#kid got AROUND. made many enemies and even more allies

[aristia-pjoheadcanons]

Cabin 5 / Ares Cabin PJO Headcanons

Random thoughts. Kind of bored of not seeing any head-canons for this cabin.

Battle cry/war cry. Like their father Ares who screamed so loud on the battle field that even his worst enemies and allies shivered in fear, they can do something pretty similar in the span of the moment. But doing so takes a great deal of energy and exhausts them. Doesn’t usually happen, since it’s uncommon but it happens the more often you participate in war.

Some Cabin of Ares get along with many of the people in camp, after Clarisse decided to stop bullying people after the first book.

They’re able to understand which moves to make that will give them idealistic results: victory. But some of it can be reckless and they’re not able to think critically about the after effects or what will happen to the people around them if they do.

Cabin if Ares kids have this aura around them that scream power if messed with. It’s not as strong as the children of Poseidon, but it’s more like: mess with me and you’ll wish you could see your mothers face before you die. Similar effects can be found with the Children of Athena.

Most of the kids felt awkward giving food or other offerings to their father at first, since he was a pretty passive and cold parent. But Ares actually sits around and looks forward to seeing their faces and hearing their voices when they offer something in the bonfire during dinner time.

Ares’ favourite thing to do is to watch them fight during a battle, he loves to see what moves they can come up with and see them develop their own unique fighting style.

Many of the kids in the cabin felt insecure about fighting or sparring. The pressure that weighed on their shoulders to be a “master of all weapons” or a “war god” was a heavy burden. Occasionally, they would freeze up if too many people were watching them.

Many people do enjoy watching them spar, since the other cabins do learn a lot from them.

They’re surprisingly good teachers, since they criticise without caring if they hurt another persons feelings. They give good advice if their form, what weapons to use based on what makes them comfortable, power class and sometimes weight. They’re able to give constructive criticism that many people look forwards too, even people in the cabin of Athena look forward to it.

(Annabeth actually only started to improve once she watched some of the kids of Ares spar, since they fight so brutally. Her sparring with Luke inky taught her technique, not aggressiveness and brute force that you sometimes need to win a fight. Luke was good at beating around the bush, or dancing around his opponent to look for an opening to do a great deal of damage— but the children of ares find the most efficient way without feeling much tired).

Many people look up to them since they’re good at wielding all weapons without any proper training, but that doesn’t mean they get lazy. They’re one of the cabins that practice for the longest sometimes skipping dinner—until Chiron told them to stop making that habit, since it would be rude not to thank their father for such skills. (Also, socialising is good).

Many of these kids don’t actually enjoy military training that they got to go through when they finished summer camp. It’s pretty much a pain in the ass. But even so, they’re now good at using camouflage and tactical weapons, and even waiting for their opponent to let their guards down before striking.

They all have this things where if they feel extremely intense emotions during certain things, others in the room will also feel the intensity of it. The problem is that they could make glass shatter if it gets under control.

Sleep with the windows open, and they don’t have any curtains in their cabin. They don’t decorate the inside, but made sure to decorate the outside.

They actually started putting barbed wire on the roof because Hermes and Apollo cabin pranked them by making a bunch of birds shit in their roof - since cabin 5 were such jerks all the time. And they put the wire up to scare away birds.

Dogs are actually scared of some of the kids in cabin 5, no one knows why but I guess the vibes they give off are sometimes a bit too intense for certain animals.

Artemis and Ares are actually get along, not necessarily best friends but they do have respect for one another for wanting to protect young girls.

If any, and I mean ANY of his kids get kidnapped, abducted or even hurt badly— Ares will come in full battle armour ready to save them. He does get scolded by other Gods for ‘meddling in and sticking his nose in mortal business’ but he can’t help it.

Children of Ares often have the feeling to protect people around them, even if they don’t know them at all. During a problematic situation, they take the lead to get people to safety or even scouting out the area since their instincts and nerves never calm down during a potential fight if threat. They have this constant feeling of needing to be in control, to the point where they can even obsess over it.

Panic attacks are actually not as common as you think. Since they’re pretty good at handling their emotions if their own, in contrast to what people think of them as, they can actually be one of the calmest of the whole entire camp. To the point where it’s kind of creepy of freakishly calm they are during crazy things.

They zone out a lot and daydream because of the constant need ti escape since many of them are reckless during quests, their way of soothing themselves after a long day of a day off is to just stare off into space. Some friends from other cabins have ti drag them outside, so they don’t stay cooped up in their beds too long.

They love to play games like UNO, War (personal favourite) Pig and so on, but they absolutely suck at poker since you need a proper strategy to actually have a chance at that game. But they can make it pretty far if they are determined enough. However manny of them find it boring since it isn’t intense enough.

Thats all for tonight folks. I’ll make more head-canons tomorrow.

[toy-powerhouse]

The Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles turtles have some serious “No Friends” energy: Or the turts lack a support network of allies and friends, so it makes the series feel empty

Maybe one of the biggest failings of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (out of many other failings) is how the titular characters lack a (non-familial) support network. They don't really have any friends or allies, and what few friends/allies they do have are very underappreciated, underrepresented, and underutilized (Todd Capybara and Señor Hueso) or "upgraded" to the much more valued status of family members (April and Draxum).

Despite possibly being the most attention-seeking turtles ever to be created so far, they never seem to have any desire to receive attention from outside the family unit. They're all so insular despite constantly showboating in a world where largely no one has any issues with them being mutant turtles. For the most part, the whole world, both human and Yōkai, is their oyster, and they’re free to roam around and mingle as they please. Yet they're largely content to remain detached from it all. And, that lack of connection makes the series, and its entire universe feel so empty and so small in scope. This emptiness is made especially obvious when compared to other TMNT adaptations that do give the mutant turtles a stronger and plentiful network of friends/allies or at least have the turtles working towards building such close-knit ties with others outside their family unit. The 2003 series was so chock full of friends/allies, it ended on a big damn wedding attended by all the folks they befriended. Even if RotTMNT continued beyond 1 ½ seasons and a movie (technically, it’s two seasons, but let’s be real, season two is too truncated to count as its own season), it’d be highly unlikely that the turtles of that series would ever amass that many notable friends/allies.

We see some glimmers of interest that the turtles have in being a part of a world outside themselves, but aside from those fleeting instances, their disinterest in anything apart from themselves is palpable and never challenged in any major way. This limits the characters’ experiences, their development as well as the overall narrative. It makes all their wacky adventures or dramatic exploits seem repetitive and hollow in a way better kids’ shows mitigate with a compelling cast of supporting characters (i.e., friends and/or allies for the protagonists).

Instead, what RotTMNT lacks in platonic support it more than makes up for in enemies, albeit mostly underdeveloped enemies. The turtles just sort of gain enemies time and time again (because they’re usually unfunny obnoxious screw-ups), which makes their lack of reoccuring friends/allies even more noticeable. Big Mama, Warren Stone, Hypno-Potamus, Repo Mantis, Meat Sweats, the Purple Dragons, Ghostbear, Baxter Stockboy, Sando Brothers, etc., (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, more like Everybody Hates the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, lmao). You get the idea; the turtles seem to have a talent for making more enemies than friends/allies.

But, with friends like the turts (correction: turds), who needs enemies?

The biggest middle finger the series shows to the idea of allies is when in the season one finale, “End Game,” the following allies join April and Splinter to rescue the turds as the B-Team: Bullhop, Franken-Foot, S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N., and Todd Capybara. Only for the quartet to be captured immediately and left for dead because they’re never brought up again in the episode. While each of the so-called "allies" of B-Team aren't given much respect both in- and out- of universe, Bullhop (real name Stanley) may be the least respected. In short, the turds ruined Stanley's life, showed little grace to the poor guy before he got unceremoniously ousted from the series. He got mutated by the Oozesquitos the turds had accidently released from Draxum's lab, the turds let him stay at the lair with them for a bit to make amends but were on the verge of kicking him out because he was annoying to live with (Gee, those sure are a lot of pots calling the kettle black…), only for him to leave anyway of his own volition. He then shows up one more time in "End Game" to get captured by the Foot Clan, and because this was his last appearance, it's probably fair to assume that he died/was killed while the other three managed to escape unscathed. RIP Stanley, I know he must be ballet dancing his heart out somewhere in cartoon heaven.

It's characters like Bullhop combined with other infrequently or one-time occurring allies like Casey (Sr.), Señor Hueso, Marcus Moncrief (aka Jupiter Jim), Sunita, Piebald, Red Fox, and so on that show how little the series wants to commit to giving the titular characters a stable support network built on trust and camaraderie. The closest we get to a true, ride or die ally and friend is Todd (see “Todd Scouts” and “Anatawa Hitorijanai”) and even he barely gets any respect. In “Anatawa Hitorijanai,” he provides them with a haven away from the Shredder when he’s taken over New York, forges them weapons they use to save the day, and he receives no thanks or any real acknowledgment for doing any of it which makes the turtles come off as very ungrateful to their greatest ally and friend. The way in which the series represents friends and allies is, at times, tinged with a dismissive, even mean-spirited undertone that feels like a slap in the face to themes and messages that the franchise often represents.

TMNT is a franchise that’s narrative is built on connection and the desire for misfits to find acceptance. In many adaptations, the turtles pine for meaningful relationships outside themselves and Splinter. And, while this theme doesn’t need to be the focus of every adaptation, its absence in RotTMNT does strip from the characters an extra layer of depth and misses out on an opportunity to make them more relatable to members of the audience, especially those who’ve ever felt alienated.

If RotTMNT wanted to focus more on the familial relationships of the titular characters instead, that would be one thing. However, even the development and depth of those familial relationships are lacking. For instance, Splinter’s neglect of the turtles is never truly confronted along with the impact of Raph’s parentification (the underdeveloped family dynamic is something to be expanded upon for another entry in my lengthy list of grievances with this adaptation).

There was so much potential to explore new relationships for the turtles outside their own little world. The introduction of Yōkai opened new possibilities for the characters with them being able to be among other non-humans (the underdeveloped role of Yōkai and their Hidden City is also a topic for another day). Even the more lenient human world offered a new perspective. But, like all things surrounding Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it was just more wasted potential.

[unlikablefemaleprotagonist]

i don't really want to get too logical about it, but perhaps another "above the table" reason for this battle not being centered around getting redemption for the ratgrinders is because this is a show meant for public consumption and "persuade your enemies to desert their cause and join you" was literally the trick of the final combat for the last intrepid heroes season. maybe there was an implicit understanding among the cast that the same gimmick would be perceived by some as being repetitive

and honestly?? i think the neverafter team had a helluva lot better shot converting the princesses to their side than any of the bad kids had in this battle. key members of the squad (okay, not tim, rip his conversation with rapunzel) made inroads with the princesses through good faith interaction with many of them earlier in the season. elodie and mira were the easiest gets because of elodie's history with gerard and mira's lack of true devotion to the cause, but ylfa had a genuine SHOT with la bete and pinocchio got very close with cinderella (who i think may have come over anyway once her allies were down, if i remember right?)

but there isn't a single ratgrinder they have that kind of relationship with. they've been pretty out-and-out hostile, despite moments such as adaine saving ruben from disintegrate and kristen offering maryanne gifts. maaaaybe you could make an argument for ruben and wanda, but brennan pointed out that once wanda showed up with his enemies and ATTACKED ruben's friends, it was over. oisin seemed like a potential option earlier in the season, but then he pulled the rug out from under adaine and tried to murder the entire student body via nepotism. there was no friendly relationship left to capitalize on after that. and maryanne has been characterized as having such an impenetrable mental wall that it's hard to guess where's she's at, even for the other ratgrinders.

plus, there's the whole basic conceit that the ratgrinders' minds are not completely their own. their agency has been traded away to a nameless god of rage. who's to say any persuasion check could overcome that? honestly, i think if it was a realistic play, brennan would have encouraged the players to try it, like he explicitly did for neverafter, laying out a mechanic for it. maybe we'd know more if kristen hadn't gotten a nat 1 on her buddy insight check, but i think that was the moment that any diplomatic level to this combat went out the window, because the dice dictated that kristen couldn't see buddy in there, and to willfully push ahead with that line of thinking would have been close to meta-gaming. they are playing characters as faithfully as possible, and those characters are stressed-out kids! they don't have the same emotional maturity of a 32-year-old divorced frog prince who really wants to be amicable with his ex-wife

[yonemurishiroku]

Wondering the whole thing about loyalty being Percy's fatal flaw might actually be on a much more personal level rather than an encompassing "children of Poseidon"-trait.

This is to say that Percy's problem with unhealthy 'loyalty' could be a consequence of his upbringing. You see. The whole point is that Percy can be wary, yet once he deems someone an ally/ not-enemy, it's dangerously difficult for him to see them in a negative light. It's this sort of bipolar disorder but the categories are "Friend or Foe", each of which comes with a package of completely separate treatment. He put Luke in the Friend lot and he nearly died for that. He distrusted Nico but he didn't see him as an enemy and fell for the kid's trick still.

Revert back to his childhood. IIRC Percy had two parent figures growing up, i.e. Sally and Gabe. And here's a thing. They are basically two ends of the spectrum of Parenting. Gabe was an abusive, negligent, alcoholic, problematic stepfather whereas Sally was like a saint or something, who had sacrificed for him so much. So Percy had only experienced two types of attitude in his perspective-shaping phase: extremely loving and downright scornful.

This could thus limit his relationship categories, and later create a hole in his view of others' attitudes, I believe. His relationship table basically has only two columns, Friendly vs Not friendly. Percy puts people in those lots based on how they treat him, how they express themselves to him, how he sees them. But people are way more than just one facet. People can be many things at once, and so are the relationships. Percy's system is lacking, so he suffers from being twirled around in complicated, multilayer dynamics.

Imagine Percy, who only has two sets of acquaintances in his life, one of which gives him misery whilst the other fights for him, is thrown into a mess of two-faced lies and concealed intentions. He doesn't have the specialized code of reaction for that. There's no special section in his handbook dedicated to "People you need to beware of" or "These guys seem friendly, but better be safe than sorry". Once Percy has decided to put you in his mind as not an enemy - he would actively refuse to treat you as an enemy because that's not the way he does it.

And because Percy has so few 'Friends', you know, that he intrinsically, automatically puts you in the Friends column as long as he finds no hostility from you. Yeah, he has Sally, Grover, and Annabeth, but he also has Gabe and Nancy (?) and IIRC the bullies. He has always felt like he didn't fit in (no thanks to you, demigod-bonus ADHD and dyslexia). Percy has had to put too many in the unfavorable section that he, subconsciously or not, favors amicable acquaintanceships - that's why Luke got to him so effortlessly, just by treating him decently.

It's quite similar to the other category too. The best example I can come up with now is Bob/ Iapetus. Bob first made his entrance as Percy's enemy aka Iapetus, and later became harmless to him after getting his memories erased. You'd think Percy would rearrange the columns, but the fact is that Percy technically didn't even remember Bob, or Iapetus for that matter, after leaving him in Nico's care. If my theory is of any credit, I suppose Bob didn't make it into Percy's 'Friends' category, i.e. Percy hadn't considered him a friend. Bob landed in as a Foe and he stayed there in Percy's head - at least up until the Tartarus debacle.

So, like I said: a bipolar relationship classifying system.

[isleofdarkness]

Well, of course, Amber doesn't need Beast & his Isle. Her sister has been a protectoress since elementary school. She's got anything that could ever be or become a threat to Enchanchia well in hand. And Amber & James have been helping her to best of their ability (even if it's just covering) also since elementary school, so really Beast can take his Isle and shove it.

Plus, Amber and her siblings have the perspective they needed to see exactly how much wrong Beast was doing. Some of their best friends and closest allies are fae, witches, sirens, and other magical creatures, so they knew Beast was wrong when he started locking up magical creatures for existing. They knew that it was very rare for someone to be beyond redemption, as most of their enemies eventually became their allies, so they saw how wrong it was to deny so many people, from the worst of the worst to petty criminals, a second chance. They've seen how different offspring can be from their parents, like how different Lucinda is from her mother, so they think it's wrong to treat all kids like they're their parents. Magic is important to their countries and their allies and they have seen the benefit in embracing it and how that benefit outweighs the potential complications, and while they've all had encounters that could have made them scared of magic they've also seen the good magic can do, and they realize that magic is a truly neutral thing, so they know Beast is wrong in insisting it's evil. And if Beast was wrong about all of those things, it wasn't far-fetched to believe he was wrong about pretty much everything. Besides, in their experience, the solution always comes in communication and cooperation, two things Beast seems firmly against. And look, Amber gets that she's young (she's eighteen now) and he has more experience than her, but her country and the union are thriving under her methods while Auradon constantly seems on the verge of collapse under his. Her people are happy, healthy, and free, his are not. So she'd hazard to guess that her methods are probably better for the health of her kingdom. And she never would have sent anyone to the Isle, anyways. Most of their enemies eventually became their allies so she'd be sending allies to the Isle, and she doesn't feel comfortable in sending her citizens to a prison that belongs to another country where she cannot ensure their welfare and that their needs are met and rights are upheld. Any criminals they have are in rehabilitation prisons in her kingdom. And the statistics about QoL in her prisons, the low crime rate, and the low rate of reoffense, speak for themselves when compared to Auradon's

Plus, Amber always has Sofia, with her huge heart, constant compassion, and dedication to making ammends and forgiving, and James, who is more than willing to call her on it when she does something wrong or short-sighted, to help her refine her methods and offer good perspective when they think she's wrong. Amber, unlike Beast, has learned how to take criticism and how to admit when she's wrong or when she needs help. Amber could sovereign circles around Beast and pretty much everyone knows it. Which is humiliating for him, considering he's losing to a teenager

[kitthenameless]

So I finished my Darkness Team HM ruleset run... with a bang 🥲

This was HM ruleset, not single save, but I only save scummed if my whole party died. I didn't do every single little quest, but I did some and all the big bosses, aside from Lorroakan and Raphael. For the most part, it turned out to be pretty easy with this team. Throughout the game, I lost I think five fights total, and they were all ones that I would've skipped or done at a higher level if doing true HM. I also didn't use any tadpoles, didn't become an Unholy Assassin, only used Nimbus and a couple times the shadow wraith as summons, etc. I stuck to my roleplay. So look at me, finally decent at this game after 13 playthroughs!

Except in the run up to the brain. That was a disaster. Emps is so bad at stealth 😭 So he got us caught sneaking, and then Emps and Tav (Evan) died and were revived with scrolls. By the time they got up to the brain stem, Wyll and Shadowheart were dead. Gameplay-wise, I think I could've gone back to save them because the enemies disappeared, but story-wise, that makes no sense, so the remaining three pushed onward.

[Ending spoilers and dramatic headcanon rambling incoming 😅]

Gale then made his offer to explode the brain, but Evan wasn't going to let him go die alone. So they climbed up, and upon realizing there was no way they were going to win with just the three of them, instead of sacrificing a bunch of allies, they told Emps to go, and Gale used his orb.

Evan was a shadow sorcerer who never really had companionship before this journey because his magic unsettled people, so Gale's love and the others' friendship and every bit of genuine gratefulness from NPCs and strangers meant a lot to him. He hesitantly worshipped Shar, despite not agreeing with her cruelty, because his magic comes from his connection to the Shadowfell and Shadow Weave and revolves around darkness and absence and messing with people's minds. But this journey, especially seeing Shadowheart's parents, made him realize he couldn't anymore. So in his last moments, he prayed to Mystra to accept him so that he could stay with Gale. Evan's full name is Evanescent (fading, disappearing). He spent his whole life disappearing into shadows. He didn't want that anymore. Somehow, disappearing into Gale's light instead felt like fate to him.

And if Gale's soul was blown up along with his body, Evan will do everything he can to put it together again. And if both their souls were blown up, at least their soul fragments are floating around the void together. He still wouldn't have let Gale do it alone.

I thought there might still be an epilogue because of how Withers revives anyone who dies in the battle normally, but there wasn't, and that was perfect. I like to imagine he revived SH and Wyll (they were away from the explosion), just not Evan, even if his soul was intact. He didn't want to be revived without Gale.

[Dramatic headcanon rambling over]

But Karlach and Wyll will go to Avernus, Shadowheart is the new leader of the cloister, Astarion is free of Cazador, Lae'zel will fight against Vlaakith, Jaheira has Minsc back, Minsc will keep the Guild in line, and Halsin will go raise kids in Reithwin. As for NPCs, some things went wrong, but they did manage to help some.

And my darkness team was fun! I enjoyed finally using all the darkness based equipment. Darkness clouds are OP and saved my team many times and also created some funny situations.

And that's about it for my 13th playthrough. I even found a few bits of dialogue I'd never seen! Anyway, here are some more screenshots from Act 3.

