#like this is a sassy little dig he kind of just narrows his eyes at but. yes. he absolutely needs help with his spelling

[columboscreens]

[cacophony-eg]

Moon Knight and Sun King (Part 4) (Possessed Sun Wukong x (F) Reader)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Summary: Your protective and devoted Knight meets your sassy and moody Rouge. You stuck between their arguing. Luckily during all this you're the only one that gets hurt... Wait...  Warning chapter Contains Light Blood

"How dare you harm our Lady" Moon growled out, turning his tail so the blade was pointing at Macaque.

"WAIT, MOON, STOP!" You cried out. 

The knight's tail paused, the monkey in blue turning to look down at you, his head tilting to the side curiously. 

"Is something the matter My Lady?" Moon asked calmly while Macaque helplessly struggled against the Knight's foot that still pinned him in place.

"You're forbidden from harming Macaque directly or indirectly!" You shouted in a slight panic, worried the shadow monkey might start suffocating. 

Just like what had happened with Macaque in the alleyway. The Knight was like a puppet under the order, both his foot and knife-wielding tail were suddenly pulled away from the Rouge by an invisible force. 

The command freed Macaque as the white and black furred demon fell onto his hands and knees, coughing and gasping for air.

"Down, Please, Down!" You ordered, wiggling in Moon's hold. 

The Knight placed both his feet on the ground as he carefully put you onto your feet. You missing the way Moon frowned as you rushed to the other monkey's side.

"Macaque, are you okay?" You asked, bending down next to the shadow demon, rubbing his back as he took in air.

"I'm fine My Lady" Macaque replied, your hand freezing against his back, momentarily stunned that the rude rouge had suddenly started calling you by the same title Moon called you.  

The shadow demon's gold and blue eyes looked up at you, seeming confused as you just stared down at him. Then what he had said suddenly hit him.

"...Did...Did I just call you, My Lady?" the rouge questioned as if trying to confirm those words really came out of his mouth.

"Yes... Yes, you did" You answered just as surprised as the demon.  You wonder if whatever power that made the rouge's fur change colour also changed his demeanour?

Macaque suddenly recoiled away from your touch, his eyes mixed with fear and hate as he glared at you.

"Get Away From Me!" the rouge snapped, pressing his back firmly against your kitchen cabinets, the furthest he could possibly get from you at the moment. 

You pulled yourself a little further away from Macaque, sliding yourself backwards till you bumped into something firm. 

You jump slightly feeling a pair of arms protectively wrap around your shoulders. You gazed back at what you had pumped into, finding Moon had squatted behind you. His fur bristling, as he carefully held you against his armoured chest, the knight's glowing blue eyes narrowed in on the Rouge.

"Do not speak to our Lady in such an aggressive manner, Rouge" Moon told the other monkey, sounding cold and displeased. 

It was kind of strange how Macaque was able to bring out the most emotions you had seen from Moon so far. Though all of them, are negative ones thus far.

"She's not Our- She's not My-" Each time Macaque tried to deny that you were his lady, his mouth seem to just stop working, causing the Rouge to growl in frustration. 

"DAMN IT!" The mixed-furred monkey cried out, digging his claws into his head. Wondered what the hell was happening to him. You hadn't even given him an order for him to call you my Lady. So whatever was compelling him to say so, was something outside of your command ability.

Macaque hated how that calling inside; the one telling him to be by his lady's side, was ten times stronger now than it was during the day. The Rouge's eyes look over at you, before glancing at the ground. The demon was thankful you were at least smart enough to give him space. 

Moon frowned at the Rouge "Apologize to Our Lady for your-"

"Moon, stop..." You softly asked, putting one of your hands over the knight's, the monkey in blue calming down at your touch, fur falling back down into pace. 

Macaque hated how something inside of him felt envious that Wukong was gifted with your touch. Hated how something inside of him was beckoning him to please you, to protect you, to fulfill your every desire.

"Just give him some time" you softly requested the Knight.

Macaque hated how he could literally feel how worried and concerned you were for him. During the day he could only feel your emotions when they were spiking. Now it felt like he could feel your every emotion inside of him as if they were a part of his own.

"DAMN IT!" the Rouge cursed again, slamming his tail against the cupboard door causing it to crack from the force. Almost wishing it hurt, so at least he would know the pain was his alone and had nothing to do with you.

Moon swiftly got onto his feet, about to approach the destructive Rouge that was destroying their Lady's home. 

Your hand gripped the Knight tighter, stopping him from leaving your imminent side.

"Please give him space Moon" You pleaded, knowing your words were the only power you really had over the knight.

Moon gave a simple nod as he stood by your side, keeping a close eye on the Rouge. 

Macaque sneered at the way Wukong's hand gently held your hand in return, and the demon didn't even understand why he cared!

"Macaque you're free to call me whatever you like." You told the shadow demon.

The Rouge let out a bitter laugh "Oh gee thanks girly" the feeling that forced him to call you his lady was suddenly gone and... It did feel oddly calming not to be compelled to call you my lady. The Shadow demon desperately grasped onto those small strands of control, no matter how thin they were.

"Sorry, I thought it might help," you said bowing your head, and inside of himself, he could feel how apologetic you felt. The demon senses a mix of guilt and self-hate twisting inside of you as well.

"Forget about it" Macaque gruffly replied, running his fingers through his mane trying to rein back some of his more panicked emotions. The Demon reminds himself that you were just as trapped in this strange situation as they were "... Are you able to feel my emotions?"

You shook your head "No... Are you able to feel-"

"Yours?" Macaque cut in, 'Moon' making an annoyed noise as he interrupted 'their lady'. "Yeah I can" he grumbly sighed.

"So you both can," you said glancing up at Moon.

"Of course, it is so we can act out, our Lady's desires without delay." The Knight stated.

Macaque didn't like the sounds of that... The demon rubbing his forehead with the base of his palm wishing he could somehow stop 'Moon' from calling you 'their Lady'... Wait.

"Hey big blue, how did you know I was Missy's Rouge?" Macaque asked looking up at the monkey knight.

Moon remained stoically silent to Macaque's question as if the shadow demon hadn't talked at all.

You gently tugged on the Knight's hand that still held your own, "Moon please answer Macaque, I would like to know that as well" you requested.

"I heard M'Lady's wish shortly before Sun took over" Moon answered his lady's inquiry without hesitation. 

Macaque not sure if 'Moon' was talking about the literal Sun or Sun Wukong... The shadow demon would need to investigate that tomorrow. 

"As for how I knew the Rouge was one of M'Lady's servants." Moon began, as Macaque twitched at being called a servant. "I could see that the same blue string that connected me to My Lady, also connected from The Lady to the Rouge."

"Blue String?" You asked, glancing over at Macaque, hoping he knew what Moon was talking about, but the shadow demon shrugged and shook his head.

"Yes, the blue strings of destiny" Moon stated, you catching the way Macaque cringed at the mention of 'destiny'. "If you wish, I could help you see these strings M'Lady" Moon calmly offered.

"Yes" you nodded "please help me see these blue strings" you requested, wanting to see exactly what the knight was talking about.

"Very well M'Lady" Moon said with a slight bow, before bending down on one knee to be more at your level. His emotionless eyes gazing at yours "Please close your eyes, My Lady."

You close your eyes feeling one of the knight's cool fingers press against your forehead, a strange sensation of cold and hot rushing over your forehead and around your eyes.

"It is done My Lady, Open your eyes" Moon instructed.

You slowly opened your eyes only to quickly close them, crying in pain as your senses were slammed with seeing WAY too much all at once. To the point you couldn't register anything you saw, just felt the pain of overstimulation. 

"M'Lady... You're in pain..." Moon stated sounding somewhat shocked and confused. But you couldn't answer him as the area around your eyes and over your forehead felt like they were burning.

"You idiot!" Macaque snapped and hissed, feeling the pain you were going through. The Rouge out of habit fell through his shadow and appeared next to you through your own. The demon accidentally discovered that he could still use shadow transportation as long as he didn't 'leave' you. 

"Learn to tone down your powers!" Macaque hissed, pushing that discovery to the side as the pain continued. The shadow demon watched as red magical marks started appearing around your eyes and over parts of your forehead.

Suddenly you felt a much warmer monkey hand press over your eyes. You whimpered, leaning into the touch over your eyes, as it seem to ease away the burning pain. 

"Breath" Macaque ordered, using some of his magic to absorb and take away part of Wukong's power from you. Usually, this wouldn't work so easily but there was a strange connection between you two, the demon hoping that connection extended to power sharing.

 "Breath" Macaque ordered again as you felt his tail poke your side. 

You gasp in air, having not even noticed you were holding your breath. Feeling something rub your back, up and down, as you shakingly took in air. It takes a moment for your mind to register it was Macaque's tail. 

You try to focus on the tail moving up and down your back, doing your best to breathe in time with the movement. The pain slowly eased away to a dull ache.

"Alright... feels like I took enough away, try opening your eyes again" Macaque instructed, the warm hand over your eyes pulling away. 

You shook your head, not wanting that kind of pain again.

"Come on sugarplum, just try, this time just focus on wanting to see the blue strings nothing else." Macaque encourages using a shockingly soft tone for the Rouge.

You take another deep breath before opening your eyes. Blinking tears away as you slowly saw the world around you bathed in gold. You glance over at Macaque who sat by your side, noticing the six sets of ears he now had and a scar over his right eye.

"Focus Lotus" Macaque advised, both his eyes now glowing a golden colour as well. He glanced down at himself, both of you seeing the tangle of blue strings around his body.

You followed the bundle of glowing blue strings that lead from the rouge to your right hand. Threads twist around your fingers before disappearing into the palm of your hand. Upon closer inspection of the blue string, there were small flickers of gold light pulsing through the string heading toward the shadow monkey.

"That's concerning," Macaque said, lightly tapping one of his claws against your neck.

You couldn't see what he was pointing at as you looked down at yourself, but got a good guess. There was blue string pooling out of your chest reaching up towards your head, you assuming the string wrapped around your neck. 

"Not a good sign..." you more stated than questioned.

"Not a good sign," the rouge confirmed but didn't elaborate. His eyes drifted to the side smirking almost gleefully "but that is a funny sight~"

You follow Macaque's gaze to see Moon kneeling directly on the ground and bowing to the point his head was touching the floor.

"Moon, what are you doing?" You questioned, glancing between your left hand and Moon. 

Similar to your right hand there was a bunch of blue string that came out of your left hand that tangled around your finger and then twisted and wrapped around Moon's body. The difference was that there was also a gold string that came out of Moon's body that tangled around your fingers and disappeared into your palm. 

"I have harmed my Lady. For such a heinous crime I deserve the harshest of punishments" Moon cooly declared. "To reprimand myself for such actions, I will throw myself into the nearest active volcano."  

"WHAT, NO! MOON, DON'T DO THAT!" you commanded, having a feeling the knight was being dead serious.

"I wouldn't worry, it'll just hurt him not kill him" Macaque casually stated, you wanted to question the shadow demon about that! When Moon spoke again.

"Pardon me for being presumptuous My Lady, you should be the one to choose my punishment." The Knight calmly stated with his head still pressed against your apartment floor.

"Wait, no, I am not choosing a punishment for you" You expressed, yeah moon hurt you, but it was just an accident.

"What me to choose a Punishment? I have a list," Macaque offered, you giving him a dubious look, that he replied with a devious smirk.

 "...Why would you have a list-Nevermind, don't want to know" you quickly declared, as the demon's smirk grew, some things you were better off not knowing.

"Moon, can you please lift your head?" You requested.

"I can not, My Lady, I do not deserve to look you in the eyes after bringing you harm." Moon stated.

"This is hilarious," Macaque snickered, making you shoot him another annoyed look.

"Sush it" you huffed, lightly smacking his arm.

"He's the one asking for a punishment, not me" The Rouge pointed out with a laugh, unfazed by the light smack.

You aggressively sighed at the shadow demon before scooting yourself closer to the bowing monkey. Feeling the Rouge's tail move off your back to wrap around your ankle.

You reach your hand out to gently pet the furry knight's mane "Moon, I'm not going to punish you." 

"But you must M'Lady" Moon replied still keeping his head to the floor.

"Did you purposely try to hurt me?" you asked.

"Of course not My Lady, I would never desire to bring you harm" The Knight replied.

"Then I forgive you," you told him.

Moon hesitantly lifted his head to gaze up at you. With the gold vision still active, you could see a pair of golden irises within the sea of blue that were Moon's eyes.

"I do not deserve your forgiveness M'Lady" The knight stated his eyes casting downwards.

You gently cupped Moon's cheeks with both of your hands causing the monkey in blue to gaze up at you once more.

"You made a mistake and that's okay... Moon, do you know why mistakes are important?" you asked gently lifting his head up with your hands to guild him out of his bowing position.

The knight followed your hold as he slowly sat up, his blank stare focused on only you. "No, I do not My Lady"

 "They're important cause as long as you learn from them, every mistake helps to improve yourself." You explained, for a moment you swore you saw the blue of Moon's eyes flicker to gold.

"Also it's my choice to forgive you, just as it's your choice to forgive yourself" you added giving the knight an encouraging smile.

Moon stared blankly down at you, slowly lifting one hand up to gently grasp one of your hands over his cheek. Softly leaning into your touch as he closed his eyes.

"You are far too kind, My Lady" The Knight softly stated.

"No, just decent" you replied with a smile. 

Moon looking pretty cute right now, his eyes closed as he nuzzled into your hands looking like a kitten seeking affection. 

The gold vision finally flickered away, and the world returned to one that you were much more familiar with.

"And you're a Party Pooper" Macaque added, "we could have at least tried one punishment," he huffed out.

Speaking of Monkeys with cat like personalities.

"Macaque..." You sigh giving the shadow monkey an exasperated look, as you started to pull your hands away from Moon. 

Only for the knight to swiftly grab a hold of both of your wrists preventing your hands from leaving his cheeks.

You felt Macaque's tail tighten around your ankle, as both you and the shadow monkey turned to look at Moon.

"Umm Moon?" You called out, not sure what was going on with the knight, or why Macaque was getting so tense.

The Rouge's eyes locked on the bloody knife still held in Wukong's tail, tucked behind him in a way to keep it out of your view.

The Monkey in blue half opened his eyes. The Knight's blank stare felt like it was somewhere else and not looking at you this time.

"Moon?" you tried again lightly brushing your thumbs over his cheeks, tracing along the bottom of the blue heart-shape-like mark over his eyes.

Moon's eyes opened fully, more feeling than seeing his gaze focus back upon you.

One blink... Two blinks.

"I am sorry, My Lady," The Knight said gently releasing your hands. "I do not know what came over me."

"It's alright" you assured, still puzzled over the strange reaction. "And as for you," you said turning to face the rouge.

"What?" the shadow demon flatly questioned his gaze still more on Moon than you.

"Thank you, Macaque," you said with a smile.

The demon's ears twitch as he turned to fully face you, looking both surprised and suspicious at your words. "What are you thanking me for?" he questioned.

"I'm thanking you for helping with the eye stuff" You clarified. "I'm not sure what I would have done or what would have happened if you didn't help me, so thank you."

Macaque let out a dry laugh, looking off to the side to mask the light pink on his cheeks, "I only did that because your pain became my pain." 

You smiled finding it funny how the shadow's monkey's actions and words were in such contrast to each other. 

"That may have been part of it" you agreed, but it didn't explain why he rubbed your back or used a softer tone while you were in pain. "But deep down your a good monkey~," you said using a cuties-teasing tone.

"Hah in your dreams" he barked out a laughed.

You smirked as you glanced behind you at the black and white tail that was still wrapped around your ankle. 

Macaque's tail practically pushed your ankle away as it unwrapped itself. The shadow monkey let out a growl that had no real bite to it as he swiftly fell through his shadow, and appeared through a shadow against a nearby wall. Moodily leaning against it as he looked away from you. 

You held back a laugh as you moved to get back on your feet as well when Moon quickly offered his hands to you. You took the knight's hands without much thought, feeling like a small child as he lifted you onto your feet with seemingly no effort.

"By the way could you feel my emotions during the day?" You asked Macaque, making a mental note of how Moon's hold on your hands lingered longer than it needed to before releasing them.

"Not really, only time I felt your emotions during the day was when you got really angry at your brother," Macaque answered with a shrug, looking over the white fur along his right arm.

The Rouge felt your disdain and anger spike at the mere mention of your brother. Turning to face you, watching as you took a deep breath trying to calm those feelings.

"What transpired between my lady and her brother that upset her?" The Knight questioned.

"Nothing important," you falsely assured "But thanks to Macaque, I doubt he will be coming near me again any time soon." 

The shadow demon was a little surprised to feel a spark of genuine gratitude towards him.

"Just a heads up buttercup, we can feel it when you lie" Macaque teasingly warned. The Demon smirked as he felt your momentary mix of surprise, panic and embarrassment. The Rouge starting to think he could use this 'being able to feel your emotions thing' to his advantage.

"Sorry" you apologize, "but it is something I shouldn't bother either of you with so let's just move on" you requested, your gaze going from the Rouge to the Knight.

Macaque nodded getting the message, probably best your overprotective knight didn't know about your stocker ex. 

The Shadow demon doubting a normal human would have survived even Wukong's pin-kick as well as he had.

The Rouge noticed the way the knight gave his lady a disappointed frown, though the rest of his features remained relatively neutral. Clearly wanting to ask more, but didn't simply because his 'Lady' requested it.

It was still surreal for Macaque to see Wukong not only be so obedient but to see his possessed form be so... Different. 

The demon was still healing from his last battle with the monkey dressed in blue. Though this 'Moon' form was strange... Able to talk; express options, and show some range of emotions. 

All things Possessed Wukong could not do under Lady Bone Demon's powers.

"Well if nothing else at least we can confirm your powers are way stronger at night" Macaque concluded trying to turn the whites of his fur back to its usual ebony shade but every time he tried to activate his glamour over it, it was quickly dispelled.

"Is that why part of your fur suddenly turned white?" You asked.

"Yes, and No" the Shadow demon replied, "my fur and right eye have looked like this since sometime yesterday morning. I just glamoured it during the day, but it seems at night the glamour doesn't work."

You felt a pang of guilt recognizing the timeline, "Sorry, you probably changed colour around the same time I made that wish for-" Macaque suddenly fell through his shadow and popped up in front of you, covering your mouth with his white furred hand.

Moon moved to snatch the Rouge's hand away from his Lady but every time the knight reached for Macaque, an invisible force pulled his hands away.

"How about we don't say the W word till we know how your powers work," Macaque stated, smirking in amusement as he watched Wukong repetitively try to grab him only for his arms to be magically pulled away.

You nodded, having to admit your quota for overpowered Monkeys was at its max.

Macaque pulled his hand away from your mouth. The demon smirked as your Knight glared daggers at him. The shadow monkey is pretty sure if it wasn't for your command, he would be shot with lighting from Wukong's eyes.

"You shouldn't allow your Rouge, to touch you, My Lady." Moon suggested, his tone calm and cool but his eyes promised pain upon the shadow monkey. "The ingrate has not even attempted to apologize for harming you before." 

"Harming me?" you questioned.

"The knife thing" Macaque clarified.

"OH," You had almost forgotten about that, with everything else. Your eyes glancing down at the blood now dry against your arm. "Ohhhh....." how were you supposed to explain this!? 

"By all means, tell the knight what happened" The rogue encouraged with a grin, curious to see how the narrow-minded Moon would process the truth.

"The thing is Moon" you began, the demon gesturing for you to keep going. "Macaque didn't hurt me, he was trying to stop me from... Hurting myself..." you confessed.

The Knight's eyes widened, staying stone still as he stared down at you. 

Moon's mind struggled to process his lady harming herself... he wanted to hurt all who brought harm to his Lady but how could he ever do that when his Lady was the one that harm his Lady?

"I think you broke him" Macaque snickered.

You shot the rouge monkey a 'not helping' look. 

"Why M'Lady?" The Knight questioned snapping your attention back to him.

"Why what?" 

"Why did you harm yourself?" Moon asked his eyes lingering downwards towards the dry blood on your arm, his tail twisting and curling around the knife it held.

"Oh... It was to test my self-healing powers, and Macaque made an interesting question as to what kind of effects my blood would have on demons." You explain, both being half-truths. 

"Did you allow the Rouge to taste your blood?" Moon asked his tail curling around the bloody blade of the knife.

"No, not yet, Macaque got upset about me hurting myself and was stopping me when you showed up." You answered, rubbing the back of your neck with your good hand in hindsight it was a pretty dumb move on your part.

"I see" Moon replied, his hands softly gripping your bloody forearm, lifting it up towards him. You assuming so he could take a better look at the injury, or at least the injury that was there but long gone now. "Did it hurt?" he asked.

"A little at first.." You confess looking away from Moon, missing the way his tail crushed the bloody knife to dust, but Macaque didn't. 

The shadow demon takes a cautious step away from the two of you. 

"But it didn't last long, it healed very quickly" you assured. Looking back just in time to catch the Knight leaning his head down, you jumped slightly as his warm wet tongue ran over the dried blood along your arm. Causing a warm shiver to shoot through your whole body, Moon's eyes glowing brighter.

"Please do not ever harm yourself again, My Lady" Moon softly pleaded, and all you could get out was an undistinguishable squeak in reply. 

Your knight leaned in to lick more blood off your arm, but his sash was suddenly pulled on causing the monkey in blue to pause for a moment.

"Damn Peaches, are you nuts!?" Macaque snapped standing behind Moon pulling on the knight's sash as hard as he could. The demon's face was as red as yours felt. "We have no idea what her blood does!"

You do a double take swearing the shadow monkey had been behind you just a moment ago. 

One of Moon's brows raised, as he looked back at the Rouge. That strange nickname of 'peaches' bringing up a bazaar mix of emotions that the Knight didn't know how to name.

"Girl, go wash your arm, Now!" Macaque ordered.

You could only nod, body and mind still in a confused scrabbled state, as you rapidly went to the kitchen sink and wash your arm.

The Rouge let out a yelp as Moon used the sash to pull the shadow demon closer to him. "You have no right to order our Lady" the knight lowly warned.

"Kind of like you have no right to lick her!?" Macaque sneered back. The demon now knew for sure that deep down, this was still Wukong. The pompous hero still pretending he had the moral high ground when in reality he was no better than 'his shadow'.

"I was cleaning the remains of My Lady's wound." The Knight calmly replied.

"Oh sure, and you had no ulterior motives" Macaque rolled his eyes. If he was feeling a desire for 'their Lady's' touch, the demon could only imagine what kind of desires 'Moon' had, the monkey in blue under your power way more than he was. 

The demon was surprised when instead of getting a resort from Wukong, the Knight looked at him perplexed at his comeback... Okay, maybe there were some differences between Sun and Moon.

"This isn't an order, but do you two always have to argue?" You questioned, as you used a dish cloth to dry your arm. 

"This is actually pretty civil for us" the shadow demon replied, flicking the blue sash into Wukong's face. 

"Oh that reminds me, Macaque, you're forbidden from harming Moon directly or indirectly" you ordered, getting an annoyed groan from the shadow monkey.

"Though I'm flattered you think I can seriously harm him. Is that order really necessary?" The demon questioned.

"I'm just covering all my bases" you replied, your phone's alarm going off. "And I should be heading to work soon." You said moving to pack up the peaches the rouge had refused to eat. 

"And what are you going to do about big blue?" Macaque questioned, pointing at Moon.

"Oh I was just going to take Moon with me" you stated, putting the container of packed peaches into your work bag.

"Seriously!?" The shadow demon laughed in disbelief. 

"You think Moon will just stay here without me?" you questioned.

"I must stay by My Lady's side" Moon calmly corrected.

"No..." Macaque admitted "But don't you think your co-workers are going to have some questions!?" the demon asked dramatically gesturing to the Monkey Knight.

"I work alone. During a graveyard stocking shift. I don't see co-workers or customers." You stated "There are only cameras on certain outside doors, none on the inside. I know the roof door has employ access, cause too many smokers got locked out up there... so I can let Moon in through that door without anyone or any cameras spotting him." You explained, "the only worry I have is the delivery driver that comes twice a week but none are scheduled for tonight so I don't even have to worry about that."

Macaque had to admit (at least mentally) that you had thought this through. 

Since Moon was sticking to your side Macaque at least didn't have to worry about one of MK's crew spotting Wukong in his current state. The shadow demon doubted any of them would even believe him if he tried explaining this strange situation... and not somehow blamed him for all of it.

"Speaking of the delivery driver" Macaque began "what company did that mysterious driver come from?" 

"DCAOP, but I have no idea what the driver's name was" You answered.

"Don't worry, from the description you gave, I have a pretty good idea who the guy might be. Just need a location to look for clues," Macaque replied.

"Alright..." You hummed suspiciously, the shadow demon having a gift for being vague, but you doubted he would answer your question honestly unless you 'command' him, and you rather reserved your commands for more important things "By the way, Macaque, you're not allowed to kill anyone during your investigation" 

"I can work with that" The shadow demon replied with a shrug, making you sigh as you turn away from your bag to face him. 

"and try not to seriously hurt anyone" you requested "...unless someone attacks you first, then your free to do what you need to" you clarify, not sure what you were dealing with and didn't want Macaque to be at a disadvantage if he came across a serious threat.

"Excuse me, Princess, I think you're still missing an order" Macaque replied. 

Your body squirms and tenses in annoyance at the lasted nickname. That one has history for you, but you didn't want to take away Macaque's ability to call you whatever he liked... Maybe he'll just move on to another nickname soon like the last one.

"What order?" you asked.

"The Order that I wasn't allowed to leave, Miss Princess~" The demon answered, smirking as he dragged out the nickname having felt your irritation at the name.

"Your free to leave" you flatly order, trying your best not to react to the nickname again, hoping he will get bored with it soon.

"Thank you, Princess" Macaque snickered with a dramatic bow, before disappearing into his shadow.

You suppress a groan as you turn around to grab your work bag only to see it was gone from the spot you left it. You looked over at your Knight finding that he was already carrying your work bag.

"At least that Rouge is starting to address you by a proper title" Moon stated, making you wonder if your knight couldn't pick up on sarcasm.

 "Hey Moon, just so we're clear, please don't ever call me Princess" you requested.

"I will not My Lady" Moon replied, looking down at you, his head curiously tilting to the side again. The Knight confused as to why you would allow the rouge to call you by that title but not him.  ============== A/N:

There was suppose to be an intense event happening in this chapter but this chapter is already over 5K words so I'm moving it to the next chapter. 

