#my body said: we’re crashing ! but also i DID cook LAST NIGHT ACTUALLY

[bibleofficial]

ending my bender now that i’m getting up at 3pm on a tuesday when i told myself i was getting up at 9 at the Latest to do smthg for my professor i was supposed to give her yesterday -_-

[ellowynthenotking]

Apr 14 

Dear Dad,

We’re looking for work; Riley figures that we won't find temples everywhere, which we haven’t so far, so she has a point. So we need a bit of savings for when we have to stay in inns as we go on. But we also need to buy some stuff, because we’ve finally agreed as a group that we need some more things to make this place a little more bearable. And since what we thought was the best way of getting home turned out to be a bunch of con men, we will have to make actual plans of what to do and what we need.

We’re probably going to have to leave the city sooner or later. I’m pretty sure we’re all hoping for later, though. I don’t think I’ve slept this good in a while. I think I slept like the dead last night. I woke up, and my whole body was stiff. I don’t think I moved at all last night. It was amazing.

But there’s a lot of stuff that needs doing. We’ve made a list of supplies, things like weapons being at the top. We’ve basically just been surviving with the bare minimum. Still, we all agree we need something to defend ourselves with. There are a lot of places here where we can get what we need, but we did include some things like tents. With the cart, we can afford to carry around some things that are a little heavier than we can carry on our own. We also need to get some pots to cook in, I think we’re all tired of regular road rations, and we want hot food in between the stuff that we get in the inn and temples and places we’ve been crashing. 

Zunair and Reese found some work. Really, Zunair’s doing what he’s gotten pretty good at: flouncing around and performing for people. He’s brought in a pretty penny like that the last few nights. He’s also come back drunk as a skunk, as Willow says. Which probably isn’t that great, but at least he’s bringing some money in and hasn’t woken up the rest of us doing so. Reese found a small-time job at an armory (I think that’s how you spell it) that didn’t care too much about the tax papers. OR maybe he lied and said he had them? I don’t know. But he says they’re willing to give him a bit of a deal on buying the stuff, so maybe it’s a good trade? Anyway, Reese made a list of the things we’ve learned how to use (sort of) that he thinks we’ll be able to get cheaply. So we’ll probably wait until it’s closer to time for us to leave town, and then he’ll get those, so we don’t have to worry about storing them.

Willow is still looking for a way home. She’s pretty sure she can’t find what we’re looking for at the temple libraries, so she went to the bard hall to look through their books. She isn’t back yet, but she’ll probably be back soon. I want to talk to her about some of the maps we have sketched out. Even if we don’t have a plan for when we’ll leave or where we’ll go, I’d feel a little better if I had a plan of where to go and where we’d meet if something went wrong. I think that’s the least I can ask for, right? It’s just a little planning on top of our other planning. 

Also, I want to ask her to braid my hair before bed again. It’s too short for me to do it, and I can’t see what I’m doing, which just makes it harder to actually do anything. I hope she doesn’t mind too much. 

Grace and I are looking for work so we can stay here longer. I know that the temple acolytes said we only needed to do a little work to stay here, but the least we can do is show our appreciation a little more. Also, with Zu, Will, and Reese out of the temple as much as they are, I’m pretty sure they forget that they even have tasks they’re supposed to do. So, doing something extra might help keep us from being kicked out of the temple. 

I think it must be hard to lead a group at all. Riley’s really taken on the bulk of that. She’s taken charge, tried to get us out of dangerous situations, and kept us safe and fed. And all that’s gotta weigh on her, but she hasn’t faltered. But Riley wants us to go, but we don’t even know where to go, and she wants us to stay so we can go, but that’s basically what we’re doing anyway.

It’s better and worse than when we got here. At least now we kind of know what we’re doing—not a ton, but we kind of know. She still worries about us, though, because of us.

Hopefully, I’ll have a better update soon. I don’t really know how to finish this one off except that we’re okay right now. We’ve got that going for us.

Love, Jack

Read the rest of the series here: 

Or read more by this author here: 

[dccomicsimagines]

A Long Day - Jason Todd x Reader

Requested by Anon - Can you make a oneshot or hc on Arkhamverse!Jay where he comes home real beat up and tired and hurt so (wife)reader has give him a bath or else there'll be blood everywhere and just like 2 cups of fluff and a dash of angst? (Also, not NSFW)ak

***

His entire body felt like an open wound with salt rubbed into it for good measure. A deep, primal groan came from deep in his chest as he heaved himself through the window of the apartment and crashed onto the floor. Soft thumps came from the ceiling. Jason sighed. The upstairs neighbors were at it again. Like rabbits. He rolled over to glare up at the ceiling.

"Jason." An angel appeared in his vision, looking down at him. Their brow furrowed. "Are you alright?" The angel disappeared and Jason heard the window shut tightly. The lock he installed clicked firmly.

"Just a little...sore." He pulled down his hood and took off his helmet. His stomach twisted at the thought of showing his face, but he forced himself to relax. The feeling never went away, no matter how many years had passed.

"Yes, this looks like a little." You appeared over him again. That little smile pulled at your lips. Jason's heart skipped a beat. How did he deserve someone like you? "You got blood on the carpet again."

Jason moaned, pushing himself to sit up. "Sorry, sweetheart. I'll clean it up." He shrugged off his leather jacket. You kneeled down to help him wiggle out of the arms.

You hummed. "I think a bath is an order. You're not going into our bed like this." Jason undid his belt and handed you his guns. You checked the safety and moved to put them away. "Can you get to the bathroom on your own? I'll prep the bath."

"I'll be fine." He stripped where he was to avoid getting dirt, blood, and grime everywhere else. In only his boxers, he picked up his suit and took it the bathroom. He froze at the sight of you kneeling beside the bathtub. Your hand was in the water, testing it.

You turned to look at him. "Jay? You okay?" The love in your eyes hit him like a ton of bricks. How could he still be so surprised? It's been years. The J burned into his cheek stun like it always did when he remembered it was there. How could you love him when he was a messed up, tortured man?

"Fine." He dropped his suit and jacket on the floor before he covered himself up with them. Part of him wanted to hide his scars from you. The shame was still there, even with the reassurance you had already seen every scar he had. You nodded, adding bubbles and salts to the water.

"I have to say. I'm relieved to see most of the blood isn't yours." You eyed him. "You busted your knuckles again, huh?" You got to your feet and grabbed the first aid kit. "May I?" You held out your hand carefully.

Jason blinked, confused. He realized he had been staring at you the entire time. "Oh, yeah. Thanks, sweetheart. I knew I married you for some reason."

Your laughter was music to his ears. "I knew it." You winked at him before you tended to his knuckles.

He flinched, hissing when you dapped the cut on his knuckle with alcohol. "I'm surprised you are still awake. I thought you would have went to bed."

"It's hard to sleep knowing about...well...you know." You bit your lip, not meeting his eye.

"(Y/N), you don't have to worry. It won't get bad this time. I have it covered." He pulled his hand away from you and hugged you. "There won't be another gang war. I'm stopping it."

"Jay, I know you're working on it, but you're only one person." You rested your cheek against his bare shoulder.

"One incredibly awesome person." Jason tightened his arms around you. "We'll be fine. Gotham will be fine." His eyes widened as tub was almost full. He jumped away from you to turn off the water.

You flinched at his sudden movement. "Oh." You laughed in relief. "I thought it was another rat."

“Another rat?” Jason blinked. “Did you find another one?” 

“No, but when you see one, you kinda expect another.” You shivered. “Maybe the landlord actually took care of it?”

“Not likely. I’ll have another talk with him.” Jason slid off his boxers and climbed into the bath. The water was so warm, melting the soreness from his muscles like wax from a candle. 

You smiled at the sight, picking up his suit. “I’ll rinse this off. Are you hungry? I can make you something quick.” 

“Anything is fine, sweetheart.” Jason closed his eyes, leaning his head back. He heard you leave. The walls of the apartment were thin. If he listened carefully, he could follow your movements throughout.

Another series of thumps came from the ceiling. Jason opened his eyes at glare up at it. “I should get us a new place, a better place without rats or noisy neighbors,” he mumbled to himself. 

He started to wash himself, wincing as his muscles complained at having to move. Just when he dunked his head under the water to wash his hair, you came in with a freshly made omelet and a glass of milk. 

“That smells delicious,” Jason said, sniffing the air once he surfaced. You laughed, kneeling down by the side of the tub. You wet your hands and shampooed his hair for him. 

“I need to go shopping soon. We’re almost out of everything.” You kissed his cheek. He closed his eyes, relaxing completely in your hands. 

Jason moaned. “I’ll go with you.” 

“Of course you will.” Your hands pulled away. “Dunk again.” Jason went under the water and rinsed out his hair. He surfaced with a gasp and happily took the plate when you offered it to him. “Eat up. I have your suit hanging to dry in the kitchen. Don’t worry. It’s out of view of the window.” 

Jason hummed, inhaling down the omelet like it was the only food he saw in months. It reminded him the first meal he had after he had escaped from the Joker. He had sat down in a diner, using the twenty bucks he stole to pay for a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast. It was the best food he ever remembered having until you cooked for him that is. “Good. Don’t want the neighbors to have a show.” 

You sat on the edge of the tub, watching him eat with a smile. Jason met your eye. He smirked before offering you a bite. You shook your head. “I’m good, honey. You eat.” 

“Are you sure?” Jason waved the bite in your face. He winked at you. “Come on.” 

You sighed and opened your mouth to let him feed you. The two of you finished off the omelet, enjoying each other in silent company.  After the plate was empty and Jason had downed the glass of milk, you left with the dishes. 

The water was getting cold. Jason sighed, stretching his arms until they cracked and slowly got out of the bath. He unplugged the tub and wrapped himself up in the pink towel. Why did he let you buy pink towels? Jason chuckled. Right, it was because they were on sale. 

You were in the bedroom when he entered. Jason’s skin tingled as he watched you change into the pajamas he had bought you for your birthday last year. He enjoyed the sight, but his body was too tired to do anything about it.

“I love you.” Jason came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist to press his chest against your back. You laughed sweetly, music to his ears. 

“I love you too.” You turned your head to kiss the corner of his mouth. “Are you ready for bed?” 

Jason smiled, resting his chin on your shoulder. “Only if you are.” 

You hummed, giggling before you pulled away. “You’re not though, unless you want to sleep with only the towel around your waist tonight.”

“I wouldn’t mind.” Jason closed his eyes. “Are you okay with it?” 

“I suppose.” You took his hand, leading him over to the bed and tucked him in. Jason sighed deeply. You crawled in next to him and curled into his side.

Jason felt all his stress and pain fade away as he nuzzled his nose into your hair. “I love you.” He chuckled. “I think I should take you on vacation. We haven’t taken one since we eloped.” 

You hummed. Your eyes were closed, your body going limp. “Whatever you want, Jay.” Your hand moved to rest on his chest, just over his heart. Jason smiled and closed his eyes. 

The sounds of the city were quiet for this time of night. He couldn’t imagine sleeping without it, just like he couldn’t imagine sleeping without you. The nightmares he used to get haven’t caught up to him in years. You chased them away. Jason opened his eyes to look at you. “You make my life better. You make me better.” He kissed the top of your head gently.

“Me too.” You mumbled, flinging your leg over his hips. “Go to sleep, Jay.” 

Jason sighed. He fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

[btsmakesmehappy]

Cookies Charades

Genre: Roommate to Lover, Friends to lover, Fluff, slight angst.

Pairing: Jimin x Reader

Word Count: 4,5k

Rating: PG-13

Warning: the reader is a little insecure, grinch joke, ugly christmas sweater, low budget christmas party, a pandemic quarantine itself is a big warning (Please stay safe!)

Summary: A pandemic quarantine, cookies, a bet, and a night with just the two of you; you and your very own crush who is also your best friend. What could happen?

A/N: this drabble is for @btswriterscollective​ ‘s holiday event! It’s my first time joining an event since I wrote my fics. And this fluffy Christmas fic is dedicated to @lunar-jimin​. Merry Christmas! I’m still new at writing fics so It’ll be a little messy but I hope this will make you happy! - your secret Santa, Rain

also thank you for my beta reader, @arizonapoppy​ Merry Christmas<3

“So what are you doing for Christmas?” Jimin asks casually as he puts chips into his mouth. His eyes are glued to the TV which plays Princess Diaries out of nowhere, and you’re pretty sure that both of you don’t even pay any attention to the movie. Today is supposed to be your movie night with your best friends, just wine, and a lot of food, and maybe some board games if you can’t find anything to watch. But since the pandemic, you can’t just barge into your friends’ home easily. That’s why you are stuck in your apartment with your roommate, Jimin.

You’ve been living with him for two years, introduced by mutual friends. You searched for an apartment, Jimin looked for a roommate, it was perfect. There was just a little thing that your friends knew: that you had a crush on him.

Well, who doesn’t?

Jimin is hot, smart, and cute all merged into a fine man. A fine man with a body that makes other men envious. It’s unfair too that he is also kindhearted. It’s like everything you need for a man, you can find in him.

Jimin is like a chameleon. He can be a nerd in the morning, and a fuckboy in the evening. He can be a bulky gym-addicted man to start and then turns into a cuddly soft boy in the space of minutes. He can be a boy that an older woman loves, or a strong-fatherly figure that girls would obsess over. He cooks, he cleans, and he also takes care of you when you’re sick.

He is so perfect. So fucking perfect.

That’s why it’s hard for you to not fall in love with him, not when he is just a room away from you, and not when he becomes your best friend so very soon. It’s like Universe wants to torture you. Like the Universe sees an opportunity to mess with your heart, let alone your relationship with people.

Yes. You’re in love with your best friend who is also your roommate.

You like him, a lot, to the point that your hand goes clammy whenever he’s close to you. To the point that his scent after shower raises your heartbeat. To the point that you feel a stab of pain to your chest whenever he comes home with Jisoo.

You sip your wine slowly. “I might be skiing again right now, if we weren’t in a pandemic.” Your eyes wander to the photo frame above the TV; it was when you were on a skiing trip with your friends last winter.

“Do you want to do something with me then?” He turns his head to face you, eyes twinkling in excitement.

“Sure, why not?” you shrug. “We’re going to do these for Christmas, after all. So yeah, just make an appointment for that.”

Jimin snatches the wine glass from you and puts it on the shaky table in front of you so clumsily that he almost makes it fall and colors your cheap white carpet red. “That’s not what I meant! Let’s just make a small Christmas celebration just the two of us. We should bake, cook, and decorate!”

“Won’t it be bothersome, though?” You’re actually pretty worn out. Your finals have just ended, all of your assignments and papers are all submitted. Not to mention you just finished your internship program for this semester, because somehow they didn’t cancel the program because of the pandemic. You were pretty busy. What you really want is just food and your bed. Celebrating Christmas? Maybe it’s just a privilege for you.

“Come on!” he whines. “It’ll be fun! This is the first Christmas, just the two of us!”

And maybe the last one, you think. Staying with Jimin has been hard for your heart. You’re supposed to move this year. You’ve searched the possible rooms, looking for extra jobs to afford it, and anything you need to rent the new room. But again, because of the pandemic, that plan will be postponed. There’s no way you would move at the time like this. So, yeah. Maybe this Christmas would be a nice memory. “Fine. So what should we buy then?”

The corners of his eyes crinkle with his widening smile. “Should we exchange gifts? What do you want for Christmas?”

You fold your arms, thinking. “Ehm. I know! I read it online earlier this morning, there’s a discount in the supermarket for instant noodles. Can you believe it? Buy three get two for free!”

“That’s not what I meant!” he whines. “Clothes? Books?”

“Not really; Why would I buy clothes when I spent most of my days in the apartment? And besides I’m broke.” Well, you’re not lying. Even though you’re gonna spend Christmas away from your family, it doesn't mean you won’t send them gifts, and with those pricey gifts and delivery fees; yeah, it costs you a little more than you’re expected.

Jimin pouts. “Fine… So no exchanging gifts then. Well, Christmas Eve is tomorrow anyway, there’s no way we can find gifts in such a short notice.”

You poke his sides playfully, “come on don’t be sad. And I remember you said something about baking?”

He smiles widely and rises from the couch. He walks inside his bedroom and returns with a legal pad in his hand. “What about decoration? I believe we can still find a Christmas tree downtown,” he suggests as he scribbles his ideas on the pad.

Your hand automatically stops his moving hand. “Let’s skip the Christmas tree. It’ll be too expensive. How about we just make paper chains or something like that?”

“Why? It’ll be like an investment! We can use it next year.”

“I know, but…” You bite your lips, hesitant to tell him. “It’s just…”

Jimin looks at you for a moment and then draws an X on the pad. “Fine. No decoration. Let’s keep our budget to minimum then. What about food?”

“I’m not sure. With all of the baking we’ll do, it’ll be a mess if we decided to cook too.”

Jimin taps his pencil on his chin. “You’re right. Let’s order pizza and chicken then?”

You give him a thumb up and pat his shoulder. “Okay. We should go shopping in the morning.” A yawn leaves your mouth and you rise from the couch. “Well, I’m going to retire for the night. Good night.”

“So early?” He looks at you with a raised eyebrow and then to your abandoned glass of wine. “Fine. See you tomorrow.”

You give him a wave and head to your room. With the weight in your heart, you plop on your bed and sigh. Again, you missed the chance to tell him that you’re going to move out. Your mind wonders whether it’s a good idea to spend Christmas Eve tomorrow with him. Just the thought of that makes your heart race again.

Get your head straight, Y/N!

He is your best friend. Control your feelings!

Just hang in there a little more, Y/N.

Hang in there…

You’re awakened by the sound of metal crashing outside your room. You grunt as you reach the phone, eyes widening when you see that it’s noon already. You rise and walk outside to look for Jimin.

“Hello, Sleepyhead.”

You rub your eyes slowly and stretch your body. You were asleep for more than twelve hours, and instead of energizing you, it physically drained you. Your body aches. “Why didn’t you wake me up?” you ask hoarsely.

Jimin smiles as he hands you a mug of hot chocolate. Even if it’s noon already, it’s still winter and sure a hot beverage wouldn’t hurt. And the time and weather on your phone says it’s actually colder than yesterday, which is why even Jimin wears a thick black turtleneck instead of his usual pajamas. Not that you’re complaining about it. He looks good, like very good. And he just stands out perfectly in your all-white kitchen. “Because I know you’re tired. I feel bad, too, because you did this because I asked you. I’m sorry. And besides, you’re scary when I wake you up by force.”

You sit on the counter, collecting warmth by holding the mug. “Thank you. But don’t feel bad. I agreed to do it, too. So, if you give me fifteen minutes we can go to shopping-”

“That’s not needed anymore.”

Your eyes widen in surprise as your lips touch the hot chocolate, dripping some of it from your mouth. “But.. I thought we’re gonna bake cookies?”

“Yes, we are.” He cleans your chin with his thumb slowly, makes you jolt a little at his touch. The way he licks his thumb casually afterward is not helping at all. “But I already went for groceries!”

“I see, but you should just wait for me. We could go together.” You blow the beverage to cool it down and sip it slower than before.

His hand travels to your cheek and pinches it softly. “That’s fine. So just wake up already and help me bake!”

You look puzzled and yet you walk back again to your room, leaving him humming Christmas songs in the kitchen. You lean on the back of your door after you close it. Your face feels hotter as if you can still feel his fingers on your face. Smooth and warm. The warmth slowly fills your chest and makes you hard to breathe. It’s like magic. And it's even more magical that you still can stand even though your knees are all wobbly.

You shake your head to clear your mind, to clear any unnecessary thoughts, and head to the bathroom. This is going to be a hard day.

Fifteen minutes later, you go back to the kitchen, finding Jimin playing with his iPad. “What cookies should we make?” you ask as you lean on the counter, head propped on your chin. You’re wearing your Christmas sweater that your mom sent you earlier this year. It has a Grinch on the front of it and a huge Christmas tree on the back. It screams ugly in every Christmas sweater contest. You’re supposed to wear this together with your family, sitting together in front of a fireplace. Since it’s not going to happen, at least the sweater can give you some warmth this Christmas.

He lifts his head up and his eyes fall on your green sweater. “It suits you really well, not gonna lie.” He throws his head back in laughter.

His laughter again sways your heart, stealing your breath. You hit him softly on his shoulder and tie your hair loosely in a low ponytail. “Shut up. So what should we make?”

“It’s gingerbread cookies! We can decorate them too. I bought like a dozen cookie cutters just for this day.” He opens a plastic box to show you proudly.

You pick some of the cookie cutters, trying to identify the shapes. “Are you sure you picked the right shapes? Isn’t this like a mermaid-ocean-package?”

“What?” He immediately scans the box and sighs. “Fuck, I’m sure I picked from the right shelf. I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for? Maybe some people are mixing it up. That’s fine!” You pat his shoulder reassuringly.

Jimin grabs all of the cookie cutters and stuffs them into their box. “Just wait for an hour. I’m gonna have this exchanged.”

You grab his arms to stop him from walking away. “Don’t bother. They’re still cookies and edible even though they’re in different shapes. I mean, mermaids celebrate Christmas too, don’t they? In any case, it doesn’t really matter.”

“It does matter!” He pouts. “It’s our first Christmas together, I want it to be perfect.”

You chuckle. “Why would you want that?”

He sighs and scratches the back of his head. “I just feel we’ve been too distant lately, and you look very tired. I just want to make you happy.”

You freeze for a moment as you look at his face. A hopeful thought sneaks to your mind and you clear it immediately. “We can just make our shapes then. You know, just cut it with a knife or a toothpick or anything.”

He looks you back in the eyes, waiting for another reassurement. “Really?”

You smile. “Yes, it would be fun, making our own shapes. Besides, we don’t need perfect-shaped cookies just to make our Christmas perfect, do we?”

He returns your smile with a wider smile and pulls you into his chest. “Alright. Thank you, Y/N.”

You’re again puzzled with the sudden act and clear your throat as you pat his back. “Alright let’s bake some cookies then.”

He releases you immediately with pinkish cheeks.. “By the way, I’ve already mixed all of the ingredients a few hours ago, just so you know. The dough needed to be chilled.”

“Really? So I’m going to just cut them out and decorate it?”

“Yep.” He opens the fridge and pulls out a bowl of brown mixture. He scoops some flour with his hands to the counter and throws down the cookie dough. “Don’t worry I’ve cleaned the counter a few times.”

You’re not a cook yourself but you know a thing or two about cooking and baking. You baked cookies a lot when you're a kid, but as an adult? Not so much. So you just watch Jimin using his rolling pin to thin the dough with admiration on your face.

“What’re you doing? You should help me!”

“Oh right.” You laugh and walk to the sink to wash your hands. You snatch the rolling pin from his hand and start rolling it slowly. “Let me roll this.”

“Wait a minute.” He walks to the cabinet nearest you and grabs an apron. “Don’t want the Grinch to be dirty.” He unfolds the apron and throws the loop over your head.

You hold a breath when he touches your sides to tie the apron around your waist. You clear your throat just so you can distract yourself from the shivers that come from the feeling of his breath on your neck. “Is this fine?”

He pulls away from you. Looking around your shoulder, he eyes the dough. “I think this is the perfect thickness.”

“So how do you want to shape it?” Your hand moves to the corner of the tempting brown dough to rip it and puts it on your mouth, letting the dough melt on your tongue. You open the drawer to search for a small knife. “I’m thinking a puppy would be cute, but without the proper cutter, I’m afraid it’d turn out horrendous.”

“Oh my God, I just have a nice idea!“ He claps his hands together, eyes twinkling. “Should we have a competition then? ‘Who’d make the best identifiable cookies’. It would be like charades!”

You chuckle. “That’s like totally random. I think you hang out with Taehyung too much.” The second bite you ate is sweeter and all you can taste is just sweetness and the ginger. Did I taste some cinnamon in there?

He smiles proudly. “I think we can ask Taehyung to guess. What topic should we use… Animals would be too easy. How about food?”

“Fine! What’d the winner get?” you ask as your hand moves again towards the dough, but Jimin slaps it lightly.

“Why do you keep eating that? It has raw egg for god’s sake. Anyway, I think...” he rubs his chin and leaves a hint of flour on it, thinking. “What about the loser should grant the winner’s wish?”

You pout and use your sleeve to clean his chin. “A wish? Sure, but we should make some rule-”

“Make that three wishes,” he grins.

“Three??” your jaw drops.

He takes a step forward, forcing you to step back. Your hip bumps the counter as he reaches out his hand. “Are you afraid to lose, Y/N?”

You laugh in amazement. “No. Three wishes just for today,” you reply as you move closer to him and accept his hand. “Deal.”

After hours of baking the cookies, letting them cool off, and decorating them, it’s time to play the cookie charades, as Jimin named it. Both of you have written all of the answers on a piece of paper so it’d be fair, and no one can change the answer later.

Jimin holds his phone as he waits for Taehyung to answer the video calls. Just after a few rings, Taehyung picks up the phone. “What’s up Jimin? Aren’t you with Y/N?”

“Hey Tae!” you wave at the phone when Jimin shows it to you. “What are you doing? We miss you!”

“Nothing. I just played games for twenty -four hours straight so I’m resting my eyes right now. What do you want?”

Jimin clears his throat and faces the camera. “So, Y/N and I are baking cookies, and we want you to guess the shapes. It’s kind of a battle.”

Taehyung grunts. “Why would I want to get involved in your rivalry? It’s so bothersome.”

“If I win I can give you one of my wishes!” you chime in, snatching the phone from Jimin’s hand.

“Yah! That’s bribing.” Jimin yells.

You scoff. “Fine! Pretty please?”

Taehyung rolls his eyes and sighs. “Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

Jimin snatches his phone again and flips the camera. “Alright, thirty seconds on the clock each part and you should answer as many cookies as you can. To be fair, we’re not telling you whose cookies they are. Do you understand?”

“Yes. Can we do this immediately?”

You open your timer on your phone and set to thirty seconds. “Alright, one two three. Start!”

The first cookie’s shaped like a circle, but decorated with multiple colors. It has a brown-black stripe, red stripe, and green stripe stacked between two brown-yellowish stripes. “Hmmm, Hamburger?” Taehyung answers.

“Correct!”

The second one is also a circle with a light brown color, with a little orange accent on it. “What’s that… a potato?” he squints his eyes as he looks at his phone screen closely.

“Wrong, it’s a hotteok.”

“The fuck I should know? It’s nothing like hotteok!” Taehyung rants on the other line, seemingly excited about the game.

“Just answer it! Fifteen seconds left!”

The rest fifteen seconds and another thirty seconds flew fast and Jimin concluded the game as he waves to Taehyung. “Alright, Tae. Thank you for playing with us. I hope to see you soon!” Jimin yells.

“So who’s the winner? Ya-” Taehyung asks as Jimin hangs up the phone.

Jimin puts his phone inside his pocket and looks at the answer sheets. “So, the first one has four rights and the second one has three rights. So that means…”

You bite the inside of your cheeks to control your emotion, but looking at Jimin’s face, you’re losing it. “FINE! You win!”

Jimin smiles wider as he jumps happily. “Of course I’d win!”

“I still think that putting Sprite as a question is cheating.” You cross your arms over your chest. “It’s not even a food!”

He laughs again mockingly, “It is if I say it is.”

You pout. “Fine, whatever. What are your wishes then? Remember, that those wishes are only valid until midnight.”

Jimin walks to the couch and sits with a smug expression on his face. “Let’s start with cleaning all of those cookie sheets and mixing bowls.” He picks up a remote and turns the TV on to play some movies. “Start cleaning, Cinderella!”

You sigh as you look at the piled-up dishes. Why did I even agree in the first place? you mumble quietly as you brush the crumbs from the pan and the hardened icing from the bowls. And the fact that it is filled with icing sugar before only makes it harder to clean. You scowl as you run them under the hot water, leaning in to scrub them more harshly.

“Don’t be mad, Y/N. You can win it next year,” Jimin reassures as he bites into his cookies. His voice is only half-mocking.

You slam the bowl into the sink with a clang, sending a cloud of bubbles across the counter. “Yeah, right. Like I would want to visit your apartment next year.”

“You what?” he asks, his voice blurred with the sound of the song coming from the TV. He turns his head to look at you weirdly.

You freeze, realizing that you just blurted the one thing you don’t want him to know. “Nothing,” you reply as you continue to wash the dishes, avoiding his gaze.

Jimin rises from the sofa and turns the TV off. He walks back to the kitchen and grabs your arm harshly, forcing you to look at him. “What do you mean?” His voice is cold, the smile vanished from his face.

“It’s nothing.” You try to brush his hand away and continue washing the dishes, but his grip tightens.

