#make me climb a branch and put me in a weird little hat

[remingtonisleithal]

Feel better

Remington leith x female!reader

Warnings: does swearing and possibly bad writing count?

Summary: reader was feeling down, and Remington takes her on an adventure to feel better, attempted fluff

@smiling-girl thank you again for the request :) hope this works!

It had been a few days since you answered your phone, too upset to respond to the calls of humanity. You'd been falling deeper down lately, struggling to be happy as things fell apart around you. Luckily for you there was a knight in shining armour; or more accurately, eyeliner and a hoodie. Remington missed your texts and calls, he knew how bad you were feeling, and he would not let the girl of his dreams suffer any longer. He arrived in full force, charging at the door to your apartment (thanking God it was unlocked) and yelling your name until he found you on the floor of the kitchen, crying.

"Oh baby," was all he said before rushing over to join you. He put an arm around you and held you tight to him, hoping that if he pulled you closer his love for you would chase your dark clouds away.

"Talk to me, what's wrong?"

"I... i don't wanna get into it. It's all just been to much lately and-" you took a deep breath and let out a sigh. He looked at you with a sad smile.

He lent forward and pressed a soft kiss to your lips before pulling his sleeves over his hands a wiping away your tears.

"It'll be OK." a pause "How about we forget about our problems for the night, hm? I say we go for an adventure." He stood up and held out his hand

You giggled. "Yeah, sure, I'll just leave the house like this, tear stained pants and a smelly hoodie. It'll be fine."

"OK then, how about you have a quick shower, then we can do anything you want."

He pulled you up from the floor and led you to the bathroom.

“Do I have to? It's safe here.” you complained.

“C'mon, it's just a little shower. You'll feel better afterwards baby.” his eyes and voice convinced you.

In record time of fifteen minutes, you had a shower, brushed your hair and got changed to go out. You took a deep breath and reminded yourself that things will be OK, even if it hurts. And you walked out the door hand in hand with your boyfriend.

***

“OK, OK, but what about this? I feel like I'd look really good in this” Remington said, holding up the ugliest skirt and jacket you had ever seen. The two of you had been trying on clothes (much to the dismay of the sales assistant) for at least an hour in the massive department store full of things you knew you couldn't afford. You tried on outfit after outfit, making sure to put things back where you found them so you didn't get kicked out of the shop, and you took a million photos.

“What about this?” He held up a red lingerie set. “Not for you, for me. I would look fucking hot in this.”

“Ah yes, but that's not your size.”

“True, true. Shall we ask if they have any in the back?” you erupted into a fit of giggles, making Remington loose it too, until you were on the floor in a pile laughing so hard you were crying, ignoring the face of a lady who passed you.

“OH!” you yelled, and he turned to look at you so fast he got dizzy. “THIS! Look at how beautiful this dress is!” you were in awe at this amazing dress, and instantly ran to try it and the other clothes in your arms on.

You loved the dress... until you saw the price tag.

“Yeesh,” you mumbled “maybe we should go to a different store?” you called to Remington over the change room stall.

“Good plan.”

You opened the door and you cracked up laughing. Your boyfriend was wearing the most ridiculous straw hat on, a yellow flannel and a green scarf. A horrendous combination made even better by the multiple pairs of glasses on his face. You had to lean on the door to stop yourself from falling, knees weak from laughter.

Remington on the other hand just watched you in adoration. The way the black dress clung to your hips, the way your eyes scrunched shut in joy, the sound of your laughter. Every inch of you was perfect.

The moment passed and you left the store with a new necklace he saw you watching wistfully and a smile you had forgotten about.

“That was so fun. Thanks, Remi.” You told him.

“Was? Oh, no no no, it's not over yet sweetheart.” He said with a smirk that made butterflies flutter in your stomach.

With that he grabbed your hand and started to run, and you laughed out of a mix of joy and fear of tripping over. Winding down cement paths and through a few alleys for speed, you arrived at the train station within minutes, puffing, out of breath, and collapsing to the ground for all of a moment before a train arrived, Remington pulling you onto it.

“Where are we going?” you asked him, once you caught your breath.

“Surprise.” he said with a shrug.

***

You stood outside a hot chip shop, waiting for the man to yell your order number so you could try 'world's best burger and fries', as Remington told you. The two of you wandered aimlessly away from and into each other, tracing the lines of the cement blocks on the street. The sun was almost gone, leaving a dark yet vibrant blue across the sky, orange-tinged streetlamps lighting the scene, and a cool breeze drifting the scent of hot chips out across the empty street.

Remington held both your hands, tugging this way and that, tracing the your hands with his thumbs. He looked at you, and a smile fell onto his lips.

“You really are beautiful, you know that?” he asked you, making you blush and turn away. “Really, you're perfect. I-” he was interrupted by the man yelling for you both to collect your order. You looked back at Remington, waiting for your boyfriend to say 'I love you' for the first time, but he just smiled and pulled you closer for a quick kiss before walking over to take the bag of food, hand never leaving yours.

“Just one more destination.” he told you.

***

The park was small, with a few tall trees, a set of swings and a small structure the two of you got stuck in and had to pull each other out, laughing like you were five years old again. You sat on the cold grass and ate chips and burgers, and were in heaven. The burgers really were as good as promised, and the man beside you made everything infinitely better.

“You know, I feel like we're ignoring the swings too much.” You said, jumping up and pulling Remington over to them.

He stopped and look at them, eye brows furrowed, nodding to himself.

“Rem? Remi? Whatcha thinking?” You asked, concerned, knowing where this was going.

“I think I can climb this.”

“No.”

“Really, if I just-”

“No.”

Silence.

“Stop me.” He cried, up on the structure in record time, and hanging upside.

“HAHA I KNEW IT!” He yelled, struggling to laugh. You just sighed and shook your head, trying to hide your smile.

“Aw, come on. You had to know I was gonna do that.”

“OK, OK fine. But maybe I wanted you to do that.” You countered.

“Oh really? What for.?” You could hear the smirk in his voice.

“To spiderman kiss maybe?” You walked up to him, to give him a soft kiss, but laughed as the heights were all wrong and he was at a weird angle.

Jumping down he walked up to you without slowing down, and mumbled “Is this better?” before kissing you with passion. Time stopped once again as you created a world of your own. Moments, minutes or life times later, you pulled away to catch your breath.

“Race you to the tree.”

“What?”

“Race you to the tree!” Remington yelled again, and you bolted after him.

Climbing a tree at night in a park you'd never been to was not your brightest idea, but hell was it a fun one. You climbed at high as you could, making sure the branch was thick enough for both you and your boyfriend. Once you got settled, you next to the tree trunk, Remington on your left, you shivered a little at the cold night air.

“Here, lemme help.” he said, taking off his leather jacket and placing it around you. It was warm and smelt like him, and you held it tight against you.

“Thank you.” you smiled at him.

“You know I love you, right Y/N?” he asked, vulnerability visible in his voice. You breath hitched as you looked the love of your life in the eyes.

“I love you, too.” You whispered, leaning in for another kiss.

What felt like hours past, and eventually you climbed down, Remington going first, so when you jumped down he caught your waist to lower you. You grabbed your bag and he put the rubbish in the bin. Smiling, you walked back to the station.

***

At the door to your apartment, Remington kiss you once more. He left his forehead against your, looking you in the eyes to ask you, “do you feel better now, my love?” and all you could do was smile, nod and hold him against you.

*lemme know if anyone wants a part 2 (with a lil' smut)* :D

[the-faces-and-voices-in-my-head]

A Miracle in September

Alright, let me give you a short explanation for what will happen next.

I am not a writer and I will never see myself as a writer.

However, I might have some ideas hidden deep down and they happen to float when they grow bigger than my brain and my heart to take.

You guys are the best place to share whatever you will read with.

You are more than welcome to love it, hate it, or ignore it.

But of course, If It is up to me, I hope it gives you a happy moment.

@i-am-no-body Since it was your request to write something, I did it now let's share whatever reactions we get together XD

It was a windy day, the leaves and thin branches were moving with the wind proving how strong it was; sitting in his wheelchair, Levi Ackerman watched the scene quietly from the large window in his room.

It started as a beautiful day of the autumn season.

Levi's favorite season.

He was lost in his thoughts until a tiny persistent sound forced him back to reality. He pushed the wheelchair closer to the window where he saw a cat struggling to stay balanced on the edge of another close window to his.

-Tch! what an idiot!

The cat made this long heart-wrenching sound as if she was screaming for help, Levi lived on the fifth floor and if she fell, it would be a deadly fall for sure. Levi watched her for a moment then moved his wheelchair again to get one of his crutches that he often uses when he has to move longer than the usual distance he can walk.

He supported the crutch while pushing its wide end to where the scared cat stood. He thought he might create a bridge for her to reach to his window and he will take her inside; the cat didn't disappoint him, she started moving carefully walking on the crutch until she reached Levi's window and jumped into his lap.

Levi caught her with one hand, pulled the crutch back, and closed the window with the other hand.

-Here...I got you...Don't be scared.

The cat's heart was beating faster than usual even for her, Levi checked if she was injured anywhere then decided to start by feeding her.

-Wait here, I will make you a tasty lunch.

Levi has always been kind to animals, stray cats were his closest friends in his childhood so he didn't try to hide his love and kindness towards them as he has always done among humans.

Levi got up slowly and went towards the kitchen.

-Captain Levi!

Falco ran after Levi trying to help him in whatever he needed to walk for.

-Bring me a clean bowl Falco.

Not knowing what for, Falco brought a bowl to Levi, White milk filled the bowl while Falco watched in confusion: Captain...Are you hungry?

-Tch, do you think I drink milk from a bowl, brat?

Falco raised his hand in defense: No...no...I thought you are preparing cereals...they are usually put in milk.

-Ce...What?

-Falcoooo, I found a cute cat in captain Levi's room!

Levi was one who responded: Why are you in my room in the first place Gabi?

Gabi came with a wide happy smile on her face holding the cat excitedly: We wanted to check on you captain...we missed you and planned to spend the day with you.

Levi knew why...and he was grateful to the two brats whom he considered as a family ever since the nightmare ended.

He was aware what day tomorrow is but they came earlier than he expected them to come.

The doorbell rang and quiet knocks followed.

-MR ONYANKOPON IS HERE CAPTAIN LEVI!

Gabi's voice rang in the house while Levi was walking to the living room where Gabi took the cat.

-Falco, how do you survive this noisy one without going deaf?

Falco smiled shyly: I got used to her, captain.

And Levi knew more than anyone how to live with a loud cheerful one.

-Oh, where did you find this beautiful one, Levi?

-She was stuck like an idiot on the edge of a near window.

Onyankopon smiled and said: then you saved her right?

Levi's slightly blushing face answered for him.

Onyankopon continued: Once a hero, always a hero.

-Shut up smart hat!

Onyankopon laughed knowing how Levi reacts to compliments yet he never stopped expressing his admiration and gratitude to the man who saved the world despite everything he lost...and everyone.

The cat jumped from Gabi's arm to Levi's lap again ignoring the food.

-Oh? the cat already chose her owner Gabi!

-Well, this just gives me more reasons to stay with Captain Levi.

Levi stroked the white fur lovingly and talked to the cat: what? not hungry? or you didn't like it?

The cat returned the kind gesture by touching Levi's fingers with her paw then jumped again to where the bowl is and started drinking the milk in a graceful manner.

-Levi! The cat is well behaved! I thought she is going to make a mess!

Levi watched her silently but the admiration was obvious on his handsome face.

Gabi said: I will prepare the lunch then, come with me, Falco!

Falco's blushing cheeks explained what he wanted so the two men nodded in approval.

Onyankopon smiled and said: Ah that young love.

Levi didn't respond, verbally at least but he raised his hand and touched the stitches on his face nodding in agreement quietly.

Onyankopon knew how Levi felt.

It was the afternoon of the 4th of September.

In reality, it was a reminder of the unforgettable one they lost almost a year ago and in a better world, it would be almost her birthday.

Onyankopon closed his eyes for a moment and whispered: Happy Birthday Commander Hange...

As if she was called, the cat returned to Levi's lap again with a graceful jump but this time she climbed his chest and with her little paw touched the stitches on his face.

Both of the men were surprised and confused.

Levi's eye on this side was no longer able to serve him but he still felt the cat's careful touch, she traced the stitches carefully and gently as if she knew how delicate and important these stitches are.

The awkward silence lasted for almost a minute then the cat looked up as if she was seeing something on the ceiling.

She started to purr in satisfaction.

Levi was surprised by what she did but he enjoyed it nonetheless: you are such a weird ball of fur.

Onyankopon picked the topic: what are you going to call her?

Levi seemed surprised by the question.

He never considered keeping the cat.

-I didn't say I am keeping this furball.

-But she is so smart, clean and polite and she likes you a lot.

-She will make a mess sooner or later...You can keep her if you want.

-I am not the one being licked, touched, and loved by her sadly.

The cat was awake and listening, she flipped on her back in an adorable way touching Levi's sleeves with two paws.

-Hahahaha, Is she flirting now?

-If she is then she is an idiot.

Onyankopon shook his head without commenting on what Levi said, he learned that these words are signs of affection from Levi.

-Come on Levi, Pick a name.

-I don't have one...I will call her cat.

-Oh for god's sake Levi, she is a cat, I said a name.

-Why the hell do I need to call a cat with a name in the first place? I haven't lost my mind yet.

-It does not mean you lost your mind, it means that you care about your pet...Think of something related to her, her appearance, your feelings about her...anything she made you feel.

-Idiot...She is an idiot one so I will call her "Idiot"...Happy?

The cat hit Levi's hand lightly with her paw before biting it softly, almost tickled him.

Onyankopon didn't try to hold his laughter: See? She didn't like it, Levi.

Levi carried her and looked into her blue eyes.

It was exactly like the sea he saw for the first time with her...

That day...

He didn't show it but what he felt was pure joy.

Hange's beautiful face.

Her cheerful laugh.

Her curious comments.

He felt it all even if nobody noticed.

The sea for him was a reminder of the pure joy he once felt.

He hesitated before saying in a low unsure tone: How about...Joy?

Onyankopon answered immediately: I love it.

The cat seemed to like it too.

Gabi and Falco finished cooking and started serving the lunch.

The hours passed quickly.

They talked, joked, and laughed.

At 10 PM, Levi decided to go to sleep.

Falco and Gabi decided to stay in the other room Levi prepared for them.

Onyankopon shyly asked to stay and he was ok with sleeping on the big sofa if Levi accepted.

Levi didn't have the courage to disappoint them...and didn't want to do it.

He was grateful for this kind of love he got from all of them.

He knew how having a family may feel.

He knew how having a trustworthy friend can be.

Far from fears of loss, blood, and destruction, these feelings were different from what he experienced in his life and he wanted to cherish them even if he could not express them clearly.

After he closed the door of his room, he noticed that the cat sneaked in.

-Tch, I will not let you sleep on the bed.

The cat jumped on the near chair and stayed there.

Levi was prepared for a short fight, he was even considering giving in to the cat's desire if she insisted.

-Well, Good.

He started taking off his clothes to wear something more comfortable but he stopped abruptly when he heard a feminine voice: Are you sure you want to do that while I am sitting here?

He raised his head instantly towards the direction of the voice.

What he saw was almost a hallucination...

A woman he knew very well was sitting there where Joy was.

Levi needed a few seconds to speak: Ma!!!

She got up and sat beside him on the bed: I...I am not your mother but I thought you would love to see her face after all these years...was it a bad idea?

Levi didn't find the words.

He was sure that it was a dream.

He was sure that none of this was real.

But if it was a dream why isn't she in it?

-Are you thinking about the smiling woman with glasses?

Her kind smile matched his mother's.

He could finally speak: How do you know both of them? and...Who are you?

She kept the kind smile: You named me Joy.

-Then I am dreaming? or...Am I dying?

She touched his face like his mother did in an old dream of his and shook her head: Neither...It is just that I owe you.

The question didn't leave Levi's head but she answered it: some cats are not only mere cats, we live in this world disguising ourselves in forms, cats are our favorite since humans love it and respect it, they even worshipped them.

-So...You are not a cat?

-I know you are new to this world and the concept of miracles is not a familiar one to you but I am one of god's creatures, powerful enough to repay your kindness.

-Can you bring back the dead?

Levi asked without thinking then he felt a mix of shame and sadness.

-I don't think I need to go that far.

Levi's widened eyes asked before he did: what do you mean?

His mother's face smiled kindly: Cats can see spirits, I tried to make you notice when I played with her.

Levi repeated in a hopeful voice: Her?

She nodded: The cheerful one with glasses? Don't you know she has been by your side all the time?

Levi was surprised beyond words.

He asked her to watch over him.

She never abandoned him once.

Even in death...He was her priority.

-You named me joy and saved me when you could ignore me and now I know how I will pay my debt. She didn't wait for Levi's confused question and said: She tied herself to you with a string of fate, with every stitch, it held a wish and a prayer to the one your new friend spoke of.

She was desperate to keep you alive so she put all her hopes in these wishes and entrusted the mighty creator to keep you safe.

Levi knew she was speaking about Hange.

She continued: Her spirit never abandoned you so all I need to do is to give her a form that your human senses can feel and that...I can do.

Levi knew it was a dream yet he didn't try to wake up.

He was afraid to wake up.

The kind dear face of his mother gave him the same loving look he remembers and said: You are a very good man Levi Ackerman and If we crossed paths again in this life or the next ones, I will make sure to keep this friendship...

Now, remember what I will say, I spared a life of my nine lives to your beloved, she shall live for as long as you will, you are tied with a string of fate and never-ending love. You will be her connection to the world of living this time when your life ends, her connection ends, and if you gave up on loving her...

Levi interrupted her with all the feelings swelling in his heart: Never!

Joy smiled as if she knew already: Wait for her rebirth Levi Ackerman, I hope you will find the joy you once felt with her in your remaining years. I shall take my leave.

Before he could ask about what she meant, a strong wind engulfed both of them while Joy's voice rang for the last time: May your life be blessed both of you.

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

Levi woke up feeling a heavy weight on his chest but he didn't open his eyes yet. He had this dream and he wished he could never wake up. He truely hoped for that rebirth the mysterious being spoke of.

A faint touch played with his hair.

It was so soft....so kind.

A dear voice followed it: Wake up Levi...

His eyes opened slowly.

He thought he was still dreaming though.

She could never be here for real...could she?

-I missed you clean freak.

His heartbeats doubled maybe tripled even.

He could barely say: This is a dream...

She smiled as he has always remembered: tough luck Levi, I think you are stuck with me for another round.

Levi didn't find the words at this moment but he did the one thing he regretted not doing all the past years.

He hugged Hange as if he was trying to keep her inside his chest.

She was surprised by what he did but she hugged him even tighter.

-I have been stalking you all the time.

Levi's hot tears fell on her shoulder, she felt them but she didn't want to leave his arms yet, she continued: I am happy you made it alive out of that hell Levi, I am proud of you, I have always been.

His body shook briefly as he let go of his pain, longing, and sadness while Hange kept stroking his hair and his back softly and lovingly.

They didn't know how long they stayed this way.

They felt pure happiness.

They felt pure bliss that night.

Hange could finally take a good look at Levi's face.

-You are still so damn handsome, Levi.

His eyes were still wet as he stroked her cheek tenderly.

-Say something Levi...

He looked into her hazel brown eyes: Don't Go Hange!

Her heart fluttered as she responded: Didn't you hear that you are my lifeline? I am alive again as long as you live, as long as you want me to be.

-Do you mean that...You can't die before I die?

Hange looked surprised then said: well, I think she meant normal death but not accidents, maybe we should tr...

Levi grabbed Hange's hair longingly forcing her closer to him: Shut up four eyes...Shut up...This time you will never go anywhere without me and whatever the reason that may take your life, I will be by your side...I am not making the same mistake again...Got it?

She touched his forehead with hers and whispered: Got it.

The large clock outside announced the time.

Levi's door was opened by Gabi who was calling his name as she opened: Captain Levi who are you talking t...huh?

Hange got up spreading her arms: Gabiiiii!

Falco and Onyankopon were no different from Gabi.

Onyankopon was the one who noticed that the cat was nowhere to be seen: Levi...Is it somehow related to Joy?

Levi nodded: I might be still dreaming.

Falco who was crying and yet trying to soothe the crying Gabi as well said: I...I can see you Hange San, we can't be dreaming at the same time...you...you really are here...it is like Christmas Miracle.

Onyankopon was the one who answered: God does not need a month to give us a miracle Falco then he held both of Hange's hands and kissed them happily: It is a blessing and we can only be grateful we witnessed it.

It was 12:05 am after midnight, the 5th of September, and a rebirth of a never-dying connection and a never-ending love.

[plant-gt-thought-box]

Tom and Jerry but its Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo- aka Mole AU

So fun story this is my first ever AU and I just forgot to post the story- I hope you all enjoy the antics that comes with this and send in some ask if you want!

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

Niki finished up her little bit of breakfast she'd made herself and grabbed her gardening hat and watering can. She’d been growing quite a big garden in her backyard for about 2 months and the garden had already taken up basically the entire backyard.

However, Niki left one area untouched by the garden; a small area with a few tables and a wooden chest that held blankets. So if anyone were to sit on the ground they didn't have to sit in the mud.

"Aw, I can't wait until all my flowers come in, then the others and I can have a picnic!"

Niki filled her watering can up at the outside faucet she had and started walking over to the tulips she grew in the garden. As she got closer she noticed a few holes in the two of the flowerbeds and a few of the tools even dug up 

"Huh? Oh, that’s not good" she quicken her pace a bit and sat down on the ground to inspect the holes and flowers, yep there is no doubt about it it looks like she had a mold problem, she now considers herself a bit lucky that Wilbur just opened up a service to get rid of rodents.