Mods: Glitzy Horns (horns). Ghouls Customization Compendium (head). Gale's Better Starting Gear. Gale's Wizardly Updo. Terpsichor - Wyll Edits. Slutty Closet. Battlemage Armor. Gothic Wardrobe. Lilith's Armors. Hound of Ill Omen Recolors. Act 3 Night Mode. Sorry if I missed any. I think Tav's long hair is Kay's Hair Extensions, not sure where the bun is from.

[thousand-winters]

Gonna send two more asks actually. 5 and 6 for the toh thing

5. Favorite platonic relationship?

Okay, I'm gonna have two different answers for this.

You know Dadrius has my heart and soul. Literally over here thinking and discussing Darius and Hunter's dynamic every single day of my life for more than a year already. There's just a lot with them, the problem is that while they do have a lot, it's mostly implied, and we absolutely can deduce some things, theorize others, and run absolutely wild with parallels, symbolism and this and that, but truth is we didn't see too much of them actually onscreen. So they're my favorite platonic relationship that didn't get too much time to develop in front of the audience even if it's very well implied they did.

Special mention to Darius and Eberwolf for the same reasons, lots implied, not much onscreen because we did not have the time.

Now, for the ones we actually had time on the show for...

I think the reasonable thing would be to say the Owl Trio, and while I do love them dearly, I honestly don't tend to seek out art or such with them? I think I'm gonna have to say Lilith and Eda.

I'm just... once again, I don't really talk a lot about Lilith despite how much I love her, but she's there. She's being microwaved in my head. She's rotating. She's under my microscope. She's everything to me.

That, coupled with the fact that you put a complicated siblings relationship in media and you got me, makes it so Eda and Lilith are just fascinating to me. Yeah, perhaps the transition from them being technically enemies to allies and friends again was a little clumsy, but honestly? That sort of feels right when it comes to, again, complicated relationships with siblings.

Honestly, part of why they interested me so much in the first place is because there are aspects of Lilith I see myself in, a LOT. And Eda, well, sort of reminds me of my sister. My sister even pointed it out while we watched. It's a whole thing. We are not talking about it /lh

It's just... gods, so damn interesting, especially when you consider Lilith's side of things, there's so much love and jealousy and resentment and guilt toward Eda, it's such a mess that comes out in the worst and in the best of ways. Because she has all the information on why things happened like they did, her point of view during their relationship especially in season 1 has so many layers, while for Eda it might feel a little puzzling but there's so much about why Lilith acts like she does that she just doesn't understand. So much miscommunication, so much love, so much vitriol at the same time.

They're SO good. Their little scene in King's Tide with them holding hands with their foreheads touched together, Lilith worried sick for Eda and Eda trying to joke to lighten the mood kills me every time.

6. A character you didn't expect to love? What made you start liking them?

The Collector too, actually.

I think for the Collector there's a lot of "well, in hindsight...", because they did seem far more vicious and dangerous than they actually were in that one memory in Hollow Mind, plus they seem somewhat nonchalant in King's Tide as well.

But For the Future truly opens up that perspective, it took me a while to warm up to them even so but I think in retrospective, the way they behaved makes so much sense for the fact that... he's just a kid. A kid trying to act how he has seen adults around him act, a kid that sees someone they want to know and be friends with so badly and the circumstances are SO bad but he's a kid!!! And to a certain point he doesn't get it.

He's just a kid...

I love the Collector so much now. You can tell they were also feeling all the guilt in the world during Watching and Dreaming with that one "you can at least do this" while Belos' curse was all over him and extending over his body, like... baby, no... 😭

4. Favorite romantic relationship?

This was always here, shhhh.

Ultimately I don't think too much about the couples of the show, even though they're in general so good, but I think it's definitely Lumity for me.

In part because of the impact they had, because inevitably, if someone sort of knows about TOH but doesn't really, they sure know about Lumity. But that's more of a general answer rather than a personal one so.

I just think they're so sweet, and so well done. I truly was not expecting their relationship to actually end up being a romantic one when I was watching Season 1, but I'm so glad it did. I think they did such a good job in writing them going from sort of frenemies to friends, to Amity crushing on Luz, to the crush being mutual and them pining for one another, to the nervous first steps of dating to the point we end up seeing them in, just comfortable and loving each other just as much.

There's a lot of relationships in media that become a thing just right at the end so we don't see them develop like that and I love that they got that, I love how real it is for them to have the nervous stages even while already girlfriends and to see how time made them be more natural and comfortable with each other, because of course that happens! And Luz in Thanks to Them was keeping secrets, of course, but even then you could see they were already comfortable, not so much sweating profusely every time they saw each other or anything, it started being just tender and intimate and sweet.

Lumity is just so damn good. I love Raeda and I love them too for being people in their 40s being such messes in love, they're special in a different way but I like Lumity just a little bit more.

From this ask game!

[starlight-matrix]

I don’t normally post original stuff here but part of me just really wants to put my ideas out in the world, so that they exist even if I never end up turning them into a full story.

Anyways, here’s a Life Series pirate au!!

- technically based in 3rd life, but follows other dynamics from later seasons

- scar and ren are rival pirate captains. ren is a seasoned pirate, he’s been doing it far longer and is far more feared. scar is new to the trade but very quickly made enemies and a reputation for being impossible to kill

- scar’s first mate is grian, of course. they’re best friends and it’s undecided whether or not scar begged grian to become a pirate with him, or grian lost a bet of some kind and being a pirate is his punishment

- also on scar’s crew: cleo and bdubs, his mom and brother; tango and impulse, mutual friends of cleo; scott and jimmy, allies of scar’s

- affiliates to scar’s crew include mumbo, who is an engineer friend of scar and grian’s who is terrified of the open sea. they keep trying to convince him to join their crew, with dubious success. also gem, who is either a bounty hunter/assassin/guard for hire who has her own beastly reputation and whom scar constantly tries to scam (unsuccessfully)

- ren’s ship is called the scarlet hound and his crew is generally referred to as the hounds (but meant like “hound’s” bc ren is a werewolf and they’re all “his”)

- martyn is his first mate, is one of if not the only member of ren’s crew who has been around since the beginning of ren’s pirate career. their crew has changed many times due to deaths in the field

- other members of ren’s crew include: skizz, etho, and bigb (of course); pearl, who was an outlaw in a similar vein to gem before she became allies with ren and martyn; Joel and lizzie (Joel was an enemy of ren’s but lizzie and ren got along and became allies, which forced Joel to put his opinions aside so he could follow lizzie)

- hybrids/fae exist! ren is a werewolf; lizzie is a pixie/fairy; scott, grian and Jimmy are avians; cleo is a zombie (she was revived from the dead by a necromancer); tango and impulse are both different species of dragon/netherborn

- there’s a little bit of empires crossover in that Rivendell is a real place with a lot of influence in this world; xornoth isn’t evil (yet) and is the current ruler. the cod empire either does not exist or is not affiliated with jimmy. other empires may exist but aren’t relevant to the story

- after xornoth rose to power, he and scott had a falling out and scott ran from Rivendell to pursue his own life, and either met jimmy afterwards or brought him along (this would make Jimmy a Rivendell citizen)

- Scott and Jimmy then met scar and grian, who invited them to join their pirate crew. they accepted for the thrill

- cleo and Etho are exes, in the same vein of limited life where scar and bdubs are their kids and Cleo took them in the divorce. no idea if they’re biological kids or not, don’t think it really matters. a large amount of the beef between the two crews is bc of this

- another point of contention is impulse, who was childhood friends with skizz. they went down different life paths for a while and met again after skizz had joined ren’s crew; impulse joined as well, only to betray them months later and steal valuable information from ren’s office on the way out

- impulse had joined scar’s crew during their time apart and they’d already planned on getting impulse into ren’s crew to steal, they just hadn’t planned on impulse being friends with one of ren’s crewmates

And that’s about all I have so far!! I have some vague plot ideas for a maaaaaybe 2 part fic someday, but who knows if it’ll ever exist for real. Feel free to comment any opinions or ideas for this au <3

[alllcirclespresuppose]

Feedback Fest 2024

These are in no particular order and they are all from a few different fandoms. Just 10 fics that I love.

Increments of Longing by QuickYoke: Though I've read fic off and on for a number of years, this is the first fic that I loved as much as I loved my favorite books. The story is built well, the tension is built just right, and everything really pays off in the end. I'd only read a smattering of Jaina/Sylvanas fics before this, but it made me search out a lot more. Warcraft & World of Warcraft fandom | Jaina Proudmoore/Sylvanas Windrunner

of greater marvels yet to be by seabiscuit: I'm a sucker for religious questioning and queer desire. The build up is sooooo good, so many scenes felt so palpable. As a former Very Religious Kid(TM) who has a lot of complicated feelings about it, this did such a good job of holding the religious pieces gently in its hands while also not shying away from how complicated it makes everything and sometimes how uncomplicated it makes everything. Warrior Nun fandom | Ava Silva/Sister Beatrice

Equilibrium by caesurae: If someone had told me I'd ever read a Pacific Rim crossover I would have laughed. Especially if they told me that I would love it. The characters just really work here and I think it does a good job of showing how people can connect and love and understand each other even when it's not romantic. Overwatch fandom | Pharah/Mercy

the spectres vain by QuickYoke: this was the fic that got me into the Bly Manor fandom. I had really liked the show, but hadn't really explored much in the fandom. But I subscribe to QuickYoke and I got a notification about this fic and loved it. And then I loved many a Bly fic after. The Haunting of Bly Manor fandom | Dani Clayton/Jamie & Dani Clayton/Viola Lloyd/Jamie

i broke my bones playing games with you by mooosicaldreamz: I love Peggy Carter, and though Peggy/Angie isn't actually my favorite pairing, I think it's a great one. This is just a nice little modern day AU where Peggy is Captain America (written before we had our Captain Carter) and she meets Angie and they eventually fall in love. Agent Carter fandom | Peggy Carter/Angie Martinelli

not quite enemies, not quite allies by afterism: Peggy/Dottie is my favorite Peggy Carter pairing, though it doesn't necessarily lend itself to very longform fics. It's just smut, but I think it's a good enemies to lovers that moves very quickly and ends really believably. And kind of makes me wish there was more fic to go with it. Agent Carter fandom | Peggy Carter/Dottie Underwood

there's a funeral in your eyes by nirav: I love this for everything that goes through Ava's mind as she is dealing with the person she loves being possessed and trying to kill her. I really love this scene being reimagined as if Beatrice had been possessed, and I especially love how this fic does it. Warrior Nun fandom | Ava Silva/Sister Beatrice

Three Nights by lecriteuse: In Dragon Age: Origins I've always had my warden romance Leliana. She's my favorite character, I like having her around as much as possible no matter what game I'm playing. But when I met Josephine and had her tell me a bit of her background, I restarted my game and made it so my warden had never romanced Leliana so I could let her and Josephine have a go at it before Inquisition. This fic does a great job of putting that into writing. Dragon Age: Inquisition fandom | Leliana/Josephine Montilyet

who needs comfortable love by the_ominous_owl: This was just a really fun take on the Warrior Nun mythology. And a really well thought out and written play on it. Considering we'll only have the two seasons, this slots in really nicely to the gaps of questions left behind. It's also really cute. Warrior Nun fandom | Ava Silva/Sister Beatrice

bring home a haunting by QuickYoke and youngbloodbuzz: If the spectres vain is what got me into the Bly Manor fandom, then this is what made me stay. I looked forward to this fic every week, often staying up very late as the chapters got longer. This is the fic I return to when I finish a rewatch because it does a really good job of conveying a lot of the same emotions and themes. Bly Manor's big theme of ghost stories and love stories being the same thing is really, really present here: what if the the ghosts of our past came back and our emotions continued to haunt us until we confronted them? The Haunting of Bly Manor fandom | Dani Clayton/Jamie

[lowkeyclueless5137]

Do each of the Kwamis have a favorite holder out of all the twst cast in the Double Miraculous Isekai AU. PS will Marinette and Adrien actually get along with Mr and Mrs Shroud?

Hmmm that's a good one tbh.

At first, most likely the kwamis stood around and watched the NRC gang, trying to bet who would be more fit for what.

Pollen couldn't decide in between Riddle and Vil. Both had that queen energy, but they channel it so differently. In the end, the bee kwami remains with our one and only Roi du poison. U-U9

Waizz just wants someone sane. Please someone fucking sane. Alas, if only Trein wouldn't pop his back like crackers. They have to settle in with Trey. :'3

Trixx likes Ace. For the sole motive that these 2 would absolutely go on with pranks.

Noroo is very VERY skeptical. I mean, all of these mfs have motives to use any miraculous for evil or would most likely be potent of assigning disastrous akumas that would backstab and go on about their vendetta. But they rightfully settle in with Ortho. Ortho is nice and already he is absolutely capable of blasting someone in the sun. So the only need he would have for the butterfly would probably to help his allies in very case specific ways(when violence doesn't work anymore) and nothing more.

Dussu is one cheerful bean. So many expected for them to gravitate towards other cheerful beans. But no. Dussu likes Idia and that will be the problem of the older Shroud. :'3

Xuppu was absolutely gravitating towards Floyd. You tell them that this UNIT of chaos won't be even more of a menace if he gets the power to mess with people's magical abilities???

Long wanted someone calm, that would embody a clear and calculated mind. They made the fatal mistake of getting attached to Azul. :'3

Daisy likes Kalim. Kalim likes Daisy. It's a win-win. U-Ub

Sass, surprisingly, likes Silver the most. Silver is smart to a degree, but he also has a great intuition. Which is perfect!

Fluff likes Cater. Cater would absolutely love to make selfies with prehistorical dinos. :v

Ziggy enjoys Lilia, mostly for out of the box he usually thinks. Old pepaw is just ready to create a gun for shooting enemies. :3

Bark would want someone who's loyal and a guard. Many expected Sebek to fit the bill, but Jack ended up being chosen as a favorite, cuz puppy to puppy telepathy or smth. -3-;

Mullo likes Deuce. Deuce doesn't know what he should make out of it, but Ace teases him 24/7 about it.

Roarr likes Epel the most. Epel wants to be manly and strong, so a pink tiger is a somewhat good fit. :3

Unfortunately for Kalki, they are back in America with Yuulia, so they didn't get a proper chance at meeting the NRC gang.

Stomp really likes Malleus, surprisingly. Cowboy hours for Malleus. :3

Orikko stood actually the most besides Noroo to choose someone. And you would think that they choosed someone calculated and smart like Lilia or Jamil. Heck nah. They choose Ruggie of all people. They vibe tho, so there's no harm in that. :'3

Tikki and Plag are very content with their current holders. So they don't partake that much in the bets.

As for the parents? Oh it's one hell of a ride. :'3

One may think Orpheus is the one who's worrying over every little thing. No... It's Idia. I mean, his brother's adoptive parents meeting the actual biological parents? This speaks for a disaster.

First up, the men get along by both being boyflops who love their wives and kids. Adrien was an anime kid and pretty much in the adulthood he still watches anime and Idia most likely got his anime love from his father, so they would absolutely vibe together. :'3

Meanwhile, surprisingly, the moms are the ones with some saltiness to them. It does get resolved in the end, but at first, everyone thought they would Duke it out then and there. Their favourite sport is talking about how 'embarrassing' their kids can get. From the gum and biting incident to how Idia managed to chew on a light bulb. Who gets the title of the most awkward kid is still up to debate. Although the kids themselves realise they stumbled upon a goldmine of blackmail.

Surprisingly Yuulia and Idia get along. It came as a surprise since both were SO different. But ya know... Yuulia is based and knows her thing, so it's gud U-Ub

[dcconfessions]

Honestly, I'm tired that any flashback Robin story is either about Dick or Tim. These guys already had such long runs, like let's explore Jason's or Steph's time a bit more? Or maybe, you know, let Damian, the guy who is supposed to be Robin, have Robin stories?

.

[heckinhacker]

hi so i was wondering if u could do one like “Eric Cartman x Reader - South Park's days are OVER.” but with kyle, like they are the same and everything, idk if u have already done it

Kyle Broflovski x Reader - South Park might be saved, after all??

Which means we get the version where Kyle meets someone similiar to himself! It's like a 'sequel', (but not really, more like an alternative version with same trope) to “Eric Cartman x Reader - South Park's days are OVER.”

Remember that when I write for South Park, they're teenagers at less(16 y/o minimum), adults at most! it's silly i write it every south park post but better safe than sorry~

I gave Kyle green color for easier reading experience in dialogues!

note: color code might be broken because lately tumblr on pc is being silly goofy

Kyle had a great grasp of how fucked up situations in south park are having occurances

Aaand he's pretty aware there will be noone else who understands him.

Or so he thought.

There is a new student announced to be in his class while you all were in 4th grade or so?

And you seemed not too quiet, nor too shy, but surely smart enough not to push yourself into any weird situations.

Teacher sat you both together and Kyle tries to talk you up-

"Hey! I'm Kyle, it's refreshing to have a new face around. Want to play with us on long break?"

It's nice to have a new group to play with, so you agree.

Ah, kids and their not complicated feelings, right? <3

You tag along, and you grew really quickly to dislike Cartman-

It's not hard to hate him he's UNBEARABLE,

Kyle wants to let out his signature "Shut up, fatass!"

but you beat him to it-

"Shut up, fatso, mama did not taught you to behave, or was she absent in your life like yo papa?"

You had NO idea he's fatherless and it made other guys go "OOOHHHH--"

you made yourself an enemy in Cartman,

but an ally in Kyle.

You seemed to have similiar nerdy interests,

From playing Stick of Truth and heroes,

to DnD (that he played online, because not with his group-- but he invited you into his new online session!!)

Beside Terrance and Philip, Kyle also liked that vampire/werewolf series called "Under Devil's grasp" that seemed mostly for girls or boring, yet he liked it in secret and once he caught you watching first episodes, just...because,

and then joined you, for his own re-watch and your first watch, he liked seeing how you reacted

"HOW COULD YOU?" you asked out of sudden once, in a call,

"How could I what?" Kyle asks, having you on speaker while he does his homework.

" YOU KNEW ALL THE TIME THAT BARRY WILL BE KILLED AND YOU DID NOTHING TO WARN ME, I GREW TO LOVE HIM AND NOW HE'S GONE."

"Well, you said no spoilers?"

"KYLE."

He giggles, "Plus he had death flags since always so-"

He's playing, it turns out Barry barely lived and hid for like season and a half to return in dramatical moment that he watched with you and you SCREAMED.

And he has a blast with your reactions <3

And so on, you bond over similiarities,

Over years you put many blood, sweat and tears into your friendship, and you're glued by hip. Kyle won't ever pick between you and Stan who is his closer friend, it would be even cruel to ask.

You two got along decently, good, not badly, but it always seemed you're more closer with Kyle than Stan.

You grew beside each other and your families became one, big family because of how close you've gotten between each other and made them grow closer. (Or not if your relation with them is bad)

No matter your family (or your own) relligion, you spend Hanukkah with Kyle and it's almost a norm of you being around.

Listen, Ike? Absolutely adores you. Kyle sometimes has a laugh your'e more of an older sibling than he is.

(Absolute bull, we all know Ike loves Kyle the most <3)

Kyle's family wanted to make little ride to nearest amusement park

Of course they suggested you go too! You're a part of the family already <3

You have the fun of your lives, all of you. Kyle's parents mostly chill around but you, Kyle and Ike are using all the activities possible while you can, stuffing yourselves with snacks and sweets.

Bad idea, if you'd ask me

You went to roller coaster and none of you paid no mind in that choice,

but Kyle's stomach DID pay a mind

Especially in a middle where he felt like throwing out

And hell, he did! But he took out his hat and puked int oit so noone got blessed with mix of dinner and snacks.

He was almost carried out of the roller coaster by you--

You decided to go to ferris wheel and call it after a day.

They were two-people cabin on the wheel, so Ike let you two have one while he went with some other random kid.

Ike is your biggest wingman, he did that on purpose of course. Little guy <3

When you're up high, alone, with Kyle, having option to look at all the view, you can't help but to look at little buildings under you, and then to take a peak at Kyle.

Oh boy, were you surprised when you met his gaze-

He blushed furiously and muttered "Sorry- Uh- did not mean to stare."

Of course - you did not mind, but that was SURPRISING.

You did not bother him about it though. Whatever he had in mind - nothing, or something, he will come around.

But you might've realised that you DO have feelings towards your childhood best friend. For sure.

You remember how I mentioned your shared liked series with Kyle, "Under Devil's grasp" ? Soo...

Imagine it was near end, and studio decided to make finale into movie, two and half hour long one.

It's a series you two follow since you were kids, OF COURSE you have to be there in the cinema.

You ride with Kyle to big city, with his freshly acquired driver license and shitty car of his.

You enjoy your WHOLE drive there, time spent in bigger city, it all was just amazing.