“I said, what do you mean?”

You take a deep breath. The scrubber slips from your hand under the water as you turn to face him. “I think I’m going to move out from this apartment.”

“What? Why?” His forehead creases. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No. Not at all. You’re a perfect roommate.” You clear your throat awkwardly. “It’s just, something happened.” You reach for the scrubber again.

He pulls at your sleeve, and you look at him again. “What happened? Is it a money thing? If it is, don’t worry about it. You don’t even have to pay right now. Just tell me.” His mouth is pursed with worry and your head roils with a sudden guilty feeling.

You shake your head weakly. “No, it’s not something like that. I’m fine.”

“Then why are you not telling me? I’m your best friend!”

“IT IS BECAUSE YOU’RE MY BEST FRIEND!” you yell, yanking your sleeve from his hand.

“What? What do you mean?” he demands.

You control your breaths. “Nothing.” You turn the faucet off and stomp towards your room. Jimin’s hand grabs you again before you get two steps, stopping you from leaving him. The warmth of his hand seeps into your body. You feel nauseous. You need to stay away from him right now. “I need some time alone.”

He bites his lips, annoyed with your answer. “Well, then you have to tell me what’s wrong.” He steps closer to you, eyes glaring. “It’s my second wish.”

“That’s not fair. I--” Tears threaten to fall at your sudden exposure.

“Tell me, Y/N. You promised me you’d gran-”

“I LIKE YOU, OKAY?” You confess as tears fall from your cheeks. Your knees turn weak after you let it out, and you slump at the counter. The secret that holds your relationship together, that makes you the way it was. It’s over for you and Jimin.

Jimin steps back from you, loosening his grip around your hand. “You what? Then why would you move out?” he asks softly.

Your fists tighten to stop your tears from falling even more. “I tried to not like you, but it is too hard, Jimin. I can’t control my feelings. I’m sorry. I really wanted to be your best friend and also your roommate, but I just ca-”

Your words are interrupted with his lips crashing on yours, catching you off guard. His lips are soft and you can taste the cinnamon-sweetness from the cookies mixed with the saltiness of your tears. Just when you try to comprehend what’s going on, he pulls away. His hands find their rest on your face and cup it gently, swiping any tears leaving from your eyes. He rests his forehead against yours and sighs. “You’re stupid.”

“Wha-what? Why?” you stutter, throat drying because of the sudden closeness.

“Why do you think I chose you to be my roommate?” His warmth spreads to your cheeks, sending another hope to you. His gaze softens and you gather all of your courage to meet him back. “It’s because I like you too.”

Again you freeze on the spot. Eyes widening, breath stopping. And it makes Jimin giggle. “I always liked you, Y/N.” He leans in and gives a chaste kiss on your nose and moves downward to plant another on your lips.

“Bu-but I thought you.. With Jisoo….” There’s no way Jimin would like you. It doesn’t make any sense. You pull away from him. “Stop playing with me.”

Jimin pulls you in his chest, resting his chin on your head. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Y/N. There’s never been another woman. It's always been you.” He takes a deep breath, and continues. “Jisoo is my cousin, and she knows about my feelings.”

“Cousin?”

“Yes. She sometimes crashes at our apartment when she has a fight with her boyfriend, who is, by the way, none other than our dear friend Taehyung.” Jimin smiles and pulls away, but keeps his arms holding your waist close to him. “And even though she sleeps here, I always take the couch. She always leaves early in the morning because Taehyung picks her up. Their relationship is a little weird, if I may say so.”

“Taehyung?”

“Look I can even call my family members just to prove it to you, if it’s what you want.”

You shake your head, looking lost. You know Jimin is telling you the truth, but still you can’t believe that he likes you. Like he actually likes you.

“I was going to tell you tonight, but this somehow happened.” He calls your name softly to gain your attention. “So yeah, I like you a lot. And don’t ask me ‘since when’, because I don’t even know the answer. It just grows each day and each moment I spend with you.”

And just like that relief washes in you along with your tears. All of the thoughts you have of losing Jimin are vanished. All of your doubts are answered. You bury your head in his shoulder.

Jimin laughs and hugs you tighter. “Why are you crying?” He strokes your back to calm you down as you sob in his chest. “It must have been bothering you a lot, does it? I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you this.”

“I’m not stupid.” You sniffle as you put your arms around him, hugging him back.

“Sure, you’re not.” He laughs again and kisses the top of your head lovingly. “So, here’s my third wish.”

Your eyes widen with the sudden change of topic, looking at him in confusion. “Like right now? Wha-what is it?”

He looks directly to your eyes, gaze softens each time he takes a deep breath. And with this proximity, you can hear his heart racing inside his chest, playing the rhythm answered with your own beat. Not even a Christmas carol can top this symphony. Not when the world is only yours and Jimin. Not when is just you and Jimin, and nothing else matters.

And finally, Jimin opens his lips slowly. “Be my girlfriend?”

Thank you for reading! Hope you all have a merry christmas!!

[i-like-plan-m]

Could you do a modern au with famous parents Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji and baby a-yuan being adorable and being loved by their fans?

this was fun, thank you! [Posted to Ao3]

The video was short and packed with Wei Ying’s rapid-fire chatter, a response to his recent fan-selected award after a landslide of votes had catapulted him to the top of a long list of very accomplished actors. He’d spent the last hour trading off between screaming into a pillow and wandering around in dazed disbelief until Wen Qing, acting in her capacity as his agent, had bullied him into making a quick thank you video.

Wei Ying kept it quick and crammed as much of his gratitude and excitement into it as he could, though he was careful to keep the screen confined to the office space Lan Zhan had designed for him. It was a live video, since that seemed to be what fans preferred these days, so he angled the camera carefully away from anything incriminating.

And by incriminating he meant “any sign that Wei Ying had a life outside of acting.”

The door was closed, and the room held no identifying pictures or objects. Wei Ying had come to treasure his privacy, and was fierce about protecting the details of his personal life out of the hands of his thousands of fans. Enough that no one outside of their families even knew they were friends, much less married with a son.

Lan Zhan, of course, hated the riot of noise and flashing lights that accompanied Wei Ying anywhere in public. As one of the foremost violinists in this hemisphere, he had his own level of fame, but his fans were less likely to screech like a banshee upon seeing him. And they had A-Yuan to protect now, and keeping him out of the spotlight was the safest way to do so.

His oversight was not locking the door. A rookie parenting mistake.

A-Yuan burst through the door like the Kool-Aid Man about ten seconds into Wei Ying’s final thank you speech, his damp hair sticking up in downy tufts and his little body swamped by one of Wei Ying’s softest threadbare t-shirts.

“Baba!” He shouted at the top of his tiny but incredibly powerful lungs. “There’s a bird in the house!”

Wei Ying watched the dismay cross his face in real time on the phone screen, followed by alarm when his son’s words finally registered. “There’s a what in the house?” He asked as he whipped his head around, the live stream momentarily forgotten.

“A bird!” A-Yuan said excitedly, hopping over to him when the shirt got tangled around his feet. Wei Ying scooped him up before he tumbled face-first to the floor. His son gripped his shirt and leaned in until their noses were nearly touching, eyes wide and bright over the commotion. “Can we keep it?”

There was an angry shriek from the kitchen that suggested the bird would not appreciate such an invitation.

“Where is your dad?” Wei Ying asked instead of answering, phone shoved hastily into his pocket when a crash sounded in the house.

“He’s hiding Popcorn and Jelly Bean,” A-Yuan reported. Wei Ying’s smile was fond; of course Lan Zhan would stash the bunnies safely away. “He told me to wait for him, but I didn’t want you to be scared! It’s okay to be scared, though,” he said earnestly, his little face solemn and so reminiscent of Lan Zhan that Wei Ying had to stop and shower kisses all over his face.

“When’d you get to be so smart, huh?” Wei Ying asked when A-Yuan was breathless with laughter and squirming so much he nearly dropped him.

“Baba,” he complained, flopping over his shoulder with a huff. “That’s what you said.”

“Ha! Of course you’re smart, then, if you’re learning from me!”

“Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan’s low voice had him turning and tightening his grip on A-Yuan when he wriggled happily at the sight of his other father.

“I hear we have an intruder,” Wei Ying said, grinning widely at his husband.

Exasperation crossed Lan Zhan’s face. “It flew in by mistake,” he said, but then he glanced at A-Yuan with a wry smile.

“By mistake, huh?” Wei Ying bounced his son in his arms, grinning when A-Yuan giggled and fisted his hands in his shirt to cling to for balance. “And what, pray tell, were you doing when this bird wandered into our home?”

A-Yuan blinked big, dark eyes at him with utter innocence. “Playing!”

“Mhm. And what were you playing?” Wei Ying leaned cautiously around the corner to peer into the kitchen, wincing when the unfortunately large bird spotted him and screeched furiously.

“Um.” A-Yuan thought for a moment. “The bunnies wanted to see outside.”

“Did they?” Wei Ying asked, trading a glance with Lan Zhan, who then scowled at the bird now stabbing its beak angrily at the plants on top of the cabinets.

A-Yuan nodded seriously. “Yes, they told me.”

“So you took the bunnies onto the balcony?” Wei Ying prompted.

“They aren’t allowed outside unless someone is with them,” A-Yuan repeated, which, okay, at least he remembered some of the rules. They’d have to work on ensuring he understood the rules were for him, not their fuzzy little pets. “I carried Jellybean outside so she could see the clouds! One looked like a dinosaur, baba. She wanted to see.”

“Oh, well, in that case.” He had a good idea of what had happened here. The ‘not going outside without someone to watch you’ rule had somehow been transferred into ‘you can go outside alone as long as you’re watching the bunnies,’ because that was the logic of a four year old.

“And then the bird?” Lan Zhan asked, clearly also aware of the chain of events that had led to them cowering in the hallway as a baffled and irate bird rushed around their kitchen in a destructive-sounding temper tantrum.

A-Yuan cuddled closer to Wei Ying as though sensing an impending punishment. Wei Ying rolled his eyes; Lan Zhan would fold in a heartbeat under that big-eyed stare, and it would be left to Wei Ying to remind them both why humans under three feet tall weren’t allowed on the balcony alone.

“The bird wanted to play with Jellybean,” A-Yuan said. Wei Ying’s jaw dropped.

“The bird wanted to play with Jellybean,” Lan Zhan repeated slowly.

“Yes! It flew down super fast! And it landed right beside me! Then we went inside, because Popcorn was all alone, and the bird came inside to see him too!”

“Okay,” Wei Ying said in a strangled voice, and it took a heroic effort to keep the laughter at bay. “A-Yuan, why don’t you go check on the bunnies, okay? We’re going to go help the bird get back home.”

A-Yuan craned his neck around to peer into the kitchen. “It sounds pretty mad,” he said doubtfully.

“We will talk to it,” Lan Zhan assured him, and they waited until A-Yuan had scampered out of sight to stare at each other with wide eyes.

“Oh my god. Oh my god.”

Lan Zhan pinched the bridge of his nose. “The bunnies were almost eaten.”

“Our son was almost traumatized for life,” Wei Ying said, choking on a laugh. “Lan Zhan, he almost witnessed a double homicide on our own balcony.” He wheezed with laughter, clutching his ribs.

“We will install higher locks,” Lan Zhan said grimly.

“Either that or buy a baby backpack leash,” Wei Ying agreed, and grinned widely at Lan Zhan’s sigh. “I’m just saying, the kid is going to keep on growing. He’s too smart for his own good, too.”

“What do we do about the bird?” Lan Zhan asked, absently stroking a hand along Wei Ying’s spine when he leaned against his side.

“Hell if I know. Maybe Wen Ning will know what to do. He knows things like this, right?”

“He is a vet,” Lan Zhan said dryly. “I should hope so.”

“I’ll call him,” Wei Ying decided. “We should probably feed him while he’s over here. As payment, you know. Not many friends would come wrestle with a wild bird on a Friday night for us.”

“I think the bird would object if I tried to cook,” Lan Zhan said, surly. He made a sound of distress. “Wei Ying, it’s in the pantry.”

“It’s deciding what it wants for dinner, Lan Zhan. Better pay attention or it’ll go for the bunnies again!” Lan Zhan looked at him, appalled, and he couldn’t bite back the tide of laughter.

“Ridiculous,” Lan Zhan muttered.

“You married me,” Wei Ying pointed out. “No take backs.”

Lan Zhan softened like he did every time Wei Ying brought up their marriage. Pressed a kiss to his forehead and agreed, “No take backs.”

And then a moment later— “But leave the bunnies out of this.”

His Lan Zhan was so soft hearted, Wei Ying thought, so full of love he could burst.

“Yeah, yeah, I know where I rank,” Wei Ying said, entirely teasing. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, still grinning up at Lan Zhan as his husband gave an exasperated sigh.

The grin fell right off his face at the sight of his phone screen, which was open. And recording. And so full with rapid-fire comments that the actual video screen was barely visible.

“Oh no,” he said. “Oh no. Lan Zhan.”

“What’s wrong?” Lan Zhan asked, glancing worriedly at him and then down to the screen when Wei Ying couldn’t tear his eyes away from it.

Wei Ying looked up slowly, so guilty he felt sick with it. “It’s been recording this whole time,” he whispered.

He must have looked really bad, because Lan Zhan ignored the phone entirely and pulled him close, holding one of Wei Ying’s palms flat against his chest and breathing slowly and deliberately until he matched his own breathing to Lan Zhan’s. The familiar routine soothed the edges of anxiety that were rapidly blooming into a panic attack, and he swallowed hard and dropped his forehead against Lan Zhan’s shoulder until he could think straight.

“I’m—“

“No apologies,” Lan Zhan reminded him in a murmur so low against his ear that the phone couldn’t have picked it up. “It was an accident. We knew this wouldn’t last forever, and I’m not ashamed of you or A-Yuan. It’s okay  Wei Ying.”

“But I fucked up,” Wei Ying mumbled into his neck, clinging like A-Yuan after a bad dream.

“You had an intruder to welcome,” Lan Zhan said, amused. Wei Ying risked a glance up and found that Lan Zhan was smiling, not even a hint of worry on his face.

“Might as well run with it, I guess,” he said with a hesitant smile.

Lan Zhan pressed a kiss to his hair. “Might as well.”

Wei Ying smiled for real now, bright and unrestrained as he lifted the camera away from the floor. “Uh. Hi, everyone! Wow, there are a lot of you. Lan Zhan, this is like, triple the people who were watching it at the beginning. I think I’m offended.”

“Wei Ying.”

“Right, right. So… surprise!” He laughed at a few of the comments, and then they winced in tandem at the loud bang and squawk from the kitchen. “There’s another surprise for all of us tonight, it seems. Look who showed up and just let herself right in!” He flipped the camera around just in time to catch the bird’s beady eyes glaring at them from atop the fridge.

“Can you believe this?” Wei Ying slipped into his usual stream-of-consciousness chatter, free hand tucked into Lan Zhan’s as the pitter patter of little feet trotted down the hall towards them, announcing A-Yuan’s return.

He segued into talking about his husband and son, hesitant at first from years of absolute silence on the topic. Half an hour, a miraculously unscathed Wen Ning and a freed bird later, Wei Ying ended the video and set his phone aside, feeling a little wrung out from the evening’s events.

His phone buzzed. “Jiang Cheng wants to know why we’re trending on twitter. Ha! Get a bird stuck in your house and maybe you’ll become a twitter sensation, A-Cheng!”

He glanced over at A-Yuan, who had his face pressed to the glass door to the balcony in a futile search for the bird. “Time for that talk?” He asked, nudging Lan Zhan with a pointed nod.

Lan Zhan looked shifty. “The bunnies weren’t actually hurt.”

“So… a lecture about the dangers of balconies, but not about the bunny jailbreak and near-execution?”

“That seems fair.”

Fair. Yeah, right. Lan Zhan just couldn’t handle a few distraught tears from their child who absolutely realized this weakness and happily exploited it. “You realize we’re a couple of suckers, right?”

Lan Zhan shrugged. “I’m okay with it.”

Yeah, Wei Ying thought, giving in with a sigh. So was he.

[ameliyaahn3]

13 days series : Day One, 20th December.

Genre : Fluff, Comfort, (lame ass one) Humor.

Warning : Things get heated up at end but nothing shocking.

Word count : Around 1k800.

Summary : Akashi bringing his empress to his chalet for christmas holidays but it's also his birthday. What will Y/n prepare for him ?

Akashi Seijuro × Reader.

Even then, you weren't used of that life of luxury and comfort with Seijuro : whatever you would salivate for, he was capable to give it to you twice or in a matter of a minute -if that's not even too much-: what was for sure something you can't even dream of in your wildest fantasty. And as the wealthy man he is, once again Seijuro impressed you by bringing you on vaccation at his family chalet.

Snow was surronding the beautiful and big place when you stepped outside the car, a warm and refined hand holding your fingers at the same time. You turn your head to see your boyfriend smiling what does make you instantly excited as his eyes are slightly shining at your view. Your blood going trough your veins so fast, you can't help but wait to drag Seijuro into the house and listening to whatever he has to say about it.

You know his chalet to be somewhere he would at least visit once a year and as a place full of funny and innocent chilhood memories that conted by him would just sound so interesting. As the cold started to hit a little bit too harshly on your faces, Seijuro finally decided to guide you to the traditional house, maids and butlers behind with your baggages.

" Pleased, my love ?" You nodded positively, a grin forming on your lips, " How I could not ?" the majestous tree were absorbing your soul.

"I know that you're not always comfortable with my wealth and all thoses prestigious places but I hope this time you won't feel any discomfort being here." The way he talks so smoothely drives you naturally to look at his charming face, what do distract your attention from the unique landscape. However do you regret it ? Not even one second.

" I can't be bothered by a place that is like home for you." You said, your stomach feeling like there butterflies in it despite it does make 9 months you're together. Sensations conservating pretty good like an old bottle of wine, it's really something to be in couple with this man.

" I wish you would think of my gifts as the furnitures then." You chukle a little bit at his come-back, not bad actually but how could you not feel weird when he's offering you expensive jewerly and dates on the only motive that you're his lover ?

" Sei..."

" Because I can't imagine a world that I would truly enjoy without you, you deserve the best, Y/n. Though I've fallen for your independance, since we're one, everything mine is yours, you should not being ashamed of anything."

Seeing you opening your mouth to try to justifiate your attitude, Akashi shut it with his own, deposing a small peck on your lips that destroyed all trace of a logic and inteligent answer in your mind.

What a drag... How would you return him all he give to you the same ? Nothing that you can buy can value even the smallest thing that he had already offrered you, but it was his birthday tomorrow and except of your present you couldn't think of something appropriate to express your love to him.

" Shht, my dear. You know I'm right." He says with a smirk.

Besides making you feel like the first days, Seijuro know also how to make you pout like a child despite that you're supposed to be decently mature.

" That's not fair..."

────────── ·  ·  ·  · ✦

In front of the chimney, you observe the fire dancing, your head lies on Akashi shoulder's as he's taking a pause on his book and that a cup of hot chocolate is between your hands. It was for sure one of the most relaxing moment you ever had in the past 6 months, forgetting about school, work or whatever were drowning you down in general it was inexistant here.

" That table... I used to play on it a lot with my mother."

" What kind of games ?"

Akashi smile when he hear sincere interest in your voice, not surprised of your curiosity when it involve him even for the silliest subjects. It was one of the reason you were with him afterall and not another person.

" Cards games mostly and even if I was a child, I don't remember having similar struggles winning against my mother than anybody else till now."

" So she was an high level player ?"

" Surprisingly not and she would admit herself that she was even quite unlucky, I used to not understand why I had so much difficulties with her but now it's pretty clear that I was inconsciously doing of sort to play with her more."

" It's adorable but insulting at the same time, i don't know how I would take it if I was in her position. You didn't do this with me right ?"

"..."

His laugh makes you felt like death has suddenly taken your body and your diginity with it.

"Maybe you can try to found out yourself ?" He put his book aside, amused by the situation.

" I've never felt so insulted in my life... Seijuro affront me right now, one one." Determined by your pride you still kept your calm and called him more in a playful tone than anything else.

" You won't be mad at me when you will find out how I play with you Y/n?"

" I can't promise that... i've been believing that I was good at shogi during more than a year!"

" And you're good."

" But how do I know for real now ?"

"Alright, alright... let's play then. Even if you finish to be angry at me that wouldn't last long."

" Wha-? You know that you're irresistible and you makes benefit of it on me ?! That's vicious... and I love it against my own agreement. How do you do ? That's disgusting."

" You're doing this to me everyday, Y/n."

" No i don't..?"

" You definitely do."

You don't even bother to pursuing that thing and sit in front of the said table with cards that you found around. Today was the day of truth.

 ────────── ·  ·  ·  · ✦

After losing 13 rounds in a row you didn't bother to test Akashi again and let him with his undefeated title. But most importantly, while playing against him you didn't saw something that would say he was holding back on purpose, what surprised you and comforted you a little bit on your own skills.

After that, you decided to take an hot bath and you had a sumptuous diner which by the way makes you felt really heavy. Filled Up and clean, there was nothing that you would need in the moment and so time went by and at the end you wanted to sleep. The Emperor led you to your shared room and before letting your body enjoy a restful night, you took initiative of a cuddle session. Making soft contact with Akashi's skin, your fingers doing small circles on his palm hand and forearm.

As sleep is slowly taking you away, your boyfriend whispers lovely words in your right ear and stroke your back, plunging you into another world : Watching the snow failling gently in the window with the elegant lights of the room while being under thoses pretty sheets with Akashi Seijuro beside... Everything looked like a dream. You took a look in the direction of your hidden gift, thinking of how you would make it memorable and your eyes closed despite a sudden excitation and vague of ideas that poped in your head last minute.

During the whole night, it was like your soul aspired to wake up early and so you slept easily but as if you're body is schedulded, first hour in the morning, 5:45 am you were awake and as you were quiting bed stupid flash of the game yesterday evening came to your head making you thinking that Akashi pitiyied you because of small action in his game, you pipe that idea away and focus on your tasks.

First step was the more difficult one but you managed to get out the bed without being noticed. You wanted to make breakfast for him but also as he would wake up, wish him an happy birthday quite special with his present in your hands.

Maids bringed the bouquet of roses you requested and helped you cooking food. You had so much plans for his birthday... If you remember well, there was that Power Point waiting in your draft explaining how perfect he is and why he should be happy, healthy and live so much years more. But you didn't carry on that idea as that wasn't amazing enough and that in fact that would be just you acting as a fangirl of your boyfriend during an hour at least.

You watch at the time, knowing that your lover used to being awake around 6:30-7:00 also on weekends while during winter even the sun doesn't rise that early.

You walk into the room, taking your gift quickely and in silence, posing the plate of breakfast that you tried your best to please him with. Well, you look at him to see that he's sligthly waking up, a smile grows on your lips.

Once you see one of those red orbs open, you heart skips a beat, Akashi sit on his bed a genuine smile as he see you.

" Good morning, Y/n."

and you can't help but kiss him.

" Happy birthday Seijuro!"

As you crash your lips in a sweet and chaste manner yet still filled with an unquestionable passion, you give him roses and put on evidence the breakfast. The smell of roses mixed with delicious plates increasing Akashi joy even if he doesn't show it in an obvious way.

" You didn't have to do this, Y/n... But it makes me really happy, Thank you."

" Do not thank me yet..! I haven't given you everything and you deserve the best."

You lay on his hand the package, letting him being curious to what is it. After taking a glance at you, he decide to open your gift and see an antique but expensive -for someone of your class- watch with his and your initials, because the clock is foldable when you unclip it, you can see a picture of his mother that you've put.

Akashi seemed quite touched and took your hand in his, a soft and nostalgic expression on his face.

" I obvisouly can't offer you one of the newer and expensive jewerly but I was sure that this one would be at your liking."

Emotional value combined with an utilitarian purpose, not to mention the style.

" And it is, you did well Y/n. It's until now the most valuable item I have in my possesion... I will cherish your present."

" And I will cherish you... Doesn't it sounded like a weeding vows ? Haha... However I will cherish you for real and in all the way possible so even if I can't give you as much as you do in terms of material... My affection would value at least as much if it's not even a lot more."

You said that while coming closer to him, eyes full of desire and of need to proove your love. Akashi put all thoses object you bring in bed on the nearest table as a more lewd expression took place on his face.

" Convince me."

And you were already under him.

" Maybe this one would be my favorite birthday."

[werezmastarbucks]

columbus

honeymoon masterlist

word count: 2608

music: little death by +44, violence violence violence by tuff turf, inspiration by red 7

Every day he asked, what do you wanna do today?

After you finally allowed to leave the little, boring, flat island, Kai was so greatful he was down almost to anything. It was also the time when your chaotic, time wasting, unpredictable movements across the surface of the earth started dying down and turning into something more systematic. Although all the places you visited up to that moment were somehow connected with searching for a way out, once you started giving up you suddenly had a plan.

Not for breaking out fo the prison though.

The day (you still felt weird thinking it: the day. Every day was the same day. It was all today. It was all Kai’s birthday) you realized there was nothing much more you could do actively you had one of those moments when your brain suddenly feels like it has had enough. Like in the old times, when you were a teenager and had regular panic attacks after the Katherine accident. Not that you needed a specific reason to justify breaking here and there, with the style of life you were leading.

It happened when you were high, in a literal meaning. On the top of the bridge, where you two climbed up to watch the sun go down. Dublin was a city with lots of low roofs, incredibly cute; neat streets drowning in flowers, and all. Standing there, as you realized the panic is climbing at your throat, there was one question in your head: so, we’re staying here?

Although it’s nice, and everything is so easy, and traveling is quick, we’re staying here?

Although he is good, and he likes me, and I start trusting him, and he clearly tries to be nice, we’re staying here?

Although deep down inside I am starting to think this was exactly what I needed, in a twisted way, to get my head straight, to have an opportunity to dig something up in Kai, we’re staying here for good? Because you didn’t know if you could handle this. You had no idea how he handled this. It wasn’t about the general horror of being completely alone without seeing birds. It was looking at the empty sky and feeling the incredible weight of it, all on top of the head. It was the sound of the wind flying across the land uninterrupted, the quiet of the night undisturbed. It was more than you could describe. It was almost like drowning in space.

Kai had to get you down using magic, and you didn’t have enough breath to tell him not to waste it. Saving magic was a kind of a ritual as well, something that kept you on your feet because it gave you hope for once we get out.

You screamed into the face of green late spring lawn under the violet sky. Kai stood by, watching you without pity in his eyes for he never seemed to exhibit much compassion for you; he showed his presence in a different way. It actually helped; you never felt better if someone held you as you broke down. He then tried to console you, standing shoulder by shoulder, and pointing at the sky,

“Consider this. Nothing like that back in Maldives, right?”

The colors changed and drifted across the sky because here, in Ohio, there were clouds.

You sniffed busily.

“You like being home, don’t you?”

Kai nodded.

“Yeah. I feel connected. You know?”

“Did you feel as connected in the future?”

He shrugged.

“There’s been too much commotion. And before that, none at all. I exist in the past. I exist in the future. I stopped feeling time, you know? I’m a time lord”, he concluded, satisfied, and his eye glinted at you. You chuckled, and the chuckle turned into a deep sigh full of sweet evening air.

“We’re not going back, are we?” you asked weakly. Kai looked at you almost flabbergasted.

“We are. One day. Maybe even today”.

You smiled, tiredly.

“You’re giving up now? Hey, you think I wanna be here? I’ll think of something, don’t be upset”.

That was about the most warm words he uttered to you in the whole time. You felt there’d be more to come.

Truth was, you really started believing he was now better off than before.

“So, what do you want to do tomorrow?”

Once you got relieved from the permanent worry about the time wasting, about finding the loopholes you haven’t thought of, you finally could just... enjoy.

You looked at him and wondered if he knew everything there was to know. Whether he looked like a guy who could skateboard. He certainly did to you, but hey, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

“Can you teach me how to skateboard?”

His brows went up.

“I’m sorry. You can’t skateboard?”

“Nope”.

“You made me listen to your five hundred sixty one song playlist named ‘skate pop punk’“, he reminded you.

“Yeah, I compiled it out of sad nostalgia for the times I missed on, while I, you know, was preoccupied with vampires swarming my town”.

“I can’t believe I have an eye for you, and you can’t skate. You know you’re in ‘94, right?”

“That’s exactly why I’m asking”.

“Jesus”.

“Come on now”, you chanted, your voice a little hoarse, “you spent eighteen years here with all the time on your hands and haven’t learnt to swim”.

“That’s because water is scary”.

“So is the asphalt hitting you in the face”.

Kai clicked his tongue.