Niki headed back inside her house and grabbed her phone "Hello Will! Yay I'm good, I have a small rodent problem-No they're not in my house they're in my garden. I think it's moles? Yes they ripped up some of my tulips already- Ok see you in a little bit! I'll have some cookies ready for you"

----

Wilbur pulled into Niki's driveway parking his car and quickly got out running up to the front door, he started knocking are Niki door extremely excited "Niki! Let me in!"

As Niki open the door she was greeted with a big hug from her friend and started apologizing for getting him covered in flour "You actually made cookies??? In the time it took me to get here???" Wilbur looked at her amazed "Yup! It's your first time doing something like this, and since you're refusing to let me pay you I thought I could pay you in cookies!"

Wilbur went out to the garden and started setting his stuff up "Ok moles, time to meet your maker" "Um Wilbur could you maybe do this in a more humane way? I don't want them to rip up my flowers but I don't want them to die either..." Niki looked up at Wilbur with a pleading face her lip quivering a bit "....Niki how dare you use my greatest weakness against me-" "So you won't kill them?" "No but-" "Ok! I'll be inside making some lemonade! Have fun catching the moles!". And with that Niki headed back inside her house trusting Wilbur wouldn't hurt the moles

----

Tommy poked his little head out of the Tulip he was sleeping in once he heard the commotion of people "Tubbo! Wake up we got to go!", Tubbo poked his head out of the Tulip right next to Tommy's "Why? it's morning, we sleep during the morning!" Tubbo complained as he's Mouse ears wiggle to get some of the pollen off of them. "Yay we usually do, but look!" Tommy pointed over at Wilbur he was setting up a what look like metal boxes and a few sticks that have strings tied to them and we're hanging in trees

"Oooh right Dream said if we saw any humans besides the cotton candy one we had to go tell him!" Tubbo find out of the two of the pillows and slid down the stem down to the ground Tommy following close behind "Yup! C'mon! I don't want to give him another excuse to get mad at us".

The two field mouse scary away running to the closest Mole Hole and follow the tunnels leading to where all the moles were having a meeting, Tommy went straight over to Dream and tugged on his hoodie "Hey! We sew a new human-" "See!? You ripping up those damn tulips was a mistake!" Eret, the king of the mole colony, yelled as he started walking closer to Dream.

Dream grabbed Tommy by his ear so he can't try and run "But your majesty as far as we know it could just be the humans friend! Boys, did the human bring anything special into the backyard?" Eret crossed his arms waiting patiently for Tommy and Tubbo's response

Tubbo quickly piped-in grabbing Tommy's hand to reassure them that they would be okay "Um yay! He brought weird metal boxes and put some rope in a tree! It kind of looked like he was trying to make a swing with it!" Tubbo nervously chuckled as Dream and Eret's expressions with quite dark

"See Dream? you trying to play Hero and impress George got an exterminator called on us!" Eret freed Tommy's ear from dreams hold "You two go watch the human and make sure he doesn't find any of our holes, understood?". Tommy and Tubbo simply nodded their head and quickly ran off heading back to the surface, Eret looked over to Dream "I can't believe I'm saying this but we might have to go along with your idea..." Dream smiled putting an arm around Eret "Hey just remember there field mice, no one's going to miss them if they get killed", Eret ignored the bit of guilt he felt in his stomach as he watched the two boys run off

----

Tommy and Tubbo watch the strange human as he set out more metal boxes and strange rope swings "Tommy what's an exterminator?" Tubbo asked His companion finally breaking the silence. Tommy just stood there and thought for a moment "I actually have no idea...Eret is the only person I've ever heard use it" Tubbo started picking up a few of the small shiny rocks that littered the garden floor "Hmm well he doesn't like to see whatever exterminators are".

Tubbo and Tommy continue to discussing between each other trying to figure out what an exterminator was and why Eret didn't seem to like them, the two were so engrossed in their conversation they didn't notice the shadow that slowly crept behind them.

"Huh quite talkative for mice" the two boys froze as they slowly turn their heads to see the human looming over them, without much thinking Tubbo started throwing the shiny rocks he was carrying at the human which caused him to drop the metal boxes that he was carrying.

Tommy grabged Tubbo's hand and started running towards the tall willow tree that rest in the middle of the garden "Look! We can use the rope swing he made to get up to the top!" Tubbo let go of Tommy's hand and started running on all fours quickly climbing up the Rope.

Tommy stopped when he noticed the circle that was at the bottom of the rope and moved it over a bit, he quickly started running up the Rope behind his friend

----

Wilbur went into a a MadDash when he noticed the two were escaping up into the tree, but as he was about to grab the blond Mouse running of the broke his foot tripped somehow getting stuck in his own trap, he watched the two mice get flown into the air by the rope and safely land on a branch up in the tree "OH THATS BULLSHIT!" Wilbur yelled in frustration as he tried to get his foot free.

Niki poked her head out of the kitchen door when she heard Wilbur yell "You ok Wil? You didn't get your head stuck in one of the cages again did you?" Wilburs face turn to hot pink from embarrassment as he looked over at Niki "N-NO! I just tripped I'm fine!" 

"Ok! Don't overdo yourself Wilbur!" Niki returned her attention to the cake she was making "I hope Wilbur's not giving those moles too hard of a Time"

----

Wilbur violently shook the cage that had gotten stuck on his hand as he continued chasing the two mice through the garden "GET BACK HERE!!!!" Of course the mice did not follow this order and instead split apart from one another, Wilbur had already been duped by the blond Mouse so he followed the brown one

-----

Tubbo continue running on all fours trying to get away from the angry human, he spotted one of the metal boxes up ahead and quickly do been to it, the human Wil-Bur fell to the ground and quickly closed the door behind Tubbo "AHAHA! I got you now!" 

Tubbo just stared up at the human a little confused as he very easily walk through the bars of the box and started running again, "HUH!?" Wilbur brought the caged up to his face opening the door to try and figure out how the mouse got out.

Tommy swing on one of the ropes kicking the cage so Wilbur dropped it causing it to land on his head and get stuck there "AH! NIKI! HELP!"

Niki ran out of the kitchen and stopped in her tracks when she saw Wilbur state "....Pff-" "Don't laugh at me! help me!!!" Wilbur said in a bit of a whiny tone

----

Tommy and Tubbo dove into the closest mole hole and started doing their best to catch their breath after all the running and climbing they had done, the two simply sat there in silence for sometime.

Until Tubbo started quietly chuckling and Tommy soon after joined him, "Did you see he's face!?" "Omg he was so mad!" "well that's what he gets for trying to grab us!", they continue to burst out laughing

"So that's what the Exterminator is?" Tubbo asked wiping some tears from his eyes "Haha yeah I think so, that was so much fun!" Tommy declared happily "Do you think we can do it again tomorrow?" Tubbo asked Tommy

Tommy thought for a moment "Maybe? If the human comes back sure! He seemed to be having fun in his own way to!", the two then had a brilliant moment

"Thats why Eret doesn't like exterminators! They're fun!" Both of the boys said at once "Omg Eret is such a stick-in-the-mud that he hates anything that's fun!" Tubbo slowly started piecing the puzzle together in his head "Well we're definitely not going to let him ruin our fun!"

Tommy stood up and helped Tubbo to his feet "let's go ask Dream give us the rest of the time the exterminators here off so we can play more games!".  the two mice ran down the tunnel and quickly a stream that question before they were sent off with a very confirmed yes

----

"Dream... we can't just let the Exterminator kill them" Eret said a part of him already knowing Dream's response "Hey I'm not the one who thought it'd be a good idea to steal two kids from an Owl, besides this makes it so they're finally useful for once" 

Eret look down at the ground ashamed "Look" Eret hesitantly looked up at Dream "You heard what those two did today and they're still alive! We'll just let them play their little game with the Exterminator so we can do whatever we want in the background, besides it's easier to steal food during the day when there are no Predators around"

Eret just stared at Dream for a few minutes before he slowly nodded his head "Fine...But if we're going through with this plan we need to give them extra rations so they can keep their salmon up", Dream Shrugged his shoulders "Sure, I'll go give them their dinner now".

Dream walked into the direction towards the boys room as Eric was left all alone "...they're just field mice, the safety of the colony comes first" Eret continues to repeat this sentence in his head as all the other moles came into the courtroom to enjoy dinner together

[spookysweet-heart]

Just Another Runaway?

Parings: Circus!Egos x Fem!Reader

Fandom: Youtuber Egos (Mark, Jack, and Nate)

Warning: Vague mention of abuse

A/N: Hello! I deleted the original work I had because I wanted to change a few things. I hope you all like this new Introduction to this Circus series! The lovely aesthetic I’ll be using for this intro is by the very talented @huffle-princess​! Thank you again for letting me use your aesthetics! Edited by @semiproeagle23​

           Life was never the greatest, you had to admit that. From the screaming, to the fights, the bruises, and tears. The only escape you had from what was supposed to be your home, was the local Gym. A little weird, but they had a gymnastics section in there and that’s where you loved to go.

Your best friend since childhood, Stretch, is the owner's daughter. She goes to the same school you do. You two would always be at the Gym after school for a bit, and you’d always find the time to practice some moves and get a workout done with some of the other girls who were practicing. 

Though you would never really join in, you were more off to the side. 

Stretch would help you cover up bruises you had that were visible, but you could see it in her face that she was worried about you, though you always told her you were fine and pushed through it.

Those unspoken words you and her shared when she looked at the pain you were in always ended in you running away at the end of the day, but none were successful.

You made plans and sure you were careful to the tiniest detail, perfecting it after each attempt you took. 

Failure after failure, you never gave up. The first few times after being brought back home from the cops, you were yelled at, degraded. 

It took a couple more years, but once you turned 17, you decided to go through with your new plan you worked so hard on.

Packing up some things in your backpack, you made sure to take everything you needed. You went to school as normal, and hung out with your friends. You weren’t really paying attention to their conversation at lunch till you saw one of them pull out a flier out of her bag. 

“What’s that?” You looked over curiously at the piece of paper.

“Haven’t you heard? There’s a traveling Circus coming into town.” You shook your head and Sam smiled at you. “I heard this Circus only pops up for one week in the year.”

Meer rolled her eyes. “So what? You’re saying it like it’s supposed to be scary?”

“Well, it is. I heard each town this Circus goes to at least one kid from the town goes missing and they never see them again. They say the Circus is for the lost souls of the living.” Stretch made a face while making spooky noises.

The whole table burst into laughter. You pointed at the flier and asked.  “Where is it going to be?”

“In the middle of the woods two miles away from the abandoned train tracks.” Sam piped up in excitement.

“Wait, how do you know that?” Meer raised an eyebrow, looking confused at her friend.

“Jordan from science said he was in the woods this morning and he saw them set everything up.” Sam said as she took a bite of her food.

“Jordan?! You can’t believe everything that kid says.” Meer looked at Sam like she was joking.

“Why not?” Stretch asked as she slid the flier over to you when she saw you trying to look at it.

“The kid’s kinda weird, like not normal weird.” Meer made a face and took a sip of her juice. 

You rolled your eyes and carefully folded the flier, putting it in your bag. “Just because he’s really into science doesn’t make him weird. He just likes what he studies.” 

Standing up from the table and making your way to your next class, Stretch stopped you in the hallway. "Hey! Are we still going to the gym after school? You haven't been going the past week and the coach is starting to get worried."

Adjusting your backpack, you gave her a small smile. "Yeah, about that. I just haven't been feeling too well and haven’t been up to going to the gym."

"Is everything okay? (Y/n), your parents aren't-"

"No! No…they aren't, I just haven't been up to going lately. I'm sorry, I have to get to my class."

Right as you started to walk away, she grabbed your arm. "(Y/n), whatever it is you're going through, you can talk to me. You know that, right?"

You nodded and gave her a brighter smile. "Yeah, of course I know. I'll see you around, okay?" Taking back your arm, you headed off to your next class.

------

Towards the end of the day, you had a free period for your last class, so you decided to go look through the school's library. Besides gymnastics, you always loved reading when you were actually home. Scary stories were what you loved to read. Sure, it was a bit childish, but you loved it because you would control the fear and how it affected you. 

Your eyes scanned the shelves of many horror novels, comics, and picture books. Though….you noticed one book in particular. It looked a little odd to the rest.

Picking it out, you saw the cover was faded. There were spots of brown and red, the spine was a bit torn, and the pages looked like they could crumble with the lightest touch.

Taking a look at the cover, the faintest words could be made out. "The Circus of Souls….I read that somewhere- no way…" Quickly taking the flier out of your bag, you put it side by side with the book. "They're the same…."

Gently opening the book, you saw drawings of a ringleader in the shadows with a wicked smile. In his hand held a cane with a small orb. His eyes were hidden by the top hat. What looked like red and black smoke surrounded him.

There were images of a magician in a mask with glowing potions in his hands, a man who seemed to be surrounded by purple smoke singing to a crowd. A mystic and dark fortune teller. A man in pink wearing a blindfold and holding knives. And a girl with glowing green eyes standing next to a tiger.

Every page had a story and specific person to it. Staring at the picture of the Ringleader, you were lost in thought when the last bell rang. You jumped as it brought you back to reality. 

Looking around and making sure no one was near, you placed the book and flier into your bag heading out of the school as fast as you could. 

Holding your bag close, you walked towards the woods, not looking back. You started walking the trail until you turned away from it. 

Carefully, you maneuvered your way through the trees and bushes, making your way to the abandoned train tracks.

Moving through a bush, you made it to the other side to where the track was. Looking around at the abandoned train cars, you sat at the edge of the tracks, taking out a water bottle from your backpack. You sighed after taking a sip, and looked up at the sky, seeing it was pretty cloudy out today. Tugging your jacket a bit closer to your body, you decided to explore the cars that were open.

You knew some homeless people used to live in them, but no one ever saw them around much anymore, so you figured it was safe. Climbing into one, you carefully took out your flashlight and looked around. It was mostly dusty and smelled of rotting food and rusted metal.

In the corner of your eye, you thought you saw black smoke outside of the car, but when you turned to it, it wasn't there. "Weird…" Jumping out of the car, you turned off your flashlight and took out the flier again. Examining it, you saw the picture of the Circus Ringleader. His eyes were, again, covered by his hat and what was supposed to be a charming smile actually looked malicious.

Taking a deep breath in, you turned around to see the black smoke just barely disappear again. You raised an eyebrow at this until you heard the faint sound of music. It was something you'd hear from a music box or a children's lullaby. 

Before you knew it, your feet were walking towards the distant sound. In your head, you were protesting, but it felt like something else was controlling your movement.

Squeezing through tight areas, climbing and jumping from car to car, you put good use into the years you'd taken gymnastics. Keeping your balance and heart rate at a steady pace, you felt like you were being watched with each move you made. 

With the music getting a little louder, you knew you were going the right way. After a while, you found yourself willingly going towards the music instead of fighting back. Curiosity grew with each step, knowing you were that much closer to seeing the source. 

Climbing up onto a tree, you hung onto one of the branches by your hands, carefully pulling yourself up to sit on the sturdy branch. In the distance, you saw it. The circus tents, the lights, the music….everything looked so inviting.

Deciding to stick with staying in the trees so you wouldn't be seen, you managed to swing from one branch to another.

As you got closer and closer, you sat on a branch a good distance away. Placing your bag on your, lap you took out the book and looked over at the tents. "This can't be real…" Opening the book again you saw the circus layout was exactly the same.

Flipping through the pages, you saw two acrobat and tightrope walkers. One was in a blue outfit and the other in a green matching outfit, both standing side by side. Flipping through the pages of story and art, something caught your eye. 

There was a drawing of four silhouettes, but it felt incomplete. Lightly brushing a finger over one, you thought your eyes were playing tricks when you saw golden specks appear when you did so.

Closing the book, you sighed as you put it away. You jumped a bit when you heard a twig snap from underneath you. Quickly putting a hand over your mouth and bringing your knees closer to you, you tried to hide as best as you could.

"Don't be such a frightened stranger. I'm not gonna hurt ya. But it's no use hiding when I already saw you up there."

Your heart dropped hearing that. The man's words meant no harm, but his tone told a different story. 

Glancing down at the figure below, you realized who it was. Carefully, you made your way down the tree and stood a good distance away from the man in the red suit.

“Well, what do we have here? A spectator?” He looked over at your bag and noticed how full it was. His smile grew, making him seem more intimidating. “Ah, just another runaway, I see.” Taking off his top hat, you saw his eyes for the first time. Piercing bright red eyes stared down at you as you took a step back. “Now, now….as I said before, no need to be afraid….yet, at least. Let me introduce myself.” He reached his hand out for you to shake. “My name is Phantom, I’m the ringleader of this Circus here, if you couldn’t tell already.”

Hesitantly, you shook his hand. A shiver ran down your spine when his cold hand touched yours. “N-Nice to meet you…” Taking your hand back, you immediately shoved it into your jacket pocket, surrounding it with warmth.

Phantom stood up straight again and placed his hat on his head. “Tell you what, kid, I’ll give you four free tickets to the Circus Of Souls. They’re valid for the whole week we’re here. You and three of your friends can have all the fun you’d like, my treat.” Reaching into his breast pocket, he pulled out four tickets. He smiled as he handed them to you. “You look like you could use a little fun in your life.”

Taking the tickets, you looked up at the man who now you know as Phantom. “There has to be a catch. You don’t just give tickets away like that…”

Phantom held his stomach as he laughed to himself. “Of course, everything has a price to pay. So what would you pay for happiness, then?”

“If I’m being honest….anything really…”

Phantom started to smile again, but you noticed it was the same wicked smile he had, like the picture in the book. “Anything….interesting.” He looked up at the sky for a moment before he heard someone shout by the big tent. “Well, looks like I have to go. You should get home before it gets dark. The woods are a scary place to be at night. Wouldn’t want you getting hurt now, would we. Go home, I’ll see you soon, (Y/n).”

As he turned away, you looked down at the tickets and looked confused because you never gave him your name….so how did he know it? Just as you looked back up to get his attention again, he was gone.

Tag List:

@lady-bee-fechin​

@smolwash​

@stretchy-longstocking​

@wildspeciallavender​

@freckled-words​

@nerdqueenkat​

@kateneedscoffee​

@drackenwolfdoctor​

@nekosounds​

[caretaker-au]

Kindness & Justice: Backstory

The two adolescent girls huddled around a small campfire in the twilight, trying to finish their dinner before nightfall. The tall cook poured the remains of pancake batter into the cast iron pan, mentally crossing her fingers that this one wouldn’t stick as bad as the previous one did. 

“This is the last one,” the cook said, “You want it?”

“No, that one is all yours,” her friend answered between mouthfuls. She didn’t have a fork, so she had rolled up the pancake like a burrito. At some point, her black cowboy hat had fallen off her head and hung against her back by the drawstring. It was her latest attempt at bringing Western wear back into vogue. “I shouldn’t have teased you for packing all that kitchen stuff. This turned out way better than I expected.”

“Worth it?” the cook asked with a grin.

“Worth it,” the shorter girl smiled. She finished off her food and stretched, moving her hat so she could lay down by the fire. The pink-streaked clouds floated overhead. It was warm enough that the fire was a little bit uncomfortable, but it didn’t seem right to lay anywhere else.

“So…” the cowgirl ventured, “You ready to talk about what happened with your folks?”

“Ugh, not really,” she answered, prodding at the batter with the spatula, “But, after working so hard to cheer me up, I suppose you’ve earned the right to know... Mom and Dad cornered me about their suspicions, and I told them the truth about us. Well, not about us, exactly, I left you out of it. I told them about me.”

“I’m guessing they didn’t take it too well.”

“I mean, they took it about as well as expected. Shouting, some crying, the whole works. Kept saying it was their fault, but that didn’t stop them from blaming me anyway.” The cook glanced at her friend, and saw her scowling. “It really wasn’t that bad though,” she added, “I mean, it could have been a lot worse, I’m pretty lucky, when you think about it.”

“Are you kidding me?” she sat up, her face incredulous, “Your parents are the lucky ones for having a daughter like you! They don’t deserve you, and you don’t deserve to be treated like a mistake. The unfairness of it all, it just--” she clenched the fabric of her skirt, stumbling over her words, “Once we get back to the city, I’m going to give them a piece of my mind.”

“I really wish you wouldn’t…” the tall girl said, her voice falling low, “I know it’s not your style, but I want you to try to be nice to them.” The cowgirl rolled her eyes, so she continued with a bit of forced smile, “Not for them but for me, okay?”

The short friend sighed, “Okay, for you. Is that thing done cooking yet?”

In response, the cook jerked the pan, masterfully flipping the pancake over. One side was a perfect golden brown. “Just a little bit longer now.”

The cowgirl sat up, surveying the campsite. The two of them had never been camping before, and the hike had been much harder than either of them had anticipated. It didn’t help that they had over-packed and had to cut their climb a bit short as a result. Nonetheless, the clear warm night and birds chirping in the trees made the escape feel almost as magical as the girls had hoped for. A quiet sanctuary where no people would be around: well, most likely no people, that is. 

“Hey, speaking of miserable family members,” the short girl ventured, “Did I ever tell you about the skeleton in my family’s closet?”

“This better not be one of your weird scary horror stories.”

“It sure is!” she answered. The cowgirl jumped to her feet, clearing her voice in preparation for the tale, “Listen to this: when my grandpa was a little kid, his brother tried to murder him.”

“How very ‘Cain and Abel’,” the cook smirked, “You can’t just start there. Start at the beginning of the story. What lead up to it?”

“That’s just it, no one really knows. Everyone says he just snapped and went crazy when the two of them were home alone. Grandpa was just happily playing video games at the time, so maybe his brother wanted a turn.”

“That… doesn’t seem like a very compelling motive,” the cook said, checking the underside of her pancake, “Are you sure your grandpa’s not exaggerating?”

