It depends on the person, but honestly, almost never.  I hate talking on the phone. What is your favorite simple ice-cream flavor?  Usually vanilla, but sometimes I'm all about chocolate, especially if I can't put chocolate syrup on it. When was the last time you slept on the floor?  Jeez, probably when me and Jason did at my house.  I've slept on an inflatable mattress since, but I'm guessing you mean literally on the floor with blankets and such. If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?  I dunno.  I doubt it really, but don't potatoes have all the nutrients you actually need to survive?  If so, then probably that, but otherwise, uh.  I dunno, I'd get tired of things or die 'cuz I'm not getting what I need. I could say shakes, but I consider those drinks. Have you ever given someone oral sex?  Yeah, fucking hated it.  I'm bi, yes, but visually, penises are disgusting to me.  I don't want it in my mouth.  I only ever really did it to make him happy.  I'm open to trying it with a girl, but who knows if I'd like it. What's your favorite lyric from the last song you listened to?  "Hey, hey, NRA, how many kids did you kill today?" ("Shelter In Place" by Otep) Are you friends with someone that has a baby?  My best friend does. How many different towns/cities have you lived in?  Three. Have you ever had a kinky dream about a celebrity?  No. How many pets do you have? Would you like any more?  Six, and I kinda want another snake to breed with Venus when she's big enough.  I want to keep at least one of the babies to help with Sara's snake breeding passion. Is there a song you can’t stop listening to atm?  Oh yeesh, yeah.  I've fallen in love with Powerwolf recently and thus play a number of their songs repeatedly. How many bedrooms does your home have?  Two. How many times do you use a bath towel before washing it?  Once.  Annoys the hell out of Mom but like, I feel like there may be leftover germs I'm getting off + maybe dead skin 'cuz my skin in dry as fuck??? What time do you usually eat dinner?  This can vary from 6:00 to like almost 9:00.  I can't cook and Mom works late, so.  I'll make my own microwavable things if I can't wait for her to make something. Do you know any narcissists?  Jason????? Dillon????? dat u???????? Have you ever been falsely accused of something serious?  I don't believe so? In which were you happiest: elementary, middle, or high school?  Elementary. What was your favorite thing to do as a little kid?  Video games. You can bring back one dead pet to life. Which one?  Cali, for Mom.  She misses her so much. Rock, paper, or scissors?  I think I usually do scissors. Who was the last person to ask you out? Girt. What are your favorite pajamas you have? My purple, black, and white Jack Skellington ones ahhh What’s your least favorite ice-cream flavor?  Strawberry is disgusting. Do you prefer it when it gets darker earlier?  NOOOOO.  This is totally inverted from how it used to be, but I'm more likely to feel down when it's dark. Are there a lot of cookbooks in your house, or just a few? Or maybe none at all?  Mom has tons she never uses. Who are your godparents?  I don't think I have any. Can you touch​ your nose with your tongue?​​  No. What brand is your toothpaste?  Crest. Are you currently broken out?  No. What was the last hotel you stayed at? I dunno. Do you have a favorite NASCAR driver?  No. Eyeliner. Yes or no?  If I wear makeup, that's the bare minimum. What’s the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make?  Let Jason go or continue to let what we had ruin my life. Where is the last beach you went to?  Myrtle Beach, NC. Have you ever been rock climbing?  Nah, not interested. Have you ever played Gamecube?  No. What has been the biggest event for you to overcome?  Recovery.  It changed me for the better so much. Do you have a favorite pet?  No one can beat Teddy.  I doubt any pet ever will. When someone drops something do you immediately go and pick it up for them?  If I’m close, unless they're already reaching for it, yes. Could you call your best friend right now and tell them your biggest secret, and trust them to keep it?  HAHAHAHA NO tbh.  I love her, but she tells people everything. Have you ever played Wii Fit?  Yup.  Everyday one summer, lost 40 pounds, got in great shape. Have you ever touched a caterpillar?  Yeah, loved picking up the ordinary ones as a kid. Is there a YouTube channel whose videos you always watch?  I will watch literally any video Mark makes. How often do you feel lonely?  This is like.  Almost a daily struggle. Do you struggle with depression?  I'm diagnosed with it, but it's well-controlled now! While in a relationship, do you ever think about its possible end?  I worry about it BADLY.  Even in my current one where I feel completely secure, I have some spans of "what if" anxiety. What is the worst treatment you’ve had to put up with from someone else?  Ummmm.  I dunno. What’s the longest you’ve gone without eating?  24 hours, probs. Do you like watching music videos?  No.  I just care about the music. Which, if any, drug have you ever abused?  