#my other younger cousin is going at the same time my sister is

[abluehappyface]

Thinking about how so much of my younger sister and cousins' lives are going to revolve around all of us that came before them, but in a positive way.

[cruel-summerxy]

I’ve been going to intern at a dentist as a DA all week. Today was the longest day I was in there and as soon as I got out I got bad news. The crazy part is that my sisters had to let me know before my parents bc they know I break down crying and my parents always feel bad for me.

[flowerisevil]

For I am yours.

Gwayne Hightower x Targaryen princess original character.

A/N: this was one of the request I received but I accidentally deleted i along with my previous works:( anyways I use an OC for this one sorry, I hope you'll like it.

Disclaimer: mention of past attempted SA, inform me if i miss anything also possible grammatical and typographical errors ahead. English is not my first language

Summary: he was sworn to her, he is hers in any way she requires him.

~°~°~

Elaerys Targaryen, the epitome of grace and beauty in the Seven Kingdoms, many have said she had surpassed the qualification of the beauty of Targaryen woman, they said she was favored by the Sevens for having a such gorgeous features. And Elaerys was much aware of the attention and beauty she acquired, and her face is the exact reason why she have different guards every moon.

Her father, the King had to change her sworn protector every moon because of two reason, they had attempted to took advantage of her, or fell for her beauty. All of them broke their oath to the princess leading them to be exiled from the position and in King's Landing.

"It is none of your fault, Elaerys" her older sister comforted her, as she heard the news that her new sworn protector was caught glimpsing at her bathro door.

"Nyra, t-this is the exact reason why his grace would not allow me to go outside these walls, I want to go out, I want to visit the cities and people!" Elaerys complained, she envy her older sister Rhaenyra when their father allowed her to have her marital tour, Rhaenrya was abled to travel while her stayed in the Keep.

"next moon perhaps father will less strict to you after your name day" Rhaenyra cheered for her as she finished braiding Elaerys white hair.

"you look exactly like mother" her sister added smiling at the sight of her younger sister.

Elaerys bittersweet smile, she loved and hated it the same time, she loved being beautiful no doubt but its the very reason why she's also caged in here.

"Do you think If I get married I will be much more free?" Elaerys asked, her hand scratch the blade of her shoulders anxiously.

Rhaenyra sighed. "It depends but mostly no, when you became a wife you have duties to attend to Elaerys" Rhaenyra pitied her, she knows the exact feeling of being prisoned here in the castle.

Rhaenyra only hugged her to show comfort, she knows when the time has come the King will learn to let her fly on her own wings, after all she is a dragon nonetheless she is made of fire and blood too.

**

Her name day came, and the right time for marriage, the King prepared a grand celebration for her second born daughter, a ball and feast.

Elaerys sat on her seat beside her was her sister Rhaenyra almost drunk from all of the wine she drank tonight. The princess looked around setting her eyes on a familiar deep blue eyes, Ser Harwin Strong.

"You missed him don't you?" Rhaenyra whispered beside her, teasing her sister to its past lover.

Elaerys shrugged her, her sister wasn't wrong but she had decided to stay away from him. He was her almost, if only Ser Harwin is not bounded by too much honor, that he chose his duty than asking for her hand in marriage, but she could not blame him for not risking his position.

"Why don't you tell our father that you want him to marry? I am quite sure he will trust Ser Harwin on your protection, that man can dead someone who will dare to lay a finger on you" Rhaenyra jested as she loudly laughed.

It's not like she did not thought of that but other than his bounded to his duty, Elaerys felt Harwin did not want to do anything with her anymore, she would not want to tie him in a loveless marriage with her forever.

Her eyes searched for him again once again, she looked for him in the dancing crowd, maybe his out there dancing with some other highborn ladies.

"Done looking for that brawny man?" Her eyes promptly looked up to see their cousin Laenor, just like her sister he also knew the past business she and Ser Harwin once had.

Laenor sat on the other empty side chair beside her. "Happy name day cousin, welcome to the right age of marriage" Laenor and Rhaenyra both laughed, looks like their three years in marriage are already taking big impact on each other.

She both sign them to stop when they saw the King approaching beside him was his Hand and another red headed man.

The three youngster Targaryens stood up, bowing to the King before Viserys spoke. "My daughter happy name day, here may I present to you your new sworn protector"

A man stepped forward, wearing a green and silver tunic, his hair looks like an ginger auburn hair close up, pale skin, blue eyed and freckled man reveals himself.

"Ser Gwayne Hightower of Oldtown" the King introduced.

Elaerys eyes darted to Otto, this is his son?

"Hightower? I did not assume Ser Otto has a knight i their family" Rhaenyra commented.

Otto simply smiled, sarcasm filled his face. "Gwayne is Alicent's older brother, my heir to Oldtown"

Laenor spoke first of the three of them. "An honor to meet you Ser Gwayne, I do hope you enjoy your stay here in King's Landing and you will keep an eye at my cousin, the princess she can be very hard to handle sometimes"

It made the group laughed, Gwayne smiled while nodding in acknowledgment, his gaze moved to the princess, Gwayne noticed the discreet look she gave him. He bow in respect but Elaerys only nod and offer him a small smile.

"Thank you your grace, I shall observe Ser Gwayne's skills" Elaerys uttered, it earned a laugh from her father.

As the celebration continued Gwayne stay near her, she thought he would start his duty by tomorrow but the knight stayed close to where she was.

Gwayne was relief and bizarre for the princess, commonly highborn ladies would love this kind of events but instead she sat there and watch the crowd, most specifically he noticed that she's eyeing someone in the crowd.

Gwayne examined her, all of the stories about her graceful beauty, he thought people was just exaggerating again about someone from the Targaryen dynasty but no, her white silver hair neatly dropped down, her lilac eyes, and flawless skin, her entire aspect screams elegance and royalty, she was indeed a princess.

Elaerys was feeling spiritless around this crowd, she wish to have a breath of the air outside, she stood from her seat and walked away from the banquet, she was thankful Laenor and Rhaenyra both left her for a moment so no one would stop her from leaving.

She knew her new sworn protector was following her, it was his duty what else did she expect?

She stopped infront of the empty balcony, she turned around seeing her knight near the open dood to guard it. Silence filled the balcony, Elaerys was quite familiar with that aspect but her knight on the other side seems bothered it.

"Don't you relish the grand celebration inside, princess?" Gwayne spoke, he wasn't use to a such silence.

"I seem to grow tired of it Ser"

"Then why don't you rest on your chamber?"

Elaerys frowned, turning her head to look at her knight, his voice was filled with sarcasm?

"Pardon?"

Gwayne seem to take notice about the change of expression of the princess, "I mean no offense, princess"

After that silence filled them again, until excuse herself to rest no one talked again.

Months had passed Gwayne surprisingly was able to keep his oath and duty, but he did admit it to himself that somehow he catched an attraction to the princess, with her kind and pleasing demeanor he tried his best but it was too late.

They had interacted and shared a lot of unexpected proximity many times, just like right now. Both of them under of one of the trees in Kingswood. Elaerys sneaked outside the King's Landing after hearing the news that the is planning to match him with Tyland Lannister, Gwayne spotted her sneak outside the castle and when he confronted her, the princess plead him and there they are.

"That man age is near his deathbed" Elaerys muttered, a bottle of ale on her right hand, she felt like her head was spinning.

"That is a very rude thing to say princess" Gwayne looked at him and continued "but I very much agree so"

Gwayne watched her reaction, when Elaerys laughed he did the same, relieved that he managed to let out a pretty laugh from her mouth. A few moments later the two shared a deep conversation.

"Ser Gwayne did you ever had a relationship with someone you shouldn't had?"

Gwayne rested his head on the pillar of the tree. "I never had a serious relationship my princess"

"you mean you only dealt with whores in brothels?"

"not only in brothels my princess" Gwayne fixed his armor before speaking again. "But those were before I was appointed as a knight, as I enter knighthood I have left all of those behind"

Elaerys smiled as she nodded. "I do not criticize your Ser for acting like a normal human"

"I do not think you're the type of judging someone without fully knowing them"

A smiles formed on the drunk face of the princess, she drank another sip from her ale, Gwayne did not want to stop her, he knows she had a rough day and he would not neglect her for having freedom for once.

"If you do not mind princess, have you fell for someone you should not have?"

She did. And looks like she was about to again.

Gwayne saw the glint in her eyes, he nodded. "i shall take that as a yes. If I may, who is this lucky Lord then?"

Gwayne can feel his heart beating fast, he was hoping for the answer that he wants. That his name would be the words that would trail off from her mouth.

"Ser Harwin Strong, he was my first lover.."

Gwayne let out a dramatic gasp. "You have a very surprising taste, princess"

Who knows that the man of honor, the one they call the hard Breakbones and the Lord Commander of City Watch fell for the princess beauty?

But who wouldn't? That's the very reason why the King appointed him to this position. His Grace had expected him to not have any romantic attachment to the princess.

Elaerys talked about Harwin for hours and it was making Gwayne's ear fuzz, the constant utter of the name Harwin from the princess pain his ears, maybe letting the princess finish those three bottles of ale was a bad idea, she was intoxicated.

"Ser Gwayne"

Her words caught his attention, finally a good name came out from her pretty lips. As he turned his face to her, he was stunned by their proximity, he hadn't realize that Elaerys already closed the gap between them.

"You shall have your very own oath to me" The princess declared. "I want you to make your own vow and swear it to me" He thought maybe its just one of the princess nonsense game driven by the alcohol but somehow in him felt to take it seriously.

His eyes pierced into her, he suddenly lost all his ability to look away, she was more than beautiful, its not just her hair and eyes, but what her face express and trying to tell that makes her beautiful. As she looked up to him their gaze met, both glued on each other.

"I Gwayne Hightower of Oldtown vow to you my Princess Elaerys Targaryen, that I will do my very best and offer my very last breath serving and protecting you, I shall serve no one but you, and you shall have me for anything you require, for I am yours"

It almost sounded like a marriage vow.

Elaerys beamed at him her hand reaching to cup his cheeks "You are a very beautiful man Ser Gwayne" were the last think she muttered before she drift off to sleep.

Is she always like this? Is this the reason why her past knights all head over heels to her? If yes then he himself is no different from those knights.

"No wonder those men was enchanted by this lovely princess" he exhales, guiding the princess to lay comfortably on the grounds, he cannot risk riding his horse with a wasted princess with him.

He took of his white cloak and placed it on the ground to serve as a sheet of the princess, after placing her to her handmaid bed he leaned and pressed his back on the tree.

He cannot end up like those knights, exiled from their position and in King's Landing. The King trusted him with his daughter and Seven hells the princess is younger than her sister Alicent.

"I am not even sure if she feels the same way" he chuckles.

***

After that night, Elaerys felt a wall that her knight build, he became distant and cold. And she knew the very exact reason why.

She hated that she yearned for him after that night, she hated that she have to pretend everyday that his distance from her did not bother her, she hated that he placed a barrier between them. A lot change after that night, she sometimes caught herself looking at him for too long, glimpsing at his lips, looking or searching for him when she would lose the sight of him.

"I want to go to Rhaenyra" Elaerys spoke while walking through the halls.

"As you wish princess, I shall accompa-"

"I would like to go alone, for the meantime you can have an hour off Ser Gwayne, you have nothing to worry I'll stay inside her chambers" Elaerys explained

He wanted to protest, to not let her take away the only opportunity he have to be close to her, the only chance he can see glance at her for as much as he can, but reading her eyes he sense that he should let her after all he is serving her and he should do whatever she commander him to do.

Elaerys started walking away from him, he can hear the fast click of her shoes showing her urgency.

Elaerys did not bother to knock on her sister's door as she opened it, she walked to Rhaenyra's bed and hugged her.

"What's the problem?" Rhaenyra spoke but the princess keep her head on her older sister's shoulder.

"Rhaenyra, what if I wish to marry someone?" Elaerys lifted her head, facing her sister's confused face.

"and? You make it sound that the man you want to marry is someone who you shouldn't" Rhaenyra replied.

Elaerys did not manage to answer, Rhaenyra had hit the right words. Rhaenyra sat straight concern filled her face.

"It's Ser Gwayne isn't it?"

Elaerys nodded her head dropping ashamed of what she put herself into.

Rhaenyra chuckles as she raised her sister's face. "You have nothing to be ashamed of Elaerys, Ser Gwayne is an honorable knight"

"exactly Rhaenyra he is a knight, my sworn protector, he took an oath, it is treason if we engage into any romantic relations"

"Elaerys sometimes you have to take a risk and know its outcome than not doing anything"

Rhaenyra talked to her like how an older sister would, she gave her advices and guidance of what she should do.

"The decision is on you sister, and whatever it is I will support you" was Rhaenyra's last words.

Is the decision truly on hers?

***

She have thought of her sister words, after all Elaerys is not sure if Gwayne even felt the same.

While walking in Godswood and Gwayne guarding her as usual, she was admiring the fall of leaves from the branches when someone called her from behind.

He knew exactly those deep gentle voice, she turned around and faced the man infront of her.

"Ser Harwin"

Harwin Strong bow to her, his large hand reaching for her as he pressed his lips on her knuckles. Gwayne's face on the other hand grimaced at the sigh, he was not liking the sigh he was having.

"I pass by outside and I saw you and thought I should pay you a visit" Harwin replied.

Elaerys smiled bitterly "How ironic that you only thought of that now" it came out as a whisper but Harwin clearly heard it.

"I will be away for a very long time darling" he tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear, before he softly cupped her cheeks.

Elaerys expected that she would melt as soon as he does that but she felt nothing instead her eyes looked for Gwayne, as soon as they locked their eyes Gwayne looked away like he saw nothing.

"I do not see any reason for you to inform me Ser Harwin, I have thought you do not want anything to do with-" she stopped her words when Harwin leaned his forehead to hers.

"my Elaerys, forgive me for what I have done, once I come back I promise I will ask for your hand in marriage and I will fight for it no matter-"

Harwin was pushed away from her, she looked at Gwayne who had separated the both of them.

"I expect you are well known on the ethics and policies of touching the princess Ser Harwin, it is treason" Gwayne informed, he stepped forward placing her behind him.

"I meant no harm to the princess, apologies for my insolence"

Gwayne wanted to curse him, he can resist him touching her hands but leaning his forehead to hers? Acting like their a married couple? Fuck that.

Elaerys tried to defend Harwin but Gwayne keep on talking about the boundary Harwin crossed.

"Ser Gwayne, do not worry he meant no harm"

Elaerys looked at Gwayne when he faced her, she can almost read his entire face, it was mixed of emotion, hurt, anxious, possessiveness and jealousy? He was looking intently at her, like he wants to say something.

Gwayne felt his heart sank everytime Elaerys would defend this man, he looked at her with defeat and resignation.

"Ser Harwin you are dismissed" Elaerys command.

"But Elaerys-"

"May the Sevens bless you for your long journey"

Was what Elaerys only answer before she left the Godswood, Harwin gaze dropped on Elaerys fingers that swiftly pulled her knight's hand, dragging him inside the castle.

Gwayne was too clouded too realize that Elaerys was holding his hands, he tried to pull away only for the princess to tighten her grip. Soon they stopped in an empty hallway, Elaerys dropped her grasp to him.

"Ser Gwayne, what is it up with you? You don't to be yourself lately?"

"Princess you have nothing to worry about"

"What was that earlier? You dare to threaten Ser Harwin Strong?"

"He touched you princess, he was too close to you it was improper" Gwayne stood straight, defending his argument.

"Are you jealous of him?" Elaerys blurted out, it was an embarrassing question to ask.

Elaerys can see him frown, she looked away after a few minutes of no answer. "I am sorry Ser Gwayne for that I did not mean to-"

"It was more than jealousy that I felt earlier princess"

Elaerys looked at him, his head was facing down, completely avoiding her eyes.

"I had become one of the knight that broke their oath to you" he added "so when I saw you with Ser Harwin earlier with his forehead resting to yours I was...furious, I wanted to break his face and make sure he would not be able to do that to you again." her sworn protector confessed.

Gwayne sighs before he let out a plain chuckle "How can I ever resist someone like you? I cannot blame those men even Ser Harwin for falling to a such beauty" he added, his words delivered compliments but its voice was filled with hurt.

Gwayne bowed before he excused himself, Elaerys was left there frozen, not a single word even left her lips, she was too stunned to his confession.

Gwayne was no where to be seen the rest of the day after their encounter, Elaerys searched for him, she even asked the servants and other kingsguard but they all said that they did not saw him.

Elaerys has to express herself to him too, he has to know what she felt for him.

Elaerys gave up and was taking rest on her chamber when there was a knock on her doors, she let them in and it revealed Rhaenyra.

"Father....he summons you in the throne room" Rhaenyra informed a comforting smile carved on her lips.

"For what?" She asked but Rhaenyra only shrugged, with a complaining groan, Elaerys stood up before walking with her sister through their way inside the throne room.

As the door opened, the two princess walked infront of the king as they bowed.

"Ah my daughter Elaerys I would like you to meet Lord Cregan Stark, from the North son and heir of Lord Stark" Viserys introduced, the man Cregan walked up to her and bow.

"An honor to meet you princess" he politely greeted.

He looked like a chivalrous man, well men from the North tends to be more honorable than men from here.

"Lord Cregan is here to begin his courtship to you" Elaerys eyes widened at her father's last words.

"Since you have not found someone you wish to marry than I already find one for yours, Lord Cregan is your betrothed from now on" the King commanded.

The princess fisted her hands, "I do not wish to marry him your grace"

"you will not disobey your king, Elaerys"

Elaerys stepped back away from Cregan and face the King.

"Forgive me your grace but I do not plan marrying Lord Cregan and be sent to the North after?"

Viserys looked at Rhaenyra signing her to stop and convince her sister but Rhaenyra looked away like she saw nothing.

"Elaerys, Ser Cregan will protect you"

"By how? Isolating me in a cold place? Father I am a dragon why would you put a fire in a place like North?"

Viserys stood up, even his Hand try his best to calm him down Viserys refused. Elaerys breathed out composing the right words to deliver her message.

"Father...I have someone in my mind that I wish to marry, forgive me" Elaerys said before walking out of the room, she felt suffocated.

Viserys on the other hand was left with frustration, he have thought he would not have a hard time finding a match for his daughter.

"The princess is probably exhausted your grace, her young mind is new to the reality of betrothal and marriage" Rhaenyra defense.

"She said she wish to marry someone, do you know who is this man?"

The people inside the room waited for her answer, she can feel cold sweats forming on her forehead, the King's Hand spoke.

"News had spread in the previous months ago your grace said that the princess Elaerys was caught visiting the quarter of the City Watch and she is often caught in the presence of the Lord Commander of City Watch" Otto announced.

"Saying such gossip and stories about my sister is treason my Lord Hand" Rhaenyra pointed out.

Otto face formed in a small sly smile. "I am only informing the King of what people inside the Keep see, some said the Lord Commander was saw leaving the princess chamber in the middle of the night-"

"Are you questioning my daughter's virtue Otto?"

The Hand stopped his sentence, shock and defeat spread on his face. "I mean no offense you grace"

"Rhaenyra I need to know who is this man?" Viserys turned his attention back to his eldest.

When Rhaenyra did not answered he spoke again. "I command you Rhaenyra, is it true that Harwin had defile your sister?"

"Sevens! No Father!"

"Then what is the truth-"

"She intends to marry Ser Gwayne!"

A loud silence occupied them, Viserys mouth half opened, the shock om Otto's face was a pure sight.

"Elaerys came to me one night, she was scared when she confessed to me that she wanted to marry Gwayne, she said she was afraid of how you will react and what you will do to them" Rhaenyra added more, her head remained high directly looking to the King.

"Gwayne Hightower he poisoned your sister's mind, he seduced her!" Viserys turned to Otto, grabbing the collar of his clothes. "Your son dare to disrespect me by breaking his vow is this the reason why he resigned and decided to go back in Oldtown?"

Otto wanted to unalive him right there, "Your grace I know nothing about this"

Rhaenyra frowned, Ser Gwayne resigned to his position?

****

Elaerys was running through the halls looking for any signs of him but she failed, she visited the quarters of Kingsguard but he was no where to be seen. When she lost her hope, she saw her sister Rhaenyra walking fast towards her.

"Elaerys, Ser Gwayne he is on his horse going back to Oldtown, he resigned to his position" she informed.

"How did you know?" Elaerys looked at her sister the smiled cheekily.

"I tell you later, for now go and find Ser Gwayne and bring him back here." Rhaenyra said before turning back against her.

Elaerys wasted no time as she mounted her dragon Silverwing, as she settle on its back they immediately flee on the sky.

Silverwing was a quick dragon, looking down the ground she searched for any sign of him, she see a few men in horseback with their Hightower sigil, she lead Silverwing towards them.

Gwayne was occupied ever since they left in King's Landing, the King was curios and uneasy when he humbly resigned his position, he had to come up with several reasons. The King even mentioned how he did well on his job.

If he only knew.

He did not want to leave King's Landing, he did not want to leave her, but resigning and leaving his position is the only proper way he could ask for her hand.

His head turned when he heard a voice calling him from behind, he stopped his horse as he saw the princess dismounting her dragon.

"Ser Gwayne" she called her out, Gwayne dismounted himself from his horse as soon as she approached him.

"Princess, what made you come here?" He said bowing his head.

Elaerys raised an eyebrow, crossing her arm as she spoke. "Where are you going?"

His head remained face on the ground, a small smile forming on his lips. "Back to Oldtown princess, the King approved my resignation"

"You are sworn to me Gwayne" Elaerys uttered, she pushed back her hair as she continue "You took a personal vow to me, and now you leaving without even informing me?"

"I see the princess wasn't too intoxicated to remember that" he smirked, he stepped closer to her facing her intense gaze. "Tell me princess, do you wish for me to stay?"

This may be greedy or selfish of him, but he wants to hear her admit it, he wants to hear her say that she wish for him to stay, to stay and be close with each other.