Series, even though it was mostly about vampires and werewolves, was called "Under Devil's grasp" and it's very questionable, for years there were just theories, yet the movie after all those years of content literally ended with said title as last words.

Y'all were crying already enough but it was such a HIT in the face

When you walked out of cinema you whipped your tears out of your eyes, so did Kyle, as you giggled and gushed about the ending of your beloved series.

Ride home was mixed, going from peaceful to chaotic, just atosphere was...magical. Lights of highway, music blasting loudly and Kyle jamming to it, while you take a glance with full adoration at him.

You sing a little, then you rest and sooner than later end up in South Park.

Kyle drives to your house first to drop you off, walks out of car to walk you to your door, and gazes at you.

"Thank you...for today. I had fun! I hope you did too."

"I did, you kidding me? Thanks for even offering. I...really appreciate it."

Kyle seems to hesitate, and then sighs deeply.

"...I love you."

" Yeah, good night to you too man- oh wait what the fuck-??"

"I...wanted to say so, and today's spent time with you made me realise I'd hate you to spend the day out of South Park with someone else. I'd hate for you to have late-night drives with somebody else, I'd hate to see you happy with somebody else because...well, I wish you stayed with me. Of course I mean- have fun with others, I just...I wish you'd keep your heart on my hands. It's fine if you'd prefer to stay friends, I hope it doesn't break our friendship. But I uh...I wanted to let you know."

...that was...a lot. Wow."

He thinks it's a rejection, but...

It's not, really

You grab his cheeks and kiss him before he can get into tangent of self-doubt.

Then smile at him,

and say:

"Information saved. Let's grab something to eat tommorow together too, alright, boyfriend?"

You smile and wave him away goodnight and closed your door.

...

"...boyfriend?"

He's so giddy pls <3

Other's reactions:

Ike:

FUCKING FINALLY 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALO.

My little dude was waiting for the moment you hold hands and kiss each other already for TOO LONG

I mean, don't kiss too much in front of him he'd gag, it's still his older brother we're talking about

but at least Kyle pinning over you days are OVER.

He congratulates you and gives you gift cards of "congratulations on marriage!" drew with crayons and pencils

My man Ike is an anime fan, he made you badass gift card <3

Stan:

Not surprised but surprised at the same time.

He's second biggest fan, first being Ike

He learned the news from Kyle himself the same night you became a thing, later Ike hit him up because he was excited BSHSH

He hears Kyle out and congratulates him A LOT

Kenny:

He kind off knew? everyone kind off knew but he was sure you were already dating so...

news were shocking because

"Weren't you dating already? damn-"

he was sure you're married and expecting a kid/j

he doesn't have strong reaction because, as I said, it's not much of a news for him not going to lie

Cartman:

He always tried taking away whatever Kyle loved the most

So he's salty he failed this time

He always makes you both miserable, with slightest show of affection he is making big clown show out of it

Enough that just guys ask you to STOP with PDA because Cartman is being fucking annoying

He's just that salty single friend man for sure <3

Lemme be honest, it's not one of my best works, but I have (I am in a middle of...) 9 days streak of work straight, I am exhausted beyond human belief, but maybe because my ability to hold my ground is shitty, thanks depreshon--

So yes, It's not my best piece, but it was pretty much expected, so :>

I wanted to tag @bath1lda because of "kyle kyle" spam ask hehe- I hope you, and everyone else who read it, a nice "have a good read" :>

[soundingstars]

The words that Kaeya spoke were true when it came to Diluc’s well being because of the wound he was obviously sporting. One that he wasn’t going to let him continue to suffer from. 

He wasn’t going to drop this at all. He did still care for him despite the tension that lingered between the two. 

Diluc was the one who knew Kaeya the best, but the time spent apart did prove how much the both of them changed during their time apart. It was true that they once stood on equal ground while he often stood by Diluc’s side to help make the burden of his reckless behavior that often got them in sticky situations. He often went along with it whether they were dealing with those Treasure Hoarders or dealing from the stash that Crepus used to lecture them about many times. Unless Adelinde beat him to it. Kaeya wasn’t the same little kid who used to follow Diluc around when they were living underneath the same roof. He had grown. He was Mondstadt’s Calvary Captain after all. A person who Jean obviously trusted. 

It was unknown if the truth between the two of them could be fixed since he doubted that Diluc would be able to trust him again because of the truth that came out. They had lost something that day while Kaeya was tired of hiding the truth which was the reason why he revealed it in the first place. The reveal was not in his favor though, it caused that familiar blade to be raised against him. 

Kaeya lost the home that he had grown up in. A home he doubted that he could return to. 

“The Abyss Mage is the last of my worries right now.” 

The Cryo User could worry about one lone mage later since there were more important things to deal with at the moment. Diluc was more important than a random mage who decided to cause problems. Even if he wasn’t in the position as a Cavalry Captain, he would still be fretting over him. He wasn’t going to leave him dealing with the wound alone. 

Despite the struggles between them, Kaeya was going to show that concern. 

It was unknown how the others would have reacted, but he knew that there were plenty of people who wouldn’t have hesitated to stay by Diluc’s side. He wasn’t going to let the redhead press him to leave for the sake of the enemy who most likely had left the scene by now. Besides there were plenty of people who were waiting for him to return home especially Adelinde and Elzer who tended to hold down the fort when he was away from the Winery. It was going to take more than his words to push him away. It wasn’t like a flaming sword being swung full of many different emotions. 

There was no choice, but for Diluc to rely on him. There were no allies, no traveler, or anyone else that had gained Kaeya’s trust to assist them. It was just them. 

The blue-eyed man wouldn’t hesitate to freeze his feet to the ground if it would give him the chance to take care of the wound before the other had the chance to get away. Kaeya would easily do it despite knowing that Diluc could melt the ice without even batting an eye. There was a chance that a bicker could break out between the two though. 

Kaeya had made up his mind for the sake of helping Diluc. 

He wasn’t going to take no for an answer even if he was trying to come up with a protest to get Kaeya to focus on the other situation they were dealing with at the moment. A protest that he was easily going to ignore even if Diluc was trying to push him away. He wasn’t going to stop until the situation that had his focus was properly taken care of. 

He just hoped that Diluc would finally listen to reason or his feet were definitely going to be frozen to the very ground that rested beneath their feet. 

A small breath escaped from his lips, deciding to ignore the first set of words that decided to slip through his lips. It seemed that Diluc was willing to listen to him though before he went to see how bad the wound actually was once the shredded coat was out of the way. 

“Thank you, that’s all that I was asking for.”

[sinner-as-saint]

I Am Your Fall.

Mob!Bucky x Ex-Spy!Reader

Run-through: You’re hiding from your past, in Madripoor. You did nothing wrong, other than mix dangerous business with a lot of pleasure. You couldn’t go home because... he would find you and Madripoor was the only place he didn’t do business, or had any allies or friends. But little did you know that the mob boss had finally found you after obsessively looking for you ever since you left, and left him in pieces. He didn’t want revenge, he just wanted the one thing he had hopelessly fallen in love with; who also happened to be the one who had betrayed him and hurt him more than anyone or any bullet ever did before - you. 

Themes: mob!bucky, smut, angst, fluff, Ex-Spy!Reader, slight daddy kink, guns

“The usual?” 

You nodded at the man in front of you with a faint smile as you took a seat at the bar. You kept the hood of your jacket up as you let out a quiet sigh. Moments later the bartender placed a glass half filled with whiskey and ice in front of you.

You whispered a ‘thank you’ and swirled the drink around in the glass before lifting it up to your lips and taking just the tiniest sip. You often came into this bar after work, just to feel normal again. You worked at a diner right around the corner; it was lowkey and shabby and didn’t attract many customers, neither did it pay well but you weren’t there for the money. 

Your last job, the one you had before ending up in Lowtown Madripoor, paid really well. So much so that you wouldn’t have to worry about money for a long, long time but you still had to blend in and pretend to be as normal as you could; hence the job at the diner. 

You thought of home as you took your second sip. You grew up in a nice family before joining the organization you worked for, as a spy. You let out a quiet little chuckle as you thought of how ever since you were a kid you wanted to grow up and catch bad guys. Which is exactly what you did as a spy. And you were great at your job, your organization couldn’t be prouder of your work. 

You took another sip. Everything was going great for you, until the day you were assigned to infiltrate the life of and take down the infamous mob boss, James Buchanan Barnes. The day you heard that you were being sent to him, you were excited because James was notorious for a lot of bad things. You couldn’t wait to step inside his evil lair and take him down. What you didn’t know was that you would end up finding love right where it wasn’t supposed to be. 

You felt a strange knot in your gut as you thought of him. Bucky… 

Oh you had loved him despite his mean, dark demeanor. He was a cold-hearted man to the rest of the world, but only you got to see the warmer side of him. And you fell in love, harder, faster and deeper than you ever thought you could. It got to a point where you had to choose between either betraying your organization or betraying the man who shouldn’t have fallen in love with. That’s when you ran away, far from home. Far from your work which you loved so much, and far from him. 

You couldn’t bring yourself to betray him, nor did you have the courage to tell your people that you failed in an important mission all because you fell in love with the enemy. You knew what happened to people who betrayed Bucky, you had seen it. And you also knew what happened to spies and agents who betrayed the organization you worked for. Both of those situations weren’t ones you wished to find yourself in, so in order to save yourself, you ran. 

And now here you were. 

As you took another sip of your drink, you felt the hair at the back of your neck stand up out of nowhere as a shiver ran down your spine. You were being watched. During your training you were taught to absolutely trust your gut, and if you ever got the feeling that you were being watched it meant that there was a high chance that you actually were. 

Shit. 

You set your glass down and placed the money down beside it before slowly sliding off the stool and casually walking out of the bar. You made sure your hood was still up, and you tucked your hands in your pockets. Your fingertips gently felt the hand gun you always kept with you, just in case, secured at your waist under your jacket. 

You looked around, and so far no one was following you. The streets were busy given that it was a Friday night and you were sure that you could make it home safe because no one would attack you or anything in a crowd like this. 

You lived in a modest, 2-bedroom apartment. And you always took the fire escape at the back to get into your apartment because you didn’t trust the rusty elevator at the front, nor did you ever want to run into a neighbor or anyone by taking the stairs inside the building. The fire escape was discreet and lowkey. 

You entered your living room shortly and sensed that something was off. The air was colder somehow, and you never left any windows open. Ever. You shut the door behind you, not locking it. You gently took out your gun and held it out in front of you, at the ready. You moved stealthily, quietly. You knew which spots on the wooden flooring made the most noise so you avoided those. 

Someone was in here, you could tell. The air… it smelt different the further you walked into your apartment. You didn’t switch on any lights, you checked the kitchen first. Clear. The living room. Clear. The spare room. Clear. And your heart raced as you went into your bedroom. The door which normally always remained closed, was wide open. 

You couldn’t even run. Whatever it was, whoever it was you were gonna have to face it. You stepped into your room and with whatever little light was coming through the windows, you tried to scan the room. 

“Lower your gun, babygirl. You don’t need it. I’m not gonna hurt you, and I know you don’t wanna hurt me.” 

The sound of his voice had you frozen in the spot where you stood, a few feet away from your bed. The voice came from behind you. You slowly turned around, not lowering your gun and keeping it aimed right at him. It took you a few seconds to process everything. 

You could make out his silhouette as he stood in front of one of your bedroom windows. Tall, built, his metal arm glistening. He was here. You let out a shaky breath. He was here, he found you. 

You didn’t move from the spot that you were standing on. There was a time when whenever you saw him you’d run into his arms, and despite wanting to do just that even now, you knew you couldn’t. That was back then, this was different, wasn’t it? 

He sighed before moving, walking to the other side of the room to light a table lamp. The soft, golden light illuminated the room just enough. Your heart burned as you took in his appearance; dark suit as always, shorter hair, his metal arm just as intimidating and mean as always and his pretty blue eyes - the same ones you loved, belonging to a man who eventually became the reason why you had to leave your old life behind. 

Bucky was still; calm and composed as always. He was the kind of man who had mastered the art of looking completely steady even when he wasn’t. He could have a storm inside of him, or raging flames of anger but on the outside it would never show. He was as devious and subtle as a predator, moving with the grace and elegance of a ferocious but calculated animal. 

“You seriously thought that moving across the globe and changing your hair color would keep me away from you?” He sounded like he was mocking you. “Took me about almost a year, but I found you.” He walked towards you, making you envy the way he could move so effortlessly. You couldn’t read him. His face was… blank. Void of any emotion. 

He spoke again once he stood right in front of you. “Now, you’re gonna tell me why you ran away.” 

You remained quiet. He could tell you were thinking. He could always tell, he knew you too well. You made a makeshift plan in your head. If you were to shoot him in his arm, just to injure him enough to make him lose his focus, you could grab the emergency bag you always kept under your bed and run. But you didn’t want to hurt him. 

Also, how far would you go? Knowing Bucky, if he had made it to Madripoor he probably had his men surrounding this apartment building right now; all armed and ready to fight. He probably even had people from here all the way to Hightown; which meant that even if you ran from here right now you wouldn’t be able to make it out of Madripoor. 

Like you said earlier, he had found you. There was no way to run anymore. 

“I know you’re thinking about running again.” He teased, shoving his hands in his pockets, letting you know that he had his guard down; which meant that he had thought this through. “Maybe you have an emergency bag somewhere, or you plan on shooting at me to distract me and make a run for it.” He chuckled. “Trust me, you wouldn’t make it out of this apartment, babygirl. And even if by some miracle you did, I will burn this island to the ground to find you again.” 

Despite his tone being all calm, and almost monotonous you could hear the bitterness and the evil promise in his words. He was probably angry, he felt betrayed for sure, he was also frustrated given that he mentioned having searched for you for a year, he was also probably hungry for answers. 

You still remembered that night you left. Your people at work had been pestering you to hand over information and sending you all sorts of threats if you didn’t, but you also could no longer lie and manipulate Bucky, because you loved him. So you left in the middle of the night, leaving your old life, your job, the man you loved, your family, everything behind. 

No notes, no messages, nothing. You and him had been together for a little over a year at that point. And you just snuck out of a one year relationship with no explanation. It was wrong you’d admit, and Bucky had every right to be hurt and angry. 

“Answer me. Why did you run? Why did you leave out of nowhere? And didn’t you go back to your people like the good little spy you are? Why Madripoor?” 

So he knew about your past. You could only imagine what he did to the organization you used to work for when he found them. 

“How did you find me?” You knew how much he hated it when people answered a question with another question. You were surprised when he answered instead of being even more pissed off. 

“It took a lot of people, a lot of bullets and a lot of patience to track you down.” He chuckled. “I must say, you’re good at whatever games you play. But I’m gonna need you to stop for a moment, and give me the answers I need.” He took a small step forward, reducing the distance between you and him. “Why?” 

Such a broad question, why. 

“I had to.” You gave him the most vague answer ever. 

He scoffed. “Okay, let me make this easier for you. Let’s start with, what’s your real name?” 

You almost rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t afford to let your guard down at the moment. Not when you couldn’t even figure out what he was here for. 

“You know my name.” 

Of course he did, he had moaned it so many times in bed. 

He gave you his signature smirk, the one who captured the hearts of many including yours. “I’m assuming that since you’re a spy everything which comes out of your pretty mouth is a lie. So what is your name?” 

You corrected him. “I used to be a spy. I don’t do that anymore. And I didn’t lie about my name. I didn’t lie about many things.” You looked him dead in the eyes when you said so. You wondered if he thought that you lied when you said you loved him. That was real. 

He scoffed. “I’d beg to differ.” 

“You plan on killing me?” You asked, thinking that now would be a good time to know whether or not you would be dying tonight. 

“No.” 

“Then why are you here, Bucky? Why did you look for me for a year, why are you halfway across the globe right now if you don’t plan on killing me for betraying you? What do you want?” 

“You.” 

You rolled your eyes, finally lowering your weapon. You still couldn’t read him. 

He spoke up again, “Why didn’t you lead your people to me? Why didn’t you finish your job?” 

“You might have actually done just that yourself. If you were able to find me, so could they. They probably have eyes on right now. By coming here you just-,”

He cut you off. “They don’t have eyes on you. No one does.” He answered confidently. 

“You don’t know that. You-,” 

He cut you off yet again, he smirked, “Oh I do know, babygirl. I know because I… dealt with each and every last one of them. The people you used to work for, the whole organization, it doesn’t exist anymore I made sure of that. You see, I’ve been quite busy this past year. Between dealing with your people, dealing with my own and playing hide and seek with you.” 

You froze again. Dealt with? “And how exactly did you deal with the organization?” 

“I watched it burn.” He answered, proudly. 

Oh. “You plan on doing the same with me? After your little Q and A, you’re gonna just… deal with me?” 

He fake gasped and placed his metal hand over his chest as though surprised. “I would never do that to you. You see, unlike you I didn’t lie when I said I loved you.” 

That caught you by surprise. You said nothing, pretending like that confession didn’t make your heart race. 

“I’m gonna ask one more time, why did you run?” His tone was cold. 

You scoffed. “I didn’t think you’d be understanding regarding the whole situation. If you ever found out who I was, let’s be real, you’d kill me right where I stood. And I could no longer go back to my people because they would force me to lead them to you.” 

He raised his eyebrows, then chuckled. “You protected me? What for?” 

I didn’t lie when I said I loved you either. “I didn’t want to manipulate or lie. I didn’t want to infiltrate lives and be dishonest. I didn’t want to have to live a double life any longer. I needed freedom, I needed a way out. So I came here.” You paused. “I’m not proud of what I did to you.” You added. 

You lowered your eyes once you finished talking. Bucky moved closer to you, he reached out and grabbed your chin with his metal hand, tilting your head back gently until you looked into his stormy, ocean blue eyes. You hated how you still couldn’t read him. Was he angry or no? 

“Are you lying right now?” He whispered, and smirked knowing it would piss you off. You pushed his hand away. He chuckled, leaning into your ear, his lips brushing against your skin as he spoke and it sent shivers down your spine, “Let’s play a game.” He pulled away and took a few steps back. “You love games, don’t you babygirl?” 

Your heart raced. Oh this can’t be good… 

He took some more steps back and then pulled out his gun; the shiny golden one he loved the most out of the arsenal he owned. He aimed it at you, smirking. “I’m gonna ask you some questions and as long as you answer truthfully, I won’t shoot.” 

You remained very still. You hated to admit it, but there was something so immorally powerful about him when he handled his guns. You remember back when you two were together, you could spend hours watching him clean his guns; his favorite toys he called them. Bucky always told you that he believed that weapons shouldn’t be intimidating, but the person handling them should. 

In his case, it was true. Just looking at him made your body throb for a moment. You tried not to let it show but judging by the smug look on his face you could tell that he knew exactly how you felt. 

You knew he would never shoot you.

Bucky Barnes was, afterall, a cunning man who knew how to toy with one’s head. He could have easily taken your gun away from you, could have tied you down on a chair and interrogated you until you gave in. But no, by doing this he was letting you think that you still had some control over this. He knew he had given you the chance, you could’ve easily shot him the moment you walked into the room. But you didn’t. You chose not to. And he knew that. 

You almost smirked when you put it all together. He wasn’t here for answers, because he already had them. He just wanted to hear it from you. He wanted you to verbally say it. He was here for this dark, twisted game of his. 

“Fine.” You agreed. 

He cocked his gun, the sound rang in your ears and it reminded you of the times you pretended not to know shit about guns and had him teach you how to aim. He had done so with a lot of patience and a lot of kisses. 

“How much did you tell your people about me?” He asked. 

You could tell he was easing into it. “I stopped feeding them information after the first six months. I told them it would be risky to keep meeting up with them in secrecy, and that I would soon come back with everything I can gather about you. But I never did.” 

He seemed pleased with that answer. “Of course you didn’t. Instead you ran away.” He watched you cautiously, “How many people know you’re here?” 

“No one does, except for you.” 

That was true. You couldn’t risk going back to your family, not when you were certain that the moment you stepped foot outside of Madripoor your people would find you. 

“Why Madripoor?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. “You could’ve easily hid in the country itself given your… skills.” He knew just where to poke you to make it hurt. “Then why here?” 

“Anonymity. No one knows or cares about who you are or where you come from here. Also because I knew that neither the organization nor you had any connections here whatsoever.” You paused. “Clearly I was wrong.” 

He got really serious, clenching and unclenching his jaw. “Why didn’t you just tell me the truth then? If you couldn’t trust your people at the time, why not turn to me?” 

His question made you chuckle. “I already told you, you would’ve killed me.” 

“And I already told you that I-,” he cut himself off and took a breath. “Why didn’t you trust me?” 

You stared into his eyes, looking. Searching for something you once saw in them. Love, for you. There was a time when he would look at you with nothing but adoration and love. Now he was angry, hurt, frustrated, his power challenged. 