None. Do you know your mail (wo)man?  No. Honestly, are you often high-maintenance/hard to please?  No. Are there any flags flying outside at your home?  No. Will you vote in the next presidential election?  If the remaining candidates don't fucking suck, yes. Tell me about someone that you know dislikes you. What do you think is about you they don’t like?  The one person I know doesn't is my best friend's mom, but I can't tell you exactly why.  There's no telling what Colleen told her after our fight, but.  Colleen has told me her mom thinks I could "hurt" her son somehow.  I was fucking livid.  I adore that boy and would do anything to protect him.  Oh yeah, know she mentioned I was a bad influence, too.  But hey, the hate is mutual, I've never been able to stand her. Tell me about something you’re afraid of. Why does it frighten you?  Getting heartbroken again.  Last time tore me the fuck apart, I seriously don't know if I could do it again.  Worst pain I have ever experienced. Is there someone you could hang out with all the time, without ever getting bored of them?  Sara <3 Have you ever liked someone else when you already had a boyfriend/girlfriend? What happened?  Yup, first high school crush Sebastian.  And nothing really happened; he was taken (though I'm pretty sure he had at least mild feelings for me too), though it was at a complicated point.  Then I met Jason. What mountain ranges have you seen?  The Appalachians. Where would you most like to go in your state, etc that you haven’t been?  THERE'S AN ABANDONED WIZARD OF OZ-THEMED PARK IN THE WEST AND I WANNA VISIT. Have you ever seen or touched an iceberg?  No. Where was the most remote location you’ve ever been to? I dunno. What is your most unhealthy habit? Not exercising? Has your house ever been damaged in a storm? A tree fell on our old house during a hurricane.  It didn't cause severe damage or anything, though. What’s the least amount you’ve weighed since reaching your full height? ~118.  Hilarious. Do you think it’s cruel to keep an animal in a cage while you’re away?  Depends on the size of the cage and how long they're staying in there. Are you scared of reptiles?  Not at all. Does death scare you?  Not that much. Do you use a comb or brush?  Comb now that my hair's short. When you were younger, did you ever do that exclamation point that looked like an upside down triangle and had a really big dot?  No. What kind of relationship do you have with the last person you kissed?  She's my girlfriend. Are there things in your life that you’ll never be able to get over?  If I could get over my breakup, I can get over anything. Have you ever turned to smoking or drinking to solve a problem?  New Years of 2017 I actually did try to get drunk for that purpose. Would you mind dating someone significantly shorter than you?  No. What’s on your bedside table? Yeesh, a lot.  A fan, a basket with all my meds in it, sketchbook, notebook, my folder full of things from Holly Hill as well as my therapy homework folder.  There's other miscellaneous stuff too. How much money would it take to get you to give up the Internet for one year?  This is pathetic, but probably like... no amount.  My life sadly revolves around it, just about. What are some things on your holiday wishlist?  Always tattoo money lmao.  But I'd really love a drawing tablet, but a decent quality one.  Can't have both. Who accompanied you to your first concert?  Jason, Mom, and Nicole. What’s the temperature outside?  Phone says 79.  Gonna get to 90, though. Have you ever been in detention?  Yes, too many tardies getting to school. Do you wear black to look skinnier?  Not for that reason, but it's a plus lol. Do you have scars on your wrists?  You can barely see them, but they're there. How about anywhere else?  Yeah, quite a few. Do you post things on Facebook that are personal?  No. Has the last person you kissed ever taken their shirt off in front of you?  Just to change it. Would you ever get in the passenger seat of a car with someone who’s been drinking?  Fuck that. What is a topic you definitely don’t want to talk about with anyone?  How I'm 99% sure I lost my virginity. What is the craziest hairstyle and color you’ve had?  Style, probably what I had before this where I had short hair on most of my left side and it faded to long.  Color, purple. What was your first gaming console?  Original PlayStation. Which fictional villain is your favorite?  Um obviously Darkiplier???????? What’s the last thing you’ve made with your hands?  Hm.  Dunno. Which hair color would you never want to have?  Yellow. Who’s the last person you talked to about sex?  Sara. What is the wallpaper on your phone?  My lock screen is a heavy reminder that I am still straight as fuck for Mark, home screen is my favorite pic of me and Sara. What was the last thing you wrote down?  Stuff at the tattoo/piercing parlor to get my tongue done. What is your least favorite color?  Puke green or olive. What’s the most boring sport to watch?  Golf.  Sara, don't tell your dad I said that.