On the bright side it allowed me to Post this chapter on Thumblr unlike the last one. (but the next one will have to be A03 and Wattpad only again, I will put links to my profiles in the comments)

Also if anyone has suggestions for other nicknames for Macaque to call the reader, please share them, and I might use them in future chapters ^-^

[twinstarsies]

no quirks au, fluff

Izuku is out to lunch with a coworker at the park when a hand ruffles his hair and he looks up to Katsuki standing beside him, food in hand from one of the stalls.

He smiles. "Kacchan, hi!"

"Hey, nerd. Did you get my text?"

Izuku digs out his phone and sees that he does in fact have an unread text from Katsuki. "Sorry, we've been kind of busy today."

"Figured. But let me know what you think about—"

"Excuse me," his coworker interrupts them, garnering their attention. He's glaring at Katsuki for some reason that has Izuku puzzled. "Do you mind? You're kind of interrupting our date here."

Wait—what? Date?

Izuku's brows shoot up while Katsuki's furrow as his eyes narrow. He regards Izuku's coworker for a beat before turning to Izuku.

"This is the extra you're leaving me at the altar for?" he asks mildly, jabbing a thumb in the coworker's direction. "Thought you were cheatin' on me with the Peppermint Princess."

"Shouto is in a committed relationship, and very happy with it, last I heard from him," Izuku corrects him. He pats his arm consolingly. "I'm leaving you for Hitoshi."

Katsuki makes an exaggerated pouty face. "I knew it. It's 'cause he's into bondage, isn't it?"

His coworker looks between them with confusion. "What the hell are you talking about? Who the hell is this guy, Midoriya?"

Izuku can't help a small giggle escaping at the weird turn his day has taken.

"It is absolutely about the bondage," he answers Katsuki, then, "Anyway, there has obviously been a misunderstanding here. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that this was a date, but it wasn't my intention. I thought it was just lunch between peers."

"That's because you don't think people could possibly be interested in you." Katsuki flicks him. "And I'm the nerd's fiancé."

"Fiancé?" His coworker blinks in shock. "You're getting married?"

Izuku thinks the incredulity in his tone is a little uncalled for. Why is it so surprising that he's getting married? "Um. Yes?"

"But you aren't wearing a ring!"

He blinks and then snorts. Pulling the chain around his neck from his shirt, he holds it up. The ring glints in the afternoon sunlight.

"I do wear a ring, actually." He smiles tightly. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Damn, baby," Katsuki says, and Izuku looks up at him to see him grinning like a shark. He leans down to steal a kiss. "Love it when you get sassy. Turns me right on."

Izuku hums against him. "Maybe I'll just come do something about that then. We were just finishing up, anyway!"

He gathers his half-eaten lunch and stands, linking hands with his fiancé and giving his coworker a brilliant grin, who only blinks back at him, mouth gaping.

"See you back at the office!" he says, and then lets Katsuki drag him away.

"You know," Katsuki says, letting Izuku swing their hands, "this is, like, the fourth coworker that's taken you on a date that you didn't know was a date."

"He said 'let's grab lunch!'" Izuku whines. "Ochako says that! Tenya says that! Yagi-san says that! How am I supposed to know it's meant to be a date?!"

Katsuki just gives him the side eye. "Babe. I love you, but you're hopeless."

Izuku pouts at him and gently nudges him in the shoulder. "This is why I'm leaving you for Hitoshi. Kacchan is mean to me."

"Yeah, but you love it." Katsuki squeezes his hand.

Izuku leans his head on Katsuki's shoulder, smiling. "Yeah, I do."

[franklyshipping]

When The Past Comes Back To Tickle ~ A Markiplier Ego Fanfic

HERE WE HAVE ANOTHER GORGEOUS ANON PROMPT THAT’S GOING TO FEATURE OUT FAVOURITE EX-JAIL LAD! LET’S DO THIS!

TAGGING: @warden-the-ultimate-ler 

Warden Murder-Slaughter could not have been happier right now, because what he was seeing right now was something he had never thought would happen, even though he had always hoped it with all his heart. Despite his brash exterior and the fact that he could be stern, at heart he was kind. He had to be stern, he was the warden of a strict penitentiary after all, but he couldn’t help but become invested in the lives of everyone who ended up living behind his bars. And one person he became particularly invested in, was Yancy. Yancy at first had tried to present himself as a tough cookie, but underneath all the sass and the tightly-folded arms was a kind-hearted, musically talented man with aspirations of a better, prosperous life….and it was one of the best days of the Warden’s life when he got to release Yancy and get him towards that life.

It had been a long while since that fateful day, and now the Warden was excited beyond belief because he was going to see him again! Yancy was settled in some kind of manor with a myriad of others, a “slap-dash family” Yancy had called it, and he’d invited the Warden over with great excitement because he wanted to show him everything he’d accomplished. So now the Warden was knocking on the door, and when that door was opened by a brightly grinning, tattooed man with a gleam in his eye and his hands settled boldly on his hips….the Warden knew he was going to feel so proud.

‘My God Yancy….you look so damn well!’

‘Hey as do yous Warden, as do yous, c’mon in c’mon, I’ll show ya round, give ya the grand tour!’

Yancy was like an excited kid as he showed the Warden around the manor, especially when it came to showing him the dance studios that he worked in. The Warden felt his heart warm with pride as Yancy told him all about how he was a choreographer, working alongside Wilford Warfstache and Bim Trimmer with their productions and TV shows. The Warden met them both too, and they both seemed perfectly eccentric and just the type of people the Warden had imagined Yancy getting close to. Eventually they sat down together in one of the living rooms, slumping on the couch, and the Warden grinned at Yancy.

‘Yancy, buddy, I gotta say…..I’m so damn proud of ya. You’re finally settled, with a strong, free community all around ya…..it’s incredible.’

Yancy beamed, and was so happy at seeing the Warden so happy, because to him, the Warden was family. Of course though, in this new environment Yancy had been granted time to develop a new confidence and cheekiness, especially with there being no-one to reprimand him. He nudged the Warden as he replied playfully.

‘Oho don’tcha get all soft on me now Warden, don’t want those back at the penitentiary thinkin’ you got a tender, emotional little heart in there.’

Yancy poked the Warden’s chest with a chuckle, making the Warden narrow his eyes playfully at Yancy as he smiled. He was glad to see this confident side to Yancy, however, that didn’t mean he was just going to let himself be teased.

‘Now, now Yancy, ya may not be in my establishment anymore but that don’t mean ya can get cheeky with me.’

Yancy grinned even more, because from his perspective he thought that he could be as cheeky as he damn well pleased.

‘Oh but I can Warden, you’re in my digs now after all! Bless your sweet little loving heart!’

Yancy winked at the Warden with a bright laugh, and the Warden pursed his lips a little out of embarrassment….but it didn’t take him long to have a little epiphany as he thought back on when Yancy was in his penitentiary. Now the Warden smirked, because he knew just what to do to remind Yancy about good manners. He stepped his hands on his knee now as he looked at Yancy, his smirk sly.

‘Y’know, this confidence of yours reminds me of when ya first came to my establishment. So sassy and cocky….d’ya remember what we used to do to ya down in solitary to help you get a more polite sense of propriety?’

At the Warden’s words, Yancy felt his confidence diminish, and he gulped….because oh yes, he remembered all too well. He tried to maintain a calm façade as he replied.

‘Yeah, well, I don’t see why yous gotta bring it up-‘

‘Oh I’m bringing it up, Yancy, because I think you’ve slightly forgotten about those good manners we taught you…..and I’m in just the mood to remind you.’

Before Yancy could react…..the Warden had him. Just like when he’d gotten dragged off to solitary. The Warden had him pinned down on his back, and was digging his fingers ruthlessly into his ticklish belly. Yancy let out a shocked howl of laughter, his limbs immediately flailing as he was reminded with a shock of a) his ticklishness, and b) the Warden’s proficiency at tickling.

‘NOHO-AHA W-WAHAHAIT W-W-WAHAHARDEN NAHAHA!’

The Warden chuckled that deep, sinister chuckle of his as he kept on tickling, grinning wolfishly down at Yancy as he replied gleefully.

‘Heheh, still ticklish as hell huh? Y’know, you’re still the most ticklish person I’ve ever met.’

Yancy immediately blushed, whacking at the Warden’s arms as he tried to curl up his sensitive body, yelling with adorable desperation already.

‘WAHAHARDEN C’MAHAHAN! STAHAHAPPIT!’

The Warden simply laughed, and made Yancy snort by squeezing his lower stomach as he taunted.

‘Ihis that all the beggin’ you got? It’s gohonna take more than that to get to me to have mercy, you should know that Yance.’

Yancy threw his head back with mirth as he writhed, the memories flooding back. Sometimes the guards would hold him down as the Warden tickle-tortured him in solitary. Yancy had always had to beg and beg and beg for mercy, the Warden was a classic sadist. Although….since it was tickling, Yancy had never actually minded. Nor did he mind now.

‘YOHOHOHOUS IHIS AHAN EHEHEVIL BAHAHASTARD!’

The Warden raised an eyebrow at the insult, before smirking. His memories kept flooding back too. They’d never talked about it explicitly, but the Warden had always known that Yancy loved to be tickled….and when he wanted more, he always got sassy and insulting. Well, who was he to deny his ex-prisoner what he wanted?

‘Ohoho you think I’m evil now?’

Yancy gulped, and yelped when the Warden took his flailing hands and pinned them above his head with only one of his own hands. Yancy then started to tremble and giggle nervously as the Warden loomed over him, always so intimidating.

‘Clearly you really need reminding of just how evil I can be….’

Yancy then gasped, and let out a strong of embarrassed whimpers as the Warden’s fingertips started tracing slow, light circles in one of his bare hollows. His face burned red as he spluttered.

‘N-Nohoho ohoho f-fuhuhuck nahahat thihihihiiiiis!’

‘Ohoho yes this, you just can’t handle your poor pits being played with like this, can you?’

Yancy shook his head frantically, gritting his teeth as his giggles got more and more high pitched; gentle tickling like this was torture for him.

‘Ihihihit’s fuhuhuckin’ t-tohohorture! Ohoho gahad c-c’mahahan!’

The Warden leant in, cocking his head at Yancy and getting right in his face as he gleefully teased him.

‘Awww c’mon what, huh? I’m barely touchin’ you and you’re goin’ crazy…..say, do your new buddies know how ticklish ya are? Maybe I should tell ‘em, maybe I should show ‘em.’

Yancy let out a legitimate flustered whine as shudders went down his spine, imagining with embarrassed horror all the egos finding out about his ticklishness. He struggled adorably, letting out more and more whines and squeals as the Warden traced his other armpit now.

‘NOHO! Y-Yohohou c-cahahan’t! Thehehey’d g-gehet mehe Ihi’d fuhuhuckin’ dihihie!’

The Warden chuckled in amusement, fluttering his fingertips all over Yancy’s hollow as he teased.

‘Then you’d better get to beggin’, cuz otherwise I might have to get ‘em in here to give me helping hand….or twenty.’

Yancy was shaking his head as he got teary-eyed and adorably frantic.

‘N-Nahaha yahaha cahahan’t! Plehehease yahaha cahan’t!’

The Warden smirked, and then buried his face in the crook of Yancy’s neck so he could rub his evil bristles against the sensitive skin. Meanwhile, he released Yancy’s wrists so he could scratch both of his armpits at the same time with his blunt nails.

‘C’mon Yance, beg for me.’

Yancy’s eyes nearly bugged out of his sockets as he shrieked with laughter, batting at the Warden brightly; he certainly needed no further prompting. His laughter was loud and boisterous and oh so happy as he cried.

‘NAHAHAHA PLEHEHEASE-FAHAHACK PLEHEHEASE!!’

The Warden chuckled, really enjoying getting Yancy like this. He growled into his neck.

‘Tickle-tickle-tickle Yance, kitchy kitchy coo!’

Yancy wailed, the baby-voice and the cooing combined really breaking him down and making him cry out amidst all his cute laughter.

‘NAHAHAHAAAA PLEHEHEASE IHIHI’M BEHEHEGGIN’ YAHA!!’

The Warden smirked brightly, it had been too long since he’d heard those adorable words from Yancy. He let out a musing hum as he listened to Yancy’s mirth for a few seconds more, before rearing up and having mercy on him. Yancy was left gasping and giggling residually as the Warden replied to him warmly.

‘Alright, I think you’ve earned my mercy….for today.’

Yancy kept giggling, and hid his face in his hands as he curled his body up, making the Warden chuckle fondly. He ruffled Yancy’s hair, making the ex-prisoner grin and peek through his fingers at him, and the Warden felt his heart warm when Yancy mumbled.

‘I-Ihi’ve reheally missed ya…..’

The Warden grinned, and scooped Yancy up into a fierce bear hug, which Yancy instantly reciprocated as he buried his face in the Warden’s chest.

‘I’ve missed ya too, ya cheeky buck.’

Yancy giggled again, and the two of them just basically hugged it out for the rest of the day. You know you’ve got a real connection with someone when, even after so much time apart, even after so much time not talking or touching….the moment you’re together again, it’s like nothing has changed. And even though Yancy was a free man and so much had in fact changed….their friendship most certainly hadn’t.

WOOOO HOPE YOU ALL LIKED THIS FIC LEMME KNOW IF YA DID WOOOO LUV YOUS XX

[darkfairy-tales]

Insanity - Chapter 2

Description: She was an angel who came across the devil himself and her existence drove him insane.

Pairing: Sangyeon x Reader

Genre: Mafia au

Warning: Mentions of blood. Swearing.

"Finally!" You cheered as your shift ended. "Minsu I am going! I have some studies to do when I get home." You called. "Okay. Stay safe. Bye bye. See you tomorrow. Don't study too much. It's summer break. You are supposed to relax and enjoy." Minsu says laughing. "Yeah? I have like what 5-6 assignments to complete." You grumbled. "Anyway I will go now. Bye." You said as you waved at Minsu who waved back at you. You got out of the cafe and walked towards your house. 'I wonder if he is okay.' you thought when you come across the alley once again reminding you of Sangyeon. 'Ahh! Why am I even thinking about him?' You thought to yourself as you shook your head. As you reached your house you saw the door already open. Had you left the door open earlier? Or..... was someone in there? Your eyes widened at the thought. You carefully walked inside your house peeking inside. You went to the living room first and saw someone sitting there. "Who are you?" You squeaked out. The man turned around and your breath hitched. Recognizing him. "What the hell Sangyeon?" You almost screamed. "Well hello there Y/N. You have a nice and cozy house. I quite like it." He says as he makes himself comfortable as if he is the one who owns the house.

"How the hell did you even find out where I lived?" You asked as you walked towards him and sitting on the opposite side, facing him. "I have my ways~ After all I have yet to thank you and your phone. I came to give it back." He says waving your phone which was on his hand. Not knowing what to say you just nodded. He hands you your phone with a smirk. "Cute selfies by the way." He says making you blush. Your cheeks tainted red. "Why did you go through my phone!" You almost whined as you narrowed your eyes at him. He laughs. "What can I say? I couldn't help it." He says as he leans back relaxing himself. "Aren't you leaving?" You asked. "Why babygirl? So eager to chase me away?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "No! I mean... no.. that's not what I mean." You said, your face burning more in embrassment. "You are so cute. But yes I will be going." He says standing up. You also stand up ready to send him off. "Ah I almost forgot I wanted to ask you for a favor." He says. His words making you freeze. "H-Huh? what favor?" You asked. "Don't look so scared. I am not going to ask you to kill someone." He says laughing. "I wanted to ask you to come with me. There is a huge party. I want you to go there with me." He added. You almost wanted to ask him if he was crazy. You didn't know him for fuck's sake. "But I don't-" You tried to say but was cut off. "It wasn't a question honey. 7pm. Tomorrow. Be ready." He says winking as he walks out leaving your mouth gaping.

"AHH THIS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!" You screamed after he was out. Your neighbours were probably thinking you had gone mad by now. You went to close your door and went to your room. You opened your phone and called Minsu. "Hello Y/N! Is everything okay? Are you okay?" She asks. "Yes yes don't worry I am fine. But I really really need to talk to you about something." You said. "Okay. I am closing up the cafe early! I am coming to your house." Minsu said. You hummed. "Okay then see you later. Gotta go!" Minsu said. "Okay bye. Be careful on your way here." You said and both of you ended the call. You shook you head and headed to the bathroom as yoi freshened up. You changed your clothes into a comfortable one and left your phone charging and went to the study table as you started working on one of the essay.

[Time Skip]

When Minsu came it was at around 6:30 pm. "Y/N!" She literally screamed out as she ran up to your room. "Oh my god Minsu calm down. My neighbours will make a noise complain against me if you are so loud." You said laughing as Minsu pouted. "I am not that loud." she argued making you laugh more. "So what did you wanted to talk about?" She asked. Both of you sat on the bed. "So what would you say if I said I met a guy who had a gunshot wound?" You asked her. She looks at your frowning. "Well... I hope you ran." She said trailing off. "Don't tell me you help the said person." She asked widening her eyes. You sighed nodding. "I did. I couldn't just leave him to die." You said looking down on your lap. "OH my fucking GOD Y/N. Do you ever listen to news and all? There are gangs Y/N! GANGS! What if that man was a bad one. Not all gangs are good like in fanfics?" Minsu said freaking out. "But he didn't do anything. I mean yeah he only took my phone. But that's that. But he gave me back my phone." You said pouting feeling like a child who got reprimanded. "He came here?" Minsu asked confused but also curious. "Yes and that is what I wanted to tell you about." You said sighing.

"He asked me for a favor. He asked me to go on some party with him. And I couldn't even say no. And he keeps calling me 'honey' or 'babygirl'. Ugh he is frustrating." You groaned smacking your face, then wincing. "Oooh~ So a man who might be a gangster seems to be in love with you." Minsu said in a teasing tone making you glare at her. "No. I am sure he is planning to kill me." You grumbled. "Listen here you little shit. If he wanted to harm you he would have done that already. I think he is attracted to you for all I know. I mean he is literally asking you to be his partner in a party!! Like are you dumb!" Minsu squeals. "You read too much fanfics Minsu! This is real life." You huffed. "Fanfics or not Gansters love once. And my dear Y/N one seems to like you. You should make the most out of it." She said in a sassy tone. "You really should be telling me to stay away from him. Not telling me to stick with him and fall in love." You said narrowing your eyes at her. "Aish you dob't understand. Just trust me okay! I think he is a decent gangster if he is one." Minsu argued pouting. "Okay fine. But for God's sake! I don't even know what to wear. Just then a call came to you phone. You looked at the screen and realized it was saved as "Sangyeon". 'of course he went through my phone and saved his number.' you internally grumbled. You picked up the call. "What is it?" You asked in a cold tone. "Awww why so cold babygirl? Speak to me a little softly will you." He says in a teasing tone making you grumble. "What ever mister! Why did you called anyway?" You asked huffing.

A chuckle escaped his mouth. "Check your closet if you haven't babygirl. I left something for you. A red box. You will like it trust me." He said. Your eyes widened at his words. "You went through my closet?!!!" You asked raising your voice. "Oh don't worry baby I like your little cute panties." He said and you almost wanted to dig a hole in the ground and crawl inside it. "GOOD BYE!" You literally screamed as you ended the call. You could almost see him laugh at your reaction. "So did loverboy called?" Minsu asked with her brows raised, a teasing smile present. "Don't even ask. HE SAW MY PANTIES!" You whisper yelled making me choking sound. Minsu burst out laughing. "Oh my god this is peak comedy." She states as she doubled over laughing. "I hate you! Don't laugh at my misery." You whined. You pout as you walked towards your closet opening it. And just like Sangyeon had said there was a red box. "Did he left that for you? My lord the guys seems to be courting you or something." Minsu squeals. You put it down on the bed and lofted off the lid of the box. You froze in awe as you saw the things inside the box. A beautiful dress was placed in it. A beautiful set of necklace and earring. A ring. And was that a tiara. "Y/N WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM THAT HE GOT SO WIPPED ENOUGH TO SEND YOU THIS!" Minsu squealed excitedly as you tried to tell her to not be too loud.

"He didn't even gave me a choice! I am not even sure what kind of party is this. And just what I am supposed to expect from it. I am so frustrated." You said whimpering. "You will be fine! I am sure your gangster boyfriend will protect you." Minsu says giggling. "He is not my boyfriend. I don't even know if he is actually a gangster or some secret agent." You mumbled. "Don't think too much and get on with this plan okay. You will be safe." Minsu says. In your opinion she sounds too trusting. As if she is related to gangs and knows some are not actually that bad. "Are you dating a gangster or what?" you blurted out not being able to hold back the questions. Minsu flushes. "Aye Younghoon is.. well I am not even gonna try lying anymore. He is actually in a gang." She says. You gasp. "And you hid all this from me? Your best friend. Damn I feel so betrayed." You said dramatically putting your hand over your chest. She smacks your arm. "I didn't wanted to freak you out. And honestly. I know Sangyeon. Well not exactly. Last night Younghoon told me that their leader, Sangyeon, got shot and some mysterious girl helped him. And when you told me about how you saved a guy with a gunshot wound I just connected the dots. I am disappointed in you that you are not careful at all. I am thankful that it was Sangyeon and not someone else." Minsu says. You nods. Of course you yourself knew that you tended to be a bit careless.

"So you know about their gang?" You asked. "Yeah. I haven't met all of them. After all I am not a part of their gang. At least not officially. So far I have met four of them. Haknyeon, Hyunjae, Juyeon and Sangyeon. I met sangyeon only briefly but he seemed like a nice guy." Minsu says. "What will happen if you end up marrying Younghoon?" You asked curious. "Well I will officially become a part of the gang. To be honest I wouldn't mind that." Minsu says shrugging. You gulped. "I am nervous." You admitted. "Don't worry Y/N. As far as I know Sangyeon won't harm you. Or do anything that will make you uncomfortable. He is a respectable man. He has a sister and a nephew too if you ever wondered." Minsu says. "Do you perhaps know what kind of party he is taking me to?" You asked. "I don't know for sure Y/N. He handles a company which is legal. He hides his gang works behind that company. And you are not someone who knows much about gang life and shit. So what I can say is that the party might be something related to his company." Minsu says.

"There will be so many rich people then? God I hate rich people." You groaned which was kinda the truth. Most of the rich people show off a lot and you hated it. "Well you will survive after all you will have Sangyeon with you." Minsu says wriggling her eyebrows making you blush. "Oh shut up." You grumbled holding your face. "Anyway. I will get going now. Good luck with the party tomorrow. You don't need to come to the cafe. Enjoy your cinderella like moments honey." She says in a teasing tone. After seeing her off you went back to your room. Your eyes falling on the red box which had the jewelery and the dress. 'They looks so expensive.' You internally whined. You went to put them back inside the closet and went to the kitchen so that you can make something to eat. After you were done eating you went to continue writing your assignments after all you can't just leave them be. You will worry about Sangyeon and the party later for now you had an assignment to focus on.

Previous Chapter || Next Chapter

Hi ^^ sorry for taking so long to update this chapter. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for all the support you guys have shown! Love you all ❤

Please don't forget to write and reblog! And stay tuned for the next chapter! I love you all. Buiii 💙

[liliesoftherain]

My Hero Academia Main 3 Boys x Reader Ch.2 Battle of Heroes vs Villains

Pt. 1

Here’s part 2! Sorry for any mistakes, I hope you enjoy!

-*-*-*-*-*-

The next day at school you felt better than ever. Even though you had to sit through regular core classes like any other high school, it was still amazing to you. You were learning from Pro Heroes. How could that get any better? 

When lunch rolls around you're shocked to find Lunch Rush, the Cook Hero making the food. You sit next to the friends you made yesterday, and get to know them a lot better while digging into the amazing food that has been served. Then came your favorite part of the day. 

During your afternoon classes is when things finally were turned up a notch. You were sitting in your desk for your Hero Basic Training to start, when a loud and booming voice came through the door.

"I AM HERE!" Everyone turned their heads to the door, eyes wide. You were amazed, you've heard that the one and only Number One Pro Hero was teaching at the school, but you never would've thought he'd be teaching you first years!

"Coming through the door like a hero!" AllMight yelled, his grin from ear to ear as always. 

"So he is a teacher!" Kirishima stuck a fist in the air, he turned to you with a wide smile.

"This year is going to be awesome!" All you could do was nod back, too excited to speak. 

You noticed he was wearing an old classic costume of his, and only smiled larger when Tsu- is what she wanted everyone to call her, pointed it out as well. 

"Consider this class as Hero 101! This is your most important class, and you'll be learning the basics of becoming a pro! As well as what it truly means to fight in the name of good."

He turns around, looking like he was grabbing something from behind the desk, before turning back around and presented what he had. A card with giant block letters spelling out  'BATTLE' was shown. 

"Fight training!" You heard Bakugou shout out, his voice sounding less nasty and more like he was having a good time? Well, he did seem like the guy to have a great time bashing heads together. You shake your head and focused back to AllMight. 

"One of the keys to being a hero issss.. LOOKING GOOD!" He pointed over towards the wall, where a bunch of suitcases lined up with a number representing each student. These had to be your hero costumes!

"These were made with the designs you guys had turned in with all that enrollment paperwork!" You tried not to let it show but you were really curious on how they made your costume look. 

You suited up with AllMights  directions, ready to see what will be happening at training ground Beta. You walked outside the locker rooms to see Bakugou walking out as well. His costume was, pretty extreme. But, you had to admit it really suited his personality. You had to stifle a laugh at the gauntlets, but you didn't do a good job when he turned his head in your direction.

"You got something to say you fucking glow worm."

 Your eyebrow raised at the name, trying to figure out why he was calling you a glow worm of all things. Then you realized, you tend to glow when you try to make your body into Photons to act as light. So you smirked light while crossing your arms, giving him a sassy retort back.

"Uh glow worm? C'mon Bakugou I'm sure you can do better than that."  He huffed at you, eyes narrowing. He seemed to actually be thinking of another name, and although you didn't like the fact he had to call you a nickname, it was still nice to not be called a shitty extra, as he so liked to call everyone.

"Tsk, stop wasting my time glitter bomb." With that he walked away to the training ground.

"Glitter bomb?" You muttered to yourself, following him. That was really any better, you almost preferred glow worm. 

. At least glitter bomb was much cuter, and even if he said it with a nasty frown, hopefully he didn't think too badly of you. You walked out with everyone else following behind you, hearing AllMight yelling about how now you have to think of yourselves as heroes in training. Ah, you liked the sound of that. 