"Gwayne do not leave me" Elaerys was able to utter those words earning a small smile from Gwayne.

"I will come back princess, I have to leave my position in order to properly ask for your hand" he explained, as he tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear.

He lay his forehead against hers, while he reached for her hand and pressed a kiss on her knuckles before guiding it to wrap around his neck. For a moment peace surrounded them, feeling the warmth of breathe of each other, their skins touching.

"This is how I always dreamed about you princess, leaning on each other, with your face close to me, hands intertwined" he described, his eyes dropping to her lips. He can feel the princess' pulling him closer, her lips claimed his.

Gwayne can feel his heart melt, his hands moved to cup her cheeks, this is all he could ask for.

Elaerys massage the back of his head as they kiss, her heart won't stop beating fast, when they pulled away both catching breathe. Elaerys was flustered after the kiss, she looked away from him her hand remained to where it is.

"Do not ever leave no matter in what circumstances Gwayne"

Gwayne held her chin, making her face him. "I truly haven't forgot my vow, princess" he chuckles.

Gwayne took her hand, as he kneel infront of her. "I am sworn to you Elaerys Targaryen, I will give my very last breath to no one but you, I shall offer my heart and soul to no one else but you..."

Gwayne looked up to her while he rose from his knee and place a kiss on the back of her hand.

"For I am yours princess."

*~🌼

[xan-izme]

Double Life 9 (ATSV x reader x Batfam)

summary: Are you going to let your pride get in the way of what matters most?

Part 8, Part 10

Damian was watching you and Miles from afar. It was clear you two were close. He was, a little jealous. But he was quick to brush it off. He knows there is a bond between you and Miles stronger than the one he has with you. So, he won't fuss about it.

"Damian right? you waiting for Y/n?" Rio suddenly came up behind Damian and handed him a cup of juice.

Damian takes the cup and thanks her. "Yes. . . Mrs. Moralas. Do you know any, Miguels involved with my sister?" Damian looked up at Rio, with an innocent curious face.

"Miguel . . . Miguel? No. No, I don't think so? Why?" Rio hoped it wasn't some boy she was involved with.

"Just, wondering."

Bruce was staring at the graffiti art of your mother. He felt, sadness, guilt. Sad because he was too late to be there for you and your mother. Failed to support your mother when she probably needed it the most. Guilty, because he could probably never love your mother as strongly as you do.

He glanced over to where you and your cousin were standing. That was when he sees you actually letting your guard down completely. You looked so, tired. Like the heavy burden he sees you with, doubled by a ton. Yet, you seemed peaceful. Maybe because, your cousin seems to share the same look as you did.

He knew those looks. For a second. a suspicion creeped into his mind. But he was quick to shake it off.

'Impossible'

he would think to himself as he lets out a low chuckle. What a silly thought.

The party ended and you and the Waynes stayed behind to help clean and what not. Bruce got to see a lot of your baby pictures thanks to Rio and Jeff.

It was pretty fun, spending time with both families. Even Jason was being tolerable. While everyone was interacting with each other in the living room, Damian slipped away. decided to explore down the halls of the apartment. Pictures of you and Miles on the walls. Family trips, graduation. Every achievement framed and hanged on the walls.

Damian eventually found Miles room. The door was left slightly ajar. He would usually just go in and snoop around. But something was holding him back.

"Hey."

Suddenly Jason was behind him. Catching him off guard while he was deep in thought.

"Todd. What are you doing?" Damian spoke firmly as he glared up at the older. Jason just shrugged and chuckled "Doing the same as you. Taking a look around of course." Jason pushed past the younger boy and entered the bedroom.

Scanning the room, seemingly trying to search for something.

Damian frowns deeply and stomped into the room. "We shouldn't be in here."

Jason scoffs as he picked up a photo of you and Miles together. Dressed in your Sunday best. Smiling without a care in the world.

"Scared your big sis will get mad at you?" Jason mumbled as he set the photo face down back on the table. His eyes scan the desk. Drawings. He walked up to the desk and picked up the papers. shuffling them. looks like drawings of suits. Super suits to be specific.

Spider womans suits to be more specific.

It didn't look like some fanart or just little doodles. These were details. Upgrades with little gadgets.

"He's in on it." Jason mumbled to himself. Realizing your cousin Miles knows your secret. This gives Jason a lot of more information on you now. Proving some theories he had of you. And changing some others.

Damian just stood behind Jason. He didn't understand what Jason said. Nor did he care.

"Stop it Todd. This is an invasion of our hosts privacy." Damian demanded. Jason couldn't help but scoff humorously once again

"Cheap coming from you."

Suddenly two shadows from the open door were noticed by Damian. Before Damian can turn around. A deep voice spoke.

"You should listen to the kid."

When Jason and Damian turn to the door. They were greeted by you and Miles leaning on each side of the doorframe. Glaring at the both of them with cold stoic looks. Your glare was mainly aimed at Jason.

"Y/n I-" Damian was panicking a little. You walked into the room an put your hand on his shoulder. Giving him a small smile. Not the sweet one you usually give him. You were giving him the smile that looked empty.

"Go back and join the others cupcake." You ruffled his head and nudged him along out of the room. You signaled Miles to go along with Damian just in case he wonders off.

"Your cousin a fan of Spider woman? Does he know about-" Jason held up the paper drawings. You snatched the drawings out of his hand with a scowl, you roughly grabbed him by his collar and held him up the ground with your super strength.

"Whoa whoa!" Jason held up his hands in surrender, but he still had that damn smirk on his face. He was enjoying seeing that he pissed you off.

"We made a deal. I suggest you stick to that only." Your tone was an uneasy calmness as you spoke. You carelessly dropped Jason and stormed out of the room.

Jason huffed in annoyance, getting off the floor. You just gave him a warning.

It was time to leave and get back to Gotham. Bruce and the boys were heading back to the limo as you were saying your goodbyes. You and Miles gave each other a tight hug. You sighed as you pulled away. A sad look in your eyes.

"What?" Miles knows somethings wrong. You just, stared at him while holding him by his shoulders. The kind of look that seems far away.

"Nothing. . . love you, bye." You gave a small smile gently cupping one side of his face before letting go. Miles chuckled and smiled back.

"Bye!" He waved as you walked to the limo.

Back at Gotham. It was late in the night. You had gotten an alert from the watch. An anomaly showed up. In Gotham. You were quick. You took out the anomaly before it could do any serious damage.

But before you could get back to the Wayne mansion. You got another alert. You took care of it. Then another showed up.

It wasn't till the sun began to come up did you finally get back to the mansion. You haven't had a night like that in a while. As you laid in bed. Gwen came to mind. Her words.

Her warning of how Miles and Aaron not being able to be your replacement for long.

The anomalies were getting stronger. The more you just laid there and thought about it, the more fear began to creep into your mind. The possibility of losing Miles and Aaron. So many possibilities. Dear God, did it scare you.

You needed help. And you knew the Spider Society could help. But you were too prideful to go back to them. Selfish, you know.

You sighed and sat up from your bed. You grabbed your phone. Instantly greeted with your lockscreen of you and Miles. You stared at it for a moment. His smile. He was always the more joyful one between the two of you.

". . ."

You love Miles. You really do. But you just, can't physically bring yourself to reach out to the Society for help.

[waywardxrhea]

loml - a Spencer Reid one shot

pairing: Spencer Reid x former BAU!fem!reader (no use of y/n)

word count: ~15k (this one's a beast whoops)

You left behind the BAU years ago and have been working as the captain of the police force in small town Montana when a string of murder-suicides catch your attention and you start looking into them. The BAU is called in and you become overwhelmed by feelings surrounding your ex-boyfriend Spencer Reid as you attempt to investigate this case and clear the air between the two of you.

content: canon-level violence, blood, swearing, anxiety, idiots in love

now playing: loml by taylor swift

not my gif, dividers by @firefly-graphics, and once again shoutout to my bestie @westernbitch for helping to come up with case details for this one!

A sharp knock broke the silence of your office and you looked up to see one of your reporting officers at the door with a look on her face that told you something terrible happened. “What's going on, Kate?” you asked, placing the file you were holding down onto the desk to give her your full attention. 

She sat down in the chair across from you and taking a shaky breath, she whispered, “There’s been another murder-suicide… It was Natasha and Hayden…” 

“Oh my God I’m so sorry, is there anything I can do for you or your family right now?” you asked, getting up and making your way around the desk to give the younger officer a hug. 

Kate’s sister and her boyfriend had taken off nearly two months ago for their freshman year at UCLA and weren’t due back until Thanksgiving. Maybe the pair didn’t agree on their majors like they originally decided or got spooked by the big life changes and decided that this was the best course of action. He did have a history of prior juvenile battery charges… Nonetheless it just wasn’t sitting right with you… Not after two other murder-suicides within the last four months. So after sending Kate home to be with her parents and remaining sibling, you went to investigate the crime scene. 

When you got back and had some time to do some thinking, you called one of your detectives into the office. “You wanted to see me?” came his voice as he stepped into the office a few minutes later. 

You stopped your fast-paced writing of theories to offer a polite smile as he sat down across from you after closing the office door. “I wanna see if you can connect the same dots that I am, Josh.”

“Okay, shoot,” he says, leaning forward with an eager smile. Josh had joined your squad a few months ago as a rookie detective and he was always ready to look into anything that came across your desk. 

“Six months ago the Fenways went away to mourn his cousin’s death in Florida. Then before anyone even knew they were back home, they both turn up dead in what was ruled a murder-suicide,” you started, tapping your pen along the paper sitting on the desk in front of you. “Then the Greenwoods turned up in the same situation a couple months later after going away on an Alaskan cruise.”

“Maybe that was the breaking point for both men. Everyone knew their marriages were on the rocks for months before that happened,” Josh said in a contemplative voice as he leaned back into his chair. “Losing a relative and driving all the way down to Florida and back could have caused some tension that made him snap. Same with being stuck on a boat for a few weeks. I heard they weren’t allowed to dock and were stranded on board for a week or so because of a conservationist protest. That would make anyone’s temper short.”

“That’s what I thought too,” you agreed. “However, Natasha Quinn and Hayden Welkins just turned up dead in another apparent murder-suicide.”

“No way!” Josh said, his eyes widening in shock at the news. He ran a hand over his chin and asked, “Is Kate okay?”

“She’s at home mourning with her family. She’ll be off for the next few days but I’m taking her off of this investigation,” you replied. 

“Investigation? Why is it a-?” he said, but then paused in the middle of his sentence. “Wait, you think there’s someone behind this, don’t you?”

“That I do,” you affirmed with a nod. “One was a tragedy, two could be a coincidence, but three? I think someone’s behind this. It could be someone manipulating them into killing.” You looked at the pictures of the dead bodies in the file you began creating and sighed. You scrunched your eyebrows together and shook your head as you said, “There’s so far been no signs of physical torture on the victims. They were all found days post-mortem in wooded areas off of trails though, so their bodies were worse for wear so we can’t exactly rule it out. Even then, psychological torture is a viable option.”

“So maybe the trips away weren’t even real… Maybe whoever is doing this created fake letters to send to all of the victims to make everyone in town aware that they would be gone so suspicion wasn’t raised…” Josh said as dots began to connect in his mind. “And as much as I hate to say this, Natasha and Hayden may have been a crime of opportunity. They could have been driving home exhausted when something happened and they were grabbed.”

A proud smile made its way onto your face at his theory and you nodded, telling him, “Exactly what I was thinking. Whoever this unsub is is getting sloppy and we’re going to get to the bottom of it.”

“W-wait, us? You want me on this?”

“As a rookie detective you just deduced what I did as a former FBI agent with the Behavioral Analysis Unit. You’ve got what it takes, Josh. So yes, I’m asking you to help me out with this case,” you said with an encouraging nod. “This is a small town and people talk, so let’s get out there and see what anyone knows.”

“Yes ma’am!” he said, jumping up from his chair and turning toward the door with a spring in his step. 

“And Josh?”

“Yes ma’am?”

“This case is on a need to know basis so it stays between us unless I tell you someone else is allowed to know about it. Got it?”

“Got it!” he said while giving you a two-finger salute and a sideways smile. 

“So be subtle!” you shouted with a laugh as he exited the office and set out to begin his investigation while you conducted yours. 

A few weeks later you were making some headway in the investigation on the murder-suicide case. One crisp November morning when you and Josh were talking with someone over coffee about what they knew of the Greenwoods and their supposed vacation, you heard a scream outside of the diner. With your eyebrows scrunching together, you looked outside only to see a man holding a woman in a chokehold with a gun pointed to her head. 

Rushing out of the diner, you made your way to the area near the fountain where he was at and held up your empty hands to show that you meant no harm. When you got closer you finally recognized the man and woman standing in front of you. They were a married couple that had moved to the town a couple of years ago after vacationing in the area. From the outside they were a happy couple, but you had heard around the rumor mill that she had cheated on him on occasion when she was drunk. 

“Hey,” you began in a soft voice, one you would use if you were approaching a skittish animal so you didn’t spook it off. “Hunter, can you please put the gun down? We can talk okay? Just let Hanna go and we can talk things out.”

“No!” he shouted, pointing the gun in your direction to fend you off. “She deserves this! He told me so!”

“What did she do to deserve this, Hunter?” you asked softly as you creeped closer slowly. All the while, the emaciated woman just stood there catatonically in his hold. There was no hint of light in her eyes and if you didn’t see her breathing you would have guessed she was already dead. “Who told you this?”

“All you women are the same! He told me that all you do is lie! All you do is take advantage of us and then leave when it’s convenient for you!” he shouted, voice strained and eyes with a wild look in them. It was a look you had seen too many times during your time in the BAU, but before you could take further action to try and talk the man down, the first shot already rang out followed in quick succession by the second. 

A whirlwind of emotions filled your body in response to the event and they paralyzed you as you stared at the pair of bodies on the ground in front of you. Shock, disbelief, horror, confusion. A roaring sound filled your ears as your mind flashed to the day you decided to leave the BAU, but your thoughts were torn away from that time when you felt hands on your shoulders gently shaking you back to reality. “Captain. Captain! Are you all right?” came Josh’s voice through the cotton feeling in your ears. 

“I need to call Emily…” you whispered in reply, the back of your hand going to wipe away some of the blood that had spattered onto your face and was starting to slowly drip down. It hurt your pride to call in your former team and you have always dreaded the day you needed to, but you knew that you were in over your head trying to solve this on your own anymore…

“Okay, will everyone gather around? We’ve got a case,” Emily Prentiss announced to her team as she strode into the bullpen of the offices of the Behavioral Analysis Unit. 

“What’ve we got this time?” Tara Lewis asked as she looked up from the paperwork she was finishing up at her desk. 

“It appears to be a string of manipulated murder-suicides up in Montana. I have it on good authority that the latest victim was implying that someone convinced him that his wife deserved to die and then he took his own life shortly after hers,” Emily informed the team as they gathered in the area. “The other acts were not witnessed but I’m sure if we did a deep dive into their personal lives we would find evidence that the other male victims believed the same of their partners. This is the fourth murder-suicide in the town in five months and the unsub seems to be getting more brazen with his acts so we’re wheels up in thirty.”

“Fourth in five months? Why did the locals wait so long to contact someone?” Luke Alvez asked, the corners of his mouth turning down into a frown at the thought of someone letting this go on for so long. 

“Because the captain is a former one of ours,” she replied, shooting Luke a look that said to not reprimand the actions of the officer. “She was working the case herself and was beginning to make headway when the unsub set the latest two out to commit the act in the middle of downtown. Happened right in front of her. This case is escalating and it’ll take more than one set of trained eyes on it to catch this guy.”

“A former one of our own? Who is she talking about?” JJ asked quietly to no one in particular.

“Oh I know exactly who she’s talking about…” Penelope Garcia said quietly with a glance in the direction of Spencer Reid who seemed none the wiser about who their unit chief was talking about. 

JJ followed Garcia’s glance and quietly gasped as she asked, “You don’t mean-?”

“Yes I do mean!” Penelope said conspiratorially as she leaned in closer to the blonde. “When she left, Spencer never contacted her because he was so broken up over Maeve’s death that by the time he was finally in a headspace to process the breakup and her leaving the team it was far too late to try and make amends so he just never did! He doesn’t know where she went and she cut off all contact with the team except for me and it’s been a secret that I have hated keeping for so long because I know we all loved her so very much!” Penelope took a deep breath and let it out as she slouched back in her chair as if keeping that in all these years was a heavy weight that had finally been taken off of her shoulders. “You can’t tell him though!”

“Why not? He deserves to know that he’s going to be walking into his ex-girlfriend's police station!” JJ whispered back. 

“If you had a nasty breakup with someone would you want to know you were heading to meet with them and have to stew in that anxiety and uncertainty for hours on the plane ride there?” Penelope asked, a stern look in her eye as she once more straightened up in her chair. “That big brain of his would work overtime trying to figure out what to say so that you would make zero headway on the case!”

“Fine…” JJ relented. A small smirk graced her lips as she added, “I’ll keep you in the loop with how awkward he gets.”

“You better!” Penelope said. An air of seriousness washed over her for a moment as she added, “I know this case may dredge up a lot of old memories for Spencer so can you just keep an eye on him?”

“Of course,” JJ replied. Penelope smiled in return before heading off to her office with a file of information to look into on the victims. 

Time went by paradoxically during the wait for the BAU to show up at your station. It went slowly because you dreaded the looks on everyone’s faces upon seeing you after nearly four years with no contact. As you showered the blood off of yourself in the staff locker room, your mind once more flashed back to the day you decided to leave the BAU. 

It had been months of feeling distant from Spencer as he got closer and closer with the geneticist you pushed him to go to in order to get to the bottom of the headaches that had been plaguing him on and off for some time. Maeve Donovan. May she rest in peace, but she was the reason your relationship with Spencer fell apart… As their talks got deeper and he opened up to her more, you felt like you were sloughed away from Spencer’s life, brushed off so he could take calls with her and discuss what for the most part never even sounded like his could-be battle with schizophrenia like his mother… 

You remembered the day he had wrapped a book to give her when they decided to first meet. You couldn’t even remember the name of the book, but the returning feeling of heartbreak made a quiet sob escape your mouth as you scrubbed the shampoo into your hair harshly. The dam finally broke as you remembered the day that you and the whole team took time off of the clock to help Spencer out with getting to the bottom of who was stalking Maeve and making her fear for her life. Tears flowed freely from your eyes and dripped down into the soapy water swirling into the drain as you pictured Spencer sobbing over Maeve’s body as she too was killed in a murder-suicide. Hearing him whisper the words that you hadn’t heard in weeks of “I love you,” to her as he cried was what sealed the deal because in your heart you knew Spencer didn’t love you anymore. 

It took a few more days to make the final decision but in a whirlwind of anxiety you had made many phone calls back home to your parents and they encouraged you to take some time away from the BAU to come home to Montana and figure things out. So you put your notice with Hotch in and quietly broke things off to a catatonic Spencer who was so bereft following Maeve’s death that he didn’t even react to the breakup. 

Once back home you spent a few months piecing yourself together before moving for a job offer you felt like you couldn’t refuse and since then had been promoted to Captain after a year. It wasn’t ever what you planned for your career, but life has a funny way of guiding you in the direction you’re meant to go. 

Turning to face the shower stream once again, you scrubbed your face with your face wash one more time to ensure you got all of the blood off before turning off the shower and beginning to dry yourself. You wiped away the steam from the mirror in front of you and looked at your reflection, squeezing your eyes shut as you pictured the blood on your face again. When you looked back up at yourself again, it was obvious that you had been crying so you made quick work of getting dried off and into a fresh set of clothes that Josh brought from your house before heading to your office to try and freshen up with the meager set of makeup you had in there. 

You were surprised to see your entire makeup collection on the desk and as you sat down to begin working the makeup on, Josh popped his head into your office, saying, “Hey Cap! Lindsey went with me to get your stuff and we grabbed all of that for you. Said something about seeing your ex-”

“I told you not to tell her that!” came the voice of another one of your officers as she made her appearance in the doorframe. She shot you an apologetic look and said, “I’m sorry I knew I shouldn’t have said anything, it’s just that-”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” you said before forcing a cheery smile on your face at the pair in front of you. “Thank you two for getting the clothes and makeup from my place, I appreciate it.” You resumed your makeup with slightly shaking hands as you asked, “Now can you go make sure the work area is in the order I requested? Whiteboards and markers ready, corkboard cleared of the meme wars, desks available, coffee brewing with plenty of sugar because I know we were almost out earlier this morning.”

“Yes ma’am,” they chorused before taking off to get the space ready for the team’s arrival which would be… in less than an hour. 

The hour flew by as you went over the case file once again and you jumped as you heard a knock on your door that pulled you out of your concentration. Looking up, you couldn’t help the smile that made its way onto your face as you said with quiet enthusiasm, “Emily! It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“I’ve been well. As you know I got promoted to Unit Chief after Hotch left. I see you’ve been getting some promotions too,” she said warmly as you stood up and offered your arms out for a hug which she accepted. “Garcia?” she asked simply and you knew she was asking how you had kept up with things in your absence, so you nodded. When you pulled away, she glanced at the notes on your desk and asked, “Are you ready for the brief with the team?”

The question made your heart jump in its cage. “Who all is left from my days on the team? What new faces can I expect?” you asked, trying to tiptoe around the elephant in the room. 

“Spencer’s here if that’s what you’re getting at,” she replied softly as she reached down and gave your arm a reassuring squeeze. 

“Damn profilers,” you said jokingly before taking a deep breath and gathering up your files to take to the main area of the station to meet with the team. 

Your heart hammered in your chest so hard you could practically feel it jumping up in your throat as you approached the meeting area. You busied yourself with your papers as you and Emily made your way over, sweat beginning to dampen your hands the closer you got. You practically stopped breathing when your eyes looked up and met Spencer’s. He looked as handsome as ever, maybe even more, and all at once you felt everything rushing back, waves of emotions threatening to engulf you as you struggled to breathe under his gaze. 