[g-w-3-d-damn]

Tricky Treats and Torture Candy (Loki’s Naughty Candy Shop)  Part 5

(Click here for Part 1) (Click here for Part 2) (Click here for Part 3) (Click here for Part 4)   Miss awoke to the scent of spa salts, Loki's sweat, and apples.  The clubhouse was dark, so Miss kept her eyes closed.  She snuggled into Loki's warm flesh beside her.  She ran her fingers through Loki's soft hair.  The length of Loki's hair transformed at sunset to long wisps that reached past the collarbone.  Loki turned to face Miss, who buried her face in Loki's warm, soft, voluptuous chest.

In a state of sudden mild confusion, Miss felt Loki's chest.  Miss discovered two, large, round breasts in place of Loki's smooth, scrawny flat chest.  Miss jerked her face from Loki's bosom to look up into her doe-like eyes.

"Loki?" Miss asked.

"We haven't formally met I suppose, but yes, it's me," Loki said.

"Uh, hi," Miss said.

"Hi," Loki said.  

Neither of them moved.  The elevator door opened after some time, and a pair of mannequins strolled inside, each carried a clean change of uniform for the pair.  Loki's red lips smirked.  She rose from the couch, stripped, and waded into the spa.    The mannequins busied themselves, pampered Loki.  They massaged treatment into her scalp and manicured her nails, hand by feminine hand.  Loki kicked her toes through the bubbles at the surface of the water.

"Feels like it takes forever to get the boy sweat off me," she said.

Miss failed to respond.

"You're awfully quiet all of a sudden," Loki said, "don't be rude."

"I, hey, first off, you wouldn't like me if I wasn't rude, and secondly I'm not being rude I'm just in shock," Miss said.

"Really? What part of this shocks you?" Loki said.

"The part where I'm not sure you're the same person," Miss said.

"You were with me the whole time," Loki said.

"But I didn't see the change," Miss said, "last time you changed, I watched you change."

"I'm under the distinct impression you dislike this change," Loki said.

"I'm just not sure how much changed," Miss said.

Loki smiled, her white teeth shockingly contrasted against her seductive candy-apple red lips.

"Well, clearly, quite a bit of physiology changed while I lounged in your arms," Loki said.

"Clearly, but if it's still you, I have some questions," Miss said.

"Shoot," Loki said.

"I'll be right back," Miss said.

Miss returned to the club house with the toys they'd just used.  She pointed the thruster toy towards Loki's face.

"What were your plans for this thing, exactly?" she said.

Loki shrugged.

"As a man or as a woman?" she asked.

"Uh, now that you mention it, both," Miss asked.

"Double penetration fantasies, frottage... I was going to try to line my cock up with it and wrap the whole thing in a tenga egg, and, well, I have other plans for it as a woman but nothing I can speak of a the moment."

"See, so then it is yours, you wanted it for you, you should have kept it it," Miss said.

"I can get another one," Loki said, "by the time I order it they'll maybe even have one that's backdoor safe."

"Okay, so it is you, it's totally you, you watched me get off," Miss said.

"Is that a problem?" Loki said.

"Nah, I just wanted to know who I was dealing with," Miss said, "you still want to fuck the shit out of Thor, right?"

"Yes. That is the plan," Loki said.

"Am I part of this plan?" Miss asked.

"If you want to be," Loki said.

"Fuck yes!" Miss said.

Miss showered and dressed quickly.  Her uniform was similar to the candyshop uniform, only the candy apple red polo shirt with the Torture Candy logo differed.  She watched Loki fuss with the mannequins over which garters to wear.  Loki, too, wore the black hip-hugging slacks and uniform candyapple red polo.  Her belt gleamed with red plastic rubies.  Loki paired her red polo with candy apple stilettos, in contrast to Miss' black sneakers.  Loki's overt belt buckle shone with the same conspicuous gold as the clasps on her shoe straps.  The buckle read Torture Candy in bold, glamorous cursive. Loki accentuated her ears with many gold and red earrings, most notably the candy apple red handcuff dangle earrings.  A mannequin popped her head in with a squeak.

"Eckegg?" the mannequin asked.

"Oh shit, is that the time?  Let's go!" Loki said.

Loki grabbed a red ringbox and pulled Miss towards the elevator door.  The pair crashed into a mannequin carrying an armload of pink heart shaped boxes, filled with chocolate covered cherries.  

"Eckin' Eck..." the mannequin cursed.

"I'm truly sorry," Loki said, "what is this?"

The mannequin took Loki by the wrist and guided the pair down the stairs. At the bottom, the mannequin waved her arms at the two pallets full of pink heart shaped boxes.  Loki covered her heart with her hands.

"You did all this while we went and fucked off all day?" Loki asked.

The mannequins nodded.

Loki kissed each mannequin on the cheek, leaving behind a candy-apple red lip print.

"Oh... My... Word... You... Are... All... Too... Sweet!" she said, punctuating her words with kisses.

Loki spun the mirror that sat on the counter near the register and re-applied her lip gloss as the mannequins took their final positions and froze.

"Now, as long as that witch drops by to pick this stuff up soon, we'll be sitting pretty for when Thor swings by a little later," Loki said.

"How sure are you that Thor is coming?" Miss asked.

"Candy shop was closed today, and I'm here tonight," Loki said, "It's a no-brainer."

Loki held the red ringbox, opened it in front of Miss.  A gold t-shaped tongue ring rested upon the white satin.  Loki wiggled her eyebrows at Miss with a smirk.  The bell jingled as the open signs came alight.  Loki put her face close to the mirror, opened her red lips wide.  Her long, obscene pink tongue curled from her mouth.  Its reflection curled back.  She slid the gold bar through the pierced muscle of her curling tongue until it peaked from beneath the slick fleshy underside.  She screwed the cap closed beneath the pink frenulum, drew her tongue into her mouth and swallowed.  She smirked at Miss.  The flesh beneath Loki's chin tensed as Loki rolled the tongue ring around in her mouth.  Miss heard the clicking of metal against teeth.  Loki bit down on the ring; it buzzed.  Loki presented the vibration to Miss by sticking the tongue ring toward her.

