#laying down because my head hurts before sitting upright as i remember oh wait this version of bruce didnt even get to finish the movie...

[martyrbat]

earth one bruce is actually the saddest version of bruce because he didnt even get to experience 5 minutes of zorro induced euphoria ://

[atravisphilepsclicker]

Can I get comfort from sal? So trans male reader keeps his binder on to long to the point of bruises and pain? You can chose headcanons or a one shot it’s up to you •3•

Summary: Sal comes home from his supermarket job to see you were in your shared bedroom in your shared apartment and asks how long you kept your binder on after you answer him he tries to help you with the pain.

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Word Count:1654

Pronouns: he/him

Gender: trans male

Warning: mentions of dysphoria, bruising, back pain and small injury

Modern AU

You both are in high school and Sal has a part-time job at the town Walmart.

Y/N = your name

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3rd Person POV

Sal stood in front of the apartment door with the card key in his left hand and was texting the group gc ( with him, todd, larry, ashily, maple and chug ). He turned off his phone and slid the key into the card lock and a small light turned red to green showing that it was unlocked.

Walking into the apartment Sal was met with silence. It didn’t worry him but he wondered where you were when he came home from work you usually were sitting on the couch doing something to pass the time as you waited for him but you weren’t there to give him his usual greeting of “ Hey, Sal, “ or “ Hey, blue! “

Sal then locked the door, took off his shoes, and put them on the boot rack on the door’s left side. Sal stood upright and walked into the living room and that’s when he heard it, “ Oh you’re home, Welcome back! “ Sal heard you greet him from the bedroom. The bedroom door was half open leaving him being able to see you laying on the bed in the room. Sal walked over to the door and opened it and leaned on the door frame.

He looked at you, you were so handsome laying there your legs laying straight on the bed as you scrolled on your phone. You had a tired look on your face and you bet your ass your amazing boyfriend Sal noticed and frowned, furrowing his brow. “ So how was your day today? You look tired. “ Sal asked with a slightly worried tone. You look at him with a small smile and turn off your phone, putting it on the nightstand beside your side of the bed.

“ It was fine I haven’t had a lot of sleep since I was trying to finish the dam book assignment T/N gave us. I did ask todd to help me after I finished pulling out my hair a little. So it’s done now and I won’t have to return to hell for a few days till our next assignment. But other than that I’ve had a fine day. “ You told the blue-haired male that was now on sitting on the bed beside you legs crossed with one hand holding his face listening to you.

You looked at him and asked, “ So how was your day at work? I guess the boss gave you overtime at the store again? “ You asked since he came home 2 hours later than his work schedule had said. “ Yeah, sorry! I tried to get off earlier but she just gave me so many things to do! “ He said annoyed. You leaned on one side wincing at the bit of pain moving gave you and Sal noticed. Sal was not a genius but when he saw you do that it didn’t take long for him to remember the last time a few months ago you didn’t take off your binder for longer than it intended. “ Hey, love how long have you had your binder on? “ He asked with tones of worry in his voice. You saw his eyes through the mask, they looked worried for you, the love of his life.

You sigh and close your eyes not wanting to see his reaction, “ 12 hours. “ You say quietly, almost in a mumble. “ Take it off. “ Sal told you with a stern pained voice. You were hesitant not wanting to have terrible dysphoria again, I mean that the entire reason you have had that on for so long and you both knew it. It took a little time to think but you finally surrendered. “ Fine…” You said with an upset sigh. You sat up quickly sending a jolt of pain down your spine making you lay back down and groan in pain. Sal quickly moved over to you and held your arm with one hand. “ Do you need me to help get up? It must be really painful to move. “ Sal asked rubbing circles on your arm. You make a pained smile, “ That would be really nice of you blue, thank you. “

Sal moved, straightening his back. “ Okay, first let’s sit you up just tell me when you’re ready to move and ill put my hand behind your back and push you up slowly. “ Sal told you. You waited for a minute for the pain to die down a little and told him you were ready. Sal slid his hand under the lower side of your back knowing your upper back must be in so much pain right at the moment.“ K, one...two...three! “ Sal started to move you up slowly and steadily.

Once you sat up Sal helped you lean your back on the backboard of your bed. After that Sal got off the bed and stood beside you. “ You alright? “ He asked squatting down to lead his head in your lap. “ Yeah, I’m fine just in a little bit of pain but no worries! “ You answer as you twirl a few of Sal’s soft blue locks in your fingers. “ Well...if you’re sure you’ll be fine then do you think we could try to stand you up and get that binder off of you? “ He asked in a caring tone. “ Yeah, we could try but I think I might fall over if I do. “ You cucked. SaL then stood up and held both of your arms. “ You know you don’t need to hold me like this right? “ You say as you steadily move up wincing at the pain your binder gave you to move. “ I know I just want to make sure you’re safe and won’t get hurt more than you already are. “ He started concentrating on getting you to stand up. Once you finally stood up he started getting your shirt off as you looked away embarrassed and disgusted. “ Why are you okay seeing my disgusting body? “ You aked as Sal threw your shirt on the bad behind you both. He looked bad at you and put his hand on your face and started rubbing small shapes with his thumb, “ Because I love you, and your handsome body, love. You are anything but disgusting! You're my handsome attractive boyfriend and that's what you'll always be to me, even if you hate how you look ill help you show that you're beautiful! And hey, we can always start saving up for surgery to get them removed if you really want. I’ll do anything to make you happy and I want you to know that but for now, we just need to get that binder off of you. “ He told you. You started to tear up as he started taking it off of you and finally broke down as he also put that down with the discarded shirt. “ Thank you. I love you! “ You cried on her shoulder.

“ Shhhh it’s okay….how about I give you a nice massage to relieve some of the pain? “ Sal asked calming you down slightly. You sniffed a bit and then looked at him with tear stains down your face. “ Yeah, that would be nice….” You said as you lay down in the middle of the bed. Sal sat down beside you and rolled up his sleeves. He first put his hands on your shoulders, thankfully they were warm and he started messaging the notes out. It felt good and you gave a big sigh. He then moved to where your bruises and cuts are from the binder. His hands became softer on your skin and he was careful to relieve some of the pain not give you some more. You felt a wave of relief when the pain died down you didn't even notice when Sal stopped till he said something to you. “ I'm going to get some ointment to put on the bruises! “ He told you walking out of your bedroom.

You stare at the wall in front of you as you listen to his movement, him opening the bathroom door then him opening the cupboard and moving some things around till he found the ointment. You looked over at the door as Sal walked in medicine in hand. He sat back down beside you were still laying on your stomach. “ This is going to be cold on your skin. “ He said opening the medicine and putting some on his finger. He put some on a large bruise and yeah, he was right, it's fucking cold. You wince at the cold feeling on your skin but you soon get used to the feeling as Sal rubbed it in more.

Soon enough he was done and you were tired mentally and physically. You look at your wonderful boyfriend beside you scrolling on his phone. “ You think we can cuddle? “ You ask looking at him with i tired and pained face. “ He turned off his phone and looked at you with beautiful and caring eyes. “ Sure, love! Let me just take off my mask. “ He told you unclipping the clips under his hair. You didn't even really notice he still had it on but was happy he's still comfortable taking it off around you. After setting his mask down on the nightstand he layed his back on the backboard and moved his arms out waiting for you to come in his arms. You crawled over to Sal and went into his comforting arms. You both stayed there in the quiet only sounds of small movement and breathing in air. Soon enough your eyes started getting droopy and you started letting out cute yawns. You hear Sal chuckle and you say a quick shut up before your eyes closed for good and you fell fast asleep going into an amazing and magical dream.

Now you both were together and that wouldn't change ever even if either of you struggles with things or life throws things at you you'll always be there for each other, from now and forever.

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Pictures

Sal Fisher- https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/496873771387590071/

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Sorry if this was terrible! I honestly loved writing this but was having some trouble getting my ideas down on the computer so it might seem quite bad, but hopefully, this helps even a little and have a great day/afternoon/night and remember to stay hydrated!

[hurting-fictional-people]

Continued from here

-

At first, Hero doesn’t notice the slight changes around them.

They wake up, and the pain wakes as well, flooding them with its burn and stealing away their breath for the few instants they take to accept and relax into it before opening their eyes. Villain’s curled-up figure, snoring softly from the armchair next to the bed, is the first thing they see.

Hero lays their head back down and sighs when last night comes back to them. They wish they couldn’t, but they remember it all too well – every kind word, every worried touch and whispered confession.

Embarrassment burns their cheeks at the thought of Villain seeing their scars, the horror written across their face when they did. They were never supposed to see those – no one was, not when all of them were results of Hero’s fails, of Superhero’s discipline. They were a shame Hero carried for not being good enough, and one Villain should never have seen.

They give Villain a side-glance, sighing again at how uncomfortable their position looks, their body too big for the tight space of the armchair.

It’s only then that something clicks into place.

Hero doesn’t own an armchair.

They jerk upright, and immediately fold forward, holding their stomach when pain shoots through them. Hero catches the anguished whimper before it escapes, and only a huff of air leaves in its place. It’s still enough for Villain to open their eyes and sit up too.

“You’re awake,” they state with a yawn, giving Hero a once-over that stops at the clean bandages and makes their stomach churn.

“Where am I?”

Villain’s smirk sends waves of fire through Hero’s blood. How the fuck were they so stupid to trust Villain when they were at their most vulnerable?

“Welcome to my place. Do you like it?”

Hero bares their teeth in indignation and grips the sheets with the hand that isn’t holding their injury. “Take me the fuck back.”

“Oh, no can do, sweetheart. I gave you the nice guest room, though, I think you’ll like it,” Villain says, already standing up and calmly walking around the bed. Hero doesn’t move from their spot under the duvet, not when they can barely move without grunting, let alone get up and follow the bastard. “What do you say about breakfast? I’ll be right back with it.”

Hero can only watch as they leave the room, and the lock clicks behind them.

They fall back on the pillows, staring at the ceiling hopelessly.

Villain locked the door. Hero’s hands tremble at the thought, at how the room suddenly seems so much smaller. They had said they’d be back with breakfast, hadn’t they? But how can Hero trust Villain after they kidnapped them?

The feeling isn’t unknown, though. Hero is way too familiar with the helplessness of being locked away from the world, isolated until they were desperate enough to comply. So forlorn they were the perfect vessel for learning, as Superhero would say. It hadn’t happened in a long time, not since they started obeying the orders without question, but the terror of being alone for hours that turned into days that turned into weeks never truly left them.

You are too unruly, Hero, Superhero always said, scowling at them after they refused an order or made a mistake, if I don’t discipline you, you’ll be just like any villain. It’s for your own good, and one day you’ll see it.

And then the door would be locked, and they’d be alone. Alone until they forgot what it was like to talk and be answered, alone until they gave up on any form of pride and just screamed at the walls that they were sorry, please, I’ll do anything, alone until–

“…hope you like toast, we didn’t have pancakes, but I do know how to make really go– hey, Hero?”

They look up to see Villain walking inside, carrying a tray filled with food. Hero doesn’t cry – you don’t show weakness, Hero, ever, or will I have to teach you how to control yourself too? –, but a sob gets caught in their throat.

They aren’t alone. They are not alone. Hero shakes their head to push away the memories and glares at Villain, carefully pulling themself into a sitting position.

“Why am I here, Villain? Am I your hostage? Your prisoner?”

A shiver runs up their spine at the thought, at the punishment they’d earn for being caught by Villain of all people – being caught without putting up a fight, of all things.

“You are hurt,” they say as if that’s enough of an answer, and sit down in the armchair again, placing the tray in the bed between the two of them and pointing at the piles of food there.

Hero crosses their arms and waits.

“Just eat, Hero, we’ll talk about it after breakfast, okay?”

“How did you even bring me here?” Something vicious is curling around Hero’s heart, something unwelcome, something painful, something they aren’t ready to admit feels like betrayal. Villain doesn’t owe them anything, Hero has no right to feel it, and yet, there it is. “Did you drug me while I bled out?”

Villain averts their gaze and sets their jaw. “They hurt you,” they seethe, the rage only barely contained in their voice.

“I didn’t even tell you why or how I got hurt, you can’t–“

“I’m not stupid. You said enough for me to guess it.” Villain looks up with such unrestrained hatred, that even though they know it isn’t directed at them, Hero can’t contain a flinch.

They straighten up as best as they can to hide it, though, keeping all of the pain carefully hidden away from their features. “Superhero helped me become the hero I am today. Each of these scars is a mark of shame, of my failure. So if you want to blame someone for them, blame me.”

But instead of appeasing Villain, the words seem to have the opposite effect. They clench their fists, nostrils flaring, pupils swallowing their irises whole. “Keep talking and I won’t be able to contain myself next time I see that sad excuse for a person.”

Hero pales, trembles. And Villain, of course, notices.

“Superhero has abused and gaslighted you, and you still blanch at the idea they might be hurt,” Villain sighs, looking up to the ceiling as if searching for an explanation there. “Scars aren’t shames, Hero. Scars are traumas, and there’s absolutely no context in which they’d be a form of discipline. That’s blatant abuse.”

“Don’t talk about them like that,” Hero says rigidly, staring down at their hands. Somewhere deep inside them, hidden so far away they barely remember it’s even there, there’s a young Hero nodding and crying along with Villain’s every word. But Superhero’s words sound louder than any old, forgotten, version of Hero ever could. We don’t speak ill of our people, Hero. And if you do, you’ll have to face the consequences, they’d say between each crack of the whip.

“Just eat,” Villain sighs, hiding their face behind their hands and rubbing their eyes.

There’s so much worry mingled with ancient fear inside of Hero, they don’t even question how fast they answer to the command. They are hurting and confused and betrayed, and their mind can’t help but fit in its usual mode of complying with each and every order. Just like all good heroes do, Hero, you must obey your superiors, and therefore help the people. Show me you can obey and I won’t need to hurt you anymore.

They eat breakfast in silence, and although Hero’s mind keeps bouncing around the argument and their future, something that went unanswered keeps bothering them until they can’t help but spill it out.

“Did you drug me to bring me here?”

Villain looks them dead in the eye, lets them see the guilt lurking there – but also the truth. “Yes. You are hurt and I wouldn’t leave you like this to be even more battered by your beloved Superhero.”

“You had no right,” Hero whispers. Tears well up in their eyes, and the air gets caught in their throat, turning into gasping breaths that are not enough. Suddenly, they can’t breathe. They can’t think. Villain drugged them after Hero trusted them and let them see it all, they drugged them and took them away and they had no way to stop and they still have no way to stop it–

“Hero!” Villain shouts, holding their shoulders and giving them a little shake. It hurts their wound and makes them gasp, but it isn’t enough for Hero to stop quivering.

“You drugged me–“ is all they can rasp out, fighting to regain control of their swirling emotions.

“I gave you a mild sedative and brought you here, that’s all I did,” Villain says hurriedly, “you didn’t wake up because you were really tired, not because I knocked you out. I’d never take your will away like that.”

“But you did!”

Their stomach hurts and their chest echoes and Hero feels like they’re falling and falling and the fall never ends.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think you’d be this upset about it,” Villain exclaims, holding their hands.

Hero snaps before even they realize what they’re doing – one moment Villain is holding their hand, the next said hand is flying through the air and connecting with Villain’s jaw with a dull thud and a sharp pain in their abdomen. Two gasps of pain sound at the same time, and both Villain and Hero curl forward, holding their respective injuries.

“You punched me?” Villain says, unbelieving. For one moment, one fleeting instant, Hero freezes and waits for the blow to be returned, only twice as bad, or maybe for them to be left alone as punishment. And then the moment passes, and Villain’s stunned eyes come back to focus. Hero pants and glares at them, but even though they’re still mad and scared, there is also guilt overlaying it all now.

“You drugged me!”

“I also kidnapped you. And it was a mild sedative, you could’ve woken up– why are you so hung up on the drugging?”

As if in answer, Hero’s heart starts to pound. It screams from their chest, thrums inside their ears. Their tongue doesn’t voice any of the truths laying there, though. Not when they can still feel the bitter taste of betrayal – what would Villain do with the knowledge of how many times they were drugged as a punishment? As a ‘calming technique’, according to Superhero? As a ‘teaching mechanism’?

“Does it matter?” they bite out, shifting their weight and holding in a moan when the wound shifts as well. “I never should have trusted you.”

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

But that doesn’t mean anything, not really. Superhero’s said it before, and they ended up hurt either way.

“You can’t keep me here against my will. Unless you plan on tying me down and locking me up, I’m going to leave whether you want it or not.”

Villain takes a sharp breath and grits their teeth. Although goosebumps spread across Hero’s skin, they don’t back down.

“Why would you go back to them?” Villain sags on the chair, and even though their face is somber, there is something in their eyes that looks so much like pleading that Hero holds their breath. “I can protect you. You can even ‘save the city’ or whatever, I won’t stop you. But why go back to the person who hurt you? I see the fear you’re hiding, Hero. You and I both know that the only thing waiting for your return is more pain.”

“What do you want me to do? Stay here? Become a villain myself?” they scoff.

Something flashes in Villain’s eyes, something so weirdly close to pain Hero find themself at a loss for words. And then it’s gone, as fast as it appeared, and Hero chooses to believe it was only their imagination.

“Do as you wish, but I won’t be responsible for your being hurt again,” Villain says in a final tone. “And if I have to tie you down and lock you up until you’re healed and able to defend yourself, then so be it.”

“So the ‘playing hero’ part is over, huh?”

There’s so much hurt, so many places. In their belly, in their contained tears, in their heart. Hero grips the sheets and glares at Villain’s narrowed eyes.

“I never said I was playing hero,” they respond coldly, “I’d rather be damned than be anything like Superhero.”

Villain gets up after that, but stops at the door and turns around to look at Hero. They stare at each other, and in their gazes, something builds and something breaks, and as words form and die in the tip of Hero’s tongue, they seem to do the same in Villain’s, for they simply sigh and turn their back, leaving the room without another glance and locking the door behind them.

(part 3)

[whump-a-la-mode]

Hero and villain falling into a river together. Villain is unconscious or hurt or something so hero gets them both outta the water. They then have to figure out how to heal villain and survive in the woods.

This has the tiniest bit of angst but is mostly some fluff! This is a super interesting prompt, I hope I did it justice.

Also I’ve never seen Lost in my life.

CW//Car accidents, very unsafe driving, driving off a bridge, blood, broken legs

Nobody liked backseat drivers.

As removed from the life of a normal civilian as they were, Hero still knew that fact quite well. Powers or not, they had had plenty of experience with know-it-all acquaintances and overbearing relatives who had decided that their driving abilities could use improvement in one way or another.

Yes, backseat driving was bothersome. But that was all it was. It wasn’t dangerous.

Having two front seat drivers at once, however? Yeah, that was dangerous.

“Let go!” Villain cried out, wrenching the steering wheel to the right, threatening to throw the vehicle into a tailspin. Their position was as awkward as it was uncomfortable, kneeling in the passenger’s seat, stretched out over the center console, shoulders forcing Hero against the driver’s side door.

“You’re gonna make us crash, you daft idiot!” The hero protested, quite literally butting heads with their adversary. They, by all accounts, had the right to the steering wheel, considering the fact that they were quite literally sitting in the driver’s seat. Yet, their arms were locked in a furious tangle with Villain’s, struggling with white-hued knuckles to simply grip the damn wheel.

“You’re going to make us crash!”

“No, you are!”

“Let go of the damn wheel!”

“No!”

The two jerked the steering back and forth, back and forth, sending the car lurching back and forth like a bucking bronco.

Hero’s panicked gaze flickered in between their nemesis and the world outside the windshield. Alarms howled and metal crunched as traffic veered out of the way of the oncoming vehicle, shuddering as it was as its tires were jerked from ninety degree angle to ninety degree angle, back and forth and back and forth.

“You’re gonna kill someone!” Villain’s mouth was close enough to the hero’s face that they could feel their hot breath on their cheek.

“You do that all the time!”

“Do not!”

Despite the less-than-ideal technique with which it was being driven, the car was moving, and moving quickly. It screeched down the city’s central highway, striking traffic cones and trash cans and curbs, all in equal measure, in its rampage.

“Left!”

“Right!”

The car continued straight as both ‘drivers’ exerted as much force as they could manage onto its wheel. A pedestrian dove out of the way of the oncoming, trundling brick of metal and rubber, narrowly missing a terrible fate beneath its wheels.

For a split second, the vehicle was rendered airborne as it struck a particularly large bump in the asphalt.

“You’re going to get us both killed!” Villain snapped.

“No, you are!”

“You don’t even know-”

“What don’t I know?!”

“What street the fucking drawbridge is on, dumbass!”

Within Hero’s chest, fury was replaced by freezing, liquid cold.

“If you would have just turned left-”

“We needed to go right!”

And, yet, the car continued forwards.

It seemed as though local traffic had gotten the memo regarding the occurrence, as the street before them seemed almost suspiciously clear of vehicles.

“Come on.” Hero insisted. “There’s no way its gonna open now, right? What are the chances?”

“What are the chances that you’re an idiot who can’t see bright flashing warning lights?!”

Now that they thought about it... They had assumed the flashes to simply be from another vehicle, but-

“Shit.”

“You did this!”

“If you would’ve just let me drive-”

The duo of nemeses had their petty argument abruptly cut off by something far, far more important. To be more specific, their argument was interrupted by being in a vehicle, speeding down a road-- a road that had decided, at that very moment, to split in two. At the drawbridge’s side, a massive ferry boat honked its disapproval.

“We have to turn around, shit!” Villain hissed.

Before them, the solid, grey asphalt cracked to reveal the dark, murky depths below.

“We can’t turn around, dumbass! There’s no time!”

The villain jerked the wheel to the side, but was quickly countered. Regardless of the struggles of either side, the vehicle was staying on its path.