“Okay, I’m on it. But for that, we have to go to Columbus”.

“Of course we do”, you nodded, having no idea why Columbus. You loved the city, though, so you had no objections.

You asked yourself, if he has been pretending with the Mystic Falls people, too. He kept on going about how you, in his mind, for sure, hid your feelings for him, wanting to expose you for your hypocrisy. But this place had its effect on him, too. He clang on you. He was different. He was more than tolerable. He made you laugh and he cared about what you thought about his cooking. You wondered if he realized he’d been pretending, too.

Kai never missed a chance to place his hands on your waist. Pushing you in the back, he was enjoyin the role of the teacher, but he was trying to grow into it even more. It seemed he was missing role playing, the social kind to which all the adults are subjected, like mad.

Two minutes after you asked him, as you hopped into the car (family Toyota of mediocre grey color), excited, he started talking about every little detail there was to skating. Turned out, he knew absolutely everything about it. Every last trick had been rehearsed by him a thousand times, and though he wasn’t a natural born athlete, he demonstrated pretty damn good knowledge of all the physical aspects. He talked, and talked, and talked, about which board to choose, and the kind of sneakers you’re going to need, and what street will be the best, and the time for practice, and the way he’ll teach you, and no matter how many times you turned up the music, he wouldn’t take a hint.

Not that you ever grew annoyed with him more than, like, 6 out of 10. It seemed you clicked just fine.

“Put your foot here”, he muttered, pushing your heel a little onto the board. You nearly fell over, leaning back on him and feeling his firm hold having your back.

“That’s the trickiest part. How am I supposed to...” falling backwards and colliding with him, you let the board shoot away from under you, and you two watched it roll a little forwards, “keep it under me if it has wheels?”

“Please, stop talking”, Parker moaned.

“Whatever happened to me ending on your dick sooner or later”, you grumbled, going to pick it up. Kai chuckled,

“It’s still on. Who knew fooling around with you would be just as fun”.

How does one love?

You observed him, stunned a little, and his impatiently outstretched hand. He rarely let you fall, but you managed anyway. Your left elbow was burning, and your knee was bleeding a little, blood forming a beautiful snowflake-like (his words) stain in the big hole cut through your jeans. People are only supposed to skate in torn pants, or in shorts, Kai hammered in a very important, responsible voice. You didn’t ask any questions. It was lore, and that was it. Skateboarding lore, like bird swimming.

“Not to lose it, you have to lean forwards, and shift your weight forward, too, a little”, he suggested.

“Here’s the question”, you held your elbow and tried to get a proper look at it, “if we heal, and nothing changes, if our organisms are stuck in this twenty-four hours circle, does the muscular memory still apply?”

“Oh, it does”.

“So, it’s me being terrible at skating”.

“Yeah. If you think of it, the people”, he spat that word like it was poison, “standing behind the whole prison world speck of spells haven’t thought it out too well. Like, your body doesn’t change. It makes very little sense to me”.

“Well, they wanted you to be here forever, without letting you die”.

“You come back at different time after you die”, he said, as if he hasn’t heard you, “every time. It seems like it depends on the way you die. I can’t grow a beard, but you can still learn how to do a cart wheel, because your body doesn’t lose the habit of automatical movements. Same with the brain”.

“Yeah, sounds like hell for a perfectionist”, you concluded, fidgeting with the board. There was connection between Malachai Parker loving it the most in America, of all places, and the fact he looked like he was born on this street. There were friendly looking family houses left and right, standing above smooth ground.

You liked it the most when he pushed you in the back, running beside you, and you tried to balance as you shot along the street. The wind in your hair, and the harsh sound of the polyurethane wheels on the road, and you screaming as the turn manifested itself. Kai didn’t notice the remains of a hole in the asphalt that’s been filled with cement. The little bump stood out like a tiny turtle, and, as one of the wheels stumbled upon it, the board jumped away from you. You felt the muscles of his arms tense as Kai tried to lift you up above the earth, but he was running too, and the acceleration did not let either of you stop in time.

You both leaped through the air about a meter, before crashing onto the sand ground. Kai nearly hit his head on the pole of the road sign indicating kids running somewhere around.

Groaning and ouching, you crawled out from underneath him and lay on your back. You panted and laughed, hissing with pain. It felt like you rubbed your tigh really hard against the curb, and it felt red.

“Once again”, you said.

“You’re pretty much hopeless”, Kai replied, without malice.

“More encouragement, please”.

“You’re pretty! Hopeless. By the way, I just got it. You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about why I jumped after you there in Koureménos. And realized you jumped with me the same way, right? You knew you were going down, and jumped anyway”.

You recalled Damon’s eyes for a second. Something you tried not to think about too much.

Truth was, you really thought he would stop. You didn’t expect Damon to send you away, too. You thought you’d be a wall between him and Kai.

The board shuffled on the ground and stopped there somewhere. All fell quiet.

“We both did a stupid thing, and it felt right”, he mused slowly, as if he was surprised his own mouth was saying it. You pulled yourself half way up, balanced yourself on one elbow (the unharmed one) and leaned over his face, kissing him.

You stayed in Columbus for a while, until you could finally master the skateboard. The board you chose, by the way, was very cool. It had a green a purple zombie face gritting its rotting teeth, and its faded pale yellowish eyes on a roll out. You kept it close to the door of the bedroom, zombie face to bed so that you could look at it. You really liked the design.

The bed heaved under Kai’s weight as he rolled on his back. You were listening to music, waiting for midnight. You never went to sleep before twelve o’clock, when the new today began, because it distorted sleep anyway. As your bodies returned back to default, it always woke you up.

“It makes no sense”, he complained. “It sounds just like the old ones”.

“That’s the point of the whole genre of the retrowave”, you sighed. In the twilight, with no street lights on (you personally broke half of them, practicing your aim with the stones), the zombie head seemed more vicious than it really was.

“Why not just listen to synth wave then?”

“Because the quality is different, and the melodies are still different. It’s fake retro. It reminds me of my youth”.

“You know what reminds me of my youth?” he said crossly, “listening to actually old music. I don’t understand this”.

You found his hair, getting your fingers in it and squeezing lightly. It calmed him down at once, all the time.

“You exist outside the time, you have no youth”, you reminded him.

“Right”, Kai was almost dozing off. “What do you want to do tomorrow?”

“You know what I was thinking?”

It was hard to keep your eyes open against the darkness of the room in this cute family house, on the Washington Street in Columbus, when Kai breathed right into your ear, nesting his face against the side of yours to distract you from his hand sliding down your belly.

He hummed. You had to catch his wrist to stop him from getting into your pants. Not to this song.

“We need to survive a zombie apocalypse. Shaun here gave me an idea”.

The skateboard zombie’s name was Shaun.

“Oh, that would be so cool!” Kai woke up at once. Your pants and what’s inside of them was forgotten. His eyes glowed in the dark like he was about to lash out on you with rage no less than a brain eater himself.

“We could get a really heavy car, and put up mannequins everywhere in the city, and shoot them”, you said. “We will get post-apocalyptic clothes and make a den somewhere in a high-high building that looks like a tower, and live without electricity. I’ll read you Stephen King at nights. You can reinvent radio”.

“Maybe I’ll bite your arm off”, he whispered, already jumping away into the fantasy, “and you’ll have to mercy shoot me until I turn into a complete animal”.

He crashed back onto bed and stared into the ceiling.

“If you bite my arm off, don’t you think you’re already too far gone? May as well eat me whole then. I don’t wanna go around without an arm”.

“Fair enough”.

You both sighed, thinking.

“But what place looks like it’s been ravaged by zombies?”

“Something like Escape from L.A., but not LA”, he muttered.

“Some city that has a lot of industrial districts and factories...”

Another pause, and then you looked at each other and shrieked at the same time,

“Boston!”

[chipper9906]

Heal The Cracks Within My Heart - Chapter 5: Old Friends Made Anew

<- - - Previous Chapter

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR LOKI SEASON 1 EPISODE 6 ‘FOR ALL TIME. ALWAYS.’

Pairings: Loki/Sylvie

Rating: General Audiences

Chapter Word Count: 6,344

Overall Word Count: 48,317 (In Progress)

Status: Multi Chapter Fic - In Progress (5/?)

Chapter Preview:

Coming from the unbearable heat of whatever desert-type planet they had come from and walking into the almost tropical level of heat of this new place was downright pleasant. Loki blinked in surprise as they stepped out onto more sand, though it was also combined with the refreshing breeze blowing in from the ocean that crashed down around his feet. The water was crystal clear up close, but the more it stretched out, the more it took on the vivid turquoise colors of the beaches he had seen in those jet-ski magazines on Mobius’s desk.

“Quite the Time-Loop…” Loki whirls around in place, taking in the sight of people lounging around on bed-like chairs. Most had drinks in hands, others were passed out asleep and only half under the cover of the straw umbrellas overhead, their other half more than likely burning away as they cooked in the day’s heat. “Better than being kicked in a rather sensitive area over and over again, that’s for sure…”

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* * *

On his first shift, Loki lets Sylvie sleep for a little bit longer than their agreed shift times. 

He isn’t too sure how, but Sylvie somehow seems to know that he was waking her up a couple of hours into what should have been her shift. It was almost funny watching her try to decide whether to express her gratitude for his thoughtfulness or be annoyed that he had let her sleep in when they had clearly agreed to set shift times. 

The second time he wakes her up for her shift, he tries to do so with the morning kiss that he had promised (with try being the keyword here). It had been quite early in the morning, judging by the faint light that had started to filter in through the ceiling and partly illuminate the cave. Loki summarized that, with that small amount of light, that Sylvie would be able to recognize it was him when she woke up and hold herself back enough not to stab him immediately on sight. 

He was mostly right. It had started well enough – running the back of his hand softly down her face as she began to stir and tucking a few wry strands of hair behind her ear. He waited until she was mostly awake, just seconds away from transitioning into that deep sleep to a groggy awareness, before leaning across her and pressing a feather-light kiss to her lips.

For a few seconds, Loki thought it had been a success. Of course, that thought flew straight out of his head the moment he felt her body go tense under his. It was remarkable how quickly she had snatched her sword up from her side, and he could at least appreciate the feel of the blade pressing against his side instead of in his side. 

“Oh,” Sylvie breathed in surprise as recognition filtered in through drowsy eyes, the sharp pinch of the blade end against his side quickly disappearing as she drops her weapon. “Gods, did I…?”

“Nope, completely stab free,” Loki assures her. 

“I did warn you…”

“And I said I’d still take the risk,” Loki countered with a cocky grin. 

Sylvie wanted to wipe that grin off his face as he hovered over her, and she did so by grabbing hold of collar of his dress shirt and yanking him down. Loki was barely able to catch himself, hands spread out on either side of Sylvie as she surged up to claim his lips with her own. 

She could still feel his smile against her mouth, though this one was less of the typical arrogance he displayed and more of… of contentedness. Dare she say ‘happiness’, even? Whatever it was, she found she didn’t mind it – even if it did make it a little awkward to kiss him. 

It was almost surprising that nothing of note occurs during their watches: no more giant lizards set on peeling away the meat from their bones, no unruly citizens that didn’t appreciate their presence on this planet, no brown and orange-clad TVA workers materializing from thin air and whisking them away. 

Some might call Loki stupid for making an attempt to kiss Sylvie awake for the second time. If he’s being honest with himself, he did feel a little nervous as he leaned down, trying to resist the urge to push her sword out of reach; not that it would do any good since she’s apparently a natural at conjuring and would probably have a dagger materialized and plunged into his chest before he knows it.

But this time, it seemed that Sylvie was expecting it – or, maybe, she really was starting to break out of the habit of attacking anyone that touched her whilst coming out of such a vulnerable state. There is a split second where she goes from ‘sleeping still’ to ‘unnaturally and very much alert’ still – which is the moment his nerves hit their peak – but Loki’s then pleasantly surprised by the way she seems to relax into his hold, pushing up into the kiss rather than forcefully pushing him away as he had expected. 

“Good morning,” Loki rumbles in greeting as they separate, drinking in the sleepy smile she gives him in response. 

“Well, we weren’t killed in the night, so I think I can agree with it being a ‘good morning’,” 

Loki narrowed his eyes playfully at her. “Oh? And it being a ‘good morning’ has nothing to do with my method of waking you?”

“Hmm… I suppose it helped a little…”

Sylvie suppressed a grin at the roll of his eyes, pushing up and away from her with an overly-exasperated sounding huff. Loki offered out a hand to her once he was settled, helping to pull her up into a sitting position. 

“How was your sleep?” Loki asks once she’s sat up, holding out a flask of water that he had collected shortly before waking her. 

“Surprisingly well,” Sylvie takes the flask with a thankful smile, the early morning sun already starting to bake the cave. “–Considering I had a bunch of little rocks stabbing me in the back.”

“You should have said something,” Loki says, waiting for the moment she takes a deep pull from the flask before continuing. “I would have been more than happy to act as your personal pillow once again.”

To his disappointment, she does not spit out the water all over himself like he had the night before. She does give a slight pause though, arching up a brow at him as she continues to drink from the canteen. 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” She returns once she pulls the flask away from her mouth, holding out the flask for him to take back and take a drink himself. 

Loki looks down to the flask in his hands, fingers tapping against the metal as he thinks. “So… we survived the night.”

“Somehow,” Sylvie added.

“Guess that means we can assume this isn’t an apocalypse? And that we’re somehow off the TVA’s radar?”

Sylvie sighed softly, resting the back of her head against the wall behind her. “Assume? Yes, but we can’t know for sure. There’s a chance that… that maybe…”

“That what?” Loki pries, sensing her reluctance to speak what was on her mind. 

“You’ve seen the TVA first hand, perhaps even more than I have. You’ve seen the intricacies of how they work, of how dedicated they are to ensuring the timeline goes the way He Who Remains had decided it needs to go.”

“I suppose so, yes,” Loki agreed slowly, wondering where Sylvie was going with this. 

“What’s the one reason why the TVA wouldn’t be interfering with a branch?” Sylvie asks. “The one reason they don’t get involved?”

“An Apocalypse?” Loki guesses, and Sylvie shakes her head ‘no’ at him. 

“An Apocalypse isn’t a branch. They’re not interfering there because there’s nothing to happen that would affect the timeline.”

“Then… what-,”

“The only time they don’t interfere-,” Sylvie continues. “-Is because there’s nothing to interfere with. Because we’re abiding by the timeline.”

“But… there’s no one controlling the timeline anymore,” Loki points out. 

“How do we know that?” Sylvie stresses. “You want to know the last thing ‘He Who Remains’ said to me? He said ‘See you soon’. He told us he’d be right back in that office, didn’t he? How do we know some other version of him isn’t already up there, waiting for us to go find him again and… start all this shit over again.”

“I… I suppose it’s a possibility,” Loki reluctantly agrees. “But, from what He was describing of the other variants of Him… I imagine it’s Him that’s going to be tracking down us.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“It means we’re not living by the story that He’s written so… a little, I’d hope?”

That did make Sylvie feel a little better, actually. Not enough to overpower the paranoia that an endless amount of variants of a man that controlled infinite universes could be personally hunting them down, but still – a little better was better than nothing.

“Either way, we’ve got a Hel of a fight ahead of us,” Sylvie points out the obvious. 

“Unless we keep hiding like this…?” Loki jokes – or at least, Sylvie assumes he’s joking. 

Sylvie exhales sharply from her nose, shaking her head side to side. “I’ve been running my whole life. I’m done running, Loki.”

“Okay then,” Loki says, apparently on board with whatever it is that Sylvie wants to do. “So… what’s the plan?”

“We’re going to do the only other thing I know how to do,” Sylvie answers. “We’re going to fight.”

“Oh, no -- I get that,” Loki got out in a rush. “I meant more what’s the plan for today? Are we going to stay on this Hel-Hole and try to find some kind of power source for your TemPad?”

“Only if it comes to it,” Sylvie didn’t quite fancy the idea of trudging through all that sand and potentially facing even more pissed-off wildlife. She rotated her wrist so the surface of the TemPad was facing up towards her, running a finger along it to wake it up. “Never thought I’d be saying this, but… I suppose we should see if there’s enough juice left in this thing to get us back to the TVA…”

“-Wait, hang on a second,” Loki reaches out a hand to stop her from activating anything on the TemPad. Sylvie pauses, looking up to him with her brows raised in surprise. “How will we know which TVA it’ll take us to?” 

“We won’t,” Sylvie answers grimly. “If things go south quickly, then we can just grab another TemPad and get the Hel out of there. At least with one of the TVA’s TemPads, I know how to use them and how to charge them -- and that they can even be charged.”

“And then what? Sylvie, we need the TVA’s help with this, whether we like it or not. They’ll know more about what’s going on out there than we do. We need to know how to use that TemPad properly: how to jump between multiverses; how to select specific timelines to travel to. Otherwise… we’ll end up lost in a web of universes.”

“Then… then I don’t know,” Sylvie admitted defeat. “We can’t just keep jumping between TVA’s, hoping that the next will be ours, or at least better than the one before. But we also can’t just go up to whoever at whatever TVA we end up in and demand they tell us all they know. Magic doesn’t work in the TVA, remember? So, enchanting is off the table. Really, we’ll be lucky we aren’t surrounded and with a collar around our necks the second we step in there…”

“Or… come face to face with another version of Him…” Loki says, grimacing at the thought. 

Then, an idea springs to mind. Loki straightens up as the realization hits him, turning to Sylvie. “Almost sounds like… we could use a guide?”

Sylvie frowns at him. “A guide?”

“Of course!” Loki exclaims. “Someone who’s familiar with the TVA perhaps? Someone who knows their way around the place, knows what files to find, holds some information that could be of use to us?”

“Well, yeah, that’d be great,” Sylvie says, frown still etched onto her face. “But there’s no one in the TVA that would help us.”

“What if they’re not in the TVA?” Loki counters with an excited smile. “At least, not right at this moment.”

Sylvie’s narrowed-eyed look of suspicion grows. “….Such as who…?”

“Well…” Loki trails off, glancing down to the TemPad on Sylvie’s hand, and then back up to her. “You think there’s enough juice in that thing to re-open a time-loop?”

* * *

Sylvie was right: Mobius’s time-loop was nice. 

Coming from the unbearable heat of whatever desert-type planet they had come from and walking into the almost tropical level of heat of this new place was downright pleasant. Loki blinked in surprise as they stepped out onto more sand, though it was also combined with the refreshing breeze blowing in from the ocean that crashed down around his feet. The water was crystal clear up close, but the more it stretched out, the more it took on the vivid turquoise colors of the beaches he had seen in those jet-ski magazines on Mobius’s desk. 

Which… kind of explained why they were here, he supposed. It was kind of comforting knowing that, despite they weren’t the same Mobius’s, they seemed to share the same type of desires. And, if this was the good memory Sylvie had recreated in a Time-Loop for him, then… perhaps he was more like his Mobius than he thought. Perhaps… they had a good chance of swaying this Mobius over to their side. 

“Quite the Time-Loop…” Loki whirls around in place, taking in the sight of people lounging around on bed-like chairs. Most had drinks in hands, others were passed out asleep and only half under the cover of the straw umbrellas overhead, their other half more than likely burning away as they cooked in the day’s heat. “Better than being kicked in a rather sensitive area over and over again, that’s for sure…”

That was enough for Sylvie’s eyes to freeze in place from where they were scanning across this unknown environment, slowly turning to Loki with a questioning look. “I’m not sure if I even want to ask…”

Loki could only shrug. “It’s not a good day when you lose count of the number of times someone’s kneed you in the crotch…”

Even Sylvie had to wince at that. 

Loki placed his hands on his hips as he peered out to the bay they found themselves in, searching the crowds of people both in the ocean and on the beach itself for a familiar gray hair and mustache combo. Even in what was only a re-construction of an actual time – more of a memory, really – the two of them still gained a few curious looks. This was to be expected, of course, being the only two people dressed like they didn’t belong: one looking like he had just come from the office, and the other looking like she had just returned from battle. 

“Do you remember where he was last time?” Loki asks Sylvie, wading through the shallow water and out onto mostly dry land where she stood. “I’m saying this under the assumption you didn’t just shove him through the Time-Door and slam it closed behind you, of course.”

“I couldn’t exactly hang about in here,” Sylvie retorted. “I was working on getting you out of the TVA, remember? 

“So… you did shove him through the Time-Door and slam it closed behind you?”

“No,” Sylvie all but groaned. “I told you already, I had to enchant him to keep him calm. It sort of… placated him, I think. Helped remind him that he actually enjoyed the life taken from him. At least, enough so that he would forget about the TVA for a little while and just… re-live his memories. But I don’t know how long that would have lasted. The effects of enchantments don’t last forever…”

That… was better than so many other outcomes, Loki thought. 

“In that case, I can’t imagine he’ll be too thrilled to see us again…” Loki said, now more on the lookout for a very disgruntled, ‘could possibly throw a punch on sight if they’re not careful’ mustached man. “Is there any chance he could have escaped? Maybe there’s some kind of… escape hatch of some sorts that we don’t know about?”

“Uh… I’m gonna guess no,” Sylvie had her eyes fixated on something in the distance, which Loki – who was still busy searching the closer vicinity – did not notice.

“And why’s that-,” Loki begins to ask, but stops talking when Sylvie grabs at his arm for his attention, pointing out to a section of the bay not too far ahead. 

“Because Mobius is right there… and… Loki, I don’t think he’s alone.”

Sylvie was right. As they trekked across the beach and closer to Mobius, ignoring the stares of the cautious but, thankfully, fake beach-goers, they could clearly make out that it wasn’t just Mobius sat upon the jet-ski that they had spotted him ripping around the bay. 

“Now you see, you want to be a little bit less trigger happy with the throttle there.”

A part of Loki didn’t want to approach Mobius anymore. Even Sylvie seemed to hesitate, her long strides turning shorter and sluggish just as his do the closer they get. The jet-ski had been brought to a standstill, bobbing away on the peaceful waves near the shore. Seeing Mobius without his usual suit and tie get-up was jarring enough, so seeing him in only a pair of swim-shorts was quite the sight. Mobius had his body craned around a young boy that sat in front of him on the jet-ski, pointing out various instruments of the vehicle as he – presumably – was giving the child some driving tips. 

“Trust me kiddo, I get the need for speed same as you do,” Mobius said with a gleaming grin, patting the boy on his shoulder. “But I think it’d be best we avoid giving your mom a heart attack if we take off like that again.”

Loki wanted to sink into the sand. He wanted an astronomically large tidal wave to appear out of nowhere and swallow him up. Mobius did have a family. A family. And he had had that taken away from him. Somewhere out there is his Mobius, trying to turn the TVA around, trying to do the right thing, and he doesn't even know. 

The two of them probably looked incredibly suspicious – just stood there in the sand, dressed in clothes that definitely were not beach appropriate, watching a father and son live out one of their fondest memories. Luckily, Mobius hadn’t noticed them just yet, his focus solely on his son who rolled his eyes at his father just as every child who thinks they know better than their parents does.

 “What if I take us out slowly around the corner of the bay, then once we’re out of sight from mom I can really open her up?”

Mobius laughed heartily at his son’s enthusiasm, giving his son’s shoulders a playful shake when he pouted at his father's reaction. 

“Well, for one… I think us being out of her sight would give her even more of a heart attack,” Mobius said. “And secondly… you know better than I do that your mother has eyes in the back of her head. Really, there’s no such thing as ‘out of sight.'"

“That’s the right answer.”

Both Loki and Sylvie looked over to the woman who had seemingly appeared from within the crowded beach, walking over to the edge of the beach and stopping just before the incoming waves would reach her feet. She looked to be around the same age as Mobius, although her black hair had streaks of gray running through it instead of being fully gray as Mobius’s was. Her face looked kind, ingrained with laughter lines that hinted at a well-loved life. 

“How many others do you think are out there?” Sylvie got out through gritted teeth, the heat in her voice taking Loki by surprise. 

“How many of what?”

“Families ripped apart by Him,” Sylvie answered, her face scrunched up in disgust. “People who, just like us, took one wrong step – as decided by Him – and were just… whisked away from their lives, brainwashed, and forced to work for the group that had kidnapped them in the first place. And their families?”

Sylvie laughs a humorless laugh, gesturing with a lazy flick of her hand to Mobius and his family. “Nothing more than memories now. His real family were… well, they were just another meal for Alioth, I suppose.”

“Until you changed that,” Loki said softly, tearing his eyes away from Mobius and down to Sylvie next to him. “Somewhere out there… there’s a variant of Mobius that was never taken from his family. Infinite variants, even.”

“And what of this variants family?” Sylvie asks, gesturing to Mobius with a flick of her chin. “And what of our Mobius? What I did doesn’t change their fate.”

“No, but at least now they have the opportunity to make a difference,” Loki stressed his words, the back of his hand lightly brushing against hers in an attempt at comfort. “They can help us to make sure no other variants of themselves have to go through what they went through.”

“...Dad?” The sound of the young boy's fear-filled voice snapped their attention back. It seemed that Mobius’s son had been the first to spot them, his eyes fixated on the two mysterious strangers who had been watching them. “Dad, who is that?”

The moment Mobius’s eyes landed on them, it was like he changed into a different person completely. Gone was the carefree and laid-back father. Gone was the happy-looking family man spending a day at the beach. His entire demeanor hardened, eyes cold and calculated as he stared at them. He could no longer pretend that this Time-Loop was his life. Now, he was faced with the reminder of why he was here in the first place. 

“Get over to your mom real quick, would you?” Mobius instructed his son, but he kept his gaze solely on them. “I need to talk with… some people from work.”

Mobius’s son looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but knew better. He slid down from the jet-ski in a hurry, wading through the shallow water as fast as his little legs would carry him over to his mother. It was only once the young boy had safely reached his mother’s side – who briskly pulled him out of sight – that Mobius moved from the jet-ski. He slowly slid down from the vehicle, keeping a hand on its seat as he stands silently, waiting for them to come to him.

Loki and Sylvie exchange nervous glances, unsure as to whether this was going to be an actual talk, or more… the kind of talking you do with clashes of steel and the spilling of blood. Then again, it wasn’t exactly like Mobius was able to hide a weapon when he’s clad in only a pair of swim-shorts…

Loki and Sylvie both nod at each other in silent understanding, choosing not to pull out their weapons and potentially freak out the people around them – even if they were nothing more than memories. They both slowly advance towards Mobius, who continues to stare them down, understandably cautious of their approach. 

“Mobius…” Loki says his name conservatively in greeting. 

Mobius’s eyes flick between Loki and Sylvie, landing on the both of them for a few seconds each before settling on Loki. “Loki.”

“You remember my name?”

“Not every day I have someone in a TVA uniform come up to me in a blind panic, tell me they don’t actually work for the TVA, tries to get me to turn against my people, and then disappears around the same time I find myself kidnapped and placed in a Time-Loop.”

Loki and Sylvie look to one another again, a movement that – surprisingly – get’s Mobius to groan in annoyance. 

“And here I was thinking what happened with you two was just two random different events. Should have known you were both involved with one another,” Mobius sighs, glancing back to where his family had disappeared into the sea of people. “So… what now? You here to kill me?”

“No,” Loki answered, voice pitched up in surprise that Mobius would think that. “No, nothing like that, Mobius. We just… we want to talk.”

“About what?”

“About the TVA,” Sylvie said, garnering Mobius’s attention. 

Mobius narrowed his eyes at her, head tilted to the side as he looked her up and down. “And… who are you, exactly? I didn’t quite get your name before you–” Mobius bent his arm, mimicking a choking motion. “–put me in a choke-hold and violated my privacy by digging around in my memories.”

Sylvie at least had enough kindness to look ashamed at her actions. “My name is Sylvie.”

“Sylvie…” Mobius repeated her name, dropping his arm back down. “Can’t say I’ve ever heard of you.”

“There’s a reason for that,” Loki piped up. “Sylvie is, uh… well, technically she’s me. Another variant of me, anyway. And if what you said about me not being on your files was true, then… Sylvie wouldn’t be, either.”

“Hang on, what?” Sylvie spluttered, wheeling around to face Loki. “We don’t exist in this timeline?”

“I guess not?” Loki said, sounding unsure. “Either that, or we haven’t done anything in this timeline to become variants.”

“Wow…” Mobius interjected, staring out blankly into the distance. “I knew that whatever had happened to make the sacred timeline erupt like that would be bad but… I don’t even want to think about the shambles it must be in right now…”

“Believe me, you don’t even know the half of it,” Sylvie grumbled. 

“Mobius, you…” Loki begins, the corner of his mouth pulling into an uncomfortable grimace. “I don’t get it. You’re a variant-,”

“I’m aware,” Mobius stated dryly. 