“It’s the truth!” the cowgirl insisted, “His brother attacked him and cracked his head against the coffee table. They found gramps in a puddle of blood in the living room, and he had to be rushed to the hospital and got six stitches! But I still haven’t gotten to the best part.” The girl paused for dramatic effect.

“Best or worst?” the cook lifted the whole pancake with her spatula and tested a small bite on the edge. It was still too hot to eat.

“The best part is…” the cowgirl swept her arm towards the dimly lit forest around them, “His brother fled to this very mountain. And he was never found again.”

“What?” the girl dropped her pancake on the ground. She quickly snapped it up and set it back in the pan. Dirt and ash was stuck to it.

“Five second rule,” the cowgirl murmured. 

“Did you just say your grandpa--”

“Great uncle.”

“--your great uncle ran away to this mountain and died?”

“Disappeared. Maybe he still roams this mountain, searching for more innocent children to send to their graves…” The short girl’s voice was dramatic, but her eyes were dancing with mischief.

“Are you kidding me, that’s so creepy! And to think coming here was your idea! Was this all a set up to scare me?” The cook crossed her arms, but her friend just laughed.

“No, no! To be honest, I didn’t realize this particular trail was a part of The Mount Ebott until we were on our way.”

“A likely story,” the cook murmured as she nibbled the edge of her pancake.

“It’ll be fine, really. Oh, I know--I have something to protect you from any undead uncles. Check this out!” the cowgirl skipped towards their yellow tent and unzipped her backpack that was laying in front of it. She withdrew a long leather holster, with a revolver already tucked inside it.

The tall girl’s jaw dropped open, “You brought your dad’s gun?!”

“Maybe,” she giggled, strapping the holster around her waist, “It will be my gun in a few years, I’m just borrowing it a little early.”

“Do you even know how to use one of those things?”

“Yeah, yeah, I shoot it every year on my birthday. Family tradition.” the gunslinger drew her weapon, pointing it out towards the woods.

“Don’t--”

“It’s okay, it’s not loaded,” she said, popping open the cylinder, “The ammo’s in my bag.”

The cook shook her head, “And I thought my family was crazy.”

The cowgirl spun the gun around her finger and holstered the weapon with practiced flourish. She spoke with an exaggerated drawl, “Don’t worry, darlin’, this lone ranger will defend you from any murderin’ spectral horrors.”

“Stop it! You’re awful!” the cook laughed, before taking another bite of her food. It wasn’t as dirty as she thought, and she swallowed a few more bites before stuffing the rest in her mouth.

“You hear that?” the lone ranger put a hand to her ear, “It won’t be safe for long, we best be getting to bed before the devil finds us.”

“Oh please, that’s enough, Calamity Jane.”

“I prefer the name--”

She was cut off by the sharp crack of a snapped branch. The gunslinger stilled, turning in the direction of the noise, “What was that?”

The tall girl huffed in response, “I said cut it out--" but the cowgirl shushed her, scanning the dense foliage around them. Her heart caught in her throat as she saw a pair of eyes glinting from their firelight. A huge creature, larger than a man, was standing on two legs and peering into the camp from about two hundred feet away.

"There's--" the gunslinger's voice strained to form the words, "There's a bear."

The cook froze. She reached for her cast iron pan and held it with both hands. "What do we do?" she whispered.

The cowgirl shook her head. There weren't supposed to be bears in this area. According to her research, none had been seen for over a decade, which is why she hadn't bothered to look up how to defend against one. The bear dropped down to all fours, and they could hear it begin to huff and snarl.

"Get ready to run," she hissed. The cook stood, and the shorter girl eyed her backpack that held her ammunition. It was sitting at the foot of the tent, but she would have to go toward the monster to retrieve it. The bag was only fifteen feet away but it might as well have been fifteen miles. 

The two didn’t have a chance to decide when to act. With a roar, the bear lunged forward, crashing through the foliage as it charged. The cook shrieked, fleeing the camp, but the cowgirl did the opposite, sprinting towards her bag. She had almost reached it when the tent surged forward, collapsing on top of her in a wave of nylon and snapped metal supports. The gunslinger fell to her back and she pushed the tangle of tent away from her face, only to see the bear looming over her, separated only by the crushed tent. The girl shielded her face with her arms and braced herself for what was to come.

“Get away from her!” her friend screamed. She had returned, and had taken to bludgeoning the bear’s hindquarters with her pan. The bear twisted around and swiped a clawed paw towards her, but the cook jumped back, turning heel to run again. With a snarl, the bear released the cowgirl and chased its assailant. The gunslinger kicked the tangled tent off her legs and before she realized it she was chasing the bear, screaming obscenities and death threats. The cook was fast, but the bear was faster, and she lost sight of them both as they crested a small hill outside the camp. 

A blood curdling shriek filled the tree tops, followed by silence.

The gunslinger tore up the slope and hesitated when she reached the apex. Her friend was nowhere in sight, but the bear had already changed directions, loping back towards her. Her fingers reached for her gun, but she reminded herself it was still empty, and willed herself to retreat. The rapid thumping of the bear’s steps told her she wouldn’t make it to the camp before it caught up with her.

Overhead, the large branch of a cedar bowed over her. Leaping, the girl grabbed it and hoisted herself onto the branch before scrambling up the next. The bear was under the tree in an instant, stretching to full height to swipe at her. Its claw caught her foot, nearly yanking her out of the tree, but only managed to knock off her boot. The girl continued to climb, and the bear snapped off the lower branches, pushing against the trunk. The tree shuddered and flexed under the weight.

With one arm wrapped tight around a branch, the cowgirl pulled off her remaining boot and tossed it down. It bounced off the bear’s shoulder, who gave it a glance before turning its attention back to the girl. She whispered a prayer before unholstering her weapon, and threw the revolver at the monster. The gun crashed against the bear’s muzzle with an audible whack, and the bear pulled back from the tree, shaking its head. She held her breath as the bear paced around the tree before leaving in the direction of the camp. The dense canopy obstructed her view of it, but the tell tale sounds of the creature ripping through bags and crunching through supplies told her all she needed to know.

The girl settled onto the upper branches of the tree and wrapped her arms around the trunk. Against the odds, she was safe but trapped. Without a loaded gun, leaving the tree wasn’t a risk she could afford to take. To make matters worse, the last rays of twilight were fading away, cloaking the woods in frigid darkness. Her flashlight, phone, and ammunition were all at the camp, hidden under the destroyed tent. There was nothing she could do but wait it out.

***

Two hours elapsed before the bear left the camp. Another 30 minutes went by before the gunslinger felt safe enough to crawl down from the tree. Her fingers and toes were frozen and her legs ached as she collected her gun and put her boots back on. However, she didn’t have the luxury to pity herself. Through the dark, she crept back to where the campfire once was and strained her eyes in the dim moonlight for the remains of the tent. It had been dragged a good distance away, destroyed beyond use. She was relieved to find her backpack still twisted up inside, and rifled through the contents. She flicked on her flashlight and put it in the crook of her neck as she loaded her gun. Only six bullets, just enough to show it off to her friend.

If only she had loaded it earlier, then that monster would have got what it deserved.

The lone ranger returned to the camp and cast her flashlight across the ransacked carnage. Clothes and supplies were strewn throughout the foliage, and all that remained of the food were shredded cans and crushed boxes. Even the cooking utensils had been mutilated with gnaw marks. Rage boiled inside her.

The forest looked very dizzyingly similar at night, and she found herself walking in circles, ending up back at the camp again and again. Finally, she accurately identified the hill she had last seen her friend and was surprised to discover a steep drop of about twenty feet not far from it, jagged granite boulders resting at the base. There she found her first lead. A conspicuous dark splatter against the white rocks: blood.

The small girl shouted her friend’s name, but there was no response. She climbed down the steep surface of the cliff side at a much slower pace than her friend would have been afforded. The blood was no longer fresh, but she could see the direction it led before the ground cover became more soil than stone. She followed the trail.

The ferns and ivy lashed across her torn stockings, but she continued forward, right hand hovering over her weapon. She stopped at the entrance of a cave yawning out of the mountainside. It looked both parts refuge and trap. Didn’t bears live in caves?

She called out her friend’s name again, but was answered only with a faint echo. At least it was better than the growl of bears. She shined her light across the back of the cave and could see the tunnel curved, making it impossible to see how deep it was. As she traced the floor with the light, something sparkled. The gunslinger ventured forward and pinched it between her fingers: a hair pin, with a small crystal embedded at the end. The last time she had seen it was in her friend’s hair. She had been here.

The cowgirl huffed out a shuddering sigh, and she couldn’t tell if it was from relief or a renewed sense of dread. If her friend had been here, where was she now?

The child took a deep breath and stepped deeper into the cave.

kindness and justice: backstory // end

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[litwitlady]

Date Nights (4/5)

Read on Ao3.

‘Are you really going to chop down a tree?’ Alex eyes him warily from the opposite side of the Chevy’s bench seat. ‘There’s plenty of lovely trees that have been pre-chopped.’

Michael climbs out of the truck, reaching into the bed to grab his shiny new ax. ‘Yes. I am definitely chopping down a tree today.’ He settles the ax’s handle over his shoulder and sets off in the direction of the neatly planted fir trees.

Alex trudges after him, stepping carefully through the melting snow. He catches up easily because Michael keeps stopping at every single tree to assess its ‘curvature’. ‘This one looks perfect.’ He points to the tree behind Michael, and it earns him an exasperated frown.

‘The bottom is not bushy enough.’ Alex furrows his brow, and Michael motions around the tree like he’s going to hug it. ‘The circumference is lacking.’ He circles around the tree to further make his point. ‘I didn’t move your heavy ass keyboard out of the way for such a sad, puny little Charlie Brown Christmas tree.’

The ‘sad, puny’ tree is literally eight feet tall.

‘You mean when you moved my heavy ass keyboard with your brain and didn’t break a sweat?’ Alex smirks at him fondly.

‘That’s not the point.’

Alex snorts. ‘I’m going to go get some apple cider. Want any?’

Michael’s already moved three trees down, but he shouts yes over his shoulder and throws in a request for an apple cruller. ‘I’ll find the perfect tree, Alex! She’s here somewhere.’ He’s now nothing more than a disembodied voice.

The line for apple cider isn’t terribly long. Alex scrolls through his text messages while he waits, rolling his eyes at a vaguely threatening message from Isobel demanding their attendance at her pre-Christmas dinner in a few hours. He responds by telling her they’ll try to be there knowing exactly what her face will look like when she reads the word try.

He buys the largest-sized cider, pays for two crullers, and heads back toward the spot he’d left Michael. The tree farm is much busier now - kids laughing and running zigzags through the trees, chainsaws roaring, and couples everywhere arguing over which tree is best. It takes him ages to find Michael, deep down a row of giant firs and talking to a man Alex doesn’t recognize. The way he towers over Michael sets every nerve in Alex’s body on high alert.

The stranger has his back to Alex. He’s tall, broad-shouldered, and olive-skinned. Like Michael, he’s got a cowboy hat situated on his head and dusty work boots on his feet. Alex doesn’t need him to turn around to know the man is unfairly gorgeous. All he needs to see is that familiar lopsided smile spread across Michael’s face and the way his eyes keep dropping bashfully to the ground. Out of habit and maybe a pinch of something far more complicated than jealousy, he assesses the man’s body for hidden weapons, but there’s no way to truly know what’s under his burly, fleece-lined coat.

‘Got the cider. Who’s this?’ He steps beside Michael and turns to the stupidly attractive bear of a man. Big green eyes and a smattering of freckles putting a scowl on Alex’s face.

‘Ah, this is Jamie Whitley.’ There’s uncertainty in Michael’s voice and that sets Alex even more on edge, hackles raised. He passes off the cider and crullers to Michael, ostensibly to shake Jamie Whitley’s enormous hands. But really he just feels better and more prepared with both his hands free. ‘Jamie and I worked as ranch hands together a couple of summers a few years back.’

‘Had a real shitty foreman. Seems like we were always in some kind of trouble. But we were also the best workers that man had. Maybe ever.’ His voice is gruff, smoky. The kind of voice Alex has always envied when he’s singing. Jamie beams at Michael while he shakes Alex’s hand, grip firm and unyielding. Alex assumes it’s a warning and squares his shoulders, unconsciously sliding a step closer to Michael.

Michael reaches out and squeezes Alex’s elbow. ‘Jamie, this is Alex Manes. My boyfriend.’ It’s the first time he’s heard Michael call him that to someone other than their circle of friends. He says it so sure and certain that Alex takes a deep breath and lets go of some of the tension in his shoulders.

Jamie’s eyes dart to Alex, obvious recognition flooding his features. ‘The Alex Manes?’ He narrows his eyes at Alex, sizing him up differently now that he has a name to go along with the face. ‘I used to hear a lot about you.’

‘I’m sure I deserved most of it.’ Alex’s jaw clenches, and Michael digs his fingernails into his bicep.

‘Well, it was a long time ago. People change. And this one always loved you, no matter what.’ He leans in to hug Michael goodbye, forcing Alex aside a couple of steps. Michael’s arms flail out to the side, hands still full of cider and cruller. But he smiles gently at Alex over Jamie’s shoulder, and Alex returns the smile, starting to feel a little silly. ‘It’s great seeing you again, Guerin. You look good. Real good.’

With nothing more than a nod at Alex, he disappears from sight.

‘So you two definitely fucked.’ Alex takes one of the crullers from Michael’s hand. He does his best to keep anything remotely negative out of his voice. But he knows he hasn’t been entirely successful.

Michael gulps at the cider. ‘On and off. But mostly, Jamie was a friend. It was after you left for Afghanistan. Your second tour.’

Alex nods. ‘That was a rough goodbye.’

‘They were all rough goodbyes.’ It’s said so low Alex almost doesn’t hear him. ‘Look, Alex.’ He stares after Jamie’s footprints in the snow. ‘That was weird as fuck and -- ‘

‘Hey.’ Alex places what he hopes is a calming hand on Michael’s chest. ‘It’s fine. And I should have been friendlier. I’m actually really glad you had someone. That giant man wouldn’t have necessarily been my first choice, but -- ‘

Michael laughs, still a little uneasy but his shoulders relax. ‘I found the perfect tree. She reminds me of you.’ He swallows his cruller in three bites and then grabs Alex’s wrist, dragging him through a few rows of trees.

They stop in front of the biggest tree on the lot. At least fifteen feet tall and slightly terrifying in its girth. ‘How exactly does this tree remind you of me? I feel like it’s going to eat us.’

‘Well, yeah.’ He elbows Alex playfully in the ribs. ‘Protective. Strong, slightly imposing, barrel-bodied. And beautiful.’

‘The shit that comes out of your mouth sometimes, Guerin.’ But he’s smiling and Michael is smiling and then they are kissing. Easily losing themselves in each other as is so often the case. Only barely managing to stay on this side of public decency before they are interrupted by two kids bursting through their tangled legs as they chase each other around the farm.

They both grin after the kids and turn back to Michael’s perfect Christmas tree. ‘You know, my ceilings aren’t tall enough for this tree.’

‘That’s okay. This is the patio tree. Once I chop this one down, we can start looking for our indoor tree.’ He grabs the ax he’s left sitting under the tree and rears back to take his first swing. Alex walks several feet away and watches Michael wedge the ax into the trunk, barely making a scratch. ‘Huh. Harder than I thought. I should probably just go find someone with a chainsaw.’

Alex snorts his agreement, taking the ax from Michael as he sets off to search for help. He reaches up to tug on one of the Douglas fir’s branches, a little overwhelmed at the idea of spending their first Christmas together. But good overwhelmed. Like the first time he’d left the ground in an A-10 Warthog, the sky opening up so vast and endless. The sun only a heartbeat away.

He loves Michael. And Michael loves him. These nine weeks of work they’ve put in to get them to this moment, where Alex can stand in front of a Christmas tree with pure joy in his heart rather than abject terror, are the best nine weeks of his life. Standing in front of this tree - their tree - he vows that come Christmas morning, Michael will know with every fiber of his being just how much Alex loves him. And Christmas will be theirs forever, happy and so filled with joy that even the Evanses will be sick with envy.

It’s not the most gracious thought Alex has ever had. But then again, he’s never been the most gracious person. And for once in his life, he decides that’s okay.

[chandelier-s-notebook]

MCYT AUgust by me and @ghostofsilas Day 13: Post-Apocalyptic AU

Tagging @sleepysnails

Ao3 Link

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

Wilbur was in charge of rekindling the fire for breakfast.

The sound of Techno’s hatchet splitting logs for the fire filled the camp site. Phil was poking around their bags to find enough food suitable for a five person breakfast, while keeping their current supply in mind. Being a band of nomads in a post-apocalyptic environment didn’t really provide anyone with a stable food source.

Tommy and Tubbo were sitting in the hammock chatting away in the early dawn, watching the sun rise through the trees. It was a beautiful sight, the oranges peaking through the greenery.

It was a quiet routine that the five of them had fallen into since the Fallout. Granted, that was only three years ago, but they felt like they’d been traveling together for centuries. They knew each other’s ins and outs; deepest fears and greatest desires; dreams and wishes; prior families and love languages.

“Can we play manhunt?” Techno asked after tossing Wilbur some wood chunks. “I feel like doing a bit of running.”

“Yeah no problem.” Wilbur waved him off. “We’ll come looking in five minutes. What are the boundaries?”

“Stay in the woods, no crossing any roads.”

“Got it.” Wilbur shot Techno a thumbs up. “See you later.”

“Wait up mate!” Phil called, quickly standing. “I’m coming with you, two versus two.”

Techno paused. “You are?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Wilbur watched the two of them leave out of the corner of his eye, most of his focus still on the fire in front of him. “Tubbo? I assume you don’t want to go out and search.”

“No thanks!” Tubbo said, smiling wide. “Besides, someone needs to watch the fire! You and Tommy can go searching.”

Wilbur smiled. “I’ll just get the fire properly started, then we can go after them.”

It took a few tries and a few minutes, but Wilbur eventually got the fire properly started and stabilized. “Tubbo! Come sit!”

Tubbo hopped out of the hammock, leaving Tommy all alone with the blankets. He skipped over and plopped himself down on one of the bigger seating logs.

Tommy grumbled at being left behind, but he dutifully balled the blankets up and tossed them down with the rest of their supplies.

Wilbur grabbed a water bottle for Tubbo, “In case the fire gets out of hand.”

Tommy then followed Wilbur out into the woods to find the other two. Wilbur was very used to rough terrain, even from before the Fallout, whereas Tommy was used to tiled floors and never really got the hang of physical activity out in the wild. He didn’t slow the group down by any means, but he wasn’t always the best at keeping up when they weren’t walking on old eroding asphalt roads.

Wilbur took Tommy through the bush, following old trails that he and Techno had marked out the day prior. He took one of them and then started carving his own, walking around trees and stepping on low lying plants to flatten a path forward.

Once they reached a clearing, Wilbur sent Tommy forwards a little. “I’m just gonna climb up this tree. Get a higher viewpoint to see if I can stop them.”

“Okay! I’m not catching you if you fall!”

Wilbur chuckled and grabbed onto the thin trunk of the tree. He climbed up it, losing his footing a couple times, but never falling down.

Wilbur got himself situated a couple branches up and looked around the clearing. It didn’t look like much of a clearing to Tommy. All he could see was tall grass that reached his nose, he’d most likely need to get Tubbo to check him for tics later.

“I see them! They’re at the other end of the clearing,” Wilbur said. “I just don’t know how they got there. I can’t see their path.” Wilbur then turned to Tommy. “I’m coming down.”

He swung down from his branch and he grabbed onto a chunk of tall grass. Using it to break his fall, he grabbed onto it but still fell backwards to the side of the path.

Tommy started laughing a little at Wilbur, he didn’t offer to help him of course. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. Let’s go find another way to them.” Wilbur then beckoned Tommy forward back down their path.

Here’s the thing. It’s much easier to walk when stuff gets flattened in front of you, with the tips facing away, but when you gotta go backwards it’s easier to trip on something. Tommy fell forward, needing to grab onto a  tree for stability.

“You good Tommy?”

“Yeah. I’ll let out a proper shriek if something is really wrong.”

“I thought Tommy Innit didn’t shriek,” Wilbur teased.

“Exactly. Meaning if I do something is really wrong,” he joked back at Wilbur. “I’m good though.” Tommy shook his foot to get out of the grass. “I’m fine, go on.”

Wilbur led Tommy around the trees to another entrance point to the clearing. “I’m gonna go over there and climb that tree. Techno and Phil might have seen me and moved.”

He took off quickly, leaving Tommy to run after him.

When Tommy reached Wilbur, he was crouched at the edge of the clearing trying to spot them. “Do you see them?”

“Yeah. They’re right there. On the other side. I can see the white stripes on Phil’s hat.”

“Where?”

“By that bush over there. Can you see?”

“Nope.” Tommy stepped to where Wilbur was and tried to look, but he still couldn’t see. “That’s okay. I’ll just follow you.”

Wilbur chuckled and stepped forwards into the tall grass. He went slowly, so as to not make too much sound and alert the other two of his presence. Tommy was just following behind trying to keep his footing and enjoying the atmosphere.

None of them ever let Tommy go hunting with them, so this was the closest to it that he’d ever be getting. Tommy didn’t really want to go hunting either, he mostly just wanted to hang out with Wilbur, Techno, or Phil. He adored hanging out with Tubbo back in camp, but they knew each other pre-Fallout. Plus, they both agreed that the other people in their group were super interesting and fun to be around.

Wilbur froze. “They’re going back into the trees.” He took off to the woods. “I’ll be back for you!”

Tommy ran after Wilbur, but the other was much faster than him; Tommy lost him when he dipped into the tree line. Tommy could hear Wilbur chasing Techno and Phil towards the left, but he didn't have enough confidence to follow him into the bush.

Tommy had his communicator on hand if he did get lost, but he knew that the three of them would come back for him. Plus, they all know how to find ‘north,’ so they’ll be able to come back and find him.