“Because I’ve seen what you do to people who betray you. I knew how much loyalty mattered to you. And I… I couldn’t have possibly looked you in the eyes and tell you that I’ve been lying and manipulating you for a whole year, and that I was sent to take you down.” 

It hurt to say it out loud. 

“You ran because you were scared of me? Of what I would do to you if I found out?” He didn’t bother hiding the hurt. He wasn’t calm and composed anymore, he was visibly troubled. Jaws clenched, fingers tightening around his gun, eyes shooting daggers at you. “Answer me!” He raised his voice out of nowhere and you jumped. 

You lowered your gaze to the floor. In all those years, be it during training or even while on missions, you had never succumbed in any way when a weapon, no matter the size, was aimed at you. Yet now, you could feel your hands starting to shake just a little. 

“Yes. I ran because I was scared of you.” You answered, not having the courage to look up at him. 

He was quiet for four seconds - you know because you counted them - before he lowered his gun and shot at the wooden floor, several feet away from your legs. The sound made you flinch and groan, not in fear but in annoyance. He was breaking you, he was getting everything he wanted out of you. You were giving in, too easily. You hated it. 

“Liar!” He growled and walked right over to you, quickly. His eyes reflected the anger and frustration he felt inside. He placed the barrel of his gun right under your chin. The cold metal made you shiver, mainly because you still remembered that his metal arm felt the same way against your warm skin. “I said no lies.” 

He used the gun to tilt your head back, making you look up into his eyes. He spoke up again, “You ran because you love me, and you couldn’t live with yourself after betraying me. You chose not to lead your people to me, because how could you? How could you do that when you fell in love with the enemy?” Bucky chuckled, removing his gun from your chin and replacing it with his metal hand. 

He leaned in so close that when he spoke next, his lips brushed against yours. “You chose to run away rather than give them what they wanted, because they wanted my fall. You ran from me because you couldn’t admit, nor accept that you cared too much about me.” He chuckled. “You did all of this not because you were scared of me, but because you were scared of them since you had failed in a mission.” He shrugged. “That’s understandable, given you fell in love with the one they sent you to ruin.” 

Your eyes watered. He broke you, finally. He said everything you’ve been avoiding to tell yourself over this past year. And he was right about everything. You were quiet. You didn’t have anything to say to him. 

He spoke up again. “I know for a fact that you knew I would never, ever hurt you. Betrayal or no betrayal.” 

“Buck…” You whispered, your voice cracked as you held back a sob. You felt a single tear slide down your cheek. 

His hand moved from your chin, down to your waist. He pulled you closer, pressing his body to yours. The feeling of his built, taut body against yours brought back memories you weren’t sure you could ever forget. 

“Say it.” He demanded, looking down at your lips, then back into your eyes. His scent filled your senses. He was all you could, and wanted, to focus on. “Tell me I’m right. Tell me the truth you’ve been running from.” He leaned in, as though he was going for a kiss. “Tell me you love me.”

“Bucky, I…” you almost choked on another sob you couldn’t let out. You wanted to tell that you loved him. But the words wouldn’t come out. Something was stopping you; worry or fear or just guilt. 

It was guilt. 

He scoffed. “Too proud? Too self-righteous to admit that the good little spy fell in love with the bad guy?” He pressed his forehead to yours as he walked the two of you back, towards your bed. You knew what he was doing, and you didn’t stop him. “Admit it, babygirl,” he leaned in to whisper in your ear and you felt goosebumps all over your body, “Or maybe I should remind you…” 

Bucky pushed you down on your bed, and he hovered over you supporting himself with one hand while the metal one held his gun right above your face. “You’ve been a bad, bad girl lately.” He murmured, gently lowering his gun and brushing the barrel against your lips, then slowly dragged it down your skin. “Did you think you could hide from me forever?” 

He dragged the tip of his gun all the way down till your thighs, making you tremble. His eyes stared down into yours as he carelessly tossed his gun aside and brought his metal hand over to your mouth again. 

“Do you know how bad I’ve missed you?” He mumbled, tracing your mouth with his cold fingers. For a moment he forgot why he was here in the first place. 

You shivered under his touch. “I’m sorry, Bucky. I never meant to-,” 

He scoffed, cutting you off. “Shut up, babygirl.” He had a mean smirk on his face. “You’ve been bad. And what did daddy tell you about babygirls who misbehave?” His calm demeanor could fool anyone. Anyone but you. 

You knew him too well. You could tell he was burning inside, agitated. Like a wounded predator, planning his next attack. There was no escaping him now. Not that you truly wanted to. 

“They get punished.” You whispered quietly as he tugged on your bottom lip with his thumb. The simple gesture reminded you of all those times spent with him; the nights you spent in his bed, in his arms… 

He chuckled. “Exactly. Now come on, you have a lot to make up for.” He pulled away, and stood up straight at the end of your bed. “Take your clothes off. All of it.” 

The sound of his authoritative voice had your thighs clenching together to try and alleviate the sweet pain in between your legs. That tone of his was a weakness of yours, and he knew it. 

You hesitated only for a moment, but the longer he stared into your eyes the warmer your body felt, and all you wanted to do was to get rid of all that you were wearing. You took your jacket off first, followed by the long sleeved shirt underneath it. You scooted forward, sitting on the edge of the bed to take the rest of your clothes off; shoes, skirt, stockings which left you in your matching set of black underwear. 

You looked up at him, waiting for further instructions. 

“I said, all of it.” He let his eyes roam your body for a moment and then he spoke up again, “Don’t be shy baby, I’ve seen it all before, haven’t I?” 

He had done so much more than just seeing it all. You held his stare as you took your underwear off and had to fight the urge to throw it at his face just for the hell of it. 

“Good girl.” He whispered. “Now lie down, spread those legs for me. Show me what’s mine.” 

The crudeness of his words would’ve surely made you blush if you didn’t know just how vulgar and dirty he could really get, this was nothing. 

You did just as he asked. You held yourself up on your elbows, still holding his stare. Bucky eyed you like you were a warm meal and he was a starving man. There was nothing but lust and mischief in his eyes. 

“Touch yourself for me.” 

You felt your face get really hot for a moment as your heartbeats rang in your ears. “What?” The question just slipped out before you could stop yourself. 

Bucky smirked. “You heard me. Use your pretty fingers and touch yourself. I assume you thought of me each time you… tended to your needs over these past many, many months. I’m sure you missed me,” he chuckled, just as cocky as you expected him to be, “Or at least you missed having my cock buried deep inside of you. Hmm?”  

You studied his face for a moment. Your emotions were shifting; from guilt to annoyance to shame to lust. And you hated how well he had you figured out. “How do you know I haven’t had someone else tending to my needs instead?” You asked, quickly realizing that this wasn’t an ideal situation to be the brat you used to be back then. 

Bucky let out a little laugh; a hot and evil laugh. “No one will ever satisfy you like I do.” He shoved both of his hands in his pockets. “Even if you did, for some reason, fool around with someone here I assure you they won't be breathing for long.” He responded with a straight face. “You are mine. Nobody touches what’s mine and lives.” 

That speech shouldn’t have turned you on as much as it did. 

“Now come on, be a good girl and do as you’re told.” He spoke softly. “Show me how you touched yourself when I wasn’t here to take care of you.” 

Your hands moved on their own; caressing your inner thighs before placing your fingers right over your clit. The look in his eyes made your walls clench around nothing. Your lips parted and you let out a shaky breath as you toyed with your clit, smearing your wetness around before slowly rubbing down your folds and slipping past your entrance with ease given that you were dripping already. Your other hand toyed with your nipple, twisting and tugging. 

Needless to say, Bucky was hard just looking at you. 

You stared into his eyes as you gasped in pleasure as your fingers effortlessly slipped in and out of you. You whined as you fingered yourself, thinking about the last time he touched you – all those months back, on the same night that you left him. And how lovely his mouth felt against your body. Whining in need and frustration, the palm of your hands rubbed against your sensitive clit over and over again as your middle finger slipped in and out of you. 

“Bucky…” you whimpered. 

He just stood there and smirked. “Faster. And don’t you dare cum.” 

You whined, slipping your finger in and out of your wet hole rapidly. “Fuck…” Your own touch took you higher, and higher, and you were on the edge. 

“Stop.” He ordered, moving closer to you but not touching you yet. “Add another finger.” He waited until you did, whimpering as you pushed another finger in. “Good girl, now fuck your little cunt faster for me.” He leaned over and traced your lips with his cold, metal finger, his touch was agonizingly slow. He was so close, but he still wasn’t touching you like you desperately needed him to. 

You took your bottom lip in between your teeth to keep yourself from moaning too loudly. Bucky smirked when he saw how you were struggling to keep quiet. He noticed the way your body squirmed, and he knew you too well so he could tell that you were so close to coming undone. 

“Poor baby,” he cooed, “Is it hard?” he taunted, his fake concern morphing into an evil, handsome and sly smile. “Is it frustrating to not be allowed to have something you so desperately want? Hmm?” 

“Buck… please,” you whined, releasing your swollen lip from your teeth. Your body felt hot, and you needed to just let go and come undone. 

“Stop.” He ordered, shamelessly ignoring your pleas. You stopped, and pulled your hand away from in between your legs. He knelt on your bed, in between your legs. You tried to look away but he grabbed your chin before you could turn your face to the side. He stared into your eyes for a few seconds, not saying anything. Eventually he spoke up, “What do I do with you?” 

You stared at him, a thousand thoughts in your head. “You’re crazy.” You spat, hoping to rile him up. 

He just chuckled softly. “You did this to me.” He sounded bitter, and hurt. He leaned in to brush his lips against yours, making your heart race, “Thoughts of you were messing with my head for the past year.” He confessed, and you felt your heart hurt. “People think I’m cruel, clearly they haven’t had their heart broken by you.” 

You opened your mouth to say something, or maybe apologize, or perhaps you’d say something which would piss him off even more but before you could, his mouth was on yours. He kissed you with passion, but also pent up anger and frustration. He was conflicted, so were you. Both of your pride were hurt, egos bruised but your hearts still yearned for each other. Nothing could change that. 

Before you could process anything, Bucky was kissing down your body; you were a whimpering mess by the time he kissed along your inner thighs. He chuckled darkly when you let out a loud moan as he kissed your throbbing clit ever so gently. Like he used to when he was madly in love with you. 

“Your body remembers me, babygirl.” He seemed proud of that. 

You hated how you couldn’t resist him. You hated how you didn’t even try to. You melted right under his touch as his tongue gently licked down your folds. His hand found yours and he laced his metal fingers with yours while his other hand rubbed up and down your thigh as he pushed his face further into your wet core. 

You couldn’t bring yourself to look down at him, but you were sure he looked enticing with his plump, pink lips on your wet heat; your arousal dripping down his chin and coating his lips as he devoured you. You heard him growl before he bit down on the soft skin at your inner thighs to get your attention. 

“Look at me.” He mumbled. And when you didn’t obey him right away, you earned yourself a gentle smack on your thigh, which only made you squirm even more; causing you to accidentally grind against his mouth. He chuckled again. “Impatient, are we?” 

You supported yourself up on your elbows finally, and looked down at him. His handsome face in between your thighs was a sight you weren’t sure you would ever get used to. You could feel his warm breath fanning your wet skin occasionally as he stared into your eyes until you couldn’t handle the intensity of his stare. 

Bucky held your stare as he attached his lips to your core again, making you whimper in pleasure. He wasn’t planning on stopping until you beg him to. He had missed you, your taste. He had missed this; your warmth and your soft whimpers as he teased you with his tongue. 

“Do you wanna cum for me, babygirl?” He asked, before pressing his lips back against your wet folds. 

You nodded, quickly. “Yes, please…” your legs had begun shaking just a little as he took his time and dragged his tongue up and down your slit. But the way his lips lifted into a smirk gave away that his answer would only disappoint you. 

“No, you’re not allowed to cum.” He cooed, playfully. “Not so easily.” He whispered before he got back to teasing your sensitive spot with his warm and wet tongue; relishing your taste and humming in pleasure as he ate you out. He let out a little laugh, “I forgot how good you taste.” 

You moaned out loud as your back arched off the bed for just a moment, your eyes closing and your head leaning back as you felt a wave of intense pleasure wash over you. You weren’t sure how long you could take this sweet torture. Your fingers tightened around his and he chuckled against your skin. 

“What is it baby, you can’t take it? Hmm? All that sass, all those mind games and now you can’t even handle my tongue?” 

He taunted you before getting back to teasing your entrance with the tip of his tongue. Your body tingled and you felt a sweet pressure forming in between your legs. You were sure he could see the tears of frustration escaping your eyes, falling down your warm cheeks. 

“Please…” you moaned pathetically. 

He licked around your clit one last time before pulling away and kissing his way up your body again. The twisted side of him loved the way you whined when you realized he wasn’t gonna let you cum so easily. He leaned in to kiss your open mouth eventually, making you gasp and moan and forget how to breathe with just one kiss. 

When he pulled away to look at you he smiled at the mess you were. Lips swollen, and bruised with how many times you or him bit down on it. Red marks all over your neck, bite marks along your inner thigh, and your arousal dripping out of you. He quickly placed his fingers where his mouth had been earlier, teasing your clit before shoving two fingers inside of you and stroking your walls so slowly that you were losing your mind. 

“Why won’t you admit it?” he kissed along your cheek and reached your ear where he whispered, “Are you that proud? That heartless?” Judging by his tone you could tell that his emotions were wavering as well. “I searched the whole world to find you.” His fingers sped up as he spoke, your moans got more frequent and holding them back became much more difficult. “And now you’re still gonna be a stubborn, disrespectful brat?” 

The bitterness in his tone woke something inside of you. Did he not realize that you’re not exactly pleased with what you had to do? Did he not understand? Pissed, your annoyance mirroring his, you pushed his hand away and pushed him down on the bed. He wasn’t expecting it so he went down rather easily. You got on top of him, straddling his waist, ignoring the nudity, and stared down at him. 

“Enough! You can’t just walk in here and do or say whatever the fuck you want.” Your sudden outburst took him by surprise. Part of him had always loved it when you got a little aggressive. “I’m not proud of what I did. That’s why I left, the guilt was killing me. It still kills me, every single day. I haven’t had the best year of my life since I left you either. I had to leave my homeland, my family, and I… I had to leave you.” 

He remained quiet. 

“I moved to a place where I knew no one. I’ve been alone for the past year, living amongst strangers, no friends, no family, nothing! All because I couldn’t let them get to me. You were right, because if my people found me they would somehow find a way to get the information they needed and they would’ve surely taken you down. You would’ve never seen it coming.” You sniffled, realizing that you were tearing up again. 

Bucky had, surprisingly, nothing to say. You went on. 

“You want answers? There you have it then. I couldn’t just stay and watch myself become that reason for your fall. I couldn’t let that happen to you, because I love you too much. When I realized I loved you, I panicked. I ran because I didn’t know what else to do, or how to keep them away from you. And I am so sorry for what I did. I understand if you-,”

He cut your long speech off by sitting up and grabbing you just in time before you lost your balance, pressing his lips to yours. You immediately wrapped your arms around his neck and let him hold you, kiss you like he wanted to for so long. His kiss was gentle this time, careful, loving. His metal hand ran up and down your spine slowly as his other hand grabbed you and pulled you close to him by your butt.  

He slowly pulled away and his heart felt like it tore in half at the sight of your teary face. He had been so busy being heartbroken after you left that he didn’t even take a minute to consider this perspective. He was too hurt to even think properly. 

“You could’ve just told me the truth. I would’ve handled them. I would’ve done anything for you, I… I would’ve done whatever it took to keep you safe. You know that, right?” Bucky finally spoke up, sounding much more emotional than he thought he ever could. 

Truth is, before meeting you he always thought that he was incapable of love. But then you walked into his life and everything changed for the better. So when he lost you, without any explanation, he went insane. 

You sighed. “I was scared. I didn’t understand, I thought I was doing the right thing. I was hurting too. You think disappearing out of your life and leaving you behind without saying a proper goodbye was easy?” Your voice cracked as you fought back a sob. “How many times do I have to-,” 

He cut you off. Once he saw the tears accumulating along your water line again. “Okay, okay shh. I just got you back, I don’t wanna fight.” He mumbled, pressing his forehead to yours. 

You sniffled, your heart skipping a beat as his body heat wrapped around you. “I’ve missed you. Every day. I missed you so much. I couldn’t risk reaching out to you to even apologize, I was so scared. I… I didn’t…,” your sentence ended in a whisper, you didn’t know how to articulate your thoughts too well. 

He tightened his arms around you. “It’s okay, baby. Everything is fine now, I found you.” 

You were quiet for a while, enjoying his calming touch and processing all that happened since you stepped inside your apartment tonight. “Are you mad at me?” you asked, seeking to find some sort of sense in all that just happened. 

He sighed, and kissed your forehead. “I was. When I woke up the next morning after you left, I was confused, hurt. Then you didn’t show up for a couple more days and I had my people look you up, and I was told that you were a spy.” His words made you feel uneasy and ashamed of your past. “I was broken, but I never knew what a heartbreak feels like so instead all I felt was anger. But despite all of it, all I wanted was to have you back. Then I found the organization you worked for, and I made sure to destroy it. Since then I’ve been looking for you like a madman.” 

He pulled away to look at you. You managed to look up into his eyes without tearing up again. “I’m sorry.” You whispered. 

He pulled you closer. “I’m sorry too.” 

“I love you.” 

Bucky smiled at you. “Say it again.” 

You reached up and cupped his face in your hands. “I love you. I love you so much and I’m sorry. For everything. I just… I just want you back, please.” 

He leaned in for a kiss, whispering against your lips, “I’m right here, babygirl.” He gently turned to the side and laid you back down on the bed. “I’ve got you now,” he mumbled, pulling away to take his suit jacket off, then his shirt. He tossed both somewhere on the floor and bent down to kiss you again. He kissed down your neck, leisurely; taking his time on you as he unzipped his pants. 

“Buck…” you groaned as he teased you with the soft, feathery touch of his lips. He had been teasing you for so long now, you couldn’t take anymore. Your body felt burning hot again, you needed him. Bad. You needed him like you needed air. 

“Yes, baby?” He asked, kissing down your cleavage; pretending he doesn’t know that you were practically shaking in need. 

You whined, sliding your finger into his dark, soft hair. “I need you. Please, I need you. Now.” You spoke through gritted teeth by the end, tugging at the roots of his hair. 

He chuckled. “So aggressive.” He murmured, kissing up your neck until he reached your mouth. He noticed the way you had unintentionally, gradually parted your legs to accommodate him; your naked body squirming under him, your bare chest pressing up against his, your body heat mixing with his. “I’m gonna take care of you, baby…” he whispered as he lowered his underwear just enough to free his cock. He was rock hard.

You were a whimpering mess by the time he aligned his erected cock to your entrance. You instinctively spread your legs further apart to give him more room. With a slow, steady push, he inserted his length into you. You shuddered, moaning as you felt all of him filling you up. You heard his ragged breaths as he seated himself completely inside you and waited, giving your body time to adjust to him. 

He could still make you tremble in pleasure just like the first time he touched you. Bucky held back his moans and growls as he felt your warmth wrap around him so perfectly. He clenched his jaw as he relished the feeling of being inside of you, finally. 

“Is this what you needed, babygirl?” he asked, looking down at you, and gently grabbing your face, causing you to look up at him. 

You couldn’t talk given how full you were. You just stared at him with parted lips, breathing heavily. Bucky smirked, pulling out just a little before pushing back into you again. You closed your eyes and moaned, arching your back off the surface of the bed again. 

He smirked as he looked down at you. “You waited, didn’t you? You waited only for daddy to stretch you out like this. I know you didn’t let anyone touch you while I wasn’t here.” He remained still as he leaned into your ear, whispering, “The way you’re clenching around my cock right now gives it away.” He chuckled, proud. 

Your face burned. He knew you too well. 

Bucky leaned in to kiss your open mouth, shamelessly shoving his tongue past your parted lips and stroking the inside of your mouth while he began moving in and out of you. He sped up gradually, rocking his hips against yours; his hand reached up to grab your chin gently. He stared into your eyes, speeding up into you again. You gripped the bed sheets as he pounded into you. 

He stretched you out deliciously, perfectly. Filling you up and reaching all the right places as he went. He couldn’t hold back any longer, so he moaned and growled right against your mouth, clenching his jaw or occasionally biting down on your lip as he pounded into you relentlessly. 

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” He spoke as he sped up into you again. You could whine senselessly, overwhelmed by how good he felt deep inside you. 

He leaned down to push his face into your neck as he lifted one of your legs and hooked it to his waist, pushing himself deeper inside you. “Fuck…” he moaned as you clenched hard around him. He down for a moment just to hear you moan wantonly before he sped up again, fucking you relentlessly. “You’re mine. Only mine, you hear me?” 