“Already told him, Loki,” Sylvie reminded him. 

“But… now you know that your TVA isn’t the only TVA,” Loki pointed out. “Your timeline isn’t even the sacred timeline. Hel, mine and Sylvie’s timeline weren’t the sacred timeline, either. We just sort of… found our way onto it.”

Mobius cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at them. “And… how did that happen?”

“Well… you, actually,” Loki said. “You – the version of you we know – was trying to track Sylvie down. I had been brought in by the TVA for, um… you know what, it’s not important. You stopped me from being reset. You thought that the best person to track down me would be… me.”

Mobius huffed out a breath of laughter at that, crossing his arms against his chest. “I’m assuming the other me was right?”

“Well, I did find her,” Loki said, voice full of pride as he jabbed a thumb in Sylvie’s direction. “And… well, it’s…”

“I have an idea,” Sylvie suddenly whispered in realization. “We could try telling you what happened, but I doubt you’ll believe us.”

Mobius shrugged his shoulders in a way that said that would be exactly the case. 

“Alright, fine,” Sylvie said, and before either Mobius or Loki knew what she was doing, she grabbed hold of Loki’s arm before stepping forward and grabbing Mobius’s.

Loki didn’t even know that enchantment could work this way. Instead of searching through Mobius’s memories, she was scrounging through both hers and his and, like a reel of film, she let them play. All three of them watched as the series of events that had led them here flitted by: Loki crash landing in the deserts of Mongolia and swiftly being apprehended by the TVA, and coming face to face with Mobius for the first time as he saves him from being reset –

– Sylvie burning the TVA workers to a crisp in the fields of the past and snatching the reset charges left behind –

– Loki and Mobius discovering Sylvie’s hiding trick within the Apocalypses of the Universe; the first time Loki sets eyes on the other version of himself as she playfully waves at him before stepping through the Time-Door –

– The two of them running through Lamentis, just trying to survive an event that no living being is supposed to survive; the moment that a nexus event Mobius had never seen before spikes on the monitor, as two of the same beings reach out for one another –

– Loki pleading with Mobius with everything he’s got to believe him, that Mobius had been taken from his life just as everyone else in the TVA had –

– The brief moment it seemed they may have a chance before Mobius was pruned before Loki’s very eyes, losing one of the few friends he’s ever had in his entire life –

– Watching in horror as the decapitated head of a Time-Keeper falls to their feet, realizing that the all-knowing Time-Keepers were nothing more than robots being used for show to keep the workers of the TVA in line. Then, that small yet significant moment where Loki dared to take a leap he never thought he would make, only to feel his body disintegrate as Renslayer’s pruning stick is pressed against this heart –

– Sylvie, not long after, shoving that very same pruning stick into her heart, joining him in the Void. The briefest of glimpses she got of the Citadel as she grabbed hold of a part of Alioth, before being reunited with the man she had spent her life running away from. All three of them, accompanied by a few peculiar Loki variants, hatching a plan to bring down the TVA once more – 

– A tender goodbye shared between a rapidly formed yet strong bond between the three; a hand stuck out in an attempt of a goodbye that was deemed not enough by Loki, who couldn’t bear to let the other man leave without a word of thanks, both spoken aloud and with the gesture of arms wrapped around one another –

– Stepping through into that Citadel that sat on the edge of time, the two of them being offered what was once all they ever wanted. Then finally, finally, meeting the man responsible for it all. Listening as he regaled his life story, trying valiantly to defend his actions to two people whose actions he had wronged –

– Loki’s hand on her shoulder, trying desperately to pull her back as she advanced towards He Who Remains with sword in hand. Loki’s heart-filled attempt to get Sylvie to stop before all hell breaks loose, and they find themselves fighting the one person they never truly want to hurt. Then, knowing what she knows, Sylvie chooses to let herself enjoy the briefest of moments where Loki made her feel like she could be okay before shoving him through that Time-Door –

– The emptiness Sylvie felt inside as she plunged her sword into He Who Remains’s chest, feeling no sense of the satisfaction she thought she’d feel as the light left his eyes. That emptiness being replaced by complete and utter regret as she watched the timeline ripping itself apart, already imagining all the other versions of Him forming into existence as she dropped to the ground –

– Loki’s similar feeling of emptiness as he sat within the TVA, the shock steadily giving away to the aching pain in his chest, now knowing what it felt like to be on the other side of a Loki betrayal. That pain only becoming infinitely worse as he finds the friend he was looking for, only to be slapped with the realization that whilst the man in front of him may have bore the same face as the man he knows, he was now nothing more than a stranger to him – 

Mobius gasped as he was wrenched out from the memories, nearly falling over his jet-ski as he stumbled back and away from the two of them. Loki instinctively reached out a hand to help steady him, but stopped himself, unsure as to how this Mobius might react. Mobius’s face was scrunched in pain, holding a hand up to his head as the images of what he had seen remained burned in his memory. 

“I know it’s a lot,” Sylvie said apologetically. “But it’s important. I… we needed you to see.”

“I… I don’t understand…” Mobius mumbled, his eyes rapidly moving side to side as he was lost in his thoughts. “Why… why wouldn’t He tell us? He… he told us our jobs were important, that we were protecting the entirety of time, but… we didn’t know we were protecting it from Him.”

“Do you see now?” Loki asks, taking a risk and stepping closer to Mobius. “Your leader… he isn’t the only one of him out there now, and if we don’t do something, then… there will be nothing left but death and suffering.”

Mobius swallowed harshly, giving a small nod of his head as he struggled to get his thoughts under control. “I… I don’t even know what to do, now… Everything I thought I knew, it’s… it’s…”

“It’s never how you think it is,” Sylvie finishes for him. “But you can help us, Mobius. Help us find a way to make things right.”

“How?” Mobius asked, forcing his head up to look to Sylvie. “I’m just an analyst-,”

“Precisely!” Loki cut him off. “You know more about the inner workings of the TVA and the timelines than we do. If you don’t want to get involved, that’s fine. All we’re asking is for some information from you. Give us a chance to find some people that can help, and fix this whole mess.”

Mobius sighed, running a shaking hand through his hair. “I… I suppose that might be possible… What kind of information are we talking about here?”

“For starters-,” Sylvie brought up her hand, showing Mobius the TemPad wrapped around it. “-Any information you have on this thing would be good.”

“His TemPad…” Mobius uttered in amazement, looking moments away from reaching out for it before thinking better of his actions. 

“His?” Loki asks. “Does your version of ‘He Who Remains’ have one of these, too?”

“That he does…” Mobius confirms, looking almost transfixed by the TemPad. “I’ve never actually been able to see it up close myself – having never met Him face to face – but… I know of it. Not much, I have to warn you. Although… there might be some files on it stored away within the TVA…"

“He keeps files about it?” Sylvie asked.

“It’s His pride and joy,” Mobius answered with a short chuckle. “While we’re left slumming it with the older versions, he’s the only one that gets to use the ‘new and improved’ model.”

“Huh… guess your version of ‘He Who Remains’ is kind of similar to the one we know,” Sylvie noted, running a finger across the TemPad. 

“I wouldn’t know,” Mobius said with a shrug of his shoulders. “He’s just sort of… there. An imposing leader. A…”

“A threat?” Sylvie guessed. “Something to keep you in line?”

Mobius paused, pondering over her answer for a moment. “Kind of. Someone to respect, but also… someone to fear.”

Mobius twisted his neck around, looking around to the crowd of people that were still around them. He turned back to them, flicking his head for them to follow as he moves away from the jet-ski, making his way onto the shore. Loki and Sylvie obediently follow, keeping on Mobius’s heels as he carves a path through the name-less beach-goers. 

“I don’t think I can do much for you,” Mobius said over his shoulder as they pushed through to a less densely populated area of the beach. “I’m… I’m not much of a fighter; I wasn’t trained for that. I know how to find information that would be of use to me, and apply it effectively. That’s what I’m good at.”

“And that’s all we’re asking of you,” Loki said. “We could really use a guide through the TVA.”

Mobius came to a stop with a heavy sigh, spinning around on the spot to face them. “I hope you realize what you’re asking of me here. The TVA it’s… it’s all I know. They’re my family-,”

“No, they’re your family,” Sylvie insisted, pointing back to the crowd of people they had walked away from. “And I know there’s nothing we can do to bring them back. But the person who did this to you, who took you away from your family? He’s still out there.”

“I know,” Mobius said gently, eyes glazed over as he looked to where Sylvie had been pointing. “I thought that… that the ends justified the means. I knew that I was doing to other people what had been done to me, but… He… He was so assuring, you know? He made us believe there was truly no other way.”

“He’s a very convincing man,” Loki agreed, glancing over to Sylvie with an awkward wince. “But we’re going to find a way to stop him. There has to be a way for the multi-verse to exist in peace. We just need to remove the dictator – every version of Him.

Mobius nodded at that, taking in a deep breath through his nose. “Okay then,” He said, shortly before spinning back around and walking away from them. 

Loki and Sylvie looked at each other, eyebrows raised in surprise as Mobius continued to just walk away from them. “Wait -- where are you going?” Loki called out, unsure whether they were supposed to follow. 

“Well, I’m not just gonna rock back up to the TVA in swimming trunks, am I?” Mobius called back with a grin, walking backward to face them as he gestured down at himself. “And, uh… whilst you’re technically in uniform, you should probably clean up all the sweat, and dirt, and… and is that blood?”

“It’s been a rough few days…” Loki grumbled. “It’s been a rough damn existence.”

“Isn’t that the truth…” Sylvie added. 

“Oh, and you-,” Mobius said, clicking his fingers as he pointed to Sylvie. “Not saying that I don’t admire the armor set, but uh… you might want to think about wearing something else if we’re going to blend in.”

Loki turned to Sylvie with a knowing grin, enjoying the apprehensive look on her face just a little bit more than he should. “Guess it’s time to see if we can conjure you’re a new outfit.”

Next Chapter - - - >

[xvvampire-valentinevx]

Run to the Nanny - A Brahms Heelshire Fanfiction. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: This story will contain violence, sexual implications, implications of ab*se, and murder/character death.

Chapter 2

Morning rolled around and I woke up to the sound of crashing, as though a wooden chess board had been knocked over. Mrs. Heelshire then began to yell in distress, and I quickly tossed myself out of bed, quickly walking down to Brahms’ room in concern. I turn, looking past the doorway to see a wooden game board on the ground, Brahms’ room now a slight mess.

“Is everything alright?” I speak up, sounding worried.

Mrs. Heelshire looked up and managed a strained but reassuring smile.

“Brahms is just having a bit of a tantrum this morning…” she said, her voice weak. I give her a kind smile and nod, turning and heading down to the parlor to wait for them to leave.

As Mr. Heelshire and I awaited for Mrs. Heelshire, he gave me a few pages of paper.

“Mrs. Heelshire was kind enough to print these out for you, to help you.” He said. I gently took the papers and looked through them. They seemed to be a set of rules/directions for me to follow.

“I must warn you, Brahms is a very particular boy. You must follow the rules exactly, you know.”

I nod in response, reading through the papers carefully. I looked up just as Mrs. Heelshire approached.

“Do take good care of Brahms while we’re gone…” She said softly, looking more distressed by the second. I figured she just must be nervous about leaving her… son with me. I give her a comforting smile.

“I’ll treat him like he’s my own.” I said.

She seemed satisfied with that, nodding curtly. She stepped over and gave me a hug… and I hugged back, obviously not having expected this from her.

“I’m sorry…”

I blink as she pulls away…

And they leave… they leave me alone with Brahms.

I sigh and walk over to the chair Mrs. Heelshire seemed to leave him in.

I was… Nervous… And I felt guilty…

“Oh boy…”

I step away from the doll for a moment, turning to the nearby telephone and quickly dial my friend’s number.

“Helloo~?”

“Penny?? Hi… I-it’s me.” “Paris!! Hey! I was wondering when you’d call… How’s the nanny business going? Is the UK Nice?” She asked softly.

I smile awkwardly, glancing at Brahms, leaning against the table the phone sat on.

“Honestly? It’s… It wasn’t what I expected.” “What?? What the hell does that mean?”

“I just… Ya know, it’s nothing… I’m just new to this whole.. Nanny thing…”

“Hmm… Alright… Call me if you ever need anything..”

“Oh hey, before you go… How’s Jacksonville?” I asked her, twirling my hair around my finger.

“Oh!! It’s great!! Amazing, even~!”

“I’m glad…” I tap my finger against the table some, sighing. “Well, I should get going, I have to make breakfast and stuff.”

“Alright!! Good luck Paris~”

“See ya, Pens”

I hang up the phone, then walk over to Brahms, gently picking him up and cradling him. I head to the kitchen, smiling. I gently set Brahms on a chair and start grabbing things to cook. I figured that I could, perhaps, pancakes, some eggs, bacon… Yeah, that sounded like a good breakfast. Since the silence in the empty manor would drive me nuts, I chose to sing to myself a bit while I cooked, seeing as no one else was here except for me and Brahms…. And Brahms was a doll… So, No harm no foul.

I fried up some bacon while I mixed up pancake batter. I was a master at making some pretty fluffy pancakes.

I made enough food for both the doll and I. It felt a little ridiculous, making food for a doll, but I was being paid to care for the doll as though it was a real child. I would feel guilty if I didn’t do what I was being paid to do. And I couldn’t forget what Mr. Heelshire told me when he was teaching me how to empty the traps…. It stuck with me, and I couldn’t just ignore something like that.

I had kind of figured what all this was about… the large portrait I’d seen of the family, the doll…

A Mourning Doll.

From what I could gather… The real Brahms had passed away when he was a child and this was his poor parents’ way of coping with the loss. I understood how hard and painful it was to lose a child, so I plated the food for the doll. Pancakes topped with berries and jam on one plate, and another plate holding eggs and bacon.

“I’m not too sure how you like your eggs so I just sort of scrambled ‘em… I hope you don’t mind.” I say, plating my own food. He was sitting at the end of the table, and I sat in the chair to the right of him.

“Oops.” I got up, forgetting one thing. I grabbed a napkin and set it over Brahms’ body like a bib.

“There we gooo.”

I ate, then packed up Brahms’ food before putting it away just as Mrs. Heelshire instructed.

It was a little strange to me, but… whatever, I guess.

The day passed a little slow, having to spend it… Alone. I read to Brahms, I played his music, though it’s high volume gave me quite the headache. Eventually, it was time for me to put Brahms in his room to ‘play.’

I was confused how THAT was going to work but I guess it was just the doll and I… sitting in his room… in silence…

So that’s… Just what I did. The time passed so slowly… and I had gotten so bored, I ended up falling asleep in the chair in his room, the book I was reading slipping out of my hand. When I woke up, it was dark.

“Oh shoot.”

I stood up, walking over to Brahms and gently picking him up. I checked the time on my phone and sighed, relieved that I at least didn’t miss dinner time.

“We have time for dinner. How about some steak? Maybe mashed potatoes and vegetables?” I ask the doll as if he would reply.

“Yeah, okay.”

To the kitchen I went, cooking up the last meal of the day, and after that I put Brahms to bed.

I flopped over on my bed, huffing a little.

This hadn’t been what I expected at all… caring for a doll every day was nothing like caring for an actual child… How was this meant to help me?

I had signed up to care for a kid… not this… The manor was so silent, and now, after having realised that there would be no actual child to fill the silence. I felt my lip quiver, then my eyes began to sting as tears threatened to spill from them. I sniffled weakly, the hiccupped as I just started to cry. I quickly covered my face with my hands, trying to gather my emotions and stress.

What was I supposed to do now?

Eventually I just… outright sobbed, loud enough for my whimpers and cries to echo throughout the manor.

The sound of footsteps roused me from my distress, though, and I quickly looked up at my closed door.

“H...Hello?” I ask, confused and afraid that someone had broken in. I sniffled, getting to my feet and wiping my eyes and cheeks as I walked over to my door. I pressed my ear against it.

“Paris?”

I cried out in panic, stumbling back from the shock that shook my body enough to make my knees tremble…

I had heard the voice of a child, a young boy, call… My name… and he sounded… so worried for me…

I press my ear against the door again and call out softly.

“B..Brahms..?” My voice wasn’t as loud as I hoped it would be, but once again, the boyish voice called out again.

“Don’t cry.”

I blinked… This was no comfort, despite how sweet it seemed, I felt fear… because this could mean a number of things. I wasn’t sure if I preferred a creep had broken in and chose to fuck with me, or the ghost of a dead child trying to(maybe) comfort me. I felt like crying more than I did before, taking hold of the doorknob before gently twisting and peering outside. I muster up the courage to speak.

“Brahms you’re supposed to be in bed-”

Was all I could manage to say before wrenching the door open and looking up and down the hall in front of it.

After I saw nothing, I looked down… and saw a little stuffed elephant sitting in in front of me on the ground. Needless to say, I felt confused, but also touched…. Still afraid. Was someone or something really trying to comfort me right now?

I look around one more time before picking up the stuffed animal. I squeezed it close to my form… I felt quite nice doing so as well. It was soft, the fabric of the toy was cotton, and it was a sweet baby blue color… I loved it. I pressed my nose against the top of it’s head, sighing a bit. It smelt like it’s been well loved, but also well cared for… I instantly felt my eyes droop, and I made my way back to my bed, absentmindedly leaving my door open behind me.

I set the toy down on the bed and changed into what I had worn last night, a light, somewhat see through, white slip dress. It was silky, and it felt comfortable and natural to sleep in. In a manor like this, it made me feel like a princess or something. I climb into bed, wriggling my legs underneath the blanket, grabbing hold of the little toy elephant before curling up and falling asleep.

[rockandroobuckaroll]

Shyan Mafia Au - Chapter Two

I was very excited to write this chapter, less so when it came to proof reading. It’s a long one haha

Thanks to everyone who said they enjoyed the first chapter, I hope this story lives up to your expectations!

There was a pounding in Ryan's head as he slowly regained consciousness, pain splitting across his temple and tapering down his spine. He pulled his head up with great effort and winced, opening his eyes slowly to see that he was tied to the spare chair he was intending on using against 'Legs' in case things went wrong with the metal pole.

Now he was tied up just like 'Legs', bound way too tight against something that was giving off heat. For a moment or two Ryan's panicking mind thought maybe he woke up just as he was being tortured, probably set on fire to leave no evidence behind. No one would find him if he was just ash and bones. The somewhat underused rational side of Ryan's mind informed him that it would probably hurt a lot more if he was, in fact, cooking like a shrimp that fell under the grill at a barbeque.

After further inspection Ryan found that the heat source also gave off the faint smell of alcohol along with a musky aftershave he was pretty sure he owned at home. It was also moving, Ryan flinching forwards as his head collided with whatever it was, groaning as the pain in his skull amplified considerably.

"Come on, man, you've already knocked me out once tonight. Please try not to do it a second time." It was 'Legs' and he didn't sound overjoyed to find Ryan bound against his back, his voice still sounded groggy, however now it seemed to be mixed with strain.

"Oh great..." Ryan wasn't too thrilled either though he was more concerned with the pulsing running through his skull with every frantic beat of his heart. "God, my head's killing me!"

"Yeah, feels like shit, doesn't it?" He muttered sarcastically to Ryan, spitting out blood afterwards as if to prove some sort of point. It didn't travel very far, in fact it pitifully just dribbled down his chin and landed straight in his lap. "That was supposed to look more badass." Ryan couldn't see what he had done so he wondered who he was talking to, though he assumed whoever had knocked him out was stood behind him and in front of 'Legs'.

Ryan tried his best to ignore him and instead took to looking around the room. Things were mostly how he left them, though he couldn't help but notice a dark patch on the floor beneath the two chairs. It didn't take a genius to recognise what it was, the glisten coming from the reflection of the bulb above them showing hints of a deep red - the same red that was stained in Ryan's mind. He closed his eyes and looked away for fear he would be sick if he looked at it any longer.

There wasn't much blood and it was closer to 'Legs' than it was Ryan but it still gave him a sinking feeling in his stomach as reality came crashing upon him. He was going to die here. He came here on a job that he knew could very well kill him, but he'd almost managed to pull it off; now thanks to his own carelessness he'd managed to get them both killed by some third psychopath. If only Ryan had remembered to lock the door.

"Good to see you awake, Ricky. Bloody Mary sends her thanks." A voice Ryan didn't recognise cut through the silence.

"Bloody Mary?" Ryan hadn't heard of that name before. "Wait, how do you know my name?" It dawned on Ryan that he may have been tracked from the second he landed in New Orleans, he hadn't exactly been careful.

"Me and Roberto had a lovely chat before you woke up." 'Legs' informed him. "I told him everything I know - which is nothing at all, so if you wouldn't mind letting me go now. I promise I'll forget this whole thing-" A gunshot pierced Ryan's ears, startling him so much he raised a good few inches off his seat. He saw the sparks fly off the wall in front of him: a warning shot.

"I thought I told you to keep your mouth shut?" The man sounded way more intimidating than Ryan could ever hope to be. Ryan assumed just talking in a smooth, low voice would be enough but evidently not. "You really don't shut up, do you?"

"That's what I've been saying..." Ryan scoffed under his breath.

"You got something to say, Ricky?" Ryan's whole body tensed up and his eyes widened. He hated how he found himself leaning back into 'Legs' slightly, as though being closer to him would give him comfort - it wasn't like he had just been trying to kill the guy or anything.

"No, sir!" Ryan's lip quivered as he spoke; he hadn't been this scared since the night his family died. "Sorry, sir!"

"Wow, you're such a tough guy." 'Legs' remarked, helping to ground Ryan in the strangest of ways. He found himself focusing on how someone could be so calm after having two people come for his life in the same night; the guy was tied to a chair and had a loaded gun pointed at him for fucks sake! It also helped him to think through the situation carefully, assess his best way out of this with his person still intact. "I can't believe this is the guy that brought me here! Can you believe this shit, Roberto?"

"You came here of your own free will, 'Legs'." Ryan reminded him in a shaky tone, terrified of the reality that he could get shot any second but still wanted to defend his honour.

"Yeah, 'cause I thought we were gonna... ah, y'know what, maybe we shouldn't discuss this in front of Roberto" 'Legs' cleared his throat, adjusting his position in his seat which caused the ropes to dig further into Ryan's chest.

"Stop moving around, asshole!" Ryan retaliated by nudging him with his elbow. It didn't hit very hard due to him not being able to move much but the satisfaction it gave Ryan was unmatched.

"I don't get paid enough for this shit... also I don't know where you got Roberto from, that's not my name. That's not even my nickname!" The man ranted, stalking around the two of them and entering Ryan's view so he could finally get a better look at him. He looked way too cliché for Ryan's liking, it was far too tasteless. He had the typical black suit, buttoned neatly with a grey tie beneath it and shoes that were shined so hard Ryan could see his own reflection in them. He had a red handkerchief folded neatly and peeking neatly out of his blazer pocket and, of course, he was wearing a fedora. Ryan felt this guy was trying to sell the look too hard, it was almost embarrassing to look at although as a person he wasn't that bad looking.

It took for Ryan to have the guy's pistol placed under his chin to stop judging his fashion choices and pay attention to what was happening. "I don't know what you're doing here, buddy, but you're getting in my way." He threatened, "We've been after 'Legs' for months... we finally get him right where we want him and you show up out of nowhere? Who are you, really? You from Chicago like him? Jersey maybe?"

"I'm not telling you anything!" Ryan only wished he sounded braver and not like a kid who'd lost his mom at a theme park. "Look, I was here to get rid of him too. We're on the same team here."

"Wow, thanks for having my back, pal." 'Legs' laughed to himself at his stupid joke - if he could even call it that. "Get it, 'cause you're-"

"Oh my god, 'Legs' shut the fuck up!" Ryan had his eyes closed as the man pressed the gun into his skin. "How the fuck are you making jokes right now? What is wrong with you?"

"Tell me what you're doing here and I'll think about letting you go." The man bargained, Ryan considering it. Selling out the mob of his home town wasn't something he could get away with easily. "If not... your brains'll end up painting the back of this guys big head."

"My head is proportional to my body I'll have you know." 'Legs' had a specific tone to his voice as if he'd had the conversation before. "It's not easy being this tall you know!"

"Can you please stop being so fucking casual about this!" Ryan practically begged 'Legs' to shut up, the comfort his stupid comments had once given him no longer there to protect him now that there was a loaded gun under his chin.

"You get used to this kind of thing, Ricky." Having his life threatened wasn't something he wanted to get used to. For the whole trip to New Orleans he had been questioning his decision to actually join a group of people known for their dangerous lifestyle. He knew his logic was flawed and that it was a reckless move, but he was desperate. In hindsight he knew that he really should have just took the plunge and reintroduced himself into the world, slowly reuniting with friends and family and maybe even his therapist. The mafia really should have been the very, very last resort.

"You better get used to talking too or else you'll have to get used to being dead." The man rushed Ryan for an answer.

"Okay... okay. I was sent here to kill him. I haven't been told what exactly for, but apparently he's been getting in a lot of people's bad books." Ryan tried to be as vague as possible, not wanting to give away the names of those who sent him. "I'm uh... I'm a hitman, I'm just here to take care of business, get paid then I'm out of here." Another half truth.

"Believable." 'Legs' muttered, Ryan losing his temper with him.

"Oh my god, dude, shut the fuck up!" Ryan attempted to elbow him again, putting his whole body weight into it. The result ended up with the two of them tumbling to the side, landing with a thud on the cold concrete floor.

"Fuck." 'Legs' winced, seemingly taking the blow harder than Ryan; although given that Ryan's face was now resting in a small puddle of blood he correctly assumed 'Legs' was pained for another reason. The both of them sighed at the same time, Ryan to steady his nerves and 'Legs' to ease his pain.

"You okay?" They both asked each other on instinct. There was a silence in the room for a second, nothing but the sound of a very aggravated mob guy at his wits end with the both of them. Any second now Ryan assumed he would get fed up with trying to get answers out of them and just shoot them both.

"Did you just ask me if I was okay?" Ryan couldn't believe 'Legs' was still considering his wellbeing, although his response wasn't as shocked as Ryan's was, in fact he sounded rather furious.

"Don't fucking ask me if I'm okay when this is all your fault!" He spoke through gritted teeth.

"Man, if you'd have just shut up I'd have killed you by now! You wouldn't be suffering right now! This is on you!" He knew that wasn't true, this was all on Ryan, but it felt good to release all his adrenaline out on someone.

"Can you both shut up?" The mob guy crouched down and held his gun in Ryan's face.

"Why don't you just hurry up and get on with this, you walking cliché?" So Ryan wasn't the only one who thought the guy was trying too hard with his outfit.

"Cliché?"

"Yeah, the outfit is a bit much." Ryan joined in, unable to help himself. He should have known better, he really should have but there was something about hearing the pain in 'Legs' voice that made him want to cheer him up just a little; Ryan wasn't doing a good job of convincing himself that it was guilt that was motivating him to wind up the guy with murderous intent.

"This suit was expensive! You two are-" The man stopped as his phone started ringing. "Don't you two move." He warned, firing another warning shot near Ryan's head, the shot so loud it made his ears ring. Ryan's eyes were squeezed shut so he couldn't physically see what was happening but he could just about make out the sound of the man answering his phone and walking up the stairs, locking them in the basement.

"He's just gonna leave us here? What now? What if we're down here forever? I'm not starving to death down here and no way I'm resulting to cannibalism!" Ryan panicked, writhing around on the floor to try and get free of his bonds.

"Calm down, Ricky." 'Legs' kicked him. "Listen to me, you've got to untie me. Look over there, he kicked your gun under the boiler. If we can get it, we can get out of here... but we've got to work together."

"Yeah, no fucking chance." Ryan scoffed. "The second I untie you you're gonna grab that gun, blow a hole in my brain and be on your merry way."

"Ricky, we're literally tied together. When you untie me you're untying yourself."

"Then why would you suggest that I had to be the one to untie you?" Ryan couldn't trust him, there was no way anyone would trust a man like him. "How about you untie me?"

"We don't have time to argue about this, dammit!" He snapped, seeming desperate. "Look, I'm in no shape here to be putting up a fight anyway. If you wanted to overpower me you could in an instant... even if I don't believe for one second that you're some fucking hitman. No way, you're way too unprofessional."

"Oh give me a break, this is my first job!" Ryan rolled his eyes, moving his hands to try and find the knot that was between them. He yanked on 'Legs' fingers at first, resulting in another kick, though eventually he managed to find the knot. It took him a while but he finally loosened it to the point the two of them could break free. Ryan immediately rushed to grab the gun, checking to make sure it was still loaded before turning back to 'Legs'.