“Stop the car!” Villain’s foot lurched out, but missed the brake on account of its awkward position. Hero gritted their teeth-- their nemesis was practically laying on top of them!

“There’s no time!”

“Of course there’s time! What are you talking about!”

The gap was growing wider.

“We’re going too fast, we’ll never make it. We need to jump!”

“You’re insane!”

“You’re insane!”

“Slow down!”

“Speed up!”

“Stop it!”

“Keep going!”

The car stayed at the exact same speed as the knot of limbs fought amongst itself. The accelerator was struck, then the brakes, then the gas, then the pedal.

And neither driver got their way.

With a pair of screaming fools inside, the car jumped the gap, and plunged into the river below.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

Its easy to see cars as unstoppable, unbeatable things. Able to crush and destroy with a driver’s slight wrong twitch. Hunks of contorted, twisted metal, more than willing to maim.

And, on land, perhaps those things were true. But underwater?

The car screeched as its hood slammed into the riverbed, crumpling to a tin can with the impact alone. Contorted into a far smaller form, the river’s current swept the metal brick alone with far greater ease.

Above, the world rushed by at a million miles an hour.

Below the river’s surface, it crept along in slow motion, because Villain was not moving.

Oh, god, they weren’t moving.

Hero couldn’t care less about the alarms, the screeching lights that surrounded them. Every safety precaution had been long forgotten, they were far, far past the point of precaution.

Their nemesis was thrown around the passenger’s seat, no seatbelt or consciousness to aid in keeping them in place. The hero struggled to move closer to them, but found themself just as much beholden to the vehicle’s whims.

The car slammed once more into something, a spiderwebbing crack launching across the windshield. Water began to hiss through the fissures.

They couldn’t stay in here. The car would do more to harm them than protect them. The red, sticky fluid staining the back of Villain’s head made that fact more than apparent.

Hero sucked in an anxious breath.

They spent every day of their existence saving lives, but this was different. This was Villain.

But, letting harm come to them was out of the question.

Their nemesis was surprisingly light-- though that could have been just the adrenaline talking. With one arm, they drug the unconscious villain to their lap, holding them firmly to their chest, trying to ignore the red trickling down their neck, and the way their leg didn’t seem to quite be moving right.’

Another breath, this one deep and shuddering.

Their life as a hero would do nothing for them, here. Desperately, they struggled for civilian knowledge. An old PSA came to mind. As a kid watching it on TV it had always seemed ridiculous, but-

Wait till the car is completely submerged. That was already well taken care of.

Aid unconscious passengers. Check.

Undo or cut all seatbelts. They had been too stupid to wear any.

Then... Then open the door, and swim to the surface.

Open the door.

Open the door.

Just do it! Okay, on three.

1...

2...

3.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

Villain was soaking wet.

It was the first thing they managed to notice as they struggled to jolt upright, only to find that they were already positioned in such a way.

Before their eyes were even fully open, a new instinct wracked them: The intense desire to cough. It was not an urge they could resist, and, soon, their chest was wracked as they struggled to...

Water. Water, coughing from their lungs.

They blinked, managing to open their eyes on the second attempt. Though, almost immediately, they closed them once more. They stung terribly, stinging with...

Smoke?

It was confusion that allowed them to try a thrice time, squinting to protect their eyes.

Yes, it was smoke! Grey and heavy, twisting through the air. The fire presented itself just as quickly-- small and contained, to their good fortune. An equally fortunate wind turned the singing smoke from their face, allowing them to fully see the world around them.

Trees and dirt-- a thick wood, all tangled in on its own biomass, hardly allowing them to see the dark, heavy sky hanging above.

Oh, and Hero was there.

Villain blinked, then, once their mind remembered what surprise was, yelped.

“Um...”

“Morning.” Hero lifted a hand, waving from where they sat, on the ground, behind the campfire.

“I didn’t realize you were a boy scout.”

“I’m not.”

“Then...”

“I just watched a lot of Lost.”

The hero’s gaze drifted downwards, to Villain’s legs, outstretched before them. Their own gaze followed.

A stick. On the side of their leg, secured with taut vines, was a big ass stick.

“You...”

“They did it on Lost!”

“Where are... Where are we?”

“No clue.” Hero shook their head. “But, you’re in no condition to go anywhere with that leg.”

“Then... why are you here?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your legs are fine.”

“Yeah, I know. But you’re hurt.”

“You hate me.”

“Really?” Hero raised a brow. “No one told me.”

[ericspinkhair]

wedding fun pt. 2

pairing: dom!Eric, dom!Sunwoo x sub!reader

word count: 2k

synopsis: avoiding Eric and Sunwoo after the wedding is unsuccessful and you end up having sex in the bathroom after filming the first episode of Kingdom and Queendom (just imagine both are taking place at the same time)

a/n: you can find pt. 1 here

please send in requests!!

masterlist + requests

Ever since your sister's wedding you had completely been avoiding your brother. This probably made him even more aware that something was wrong but you just couldn't face him after what you'd done.

Sometimes you'd wake up at night, your panties soaked to the core with your arousal. The memories of that night kept haunting you in your dreams and you just couldn't forget how good they had felt on your skin.

Nevertheless, they were Changmin's friends and also his members so you shouldn't have crossed the line. Especially since you were an idol as well and were expected to not have any romantic, let alone sexual relationships. Luckily you remembered having used protection so you at least didn't have to worry about possibly being pregnant.

Despite not answering any texts, you probably couldn't get around talking to Changmin today. You also were going to see Sunwoo and Eric for the first time after the wedding.

Today was the start of both Kingdom and Queendom respectfully and the boyz as well as your group had been invited to the show. Shortly, you would have to perform the song with the most wins and your performance would be broadcasted live through mnet.

It was hard to tell whether you were dying of nervousness because of that or because you had to face Changmin, Eric and Sunwoo. Right now you were waiting for the announcement for your group to be called in. You were already wearing your outfits and had the makeup on but you were sweating so much that you felt like the paint was melting off your face.

Finally, you got the cue to go inside so your group walked through the huge door hand in hand.

The inside was very familiar as it was the same set that you had seen in Road to Kingdom. You were the last group to go in so everyone else was already seated and all eyes were on you.

"Oh, y/n!" someone exclaimed and when you turned to the side you saw Changmin waving and smiling at you. You awkwardly smiled back, feeling the two boys next to him stare at you intensely.

The other groups were cheering for you and you were bowing in respect for your sunbaenims. Meeting all of these seniors was so exciting. If only you weren't that occupied by different thoughts.

Nevertheless, your performance went well without any mistakes. During the rehearsal you encountered some problems but during the livestream everything went smoothly. It felt like such a privilege to be able to watch all these amazing performances for free. Of course the boyz wowed everyone with their mesmerizing dance moves and concept. You couldn't keep your eyes off them and allowed yourself to watch Eric and Sunwoo while they were concentrated on something else.

Gosh, they were so beautiful.

Throughout the rest of the recording you made a point to stare intensely at the mcs and not looking in their direction at all.

After everything was done, everyone went back to their assigned dressing rooms to remove the makeup and to put on normal clothes. You decided to take a trip to the bathroom on your way back and when you were on your way to the dressing room some of the the boyz members were coming in your direction. Changmin was luckily not one of them but both Sunwoo and Eric were there. You quickly turned on your heels and fled back into the bathroom.

This was so embarrassing. You had briefly made eye contact with Eric so you knew he had definitely seen you run away. You stood in front of the sink and looked into the mirror. Your cheeks were red from embarrassment and you looked like you were about to cry.

Suddenly the door opened and you quickly turned around.

"This is the women's bathroom," you said flustered as Sunwoo and Eric entered. They just shrugged innocently.

"We just wanted to talk to you. Last time we saw you, you just disappeared," Sunwoo smirked at you. So they definitely did remember what had happened that night and felt the need to talk about it.

"You cannot tell Changmin. He can't ever know."

"Oh, we won't tell him." "But we should do it again."

"What?" you asked dumbfounded. Do what?

"We should have never done it. We crossed the line and we can't do it again. We are not only idols but you're also my brother's friends and members," you tried to explain to them. It's not like you didn't want to but more like you really really shouldn't.

"Do you regret it? I had a feeling you enjoyed yourself," Eric teased you. You didn't answer because you were on the verge of admitting it.

Sunwoo stepped dangerously close to you. "If I were to kiss you right now, would you let me?" he asked. His face was mere inches apart and you could feel the excitement running through your body. His lips looked so soft and plumb. Biting your lip, you nod. Stupid brain!

He took no time in pressing his lips onto yours and slowly but surely moved them against yours. With his hands he was holding your hips and you put your arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

"Can I, too?" you heard Eric ask from behind. You breath out a 'yes' and immediately felt his lips on your neck. This seemed like major deja vu of the wedding night. The difference was that now you couldn't blame your actions on the alcohol. Also a bathroom in mnet's building was much more public than a private wedding venue.

Your lips connected with Eric's as Sunwoo started kissing down your collar bone. Eric's tongue slipped past your lips and your tongues were dancing together.

As Sunwoo was probably giving you hickeys he started caressing your still clothed breasts. To make it easier for him you disconnected from Eric and pulled off the dress you had been wearing for the evaluation. In seconds your bra was unclasped and Sunwoo had free access to your boobs.

Sober, you realized that the man really knew what he was doing. He was paying special attention to your nipples, sucking on them, swirling his tongue around them and slightly biting them just hard enough so it wouldn't hurt. Your breathing was become more and more irregular and you also noticed how bulges were forming in their pants.

Without any reason, you became brave and started palming both of them with your hands. Neither of them were shy of moaning and the tension in the room was becoming higher.

Then you sank to the ground and started unzipping Sunwoo's pants. Simultaneously Eric unzipped his and now you had two beautiful cocks waiting anxiously for you to touch them. Sunwoo guided you to his and you gave it a lick before deciding to take the whole thing in your mouth. He moaned out your name which encouraged you to go deeper. Sunwoo really had to refrain himself from just pushing your head down and fucking your face but he had to remember that you still were very inexperienced and he shouldn't cross your limit. With your other hand you were stroking Eric's dick and he had his eyes closed, enjoying the sensation.

"y/n," Eric whined. He clearly wasn't getting enough satisfaction and wanted what you had been giving Sunwoo. So you took his length in your mouth and started pleasuring him this way.

At the same time, Sunwoo carefully pulled down your soaking wet panties and slid his index finger over your pussy. Your whole body shivered at that. He was slowly rubbing it before he started lapping at your pussy. His tongue was doing wonders and you had a hard time keeping yourself upright. That's why Eric lay down on the floor to make it easier for you. You went into the 69 position so your pussy was hovering right above Eric's face. Now he had perfect access to your clit while Sunwoo was able to stimulate you with his long fingers. Having both of them work on you quickly brought you to the brim of an orgasm. Noticing your increased breathing and moaning they suddenly stopped. You were disappointed but then you understood why.

"Ride me!" Eric proposed to you. You were a bit unsure but still positioned your pussy above his dick after they had put on condoms. You sank down slowly and it felt less uncomfortable compared to before. You began to move soon but you were very unsure what to do with your body. Last time they had done all the moving so this didn't feel very natural. Eric started meeting your thrusts and at some point you had to rest your upper body on his because it felt so overwhelming. While you might have been on top, he was still in control, thrusting from below and making your whole body shake. At the same time, you tried to pleasure Sunwoo with your hands but Eric made it hard for you to concentrate on anything else. What was it about these boys that made you lose control?

At one point, you really were just lying there, letting Eric roughly pound you from below. You felt an orgasm approach again so you already knew you were probably going to be denied again.

And you were right. Now it was Sunwoo's turn and he picked you up and put you on the sink. You were sitting and he was standing. He was roughly grabbing your hips to have better control while slamming into you. He turned your head and you could see him fuck you in the mirror. Why did it feel so good when it looked so dirty?

You wondered whether or not they would let you have an orgasm this time. After all the stimulation you were ready to let it all go. Clenching around his cock, Sunwoo went even faster and you had to grab onto his shoulders to not fall apart. Your eyes were rolling back and you were moaning/screaming out his name as the orgasm finally washed over your body. He let you ride out your orgasm on his cock, before pulling out. You were a bit confused because you were quite sure he hadn't come yet.

"Can we come on you?" he asked and you saw Eric stare at you excitedly. You motioned Eric over and started rubbing them once again. It didn't take long before they shot their cum on you, most of it landing on your tummy and boobs. Breathing heavily, they each silently thanked you with a kiss.

You slid down from the sink and looked in the mirror. Your hair was a mess and you had a lot of cum dripping down your body. Eric and Sunwoo quickly made sure to clean you and themselves up.

"Changmin really can't know. Our managers neither," they told you. Seems like no one wanted trouble just some fun.

"Can we have your number?" they asked you. You gave it to them but just because you were quite sure that you didn't have enough self restraint to say no. Having sex with them also felt better than anything else in the world. Your hand could not compare to the touch of Eric and Sunwoo.

This is how your friends with benefits relationship started. During the shooting for the show, you had sex every time. You also started visiting Changmin in the dorm. You pretended that everything was normal but then quietly had a quickie with one or both of them. This was your dirty little secret.

[theskywaslookingback]

tma fic recs please ? 🤲🏽

Oooooo yes! I never get asks like this, thank you!

[my tumblr fic recs tag is here for browsing]

I had to put it under a cut because it got...entirely too long barely half an hour into making it, sorry.

Under 5k

means of cartharsis by orphan_account [G] [965]

“You’d think – you’d that at this point nightmares would be second nature for me, hm?” Martin says, forcing a smile even as he tugs the blanket tighter around his trembling shoulders.

It’s meant to be a bit funny. Instead of laughing, though, Jon frowns.

“No,” he says simply, and matter-of-factly wipes the moisture from Martin’s cheeks with a tissue like he’s a crying child.

A Proper Sleepover by Goodluckdetective (scorpiantales) [T] [1.4k]

In a different world, one where Elias is not waiting for them outside the Lonely, everyone has a chance to savor a moment of respite. As much as they can get these days. If only to talk about things that long need to be spoken.

“Basira says we should all sleep in the same room tonight,” Jon says without looking up. “Safer. So we can keep an eye out for intruders and also each other.”

“So we’re having a proper sleepover then?”

Jon scoffs. “Technically we’ve been having a proper one for months.”

where i go, when i go there by rainny_days [T] [1.7k]

Martin wants Jon to hold his hand. Martin doesn't want Jon to hold his hand.

It's complicated.

all the other ways by AptlyNamed [G] [2.2k]

Jon loses his first soul mark when he is eight years old.

a palace from ruin by bibliocratic [G] [2.2k]

"What're you sorry for?” Martin asks.

“I should have asked,” Jon says finally. “I'd never.... you were always so private about him, so I mean, at first I wasn't sure he was even yours, but then – when you, when you went with Peter, and I – he was so small, and I thought he was h-half-dead. S-so I picked him up and I carried him. And I'm sorry.”

interiors by doomcountry [T] [2.7k]

In the doorway, he fumbles with his keys. Their sound is loud in the silent stairwell. You don’t remember getting here.

searching for a light (for a right) by Kalgalen [T] [2.7k]

Some people make the mistake of assuming he's naive about sex, for the simple reason he hasn't dated in a while. Tim has called him a prude, at one point, and implied that he was somehow afraid of the intimacy required by the act; he wasn’t entirely wrong, but this definitely isn’t the reason for Jon's disinterest and general bafflement toward what most people seemed to consider as "what makes them human".

Jon simply hasn't found the right person. That is all it is: high standards, and a reticence to let people in.

(In which Jon finds out society is wrong about what a romantic relationship should be.)

how to plant a garden in rocky soil by treeprince [T] [2.9k]

Sometimes you just need a good pair of hands to work out all the kinks in your life.

Good thing Martin has two.

A Weather In The Flesh by cuttooth [G] [3k]

"There is a span of years where Jon doesn’t touch anyone other than the occasional hand shake. It’s not so bad. He’s never been someone who’s needed physical affection."

*

Jon has never been any good at making people want to stick around.

I'll bring the motion by callmearctus [T] [3.1k]

A long series of kidnappings and international flights leaves its own special mark on someone. Before the Unknowing, Jon is a mess.

Martin helps.

A Bread Made In Heaven by Againstme [G] [3.3k]

Martin moves over and watches how his boyfriend handles the dough. He's awkward with it, tentative and gentle, as if he's scared of hurting it somehow.

"Is this, uh, am I doing this right?" Jon asks, still slowly stretching out the dough and folding it onto itself.

"Well," he says shifting closer to Jon again, "you could be applying more pressure. Here, let me help you out, dear."

Martin moves fully behind Jon, and reaches around him, putting his hands on top of his boyfriend's. Jon inhales sharply, but doesn't say anything else, just lets Martin's hand rest on top of his.

Martin's hands are bigger, but not big enough to entirely envelop the other's hands, and Jon's hands are much, much warmer than his own are. To see what they're doing, Martin moves his head to look over Jon's shoulder. Though he can't see his boyfriend's face from this angle, he can see how it is slowly growing red at the edge of his vision. He decides not to tease him on it, instead content with letting a smile spread across his face and slowly guiding their joined hands in the proper motion.

Or, Martin teaches Jon how to make bread.

stumbling and spinning by lady_mab [G] [3.3k]

“Things happened,” Jon says demurely, trying to untangle Gerry’s fingers, but it only results in him getting pulled in so Gerry can kiss him properly. “It’s not all that bad.”

“I suppose not,” Gerry says with a sigh, sitting back upright. “You somehow managed to snag an incredible boyfriend out of it.”

It takes a solid few seconds before realization clicks in Martin’s brain. “You mean me?” [...]

“You have to admit, Jon has great tastes,” Gerry teases.

nothing sweeter than local honey by beeclaws [T] [3.4k]

So Tim is content, one arm leaned into the spray, waiting for the water to warm, enjoying the feeling of homecoming underneath the gentle fuzz of jetlag, when he hears gasping, panicked breaths coming from the other room.

Tim and Jon, in the aftermath, relearning how to be okay.

When Words are Inadequate by Mugatu [T] [3.8k]

Meals and the preparation of are, for want of a better word, informative. Fact gathering. A place where they can fill in the gaps of their knowledge of the other.

Jon cooks for Martin, and they learn more about each other.

go softly by doomcountry [T] [4k]

And there is nothing else besides this.

Imago by cuttooth [T] [4k]

“Jon?” he asks tentatively, tightening his grip around the poker as it slips against his sweaty palm. The antennae twitch, and suddenly Martin knows that it’s Jon, the knowledge sliding into his mind in a surge of desperate affection, the same profound love he felt that first time he truly saw Jon in the fog of the Lonely.

“Oh,” he whispers. “It really is you.”

*

Jon changes, but he’s still the same to Martin.

shoreline by bibliocratic [G] [4.1k]

“Martin," Tim says kindly, tipsily, only mildly slurring. "Dearest, dearest Martin. You're wankered, babe. Last train to Stockwell fucked off hours ago because it is now piss off o'clock in the morning, and there's a sofa with your exact name on it at my place. Thought you said you wanted some handsome fellow to take you back to his tonight?”

Or: The OG Archive crew go drinking, Martin comes out, and gets some well deserved TLC. In that order.

get your epitaph right by bibliocratic [G] [4.2k]

Martin's daemon has tried on the shape of dogs and lizards and snakes and horses, and even – once, when he was younger and Mum took him to the seaside, a fish.

Martin's never seen his soul in the dressing of a spider before.

i've known the warmth of your doorways by beeclaws [T] [4.2k]

'I’m always in pain, Jon wants to say, even as he dismisses the thought as melodramatic. Between his growing collection of old wounds and scar tissue, the supernatural hunger for statements that hasn’t been truly satiated in months, and the unpredictable aches and strains his body threw off day by day long before he ever set foot in the Institute, some level of pain and discomfort follows Jon wherever he goes now. He is used to being in pain. He’s not used to someone holding his hand as he suffers through it.'

Jon catalogs the comforts he receives, and wonders how long he will be allowed to keep them.

lay down your weary head by Zykaben [T] [4.6k]

Jon has been running himself ragged, searching for every scrap of information he can possibly find about the Unknowing. He's exhausted and sleep-deprived but he can't bring himself to take a break, not now.

Luckily, Tim and Martin are there to make sure that their boyfriend gets the care and rest he needs.

only the sweetest words remain by bluejayblueskies [T] [4.6k]

This isn't how things are supposed to go, right? Jon remembers those ratty paperbacks from the charity shops, dime-a-dozen romance novels with broken bindings and yellowing pages and words that spoke of love and passion and sexuality in prose that was more than a bit too mature for someone whose age hadn’t yet reached double digits. Stolen glances turn into dinner dates turn into passionate kisses turn into…

Well, he’d never actually read those parts of the books, because it had all seemed so deeply uncomfortable and gross. But he got the picture.

Or, Jonathan Sims, on being loved

5k-20k

and they keep not letting go by Marianne_Dashwood [G] [5k]

It’s an electric feeling, something strange and new and familiar all at once, even though he has been holding Martin’s hand for most of the day. His stomach swoops, like he is standing on the edge of the precipice of realisation and staring into the void of unknowing. But at the same time, he does know. In this instant of contact between them, the last few years of cups of tea and small smiles and momentary glances, of panic and fear and only feeling safe with Martin’s solid presence in the room, despite his paranoia, rush into him, and oh, oh oh.

ready to call this love by yewgrove [G] [5.6k]

How is Martin supposed to tell Jon that he panicked, stupidly, when the lovely old lady down the village asked him what they were doing in this part of the world? Got the shopping! Oh, by the way, we're married now! Whole village thinks we're on our honeymoon, hope you don't mind!

Prenons-nous la main by luftballons99 [T] [6k]

They still haven't talked about it, any of it, not even to pass the time on the long train ride to Scotland. Instead, Martin fell asleep in the seat next to him, pressed into his side from shoulder to knee, and Jon thought about love confessions and verb tense and how the two fit together when you think you're dying.

or: Good cows, mediocre poetry, and other crucial topics of discussion.