You nodded, or at least tried to.  

The louder you got, the closer he felt his release coming and the filthier his mouth got. “Your little cunt is mine. Only mine.” He spoke through messy kisses; growling and causing goosebumps to erupt all over your body. “Only I can fuck you like this, you hear me?” Bucky quickened his pace and pounded into you harder than before; the sounds of your skin slapping one another resonated around the modest room. 

Bucky was all you could focus on. The sound of his voice. His body pressing down on yours. His cock inside you. Your walls began to clench tighter around him. His moans, his hot breath against your cheek, his messy kisses. Just him. You had missed him so terribly, and only now did you wonder how in the world did you survive so long without him? 

He took you higher, and higher, and higher until you felt more tears escape your eyes. “Please, Buck…” you whined, begging pathetically and unable to arrange your words or your thoughts any better. “Please…” 

Your eyes were droopy in lust. His eyes were too as he stared down at you with a handsome and arrogant smirk on his face. “Please what, babygirl?” 

His pretty blue eyes put you under a trance. “Please, can I cum?” 

Bucky caressed your cheek with his knuckles, his metal hand holding him up above you. He didn’t know how he managed to survive without you all these months. He was barely living without you. He looked down at you with nothing but love and adoration in his eyes. 

“Go on, baby. Cum for me.” 

You let the pressure build inside you, before simply letting go. He didn’t slow down as you felt your orgasm wash over you, Bucky kept pounding into you as your eyes rolled back and you moaned out loud as you came. You whimpered at how he kept slamming into you even as you came, and your face burned as you felt a familiar knot forming again right at your core.

He fucked into you relentlessly. “Fuck…” He panted and groaned at how good you felt around him; wet and warm all for him. Your walls clenched around him violently and your body arched off the bed. 

You felt your second release approaching even before you could recover from the first one. Your leg around his waist was numb but you still wanted more of what he had to give. You would take whatever he gave you in that moment, given you had gone so long without him. 

You felt your mind getting foggy again. His large frame hovering above you as he fucked deeper into you, just a little more. “Cum for me again, baby.” He growled, his lips dangerously close to yours as you whined and whimpered under him. Your body trembled as you came for the second time, walls tightening around his length, gushing out around his cock while he still pounded relentlessly into you until he came as well.

You felt his thrust getting sloppy and irregular until he came to a stop and just groaned as he came violently. His warm cum filled you up and some of it trickled out of you when he carefully removed his cock from your entrance.

He collapsed on the bed beside you, catching his breath before pulling you into him. You were slightly shaking as he wrapped his arms around you, kissing your skin wherever he could, murmuring sweet nothings. 

“You okay, babe?” he asked after a few minutes of just holding you in his arms, in silence; both of you just enjoying each other’s warmth and presence. 

You nodded, placing your arm over his chest and scooting closer to him, pressing up against his side. 

You both remained quiet for a while longer. Thinking about the past, and the future. 

“Are you sure you’re not mad at me?” You asked, your brain starting to overthink again. 

Bucky sighed. “Baby I couldn’t stay mad at you even if you intentionally stabbed me through the heart and watched me bleed to death.” 

You took a second to process what he just spoke of, and you made a face at him, showing your horror and concern, which then made him laugh out loud. “You’re sick.” You muttered, placing a gentle kiss to his metal arm. The cold metal against your lips reminded of somewhere you desperately wanted to be - home. 

He shrugged, pulling you closer. “Yeah. Also cruel, devious and pure evil. But you love me nonetheless.” He teased. 

You smiled, your worn out body snuggled up against him. You felt your eyelids drooping as sleep slowly took over you. Today has been a lot. “I do.” You spoke softly. 

Bucky looked down and saw that you were slowly drifting off to sleep. He adjusted the covers so that you were well covered with the warm blankets. He tucked you in and wrapped his arms around you protectively, as though you might slip away from his grasp again. 

“I love you, babygirl. Sleep tight, we’re going home soon.” 

You didn’t respond so he figured you must have fallen asleep. While he hugged your sleeping figure, he thought back on everything you said tonight. Your biggest fear was that you might end up being the reason for his fall. But little did you know that ultimately, you had been the only reason he knew what truly falling in love was like.

[pricklenettle]

Fenton Driving School

The prompt comes from @gilbirda

WC: 3344

Prompt: The students of Casper High aren't sure why they are on a siege. The ghost villain is new, and they keep demanding for the Ghost King to show his face and battle them, but they don't know any 'Ghost King'. And why is the Fenton kid being held down by his friends? (PR284)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/38381152

Danny Fenton felt like he was in a pickle jar. An impression not helped by the bottle green ghost shield that strained any light that got through into an unnatural twilight. When you looked up at the sun it almost appeared to wobble as though through old warped glass. This same effect made the huge ghost floating right outside look like a misshapen frog. 

Especially when he opened his mouth to bellow: “Where is the Ghost King! Fight me!”

Which was just a ridiculous thing to shout into the air. In any other world if someone walked around challenging the king of ghosts— well incarceration at an insane asylum would be the usual course. 

The ghost outside punctuated his cry by again punching a huge blast at the school. The shield wobbled, rippling like a disturbed pool. Danny sighed, but they were in his world and nothing so convenient would ever happen. He bounced his leg up and down, eyes flicking back and forth to track the attacker and watch for any other threats. Sam and Tucker stood on either side of him, guarding him from moving even a centimeter out of his seat on the steps in front of the school. The ghost shot another torpedo blast of force at the shield and Danny jerked toward it almost against his will. Sam sent him a loaded glare that would curdle milk and kill most small rodents. Danny settled back on the step.

All around them, students milled inside the shield, keeping together in tight worried groups. School hadn’t finished when the ghost attacked so inside was packed as well. Danny’s eyes roved over the parking lot, each vehicle representing a fraction of the students trapped in the ghost shield, crowding to the windows and doors, watching the ghost circle. Danny would have gone completely insane if he’d been trapped in a schoolroom on top of everything else. He was lucky other students were willing to risk their physical safety outside at the edge of the shield to catch a glimpse of Phantom. At least he had fresh air (although the breeze that filtered through the shield had the barest hint of stuffy citrus and battery acid, like bad cleaning product.) He didn’t feel lucky.

The ghost bellowed a blood curdling war cry probably designed to stop his enemies in their tracks, the students didn’t seem much more than annoyed by it though. Danny actually recognised this guy, it had taken him a hot second of course, for the simple reason he’d never taken him seriously.

Puncheus Maximus— yes, that was his name, was dressed like a wrestler you’d see on t.v. really, really bad t.v. Purple leopard print shorts and all. He did have a very battered, very real Roman helm, but Danny was pretty certain he’d found that after his death. Sometimes you couldn’t be sure though. Puncheus had led a small group of malcontents raiding Danny’s allies. Just generally spitting in the face of his reign, making big boasts, and failing to accomplish much except to be annoyances. So Danny had sent Fright Knight to clean them up so he could deal with the many actual problems clogging his life (one of which was locked around his waist under his hoodie.) Looked like Puncheus had joined the list.

Danny gritted his teeth and snuck another glance around the periphery. Everyone looked fine for now, if impatient. As for Puncheus, it looked like instead of using ecto blasts, the guy shot a powerful short range torpedo blast that vibrated the air every time he punched. It looked like it would hurt to take a hit head on, but Danny knew if he could just turn into Phantom he could bring him down.

“Ghost King,” he bellowed.

“We don’t know who you’re talking about,” Dash yelled, tossing a football at Kwan.

Kwan grabbed the ball out of the air, joining in a bit quieter, “Yeah, we don’t have any Ghost Kings around here.”

“Seriously, just let us go home.”

Paulina looked up from her perch on the railing at the top of the stairs. She smirked. “Phantom will make mincemeat out of you, so just go already before you embarrass yourself.” Apparently bored of bullying the ghost, she returned to her conversation with Star.

Danny buried his head in his hands. “This is what I get for playing up my fear of ghosts.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault.” Sam winced, she was always awkward in the position of comforter. “It’s not your fault people always see you run away from ghost attacks.”

He grunted, frustrated. Right now the specter deflector was at the top of his least favorite Fenton inventions. Dad and Mom had gone off to some conference, and they’d been very worried about the safety of their youngest child. So of course the best solution was to create a specter deflector designed just for Danny and his “ectoplasm residue” and lock it around his waist. The gesture might have been sweet if the stupid belt didn’t inflict terrible electrocution every time he tried to go ghost. At least the adjustments wouldn’t let it shock him on contact anymore. 

He turned to Tucker. “You’re sure you can’t unlock it?”

Tucker shook his head. “The lock is completely manual. They’re going to have to fly back with the key. Face it, dude, Phantom’s going to have to take the bench this time.”

“As soon as they get home I’m dropping this thing in the blender.”

Sam patted his shoulder. “You said yourself, this guy is no big deal, I’m sure Valerie can handle him.” 

“The suit Technus modified is completely ghost, she can’t pass it through the shield. I’m pretty sure she’s moping in the library.”

“Well, the ghost will have to give up eventually, won’t it?” Tucker’s voice was high and unconvincing. 

“Hey, Phantom.”

Danny groaned and dragged his hands over his face. “Hello, Wes. Would you mind leaving me to my misery?”

“Ha! You responded, tell me now you’re not him.”

“Alright, I’m not.”

Wes Weston crossed his skinny arms, scowling. “Transform already, I want to get out of here.”

Danny rolled his eyes. “If I was a ghost, I would be just as unable to pass through the ghost shield from this side as our friend out there.”

“Oh.” 

Wes’s face fell, perhaps finally realizing that he wasn’t being helpful at all. He crab-walked away up the steps, but then whipped out his camera anyway, as though Danny might transform after all. Danny sighed, kneading his palms into his eye sockets. 

It was Lancer who landed the final blow.

He came out of the school blinking, taking in the screaming ghost as though he hadn’t realized they’d been under siege for the past forty minutes. Then his eyes settled on Danny and he marched straight through the other students. There was no escape. 

“Mr. Fenton, this is the perfect opportunity to talk about your book report that was due today.”

Danny was done. He slapped his knees and lunged to his feet before Tucker or Sam could stop him.

“Sorry, Lancer, got to go.”

The Fenton thermos was in his backpack. He dropped it off his shoulder and plunged his hand in, rooting for it as he darted for the shield. 

“Danny, no, don’t do this!” Tucker slid down the banister, at the bottom he jumped off, arms out to tackle him to the ground. Danny skidded to a stop, just short of Tucker’s faceplant.

“Sorry, bud,” he shouted as he jumped over the prone form.

Tucker lifted a trembling thumbs-up into the air. “I’m okay.”

Danny’s hand finally closed on the thermos. And a good thing too, because Sam was sprinting at him with a look more determined than Cujo’s. He zipped the bag closed, then spun, launching the backpack at her at top speed. 

She went down with an “oof.”

Danny shoved the thermos into the front pocket of his hoodie, hopefully, it wouldn’t get in the way too much there.

“What is he thinking,” Lancer cried.

“Dash, incoming,” Sam shouted.

Dash turned, confusion on his dumb mug. That sneaky goth. Dash grinned, broadening his stance to intercept. Danny skirted around him, but Dash sidestepped to make a grab. It was easy to slip past him, and Danny left him behind. 

“What the heck are you up to Fen-turd?”

Other kids were now trying to grab him and hold him back, but Danny jumped and wound his way through, finally clearing the shield with a leap. It was like passing through a thick soup bubble, it caught him for a millisecond, green gooping over his nostrils, eyes, ears, the back of his neck like a freezing cold stream, and then it released him, letting him stumble forward into the parking lot. 

The ghost floated lower, glaring at him furiously. “You’re not the Ghost King.” His tone was mystified.

Danny put up his hands. “Nooooo, I am definitely not that guy, toootally not.” He raised his eyebrows waiting but Puncheus didn’t seem to get it. He stole a glance back to see Sam, Tucker, Lancer, Wes, Dash, and everyone else who’d been waiting outside the school pressed against the ghost shield watching him with wide eyes. The crowd was equally divided into delight at the mad show and the certainty that they were going to watch Fenton rushing to an early grave. Great, an avid audience was just what he needed. 

“Are you trying to mock me, human child?” Puncheus griped.

What was the plan? Who was he kidding, he never had one. Danny held back a laugh. If he could tire him out or take him off guard it would be easy to suck him up with the thermos. “I would never… Puncheus Maximus.” He won’t lie, a couple snickers burst out.

Puncheus seemed to take offense at that, he wound back, ectoplasm shimmering over his fist in glowing rings. “Shut up, I don’t need to take this from a brat. Tell me where the Ghost King is.”

“Don’t know anybody like that,” Danny said blithely, “how about I fight you instead?”

He snorted.

“Scared already? If you can’t even beat me, you should give up on Ghost Kings.”

“I am not scared,” Puncheus exploded. “You’re beneath my notice.” The fool floated lower so he could more effectively glare Danny into the ground. “You should be more careful who you—”

Danny punched him in the eye. He, of course, just went intangible, and Danny got to experience the other side of the cold sensation of his arm passing cleanly through an apparently solid person, but it certainly did the trick of making Puncheus really, really mad. Puncheus jumped back, letting loose with a torpedo blast. Danny leaped to the side, easily avoiding the wave of power that cracked the asphalt behind him. He darted forward, dodging another with both fists up. Puncheus scoffed, swinging a torpedo blast at him. Danny ducked under it, saw his chance, and landed two blows. Puncheus roared, Danny barely had time to roll away before a huge blast screamed past his ear. He couldn’t help a smile though, it was just what he thought, Puncheus couldn’t fire his powerful blasts and stay intangible at the same time. 

“You brat!” he shouted. 

He floated up a couple feet in the air, close enough that his blasts would still be effective but far enough that Danny would be missing his flight— not that he hadn’t been already. Puncheus reared back and sent a barrage of blasts raining down on him. Danny dodged behind a car, he put his back to it, wincing at the bang that no doubt meant a trip to the auto mechanic. He looked up in time to spot Puncheus floating over the roof and aiming another blast. 

Danny threw himself to his feet, avoiding a blast that splashed him with asphalt pebbles. “Wow, you are really bad at this.”

He ran deeper into the maze of cars, the rows packed tightly as the red marks that were going to crowd his book report— just as soon as he turned it in. 

It was a good chance to catch his breath. He got on his hands and knees so Puncheus would have a harder time seeing him. Jazz’s cruddy old car was somewhere nearby, Dad might even have stocked a Fenton bazooka. That would be lucky. He crept through the parking lot, carefully keeping an eye on the sky.

“Come out, brat.” Puncheus kept yelling. “You picked this fight, don’t run away now.”

Puncheus appeared right in front of Danny. He grinned, shooting a torpedo blast. Danny pushed off the senior’s car he was leaning against. The small car jumped sideways, the ugly dent right where Danny’s chest had been. He took a running jump, kicked off the side of the opposite car, and went flying through the intangible ghost. 

Grumbling he picked himself up, darting into another row of cars. The problem was hitting Puncheus at just the right moment. 

There it was. Jazz’s car was half shaded by a bush which did no favors for the peeling brown paint. Danny spotted Puncheus in a side mirror just in time to roll under a van. He peeked out carefully, it wasn’t too far of a sprint, he’d just need to be sneaky if he wanted any time to rummage.

He waited, Puncheus had stopped shouting threats. He eased himself out from underneath the van, squinting grumpily past the sun glaring into his eyes in search of Puncheus. Nothing. He crawled out. Keeping low to the ground he dashed across the empty space. The side of Jazz’s car was rough against his fingers when he ducked against it, scanning for Puncheus again. He reached for the handle, peeking through the window revealed a deliberately clean interior, a couple books in the back seat, and an empty coffee askew in the cupholder. He yanked on the handle again. His stomach sank, it was locked. Heavy boots crunched down behind him. He turned. Punchius stood over him with a triumphant grin. 

“Bad at this, am I?”

“Wow, you’re still burning over that quip? It wasn’t even that good.”

He shot a torpedo blast at Danny’s head. 

Danny rolled to the side, kicking out his leg to hook around Puncheus’s ankle. He went intangible but that just meant he couldn’t shoot torpedoes. 

“You really need to work on your self esteem.” 

Danny jumped to his feet, raining useless blows on him and dodging heavy punches. Then Puncheus caught Danny’s fist with his chin. He gaped at it for a single uncomprehending moment. Puncheus’s flashing red eyes glared murderously. Then a torpedo blast rammed into him. Danny hit the car hard, the breath whooshed out of his lungs in a gasp, and he felt the metal dent under his shoulder. Electricity from the specter deflector arced up and down his side as his ghost half tried to heal. He kept his balance, barely, even though his arm and chest felt like a wrung dishcloth. Puncheus grabbed his collar, dragging him up into the sky.

“Do you yield, brat?”

Danny wheezed out a laugh which made Puncheus’s eye twitch. “I just can’t—” he laughed, “I just can’t take you seriously. Congrats on landing one blow on a teenager.”

Puncheus’s face shot a livid green. “I don’t have time for this,” he said in disgust.

He swooped down. Danny tensed, ready to hit pavement. But instead, Puncheus forced him, intangible, through the roof of a car. Danny went sprawling in the backseat. Puncheus’s face phased through the roof above him. And what an ugly face it was.

“You should invest in cosmetics, I’ve taken more damage from your face than your punches.”

Puncheus snarled. “Be grateful I’m saving my strength for the Ghost King, kid.” Then his eyes glowed and all the locks snapped shut. 

Puncheus’s face disappeared. Danny could already hear his challenges starting up again as he wandered back toward the school. Well, this wouldn’t do, at this rate, he’d lose his crown to a t.v. wrestler wannabe who thought Puncheus Maximus was a cool name. 

Danny scrambled up over the divider into the driver’s seat. He only blanched when he saw the pile of graded papers in the passenger seat. This was Lancer’s car. Well, hopefully, whatever he did next would destroy his assignment in the crossfire. His fingers grazed over the ignition, no keys of course. He scrunched up his face in preparation for the pain and shoved his hand into the dashboard. The belt sparked, zapping out a series of light shocks. Danny just had to grimace, rooting around until the car revved to life. Danny quickly snapped back his hand, and the specter deflector immediately calmed down. A wide grin spread across his face as he switched to drive.

Danny stomped on the gas. The engine squealed in dismay, lurching forward in a skid. Danny’s teeth clicked together at the sudden acceleration, all the loose papers flew up like pigeons. He threw the wheel to the right, tires squealing messily. The back end clipped its neighbor. Puncheus spun, eyes wide with disbelief. Danny braced himself against the wheel. The car bucked as he smashed into the car Puncheus had been standing in front of. Time slowed, Danny lifted out of his seat, gravity losing its grip on him for a snapshot. Danny’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel. It was thrilling, feeling his heartbeat, his blood pumping through his veins like a hose, the euphoria as his brain bounced around his skull. Flying alive was great. Then he crashed back down, windshield cracked, head bouncing on the headrest. The front of the car was probably crumpled.  

Danny turned to the passenger seat with a smile. “Going somewhere?”

Puncheus was clearly discombobulated to find himself in the front seat of Lancer’s car. Automatically he retrieved the hand phasing through the door and the legs still standing in the street, folding them into the human space. Face drawn into a mask of fury, he leveled his fist at Danny like a gun.

“That’s it, brat, say goodbye to life.”

His arm rippled as it charged up ectoplasm.

“Already did that.”

Danny rammed the car into reverse, the gas hitting the floor with a satisfying thud. Puncheus was caught off guard in the tangible world where physics existed. He flew out the windshield, glass spraying across the asphalt. 

“I take tips by the way,” he shouted.

Danny pushed the brake for the first time, gasping. He put it in part, slipping his legs up into the seat. Feeling just a tad like jelly, he climbed out the windshield. He paused for a moment on the hood, planting his hands on his hips to survey the damage. Not bad for his first time driving.

Puncheus was still lying on the ground a few feet away. Danny hopped down, fishing out his thermos. He was face down on the ground, a couple shards of windshield sparkling under him. Other than a bad case of road rash and a healthy dose of shock, he looked fine. Danny let a devilish grin spread across his face. 

“I win.”

Puncheus just groaned miserably.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get back to the zone tonight, I’m sure Fright Knight is missing you sorely right about now.”

His eyes widened before the thermos’s beam engulfed him and he was safely vacuumed up. Danny couldn’t stop the self satisfied smile as he twisted the cap closed.

“Fen-turd, what the heck?”

He froze midstep, just then remembering his audience. He half turned toward them stiffly. The ghost shield had dissipated, but no one had moved, all staring at him. Sam smacked herself in the face.

“Are you— um, alright?” Lancer said, eyes popping out like a squeaky toy.

Danny put up a hand to the back of his head, laughing nervously. “Sorry about your car.”

Lancer seemed at a loss.

