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carewyncromwell · 4 years ago

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Hey hey hey, Cinderella AU time again at last! Sorry to have left y’all on a cliffhanger last time, so I think it’d be kindest if we just jump right in!

Previous part is here -- full tag is here -- Katriona Cassiopeia “KC” (pictured above with McNully in a dress based on this design 💙) belongs to @kc-needs-coffee -- and I hope you enjoy!!

x~x~x~x

There was a very tense silence.

Then Erika abruptly barreled over to Orion, seizing him roughly by the collar.

“I knew I smelled a rat, when you first waltzed in here -- ” she snarled.

“Get the hell off of him!”

BAM.

Skye had hurled a punch right at Erika’s jaw. The violent move made Erika take a step back, but she didn’t release Orion -- instead, holding onto his collar with one hand, she proceeded to try to grab Skye. Soon the two were in a full on tustle, with Skye trying and failing to get Erika to let go of Orion.

“Skye -- ” choked Orion in a very hushed, strained voice. “Lady Rath, please -- !”

“Erika, stop,” said KC sharply. She grabbed Erika’s arm and held it back. “This is no rational way to deal with this -- ”

But Erika seemed unmoved. “This man’s a Florentine royal who disguised himself as a Royaumanian peasant to get close to our Prince. There’s nothing to waffle over.”

Her eyes shot over to Carewyn harshly. “If anything, I’d say you should make sure she doesn’t run off too, for aiding and abetting him.”

Carewyn, who’d been too stunned to properly respond, straightened up abruptly. “What?”

“Don’t play innocent, Cromwell,” said Erika very coldly. “Looking up troop movements in your spare time? Meeting every other day with a Florentine spy? Lying to Prince Henri about where you were going before dashing off to the Florentine border? It’s pretty clear you were in on it all along.”

“No!”

Orion for the first time wrenched sharply in Erika’s grip. His face was unusually pale, his black eyes very wide and anxious.

“She didn’t know,” said the Prince of Florence insistently. “She never knew -- it was solely my doing, all of it...”

“Just what a spy would say, to protect his co-conspirator,” Erika cut him off.

Bill and Charlie, however, both swooped down around Carewyn, flanking her like bodyguards.

“Carey is NOT his co-conspirator!” said Charlie, his arms wrapped around her neck in a protective side-hug.

“And she wasn’t dashing off to the border,” said Bill, his voice much firmer and lower than Charlie’s, but no less righteously angry. “She was going to see her brother at the war front.”

Andre and KC both looked startled.

“Brother...?” whispered Andre.

He looked at Carewyn, but she avoided his eyes.

“Carey’s older brother is a soldier in the Royaumanian army,” said Bill. “She hasn’t seen him since her grandfather sent him out nine years ago.”

KC looked from Bill to Carewyn, her eyebrows knitting together. “He’s a soldier? But...I’ve never seen the name ‘Cromwell’ on any of my records...”

“That’s why she decided to go!” said Charlie. “She couldn’t find Jacob in your records either...so it’s likely old Charles Cromwell made him enlist under another name or something.”

“Or he just died ages ago,” Erika said bluntly.

Carewyn’s blue eyes abruptly flared. “No! My brother is out there somewhere!”

She turned to Andre, her eyes more imploring.

“Andre...I’m sorry for having lied to you -- but I couldn’t afford to let Iris or anyone else in my family know I’m trying to make contact with Jacob, without Grandfather’s approval. And even if my brother’s alive...”

She glanced at Orion. Her blue eyes were welled up with pain, and she had to tear her gaze away, unable to show that much emotion openly.

“...the War is getting worse. I don’t know what state my brother is in out there now, if the War is as bad as I’ve heard -- I can’t let Jacob suffer out there, not if I can do something to help him!”

“So you thought of sneaking into the Royaumanian army camp completely on your own without even having any means to protect yourself?” said KC, her gaze rather critical as she crossed her arms. “Carewyn, that was not smart.”

Andre too didn’t look happy. “You could’ve told me, Carewyn. I considered you my friend -- I trusted you. There was no reason for you to lie to me.”

Carewyn’s face grew a lot more stoic as she turned her face away, trying to hide the tumultuous emotions in her eyes. Bill, however, strode forward, stepping right between Andre and Carewyn.

“I know it wasn’t right for Carey to lie, Andre,” Bill said, “but truly, do you think you would’ve been all right, knowing she was running off toward the battlefield?”

“No,” said Andre, “but I would’ve been happy to help!”

“So were we, and that’s exactly why she didn’t tell you,” Bill barked back. “Because she knew how dangerous it’d be out there for herself, and she didn’t want to put any of us in that danger too, especially you. Carey doesn’t ask for help -- she never has. She’s always done things herself, rather than trouble anyone else. She tried to convince Charlie and me to head back several times, when we caught up with her. She gave herself up to those bandits because she couldn’t bear the thought of us never being able to go home to our family again, just because we followed her.”

The eldest Weasley glanced at Orion still in Erika’s grip, his brown eyes narrowing.

“I may not know what this man’s intentions were, manipulating Carey so that he could get at the royal family,” he said lowly, “but he’s telling the truth. Carey didn’t know he was a Florentine, let alone that he was their Prince.”

“He was telling the truth about a lot more than just that.”

McNully had climbed out of the coach and down into his wheelchair attached to the boot. Gripping the sides of his chair and giving them a sharp twist, he catapulted it off the boot and down to the ground so he could roll over to Orion’s side, facing Andre with a very solemn expression.

“Your Highness, Orion told the bandits, ‘We do not come seeking trouble’ -- and it’s just as true in this instance. As much as Orion had to keep certain things under wraps, I know him well enough to know he didn’t lie so much as omit key details, and let you all fill in the blanks yourselves. I daresay a good 95% of everything he’s told you and Carewyn is true, if not more.”

Erika snorted. “Doubtful. I’ve never heard of an honest Florentine.”

“Don’t act all high-and-mighty, you -- !” started Skye.

“Skye, please,” Orion whispered.

His hands were still clasped in front of him and his voice was still brushed with anxiety, even as he took several deep breaths to try to calm his heart rate.

“...Prince Henri, the reason I came today was to seek an audience with you,” he said seriously. “I fully intended to go to the castle gates and request a diplomatic meeting, before I saw you with KC and Lady Rath. My deception was only ever a means to that end -- diplomacy and peace. There was no malevolence meant.”

“If you’d wanted to discuss peace, you could have done it honestly,” said Andre, his arms crossed.

“He could have tried, but would you have listened?”

Everyone turned to look at Carewyn. Her voice was low and she couldn’t make eye contact with anyone -- her gaze instead floated just over Andre’s shoulder -- but she sounded firmer than before, more like her usual self.

“If he had approached the King under his true name, can you really say that your father would’ve accepted an audience with him?” she challenged Andre. “Naturally your father would’ve never allowed you to speak to him -- but would he even have spoken to Prince Cosimo VII? Would any of us have?”

Something uncomfortable flickered through Andre’s expression, robbing it of some of its righteous anger.

Carewyn broke away from Charlie and Bill, striding right up to stand between Andre and Orion in rather the same protective way Bill had for her.

“If Orion had come under his real name, we would’ve never danced with him at the Winter Festival,” she said. “Bill and Charlie’s family would’ve never invited him to stay for dinner. KC would’ve never told him that Charlie and I had been gone longer than expected. Badeea would’ve never invited him to sit with us by the bank while she painted. I...never would’ve accepted his help...nor would I likely have helped him.”

Was that shame, in her face? It was hard to say, for it was a shadow that disappeared very quickly.

“I’m sure we’ve all been judged by what our names are and what families we were born into, but you especially should know full well what that’s like,” said Carewyn, her voice suddenly full of fiery conviction, “considering that from the moment we first met, you actively tried to discourage me from calling you by your real name!”

Andre flinched.

“Carewyn...” he murmured, taken aback by her passion, but Carewyn cut him off.

“Orion met me last night to tell me that his father was a high-ranking officer who planned to attack the enemy forces with a strategy that could destroy many lives. That’s why I’m here now. I thought his father was in the Royaumanian army, but now it’s clear that he meant to warn us that his own army -- the Florentine army -- means to attack us. Yet Orion came to warn me anyway -- and beyond that, he said how much he disapproved of the strategy and wanted peace.”

Andre’s eyes narrowed upon her face. “Carewyn, he lied to you about who he was. How can you believe anything else he told you might be true?”

“Because good people can still make mistakes!” Carewyn shot back.

Her voice betrayed a flare-up of emotion, and it made her go very quiet. Then after a moment, she took a deep breath.

“People make mistakes -- fathers, mothers --

People make mistakes,

Holding to their own -- thinking they’re alone.

Honor the mistakes everybody makes, one another’s terrible mistakes...

They could still be right -- they could still be good.

You decide what’s right -- you decide what’s good --

Just remember...

Someone is on your side -- someone else is not.

While we’re seeing our side, maybe we forgot

They are not alone...no one is alone...”

The familiar words seemed to make all of the anger in the air ebb away. Skye looked from McNully to Orion, stunned. Erika, although her face remained as distrustful and hard as ever, felt her grip on Orion’s collar slacking. Orion himself, however, could do nothing but stare at Carewyn over Erika’s arm, his black eyes storms of emotion.

Andre closed his eyes, his expression becoming more troubled.

“Andre,” Carewyn said more softly, “I told Orion that if he believed peace between Florence and Royaume was possible that he should talk to you about it. Clearly he took that advice...even while knowing how badly you’d probably react. Even without bringing any soldiers to protect him. And he put himself on the line by coming out here with you to help me. Is that truly the mark of an evil man?”

Andre slowly opened his eyes. His gaze swept from Carewyn up onto Orion behind her. Despite himself, the Prince of Florence couldn’t keep the pained, yet adoring emotions out of his midnight-black eyes as he stared at Carewyn -- like a man who truly had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

The Prince of Royaume’s eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. Then, finally, he sighed.

“...Erika, put him down.”

Erika looked up at Andre, faintly surprised. After a moment, however, she did so, though her eyes stayed on Orion beadily.

“I do not approve of your methods, Prince Cosimo,” said Andre, drawing himself up to full height, “but you came seeking an audience with me, to discuss diplomacy. I shall grant it, but on my terms. I intend to accompany Carewyn to the Royaumanian camp straightaway -- should you wish to speak with me on our journey up, so be it.”

Both Carewyn and Orion reacted with surprise, but for completely different reasons.

“Andre, you don’t have to do that -- ” Carewyn started.

“No,” said Orion firmly, trying to keep his voice level despite his urgency, “you and Carewyn must not go anywhere near the war front. It is no place for you, nor anyone -- ”

Andre held up a hand to stop both of them.

“I’ve made up my mind. If my country’s army is threatened, then I’m obligated to intervene, as their Prince. And besides...”

His eyes landed on Carewyn, growing a bit softer.

“...I’ll need to know where your brother is positioned, if I’m going to know which battalion to reassign to guard the palace.”

Carewyn straightened up sharply. Andre beamed.

“Your family needn’t know that Jacob and his battalion were repositioned,” he said almost smugly, “nor that it was for any particular reason. If nothing else...I’m certain your brother would be beneficial to castle security, if he knows you’re working there.”

Carewyn stared at Andre, hardly able to comprehend what she was hearing.

He wanted to bring Jacob home. He wanted to give them a place in the castle together -- he was willing to do it covertly, so that Charles wouldn’t try to punish either of them...

“Andre...”

Her heart suddenly felt overfull. She had to cover her face in both hands to try to hold in her emotions. It took her a solid minute before she’d forced back her tears enough to remove her hands from her face, and when she did, she immediately strode forward and threw her arms around Andre in a full hug.

“Thank you,” she whispered in his ear, her voice very choked and soft. “Thank you.”

Andre’s eyes melted with warmth and fondness and he brought his arms around her in return, squeezing gently before holding her at arm’s length.

“I hope your brother’s as good of a fashion template as you, Carewyn,” he said with a brighter smile.

Carewyn couldn’t help but give a choked laugh. “I’m afraid Jacob’s a disaster when it comes to clothes, but...oh, you’ll love him, Andre, I know you will...”

Orion’s expression was still very tense when McNully reached out and took hold of his arm.

“Orion, I get why you don’t want to go near the war front,” he said seriously, “and obviously you shouldn’t be going into their camp at all yourself...but this is your chance, to talk things over with Prince Henri. We have to get a peaceful road mapped out fast, if we want to convince your father not to use my strategy...”

“Your strategy?” repeated KC, her eyes narrowing critically.

Everyone turned to McNully.

“A war strategist strategizes, it’s part of the job description,” McNully said, unabashed. “Though for the record, I intended for it to simply help us capture an army’s worth of war prisoners, not kill everybody.”

“Unlike a certain army who keeps shifting their cannons every day so they can blow up everyone they can without even looking their opponents in the face,” said Skye rather coldly.

KC crossed her arms. “The goal was to aim for your stores of ammunition, not your soldiers.”

McNully did a double take.

“Wait -- so you’re the one who came up with that strategy?!” he said. He whirled on Orion, looking incredulous and almost angry. “You made friends with Royaume’s new military strategist and you didn’t tell me!?”

“It must have slipped my mind,” said Orion serenely, but his black eyes betrayed a glint of mischief. “Yes, I remember now...you were remarking about how whoever made that strategy for the Royaumanian army had to be a genius...”

Skye snorted in amusement. “‘Remark?’ He ranted about it to me long before telling you, Orion -- McNully was so mad that he was fumbling over his statistics...”

“I fumbled once,” McNully said irritably. “My statistics were therefore 99.9% accurate in that conversation.”

Amazingly, even despite all the tension that had been between them, Andre and the Weasleys found themselves snorting with laughter. Carewyn even had to bite her lip to hold in her own amusement.

KC raised an eyebrow at McNully, her lips spreading into a smirk. “Well, I guess I can thank you for appreciating my ‘genius,’ at least, Mr....?”

“Murphy McNully,” said McNully at once. Even though he was smiling, though, there was some irritation in his face. “Just called ‘McNully.’ And the name of my opponent in military strategy would be...?”

“Lady Katriona Cassiopeia,” she answered with just as cool of a smile. “Just called ‘KC.’”

“Charmed, I’m sure,” said McNully, but there was definitely a charge of competitive lightning that crackled between them as they stared each other down.

Andre, for his part, was actually smiling mischievously as he moved to remove his horse from the front of Orion’s black coach. “Well, KC, perhaps while we’re escorting Carewyn, you and Mr. -- rather, McNully can have a discussion of your own.”

Both McNully and KC looked taken aback.

“What?” said KC.

“I would love to talk to Florence’s chief strategist about the in’s and out’s of military protocol, but...well, I just don’t know enough about it myself,” said Andre innocently, though his eyes and voice were much too sassy to be convincing. “So you can do so on my behalf. After all, you are much more versed in these things.”

When KC tried to argue, Andre cut her off with a simple “That’s an order,” and climbed back up on his horse.

“Come on, Carewyn -- let’s get your, Charlie’s and Bill’s horses and be off. We don’t have much time.”

“Wait.”

Everyone looked at Orion. His face was still very pale as he stared at Carewyn.

“If you’re determined to go out there,” he said at last, “then you’ll need some way to protect yourselves from harm.”

He freed one of his own black mares from the front of the coach and climbed on its back.

“Follow me -- Carewyn and I have a friend who I know can help us.”

Once Bill, Charlie, Erika, and Carewyn were all back on their horses again, Orion led the group out of the woods. Skye drove the coach with KC’s steed as well as her own black horse, for McNully would have to ride inside it, and KC (following Andre’s directions) rode with him. Inside the coach, McNully -- perhaps to try to bolster his own slightly hurt ego -- challenged KC to a game of chess to pass the time. Carewyn could hear them bantering over their match on their way up.

“Well, well! Moving a pawn rather than your Queen -- that’s 99% unexpected.”

“What’s the other remaining 1%?”

“Margin of error.”

“Well, I assure you -- this was not an error.”

“I think I’ll take my chances anyway.”

Andre, meanwhile, rode on his own horse beside Orion a good ways ahead of the others to talk privately. Erika, Charlie, Bill, Carewyn, and Skye all watched them from a distance -- they couldn’t hear what the two Princes were saying, but their discussion appeared very serious. Andre’s posture was oddly stiff and guarded, and Orion’s looked oddly submissive and detached.

Then, very abruptly, Andre actually started to laugh. The sound startled everyone, Erika most of all.

“What?” said Erika. “What’s so funny?”

Orion looked back at them with a small wry smile. “Merely shoes, my lady.”

“Shoes?” repeated Erika, bewildered.

“Don’t bother questioning it,” Skye sighed tiredly from her spot in the driver’s seat as Orion faced forward again and continued his conversation with Andre. “Orion never stays focused on one thing whenever he’s talking to somebody -- be glad he didn’t randomly start talking about swallows and the color green...”

“Those were brought up too, actually,” Andre said loudly over his shoulder.

He flashed Carewyn an amused look, and Carewyn couldn’t help but smile a bit in return. It really sounded like they were finding common ground...

As the Princes both turned away, though, Carewyn’s smile slid off her face.

Princes...yes. That’s what they both were. All this time she’d thought that Orion might be a magician, or that he might’ve been like her mother and been born into wealth but trying to distance himself from his family -- or even that he was a bit like her, in the way that he’d lived in poverty but now lived in a home that was wealthy. Never had she thought that, in truth, he was the Prince of her country’s mortal enemy...

She knew she should be frightened by this -- betrayed and hurt. But everything she’d said to Andre was true. Instead of feeling distrustful and resentful of Orion, all she could do was feel worse about herself. Orion had lied to her because he was a Prince -- a royal with the humility of a peasant and a wise and gentle heart who wanted nothing more than to bring peace to their countries...who was willing to put himself in harm’s way to do it, who befriended her and the people around her regardless of their ancestry and the War that dictated they should be enemies...

And Carewyn? She’d lied to him because she was nothing but a maidservant. Worse still, she was the penniless, lying, pretentious commoner ward of Charles Cromwell -- a pathetic child who’d sold her soul to her grandfather, stupidly thinking that he’d treat her and Jacob like family, only for him to rip her and Jacob apart and send Jacob off to a War where he would suffer day after day with no chance of reprieve. A prisoner...someone who was chained to Charles’s will for the rest of her life, as penance for her mistake.

When Orion’s lie was revealed, it only served to make Carewyn admire him more. When hers was...Carewyn knew that it would only serve to turn him away.

“Carey?”

Carewyn looked up. Bill had come up alongside her, his brown eyes very soft with concern.

“Are you okay?” he murmured.

Carewyn gave him a smile. “Yes...I’m all right.”

She couldn’t hold his gaze long, so she looked up toward the Princes again.

“...I just hope...they can come together. That’s all.”

Bill looked up at them too, frowning slightly. “Mm...”

Carewyn didn’t have the heart to tell Bill what she was thinking, especially not with Erika, Skye, Charlie, Andre, and Orion all within earshot. She knew he’d tell her that if Orion really cared about her, he’d forgive her for lying...but...

He shouldn’t want to forgive me, Carewyn thought. He shouldn’t be content with what I am. Not when he deserves so much more.

The memory of the last time she saw Jacob, of him hugging her tightly rippled over her mind.

“My Wyn -- my sweet Wyn -- ”

Jacob was the only person who Carewyn knew for a fact would always love her, no matter what she did. He’d always been flawed beyond reason, but she never ever had to doubt that. Jacob had helped raise her, and she in return had looked out for him just as much. They were each the one person who they could always depend on...and Carewyn knew Jacob would forgive anything she might have done, however horrible it was or how terrible and pathetic of a person she’d become...

Carewyn closed her eyes, trying to force back her tears.

Jacob...I need you. I need you here so much.

Maybe she’d be strong enough to accept that she could never be what Orion needed, if she could at least be in her brother’s arms again...

Orion led the others to a beautiful, but perfectly empty valley, perfect for stargazing. Just about everyone was baffled and suspicious, especially when Orion started calling out for a Baroness. It was only when a woman with a pointed black hat with a familiar-looking golden eagle on her shoulder and a beautiful manor appeared seemingly out of nothing that they all understood.

“Magic,” breathed Andre, his eyes very wide.

Carewyn, however, climbed off her horse and greeted McGonagall warmly. “Baroness -- it’s so good to see you again.”

She reached out a hand to stroke the golden eagle’s feathers, and the bird almost seemed to smile wryly.

McGonagall actually seemed somewhat surprised by how fair her reaction was. “It’s good to see you as well...”

She held her arm aloft, letting the eagle take off back into the air and toward the manor, and glanced at Orion, her narrowed eyes clearly questioning. “I was not expecting to see either of you again so soon.”

Orion climbed off his own horse, looking very grave.

“Baroness, I come to ask for your assistance. Carewyn and her companions plan to go into the Royaumanian camp, so as to locate Carewyn’s missing brother.”

“Into the camp?” repeated McGonagall, looking almost stricken.

She turned to Carewyn.

“That is far from wise -- the Florentine army has already started making moves to attack. You must stay far away from that place.”

“What?!” just about everyone said, horrified. Orion, the only one who didn’t cry out, had abruptly lost all the color in his face.

“B-but the strategy can’t be ready to go already!” stammered McNully. “Putting the troops in their positions without anyone noticing would take at least two full nights -- attempting it without everyone being in their proper place decreases its effectiveness by a good 38%!”

“Effectively or not, they have started the attack all the same,” said McGonagall. She looked from Orion to Carewyn. “I cannot in good conscience let you go out there, in the midst of all those explosions -- ”

“But their strategy aims to wipe out the entire Royaumanian army!” said Andre. “I cannot stand by and let that happen!”

He immediately flicked his reins and prepared to charge off, but Erika abruptly blocked his path on her own horse.

“You dying out there too would only make everything worse,” she told him sharply.

“So I should just let all of my men die, in my stead?” Andre demanded.

He tried to ride around her, but Erika blocked him again.

“No, we just need to be smart about this,” Erika shot him down very firmly. “I understand you want to help, and I agree with you -- but if you died out there on the battlefield, that would escalate the fighting, not end it. Just look at what happened when we took out Florence’s first Prince. And didn’t you say you were open to talking about peace with Prince Cosimo? If you want to chuck that out the window, fine, but don’t do it without understanding that’s what you’re doing.”

Erika looked from Andre to Orion. Her face was as stony as ever, but not as mistrustful as before. Andre, still looking frustrated, nonetheless seemed to accept that she was right.

“McNully,” said Erika, “it’s your strategy the Florentines are using. What do you say?”

Everybody turned to McNully. Florence’s chief strategist crossed his arms, leaning back on the seat of the coach thoughtfully.

“The ‘noose’ I developed would have significant breaks, if it was attempted without the proper preparation,” he said slowly. “The plan was to prevent anyone from getting in or out, so that the Royaumanian army would be unable to get reinforcements or supplies. That would then become a siege that would force them to surrender. With holes in the Florentine lines, though, the Royaumanian army could slip out and, worse, maybe even break our army up into smaller pieces.”

“Therefore making your army even more vulnerable,” finished KC, her eyebrows furrowing. “The fractures would go into all-out war and probably lose all sense of cohesion, which would make it harder to gather the troops back together and stop the fighting...”

McNully nodded shakily. “Casualties and injuries would be high -- anywhere between 40-58%."

Skye’s face had gone as white as a sheet. “But -- but if we lose half our army...!”

She looked at Orion in alarm. Orion knew what she was thinking. King Cosimo had said that this most recent line of reinforcements was the last defense Florence had, unless he wanted to draft all citizens 18 and older, regardless of rank or health.

“Such devastation on both sides would make peace near to impossible,” murmured Orion. His hands were clasped together very tightly in front of him as he turned back to McGonagall. “Baroness, please -- isn’t there any spell you could cast that might soothe the ire of our armies?”

The Baroness looked upon Orion with a solemn expression. “To cast any spell, I would have to leave my home to the mercy of the armies’ mines and cannon fire. I’m sorry...but I cannot do that.”

“Then I will.”

A tanned young man with a pointed nose, very sharp eyes, and a bandaged arm strode into the room. He glanced at Carewyn, and she gave a light start -- those eyes seemed...

The young man then looked at McGonagall.

“I’ll craft and cast the proper shield around them, to protect them from the cannon fire,” he said firmly. “Then the Princes could run to their respective sides and convince the armies to stop fighting.”

McGonagall’s eyebrows furrowed. “Talbott, your concentration would be sorely tested in a war zone. One flicker in your concentration would require you to recast the spell all over again -- at which time it might be too late to do so.”

“It may already be too late for us to prevent those casualties at all,” said Talbott, undaunted. “We’ve watched the War go on for years -- I know protecting our home is important, but this protects our home and the country it occupies. And since you’re the only one who can keep the illusions up here for any decent length of time, I have to be the one to cast this spell.”

McGonagall and Talbott stared each other down for a moment.

“You feel very strongly about this,” McGonagall said dryly.

Talbott glanced at Carewyn, his oddly eagle-like eyes flickering with a wry kind of humor as his hand rested on his bandaged arm. “...Well, I do have a debt to repay.”

Carewyn’s eyes widened in realization. Then her eyes softened.

“Thank you,” she murmured.

“Very well, then,” said McGonagall grimly. “Take your time crafting the shield, my young apprentice -- remember to be very specific in the terms set. All of a spell’s terms must be met, in order for it to work properly.”

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #cinderella au #carewyn cromwell #orion amari #murphy mcnully #skye parkin #katriona cassiopeia #bill weasley #charlie weasley #erika rath #andre egwu #minerva mcgonagall #talbott winger #whew! lots of drama!#I'm actually amused thinking about how all of you are probably wondering 'okay seriously how does this link up with the cinderella story?'#'like where's the glass slipper and the ball and the spell breaking at midnight and stuff?'#hehehehehe #you'll see #it's being woven in little by little #it will become clearer I think in the next couple of parts though #according to my personal road map we have about 6-7 parts to go #I mean yeah at the very least we have quite a few hurtles to overcome #will carewyn find jacob?#will orion learn the truth about carewyn?#will the battle be stopped? will it stop the war or will it get worse?#what will charles cromwell do if/when he learns about carewyn's dealings?#will she ever break free of him and her awful family?#and then yeah where does all the usual cinderella stuff fit in?#>D

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blue-lions-baby · 4 years ago

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Blinded by Love (Dimitri x F!Reader) Ch. 1

(a/n) hi i'm like practically dead at this point LMAO i've got like 3 finals this week and i want to cRY

i'm sorry for my absence. i honestly didn't realize how much time has passed until it suddenly hit me that i hadn't visited tumblr in a *hot minute.*

instead of posting this colossal fic as one whole entry, i wanted to split it up into smaller chapters (~1000 words each?) so you can take the story in smaller bites and not have a whole ass meal every time you sit down and read my stuff. plus, this might help with my posting schedule-- i think working on and posting smaller chapters would be a much better method compared to writing one big fic.

doesthatmakesenseiamsotiredpLEASE

anyways, without further ado, please enjoy the first chapter of Blinded by Love! as always, no spoilers :)

also, it’s been a hot minute since i wrote anything remotely creative please bare with me as i get back into it ok that’s it thanks bye

~*~

"Is everyone ready?" Byleth stared deeply into the exuberant eyes of her Lions; their bright, starving hues were hungry, aching for the exhilarating taste of battle. Dimitri, barely managing to contain his excitement, nodded resolutely.

"Yes, Professor."

"Very good," Byleth spread the torn map on a desk and motioned for everyone to gather around, "we are being dispatched to a village not far from the monastery. Some bandits have grown unruly as of late and have begun tormenting the villagers. The Church is sending us to get rid of them."

They pointed to a particular spot on the map and proceeded to explain the roads you all would take to get to the relatively out-of-the-way village. As they were doing that, Byleth quickly and succinctly explained the strategies the Lions would be deploying, as well as last-minute shopping lists.

"Before we leave, we should resupply on vulneraries and whatnot." Byleth gazed around the room; seafoam greens met (E/C) hues. "(F/N), can you and Dimitri take care of this please?"

Snickers bounced around the room as you and Dimitri adopted the same flustered expression. You reached out and silently took the scraggly piece of paper in your hand as you felt the prince's antsy presence accompany you from behind.

"Any questions?" Byleth looked at their bushy-tailed Lions again. "Be smart out there. Safety should come naturally."

Byleth, with a wave of their hand, dismissed their students.

"We'll be leaving in about an hour, so be sure you're fully prepared by then."

"Yes, Professor!" Everyone scurried out of the classroom (not without a few jabs prodded into Dimitri's side and a couple of knowing, teasing glances cast your way). Dimitri, after making sure enough rosiness dissipated from his cheeks, cleared his throat and slowly tapped you on your shoulder. The royal watched as your entire body seemingly glitched into the fifth dimension before turning around to meet his wavering gaze.

"I-- uh," the blonde stiffly cleared his throat, dedicating way too much brainpower to simply hold your gaze. "We should... um... t-the supplies--."

"Y-Yes." You squeaked, crumpling the shopping list closer to your racing heart. You and Dimitri's eyes scurried to the scuff marks on the stone floor, absolutely immobilized. Byleth, with a loud 'ahem,' subdued the sparks fluttering between you and the prince; you both spun around to your instructor and bowed hastily.

"Our deepest apologies, Professor!"

"We'll be heading out now!"

As Byleth watched the backs of their students scurry out of their classroom, they chuckled.

"How cute."

♠ ♥ ♣ ----------------------------------------------------------- ♣ ♥ ♠

"Hm... I think this should be enough vulneraries. What do you think, Your Highness?"

"(F/N), please. I've told you plenty of times to just call me Dimitri." The prince smiled warmly at you before glancing at the somewhat copious amount of vulneraries messily amassed in your arms. "I think this should be enough. It is just a routine bandit culling, after all."

"That's true... And, I feel like I'm being-- I don't know-- disrespectful? If I call you by your name. I feel it's only proper for me to address you by your title." You countered as Dimitri took a majority of the vulneraries in his strong arms.

"Nonsense. I want you to address me by my name," he coughed and looked away, "o-only if you are comfortable though. If you truly desire to address me by my title only, then that is fine as well."

"Oh, no! I just-- I thought-- are you... really sure it's okay for me to call you by your name?"

"Of course!"

"O-Okay... Dimitri." You smiled, color dabbling your cheeks. Dimitri almost dropped all the vulneraries watching your delicate fingers tuck a stray lock of hair behind your ear. "I have to admit, it feels kind of... strange saying your name."

"...oh." Dimitri's lips, still cast upward, did not match the downtrodden expression the rest of his features bore. Realizing your egregious choice of words, you let out a cry of surprise.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" You bowed. "It felt strange because I wasn't used to it! But... I like it. I like saying your name, Dimitri."

The extinguished look in his eyes instantly flared up with life and excitement.

"R-Really?!"

A lighthearted laugh escaped you; Dimitri's grin grew wider at the natural melody in your voice.

"Yes! Dimitriii.~ Dimitriii.~"

The prince's sides had begun to ache from all the laughing; he buried his burning face in the pile of vulneraries.

"I love hearing you say my name..." He muttered, his voice muffled by the sacks of medicinal herbs.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"N-Nothing important. Let's head back, shall we?"

"Mmkay!" As you cheerily skipped through the marketplace with the prince at your side, a glimmer from one of the stalls caught your eye. Your feet froze mid-air and your boots made a loud clonk as you fell back down to earth. Dimitri, surprised at the sudden shift in mood, looked up at you worriedly.

"(F/N)? Is everything all right?"

When he looked over, you and all the vulneraries you were carrying had essentially disappeared from existence. Dimitri, his heart throbbing a quickening pulse in his temples, spun to and fro in the middle of the street, growing more and more panicked at your continued absence.

"Excuse me, how much is this?"

Dimitri's head had never whipped around so fast.

"Ah, you got a good eye, lass! Bought this from a fella off the coasts of Brigid. 'Posed to bring you good luck, he said." The merchant's gnarly voice had a distinct ring that overpowered the rest of the bustling marketplace.

"It's so pretty..." Breathed a response.

After a crowd of people on his right dissolved, Dimitri found your vulnerary-laden form stooped over a table flooded with jewelry and glittery accessories. He breathed out, thanking the Goddess as he felt years subtracted from his life slowly be added back on. He hurriedly made his way to your side and glanced around the vast treasures laid out for sale. The merchant threw his head back and roared in glee.

"Indeed, indeed! One of my best finds, I tell ya. A true beauty."

Your (E/C) eyes shimmered brighter than any jewel Dimitri had ever seen as they excitedly landed on his placid blues.

"Dimitri, look! Isn't it gorgeous?"

"Er... Which one? They're all quite lovely." Dimitri politely smiled and nodded his head at the merchant, who puffed his chest out with pride.

"That one!" You motioned with your chin, pointing your lips at a particular brooch. Upon closer inspection, the mound of metal quickly took on the shape of a lion. The simple sheen of silver contrasted nicely with the array of crystalline colors surrounding it. The artisan's mastery over fine metalwork translated beautifully into the gorgeous detailing in the mane and face of the feline; a permanent roar was etched onto the refined ore, its eyes ablaze with ferocity and vivacity. It stood majestically on its hind legs, seemingly ready to jump into the fray of a battle that will never come. A jewel the shade of bright blue skies was incrested in its paws; the radiant glitter of the gem sailed across its surface like clouds on a cool spring day.

"It... is quite breathtaking." Hummed the prince. "How much is it?"

"10,000 Gold!" The merchant smiled widely, more holes than teeth in his mouth.

"T-Ten--?!" You stumbled backward, the spell that the brooch had put you under snapping like a strained thread.

"Yup yup! But for a fine lass like ya, I'll cut it down to... hm... Let's say 7,500. Deal?"

"That's... still a lot..." You looked despondently at the brooch, the luminous blue darkening as a storm approached. The merchant frowned.

"Sorry, lass. Can't go lower than that. I'd be sellin' at a loss past that price."

"T-That's okay... Um, I think I'll stop by another time. Let's go, Dimitri..."

Without waiting for a response, you turned on your heels and sulked away, your shoulders hunched forward and your head hung low. Dimitri's heart splintered into pieces as he watched your form slowly homogenize with the crowd. With a small nod (and a few moments reserved for the neat pile of vulneraries he built at his feet), Dimitri whipped out a pouch that clanged a tune that would make any merchant's heart sing.

"Can I still make good on that previous offer?"

#fire emblem #dimitri fire emblem #fire emblem x reader #dimitri x reader #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #fe3h dimitri #fe3h #fire emblem three houses fanfiction #Fire Emblem Three Houses #it is almost 5 AM #i literally have a final that opens in like 4 hours #why am i doing this

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alienisticxo · 3 years ago

Text

X Angel - Chapter 3

Elon Musk x Reader

{Authors Note} I am considering taking requests, so if you have anything Elon-y that you’d like me to write, feel free to send them in my asks <3

I hope you continue to enjoy! You can also find this on AO3 and Wattpad. xo

Warnings: None

My security team immediately took one step closer to me as though this were some sort of communicated threat. But a strikingly cool grin crossed Elon’s lips— one that told he clearly didn’t care what anyone else thought about the matter.

“You can’t try the merchandise before you buy, sorry,” Jett retorted with no actual indication of being sorry.

“That’s not it,” he assured with a light laugh. “I’d like to see her without being under so much pressure.”

I eyed Elon then, a metallic eyebrow arched. While I was very much everyone’s golden child, cash cow, etc., no one had ever made an attempt at considering my own feelings in any situation. I was only to do as I was told. My thoughts or emotions were the least of everyone and anyone’s concerns, even though I had very much capitalized off of their fear of my denying their requests. At the end of the day, I was just another toy to play with, and that had all become very clear, very quickly. Coming to terms with the fact that they seemed to have fooled me more than I thought I was fooling them was going to be another story altogether. Still, to hear Elon say something like that surprised me-- almost making me as skeptical as everyone else suddenly was. What would the real reason be? On another hand, I was in disbelief that he might also be as kind as I hoped he would be on top of it all.

“Mr. Musk,” began one of the men who remained at the table nervously, “Please don’t make this difficult.”

They were clearly afraid of saying the wrong thing to him, walking on eggshells so to speak. To keep from risking the successful purchase of myself, however, they must’ve felt they had to confront him regardless of their fear.

“I’m not making anything difficult,” he said plainly, beginning to approach me then. “These beings are far more intelligent than we are, clearly capable of mimicking human emotion. You’re all poking and prodding her and she’s programmed quite authentically. She looks…” he paused, his hand lightly motioning toward me as he kept a polite distance. “Well, she looks nervous.”