Ryan froze when he laid eyes on his face, his jaw falling slightly slack. 'Legs' face was bruised, his eye swollen slightly and his lip was split, straight down the middle. He had blood running out his nose, down into his mouth and onto his chin: he looked like he had just had a run in with the killer in a horror movie. He was also on his hands and knees, his right arm keeping him stable on the ground whilst he clutched his stomach with his left... Ryan certainly didn't do this to him when he had the chance. That guy upstairs really was going to kill them if he saw they were free.

"Get up, come on." Ryan had a plan. Hide beneath the basement stairs, wait for the man to come back down then shoot him at the first chance he got. This wasn't like the concept of shooting 'Legs', 'Legs' didn't act like the killer he was, he had been a complete jackass to him as soon as Ryan betrayed him like he had, but that was only fair. That man upstairs was a stone cold, calculated killer, not some idiot in a flower shirt who just wanted to have a good night.

Ryan's hand still shook as he held the gun: it still didn't feel right being held in his hand. He knew he would have to shoot this man, he would have to join 'Legs' in becoming a murderer... but he feared that even with his life at risk he didn't have it in him.

"I don't think I can." 'Legs' was struggling to even speak, his teeth gritted together and his eyes were closed as though he was trying to meditate his way out of pain.

"He's gonna come back any second now, move your ass!" Ryan's fear was causing him to be harsh, but he knew there was no point in sugar-coating the situation. "Come on!" Ryan grabbed his arm and pulled him up, 'legs' leaning against him heavily and doing his best to keep up. Ryan shrugged him off his shoulder and took a steady breath, hoping the shake in his hands wouldn't throw off his aim. "I don't know if I can do this... can't you kill him? You're the fucking expert or whatever."

"Ricky, I can barely stand right now, much less perfectly aim and shoot someone." He had a valid point, even if Ryan had trouble accepting it.

"'Legs' I really don't think I can do this." Ryan was starting to panic. "Can't I just... wait!" He pointed to the metal pole that had been dropped casually in the middle of the room. "That thing I can use!" He tucked his gun away in his belt, opting for his trusty metal pole instead - even if it had been used against him that evening too. That only meant one thing to Ryan however: it hurt like a motherfucker.

The door opened far before Ryan was prepared for it, his heart sinking to the shrill screech of the metal scraping against the concrete. Ryan felt a hand on his shoulder, 'Legs' breathing sounding heavy; he couldn't tell if the guy was just nervous (though he doubted that given how nonchalant he had been about having a loaded gun being pointed at him) or about to pass out. Ryan certainly felt a mixture of both, he felt nauseous and dizzy from the fear alone.

The sound of the man coming down the stairs sang in sync with the pounding of Ryan's heart, drumming adrenaline into his body that he could hopefully use to knock the guy spark-out. The man seemed furious that the two had managed to escape, cursing under his breath and pulling his gun out. The sight made Ryan's blood run cold but he knew it was now or never: if the guy saw them first it would be all over.

He took a few cautious steps forward, sneaking up behind him and trying to hold his breath to be as silent as he possibly could. He had the pole raised, ready to strike when the man turned around. Ryan had never moved so quick in his life, jumping to his left whilst swinging the pole like a baseball bat. He connected with the back of the guys head just has he pulled the trigger. He didn't fall quite as quickly as 'Legs' had, instead stumbling forward a few paces before dropping down.

"I did it... holy shit! I did it!" Ryan wasn't so sure it was something to celebrate but his neurons were firing off in every direction, he couldn't contain it. "Did you see that!" He turned to 'Legs' who was now on the floor, clutching his thigh as blood pooled under his fingers.

Ryan looked down at the man he had knocked out, at the gun that lay at his feet. He did the smart thing and picked it up, putting the safety on and storing it in his belt with his own gun. He then looked back up at 'Legs', the guy who was supposed to be long dead by now at his own hand. If he left him here there was no chance he could get out, his leg had a hole in it now and he could barely even stand before. Ryan could just shut the basement door, lock the two men down there and leave. They'd probably kill each other and Ryan wouldn't have to worry about a thing.

The light coming from the lobby upstairs beckoned him, Ryan answering its call and approaching the stairs, looking through the gaps at 'Legs' who was trying to pull himself up. The second he made eye contact Ryan's plan suddenly had a moral dilemma attached.

"Don't go... please!" He begged, struggling to drag his body closer to Ryan - to the stairs and the only way out that he now guarded like Cerberus. "Come on, man, this guy's gonna kill me!"

"That's your problem." Was the most cold-hearted, badass thing Ryan could think of in the moment before he started walking up the stairs. He reached the top and hovered his hand over the handle of the door. All he had to do now was shut the door and lock it... 'just walk away Ryan, pretend this never happened' his mind reminded him of his plan.

'Legs' had managed to pull himself to the bottom of the stairs, cautiously glancing over at the unconscious man in the middle of the room. Ryan looked down at him, looking into the same eyes that crinkled into thin lines when he laughed earlier, the same eyes that had been a calming presence when he was having a panic attack at the diner. One of those eyes was now swollen and the other had a glint of terror Ryan recognised in his own eyes every time he looked in a mirror. This was all his fault: he'd caused this.

Being alone all his life had kept him alive. Having no ties to anyone had kept him safe. This guy would put him in more danger than he'd ever been in his life if he helped him out here; he could prevent that by simply closing the door and walking away... but Ryan couldn't just leave him there.

"Dammit." He groaned, rushing back down the stairs, grabbing 'Legs' roughly and pulling him up, the taller of the two yelping and gripping onto Ryan to steady himself. "One step at a time, but you've got to be quick. He's gonna wake up any second."

"Shit..." Was all 'Legs' mumbled, wobbling about on the spot.

"Hey man, you pass out on me and I leave you here." Ryan moved up the first step, 'Legs' slowly following him. It took them a while, each step agonisingly slow for the both of them, but eventually they made it to the top, 'Legs' panting heavily as Ryan sat him down on one of the sofas in the lobby. "Wait here."

Ryan locked the basement door, using the metal pole to secure it and one of the sofas to blockade it just to be on the safe side. He dusted his hands off and approached 'Legs' again, holding his hand out so he could use it to pull himself up.

"Come on, I'll take you to a hospital. It's the least I can do." He offered though it was quickly turned down.

"You heard that guy, he was sent by Bloody Mary... If she's after me then the hospitals aren't safe. She'll find me there. She'll come for you too now, Ricky. We're gonna have to stick together on this one." That certainly complicated things, the two of them didn't exactly get along after Ryan tried to murder him. This Bloody Mary woman also sounded like a big deal, she was probably a higher up, a boss or at the very least an associate of the New Orleans Mafia's boss. Ryan had never even heard of her, his own ties to the mob not warning him about her before flying him out here. "There's a hotel on the edge of town, the owners are real nut jobs who believe in ghosts and shit. Bloody Mary wont go near the place, she's got a thing for respecting spirits... we can hide there for now."

"You're going to bleed out, man. Isn't there some shady black market surgeon I can take you to?" It was worth a shot, granted 'Legs' had the ties of course.

"Yeah, 'cause I look like the kind of guy that keeps company with people who steal kidneys." He glowered, resting his head in his hands as he sighed. "I'm fine, I swear. I just need to clean it out and get some rest."

"Okay... okay, you win." Ryan gave in. "But are you going to be alright to give directions? No offence man but you look like shit. Are you're about to pass out?" 'Legs' pulled a series of expressions that tried to seem flippant and he waved it off with his hand.

"I'm fine. Big tough guy like me? This is nothing." Ryan would have to have been an idiot to believe him.

"Oh yeah? Let's go then." He took his offered hand back and walked over to the front doors. "Come on, flower shirt, thought you said this was nothing?" Ryan did think it was a shame that the shirt that suited the guy so well was probably stained forever and would have to be thrown away.

"Ricky, I literally have a hole in my leg." He reminded him, "You want to try walking with a hole in your leg? Give me one of your guns and let's find out if you can do it."

"Not a chance. Just because I saved your sorry ass doesn't mean I can trust you enough to give you a gun." Ryan walked back over to him, crouching down in front of the sofa. "But, just this once and I mean it: just this once... climb on my back." 'Legs' seemed somewhat taken aback by the offer.

"You do realise you're, like, three feet shorter than me, right? Can you even carry me?" Even now he was cracking jokes, Ryan was still considering the possibility that there was something seriously wrong with his brain. He wouldn't admit there was a sort of charm to how carefree he was though, he just liked to think it was because he saw him as a parallel to himself, he was just envious of him, that's all.

"You really are insufferable, you know that?"

"I know." He slid forward and wrapped his arms around Ryan's shoulders, Ryan hooking his arms under 'Legs' legs. "Most people say that about me."

"I can't imagine why." Ryan's words were laced with sarcasm. "Alright, then. Let's go."

'Legs' had managed to keep himself awake as he guided Ryan through the back streets of New Orleans, pointing out where to go at every turning whilst growing heavier and heavier on Ryan's back. He felt a little bit of pride for him to be able to fight off unconsciousness for that long, it was quite frankly impressive!

They arrived at the hotel about half an hour later, 'Legs' climbing off Ryan's back and keeping his head down as to not look suspicious. Ryan had a better idea and left him outside however, only booking a room with one, single sized bed so it would be on record that he came here alone. He liked to think he was playing it smart, but it also dawned on him that he would now have to spend the night with the guy who couldn't shut up with stupid jokes. Either that or he could just ditch him there.

Not to mention, as 'legs' had briefly mentioned: the hotel was supposedly haunted. Ryan believed in ghosts, he'd been scared of them all his life yet had always been fascinated by them. He'd never once stayed somewhere that was haunted, not even by coincidence; so when he saw the name of the hotel, being the Dauphine Orleans Hotel he felt a cold shiver down his spine. He had read about this place online, about how footsteps could be heard in vacant rooms and shadows moved around on their own. To say he was nervous about staying the night there was an understatement.

As he made his way back outside and towards the rooms he spied 'Legs' sitting against the same wall Ryan had left him at, his head leaning back and tilting up towards the sky. His eyes were closed and for a moment or two Ryan thought he had finally passed out, or worse (or better, depending on how Ryan felt in the moment) he was dead.

"Come on, idiot." Ryan nudged him with his foot to bring him back into action. "Let's get you in bed."

"Wow, coming on a bit strong, aren't you Ricky?" 'Legs' opened his eyes and looked up at him with a lopsided grin.

"I could just leave you out here, you know?" Ryan was very tempted, especially when his own face betrayed him and he blushed. In Ryan's defence he had been on a pretty fun date with the guy just before everything went very, very wrong.

He smuggled 'Legs' into the room with relative ease; there was hardly anyone about at this time of night and the hotel was remarkably understaffed. Once the door was closed Ryan felt like he could breathe for the first time that night, though he knew he still had one job left to do.

'Legs' slowly made his way over to the bed, dropping down on it with a groan as he held his leg tightly. Meanwhile Ryan explored the bathroom to find the first aid kit: luckily the hotel supplied one. He looked at where the bullet wound was and bit his lip, there was no subtle way to say what he was about to say.

"You're gonna need to take off your jeans." He knew he would receive a smirk for that one, Ryan doing his best to just move past it and helped 'Legs' slide the tight fabric down over his wound. It looked painful, Ryan wincing when he looked at it and almost gagging at the sight of blood that returned so many awful memories.

As always, 'Legs' seemed to find a way to make things both more awkward but calming at the same time. "You know, this isn't the way I imagined you would be taking my pants off tonight."

"Okay... I'm gonna need you to shut up." Ryan shook his head and took an alcohol wipe out from the first aid kit. "This is probably going to sting, by the way. If you behave maybe I'll be gentle."

"Oh, to hear you say that under different circumstances." He was clearly intent on making things more awkward, Ryan doing his best to try and ignore him as he gently wiped the blood surrounding the wound. "Y'know..." 'Legs' spoke through gritted teeth, "It's crazy to think that just a few inches north I would have got shot in the dick."

"Dude, please shut up." Ryan was blushing just thinking about it. "Though I know now why people know you as 'Legs'... these things are fucking long, man!"

"Yeah, that's not the only thing that's long - ow!" Ryan applied more pressure over the wound, effectively shutting him up. Working in silence was much easier, if not slightly more awkward. Ryan managed to clean away all the blood and take to wrapping 'Legs' upper thigh in bandages.

"That'll do for now. Let me know if it starts bleeding through it." Ryan took to disposing the wipes in the bathroom bin, returning to the room where 'Legs' was still silent. Ryan could tell there was something eating away at him, something he was dying to ask but couldn't quite find the words. He wasn't so sure that he was ready for such a potentially heavy conversation with a guy like him just yet so he let the two of them to continue to marinate in the silence, just until 'Legs' was ready to talk.

"Why did you come back for me back there? Wasn't it your job to kill me?" Ryan was still unsure of the answer to that himself. "Wouldn't it have just been easier to let that guy take care of me?" It must be a hard life he lived when the question that had been eating away at him was why someone had shown him sympathy. Ryan couldn't imagine 'Legs' had many opportunities to have people show him compassion and not shoot on sight.

Ryan thought about that for a second or two, avoiding eye contact with him as he did. He eventually just shrugged and finally met his eye, trying to be as nonchalant as 'Legs' usually was. "It wouldn't have felt right to leave you with him..." He started with, promptly adding. "I wanted to kill you myself."

"Well, I'm sat here in front of you, probably about to pass out. I've got a hole in my leg and you're blocking the door and only way out... what's stopping you from killing me now?" It was a fair question, though Ryan knew it was more of a test. 'Legs' still viewed him as someone who was incompetent at their job, someone who didn't have the guts to kill; Ryan didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified to find out how much of a coward he was... at least he was a coward with a moral compass, right?

"I still might just do it, you're a pretty annoying guy." Ryan spoke jokingly. "You know, if I was stuck in a room with you and the most evil, twisted guy on the planet and I had two bullets, I'd probably shoot you twice."

"Wow, aren't you a nice guy - and completely original, might I add." 'Legs' rolled his eyes, "I bet your mom would be so proud of that answer."

'Legs' had been making jokes all evening, making a new sarcastic comment every few minutes or disingenuous insult whenever someone said anything he didn't quite agree with. Ryan hadn't taken anything he had said to heart, nothing had even come close to insulting him so he was able to play off what he was saying and banter with the guy. It had been frustrating at times and at times it had remined him of his childhood, bickering with his brother over who got to be player one in a video game or who got to have the slightly bigger scoop of ice cream.

However when 'Legs' innocently made a joke about Ryan's mother, whom he had been with in her final moments as she faded from life on the kitchen floor, Ryan's mind decided in a split second that it was too far. Something within him snapped, his face dropping from mildly amused to blind fury.

Ryan took one of the guns from his belt and stormed over to 'Legs' who wore a confused and equally concerned expression on his face. Ryan pressed the gun against the taller man's temple, his finger aching to pull the trigger.

"Don't you dare even fucking talk about her!" Ryan's whole body was boiling with anger. How dare someone who had murdered people himself talk about his mom, about his family in general. The thought had even crossed his mind that maybe 'Legs' was the one who killed his family that night. It was baseless, just a throw away theory but it was enough of a possibility for Ryan to see red, especially as 'Legs' continued to be painfully casual about the situation.

"Can you do it?" He smiled that same lopsided grin he had worn outside the hotel, as though he was above the situation. "Can you really become a killer?" He could tell Ryan had never killed anyone before by the way that the gun trembled slightly against his temple. He looked Ryan directly in his eyes, an impish glint reflecting in them. "You've not got it in you, I can see it in your beady little eyes."

It was as if time stood still for Ryan, his anger getting the better of him.

He pulled the trigger.

'Legs' flinched, bringing his hands up to his head to try and protect himself as he squeezed his eyes closed. A moment or two later as he realised there wasn't a bullet in his brain or a ringing in his ears he untensed his body and opened his eyes, meeting Ryan's equally shocked and terrified expression. He knew the answer to the question he was about to ask, based off Ryan's expression, but he found himself asking it anyway in a timidly quiet voice.

"Did... did you know the safety was on?" His voice only brought more panic to Ryan, knowing the guy who had been so cavalier about this whole evening was now terrified of the guy he'd branded a coward - someone who wasn't capable of pulling the trigger.

Ryan shook his head, his eyes wide and his heart pounding. He slowly backed away from 'Legs' and sat down against the wall beside the bed. He brought his knees up to his chest and held his head in his hands, the gun still quivering in his grip.

"I just shot you." Ryan's voice was vacant, his mind fogging over and leaving him in a state of shock, alone in the mist with only 'Legs' voice to try and save him from getting lost.

"Hey, it's okay, Ricky! I'm not dead, look I'm alive." He assured, shuffling over to the edge of the bed and swinging his legs over, it hurt to move and gave 'Legs' a queasy feeling from the constant ache, but he was reliant on Ryan right now; he couldn't walk on his own and had no chance of getting out of New Orleans alive without him. He needed to push through the pain and be there for him, even if the guy had literally just pulled the trigger on him.

"I shot you!" Ryan spoke louder, trying his best to hold in his emotions and not become hysterical.

"I was just being an asshole, that was on me. I wound you up when I should have been... I should have... I'm sorry, Ricky." He actually apologised, the words not helping Ryan with his hysterics but it certainly cut a path through the fog in his mind.

"It's not that, it's the fact that I feel bad about it! I shouldn't feel bad! I should have just shot you back in the basement and been done with it, but I couldn't fucking do it! That guy who was going to kill us? I couldn't bring myself to kill him either!" 'Legs' tentatively placed his hand on Ryan's shoulder.

"Maybe that's a good thing?" He tried to talk some sense into Ryan, "You're a good guy, Ricky."

"How the hell could I have protected them back then... I always thought if I joined the mob I'd be brave and maybe... maybe I could convince myself that if I'd been at home I could have protected them but..." 'Legs' tried not to show his visual confusion over the topic, his brain whirring and trying to figure out just what he was talking about. "If I'd have been home it wouldn't have made any difference. They'd still be dead and I'd still be alone."

Crushing realisation hit 'Legs' like the bullet that hit his thigh: Ryan was talking about his family. "I'm so sorry, Ricky. I really didn't know... I was being a dick earlier, honestly I'm sure your mom would be proud of you for not being some vengeful murderer."

"I've joined the fucking Mafia, 'Legs'! How could she be proud of that?" Ryan hit himself on the head with the gun, not hard but enough to clearly hear the sound of the impact. Even if the safety was on 'Legs' was still cautious of the way Ryan had moved it around so suddenly.

"I'm sure you had your reasons." 'Legs' was certainly in no position to judge Ryan on his life choices, given that he was part of the same lifestyle.

"I wanted protection. I was just so fucking alone and scared all the time! I just wanted to feel safe!" Ryan wasn't quite comfortable with the fact that he was having a heart-to-heart with a murderer. He really should have been having this conversation with his therapist - if he even still had her number saved to his phone. He had a feeling she would be slightly more judgemental than 'Legs' was being about this whole situation.

"I understand where you're coming from, Ricky." 'Legs' tried his best to empathise with Ryan, although he didn't quite seem comfortable to talk about his own woes. "I've been alone for so long because of the Mob. I know what it feels like to want protection... but this isn't the way forward, buddy."

Ryan shook his head and looked up with a slightly tainted version of his furious expression from earlier. "I'm not your fucking buddy!" He clicked the safety off this time and aimed the gun at him, 'Legs' raising his hands in surrender. "You're a fucking murderer! Why should I be scared about killing you?"

"Come on... we both know this isn't the right thing to do." His voice was so calm it drove Ryan mad. "Give me the gun, Ricky."

Ryan glared at him for what felt like an eternity before turning the gun on himself, closing his eyes and feeling the cool metal of his revolver against his skin. The clatter of the bullets in the chamber rattled in tune with his shaking hand. If he couldn't shoot the guy who kept taunting him there was no way he could pull the trigger on himself, though Ryan had to admit there was something much more simple about shooting himself instead.

"Ricky... give me the gun." 'Legs' leaned forward, holding his hands towards the gun and inching closer as slow as a lion stalking an innocent antelope. "This isn't the way forward, you know it's not. Please... give me the gun." Ryan felt 'Legs' hands cover his own, pulling the gun away from him with ease; Ryan didn't even put up a fight. 'Legs' took the gun and clicked the safety back on, placing it at the far side of the bed and letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

When he turned back to Ryan the shorter of the two stood up, wiping his eyes which were now wet with tears and made sure to tread quickly as he shut himself in the bathroom. As much as he hated the feeling: he just needed to be alone for a moment. Despite having a breakdown in front of the guy twice now he didn't want 'Legs' to see him crying, as if that was where he drew the line and aiming a gun at him not once, not twice but three times was okay.

Having a shower would hopefully clear his head, or at least Ryan prayed it would. Washing away the blood that had been staining his bruised temple and cheek certainly helped him feel a little bit better, that was for certain; the warmth of the water also helping his tense muscles to unwind and melt into the steam. It wasn't until after he was finished that he realised there was a jacuzzi tub that he regretted not slipping into instead, though when he tested it he was disappointed to find the jets didn't work.

He stepped out the shower feeling slightly more human, able to breathe a little bit deeper and think a little bit clearer. He dried himself off with the towel the hotel supplied and dressed himself in his suit once more, wishing he had different clothes to wear. If he was going on the run he'd make sure to buy an outfit that made him less conspicuous for sure.

When the bathroom door opened Ryan was expecting 'Legs' to ask him if he was okay in his own unique, jovial way; the two weren't exactly friends after all. He was expecting a subtle comment or joke to ease the tension between them. Instead all Ryan heard was a croaky groan coming from him as he opened one eye to glance over before closing it again.

'Legs' was now lying on his side, cheek pressed firmly into the side of the pillow with the duvet pulled up to his chin. He was paler than before, his bruises and split lip standing out in stark contrast on his face in a way that made Ryan wince. He couldn't believe this guy still hadn't passed out, although he had a feeling it was only a matter of seconds.

"You look like shit, man." Ryan gave a helpful observation, receiving a middle finger in response. "You sure you don't want to go to the hospital?"

"'M sure." He mumbled in response, Ryan walking over to the bed and sighing as he looked to the small table beside it. 'Legs' had placed the gun there, right beside the little table lamp that struggled to illuminate the room. There was still something within Ryan that knew his troubles here in New Orleans would be over if he just picked it up and shot him. He could call Father Thomas and be out of there by sunrise, his own personal bodyguards meeting him at the airport. He knew what he had to do, the gun was right there and 'Legs' was barely conscious but he was right about Ryan and had been all along: he didn't have it in him.

Ryan sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the gun, looking at his distorted reflection and sighing. "What's the real reason you didn't kill me?" 'Legs' mumbled from the pillow, eyes still closed. "If we're stuck with each other I'd at least like to know why."

"We're not stuck with each other. No one said anything about his being stuck together." Ryan denied as he put the gun down. "I'm heading back to LA anyway, keeping my head low on the way. I don't need your massive noggin giving me away. You can head on back to Chicago or wherever that guy said you're from and tell your little mob friends you gave ol' Goldsworth the slip." Ryan hoped if he left 'Legs' in the state he was in someone from the Orleans Mafia would take care of him eventually; either that or he wouldn't survive the night which would make everything so much easier on Ryan.

"I uh... I would but I kinda quit." 'Legs' admitted, opening his eyes now. Ryan turned back to him with a sceptical look, unable to take his words at face value. For all he knew it could be some type of trick to get him to lower his guard and 'Legs' could kill him in his sleep. "I was out here trying to lay low, blend in... I was hoping to just be free of all this shit. Right up until you came along... guess I was in idiot to think you can get out once you get in."

"Sure." Ryan scoffed, trying not to think about the misty eyed look he was currently facing. "No one just quits the mob. What were you really up to here? Hm? Stirring more shit?" I bet you were planning on killing more of the New Orleans Mafia, weren't you? Is that why that guy came after you - why this Bloody Mary lady is still after you?" Ryan chose not to believe him, he's always been good at letting his paranoia get the better of him, after all. It was part of the reason he wanted protection from the mob in the first place.

"I'm not some fuckin' crazed murderer, Ricky." 'Legs' sounded offended. "I don't know why that guy showed up when he did. I thought he was from the lot in Chicago I used to run with who'd come after me... or I thought maybe that he was part of your crew... right up until he knocked your sorry ass out." Ryan rolled his eyes at his own unprofessionalism; he was still kicking himself about not locking the door. "I guess they're after us both now, so well done on that."

"How's that my fault? How could I have possibly known they'd come after you at the same time I did?" He was getting rather sick of 'Legs' belittling him. He didn't know Ryan, he didn't know his plight or how he got to the spot he was in, not really. He might think he knew, but Ryan was stubborn in believing 'Legs' didn't know a single thing about him - he didn't even know his name.

"I guess you couldn't have known that... but I bet your precious lil' LA gangsters probably did." His voice was croaky but his mind was still sharp, "You got duped, Ricky. They sent you after someone even they had trouble getting to and in a city they had high tensions with... they weren't expecting you to come back." He hit the nail on the head, annoyingly so.

"They didn't dupe me. They told me you would be a hard guy to kill. I knew that coming into this. I was ready for it and, dammit, I came pretty close to succeeding!" Ryan glowered at him, "I had nothing left to lose. I needed to do this! I need their protection! It's hard for a guy to sleep at night in LA when he lives on his own, y'know? Especially after my parents... well, you don't need to know anything more about that." Ryan stopped himself before he gave away all his deepest and personal secrets. He knew 'Legs' had pieced together what had happened to them, but he didn't want him to think Ryan trusted him enough to tell him all the gory details.

"They told you about me and you still came out here? Are you stupid?" Ryan didn't like the holes he was poking in his logic. "Wait... wait, hang on. Let me get this straight.... you wanted to feel safe so you joined a gang? Not a great plan."

"I don't have to explain myself to you!" Ryan huffed as he stood up and headed for the door.

"You're leaving?" 'Legs' pulled himself up slightly, wincing at the pain his leg when he did.

"Yeah. I'm not staying around here with you. I need to get back to LA before those guys find you and kill us both." Ryan didn't feel safe with 'Legs' around, even if his annoying comments were giving him a sense of comfort. "You should just get some sleep. Wash your bandages out in the morning, else you're gonna get an infection. Good luck with trying to get that peace you wanted, 'Legs'."

"Shane."

"Huh?" Ryan turned back to him.

"My name's Shane." He wasn't looking at Ryan anymore, instead he was fidgeting with the duvet. "Shane Madej... I take it you're not actually called Ricky? Well, you might be, but Goldsworth sounds obviously made up. I sussed that out the second you told me."

"I'm not telling you my name just because you're stupid enough to tell me yours." Ryan was a little bit harsh with him, but deep down he felt flattered that 'Legs' - no, Shane had told him his real name. It meant that on some level Shane trusted him... either that or it was because he was tired of going by a nickname associated with a life he was trying to leave behind. "Get some sleep, Shane." Ryan opened the door and stepped out of the room. He breathed in the cool mid-summer's night air and looked up to the sky, leaning his head back against the door.

What the hell was he doing here? Everything had gone so wrong. He was miles from home, he was all alone, probably being tracked as he stood there in the open like a fool. To make matters worse: he knew he was trapped. He couldn't go back by plane, the New Orleans mob would be expecting that. He didn't have a car, he didn't have a stable place to stay and he had no friends or family that could bail him out. The only person in the entire state that he knew was Shane.

Shane...

Ryan felt like screaming, crying or falling to his knees and cursing whichever god had been laughing at all his plans; perhaps he would do all three. He knew giving into his fears and crying about things wouldn't do him any favours though. He had to do his best to keep his head held high, if he gave up now he knew that eventually it would get him killed.

Ryan looked up at the stars, watching them burn brightly from millions of miles away. Stargazing was calming, something he'd always taken comfort in on particularly difficult nights, but he knew standing out in the cold whilst he was a wanted man would do him no favours. As much as he hated to admit it: he was stuck with Shane. He knew his way around the city and had far more connections than Ryan could hope to have; Shane was his best shot of getting out of this alive.

He swallowed his pride and stepped back into the room, Shane opening his eyes with heavy lids and frowning at him. "Thought you were leaving?" Ryan was only outside for five minutes at most but Shane already sounded worse than before. Ryan hoped he was just tired and not showing signs of an infection.

"Yeah, well... change of plans." Ryan locked the door behind him and stepped further into the room. "It dawned on me that I don't really know my way around here... I've got no transport, I can't get to the airport without these mob guys tracking me down. I've got no friends out here, not even old acquaintances... I hate to say it, but all I have is you."