Tommy heard the three of them running around and he smiled. This was good for them. They were always so concerned with Tommy and Tubbo getting to have the last of their childhood--they were teens thank you very much--that they never had fun themselves. But even before the Fallout, Tommy found it weird that adults never seemed to play.

“Is he still behind us?” Phil’s voice broke out through the trees.

Tommy smiled and turned back to camp. If he wanted to, he could try to get back on his own, but he had no confidence and couldn’t even remember how to get back to the path Wilbur had carved.

Tommy then heard loud laughter from Techno.

He wasn’t quite sure, but he figured that Wilbur had caught them from the sounds of the woods. He waited around a little longer, then to his left he saw Techno and Phil coming through the tall grass.

“Hi!”

The two of them were still laughing and Phil raised a hand to wave. Phil carved the path forward and on the second to last step, he tripped over himself and fell to his face. Techno doubled over in laughter, and Tommy giggled--still looking around for Wilbur.

When Techno and Phil reached Tommy, a smiling Wilbur came out of the woods on Tommy’s right.

He ruffled Tommy’s hair and the four of them started to make their way back to the camp and Tubbo.

“You know,” Wilbur said. “When you asked if I was still behind you, I was about an arms length away. If I just reached out my arms I would have caught you.”

“But you didn’t,” Techno taunted lightly. “You know we were on our back in the trees when you spotted us. If we were in the trees you would have never caught us.”

“But you weren’t,” Wilbur sang back.

Tommy laughed, and lagged behind, walking the path behind them. It wasn’t fair to them, but the dynamic was very much split into Tommy and Tubbo; and Techno, Wilbur, and Phil; but that didn’t matter because it worked, and they never had any problems crossing over.

“Tubbo!”

“Tommy!”

“Hello!”

“Hello!”

“Who’s hungry?” Phil asked, walking around them to grab the pan and lard. “I’m going to cook something up.”

Phil occupied himself making dinner while Techno, Wilbur, and Tommy all piled into the hammock and made faces at Tubbo, who was taking pictures with the Polaroid camera they’d found and sourced film for. It had cost them a lot back then, but everyone was in agreement that it was worth it just to keep the memories.

They all gathered around the campfire to eat. It was tradition, a little family dinner thing that they couldn’t help continue even in the warm months when they didn’t need to huddle for warmth.

The movies had lied in that regard. When the Fallout happened, it was the middle of winter. The dead of winter. When everything was at its coldest and wouldn’t be warming up anytime soon. Just as many people died from the Fallout itself as they did from the heavy winter coating the majority of the world in the northern hemisphere.

“We should get moving,” Techno said once everyone was done eating. “Starting packing up.”

Tommy and Tubbo worked on taking down the hammock and putting it in a bag with the blankets. The two of them organized and zipped up all the bags, while Phil and Wilbur grabbed their hatchets and other items spread around their site from five days of comfortable use.

Then Techno froze.

Wilbur walked up to him in concern and heard him counting under his breath.

“Stop,” Techno muttered, still counting.

Wilbur froze as well.

“Pack up faster.” With that, Techno was moving forward towards whatever it was that he saw. One handed hatched in his hand, pocket knife in his pocket.

Wilbur turned back to the others with urgency. He trusted Techno with his life, if Techno said he had it covered, then he had it covered.

Phil on the other hand was way more concerned. He was immediately ready to go after hand. Hand instantly going to the knife holder on his belt. “I’m going after him.”

“No,” Wilbur shut him down. “No you aren’t. He wants us to leave. Techno can handle himself.”

“I know, but--”

“He told us to wait.”

“Okay,” Phil acquiesced.

There was a nervous energy in the air. Phil was pacing back and forth, looking in the direction that Techno ran off to. Wilbur was less lax about cleaning up the site. Tommy and Tubbo awkwardly bristled and waited to be told what to do.

“Should we leave and wait on the road?” Tommy asked, grabbing his designated bag and tying it around his waist.

“Yeah,” Wilbur said. “Wait no!” he corrected after Tubbo took a step towards the road. “No. You guys can’t defend yourselves. We don’t know how many there are, stay with the group.”

“Ok.”

The tension lasted a couple more seconds and then Techno was darting back towards them. “Shit. Shit. Shit,” he muttered running past them down the path.

“Go!” Wilbur said.

Tommy and Tubbo ran after Techno upon command. If Techno was cursing then something was horribly wrong.

Once they were sufficiently in the middle between the campsite and the road, Techno stopped. “One armed. One not. Twenty feet,” he muttered to himself.

Tommy and Tubbo stopped next to him and waited for Techno to do whatever mental math he was doing. They both waited silently, both aware that things were not okay.

Wilbur and Phil appeared to their right with most of the stuff and dropped it on the ground next to the three of them, standing in the middle of the forest.

“Techno?” Wilbur asked.

“Shh, he’s thinking,” Tommy said.

“One armed. One not. Twenty feet. Ten split.” Techno took a deep breath and finally noticed his friends. “Let’s get out. There’s that farm house down the road we noticed. I checked it out last night. It’s empty. We’ll stay there for a while. Lay low. Did you get all the stuff?”

“No, there are a few things left. Like your cape,” Wilbur said.

“Shit. I need that. We need to go back for it.”

Tommy grabbed Techno’s bag and moved out of the way for Techno to pass him.

“Phil, you stay with Tommy and Tubbo, wait for us.”

“Got it.”

Techno and Wilbur went back to the campsite. Tubbo grabbed Tommy's arm and dragged him forward. Tommy tripped slightly, as Tubbo was walking a little quickly for him, but Tommy knew better than to fight it.

Phil stood guard outside of the forest entrance, hand on his sheath. Tommy and Tubbo sat nervously where Phil had dumped his stuff down yet again. They had an idea, but hadn’t explicitly been told what was going on, and they honestly didn’t want the answer.

“We’re gonna be fine right?” Tommy asked.

“Of course,” Phil answered easily. “You’ve got Techno and I.”

Tommy nodded, mind eased for the time being.

Techno and Wilbur jogged out of the forest with everything else.

“One armed. One not,” Techno continued to mutter.

“Techno?”

“It’s nothing Tommy. It’s fine. I just saw two other people.” He took a calming breath, handing Phil the larger axe that they had.

Tommy took that as his cue to grab Phil’s bag and throw it over his free shoulder.

“They were walking through the woods. Followed Phil’s path. Saw us and got scared--same as me--wondered what other people were doing there.”

“We should get out of the open,” Wilbur advised.

“Yeah. Good idea. Tommy, you don’t mind carrying my bag?”

“Nope.”

“Tubbo, could you grab the pan? The three of us will stay back. You two get to the farm house.”

Tubbo nodded, as if he was pulled back into the moment by being addressed directly. He grabbed the pan and turned abruptly, making his way back to the building they’d seen five days ago.

Wilbur had kept his stuff, holding a hatchet.

Tubbo walked very quickly as far away as possible; Tommy was slower, but still was walking at a brisk pace. It’s a little hard to be quick when you’ve got three bags, but adrenaline is one hell of a drug.

Tubbo and Tommy reached the house first and dropped everything on the porch. Tubbo wrapped his arms around Tommy and took deep breaths.

Tommy didn’t quite know what to do, but he was perfectly happy to receive hugs.

Wilbur passed them to go source some water for everybody. Techno scouted the house one more time. Phil sat on the porch silently.

“Is everything okay?” Tommy asked once more

“Yeah. Everything’s fine. We’re safe.”

Tommy nodded, his heartbeat calming down. When he grabbed his water bottle from Wilbur, he was weirded out to see it shaking in his hand. That’s not something he ever remembered happening before. It was honestly probably impossible that he’d never gotten an adrenaline rush in his life, but this was the first time he remembered.

“My hand is shaking,” he noted.

“Yeah. That’ll happen,” Techno reassured. “Gimme your wrist.”

“I’m fine.”

“Give.”

Tommy decided to not fight it and presented his wrist.

Techno grabbed it and pressed his thumb into Tommy’s pressure point. “Yeah. Adrenaline. Normally you’d have five milligrams, but you’ve got twenty right now.”

“Oh shit.”

“Don’t worry. It’s normal.”

Tommy nodded. “Yeah. I get that.”

Tommy somehow got Tubbo to bring their hug to a seated position on the porch.

“We’re okay,” he said.

“We’re okay,” Tubbo agreed, quieter.

Everyone came around for a group hug on the wooden deck, warm arms and bodies bring the cuddle pile down to the floor.

“We’re okay.”

[flyingovertheandes]

Eight Days | Chapter Two: Anchor | Frankie “Catfish” Morales x GenderNeutral!Reader

Reader remembers the day that started it all.

TW: Drug Use, Recreational Marijuana Use, Angst, Hurt, Mentions of Alcohol, Mentions of Food/Drinks, Unrequited Love (OR SO THEY THOUGHT), OH NO THERE’S ONLY ONE TENT trope (SWITCHIN IT UP) 

Word Count: 2K

NOTE: Italics in this story signify memories, they are not in present time.

PART ONE

You hadn’t realized the stoplight had turned green until the car behind you had honked excessively to pull you out of your thoughts. You quickly began driving again as you thought about the rest of your history with Frankie. You remembered how awkward that next morning at the motel was. Though, Frankie tried his best to keep things somewhat normal.

He had woken up a quarter to seven and decided to sneak out of the room for breakfast before you could wake up. And when you did, to an empty room, your heart felt heavy in your chest. Though, it wasn’t long before Frankie came stumbling back into the room holding a small coffee cup and a brown paper bag. When he finally noticed you were awake, he gave you a nervous look.

“Good morning,” He muttered.

You smiled weakly as he handed you the paper bag he was holding. Inside was a small bottle of orange juice and a blueberry muffin.

“Thank you, Frankie.” You told him, warmed by the gesture.

The two of you shared no other words as Frankie called the towing company and figured out something for the truck. It was almost 2PM by the time you were back on the road. The drive was silent. The only sound that could be heard was Frankie tapping on the steering wheel to the low music playing from the radio. But it wasn’t long until he had to stop for gas and coffee. He got out to pump the gas before appearing at your open window, hanging his head inside, but still giving you space.

“You want anything from inside?” He attempted to break the ice between you.

You shrugged in response.

“Are you hungry?” He asked.

“A little.” You admitted quietly.

He adjusted his cap and winced his eyes at the bright sun above him.

“I got you.” He reassured you before walking towards the small convenience store.

It must have been over five minutes later when he emerged with what looked like a bag full of snacks. You couldn’t help but let a smile come across your face as he jumped back in the truck. He rested the bag between you and smiled when he noticed you were smiling too.

“So, I didn’t know what you were in the mood for, and I figured that we’ll be out of stores reach for a couple of days, so I just kind of… got all of your favorites.” He admitted before laughing somewhat hysterically along with you.

You tried to stifle your laughter as he opened the bag and pulled out your favorite coffee, soda, energy drink, spicy chip, candy, second favorite candy, and sweet from the pastries section.

“Frankie!” You swatted his arm.

“What? I wanted to put a smile on your face!” He told you, neatly packing it all back into the bag.

“Wait! I want the coffee!” You admitted, making grabby hands in the direction of the bag that was out of your reach from where you were leaning against the door.

He happily pulled it out of the bag and held it out for you to take, but your fingers happened to graze each other as your eyes met. You quickly grabbed the coffee and redirected your gaze, thanking him. He nodded awkwardly before climbing out of the truck to finish pumping the gas before getting back on the road once again. It was a while before either of you spoke.

“If you’re hungry for real food, there’s a diner about forty miles from here, unless you’d rather wait for dinner tonight at camp.”

“And eat Ben’s cooking? I don’t think so.” You joked.

Frankie’s laugh filled your ears.

“For once, I think you’re right.” He told you.

You shot him a glare only to be met with a wink.

-

As you walked up to the diner, Frankie walked ahead of you and opened the door for you. You could feel your cheeks heat up at the sentiment.

“Thank you.” You smiled.

The two of you were quickly seated at a small corner booth, up against a window that allowed a view of the mountains surrounding you. There was a silence between the two of you as you looked over the menus.

“So, uhm, what are you thinking of getting?” You finally spoke.

His eyes continued to scan the menu as he replied, “I’m not sure. There’s so much coffee in my system, I’m not all that hungry.”

“Yeah.” You nodded quietly.

“Do you want to share something?” You questioned.

“Sure! Yeah. Waffles…?” He questioned back, knowing they were your favorite.

You smiled.

“With strawberries…?” You smirked.

He laughed heartily as he closed the menu.

“Of course! I would never expect anything less.” He smiled at you.

When the young waitress came to take your orders, Frankie ordered for the two of you, getting an ice water for himself and confidently guessing that you wanted another orange juice this morning, to which you laughed. He was always right. But after the waitress walked away, you felt like you had to be the one to bring up the night before.

“Frankie, can we talk about last night?”

“Y/N...Please” He pleaded, letting his fall forward into his hands.

“Frankie! You can’t ignore what I said.” You attempted, trying to keep your voice low in the quiet diner.

“I’m not ignoring you, Y/N!” He removed his hat again and ran his hand through his hair.

“Then what? You just don’t want me to love you? You don’t love me back? Which one is it, Frankie!?” You cried.

He threw his hat down on the table and rubbed his temple angrily.

“Damn it, Y/N! I’m afraid that if I let myself believe what you said, I’ll just end up getting hurt!” He raised his voice.

The few people who were seated around you looked at you judgmentally, so he lowered his voice for what he had to say next.

“I’m afraid- If I let myself love you, you’ll realize that you deserve better than me. You’ll- you’ll realize that and then you’ll leave me. I can’t lose you, Y/N. You mean too much to me.” He cried, his voice wavering.

You rested your hand in his that was between the two of you on the table.

“Frankie…”

Before you could continue, the waitress returned with your drinks. Frankie quickly wiped his tears on his shirtsleeve and thanked her.

“Just- forget it. We’ll talk about it later.” He promised.

You knew there wasn’t going to be any talking about it “later”.

-

“Fish! Y/N! About damn time you two showed up!” Benny cheered as he wrapped his arms around the both of you.

You were both hoping deep down that none of the guys noticed the tension between you.

“Y/N!” Pope shouted from his seat around the campfire. He jumped up and wrapped his arms around you, lifting you up and spinning you around.

Deep down, it killed Frankie to see Pope treat you like that. He knew you deserved it, but he wanted to be the one to give it to you.

“Come sit down guys! Grab a beer!” Will invited as he threw a new log into the growing fire.

-

The sun was setting and dinner had come and gone, and now the boys were being their usual rowdy selves as they filled their bodies with beer.

“Hey! Y/N! You okay over there? You’re being awful quiet tonight. You’ve barely touched your beer.” Pope pointed out.

Pressure rose in your chest as all the guys brought their attention to you, concerned. You could only manage to meet eyes with Frankie.

“I’m alright, my stomach is just being weird. I think I’m gonna head to bed, actually.” You said, standing up.

“No!” The guys pouted.

“I’m sorry, guys. I promise I’ll be more lively tomorrow.” You joked.

They all waved you off and you began the short walk to your tent. Pope of course had forgotten one of the tents, so you were forced to share one with Frankie, just your luck. The only reason Pope refused to share one was because he demanded a tent for himself since he needed the most room. You didn’t dare to question it.

You were almost to your tent when you heard a branch snap behind you. You turned around quickly, in fear,  to be met with Frankie running right into you.

“Fuck! Jesus Christ, Frankie! Are you trying to kill me?” You whisper-shouted, not wanting to wake any other campers nearby.

“Sorry. I just came to see if you were okay. Will you be alright in the tent by yourself? I can come with you.”

“No, Frankie. I just want to be alone. Just please- leave me alone, okay?” You pleaded before walking off.

Frankie removed his hat and ran his hand through his hair, he was lost without you. He’d lost you in less than a day. It was all his fault.

“Fish! You alright?” Pope shouted, clearly not caring for his volume.

“Yeah!” He said, walking back towards the group.

“Fuck this.” He muttered to himself.

-

“Hey, Fish? Why not slow down a little, yeah?” Benny suggested.

Frankie had downed over six beers in under two hours. He’d also smoked the majority of a blunt that was getting passed around the circle. Needless to say, he was gone for the night. He thought maybe it was better that way.

-

“Pope? Pope! Hey, man. Dime algo/Tell me something… If Y/N has feelings for me, why wait until now to tell me, huh? It’s been almost eight years! I’ve waited eight years for them! And now… no se/I don’t know, Pope. What am I supposed to do?” Frankie whined, louder than Pope thought was necessary.

“Fish, hey man, quiet down. They’ll hear you if you talk too loud.” Pope tried to warn him.

“I don’t care, man! I just want them to know how much they mean to me. They’ve been my god damn anchor since they came into our lives. Everything I do, I do for them. I’m clean because of them, Pope. There’s no one like them. There’s no one fucking like them and I probably just lost them for good.” Frankie threw his beer can into the fire, igniting it even more.

“Woah, hey! None of that, okay? They told you they love you, man. It’s up to you to let yourself be happy and get the love you deserve.” He reassured him, a hand on his shoulder.

“But-” Frankie tried.

“No buts, okay? You’re cut off for the night. Go get some rest and tomorrow you can talk to them, when you’re sober.” He told him, standing up and offering him a hand.

He took his hand and followed as he led him to his shared tent with you.

“Alright now, be quiet. Don’t wake Y/N, okay?” Pope asked.

Frankie nodded and turned to the tent before Pope called for his attention again.

“Cuidate, hermano./Take care of yourself, brother.” He reminded him with a small smile.

Frankie returned the smile and brought him in for a hug.

Thank god he hadn’t gotten fucked up alone.

Once he shuffled into the tent and out of his day clothes, he made his way into the sleeping bag laid next to yours. He laid on his back and looked up at the peak of the tent, wondering what you were dreaming about.

“Y/N… I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not believing you, for not believing that you really love me. I just- you’re too good for me, you know? You deserve someone good. You deserve someone who doesn’t wait eight years to tell you they love you…” He stopped, hearing you shuffle.

Before he knew it, you were facing him, with your hands cupping his cheeks lightly.

“Y/N…You- you weren’t supposed to-” 

Your lips crashed onto his before he had a chance to finish. You’d waited years to hear him say those words. And it seemed like minutes before you could pull away to finally meet his eyes again.

“I love you too, Frankie.”

PART THREE

[pathetic-has-been-rockstar]

The bonfire surprise

Pairing: Crowley x reader

Written for: @spnchristmasbingo​

Square/s filled: Chestnuts; Sitting by the fire

Warnings: none

Summary: still set to enjoy every bit of winter and holiday traditions, you decide to bring Jack to pick up chestnuts. Crowley joins you on the most innocuous hunt of the year, bringing Juliet along to spice things up. Roasting chestnuts on Hellfire never looked so good.

Words: 3091

Beta: @raspberrymama​ (I’ll never say this enough: check out her works!)

this piece can be found on AO3, here! If you’re interested in the whole series, you just have to click here!

“So... are you coming or not?”

Crowley tilts his head a bit, then nods, looking at you. “You know... yes. Since we've been consistently saving this world, it would be nice to take a walk in it.”

You were surprised when he decided to stick around for Christmas, or at least until the brothers don't actively start to try and kill him. He declared he enjoys the mayhem he can create frustrating Christmas' plans, but you suspect that he's probably just bored by his temporary lack of employment. You give him a small nod.

“Precisely what I was thinking.”

“Great. Now... aren't you forgetting something?”

You run a quick mind inventory, but nothing seems to be missing. “... like what?”

“Like the kid?” Crowley suggests, falsely helpful.

“... oh, no. Jack's in the car from like ten minutes. He can't wait to go.”

Crowley sighs dramatically. “Oh, to be young and eager again. Is it far?”

“About twenty minutes from here... why don't you come with us? You can try and crush Jack's optimism while we go.”

“I can do it on site. I've got someone to pick up, if it's all the same to you.”

“Oh... sure. Of course.” You are slightly curious and, even if you would never admit it, slightly disappointed. You were hoping for some time with Crowley, but he seems to have framed the occasion like a good chance to do... well, anything else.

“Fantastic. I'll see you there.”

“Hey, Y/N?”

“Yes, Jack?”, you answer after a second, emerging from your thoughts.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. Why?”

“You are just very quiet.”

“I'm just... a bit tired, you know.” Of course you were quiet. You're dying to see who was so important that had to be picked up and brought to what feels like a family thing.

“Sure. So... how's it gonna be?”

Surprised, you throw a side glance at Jack. The kid is smart. “As it's always been, I guess. Why?”

“I've never picked up chestnuts.”

Of course. Of course it was about the chestnuts. You stammer a moment, trying to collect yourself. “Oh, it's fun, actually. You just have to watch out for the shells, actually. They're spikey, y'know. You put on your gloves, then we pick them up from the ground,and  check if there are holes in them. If they're whole we can put them in the baskets.”

“What if there's a hole?”

“Well, that means there's a worm inside. It's not a problem if you accidentally eat it, since it's basically lived inside the thing its whole life and it tastes like that, but... let's just try and avoid it, ok?”

“Sure. No point in killing it just because it's in the wrong place at the right moment.”

You smile, surprised by the tenderness of his heart. The whole argument about his nature before he was born it feels incredibly stupid, now. The kid doesn't even want to kill a worm.

“Precisely. Besides, it might mean that the thing is rotting, and we don't want to deal with the consequences of eating spoilt food. Why don't you put on some music?”

Jack literally beams at the idea. “Can I connect my phone?”

“Sure thing, kid. We have about half an hour to go, connect the Bluetooth and jam away.”

The rest of the ride consists mainly in Jack humming Christmas songs and weird covers of them, while you keep your eyes on the road and occasionally sing along with him.

Once you get there, you immediately spot Crowley. Seeing that he's alone, you tilt your head.

“Weren't you supposed to pick up someone?”

“I did.”