This Must Be The Place by cuttooth [T] [6k]

“You said – you said we were going home,” Martin says softly.

“I did,” says Jon, and is grateful that Martin doesn’t comment on him calling the Archives home. “I – I don’t really know where to go. I, uh, I don’t have a flat anymore, I don’t think. We could find a hotel?”

“Let’s go to my place,” says Martin. His hand squeezes Jon’s, more gently than before. Most importantly, Jon notes, he doesn’t let go.

*

Jon and Martin go home for a little while.

Small Things, Simple Acts by ZaliaChimera [T] [6.6k]

Even after leaving London, Jon and Martin are not free, not really. Maybe they never will be.

But for now they can be themselves, and maybe in the end, that's enough.

house by tomatoes [G] [9k]

Martin can take care of himself.

roses, roses, roses by acetheticallyy (judesstfrancis) [T] [9.3k]

Rose scented laundry detergent. Running into Jon in the breakroom. Running into Jon on his way back to his desk. Rose scented detergent. Running into Jon. Roses. Jon. Roses, roses, roses.

a deeply annoying child by ajkal2 [G] [9.6k]

Jon is hiding under the desk.

----

There's a child in the Archives, who shouldn't be there.

Inseparable by voiceless_terror [T] [10.3k]

“You can stay.” The voice interrupts his internal panic, and he looks over to find Jon studiously avoiding his gaze, staring hard at a neighboring bush. Martin wonders what caused his sudden change of heart. “But you have to sit on the other side. And don’t talk to me.”

Jonathan Sims and Martin Blackwood meet as children. Some things change, others do not.

i'm almost me again, you're almost you by gruhukens [G] [12k]

After a second Jon steps in towards him, close enough that Martin flinches, but all Jon does is put two fingers under his chin with his free hand and raise it until Martin can’t duck away. Jon has never touched him so casually before – at least, not until today, and it raises a lot of thoughts and feelings that Martin is trying very hard not to process.

Much like a lot of other things that have happened, he thinks. Not that it’s horrible or terrifying or numbing like everything else has been: it’s just another thing on the list of things he doesn’t have the capacity to deal with.

---

In the wake of the Lonely, there's a lot that Martin doesn't really want to think about.

hello my old heart by firebirdsuite [T] [15.8k]

Peter’s wrong, of course. When it’s all over, Martin does still want to tell Jon everything. It’s just—well, there’s a few things they need to work through first before they can get there.

Martin and Jon find each other again in Scotland.

Over 20k

The Kindness of Strangers by TheOestofOCs [M] [23k]

It was easier to treat Jon like a monster when he wasn’t shivering against his back, brokenly humming—wait, was that…

“Are you trying to do ‘Hey, Jude’?” Tim demanded.

Jon stopped, stiffening. “Mm hrmh mm mmh hm,” he said defensively.

“You really can’t hold a tune, can you, boss?”

*

It was just an ordinary walk to a restaurant. Tim had insisted that if they were going to talk, there would be no tape recorders or weird Archives ghosts listening in. A bit of fresh air wouldn’t kill him, Tim had said. What could go wrong?

By the time Jon spots the white delivery van, it’s much too late.

The Stranger kidnaps Jon. Tim comes along for the ride.

Misjudged by ShastaFirecracker [T] [36.5k]

Martin's been a longtime listener of What the Ghost, so when Georgie gives a shoutout to her flatmate's Twitch channel during a Q&A, he checks it out - only to discover that her flatmate is also his most terrifying coworker at his new job. The first time they crossed paths, Jon yelled at him for incompetence. But on the streams, Martin sees an entirely different person - someone fun and relaxed, engaging and unfairly attractive. Over time, Martin begins to find that Jon buried inside his dour, awkward coworker. He also learns to live with the fact that his crush is painfully one-sided... or is it?

if we make it through the night everyone is gonna hear us (Series) by skvadern [Ratings Vary] [42.4k]

In which Sasha survives the NotThem (with a little help from a certain Distortion) and she and Jon spend s2 working together to try and make sense of everything that's happening to them. It goes...interestingly

the garden of forking paths by bibliocratic [T] [49.7k]

Whatever he had predicted might happen, Jon wasn't expecting to survive upon demolishing the Panopticon. He certainly wasn't expecting to be rescued.

Instead, he wakes up in an alternative universe where he's never been the Archivist, and Martin Blackwood doesn't exist.

Martin Blackwood wakes up somewhere else entirely.

it's only forever by lady_mab [T] [50.9k]

“The castle at the center of the labyrinth,” Jon breathes, recalling again the words from one of the past conversations with Martin. “He’s there.”

“Turn back, Jonathan,” the Goblin King says, and Jon is surprised to hear a slight edge of desperation in the tone. “Turn back before it’s too late.”

“I can’t,” Jon answers with the same tone. “You know that I can’t.”

The Goblin King’s grin is gone completely, and he regards Jon with a degree of pity before that melts into resignation.

Yesterday is Here by CirrusGrey [T] [53.3k]

"Who the hell are you?" Jon could feel his hands shaking. The man laughed, taking a step forward and raising a hand to point at him. "I'm you, from the future!" he said, then swayed, eyes going unfocused, and collapsed to the floor in a dead faint. -------- Post-season-four Jon and Martin time travel back to the season one Archives.

A Home For What Loves You by TheWrongShop [T] [151k]

It was completely fine that Jon was following up on this very normal, non-supernatural statement at midnight on a Friday. He was going to find nothing at all, and then he was going to go home and sleep for fourteen straight hours and feel absolutely no qualms about moving case #0150409 directly into the filing cabinet marked "discredited".

Or; Jon and Martin end up investigating Carlos Vittery's basement and finding the entity formerly known as Jane Prentiss together.

RATED E *MINORS DNI*

A Look And A Voice by cuttooth [E] [6.9k]

“Do you want to have sex with me?” Jon asks bluntly, and for a second Martin can’t breathe.

“It - it doesn’t matter what I - ” he begins valiantly, before Jon interrupts him.

“Because I want to have sex with you, and frankly it doesn’t matter if you think it’s for the wrong reasons. I’m an adult. I can make my own decisions. The only thing that matters is if you want to as well.”

*

Martin meets a guy in a bar and takes him home.

Warms The Coldest Night by cuttooth [E] [11k]

"Flame that warms the coldest night Bring to us the waxing Light, Be with us on Solstice Night." Gypsy - Bring Back The Light

There is mistletoe hanging in the doorway to the Archives when Jon gets in.

Curiosity by ShastaFirecracker [E] [11.6k]

“You know that conversation we had the other day about how one of the most important things for queer youth to learn is that it's okay to change their minds, because identity and self-discovery are always fluid?”

Behind him, Martin slipped oven mitts over his hands and pulled open the oven door. The scent of garlic and rosemary flooded the kitchen. “Yeah?” he said.

“I, um... I'd like to revisit the topic of sex.”

At the Interim (Series) by Rend_Herring [E] [41k]

A Measure Outside the Lines and The Residuum

triptych (Series) by Stacicity [E] [44.9k]

A collection of Jon/Tim/Martin fics

a steady hand, a delicate man by callmearctus [E] [52.8k]

Martin is the proprietor and manager of a very discrete and fairly exclusive brothel situated between Belgravia and Chelsea. Blackwood House excels at special requests and pleasing any client.

Except for Jon, who probably has never been pleased a day in his entire life.

Despite that, he still comes back. It eventually begs the question: how do you solve a problem like Jon Sims?

[bangtanreadingcorner]

tall, blonde and gorgeous • jeon jeongguk

plot — when jeongguk dyes his hair blonde, it might just be the push you both need to finally talk about the feelings you have for each other.

words — 5.7K

You woke up in the middle of the night, craving some apple juice. You knew there was in the kitchen fridge, because Taehyung always made sure to stock up whenever you come for a weekend visit.

Speaking of your brother, he was passed out next to you, the two of you sharing his King sized bed while you visited. Like you always did. It was mostly just you two, but sometimes Jimin would join you. You don't mind, you known both of them since forever and Jimin is your brother as much as Taehyung is.

Quietly, you got out of bed. You didn't want to wake your brother, he works so hard and needs his rest.

The dorm was silent, which was a little weird because there was usually always someone up. It was only when on tour that all seven of the boys would sometimes be asleep at once, but even that was rare.

Shrugging it off, you padded the rest of the way to the kitchen, only to come to a halt in the doorway, freezing.

Someone with a mop of blond hair stood with his back to you, digging through the fridge.

The digging through the fridge wasn't what surprised you, no, it was the hair because as far as you knew, no one in Bangtan had blonde hair right now.

You knew because your brother was always spamming your phone, whenever he had time, with pictures, videos, voice notes and messages. You and Taehyung have always been close and he always made the effort to keep you up-to-date with his life but also made a point to keep you out of the spotlight, which you appreciate more than you tell him. Come to think of it, more than half your gallery is made up of pictures of Bangtan. The other half is made up of your rare selfies, pictures with your friends, of your dog or your brother's dog.

The point is, if someone colored their hair, you would know within five minutes - with pictures and everything. And Taehyung hasn't spammed your phone since yesterday morning when he and Jimin accidentally got Hobi instead of Jeongguk with a water balloon.

So, the question is, who is the blonde currently rummaging through the fridge?

You looked him up and down, noticing the very nice, very broad and clearly strong shoulders covered with a black t-shirt that hid the rest of the guy's figure. Your gaze went down a nice ass and long legs that was wearing grey sweatpants and finally stopping at bare feet.

Something flashed in your mind.

Wait a minute.

You know that ass. You've looked at it enough over the last seven years to recognize it anywhere in a crowd.

"Jeongguk?" You called, a little satisfied when he jumped upright, turning to you with wide eyes. Your heart decided to double its pace.

"Ah, tiny, you're awake. I thought you were sleeping, trying to grow some more." He teased, his heartbeat slowly calming down from the freight you gave him. His eyes quickly scanned you over, and he had to suppress a smile when he saw the bright orange pajamas. It was ugly as hell - he made sure to tell you many times but you always just roll your eyes at him or if you were feeling particularly moody, you'd flip him a finger.

Now, ordinarily, you'd snap at him for calling you tiny because you aren't (it doesn't matter that Jimin is 12 centimeters taller than you, it doesn't make you tiny, short maybe, but not tiny) but right now, you could only focus on one thing.

"Y-your hair." You stuttered, which was new because you never stutter in Jeongguk's presence. Your heart may race, your legs may turn into jelly, your hands may tremble and your stomach may fill with butterflies but you never stutter. And you never let him know what you're feeling.

He ran a hand through his freshly dyed blonde hair, only a little self-conscious with the intense stare you were giving him. He couldn't tell if it was positive or negative. "Yeah, I just wanted a change, something different."

"Well, it's definitely different. Mission accomplished." You informed him, walking into the kitchen fully, your voice miraculously even as you were internally panicking. This was like that time he dyed his hair pink all over again. Oh god. You hoped you could form coherent sentences this time around instead of just giving him the silent treatment for two weeks.

Like you said, you don't stutter around Jeongguk. Ever.

Jeongguk tilted his head at you curiously. "Bad different?"

"No!" You exclaimed, not wanting him to think that. You shook your head vigorously. "Not all. It looks good actually. Really good." So good, in fact, that your fingers itched to touch, to run your hands through it, play with the dyed locks of hair.

Jeongguk looked at you in pleasant surprise, lips stretching into that familiar bunny smile that made you swoon. He bit his bottom lip before saying. "I think that's the first time you ever paid me a compliment."

You frowned, "That can't be true."

"It is." Jeongguk's tone was matter-of-fact. "In seven years, you've never once given me a compliment. I would have remembered."

You pursed your lips, a sudden surge of guilt rushing through your chest at the look on his face - hurt.

"Well, you get lots of compliments from other people, right?" You said, trying to deflect because you never once thought that by staying quiet around Jeongguk, just to hide your feelings, that you'd hurt him.

"But never from you." Jeongguk said, words low and heavy with something you didn't understand. He stared at you, eyes open and strangely vulnerable. You didn't understand what he was trying to tell you.

You frowned at him again, "What does it matter?"

Something in Jeongguk's eyes shuttered at that, like he let you see something but now he pulled his walls back up. You still didn't understand it and he wasn't volunteering an answer.

Finally, he shrugged, "It doesn't, I guess." and he turned back to the refrigerator.

You had a feeling he was lying but you weren't going to call him out because that wasn't your place and it wasn't the kind of thing you and Jeongguk did. Whenever things seemed to go in a direction where feelings were involved - and not about other people but about each other, like what you think of Jeongguk and what he thinks of you - one of you stops the conversation before it can go deeper.

You tease each other good-naturedly, comfortable with each other because you are the same age, and you've listened to him rant when he was frustrated and even held his hand at times when he cried because the pressure of it all got a little to much.

It struck you, suddenly, how Jeongguk always comes to you first. Whether he's stupidly happy about something, or whether he's sad and wants a shoulder to cry on. You two could talk about anything under the sun or moon but whenever it comes to your feelings for each other, you shut down. You've never even admitted that you are, at the very least, friends and that you do care about each other.

You wondered if maybe it was time to change that.

You looked at Jeongguk's back and wanted to ask if thinks of you as a friend, if nothing else but what came out was, "Can you hand me a juice box please?"

He did so, without a word, and you decided to go back to bed. You stopped in the doorway again, turning back to him. "Jeongguk?"

"Yeah?" His tone, his eyes, was strangely hopeful and it made your heart twist. You looked at him, and somehow fell a little bit more in love with him.

"You know that I care about you, right? I mean, I know we've never talked about it, but I do." Your hands was shaking and you gripped the juice box. Luckily you didn't press the straw in yet or your hands would be full of apple juice right now.

The smile Jeongguk gave you was brilliant and it made your heart feel lighter than ever. He nodded his head, "I know."

"Good."

"I-" He started, breath catching a bit but forced himself to go on because if you could be brave, then so could he. "I care about you, too."

You grinned at him before turning away and going back to Taehyung's room, a definite skip in your step.

* * *

"So, what do you think?" Taehyung asked eagerly the next morning after breakfast, when everyone cooed and screeched over Jeongguk's hair.

You were back in your brother's room, scrolling through your Twitter feed. You looked at him, not sure what he was talking about. When it comes to Taehyung it can anything from the lines for a song he's working on to his next prank on one of the members.

"Of what?" You asked.

"About Jeonggukie." He said, waving with a hand at his head, so that the meaning was clear.

"Ah, you mean his transformation from tall, dark and handsome to tall, blonde and gorgeous?"

"Yes! What do you think?" Your brother looked at you expectantly.

"I think my previous question is an answer to that question." You smirked at him, snickering when he just scoffed before pouting at you.

"I hate it when you go all smartass on me." He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I love you, too." You sing-songed with a lighthearted giggled.

* * *

Later that afternoon, you decided to watch a movie and was joined by Jeongguk, Taehyung, Hoseok and Jimin.

"Jeongguk-ah." You called from where you were sitting on the two seater couch next to Hoseok. Jimin and Taehyung was laying cuddled on the three seater and Jeongguk was sitting on the floor, against the front of the coffee table. You weren't sure where the rest are right now.

He turned to you, eyes narrowed suspiciously, "What do you want?"

You gaped at him, "What makes you think I want something?"

"Because you only call me 'Jeongguk-ah' when you want something." He was matter-of-fact.

The other three was watching the two of you instead of the movie.

"Like what? I rarely ask you anything." You frowned at him.

"Like getting your phone from Taehyung-hyung's room, making you tea, bringing you a blanket, getting your food." Jeongguk said and you huffed. Okay, so maybe you do that but this time what you want would benefit him too.

"Okay, first of all, you didn't have to do any of what I asked, you know. And second, you'll like this too." You assured him, then added after a moment. "I think."

Jeongguk looked at you warily as Jimin and Taehyung exchanged smirks. "What do you want?"

"I want to play with your hair." You shrugged nonchalantly, not showing a hint of how nervous you are, no showing how it took you the whole morning to pluck enough courage together to ask.

Jeongguk's mouth fell open in surprise, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I mean I've always liked your hair but this blonde hair is really doing for you." You smiled at him, a little more confident when you saw more confusion than anything else on his face. Satisfaction rolled through you when you noticed his red ears.

"Whatever, fine." He muttered in agreement, looking away from you as he stood up right and came to sit down infront of you.

"Thank you." You grinned, clapping your hands in glee as you crossed your legs on the couch, knees touching Jeongguk's shoulders.

"Just don't tangle it." Jeongguk said, eyes fixed on the TV screen.

"I won't." You promised before reaching out and running your hands through his hair. It was just as soft as you hoped, instead of being dry and rough from the dye - it made you feel giddy.

Jeongguk tensed under the touch for a second but relaxed when you continued your gentle ministrations, nails scraping softly against his scalp. You tuned out the rest of the room, having watched the movie before - you've watched all the Marvel movies with Jeongguk at least three times - and continued playing with the blonde tresses.

Still, something caught your attention and you said, "Jimin-oppa, put away that phone."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said innocently, hiding his phone behind his back.

"Sure you don't."

It was silent for fifteen seconds before he whined, "But no one will believe me if I don't have proof."

"They'll believe Hobi-oppa." You retorted, nodding to the ray of sunshine sitting besides you.

Jimin huffed indignantly but dutifully put his phone away.

You continued playing with Jeongguk's hair, twirled and braided and separated and bunched it together like a pineapple stem atop his hair. The movie finished and Taehyung picked another one and you still played with Jeongguk's hair.

Twenty minutes into the new movie, Jeongguk's head fell back, onto your legs, eyes closed. You gaped at the blonde.

"Jeongguk." You whispered, not wanting to wake him if he is sleeping but not sure if he's playing either.

"Did he fall asleep?" Your brother asked, laughter in his voice, making his eyes sparkle.

"I think so." You nodded, in a state of bewilderment and disbelief.

"You must have magic hands." Hoseok said before pressing a hand over his mouth to muffle the sounds of his laughter.

Your glared at them. "Not one more word out of the three of you, or I'll change the sugar in your coffee for salt for the indefinite future."

"I didn't say anything." Jimin protested and you just gave him a pointed look.

They thankfully kept quiet after that, but you could see them glancing at you and Jeongguk every now and again. You ignored their gazes as you continued playing with his hair.

Your heart was thumping happily in your chest, glad that Jeongguk enjoy you playing with his hair so much that it lulled him to sleep. It made you feel so content that you didn't want to move again.

You even turned a blind eye when you saw Jimin turning his phone in your direction ten minutes later.

At the end of the movie, you decided to wake Jeongguk up. As much as you like him sleeping on your legs, they were starting to fall asleep and he would get a stiff neck if he keeps sleeping like that.

So, you shooed everyone out of the room before gently shaking his shoulder. "Jeongguk-ah, wake up."

He groaned and you repeated your actions, watching as his eyes fluttered open. You looked into his sleepy eyes, wanting to coo as you watched him blink his way out of sleep. He quickly recognised you, even upside down, and immediately sat upright, looking at you with wide eyes.

"Y/N?" His voice was husky with sleep and it made your cheeks heat up. "What happened?"

"You feel asleep." You explained. You watched as he nodded slowly, processing this and felt the urge to tease him a little, so you added, "On my lap."

Jeongguk's cheeks flushed pink and you couldn't help the fond smile on your lips. He ducked his head shyly and spoke a soft, "Sorry."

"It's okay." You waved him off. You wanted to even the field between you because it felt unbalanced somehow, like you had something over Jeongguk. You didn't like it, you wanted to be right besides him. Not above or below him. (Although many people would say he's way above you, you know that he doesn't care about that and neither do you.) Finally you admitted, "I liked it, it was nice that you felt relaxed enough because of me to fall asleep."

"I liked it, too."

You smiled, a little shy but also feeling bold by his admission. "I'll do it again sometime then."

"Okay." He grinned.

* * *

After that weekend, it took three weeks before you had another free weekend to go and visit your brother. With your bag slung over your shoulder and a bouquet of red tulips in your hand, you opened the door and called a loud hello to anyone inside. You made you way to the kitchen first, wanting to put the flowers in some water.

You found Jeongguk - who was still blonde, and your heart instantly picked up its pace - and Namjoon in the kitchen, the leader busy by the microwave and Jeongguk waiting as far as humanly possible from it. You quickly realised what was happening and supressed a smile. Namjoon must be heating food up for Jeongguk, who is afraid of microwaves.

You exchanged greetings and you quickly started looking through the cupboards for a vase.

"Those are pretty flowers." Namjoon remarked, leaning against the counter.

"I know right."

"Where did you get them?" Jeongguk asked, eyes on the admittedly pretty flowers.

"Oh, some guy gave them to me before asking me out." You answered absentmindedly as you continued your search for a vase.

Behind you, Jeongguk tensed, his hands curling into fists.

"Really?" Namjoon asked, more to see Jeongguk's reaction than anything else.

"Yeah, I almost said yes, too, just for the fact that he gave me flowers." You nodded over your shoulder. "Do you guys have a vase? I swear Jin-oppa had one in the old dorm."

"Under the sink." Namjoon answered, arms crossed over his chest as he looked back and forth between an oblivious-you and a jealous-Jeongguk, a smile on the corners of his lips.

"Thanks." You grinned before walking over to the sink and crouching down. You opened the cupboard and had to dig past the sponges, cloths, windowlene, bleach and dishwashing liquid before spotting the crystal vase. "I love flowers, you know? Not many people know because it's not something I advertise but Taehyung-oppa always gives me flowers for my birthday, every year since I was thirteen." You babbled as you gently pulled out the vase, not wanting to knock it against one of the pipes and crack or shatter it by accident. It was a little dusty, so you rinsed it before filling it halfway with water.

"Do you have a favorite flower?" Namjoon asked, partly to fill the silence because Jeongguk was glaring at the ceiling, tongue in cheek, and partly because he genuinely wants to know.