"You all look so cool! You bunch of newbies!" AllMight laughed as soon as you all were standing in front of him. You took the time to look around and you had to agree, you all looked really amazing. However you noticed Deku's costume and you actually had to let out a laugh. It was kind of cute of him in his fanboy costume. It looked not as nicely made as the others costumes, so maybe it was a gift. Still, it was a nice sight to see. You saw AllMights face when he realized the same thing, causing you to laugh again.

"What's so funny huh (y/n)?" You looked to Kirishima and shrugged, slyly looking towards where Deku was talking to Ochaco. 

"Tsk, a second rate suit for a second rate nobody." You hear Bakugou grumble under his breath, and you meet his eyes. 

"You know it's kinda cute how simple it is, and the fact it's supposed to resemble AllMight." You swear you saw a vein pop out of his head.

"Shut up stupid glow worm!" Kirishima looked between the both of you, confusion painted on his face.

"Glow worm..?" You ignored him for the moment, still looking at Bakugou.

"What happened to glitter bomb?" 

"I SAID SHUT UP!" He briskly walked towards the front of the class, leaving you and Kirishima towards the back. 

"UH? Glow worm? Glitter bomb? I'm so confused." You pat his arm with a smile, choosing to say nothing once more before looking back at your instructor. 

"Now that your ready, it's time for combat training!" 

"SIR!" Iida called out, he was decked out in a full body suit of armor. "This is the fake city from the entrance exam, does that mean we'll be conducting urban battles again?"

Give it to Iida about going above and beyond with asking questions. You admired his high sense of authority, and couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Your father acted like this every day, having to deal with sidekicks and his own crew, making the most tactful choices and asking all the right questions. You hands clenched at your side. You had to step it up if you were one day going to be as great of a Pro Hero as he was.

"Not exactly!" Replied AllMight, holding up a peace sign with his fingers. 

"I'm going to get you two steps ahead!" AllMight begins to talk about hero vs villain fights happen outside, but things can always take place indoors. He went on giving examples of backroom deals and home invasions. You mentally agreed that the most shadiest stuff was always going on inside, somewhere that was more private to the public eye. 

"This training exercise will be split between the heroes and the villains., and pin you up against each other."

"Isn't this pretty advanced for us?" Tsu asked, her brows furrowing as she thought.

"Think of it this way, the best way to learn is through experience! Plus you won't be dealing with robots, you'll be dealing with actual people now. 

"Sir will you be deciding who wins?" Momo asks.

"How much can we hurt the other team?" Of course the one to ask that was no one other than Bakugou.

"Do we need to worry about the losers getting expelled?" Ochaco was nervous when she asked, you saw her almost shaking in worry.

"Will you be splitting us up on chance or skill?" The ever so thoughtful Iida asked.

"How exactly will we be able to win?" You asked, "What's the goal of the exercise?"

"Is the cape amazing?"

With all the questions being asked, AllMight looked far too overwhelmed. This guy dealt with villains all the time, you'd think he can handle a few kids.

"I wasn't finished. LISTEN UP," He pulls out a script.

"The situation is the villains have hidden a nuclear weapon somewhere in the 5 story building. The heroes must stop them and their plans! You have two ways to complete the job, either catch the villains, or recover the weapon! Likewise the villains have a chance to win if they protect their weapon or capture the heroes. There's a time limit so here, we will choose teams by drawing lots!"

"Why lots? Can't we decide teams based off of quirks? Wouldn't that be more practical?" Iida asked. You looked up at him from where you stood and spoke up.

"It's easy to believe that when fighting villains you'll be able to team up with people you know. But that really isn't the case." 

Deku smiled at you, nodding quickly to agree.

"Yea Iida think about it, most heroes don't have a choice for who they are partnered up with for cases. That's probably why we're learning it like this!"

"Yea you guys are right, life is not a straight line. Excuse my rudeness." Iida bowed at AllMight, who just turned and waved him off.

"Don't worry about it, let's draw!"

You all walked up and picked papers out of the box, you were team A. You looked at Kirishima who only shrugged.

"Sorry man, guess we aren't together on this." 

"U-uh hey (y/n)! I think we're partners!" You saw Deku smile at you, and you grinned back.

"Hey there Midoriya, sounds like a plan!" He nodded shyly and rubbed the back of his head.

"You can call me Izuku if you want. Not that you have to, I just know that everyone has been calling by your first name so I figured since I'm calling you by your first name you'll want to call me by my first name, or even just to have it even so we can call each other by our names. But maybe you don't feel comfortable and are only going to do it out of obligation-" Deku was talking a mile per minute and you had to get your thoughts together before you could shut him up.

"Izuku chill out, I don't mind. I prefer calling everyone by their first names. To me it makes us all closer don't you think?" You smiled, to show him you were serious. He was blushing, probably because all that talking made him out of breath. Before nodding again eagerly.

"Y-yeah of course!" 

"I declare the first team to fight will beeeee..." AllMight trails off, digging his hands into both boxes labeled 'Hero' and 'Villain'.

"These guys!" 

He held up an A ball and D ball.

"Hey looks like we're up first Izuku, isn't this going to be fun-Izuku?" You looked at him with a grin before it faded at his shocked expression. You saw why once you felt a glare towards your team. Bakugou was frowning, murderous intent in his red eyes. 

"Everyone else, head to the monitoring room! A team you're our heroes, D team, the Villains!" You watched the class walk on, still looking at the glaring Bakugou and shy Midoriya. You gave him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder, and he glanced over to you. 

"We got this." He smiled stiffly, his eyes hardening in determination and his fists squeezed together. He stared straight back at Bakugou, which caused the other to jolt back in surprise. He must've never seen him like this before you thought. 

Bakugou practically growled at the two of you with an intense look. Which was only cut off by AllMight telling the bad guys to get settled inside the building. So Iida and Bakugou headed inside, while you and Midoriya stayed out. You were given a layout of the building, and you stared at it trying to formulate a plan. 

"It's a lot to take in, but it's better than going in blind. Most Pro Heroes don't get the luxury of knowledge." You say while looking over the paper, trying to drink in all the details you could.

"So we can relax just a little-ah geez Izuku you're practically sweating through your costume." You snicker while glancing at the boy next to you. He looked terrible nervous, none of that determination from earlier when looking at Bakugou had stuck apparently. 

"Uh well, it's um," He bit his lip looking away, you felt your stomach churn, This kid was like a chihuahua, he was going to come right out of his red sneakers. "We're just going up against Kachan, and there's Iida too. We just really need to stay on our guard." You hummed in agreement.

"Bakugou, you have a funny nickname for him too, huh? Yea seems like he likes those." You chuckle, remembering the stupid ones he called you, and that he calls Izuku, Deku. 

"What's up with you two anyway? He's always glaring at you. Well, even harsher than he glares at everything else."

"Uh, it's a long story.. But, I just know we have to be careful because he's really amazing. He can be a real pain sure, but he has strength, ambition, and confidence. Plus his quirk is so much better than mine. But that just means I have to try harder than ever. I refuse to lose today." He glares up at the building, popping his mask on. His shaking has stopped, and you felt yourself smile.

"So I see, it's a battle we can't afford to lose." He looked at you, blush back and shakes returning. Oh man, this kid has some mixed emotions.

"You don't need to try so hard for me! I can't get you mixed in my fight!"

You take a hold of one of his outstretched hands. Giving him a bright smile. His cheeks went darker as he stared at your hand in his.

"It's not just for you. I want to win too. Plus, we are a team. No way in hell am I letting us lose today, you can count on me Izuku."

"Yeah!" 

"Alright! Let's begin, team A enter the building! The clock starts now!" AllMights voice sounds from the intercom, you give Deku a nod as you both race inside. You both crept in through a window, carefully walking around corners. You both fixed your ear pieces, making sure your contact stayed on. You felt energy swirling in you, an adrenaline rush coursing through your veins. You let Deku lead the way, guarding his back, and he looked around corners. You two were silent and stealthily. 

You wondered if both of the boys would both be waiting for you in the room where the weapon was, sure Bakugou may have been a hothead but surely he was smart and tactful. Along with Iida, you were sure he had a plan at the very least. You both paused before coming up to your next corner, moving onward. You heard a slight movement and you held Izuku back, signalling him to be quiet. But it was too late, Bakugou was jumping from a hallway that you both hadn't seen before hand, aiming a punch directly at Deku. You held onto him as you jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding a full on punch. Smoke went everywhere, and you fell straight on top of Izuku. 

"You good Izuku?" You questioned, jumping off of him and getting back on your feet. You missed the blush he had when you were pressed against him, but he shook it off. Going back to the battle in front of him.

"Yea I'm good." You looked down and saw no blood on his face even though his mask had been torn off along the left side.

"Good, it was just your mask." The smoked cleared as Bakugou smirked towards Izuku.

"What's wrong Deku, afraid to fight me yourself?" 

"I knew you'd come for me first." Izuku gritted out, standing beside you. You looked between both boys, your hands starting to glow with your light. You willed the light to change it's formula as you let it harden over your wrists. The light burned you, but over many years of trying to perfect  your quirk made you numb to the pain, as well as the gloves you wore really helped with it. 

"Sneak attack, very villain like Bakugou. " You said while you jumped up and swung, missing him by a thread as he tried to counter with a kick to your torso. You dodged it last second, landing behind him. Using your quirk like how you did during the long jump, you shot out a few light rays, solidifying them to give you a boost. You went to give a roundhouse kick but ended up missing again. Bakugou was able to grab your wrist and toss you to the side, close to the ground by Izuku. You spun yourself last second landing on your feet crouching to stop your momentum with your hand. You were able to lessen the damage of what would've happened if your back had taken the fall.

"Stay out of my way shitty glitter bomb. I'm not here for you." He glared at Deku, charging forward.

"I want to hurt you so bad, they're going to have to stop the fight!" Before you could run towards him, Izuku sprinted past you, and grabbed his right arm last second as if he knew that'd be his first move. You were as shocked as Bakugou looked when Izuku managed to flip him over and land him on his backside with a painfully loud thud. You saw spit fly out of Bakugou's mouth and you wondered how much force Deku actually put into that throw. 

Izuku was breathing deeply as he spilled his secret.

"Kaachan, you always use a big right hook when you start a fight." You looked over at Deku, was he seriously that in tune with his surroundings and the people in it? How observant was this guy?

"I know because I've watched you for years! I've analyzed every amazing hero, that includes you. Everything was in the notebook you burned and tossed out the window." He stood up tall, fear in his eyes but body held up with something much stronger than that.

"You can call me Deku, but I'm not the same hopeless kid anymore! You understand? I've changed, for now on, Deku is the name of a hero!" You grinned, a part of you felt happy that Izuku was overcoming any obstacles. It seems these two had a rough past, one you didn't want to get into or get in the middle of, but that didn't mean you couldn't feel proud for someone standing up for themselves.

You quickly realized that if you left now to go obtain the bomb more than likely Bakugou would not follow you. His fight was 100% with Izuku and you were just someone in the way of that. But if you left him here with Bakugou, with Izuku's quirk the way it was he had no chance of really doing anything to him. Bakugou may have been surprised and taken down by that sneak attack, but there was no way he'd be able to keep that up. Bakugou would overcome that in an instant.

"Deku.." Bakugou huffed, his anger rising faster than you've ever seen it. "You're shaking in your boots you're so scared. Why do you always insist on fighting me.. THAT’S WHY I HATE YOU!" 

You saw the blue light from Bakugou’s earpiece go off, before he yelled back in it for Iida to shut up and defend the weapon. You realized if you were going to go, you would have to go now. You made eye contact with Midoriya who nodded in your direction. Seems that great minds think alike.

"(y/n) hurry go!" You cast a beam of light, aiming for Bakugou's  eyes as he used his quirk to push himself forward towards Deku, before running off. Bakugou snarled as that caused him to miss kicking out Izuku's legs and hitting his arm instead, giving him a slight advantage.

" FUCK!That was fucking too bright, that shitty girl. Ballsy move Deku. You think you're so tough trying to take me on without that STUPID GLOW WORMS HELP!" 

That was the last you heard of their battle before you dashed away. You were trying to locate the bomb and Iida who was with it. You knew at least he was taking this seriously, and you really needed a plan before you found him. You knew you were safe from Bakugou, the guy must've been working alone, which you're sure put Iida in a sour mood. He's going to try to make up for his missing partner and be an even bigger pain in your ass.

You heard shuffling from one of the rooms, and you knew this must have been it. You hid behind a pillar, taking a quick glance and saw Iida talking to himself. Hearing him mutter about villainy things. You tried not to make any noise as you snuck around, pillar after pillar. Hoping to make this a quick and easy mission, to make sure Bakugou didn't hurt Izuku more than he had to.

You unfortunately misinterpreted a move and Iida spotted you from the corner of his eye.

"Ah (y/n)! There you are, I knew you would be here alone Bakugou ran off to engage in a battle with Midoriya. Your quirk has to deal with sunlight right? Well I made sure you wouldn't get any of it, seeing as I blocked off the windows allowing no light to shine through! Muawhahah! What are you going to do now you hero scum!" You glanced around saw all the impressive ways he blocked the sunlight from entering. 

"Sorry to burst your bubble, villain! I don't need direct sunlight all the time!" You sent off a ray of light, blinding him just like you did with Bakugou, before running off behind another pillar. 

You couldn't make a run for the weapon, Iida was faster than you when you weren't using your quirk, and since there was no water nearby you couldn't afford overheating yourself too early in the game, you'd be defenseless for a while until you were able to cool yourself down. You held your earpiece and contacted your partner.

"Izuku, are you alright?"  The piece crackled as he responded.

"I'm here, what's wrong."

"Right now nothing bad, Iida spotted me before I could reach the weapon, and he blocked off any light. I may be able to outrun him but if it doesn't work I'm down for the count. Even with my suit built for me I doubt it'll cool me down in time to continue the fight before I get caught."

"I understand, where are you at?"

"Near the middle of the top floor."

"You're right above me, hang tight. We probably don't have much time. We can't give up yet. Keep him distracted, I'll tell you when."

"Roger. I'm counting on you Izuku." 

You didn't hear anything back, so you got to work, You kept making small bursts of light come off your hands, dodging from one pillar to the next. Even without his sight, he was able to find you and take swings. You dodged them all, rolling and ducking away. Till a giant explosion had the whole building rattling, you looked at Iida, shock on your face, and while he was wearing a mask, you assumed he had the same expression when he asked you what the hell was that.

You bit your lip, praying Izuku was alright, things weren't going well based on the current position. Iida got side tracked, trying to contact Bakugou through his own earpiece.

"Bakugou! Come in, did you cause that blast!" You were going to take advantage of his distraction. You willed your light to travel to your feet and you took off, simultaneously making your light from regular beams to solids, back to rays again. Giving you an added boost. It was terribly difficult, and you were focusing on making sure you didn't mess up. Your feet burned but you kept going, the sweat never reaching your eyes as your mask caught it all. Your body was overheating itself but you couldn't afford to stop now!

However, Iida was too fast, and used his engines to burst his speed and move the bomb towards the other side of the room. You were able to stop yourself right before you ran into the wall, turning around and shooting a glare.

"Nice try, but you're no match for my speed the way you are now. I'm sure the fact that there is no light is causing you to use whatever kind of storage you have, meaning if you keep this up you'll be drained. So I can easily keep this weapon out of your grasp until you run out, or the time does! Muahahah." You huff, teeth grinding as he actually got that part of your quirk right.

You never remember telling him how the ins and outs of your quirk was, and you briefly explained it to Kirishima and the others when you ran the race, so all he knew was from that conversation. Even then, that was very brief and you didn't go into details. All you could do was bluff.

"You're smart, I'll give you that. But you're completely wrong about my quirk. I can keep going, can you?" You threw another beam dashing around trying to get to the other side of the room, but Iida knew how to keep you at bay, moving it back to another position across the room. You clench your hands into fists, willing the light around them. You threw punches, anything to try to get him away from the weapon, even if you couldn't reach it, he wasn't able to move it. You heard your earpiece crackle, and Izuku's voice come through.

"(y/n) what's the situation, you okay?"

"Not looking too good, I can't get close to him or past him. He's too fast for me right now."

You didn't hear his reply, but AllMights voice rang throughout the area.

"Bakugou, use that stored up power again and not only I will stop this fight, but your team will lose. " You glanced at Iida, taking this time to give yourself a break. You were heavily overheating, and you could feel your suit work to try to cool you down, but it wasn't enough. At least not for what you have planned. You needed the rest of your strength if this was going to work. 

"To employ such a strong attack indoors is inviting the destruction of the stronghold you should be protecting! That's a poor strategy, whether you're a hero or a villain. The penalty is a massive loss of points resulting in your loss." 

"Get to the pillar by the window, get there now and stay out of the middle."

You smiled. This will finally be over, you both were going to win. You dashed there, ignoring the strange look from Iida.

"Running away are we? No matter, time is up soon anyways! Attack from long range all you'd like!" He shouted after you, and you used smaller light blasts to try to let him think you were still trying to do long range. 

You felt the ground rumble and you knew this must of been it, you heard him shout your name.

"(Y/N) GO NOW!"

"Roger!" You shouted back, charging up your energy, feeling yourself break down and start to glow. You grew hotter by the second and felt the building shake even worse than it did for Bakugou. The windows shattered and you felt light poor in, which help you out even more now that you can replenish your energy. The ground in the middle split off and a beam fell which allowed you to use it as a pathway.

You charged up and sprinted, reaching the weapon before Iida could even get his bearings in order. He was so focused on not getting blown away by Izuku's blast. You ended up hugging the base of the weapon, almost knocking it over with how fast you were going. You let out a sigh of relief, but also a groan of pain when you felt how hot your body was an the air surrounding you. Your suit was going into overdrive, and you're lucky you didn't have to continue fighting, you were drained.

"NO! THE WEAPON!" Iida yelled, upset he had lost. 

"The hero team, WIIIINS!" You heard AllMight's shout. "Your indoor combat training is over."

You fell from the bomb and landed on your behind, steam coming off of you and mixing with the clouds from the destroyed building. Iida rushed to your side, trying to stroke your back but you were too hot, even with his gloves. He immediately pulled away. He was surprised you weren't melting through the floor at this very moment.

"Are you alright?" You nodded weakly, trying to breathe in large amounts of air in hopes you'll cool down faster. Iida began to fan you, hoping something would help. 

When you were able to stand after cooling down a bit, Iida helped you to the bottom. You both walked back to the examination room to see how well you did. You looked around for Deku but you couldn't find him. 

"Do not worry miss Hakamata, young Midoriya is with Recovery Girl, getting his wounds healed. 

You only nodded in response, still slightly out of it but getting better. While there wasn't any more steam, you were hot to the touch, like accidentally touching a cooling stove. Not terrible but still painful.

"Despite the winners here today, I can say that both sides have done amazingly. Miss Hakamata and young Iida have proven themselves to be co-winners in the battle!"

You both looked at AllMight in shock, not understanding how you both could have won.

"Shouldn't there be only one winner? Like just (y/n), since she was one of the winners?" Tsu asked, her tongue flopping out of her mouth as her head tilted. 

"Valid question! Who can take a guess as to why it was the both of them?"

Momo raises her hand.

"Sir, I can tell you exactly why. Iida embraced this challenge wholeheartedly, and thought logically as the villain. Taking steps to ensure his enemy's defeat, like by blocking all the sunlight in the room to weaken his opponent. He adapted to his assigned role perfectly. While Hakamata was very quick thinking, knowing that she couldn't use her trump card so early on, and sticking to dodging and smaller attacks to watch out for not only the missile, but even the villain. As heroes, we should always aim to immobilize not kill. To look for the perfect opportunity in any situation and that's exactly what she did." You felt proud that someone saw what you were trying to do, and even a bit bashful getting this praise.

"While Bakugou had his judgement clouded due to a personal grudge, he had no care for what was around him, causing him to let off a large scale attack that would have been bad if the missile were real. Villain or not he should always put the plan first. While the same thing goes for Midoriya, while his plan gave his team the edge it needed to complete the mission, it was poorly thought out and could've- did, render himself helpless, which helped no one considering Bakugou was still on the loose."

You could see the praise getting to Iida from where you stood, he was on the left side of Bakugou while you sandwiched him in on the right. You flushed lightly, looking away from the eyes of your peers. AllMight looked to be shaking as Momo finished her rant, coughing before continuing.

"well uh yes, you missed a few things such as young Iida could have relaxed a bit, and Miss Hakamata should have been more open to using her move if it would've meant less damage in the future. However, good job! You nailed it! Let's move on to the next battle."

You looked at Bakugou and saw the look on his face. It worried you to see him look so devoid of emotion. You looked away, not wanting to start any more problems and focused on the next students beginning their match.

You couldn't help but let out a gasp, you were amazed at the brute strength this Shoto Todoroki had. He made the entire place freeze over, making sure his partner was safe outside. The sheer amount of power had you taken a back. You could feel the cold all the way from the room you were all in, and it caused your body temp to drop instantly, the temp regulating it out.

"Wow.." You whisper out, still somehow standing next to Bakugou even though the  class moved closer to the screen. 

"This guy is insane." You finished, noticing the others, even AllMight shivering in front of you. This guy was one of four to get in on recommendation alone.

‘Incredible.’ You thought. 

The rest of the matches seems to go by just as fast, you realized a lot of classmates had powerful and useful quirks, but your mind was still on the 3 boys who, in your opinion, out shined them all. 

You cheered on Kirishima and Sero as they fought bravely. Even Mina as she burned holes into the flashy kids cape. You couldn't remember his name.

It was finally all over, and AllMight congratulated you all.

"We had no major injuries, accept for young Midoriya. You should be proud, that was excellent training from you all."

He took his exit as said he was going to check on Izuku, rushing away and leaving the students buzzing with excitement. You all returned to change out of your hero outfits, and went back to class to collect your stuff for the next class. 

"(y/n) you were badass! I wish my quirk was flashy like yours!"

"Thanks Eijirio!" You slapped his arm playfully, "You're quirk is pretty good too. I wish I had it! I could fall and not get hurt? Yes please!" 

You all settled down as the next part of your afternoon classes began, your thoughts circling back to how Izuku was fairing. To be honest you weren't sure if you'd be allowed to go see him if he still wasn't back by the end of the day, but you decided it's fine. You were partners after all. 

Before you could go once classes had ended. Eijiro, along with Sero, Kaminari, and Mina kept you behind to chat. You figured a few minutes wouldn't hurt so you let yourself go in the laughter and happiness that swirled around you. Your head snapped towards the door once you heard it open, Kirishima beating you to the punch of saying hi.

"Hey it's Midoriya! Good to see you! I don't know what you were saying during that match but you were all fired up huh!"

"I can't believe you held your own against Bakugou!" Sero pitched in, "He's super strong!"

"Glad to see you still in one piece partner!" You grinned at his overwhelmed expression as he started rubbing the back of his head with his uninjured hand. The other being in a cast and sling.

"You really went all out didn't you." You hummed while poking the sling, grinning up at him. "We made a badass team yanno, you were pretty good too I guess." He laughed, nodding in agreement,

"We sure did, we won thanks to you." 

You saw his cheeks heat up in embarrassment as others, including yourself, told him he played a big part in that win. Everyone introduced themselves to him and you could see his eyes swirl with so much going on. You ll stopped to watch Iida go berserk over another student putting his feet on his desk, and failing to get him to listen. 

Denki also walked in at that moment, along with Ochaco, holding books for the class. She blushed slightly, before excusing herself and running over to join the group. Izuku brushed her off in a nice way, letting her know he's fine and there's no need for any worrying. he glanced behind you, then looked at you in the eyes, 

"Hery uh (y/n)? Where's Kaachan?" 

"Oh Bakugou? He just left. We tried to make him stay but he really wanted to go." You saw Izuku run out at that very moment, and knew something was going to happen. You wanted to go and be there in support but you knew better than to get involved.

You went to glance out the windows with other students, seeing Bakugou shouting at Izuku. You couldn't tell what was being said, but you saw that Bakugou was in a lot of pain. Maybe he's realizing that he can't win every battle? Who knows, so you ignored it, and shrugged along with everyone else. Packing the books that were brought in and making sure you had all of your other materials before leaving with your newly made group of friends. You saw that AllMight had dragged Midoriya away, you wondered why they always seemed so close. That was really suspicious and you felt uneasy. Was he somehow related to AllMight? They have similar enough quirks, and AllMight, while he tries to hide it, obviously cares about Izuku. 

With that on your mind you waved your friends off once you parted ways at the station, you began to head home. Once there, you did whatever homework you had, mind still reeling on the secret around those two. You made dinner, and left it in the fridge for your father, it seems he was going to be late tonight. You readied yourself for bed. Staring at the ceiling, now thinking about just more than the Number One Hero and his fanboy. You thought back to Bakugou and his face after he lost, and that Todoroki kid with his half-and-half quirk. It was amazing to be surrounded by so many talented people, you really weren't expecting it.

Honestly, you didn't even know what to expect when you first started. It was only the second day and you felt exhausted by all the people, by all the work. But that wasn't going to stop you from reaching your goals. You aim to be as great of a hero as your father, maybe even better. Your goal is to show him you can one day care for him and others, just like he does for everyone around him.

Damn anyone to hell if they were going to get in your way.

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 16

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 6,227

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

"No joke, you can for real get us the stuff?"

Rayne grinned over at Anna as the three of us walked side by side. "For real. I got a girl on the inside who can hook us up."

Her gaze narrowed dubiously, "Don't play me. I've been friggin' jonesing for a fix since March."

"You know I'm good for it, sweetpea," she slung an arm around her shoulders. "Trust me. My word is my bond, ya dig?"

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I puffed out a heavy sigh and grumbled, "You two are ridiculous."

A scoff from Rayne, "You'll be singing a different tune once that sweet, sweet ambrosia is warming your belly."

Rolling my eyes, I took another quick glance around the food court as we crossed it.

Still no Lea.

Boy couldn't get here fast enough.

Also, boy better hurry, seeing as how there was less than an hour left before my shift started.

My thumb absently rubbed the spot where his phone number still branded my palm as we finished crossing the sea of plastic tables and chairs, coming to a stop in front of the Lucky Cat. Working behind the register today was someone I hadn't seen before. A boy with a bandaid on one cheek and short, choppy brown hair sticking out from beneath the baseball cap he was wearing backwards.

Wait…

I squinted.

…or maybe he was actually a she. Hard to say. They were really quite androgynous, whoever they were.

Rayne smiled at us and held up a finger, indicating for us to just watch and wait. Then she stepped forward, approaching the counter. "Sup, Miharu! We're here to see…" she paused, looking around to make sure there were no eyes on her that shouldn't be, then she hunched forward and lowered her voice to a whisper, "...Spellweaver."