Spencer looked like a deer in headlights when he spotted you and you couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking at that moment. The look on his face suggested that no one told him that the case was being manned by you and while it made you happy that Penelope kept her word, you weren’t sure if the look of shock he was sporting was a good or bad thing… 

You were ripped away from your anxious thoughts and Spencer’s eyes as a cheer in a distinctive accent broke through the chatter of the office. Your name was called enthusiastically and you turned in the direction of the sound to see David Rossi sporting a wide grin as he held his arms out to embrace you. “How’ve you been kiddo?” David asked as he embraced you quickly before holding you at arms length to survey your features that had no doubt matured since he last saw you. 

“The last 24 hours or the last four years?” you asked with a quiet laugh. “I’ve been making it though. Can’t complain.”

“That’s good to hear,” he said before turning you toward the rest of the team and telling you, “That’s Tara Lewis and Luke Alvez, they’ve joined the team since your departure. I’m sure you’ll love them!”

You offered the two of them a smile before suddenly you were being pulled into a hug by JJ and when she pulled away you couldn’t help but wonder how the hell you were supposed to greet Spencer. You were always a hugger, everyone knew it, and you actually shocked the office when Spencer let you hug him just a few days after you joined the BAU. But that time felt like a distant memory and your eyes turned to the ground instead of looking back at the man who used to bring you so much comfort but at the same time, more than ever you wanted so desperately to be in his arms…

Thankfully you didn’t have to make a decision on the matter because Emily’s voice cut through the quiet roaring in your ears as she said, “Yes, yes we all missed her, but we can get back to the reunion later. Right now we’ve got an unsub to track down.” She called your name before asking, “What do we know?”

You cleared your throat and went into work mode, telling the team, “So far we have eight victims.” You began placing pictures of the scenes on the table as you listed off their names, “First was Nora and Henry Fenway who we as a town thought went off to Florida after Henry got the news that his cousin passed away. Big Catholic family who wanted to perform a lot of traditional stuff for the funeral. They were found over a month later by some tourists hiking through the trails on the outskirts of town.

“Next was Theresa and Harry Greenwood who were set to embark on an Alaskan cruise and got stuck in the water due to some conservationist protest. The protest story checks out, but when we called the cruise line a week or so ago, there was never a record of the couple on board, so we think that the cruise package they were boasting about winning was a ruse to make sure that the rest of us knew they were expected to be away for a while. They were found dead near a river off of a popular hiking trail.

“Third was the sister of one of my officers. Natasha Quinn and her boyfriend Hayden Welkins were thought to be off at UCLA for college but were found dead in an abandoned cabin that has been a known squatting location. Kate told us that there wasn’t too much contact from her sister during the time, but they all put it off to her being busy with school.”

You took a deep breath and tried to push the memory of the latest shooting out of your mind, but you could tell that your voice was distant as you detailed the latest pairing. “And just this morning it was Hanna and Hunter Newberry. He came out into the middle of downtown with Hanna in a chokehold and shot both her and himself but not before saying that ‘he’ told him that she deserved it.”

“Do we know anything about who ‘he’ might be?” JJ asked. 

“No idea,” you replied. “Josh and I have been doing some digging to see who started the rumors about the protest with the cruise, but it became a dead end when the first person who heard it said they just heard someone on the phone talking about it but they didn’t remember when it was or where they were.”

“You said that Kate’s sister didn’t have frequent contact. Does that mean she still texted occasionally?” Luke asked. 

“Kate and her family were getting occasional check-ins from Natasha, yes,” you confirmed. “Kate told me that the texts were pretty short for the most part though and that they didn’t really seem like her usual style of texting. She put it off to being busy between classes and trying to get into sororities though.” 

“I’ll have Penelope look into that,” Emily commented, taking down another note on the notepad she had in her hand. 

Your heart skipped a beat once more as Spencer’s voice cut through the air as he said, “All of the men’s names start with an H. I wonder if it could be the first initial of the unsub and he’s expressing himself through these killings. Maybe this is some twisted fantasy of his and he’s acting it out.”

“So you’re saying he might have an endgame?” David asked thoughtfully. 

“Yes, and I don’t think he’s going to stop until he gets her,” Spencer confirmed as he pondered over the photographs you left on the table before stepping away. 

“Then let’s get to work,” Emily said. She called your name to get your attention and informed you, “Tara and I will interview you about what you saw this morning. Spencer get started on the geographical profile. David head to the medical examiner’s office to see if there’s anything you can find on the bodies. Luke go see if you can get CCTV footage from the businesses around the crime scene. JJ start working with Josh to interview the other witness from this morning to see if she knows where the couple came from. I’ll patch Penelope in so she can get started on a list of men whose names start with an H that live in the area.”

“So can you walk me through exactly what happened this morning?” Tara asked you as you sat across from her and Emily in an interrogation room half an hour later. There was a part of you that for some reason felt like you were in trouble, but you understood the reason behind it. It was the easiest way to record the conversation and keep distractions from factoring into your memories of your encounter. 

“Josh and I were speaking with a cousin of the Greenways to see if they could give us some insight into how their marriage was when I heard a scream outside of the diner,” you replied quietly, eyes focused on the metal table between the three of you as you tried to remember everything. “When I got out, there was a bystander. She was the one that screamed and Josh took her away to make sure she didn’t get hurt.” You began picking at the sleeve of your sweatshirt as you continued, “I didn’t recognize the couple at first, they both looked worse for wear. Hunter is usually clean shaven but he had a wild beard that clearly hadn’t been taken care of and Hanna looked like her hair hadn’t been brushed in days… He had this wild look in his eyes and she just…she looked practically dead already.”

“How do you mean?” Tara asked curiously. 

“Well…there was no light in her eyes. Her cheeks were sunken in and she wasn’t even fighting. She just stood there,” you replied. “Even when Hunter was shouting and waving the gun there was no reaction whatsoever.”

“And what was Hunter shouting?” Emily asked. 

You paused for a moment and thought before replying, “He said, ‘She deserves this! He told me so!’ and then when I asked what he meant and who told him that he said something like, all women are the same and that he was told all we do is lie and take advantage of men and then leave when it’s convenient for us. And then…” you let out a sharp breath and closed your eyes as you remembered what happened next, “then he shot her and then himself.” You dabbed a tear away from the corner of your eye before adding, “I was so close to him when it happened… I… I just froze. Their blood was all over me and I just…” you didn’t even know how to finish your sentence as you let out a shaky breath, trying to hold your tears back and keep your hands occupied by messing with the hem of your sweatshirt. 

“It’s been a long time since you’ve been so close to something like that,” Emily offered quietly. 

“Exactly…” you whispered. “It reminded me why I left the BAU. When my anxiety and depression got so bad and I just couldn’t take it anymore… The job, life, everything was just too much. It broke me.”

“And that’s completely understandable,” Tara said empathetically, giving you a warm smile. There were a few moments of silence that were filled with her taking notes before she offered, “If you need a minute alone we can cover for you until you’re ready to go back out there.”

“Thank you,” you replied with a nod, leaning your head down onto your arms and feeling the cool metal of the table on your cheek to try and ground yourself before you slipped off into another breakdown. 

Meanwhile outside of the interrogation room, Spencer stood there with his heart breaking. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t even hear JJ approach until she asked, “What are you doing? I thought you were supposed to work on the geographical profile.”

Spencer startled a bit before sighing and telling her, “I don’t know… I guess I just needed to know where her headspace was on everything.” He ran a hand through his messy hair and mumbled, “I really messed up with her, didn’t I? She said that this reminded her of when she left and that life was making her anxious before she even decided to go… That was because of me.”

JJ sighed and gave him a quick pat on the back as she replied, “Yeah, there’s no denying that you messed up big time…” She felt Spencer tense before she finished with, “But maybe you can at least ask for forgiveness. Take her to dinner and try to make amends.” Spencer nodded and threw you another glance before turning away and going to work on the geographical profile. 

When you emerged from the interrogation room, the team was either out on their assigned tasks or grabbing lunch, so you decided to get some quiet time with your files in your office while you tried to get some food down. You were pushing salad greens around in your tupperware when your phone began to ring and you picked it up with a, “Hello?”

“My sweet, sweet friend, oh how I missed your voice!” came Penelope’s cheerful voice through the speaker as her way of greeting you. 

“I’m sorry I don’t call Penny, I just… I was afraid of-” You cut yourself off and scoffed before finishing with, “Forget it, it’s dumb. You probably called about the case and I’m getting off track. What can I help you with?”

“No, no, tell me!” Penelope protested. “It is lunchtime there and no one is calling for anything so this has officially turned into a ‘tell Penelope all of your woes’ time!” 

You laughed quietly before asking, “And there’s no getting out of it?” 

“Unless there is literally another death while we’re on the phone then no,” she replied chipperly.��

Letting out a deep sigh, you decided that this wasn’t a battle you were going to win, so you told her, “I never called because I was afraid I would just open up old wounds. The thought of if we were on the phone and Spencer came in…it terrified me.” And suddenly, without even thinking about what you were saying, you blurted out, “And now here we are with him in the breakroom of my precinct drinking coffee that I made sure we had enough sugar for because I have never been able to fall out of love with Spencer Reid!” You covered your mouth to attempt to prevent the words from coming out but it was entirely too late for that. The truth was out there and Penelope had heard every word of it. 

“Oh honey…” she said in a quiet voice. 

You knew she didn’t mean it in a condescending way, but the building tightness in your chest after she said it was making it hard to breathe. You filled your lungs as much as they would allow before whispering, “I-I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, no, no! Don’t feel bad about your feelings!” she protested from her side of the line. 

“I-it’s just…” You took a slightly deeper breath before you began rambling again, telling her, “I’ve tried over and over and over again to find someone out here but it just never works. There was even this one guy back in April that was so sweet! Penelope, he picked me wildflowers while out on his guided hiking tours and arranged them into the most beautiful bouquets! He ordered me edible arrangements and had them sent to my office! He bought me coffee every morning in the diner when I was there picking up breakfast before coming into work! Hell, on our one and only date we had a candlelit picnic and he bought my favorite wine! That shit’s expensive! But I just couldn’t commit to him knowing that someone else still has my heart…and I don’t think there’s a way to get it back.” 

By the end of your rant, your tears were falling once more and you dabbed them away with a tissue or two as Penelope sighed and said, “I wish I could give you a hug right now… I had no idea you were still feeling that way.”

You scoffed quietly before asking, “Why would you? I should hate Spencer for what happened. He fell in love with someone else while still dating me and didn’t even flinch when I broke up with him because he was so torn up about her death. But…” You shook your head and finished quietly, “He’s the love of my life and it hurts so damn bad knowing that I’m not his.”

Before Penelope could offer anything else, there was a knock at your door and you looked up to see it cracking open to reveal Spencer’s handsome face with that awkward-as-ever smile crossing his lips. “Spencer, hey,” you whispered, your breath being knocked out of your lungs at his sudden appearance as you hoped that he didn’t hear anything you just said. 

“I think that’s my queue to go…” Penelope said quietly and in quick succession you heard the tell-tale sound of the call ending. 

“Hey, can I talk to you?” Spencer asked timidly as he opened the door a bit more to fully reveal himself. 

“O-of course,” you replied, hoping that it wasn’t too obvious that you had been crying. “Everything going okay out there? You holding up okay after…everything?” 

“I’m doing fine, yes,” He said with a quick nod. “I got the geographical profile down, but it’s in a weird pattern that I’m still trying to make sense of. All of the locations are in a strange arc sort of line without a centralized location that indicates a familiar area that the unsub is comfortable in. The first three sites were more so out in hiking areas in the woods so I thought it could be an avid hiker, but the latest one was so out in the open that it makes me wonder why the unsub chose that location. He isn’t escalating because there was still time for him to psychologically torment the victims before sending them out to commit the act so I’m trying to determine if maybe this was an outlier or if it’s a part of his endgame to have used that specific spot for that couple…” 

Your heart fluttered in your chest upon hearing him rant on about the profile he had created and you hoped he didn’t notice that your eyes were practically heart-shaped as you listened to his soothing voice ramble on about the case. He cleared his throat and shifted his weight from foot to foot before adding, “But uh…that’s not what I came to talk to you about.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and said quietly, “I was actually coming in here to ask if I could take you to dinner tonight. There’s a lot I feel like needs to be cleared up between us after…everything that happened. I know it may be wrong to ask for your forgiveness after so long but-”

“Yes,” you replied instantly, unable to fight the smile working its way onto your lips at the offer. 

“Y-yes?” he asked with an undeniable sparkle in his eyes as he too gave into his emotions and let his smile light up the room. 

You nodded and were about to say something more when Emily popped her head into the office after giving a short knock on the door, informing you both, “Garcia got us a list of possible suspects, let’s get to work.”

“Yes ma’am,” you and Spencer replied in unison, and you had to fight back the giddy giggle that threatened to bubble out of your mouth at the statement in stereo. 

That evening you took a quick trip to your house to freshen up before meeting Spencer. Even though you knew it wasn’t a date situation, you still took the time to make your hair look nice and put on a dose of perfume that you remembered Spencer liking. When you pulled into the parking lot of the cafe you and Spencer agreed to meet at and stepped out into the chilly November air, you pulled your coat close as you started toward the door. 

Before you could reach out to grab the handle though, another hand reached out and pulled it for you. Expecting to see Spencer holding the door open for you, your heart gave a stutter in your chest as suddenly the reality of the situation hit you. You would likely be discussing what happened back in Virginia, and that would mean talking about Maeve and the reason your relationship ended and that scared you. Sure, you had attempted to process everything yourself, but facing it head on would be an entirely different experience in which you would have to hear what made him fall out of love with you…

Your anxiety spiked for a completely different reason though when you looked up because when you did, your eyes met the very man you turned down because you still weren’t over Spencer. “Hartley, hey. Thanks,” you said quietly as you slipped through the door and into the warm building. 

“Looking for some company?” he asked as he walked in behind you and began attempting to help you take off your coat. 

Before you could respond, the hostess greeted you by name and asked how many were in your party. “There’ll be two, Rose,” you told her with a smile and she began reaching down to grab a couple of menus from behind the counter. While you were telling her this, you pulled away a comfortable distance from Hartley and began taking off your coat and gloves on your own. “I’m meeting someone actually,” you told him simply, tucking the gloves into a pocket and hanging the coat on the rack by the door.  

“Oh, okay,” he said slowly. “Are they late? I can get you an appetizer and drink while you wait,” he offered and you noticed his eyes moving around the restaurant in search of your intended partner. 

As he said this, the small bell above the door chimed and your eyes gravitated that way to see who was entering. Raising a hand in a wave, you greeted Spencer with a smile as he joined you at the hostess counter. He quickly took off his coat and racked it before running a hand through his messy hair and saying, “Sorry I’m a few minutes late, I was wrapping up something with Prentiss at the station!”

“It’s no problem, Spence. Rose was just about to take me to the table,” you assured him as you nodded your head toward the kind woman. 

“Great,” he said as the pair of you began following Rose to the table in the back corner she knew you preferred to dine at. 

“I guess I’ll see you around,” you said quietly to Hartley who was escorted to his usual spot at the bar by another hostess. 

“Who was that?” Spencer asked curiously after the two of you placed your drink orders. 

“Something that I assume will be addressed when we talk,” you admitted, feeling heat begin to crawl up your neck. Spencer nodded stiffly and remained silent in response to the comment, the tension only breaking when Rose came back with the drinks and said she would give Spencer a few minutes with the menu. 

“So what’s good to eat here?” Spencer asked timidly after a few more moments of silence as his eyes quickly scanned the menu. 

You let out a quiet sigh of relief at the fact that he wasn’t diving into the serious talk you needed to have and relaxed a little in your seat as you began raving over the menu items that you preferred and which ones you thought should be avoided. “And we have to get dessert, the pie here is to die for!” you gushed as you pointed out the dessert menu on the back. 

“Let me guess, the coconut cream is your go to?” Spencer asked, a small smile lining his lips. 

“Always,” you affirmed, a smile breaking out on your lips. “Remember that time when I-?” you tried to start, but couldn't even get through half of the sentence before dissolving into a fit of giggles. 

“When you were bringing a pie to the office and you tripped as you were putting it on the counter and tried to play it off as a pie eating contest with Morgan?” Spencer asked with a laugh and a sparkle in his eye at the memory. 

“Yes!” you said, more laughter spilling out of you as you remembered Derek’s reaction. “I still can’t believe he actually went along with it!” 

So that was how the two of you spent the next little while - reminiscing on the better times you two had at the BAU before your abrupt departure. That was, until Spencer’s eyes drifted slightly left over your shoulder as he asked once more, “Who did you say that guy was from earlier? He’s been glaring daggers this way the whole time we’ve been here…”

You sighed and nodded. It was time to face the music. So you took a deep breath and told him, “That’s Hartley. He flirted with me for months before I finally agreed to a date with him, but… Things just didn’t work out between us. Ever since then, he’s tried to get with me again, but I always turn him down.”

“Why’s that?” Spencer asked, his posture straightening the slightest bit at your words which you tried not to overanalyze as you instinctively studied his body language.

“I… It felt disingenuous to be with someone when my heart was still back in Virginia with you…” you admitted quietly as you pushed around some of the food on your plate to distract yourself and to avoid looking into Spencer’s eyes. When he didn’t say anything in response, your heart rate kicked up and you felt your palms start to sweat as you began rambling. “And I know that may sound crazy because it’s been so long but I just never got any sort of closure with you after everything that happened so I never really closed that part of my life away and so those feelings just…never left… I know you fell out of love with me, but it just isn’t that easy on my part…”

You wiped away a stray tear that escaped during your ranting and were about to open your mouth to apologize when Spencer whispered your name in a broken voice as he reached across the table to request your hand to hold. When you tentatively gave it to him, Spencer’s large hand wrapped around yours as he said in a quiet voice, “I know that saying this now doesn’t make up for all these years of silence, but I really am so sorry for what happened.” He cleared his throat and told you, “When you found Maeve for me and I started speaking with her about my headaches I finally felt seen. I thought I loved her because she was able to help me get through something that had been plaguing me for years. I was so excited to finally understand what was happening with me that I didn’t even realize that I had started to put you on the backburner. By the time I did, Maeve was dead and you had left and I didn’t know what to do so I just never reached out…” 

“Oh… I-I’m sorry I-” you started to say after a few moments. 

“No!” he exclaimed a little louder than he probably intended because you could see a tint of red creep onto his cheeks and he slouched into himself to try and make himself smaller. He squeezed your hand before saying in a quieter voice, “Please don’t blame yourself for anything that happened. Looking back I know that you were trying to be there for me, but I got hyper focused on what Maeve was doing for me that I started to prioritize you less and that wasn’t fair to you.” 

You cleared your tightening throat and told him, “Everyone makes mistakes, Spence.”

“But not everyone’s mistakes make them lose the love of their life like mine did,” he told you, a serious tone in his voice as he held your eye contact unwaveringly. “I messed up and I know I don’t deserve it but I would like to try and make amends so I can eventually earn your forgiveness.”

“I think you’re already on your way there, Doctor,” you told him, a shy smile on your lips as your eyes darted toward your intertwined hands. 

“So explain to me again what the ME’s findings tell us?” you asked as you flipped through a file the next evening. 

“The brains of all the victims had densities and lesions in certain portions that have to deal with the capacity to have rational thoughts and feel emotions properly. We think that this happened because they were exposed to emotional and psychological torture for an extended period of time which is how the unsub manipulated them into performing a murder-suicide,” Spencer informed you quickly. 

David ran a hand over his chin before asking, “So then what did the unsub have on all of these people that made them so easy to manipulate into snapping?” 

“Well we know that he said that all women are the same and just use men, so-” you started to say but were interrupted by JJ coming up with her phone on speaker and Penelope’s enthusiastic voice coming through the speakers. 

“All of the women in these couples were wanting an out from their relationship in one way or another!” Penelope informed the group. “There were some cases of cheating or wanting a divorce or breakup or just getting out of an abusive partnership. Poor Natasha was being abused by Hayden and just wanted out…”

There were a few moments of silence before Spencer suggested, “If all of these women were trying to leave their relationships in some way then maybe that was the unsub’s stressor.”

“Maybe he was cheated on or recently divorced then,” Luke offered. 

“Right,” Emily agreed. “Garcia, can you start looking into recently divorced men in the area and cross match that with your list of men whose names start with H?” Emily asked. 

“I am on it!” the blonde replied as you all heard her fingers typing away on her keyboard. After a few moments she said, “There are a handful of recent divorcees in the area. A Harold Fenton, Herschel Brunswick, and Hester Lincoln.”

“Right, so then we start with those men and see if they have anything to do with these cases,” Emily informed the group. “It’s getting late and I doubt anyone is going to be awake at this hour for questioning, so we start in the morning and I’ll assign teams for the interrogations then. Be smart people, it isn’t going to be enough to just get an alibi for the time of the killings. We need to know where he was roughly when the couples were abducted and if he’s got other properties or a room in his house where he could have done the torturing.”

Before there could be any more discussion on the matter, Josh came into the precinct with a shocked looking woman on his arm. JJ and Tara rushed over to retrieve the woman from him and you asked quietly, “What happened?”

“She said she was out for an evening walk when she came across two recently shot bodies. Jessica Stevenson and Hendrix Jordan. Both shot in the head presumably with a pistol that was found beside his body,” Josh replied grimly. “While EMS was looking over her to make sure she wasn’t hurt, I asked around and turns out a neighbor had heard them fighting pretty loudly before she stormed out. He followed pretty soon after, but the neighbor said they didn’t see him with a gun.”

“Did you take any pictures of the scene?” you asked, your mind beginning to run a million miles an hour to try and work a way in front of this lunatic.

“Yeah,” Josh said as he pulled out his phone and pulled up the picture. 

The team gathered around the phone and each studied the photo before David asked, “Is anyone else seeing what I’m seeing?” 

“Yeah, the placement of that gun isn’t consistent with someone who just shot himself,” Luke said, his eyebrows coming together in confusion as he studied the picture. “And I’m sure once we get the ME report, it’ll show that the gun wasn’t flush with his head either.”

