#my mom keeps getting pissed at me when i did nothing wrong

[unch4rtedwxters]

.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Doing Time 3

No tag lists. Do not send asks or DMs about updates. Review my pinned post for guidelines, masterlist, etc.

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon/dubcon, threats, age gap, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: you try to keep your brother safe in jail but put yourself in danger along the way.

Characters: con/ex-con!Steve Rogers

Note: I need the weekend to come so I can cum

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Please do not just put ‘more’. I will block you.

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

"Things aren't too bad. Not since I got my ass kicked," Vaughn chortles. "Mighta knocked some sense into this thick skull at last."

"Hopefully," you agree. "Mom said--"

"I tried calling. She didn't pick up."

"Oh..."

"Why-- Why should I even bother?" His humour fades to hostility, "and why are you acting like you're my mother? When she does answer, she just calls me a fuck up. Like I don't fucking know."

"Vaughn," you hum, "please, I'm not trying to piss you off."

"But you are," he snarls. "Always gotta ruin a good time, don't ya?"

You frown. This is the Vaughn you don't know. The one with the anger like a grenade pin. One tug and it's over. You sit back and wait. Arguing only fuels the flames.

"You're the one person who's s'posed to believe in me and you're nagging me about mom," he snarls.

You look away guiltily. You wonder how he'd react if you told him about Steve. If you mentioned that the reason things 'aren't too bad' is because you did something just as stupid as him. Somehow, you don't think that him knowing you do dumb stuff too will help.

He tugs at his cuffs. The guards come forward. You say his name again.

"Vaughn, please--"

"Piss off! Yeah, you meat head, get me outta here," he turns his wrath on the guard. "Waste of my time."

"Please, I didn't-- I just--"

"I told you not to talk about it no more," he barks. He did. You didn't listen.

Your eyes well. You don't know what happened to him. Where did all this anger come from? As you watch the guards unhook him and he stomps away, you can only think you may have made a good decision talking to Steve. At least there's someone in there who can help. Or try to.

You wiggle your nose and dab your eyes with your knuckle. That was embarrassing as much as it was scary. The guard on the other side returns.

"We'll bring the next early, miss."

"Thanks," you nod. You recognise him. You realise most of the guards must know your face too. It's so strange to think this is a normal part of your life now. That this has become your social life as late.

It isn't long before Steve appears. He sits calmly lets himself be leashed. He leans forward and takes the receiver. You still have yours in hand but it's against the table. You lift it.

"Couldn't wait to see me, huh?" He purrs.

Your cheeks draw tight, "how are you?"

"Mm," he narrows his eyes as he looks you over. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, Steve," you swallow the dregs of your tears. "Really. It was an early morning."

He stares a little longer, the lines deepening in his forehead. His eyes meet yours. His aquamarine irises are speckled with gold and silver. He takes a breath and tuts.

"You were crying."

"No, Steve, it's nothing."

"That brat brother of yours," he nods as his expression turns dangerous.

"Please, Steve, not you too. Okay? It's... a sibling spat. That's all," you assure him. You wish you were as transparent as the window between you.

"I don't like that. I had family coming to see me, I'd be nice," he snarls.

"It's not your problem."

"That's where you're wrong, sweetheart. You made it my problem when you started coming around." He insists.

You chew your lip, "I know..."

"I'm not complaining, so you know," he leans back. "Kinda used to ya now."

"Thanks," you utter grimly and stare at the desk.

"Hey," he says and your eyes flick back up. "I didn't drag myself out here to see you mope."

You swallow and push away the rest of your chagrin, "sorry, I... better?"

"How can that face get any better?" He winks. You squirm.

He's been more forward lately. You assure yourself that it's just him playing with you. He's bored and you're the only person he talks to that isn't a guard or an inmate.

"That's... Right. Um, I guess it was dumb to ask how it's going," you scoff at yourself.

"It's going good, now I'm here," he runs his hand over his mouth, feeling his cheeks, "fresh shave this morning. Looking good, huh?"

You let your eyes focus. You can tell. His chiseled jaw is bare, not one speck of stubble. And his blond hair is parted and combed back. It's getting a bit long.

"You look refreshed."

"Well, I got something coming up later today."

"Another visitor?" You wonder.

"Lawyer," he shrugs. "No big thing. I got business on the outside still. Power of attorney or whatever."

"Mm," you hum.

"Boring stuff. What about you? Besides that idiot you call a brother, how's life?"

"It's life," you say. "Go to work, come home, sleep, it's all the same."

"Huh, sounds like being in here," he snorts. "Lonely?"

You don't realise at first, he's asking.

"I guess. Thought about getting a cat."

"Ah, you're young. Probably wait a few years before that," he chirps.

You tilt your head wryly, "no harm starting early."

"You're funny, sweetheart."

"Am I?" You wonder dryly.

"Well, the things they think are funny in here..." he makes a face. "You know, I wouldn't tell a lady all that, but it's low brow."

"Right."

"I'm still trying to figure you out, you know? Your brother, well, not to pile on top but he's not exactly a model citizen, but you, you're practical, considerate, you make stuffed chicken and pesto. I can't help but wonder how you're not adopted," he snickers.

"Life is strange."

"Isn't it? Never saw some girl knocking on my cell door but here we are," he drawls.

"Here we are," you agree. He smiles and bites his thumb. You shift as his eyes sparkle.

"I might never get outta of this place, but at least I can see a pretty face now and again," he growls.

Yep, at least he'll never get out. You just need to hope Vaughn doesn't get any time added and it will all be over soon. 

⛓️‍💥

It's the first night Steve doesn't call. You're a bit disturbed by how it seems to throw the whole evening off. It's not like you're friends. He's an obligation. You should be happy to have one less thing on your plate.

You take a long bath, your phone on the back of the toilet, the ringer set to chirp. But it doesn't. The soak isn't enough to ease your nerves.

If something happened to him, what about Vaughn? It's a selfish worry but you can't help it. How could that even happen? Steve has this invincibility about him. You just can't believe it.

You get out and dry yourself off slowly. You're achy from sitting on your ass all day. Admin work isn't very thrilling. You stretch and rub the cushion of your bottom, the muscles easing beneath the layer of padding. You've always had a bit extra. It never bothered you as much as it bothers men. Your brother used to beat up any guy he heard hurling insults at you.

It's not your biggest care in the world. You tend to eat those away. Your sweet tooth hardly helps.

You put on a night shirt and lay awake for a while. Even when you do sleep, it's not peaceful. You dream of iron bars and blood on the floor. You wake with a thumping in your temples.

You dress for work. Your stretch-waist grey pants and the silk blouse with roses on the collar. You pack your lunch and brew your coffee, honey and a dash of almond milk splashed in. You leave with your bag and thermos.

The traffic around the clinic is always clogged. You get in with two minutes to spare. You sit behind the window and the phone rings as soon as opening hour strikes. You're swept up in the demands of patients and doctors alike. One thing you can't complain for how quickly the days fly.

You eat your lunch in your car. You cherish the moments you're not surrounded by sniffling, coughing, and complaining. You head back in and finish the last half, yawning at the monitor.

It's even busier when you pull out into the street. You let the music flow into your ears and distract you. You tap the pedal as you slog along. Finally, you get to a side street and cut a zig zag across town. You pull up to your building and linger in your car.

You have this eerie feeling. You glance over at the unfamiliar car parked facing the brick. The sleek white muscle car is vintage and polished to a shine. Someone loves that thing.

You get out of your dusty Honda and snatch your bag from the passenger's seat. You tap your fob and enter through the side. You stop before the elevator and turn back. You should at least try to get a few steps in. You take the stairs.

You stare at your pointed flats as you drag your soles over the carpet. You smother a yawn behind your hand. A throat clears. You move over, thinking someone's coming your way. You stir in your bag for your keys. Your name brings your chin up.

You gasp and drop your keys. You teeter as you nearly spin and sprint away. Your bag slips and you barely catch the strap. You gape at Steve as he stands beside your door.

Silence wafts around you with the smell of cooking and laundry. He holds a bouquet of classic red roses. He sports a tailored suit in black that puts his prison uniform to shame. The collar is crisp and the tie perfectly knotted. His jawline is shaved and his hair is styled down to the strand.

"Hey, sweetheart," he greets with a smirk.

You wordlessly bend to pick up your keys then stand and fix your bag on your shoulder. Your eyes glaze in disbelief and horror. A million questions flurry to a storm of terror.

"How..."

"Appeal went through. They turned over my conviction," he struts away from the wall. "These are for you, sweetheart."

You look at the petals then at him as he comes close. Your shoulders sag as you shrink down at the breadth of his shadow. He's even bigger like that. You shudder, the lack of barrier unsettling.

"I got you speechless," he intones and grabs the strap of your bag. "Look like you had a long day, let me take a load off."

He takes your bag then guides your hand to the bouquet. You close your mouth and gulp. He sweeps away your keys and hooks his arm through yours. You let him lead you to the door of your apartment. He swings it open and you flinch.

"Wait, Steve, how did you-- how do you know where I live?" You quaver.

"Told you, I got friends on the outside. You don't think I'd leave you unprotected--"

"Wait, wait," you plead as you face him, untangling your arm from his. "How is this real? How are you here? How- Why-- You don't think--"

"I think I spent months talking to you and you spent the same time coming to me. It's not what I think, it's what I know," he insists. You choke.

If his conviction was flipped, maybe that means he isn't so bad. No, no, you heard of what he did in there. He's dangerous. Whether he did what the court said he didn't or not.

He waves you in, "come on, we can take it slow. We'll talk, like old times."

You shake your head but enter. You see no other choice. You're too stunned to think of any.

He follows and pulls the key free of the door before shutting it. He hangs them on the little hook beside the frame. He faces you as you focus on slipping off your flats. He puts your bag on the top of the small shelf where you store your mitts and whatnot.

He whistles, "you look... good. I mean, I never got the full angle." He steps back and you feel him raking you with his eyes. "Got a nice shape..."

"Steve," you snap and face him. "I... I never..." you pace yourself and take a breath. "The flowers are lovely, thank you. And I appreciate you coming by but I think there's a bit of a miscommunication." You turn and slowly inch away. You spin around as he watches you, his expression betraying nothing. "I only talked to you to keep Vaughn safe."

He sighs and his eyes narrow. His brows tilt slightly and his jaw squares. He nods and smooths the front of his jacket.

"Well, sweetheart, I went and got a new suit for you."

"I'm sorry--"

"No, get this," he strides forward and stops before you. "Whether it was for me, for you, or for that scum you call a brother, it happened and it's not over. You got me? I might be out but I got men inside. Men who are willing to do a lot worse than me," he snarls.

You shudder and he grabs your chin. You whimper. "I wanna be nice to you, sweetheart. That's all I've been dreaming of. I went out, got all dressed up, got you flowers, now you do me a favour, go put a dress on so I can take you out for dinner." He sniffs and squeezes just until your jaw throbs, "see, I'm still doing stuff for you. I'm not asking much except you to come out and look pretty."

He lets go and you stagger back. You sniffle and quickly hide your face. Your voice comes out hoarse, "I'll put these in water first."

Your heart races and you go into the kitchen. You find a vase and focus on filling it. You put the flowers in and toss the paper cone. He looms in the doorway.

"I'll find something to put on, okay?" Your voice cracks.

You cross the kitchen and he stays firmly in your path. He brings his knuckle up under your chin and forces your face up.

"Smile, sweetheart," he growls. "We're together. At last."

[pigeonpeach]

Father’s weakness

Aka another mom figure x arlecchino!

Warnings: blood, injury to reader, stitches,

A/n: part of this was written before her story quest, but i wanted to get something out after weeks of nothing. Tryna feed my arlecchino fans out there

You hadn’t ever fought in your life. You were not a fighter by any means. But when one of the city mechas malfunctioned and started to target the very child you were with, something in you snapped. Before you could think you were struggling against a metallic arm, blood dripping from your hands as you had stopped the blad with your palm. In that instance all pain was numb, your body didn’t exist but your determination to protect the very helpless and small child did, it overrides your weakness as you had successfully stopped it. The child in question immediately screaming for help.

“I don’t want to leave you! No I won’t leave you again mommy!” She cried, her mother had been murdered, that’s why she was a orphan, you could only imagine how horrific it was for her.

“Celia you have to run! I’ll be fine!” You said, lying through your damn teeth. The machine tried to overpower you, your body was pushed back as you tried to wrestle the sword from its hand.

Finally the guards, the human ones arrived. A gunshot aired as the mecha turned its attention to far more dangerous agressors and withdrew its sword to fight them instead. Leaving you to fall to the floor, injured and awkwardly comforting Celia as she immediately tried to drag you back to the house of hearth.

“I can’t really say you’re a fool. There wasn’t exactly any better alternative in that situation.” Your coworker said. You winced as she stitched the gash in your hands. There wasn’t much time to get a pain killer so you bore it through your teeth. “But Alrecchino will certainly be unhappy with the guardes. I truly don’t understand why it picked on you.”

“Just.. keep scolding me or something. Its easier to forget the pain.” You whispered. The children were hysterical outside. You, the favorite caretaker, had been greatly injured. Of course they were upset, these are orphans. You could hear the older agents trying to soothe the younglings outside.

“Arlecchino won’t be pleased. Lets just hope her anger will be directed towards the engineers.”

“Likely. I didn’t do anything against the code, infact Its well within my job description to protect the children if needed. I may have lied about my capabilities on that though…” you hissed. Now without the adrenaline did everything fucking hurt. The antiseptic in your wounds, the bruises, the needle actively piercing your skin, it fucking hurt. But you had to suck it up, otherwise the children would meltdown into utter chaos believing their mother was dying.

“Surely you know that she.. values you in some way. I was just saying that she may be particularly pissed. You are her favorite.”

“Wait what? I’m the kids favorite, that’s no secret, but hers? Are you sure?” You asked skeptically. Although Clarice had been quite old, having worked for the previous knave and well into her 50s, you didn’t think she had a eye for those details.

“It doesn’t take a expert. But you should be more careful.”

“And what? Let the machines murder the kids I’m designated to protect? No! I did nothing wrong! I don’t care if I destroyed or damaged that machine. I’d sooner punch the Iudex myself then let any of those kids get harmed on my watch.” You said defensively.

“Yes I understand. There. You’re done. Now I’ll wrap it so the kids don’t worry to much. Now please go out there so the kids don’t start mauling each other.” Clarice groaned. You took your hand, it wasn’t pretty, you certainly couldn’t let the kids see that kind of wound when they’re so young.

“Mom! Mom!” The children only became more rowdy when you left through the door.

“Back up now! You’re all going to crush each other!” You said sternly. Only about half seemed to listen, you had to repeat yourself a few times before they relaxed. “I’m okay children. I’m just a little hurt, I’ll live okay?” You flipped your hands around to showcase the bandages, hoping they’d relax. They did but you could still see the worry. Even the older children seemed concerned. “Please return to what you were doing now, all is well. No one is dying or leaving okay?” You said. Slowly they dispersed. If only because their worries had been addressed. But you knew it didn’t fully do so. But at least now you could walk down the halls. You sighed as you walked towards the entrance, seeing a few guards.

“You won’t take our mommy!” One kid said immediately latching onto your leg. You patted his head.

“This isn’t a arrest. In fact we just wanted to get a report from you as to what happened. We understand you left the scene almost Immediately yes?” The officer in question seemed suspicious of you. As if you had something to benefit from the situation. ‘Great he’s going to find anything to twist into suspicion’

“Sir I hope you understand that now is not the the time for interviews. I have just been patched up and I am still on the clock, I have a big responsibility right now. I’ll be happy to come to your olace for a official statement but now is not the time. Now please leave before the children get worried even more so.”

“Ma’am we have to get your point of view to better understand-“

“I was taking one of the children for icecream because she had been very good and it was her birthday. That mecha started randomly attacking people and I jumped in to save her. That is all you are getting at this hour, now please step outside.” You said, you didn’t trust this officer. Just his eyes alone were shifty, plotting, something wasn’t right with him and you weren’t going to risk it,

“Ma-am do not put your hands on me.”

“I am very much not touching you right now. Am i not allowed to exist in the air nearby you? Let me repeat myself, i will go to the palais to give my statement once I’m clocked out. You however need to get out.” Normally you were polite and understanding, the epitome of grace and manners. But you almost died today so you didn’t feel intimidated by the cops ad you had previously been.

“May I at least speak to the child?”

“I will not repeat myself sir, get. Out. We will give our statement later.” You said pointing to the door. He wrote something down which annoyed you greatly.

“Alright, you don’t have to be so rude. I’ll leave. We expect your testimony soon.” He said. You frowned even more so.

“What a bitch.” A child said.

“Do not use that language Belle.” You sighed.

“Arlecchino was supposed to be back by now, but I believe she’s having a strong word with the guards right now.” Lynette explained. From the way her tail swished you could sense she was alarmed. “Many people are afraid of the mechas right now. Apparently they’ve been temporarily recalled. Although the current belief is that one of the wild ones managed to sneak in without suspicion. But its only a theory for now. The important thing is you are safe.” Despite her stoic face you could see both her and Lyney needed reassurance of your wellbeing. Like the many children who were now on edge.

“I am safe. A doctor came by to inspect my injuries and said that I should be fine. I’m likely s little anemic is all. For now I can’t do any heavy lifting or intensive jobs.” You explained. Lyney stiffened.

“That shouldn’t be a issue, Freminet and I would be more than willing to help you with anything.” He offered. You smiled trying to reassure the twins of your health.

“That is sweet but you two have your own lives now. But if you have the time to I wouldn’t complain. Just don’t go against your father’s orders just for me okay. I don’t want anyone getting into trouble.”

“That’s reasonable enough. Will you still be working?” Lynette asked.

“Well like you said, Arlecchino isn’t home yet so I’d have to discuss that with her. But likely yes. I have already used up my sick days for the month.” You smiled.

“No I’m sure she’d let you rest at least!” Lyney said.

“I’m glad you care Lyney but it’s up to your Father to decide. Besides I’m still kicking. I’ll be fine.”

“Father did tell us to accompany you for now. How is Celine right now?”

“She had a panic attack and had to be kicked out of the nursing station. But she’s uninjured and I’ve spent time to calm her down. Unfortunately she didn’t get to finish her icecream.” You joked. They didn’t seem to enjoy your humor.

“We can get her some ourselves. You just relax for now.” He said. You sighed.

“Miss Alrecchino.” You bowed as she entered the room. She however seemed anything but normal. She held your face forcing you to look at her and tilting it, as if checking for any injuries.

“How are you feeling.” Her tone was different. She sounded riled and angry. You dreaded seeing this side of her.

“I’m just a little weak right now. My palms hurt quite badly but I’ll be fine.” You said. She seemed unpleased.

“She didn’t even use painkillers..” she said under her breath. “You should rest. Bandage the wound and check in with the doctor, ill ask the others to lighten your workload for the time being. Be cautious from now on.”

“Y-yes.” You bowed as you quickly exited, unsure if you had heard the entire conversation properly.

And that was it. Arlecchino despite her cold and unfeeling demeanor, everyone else seemed convinced she had a fondness for you. But even if she did you could never see it in her eyes. Her eyes looked somehow dull and sharp, dangerous maybe a better term. Sometimes they soften, the light would reflect in them but her lips hardly ever curved then. It was like she never smiled with her eyes but never smiled when her eyes lit up. But you had a job to do, you had to help the kids, you could ponder arlecchino’s emotions later.

[lukolabrainrot]

Toronto and Ireland (Part 1)

I observed a shift in L/N's behavior and non-verbal cues by the time they got to Toronto. Their non-verbal cues signaled to me that there was a since of ease and confidence with them BTS. However, I think that looked very different in both locations. Refer to my timeline theories here on my thoughts on what was going on between L/N before Toronto. Below are my thoughts.

Toronto

Let's first address the fact that there was a break between Brazil and Toronto. It was ~2 weeks from what I remember. During the break the following happened:

L went back and liked all of A's posts back to July 2023. Previously, he had only liked her posts up to October/November 2023.

A chopped her hair off

I believe the DM likes from A's mom occurred around this point as well (or during Brazil)

There were some SoHo Farmhouse pics posted by A (I believe?), but no one could confirm if those were current or old photos (as A has a history of posting old photos to insinuate she is with L in real time when she isn't)

There was nothing else though to publicly link L/A during this break (from my understanding, correct me if I am wrong?)