Danny laughed nervously again. Then he turned and ran.

[skyfallslayer]

The Devils Are Caught In Red Strings || Chapter 2: Cut Man & Specter

-Matt Murdock x Parker!OFC-

Series Masterlist

AO3 Link

♡Series Summary: Childhood friendships are a sacred thing... But so are secrets. This story revolves around a girl named Anya Hughes, an attorney by day and a vigilante by night. Join her into the struggles she’ll face, like her path coming back to haunt her, then facing a man who holds all the power, all while she develops a crush on her close friend. How long can she take all this until she falls apart? ♡

♡Chapter Summary: Anya and Matt make a near fatal error while trying to do their own missions, and they find an unlikely ally when they need saving themselves. ♡

♡Date: 12/20  ♡

♡Rating: Explicit ♡

♡Word Count: 11,757 (Another Long One, ya'll) ♡

♡Warning: Spoilers for the show; Canon Typical Violence; Blood and Injury; Strong Use of Language; Vomiting; Poorly Executed Fighting Scenes; Near Death Experiences; Talks of Murder and Murdering; Possible Medical Inaccuracies; Use of Pet Names; Constant Bickering; (Unknowingly) Enemies to Lovers; Talks of Child Abuse; Brief Session of Torturing; Claire Needs A Vacation; Jack Murdock is MVP here; Matt and Anya Are In The Wrong and Right; Poorly Translated Spanish Via Google (Let me know if I missed anything). READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!! ♡

♡A/N: Sorry this took so long! I got stuck editing some of my other stories, and trying to decided where this chapter should go. I originally was just going to have Anya be looking for Matt, but decided against it when didn't know how to execute it. So hopefully this was the smart route to go. I also I'm just going to write Matt's name anytime he shows up on page as the masked man since all you readers know who he is (it's going to be easier to read this way too). Enjoy! ♡

-21 Years Ago-

Everything that has happened in Hell’s Kitchen while he’s lived here, Jack Murdock never expected something like this. There were too many police and fire truck sirens for his liking. Too many people gathered around. Too many stray cars clustered together. His heart sank because he knows this route and he knows the time. The time was twenty minutes after school, and the route led back to his apartment. The route and time were giving him anxiety. 

His mind wandered to the kids. The very thought made his throat dry. 

No. They have to be alright. But it hurt so much to even say that.

But as he maneuvered around the cars, in the distance he saw a glimpse of familiar pigtails and sped up. He rudely told everyone to move, brushing past them with a bit of brute force. He needed to see this. He needed to see if–

Scared green eyes meet his blues.

“Anya! Sweetheart, are you okay?” He calls out, but her frazzled expression as she hovers over the body of her friend. 

His son.

“Matty! Matty!” He yells, dropping his bag and practically falling apart next to his son. “Matty! No, no, no! Just… Just don’t move!” His head snapped up in every direction it could just as the young girl started to ball. “Somebody get us some help!”

Matt shook at his father’s touch, confused, dazed. “D-Dad… Ann… what happened?”

“Matty, it’s gonna be alright. Just don’t move. Don’t move, okay?”

“What happened?”

Jack blinked at the question, oblivious himself as he started looking around again for more answers. He found none. “Anya?” He begins, getting her attention. “What happened, sweetheart?”

Her lip quivered. “M-Matt… h-he…”

“Your boy–” An older man calls out behind them as he’s being helped up. “He pushed me out of the way. He saved my life.”

Matt starts coughing, and squirms uncomfortably. “Dad… it burns.” He cries, eyes shut as he starts clawing at his lids. 

The seasoned Murdock looked beyond his kid, and that’s when he noticed the many barrels of toxic chemicals lying outside a truck, some spilling out into the street. He came to a haunting realization. 

He faces the little girl he could consider his own. “Did any…?”

Anya processed what he was implying in a few seconds, before shaking her head ‘no’. A small wave of relief washed over him before morphing back into major concern.

“Close your eyes, Matty.” Jack says, as he takes his sleeve and tries to wipe any excess liquid away. 

“Dad!” His son wails.

“Close your eyes.”

“Dad! Dad!”

“Close your eyes.”

“Dad. Dad. Dad. I-I c-can’t see.” The little croak, before his dad gently picks him up, cradling him close. “I can’t see. I can’t see! I can’t see!”

.

.

.

.

-Present Day-

“I can’t see!” Anya cries, clawing at her burning eyes. 

This wasn’t how this night was supposed to go. She was just going to do her usual business. Find information that could connect all the dots, a mission that was supposed to in-and-out, but…

No. Why would it be that easy? 

She heard him coming, even smelled his axe body spray before he even arrived; Anya was just going to leave him be, slowing her heart rate down so he could barely hear it himself. But that was another no. Somehow she ended up getting caught up in whatever he was doing, before it all descended into a blur. 

So now they’re here, laying in a dumpster somewhere in Hell’s Kitchen, hurt and blinded.

Ugh… I should have just gone to Josie’s with Foggy. She mentally curses, hands reaching out to find something, anything to hold onto that wasn’t open air.

“Hey, no-eyes?” She said, trying to hear out the ear that wasn’t ringing. “No-eyes? You alright? Answer me. I can’t really see you right now.” She waves her hands around some more before touching what felt like his bicep. He winces. “No-eyes?”

“W-Where are we?” He asked, groaning when he tried to move. 

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I mean, I don’t know. I… I got something in my eyes. I can’t fucking see anything.”

Matt made something like a scoffing sound. “Welcome to the club then.”

“Wait?” She raises an eyebrow. “You’re really blind?”

“Are you really that dense? Have you seen my mask?”

“Honestly, I thought you were making a fashion statement for all vigilantes.” Anya teased half-heartedly.

Matt holds his tongue on one thought, but expresses the other. “Listen here, peaches, you–”

“Hold up. Peaches? Why the fuck you calling me that for?”

“Same reason you call me no-eyes, peaches. You smell like the cheap ones that come in the cans.”

Anya scoffs. “Wow. You should buy a girl dinner before smelling her, you know? Just a thought.”

“Oh, you'll be the last girl I buy dinner for.”

“Man, you’re such a–”

“Shh!” He hushes and snatches her nearby hand, silencing her. “I can hear someone coming.”

Anya listens closely, hearing someone open a nearby door, footsteps urgently moving. “Shit!” She whispers, tensing up. “We gotta move.”

And they tried, but Matt was in the worst shape that she was. It took a lot of strength for him to even move his hand, how much would he need to move his entire body?

They soon could hear two people approaching, both speaking quickly in Spanish. 

“¡Aqui!” A voice of a younger man said (*Over here!). He seemed to be more in a rush, his heart racing like a bullet train. He was nervous, scared. You could practically smell the fear on him through his sweat. “¡Ven aquí!” (*Come here!)

Anya, despite not being able to see, did her best to go into defense mode as they approached. She bears her claws, clenching her teeth under her mask to hide the pain. “Stay back!” She hissed, hearing them stop a foot away from the dumpster.

“Relax. I’m just here to help. That’s all.” A woman’s voice replies, unusually calm. “Please, let me help. At least… let me help him. He doesn't look too good.”

Anya bite her lip, detecting no lie before tuning in on her unofficial ‘partner’. She could hear him dozing off again, but his heart was pounding, his blood pumping like it was trying to keep him awake or fight off an upcoming infection.

Shit. We ain’t getting out of this. She swallows, lowering her hands, shielding the claws. 

“Alright. But don’t try anything.” She replies, hearing her nod. “But you’re going to have to guide me. I can’t see anything.”

The woman nods again. “Alright, I can do that.” She faces the boy. “Ayúdame. Primero ayúdalo a él, luego a ella.” (*Help me. First help him, then her.)

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Anya listened to the woman’s instructions as she was guided around what felt like a large building, judging by how sounds were echoing quietly against the walls. After carefully going up three flights of stairs, she could hear a door opening which she assumed was their destination.

“Fácil, fácil, fácil.” She said, slowly coming to a stop a few steps inside a room, an apartment maybe? (*Easy, easy, easy). “Alright, mysterious lady, there’s a wall on your right, I want you to feel your way down to the floor. I’ll get to you in a minute. Keep your eyes closed while you’re at it.”

“Okay.” Anya replies, taking her hand off the woman’s shoulder to reach out. Her calloused fingertips brush the rough wall before slowly guiding herself down to the ground. She holds back another wince of pain by squeezing her eyes shut tighter, listening to the mask man being placed on the floor.

“Sube las escaleras y cierra la puerta. Y ni una palabra a nadie.” The woman said to the boy sternly. (*Okay. Go upstairs, and close the door. And not a word to anybody)

“Sí, bien.” The boy replies, standing up and leaving the apartment. (*Yes, okay)

“Ni siquiera tu mamá.” (*Not even your mom)

The door closes, and she sighs while springing to her feet. “How are you feeling, missy?” She asked, running towards the other side of the room, grabbing a bag.

“Still can’t see.” Anya replies, holding her stomach. “But I’ll manage. How’s he?”

“I’m checking.” She slides on rubber gloves before assessing the large wound on Matt’s arm before moving on to check a pulse on his neck. “Well, he’s alive.”

I could have told you that. Anya holds her tongue on the snarky remark, but she couldn’t stop her heart from sinking upon hearing the woman removing his mask.

“W-Wait. What are you doing?” Sure she can’t stand him, but whoever he may be, he's got a reason he’s hiding his face (just like she has a reason for hiding hers). She wouldn’t even snoop that low no matter how much he ends up annoying her.

“I’m saving your friend’s life.”  The nurse lady grabs a flashlight from the bag and begins shining it in Matt’s chocolate eyes. When his pupils don’t dilate, she stares in disbelief, which melts into worriedness when finding another gash on his head. 

“Wait, don’t!” Anya blurts out, her stomach churning even more when hearing the sound of a cell phone turning on. “You can’t–”

Before she could intervene, Matt had beat her to it by snatching the nurse’s wrist, stopping her movement.

“N-No. No calls.” He said, firmly.

“It’s okay, I’m just trying to help.” She said, calmly,

“No.”

“We have to get you to the hospital. The both of you.”

“They'll kill everyone.”

“Who?”

“The men who did this. They'll kill everyone in the hospital to get to me. To us.” He starts rolling over to get on his knees, groaning while doing so.

“Oh… I can’t believe I’m actually agreeing with you.” Anya mumbles, placing her hand on the wall for support. “But yeah, we gotta go.”

“You followed me! Okay? Geez, you can't…” The woman ushers. “Don't. You've lost a lot of blood. I think you might have been stabbed.”

“We have to leave.” Matt said, standing up and making a waving motion towards his (unknowingly best) friend. “Come on.”

She stands up between them, trying to be firm. “She can’t see–”

“I heard him waving.” Anya cuts in, pulling herself to her feet, still listening as Matt moves across the apartment towards the supposed exit.

Supposed.

“You wanna leave? Door's that way.” The nurse said, gesturing in the opposite direction, pausing his actions. He turns to go the other way, but just one small step causes him to collapse on the floor. “Shit!!”

Anya perks up at the thud, paling. “No-eyes?” She croaks, concernedly before her world starts to crash under weight. 

Her heart started to pace rapidly as her body caught itself on fire. She feels her body trembling, blood and vomit rising in her throat as she sinks back down to the floor…

Her mind is fading to black.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

-21 Years Ago-

{{ This crowd is not happy, Pete. Murdock has dominated this fight but now Price has turned the table on him. }}

“Oh, not again.” A young Anya mumbles, frowning sadly as her friend starts to look disappointed. They both sat in front of the small tv, watching as his dad started to lose his boxing match.

{{ He's pounding Murdock's head, and Murdock isn't even defending himself! }}

{{ Oh! Oh! }}

The two kids winced at the sound of Price’s gloves beating in Murdock’s head. They could only imagine what his face is going to look like when they get home.

{{ Wait! The ref is stopping the fight. (Bell dings) Canero has stopped the fight. Two-to-one favorite "Battlin' Jack" Murdock loses to a TKO in the 10th. }}

{{ Price looks as shocked as the crowd. Murdock had him on the ropes, but let his glove drop and got tagged with a series of devastating- }}

Matt holds up the remote and turns the TV off. 

“I’m sorry, Matty.” Anya said, sincerely.

"Not your fault, Ann. I just thought he had it this time." He replies, putting the remote back on the table. “Now it’s just a matter of time until he gets home.”

For the next hour or so, they stayed in the kitchen, heads resting on the table before they heard the door open. A man opens it, all bloody and bruised, huffing and puffing as he slides his gym back off his shoulder. The boy gets up, running down the narrow hallway with the girl trailing slowly behind.

"Dad!" Matt yells, plowing into his dad for a hug. 

"Hey, Matty! Hey!" Jack said, giving him a hug. "Hey, hey, don't... don't get blood on your shirt." He smiles softly at the kid behind his. "Hi, Anya."

"Hi, Mr. Murdock." She said, with a small wave.

"Hey, how many times do I have to tell you to stop the formalities, huh? Come on. We're family." He reaches out to mess up her hair making her laugh. 

"Gotta keep your gloves up next time." Matt said, teasingly. 

"Yeah, well, I... I should have you in my corner, then." Jack replies, walking slowly towards the kitchen.

"Does it hurt?" 

He sighs. "It don't tickle."  The older Murdock slides into his seat, a steady hand on his ribcage. “Go get the kit.”

Matt leaves to get the medical supplies, while Anya slides back into her chair, leaning on her elbows to feel taller. Jack takes his eyes off his son for a moment to look at the girl he should consider his own; especially since she seems to spend most of her time over here.

“So where’s your parents this time?” Jack asked, concernedly. 

The girl frowns and sheepishly looks away. “Um… my dad’s at another meeting and my mom’s at a bookclub.” She replies, sounding like she was going to get a scolding if she spoke.

Jack narrows his eyes a little. “Uh, huh. Your father sure has been busy lately.”

She nods, still not meeting his gaze. “Yeah.”

“And they’re okay with you hanging out here? I know we had a problem the last time you came over.”

“Yeah, they’re fine now.”

Jack said nothing more as he son arrived with a metal case, opening it up and grabbing a few cotton swabs with ointment on them. 

“You should’ve had him.” Matt scoffed, while pressing the cotton into a cut above his dad’s eye. “Price is a bum.”

“Hey, anybody who's got the guts to step into that ring deserves respect. Don't you ever forget that.” Jack said, pulling back to lock eyes with his son.

He raises an eyebrow. “Even Price?”

“Even Price.”

“Sorry you lost, Dad.”

“Yeah... Just wasn't my night.” Jack winces when the stinging sets in, and holds the boy’s hand to stop. “Easy with the cotton swabs there, doc.”

Matt frowns apologetically. “Gotta get in there. You don't want to get it infected.”

“Stitches?”

He chuckles. “Oh, yeah.”

“You better get the Scotch.” Jack said, and Matt stops to go grab it out of the cabinet. He sets the bottle on the table and pushes it towards the adult. Jack shakes his head. “No. It's for you.”

“Really?” Matt asked as the bottle was placed into his arms.

He nods. “You think I want your hands shaking like last time? This is my face we're talking about.” He faces the girl, a grin on his face. “Don’t tell anyone I’m doing this.”

She snickers, and makes a zipping motion over her lips. Matt opens the cap and smells the scotch, gagging. 

“Go ahead. Take a… just a little sip.”

Matt takes a sip of the scotch, and makes a face as soon as it hits his tongue. Jack chuckles at his reaction.

“Oh! Oh, it burns!” The young Murdock complains.

“All right.” Jack leans forward and sighs deeply. “Come on. Let's do it.”

Matt strings the needle and begins the procedure. “Don't move.”

Jack bites his lip at the pain, inhaling slowly. “So you two watched the fight?” His son nods. “You're supposed to be doing your homework.”

“Got it done first.”

“All of it?” Matt says nothing, causing Jack to sigh. “Anya?”

“I finished mine.” She replies, truthfully.

“Good.” He stares at his son, sternly. “I want you to finish up before you go to bed.”

“I'll do it tomorrow.” Was Matt’s reply.

“Tonight.”

“Before school?”

“Tonight. Okay?”

“Okay.” Matt stops for a minute, watching his dad shutter a little before urging him to go on. “Dad?” Jack hums. “You gonna have enough this month for Mr. Morris?”

“He will get his rent–” He pulls out an envelope. “On time.”

Matt finishes the stitches before picking it, opening it to reveal a few hundred dollar bills. His eyes widened in surprise. “You got all this for losing?”

Jack nods slowly. “Sometimes… even when you get knocked down, you can still win.”

“It ain't how you hit the mat…” Matt begins.

“It's how you get up.” They both said in unison, smiling.

“That's right.” Jack chuckles, grabbing the envelope back. “All right, all right. Go hit the books.”

Matt blinks before smugly asking, “Can I take the bottle?”

“No, just... Go on. Go on.”

“Okay.” He waves quickly. “Bye, Anya.”

“Bye, Matty.” She said, waving back.

“Alright, sweetheart. Let’s go.” Jack said, standing up and gesturing for her to follow.

“Okay.” She follows him, unaware of his careful gaze. She grabs her backpack by the door, sliding the straps on–

“Hang on, kid.” Jack said, stopping the girl. He carefully grabs her hand, pulling back her sleeve which was lingering with tiny bruises. He bit the inside of his cheek. “Anya, you would tell me if your dad was hurting you, right?” She nods. “So, is he?”

She shakes her head immediately. “No.”

“He’s not?” He asked, unconvinced. “Because you know I won’t get angry. I just want to make sure you're okay.”

“I’m fine, Mr. Murdock.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, just checking.” He opens the front door, letting her out. “Remember the route I told you about. It’s a lot safer.”

She mutters another ‘Okay’ as she skips out of the apartment building, living behind a man that is now angry at two things in the world.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Anya gasps, sucking in the crisp air as Matt does the same. They could feel the nurse hovering over them, still attending their wounds. Matt stiffened up, trying his best to stay alert as Anya squeezed her aching eyes shut; She could feel water drip down from the towel on her forehead, along with a wave of nausea that was coursing through her warm veins.

Shit… I really overdid it with my abilities. She scolds herself, feeling the nurse’s eerie stare.

“Are you gonna listen to me this time?” She asked them.

“Where are we?” Matt asked, straight to the point.

“You're in my apartment.”

“Who are you?”

“I'm the lucky girl who pulled you out of the garbage.”

Matt feels for his mask, frowning. “You've seen my face.”

“Yeah. I’ve seen both of yours.” 

“Great.”

“Awesome…” Anya mumbled, squeezing her eyes tighter while swallowing a bit of bile in her throat.

“Your outfits kind of sucks, by the way.”

“It’s a work in progress.” They both reply, sending a mental glare at one another upon it. 

The woman could practically see their child like antics and scoffed.

“Okay, I really wouldn't try to move too much.” She said, crossing her arms. “You, sir, have got two or three broken ribs, probable concussion, some kind of puncture wound, and that's just the stuff that I know about. And your eyes, they're unresponsive to light, which isn't freaking you the hell out, so either you're blind or in way worse shape than I thought.”

“Do I have to pick one?” Matt asked, dead serious.

“And you, lady, I’ve got a couple questions for you.”

“Shoot.” Anya said, eyelids still closed.

“First off, how the fuck do you have these glowing purple eyes?”

“Haven’t you heard of Elizabeth Taylor?”

“Yeah, but people’s eyes don’t just glow. So explain that to me.”

The brunette sighs, really not wanting to get into this conversation. “So I got superpowers. What do you want me to do?”

The nurse scoffs again. “Well that explains why the cut on your collar bone is in the proliferative stage.”

Anya raises an eyebrow. “The what?”

“Proliferative. It’s the third stage out of four for healing wounds.”

“Oh…”

“You can heal that fast?” Matt asked, surprised, eyes widening.

“Depending on how deep the wound is, yes, I can heal in less than a few hours.” Anya explains, slowly cracking her amethyst orbs open (She was starting to get some of her vision back).

“And your eyes are–”

“They’re not my real eye color. I just make them that way so no one knows who I am.”

Matt ponders for a minute, taking it all in. “I see.”

“Yeah. Hey–” Anya turns her attention to the nurse. “Did you flush them with something? They feel a little better.”

“I did. Several times actually before I applied some medicated ones.” The nurse replies.

“Thanks.”

“I get the impression you two don’t know each other.”

“What makes you say that?” Matt asked, curiously.

“Because, for starters, she keeps looking away from you every time she opens her eyes. And second, the two of you are clearly making your voices deeper than they probably are, and I don’t think it’s supposed to be directed at me.”

“Are you a detective or sometime?” Anya asked, shocked. How could one be that observant so quickly?

“Do you mind telling me how a blind man, and a newly blinded woman, in  masks end up beaten half to death in my dumpster? Two people who clearly are not on the same page as one another.” She said, ignoring her comment.