“So you’re suggesting that this one was a double murder?” JJ asked. 

“We don’t know for sure, so let’s not get lost in the weeds, people,” Emily told her team. “The unsub is escalating. He didn’t even take time to torture this couple. This may mean that he was triggered recently and felt the need to kill. We need to get to him before he gets to another couple.”

By the next afternoon the unsub had already struck again.

You and Spencer had just gotten back from speaking with Herschel Brunswick at the cafe when you were informed of the killings. Kaitlyn Grant and Harley Dixon, a young couple who the whole town loved, but knew he was drifting away because he was so committed to his job just outside of town and would spend long hours there. 

“Damnit!” you shouted in frustration, your fists clenching as you could feel your blood begin to boil when it started to feel like rage was consuming your entire being. 

You brought your hands to your face in an attempt to cover up the anger but they were coaxed down and held gently by Spencer’s as he mumbled in his soothing voice, “Hey, we’re gonna figure this out.”

Ignoring Spencer’s words, you whispered, “This is my fault…” With the rage taking over once more, you snapped, “This town trusts me and the sheriff to keep them safe, but in the last five months twelve people have died! Twelve!” Your tears began to fall and you practically collapsed into Spencer’s arms as you whispered, “I can’t do anything right…”

Instinctively, Spencer caught you and started running a hand up and down your back to try and comfort you. Forgetting he was in front of the whole team and your officers, Spencer kissed the top of your head before trying to calm you down. When your breathing had finally slowed and your tears subsided enough for you to feel comfortable showing your face again, you untangled yourself from Spencer’s arms and gave him a quiet ‘thank you’ before turning to face the team and your officers who had all migrated toward the other side of the room in order to give you and Spencer space. 

You were about to try and make a speech toward the team to attempt to motivate not just them but yourself too when Tara came up and placed a hand on your forearm, giving you a warm smile. “I think you need a break,” she told you gently. “This case is getting to you and I think you need to clear your mind for a little while.”

“But-” you tried to protest, but were stopped by Spencer. 

“Significant stress has been shown to measurably affect neuronal properties and cognitive functioning of the hippocampus. It’s also been found to impair memory function and the ability to recall information of which could be crucial in a case like this. Did you know that in some theories about the effects of stress on the body, the individual actually loses the ability to function in the presence of excessive stress which leads to exhaustion and potentially death?”

“Okay, not what she needed to hear at this moment, but I agree with Reid that it may be best for you to go home and take a breather for a while. Details in this case are really important and I know that you want to nail this one,” Tara told you and began walking you to your office to grab your things and help you to your vehicle while assuring you that the team had it under control.

Back in the precinct, Emily cleared her throat and announced, “Okay everyone! We know from forensics that the gun was in fact not up against Jordan’s head when he was killed and that it was actually from a distance away so we can confirm that he was killed and did not commit suicide. I bet we’ll get the same result from today’s victims. This unsub is working overtime to get our attention so we need to give it to him.”

Spencer nodded and added, “Brunswick wasn’t our guy because we were with him all morning. What did we find out about the other men Garcia identified as recently divorced?”

“Fenton is clean too, we just got back a few minutes before you two,” Luke informed him.

Tara nodded in agreement. “Lincoln too. He isn’t our guy.”

“So what are we missing?” David asked. 

“I don’t think we’re missing something. Maybe we’re just thinking too narrowly,” Spencer offered as he turned to look at the new report Josh had filed on the new crime scene. 

“Well then let’s widen our thinking. We can’t let this guy kill anyone else,” Emily said finally before assigning groups to tasks. 

After finding out that of course there weren’t any trail cameras in the area of the latest scene, Spencer was once more going over files in search of something he must have somehow missed. “Why don’t you go over the geographical profile again now that we have more victims?” Emily suggested. 

So he did, taking stray pins from the cork board and placing them in the places of the latest two crimes. What was revealed in front of his eyes was the shape of a heart. “Son of a bitch…” he whispered, looking over to Emily with wide eyes. “He’s plotted out where he wants all of these people to die in order to make a heart on a map, so it could stand to be assumed that-”

“His real target lives in the middle of that heart,” Emily finished with a grim look on her face. 

“That’s a large area to cover that doesn’t seem like it’s heavily populated, we’ll need a few teams to fan out and search the area,” Spencer said, grabbing a pair of keys from the rented SUVs they had been using to get around town. 

“Right.” Emily looked around and started giving orders to those who were back at the station, “Luke, go with Spencer in the first SUV. Josh you’re with JJ and David in the second. Tara and I will go with Lindsey in a patrol car. We have a lot of ground to cover so let’s get moving!” 

Spencer calculated the coordinates to the exact center of the heart and began driving that way with Luke in the passenger seat. On the way there, Luke broke the silence of the vehicle by asking with a smirk, “So what was going on with you and the captain earlier?”

“Old habits die hard I guess. We used to date back when she worked at the BAU,” Spencer told him. “There were a lot of cases where she needed some mental help afterward and that’s how we ended up together. She found my facts and statistics comforting because at least there was some form of guarantee to her safety.”

“That’s cute, I didn’t know-” Luke began to say but stopped short when at the same time he and Spencer noticed the vehicle in the driveway of the house they were approaching. “Reid-” Before Luke could finish his sentence though, Spencer had thrown the SUV in park and was getting out with his gun pulled from his holster. “Reid, think rationally here! Just because her house is the one you think may be in the middle doesn’t mean-”

With his gun drawn in one hand and his phone in the other, Spencer dialed Penelope as he and Luke made their way up the winding driveway, keeping to the tree line and in the shadows of the fading sunlight. “How may I be of assistance Doctor? I-” Penelope started chipperly.

“Did she ever talk to you about her relationships since leaving?” Spencer asked quickly. 

“She? Who do you-?” she tried, but was quickly interrupted by Spencer blurting out your name to hurry her along. “Oh! Just one she told me about the other day! She said that back in April this guy tried to get with her but they just went on one date.”

“Hartley…” Spencer muttered under his breath. “Garcia, try to find anything on a man named Hartley in the area, that’s the last man she dated. Call Emily with whatever you find and send her to my location.”

“Got it!” she said before ending the call. 

“Reid, what's going on?” Luke asked urgently. 

“The first couple was abducted back in late April, after she rejected a man named Hartley. He was at the restaurant we went to the night before last and was glaring daggers at me the whole time. I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that those two couples were killed so close together after that night…” Spencer told Luke quietly as they approached the house. 

Spencer just about reached for the doorknob of the house before Luke snatched his arm away and sharply whispered, “Don’t! You’re smarter than that! What’s gotten into you man?”

“It took me two days to figure out that she was the target of the unsub when it should have taken me two minutes after dinner that night! If she gets killed then that’s on my shoulders since she rejected him because of me!” Spencer whisper-shouted at him. 

“Then we need to do this right and take him down quickly and quietly. We can’t just go in guns blazing,” Luke said before releasing the grip he had on Spencer’s arm. He listened for a moment and motioned toward the back of the house, telling Spencer, “I hear two voices coming from that direction of the house. Let’s start there.”

When they got to the back of the house, your voice and a male’s voice could be heard from inside having a conversation about dinner and flowers. Luke’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he whispered to Spencer, “It doesn’t sound like she’s in danger…”

Spencer peered around the corner and risked a glance into a window, noticing how your eyes flicked in his direction before taking the conversation into the next room, making sure the man who was with you followed. So Spencer motioned for Luke to follow behind him and he noticed that this room was near a backdoor that the pair of them could use to get into the house if needed. 

That time came when, straining his ears to hear, Spencer heard you say, “Do you like literature? I think my favorite line is from Macbeth. Act one, scene five, lines 64-65.”

And with that, Spencer kicked in the door to the house and pointed his gun toward Hartley as he announced, “FBI, don’t move!” 

Luke came in shortly after Spencer, also with his gun raised as Hartley grabbed you around the waist and held the gun loosely near your head as he let out an almost maniacal laugh. When he took in the two men across the room from him, he shook his head and said, “How fitting that it’s you who came to her rescue? You two really had a connection the other night at the cafe and it made me realize that it was you this whole time! You’re the asshole who made her turn me down! You’re the reason my heart got shattered into a million pieces! It isn’t fair that someone can break a heart so easily! So she doesn’t deserve to live and neither do I because I destroyed all those families lives by killing their sons and daughters, mothers and fathers!”

“You don’t have to do this!” Luke warned the man sternly as he trained his gun on the man’s head. 

Spencer noticed Hartley’s loose grip on your waist and said your name to get your attention. Hartley warned him to shut up, but Spencer ignored him and instead locked his eyes with your terrified ones. A small reminiscent smile made its way onto his lips as he asked softly, “Remember what you told me your favorite movie was when we went on our first date?” You thought for a moment and then nodded almost frantically as Spencer said, “I want you to do the opposite of that for me, okay? Now!” 

And just as he planned, you dropped to your knees, allowing Spencer to get a clean shot on Hartley that took him down in an instant. The second that he went down, Spencer holstered his gun and ran to your side, sitting himself on the ground and against the wall as he pulled you into his chest to comfort you. While he did this, Luke kicked the gun away from Hartley’s hand and checked his pulse before quietly nodding to Spencer. 

“He’s gone, he can’t hurt anyone anymore,” Spencer whispered into your hair before kissing your head and letting you burrow into his embrace as you cried. “Breathe with me sweetheart, I’ve got you,” Spencer mumbled as he tried to calm you down, running a soothing hand up and down your back at the same pace as he wanted you to breathe. 

Minutes passed as Spencer attempted to calm you down and he was mildly successful, enough to get you out of the dining area and onto the back of the ambulance that arrived with the rest of the team. As Spencer hesitantly left your side in order to go locate any anxiety medications you may have in your medicine cabinet, Luke followed him and asked, “Dude, how did you know she was in danger?”

As Spencer pulled out a bottle and read the label, he told Luke, “Act one, scene five, lines 64-65 of Macbeth says ‘Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't.’ That was her way of saying that what looked like an innocent conversation between partners was actually a dangerous situation.” A huff of a laugh left his lips before he added, “She studied Shakespeare for fun in college and would analyze his work with me when we were together. Don’t try and get into a debate with that woman about Shakespeare, you’ll lose every time.”

“Wow… You two must have been a force when you were both at the BAU,” Luke mumbled, seemingly in awe of how easily the pair of you were able to communicate without giving anything away. 

“Hotch thought that we could somehow read each other’s minds sometimes,” Spencer confirmed with a quiet laugh as he pulled the right bottle from the shelf. 

“So what was the movie?” Luke asked curiously as he followed Spencer through the house once more, weaving through the BAU team members and your officers who were investigating the scene. 

“Up,” he replied. “I told her to do the opposite so she went down.” Luke chuckled in response before being whisked away by Emily to recount his version of what happened while Spencer went back to the ambulance to give you your anxiolytic to help you calm down. 

The next morning came after a sleepless night pacing a motel room that the sheriff had booked for you so your house could be processed and cleaned up after the events of Hartley’s takedown. When you drove up to the station there was a decent sized crowd near the door, presumably to get a sneak peek as to what happened at your house the night before. A light knock on your window made you jump and clutch at your heart as you looked over your left shoulder to see Spencer there with a small smile on his face. 

“Want some company to head inside?” he asked as he offered you a hand to help you out of the vehicle. 

“Stay close?” you asked quietly, afraid that perhaps the people in that crowd had already figured out that you were in fact the target of Hartley’s killing spree and were there because they wanted you gone… 

“Of course,” Spencer replied as he hooked your arm in his and the two of you made your way through the crowd and to the front door, ignoring all of the questions being thrown your way. 

When you got inside, you almost breathed a sigh of relief before you were approached by Tara and Emily who told you once more that they would need you in the interrogation room, but this time for an actual questioning. At the request your body stiffened as you realized that you would have to relive the situation again and without missing a beat, Spencer said, “As long as I can be in there with her.”

“Spence, you know that-” Emily started but was interrupted by Tara. 

“Let him,” she told Emily with a shake of her head. “As long as Reid doesn’t say anything to her it won’t matter if he’s in there or not, but if she needs his presence for comfort we at least should allow that.”

“Thank you,” you whispered, your muscles relaxing the slightest bit as you and Spencer began following the pair to the interrogation room. 

Once inside the cold space, you pulled your cardigan close and made sure that Spencer’s hand was held in yours before you nodded to signal that you were okay to begin. “So can you tell me what happened yesterday from your point of view?” Emily asked. 

“I left the station to clear my head after being informed that another couple had been found dead. I grabbed a few groceries and headed to my home where inside I found Hartley Rivers standing in the kitchen of my previously locked house,” you told her quietly, your voice wobbly as you spoke. 

“Did he do or say anything when you got there?” Tara asked. 

“He was…oddly calm at first. Asked what I got from the store and said that I should make the two of us a meal. Said that it was the least I could do for him after all the work he’d been doing lately,” you replied. 

“Did he elaborate on that statement?” Emily asked. 

“Not at first,” you said, “but I got him talking and he confessed to staging all of the murder-suicides in the last few months. He…he said…he said…” you trailed off as your breathing began to pick up and your leg began to bounce anxiously. 

“Take your time,” Tara said. 

“He said it was my fault…” you whispered. “He said that if I just didn’t reject him then all of those people would be alive…” The grip Spencer had on your hand tightened the slightest bit and it brought your turbulent thoughts to that feeling alone and you used it to ground yourself back to reality before clearing your throat and adding, “He told me that I was the loss of his life and that I didn’t deserve to live for what I did and neither did he. But he thought that if he got my attention in a way that wasn’t romantic gestures it would get the point across better…”

“So you're saying that he confessed to orchestrating the killings?” Emily asked. 

You nodded. “Yes. He didn’t tell me where, but…”

“Then what happened?” Tara asked gently when you didn't elaborate more. 

“I…I saw Spencer sneaking around outside so I brought the conversation to a room near an outside door and informed him that I was in danger by referencing a line from Macbeth,” you said, which earned a small smile from Emily. “When Luke and Spencer got in, Hartley grabbed me and held me at gunpoint. From there things get fuzzy because I was so scared. All I remember is Spencer asking me something so I took a knee and heard a gunshot and Hartley let go of me. I thought I got shot until I felt Spencer pull me into his lap and then my anxiety got the better of me…”

“Thank you, you did well,” Tara informed you, standing up and coming around the table to give you a squeeze on the shoulder. 

“We’ll get all of that into the right hands and then we’ll have to be on our way soon,” Emily said hesitantly as she made her way to the door. 

“I’d like to stay behind for another day or two. I’ll use vacation days,” Spencer told her immediately. “I can book myself a flight back to Virginia and do my paperwork on the way.” Emily opened her mouth for a moment and then closed it, simply nodding in response before making her way out of the room with Tara behind her. 

“You didn’t have to do that, Spence…” you whispered. 

“No, but I wanted to. I need to make sure you’re okay at least through the hardest part of this,” he informed you as he helped you stand up on your unsteady legs to leave the room. 

“Thank you,” you told him graciously, turning into him and throwing your arms around his frame in a tight embrace. 

“Of course,” he told you, the smile evident in his voice. 

After a few moments, you took a deep breath and said, “I need to make an announcement, would you mind staying with me for it?”

“I don’t mind,” he replied, following you out into the main office area where the BAU team and your officers were milling around filing away papers. 

You cleared your throat and said just loud enough to be heard over the noise, “I have an announcement I’d like to make.” When all eyes were on you, you took a deep breath and said, “I would like to thank everyone for their work on this case, both my locals and the BAU team. You all worked long and hard hours to close this case and I am very appreciative of that. Unfortunately before we could solve it, twelve people died in this town at the hands of Hartley Rivers under my watch. So with that being said I’m announcing that I will be stepping down from my position as Captain of the police division here. I made a promise to serve and protect the people of this town and after the events of this case I feel like I failed at that because I couldn’t solve it sooner and because I was the reason Hartley felt the need to do what he did. It’s been an honor to serve this town while I did, but it wouldn’t be right to continue on from here. Thank you.”

There was a stunned silence that filled the room and you quickly ducked your head and started toward your office after making eye contact with the sheriff who gave you a nod and a sad smile in response. When you got there, you grabbed a box and began slowly placing your belongings inside when you heard footsteps enter the room. “So you’re really going?” Josh asked quietly, his sadness evident in his voice. 

You nodded, which earned a sigh from Lindsey and her saying, “Man this sucks…”

“I know but… I feel like I failed this town. And once word gets out about what happened, I would be driven out of the position and the town anyway and I’d rather end it on my terms.”

The two agreed and began helping you pack up your belongings while reminiscing on some of the better days in this office. Once you seemed to run out of things to talk about, Josh asked with a smirk evident in his voice, “So…you and agent Reid huh?”

“Doctor Reid,” you informed him sternly with a quiet laugh escaping your lips. “He didn’t earn three PhDs for nothing.”

“So you’re into the smart ones,” Lindsey said teasingly as she landed an elbow into your ribs lightly. 

“I suppose so,” you said as you looked up and saw Spencer himself in the doorway. The four of you made quick work of packing up your office and before you knew it, you were being escorted out to your vehicle with Spencer’s protective arm around you as you made your way through the crowd of people who still thankfully didn’t know the truth behind everything yet. 

When you and Spencer got to your house, he helped you unload the boxes of your office items and then sat beside you on the couch after you put on a quiet instrumental record to keep there from being a deafening silence in the room. You couldn’t help your mind from wandering back to the events of not only yesterday, but of the last five months. As you did, a roaring filled your ears that was interrupted by Spencer’s voice as he asked, “Hey, what’s on your mind?”

“Too much,” you replied quietly. 

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really, but…” You sighed and in defeat relented, saying, “I guess it’s best if I do.”

“It is. And I’m right here with you,” he told you as he tentatively scooched closer on the couch and put his arm around you. Your muscles relaxed as he did this and the flood gates opened once more as you burrowed into Spencer’s side.

“I just feel like such a screw up… Twelve people with lives and families and dreams for the future are all dead because of me…” you whispered, trying to muffle the sob that escaped at the end of your statement. 

Spencer ran his hand up and down your arm for a moment before quietly asking, “If it were anyone else in your position what would you tell them?”

“What?” you asked after a few seconds, pulling away for a moment to look up at Spencer with furrowed eyebrows. 

“As the victim advocate specialist that you are, what would you say to someone else in your position?” Spencer asked and you began to see his point. “Say it was Lindsey in the center of this instead of you? You wouldn’t tell her that those people died because of her would you?”

“No…” you whispered, sagging back into his embrace with a sigh. You were quiet for a moment before replying thoughtfully, “I would tell them that they can’t control other people’s actions and feelings. That they couldn’t have known that something so simple as rejecting someone could cause such disaster. That they shouldn’t have to live in fear of this happening again so they’ll go out and live their life and not seclude themselves. That even though in the heat of the moment if the families of the victims find out the reason behind the crime that it still isn’t their fault no matter what nasty things are said to them. I would remind them that they’re a victim in this too and they deserve treatment and counseling services just like the other victims’ families…”

Spencer leaned down and kissed the crown of your head before mumbling, “Exactly. So what is making you feel like you don’t deserve to hear those things too?”

“Because I was supposed to protect all of those people and I couldn’t do my job. They shouldn’t have died in the first place. Pair that with the fact that Hartley was doing this because of me and…it makes me feel like I don’t deserve to be handled gently after everything that happened,” you told him sadly. 

“I think that just proves that you should be given more grace than anyone in this situation,” Spencer says. 

“I just don’t feel like I’m deserving to be cared for after everything…” 

“Well I guess I’m just going to have to prove your anxiety wrong,” Spencer said and you could hear the smile in his voice as he pulled you impossibly closer in what seemed like an attempt to bring all of your broken pieces back together. 

Later that day after finally getting through all of your emotions about your now totally uprooted life and watching your comfort movie with Spencer, you started to feel a bit lighter. So as you made dinner for the two of you, you sang quietly to the music coming from your record player as Spencer helped where he could with the meal. While you were standing at the stovetop stirring the food, he came up behind you and gently wrapped his arms around your waist and swayed to the music playing. “I missed this…” he admitted quietly, his voice and body relaxed. 

“Me too,” you replied, a small smile on your face and tears prickling the backs of your eyes. 

You were afraid to ask Spencer what happened next after he left back to Virginia and you went…where? You still hadn’t decided what you wanted to do for work after you just resigned and where would that land you in the country? You weren’t sure how well- “Hey,” he said, squeezing you slightly to bring you back to reality. “You’re getting lost again.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” you replied, going back to stirring the nearly complete stir fry. “I just have a lot on my mind still is all…”

“Like what?” he asked, stopping his swaying to focus on your conversation. 

“What do I do for work now? There’s no way I’ll get a job in any of the surrounding counties and I’m afraid of even getting into that position again because that is so much responsibility I don’t feel ready to handle again after what happened here…”

“Have you thought about coming back to the FBI?” Spencer asked. “I know that the BAU was a cause for a lot of stress on you, so maybe you could see if there are any victim advocate positions available in other departments? Or maybe go back to your SVU department?”

“I have enough in the bank to take a month or so off from work to sort things out mentally but… I think once I figure myself out again, being an advocate again would be rewarding and now that I have a unique perspective on things…” Maybe it was time to move back to Virginia…

“I think you would do great,” Spencer replied, releasing you from his arms before reaching for the plates you had been warming to place the food on. You still had a faraway look in your eyes, even you could tell, so you weren’t surprised when he asked, “What else is on your mind?”