This break is also when the rumored Spain trip between L/N occurred (but there is no evidence this actually occurred)

N was publicly seen at the Mighty Hoopla music festival with her friends the weekend before Toronto

N and L appear to fly into Toronto on separate flights

Alright I am going to throw out something that is purely a theory, regarding A, at that point in time, and now. I've kind of avoided directly talking about my theories on A because I just don't have enough information to confidently analyze what is going on. But with everything that has come out recently, and especially this week, I feel more and more confident on this theory (but again, it's just a theory):

As I mentioned, I firmly believe L/N physically acted on their feelings at points on the tour, and by Brazil, A was FLIPPING OUT because I think she sensed L pulling away. A had been around for a while, and I don't believe there were any firm boundaries/labels set on their relationship, but A had her sights set on riding his coattails and trying to get fame/attention from being in his orbit. She is also DEEPLY insecure and envious of N. Lastly, she is a WILD CARD and had been publicly known about in the fandom for a while. I think there was some overlap between N and A, and L did not want A leaking that s**t. Whyy... because he LOVES N. This is also his bed he made, and he needed to lie in it and clean up his mess. The optics of all of this do not look good for L & N if all of this information got released to the public. I also think that's why the DM comments got scrubbed on the site (which doesn't just happen out of thin air). He needed to start cleaning s**t up if he and N ever want to go public someday.

Therefore, he went back during the break to make up with A and reassure A he wasn't just going to drop her from his orbit (hence things like liking more of her posts so people took notice, and it made it seem they were more serious than previously thought). Tbh, I don't think it was very hard for him to keep her appeased because I honestly don't think this relationship goes any deeper than casual and transactional.

Then L/N became even more obvious about their feelings during Toronto and Ireland imo, and then all hell broke loose at the premiere (because a certain 🐜 was PISSED and getting revenge).

My whole point with all this is this. L was NEVER going to be able to unravel from A during the PR tour because it had already become public that she was connected to L (even if he was already checked out at this point). He was always going to have to officially acknowledge A to the public, let people get use to them as a "unit", and then slowly unravel over a couple of months in a way that satisfied A and didn't encourage her to go rogue (because I think we are getting more and more proof that she DOES go rogue). This included what we have seen between them since the premiere. I firmly believe that A has some information that would eff up L&N being able to confidently go public at some point if they want to without this really messy public narrative (because if L/N ARE indeed working on their relationship, it is probably going to be a little messy no matter what when/if they go public). L is letting A therefore get the attention she wants rn, and trying to stay as publicly unconnected to N as possible. I think he severely underestimated the impact this was all going to have on his career though (at least in the short-term). Do I think this also probably put somewhat of a strain on his relationship with N? Most likely, yes. However, they have known each other for many years, and have gone through a lot together. I don't think N sees A as a threat to her and L in any way, and I think L/N are figuring things out in private. And do I think just because A is still in L's orbit that that means they are super happy and madly in love? Absolutely not. The optics of everything we have seen around L/A since the premiere speak VOLUMES, and that is all I will say on that.

I was fired up about all of this because of the events this week, so I needed to get this off my chest 😅 I think though that everything we have seen between L/A since after Brazil is just another indicator that L/N are serious about each other (if that makes sense). THIS IS JUST A THEORY THOUGH.

And does this all seem messy? Yes. Because the short answer is that it is. Human beings though are messy, and I think unfortunately a lot of this played out on a very public stage, so everyone is trying to figure out what to do now.

Alright, back to Toronto. A lot of people thought the vibes seemed off between L/N, but I disagree. This was the part of the tour where I started coming to the conclusion that there was something BIG going on between L/N BTS (in a good way), that went deeper than just wild sexual chemistry/attraction. Here are my thoughts:

I personally think L/N took time during the break to have some big conversations in private about their future together, in a "normal" setting outside of the tour. I think they came to a conclusion that their feelings were larger than just the show and tour, and that this was going to be one of those BIG relationships for both of them. I think they also had conversations about how A was going to tie into the public narrative after the tour (but I think A hijacked that narrative). But I think L/N were very much on the same page going into Toronto.

I also get this sense that by this point in Toronto, it was getting harder for them to hide what was going on because things were getting more serious, and they were ALL LOVEY DOVEY AND HAPPY BTS. Although I am going to be honest, I don't think they ever hid their feelings for each other very well on the tour (especially L). And this was all kind of new as well. Therefore, I think that's where some of the "awkward" vibes were coming from, but their nonverbal cues didn't read as disconnect to me (like the beginning of Italy did).

I also have a feeling they were EXHAUSTED by this point, and probably so tired of answering the same questions (I swear, I bet they never want to talk about the carriage scene again 😂). I also heard that they might have been sick in Toronto, so all of this might have also played into the shift in energy.

However, a lot of key things happened in Toronto that signaled to me there had been a positive emotional shift between them. I really started to notice the "couple" eyes between them, and N's walls really dropped and the heart eyes were in full force. Toronto had my favorite interview of them during the tour, which I posted here. We got the the thigh rub from N, the beginning of the Ryan Gosling jealousy from L (I believe), L beginning to get more comfortable and silly on interviews (he seemed VERY happy, and a lot more confident by this point, which I found very interesting 🤔), a few instances where L/N would get lost in a moment with each other and forget they were on an interview, N reassuring L that he was her "favorite", and photos and video of L meeting some of N's extended family (and he looked very happy in the video). Also N didn't end up posting a "bf" pic of L (even though she did for Italy, Brazil, and Ireland). Now it could mean nothing (and it's probably just a coincidence), but I just find it interesting (in a good way 🤔). Yes, a lot of this could be chalked up to PR, and some of it probably was. However, most of this just DID NOT read as professional PR to me. It just wasn't.

Lastly, we got THIS pic of them below in Toronto 👀:

I am going to post an article below about body language between couples in photos. I don't agree with all of the article, but it does have some interesting facts/comments. I would highly recommend looking over the article a little, and looking back at the video that had the compilation of them posing at the different tour stops. I know that this was 100% cutesy PR (and I am not trying to imply they were necessarily an "official couple"), but I found it very telling about HOW they chose to pose at each stop. I feel like it spoke VOLUMES about what was going on between them at each stop. I do want to say that we can't 100% know what was going on for them emotionally BTS at each stop, but I do think it gives us a glimpse. Which is why I found this picture PARTICULARLY interesting. It just screams comfort and security (even with the weird lighting lol).

My point with all this is that I think we caught L/N at a big turning point in their relationship at Toronto, which led to some of the awkward energy at times, but not because they were beefing. I think BTS they were really happy, but they knew they had to not let the WHOLE cat out of the bag, so they were trying to kind of put up a little distance. However, they slipped up constantly, and then everything came to a peak, and that's why we got the magic that was the Ireland stops. I'll talk about my thoughts on Ireland in my Part 2 post, because there is a LOT to talk about. 😅

[lumiolivier]

Treasure in Alabasta Pt. 1

Series: One Piece

Chapter: One Shot

Word Count: 13,430

Rating: T

Pairing(s): Cross Guild x Reader (YN)

A/N: Hey, remember when these were like...2100 words at most? Why do they keep getting longer? Well, anyway, I say Pt. 1. Because if I didn't, this would be a 20K+ long fic. I like this part. I like this part a lot. By the way, we're introducing two new someones in this one. So, yay!

“Alright, Princess…” Crocodile poked his head into your closet.  Because heaven forbid you live in squalor.  Mihawk made sure you were well taken care of.  Including your deep purple trunk at your feet just about to be shut, “Ready to go?”

“I will be soon,” you sat on the lid of said trunk, doing your best to get it shut.

“How unfortunate,” Mihawk sighed out on your bed, “It’s going to be so lifeless around here without you, YN.”

“Look on the bright side,” Buggy crawled into bed next to him, “At least we have each other.”

“Yes,” Mihawk grumbled, “Lucky me.”

“Mihawk,” you gently scolded him, “Play nice.  Buggy did nothing wrong.”

“Other than disregard personal space,” he shook him off, “Dogs don’t belong on the bed.”

“First of all,” you dragged your trunk out only for Crocodile to take it from you with the greatest of ease, “All dogs belong on the bed.  Anyone who says otherwise has never known the love of a good dog.  That being said…”

“We’re not getting a dog, YN,” Mihawk shut that idea down before it could even come to fruition.

“Pleeeeeeeeease?” you begged.

“We have Buggy already,” Mihawk argued, “If we’re going to have something that’s guaranteed to have fleas and piss on the rug, it’s him.”

“Fuck you, too!” Buggy snapped at him.

“Boys…” Yet again, you had to come in and mom them.  Because they just couldn’t behave themselves.  You thought to yourself that even a dog would behave better than this.

“Maybe it’s a good thing we’re getting away for a while, huh, YN?” Crocodile put an arm around you.

“It is,” you let out a heavy sigh, “It’ll be difficult to be away from the children, Croccy, but we need a little break, too.  Maybe we should call in a sitter.”

“Now, YN,” Crocodile smirked a bit as the petty bickering came to a screeching halt.  It’s strange.  All you had to do was even consider a sitter and that seemed to shut Mihawk and Buggy up, “Who would we even call for something like that?”

“Well…” you thought it over, “My heart says Shanks, but I know damn well that would only end in disaster and our liquor cabinet turning into a ghost town.  Besides, putting Shanks between Mihawk and Buggy couldn’t go well.  And the idea is for us to come home and the castle still be standing.”

GONG…GONG…

“Who the hell is that?” Mihawk wondered, “Delivery?  Supply ship?”

“I haven’t ordered anything,” Buggy and Mihawk exchanged glances.  Just because they didn’t order anything didn’t mean you didn’t.

“I might have already called a babysitter,” you grinned, “It’s not that I don’t trust you two home by yourselves while Crocodile and I are gone, but I also don’t need you two killing each other.  So, I already made a call.”

“And,” Mihawk worried, “Who did you call, YN?”

“Someone more so for Buggy than you,” you left a little kiss on Mihawk’s cheek, “That way, you don’t have your hands so full.”

“Oh,” Mihawk started to relax, “I suppose that’s fine.”

“Hold on!” Buggy followed you down the hall, “Wait a second, YN.  Who did you call?”

“Don’t worry, Buggy,” you assured him, “It’s not Shanks.  I’m not so cruel.”

“And it’s not…?”

“The Thousand Sunny isn’t sitting at our docks right now either,” you swore, putting a hand to his cheek, “It’s alright.  I just asked a nice old man to come see you.  Now, it’s all the same to you, I’m going to get the door.  Crocodile!”

“Yeah, Princess,” Crocodile was already at your side with your trunk in hand.

“Are you loading the ship?” you asked.

“All that’s left are your bags,” he showed off your trunk.

“Thank you,” you got one more kiss out of him, “I shouldn’t be long.  I’m going to talk the sitter through how things work around here.”

“Alright,” Crocodile grabbed the trunk handle and continued dragging it across the floor.

“Are you sure you have to go, YN?” Perona whined, draping her arms over your shoulders.

“Crocodile said he needed me,” you shrugged her off, “Besides, it’s not going to kill me to get out of the house once in a while.  It feels like forever since I’ve had a good trip.”

“But it’s all the way across the world,” Perona’s lament continued, “And you’re going to leave me with Mihawk and Buggy!”

“It’s not going to be forever,” you promised, “I should be back in a couple weeks.”

“Fine,” she pouted, “But I better be getting a souvenir.”

“I’ll bring you back a snow globe,” you teased her, “Go on.  I need to get the door.”

“Fine,” Perona floated off to who knew where while you finally got to the front door.

“Hi,” you smiled politely, “It’s Rayleigh, right?”

“Mmhm,” an unusually attractive old man gave you a nod and a little smile back, “YN?”

“That’s me,” you chirped, “Thank you for coming.  I really appreciate this.  If you find something in Buggy’s mouth that’s not supposed to be there, grab his nose, but don’t mention his nose.  He’ll drop it immediately.”

“I think you forget,” Rayleigh chuckled a bit, “I know how Buggy ticks.  Between him and Shanks, I don’t know who was worse.  Probably Buggy.”

“Let’s be honest here,” you giggled, “It was Buggy and you’re just trying to be polite about it.  I know what kind of handful Buggy can be, too.  He’s a pain in all our asses at some point in the day.  And yet, I still love his stupid face.”

“Hey,” Rayleigh smirked, “Watch this.”

“Please,” you insisted, “Be my guest.”

“Thank you,” Rayleigh took in a deep breath and let out a loud bark, “BUGGY, YOU LITTLE SHIT, WHERE ARE YOU?”

“NO FUCKING WAY!” you heard Buggy bolt down the hall right to the door.  You’ve never seen him freeze up so quickly, “YN, come with me.”

“I can’t,” you reminded him, “I need to get to Cro-”

“YN,” Buggy stood his ground, grabbing your wrist, “I need to speak with you.”

“It’s alright, Buggy,” you promised, “I’m only going to be gone for a couple weeks.”

“YOU CALLED OLD MAN RAYLEIGH?!”

You didn’t realize how much this would’ve stirred up controversy in your household, but here we are, “Yeah.  I called Rayleigh.  I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“How did you even know to call Rayleigh in the first place?” Buggy’s tirade continued, “It’s not like you know him personally.  Or do you and this is the weird way I have to find out?”

“I’ve only talked to Rayleigh once,” you assured him, “But I started out calling Shanks and-”

“You called Shanks?!” Both Buggy and now Mihawk were clutching their pearls.

“YN, what would you be doing talking to Shanks in the first place?” Mihawk worried, still not forgetting the last incident you had with Shanks.

“We caught up,” you brushed him off, “I called Shanks originally wanting him to come over and keep an eye on you two, but I knew better than that.  I wanted to come back to the castle standing, not sins of the flesh happening in our living room.”

“It would only happen once to settle the curiosity,” Buggy confessed, “But you don’t have to call Shanks!”

“Like hell it would!” Mihawk snapped, “Even a hatefuck, I wouldn’t touch either one of you.”

“Love you, too, Hawky,” Buggy rolled his eyes.

“But I called Shanks,” you regained control of the conversation, “We got to talking.  He even apologized for coming around the way he did.  But I told him that Crocodile and I would be taking a trip and I didn’t want you two killing each other, so I figured if you had someone else here, it would curb that.  And Shanks offered to come himself, but again, I want to be able to come home and the castle not be a pile of rubble.  So, he suggested that instead of him coming over, I should call Rayleigh.  And I did.  About a week ago.  And now, here he is.  You’re both going to have to suck it up and deal with it.”

“This is still my house,” Mihawk stood his ground, “If I don’t want extra houseguests, I’m not going to have them.”

“And you’re one of my few lovers,” you attempted to seduce him into your way of thinking, “And I still love you, Mihawk.  Trust me.  You’re going to want to keep Rayleigh around.  Do you really want to put Buggy on your shoulders alone?  Because you and I both know Perona’s going to stay as far away from him as possible.  It’s not worth the wrinkles, baby.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Mihawk agreed, “Fine.  He can stay for the duration.”

“Thank you,” you stole a quick kiss from him, “I really am going to miss you, Mihawk.”

“And I you, darling,” Mihawk held you close, “And I you.”

“What the hell?” Buggy pouted, “Don’t I get any sugar?”

“Of course, sweetheart,” you curled into Buggy’s chest, “I’ll miss you, too.  But you two know how to get a hold of us.”

“Enjoy the hot sun and the sand in your ass,” Buggy teased you a bit.

“Huh…” you backed away, “Sand in my ass is just an average night during Crocodile week, thank you.  Love you, boys!  Behave yourselves!”

“Love you, too, YN,” Mihawk called after you.

“WAIT A SEC!” Buggy shuddered, “REALLY?!  You let Crocodile hit fifth base?”

“Perona!” you yelled out into the castle, “I’m leaving!”

Without hesitation, you felt Perona throw herself into your back, “Please don’t leave me, YN.  Don’t leave me with Mihawk and the idiot clown.  Don’t do this to me.”

“It’s alright,” you assured her, “Besides, I got a sitter for Buggy.  You don’t have to worry about anything.”

“Bless you,” Perona let out a little sigh of relief.  Until your words fully sunk in, “Hold on.  You got a sitter for Buggy?”

“Mmhm,” you nodded, “Rayleigh’s at the door right now.”

“Rayleigh…Rayleigh…” Perona thought it over before a light returned to her eyes, “You’re not talking about Silverfox Rayleigh, are you?”

“Pretty sure his name is Silvers Rayleigh…”

“Oh, yeah,” Perona kissed your cheek, “YN, I love you.  Go on.  Be careful.  Have a good trip.  Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.”

Perona shoved you out the door and closed it behind you.  You didn’t know what that was all about, but you also weren’t going to ask.  From now until the time you get back, anything that happened in the castle wasn’t your problem.  You weren’t the one.  It was just going to be you and Crocodile for the next month.  Granted, you knew this wasn’t going to be a pleasure trip.  Crocodile had business to attend to and staff to regain and trusts to repair.  Having you at his side certainly wouldn’t hurt.

“Ready to go, Princess?” Crocodile asked, taking your hand and helping you board.

“I’m ready when you are,” you pulled up a crate and sat down.

“Alright then,” Crocodile made the orders to set sail and you just watched the water.  This was going to be life for the next week.  Once you were steady and on course, Crocodile sat next to you and pulled you into his shoulder, “You doing ok, YN?”

“I’m fine,” you bit your tongue, “Why?  Do I not look fine?”

“YN…” Crocodile knew better.  He knew there was something, “You’ve been with us for the last couple years.  You were probably presumed dead in the South Blue.  This is your first sea voyage in a long time.  Are you sure you’re going to be ok?”

“As long as we don’t wreck,” you curled into him, “I should be alright.  As long as we don’t wreck and don’t get boarded by pirates.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Crocodile cradled your cheek in his palm, “Look around.  You’re on a ship already full of pirates, myself included.  If any other crew decides to do something so stupid and try to board us, they’re going to be met with a fucking Warlord.  I’d love to see them try.  You’re perfectly fine.”

“But,” you knew the nature of Crocodile’s work.  And you knew this was a business trip.  That didn’t make you feel any better, “What about when we get there?  Aren’t you still technically wanted by the World Government?”

“Have you learned nothing since we’ve been together?” Crocodile chuckled to himself, “Fuck the World Government.  I’d love to see them try and come after me.  The Warlords weren’t exactly well known, YN.  We’re the World Government’s dirty little secret.  And there’s a paper trail.  Along with six other witnesses that would definitely come to my aid.  If word got out that the Warlords were sanctioned by the World Government, it would throw the world into worse chaos than when Gol D. Roger spoke of the One Piece.  It doesn’t matter what happens to me.  I know you’re going to be kept safe.  And while we’re gone and something does happen to me…”

“No,” you stopped him immediately, “No…Crocodile, don’t go there.  I don’t want to think about that right now.  This is supposed to be a nice trip, the two of us away from the kids like we always talked about.  I don’t want to think about something happening to you.”

“I know you don’t, Princess,” Crocodile wrapped his arms around you, bringing your shakes down, “I know you don’t.  But I hate to break it to you.  It is a very real possibility.  I need to know you’ll know what to do if that time comes.”

You hated thinking about something happening to Crocodile.  Clearly, you loved him.  The thought of someone coming in to hurt either one of you shattered your heart in the worst way.  But you knew preparedness could prevent something from escalating, “Alright…What do I do?”

“First things first,” Crocodile picked your chin up, his eyes peering directly into yours, “You can’t freeze up on me.  If I tell you to run, you run.  When we get there, I’ll show you where everything is.  I’ll show you where my office is.  I’ll make sure you know Rain Dinners inside and out.  Everything that’s above and underground.  But if you see Marines, I want you to go straight into my office.  You’re going to call Mihawk.  He’ll see if we got someone around to keep you safe.  The millions and billions are great, but they’re cannon fodder.  They’re not going to have custody of you.  You’re too precious.  But you’re going to call Mihawk.  He’ll take care of the rest.  If the damn clown picks up…”

“Buggy,” you put your foot down, “He has a name, too.”

“Fine,” Crocodile sucked it up.  For you, “If Buggy picks up, tell him what went down and then, demand to speak to Mihawk.  If something happens to me, Princess, and whoever asks how you know me, you don’t.  You’ve never seen me.  You’ve never heard of me.  Deny, deny, deny.  And if Marines try to take you into custody, they have no grounds.  You and I are not associated.  Alright?  But while I’m handling business, I may need you there to keep their attention.  I may need you there to be a distraction.”

“How would I be a distraction?” you wondered.

“Look at you, YN,” Crocodile cradled your cheek in his palm, “Hell, I get distracted from work when you’re around.  And I’m around you all the time.  It never gets old.”

“Aww…” you cuddled into Crocodile, “You know what to say to make me feel all good inside, don’t you?”

“I also think you have a great ass.”