"You saying you'd miss me if you wandered off, Ricky?" Shane joked, even if his humour didn't quite break through his groggy speech. "I'm flattered."

"Ryan." He figured, what the hell, they're in this together like it or not. "Ryan Bergara... but let me tell you now, Shane. If you even think about going behind my back and getting me in even more danger I'll put a bullet between your eyes - and I mean it this time!"

"Mm... okay." Shane agreed to that fairly quickly, not believing Ryan in the slightest. He knew Ryan was a troubled individual, but the two had hopefully bonded enough by now for Shane to bypass Ryan's wannabe mobster side. "So, what's the plan?"

"It's gonna take weeks - no, probably months to walk it back to LA. We'd have to be total idiots to do that... so hopefully the mob won't track us if we do." Ryan's plan was certainly flawed and needed a few revisions or perhaps a total overhaul, but for now it was all he could think to do.

"Your plan is to literally walk half way across the state?" Shane closed his eyes again and sighed, his breath shaking as it hit the air. "You're full of bright ideas, aren't you? I'm shocked you actually managed to track me down in the first place. It's even a miracle we're both still alive."

"Hey, man, shut up." Ryan huffed, "There's not a lot of options, besides, like I said... it's our best shot of getting out of Louisiana without a bullet between the eyes."

"Okay, so by some miracle we do make it to LA... what then? Your mob pals are gonna welcome me, the guy they sent you to kill, with open arms? Hm?" Shane had a point, Ryan begrudgingly admitted. "You just turn up and say, 'hey, don't worry, he's with me, we're pals now' and expect them to not kill us both on sight?"

"I don't know!" Ryan snapped and pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a long sigh to calm down. "I don't know, okay... I just - I just want to go home..." The words were quiet as they left his tongue, but they spoke volumes to Shane. He knew exactly how Ryan felt.

"Alright..." Shane opened his eyes once more and patted the small space on the bed next to him. "Come on, we've got a long day ahead of us. We should both get some sleep."

Ryan looked down at the bed like it had just stomped on an innocent butterfly. "I'm not sharing a bed with you, dude. I was literally going to kill you half an hour ago."

"Alright, fine." Shane shrugged. "More room for me. You can enjoy the floor." He was very good at getting under Ryan's skin.

"Actually, no. Fuck you, move up." Ryan changed his mind after considering his only other options were sleeping in the jacuzzi or on the hard, cold floor. Shane shuffled backwards, wincing as he moved his leg. "You alright?" Ryan asked, forgetting for a moment that this was in fact the guy who was supposed to be dead at his hand.

"Yeah, this is nothing." Shane waved it off. "Just caught me off guard." Ryan climbed into the bed next to him, paranoid he was about to fall off the edge, his body didn't quite fit on all the way, but he also didn't want to ask Shane to move closer to the wall. As much as the taller man didn't want to admit it, Ryan could tell he was in more pain than he was letting on. "This isn't the way I expected to be in bed with you tonight... I'm still kind of offended you only wanted to go out with me because you were planning on killing me. Makes it hard for a guy like me to get over his trust issues, y'know?"

"Please shut up and go to sleep." Ryan sighed, debating going to find some duct tape and shutting Shane up for the entire journey.

It was silent as the two lay there together, Ryan fidgeting as he kept inching closer to Shane to get away from the edge of the bed, then inching closer to the edge of the bed to get away from Shane. He seriously regretted booking a room with a single, small bed now. He should have gone with at least a double. If only he hadn't been planning on leaving Shane here from the start.

"You want me to move over more?" Shane mumbled, Ryan giving in and deciding, what the hell, he didn't like the guy anyway, who cares if he was in pain?

"Yeah." Ryan muttered, Shane taking a deep breath before shuffling backwards so that his back was pressed into the wall. There still wasn't much space, but there was just enough so that Ryan could get onto the bed fully without touching Shane.

More silence.

It was quiet... too quiet.

"Be honest with me, Ryan..." Shane broke the silence, his breath against Ryan's neck as he spoke which sent involuntary shivers down his spine. "Why didn't you just leave me to die down there? You'd be out of here by now, home free... but you threw that away for me. Why?"

"You're supposed to be this big mafia tough guy from Chicago. You've killed dozens of people and got away with every single one. You've got hundreds of men after you and yet you were just partying in New Orleans? Right out in the open? You seemed like the bravest, yet most fuckin' insane guy I'd ever met." Ryan tilted his head to look at Shane, pulling his head back slightly when he realised just how close he was lying to him. "I guess I didn't expect you to look so terrified when that guy showed up and knocked me out."

"I wasn't scared." Shane denies, "He just caught me off guard. It was surprise on my face, not fear."

"Right." Ryan looked back up at the ceiling. "I couldn't just leave you there though. I've never done this before-"

"Really? I couldn't tell."

"Fuck you, I'm trying to be genuine here! I mean it though, I've got no fucking clue what I'm doing here..." The frustration Ryan felt was unparalleled. He felt so useless and naïve. "The only thing I was sure of was... was that I wouldn't have been able to sleep at night if I just left you there. You're welcome, by the way."

"Thanks for endangering me then backing out at the last second." Shane didn't sound very sincere, although he was grateful deep down. "Guess that means you'll sleep like a baby tonight then... that was a hint to shut up and go to sleep now by the way."

"You were the one who started the conversation!" 'This guy is a total jackass' Ryan thought with a glare aimed in his direction. "Why don't you go to sleep first? I'm not even tired."

"Neither am I." Shane very clearly was, he was struggling to keep his eyes open and his head kept dipping into the pillow. "Besides, you're the one who was threatening to murk me earlier! How do I know you're not going to blow my brains out the second I let my guard down?"

"I could say the same about you." Ryan retorted.

"Fine. Guess I'm not sleeping then." He folded his arms with a pout. Shane wasn't even going to blink, Ryan too. The both of them ending up in a staring contest that was more of a test of wills than a matter of endurance.

"Fine. Guess we'll just stay here all night. I'm not falling asleep first." Ryan could be just as stubborn as Shane if he wanted to.

"Neither am I. Get ready for a sleepless night, Bergara." Ryan moved so he was lying on his side, glaring into Shane's tired yet unblinking eyes. He'd crack any second, Ryan knew it. What he didn't expect was for Shane to smirk and blow into Ryan's eyes, forcing him to blink.

"That's cheating, you asshole!" Ryan cursed and shoved Shane on his arm. He didn't nudge him hard but it was enough force to cause the taller man's body to judder on the bed slightly, which was when pain flared up in his thigh. Shane squeezed his eyes shut and gripped the wound on his leg.

"Motherfucker!" Shane hissed under his breath at no one in particular.

"You had that one coming." Ryan said, although he had been meaning to apologise.

"Sorry..." Shane said for him, taking Ryan off guard. Why was he apologising? Ryan was the one who went and caused him pain. Ryan was the one who'd lured him to a hotel a few hours ago and tied him to a chair in the basement. Ryan was the one who'd knocked him out and eventually led him to getting shot in the leg. This was all Ryan's fault, so why the hell was Shane apologising?

He was certainly a hard guy to read. It was like he was just as clueless as Ryan. Ryan had a feeling Shane was plotting something; no one could be as careless as he was, partying in new Orleans like he wasn't a wanted man. There was more to it, Ryan would get to the bottom of it eventually.

"You really should have gone to a hospital." Ryan felt bad about their hasty thinking. A shady, haunted hotel in the middle of nowhere was a good hideout to keep them alive, but it would be for nothing if Shane bled out before morning.

"I'm fine, Ryan." Shane spoke through gritted teeth. "Big tough guy like me, this is tame."

"I dread to think." Ryan wasn't so sure getting used to being shot was the right lifestyle he was seeking. In fact, this whole time he was more scared than he had been the night he was left all on his own as a child. "Either way, let me have a look. You might have bled through the bandages by now."

"It's fine, Ryan." Shane swatted him away when Ryan moved his hand to grab the duvet. "Or do you just like staring at my long legs, huh?"

"I'm not - you... I'm... you're insufferable!" Ryan was flustered but it didn't stop him pulling the duvet back and inspecting Shane's wound. The bandages he had wrapped him with were holding but they were already starting to show spots of various shades of red. "You're still bleeding."

"Well yeah, there's a hole in my leg, genius." Shane mumbled. "Don't worry about it. It's fine." Shane hoped that if he kept repeating that he was fine Ryan would finally start to believe him.

"I'll change the bandages in the morning and the first place we'll head for is a pharmacy for better wraps. I'll see if I can get something to help with the pain too." Ryan at least wanted to help ease the pain... that and he didn't want to carry him for the entire journey.

"You'd need a prescription unless you plan on getting something that wont even help with a headache. They could probably track us through that." Shane informed him.

"Oh... yeah, I guess." Ryan moved back, sitting against the headrest. Shane looked up at him and nudged his arm lightly.

"Don't look so worried. If I can spend a week in the same city without really trying to hide we can get out of this alive." Shane adjusted his position so he was more comfortable, though the burning in his leg wasn't helpful in that. "Stick with me and everything will be fine."

"I guess..." Ryan sighed, pulling his knees up to his chest.

"Really, Ryan, don't worry. I'll keep you safe... just as long as you promise to do the same for me." Shane wasn't asking much, just that they would look out for each other whilst they worked together. Ryan wasn't so sure he'd be capable of protecting Shane, but it did make him feel better knowing he would have some trained, master assassin looking after him. Even if he was an asshole.

"Okay." It wasn't very assuring, but it was enough for Shane.

"Great... now shut up and go to sleep."

Ryan struggled to fall asleep, spending most of his night staring at the ceiling and listening to whoever was above them stomping around constantly. He managed to convince himself that it was just whoever was in the room above him pacing out some serious life changing decision; perhaps a new job offer or what to have for breakfast. His mind did keep drifting back to the idea that maybe Bloody Mary stayed away from this place for a reason. Maybe there really were malicious spirits haunting the hotel.

By the time Shane started snoring like a bear Ryan gave in to the idea that he wouldn't be getting much sleep. His mind was too preoccupied anyway. He spent the night thinking over every horrible possibility that could happen when morning rolled around. He thought about whether they would even survive leaving the hotel, or survive leaving the street the hotel was on. What if they got caught before they even left the block?

He couldn't focus much on the positives, on what it would feel like to relax for the first time in a long, long time. To spend time with someone who was actually looking out for him, someone who he could joke around with if he just learned to let go a little. It hadn't crossed his mind that being stuck with Shane was more of a blessing than a curse.

Before Ryan could realise it, the stress of the day caught up with him and he drifted slowly off to sleep, anxious about what the future could possibly hold.

[kieraswriting]

Coffin/Labeled Crossover

Masterpost

(Labeled Universe is by @snowdice)

Virgil woke up in a bedroom that was definitely not his. And for some reason Patton had him trapped in a full-body cuddle. But what was stranger was that the room wasn’t Patton’s and Logan’s either. And Logan was nowhere to be seen.

Patton shifted and yawned, and Virgil startled back, because that was…. Those were fangs! In Patton’s mouth!

What had happened?! Had some villain managed to kidnap them both in their sleep? And do something to Patton? But why? And why just one of them? Unless he had fangs too. But a quick check assured him that he did not have fangs.

Patton let out a small groan. “Where’ you goin’?” And then his nose wrinkled and he opened his eyes. He looked up at Virgil, and his expression just got more and more confused with every second. “Wh… Who are you?”

“You don’t remember me?” Virgil asked, more and more questions about what had happened to Patton racing through his head.

Patton’s confused frown deepened. “No. You… aren’t… Are you Virgil? What did you do?”

Virgil was incredibly concerned that Patton didn’t know who he was anymore, or at least wasn’t sure. “Yeah, I’m Virgil. But I didn’t do anything. I think we may have been kidnapped. Do you remember anything strange about last night?”

Patton just squinted at him harder. “You aren’t Virgil.”

“I am. Whoever kidnapped us must have done something to your mind. Let’s get out of here, and then we can get you help.”

Patton still just frowned and squinted at him in an incredibly confused way. “Virgil isn’t a human.”

It was as if the last little bubble of ‘this makes sense’ in his brain had popped. “What— what else— what else would I be?”

“A vampire.”

Patton said it so casually, as if it was the one thing he was sure of in the situation. Virgil began wondering if this could be an incredibly elaborate prank.

“Where’s Logan?”

“Probably in the kitchen, why? How do you know Logan?”

“Cause he’s my—“ Virgil froze. This might not actually be Patton. It could all be a trick to get information from him. An incredibly strange trick, but a trick. He shut his mouth tight and slid off the bed, trying the door handle. To his surprise, it opened easily, but then Patton grabbed his arm, his grip somehow incredibly strong.

“Who are you, really? What did you do with V— with my Virgil?”

“Yeah, well who are you, really?” Virgil snapped, trying to pull his arm back.

Patton frowned slightly, in a very familiar ‘huh’ face that Virgil had seen a million times before, and was creeped out to be seeing now. He let go of Virgil.

“I don’t know what’s going on here, but we’ll find it out faster if we work together.” He even gave the same puppy eyes. “Yeah?”

Virgil sighed. Better a creepy not-Patton for a friend than an enemy. “Sure.”

He opened the door, easily finding his way to the kitchen, where Logan was cooking breakfast. Cooking it by hand. Which, while not necessarily suspicious, could certainly be suspicious.

“Logan,” Virgil said, watching closely and feeling like he was in a terrible 3D spot-the-difference.

“Yes—“

Virgil flung his hand forward, as if he were throwing something at him.

Logan flinched back, making a startled sound and scanning the empty air. “What?! What was that?”

Virgil’s face tightened, anxiety weighing heavy in his gut. If Logan didn’t have his powers either…

“This isn’t Virgil,” Patton explained. “Or not our Virgil. We’re both more than a little confused.”

“But why would you throw something, or pretend to?” Logan snapped, seeming more irritated than Virgil was used to. And…

Virgil spun to look at Patton again. He could hardly believe he hadn’t noticed sooner. all of the insane things, and this one had been staring him straight in the face the whole time and he hadn’t seen it. “You’re young.”

He turned to look at Logan. “Both of you are. You’re really young.”

They both just stared at him. As if he’d said something both dumb and deeply concerning.

“You look… maybe a bit older?” Patton said.

Virgil just sighed, sitting down on a stool and rubbing his face. “This whole thing makes no sense!”

As a last-ditch option, he tried making a shadow. And let out a relieved sigh when it worked.

“How did you do that?!” Logan exclaimed, and Virgil looked up to see both of them staring as if he’d grown a second head.

“It’s not that far out there. Even if you don’t remember me, at least you remember… you don’t, do you? People don’t have superpowers.” A horrifying thought was dawning on him. An impossible thought. Impossible other than the fact that it apparently had gone and happened anyway.

They both shook their heads.

Virgil groaned. “This whole thing is so weird!”

Patton shuffled around a bit before asking. “Did you figure it out?”

“Ugh, maybe? My best guess is that somehow a villain managed to get me into another dimension. But it shouldn’t be possible, and how are they supposed to get me back? Can I… what if I’m stuck here?” It was like a tight band closed around his chest, squeezing all the air out. “My dads are gonna be so worried. I have to get back. I have to!”

“It’s alright,” Patton said gently. “We’ll help you however we can. Do you think you maybe got switched with our Virgil? That he’ll come back when you go?”

Virgil groaned again, dropping his head into his hands. “I don’t know!”

“Logan?” Patton asked.

“I-I am also extremely confused. He’s right, this shouldn’t be possible, and yet somehow it has happened. I suppose— it seems likely, since it appears he has been switched with Virgil, that returning him will also return Virgil to us. But I have no idea how to go about that.”

The door opened, and a voice unmistakably Remy’s rang out. “Who’s the new human friend?”

Virgil looked up, and saw Remy. But not Remy. It was so much. All of it. Too much. He hated it. He hated seeing familiar faces and voices just off enough to be incredibly uncanny.

Remy seemed equally put off by him as well. “Is everyone here seeing what I’m seeing?”

Patton and Logan nodded.

The weight of everything was crashing over Virgil. It just didn’t stop. And then Roman walked in, looking to be in his mid twenties, and Virgil stifled a sob.

Patton grabbed his arm gently. “Let’s put you back to bed for a bit. This is a lot, isn’t it? It’ll be better once you wake up.”

Virgil allowed himself to be led back to the bedroom, and laid down on the bed. He didn’t think he’d be able to sleep, his mind whirring away so fast and his breathing speeding up to match it. But then Remy peeked in the room, and as soon as their eyes met a wave of calm and tired flooded over everything else, and Virgil’s eyelids dragged down.

•^*^••

Virgil woke up groggy, and sat up in the bed frowning at the strange room for several minutes before he remembered why he was there. He let out a long sigh and wrapped a blanket around his shoulders.

He had a few options. He could try calling Logan and Patton, his Logan and Patton, in case this was all still a crazy hoax. If that didn’t work, he could try walking out as far as these people would let him go, unleash hell with shadows, and see if there was any kind of effect. Maybe a crumbling force field, or a portal opening, or something. And if that also didn’t do anything, he’d… well, he’d have to wait to be rescued.

But a large part of him didn’t want to leave the calm room. Didn’t want to face the people. They were just creepy! So close, but not quite, and then Vampires? Vampires?!

Well, easy things first. He’d just have to ask to borrow a phone.

Virgil got up, leaving the blanket and the illusion of safety behind, and opened the door.

No one was crowded behind it at least, though he could hear a murmured conversation from the living room with many familiar voices.

There was a hush, and Patton spoke first. “Virgil? You’re awake?”

There was no way Patton could see him, and he definitely shouldn’t have been able to hear him either. But everything else was so weird already.

“Yeah, I’m awake.” Virgil walked out into the living room, seeing a whole group of mostly familiar faces.

“We made you some food in case you were hungry.”

Virgil nodded. “Thanks. Can I… borrow a phone?”

“We’re sure he’s not just doing some kind of weird vampire magic?” Roman said, gesturing towards him.

Dr. Picani, even Dr. Picani was here??, smacked Roman’s arm lightly.

“Of course you can,” Patton said, handing his phone over.

Virgil accepted, trying not to let all the creepiness and all the pairs of eyes staring at him get to him too much. He took the phone to the kitchen, where there was a plate covered in plastic wrap with his name scrawled on the top.

He sat down, just holding the phone.

There was a part of him that didn’t want to put the numbers in. Didn’t want the confirmation that there would be no answer. But… but there could be. He’d try Logan first.

Virgil dialed the number and chewed on his lip while the phone rang.

An unfamiliar feminine voice answered. “Hello?”

Virgil nearly hung up immediately, but instead he took in a deep breath. “Is Logan Sanders anywhere near there?”

“No? I think you have the wrong number.” She hung up.

Virgil let out a heavy breath. He could still try Patton. Or maybe he’d messed up the number.

He dialed Patton’s cell phone number.

“The number you are calling is unable to be reached,” a robotic voice said.

Virgil set the phone down, frowning intently at the kitchen counter, as if it held answers of some kind. But it didn’t. He ate whatever was on the plate, not paying much attention, and then walked out the kitchen door.

Quickly someone was following him, but Virgil didn’t turn to look, just kept walking. He expected them to stop him, but when they still didn’t after several silent minutes he turned to see Not-Patton.

“Why does it have to be you?” He asked, not caring anymore about trying to be tactful.

Not-Patton frowned slightly. “Is it a problem? I can ask someone else to come out here instead.”

“It is! You’re-- you look like my… you look like someone important to me. It’s creepy.”

Not-Patton’s face got very sad. “I understand. You look like someone very important to me also. And… I mean, not that I really want to kick you out or anything, but I’m on your side as far as I’d like to switch you back with him as soon as possible.”

Virgil nodded, turning back away from him. He was still trying to hold onto that slim thread of hope that he was caught inside of some mind-controlled, or reality-altering bubble. And that he’d be able to break out somehow.

He focused on a spot between two trees, and unleashed shadows upon the spot. He attacked with all he had in him, ignoring the startled and worried yelling from Not-Patton.

But finally, he had to admit that nothing was happening. The trees were a bit shredded and smouldering slightly, but there wasn’t anything that would indicate the ‘bubble’ he’d hoped for.

Virgil sank to the ground, burying his face in his hands. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair for nothing to make sense. And for nothing to work. And for him to be the one here. He was dumb, he couldn’t find his way home. It should’ve been Logan. He’d be home by now, telling them the story of how he got out and stopped the person responsible from trapping anyone else.

He didn’t have any more ideas.

“Virgil?” Not-Patton asked, gently, and from a short distance. “Are you alright?”

Virgil shook his head.

Not-Patton made a wry well-of-course-you-aren’t-alright face. “Did you get hurt?”

Virgil shook his head again.

“That seemed like a whole lot of… whatever it was. Do you need anything?”

Virgil groaned. “It’s not fair that you’re so similar!” he mumbled into his arms.

Not-Patton chuckled slightly. “Yeah, I bet that’s pretty confusing. Would you like to come back to the house or would you rather stay out here?”

Virgil strongly considered staying put, exactly where he was, until something changed. But he knew it wouldn’t actually help anything. So he finally nodded and stood up. “We can go back to the house.”

Not-Patton offered him a sympathetic smile.

Virgil slumped onto the couch in the house, grateful that at least the house wasn’t the same as his.

“Would you rather I hang around, or leave you alone?” Not-Patton asked.

“Leave me alone please.”

Not-Patton nodded. “I’ll ask the others to stay out too.”

Virgil grabbed a pillow, put it in his lap, and buried his face in it.

•^*^••

“Hey…”

Virgil looked up, unsure of how long he’d been sitting there, and saw Not-Roman. “Hi,” he said, tone completely flat in hopes of discouraging whatever this was.

“I… wanted to apologize. For assuming you were playing a prank on us.”

Virgil snorted. “I wish I was.”

Not-Roman offered a wry smile. “But anyway, I was thinking, maybe, while we still don’t know what to do, you’d want to do something? Make the time pass faster?”

Virgil shrugged. “Like what?”

Not-Roman shrugged also, even his shrug just as exaggerated as Virgil was used to. “I don’t know. I mean… I have paint? I don’t know if you’d care for that.”

Virgil just shrugged silently.

Not-Roman sighed, and sat down, clearly trying to think of something else to do.

“Did Patton put you up to this?” Virgil asked.

Not-Roman’s face told him all he needed to know.

“You don’t need to entertain me.”

Not-Roman looked a bit embarrassed. “Well, even if you didn’t look like Virgil, it wouldn’t be very right to leave a guest moping on the couch.”

Virgil glared. “I wasn’t moping.”

Not-Roman shrugged with a teasing grin.

How dare he look so much like Roman. It wasn’t fair.

“At the very least I could turn on the tv,” Not-Roman offered.

“Only if it’s a movie. I don’t want to know any more about… vampires. ”

Not-Roman bristled immediately. “Why?”

Clearly it was a touchier subject than Virgil had thought. “They don’t exist. At least not where I come from. It’s weird.”

Not-Roman relaxed a bit. “Well, yeah, I guess if they didn’t exist. Just, be careful what you say. Several live here now, and they can hear you.”

Virgil shrugged. He didn’t want to offend them or anything, but he hoped he’d be gone before he had a chance to. “Ok.”

Not-Roman nodded. “So, do you think you have the same taste as our Virgil in movies?”

That seemed to be the first actually interesting question yet. “I don’t know. What does he like?”

Not-Roman sort of shrugged. “Well, we haven’t gotten too far into the list yet, but we’ve got the Black Cauldron and The Nightmare Before Christmas. And he doesn’t seem to mind most Disney.”

Virgil nodded. “Yeah that’s pretty close, as far as it goes. What’s stopping you from getting farther into his movie list?”

Not-Roman’s face sort of twisted, emotions flickering across quickly. “It’s complicated. Mostly it’s time. We haven’t had all that much downtime.”

Virgil nodded.

“Well, why don’t I just start one of these!” Not-Roman said, a fake energy infusing his tone in an attempt to change the subject.

Soon the movie was playing, and Virgil was content to just sit and watch it. He was a bit surprised that it was still the same, though it was also a relief. There wasn’t even a surprise strange ending or anything.

“Dinner’s ready,” Patton said cheerfully from the other room, timing perfectly with the end of the movie.

Virgil sat up, and realized, as more people kept coming, that this was probably a ‘family dinner’ kind of dinner. And that meant that he had to sit next to all of them, and maybe even make conversation.

It had been alright with just Patton, or just Roman. He could try to pretend that they were a stranger, and just not look at them or pay attention to their voice. But with so many of them it would be much harder. And he ‘knew’ so many of them.

It made for a long, awkward silence. Especially since several of them weren’t eating.

“I’m afraid we haven’t discovered the reason for the switching, or a good option for reversing it,” Logan said.

Virgil shrugged, eyes on his plate. “Neither did I.”

Then there was another, far more awkward, silence. Virgil wanted to run away. Hide back in the bedroom until he fell asleep again. Just whatever to stay away from these people and get away from the incredibly awkward feeling.

“One possible option,” Not-Dr-Picani said. “Is to compare stories. Perhaps there’s a clue we know but can’t recognize, or vice versa. Or perhaps you don’t know all of us, and one of us is the key… er, somehow.”

Virgil shrugged, gesturing in a way that hopefully wasn’t rude at one person. “I don’t know you.”

The man blinked. “I’m Thomas. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You know Dee though?” Not-Logan asked.

Virgil shrugged, hating how every pair of eyes was now fixed on him. “Not exactly, but kind of.”

“This is intriguing,” Not-Logan said, fidgeting in a very familiar I-need-to-record-this-somehow-where-is-my-paper? way.

Virgil just shrugged, getting more and more uncomfortable, as if the air was pressing down on him. “I’m done eating, can I go?”

“Of course, go ahead,” Not-Patton said gently.

Virgil escaped to the bathroom, breathing clearly once the door was locked. He felt like his thoughts were scattering, floating out of his head before he could even think them. He didn’t know what to do. Not what to do to make things right, or even what to do right now, other than turn the sink on to cover the sound of his harsh breathing.

Well. At least that gave him a start. He turned the sink on and tried to get control over himself again.

It hadn’t even been that long when someone knocked on the door.

“Just a minute.” Virgil said.

“Oh, that’s fine. I was just checking. Are you alright?”

Virgil wrestled down the sudden annoyed reaction. “I’m fine.”

He opened the door to see Thomas standing there, looking rather embarrassed. “Sorry. We uh… we’d like you to be more comfortable, and since you didn’t know me… ugh, it barely makes sense.” He shook his head. “Is there anything I can do? Maybe hang out? Or keep the others away from you?”

Virgil just shrugged.

Suddenly Thomas’s eyes lit up. “Oh! Um… what about,” he fumbled in his pocket. “I have a game on my phone, if you’d want to play with me. It’s kinda dumb, but it’s fun anyway.”

Virgil shrugged, but less dismissively.

“We could go to my room. No one will try to come in but Dee.”

Virgil wasn’t just going to move, but Thomas made a come-on kind of gesture, and Virgil followed him.

Thomas didn’t press him to talk, or try to sit near him. They sat on a rug on the floor, and Thomas started the game, which was basically trivial pursuit, but set up to run endlessly, racking up points instead of winning. They passed the phone back and forth, mostly silent, Thomas sometimes laughing slightly at the questions when they seemed dumb or needlessly difficult. And as it went on, Virgil relaxed. Thomas seemed pretty cool. A bit overdramatic, but in a friendly way.

It was quite a while later before there was a soft knock at the door.

“That’s Dee. Oh. Gosh, it’s late.” Thomas said, standing to open the door.

“I just needed some things,” Dee said, almost ignoring Virgil past a brief nod. “You don’t need to stop your game.”

“It’s late anyway,” Virgil said, also standing. “I’ll get out of your way.”

“Your—“ Thomas said quickly, reaching out quickly, but stopping before he grabbed Virgil’s shoulder. “Sorry. Our Virgil sleeps in the same room as Patton, but you seemed uncomfortable around him, so he offered to let you switch with Dee and stay in here for the night.”

Virgil looked between the two of them. “You don’t need to do that, I’ll let you have your room.”

Before they could keep protesting, he walked out the door into his counterpart’s room.

“Maybe I’ll switch back overnight…” he mumbled, shutting the door and making his way to the bed in the dark room.

“Maybe,” Not-Patton said, very quietly.

Virgil’s first reaction was to leap onto the bed, scared out of his skin by the surprise voice.

“Sorry.”

Even though he wasn’t Patton, he still had that same tone of pretending he wasn’t sad. If the lights were on, Virgil could have probably seen him fighting back tears.

He couldn’t handle Patton being sad. He couldn’t. And apparently that extended to Not-Patton.