He whistles, and a second later two hellhounds appear next to him, wagging their tails. He smiles at you, clearly satisfied by your surprised expression.

“I'm confident you remember Juliet and Banquo.”

“I do. How... how can I see them?”

“Because I let you.”

“... oh. Thanks, I guess.”

Crowley hints at them with a swift nod. “Go ahead, touch them. I know you'd like to.”

Trying to play it cool, you kneel down and pat the head of Juliet. A second later, Banquo is rubbing his head against your arm, almost throwing you off balance. Crowley immediately notices.

“Banquo. Settle down, boy.”

The hound whimpers and draws back, immediately obeying Crowley, who gives you a satisfied look.

“I trained them myself.”

“I figured that much.” you fire back. Like anyone else could train those hounds to act like that.

You're distracted by Jack calling you. You turn and you see the bundle of scarf, hat and oversized sport coat wandering among the trees and picking up the burrs, only to let them fall again as soon as they sting him. Crowley raises an eyebrow, amused.

“Looks like the most powerful being in existence needs help with picking up some fruit from the ground.”

“... he's three years old.”

“They grow so fast, don't they?”

You turn your back to Crowley and walk to Jack. Juliet and Banquo run around, sniffing the leaves and acting mostly like normal dogs. You notice that, and turn to Crowley, who's been casually waddling around, following you and Jack.

“Why are they like these?”

“What do you mean?”

“They act like normal dogs.”

“They like topside.”

“Don't they have souls to collect, today?”

“They always do.” Crowley replies with a casual scroll of his shoulders.

“Then why are they here?”

“There are other hounds, you know. These two were just the most affectionate to me. In short, useless to dear mother, and very useful for my personal security.”

Of course, you don't know why they're there. You're not a hunter, after all, not in the truest meaning of the word. You've been dragged in there when you ran into Bobby, years earlier, trying to nick a book from your shop. You gave him the book in exchange for some explanations, and it turned out your years of eccentric reading made you pretty useful.

Bobby then started to call you for lore-related things, and it was only a matter of time before the hunters started to use your shop as a sort of base. You started to store magical items, too, and even faced a few monsters on your own. Not exactly your cup of tea, but fun. Crowley knows about this all, obviously. Everyone knows about it. His dogs are there because you are there. The idea of a human dear both to the king of Hell and the future God might inspire some unpleasant thoughts in rogue demons and monsters, so he doesn't want to take any unnecessary risk.

You only see the hounds sprinting away, running after a very lucky squirrel. The little rodent manages to climb up the bark of the chestnut tree just in time, escaping the fangs of the hellish beasts for a split hair. Crowley giggles happily next to you, apparently delighted.

“The dislike for squirrels must run in the family.”

“Yeah... Jack, honey, wait, no.”

Jack has started to climb on the tree, trying to reach the lowest branches, that are still a good seven feet above the ground. He really is a three years old sometimes, but you keep forgetting that. When he falls back on you, you are painfully reminded that he is a three years old in a fully adult body.

Before Jack can do it, Crowley helps you up, smirking.

“Everything fine, love?”

“Yeah, peachy.”

He chuckles and takes a dried leaf off your hair, then gives you an amused smile.

“Looks like you're enjoying yourselves, at least.”

Jack enthusiastically answers for you, then dashes away to inspect a new patch of dried leaves and fallen burrs. When climbing up the trees is finally off the table, you three keep walking in the woods and picking up chestnuts here and there until the baskets are full. You look at your clock, starting to feel the cold seeping through your clothes.

“We still have a couple of hours of good light left. Let's go back to the car, we'll make a fire there.”

“... a fire? What for?”

“Well, we... you know what? It's a surprise. Come on, let's go back.”

Jack smiles in excitement, then slows down, looking at you and Crowley. You walk closer than you did earlier, and you don't even seem to notice how the back of your hands touch while you walk. He's seen Dean and Castiel subconsciously trying to get closer just like that. He might be young, but he's learnt quite a lot about love and longing, and he's quite sure that he has a fine example of both lying right in front of him. He also has an idea about how to make that happen, even if he will have to wait until you return to the bunker.

When the three of you make it back to the clearing where you parked the car, you start looking around for some logs and branches to set the fire. You have some water and a couple of old newspapers in the car, so safety and the ignition are accounted for. You're still scouring the clearing through the growing darkness when Crowley clears his throat. You turn to him, expecting him to mock you for not having figured it before.

“... what?”

“I assume you're looking for something to start the fire.”

“Well, duh.”

He scoffs, not taking seriously your remark, and raises his hand, “Perhaps I could be of assistance. You know... hellfire and all that.”

“Oh, I... I didn't think of it.”

“I figured that much”, he echoes the words you spat at him earlier in a much gentler tone. You almost feel bad for treating him harshly, but you just can't help it. There's something about him and the way he treats you that makes you feel... uneasy, for some reason.

Crowley knows you well, by now, but he still hasn't found a way to unravel you completely. He was content when you sought him out in your sleep. You slipped through the sheets and held him, just like you did a few years ago, and you seemed pretty happy about it. You wanted to be close to him... and yet you seem very bothered by his presence, at times. Of course, this only makes him all the more curious to find out the key to decipher your weirdness. He doesn't like pending business, and you certainly are acting like one.

With a snap of his fingers, a bright fire starts burning a few yards away from the car, complete with a few logs to sit around it, and you look at it, fascinated like a child. Juliet and Banquo immediately recognize the nature of the flames, and go to quietly lie down next to them.

You start laughing and walk to the car, taking the castiron skillet and a couple of knives.

“What, no knife for me?”

You jump, surprised. He's definitely closer than where you left him, and you didn't hear him approach.

“Stop moving so quietly! I'll tie a bell around your neck.”

“Oooh, my own collar? Kinky. I might like that.”

You thank the darkness and the dancing lights cast by the open flames for hiding the redness creeping up your cheeks. You grab a third knife, flip it and offer the handle to Crowley.

“You know how to do it, right?”

“Love, I am a demon, not a moron.”

“Eh. Sometimes you can be both.”

He rolls his eyes, only mildly annoyed. “Care to make an example or do I have to take your insults at face value?”

You would like to answer, but your throat closes. The thought of that day in the Apocalypse world is etched in your mind, and you don't like to think about it. Luckily, you catch Jack getting close to the hounds with the clear intention of petting them, so you're spared from answering. You dash to him, worried.

“Jack, don't!”

Jack immediately takes a step back and looks at you, confused. “But they look so cute!”

“Yeah, but those are not fluffy animals. Those are killing machines, and...”

“And they're trained to behave around people who mean no harm to me. Go ahead, boy. They like scratches on their heads.” Crowley encourages Jack.

You survey carefully the scene, ready to spring into action, but Crowley was telling the truth. A minute later, Jack is sitting on the ground, scratching Juliet's head with a hand, and patting Banquo with the other, looking happier than ever.

“You think Dean will let us keep on in the bunker?”

You think about it for a second. There's not a strong enough word in any human language to express the way Dean would refuse the idea of a hellhound loose in the bunker. Hearing Crowley chuckle next to you, you're sure that he's thinking the exact same thing.

“I... I don't think so, Jack.” Jack nods, trusting your judgement, and looks at you.

“Right. So... what do I do with the knife?”

You sit down on the log next to his one and teach him how to lightly carve the smooth shell of the fruit with a X, so that it doesn't swell and bash while it cooks. When you prepare enough for the three of you, you pour them in the pan and set it on the fire, shaking it from time to time to ensure an even cooking.

Jack notices that your movements are steady, and studies you for a moment. “So... is it a Christmas tradition?”

“It’s more of a winter thing, not just Christmas,” you answer, “I used to go picking chestnuts with my grandfather, from November through December. Then we would cook them on this big open fire in the backyard of his country house. Not a fancy one, though. He was a farmer, so it was one of those old houses full of tools and handmade stuff. I really liked that place.”

“I bet it was amazing.”

You think about it for a moment. “You know what? It really was. And they kept loads of animals, too. He and my grandma would do everything at home, from scratch.”

You start telling Jack things you've never told anyone since you moved and started your new life. Meanwhile, you keep your eyes on the chestnuts, taking them out of fire when they're done.

You pick some pages from the old newspapers and roll three cones, then pour the hot roasted fruit in them. You offer one to Jack, and one to Crowley, who looks surprised.

“... for me?”

“Yes. I know you don't eat, but...”

He takes the cone from your hands, smiling.

“I still like the taste. Thanks, love. Very thoughtful of you.”

“Shut up”, you mutter, but you're smiling.

Jack encourages you to tell more stories about your family, and you hear the crunching noises coming from him slowing down progressively. When you look at him again, on the other side of the flames, you see him dozing off, still nestled between Juliet and Banquo.

You smile and throw your paper cone filled with discarded skins in the fire, watching it crackle, then reach out, trying to warm your hands. The air is cold, and it's totally dark around you, despite being only four p.m. You think about what you just told Jack, and a sting of nostalgia catches you by surprise.

You quickly blink a couple of times, hoping to chase those unexpected tears away, but you feel a hand on your shoulder.

“Are you alright, kitten?”

You almost forgot about Crowley. Surprisingly, he didn’t say anything while you were telling your stories to Jack, but you don’t suspect he listened to every word you said. “I... yes. Just... I haven't thought about those things for a very long time. I... I'm just being stupid.”

“Oh, love. Don't. Actually, you made me remember a few things about my winters as a human.”

“... really?” You think you couldn't be more surprised, but you're wrong. Your amazement hits its peak when Crowley starts telling you about old Scottish traditions, and his experiences with them.

After a few minutes of chatting, you shiver, and inch closer to him. He doesn't move away, instead he wraps an arm around your shoulders.

“I suspect you like me just as a heather, love” he purrs right beside your ear.

“Who says I like you?”

You both laugh and stay quiet, enjoying the cold air, the warmth of the fire and the smell of smoke and roasted chestnuts filling the air for a while. You close your eyes for a moment, laying your head back on his shoulder. His cologne and the hint of sulphur hidden behind it always made you feel safe, and now that things are so different from what they were, you aren't even plagued by the question anymore. The ever-present question of what was going to come next, what was going to happen... how you’d lose him.

You sigh and open your eyes, looking at Jack, then move away from Crowley.

“You know... we should go back. It's dark, and I'm sure they're wondering where we are.”

“... I'll bring back the puppies and see you there, if it's fine with you.”

“It... it is. More than fine, actually.”

He brushes your hand, and you feel his warmth through your glove, then look at him while he speaks.

“Thanks for sharing those memories, love. I know they were for the kid, but... it was nice to hear them.”

“Actually… I'm glad you were here.”

For a moment, both of you stay still. You feel your heart beating faster when you look at him. The way the fire underlines his features, the sheer intensity of his gaze force you to shiver, despite being comfortable and warm. Crowley looks at you and can’t hold back a smile. It might be the moment he was waiting for.

Instead, suddenly panicking, you stand up quickly, feeling your usual shield going up again. You can't be too vulnerable around him, after all. And Jack… you must bring him back. You didn’t come all that way just to get all lovey-dovey with the former king of Hell. “Well, I'll see you back at the bunker.”

“Right. See you there.” Crowley mutters through his teeth and notices the sudden shift in your behaviour. He wonders if his efforts still make sense. Then, he watches you waking up Jack and talking softly to him, petting the hounds and making sure everything is fine, and he knows he just has to be a bit more patient.

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

Thank you for reading! 

I truly hope you enjoyed this little story. Every kind of feedback is very much appreciated, just as much as likes and reblogs!

Please, do not repost or copy my works or part/s of it, not even if you give credits.

[radicalravioli]

Daddys little whore ¡teacher!frank iero smut

Tw.daddy kink,very sexual,alchol .

Frank, Mr iero, frankie , sir , mister , the cool music teacher, the dude that you met at a gig , punk rock 25 year old man who acts like he's 19 . Those are many names that describe Frank iero my music teacher , the one who stole my heart on the first day of freshmen year .

I'm a senior now so I've had a crush on the man for quite a long time.

Of course you can't say he's the sexiest teacher, I mean there's Mr Way out art teacher , Mr Toro our math teacher and

Mr Way number two aka Gerard's brother aka Mikey or our English teacher .

I'm probably the closest with Mikey and Frank , I mean don't get me wrong I still think that Gerard and Ray are cool it's just that. I tell Mikey everything and Frank is the funny teacher that every student adores .

I want to do one thing before heading off to college , and that's hooking up with him .

Yeah that's my plan you heard me.

I've been dressing in some more reviling clothes , I'd wear matching lace underwear with a bra that I had bought specifically for this occasion .

Sometimes I'm in my room alone touching myself to the thought of him and what those tattooed hands could do .