“Careful, Croccy,” you settled him, “Talk like that some more and we’re going to come back from Alabasta married.”

“No, we’re not,” Crocodile promised you, “Because if we did, Mihawk would kick my ass.”

“Why?” you wondered, “Because you got to me first?  Or is it because you three have some weird pact that you can all have your respective ways with me, but none of you can marry me?”

“That actually isn’t too far from the truth,” Crocodile pulled you into his lap, “A little after you had your first weeks with us, the three of us sat down and talked about that.”

“Damn,” you chuckled to yourself, “I didn’t think I left that big of an impression.”

“You did, Princess,” Crocodile cradled you against his chest, “The three of us sat in the library just like we did when we met you the first time.  We discussed hypothetical situations, including, but not limited to, if we were to get married.  That’s something we’d have to discuss before any of us even thought about proposing to you.  And not one of us gets to marry you.  If we’re getting married, it’s going to be either all of us or none of us.  And Perona, the little shit she is, was listening in to the whole thing and wants to be the one to officiate.”

“Perona can’t officiate,” you shut your eyes for a moment or two, taking in Crocodile’s warmth, “I’m going to need at least one bridesmaid.  Who the hell else would I be getting?  All my friends back home probably think I’m dead.  And I have no one to give me away since both my parents are gone.  They were only children, so it’s not like I have an aunt or an uncle that can do that.  My grandparents were all dead before I was born.  We’d have a lot to discuss at this roundtable, Crocodile.”

“Wait, what?” Crocodile looked at you strangely, “Who said you were involved in our roundtable?  This is something only discussed amongst Mihawk, Buggy, and myself.  And apparently, pain in the ass because God forbid she can keep her nose out of our business.”

“Leave Perona alone,” you shrugged, “It’s part of her charm.  Let her be nosy.”

“She’s exhausting,” Crocodile grumbled, “I get it.  You two are best friends.  Mihawk’s practically her dad at this point.  But that doesn’t mean I have to like her, right?”

“At least tolerate her.”

“Fine, fine,” Crocodile caved, “But yeah.  Nowhere in our roundtable are you invited.”

“What the hell?” you squeaked, “I thought that, you know, since it is about me, I’d at least have a little bit of a say in it.”

“It’s just about the proposal, sweetheart,” Crocodile settled you, “Not the wedding itself.  And we’re not running off to Alabasta to get married.  I need to check in on the kids.  Nothing extravagant.  Maybe renegotiate some contracts.  Other than that…”

“We’re taking our time away from the kids like we needed,” you kissed Crocodile’s cheek, “Hey…What do you say about us going into the captain’s quarters and rocking the boat a little?”

“Oh, YN,” Crocodile swooned, “I’d love to.  Truly, I would.  But see…There’s a little bit of a problem with that.”

“What’s that, baby?”

“I have a problem…”

“Let me guess,” you knew exactly what that problem was, “If we were to get a little spicy in the captain’s quarters, one of us would get violently seasick.  And I would have to take care of myself, would I?”

“If we were ported,” Crocodile swore, “I would absolutely love to take you in the captain’s quarters.  But I don’t think you have a puke kink.  Do you?”

“No,” you shook your head, “I don’t.  I don’t appreciate being puked on.  I had a neighbor when I was a kid who had a baby and when I got to hold him for the first time, he had just eaten.  And of course, when babies don’t burp properly…”

“They end up throwing up down your back,” Crocodile nodded, “Oh, I know.”

“You know?” You had heard Crocodile talk about babies before.  Last time was when you were sick.  But you couldn’t help but wonder, “Crocodile, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, Princess,” Crocodile allowed, “What do you want to know?”

“Have you ever been around babies?” you asked.

“Yes,” Crocodile nodded.

“And feel free to tell me to shut up here,” you went on, “But…”

“I would never,” Crocodile brushed you off, “But go on.”

“The baby you told me about the last time I was sick,” you thought back, “The one whose dad went out looking for the doctor…”

“What about it?” Crocodile tensed up underneath you.  And you weren’t sure why, but you didn’t like it.

“Were you any relation to the baby?” you wondered, “Because I know you said he was with his dad, so you weren’t the baby’s dad.  Were you an uncle or something?  A brother maybe?”

Crocodile’s face fell, “Why don’t you go check on the upper decks, YN?  We don’t need to be talking about that baby.”

“Oh…” It looked like you hit a nerve you weren’t supposed to.  And you kept it to yourself, but a part of you was holding tears back, “Ok.  I’ll come find you later?”

“You know where to find me,” Crocodile snuck a little kiss on your forehead and sent you to the upper decks.  You were barely out of port and you already felt like you screwed something up.  You just wanted to curl back up in Crocodile’s lap and tell him that everything was going to be ok.  And yet, you cursed your own curiosity.

Still, you went up to the upper deck, just to watch the world go by.  It was peaceful, quiet, pleasant.  You laid down on the deck and shut your eyes, letting the breeze wash over you.  And it felt so nice.  If you weren’t careful, that was going to be your napping spot.  But hitting sore spots on Crocodile already happened.  What’s one more screw up?  You decided to take a little nap just to pass the time.  But when you opened your eyes again, the sun was going down.  Not only were you starving, but you felt the effects of direct sunlight in your exposed skin.  Slowly, but surely, you did your best to sit up.  Even though everything on you hurt. 

“Crocodile…” you groaned, your skin sizzling off your bones.

“Yeah, YN?” Crocodile poked his head up, noticing your unchanging position, “Are you ok?”

“You let me sleep up here…” you knew you’d have to get up.  And you were going to be in pain.  But you slowly rolled onto your side, “Ow…Ow…Ow…Crocodile, I’m in pain.  Tell me we have aloe by the gallon somewhere on this ship.”

“That’s what it was,” Crocodile grabbed a blanket and carried you off the upper deck, “I’m sure we have something here.  You are not going to fare well in Alabasta.”

“Thank you,” you winced, “Greatly appreciated while I’m in some of the worst pain I’ve ever been in ever.”

“I’m sorry, YN,” Crocodile carried you off to the captain’s quarters while motioning for something to help with your sunburn, “I’m going to try and make you comfortable, ok?”

“Please…” You were on the verge of tears.  It was a rarity you ever got sunburned, but then again, it wasn’t often you went outside either.  You had everything you could possibly need in the castle.  You may have gone outside for a few minutes every day for the sake of getting fresh air.  But even that you could get in the castle when you opened the windows. 

“You’ll be alright,” Crocodile assured you as one of the crew brought your aloe, “See?  Lookie what I got.”

“Bless you,” you knew this next part was going to suck something awful.  You knew it wasn’t going to be pretty.  You still did your best to hold yourself together.  Even if you were extra crispy.

“You want me to put this on for you?” Crocodile asked.

“I sure as hell can’t do it!”

“Alright, alright,” Crocodile agreed, “Damn.  You’re bitchy when you’re in pain.”

“And you’re going to be the biggest sweetheart when you’re in pain?” you growled, “Look, Crocodile, I love you.  You know I do.  But this shit hurts like hell and I just want the pain to go away.”

“Alright,” Crocodile squeezed the bottle on your arms and initially, it sent you through the ceiling.  You winced your way through it while Crocodile rubbed it in, “I know, Princess.  I know.  It hurts.  How hard were you sleeping?”

“A little too hard,” you admitted, “I slept like shit last night.  Fuck off.”

“Why?” Crocodile wondered, “Everything ok?”

“I’m on my first voyage since I washed up on the beach outside the castle,” you reminded him, “Yes.  I’m naturally going to be a little nerved up.  I don’t want us to get fucked up on the sea.  Especially you!  Crocodile, you seem to forget a little something, something about yourself.”

“What’s that?” Crocodile asked, “That I’m devastatingly handsome and the sound of my voice makes you buckle at your fucking knees?”

“Other than that, you idiot,” you rolled your eyes, “Don’t you and sea water have a little bit of a checkered past, too?”

“Well, yeah,” Crocodile put the spare aloe on his hand on your delicate little cheeks, “Consider yourself lucky, YN.  Don’t ever eat a devil fruit.  They’re great for a little added power, but they’re a bitch to deal with when it comes to the side effects.  I don’t recommend the tradeoff”

“I think I’d be alright with a devil fruit,” you thought it over, “I wonder what one I’d find.”

“No,” Crocodile put his foot down, “You’re not going anywhere near a devil fruit, young lady.  If you even think about it, you’re going over my knee.  Do you understand?  It’s bad enough most of us ate a devil fruit.  You do not need to add to that.”

“Fine,” you pouted.  However, you’d be lying if you said Crocodile’s touch didn’t feel nice right now.  So gentle.  It made you think about what happened earlier, “Hey, Croccy…”

“Yeah, baby?” Crocodile closed the aloe bottle, “You need any more?”

“No,” you shook your head, “But…About earlier…”

Crocodile tensed back up again, but it wasn’t as bad this time around, “What about it?”

“I’m sorry,” you rested your head on his shoulder, “Whatever I said to piss you off so bad…I am sorry.  I didn’t realize talking babies would get you so worked up.”

Crocodile ran his hook through your hair, pushing it out of your face, “You really are something special, aren’t you, YN?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Just out of curiosity,” Crocodile laid down next to you, letting you get comfortable in his side.  He was careful not to touch anywhere burned.  It was bad enough he had to put aloe on you, “Do you want kids, YN?”

You never really thought about having babies of your own.  After the one your neighbor had after not being properly burped threw up down your back, you were kind of turned off the idea.  Then again, you were also eight years old and cried your eyes out after it happened.  Which, of course, set off that baby.  Regardless of that, as you got older, you thought babies wouldn’t be so bad.  You thought about what your babies with any of the Cross Guild would look like.  Mihawk’s eyes, Crocodile’s jawline, Buggy’s…You couldn’t say that one out loud.  Unless you wanted to make Buggy mad.  He was sensitive.

“Now?” you thought it over, “Probably not now.  Down the line?  Maybe.  I wouldn’t be totally opposed to the idea.  But which one would I have as the father?  Would it be you, Mihawk, or Buggy?”

“That’d be up to you,” Crocodile grabbed some water off the nightstand with a straw in it and stuck that straw in your mouth, “Drink.  If you’re this sunburned, you’re probably dehydrated all to hell, too.”

“Probably,” you took slow sips from your straw, “If I told you I wanted a baby with you, what would you say?”

“It’s a loaded question, YN,” Crocodile stared up at the ceiling, “I’d think about it.  But as long as you’re the one having the baby, I think I’d be alright with it.  I can’t speak for the others, though.”

“Of course, I’d be the one having the baby,” you felt yourself getting a little lightheaded.  Of course, you were lightheaded.  You had a lot of sun, “I don’t think any of you could get pregnant.”

Crocodile got up from the bed and left you with a kiss on your forehead, “I’ll be right back, ok?  I’m going to get you something to eat.”

“Ok,” you could finally move again, so little victories.  You wanted to go back to sleep.  Long sea voyages always made you tired.  But you were curious.  The second you brought up babies, Crocodile got nervous.  It made you want to dig, but you couldn’t do that.  That was Crocodile’s business.  That was Crocodile’s problem.  You weren’t going to pry.  You knew better than that.

“Here, sweetheart,” Crocodile came back with a fully peeled orange and some rice crackers, “Feel a little nostalgic?”

“Tell me these rice crackers taste better than the ones Mihawk gave me,” you giggled, a little spark of nostalgia in your heart.

“I don’t know,” Crocodile shrugged, “But since you probably of some kind of sun poisoning, it’d be best you didn’t eat anything heavy.”

“That’s fair.” You immediately went for the orange.  You wanted that orange.  You popped a piece of it into your mouth and sunk down into your bed, “Where did we get those oranges?  Those are fantastic.”

“We got a fruit basket a while ago from a place in the East Blue,” Crocodile explained, “Kokoyashi Village.  Ever hear of it?”

“I think so,” you thought back, “I think I had a delivery go to Kokoyashi once.  But the village wasn’t exactly the highest quality, if you know what I mean.”

“Probably still being run by Arlong,” Crocodile assumed, “It really did go to hell when he had it.  Rumor has it, though, some girl from the village bought it back from him.”

“Good for her.”

“They grow some of the greatest citrus right there in Kokoyashi,” Crocodile went on, “And I’m not going to complain.  Those oranges are pretty damn good.”

“These are definitely better than the rice crackers,” you took a bite from one of the rice crackers.  You weren’t overly excited by it, but it kept you alive.  It kept your stomach from eating your intestines, so yet again, another little victory.

“That doesn’t take much,” Crocodile snuck in one last kiss, “You get some rest, ok, Princess?  I’m going to call home and let Mihawk know we’re still alive.  Hopefully, the sitter hasn’t had to put up with too much.”

“I owe Rayleigh big time,” you kept on eating, but the more you ate, the more tired you got, “Crocodile…”

“Hmm?” Crocodile hung out of the doorway.

“You will be back tonight,” you crossed your fingers, “Right?”

“Of course, I will,” Crocodile promised, “But as I said, you rest up.  I’m going to go settle the crew and give the orders for the night.  Ok?”

“Ok…” You let Crocodile go and finished your crackers and your orange.  And the second those were gone, you shut your eyes and went right back to sleep.  You were perfectly content.  Granted, you were still sunburned and in pain, but not nearly as bad as you were before.  The aloe worked fast and it was enough to let you fall asleep instead of pass out from the pain.  You were good.

“Yeah…” You woke up a little while later, Crocodile’s voice sending chills down your spine, but in the best way.  In the way only he could, “She’s sunburned all to hell.  Poor thing.  I almost put her in an ice bath, but I know that would just throw her into shock.  We don’t need that when we’re this far from home…She’ll be alright.  I know she will.  She’s…Shut up.  Yeah, she’s special, but it’s more than that.  She’s so fucking resilient.  You don’t know how we got her.”

That’s when it hit you.  Crocodile wasn’t talking to Mihawk.  You could’ve sworn he would’ve been on the phone with Mihawk, letting him know where you two were and that you were both alive.  Even though you were praying for death with that miserable sunburn.  But you could put your pain on the back burner for now.  You continued to listen in to Crocodile’s conversation, hoping you could figure out who it was.

“We’re going to be in Alabasta in a couple days.  You know…If you were in the neighborhood.  Just thought I’d give you the heads up.  In case you weren’t busy.  If you are, then I get it.  Just…I know.  And I got the girl with me, too, so if you wanted to make sure she was worthy…”

What did he mean, if you were worthy?  He was the one that fished you out of the sea.  If he didn’t want you…Well, that was too bad.  Because there were three others that lived in that castle that would have a problem with that.  He’d just have to suck it up.  Still, it made you wonder.  Whose opinion would Crocodile value that highly? 

“You still know where to find me…Good night.”

Crocodile ended the call and you made sure your eyes were still shut.  You didn’t need him to know you heard most of what he was saying.  You still had no idea who he was talking to, but you had a feeling you didn’t need to know.  You just continued to sleep while Crocodile very carefully got into bed next to you.  He gently pulled you to his chest, letting you use him as your favorite pillow.  Your pillow, your teddy bear, your special toy.  Crocodile was more than happy to be any of those for you.  And you knew it.

A few days went by and you had woken up to the ship rocking a little too much for your liking.  Of course, it sent your pulse through the roof.  You jumped out of bed, your sunburn mostly out of the pain stage, and ran out to the lower deck.  You looked around and realized that rocking was entirely normal.  You looked around and saw nothing but desert.  You didn’t realize it until just then, but that desert was Alabasta.  You finally made it.

“Morning, Princess,” Crocodile wrapped his arms around you, still being careful about that sunburn, “It’s about time you wake up.  I thought I was going to have to check you for a pulse.”

“I’m still alive,” you let out a heavy sigh of relief, “We’re here?”

“Welcome to Alabasta,” Crocodile took your hand, “Home sweet home.  Fuck, it’s been a while since I’ve seen the sands of Alabasta.  I missed it.  As sick as it sounds.  I really didn’t think I’d miss it like I did.”

“Nostalgia’s a bitch of a drug, Crocodile,” you wrapped yourself around his arm, “I’m going to go get dressed.”

“Good idea,” Crocodile nudged you back toward the captain’s quarters, “Make sure it’s not too heavy, YN.  Hopefully, you packed light.”

“I did,” you assured him.  You knew what Alabasta could be like.  You knew it could get miserably hot during the day and freezing at night.  You packed accordingly.  Or, more accurately, you and Mihawk packed accordingly. 

“Good girl,” Crocodile snuck a little kiss on your cheek when the rest of the crew wasn’t looking.  And you weren’t going to lie.  You melted a little inside.  Was it the kiss?  Was it the praise?  You may never know, “Now, go get dressed, ok?”

“Ok,” you had to come out with something.  You knew Mihawk snuck a few things in your bag when he  thought you weren’t looking, but you knew.  You felt something.  You felt a presence around your bag and it wasn’t just Perona or any of her little friends.  Mihawk slipped something in there.  And you started to dig through the trunk.  It was then, you found it.  Perfection. 

Soft green silks with sheer layering and slits up the side?  You weren’t mad at that.  You took a good look at yourself in the mirror.  And you looked like a dancer.  If you weren’t careful, the second you ended up through the doors of Rain Dinners, you might need to add a little something, something to your cute little harem back home.  It’s not like you didn’t already have Crocodile eating out of the palm of your hand, but you wanted a little drool to go with it.

You put on a shiny pair of gold sandals (because nothing but the best for Crocodile’s Princess) and headed out of the captain’s quarters.  Sure enough, Crocodile still oversaw the unloading of the ship.  Not that you really had much other than your luggage, but you had made it to Rainbase.  All you needed to do was tame the beast that brought you there.  Something about watching Crocodile handle business really did something to you.

“Crocodile…” you spoke softly, just enough to get his attention.

“What is it, Prin…” The second Crocodile saw you, his heart stopped.  Not in the usual way, but in a shiny and new one that overwhelmed him.  However, he wasn’t mad about it, “Look at you…”

“Look at me,” you did a little spin, the sheer chiffon fabrics flowing in your wake, “Seriously.  Look at me.  What do you think, Croccy?”

“I think someone’s really looking to get into the captain’s quarters,” Crocodile picked your chin up with his hook, “Or better yet…How would you feel about me bending you over my desk later?  Does that sound good to you, Princess?”

“Yes, sir…”

“Good girl,” Crocodile covered you with his coat and took your hand, “Come on.  I need to give you the tour.”

“What the hell?” you whined, “I thought I looked cute.  Why did you have to cover me up?”

“Because, YN,” Crocodile shot some very scary, very angry glares at some of the wandering eyes of the crew, “Some people don’t understand to avert their eyes at what doesn’t belong to them.”

“Aww,” you wrapped yourself around Crocodile’s arm, “Do you want me to go change?”

“God, no,” Crocodile swooned, “Don’t you dare do that.”

“Didn’t plan on it.” You weren’t entirely mad about being wrapped up in Crocodile’s coat.  It smelled like cigar smoke and expensive cologne.  It was one of your favorites.  And it did pull the outfit together quite nicely. 

As you walked through Rainbase, you walked up to a giant pyramid that could only be Rain Dinners.  The giant crocodiles standing outside kind of gave it away.  You had heard Crocodile poke fun at Mihawk for vanity, but you learned quickly just how hypocritical that criticism was.  It made you giggle.  However, you also realized that as you walked through Rain Dinners, you turned a lot of heads.  It wasn’t often Crocodile came back to Alabasta, let alone with a woman under his coat.  You definitely attracted some attention.

“Crocodile…” You kept your voice down, “They’re all staring at me.”

“Let them stare, Princess,” Crocodile put an arm around you, making sure you felt protected, “You’re definitely worth the second look.  As long as they realize where you go home to at the end of the night.  But try not to take offense.”

“To what?”

“There’s a chance they may think you’re a hooker, sweetheart,” Crocodile pointed out, “I know you’re not, but that doesn’t mean they won’t draw their own conclusions.”

“Ah.” That made sense.  Granted, you were in a skimpy outfit and hanging off Crocodile’s arm. 

“Hey,” Crocodile leaned down to you, pointing to a big set of double doors, “See those over there?”

“Mmhm,” you nodded, “What about them?”

“Those are the doors to my office,” Crocodile directed you, “I’m going to go survey my empire for a bit.  You go sit in my office.”

“Ok.” Crocodile leaned down to you, offering his cheek.  And of course, you caught his drift, placing a little kiss on that cheek, “I love you.”

“Love you, too.” And with that being said, you went off to Crocodile’s office while Crocodile rounded up the staff.  You could stand a little rest after being in that Alabasta heat.  You pushed through the doors and only found yet another set of doors with a couple of guards standing outside.  And one of those guards immediately stood their ground.