I immediately checked my facial expression and posture, loosening up the best I could without giving away that he was correct. He had been watching me the entire time without saying a word, studying me to a tee without catching anyone’s attention. So much so, even I hadn’t noticed him standing in the corner until he made his presence known. I should’ve expected he'd been doing so the moment my eyes landed on him, but I had been so preoccupied in my own thoughts about the entire ordeal. Now I still couldn’t shake the shock of his way of treating me… like a person.

The man sighed through his nostrils, clearly exasperated at the request. But the other men paused and exchanged thoughtful glances, seeming to begin to understand where Elon was coming from.

“Hm… I suppose you’re right,” one said, causing the original man to clench his jaw.

“No dice,” said Jett flatly.

The man who’d examined me’s eyes seemed to light up then, and he turned to Jett, suddenly yearning to oblige Elon. I decided it was because of Jett’s insistence on not allowing it, so he himself wouldn’t appear to be the ‘bad guy.’ However, the others seemed genuinely curious themselves once he’d mentioned the notion.

“Perhaps if not alone with one of us, we can put her behind a glass of some sort,” one spoke up convincingly. “See how she acts without any outside influence whatsoever. Either way, it’s very important. We can’t expect someone to be with her twenty-four-seven on Earth to make sure she's still the bright and shining star we all know and love. It would be impossible.”

Elon breathed a laugh then, shaking his head as he reached a hand into his jacket, revealing a holographic card only seconds later.

Jett’s eyes shone like crystals in the sun the moment they set on the translucent object, his attention quickly caught and his interest extremely piqued. He pretended to mull over Elon’s offer with a hum.

“I guess we could cut a deal, Musk,” he said, feigning contemplation. “How much we talkin’?”

How fast his voice grew gravely and intrigued again. I wondered how much he was making off of my purchase as I stood like a statue, only able to watch what was happening from what felt like miles away. I wasn’t sure of his intentions, but I felt compelled to allow him the request. I hoped it was for something important. Maybe even something that could help me get out of the situation I now found myself in. At the very least, I just wanted the opportunity that so many dreamt of- to have time with him, no matter what it was about.

“However much you’d like,” was all he said. “But I’d like to see her for myself in a more natural situation— a one on one setting.”

I bit my tongue before gathering enough courage to speak confidently in a room full of intimidating people, unsure of whether or not my tactics would still work.

Here goes.

“There’s no need for that. Let Mr. Musk do as he wants, Jett,” I demanded, holding my hand out in a gesture to push the card Elon held down. “Or I walk from Astra before you have a chance to sign me away at all.”

I didn’t mean to backhandedly mention their signing me away, but I couldn’t help it. It must’ve worked in my favor, as Jett’s nostrils flared, and if looks could kill, I wouldn’t have needed to walk. I would’ve dropped dead right there. Cybernetic stars didn’t demand much of anything, ever. But I certainly had a tendency to threaten to cut all functions when I didn’t get what I was after, and Astra needed me far too much.

Or at least, they did.

Who were they going to replace me with?

But I digress…

My human requests and reactions were a major part of what made me so lifelike to everyone I deal with. It was unheard of among the others and they just weren’t sure if I was bluffing or not. That was what made me the only one like me. The special one, the star I was. It was what purchased my penthouse with the idyllic view and each one of my Tesla’s; what kept me living in the lap of luxury and able to help those I needed to help. Though of course, I always had to play my cards right, using my demands only in opportune moments. That was what kept me afloat with Astra as well.

A.I. was just tricky that way, and while no one knew for sure, Jett knew better with me. I was tempted to use this strategy in the situation I was dealing with now. But I knew better, too. No one would want me if I opposed it altogether, and I’d be left to the crime ridden outskirts like a few before me had been, too. It was obvious I was no longer an asset to the label.

Jett pushed past Elon then, clearly fuming over my interference with his under-the-table payment.

“Five minutes,” was all Jett said as he approached the doors to leave the room, not turning back to look at anyone.

There was a brief smirk on Elon’s lips before he nodded for the other men to follow Jett, who quite willingly did so, and before too long, I was alone with the only man I’d ever admired.

I knew I was supposed to be more at ease with the sudden lack of eyes prying into my entirety, but my nerves continued to get the better of me. How could they not when standing next to someone as awe inspiring as Elon Musk? Maybe to any other person who didn’t care, it would’ve been easy, a relief. But I found myself trying my best to keep my composure even though I’d pushed for the request.

Not sure what I was expecting, I remained silent, my metallic fingernails clicking against each other in front of me. I felt like a child who was waiting for punishment. But the silence wasn’t as awkward as I was waiting for it to become. That was clearly his doing and not mine, as he was cool as ever. I waited for him to speak first, my voice too caught in my throat, anyway.

He turned towards the beautiful view before us, looking out over it into the night sky. The bright lights cast the same glow they had when he stood beside the window, but slightly dimmer, adding a sultry shadow to his features that I damned myself for noticing. He exhaled audibly, but not dramatically, eyes scanning over the skyline.

“It’s nice here, isn’t it?” He asked.

Small talk. Odd.

“Yeah,” I responded quietly. “One of the reasons I wa-“

I caught myself, noticing his green eyes glance in my direction without facing towards me completely. Pausing a moment to feign an error, I started speaking again, facing out over the view myself, then. “One of the reasons I love it here so much.”

He either suspected it was an error, or wasn’t concerned as he continued the conversation with no reservations.

“Earth isn’t so terrible,” he said. “Sure, we’ve fucked it up pretty badly, but it could be worse.”

I smiled. He was absolutely correct.

“Aren’t you headed for Mars, anyway?” I piped up next, unable to conceal my admiration.

“You’ve heard about that, huh?” He asked, turning to face me then.

I discreetly stiffened up again as he studied my features, the slightest furrow in his brow. I could tell he was trying to figure me out; figure out who could’ve pieced me together. What kind of rival company he might be up against without even knowing it. A.I. lifeforms were lifelike, damn near realistic, but it hadn’t advanced to the point I exhibited yet. Most people didn’t think twice, just saw how phenomenal I was— the walking, talking, cybernetic pop star that everyone wanted to be just like.

Elon was far, far more intelligent than that.

“You’re synonymous with space travel,” I responded a bit flatly, as though I was simply pulling the information from a database in my mind instead of revealing I just knew about him. “Mars was your first target. NASA pushed for X, and here you are now.”

He lifted a brow, an almost amused expression on his features as he let me speak.

“Why are you here? Buying a pop star hardly seems like your forte,” I continued, not wanting to sound as confused and even a little hurt at the notion as I was.

His response was a chuckle. He was certainly amused now.

“You’ve got a point there. I’m here to figure you out, Miss {Y/L/N},” he said, wobbling his head to one side a bit. “You’ve been all the talk back on Earth. The latest and greatest A.I. creation. You’re scaring people, to be quite frank, and I’m interested in.. picking your brain, so to speak.”

My face fell. Something about that gave me an uneasy feeling. I hadn’t exactly put together that I was feared while everyone I encountered adored me for all that I was. Or.. All they thought I was. The last thing I wanted was to scare people-- It wasn’t even the last thing, it wasn’t a thing I wanted at all. I knew I was something of a puppet to pertain to the masses in order to get messages across, but being completely frightening wasn’t on my to-do list.

“Scaring people?” was all I could manage, the slightest twinge of hurt in my voice.

“You move, speak, act and react as though you are a human being. No company, and certainly no one, has been able to package all of this kind of complex engineering into a real, walking, talking cybernetic human form. At least, not without it looking completely fake. Other cybernetic celebrities, while convincing enough to the untrained eye, haven’t been able to hold a candle to your authenticity,” his expression was serious as he held my gaze. “You must realize the kind of trouble that could put humanity into.”

He paused, thinking for a moment.

“More trouble than we’re already in,” he finished then.

All at once, I was lost for words. What I had expected to be making an impact in a monetary way was only frightening people in other places. I wondered if Xian’s felt the same way, or if they just turned a blind eye to the fact that I was the way I was. Perhaps they felt as though Planet X had simply had it all under control with the advanced technology they were known for. I had questions, of course. Who wouldn’t? But I had to keep my own front up. I responded the only way I knew how.

“I’m sorry to break it to you, but I’m just here to be a star,” I forced a smile.

He breathed another quiet laugh then, his eyes dropping before looking back out at the view for a moment. He picked up on my programming side holding my guard up at the question. “Of course you are,” he said quietly.

I suddenly felt crushed. I didn’t want him to dislike me, or feel as though I was a threat to mankind or anyone who may have crossed my path. I also didn’t want him to feel as though I were nothing more than another dumb pop star that was so well-known around celebrity culture. A million things ran through my mind at once, but I couldn’t voice any of them. I was caught between what I should say and what would happen if I did. While I didn’t know him from anyone, I felt quite obligated to be honest with him. It seemed as though so far, while only a few sentences in, he had been nothing but honest with me. There was something about him that I couldn’t put my finger on; something I couldn’t get past. The desire to let him in was overwhelming, but I pushed it away, chalking it up to the grave admiration I felt for him and nothing more. I didn’t know him, after all.

His hands were in his pockets, but after a few more seconds of silence hanging between us, his eyes met mine again before averting to my neck. Looking as though he wanted to say something, I studied him with a fervent curiosity. He lifted a finger quickly then with an inhale, softly gesturing towards my hair.

“May I?” He asked gently.

I knew then what he was after. He wanted to check for an indication of a company himself, knowing where they usually hide their numbers and letters in etching rather than stamping it on in ink. I wondered if that was the only reason he wanted to get me alone in the first place, and tried not to feel the faint pang of hurt in my chest.

While the idea was clever, he wouldn’t find what he was looking for, and I knew this all too well. Still, playing ball as I knew I had to, I obliged.

“Of course,” I nodded once, tilting my head a bit to allow him more access to the area he was to begin searching.

With careful hands, he moved my hair, his fingers gliding under my ear and to the nape of my neck, delicately feeling for any indication of an etching. I could hear his hand brush against the cold metal of my body, and instead of the previous hurt, a sudden, surprising pang of longing struck me as I deeply wished I could feel the warmth of his fingers.

My brow furrowed just slightly while I sat with the unforgivable thought as he continued his hunt. His cologne seemed to emanate around me, and the scent alone relaxed me without my noticing at first. There was something kind about his hesitance, his desire to treat me as not something that simply made people made money, but someone, with feelings and opinions. The notion was something I’d have to get used to, but not unwelcome in the least. I couldn’t help but notice he was certainly attractive, even more so up close than I’d casually noticed in photos, and his consideration for me alone spoke volumes— asking my permission, the gentle touch he used when I allowed it; it was admirable in and of itself. Cybernetic beings were seldom cared for in such a way. He seemed to treat me as an equal.

“Hm,” he finally contemplated, taking me back out of my thoughts once more. “I don’t feel anything,” he thought aloud.

“Sometimes I wonder if I didn’t just create myself,” I joked, my voice airy as I tried to keep the mood light.

But he wasn’t laughing as he carefully removed his hand and let my {H/C} hair fall back into place. I’m fact, his countenance read quite grave as our eyes met once more.

“It’s troubling,” was all he said as the doors swung back open, slightly startling us both.

#elon musk #elon musk x reader #elon musk fanfiction #fanfiction #elon musk fanfic #spacex #tesla #cyberpunk #fanfic #darklydreaming #x angel #futurism #grimes #slow burn #fanfic writer #writers

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noir0neko · 4 years ago

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Crime and Creation | m

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 15.5k

Summary: The Crow Club. One of the University of Ketterdam’s secret societies aimed at recruiting the finest students who want a taste of more than just lectures. Meet Kaz, the founder and president, whose self-made millions come from his dealings on Wall Street. Nina, a girl who is aching for more than the fortune and husband her family has laid out for her. Inej, whose observant nature and ability to be invisible makes her the perfect spy. Jesper, a childhood friend of Kaz’s who can’t resist getting into a little trouble joined by his boyfriend, Wylan, son of the University dean. And Cataleya, an Upper West side journalism major who has a special way with words. When Kaz finds out the Crow Club’s dealings have been infiltrated by an unknown rival, his crew enlists the help of outsiders to ruin reputations, throw lavish parties, and do what the New York City Crows do best: heist. Until something goes very wrong.

Characters: Cataleya (OC), Kaz Brekker, Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey, Wylan Van Eck, Nina Zenik, Alina Starkov, Zoya Nazyalensky, Nikolai Lantsov, Aleksander Morosova and honorable Leoni mention.

Warnings: Death. Highly detailed emotion and inner thoughts that have memories of parental abuse and self harm, nothing very detailed. Mentions of murder, drugs, and illegal activity. General debauchery and scheming. Some romance, mostly implied, light kissing, fondling, and the use of expletives.

A/N: You do not need to have read any of the books in this world to understand this fic! I spent so much time and poured my heart and soul into this story and the development of my original character and building these characters into a new, modern world. Please read it and give me your thoughts! This piece was written for the @grishaversebigbang. Also, check out the art work made for my fic by these amazing artists: @corpsecro, @nantosuelta-art, @discountscoobygang, @lady-ekatherina-de-mika and @mikanviola! It is such an honor to be a part of something like this and I had so much fun! I encourage anyone and everyone to read the Six of Crows/Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo! It’ll be on Netflix soon!

I used to love cats.

Until one showed up dead on my window sill.

I’m still not sure how it got there. Perhaps it climbed the fire escape and lept from the metal railing onto the ledge. But once the animal had the orange pollen and poisonous petals of the lilies sticking out of my window in its mouth, it was only a matter of time before it died. I had the good sense to keep my crying quiet, at eleven years old, so that my father would not stumble in to yell or push the cat hundreds of feet to the street below. I did not know he was already gone. That I was alone.

I hid the orange tabby in my backpack and went to bury her in the backyard garden the next chance I got.

But when I used my small children’s shovel to dig into the earth, soft from the recent rain, it wasn’t what I went to bury that changed my life. But what was already buried there. And right then, with my cheeks stained with tears and hands shaking with anger, I swore to never stop hunting. To never stop chasing the people who ruined me.

That was one promise I kept.

I haven’t kept many others.

Sitting in the foyer with the rest of the Crows, wind coming in from the autumn afternoon and the scent of freshly made waffles mixing with dusty books, I don’t know if I can keep this one either. Kaz looks at me pointedly, waiting for me to answer. I glance at all of them, Nina, Inej, Jesper, and Wylan. It is rare that anyone outright refuses Kaz on anything, especially not with his position or to risk the weight of his disapproval. Nina once told Kaz to go to Hell and she paid for it with two weeks of silence and banishment from the Crow Library until she relented to do her assignment.

Jesper clears his throat, trying to relieve the awkward vibe getting thicker with each passing moment of silence. I can’t help but allow a small smile to reach my lips, grateful for him trying to save me from the tension that I could slice with a knife. Swallowing and meeting Kaz’s dark eyes, I sigh.

“Fine,” I relent. “I’m in.”

The strain dissolves from the space and the other Crows break into smiles and start to chatter. Relaxing back in my chair, I watch Inej spring up and take her place next to Kaz, her lithe frame complimenting his perfectly. Kaz moves around his large oak desk, gaze fixated on something in the distance. Definitely scheming face. Best to wait it out until he speaks first.

The Crow Library is lit with the afternoon sunlight, warming the leather of our chairs and illuminating the dust gathering along the rows of books. Shelves line the walls beneath the window, behind Kaz’s study area, and underneath the stairwell, which leads to an upstairs reading room and parlor area. Nobody has bothered to read any of the books, weathered and dusted with age, but they lend the room an air of sophistication and a homey comforting smell. Kaz’s desk is littered with papers, the dark wood barely visible beneath the jumble of stock investment deals, new heists, and class assignments waiting to be done. On the front face of the desk, a large crow is carved into the surface, black and red paint covering the indentations in the wood.

Inej puts a tender hand on Kaz’s forearm, her lips moving quickly and silently, as if whispering to him. Inej has her hair down today, an unusual occurrence from her braided coil, and the dark strands spill like silky oil over her shoulders and her waist. She must have come from the studio, sweat still gleaming on her brow and black leotard disappearing beneath dark navy leggings. Her lithe frame seems to be floating, always so modest and reserved, yet her brown eyes are intuitive and unrelenting as she studies Kaz. She has been with him since the founding of the Crow Club, never missing a beat between helping him, chastising him, watching out for him, and caring for herself all the same. It’s no wonder she’s been able to double major in both Global History and Ballet, two completely different worlds, but complimenting each other perfectly for Inej.

And Kaz. What an interesting man he’s proven to be.

Business major. Self made millionaire. First student to be admitted into the University of Ketterdam - UOK for short, without a full high school education. A man full of mysteries.

Jesper moves to perch himself on the arm of Wylan’s chair and adjusts his Queen shirt, the old black leather groaning under his weight. Jesper says something quietly to his boyfriend before running a hand through Wylan’s curly red hair and kissing his pale pert nose. Jesper has his hair buzzed short to his scalp, dark arms lean with muscle and legs long, his jeans riding up at the ankles to reveal bright yellow socks and black high tops. Wylan releases a wide smile, looking up at Jesper with untamed admiration. Wylan has on a pair of pressed dark wash jeans, his collared shirt maroon red with small white dots, accentuating his bright hair and pale skin.

It just reminds me of blood.

They are quite a pair. Wylan, being the son of the University dean and Jesper, one of the most intelligent and talented students in the Economics department. He is studying Game Theory, an extremely intense and complicated subject full of strategy, confidence, and risk: coincidentally Jesper’s three favorite words.

Wylan, much to his father’s chagrin, is an Art History student with a hidden passion for chemistry and physics. I often find him gazing at the long since forgotten portraits on the walls of the Crow Library upstairs, reminiscing of a different time, of discovery and excitement. Of different people with different secrets. Wylan usually seems lost in thought, often internally reflecting rather than being outwardly vocal like the rest of the Crows. He is another mystery, especially because of the tenuous relationship he has with his father.

Jesper’s brown skin glimmers in the sun, inclining his eyebrows in mischief before taking a toffee from the bowl next to him and flinging it across Wylan’s chair to Nina.

Her tongue flicks out as it hits her arm, thick lips smirking before unwrapping the plastic wrapper and popping the candy in her mouth. Nina is one of the only Crows who was forced into attending the University of Ketterdam. Her parents, with her father being an extremely rich and powerful Russian politician and her mother, an aristocratic woman supposedly descending from ancient Russian royalty, had been raising Nina to marry a high ranking Scandinavian commander since she was eleven. The marriage was supposed to secure better relations between the two nations, as well as provide Nina with a life of security, wealth, and status for her and her children. All her parents want for her.

In true Nina fashion, this is unacceptable.

Her family said the marriage could wait if she wanted to go to school and get a degree, which may better serve her husband and their families prestige in the future. Seeing no other viable option, especially because she did not want to marry a “white haired barbarian” as she called her husband-to-be, she enrolled in a prestigious university as far away from Russia as she could get. Despite her parents beliefs that she is a culinary student - “because a good wife knows how to cook”, according to her parents, Nina has been studying Performing Arts and Theatre. A perfect major to fit her personality and her beauty, with her tall, curvy frame and piercing green eyes. Today, she is wearing an olive bodysuit, the neck low cutting and her legs hugged by a pair of black flare jeans. Casual and entrancing. Her style seems to change depending on her mood, from modest foreigner to vivacious party girl to preppy student. New each day.

“We will need others,” Kaz mumbles to Inej, furrowing his dark eyebrows in thought.

I have only been with the Crows for a few months, but I already know how unusual that is. Kaz rarely asks for help, especially from those outside of the Crow Club. But whatever he has planned seems to be a lot more serious than the other jobs, more personal than merely ousting insider trading, or infiltrating various museums and mansions, or spying on the Upper East and West Side elite to gain intel and use it to our advantage.

Each of us has a unique purpose to Kaz. His investments. And while it has been easier to see where the others’ talents fit in, I am still baffled by my own. I adjust the sleeves of my lavender shirt, the ruffled material smooth on my shoulders.

I had known the Crow Club existed before I set foot on campus. As a journalism major, secrets have always intrigued me. Not just the secrets. The challenge of uncovering them, of working from the inside to reveal some of the deepest and darkest parts of humanity. I had always heard whispers of the club amongst the Upper West side elite, whispers about Kaz Brekker and his Crows. Always watching. Always ready to catch you red-handed. But I didn’t even need to go out of my way to find the Crow Club.

Kaz found me first. Called me an asset. He and Inej invited me to join starting the summer before my second term. I have surprised myself by warming up to the rest of the Crows so quickly, even the ones who aren’t active members and are just extra recruits for Kaz to call if he needs them. We all mean something here, we all have a purpose, more than what the world is trying to force upon us.

A family. Especially since most of ours are broken or nonexistent.

After a few minutes of waiting, Kaz snaps to attention and we follow suit, like trained soldiers, eager for him to share whatever small slice of his plan that he decides to. His crisp suit is pure black, a small crow brooch pinned to his lapel. The shaved hair on the side of his head is beginning to grow out, the top slicked back with a deep, oaky smelling gel. He always looks like he is dressed for a business meeting, even when it’s just us. Inej always muses that there is an irony to it, but how, I don’t know. I suppose everything is business to Kaz.

“Okay,” he begins, voice gruff and deep. “This is what we’ll do.”

----

Nina and I weave our way through the busy streets, blessing the cool wind as it kisses our faces in the dying summer heat. Her hair is down, the sun illuminating the many shades of brown running through the waves and her dress is high on her thighs, the red cotton fabric hugging the curves of her waist. Being in America has done wonders for Nina, brightened her complexion, improved her spirit, and turned her from a wafer-thin girl to a full-bodied, thick thighed woman. Everywhere she goes, people stare. She is otherworldly, like a saint on Earth.

“Where did Kaz send us this time?” Nina complains, sucking the dripping strawberry ice cream from her fingers before chucking the cone into a nearby trash.

“He didn’t,” I grin, dodging a guy with suspicious looking flyers on the sidewalk. “He gave us his card and very vague instructions to find a wardrobe for the event.”

Nina’s eyes sparkle, cleaning off the rest of her fingers before she entwines her elbow in mine. New York City seems to breathe with our every step, the wind moving, the heat unfurling, and the trees swaying. Taxis and cars whiz by on the avenue, the honking of horns and the laughter of tourists crossing into Central Park filling the air. Everything about New York is alive, even the concrete holds stories it’s waiting to tell.

“Then let’s go down Fifth,” Nina begins, mischief in her tone. “I know a few places.”

“I bet you do,” I flash her a smile, crossing the street so we walk parallel to the park.

We trek down the street, stopping into a macaron shop in the Plaza Hotel to get a bright blue bag full of sweets for us to eat on our journey. Nina and I are bouncing on our heels, excited to have a day to ourselves, away from the Crow Club and the University and being responsible for buying dresses for not only ourselves, but for Inej, Alina, and Zoya, as well.

Kaz had three extra students brought in for this assignment, all a part of the secret network of Crows that don’t sit in regular meetings. First is Alina, who has an international reputation for rebuilding schools and orphanages across the world since she was thirteen, and who has been a Crow since her first step onto campus. She transferred here as a graduate student from some extremely prestigious school in California to complete her PhD and teaching credentials. Every time I have seen Alina, she has been so kind and so helpful, always eager to teach, serve, and build in any way she can. It’s beyond me why she wants to be a part of these operations. Maybe every good girl has a naughty streak.

Zoya, on the other hand, seems like the opposite of Alina. A close friend, confidant, and suspected girlfriend, of another one of Kaz’s network of Crows, Zoya is an overly intelligent, intimidating, and obscenely beautiful law student. Her hair is always smooth, a jet black slate against her back and her eyes are always piercing, judging and observing in their ice blue. Her skin always looks perfectly tanned, a deep brown that makes the pink of her lips more enticing. Her grades are pristine, her ability to argue is unparalleled, and if there were ever a force to be reckoned with, it is her. It’s a lot more obvious to understand why she agreed to join the Crows, for the prestige, the knowledge, the power. But truly puzzling, is her relationship with Nikolai.

Nikolai, or Nik, as I like to call him, is one of the best - and funniest, Crows. Clever, self-deprecating, friendly, handsome, the list goes on. His blonde hair is a shaggy mop of artsy goodness, his skin is creamy, his style completely unmatched and his wealth bottomless. Nik and Kaz are always butting heads; most of the time it’s the only comedic relief the Crow Club has when they’re together. Nik met Zoya during undergrad, in a political science course, where apparently their discussions were lively enough to earn them A’s and lengthy enough to last entire class sessions. Nik has one of those family names that are revered in every elite social circle, making him an obvious addition for Kaz’s team and from what I have gleaned from Nik, he decided to join the Crows to give him something interesting to do besides follow in his father’s footsteps. I wish I wanted to be a Crow out of boredom.

“God,” Nina groans, shoving her phone back into her five thousand dollar purse. “If I get one more message from my parents asking if I’ve heard from that white-haired, rule-following, stick-up-his-ass, Scandinavian inbred, I am going to drown my phone in the Hudson River.”

“Wow,” I clap for her, avoiding the incredulous gapes of tourists at her language. “So many adjectives and I don’t even think you’ve ever said his name.”

A man opens up the glass doors to Bergdorf Goodman’s, where cool air and white marble greet us. Immediately, we drift to the dress racks, combing through all of the latest trends.

“Matthias,” she almost growls. “His letters are so proper, telling me that he has heard of my exemplary womanly skills from my parents. That he would delight to see my drawings and sewing and hear me play the piano. It’s ridiculous. I don’t do any of those things by choice.”

I stifle a laugh. “He seems very… traditional.”

“Seems?” She throws her hands up, shoving a silk dress back onto the rack with too much force. “He is the definition of the word! And worst of all, he’s attractive! He has snow white hair and is built like one of those huge wrestler guys that people watch on TV.”

“Why is that a problem?”

“Because his complete lack of competence makes him a barbarian! A man who thinks the perfect wife is silent and docile. He’s going to have another thing coming when I show up.”

“He comes from old money in an old country,” I begin, wondering whether I need to tread lightly. “Don’t you think he’s just taught to think that way?”

She sighs, holding up a stunning evergreen gown against her figure. “I know he is. That’s what’s even worse. I know that everyone where he is from has been taught those values. So even if he came to love me, to understand me, no one on the outside would. His station, his reputation, his fortune, all of it is dependent on how I perform. How I reflect him.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” I muse, holding out another red silk dress for her.

“Money isn’t fair.”

I blink, surprised at her words. Money is just an object. It has no preference, no deference, no opinions. But I guess the idea of money is more important and tangible than the paper itself. Money has value and expectations beyond the faces staring back at you from the press. It expects manners, it breeds tradition and hierarchy and perfect wives who aren’t allowed to make any. I wonder if Nina will end up bending to those wills, to the one’s she has been raised to. America is such a different place, but I guess money everywhere is the same. It controls you.

“This.”

I turn around, face breaking out into a huge smile at the dress Nina is holding. It is a deep purple, with sheer shoulder sleeves and a deep plunging neckline covered in diamond flowers. The waist is cinched, belted by more glittering gems, before it falls and flows in layers of purple silk and satin to the floor, flowers and vines curling around the skirt. Nina’s hair and eyes and skin would look angelic in the dress. I nod fervently, unable to cap my smile as she waves over an employee to open the dressing room.

While in the dressing rooms, Nina and I talk through the divider.

“Where was Wylan off to earlier?” I ask, taking off my clothes and folding them neatly on the small leather bench. “He never really seems to be around these days.”

“Yeah,” Nina says, with a grunt. “He’s been trying to rekindle his relationship with his father, studying a lot. You know, the usual dysfunctional family stuff.”

I laugh. “My family wasn’t dysfunctional in that way.”

“I would say you were lucky,” Nina begins and I can hear her zipper up as mine does. “But I know you weren’t.”

At the same time, we step out of the dressing room, identical smiles breaking open our faces before we clasp our hands together and squeal with happiness. The dresses look perfect, we look perfect, everything looks perfect.

And now we just have to find dresses for Alina and Zoya.

With these price tags, Kaz is going to regret lending us his credit card.

----

“Something Kaz Brekker doesn’t know how to do,” I tease a few days later,“drive.”

He shoots me a healthy side glare, uncurling his fingers from around the steering wheel. The sun is shining through the left side of the car, illuminating his high cheeks and arched brow bones with dazzling light. If Kaz weren’t so… him, I’m confident he would have made an amazing Calvin Klein model. Especially because his lips are always relaxed in a bit of a natural pout and his resting stance is so relaxed, yet also confident. He is striking.

And he doesn’t belong to me. Nor do I think he ever will.

Despite their claims and attempts to put distance between their relationship, it has become common knowledge in the Crow Club that Kaz and Inej are a package deal. And it doesn’t take a trained Journalism major to read between those lines. It is blindingly obvious in the subtle ways she touches him, the way his gaze softens when he looks at her. She is the ice to his fire, and when needed, he is the same for her. A complimentary pair in every way, even if it seems unlikely on the surface.

“Okay,” I begin, gesturing to the automatic gears between us. I explain what each of the letters stand for, instructing him to move the clutch into reverse and slowly ease up on the brake. With a bit of a jerk, Kaz obeys, turning the wheel to back us out of the spot in the empty parking lot. It had taken a bit of a road trip to find this place outside of the city. I had driven Kaz and myself into New Jersey, where the early morning dawn had just begun to crest, giving our driving lessons an advantage. Kaz had immediately, and somewhat reluctantly, urged me to teach him, claiming we would need it for this assignment. Inej had pushed him along with the conversation, rolling her eyes at how his own pride blocked up his request.

“Now go back into drive,” I say, lurching forward when he does and pushes his foot down too forcefully on the gas pedal. He turns in circles around the empty lot, taking care to avoid the lamp posts. On every straight away, Kaz seems to hit the gas with a little more force, graceful turns giving way to concussion-inducing races. It seems he has the turning part down, but the lurching and jerking of the car would get him pulled over quickly.

And although Kaz will no doubt be having a new fake I.D. made by one of our extra Crows, the risk of involving a police officer is not one any of us want to take.

“Slow down there, Nascar.” I laugh.

He eases up, taking his time to get used to the ebb and flow of the vehicle. Where he got the car is beyond me, but I am also beyond questioning Kaz’s ability to secure random and often, complicated, objects for our heists. He has become my biggest puzzle, my biggest mystery to solve. And if it hasn’t been one hell of an adventure trying to figure him out. Observing him and listening and learning his subtle tells when he is angry or pleased or scheming. Lately, though, it feels as if the obsession for uncovering his truths have blossomed into something else, something that makes my heart race a little faster and my palms sweat. Something I haven’t been able to control. And how I hate not being in control.

“Turn out onto the street,” I instruct, forcing myself to speak and get out of my own head.

He obliges, the car absorbing the bumps in the curb as Kaz makes a graceful right turn. His black gloves glide smoothly along the steering wheel, the sleeve of his shirt riding up to expose a sliver of his pale wrist. My mind begins to wander again, to whether or not Inej has touched them, if she has held his wrists down as she gracefully slid on top of him. I wonder if she has kissed him, if he whispers her secrets to her like some sort of sexy spy pillow talk.

“Cataleya,” Kaz is saying, the four syllables of my name like chimes from his mouth.

“Sorry,” I shake my head, swallowing and casting him a glance. “What?”

“Where are we going?” He repeats, monotone and bored.

His driving has already gotten smoother, his feet steady on the brake and gas as I tell him to pull onto the dirt on the side of the two-lane road and turn around. There are still no cars out here at this hour, an Amtrak just beginning its morning route on a station in the distance. I can see the outline of the city beyond the valley, half blocked by trees and tall grass. The skyscrapers are haloed by the rising sun, like a safe haven calling me back home.

“Who taught you to drive?” Kaz says, his raspy voice surprisingly light.

“A friend I had growing up,” I reply, surprised.

“That’s a nice friend,” he comments, voice taking on an edge I don’t understand.

I snort. “Yeah, well, I didn’t have any family to do it.”

His hands tighten on the steering wheel ever so slightly and if I weren’t observant I probably would have missed it. The way he tenses up. The way his jaw clenches and the car begins to move a bit faster as his foot locks onto the gas. “Me either.”

“I found my mother dead.” The words are out of my mouth before I realize it. Kaz’s gaze shifts a bit, but he keeps his focus on the road as I continue. “I went to bury a dead cat in my mother’s old garden. We never touched it, my father never tended to it, or let me, after he said she left us. But when I went out to the garden and began to dig, I lost track of time, I dug far deeper than I intended. My father wasn’t home, I wanted to be there, in that garden, and away from him if he came home, for as long as possible. I didn’t realize how far I had dug until,” I swallow, inhaling and turning to Kaz. “Until a hand began to form beneath the dirt, and then an arm, and I saw the wedding ring, the bruises, the blue of her dress…”

Kaz’s lips part, the only admission of emotion he gives.

“The coroner said she had been dead for four months. Four months,” my voice broke, splintered on the fragments of my memories. “That she had been beaten and buried there. They couldn’t… couldn’t prove it was my father. He had money, lots of it. And he paid a lot of people to keep quiet.”

“Is that why you love journalism?” Kaz asks, slowing the car to ready his turn back into the empty lot. “Exposing them? Making them pay with more than their blood money and with plain blood?”

I inhale, lips curling back in more of a snarl than a smile. “Everyone I knew. Everyone I knew who was involved. I have made them pay. In some form.” I throw Kaz a true smile, a devilish gleam in my eyes. “Although I suppose you already know that. It’s why Inej noticed me in the first place.”

“One of the many reasons,” Kaz replies, words back to being clipped, tight.

With a smooth arc of the steering wheel, Kaz turns the car into the same spot as before, hitting a little too hard on the brake before coming to a stop. My hair moves in front of my face at the jolt, a blessed curtain separating me from him. I can feel him thinking, churning over my words, assessing me.

Kaz hardly seems fazed as I peek at him around my hair. His dark eyes are far away, his gloved hands slack on the wheel. I still myself, hearing the purr of the car engine, hearing Kaz’s breathing, shallow and uneven, as he goes into the place he so rarely dives. His eyes are almost glazed, like he’s been drinking, completely lost in his own thoughts. I know some of his story already. From Nina. From Jesper. From my research.

“Your brother,” I murmur, soft and low.

His hands tighten on the wheel until they are bone white, staring straight ahead at the tree lined landscape. “Jordie,” he pushes through his teeth. “His name was Jordie.”

My spine straightens. Kaz has never said anything about his brother, and has never allowed any of the Crows besides Inej into his life in this way. And I wonder how far he has even let her in. I swallow, questioning if I should press or let it be. I am just about to get out and switch places with him to take us back into the city, when he opens his mouth and to my bewilderment, continues to speak.

“My parents were mixed up in some bad stuff before we came here. We lived in the countryside, with a bit of land and no one around us for miles. My brother was older than me, only by four years, but enough to know how to keep me from looking where I shouldn’t. From keeping me happy and sheltered.” A muscle flickers in Kaz’s jaw, his pale skin going ashier with each word, “I didn’t know what was happening when they came. The thugs my parents had been hopping between towns, cities, and states to avoid for over a decade. Jordie took me, the remaining cash from the safe, that my father had stolen, and fled to New York City. He hoped we would be invisible among so many people.”

I don’t know I am holding my breath until I release it, low and shaky. Kaz is silent again, staring off, flexing and unflexing his fingers against the steering wheel, like a silent reminder that he is here.

“Are they alive?” I ask, voice so silent it’s almost nothing.

“I don’t know,” Kaz admits. “But we never heard from them. I’ve never heard. So I can only assume not. And I don’t think I would want to see them if they were.”

“And Jordie…?” I venture, terrified to hear more, but also terrified he’ll clam up. I am desperate for more. Desperate to know him.

“We weren’t safe here. They found us. Or, found Jordie. While I was gone.” Every single syllable from his lips are forced and painful, laced with self loathing and regret. Survivor's guilt. “I was supposed to be there, but Jordie had sent me away. On an errand down in Brooklyn. He knew we were trapped, and wanted me to live, if he couldn’t. If Jordie could convince them he was alone and I had been shipped somewhere else... ” He breathes in and out, slowly and deeply, focusing on some point in the distance. “They ruled it as a suicide. He had cut his own throat, only his DNA on the knife, only his blood… I don’t know if he did it before they came. Or if they staged it. The not knowing. The guessing. That’s what makes it worse.”

“So you look for control in other places.” I say. “In the market. In investment. In the Crows. I do the same thing.”

“The Crows stand for the same thing you do, Cataleya.” Kaz says, looking at me with an intense stare. “Exposure. We want things to be different. We want people to pay, truly pay, for what they have done. Instead of buying silence. Buying lies. We want the truth. Only the truth.”

His words pierce me, his black hair stark against his forehead, shaved sides longer than he normally keeps them. His eyebrows are set in a hard determined line, lips closed, and jaw locked in determination. I know he made those people pay, the ones who took his brother from him. I can see it on his face.