The coffee purveyor of indeterminate gender said nothing for several seconds, just fixed her with a dull stare. "...she's in the back, just a sec," they at last huffed before turning and disappearing through the door behind them.

"Spellweaver…?" Anna arched an eyebrow at Rayne.

She nodded solemnly, "The street name she goes by for all of her shady backdoor dealings."

"Oh good grief," I massaged one temple with my fingertips.

Deciding to steer this conversation towards something a little less silly while we waited for… ugh, Spellweaver to show up, I asked Anna, "So you really have no clue what Mother and Father are planning for this whole weekend family outing thing they're inviting us to?"

"Zip," she popped the P as she shrugged. But then she was crinkling her nose with a frown, "Weaseltown's gonna be there though."

I hugged myself, shuddering. "Thanks, that does not reassure me."

"Relax! Dad's probably just gonna be all, " she gave a lofty sniff, raised her pinkie and deepened her tone in what I had to admit was a pretty good impression of our father, "let's just put this nasty bit of business behind us, bygones and whatnot, chip chip cheerio."

"You are aware he's not British, right?" my eyelids drooped at her. I couldn't resist a tiny grin though and exhaled slowly, "...you really think he'll be that forgiving?"

"Of course! Well... that or he'll be all," up that pinkie went again as she scowled, "how dare you throw your life away like this, young lady, disgracing the family name thusly! I will not stand for it, pish posh!"

"...not helping."

Rayne shushed us as the back door behind the counter swung open again and that Miharu person returned. "Your weirdo friends are here to feed their disgusting habit," they deadpanned, speaking to their coworker that'd also come striding out behind them, presumably none other than the infamous Spellweaver.

Aka Aqua.

I should have guessed.

Gaze darting about again to ensure the coast was still clear, Rayne rapped her knuckles against the countertop, tapping out the beginning of "shave and a haircut." Aqua gave a good natured snort before responding with two knocks herself, delivering the punchline to the tune.

Seriously? What was that supposed to be, some sort of code? This was just getting more absurd by the second.

"What're you ladies in the market for today?" Aqua asked, propping an elbow onto the counter.

"We're here for… the Spice," Rayne put heavy emphasis on the word, giving her a wink that was the very antithesis of subtle. "You still got your super special secret stash?"

"Maybe," she inspected her fingernails, casually bouncing one shoulder. "You know I only stock the primo kind too. But stuff's not easy to come by this time of year. If I did have it, supplies would be getting pretty low. It'll cost ya. You got the munny?"

Anna suddenly pushed forward, grabbing Aqua by the front of her apron and yanking her down to her eye level, "Yeah yeah, you got the goods or what, bitch?!"

"Anna!" I snapped, horrified.

"What?! I was just playing along with the bit!" she defended, immediately releasing her grip.

Aqua gingerly smoothed the wrinkles out of her apron and fixed her crooked visor, "Normally just the munny and a please would suffice."

"Was your sister seriously just about to straight up shank Aqua over some coffee?" a low, amused voice said right next to my ear, making me jump. I spun around, discovering Lea snerking behind me as he straightened back up. Xion and Roxas were with him too, looking dressed to be on the clock shortly.

There was a tiny harrumph from Anna, "Everyone knows you don't get between a white girl and her pumpkin spice latte!"

That's right.

That's what this whole foolishness had been over.

Pumpkin frigging spice.

"Three please," Rayne asked sheepishly, handing Aqua the munny and shoving a hefty tip into the jar for good measure. Then she sighed at Anna, "We can't take you anywhere."

"It was a friggin' bit!"

"Hey, so," Roxas piped up, drawing my attention to him as he smirked. Xion bounced on the balls of her feet beside him, looking positively ready to burst with giddiness as Roxas leaned forward, "...are you like our new mommy?"

I blinked, "Wha-?" Then yelped as Xion, apparently no longer able to contain her excitement, threw herself at me with a squeal and squeezed me in a bone crushing hug.

"I'm so happy for you two!" Her death grip tightened and I wheezed, looking to Lea for help. He just grinned wider at me and shrugged. The useless punk. Thankfully, Xion pulled back, seizing me by the shoulders instead. "Tell me everything! How did it happen? When did it happen? Was it love at first sight? Gah, I still can't believe you two kept it a secret for so long and even guilt tripped me over that harmless lil car prank, you jerk!" she punched Lea in the arm, forcing him to hiss out a pained "ow."

Served him right.

The abrupt sound of someone noisily clearing their throat cut through the air. We turned to find a lanky guy with wavy, ash blonde hair down to his shoulders standing nearby, his lavender eyes giving us a pointed look. "Pardon me, if you would…?"

Apparently we were blocking his path to the Lucky Cat register where Miharu was currently stationed at.

"Oh!" realization struck Xion and she hurried out of the way, dragging me with her.

"Thank you," he bowed his head to us before sauntering up to the cash register with a sly grin, "Well well, don't you look absolutely ravishing today, my fiesty little barista of love."

"Bite me, Joshua," Miharu ground out flatly.

"Only if you insist," he purred.

I was distracted from that exchange by a steaming to-go cup suddenly popping up barely an inch in front of my nose, making me stagger back a step. "Here ya go, sweetie!" Rayne chirped from behind the latte she was offering me.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I took it, giving her a tiny and somewhat dazed smile as I struggled to keep up with the whirlwind of activity going on around me. Too many different things were going on at once and it was all just a lot, okay?

"Ah!" Anna sighed loudly and happily after taking a long, deep swig from her pumpkin spiced beverage. "Pure heaven!"

"Amen, sister!" Rayne cried, chugging some of her own. Then she gasped, snagging Anna's arm and gesturing towards the Ice Palace. "Look! Kristoff's on shift! Think you can work your feminine wiles and score us some free sundaes?"

"Ray-Ray, please. You worked your magic, now watch me work mine. Hold my drink." She handed her cup to my roomie, cracked her knuckles and skipped off, singsonging, "Yoohoo, Kristoff!"

That poor boy was about to get played like a fiddle.

Rayne spared a look my way, grinned and elbowed my arm before casting a significant glance towards Lea. "Have fun," she half whispered, half giggled to me before running off after Anna.

"We should probably get going too, Xion. Gotta punch in," Roxas said as he eyed the massive overhead clock on the other end of the food court.

"Aw man," she whined, looking from him to me. "Fine. But you and me? We're gonna talk more later, got it?" she brightened, giving my arm a squeeze before joining Roxas who waved goodbye to us as the two of them walked off towards Pizza Planet.

Lea shook his head with a soft chuckle as he watched them go, saying to me, "Ignore them. The kiddos are just super happy for us lovebirds."

"Oh." I looked down at my to-go cup, fingers fidgeting with the lid. "So you got a chance to talk to them about it."

"Didn't really have to. I think that bit of theatrics between Anna and your crazy uncle the other day spoke for itself. Whole food court's been abuzz." He flashed me a big smile, shrugging, "Face it, El. We're the new hot topic."

"R-really?" I stammered, doing my best to stop the blush I felt creeping up my neck dead in its tracks. I'd nearly forgotten about that whole embarrassing scene. I think I'd been subconsciously trying to block it out, pretend it'd all been a bad dream.

"Don't worry. It'll become old news pretty quick and chatter'll die down."

"I hope so," I frowned, taking a careful sip of my warm latte. I hated being the center of attention and having people talk about me.

"So…" his eyes crinkled as he took a step closer to me now, plucking the cup from my grasp and depositing it onto a nearby table so he could take both my hands in his. Tracing his thumbs in light circles along my knuckles, he murmured, "Hi."

That blush I'd been keeping at bay? Just called in reinforcements and broke through the bloody barricades. "...hi."

His eyes briefly flicked to our right, discreetly calling attention to the fact that Aqua was grinning at us as she prepared a mocha order. Ah, message received. We had an audience. And an audience demanded a show, one which Lea seemed only too glad to put on as he now brought my hands to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on the back of each one. "Didja miss me?"

My stomach flip-flopped. No, scratch that, it was doing goddamn somersaults like a gold medal gymnast on a set of uneven bars at the Olympics. Panicking a little, I hastily looked away and blurted out, "Miss you? Please, I just saw you yesterday. It hasn't even been twenty-four hours yet, I haven't had time to miss you."

What? I didn't know how to do the whole lovey-dovey thing, real, pretend or otherwise! Honestly, I was beginning to think it just wasn't genetically coded into my DNA.

He tsked. "That's not what you were supposed to say."

I gave him some side-eye. "What was I supposed to say?"

"Hm, I dunno… something like," he transferred his grip to my wrists, pulling my hands up to cup his cheeks, "how much you longed to see this gorgeous face again and how you cried yourself to sleep just counting the seconds until you could look upon its beauty once more."

"...I am not saying that."

"Huh," he smirked down at me. "Funny how ya didn't deny it though. Don't worry, we can work our way up to it."

I snorted. "Don't count on it."

A tiny laugh came from the Lucky Cat. With him still holding my hands to his face, we both looked over to see Aqua hiding a smile behind her fingers. She shook her head, "Sorry, pretend I'm not here. You two are just very cute."

I jerked my wrists free of his grasp and opened my mouth to say we most certainly were not. However, Lea was faster with a chipper, "We know!" With that, he picked up my drink once more, slipping his free hand into mine and cooed, "Let's go, shnookums," before walking off with me in tow.

Stumbling a few steps before matching his stride, I glanced back to make sure we were out of earshot. Then I looked at him. "No."

He cocked an eyebrow. "No what?"

My nose scrunched up. "Shnookums."

"Yes, sugarplum?"

I blanched. "No, that's not- I wasn't calling you-" I sighed, recomposing myself. "I was saying no to that pet name. Sugarplum's out too."

Lea pouted, "Aw, but they're classics. You sure you want to keep vetoing all of these? Pretty soon I'll have to start thinking outside the box."

"I'll take my chances."

"Suit yourself, don't say I didn't warn ya though." He then nodded to my cup, lifting it up slightly, "May I?"

"Uh…" I blinked. "...sure, go for it."

He took a sip then abruptly stopped us in the middle of the food court tables. "Shit, that's actually pumpkin spice. I thought your sister was only joking. October is still months away, how'd you guys manage to get your hands on this?"

My mouth pursed to one side. I can't believe I was about to say this. "...I know a gal who knows a gal."

A snerk huffed out through his nostrils. "Aren't you legally required to be wearing a trench coat and in a dark alley to say something like that?"

One corner of my lips twitched up despite myself as I took the latte back from him, "Was fresh out of trench coats."

"Well then, guess we'll just have to settle for this instead," he gripped the bill of my Ice Palace cap, twisting it sideways.

"Hey!" I swatted his hand away and spun my hat forward again. "I've got connections, I'm not a rapper. There's a difference."

"I know. I just really wanted to do that." His hand snaked up again, tweaking my cap to the left now. "Boyfriend privileges. Sorry, I don't make the rules."

Sighing, I straightened it again. "I've given you too much power. You're having way too much fun with this."

"No such thing." He went for the hat yet again but I caught his hand this time, narrowing my eyes at him. He grinned, shifting the hold so our fingers interlocked together instead, causing my heart to give a little flitter.

Then he used his other hand to turn the cap to sit sideways once more.

I drooped my eyelids at him. "I'm going to throw this drink in your face."

"And waste perfectly good pumpkin spice? For shame!" he chided playfully, thankfully having the common decency now to correct my hat back to the way it was supposed to be.

Ugh, this guy. Of all the people Anna could have shoved me into the arms of in front of the Duke on that fateful day, why'd it have to be him? I'm sure she'd only picked the nearest testosterone toting individual who just so happened to be strolling by in that exact moment but jeez, why couldn't it have been, oh I don't even know… Kristoff perhaps? Kristoff would have taken this more seriously. Kristoff I didn't have a maybe sorta crush on. Kristoff wouldn't have had my face toasting every ten stupid seconds. Seriously, I swear Lea had made me blush more in the past several weeks that I'd known him than I'd ever done in the rest of my entire life combined. I'm not sure who that said more about - Lea or my ex.

Shaking my head at him, I prompted, "So you said something yesterday about coming here to do some couple-watching?"

"Oh, right. Almost forgot." Lea glanced about at the shoppers enjoying their meals all around us. "Lessee here, who do we got…?"

"Why not Riku and Rayne? I mean, I live with them and they're in on the secret, I'm sure they'd be happy to coach us or whatever." I began to lift my drink towards my mouth but stopped it a few inches short, staring down at it with a tiny frown.

"Nah, they're not just a couple, they're married. Married is a whole different animal from dating. Trust me, what we're looking for is a cutesy-wootsy boyfriend-girlfriend dynamic duo." He took a break from scanning the area to focus on me once more, noticing the look I was now giving my cup. He quirked an eyebrow, "Problem?"

My eyes flicked to his lips, then returned to my latte. Then back and forth once, twice more.

...oh grow up! It's not like the boy had cooties!

"Not at all," I muttered, hiding my small scowl behind the cup as I finally took a sip, telling myself that the slight warmth I felt in my cheeks was only due to the heat of the beverage, nothing more. "What about them?" I asked hastily, gesturing back towards the Lucky Cat where... Joshua, was it? Was still talking to Miharu. "They're a couple." He was leaning across the countertop with a devilish little smirk, bringing their faces really close. Miharu, on the other hand, looked about ready to grab the nearest banana walnut muffin from their display case and shove it up his nose. I furrowed my brow, "...aren't they?"

He followed my gaze. "Who, them? Those two are… complicated. What they got going on seems to work for them, but it's not exactly the type of Hallmark romance we want to be emulating in front of your folks. No, we want too adorable and precious for this world. We want pure, unadulterated wholesome on a stick. We want cavity-inducing sweetness. We want…" once more, his eyes were darting from one table of mall-goers to the next until at last his face lit up and he pointed, "...them! Perfect!" And off he went again, dragging me with him.

We wove our way past several tables before coming to a halt at one in particular, seated at which was-

"Kairi? Sora?" I blinked at them and they both looked up at the sound of their names.

"Oh, hey guys!" Sora hit us with the full force of that blinding smile of his.

"Hiya!" Lea chirped, pulling out a chair for me. "Mind if we join you two?"

"Please," Kairi nodded enthusiastically, twisting her chopsticks into her chow mein that looked to be from Mushu's Kingdom. "Be our guest!"

I'm sorry, but couple-watching and couple-interacting were two completely different things. This is not what I'd signed up for. Still, I took the seat with only the barest hint of hesitation, feeling Lea push it in behind me before he grabbed the one next to me, spinning it one-eighty on one leg so he could plop down into it backwards.

Eyes dancing, Kairi spoke up again, "So, to what do we owe the pleasure of being joined by the Dusk Town Center's newest It Couple?"

"...It Couple?" I echoed, arching an eyebrow as I put my drink down in front of me, fingers fidgeting with the coffee sleeve.

"Told ya, El!" Lea chuckled, folding his arms atop the table, his elbow coming to rest against mine. "Everyone's talking about us. Can you blame them though? We did have a rather dramatic debut."

"Oh gosh," I smothered my face in my hands.

"Nothing to be embarrassed over, you're fine!" Kairi giggled, then glanced smugly over at Sora. "Plus, I got to tell this loser here that I'd told him so!"

He rolled his eyes, grin never wavering. "Lucky guess. You had no way of knowing they were already dating."

"Woman's intuition," she razzed her tongue at him, tapping her chopsticks to her temple. "It's never wrong."

Welp. It was wrong this time. Lucky for her, Lea and I had a cover to maintain. Good thing too, I don't know if I'd have had the heart to tell her otherwise and burst her bubble.

"Besides," she tacked on, slurping up a noodle, "it's always been plain as day for anyone to see on Lea's face. He has that whole lost puppy look going on whenever she's around."

"I don't have a lost puppy look," Lea scratched the back of his head with a sheepish laugh before glancing my way and insisting, "I don't."

Sora sniggered, "Yeah, Kai, I think that's just the way his dopey face always loo- ow!" That last part was in response to Lea reaching across the table to flick him in the forehead.

Ignoring the boys, Kairi sighed dreamily, "It's all just so sweet! Like some sort of modern day, food court, Shakespearian romance! One from House Pizza, the other from House Ice Cream, two star-crossed lovers defying all odds to be together!"

...okay, why were we here again?

"It's not like we're from two warring families locked in a blood feud." Lea snorted and muttered, "House Ice Cream and House Pizza… what even?"

"Shush, I was being poetic!" Kairi harrumphed before lightly slapping Sora's hand away as he tried to steal some of her chow mein.

Rubbing his sore knuckles, he whined, "Aw c'mon, Kai, all this food talk is making me hungry!"

"You've already eaten twice your weight in orange chicken, you big goob!" she shot back. But when he gave her the saddest pout in the history of all mankind - nay, the history of all existence - her shoulders slumped and she relented, stabbing her chopsticks into the noodles and twirling them, "Fine, open up, doofus."

He immediately perked up and parted his lips wide. Having wrapped a sizable portion around her sticks now, she gently eased it into his awaiting mouth. For all the care she took though, some sauce still managed to get on the corner of his lips as he started to chew. Kairi gave a soft tch and told him, "Hold still." Then she took his chin between her fingers, bent forward and kissed the smudged side of his mouth, leaving it clean by the time she'd pulled back, licking her lips with a tiny smirk.

Sora swallowed his food. "Thanks, bae!" he beamed, bowing his head towards hers and nuzzling the tips of their noses together, eliciting a titter from her.

Oh. Right. That's why we were here.

These two were cavity-inducing alright. I think I was already feeling my teeth begin to rot just by being within a five foot radius of them. Dear lord, I don't think I could ever be like that, especially not where people could see us.

...was Lea suggesting I act this way?

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, watching as he stretched a hand across the table towards Kairi's tray and dipped a finger into some of the excess chow mein sauce on one side of her plate. Lea then proceeded to dab the goo onto his nose, plant his elbow on the table, prop his chin in his palm and lean towards me with a cheshire grin, eyes hooded and eyebrows bouncing.

Apparently, yes. That's exactly what he was suggesting.

I stared blankly at him.

Yeah, no. Not happening, pal.

"Worth a shot," Lea snerked as he reached for a napkin to scrub the smear off with.

Kairi bit back a smile, "D'aww, she's shy! That's adorable!"

"That's my baby! Wouldn't have her any other way!" he tweaked my nose with a wink.

"Oh! I just had a great idea!" Kairi clapped her hands together. "Tomorrow night, Sora and I were gonna go out with Riku and Ray. Nothing fancy, just dinner and a movie. But what if you two joined us as well and turned our double date into a triple? How fun would that be?"

I don't know… dinner and a movie? She was asking a lot of little ol' hermit me. Maybe too much.

Lea looked to me, pressing his shoulder into mine. "How 'bout it, El?"

...well… I guess… for the sake of practice…

I gave the couple across from us a shy smile. "What time were you thinking?"

Taking that as a yes, Kairi cried out in delight. "Awesome! We're all meeting up at six. You can get the deets from your roomies!" She then picked up her phone to check the time. "Crap," she hissed, jumping up to her feet, "gotta run! Selphie's gonna murder me for taking too long on my lunch break!"

"Wait up, I'll walk you back," Sora called, taking the opportunity to snatch up the chopsticks she'd dropped and shovel what was left of the chow mein down his throat faster than should have been humanly possible. Then he grabbed the tray and hopped up as well, cheeks bulging with food as he muffled out, "See ya guys tomorrow!" before taking off after his girlfriend.

"So…?" Lea asked, one side of his mouth turning up as he stole another sip from my pumpkin spice latte.

I gave a small, incredulous laugh, "No. Also? No. No, no, no. No. Did I mention no? Because just in case I didn't… no. And just for good measure: no. So in conclusion? No."

"Pfft," he rubbed a hand over his lips. "Well I understand if they may seem a bit… advanced to you…"

"Advanced?" I scoffed. "Try critical mode. I had no idea such couples existed outside of children's storybooks starring princesses and prince charmings. Do they even know they're in the real world and not some fairytale?"

Lea's head tipped to one side. "...you do realize that was some pretty basic boyfriend-girlfriend stuff… right?"

A crease formed between my eyebrows. "You mean that was normal?"

"Well," he averted his gaze, scratching his cheek, "...all couples vary and do things differently. But I wouldn't say Kairi and Sora are abnormal. There's a lotta couples out there that are just as disgustingly cute as they are, if not more so."

I bit down on my lower lip and hunched forward onto my elbows, clasping my hands in front of my face just beneath my nose. How was it I'd been in a relationship for five years and was just now figuring out that I didn't have the first clue when it came to dating? "...my ex and I were never anything like that. Not even close."

"And that," he struck up a finger, "works out in our favor. After all, you dumped his sorry ass, one, cuz you weren't in love with him and two, to be with yours truly," his fingers splayed across his chest as he grinned, "a hunky dreamboat you are in love with, or so the story goes. Now it shouldn't be too hard to sell that to your folks, given your former beau has set the bar so pathetically low for us."

"But I don't know if I have it in me to…" I trailed off, my hands clenching to each other more tightly. "...if I'm even wired to be such an absolute… googly-eyed, twitterpated… mess like those two were." My insides squirmed at the very idea.

"No problemo!" Lea jabbed a thumb into his collarbone, "I can be enough of a googly-eyed, twitterpated mess for the both of us!" He stiffened, then coughed into his fist, "That is, I mean… ya know, for the sake of appearances. If that'd be okay with you, of course."

He was talking about him being, erm… how had he put it the other day? Ah yes… touchy-feely. My eyes darted to the right. "I suppose… for appearances… as long as I have time to get used to it all and there are no more surprises."

"Speaking of, we never really did get around to going over those PDA guidelines for what gets a green light and what's a big fat no-no."

I stared down at the cup, my finger idly circling the rim of the lid. "...what did you have in mind?"

"Maybe we should start by knocking out the most obvious one." I glanced up at him now, waiting for him to elaborate. His grin faltered almost imperceptibly, "You know, the big K?" I merely quirked an eyebrow at him. Eyes shifting about, Lea cleared his throat, "...kissing?"

"Not on the lips." The words sprung from my mouth faster than I could think them, causing me to clamp a hand over it in embarrassment.

But come on now, my brain had had a full system hard crash when the guy had planted an innocent little peck on just my forehead yesterday! I couldn't even begin to fathom what a real, honest-to-god kiss on the lips might do to me. Let's not forget how poorly I'd handled the Kissident and I hadn't even known the guy yet, much less potentially had feelings for him!

He blinked, then snorted and shook his head at me. "Nah, I'd already figured that would be a total no-go. Which is no biggie, lotsa couples out there aren't comfortable sucking face in front of prying eyes. But uh…" he rubbed at the nape of his neck, "What I have been doing… back of the hand, forehead… pretty much any other exposed bit of skin, that all fair game?"

Gosh, this was a weird conversation to be part of. Not to mention awkward. I could already feel my blush from earlier waiting backstage, eager to make an encore performance. Looking away, I said, "That, uh… y-yeah, okay."

It should be fine.

If I allowed myself to get used to it, of course.

Though that was kind of a big if.

"Okay…" A slow smile was breaking out across his face and he repeated, "Okay, good. Onto the next item of business then: hugs. Yea or nay?"

Jeez, this suddenly felt so official. And yet, slightly silly at the same time somehow. I ventured, "...y-yea?"

"You sure?" his finger tapped the tip of my nose. "You don't sound too confident there."

"No, it'll be fine," I said quickly. With proper mental and emotional fortifying, I hopefully could and would survive this. Hopefully.

"Alright," his eyes crinkled as he studied me for a beat. Then, "What about this?" He reached a hand for where mine lay palm down against the table, his touch grazing along my knuckles before softly tracing down the lengths of my fingers. "...kinda like hand holding, but a lil fancier," he murmured, lifting my hand up so he could brush his fingertips to mine for a few seconds before gently flattening our palms together, lazily weaving and unweaving our fingers. "Something for idle hands to be doing when we're just hanging out. That okay?" he asked, still lightly toying with my fingers.

This had no right to be spiking my heart rate the way it was. Not trusting myself to talk as it would probably come out more of a squeak right now, I settled on a tiny nod.

He smirked as he eased my hand back down to rest atop the table once more. "...and this?" Lea gripped one of my chair legs, pulling me closer to him. Then his arm stretched out past my cheek, reaching behind my head so he could sweep my ponytail forward over my shoulder. There, he wasted no time twisting the end of a lock around one finger, playing with the pale strands of hair. "...yea or nay?" he prompted again somewhat distractedly, green eyes locked on his hand as it slowly ensnared itself further.

Was there less oxygen in the room? I swear there had to be less oxygen. Why else was it getting so hard to breathe all of a sudden? Must be all that damn deforestation going on out in the world. Curse all those big evil corporations and their blatant disregard for the environment!

Licking my dry lips, I nodded again, hesitantly at first, then putting more force behind it. "Mm… mm-hm! T-that should be… sh-shouldn't be a problem." I withdrew my hands into my lap, folding and unfolding them only to fold them again. "After all, we ah… must maintain appearances, of course."

"Of course," his grin twitched wider. "So then, what about this?" Carefully disentangling his fingers, he lifted his hand to tuck my bangs behind my ear as he started to lean forward, his face closing in towards mine.

Conceal, don't feel!

Remember, this? This was just… just an act. We were in the middle of a very busy food court. He was merely putting on a show for the masses. Just playing the role that had been given to him.

...but honestly, did he have to be playing it so goddamn friggin' well?!

I swear I could feel every last drop of blood in my body dogpiling up into my face as he closed the distance. The tip of his nose brushed mine and he shifted over to the right at the last second, positioning his mouth next to my ear. My heart hammered wildly, threatening to punch a hole through my ribcage as he inhaled, preparing to whisper something, his lips grazing against my earlobe and-

"Fwunkle-munkle."

My eyebrows twitched and I blinked.

"Splubbet. Squippo."

...were my eardrums broken?

"Flerple. Mubble-whoomp."

I spluttered and snorted. "What are you even doing?"

Lea pulled back just enough to look me in the eye with a cheeky grin. "What's it look like I'm doing? Whispering sweet nothings into your ear, duh!"

My fingers went to my mouth and I choked back a laugh, "More like sweet nonsense."

"Eh, same diff. Now if you'll excuse me, I wasn't quite finished." He bent towards my ear once more, his voice low and breathy as he continued, "Yuppet. Smoorple."

"Stop, that tickles," I was cracking up now, putting a hand to his chest so I could push him away.

He didn't budge, just moved his own hand to cover mine. "Fleegget-smeegget. Kronkle. Pixie Petal."