You didn’t reply as you plated the food and made your way to the table, trying to figure out the best way to discuss the topic at hand. You couldn’t figure out a graceful way to ask, so you let out a heavy sigh as you gestured between yourself and Spencer and asked quietly, “Spence… What is this? What is going on between us right now? The hugs, the kisses, the comforting touches. Is it just because of the case? Is it because you feel bad for me?” Guilt at the last bit began to crawl its way up your spine and you felt your throat closing up slightly as you said, barely above a whisper, “I’m sorry I’m just scared right now…”

“Hey, it’s okay,” he assured you, reaching over and grabbing your hand gently and rubbing comforting circles onto it with his thumb. Clearing his throat, Spencer admitted, “At first it was habitual. It felt like an instinct to comfort you because that’s what I did all those years, but…but then I realized that I didn’t just want to provide you with physical comfort. I wanted to protect you. I wanted to hold you until all of your fears and doubts went away. I just…I want you back.” At those last words, your eyes darted up to meet Spencer’s hopeful ones. A smile fell onto his face as he finished, “Please. I want you back in my life and if that can’t be as your boyfriend right now I understand that, but I just want to be in your life somehow. It took me a while to realize that I never stopped loving you and it took me seeing you to realize that if I want you back I need to fight for it and prove to you that taking me back won’t be a mistake.”

“Taking you back would never be a mistake,” you mumbled, a smile making its way onto your face as you scooted closer to Spencer on the dining table’s bench. 

“I’m glad to hear that,” Spencer whispered as his hand ghosted its way up your arm, landing on your cheek to hold you for a moment before asking, “May I kiss you?”

“Of course,” you replied with a slight nod before your lips were enveloped into the most tender kiss Spencer had ever given you. A feeling of warmth ran up your spine as you relaxed into the kiss, your hands wandering up to hook around the back of Spencer’s neck to pull him closer. 

All too soon, the kiss was over and Spencer pulled away to rest his forehead on yours before telling you, “I love you. And I never want to lose you again.”

“You won’t,” you promised before leaning back in for another kiss, the stir fry going forgotten on the table as you lost yourself in Spencer’s love and affection. 

thank you for getting this far, I appreciate you for reading! Don't forget to like and comment! <3

[livencorazon]

I wrote to as an anon on this blog once, I already forgot the name of the blog but I do remember what I wrote since I have them on my drafts. Anyways...

It's a DC x DP fanfic, of the GIW being good guys and actually training the residents in the Amity Park once abilities started appearing because of the ecto-contamination of the town. Of course everyone in the town are Ecto-Contaminated, but Danny's Class are more than Liminal, and they're not exactly normal people (outside of their liminality, that is). I managed to at least write 1,900 something words of the idea.

Contaminated

Danny stared blankly. Tucker choked on what he was eating with Star quickly patting his back. Sam sighs alongside Paulina. Wes whimpered, hiding his face. Dash hit his head on his desk. The rest just stared. Lancer groaned at the side.

It was not a reaction the people in front of the class expected. James Howard was the head of the Martha Wayne Foundation, he oversee the foundation and made it part of his work to deliver the news in person. It was the reason why he and his group came to Amity Park. It was odd when he received the paper, it was filled with nonsense at the same time it made sense. Besides, they're better than the rest so they got the Free Trip.

"I take it it's not a good news?" James sighs which snapped everyone out of their spiral.

"NO!" He jumped at their shout and stared bemusedly.

"Mister Howard, this class was not supposed to win... It would cause problems..." He stared at the teacher blankly before breathing in and stared at the Class.

"Raise your hand if you have any relation with the Rogues of Gotham or any enemy of the Batclan, or anyone at Gotham, at all," He toned and didn't blink seeing hands raised. Gesturing at one of them, he waited patiently.

"Not Batman but Superman... My father is his... Archenemies," The girl hesitantly says and he could feel their eyes judging his reaction heavily. There's no doubt that if he reacted negatively, he'll find himself thrown outside.

"I see, what's your name miss?" He asks, taking out his Waynetech Tablet.

"Paulina Alexandria Luthor, sir," He nods before gesturing to another one.

"Wes Weston, sir. The Riddler is my maternal uncle," He nods and typed that down.

"Tucker Foley, sir. Commissioner Gordon is my maternal uncle," He hums and nods.

"Sam Manson, sir, Poison Ivy is my older half-sister," He made an acknowledging sound.

"Dale Thomas, sir, Duke Thomas is my second cousin,"

"Star Al Ghul, sir. Yes...those Al Ghuls... I'm related to them through Grandfather Ra's eldest son,"

"Theodore Drake, sir, Timothy Drake-Wayne is my older twin brother," That earned gasps from the rest of the class and even James looked up, only to withheld a sigh as Theo proceeded to remove his mask. Of course, the younger twin would have the Drake thinking and hid his appearance well.

"Garrett Crowne, sir. Richard Grayson-Wayne is my... Clone?" James stared blankly as he typed that down.

"Jackson Todd. I'm his twin brother," Jackson said and James nodded, immediately knowing which brother he was talking about.

"Kwan Napier... My father is Joker,"

James Howard nodded as he typed that down and close his tablet. He pinch the bridge of his nose before looking up to.

"Was that the reason why you deliberately made a mess of the paper?" He asks and one of the girls raised his hand.

"We're also not sure if we are allowed in the city, sir. We're all more than Liminals here, we have superpowers. We know how the Bats dislike those with superpowers in his city," She explained earning nods.

"Right. But that's only because they refuse to fight mind controlled, overpowered children," He explains.

"Besides, I did my own research, you children could handle yourself than the other schools who wanted to go to Gotham for shits and giggles," He dryly says.

He handed out slips of paper before reminding them of the itinerary. He gave a few more warnings before leaving, but not after leaving his number to be used just in case of emergency. He nodded at the men in White suits guarding the school and left for the gates.

Seems like Amity Park is another Gotham, but not that bad. James has a lot for things to report to the CEO.

Back to the classroom, there was chaos at the sudden reveal. It suddenly made sense for everyone involved, they only quietened down when Danny whistled sharply.

"Alright, since secrets are out, let's all plan what are we going to do in Gotham,"

"Let's just go with the flow. Knowing our luck, the itinerary won't be followed," Paulina huffs earning laughs from the rest.

"Like that trip in Nanda Parbat," Star dryly says earning groans from the rest, recalling that particular field trip. It was a mess in epic proportions but they got a weird grandfather out of it. A very rich grandfather who still sent them allowance every week.

"What hotel did you choose?" Lancer curiously asks and Danny smiles.

"Grandfather hijacked my selection and decided that Raal Hotel would be better," He said in amusement making the rest snort.

"That's his hotel, isn't it?"

They broke out into laughter before they decided to simply mingle around.

THE NEXT DAY

James Howard raised an eyebrow when the Class turned up. They're not wearing bright colors nor dark, but neutral colors it seems, and they wore hair clips in their heads, even the males, it looked like it was customized and cared for.

He nodded in greeting and they chirped back their own replies. He tilted his head at how unhuman sound it was, then remembered the pamphlet he received from those guys in white when he arrived in the town of the people no longer being human due to exposure and then shrugged.

"Mister James, you should wear this, so we're the same!" Star chirped and he accepted the hair clip. He eyed it for a moment before clipping it on his hair earning cheers from the rest. He chuckled and ushered them towards the private plane.

"Mister Wyane agreed to my request of borrowing his private plane for this. While I know you have control of your superpowers, I also know you like it if you're not hiding them," He said with a soft smile. He laughed when the moment they entered the plane, they started floating around. It says a lot of the training the crew had that they didn't flinch.

He blinked when they decided to fuse some glowing green goop all around the plane and looked at Lancer for explanation.

"Since they're more than Liminal, bordering Ghost, there's a high possibility that the plane would glitch. This way, everyone is safe. Let Mr. Wayne know though, he might react negatively that his plane is... Haunted," He explains and James nodded, already typing away on his Amity Phone. Negative energy and all that causes glitches so he has to buy a new phone from the town itself. And he had to send another piece for the CEO when the man practically begged to have one.

Receiving an affirmative, he gave the man a small smile and a thumbs up before settling down on his own seat. When the plane is in the air, he simply sat as the students started wandering around.

Or in case of Garrett and Theo, cartwheeling on the aisle.

He chuckled and activated the Wayne Kids code. The plane was designed to keep passengers entertained, designed by one Richard Grayson-Wayne, putting his siblings in mind. He watched as students stilled before some went straight to the shelves filled with books, some went to the area filled with board games then some went to the game station. He eyed their teacher who was fast asleep, wearing noise canceling earphones and his eyes covered.

He decided to quietly watched over them in the mean time.

Arriving at the airport, James sighed when he saw a few Rogues milling around. And despite wearing a disguise, people could still identify them. He hid his laugh seeing how the Class eyed them dubiously, some even facepalmed and groaning in their hands. Still, they did not approach the Class even if he ushered them to the mini bus. James raised an eyebrow to the driver who grinned and winked.

"Alright kiddos, for the duration of your field trip, I'll be your only driver. No substitutes and all, and even there is, I'll let your teacher and Sir Howard know. The names Jay," He said with a grin.

"Now what's the name of your hotel?" He asks.

"Raal Hotel!" Jackson chirped, not knowing the other class was eyeing Jay and Jackson discreetly. He gave kudos to the man who didn't outwardly react other than nodding and starting the bus.

"Everyone, control them for the duration of the drive," Lancer reminded making everyone nod and took out things. James realized it was to keep them calm and distracted. He looked at Lancer curiously who sighs.

"As long anything works on electricity, it affects them," He said making him hum and nod in understanding. Arriving at the hotel, he chuckled when the children practically ran out, some exited through the window before they started jumping on their toes.

Lancer sighed and nodded at them. In no time, they disappeared. James, Jay, and the discreet guards looked towards Lancer who smiles and gestured for them to head inside. They were then led to one of the rooms by a receptionist when Lancer asked for the visual room, a room with multiple screens that soon lit up the moment Lancer pressed a button.

"What are they doing?" He couldn't help but ask as he look at the Children that split off.

"Burning off the excess energy," Lancer says pointing at one Samantha Manson, who was growing a lot of green on another side of Gotham. Tucker Foley was by the beach making huge sand castles. Dale was in the sky, shooting light making it look like lightning.

He'll have to tell the Bats to ease their paranoia. He mused eyeing the rest of the children.

A few minutes later, they all disappeared from the cameras, Lancer then ushered them to the lobby and waited. The first to enter were Paulina and Star. Both wore different clothes than they wore a while ago and had handful of shopping bags.

"Don't worry, Mister Lancer, we did pay for them," Star says with a huff earning a fond eye roll from him.

The next to arrive were Dash, Kwan, Wes, and Dale. Dash was carrying two closed boxes while Dale was carrying three. Wes was only holding one and Kwan has two.

"They keep appearing in my direction!" Wes was quick to say when Lancer pointed the box filled with grappling hooks and shurikens.

"I hope you don't hand them out to your classmates, hm? They're destructive as it is, no need to add weapons in their arsenal," Wes nodded with a blush, his face turning green. James didn't blink at that he already saw them back in Amity, how even their blood has a tigne of green.

Valerie, Garrett, and Theodore stomped inside and Lancer readily opened his arms to which the trio went and slumped, switching to their small forms and curling up around the man.

Tucker arrived smiling sheepishly as sand followed his steps. Sam arrived cradling a plant and smiling innocently at Lancer who merely shook his head.

When Danny and Jackson arrived, everyone in the class stared and Lancer sighs.

"Danny, JJ, why do you have a child?" Lancer asks and Danny giggles hugging the child close with Jackson doing the same.

"Mine," They hissed and Lancer sighs.

~

Somehow, the child multiplied overnight and Lancer was used to it that he ushered the group to a mall to buy new things. Danny and Jackson with the help of Garrett and Theodore, the four children made sure to hold the hands of the kids who were swimming in the clothes they wear. Star and Paulina alongside Sam was gleeful in picking out clothes. Kwan, Dale, and Dash was behind them pushing the carts. Valerie, Wes, and Tucker was busy with shopping grocery.

The Gothamites gleefully scanned their purchases, if those kids were Gothamites and some assassins, well, good for them. It's pretty clear the kids are loaded, with how willing they are to spend a lot just for clothes. Good for them.

[elsa-fogen]

Who's idea was to give me imagination with adhd? now suffer from it i guess

so, thanks to @calissarowan 's post about how season 8 could've been better and discussion in replies, i started thinking of the second set of headcanons, that doesn't throw away season 8 entierly, but instead takes parts that have more potential and, well, uses said potential. Also, i'm taking some things from my main headcanons, like Icy's parents and siblings and adding Sapphire to the pile

i was also thinking about how i hate the idea of Icy's hair color not being natural, and how stupid it is to give her golden hair, and how the color reminds me of stella and her mom

and them my thoughts collided and i thought.

what if Icy's mom and Stella's mom were sisters.

NOW, IMAGINE THE EPISODE, WHERE ICY'S BACKSTORY IS REVEALED.

Winx and Trix for some reason go to Dyamond at the same time, but without knowing that the other group went there. And while Icy's over the top aggression is understandable to Darcy and Stormy - she hides her sorrow behind it, for the Winx Stella's sudden sadness is a surprise.

Darcy and Stormy know that something bad happened to Icy's homeplanet, but she never told them everything, so, now she finally decides to tell. At the same time the Winx ask Stella why she's so sad. And Stella tels them that her aunt was the queen of this planet. While they go through abandoned palace, she tells how she used to play with her two cousins in these halls, while Icy tells about her older siblings. The scene switches between the two groups and Icy's and Stella's stories complement each other, while not making it clear WHO was Stella's cousin.

Finally the Winx reach one hall where big portrait of the royal family can be found.

Winx look at it, and the queen for some reason awfuly reminds them of someone, but they can't understand. Stella meanwhile shows all the children and calls their names (all of these were in Icy's part of the story), and finally she's down to the two younger princesses, the cousins she used to play, and she can't remember the name of the older one. "Isa? No, that's the other one, umm... Inee? Ivy?.. Oof, it's been so long ago, i forgot! I think, i used to call her Ivy, yes, and this is..." But Bloom looks at the princess, at her smirk. She feels like she has seen this smirk before, and it almost makes her uncomfortable. And these icy-blue eyes, while all the rest of the family has grey or dark blue eyes... and these bluish-gray hair... Bloom knows the answer, but doesn't want to realise it, and plays stupid to herself.

And at this moments the Trix appear. Icy has unusual soft and sad expression on her face, that disappears the moment she sees the Winx. "What are you doing here, stupid fairies?!" For some reason her voice trembles from anger and hatred more than usual, almost like Winx did something that hurt her personally.

Bloom finally admits to herself and says to Stella: "Her name was Icy". Stella looks at Bloom, not quite understanding what she's talking about. But then she realises, she looks at Icy shocked, and Icy suddenly looks at her with the same expression. And they scream simultaneously: "YOU ARE MY COUSIN?!!"

But this realisation doesn't stop Icy from wanting to kill all the Winx, and when the fight is about to begin... Sapphire appears and stops them.

Icy's shocked, she thought that all of her family was gone, and Sapphire tell her that it's, in fact, not true. And actually, all of her family is alive too, and the whole planet is, they are just cursed. Icy's stunned, she lived so many years thinking that she was the only survivor, and now turned out that it's not true. And that her planed can be saved. Bloom says that the same thing happened to Domino and suggests her help? Maybe? Honestly, I'm not sure how the story will progress from this moment.

[marymary-diva17]

Your my daughter Ma ite

There was not only one sully that had came to pandora, as there was another they came as well. A child that daughter of Jake sully had been taken, to pandora with her father as there was little left for her on earth. Along with a father who didn't wish to leave behind the child he loves and care for so much. When they arrived on pandora that when their new lives had started.

y/n " ......" you are sitting on the grass while watching your three younger siblings and cousin playing around, you had been a only child when you came here but soon gained three siblings and mother later on.

????? " y/n"

y/n " hello kiri"

kiri " can I sit by your he boys are playing to rough for me"

y/n " sure you can kiri"

kiri " what are you playing with y/n"

y/n " my song chord"

kiri ' your song chord is so different from everyone in the family"

y/n " well that because we all have experienced different miles stones in life" you had become happy when your dad told you that you were going to become a big sister, it made you happy even on the day when Jake told you neytiri had become your new mom. Jake knew you didn't have a good relationship with your brith mother, or barely any relationship with her at all.

kiri " hey what are you making"

y/n " well some bracelets for the whole family even baby tuk"

lo'ak " why does she need a bracelet she just a baby"

y/n " well because she my siblings I made you one when you were a baby, same with all of you as well"

neteyam " we love them"

lo'ak " It very funny on how some of the clan thinks neteyam is the oldest sully kids, when it your big sister"

kiri ' it because she human dummy and doesn't have a avatar body stupid"

y/n "hey be nice you two"

kiri & lo'ak " yes big sister"

y/n " I hope one day I will get a avatar body verse waving this mask all day"

kiri " well I think you are beautiful as human y/n"

y/n " thank you now come on we need to get home before mom get worried"

spider " hey my dads said I can stay out a bit longer"

y/n " haha very funny walk monkey boy" the boys laugh as you had shoved spider in front to walk, and soon the group did what you said as you are the oldest. The kids had soon reached the village and started walking towards their homes.

navi women " I still can't believe neytiri had taken in toruk makto daughter, from the sky people"

navi man " she tries to dress like us but she will never be one of us"

navi women 2 " toruk makto should of left her in the care of those others, as she started a new life with neytiri he didn't need his past holding him back"

navi women 3 " I hear that neytiri was speaking with the tshaik, in a private meeting they were speaking about her I think they are going to convince Jake sully on leaving her with tsu'tey mate for good"

navi man 2 " her being her mess up the line of succession for olo'eykthan family"

navi women 4 " she will never inherited anything with her demon blood and looks, she mocks neytiri by represent Jake old mate and life" your had become use to the gossip of grown adults as a very young age, knowing a small amount of the clan didn't accept you and other humans. It seems like your siblings and spider were to far ahead to hear any of the words being spoken.

kiri " hey sister come on mom said she will make the family favorite tonight"

y/n " oh coming" the kids had reach their home after escorting spider home.

neytiri " hello children welcome home"

kids " hello"

y/n " hi" all the kids sat down when you soon felt someone grab onto your thigh.

y/n " heu tuk tuk"

neytiri " tuk tuk"

y/n " yes I gave her that nickname and she seems to like it" you had picked up tuk and place her in your lap. neytiri smiles at all of the kids as she makes dinner.

neteyam " mom we had a good day with y/n today she took us to the river"

neytiri " oh did she I hope you all were behaving for her"

y/n " they were all good we can take tuk next time to give you a break"

neytiri " sure let me think about it" you had nodded your head as you play with tuk and your siblings.

Jake " hello everyone I home"

neytiri " welcome home ma Jake"

kids " hey dad"

Jake " y/n will you be staying for dinner with us or will norm be calling you to base for dinner"

y/n " I will stay if you all will have me"

neytiri " you are welcome here my dear"

y/n " thank you"

kiri " hey mom what with all the leather and beads in that basket"

neytiri " oh they are for something I'm making that all"

lo'ak " it look like clothes mama who are making clothes for, it seems like a girl"

Jake " kids leave it be your mother will tell us in time" your younger siblings had sighed as you shook your head, you did wonder what neytiri was making. Dinner was wondering but there had been times when you caught neytiri looking at you, but when she noticed you were looking back she will look away and attend to your siblings.

Jake " kids say goodnight to your sister I will be walking her home"

kids " bye y/n"

y/n " bye everyone thank you for having me over for dinner neytiri" neytiri had nodded her head as she grabbed the basket and soon, went into the room she shared with your dad. Jake and you are now walking home together.