"Nope," You shook your head, removing the protective plastic around the flowers and putting them in the water. "I like all kinds of flowers. Roses, lillies, forget-me-nots, proteas, tulips, sunflowers - you name it, I love it. And in all colours too. There's just too many to pick a favorite. Although I really like pink lotus flowers. I'd love to grow them when I have my own garden someday. I'll have to install a shallow pond, of course, because they grow in mud but yeah, that's something I'd really like to try." You rambled on. Namjoon watched you fondly and glanced at the maknae, seeing that Jeongguk was still tense.

"Did you say yes?" Jeongguk burst out asking the moment you stopped talking.

"Huh?" You frowned at him, a little lost because you were completely caught up in thoughts of flowers.

"The date." He said, voice taking a sharp edge. "Did you say yes?"

"Oh." Realisation dawned on you and you shook your head. "No, I didn't."

"Then why did you take his flowers? You'll give him the wrong idea." Jeongguk grumbled.

Namjoon thought that right now was the best time to become a missing person and quickly exited the kitchen. He is not playing referee, should this turn into an arguement. No, thank you, he's done it enough between these two.

You rolled your eyes at Jeongguk, "I made myself perfectly clear, Jeongguk. I told him that while I adore the flowers, I don't like him."

"Still, you shouldn't have taken them." Jeongguk insisted, stepping closer to you.

Your temper flared, "Excuse me? Why not?"

"What if someone had seen? What if they start thinking that you two are dating?" Jeongguk's tone was something crossed between horror and panic.

"And so what if they think that?" You frowned at Jeongguk because what does it matter what other people think when you know the truth?

"So you do want people to think you're dating." Jeongguk said, voice cutting and accusing.

"What?" You stepped closer to Jeongguk, getting angrier by the second.

"Do you actually like this guy?" Jeongguk asked, sounding distressed with the thought but you were to angry to pay any attention to that.

You scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm ridiculous?" He pointed to himself, shocked.

"Yes! They're just fucking flowers!" Your voice was raised as you snapped at him, louder and harsher than it's been in a long time towards Jeongguk, of all people.

You didn't have time to feel guilty because his next words matched yours in volume, "That some other guy bought for you!"

"And your point is what exactly?!" Your voice didn't lower.

"My point is that I can buy you flowers!" Jeongguk shouted back.

The words take a second to sink in, and when it does, it catches you completely off guard and you deflate like a popped balloon, you anger evaporating like mist under the sun. You squint up at the blonde, who you finally noticed was a lot closer than when you started this arguement. "What?"

His voice was soft this time around, all the fight having left him, too. "If you want flowers, just ask me. I'll buy you any flowers you want. Just-" He cut himself off with a sigh, closing his eyes. "Don't take someone else's flowers again. Please."

You looked at him, opening your mouth to snap at him but saw the sincere, the utterly vulnerable look in his eyes, and the breath was knocked from your lungs. You looked away, taking a few steps back as your heart twisted and you inhaled deeply to fill your lungs again. You noticed that Namjoon had left the kitchen. You didn't blame him.

A lengthy silence later, you finally looked at Jeongguk again, your hands trembling. "Is it really that important to you?"

"Yes." Jeongguk answered softly but firmly, no question in his voice, even as he looked down at the tiled floor.

"Okay." You nodded.

His eyes snapped to yours, and he echoed, "Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." You gave him a slow smile, then, just to break the heavy tension around you two, you said, "Just know that there is no backing out now and flowers are expensive. You aren't allowed to complain that I'm denting your bank account later."

"Deal." Jeongguk laughed, warmth spreading through his chest as the last of his jealousy faded.

* * *

"You know that one day you are going to have to talk about the feelings between you and Jeongguk, right?" Taehyung asked his sister later that night when they were laying in bed. He heard the story from Jimin, who heard it from Seokjin and Yoongi, who heard it from Hoseok, who heard it from Namjoon.

"What feelings?" You asked innocently.

Taehyung sighed in frustration but wasn't very surprised. The one thing that Taehyung has never been able to get out of his sister is the truth about her feelings for Jeongguk. But even without her saying anything, he knew. The eyes don't lie. "Denying it won't make it go away, Y/N."

You sighed, too, "Yeah, I know."

Taehyung didn't say anything for a few moments. This was the closest his sister ever gotten to admitting her feelings out loud, in seven years. "I'm here for you. Always."

"Thanks." You smiled, as if you didn't know that already.

* * *

Before you went home that Sunday, your brother told you that they were going on vacation as a group and you're invited because according to Taehyung, right after Jimin, you are the one person he can't live without. You rolled your eyes at the dramatics but agree to go with them none the less.

So, you put in a week's leave for two weeks from now and asked your brother where you would be going for this vacation. The answer was a secluded beach house where no one would be able to reach you.

And no phones was allowed.

You laughed a bit at that rule when you arrived at the house and saw that there is WiFi. Your brother was quick to remind everyone of the rule, telling them that the WiFi was only allowed to be used for YouTube and Netflix. Games was added to the list after an objection from Jeongguk and Seokjin.

"This is gonna go great." You laughed as walked up the stairs to pick a room. You get first choice after winning the rock, paper, scissors game in the car.

"Pick us a nice room, sis!" Taehyung shouted up after you.

There was only four rooms because the whole point of this vacation is to spend time together, which means that everyone was doubling up. They decided to pair up by age and it turned out - Seokjin and Yoongi, Hoseok and Namjoon, Jimin and Jeonguk, and naturally, you and Taehyung were paired up. (You tried not to think about the fact that if you kept to the age pairing that you and Jeongguk would've been sharing a room.) That lead to a lot of pouting from Jimin because he wanted to pair up with his soulmate.

"If your so eager to share a bed with him, why don't you marry him?" You remember teasing Jimin.

"Maybe I will." He shot back without thinking and you weren't sure who was redder once his words set in - Jimin or Taehyung.

You picked a room with a small balcony and a nice view of the ocean. The day passed peacefully, everyone full of energy but after dinner on the beach, everyone quickly retired to bed, the sea air getting to them.

You decided to watch the ocean a little while longer and Jeongguk joined you. Neither of you spoke as you sat on the sand, watching as the waves crashed on the shore, water retreating back into the vast expanse of ocean. It was captivating, in a kind of terrifying way but if there is one thing in your life you've never been scared of, it's water.

"Life is a lot like the ocean." You eventually said, breaking the silence between you.

"How so?"

"You can read about it in so many books, but you still won't know everything about it."

"That's deep." Jeongguk said, voice soft.

You shrugged, feeling a little self-conscious. "Yeah, well, I've never been a shallow person."

"I know." You saw him nodding out of the corner of your eyes. "You're a beautiful person. Inside and out." He said it so matter-of-factly, so sincerely, that your stomach flipped and your cheeks flushed.

"Thanks." You smiled over at him.

It was silent again, but just like the first silence, you didn't mind it. You like the comfortable quiet between you two. Finally, you sighed and pushed to your feet, "Come on, let's go inside."

"Okay." Jeongguk got to his feet and you walked the path home.

You walked on the side of the pool where you all swam earlier that day, and didn't notice the small puddle of water that hasn't dried yet and you slipped. You reached for Jeongguk but his hands missed yours by millimeters, so you just took a breath and resigned yourself to falling into the water. You didn't mind it all that much, nothing some towels couldn't fix.

When you surfaced, you saw a laughing Jeongguk on the side. An idea formed in your mind but you made sure to keep your expression neutral as you reached a hand out to him. "Give a girl a hand, please."

Jeongguk - nice, kind, unsuspecting Jeongguk - reached a helping hand out to you immediately, only realising your true intentions when you gave a forceful yank and pulled him into the pool.

When he surfaced, glaring at you - but there was no heat behind it, so it didn't count - you couldn't help but laugh heartily. "I forget how similar you and Taehyung-hyung really are sometimes."

"Sucks for you." You smirked. The smirk turned into spluttering when Jeongguk splashed water into your face. You looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Oh, you're on."

You splashed at each other like proper five year olds, giggling and everything. Finally you called a ceasefire before you woke up everyone inside.

You looked at Jeongguk, blonde hair dripping wet, droplets of water rolling down his tan skin, that little mole under his bottom lip that you've wanted to kiss so many times you've lost count and suddenly, all of your resolve broke down like a house of cards and your common sense shortcircuited. You surged forward and kissed him firmly, clutching at his shoulders to pull him close.

His lips were a little cold from the water but was still petal soft and you wondered what it would be like to kiss him everyday.

Your common sense returned a second later and you pulled away, almost loosing your footing and slipping. Your whole body was on fire and you couldn't look Jeongguk in the eyes. "Fuck. Shit, Jeongguk, I'm so, so sorry."

You turned away from him, every intention of getting out of this pool and hiding away until you die.

Only you didn't get anywhere before a strong hand circled your wrist in the one second and in the next second you found yourself pushed up against the wall of the swimming pool, barricaded in by a hand on each side of you. You looked up at Jeongguk and your mouth went dry at the sight of those dark eyes that made you shiver. His voice was low when he spoke, "I didn't get to kiss back."

Your eyes widened and that was all you had time to do before he leaned down to capture your lips. Your head told you to pull away. That this is a very bad idea. Your heart told you to kiss him back and make the most of it. You've been listening to your head for seven years, so you decided to listen to your heart for once and kissed Jeongguk back with years of pent up longing and yearning.

The kiss turn turned really hot, really fast.

Jeongguk hoisted you up and you quickly got with the program and wrapped your legs around his waist. Everywhere his hands touched, it left a blazing trail behind, causing you to shiver and erupt into goosebumps. Distantly you wondered how it was possible to feel so heated in cold water.

You kissed and kissed until your lungs burned, your toes curling as you squeezed as close to Jeongguk as possible. Finally, you couldn't take it anymore and you pulled away, both of you heaving lungfuls of air.

"So now what?" You asked him, when you regained some common sense and breathing didn't leave you breathless anymore.

"Well, right now I'd like to kiss you some more, but later on, I'd really like to take you out." Jeongguk told you bluntly and if you were standing, your legs would have given out.

"What?"

And just like that, gone was confident Jeongguk and back was shy Jeongguk. He ducked his head, adverting his eyes from yours. "If you want."

"Yeah, I want too." You told him, watching as his eyes glittered with happiness. You could relate.

Jeongguk was onto something with the kissing some more right now, though, so you pushed that away and you dived back in. Right now you were more interested in mapping the inside of Jeongguk's mouth and finding out what his skin tastes like than anything else in this world.

* * *

The next morning your brother squinted at you suspiciously from across the breakfast table. You were seated in between Jeongguk and Hoseok, across from Taehyung and Jimin. Namjoon sat next to Hoseok. Yoongi and Jin was busy making breakfast in the kitchen. The six of you were waiting patiently.

Finally you couldn't take the staring anymore. "Is there something on my face, Taehyung-oppa?"

"Something happened." Taehyung said, pointing the pair of chopsticks he was fiddling with at you.

You rose a brow, not surprised at all that your brother picked up on it. That doesn't mean you are going to make it easy for him. You put on an innocent face, "Really?"

"Yeah, Taehyung-ah is right, you're like-" Jimin agreed, waving his hands around as he searched for the right word. "...glowing."

"I am not glowing." You said indignantly. Out of the corner of your eyes, you caught a smirk lifting on Jeongguk's lips. You turned and narrowed your eyes at him, "You, stop looking so smug."

"What does Jeonggukie have to do with-" Taehyung cut himself off and you could see how he put the dots together. The look on his face was hilarious as he turned to Jeongguk with a fierce gaze, "Jeon Jeongguk, what have you done to my baby sister?"

Jeongguk, despite being bigger and stronger, still looked a bit terrified of Taehyung as he squeaked, "Nothing, hyung."

"Nothing, hyung. Hah! Do you take me for an idiot? Something happened. I know it did. What is it?"

You giggled and leaned over to Jeongguk and whispered in his ear, "Don't tell him anything. Watching him squirm and drawing his own conclusions, slowly going insane with curiousity will be much funnier than telling him the truth."

Jeongguk brightened at your suggestion and immediately nodded in agreement.

"What are you two whispering about?" Taehyung demanded, voice higher than normal, despite having the deepest voice of the lot. "Hobi-hyung, tell me what they're saying."

"Sorry, Taehyung-ah, I can't hear." Hoseok said with laughter in his tone.

Yoongi and Jin came in with the food before Taehyung could interrogate you further. Taehyung looked before you and Jeongguk, "This isn't over."

You laughed, looking forward to teasing your brother a bit, when suddenly a hand slipped into yours. You looked at Jeongguk, who was steadfastly avoiding your eyes. You noticed his red ears and smiled softly, twisting your hand so you could lace your fingers through his. As the two of you held hands under the table while eating breakfast, you felt giddy and more excited about the future than you have in a long time.

There was still a lot you and Jeongguk had to talk about, but that was for later. You had enough time to figure it all out. Together.

the end.

[samwilsonshandsandass]

Somewhere Safe Chapter 1

Somewhere Safe Chapter 1

Pairing: soft!dark!Bucky Barnes x reader

Summary: You wake up somewhere you don’t know and there’s someone in the room with you, who you don’t know. What will happen?

Series and chapter warnings: Non-sexual dubcon/noncon, kidnapping, abduction, ddlg undertones, Stockholm syndrome

Word count: ~2000

You heard something that could be taken for mumbled English, but you weren’t sure. You tried opening your eyes and after some tries, they opened. You couldn’t move your head. That was the first thing you noticed of your body.

“Ugh” You moaned, trying to make sense of that dizzy feeling in your head.

“So, you are awake” You heard a male voice say. It came from the foot of whatever you were laying on, in the left corner. You could see that much when you moved your eyes.

“What?”

“You already drifted in and out of consciousness a few times. Seems like the sedative is finally wearing off” The voice explained.

“Sedative?” You mumbled.

“Yes. I had to get you here somehow.”

“Where am I?” Your voice was slurred.

“Somewhere safe.”

All of this didn’t make sense. It couldn’t. This all had to be some weird nightmare; you’d just like to know what the hell your brain was trying to work through in your sleep.

You closed your eyes and slowly, everything went black.

Some time later, you woke up again.

“I hope, you stay awake this time” The same voice came from the same place with the same volume as before. Quieter, it added: “Shit, I think I overdosed her a little.”

You didn’t answer, instead you focused on feeling something. Or moving something except your eyes.

‘Start with your toes. Or your fingers’ You thought. And you could. But those body parts were about as much as you could move.

“You can move your fingers! That’s good” The voice sounded glad and not threatening but it made you jump. He could see that little movement under the soft blanket that had been put over you.

He took a bottle of water and asked: “Are you thirsty? Don’t worry, I didn’t spike it.”

Could you trust this person? He admitted to sedating you, apparently even overdosing you and brought you to wherever the hell you were. But your throat hurt, and even the unspoken promise of water was enough to make you nod.

He stood up and walked over to you and you could see him for the first time. He was tall, muscular, had longer brown hair and blue eyes.

“I’ll help you move into a sitting position, okay? And when your back is upright, you lean against my arm. Got it?”

When you mumbled an “Okay”, he reached below the blanket to hook his left arm behind your knees and put his right hand on your back to steady you and move you into position. Moving you, the blanket slipped down a bit and you were surprised to see you were still in your own pajamas.

He sat down on your left side and reached for a small bottle. His hand engulfed the bottom of it and he put his thumb on the body of it. His thumb seemed to reflect a little in the dim light of the room, and suddenly there was a low whirring sound.

Then, both things were gone and you didn’t know if you imagined them or not.

Meanwhile, the man put the bottle to your lips and tilted it, until slowly, water flowed into your mouth. It felt heavenly. Like a cold, clear mountain spring.

“Slowly, slowly. Don’t want you to choke” You could hear a smile in his voice.

After two gulps, you pulled back, and in the process some water dribbled on your chin. He put the bottle back and dried your chin off with his shirt sleeve.

“Thank you” You whispered, and that was when you heard it again. As he moved his arm, to put the bottle back, the whirring sound was back.

He smiled at you and moved you back down to lay on your back again, head propped up by a pillow.

Back in his chair, it seemed to be a high-backed armchair, he started to talk.

“Now that you’re really conscious, we can start. I’m Bucky, but you will either call me ‘Sir’ or ‘Daddy’. If you don’t, you’ll be punished. You obey me and do something or stop doing something when I tell you to. Understood?”

You nodded weakly. What other choice did you have? Appeasing him was probably the fastest way to get you out of wherever you were. Or at least get you some concessions.

“Answer me with words, and title please.” Bucky looked sternly at you.

“Yes… Sir.”

“Good girl. I will bring you food and water at set times. Breakfast will be at 7am, lunch at 12am and dinner at 6pm. You will get some snacks in the afternoon. Every two hours, I will bring you water. Breakfast will be something smaller, just to get you going and without coffee. So, say goodbye to your favorite caffeinated beverage. The day before you came here was the last day with coffee for you.”

You didn’t know how to react. On one hand, that sounded okay and reasonable. Like he cared for you. And that was the weird thing. But on the other hand, he had kidnapped you.

“That’s the first part. On to the next. You’ll live in this room until I’m sure you can follow rules. Next to this room is a bathroom. I’ll bathe you and wash your hair when necessary. I will also choose your clothes. Again, if you show me you can follow rules, you’ll have a say in what you wear. Although even then, you may only pick something of the clothes in the wardrobe. You hear me?”

You were frozen. He would bathe you? What did he mean by that? Did he mean everywhere? You didn’t know this man!

“What?” You squeaked.

“What do you mean?”

“What do you mean by ‘bathing’? Will you… will you touch me? There?”

“Yes, although not like that. Only to clean you up. You don’t have to fear anything. I’ll never touch you like that without your consent.”

He seemed honest. Still, you’d only believe that when, or if, it should, and probably would, happen.

“Okay?” His voice was softer.

Was his voice softer now? Or did you imagine that, because you hoped for it to be?

You nodded.

“Good” He smiled.

Silence now stretched into the room.

“Are you hungry?” Bucky asked. “I got something here, if you want.”

“I’m not hungry” You whispered. Putting some defiance in your voice, you added: “And I won’t eat anything while I’m here!”

“As you wish. And believe me, when I say you will eat. I don’t care how long it’ll take, but you will eat.”

He stood up and made for the door. “I’ll leave you to it. Oh, and bed time is at 9pm.”

With that, he left. And you didn’t know what to do. Yes, now you could move your entire body, but there was literally nothing you could do. You could walk around the room and then the bathroom and that was about it. Maybe you could look at the room closer? At least that would be something to do.

You slowly stood up and looked around. The bed you had been on was a queen size. It was entirely in light pink. The cushions, you didn’t count them, there were so many, were in different colors of pink and some white thrown in. They still had the imprint of Bucky’s back on them from when he had sat you up so you could drink something. The headboard was light pink velvet with a dark pink pattern on it and a canopy on it.

On the left side of the wall opposite the headboard was that high-backed arm chair in yellow, with a side table and next to it a tall book shelf. It was empty. On the other side of the wall was a slightly ajar door. That was most likely the bathroom door. Between the door and the shelf were two wardrobes that had a vanity between them. The wardrobes were empty as well. What kinda clothes would he put in there?

Anything that wasn’t some kind of cloth was white wood.

The door left of the bed was closed. That had to be the door through which you could, in theory, get out. Even if you managed that, you’d probably have to get through a house or at least a flat and then who knew what kind of surroundings for who knew how long.

Still, you tried the door handle. No luck. Defeated, you flopped back down on the bed.

---

Later, you didn’t know how much time later since there were no clocks in the room, which was no doubt deliberately, Bucky appeared again. He carried a tray. You could see a glass water on it, some pancakes and a syrup bottle.

“It’s dinner time” He smiled and set everything down.

So, it was 7pm on the first day you were awake. You vowed to remember that. Maybe keeping tabs on this structure would help you keep sane, for you to stay yourself.

“Scoot over here and you can have something to eat.”

You did, your tummy had been rumbling since he left you alone.

Now near the corner of the bed, you reached for the cutlery to cut up the pancakes. Before you could grasp it, both of Bucky’s hands grabbed it and that’s when you saw it. He didn’t exactly hide it but apparently you had been too distracted and sedated to really notice it before. The hand grasping the knife was human. The hand grasping the fork had human form, but it was made of metal.

“You’re not allowed to use cutlery. I said you’d have something to eat. Not that you could fed yourself.”

“Sorry” You mumbled, your eyes glued to his metal hand.

“’Sorry’ what?”

“Sorry, Sir.” Still, your eyes were glued to his metal hand. There was just one question swirling in your head but how would he react to you asking a question without him saying something beforehand? And then such an invasive question?

“Thank you. And I’m sure you know it’s rude to stare. Ask.”

Your head snapped up.

“I… uhm, what- what happened to your hand?” You whispered.

“My whole arm actually” He shrugged and your eyes went wide. “Something bad. That’s all you need to know, but this prosthetic is a good replacement.”

Your mouth formed an “Oh”.

“Now, pancakes?” He asked and cut them up and drizzled syrup over them.

You nodded timidly. You still didn’t know what to make of all this.

The pancakes actually tasted good. You had to wait for him to feed you every small bite. If that was what it took to get some nutrition, you could play along with whatever this was.

When you were done eating, Bucky softly wiped the corners of your mouth and chin with a napkin although you were sure nothing had drizzled down and that action hadn’t been necessary.

“What do you say?”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“Good girl” He smiled. “I’ll come back when it’s time for bed.”

You nodded, and Bucky left.

---

It had to be 9pm, or around that time, because the door on the left opened and in came Bucky with a book and a glass of milk.

“I’ll read you a story and you’ll drink your milk, how’s that sound?”

You smiled to appease him.

Bucky propped himself up against the headboard and beckoned you over to him, to sit between his legs and lean against his chest. You hesitated.