That last one caught my notice. "As in the ice cream flavor?"

"Mm-hm!" he straightened up now, exiting my personal bubble and crossing his arms atop the back of his reversed chair. His eyes squinted at me and he pursed his lips in thought. "...but no, that's not your fave either. It's all sparkle, no substance. You need quality. Nothing but the best for you."

Fighting a grin, I shook my head at him, "You think you know me so well."

His face softened a little as he looked at me. "...I think I'm starting to."

My breath hitched.

Oh dear. Remember that maybe sorta crush I had? I think we could now safely drop the "maybe sorta" part of it.

It was official. I'd gone and caught feelings.

For a man who was totally unavailable at the moment. A man who'd made it clear he was only doing this favor for me as a friend.

This was a dangerous game I was playing. And with someone who was much better at the game than I was, especially when you considered that he didn't even know he was playing it.

My eyes shifted about, alighting on everything and anything that wasn't him before finally landing on the food court clock. "Oh!" I took note of the time and shot up to my feet, the chair scraping along the tiled floor as it pushed out. "My shift's starting soon, I need to get going. Tomorrow then? Yeah, I'll text you once I get the specifics from Rayne. Right. So… until then."

I turned to book it but hadn't gotten more than a step before I felt his hand close around my wrist. I glanced back at him to see him standing now as well, a crooked curve to his lips. "Leaving without a proper goodbye? I don't think so."

He then pulled me back towards him, taking hold of my other wrist as well and bringing both my hands up to cup behind his neck. There he left them, moving his arms down to snake around my waist, hugging me tightly against him as he once more bowed his head down next to my ear. His breath was warm, making me shiver slightly as he whispered, "Wear my jacket for our big date tomorrow. For appearances."

Then he tipped my hat up and smooched my forehead before releasing me, shooting me a wink and walking away with a whistle.

Leaving me a blushing mess leaning against a chair for support, feeling just about ready to go supernova and obliterate all buildings within a ten block radius of me.

Oh yeah. I'd caught feelings all right.

And I didn't like it.

How the hell do I get rid of them?!

Author's Note: The whispering sweet nothings bit I wrote is one of my most favorite things ever. And at the same time, I hate it. It's so stupid. And yet, I love it so much xD Also, here, have some silliness with Aqua aka Spellweaver aka Command Style or Best Street Name For Shady Backdoor Deals Ever? You decide! And if you didn't recognize where the name came from that I used for the ice cream flavor this chapter, it's the name of a keyblade - the one you get from clearing Neverland in BBS, to be exact! That's right, I've resorted to keyblade names. I think I picked a few good ones too in the chapters ahead! That's all I use for the ice cream flavors from here on out in the story except for ONE of them, and there's a reason behind that one… which I'll only be too happy to explain when we get to it xD Anyhoo, if you were looking at the ice cream menu board, the description for Pixie Petal would probably go something like: "This lime soft serve in a green cone, garnished with white chocolate wings and gold edible glitter is sure to get you thinking happy thoughts!" Annnnnd side note: in case you're wondering, no, Miharu is not a character that appears in any of the KH games that you may have forgotten about - she's another OC belonging to my beloved bestie who I'm borrowing Rayne from xD She ships Miharu hard with Joshua from KH:DDD (or more specifically, TWEWY) so I just wanted to throw in a brief nod this chapter to that endearingly oddball lil ship!

Next chapter, how will this lil date night go? Will Elsa learn a thing or two about how to act like a sickeningly sweet couple? Now that she for sure knows she is in fact crushing on our dear fire boi, will she be able to keep her cool in front of him? Will Anna be checked into rehab for her unhealthy addiction to white girl pumpkin spice lattes? Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

[cyberneticfire]

Disorientation

(Credit to Void!Al goes to @daydream-squad !)

(Previous Chapter: Rude Awakening)