“How did you survive?” I begin, “without him?”

Kaz licked his lips and let out a low chuckle. “Our money was gone. But we knew some people. Kids we met on the street. They made me a fake to get into bars with; I was barely sixteen by that time, but I looked older. Rougher. I had a skill for counting cards and made a small fortune quickly by playing in run down joints and eventually, working my way into larger, more expensive establishments. It was hard, I lived and breathed revenge, for Jordie. I wanted to have him back. To have something that was mine. I built up a small fortune, studied the market, and began investing. By the time I applied to the University of Ketterdam it didn’t matter that I only had my GED and no family, my self-made fortune was enough.”

“But why here?” I ask, furrowing my brows in confusion. “Why school at all?”

Kaz continues to look at me, eyes blazing. “Because we had a dream. Jordie and I. We had a dream that we would never forget what happened. That we had to run. And that when we were older, more settled, we would build something here. In New York City, something that would last. Something with a legacy. Like Crows, Jordie had said, symbolizing death but themselves being alive. We were dealt bad luck and would bestow it on others who deserve it.”

“Thus, The Crow Club,” I finish his sentence, gaze roaming his face. “A secret society at one of the world’s best universities that would have a legacy. Have prestige. Have a family.”

“Something that is mine,” Kaz’s lips part, wet from his tongue.

“Yes, yours.” I echo.

We are both silent for a few moments. Weighing our words. Our truths. Even the trees outside seem to stop in the wind, leaves quiet and branches unwavering. Kaz has opened up in a way I have never seen before. Never expected. He has been through so much. So much like me. Dealt with death. Loss. Life. We aren’t so different. None of the Crows are.

“What about the others?”

“Those aren’t my stories to tell,” Kaz responds, voice returning to its detached state.

I nod, once, accepting. I know a few of them already. Nina. Wylan. The new recruits. But Inej and Jesper are mysteries. Complete and whole geniuses shrouded in questions. I don’t like questions. Especially ones I can’t answer.

“How did you survive? With him?” Kaz’s voice rings again, reflecting my earlier question. His words are too big for the small car, inhaling deeply through my nose as a small smile graces my lips. His long fingers move the shift into reverse to back out of the spot to drive us back to the city himself. The true test of his skill on the Manhattan streets.

“That friend. The one who taught me how to drive,” I reply, a bit of wistful nostalgia filling my tone. “He helped me. Took care of me. Looked after me.”

“Past tense?” He inquires, feet smooth as he presses on the gas pedal.

“We are still friends,” I say. “I think. Things are just… different.”

“Different. That’s an understatement.” He replies, voice drenched with irony. “Everything is different, isn’t it, depending on how you look at it.”

I nod and laugh, giving him a compliment on how swiftly he picked up driving before we settle into a comfortable silence. Crows. Allies. Friends. If we can call ourselves that.

I hope we can.

----

Today, I am supposed to meet the enemy.

Kaz told me yesterday he set up a rendezvous at one of the campus coffee spots and that there would be someone waiting for me there. Someone he wouldn’t name. Someone that I am supposed to gather information from. Someone who thinks we are on a date.

I had almost hit him when he pulled up his phone to show me the fake dating profile that was made for me. Pictures of me smiling, laughing, most of them pictures I didn’t even remember taking, all glowed brightly at me, accentuated by a bio that said I liked my men tall, dark, and tortured.

How cliche.

“Nina made it,” Kaz had shrugged then returned his phone back to his pocket.

“And you would be surprised by how many matches you made,” Inej’s voice was laced with humor, lilting into the room without a trace.

“She’ll walk you over,” Kaz said, gesturing around the room to her unknown location. “Like any dutiful girl would for her best friend about to go on a date from an app. Then, you’ll just need to proceed as normal. Ask him about his life, his job, his degree, his connection to UOK. All the basics. The main concern is reading him out for a vibe, his family has had a lot of influence in some shady shit and he’s from another society here.”

So that’s what this was about? Some sour deals that probably put Kaz out of some easy money and a rival society that was challenging Kaz’s position in the control of campus secrets and his standing legacy? I don’t feel like that is the whole story, but that’s all that Kaz was willing to give me at the time.

And he hadn’t said anything this afternoon when I had gone into the Crow Library to meet Inej. He acted like nothing ever happened, like he hadn’t revealed some of his darkest secrets to me. Like we hadn’t shared a moment of… something. He barely looked at me from his desk, hair rumpled and face flushed from stress, in my tight long sleeve dress and tights, combat boots laced up around my ankles in case this random guy got the wrong idea.

The air outside had turned to autumn, giving us an unusually cold and windy day. I was puttering around and trying to think of something to say to Kaz, when Inej came down the staircase with silent feet, dressed in a pair of black leggings and a cream knit sweater. Her hair had been mused in the back and her face also looked a bit red. I had almost laughed, looking between her flushed state and Kaz’s slightly red cheeks, before giving Inej a knowing quirk of my eyebrows.

And now, outside of the library and alone, walking across the cobblestoned campus paths with autumn leaves falling around us, I turn to her. “Do I even want to know?”

“It’s college,” she replies, so quiet it’s almost to herself. “Things happen.”

“Things don’t just happen with Kaz Brekker.”

She looks at me, face breaking out into a blinding smile that splits her beautifully baked face. “They do when he’s in a rather… compromising position.”

“Inej!” I release the laugh I’ve been holding, the now pulled back coil of her hair showing off the reddened tips of her ears. Since I have known of Inej, she has always been rather modest. Sure of herself in a quiet way. The kind of confidence that doesn’t need reassurance or shields. Inej herself is a shield, a force of silent secrets she keeps hidden beneath the unsuspecting lithe of her dancer’s frame.

We take a right turn down one of the main campus paths, small walkways opening up into a large courtyard. Students mill about, sitting on statues, kissing underneath the garden archways, reading books on their way into classes. The University of Ketterdam has always been such an eclectic place, not only because of its location in New York City, but because of its campus. Lush, green, beautiful. An ode to history and architecture and modernity all the same. The programs here are some of the best in the world and while tuition isn’t cheap, the value of a Ketterdam degree is worth it.

“Is it bad that I kind of do want to know though?” I begin, not even sure what I’m saying.

“No,” Inej says, voice thoughtful and not defensive in any way. This is why I love Inej. So honest and unafraid. “I think everyone wants to know about Kaz. Everyone wants to be the hero that solves the mystery or the lover that turns a prince from darkness.” She pauses, looking around at the students, seeming lost in thought. Her dark eyebrows crease together, as if in thought or sadness. “Some people just can’t be saved.”

I can tell she’s referring to Kaz. But I’m not sure if I agree. I think everyone can be saved. I think darkness lives in everyone and all a person needs is a bit of light to show them through. People weren’t born into darkness, or evil, they were made that way. Through that, they could be unmade. And Inej has enough light and strength in one of her hands to see any person through the blackest of tunnels. I think of what Kaz had said to me, in the car, about his story, about his desire for revenge. For retribution. Maybe I want to believe we can be saved from the darkness because I want to be saved. Because like calls to like. And there is a deep chasm within Kaz that sings to me.

Inej moves her head to look at me, a full and unabashed gaze that somehow makes me uncomfortable. Like she can see straight to my soul. Like she can see every lie I have told or every promise I have broken or every secret I have kept. Like she can see my desires and my shame and my longing for things I can’t have.

“But we love them anyway, don’t we?” She finishes, giving me a contemplative look.

I think of the people I love, the people I did love, when there were still people in my life that were capable of receiving such a thing; people who were dark and painful and I still loved them anyway. Love can be such a blinding thing. Blinding and binding.

“Yeah,” I echo, her reflective tone rubbing off onto my voice. “We do.”

The both of us descend into silence as we continue to walk across the quad. I begin to feel my stomach turn, my palms sweat. No matter how many times I have done this, not dates, but encounter new people, this feeling returns. Every time I have to meet someone new, report on something, present something for a class, I would feel anxiety grip my insides and twist. When I was younger, that anxiety was terrifying, it made me cower, it made me scared. But as I got older, I began to use it and cling to it. I began to form it into an entity that gave me courage instead of taking it, something that would ground me to myself and propel me into my fears.

Inej begins, “Kaz texted and said he’s outside. Reading. Good luck.” Then she’s gone.

Steadying my breath, the smell of coffee hits my nostrils as I round the library steps to the small path beside it. The coffee shop is nestled into the side of the huge, brick building, almost like a tumor sprouting from the side. Inej has completely disappeared, only leaving the familiar scent of herbs in her wake. She is supposed to be going up the library steps to find a good vantage point from one of the many windows facing the coffee shop on the building’s side. Students move around through the cafe windows, in and out of the doors, little bell ringing to signal both arrival and departure.

But I am not paying attention to any of them.

Because there is a boy. A man. Sitting at one of the tables outside, his long legs stretched underneath the opposite chair, wearing a pair of leather sneakers. His long fingers are thumbing through a novel, covers worn and pages yellow with age. He can feel someone there, looking, sitting up and turning in that little metal chair to see who. To see me.

It’s Alek.

I blanch, mouth going dry and jaw slackening. I know him. I more than know him. I-

“Cataleya,” his voice is pure night, laced and dripping with stars. He doesn’t seem surprised to see me, not even phased. Not that I have ever seen him look surprised. I flash back to that day in the garden, to his hands on my face, wiping my tears, to his arms around me, murmuring condolences, to the face that I could see through my blurred tears. Dark hair, pale skin, beautifully big gray eyes. I had barely known him, barely seen him despite our houses being right next door, despite our windows being on opposite sides of the alley and me being able to spy on him when his curtains were parted at night.

“Aleksander?” I stand a little straighter, gathering my shock and shoving it deep down.

He smiles, standing up from the chair on the patio of the coffee shop. He is so tall, taller than I remember. His dark jeans are fitted against his legs and the black long sleeve button down he is wearing shows off a large portion of his impeccable chest. I don’t remember when the last time I saw him was, but I definitely don’t recall feeling the pulsing and intense heat that flashes through my body when I look at him. I suddenly feel naked. And stupid.

Is Kaz trying to kill me?

Swallowing thickly, I scan the windows on the side of the library for Inej, wondering if she has already found a perch to play spy. The sun reflects off of each glass surface in the afternoon light, making it impossible to see through any of them. Blowing a breath through my lips, I attempt to quell the storm brewing and churning in my stomach.

“What a wonderful surprise this is,” Alek starts.

I catch the edge in his voice, the way the tone lilts at the end. A tell of how much this encounter is not a surprise. For him anyway. But I smile, I nod and I watch as he fluidly closes the distance between us and takes me in his arms.

I hate how I exhale.

How my whole body relaxes.

I hate how good it feels.

Like coming home.

He smells like winter and barren tree branches, like snow and absence of light. Like a dark night wrapping me in its embrace and taking away the pain that days bring. Peaceful and mysterious all the same. Just as I remember it. Just as I remember him.

“Since when did you start wearing all black?” I joke as he pulls away, gesturing to his outfit. “Are you some kind of darkling now?”

He gives me a blinding grin, chuckling under his breath.

“Something like that.”

He gestures us back over to the table and I sit across from him, back rigid and legs crossed. I feel like a mannequin, still and stoic, despite the intense pounding of my heart and rush of blood through my veins.

“How have you been?” He asks, leaning back in his chair with an amused look on his face. “I must say I was very surprised when your profile popped up Tinder.”

I clench my jaw, working my teeth against each other. “Yeah, so was I.”

Tilting his head to the side, Alek studies me, eyes unabashedly roaming from my face to my chest to my waist, to my legs visible on the side of the table. I swallow, trying to clear the unfamiliar lump in my throat before I speak.

“But I’m good. Great, even. But I didn’t even know you are here. That you went here in the first place.”

“It’s a temporary thing,” Alek responds.

“Temporary?” I push.

“I’m just getting a business credential for the semester,” he says, airy and dismissive.

I narrow my eyes at him, hoping he can feel the suspicion and annoyance radiating from my look. He drums his fingers on the table, weighing my stare with a measured, even gaze that infuriates me further. I always hated when he did this when we were kids. Always challenging me. Always trying to get me to back down. Luckily, our time apart has sharpened my detective skills and my comfort with confrontation.

Alek sighs, blinking slowly. “Fine. I’m here because of you.”

My jaw slackens.

Because of me?

“I missed you,” he whispers, in a rare display of vulnerability and affection, before reaching across the table to take my hand.

Fire lashes up my wrist and arm, chills spreading in its wake. His touch is electrifying me, his skin like a hot branding iron pushing into me with delicious pain. Alek’s jaw is set, the hard lines on his chin lined with stubble. I want to take his face in my hands and kiss him. I want to feel him against me and get lost in the impossibly deep gray ocean of his eyes.

“Where were you then?” I venture, pushing down the pressing anxiety.

“I had a lot to deal with after my dad died,” he responds, voice detached and noncommittal. “I’m really sorry I let our relationship fall away, but I didn’t want to drag you down into my grief. You’ve always had enough on your plate.”

“You helped me through grief.” My tone steadies. “I wanted to help you.”

He huffs, “I didn’t want your help.”

The words are like a slap in the face, pulling my hand from his with a start. His dad’s death had been very abrupt and unexpected, launching Alek into a world of unknown wealth and property and an accumulation of other assets he wasn’t even aware his father had. His death was ruled under suspicious circumstances, but no leads were ever found for a murderer or any other sort of foul play. And with Alek’s mother long gone to cancer, he found himself newly eighteen and alone in the world. Except he wasn’t alone. He always had me.

Alek releases a breath, eyes softening as he leans back in his chair, aware of the mistake in his harsh words. He pushes a hand through his hair, the dark waves parting for his hand like a saint in the sea.

“I don’t mean it like that. I wanted you to be there, Cataleya. But some things you have to do on your own, you know? I had so much to figure out and sort through and… it was overwhelming.”

I nod, chewing on the inside of my cheek. Alek was never the kind of guy to ask for help, especially not from people he is close to. He always did things alone, always felt weak for not building his own empire, his own legacy, his own destiny, without anyone else. But two years, I haven’t heard from him in two years and now here he is. In front of me. Asking for some sort of forgiveness. Is there anything to forgive? The pit in my stomach says yes. But my throbbing heart and other throbbing parts of me say no.

“I missed you, too.”

A small smile blossoms across his face, the sight beautiful and stupefying.

“I can’t help but notice you walked here with Inej Ghafa,” he starts and my alert senses begin to tingle. “Isn’t she a part of Kaz Brekker’s Crow Club?”

“How do you know about that?” I ask before I can help myself.

“Anyone who is anyone knows about Kaz,” he responds, almost spitting his name.

“Okay…” I begin, unease settling into my stomach like a stone. “But why do you?”

“He has something I need.”

The stone becomes a boulder.

“Are you-” I stop, then start again. “You’re the one that this is for.”

“If by “this”, you mean whatever scheme he is planning to trap me in, then yes.”

“But why? How do you even know him? Don’t you know who he is and what he does? What are you thinking going against Kaz?” I ask urgently, struggling to keep my voice low.

He pins me to the chair with a dead look. “He has debts he needs to pay.”

“You’re going vague again?” I shake my head, irritated with his bipolar intensity then flippancy. “You need to back down. Or you’re going to end up hurt.”

A smirk tugs at his full lips, “Your lack of faith in me is really inspiring, Cataleya.”

“It’s not that,” I retort, exasperated, crossing my arms. “Kaz is really powerful. With more networks and connections than you know. If you don’t stop whatever crusade you have on him, you’re the one that’s going to end up indebted.”

He laughs this time, a full and deep laugh that surprises me. “Has he really dug his talons that deep in you? That you’ve forgotten how wide my own connections spread? How cunning I can be?”

“We haven’t spoken in two years,” I respond, pettily. “I don’t know you at all anymore.”

He leans forward, eyes incredibly dark and face serious. “You know that’s not true.”

I hold his stare, raising my eyebrows, feeling satisfied that I made my point. Alek reaches across the table and places his palm up on it in invitation. I can see the veins of his inner wrist, with dark ink snaking across the blue and disappearing under his shirt sleeve. He didn’t have any tattoos when I last talked to him. My fingers itch to push back the fabric and see them. His secrets. Like Kaz’s, they are so plain on his skin yet hidden through metaphors and signs.

Licking my lips, I push out a breath and put my hand atop his, feeling his eyes follow mine to where the ink is displayed. Without saying anything, he pushes the sleeve of his shirt up his forearm, stopping at the inner crook of his elbow.

Inhaling and holding, I blink at the constellation on the inside of his forearm. A night sky, swirling with black and dead space, with creatures in between zombies and ghosts with huge demon wings flying through it. There is a ship at the base of his wrist, a small stern gliding through dark sand, a tiny speck compared to the massive size of the creatures flying above it. It is dark and torturing and incredibly impassioned. I let the pads of my fingers drift softly up Alek’s arm, watching goosebumps form on his skin.

“What are they?” I ask.

“They’re called volcra,” Alek says. “Beings that live in darkness and are afraid of light. They feed on those who come into their path, who are unable to see or defend themselves in the black sea of sand.”

“It’s so… intense.” I search for the right word to describe it, coming up short.

“I want to remind myself to not be afraid of light. Of happiness. That the things that I may think make me weak, really make me strong. I need to find more light, to find my light. I have been full of darkness for a long time, Cataelya. I’ve lived in a thousand moments of it.”

I tilt my head, fingers pressed into the inside of his elbow and looking up at him through my lashes. His eyes are trained to the spot where our skin is meeting, his lips parted and eyebrows furrowed a bit in the middle. I resist the urge to flatten it with my thumb, letting the wind and the sound of other students fill the silence between us.

“You were the only light in my life for a long time,” I say to him, tracing the volcra’s deformed bodies with my index finger. “I had nothing. I had no one. You pulled me from that nothingness. From the darkness. And held me in your arms. Brought me up to somewhere better. Where I can hope. Where I can not only see light, but make my own. That is invaluable to me.”

He catches my hand and brings it to his lips, pressing a kiss to my palm. “Can you help me, then? Can you bring me back my light, too?”

My breathing stalls. I know what he’s asking from me. I know it’s more than just offering a flashlight through the tunnel. I know it’s more complicated than I can currently imagine. Alek stands up, coming around the table to kneel in front of my chair. Some students stare, wondering if they’re about to witness a proposal. I ignore them, keeping my eyes trained on Alek’s imploring gaze. I know in this moment, I will give him the world, the moon, and all of its stars. I will give him all of my sun and then some, I will summon everything I have to fill the darkest parts of him.

He takes my face in his hands, palms impossibly soft on my cheeks. Subtly, slowly, I nod, watching his face break a part into a smile. Without pausing, Alek leans forward and kisses me. His lips are smooth and plush, completely stunning me into inaction as he runs his fingers along the sides of my throat. I sigh into his mouth, body realizing what is happening just as he is pulling away. Parting my lips, I stupidly sit in my chair as he gets up in one flowing movement.

Alek looks down at me with a smile. “I hope to see you soon then, Cataleya.”

Just like that, he scoops up his book and walks away. Gone as quickly as he appeared.

----

The room is completely aglow with light, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and candles lit around the room. Everything has a soft, burnt hue, like the room is on fire from below and the blaze is lighting the space. It must be the size of the University of Ketterdam quad, with hundreds of people talking, dancing, eating, and drinking. I recognize some students and faculty, but most are a blur of unfamiliar gowns and tuxedos.

“They know how to throw a party,” Nik says appreciatively.

“If they didn’t, no one would take them seriously.” Zoya retorts, leaving Nik’s side without so much as a glance to drift into the crowd. The smell of honey and sweet drinks spreads through the room, long tables lining either wall stacked with a massive spread.

“That’s where I’ll be,” whispers Nina.

I smile at her, gathering my dress in my hands and descending the few flat stairs to the main rooms. The floor is a beautiful tile, mosaics and colors that I can’t decipher flowing from the entry way beneath the mass of bodies. There is something magical about it all, something historic, like stepping into a time machine. The walls are lined with thick tapestries, with small halls leading into different areas of grandeur. I shouldn’t be surprised that wealth like this still exists, but every time I see it, I am.

Scanning the space, I see Alek from across the ballroom, near one of the food tables, his gaze drifting across my body before a smile forms on his lips. He is wearing an all black suit, lapels crisp and smooth, with a single blood rose pinned above his heart. It mimics the read of my dress, the stain of my lips, the seduction in his eyes. He cocks his head slightly, dark hair falling over one of his beautifully arched eyebrows.

I hold his stare, letting the bubbling pit of fire burn deeply in my stomach. The pit that forms when he looks at me, seated low and hot. The pit that would cackle and seethe if he would touch me, if his pale hands would settle on my hips and his lips would touch the shell of my ear, whispering sweet nothings and dirty everythings into my ear. Snaking my tongue between my lips, I watch as Aleksander tracks the motion, his posture straightening ever so slightly.

And then Kaz is there. In my line of vision.

The fire sputters out, replaced by something else. Something that grips my lungs and forces my heart to beat faster. His suit is a deep navy, bringing out the smooth pearl of his skin and accenting the night of his hair. He looks like a shooting star, dark and light at the same time. I wonder who picked it out for him, or if he selected it himself. I can’t imagine Kaz in a tailor’s shop, trying on suits and drinking bourbon with the upper elites with him.

But then again, maybe I can. He is a business man after all. And great at faking it.

Kaz catches my stare, tipping his head up in greeting before disappearing into the crowd. Nina and Nik dissolve from my side as well, going to observe and mingle before the drama begins. Alina is the only one left next to me, her golden dress sparkling in the chandelier light. She turns to me and sets her hand on my arm gingerly, sun earrings dangling from her ears.

“Be careful,” she whispers. “He’s not who you think he is.”

I open my mouth, about to ask her what she means before her hand is gone, and so is she. I watch her move into a group of people, hugging a man in a dark gray tuxedo from behind before giving him a kiss. Must be Mal. I don’t feel right, especially after what Alina said to me. I feel like something is amiss, but I don’t know what.

I spot Kaz again, whispering something to Inej along the back wall. Her dark eyes drift to me, cementing the feeling in place.

Alone, I cross the space to Alek. I had seen him twice since our fateful coffee date and both times had been very formal and full of business. Full of me trying to help him get his light back. Through some sort of grand scheme, it seems. One that required me to also recruit Nik, Alina, and Zoya to help Alek while seeming like they are helping Kaz. Sort of like a double agent, except I don’t know which side I want to be standing on at the end.

“How are you?” Alek asks, tone casual to an untrained ear, but clipped enough for me to hear the true question behind his words.

“Something’s wrong,” I respond under my breath before I loudly declare my happiness.

He lets his gaze linger on my face for a moment, schooling his features into neutrality.

“Can you handle it?”

“I’m not sure,” I admit, dropping my fake smile. “I might need help.”

Vague enough, but he clearly gets the message, rolling his shoulders before giving me a dazzling grin. Alek reaches a long arm to stop the waiter passing by, grabbing two flutes of sparkling gold champagne and extending one to me. As if this is only our second time meeting. As if we both happened here by incident and he is looking to get lucky.

“I could never refuse such a beautiful woman.”

I return his smile, throwing back the entire drink for some liquid courage. It tastes sweet and fizzy against my tongue, a faint acidity coating the roof of my mouth. Alek takes a long and thoughtful sip of his own champagne, much more graceful than me and folds my arm into the crook of his elbow. He begins to lead me from the ballroom, towards the Crow’s meeting spot. I look behind my shoulder, searching for their familiar faces. But all I see is Nina, already watching, her eyes focused intently on the joining of my arm with Alek’s while she pretends to listen to Nik, whose lips are moving with passionate fervor. Her mouth parts ever so slightly as she catches my eye.

“Careful,” Alek mutters, forcing me to turn my head back in front of me.

Dread and fear coil in my gut. I have never seen Nina look that way. I have never seen her look at me and not see me. I still don’t spot any of the other Crows at their reported positions around the room, where they were supposed to stay until I could get Alek alone and before I could lead Kaz to Alek and they could duel it out and I could decide who to side with then.

I swallow, mind racing, trying to calm myself by believing that there’s a reason for their absence.

Alek seems to sense my trepidation, holding my arm a bit tighter as we meander from the crowded room into a near empty hallway.

“Something’s wrong,” I repeat, trying to unravel everything quickly. Too quickly.

Kaz, pushing everyone into this heist with such force. The others, more quiet than usual, less pressing for Kaz to give them details. Kaz, letting me teach him to drive, letting himself be vulnerable for me. Inej, barely talking to me a week into our plan. Nina, completely open and honest and warm until she saw me with Alek. Jesper, less happy than usual, less enthusiastic, more solemn and quiet, often excusing himself when I came into the room. And Wylan, always seeming to be off rekindling his relationship with his father.

I didn’t need to help them with appearances at all.

When fear arrives, something is about to happen.

“It’s a trap,” I breathe, clenching my jaw and letting my stomach pit out inside of me.

“I know,” Alek replies, cool and distant.

My blood turns to ice. “What do you mean, “I know”?”

He doesn’t respond, turning right down the hallway that leads to a back patio exit, and not to the left, to that private seating area where the Crows were supposed to be waiting. Alek increases his pace ever so slightly, giving me a glazed and lusted look when people come out of the rooms to pass us by, too high or drunk or exhausted to care.

I try to stamp down the panic in my bones. How could I be so stupid? How could I get so caught up playing both sides that I didn’t see what was right in front of me? This is not the part where things are supposed to go wrong. I am supposed to get to choose. I am supposed to see them interact, gauge my feelings, myself, my words, and decide which side I want to be on. If I want to be a Raven or a Crow. If I want to be crime or creation. Of course, Alek is one step ahead. And so is Kaz.

“We need to be more casual, less uptight,” Alek states as he pushes through the glass doors leading into the large mansion courtyard at the end of the corridor. “If any of them are watching, they’ll hurry things along if they sense we’re onto them.”

“I think they already know,” I swallow, the night air turning cold and bitter. We hover on the cramped patio for a moment, not descending the small set of stone stairs into the gardens beyond. I can hear voices from inside, music drifting about, people laughing and heavy breathing from behind bushes. I wish I could have gone to this party with no other intentions than for fun.

Maybe in a different life.

“Doesn’t hurt to try,” Alek shrugs.

And then I am up against the thin black railing behind me, Alek’s hands settling into the curve of my hips. I can feel his warmth through the satin of my dress, bleeding fire into my skin, my heart, my core. He licks his lips and pushes me tighter against him. Our bodies are flush in all of the right places; hard and soft in all of the right places.

“Kiss me, Cataleya,” he baits me, voice low and raspy.

He doesn’t have to say it twice.

I surge forward, his lips plush and velvet against mine. He smells like winter, like snow and frosty tree branches and endless starry nights. I grew up with this smell, revelled in it, fell in love with it. His dark hair brushes against my forehead, the strands so soft and gentle in a way I had never known Alek to be. He is always pushing, moving, plotting.

He reminds me of Kaz in that way.

Kaz.

Alek’s tongue slips along mine, sparks flying and thundering in my ears. Haven’t I wanted him like this for so long? Haven’t I imagined what this would feel like since our first kiss, being barely a peck? Haven’t I dreamed that he would want me? That he would have me in the way I desired?

So why is this falling so flat now?

Kaz.

The voice reverberates through me, like a Crow picking from a dead body, peeling flesh from bone until I am stripped bare. My head begins to pound, a dull ache in the base of my skull. Alek runs his fingers up my bare arms, drawing goosebumps in his wake until I am shivering beneath him.

“Cataleya,” he murmurs, deep and throaty.

The old feeling returns, the burning desire, the expectant eyes. The little girl waiting for her master to approve. The little girl waiting for someone bigger, someone better, to grab her hand and drag her from the dirt. I feel ridiculous for not being able to squash it down, to tamper it. I don’t know if that feeling would ever die. The feeling of dependence. Of unworthiness.

Alek seems as if he’s about to say something, but his head whips to the side. I follow the movement, the stone of dread in my stomach sinking deeper when I realize the courtyard has gone quiet around us. Not a single sound from behind the bushes, not a giggle or a whisper or a moan. Too quiet. The sound of death.

The headache threatens to split my brain a part, eyes blurring as I watch Alek attempt to stumble down the stairs. He gets one step in before a figure blocks his path. My breathing becomes laborious, squinting through black spots clouding my vision before I can see who it is.

Wylan.

His suit is a forest green, dark velvet tailored for his tall lanky frame. The color perfectly offsets the ruddiness of his hair and his shoes are a deep brown leather, squeaky clean and new. Leave it to Kaz to outfit all of the Crows with his endless bank account.

“I’m sorry,” Wylan says, face truly betraying some measure of regret.

The pieces click together, like a lock sliding into place.

He hasn’t been working with his father all these weeks. He has been working on something else entirely. Something that would take lots of time, lots of care, and lots of studying. When Nina said those things I thought she was talking about how he was mending the relationship with his father. She was not. And not just that, but his studies most likely required more than himself for success. Probably Leoni, the incredibly kind and intelligent biochemical engineering major who Kaz sometimes recruited for special missions that required more stealth, less blood.

Wylan was studying poison.

And we had ingested it from the champagne.

----

My head is throbbing when I come to, the sound of a car engine roaring in my ears. I don’t know how I got here. All I remember is Alek, his hands on me, his warmth leaving me to spin me into the arms of someone else. The shaved hair, the deep brown eyes, the palor of his skin, the stability of his grip around my waist. Then Alek again, his lips on mine, my back against the wall.

I force myself to swallow, trying to see anything through the blindfold at my eyes. I am still in my dress, the silk smooth on my skin, and I can feel the car coming to a stop as I struggle to find the strength to say something.

My bones feel like liquid, muscles weak and shaking. But Alek had been the only one who offered me a drink, he had been the only one I trusted enough to gulp heartily. Wylan. I remember Wylan. Standing at the ledge of the stairs in the courtyard. Me and Alek.

Poisoned.

The car’s back door opens and I feel a rush of the cold night air as two gloved hands drag me by my feet from the vehicle and out onto the street. Dread coils in my stomach and my skin pricks with goosebumps, the cobble stones ripping at my exposed ankles and arms. After being dragged a few hundred feet, hissing at the burn of scapes and tearing on my skin from the uneven street, I am forced onto my knees. I don’t feel right. Nothing feels right. Where is Kaz?

As if in answer, the blindfold is yanked down my face from behind, my eyes blurring and struggling to adjust to the dark light of my surroundings. I am in an alley, wedged between two buildings built of collapsing brick. I can hear the faint whiz of cars, but in front of me is only a few hundred paces of the alleyway and then trees. I am not being brought here to talk. It’s too secluded. Too quiet. And the smell, bark and sap and something else… I clench my jaw.

A shadow fills my periphery and I struggle to stay up on my knees as a figure takes shape in front of me. The navy suit, clean white shirt, the black leather gloves, the hard lines of his jaw and set of his eyes. I know why I am here. I know what this is. His stare is furious, rage and ice and merciless vengeful eyes boring into mine.

He made the choice for me.

“Kaz,” I rasp, voice cracking and broken.

He snarls at his name from my mouth, shoving me up into the nearest building. I stumble in my heels, his movements fast and forceful enough to drive my back into the wall with no problem. The rough edges of the brick dig into my back, clawing at my skin. This is nowhere near the last experience I had against a wall, with Alek. Caressing me, kissing me, igniting me. I try to stay calm. I try to think. But all I can see is Kaz’s face in front of me, burning with hatred and disdain as he rams me harder into the unforgiving bricks.

I try to hold in my scream as a knife plunges into my side from one of the roofs above, deep and intense pain bursting through me. I don’t know who threw it, I don’t know how many of them are up there and how many stayed behind. I don’t know how long they’ve been in on it, I don’t know if Kaz has been aware the entire time. But I do know that now he knows, they all do. And that I won’t be leaving here alive.

I can’t move enough to take the knife from my side, the hilt small, but the blade curved and lodged deep above the bone of my hip. Blood seeps through my dress, the red becoming impossibly darker, and the drip drip of the liquid pings against the stone street as it runs down my legs. It’s the only sound between us besides my ragged breathing, pained and desperate.

“This was all a test of loyalty,” he says evenly. “You failed.”

And I would die for it.

Kaz’s hands close around my throat, gaze steely and intent. I try not to panic, my jaw locking and lungs constricting with the pressure of his grip. The warmth of the blood continues spreading and soaking through my side, red and sticky and filling my nostrils with the scent of copper. I can already barely breathe, trying and failing to make it through the pain. It makes sense how loose Kaz’s lips had been with me, all the questions he had asked to try and taunt me, to reveal my relationship to Alek, how he let me teach him; he thought I would be a dead woman soon. And dead women don’t spill secrets. Or give lessons beyond the grave.

“We knew it was you all along,” Kaz says in my face, tone even as he chokes me. “Funny. You didn’t even know he was here until we flushed him out for you. Until we set up that date and watched you become the person we suspected you were. Until you crawled back to him and pretended he was the only light in the pit of darkness that’s been your life.” Kaz’s gloved fingers are hot against my pulse and his hair is falling down his forehead, sides freshly shaved. I can see every prick of stubble along his chin, see the muscles feathering in his jaw. I’ve never been this close to him before. Not even in the car. A day that felt so long ago. Like a lifetime.

“Don’t you know why we scouted you in the first place? We knew he would try to ruin us from the inside out and use you to do it, it was only a matter of time. But that game can be played by both sides.” His voice is low, a snarl that roars in my ears, my side throbbing. “Nikolai, Alina, Zoya… you thought that you were bringing in new recruits to then turn against us. We had them first. They were always Crows, not one of Aleksander Morosova’s ravens. They have even more of a reason to want revenge on him than I do. And I’ll bet they’re being even less pleasant with him than I am with you right now.”

A pit burns inside of me, low and feral, deepening with each of his words.

“But even before that, I wanted you.”

And I know, at the tenor of his voice, it’s not the kind of want that I would ever seek. At how his voice drops, so no one else can possibly hear, that I will not like what he is going to say.

“I wanted you the moment I saw you and your father’s face in the news. When I heard what he did to your mother even though no one would believe he could have done it. I knew he did.” He is seething, spitting on me as he goes on. “I knew that he was capable of ordering violence. Of committing it and buying people’s silence. I could see it in his eyes, I could see it in the way he held you against him. Possessive and consuming.”

I have gone completely still, the very blood in my veins seeming to stop, the pulsing at my side ebbing into a dull ache. His words are in a bubble, trapped between our lips. Each syllable pops and rebuilds it, over and over. Trapping me, over and over.

“I didn’t leave the day they came to kill Jordie.” He continues, “I thought something was wrong, for him to force me out the way he did. I hid on the roof of our building and climbed down the stairs of the fire escape a few hours later. Then I saw him. Your father. Positioning my brother’s body on our couch, I saw him take the bloodied knife and place it on the floor, beneath Jordie’s fingers. I watched as he cleaned off any fingerprints, stole away any evidence. He had no blood on him and by the two men that stumbled onto the street and disappeared down an alley, I knew he hadn’t done the actual act...

“But what’s worse? Following an order for murder or sanctioning it?”

I feel tears slipping down my cheeks, dropping like flies on Kaz’s gloves.

“I followed him. Learned everything I could. I learned that he had been involved with an underground drug operation for decades. That my parents had been in debt with them due to some bad decisions in my dad’s twenties. And that your father had been sent to collect or kill. To send a message to the other debtors. Little did your father know that the victims had two children, that they escaped. And that they would be coming for him.”

The air around me turns infinitely colder, everything still and quiet except Kaz’s voice.

“I watched you too.” He continues, fingers losing their grip a bit on my throat. “I watched to see who you would be. If we would indeed become enemies, as our parents were. I observed you grow with Morosova, how he controlled you, how he led you away all those years, how he kept you quiet and kept you in the dark so you would never find out the truth and be killed, like your mother was.”

His words stab me deeper than the knife, my heart in ribbons. Hearing him confirm my darkest fears unleashes the worst parts of me, the parts I tried so hard to keep hidden. Terrified. Insecure. Silent. Obedient. The little girl with an abusive father and dead mother. I hadn’t been her in so long, but Kaz is stripping me down. Shredding me.

Kaz’s voice drops lower, as if he’s telling me a horrible secret. “He knew about it, Cataleya. Aleksander,” he purrs the name like a curse, “he knew everything. His father was one of the men your father ordered to kill Jordie. Who was a part of the team dispatched to eradicate those who didn’t pay, eradicate my parents. Your parents were working together, how fitting that you and Aleksander would, as well. Fate is funny that way.”

The world shatters around me, broken and splintering into a million pieces. Alek knew. He sat there and listened to me while I cried about my mother, how I had desperately wanted his help to look into what happened. He had warned me to want anything was to give myself up. That the only way for me to find peace was to move forward and never look back. That if I continued to want for closure, I would never find it.