“C’mere. I don’t bite.”

You went over to him and accepted the glass of milk he gave you. It was warm and tasted sweet. He must have put honey in it.

Bucky started to read the book. It was some generic fairytale and not even that long, but you felt yourself being lulled to sleep by his voice, the warmth of his body around you and the warm milk.

Your eyes fell close and your last thought before you fell asleep was how until now he had fed you, gave you water, didn’t touch you in any way you didn’t want. And yet, all this had only happened because he had abducted you.

You slept like a log and didn’t notice Bucky slipping out of the bed nor him stroking your head before he left the room.

[fatefulfaerie]

A Century Apart Part 1/2

Kakariko without the stench of blood in the air was frankly sickening to Zelda’s lungs. 

She had trouble breathing in the air that took so long to clear, that had forgotten the war of a century prior, that was normal to an entire country of people that had become accustomed to a post-apocalyptic Hyrule. 

When she had first arrived here, Link draped as best as she could manage over his horse, she was frankly overwhelmed with nausea, some of it due to her worry at Link collapsing moments after an unanswered question, some of it due to the blood caked on his tunic, and some of it due to her terrible, terrible, stomach twisting guilt for making it here alive. 

It was night now, and the twelve hours that Link spent recuperating in his slumber had felt to Zelda like an entire week. She tossed around a circular slice of orange carrot as she sat with worry twinging her heart. Normally sitting on the floor to eat as the Sheikah were accustomed to would have made her back hurt, but she paid little mind to her back.

Impa cleared her throat, and so Zelda looked up and across the table. The noise was so familiar that she almost expected to see the Impa she knew, in her twenties and incredibly agile.

Yet this Impa had eyes that had aged, eyes that had faded from a red as bright as cranberries to a hazel, a common side effect of Sheikah aging.

“You’ve hardly touched your food,” Impa said, wrinkles and all, her face more spotted and much more round nowadays. “I know the carrots aren’t your absolute favorite but you always used to love when I made Seafood Rice Balls.”

Zelda nodded, and faked a small smile, although it came off as a simple pursing of her lips.

“Yeah, I…I remember,” she muttered quietly as she tore away her glance, looking back down at her plate. The scientist within her knew that she was, in fact, hungry and needed food to sustain herself, yet the princess with her wasn’t quite ready for such indulgence, for such luxury. 

She began with a carrot.

It was soft, obviously well-cooked as her teeth bit upon food for the first time in a hundred years. It was buttered and salted and spiced with something she didn’t recognize, something they wouldn’t have typically served at the castle.

She almost forgot how to swallow as the chewed-up orange mush threatened to trail down her throat, but she gulped the single slice of carrot down nonetheless. 

It felt strange, eating, and it felt strange that it felt strange.

She could tell Impa was watching her eat, especially as she dove the chopsticks into the Rice Balls that, over a hundred years, she forgot she missed.

“When was the last time Link was in Kakariko?” Zelda asked, reacquainting herself with the texture and taste of the white rice, the seasoned fish on top of it, the leafy seaweed around it. She didn’t dare to meet Impa’s glance.

“About a week ago,” Impa said. “He came to restock, as he does occasionally. It wasn’t a long visit, though. I suppose he had places to be.”

Zelda nodded, using the cloth napkin on her lap to wipe away any stray particles of food from her mouth. It was almost an instinct, the way she was trained to always be proper, the way her back was straight were she sat, the way she refused to let herself be and just put her elbows on the table. Paya obviously had no problem with it when she ate earlier. Zelda envied her casual manner, living decades upon decades away from a kingdom.

Zelda didn’t expect Impa to reach out and grab her hand, and thus she almost ripped her hand away she was so unaccustomed to it. Zelda looked up.

“He is going to be okay,” Impa insisted slowly and calmly with eyes aged with wisdom. Zelda had no choicest to truly trust them. “He pushed himself very hard to save Hyrule and to bring you back. I would wager he hasn’t slept in days…and the injuries he ignored, well, it’s about time they caught up to him.”

“S-sorry to interrupt,” Paya stammered. Zelda didn’t even hear her come back down the stairs. “It…it’s Link.”

“What’s wrong?” Zelda asked standing up completely panicked. “Is he okay?”

“Oh gosh I shouldn’t have phrased it like that,” Paya said. “He’s fine, he’s just stirring. You said you wanted to be there when he woke up?”

“Yes,” Zelda said, nodding, her hand lightly fisted at her chest. “Y-yes, of course. Please lead the way.”

He didn’t look any different when Zelda finished the last steps of the stairs, Link coming into view. His face was still terribly scratched up and bruised. The only difference now was that Paya had-and she would have to ask later how a Sheikah could be so stealthy as to wrap a person’s chest without waking them up-dressed Link in bandages to brace his broken ribs. There was a fair amount of blood on the bed from the gash on his leg, but it seemed to be well-sewn up now, the wound cleaned and covered with a fresh bandage. There was also a half-empty bottle of a familiar dark purple elixir, a common painkiller among Hylians. Zelda used to use it for headaches.

She could she the way his blue eyes had begun to shine through eyelids. The room was dark, lighted only with candles that smelled of lavender and honey. It seemed so long ago that they had brought Link in, Zelda suggesting they keep the main lanterns in the room doused so that Link could perhaps sleep sounder.

“Link?” She asked as she stepped forward, the combination of her lack of stealth and her thin brown sandals making the wooden floor creak.

She knelt at his bedside and repeated her query.

“Link,” she said. It was now a whisper, like she was pretending to be the lover she never was to him.

The fatigued hero hummed as he blinked open his eyes lethargically.

“Zelda,” he said, softly in his half-awake state with a small smile. The former princess assumed it was because he knew of her presence before his head rolled over to her and he flipped out with wide eyes. It was as if someone had put smelling salt underneath his nose, the way he bolted upright.

“P-princess! I…” Zelda watched with equal parts awe and glee as he ignored the extremely likely pain in his ribs to fix his messy bedhead. Not to say he was in any way successful. “I’m sorry, I…”

“Link,” Zelda said, in such a soothing way that Link froze immediately. It may have also been because she placed a hand on his cheek. Zelda gently guided him back down to lay on the pillow.

“You look fine,” she assured him. “And you are in no condition to do anything but rest.”

Link’s icy blue eyes pleaded for something Zelda couldn’t place. They looked at her, studied her in a way Zelda wasn’t used to.

“Princess, I…” he began, but his words faltered, as if his intended sentence just walked off a cliff, accidentally ran out of room on the ledge and was now falling and forgotten. “I would like to call you Zelda,” he finally said. “Is that all right?”

Zelda nodded, and had to keep from tearing up.

“Yes,” she said, water making her green eyes shine like emeralds. “I would actually prefer that.”

It looked as if Link had something else to say, and yet he hesitated with a hitched breath. Zelda hesitated too, not what to say, but whether or not it was fair to reveal that she could read him like a book. It was a byproduct of their time together a hundred years ago, a time he may not have any recollection of at all, a time he may even be scared of. It was for those reasons that she demonstrated her patience instead, taking his hand and fooling herself that she was conveying her care with her eyes.

“I remember you, by the way,” Link said.

Zelda shifted slightly. There were so many memories between them and so many things that could be assumed between the memories that she couldn’t help but fear what story he had construed.

“I remember you not liking me,” Link continued, Zelda sighing, opening and closing her eyes with a slight cringe. Of all the things for him to remember. 

But he didn’t stop there.

“I remember you warming up to me and us becoming friends…at least I think.”

Zelda had looked down at her hand, the way her thumb ran up and down his palm.

“Do you remember anything else?” Zelda asked, tilting up her head. Link seemed genuinely out of answers and that’s what broke her heart the most.

“Is there something I should remember?” Link asked. Zelda shook her head.

“No,” Zelda said quietly, detaching her hand from Link’s. “It’s nothing of consequence.”

She moved her hand to his forehead, brushing aside a lock of his dirty blonde bangs. 

“I’m glad you’re recovering well, Link,” she said softly. “I’ll leave you to your rest. We can talk more later if you’d like.”

She stood up to leave but didn’t get far, Link’s hand grabbing her wrist and seizing her heart.

“Wait,” was the word he spoke to explain himself. Zelda turned her head to look over her shoulder. She couldn’t help but be surprised that Link had indeed, meant to grab her, was entreating her with those soulful blue eyes, deep as an ocean and filled to the brim with conflicting emotions.

“There’s more to it than what I remember,” he said. “There’s…well there’s how those memories make me feel.”

“What do you mean?” Zelda said, turning her body but refusing to kneel at his bedside, her cautious heart already shattered enough to not risk being broken even more.

“Whenever I remembered something that happened between us,” Link began. “I would try to draw you, would try to capture your beauty, but the image of you was always fleeting. Sometimes I forgot whether your hair was truly blonde, whether your eyes were brown or green, whether or not freckles dotted upon your nose, your cheeks, what the shape of your face was. But each time I tried to draw you I felt like I was getting both closer to and farther away from perfection.”

“Link,” Zelda said as she shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t either at first,” Link continued. “I didn’t understand why I was so enthralled by your beauty, why the sound of your voice twinged my heart, why the thought of your touch made me feel the warmth of my blood.” 

Zelda knew what he was describing, and she knew it well. It was for that reason that she couldn’t believe his words, that she searched within her lungs for the ability to breathe.

“Link,” she said breathlessly, finally kneeling down. “A-are you saying…?

She couldn’t even finish her question but Link nodded nonetheless.

“Once I realized it was a crush,” he said. “I tried to ignore it, telling myself that nothing in my memories indicated anything more than an obligatory friendship, that it was disrespectful to think in such a way of someone who was royalty, but…” He bit his lip. “No cliff was as easy to descend as the one that dictates love. I fell quickly and I fell fast. It felt familiar too, like something was in ruins inside me but this time, it was simple to salvage, to rebuild and to…” Link chuckled. “I can’t think of another word.”

Zelda was speechless, her mouth slightly parted and her eyes frozen. Link didn’t expect his declaration of love to be so paralyzing.

“I-I guess I,” Link said, continuing in the absence of Zelda’s words. “I kind of got the feeling that you also have similar…” Link looked for another word, but it didn’t exist in his brain “…feelings…” He inwardly cringed. “So I figured I would bring up the subject...but maybe I...shouldn’t...have?”

Zelda was quiet, almost too quiet, before she stood and finally said five words, five words that left Link in the dust of such an anticlimactic response.

“You never talked this much,” she said, before shooting him with green eyes filled with conflict and pity and turning around to walk back down the stairs.

[whatifxwereyou]

The Oncoming Storm Part 29: Into the Empty Storm

Liu Kang x Reader and Kung Lao x Reader (gonna do both, two paths!)

You have more questions than answers and are starting to think that maybe there aren't any answers. When you wake up, Chen provides you with some but maybe they aren't what you wanted to hear. You have a crisis of faith- but pick yourself back up. Change is coming.

A/N: Change IS coming, on like... Saturday. That's when the choice is! I'm letting you know now that the choice is a weird mundane choice that will change the story! Also, it's almost my birthday, and all I want is more free time to write y/n and these boys LOL. Hope you are all well. Smooches. (title is from a song called believe in nothing, i steal many titles from song lyrics)

Part 28 Part 30 Chapter Index

Your eyes fluttered open.

Your head was splitting but the stone ceiling was at least familiar.

What happened?

Everything was fuzzy. You tried sit up, but your body was too heavy and your arms too weak. Your fingers were tingling and numb, your muscles sore as if they had gone unused for weeks.

“Oh! You’re awake!” Chen’s voice came from your right, but this was not the infirmary. Your stomach was in knots and your shoulder was stiff. You sat up to greet your friend anyway, but your body objected with pain. “Whoa, whoa, hey slow down!” Chen carefully helped you lay back and then propped your head up a bit higher when you tried to sit up again. You were in your room. You hadn’t recognized it immediately.

You were confused.

“Why?” You choked out and then cleared your throat. Your mouth tasted like you hadn’t talked in just as long as your body hadn’t been used. Chen looked nervous and weary, like she hadn’t slept in just as long. “Why do I feel like this?”

“What exactly do you remember?” Chen hesitated. You closed your eyes and tried to remember how you’d gotten there.

That was right. It had been chaos.

“Everything went to hell when I touched the artifacts and…” You knitted your brow and tried to remember. “Oh, god, then Raiden tried to read me and that’s… that’s all I remember.” Your shoulder ached at the memory. There had been nothing else after that. Only pain.

“That was… Y/N, that was three days ago.” Chen braced herself for your panicked response. You stayed silent. Three days? How was that possible? It had felt like both a blink and an eternity of pain and darkness.

“What?” Your stomach dropped and it occurred to you now that there was an IV in your arm. Chen had likely been there the whole time keeping an eye on your vitals and making notes. There was a bedroll on the ground nearby as if to validate your thoughts. Why there? Why weren’t you in the infirmary? You already knew the answer.

You were too dangerous.

Three days was too long to be unconscious.

Your hands were still tingling. That was right. Raiden had shocked you because you had nearly killed Liu Kang and Kung Lao.

“Is Liu okay? Kung Lao?” Whatever had happened to you was less important.

“One thing at a time, Y/N.” Chen tried to urge you to lay back as you tried to sit up, but you shoved her hand away. “Please lay down. You need to take it easy, okay? You had… a little just… don’t panic when I say it, okay?”

“Tell me and then I’ll decide if it warrants panic or not.”

“I don’t want to make you any worse.”

“You not telling me is making it worse.”

“Just try to remember that it’s more complicated than what I’m about to say.”

“Would you just say it already?”

“You had a heart thing.”

You froze. Your ears were suddenly ringing. A heart thing? What kind of heart thing? What did that mean? You let Chen help you lay back down so you could focus on taking calm and deep breaths. Chen was checking your pulse on your wrist and watching you with concerned dark eyes.

A heart thing.

You were young! Healthy! Or at least you had been before those assholes had broken into your dojo and turned your life upside down. This wasn’t fair.

You hadn’t realized you had been holding your breath until Chen was shaking your arm to remind you to breathe. You exhaled and your lungs ached in response. They’d been deprived of too much oxygen too many times now. You finally turned back to Chen whose brow was set in a permanent line of concern.

“Are you okay?”

“You said it was more complicated. How?”

“It wasn’t a heart attack. It was a cardiac incident. You don’t… there are no blockages or anything causing it, but…”

“Isn’t it still the same thing? Heart fails?” You didn’t know much about medicine but you’d seen enough bad Korean dramas to know that the two things were similar.

“It’s different, okay? Your heart is strong, Y/N. You’ll recover. It’s just going to take a bit.”

“I am so fucking tired of my fucking body just… fucking betraying me. Fuck. Just… fuck.” You wanted to rub your hand over your face but you felt so weak that you could have screamed in frustration if you had the energy. Instead, you continued to swear beneath your breath. Chen covered her mouth and laughed, her cheeks pink. Really? That made her blush? She could make dick jokes all day long but swear words made her blush? “I can’t seem to catch a fucking break.”

“It’ll be okay, Y/N. I promise.” Chen had a rare moment of seriousness and offered your hand a comforting squeeze.

“I know.” You heaved a sigh and closed your eyes, taking a few deep cleansing breaths. “I know.” You finally calmed and were able to lift your hand enough to rub over the gauze on your shoulder. It was aching. “I just had to get it out of my system.”

“I get it.” Chen pulled your hand away from the gauze. “Careful with that, please. I’m still trying to get that thing under control and understand what it is.”

“It’s the crack from that godforsaken bell Kung Lao and I found in Japan.” You said in a mocking tone that made Chen laugh again. You should have left the damn things where they were. Things had only escalated far beyond your control since you’d gotten back. You’d felt like you’d made progress before then. “Can you help me sit up?”

“I heard that part of the story. We’re trying to figure out what kind of a connection could cause that. Raiden’s still going with curse. Going with god-curse now actually.”

“Oh. Great.” You let Chen help you sit up and then scooted back against the pillows that Chen adjusted for you. You leaned your head back against the cold stone of the wall behind the bed and breathed a sigh of relief. It had taken tremendous effort to sit upright but you felt better now that you had. If you hadn’t used your body in three days, it would take some getting used to your muscles being used again. Thankfully, it hadn’t been any longer.

“Yeah, I imagine that can’t mean anything good. He didn’t tell me much more, just that it was important to tend to it and report any changes. I don’t think I was supposed to hear everything that I did.” Chen tended to the mess of medical supplies that she had set on the floor by your desk.

“You’re good at that.”

“Sometimes being a gossip comes in handy, Y/N.”

“You didn’t answer me before. Are Liu and Lao alright?”

“Lao’s fine. Not even a scrape. He’s proud of that.” Chen smiled sympathetically. “Liu needed a few stitches but he’ll heal up in no time. He’s resilient. Doesn’t ever complain. It’s sweet how worried you are for them.” You weren’t sure that you would ever forget the way that his blood had felt splattering on your skin. You’d been the one to hurt him. He’d been trying to save you from yourself and it had backfired. He’d tell you not to feel guilty but you felt guilty, dammit. There was no way around it. They had been so angry with Raiden for pushing you but you had volunteered to do what you did. It was important even if it had been the wrong choice. You hoped they weren’t losing their minds over you being out for so long. If you had been waiting on one of them to wake up then you would have been going completely crazy.

You wanted them to be okay.

“Thank you.” You were grateful that Chen was there to reassure you and take care of your health. You guessed that Chen had probably volunteered since you were considered dangerous.

“Happy to help, Y/N.” Chen smiled sympathetically. “I’m so relieved to see you awake, I can’t begin to tell you how much. And not just because Kung Lao has been here about a hundred times. He keeps asking to come in. How you’re doing. If he could take over for me for a while. I told him that I’d let him know when you were awake and he doesn’t listen.” Chen clicked her tongue in amusement. You rolled your eyes so hard that Chen snorted. Sweet but typical of him. “Liu came by exactly once and I told him the same thing. He took my word for it. So, par for the course with those two.”

“Sounds about right.” You leaned your head back against the wall again and closed your eyes. God, this was a mess. A cardiac thing? God-curse? There was a mark on your body that mimicked the crack in a cursed object. You’d been nearly choked to death by some gross pale demon-man and you’d maimed Liu Kang. Again.

Where was the line?

Would there ever be an end to this?

Guilt.

You were so tired of guilt.

And pain.

You would gladly take the pain for the rest of your life if it meant keeping the people that you cared about safe from whatever this was. You held your head in your hands and massaged your temples.

“Don’t get in a funk about this, Y/N. You’re going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.”

“Yeah.” You didn’t argue with Chen, but you wondered if this ended in your inevitable death. It didn’t feel like things were getting better. They had escalated violently in the last few days. No matter what control you’d had over your arcana, when you lost control? You lost it to a point where it was dangerous to be around you. Was it fair for you to still be there?

You were putting them all in danger.

Was it fair to consider Liu Kang or Kung Lao’s advances when you were such a danger to them? When it suddenly felt unlikely that you would survive this?

It felt particularly cruel to connect with Kung Lao again after years of having thought he was dead. To have him back only for things to wind up like this. And for Liu Kang, a man you had an insane draw to, unlike any you had ever felt. You’d hurt him now so many times. You knew he was strong but how long until you accidentally hurt him beyond repair? Chen took some vials of blood and you felt almost instantly nauseated at the sight of it. You fanned your face and were grateful to find that your body was adjusting to being used again. Chen helped you stretch and stand and get used to your body again before helping you back down and removing the IV.

“Do you know what will make you feel better?”

“Sleep?”

“I mean, yes, but also… getting you crazy drunk and then having one of those boys come over here to take care of you.” Chen made air quotes and you whined in response. You’d almost forgotten that Chen’s brain lived only in the gutter. “You just have to pick your poison. Kung Lao or Liu Kang.”

“I know that you’re joking but I still feel compelled to tell you that’s a bad idea right now.” If you drank right now, then you would wind up a sobbing disaster of a human being wallowing in self-pity. You didn’t need that right now and neither did either of them.

No matter how you tried to push it away, you couldn’t get it out of your head that this was how you died.

It felt very unfair.

“I need to see you smile, Y/N.” Chen’s voice was dripping with concern. She clasped her hand over yours. “Please?”

“I can’t pretend to do that right now, Chen. I’m still processing that three days have gone by. I’m still processing what happened in there and what any of it could mean. This was supposed to give me answers and all I have are more questions and every fuck up is more violent than the last.”

“We’ll get your answers, Y/N. It’ll be okay. Raiden is going to find a way.”

“Yeah.” You didn’t necessarily agree. Raiden was a God. You were sure that if he knew your existence was putting them all in danger then he would do what was necessary to stop that from happening. Not that you thought that he wanted that for you. He would try to help but there was only so much anyone could do. You assumed he saw a picture bigger than just your life.

“Y/N…” Chen looked to you seriously. “I don’t like this.”

“Wow, really? Because I am having a great time.”

“What an unhealthy coping mechanism.”

“Don’t judge me. It’s working.”

“Is it though?” Chen smiled sadly. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I need to get out of bed and get used to my body again.”

“You should rest a bit longer.”

“I’ve been doing nothing but resting for three days, Chen.” You wanted to do something, anything to feel in control of your body. Chen studied you nervously but then offered you a nod. Together you worked your body just enough to help you get used to being awake and moving around. There was so little that you could control that it felt good to have something small. Chen was willing to help you even if she had tried to get you to slow down. You refused and pushed through it. You knew your limits.

You wanted to feel like yourself and break the fog hanging over you.

After some time, Chen forced you to stop and you rested your hand over your sore shoulder. You could feel your heart beating beneath it. Everything hurt but it only made you want to fight harder to get past whatever this was. You wouldn’t let it win. You wouldn’t let that thing win. It had frightened you for a few minutes and, truthfully, it still scared the hell out of you, but the fear no longer crippled you. You were determined to beat it.

You were not going to die because of this.