Fandom: Hazbin Hotel

TW: Referenced death, Cursing, implied starvation

~~~

“Oh my gosh, this is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen Mr. Alastor do! I just wanna hop in there and hug him until-”

“Shh, Niff, you don’t wanna wake ‘em up,” A gruff voice interrupted the overeager chirping coming from the little maid. There was a sloshing sound that Alastor could place as a bottle of alcohol even in his half-awake state, and his brows furrowed in confusion. What were Husk and Niffty doing in his room?

....What was he doing in his room?

Even with the lingering confusion, the deer was currently swaddled in warmth and didn’t plan on moving as he snuggled closer to his heat source. Something fluffy was tickling his nose and he scrunched it up as the smell of strawberries of all things assaulted his senses. Cracking an eye open, white fur overtook most of his vision. Hm. His source of warmth also appeared to be breathing steadily beneath him.

“Oh shit, he’s processing,” Husk commented helpfully.

Processing...Oh. Oh. Propping himself up, eyes blown comically wide, the deer realized he was staring at Angel Dust’s sleeping face. Because Alastor was laying on top of him. The spider’s arms were still wrapped around his back, unconsciously trying to pull him back down to cuddle.

There was a second where the deer froze, a screech of feedback escaping, before he jerked away, kicking out and knocking the porn-star unceremoniously to the floor with a thud.

“Ow- Shit! What the hell-” Angel’s head popped back up, a hand pressed to his aching forehead while his eyes refocused. He was about to comment on Husk’s snort of amusement before Alastor caught his attention again. The deer was frozen stiff, arms hugging his chest, and expression a mix of mortified and confused. Angel was quick to remember the events prior to this morning and splay out his hands in a placating manner as he slowly stood.

“Okay, look, nothing happened! I was kinda worried about ya freakin’ out about this, but- we were just cuddling, I promise!” Alastor’s eyes flicked across the spider's face. “Al, I wouldn’t do anything without consent, you know that. I wouldn’t take advantage of you. You were just panicking last night and didn’t want to be left alone, remember?”

Now that he mentioned it...Last night was rather blurry, but Alastor did recall a humiliating amount of...clinging and...panicking. And now Angel was giving him a patient, mildly hurt, look that made him feel all the worse for jumping to conclusions. Dropping his hands into his lap, the tension seeped out of the deer as fast as it’d come.

“I...My apologies, Angel dear! I had a lapse in judgement, and it won’t happen again!” Did his voice sound energetic enough? Alastor was doing his best to project, but Husk was giving him a strange look that the deer couldn’t place. Oh well. He focused his attention back on the spider. “Are you alright? I didn’t mean to kick-” A loud rumble cut in, startling Alastor as he turned claws on his stomach at the oh-so-familiar pain. His eyes went a bit wider. Oh no, what happened with Charlie would not be allowed to happen again!

Husk and Niffty threw a look at each other before the little maid darted to the nightstand, then to the bed, all but flinging herself into the deer’s chest with her package. Alastor flinched letting out a startled ‘oof’ before quickly enveloping the younger demon in a hug. He had missed her dearly…it felt so nice to hold someone in his arms for the first time in what seemed to be ages. It was…unusual for him.

“Mr. Alastor, we’ve missed you so much!” she chirped, “You were gone and I cleaned the hotel so many times and set things up for the new patrons and cooked for the hotel and it was kind of a lot and the food was never as good as yours but-!” Niffty fired about twenty words per second at the deer - it was a good thing he’d grown used of her manner of speech - but it was still a bit difficult to comprehend much at the moment.

“Darling, slow down! It sounds like you did a marvelous job in my…absence… I couldn’t stand the thought of never hearing your voice again, so it’s only appropriate that I came back isn’t it-?“ Alastor paused at the watery sniffle and the wetness that dripped onto his arm.

Niffty’s big eye was brimming with tears, the little maid hardly holding them back. That made Alastor freeze before pulling her back into the embrace, ears drooping. “It’s alright dear, I’m back now… I don’t plan on dying…again.” The thought alone made his throat catch and his hands tremble, but the idea of needlessly breaking down again left a sour taste in his mouth. One time was too many. Niffty was the one in need of comfort.

“Dry those tears, doll,” he added in a softer tone, swiping a few of the tears away with his thumb, “and smile! You know you’re-“

“-never fully dressed without one,” she finished with him, letting out a little giggle. Alastor widened his own grin for emphasis, earning another shaky laugh before the little maid was pressing something warm and metallic into his hands. He glanced down curiously at the…thermos?

“It’s more broth,” Angel supplied helpfully, smiling a bit at the adorable pair. Not that he’d ever call Alastor adorable to his face- he liked breathing just a bit too much…Hm, it could be worth it to see the deer's expression, though. “Charlie said you couldn’t keep the first bowl down, and after last night you were out like a light faster than she could come back.”

Alastor took this in for all of two seconds before he was hurriedly uncapping the bottle. Niffty grabbed the bottom, narrowing her eye with a chiding, “Slowly!” before the deer could just chug it again. Alastor flashed a smaller smile but did as asked, tipping the bottle back and gulping down the contents slowly. Oh, Lucifer, he missed this.

Thankfully the deer was able to stop himself before getting sick this time, but Niffty stared intently when he went paler at the ensuing nausea. He waved the concern away. The feeling of fullness wouldn’t last long – it never did – but neither would it be as unattainable as it was in the Void… The sickness swirling in the deer’s stomach was unfortunately expected, but it was preferred to the constant, stabbing ache.

With a contented hum, he lowered the thermos to his lap, lightly pulling it away when Niffty tried to take it back. There was still some broth left. Alastor didn’t plan on giving up the food any time soon. She gave him a strange look but didn't push the issue.

Now it might be possible to think clearly. Surely, he had lost time to make up for! What did Charlie do without his help? Who was monitoring his radio tower? Did his absence affect the other overlords? There was simply no time to rest with so much to do!

“Right, well thank you for your company Angel Dust, Niffty for your care, and Husk for your…unusually pointed glaring! But I have much to catch up with and so little time!” Alastor shuffled to the edge of the bed prompting Niffty to jump down as he stood, summoning his staff with a gesture and going to step forward.

Three things went wrong in that moment. First, the deer’s legs buckled the instant they were on solid ground. Next, his microphone began screeching feedback, the eye that was normally so focused on him, darting erratically around the room. Last, but not least concerning, a sharp pain lodged itself in his chest, the traditional tug of magic replaced by a tearing sensation in his very core. It definitely felt like he was back in Hell with the static blaring in the room, his own thoughts becoming incoherent once again.

Alastor would never admit to being relieved that someone was there to catch him when his microphone and the container slipped from his grasp, staff clattering to the floor while making that horrid sound. Husk yowled, hands jerking up to cover his ears, Niffty had thrown herself down to grab the discarded thermos before broth could spill everywhere, and Angel Dust was the one to latch onto the deer before he could hit the floor.

“Alastor, turn that shit off!” Husk snarled, fur standing on end as he pressed his ears further down.

Alastor could certainly try to oblige! His own ears were similarly flattened against his head, but he was able to snap his fingers and unsummon the staff, making the static come to an abrupt stop except for the little bit still rolling out of his own chest. Now everyone looked to be in a disheveled state.

“Well,” Alastor broke the silence that followed, attempting to pull away from Angel and stand on his own, “that was certainly unexpected! But I still have things I need to-“

“Sit the fuck down, asshole!” Husk snapped, wings flaring as he shot a look to Angel. The spider’s eyes went wider, but he offered a nod, turning and pushing the deer to sit on the bed again.

“Uh, yeah Al, you’ve got to stay here. You didn’t let anyone explain shit to ya and you’re obviously in no condition to leave.” Angel crossed his top set of arms, the lower pair resting on his hips and making him look more like a sassy warden than a porn-star.

The deer's own claws began to sharpen, digging into the sheets at the tension thickening in the air. He didn’t like this. The deeply engrained ‘prey’ instinct was making his heart beat a touch too fast to be comfortable. Despite this fact, he did as he always would and forced his smile wider, faking nonchalance.

“Whatever do you mean? I can get caught up in no time! And I am perfectly fine, I simply need a moment to-“

“Shut up!” Husk cut in again, making his ire rise. “Shit has happened since you were gone! You fucking died Alastor, there’s no way in Hell you’re just ‘fine’, so cut the bullshit act!” That outburst certainly got the deer's full attention. “The world doesn’t revolve around you- you can’t just expect everything to be normal now!”

Couldn’t he? What would be the point of agonizing over something he couldn’t control? There was none, or so that’s what he told himself repeatedly as his hands began to shake more visibly.

“Uh, guys,” Angel interjected, eyes darting between the two bristling demons. Alastor ignored him in favor of narrowing his eyes at the cat.

“And why not? I’m back now! All of this extra fuss in unnecessary. I can go back to work, rest my powers, and get on with my afterlife!” The ache in his chest was getting steadily worse. He balled his hands into fists to hide the ever-growing tremors.

“Guys.”

Husk tucked his wings closer to his body, something new coloring his expression as he hissed, “Because things are different now. It doesn't work like that. I doubt you even have your powers! You can’t just ignore the fact that you were dead less than 24 hours ago, like you ignore everything else you don’t want to see! Where the fuck do you think your magic went, huh? Vox took the energy right after he put a fucking bullet between your eyes!”

“GUYS!”

“What?!” Husk shouted as they both snapped their heads towards Angel, Alastor seething internally while the cat was clearly resisting the urge to punch something. Angel had both set of arms crossed, mouth pressed into a thin line as he jerked his head towards Niffty.

The maid had a wide eye, little claws digging into the thermos as her gaze flitted between the pair. When she blinked in recognition at the silence and the realization that all eyes were on her, it wasn’t hard to notice the increased fidgeting. Before either Husk or Alastor could open their mouths to speak, let alone offer some comfort or apology, she was letting all her words tumble out in one breath. “Sorry, I’ll go and get Mr. Alastor some fresh clothes while I’m out and maybe some more soup because he’s still looking pretty hungry so I should probably hurry-!” And she was already out the door before she’d even finished, leaving a disappointed Angel, a stricken Alastor, and a very tired Husk.

“…Fuck.” Husk’s anger seemed to rush out in one sigh, shoulders slumping, wings drooping, tail stilling. There was a cold regard in his eyes. Alastor didn’t know how to react to this silent fury when he was used to flared wings, bared teeth, and comical irritation over the smallest slights. The cat’s eyes were dull and narrowed, so unlike the fiery anger or sarcastic indifference he was known for. There is lack of care, and then there’s whatever this was. Husk was supposed to be his closest companion…Alastor didn't know how to react to this type of anger.

Ears in a neutral position to match the other’s, Alastor watched the cat turn to glare, taking a long swig from his bottle of booze, before moving back to the door with a grumble. “I’m going talk to her. Don’t even fuckin’ think about leaving this damn room. Charlie, Niff’, and the others are already worried sick. Think about something other than your own goddamn pride for once.” Without another word he was gone, and the frustration bubbling up in the deer left, a coldness replacing it as he digested the words thrown at his face. Of course, he hadn’t thought of changes. Or Vox. Or of ever coming back. He’d lost hope of being brought back quite some time ago.

The mattress sank as Angel slowly sat down, hands clasped on his knees, but Alastor paid him no mind. There should’ve been anger, spite, annoyance burning through Alastor’s thoughts. Some sliver of irritation at Husk for insinuating such things, but…there was just an icy resignation gnawing at his very bones. A doubt that screamed Husk was right. He wasn’t fine. Things weren’t the same. He deserved to be yelled at.

Even so, the deer clung so desperately to the lie because he didn’t know what would happen if he let himself believe the truth.

Something in his mind had…broken. Not in the way he was used to. Not in the way that had him cackling at the sight of suffering, at inflicting it himself. This was different. Scarier. Why else would these intrusive thoughts be hurting him so? Alastor hugged himself in vain, knowing comfort wouldn’t come and that he shouldn’t want it regardless. He didn’t deserve it. Yes, something was well and truly wrong with him if Husk’s words actually bothered him. Judgement was something that held no power over him before…What had changed that?

“Al,” Angel shifted to put a hand on his shoulder, but the deer flinched away. Angel pulled it back, hands settling in his lap instead. “You know there is a lot of stuff to talk about…right?” The spider let out a nervous laugh. “Things have just been harder on a lot of us since you’ve been…gone. Husk didn’t take it well obviously. But whatever, I’m sure you probably have a pile of questions, huh? It’s a bit surprising just how much can change in just five months in Hell- whoa!”

Angel jolted forward with the exclamation as Alastor wobbled, his whole form lurching forward to clutch his head in his hands. Five months? It had been five months? There had been no way to tell time, so Alastor never could’ve known. The question was, had it been just five months, or had it been five unbelievably long months?

Was it a good thing to say he’d survived for so long? Or was he weak for having a full breakdown in that little time when compared to the decades he’d been alive? Such time was daunting when faced with starvation, sensory deprivation, insanity, but a look at his mental state in the mere months stacked against all of his time existing made him look pathetic. Must he be constantly at war with himself…?

“Shit, Charlie didn’t mention the time did she? Damn it…I’m sorry Smiles, I didn’t mean to upset you.” The words, punctuated with a slight guilt-filled gaze were lost on Alastor who hardly twitched while his thoughts rose in a crescendo, louder and louder in his mind until it was just him and his screaming internal dialogue.

Then everything came to an abrupt stop at the spider’s words. Slowly, Alastor mustered up the energy to raise his head, stare fixated on the far wall. Smile tight, ears flattened, Alastor was rather proud of how steady his voice came out.

“…I believe I should freshen up. Niffty said she would be retrieving a change of clothes and I very well can’t put it on filthy as I am, now can I?” The subject change was sudden, painfully so, but thankfully Angel seemed to catch on quickly.

“No, yeah a shower or bath or whatever the Hell you prefer sounds good! We’ll um…we’ll just talk when you’re done, yeah? Need help up?”

No, Alastor wanted to say. Unfortunately, his body still strongly disagreed, and he didn’t feel like dealing with his unruly staff at the moment. With a sigh he offered a stiff nod, allowing Angel to duck under his arm and help him to his feet.

His legs trembled like a newborn fawn’s for a moment under his weight but steadied by the time they got to the bathroom. Transferring his hold to the doorframe, the deer let his claws sink lightly into the maroon-tinted wood as he turned to face Angel.

“You gonna be alright in there?” A mischievous smile grew on the spider’s face as he crossed his arms, matching the amused glint in his eyes. “I doubt you’d want me seeing that adorably fluffy tail o’ yours anymore…” Said fluffy appendage twitched up in surprise while red flooded the deer’s cheeks.

“I- you- excuse me?” Alastor sputtered uselessly. Well, he supposed it was no shock Angel would comment on it considering his lack of overcoat, but he’d happily forgotten about the useless deer-like feature for some time! “No thank you-” maybe if he ignored it, Angel wouldn’t bring it up again! “I’ll be just fine, my dear! Now if you’ll excuse me,” he abruptly shut the door before Angel’s joking “You’re the deer!” could distract him.

Huffing he stumbled to the mirror, gripping the edges of the porcelain sink and glaring at his blushing reflection until the red receded. Then he shifted the glare to his tail for continuing to twitch against his will. This deer form really annoyed him at times! He didn’t like being called cute. He was infamous! Scary! A bloodthirsty serial killer! The damn Radio Demon!

“Ridiculous,” Alastor sniffed, moving to the shower and turning the water on, not satisfied with the temperature until steam filled the room. His mood sobered when he moved to unbutton his shirt, eyes drifting back to the bandages. Right…those would need to be cleaned as well.

Shrugging off his shirt, folding it, and setting it neatly to the side, he returned attention to his arms again. With a slow breath he unwrapped them, the pull on the healing gashes making him wince but not anything to bother with. The only thing truly filling him with dread currently was the impending conversation with Angel Dust…

“I’ll need to know sooner or later,” he muttered to the battered demon in the reflection. Regardless of what was wanted he would need to learn…The deer sighed, berating his lack of knowledge and composure at this trying time. Hopefully a hot shower would soothe his frayed nerves…

.

.

.

“Alright, spill.”

“Hm?”

“Whatever’s been making you stare at the wall for five minutes,” the voice snipped impatiently, “instead of paying attention to a word I’ve been saying.”

The tv-head finally turned his attention fully to the moth-demon lounging on the chair opposite of him. His screen wavered as he rolled his eyes, “It’s nothing, Val, I’m just thinking.”

That earned a snicker and a wave of one of four hands, “Bullshit. I can practically see the smoke pouring out of your pretty little head, Vox. Now,” he leaned forward, clasping his hands on the desk before him, “are you going to tell me what’s got you short-circuiting or not? I’ve got better things to do than watch you attempt to crash your systems for the day.”

Vox snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. He should’ve expected this. Nosy bastard. Though he did come specifically to talk about something related to this…Might as well get it over with.

“Alright, alright…It’s my magic.” Valentino gave him an unimpressed look, raising an eyebrow and peering down at him through his rose-tinted glasses. Vox sneered in response. “Something is wrong with it.”

“You aren’t losing your touch, are you? Too much power gone to your head?” The moth snickered, antenna flicking to the side as he fluffed up his coat.

Vox stared for a moment before letting out a boisterous laugh. “Hell no! I’m still as powerful as the day I toppled the damn Radio Towers! And when I took down the Radio Demon himself!” Despite this apparent confidence, his claws were tapping endlessly away at the table while the moth waited for the ‘but’.

“But…” There it was! “…There’s this weird feeling in my chest. A tiny pull on my magic. It’s fucking infuriating because it just kept getting more noticeable as the day went on.”

“…Which is why you called me,” Valentino finished mildly.

“Exactly! It’s annoying, and I’ve been switching through feeds all day to see if some idiot is trying to mess with me, but nothing seems out of order in or outside any of our territories.” Sparks skittered across his shoulders as a growl escaped. “I would be keeping a closer eye on that trashy hotel, but there aren’t many devices in there to spy from. Of-fuckin-course the princess would make sure of that. And god forbid we touch the daughter of Lucifer's stupid pet project…”

“Don’t worry about them, I’ve still got someone on the inside remember?” Valentino soothed, pulling out his phone and tapping away at the screen before sliding it over to Vox. The other overlord shot him a look before leaning forward to read the message sent.

I need you to keep an eye on things over there for me Angel Cakes.

Vox raised a brow, glancing up to Valentino with a chuckle, “You really trust him at all? You realize he was the one shooting at me when I went to take out good ‘ol Ally don’t you? I wouldn’t trust his word for shit.”

A laugh was the only response Valentino offered before gesturing to the phone again.

If anything unusual happens, you’ll be the first to know, boss.

“Angie is loyal to me. I own his soul! If he even thinks about betraying me I can put a stop to it faster than he can say ‘shit’. I think he learned his lesson after last time.” The overlord leaned back, smugness radiating from his expression. Angel would have to be an idiot to defy him again…

“You on the other hand, he never really cared for. You know I would’ve taken care of it when he shot at you, but there was no reason you couldn’t stop him yourself! As long as you don’t use a holy weapon I don’t care what you do. That is, if he’s directly in your way- otherwise he’s mine to deal with. I can't have you permanently damaging one of my best stars, no matter what ridiculous projects he busies himself with in his free time…”

Of course not; god-forbid Vox mess up any of Valentino's toys! …Still he processed the words, sparks of energy running through his antenna as he thought. “You already know why I couldn't stick around- What with the princess showing off a bit more of her demonic side…as much as any of us would hate to admit it, she is Lucifer's daughter.” He summoned a small wire, fiddling with it as he spoke. “When she lets her powers loose it would be all too easy for her to tear any demon apart, overlord or not…” a quick flick of the wrist and he snapped the wire in half for emphasis.

“I shouldn't have been surprised that she would be upset about me killing the red asshole considering he'd protected her and her friends beforehand…I just didn't expect Ally to ever get close to someone again. Or for him to risk his life to save anything other than his own sorry hide.” He let out a darker chuckle, discarding the broken wire in favor of throwing his arms over the back of the chair, resisting the urge to kick his feet onto Valentino's desk.

“Of course you wouldn't expect him to,” the moth grinned cryptically. “But, to be fair, I don't think anyone would've expected the Radio Demon to form any relationships… At the time he probably just considered the hotel his territory. Who's to say he wasn't just protecting said territory? ...And the people in it, I suppose.”

“Yeah, sure, but you weren't there Val. I've never seen anything like that from him before. It was like Al was a different demon. Sure there was the sarcasm and the ferocity and that damned grin hardly ever faltered, but there was also desperation.” The eyes on his screen narrowed hungrily at the memory, his grin stretching even wider. “I’ll admit it was nice seeing him knocked down a peg for once, cowering at my feet. Gaining his power to go alongside my own didn't hurt either…” At the mention his magic did an annoying little pulse again and he almost groaned in frustration.

“Yes, just be glad you had the proper weaponry to make sure he stayed dead.” It was hard for anyone to get their hands on a holy weapon in Hell. Being overlords meant he and Vox had more facilities and people to search with, but tracking down the weapons and retrieving them was still a bothersome business. The search was well worth it for the tv-headed demon considering he wanted the Radio Demon gone. Permanently.

“…And you're sure we'll know the first thing that seems unusual around there?” Vox prodded.

“Yes, and if Angie doesn't come through, you or I could always just go down there ourselves, couldn't we. No trouble would need to be had, just a bit of ‘checking in' I would say…But I still think you're looking into this too much.” The moth gestured with his hands. “You took in a lot of magic and I imagine your body is still getting acclimated to it.”

“Five months after the fact? This wasn't happening five months ago…” He sighed, leaning his head back against the chair. “…but whatever, I suppose you're right, I might just be looking too much into this…” Maybe he was getting a bit paranoid- After all he was used of having his rival of a few decades around to constantly keep him on his toes…It was a good thing they took care of that problem at least. Thanks to him, the Radio Demon was well and truly dead.

[mathieuberinut]

Discord thread || Mat & Roman

Discord thread featuring: Mat & @romanbeckett

When: 21st December

Where: The Grind

Mentions: @skyking91 @samuelburton

Description: Mat and Roman talk (hint: they don’t get along)

Trigger Warnings: None

Mathieu

If anyone asked him, he did feel a little bad for using Roman to get to Sky. He didn’t particularly care about Sam, never having gotten along with the guy but Roman never really did anything to him. He was just collateral damage in his plan to finally get to Sky. So when they bumped into each other after the mess that was the holiday party, Mat wasn’t sure what to say. Did Roman even know he was the reason why Sky even found out about it all? He was hoping to avoid any interaction with the barista but he should have known that would never work. Especially if he kept getting his coffee from The Grind. “Oh, hey. Um...a chai latte please?”

Roman.

Roman was already exhausted from being up all night, insomnia was a bitch, and he was even more of an anxious mess when it came to calling into work. He lived right above it, so his excuses were kind of out the window unless he was deathly ill. Unfortunately lack of sleep wasn’t a great excuse to use a sick day. Needless to say, the barista was in a sour mood anyway when he looked up to see Mat standing in front of him, making Roman clench his jaw, and write down the man’s order before he turned around to start making it. “Any good gossip lately?” He then asked dryly, a lot more sassy than he normally was to people he didn’t care for. It seemed like a good enough dig anyway, since Mat apparently liked to talk.

Mathieu

Mat’s hopes that the incident wouldn’t be brought up went out the window after Roman’s question and he found himself narrowing his eyes at the other. He should just ignore him and move on with his life after getting his coffee but his inability to let things go was one of his weaknesses. There was no way he could let Roman get the last word. “It depends, have you hooked up with any of your friends’ exes recently?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in challenge. After all, it was true that Mat was the one who talked about it but he didn’t lie.

Roman.

Roman wasn’t a vindictive person. He didn’t hold grudges, and he certainly didn’t talk about them in the middle of public like this. He especially didn’t like showing how things could really effect him, but Mat was being an asshole, and he couldn’t help the way it was making him react. “Excuse me??” He asked in challenge, his face twisted in shock that the man would even say something like that to him here. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, I hope you know that. What I do, or who I hook up with, is none of your bloody business.” He really shouldn’t be doing this at work, but he could feel his blood boiling.

Mathieu

“I really couldn’t care less about who you hook up with.” And he really didn’t. The only reason he even paid attention when he saw the other with Sam was because he knew of the relationship they had with Sky. His ‘girlfriend’ was getting on his nerves so much that he was willing to make use of anything to get her off his back. If he’d seen Roman with anyone else he wouldn’t have even looked twice. “Just a little advice though, if you really don’t want who you hook up with to be anyone else’s business then maybe you shouldn’t do it in the middle of Throuple where everyone can see.” He did feel for Roman in a way. If Sky threw a glass at him for telling her what he saw, Mat couldn’t even begin to imagine what she did to Roman for actually being part of it.

Roman.

Roman wasn’t a violent person at all, but he really did find himself in the mood to punch Mat in the face. He was stepping on all of the actor’s nerves. “You’re an asshole. You know that?” He asked while finishing up the man’s latte, which of course he still made flawlessly, and sat it in front of Mat. “Five eighty nine please.” What an awkward time to ask for money.

Mathieu

Mat had been called an asshole so many times at this point by Sky that having it said by someone different didn’t make much of a difference to him. It did make him see Roman in a new light. Gone was the reluctant attraction to him and instead what Mat was seeing was someone who thought with his dick first than cried over the consequences. “I’ve been told that multiple times by my girlfriend but I feel like she might consider you an ever bigger asshole than me. Which is quite a feat, congratulations”, he snorted. He didn’t even think that the other might find it weird for Sky to think that, considering they were supposed to be in love. Getting out a twenty dollar note, he handed it over and picked up his drink. “Keep the change”, he winked, hoping to irritate the barista further.

Roman.

Roman knew that Sky wasn’t happy with Mat. It didn’t take a genius to see that it was mostly for clout. But still, to hear the way Mathieu was talking, they pretty much hated each other. Why even bother? Clearly sky was in love with someone else. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t be so kissed about Roman sleeping with her ex. “Things not okay in paradise?” The barista decided to then prod, taking the twenty without protest, because he really could use the tip.

Mathieu

This wasn’t someone he could trust with his ‘secret’, especially since Roman was clearly upset about him telling Sky. “I’d love for you to show me a couple who doesn’t argue occasionally”, he shrugged, going for the cover up story his management had pretty much forced him to learn by heart. “We’re still very much in love though, don’t worry about it.” Until January at least.

Roman.

“Right. I’m sure your only issues are arguments.” Roman replied pointedly, looking at the other male like he was able to read between the lines. Of course, the barista was a lot smarter than he looked anyway. He was able to break down human behavior easily, a gift that helped him develop his own characters while acting. There was so much more to this situation than was being shared, however, it was technically none of his business, though...Mat seemed to be an expert on jumping into situations that weren’t any of his business as well. So. Do with that what you will. “Very much in love, yet vindictive? You had to have a reason for telling the love of your life about what you saw, I would assume, and her reaction doesn’t concern you? Interesting.” Ro muttered allowed, and then looked over towards the front door as it opened. “Anythin’ else I can get for you?”

Mathieu

Mat knew what the barista was hinting at but pretended not to. He was a good actor but not a miracle worker. While he could more or less pretend that he and Sky were together, even he couldn’t make it believable that they were very much in love. At least not after that holiday party. Better to fake obliviousness than to make things worse. “Trust me, her reaction concerns me very much.” Her throwing the glass at him got them both a good talking to the next day so he could have done without. “Let’s put it this way...Sky considered you one of her good friends and yet I saw said good friend getting it on with her ex. I was just helping the girl I have feelings for know her true friends. I would never hook up with a friend’s ex but I guess you don’t feel the same way.” Mat looked behind him, grateful for the distraction. “That’s all, thanks for the drink.”

Roman.

Roman could feel himself getting more, and more upset with every word out of Mat’s mouth. He already felt guilty enough, but having someone who genuinely didn’t know him well enough to be judging him, trying to tell him how bad of a friend he was, it was just a lot. Of course the actor was going to save face, and act like it didn’t phase him, so he simply nodded, and stared the smaller male down until he ultimately left. Transparently though, he was going to cry about this again later. Maybe Mat was right. He was just a shitty friend, and there was nothing he could do to fix it at this point.

[itsme-autumn]

Inner Darkness  |  Part 1

Author: @itsme-autumn Pairing: Jax Teller x OC Warnings: swearing, violence

Jolene, or Ruby now that she was about to be on the clock, tried to give herself her regular pep talk on her drive to work. It was something she had to do since she’s started down this particular career path more than seven years ago. 

Jo? Jo was sassy. She was a woman who could take care of herself. Get shit done. She had always been on her own and she’d always made it work. Jo was smart. Colorful. Fun.

But on her drive to work, she had to let Jolene go. She had to let go of Jo and take on Ruby.

Ruby was much more docile. Ruby loved to please. Ruby would sweet talk a man and become his biggest fantasy. Ruby was bubbly and polite. Maybe she was a bit cheeky or even wild if that’s what he–whoever he was–wanted.

And whenever he was inside her, she was–well, she was no one. She turned herself off completely. She’d gotten so good at it over the years that she didn’t even remember most of her encounters. Only the especially memorable ones. The ones she wished she could erase from her memory permanently.

Walking into the doors of Diosa, Ruby starts to head to the back first to drop off her stuff. Before she gets there, Nero catches sight of her and waves her over.

“Hey, Ruby, how you doin’ mama?” His kind eyes searching hers. 

She smiles through her exhaustion, she can’t help it with Nero. Jo hated this work, hated this life. But in the short time she’d been at Diosa he had been nothing but kind to her, seeming to sincerely care about her well being. That wasn’t a given in this industry, not by a long shot. “I’m okay, Nero, what’s up?” 

“I’ve actually got a special job for you and a few of the girls tonight. A party for a potential business partner. Think you’re up for that?”

She’s had ‘bosses’ in the past that didn’t ask–just pointed to where her ass was supposed to go. And she wouldn’t dare argue. She knew if she really had issue with it, that Nero wouldn’t force her into anything, his sister on the other hand... 

Unfortunately, Jo was in no position to turn down any jobs.

“Yeah, of course. I just need the address and the dress code.” She tries to infuse as much enthusiasm into her voice as possible. 

This was going to be a long ass night.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

“Why the hell are we here so early?” Bri whined. “There are like...kids here.” Her tone disgusted.

Carla rounded on her, Jo was surprised her heels didn’t stick on the floors, the MC clearly didn’t have room in their outlaw budget for a mop. Or air freshener. 

“We are showcasing what Diosa girls have to offer. The difference between us and them.” Carla’s voice was low but venomous as she nodded her head to a couple of girls that were setting up behind the bar.

“Those girls are called croweaters. They’re desperate, classless, and the patches treat them as such. We set a new standard.” Carla took another step towards Bri, eyes boring into hers. “Diosa specializes in women that men can actually bring around town before enjoying them behind closed doors. It’s about presentation. We can be here early with the families and friends of the MC–and not be obvious hookers that the old ladies will immediately throw out. Understand?”

Jo just rolled her eyes. Like anyone would ever take any of them for anything other than whores. It’s like putting lipstick on a pig. 

She tugged on her dress. Horny Biker Chick was the look she was going for per Nero’s classification. Her her dress was simple, but effective: black, strappy, and tight. Paired with black heels smoky makeup, Jo knew she would get the intended attention. That, plus what she already had going for her.

She realized why she was asked to be a part of this exclusive offer tonight. Being chubbier than most of the girls, having tattoos (more than just a butterfly above her ass), and a mop of dark curly hair made her a bit of a required taste.

For some it was a fetish of sorts. Others, usually high caliber business men wanted the antithesis of what they got at home–thin, prim, proper to her thick, blunt, and alternative. 

But badass bikers were right up her alley. Suddenly her desired presence despite Carla leading the group tonight made sense. Any other job and Carla would have made any excuse to exclude Jo–Ruby–like she always tried to do.

Ruby made her way over to the other side of the room, the party was still pretty subdued, most people quietly mingling amongst themselves. The large wall full of framed mugshots caught her eye. She couldn’t help but smirk and roll her eyes as she looked them over. Boys. 

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were intimidated.”

You turn to see one of the mugshot models in the flesh. He could totally pass for a model, you think before you can stop yourself. Between the slicked back blonde hair, well kept goatee, and piercing blue eyes, you don’t think you’ve ever seen a biker this pretty. And that smirk he’s giving you is really giving something to you.

“Intimidated? You should see the wall of mugshots in my living room.” Your snarky reply only makes his smirk grow. Sass was always your love language.

That’s when you notice the President patch. Oh shit. 

President of SAMCRO. Jesus Christ. No pressure or anything.

Jax is looking at Ruby expectantly and she now realizes that she’s completely missed what he’s asked her.

“I’m sorry, what?”

His eyes light up at her distracted state. “What’s your name, darlin’?”

“Um, J–Ruby, it’s Ruby.”

“Ruby, I’m-”

“Jax! Why are you wasting your time with her?” Bri is suddenly at Jax’s side, slipping her arm into his. “Trust me, baby, you want someone who knows what they’re doing to take care of you.” She then turns her attention to Ruby. “Ruby, why don’t you go get us some drinks? Better make yours a diet, though, honey.”

Ruby was never one to let a bitch get the last word in, and that was being a bit of a bitch herself. She narrows her eyes and quirks her head. 

“Wow, Bri, I didn’t know you were a nutritionist! Thats so great. And people say your only talent is sucking cock.” Bri’s eyes widen, but Ruby’s not done. “Now you can keep track of how much cum you can swallow before your bony ass gets a shape.”

Ruby hears Jax attempt to stifle a laugh as she walks away. It’s then that she hears a member shout from the door of the clubhouse.

“Jackie! We need ya outside brutha!” the scottman’s tone indicating that it’s urgent.

Jax immediately runs outside, along with a couple of members. Bri shoots daggers at Ruby with her eyes but doesn’t make a move towards her, instead heading to the bar. Smart bony ass bitch.

Wanting some water but not caring to go round two with Bri, Ruby heads to the small kitchen off the main room. Searching the cabinets, she finally grabs a glass and fills it up with the tap water from the sink. Turning around, she leans against the counter and takes a sip. 

How did I get here? 

She shakes her head. No. You can’t do this here. You need to keep your head in the game, Jolene. Get your shit together.

Jo takes a deep breath and sets her glass in the sink. 

All right, let’s do this.

She takes a step out of the kitchen when she hears a scream and tires screeching. She looks around and notices a little blonde boy all alone, no older than two. 

Then she hears gunshots. 

Glass shattering.

More screams.

Absolute chaos.

And the boy is in the middle of all of it. 

No.

Jo makes a run for the boy, dodging other Diosa girls and croweaters in her path. Once she makes it to him, she picks him up and drops to the ground, crouching behind a table. Shots are firing from the outside in, bullets and shattered glass flying everywhere. 

The boy is crying, but remains still underneath Jo, her body caging him in protection. She squeezes her eyes shut and murmurs encouragement to him. She doesn’t even know what she’s saying but she hope it helps. Glass is on the floor, digging into Jo’s arms, but she doesn’t dare move.

After what seems like an eternity, the gunshots stop. The chaos seems to settle down. Distraught cries replace the screams in the disheveled clubhouse.

The main doors burst open, members pouring through, with Jax leading.

“ABEL!”

“ABEL!”

The little boy squirms from Jo’s grasp and moves his little legs as fast they can carry him. “Daddy!” 

Jax spots him and bends down to scoop his son up, holding him close to his chest. Jo makes the connection as she sees the reunion from her position still crouched on the floor.

The last thing Jo sees is Jax peering at her from over the boy’s shoulder before her vision goes black.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

A/N: So this is my first OC story that I’m trying! Hopefully it’s clear that when she’s more herself she’s Jo and when she’s in ‘work’ mode she’s Ruby. Please let me know what you think!

Jax Tag List: (let me know if you’d like to be added/removed!) jenny885, melissataggart87, misssara1981, lokilvrr, innerpaperexpertcloud, alievans007, calirindo, leapingoveroblivion, curly-minnie, coffeebooksandfandom, mrsjaxtellerfan, mrspeacem1nusone

[anciientboosh]

If you're still accepting drabbles, love to see what you can do with #83!

83. "Enough with the sass!" (So this ended up taking a slightly cheekier route than I originally intended, but what can I say, these boys sometimes run a bit rampant in my brain! I also want to severely apologise if the standard is a bit terrible, I'm writing drabbles at 2am because my insomnia holds me hostage. Thank you so much @kateyboosh for the prompt - I had a lot of fun playing with this one!)

It’s a deliciously warm spring morning, birds tittering gleefully outside of the window, and for once Vince is actually awake to see it. Howard has left him spread amongst their sheets; splayed like a marionette with his strings cut. His skin is touched softly by the light of the sun peeking through their bedroom curtains, seeping into his bones and heating him from the inside out. 

He could get up. Could even make himself useful while his partner is gone, off to the shop down the road to get his morning paper and some fresh milk for their tea. Were Vince a different kind of person he may just have dragged himself from his nest and laid out their mugs ready for his return. 

Thankfully for him and his penchant for a lie in, Vince is in fact just Vince. Who chooses to use this time sunning himself like a cat in the small patch of direct sunlight he could find. It's not like Howard would even mind, he certainly won't expect Vince to do anything but lay prone until well after noon. 

The sound of their door swinging open downstairs breaks him from his light doze; Vince has never been good at telling time but he's almost certain that Howard could not have made it all the way to the shop and back already. 

That much is confirmed when the man himself pushes into their bedroom, face flushed with exertion and hurriedly slams the door shut behind him. 

For a frantic moment Vince fears something terrible has happened, it wouldn't be the first time an incredibly innocent task turned misadventure on them. He starts gathering the sheet about himself, scrambling for his abandoned clothes. He freezes with his pyjama bottoms halfway up his legs, though, Howard having turned on him with his face painted crimson and an accusing finger outstretched. 

“You!” He snaps. “You little tart.” 

Vince is about to object, about to demand who exactly Howard thinks he is. That is until he catches on to the problem a lot faster than some would give him credit for. 

“Oh my god.” He breathes around a giggle. One hand slapping to his mouth to stop the snickering lest it annoy his partner further. 

Too late for that though. “Laugh it up now, giggly stevens.” He rumbles. “It won’t be so funny in a minute.” 

“I highly doubt that.” Vince says, muffled by his own palm. Howard crosses to the full length mirror mounted on the door to their wardrobe. Tilts his head to examine the damage. Vince can’t believe it. “The one day you don’t wear a rollneck, Howard.” 

He can’t stop it any longer, he bursts into full blown cackles as Howard pokes hesitantly at the darkened lovebite on his throat like it might just bite him back. 

“Look at this, Vince!” The prodding of the offending mark continues. “What are you fifteen?”

“C’mon,” Vince goads when he can finally pull enough air into his lungs to reply. “You’re asking for it with all them clothes that come up to your chin. Perfect coverup that is.” 

Howard spins on his heel to face him. “Evidently not!” He starts, voice raised in aggravation, but as he goes on he seems to lose momentum. Lands somewhere closer to embarrassment. “Got halfway to the shop before I even noticed. People were staring, you know, looking at me like I was some sort of northern pervert. Women covering their kid's eyes and one bloke- One bloke must have thought it was an invitation cause he winked at me Vince. Winked at me in a way nobody should ever wink at a stranger."

Fighting it only goes so far; another bout of laughter tears from Vince's throat. 

“You better stop that giggling, little man, or I’ll come at you.” 

This has the opposite of the desired effect. “It’s not that bad, Howard.” 

“Not that bad?” Howard frowns. “I’m a respectable and distinguished man, Vince, I don’t get hickeys.” 

“You’re really making a big deal out of nothing.” He insists. 

“Easy for you to say.” 

Affronted, Vince crosses his arms over his chest. “What does that mean!”

“Well look at you,” Howard waves a hand in his direction, barely managing to conceal his own smirk. Vince decides this is probably a good point to finish pulling his pyjamas on. “No one would bat an eye if you were the dishevelled one.” 

Vince scoffs, high pitched with disbelief. “Well that’s rude.” 

“Not as rude as walking around with the evidence of our-…" Adorably, Howard cuts himself off. He looks around the room as if expecting someone other than the two of them to be there to hear all about his indiscretions. "Our lovemaking on my neck.” 

Honestly, Vince wholly believes he could combust from how much he loves this man sometimes, his awkward tendencies and all. “You can call it sex, Howard.” 

“I’m going to start calling it banned in a minute.” 

"Enough of the sass!" He declares, amazed at his own ability to mix up a cocktail of mild irritation and heavy entertainment in his tone. "I'm tryin' to help you out here."

"Funny way of helping," Howard grumbles. "Standing there looking pretty while I suffer the consequences of your mouth."

And with that any trace of Vince's annoyance is wiped away. He's a sucker for a compliment even if it is arguably a backhanded one. "Well I have to suffer the consequences of yours anytime you start talking so it seems only fair." 

He doesn't give him time to argue back. Grabbing gently for his elbow and leading him to sit on the bed. He knows how easily they can get lost in this; the back and forth of their banter. Howard once likened it to verbal sparring. Said it kept his mind fresh and active, like chatting with Vince was some kind of mental exercise. 

Right now, though, he needs to fix Howard's neck. Partly for his sake and mostly so he can alleviate some of his own guilt for putting the other man in an awkward position. If there's anything Howard hates more than being thrust into the centre of attention unexpectedly, it's when that attention is inherently negative. Even if he hadn't meant it - that's exactly where Vince had put him. 

"I can cover it no problem.” He promises, digging around in his vanity table for his makeup bag. 

It's the work of five minutes really, what with the kind of professional standard makeup Vince keeps lying around for his everyday use. A spot of concealer and some blending and it's good as new.

Stepping back to admire his work, he directs Howard to the mirror. “See, nothing a little makeup can’t fix.” 

“Thank god for Vince Noir and his makeup collection.” Howard deadpans. 

“Do you mind?” Vince huffs playfully. “I just fixed your problem for you.”

“A problem you created.” Howard reminds him, but the edges of his annoyance seem to be softening. 

Vince grins at him in the reflection. 

“Don’t think I’m going to let you get away with doing that all the time just because you know how to cover it up.” Howard warns. “I’ve got a reputation to protect.” 

“What, the untouched virgin?” 

Howard narrows his eyes. “Now who’s being sassy.” 

Vince catches his tongue between his canines. Smirks a little sinful at him. “You gonna come at me now?” 

Howard's lupine smile seems to say it all. He steps closer, tender finger reaching out to brush strands of uncombed hair away from his forehead. Vince holds his breath, tilts his head back to stare up at Howard expectantly. The other man starts to dip his head, Vince let's his lids droop half closed - and then there's a gust of air as Howard takes one large step back with his lanky giraffe legs. 

He snorts inelegantly and heads straight for the bedroom door. “I’ve got to go and get the milk.”

Then he's gone.

[nicole-lynne]

All The Love Songs - Chapter One

Pairings: Jake Kiszka (eventually) x OFC Thea, OFC Thea x OMC Mason (past) Warnings: Cuss words, implications and mild descriptions of sex

Thea sat up from the bed, pulling the duvet cover with her to cover her naked body. Her black hair was matted to her neck with sweat and she peeled it off in a minor attempt to cool herself down. The feeling of his eyes on her back was sending tingles across her skin but she ignored it. She didn’t want him to know how much he affected her, not yet. 

Bending down to grab her discarded ZZ Top shirt off the ground, she peeked up at him lounging sideways in her bed amongst the many pillows, his eyes closed peacefully. The milky glow of his skin blended in so well with her ivory sheets that he could almost be a fixture of her bedroom.

“Hey, Jake,” He hummed to acknowledge her, “do you want to maybe stay for a bit? I was about to order some chinese before you came over.” She asked, casually reorganizing a pile on her desk so she didn’t seem too interested. 

He was quiet for a long time before there was a deep sigh. She knew what that meant, she began to internally prepare herself for the letdown. 

“T, I think we need to talk...” 

Jake swung his legs off the side of the bed and placed his elbows on his knees, rubbing his eyes a few times, something he usually did when there was a headache coming. His long hair draped around his face like a curtain, shielding him from her eyes.  

Thea tossed his boxers in his direction, watching him reach out and catch them before they hit the floor. Her eyes lingered for a fraction of a second on his profile before she started to search the floor for the rest of her clothes. 

“It’s not a big deal, Kiszka. I was just trying not to make you feel like I’m using you for your body.” She was trying to sound sassy but there was a sharp edge to the teasing. 

He tilted his head to watch her as she paced around the room, standing the chair up that they had knocked over, straightening a picture frame on the wall, picking up the books that had tumbled to the floor. Methodically, she cleaned up any evidence that he had ever been there.

The vinyl record was crackling quietly, waiting for one of them to turn the record to the other side. Neither of them made the move to do it.

Jake cradled his head in his hand. “I know we haven’t really talked about this before, T. I’m just not looking for anything more serious right now.” 

“No, I get that, I do. You’re just wanting a hook-up,” She plastered a fake smile on, “and I am totally fine with that.” 

“Thea...” 

“Jake, it’s fine, really. I was offering you chinese food, not my dowry.” Jake frowned, he hated when she tried to make light of a serious conversation. But Thea ignored the frown and began to dig around her drawer for a new pair of underwear. 

He stood up and crossed the room in a few strides. His hand fell on her shoulder and he turned her around to face him. Tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her cheek. Heat radiated from his body and she dropped her gaze to the small space in between them. Jake’s other hand landed on her waist and her body shivered involuntarily. 

The minimal light was hitting the angle of his face and all she could think of was good and bad. The tiniest hint that he could protect her always, but the underlying pain that was just around the corner.

“I’m not trying to be a dick here, T. I’m just trying to be honest with you. I like you and I like what we’ve got going on, we’ve been friends for a while now. I just don’t have anything more to give right now.” Lightly, Jake tilted her chin up, compelling her gaze to meet his. There was little furrow in his brow as if he were begging her to understand. “Besides, you and I both know there are other factors in this...” 

Thea knew exactly what he meant. Her best friend and roommate, Sam, who just happened to also be Jake’s younger brother. They’d met on the first day she’d arrived in the city and had been inseparable ever since. If Sam had any inkling that she had hooked up with Jake, on numerous occasions, he would be devastated. 

But inside this room, within these four walls, the rest of the world faded away and it was just her and Jake. But at the end of the day, if it ever left the bedroom, she would lose one of her best friends, and Jake...well, he didn’t want it to leave the bedroom. 

Stifling a sigh, Thea mustered up a tiny smile. “It’s all good, Jake. We’re friends...and the bedroom stuff will stay exactly that, bedroom stuff.” 

Jake inched forward and pecked a simple kiss on her cheek, his hair tickling her skin. “Thanks for understanding, you’re the best. And hey, you and Gina are still coming to our show tomorrow night, right?” In an instant, he was distracted, plucking his shirt off the lamp where it had landed. “We’ve been working on some really great stuff and I think an agent is supposed to be coming.” 

“You know we never miss any of your shows. We’re, like, you’re biggest fans.” Thea said with a fake valley girl accent. Jake snorted and chucked her jeans straight at her head which she caught at the last second. 

“Show starts at nine, groupies usually get there early to smoke up and show us their tits. I’ll be waiting for ya.” 

“Shut up, you dick.” She shoved his shoulder in jest while he tugged his boot on and giggled at the mutter of obscenities coming from him when he tipped into the dresser. 

Jake turned to dig around for his flannel and Thea took the chance to admire the muscles in his back. He yanked it out from behind the beanbag chair and whipped around, and she cleared her throat, pretending like she hadn’t just been staring at him.

Slapping her hands against her thighs, she awkwardly inched toward the door. “Well, we better get you out of here before anyone gets home...” 

“Right, that’s probably a good idea. I think Sam’s shift gets done in like ten minutes.” Jake ran his fingers through his hair a few times for good measure and moved to the door. He looked gorgeous for someone who’d just had crazy sex. “I was serious, T. I like you and I like this thing we have going.”

Pausing for a moment, he looked down at Thea and gave her a weak smile. She wanted to be angry or hurt, but deep down, she knew that anything he was willing to give, she’d take happily..

No reassuring thoughts came to her so instead, Thea smiled and gave him a curt nod. She twisted the doorknob and let him slip out, following close behind him. 

Her heart jumped to a stop as she rounded the corner and spotted Gina, her other roommate, standing in the kitchen. She must have gotten home from her dance class earlier than expected because her usual springy curls were still pulled up into a bun and she was wearing her sweats and a crop top. From across the room, Thea could feel her annihlating glare. 

“Sup, Gi. See you at the gig tomorrow.” Jake said nonchalantly and bee-lined for the front door. 

“Bye Jake, see ya later.” Gina replied tersely, her harsh stare never leaving your face. 

The door slammed shut and it was deadly silent between the two friends. Thea fiddled with her thumbs, just waiting for the storm. She knew Gina better than anyone else in the world and she wasn’t going to be too happy that she hadn’t been the first one privy to the knowledge that Thea was sleeping with their friend. 

“So?” 

“So...” 

“When the hell did this happen?” Gina tossed her water bottle in the trash and jumped onto the counter, crossing her arms. Her tawny skin was lit with the simmering fire of her anger. 

Thea leaned against the counter next to her and buried her face into her arms, her voice muffled into the shirt sleeve. “Just a little while ago. You remember that day we were all supposed to meet at Mo’s but all of you guys ditched?” Gina nodded once. “Well, Jake ended up showing up and we just got to talking. For like a few hours. And one thing led to another and we were back here, tearing each other’s clothes off.” 

“So are you two dating now or something?” 

“No, we’re not dating.” The words tasted like bile. 

Gina fell back onto the heels of her hands. “Shit. So you’re just fuck buddies then?”

“You really don’t have to say it like that. We’re just friends...who have sex occasionally.” 

“So fuck buddies?” 

Thea’s face pinched up. “Do you have to be so crass about it? It’s not a big deal so stop making it out to be one.” 

Gina’s eyes narrowed at her, “T, you haven’t really been interested in sex with many people since-” Thea threw her hand up to stop her from uttering the next word. “Since you-know-who. This is a big deal and we both know it.” Thea just groaned and resumed her position of hiding in her arms. “Are you, like, into Jake? As more than a friend?” 

“I don’t want to answer that.” Thea paused. “I guess I don’t know the answer to that. I mean, yes? When he’s around, we just connect in a way I haven’t felt in a long time.  And when he’s not around...well, I wish he was.”

“It sounds like you like him.” 

“Yeah, but he doesn’t want anything serious. So it’s kind of a moot point at the moment.” 

Those words quieted Gina instantly which made Thea uneasy. It had never been said that Gina knew how to keep her opinion to herself. Once in middle school, she had told a teacher that she had the face of a man and the nose of a dog. It had landed her a week in detention. Nowadays, she had a little more tact but was more or less the same girl.

“Are you gonna say anything?” Thea stomped her foot inpatiently. 

Gina threw up one finger. “Give me one second to process the fact that my best friend and one of my good friends are bumping uglies.” Thea grimaced. “So...how was the sex?” 

“Gina! Seriously?” 

“It’s for research purposes!” Gina declared. “Besides, I’ve always wondered how Jake was in bed. I bet he’s an animal, am I right?” 

Thea pinched her lips together bitterly but Gina gave her a knowing smirk. “It’s mind-blowing, okay? Geez. He does this thing with his tongue and he’ll move me around in ways I never knew I could move and...oh god, he’s amazing. 

“I knew it. Jake’s a tough guy to pinpoint but, I’m telling you, the man is dripping with pure sex appeal.” 

Thea couldn’t even disagree because everything about Jake screamed sexy. Girls were always hitting on him, no matter where they went. At first she’d found it annoying because, geez, couldn’t they go anywhere without girls giggling hysterically when he looked at them. Now she was used to it, and a little part of her knew that she was the one he was hooking up with. She hoped she was the only one. 

“G, I need coffee, now.” 

“You mean a distraction?”

“Look, I can’t be talking about this when Sam gets home and I’m starting to get a headache. Can you please just lay off for five minutes and get coffee with me?” 

Gina cringed. “Oh shit, Sam, I forgot all about him. You know he’s going to be crushed when he finds out about this.”

“I know, I know. That’s why he can’t know.” Gina frowned. “Please, G? I can’t lose Sammy because of this.” 

“Okay, now I need coffee.” Gina grabbed her violet mesh jacket off the back of the chair and slipped it on. Thea bobbed her head in agreeance and shoved her converse on her feet. Remembering at the last second, she ran over and scrawled a messy note on the dry erase board telling Sam they’d be home in a little while. 