“The problem with wanting is that it makes us weak.” He had said, over and over.

How ironically true that had become.

Kaz isn’t done. He continues to pick at me, the Crow in him unable to stop, his dark eyes burning with hate. “Where your own father failed, Aleksander’s father succeeded. He remembered seeing pictures in my house, of me and of Jordie. He remembered that there were two boys. And when I killed him by placing a bomb under his car to be rigged as an oil problem, his son stepped into the role to finish what his father started. To silence me too. But he didn’t and for me, for Jordie, I swore I would destroy them, brick by brick.”

My breathing is coming out in short rasps, eyes blurred with tears of anger and embarrassment and white hot pain. I have been played. So horribly. By everyone in my life. Lied to. By every single person I had known. Even Alek. Alek, who had been the one person I thought would save me. Would be the one in the end to stand by me, to see me, to understand me. But he didn’t. He never did. He used me. Just like my father did. To be a sweet, obedient girl.

In the few months I had known Kaz, he has seen more of me than Alek ever did.

All we ever wanted, me and Alek and Kaz, was to feel safe and be loved. But we never trusted anyone enough to be either. So we fought and resisted and pushed. Into darkness.

A whistle sounds from above, quick and melodic. Inej. Signaling Kaz that he needs to hurry. That enough is enough. But I can see it in his eyes. The hardness. The black pits of revenge and hatred and loathing he feels when he looks at me. It would never be enough. This retribution that he savored for years will never last as long as he wishes it to. I want to wither away into nothing under his stare. Not enough. Not his. Never his. Never a Crow.

“I know you love him,” he whispers so none of the others lurking can hear. “I know he’s the one who saved you. But he used you, Cataleya. He controlled you. You could’ve been so much better, so much bigger. It’s a shame the apple never falls far from the tree.”

I wish it had been you to save me instead. I think, shoving the words down my constricted throat. Maybe if it were Kaz, all those years ago, then things wouldn’t have gotten so messed up. Then maybe I would have been more like Inej, graceful, strong, full of more purpose than what Alek gave me. Maybe I could have meant something. To someone. To the Crows.

But Kaz didn’t find me. Alek did. Alek led me from the garden and held my hand. Alek stroked my hair and told me it would be okay. That I would be okay. Alek raised me to be unforgiving, to scheme and stab people in the back to fill the empty hole in my life. Control. Kaz had said. How he controlled me. How he deceived me. With love. Love. Fake. Love. Fake love. I want to cry or scream at all of them, shaking with rage. I have been a pawn this whole time.

“We are all controlled by something.” I push out, my voice weak.

I try to swallow and fail at the reapplied pressure of Kaz’s palms, drool and spit bubbling from my lips. The alley wall is hard against my back, the night sky black and endless above me. The smog cover is so thick I can’t see the stars, despite the bright spots beginning to dance in my vision. I feel something prick at my spine with the pressure of my position like a silent reminder, mind sharpening and resolve strengthening. Love or no love. I have to finish what I started. I have to complete my assignment. Even if it isn’t one from Kaz.

Even if it is from a liar.

Lies are all I have known.

All I have to hold on to.

I can’t be saved. From darkness. My own or from others. I have waded too deep, gone too far. I may not be a true Raven, but I am definitely not a Crow. No matter how much I wish I could be. No matter how much I came to appreciate them, to care for them, to trust them.

Trust is the most dangerous weapon of all.

Slipping my hands behind my back as if I am trying to scramble against the wall, I reach for the cool metal of the blade attached along the zipper of my dress, letting out a choking cry to cover the unsheathing of my knife. The movement burns my side, ripping open my wound further to pour more blood. It runs over Kaz’s dress shoes, stains my legs. I am losing it too quickly, too much of it ebbing from me at once. Kaz’s hands press harder to my throat, forcing me, willing me, begging me to die now that his speech is over. I know he doesn’t enjoy this. I know he doesn’t relish in murder. Neither do I.

But love is love.

Control is control.

And business is business.

Kaz would agree on that.

“If I’m going down, Kaz,” I begin, voice barely a whisper. “You’re coming with me.”

Without wasting another second, I shove the tip of my knife deep between Kaz’s ribs, watching his face contort in pain and dark eyebrows shoot up in surprise, then furrow in agony. Almost immediately, I hear a scream tear from somewhere on the roofs above and feel a pang of sorrow course through me. Inej just watched me stab the love of her life. Inej, the strong, graceful warrior who had been through more than all of us. She had screamed. Wailed.

I hear her words echo around my brain. The autumn leaves. Her cream sweater. The weight of her stare. “Some people just can’t be saved. But we love them anyway.”

My sight falters.

Kaz’s grip on my neck loosens, then completely disappears as he stumbles back and I fall towards the concrete without him holding me in place. An arrow pierces my shoulder from above, Jesper no doubt. With that incredible skill for landing true. The impact pushes me forward into Kaz’s already falling body, his white tux shirt now stained with blood.

The world spins, my head making hard contact with the street.

“This action will have no echo.” The rough words leak from Kaz’s lips, voice faint and faraway. If I could cry now I would, remembering the meaning of those words that Inej had told me just days ago. We would repeat nothing now. No more harm. To ourselves or others. This is our repentance. Our forgiveness.

Kaz is close to me, for I can feel the warmth of his body and the slick of his blood as it mixes with mine and stains the concrete.

If someone told me nine years ago, when I buried that cat and found my mother buried instead, that this is where I would end up, I wonder how differently my life would have been. I wonder if I would have chosen a different path. One full of forgiveness and happiness. The one of creation instead of crime. Instead of revenge and retribution. The weight of those decisions hang over me like a cloak, protecting and exposing me at the same time. Using the last bits of my strength, I turn my head to the side to look at him.

Kaz is on his back beside me, so close that I can reach out and touch him. Touch his hand that is limp with resignation, his side that is red with blood, his lips that are white with death. He is the most beautiful man I have ever seen. Even as a small line of blood trickles from the corner of his lips and pings onto the stones. I let my eyes close, pretending the stars behind my eyelids belong to the sky and not to the Grim Reaper. Pretending the stars are his eyes.

We’ve all had hard lives. We’ve all taken on assignments that were too big for us. We’ve all done things we regretted and we all leaned on each other too much for our own good while leaning on no one at all. We all let the ghosts of our pasts haunt us into our future. Especially Kaz. And that’s the problem with trusting ghosts, in the end you become one.

You become transparent, empty, without an echo.

“No mourners.” I manage to mumble into the night.

“No funerals.” A disembodied voice murmurs back, but I’m not sure who it belongs to.

And then there is nothing but darkness.

---

~Admin Eggplant

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lilybacon2 · 4 years ago

Text

Types Of Mediation Services.

Hexagon Mediation.

Content

Why Pick Family Members Mediation?

Workplace Mediation Communication Disagreement Study.

Instead, most of organisations make use of a grievance as well as corrective process that states that person is right and one person is incorrect and we presume that if we are not cautious we might be "captured out". We can supply onsite support from an experienced conciliator to help in chairing mediation meetings with employees, and other aspects of workplace mediation. Arcadia Team which has greater than 2500 electrical outlets as well as has a number of worlds-known high road brands including Topshop and also Topman.

The New Federal Out-of-Network Statute - Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration - United States - Mondaq News Alerts

The New Federal Out-of-Network Statute - Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration - United States.

Posted: Mon, 11 Jan 2021 13:52:18 GMT [source]

Workplace mediation services, via Croner Face2Face take care of difficult conflicts within your service. This can consist of cases of bullying, harassment, victimisation and even more.

Why Pick Family Mediation?

Mediation can be used to resolve discontent in between worker as well as staff member, employee as well as manager, manager and staff member and manager as well as manager. In the not likely occasion that mediation is not effective, the choice of raising a grievance stays readily available to those entailed. Mediation works in the majority of situations and can aid to strengthen the workplace bonds of those involved, in addition to preventing additional conflict in the future. Below at MBHR Consulting, we offer workplace mediation in Newcastle-upon-Tyne as well as throughout the bordering areas. The course takes a comprehensive check out the idea of mediation, its history, and its most likely future as a different conflict resolution device within the workplace. Delegates will find out both the concept and technique of workplace mediation. The conciliator will certainly not disclose anything claimed throughout the mediation process without the approval of the events involved, unless refraining from doing so would certainly involve the moderator in damaging the legislation.

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Judge plans to rule on Flint water crisis settlement in next 8 days.

Posted: Wed, 13 Jan 2021 20:32:00 GMT [source]

There will certainly be some cases where the celebrations decline to co-operate and insist on lawsuits. David Liddle in his book recounts an issue where he moderated in between 2 families, one of whose children had actually been eliminated, after which the perpetrator in the various other family members dedicated suicide.

Workplace Mediation Interaction Disagreement Case Study.

Provision of very seasoned independent mediators for specific or group mediation along with problem training. We likewise advise organisations wishing to set up or administer internal mediation systems as well as supplying guidance and also professional support for practising arbitrators. Please keep in mind that we are now supplying on-line mediation solutions, for further details please see our extra guide and recent blog site.

What can you not say in child custody mediation?

What Not To Say In Child Custody MediationDon't Use the Mediation Session for Accusations. Don't Say “Yes” to Everything. Don't Say You Don't Need Your Lawyer Present.

Arrangement could not be reached to participate in mediation in this scenario and as a result mentoring was an alternative assistance offered to among the celebrations. The partnership in between a majority investor as well as a shareholder/director was causing dispute. The partnership would certainly be okay at times but arguments would certainly flare every so often and also this was beginning to effect on the business.

Who Are The Arbitrators?

It can enable people both to bring back and also to develop healthy functioning connections. It is future concentrated, being interested in exactly how things will certainly be from now on rather than with finding blame for exactly how points have been in the past.

youtube

Workplace mediation is a casual however structured process where the arbitrator helps people with an argument or disagreement to create a means forward. Mediation presents an effective new dynamic to any kind of negotiation or dispute discussion.

Arcadia team calculated that specifically grievances between managers as well as their staff member were taking at least 3 weeks to settle. By using workplace mediation given that 2009 Arcadia Group has substantially these types of grievances by 50%. Workplace mediation is a direct as well as quick way to fix the situation to ensure that lawful prices, down-time as well as staff member absence are avoided. It is a hugely efficient option to prolonged, costly and also adversarial approaches to dispute resolution, such as litigation or tribunals.

Conflict management mentoring is a procedure in which a specifically trained train aids people on an one-on-one basis to boost the way they handle as well as interact in their interpersonal workplace problems and conflicts. It is a future- oriented procedure that concentrates on each person's details dispute monitoring objectives. Resolution at the workplace has actually been at the leading edge of workplace mediation and also conflict resolution since it was developed in 2000. PMS urges services to engage with it early in order to deal with disagreements, recover working relationships and also enable the group to get back on course with very little disruption.

At Banner Jones, we are greater than satisfied to be able to refer our clients to particularly trained conciliators that are specialists at fixing disagreements that arise in the workplace. A lot of staff members will just ever before moderate as soon as, if whatsoever, during the program of their occupation. Similarly, several organisations typically do not use mediation as an issue of program so there is not a culture of early resolution embedded right into the organisation.

As opposed to providing straight recommendations, arbitrators supply lawful and also monetary info to assist customers arrive at their own choices.

The Rutland and also Stamford Family Mediation Solution is available Monday to Friday, 9am-- 5pm, as well as is a completely voluntary procedure.

You will certainly need a solicitor to offer you your own independent lawful advice.

In workplace mediations workplace mediation northampton free trial where there are a variety of family members possessions, it significantly accelerates the mediation process if you can obtain assessments of assets in time for the initial conference.

Even though nearly workplacemediations’s free online workplace mediation portsmouth are lawyers, they can not suggest each of you individually, yet can just give lawful info to both of you with each other.

Transfer values of pensions are often difficult to get as well as can hold up the mediation process.

PMS supplies a complete end-to-end Workplace Mediation Solution that meets the damaged team, analyzes the prospective conflict-resolution approaches and then overviews the celebrations via a restorative dialogue. Using a corrective strategy to arguments is extremely advantageous in a commercial environment where dissonance and stress can significantly hinder a business's chance to operate successfully and also go after tactical objectives. Where a company seeks to address dispute by allocating blame, this will seldom recreate the joint working atmosphere that came before the disagreement. In comparison, a corrective strategy that advertises reliable dialogue as well as a greater understanding of the staff member' perspectives can actually enhance employees capability to interact and also provide objectives.

It is optional- any kind of party can withdraw from the procedure at any moment. Workplace mediation often tends to involve conflict in between 2 or more staff members, rather than being between the worker as well as the employer. The mediation is mainly about past as well as future partnerships, and also it is usually imagined that the employment relationship will certainly proceed when the dispute is fixed.

When should you avoid mediation?

If you or your spouse harbor extreme feelings of anger, mediation probably won't work. If one of you does not want the divorce, mediation doesn't stand a chance. If you're trying mediation but you feel the mediator is siding with your spouse, you should stop the process.

The mediation ended with the papa of the dead girl sharing compassion for the other family. Handling conflict at the workplace at a beginning saves money as well as jobs.In 2015, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Growth reported that 4 out of every ten workers had experienced interpersonal dispute within the last 12 months. This should be a consider the reduced efficiency that torments the UK economy as well as it also contributes to high degrees of staff turn over. Over 10 years back, research study by the Centre for Effective Disagreement Resolution exposed that the price to the economic climate of unsettled problem was ₤ 33bn a year, due partially to a hostility to taking on dispute. The CEDR memorably reported that over a 3rd of managers would rather parachute dive for the first time than address a problem with their team at the workplace, and simply under a third prefer to cut their go to charity. This is frequently validated in work litigation when managers fail to attend to weaknesses when conducting evaluations and those weak points then cause a complete failure in relationships. While conventional disciplinary and also grievance procedures have their place, they have typically been shown to be both poor and even downright harmful given their propensity to motivate adversarial and defensive behavior.

#mediation services eu #mediation services europe #workplace mediation eu #workplace mediation europe #business mediation services eu #business mediation services europe

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stutterfly · 5 years ago

Text

Love Bytes 02 | Firewall Breach | KNJ (M)

Last time on LB01: You find yourself at Tae & Kookie’s place for your Saturday night hangout. Some teasing and drinks are had, and you’re waiting outside for your ride with the boys while mindlessly swiping on Tinder. Hoseok catches a glimpse of the steamy image on your screen.

Rating: M (18+)

Word Count: 7.4K

Series: Love Bytes (2/?)

Genre: F2L, Fluff, Bestfriends!au, CollegeProjessor!Namjoon, friendship feels, slow burn, fluff, sexual tension, humor, pining, embarrassingReader, light Jimin smut (tempting me)

CW: grinding, teasing, pining

Pairings: Namjoon x Reader, brot7

masterlist // previous chapter // next chapter

Do not repost.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Hoseok sits with his chin resting on a palm, staring down at the same image with a concentrated gaze. For a moment only your eyes move, now acutely aware of the man to your left. You’re frozen in place, hoping the shame will kill you instantly so you don’t have to face the subsequent humiliation.

You sit motionless, like maybe if you’re still enough, he’ll forget you’re there. You pray his perception is based on movement as your teeth sink deeper into the flesh of your knuckle, letting only shallow breaths escape. But as the seconds pass, they grow increasingly unbearable. You turn your head, ever so slightly, immediately locking eyes with Hoseok. The crooked smile on his face speaks volumes louder than the whisper that follows.

“Such a dirty girl.”

You blink a few times and guiltily drop your hand to cover the screen. A nervous laugh escapes your throat. “What do you mean?”

You squirm as you stretch your legs out and press your thighs together, trying to pretend he didn’t just catch you in the act. His eyebrows raise and you feel like prey as he tilts his head towards you, husky voice chastising you with your own name.

"You know what I mean."

You sit in stunned silence, wishing Hoseok would let you transform into a statue and become one with the stairway. It seems fate has other plans as a car rolls up to the curb.

“Show me your profile."

The tone of his voice tells you it's not a question, and the hand snaking around your back tells you there's no escape. Hoseok springs to his feet, dragging your stumbling form towards the car. You feel him prying the phone from your clammy fingers.

“You’re paying for my fucking drinks,” you counter, deathgrip on the case.

“Deal!” He’s shaking your hand and the phone fervently as you both shuffle down the final step.

To prove his merit, he presents you with a credit card, knowing full well you’ll beat him to the bar. You eagerly snatch it before he changes his mind. When keeps his palm extended and snaps his fingers a few times, you know he wants far more than just a peek at the profile. With a low groan, you surrender the device, hoping that by some miracle he’ll be merciful.

“Please don’t tell them, Hobi,” you quietly beg, swallowing hard. He’s already hungrily scanning through and you're desperate to limit the damage of whatever he's so eager to see.

You lock eyes with Jimin just as he finishes climbing into the back seat. He sends you a smile that threatens to make your knees buckle. You panic for a moment at the thought of being forced to sit next to him, but the alcohol is catching up to you and the growing heat between your legs nearly cancels out the butterflies in your stomach.

Hoseok hums, reaching for Namjoon, whom is already palming the handle on the front passenger door. "Nah nah nah nah nah. Let Y/N sit up front. I gotta show you something.”

Namjoon furrows his brow as Hoseok ushers you into the front seat. You stumble with one hand around the door frame, glaring daggers at him, which does not go unnoticed by your best friend.

Hoseok waves your phone up in the air and wiggles his eyebrows at you before taking his seat. “She needs our help.”

Namjoon shakes his head and speaks in a low tone, almost as if he’s talking to himself, “Man, she’s really pissed. I’m almost afraid to see.”

“Hobi, you’re such a dick,” you whine. God, if only you were a little more drunk, maybe you wouldn’t feel so mortified.

Hoseok is sandwiched between Namjoon and Jimin, giving a content sigh as he buckles himself in, unbothered by his knees jutting up on either side of the armrest. You’re about to fasten your own seatbelt when you feel pressure on the back of your seat. Namjoon loudly clears his throat, as if you couldn’t tell his gangly kneecaps were the culprit. You roll your eyes hard, making sure he sees the reaction in the side mirror before you comply. He presses his lips together in a thin line, and even in the dim light you can see the dimples forming.

The car takes off and you’re grateful the radio is on loud enough so you don’t have to hear what the men are saying. The driver has the rearview mirror angled off so you can’t use it to spy on the interaction. You’re not sure if that’s better or worse than being able to witness it. You attempt to distract yourself by looking out the window, but you can see Namjoon’s profile in the side mirror and your eyes are glued to him, looking for any sign of the judgement you know is coming. His lips are still pressed together, but you can’t make out any additional details as the street lights outside become sparse.

Hobi stone cold fucking betrayed you and you knew you should have expected it, but still. What the fuck did he mean you needed their help? You were doing fine! You wrote an intro with a few witty lines and a bullet list of interests. You admit they’re probably kind of niche, but similar interests make for good relationships, right? Compatibility is a standard for those kinds of things. After all, if you have an Intel CPU, you can’t be trying to install a motherboard built for an AMD processor; it just doesn’t work that way. People are kind of like that too, except with more variables. You’ve told yourself this countless times and yet now your resolve falters, knowing your marketing strategy is falling under heavy scrutiny.

Your pictures weren’t anything fancy --three selfies you had taken in the last couple months. Definitely nothing you would call “sexy,” but it was hard enough to write a profile that felt like “you,” nevermind taking photos for it.

The first was a smiling headshot on a day when your hair was cooperating and your skin wasn’t on a moody breakout rampage. The next was more cringeworthy, not because it was a bad photo --on the contrary, you looked pretty cute leaning casually against a wall, and for once your trademark sweatshirt wasn’t covering up the natural curves of your body. But you know the painstaking effort that went into taking it, and how many times you had to run back and forth from the camera to the wall before auto-timer went off. How many terrible body selfies did you take in order to get the one? Too fucking many. You involuntarily crinkle your nose, remembering some of the particularly unflattering ones. You silently bless your past self for deleting those ahead of time.

The last was an angled selfie of you in the lab, elbow deep in repairs, completely taken on a whim while you were working late. I mean, it is your life after all: fixing shit and looking like a hot mess, pretty much 24/7. Might as well be honest about it.

You spare a peek back. The phone screen illuminates Namjoon’s glasses and you can see your first profile picture reflected there. Jimin leans in, resting his chin on Hoseok’s shoulder; you know your profile has his full attention. He’s pointing and saying something, but you can’t make it out. Your cheeks flare with heat; there’s no way your pictures would be up to his standards.

Jimin touches the screen and the reflection in Joon’s eyes changes. You’re suddenly positive all three photos are way shittier than you remember. You lean out further from behind the seat, eyes wide with drunken curiosity at the reaction. It’s like a fucking trainwreck and as bad as the damage is, you want to see it. You fucking have to.

You don’t need much light to notice the way Hoseok is positively beaming; at least he’s enjoying this. Fucker. Jimin darts his tongue out and you’re so focused on the path it traces around his mouth that you miss the way Namjoon sucks in a shallow breath and bites down. It’s only when you notice the absence of the reflection in his glasses with the tilt of his head, that you realize Joon is reacting at all. He leans down to get a better look, slowly letting his lip drag across his teeth. You freeze, shocked at the salacious response to whatever caught his eye. What the fuck? No way was that in response to anything you have up there. You swear to god if they got distracted and are using your phone to look at porn, you’re going to be pissed.

All three men have their fingers on the phone now, talking amongst themselves and leaning in towards the screen. You’re ready to fucking explode with curiosity. You face forward in a huff, knowing you can’t hear them right now, no matter how hard you try. As you turn towards the window, you drum your fingertips on your thighs to the rhythm of pop song on the radio, aching to end the boredom.

Again, your eyes lock onto Namjoon’s silhouette, desperate to glean some information from him. You take note of the swoop in his hair, how it falls over his eye and brushes against his cheek; despite how unkempt it is today, it still looks good, and you kind of hate him for it. When was the last time he cut his hair anyway? He usually didn’t allow it to grow this long. You pat your pockets in search of your phone, meaning to text him a snarky reminder when you realize it’s still in the boys’ possession. Ugh. The dissonance of the trio’s laughter is the one thing that carries clearly through the car. You slink down into your seat, waiting to arrive so you can get drunk enough to ignore the world.

Thankfully, the car pulls up before much longer and you desperately scramble out and beeline for the doors of the club, ignoring the way Namjoon is calling your name. Whatever he has to say can wait until you have a drink in your hand. The bouncer sizes you up as you present ID, and you offer a dorky smile as he stamps your hand; despite being in your mid 20s, you still never feel like you’re old enough to go to these places.

It doesn’t take long for you to circumvent the crowd to an empty seat at the bar. You slide the bartender Hoseok’s card, asking him to start a tab before ordering your usual. Resting your elbows on the bar allows you to prop your chin on the back of your hands as your eyes drift across the room.

You don’t see the others, but you know they’re definitely here. You can feel Kim Seokjin’s drunk hoe energy sparking throughout the club. Out of all the drunk hoes in the room, he was probably the drunkest--and at this point, the sluttiest. That was part of the beauty of Jin, though. He was always so considerate, so ready to help at the drop of a hat, even when there was no way he possibly could. But he was also the same broad-shouldered hunk that accidentally flashed his dick to everyone in the room while attempting a handstand the week after you met him. That was when you learned to love basketball shorts.

At first you thought him to be soft spoken and meek, but that wasn’t really his persona. He did his best not to be imposing or threatening; he wanted to be someone whom could earn your trust, someone you could come to for any problem whatsoever, and he definitely was. So level headed, so genuinely kind, he could heal any wound with his dumb jokes and affectionate hugs. You loved him for it. But as with any of the friends you cared for so greatly, there were layers to him. And one of those layers was being the biggest pervert and party boy you have ever met in your goddamn life. When the alcohol came out, the floodgates opened, and the pants came off. Maybe someday if you were brave enough to break the firewall, you could take advantage of that opportunity. Fat chance though; you were fully aware of your cowardice.

The Tequila Sunrise slides its way over to you and you grant the bartender a nod of approval as you take that first delicious sip. Gentle fingers sweep against the nape of your neck. Ready to kill, you round on the offender to find no one. Quickly turning to the other side, Namjoon is already sitting in the seat next to you, resting his cheek on his knuckles with a grin. Your eyes narrow before he says a word. He presents your phone and your greedy fingers snatch it up, spinning back to face your drink.

He leans in close and you find your shoulder and neck craning together to combat the hot breath that tickles your ear. “How come you didn’t tell me you were on Tinder?”

It’s hard to detect the nature of his tone over the thrum of a heavy bassline, and it’s dangerous to assume anything about Namjoon. You’d learned that his profession had given him a great amount of practice keeping himself composed in front of others if he chose to do so.

You quaff the beverage in response, keeping your eyes fixed on his. Your cheeks pucker in around the straw and the liquid quickly disappears.

He watches you expectantly, blinking a few times and raising his eyebrows. When he realizes you’re downing the whole thing to avoid the question, he leans in close enough to be sure you’ll hear the deep sigh that follows, “Ooh yeah. Suck it up baby. Suck it all up.”

You almost choke on the liquid and cough around the straw briefly before smacking your hand against the bar and continuing to drain the cup.

“Oh? Are you choking? Is it too much? Oh, that’s it, use your hand. Mmm. I love it when you choke, baby.” The way he tilts his head towards his shoulder as he provokes you sends a jolt of electricity through your spine.

Christ, Joon.

You loudly smack your lips as you finish the drink. Namjoon steals the cherry sitting on a mountain of ice and pops it into his mouth, letting the stem dangle out from between his lips. “Attagirl.”

“Nothing that a good suck can’t distract you from, huh?” Your lips curl into a smile as you notice the bartender making his way back over and you motion for another as you starting flipping your phone around in your hands.

“You gonna actually talk to me about it? Or would you rather me just... sex you up some more?” He wiggles his eyebrows at you and you can’t help but laugh. He has the strangest way of making you feel at ease, even when you’re ready to burst from anxiety.

You place your phone on the bar and blink at him a few times, noticing the stem still hanging from his mouth. “Hey, I was gonna eat that!”

“Your own cherry?” He winks, giving you a playful nudge with his elbow. “Impressive.”

You swirl the straw around the ice in the empty glass a few times. “I didn’t want you judging me for using a dating app.”

He sits back and crosses his arms. “Judging? I’m not judging.”

You spare a glance, catching a hint of the dark smugness there. “I see you with your judgy eyes! You’re doing it right now!”

He snorts and rests his elbows on the bar. “I’m not."

"Yeah, okay," you sneer, rolling your eyes. You flash a grin at the bartender as before taking a short sip.

"I just… want you to be safe." His muffled voice dies against his hands, completely lost to your ears in the music. He orders a shot of tequila before he turns his head towards you. "Hey, we worry about you is all."

"I can take care of myself," you challenge, eyes narrowed.

Namjoon is eying the cherry nested on the rim of the new glass. You're quick to suck it up before he can take a swipe at it, gasping as the fruit lodges itself in the back of your throat. You choke out a few coughs and fish for the stem, pulling it from your mouth entirely.

He's got an eyebrow raised as his shot is set before him. "And you wonder why we worry."

"Fuck off," you manage to sputter, eyes watering.

You drag the spit covered cherry back into your mouth, separating the stem with your teeth. Namjoon’s eyes drag over you in revulsion before turning his attention to the shot before him. He downs it with a quick shake of his head and snatches the orange slice from your glass to act as a chaser. Instinctually, you crinkle your nose at him and continue to siphon alcohol through your straw, placing the cherry stem on the napkin below your drink.

“Wait, where’s your stem?”

Namjoon’s jaw snaps shut and he raises his eyebrows. “Mmm?”

“The cherry stem,” you continue, a laugh bubbling in your throat. Namjoon shifts in his seat and you can’t help the cackle that escapes you. “You fucking ate it?”

He expels a puff of air as he tosses the rind on the bar, leftover juices making a small puddle on the countertop. “You know, guys aren’t gonna like it when you laugh like a witch. Might wanna stop that shit.”

“I’m not about to take advice from someone who doesn’t know how to clean up after himself. Case and point.” You pick up the orange peel and drop it on the napkin, wiping the area around your drink.

He blinks at you indignantly, “Wow.”

“Yeah, I call it like I see ‘em.”

You sip on the fruity beverage, focusing your attention to the phone on the bar for the first time since Namjoon had returned it to you. You swipe at the screen and are surprised to see everything is as you left it. There’s a red notification bubble on your messaging app and you’re drunkenly tonguing the straw as you open it, trying to remember why you’d leave it unread.

Joonie: DIRTY GIRL???? 😂

Ugh. Now you remembered. You’re not sure if it’s the alcohol or the fact that you know he’s reading his own words over your shoulder, but your face is burning. “You know I was hoping that text would just disappear if I ignored it, but the notification was bothering me.”

He lets out an amused hum and cocks his head to the side, watching you swirl your tongue across the straw between sips. He slides you a glass of water that definitely wasn’t there before you started looking at your phone. “You’re gonna get sick if you keep drinking this fast.”

He’s right.

“Don’t tell me what to do,” you spit, using your finger to push the water back towards him and start sucking on the straw with renewed vigor.

“Then don’t be dumb,” he answers simply. You can tell he’s annoyed by the way he pokes his tongue out over his top lip as he carefully glides the cup over to you.

When you tilt your head back to give him that incredulous look he hates so much, you feel the world spin a moment, causing you to blink a few times. As you look at the counter again, you realize the second tequila sunrise is half gone. You know he has a point, but your pride has already taken enough of a beating tonight that you’re not willing to concede.

Namjoon sighs as you sit there with your bottom lip protruding in a pout. He takes the straw from the alcoholic beverage and sets it in the water. You’re about to protest when an arm drapes around your shoulder and a familiar voice steals your attention.

“Ma’am is this man bothering you?”

You turn to see Seokjin wearing aviator sunglasses, two leis draped around his neck. You strain to keep your posture as Jin pulls you both close to his chest. What once resembled a hug had now become a sort of chokehold, pressing your cheeks partially against each other and partially into his sweat-soaked shirt.

“Yeah, officer, take him away,” you mumble, giving Jin two playful smacks on his jaw.

“Can’t you let me off with a warning?” Namjoon pleads, playing into it.

Jin loosens his grip, allowing you both to escape. He tilts his head forward, which pushes the glasses down the bridge of his nose. “Okay, but I hope you learned your lesson.”

Namjoon bows his head slightly. “Of course! Of course! Sorry, officer.”

You smirk at the display, absentmindedly sipping water through your straw.

Jin turns his attention towards you, a dark and wicked grin on his features. “Do you want to get laid, Y/N?”

The water nearly shoots out of your nose as you choke out a response, “J-Jin?”

You can see Namjoon snickering behind his hands. “Oh, she definitely does.”

Jin takes the pink chain of flowers from around his neck and drapes it over you with a nod of approval. “Ah! There! You are now,” he hiccups mid-word, “leid!”

You can’t help but laugh at his stupid joke. “I can always count on you, Jin.”

“Count on me? One, two, three. One, two, three.”

Confused, you watch him for a moment as he does a waltz by himself, which contrasts the heavy baseline of the current song.

“Join me, Y/N!” he calls, motioning for you to go to him with wide gestures. He begins to disappear into the crowd, accidentally smacking a few people as he goes.

You take the straw from the water and drop it back into the alcoholic beverage, rising from your seat, immediately wobbling. Namjoon’s arm is already out, looped around your waist in support before you fall. “I gotcha.”

The contact of his hand causes you to shiver, despite feeling incredibly warm. Your chin comes to rest on his shoulder as you exhale softly against his ear. The slurred pout that escapes you is dripping with sweetness. “Finish my drink for me, Joonie?”

He sighs loudly. “God, you’re gonna be so sick later, aren’t you?” He pauses to inspect you. “You good?” As you nod, you’re puffing your cheeks out like a child. He murmurs under his breath, “Okay, I’m not babysitting you this time. I’m not.”

The way his fingers slowly trail up your side and drift across your back cause your eyelids to flutter a moment. Not allowing yourself to linger on the sensation, you grab the glass of water and chug it down as fast as you possibly can. Water comes dribbling down from the rim onto your chest before you slam the empty glass down on the counter and tuck your phone into the top of your shirt, securing it beneath your bra.

Namjoon laughs, taking the straw out of the tequila sunrise before gulping it down. “You’re such a fuckin’ mess.”

You wipe a sleeve across your mouth, a wide grin left behind. “Takes one to know one.”

He shakes his head as you disappear into the crowd in search of Seokjin.

____

Hours had passed and you find yourself in the thrall of alcohol, dancing like an idiot with Jin for a good portion of it. He was just so goofy and fun; it was hard not to jump around with him, especially since he had gotten you leid. He had this weird way of making you forget about all the shitty parts of the week. You bobbed your heads together and threw your arms around one another, dancing ridiculously around a swarm of sweaty bodies.

Taehyung and Jungkook had been competing for the same girl’s attention, trying to outdo each other all night. Currently, they were sandwiching her between their pelvises, and it was obvious she was LIVING for it, milking the competition for all it was worth. You couldn’t help the envy coursing through your veins as you watched them grind her like coffee beans.

Yoongi had been busy drinking, disappearing upstairs with a couple of girls last you saw him. The few times you made your way back to the bar, Namjoon was nowhere to be found. That was fine by you, since you didn’t feel like getting yelled at for drinking more anyway. Hoseok was the life of the party, dancing his way around the club, a drink almost always in his hand. You haven't seen Jimin since the ride over, slightly disappointed by the lack of juicy booty in your life.

Your body is overheating and you wrench yourself away from your smiling friend, heading towards the doors for some air. You can’t pull the hoodie off your body fast enough as you reach the exit, tying it around your waist and letting your hair down. You sit alongside the curb, reveling in the temperature of the concrete.

“Fancy seeing you out here.” Your head snaps toward the voice to see the familiar blonde hair of Jimin in the moonlight. He grins as his dark eyes run across your now exposed torso. “Cooling off?”

You nod enthusiastically, exposing your neck to the brisk night air. You arch your back, chest rising higher than normal in an exaggerated stretch for his benefit. Alcohol had made you brave. Stupid, but brave nonetheless.

You hum in acknowledgement, your lips curling into a smile as you note the angle of his gaze. “Did you see what Tae and Kookie were doing to that girl?” You tug on your top, excessively fanning the air along the inside of the fabric, allowing a playful glimpse of the dark lace underneath. “Whew, way too hot for me. Got me a little dizzy.”

“Oh?” His body floats gracefully down, coming to rest beside you. The warmth radiating from his core immediately causes sweat to trail down the back of your neck. “You did have a lot to drink. Do you need some help standing? Do you want me to get you a ride?”

Yeah, get me a ride on that dick.

You feel yourself clench around nothing, despite knowing he’s being kind and trying to take care of you. You inhale deeply and shake your head, willing the thought away before giving it a chance to pass your lips. Letting the bravery take control for the short amount of time it’s available, you lean in and link arms, lightly tracing the denim with your other hand. “Mmm, I’m okay. I think I might just need a breather before going back in. The air feels so good right now.”

Jimin smiles softly and tilts his head down at you. “Any luck with tinder so far?”

You scoff, eyes scanning the cityscape for something else to focus on. “I’d be more successful finding a guy to grind on and take home with me tonight.”

He laughs. “I guess that’s true. Though I’m not surprised. Your photos suck.”

Your eyes snap to his face, immediately allowing the shame and disappointment course through your knotted brows and slack jaw. Fighting the surge of tears, your hands retract to hug your knees and find a building to focus on in the distance. “Not all of us can be models,” you huff, unable to hide the defensive nature of your tone.

He chokes out a laugh. “No no no no no, not like that. It’s so mean like that. I’m sorry. Hey, look at me.”

You chew on your bottom lip and do your best to keep your attention elsewhere. It’s not until a small, soft hand is tapping your shoulder that you turn back, eyes threatening to spill out at any moment.

“I meant to say… You're a lot prettier in real life,” he mumbles, the tinge of pink in his cheeks apparent even in such low light. “Your photos don’t show it well enough.”

You're not sure if you're hearing him correctly as your chest tightens and the blood rushes to your ears. But the shy smile growing across his face has you questioning your judgement. You wipe your eyes as tears inadvertently fall, unknowingly smearing the eyeliner and mascara across your face. “You think I’m pretty?”

“Of course I do. Ah?” He pauses a moment, registering the sight before him. “Oh nooooo. I made you cry?” It’s then that his eyes also begin to water. “I’m so sorry. You know I don’t like,” he can’t fight the sob that interrupts him, “to see you cry, Y/N.”