Today I was most definitely gonna get his attention .

~~~

I hurried to Mikey's class knowing I'd be late , I spent the whole night on tumblr and reading some NSFW fics.

Gotta love tumblr .

I put on my normal uniform it's just that I put on knee high black socks , a chain to my usual plaid red skirt , then my Converse and finally a black hoodie that on the sleeves wrote

'Daddy's little whore'

With nothing beneath it .

I was gonna hit it off hard .

I opened the door to English as I spotted Mikey in his chair and the students writing some essay or something .

"Morning Mikey , sorry I'm late" I called him by his fist name witch he never liked , but I was practically his best friend so i had a pass .

"Morning y/n take a seat and if you're late again btw this is the fifth time this week , I'm gonna give you detention got it "he said still glued to his papers .

You see Mikey has gotten suspicious , especially cuz I started to dress like a slut .

I'd usually tell Mikey the details about my crushes and how they look like and so on .

And he'd tell me to go ask him or her out .

But I didn't tell Mikey about Frank , I simply can't . He's his best friend and band mate , I can't just straight up say 'hey I like my music teacher I want him to bang me against his desk and call me his dirty little slut '

Hell nah

So I decided to keep it to myself.

Well mostly myself.

I sat down next to my blond haired bestie and gave him a side hug .

"How's it going my man " I told Patrick

He smiled , turning away from his work .

"Hey there n/n , I'm good " then he looked at my outfit

"Trying to impress ireo again ?"

He whispered, I nodded and took off his fedora to ruffle up his strawberry blond hair .

He scratched his face up and snatched his hat away from me adjusting it .

"By the end of the year I'm gonna smosh with him " I chuckled lightly as the fedorable tiny human smiled at me .

"Y/n , you know that Anthony and Ian put the copyright struck on the word 'smosh' so use it carefully " Mikey said smiling at me .

"It's ok y/n !" Ian yelled across the classroom as Anthony put Ian's hand down and smiled at me before getting back to work .

In a flash the bell rang and all the students left the classroom .

I waved at pat and turned around to face Mikey's hazel eyes .

"Soooooo any new crushes huh y/n "

Mikey wiggled his eyebrows at me as I rolled my eyes at him .

"Yeah" I said fiddling w the sleeve of my hoodie .

I could hear him whisper a small 'yes' and punch the air . I giggled and sat down next to him .

"So tell me all about them " he said taking a sip of his coffee on the table .

I nodded as I tried to think of a way that I can describe Frank to Mikey without him knowing .

"So he's a bit older than me , and has this black hair that is always greasy but it makes him look good and hazel eyes but they are a bit more on the green side then brown and he's covered in tattoos and ugh imagine what those tattoo covered hands can do " I went on and on. Pausing a couple of times go take a deep breath.

"Uh-huh so he has hazel eyes and black hair and Is covered in tattoos.....that sounds like frank" he knit his eyebrows together and sent me a confused look .

Then realization hit him and his face turned from confused to a shocked one .

"Holy shit you're in love with Frank that's why you wore all those slutty clothes it's because of him " he mumbled as I looked at him in panic I thought he was gonna tell me that I'm weird and that I'm some kind of weirdo that falls for way older men .

"You have next class with him , holy crap you need to hook up " he said looking at me  with a smirk , I smirked back and he gave me some advice on him and how to get him easily .

***

I left Mikey's classroom and skipped lunch to hang out with my friends .

As usual we climbed up some tree and sat on a branch while gossiping about teachers and other people

Oh don't forget the part where we smoke and Pete brings booze so we get pretty much wasted before class .

"Come on Patrick it's just a bit of alcohol , don't be a pussy "I slurred as Patrick looked at the bottle and shook his head .

"Pat , Patty , Trick , my best friend come on man get loose " Pete said as Andy and Joe stared at Patrick in amusement .

"I told you guys I'm not drinking " said the blond as he pushed away the flask that Pete shoved in his face .

I sighed looking over to Pats orange juice , I smirked looking at Pete and handing it to him .

"Oh yeah " I whispered as pat was too interested in looking at Ryan Ross and Brandon Uries painting that was hung up inside the school .

Pete poured a good amount of booze in Patrick's juice and winked at me .

***

I heard the bell ring and headed to music .

My time to shine.

I smirked to myself as I entered ieros class .

"Morning Mr Iero "

I smiled at him and his hazel eyes as he looked me up and down eyes glued to my knee high socks .

"Morning y/n , I see you changed up your look today " he smirked at me and my stomach flipped .

I turned pink as I put my hand on his chest rubbing the fabric of his thin dress shirt .

"Yeah , yeah I did the uniform was too old fashioned for me with all those boring clothes" I said as I took a seat .

Frank explained something to the class and I listened carefully , not to him but his voice of course .

It was so stern and husky and god darn sexy .

I pressed my thighs together , I was dripping and I needed some attention now .

I got up from my seat and swayed over to the door as a hand grabbed my wrist .

"Y/n"he said sternly , obviously annoyed by my behavior.

"Yes Mr Iero " I turned to face him .

"Did I say you can leave the classroom ?"

His eyes filled with filth as I started becoming more wet down there .

I shifted in my place and shook my head .

"Detention , see me after class "

I did it , I thought . Taking a seat on my chair and nodding innocently .

Throughout the class Frank has been giving me looks and winking at me from time to time .

It made me wanna jump on him and rape his ass.

***

All the students left the class leaving me with Frank .

I was exited knowing what I'd get for being such a bad girl .

"I'm aware that you know better then not to disobey me sweetheart" he purred as he stood up to look me in the eyes .

"You know bad girls like you get punishments ...." he whispered in my ear as he planed a kiss on my neck .

"Girls like you get to be fucked against the wall for not listening" he took my wrist and made me stand up .

He then forced my lips to his as he put his hands on my waist and I put mine on his chest .

I pushed him on his chair and strangled his hips . His nails dug deep in the skin on my thighs as his tongue danced with mine in the war for dominance .

He moved to my neck to leave open mouthed kisses on my neck , nibbling and marking what's his .

"Oh baby how I dreamed of this moment" he purred against my neck as I took off my hoodie .

His eyes bugged out seeing that there's nothing beneath .

"Aw sweetheart dressing up for me , how nice of you " he smirked and moved to undo my bra .

He yanked it on the desk as he moved to grope them , he took one nipple in his mouth and nibbled making me moan .

He grinds himself on me , his erection obvious.

"Wanna blow me baby ?" I melted in his embrace as I lowered myself on my knees and carefully unzipped his slacks and slid them down .

I palmed him though his boxers as he groaned bucking his hips.

I pulled his boxers down for his erect bud to spring free , as I looked at him hungrily and pressed my tongue against his tip spreading pre cum.

I took him in and bobbed my head as he groaned and slowly fucked my mouth .

He pulled on my h/c locks and moaned , sweat forming on his forehead as his dark brown hair stuck to his skin .

I moaned against him causing to him buckling his hips again and making me gag .

He pulled out his stiff cock , a bit string of drool stuck to it connecting my swollen lips to him .

"You did so good baby , such a good girl". He smirked and lifted me up to his hight , pressing a kiss to my lips as I moved and strangled his hips once more .

He reached under my skirt and moved my panties to the side , his fingers brushing against my wet folds making me moan .

He smirked his hazel orbs filled with lust as he lined himself up with me .

"Now sweetie , are you going to be a good little slut for daddy and let me fuck this tight little pussy in peace or are you going to disobey me and be a naughty little girl" he growled as I nodded .

"Use your words baby "said the brunette as I whimpered . Squirming under his touch .

"Yes sir " I said on the edge of a moan his voice was beyond sexy and I was dripping .

"Perfect "he shot me a smirk before slamming into me , I bit my lip trying to to cry out in pleasure .

A muffled moan escaped his lips as I bounced up and down his dick .

I shifted my hips for him to hit the g spot. As he suddenly hit it , I shut my eyes as squeezed them trying not to moan .

The room started to smell like sex as he was making the most beautiful sounds .

I couldn't hold it anymore and just moaned out in pleasure as he looked at me and dug his nails in my his harder.

He started to twitch as my thirsts became sloppier.

"Y/n - fuck -"he groaned as I reached my orgasm .

"Fuck!" We yelled in sync as we both came , I squirted all over his cock while. A hot liquid ran down my thighs .

He pulled out and patted against my shoulder as I stood up trying to find my panties. The stuck out of the pocket of his dress pants , he put on his boxers and stood up .

"You were very well behaved today miss y/n , you have been excused from math class and I hope you have a lovely day " he said as I headed out the door , suddenly he spanked my ass and left a kiss behind my ear .

"I'll see you sir "

"Hope this happens again "

"The feelings mutual"

***

I chuckled to myself as I entered art sitting next to Pat again .

"You wouldn't believe what happened " I whispered as he turned to me and took out his earbud.

"What " he smiled sending me a confused look

"I accomplished my goal "

I said proudly as his eyes went wide .

He was about to say something as Pete cut him off .

" you hooked up with Iero WHOOO "

Pete fake wiped his tear

"I'm so proud of you , my baby is finally gown up " .

Hi boiz so that was it , like I said PLEASE REQUEST MY BRAIN IS EMPTY JUST DO IT .

Thanks for reading .

[make-it-mavis]

Homesick (Entry #12)

<-Previous | Next-> ----------

12/30/87    1:15 AM

Hey.

I know. Been a couple days. Not having you around to be impatient is turning me into a slacker.

Really, well… things don’t exactly look up from here. Not for a good long while. I survived the attack, sure, but everything changed after that, all in ways I was not remotely prepared for.

Kind of getting ahead of myself, here. I’m gonna assume you’d want to know how I made it out of Dragon’s Lair on the brink of extinction. In a word, tenacity. It must have taken well over two hours just to get back to the terminal. It was a long, arduous, and tedious process, so I’ll try to semi-summarize. 

I wasn’t exactly in an insightful frame of mind when I woke up, but I knew one thing -- I had to get back to Fix-it Felix Jr. and find Fix-it, so he could, well, fix it. My brush, its bucket, and my body, too. That’s what I was counting on. It was all okay, it would all be fine, I just had to make it back. And I did make it, of course. ‘Making it’ is kind of my thing. 

But it was not a fun or easy trip.

Just getting started was tough enough. For the first while, I just stared at my reflection in the crumpled metal of my paint can. I’m not sure why. It was sort of a surreal, third-person confirmation that I was, in fact, alive. I was alive, I was real, and I was whole. You know, relatively. Bleeding tally marks criss-crossed my face, as if my attacker had been keeping score on either cheek -- if you care to know, the left side won. But it all felt wrong. It seemed only minutes since I was in some hellish kind of seizure. I swear to the Devs that I felt myself die. But I didn’t, and the proof was right in front of me, in this warped sort of gallows humor image of myself: A murder victim, pinched, stretched, and squashed in a golden funhouse mirror. I could barely tear my eyes away.

But, once whatever spell I was under faded, I set to work. I dragged myself around, gathering up the mess they’d made of me. Thankfully, finding the little bits of my brush was more tedious than hard, since my pain acted as a sort of radar. The hard part, really, was just… you know, the whole idea of it. Imagine cleaning up gore from your own body.

Eventually, I’d gathered my brush into my hat, and I wrapped it, along with my wrecked paint can, in what was left of my smock. I was lucky they left a piece big enough to do that, actually. It seemed to me that if they left me alive on purpose, they at least wanted me to be intimately humiliated. They didn’t want me to have anything to wear over the incriminating marks on my chest -- even the straps of my tank top had been sliced. Clearly, those idiots underestimated my comfort with partial nudity. I just wore my tank top around my neck like a cowl. It looked kind of dumb and exposed my bruised ribs and I was already freezing, but I had bigger concerns.

And, c’mon, I had just survived attempted murder. The sprites in GCS would survive seeing my bra.

Just when I’d gotten really good at dragging myself around, it was time to stand up. Couldn’t very well get all the way back just with my hands. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that getting to your feet after dogs tried to eat your legs isn’t easy. It hurt. It hurt a lot. My knees and ankles were so swollen that they could barely bend. And, just as a special “screw you” from the Devs, my right leg glitched out. Should’ve seen it coming -- if just being too far away from my tools made it act up, imagine what breaking them would have done. 

I won’t bore us both by recounting every failed attempt to stand. Let’s just say, after a lot of pain, yelling, falling, cursing the Devs, cursing Litwak, and cursing any gamer’s name I could recall, I made it upright. How? I used a fallen branch as a walking stick.

Yeah, a walking stick. Not only did I sound like an old man, I walked like one, too. 

Where once was your kickass Cherry Bomb, there was an old man with a sliced face, no shirt, legs that were barely legs, a weird pouch thing in hand, hobbling along at a pace that a snail could outrun. Kind of a far cry from a flying firecracker. 

But that’s okay, ‘cause you know what’s more fun than flying? Navigating your way out of a forest on your useless feet, while your head is splitting and it hurts to breathe. Bonus points if your vision is still kind of blue and cloudy. Jackpot if your HP is so low, tripping over a root could, in all likelihood, kill you forever.

Yipee.

But, of course, all of that was no match for the aforementioned tenacity. I made it out. But I didn’t have time to celebrate before I was stopped by the Surge Protector on my way into GCS. As if he would let me pass through, looking like that. He took one look and demanded an explanation. At least he sounded pretty horrified.

What did I tell him? Well, what could I tell him? It felt safe to assume that he didn’t see my attackers entering or leaving the game. If he saw a pack of dogs, I think he would have seen my legs and put two and two together. But all he had to go off of was my word, which means nothing to anyone, least of all him. How could I make him understand what happened, when I barely understood myself? What could I make him believe? What wouldn’t have just dug me even deeper, somehow?

Any answer to those questions would have been for naught, anyway. I couldn’t speak at all. Grasping at straws, I tried to just say “dogs,” but the word wouldn’t surface. My mouth just wouldn’t form it. It was like there was a locked door in my throat, barring my voice’s exit.

So I didn’t answer. He asked a few other questions, but I still said nothing. I just stared through him. Literally. I looked through his body at the floor behind him and waited.

He gave up asking pretty quickly. I wondered if he was going to try to fine me for any of it somehow, but he had bankrupted me already. Either he remembered that, or he had a rare lick of sense in that blue, bald head.

Anyway, he at least helped me get back to FFjr’s port. Every sprite in GCS must have watched us go. SP wanted me to pull my shirt down and cover up, but, thankfully, didn’t fight me on it. Having everyone see me like that already made me want to never be seen again -- I didn’t need them seeing your name on my chest and jumping to dangerous conclusions.

We made it to the port without any real trouble, but he stopped me before I could climb into the cord train. He told me that one more incident would land me square in cabinet arrest, for my own safety as much as the arcade’s.

So, yeah, part of him might have thought it was my fault. Asshole.

Gameplay was in session by the time I made it into FFjr. It would be a few hours yet before I could see Fix-it. I couldn’t very well waltz out on-screen, half-naked and covered in blood, without getting us all unplugged. So I just parked myself on the stoop of Niceland’s back door like some macabre special delivery. The concrete was obscenely uncomfortable, and Wreck-it’s wrecking was like thunder that literally shook the ground, but I was too tired to care. Weirdly enough, it was all kind of soothing. I think it was just the familiarity. I couldn’t quite process it at the time, but it really was such a relief to be back in my game. So much that, by some miracle, I fell asleep.

It was only a fitful half-sleep, but it was more rest than I’d gotten in days. Maybe even a week.

[iamvegorott]

A Lifetime Chapter 15

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Falling For You

“Yancy, I need to get up.” Illinois chuckled when Yancy just mumbled and stayed where he was in the sleeping bag, arms wrapped around Illinois, and preventing him from getting out. “You have to let go of me.” More mumbles from Yancy, clearly not awake enough to know what he was doing. “Yanc~” Illinois sang directly into Yancy’s ear, getting Yancy to react enough to wake up. 

“Wha…” Yancy used his shoulder to rub his ear and he sniffed. “What?” 

“I need to use the restroom,” Illinois said. 

“Okay? And yous had to wake me for that?” Yancy was too comfortable to move, everything was nice and soft and warm. 

“You’re kind of holding me.” Illinois bit back his grin when Yancy finally opened his eyes and saw what Illinois meant. 

“Oh...well.” Yancy pressed his face against Illinois’ chest. “Guess you’re trapped here.”

“Yancy! I gotta pee!” Illinois exaggerated his ‘wail of pain’ as he wiggled. 

“Suffer.” Yancy held on to Illinois tighter. 

“We’ll both suffer if you leave me in here.” Illinois chuckled and shifted his body, this time with enough force to get Yancy on his back with Illinois above him. 

“Yous ruined my perfect sleeping position,” Yancy whined, playfully slapping at Illinois’ shoulders. 

“I could put you in a better position.” Illinois winked.

“Maybe you-” 

“Shit!” Illinois quickly scrambled out of the sleeping bag and took off, leaving Yancy to stare up at the cave ceiling with wide eyes.

Yancy knew what he was going to say in response. He knew what he was going to be implying and he could feel his face burning at that thought and the afterthought of what his reaction may have caused. That thought made Yancy curl up into the sleeping bag and pray for a certain part of him to calm down and wishing that there was some more privacy in the cave.

“Sorry for bolting, I really had to go,”  Illinois said with a laugh as he went back over to the bag, seeing Yancy was now fully hidden in there. He must have been pretty tired still to go back down that quickly. Illinois decided it was time to make some breakfast, maybe the smell of food would get him out of ‘bed’ completely. It’s been a routine for a good week, sleep in the same bag for warmth, and the first one up made food. 

Illinois easily made a small fire, just enough so he could cook some fish. He was hoping they would either run into another pond or get out of here soon. They were running low on food and clean water. They had to be close to the exit. They had to be.

He was now sitting next to the fire and he heard Yancy get up and shuffle over to him, taking a seat beside him, the sleeping bag wrapped around him still. 

“I remember when you could barely climb a tree without falling out of it at least three times,” Yancy said, staring into the flames. “I’d help hoist yous up to the lowerest branch.” 

“You threw me up there like I weighed nothing.” Illinois chuckled.

“You did weigh nothing.” Yancy chuckled as well. “My wrist was bigger than your thigh.” 

“I wasn’t that small.” 

“Yous were tiny.” 

“Maybe you were just large.” Illinois raised a brow and laughed when Yancy let out a scoff of offense. 

“I was a growin’ boy!” Yancy couldn’t keep a straight face himself after saying that. 

“Remember when I got stuck on the school roof?” Illinois asked after catching his breath. 

“How could I forget that? The principal was screaming at the top of his lungs; ‘Get the police! Get the fire department! Get the pope!’” Yancy shrugged off the sleeping bag, laughing loudly. “I had no idea what the pope was gonna do about a teenager stuck on a roof, but he was gonna try everything.” 

“That was the first time I was on TV.” Illinois took off his hat and looked inside of it with a smile. “I was the town celebrity for a good week.” 

“I also remember when I got that hat for ya.” Yancy leaned over. “I still can’t believe after all these years yous still wearin’ it.” 

“How could I not? It’s my main inspiration.” Illinois reached in and pulled out a tag that read ‘go get ‘em’ in scratchy handwriting. “It also gave me my name.”

“How?” Yancy asked. 

“It’s a little silly, but-” Illinois flipped over the tag and read; “Made in Illinois.” 

“You created an entirely different person based on a hat’s tag?” Yancy took the hat to get a better look. 

“It just worked.” Illinois rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. 

“That’s dedication,” Yancy said.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Illinois looked at Yancy. “How we basically switched after all this time.” 

“I’m still tough.” Yancy played with the brim of the hat. 

“You are. And you’re brave and smart but I’m no longer the stuttering shy kid I used to be and you’re the blushing one now.” 

“I-I’m not blushing-” Yancy swallowed when he saw that he and Illinois were face-to-face, only inches away from each other. 

“Are you sure?” Illinois whispered.

“No,” Yancy whispered back. 

“We could try…”

“We could…”

Yancy and Illinois jerked away from each other when there was a loud sound started echoing around them. It sounded like glass shattering and large objects falling and even thunder but what got them the most was a gunshot. Yancy scrambled to his feet, hands up in fists when he thought he saw something in the shadows.

“I don’t have guns, I don’t.” Illinois was trying to figure out what that sound was. 

“That’s a person! Hey! Hey!” Yancy took off. 

“Yancy! Don’t!” Illinois got up to his feet but he was knocked back over when the ground started to shake. “Shit! Yancy! Yancy, wait!” Illinois saw that Yancy was struggling to keep going. Yancy could feel something pulling at him, something was making him want to keep going. 

“Hey, Hey!” Yancy kept calling out, the person just looking like a shadow, looking like darkness. “Can you hear me!? Hey!” 

“Yancy! Come back!” Illinois could not get back on his feet. “Yancy!”

“He-” Yancy’s call soon became a scream. 

“Yancy!” Illinois cried out when the ground finally gave in, swallowing Yancy whole. “Yancy! Yancy, no!” Illinois could finally get to his feet and he sprinted over to the pit. He fell over and stared into the pit, only able to see dark. “No, no, no!” Illinois screamed, voice clawing his throat. “Yancy! No! No!” 

—————–

Tag List (Let me know if you want to be added): @devon-rever-860 @m0th-goo @thesinginggal @rainymae523 @disneyamoo@salmonisforthebagel @antibeaneverybody @adverseflyer909 @madallice329 @rebastone @ninazappy @thedarkeningdusk @aoimatsurika @windymischeif @mirrored-calamity @yurmimi @thevampireauthoress @wingz16 @too-many-egos

[jessiejunebug]

Hay Ride with Loki

Summary: Reader wants to go to a fall festival, but Loki is the only one home and she doesn’t want to go alone. Loki goes with her and they end up on a spooky hay ride. 

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: none, making out? lots of fluff

A/N: I have no idea why this took me so long but this was part of a writing challenge for @sourpatchkidsandacokecan​. My prompt was “That hay ride was a lot scarier than I thought it would be,” and I had so much fun writing it. I hope you all enjoy! 

Y/N was desperate to do something. Anything. While everyone else was out on a mission, Y/N was slowly going insane all alone in the Tower. Okay, not exactly alone. Loki wasn’t needed for this mission either.

She wondered if the others deliberately left him here alone with her. Tony and Nat knew about her crush on the Trickster. She thought she did a good job at hiding it, but well, Nat was an assassin, as well as her friend. It wasn’t that hard to get the confession out of her. Tony just happened to be walking by, when Y/N spouted out confession that was supposed to be for Nat’s ears only. Y/N and Nat both made him swear not to tell anyone else, especially Loki. Tony just smirked and walked away, mumbling quietly under his breath. As of yet, it did not seem like Tony blabbered to anyone else on the team, and for that, Y/N was grateful.

But once this mission came up, Tony was the first to suggest that Y/N and Loki stay behind, claiming that they were not needed. Loki was all too comfortable with the fact that he didn’t need to spend more time with the Avengers than necessary, but Y/N noticed the way Tony winked at her before they all boarded the Quinjet.

The team had been gone for most of the day already, and they said they would not be back until sometime tomorrow. The morning had slowly creeped by, leaving Y/N bored out of her mind with nothing to do. She tried reading for a while, but knowing that she was alone in the Tower with Loki did not ease her mind.

Loki had retreated back into his room, but Y/N was so bored, she dropped her book onto the table beside the couch and made her way to his room. Before she could lose her nerve, she knocked on the door, her heart pounding with nerves. She rolled back onto the balls of her feet, trying to seem composed when the door suddenly opened and a pair of blue eyes was staring down at her.

“Can I help you?” Loki questioned with a quirked brow.

“Hey! Yea, um… You see…” Y/N stuttered out before clearing her throat and looking him in the eye. “I’m bored and was thinking about going out and doing something and was wondering if you wanted to come with me?”

From Y/N’s side, it seemed like Loki didn’t mind her as much as he minded the other Avengers. He tried not to stay around them longer than necessary, but he was always polite and nice to Y/N. She hoped that meant that he was at least a little comfortable around her.

After her question, Loki stared down at Y/N for a moment, contemplating her proposal, before responding, “What did you have in mind?”

Y/N was surprised that he agreed so easily. “Well, I heard about a Halloween thing going on in Central Park this evening. There’s going to be pumpkins and apple cider and hay rides!” Y/N exclaimed excitedly, slightly bouncing up and down at the prospect of doing some fall activities before it got too unbearably cold.

Loki’s brows furrowed together in confusion. “Is that the Midgardian holiday Thor and the spider kid were telling me about? Where humans dress up and walk to stranger’s doors asking for candy?” he asked with a slight tilt of his head.

Y/N chuckled, “Yea, that’s the one. But there’s a little more to it than that. Anyway, this is just a little festival thing. People can go and eat some food and get some apple cider and go on a hay ride. They’re activities that you can basically only do in the fall, right around Halloween. I always go because it’s still warm enough to go outside and do things and I just love the way the trees look in the fall, and I like going with someone, but everyone is gone right now so…” Y/N rambled on before she realized how long she had been talking and quickly shut her mouth, glancing at Loki’s expression.

A small smile graced his thin lips and his eyes seemed to have a gleam to them that wasn’t normally there. He then nodded and waved his hand, making a long coat appear over his shoulders. “Then, let’s go.”