“Um… you’re… I mean, not you, but the you in my… world, I guess. I don’t really know. You’re um… you’re my dad.”

There was a brief silence. “I am?”

Virgil nodded, forgetting it was too dark to see. “My adopted dad, actually. It’s… it’s been hard, today, cause I’m used to… I mean, I don’t go to him, he mostly comes to me when I’m upset. But, it’s so close, and, and you’re just not actually him. It creeped me out, and then I was rude to you. Sorry. It’s not like it’s your fault this happened.”

“Oh, it’s ok!” Not-Patton said immediately.

There was a silence, but it was much less awkward now.

“You know, I kind of…” Not-Patton started. “I mean, I haven’t adopted him or anything. He’s older than that anyway, but… I’d adopt Virgil, if he didn’t mind.” He chuckled lightly. “Maybe I’m too young though. He’s only about seven years younger than me. But I care a whole lot for him too.”

Virgil nodded. “I could tell. I’m sure he’s really happy here with you guys.”

“I hope so.”

Virgil laid down and stared up at the vague shape of the ceiling.

“I hope you sleep well,” Not-Patton said.

“Thanks. You too.”

There was a very faint chuckle. “And I hope when we wake up tomorrow that you aren’t here anymore.”

Virgil chuckled also. “So do I.”

•^*^••

Virgil’s eyes opened, and he saw his ceiling. His blankets. His bed. His room.

He bolted out of the room. “Dad!”

“Virgil?!” Logan asked, looking both startled and relieved.

Virgil grabbed him in a tight hug.

Patton turned the corner, running to see them. Virgil grabbed him into the hug too.

They both hugged back, tightly, as if they were just as relieved to see him as he was to see them, and everything was alright.

[lalunely]

daddy katsuki

Katsuki is naturally a workaholic. In his day offs, he still insists to be in-call and responds immediately to any reports near around his neighborhood. His partner’s not particularly fond about his habit, he sometimes forget they do have two daughters and he leaves without letting them know. That caused a minor emergency family meeting. Katsuki apologized by making them a very rare, special dinner. His daughters were really impressed of his cooking skills, his partner usually cooks for them so Katsuki didn’t really have enough chances to showcase his remarkable talents expect for being the current number two hero. And a good plumber. Not very good, he exploded the toilet two times. His eldest was not really happy as her room was next to the restroom.

For now that they’re expected to be staying at home in this time of pandemic, crime rates are unsurprisingly still present, but the police are advancing their security hundred more times and some pro heroes are taking shifts by pair to patrol each night around the city. Katsuki only has one shift every Tuesday from four in the afternoon until ten. He’s getting the hang of it, he’s spending lots of time with his family and learning more about them each day. There was one time, he was praised by his daughters (who are already grown up, how the fuck did that happen) that he’s improving and that they plenty appreciate his effort. Katsuki cannot stop smiling every time it crosses his mind.

Deku and Shouto often visits and his daughters love them so much. They always cling on to them and Katsuki threatened to kick Todoroki off the building if he give money to his daughters without him knowing ever again. Todoroki swiftly announced they’ll be having a mini party at his place for Christmas and Katsuki bellowed at him, saying that he’d rather stay at home than have his family possibly catch the virus from attending his party. His daughters didn’t really liked the tone of his voice.

That’s why now, Katsuki’s all bored after finishing God-knows how many episodes of Kitchen Nightmares in YouTube for the past week. He decided to practice the dishes he’ll make for Christmas because he’ll prove to Todoroki how much he doesn’t want to attend his mini Christmas party and get COVID-19 and also he wants him to be away from his daughters because they’re his.

Call Katsuki possessive, because he is.

It’s late afternoon, Katsuki is preparing the ingredients he ordered online the day before on the dining table. He put on a tank top he wore this morning and tied the strings of the orange apron behind his back. He silently cursed of how hideous it looks but it’s their only apron, he can worry for something else.

Katsuki puts his phone in a stand and places it in front of him. He scrolls in his notes and review the recipe again. He’s making Chocolate and Lime Mousse. Now, Katsuki never made this nor eaten this before, but he saw Gordon Ramsay made this with his daughter and thought he’ll give it a try since it looked pretty doable and his eldest daughter loves fruits and desserts.

Speaking of the devil, Katsuki heard quick and heavy footsteps down the stairs and of course he knows who it is.

“Satsuki!” Katsuki shouts, his voice echoes to the whole floor.

His eldest daughter, Satsuki (16), dressed in dolphin shorts and oversized shirt halts in her steps and turns around to the direction of the kitchen.

“Yeah, Dad?” She answers, slowly making her way to him. “Whatcha’ doin?”

Katsuki looks at her. “Practicing Christmas desserts, you wanna join me?”

“You were really serious about that.” Satsuki’s eyebrows furrowed. 

“Of course I am. I am a man of my words.” The girl snorted. “Will you help me or not?”

“Fine, I don’t have anything to do anyway. I was going to crash in the couch anyway.”

“Fantastic. Go get the white chocolate in the fridge then.” Katsuki said, eyes back on his phone and he occasionally scans the things in front of him to make sure he got everything right and present.

Soon Katsuki is heating up double cream in a pot and Satsuki is breaking the white chocolate in pieces just like her dad told her to. It’s comfortably quiet as they work on their own. Satsuki’s humming under her breathe and shoved the last piece in her mouth, squealing in delight. She gave the bowl of chocolate to her dad who thanked her under his breathe.

“What’s your favorite chocolate? White? Milk? Dark?” Katsuki asked Satsuki who’s leaning on the counter and watched the cream simmer.

“Uhm...” She hummed. “I love milk chocolate with nuts. Only with nuts.”

“But you’re allergic with nuts.”

“I honestly don’t mind.” Satsuki looked down at her arms where scattered marks of her allergies are standing out of her pale skin. Actually, she does. It’s just that everything with nuts are delicious. 

Cough.

“What’s yours then?” She asked.

Katsuki’s arm stopped, he looks up for a second then shrugs. “I like anything, but dark’s pretty good.”

Satsuki’s nose crinkled. “It’s bitter.”

“I drink expresso straight from the glass.” Katsuki snickered at her and he removes the pot from the heat and Satsuki watches him pour it in the bowl of chocolates. “Look at that.”

Satsuki switched places to have a better look. Her mouth slowly opens in awe as she watched the white chocolate melt with the piping hot cream. Katsuki glances at her and he smirks, putting the pot away in the sink. He caught Satsuki dipping her finger in the bowl and licks the chocolate happily. 

“Oi! No fingers!” Katsuki snarls, making his daughter laugh. “Don’t put that finger again or else, Satsuki.”

“Gods, it was just a bit. You’re overreacting.” Satsuki snorts at him and Katsuki gives her a daring look, before attacking her soft spots on her sides and Satsuki trips down on the floor squealing her lungs out.

Five minutes after that, Katsuki brings out a tray of eggs from the fridge.

“Now, you have to separate the white from the yolk in the eggs.” Katsuki said and he proceeds to crack one egg, sliding the yolk to the other piece and letting the white part slide down to a ceramic bowl. Satsuki does the same, and they repeated that part until they separated six yolks from the egg whites.

Katsuki fishes out a whisk and handed it to Satsuki. The girl eyed him suspiciously.

“Obviously you need to whisk it.” Katsuki said in a ‘duh’ tone and rolled his eyes.

Satsuki hesitatingly takes the whisk and shoves it in the bowl. “You’re just making me do everything here.”

“I cracked some eggs and made the mousse, excuse me.” Katsuki crossed his arms on his chest and huffed. Satsuki shakes her head. “We’re going to take turns. I’ll go after you. Thirty seconds only.”

Satsuki grunted in acknowledgement and she continues to whisk the egg whites quickly to let it foam, and she has been at it for fifteen seconds now. Satsuki momentarily pauses, rests her already sore arm and regains her breathe.

“What the hell.” She cursed under her breathe and heard Katsuki snicker behind her.

“Ten seconds left.”

Satsuki increases the speed and squealed when the bowl almost slipped out of her grip.

“You can stop, I’ll take it here.”

Satsuki sighed and thanked him then Katsuki flashed a blinding grin at her while holding an electric whisk proudly in the air.

“What the heck?! ” Satsuki screeches, Katsuki’s grin only grow wider as he plugs it in the socket and laughed out loud. “That’s cheating! How could you?!”

“How could I? I don’t know what you’re saying, darling.” Katsuki said in a teasing tone. He turned the electric whisk on, it made a loud sound and Satsuki screamed at him.

“I’m out of here, dad.” Satsuki raised her hands in dismissal, walking out of the kitchen. “It’s over.”

“Satsuki!” Katsuki calls out, he bends backward slightly and bursts out laughing again. “Get your ass back in here!”

Of course, Satsuki walks back in. Complaining.

“You can’t do that to me!” She cries. “Thirty seconds?! This fucking weakling of a whisk? And you’re using that machine?!”

“Because -”

“I was staring to feel competitive!” Satsuki cuts him off and Katsuki pressed his lips together to stifle his laugh. “My arm is limp!”

“Because it’s the best way to whip egg whites!”

“Then why didn’t you give me that in the first place?!” Satsuki falls on the floor and pouts at him. The sight made Katsuki coo and he pouts at her back playfully but ends up laughing again. Satsuki slaps his calve and Katsuki released a girly screech.

“Cheater!”

“Oi, shut up!” Katsuki’s head whips around the room. “Someone might take that the wrong way!”

“You’re a dirty player, dad.”

“Stop with that now, Satsuki. Come pour the sugar carefully in the bowl now.”

Eventually, Satsuki stands up and do what he said. Though there’s a disappointed frown on her face and Katsuki can’t help but to chuckle fondly at her. He stops the machine and placed them on the side. 

He leans over and put a hand behind Satsuki’s head, pressing a kiss on her temple and Satsuki’s frown deepens. Alright, he’s starting to feel bad now.

Katsuki sighs and crouches to her height, but the girl avoided eye contact.

“Come on now, you’re that really upset, are you?” Katsuki said softly.

Satsuki doesn’t answer.

“I’m sorry, baby. Daddy’s sorry. Can you help daddy now? We’re almost done though. I promise I’ll give you more chocolates after this.” Katsuki pulls her in his chest and wraps his arms around her shoulder, swaying their bodies sideways. He feels her grunt on his chest and Katsuki cracked a smile.

He pulls away, crouching down again but this time Satsuki meets his eyes. Her eyes, just like his -- bright, shining rubies but hers are glassy and moist. Katsuki’s heart breaks and he pouts playfully at her while Satsuki’s lower lip trembles.

“You can forget about it and help me instead. Daddy’s gonna be nicer now.”

“Don’t call yourself that, it’s weird.” Satsuki sniffles but she waits for Katsuki to finish folding the foamed egg whites.

Katsuki smiles to himself. What a time to be fucking alive, indeed. (Ironically, the world’s in chaos.) He could never ask for anything else. He’s happy but this is a different kind of happy, you know? This is more than achieving the number one spot - this is more than just being the fucking number one hero, it is something phenomenal he’s never felt before and it’s getting better every day he realizes more of the life he has now.

_______________________________________________

aight i might’ve binged watch all of gordon ramsay’s youtube and facebook videos in two nights straight do i need help

btw this was a quick, soft katsuki headcanon ha i just cant help thinking if katsuki’s gonna be a chef, he’s gordon ramsay u can’t tell me otherwise

hope u enjoyed :)

[pentagonpimp69]

“Can you ever forgive me?” Tom Holland x reader Pt ll

I woke up feeling numb. I know that may sound dramatic but that’s how I feel. Numb, not angry or sad. Just numb. I just layed in bed for a while, thinking about what happened last night. After our conversation, Tom and I went to bed. While getting ready, I felt as though he was watching my every move. Maybe he was worried that I would bolt out the door, never to be seen again. 

But actually, I haven’t really thought about leaving Tom since he told me. I can’t find a reason to leave someone that I love more than anyone for something they did while we were broken up and didn’t cause any serious harm to any one. I love him. I couldn’t leave him during this. 

But I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous of this girl. She was going to experience something that I only dreamt of experiencing with Tom. I have always wanted to be a mother and after meeting Tom, I just knew he would be the best dad. And now this girl was taking that experience from me. 

But the more I thought about it, she really wasn’t. She was just a one night stand that happened to get pregnant by him. If I got pregnant, things would be so different. The more I thought about it, the more I felt bad for this girl. Tom said that he was the only one she had been with for a while, so she must be alone. Now she’s having a baby with a man she doesn’t even know. She’s probably scared. I don’t even know her name but I want to hug her. 

A loud crash pulls me out of my thoughts. No doubt it's Tom attempting to make breakfast. I get up and put on my comfy robe and head down the stairs. As I turn the corner, I see Tom funneling pancake batter onto a fry pan. He had bags under his eyes, no doubt from the fact that he didn’t get any sleep last night. I stand in the doorway and watch him. He only ever cooks for me (or trys at least) when he feels bad. He hates cooking but does it cause he knows I like it. He cooked me a huge dinner that night after our first fight 3 years ago. I stand there and look at him. I can’t imagine what he’s going through. He’s going to be a father but not by me, the woman he loves. But by a stranger. I don’t even know her name.

“What’s her name?” My thoughts accidentally leave my mouth. Tom almost jumps out of skin from the surprise of my voice.

“Huh?” He says with a shy smile, a frying pan in his hand and spatula in the other.

“What is her name?” I ask again, “The girl.”

He sighs, “Grace.” He answers softly. I start walking towards him and put my arms around his neck.

“What’s her last name?” I ask, trying to force a smile.

“Levy, I believe.” He says. He doesn’t make eye contact. I turn off the stove and pull him in for a hug. He quickly embraces me back.

“When are you going to meet her?” I ask into his shoulder.

He pauses for a minute. Enjoying the tender moment in the midst of all this stress.

“At 1. We're going to Starbucks down the road.” He answers finally.

We stand there in a hug for a little longer. I can feel how much he loves me. I can also feel how awful he feels. I pull my head from his shoulder and give him a kiss. When we pull apart, I turn around and grab the pancakes and go sit at the table. We enjoy our breakfast in quiet, but every once and a while Tom would grab my hand and kiss it. I love it when he does that.

After breakfast, I go up and take a shower. I hear Tom dicking around the room, probably getting ready to hit the gym before he meets the girl. I mean Grace. Before he meets Grace. I finish my shower and walk out of the room and see him rummaging through his sock drawer.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Looking for my nice compression socks” He says without looking up, “You know the black ones?”

“They’re probably in the hamper, honey” I say, pointing to the hamper by the door. He smiles at me and walks over to it. He begins to go through it like he did with the sock drawer. I go to my side of the dresser and look for some underwear for the day. All of the sudden I think “What are we going to say to his parents?”

“Huh?” Tom says. Crap, I must’ve let another thought slip out. 

“What are we going to tell your parents?” I ask, this time actually using my voice.

“What do you mean?” Tom asks curiously

“Well, you're going to have to tell them soon. That they’re going to be grandparents.” I say. Tom looks at me and then puts his head down. He must not have even thought that far yet. I was the first person he saw after he found out. So he probably hadn’t processed it enough to think about what to tell them.

Tom walks over to the bed and puts his head in his hands. Next thing I know, he’s sobbing. I jump on the bed and start patting his back. I hate when he’s upset. 

“Tommy baby, please don’t cry.” I say, wanting to just hold him.

“No, I’m sorry. Y/N, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe this is happening. How can i be so stupid?” He says, his whole body shaking. 

“Tommy take a deep breath baby.” I tell him. He swiftly stands up and turns to me, tears running down his face.

“No! I ruined everyone's life. You’ll never trust me again, my parents will be so upset, the guys will just make fun of me endlessly, and that poor girl is going to have a baby with someone she doesn’t know! Do not tell me to calm down!” He says, still crying. I mean, he’s almost hyperventilating at this point. 

“Tommy please calm down.” I say in my calm voice, just trying to bring him back down to earth. Tom drops to his knees and hugs on to my legs.

“No Y/N, I’m so sorry. I love you. I was supposed to be doing this with you. I love you. Please don’t leave me. Please don't go” He sobs. Now he’s just having a panic attack. I rub his back and play with his hair, just trying anything to calm the boy.

“Tommy, I’m not going anywhere.” I assure him. 

He looks up at me with his tear stained face and red eyes, “You’re not?”

“No Tommy, I’m not leaving you. I love you.” I say to him. He calms down a little.

“I am going to make this up to you.” He says, still crying slightly.

“Tommy, you don’t need to make this up to me.” I tell him, “But you need to tell your family about what’s going on.” He stayed silent, still breathing heavy.

“Maybe tonight we should invite everyone over and explain the situation.” I say. Tom looks up and tries to argue but before he could talk I say “You need to tell them. They need to know what's going on.”

Tom stays silent and shakes his head in agreement. He still has a tight grip on my legs.

“You should stay here and get some rest before you go and meet with her.” I tell him, still playing with his hair.

“I’m okay.” He says almost too quietly. I let out a little giggle at his words.

“Baby, you got no sleep last night, you’re exhausted. You need to be in the right frame of mind when you talk to her.” I tell him. Tom nods in agreement. “How about I make you some tea while you get comfy.”

Tom looks up at me with his dorky smile. The smile that I fell in love with. “Really?” he asks.

“Yes but you have to lay down and nap a little.” I warn him. Tom slowly gets to his feet and climbs to my side of the bed.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Your side is comfier.” He says softly. I giggle at him before walking out to the kitchen. 

I fill the kettle with water and put it on the stove to warm up. While I’m waiting, I pull out my phone and begin writing a text to Nikki. Her and I are so close, but yet I can’t imagine how she’ll react to this news. 

When I first met Tom’s family, they were all so warm and welcoming, they made me feel like a part of the family from the first time we met. Over the years, we all grew so close, that talking to them everyday was normal for me. But trying to write this text, made me beyond nervous.

How do I ask them to come over for some news, without getting them all so excited. They’ll probably think Tom finally proposed or maybe even that I’m pregnant. God this is hard.

“Hey Nikki, would you guys all want to come over for dinner tonight? Tom has something he wants to tell you” I say, trying not to seem overly excited or depressed, through text.

She answers quickly, “Of course! Be there around 7ish? Is everything okay?”

I sigh before I begin typing. Everything is far from okay, but she doesn’t know that yet. “Yes everythings fine. Just some life updates and such. 7 sounds great.” I answer.

“Can’t wait!” She answered quickly again. She totally thinks we're engaged or something. This is all too stressful and now I have to make dinner! Ugh! 

The kettle begins to scream so I take it off and get Toms tea ready. Once I’m done, I head up the stairs and into our room. As I walk in, I see Tom sound asleep, so peaceful amongst this stress. He needed sleep, all he did was toss and turn all night. 

I put the mug on the table and kissed him on the cheek. He lets a brief smile show before I walk off and start finding my clothes for that day. After I’ve changed, I climb on to the bed with Tom. I spoon him from behind and feel him get closer to me. 

Although this is all so stressful, I still love him. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving him. This is going to be the hardest thing ever. But I’m not going anywhere, even though I feel like all I want to do is scream.

Hello everyone! Thank you much for all the love part 1 got! I defiantly want to continue this story and see where it goes! If you want a part 3, let me know!

[sugarbeandude]

Dear Santa... er, sugarbeandudes, I've been a good Kiki and I'd like to request either headcanons about how it would go, or a ficlet, about Bandit proposing marriage to Jäger, or about Ash & Mira's first Christmas together, whichever idea you like better!

Okay okay! you’re not on the naughty list! so here’s your gift!

Make a wish

Bandit/Jäger Rated T

2k + words :) enjoy!

okay so i also cryied w this :’)

Bandit was seating over his beautiful Harley motorcycle, scrolling endlessly through his phone as he waited for Jäger to join him. “Mari I’m leaving without you!” Bandit chanted without taking his look off the screen of his phone.

“I’m almost done!” Jäger screamed as he walked outside their home as he pushed down on himself one of Bandit’s various hoodies and closed the door with his foot.

“What took you so long Katze?” Bandit asked putting his phone away in the pocket of his jacket, passed a helmet over to his lover who just sat behind him, and turned on the motorcycle.

“All my hoodies were dirty, so I borrowed one from your drawer, you don’t mind Ja?” Jäger encircled Bandit’s waist as he always did, curling up towards his back seeking a little warmth, the night was indeed chilly. “So where are we going anyway?”

“Oh, that’s secret, Mari.’’ Bandit pulled away the steel leg that kept the bike still and started moving away from their home. “I’d suggest you get comfy because it might take a while.”

And so Jäger did, he accommodated his arms in a way it would not squeeze out Bandit and would also not tire him out. He wondered where Bandit would take him to this time. The last time his lover took him in a midnight ride they ended up at the beach, fucking in the middle of nowhere, that was a great adventure, so Jäger imagined that will likely happen again tonight, not that he was complaining, though, he loved when he ran away with Bandit.

 “Are you cold, Katze?” Marius shook his head. Bandit had finally stopped on the side of the road. “We’re here, you can let go.” Bandit announced and Jäger did, not before squeezing Bandit’s torso lovingly.

“So, where are we exactly?” Jäger asked as he took off and left his helmet on one of the sides of the handle of the bike.

“In the middle of nowhere, as you like to say.” Bandit grabbed Jäger’s hand and led him.

“Oh, this will surely be fun, you brought lube, right?” Jäger joked, trying to guess Bandit’s intentions for the night.

“Maybe so.” Bandit answered, not giving any clues. Bandit swiped off a branch that was blocking his way and let Jäger pass first, revealing a beautiful cliff that ended up in the ocean.

“Mein Gott…” Jäger stood still, appreciating the beautiful landscape in front of him. “This is such a nice place to get fucked in.”

“Damn Mari, do you want me to fuck you that much?” Bandit said as he joined Jäger, also appreciating the view.

“Ha, how did you even find this place?” Jäger asked as he sat down near the end of the cliff but not near enough to actually have a chance to fall.

“Had to take a piss, so I pissed nearby, then I heard the waves, and then I found this place, and thought you like to see the stars here.” Bandit spoke as he sat beside his partner, pulling him closer with an arm.

“Are you saying that last part with a double meaning, Dom?” Yeah, Jäger believes Bandit only thinks about sex.

“Oh my god, Marius, you’re pretty horny today, aren’t you?’’

“What? no… I’m just trying to guess what are your intentions…” Jäger pressed his body towards Bandit, seeking affection.

“ Can’t I have a lovely night out with my Jagerchen?” 

“Well, it’s indeed lovely.” Bandit took off his jacket and placed it behind both to lean over it without getting bothered by the grass. He grabbed his phone and reproduced his “romantic” playlist.

“Can you explain to me for the hundredth time which constellation is which?” Bandit stared at the lights that were perched in the sky. He wondered, how can people assimilate objects from simple dots in the sky? they must’ve been high, Bandit thought.

“Haha, Why? I’ve told you a thousand times already and you can’t even memorize a single one of them.” Bandit hid his fingers between the jungle Jäger’s hair was, causing Jäger to unconsciously snuggle against his hand, seeking that soothing feeling.

“I don’t know, do you have something better to talk about?”

“Not really…” Jäger hummed as he spotted every constellation in the sky, jumping his look from one to another. “Actually, I have something I would like to discuss, Dominic.” Jäger made an effort to make himself sound serious, but he just sounded squeaky as always.

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, you know, I’m going to copy Chandar’s measures for you in the workshop…”

“What? what do you mean? what does that weird brit have to do?” Rules?

“Well, he banned James from the workshop to work efficiently…” Jäger started.

“And? Wait… are you saying you’re banning me too? Why? I don’t even cause trouble like that idiot!” Bandit raised his tone of voice, gaining Jäger’s blissful giggles.

“Isn’t it obvious Dom?! You’re always distracting me! I can’t… you don’t let me work properly!” Jäger exclaimed, extending his arms into the sky.

“I can’t help being hot Marius! Maybe you should work on controlling your eyes!” Bandit chuckled with him, Jäger’s complaints were true after all, he would come around the workshop now and then to bother or provoke his lover.

“No! I have decided, from now on, you’re banned from the workshop, I’ll let everybody that goes in to not let you in! Oh, Monika is going to love the news, you know right, Domi? She’s always a little mad I let you in the workshop…” The engineer declared as he rested his head on his boyfriend’s chest gazing his look over the horizon.

“You can’t do this to me, Mari, you’ll give in eventually, I know you well.” Bandit rested his hand over his beloved head, he felt so at peace.

“Let’s bet.” Jäger proposed, gripping a hand on Bandit’s side.

“Oh count me in for sure. I know you won’t resist letting in my handsome ass.” Bandit just knew the man too damn well, unlike Mute, Jäger could be easily lured and bent by Bandit it would just be a matter of time until Jäger would let him in the workshop again. “What’s in the bet anyway?”

 “Well, if I lose and let you in before the end of the year I’ll, I’ll um…”

“You’ll teach me how to fly.”

“What? No way Dominic! I can’t trust you’re not going to do something stupid!” Jäger remembered last Christmas, he had taken Bandit for a quick flight on his personal plane, the fucker covered his eyes for a second mid-flight, nothing happened really, but that was enough to make Jäger snap furious, making him stop the ride right away and sworn he will never take Bandit to another flight ever in his life.

“Aw, come on, well, take me in another ride, I’ll wear handcuffs, I swear.”

“I’ll think about it, what you did last time wasn’t funny at all Dominic, but that doesn’t mean a yes. But, if I win, you’ll… hmmm what could be good…” Jäger hummed, gazing his look over his lover’s face, who was looking at the sky.

 “I don’t know, you’ll do the dishes for the next year? I don’t know Dom, what can you offer me?”

“Hmm how about, I let you ride my bike, or well, I’ll teach you.” Bandit never lets anyone unless it’s Jäge or his twin brother Cedric to touch his bike, he is the only one ho rides the bike, yeah, he’s a little possessive about his beautiful Harley.

“What? are you sure Domi? you make a big deal if someone that’s not me gets close to it.’’

“Well, that’s why I shall let you my bike, now that I think of, that rule is a little stupid, since you care better about stuff than me.” Another song .

“You’re right, well, prepare yourself to teach me because I won’t be losing this bet.”

“Mari I still don’t get how in the hell do you not know how to ride a bike! You know how to fix them, but you don’t know how to ride them?” Bandit questioned the man resting over his chest.

“I told you, my younger self was scared of them, I always thought I would crash and die horribly.

 “Oh, but you didn’t think that about planes?”

“Planes are totally different Dom! don’t compare, there are no other planes in the sky to crash into so no, I’m not afraid at all.”

 “You were not afraid like, to run out of gas or, the engine to stop working?” Bandit insisted.

“At first, but that’s why there’s a protocol to check on planes before taking off.” 

Both kept quiet, gazing at the stars, Jäger would point out occasionally which part is which from the milky way, and Bandit would just hum and nod, passing the information in and out from his ears. Both held themself tightly to not let the cold in their bodies. Marius felt a box poking his side, it was inside Bandit’s pocket, he supposed it was a pack of cigarettes, he thought Bandit had quit smoking six months ago, well maybe not.

“Are you hungry Dom?”

“Are you?”

“No, I’m asking because I feel like cooking something, would you like me to cook you something tonight?”

“Hmm, nah, how about we go to that burger place you like a lot?”

“That sounds splendid, I would love to, but I’m not hungry yet.”

“Me neither, maybe later.” Oh, Bandit’s favorite song , why? because Jäger always appears in his mind whenever he hears it.

Time still passed by, Jäger started to get sleepy eventually, since Bandit is his official body pillow, he would likely turn sleepy if he rests himself over the man. Bandit noticed Jäger’s sleepiness right away and started rubbing his chin against Jäger’s forehead to scratch him with his beard, knowing damn well Jäger hated it.

“Stop it dom, don’t ruin the night.”  Jäger begged as he tried to pull away from Bandit, but his grip was tight.

“Look Mari! a shooting star!” Bandit ceased bothering the pilot and pointed at the sky, a big white line painted through the obscure night.

“Wow, that’s pretty big…” Jäger stared at the sky, following with his eyes the line traced in the sky.

“Did you wish for something?” Bandit spoke when the shooting star disappeared from the sky.

“Not really, I have everything I could’ve ever wanted, you.” Bandit couldn’t help but blush, Jäger was too pure for him.

“Well I did wish for something, I-” Bandit let go of the pilot to stand up, then extended both his hands to help Jäger stand up, once he grabbed his hands, he pulled him strongly, making him jump to stand up.

“No! don’t say your wish out loud! otherwise it won’t come true!” Jäger stared into his honey-colored eyes as they held hands under the moonlight.

“But Mari, in order for this wish to come true, I have to say it out.”  Bandit grabbed both of Jäger’s hands and kissed them, tingling them with his beard. 