“Don’t you start crying, Jimin! You’re gonna make me...” The words are almost indiscernible as your voice raises two octaves. “...cry more...”

It’s too late; the tears are flowing freely down his cheeks and you can’t fight the way your eyes are stinging as your makeup runs into them. The alcohol has an iron-clad grip on both of you. He turns towards you, arms sloppily finding their way around your shoulders and knotting around your neck. You lean in towards him, pressing your forehead into his. Being this close and seeing how swollen and red his face is, you can’t help the wet snort that bubbles in your throat, allowing a giggle to escape.The more you try to stop, the more they keep coming.

He scoffs desperately as he looks at you through puffy, squinted eyes. “Why are you laughing at me? You’re being so mean!”

“I’m sorry! You’re just so drunk! It’s cute,” you try to explain between wheezes, tears still dribbling down your cheeks and across your nose.

“You’re more drunk than me!” he protests, unable to stop his own giggle as he runs his eyes across your bloated, streaky face.

“Now who’s the mean one?” you sniff and wipe at your face with the back of your hands, unable to ignore the black smears left behind. “Oh god. I’m a fuckin’ mess.”

You pull back from Jimin, eager to go find a mirror to fix your face. His arms, however, remain locked around your neck. Seeing you shift uncomfortably, he drops his hold on you. “You’re not a mess,” he whispers, tracing a thumb around your face and resting it on your chin. “You’re pretty.”

Your heart aches, body set ablaze and yearning to go in further, but you’re frozen in awe and fear of his beauty. The swelling in his face has already faded, the frown replaced with high cheekbones and a warm smile. Joon was supposed to help stop you from getting into situations like this, but right now you can’t tell if you’re upset or relieved he’s not here this time. Entranced by Jimin’s ethereal gaze, he draws you in --guiding you towards him with his thumb. You’re not sure if he’s pulling you or if you’re leaning into it; either way you’re fucking hammered and far beyond making sense of it. You close your eyes pause as your lips lightly brush his, feeling his hot breath mingling with yours, and again you find yourself stuck, trying to will your mouth forward just a bit more.

You both hold there, breathing, skimming your lips across one another without pressure, aching for him to just fucking do it already. You steal a glance through half-lidded eyes and see a cheshire grin overtake his features. He’s watching you, waiting for you to react. Mother. Fucking. Tease.

“Want to dance?” he asks, letting his lips graze yours ever so slightly, knowing full well his provocation is having the desired effect. The game of chicken will continue, even though you know you’re far too drunk to not cross the line.

You drop your face into the crook of his neck and groan. “Fuck you.”

“Careful, Y/N. It’s not nice to tease,” he laughs, patting the back of your head.

“Who says I’m teasing?” you challenge, pausing to purse your lips and read the reaction.

His eyebrows raise, a look of incredulity spreading across his features as he tilts his head back. “Aren’t you?”

Your fingers drift along his hair, lightly brushing his skin with the back of your palm. His tongue briefly darts out to wet his lips, curious about what you’re about to do. He sucks on the inside of his cheek, causing his mouth to bend into a lopsided smile. Letting yourself gravitate towards him, you stop just shy of his lips --a reciprocating action of what he had done to you earlier. “Let’s dance.”

Your sweaty bodies writhe in time with the rhythm of the base. You buck your hips against his pelvis and grind your ass back into him, intoxicated by the way he groans into the back of your neck. It’s hard not to notice the length pressing into your backside with each thrust and body roll. Every slight movement causes more and more heat to pool between your legs, craving a deeper grind, deeper satisfaction from the movements. Under normal circumstances, you would have been down-right embarrassed at the state of your panties, twisted up and soaked inside your jeans. But alcohol had given you stupidity and courage, and at least the temporary effect of not giving a flying fuck about how desperately you wanted to fuck Park Jimin tonight.

His hands roam across the curve of your torso, tracing the outer edge of your breasts before grasping your hips and pressing you further back towards him. You’re unsure whether this is torture of ecstasy for the both of you. Lost in the sway of his hips, you allow him to lead your motions, rolling your head back and seizing the side of his face with a curled palm. Before your brain can register what’s happening, Jimin drags his tongue across your neck, tracing a line around your jaw before returning to the crook and lightly dragging the flesh through his teeth. Your pussy clenches around nothing as he latches onto your neck, tonguing and sucking the sensitive skin while relentlessly grinding into you from behind. You let out a loud moan that gets lost in the sound of music.

The reward of a needy purr from Jimin vibrates through your neck and raises goosebumps across your chest; despite the heat radiating from your body and the disgusting amount of sweat coating your skin, he has a way of bringing that electric chill through you. A playful bite on your earlobe has you weak, his heavy breaths the only sound you can focus on as he lingers there. You want to turn your face to his, to taste those delicious, plump lips. But the sound of him desperately panting into your ear has you hypnotized, with your dripping pussy aching to grip the cock at your backside. You’re so caught up in each other that the music might as well be white noise, the other patrons merely shadows moving too fast to perceive.

You clutch at his thighs and your back arches up, leaning on him for support as you roll your body in time with his. He releases a sigh against you --and with it a distraught curse that’s so soft you almost miss it. “...fuck…” You’re in disbelief at the sound, and panting like a bitch in heat to match his frenzied breaths. His arms trace up your body again and latch around you possessively, as if to pull you impossibly closer.

He claps one hand to your hip while the other is splayed across your chest, heaving with the movement of your bodies. Before you have a chance to mentally quell the new tidal wave forming in your panties, Jimin dips his hand beneath the fabric of your shirt, allowing it to roam freely across your abdomen; the skin-on-skin contact is enough to make sure that later on when you’re peeling away your sticky panties and throwing them out, you have to throw away the jeans too.

You want to stop yourself, but your starved pussy advises otherwise. You look back to meet his gaze, breathless smile matching your own. You knot your fingers in his hair before closing in on his lips. Fingernails dig into your belly as the greedy kiss consumes your air. Sloppy tongues roam over each other and you turn back towards him, allowing yourself to drag his lower lip through your teeth and slowly let it snap back to him. He doesn’t hesitate to quickly relieve the space between you again, hungrily chasing your lips when you attempt to tease him.

While you feel up his chest with impatient hands, he wastes no time in wedging a thigh between your legs and grinding up into your crotch, causing a fevered moan to escape between parted lips for a fraction of a second before your mouths are crashing down once again. You’re in a state of euphoria as you roll your hips down, grinding your clit into his thigh and drinking in a slew of wet kisses.

You have to take a moment to allow oxygen to fill your burning lungs, but you use the opportunity to lathe your tongue along his jawline, wanting to taste all of him. All you can taste is salty sweat. You don’t know what you expected.

___

Namjoon had been watching from across the bar for some time. He kept telling himself it was creepy to just keep staring like this --and that he should stop-- but he couldn’t seem to focus on anything else. He kept telling himself this was fine; it was what you had said you wanted after all. Firewalls be damned. You wanted him to let you break the rules: you had always joked about it, but he knew you were one hundred percent serious if he’d never stop you.

After seeing your prospects and dating profile… well maybe you could use someone who could make you feel good. And who was he to keep stopping you? Granted, you had asked Namjoon to step in and stop you from breaking the group dynamic, but this was different, wasn’t it? You needed to get laid, and you already liked him. Jimin was perfect. He could give you the raw emotion you needed to see in someone else. He would laugh at your stupid jokes and tell you how impressive you were for doing your job. He could give you the fulfilling sex it was obvious you were craving. He would talk you up and treat you the way you deserved, inside and out. He’d regard you as a princess and fall head over heels for you. You’d be so happy.

As your best friend, Namjoon wanted you to be happy. So why did it feel so bad to see finally unfolding like this?

“Wow, they’re really going at it huh?”

Namjoon jumps back a bit in surprise. He was so busy doing the spying that he never thought someone would be paying much attention to him. Hoseok stands a few feet away, leaning against the bar and sipping on a drink as his eyes fix on the way you and Jimin seemed to become one blurry form, chests rising and falling together.

“Who?” Namjoon pretends to squint into the crowd, as if his eyes weren’t glued to your form for the better part of an hour.

Hoseok sets his drink down on the bar, giving Namjoon a stern look. “Really?”

Namjoon returns the stare, blinking a few times and pursing his lips innocently.

“You know, you could just tell her.” Hoseok rolls his eyes hard and starts cleaning underneath one of his fingernails.

“Tell? Tell who? What’s there to tell?” Suddenly Namjoon is as cool as can be, hiding behind a stoic mask.

Hoseok finds Namjoon’s shoulders, gripping them tightly. “You go up to her just like this and you say ‘Y/N, I need to talk to you about something.’”

Namjoon scoffs. “Come on, man. Don’t be weird.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll let you be you. Pretend I am her. Come on.” Hoseok clears his throat before getting as high pitched as he can. “J-joonie, why do you need to talk to me?”

Namjoon lets out a soft chuckle as he keeps his eyes trained on the dance floor to make sure you’re still there, even though each touch you share with Jimin causes a pang of hurt to run deep through his belly. “Because… I need you to know I care about you.”

Hoseok drops to his normal tone. “Oh shit. Okay direct. I like it. Oh? So why do you send me to Jimin’s arms?”

“Because he can be better for you than I can,” he responds absentmindedly as he watches you crane your neck towards the ceiling, exposing the skin for Jimin to pepper kisses along, to which he readily obliges.

Hoseok gives a slap to Namjoon’s face, causing the man to rub his cheek in disbelief and regain his attention. “No! You stop that. You’re perfect!” He clears his throat and goes high pitched again.“You could be my tall man, Joonie.”

Namjoon can’t help but laugh. “Why the hell am I playing along with this?”

“Because you looooove me. Say it.” Hoseok raises his eyebrows, shit-eating grin strewn across his face, which causes Namjoon to pause.

“I don’t ...Ah…” he starts, eyes drifting back to Jimin pulling the hair from your face. He tugs at the lei around your neck, bringing you down low enough to meet his lips. Again the bite of jealousy stings Namjoon, posture stiffening and voice firm. “It’s not like that.”

Hoseok drops the charade and allows his drink to dribble back into his glass in order to interrupt. “Like hell it ain’t! Don’t even play, Joon. You can’t even keep your eyes on me when I’m pretending to be her, not when you know she’s over there with her tongue down Jimin’s throat.”

Namjoon’s eyes dart back to Hoseok, defense faltering with the crack in his voice. “I don’t love her.”

“Yeah, okay. And I don’t love pussy,” he mumbles; the caustic statement deafened by the liquid hitting his tongue.

Namjoon clears his throat, gesturing towards the dancefloor. “Don’t you think she looks happy?”

“I think she looks drunk,” he answers with a shrug, cocking his head to the side when he sees the way you’re sliding your hand along Jimin’s pants. “...And horny! Whew! You sure it was a good idea to let them go at it? I can cockblock if you want.”

A conflicted groan lingers in Namjoon’s throat as he shakes his head. “...No. I just need to not be bothered by this whole Tinder thing. She wants to get laid. Let her get laid by someone we trust.”

Hoseok opens his mouth, but promptly shuts it before taking another sip from his drink. “It’s been over a year and you still haven’t done anything about how you feel. Of course it’s going to bother you.” He whistles, watching you and Jimin both teasingly tug on each other’s shirts. “Especially since they’re not going to make it back to his apartment at this rate.”

Namjoon knows he’s right as he watches you claw Jimin’s bare shoulder in response to the blonde burying his face in your chest. He also knows that very drunk you is about to make the mistake of fucking a very drunk Jimin in the bathroom and you’re both probably going to be crying about it later. Jimin would cry because he wouldn’t have been able to give you his best, questioning whether you actually enjoyed it or not-- that and not being able to see your tits because he’d undoubtedly be fucking you from behind-- and Joon would have to hear all about it. You’d be crying because you’d fucked Park Jimin in a bathroom stall like a cheap whore instead of fucking Park Jimin in his bed like a reasonably-priced whore. And again, Joon would have to hear all about it.

Or worse. You’d be going down on him, and gag all over his dick. With how much you’d been drinking, it seemed plausible. You both would cry to him for sure. But what if both of these drunken messes somehow had the most mind-blowing sex and wouldn’t fucking shut up about it? Or worse, they’d do it again and again, leaving his mind to constantly think about how Jimin would make love to you in ways that Namjoon had been aching to for ages. He hadn’t thought it through. It was going to drive him crazy no matter the direction the night took.

Hoseok must have been watching the mental gymnastics going on, because he pounds the rest of his drink and rubs his hands together. “Showtime.”

#bts fic #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #namjoon x reader #ot7 x reader #bts #bts au #bts scenario #series: love bytes #fic: love bytes #jimin x reader #namjoon fanfic #ot7 fanfic #jimin smut

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dragonologist-phd · 4 years ago

Text

Prodigy: Chapter 3

Sometimes, a family is three deadly Archons who care about each other a little more than they’d ever be able to admit.

(AO3)

Lilith cursed under her breath as she ruined yet another piece of parchment. With a heavy sigh, she fished another page from her pack and began the letter again.

Archon Tunon,

Allow me to express my deep appreciation for this opportunity…

She got further this time, almost to the end. The words stung her pride as she wrote them, and her grip on the quill left tremors in the handwriting. But the letter was readable and suitably respectful and she got all the way to the words your faithful servant before her temper flared and electricity slipped from her fingertips in an angry spark, leaving the letter torched just where her signature should go.

Lilith bit her lip to keep from cursing loud enough to wake the whole camp. That was the sixth paper she’d ruined trying to respond to Archon Tunon. It had been getting harder lately to play her part with him; she was ready for more than the role of an obedient Fatebinder who jumped at his call. Now that he had sent her to Vendrien’s Well with an Edict, fully expecting her to di in the process, it was almost impossible.

Almost. She could still do it, just a little while longer. She could pretend this mission was an honor and recite the lines that kept her on his good side. Because whatever Tunon thought, Lilith had no intentions of dying here. And when she returned to Court, she would need to make sure that Tunon had no reason to distrust her any more than he already did.

So Lilith steadied herself, picked up the quill, and started once again.

Of course, all of her hard work could be for nothing. The mere fact that she had been sent on this mission could mean that Tunon was looking for proper ways to get rid of her. In a way, it was a compliment; it meant he took her seriously. And she would show him that he was correct in doing so. She would sort out this mess between the Disfavored and the Chorus, she would reclaim these lands for Kyros, and she would return to Court with a new success to her name. Tunon would appear pleased, even if he secretly hoped for her failure, Kyros would know the victory was because of her, and Bleden Mark might even show his face for some sarcastic approval.

Lilith wondered if Mark had known about the Edict. If he had chosen not to tell her anything. She had to admit, it wouldn’t surprise her if he had. That was his way, the way of all the Archons. Secrets and manipulations. She knew the game and could play it well enough, hence the fawning letter to Tunon that she finally managed to finish with burning to a crisp.

Still, it was a disappointing thought; and even more disappointing was the idea that she might have thought, even subconsciously, that she could depend on him. Work with him? Certainly. But trust him?

That was a mistake Lilith was far too smart to make.

Bleden Mark didn’t disagree with the logic behind the Edict. Between the oathbreakers and the arguing Archons, the Tiers could use a good reminder of their overlord’s power. And it was always fun to watch the chaos that followed in the wake of an Edict’s destruction.

Hy just wished Tunon has chosen a different Fatebinder to make the proclamation.

It wasn’t that he felt sentimentality towards Lilith in particular; at least, no more than he did his favorite dagger. He just didn’t want all those years of work to be wasted by her getting killed off so soon.

But Tunon has made his decision, and to be fair, it wasn’t completely unfounded. Lilith had experience dealing with both armies involved in this mess, and with the people of the Tiers. She had proven capable with every other task she had been given. And while the tension in the land was unmistakably brewing, it hadn’t come to a boil just yet. Now wasn’t the time to bite back against this particular Archon’s hand.

So Mark held his tongue and watched, as he always did. Lilith was young and ambitious, but she was no fool; if there was a winning strategy to be found in the Tiers, she would find it. Or she would fail and prove that she had never learned anything from Mark after all. Either way, there was nothing to do but wait.

Tunon expected her to never return. Mark knew that much. Mark also knew the Archon of Justice was underestimating his Fatebinder.

And sure enough, the day finally came when the land shook with the realization of a resolved Edict, and it was not long after that when Lilith strode into Tunon’s Court, haughty as ever and very much alive.

Tunon had many questions, of course, and she answered each with a steady confidence while the other members of the Court looked on with curiosity. Before, Lilith had been relatively well-known and respected for her part in the Conquest; now, she was truly an object of interest. And not only her, but also the odd entourage that had followed her to Court: a woman wearing the colors of the Scarlet Chorus who stared daggers at the people around her, a Sage who managed to avoid eye contact completely by keeping his nose buried in a scroll, and a strange figure encased completely in rusted steel.

Bleden Mark sized them all up from the shadows, grinning to himself as his interest built. What have you been up to, kid?

Tunon’s interrogation wouldn’t get to the truth of that; Lilith knew how the Court worked too well to truly speak her mind. Mark would need to ask her himself.

He waited until she had finished the rest of her business, keeping an eye from dark corners as she made her rounds of the Court. Only when she approached the exit did he pull away from the dim grayness and step into the open air.

“Welcome back, kid.”

She managed not to startle at his sudden appearance- she’d been getting better at that lately- and simply raised an eyebrow in his direction. “If it isn’t the Archon of the Elderly. I was wondering when you would show up.”

Her voice was hard as stone, and after a first cursory glance in his direction she looked stubbornly away. Mark should have expected her first day back would not be an easy one; not with the way the Court had thrown her to the sharks. Instead of acknowledging her tone, he only snorted at her comment. “Is that supposed to wound me? If so, you’ll need to try harder than that. You’re still not half as impressive as you think you are.”

“And yet still twice as impressive as most of Tunon’s other lackeys,” she answered with a shrug.

“Always with a smart answer,” Mark said, shaking his head as he grinned. “But I guess you’re not entirely wrong. Especially after that little trick you pulled with the Spire.”

Lilith lifted her chin, and despite her air of lofty indifference, a hint of a smile tugged at her lips. Whether or not she was angry with Mark, she always did appreciate acknowledgement of her abilities.

“Of course,” Mark continued, “You also cause more of a ruckus than any other lackey.”

The smile disappeared. “Enough of a ruckus to make your list of problems?”

“What else did you expect after putting yourself on the map like that?” Mark grinned sharply even as Lilith’s expression darkened. “Oh, don’t look so somber. I thought you would be flattered that Tunon thinks you’re important enough to be a problem.”

“It’s not that,” she said shortly. “It’s just that it can be difficult to get stuff done when he’s keeping watch on me.”

Mark considered that for a moment, and then- quickly, before he could question his own judgement- slipped the bracer off his arm and tossed it to Lilith. “This might help with that.”

She caught it on instinct, blinking down at it in surprise. Even if she weren’t a student of the arcane, it would have been hard for her to miss that essence of shadows imbued in the bracer. For a moment her eyes flickered between him and the gift, intrigued but cautious. “You’re not usually known for your generosity. What’s the catch?”

“No catch- not this time, at least.” She still didn’t look very convinced, and Mark couldn’t help but grin at her suspicion. That’s my girl.

“I like you, kid,” he said, offering her another sharp grin. “And as amusing as it would have been to watch that Edict drop, I guess I’m glad you’re alive.”

A storm cloud passed over Lilith’s face. “That’s why you let Tunon try to sacrifice me to the Edict.”

Mark paused at that. It wasn’t as if there was anything he could say to comfort Lilith. Comfort was a rare thing in a place like this. And she was right; he’d let Tunon make this gamble, because stopping him would put Mark in a dangerous position that he wasn’t yet ready to be in.

So he simply shrugged and said, “I do what I can, kid. Just like you. But none of us can do everything.”

Lilith glared at him a little longer, and for a moment Mark thought she would hurl the bracer back at him. But after a long moment she let out a deep breath and slipped the bracer on her arm. “Yeah. We do what we can.”

Lethian’s Crossing was safe. That was why Sirin had chosen it as her place to settle for the last few years. It was safe, familiar, out of the way, filled with people of weak wills to make sure she was well cared for.

It was also utterly boring.

Sirin hadn’t minded at first. In fact, it had been a nice change of pace after the Conquest. No demands from the Court, no battlefields, no Nerat to control her. For a while, it was bliss. She’d set herself up in one of the nicer homes of the settlement and quickly gathered herself a flock of people to see to her needs.

But as the months passed, the novelty began to wear off. Sirin had all that she wanted- a devoted following and a place away from the other Archons. But she was still left feeling restless.

It was, she decided, the headdress. That cursed headdress still leashed her, and no matter how far from Nerat she got she would never be truly free until it was gone. But she’d already tried every trick she knew of to release her, and none of it had ever worked.

And then, out of the blue, who should walk into her little home but the Fatebinder Lilith. Sirin had heard all the rumors about the Fatebinder and the Spires; as inconvenient as this visit was, she couldn’t help but be curious.

“To what do I owe this incredible honor, Fatebinder?” Sirin asked imperiously as Lilith approached her stage, flanked by a strange combination of companions. Sirin allowed her own crowd to arrange themselves around her, close enough to remind the other woman that she wasn’t defenseless here. “Is Tunon throwing another one of his tantrums trying to find me?”

“Tunon doesn’t care about you,” Lilith answered shortly. She looked around the crows with a bored disapproval, as if this whole arrangement were beneath her. “Not enough to send anyone looking, anyway. But seeing as I may have need of these town’s resources in the future, and you currently have them all tied up in waiting on you hand and foot, I thought I’d see if you and I could reach an agreement.”

Sirin laughed, letting the melodic sound echo around the room. Her admirers edged slightly closer, although Lilith remained unimpressed. She’d always been resistant to Sirin’s charms…but then again, Sirin had never put forth all her effort into trying to bend the Fatebinder’s will. She tilted her head, feeling the strange, balanced weight of the headdress as studied Lilith. The Fatebinder was known for her prowess with magic, and now she had awoken something within the Spires. Perhaps…

“Actually…” Sirin said, letting her powers seep through the melody of her voice. “There is something you can help me with.”

She took a step closer to Lilith. The companions behind her tensed, but Sirin ignored them; Lilith was clearly the leader here, which mean they weren’t important and therefore beneath Sirin’s notice. Instead, she directed all of her magic towards the Fatebinder, pushing as hard as she could against the iron grip of her headdress.

“Remove. My. Helmet.”

Lilith’s eyes closed- but only for a moment. They snapped open seconds later, icy and yet somewhat amused. “That’s enough, Sirin.”

Sirin let out a deep breath, partly in disappointment, and partly in exhaustion as she eased back on her straining powers. “Really? Nothing at all?”

Lilith laughed- a short, mocking sound. “I’ve been dealing with magic longer than you’ve alive. Don’t be so surprised I’m able to resist your little songs.”

“What can I say?” Sirin asked. “I’m the Songbird. That’s what I do.” She sighed, letting her gaze shift to the controlled townspeople. Even after stretching herself so thing in her attempt against Lilith, they still looked at her with devotion. She’d trained them well, after all.

Lilith looked around, her expression still unreadable, and added, “Even if it worked, I couldn’t have helped. That helmet is beyond my current means.”

Sirin huffed. “If you say so- although I shouldn’t have expected more. If I haven’t figured out a way to remove it, I doubt you could.” She paused, and flashed Lilith an innocent smile. “Unless the rumors are true, and that Spire changed you somehow?”

Something flashed in Lilith’s eyes- whether temper or suspicion, Sirin couldn’t quite tell. But it was gone in an instant, and Lilith replied, “The Spires can’t help you, and whatever power they gave me is none of your concern.”

“Then why are you here?” Sirin demanded. “You can’t help me, I can’t help you. I’ve been doing just fine taking care of myself here, so leave me alone and run back to the Archon. You won’t bother me, and I won’t bother you.”

Sirin expected Lilith to jump at that deal; she’d always been happy to avoid her before. But her words were met with silence, and from Lilith’s furrowed brow Sirin could tell the Fatebinder was thinking on something. Probably how she could get the best deal selling out Sirin’s location to Tunon or Nerat.

But Sirin wouldn’t go down that easily, she wouldn’t, she would turn the townspeople and all of Lilith’s people against her, she would burn this town to the ground before she went back to the Scarlet Chorus-

“Come with me,” Lilith said, and it took a moment for the words to sink in.

“What?”

“Come with me,” Lilith said again. “Use your powers for something worthwhile. Or stay here and be a petulant little kid playing with your toys. I don’t care.” She paused. “But I think you care. And I think you know that you have more potential than this.”

Sirin almost refused on instinct. But…she didn’t know how much longer she could away with this. And the Fatebinder was a wealth of knowledge on arcana. She said the Spires couldn’t help, but maybe she just hadn’t figured them out yet. Maybe- just maybe- she could help Sirin’s predicament, if Sirin got on her good side.

She wasn’t really sure Lilith had a good side. She was likely just another person looking to exploit Sirin’s gift. Everyone wanted to exploit her gift; that was a lesson Sirin had learned all too well. But at least Lilith wasn’t Tunon or Nerat.

“Very well,” Sirin said loftily, throwing her hair over her shoulder. “I will allow you the glorious gift of my presence. It’s better than dying of boredom in this backwater hole.”

Lilith watched Sirin out of the corner of her eye as the left Lethian’s Crossing. The young Archon actually seemed excited as they left the town behind. She barely seemed to notice the wary glances from Landry and Verse, or that her ridiculous flowing skirt were already collecting dirt and dust from the worn path.

She would need better attire for the road. And she would need an excuse for Tunon as to why she was with Lilith when he inevitably found out.

Lilith didn’t know why she was going through all this trouble. The girl was the same brat as ever, arrogant and shallow and childish…

But powerful, there was no denying that. Unleashed, she’d be even more powerful than the Archons. Lilith remembered her own power, that racing, electrifying connection with the Spires. She didn’t understand it yet, but she was going to leave no stone unturned until she did. And there was a not-insubstantial possibility that Sirin’s abilities could help her do that. After all, controlling minds was never a useless ability.

And at the end of the day, if Sirin was childish, it was because she was still a child, just barely sixteen. What Sirin needed was someone better than Tunon or Nerat to teach her a few things. And if nobody else was going to try and keep her out of trouble, Lilith may as well try her hand at it.

It was a stupid thing to care about. Yet as the thought crossed Lilith’s mind, she found her fingers tracing over the silver bracer at her wrist. Between her newfound connection with the Spires, the machinations of Bleden Mark, and this new hassle of looking after a willful and unpredictable young Archon, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was making the wisest decisions.

But she’d made her decisions to work with Bleden Mark and Sirin alike, and it was too late to turn back now.

#tyranny #tyranny fanfic #fatebinder #sirin #bleden mark #ch: lilith

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amitds · 6 years ago

Text

Heroes Part II:

Summary: Kabuto and Manda are gone and now a new, greater threat has filled that void within Leaf City, one that even Sasuke (Kagatsuchi) and Sakura (Haruno),now partnered with Naruto (Kurama), find themselves falling against. To make matters worse, a dark cloud looms menacingly over Uchiha Corp. and Sasuke must deal with both while things between him and Sakura heat up, perhaps much too fast for either one of them to handle.

Notes: I was in bed the other night, still trying to think up new stuff for my Witch and Vampire au, and I was like hmm how about I continue the Heroes AU? Then I started going off track and brain storming ideas for this instead of the witch/vampire project. Once again, this is supposed to be SS but I want to include Team 7 as a trio of heroes/teammates and through my work do what Kishi couldn’t with them so you’ll see stuff with Naruto and the enemies in the city as opposed to SS just being together. I also tried to write sex, which I still feel odd about though I’ve read a few books with sex scenes so there’s that... Oh yeah Naruto and Sakura’s designs are Kishi’s from the last the only difference being Sakura’s hair being a bit longer while Sasuke’s is from Sasuke Shinden which is from the same blank period.

Read Heroes Part I here

The Uchiha were never to be underestimated. This is what Sasuke had always known and this is what his brother had drilled into him since childhood. The mightiest of superheroes rose from this clan. The greatest of pioneers thrived under the Uchiha name. The most affluent were birthed within this family and reigned with the strength of the Uchiha. However, the Uchiha’s greatest, most coveted strength was always and will always be love. No family treasured love like the Uchiha and with love comes sacrifice. This is what Itachi said.

Never in a million years, however, had Sasuke ever thought that this was actually a curse. How were you supposed to love and treasure love when those most precious to you have already died? How could you go through losing your loved ones again? How could you live knowing that your weakness killed those most precious to you?

Loving Sakura was dangerous. Of this Sasuke was most certain. It weakened him and exposed him to the bitterness of loss once more. More importantly, him loving Sakura put her life at stake.

After all, the Uchiha are cursed.

Sasuke was running late. Again.

In his defense, he would have been on time had that cashier not held him back.

His meetings were finished for the day and he, to his credit, was out of his office in time. Sasuke knew he had to keep an eye on that mysterious ‘Sirocco Development’ company that was aiming to snatch his firm’s tenders around Leaf City. But even then, with his extra strategy sessions, he was not held back.

Tch.

As if the company run by Sasuke Uchiha could be outmaneuvered.

Yet, even with meetings about this threat screwing with his schedule, Sasuke was on time. Even his driver was prompt; awaiting him when he left Uchiha Tower so there wasn’t any hold up there either.

Alas his real hold up, the reason he still managed to run late, was at that damned store. That cashier just couldn’t help herself could she?

It’s always like that though. Much to Sasuke’s chagrin, women are drawn to him for some reason. He never really paid any attention to their advances since he knew what he wanted and didn’t want in life; he knew what he was willing to give and himself was not one of those things. Though now, especially, it felt totally wrong.

In the five months following Kabuto’s defeat, Sasuke and Sakura had partnered up. However their bond superseded that of mere colleagues. From their partnership, a friendship was kindled and with their initial attraction roaring underneath, within months they were partners on a whole other level. They were lovers.

Sasuke had zero experience when it came to dating but he knew that this was right and that they were good.

They spent almost every night together: patrolling, watching movies, having dinner, snuggling...making out.

So as far as Sasuke was concerned, he was Sakura’s.

They’ve never fought or argued, which was something Sasuke assumed he’d have to brace himself for. Indeed, the fact that he lived in such sweetness with her at present made his fear of his inevitable revelation all the more intimidating.

He just couldn’t do it. As much as he knew he was bad for her and this would end in tragedy, Sasuke couldn’t pump the brakes on this affair. At least not yet.

He couldn’t control himself enough to leave and the constant gnawing of his conscience day and night wouldn’t let him rest. He was going to have to end this. That was the right thing to do. Part of him knew that, but if that was right then why was he feeling like this?

Why did it feel like a tragedy in itself?

Ugh.

Suppressing his dark thoughts, Sasuke refocused on where he was at and remembered his night so far. He didn’t have to deal with that dilemma right now, he had bigger fish to fry and really, he needed to be with Sakura longer.

Taking all that time looking for that store, then that cashier... that’s what got him. When that cashier, Karen or Karin, or whatever the hell it was on that name tag she pushed forth while she stuck out her chest and tossed her hair tried to make small talk he knew it was time to go. When she tried to caress his hands as she handed him his bags, that’s when he knew for sure he needed to get the hell out of there A.S.A.P. and that’s when he left.

She wasn’t an unattractive woman but Sasuke didn’t know her and if he was honest with himself he had no interest in having small talk with her let alone bedding her. Not tonight. Not ever. It didn’t matter how much she or anyone else pushed. Sasuke was not interested.

He would have sent Jugo, his driver and personal assistant, but Sasuke was resolute to do the shopping himself. After all, this was personal. This was for Sakura.

“Are you satisfied with what you bought, Mr. Uchiha?” Jugo asked his eyes never veering from the road, at the exact moment Sasuke thought of him.

“Is everything to your liking?”

Jugo had a knack for knowing what was on Sasuke’s mind and showing up when thought about. Sasuke even wondered if he perhaps had a mind reading blessing or something at one time. Though, this is exactly why he was his right hand, in business and at home.

He was efficient.

“No I have everything I need,” Sasuke replied, a simple smile warming his face as he held his bags. At this point, the driver could have been asking him if he wanted to eat his own eyeballs, and he’d smile subtly and agree all the same. Sasuke was lost in his thoughts.

I mean this was Sakura he was meeting after all.

Twenty minutes later, due to in no small part, Jugo and his lead feet breaking a few traffic laws, Sasuke was at the curb in front of Sakura’s. Sasuke’s sleek Mercedes-AMG C 43 4MATIC, however, was long gone, dashing and camouflaging into the blackness of night. There was no doubt in Sasuke’s mind that with Jugo behind the wheel that he’d already be parking the damned thing.

Dressed in his all black ensemble:a black short sleeved buttoned down shirt, black slacks and black Gucci loafers with a titan black Rolex on his right arm, Sasuke made his way to Sakura’s two story rental. He was ready for his ‘date’. Luckily Jugo had brought him his change of clothes. That man really thought of everything.

Naturally, they were just meeting to discuss the new case they’ve been dealing with for the past month, but when it came to Sasuke and Sakura, this was romance. This was a date. Bliss through the odd simplicity of their lives as super heroes was their norm and Sasuke wouldn’t trade that for anything: any romantic getaway or five star restaurant in the world.

“What the..?”

When Sasuke rang her doorbell and Sakura didn’t open up or call out, panic flared within him. After a minutes, which felt like an hour, he was about ready to blow through the windows and dial Naruto. Fortunately, this was adverted when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

Sakura had texted him.

“Sorry just got out of the shower. I’m almost done so I’ll be down in a second. You know the code but... the titanium padlock’s inside... can you please hold a sec? Love you!

:) <3 <3 <3″

“Ah.” Relief flooded through his mind as he read those words. That lock and titanium second door was his idea after all.

He knew it was Sakura texting for sure because well... leave it to Sakura to text in complete, grammatically correct sentences while simultaneously leaving behind hearts and smiles.

She always raged and ranted about the importance of proper grammar and the erosion of language in today’s society and even though Sasuke usually found it amusing when she was lit aflame with her passion and anger, he had to admit she was right. Fortunately, Sasuke Uchiha was dating a nerd.

A hot nerd.

It was trivial, well at least he thought it should be, but Sasuke’s mood always lit up when he got those hearts and smiles from Sakura. Those and the little plush animals and notes hidden in the lunches and pastry boxes she sent.

Of course none of that could compare to the over the top kisses and hugs she lapped on him. God and when she ran her fingers through his hair and played with it...

Sakura told him his spiky, black hair was cute and so help him he wasn’t cutting it for anything in the world.

He’d never let her know how much those affected him though, since part of him wanted to remain mysterious and badass for his girl but Sasuke felt that she already knew and simply let him keep up his facade as her duty as his girlfriend. Fine by him.

The thought of never receiving any of those again...

Shit. Not tonight, Sasuke. Focus!

This was a nightmare.

To ease his mind, Sasuke re-read Sakura’s text and slowly, a sweetness and warmth enveloped him and chased away his worries.

They still had time. Didn’t they?

Reading her text and recollecting their relationship thus far Sasuke found himself grinning like an idiot all alone. Even in front of her house in the midst of all the cold and chill.

Love really was something wasn’t it? He couldn’t imagine that this was his life and that such mushy, cliche crap was what he apparently craved and needed and from Sakura. He really did come a long way since Itachi’s death and the loneliness that followed. He’d always be grateful for this, even though it would not have been permanent.

Waiting for Sakura, he decided to scope out the place as he usually does. One can never be too careful and as Kagutsuchi, Leaf City’s greatest hero, it was second nature to survey his surroundings at all times. No one was coming in here uninvited.

Not as long as he was around.

Sasuke never doubted that his girl could handle herself. After all she was just as much a hero as he was but he had to do this. It didn’t matter who it was. Sasuke was a protector and he was not losing anyone precious to him ever again. This wasn’t some cliche alpha male lover bullshit but rather, his way of doing things. His will of fire so to speak.

Sasuke Uchiha looked out for those dear to him. Even if it meant insulting Sakura and having her pissed off, he was going to at least help protect her in her home.

This was nonnegotiable.

Upon inspection he noticed that Sakura’s two story Victorian was the same as it had been for the past few months. With its pearl- white coloring coupled with gray accents and its perfectly manicured lawn with vibrant hues of flowers scattered about, the place looked like it was plucked straight out of a magazine. Naturally.

Sakura was an adult and her dad was abroad but that didn’t stop him. He made sure to take care of his daughter. Apparently there was money to be made as a stand-up comedian, given this massive spread the man rented for his one and only daughter.

At first Sakura complained, most of the time to Sasuke, about her dad paying her rent for her for an entire house but clearly that ‘fire’ ran in their blood and her father was even more stubborn than she was since he won out in the end. Sasuke didn’t know all the details about what went down between them but here she was three months later.