"That one looks cute in you," Miss said.

Loki's tongue curled sideways.  She drew the tongue ring in and bit it again, halting the vibration.  She swallowed once more.

"I know," she said.

Miss scratched her temple and leaned on her elbow.

"Not that this is the worst thing in the world, but the rest of it kinda looks like the 90s will be calling any minute looking to get their Hot Topic hooker back," Miss added.

Loki's eyes narrowed and her hip jutted.  

"At least I don't look like I'm about to deliver a fucking pizza.  Look at you, what's with those sneakers?" Loki said.

"Rude. I happen to like pizza, sneakers, and Hot Topic hookers," Thor said.

"I'm going to kill that bell," Loki muttered beneath her breath.

The belated bell chimed in mockery. Loki wheeled to face Thor.  Her long, styled hair spun out and recollected itself around her bare collar with grace.

"Well hello, stranger!" Loki crooned.

Thor smiled, refused to hide the gleam in his eye.

"Hello, Loki," Thor said.

"You're unusually chipper," Loki said.

"Am I?" Thor said.

He said this with a flirty facial expression of clear adoration.

"Oh! Right, I heard you got engaged, congrats!" Loki said.

He waved towards the two pallets of pink and red hearts.

"Apparently I'm not the only one," he said.

Loki gave an exasperated sigh.

"Yes," she said, "this wedding is going to be the biggest pain in the ass of my life."

Thor laughed.  

"Could be worse," he said, "it could be your wedding!"

Miss and Loki stared at Thor.  Both remained tight-lipped.  The gleam faded from Thor's eyes.  He pointed at Loki.

"Oh," he said, “so, you’re marrying Loki.  Wow, that’s a bit confusing.”

Loki shook off the awkward silence with a shiver, smiled with a false brightness, and picked a bit of string from Thor's broad shoulder.

"So, Thor, what brought you into the shop today?  Surely you didn't come just to see me," Loki said.

"Oh, you're well worth coming to see, Loki," Thor said, "even if you did go and get engaged on me."

Loki gritted her teeth.

"You started it," she lied, "How's your fiance?"

"Happy! She's very happy, thanks!  Well, I mean, except, ah nevermind," Thor said.

"Come now, you know I'm keeping a laundry list of your secrets long enough to wrap this pallet with, don't you nevermind me!" Loki said.

"Well, the candy shop was closed today for some reason," Thor said, "and I just have to bring my fiance back something for tonight. But why were you closed?"

"Loki got himself suspended, and there was no one to work the register," Miss said.

Loki's eyebrows lifted, and she pointed towards Miss with a single candy-apple lacquered nail, as if to compliment Miss on her quick wit while throwing Thor off the scent.

"Oh, that's too bad," Thor said, "will the shop be open tomorrow?"

"Yes," Loki said, "Miss will be filling in for my fiance until he's off suspension."

"Goddamnit, I was hoping you'd say, fuck, nevermind, Will he be coming back?"

Loki and Miss exchanged glances.

"Why does it matter," Miss asked him.

"Well, I mean, I like the guy, I know he's made some mistakes on my orders before but I never wanted him in any trouble for it," Thor explained.

"Curious," Loki said, "I don't think that's the whole story.  Do you, Miss?"

"Yeah probably not, Loki, don't distrust your instincts," Miss said.

"What?" Thor asked.

"Miss mentioned that she thought she saw you checking out my fiance," Loki said.

Thor shot Miss a look.  The disapproving look said everything the pair needed to know.

“Oh, So, it's true!” Loki said.

Loki stepped from behind the counter and walked her stiletto heels right up to Thor's toes.  Thor leaned back with his hands up and his fingers splayed.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea you two were engaged, I’ve never seen you together," Thor apologized.

Loki looked down her delicate nosebridge at Thor.

"I'm not sure I should forgive you," Loki said.

"Is there anyway I can make it up to you?" Thor asked.

"Maybe," Loki said.

"What is it, tell me," Thor said.

"I just want the honest truth," Loki said.

"That is the honest truth," Thor said.

"But it wasn't all of it," Loki said.

"It, well..."

“So, can you tell me what you want to do to my future husband?”

Miss' eyes went wide.  She hyperfocused on the sudden tension in Thor's throat to distract herself from the growing tension in Thor's pants. Miss slipped behind the register and dipped down until her nosebridge disappeared.  Thor huffed deep and Miss followed suit in a silent gasp.

"You're hesitating," Loki said, "it must be something truly infuriating."

"I hope not, but I suspect so," Thor said.

"I assure you I'll be far more infuriated by your utter silence than whatever base fantasy you had in mind in that tiny little brain," Loki said.

"Only if you promise he won't be in any more trouble," Thor said.

"He's marrying me, how much more trouble can he be in," Loki said.

"Good god I can't believe those are Facts, but they are, the lucky little son of a-" Thor said.

Loki flicked his chest with her candy apple manicure.

"Spill it," she said.

"Well," Thor said, "sometimes, he messes up my order pretty bad.  And I know he does it on purpose."