Jake " is everything okay sweetie you were not talking at much at dinner"

y/n " no everything is good dad"

Jake " you know you can be honest with me baby girl so tell, me what the matter"

y/n " I know you and neytiri have been tougher for a long time now, but do you think she gets bother if I call her mom or mother"

Jake " what makes you think that"

y/n " well I have overheard some the other navi talking about me, saying that your should of left me in the past and that I might be adding stress to neytiri .... I ask to watch tuk for her for while so she can get a break and time to herself an it seems like she didn't like that idea"

y/n " the clan wonders why you didn't just leave me in the care of norm, and move on with the new family you had been giving"

Jake " I was over heard mo'at and neytiri have been talking about you, but either one of them wish to tell me about it"

y/n " dad if I'm making home uncomfortable for you I can stay at base, it will be better and you favoring me will not settle well with the other clans and this one"

Jake " baby girl you are my first child I love you"

y/n " I love you to dad but I don't want to bring harm to the family"

Jake " I wish for no harm to come to you as well I know you are the oldest, but you can stay here util I know it safe for you to be at village for long times ... same thing for spider I will not stand for any more of this bullying I will handle this"

y/n " yes dad"

Jake " good and maybe one day you will have an avatar body like your old man, and then there will be no stopping you"

y/n " I will really love that dad so much." Jake soon smiled, brought you into a hug, and kissed your forehead.

norm "There you are kiddo I was going to come looking for you"

jake "No need to worry norm we were just having a conversation, head inside baby girl I need to have some words with your uncle"

y/n " yes Dad goodnight I will be in my bedroom room or the common area"

norm "Thanks, kid. Spider is inside waiting" You nodded your head and walked into the base as the door closed behind you as you watched your dad and uncle talk. It seems very serious by your father's stance and how she was moving his hands as well. Jake had always been worried about you and wanted to make sure, you had a good life and a relationship with the family as well. He didn't want you to be through heartbreak again like in the past when to his ex. He had made a promise to keep you safe and love you, and he will never let that promise go.

many weeks later

y/n "Okay, whoever gets to the mark will be the winner of the game and the best climber for the remaining of the month." You are looking at your siblings and spider as they prepare to race each other.

y/n " I want a fair game if I see any rule-breaking none of you win"

kids " yes"

y/n "Okay, ready, set ... go go" the four kids had race towards the tree and started climbing as you watch from the bottom, with tuk on your back.

neteyam " I'm the winner"

lo'ak " no fair you are the second oldest and taller then us all"

neteyam " it fair baby brother"

spider " we should gave a do over"

kiri " yes a do over"

y/n " neteyam wins he got there first and grabbed the mark he the winner"

lo'ak/spider/kiri " oww"

y/n " come on we can do sometimes else that will make us all happy" the kids soon come down and they soon joined you and tuk on the ground, as the group soon walked elsewhere and sat down. In a place between the village and the human base as well.

lo'ak " hey why havant you and spider been spending that much, time at the village with us"

y/n " we have been sticking close to home most days under uncle from and dad orders"

spider " yes there have been some issues that have come up, that need to be handle"

neteyam " what type of issues we can help solve them so you both, can have meals with us along with uncle norm as well"

y/n " this is adult business that what dad had said well most of it"

kiri " oh well we can come have meals with everyone at base, it will be fun"

y/n " we have to ask permission first before we do anything" your siblings had nodded their heads in agreement, the rest of your dad with your siblings had gone well.

later on that night

Jake " so kids how was your day"

neteyam " it was fun day we got to spend time with y/n and spider, we had a race she was the referee for us"

Jake " that was nice of her"

lo'ak " neteyam won"

neteyam " I won fair and square"

lo'ak " fine"

kiri " dad can we go have a sleepover with y/n one night beauty please"

Jake " let wait for your mom to get home and see what she has to say"

neytiri " I'm home I brought home a good caught for dinner"

kids " mom"

neytiri " well it seems like you all had a good day with your sister, where is y/n will be joining us for dinner"

Jake " no she will be eating at base with norm and spider"

neytiri " oh"

neteyam " y/n did a great job on watching tuk mama"

Neytiri " that good of her we have to have her over one night for dinner, and to stay over this is her home ma Jake"

Jake " yes we should" the family had ate dinner but it was easy to say there was something off, with the whole situation. When the kids had went off to bed, Neytiri had deiced to have some words with Jake.

neytiri “ ma Jake may we talk”

Jake “sure honey what the matter”

neytiri “ I was wondering when will y/n be coming home, she hasn’t been here so long the village and home not the same without her”

Neytiri “ spider as well he is missed along as well, Tsu’tey misses having his son at his home”

Jake “ I had some words with norm and max along with the kids, and we don’t think it safe for them to be here right now”

neytiri “ what do you mean ma Jake we have extra oxygen for them in the village”

Jake “ there seems to be some underlying issues coming from the clan members, as they don’t seem to like the pair”

Neytiri “ what else ma Jake”

Jake “ Neytiri I can handle it form here”

Neytiri “ no Jake you will tell me what has happened, y/n is my daughter as well and if anyone bother here then I will deal with them”

Jake “Okay I will tell you y/n has overheard some members of the clan speaking poorly about her, questioning why you have taken her as my daughter and why I have kept her as my daughter”

Neytiri “ ……”

Jake “They also mentioned how they had seen you speaking with your mother about the topic of y/n” 

Neytiri “ ……”

Jake “ I had thought it would be best for y/n to stay at the base until, I can find out a solution”

Neytiri “ Jake, I mean no harm to y/n I love her as my daughter and will do anything to protect her, she always helping out around the home and clan”

Jake “What else? You sound worried”

Neytiri “Well, she human mostly everything her can hurt her, and I'd rather not see her or spider get hurt”

Jake “Oh Neytiri”

Neytiri “those things the kids have spotted that night, had been something I been making for her” neytiri soon reviled some clothes she had made, for you some of them human sizes and others Navi sizes.

Neytiri “ I heard the scientists talking about making, avatar bodies for y/n and I wanted to make her clothes that will make her fit in and loved”

Jake “ oh neytiri why didn’t you tell me ahead of time”

Neytiri “ I wanted to surprise you ma Jake and y/n”

Jake “ well she going to love it neytiri”

Neytiri “ we will still need to deal with the others on how they will be treating y/n, in the future as I will not let this happen anymore”

Jake “ I agree but right now let’s go speak to our daughter and have her home” the next day neytiri and Jake came by the base to speak with you. 

y/n " so you don't hate me or wish me gone"

neytiri " no I don't and I will deal with the others but you are my daughter ma ite, and you will always be my daughter no matter what happens"

y/n " thanks mom"

neytiri " I will do my best as a mother to you and make sure no harm comes to you or your siblings"

y/n " thank you"

Jake " so will you be coming home again as you are missed very much"

y/n " yes"

Jake " good baby girl and now if anything like this happens again we will handle it like a family"

y/n " yes dad"

????? " aww you are stepping on my foot"

????? " well move your foot"

Jake ' kids you all can come out now we know you are there by now" your siblings soon came out, kiri and lo'ak fighting while neteyam was holding tuk.

neteyam " big sister are you coming home because I need your help, when it comes to dealing with them"

y/n " yes I will" you had taken tuk from neteyam and held her smiling brightly.

Jake " see baby girl we are a family no matter what anyone says" the family had hugged each other very happy, about what had unfolded right now. As you had learn that day that neytiri loves you as a daughter no matter what happens, you will always be her child and she will defend you as her child.

[hers-underwraps]

They are all literally just a little Desert family

(Because they're both from deserts (Australia and the Artic)

Look guys, they're all one big family and you can't convince me otherwise

Let me explain

First you've got the father-daughter relationship between Natquik and Dashi. They go on so many missions together and Natquik adores Dashi so much. He's even got a photo of her hanging up on the wall in his den!

She's always out there doing supply runs in risky weather, doing Artic research and they even set out on a lil mission with just the two of them to check out seismic activity! It really helps affirm the father-son relationship with Natquik and Barnacles. Look at how happy they are when dropping him off.

They're just like "Bye Dad!"

The way Dashi and Natquik always talk to each other out of genuine interest/concern as well! For example when Natquik's calling about the fox situation and Dashi says "What the Captain meant to say is how are you enjoying your vacation" or when Natquik calls them to check that dashi got home safely and had some hot coco. They are just the cutest!

Second, you've got the Koshi and Barnacles big brother-little sister relationship. These two are such a wholesome duo because I feel like these two are just on the same frequency. Also the fact that Koshi is always stealing Barnacles's mannerism (e.g. pose/catchphrase) very much reminds me of younger sibling behaviour.

The way Koshi is able to talk to Barnacles like they are equals and call him out on stuff makes their dynamic a lot more fluid.

Barnacles is definitely able to take off his "children serious" filter and can be a little bit more like himself around her. For example, in the raven's episode where he says "A conspiracy, you mean they're plotting against us?!?!" and Koshi says "Nah, you know that's what you call a group of raven's."

Also when they do their little bluff with the raven's it's so funny because two aren't naturally the best actors (ngl Barnacles's acting is abysmal have you seen the bald ibis episode).

These two have definitely got something wrong with them but they are also so obsessed with learning and understanding other behaviour and I think they have an unspoken bond over that which I think is really neat.

Third, we've also got this rarepair Tracker and Koshi duo! They lowkey give me “omg it’s my favourite cousin” vibes because they instantly click really well. These two get an entire episode together (the billabong mystery) and they are such a good combo. Between their shared excess knowledge and wits they work well together.

Koshi invited Tracker to go and study Australian birds (also I love that she knew that he loved birds) and they both end up causing a bit of chaos. Koshi also helps Tracker by showing him the ropes of Australia is great to see.

The "Home Run" moment for me in terms of their dynamic was when Koshi gave Tracker her mystery sister's notebook to write their adventure in. This book means a lot to Koshi, she takes it everywhere and she usually uses it to write about her adventures with Dashi. So for her to give it over to Tracker meant that they’d formed a pretty strong bond.

Tracker taking the time and care to write their adventure in her notepad shows that he really likes Koshi as well. These two are the duo I never knew I needed.

Fourth, speaking of Tracker admittedly, he and Dashi haven't had a great deal of interactions, most of them being computer calls. Their relationship is definitely one that's formed around mutual friends. If I were going to put a label on it I'd say they're giving off that "third cousin that I see once every few years but also happens to know everything about me" vibe.

Their most notable interaction was their first call in the deep freeze special. Tracker definitely takes a liking to Dashi (as to what type of liking that is based on his tone...) but generally, they seem to have positive interactions in the calls they do share.

Tracker said it was “really nice to meet you” and honestly it would be really nice if these two get an episode together in the next season of Above and Beyond.

Fifth, obviously we've got the Dashi and Barnacles power duo here. Their bond is probably the foundation of this little desert family. Ironically I also don’t want to put a label on it because theirs so many ways to go about interpreting it (I could go into a deeper dive for them but that’s for another post…).

These two have genuinely been in the trenches together. They were quite literally parenting the original squad in the original series and they now share major leadership roles in above and beyond. They’re got each others backs, they’re keeping everyone (including each other) alive and managed.

They express so much genuine concern for each other and are usually there as when the other is in strife. Barnacles is literally having a full on mini meltdown when Dashi first flying to Natquik, clearly they mean something to each other. Whether it’s a “trauma bond so strong we founded a family” or “Bestied so hard our families combined” situation these two are like this 🤞.

There are also other examples I could talk about like Koshi and the cubs hanging out and getting along nicely or characters that aren't probably going to get a chance to interact like Koshi and Natiquik since Natquik never leaves the Artic and I highly doubt Koshi has a reason to go there but my point still stands. These two "families" of characters have had several interactions and entire episodes dedicated to them to the point where it could almost be interpreted as a deliberate choice. Nearly all above-and-beyond episodes with Professor Natquik feature Dashi. Tracker and Koshi got an entire episode dedicated to them despite having limited interactions before. There are also several episodes that feature a 2 artic + 1 aus trio or 1 aus + 1 artic in them.

The nail on this coffin for me personally for the desert families was definitely the "Artic Blizzard" episode with "Billabong Mystery" further solidifying it.

For example, take this scene where Dashi's first priority is making sure that the cubs are ok once the wolves are scared away instead of running to see if Barnacles is ok. She understands that the cubs are vulnerable and highly protected members of the "Artic family" hence genuinely worries about them despite them not being her own "Blood" family, which is what most of them are more naturally inclined to do.

She's worried about their safety throughout the whole thing and has to entirely place her trust entirely in Natquik and Tracker as most other options are not viable due to the nature of the Artic.

(Also off topic, Dashi driving into the wolves honking at them and shouting on the speaker to get away from the polar bears was so in the character of her I genuinely giggled)

Thinking about this from a practical perspective, some octonauts/agents would be far better suited to handle missions in the Arctic, yet Dashi is chosen by the writers reoccurring in these adventures which I think is a great way to allude and represent the struggles of family. The trusting in them to show a new culture, to get you to safety, the fear surrounding unfamiliarity and anxieties surrounding acceptance when you are completely out of your depths is illustrated through the forming the "desert family"

This idea is then continued in the Billabong mystery episode where it's Tracker having to trust Koshi in an alien environment. Furthermore, the episode is told through a flashback, which gives Tracker the power of having the dominant narrative voice. His recalling of the events, despite being filled with mishaps and miscommunication leading to problems is generally positive. This episode can give insights into the importance of forming strong and positive connections with others when learning to adjust to the many complications and quirks that come with families. By being able to create a sense of belonging for others within the preexisting family structure in an organic way (e.g. by using commonalities and demonstrating both the highs and lows), the idea of the "desert family" being an intentional choice.

Also, I love how the stronger bonds with the "desert family" structure are upheld throughout the group interactions. They had all three of them lined up and proud of the cubs during the badge ceremony. They could've left them out and made it a personal thing with just the cubs and barnacles but they instead chose to celebrate family achievements with the whole (which we love to see). Furthermore, looking at the snowball fight, for example, they all instinctively split up into teams (Dashi+Natquik) vs (Tracker+Barnacles) vs (The Cubs) which I think is just stinking adorable and has also been repeatedly shown as a strong duo with "familiarly connotations" in previously episodes.

So that's why I think these guys are a "Desert family" and I think that this should be appreciated more.

I have a method to the madness. No this is not some delirious delusion, but I think an intentional choice in order to educate others on complex topics in accessible ways and further develop the characters.

Now, all thats left to do is hope for an episode of all of them together!

Peace out!

<3

[stubz]

"Hey Fenrir? What's the protocol on roughhousing?" asks the human looking up at the busy orc. Polishing his newly crafted warhammer.

"Headshots are okay for those older than 10 but no aiming for the eyes. No biting or hairpulling or hits below the belt. Keep the fighting on the field. Stop at first blood or when the other says 'stop' or they give up."

"Got it!"

"If you need anything check the shed!"

.

"Hey Fen, where's Max?"

"He's out training with my siblings and cousins." He looks at the steel, his reflection looking perfectly back at him.

"Training? Like running?"

"No, sparring lessons. He seemed quite excited about it." He leans down to nuzzle the much smaller human.

"Fen."

"Yes love?"

"What exactly did Max tell you he was doing?" the orc looks at her bemused.

"Well, he asked me what the rules were for roughhousing, which I told him, and then he left to go spar with them. Oh and I told him where the sparring weapons are."

"...Fen, roughhousing is play fighting for humans. Not sparring. Just play wrestling. Not actual training with sparring weapons."

"...oh shit."

..

They arrive just in time to watch Max suplexing Fenrir's younger brother to the ground. The teenage orc slams to the ground but is quick to wrestle out of the human's grip.

From opposite sides comes two other teenage orcs. Together they body slam the human while he's still on the ground.

Kim sucks in a breath through her teeth wincing. Fenrir takes a step forward.

The human waves him off though. For he had managed to capture one of the twins upon impact. She was stuck in a headlock and now being used as a meat shield.

From there he managed to stand up with her but was soon overpowered once again.

...

By the end Max was the last one standing although barely. He had just stayed up a second longer than the twins.

Together the human and orcs laid there in the field covered in bruises and dirt. All of them satisfied and rather pleased at a well done sparring session.

"Well it's a good thing they wrestled."

"Are you sure roughhousing doesn't mean the same here as it does on Earth?"

"Eh still no? I mean we do wrestle but don't use weapons."

"Love, Max just used Nyx as a weapon against Echo and Baldur."

"I still don't know how you did that." muttered Nyx.

"Yeah but that's normal!" sputtered the red faced Kim.

"He threw my sister at me! Threw her on top of me!"

"We're like the exact same height as him.." Echo was still trying to figure out how a species weaker and smaller than theirs was able to do that.

"In my defense, Kim's family taught me that one."

"Yeah but I never thought you'd actually do it! It's made for short people against tall people, not humans against orc children!"

[hallietblr]

same time, next week? | c.fisher x reader

a/n: inspired by the tiktok trend! might MIGHT turn this into a mini trilogy but not too sure yet so let me know what you think!

warnings: fluffy but kinda sad:(

—

summer was quickly coming to an end, saying goodbye to a few of our new friends we made this summer as they return back to their home. cousins was always a place associated with fun and the carefree life. from waking up at dawn to catch the sunrise, being at the beach all day, family barbecues, parties every night, and to do it all with my best friends.

my mother, elisa, used to come to cousins every summer with her family and she immediately became friends with the girl next door, susannah, and her best friend, laurel. the three of them would always spend every moment of the three summer months together in cousins before leaving back to their normal lives.

cousins was almost like an alternate reality, where everyone is happy. where summer love is born and new friendships are made.

once my mom inherited her parents’ summer home, we started coming to cousins every june until the end of august. just like how she used to do it when she was younger, it was to continue the family tradition and i hope i can show my children too.

luckily, susannah had also inherited her family’s summer home and was still in very close contact with her two best friends.

i basically grew up with conrad and his younger brother, jeremiah. conrad and i were born in the same year, only a month apart. we were destined to be best friends since we were in diapers.

i’m also very close to laurel’s kids, steven and belly. moreso with belly than i am with steven since her and i are the only girls out of the five of us. she was a few years younger than me and honestly, she’s like the little sister i never had.

currently, i was lounging on the beach chairs by the poolside of the fisher’s home. conrad had his head on my lap, quietly napping and enjoying the summer warmth. i had one hand playing with his golden hair while the other flipping the pages of my book.

jeremiah, steven, and belly were all playing in the pool, the occasion yelling and screaming coming from them. they all had smiles painted upon their faces,

“y/n! get in!” jeremiah yells at me, splashing water in my direction. i use my book to cover conrad’s face in hopes that he won’t wake up,

“maybe later!” i say back to him, “i can’t really get up right now anyways.”

steven shrugs, “just push him off.”

belly gasps and hits her brother, “that’s so mean! but seriously, y/n, i’m leaving the day after tomorrow and you leave on tuesday next week.”

“i know” i sigh, part of me knows that there’s a chance i won’t be back in cousins with my favourite people for a long time. with college coming up and moving across the country to go to stanford, i knew that i couldn’t visit them as often after this.

nobody except for my mother knew, and i made her swear to not tell a soul that i had accepted my offer to stanford. especially the fact that i won’t see them all for possibly years.

“kids!” laurel calls out from the window, “dinners ready!”

the three from the pool scream as they all shove each other, trying to get out of the pool quickly. i gently shake my best friend awake, “connie, dinner”

his eyes flutter open, he rubs the sleep away, “okay.”

he offers me his hand when i stand up, which i gladly take. i feel butterflies in my stomach from the physical touch from him.

conrad has a soft hand on the small of my back as he guides me into the familiar home. we all sit around the large dinner table, all passing the delicious looking food around. i have conrad on my right and jeremiah on my left.

“y/n,” my mom says, i look up to match her gaze. the second i do, i see what she’s silently hinting at.

tell them.

i shake my head, swallowing the spoonful of mashed potato in my mouth, “no, mom”

jeremiah lifts an eyebrow at me, “she didn’t even say anything”

steven nods in agreement, his mouth full of food. laurel and susannah both look at my mother, trying to read her face,

“come on, honey.” she pleads, “you owe it to them”

this caught everyone’s attention, all eyes on me.

“what’s going on?” belly asks, placing her fork down, “mom?”

laurel shrugs, “i’m not too sure, bels”

i sigh, putting my hands onto my napkin covered lap. i didn’t want to tell them, but i also knew that i should,

“i’m going to stanford.” i tell them, after moments of confusion and silence.

susannah jumps up from her seat and runs over to my chair to squeeze me, “oh my goodness, y/n! that’s incredible news! congratulations, sweet girl!”

laurel was right behind her, “awh, my second baby! i knew you could do it.”

“wait, so why were you so hesitant on telling us?” jeremiah says as he hugs me, “this is good news!”

i frown slightly, “it’s easier for me to stay there for all four years, rather than flying back and forth for the summer…”

it took them a moment to digest what i said before steven pushes his chair back from the table,

“no, you aren’t saying…” he pauses, “you’re not coming back next summer? or the summers after that?!” steven exclaims, “what about christmas?!”

i shake my head, “flights are too expensive, i can’t”

i look over to conrad, who’s eyes haven’t left me since i broke the news. his expression was unreadable.

belly had a tear running down her cheek, “so, tomorrow is goodbye then?” she whispers, “we won’t be able to see each other until you’re done…”

“yeah, tomorrow is goodbye” i slowly nod, “my mom is planning on coming to visit so maybe you guys can too?”

jeremiah grins, “of course we will! i cant stay away from n/n for that long, i can barely handle a school year without seeing you!” he laughs, even though there’s evident sadness in his words.

“i’ll be sure to bring connie and jere to visit, honey” susannah promises me, “congratulations again”

i smile at her before everyone resumes to eating their food and making small conversation. i look back at conrad who’s playing with the food on his plate, i grab his hand under the table and squeeze it.

he looks at me and i ask, “beach after?”

dinner wrapped up quickly, steven and jeremiah getting ready for one last party of the summer — conrad and i agreed to go a bit after them.

conrad has his hand wraps around mine as we walk down towards the water, our arms are swinging while he laughs at some joke i made. we sit on the sand and watch the sun slowly lower into the horizon. we don’t say much but it’s never needed when it’s us two. we enjoy the comfortable silence and each other’s company.

i rest my head on his hoodie covered shoulder, him resting his head on mine soon after. he kisses my hair softly, “so stanford?”

i sigh, “yeah, stanford”

i can feel him smile, “congrats pretty girl”

my cheeks blush at the nickname, but i say nothing. all i want is to stay here with him on this beach we grew up on, forever.

“i always love the sunsets here,” i say, finally breaking the silence, “i swear they’re so much better here than they are in maine.”

he laughs, “i think i like them better here, because then at least i can watch them with you. back in boston, all the sunsets remind me of you.”

“you’re so cheesy” i giggle, gently shoving him with my shoulder.

he rests his cheek on his crossed over arms that are on his bent knees. he looks at me with sadness in his eyes, “same time, next week?”

i feel my eyes starting to water from his question, fully knowing that we don’t know the next time we’ll be able to do this, “im not here next week” i whisper out, tears crawling down my cheeks.

conrad has never been much of a crier, i think i’ve only seen him cry three times in my life. but right now will add to that count as a few tears fall from his eyes,

“im going to miss you so much, pretty” he tells me with his lips quivering, i reach over to wipe the tears off his face with the sleeve on my sweater.

“we can call anytime, okay?” i reply, giving a sad smile, “we always text each other too, but whenever i want to hear your voice, i’m going to call you.”

he chuckles, “so i guess i’ll be calling you 24/7”

i move closer to him and he wraps his arms around me into a tight hug.

“i’m not sure what summers are going to be like without you, y/n.”

“i don’t even want to think about it”

as the sun disappears beyond the horizon, we slowly get up to head back to our rooms to get ready for this party. my phone was blown up with snaps and text messages from jeremiah and steven, begging us to come and join them. one last summer party with them, one last chance to watch steven get black out drunk, one last opportunity to say goodbye to my summer friends, and only a few more sunsets to watch with conrad.

[quill-of-thoth]

The Saga of Great Uncle Asshole And The Priest From Hell

It's thanksgiving (in the US) so have a family gathering disaster that is old enough to be funny. Almost a decade ago, after a life of stirring up drama everywhere she went, my grandmother died. She was an unhappy woman who tried to be better to her grandkids than she was to her kids, and didn't always succeed, and she's the reason that when I smell cinnamon tic tacs they're accompanied by the reek of an illusory cigarette. This is not a sad post. This is a post about the fact that her funeral was a fucking disaster and it was ultimately about 50% her fault. See, my whole family was at one point or another catholic. Grandma really enjoyed going to church in her last years because it got her out of the nursing home, and priests have to listen when you tell them about the husband you divorced and the children who think they know better than you. Grandma did not consider the fact that the local priest she'd latched onto like a talkative moray eel in a cloud of nicotine smoke was an unmitigated bigot. She left instructions that she wanted her funeral to be at that specific catholic church and for that priest to do the sermon. It didn't occur to her that the person who would be organizing her funeral would be her gay daughter and her daughter's wife.