Of course Sasuke had to pretend to share her outrage but deep down he respected Kizashi Haruno and preferred Sakura in a large house instead of some scummy, cardboard box of an apartment. Sakura made it abundantly clear that she wasn’t staying in any of the condos or apartment complexes Sasuke offered so he had to take his victories where he could find them.

The night’s full moon only enhanced the scene, caressing everything with its milky radiance: beds of flowers, the walls of Sakura’s house and even the tall oaks she kept on the far left side. Everything was touched by moonlight which only made Sasuke’s job all the more simple.

“Hn.”

In a flash, Sasuke took off.

Swiftly surveying the premises, Sasuke was in his element in the darkness and moonlight. Running, climbing and maneuvering about, Sasuke combed through Sakura’s property at a blinding pace. Every move was strategic, elegant and without sound like that of a trained dancer as Sasuke made his way around and between every corner.

It took Sasuke a mere seven minutes before he completed his scan, his scope out yielding nothing of consequence: the neighbour’s teen daughter, Moegi, sneaking out to meet some boy through her window; some punks gambling on a street corner and a middle aged guy walking a dog higher up the road. The dog looked like it wanted to take a bathroom break but as long as it didn’t wander onto Sakura’s lawn, not his problem.

His last spot was a dilapidated tree house in the back, probably a remnant from the past owners’ family. When even that yielded nothing of suspicion Sasuke decided to head back before Sakura noticed.

“What?!”

Sasuke froze.

“Don’t trust me to stay safe?”

A voice chuckled as Sasuke calmed himself and extinguished his now lit fireball before being totally and completely blindsided. He was close to the porch when he was caught red handed, literally (hello fireball).

Sakura had caught him. Again.

“Oof!” Sasuke felt the breath leave his body before he could reply.

Sakura had charged into him.

“You smell great. New cologne?” Sakura murmured while she snuggled into his chest with her arms laced around his back. She did that a lot when they met up, as if seeing him makes her day and Sasuke had no problems with that.

The last thing Sasuke Uchiha needed as the city’s number one hero and a billionaire C.E.O. with movie star good looks was an ego boost but this certainly was not his fault now was it?

“Ah. Sakura. Yeah. Aramis.” Sasuke let out closing his arms around Sakura, who stood still snuggled into his chest. She was warm as usual and her hair, God her hair smelt amazing. Still damp from her shower, the sweet scent that lifted itself to him was that of rich vanilla. Sakura was apparently trying out a new shampoo again and Sasuke approved.

Standing there holding on to her one thought kept ringing and ringing in his head.

How could he ever leave her?

Sasuke couldn’t help but close his eyes and savor this embrace. Sakura fit perfectly in his arms and even after all these months, he loved meeting her, holding her, touching her.

“Sasuke, what weeere you doing?” Sakura drawled as she looked up from his chest, her body still pressed into his own.

She knew already but she loved drawing it out of him and when she did it with a smirk like she was doing now Sasuke had to fight off the urge to kiss her hard.

With tongue.

“ I was surveying the surroundings,” Sasuke stated nonchalantly. “You never know where the enemy lurks and when, Sakura.”

Sakura’s apple-green eyes still stared deeply into his own of obsidian as he spoke. He could feel every breath she took as she listened and looked up at him. When they connected like this Sasuke felt like he could just stay in this state of bliss forever.

“Ah. I see.”

“Look. I trust you to take care of yourself, Sakura...”

“Relax Sasuke. I get it.” Sakura laughed.

“So you came down and saw me again I presume?”

Sasuke had to admit he liked getting caught by Sakura. By now it was tradition.

“Nope. Actually strangely enough, I heard some leaves and then when I checked I didn’t see you at the door so I looked around. To be honest I am surprised you made that much noise.”

Sasuke moved as he usually moved on missions, in complete stealth so Sakura saying that she heard him came as a complete shock. Was he really that noisy? Distracted? Sloppy?

What was wrong with him today?

Whatever, it was he had more important duties tonight than his own inner turmoil and so he decided to brush it off.

“Hn. It was just an extra patrol.”

“Hn.” Sakura repeated. She was teasing him now and he knew she loved how red he got when she did it. But before Sasuke could interrupt she went on.

“Thank you for looking out for me, for us.”

As the words left her mouth she grabbed Sasuke’s face and brought him down for a full on kiss. When her lips brushed against his and her tongue entered his mouth, Sasuke gasped into her and let out a guttural moan that only nudged Sakura to press closer into him.

The warmth, moisture and softness of Sakura’s kiss while her body rubbed against him was more than enough to make him hard as stone. He wanted her. God how he wanted her.

Sasuke had to ration all of his strength to snap back into his senses to twist and hide his massive erection from pressing into Sakura. They hadn’t had sex yet and he didn’t want to ruin the moment with his hard on. He didn’t think that she was ready for it and he most certainly was not regardless of what his ‘little Sasuke’ was aching for down there.

Following a few seconds of Sakura hungrily kissing him like she’d never see him again, she finally let up and they broke apart. They were both left gasping and breathing heavily as they tried to cool off from the intensity of the kiss.

It was only then that Sasuke managed to truly take in the sight of her. Dressed in a tight white t-shirt and shorts that were extremely short and tight, not that Sasuke was complaining, she was radiant. With no makeup, only her bindi-mark upon her face and her rose -coloured hair messily cascading around her shoulders, Sakura was the most sublime creature on the planet to Sasuke in that moment.

And she was all his.

It was precisely because she was in her most comfortable and simple state, that Sasuke couldn’t look away.

“Let’s go inside. I gathered some more data and I have something for you, Sakura.” Sasuke instructed in his typical, stoic manner. He couldn’t very well keep staring at her like some kind of freak now could he? And they did have work to do. They were heroes first and everything else afterwards.

Or so he told himself.

“You have something for me?” Sakura squeaked as she gently brushed his lips with her own once more, this time in a sweet and brief kiss before grabbing his hand and leading him inside.

“Hn.”

Sasuke let her lead him and smiled with lidded eyes and he looked at the superhuman beauty in front of him. Sakura was just so bubbly, so affective... so cute.

Sasuke found himself constantly relishing and living in these moments these days. Maybe, he thought, just maybe he really could carve out a space in his life for romance with her even with his company and crime fighting.

Yeah, she was worth it. They were worth it. Weren’t they?

When Sakura heard the crackling of leaves from her bedroom and didn’t see Sasuke on the porch when she raced downstairs, she knew exactly what was up. ‘Sasuke recon’ which is what was to be expected when your boyfriend was the greatest hero in the city and a genius.

This was fifth time she caught him in something like this, yeah she was keeping count, and though she didn’t like someone constantly protecting her since she wasn’t too shabby a hero herself, she had to admit it felt wonderful to have her boyfriend look out for her. She does the same for him and having a boyfriend who is so protective is a plus in her book so it was all good.

Also, Sakura thought it was cute to catch him sneaking around with that stone like expression on his face and his furrowed brows tightening as he moved about. With his chiseled jaw clenched in focus, his spiky hair that seemed to be woven from the night sky itself and his jet black eyes darting around, Sakura thought Sasuke looked incredibly sexy. Apparently her boyfriend being a bad ass hero with ninja-like reflexes and a hot bod just made her want him more.

Who would have thought?

Honestly, Sasuke Uchiha was hot as hell and moved like a jungle cat in the night. What girl wouldn’t marvel at something like that? And it’s not like he was serious. After all he was noisy enough for her to hear him stomping about all the way from bedroom upstairs this annoyingly large mansion.

So Sasuke clearly liked the game and Sakura was all to happy to play.

Five months ago they met by chance when Sakura was investigating a kidnapping operation at Katsuyu Gardens. Kabuto, the man who killed Sasuke’s brother just so happen to be the mastermind behind the operation and by drugging dissatisfied rich kids who turned to him for purpose and drugs, he was well equipped for sustaining his mutant brother’s life.

What other plans he could have had involving all those kids’ blood, well Sakura was glad that he was stopped before she could have found out. Thank God they beat him before he could have gone off on some other kick.

Sakura and Sasuke took him down together and partnered up after that night. They both worried that he’d sell out Sasuke’s identity as Kagatsuchi. However, according to the police he kept laughing about Kagutsuchi’s secret being safe with him while in custody and not wanting to spoil the fun.

After a few weeks of him not saying anything to the authorities, the duo realised he was probably keeping his promise for his own sick amusement. Sakura thought he wanted to keep them guessing and worrying about it, driving them mad. Though in the grand scheme of things it didn’t matter.

He was dead.

Kabuto had died in jail a few months back. Apparent suicide.

Despite it all, even after all he did, Sakura still found herself pitying him. She however, comforted herself in knowing that he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone anymore and such an evil soul was put to rest. And from his defeat their story began.

The attraction between Sasuke and Sakura was there from the start. From that battle a bond was formed. The attraction was plain to see but when Sakura confessed weeks later Sasuke, much to her bewilderment, poked her forehead, smiled and said he’d give her an answer later. At first she thought he was overwhelmed or didn’t feel the same but within minutes, while she sulked, Sasuke grabbed her and kissed her, making her see stars.

“I feel the same...”

She had a feeling that Sasuke liked her but she didn’t think that he’d ever make a move. At times like this she really appreciated not being one hundred percent right about everything all the time. There were some things her book smarts couldn’t predict. Thank God for that. It made life much more enjoyable.

Reminiscing over that moment, the moment they finally became a couple, still warmed Sakura’s heart. The giddiness she still felt whenever she thought of him, of them; the lovely sting of young love, it was exactly what she always dreamed of when she thought about falling in love. It was delightfully sweet.

Despite her doubts.

Yeah she had doubts. So far their relationship was fine. They weren’t perfect by any means but Sakura loved him and whatever flaws Sasuke possessed, she was okay with it. She would handle it. And what flaws did he have really? Sakura couldn’t really list anything.

They never argued. Yeah, he was extremely protective but so what? That just shows he cares and nothing was wrong with Sasuke being protective.

What could possibly be wrong with that? Sakura hated to be split about it but after repeating these musings to herself like prayer every night she couldn’t ignore the unease that chilled her, especially in her moments of solitude. It wasn’t just Sasuke being protective of her all the time and she meant all the time.

On missions, as opposed to their battle against Kabuto and their early missions as a duo, and later a trio with Naruto A.K.A. Kurama, Sasuke in recent times seemed to push himself harder for them, Sakura specifically. He didn’t think she noticed but she did. Pushing himself in front of her, suggesting she take easier tasks, secretly watching her even while fighting enemies, Sasuke seemed perturbed.

Sakura loved feeling loved and protected by her boyfriend and would have appreciated these gestures as secretive as they were but she knew better. She could read him in a way no one else could and she could safely say the same when it came to Sasuke understanding her. These actions were not spurred from love but from fear and if this continued someone was going to pay the ultimate price mid battle.

As much as Sakura loved him and she knew without a doubt that he loved her back, something was missing. And slowly but certainly a void was forming within her, within them both.

She knew it. This wasn’t enough for a relationship to prosper. Sasuke was holding himself back around her while burdening himself with her safety. He kept a secret and it was one she intended to unearth even if it meant the end of them as partners and lovers.

“Uh...”

“Oh Sasuke! Oh sorry for the mess!” Sakura exclaimed as she witnessed Sasuke’s apparent shock at her stacks of files, loose papers and photos. Upon entering, Sasuke stood motionless in the center of her living room and this sharply jolted Sakura back from her musings.

Her tidy and organized living room was now overrun, only the roaring fire of her fireplace free of debris. Even her newly varnished, antique rocker was unusable due to the weight of her mountains of paper work forced onto it.

“Sakura...”

“No. Just give me some time. I’ll fix it,” Sakura apologised as she hustled about clearing a seat for her guest. Flustered and mildly embarrassed, she was in her own world trying to tidy up.

“I only came home from work half and hour ago so I didn’t tidy and I had to shower before...”

“Sakura it’s fine,” Sasuke sighed with his eyes closed and a faint smile decorating his face.

“This is work. I’m glad it’s all out. I was hoping we worked through the night.”

“Oh thank God.” Sakura was chuckling nervously with her left hand rubbing the back of her head. “Cause I was going to ask you if just dinner during our break would be okay, though I know you’re more dedicated to work than I am so it was a given.”

“I wouldn’t say more dedicated.” Sasuke moved closer to Sakura as he spoke.

“You’re busy with your internship at Konoha General but I can arrange my meetings to suit so... Sakura the fact that you are a doctor and still manage to patrol and research in your spare time it’s remarkable.”

“I don’t feel ‘remarkable’....”

Sakura knew that she was dampening the mood with her negativity but she couldn’t hold back. The pressure of her life as a doctor/super hero was getting to her and she was never one to hold back how she felt. This was especially true when in the presence of Sasuke. Not that she could really hide anything from him anyway.

He just always knew.

“Sakura...”

Sasuke’s voice was still as the moonlight that shone tonight and Sakura knew he was waiting, analyzing and planning through those slightly worried eyes of his. Those commanding eyes, blackened like a starless night. He knew what was wrong but he dared not jump ahead of her. That was his way. He let her express herself before he involved himself.

“More overdoses.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. That’s why I’m so adamant on this...” Sakura gestured with her arms to the mess around her. as she spoke.

“Sasuke, I feel like we’re not doing enough. The drug epidemic these guys are fueling.... Sasuke I can’t look at another user suffer. I can’t see another one die. We have to get them.”

“Hn. We will.”

When Sasuke held her face in his palm and stared deeply into her eyes, Sakura felt like some of her stress and worry melt away and for that she was terribly grateful.

“I mean it Sakura. Don’t worry.”

“Yeah...”

Just as briskly as he held her, he let go to Sakura’s mild disappointment.

“That idiot Naruto went out on a patrol tonight.” Sasuke continued. It was obvious that he was trying to assure, not only Sakura but himself, and work up a distraction.

What is your secret, Sasuke Uchiha?

“ He said he wanted to patrol after his youth programme and he’d meet us here afterwards.”

Sakura’s dilemma evaporated from her mind when Sasuke spoke. Naruto out alone? Sure, they were each independent heroes before teaming up in these recent months but the fact that they were a team meant that none of them pulled shit like this. Especially without properly informing the rest. Sakura would pummel that idiot when she got her hands on him.

Alone Naruto usually patrols his neighbourhood but with the recent spike in crime: gun violence and drug dealing, Sakura didn’t want to take that chance. He should still have taken at least one of them with him. Leaf City was devolving and they needed to work as a team to save it. That was for sure.

Honestly, as much as she loved him, Naruto could really make her worry. He was like a brother to her and even though she knew he had feelings for her, Sakura loved the bond they actually shared. He never forced anything and accepted that her and Sasuke were together.

He was her close friend and, more importantly, right now he was a powerful super hero and a legend in the city every bit as illustrious and adept as Sasuke was. Before teaming up he was her idol as a rookie heroine, just as Sasuke was so in times like these she had to believe that this was enough, that those boys’ greatness was enough.

Although admittedly, in the back of her mind, Sakura sometimes wondered if they were too great even for her.

“Sasuke, isn’t that dangerous? You shouldn’t have let him go alone. It’s not the same as it was months ago. What if...”

Before she could finish, Sasuke interrupted her.

“Relax. He just texted me in the car saying everything was normal so he’s fine... and if there’s one thing I know about that idiot is that he’s as durable and annoying as a roach. Nothing can kill him and he’s the most reliable man I know. He’ll be fine.”

Say what you will about Sasuke and Naruto but as much as they fought, they loved ten times more. Of course Sakura would never point it out to either one of them. Seeing Sasuke express his confidence in Naruto cheered her up.

Not surprisingly, both of them were hesitant to team up, apparently they didn’t get along the few times they managed to cross paths. Although, when the three of them met up and a bank robbery interrupted the boys’ blathering, history was made and it was all set in motion.

Despite all of their grand standing, Kurama and Kagutsuchi worked together amazingly and were extremely powerful, especially as a team. With their success, the reticence when it came to their partnering up with one another and Haruno, melted away and with that their three man cell was born.

They still bicker like crazy but those boys, her boys, were brothers and Sakura was grateful for having them both in her life. She also knew they felt the same way.

She still wondered, however, why Naruto didn’t think it right to text her.

“So you said you had some more info, Sasuke?” Sakura asked.

No time to dwell.

They were both seated on her now cleared, dixie sofa, with her sterling silver, glass paneled coffee table before them. Moving some of her files to the side, Sakura beckoned Sasuke to add what he had.

“Ah. I managed to hack into the police database...”

“Sasuke oh my God!” Sakura giggled.

“It had to be done. Anyway I got these.” He laid out a stack of manila files onto the table and as Sakura read through the first he continued.

“As you can see, officers have been killed in the line of duty in five major areas around Leaf City at an alarming rate.”

“What the hell? Twenty-one officers in three weeks?!” Sakura was almost shouting now. “I thought it was nine dead?! Why don’t we know anything?!”

“Inspector Hatake is in Sand City. Death in his family. And without him, my links are all but non existent.... and even then I don’t know if he can divulge anything to me.”

“Wow is it really that confidential? Is that why this wasn’t reported?”

“They were Anbu.” Sasuke’s tone was as as controlled as ever as he spoke.

“Anbu?” Sakura inquired never taking her eyes off of Sasuke. His tone and the way his eyes dropped slightly both told her that this was a secret.

One apparently he knew while she didn’t.

“Elite secret soldiers under the Leaf Council themselves.” Sasuke finally blurted out. He now met Sakura straight in her eyes.

“ No one is supposed to know about them...” he paused and Sakura knew he was absorbing the shock and awe that now stamped her features. There was still so much she didn’t know as a rookie and instead of advancing as part of this team she felt like it just made things worse.

As if sensing her unease Sasuke carried on.

“My family....The Uchiha have been around for centuries. That’s how I know about them.”

“You never told me.” Her tone was even yet lit with disappointment and her eyes descended to her lush, cream carpet while she spoke.

Sakura didn’t intend to sound offended and whiny, and she could of sworn she didn’t, however the look Sasuke gave her said otherwise. Really, she’d be lying if she said that this didn’t irk her, if at least slightly.

“Does Naruto know?” Scratch the ‘slightly’. Really, who cares if she was sounding petty? She needed to know if she was at a disadvantage on this team.

“He’s the mayor’s son so he might.”

“Great.” Sakura’s sigh was pronounced as she spoke and she knew Sasuke probably picked up on it. Really, she wasn’t mad at him or even disappointed in him. It had nothing to do with him and she hoped he knew it.

This was all about her.

It’s just, she already felt intimidated matching those two in this context: a rookie in a new city and the first hero from her family, so she didn’t need the fact that she was in the dark while Sasuke and Naruto, legendary heroes from wealthy founding families, knew more than she did. She couldn’t control how she felt and at least she acknowledged that she had an insecurity.

That was a good thing, wasn’t it? First step to recovery and all that?

“... It’s a secret and they don’t meddle with anything concerning us. I don’t even know anything about them apart from the fact that they exist. The Uchiha were not part of the council for decades and if it weren’t for Itachi’s surveillance...”

Sasuke’s voice trailed off and for just a split second Sakura caught the splinter of pain that cut across his face, before he sealed it back under his signature, stoic expression.

Itachi’s death still haunted him. This was obvious and despite him saying he was alright and his improvement from when they first met, Sakura knew it was still weighing on him. You never get over the death of a loved one, especially a death of such a tragic nature.

“Sasuke, it’s okay.” Sakura moved in close and placed her palm over his. “I’m okay and I’m here if you want to...”

“They, the Anbu can pass as regular police, but they aren’t part of the official force. Sometimes they plant themselves into police stations and work.”

Yeah Sasuke definitely wasn’t going to talk about Itachi more than he needed to, Sakura realized. His slight grimace and downward stare while he interrupted her and changed the topic, they weren’t exactly vague indicators of where he was at.

With a sigh she let it go. What else could she do? And this case was more important, at least in this moment.

Focusing on the issue at hand, she continued.

“Isn’t that wrong? To have a secret army?”

Sakura knew she probably came across as naive but she didn’t care. She was a hero from a civilian family in another city. Clearly, Leaf City wasn’t a run of the mill Western metropolis as it appeared.

Certain traditions from the city’s founding by the Senju of the East were apparently still rooted in the city’s culture and operating behind the scenes. Sakura wondered what other secrets lay underneath the underneath of Leaf City. What else didn’t she know?

This night really wasn’t what she expected it to be.

“No. At least legally it’s not. The Anbu existed from the time of the city’s founding, when the Senju started their settlement.”

Sasuke was responding to her and at the sound of his voice, once more, she tried to focus on the issue at hand and stifle her internal whining.

“I see. Well it is an ingenious way to secure power. A secret army controlling law enforcement... so Anbu huh?”

Sakura knew she was barely fooling Sasuke with her sudden interest in the council’s strategy. She was a nerd but she was an emotional nerd and her weakness is and always was her ability to feel.

It was her strength too. At least she once believed it was.

“Killing Anbu isn’t easy, Sakura. They are supposed to be highly trained assassins and guardians and even though blessings are rare in Leaf City there are supposedly a few blessed ones in their ranks.”

“So who could take them down?” Sakura’s index finger was bent at her chin now, that large brain of hers storming through possibilities. “That would be easy especially with suitable weaponry I suppose or...”

She paused.

The idea that more blessed ones like Kabuto were running wild through the streets made her stomach turn. Blessed ones were so rare after all with most of them being heroes or laying low.

Please not that.

Was Sasuke wondering about the threat of more blessed ones too? Sakura couldn’t tell. Concrete proof was needed of course. Though, following Kabuto killing Itachi and then him facing off against them, Sakura knew that they should take no chances. They had to expect the worst.

“Or blessed ones.”

They said it simultaneously and hearing this from Sasuke, aloud and knowing that he thought the same made it real to Sakura. Hearing someone else confirm her fears: super villains. Again.

“God it’s just so much! These overdoses and now this? Sasuke, this isn’t right. As if I wasn’t feeling like crap before.”

“Sakura, we’ll get them. Blessing or no blessing. We’ll find them and defeat them. I swear on the Uchiha.” Sasuke’s eyes were locked on hers as he spoke to Sakura.

“Hm. Yeah.” Sakura just had to agree. He made it so easy to believe, to hope.

Sakura smiled as she stared back at those commanding black eyes aimed at her. That fire in Sasuke’s eyes...He was proud and resolute and in that moment Sakura found herself supported by Sasuke, by his strength. They were going to crack this case and take out whoever it was. That was certain and given how stubborn the three of them were, Sakura thought their chances were looking good.

Steeling herself, Sakura continued.

“We need to find out where these dealers are and we need to find the blessed one helping them, assuming there is a blessed one at all.”

“The answer must be in the murders.” Sasuke suggested, his brow furrowed in deep concentration. This was his element. Sakura knew it by now. This was where he truly shone, as a hero and a detective.

“Sasuke you don’t think?...”

“Hn. The files. Cause of death. No blessing was mentioned but if we can analyse the data.”

“Shannaro! I’m on it. It shouldn’t be hard to tell who was killed by a blessing, no matter how odd it is.”

“Here’s half. Anything odd we pull out that case.”

“Yeah!”

There it was. Sakura’s determination. In the twenty minutes or so that followed Sasuke caught himself sneaking glances at Sakura as she worked. He saw her doing the same from time to time but didn’t let her know.

This easiness, this comfort when he worked with Sakura, who was just a dependable as he was, was a sensation he didn’t think he’d ever get accustomed to. Sure he worked with Itachi but Itachi was the leader. Here with Sakura and Naruto, Sasuke truly felt that he was dependable and could depend on his comrades as well.

He was an equal.

He was part of a team.

So far most of the deaths he’d been reading through haven’t struck him as odd. Fatal gunshot wounds, stab wounds, strangulation, the usual. The oddest of his set were a couple of apparent poisonings so he put those aside.

Sakura had a few separated as well and from the way she pursed her lips and wriggled her nose Sasuke knew she was examining every single detail, every word,as she read. Her analytical ability was the best on their team and that intelligence and resolve were what he loved about her.

As he finished his last file and set aside his, now five, poisoned cases he was alerted to the sound of Sakura closing her files as well.

“Done. I got seven strange deaths over here. Coroner ruled it as a poisoning.” Sakura informed as she held her folders in her hands. They flapped wildly as she gestured. “What did you find, Sasuke?”

“Shit. Five poisonings over here too. The rest were stabbings and shootings.” They were on the cusp of something. Sasuke could sense it. “Could be a poison weapon though. Bombs...”

“Not so sure. Can I see your files, Sasuke?”

“Uh. Hn.”

“Just as I thought.”

“What did you find, Sakura?”

“There are no needle marks, no traces of anything in their lungs, nasal passages or mouths. Blood work came back negative as well. The only indication that there was some sort of poison isn’t even really an indication at all. See?”

Sakura moved in closer and showed Sasuke the sections she apparently highlighted as she read.

“There is no trace of any known poison in these bodies. Poisons such as bufalin, oleandrin, digoxin, ouabain.... They act on the contractile force of the cardiac muscle, effectively disrupting the pumping action of the heart. Myocardial contractility, the heart’s contraction, was forced to a halt the same way for sure but it’s impossible that there was poison used here.”

“So you’re telling me that someone simply stopped their hearts?”

“No poisons and no wounds like the other murders so yeah, whoever got these guys had to have been using some sort of blessing that mimics poisoning or affects muscles in some way.”

“Hn.” Sasuke smirked. Partly because he was glad that they finally made a headway in this case and partly because he couldn’t figure it out while Dr. Sakura Nakamura just did. “Now we just have to find the user.”

“But before that, the analysis of the drug sample you gave me came back”

“And?”

“Not good. These drugs are not typical, especially for Leaf City... This type of coke is on a whole different level. We can’t peg some of the chemicals and it seems to be more potent than the usual.”

“ These aren’t typical drug dealers. Some big shot kingpin... if it were just random punks distributing we’d have caught a few.”

“You’re right and here’s the thing... Concocting this requires extensive pharmaceutical capabilities and capital, Sasuke. I don’t know the process involved and based on the Anbu murders and the blessed one I’d say that these dealers are this person’s army.”

“Highly trained, highly staffed and a blessed one backing them. Shit. We need to find them. Finding that blessed one should do it.... Wait is that a map you have out?”

“Oh yeah. Hold on I have it on my laptop. Here.” As Sakura spoke she grabbed her laptop and pulled up a map of Leaf City with points circled.

“These are all the areas where the addicts who overdosed were picked up. They’re all over. I thought we could have gotten something if I plotted the points but...”

“Hn. I think I know how we find this blessed one.”

Sasuke was so close, he knew it. Why didn’t he think of this before?

“Shannaro! Sasuke you’re a genius!”

At her exclamation Sakura’s grip on Sasuke’s hand tightened and sent an intoxicating, heady spark racing through his body. At Sakura’s touch, Sasuke felt a fire roar within him. Her hands were silken, her touch soothing and her grip firm and tethering. Sasuke felt the exhilaration of her touch winding its way through him and for a few seconds, his mind vacated his conversation and was thrust into fantasy.

Sasuke could imagine those creamy, tender hands of Sakura’s touching him, playing with his hard length as she teased; smoothing over his bare back as he rode her and pumped into her; gripping and grabbing his ass as they both climaxed together in a throe of passion and lust.

In their months of dating they hadn’t had sex but Sasuke could feel his body losing itself more frequently as time went by. Sakura carved herself a place within his heart and now his body itself acted on its own around her. The yearning to have her under him and over him, touching him and being touched by him; kissing him and having him drink from her was all consuming and Sasuke knew he would have her anyway she let him.

“... so basically we compare the OD’d scenes with the ‘poison deaths’ and we’d find the blessed one’s territory, right Sasuke? Sasuke?”

“Ah.”

Luckily for Sasuke, Sakura caught on to his plan so he didn’t have to listen to what she said to correct her. Him zoning out for a few seconds was embarrassing and so unlike himself and judging from her expression, he was out for more than a few seconds.

“We should pin point the general area where this guys moves about. Assuming he isn’t all over the place, we should isolate his location.”

Minutes later, Sasuke finished entering the locations of the strange murders Sakura called out for him and had his answer. “Here.”

What was presented before them, in a cluster of red and blue circles (indicating the overdoses and deaths respectively) shocked Sasuke and he could tell that Sakura felt the same way.

The assailant indeed had been operating in one area where all twelve of the Anbu murders took place.

“He’s there. Sasuke that’s where that blessed one is. East Jonin District.”

“Yeah. The blessed one. He has to be crucial enough to lead us to the source. Sakura I think we should get Naruto over here A.S.A.P.”

“Hm. I already texted him.”

“Now we wait.”

When Sakura got her hands on Naruto she was going to pummel him into a coma for sure. When she texted, he immediately replied that he’d be there as soon as possible so she didn’t need to call.

The problem?

That was half an hour ago. If not for his last quick text to Sasuke ten minutes ago, saying he was on his way, she would have thought that something happened to him.

Trust them and stop worrying like a rookie Sakura! They know better than you.

God she was a mess.

On the bright side, Sasuke and her had taken a leap ahead when it came to this drug syndicate tonight and had time for dinner while they waited for their teammate, so it wasn’t a total loss. She always enjoyed spending time with Sasuke alone anyway so maybe this was a blessing in disguise.

Dinner was great...well as great as ordering pizza could be. In her defense, Sakura was a working woman and super heroine with a tight schedule. Part of her regretted not being able to provide a home cooked meal for her boyfriend but the other part of her knew that Sasuke didn’t care. Despite all his wealth, Sasuke was a simple man and found beauty in simplicity, just like Sakura did.

In that sense, they were a perfect match.

The couple took their time eating while they waited for Naruto. Sasuke especially, Sakura noted. In all these months of dining with Sasuke, Sakura still found herself marveling at his table manners. Unlike her, Sasuke didn’t take his slices and shovel them into his mouth. Nope not Sasuke Uchiha.

At dinner Sasuke was a model gentleman with exemplary table manners. Even with pizza Sasuke carefully wielded his knife and fork, as adeptly as he did his katana, making precise cuts in his slices before daintily lifting them with his fork. After every bite he subtly dabbed his mouth with his napkin before resuming. As always, he exuded an air of sophistication and class.

Sakura’s mind wandered once again and now mischievous thoughts penetrated her mind. She was curious about what else Sasuke could do so carefully, skillfully and efficiently with those hands of his.

As if him being a modern day Adonis wasn’t enough to get her going.

“Is something wrong, Sakura?” Sasuke stopped and abruptly asked Sakura, his eyes focused on her now. “Sakura?”

“Nope nothing. I...” Sakura squeaked as she waved her hands dismissively. She was such a dork.

Sakura you idiot.

“You’re looking at me, is something wrong?”

“Sorry it’s just... I’ve never seen anyone eat pizza with a knife and fork before. Ah...You’re table manners are remarkable.”

God she felt like such a weirdo. That’s it. Sakura was a stalker. A stalker, fangirl, who couldn’t stop staring at her boyfriend while he ate. She should be dumped.

“Hn.” Surprisingly, Sasuke was beaming, that characteristic Uchiha sideways smirk now adorning his perfectly chiseled face. “No need to apologize. I’m glad you think so highly of me... and that your eyes are on me.”

With that he winked at her and Sakura almost fell off her chair on the high that gave her. A blush of deep pink bloomed across her features and Sakura never resembled her namesake to such an extent before.

Without warning Sakura found herself bursting out into a fit of giggles. “Oh Sasuke you never fail to surprise me.”

She needed this, needed him. Her internship was hell so far and this crime wave was really eating away at her resolve and confidence. Recently, spending time with Sasuke seemed to be the only good thing in her life and the closer they became, the greater her yearning to make this last.

“Hn.” Sasuke smiled as he cleared finished his meal and carried both his and Sakura’s wares to the sink.

“You don’t have to...”

“Sakura. Yes I do. Thank you for the meal.”

“But I didn’t cook anything...”

“And?”

When Sakura just fell silent, without being asked he turned around and did the dishes. He really was a catch, Sakura thought. She was hopelessly in love with the perfect man. God and it was heaven.

“I got us dessert.” Sasuke said as he rinsed the last plate and toweled it off. “I put in in the fridge.”

“Oh Sasuke you didn’t have to.... Wow! Anmitsu! You got anmitsu!”

“I ah... I remembered you liked it and...”

Before Sasuke could get his sentence out Sakura grabbed his arm and led him to her couch. In her other hand she already had their two spoons, ready for dessert.

Now Sasuke was the one blushing and Sakura loved that she was the one who caused it.

“Put the dishrag down and let’s have this in the living room.”

“So where did you get it?” Sakura asked, minues later, as she took her first spoonful of syrupy, candied goodness. Huddling close together, they were both seated on the couch and Sakura was on top of the world. Sasuke was next to her, sharing her favorite dessert

She missed having anmitsu and eating this now made her think of her mother. Sasuke actually remembered that this was her favourite dessert. She didn’t think that he would, after all she just mentioned it casually months before.

“I’ve been looking for a good Eastern dessert place forever.”

“Yeah. Jugo found out about this place in the Southern district so I thought I’d get it for tonight.”

Putting her spoon down, Sakura leaned in and softly kissed Sasuke on his cheek. “Well. Thank you. You’re really sweet for doing this... Pun intended.”

“Ah yeah... Sakura...you’re welcome.” With half lidded eyes Sasuke dreamily looked at her as he responded.

Sakura could feel his adoration as he looked at her. He loved her and it showed and even though he never stated it, she knew it to be absolutely true. In this moment they were happy despite whatever hang ups they had as individuals and as a couple.

Minutes flew by and even though Sakura enjoyed snuggling against Sasuke, she was getting impatient and so too was Sasuke.

“Where the hell is that idiot?!” Sasuke barked as he put aside his bowl.

Sakura had already vacuumed up hers, naturally, and was enjoying leaning on him.

“I’ll call him. He’s really worrying me. He texted twenty minutes ago saying he would be here soon right?” Sakura sighed with her phone already in her hand.

“I hope he’s okay.”

“Tch. Knowing that baka, he probably got lost.”

“Sasuke you...” Before she could finish, her phone connected. “Oh Naruto hi. Where are you? You’re on speaker by the way.”

“Hi Sakura! I know I am running late. Some assholes were trying to rob a jewelry store earlier so I got held back. I am almost done with my patrol. Just a little longer.”

“Hn. Robbers took too much out of you, Naruto?” Sasuke was smirking as he jabbed Naruto which was the norm between them.

“Sasuke you!” And as usual Sasuke hit a nerve.

Sakura sighed. She wasn’t sure if she should laugh or be mad at this point. She was sure though that they needed to get back on track.

“Guys! Naruto, Sasuke and I found out that there’s a blessed one among them and he seems to be in the East Jonin District so we need a plan. Even though you’re in the West in you still be careful. Don’t rush into any of these dealers especially in crowds. No telling where that blessed one is.”

“Um Sakura?

“Yes?”

“I am in the East tonight.”

“What? Since when do you go off alone so far on mentor ship night?!” Sakura barked, sounding like the grumpy older sister she sometimes felt like when dealing with him.

God please.

“Sakura listen...”

“And you just now thought to tell us this, Naruto?” Sasuke cut in. From his tone, Sakura could tell that he was pissed off. Even Sasuke was worried.

Sakura could tell he was angry and she couldn’t blame him. Screw the hero crap. Super villains were deadly and if anything were to happen...

“Guys. Trust me. I am fine. Sakura I’ll be careful but...wow! These guys.... anyway as I was saying before that duck butt bastard jumped in...so far no sign of anything tonight but I got a lead myself on this drug problem. I’ll update you guys when we meet..”

“Duck butt?! You...”

“Okaybesafewe’rewaitingbye!”

Sakura interrupted and speedily ended the call before Sasuke could grab the phone.

“Tch. That idiot...”

Sasuke was fuming at this point but Sakura couldn’t resist and before she knew it she burst out into a fit of giggles.

Thank God they’re both fine.

“Sakura!” Sasuke was glaring at her now. “Are you laughing?!”

“Aha oh sorry Sasuke...it’s just...”

“What?” Sasuke asked, clearly trying to ignore her incessant giggling.

“It’s just... you two.... and...”

“I can’t believe you agree and are taking his side!”

“Sasuke, there’s no sides.” Sakura finally calmed down and pulled Sasuke into a hug. “Come here.”

He was unwilling but relented as she drew him in. He was pouting and Sakura loved it. Sakura sat upright and coaxed him to spread out on the couch, his head resting in her lap.

Gently, before he could resume his ranting, Sakura did what she knew would get him. What always got to him.

She ran her fingers through his hair, playing with his strands of jet black hair and massaging his scalp as she did so.