“Who are you?” he snapped at you.

“Excuse me?” You had every right to throw a little weight around.  Granted, this wasn’t your place of business, but you had rug burn on your knees because of the guy that owned the place.  Mihawk wasn’t thrilled about it, but he still put lotion on for you anyway.  Because Crocodile couldn’t exactly do it himself.  Either way, it was worth it, “I’m YN.”

“It’s nice to meet you, YN,” the other guard greeted you, “Now, if you’ll find the door again, that would be wonderful.  Thank you and enjoy your stay at Rain Dinners.”

“I will,” you smiled sweetly, “I’ll enjoy my stay in the fucking penthouse suite.  Lying next to Crocodile.  Like I do every other night.  Now, if you’ll let me through, that would be wonderful.”

“How do we know you’re with Crocodile?” the guard scoffed.

“Do you not see this?” you held up his coat, “Do you not realize what this is?”

“So what?” he brushed you off, “You could’ve stolen that for all we know.”

“But,” you reached into the inside pocket and pulled out one of Crocodile’s cigars.  His very special cigars that he couldn’t just get anywhere, “If this wasn’t Crocodile’s coat, then why would I have this?”

“Wait,” one of the guards took the cigar, giving it a quick smell.  And froze just enough to give it back to you, “My apologies, Ms. YN.  Is Sir Crocodile with you today?”

“He is,” you nodded, “But he’s busy right now.  He sent me directly to his office.  Now, if we don’t want this incident getting back to Crocodile, I won’t have to open the door and you’ll get to open the door for me.”

“Yes, ma’am,” one of the guards grabbed the door for you, “Forgive us.”

“I’ll think about it.” You walked into Crocodile’s office and immediately, you noticed the giant tanks.  You weren’t going to lie.  Something about the walls holding back water put you at ease.  You were into it.  But then, you saw Crocodile’s desk.  And it gave you an idea.  Casually, you took off his coat and tossed it onto the couch draped in a deep green and took a seat on the desktop.

“What the hell, Crocodile?” a voice boomed from under Crocodile’s coat, “Don’t you look first?”

“Um…Excuse me?” you started to get a little nervous.  You didn’t think you were going to be met with company.  Not when you were trying to stretch out on Crocodile’s desk and wait for him.  And only him. 

“Oh…” the man sat up and finally noticed you, “Oh…Hello.”

“Hello,” you immediately took Crocodile’s coat back and covered yourself.  Just so this man didn’t have anything to look at.  Or prey on, “Were you waiting for Crocodile?”

“Yes, I was,” he nodded, “Were you waiting for Crocodile?”

“Yeah,” you nodded back, “But he told me to come here first.  Who are you?”

“Just an old friend,” the man sat back down on the couch, his knees in two different zip codes.  If you were being entirely honest, he wasn’t hard to look at.  Even the mark on his face was adding a little something, something to this guy.  You could hardly believe Crocodile aligned himself with Mihawk and Buggy, let alone had friends outside the castle, “What’s your name, miss?”

“YN,” you got a feeling from this guy.  A feeling you had felt before.  Oddly enough, you felt it at your last party at the castle.  You felt it with Crocodile, too.  There was something in the man’s face that looked a bit familiar.  And that’s when it clicked.  Where you felt like you had seen that face before, “What about you?”

The man smiled.  Just a little.  And you knew you had seen that smile before, “You can call me Dragon.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Dragon,” you kept yourself wrapped in Crocodile’s coat, fighting to put that cigar into your mouth.  You didn’t want to light it, but it was more of an oral fixation situation. 

“Do you know who I am, YN?” Dragon studied you closely, no doubt wondering what someone like you would be doing with someone like Crocodile.

“You did say you were an old friend,” you remembered.  And from everything you’ve heard from Crocodile (and a little gossip from Perona), you could figure it out, “But you were more than that…Weren’t you?”

“I don’t see Crocodile talking about me much,” Dragon looked at you strangely, only vaguely mistrusting, “Let alone with some random woman.  Who are you…?”

You weren’t sure how to approach it.  Did you call Crocodile your boyfriend?  Your lover?  Did you deny any connection with him at all?  A little late for that.  You’re in his office with little resistance and comfortably splayed out on his desk.  Who else would’ve been able to get away with something like that? “Crocodile and I are…partners.  In a way.”

“You work for the Cross Guild?” Dragon assumed, “I guess I could see it.  In the espionage department.”

“What makes you say that?” you asked, your legs dangling over the edge of Crocodile’s desk.

“You’re a beautiful woman,” Dragon shrugged, “Any straight man would likely drool over you.”

“Not necessarily.” You could think of a couple bi men and a pan one who were pretty interested, too.  Possibly a little princess who would if she were bored on a rainy day.

“You get my point,” Dragon brushed you off, “So, is that what you do?”

You didn’t see much harm in letting little things slip, “Along with keeping the beds warm.”

“So, that’s what it is,” Dragon figured, “You don’t necessarily work espionage.  You’re a concubine.  I’m face to face with the whore of the Cross Guild.”

“I don’t call myself that,” you stood your ground, “They all share equally.  We trade off whose bed I end up in.”

“Oh,” Dragon let it go, “So, you’re seeing all three of them.”

“Mmhm,” you nodded, “But enough about me.  I’m more curious about you.”

“Me?” Dragon cocked his head, “What could you possibly want to know about me?”

“First of all,” you jumped down from Crocodile’s desk and got comfortable in his chair instead, your feet comfortably kicked up, “How do you know Crocodile in the first place?”

“Well…” Dragon cracked a little smile.  You didn’t know his face could do such a thing.  But you didn’t hate it, “That started a long time ago.  Crocodile and I go way back.  When we first met, I was just a young upstart.  The Great Pirate Age had just begun.  It was shortly after Roger’s execution.  I had found someone hiding off in the corner down an alleyway openly weeping.  I couldn’t blame them.  I felt that same pain when Roger died.  When the Great Pirate Age began, Roger didn’t realize just what his death would set in motion.  He had no idea what that was going to do.  What kind of corruption that could expose within the World Government.  But that person I found in the alley…I offered whatever comfort I could.  There was something special about them.  But I pulled them up from the ground and said there was too much work to be done to let Roger die in vain.  So, we started traveling together, drumming up as many for our cause as we could.  We both knew the World Government was crooked.  We wanted to bring it down together.  But then…Something happened…”

“What happened?” You had to be honest.  Dragon’s story was riveting.

“We fell in love,” Dragon went on, “I didn’t realize it at first, but there was a sparkle in those eyes that got to me.  I wasn’t expecting them to get to me, but dammit, they did.  And brought me the most unbelievable joy.  But all good things come to an end.  That joy had to go somewhere else.  Even the Great Pirate Era will one day come to an end.  The revolution will come to an end.  Hopefully, when that happens, there will be a better world on the other side.  But a few years went by after we split.  Imagine my surprise when I’m here in Alabasta and I hear stories of a great hero of the people.  I think to myself, I need to meet this hero.  Turns out that hero…”

“Wants you out of his office,” Crocodile came in, a certain fire in his eyes, “What the hell are you doing here, Dragon?”

“Making a new friend,” Dragon looked back to you, hoping you could soothe this particular savage beast, “Isn’t that right, YN?”

“It’s ok, Crocodile,” you settled him, getting up from his chair, “Come sit down.”

“What have you told her?” Crocodile didn’t budge.

“Just a little story,” Dragon told him.

“Don’t jerk me around like this, Dragon,” Crocodile’s rage only grew.

“Crocodile, that’s enough,” you hushed him, freezing him in his tracks.

“Excuse me?” his icy gaze fell to you.  Those soft, warm eyes you had come to love were not the same, “This doesn’t concern you, YN.”

“If it’s pissing you off so much,” you pointed out, “Yes.  It does concern me.  Dragon, you should probably go.  It really was nice meeting you.”

“Likewise,” Dragon gave you a little smile, “Crocodile…This won’t be the last we see each other while I’m in town.”

“I’m sure it won’t be,” Crocodile sat down in his chair while Dragon walked out of his office, “Fuck…”

“I’m sorry about that, sweetheart,” you sat in Crocodile’s lap, his arms instinctively wrapping around your waist.  He buried his face in your shoulder blades, doing everything he could to bring himself back down to Earth.

“No,” Crocodile let out a heavy sigh, “I’m sorry, Princess.  I didn’t realize Dragon was in town.  I didn’t think he’d have the stones to barge into my office like that.”

“It’s not a problem,” you let it go, “Dragon was nothing but decent to me.  All we did was sit and talk.”

“About what?” Crocodile still sweated in his chair.

“Mostly just shit talking you,” you jabbed, “But all for the right reasons.  By the sounds of things you two were awfully close.”

“We were at one time,” Crocodile agreed, “But that was years ago.  Many…Many years ago.”

“Ok,” you curled into Crocodile’s shoulder, letting him feel your warmth, “It’s alright, Croccy.  He’s gone now.  It’s just you and me.  It’s not like he told me your deepest, darkest secrets.  Mostly everything he told me about you, I already knew.”

“Alright,” Crocodile let out a heavy sigh of relief, “Good.  There are some things you don’t need to know.  And it’s not a jab against you, Princess, but there just things you’re better off not knowing.”

“Ok.” You knew better than to pry.  But there was a certain curiosity in your heart, “Do Buggy or Mihawk know that deep, dark secret?”

“No,” Crocodile shook his head, “Mihawk has a slight inkling, but he doesn’t fully know the whole story.”

“Oh,” you shut your eyes for just a moment or two, “You know, when I got in here, Dragon was asleep on your couch.  I don’t think he was going to do anything harmful.”

“It’s probably the closest he’s come to sleep in a week,” Crocodile figured, “Leading the Revolutionary Army has to be a lot on him.”

“That guy leads the Revolutionary Army?” you gasped, not realizing just how much prestige he had.

“World’s most wanted man just walked out of my office,” Crocodile smiled a bit, “And maybe at one time, I would’ve wanted him, too.  But that was a long time ago.”

“So,” you assumed, “You and Dragon were involved.”

“We were in love at one time,” Crocodile confessed, “But like I said, Princess, that was many years ago.  Now, I don’t need him anymore.  I’m not the same person I was then.  Besides, now, I got you.  And even though none of us would ever admit it to the others in a million years, I got Mihawk and the pain in the ass clown, too.  And the weird little ghost, too.”

You didn’t care what Crocodile’s big secret was.  If he wanted to tell you one day, fine.  If he didn’t, fine.  But you realized in that moment that he saw you the same way you saw all of them.  That was your family.  You might have come together in a strange and unconventional way, but that didn’t matter.  You came together.  You had each other.  It didn’t matter what that secret might have been.  Sure, you could come up with your own theories.  Whatever it was, it was something sensitive.  It could’ve been how he got his scars.  It could’ve been how he lost his hand.  It could’ve been something entirely different.  But that was his business, not yours.

“Hey,” Crocodile nudged you off his lap, “Why don’t I call room service and we get some dinner, yeah?”

“Yes, please.” You didn’t realize just how hungry you were until Crocodile mentioned food.  And that’s when your stomach decided to yell at you for not feeding it. 

“See that elevator over there?” Crocodile pointed.

“Yeah.”

“It only has two buttons,” Crocodile explained, “One up, one down.  Get in, push the up button.  I’ll be there shortly.”

“Where does it go?” you wondered.

“It goes up to the penthouse,” Crocodile gave you a little kiss, “Go on, Princess.  I’ll be up there shortly.”

“I’m going, I’m going,” you got up from his lap and headed toward the elevator.

You had heard stories about Rain Dinners and how beautiful it was.  How flashy it was.  How much you’d never want to leave.  That was entirely by design.  People don’t want to leave.  Crocodile makes more money.  All is well.  And you continue to live the cozy, yet modest lifestyle you’ve become accustomed to since moving in with the Cross Guild.  And when those elevator doors opened back up again, you realized just how much you had a silver spoon in your mouth.

Crocodile’s penthouse was nothing short of spectacular.  The furnishings were all high end.  The floors were the most beautiful black marble.  In a way, the entry reminded you of Mihawk’s bathroom, but instead of the metal work being silver, in Crocodile’s penthouse, it was all gold.  And you were in love.  You didn’t remember much about your modest little village you came from, but you knew one thing was for certain.  It was squalor in comparison to something like this.

You were feeling a little tired from the long voyage at sea, so instead of poking around, you decided going to bed would be a much better idea.  So, you headed straight for the bedroom.  After opening a couple doors you were hoping would be the bedroom, but alas, they were not, you finally found it.  The giant bed that looked proportionate to the rest of the room seemed very inviting.  But you didn’t realize just how big it was until you stood right next to it.  It was phenomenal.  But it made you wonder why Crocodile had such a big bed.  He had this bed before the two of you were together.  But then, you remembered your new friend.  And how he was not a small man.  Nor was Crocodile.  Before you could overthink it, you just washed your hands of it altogether.  It was time for bed.

Later in the night, you felt an arm around you and a warmth at your back.  You knew who that was and you couldn’t be mad at it.  You couldn’t have been in a better place.  Granted, you waited for Crocodile to chew you out for skipping out on dinner, but you weren’t hungry anyway.  It was entirely fine.  But no chewing came.  No lecture.  Just gentle cuddles.  And you couldn’t hold back a smile if you wanted to.  You rolled into that warmth and kept your eyes shut.  You didn’t care about anything else.

“Mmm…Good night, Wani…”

Never in your life had Crocodile ever called you Wani.  And that was the moment you suddenly realized that wasn’t Crocodile in your bed with you, “Excuse me?”

And you knew.  You knew who was there at your back.  And you only had it confirmed that it wasn’t Crocodile.  Because Crocodile was standing in the doorway.  You knew that silhouette anywhere, “What the fuck are you doing in my bed with my girl?”

“What?” a tired voice groaned at your back, feeling your arm.

“YN,” Crocodile ordered, “Come here.”

“Ok,” you weren’t going to think twice.  There was a relative stranger in your bed with you.  And being the big spoon Crocodile was supposed to be.  You attached yourself to his side like a magnet and you wanted to be nowhere else.

“Get the fuck out of my bed,” Crocodile growled.

“Alright, alright…” you watched as Dragon got out of bed, “I realize I fucked up here.  I’m human.  I’m bound to do that from time to time.  I was tired.  I knew where I could always crash for free here.”

Crocodile let out a heavy sigh, wanting to punch something…someone…But he wasn’t going to.  It was late and everyone was tired.  But this particular incident had everyone awake, “Living room.  Now.”

“Fine by me,” Dragon shuffled his tired feet toward the couch and made himself comfortable.  All while you grabbed a bottle of wine on the way through.  Because there was no way you weren’t going to throw one back after that.

“Alright, Princess,” Crocodile sat down.  And you were right there in his lap, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” you assured him, making yourself comfortable and launching that cork to the other side of the room, “Dragon, why did you call me Wani?”

You felt it.  The sudden tension in Crocodile’s body.  And the flash of red in Dragon’s cheeks had you confused even more, “I called you Wani?”

“Mmhm,” you nodded, getting a good drink from the wine bottle.  Until Crocodile snatched it out of your grasp, “What the hell?”

“Here,” Crocodile handed it back, “I did save you some.”

“Wani is what I used to call…” Dragon looked across the way at Crocodile.  With a very special glint in his eye.  One that he hadn’t felt in so long.  But he missed it.

“It’s what he used to call me,” Crocodile explained, letting out a heavy sigh.  He clipped the end of a cigar and lit it up, “Alright, YN.  Looks like now’s the time I tell you.”

“Tell me what?” you started to sweat, “Crocodile, you’re scaring me.  What are you talking about?”

“Remember when I told you about the baby?” Crocodile asked, “The one that I said his dad had to go find him medicine?”

“Mmhm,” you nodded, “What about it?”

“That baby’s name was Luffy,” Crocodile remembered, his heart skipping a beat about the old days, “Dragon was his father going to look for medicine.  Those were hard days.  On all of us.  Luffy was, what…Maybe six months, Dragon?”

“Probably around there,” Dragon knew exactly what Crocodile was talking about.

“I still had stitches healing,” Crocodile shuddered, “Fuck, those hurt.  But if he didn’t have such a big ass head when he was born, I would’ve been fine.  But no.  I don’t get that lucky.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” you stopped him, “What do you mean, you had stitches?  We’re talking about the same Luffy, right?”

“That’s right,” Crocodile confirmed, “But I did still have stitches healing because of his big ass head.”

“What?” you wondered, “Did he headbutt you that hard or something?”

“No,” Crocodile shook his head, “It wasn’t like that at all.  Times were tough in those days.  I was just getting started up and Dragon already had a target on his back.  Dragon took Luffy.  I went to speak with another one of the revolutionaries.  You’ve heard me talk about Ivankov before, right?”

“Right.”

“Ivankov did me a big favor,” Crocodile went on, “In order to keep Luffy safe, Dragon brought him to Vice Admiral Garp.  I’m sure you’ve heard of him.”

“Yeah.” You still weren’t sure where this was going, but you listened intently.

“That’s my father,” Dragon chimed in.

“And after we split,” Crocodile cradled you against his chest, “I went to Ivankov.  And I begged them to use their devil fruit powers on me.  That way, Luffy would never come looking for me.  That way, my own target would be taken care of.  No one would be able to pin me back to Dragon.  No one would go running after Luffy to use against me.  YN…Luffy is just as much my son as he is Dragon’s.  Those stitches were from me giving birth.  It’s not a fun feeling.  I don’t recommend it.  And if by some stretch of the imagination you want to go through with it, drugs.  All the drugs.  Any drugs they want to give you, take them.  And take them liberally.”

“So,” you tried your best to piece it together, “You…used to be a woman?”

“That’s right,” Crocodile let out a few rings of smoke, “And Dragon got me pregnant.  And I had a baby.  And that baby is occasionally a pain in our asses.  But that doesn’t mean I love him any less.  Except for when he gets too out of hand.  Then, he’s Dragon’s son, not mine.  Once Ivankov took care of me, I started to feel a little more comfortable in my new skin and well…I ended up with you.  I ended up with Mihawk and pain in the-”

“Crocodile…”

“And Buggy, too…” Crocodile corrected himself.  Even though every part of him still wanted to call him the pain in the ass clown, “I got more established as Crocodile than I ever did as Wani.  And I’m alright with that.  But I ask this question of you.”

“What is it?” You could hardly believe it.  You always just saw Crocodile as Crocodile.  You never knew who Wani was.

“Do you think differently of me?” Crocodile worried, holding you a little tighter.  Like you were going to run away from him.

“No,” you assured him, “Of course not.  That was you in the past.  And like any good mother, you did anything you could to keep your baby safe.  Why would I want to see you different after that?”

“That…” Crocodile looked at you strangely, “That doesn’t make you uncomfortable?”

“The only thing that made me uncomfortable tonight was Dragon trying to cop a feel,” you settled him, “Crocodile, I love you.  In any form, I love you.  I’m not just going to throw you away when I find out you look differently than you used to.  Or that you just happen to have a kid.  That kid is practically an adult now anyway.  He’s a big boy that can protect himself now.  And he got to be a big boy that could protect himself because you let him go.  He got a future because you kept him safe.”

“Thank you, YN…” Crocodile left a little kiss on top of your head.  Only for his mood to shift in the next second, “Did you just say Dragon tried to cop a feel?”

“Mmhm,” you shut your eyes, your head comfortably resting in his chest.

“Dragon…” Crocodile was ready to set the man on fire, “Run.”

“Cro-”

“I said,” Crocodile put his cigar out in the arm of the chair, “Run.”

“Crocodile,” you stopped him, “Let’s just go to bed.  We can try to kill him in the morning.  But we’ll go to bed.  Dragon, you can crash on the couch.”

“Thank you, YN,” Dragon gave you a nod, “I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome,” you climbed onto Crocodile’s back, “Take me to bed.  We can bitch more in the morning.”

“Fine,” Crocodile wanted to throw Dragon off the balcony, but he wasn’t going to.  He had more important matters to attend to.  He had you to take care of.  And once you were tucked back into bed, both you and Crocodile were sleeping like babies.  And all was well again.

The next morning, you woke up to the smell of breakfast and an empty bed.  There was no way Crocodile was making breakfast.  You knew better than that.  Crocodile was a disaster in the kitchen.  In your house, that was either a you job or a Mihawk job.  Because Crocodile would manage to catch something on fire and Buggy was incapable of cooking anything that wasn’t either overly bitter or overly salty.  But bless him, he tried.