“What’s this?” Chen pointed to the wilting flower on the desk next to your journal. You thought that you were much like that flower now. An unfortunate parallel, you thought. Chen was cleaning up some of her medical things and putting them into a small bag after rolling up her bed.

“Just a sweet trinket.” You smiled fondly at the flower. It was pretty, even wilting.

“Liu Kang? Seems like something he would do. Finding beauty in things that are even temporary or some nonsense.”

“It does sound like him but it was actually Kung Lao.”

“Is that so?” Chen pulled out the desk chair and sat. “Can’t say that I can picture him giving anyone a flower. And no offense, but I don’t picture you as much of a flower getting kind of girl, either.”

“And exactly what kind of girl do you think I am, then?” You laughed in surprise. Chen perked up when she heard you laugh.

“You seem more like a grand-gesture kind of girl. Not really a material things girl.”

“Nice save, Chen.”

“We’re off topic. The flower. Focus, Y/N.”

“Oh, right.” You picked up the flower, twisting the stem carefully between your thumb and forefinger. It was still hanging on. There was some life left in it. Not much though. “It’s just something from when we were kids. It was the last time I’d seen him. He gave it to me before we said goodbye and then… he died. Well, at least I thought he had died. Still wrapping my brain around that one.” You set the delicate thing on the desk again.

“Yeah, that’s a big thing.”

“Off topic again though. When he returned from his errand for Raiden, he had found me another. I need to press it between the pages of the journal or something.”

“…you are talking about Kung Lao, right?” Chen seemed skeptical.

“Yes.”

“That’s ridiculously sweet. I’m having a hard time associating it with him.” Chen looked to the flower suspiciously as if she thought you were making up stories to tease her.

“Well, presumably the original flower was burned up in the fire so… it was nice of him to get me another. Not that he would have known I kept it. I guess it had been as important to him as it was to me.”

“You still had the original one?”

“Yeah. I had pressed it between the pages of my favorite book and got special paper to protect it. I hadn’t opened it in years but I assume it’s been burned to a crisp.” You felt the weight of your truth settling on your shoulders. Your life was gone. This wasn’t some crazy vivid dream that you’d eventually recover from. That life was over. There were moments where you missed the monotony but you were also grateful that it had happened to you and not to someone else. You had never fit in back home. Everyone else had belonged there. This was a better place for you.

“And you’re sure that this was Kung Lao, right?”

“I’m positive.” You laughed. Kung Lao definitely didn’t come off as sweet to most people, you realized. It was kind of adorable that it was just for you.

“You were really hung up on him, huh?”

“That’s a different life now, Chen. I thought he was dead. I cherished the little time we had.” Your ran your fingers through your messy hair. It was getting too long.

“Have you thought about going back? To see what happened?”

“I have,” you answered honestly. “But it’s a bad idea, I think. I killed people that night, Chen. And then there was the fire. They probably think that I’m dead. It’s not wrong to assume that either. Part of me died that day. I’m different. I can’t go back to being that woman and I can’t risk being seen.” You had put distance between the woman you had been and the woman you had become. You’d had to. It had been the only way to cope. “I’ve been nervous to talk about it. I can’t explain why.”

“You should probably ask Kung Lao to explain what happened.”

“Yeah, he just loves having a serious conversation. But you’re right. I’m ready to find out, I think.” Of all the crazy things that had happened in your life that one didn’t seem so crazy anymore. After what had happened in Raiden’s chamber, after maiming Liu, after having a heart thing, you could handle what had happened in your hometown.

“I didn’t quite understand the hang up that you had with Kung Lao. He’s such a… difficult man to get along with when you do what I do. But I suppose that I can see it now, knowing a bit more about the history between you two.” Chen admired the flower. “That’s a deep connection. He’s sweet to you… which I find difficult to believe so you must be special to him. Where with Liu…”

“Chen…” You turned your gaze. “Can we not talk about this right now? I know that you’re trying to make me laugh but I’m… I’m scared and my brain is having a hard time with all of this. Tomorrow, I promise, that all bets are off. You can tease me as much as you want but for right now, I need a break.”

“I get it.” Chen smiled and then got up, sat next to you on the bed, and wrapped her arms around you in a comforting hug. “I really do, Y/N.” She held you for a moment before you finally returned the hug. It felt strange to be hugged but nice. No romantic conflict involved. No stress about what it might mean. Just a hug. Comfort. You sniffled, not realizing that your eyes were misty with tears until then.

After Chen pulled back, you wiped your eyes and cleared your throat.

“This is only because you’re in such a state, Y/N. Trust me. Tomorrow? I’m back to pestering you.” Chen scolded and you smiled. “Besides, I wanted to bring up something more serious before I left anyway.”

“Oh, good. Serious with you never ends well for me.”

“It’s not anything medical. I gave you all the news there was to give for that. But with… everything that’s happened? People are starting to talk about it. I mean, they already were to an extent but more about how… scary it is.” Chen avoided your eyes and you felt a familiar and unpleasant frustration in the pit of your stomach. Gossip. “I just wanted to brace you for it. You might get some looks while you’re out and about. Raiden wouldn’t let me keep you in the infirmary just in case something happened. I’ve never seen him so worried, Y/N. It scared us a little.”

You figured Raiden was worried that you’d hurt someone and there was the confirmation. You had hurt someone. You’d hurt Liu. Three times now. You nodded in understanding. People usually feared what they didn’t understand. You were afraid of it too but you couldn’t exactly hide from what was happening. “I can’t blame him for being concerned. I hurt Liu.”

“Oh, no, Y/N.” Chen seemed surprised by your assumption. “He was worried for you, Y/N. I’m sure that our safety was part of his concern but he thought that a familiar and comforting space might help you. I think he’s worried that the heart thing was his fault.” Chen wiggled her fingers and made a sound to imitate the crack of lightning. You hadn’t considered that. You also hadn’t taken Raiden for the sentimental type. He’d come across as a fatherly man, you supposed, but your father hadn’t been sentimental so your idea of that was skewed. “I just wanted to warn you about the gossip and reassure you that it comes from a place of concern. We really like you, Y/N. You make time for us when many wouldn’t. They’re scared for you but also for themselves.”

“I get that.” You weren’t sure what to say about it. This was all too familiar. You felt so guilty that you weren’t sure how you were going to overcome it. The gossip wouldn’t help, you were sure. Your shoulder ached at the memory. It wasn’t as bad as it had been initially. Chen had briefly showed it to you while changing your bandages. It was literally a crack. “Thanks for the heads up, Chen. You’re always looking out for me.”

“I’m happy to.” Chen sounded nervous and you felt the woman’s gaze flitter from you to the door. “I’m afraid to leave you alone like this. I don’t… I feel like you’re not okay, Y/N.”

“I’m okay, Chen. I promise.” You reassured her. You knew you sounded morose. “I know I don’t sound it, but I’m okay. I’m so grateful that you were here when I woke up. You’re wonderful, even if I give you a hard time about teasing me.”

Chen smiled and offered you another quick hug. “It’s going to be okay, Y/N. You’re going to be okay. We’ll figure it out.”

“We will. I’m going to be fine.” You did your best to sound sincere. You knew that you tended to come off as sarcastic and while you weren’t feeling your best right now, you had to believe that you would be okay. Belief was an incredibly powerful thing, more so than you had ever realized before coming to Raiden’s Temple. “You can go. I promise that I’m okay.”

“I’m trusting you, Y/N. Try and take it slow today. I’ll be in and out to check in on you. I expect you to rest for a few days before going back to the crazy nonsense you’ve been up to.”

“I’ll do my best but I’m not good at sitting and doing nothing. I’m probably going to stretch a bit more before I rest for the night. Maybe take a walk. I promise that I won’t overdo it.” You bowed your head in respectful gratitude. Chen gave you one more hug before leaving you alone. After she left, you meditated and exercised. You needed to be okay.

You would keep fighting until you had nothing left.

[bearlee-giggling]

The Thing About Humans

summary: Connor is struggling to cope with his newly acquired emotions. Hank, however, is a pro.

warnings: cursing, mentions of death/suicidal thoughts, tickling

-~-

In the time that Connor had been living with Hank, post-deviation, he had been warned about dwelling on the past. It was a mistake Hank had made far too many times, one of which nearly resulted in him ending his own life. And Connor knew that Hank spoke the truth.

But there he was, curled up into a ball on Hank's couch, plagued by the memories of his days as a deviant hunter. He was thinking about Daniel. The look of terror and betrayal in his eyes after being shot by the snipers.

"You lied to me, Connor. You lied to me." Those were Daniel's last words, the pitch of his voice gradually deepening as his system shut down. If Connor would have known what would happen to Daniel... he would have done something to stop it. Anything.

Connor could feel himself shaking as his thoughts continued on. Where was Hank? Gone for lunch, I think. It wasn't like Hank to go to the Chicken Feed truck without him. Had Connor done something wrong? Was Hank mad at him?

Just as Connor was starting down that new thought train, he heard Hank fumbling with the key to the front door just outside. Hank finally managed to unlock the door and stumble into the house, half-empty soda cup still in-hand.

Hank was almost startled to see Connor curled up on the couch. "Connor?" No response. "Connor! What happened?" Hank quickly abandoned his soda on the kitchen table and hurried over to the couch, kneeling on the floor next to where Connor was sitting.

"Connor, talk to me. What's going on?" The genuine panic in the lieutenant's voice surprised Connor. He had only heard him speak like that during missions, when Connor's life was in jeopardy. But Connor wasn't in danger now. No, at least not physically.

"Connor!" A firm hand on his shoulder brought Connor back to reality. He looked to Hank, slightly startled. The lieutenant was taken aback by the tears streaming down his android companion's face. His voice softened, the panic fading into genuine concern. "I'm right here, son. Just breathe." Hank paused for a moment to allow Connor to catch his breath. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Connor took a moment to swipe the tears away from his eyes. "Those d-deviants-" his voice wobbled as he spoke. "They just wanted freedom. And I just-" His voice broke into a sob as he tried to continue, hiding his face in his hands, but Hank had already figured out what Connor was trying to say.

"That wasn't you, Connor. I know that, you know that, even all of Jericho knows that now. The real you, the you we all know now, is kind, compassionate, empathetic... and anybody who doesn't see that is a fool."

Connor sniffled, once again looking up at his human friend. Hank's words were genuine, and Connor knew it. "When you used to tell me I was showing empathy, I didn't believe you." Connor choked on some odd mix of a laugh and a sob, remembering his stubborn attitude prior to his deviation.

Hank chuckled at the memory of Connor back at the police station, begging him to help with locating Jericho. "No denying it now, huh?"

Hank stood up from his position on the floor, plopping down on the couch next to Connor. The android now sat upright, legs crossed beneath him.

"Feeling better?"

"I'm starting to, all thanks to you, of course."

"I'll say, I never imagined I would meet an android more empathetic than most humans. Talk about character development, huh?"

"I'm sure you're exaggerating, Lieutenant."

There was a short pause in conversation. A comfortable silence. It didn't last for much longer than ten seconds, but it was there.

"Still the same stubborn wise-ass though." Hank nudged Connor with his elbow, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Hey!" Connor yelped, pushing Hank's arm away. "As if you're not just as mule-headed as me!" Connor shot back with a grin that one could only describe as shit-eating. Oh, he was gonna be like that now.

"Holy shit, now you're giving me attitude? Where the hell did you learn that?"

"You know, Jericho may not be the greatest influence for your sweet innocent android, Lieutenant." Connor's grin grew wider with each passing second.

"Okay, now you're just asking for this." Hank jumped to his feet, grabbing Connor's hands to pull the android down onto the sofa completely, both of his wrists trapped inside one of Hank's large hands. Connor was now laying face up on the couch with his hands pinned above his head. "You knew this was coming, didn't you?"

Hank had learned a lot about Connor over the past couple of months. He learned about his fascination with dogs, heard him laugh for the first time, and discovered the android's true personality. And as sweet as Connor could be, he could also be a little shit.

Hank, however, had discovered a fool proof method of knocking Connor down a few pegs. Oddly enough, the discovery of that method just happened to go hand-in-hand with hearing Connor laugh.

"Connor, how long has it been since you laughed?"

Connor swallowed the nervous lump in the back of his throat. "Approximately 36 hours."

"You know, studies show that laughing on a regular daily basis has a significant positive impact on mental health."

"Of course I knew that, Lieutenant. I am, quite literally, a living database." If smug remarks could kill, Hank would have been six feet under.

"You pretentious motherfucker!"

Connor was about to fire back with another cocky remark, but he was cut off by his own startled yelp as Hank tazed him in the ribs. "Wait! Hank, you don't have to do this-!"

"Of course I do! You were in a shitty mood, you gave me attitude, and when I pinned you down, you continued with the attitude? Come on, Connor, you weren't exactly subtle about wanting this."

Connor attempted to defend himself, despite the fact that Hank had figured out exactly what Connor was after, but he was once again cut off, this time by his own sudden burst of laughter as Hank began repeatedly poking him in the ribs. "Don't you dahahAHAHARE-"

"Oh, I dare." Hank chuckled at the android beneath him, eying the hem of Connor's oversized DPD hoodie."

"Nohoho!"

"Yes!"

Hank quickly shoved both of his hands underneath the android's shirt, now leaving Connor with complete control over his arms. Obviously, Connor made no attempt to defend himself from Hank's attacks. He was too caught up in his own wild laughter to do so even if he wanted to.

"You know, I'd never heard any androids laugh before you, Connor. Although I can't quite say I'm complaining. It's kinda fun watching Mr. Look-At-Me-I'm-So-Serious get destroyed, and by something as childish as tickling?"

"KNOHOCK IT OHOHOHOFF!"

"No, I don't think I will." Hank's nonchalant yet teasy reply in combination with the feeling of his hoodie riding up gave Connor goosebumps. "Hey Connor? How much air can fit inside the average human's lungs?"

Connor paused for a minute, confused by the odd question. "Well it all depends on a number of factors like age, size, overall health-"

"Too slow!" And with that, Hank took a deep breath and blew a huge raspberry right over Connor's belly button.

Connor all but screamed in response, flailing his arms until he felt one of his hands make firm contact with Hank's face with a pained "Ouf-!" from the older man.

"Hank! Oh my... I didn't mean to, I'm so sorry!"

"Oh relax, will ya? I'm fine! Not really surprised either."

"Why would you do- that- if you knew I might hurt you?" The concern in Connor's voice was genuine.

"Oh my God you can't even say it!" Hank snorted as Connor's face flushed bright blue.

"Hank, I'm serious! Why would you do that?"

"Okay, look. The thing about humans is that, more often than not, they're willing to get hurt for the folks they care about. Even if that means getting smacked in the face after a very well deserved tickle attack- I wanted to cheer you up, not to mention you wanted to get wrecked. Neither of us wanted me to get smacked, but it happened. And it's okay, because you're feeling better now right?"

Connor thought for a moment. "Yes, Lieutenant. I do believe that's true."

[notnctu]

a jeno smut (agressive😳) with 61, 11, 50. enemies to lovers - high school au

thanks for requesting! i hope you like it, you can read it under the cut!!

-author doie ❀

p.s. soft reminder to everyone that requests are now closed. we apologize for the wait and are doing our best to finish them all! thank you for your patience :)

e2l!jeno x fem!reader prompt #11, #50, #61 - “I’ve never wanted anyone to fuck me this badly.” &  “You’re so god damn amazing.” & “Would you just shut up and kiss me already.” genre - smut (unprotected sex)

lee jeno, the popular attractive jock that had every person wrapped around his finger. who made the corrupt high school social hierarchy with athletes reining at the top anyways? jeno sits comfortably at the top of the food chain, while everyone gets chewed and spit back out. high school is going to be something you’d never want to look back on.

but your spitefulness doesn’t make you blind to the heavenly sculpted body lines of jeno. and if anything you felt for him that isn’t hatred, it is completely lust.

as you watch him dash across the open green field, his helmet protects his soft face, but the uniform hugs the thickness of his thighs. if it isn’t for your school spirited friend dragging you to a football game, this event would be no where on your agenda for a friday night.

“go jeno!” the cheerleaders jump at the bottom of the bleachers, with pompoms and their pretty matching uniforms. spins and twirls. claps and excitement. cheering in unison. the entire squad whipped for one player on a thirty person team. lee jeno.

the crowd goes wild when he lands the touchdown at the end of the field, earning the final winning point. the commotion overwhelms you and through the screams, you try to speak to your preoccupied friend, “can we leave now?”

“no y/n! we still have to join the players at the diner around the corner!” absolutely not.

you groan and cross your arms, “i’m just going to go home.”

“who’s going to take you?” she asks, completely immersed in the triumphant energy that surrounds the both of you.

“i’ll walk.” you say your goodbye while hurrying down the stairs. you kick at the dirt out of frustration and slight annoyance, a small cloud of dust circling at your shoes.

but when you look up, a sweat drenched jeno is running up to you with his helmet in his hands and the most taunting smile that has you walking off. “wait! y/n..” he calls and you really debate whether or not you’re willing to deal with him at the moment.

“bold of you to approach me.” you spin on your heels to face him and he shares the same annoyance at the encounter.

scoffing, “bold of you to actually show up to my game.” he bites back harder, a smirk growing at your silent figure.

“you did ask me to come.” you mumble, avoiding eye contact. and you feel a bit flattered that he even noticed you in the crowd of so many people.

he runs his free hand through his hair, pushing it out of his gorgeous face. “i’m joking. i know you didn’t come to just see me... right?” he lifts a suggestive eyebrow.

“oh because you’re so god damn amazing?” sarcasm lingers your tone, “don’t get your hopes up, jeno. unlike everyone else, i’m not brainwashed by your popularity complex. i had to be dragged out of my room to participate in such cliche high school sporting event.”

“okay, sweetheart..” the tinge of the nickname isn’t friendly, accompanied by an irritable smile through his teeth. “i need to go change, but is it too much to ask if you can meet me outside of the locker room?”

“it’s asking much more than i ever offered, which is nothing. why would i wait for you? nonetheless want to keep speaking to you?” his teammates are quickly rushing off the field, pushing at jeno’s shoulder playfully every time they passed by you two. and he’d only give a small smile in return.

“i think we really misunderstand each other..” he begins softly, “i just want to get to know you better.”

“make it quick.” you grumble. jeno’s face lights up, and his happiness puzzles you and makes you wonder why he actually cared to talk to anyone of lower status. he runs off to the boys’ locker room and you exhale heavily.

perhaps, you’ve never really given jeno a chance. he’s just always been in a bad light in your eyes, arrogance and pride? he never seemed like he cared about anyone other than his own status. and you never understood the hype around the school’s prized possession. and what made up your hatred for him was assumptions of his character... besides his random flirtatious comments, you avoided ever actually having a conversation with him.

when you see the rest of his teammates walking out of the locker room, changed and chatting among themselves about heading over to the diner, you walk over to the open door.

“jeno?” the locker room is empty, with very dim lighting. and you catch a glimpse of jeno’s bare muscular back, shorts hanging around his waist.

“has anyone ever told you not to freely walk into a boys’ locker room?” he chuckles and turns around, distinct lines across his abdomen from long hours of working out. jeno is extremely fit.

“i got lonely waiting outside.” you sit on the bench next to his bag. “you’re not going to the diner with everyone else?”

he shakes his head, pushing his things on the cement floor to sit right by your side. the heat of his skin brushes against your shoulder. “i know you’re not going, so there’s no point.”

you really couldn’t tell if he is being genuine, “when were you so obsessed with me?” you mockingly eyed him.

“when you became the only girl not obsessed with me.” he picks your chin up to face him and through the poor lighting, you see his seriousness blinking back at you. and he’s suddenly so close to you, feeling his hot breath pant on your lips and the drop in his gaze.

but he pulls away and begins cleaning up his football gear, what the fuck was that. “do you want to grab food somewhere else?” he asks nonchalantly, like he wasn’t about to kiss you several seconds ago.

“jeno, i’m suppose to hate you.” you stammer over your words, clenching the bench at the confusion that settled in your heart.

“why do you hate me?”

and you rack your brain with all the possibilities. “you walk around as if everyone is suppose to kiss your every step. you’re like the typical popular meathead.”

“you hate me because everyone loves me?” he laughs, “i guess it gets annoying when i’m all everyone talks about.”

“it is.. no offense.” you rub your arm sheepishly, but jeno doesn’t seem to take any hurt to your comments. instead, he’s still the go lucky happy boy that approached you off the field.

“i’m sorry then, i apologize on behalf of everyone’s obsession that it stopped us from getting to know each other.” jeno smiles kindly at you, “because i think you’re really worth getting to know.”

“we’ve barely ever talked.”

“but from those small interactions, i feel more than i would speaking to anyone else.” he grows a bit shy, rubbing the back of his neck out of habit.

it’s almost like jeno’s egotistic front faded away and you’re left with a shy high school boy. it’s so out of his regular character, so you wonder if this has always been the real him. underneath all the powerful glitz, is a shy jeno lies fiddling his fingers.

it’s your turn to lift his chin to face you. “maybe i’ve misjudged you.” you admit, your whisper tickling his bottom lip and you notice the tightness of his jaw.

inching closer and closer, he stops again and moments from pulling away, you hold his face in your hands. “is this okay with you?” he’s nice, remembering to check in on your comfort levels despite the heavy sexual tension that filled the locker room.

“would you just shut up and kiss me already?” without another second of hesitation, jeno leans in and presses his lips against yours. his hands travel up into your hair, down your neck to your waist.