Y/N gaped at him. “Wait, really? You’ll come with me?”

Loki chuckled. “Well, you did ask me. And you said you do not like attending these events by yourself. Therefore, I’ll go with you,” he responded easily.

A large smile spread across her lips and she bounced up and down excitedly. “Yay! Thank you so much!” she squealed and turned to race to her room to get a jacket and a hat, just in case it got too cold.

After grabbing her things, she met Loki by the door and they headed out into the street together. They walked silently, but it was a comfortable silence.

After walking the few blocks to Central Park, Y/N’s features instantly brightened with excitement. Loki just watched her with a small smile.

Y/N didn’t know what to do first. There was so much there, that she had no idea where to even begin. Instead, she turned to Loki, who was looking around curiously.

“So, where do you want to start?” Y/N asked him with a smile. Loki turned to look down at her with a surprised look. “It is your first time, after all.” Y/N continued. “What do you want to experience first? Pumpkins? Warm apple cider? A hayride?”

Loki tilted his head in thought. “I am curious about this hay ride that you speak of.”

Y/N laughed before leading the way towards the station where they could board the ride. “You sit in the back of a trailer that a tractor pulls. The trailer is filled with hay bales to sit on and the tractor drives you through corn mazes and woods and things like that,” Y/N explained as she bought the tickets. As she was speaking to Loki, she failed to see the sign that notified people that there were a few jump scares on this hay ride.

Loki listened thoughtfully to her explanation and shook his head when she was done. “Midgardians are so weird. I’ll never understand it.” Y/N just laughed as the tractor pulled up and people starting climbing aboard.

Loki gracefully climbed up first and once he was on, turned around and put his hand out for Y/N. She looked at it, shocked for a moment, before reaching up and placing her hand in his own. Her belly fluttered at the contact of their hands, but she tried to push it down as Loki helped pull her up onto the trailer.

Once she was on board, Loki allowed her to pick where they sat. Y/N chose towards the back of the trailer, leaving the other families and couples to sit towards the front. Loki did not seem to mind her choice and sat down beside her on the hay bale.

When everyone was on board, tractor started up and lurched forward, causing Y/N to fall slightly into Loki’s shoulder. “Sorry! Sorry,” she mumbled out quickly and shifted away, looking out towards the trees as she felt her cheeks warm. She failed to notice Loki’s slight smile.

The tractor pulled them into a path in the woods. As it was in the evening, the sky was already getting darker, causing the shadows of the trees to look much more dramatic and the atmosphere was a little more ominous than normal. Y/N subtly shifted closer to Loki, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

As they got deeper into the woods, Y/N noticed that it was suddenly getting much foggier than it was earlier. As she glanced around, confused, she heard a shrill scream from one of the people towards the front of the ride. Her Avenger instincts kicked in and she was ready to jump up and head towards the noise, a large, fuzzy spider dropped down from somewhere above her in the trees.

This time, Y/N was the one to let out a loud squeak and she lurched closer to Loki, trying to get away from the spider and to seek his comfort. She buried her face into his shoulder and grabbed onto him for dear life. She felt his entire body tense up.

“Please get it away from me,” she whined in a tiny voice, too scared to look up.

After a silent moment, she felt Loki pull his arm from out under her and wrapped it around her body, pulling her closer into him.

“It wasn’t real, darling,” Loki said soothingly, while she could feel his thumb rubbing small circles on her shoulder. His words caused her to pause and look up.

Sure enough, the spider was a store-bought creation that had too much fake hair on it and it now looked comical. The large felt spider was dangling from the string that was connected to a branch somewhere above their heads.

Now, she felt stupid.

Y/N chuckled nervously. “Right, yea of course it’s not real. I knew that…” She felt rather than heard Loki’s small chuckle.

She then tried to pull herself out of Loki’s arms, now embarrassed with the entire situation, though she couldn’t deny how nice it felt to be in his arms. Her face a flushed mess, Y/N started to pull away from Loki, when a man in a hockey mask jumped out from behind a tree and yelled at the group, waving around a long knife.

Now that realized this was a scary hay ride, she knew the knife wasn’t real, but she still jumped and curled closer to Loki again. He didn’t complain.

Once the ride was past the guy in the mask, Y/N once again tried to extract herself from Loki’s warm embrace, but he tightened his hold on her and pulled her closer, angling his body towards her slightly, so that she could bury her face into his chest. “Perhaps you should wait until this ride is over, darling,” he murmured quietly into her hair.

Now Y/N was truly embarrassed. She started to struggle, trying to pull herself out of his arms. He must think she’s acting like a child. “No, it’s okay Loki, I’ll be okay,” she protested.

But Loki wasn’t human and his grip was something she could not break out of. He held his grip firm. “Perhaps you should wait until the ride is over, darling. I don’t want you to get scared again,” he murmured softly.

Y/N paused for a moment, mulling his words over, before realizing that this might be the only time she would be able to get this close to Loki. This might never happen again. So, with that thought in mind, she burrowed closer into Loki’s side, relishing the body contact.

For the rest of the ride, her head was tucked into Loki’s chest, his arm tightly holding her to him. Y/N closed her eyes, feeling calm and safe in his arms, his smell permeating through her senses. She didn’t know how to explain how he smelled, other than he smelled like Loki and she didn’t think she would ever have enough of it.

At a particularly large gust of wind, Y/N shivered, and she felt Loki pull her even closer, while his hand moved up and down her shoulder, trying to create some heat within her body. She was glad her face was buried in his chest, because her face was beet red from his little touches of affection.

She didn’t know how long the ride lasted, the only thing she knew was that she was content in Loki’s arms. She even blocked out the noises of surprise and fright from the passengers around her, feeling completely safe in his embrace.

Suddenly, the cart jerked to a stop and Loki leaned down to whisper, “It’s over now, Y/N. We can get off now.”

Y/N lifted her head up to look at him, but she didn’t realize how close their faces were. Their noses were almost touching. She looked into his eyes, trying to read the emotions that he normally kept so deep down and hidden. There was more expression in his blue eyes than she had even seen before. His eyes darted down to her lips for a moment, before meeting hers again. Before she could read his eyes, a loud voice called out, thanking them for coming and telling them to enjoy the rest of the festival.

The moment being broken, Y/N quickly pulled herself out of his arms and stood up, and headed towards the front of the trailer to get down.

Before she could, Loki vaulted over the side like it was nothing and met her at the steps, holding his hand out to help her down, as he did before. Y/N stared at him for a moment in shock, before smiling and ducking her head down so he wouldn’t see her blushing, and took his hand again, letting him help her down.

Once she was on solid ground again, she pulled her hand out of his and cleared her throat. “So, I’m sorry about that back there. That hay ride was a lot scarier than I thought it would be.”

Loki simply chuckled, “It’s quite alright. I didn’t mind.” He seemed surprised at his admission because he cleared his throat and looked away. “What did you want to do now?”

Y/N looked away, disappointed that the moment was over. She scanned the rest of the festival, biting her lip while contemplating what she thought Loki would enjoy.

A shuffling next to her caught her attention, but before she could turn and look over towards the sound, an arm grabbed her above her elbow and pulled, causing her to turn towards whoever grabbed her arm.

When she was pulled around, she barely had time to look into Loki’s blue eyes before his lips were on hers. Y/N froze as his cool lips softly brushed against hers, hesitant and soft.

Before she could respond, Loki pulled away and looked into her eyes, as if searching for something. Y/N’s lips were parted in surprise, and her cheeks were flushed, but she knew one thing. She definitely needed more than that.

Before Loki could find whatever he was looking for in her face, Y/N grabbed a fistful of his shirt and hauled his face back to hers, pressing her lips more firmly to his.

Loki let out a grunt of surprise, but before she knew it, his other arm came up to cradle her neck, his thumb brushing over her cheek tenderly. Y/N’s arm that was not still in Loki’s grip, reached back behind his head and weaved her fingers through his mess of hair, marveling at how soft and silky it was.

Loki then quickly pulled his lips away from hers so that their noses were still touching, and while holding her face still, he stared into her eyes questioningly, as if asking her if that was what she really wanted.

Y/N gave him a reassuring smile and a wide grin broke out across his face. She had never seen him look so happy.

With her confirmation that she wanted this, he pulled her back into him, pressing their lips together once again. Y/N smiled into the kiss and when she felt Loki’s tongue brush over her lips, she immediately granted him access, allowing him to deepen the kiss. As he delved further into her mouth, Y/N grabbed a fistful of his hair and tugged slightly, causing Loki to let out a low groan that she swallowed. It was the most amazing noise she had ever heard. The arm that was previously holding her in place by her elbow had wrapped itself around her wait and tugged her closer, so that her body was pressed up against his. Their lips moved in sync and Y/N swore that if she died right now, she would die happy.

The squeal of a child nearby made Y/N remember where they were and she reluctantly pulled her lips away from his. He tried to chase her lips with his, but she placed a hand on his chest, holding him back. “There are children around, Loki,” she said with a giggle.

“Maybe we should go somewhere more private then,” he responded, his voice huskier, than before. Y/N had to admit, he looked good with kiss-swollen lips.

Y/N smiled and nodded slightly. “We can go back to the Tower and watch a movie or something.”

Loki nodded before smirking, “I’m not sure how much of the movie we will pay attention to.”

Y/N blushed hard before chuckling. Loki intertwined his fingers with hers and started pulling her back in the direction of the Tower.

“Impatient, are we?” Y/N laughed as she tried to keep up with his long strides.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this,” he said over her shoulder, looking at her with a tender gaze.

Y/N smirked back at him. “You’re not the only one.”

At her admission, Loki started walking that much faster, practically dragging her back to the Tower.

Y/N put a movie on when they got back, but it was safe to say that they did not pay much attention to it. A heated make out session sounded much better anyway. They had to make up for lost time, after all.

[carlotta-the-nerd-winters]

Rough Diamond: Chapter Two - It’s Alright, I’ll Be There

Next Morning…

Downstairs was lively for once as she headed down, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. The smell of cooked bacon had her stomach growling as she wandered into the kitchen.

“Morning mum,” Gloria greeted, grabbing a mug from the rack. “Is the kettle still hot?”

“Aye just used it five minutes ago,” Kathleen answered, accepting the kiss on her cheek. “Evie still asleep?”

“Oui, cher,” Gerald answered, appearing in the kitchen, and grabbing plate of food. “Jet lag. Bonne matinée, Ria.”

“Bonne matinée, da,” she greeted, kissing his cheek and grabbed another mug. “You want a coffee?”

“Oh, that sounds good. Charlie, Victor, did you two want a cup?”

“Tea,” they both chimed as she poured a few more cups. Gloria took the cups in whilst Kathleen slowly brought in breakfast as the others sat at the table. The morning newspaper sat in front of her father’s seat, ready and waiting to be read.

“Lee and Raihan’s match is on,” Victor announced, turning on the TV. He flicked through the channels until he landed on the sports channel and sat back. “Isn’t he coming ‘round later?”

“Aye. And we’re having dinner with the Greys,” Kathleen informed them as footsteps came down the stairs. “Breakfast is on the table, Evie.”

“Thanks mum,” Evie yawned, entering the lounge room. Her black hair was sticking up in all places.

“Sleeping Beauty’s finally up,” Charlie teased as she sat down, and Gloria passed her a cup of tea.

“Shove it up your arse,” she flipped him off, earning a look from their mother.

“Leave her be,” Kathleen told Charlie who held his hands up in surrender. They all began digging into their breakfast, chatting amongst themselves while the match was on. “That reminds me. Victor I need you to pick your sister up from the station this afternoon.”

Victor paused, holding his cup in mid-air. “Raihan not joining us for tea?”

“Unfortunately, not. He’ll be busy with the league preparing for the upcoming season. I don’t want Nikki alone this late into her pregnancy,” Kathleen said, cutting into her bacon. “I want my grandson safe and sound.”

“Arceus, you’re going mental with the baby. He’s not even born yet.”

“I don’t see you giving me a grandchild anytime soon, so shush it,” she shot back. Charlie snickered and Kathleen whirled onto him. “Don’t be cheeky. You can’t even find a nice girl to settle down with.”

“Why are you on me?” he complained as the front door opened.

“Hello, hello,” Hop’s voice rang out from the entrance.

“In here, love,” Kathleen called as the young teen entered the lounge room. “Morning, Hop. You want some breakfast?”

“I’m good, thanks. Mum’s already filled me up. I came to get Ria,” he said, leaning on the back of her chair. He glanced at the TV, seeing the match. “Lee beat him again?”

“Like always,” Victor answered as Gloria drained the rest of her tea. “He got close though. Had him down to Charizard,” he sipped his tea and looked at the pair. “Excited for your Pokémon?”

Hop nodded, grinning widely. “Barely slept a wink. What’d you give him, Gerald?” he asked, glancing at Gloria’s father who was reading the newspaper.

“Divulgacher, Hop,” Gerald responded as Gloria rose from her seat. Grabbing the dishes, she headed into the kitchen with Evie behind her. The two washed and dried the dishes, hearing the animated discussions from the lounge room.

“Nikki told me that you’re having trouble deciding what to do after graduation,” Evie said, drying the plate Gloria offered to her. “Why not take up an art degree? Da says your drawings are brilliant.”

“Yeah but what kind of job can I get with an art degree?” she asked, scrubbing the fry pan. “I need something that can guarantee a stable job. Something that says ‘hey, you won’t be broke’.”

Evie tilted her head slightly. “There’s plenty of work. You could be a graphic designer. Or even take over the day-care. Da’s hoping to keep it in the family.”

“Or I could travel for a bit. See the world,” Gloria suggested with a shrug of her shoulders, handing her over the last plate and draining the sink. “Did you always know what you wanted?”

“Arceus, no. I wanted to be a lawyer at first. And then I realised how boring and stifling that job was,” Evie laughed, putting the last dish away. “Going on my journey helped me figure it all out. You have time.”

Slowly, Gloria nodded, moving to hug her sister. “Thanks,” she murmured into her shoulder.

“Just doing my job,” she squeezed tightly before patting her back. “Go and get dressed. You’ve got to meet with Lee at the station or else he’ll end up in Kanto with his shit sense of direction.”

She laughed, leaving the kitchen and ran upstairs. Rookie was now awake, sitting comfortably on his perch. He was cleaning himself as she got dressed in a simple pink button dress and threw the grey cardigan over the top.

“Ready to get going?” she asked, grabbing her brown bag.

“Squi,” Rookie confirmed, shaking himself off and hopped over to the open window.

“I’ll see you down there,” Gloria said, leaving her bedroom. Hop waited at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed and foot tapping on the ground. “Settle down, I’m here.”

“I don’t want to be late! I haven’t seen Lee in months,” he complained as they left her house. Travelling down the dirt path, the many cries of nearby Wooloo echoed across the valley. Rookie flew ahead with Hop’s Wooloo chasing underneath. “He’s still growling like Lee’s Charizard.”

“Why is that a bad thing? It’s freakin’ adorable to hear it,” she said as Rookie returned, flapping his wings. “Is Lee there?”

“Corv,” he confirmed as Hop grabbed her wrist.

“Better step on it before his fans drown him,” the teen commented, jogging down the dirt road and dragging her with him. As they got closer, the crowd surrounding the station got bigger. It seemed all of Postwick and Wedgehurst had gathered to meet the champion. “That’s gonna be hard to get through.”

“Then we’re just gonna have to be patient,” she said, removing her wrist and crossing her arms over her chest. It took about two minutes before Hop became too impatient to wait as he hollered at him.

“Lee!” the young teen shouted over the crowd, waving his arms up to grab his brother’s attention. It seemed to work as Leon moved through the crowd, smiling at his younger brother.

“So, my number one fan in all the world has come out of his way to pick me up,” Leon commented with Charizard not far behind him. “Look at you,” he marvelled, placing both hands on Hop’s shoulders. “I reckon you’ve grown…exactly an inch and a quarter since the last time I saw you.”

“Yeah, he’s finally taller than me,” Gloria joked, earning an elbow to her side from her friend. Leon turned to her, smiling down at the smaller teen.

“Ria, still climbing everything in sight?”

“I haven’t climbed your brother if that’s what you’re hoping.”

Both of the Grey men had red faces at her comment, with Hop making weird noises that shouldn’t be possible to make from one’s mouth. Leon just hid his face with his hat, no doubt trying to be anywhere but there.

“Ria!” Hop complained as she shrugged her shoulders. He shook his head furiously, lightly hitting both cheeks before staring at his older brother. “Whatever! Bet I can beat the both of you back home,” he challenged before sprinting away.

“What happened to a countdown?” Leon called after him, sighing and sharing a smile with the brunette. “He never changes.”

“Consistency is his charm,” she agreed with a laugh as the pair began jogging back up the dirt road and back to Postwick. As expected, the minute Leon showed up his parents home, his mother ambushed him. Theresa monopolised her eldest son’s time—much to Hop’s chagrin. Then Victor and Charlie came around and the three friends began catching up.

It took about four hours before Hop exploded and dragged his brother outside to the small, makeshift battle ground in the Grey’s front yard.

“Come on, Lee! You promised us a present,” Hop reminded him, releasing the hold on his brother, and standing beside Gloria, hands on his hips. “So out with it! What’d you pick up from Gerald?”

“Impatience isn’t an attractive trait, mate,” Victor commented, having followed them outside with Charlie right beside him. “Turns the ladies off.”

Gloria noticed the tips of Hop’s ears glow red. “Shove off Vic!” the young teen exclaimed as the men laughed.

“Right then,” Leon cleared his throat, the smile still evident on his face. “The greatest gift from the greatest champion,” he reached into his pockets, pulling out three pokéballs. “It’s showtime you guys.”

Three beams of light were released, forming three forms, and revealed themselves to be a Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble. The three Pokémon knew Gloria already, cheerfully greeting her before popping around the front yard. Grookey climbed the large tree, tapping away at the branch with his tiny stick. Sobble instantly dove straight for the small pond, seeking comfort in the water. Scorbunny ran around like the speedster he was, leaving a small trail of flames in his wake.

Charlie sighed, releasing his Vaporeon and wordlessly pointed to the flames. The water-type let loose a few small squirts of water from her mouth, dowsing the flames.

“All right line up you guys,” Leon ordered, catching their attention. The three Pokémon returned, standing in a line next to Leon. “Who’s going first?”

“Ladies first,” Hop offered, and she rolled her eyes.

“Now you wanna be a gentleman,” she said sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest. She studied each Pokémon as she thought about the first three gyms. Milo’s was always first on the list as he tended to go easy on Gym challengers. His typing was grass, something weak to fire. By the time she’d reach Nessa’s water-types, she should have caught a grass or electric-type. “I’ll take Scorbunny.”

Scorbunny bounced over as she crouched down, accepting the high-five he gave her with a smile. Hop decided on Grookey while little Sobble was left standing on his own.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be coming with me,” Leon reassured the small water-type, crouching down as Charizard towered behind him. “Charizard will show you the ropes. He’s strict—but real strong and real kind too.”

As Hop got his newest Pokémon to socialise with Wooloo, Gloria brought out Rookie. The Corvisquire recognised the small fire-type, greeting him with a small pat on the head with his beak.

“What am I going to call you?” Gloria murmured, watching the two Pokémon interact. Scorbunny’s energy was on a whole other level and the large smile he wore was infectious. He was positivity in a small package. “How about Blaze?”

Scorbunny tilted his head before nodding, a wide grin on his face. “Scor!”

“Alright, Blaze it is,” she agreed, hearing a snicker behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she found her two older brothers trying to not laugh. Correction—Charlie was trying to not laugh. Victor was chuckling, holding his brother’s shoulder. “What’s so funny, Chuckles?”

“Arceus, you’ve never been good at names. Blaze?” Victor laughed as she rose to her feet. “Growlie, Rookie…Blaze!”

“Shove it you arse!” she exclaimed, kicking his knee, turning his laughs into groans of pain. “Like you’d do any better.”

“Nah, he’s not clever enough to come up with anything original. He’s used to reading lines someone else wrote for him,” Charlie teased, hands in his pockets before smiling down at Blaze. “Train him well and you’ll breeze through Milo.”

“Aye, that’s exactly what I was thinking,” she agreed just as Hop challenged her to a battle. The only rule was they could only use Grookey and Blaze seeing how they were new additions. Leon supervised the match whilst Charlie and Victor stood on the sidelines. Evie and Sonia eventually joined them, watching the two teens have a battle.

It took three minutes for it to end in a victory for Gloria and she noticed an exchange of money between her brothers. “You bet against me Vic?!”

“Not by choice. Someone had to cheer for Hop,” Victor defended himself as Hop joined her in the protest.

oOo

That Evening…

Evie, Gloria, and Charlie had finished setting up the two large tables when Victor returned with Nikki waddling beside him. Unlike the rest of the older Aegis siblings, there wasn’t a tearful greeting between her and Leon. As the eldest Grey son was the rival of Nikki’s husband, the two saw each other often enough.

Instead, he helped her to a seat and brought her a plate of food.

“No Teddy?” Leon asked as the two families began digging into the large feast prepared by each matriarch.

“Nah. Couldn’t get any leave,” Victor answered, taking a sip of his beer. “I’m just lucky enough that I just finished filming.”

“That spy movie you were bragging about?” Hop asked and Victor nodded. “When’s that coming out?”

The blond pursed his lips. “For Galar? Probably in six-seven months,” he guessed. “After the Gym Challenge season, I’ll be doing a publicity tour to promote the movie.”

“The fun never stops,” Evie commented, sharing a nod with her brother. If anyone knew what life was like in the spotlight out of the Aegis siblings, it was Evie. The brunette turned to Gloria. “Mum says I can use your room to store my work while you’re away.”

“Just don’t mess it up and go through my things,” she warned her, taking a sip of the orange soft drink. As the conversations continued, Gloria tuned them out, choosing to look over at the Pokémon. All of Charlie’s eeveelutions were in full display, along with Nikki’s three Pokémon. Lopunny was holding Blaze in her lap, feeding him. No doubt practicing for when the baby arrives.

Evie’s Beautifly, Ribombee, Ampharos and Meowstic were happily catching up with Victor’s Roserade and Staraptor—particularly Meowstic sharing her food with Roserade. Leon’s team just seemed happy to relax and chill for once.

Gloria tuned back in when she heard Charlie debating with Leon why mega-evolution was better than Dynamaxing. An argument as old as time between the pair and would probably still go on for years to come.

“Arceus, don’t you ever get tired of this argument?” Hop asked, shaking his head. “We all know Dynamaxing is superior.”

“Don’t be daft,” Charlie dismissed immediately. “Mega-evolution tests the bond between a trainer and Pokémon. Dynamax just needs a friggen’ power spot and you’re good to go.”

“Wrong mate,” Leon shot back, pointing his fork at the brunet. “You forgot about the band. You’re getting sloppy over there in Sinnoh.”

Charlie flipped him off as Victor laughed. “Quit laughing and back me up here. Mega-evolution is better.”

Victor shrugged as their attention drew to him. “I mean…it’s easier to shoot scenes than with a giant Pokémon. And Lucario’s form is badass.”

“Vic,” Leon shook his head, clearly disappointed as Charlie turned to Evie.

“I know you’re Team Mega,” he said as she stared at her brother. “What?”

“I’m trying to eat my food and you’re over here having a pissing contest with Lee!” she exclaimed, taking a bite out of her bread roll. She chewed a few times, holding up her left wrist. Sitting nicely in the centre of the silver infinity symbol bracelet, was a clear stone with yellow and red waves running through the middle. “Ampharos is majestic in his mega form.”

The attention shifted to Nikki who smiled half-heartedly at Charlie. “Sorry but Dynamax,” she apologised as he waved her off.

“Your apology is as hollow as Rai’s wins against Lee,” he replied, earning laughter from the others. “But it’s expected you’d side with them. You’re married to a dyna-maniac. And we all know Hop’s gonna agree with whatever Lee says.”

The table fell silent and Gloria noticed the stares pointed at her. She quickly swallowed the mouthful of grilled chicken and shook her head. “I’m not joining in.”

“Oh come off it! You know it’s mega. It’s in your blood,” Charlie said as Leon snorted.

“Half of her blood. The other half calls to Dynamax,” Leon reminded his friend before smiling at the young teen. “So which is better, Ria? And don’t worry, we won’t judge you for your answer.”

“Oh no she’s definitely disowned if she says Dynamax.”

Gloria looked between the two men, taking a sip of her beverage as an excuse to stall answering. No matter what she said, one of them would be slightly pissed—or in Charlie’s case, scandalised.

“Both?” she offered as the two adults groaned.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Songs: It's Alright, It's Okay by Ashley Tisdale. I'll Be There by Jess Glynne.

Glad some of you are enjoying this fic. Please, comment. It's nice to see some likes but...comments are better. I’d especially like to see how you react to the siblings. Also, a big shout out to @plumbella as I am a massive fan of her work and it’s her voice in my head that helps an Aussie gal like myself capture the northern UK spirit and words.