Instead, Crocodile sat in the living room with a morning cigar and the Alabasta newspaper while Dragon stood in the kitchenette making breakfast.  You weren’t complaining.  Crocodile and Dragon weren’t trying to kill each other and you were about to get breakfast.  Waffles by the looks of things.  And you wanted nothing more than to sink your teeth into them.  Especially when they smelled like funnel cake.  You weren’t entirely sure what Dragon did to them to make it so yummy, but you’d allow it any time.  If it meant you getting an uninvited almost perfect stranger in your bed and finding out things about one of the men you loved that not even the others knew, then so be it.  You were getting waffles.

“Morning, Princess,” Crocodile didn’t even bother looking up from his newspaper.  He just lifted it up, so you could get cozy in his lap.

“Good morning,” you rubbed the sleep out of your eyes and nestled yourself in Crocodile’s embrace, “Anything good?”

“The royal family’s planning a gala tomorrow night,” Crocodile turned the page, “Other than that, nothing too exciting.  Alabasta’s gotten quiet since I left.  Such a shame.”

“Of course,” Dragon agreed, “It’s amazing what happens when a warlord isn’t presiding over everything under false heroism.”

“Fuck you, too, Dragon,” Crocodile hardly even flinched.  You didn’t expect to be between them, but stranger things have happened.

“Hey,” you turned things around before they could escalate, “Have you heard anything from Mihawk?”

“No,” Crocodile shook his head, reaching for his coffee, “You want to give him a call?  Check in on things?  I’m sure he’d love to hear your voice again.”

“Probably not a bad idea,” you got up from Crocodile’s lap and moved over to the couch.  Surprisingly enough, though, there wasn’t a scrap of evidence that Dragon slept there last night.  With the exception of the small pile of blankets neatly folded next to it.  Regardless, you got comfortable and grabbed the communicator snail.

“If this isn’t life or death,” Mihawk still sounded like he was half asleep.  And you felt a little bad for calling, “Find a god to make your peace with.”

“Not life or death,” you assured him, “Just YN.”

“Oh,” Mihawk’s mood did a one-eighty, “Good morning, YN.  How are you, darling?  How are things in Alabasta?”

“Interesting,” you reported, “But it’s also Crocodile and me.  Never a dull moment with us.”

“You’re not wrong,” Mihawk agreed, “So, tell me.  This is your first time in Alabasta, is it not?”

“Mmhm,” you nodded, “And I like it here.  I don’t have a problem with it.  Then again, all I’ve seen of it is the casino and the path from the docks to here.”

“And Crocodile has yet to take you out anywhere?” Mihawk gasped, “Such a shame.”

“Well,” you knew how to get what you wanted.  Because a night out didn’t sound so bad, “Rumor has it, the royal family is throwing a gala and I’m sure someone as big and important as Crocodile could get us on the guest list.”

“I’m sure he could,” Mihawk assumed while Crocodile choked on his coffee.

“You ok, Croccy?” you asked, knowing he wanted to go to that gala like he wanted a hole in his head, but at the same time, he didn’t want to disappoint you.

“Yeah,” Crocodile pulled himself together, “I’m good.”

“That’s good,” you smiled, knowing right then and there you had won already.  However, you weren’t going to be the center of attention for the whole conversation, “What about you?  How are things back home?”

“Well,” Mihawk let out a heavy sigh.  Which made you think there was no way things could be good, “I’ve been holed up in the library while Rayleigh’s been chasing Buggy around.  The man has the patience of a saint, but Buggy’s also wearing a shock collar these days, so…Little victories.”

“Why the hell is Buggy in a shock collar?��� you held your face in your hands, already over it.

“Buggy’s in a shock collar?” Crocodile looked at you strangely.  And he would never admit it to you out loud, but the amount of joy that flooded his brain with that mental image was astronomical.

“Rayleigh said it’s to help him behave,” Mihawk giggled to himself, “Personally, I think he’s just as sadistic as the rest of us.  I’m so glad you had him come over, YN.  Capital idea.”

“And,” you worried, “Where’s the remote for that shock collar, Mihawk?”

“Sitting in front of me on our kitchen table.” You could hear Mihawk idly spinning it around, “Rayleigh left it here last night after he put Buggy to bed.  So…Theoretically speaking, if I wanted to wake him up…”

“Mihawk, don’t you fucking dare,” you scolded him, “That is not a way he needs to wake up.  Do not do it.”

“Fine, fine,” Mihawk backed off, “Why do you wish to take the fun out of things, YN?”

“I’m not taking the fun out of anything,” you put your foot down, “You are not shocking Buggy awake.” 

“I won’t,” Mihawk was suspiciously quiet.

“Mihawk…”

“I won’t!”

“Crocodile,” you gave him the eyes.  The soft, sweet eyes that could get you off murder charges, “Can you tell Mihawk not to zap Buggy awake…?”

“Sorry, Princess,” Crocodile smirked a bit, “I’d be telling him to hammer down on the button and fry the little shit.”

“You two are the worst…”

“Morning, Mihawk,” another voice entered the room.  And you knew it wasn’t Buggy.  It was too cordial.

“Good morning,” Mihawk greeted him, “I just made coffee if you’re interested.”

“Thank you…”

“Good morning, Rayleigh!” you chimed in.

“Well, well,” Rayleigh took over, “Good morning, YN.  How’s Alabasta been treating you?”

“Very well,” you smiled, feeling oddly comforted, “Rumor has it, one of my boyfriends has a shock collar on him.”

“That’s right,” Rayleigh wasn’t going to fight that.  He knew what he did, “Sometimes, Buggy needs a little correction.  Nothing wrong with that.”

“Tell me it’s not at a high voltage.”

“It’s pretty mild,” Rayleigh assured you, “Compared to what I used on him as a kid, it’s like butterfly kisses.”

“You put a shock collar on him as a kid?!” And a lot of things about Buggy started to make sense.

“No,” Rayleigh laughed, “I didn’t do that.  I just played with the placebo effect with that one.  Shanks wouldn’t fall for it, but boy howdy, would Buggy fall for it hook, line, and sinker.  It worked a little too well on him.  If you need to calm him down, YN, just press directly between his shoulder blades.  Gets him to fold like a cheap suit every time.”

“Good to know.” You weren’t sure if that was helpful or deeply concerning.  But you weren’t going to think much of it.

“So?” Rayleigh wondered, “When are you coming back?”

“In another couple weeks,” you told him.

“Mmm…” a sweet little voice floated into the room, “Mihawk…Will you make me a cappuccino?”

“Of course, dear,” Mihawk assured her, “YN?”

“Still here,” you melted inside, “Good morning, Perona!”

“YN!” Perona perked right up, “Please come home.  I miss you.  And dealing with Buggy and Mihawk is hell.”

“Another couple weeks, Perona,” Mihawk filled her in.

“Booooooooo!”

“YN…” Dragon called from the kitchen, “Breakfast is done.”

“Ok,” you gave him a nod, “Be right there.”

“Hold the fucking phone,” Perona gasped, “YN…Who was that?”

“Yes,” Mihawk got back into the call, “Who was that?”

“It was just Dragon,” you brushed them off, the catty, gossipy bitches they were, “He crashed here last night.”

“Dragon?” Mihawk wondered while Crocodile lost any scrap of color his face ever had, “Not Crocodile’s Dragon…Right?”

“Alright, YN,” Crocodile took the snail, “You really should go get something to eat.  Always a pleasure talking to you, Mihawk.”

“Crocodile, wait!”

Click.

It was at that moment you thought you may have screwed up somewhere.  Was it in the sudden end of the call or was it in Crocodile sweating bullets?  You may never know.  But there was only one way to find out, “Crocodile…?”

“I’m sorry, YN,” Crocodile fell into the couch next to you, “I got a little overzealous there.  Mihawk doesn’t need to know Dragon and I are as good as what we are.”

“We’re not good, Crocodile,” Dragon pointed out, handing off a well crafted plate of waffles.

“You tried to spoon me last night,” you reminded him, “And you thought I was him.  And you didn’t seem to mind then.”

“He’s right, Princess,” Crocodile confirmed, gladly accepting that plate, “Thank you, sweetheart.”

“No problem,” Dragon gave him a nod, “YN, do you want some, too?”

“Yes, please.” You were so lost.  They said they hated each other, but here they were, sharing breakfast like an old married couple.  Which made you worry.  Was there still a spark between them?  And if there was, what would that mean for you?  For Mihawk and Buggy back home?

Crocodile could see it all over your face.  And yet, he pulled you a little closer, “You got nothing to worry about, YN.  There’s no chance in hell of me running off on you.  And sure as fuck not back to Dragon.  We’re not together for a reason, Princess.  We’re god awful for each other.  Especially now.  Nothing like a revolutionary getting cozy with a former warlord.”

“Of course not,” Dragon sat across from him, “Is there going to be a part of me that still loves him?  Yeah.  I loved him enough at one point to knock him up.  I’m not stealing him away from you.”

“I never said you were.” But you were secretly relieved to hear that.

“Alright then,” Crocodile let it all go, “Now that we have that settled, what the hell is this business of you and me going to that gala in Alubarna?”

“Come on, Crocodile,” you insisted, “There’s no way you’re just going to do your business and get out of here.”

“You do realize,” Crocodile pointed out, “You’re here with me, not Mihawk, right?”

“And that you’re no stranger to a good party either,” you argued, “Come on, Crocodile.  I know you can get on that guest list.”

“Because I certainly didn’t fuck over Alabasta the last time I was here,” Crocodile scoffed.

“He did,” Dragon confirmed, “I was there.  I saw the whole thing go down.  And if I remember correctly, you tried killing our son, too, didn’t you?”

“Fuck off, Dragon,” Crocodile brushed him off, “I hadn’t seen Luffy since he was a baby.  How the fuck was I supposed to know that was our son?”

“Probably when he told you what his name was,” Dragon shrugged, “I figured you would’ve heard the name Monkey D. Luffy and figured, gee…Why does that sound familiar?  Oh, yeah!  Because that’s our fucking son.”

“I never knew the Monkey family name,” Crocodile snapped, “Sue me.  And you never told me that there was a chance Luffy would be coming through Alabasta!”

“Oh, what?” Dragon rolled his eyes, “I’m supposed to be able to keep tabs on the kid?  I hardly knew he was in the Grand Line, let alone in Alabasta!”

“And who let him in the Grand Line?”

“How the hell should I know?”

“And this is why,” Crocodile threw his hands up, “This is why we couldn’t have stayed together.  Because the second we start talking about Luffy, the whole thing falls to shit.”

“You weren’t exactly parent of the year either, honey,” Dragon growled, “At least I didn’t try to kill him!”

“Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be!” Crocodile snarled at him, “You’re going to throw that in my face every single time, aren’t you?  At least I didn’t leave him with my hard ass of a father who barely managed to raise Luffy.  I wouldn’t be surprised if every morning, that kid woke up with a fucking grenade in his bed to serve as his alarm clock!”

“The old man didn’t do that!” Dragon defended, “He just put him in a pit a couple times to see if he could dig his way out.  And a few other unmentionable things…Wait, when did this turn around on me?!”

“You were the one who handed him over to Garp, you dumbass!”

“Someone had to take care of him!”

“You know why he keeps his crew so close?  Because he has fucking abandonment issues and can’t stand to be alone!”

“And whose fault is that?!”

“Alright, alright!” you finally stepped in.  Because if you didn’t, Rain Dinners would be reduced to a pile of rubble by lunch, “That’s enough, both of you!”

And that was when the fighting died down.  You weren’t sure how you did it, but immediately, Dragon and Crocodile shut up.  You’d be lying if you said you weren’t a little proud of yourself.  But here you were.  And the silence was nice.  The three of you finished breakfast in peace and Dragon took care of the dishes.  He did crash your first night in Alabasta with Crocodile and try to cuddle with you.  It was the least he could do.

“Everyone calmed down yet?” you hoped.

“Yeah…” Crocodile nodded.

“I guess,” Dragon didn’t even look your way.  Or Crocodile’s. 

“Good,” you started to relax, “Now, are we going to play nice?”

“We’re not going to play at all,” Dragon wiped his hands off, “I’m leaving.”

“Good riddance,” Crocodile muttered to himself.

“Crocodile…”

“Sorry, Princess,” Crocodile bit his tongue and stuck another cigar in his mouth.  Granted, it was his third one already, but whatever kept him from flying off the handle.

“Where are you going, Dragon?” you wondered.  Even though he wanted to tear Crocodile apart, you were still curious.

“I need to be moving on,” Dragon decided, “I just wanted to make sure you were still breathing, Crocodile.  It’s good to know you are.”

“Likewise,” Crocodile let him go. 

“And YN,” Dragon stopped at the door.  And a little smirk made its way onto his face, “I hope you realize what you got.  Because as much as I loathe the asshole, you still have one of the good ones.  And you definitely got your hands full.  Be careful with that one.”

“That’s the idea.” It was then you realized just what Dragon was all about.  Yes, he wasn’t exactly Crocodile’s biggest fan, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care.  That didn’t mean he didn’t still think about him.  That spark would always be there, but you realized it didn’t have to be the same as it was back then.  As long as they didn’t leave bloodstains on the rugs, you were alright with them.

“I’ll send Ivankov your best, Crocodile,” Dragon waved behind him, “I’ll let you know when I come back around.”

“You better,” Crocodile warned him, “And not by spooning my girl again.”

“Or passing out in your office?” Dragon figured, shooting a wink your way, “It was nice meeting you, YN.  See you around.”

And so, Dragon left Crocodile’s penthouse without a trace.  You wouldn’t say it out loud to Crocodile, of all people, but you were going to miss him.  He was a strange ghost in your life and now, you understood him a little better.  And Crocodile, too.  But that was here nor there.  Because you had other things to concern yourself with.  Like an exciting event being held in Alubarna.  You weren’t typically the type for parties when they were hosted in your own home, but other people’s parties?  Those were always fair game.

[s0lar-ch3ri]

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO @justyouraverageleafykinnie AND @dogboyratgirl TAKE THE SILLIES

tw theyre fluffy and sweet in this so yeah (also long. also will maybe post to ao3 someday idrk)

title is "together we can figure it out!" a bears in trees lyric

this fic features lint from wonderlust as well as wonderlust ocs of my friends :3 (I AM NOT CAUGHT UP WITH WONDERLUST DO NOT EXPECT TO GET FUTURE EP REFS I DONT MIND SPOILERS IM JUST SAYING)

description: It's Aluntine's day (or their world's Valentine's day), and for strange, almost 100% homosexual reasons, Lint can't do anything but find his way back to Apple.

Lint had faced many Aluntines days inside the bakery with his mom, just making cookies. Couples came in, grabbed sweet little treats for their sweet little treats (that isn't incredible wording, maybe he hangs out by Troy too much), and left. It wasn't a lonely time, not when it made business. As he looks across the tables before opening, things feel different.

"You alright Bumblebee?"

Lint half-buzzes back a response. It's not even opening time, he needs to keep it together. Come on!

"Repeat that?"

He buzzes a bit more, less responding to the question and more mumbling to himself. Nothing else is different, nothing's too special about today, well maybe minus...

He leaves the bakery, off to find his sweet little treat.

Apple is not expecting much today. Yes, this time around, Apple could have gone with Lint somewhere nice, however he knew Lint was busy today at the bakery, so maybe he would bug him after. In the meantime, Apple was working on writing something. The plan was simple: finish this, check on the orchard, maybe visit the bakery and see that bee, all that good stuff.

Just like how he changed his life, Lint had changed his plans. With a jumpscare that made Apple fall out his chair, a special bee came buzzing in. All of Apple's panic faded into something softer seeing the culprit of the noise. He sighs a bit.

"Hello, sugarfly."

"I...I feel strange." Lint stands a bit awkwardly in the doorway. Apple repositions himself so they sit up better.

"Go on."

"I thought today was gonna be a normal day, but it just...doesn't. And I didn't know where to go so..."

"Of course." Apple starts cleaning up his writing supplies. He can finish it later.

"Do you uh- how do you ask this sort of thing..."

Apple bleats curiously.

"Do you want to be my Alumni? I just...I don't know. We can uh, hang out, like always, but, special? Not really? Help me out here..."

Apple giggles. "Of course darling."

He buzzes excitedly and Apple can't help but grin at him. I mean, when it's a nice day outside, pretty and basically shining, who could help themself?

"What were you thinking of?"

Lint sinks a bit into himself. Oh cog, he didn't think of something big. Or, uh, anything. What did Mars say? Deep breaths? He takes a couple, in for 7, hold for 6, release for 5. Surely Apple wouldn't mind. He hates liars anyways.

"I uh...I don't know. I just knew I had to come to you."

"That's okay! We can figure it out together!"

Cog that goat was pretty. No, Lint, focus! You have to give them the best date he's ever seen! Just how…

“Maybe a nice restaurant?”

“They may be all reserved out babydoll…”

“Oh…Does my place sound nice?”

“Always does.”

Did it feel silly to take Apple from their house to bee’s? Yes, but to be fair, there were specific things Lint needed there to make sure this was perfect. Apple deserved nothing less.

Walking in, she hears some commotion from the kitchen, mostly just grumbling and the sounds of the assembly of a gift. Looking past his neutral green walls into the kitchen with its purple walls, he sees Troy, bright red and looking just pissed. He angrily puts a ribbon around a set of orchids colored with mint and blue orchids. Despite his pissed…everything, Troy handles the flowers with much care.

“Something wrong Champion?”

“JAX.”

 “Is he-”

“THAT STUPID PRETTY BOY BASTARD ASKED ME ON A DATE BEFORE I COULD AND I NEED TO BEAT HIM WITH MY SLED. ALSO MAYBE KISS HIM.”

“You go do that love.”

Troy stomps by him, grabbing his face gently and kisses his cheek. Lint giggles, which sounds a bit like a buzz. He buzzes a lot. That wasn’t a bad thing, he hopes. Maybe he should just set up the movie.

“We uh, we’ve gotten a lot of movies. There’s Ratatoing- that’s not a good one, there’s Cloverfield, Jax may have left around his strange ‘Ratnarok’ documentaries or something- what interests you?”

“Uhhhh, all of them?”

“Love Rattually it is.”

As Apple helps with selecting the movie, he sets up the couch with its assortment of pillows and blankets. One is plain and fuzzy, a muted green, another a felt one with sunflowers on it. Lint grabs some pretzels and popcorn in the kitchen, he also prepares 2 cups of coffee, one for himself, and one for his heaven send.

Apple is still by the couch, sitting, waiting for Lint. He holds the letter he had planned to give Lint later that day, going over each carefully plucked and nurtured word. Lint had brought lights to his days that he would have known from no other being or aspect of living, the least he can do is give him something of perfection. Lint deserves nothing less.

He adds a couple details to it and carefully folds it so as to not crease it. He hopes it’s good enough. They finish the set up as footsteps come on by them behind the couch. Lint holds his arms around Apple from above as bee places in his hands a cup of coffee.

“Got you a cup! Made with love.” Lint is buzzing with joy, putting his head on Apple’s shoulder. Apple takes this as the chance to pepper him slightly with kisses, but like any well made dish, too much seasoning- well here it just made him giggle and light-heartedly protest.

“Let me put my cup down first angel!” He smiles and snickers and Apple feels his heart flutter around and he gains another reason to love him.

Lint climbs over into the blankets and snuggles up next to Apple as they play some movies, drinking coffee. At certain parts, Apple turns his gaze back to Lint and sometimes Lint’s looking at him. As eyes meet, the boys giggle as they give each other compliments and flirts and kisses. As their binging goes on, their energy simmers down with the time, fading into simple cuddling on the couch. Cups sit on the table, basically empty, with the TV’s hum as natural to the environment as Lint’s buzzing was to him. He adored this bee beyond words.

He carefully wriggles his letter out from his pocket, using the blue light to guide his reading ability.

‘’Dearest sweetest bee I’ve known, Lint

There are many things I want to tell you. I want to tell you how you are the light of my days and how no sun nor star could outshine you. I want to tell you how your voice is a gracious melody, with each note and buzz writing a harmonious tune I wish to hold forever. I want to tell you how I could count the stars that trail the sky and name all the shades of its majesty and not once could I think of a world where it’d be a more beautiful sight then the warmth of your smile. I want to tell you how you’ve taken my world and sculpted it to a more magical and wondrous one then I could have arrived too. I want to tell you how the ideas of love and friendship were carefully taught to me by the wondrous bee you are. I want to tell you how you’re the sweetest nectar I’ve tried and I’ve never felt once a need to find another.

There are many things I want to tell you. Maybe I can settle with a few words. I love you Lint, you are a shining star, thank you, I love you, thank you.