“the first thing i learn about you...” he speaks in between each feverish kiss, his fingers holding the ends of your shirt. “you’re a great kisser.” he plants one on your cheek as he helps you out of your pants.

you lay down on the cold bench, your shirt is lifted to reveal your bra. he pulls down the fabric, your breast spill over and he sucks harshly at your nipples. your moan echos against the walls of the empty locker room and he slips a hand into your panties.

he rubs your wetness around your clit, dipping his finger into your hole. there isn’t enough time to dance around each other’s bodies, anyone could potentially walk in like you had before. you push at his bare chest, and slip off your underwear.

jeno follows, his cock springing up against his abs. he’s much thicker than you had anticipated, and you gulp at how good you’re about to feel. your legs wrap around waist as he rubs the tip of his dick up and down your pussy.

your back arches every time it hits at your sensitive bud. “fuck, i’ve never wanted anyone to fuck me this badly.”

jeno feels pride swell at his chest, “i’ve never wanted to fuck anyone this badly.” a small glint reflects in his dark eyes when he pushes into you. you muffle your scream into your forearm from the incredible stretch and the sudden intrusion.

jeno inserts him fully into you without mercy to you adjusting to his length. he pulls out, only to snap back in harshly. he grunts at the tightness of your walls around him, and it only makes him want more of you.

his grip on your waist steadies him as he fucks you into an oblivion. you’re a moaning mess every time you feel how good his hips roll into you. “fuck me like you fucking hate me, jeno.”

he smirks, “fucking the enemy? that’s bold of you.” jeno pulls you to sit up, his dick now hitting upright into you. your arms naturally wrap around his neck and your legs fall over his thighs.

his hands hold your ass, moving your hips up and down for you. “does this feel good, baby?” he whispers into your ear as he grinds more aggressively.

“fuck yes.” you breathe out. his tip kisses your sweet spot so harshly, enough for you to see stars. then he bottoms out as your legs start to shake around him.

“you want to cum, hhmm?” he hums, holding your hips in place as he rolls deeper and deeper into you. his grip on you is too strong, unable to move away from the pleasurable sensation, it’s inescapable.

“y-es.” you barely get out before every part of your lower half spasms out of control from the goodness. a soft moan erupts from your throat as your climax runs its course. jeno bites down on your shoulder lightly, muffling his low grunts.

despite your walls gripping onto him for your dear life, he gets a few rough thrusts to edge himself to his own orgasm. right when he’s about to explode, he pulls out and sprays across your tummy. his white liquid creates paint strokes across your skin.

you kiss his cheeks, leaving a small peck on his lips. through hot deep breaths, you both try to control your fast paced hearts. “so, did you still want to get food?” he chuckles.

“you still want to get to know me?” you quiz him, getting lost in his dreamy eyes.

“of course, i meant it. this..” he stands up to carry you to the bathroom. “..this is just the beginning of us.”

[crispychrissy]

Connected - Part 4

Summary: Dr. Austin's theory is put to the test, and she shows Tony, Bucky, and Steve the woman behind the mystery. Pairing: Eventual Bucky Barnes x Reader Word Count: 2976 Warnings: Angst, medical stuff, stretching the medical science behind the super soldier serum, discussion of Bucky's previous trauma & a mention of the horrible things the Nazi's did A/N: I apologize for the late posting, I fell asleep so hard last night I didn't have a chance to queue this, and then I was out all day (good 14 hours out and about) so I am just now able to post the new chapter since I'm home now. As I mentioned in a prior post, I no longer have a forever taglist, but I will still tag series specific people if they request. You can also follow this story & others on my Ao3 as well. The series was beta’d by the lovely @idjitmonkey and I hope you enjoy! Please send me an ask if you would like to be tagged in the series. :)

Series Masterlist – Marvel Masterlist

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

Bucky made a quick call to Shuri who, after a thorough interrogation as to why he was asking, assured him his arm would not be affected by the magnets of an MRI machine. So now, Bucky was laying down on his back inside the machine and staring at the small glass covered camera embedded in the inside curve of the plastic above him.

“Stop staring at the camera, Barnes, you’re giving off some crazy resting murder face right now,” Tony’s staticky voice came through the pair of disposable earbuds he was wearing to protect his hearing from the noise of the scan. “Might sell these scans to Ripley’s Believe It or Not. You actually do have something going on in that head of yours.”

“As much as I know you want to answer, Sergeant Barnes, please do not speak or move,” Dr. Austin’s voice came through after what sounded like a small scuffle for the microphone.

Bucky blinked several times in an unnatural yet controlled fashion, and when he heard Steve’s laughter coming through the earbuds, he had to fight the urge to smile, knowing Steve got the message he blinked out in Morse code.

F-U-C-K Y-O-U T-O-N-Y

The scan was over almost a half an hour later, and Bucky couldn’t hide his exhale of relief once the table began to slide out of the massive scanner. Confined spaces still made his skin crawl and flash back to the cryo tube he was kept in, but the MRI was surprisingly open in design and not like the ones he usually remembered seeing in hospitals. When he brought it up to Dr. Austin on their way back to her office, she smiled at him and explained most of the soldiers they treat have PTSD and claustrophobia, so an open MRI design was necessary for the comfort of the patients she treats.

It made sense, and when they entered her office and Bucky’s stomach growled for the fourth time in the last fifteen minutes, she tossed him the orange he’d been eyeing earlier before taking a seat at her desk and flipping open her laptop.

“Normally we have to wait for the images to be reviewed by a radiologist, but I’m well versed in how to read brain scans,” Dr. Austin explained, clicking a few times before leaning forward to study the screen. “Oh, wow.”

“What?” Bucky asked, using his teeth to bite a chunk of the orange’s peel off since his right hand didn't have nails long enough, and his left didn’t have nails at all. Once he could see the flesh of the orange underneath, he slid his flesh finger under the remaining peel and began to remove it in large pieces, trying to avoid getting sticky juice on his metal hand.

Dr. Austin spun her laptop around to show Bucky the image on her screen. It was a scan of his head, he could tell that, but the mess of swirling bright colors on the inside where his brain was made his eyes hurt. There were bright greens and blues swirled with more vibrant reds and pinks dancing around inside the image. “This is your brain.”

“Looks more like those posters… the ‘this is your brain on drugs’ pictures if they were made in the sixties, Doc,” Tony said. “I’m guessing it’s not supposed to look like that?”

“No. There’s so much brain activity that it’s likely what’s been burning through your energy and why you’ve been hungry all the time,” Dr. Austin explained. “Any type of brain activity, including emotions and problem solving, requires energy, whether it’s planning a complex strategy of attack for a mission or a simple math problem or crying at a sad part in a movie. Overworking the mind usually leads to tiredness, which leads to sleep, naturally refreshing those energy reserves. Most humans don’t expend enough energy, even when the brain is very active, to require major replenishment. Take Mr. Stark for example.”

Tony looked up and raised his eyebrows. “Me?”

“Yes, you’re a very intelligent man, and I’m guessing that when you’re elbow deep in your inventions or developing something, you don’t sleep and will go days without rest… so you find you get somewhat hungry at random times, right?” Dr. Austin asked.

“Well, yeah, I usually keep snacks around the lab that I nibble on so I don’t have to leave to make an actual meal. It ruins the momentum,” Tony said, confusion in his voice. “Pep’s found me passed out over the kitchen counter halfway through making a sandwich.

“Your body shut down and went to sleep before you were even able to replenish that energy via food since sleep is more efficient. So, that is a normal human mind.” Tony opened his mouth to protest, when Dr. Austin rolled her eyes and switched analogies. “Fine, that’s a standard engine, if you will, that can easily be refueled by a small energy source for a limited amount of time before it needs to be shut down and rebooted,” Dr. Austin said, slowly twirling her right pointer finger in a circle.

“Alright, I’m following you so far.” Tony’s head was slightly moving along with the circular rotation of her finger.

“Now, in the case of our super soldiers here, imagine that engine, but amplified almost five hundred percent,” Dr. Austin began to rotate her finger faster and faster until it was a blur of movement. “The need for sleep is suppressed by the serum, since alertness is crucial in combat, so that reboot requirement is easier to put off. In order to keep this kind of engine going at the same speed and level of activity for prolonged periods, it would burn through a small snack, or a small source of energy, too quickly and would signal the driver of the car, if you will, that it needed more.”

“So you’re saying that something is making Bucky’s brain so active, and he’s burning through so much energy, that it’s manifesting as hunger to make sure he keeps up with what’s being expended?” Steve asked, his mouth slightly open in shock. “I mean, I always remember being hungry after mission strategy and planning meetings, but I just assumed it was because I was bored or had skipped a meal.”

Dr. Austin shook her head. “Nope. You were using your brain in overdrive, doing quick calculations and mission scenarios in your head to find the best possible plan of action, much faster than any normal human brain would be able to calculate. It makes you an excellent strategist, but that kind of brain power burns a lot of energy.”

Bucky snorted in disbelief and leaned forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees. “It makes sense. I was a good sniper when I was first in the Army during the war, but after Zola… after he injected me with that bastardized version of the serum… I could calculate trajectory angles and wind velocities and distances in my head in seconds, didn’t have to write them out to do the calculations. Didn’t even need a spotter anymore.”

Dr. Austin nodded. “Exactly. The serum allowed you extra mental acuity at the expense of more energy consumption.”

“But that doesn’t explain why Bucky’s brain is lit up like a psychedelic Christmas tree,” Tony said, gesturing to the laptop image. “Barnes obviously isn’t doing any kind of advanced calculus in his head right now.” Tony looked at Bucky. “You’re not right?” Bucky shook his head and Tony continued, “so why is his brain so active?”

“And that leads me to my theory about Y/N,” Dr. Austin said, standing up from her chair. “Follow me, gentlemen. And Sergeant Barnes,” he looked over and raised a brow as he trailed after her into the hallway, “please let me know if you feel any increased feelings of hunger or exhaustion. The effects might come on quickly, so please let me know if, or when, you feel anything.”

Bucky nodded, and looked over to where Steve was walking to his right. Thanks to their childhood friendship, Steve could always see anxiety and nervousness in Bucky even when he tried to hide it, like when he saw Bucky off the morning he shipped off to Europe. Bucky kept his face stoic, but when Steve hugged him goodbye, Bucky was practically trembling under the Army-hardened mask he had worn then.

Steve reached over and clasped a comforting hand on Bucky’s shoulder, giving him a squeeze of reassurance.

The doctor led them down several hallways, until they reached another wing of the military hospital which held secure patient rooms that could be locked down if necessary, whether due to outbursts of violence due to psychological issues from recovering soldiers or to hold prisoners who had been injured and needed medical intervention. Dr. Austin stopped in front of a room at the end of the hallway and gestured to the one-way mirror in front of her.

“Gentlemen, meet Y/N Y/L/N.”

The three men stepped closer and looked into the room, all eyes frozen on the figure sitting upright in the hospital bed. Y/N had shoved herself in the farthest possible corner of the bed, her knees tucked under her chin and arms wrapped around her legs. The photo in her file, and even the video of her they’d seen looked nothing like the woman before them. She looked almost emaciated, her skin a sickly pale that was almost translucent, and her stringy grease matted hair twitched slightly as her body trembled.

“Jesus,” Steve breathed. “She… she looks like those prisoners… the ones—”

Bucky swallowed and nodded. “From Natzweiler, yeah, I remember.” Bucky took a deep breath, fighting against the telltale tingle in his mind of a long since forgotten memory beginning to rise up like a wave. “Doc… is she eating?”

“She was when she first got here, but only if the food was left for her after she passed out from exhaustion,” Dr. Austin explained. “Now, ever since things have escalated, she rips out her IV’s, pulls out NG tubes, and refuses any food we bring her. I’m not going to sedate her just because it’ll make it easier to feed her, we haven’t reached that level of intervention yet, but we’re getting close. She told one of our staff yesterday, in Russian, that she was not going to eat any of our poisoned food, that she wasn’t some kind of lab experiment and that we were animals for not just shooting her in the head to get it over with.”

All of the air in Bucky’s lungs came out in one hard breath like he’d been punched in the chest, and he had to brace himself against the windowsill to keep his knees from buckling. “Fuck.”

“Bucky?” Steve gasped at Bucky’s sudden weakness, grabbing onto his friend’s arm and placing a gentle hand on his back. ”What? Are you feeling the stuff Dr. Austin mentioned?”

Bucky grit his teeth and closed his eyes at the onslaught of memory fragments bombarding him. “No, I’m… I don’t know, maybe? I just… she’s…” Bucky’s thoughts were so jumbled he could barely form a coherent sentence, even in his head. He made a choked off noise that sounded more like a sob before he lifted his head to look at Y/N. “She’s reliving my captivity with Hydra. This… this was after I was transferred from the facility the Russians held me in after they found me to the one where Zola did his experiments. They were, umm, they were testing the limits of the serum, trying to figure out what I could survive.”

Steve’s face dropped and he took a sharp breath in. Bucky’s captivity and torture was not something he talked about often outside his therapy sessions. Steve only knew a handful of stories, ones that had come directly from Bucky’s mouth, and even then they were very hard stories for him to tell—lots of starting and stopping, frequent breaks, and plenty of tears. But here, with two extra people with him, and one being a stranger?

“Buck, you don’t have to talk about it,” Steve whispered.

“No, I need… she said exactly what I said to the guards who brought me food one day.” Bucky swallowed hard, flexing his fingers against the painted metal of the windowsill, the cold against his flesh hand grounding him. “They were testing different poisons and how the serum would fight it off… arsenic, ricin, even different kinds of snake and spider venom. I had seizures, strokes, and my heart stopped so many times I lost count.”

“Fucking hell,” Tony murmured, leaning against the wall behind them, his face a few shades paler than it was ten minutes ago. “Y/N is reliving your memories, reliving your life.”

“We need to find a way to pull her out of this,” Bucky said, straightening up with determination even though his bones felt like liquid and his mind was full of numbing static. If Y/N was reliving his life, even if it didn’t seem like the moments were in order, he knew it was only a matter of time until she would experience how the Winter Soldier was born, how he was forged, and he wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

Dr. Austin nodded and looked back at her patient through the glass. “If my theory is correct, which I believe it is based on your shared memories and brain scans, Y/N’s mind has somehow melded with yours. And your memories, powered by your mind’s energy, have somehow taken over hers, suppressing her personality completely. I don’t know if it was some kind of dormant mutant ability that was activated by the trauma of her captivity and torture, or something else… but there is obviously some kind of link between the two of you that we don’t have the technology to test for and verify. You’re essentially feeding her your memories, which is why your brain is lit up like that and why you’re expending so much energy.”

“It’s like she’s stuck inside one of Stark’s virtual reality headsets and can’t take it off, experiencing everything I went through while my brain keeps playing her different…” Bucky trailed off and his eyes widened before his head snapped to look at Y/N through the glass.

In a flash of movement, Bucky grabbed Dr. Austin’s ID badge from where it was clipped onto her white coat and darted for the door to Y/N’s room, scanning the badge so the door opened with a green light and soft click. Bucky, ignoring the shouts of his name and hands trying to grab at him to pull him back, opened the door and shut it firmly behind him, engaging the door’s auto-lock safety feature that he knows secure wings of hospitals have. The group outside would need to find another ID badge to get in, which would buy him some time.

Y/N’s wide and terrified eyes settled on him, and she tilted her head in an almost confused dog-like fashion, her eyes softening with an air of familiarity. Bucky could feel the hunger gnawing at his stomach turn into sharp cramps that almost made him double over, and there was a soft circle of darkness starting to creep in around his vision.

Bucky took three large steps forward, and even though she flinched away at his sudden movement, Y/N didn’t scramble away to try and avoid his hands as he lifted them. Her weary bloodshot eyes were full of unshed tears, and the closer Bucky’s hands got to her face, the more she began to tremble.

“You’re safe,” he whispered to her in Russian, before repeating the same sentiment in English.

The moment his fingers, both flesh and metal, touched the skin on either side of her face, it felt like he was on the wrong side of an attack from Thor’s hammer. Whatever weakness and hunger he’d been feeling was burned out of his body at the sheer shock cascading through his entire being. It didn’t hurt, but it was bordering on wildly uncomfortable, and Bucky was afraid he’d never be able to let go, his hands stuck to Y/N like a magnet.

There was something different passing between them, more than what touch alone could provide. Trying to understand everything that was happening was overwhelming, but when Bucky focused, he could almost feel Y/N inside his mind, like another whisper of a presence, a ghost in his consciousness. When he reached out in his head for her where he’d felt the ghost of her presence, he was assaulted with bursts of memories he knew were not his own, images of unfamiliar people, places, and things flashing in his mind like photographs. Bucky's curiosity was almost childlike, awestruck and trying to understand what his brain was comprehending, sorting through what Y/N was showing him.

The more information Bucky absorbed, the darker each memory became until it felt like he was wading through molasses, each image being harder and harder to move past. A hoarse whisper of “No” echoed in his mind, and Bucky couldn’t tell if it was his own voice or Y/N’s.

A solid arm wrapped around Bucky’s middle, one much more firm than human flesh would be, and pulled him backward until his hands dropped from Y/N’s face, breaking whatever connection had refused to release him when he’d touched her. Reality came rushing back, and the room and people around him flashed into existence, the change in environment and sound disorienting him and leaving him panting for breath, his knees wobbling.

“She…” Bucky looked over at Y/N, who was just as distressed, and watched her collapse onto the bed, unconscious, before his vision blacked out and darkness took him as well.

***

Connected Tags: @ginger-swag-rapunzel @that-one-gay-girl @fanofalltheficsx @joseyrw @lana-writes-04 @gia-25 @klanceiscannon14 @ahahafudge

[stitch1830]

@twinkle-toph I heard you wanted a bit of angst so here's what I found in my stockpile lol.

I wrote this with the idea in mind to eventually make romantic Tokka, but for now it's just platonic (also hopefully I have more ideas to get to romantic Tokka. Time will tell lmao).

......

She hadn’t left the bed since the services concluded, and they were only informed of the state of their friend through nannies that Poppy sent over. Apparently, Lin hadn’t stopped crying and Toph blocked out the world, unwilling to engage with anyone, including her daughter.

It hurt to hear this, but it wasn’t entirely surprising, either. After all, none of them knew how they themselves would have reacted to such a jarring change in their life.

Sokka paced her living room floor while the group decided to talk with Toph alone, one by one. He waited with everyone else while Katara attempted to coax Toph out of the bedroom. Aang sat in a lone chair, bouncing his leg incessantly and twiddling his thumbs. It was a rather odd sight to see Aang so jittery, but Sokka assumed it was because he wasn’t sure what to say.

Zuko sat on the couch upright and still, his eyes closed. Sokka could feel the Fire Lord trying to summon a reality—any reality—that was an ounce better than this one.

Suki sulked on the couch as well, resting an elbow on the arm and her head in her hand. Tears slowly made their way down his friend’s cheeks.

The turning of a doorknob had everyone jumping in their seats and staring at the doorway. Only Katara emerged, and she looked worse than when she entered the room.

It seemed that his sister’s attempts at comforting and helping Toph were futile.

And it went on like this with every member of the group. One of them would enter, prepared and determined to help Toph with their specific strategy, and they would always leave the room defeated. Even stranger, no one talked about what was said in the room.

One by one the group came and went into Toph’s room, until Sokka was the only one left. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing his intervention speech and determined to help his best friend through the hardest time of her life.

But the second he opened the door, his resolve cracked, and he wasn’t so sure he could help.

……

She lay down on the bed, clutching the side of the covers Kanto used. She felt and heard nothing in the bed they shared—used to share. All she did was replay the scene of the last time they woke up together. Over and over and over, hoping her will to change the scene would eventually become a reality…

His mocking gasp and his playful baby voice woke her. “What’s this? Mama’s almost up! Should we say hi? Huh? Say hi to Mama?”

Toph heard Lin giggle in agreement, and spirits, was it hard to keep still and not smile. But she did, and pretty soon Kanto had Lin hovering over Toph’s face close enough for her little arms to touch.

Unfortunately, Lin hadn’t quite yet grasped the concept of the gentle touch, for she slapped her mother square on the cheek. Toph groaned at the sharp disturbance while Lin and Kanto continued to laugh.

“Linny says good morning,” Kanto said.

“You need to teach her how to say it without slapping,” she complained lightly, turning in the bed so she was on her back.

“Why me?”

“Because she likes you more.”

“You have a point.”

Toph scoffed at Kanto and lightly slapped his forearm. “Jerk! You’re not supposed to agree with me.”

“Hey! You know I was lying, what’s the big deal?” he asked playfully. Lin began to wiggle in his arms, and he gently placed her on Toph’s chest and in her arms. “Lin is very excited for her ladies day.”

“Why do you keep calling it that? The nanny is off today, that’s it.”

“Yes, and you get to spend the entire day with this little badgermole. I’m a little jealous.”

“Don’t be,” she reassured him. “All we’ll be doing is sitting together in silence. If anything, I’m jealous of you.” Toph turned to point a smirk in Kanto’s direction, and he grew quiet. An unusual deviance from the typical morning banter, and she wondered why.

She didn’t have to wait long to figure out what, however.

“Hey, Toph,” he began.

“Hey, Hotshot.”

“Have you ever thought about our future?” he asked.

“Like?”

“Like, what do you think our future holds, what it will be like…” his voice sounded as if he had more to say, but Kanto left the sentence lingering in the air, waiting to be answered.

Toph assumed it was an opening for more banter, so she responded with, “Our future holds coffee and baby spit up.” She kicked her feet over onto the floor and made her way to the kitchen with Lin in her arms, while Kanto quietly chuckled and followed slowly behind.

He asked about their future. Their future. Together. And it all hit her when she stood over his body at the morgue, clutching to the thin, metal ring she found in his pocket what he was asking earlier in the day.

Marriage. He was going to ask her to marry him.

And so she replayed that morning in her head over and over and over, fixing the memory to make it what it was supposed to be…

“What are you asking, Kanto?” she asked, sitting upright in the bed with Lin still in her arms.

“I’m wondering if you’d… um…”

Toph smirked at his erratic heart rate. It wasn’t easy to detect in the soft bed, but his heart was beating out of his chest that Toph could practically hear it.