"He's already in trouble for that, and you're sidestepping the issue," Loki said.

"No no, it's, that's part of it," Thor said, "sometimes, when I know he does it on purpose, I fantasize about getting him back."

Loki grabbed his shirt.  Her nails grazed his chest as she pulled him toward the register counter.  Miss sank lower but would not stop staring at Thor.  Loki pulled out a stool and took a seat, directed him to sit as well.

"Please," Loki whispered, "tell me everything."

Thor stuttered.

"Please?" Loki said.

"Y-you're getting off on this," Thor accused.

"Meh, not yet," Loki admitted, "but I want to be.  So spill. Tell me what you see yourself doing to him, or just as good, tell me what you see him doing to you.  Please?"

Thor relaxed a bit.

"Well, it's, after he gives me some bad candy, I get hold of him," Thor said.

"Go on," Loki whispered.

"I mean that's pretty much it, he's naked, I'm fucking him," Thor said.

"Is he doing anything when you're fucking him?" Loki asked.

"Yeah, he's... Loki has his hands wrapped in my hair, and he's just screaming, right, it’s not a bad screaming, but he’s screaming, with his cock bouncin' between our bellies every time I pump my hips," Thor said.

A crash behind the register alerted the pair to the fact that Miss lost her footing.  Her hand waved above the counter.

"I'm okay I'm okay don't stop," Miss said.

Loki giggled.

"Okay, you were at, every time you pump your hips," Loki said.

"Right, yeah, I'm doing that, and I'm like, is this what you wanted when you sent me home with that nasty cherry bomb?  And he's like Ngh, yes! And that's, I mean, that's the gist of it," Thor said.

Thor's eyes lifted from his feet to discover Loki's labored breathing push and pull at Loki's heaving breasts.  He reluctantly looked higher, expecting to see her face contorted in anger.  Instead, her soft face blushed, flushed with desire.  Her doe like eyes twinkled.

"That's very sexy,” she said.

“You won't tell him, will you?” Thor asked.

“Of course not, you know I keep all the dirty secrets that come through this door,” she said.

“Do you hate me for it?”

“Do you want me to hate you for it?”

“No. I wouldn't mind seeing you angry, vengeful, possessive of him, but I don't want you to hate me.”

“Good because I can't hate you,” she said.

“That's good,”

"Unless you didn't really come here to shop.  Now buy something before I step on you and charge you for the service," Loki demanded.

"Oh, right! My girlf-fa-fiance!  Yeah, I uh, I'll just," Thor stammered.

Miss popped up from behind the counter.

"Need me to make a recommendation?" Miss asked.

"Well I mean whatever you recommend doesn't sound as fun as this lovely woman stepping on me, but sure," Thor said.

Loki laughed and gave Thor a high five.  Miss presented Thor with the same type of cherry flavored plug Loki had given her on her first day.

"The flavor lasts a long time, and the vibrations are really strong," Miss said, "you can still feel it really well all the way through your clothes."

"Hmmm, that sounds lovely, I'll take one," Thor said.

"Not that one, get him the candy apple flavored one," Loki said.

"Sure!" Miss said.  

Loki got behind the register, slipped a gold key from her pocket, and locked the cabinet beneath the register.  She slipped the key in her pants.  When Miss returned, Loki held her hand out towards Miss.

"Can I borrow your keys?" Loki said.

Miss lent Loki her keys.  Loki took the gold cabinet key and unlocked the cabinet, leaving Miss' keyring to dangle.  Loki took a pair of latex gloves from the cabinet.  She rolled them on, then opened the package with the candy apple flavored plug.  She took batteries from inside the cabinet, opened the package, tested the vibration of the toy. She removed the batteries, put the toy back in the box, and awaited Thor's payment.  He patted his left asscheek, and turned to go get his wallet.  As he turned, Loki dropped the box with the plug below the counter, took Miss's pepper spray from the keyring dangling in the cabinet, and shot it into the box.  Miss coughed and sputtered, the stinging scent of pepperspray filled the air.  Thor turned back around at the hissing sound, but turned to discover the toy in the box on the counter and Loki smiling behind it while Miss croaked, redfaced.  Thor made a sour face at Miss and held his breath, not wishing to catch whatever airway disease had afflicted Miss.  He patted his left asscheek once again and curiously rediscovered the bulge of his wallet.  He shrugged, pulled out his card, purchased the item and left swiftly without another word, before Miss could compose herself.  Miss swung her arms in warning about the tainted device, and Thor ignored her with the same sour look on his face.  The bell jingled to denote his absence, while Loki's wicked grin grew.

"What are you doing," Miss said between gasps for air.

Loki clasped her hands in front of her chin and shrugged her shoulders to her ears.

"Celebrating," Loki said.

Loki bounced up and down, clapped her hands and squealed.

"You can’t do that!  What's wrong with you," Miss said.

"I can't wait to replay the security camera on this one," Loki said.

"You could seriously hurt her with that shit!" Miss said.

"Pffft, so she ends up in the hospital, boo-hoo," Loki said.