All the love I can give,

Apple’’

He’s still unsure if all he’s wanted to say is there, if that’s what bee would understand is true. Thoughts swarm Apple’s head, like a wasp hive, aiming for his heart. Before he gets lost in his mind, Apple hears a small faint buzz from a special someone under his head. He seemed to have fallen asleep a bit ago. The small reminder grounds Apple and his heart calms down with him. He’s got someone too close to there to be so worried. He remembers Lint’s words before, what he didn’t exactly say but was always there.

I didn't know where to go so I came to you.

Apple smiles a bit, closing his eyes and falling for the background TV ambience himself. Together they will figure it out.

[writerslittlelibrary]

Ok so blackhill x daughter reader

So Natasha and Maria have been stressed lately and on a mission we keep calling them lil mama and mom (I don’t know which nicknames you want) and some agents (avengers don’t because they are used to) snicker about that. (Don’t get me wrong they love when we call them that no matter the situation and will beat up anybody who laughs at that but now due to the stress they can’t) so they kind of snap at us telling us that we have to adress them with respect.

Now the angst 😈 then some days after that mission we get kidnapped and HYDRA got a device that made us see that our mothers were torturing us. So we got tortured irl but saw that Natasha and Maria did it.

Then when they finally get to where we are (some time has to pass) we start to back up frightened and start saying things like “please miss romanoff please don’t hurt me more miss romanoff” (yk like begging but calling them that) and Natasha is startled and says “what did you call me?” So we get even more frightened and kind of scream “I’m sorry black widow I’m sorry please no more please” also when we are in the compound every time we see them we get duper frightened. And they have to make a lot of effort and rehabilitation to get us back to our past shelf.

I don’t know if this makes sense at all. I’m sorry if it doesn’t

-🦈

We are your mothers

masterlist requests masterlist

part 2

pairing: Blackhill x daughter reader

warnings: yelling, Natasha and Maria being stupid for a second, torture

genre: angst

words: 1370

a/n: I finally finished a fic, yay😎 hope you like it :)

You do not have my permission to repost, copy or translate my work 

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

Going on a mission with your moms seemed exciting at first. You and Natasha had spoken about it a lot, and while she was unsure of you joining them, she was proud of you.

Two days in and excitement had died down, now walking on eggshells every time you talked with your moms. They were stressed. Very stressed. The past couple of days hadn’t been easy on them and they carried a lot of responsibility and had a lot on their plate. You tried to help them, but Maria had just ended up telling you to go somewhere else.

You knew it had nothing to do with you, but it still hurt.

To make the whole situation worse, people had been laughing behind your back, and sometimes right in your face due to the fact you called your moms by their names, mom and mama. The other agents made fun of it and you found it annoying but mainly ignored it. You knew they were just some stupid agents, you just wished they’d shut up. 

Today wasn’t any different. All of you were working on finding information, hacking into computers and trying to find out where Hydra was going to hit next. 

“Hey mama, I think I found something,” you said, typing something in the laptop while you tried to secure a location. You heard an agent snicker, and you knew Natasha had heard it too, but she seemed to ignore it. She walked over to you, leaning down to look at the laptop. 

“This proves nothing, y/n. Please take this seriously,” she said, walking back to your mom. You sighed in annoyance, and leaned back into your chair. 

“I am taking this seriously mama. Why wouldn’t I? I know it’s serious, but I really thought I had something-” “Well you didn’t, and you need to start being more respectful. We are not at home. Address us properly,” Natasha interrupted, typing something into her own computer. 

You looked at your mom pleadingly, but Maria just shook her head and went on with her own work. “You could’ve just told me that. No need to yell!” you replied back to Natasha, who looked at you really pissed. “Go take yourself for a walk, and don’t even dare coming back until you’ve remembered your manners!” Natasha replied angrily, and you could hear some agents snickering. 

You stood up aggressively, pushing your chair back and storming out of the room, ignoring your moms scolding you heard. 

You walked outside for a while, the cool autumn air helping to calm your nerves. You felt odd, though, but you couldn’t really explain it. You kept looking behind you, feeling as though someone was following you. When the feeling got worse, you reached for your phone, dialing your mom who, stupidly, ignored your call. You cursed yourself quietly, calling your mama, who, surprisingly, picked up. 

“What?” you heard your mama say, hearing the annoyance in her voice. “I think I’m being followed…” you replied softly, checking behind you again. 

“Where are you?” you heard Natasha ask, her voice suddenly sounding concerned and panicked. “I’m at-” “Hello? y/n?! Answer me!” Natasha yelled through the phone, but you were knocked out cold. 

Natasha immediately grabbed Maria’s attention, explaining what happened. The entire mission was thrown around, now solely focussed on finding you.

Meanwhile, you were being dragged into a van, which drove you to a Hydra base. You were still knocked out when they placed you into a dark room, strapping you down to a chair and quickly injecting you with a serum.

Once you woke up, the room was dark, and your mind felt foggy. You couldn’t remember what happened, but when you went to reach for your head you found out your arms and legs were tied. You panicked, frantically trying to get yourself loose but to no avail. Once you stopped struggling, the door opened, and two figures walked in.

You blinked a few times, not trusting your mind, before you realized it was your moms standing in front of you. “Mama! Mom! Please help me!” you pleaded with them, tugging on the restraints.

They didn’t move from their spot, instead who you thought was Maria lifted her arm, a strike hitting you in the face. “Address us properly,” she demanded, waiting for your answer. Your head swept to the side and tears stung in your eyes. “What?...” you questioned quietly, barely above a whisper. Another strike hit your cheek, this time Maria grabbed your hair, yanking your head back.

“Address us properly,” she demanded again, Natasha now stepping closer too.

You shook your head to the best of your abilities, tears running down your cheeks. “Mom please, don’t get it…” you cried, another slap landing on your cheek. 

It had been days, and you were beaten and bruised and barely alive. Every few hours, a guy would come to inject you with a blue serum. It didn’t hurt, but it made your brain feel foggy and made you see things that weren’t really there. 

Your moms had been coming into the room constantly, torturing you and laughing at you, making fun of you. 

You were terrified, but completely obedient to whatever they told you. You had been moved into another room a few days ago, this one with a bed, or rather a mattress, a very thin mattress, on the floor. Your ankle was attached to a chain, which was attached to the wall.

You were shaking and starving, your wounds hurting more than anything you’d ever experienced. 

Little did you know your real moms had been doing anything in their power to try and find you. They had gone over every possible Hydra base, skipping sleep and going through every possible file and document to try and locate you, and tonight, they did.

It was late when your cell door opened, and your moms once again walked in. “y/n,” you heard a relieved sigh, but you didn’t dare look at them. 

You kept your eyes on the ground, sitting up straight and keeping quiet, just like you’d been taught. Natasha ran up to you, laying her hand on your shoulder to try and assess the damage, but you flinched away from her touch, trying to make yourself as small as possible.

“Please…” you cried out. “No more… please miss Romanoff no more…” 

Natasha hesitated in her movement, making eye contact with Maria, who was slowly approaching. “What did you just call me?” Natasha asked surprised, and she, nor Maria didn’t miss the way that sentence made you flinch and made yourself even smaller. 

“I’m sorry Black Widow. I’m sorry, please don’t hurt me. I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” you cried out, tears violently streaming down your face. 

Maria tried to approach you as well, but you flinched away from her as well.

Natasha had tears running down her cheeks, seeing you so afraid of her, too terrified to even look at her. Meanwhile, Maria called for back-up. Soon after, Yelena entered the room, followed by Clint. Natasha was sitting against a wall, her head leaning on it as she cried soundlessly, Maria sitting next to her, tears in her eyes as well.

You were sitting across for them, still covering your face with your arms and you tried to shield yourself.

Yelena slowly approached you, her hands raised as she crouched down next to you. “Baby spider…?” she asked carefully, taking note of your form relaxing slightly as you heard her voice. “Baby spider it’s me. It’s auntie Yelena. Can I help you with your wounds please?”

Seeing as though you made no move to get away from her, she came closer, hugging you tight as she checked your wounds. You finally broke down, feeling safe in the familiar arms of the russian.

Clint helped Natasha and Maria, getting them up and then breaking the chain you were attached to. Yelena lifted you up, taking you to the Quinjet, while your moms were left in that room. They saw your terrible state as Yelena carried you away, and silently cried, knowing this happened only because they got mad over you calling them mom, knowing you’d probably ever call them that again. 

a/n: I might rewrite this ending or make a part two cause, yikes.

part 2

[sweet-caress-of-twilight]

Disney Animated Canon Dashboard Simulator

🦁 a-mighty-king Follow

How do I look?

🦌 a-life-in-the-woods Follow

mid

🦁 a-mighty-king Follow

That's why your mom is dead

🦌 a-life-in-the-woods Follow

ik you're not talking when your uncle killed your dad 💀be so fr rn

🦁 a-mighty-king Follow

moots you have 24 hours to unfollow a-l*fe-in-t*e-w**ds

🧞‍♂️ phenomenal-cosmic-power Follow

geez, wanna buy some vowels?

🦁 a-mighty-king Follow

how dare you say we piss on the poor

#classism tw

🧞‍♂️ phenomenal-cosmic-power Follow

I'm not classist, my best pal is a street rat

🐭 rescue-aid-society-official Follow

Actually, we prefer the term "mouse" - Bernard

🧞‍♂️ phenomenal-cosmic-power Follow

I don't believe it, another "piss on the poor" moment? I'm not even talking about you dawg 💀

⚡️ b01t Follow

...

🥖 one-jump-ahead Follow

actually I wouldn't mind being pissed on

🌺 jasmine-like-the-flower Follow

AYO?

📖 milo-thatch Follow

#aladdin horny heritage posts

💛 more-than-this-provincial-life Follow

h

💪 roughly-the-size-of-a-barge Follow

I SHOWED YOU MY COCK IN DMS PLEASE RESPOND

💪 roughly-the-size-of-a-barge Follow

I CAN'T BELIEVE I'VE BEEN BLOCKED BY BELLE ANYWAYS DNI IF YOU STAN THE BEAST

🕯 b3-0ur-gu3st Follow

#THE BEAST SWEEP

💪 roughly-the-size-of-a-barge Follow

shut your goofy ass up before I melt you

😜 yaa-hoo-hoo-hooey Follow

Gawrsh, did someone mention me?

🐤 d0n4ld-duck Follow

hes not talking about you you big palooka

😜 yaa-hoo-hoo-hooey Follow

Actually, you're supposed to put an apostrophe in the word "he's"

🐤 d0n4ld-duck Follow

GAHHHHHHH WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?

💚 theboywhowouldntgrowup Follow

adults are so annoying like go pay your taxes grandpa 🙄

🏴‍☠️ theworldsmostfamouscrook Follow

You are a minor who knows nothing about the world. You are the ugly one here. I can make YOU shut up but I suggest you one thing. You don't want to deal with a devil like me.

🐊 tiktokcrok Follow

Hi

🏴‍☠️ theworldsmostfamouscrook Follow

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

🏴‍☠️ theworldsmostfamouscrook Follow

moots please tw crocodiles

💎 m4d4m-m3dus4 Follow

BOO

🏴‍☠️ theworldsmostfamouscrook Follow

THIS IS THE LAST STRAW MEDUSA!!!!!11 I'M BREAKING THE MUTUAL!!1111!!

🐚 p00r-unf0rtun4t3-s0u1s Follow

And this, my darlings, is why we don't put our triggers out in public

💜 m3g4r4 Follow

Hercules save me

💜 m3g4r4 Follow

Hercules

💜 m3g4r4 Follow

save me Hercules

💪 zer02hero Follow

Never fear, I'm on my way!

💪 roughly-the-size-of-a-barge Follow

Nice pfp bro

💪 zer02hero Follow

254.421.81.132

🛐 a-righteous-man Follow

uhm,,,,this entire dashboard is rife with sin and degeneracy. Do you all have no shame?

🐐 esme-and-djali Follow

fiwruehfiuerhgiuerhughgeuyrhg

🐐 esme-and-djali Follow

Sorry that was Djali typing anyway OP literally tried to burn me at the stake for being Romani????

🛐 a-righteous-man Follow

And I would do it again to cleanse the world of your wickedness! You flaunt your heresy and expect us to applaud?

🐐 esme-and-djali Follow

how about you keep that energy when you look in the mirror? cause last i checked, your obsession with me wasn’t exactly “holy”

🛐 a-righteous-man Follow

You dare speak to me of obsession? I shall have you blocked and reported from this webbed site!

🐐 esme-and-djali Follow

lol ok

🛐 a-righteous-man Follow

DO NOT SPEAK TO ME THAT WAY! YOU SHALL ANSWER TO DIVINE JUDGMENT!

🐐 esme-and-djali Follow

frollo got termed lmao sucks to suck

🔥 officialhades Follow

that sucks, i was gonna invite him to my place for a BBQ

🔮 th3-gre4t-and-powerful Follow Why do I always wake up to the chaos of this dashboard? I need coffee and Kuzco's head on a platter.

🦙 realemperorkuzco Follow

tf is u doing ur really killing my groove here :(

🔮 th3-gre4t-and-powerful Follow

Get off of my dash.

🦙 realemperorkuzco Follow

u havent blocked me tho

🎢 pull-teh-lever Follow Uh, Yzma, are we still making spinach puffs for dinner? Asking for a friend.

🩶 bear-nessities Follow

Hi guys, this is my first post here! Good vibes only!

📖 milo-thatch Follow

Unfortunately, there appears to be a spelling error in your username. It is supposed to be "necessities."

🩶 bear-nessities Follow

🤓🤓🤓🤓

🏄🏾‍♀️ 0hana-means-family Follow

Guys, I have a theory: I think Baloo and Little John are the same person. I mean, have we ever seen them online at the same time?

🦊 stealfr0mtehrich Follow

You know, Little John did get termed recently....

🦊 g00dby3-may-seem-4ever Follow

Nice pfp

🦊 stealfr0mtehrich Follow

Thanks, I stole it from you

#oodelally

😴 br1arr0se Follow

🦁 a-mighty-king Follow

Um this is extremely offensive to people who have been put under sleeping spells??????

🍎 myprincecame Follow

Excuse me, Simba, but Aurora has been putting under a sleeping spell, as have I. Please don't spread negativity here :(

🍎 myprincecame Follow

plsushthepostistreu - Sleepy

🦁 a-mighty-king Follow

you know that by being sleepy, you're appropriating the culture of those who have been put under sleeping spells?????

🥖 one-jump-ahead Follow

so...just fuck being tired, I guess?

🍎 myprincecame Follow

Please no profanity on my posts, Aladdin :(

🎩 un81rthd4y Follow

anyone in this thread smoke weed

[lapis-is-blue]

It's time to make people mad at me. Again. Do not try and fight with me in my comments, I don't care. This is my opinion, if you don't share it that's cool, I just don't feel the need to hear it, love ya.

I hate Caitlyn Kiramman. Now before I start. I understand her character. I understand why people like her. But she pissed me off. I will never be able to like a rich, spoiled, classist cop who gassed people and became a dictator.

Now, if you like her, cool. I don't care. I liked her a decent amount in season one. But season two ruined her for me. I don't care her mom died. Gassing people, criminal or not, isn't okay. Locking people up for dying their hair, a shade of blue that matches the criminal you hate. Crazy. She never once apologies, nothing.

Now, my favorite thing her stans do is talk about how when she gassed people, she was 'only gassing the bad guys' now two things about that nonsense. First and I fear most obvious. Gas does not stay in one place, especially when you are using deadly gas outside. The grey is like 90% of why Viktor is dyeing, have we forgotten that? Now, my second point with that statement. Not all the criminals in the under city are adults. The chembarrons are like known for having children doing their crimes for them. That is literally what Isha is.

And on the topic of Isha. Did we forget Caitlyn was like supper okay with shooting her? I keep hearing people talk about Caitlyn's perfect aim and how that means that she wouldn't have shot Isha. But no matter the perfect aim, people move. Like five minutes prior to that, Caitlyn missed and shot off Jinx's finger. It's shown her aim in near perfect, not perfect. In the heat of the moment, such as two grown women and a nine year old fist fighting, shots get missed, bullets explode, and the wrong people get hit. Which in this case would have been Isha, a child, or Vi, Caitlyn's lover.

I am well aware that grief and manipulation have ya doing some WILD things sometimes, and I think it's very important to show that in media. However, dictatorship isn't the best way to show that and have people still mess with your character. But I can also admit it could be a very interesting plot point if you're trying to show that grief makes people doing things, and sometimes those things are unforgiveable, but I digress.

Now, for one of the biggest reasons, my opinion on Caitlyn was cemented as negative. Her fans. Her fans are some of the most tone deaf, immature people I've ever seen on the internet. And I was in the Voltron fandom in its peak. If y'all want people to like your ship/show/character, maybe don't be actually insane. I love Sevika down, and I controversially love Maddie, I am not acting like they've never done wrong. You can love a character and admit they did wrong and be okay with people not liking them. Except for Mel, she's perfect. Don't play with me.

Now, once again. If you like her cool. She is a very interesting character. And before someone comments, I am the CEO of loving complex and over hated female characters, I quite literally love Maddie Nolen that's my bitch. But I will also admit when I don't like a character. And for what reasons. Once again, I liked Caitlyn in season one, even as she was a rich, privileged classist cop. But then they had to add on her implementing martial law and being a dictator who was willing to shoot a little girl who was like 9 and locking up zaunites for standing with the only person giving them hope because she hated that person. For a valid reason I do admit.

To my Caitlyn lovers, I get it. Please don't hurt me. These are my opinions. I'm on here for fun.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Malleus, Deuce: Like Mother, Like Son

BRO'S STILL MAKING THE "ARE YOU LOST BBY GHORL" FACE … Malleus’s birthday hits different knowing what I know now 💀 ALSO THE FACT THAT DEUCE SAID "THAT" ABOUT MALEFICENT VS THE HUMANS IS... (trying to keep this wording vague so as to not spoil people who haven’t gotten there yet)

It’s nice to see Malleus and Deuce in the vignettes, I feel like they don’t get to interact that much (which is a shame because I think their dynamic is cute). They had a chapter together in the manga anthology too! I’m glad they could hang out some more.

A Tale as Old as Time.

The princess and her prince were picture perfect in the painting.

The woman, with golden curls that tumbled down her back. Her cerulean gown spilled to the polished floors like a fabric waterfall, the tiara in her hair catching the soft evening light. She gazed up at her lover's warm, twinkling eyes, and smiled.

The man, brunette, locks falling loosely across his forehead. He was handsome in a red tunic with a high black collar, a crimson cape billowing out behind him with each step he took. His gaze was locked with the princess's, his one and only.

Onlookers gathered in a ring around the two, spellbound by how they danced, bodies twinning like threads bound together. It was something precious they dared not disturb, even their breaths clutched like pearls to prevent their escape.

This was happily ever after, a dream come true.

It should have been.

Yet Malleus frowned. His brows drew together and his mouth pursed, a brewing storm settling over his face.

“Draconia-senpai?” Deuce called to him anxiously. “I-Is something wrong? You look a little scary…”

The first year glanced at the portrait of the royal couple. He jumped. “D-Don’t tell me, did this painting piss you off?! Er, I mean... Did it offend you?"

“No, nothing of the sort,” Malleus replied. He rested an index finger against his chin. “It sparked memories of my own days in court. As the crown prince to the Briar Valley, it goes without saying that I've attended a number of occasions similar to what is depicted here."

"Oh, for real? That makes sense, you being royalty and all. What were those events like?"

"Most are rather solemn affairs. Grandmother, the senators, and other politicians gather to discuss diplomacy, trade, and national policies. For certain occasions, there are traditional rituals that must first be performed. A royal birth, for example, must be blessed before the festivities can commence. If it is a knighting, then all the royal guard shall be present and a speech of one's accomplishments read."

Deuce blinked a few times, as though shedding sleepiness. His mind struggled to grasp the enormity of a prince's duties. He dropped the smartest sounding response he could: "That sounds tough."

Malleus lips slightly lifted. "I do not mind it. There is pride to be had in conducting such work."

I don't have a reason to doubt what he's saying, but... Deuce clenched his fists at his sides. If Draconia-senpai really feels that way, why does he still seem so pained?

The fairy drew out a sigh, as if dissatisfied with the silence. "... Ah, but how strange. When I look upon this painting, I see many people present... yet the princess touched by diurnal fae and her prince take no notice of them. They have eyes only for each other."

His words were velvet-lined, soft on the ears. Beneath them, a pang of longing rose like a fine mist at daybreak.