“I love your hair.” Sakura whispered as she continued combing through Sasuke’s hair softly. “It’s one of my favorite things about you, so spiky and cute.”

“Hn.” Sasuke breathed out. His eyes were closed now as he relaxed in her lap. “Cute?”

“Yes, Sasuke,” Sakura bent down as she spoke. “Cute.”

Then, she kissed him.

The kiss started off as Sakura gently brushing his lips but when that connection was made, Sakura found herself yearning for more. What started off gently transformed into a wildfire soon she found herself slipping her tongue between his lips.

Sasuke seemed to feel the same way. He kissed her back just as passionately and powerfully and brought her closer, pressing her lips tighter onto his with his right arm. Having him kiss her like that, with his tongue entering her as he groaned into her, him teasingly biting her lower lip and tongue, set her ablaze.

Suddenly, she found herself wanting more, that warmth in her inner thigh demanding so much more than a kiss.

Sasuke was the one to break off the kiss. Again Sakura could sense a hesitation reigning him in and stopping him from giving himself to her fully. It wasn’t even about the prospect of sex. Just kissing and hugging seemed to get too much for him at times and for the umpteenth time tonight, she found herself wondering about him and what secrets he was hiding from her.

He’ll tell you in time, Sakura. Act normal. Don’t force anything.

The little voice that chimed in her mind was right, Sakura concluded. Sasuke was special and he deserved her complete understanding. As much as she wanted to start this conversation she couldn’t afford to do so now, before Naruto got here and while in the midst of such a crisis. Holding back was logical. It was right as they were, after all heroes. Though part of her knew that this was bullshit. Part of her secretly dreaded finding out.

“So uh... better, Sasuke?” Sakura put on her brightest smile when she spoke. “Or do you still have doubts.”

“Ah... yeah.” Sasuke blushed, his complexion reddening. As he sat up Sakura saw faint reddening of his lips from all the kissing and nibbling she did and was pretty sure hers matched.

“Ugh. Rain!” Sakura exclaimed. Now, icy bucketfuls pressed down and began nailing her roof, unleashing a bitter chill on the couple. “Sasuke do you mind, my fire’s almost...”

“Ah.” Before she could finish asking, Sasuke extended his index finger and launched a fireball into her fireplace, reigniting her the fire to ward off the cold.

“Thank you.” Sakura groaned. She was pulling her wool blanket over them both before snuggling against Sasuke. “Much better.”

Sakura, true to her namesake, despised the cold, luckily though, between Sasuke’s flames and his warm and comforting body, Sakura was warm. As they lay before the fire waiting forever for Naruto, Sakura felt safe.

She felt protected.

All in all, Sakura was relieved to have something to talk about outside of their cases with Sasuke. While they waited for Naruto, bundled up in Sakura’s living room, Sakura found herself enjoying Sasuke’s company. Real quality time as a couple.

This is what she craved.

Chatting, Sakura told him about the new surgeon, Dr. Chiyo, giving all of the interns a hard time and laughed when Sasuke asked her if she was reporting her. Sakura didn’t feel it was that serious, the bullying, but thought that Sasuke’s outrage was adorable. What did she ever do to get a boyfriend like him?

Though, under all of the warmth they shared tonight, Sakura still felt a chill, a strong sense of foreboding. The issue? She didn’t know if this was about their case or their relationship.

Sasuke talked about his day, new projects he was working on and how his estate was fairing. Sakura recently helped him redecorate and made Jugo switch to her brand of fabric softener, and even though she questioned if she was being too pushy a girlfriend, she took comfort in the happiness plastered on Sasuke’s face every time she butted in.

Loneliness crippled him, this she knew but would never say it aloud to him, so whatever she could do; whenever she could care for him she’d give it her all. After all, this man was hers. He had her heart.

He seemed okay on the surface but Sakura knew better. He couldn’t hide much from her. Earlier she noticed it as well, when she hugged him and later when she grabbed his hands suddenly. He even broke of their kiss minutes ago and Sakura swore she saw a slash of panic flicker on his face. It’s like he just zoned out. He didn’t seem angry though, just distracted, scared even.

“There’s also this new company trying to compete with us, grab our tenders for themselves... Sirocco Development. Tch. Well they’re trying to compete with us.”

Sasuke was smirking as he spoke and a powerful fire seemed to blaze in his eyes. Needless to say, Sakura found it insanely sexy. Sasuke, the cut throat businessman talking about crushing his competition and donning that almost sinister expression on his face... So hot.

“Wow. Never heard of them but then again, this is all so alien to me,” Sakura remarked still snug against her boyfriend as Sasuke’s roaring, titian, flame flickered in her fireplace.

“It’s a new company but there seems to be old money in the family.” Sasuke reported, his chin resting on top of Sakura’s head. “Don’t worry though. I am more than well equipped to stave off Sirocco and their young, hotshot C.E.O.”

“I know you are,” Sakura offered with her sunny smile now looking up and facing Sasuke. “You’re the best at what you do after all. You’re a blessing to your family, Sasuke.”

“Sakura...” Sasuke whispered looking down at Sakura. Their eyes met and his emotions were clear to Sakura in that moment.

Sasuke’s pained expression is what did it. Sakura could see how torn he was. It was is if he was holding himself back for some reason. Every time they shared a moment or he himself seemed happy something seemed to freeze him and prod him into being upset and distant again.

She had no intention of bringing up what she’d noticed but nestled in Sasuke’s arms, feeling his warmth and seeing how desperately he tried to enjoy the moment, it was too much. She had to say something. She had to help him.

“Sasuke, I know something is bothering you...”

At this Sasuke shot to attention with a brief expression of surprise flashing across his face before he composed himself in true Sasuke fashion. Now staring into Sakura’s eyes with furrowed brows and slightly parted lips, the young Uchiha seemed at a loss for words while he focused only on Sakura.

“Sakura I...”

“I’m not forcing you to open up to me but I can see that you’re upset. Just know that I am here and can help. Whatever you need I’m right here, okay?”

Sure she couldn’t force it out of him but Sakura hoped that at least letting him know that she knew he was upset and was ready to lend an ear to listen and help him would ease him into revealing his secret. It’s the best she could do at the moment. She just hoped that it was enough.

Sasuke simply gazed at her with an expression of bewilderment and awe painted across his perfect features. This proceeded for a few seconds and finally, when silence was beginning to seem unbearable, Sakura decided to speak again.

“I...”

And that was when he kissed her.

Sasuke’s kiss was urgent and Sakura melted in his arms at the feel of his soft lips meeting hers. He kissed her hungrily and instantly, a dizzying lightness washed over her. Sakura could feel the softness and warmth of Sasuke’s mouth as he took control and slipped his tongue in. He was hungry for her and she felt it.

Indeed, she felt it in so many ways.

As he flipped her over on the couch and rested on top of her, never breaking their kiss, Sakura felt his rock hard erection brush against her stomach. He was aroused and now so was she as a warmth pooled in her inner thigh in eager anticipation of what was to come.

In the sweetness and passion of the moment Sakura disregarded their conversation and gave into to her lust and desire. It was wrong and she knew it but God, she couldn’t stop.

She didn’t want to stop.

Sasuke wasn’t thinking. It was as if his body moved on its own. All night he’d been fighting his urges, his desires when it came to Sakura. If he was being honest with himself he really was fighting this way before tonight. Even he couldn’t stay strong any longer.

Despite him pulling away, shifting away and trying and failing to separate himself from her, as he didn’t outright leave her presence, he was still weak. So fucking weak.

That’s why when she called him out on his distance, his zoning out and offered her support in such a caring and selfless manner, Sasuke caved. She was too damned loving and Sasuke just had to have her.

When he moved in and kissed Sakura, all he could feel was utter adoration, reverence and lust. God he wanted her so bad. He needed her: her warmth, her love, everything. Sasuke wanted her heated, sweaty and gasping under him while they made love.

He yearned to finally consummate this love and shower her with all the worship and pleasure she more than deserved. He wanted her wet, liquid and he’d give anything to taste her, her honey- like sweetness upon his desperate lips. All he could think about was making love to her tonight, to finally be inside her while he pumped into her until they both came and marked each other was their own.

Sakura was in love with him. This is what she wanted and damn it this is what he wanted too. Living in the now. This is what he decided earlier.

After all, his ‘curse’ or whatever the hell it was wasn’t a surety was it? He’d already lost Itachi and his parents yeah but that wouldn’t happen to Sakura or Naruto would it? Regardless, in this moment and in this place none of that registered for long. Only him and Sakura were present and was she ever present right now.

Who the hell cared about his hang ups? He promised himself and Itachi that he’d enjoy life and that what he was going to do now. Fuck whatever curse or paranoia that was holding him back.

It was all in his head anyway wasn’t it?

Sakura kissed him as ravenously and desperately as he had kissed her, slipping her tongue between his lips and exploring him herself. In a flash Sasuke felt his shirt rip open as he himself pulled off her shorts and tossed them. Her t shirt was soon to follow and when he saw her in her white lace he almost came right there.

Moving downward his tongue kissed and sucked at her neck, her collarbone and then her shoulders while she grabbed onto his hair.

He then freed her breasts.

“Fuck... Sakura... Let me....”

Sakura was divine. Sasuke couldn’t fathom what he was doing, saying. When he saw the creamy swells of her breasts all he could do was rip off her bra to reveal her tight, pink nipples. He had to touch them, taste them.

And so he did.

“Sasuke!”

In an instant Sasuke took them into his mouth and suckled, one by one, making sure to work the other with his fingers as he lapped at her breasts. He flicked his tongue playfully over her nipples as she moaned, shuddered and gripped his shoulders forcefully.

He loved it.

Still tasting her breast, his fingers soon took a different route. Downwards. Rubbing against the delicate lace of her panties Sasuke felt her heat and moisture soaking through. She was drenched. He had to taste her.

“Sasukeeeh... please... touch me...” Sakura, as if reading his mind, moaned as she threw her head back over the sofa’s arm in her drunken pleasure.

At this Sasuke felt his erection double in size threatening to burst out of his pants. He had to hurry before he came too early. Sakura could do that to him, he was sure. She was driving him mad.

“You’re so fucking beautiful...” He whispered then slid one, finger beneath her panties, probing her most sensitive area.

“Open your legs more... yeah...”

“Aaaah...”

“Sakura you’re so warm....”

“Sasukeeeh...” She whispered and gasped while Sasuke touched her, her nails digging into his shoulders. He was near the edge of orgasm himself. Before long her orgasm kicked and Sasuke basked in her beauty.

“Ah!”

“Fuck Sakura...”

Abruptly he stopped and gazed into her eyes. Beads of sweat stippled her flushed complexion and as she dreamily stared back, Sasuke brought his glistening fingers to his mouth sucked her remnants, the ambrosia from his fingers. He sealed his eyes and swallowed as he did so.

“You taste...amazing.”

Did she ever. Like honey.

“Sasuke!” Sakura moaned before she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a kiss. Soon after, as they kissed Sasuke felt her gripping his buckle. “I want you inside me.”

“Sakura...” Sasuke groaned out, now undoing his pants himself as he loomed over her. He was ready. They were going to make love tonight. Finally.

“Sasuke... I love you.” Sakura was dazed and smiled at him with dreamy eyes as she spoke and fuschia strands spilling over the couch.

I love you.

“Shit!” In a flash Sasuke, drew back from between her legs and off of the couch. His pants were still on.

“Sasuke what’s wrong?!” Sakura exclaimed. She was sitting up now looking at Sasuke with worry and fear lighting her eyes.

Sasuke looked at her and felt a pang of self hatred ring within him. He didn’t mean to take things so far. He didn’t mean to hurt her.

Fuck.

“I... I can’t do this, Sakura.” His eyes never left hers as he spoke. Sasuke hopped he didn’t break before her gaze. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Sasuke. Please talk to me. What’s the matter? You look terrified.” Sakura’s voice was gentle as always and somehow that just made this whole situation worse. That and the fact that she was coming closer and reaching for him. “Come sit.”

“No!” Sasuke shouted, stepping back and pulling his arm away from her reach. He didn’t mean to raise his voice and he really wasn’t yelling at her. No, he was shouting at himself, at this whole damn situation.

Sakura jerked back in reaction and he hated himself even more for putting that expression of pain and shock on her face. He upset her. Her was ruining her. Quickly, he moved in closer in an attempt to remedy this.

“Sakura, I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you. It’s not you.”

“Hm.” Sakura smiled bitingly as she faced him. Now she was the one moving back. “Sasuke if you don’t want this relations...”

“What?” Sasuke couldn’t believe it. Seeing Sakura smile as she said it froze him in place. What was she getting at? Of course he had feelings for her. Was she doubting him. Had she been doubting them?

“I’ve known something was off. Sasuke it’s okay. I don’t doubt you have feelings for me. You just can’t give yourself to me fully. You have issues. I get it.”

She hurriedly started gathering her clothes and re-dressed herself. She tossed Sasuke his shirt as well.

“Sakura... Don’t...” Sasuke knew he had to do something to at least ease her some way. “Listen. It’s not you...”

“Stop.” Sakura held her palm out at him, halting him in place and shutting him up.

That was unlike her.

“Sakura listen to...”

“Oh God. Naruto!”

This was the most humiliating moment of her life. How could she have been so stupid?

When Sasuke kissed her, all of her resolve and strength of mind dissipated. His soft lips, his firm yet gentle hold and his good looks messed with her mind. She was in love and from the spark he started tonight, a wildfire erupted. One she did nothing to extinguish.

Did she really let Sasuke touch her like that? It was magical and sent her into a frenzy, sure. But it should not have happened.

Sakura knew fully well that Sasuke wasn’t ready. Heck she wasn’t even sure if she was ready herself but despite this, she allowed her emotions and lust to run wild.

Did she love him? Of course she did. Did she want to have sex right now? Yes. As confusing as it was, as unsure as she was, when she really, truly thought about it, losing her virginity now to Sasuke was something she wanted. She would welcome it wholeheartedly.

The very thought of being able to give herself fully to him, to connect with him on such a level and to reach him in a way no one else could, well, it set her heart a flutter. As cliche and teen-like it sounded, it was the truth. This was Sakura’s truth.

Her problem? Even if Sasuke did follow through, it would have been wrong. Empty sex. The love between them would mean nothing if Sasuke had even a sliver of doubt swirling around in his mind. And though Sakura wouldn’t consider it her taking advantage of him since he initiated it, she would blame herself for not stopping him and giving in herself.

Sasuke was not ready and worse yet, this incident just turned on a lamp, so to speak, and confirmed what she feared. This relationship was not stable. It was not complete. And without a foundation nothing can stand.

Indeed, until Sasuke dealt with his own demons, until he opened up to her and accepted her and his own desires and feelings completely and without diffidence, this relationship was empty.

She didn’t have time to dwell on their relationship issues however. As Sasuke tried to explain himself following his outburst which, Sakura couldn’t lie, shocked her, a more pressing crisis loomed.

She had no idea how Sasuke couldn’t hear it. Maybe because of his state or the fact that he was talking but as he spoke Sakura heard uneven breaths and chaotic footsteps at her door. Naruto was injured.

Soon after she exclaimed a thundering crash echoed while Sakura, with Sasuke close behind, were already racing to the porch.

“No. Naruto....” Sakura felt the breath leave her body when she opened her front door. She’d slipped on her clothes while running and from the corner of her eye she could see Sasuke already buttoned up too.

“Shit. Naruto.” Sasuke was peering over her in the frame at Naruto’s splayed body on the ground.

Composing herself, she let her doctor side take control and briskly rushed towards Naruto.

“Hi...Sakura...” Naruto whimpered. He was barely audible.

“Shush. Let me check it out.” Sakura commanded as she carefully inspected him. His wounds were serious but Sakura surmised that they were not life threatening, for now.

A gun shot wound clean through his shoulder caught Sakura’s eye first and from what she could tell he had broken his left foot severely. It twisted at an unnatural angle and stuck there even when he fidgeted. He seemed to have broken his right wrist as well but Sakura determined that this was the least of his worries at the moment. His shoulder wound bled profusely.

“Okay. Sasuke we can move him. He’s losing blood but I’ll apply pressure till inside.”

“Yeah.”

With that Sakura and Sasuke carried him gently to her couch. Naruto’s situation seemed to melt away the coldness that was setting in between them minutes prior. For now it was pushed to the side.

“Ah! It freaking hurts.”

“Shush. I told you. It’ll be fine.”

“Sasuke hold him down. I need to reset these bones before I heal him.” If I use my powers before the bones might heal and stay warped like that. If it were to extract a bullet or the like Sakura wagered that she could manage the extraction with the little control of the green flame she had, no tools or prodding necessary. But resetting bones? She wouldn’t dare take the chance.

“Hn.” Sasuke responded while pressing down on Naruto’s uninjured shoulder and pressing down on his wound.

“One. Two. Three.”

“Aaaaaaaah! Shit!”

Naruto was wailing now. His voice temporarily returning, bursting through due to his pain. Sakura had twisted his foot back into place and was grasping his wrist.

“Shhhhhhhit!”

His wrist was next.

“Man up Naruto.”

“You...”

“Naruto. Shush!” Sakura yelled. “I need to concentrate. That delay already screwed us a lot.”

In an instant she tore open Naruto’s jacket, removed his Kevlar vest and gently caressed his wound with both hands, now lit aflame with a vibrant, green power. From her forehead mark intricate ribbons of violet sprung forth and weaved and wrapped around her arms, face and legs.

This was Sakura’s second power: the power to heal others through sharing her own regenerative abilities. With the release of her mark, Sakura, in exchange for being confined to where she stood, overflowed with power. This was more power than she usually controlled and a power that she could apparently share with others she touched in the form of her green flame of healing. The result was her own super human healing being shared and transferred to her patient and now it was Naruto’s turn.

“Their aim, they shot you exactly where you weren’t protected with your Kevlar...” Sakura’s words were but a whisper as she focussed with hawk like accuracy on her patient.

“Sakuraaa...” Naruto moaned. His eyes were shut and his grimace was now morphing into a more peaceful expression. “Thank yoooou...”

The energy coating Sakura’s palms was taking effect. Gradually his wound was sealing up and other bruises on his body.

Seconds later, she was finished.

“Phew.” Sakura exhaled as she collapsed on the ground at the side of the couch. “Good as new!”

“Sakura. You’re okay right?”

Sasuke was standing over her. He always showed concerned when she healed them. Sakura assumed it had something to do with her exerting herself healing him on the night they fought Kabuto and, despite her assuring him that her state was due to her being weakened from the fight, he still looked worried whenever she released her bindi to heal.

She felt the warmth of his palm brace her back as she leaned into the coffee table. Despite their problems before, Sasuke still cared. Of course they’d get over this.

She was sure of it.

“Ah. Yes. Thank you Sasuke.” Sakura shot a glance back and saw worry coupled with frustration reflected from Sasuke’s features. She hurriedly dropped her eyes and turned back in an instant to face Naruto.

Too soon.

“Naruto!”

As she turned to face him, she was relieved to see his blond head shoot up from the couch. Naruto was back.

“Wow Sakura chan. I feel as good as new! Thanks again!” Naruto’s voice was peppered with cheer and light as usual and even amongst this chilly night and the tension in the room between Sasuke and Sakura, his warmth thrived.

“I was able to restore you one hundred percent. Regen and blood building too. Ah..basically It’s as if you never got hurt tonight,” Sakura explained. She was carefully rising up to take up a seat next to Naruto on the couch.

“Oh I see. You’re amazing, Sakura chan!”

Naruto’s outburst was refreshing and welcomed and Sakura loved him for it. He really was the light in their little trio. So helpful and cheery.

“What the hell happened to you, Naruto?” Sasuke demanded. He remained standing.

He was focusing on the issue at hand and Sakura knew she had to do the same.

“Yeah, Naruto what exactly did happen to you? Was this the thieves’ doing?”

“It’s a long story.”

“We’ve got time. Start talking.” Sasuke’s stared narrowed.

He may have come across as outraged and impatient but Sakura knew better and she was pretty sure Naruto saw through it as well. Beneath his flaming rage (pun intended) Sakura could see that he was terrified. Sasuke almost lost Naruto, in his mind, and he needed answers. He wanted, no, he needed to find whoever did this to his friend.

It was a sentiment she understood for Sakura felt the same.

“Konohamaru, one of the kids I mentor, well we had a session at night at the center. I was packing up when I heard him and his friends talking about getting high just once...East Jonin”

“Hn. So that’s why you were patrolling there, Naruto without telling us.”

“I didn’t think it was a big deal. I was just going to spy. I interrupted that heist while following those kids actually but I found them.”

“You could of told us Naruto. Why didn’t you tell Sasuke and I anything?”

“I... I didn’t think it would be an issue. I was just tailing them.”

“Honestly! You are so much trouble sometimes.”

“Ah Sakura chan.... anyway I didn’t see anyone in any event.”

“ I don’t doubt your strength but we need more info on the blessed one and you tonight... this!” Sakura was facing Naruto and squeezing her throw pillow against her chest. She couldn’t even put together the words to express how dire this situation was.

“She’s right. You jumped in like an idiot and got beat up, didn’t you?” Sasuke’s brows furrowed.

“You...”

“Okay Naruto. Continue your story.” Sakura’s voice was calm and soft once more. She need to calm down and not be such a rookie.

“Go on.”

“The thing is I didn’t confront any group. Konohamaru and his friends went to some White Sun fortune telling place and popped in then popped out. It’s near those clubs in the Sarutobi Precinct in the East. They didn’t hit any club or meet anyone in the street.”

“The drugs?” Sakura already had samples but one could never be too careful. She welcomed as many drug samples as she could get.

“Oh yeah I caught them, called their parents and grabbed it for us. I didn’t give the cops anything. I would have done it sooner had that damn robbery not sidetracked me.”

Naruto dug into his pocket and pulled out a minute plastic resealable bag then placed it gently in Sakura’s palms.

“Here, Sakura.”

“Thank you.”

As Naruto continued to relate what went had happened Sakura felt the bile in her stomach rise. The reality of what happened hammered into her as her friend spoke. This was a crisis.

Following the kids he saw a robbery in progress and was sidetracked for a while but apparently he still caught them when they entered the store thanks to a tracker her planted on Konohamaru.

He waited until they left and walked a bit before catching them and when they didn’t tell him anything more than some guy sold it to them in the store, Naruto decided to investigate it himself.

After sending off those teens, he sneaked into the fortune telling store but found no one there. Sakura wondered if someone saw him deal with Konohamaru and took off but from what Naruto said, no one was around. There was no way anyone could have seen him that far off. The whole thing was strange.

But before Sakura could ponder on that she was alarmed at what Naruto said next. This was when he spoke of his injuries and how the strongest hero in the city, apart from Sasuke, was taken out.

“The place was clean so I headed behind to the alley to see if I found anyone there.”

“Did you?” Sasuke’s eyebrows raised in anticipation. Sakura could sense his anxiety. He wanted answers. He wanted to hunt. “Is that where they cornered you?”

“No one cornered me! That’s the thing. No one was there. I mean yeah the rain started to pour down but I checked everything. Nothing was there, well I saw nothing.”

“So then how did you get hurt Naruto?” Sakura felt like she could rip her pillow now. This wasn’t right.

“It was when I was leaving. I started up to the roof when suddenly I felt a tingle, something brushed my back. Like vapor rub but more intense.... The next thing I knew I lost my balance and felt weak. I nearly fainted. For a second I couldn’t move. And that’s when it happened. I was shot....”

“Oh no.”

“Hn.”

“Thank God for all that rain. With all that water I was able to block off the alley and surf my ass out of there as soon as I got up from the fall. It’s also how I managed to get here as fast as I did.”

“And you’re telling me you still didn’t see anyone? After all that? What the hell Naruto!” Sasuke was seething and moved towards the both of them as he spoke. “How the hell could you...”

“I told you I didn’t see anything, bastard! Are you saying I was goofing off?”

“Guys stop it!” Sakura was screaming at this point as she stood up. Her pillow was tossed on the floor.

“Sasuke leave him alone. Naruto you calm down.” With a sigh her tone softened.

“Listen I know how frustrated we all are...” Sakura was looking at Sasuke as she spoke.

“But the last thing we need is fighting. Don’t worry Sasuke, we’ll get them. Naruto is safe and that’s all that matters.”

“Sakura... tch. Whatever. We just need to stop them.”

“And we will. From what Naruto described, the paralysis and weakness... I have no doubt that this is our blessed one.”

“Sakura...” Now Naruto was standing too. “Now what should we do, guys? How do I get these bastards back?!”

“Hn. I think you mean how do we get them. We’ve seen what happens when you’re left on your own.”

“You...”

“Anyway boys, we need to decide what we’re doing and when. Tomorrow night?”

“Sounds good to me!”

“Hn. We meet here at six thirty tomorrow night. Problems, Naruto?”

“No boss.” Naruto mocked. He stuck out his tongue for added effect. “No problem at all.”

Sasuke ignored him and Sakura thought she knew why. He was staring at her. One problem was solved so now their own personal issue was rearing it’s head again. Great.

Shannaro! Why me?

“I’m leaving.” Sasuke announced nonchalantly to no one in particular. Then he simply walked off.

“Naruto it’s late. You can spend the night here. I’ll fill you in on everything. Um.. I’ll be back!” Sakura ran towards the door following Sasuke right then.

“Oh thanks Sa...”

Sakura didn’t hear the rest. She was already out the room and rushing to the door.

Sasuke was leaving like nothing happened. Apart from Naruto’s incident they had their own issue tonight. Sure it was trivial comparing your boyfriend almost accidentally and unwillingly eating you out to almost being killed but whatever. Against all better judgement and her own promise to give the guy space and understanding Sakura needed to see him off. She needed for him to say something. Anything.

“Sasuke wait!”

Sakura caught him as he opened her front door.

“Sakura?” Sasuke didn’t expect her. She could tell from his brief expression of surprise. Maybe he thought she was too embarrassed? “What are you...”

“Sasuke listen.”

“I have nothing to say. Sorry for all the trouble. I have to go now. Jugo will be here soon.”

“I know it’s just...”

“I said leave it, Sakura,” Sasuke scoffed pointedly.

His words were ice cold and cut bitterly into Sakura’s very being. The pain she felt was not from any anger but rather from the apparent pain, exhaustion and confusion that spiked each word.

His expression, one of regret and submission to whatever plagued him, covered his usually handsome and alluring features. His usually mischievous smirk that Sakura dreamed about was erased, only to be replaced with a scowl. And his eyes... Sasuke’s eyes were no longer velvety black like a moonless night, mysterious and bewitching , no, with furrowed brows his eyes were now clouded yet empty, blackened yet weak.

He was in turmoil and Sakura helped put him there didn’t she?

That’s what did it. Sakura didn’t know what came over her. She lost herself, lost her resolve in that moment. Sasuke’s cold expression and the pain in his eyes piercing through with his chilling tone of voice...It haunted her.

She had to say something. She didn’t care that she was now staring into his eyes with tears pooling in her own. She didn’t care if she was being emotional or ‘feminine’ or whatever the hell women are told they shouldn’t be. She had to be true to herself and say what was on her mind or else.

That’s when she blurted it out without restraint or regret.

“You never say it do you? You never say ‘I love you’... You don’t want this, us and I’m sorry I did this to you.”

“Sakura what... You...No...”

He was clearly at a loss for words. In an instant a myriad of expressions passed over him, cracking his cold facade. His brows raised and Sakura could see a kindle of emotion, real passionate, fiery emotion twinkle in his eyes. Pursing his lips, Sasuke seemed thrown off, so unlike his usual aspect.

Sakura had broken open a path into something. Her issue, however, was that she had no idea where this now led.

“I’m leaving.” Sasuke breathed then turned around. He struggled to regain his demeanor, this was apparent to Sakura but that failed to hamper him. He never looked back, not even a quiver of movement on his part.

The door was then shut.

“I’m sorry Sasuke but we cannot move forward unless you are ready.” Sakura, now alone, whispered to herself. She was on the verge of stuttering.

“I am so so sorry.”

The following day slipped by, for the most part, uneventful. After leaving Sakura’s totally ashamed and even more frustrated than before, Sasuke stayed up all night. By the time he finally dozed off it was three in the morning. Sasuke has to wake up at six.

Nothing really noteworthy occurred during his day. Work was fine and Uchiha Inc. was functioning as usual i.e. at optimum efficiency. Sasuke’s meetings were manageable, the reports were favorable and they even managed to secure quite a lucrative tender from the city: The Yamanaka Botanical Gardens.

Clearly, even with the high level of competition, The Uchiha remained on top. Though Sasuke still looked carefully at Sirocco Development Company. Word had reached Sasuke that their C.E.O. was engaging in some ‘less than noble’ activities to secure tenders. No telling what kind of tricks they’d resort to.

Indeed, his work life was running smoothly and with their planned stakeout scheduled for tonight, Sasuke was confident of success in that facet of his life too. His only real problem, it seemed, remained to be Sakura.

He was such an idiot. Sasuke couldn’t believe that he lost control of himself and let things spiral out of control like that. How could he, Sasuke Uchiha, act with such carelessness and disregard for the consequences? Kissing wasn’t new to him but what happened after was the real problem. He was this close to...

Shit.

Not that he didn’t want to. Though it’s precisely because he wanted her so bad that this was an issue. What would happen after the had sex? They were already inseparable now much less for when they would take their relationship to another level.

The image of Sakura’s sadness and worry haunted him all day and he knew to himself that even when handling his affairs, Sakura was with him, her pain, her concern, her words.

“You never say it. You never say ‘I love you’...”

Those verdant green eyes, moist with tears cut like shards of glass into his very soul as she spoke those words to him. All he could do was leave abruptly.

In an instant, his guilt transformed into anger and in his blind rage Sasuke sharply threw out his hands, knocking his files clean off his desk while he scowled. His breathing was heavy and chaotic and sweat began to form on his brow.

Of course he loved her. How could she ever doubt it? Sakura was precious to him and he’d do anything to protect her. Protecting her was how he showed his love... and it’s not like he never told her how talented she was; how skilled how beautiful; how much he loved spending time with her or how he would always be there for her.

Yeah but you never told her, ‘I love you’, idiot. You never let her feel, truly feel loved.

“Fuck.”

Without even noticing, he’d set the contents of his waste paper basket on fire. Cutting his thoughts short, Sasuke quickly negated the fire. No need for the smoke alarm and sprinklers to go off.

Breathing in deeply, Sasuke calmed himself. He had to control his emotions, especially in the office. He would not dishonor his family and their legacy. When his vibrant scarlet irises dimmed and returned to their natural, velvety black, Sasuke left his spot: peering into the top floor’s windows at his own, pitiful reflection and returned to his desk.

What? Sakura?

While he was freaking out, Sakura had apparently texted him. She probably didn’t feel comfortable calling or facetiming as she usually would.

Great job, Sasuke. Tch.

Sakura’s message struck him stupid. Sasuke was awestruck as he read her it:

Sasuke, how are you? Have you eaten?

Listen, I know you might need some space but know that I am here for you and I am not upset. I would never want to force you to do anything you don’t want to and please don’t feel guilty.

I know with all my heart that you do love me even if you have trouble dealing with all this. I trust you and you must know that I am in love with you. I don’t have to have sex anytime soon and you don’t have to make some grand confession. You have me, Sasuke Uchiha, you don’t have to prove anything to me.

Even apart you have me in your corner.

I love you with all my heart and that’s precisely why I support you and always will regardless of what.

Love is about supporting and caring and loving is wanting what’s best and I want what’s best for you. Just know that I am here. Can’t wait to meet you tonight for the mission. Take care until then.

<3 <3 <3

“Hn.” In the privacy of his office Sasuke found himself smiling tenderly as he read and re-read her message. Sakura and her damned complete sentences. His smile wasn’t one of happiness however.

Sakura was right.

To love is to want what’s best, and that’s precisely why he needed to end this. After this mission he was going to break up with her.

All day she’d been dreading this. Despite her text, Sakura really wasn’t all that sure or secure. Facing Sasuke, even with a life threatening mission commencing, still unsettled her. She really was a rookie wasn’t she?

At this point, looking back at her day: dealing with Dr. Chiyo’s bitchiness, working through lunch because of that bus accident and then having to deal with Ino’s tantrums, Sakura felt that it truly wasn’t all that bad after all. Scratch that, her new supermodel friend’s ranting and raving about some Shikamaru guy and how tough her glamorous life was, still sucked.

Sasuke was quiet when he arrived with Naruto at her house, which she realized was chosen as their meeting spot because it didn’t stand out and was closest to the East. However the awkardness still remained.

As the vibrant lights that stippled the landscape of the city, now alive at night, streaked by, Sakura found herself sitting silently in the Humvee’s back seat. Her jaw was propped on her right hand which was braced against the window. As she peered at the outside world, the world they fought to protect, Sakura’s mind wandered.

How lucky they are, she thought to herself as images of other, normal people reveling and carrying about normal and healthy lives flashed before her. For a few minutes Sakura realised that she actually felt a pang of envy for those citizens, who’d never have to deal with balancing personal issues, a job and life as a full time hero or in this case, heroine.

Her only other form of distraction from her turmoil, at this moment, was her attempt at reflecting on her day and Ino and her drama while they sped through the streets of Leaf City. She definitely was not going to think about their mission against someone who could do that to Naruto, anymore than she needed to. Their plan was solid and worrying decreases success rate so that was a no.

I wonder what Ino would think if she knew I used to dress like her as a civilian just a few months ago?

Since Haruno’s debut, the heroine garnered a huge fan following, especially from girls so it wasn’t a surprise to Sakura that short, pink hair became Leaf City’s hottest fashion trend. It was still so strange to her but hey, at least she could wear her natural look all the time now, well mostly natural, if you exclude the oil based concealer still covering her bindi -birthmark.

Who’s the fashion icon now, Ino?!

“That okay, Sakura?”

“Uh what!” Sakura squeaked, her tone a clear give away of her shock and lack of focus.

It was Naruto who asked something from the front passenger seat and was now staring at her with a confused expression.

“Um are you okay?”

“Oh yeah fine. Fine. Sorry I zoned out for a bit.” Sakura apologised, avoiding looking at Sasuke in the mirror. She could feel him staring at her from his mirror. “Long day.”

“Phew. Must be tough being a doctor and a superhero. Anyway, I was asking if we should park a few blocks away and try to scope out the area,” Naruto explained. His cerulean eyes were now hard and focused as they always were on a mission. “Someone was watching me from a distance. I’m sure of it!”

Get your own head in the game, Sakura. Or you’ll be chasing their backs forever.

“I think that’s a good idea. Sasuke?” Her voice was meek but this time she made contact with him via the rear view mirror. His met hers and Sakura could see his regret reflected on those eyes. He was trying. Trying so hard to act normal and regain what they lost. That was evident.

“I told him that made sense... which was a surprise.” Sasuke teased, with a small smirk, his signature. He really was beginning to act more like his old self apparently and Sakura was so grateful for that.

“Bastard!”

She’d never been so happy to hear them argue before.

Thank you.

“You guys we’re just past the line of clubs. We should be there in five.”

“Oh yeah.You’re right Sakura. This area is dead this late but we should still keep our eyes peeled.”

“Hn. It’s smart when you think about it. All this time everyone searched nightclubs and the other usual places but these dealers have been operating from a fortune telling shop of all places.”

“I agree. Close enough to the nightclub scene for customers but far away enough and inconspicuous enough to avoid detection. Shannaro! It’s ingenious! If it weren’t for Naruto knowing all those teens we’d never have guessed.”

God, discussing the case like this, matching wits with him... this was normal, this was safe and Sakura’s mood lightened.

“Something is off...” Sasuke suddenly asserted. “Why ‘White Sun’ and why a fortune telling shop? We still need more info.” Sasuke’s expression; his clenched jaw gave away his deep concentration.

“Eh those guys must be freaks. Up their own asses. What say you Sakura?”

“Well I wouldn’t put it like that, Naruto.” Sakura laughed nervously. “But...hm... You might be on to something...it could be linked to their M.O. These people are obviously not typical criminals or super villains as the case may be. This could be reflecting how they view themselves. Self -aggrandisement: maybe they think they are imparters of wisdom, shedding light or something for others to come to them.”

“Wow Sakura I didn’t know you dabbled in psychology.”

“Heh heh. I just did a few compulsory courses in university but um... this was just me babbling cause I watch a lot of crime dramas when I get home from missions.”

“What? Ahahahaha!” Naruto roared. Naruto’s loud and cheery laughter echoed throughout the Humvee and Sakura found herself grinning along with him.

Even Sasuke seemed to crack a smile up front which her all the more happy. This was her new family and she knew Sasuke cherished both her and Naruto in the same way. This was good for him. For them.