"What if he uses it on himself?" Miss said.

Loki just laughed.

"I hope he tries it," she said.

Miss put on rubber gloves, disconnected the pepper spray from the rest of the keyring.  She held the pepper spray canister in one gloved hand, and took the glove off around it, containing it within the rubber glove.  She tied the glove, then repeated the process to wrap the gloved canister inside the other glove.  Then she threw the whole bit of nonsense away.

"You are friekin' crazy," Miss said, "I hope he doesn't sue."

The bell rang out in a frantic fit.  The mannequins tensed.  The door opened, to reveal Highness, dressed in dark cherry red satin and cashmere.

"Oh, ruin the moment, why don't you," Loki said.

"Darling, sweet, it is so good to see you again," Highness said.

Highness waved to the pallets of chocolate covered cherries.

"Oh my!  It looks like you took a dent out of that order!  Splendid and well done," Highness said.

"Yeah if you can get these out of my storefront, that'd be great," Loki said.

"Well I would have picked them up earlier but I'm afraid the candy shop was closed all day," Highness complained.

"Bitch put that in a memo and file it under 'no fucking shit,' okay?  Take your candy and get out," Loki demanded.

"Shouldn't we be planning our little merger?  I mean, there's nothing more satisfying than picking out what we'll wear on the big day!  I was thinking, for you, maybe a bright white gown with a nice bouquet of carnations and roses, and of course, cherry red lips," Highness said.

"How about over my dead body blue lips?" Loki spat.

"How about not," Miss interjected.

Highness drifted about the store, using only the tip of her fingernail to touch or manipulate the products.

"If it's all the same to you, get your cherries and get out," Loki said.

"It's not all the same, and I prefer to shop.  What's this, my sweet?" Highness said.

She picked up a package that displayed a large U shaped toy, intended for couples.  The toy was cast in a vibrant candy apple rubber.  Loki tensed.  She knew she had to answer Highness' questions about the product.

"It's a double dildo, meant for couples," Loki said, "reasonable, dependable, loving couples, in a healthy, non-manipulative relationship."

"I shall have to order one then," Highness said, "if it comes in cherry red."

"It does not come in cherry red," Loki growled.

Highness stared at Loki with lifeless doll eyes.  Highness swirled the packaged product in her hands until it turned dark cherry red.

"Oh, but look at that!" Highness said.

Loki bit down on the inside of her bottom lip.  Highness approached the register with the package and attempted to pay for the item.  Loki swatted the offending sex toy off the counter.

"We don't even sell that product here, are you here to pick up your cherries or not?" Loki asked.

"That's no way to treat my personal property," Highness said.

"Don't give a damn," Loki said, "you are not a valued customer, you're not my wife, you're not my mom, and you're not my business partner until the merger completes.  So either pick up your shit, or leave it here until it breaks the merger contract for failure to pick up your layaway.  I don't give a damn as long as you get out."

"Where are my manners?  I forgot to say hello to Miss," Highness said.

Highness cocked her head.  Her plastic hands stretched to hefty blades, each the size of a forklift tong.  She glided to the pallets and hooked her forklift like hands under them.  Both pallets lifted. Highness drifted toward the exit with them.

"I'll be back for an equal measure of my order, tomorrow.  In the meantime, Miss, I hope you enjoy more of those delectable chocolate eggs," Highness said.  

"I'm not dumb," Loki said, "I know a veiled threat when I hear one."

"Consider it a veiled promise," Highness said.

Loki chased Highness from the store while screaming.

"Go! Shoo! You're wasting our time and you're ruining my product!" Loki screamed.

She kicked the U shaped dildo, now in cherry red, towards the door.  

"Go on! Get the hell out," Loki shouted.

Highness drifted through the door with Loki screaming after her.

"And take your dumb shit with you!" Loki said.

With the next kick, the U shaped dildo tore from the package and clunked against the door frame.  It flopped against the ground, bounced.  It wobbled a bit.  It blurred.  A horrendous mechanical whirr buzzed the air as the toy vibrated and bounced.  The toy sped up and wobbled itself out the door.  Outside in the distance, a couple laughed.  The laugh turned to concerned noises as the buzz sound faded in their direction.  Miss jogged to the window as the couple's audible concern grew.

"Uh, dude, I think that double-dong is chasing people down the fucking street," Miss said.

"Good. I hope that they're prudes.  Or homophobes.  Or prudish homophobes," Loki said.

Loki kicked the door closed.

——- Leave a heart and a share to help others enjoy my writing! Too embarrassed to reblog? I have a ko-fi! Comment your favorite moment/favorite image.  Most favorited visuals get art later. **Bookmark me & re-read me later!** twitter | ko-fi | patreon | commissions | facebook | index | tumblr I now have a discord set up just for the candy shop work.  https://discord.gg/hE5S5En

[lalka-laski]

What song are you listening to right now? We just started watching The Little Mermaid, so the opening theme to that

Admit it – you want a Snuggie. What design/color? I used to have a pink one (of course!) 