Shit started getting real about when the doors opened to recieve mourners. Over the course of ten minutes, my aunt summoned:

her elder sister, a paralegal

my father, who has never seen a conflict he would not cheerfully walk away from

Their younger brother, in order to swear at the priest

My mother, who hadn't had a good opportunity to fight a priest since we left our own church and was game to do it again.

This left me, the eldest grandchild, in charge of the receiving line, despite the fact that I knew approximately no one there. My brother and cousins were woodenly shaking hands and then whispering "who's that?" "I don't know." My aunt's husband was escorting the elderly and infirm up the stairs one at a time. My uncle's wife was also around but she knew even fewer people and was mostly listening at the door of the ongoing argument.

So when my brother and Boy cousin went to see if we could pry someone who knew who was related to us out of the argument and I was busy trying to convince an octegenarian that she did NOT need to figure out which of her cousins had married one of grandma's siblings before sitting down, Girl Cousin was alone at the door.

Great Uncle Asshole arrived in a storm of curses and a faux-coonskin cap. He blew past Girl Cousin, thumped his cane up the steps, and seized my hand. It was like shaking hands with an extremely strong mummy. "You look just like your mother! It's the hair, what a bird's nest. Where's your daddy? And the rest of Helen's brood."

I muttered something about them finalizing details with the priest.

"Well, they'll come see me soon enough. Bet you don't know who I am!" I didn't know who anyone was. Everyone older than me was having a verbal cage match with a member of the clergy or escorting some other old fogey to their seats, everyone younger than me had even fewer clues, and my only hope was to wrap this conversation as fast as possible. "Nope!" I said, "I haven't seen most of the people here in years." If I had ever seen them in the first place. He was going to be mad, but I figured if I had to be the bouncer I could probably take an eighty-something year old guy who breathed like the surgeon general's personal warning to smokers. I could at least shut the door on him.

"Of course you wouldn't! Your gran wouldn't have told you. I'm your great uncle Roger, and I'm here to bury the hatchet, by which I mean your grandma! She and I swore over our father's casket we'd never be under the same roof again while we both lived, and by god I kept my oath!" People were starting to stare, and it was at this moment that a thirty-something man in a suit sprinted up the stairs, and my uncle's wife, with a look of dawning horror, called her husband. "Roger's here." The middle aged folks descended immediately. Here is a snapshot of the ensuing conversation: "Roger, why don't we find you a seat?" - my mother in her best teacher voice "Glad to see you're doing well enough to make it" - My father, in his best 'good god I want to be anywhere else' voice. "Take me to the coffin! I want to see her with my own two eyes!" - Great Uncle Asshole, "And hang up my **** hat! Killed it myself!" "I'm so sorry, I didn't know he could walk that fast" - strange suit man "If you are QUITE finished, I am starting the ceremony in ten minutes" - the priest

As my father and his brother towed a grinning and cursing old man to the furthest reaches of the family section, my mother and my oldest aunt caught all the cousins up on the argument with the priest. My youngest aunt was still crying while her wife stared fixedly at the stained glass panes and periodically handed over tissues. The upshot of it all was that my aunt and her wife would be allowed to attend the funeral (on pain of the whole family literally walking out on the priest) but would not be allowed to take communion, because the priest didn't believe in their marriage. My aunt's wife had neglected to point out that, being Jewish, she wasn't going to take communion anyway. "That's fucked" said boy cousin, and the four of us immediately resolved in whispers to refuse communion as well. The priest opened his sermon with pointed remarks about the older generation's devotion and respect for the church. He continued on through psalms and all that until he got to the blessing of the eucharist and asked the family up to receive communion. My father, who hadn't taken communion since I could remember, stayed seated. My mother stayed seated. My aunts and uncles stayed seated. The cousins stayed seated. About a third of the church didn't move. "Well father, I'll have mine! These young folks think hey have all the time in the world to get right with the lord, but you and I know better!" The priest, who had been visibly hoping god would smite us, turned a wincing glare on my great uncle and the series of distant relatives and nursing home neighbors who were now shuffling up. The service dragged on. We were lined up to say goodbye to everyone, while the suit man (who would turn out to be my second cousin) bodily hauled great uncle asshole and his coonskin cap down the stairs. "I should have known my sister wouldn't manage to raise any good Catholics! Horrible woman." he said loudly as he was stuffed into a car driven by suit man's apparent twin. The priest approached as we were finally ready to leave, to ask why we were so stubborn that we deprived ourselves of communion. After all, unlike my youngest aunt, we weren't obvious sinners! "Oh, I'm Lutheran" - My eldest aunt. "I'm an atheist" - My uncle "I don't think you're qualified to bless anything." - My mother, who learned her religion primarily from a horde of socialist-leaning nuns.

With that, we left the wreck of my grandmother's funeral behind. "Helen," said my mother, very deliberately, when we were safely in the car, "would have HATED that." My dad started laughing. "Are you kidding? She would have loved that! It would have been all she complained about for years!"

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for exposing my sister-in-law's secret during a fight?

Ok, this one is going to need a bunch of context.

I (29F) started to date my fiance F (31M) when I was 26. While he is the sweetest person ever, his family is a bit difficult and it was hard for me to fit in. They are a very traditional family of Japanese descent, very rich too, and his mother MIL (60sF) had a dream of seeing all of her three sons married to other rich girls of Japanese descent. I am white and from very humble origins, so I was not very well accepted at first. The thing that bothered me the most was the constant comparisons to my brother in law BIL's (34M) wife SIL (33F), who is rich and of Japanese descent. I was deeply in love with F and decided to fight for my place in his family; I started to take Japanese classes and ended up really good at it, and I was also the one who took care of MIL after her appendicitis' surgery. She recognized my hard work and we became closer and closer, at the same time she realized SIL didn't make the same effort for her and the family as I do, and she started to be very vocal about how I was her favorite daughter in law and how SIL should do better and try to be more like me. Suddenly, the tables have turned and SIL was the one being compared to me, no the other way around.

Of course she didn't like that at all and started to antagonize me and criticize every small thing about me. She would complain my dog would bark too much (which she did, but SIL was a little mean about it), and when my dog died, she made a comment about how finally she wouldn't have to hear her barking anymore (that stung a lot since I loved my dog with all my heart and she was like a baby to me), she would also complain about my apartment every time she visited me, saying it was too cheap (as I said, I come from humble origins) and her newest topic of complaining are my earrings: I like to wear cute and funny earrings (only at work and family gatherings, I don't wear them at social events or anything like that) and she always talks about how I'm too old to wear them and how tacky it looks. F and I noticed she's been progressively meaner the closer we get to our wedding (three months from now) and think she's trying to scare me away before I become an official part of the family.

One last piece of context: some months ago, F told me in confidence about how 6 years ago SIL's brother and sister in law died in a car accident and left an orphaned boy of 4 years old. SIL was the little boy's only family, but she refused to take him in saying she already had too much work with her own son (who was also 4 at the time). That didn't go well with the family; MIL and my father in law (who was alive at the time) assured her they would help with the kid and she would have all the support, but she simply didn't want the boy, so he was sent to the system. That was something MIL never forgave her for, since family is everything to her, and it was something only MIL, BIL, SIL, F and his younger brother knew. He told me that in confidence and asked me to not tell anyone. I promised I wouldn't.

Now for the actual situation.

Our last family dinner was one of F's cousins' birthday, so all the extended family was around. No kidding, I think there were around 60 people there or more. SIL, once again, decided to mock me about my earrings (little cherry earrings, very cute) and talked again how I was to old to wear them, how they were kid earrings etc. I've been tolerating her bullshit for so long now and after her comments about my dog's death, I was more sensitive than usual, so I snapped back and said that it's not because she dresses herself like an old lady that I have to do the same. She got angry at that and a proper fight started; we saying worse and worse stuff to each other while everyone stopped to watch. It ended up with her mocking my upbringing and calling me a gold digger, accusing my of only being with F for his money. That really struck a nerve because I heard that before at the beginning of our relationship and it always hurt my feelings, since I genuinely love F. Before I could even think about it, I said: "At least I'm not a heartless bitch like you. How's your nephew doing, by the way? Oh, you have no idea, right? Since you put him in a fucking orphanage!"

She got speechless after that and left the place, went straight to her car with BIL and went home. I didn't hear from her or him since them. F is furious with me since he told me that in confidence and now all the extended family knows SIL's secret. MIL doesn't care at all; she never got over what SIL did to that little boy and it's been a while since SIL isn't in her best graces.

Now that I'm calmer I feel a little guilty for exposing SIL like that, but she was always so awful to me that I can't really feel that bad. Mostly, I feel bad for BIL, with who I always had a good relationship and even defended me back in the day when the family didn't accept me very well. Now he's not talking to me either and, as far as I know, he's also not talking to F.

So, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[icyg4l]

Pick-A-Girl Group: What Purpose Do the Women In Your Life Serve?

Continuing on with my Women’s History Month series, I am going to do a reading on how the women in your life feel about you and the effect of these feelings. I am going to be using the True Heart Tarot Deck and the Archetype Oracle Deck. These readings are supposed to uplift, relate to and inspire women so I hope they serve their purpose. I Without further ado, please pick your pile. 🫶

***Disclaimer: Regardless of your gender identity, the women that are in your life deserve to be celebrated as long as they have pure intentions. Much love. 🩷

Left-to-Right (1-4):

Pile One: If you resonate with the image of FLO, then you deserve the whole fucking world. Pile One, the women in your life absolutely adore you. You probably resonate with the song’s theme: recognizing beauty in yourself when everyone is against you, specifically as a black woman. You have come such a long way. The women that are currently in your life have seen you make mistakes and allowed you to do so. They recognize your evolution. A lot of you have a best friend who you’ve been friends with for a long time and she is so proud of you. She is proud of the person that you have become. This pile has some cheerleaders around them. I feel like the women in your life are meant to take inspiration from what you are going through right now. I think that you may be going through your redemption arc.You’re forgiving yourself for a lot of things that you’ve done in the past. The women in your life see that and are following suit. After all, living life does mean not being a robot. These women who are around you are all ears, very receptive to what it is that you are doing with your life. You’re like their Oprah, lol. If you have a story to tell, share it with her. She may need to hear it. I channeled the show: Beyond Scared Straight; specifically the parts where the prisoners talk to the kids about their life stories and the reasoning for why they should not end up in jail. I feel like you could be someone’s mentor, whether they’re younger or the same age as you, perhaps even older. You are someone’s Reesa Teesa too, lol. I get the feeling that you need to be talking about yourself, Pile One. There is an audience full of women who are willing to hear you out and listen. When I pulled from the oracle deck, I got the following cards: 

God: Benevolence and compassion. Recognizing the eternal force within yourself and others/Despotism and cruelty. Using power to control people 

Mother: Nurturance, patience, unconditional love. Joy in giving birth to life/Smothering or abandoning children. Instilling guilt in children for becoming independent.

Poet: Expresses soul insights in symbolic language/Turns a lyric gift to negative or destructive effect. 

Cards Used: 2 of Swords, 4 of Discs, 9 of Cups, Prince of Wands (RX), King of Discs, Four of Cups, Temperance.

Pile Two: If you resonate with the photo of Destiny’s Child, you got some ride or dies around you for real. I think that you’ve been through hell and back with the women in your life and they do not play about you. I think the women in your life want you to know that you are so worth it. I’m not going to lie Pile Two, it sounds like you’re in a toxic love situation and your girls want you out of it. Your friends, cousin or little sister could have told you that you need to exit stage left multiple times. They absolutely believe you deserve better. Hypothetically speaking, If y’all fell out today and an emergency happened tomorrow, they would be on the way to the hospital. I feel like family is so important to you. They feel like you’ve forgot about them but I don’t think that you have. Circumstances make it difficult for you all to see eye-to-eye. The women in your life want you to know that you are not alone. They will forever be there for you no matter what, even if you have lost your damn mind. These challenging times will make the bond between you and these women stronger. When I pulled from the oracle deck, I got the following cards: 

Artist: Expressing a dimension of life that is beyond the five senses. Inspiring others to see life symbolically / Using talent as an excuse to mistreat others. Posing as the Starving Artist to elicit pity.

God:  Benevolence and compassion. Recognizing the eternal force within yourself and others / Despotism and cruelty. Using power to control people 

Goddess: The feminine expressed through wisdom. Nature, life force, and sensuality / Exploitation of the female nature and form 

Cards Used: Ace of Discs, 9 of Swords, Princess of Cups (RX), Prince of Discs, The Hierophant, Princess of Discs, 4 of Cups (RX), The Devil (RX), 10 of Cups.

Pile Three: If you resonate with the photo of TWICE, you got the grandmother spirit around you. Did you grow up in the church? Or at least with a god-fearing grandmother? I feel like the women in your life hate to see you unhappy and this is what you’re feeling right now. I think that you may be uninspired/unfulfilled with what life is giving you right now. It’s not an uncommon feeling. But smiling can make all the difference. The women in your life want to see you smile, make you smile and laugh. They want to be there for you like how your grandmother was. No one will ever replace Granny but her presence is always there. You may be questioning God/your higher powers because of something that deeply affected you. But the women around you want you to not feel ashamed or want you to feel like they are judging you. They have been in the same predicament. They only want to see you get better. They hate to see you like this. It may be hard to do this but look at the glass half full, rather than half empty. They want you to get back to yourself, the version of you that isn’t defeated. When I pulled from the oracle deck, I got the following cards: 

Child: Nature: Friendships with animals. Communication with nature spirits / Tendency to abuse animals, people and the environment. 

Destroyer: Releasing what is potentially destructive. Preparing for new life / Intoxication with destructive power. Destroying others’ dreams or potential.

Child: Magical: Seeing the potential for sacred beauty in all things. The belief that everything is possible / Pessimism, depression and disbelief in miracles. Believing that energy and action are not required for growth.

Cards Used: The Devil, Princess of Cups, The Star, Judgment, The Moon, Temperance, Seven of Swords.

Pile Four: And lastly, if you resonated with the photo of the Spice Girls, you seem very sensual. Are you a SWer? Do you attend pole dancing classes for fun? Do you know someone who does either of these things? I feel like the women in your life appreciate how physical you are. You’re probably an artist and you're sensitive about your shit too. The women in your life feel as though you have a lot of talents. You’re very multifaceted and they love to brag about it, especially the older women. You could been the cousin who had to show off the latest dance move. So as a result, you became the leader of the pack. You can be naturally nurturing but it can drain you. The women around you feel like you need to put up some boundaries so that you can still worry about you. They respect your quality of being a giver, but do you even respect yours-[GUNSHOT]. There is a woman that you are close to that admires a quality that you hate. She compliments it any chance she can get because she wants to uplift you. I feel like people always try to touch you, whether it’s your hair, your arms, or even your butt. The women around you could immediately shut it down or call them out or defend it. They want to protect your innocence. Even though you are grown, you have that ingenue within you. They know how you can get (especially while under the influence) so they refuse to let you get that way. When I pulled from my oracle deck, I got the following cards: 

Servant: Delight in serving others with a free and loving heart / Using the lack of money as an excuse not to move forward with life 

Bully: Highlights your tendency to intimidate others. Helps you confront the inner fears that bully you / Conceals deep fears behind verbal or physical abuse.

Hedonist: Inspires creative energy to embrace the good things in life. Celebrates the beauty in yourself / Pursues pleasure to the detriment of health. Indulges at the expense of others.

Cards Used: The Star, The Lovers, Judgment, The Emperor, 7 of Cups, 10 of Swords, Ace of Cups, The Moon, 8 of Cups (RX).

[throneofsmut]

Kinktober Day Thirty: Period Sex Rhys x Female Reader

As Tamlin’s cousin, you never would’ve thought you’d ever leave the Spring Court.

The both of you were thick as thieves growing up, he was like your brother and you like his sister. Your father and Tamlin’s father were brothers. Being the younger one of the two, your father was his father’s right hand once he became High Lord.

During the war between faeries and humans 500 years ago, your parents died. So Tamlin’s parents took you in, they adopted you. Officially making you a Princess of Spring. Unexpectedly one night, you were in the library when you scented blood.

Making your way towards the bedrooms, you saw as your cousin and Rhysand became the new High Lords of their courts. Seeing the power shift into them, changing them. You let out a barely audible gasp, but they both heard. As soon as you and the new High Lord of Night locked eyes, the bond snapped.

Neither one of you said anything but you knew he felt it too. Then he winnowed away.

You never told anyone that he was your mate. Centuries passed and you avoided each other like the plague. Until the events Under the Mountain.

Rhys protected you as best he could. Did whatever he could to make you comfortable during those 49 years.

Once all of you were freed by your cousin’s made mate, Feyre. Tamlin and her winnowed back to the Spring Court. Lucien, your best friend was waiting for you to winnow back together, when he stopped you. You felt a talon scratching softly against your mental shields.

Dropping them enough only to let him in, he finally spoke mind to mind, “Come with me ?” Rhys’s voice was purr in your mind. “Soon-“ you promised “-I just need to talk to Tam.” He nodded his head, took a step back and then bowed at the waist. Rising back to his full height, giving you his signature smirk, he winnowed. Earning a scoff and an eye roll from Lucien, before the two of you winnowed back to Spring.

When you got back to the Spring Court you told Tamlin, Lucien and Feyre everything. They were all quiet as you spoke. Tamlin’s eyes finally met yours as you confessed, “The Spring Court is my home… or I thought it was. Under the mountain I found my real home in him. My mate. The High Lord of the Night Court, Rhysand.”

Your cousin only nodded his head at your words before coming around his desk, to hug you. Holding you at arms length he finally spoke for the first time since you told him you had to talk to him about something important. “Go. Be happy, Sunshine.“ The use of your nickname given to you by your parents, making you sob into his chest like a child. “He waits for you. Just know you’ll always have a home and be welcome in Spring.”

That same night, you packed a couple of your things, then reached out to Rhys mentally. “Come to spring.”

You weren’t sure he got your message, until you felt his hand settle on your shoulder. Turning to look at him with red puffy eyes. Something flickered in his gaze, “Did Tamlin make you cry ?” You laughed in between sobs, “No, I’m just so happy.” His brows furrowed, then his gaze softened and his lips were on yours. “You’re coming home ?” He asked with hopeful eyes, you nodded your head.

Months had passed since you’d been mated and became High Lady of the Night Court.

You’d always felt a bit sick and tired a week before your cycle, among other symptoms. But you didn’t want to annoy or worry Rhys with something so trivial.

That’s why when he told you he’d be in Wind Haven for a couple days you told him you’d wait for him to come back, instead of joining him.

He was hesitant to leave you, noticing you were a bit off but he didn’t want to push you.

As soon as you heard the front door to the town house close you dragged yourself to the ensuite bathroom. You’d always hated this part of being fae. The cramps always had you doubled over, clutching your tummy, as you emptied its contents into the toilet bowl.

Forcing yourself to stand, to brush your teeth and then winnowing back into bed. You curled up in a ball under the blankets. Unaware that you were flooding the bond with how you felt.

Rhys nearly fell out of the sky as he felt an overwhelming pain come over him. Free falling for a couple seconds before landing roughly in the middle of the Illyrian forest floor covered in snow. He clutched his middle as he dry heaved. It took him a second to realize he was feeling your pain and discomfort. Winnowing back to you without a thought.

Mor, Cassian and Azriel had stayed in the townhouse the night before and heard you. All three of them had tried getting into Rhys and yours shared room to check on you, to no avail. You’d warded the room, being used to going through this on your own.

“Y/n !” Mor pounded on the door. “Please let me in !”

“We just want to help !” Cassian tried.

Azriel, “Open the door !”

So lost in the feeling of your discomfort, you hadn’t heard the front door slam shut.

Without a word Rhys walked through the townhouse, up the stairs to your shared room, breaking through the wards, getting to you.

He moved the blankets, caressing your flushed cheek, “Darling, why didn’t you tell me ?” He murmured.

All you could do was press your cheek further into his palm, as another cramp over took you, causing you to whimper and writhe in pain. Rhys huffed out a breath, “All right, that’s it.”

You heard his footsteps disappear into the bathroom and then water running.

He threw the blankets off of you and moved you to sit up right, pulling your night slip off of you. Then picking you up he carried you to the bathroom, placing you into the tub. The water was hot, soothing the cramps that riddled your body, relaxing the tension in your lower back.

“Mhm, thank you !” You whispered at Rhys. He was sitting on the edge of the tub peering down at you, reaching out to grab his hand, you tugged “Get in with me ?” He chuckled before taking his clothes off and you scooted forward so he’d fit.

Once he’s settled in he pulls you back against his chest, you grab one of his hands and place it over your tummy. The pressure always helps with cramps. You shift a bit and feel his length harden against your back,

“Sorry.” He mumbles.

You look at him over your shoulder, giggling, “Don’t be sorry.”

You try to ignore it but your hormones are so out of control and now all you want is Rhys. Behind you, you hear him scenting the air, no doubt scenting your arousal. Moving his freehand to play with your sore breasts, “Is this okay, darling ?” You nodded your head yes, then a moan escapes you as he starts tugging your sensitive nipples.

“Rhys ?” You utter breathlessly.

“Yes, darling ?” He rasps out.

“Touch me, please ?” The words die off on your tongue in a whimper as he trails his hand down your front, then starts rubbing tight circles over your clit.

You’re a mess of moans and shaky breaths as he continues playing with your sensitive cunt. He moves to slide his fingers into you but you grab his hand stopping him, “I’m bleeding.”

Rhys chuckles darkly before kissing you temple, “It’s not the first time I’ve had blood on my hands, princess. Let me help you feel good.”