“Croco-cat got your tongue?” she teased, Lin giggled at her antics as well.

“Spirits,” Kanto groaned, rubbing his hands through his hair. “Why is this so difficult??”

“Just ask me, Hotshot,” she replied quietly.

“Huh?”

The earthbender sighed. Sometimes Hotshot was a little dense.

“I can ‘see’ the ring,” she confessed, then chuckled when Kanto sat up stiffly in the bed. “Just ask me already,” she repeated.

Her calm and steady voice must’ve tipped the man off that he had nothing to fear. Kanto chuckled and inched his way closer to Toph and Lin. He gently placed his forehead on Toph’s and held her free hand. “Toph Beifong, will you marry me?”

A smile grew across Toph’s face. She never thought she’d be the type to settle down and get married, but with Kanto… it felt perfect. Right.

So there was no hesitation in her answer. “I’ve got no plans today.”

“Wait, you wanna get married right now?”

“Why not?” she asked. “Work will be there tomorrow, and Lin and I have the day to ourselves. I think we can make room for Baba.”

He grinned into her cheek like he always did, then kissed her. “Sounds like we’ve got ourselves a date.”

Toph laughed. “That, we do.”

But no matter how many times Toph replayed the memory, it wouldn’t change. She didn’t stop him from going into work, she didn’t give him the opportunity to ask her, and she couldn’t even remember if she told him she loved him.

Now all she had were his lingering scent, the memory of his voice and his laugh, his clothes now rendered useless in her house, and the little bits of his personality she found in Lin.

It wasn’t enough.

She wanted her happy ending or whatever the fuck people called it. She wanted him. She wanted to hear of the future he thought for them, for the question that he meant to ask her for weeks, she wanted life with him.

And now that was impossible.

……

His entire speech seemed to fall on deaf ears, because Toph didn’t move. Sokka watched as her grip on the covers tightened and loosened every so often, as if a thought of Kanto appeared before her and the thought alone was too much to bear.

“Toph?” he called out after 5 minutes of talking to himself. “Can you hear me?”

No response.

He crouched down and reached across the bed to grab her hand. When his hand made contact, Toph immediately sprung to life and snapped at him as she sat up on the bed.

“Get off his side!” she hissed.

Sokka quickly took his hands off the covers. “Toph, I just—”

“No,” she interrupted.

“Toph,” he repeated, standing up. “You can’t lay here forever. You need to take care of yourself. Take care of Lin.”

“Didn’t know I was competing against you for ‘Mother of the year,’” Toph snapped. “Leave me the fuck alone, Sokka.” Toph stood up and turned away from the warrior, her hands crossed over her chest. He didn’t recall anyone else getting such a reaction from Toph, so he took this as a sign of progress.

“You’re lashing out because you’re upset.”

“Upset doesn’t even begin to describe what I’m feeling.”

“I’m sure it’s not,” he agreed. “But staying in here won’t bring him back. And he wouldn’t want—”

“Fuck that, Sokka!” she yelled, spinning around to face him once again. “Fuck what Kanto would’ve wanted! He’s dead! What he wants is impossible.”

“But he wouldn’t want you to waste your life away for him, Toph!” he argued.

Toph scoffed. “What would you know? None of you know what this feels like.”

“We’ve all experienced loss—”

“Oh? Have any of you lost the love of your life to some crazy murderer on the day they were planning to propose?!”

“Toph—”

The earthbender waved a hand at him. “I don’t want to hear it, Sokka.” Toph fell back onto the bed, all of her fight suddenly spent on those bitter and hurtful words. “Just leave me alone. All of you.”

Sokka didn’t move. He just wracked his brain for something, anything that would bring Toph some semblance of peace. She was so heartbroken, and he wanted to fix it for her. Because that was what they did for each other. He protected her, and she protected him.

But how could he protect Toph from a broken heart?

She was snow on a mountain. Stuck in place until just the right tremor sent her down the elevated earth and back in motion, back to some semblance of life.

And he knew what had to be done.

His entire friendship hung in the balance of his next move, but he had to risk it. Toph was worth it, even if she remained furious with him for the rest of her life.

Sokka walked over to Toph’s side where she lay, and he wrapped his arms around her, picking her up and leading her to the door. His small but mighty friend lashed out, throwing her arms and legs in every which way and screamed for him to let go, but Sokka didn’t.

Thankfully, Toph didn’t earthbend at him, but she slammed her fists into his arms in an attempt to break free. The warrior wouldn’t budge; his friend needed to leave the prison she made for herself.

They made their way out of the bedroom, eventually, and Toph Beifong was still furious at him. She pushed, shoved, and punched Sokka, hoping to escape his iron grip. But she couldn’t break free, and the fight she had within her was slowly withering away.

She didn’t want to stay in that room forever. But it was the thought of losing Kanto completely that kept her holed up. What if Toph forgot what he smelled like? What about his voice? His heartbeat was strong and soothing and helped her fall asleep each night, now it ceased to exist. Would she forget all that made Kanto Kanto?

The fear of the unknown ate away at Toph, and now that she was out of their bedroom, she couldn’t go back. Being in the room, especially now, caused her to succumb to thoughts of Kanto again, allowing them to consume her completely with no fight to stop it from happening. She crossed the doorway, taking the first painful steps of moving on... and she had to be dragged to the starting line.

In the back of her mind, she hated herself for pointing all her pain and anger and sadness on Sokka, her best friend. But he absorbed and shouldered every hurtful comment and shove she aimed at him, and years down the line, she would be grateful for his boldness. Still, in the moment all Toph could do was cry and beat at his chest until all the anger left her, and all that was left was the grief. Her fight slowly but surely withered away.

Kanto was gone, and now she had to spend the rest of her life filled with regret and pain and Toph Beifong wasn’t sure how she was going to get through it all.

But the arms of Sokka were strong and warm and soothing all at the same time, and Toph cried in the comfort of them. She sobbed and let the tears fall as she thought of what her life could have been, what it was supposed to be, and how sad her reality would soon become.

[eevee-eclair]

Family Resemblance

Written by Eevee

Things to look out for: brief mention of blood, pain, crying, swearing, eating trash, mention of throwing up, (please tell me if I missed one!)

Random side note: Haha raccoon man go brrr (also it impossible for me to write pure fluff, I’m so sorry)

~~~

All of Phil’s sons had some kind of animal they were mixed with. All except for Tommy so far. Techno had pig like features, Wilbur had his fish scales, and he himself had his wings. What Tommy had, they had yet to find out.

But that didn’t bother any of them. No, it bothered Tommy because he looked different. But his family started getting hopeful when Techno noticed small habit changes.

He saw him spending more time at night than the morning and was always waking up late. He took up whistling and hissed at anything that was vaguely threatening. Tommy also became more nosy and destructive than normal. His room was always a mess, but he refused to clean it.

So a few days after his fifteenth birthday when he gained his physical animal traits, no one was that surprised.

———

Techno was always the first awake. After he finishes his first cup of coffee, Wilbur usually comes up and then Phil is right behind him. Tommy has started to sleep in later, but he was always up an hour or so later.

But today he never showed up. It was almost noon before they all went to his room to see if he was awake. What they found delighted them and scared them; mostly scared them though.

Tommy was laying on his floor, a deep growl coming from somewhere in his throat. He looked in pain so they all rushed over. He saw them and hissed, trying to crawl away but ended up backing himself into a corner.

Phil held Techno and Wilbur back and pointed at his face. “Look, does his face look darker to you?”

The two older boys looked at their younger brother and nodded. “Yeah, like there’s a mask on him,” Wilbur said.

Techno pulled away and slowly made his way to Tommy. “Hey, hey, hey! You’re okay, buddy,” he mumbled, crouching down. “It’s me, Blade.” He held out a hand.

Tommy calmed down slightly and seemed to sniff Techno’s hand. He recognized his brother’s sent and relaxed fully. Now he just looked scared.

“It hurts, Techno...” he whined, curling in on himself.

He sat down fully and ran his fingers through his hair. “I know, bro. You’ll be okay soon, I promise. Anything you need?” he asked, looking into his sky blue-turning-brown eyes.

Tommy whimpered in pain again. He pointed to his trash can. “Can you bring that over here..?”

Wilbur rushed it over. Everyone expected him to throw up, but they weren’t expecting him to eat the rotten food bits out of it. Phil quickly took it away.

“Whoa! You know trash is bad for ya, Tommy!” he cried, putting it back where Wilbur found it.

“But it tastes so good!” he wailed. “And it’s the only thing I haven’t thrown up since this morning!”

Techno sighed and turned to his dad. “Remember how I eat potatoes, Wilbur loves eating seaweed, and you eat seeds all the time? This is his food,” he explained. “Trash.”

“But that’s not healthy!” Phil argued. “Tommy how does steak sound? Or a Gapple?”

Tommy shook his head. “I snuck some earlier and they just came right back up. I’ve been living on trash since three,” he said, holding his stomach.

Wilbur sat down, worried. “Three am?! Tommy, why didn’t you wake us up?!”

“I didn’t wanna bother you... Plus, I was quiet! Techno didn’t even know I was there!” Tommy responded, frowning.

Said brother sighed. It was true, he didn’t hear or notice a thing last night. “True. But how’d you manage to sneak the Gapples from my room?” he asked, very confused. He was the lightest sleeper and most observant person in their family so it was hard to get into his room without him knowing, let alone steal.

“I was qui—“ he cut himself off with a large cry of pain. “Fuck! My back!”

Everyone looked to see a tail trying to push its way through. Tommy kept swearing and Phil didn’t badger him about it; he knew how painful this must be. He turned to Wilbur.

“Go call Tubbo and see if he can come home. I think seeing him will help Tommy,” he said.

Wilbur nodded and ran to the phone while Techno tried to reassure Tommy he was okay. He picked it up and punched in Tubbo’s number. It took a few rings before he picked up.

“Hello?”

Wilbur sighed in relief. “Tubbo! It’s me, Wil! Can you come here as fast as possible? I know you’re at a friend’s house but Tommy’s finally gained his physical animal traits and we think seeing you will help him.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right over!” he asked. Wilbur could hear him pulling on shoes.

Wilbur nodded, even though he couldn’t see. “Please hurry.” He hung up the phone and ran back upstairs.

Tommy’s tail was half out and they could see the tips of some ears. He sat back down next to him and rubbed his back. “Tubbo will be here soon, okay? You’re doing so good!”

He didn’t respond, he just kept swearing and crying. After about five minutes, the doorbell rang and Wilbur rushed downstairs to let Tubbo in.

“He’s upstairs, come on,” Wilbur said, dragging him in immediately and running back with Tubbo. “He’s here!”

Tommy looked up and whined. His eyes were completely brown and his tail was almost out. Tubbo ran over and sat in front of him.

“Hey, Tommy! It’s okay, you’ll be okay, alright? Do you trust me?” Tubbo got a small nod and he gave a brave smile. “Good. Then trust me when I say it’ll be over soon. Just hold on a little longer,” he said, holding onto Tommy’s hand. Tommy squeezed back, not saying anything but the occasional cuss word.

Phil stood up, knowing his youngest was in safe hands. “I’ll go get towels,” he told them before running off.

Techno watched him go and brought the trash can back over. “Here, Tommy. Eat some trash before he gets back. I used to eat out of the trash all the time and I turned out fine.”

Tommy gave a weak laugh but didn’t reach for what he called food. “N-not hungry...” he muttered.

“Let’s wait until his ears are out,” Wilbur suggested. “His tail is out and when his ears show the pain will ease up enough for him to eat.”

Tubbo nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.” He took a glance at Tommy. “He look like a raccoon,” he told them, trying to start conversation.

Techno started making a pile of edible food for his brother. “Yeah, considering what I’ve seen him do that makes perfect sense.”

“What’s he been doing?” Tubbo asked.

As Techno filled Tubbo in on Tommy’s new behaviors, Wilbur comforted him. Eventually, Tommy let out a content sigh and let go of Tubbo’s hand, going completely limp.

“That hurt like hell,” he sighed after a while. “Why’d it hurt so bad..?”

Phil walked in with towels and handed one to Techno. “Because your body is rearranging itself to comply with the new appendages,” he explained, starting to dry the blood off his new tail while Techno worked the ears.

Tommy tried to pull away but was too tired to do much so he just let them continue. “I gotta wash these fuckers now, don’t I?” Everyone nodded and he huffed. “That’s no fair! Techno doesn’t have to wash his fangs!”

Techno snorted and Phil sighed. “No he doesn’t, but he still has to take care of his skin just like Wilbur goes swimming everyday and I go flying every morning.”

“Oh poo! You guys don’t have to brush knots out of something you can’t reach!”

Wilbur stepped in. “No, but it’s just as difficult. Swimming takes a lot of energy out of me and dad still has to groom his wings. Techno eats Gapples not just to stay strong but because it’s just as important as us eating vegetables,” he explained.

Techno and Phil pulled away and helped sit Tommy upright. As he reached for the pile of trash, they all took a good look at him.

His tail and ears had dark rings and his eyes were dark, almost black. He had a dark pattern on his face that looked like a mask and his teeth were a little sharper. His nose was slightly pinker and Tubbo gasped before leaning forward and booping him.

Tommy dropped his food bit and bleped, causing everyone—even Techno—to make an ‘aww’ sound. They all took turns booping him and he started to get angry.

“Stop that,” he said, pouting. “Let me eat!”

They all snickered and let him go back to eating. After he had finished, he yawned and curled his tail around his legs.

“Tired?” Phil asked with a small laugh. “It’s only two in the afternoon, son.”

Tommy huffed. “But I’m sleepy! Can I....“ he trailed off and they watched his gaze wonder to the gold bits holding Techno’s cape on. He reached for them and Techno moved away.

“Hey, hands off, Tommy!” he scolded. Then he saw the look of shame on his brother’s face and sighed. “Sorry, that was harsh. It’s just your animal instincts. Don’t worry, we’ll help you learn to control them.”

He nodded and dug through the trash some more. Tubbo was the one to break the awkward silence.

“So, what now? Do I have to go or can I stay?”

Phil smiled. “You’re always welcome to stay, Tubbo. I’m sure Tommy would appreciate it too.”

Tommy pulled out a Gapple core and started chewing on it. “Yeah! I can show you how to climb a tree and dig through trash!” he said with a mouthful of food.

Wilbur took the core from him. “You know how to climb a tree...?” he asked. Techno was just as confused.

“Yeah, it’s not hard!” He stood up and pulled Tubbo up with him. “Come on!”

Tommy’s family watched him go, his new tail wagging from side to side in a blur. Wilbur stood up and sighed. “Well, I’m going swimming. Have fun you two.”

Wilbur walked away and Techno got up also. “I’m gonna make sure they don’t hurt themselves,” he said, following his brother out the door.

After a while, Phil stood up and walked out to start on dinner. Apparently Tommy did know how to climb a tree so they all watched him leap from branch to branch.

Everyone agreed that a raccoon suited him perfectly.

~~~

Hey, thanks for reading this! If you enjoyed please reblog, it helps me stay motivated to write more. Comments are also very appreciated! I might also write some Tubbee or Tubbo with horns if this gets enough attention

(Also, sorry for the rushed ending)

[gaming-universe]

Who We Are || Russell Adler

Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War

-PART ONE-

Warnings: SPOILERS FOR CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS: COLD WAR! IF YOU HAVEN’T PLAYED/FINISHED THE CAMPAIGN THEN PLEASE DONT READ! Gore, violence, course language, mature content.

Summary: Betrayed and alone after surviving the events that took place on the Solovetsky Islands, Y/n ‘Bell’ L/n faces new and more dangerous threats when she learns that Perseus has other plans for his failed nuclear detonation of Europe. It was only a matter of time before Y/n came face to face with her old team. There is unfinished business between Y/n and Adler, as this operation proves to be more deadly than originally thought.

Author’s Note: So, after finishing the campaign, I needed to do Bell/Player and Adler justice. I loved this game so much, and chosing to play as the female character, I felt like there was a genuine connection between Bell and Adler throughout the game. There is a tag list open for anyone that wishes to stay up to date with the series. Simply comment below. Gif by @travelllar​

The feeling of drowing was somethong terrifying.

Knowing that your body was completely spent, knowing that the ocean’s surface was just a swift stroke away...and that you couldn’t reach it, caused your chest to tighten out of fear. Or maybe, it was because of the lack of oxygen.

You could manage to see the tall cliff face through the jagged waves, where he no doubt still stood, waiting to see if you would resurface. But no, no one could survive a fall from that height, especially after taking a single and deadly shot to the chest.

Blood, your blood you soon realised, stained the water a haunting red as you were swept further out to sea. The waves crashing above, though muffled and far away, soothed you as if it were a sweet lullaby. A lullaby of your final moments. The harsh cold of the water finally began to set in. Icen hands seemed to wrap around your form, providing you with the small mercy of numbing the agonising pain that coursed through every fibre of your being. A small and last act of kindness to lure you into an eternal darkness.

Amongst the silence beneath the waves, you released an anguished muffled cry, breathing in water the moment you stopped. Your body convulsed involuntarily, as death itself reached out to claim you. Your vision began to fade, flashes of past memories appearing before your very eyes. Some of them you remembered, some of them you didn’t. Speaking to Hudson before going to Cuba, travelling with Arash to the airstrip, where he shot you because of your suspected betrayal.

Suspected betrayal?

Then you saw him. Adler. He stuck by your side, even after explaining what he had done to you. But now...now you were here.

 Your eyes closed, your lips parting in a silent breath as you allowed yourself to be consumed by the darkness, your built up anger suddenly vanishing and lifting from your shoulders.

Death’s embrace seemed a lot warmer than you would have imagined.

Slowly opening your eyes, you were met with a rundown wooden interior of what appeared to be an old fishing shack. There was a small fire in the corner, opposite from where you lay on a mattress on the floor. There was no one else in sight, leaving you feeling more anxious then ever.

Where were you? What...how did you get here?

Sitting bolt upright, you winced loudly. Though your vision swayed, you looked down to examine the wound in your chest, finding that the wound had been properly treated, wrapped in gauze and bandages to prevent infection. Wrapping yourself in the blanket provided, you shivered violently, jumping slightly as the door opened to reveal the form of an older man carrying a few heavy-looking logs of wood. When his eyes met your own, the old man smiled. “You’re awake...” He spoke kindly, his Russian accent almost obscuring his words “I was worried you wouldn’t”. You watched him warily as he placed the logs in a pile beside the fireplace, stoking the flames quickly before turning around to face you. “Where am I? How did I get here?”.

“I found you when I was out on my trawler four days ago, you were half dead when I pulled you aboard, heavily armed, cut to pieces with a bullet to the chest. I’m going to assume you were apart of that raid on that Soviet base?” He questioned, raising a knowing eyebrow in your direction. You froze, your heart thundering in your chest as you pressed your lips into a thin line. Images of the air raid flashed through your mind, getting caught up in the explosion and having...having him...

“And if I was?” “Then I owe you many thanks. Those soldiers have been terrorising this town for years. Destroying that base was the best thing to happen on this Island for a while”. You nodded slowly, grimacing slightly as you moved to make your shoulder more comfortable to eleviate the pain. Your gaze fell to the floor, as a wave of emotions consumed you. Anger, sadness, betrayal was the most prominent. You tried to stop the sting of tears from your eyes, which didn’t go unnoticed by the old man before you. He tilted his head to the side, moving to sit down on a small wooden stool beside you. “Something is troubling you, my dear...” He spoke softly, “what is it? But you may share in your own time if you like, but right now, you need some rest”. You nodded slowly again, allowing your tears to cascade down your cheeks. For the first time since Cuba, since Hudson’s team had admitted what they had done to you, after Adler had...had shot you, you cried.

Despite who you might have been with Perseus, who you might have been before the CIA messed with your mind, you were still human. You had been lied to by the people you thought you could trust, who turns out you had only been introduced to a few months ago. And Adler, for some reason his betrayal hurt the most. A man you thought you had known for the longest time, a man you thought you had served with, a man who had lied to you from the very beginning. We have a job to do.

That phrase left a bitter tast in your mouth, but just thinking about that phrase caused a series of fragmented memories to resurface.

A few days before leaving for the airfield with Arash, you sent out an encrypted message to the CIA, claiming that you were willing to cooperate with any questions they may have in exchange for asylum. Your plan was to hopefully make contact with the CIA taskforce that you were informed would be there. Unfortuately, Arash must have gotten wind of your movements.

Your sobbing suddenly stopped, your eyes widening in shock and sudden realisation. You had planned on defecting? Oh god, oh god. You were going to defect from Perseus and cooperated with the CIA. Then what had happened? If Adler’s team knew that you were planning to willingly aid them in their fight against Perseus, then why go through all that trouble of the MK-Ultra program? Why go through all that trouble to fuck with your mind, implant false memories, and lie and pretend as if nothing had ever happened?

From the corner of your eye, you watched as the old man approached, carefully extending a warm ceramic mug toward you. Steam rose from the warm beverage contained within, the old man smiling kindly. “It’s just tea, I used to make it for my son all of the time”. He moved back slightly as you gingerly took the mug from his hands. You thanked him with a silent nod of your head, sipping the tea lightly as the two of you sat in silence.

In a way, you were grateful the old man allowed you to take things in your own stride, that he didn’t ask the questions he so desperately wanted answers to. “I will leave you to sleep now. If you need anything, the house is just outside. If you get too cold, there is more firewood against the wall here” The old man instructed, before standing to his feet and making his way to the door of the shack. With a mumbled ‘goodnight’, the old man disappeared outside, closing the wooden door behind him with a loud ‘thunk’.

Sighing loudly, you placed the tea aside and carefully moved to lie back down, cursing under your breath as pain exploded through your chest. Your eyes focused on the roof above, as sleep finally began to take hold of your exhausted form. Dedcending into a dreamless sleep, you allowed yourself to relax for what felt like the first time in a long, long time.

Tag List: @pookolokon​