Do you prefer movies at home or movies at the theatre? I don’t care for movies but at least when I watch them at home I can do other stuff while I watch. Prime example: I’m filling this out while we’re watching Little Mermaid.

How many songs does your iTunes have? Spotify, bitch!

Do you take a shower in the morning or the night before? Lately it’s been the afternoon. Never thought I’d have the ability to just shower in the middle of the day like this but... 

Who’s your youngest teacher? I’m not in school Have you ever had the samples people offer you at Costco? I’ve never been!

If you had to name your kid after a food, what would his/her name be? I’m stealing the answer from the previous poster: Madeline. 

Are you stressed about anything? This global pandemic, for starters... 

When’s the last time you had a rock, paper, scissors match? Couldn’t tell ya

What’s your favorite anime? I don’t watch anime.

Did you cry when Ash let his Butterfree go with the other Butterfrees?

Don’t you hate it when Facebook auto-corrects your smiley faces and hearts? I can’t say that’s ever happened

Skinny, flared, ripped, or faded jeans? Skinny jeans ONLY

What are you excited for? I’d love this pandemic to be over. That would be swell. 

Are you part of the Farmville cult? I never got into that. None of those Facebook games like Farmville or Candy Crush ever appealed to me. Have you ever had braces?  For way, way too long than any person should ever have braces

What year of high school are you in? I graduated in 2010

What’s your favorite flower? Chrysanthemum, because it’s the title and main character of my favorite childhood book 

Would you ever bleach your hair? Everyone thinks I do but I never have. My hair is just naturally light.

Have you ever stood on a frozen solid body of water? Mhm, but I didn’t fully walk across it or anything.

Would you ever take up smoking or drinking? I’d never smoke cigarettes and I don’t care for weed although I dabble occasionally. I do love a nice bevvy though. I’m sipping a glass of rose as we speak.

Do those girls with 1,000 friends on Facebook REALLY have that many? I’m one of those girls. Most of them are people I know in real life but there are a few strangers who fanangled their way in. What holiday is your birthday closest to? My birthday is an international holiday ok. No but really, Fourth of July. Which also happens to be my favorite!

Are you cyberdyslexic? What......?

Are you regular dyslexic? No but I think I might actually have a mild form of the numbers version of dyslexia.

What would your name be if you were a boy? Jack, after my grandfather 

Which person from way back when would you love to hang out with? BOWIE. Not sure if his existence counts as “way back when” since he only died 4 years ago. But he will forever be my answer to this question. 

What color are your eyes? Greenish. 

The forever on-going question: Is Twilight stupid or actually brilliant? I have never heard someone claim it’s brilliant. It’s garbage, but I still find it entertaining as hell. And the baseball scene is a staple of cinematic history 

Did you carve pumpkins for Halloween this year? No, I always paint them. This year I did two mini ones: Jack & Sally!

Does your family use a real pine tree or a plastic one for Christmas? Artificial. Though we always got real ones growing up. 

Do you know anyone with a play-on name? (Chris P. Bacon, Justin Case, etc.) No but I fucking WISH. I’d definitely be friends with someone named Chris P. Bacon

Do you have any foreign exchange students at your school? I’m not in school but we did at the time.

Are you good at brain teasers? I can solve a good amount of them

Is your handwriting nice? It is. It’s something I pride myself on. I don’t know why!

What’s your second language? Polish

Is it uncomfortable for you to take showers in glass stalls w/out curtains? I actually prefer those type of showers. My sister’s apartment has one and I LOVE showering there.

Finish the sentence: Remember, remember… The 5th (5?) of December? Something like that.

Did you understand Shakespeare? I do only because I read lots of translations or side-by-side translations. I could’ve never understood it if I just went in blind. 

What do you want to be when you’re older? I still haven’t a clue

What’s your favorite dog breed? I dislike dogs. And everyone wants to believe that their personal dog is the exception to my aversion. NO KAREN I DO NOT LIKE YOUR SLOBBERING DEMON.

What was the last shot you got? I must be an extreme lush because I just started thinking about the last liquor shot I took. Ha. But to answer your question: flu shot.

Ever gotten cavities? Two 

Can you differentiate between the words “your” and “you’re?" Of course

Do you use hair ties as bracelets? No. That bothers me for some reason. 

What was the last school project you did that you couldn’t wait to turn in? I’ve been out of school for a couple years. But I was always excited to turn in papers.

Have you ever graded papers? Just peer editing 

What’s the latest you’ve ever woken up? I slept till 4 pm once I think. 

Can you recite the alphabet backwards? I don’t have the desire to even try

If you could master one language in thirty minutes, what would it be? Polish! Also I don’t know why the specification of “thirty minutes” is making me laugh.

Are you a sucker for foreign accents? Certain ones. I love a Slavic accent of any kind. But let’s say, an Australian accent? Irritates the shit out of me! Where were you born? Is it the same place you live currently? Yep

How often do you remember your dreams? What did you last dream about? I almost always remember them in detail. And they can really fuck up my whole day sometimes.

When did you learn the ninja turtles were named after Renaissance artists? I always just kinda knew?