~~~

“So tell me more about this tongue thing that Jake does.” 

“Gina-” Thea glanced around at the packed coffee shop. No one was paying any attention to the two girls but she still felt like Gina’s voice was amplified. 

“Don’t Gina me, this is important information. I am now living vicariously through you and must know all the dirty little details of you and Jake doing the four-legged foxtrot.” 

Thea balked and turned back to the menu board. “You are seriously disturbed, you know that?”

“I do, and that’s why you love me.” She replied proudly, noticing that Thea was studying the menu diligently. “Why are you even looking at the menu, you get the same thing every day.” Gina asked, Thea just rolled her eyes. Maybe she would branch out this time. “At least tell me if he’s as big as I’m imagining, because I’ve seen him in those skinny jeans and...damn.” 

Her eyes darted to Gina for a fraction of a second, the tiniest of smiles on her lips. 

“I freakin knew it.” Gina gripped her arm and squealed loudly, actively disregarding Thea’s attempts to shush her. A few of the customers looked up at the commotion and Thea waved at them. “If you hadn’t opened up the biggest can of worms in our friend group, I would thoroughly applaud you for snatching that beast of a man.” 

Thea laughed ridiculously and started to say something when a voice interrupted her. 

“Sunshine?”

No, it couldn’t be. Only one person ever called her that. 

Thea’s eyes widened comically and she shifted on her feet slightly, turning around coming face-to-face with her ex-boyfriend, Mason. He gave her a crooked grin - the one that used to always make her heart skip a beat. 

“Mason? What the heck!” Gina pronounced from behind her. 

“Hey, Gina! Oh man, it’s great to see you guys.”  He leaned forward and embraced Gina in a tight hug, his dark brown eyes never leaving Thea’s face over Gina’s head. “How are you, sunshine?” 

“Uh, I-I’m good.” She stuttered. “Wait, what are you doing here?” 

Mason angled his head slightly, a teasing sparkle in his eye. “Um, getting coffee?” 

Thea looked at him unamused. “I figured that one out, captain obvious. I mean here, in New York.” 

“I knew that, babe.” He winked and her stomach flipped nervously. “I’m here with Declan-”

“Declan’s here?” Gina piped up. “That punk didn’t tell me he was gonna be in town.” 

“He was with me here a minute ago...” 

Declan had been Mason’s best friend since diapers and it wasn’t very often that you found Mason without Declan a few steps behind. Mason glanced around just as a guy popped up at his side. 

When Thea had first met Declan in middle school, he had been a short, scrawny kid with bright red hair that was usually sticking up in all different directions. He could barely walk three steps without tripping or knocking something down. Mason had been the complete opposite. He was tall and his reflexes were always quick. He was comfortable in his skin and could make anyone else feel comfortable with themselves too. 

Thea and Gina had been partnered with Mason and Declan on a research project for english and after that, the group went everywhere together. Many nights and weekends spent at someone’s house or hanging out at the mall.

“Hey, Thea! Ah, Gina, how are you?” Declan jumped forward and gave both girls hugs. He had gone through a total growth spurt in sophmore year and now he towered over them both. 

“Dec, I’ve missed you. I meant to call you last week but I took a couple extra dance classes.” Thea’s eyes wrinkled, confused. “You didn’t mention that you were coming to New York. And you didn’t mention that you were bringing this troublemaker.” Gina patted Mason’s arm lightly and a dorky grin spread on his face. 

“I didn’t realize that you guys all still kept in touch so much.” Thea’s voice cracked slightly. 

“Well, it’s mostly just Gina and I lately. I know you’ve been so busy with your job lately.” Declan looked down bashfully. “Anyways, I meant to get in touch to let you know we were coming.” 

“Excuse me?” A voice snapped loudly. 

All four heads snapped up to see a disgruntled cashier and a few customers behind them were shooting them nasty looks. They’d completely forgotten that they were standing in line. 

Mason stepped forward and ordered his and Declan’s drinks, “and she’ll have an iced mocha latte, two extra pumps of mocha.” He still remembered her order. “Gina, you want your usual?” Gina nodded happily and went back to chatting animatedly with Declan. 

“Mas, you don’t have to get our drinks.” Thea tugged on his jacket sleeve.

“Hush, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you, just let me get your coffee.” He waved her away and handed his card to the lady with a genuine smile.

Thea’s mind was reeling. She hadn’t seen Mason in years and now he was standing right in front of her, remembering her coffee order and demanding that he be allowed to pay for it. He’d always been the kind of guy to put others before himself and remember the small details. In a flash, she was back in high school, completely head over heels for the kid. 

Mason moved to the end of the counter next to where Thea was standing and shoved his hands in his pockets. She took the chance to study him. He was still wearing his classic jean jacket and hoodie combo, only to be complimented with his wide array of colorful vans. Today’s color was orange. His curly brown hair was still a mop on his head but, somehow, it looked as cute as ever, just a little longer. Overall, he was still her Mason. 

“So you guys in town for very long?” 

“Um,” He shifted, “we’re actually here looking for apartments...” 

Thea’s jaw dropped. “Wait, you two are moving here? Like permanently?” 

“Yes, permanently. It’s always been the plan, and it’s just kind of working out for me now. Declan landed this great job and I figured, I might as well tag along. Best friends take on New York and all that jazz. It’s not like I had much going on back at home.” He let out a breathy chuckle, “Besides, I knew you and G were here so I figured we could get the band back together, so to speak.” 

“That’s so amazing!” She cringed internally. That was way too peppy of a reaction. This entire situation was anything but normal and she certainly wasn’t able to act normal around Mason. Not now that she knew he was going to be in the same city as her. Distantly, she could tell she kept playing with her hair too much but it was her nervous habit, and if there was a time for it, this was it.

The barista interrupted her string of panicked thoughts by calling out their name and set the cups on the counter. Gina and Declan scooped them up quickly and moved to where they were standing to pass them out. Gina shot her a reassuring look and Thea gave her a half smile in response.

“Well, I hate to break up the reunion, but we have a walkthrough scheduled in like twenty minutes. It probably won’t look very good if we show up late.” Declan said, pointing to his watch anxiously the way she’d seen him do a million times over the years. 

“Some things never change, huh?” Mason whispered to her and she hid a laugh behind her hand.

Gina and Declan walked towards the door, Mason and Thea trailing after them. Occasionally they would make eye contact and she’d instantly look away, a stupid smile on her face. 

They stopped outside and all huddled together. It was as if no time had passed them and they would be meeting up after Mr. Taylor’s history class to go to lunch. 

“Okay, so you’re going to text me and we’re going to get lunch or dinner soon, right? All of us.” Gina demanded, giving Mason and Thea a pointed look. “And don’t even try to give me a crap excuse because I know every one of your tells so I’ll know if you lie, Mason James Bowen.” 

Mason looked bewildered. “Okay, geez, I’m fine for dinner. I think Dec has a few more showings scheduled today but what about tomorrow night? ” 

“U-uh, umm.” Thea stuttered

“We actually have plans tomorrow with some friends-” Gina recovered smoothly.

“But you guys can come if you want!” Thea manically interjected. “Their band is playing at this bar around the corner, Owl Music Parlor. It’s gonna be a lot of fun.” 

Shocked, Gina’s jaw dropped. The last thing she’d expected was for Thea to so willingly invite her old group of friends to mingle with her new group of friends. 

“Uh yeah, you guys should come out. Cover is usually really cheap and the band will blow your minds. It starts at 10 but we usually get there a little early.”

Mason and Declan shared a look and shrugged, “Sure, that sounds great. We’ll meet you guys there. Hopefully, we’ll be celebrating our acquisition of a new apartment.” Thea and Mason locked eyes across the huddle and smiled at each other. 

Declan cleared his throat, “So, Mas, the showing? I don’t want to miss out on the place, it’s supposed to have two bathrooms.” 

Mason switched his attention back to Declan, “yeah, let’s hit it dude. Alright, ladies, we will see your beautiful faces tomorrow.” He gave them a small wave and ran to catch up with Declan, who was already speed walking halfway down the street.

Linking arms, the girls walked down the sidewalk. Silence fell over them as both of them considered the possibilities of tomorrow night. 

“Hey G?” Gina glanced at Thea. “Please tell me that I didn’t just invite Mason to hang out with the guys?” 

“Oh, baby, you sure did.” 

Thea slapped her forehead with an ugly growl. “Why didn’t you stop me?” 

“Girl, you got sucked into the Mason vortex and there was no getting you out.” She laughed. “It was like a car wreck, I couldn’t look away.” 

It was quiet again, the only sound being their footsteps on the concrete. Then Gina spoke up again, “ya know, it’s kind of strange that we were just talking about you getting over Mason. Now he’s back and you tripped right back into being mayor of Mason town.” 

Thea grimaced at the implication that she suddenly might not be over the man who had crushed her heart. Talk about comedic timing.

Tomorrow night her two worlds were going to collide. Two worlds that she never, in a million years, believed would be coming together. And she should be freaked out. But instead, her mind was stuck on how cute Mason looked in his orange hoodie and how hard her heart was pounding when his gorgeous smile was directed at her.

[illneverrecover]

3/21/22 (fine with any of them) Vampire Hunter AU, SeokJin (looking for something that is just pure crack. I need to laugh. Feel free to do whatever comes to your mind)

(for my milestone drabble game)

Hurt Me So Good

➛pairing: vampire hunter Seokjin x reader ➛genre: vampire hunter!AU, crack, humor, smut➛word count: 1913 (how am I doing worse as time goes on why am I like this)➛rating: Mature/Explicit➛warnings: cursing, innuendo, some mild violence, unprotected sex (stay safe y’all), dirty talk, mild biting/marking➛prompt: “Well you certainly proved a point. I’m just not sure if it was the one that you wanted.” + “Your cursing just makes me giggle” + “Try something else if you want to be intimidating.” + Seokjin➛notes: If y’all have been round these parts awhile, you’re probably aware that Seokjin and Suzu are the same person. If not, let me explain - they. are. the. same. person. It’s fucking wild. I’m pretty sure if they ever actually fucked it would cause the apocalypse. Anyway, I had of fun with this - enjoy @suzuchim! Noodle & Co for LYFE.

“And how is this supposed to help, exactly?”

Sweat was dripping down your back, your shirt sticking uncomfortably to your skin as you wiped at your brow. It was night time - as it always was when you trained - and yet it was absurdly hot, the air heavy and sopping with moisture. 

Seokjin was climbing a tree. He had a bag slung across his body,  his efforts drenching the nape of his neck, chest splotchy with heat. You weren’t sure how climbing trees correlated to learning how to kill vampires, but he was the expert. Supposedly. 

“Well-” he shouts, overexertion evident in his voice. “Once I get up here, I’m going to have you close your eyes. Then I’m going to throw these plastic shuriken at you, and-”

“Wait, what? That’s your plan?” you huff, blowing hair off your glistening forehead. “You’re going to climb your whole noodley ass into that tree and just chuck things at me?”

“Aish, that’s not what I said!” Irritation makes him sound whiny, and not in the way he probably intended. He narrows his eyes, darting back at you before quickly refocusing on the task at hand. “And you and I both know that my ass looks fantastic from this view.” 

Scoffing, your eyes roll back, a hand rising to your hip. You’ve been training under Seokjin for just over two weeks, and it had been going decently well, you supposed, if not a little slow. He seemed to be in no hurry to train you to fight, and some of his methods were definitely unorthodox, to say the least. But he was easy on the eyes and even easier to rile up, so you had complied - so far, anyway. 

“Mine would look better.”

Reaching his goal, he plopped himself down on a branch, sliding his bag until it rested in his lap. He was soaked with perspiration, gasping for air. Wiping his hands on his black joggers, he looked down at you expectantly, awarding you the vision of his white shirt clinging attractively to his broad shoulders and chest. 

“I’d love to see that, sweetheart. You going to give me a show later?”

Your mouth drops open (comically so, you’re sure), and you drink in his dangerous grin, the bastard having the audacity to throw you a wink when he notices your reddened cheeks. 

Sputtering, you swallow thickly. “You wouldn’t know what to do with me.”

“We’ll see about that.” His voice is so low you almost didn’t hear him, and your heart kicks into overdrive.

“I’m sorry, what did you-”

He clears his throat to interrupt you, gesturing broadly. “Well? You going to close your eyes so we can get started? Or did I just fucking climb a tree at 1 am for funsies?”

You try to cover your mouth before the laugh spills out, but you fail, grasping at your stomach to catch your breath. This seems to chap Seokjin’s ass in the best kind of way, the tips of his ears reddening as he attempts his best scowl. 

“Why are you laughing? Is there something about this that’s amusing?”

“Yes. Your cursing just makes me giggle. It’s like watching one of those wacky inflatable arm men flap in the wind.” Stifling your snickering, you wipe the errant tears from the corners of your eyes. “Feel free to try something else if you want to be intimidating.” 

Seokjin peers down at you, watching the way you attempt to quell your giggles, but clearly finding the whole thing too hilarious. Hell, it was pretty funny. Here he was in the middle of the night, up a tree, ass so sweaty he could feel the beginnings of a swamp - all because he was trying so damn hard to impress a pretty girl.

Trying, and definitely failing.

He wasn’t sure what it was about you that had him so flustered. He was normally the epitome of cool, calm, and collected - oozing charm and making women swoon for as long as he could remember. Sure, some of that had fallen to the wayside after the undead took over - fighting and killing vampires becoming priority over his playboy tendencies, but he hadn’t lost his touch. 

Had he?

It was you. It had to be you. The minute you had walked into his facility, all wide innocent eyes and blinding smile, he had been a goner. He was a sucker for a sweet face, and even more so for a beguiling personality (and if he was being honest, a smoking body) - all the things you possessed effortlessly. You had shook his hand, grinning up at him like you didn’t just take over his every waking thought. You did something to him, and it rattled him to his core.

He didn’t like it.

When you had finally calmed yourself, he took a steadying breath, twirling a shuriken in his hand. “Close your eyes, sweetheart.” 

To his utter surprise, you did as you were told without further sarcastic comment.  “Now, I want you to concentrate. Feel the way the air is hitting your face. Listen and take in your surroundings, all the sounds you hear - what’s normal, what shouldn’t be there,” he pauses, making sure you were following. The look of total concentration on your face was adorable, of course, and Seokjin allowed himself to drink you in for another moment. 

“You aren’t always going to be able to see. They will have the advantage. Which is why you need to be prepared.”

He poised to throw the weapon then, aiming for an invisible bullseye in the middle of your forehead. He bit his lip in anticipation, hoping like hell you had learned enough to be able to dodge, but knowing that you wouldn’t be injured if you didn’t respond in time.

“I’m aiming for your face, just so you know.” Before you could open your eyes to shout your objections, ruining the concentration, he hushed you. “Don’t worry. I’m always careful with the money shot, sweetheart.”

His words distracted you, enough that your breath caught in your throat, a single throb pinging low in your gut. You shake your head, attempting to recenter the focus. A moment later you could hear the movement of the air, the way it parted and settled around the object hurtling towards you, and at the last second you drop to your left. The shuriken sailed passed, striking the ground with a soft thud. 

Eyes opening in shock, you look up to Seokjin, cocky smirk on his face. He raises a brow at you, as if daring you to give him a sassy response - but instead you bark out a peal of joyous laughter. “It worked! I did it!” 

Jumping up and down, you allow yourself a quick victory dance, wiggling your hips while throwing your arms carelessly in the air.

You were so endearing, so fucking cute. Everything about you was made to suck him in, and he felt like he couldn’t take his eyes off of you. God, he wanted you. He wanted you to be his more than he wanted anything else on this desolate planet. The realization alone made Seokjin want to scream. In frustration or in lecherous desperation, he wasn’t sure.

Instead he scoffed, tilting his head to the side. “Now who looks like a wacky inflatable arm man?”

He dodged the rebuked shuriken just before it could beam him in the forehead, however falling out of the tree, shrieks piercing through the night.

You winced as he pressed you into the cool tile of the private showers, arching to avoid it from touching too much of your bare back. His hips rut up into your own, a whine tearing from your throat as he began to lick and nip at the delicate skin there. Your arms wrapped around his broad shoulders for balance, though his hands were gripping your fleshy thighs tight enough you knew you wouldn’t fall.

“F-Fuck, Seokjin,”

The moan of his name only set his lust aflame, his mouth working over your collarbone until it blossomed in a pale violet. Your could feel his length against your core, eagerly seeking its entrance, and the need to have him buried inside you was overwhelming. 

You weren’t sure what this has to do with killing vampires, but you were nothing if not adaptable.

Lips suckling at your own, you opened your mouth into the kiss, letting his tongue explore and defile you until you were dripping for him. “Tell me what you want, sweetheart. We don’t have much time.” 

Digging your hands into the hair at his nape, you tugged hard, grinning when he replied with a raspy groan. “I want you inside me, Seokjin. Please.” 

He mumbled a soft ‘fuck’ under his breath, placing you back on solid ground to remove the last few barriers between you both. He pressed a final kiss to your swollen pout before spinning you, your chest now against the wall and ass bare, presented to him. 

“Anything for you.” 

Once again, your hand was too slow in covering your mouth before your cry echoed on the walls of the shower room, his cock now fully sheathed in your welcoming heat with one well timed thrust. Peppering your shoulder with soft kisses, he gives you a few moments to adjust before he starts rocking slowly, unable to help himself. You were too warm, too wet, too fucking perfect for him. 

His hips pivoted in a steady yet thorough rhythm, striking you deep and hard until you were pliant against him, keening and chanting ghosts of his name. 

“Fuck, sweetheart. I love hearing that smart mouth begging for me, saying my name. Just like that,” he cooed, wrapping an arm around your waist to pull you to his chest.

Your eyes rolled back as his other digits found your slickened clit, rubbing it relentlessly in perfect swivels to have you clenching around him. His pants were becoming more rapid, his thrusts stuttering, and you knew neither of you would last much longer. 

“I’m- I’m coming, Seokjin-”

“Yes, that’s it. Come. I’m so close.”

He growls as he sinks his teeth into your shoulder, and it was your ultimate undoing - giving him one last shout of his name before you’re being thrown over the edge, your orgasm intense and dizzying. A part of you recognizes when he finishes as well, the warmth spurting into your quivering cunt with a whine of your name on his lips, his forehead resting at the top of your spine. 

Silence washes over you, both of you content to catch your breath with him still seated inside you, not ready to abandon the entanglement of limbs.

It was you who moved first, sliding forward to release him from your core with a small groan. 

“Well,” you reach for your shirt, sliding it back over your shoulders. “You certainly proved a point. I’m just not sure if it was the one you wanted.” 

He laughed then, a true, high pitched, squeaky sort of thing, one that had you giggling in return. “I’ll have you know that stamina is a highly revered training tactic.” 

Fully dressed, you hum as you step back within his arms, grinning when he circles them around your waist, fond smile on his lips. “Oh, is it? And what about the fucking? Is that a training tactic as well?”

He nuzzled your nape, pressing his mouth against you wetly before meeting your eyes once more. “Only for you, sweetheart.”

[captaintuggeroferebor]

the one with the Witch and the Saytr

You smiled, shaking your head fondly at the sight of Orak and Sophie leaving the building for yet another date. The sound of the door opening had made you pause in your typing, letting out a chuckle when you saw the Orc swing her around in his arms before they continued down the street.

The smile turned into a smirk when you thought back to the signs, the premonition that had come to you the morning she had found Taco. You had seen yourself not answering her call and telling her you didn’t know who Taco belonged to.

Premonitions always had a purpose. Only the foolish would deny them or try to challenge them; awful things had happened to Witches who didn’t follow their premonitions.

Your eyes flickered to the clock on the wall and you sighed, standing as you turned the computer off, needing some coffee and a distraction from opening the other apartment buildings you owned. There had been a few setbacks with the contractors, all leading to more and more headaches for you.

The leaves were just beginning to change, the Earth settling into colder weather after Mabon, and now as Samhain approached the thinning of veil between all the worlds made everything seem all the colder to you.

You thanked the gods the ability to see spirits was not common among your line.

After snatching up your phone and grabbing your hand sewn coat, you stepped out of the bottom level of the apartment complex straight into your garden. It had been necessary to have one but also attracted more and more people to your building.

Everything in the small space grew better, making your decision to allow a Pagan into the building a no brainer.

Your herbs had never been more potent and easier to put into potions.

Even if Pagans and Witches didn’t have a particularly…kind past.

The walk to the coffee shop wasn’t a long one, but it lead you through the more cozier parts of the city. Past the elementary school, the seaside pub, and the auto shop that had just been put it; you dreaded the day it got as busy as the inner parts of the city.

The coffee shop was lopsided, the shapes wonky and out of place, held together by golden lines of magyck and your face lit up when you stepped into the bustling place. People were nearly backed out the door, Elves, humans, Orcs, and several others.

It appealed to all and was your favorite place in the-

You groaned in exasperation when you realized which barista was working the bar then turned it into a cough when the Orc in front of you gave you a strange look.

The barista’s name tag read Los and he had always annoyed you; his puns and sassy comebacks grated on your nerves in just the right way to set you on edge. Which only made the situation worse. Because you had worked customer service jobs for years and didn’t want to bet hat customer, you never wanted to be that person.

But Los…just.

You suddenly had the urge to scream; you had enough problems right now without throwing him into the mix.

After getting to the front of the line and ordering, you went to wait for your drink, praying to the Gods that Los would somehow not notice you.

But of course he did his moss green eyes narrowed before smirking in your direction. You had committed yourself to the right hand path of magyck, but the look on his handsome, open looking face made you reconsider it.

He moved with efficiency, you begrudgingly told yourself despite the urge to hiss at thinking that. Los wasn’t too tall, only a few inches taller than you, his body lean and lanky. The horns on his head started just above and forward of his ears, curling around twice and giving him a menacing look.

Well, when he wasn’t wearing the polo and apron, you amended.

That did take away from it.

Los called your name, his voice mellow and pleasant. That was, until your fingers touched and his face split into the most self serving grin as he said, “Got a bit of resting Witch face without your coffee.”

He winked.

And you did you best not to storm out of the coffee shop like an angry child.

You had already stomped halfway back to your apartment when you realized there was something written on the cup, something you had nearly mistaken for the rune tattoos on your knuckles.

His number was written there, along with a winking face.

You were definitely considering the left hand path now.

*

“We could get some boos tonight.”

You stopped typing and made a face so ridiculous at the wall, knowing that Los would have laughed had he seen it; you pinched the bridge of your nose. “Tell me you didn’t do what I think you did.”

“Oh but I did,” Los laughed on the other end now, low and pleasant.

You shook your head, returning to your typing. “I hate you and your stupid puns, you know that.”

“Do you hate me? Or is it you just wanna put me in my place?” he asked, his tone far too sickly sweet to be anywhere near innocent.

The week or so you had been texting back and forth had progressed pretty quickly to phone calls, following the fact that Los had made one too many kitchen puns while sending you pictures of him cooking something absolutely awful and you hadn’t been able to stop yourself.

You called to tell him why he was an idiot and in how many ways he was an idiot. Which only made him laugh and you hated to admit it, he then made you laugh as well.

Now he called you whenever he could.

But his words, the struck a cord with you and you felt yourself grow warm and crossed your legs.

“And if I did?” you asked.