Also, there's a Spotify playlist for this fic which I'll be updating with each song that I listen to for the chapters. It's called Rough Diamond Playlist so check it out.

[lyorofthequill]

The Runaways

                                                 Chapter 1.                                               The train stop.

''Hey Mam, I know that was a lot. But please, when you get on Lunch, please respond. The train comes soon and the others come sooner.''

''See ya soon Mama, I love you. Even after everything.''

She tapped the hardened finger against the side of the Broadcast Transmitter. A small device, like a holigraphical-pad. It was a communication device, a small rectangular cube, that acted as a phone, yet could also send digital letters, it was called texting. She kept her head down as she walked to the train station. The sounds of currus's were distant. This part of Nihon, of Osaka had currus's. Large, metal vehicles that had seats on the inside. It was engine driven, by Flectomancy and Aeromancy. It had these metallic semi-circles that would push air out to the direction that you would want to go in. She once had been in one, when she was helping Hiroaki and his parents when they were bringing supplies in to their shop. Currus would be used mostly for heavy transport or for the elite that could afford the sleek ones that had lounges on the inside. He chewed her lip, reading the texts. There was only one check-mark to show that her mother did not have the B.T.P on, but the messages were delivered. She paused as she felt the smack of cold metal hit her forehead. Tears welled in to her eyes as she stumbled back and looked straight up for the first time. The metal pole next to the door, she sighed as she took a step to the left and entered the large railway station. A retail shop was on the left, it had tourist trinkets, children's toys, books and hats as well as magazines and a shelf full of snacks beside a wide drink refrigerator. On the other side, was a small coffee shop. She came to the barriers and put her ticket in. It came with the letter. It let her in as it walked behind her and simply jumped over the machine. She smiled as she walked in to a small cafe, that had a view of the other platforms, it was up some stairs. It was like a cafe and dinner mix. She ordered a sweet tea and a toasted cheese and bacon sandwich. She paused as the woman frowned and looked over her shoulder. ''No animals allowed Ma'am.''The cashier sighed and gestured.

''Oh! No! It's a familiar and a Yokai.'' She smiled. The cashier stood slightly on her tippy-toes and looked down at it. Before nodding and picking up her ticket, ''Sorry about that. Does it shed?'' She paused and looked down as she felt it climb up her head and then sit on her bag. ''No, fully spirit.''She explained, the woman nodded as she took her money and placed it in the till, then handed her, her change. She placed it in the side pocket of the duffel bag, her make shift purse. She paused as the woman cleared her throat, ''I'm sorry. Can I get your name for the order? First and second name, please.'' ''Oh! Charna Dracul,'' She smiled as the woman paused. Charna spelt out the first name for her, then sat down in the corner and window seat. The Yokai joined her. It had the body of a ferret, yet the head and front legs moved about like a cats. Its grey fur ended with a black triangle at the end of its tail, which looked like a fluffy beaver tail. The back legs had hooves at the end for when they climbed trees and rocks in their natural habitat. Four, dark red wings with dark grey on the top, while the wings could not fly, they were there for them to float and from branch and ledge. The wings were connected together at the stumps. It had two more legs, in between the front ones and back ones. They were the same dark red and had two massive claws either side for them to hook on to prey and berries. The front legs were sort of like cat or raccoon paws. Its head had four wide eyes, fully black as it stared up at her. The ears were like foxes, and they also had some black markings on the  top. It's three horns were used for jousting, two were hooked slightly at the side and the other was like a unicorn horn, and they all sat on the forehead. It had a dark red mane around its neck, to  indicate what diet it has, like a flamingo. The red marks mean it has mostly being fed on meat. Which it was. They got a more pink or blue-ish purple colour when its berries. Shorei was her Uncle's Yokai, one he had picked up on his own journeys. Yet Shorei was always more fond of Charna, so it was coming with her to Qnao Academy. 

Hiroaki was coming to say goodbye, he was always up early since he did have to help with the shop, she wondered if she should have ordered a drink for him. But, it would have probably cold by now. So it did not bother her to much.

She paused as she looked at herself in the reflection of the glass. Her dark purple eyes stared back at her as her dark, almost crimson hair flopped from side to side. She still remembered her Uncle, Corvus Dracul, reaction to her saying she wanted her hair cut this short. Most of it barely reaching the nape of her neck. He had taken out his sword and said that he should do it to save money. She managed to get Hiroaki's mum to do it. Her large black hoodie slumped over her frame, she frowned as she saw her wrist. The bone sticking out, she was quick to pull the sleeve over it. Hiding it, that was why she wore hoodies so much. To hide her body. Mostly from herself. She paused as footsteps tapped against the floor, heading her direction. She raised her head and a smile spread across her face. 

Hiroaki Genkei, son of two local shop owners. He was chubby and had his square glasses on. Those were his new glasses. He was wearing his school uniform, as his blue eyes scanned her. He pulled a chair to the table and sat beside her. ''Charna! Excited?''He chuckled, she smiled and nodded as he stretched. Yet he frowned, ''And the hoodie.'' He leaned down on his arms as they were crossed on the table. She looked down, her eyes drifted along the hoodie. He, never did approve of her hiding her body so much. He was quite in to body positivist. Even if it meant he got hit a few times for calling a girl, ‘The perfect type of roundness’. Charna laughed, she remembered that so clearly. ''You know how I feel about my body.''She muttered, he nodded as he sat back and then laughed, ''Still! So what? A little hard skin and some bones are showing. Not like we can see your spine and rib-cage! You just have a quick metabolism, so what?'' He paused as Charna's name was called. Shorei sat on the table and Hiroaki was quick to give the creature affection. He tilted his head as she returned with the toasted sandwich with cheese leaking out and the sweet tea with ice bobbing up and down in the cup. ''Treating yourself are we?'' Charna paused before laughing, Hiroaki smirked at the success to make her smile. Her laugh faded as she sipped at her tea, just as she liked it. Could be colder she supposed, but it wasn't homemade so she would not argue. A thought came to her, she slowly placed the cup down. She supposed this was the time to tell him, they had been friends for years and she would feel guilty if she left without telling him. She felt her nerves build a ball up in her throat, a lump jiggled as she spoke. ''Hiroaki? Can I admit something to you?''She asked. He narrowed his eyes and sat up straight as he readied himself, ''What is it?'' She swallowed as she took a swig out of her tea. Letting it roll down her tongue as Shorei jumped on to her lap. ''We never talked about my Discipline did we?''She asked, he nodded as he scanned his eyes up and down her. He opened his mouth, and then closed his mouth, he raised a finger. She nodded as he laughed, ''Don't tell me! You are a Double?''He joked. Hiroaki laughed.

To be a double was a unique affliction. For humans usually they stuck to one Discipline. They had to. They did not contain, their soul did not the magic needed to diverge. Magic could be dictated by your ancestry. Seeing how Umbramancy, was a part of her ancestry, she had an easier time learning it. To be a double wasn't unheard of it. But it was rarer then being left handed. So that was fun. All you needed was strong enough magic and the right genetics. She felt her heart go hollow and her heart beat go fast. Hiroaki's eyes went wide as he sat up fully, almost jumping out of his seat as he saw her nervous and ashamed look, ''Charna! What!?'' He paused, before going in to a quiet whisper, ''Your a Double? That is so cool!'' He exclaimed. She smiled faintly at this. That was not what she was going to tell him, but it wasn't far from the truth. He stared at her as he smiled.

''Calm down. But yeah. I am...'' She watched him fall back in his chair, processing the information, ''It is a bit weird. And before you say anything, I ain't doing Hyrdomancy,'' Little white lines, that would do, ''I don't like that whole. Pyromancy and Hydromncy thing. I'm doing Umbramancy and Pyromancy. A little odd, I know.'' He lifted up a hand, stopping her. She nodded and gave a nervous giggle as he facepalmed. ''Okay, Mrs Edgy.'He sighed in disappointment. She frowned before realizing something as the biggest smile stretched across her face, ''You just mad I'm not doing Hydromancy.'' He frowned as he rolled her eyes. ''I don't care. Is Umbramancy and Pyromancy even good together?'' He raised an eyebrow at her. She frowned as she looked down, thinking about the question. A minute of silence filled the table. Hiroaki wasn't surprised. ''Shut up!''She snapped. He laughed as she ate her sandwich, Shorei eating crumbs that would fall on to the table. Hiroaki paused as he was about to start to talk, but stopped when Kira Senshi appeared, her footsteps soft as she smiled at them. Kira had Vitiligo, its when certain parts of your skin don't have pigmentation. Her skin should have been this soft, almost light chocolate skin color. The parts where the Vitiligo affected her skin was still pretty. She had very pretty clear skin. She was also every pretty. Charna looked down as that crossed her mind. She shrugged it off, it was just appreciation of a close friend. She had a long strip that went over her eyes, it went just above her nose and a bit above her eyes. There was also a line that went up her cheek, with pointed end. There were two lines that wrapped along her right arm like rings they were just below her shoulder. On the other arm the lighter shade was like a glove that went a bit below her elbow.Just below he shoulder on the left arm, there was a another line. It was like the spike on her cheek, but it was smaller and had two ends both curved and spiked. She had a almost exact copy of that patch on her right leg. But it was surrounded by spots. Below that patch was a few bumps of the light shade that poked out of her boots. On the opposite leg was a ring like the left arm had, it went right across her knee. On the back of her right leg was a heart shaped patch with spots surrounding that as well. She was wearing her usual outfit. Her pinkish, wine tank-top and ripped jean shorts with long brown boots. Well they weren't supposed to be shorts. But Kira made them that way. Charna had a special kind of respect for Kira because of her outfit. The fact she wasn't afraid to show her skin despite of her condition. Also because they were friends for so long and Kira had escorted Charna to her Uncle's house when her parents kicked her out. Kira was raised by her Granddad, he and Corvus were good military friends when they both served in the army. Hiroaki raised an eyebrow, a silent question which Charna nodded. Kira knew the full truth. Of course Kira already knew, she had partially taught Terramancy to Charna. Her lank, dark purple hair fell down to her shoulder blades as her dark, rusted yellow eyes scanned them both.

Hiroaki eyed Charna. Kira nodded, yet did not stand. Instead looked on to the counter, obviously she had ordered some food. ''Hiroaki, I've known Kira for longer. Don't be butt-hurt that she knew before you.''Charna pointed out. He shrugged as Kira walked up to the counter and collected her food and drink. She had two sweet teas, two water bottles and some sandwiches. She sat down beside them. Placed two of the sandwiches in front of Hiroaki and Charna. Hiroaki paused, ''Oh! Kira, you didn't need to buy me food.'' She ignored him as she placed a water bottle in front of him as the two sweet teas were placed before Charna. She smiled as she devoured all the food in front of her. Hiroaki opened the cap of the water and flicked up his finger, blobs of water moved up and in to his mouth. ''So, what is the hardening skin then?''He asked. She paused as slowly she rolled up her shirt. Revealing a patch of hard skin, Hiroaki paused as they were parted, a crack in it. Kira pulled Charna's  shirt down, grunting as she eyed the other people. Charna could see why Kira did not her to show off the hardened skin.

''So where is Riku?''Hiroaki asked. Kira looked up, before shrugging and then eating her food. Riku was the last of the friend group. While Hiroaki was not going to Qnao Academy, Riku was. Charna took a sip out of her tea as she thought. ''He'll come when the train comes. He always shows up exactly on time.''She reasoned. Hiroaki nodded as they all ate. Shorei was purring as they moved from lap to lap. Getting the attention it wanted. Hiroaki paused as he sat up, ''Oh yeah!'' He turned to Charna, ''My friend! Kaito! He's the Captain of the swimming club and Hydromancer at club. I told him he can join you guys.'' She paused. She had heard of Kaito, his mum always made pies and crumbles for the school bake-sale. Now that she thought about it, when Kira once hit Charna in the face a dodge ball during gym class once, it was Kaito who had brought her to the Nurse's office. ''Oh, yeah. Him. Cool, but you really should have asked first.'' Charna said. Hiroaki shrugged as they ate.

A half hour went by. Hiroaki was saying his goodbyes, hugs and tears were had. Charna and him had to be pried away by Kira. They waved goodbye as they walked away. Kira hand rested on her back, leading her as Shorei sat on Kira's shoulder. Charna frowned as she asked, ''Do you think I'll have to keep it a secret as well in Qnao Academy?'' Kira paused as she thought for a moment. She sat them down on a bench next to the platforms. Finally she shook her head, Charna knew that was her answer. She smiled at that thought, of not having to hide anymore. She smiled as Kira ran a finger along her hairline, stopping at the scar. She became stiff at that. She pushed Kira's hand away. The other nodded as Charna pulled out the panflet. Checking the time table. The train for Qnao Academy was called 'The galactic frontier', a little cheesy for both their tastes. The name was on the board, on its own special one at that. The platform would be open in a few minutes. It was like a building of its own, black glass and black heavy doors. No one could see the train enter or exit, nor the platform itself. ''Do you want to wait outside the doors?''She asked, Kira nodded and stood up. Shorei in tow as Charna scrambled to get her bags and ran after them. Kira frowned as a crowd was already gathering in front of the door. Charna could hear all their voices, asking each other about themselves. She froze as a girl smiled at her, ''Oh! Whats your Discipline!?''Her two friends smiled at Charna as her throat tightened. 

She found it hard to breath as she stared at nothing. The girls frowned as her body went rigid. Kira pushed Charna behind her eye and grunted at the girls. Who got the message and stepped away. Kira wrapped her arm around her shoulder as Shorei hissed at people.

''Kira. I'm fine!''Charna smiled as she took a step away from her friend and in to the boy that was running in to the crowd, in a panic. She yelped as a shoulder hit her back and they fell down, on to the cold floor. She gasped as air were pushed out of her lungs. She rolled on to her back, as people stared. Kira stared in horror, and tightened her hands in to a fist. The boy clambered up to stand as he stared down at Charna. He had peach coloured hair and bright yellow tips at the end, with yellow eyes that complimented him well. He was wearing a soft yellow shirt, and dark pink cargo pants. He was quick to help her up, she laughed. She paused, his shirt was for the swim team, a uniform, like a jersey. As he turned to grab her bags for her, the name 'Kaito' was on the top with 'Junpei' on the bottom with a number one in the middle. ''Oh! You're Kaito! Hiroaki's friends.'' He scooped up her bag and smiled.

''Yep! Nice to fall in to you! You must be Charna.''He shook her hand and then handed her the bag. She smiled down at him, ''Oh? How do you know I'm not Kira?'' She joked. Kira eyed everyone else. Her gaze burning in to all of them, moving the crowd away from the three, ''Because your not scary as Hiroaki described her to be! Heh, also because he told me... Well.'' ''Hiroaki told me that your a...'''His voice trailed off. Charna's eyes widened as Kaito continued, ''He was just rambling on about it.'' He smiled, before pausing as he saw the horror on Charna's face and Kira hitting her fist against her open palm. ''B-But don't worry! I think it's cool! I... I actually really want to be your friend because of it! I want to see what it's like to combine all those two things in to one fighting style!''He explained. She paused. The words not reaching their target. It took her moment to think, she had never used more then one type of magic in a fight before. So the thought of using combinations was not something she really thought of. ''Yeah... I suppose.'' He smiled and then he stared at Shorei. ''Is that a spirit!?''He exclaimed, Shorei seem to be taken back by the excitement. Charna nodded as it eyed him, ''I love spirits.'' He muttered an almost whisper. Charna laughed and nodded as she spread her arm out and Shorei twisted and crawled along it, till it reached her wrist.

''A well trained one, the carnivorous spirit! Shorei of the cherry tree forest! Familiar of Corvus Dracul, and companion of Charna Dracul!''She announced like a ring master announcing the next act of a grand circus. Kaito clamped his hands together, excited as the other children stared. Charna paused, she had an audience as an idea came to mind, she smirked. ''Shorei?''She called, the creature knew what to do as Charna threw her arm up. Shorei spread it's wings and twirled in the air like a ferret-dolphin hybrid. It dropped down, floating as it landed on to one of the low rafters. It strutted along it, one paw in front of the other. Once it reached the end, the middle limbs came out and struck the column. It used the claws to throw itself up and backwards, doing a cartwheel as it flew along the side, about to do the landing on to Charna's wrist, and then dangle by the tail. But before it could, it's tail was grabbed as it fell limp with a squeak. Everyone look and saw, the boy with the black glasses and sleek black hair. He was wearing a white button up shirt and black business shoes and trousers. His watch was rested tightly on his wrist as he brought the creature down, to eye it.

''Charna?''His stern voice called. She laughed nervously as Kaito took Shorei from him and cradled the creature, ''We are to be getting ready for one of the most prodigious school known on Gaia, not some slum circus training!''He snapped. She nodded slowly as he adjusted his glasses.

''Hello to you too, Riku.''She looked down, Kira eyed him with distrust and a strong dislike. Riku eyed everyone, ''The door opens now.''He walked to the front, and as he said. The door opened up when he placed his ticket against a scanner. Charna froze and was quick to copy, Kira gently pushed Kaito forward, letting him do his ticket first and then hers before the rush started. The inside was surprising. A lounge, with large chairs and a pool table. Even vending machines and some arcade games. All the other kid's sat down, or started to play the games. Charna stared as she turned back, you could see the outside from in here. One way glass she supposed. Kaito was quick to grab Kira and drag her to the air hockey table. Charna laughed as she joined them. She wondered if all the train stops would be like this one. She hoped it was way. Yet, she also hoped that Kira was right, and she wouldn't have to hide. As she watched the others, even some showing off their magic.

She decided there and then. Charna Dracul, would hide no more.

[my-whumpy-media]

Safe

 “Fuck off!” you shout at your friends. You’ve had a fight, a nasty one. You and your friends are walking through a forest, the big weekend trip. You flip them off as you walk away. One of them tries to go after to you 

  “Charlie wait!” 

  But another stops them.

  “Let them go, they’ll find their way back”  

                                ************************************************

  You storm away until you can no longer hear the rustling of your friends walking though the trees, and then, you storm even further, until all you can hear is your own foot falls and the ambiance of the forest. A prickly feeling starts to creep up from the base of your spine as you begin notice your surroundings, you have no idea where you are. The prickly feeling turns to panic as you fumble the map out of your pocket. 

  “Stupid!” you think to yourself “Why did you walk way from the group! Stupid!”

  The thought of bears or other animals with sharp claws makes your searching of the map all the more frantic. Eyes darting around it, not really seeing. The panic comes to a head as you let out a tiny sob. 

  “NO! Don’t panic!” Stop. Close your eyes. 

Breathe In 

Breathe Out    This is repeated, until the panic is reduced to a low simmer. You open your eyes and sit for a minute, listening to the sounds of the forest.The gentle gurgle of flowing water moves into your consciousness.You glance around, trying to find the source of the noise, but all you can see is the forest floor. Even still, hope floods you, extinguishing the prickly feeling in your spine. Maybe the water is marked on the map! A starting point! You briskly walk towards the sound, trying to get a closer look. By the time you see where the stream is, its too late.   WHOOSH

  Your stomach is in your throat as the ground gives out under you. The world becomes streaks as you tumble down a small cliff. Round and round until a big rock catches you in the stomach, knocking the wind out of you. You sit in stillness again, trying to process what just happened. It seems as though you have fallen into a clearing. Its mostly smooth rocks and ferns with a small stream trickling though it. A groan leaves your lips. 

  “Assess the damage” a little voice urges. 

  You sit up. There are scratches on your arms and legs, bleeding, but not much. There’s a throbbing in your head, and you feel a little dizzy, you hope its not a concussion. 

  “I need to find help” is all you can think. 

  The shock is starting to wear off, but the adrenaline is still going strong. Using the rock you landed by as a crutch, you try to stand. A pain shoots up your leg as you put weight on it. This time you scream and tumble backwards back into the stream. Panic starts to slither in again.

   “Breathe, breathe, calm down!” but you cant, and your breathing turns shallow and quick.

  “Hey! Are you ok!”   Your head snaps to the sound of the voice, eyes wide. A man has appeared on the edge of the cliff above the clearing. He looks like a hiker, fancy backpack and all. He carefully descends into the clearing. 

  “I think so! I’m not sure” you reply simply. 

  The calmness in your voice startles you. He jogs towards you, the crunch crunch crunch of the rocks under his boots fills your ears. 

  “What happened to you?” He asks breathlessly 

  “I fell down that cliff” You point up. 

  “That’s quite the long way to fall” He looks down “I have a first aid kit in my bag, I can patch you up, then we can try and get you somewhere safe” 

  He emphasizes the last word. You nod hastily, happy tears threatening to take you over. He walks behind you and hangs his bag on a tree branch. You turn and crane your neck to watch him as he digs though his backpack, pulling out all sorts of supplies. 

  “You seem prepared” you quip 

  “I’d like to think I am” he non nonchalantly replies. 

  He pulls out a mini first aid kit and walks back over to you. 

  “Lets get you to a more dry place first” 

  He gently grabs your hand and brings it over his shoulder, and lifts you up with his other hand on the small of your waist. Its painful, but not as bad as when you tried to move yourself. You limp with him to a more dry spot and he sits you down. He crouches down beside you and begins to tend to your wounds. 

  “I cant thank you enou-” Your voice catches as tears stream down your face.

   He glances at you, but doesn't react. 

  “You’re just lucky I happened to be walking by”. 

  Verklempt, all you can do it nod. 

  “Very lucky” you think to yourself. “Whats your name by the way?” You ask, feeling a bit rude for not asking sooner. 

  “Thomas” is all he says. 

  He doesn’t ask for yours, which you think is a bit weird, but you let the moment pass. 

  “So, uh, what were you doing all the way out here, Thomas?” 

  He’s looking intently at what he is doing as he answers “I was out here conducting research, my work takes me a lot of interesting places” 

  “Huh, are you a botanist? Studying trees?” 

  “I would be a botanist if I studied plants, a dendrologist studies trees, but I am neither of those” 

  “I see” is all you can think to say “sorry” you mutter sheepishly 

  “Don’t be, its not common knowledge” 

  He flashes you a half smile, it comforting, but doesn’t completely alleviate the embarrassment you feel. You wait for him to answer your question but he doesn’t. For some reason, this sets off the prickle again, but why? You’re safe, this man is going to help you, what could be wrong? Tiny alarm bells ring in your mind. 

  “Something seems off about this guy” Your gut urges. 

  You Ignore the feeling, and push it down 

  “Don’t be silly!” 

  He finishes cleaning and wrapping your wounds. They seem expertly done. You gingerly twist your arm admiring his work. He suddenly stands up and starts to walk back towards his backpack.

“I’m just going to put my supplies away, Ill be right back Charlie” Shock. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up. 

  “I never told him my name!” 

  The alarm bells have turned to sirens, as a new wave of panic and adrenaline fill your body.  Something is wrong. Hes behind you and you can hear him rustling in his bag. You don’t look behind you, you stare at the lowest part between the forest and the clearing. Its not very far, but could you make it before he had a chance to chase you? You shake your head 

  “you’re being silly, everything is ok, why would he help you if he wanted to hurt you?” 

  You hear the crunching of rocks as he makes the short distance back. He stops right behind you. There’s a moment of stillness, a second, stretched by the hammering of your heart in your ears. Bum-bumb bum-bumb bum-bumb “Run!”

Your body moves before you have a chance to argue. You stand, and the pain is almost unbearable, but you don’t have time to succumb to it. 

  “HEY!” he sounds startled. 

  You start to try and run, but hes faster. He grabs you from behind. 

  “No! Sto-mmhm” A cloth covers your mouth, a sweet smell fills your nostrils. 

  “Fuck!” 

  You were ready for him though, you elbow him with your good arm right into his ribs. 

  “Argh!” 

  He lets you go and you don’t lose a moment. You bolt to the edge of the clearing and climb the small hill. You clear it, but your limbs start to feel very heavy. 

  “Just a little bit farther!” you scream in your head. 

  You scramble though the bush, your vision starts to tunnel. 

  “No, please, keep moving” 

You stumble over a root and fall hard into the soft earth of the forest floor. Fog drifts into your brain.

   “Keep going!” 

  You hear the soft thuds of footsteps catching up to you. You start to slowly crawl, grabbing at the dirt to pull your body along. Its so heavy. He grabs your legs and easily pulls you to him 

  “Please, please don’t do this” you whisper sob.

  He silently flips you on your back and straddles your stomach. Hes blank faced as he take the cloth and puts it over your mouth again. Tears are streaming down your face, you try to plead with him using your eyes, but its no use. You are losing consciousness. The last thing you see, is his apologetic half smile.