Do you do yoga? No but I’m really considering picking it up with everything going on 

[tigerlover16-uk]

The DragonBall Super ANIME and MANGA outright BASHES my favorite characters, while making other beloved characters horribly out of character and unlikable. The Series DESERVES fan hatred.

I was wondering when I was going to get someone ranting in my inbox like this since I put up that positivity post. Took longer than I thought, surprisingly.

I’ll agree with you on the manga there, that one does outright bash the characters. At worst, I think the anime has only ever intentionally taken some lighthearted jabs at somebody once in awhile, nothing purposefully malicious. And hey, Toriyama has never been above having a laugh at one of his characters expense for the sake of a good laugh, so that’s not anything too new.

If you feel that way then that’s your right, I’m not going to argue that hard with you. For the most part I think most of the cast are more or less in character most of the time, maybe with an off moment here or there especially if they get a writer who’s not sure what to do with them. Same thing could happen in Z filler scenes from time to time.

Goku I think is out of character about maybe 20% of the time, but personally I think he’s more or less fine the rest of it. Maybe Vegeta sometime gets his qualities exaggerated for comedy once in awhile, but Super is a more light hearted and comedic series bordering on cartoony in it’s breather episodes, so it kinda fits. And a lot of these moments are amusing. I wrote up a whole post once about how Chichi’s character early on in Super actually makes sense following up from what she went through in the Buu saga and such. Master Roshi had his worst traits turned up to eleven in episode 89 and that was definitely an annoying mess, but thankfully outside of that scene with Puar he’s been pretty decent in his scenes outside of that and has had some good moments. Hopefully they actually have his attempts to overcome his perverted instincts stick as actual character development, then at least we’ll know we never have to go through that again.

Videl’s not as spunky or tomboyish as she used to be, but that’s consistent with her development late into the Buu Saga and her EoZ portrayal, and she’s older now and married. So while I wish she still had more of that spunk, it fits. Episode 74 shows her old personality didn’t fade away anyway, she’s just matured. Krillin’s had actual character development that acknowledges the mental impact that being a punching bag for so many powerful villains, a few of whom had killed him previously, along with a constant inability to keep up with Goku and several of the other Z fighters would realistically have on a person, and it makes sense since if you look at some moments in Z close enough you can get the idea that he might have some mild depression brewing under the surface. And he’s overcome that and is back to his good ol’ self.

Android 17 has had years of off screen development to justify his growth and changes in personality, and if his interaction with Ribrianne proves anything he still has a lot of his old cockiness deep down. Android 18′s personality is closer to how she was in the manga version of the Buu Saga than the anime version for the most part. The only moment that was unquestionably OOC was the opening scene of episode 100, which was definitely a bad writing moment, but other than that she’s been great. Just needed more chances to shine before now.

Mr Satan, Gohan, Piccolo, Goten, Buu, Future Trunks, etc are more or less fine. Trunks is a bit less cocky and not as much of a brat as in Z, so maybe that makes him less charming to some people, but I don’t really care that much about Trunks so I don’t notice it that much. He could annoy me occasionally in Z though while not really in Super, so to each his own I guess.

But that’s just me, I really don’t want a serious debate about this right now because everyone’s riled up and I’m specifically trying to avoid fandom drama right now. I just want to get away from discourse and encourage some positivity in people’s lives.

I just bothered replying to this because I’m annoyed at your tone. You came into my inbox with an ask phrased in a very argumentative, accusatory tone, and it feels like you’re trying to shame me for liking the anime or saying anything good about it. Look dude, people are fully allowed to dislike the show and criticise it in their own space. That’s your right and every other detractors right. I’d like to just avoid the drama sometimes, because I disagree with you and I don’t think the show deserves the level of hate it gets and I think it’s pretty good despite it’s flaws, even though it was never going to be as good as DBZ.

For the most part I just stay in my lane and just interact with people I can have civil conversations about with the franchise in general. Positive or negative about Super. The very few times I’ve said something out of line I’ve apologized for it, and usually I just agree to respectfully disagree with people with different opinions than me.

I don’t go into people’s inboxes on anon and try to pick fights.

I only answered this so I could tell you that you’re not going to accomplish anything by coming into my inbox and trying to start a fight. Especially if you aren’t even brave enough to do so off anon. I don’t put up with anon hate. Feel free to dislike the show or take umbrage with how it treats certain characters. But don’t go around getting ticked off and throwing shade at the people who do enjoy it in their own personal space. If you’ve done that with other people, then I’m telling you right now to stop and act like a grown up. if people want to have a serious discussion with you about these topics, then go ahead and do with said willing participants. I don’t feel like having a real debate right now because you’re clearly not looking for a fair conversation and just want to try and either bait me, or shame me. Well good luck, all you’ve really accomplished is making a jerk of yourself, buddy.

Can no one else please comment or this post and try to start a debate about who’s in character and who’s not? I only just started using this site regularly again yesterday and I’m still not feeling up to this stuff. I just want to move on with my day and think positive, maybe another time. Besides, you’d just be playing into this anon’s hands.

i’d love to know who this guy is though.