You could hear the smile and heat in his voice when he spoke. “I wouldn’t be opposed to it, after a few drinks. Tonight at the pub?”

“I’ll be there.”

*

The kiss was hungry, sloppy in the best way. You and Los stumbled towards his car, the alcohol in your system making your skin hot, too hot. Your tattoos glowed in the moonlight and when you pulled apart your shirt.

He gasped, looking at you like you were the most powerful and beautiful thing he had ever seen. “Gonna put me in my place?”

His dark curls were strewn about his head, green eyes bright, pupils slitted horizontally and blow wide. The button up shirt he wore was mused from where you had been pulling him, the fabric tight over his arms in the best way. Your glowing eyes traced over his features, the arch his nose,  and his down turned ears.

You spun him around, grinning when he let out a gasp as you unlocked the door and turned him again, pushing him into the seat.

“Stay.” you commanded, a rush of magyck flowing from your fingertips.

A simple spell that didn’t require words, and no one would see or hear you for a time.

Los looked up at you, licking his lips. You sank to your knees, running your fingers through the thick fur on his legs. He twitched, hooves scraping against the ground, but stopped when you shot him a look.

“Good boy.”

He shuddered at the praise and you bit your lip, fingers curling around his cock, spreading the precum that dribbled from the tip, stroking him slowly. Los whined at that, hips thrusting up in an attempt to get more friction.

You squeezed hard, causing him to yelp. “No, we’re gonna do this at my speed. Not yours.”

He looked like he wanted to disobey but then let out a needy noise, nostrils flaring.

All of that defiance disappeared when you moved your hand again, a few more times before leaning forward and wrapping your lips around the head of his cock, sucking. Just enough.

Los fell back against the seat. His head thumped against the seat, a desperate, low noise came from his mouth.

“Please,” he begged hoarsely.

You quirked a brow before waiting a moment, wanting to drag out his torture for just a little longer.

His hooves scraped against the ground again, the muscles in his legs and stomach jumped as he stopped himself from thrusting upward.

Without warning you swallowed his length, the thrumming between your legs intensifying at his yell of surprise and then the long, drawn out moan he let out. You kept your eyes on him as you pulled back, using your hand in a corkscrew motion; a hum coming from your mouth at the sight of him desperately clawing at the leather beneath his hands.

“Fuck, please, don’t stop,” Los babbled.

You bobbed your head, running your other hand through the thick fur on his legs.

It wasn’t long before he couldn’t help but to thrust upward into your mouth, fingers digging into the leather now, and you let out a moan of your own at his desperation.

That only spurred him on and that was enough to make you pull back, ignoring his begging.

You pulled him up and out of the car slow by his shirt, your lips connected in a lewd, downright filthy way, neither of you caring about the finesse of it anymore. With your free hand you unzipped your skirt before breaking the kiss, the two of you panting, but not pulling back.

Your forehead pressed against his, voice hoarse and absolutely wrecked when you spoke. “You’re gonna bend me over and fuck me.”

“Fast or slow,” he leaned forward, nipping at you bottom lip.

You nearly growled. “Fast.”

Los shoved your skirt down and spun you around, a hand on your back forcing you to bend over, your hands braced on the back seat. You let out a whine when he rubbed the head of his cock against your folds, spreading your arousal around. A small whine escaped you when he brushed against your swollen, neglected clit.

He groaned, “If this is what bossing me around does to you…you can do it all the time.”

You didn’t get a chance to comment on that, he slammed into you in one smooth stroke and you let out a scream at the pain and pleasure. It had been so long it burned as his girth stretched you, the sting only made you crave release all the more.

There was no chance to brace yourself, your body jerking forward each time he thrusted back into you, only seconds after he pulled out. Your legs shook as he hit just the right spot each time as pleasure jolted through you.

Los didn’t slow down, his hands gripped your hips hard enough that he would leave a mark. You couldn’t stop the noises coming from your mouth anymore, head hanging as you simply tried to stay standing, the desperate whimpers and sighs were the only thing you could get out.

He leaned over, breath hot on your neck, hips jerking as his fur covered legs pressed against yours. One of his hands left your waist, moving to your clit and rubbed it in hard, fast circles.

“Fuck, Los,” you cried out, legs threatening to collapse as the pleasure rushed over you and you came hard and fast.

You only stayed standing because Los refused to let you collapse, the tightening of your walls around him was too much. His hips jerked forward a few more times and he cried out your name, warm seed spilling inside you, filling you.

Los’ hands were gentle when he pulled out of you, turning you around to press his lips to yours sweetly. “I’ll follow your lead anytime.”

“You said that,” you kissed him again. Then, after a moment, you frowned. “We’d better get out of here, my spell will wear off soon.”

“Round two at my place?”

“Hmm.” you chose not to answer the question, other biting you lip as you shimmied your skirt back up your hips.

[franklyshipping]

Good Health Goes Both Ways ~ A Markiplier Ego Fanfic

THIS PROMPT WAS SUBMITTED BY THE SUPER SNAZZY @doctoripliler AND HAS THE AWESOME DOCTOR AND THE AWESOME HOST WITH AWESOME PLATONIC FUN! LET'S DO THIS!

TAGGING: @doctoripliler and @thehostofleetrature

He was so tense. He was so tense that Dr Iplier started to wonder if there was actually something going on with the Host's muscles, given how overly reactive they were being. I mean, with how Iplier was rubbing and checking the Host's shoulder blades, it was pretty close to a relaxing massage! Yet....the Host was still remarkably tense. It was something that Dr Iplier felt he needed to really investigate.

'Hey ah, I know you said your muscles feel fine....but you are strangely tense right now, are you sure everything's alright?'

No. No everything was absolutely NOT alright and Dr Iplier damn knew it but oh no he just HAD to be teasy and nonchalant because he's an evil little man....ahem, yes the Host's internal monologue was quite passionate at the moment. This was because that Iplier's fingers feeling around his shoulders was tickling him, and he was using every single ounce of willpower to repress his reactions just like during every other doctor's appointment he had with Iplier because the Host had decided that Dr Iplier was just addicted to tickling! It was the only explanation! It wasn't that the Host was oversensitive or anything.

'The Host assures Dr Iplier that his muscles are quite aright, the Host is simply a naturally tense person due to his personality being laced with tension and unease.'

The Host figured that dry wit and sarcasm would contribute to convincing the doctor that all was well, but it only earned him a poke in the back and some pursed lips from the doctor. Iplier softly sighed as he rubbed around the Host's neck, replying with earnest to the Host.

'Hey, now we both know that isn't true! You have a strong, sweet personality to match how you have your tea.'

The Host snorted lightly at that, tilting his head to face the doctor so their conversing was more polite and totally not attempting to hide part of his neck from the doctor's damned evil fingers. The Host smirked softly, figuring that continued use of dry humour would continue to keep Iplier none-the-wiser to the ticklish truth here.

'Dr Iplier should know that if the Host had eyes he would be rolling them at the doctor right now.'

At the Host's dry remark, Iplier had to try so hard to keep his lips pursed and to not smile because he knew if he smiled then he'd only be encouraging the Host to dish out more awfully morbid humour like that! Iplier narrowed his eyes at his patient. The doctor of course knew that the Host was merely using humour as an evasive manoeuvre to try and cover up how ticklish he was; the doctor knew every single technique from every single patient....and with this particular patient, Dr Iplier decided to cut the crap. Iplier swiped his fingertips up the sides of the Host's neck as he retorted.

'Excuse you I will not tolerate that kind of dark humour in my appointment room Mr I'm Lying About My Tense and Jumpy Muscles!'

The Host jumped, gritting his teeth and internally cursing his body for betraying him and developing goose-bumps. The Host unwittingly scrunched his neck and clenched his fists, shivering as he felt Iplier's smirk at the back of his head. The Host realised then and there that he only had one viable option left to him: evasive escape.

'If that is the case then the Host would gladly take his humour to a more appreciative audience....'

The Host started to sit up from the medical bench, trying to ignore how pink his cheeks were and how the sides of his neck were warm with ghostly tingles. Before the Host could move an inch further though....there was a hand on his chest. The Host let out a grunt, gulping nervously as he was pushed back down onto the bench by the chuckling doctor. Iplier was shaking his head fondly at his dear friend, smiling as he tutted and purred.

'Hah, I don't know where you think you're going but....last time I checked, as a doctor, I am the one who decides when this appointment is over. Furthermore....'

The Host licked his lips and got even more nervous goose-bumps at the doctor's assertiveness....he couldn't escape. The Host's body twitched as the fidgeting began, hands and fingers twitching and fiddling with each other as the Host's inner nervous energy started to bubble to the surface. Iplier loved watching this side of the Host come out....it was oh so cute. It made it all the more satisfying when the doctor allowed his fingers to dive forth and scribble at the sides of the Host's sensitive neck.

'....every time you come in here your lying gets worse and worse you know.'

Iplier giggled, grinning as the Host snorted and hurried to try and scrunch his shoulders as cute titters and giggles came from him. Of course....this didn't cause the Host's humour to diminish, since the Host knew he couldn't escape this, he figured he might as well give as good as he got, so to speak.

'Ihihihis thahahat aha dihihiagnohosihis dohohoctor?'

The Host's giggles got louder as he spoke, merely because he was proud of his own attitude. Iplier snickered and shook his head, moving his scratching to a more effective position: the Host's tummy. His scratches were fast because he wasn't going to let the Host talk him like that in HIS appointment room!

'Y'know Host, ticklishness and sassiness reeeeally don't go hand in hand.'

The doctor's devilishly scratching fingertips really left no part of the Host's tummy un-tickled, and no matter how much the Host batted at him, the doctor did not relent. The Host's giggles were frantic now as he retorted.

'IHIHIT TAHAKES AHA TICKLISH SAHASSY PEHERSON TOHO KNOHOW A TIHICKLISH SAHASSY PEHERSON!'

The Host grin was smug, and even through his mirth he managed to sound snide and arrogant. It all just made the doctor blush in embarrassment at the Host's insinuation, before a low growl came from the doctor's throat. The doctor had been intending to just have fun with his ticklish friend, but the Host just HAD to go be cheeky.

'Oh that is IT!'

The Host might have attempted another snide remark, if it weren't for the doctor's fingers now promptly attacked his sensitive waistline with their scratches. The Host threw his head back, shocked at the doctor going for the kill like that as belly laughter erupted from him.

'WOHOHOHAHAHA DAHAHACTAHAHAR!!'

The Host bucked, face going red as he tried to endure and resist the flusteredness creeping up within him, but the poor guy was so embarrassed at his own ticklishness. Dr Iplier of course was elated and leant down closer to his friend to coo evilly.

'Awww not so smart now huh? C'mon Hosty, where are those clever comebacks, hm?'

Iplier grinned a wolfish grin and chuckled a malevolent chuckle, relishing in how he was making the poor Host more and more flustered with every passing scratchy second.

'IHIHIHIPLIHIEEEER!!'

The Host could only writhe and laugh louder and louder as he felt those devious fingers scribbling deeper into his waist and lower belly....he couldn't believe he was succumbing to the doctor like this....

'Poor Hosty, so ticklish and defenceless....'

Now, if I were in the Host's position at this point then I know I would have just accepted my hysterical fate and just laughed my heart out to whoever was tickle torturing me. My resolve is not as strong as the Host's. Despite his belly laughter shaking his body, the Host's mind still had some semblance of rationality....he was NOT going to let the doctor brag and crow about his defencelessness. The Host....was not....defenceless.

'THE HOST WILL SHOW THE DOCTOR DEFENCELESS!'

The Host cried, before lifting his hands and digging his fingers into the doctor's unsuspecting armpits, and the doctor's eyes widened as he let out quite the shriek. The Host wiggled his fingers furiously, and the doctor tried to recoil and bend double in some way as he started cackling.

'NAHAHA H-HOHOST WAHAHAIT!'

The Host gasped and smirked, having mostly recovered from his time on the receiving end. He stood, not heeding the poor doctor's pleads as Iplier crumpled to the floor in the wake of the tickling...the Host's fingers just never stopped wriggling.

'Not a chance.'

The Host was not about to give up his sweet advantage. The Host cocked his head down at the doctor as he straddled the man's legs, snickering and letting his digits and taunting voice do the work.

'Poor Doccy, so ticklish and defenceless.'

Ahhh imitations, always evil. Iplier's eyes widened at the Host's imitation of him. and sure enough it embarrassed him to no end as he felt sensitive helplessness start to creep up on him. He desperately tried squeezing his arms down as much as he could, but nothing worked.

'PLEHEHEASE AHAHA IHI'M SAHARRY!!'

The Host hummed in thought, making the doctor gaze at him intently as he hoped with every ounce of his being that the Host would take the apology. Yeah, that was NEVER going to happen. Before Iplier knew it, the Host's hands had darted from his armpits to his hips, where the Host subjected his poor hipbones to pinch after pinch after pinch.

'The doctor will have to do better than that if he wants to convince the Host that his apology is sincere.'

The Host smirked satisfactorily as the poor doctor threw his head back, shrieking with laughter as his eyes went as wide as they could possibly get; it was like the tickling was shocking his whole sensitive system. Iplier squealed, trying to grab the Host's arms and push them away, but the Host was stronger.

'FAHAHAHAHACK NAHAHAHAAA!!'

The poor doctor could barely think, let alone elaborately barter for mercy! The Host happily chuckled, letting out a content sigh through his nose as he found Iplier's bare hipbones with his thumbs. He rubbed deep circles into them as he mused, really enjoying having gotten the upper hand.

'Hmm....swearing is a decent start....'

As the Host chuckled amidst his position of power...Dr Iplier was losing it. Iplier knew that if he was going to get quick mercy then he wasn't going to get it by begging...he was going to get it by doing what the Host had done. Iplier wasn't going to let this get one-sided. Iplier desperately reached out and crowed with relief when he realised he'd wiggled his fingers right into the Host's soft sides..

'AHAHA NAHAHAHA TH-THIHIHIS IHIS SUHUPPOHOSED TOHO BE THE HOHOST'S REHEVENGE!!'

The Host cried with a voice that was so high pitched and surprised and embarrassed, that it made the doctor grin madly amidst his laughter. Host had tried to jerk away, and thus lost his straddled position upon the doctor and ended up laying on the floor next to him. They were at war with one another, neither one of them relenting.

'IHIHI WOHOHON'T JUHUST LEHET YOHOU BEHEAT MEHEHE!!'

Iplier cried as both men jostled, desperately trying to grasp and skitter and poke at one another's torsos. They were both laughing like laughing gas had been made the new air, especially the Host as the writhing doctor targeted his belly-button.

'NAHAHA STAHAHAPPIT!!'

The Host wished he could have said something stronger, but he had to focus on his actions, he had to focus on prevailing over his friend; it was all he could think about, even in his hysteria. The Host targeted the bowels of the doctor's hips with his squeezing fingers, which meant that the doctor had howled amidst his reply.

'YOHOHOU STAHAHAPPIT FIHIRST!!'

The Host was arching and hiccupping at the belly-button tickling as the doctor thrashed and literally shook with the force of his laughter. As tears developed in the doctor's eyes, the Host wildly shook his head and cried.

'NEHEHEHEHEVEHEER!!'

....this all went on for about another minute. Dr Iplier had his index finger wiggling so deeply into the Host's hyper-sensitive belly-button that it was questionable whether it would ever see the light of day again. It was the same with the Host's thumbs being buried so deep into the bowels of Iplier's hips, the Host wasn't even sure if he could perceive his own thumbs anymore. Soon enough, coughs came through the Host's laughter while tears streamed down the doctor's face....and it was a unanimous decision to dole out mercy.

They were practically in sync with how they flopped onto their backs with their limbs at their sides, gasping desperately for air. Tickling someone was tiring when you were hysterical too! Iplier blinked a few times, getting readjusted to not being tickled, before he started giggling; I mean, tickle fights with friends are just the best.

'Thahat was fuhuhun...'

Iplier looked happily to the Host as he too started to giggle, before musing with a feigned grimace in place.

'Mmm ihit was....however the Host thihinks he hahas a few more puhulled muscles than un-pulled ohones....'

The Host made a show of wincing as he squirmed on his back, making Iplier snorts and grin a cheeky, boyish grin.

'Hey I know a reeeeally good-looking doctor who could help with thahat.'

Iplier snorted when he got a shove from a chuckling Host, who then went to clutch his tummy with a light sigh. The Host shuffled closer to the doctor and nestled into his shoulder, making his reply come out as a very, VERY tired mumble.

'The Host wihill happily book an appointment....after he recalls how to get up....'

Iplier snickered, then snuggled close on that wonderful floor of mediocre comfort. Both men smiled to themselves as they rested, thanking their lucky stars that they had such a good friend in one another....and such a good equal in the world of tickle fights.

WOOOO HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS FIC LEMME KNOW IF YA DO WOOOOO LUV YOUS XX

[jamkookies]

Stay

Description :  A trip to Malta for the shooting of Bon Voyage seems peaceful enough until the moment things take an unexpected turn...

Word count : 2k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“No you don’t.”

“What?”

“You felt the need to say that because I’ve been taking care of you, that’s all.”

He gives you an incredulous look, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you feel bad for me and you said that so I could feel better,” you say.

He grips you by the the straps of your tank top and pulls you to him.

“Do you really think I would do that? Take pity on you? Is that what you’re saying?!” he growls into your face.

You’re taken aback by his sudden outburst. He looks angry, but his fingers are gentle and the proximity of his face to yours is anything but hostile.

His eyes keep staring at your lips.

“I’ve felt like this for five god damn years, but you’re just too stupid to notice anything.”

Jungkook’s breath tickles your face as he struggles to get the words out of him.

“I love everything about you - the way you look, the way you act, the way you you scrunch your nose when you’re reading, the way you tend to put other people’s needs before your own..”

His expression softens a little and his hands abandon your shirt to cradle your face.

“I love you, Y/N and nothing can change that.”

Your vision turns blurry because of the tears threatening to spill.

Your lips quiver and you’re just about to say something back, when a rustle of leaves makes you both freeze.

At the edge of the hollow, a man’s feet appear.

You and Jungkook flatten against the wall, him protectively shoving you against his back, even with his injury.

The man’s feet are illuminated by the moonlight, roaming around the entrance of the hollow, but making no attempt to get in.

He hadn’t seen you.

You hold your breath, terrified to let out even the slightest sound.

The wet leaves under his feet crunch every time he makes a step and it feels like a clock ticking closer and closer to your doom.

Another pair of feet join him.

“Did you find anything?”

“No. But they can’t have gone far. Not with that injured leg of his.”

“If Jungkookie dies, I will kill you.”

The man chuckles.

“You’re in no condition to threaten anyone. I could shoot you in the head right here and no one would ever know.”

“But you won’t,” the girl says.“ You need me to get your money.”

“For now.”

“For now,” she echoes.

They both pivot and walk away in opposite directions.

You can hear the steps getting further and further, till the sound gets lost in the breeze.

The rain had stopped for some time, you notice.

“That was close,” Jungkook whispers.

You wanna say something.

Anything.

You wanna scream to the world that you love him so much to the point where it hurts.

But you don’t.

The words get clogged up in your throat.

So you just put your arms around his torso and give him a back-hug.

Leaning your head onto his back, you can feel the vibrations reverberating through his whole body when he speaks in a low voice.

“Aren’t you gonna say anything?”

You just squeeze him tighter.

“That’s more than enough, then.” he says.

He puts his hands on top of yours and starts making circles with his thumbs.

You just stay like that, in silence, enjoying the company of each other’s arms.

* * *

He’d fallen asleep.

The exhaustion must have finally gotten to him, you think to yourself, as you feel his weight on your front body.

He hadn’t removed your hands from his torso, hadn’t even moved an inch, but just let himself relax till the tiredness had eventually knocked him out.

You scoot back and let his head drop onto your lap.

His longish hair falls into his eyes and you move them out of the way.

You trace his face with your fingers, lingering on every edge.

Beautiful.

He was beautiful.

His eyes shoot open.

“Like what you see?” he says.

You huff a laugh and your shoulders shake with the action.

“I do, actually.” you answer.

He grins immediately.

“What exactly do you like the most about me?”

You are about to give him a sassy comeback, but you give up halfway.

“Everything.”

He looks a little taken aback, but continues nonetheless.

“What about physical features?”

“I like your scar.” you say and your fingers immediately find the flaw on his left cheekbone.

That small imperfection was what made him perfect.

“Wait, you actually like that?”

You nod vigorously.

“What else do you like?”

He was really enjoying this.

“You have a nice… umm..physique.”

His eyes narrow at your words.

“Be more specific.”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, you have nice thighs, god damn it! There, I said it!” You shout in a whisper.

His smile goes on full-bloom.

“No funny comments, no snarky comebacks… Wow, there really is something going on here.”

“You look pleased as hell.”

“I like to be appreciated.”

“You literally have millions of fans doing that every single day.”

“But I wanted to hear it from you, though.”

You look at him pointedly for a while, then release a deep sigh.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll stop.” he says quickly and lowers your hands to his lips to kiss them.

Oh goodness.

He was just making it worse.

Goosebumps flare all over your body and it’s the best you can do not to shiver.

“I should check your wound.” you say with a forced air of nonchalance.

“Jumping right into the good stuff, aren’t we?”

You tug at a string of his jet-black hair.

“Ow, ow.. sorry, sorry.” he whines.

Your hands reach for his thigh, untying the strip of cloth with delicate hands.

This is not good.

It had started to get swollen, its corners red and puffy. If you didn’t clean it fast, the infection would spread even more.

“I’m gonna go get some water.” you say, already rising to your feet.

“With those guys wandering around the forest? Absolutely not.”

“Your wound is infected. I have to clean it.”

“It’s too dangerous.”

“You’re gonna lose your leg.”

“Better than losing you.”

Your words falter in between your lips.

He grips your calf and looks at you behind his see-through bangs, doe eyes begging.

“Stay.”

You had to go. You couldn’t just leave him in this condition.

“Please.” he adds.

You release a long sigh and get down to your knees, his eyes never leaving yours.

“We should get some sleep.” you whisper. “ We’re leaving at dawn.”

He offers you a bunny smile and envelopes you into his arms. You put your hair on his chest and just lay down together, savoring the warmth of each other’s presence.

* * *

Eight minutes.

You had been counting non-stop, waiting for the sound of his steady breathing, the signal for you to do what you had to do.

You had to make sure he was really asleep before you left.

He was never gonna forgive you for it.

You knew that very well and you still proceeded to detach his hands from your arms, being extremely careful not to wake him up.

Thank God for his habit of sleeping like a log.

Soundlessly rising to your feet, you tip-toe your way out of the hollow. The ground is wet, the constant dripping of the water from the branches soaking it thoroughly.

First, you had to find something to fill up the water.

You scan the trees and bushes, looking for any decent-looking leaves.

There.

A few feet from you a shrub is in full bloom, its green, wide leaves hanging around it like a crown.

You pluck off a couple, careful not to rip them apart.

Wrapping them into a half sphere, you put them under a dripping branch and wait for it to fill up.

This was gonna take a while.

And the constant thoughts about having to let Jungkook on his own, unprotected, didn’t make it any easier for you.

You prayed for him to be safe, prayed they wouldn’t find him.

Drip drip drip.

The anxiety threatened to swallow you whole, all kinds of thoughts jumbled into your head in a disarray.

You look at your improvised bowl and notice that it’s filled to the brim.You bend down to pick it up but the eyes staring at you in the reflection of the water make your breath hitch in your throat.

Then, something hard smashes into your skull, rendering you unconscious.

* * *

You open your eyes to semi darkness, dawn ready to spill its light on the top of the trees.

Your head pounds harder than the last time you got drunk with the boys.

The things you would give to go back in time…

There’s none of that now.

Nothing except for the feeling of exhaustion weighing down your lids, your body an utter wreck.

There’s a wetness at the back of your head. The feeling of something trickling down.

You know it’s blood.

The terrible ache on your head was proof enough.

You look down at your body and almost scream at the sight.

They’ve tied you up against a tree, the rope digging into your wrists.

“Finally up, I see.” you hear a voice nearby.

You turn your head from side to side, trying to locate its source.

The man is sitting on the ground, grinning at you like a psychopath.

“You know, she told me to kill you.” he continues. “Get rid of you as fast as possible. But I didn’t. I figured out I could easily sell you to the highest bidder with just a phone call. That Jungkook guy isn’t the only famous one here.”

You give him a look of disgust.

He keeps talking, unbothered by your indifferent behavior and gets in front of your face.

“So what I’m gonna do now is go get the car by the side of the road and then we’ll go on a little trip, right sunshine?”

You spit into his face.

He flinches, hands reaching to wipe it off.

Then he slaps you so hard across the cheek, you see stars.

It stings like hell but you refuse to let out a sound, letting the anger build up inside of you instead.

He stands on his feet then storms off.

Bastard.

You’d never wanted to kill someone so badly. However the feeling of enragement gets replaced by raw panic.

What had happened to Jungkook?

Was he alright?

You hoped he was still asleep, safe from the clutches of these maniacs.

“Jungkook…”

“You called?” a voice is heard behind your back.

Two hands reach for the knot, trying to undo it.

Then Jungkook appears in front of you, sweat clinging to his forehead and a limp on his leg.

But he was okay.

He was safe.

You jump into his arms, squeezing him as hard as you can.

He does the same, pain and exhaustion all but forgotten.

“I’m so sorry.” you say, voice muffled by his chest. " I didn’t want to leave you alone but I had to.“

"It’s alright.” he whispers. “I’m fine.”

You breathe him in, letting his scent calm your nerves for just a second.

“We still have to go. He will be back soon.”

You nod and grab his hand.

Ignoring the throbbing pain on your head, you sling his arm across your shoulder, letting yourself bear his weight.

“I’m alright, don’t worry.” he says and retreats his arm back.

You both sprint into a run and you know the pain on his thigh is killing him, but there’s nothing you can do.

There’s no plan.

You just run for your lives.

“Faster!” he gasps when he hears steps behind you.

It’s the girl.

She has a gun in her hands.

You speed off, dragging Jungkook with you.

This was not gonna end well.

You had been caught up in between two fires. It was just a matter of time before you both got captured again.

The trees start to get rarer and rarer until a flowing creek appears in front of you.

It does not have a smooth flow.

The stream rushes fast and the rocks create whorls at every corner.

You don’t stop.

It is now or never.

“Jungkook, I -

A shot rings in your ears and a terrible pain blooms on your shoulder.

The words don’t make it out of your lips.

He doesn’t let go of your hand and you fall into the water, dragging him with you