"What must it feel like to be so beloved?" Malleus wondered. "To have someone who considers you the most special being in all the world?"

Vines twisted in his gut, thorns prickling his insides. Frustration and molten discontent pooled. For all the power that he wielded, he failed to attain such a basic thing.

Love.

"Do you understand such a feeling, Spade?" The inquiry was pure acid.

"H-Huh, me?!" Deuce startled, not prepared for the demand in Malleus's voice. "Well... uh, I guess my mom calls me her big, strong man. Does that count?"

Malleus's brow furrowed. "I'm afraid I don't follow. Is it customary for children of man to refer to their offspring as 'big, strong men'?"

"I think that's just my mom's thing." He shrugged. "I'm the only man in the house, so I try to help her out if I can. She jokes about it when I do."

Malleus made a face. It was difficult to discern the emotion he wore.

"Moms, right?" Deuce gave a nervous laugh. "They can be embarrassing, but they care about us a lot."

"I never knew my mother."

"... Oh." A rock dropped in Deuce's stomach. He hurried for an apology as dread rippled through him. "Shit, my bad! I didn't mean to..."

Malleus held up a hand in an elegant dismissal. "Be at ease. I harbor no anger."

There was no point, he told himself, in rage expressed for a woman he had no bond with. Her face, her voice--they were all a mystery to him. She was but a stranger adrift in an abyss.

Still, a part of him sparked at the thought of her, of someone he had yet to meet--would never meet. The thrill of fates closely intertwined, the tenderness of a parent's love.

Malleus went quiet, lowering his hand.

"Grandmother and Lilia have done their utmost to mentor me in her stead." He sounded hollow, insistent. Like he was trying to convince himself as much as he was Deuce.

The Heartslabyul student swallowed. He placed a firm hand on Malleus's arm and squeezed. "... It's not enough, is it?"

He received no answer.

“Your mom is thinking of you, wherever she is.”

Malleus pulled away, presenting his back to Deuce. "Dead fae do not tell tales," he said simply.

“That doesn’t mean she loved you any less,” Deuce stubbornly protested. “Right up until her last breath… she must have been so happy to have you, thinking about what kind of person you’d grow up to be.”

Dreaming of the day when she can, at last, meet you.

Blink, and his eyes were wet. Blink again, and his vision blurred. Heartbeat hot and quick, galloping upon coals.

Did my mother truly…?

“She’d be damn proud of you too.” Deuce flashed a wicked grin. “Believe me.”

“… Hah.” Malleus chuckled dryly.

The longer he considered it, the more appealing the idea became.

A woman in his likeness—or was he made in hers? Papery kisses, fond embraces, words of affirmation. Fire that burned strongly, warding off the darkness.

Wouldn’t that be something?

"I love you, Malleus," whispered that she-phantom. Sweet nothings that sated his starved soul. "Forever and always. My dear son, my pride and joy."

The carefully constructed stone fortress around his heart faltered. His desire burned like a falling star.

He took a breath, and fell from the heavens with his wish.

“Thank you, Spade.”

Just for this moment, let me walk once upon a dream.

A single tear slipped down Malleus’s cheek.

And what a wonderful dream it was.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for refusing to forgive my sister?

Okay so english isn't my first language but it's been bothering me so here goes nothing.

When I'm at school, my little sister stays at home with my mom. She's a toddler and my mom has a job that allows her to spend most time at home with her. Today, my sister has been left unsupervised for a short period of time and made her way into my room. Unfortunately, I had left papers, brushes and paint on the nightstand. They were a gift and pretty expensive. In 15 minutes, my sister managed to destroy most of it.

When I came home to the mess, you can imagine I was pretty pissed. To mention, my sister was just fine, no splinters, she didn't eat the paint and overall nothing happened to her. I yelled at her, because though she's young, she's still old enough not to do that anymore, right?

I admit it was partially my fault because I left the door open. In my defense, she has never done anything like that before and after all, she wasn't alone for that long. Plus she had TV on and had many more toys and distractions not to get bored like that.

When my mom found out, she helped me clean it up and, also upset, tried to explain to my sister what she did and why it's wrong. Sister didn't seem to either understand, but I think she noticed I'm upset and sad and brought me her favorite toy to cheer me up. I wasn't in the mood. In the end, I closed myself in my room. I'm not angry at her, I understand that she's small, but understandably enough, I was sad and grieved the things lost.

After a while my other sister came home as well, and when I told her about it, she said I should forgive her, that she's still little and doesn't know things, that she'll learn. She also blamed me for not closing the door. But how could've I known she'd do such thing?

It's been a while and I calmed down since. Still I think it's not my fault. Adding a pic of my evil sister for better judgment. She keeps looking at me like this and I'm starting to feel like the asshole here.

What are these acronyms?

[bullet-prooflove]

Seperation!Series Part Four: Not Enough - Mitch Ripley x Reader

Tagging: @spaghettificationandpretzels @mini-bee-bee @mandy426 @phoward89 @kmc1989

Seperation!Series:

Marley 2.0 - Mitch doesn't realise your hiding a secret from him.

Not Your Problem - Mitch feels you pulling away from him.

Pill Popping - Mitch confronts LJ about what happened in St Clair.

“I pissed myself didn’t I?” are the first words out of Mitch’s mouth when he wakes up in one of the bays in the ED, tucked into a hospital bed wearing a nothing but gown and paper underwear. 

“Do you really want me to answer that question?” You ask him, your grip tightening on his hand. “Or would you like to remain in blissful ignorance.”

His eyebrows furrow into a frown before he winces, his fingertips brushing over the stitches holding the gash in his forehead together.

“Seven stitches.” You tell him as he runs his fingers over it. “You hit your head on the way down.”

The coffee table, he summarises before he returns his attention back to you.

You look like hell, dark circles under your eyes, waxy skin. He can tell you’ve lost weight, it’s in the way you don’t quite fill out your clothes the way you used to. He stares down at your hand, so small, so dainty in his own and he thinks maybe he got this wrong, maybe it wasn’t about L.J.

“Marley,” He says softly, his thumb chasing over your wedding ring. “I don’t understand how we got here. One minute we were happy and the next…”

He shakes his head as he struggles to find the words.

“What was the breaking point?” He says finally, his eyes stinging. “What was it that I did that made you not love me?”

“Mitch…” You begin and he knows that tone, it’s the one you use to placate him but Mitch he isn’t looking for comfort, he just wants answers.

“I just need to know what I did wrong.” He whispers.

“It wasn’t you.” You find yourself telling him. “Something happened to me after you left St Clair, something I didn’t know how to deal with…”

His grip on your hand tightens and you pause because the truth is you don’t know how to vocalise the next part because the moment you do it changes things, for you and your marriage. However you can’t keep going on like this, you owe it to Mitch to be honest, to help him understand that it isn’t him that’s the problem, it’s you.

“A couple of days after you left I had miscarriage.” You say quietly, your gaze fixed on the paper hospital hand looped around his wrist. “L.J was there, he realised what was happening, took me to the hospital, called my mom…”

“You were pregnant?” He asks, his voice rough with emotion and finally your gaze raises to meet his.

There’s such agony in those eyes of yours, so much distress. You’ve been carrying this thing around with you for weeks, keeping it all locked it up inside and it’s only now that Mitch realises that you were grieving, that’s what the distance has been about, the pulling away from him. You’ve been trying to cope with this all alone and Mitch can’t fathom why.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He asks you. “I could have helped you. I could have…”

“You don’t want kids Mitch.” You say quietly, pulling your hand away and tucking it into your jacket. “And it wasn’t until it happened that I realised I do.”

“Marley.” He says, that familiar ache starting to blossom in his chest. “You know my history…”

Mitch, he would give you absolutely anything in the world except for one thing and it’s the one thing you’re asking him for. He won’t bring a child into this fucked up place, not with him as a father. He won’t do that to you, he won’t do that to his baby.

“I do…” You tell him, your eyes lined with tears. “And I thought I was ok with that.”

“But now you’re not.” He says, his mouth setting into a grim line because this right here, right now, it feels like a betrayal.

The two of you have talked about kids, he wanted to have that discussion before you got married because he wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into. You’d told him you didn’t need babies, that your love for him was unconditional and Mitch, he had been stupid enough to believe you.

“I want a family with you Mitch.” You tell him, wiping at your eyes with the back of your hand. “I want to raise children together, to have a house filled with laughter, with love. Do you think… Do you think that maybe that’s something we could have?”

“No Marley," He says sadly. "It’s not.”

His gaze strays down at the silver band on his finger. This is the end, he can feel it because Mitch isn’t enough, he’ll will never be enough, for you or anybody else.

“You should leave.” He tells you and you both know he’s not talking about this hospital bay. “I can’t give you what you want so you need to do what's best for you and leave.”

Love Mitch? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[harper-fanfictions]

Telemachus x Reader (M4A)

Dad Meet

Warings: Cussing,Fluff (let me know if there is any i missed)

Characters: Odysseus,Penelope,

Note: this is after the whole thing also :D this is Epic: The Musical everyone

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it was the day after everything happened you were sadly away when it all happened you came back to the palace and looked around for Telemachus you were shocked when you didn't see all the suitors around you pushed it aside and liiked around for Telemachus more you saw him finally and went over and gave him a hug from behind "I'm back" there was a small laugh from Telemachus as he held your arms slightly "hey welcome back my love" Telemachus said you then turned to face him and noticed more cuts and scratches on him you got pissed more then pissed you were really mad to the point you were ready to fuck up some boys Telemachus saw how pissed you were and gave you a quick kiss and said "everything is fine now" you were confused he then explained everything and by the end you were shocked with your jaw open slightly he laughed slightly again "so want to meet my dad?" he asked with a smile you looked at him and thought "what did this man just say?! meet his dad?! Odysseus? the King of Ithaca?! Oh hell no fuck that" you then went to do what you do best and hide but Telemachus held your hand and spun you back over to him "what's wrong my dear?" he said with a small frown you looked at him "the King of Ithaca? you want me to meet the King of Ithaca? He is gonna hate me look at me I'm not even a Princess nor a Goddess I'm just a st-" you were talking till he cut you off "your just my pretty girl I feel in love with" he said and gave you a kiss you looked at him and smiled slightly "you don't have to meet him but soon you'll see him he'll ask your name then why you are here and then he'll-" he was saying the mn you cut him off saying "okay okay okay I'll meet him" he smiled brightly and took your hand bringing you to his dad you and Telemachus got to his parents room and he knocked on their door and said "mom,dad? Can I come in?" a few seconds later Penelope spoke saying "come in dear" Telemachus opened the door and walked in bringing you with him then closed the door and held your hand then said "dad I'll like you to meet someone" the man with Penelope as you know the Queen of Ithaca the girl who has been waiting for her husband to come home for 20 years seemed really happy you looked over at the man he was looking at you then you slightly hide behind Telemachus as Telemachus held your and said "dad this is my partner y/n y/l/n they just came back from being gone" you were looking at the man as he was looking at you as silence filled the room you slowly hiding behind Telemachus more and more wanting to now just melt into a puddle the man got up went over and said "well y/n y/l/n your dating my son?" You looked at him and nodded as he then said "it's nice to meet you y/n /y/l/n welcome to the family" you were a little shocked "he just welcomed you into the family? that fast? just like that?" You thought then you said bowing "it's nice to meet you too Odysseus" he said "no need to bow soon you'll probably become royal" him obviously hinting to Telemachus to marry you and you get embarrassed a little "okaaaay bye mom bye dad" Telemachus said grabbing your hand and walked out ge then took you to his room laid down bringing you with him as you two cuddle "see? Not that bad my love nothing to ve worried about" he said "yea- I guess but maybe I don't wanna do that again" you said yawning as you put your face on his chest and he hugs you keeping you close to him the both of you falling asleep coddling

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if words were weird sorry :< I type fast like i said before and don't see my mistake but :D hope this is good enough for a little

[leconcombrerit]

Look I get the scorn some people have for Tattoo and I was not immune to a stern face of silent disappointment myself upon watching, however.

However.

Let's keep in mind that, for him, this whole ordeal gets him back to square one. The one where Hope was beating the shit out of him while threatening his mother. Joke's high principles and cool heist to get precious items back to their owners is nice, but you don't live off generosity. Jack is kind and closer to their situation, but he's not like them either. He can work for Boss. He's not in immediate physical danger.

What they did so far brings him nothing. And he bled for it. Got in danger for it.

Honestly I think this man wants to do good, but on impulse or his back against the wall he will do what he feels he must. And he feels his back is constantly against the wall, and he sees everyone judging him for what he thinks is the only way out, and boy did he get mad at Hoy for this.

He strikes me as the type who's used to take care of people. Of making the hard calls to keep them safe. Took on his father's debt with his mom, but shoulders it all on himself and protects her. Protects Hoy, too. I mean Tattoo is both dumb and smart but Hoy is. Well. He's got a good heart but he's not the sharpest egg in the attic. It was Tattoo running to help him too.

It's like everyone around him can afford high principles and moral highground but he can't. And that was probably true for most of his life, so I don't blame him. I just wished he realised he has other friends now. Friends who won't let him down (which I think is starting to finally sink in). That he can afford friends and trust. Open up a bit.

On that point, I think Joke going along with his obvious lies is such a great big deal. Like. That was the one thing he could do that would help Tattoo's issues here, namely with shame and feeling judged and wrong. Joke doesn't ask for any explanation. He doesn't take any easy jab. Doesn't get mad. It screams 'I understand, you do not need to justify yourself, I do not judge you, with no need to bare your heart and struggles', which. Might have brought a manly tear in my eye. Cause that's the opposite of what Tattoo has repeatedly said about Joke so far.

...... I don't even know where I'm going anymore, but I love this little man with all my heart. He wants to be a good person and a good friend too, he just hasn't realized he can afford it yet and I will die on this hill.

Also he's going to be so pissed when he falls for Arun, someone get me popcorn.

[fanfictionstuff]

Amaimon and the Exorcist (17)

Seti hates everyone. Except you. But he's still pissed at you lmao

“Where is he?” You frown, anxiously waiting for Amaimon to arrive at the train station. “Maybe he changed his mind.” Seti huffs by your feet, glaring in the direction from which the demon king will appear. You glance down at Seti; he has been distant with you for the past couple of weeks. Since you disappeared and returned smelling strongly of Amaimon, he knew instantly why you had that scent and let you know how disgusted he was.  

A moment later, the demon king appears, more human-like, dressed in black jeans and a red burgundy shirt. “Amaimon, where have you been?”

He lifts a large plastic bag from the convenience store. “I was buying snacks," he explains. You sigh; of course he was. “Let’s go; the train will be here soon.” He nods and picks up your suitcase. Normally, you would have just used a key to get to your parents' house, but Amaimon has never been on a train before and asked if you could take the train. 

“Put the luggage up here.” You gesture toward the overhead compartment for bags. The demon king effortlessly lifts the luggage and places it in its designated spot, along with the small bag of clothes he brought for himself. With the luggage put away, Amaimon settles into the seat, taking the window seat for himself. Seti finds an empty seat a few rows back. 

“What’s wrong?”

Your head snaps toward Amaimon; you hadn’t realized he had been watching you. “Oh, I was just thinking about when you meet my parents. We’ve got a few things down, right? You’re Ambrosius Faust. You were once trained as an exorcist, but now you work in demon studies.” You gaze into his golden eyes, “You appear human. As long as you keep that ring on, it should be fine.” Amaimon nods. “Okay.”  

You draw him closer and gently press your lips against his cheek. “You’re so cute when you blush," you tease, brushing your fingers along his cheeks. "If you don’t stop, I’m going to make you blush," he responds bluntly as you playfully tug on his normal-shaped ear. 

When the train arrives at its destination, you have to call a taxi. Your parents had offered to pick you up, but you’re still nervous about how everything will go with Amaimon. You would rather them meet him in a private setting in case he says something dumb. 

You stare at your house, mind blank. You had thought of all these things to say to your parents regarding Amaimon, and it’s all gone. “______?” Amaimon tilts his head in confusion. “What’s wrong? You’re shaking.” His eyes drop to your hands. 

“I’ve never brought someone home before. What do I say?” 

Seti sighs. “Maybe begin with 'Hi Mom and Dad, I’ve missed you.'" 

“Smartass. Alright, I’m good. Nothing to worry about. You remember your name, right Ambrosius?” Honestly, you’re more concerned about forgetting to call him Ambrosius than about him forgetting that his name is supposed to be Ambrosius. 

As you approach the door and raise your hand to knock, it swings open unexpectedly. “______!” Your mom beams at you. "It’s been so long! I’ve missed you so much." Before you can even respond, she wraps you in a warm hug. “Mom, wait.” You push the woman away. “Seti?” Confusion spreads across her face as she notices the humanoid fox, and almost as an afterthought, her eyes land on Amaimon. “I suppose this is Ambrosius?” Her gaze sweeps over the man beside you. He looks nothing like what she had envisioned; she had been trying to imagine what he might look like, but the green-haired, golden-eyed man wasn’t something she could’ve ever thought up. 

A grin quickly spread across her face. “It’s nice to meet you! I couldn’t believe it when ______ told me she had a boyfriend. How did you manage to get past Seti?” She laughs. 

Amaimon observes your mother as she reaches for Seti, but the fox gives a soft hiss and steps away. The older woman grins at Amaimon, unbothered by the moody fox and she bends down to place some slippers in front of him. Amaimon’s brow furrows as he watches Seti step as far from your mother as possible. Like he’s worried she might touch him. 

“______!” A man comes from the kitchen, grinning widely at you. “I missed you.” He pulls you into a hug. “Hey dad.” You pat his back awkwardly. “Let me go.” You complain but he just tightens his hold. Seti lets out a low growl and your father finally lets go. His brows raise as he notices Seti’s appearance. “You want a hug too?” 

“I will kill you if you touch me.” Seti warns. 

Quietly, your mother approaches Amaimon, gently taking hold of the crook of his arm. "Ambrosius," she says softly, pulling him a little closer. “How long has Seti been in that form?” she whispers. “Why?” 

“He’s more sensitive in that form; he doesn’t like being touched, and he always seems angry when he’s in that form. Though, I don’t know much about Seti, and he might be upset about something that led him to take that form. Seti is a mystery to both my husband and me." she admits while observing the irate fox. 

“Mystery?” 

“Yes, he doesn’t seem to care about most people. However, whenever he’s in that form he appears more irritable.” 

“How is he a mystery to you? Hasn’t he been ______’s familiar for years?” 

“Yes, he has been her familiar since childhood. However, he has always been distant toward my husband and me. He keeps us updated about _____, telling us when she is injured and other important things, but on a personal level, he is distant. My husband believes it’s due to the type of demon he is. Perhaps you know more about it since you study demons.” Amaimon clinches his jaw. The fox is a bigger problem than he originally thought.

You give Amaimon a curious look when you notice your mother speaking to him. But he doesn’t give any hint of what she might be telling him. Your father wraps his arm around your shoulder. “Why don’t you show Ambrosius the bedroom he can drop his bags off in.”

“He’s staying in my bedroom with me,” you say, shrugging off his arm. “Come on, Ambrosius, I’ll show you my room.” You lead the demon king down the hallway to your room. “I guess they thought you’d sleep in the guest room.” You shake your head as you open your luggage to throw a few items onto your bed, which is smaller than you remembered. “But if you prefer, you can sleep in the guest room. You’d have more space there.” You laugh. “You like to sleep on top of me.” Amaimon bluntly responds, “So it doesn’t matter that the bed is small.” 

"...No, I don’t.” 

“Yes, you do.”

You pull Amaimon back into the living room and take a seat on the sofa across from your parents. Instead of joining you on the sofa, Seti chooses to sit in the middle of the floor, facing you. 

“So, how is your job going, sweetheart?” Your mother places a hand on her left shoulder. “Seti told us you were injured pretty bad. Are you okay now?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Everything is kind of fine,” you say, stumbling over your words. What you want to express lingers just at the tip of your tongue, but your nerves about everyone’s reactions hold you back. You haven’t even talked to Amaimon or Seti about this, and you might be making a terrible mistake right now. Only time will tell.

“So, about work, I sort of…” Usually, you would glance at Seti for help, and he would effortlessly take over, articulating what you struggle to express. The realization that you can’t even have a difficult conversation without Seti hits you hard, like a slap in the face. Just how much do you really depend on the fox? It starts to feel like you’ve got cotton in your mouth as you search for the right words. 

“I-I don’t want to be an exorcist anymore.” The words spill out, quick and uncertain.

Silence washes over the living room. Everyone stares at you in disbelief, even Amaimon looks surprised. Seti is the first to react. “What are you talking about ______?”