“What do you-?” Bandit let go of his hand and pulled the box in his pocket that was previously poking his side as he knelt on the ground.

“Will you marry this idiot?” Bandit looked up, opening the box in half revealing a simple but beautiful ring. Jäger covered his mouth, muffling a gasp, his eyes started watering thoroughly as he energetically nodded up and down.

“Of course! yes!  I want to marry you so badly Dominic…” Jäger threw himself over Bandit into a hug, hugging him so tightly Bandit started wheezing. Jäger couldn’t stop crying from happiness, he was just so happy to be together forever with the man he is truly in love with.

“Marius, please, I want to be with you for the rest of my life... '' Bandit also hugged him tightly, he felt his shoulder soaking wet from Jäger’s tears. “ I can’t imagine the rest of my life without you by my side.” That made Jäger cry even more, Bandit isn’t cheesy or cursi, and him expressing his feelings with words is rare, he’d often express himself physically.

“Oh come on…” Jäger separated their bodies to hold Bandit’s jaw with both his hands, observing and scanning every inch of his face, then crashed their lips together lovingly, caressing Bandit’s short hair. “I want the same as you…”

“Lovely…” Bandit whispered, grabbing Jäger’s right hand to slide the gold ring into his ring finger, then proceeded to kiss it. Jäger observed his ring for a couple of seconds before pulling Bandit into another hug. “Kay’ hubby, are you hungry yet?”

Jäger nodded before letting go of his fiancé, he then wiped off the humidity of his eyes. “A burger would be nice.”

“Well, let’s get going, Katze.” Bandit said as he grabbed, dusted off his jacket, and wore it, walking down towards the trees they came from. “Please.” Bandit gestured as he lifted a branch that blocked the way, letting Jäger pass safely.

“Thank you, Dominic, this night was lovely.” Jäger spoke as he sat behind Bandit and wore his helmet.

“You’re lovelier.” Bandit assured, turning on the bike and driving off to that burger stand jäger loved.

I also posted this in AO3! I would really appreciate it if you gave it some love! https://archiveofourown.org/works/28008717

[mousehole5000]

 this is it... the final post.... 226 through THE END!!!!!

this shit with mu qing and the river of lava is SOOOO dramatic im loving it

oh my god theyre on a FUCKING bridge of course they are okay let’s go boys

“You’re right. We’re alike. You think me odd, I think you to be rather weird too.” - so what im getting from this is that xie lian and mu qing are the only characters in this book with working gaydar okay yup got it this checks out

god... the fact that xie lian is ready to be like “look mu qing we can just forget about the past it doesnt matter we dont have to be friends i know you dont like me but im not gonna let you die over it” and then mu qing is like “.... god i really do admire you huh”

“You...certainly...are rather amazing. You’re...also...a better person...than me. Long story short, I...very much wanted...to become your f-f-friend.”  - going to think about this for the rest of all time im about to become utterly unintelligible im overcome with emotions

“And, at the end of the white silk band, Feng Xin was gripping Ruoye with one hand while the other was holding on to a steel-faced Mu Qing, and he shouted towards him.” - the fucking IMAGE of this im gonna cry this is everything i could have asked for im so happy also mu qing dangling there like “ welp. guess ill live“

“Feng Xin was almost burnt by that pillar of fire, and he shouted in outrage. “WHAT’S WITH THIS BAND OF DOG SHITS, ATTACKING PEOPLE WHILE THEY’RE DOWN, SO VILE! FUCK YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY!” Xie Lian responded, “IF THEIR ENTIRE FAMILIES ALL LOOK LIKE THAT, YOU SURE YOU WANT TO FUCK THEM??” - theyre so funny!!! and theyre best friends!!! theyre joking together now in the middle of all this i could cry theyre back!!!

“Using sticks as arrows, he held the bow with one hand and used his teeth to bite back the bowstring.” - no clue how practical this is but okay archer boy. hot

i actually have so many little quips between the three of them highlighted but we’d be here all night if i included them all. im literally so delighted by this omg worth the wait

“Each sabre strike slashed to the bone. It wasn’t like Xie Lian had never seen Hua Cheng use the sabre before in the past, but his style had always been easy and leisurely, nonchalant and casual. Rather than say he was handling a weapon, it was more like he was toying with a small knife. Yet those blade marks were filled with killing intent. It was easy to imagine just how skilled the one exchanging blows with him was, and how perilous this battle.” you have no idea how mad i was when i read this and thought we missed witnessing the fight between hc and jw omg

“Behind him, Feng Xin muttered, “Dear fucking god, may all the gods and buddhas grant their blessings, that better absolutely be Crimson Rain Sought Flower, otherwise he’s gonna go mad!” “Stop your rubbish,” Mu Qing berated. “We’re all the gods and buddhas ourselves and we can’t grant shit, just keep up with him! Look at the stumbling way he’s running, he’s gonna trip and fall to his bloody death before he even sees the man!” - okay i know i said no more quips but this is literally too funny i just wanted to read it again

“ However, for whatever reason, that vicious ghost, in its muddled state, took that large group of live mortals under its wing and fled for many days. In the end, they were still surrounded by millions of ghosts, trapped in a dead end, and it was going to be eaten along with those humans.” [...] “That vicious ghost almost made a move against those humans, but for some reason, in the end, it didn’t. It instead used one of its own eyes as the price to forge a blood weapon. That vicious ghost was already forcibly hanging on with its last breath; after digging out its eye it should’ve broken apart completely. Yet somehow something had shocked it, and it instead woke to its senses completely. “ - THIS IS AMAZING ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? IS THIS ALL WE GET ABOUT HIS GHOSTLY LORE?????? HUA CHENGGGGGGGG

“What a terrible offence, his old habit had come out, and he quickly apologized. “I’m sorry! You don’t have to listen to me!” Hua Cheng, however, only smiled happily. “Everything gege tells me is the best advice, so why wouldn’t I listen?” - this isnt the fucking time afjdkfjsdkl they really never stop

“So you can hold the illusion of a perfect Crown Prince of Wuyong to face and dismiss the Jun Wu now. Isn’t that your objective? Did you think I don’t know what you’re thinking?” “THAT’S NOT IT!” Guoshi cried. “Stop getting tied up in right and wrong, victories and defeat, I’VE NEVER THOUGHT THAT WAY BEFORE!” - jun wu only being able to see xie lian as his successor and believing that thats all anyone else sees too... okay

honestly this whole final showdown was a blast i cant put everything in but it was so much fun to read. the DRAMA the LAVA the SHOUTING t

“Hua Cheng had poured too much spiritual power into him. There really was too much, so much that it was completely outside the amount the cursed shackle could withstand.” - okay.... okay... the love you give will set you free... okay....

“With Jun Wu in his grip, he carried both their bodies and forcefully slammed into the incomparably-solid rock wall! He used all of his power in this smash, and in the rumbling and crashing of rocks, he also heard the sound of something breaking.” [...] “A moment later, Jun Wu suddenly asked, “That move. What is it called?” “...” Xie Lian raised his sleeve and wiped away the blood on the side of his face. “Shattering boulders on the chest.” YES!!!!! YES!!!!! xie lian actually lived that life!!!!!! i loved this detail so much

“After a moment of silence, Xie Lian took off the bamboo hat carried on his back, took it in his hand, and covered it over Jun Wu’s face.” - xie lian... good... another detail i love. a hat that protects from the rain, given in a moment of need, even to someone who has caused you hardship... we do not forget the kindness granted to us

“There was gratefulness, there was shame, there was heartache, there was wild joy, but above all else, there was incurable love.” - :pleading: i wish it was just that easy tbh. “i have to tell you about the worst parts of myself” “ive already seen them and i dont care i still love you“ truly the dream

“ It’s been so long since anyone listened to me talk, won’t you stay? Don’t...actually do this. I won’t be able to take it. Twice, it’s been twice already! I really don’t want there to be a third time!!!” - the bit about just wanting someone to listen to him talk... xie lian... :(

emily corpse bride moment.... i knew it had to happen.... butterflies.... death and rebirth.... inevitable

xianle trio bickering about ruoye..... mu qing complaining but not letting anyone else fix it... im so happy

“The Rain Master sat down on the spot, looking like she was going to perform a passing service for her. After all, Xuan Ji was the only one left of the Kingdom of Yushi besides herself.”  - xuan ji you sure the hell were... a character. this little moment tho..... yushi huang... many thoughts

“ Who hasn’t made promises, or swore to the mountains and the seas when they were young? Talking of affection, of love, of forevers. But, the longer I hang around in the world, the more I understand, something like ‘forever’ is impossible. It’s never going to be possible. Having it once was already good enough. No one can truly achieve it. I don’t believe in it anymore.” - jian lan im happy for you bummer it didnt work out with feng xin but yeah that was looooong ago. also this quote me same mood kin but its chill. having it once was already good enough

although yeah tbh if theres anyone who can have a forever like that... it would be a ghost and a god

fasdfjadklfj GOD... pour one out for ling wen.. but is that not the truth of this world? the one can be pardoned for being good at paperwork that no one else wants to do? isnt that the plot of the shawshank redemption?

okay but the fact that all xie lian’s friends come to visit him while he waits for hua cheng is making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.... fengqing coming together to try to get him out of the house but get scared off by his cooking... amazing

“Last time, they spent eight hundred years running towards each other. This time, it only took an instant to fall into each other’s embrace.” - im completely unaffected by this. im not lying i swear (i am lying im very emotionally affected)

okay i love this final wrap up chapter party its so fun. mu qing moving on from the broom thing!!! good for him!! the beggars get their reward!!! the fun ghost city chefs!! SQX!!!! and he xuan is?? here too??? he’s hungry??? fjadlkfjsdl

“The grounds that Feng Xin and Mu Qing had just swept were once again filthy from that giant crowd of muddy feet. Mu Qing gripped his broom, looking like he felt someone had infected him with fleas, and his eyes were wide.” - me when my dad comes into the kitchen when ive just finished washing dishes i get it king

the little folklore bit... fun!!! oh my god its over..... :(

that was really fun i had a blast reading it and on the whole really liked it i WISH soo badly that hua cheng had gotten more outside of being cunty and devoted even tho those are both important i just wish there was more about like how he got by during those 800 years and like did he ever have doubts? what shaped his worldview was it all xie lian or was it his experience as a mortal as well? why is he so mean to e’ming? theres bits and pieces here and there and i know it was already SO long but that really would have been great if there was more about hc cuz tbh by the end, at least for me, the hualian relationship didnt actually feel as fleshed out as the xianle trio relationship like i still liked hualian’s dynamic and it was really sweet how much they clearly really liked each other and  everything but i kind of wish some of the other subplots had been dropped or diminished in favor of more hc development i think that would have been cool

but anyway thats some of my thoughts and i really did enjoy the hell out of book 5 that was a riot and uhhh thanks to everyone who read these or commented *lends you spiritual energy through a high five*

[toysoldiers-rwby]

Countdown till Vol 8: 36 Days!

Drawing and Writing Request are open!

Characters: Fiona Thyme (POV), Robyn Hill, Winter Schnee, May Marigold, Joanna Greenleaf

Rating: Teen

Summary: Bad first impressions, sharing a bed with your not-crush teammates, and saving a Thief from a Huntress?

Word count: 3k

A/N Another scrapped piece (ch 3) from my Show Your Teeth story. I scrapped it because it took too long to get to the plot but i do love the character interaction.

Dinner was… odd. For one they weren’t up in Atlas Academy, eating a care package Klein and Weiss sent or causing trouble in the mess hall. They were on the floor of Robyn’s apartment, surrounding a stained and uneven coffee table.  

Eating food that was dropped off by a mysterious Thief capable of hacking into Atlas’ network.  

And it was peaceful.  

With two of the hottest heads in Atlas Academy.  

For a moment Fiona wondered if Elm’s rocket launcher knocked her out and this was all a dream. But Robyn dived in and soften her crash. She frowned looking at the Mantle women. She expected bragging or teasing but Robyn made sure she was okay then went back to the Grimm. It was beyond professional, even Winter liked joke around but this was serious for Robyn.  

And her elites? In her head she could hear Winter huff and puff about eating evidence. While Winter wasn’t as by-the-book as Vine this was the only clue they had to find the Thief that hacked into Atlas. And as a daughter of one of the richest families she could be poisoned or drugged. May would normally be barking over every little thing, such as Robyn sitting too close or staring too long at Fiona. The little lamb gave her elites worried glances. They were… docile and guilt ridden.

They lived up in Atlas all their lives. Everything they wanted was at their fingertips while Mantle had to scavenge for their scraps. Including the military’s attention. The Thief had to trick them into killing a Grimm!  

Fiona sighed and slipped another piece of stuff chicken into her mouth. She kept her worried glances on her teammates and listened to the only conversation. Robyn and Joanna was talking about logistics and timing, the planning it would have taken the Thief to make the food and deliver it.  

“They has to be working with someone,” Joanna argued.  

“They aren’t,” Robyn and Fiona said at the same time. Robyn blinked surprised. Then a grin spread a crossed her face and she leaned forward. “I knew great minds think alike.” Fiona rolled her eyes at the arrogance but ended up smiling a little at the playfulness. “Do you want to explain it or shall I?”  

“You can have the honors. Winter and May respect smart asses that has more smarts than ass.” Fiona said. Joanna covered her mouth, trying not to giggle or choke on her food. The elites sneered and rolled their eyes.  

"I like to think I’m well rounded," Robyn said, playfully glaring Fiona. Winter tried to cower that arrogance with a glare but even with May fuming at her side Robyn didn’t back down. She seemed to preen under it, “Snowflake said she’s there was enough Dust to blow the block-”  

“False, I said the Dust is potent enough to destroy the block,” Winter said. She held the spool of fire Dust, her Aura causing it to glow bright. “This… is potent enough to heat this building for an entire month. Understand the difference?”  

“Several questions, we’ll get back to that,” Robyn said. “The Thief has super Dust,” Fiona noticed Winter frowned at the word but didn’t interrupted, “Strong enough to kill the Grimm but they tricked you three into coming down instead. Someone with that much firepower and skill doesn’t need help.”  

“… They needed a distraction but we were too close,” May mumbled under her breath. Then she turned to her partner, “That isn’t SDC Dust is it?”  

“No,” Winter said. “It’s far to pure to be from my father’s poisonous company.” She spat, anger raw in her voice. She took a deep breath, she held it out for anyone else to inspect but no one grabbed it. Fiona even saw Robyn and Joanna lean away a bit. Winter licked her lips, trying to frown instead of smile. “It’s not gonna combust. Wrong Dust for that.”  

“I don’t wanna burn myself! Scars are hot an all but their still painful,” Robyn said.  

Fiona laughed and took it from her leader’s hand, “Good manufactures have a type of stabilizer or… or a sponge,” Her Aura flared bright, trying to pour into the spool. It bright red but didn’t burn to the point where Fiona had to drop it. “Point is there’s other materials to keep handle the excess Aura so people won’t hurt themselves.”  

“So it’s safe? Even for the Dust inept?” Joanna asked. The trio from Atlas nodded and Joanna tried it. It was a dull glow. Winter tried to hide the smile but Fiona saw it anyway. Robyn pulled out her Scroll, typing a few things.  

“Solo, Dust, Tech, possibly from Mistral,” Robyn listed, “Cook, highly likely a neighbor of mine.”  

“How is cooking important?” Winter asked.  

Robyn paused and looked at her. “Can you elites cook?” Winter frowned, the light glare trying to hide the blush. Robyn smiled a little but Fiona recognize the bitterness in her eyes. Fiona was the same way when she first met them. “Cooking is a very… independent skill,” Robyn said. Fiona would have used the word survivalist. “It’s also a compassionate and communal skill,” Robyn explained, adding those words to her notes.  

Winter paused looking down at the food they were eating. Fiona hoped she was smart enough to link everything together. She wasn’t blind to the horrors her father was committing but she was still Atlesian. Did Winter understand how expensive food was here, that sharing it was putting another life before your own?  

Winter grit her teeth, “They’re still a criminal.” Fiona’s heart sank a little. Atlesians…  

“Not all crimes are severe-”  

“Hacking into Atlas’ network makes them threat!”  

Fiona heard the sharp whine before everyone else. Her ears immediately pointed at May as she twitched a little. The noise completely caught Winter off guard, head jerking to look at May. The usually angry women whined again, pitching low into a groan as her eyes tried to fluttered open. She was awake long enough to snuggle into Winter’s shoulder and immediately fell back asleep, mouth open and soft snores coming from her. Fiona grinned and giggled behind her hand. For such an elite she was wore herself on her sleeves.  

“I guess we’re finishing this in the morning,” Robyn said with a soft sigh.  

She looked conflicted, wanting to relax but her guarded blue eyes wouldn’t stray from the Mantle pair for long.  

“You three can take my bed, I’ll crash with Robyn for the night.” Joanna said.  

“Three?” Fiona asked slowly.  

“These idiots are the most overprotective people we’ve met,” Robyn added with her arms crossed. Fiona nodded in agreement before she could stop and stuck her tongue out when Winter frowned at her. “Would you really let Fiona sleep in the living room in a stranger’s apartment?”  

Winter blinked. Fiona could sense the tension fading from the Schnee’s body. Winter ate one last stuffed mushroom. “Huh,” She said. Robyn and Joanna waited for more acknowledgment or appreciation but Winter only closed her eyes. Signaling the end of that conversation.  

Robyn scowled and Fiona stepped in to try and pacify her, “Thanks. It’s… it’s been tough but I’m sure it’ll better now that we have a fourth member, right?” She looked at her teammates.  

May was drifting into deep sleep and Winter was softly glaring at her partner.  

“Ideally,” Winter replied only after Fiona cleared her throat. Winter picked up May and Joanna guided the trio to her room. Fiona tried not to imagine all the hard muscles in Winter’s back and arms as she set May on the bed. She just moved her partner around so effortlessly  

“Sorry we don’t have any extra clothes or toothbrushes for you,” Joanna mumbled.  

“Oh, I think I have some actually,” Fiona said. She concentrated and flexed her hand, recalling the memories associated with the object.  

It was a conversation after a surprise trip out of the Kingdom when a Search and Destroy suddenly became a Search and Rescue. Thankfully it was a success but the elites would not stop complaining about their hair. Or maybe it was a break in the usual routine that pissed them off?  

Fiona manage to exude two toothbrushes and… a hair brush with long blue hair. “Damn it, May,” Fiona sighed. “I guess it’s a good thing she’s asleep.”  

“She usually doesn’t tire so easily…” Winter said softly. Fiona leaned to the side to see her hand linger through May’s hair as she brushed it out of her face. Fiona started her suspicion count then, even if she had several ones before it. “Maybe Weiss and Klein are right. We need a break.”  

“Or a date,” Joanna mumbled too softly for the humans to hear. Fiona’s ears perked up. She silently gasped up at Joanna who tried not to blush and fidget. Joanna cleared her throat, “Maybe you three can go shopping tomorrow? To blend in better.”  

“That’s a good idea,” Robyn said walking up, “Every time you three are in Mantle the Thief’s gone out of their way to mess with you.”  

“I suppose we can be bait,” Winter said with a nod. She slipped her usual tie loose and undid a few buttons on her shirt and cuffs. Obviously undressing for bed.  

Robyn smirked. Fiona could tell another sly remark was on her lips but Joanna quickly shoved her friend out of the room, “Goodnight! Bathroom is on at the end of the hall!” Winter sneered watching the pair retreat to Robyn’s room and quietly closed the door behind them.  

Fiona closed her eyes, ears wiggling in their direction, “I wasn’t going to insult them,” she could hear Robyn pout. “In fact I had very nice things to say.”  

“Do you really want to get between whatever those elites have-” Joanna cut herself off with a sigh. If Fiona’s answer was ‘Yes, I’d love to get between the pair of sexy elites’ Robyn was probably in the same boat. She could imagine Robyn’s smug face and Joanna’s tired exhaustion. “I will kick you out of your own bed if you don’t behave.”  

“Yes, ma’am,” Robyn said with a laugh. The sound made Fiona’s ears flutter and her eyes slowly opened. It was… soft and gentle in a way she didn’t expect for such an arrogant women.  

Fiona finally closed the door and when she turned to the bed she saw a nearly nude Winter hovering over May. This time Fiona treated herself to Winter’s sculpted muscles, the old light catching her pale skin and highlighting all the right planes as she breathed and shifted. Fiona only wished she was in her usual night lace. Maybe had her hair down completely down but it gave Fiona odd butterflies knowing it was done by May.  

Hearing the door clicked close Winter glanced over her shoulder, revealing a frown, “May still has dirt and rubble on her clothes.” Fiona walked over and May’s shirt and pants. She concentrated. Separating closely touching objects was always harder. She focused on the coat and shirt, the little bits of rocks and dirt. She imagined May out of the designer cloths- standing nude in their dorms.  

Her semblance activated, clothes absorbing into her and leaving… May in her a simple bra and boyshorts. Fiona exuded May’s clothes with a relieved sigh. She was never doing that again… not while she was pent up. Fiona tried shaking out all the small rocks before folding them neatly next to Winter’s cloths and finally slipping out of her own thick clothing. Feeling the difference Fiona made a quick list of what shops to drag the pair to in the morning. Hopefully Robyn would have some proper coats for the pair. She closed the lights and finally got in bed.  

Fiona didn’t realize she was in the middle of her two elites until she was already settled in. She was sure Winter had a crush on May… if that was true wouldn’t she want to sleep next to her? Winter caught her confused frown through her Scroll, "I’ll be up a little longer. You two can cuddle each other to death.  

Fiona smiled and rolled her eyes. May has a bad habit of crushing anything in bed with her to her chest. There was a brief light and the sound of a Glyph being summoned. That finally stirred May enough, but only to turn away from it and drape an arm on Fiona. Winter smiled. A lot more open than usual in the dark and obscured through the hard-light screen. She always looked better when she wasn’t acting like the perfect soldier. The thought stunned the little sheep long enough for Winter to wrap the scarf loosely around her neck.  

Fiona closed her eyes and took a deep breath. May always smelled like flowers for some reason, fresh snow. Her ears wiggled happily. “Goodnight, Win. Don’t stay up too late.”  

“Goodnight. Don’t let May drool all over the scarf.” Winter said. Fiona giggled and nodded.  

She fell asleep quickly, nestling into the stranger’s blankets and pillows with a warm and familiar arm comforting her. Fiona remembers blue eyes watching them and maybe a cool arm drapped over her in the middle of the night.

Then she heard a rush of noise under May’s soft snoring and Winter’s heavy breathing. The brush of thick clothes and solid leather boots. Fiona opened her eyes only to blink them close. May’s warmth and Winter’s cool embrace oddly nice, the smell of fresh snow and flowers nearly lulled her back to sleep.  

Then something her ears honed in on. The slow soft creaking of a string and the sudden click of a crossbow woke her up. Her ears straighten, pointing to the door.  

“We should wake them up!”  

“You heard the Schnee!” Robyn whispered back. “They’ll turn the Thief in!”  

“With your help and ta da your in Atlas Academy!” Joanna whispered. Fiona slipped out of her teammate’s arms and crawled over May. Winter flinched and grumbled as May snuggled closer to her but neither of them woke up.  

Fiona’s hand hovered over her teammates for a second but… She hadn’t seen May look this peaceful in a long time. She missed the goofy idiot that was excited to enjoy life. And their Aura did take a beating with Elm’s rocket launcher. The little lamb turned away from the pair and quickly threw on her clothes while listen to their host.  

Joanna was still trying to talk some sense into Robyn, "They’re being chased by Glynda Goodwitch!" Fiona nearly tripped pulling up her pants. “What makes you think we can help them escape that?”  

“She’s Vale’s best Huntress but she’s not a god though… I’d worship her if that’s what it takes.”  

“Robyn…” Joanna said with a frustrated sigh. Fiona heard the front door open and the light shined bright under the door for a moment. “I hope you know what your doing.” And then it clicked closed, the light gone with it.  

Fiona rushed out through the window, taking the fire escape two steps at a time as she raced for the top. The plan was to follow them on the rooftops but when she finally got to the top, Joanna was frowning down at her but Robyn smirked.  

“Great minds-”  

“Shut up,” Fiona sighed. Robyn didn’t say another word but Fiona didn’t know if that smug grin and offer to help her up was worse… She did deal with Winter and May. Fiona took the hand and gasped at the strength behind it. She was effortlessly pulled to her feet but Robyn didn’t let go. Instead her Aura flared, engulfing Fiona’s arm. “What’s…”  

“How much did you hear. lambchop?”  

"I know your trying to save the THief from Glynda fucking Goodwitch," Fiona hissed. It glowed green. Robyn’s grip didn’t let up so Fiona matched it, squeezing tight and that was barely half her strength. She let herself enjoy Robyn’s surprise for a moment. “And are you dumb?! They’ll charge you as an accomplice!”  

Robyn sneered and rolled her eyes, “I’m a cop.” Red. Robyn sputtered, blushing hard while Joanna laughed softly. Fiona squeezed harder making it clear Robyn trapped herself with her own game. “Kinda! Mostly… We’re on out two weeks notice!” Green. Fiona relaxed a little. “Stupid semblance… My turn, are you going to stop us?”  

“I… I don’t know,” Fiona mumbled. She was half surprised when the Aura let up green. But Robyn wasn’t and her grip finally relaxed so Fiona let hers slacken too. “Yes, having access to the network makes the Thief is dangerous but I think it puts them in danger. Especially if they are alone.”  

“Alright. We find them, help them escape then figure things out from there,” Robyn said. She looked at Joanna who nodded then down at Fiona who also agreed. Robyn smiled, “You can let go y’know.”  

“Ugh,” Fiona rolled her eyes and pulled her hand free. She didn’t comment on how Robyn’s fingers lingered on her palm and she definitely did not feel a rush of heat flutter in her chest.  

Robyn pulled out her Scroll lowering it so Fiona could see it. It was a broadcast from an airship. Goodwitch walked down the street while the Thief tried to dart away. Every time they got close to an alley, dumpsters would move, blocking their path or a car was lifted off the ground. With Goodwitch’s Telekinesis it even slammed into the Thief, forcing them to grab their hood and hold it down to hide their face. Whenever Goodwitch got too close, a wall of fire erupted from the Minstral robes and the Thief was able to put some distance until their dance started again.  

“Goodwitch is waiting for our little Thief to tire out,” Robyn said.  

“They’re near the street you blew up,” Joanna informed. She smiled at the blush and nervous twitch of Fiona’s ears. She easily jumped across the alley and started running. Robyn flashed a two finger salute and smile before following. Fiona frowned, watching their long ass legs easily make the gap. Fiona stepped back a little, getting a running start and leaping across.  

When Robyn saw that she cleared the gap with ease she smirked and sped up. Fiona rolled her eyes. She wasn’t going to be baited into a childish and unfair race. Fiona glanced around for a better path, she saw it in the form of a heating vent and Joanna’s broad shoulders.  

“Sorry!” Fiona said with a laugh, vaulting off some random piping and onto the giant’s shoulder. Then onto the vent and finally to the next building. The fall was short, the impact of the metal roof was barely familiar but her body tucked and rolled like she never left Mantle. Fiona took several dashing low strides sliding under some pipes and kicking off of them. Despire Robyn’s long strides Fiona kept pace.  

“You should slow down, save your energy for Goodwitch,” Fiona said with a smirk. This time Robyn was the one that rolled her eyes but took the suggestion seriously. The pair did tease Joanna a little, keeping one building a head of her.  

“I’m letting Goodwitch whip you with that riding crop,” Joanna mumbled a little winded.  

Fiona tried to frown through the blush rising to her cheeks. She was successful for the most part, but the twitching ears gave it away, “Does she really?”  

“Your eyes are sharper in the dark. You tell us,” Robyn said waving the pair to the ledge she was on. Robyn handed Fiona a pair of binoculars. The little lamb noticed the police logo and the worn spots. Fiona saw the bright purple darting around a few streets down, then a surge of fire.  

Through the binoculars she saw the Thief almost stumble to the ground, the gravity Dust in their robes flickering. This time Goodwitch tore up the road, shards of debris making a wall. They tried dashing up it, gravity leveling their legs against the uneven vertical surface but it was a Telekinetic surface. It moved under Goodwitch’s command, trying to wrap around them but it was like grasping water. The Thief was always slipping out and moving, but the Dust was either running out or their Aura was finally reaching its limit.  

“This would be a lot easier with May,” Fiona said. Robyn nodded, silently offering Fiona a vaulting point. Fiona gave her a light frown but used it to get to the next building, they’ll be time to argue later.