“The less you know about us, the better.” Matt answers, earning a nod from his ‘friend’.

“Yeah, ditto.” Anya agrees.

She shrugs, and then sighs deeply. “The wound on your side, mysterious man,... knife?

“Probably. Ah…” He groans, trying to get up.

The woman puts a hand on his shoulder, silently telling him to sit down as she checks his wound. “I think I got the bleeding stopped, but I can't tell how bad it is internally without a full series of X-rays, so–”

“Sorry. No hospitals, Ma’am.” Anya cuts in, half politely.

She smacks her lips, holding back her irritation. “This is my night off. I'm really not looking for your partner to die on my living room floor.”

“He’s not my partner.”

“Are you a doctor?” Matt asked, curious again.

She shrugs. “Something like that.”

“Most people, they find bleeding people in masks in the garbage, they call the police.”

“You got a lot of experience in this area?”

“Why are you helping us?”

“The less you know about me, the better.”

This gets Matt to laugh and Anya to snort. 

“Alright, you’ve got humor. I like you.” Anya said, grinning a little.

.

“Yeah.” Matt said, copying her expression. “You got a name at least?”

The woman sighs. “Claire. Don't suppose I get to know yours?” Matt says nothing. “All right, I'll call you Mike.”

“Mike?”

“Yeah, a guy I used to date. Turns out he was very good at keeping secrets, too.”

Anya frowns hearing the heartbreak in her voice. She swallows, guilty (and hopefully not regretting). “Just call me May.”

Claire perks up at this. “May?” She said, smiling. “I’m glad you shared.” But her expression fades seeing the vigilante’s neutral features. “Oh. But that’s not your real name.”

“Sorry, Ma’am. It ain’t. It just means a lot…” She whispers that last part, causing Matt to frown.

That’s… odd. He thought, but kept it on the backburner for emergencies.

“Thank you, Claire.” He said, touching her hand.

Claire sighs again. “Rest. Make sure you're stabilized. We'll figure the other stuff out later.” She gets up and leaves the room, giving herself a breather.

Matt groans again, trying to get comfortable on the rug. Anya sighs, squinting now at the little light she could see.

“Hey, no-eyes?” She said, getting his attention. “Why don’t you rest? I’ll be on the lookout.”

“You sure?” He asked, dubious.

“Positive. Just rest. You’ll get better.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

-21 Years Ago-

Jack Murdock nervously tapped his foot in the chair, listening to all the machines tinkering, eyeing his son laying in a hospital bed. He was getting antsy while sitting here for hours on end. No updates for the doctors. No sudden movements from his son. No one coming up to him saying he has a phone call.

“Where the fuck are your parents?” He mumbled bitterly, while glancing at his kid’s friend beside him. “I’ve called them several times in six hours now. Where are they?”

Anya shrugs, bloodshot eyes looking away. “I don’t know. Maybe they’re busy…”

“Yeah, well they’re always fucking busy, huh?!” She flinches under his tone, which was enough for him to dial back. “Sorry, sweetheart. Didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“I know. You’re just stressed.”

“I know, but that doesn’t give me the right to take it out on you.” He sighs, locking his gaze with hers. “Listen, What about to ask you, is going to be a lot, okay?” She nods. “Good. So do you realize what happened to Matty?”

“Yeah. He can’t see anymore.”

“Yeah, which is going to be scary. Really scary, especially to Matty, so I want you to promise me something. Alright?” She nods again. “Alright. You’re always by his side when I’m not, so promise me you’re going to be there for him when he starts to feel down. Promise me you’ll pull him up when he falls?”

“I promise, Mr. Murdock.”

“Thank you, sweetheart.”

Suddenly, the heart monitor starts beeping frantically in the background.

“I can't see!” Matt cries out, clawing at the bandages over his eyes.

Jack rushes over, sitting on the side of the bed, carefully pulling away his son's hands. “Matty, Matty, Matty, it's me. It's Dad. I'm right here.”

Matt jerks around in his spot, tears starting to roll down his cheek. “I can’t see! I can’t see!”

His father shushes him. “You were in an accident, you remember? You're in the hospital, but I'm right here with you.”

The boy sobs, machine still racing. “Everything’s so loud… everything…”

“I'm right here with you. It's Daddy. Here, feel my face.” Jack takes his small hands, resting them on his cheek bones. “Feel my face. I'm right here. I'm right here.”

“I can't see.”

“It's alright. It's okay.”

“Dad, I can't see!”

“It's alright, Matt.”

“I can't–”

“It's alright.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Claire changes the towel on Anya’s head, folding it up nicely before gently laying it across her flush skin. The hot feeling in her body was starting to vanish away with the nausea. 

“You look like you’re in deep thought.” Claire said, setting the bowl of water down in exchange for a flashlight. She quickly flashes it, watching her pupils dilate normally.

“I’m just listening.” Anya replies, blinking from the brightness. She was starting to make out more shapes now. She could almost see their savior clearly.

“To what?”

“His breathing.”

Claire raises an eyebrow, confused. “I thought you said you weren’t partners? Why care about him?”

“Just because we aren’t doesn’t mean I want him dead. I’m not that type of person.” Anya replies, truthfully. “Besides, We both have a lot to do before we die. I got my mission, he’s got his.”

“Well that’s kind of morbid.”

“Tell me about it.”

Matt suddenly wakes up and starts gasping for air. He starts frantically gripping the ground, head looking around.

Claire faces him worriedly. “What is it? What's wrong?”

“No-eyes?” Anya said, reaching for his shoulder. She immediately picked up on the odd sensation stirring up in his chest.

“I-I c-can't br-breathe.” He chokes, face turning red.

Claire uses a stethoscope to listen to his lungs. “You've got air in your chest. It's collapsing your lung. I'm gonna relieve the pressure, but I'm gonna need you to hold still, okay?” 

She grabs some supplies from her medical bag, pulling Matt’s shirt down a little and begins the procedure. “Here we go... This is gonna hurt.” 

She frowns apologetically before piercing his chest with a needle. He grunts loudly and gasps, Anya wincing at the sound. Claire removes part of the needle, causing air to hiss out of his chest. It took a short moment for his breathing to stabilize.

“Good.” Claire soothes, removing the needle gently. “Just breathe normally.” She listens to his lungs again, sighing gratefully.

“Jesus Christ, no-eyes…” Anya whispers after the mini scare.

Claire finally looks between the two when everything cooled down. “All right. Look, let's just say for the sake of discussion I buy this whole, ‘We can't go to the hospital because whatever,’ story you two got going on. But we need to talk about what happens if you give up the ghost here in my living room.

“Because I'm listening to myself explain to the police how I let this happen, and every version ends with me in handcuffs, so convince me it's worth it. Who’s first?”

“They kidnapped a boy.” Matt says, immediately. 

“Who did?” Claire asked, as Anya looked at him surprised (this was news to her).

“The Russians. They've been running a human trafficking ring out of Hell's Kitchen. Took over when the Italians folded up. Two days ago, they pulled a kid out of the back of a van. Beat his father while he watched.”

How the fuck did I miss that? Anya scolded herself.

“Jesus.” Claire mumbles, shifting uncomfortably. 

“I knew the kid would still be alive. At least until they took him out of the city.” Matt continues. “I tracked the Russians to a warehouse not far from here. Thought I was being smart, how fast I found them.” He frowns at himself. “Turns out, I wasn't.”

“They were waiting for you.”

“And I walked right into it.”

“So, they took this kid just to get to you?” Claire asked, trying to piece it together.

“Yeah, I've been making their lives…” He grunts. “Difficult lately.”

“But you're blind.”

He chuckles. “There are other ways to see.”

“This is what you do, you make life difficult for bad men?”

“It's one way of putting it.”

She holds her hands up. “No offense, but you don't seem to be very good at it.”

Matt lets out a laugh.“Ow!” He touches his stomach. “Yeah, well, you're catching me on an off night.”

“Did you at least find the kid?”

He shakes his head, sighing. “No, he wasn't there. I barely made it out myself. I was careless… Stupid.”

“Sounds like it. Alright, missy, how about you?” She pats the woman’s leg. “What’s your story?”

Anya exhales through her nose, distant gaze going somewhere else. “I was looking for… information to lead me to something I’ve been working on. Lately, things have been linking up in ways that I didn’t think were possible.” 

“Were they expecting you too?” Claire asked as Matt drank up her explanation. 

“I don’t think so. I just like to get in and get out, I don’t like to cause trouble.” She frowns too. “It only got messy when no-eyes here showed up, and they started targeting me.”

“I see.” Claire leans back on her hands. “So these men that took the boy they're out there right now, looking for probably the both of you?” She gets no answer, both of them growing alarmingly still. “Guys?”

“Someone's coming.” They said in unison. 

“Wait, what?” 

“There's someone in the building, a man, going from door to door.” Anya replies, pushing herself up to sit.

“How do you know that?”

“He's on the third floor already.” Matt replies, also pushing himself up which was tiresome. “Smells like Prima cigarettes and discount cologne.”

“You can smell a man on the third floor?”

“You'll smell him soon enough. He really likes that cologne.” They both stand up, feeling her weary look on them. Matt's features deepens. “You're looking at us like we’re crazy, right?”

Claire nods. “Seems the appropriate response.”

“There are some things I haven't told you about me, Claire.”

“You haven't told me anything about you. The both of you actually. All I know is, Mike, you're very good at taking a beating.”

Matt's heart skips at a memory. “That part I got from my dad.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

-21 Years Ago-

Jack steps out of the ring, gloves and helmet off as he wipes away his sweaty bangs. He sighs, greeting a few other guys in the gym as he heads towards his kids. He watches Matt taking in each sentence on the page written in braille, while Anya looks through one of the books curiously.

“How'd you do?” His son asked, hearing a chair being pulled out and sat in.

“Uh I tagged him a couple times. That kid is fast.” Jack replies, scooting close and picking up a book as well. “So, how you… how you getting along with, uh, your new books?”

“I'm working on it. Each grid is six possible dots, so each letter is a combination of those dots. You have to feel for what's not there as much as what is.”

Jack purses his lips while flipping through the pages. “That doesn't make any damn sense at all.”

“Thank you.” Anya said, laying hers back down in defeat.

“Well, you know where a punch is going before it's thrown sometimes, right?” Matt begins, trying to help his father with the picture.

“Oh, clearly I don't.” Jack said, getting the kids to laugh. “So, uh, you can make sense out of all of this?”

“I'm starting to. Here.” He gestures to something on the page for his father to feel along. “Dot in the right corner, that's a ‘C’. Upper left, ‘A’. ‘T’ is hard. I get it confused with ‘Q’.”

He looks at the page like it’s got three heads. “Well, why don't they just make it feel like a ‘T’?”

Matt shrugs. “Well, they say this is faster once you get the hang of it. ‘W’ is really tricky. Braille was created in French, and they don't have ‘W’.”

“Oui, Oui, Mon Amie.” Anya said, playfully, which made him laugh and the older man stare in confusion. (*Yes, Yes, my friend)

Jack blinks before deciding to play along. “Oh… is that how you two talk shit about me behind my back?”

“Maybe…” His son snickers, but their playfulness didn’t last long when the visitor arrived.

“Oi, Battlin' Jack!” A man, Roscoe, calls out, waving him over.

Jack frowns and sighs, and gestures for Roscoe and his partner to go somewhere else in the room. “Hey, you wait. Couple months, you're gonna be reading Braille faster than I read normal.”

“I already read Braille faster.” Matt said, with a cheeky grin.

He chuckles and stands up. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. You smartass.” He quickly kisses Matt’s head. “I'll be right back.”

He pats the top of Anya’s head before walking away from the table. His face became more serious as he got closer to the corrupt boxing promoters.

Roscoe laughs. “What's the word, Jackie-boy?”

“Roscoe. Silke.” Jack said, acknowledging. 

“Hello, Jack.” Silkie said with an eerie smile.

“I heard about the wee one.” Roscoe says, watching the kid read from afar. “That's a tough break.”

“You have our condolences.”

“And you're young yet. Plenty of time to have more kids.”

Silkie snickers, elbowing his partner. “But hey, he could get a couple grandkids soon, seeing that his son has a lady friend he could marry now.”

Jack looks at Roscoe angrily, holding his tongue and crosses his arms (It’s better not to poke the bear). “What can I do for you boys?”

“We come bearing glad tidings.” Silkie said, grinning. “A match with Creel.”

“Creel?” His blue eyes widened in surprise. “How'd you pull that off?”

“Mr. Sweeney can be quite persuasive when he puts his mind to it.”

“It's me Irish charm.” Roscoe said, proudly.

“Jesus! Creel?” Jack chuckles. “I owe you… I owe you guys.”

“Ah. You're doing us the favor.” Silkie said, knowing his boxer was not going to like it. “It's 3-to-1 that you go the distance. You drop in the fifth, we're clearing 70%.”

“Right.”

“Come on, Jackie! It's time to celebrate.” Roscoe encouraged.

“It's the big time, Jack.” Silkie added.

Jack frowns, completely unaware that the two kids were eavesdropping with enhanced hearing. “Thanks for the offer. I'm gonna take a pass.”

Roscoe laughed. “Did he just say ‘pass’?”

“I appreciate everything you've done for me. Really, I do. But…” He takes a quick glance at his son. “I got other things to worry about now.”

“He don't want to do it, he don't do it. Man makes his choice and we make ours.”

“You wanna step into the ring, see how that plays out?” Jack bites back, stunning them.

“You gotta think of your family, Jack. This could do a lot of good for your boy.” Silkie said, trying to plant the seed into his head.

“Yeah.” Roscoe nods, smiling. “What else are you gonna leave him when you're gone?”

Jack looks back at his son again, the guilt sinking in. “All right.”

“We need to hear you say it.” Silkie said, enjoying this.

He clenches his jaw. “I go down in the fifth.”

“There you go. That wasn't so hard.” Roscoe said, patting his shoulder.

Their conversation continued on, and Matt had stopped reading out of shock just as Anya broke the pen she was holding. 

“Uh… crap.” She mumbles, pulling herself out of trance .

Matt looks in her direction. “Are you okay?” He asked, worriedly.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine. B-Broke a pen.” She replies, finding a towel and starts wiping off some ink.

“A pen?”

“Yeah. Just.. it was bound to happen. It had a crack.”

The two of them went silent again (despite the weird incident), frowning at what Jack Murdock had unfortunately got himself wrapped into.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Anya leans against the wall, pulling up her hood and mask, listening to Matt ruffling through a drawer in the kitchen. He too had his mask back on.

“This all you got?” He asked the nurse, holding up a tiny, partially dull knife. 

“Yeah, it's for vegetables, not a knife fight.” Claire said, hoping he wasn’t serious about this (Hint, hint: He’s is).

“He's at your neighbor's door.” Anya said, baring her claws.

“You kidding me?” She said, looking between the two. They didn’t listen as they started heading for the door. “Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.” She stops them with a hand on their chests. She glares at Matt first. “You can barely stand up.

“That's what the knife's for.” He replies, holding it up again.

“Claws.” Anya said, showing them off.

Claire sends her daggers too. “You can’t see.”

“Hey, I’m starting to. I can see clearly if I get up close. Like you’re–” Anya gets closer, eyes widened a bit. “You’re… a very beautiful woman. Like, holy shit. You’re a nurse?!”

“Peaches.” Matt hissed, reminding her of the task ahead.

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

They take another step forward, Claire stopping them again. “Wait! Don't do this. Not in my home. Okay, nobody has to get hurt. You two just stand over there on that side and be quiet and I'll get rid of him.”

They vigilantes pondered on that for a moment before the knocking came. Another step forward,which was countered with another block.

“Please.” She whispers, begging. She glances at the door. “Who is it?”

“NYPD, ma'am. Please open the door.”

“Okay.” They whisper back, and she points to where they should hide.

“I'll be right there.” Claire announced, taking her gloves off, and hiding her medical bag behind the couch. She walks to her door and opens the keyhole, spotting the well dressed man holding up his badge. She mentally prepares herself as she opens the door just enough to see her face.

“Sorry to bother you so late, ma'am. My name is Detective Foster, with the 65th Precinct.” He begins, tucking his badge away. “We had a bit of a disturbance a few blocks from here. We're asking everyone if they've seen or heard anything unusual in the past few hours.”

She tilts her head. “What kind of disturbance?”

“Armed robbery. Some dickheads in a black masks shot up a bodega on 38th. Owner put up a fight. Perps fled on foot, leaving a trail of blood in this direction.”

“Oh, my God.”

“Probably long gone by now, but just in case, you know. You see anything, hear anything tonight?”

She shakes her head. “No, sorry.”

He nods in understanding. “Just being thorough. You have a good night, ma'am.”

“Thanks. You, too.”

Foster walks away, and Claire watches him move swiftly down the hall before closing the door. She lets out a heavy exhale, clasping her hands together.

“See? No reason to get all stabby.” She said, with relief. “Boy, were you right about that cologne? What? Does he dip himself in that crap?”

“He didn’t believe you.” Anya stated, already moving with Matt. 

“Mike! May!” Claire scolds once they're out the door.

Matt grabs a fire extinguisher off of the wall, coming up to the stairs, dangling it over the railing. The vigilantes could hear Foster hustling down the steps, calling someone on his phone in Russian, speaking in a frantic tone.

“What are you doing?” Claire asked, before Anya held her arm out to stop her.

Matt listens closely to Foster’s movements, and after a few moments, he drops the fire extinguisher. Claire gasps into her hands at the sound of it colliding with something, making Anya look down at Matt’s doing. Her eyes widened at Foster’s unconscious state on the floor, with a pool of blood around his head.

Anya paled. “Well that’s one way to do it…” She mumbled in surprise.

“What do we do now?” Claire asked, fearful.

“There's someone else one floor up watching us.” Matt said, pulling the girls close to the wall. He pauses to listen. “Oh, no. He's young. He's scared.”

She carefully takes a peak, spotting her young neighbour above. “Santino?” She said, watching him run away. “He's the one who found you guys in the alley.”

“He’s seen our faces, too?” Anya asked, pulling herself out of her shock.

“Yeah.”

“Claire, go upstairs and get him. We're gonna need help carrying Detective Foster to the roof.” Matt says, pushing himself off the wall with a grunt.

“What the hell are we going to the roof for?” Claire asked as he descended down the stairs.

“Less chance of someone in the building hearing him scream.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

-21 Years Ago-

“Alright, what’s with the frowns?” Jack asked at the foot of the school stairs. The kids were hanging their heads low, body slouching.

“Mrs. Whitmore gives way too much homework.” Matt complains, his friend nodding. “I liked it when she didn’t know how to transfer everything in braille.”

“Well, sorry to hear that, but you gotta do it.” He chuckles at them groaning miserably. “Alright, let’s go. We’ll get some food in your bellies and then hit the books.”

They mumbled an ‘okay’, but couldn’t even take a step in their desired direction when someone started cutting in. 

“Anya!” 

The girl froze upon hearing her father’s voice. A tall man who was similarly built like her friend’s father; Dressing up too nice for her standards, with glasses shielding his darkened eyes. He seemed irritated which made her want to shrink down under his intense stare.

“Alright, Anya, let's go. We got errands to run.” Stopping in front of her, not caring for the other people present.

“M-More errands?” Anya asked, trying to keep the shakiness out of her voice.

“Ah, so you’re actually not busy today, Benson?” Jack said, not hiding his bitterness. “That’s a surprise.”

“Well…” He shrugged with the same attitude as Murdock. “Miracles can happen, Jonathan.”

“Uh, huh. And what kind of errands you running?” Jack asked, suspiciously as his fingers started aching to ball into a fist. 

He shrugged. “You know, just… simple errands. Grocery stores and stuff like that. Why? You worried?” He steps right into his personal space, voice real low. “Say, were you the one who called the CPS last week on us?”

His daughter looks up at them in surprise while Matt scrunches up his nose in confusion.

“Dad, what’s CPS?” He asked, making his dad clench his jaw.

“I was just concerned because your daughter’s always showing up to my house with bruises and what look like needle markings all over her arms.” Jack said, keeping a straight face.

“I’m a doctor, Jonathan. And it’s flu season.” Was his reply. 

“That seems like an awful lot of flu shots. The bruises?”

“I’ll admit, I’m a little harsh sometimes. But it’s not intentional. Right, darling?”

Anya nods slowly. “Yeah. Right.” She said, looking up at Jack. “I’m good, Mr. Murdock.” But she knows well enough that he doesn’t believe her, and almost pleads with his eyes for her to say something back.

“See? Nothing wrong.” Benson said, placing his hand on her shoulder, guiding her away. “Enjoy your evening, Murdocks.”

He strings her along towards their car somewhere down the block, leaving the family of two in the dust. Jack continues to send death glares that way, ones that his son could even feel.

“Dad…” Matt begins, getting his attention. “He’s not a good man, is he?”