You fidget awkwardly, “I just don’t want to do it anymore, it doesn’t feel right.” You admit. It’s never felt right but it didn’t feel wrong, just nothing. But now, with Amaimon by your side, it’s beginning to feel wrong. 

Your parents listen to your awful explanation that gives no insight into how you feel and why you’ve suddenly chosen this. Your mom takes the lead to find out more information. “_____, what are you planning to do? It wouldn’t be that serious if you were still in high school, but you’ve graduated and have a stable job as an exorcist. You’ll have to go to university to find a good job with a decent paying salary now.” Concerns fills her eyes as she speaks. “You need to think about this more. I know sometimes it doesn’t feel right, but we all have our ups and downs as exorcists.”

“What about Seti?” your father asks, glancing at the humanoid fox. “He’s your familiar, assisting you as an exorcist. What will happen?” 

You glance at Seti, his brown eyes piercing into yours while his ears twitch in irritation as he sits cross-legged in front of you. “I figured you might go to one of my cousins or perhaps their kids?” You suggest an option that will appease the fox demon.

Seti stares at you as if you’re insane. “Are you stupid? I’m not leaving you.” His eyes flicker to Amaimon. I’m not leaving you alone with him. It is left unspoken, but you know he wants to say it. “Who do you think you are? You can’t get rid of me like I’m nothing. I’ve taken care of you for over fifteen years now. I’m not being passed to your cousins or any kids they have.” Seti snaps.

Amaimon watches you silently and with curiosity the whole time “Really?”

Your attention shifts from the furious fox to Amaimon, who is gazing at you blankly, not revealing his thoughts. “Yes.”

Your father interrupts. “Wait, _____, what are you going to do? Will you go back to school? How are you going to survive without the income?” 

Amaimon turns to look at your parents. “I will m—” he’s cut off as Seti grabs the demon, yanking him off the sofa and gripping the back of Amaimon’s head, forcing him to bow before her parents. Before Amaimon can react, Seti hisses lowly, "It’s custom. Bow and ask for her hand in marriage.” He snarls quietly enough that only Amaimon can hear. A montage of movies Amaimon has watched flashes through his mind.

When Seti notices Amaimon beginning to relax, he releases him, and the demon king sits on his knees. Amaimon slowly turns to look at you for a moment before glancing back at your parents and lowering his head. "Please allow me to marry _____.” He narrows his eyes at the floor, displeased with having to ask for permission.

Your parents' eyes snap to you, but you’re just as shocked. Amaimon doesn’t lift his head right away, so you glance at Seti, who is sitting cross-legged a bit behind Amaimon, using his fist to prop up his head and expressing his displeasure with the king. When Seti notices your gaze, he straightens up and starts to say… something. He’s complaining to you in his native language.

“Wait…” your mom starts, and Amaimon lifts his head, appearing somewhat bored. “______, you’re not pregnant, are you?”

“No!” You reach for Amaimon and pull him back onto the sofa with you. “What are you doing?” 

“The fox said I need to ask permission.”

Your father is the one who tries to calm everything down by letting out an awkward laugh. “Seti must’ve been joking with you.” He has noticed that Amaimon has odd mannerisms from the short time he’s met him; he almost seems curious about everything. Maybe it’s just a misunderstanding. “Why don’t we—" 

“I bought you a ring," Amaimon said, reaching into his pocket to produce a velvet case. “Here.” He opened the case and smoothly slid the ring onto your left hand's ring finger. 

Your jaw drops. “Ambrosius, is this a real diamond?” You stare at the single stone adorning your finger. It’s beautiful—perfect in size and shape. Although it fits perfectly on your finger and doesn’t seem overly extravagant, you can’t shake the feeling that a diamond like this must be expensive. “It is.”

“I see. How much did you pay for it?"  

“Two and a half million.” 

You shake your head, remove the ring, and hand it back to him. “Ama—Ambrosius, I can’t accept this."  

The Earth King tilts his head in confusion. “You don’t like it? Oh, maybe you should come with me to choose a different one."

“That’s not what I meant. I appreciate it; it’s beautiful, but it’s far too expensive. I can’t accept something at that price.” You explain, certain that the money originated from Mephisto, and you can’t help but wonder if he knows that Amaimon bought you a ring this expensive.  

He blinks. “So, you do like it?” Without hesitation, he takes your hand again. “Then wear it.” 

Your mother finally cuts in. “Sorry, if you don’t mind me asking, how long did the two of you say you’ve been together?” Amaimon ignores your mother’s question as he puts the ring on your finger again. 

Unsure what to say, you glance at Seti, who in return scoffs. “Idiot, answer her question.”

With no support from Seti, you glance at Amaimon. “Uh, um, well, you see-“ You have no idea how to answer the question. It’s really simple, it’s only been a couple of months, but how are you supposed to tell your family that? “We’ve been together for awhile…” 

Now your dad narrows his eyes, concerned about how long ‘awhile’ is for you, and why the man before him is proposing to you so quickly because he has an idea that ‘awhile’ is too little time for him to propose. “Which is how long.” 

“Oh, you know…awhile.” 

Seti drags his hand over his face at your stupidity. 

Your dad focuses on Seti. “What’s your opinion of him?” 

“I hate him.”

Your father blinks. “Oh.” 

“Seti hates anyone who looks at _____.” Your mom reminds him. 

“Yes, but I especially hate him.”  Seti glances at Amaimon, frowning. “You can’t even take care of her. I’m always taking care of her. The only way you take care of her is sexually.” Seti and Amaimon glare at each other.

“Enough.” Your father glares at the two demons. “Seti, nobody is going to live up to your standards for ______. You say he can’t take care of her, but have you backed off long enough for him to do anything?” He hates being strict like this, and pissing off the fox is usually a bad idea. But, the tension between the fox and your boyfriend is ridiculous. “You’ve even changed forms to intimidate him, haven’t you? Seti, maybe it’s time to give ______ space. She’s clearly happy with Ambrosius-“ 

“Fine.” Seti snarls, rising to his full height, his figure towering over everyone else seated in the living room. “I have taken care of her for years, and now you expect me just to leave her in the hands of the Earth King. Fine.” He disappears from the living room. 

Your parents gaze at where the fox had just been before shifting their focus to you. “Uh, sweetheart," your mom begins. “What did he mean when he said leave you in the hands of the Earth King?”

You stare at the spot where Seti had just been, you can feel all three adults’ eyes on you, and you have no idea what to say. “I don’t know.” Apparently, you didn’t sound convincing because your mom’s tone becomes more commanding. “______ what did he mean?” 

“I don’t know.” Maybe you sounded more convincing that time? You glance up at your parents. Yeah, they think you’re full of shit. “I really don’t know.” You groan, covering your face. This is a nightmare. Everything was supposed to go smoothly, even Amaimon was being mostly normal. 

“What is really going on ______?” Your dad presses. 

“Seti hates Ambrosius.” You stare at the floor, fingers digging into your knees.

Your mother glances from the ring on your finger to the man sitting beside you, Seti might hate the man, but he wouldn’t make false comments like that only to cause drama. “Earth King.” She stares at the man, choosing to address him. “What did he mean, tell me the truth.” 

Amaimon removes the ring that conceals his true appearance. His human hands transform as dark claws take the place of his nails, his ears elongate into sharper points, and when he meets your mother’s gaze, she notices his now sharpened canines. “I am Amaimon, the Demon King of Earth.” 

[givethemsmut]

Dom Mysterio x Reader

Smut

Friends to Lovers

Flash backs coming up!

I don’t own WWE characters, it’s all for fun

Not edited (once I upload everything from my phone I’ll do a read through 🙌🏻)

Chapter Four | Where it all started…

I didn’t question how Dom got from the airport to the house we grew up in when I ordered my own Uber. In the car I texted Angie, his mom, letting her know he knew. I also told her about Raw and the disaster it was. 

Dom knew and was making everyone pay for it.

Me: I’m gonna stop by for some clothes but then I’ll grab a hotel room.

Angie: No, you aren’t. You’re coming home for the holidays. Dom can be pissed, we did what we had to. He’s only upset because he’s in love with you.

Me: It’s just like Rey said, you don’t find forever at Seventeen. 

Angie: And what if you did?

I didn’t respond to her last text when I focused on the sun peeking out. Pulling into the driveway I contemplated how I felt for Dom. He was easily the best person I knew but I couldn’t get past not being good enough for him. He deserved so much better than me.

He didn’t even know why his family took me in. Only his parents knew and they promised to keep it secret. 

Ringing the bell, Angie pulled me into her arms and squeezed me like she missed me. Hugging her back I let myself feel loved the way they tried for years. 

“Go get some sleep. It’s early. Your room is untouched.”

Taking her advice I crawled into my old bed in nothing more than panties begging Dom would pity me enough to simply ignore me if he picked up round two in my room.

Once I woke up I dragged myself to my feet, padding my way to the shared bathroom from our youth. Still yawning and stretching I didn’t realize the shower was on until I heard Dom moan. 

It was an unmistakable sound that had lived rent free in my head long after our first time. It was the perfect amount of breathy and demanding that instantly had me wet. “Fuck, I’m so hard.”

I stopped in my tracks when I realized he wasn’t alone. His iPhone was propped up on the shower shelf and the way he was breathing I could tell his hand was touching himself. My breath hitched in my throat when I slowly backed out of the bathroom.

Standing in the doorway I listened to Dom keep moaning while his hand choked himself. “Show me how wet you are,” he barely said above a whisper and I felt my knees weakened. I wanted nothing more than to open the shower door and slip inside with him but he needed to hate me to move on. We couldn’t keep falling into bed and get over each other too.

Tempted I touched my own panties, savagely teased by the outline of his toned muscles.

I rummaged through my clothes for a hoodie and some sweats. I needed space, I needed my world to stop revolving around him for a few seconds. So I did what anyone else would do, actually go home. My real home.

I lived on the same street as Dominik, only my father was ruthless and my mother was submissive unlike his parents. Maybe enough time passed where we could make up, start over, forgive each other.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

At first it was going well until I voiced my endless debt for Dom’s family taking me in. That led to another fight and that fight ended the same way with my father’s fist colliding with my face. 

It wasn’t exactly like the first time.

Rey knew we were friends and saw my bruises. He asked Dominik to have me over for dinner and when they could get me alone they asked me for the truth. No questions later I was living with him and sharing a bathroom with Dom.

Nursing my bloody nose and already swelling eye I waited until it was late enough to sneak in without being seen by anyone. Especially Dominik. 

Collecting my things in my duffle bag, whatever I left behind thinking this was home and left what used to be my room barren I tiptoed into the bathroom to clean out my medicine cabinet. Swallowing some Advil with my handful of faucet water I choked them back. 

The door creaked open and Dom leaned against the door frame in the dark. There was no way he could see me, not in the pitch black.

Keeping my head down I ignored him, filling my makeup bag with anything I didn’t want to leave behind. 

“It doesn’t feel good hurting you.”

“It’s fine, Dom. I deserve it.”

Sighing, he stepped closer, running his hands through his hair. “I have been in love with you since I met you. When you asked me to take your virginity, all I wanted was for you to give me a chance.”

“Your dad said it best: no one finds forever at that age. I was living with your family, I owe them everything for taking me in. I had no one else, Dom. You have no idea what it was like at home. I couldn’t betray them by loving their son. I couldn’t be the person you fell for just to disappoint everyone when I didn’t live up to the demand.”

Coming even closer, I could tell he was trying not to reach out and touch me. “My family loves you. You are family.”

“Exactly. I couldn’t lose them,” I clapped back when I turned around without thinking.

Dom’s hands cupped my face, holding me in his hands and demanding to know what happened. “Who did this? What the fuck happened?”

He wasn’t going to let it go or be okay with a lie. “I thought I could finally go home. Guess daddy dearest wasn’t ready to forgive me.”

Dominik stormed out of the bathroom, chasing after him. I grabbed my hoodie and ran after him begging him to stop. His fists were clenched and when he slammed on his parent’s door I wanted to disappear. “You fucking knew and didn’t tell me? That’s why you took her in? Because her dad was beating her?” Rey was in his boxer briefs half asleep with the door cracked enough to hear his son’s rant. “Why didn’t you fucking do something? You’re a fucking fighter.”

“Dom. Dominik. Go cool off, we’ll talk tomorrow.”

Pushing the door open on his dad it felt like the live event all over again. “Just like her getting pregnant? You kept vital information from me.”

“Son. Don’t do this. She’s been through enough.”

“And I was kept in the dark. I told you not to fuck with my family. She’s my family, not anyone else, her. Why is he still breathing? Why isn’t he in jail?”

Rey dropped his head trying to stay silent. “She asked me not to. That’s why. She had been abused her whole life and didn’t want to be the girl who survived, she wanted to live.”

“How the fuck could we live on the same street as him. You just took her in, no questions asked and expected me not to love her? You knew how much I fell for her. You fucking walked in on losing our virginities. How the fuck could you not tell me she got pregnant.” Pushing his dad with so much force I gasped before stepping closer.

Interrupting, I touched Dom’s chest pleading. “Dom please. Please, come to bed. I’ll explain. Just leave your parents out of it.”

His head jerked in my direction, seething with anger. “Come to bed? And what, pretend it’s okay for one night? Every time I fuck your it ruins me.” Squinting down at me he forced my face in his dad’s direction. “She tried to go home because she thought she had to choose between family and me. You guys let her go home to get beat. You could have stopped him a long time ago.”

“Dominik, what did you want us to do?”

“What I’m gonna do.” Dominik already had skinny jeans and a graphic tee on when he jogged down the stairs and made his way to my childhood home. 

Running after him in a long hoodie and panties I pulled on him so hard he had no choice but to stop. “Don’t do this. Getting arrested isn’t worth it. Losing your career isn’t worth it. I don’t regret him hitting me. It brought me here. I’m begging you, Dom.”

Towering over me his lips moved dangerously close to mine. “You know what I want. Are you agreeing?”

Shaking my head yes I let the tears fall. “Just come to bed.” Walking by his parents I apologized, keeping my face down and repenting for the trouble.

“Mija, don’t be sorry. You’re family.” Rey squeezed my arm. 

Pushing Dom into my room, closing the door and locking it I pulled the hoodie off. Dom’s body barely moved, hovering next to mine. “We don’t have to do this right now. You got me back inside.”

“There’s rules…” I slipped out of my panties before standing up straight against the door completely naked.

Looking down at my naked body his tongue swiped his lips. His hands grasped my hips, “okay. Rules. Tell me the rules.” 

Dragging his hands up my body to my breasts I gasped. “Dom.”

“Baby the rules. Need the rules,” his chest was pounding and his voice was breathy. 

His fingers pinched my nipples playfully, “You have to call and text everyday.” I bit down a moan trying to stay strong, “No other girls. And we have to take it slow.”

“I want to come inside you… What do the rules say about that?” his voice trailed off when I pulled the shirt over his head and he kissed my mouth so gently it felt unreal.

Slipping his tongue inside my mouth I undid his jeans and prayed for him to take them off quickly before I changed my mind. I was nervous when our hands laced together, both naked in the middle of my room, butterflies filling my stomach the same way when he first fucked me.

“Dom, wait, wait.” my body was being pulled into his hips trying to clash while his mouth kissed my neck. I was so wet that I wasn’t even sure it would feel good when I made my last confession. “No one’s been inside me since you. All the guys and dates, it was just so you could hate me.”

“It was only me? This is my pussy? Say it, Mami.” 

Shaking my head yes Dominik lifted me up into his arms, walking over to the bed and ending up on top of me. “No one but you.”

“Fuck baby. I’m so fucking hard right now.” The second his palms held my thighs up I felt him slip inside me. Every inch rubbed up against every nerve, forcing my hips to grind against him and my whimpers to be uncontrollable. 

“Dom,” I whimpered when he went too deep, hitting parts of me that screamed. 

Lowering down over me, pinning my legs at his hips, and covering my neck in lazy kisses. “Relax, mi amor, I know how to make you feel good.”

Dominik wasn’t lying. Every slip up we had ended in earth shattering orgasms and the lingering desire for more. When he touches me everything writers for him even more.

“I’m scared of messing it up,” I whispered into his chest as his thrusts picked up speed. 

His hands smoothed down my face and body weight sat on his elbows. “You can’t mess it up when we haven’t even tried.” Moaning into my mouth our tongues swiped at each other. “Let me take care of you. Let me love you.”

“Dominik, Dom. I’m close,” I whimpered into his mouth when his out of breath chest heaved against mine.

“Don’t come yet baby. Me vuelves loca, mi amore.” The way he spoke Spanish made my pussy only get tighter as he thrusted his way inside me over and over. Every inch of him was covered in my arousal by the time I felt my body tensed. “I’m gonna come, Mami.”

He didn’t have to tell me, I could feel the way he pulsed and jerked inside me. Our bodies drove each other crazy and the way we came shook through us.

Dom was off for two weeks for the holidays which was unheard of. Ever since he skyrocketed to the main roster of WWE Dom was never home.

Waking up cuddled up into Dom’s arm was surreal. It felt like a dream but it had been true. Turning into me his lips found mine before he even opened his eyes. “Do you regret it yet?”

His body was pressed again mine, every inch of him stiffening up. “Do you hear that?” Pausing we both listened when it became clear as day. It was his mom and dad having sex. We broke out into a fit of laughter trying to unheard  our own payback.

“Let’s show them how it’s done, baby.” Helping me into his lap I straddled him as he sat up against the headboard. “Come here,” he whispered before our tongues wrestled in between our mouths.

Pushing my hips up I felt Dom’s knuckles graze my puffy pussy as he guided himself inside me. I held my breath with every inch I sat down on until I exhaled a quiet moan. “That’s it baby girl. Goddamn, that feels good.”

Slowly rocking my hips and crushing my clit against his body I started to shake all over. My legs vibrated and my heart was racing as Dominik’s hands cupped my ass, picking up my pace.

“I want as much of you as I can before I have to leave for Raw.”

His confession felt like a brick dropping through my stomach. He was leaving and I wouldn’t be with him. Even if we got pregnant in some dangerous game of fixing the problems we had I would be pregnant and alone all over again.

His mouth found my neck, my chest, and sucked my hard nipples into his mouth. His tongue bullied my nippled in his mouth and I gasped trying not to come right then and there. 

“Do you know how many times I touched myself to this? How many times have I came all over toys just imagining riding you?” I couldn’t believe it was happening. “Dom. I’m close.”

His hips started to push back and his hands only grabbed onto my hips tighter. “Fuck, mi amore. I’m gonna come inside you.”

Leaning into him, my nipples scrapping his chest and my mouth colliding with his neck I whispered, “I want you to, please, come inside me.”

His face turned into mine as my hips bucked into his lap and all of his inside of me felt hard enough to get hurt on. “Oh my god. It’s so hard,” I purred into him.

“Mi amore, me estoy corriendo,” his breathy voice only made me wetter as his grip held me in place from rolling my hips anymore. Trying to grind myself over our matching orgasms his grip got tighter. “Don’t move baby, don’t move.” He groaned out against my shoulder, wrapping his arms around my waist and moaning out loud. 

“Dom. Dominik.” Trying to catch my breath I shook on top of Dom when he relaxed back into the headboard. 

Pushing me down next to him he got between my wet legs, both of our orgasms coating my pussy. “I wanna taste you, hermosa. I wanna know what you taste like after I make you come.”

Dom’s tongue licked my pussy and I writhed against the bed. I gasped and moaned without realizing I might have been too loud. “Dom, oh my god, Dom I can’t.”

The way Dominik licked every sensitive part of me without trying had my body shaking. I felt like I couldn’t breath and my legs were going to fall off. “Can’t what baby? Come in my mouth for me?”

My back arched and my head tossing back as his tongue slipped inside me. My entire body was shaking when my knees automatically closed around his head as it rolled up me. 

Landing next to me he pulled me into him as I barely recovered. “I love the way you taste. I love everything about you. I actually have a confession too…” I clamped my eyes closed only for a second hoping it wasn’t Rhea related. “I knew you wouldn’t let it happen again so I set up cameras in our condo that night. I have the video of us fucking. That’s what gets me through being without you, on the road, everything.”

“Dom!” I playfully hit his shoulder. “I want to see!” 

“I had someone edit for me so it’s not so bad when the cameras switch between each other. Reaching for the night stand he realized his phone was still in his room when he poured out of bed. Pushing his pants on he went through the shared bathroom before coming back. 

Handing me his phone I started getting nervous. “I’m gonna shower, hermosa. You watch.” Rolling onto my stomach and pushing into my elbows I placed the phone against a pillow and pressed play.