She couldn’t believe, despite this being a mission, that such tragedy would later befall them. Fate truly was unpredictable for minutes later, their trials for the night had officially begun.

What’s that sound?

“Guys are you hearing a buzz...”

“Fuck! Sasuke watch out!”

“Sasuke!”

“Brace!...”

If Sasuke could rewind time he’d much prefer to stay at Sakura’s house and endure that troublesome tension between them; the deafening silence and forced conversation, he hoped Naruto didn’t pick up on.

Sure he put on his best face and tried to act normally around her but all he could summon was talk about the mission and directions. Yup normal couple talk.

Tch.

Despite his disciplined upbringing and his resolve to act normally: get in, get out then break up with her after, he still flaked. Sasuke still allowed a sliver of discomfort, a thread of emotional baggage to weave its way into his mind and heart tonight. Yet still, it was more favorable than this dilemma.

And Sakura, she seemed as uncomfortable and hesitant as he did. Way to go Sasuke. In spite of her texts, which he knew were genuine, she still was hurt and couldn’t bring herself to act normally in person.

It really was just a mere appetizer for the shit that was to follow this night. Now everything before entering the SUV all seemed inconsequential.

After all that wasn’t just a random blessed one’s power. No. Even with Naruto’s power and his reflexes Sasuke could tell that this enemy was not to be taken lightly. That beam, or whatever it was, was potent. It reminded him of Kabuto’s sonic wave, his ability that knocked them around a few months back and that was hardly a good sign.

Is that was got Naruto and killed those Anbu? No what hit Naruto was just a caress, a portion of that power.

Shit.

Sasuke thought he had to thank that baka when he got the chance. The last thing he remembered before that strange blast of blue light collided with his Humvee, was Sakura saying she was hearing a strange sound and then blinding streaks of blue light blasting into them.

Luckily for them, Sasuke veered the Hummer and Naruto’s ‘water wall’ managed to mitigate the lessen the force of whatever the hell that was. However that’s where their luck ran out.

Now, eating an airbag as his Hummer was halfway into a department store, all Sasuke could think about was his team.

“Sakura! Naruto!”

“Relax, we’re fine.” Naruto said in a semi-groan. “Right Sakura?”

When Sasuke faced him, he saw Naruto struggling against his own airbag to choke out his words. Typical.

“Don’t worry boys. I’m fine.” Sakura assured, her voice as clear and powerful as ever. That’s what super human healing did for a person, Sasuke supposed and for that he was grateful.

He could not and would not lose her.

She was not dying too.

In a brisk movement, Sasuke saw her arms reach forward. “Pop!” With that his airbags were now cloth in her hands.

“Ah. Thanks.”

“Hm hm. Come on guys get your masks on. I think we’ve got company. I think I hear someone clattering towards us. Enemies.”

“Tch. We make a dash for it on three. All on the left side.”

“I’ve been waiting for this!” Naruto boomed, his face wore and expression of excitement married with rage as he spoke. He was cracking his knuckles before slipping on his mask.

“Three.”

On his signal the trio swiftly exited the Hummer. The Yamanaka Flower and Gift Shop was utterly wrecked. Everywhere, shards of glass, mounds of rubble and scattered flowers, leaves and petals in varying hues could be seen dotting the store’s interior. The Yamanaka Flower and Gift Shop was due a sizable, anonymous donation, that was for sure.

Three masked super heroes standing together around a destroyed flower shop. This night was really a mess. As his companions gathered near the gaping hole in the wall, Sasuke still checked them out to ensure that they truly were unharmed. He had to make sure.

Sakura seemed uninjured and calm. As usual for her missions, she wore her blood red sleeveless qipao dress with her black gloves and her grey elbow and knee protectors. Her face, though, was now covered, hidden behind a white mask resembling a cat’s with pink stripes and a wide grin. Months ago, after teaming up with him and Naruto, she had decided to shed her civilian look (a blonde wig and blue contacts) and now, joining the two masked heroes, she wore a mask to conceal her appearance. She also said that it made them look like a real team.

“I still hear footsteps,” Sakura announced while peering outside. “But I can’t see anyone in front.”

As she spoke she looked at him with one eyebrow raised. She knew that he was checking on her, he was sure of it.

“Sasuke...”

“I don’t see anyone either. Anyway let’s meet those bastards outside!” Naruto howled.

Over his loud orange pants and sandals, Naruto donned a pitch black uniform jacket with an orange zipper and buttons on his waist and sleeves. His concise, pointy blond hair was held behind a black ribbon, which itself, was sealed by his mask: a white mask resembling a fox’s head with red stripes that noticeably lacked a mouth.

“Hn. It’s a trap for sure,” Sasuke informed them. He hated being cornered like this. Securing his mask, a traditional dragon headed mask, white with cobalt stripes, Sasuke cloaked in all black with white bandages over his limbs, made his decision.

“We need to spring it to make any headway.” Sasuke announced. As much as he hated risks like this, it was the only way. Sakura had her healing power and Naruto’s water barriers were sturdy enough.

“What the hell?!” Naruto complained. The trio were now outside the ruined shop andeven with his mask on Sasuke could tell that Naruto was disappointed and angry, more so than he’d ever seen him. “Where are those assholes?!”

Who could blame him? Even Sasuke found himself at a loss for words. Before them, amongst the darkness of downtown East Jonin, nothing but huge stores and skyscrapers could be seen. No traffic and definitely no super villains.

No one was there.

“I don’t get it I heard them!” Sakura explained, with a index finger bent at the chin of her mask, indicating she was analyzing the situation they faced. “Another blessing?”

“Wrong.” A voice snickered from above and in an instant another barrage of light was launched at them from behind.

“Ice Blue Flame protect!” Sasuke, thundered in an instant, responding to the threat. In the face of the lasers of blue light Sasuke’s ability, dominion over his flame’s heat and density, took effect.

With arms outstretched Kagutsuchi erected wall of fire the color of lapiz lazuli, shielding the heroes from the onslaught of the enemy’s mystery power. Beginning as a wall, Sasuke bent his flames in such a manner that they soon cloaked his team, cocooning both Sakura and Naruto in it’s warmth and protection, before willing his fire to propel them several metres back.

“Sasuke, thank you.” Sakura breathed.

“Yeah, Shit I couldn’t form my water barrier in time.” Naruto lamented though his body was poised for attack as they now faced the direction of their enemies.

“Hn. You owe me.” Sasuke teased in response to Kurama, his characteristic smirk proudly adorning his face under his mask. He couldn’t say more, though, for even his enemies were adamant.

“What the hell?!”

Sakura couldn’t believe what she was witnessing. Suddenly, the orb of Sasuke’s blue fire that covered them, protecting them from that odd laser, was gone. Roaring cerulean flames that lit the night were now vanishing, dissolving into petal like embers before her.

Sasuke’s power was defeated.

“What the hell?!” Sasuke growled as his flames died.

“Look over there!” Naruto yelled while pointing to a peculiar light in the distance.

There, descending from the roof the flower shop, were three figures. Their enemies, wrapped in revolutions of sky blue light in the form of a sphere, were now floating down to street level.

“The same wind from before, no doubt.” Sakura observed.

How versatile was that power?

“So she can defend and attack? Be careful. Naruto. Sakura.”

“Why do all the villains have the awesome powers?”

As the group landed, the energy vanished from around them and it was then that Sakura finally caught a look at their assailants. Outfitted in what looked like black leathers from head to toe, were three, hooded individuals. Judging from the smaller, yet curvaceous frames of two of them, Sakura guessed that they were women while the larger, muscular figure in the middle was male. Their identities however, were hidden behind charcoal masks covering the lower half of their faces.

Only their bright, lavender eyes, eyes that seemed to shift from plain white to the hue of violet tourmaline were clearly visible like resplendent jewels.

From their eyes, Sakura could tell that these villains were extraordinarily strong and disciplined. Their eyes radiated power and purpose; a fatal beauty. They were not just drug dealers.

No, they were so much more.

Blessed ones...

“They nullified my flames. Be on your guard.”

Sasuke was clearly surprised but nonetheless,Sakura could tell he was already readying himself for battle. So was Naruto and she had to do the same. Blessed ones or not they had to win.

“We’ll kick their asses regardless!” Naruto proclaimed. Through the eye holes in his mask Sakura noticed the spark of blue power lighting his irises, the total opposite of Sasuke’s which were of deep scarlet.

His hands were coated, lit with wisps of sea-blue energy. Naruto had activated his blessing, Suiton, Water release, and in an instant launched an attack towards the trio.

“Hold on, Naruto!” Sasuke yelled, he was proceeding with caution Sakura realized. Though his urging was to no avail. Naruto had already made his move.

“Suiton: Water Dragon!” Naruto, as Kurama, bellowed while a massive torrent of clean, clear water tinged in a light blue light sprung forth from the energy at his palms and blasted into their enemies. Mid way, Sakura noticed that Naruto’s attacked formed itself into the head of a fierce Eastern dragon as it dove into the villains.

His attack, however, was for naught.

“Pathetic. Air Palm: Vacuum Wall!”

In response to Naruto’s assault, one of the smaller villains, a woman, let loose her own attack, the ‘laser’ from before.

Shit.

The darkness of the night was then set ablaze and enlivened by the luminous sparks of power and thunderous roaring of their blessings clashing. Now that Sakura could properly observe the blessing in action she realized that it wasn’t a laser or beam at all. Instead, Naruto’s deluge was met by lustrous streaks of light, dancing and piercing through the night’s darkness like a violent whirlwind.

What amazed Sakura more was its effects. While initially clashing evenly with Kurama’s power, once contact was made for a while, the girl’s whirlwind seemingly erased Naruto’s attack and arrowed through towards the group.

“What the fuck?!” Naruto screamed in anguish as the gust of blue energy sought to crash into them.

Even Sasuke’s blast of fire, his Inferno Espada, which he had shot out in the last minute was reduced to embers dancing in the night breeze when up against the whirlwind.

“Move!” Sakura shouted while invoking her Strength of One Hundred power to lift and toss Kurama and Kagutsuchi aside while she herself evaded the stream of light. “Shannaro!”

Instead of hitting them, Sakura realized that the attack made contact with a streetlight adjacent to them, one now flickered weakly before shutting off.

She scatters energy.

“Sakura!” Sasuke shouted. Both him and Naruto speedily met her at her side from where she tossed them.

“Are you alright?” Naruto questioned, ensuring to keep his gaze fixed on the three enemies before them. Enemies who now were walking towards them slowly and casually.

“What?”

Before her team could launch another attack, surprisingly, one of them, the man, halted and raised his palm to signal the others to do the same.

“So this is the Leaf’s finest?” he mocked. His voice was laced with condescension and scorn. “Pathetic.”

“Who the fuck are you?!” Naruto shot back. He was angry, pissed off completely, judging from his voice. From the corner of her eye Sakura could see his palms glowing once more.

But she didn’t have time to observe Naruto as something else caught her attention.

The woman who attacked them was now leaning against a wall near with the other in front of her.

Is she weak from using that power so much?

“We’re going to kill you so I guess it doesn’t matter anyway.” The stranger had resumed speaking, obviously enjoying taunting Naruto and bragging. “We are the Hyuga Clan. One of the original clans of Leaf City from the East, now back to reclaim our city.”

“The Hyuga?” Sasuke had finally joined the conversation. Sakura had no doubt that he noticed the woman as well but it seems that the man’s comment jarred him some how. “Impossible. The Hyuga are gone. They were slavers exiled and later defeated when this city was just a settlement in the New World.”

“Yet here we are. You know quite a bit about the clans. Let me guess? Senju, Uchiha? Maybe you’re an Uzumaki? Not that it matters. You shall die. Hanabi, Hinata!”

At his command the women behind hims rushed forward. Sakura thought for a brief moment that the whole three versus three situation was so comic book cliche and convenient, maybe too convenient. She didn’t have time to dwell on that however for their enemies were closing in on them.

“I’ll take the girl who attacked”, Sakura said. “She’s long ranged so I can probably get her.”

“Hn. I’ll go for the leader.” Sasuke added.

“That leaves me with the other girl. No problem guys!”

“Good luck boys. Switching to our mask communicators now.”

“Yup.”

“Hn.”

Kurama, Kagutsuchi and Haruno then broke off each in separate directions. Usually Sakura would have urged them to stay together and bombard the enemy but that girl’s power along with the fact that the others’ powers were unknown posed some major problems. Her self healing and regeneration coupled with her speed/strength would be the best bet. Sakura had a feeling that power had taken out Naruto and killed the Anbu so she was the best choice.

Running towards the smaller girl, Sakura could see that she was still shaky and her movements weren’t as polished as the rest. A side effect of her using that ability three times in such a short span of time, no doubt.

I’ll finish this quickly.

Naruto sent forth another water dragon at the other girl while Sasuke had let loose scorching fireballs, his signature move, towards the man.

Based on what was said over their communication channel and what she peaked from the corner of her eye, Sakura gathered that her attack was going to land first.

All according to plan.

That would give her time to reunite and help the boys in the event that things get sticky. Mitigating risks was of course her main priority.

The really were not run of the mill criminals or super villains for that matter.

We have to end this fast!

Sakura had channeled her superior strength into her feet and kicked off half way there, maximizing her speed in an attempt to catch the girl off guard and evade whatever whirlwind she’d have prepared for her initially. The other two were evading Naruto and Sasuke’s first strikes it seemed. No matter.

Just a little longer.

With her fist balled up the heroine measured her strength and was poised to knock the woman out.

The girl, however, seemed taken aback by Haruno’s last minute increase in speed for her slashes of cerulean energy that cut through the night failed to hit Haruno. Instead, one vein of power barely brushed the top of Sakura’s hair as she adeptly evaded and closed into her target.

Shannaro! Almost there... Yes!

“Eight Trigrams Palms: Revolving Heaven!”

“Aah!” Sakura wailed as she was sent flying several metres back. She had failed.

Seconds before making contact with her opponent, Sakura was utterly repelled by what seemed to be an orbiting of cyan colored energy akin to the whirlwind and the shield from before.

However Sakura’s opponent wasn’t the source of this power like she had previously thought. She expected a dome but from the wrong person. When her girl missed her initial attack she thought she was in the clear. She was wrong.

Shit.

The user of this power was the other woman from the start. The woman whose hands were now covered in flames of the same hue. She had protected not only, Sakura’s opponent but her entire team.

Along with Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke were also tossed back and their blasts of water and fire bounced off of the dome of revolving blue energy, energy that protected all three of their enemies.

Luckily, both boys braces themselves with icy blue fire and massive bubbles of water. Only Sakura hit concrete when she summer-salted and wobbled a bit on her landing. Such was the force of her own strength, even restrained, sent back at her.

“Sakura are you okay?” Naruto shouted. He was in front of her with Sasuke who was eyeing his enemies like a hawk, standing with his katana drawn.

“You’re healing?” Sasuke asked without turning away from his enemies who were now dashing towards them, no longer sheltered behind their shield.

“I’m fine. Healed already.”

“Hn. Two powers revealed. Shielding and that energy sapping wind.” Sasuke’s voice was optimistic as he spoke and Sakura could tell he was trying to motivate them, her especially.

“One more Shannaro!” Sakura yelled while cracking her gloved knuckles.

Sasuke knew how to raise her spirits, sometimes even better than Naruto. The more data the better and despite her failed plan, they were closer to winning. At least she hoped so.

“Suiton: Water Clones!” Naruto boomed with clasped hands into the night. From the blue aura whirling around his hands sparks of azure spilled onto the ground and from this energy six miniature geysers of water sprung forth. In seconds these geysers moulded themselves into translucent copies of Naruto himself: Water Clones.

Sakura had witnessed this technique before yet still found herself marveling at his prowess. Naruto’s dominion of water was absolute.

“Sasuke, Sakura. I’ll take on the barrier user. My clones and waves should beat her down.”

“ I’ll take the leader.” Sasuke instructed. His eyes, through his mask were lit scarlet and focused on the their approaching enemies. “This should slow them down. Fire Style:Phoenix Flower!”

On his command as he swung he slashed his katana, a volley of bright, amber miniature fireballs launched in a flurry towards the three Hyuga. From all directions they were attacked.

“Sasuke, I should handle him. That girl knows about my plan now and your amaterasu...”

“I said I’ll take the leader. Sakura, Naruto let’s go!” Sasuke barked. He was adamant.

Meanwhile the three Hyuga were once more covered by their barrier avoiding every fireball and even a few of Naruto’s water clones he’d sent out to keep them back.

“We don’t have time Sakura. I’ll do it.” Sasuke continued. He was not budging and Sakura was puzzled by his sudden stubbornness and uncharacteristic panic.

He was right though. Their enemies were closing in and they had no time to be dawdling arguing but Sakura felt that something was wrong. She wasn’t being a naive rookie, in fact she was seeing everything clearly. Repeating the same strategy would not work.

Why wasn’t he getting it? Why was he so fixed on fighting the leader? If those girls were that strong then...!

That’s when it dawned on her. Sasuke wanted to fight him himself because he was the strongest. Possibly the most deadly. Naruto and his clones, Sakura and her healing Sasuke knew they’d be safer against the weaker members.

One used a shield and the other was evaded a few times but that man was unknown. Sasuke wanted to face the biggest threat. He was protecting them. Again. Against all logic.

No. I won’t let him.

“Sasuke listen to me. I am fighting that man. You don’t have to protect me from everything.”

“Sakura...”

“Guys what the hell?!”

That’s as far as they got though for as soon as Naruto had yelled at them, emerging from the dying barrier were the Hyuga. As the barrier faded they swiftly switched into the offensive with a massive gust of wind-like energy being palmed out towards the trio.

All Sakura and the boys could do was scatter and separate once more. Naruto and Sasuke to the left and Sakura to the right. Exactly where the man had apparently rushed too.

“I wanted to take you out, kunoichi,” the man made known. He stood mere feet away from Sakura on one side of the road away from the other four. “Can your punches measure up to me?”

“Hm. I wanted to get to you too.” Sakura shot back with a smirk. “You’ll pay for dealing in our city.”

“We shall see.”

Those were his only words before he dashed towards Sakura, palms outstretched.

“Shannaro!”

Automatically, Sakura sprang into action. Focusing her herculean strength into her right fist, she quickly struck the pavement beneath them, pulverizing it. Her Cherry Blossom Impact move was invoked and now upended their footing while forming an explosion; sending a shock wave towards the Hyuga.

“No...”

“Weak.”

That’s what Sasuke heard the woman he’d been fighting say while she easily dispatched his Great Fire Ball technique with her power. Even his favorutie move was nothing before her streaks of power.

He didn’t plan on fighting her, though he had to admit she was troublesome. No, Sasuke’s target was that man. The leader from that group. He couldn’t put his finger on it but, apart from common sense dictating that the leader is the most powerful, the way he spoke, his tone and his presence, it all spelled trouble. He was their greatest threat and he was now facing Sakura.

Fuck.

Naruto was bombarding the shield user with water clones and a few whirlpools, his specialty, so he seemed okay. Sasuke, however,wasn’t faring as well and him worrying about Sakura and that man didn’t help his situation any.

She saw right through him. Naturally. That brain of hers could be so annoying sometimes. Yeah he realized the girl would have figured out her plan but what else could he have done? Sakura and Naruto were better off fighting those women. At least then they’d support one another with healing and clones. One seemed strictly defensive and the other was offensive. They’d have handled it. It was the best he could hope for apart from pulling them out of the battle, Sakura especially.

Sure he didn’t doubt her power or skill but it was still too much. After what happened last night, after his paranoia of losing her gnawing at him all these months, he had had it. He couldn’t go through that loss, that pain again. He could control his feelings for her but he could protect her.

Alas, it was meaningless now. From the corner of his eye he saw the Hyuga male charging at her but with the girl watching him like a hawk and sending out her annoying gusts of energy, he was useless. His last attack towards the man to help Sakura failing miserably, made that abundantly clear.

So all he could hope for was either him or Naruto kicking these girls’ asses in time to help Sakura. He had a bad feeling about that man. He was trouble.

“Inferno Espada!” Sasuke shouted into the night as twin streaks of roaring, orange-yellow flames raced across the asphalt leaving scorch marks in their wake. The target? The woman once more.

Against her next air palm, however, his flames died while her power raged on, speeding towards Sasuke. One touch and he was sure he’d be out.

“Ugh!”

With outstanding agility, Sasuke jumped out of the way and while in motion, rolling on the ground spat out three, swift balls of fire towards the woman.

Once more he attacked and once more he failed, leading to him dodging again. He then blasted a flamethrower-like attack at the girl before bracing himself for her retaliation. A simple rinse and repeat. All according to plan.

“What the hell are you doing, Sasuke?!” Naruto screamed, his rage seeping from his voice. “Why the fuck are you wasting your power?”

“Tch. Focus on your opponent and don’t mind my business.” Sasuke shot back. It was hypocritical of him since he’d been doing the same thing to both Naruto and Sakura but whatever. Sasuke didn’t care about being right or a good sport.

Kurama had about a dozen clones pummeling a sphere, shaped barrier around the other woman before he launched at tidal wave at the orb so obviously he was having difficulty himself. Yet he felt the need to lecture Sasuke. How typical.

He was right though. Sasuke was wasting power. The pay out? He was forcing the opponent to do the same. With every attack he’d notice that she was weakening, slowing and running out of strength. Consecutive gusts of power were fainter and fainter as they dissipated his flames into nothingness, simple embers carried off by the frigid, night breeze.

This was devolving to a battle of stamina, that was for sure and Sasuke knew that this was a battle he had to, was going to win.

Naruto was safe. That baka had more stamina than most and even his opponent was trapped, unable to do anything but defend against his unrelenting bombardment. Naruto was focusing in one spot at her barrier’s front, Sasuke noticed.

Smart.

Sasuke even saw her shield be nudged back from time to time as he glimpsed his teammate. He even caught on to Naruto’s other plan as he took in their battle unbeknownst to him. With a smile to himself he thought that they really weren’t that different after all.

Thus clearly, Sakura’s fight was going to be the toughest.

“Shannaro!” Sakura bellowed and instantly Sasuke turned, after sending a couple of fireballs out at his opponent. She notably evaded this time as opposed to using her blessing on the balls of flame, both now speeding off in the distance.

“Hn.” Sasuke smirked.

A resounding explosion followed Sakura’s battle cry telling Sasuke what was happening. Erecting several fire walls in front of his opponent, he shot a glance at Sakura. He knew that cry anywhere and as he looked in her direction he expected to see her awesome strength in action.

Cherry Blossom Impact huh?

Once more his characteristic smirk gleamed across his face, still hidden beneath his dragon mask.

What he saw later, though, wiped off the smirk that was forming on his face. Sakura’s attack was halted. Literally.

Before her power, with palms outstretched the man was safe while the rubble, dust and force of Sakura’s shock wave froze, remaining stationery at his palms, seeemingly floating in the air. Around him however, the explosion progressed as usual on both sides, dust and rubble spewing about naturally.

His blessing was revealed at last and it was truly the most deadly of the three. This is what Sasuke had now realised.

He was the one.

Sakura!

Don’t let him touch you, Sakura. Left, right, sweep the feet, jump!

Sakura had no time to lament over her failed attack and that Hyuga guy literally stopping her attack with his palms. Her main concern now was evading his blows.

His taijutsu was impeccable and Sakura could only guess how many years he’d spent honing his hand to hand skills. Without slowing he transitioned from halting her shockwave to leaping up in a black arc and thrusting his palm out at her.

Thank God she was able to respond in time.

“Guys, I’m fine!” She barked into her mask’s speaker. She’d seen Sasuke’s failed attempt as assistance before when that girl nullified his fireball in the man’s direction and more recently, turning towards her after her cherry blossom impact failed in between lunging and dodging his own enemy’s power.

“Not bad, girl.” The man teased as powerful thrusts of his palms nearly grazed her face. “Before my Gentle Fist however you cannot win.”

They’d been at this for minutes since he froze her explosion mid air.

“Ugh!” Sakura groaned as she pulled off a back flip in an attempt to avoid him sweeping the ground and tripping her with his legs. She didn’t know how long she could keep this up and despite her strength, she wasn’t willing to take the chance of trying to hit him.

If he managed to hit her instead she’d lose. He already grazed her once and her forearm was numb in one spot. Despite her usual recklessness she couldn’t risk that again. Apparently her healing wasn’t viable in this situation. Perfect.

Widening the distance between them was her best bet, she realised, hence her retreating a few meters back.

Her attempt was futile though, for the man was on her tail, his palms ever outstretched.

“What the... haah!”

Another cherry blossom impact hammered the asphalt producing yet another wave of rock and rubble and thrusting it towards the man. In spite its force however, before his powers, her move had once more failed.

“You never learn do you?”

“Shut it!” Sakura barked, now kicking a parked car she had passed in his direction. As if being driven, the minivan shot out, rapidly flying towards the Hyuga. Sakura leaned against a light pole as her projectile sought to make contact.

“Pathetic. Eight Trigrams Gentle Fist!”

Instantaneously, as his palms grazed the car crashing into him, all motion had ceased. The car was fixed where it stood, barely brushing against his opened palm.

“Everything stops. Everything slows before me!” The man hollered from behind the immobile minivan. “I am Neji of the Hyuga clan and you will die by my hands, wom... ugh!”

“Shut the hell up! Shannaro!” Sakura raged as she swatted him and the minivan with a light pole she was now handling like a baseball bat. He was going to feel that in the morning that was for damn sure.

Or maybe not.

Fuck.

She thought she felt resistance for second as she beat the van and pole into him and now that he revealed himself at her anterior she realised what it was. He’d temporarily halted her move with his blessing long enough to move away. That’s why she found herself pouring more strength to power through the motion.

“Nice try, girl.” The man snickered through his mask. “I stop everything, remember?”

What the hell are these Hyuga?

Get your head in the game, Sakura!

Regardless of her set back Sakura knew she had to get her shit together. Her attack still struck him as a surprise. That was a pro. It didn’t matter to her that the man had managed to evade it in time all she had to do was keep bashing away.

Steeling herself, Sakura continued her onslaught.

“Shannaro!” she yelled as she swung, jabbed and swept her light pole in his direction, nearly bashing him countless times. Sometimes he paused her swing to move away in a split second, others he simply evaded so Sakura knew she was making some headway.

He’s fast but at least now he’s the one dodging. Come on!

She didn’t know how long she could keep this up but it was of no consequence. As she patted her pouch at her waist, fingering through the pocket with her free hand, Sakura readied step two of her plan.

Her real surprise.

“Planning on using that scalpel dipped in poison after you catch me with your pole?” Neji laughed. He’d just side stepped Sakura’s lunge of the steel light pole when he spoke.

Sakura, briefly tripped up as she heard those chilling words. Words that she realised could would spell complete and utter defeat. How the hell did he know that? All of that? She felt her stomach turn and a heat at the back of her spine. Sakura, suddenly felt her confidence falter while she desperately tried to focus on batting him away and keeping him at a distance.

It was if the darkness and chill of the night had seeped into her skin, her mind, her very soul.

Over the communicator she heard Naruto and Sasuke’s own struggles intensify. She could hardly peep to see it for herself though. Such was her predicament. Naruto was bawling about the shield girl seeing through his surprise attack and Sasuke was dodging more gusts of air palm after his own surprise moves from behind had failed.

What the hell is going on?

Suddenly, she realised that her best plans were useless and they would lose. She had always said that knowledge grants victory and that still held true tonight.

The issue? Their enemies had all the knowledge. Her team was outclassed.

It was in this moment, as she struggled to keep Neji at bay, while worrying about her team and pathetically trying to come up with some new tactic that Sakura made her final error. She didn’t move in time to avoid the massive whirlwind of power that eventually slammed into her with great power, knocking her several meters back. All of the air had left her lungs and more importantly, every ounce of power, mobility and strength from her body.

The last thing she remembered before the flash thundering in her mind, was Neji looming over her and a voice mixed with static saying “kill her,” before he struck.

“Good bye, Haruno!”

Even Sasuke couldn’t have seen this coming.

Kagutsuchi, Kurama and Haruno were losing.

His plan, though effective for some time, was now useless. How the hell could that girl have anticipated his fireballs returning minutes later to attack her from behind was beyond him. He’d made sure that they were soundless and poured all of his strength into his flamethrowers from the front.

Regardless of how she knew, she knew, and in an instant turned around dispatched his flames before her partner jumped in front of her with a shield already up.

“Kagutsuchi!” Naruto yelled. He was holding his ribs as he staggered towards Sasuke. “My plan didn’t work. She saw through my rear assault and ran into me with a shiel.. ugh!”

Naruto had collapsed near his feet before he could finish. He was conscious but seemed to be more comfortable kneeling instead of standing upright.

“The White Sun sees all.” The smaller girl chuckled, her tone one of triumph and ridicule. “Hinata oneesama, now let’s kill them!”

“Ah... Hanabi...” The taller girl stuttered out. I was glaringly obvious that she was conflicted and the weaker of the two in terms of her resolve.

“Now! He told us to!” The smaller girl, Hanabi, screamed. It was clear that their teamwork wasn’t as seamless as Sasuke believed prior and with Sakura keeping the leader at bay Sasuke saw the perfect chance.

“Hmph ok..” Hinata whimpered as she readied her blessing. Light blue flames were now flickering brilliantly as they coated her, black-gloved hands.With that she sped off, desperately trying to make up for her reticence before.

It was however too late for Sasuke had already taken his opening. As expected she opted for the offense like she did with Naruto. Clearly they wanted this ended quickly.

Perfect.

“Great Fire Ball!” Sasuke boomed with clasped hands as he belched out a dazzling, sun-like sphere of flame and heat. He was running as he readied his attack, creating a distance between him and Naruto. He was now in the middle of his comrades, seemingly abandoning Naruto as Hinata rushed him.

Naruto, picking up on his strategy even before he relayed it via their communication channel joined in.

“Suiton: Aqua Pulse!” Kurama shouted. Even kneeling and injured he was adept at wielding his blessing. Sasuke expected no less from his rival.

Now, joining Sasuke’s great fireball was a mass of glowing, cerulean water of equal size and power. However the paths of their attacks differed greatly.

As Hinata was being pushed back by Naruto’s pulsing, blast of water with Hanabi behind her, palms aglow. Sasuke, facing Hanabi steered his fireball into the man’s direction at the very last minute. Just as Sakura was keeping him distracted.

It was all a bluff.

Less than a second before Hanabi would have summoned her power to nullify his signature move, Sasuke used all his strength and will power to arch it while he rolled aside. He expected her to send her power his way thus leaving his fireball free to injure the leader. And with her hands alight with power before his feint kicked in, he was sure he had distracted her.

He couldn’t see if it hit but he knew it would have helped Sakura.

Good.

Naruto, still pushing against Hinata’s power with his own, both of them weakening cheered and yelled as he fought. “Go!”

What Sasuke saw next totally shocked him.

“I told you we see everything.” Hanabi calmly repeated. Her power was invoked but it was all wrong.

“Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!”

By the time Sasuke was upright it was too late. A violent whirlwind of veined, streaked, azure energy was smashing into Sakura. A clean hit was made.

Hanabi had anticipated his move. The Hyuga had won.

“Sakura!” Naruto screamed. He had just summoned a few clones to batter Hinata’s shield and was limping, desperately and forcefully towards Sasuke.

“Attack Hanabi! Suiton Infinite Clone Assault!” Naruto commanded as dozens more clones jumped the lone girl. “Go Sasuke!”

Naruto was spent. All of his power was being used up in one last ditch attempt. He had never managed that many clones before and from the corner of his eyes Sasuke could see him panting, lying on the ground and intently looking at his now, two, opponents.

“No!” Sasuke cried, his voice blazing through the otherwise still night. His greatest fear was realised. As he dashed off, forgetting Hanabi and ignoring Naruto’s cry thoughts of loneliness and despair seeped into his fragile mind. It was happening again. It was just like when his parents died. Just like when Itachi died.

No! No! No! No! No! No! No!

The man was drawing closer, looming over Sakura. He was going to kill her at this point. Sasuke knew he had to hurry.

“Fire Style: Phoenix Flower!” He roared and immediately bolts of vermilion flames launched into the man. Sasuke had summoned his attack mid-dash and was closing in on the leader.

I can make it. I’ll make it.

The fire would slow him down it had to. Naruto was assuring him that the girls were distracted and low on power. He himself groaned out his words over the communication channels but Sasuke trusted his friend and he only needed a few seconds. His plan was going to work. Sasuke Uchiha would not fail. He would protect those precious to him.

I can make it. Almost.

“Yes!” Sasuke whispered to himself. Neji was focused on Sakura. He’d get hit for sure.

“Didn’t you learn anything tonight?” Neji asked smugly. He was still bending towards Sakura, facing her when he spoke. Sasuke was now within ear shot and picked up on his words.

“Gentle fist.”

What had happened next would be remembered as one of the darkest moments of Sasuke’s life. He had vaguely remembered Neji keeping his stance and bending to Sakura with his left arm outstretched while his right arm extended and his palm met Sasuke’s attack, freezing it mid air.

He had not turned at all.

As he rendered Sasuke’s power useless his free palm had made contact with Sakura’s chest.

He killed her.

“No!”

Sasuke had lost her, just like Itachi.

No.

This was when his memory got choppy.

“Sakura!”

Both him and Naruto wailed. They were however too late.

Sasuke could feel the despair stabbing, prodding, overwhelming his mind, his very soul as he collapsed.

Failure.

You lost another.

Failure.

You don’t deserve her.

You don’t deserve anyone.

It was unbearable and in that instant, with tears staining his covered face, Sasuke felt a darkness rage within him. A fire, a new power taking hold and easing his suffering. His Amaterasu’s Black God Flames, which he still had problems controlling, had been invoked on its own.

As he lay on the ground, the inky stain of his power manifested. Flames seemingly woven from shadow leaked out of his frame and stained the road with its power. The cold night air was violently blown away as the intensity of the flame’s heat, of Sasuke’s rage and despair, took hold.

From a ring of obsidian fire, like black spider webs his power branched out, clawing through the surroundings as it spread into a sea of pure, black, power. In the back of his mind he could hear the girls screaming for Neji, the leader he realised, but he didn’t care.

Naruto was yelling his name, his real name as opposed to his codename. He was rushing to him with a limp but again Sasuke didn’t care. All he cared about was gone.

“Aaaah!” He exploded. With scarlet irises he held total dominion over his fire and now his only order was “destroy.” Destroy the road. Destroy the buildings. Destroy his enemies.

All of the pain of loss that was returning to him, the regret, not only for what happened tonight but for how he treated Sakura before, not loving her as she deserved.

I’m sorry Sakura.

Sakura I love you...

Everything was poured into Sasuke’s blackened flames, flames that now stretched up like crooked fingers, clawing at the night as he stoked and empowered them with his despair and hate.

“You!” Sasuke scowled. His voice was ice cold and his eyes locked on to Neji. The Hyuga was struggling to freeze black flames around him in place. He had now backed away from Sakura and seemed to be inching to his comrades.

Without warning Sasuke’s arms branched out and several tendrils of thick flames the color of black licorice, bloomed from the sea of fire at his feet. Each vein of black fire, twisted and whirled as they raced towards the man.

All Sasuke wanted to do was kill him.

Die.

You hurt her.

Die!

“Die!”

“Sasuke stop it!” Naruto screamed while grabbing on to Sasuke from behind. He had somehow made his way to Sasuke without getting consumed by fire. His arms were now locked around Sasuke’s neck.

“Ugh! Stop it! Sasuke stop!”

“No! Get off!” Sasuke was shrieking now, writhing in Naruto’s arms as they both struggled on the ground. “I have to kill him Naruto! I have to...oof!”

The punch came out of nowhere and it took Sasuke a few moments to realise that Naruto had socked him into the asphalt. “Fucking...!”

“I said stop!” Naruto yelled. He was face to face with Sasuke now with pools of tears shimmering in his ocean-blue eyes. “Now who’s rushing in like an idiot?”

“We have to get Sakura! Do you want to burn her body!”

His words hit Sasuke even more violently than his blows.

Sakura. Her body.

“Neji nii san!” Hinata called moments later, but Sasuke didn’t care. Racing towards Sakura he called forth all of his remaining strength and tried as hard as he could to calm himself and control his emotions and with it, his power.

The girls had managed to get to Neji and were now floating up in an orb of light: Hinata’s power. Despite his initial anger, Sasuke failed to stop them. His first priority was now Sakura, after all.

“Sakura!”

Sakura. My love...

And that was when he collapsed. His only memory was someone, Naruto he guessed, grabbing him and speaking to him.

“Please. Please stop.”

#Sakura Haruno #sakura uchiha #sasuke uchiha #sasusaku #myfic

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