Jack hangs his head low, sighing. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“Dad?”

“Let’s go. I’ll explain later.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“You really think this is the best option? Torture?” Anya asked, watching him (crystal clearly) tie Foster to a ladder with cable they found. 

“This is the only way I’m going to find the kid.” Matt said, bluntly.

“Yeah, but torture? Why not rough him up instead? Give him a few punches?”

“I’m not going to kill him if that’s what you’re worried about. There’s nothing wrong with breaking a few bones.” He finishes tying. “Why?” He asked, looking her way. “You scared?”

She shakes her head. “No, but…” She slouches, gazing at the floor. “As someone who was torture in her childhood, I don’t feel comfortable doing the same to someone else. There’s a reason why I do the whole stealth thing.”

And just for a split moment, he felt an ounce of guilt and sympathy before Claire showed up.

“You find anything?” He asked, as she held up Foster’s phone.

“You smashed the hell out of it with that extinguisher.” She says, crossing her arms. “He had a badge. What if you're wrong?”

“I'm not/He’s not.” They said, sending an annoyed look at each other again.

Claire shakes her head in disbelief. “This is way past what I signed up for.”

“What exactly do you think that was?” Matt asked, gesturing to Foster.

“I found two people who needed help, so I helped them.”

“Oh, yeah? That simple?”

She holds her tongue, fearfully looking at them and the sleeping man. “Do you really want to get into this in front of him?”

“He's out.”

“Maybe he's faking.”

He pauses to listen. “He's not.”

Claire threw her hands up. “Okay, that right there, that's what I'm talking about!” 

Anya sighs, taking a step forward. “Claire–”

“No! Let me finish.” She points to Matt first. “So, I find one guy in a dumpster who turns out to be some kind of blind vigilante who can do all of this really weird shit, like smell cologne through walls, and sense whether someone's unconscious or faking it.” 

She points to Anya. “Then I found a lady who has these crazy, fucking glowing eyes, and has some weird green shit coming out her finger nails.” Claire almost laughs at the next statement. “One can take an unbelievable amount of punishment without one damn complaint, and the other can heal way faster than any human being.” 

Matt gave a vague shrug. “The last part's the Catholicism.”

Anya nods. “Yeah, let’s go with that.”

Claire scoffs. “So, what? I'm supposed to take it on faith I'm on the right side of this?”

“You don't carry two masked people bleeding to death into your apartment on faith.” Matt stated, crossing his arms. “You knew which side you were on the moment you found us. Why'd you help us, Claire?”

Claire sighs, shifting the weight on her feet. “I'm a nurse. Work the ER at Metro-General. A few weeks ago, cops brought in three men, said they were robbing tourists, beating them up pretty bad. Apparently, a man in a black mask took issue with their activities and decided to step in. I counted nine broken bones between them.

“A few days after that, EMTs brought in a 19-year-old waitress, said some guy she knew waited for her after work in the parking lot, attacked her and tried to drag her in the alley. She said she screamed and screamed, and a man in a black mask heard her and he saved her life.”

She looks at Anya. “And I don’t think I’ve ever heard about you until today.”

Anya shrugs. “Yeah, well, stealth work, remember?”

“Yeah, but how long will that last?” Claire asks, words twisting in the vigilante’s gut, as eyes trailed back to him. “So, yeah, word's getting around. And I want to believe in what you're doing, Mike. I really do. But this?” She jerks her thumb at Foster, frowning more.

“I know you're afraid.” Matt begins, getting closer with a tiny grunt. “You can't give in to the fear. If you do, men like this win.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

-21 Years Ago-

Matt was reading out loud from the kitchen table, loud enough for his father to hear as he walked around the small apartment.

“There is a price to be paid for division and isolation. Democracy cannot flourish amid hate. Justice cannot take root amid rage. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear.”

Jack pauses after coming into the kitchen, sitting some dishes into the sink. “Either you're actually reading all that, or you're making it up as you go along. I don't know which is more impressive.”

“It's Thurgood Marshall.”

Jack hums, placing a half drunk cup of water on the table. “Starting centerfielder for the Mets, right?”

Matt raises his eyebrows in surprise. “You know who Thurgood Marshall is.”

“School wasn't my strong suit.” Was he reply before plopping a package down, untying the strings. A quick look inside was enough for him to whistle from its beauty.

“How's it look?”

“It’s…” He takes out his new silky robe. “It's red. It's really red.”

“Can I?” Matt asked, holding his palms out.

“Yeah.” Jack watches his son feel the material before tracing the words: ‘Battlin’ Jack Murdock’.

Matt grins. “Good thing about red.”

“Huh?”

“They can't tell how much you're bleeding.”

“Hey–” Jack picks up his glass. “Who says I'm even gonna get hit?” He takes a sip as his son tilts his head.

“We're Murdocks. We get hit a lot.”

His heart sinks. “Yeah I guess we do.”

“But we get up. Right, Dad? We always get up.”

“Right.” Jack places the glass down, making his mind up. “But we also pick up our friends.”

Matt furrows his brows. “What do you mean?”

“Listen, Matty.” He takes a seat. “Some kids… aren’t so lucky when it comes to loving parents, and in that case, it’s Anya. Now, I can’t do much unless she complies, but she won't. She’s scared. I just want you to make sure you keep an eye on her. Alright?”

“I’ll always do that. She’s my friend. Is…” Matt frowns, looking like a kicked puppy. “Is she getting hurt by her parents?”

His heart sinks a little bit more. “Something like that.”

And now, since he knows the both of them will hang onto one another–

He’s got one last thing to do before everything’s over.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Foster wakes up, inhaling loudly. As he huffs in oxygen, he looks up and momentarily tries to get out of the cable, before gazing flickering down at the vigilantes and Claire (who had her face completely covered).

Matt steps forward. “Here's how this is gonna work. I'm gonna ask you some questions, you're gonna answer them. If you're lying to me, trust that I will know… and I will be unhappy.” He clenches his fists. “Where's the boy?”

Foster returns a cold glare. “He's dead.”

Matt punches Foster in the jaw, causing him to cough and heave heavily.

“This is what unhappy looks like. Where's the boy?” He tries again.

“What do you care? If he's not dead yet, he will be.”

“Why did you take him?”

Foster gives a half shrug. “Figured you'd come running.”

Matt tilts his head. “And after I was dead?”

“Sell the kid, like all the others.” Another punch again, harder than the last. He spits out blood. “I was telling the truth on that one.”

“I know.”

Foster chuckles. “We got you good, didn't we? We even got a two for one deal on that sweetheart over there.” He cocks his head towards Anya. “Nice of you to stop by too.” She stays quiet, making him frown. “What? You’re not going to say anything?”

“I’ve already done my part. I suggest you answer his questions.” Anya replies, folding her arms. 

“Who do you sell the children to?” Matt badgers again.

“I don't know. Whoever has the money.” Foster replies, nonchalantly. 

“Where's the boy?”

“So you find him. So what? We'll take another. Kill me, somebody takes my place. Long as people are buying, we'll be selling. Nothing you do tonight will change that.” His cocky grin returns. “But go ahead. Keep hitting me. Let's see who drops first.”

Matt snags a chunk of the man’s hair, holding his head upright ready to try–

“Try stabbing him in his trigeminal nerve.” Claire said, stepping up next to him.

Anya’s amethyst eyes widened in shock. “Dude…”

“Where is it?” Matt asked, not missing a beat.

“Dude.”

Claire points the spot out on Foster. “Go in through here, right above the eye. That's the supraorbital foramen. You want to go in right under there.”

Matt holds the knife up to Foster’s face, just above the eyelid as he starts to struggle.

“Hold still. I might do some serious damage if you squirm.” He hissed. “How will I know when I find it?”

“He'll tell you.” Claire responded.

There is a squishing sound as the knife goes in for the nerve. Foster begins screaming loudly, flailing his body.

“Oh, Jesus…” Anya says under her breath, looking away just as blood started caking the side of his face.

Matt pulls out the knife roughly as Foster starts breathing heavily. “You're right, what you said before. I kill you, somebody takes your place, but they'll end up back here just like you, and sooner or later, one of you is gonna tell me what I need to know.”

Matt jumps up and cuts the cable, then throws Foster over his shoulder and carries him to the side of the building. The girls follow him as he dangles him by the wire over the edge. He starts screaming again which nobody cared to hush.

“This is important.” Matt said, hearing the man start weeping. “Listen! I need you to know why I'm hurting you. It's not just the boy. I'm doing this 'cause I enjoy it.”

“No-eyes.” Anya begins cautiously.

“No, no, no! No, no, no!” Foster pleads.

“Where is he?!” Matt yells, dangling him some more.

“No!” He sobbed, shaking his head. “Underneath Troika restaurant! Eleventh and 44th.” Matt grunts and pulls him back, just as he chuckles. “They'll be waiting for you. If you're lucky, they'll kill you before they start in on the boy. It would be a shame for you to have to watch what they do to him–” 

Matt suddenly pushes him over the side of the building, making him scream. Both Claire and Anya shriek and run to the edge, looking down. A loud thudding noise is heard, enough for Claire to pull off her disguise.

“Oh, my God!” She said, panicking.

“Jesus, man! What the fuck?!” Anya said, looking his way.

“It's all right. He landed in the dumpster you pulled me out of.” Matt answered.

“Is he dead?” Claire asked, still peering down.

“He’ll live.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little obsessive?” Anya asked, getting in his path.

“He’s fine.” 

“That's insane.”

“We both beat people up. What’s the difference between you and me?”

“I knock people unconscious just so I can get away, I don’t throw them off buildings to potentially kill them!”

He steps closer, their nose practically touching. “If you don’t like it, then stay out of my way.”

She bites the inside of her cheek. “That’s not fair.”

“Like you said the first night we met, you do your thing and I’ll do mine.” He hits her shoulder with his as he passes by. “Claire, you need to get your things and leave. Don't tell anyone where you're going.”

“What?” The nurse asked, confused.

“He wakes up, he'll be back, and he won't be alone next time.” He explains, while cleaning up the remaining cable in the area.

“But he didn't see my face.”

“That was just for effect, to scare him. He knew you were lying when you answered your door.” He leans against the latter, grunting.

“Mike?” She said, worriedly. 

He lets out a heavy exhale. “Do you have somewhere you can go?”

“I'm cat-sitting for a woman I work with. Her brother's sick. She's in Oklahoma.”

“What's the address?”

“Why?”

“I'm thinking if I make it through the night, I may need some help getting patched up.”

Claire debates for a moment before giving in. “Tenth and 54th. Apartment 412, um, in the building above the liquor store.”

He puts his hand on her bicep. “Thank you, Claire.” He said, walking away.

“I don't believe you.” She calls out, making him freeze. “What you said. I don't believe you enjoy this.”

Matt says nothing and continues walking away, and Claire opens her mouth to try to protest just as Anya holds her hand up to silence her.

“I’ll watch him. Just get to safety. Please.” 

And she walks off too.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

-21 Years Ago-

Matt and Anya were sitting down on the floor, cross legged in front of the TV with biggest smiles on their faces.

{ Murdock lands another and another! }

“Get him, Dad! Get him!”

“Yeah, Mr. Murdock!” 

{ Creel is rocked! Murdock won't let him out of the corner! The younger Creel seems stunned by the ferocious display by the more seasoned Murdock! Creel goes down! }

Matt bolts to his feet as the crowd starts roaring. “Yes! Yes!”

“Holy cow…” Anya said in disbelief, the bell ringing. 

{ He's not getting up! It's over! ‘Battlin' Jack’ Murdock has defeated Crusher Creel! }

“Yeah, Dad! Yeah!” He faces his friend with pure joy on his face. “He did, Ann. He finally did it!”

She chuckles. “He finally lives up to that name, doesn't he?”

“Hell yeah he does!” He pumps his fist. “I can’t wait to celebrate when he gets back!”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“You’re following me?” Matt said, stopping at the edge of the rooftop. “Thought I scared you off.”

Anya steps out the shadows, slowly coming up next to him. “I’m not scared of you, I’m scared of what you might do.” She replies, honestly. “You’re not thinking straight.”

“What makes you think I’m not?” He asked, skeptical.

“You’re not the only one who can pick out emotions from heartbeats.” She said, genuinely concerned. “I know you lied when you said that to Foster.” She watches his look away, his unhidden features seemed neutral, but she knew better. “Or maybe… you were trying to convince yourself you do.”

He faces her, heart spiking in surprise as she adds, “Do you think you’re actually the devil in Hell’s Kitchen?”

“If that’s what everyone is calling me then… yeah.” He said, a small nod to go with it. “Then I’m the devil of Hell’s Kitchen?”

“Well, which one then?” She asked, his confused aura coming back. “Are you the devil when he became the devil? Or are you the devil when he was an angel?” She looks across the street at the building they were going to enter. “The reason I don’t want to go so far with my skills is because I’ve seen enough dead bodies at my feet to reconsider my life choices.”

He grows quiet for a little while, an internal debate going back and forth in his mind before he whispers,

“So have I.”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

-21 Years Ago-

Anya wakes up on the couch at a sound in the distance. She has enough time to rub her groggy eyes before seeing her friend run down the hall and out the door with just his cane.

“Matt?” She calls out, following him. It took her a few minutes to catch up, asking where he was going but he said nothing. “Matty, seriously, what’s going on?”

He comes to an abrupt stop, right before an alleyway where some policemen were guarding it, keeping bystanders away. Matt attempts to enter like he owes it, but an officer keeps him back.

“Oh, oh, hang on there, son. What's the hurry?” He asked.

“I-I think that's my dad.” Matt said, urgently.

Anya snaps her head his way, stunned. “What?”

“Jesus, Ray, the kid's blind.” Another officer scolded, right as Matt pushed him aside to get in. 

“Matt!”

“Hey, wait!”

Anya follows behind her friend with the officer Ray on their tail, and she freezes up completely as Matt sinks to his knees.

“Jack…?” She said, teary eyed.

“Dad?” Matt croaks, feeling the body’s face, which was covered in blood; But he knows who it really is. “Daddy! Daddy!” He lets the dam break immediately. “Daddy! Daddy!”

“Matt, he’s–”

“No… he’s… he’s fine…”

“Matty–”

“Daddy! Daddy, please come back! Daddy!”

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

“I take the left, you take the right?” Anya asked, as they slowly creeped inside the building.

“It’ll make this quicker.” Matt said, his way of agreeing.

They could hear a TV playing, some kind of card game going on, people snickering and talking in Russian. 

They even heard the little boy begging for his dad.

They moved slowly, three doors total. A door straight forward, one on the left, and one the right. The two of moved to their desired door, hands on the handle–

They suddenly push the doors open, screaming and running in. The next few minutes went by quickly, but felt like an eternity. Guns were being fired off, missing every one of them by a hair; Glass was shattering, shards dousing the air; Furniture was smashed to pieces, too torn to be put back together. The Russians were sent flying across the rooms, splattered around the hallway as the doors came off their hinges.

The two of them were starting to become gassed as they were left with a pair of gunmen waiting in the hallway. They acted quickly. Anya manages to disarm them to give Matt enough time to incapacitate their foes. And just for a second, they allowed themselves to lean against one another, closing their eyes and taking in deep breaths of oxygen.

She only opens them to look at him worriedly when she hears something wet dripping off his clothing. She frowns, eyebrows pushed together. “Your bandage came loose.” She replies, hand hovering over the one on his abdomen. 

His face was trying to keep the pained expression off his face as he could feel it. “Let’s get the kid first. I’ll worry about it when he’s safe.” He replies, hearing her nod.

“Okay. Let’s do it then.” She touches his shoulder. “Watch for the doors.”

The two carefully navigated over the rubble that lingered on the floor. They slowly came up to the end of the hall, listening to see if anything unpleasant awaits them inside.

Nothing. Which was the best news they had all night.

“Mind turning away for a moment?” He asked, which she granted. He pulls up his mask, turning the knob and greeting the little boy. “Hi. I know you're scared. But I'm here to help you. Okay? You don't have to be scared anymore.”

“Okay. Okay.” The boy said, quietly.

“Let's get you home to your dad.”

Anya waited until he was out, tapping her in the back to tell her she could look. Once she saw his mask was back in place, and the boy was held safely in his arms, she started moving ahead just by a few steps; Just enough to stop anyone from trying to come their way.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

It was like déjà vu again as they found themselves standing on top of the building from the police station. They stood in silence for a long time, more than likely either listening to the police activity inside or were waiting for one another to speak. Or maybe… they were starting to actually like the company. But there’s no way that could be true.

Right?

Anya exhales, the wave of adrenaline is starting to die off finally. “I guess we should call it night.” She said, not expecting this type of reply.

“Thank you.” Matt said, genuinely. He felt her bewildered eyes on him, mouth open slightly too.

She blinks, shifting to face him completely. “Did I hear that right? Did you just say, ‘thank you’?”

He lets a little grin play on his lips. “Don’t read too much into it, peaches.”

“Wow.” She chuckles. “Sure you don’t have a concussion?”

“You know I can take it back, right?”

“Nope.” She pops the ‘p’. “No take backs. I will forever remember this.”

He sighs. “I regret saying anything.”

Another chuckle. “Lighten up, no-eyes.” Anya said, lightly hitting him in the arm.

This is nice, actually. She thought, smiling. When she first heard the rumors, she didn’t think there was another man out in HK doing justice like her. But now that she’s seen him in the flesh, it’s kind of nice knowing she’s not alone.

Not that she’ll ever say that to his face though.

Matt on the other hand was silently thinking in a similar way, only this time his curiosity finally got the best of him. “Can I ask you something?” He said, feeling her gaze.

“Shoot.”

“Why do you do this?” She immediately frowns, crossing her protectively.  He could sense how uncomfortable she was getting. “I mean… you’re not doing what I’m doing. At least that’s what I think.”

“Well… you’re kind of right.”

He tilts his head. “Kind of?”

Anya nods slowly. “Yeah.” She sighs, looking out of the distance (Matt could hear her heart pounding like crazy). “My parents were… murdered some time ago, and uh…” She makes a sound between a sigh and scoff. “They were not good people, but, um… they’re still my parents, you know?”

“And you still feel obligated to investigate their deaths?” Matt finished, an underlying anger he felt that wasn’t towards her.

She nods again. “Yeah, you’re… right again.”

“But they hurt you.”

“Th-That’s besides the point.” Anya really didn’t want to get into that part of her life just yet. “Basically, they were in some shady shit, doing some shady shit. I know because I’ve seen some of it first hand. And when they were killed, I thought it was because of that.”

“And it wasn’t.”

“Yeah. Exactly. When I started looking into it more, all these things, every little thing that seemed to be going on in this city, seemed to connect in some kind of way.”

“Connect in ways, how?” Matt asked, intrigued.

“That’s the thing. I don’t know.” Anya replies, shrugging. “But I’ve seen things coming up frequently to know not to ignore them. I mean… something’s going on here. Between these human traffickers, drug smugglers, that whole… Union Allied bullshit last week, I’ve seen and heard that name in so many different places, it can’t be a coincidence. And I think you see this too.”

He frowns. “Yeah, There’s definitely something going on here.” So he wasn’t alone like he thought. “Sounds like you want to do something about it?”

“Well I found out about all this shit. Can’t exactly back away from it now.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.”

“Look–” She begins, stepping closer. “I’m not saying we should become partners, but if we’re going to figure out what’s going on here, we should not exactly push each other away. If we come across each other, we just deal with it.”

“And… if we do, we compare notes if we find something?” He asked, carefully.

She nods once more. “If you're okay with it, so am I.”

He ponders for a moment before holding his hand out. “You got yourself a deal. Peaches.” He said, smirking.

Anya chuckles. “Alright, no-eyes.” She shakes it, and casts a glance to their interlocking hands. “Strong grip. What’s your secret?”

“Tell me yours and I’ll share mine.”

“That’s no fair, You know mine.”

“Oh, what a shame.”

“You’re something special.” She jerks her head in a familiar direction. “Go get patched up. I can practically sense your energy draining from you.”

“You don’t say.”

“Yeah.”

“Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Why the hell not.”

He looks at her funny again, replying, “When we both were at that warehouse earlier, the one that started this whole nightmarish night, I never even heard your heartbeat. I thought I could smell you faintly, but hearing you? That was a negative. How come?”

She gives him a bittersweet look. “Truthfully, I was trained to slow it at a young age. Slow it down to where it sounds like I don’t have one. It takes a lot of concentration, I can’t do it all the time, but it comes in handy.” She says, now looking amused. “If you're nice next time, I could teach you.”

He returns the look. “I’ll definitely think about it.”

She smiles and bids him farewell, running off into the night. But Matt stayed on that rooftop for a little bit, the gears in his head turning at the thought of maybe…

.

.

.

.

Maybe he should have said yes to being her partner.

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