Nodding your head as he slides his fingers into you, thrusting in and out of you. Curling them, making them hit that sweet spot, that has you crying out his name, “Rhys - Rhys!”

He places soft sensual kisses on your temple, neck and shoulders as one hand plays with your swollen breast. The other plunges in and out of you.

Breathing hitching as he picks up the pace, nails digging into his thick muscular thighs. His hand moves from your breast to your clit, pushing you over the edge, crying out his name - “Rhys !” - as you orgasm.

He kisses the top of your head, praising you, “Good girl.”

Still limp from your orgasm, he’s positions you so you’re straddling his lap, facing him. You’re shaking as he buries his cock into your aching cunt. “Shhh, baby. I got you.” He coos into your ear as he rubs his hand soothingly on your lower back. You melt into him as he rolls his hips, his cock massaging your sensitive walls.

Kinktober 2023 Masterlist

[hoeneymilktea]

deciphered ✧ tooru oikawa chapter 1 | downtown tokyo

Your cousin, Hajime Iwaizumi—whom you haven't seen in a long time, invited you to support him at the largest street racing event in Tokyo. He told you he was a part of the Seijoh Brawlers, one of the notorious top five gangs affiliated with the underground street racing scene. Once he introduced you to his leader, Tooru Oikawa, a.k.a. Cypher—your interest piqued, curiously wanting to understand the true meaning behind his alleged nickname.

✧ pairing — tooru oikawa / afab reader ✧ genre — erotica/smut, action romance, crime romance, dark romance (absolutely no dv/sa), psychological thriller, crime/detective mystery ✧ rating — very explicit, 18+ mdni ✧ chapter word count — 17.1k ✧ content warnings — violence, street racing, references to drugs, explicit sexual content, heavy angst. see below break for chapter specific warnings ↴

author's note — This fanfic is inspired by the beautiful and amazing fanart of Street Racer AU Tooru Oikawa. Artist is @aikk00. disclaimer — I do not condone the romanticization of the yakuza or the reality of gang life as I intended not to portray that kind of interpretation, nor promote the activity of illegal street racing. Do not seek out these types of experiences as this work is just a piece of fiction. Please remember to read at your own risk.

downtown tokyo ⇢ cypher's condo ⇢ ramen & racing

✧ chapter specific content warnings: smoking, vaping, references to drugs

“I’d love it if you could come to my race tonight. It’s the largest one in Tokyo.”

You placed your right hand on your heart, clutching the fabric of your shirt while letting out a half sincere mutter of endearment, laughing directly after. The sound of a loud cackle echoed through the phone on the other side as you tilted your head, staring straight into Iwaizumi’s eyes.

“Aw. I’m flattered, Hajime. I’ll support you no matter what, anything for my favorite cousin.” You smiled brightly at him, showing off the front of your teeth with the edges of your mouth curled up; the same smile you always gave him when you both were younger.

He shyly chuckled and grinned through the video call, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand. “I’m so excited to finally see you again. It’s been so long since we were kids.”

“Yeah it has,” you replied, placing your phone back on your desk while propping it up behind a water bottle. As you looked back to your laptop, your hand scribbled down another drawing from your organic chemistry lecture slides carelessly onto your notebook.

Iwaizumi’s mother was your father’s older sister, which made you first cousins. The two of you would play and hang out all the time until a disagreement between your aunt and your father made it impossible to see him anymore, completely disconnecting you both for years. Over a decade had passed by since you had last seen him, recognizing he was not the same cousin you once knew during childhood.

He was always into cars ever since he was younger, given your father was a car guy himself—showing off his prized 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer to Iwaizumi, always letting him help fix the car alongside your help. He explained he was studying to be a mechanic at the University of Tokyo, and that street racing was a side hustle that he was a part of to earn some extra cash for tuition.

“So when I get there, where should I go? I’ve never really been to a street race before,” you asked while writing down the last bit of information from your lecture onto your notebook.

Iwaizumi looked up and pondered for a moment before replying, resting the crook of his hand beneath his chin. “You can be my special guest for the race, so you'll be able to stand with the guys in the Brawlers pit. I’ll make sure one of the Seijoh boys can keep you company.”

You weren’t sure what he meant—while squinting your eyes, you made a confused face, showing you weren’t very knowledgeable in his street racing lingo. “Brawlers pit? Seijoh boys?”

“Oh yeah, sorry about that. Don’t tell my mom, but I’ve been initiated into the Seijoh Brawlers. Have you heard of them?” Iwaizumi’s eyes quickly widened as he held his breath, making you skeptical of his intentions.

“No,” you immediately replied, cocking your left eyebrow up. “Are they like the best racers or something?”

“Yeah kind of. The Seijoh Brawlers are part of the top five gangs associated with the street racing scene in Tokyo.” Iwaizumi shamefully explained while looking down from the camera.

You looked up at your phone with an astonished expression, pursing your lips to the side of your face. Scolding him through the phone, you pinched your eyebrows together. “Gangs? Hajime, come on. How’d you get yourself involved in something like that?”

“Please, don’t tell your dad or my mom,” Iwaizumi begged through the phone. “They’re my boys—my ride or dies.”

You smiled at his remark, chuckling under your breath as you glided your pencil along your notebook, the graphite leaving tiny smears on the paper. “I won’t, don’t worry. I haven’t really talked to my dad in a while anyways.”

“I hope so because if I win this race, I get about a million yen in cash. This is a huge deal for me, it could help pay for university.” Iwaizumi placed his phone closer to his face and zoomed in the camera. You could tell how he was excited about tonight as he smiled brightly through the screen, peering straight at your face.

“Oh that’s actually really convenient,” you responded, quite shocked at the amount of money he would be able to win. “That’s basically a semester’s worth of tuition.”

You heard a few voices mumble through the call as Iwaizumi lowered the phone down from his face. Only the bottom of his chin could be seen through the screen as his head nodded in agreement to the voices in the background.

“Oh shit—I’m sorry, I gotta get going. I have to meet with Cypher before the race starts,” Iwaizumi rustled through the phone, facing it towards himself one more time. “Remember, meet me at the race in Downtown Tokyo! Just go to the Brawlers’ pit when you arrive, you should see us wearing white and teal. I’ll see you when I get there, bye!”

Iwaizumi hung up the phone immediately without explaining any further, leaving the microphone cutting off with the beep at the end of the call. You were slightly irritated at him for not giving you any more information than he provided, not sure what to do, except meet him at the race. He only gave vague details—the address of the car meet and the colors of the Seijoh Brawlers, not even any information on what kind of car he drove.

By the time you finished up your chemistry homework, there was about an hour and half left in order to get ready and leave before Iwaizumi’s race had started. You still questioned why he nonchalantly mentioned he was part of a gang, as most members usually do not disclose that kind of information so suddenly. Time really did fly as you acknowledged how much you both had changed since the last time you saw him, now confirming he wasn’t the same cousin you once knew.

It was around the twenty-third hour of the day when you arrived at a packed parking lot filled with people crowding around different types of cars, recognizing a few popular models such as the American-imported Ford Mustang and the Nissan Skyline. Most were customized with large decals of their car clubs, gang names or lewd female anime characters, all surrounded by people dispersed into smaller circles. A lot of them were men, but you were able to spot a few women hanging around the larger crowds as well.

You were not able to find Iwaizumi or the colors of the Seijoh Brawlers he mentioned, aimlessly wandering around the larger crowds, not sure where to walk to. While scanning through the parking lot, you saw groups of men dressed in red, yellow, grey and black—yet you couldn’t manage to find the white and teal colors he had told you to look for.

As you pressed down a green button on your phone, you tried calling Iwaizumi again, yet no answer every time it rang. You blew up his inbox by sending repeated text messages of ‘Where are you?’, ‘What car are you driving?’ and ‘If you don’t respond I’m telling Auntie!’.

You gave up knowing he might have been with the Seijoh Brawlers preparing for “the largest street race in Tokyo”, or at least that’s how Iwaizumi advertised it as. Looking down at your phone as you sent the hundredth text to him, you accidentally bumped into a large figure, almost knocking you down onto your feet.

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” you apologized as you dusted off the dirt from your black dress. While picking out an outfit, you weren’t sure what people usually wore to a street race. In your closet resided your father’s old denim jacket he used to wear in high school, thinking perhaps you could commemorate his presence.

You looked up at a muscular man in a black tank top and red cargo pants smirking to himself as he took off his black shades. Staring into his hazel eyes, you questioned to yourself why he was wearing sunglasses at night.

“I apologize, shawty.” The man with spiked black hair bent down and reached out to grab your hand. “Whaddup girl, how you doing? The name's DK, who’re you?”

“Um,” you hesitated as you dodged his question, placing your hands inside your oversized denim jacket while firmly looking at him in the eyes despite his intimidating gaze. “I’m just here to see my cousin. He’s part of the Seijoh Brawlers, do you know where they are?”

“Oh, them.” The man scoffed and laughed before he whistled and waved for a woman with long black hair and large gold hoop earrings to come forth. She had a nasty scowl on her face when he called her over, but as soon as she walked up to the both of you, it faded away and changed into a sweet smile when she saw your face.

“Hey baby,” her voice was enticing and smooth, almost like a harmony in your ear. She looked at you with a closed grin on her face and her hands in a red bomber jacket labeled Nekoma Crew across the left side of her chest. “What’s up?”

“Shawty here says her cousin is part of the Seijoh Brawlers.” The man placed his left hand on your back and slightly shoved you toward the woman. “Take her to them, Leia.”

“Whatever you say, DK.” She rolled her eyes and placed her hand on your back as you both began to walk in the opposite direction.

She strolled ahead of you; the label DK on the back of her Nekoma Crew bomber jacket flashed proudly from one side to the other. The woman turned around and looked back with a smile on her face, the fake contact lenses around her irises glistening underneath the passing streetlight.

“Hey, my name’s Leia. What’s yours?” She stopped walking for a moment and placed her right hand out to greet you.

You replied with your first name, grabbing her hand and shaking it firmly. Despite her short and petite stature, Leia exuded a strong sense of confidence and boldness within her posture, wondering to yourself if she was a racer as well. Though noticing the gloves peeking out from her pocket and the scuffs of soot on her knees, you presumed she could have been a mechanic instead.

“Is this your first time attending a street race?” She tilted her head and raised both of her eyebrows, her long black hair slicked over to her left shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m here to support my cousin.” You placed your right hand back into your pocket as Leia took off the red bomber jacket on her shoulders and tied it around her hips. It rested atop her high waisted booty shorts, uncovering her black lacy bralette and a beautiful yakuza-style koi fish tattoo on her left shoulder.

“So your cousin is in the Seijoh Brawlers? Eh, they’re alright,” Leia slowed down a bit to walk alongside you as she crossed her arms and turned her head. She shot you a charming smile and winked accordingly as her straight long black hair flowed over her shoulder, exposing her orange koi fish tattoo yet again. “They’re not as good as the Nekoma Crew, but you know I’m being biased.”

You smiled to yourself, continuing to walk alongside her in a direction you weren’t sure of. The sound of music blasted throughout the parking lot, multiple speakers going off playing different kinds of American hip-hop and rap from all the groups of men dressed in matching bomber jackets. Turning your head to face Leia, you quickly pointed back towards the crowd with your thumb before placing your hand back into your pocket.

“So, who are the best racers here? I thought street racing was an individual thing, so what’s the deal with all these teams?” You looked down at your white shoes gliding along the asphalt before looking back up at her again. The sounds of noisy chatter and car engines revving filled the silence between you and Leia as you both walked past a crowd of men surrounding a vintage American-imported car.

“You want the long answer or the short answer?” Leia slyly asked.

“I guess the long answer,” you replied, looking up at the street lights right above your head. “I don’t really know what’s going on here, I guess you can say I’m clueless. My knowledge in car culture is pretty much limited.”

Leia smiled excitedly and clasped her hands together as she stopped right in front of a pink Honda S2000 and sat on top of it, motioning for you to come and sit on the hood right next to her. You looked at her worryingly before checking the time on your phone, noticing it was thirty minutes before midnight.

“The races don’t start for another half hour. We have time,” She stretched out her arms and yawned as you sat next to her and kept your hands in the pockets of your denim jacket. You looked around the parking lot, noticing more cars starting to roll in through the entrance connecting to the main street.

You were slightly worried about trailing off with a random stranger instead of searching for your cousin, still adamant on looking out for the white and teal colors around the crowds. The underground culture of street racing was familiar to you, yet it never crossed your mind in these recent years because it had been awhile since you’ve worked on a car. The only reason you knew some basic car models and just the bare minimum was from conversations with Iwaizumi and your father.

“Obviously you met DK,” Leia looked up at the street lights above her parked car. In the distance you could see part of the bright Tokyo skyline, the overpass of several highways towering above the large area of the car meet. “His real name is Tetsurou Kuroo. Everyone calls him DK, though.”

You continued to stare at the horizon, the city lights shining brightly against the night sky. “DK? What does that mean?”

“Drift King,” Leia responded with a large smile on her face as she swung her legs back and forth. “All the girls call him Dragon King because of the dragon tattoo on his arm, but if you’re lucky enough to sleep with him you’re able to see the full thing on his back.” Leia hummed as she looked up at the highway overpass, watching cars speed by.

“Drift King?” You pondered while raising an eyebrow, knowing the word sounded familiar, yet not familiar enough for you to remember.

“He’s the best drift racer in all of Tokyo. You know when cars do donuts around in a circle?” Leia swirled her finger in a circular motion to mimic a full revolution. “It’s like that, but cooler.”

You both looked back at Kuroo leaning against the side of his bright red Nissan 350Z, flexing his right bicep while proudly showing off the dragon tattoo across his arm. Another guy with dyed blonde hair tied back into a small bun came up to him, handing a wrench from the toolbelt around his waist.

“That guy right next DK is Kenma Kozume, a.k.a. Snake Eyes.” Leia mentioned, motioning her finger to his direction. “He doesn’t race, but he’s the best mechanic on Nekoma, the absolute mastermind behind DK’s excellent drifting. If your car gets tuned by Snake Eyes, you’re bound to win the race.”

“Nekoma,” you looked towards the label on Kuroo’s bomber jacket that Leia had around her waist. “Is that your car club?”

“Yeah, kind of. We’re part of the top five gangs in all of Tokyo for street racing,” Leia explained with her head leaned back. “The others, not as good as Nekoma, but also in the top five—Seijoh, just like your cousin,” She turned her head to face your body, the ends of her lips curled up against her cheeks. “Fukurodani, Inarizaki and Karasuno as well.”

“Damn,” you exasperated. “That’s a lot of names to remember.”

“I’m sure your cousin can probably help you out on it,” Leia whistled. “Just know their names and color associations and you should be fine.”

You both heard a boom of laughter, followed by the revving of a loud car engine. A grey Mitsubishi Eclipse with yellow rims on the tires passed by Leia’s car as it blasted a song with heavy bass—you recognized it as Drake’s Nonstop.

A man with spiky grey hair sat in the driver’s seat as you both watched him pull over and back into an empty parking space, diligently hopping out of his vehicle. He enthusiastically chuckled with other men dressed in grey around him, the bright yellow font of their nicknames plastered on the back of their bomber jackets.

“That’s Kotarou Bokuto, a.k.a. Blackjack.” Leia mentioned with her head tilted and a smile on her face. “You can hear him and his car from a mile away.”

You looked back over at Bokuto who stood proudly in his grey bomber jacket, talking to another guy in the same one with the words Fukurodani Squad labeled on the front. He immediately slapped the man’s back, another laughter erupting from his mouth as his eyebrows raised up in an enthusiastic nature. They all surrounded silver cars with yellow accents, their side of the parking lot blasting upbeat drum and bass music.

“Bokuto is extremely popular around here and makes an interesting rival for the racers. He doesn’t drift, but somehow always seems to give DK a hard time when they race.” Leia pointed to a man talking to Bokuto with short black hair and blue eyes, a toothpick resting in between the corner of his lips. “Keiji Akaashi, a.k.a. Spades—also an excellent mechanic. Not comparable to Kenma, but always comes up with new tricks for Blackjack’s Eclipse.”

“What about the others? You mentioned Inarizaki and Karasuno, right?” You questioned while placing both of your elbows on top of your knees, slumping your body forward on top of Leia’s car. “Sorry if I keep asking too many questions, I just wanna make sure I’m understanding everything correctly. So far, everyone seems pretty interesting.”

“Oh it’s no problem. I always hate that feeling of never knowing what’s going on, so I’m glad I can help you out. There aren’t that many of us here in a male-dominated subculture, so I always get excited when I see another girl out here enjoying her time, taking an interest.”

She scanned across the parking lot and spotted the corner with a group of men surrounding all-black cars as sleek as the night—looking the most intimidating out of all of the gangs in the car meet. Although all of them had black hoodies and black jeans covering the majority of their bodies, the snake tattoos on all of their necks stood out clear as day. Cigarette smoke and vapor clouds surround their section of the parking lot, making it impossible to see their faces clearly.

“Those guys right there are the Inarizaki Bois. They’re extremely pretentious, but they deserve to be by how amazingly fast they are on the track.” A man with silver hair and black tips rested against a Nissan Silvia S15 with a cigarette in between his lips, chatting with another member.

“Shinsuke Kita, their main racer, a.k.a. Sly Fox. He always starts off at last place, but by the end, easily jumps up to first. He catches up to you within a second, it’s fucking ridiculous.” Leia crossed her arms and stared straight at the two identical twins arguing right next to Kita—one leaning against another black car as the other yelled in his face.

“Those are the Miya Brothers. They have the exact same car, color and model. When they’re both in a race, you can never tell which car is which,” Leia scoffed, obviously annoyed by something. “Atsumu Miya, a.k.a. Thrasher—the blonde one, fucked up my car once during a race. He’s a prick.”

You nodded your head in agreement, giving your pity. “That seems annoying.”

In an instant, Leia swiveled her body towards you with an annoyed face. “It cost thousands to fix my car after that. What a fucking pain.”

A large crowd roared as you noticed a sleek black Lexus LFA with electric blue accents across the body roll up from the entrance of the parking lot, the sound of their engine rumbling low to the ground.  Following behind was an orange Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, the same model of car your father used to have.

“Oh look here, it’s the Tyrant, Tobio Kageyama of the Karasuno Killers.”

Leia pointed to the driver of the Lexus LFA, watching him give a distasteful scowl to the crowd. His black hair slicked back against his forehead while his dark blue eyes matched the aura of his car. You both watched him roll up to the section of the parking lot dedicated to the Karasuno Killers, noticing all of the members wearing orange, while he wore all black.

“Kageyama’s new to the scene, yet he’s placed first in every single race he’s been in. He overthrew the reigning champion of drift racing in all of Tokyo, actually. Yet, he’s still fairly new, so we call him the Tyrant.”

You looked towards Kageyama again as he let out an exhale of clouds from the vape he took a hit off of, passing the mod to a man with a shaved head. “He’s pretty much an outcast, but he knew that joining a gang had to be the only way for him to get recognition in the underground racing scene. He’s pretty much the main racer on the Karasuno Killers for now.”

“You sure do know a lot about all the racers here.” You turned your head to the left, noticing Leia had aimlessly looked up into the sky. “Are you close with everyone?”

“Mmm, you can say that.” She closed her eyes and continued to lean her head back, placing her left hand against the hood of her car. “I just have connections to a lot of people. DK is beloved by basically everyone here, which also means I’ve gotten to know all the top racers.”

You both jolted up from the boom of several engines roaring near the front entrance of the parking lot as the crowd in front of you cheered. Your eyes followed a line of bright white cars from different companies and models, all with teal accents on the edges of the side skirts.

They all followed a single white Mazda RX-7 Veilside Fortune with black accents and teal stripes on the edge of the windows. Every single car in the queue had their windows tinted dark, making it impossible to see who was driving in any of the vehicles. You assumed by the colors that it was the Seijoh Brawlers, which meant one of the cars belonged to Iwaizumi.

“Ah, just in time. Speaking of the top racers, the Seijoh Brawlers definitely hold some of the best.” Leia propped her feet up onto the hood of her car and rested her chin on her knees, bringing her legs close to her body. “Your cousin should be in that lineup.”

A crowd of people gathered around the Seijoh Brawlers as the drivers backed into their parking spots and stepped out of their vehicles. All of the men had white t-shirts and teal bomber jackets, bright lettering of their nicknames plastered across their backs.

The man that was leading the pack in the Mazda RX-7 Fortune stepped out with his back turned against the crowd, his right hand pulling back his bangs. Instead of a bomber jacket, he wore an open Off-White button down shirt with his sleeves rolled up, the customized moniker Cypher written across the back. The minute he turned around, your interest piqued—although you were across the parking lot, his eyes fixated in the direction of where you and Leia were sitting.

“Tooru Oikawa—a.k.a. Cypher,” Leia mumbled as she continued to rest her chin onto her knees. “Reigning champion of the street races, best in Tokyo. Recently overthrown by the Tyrant.”

Oikawa continued to look in your direction, yet you could not tell where his eyes were fixated on. You saw an expressionless yet intimidating look plaster across his face before he turned around back to the Seijoh Brawlers. “Interesting nickname. Why’s he called Cypher?”

“There’s two meanings,” Leia clarified. “He’s called Cypher because when he drifts, he makes perfect zeros into the road. There is never a moment where his drifts and spins aren’t calculated perfectly. If Kuroo wasn’t already established as the Drift King, Oikawa would definitely claim that title.”

You immediately recognized your cousin the moment he walked out of his white Subaru WRX STI, going up to Oikawa and whispering something into his ear. You stared intently at Iwaizumi, hoping he saw you across the parking lot.

“The other meaning,” Leia continued as she stared directly at Oikawa. “Cypher’s a blank slate. No one knows what kind of person he truly is. Sure, he puts on a front—everyone has to. But under that intimidating act, he’s impossible to crack.”

A Seijoh Brawlers member handed Oikawa his white bomber jacket with Cypher written across the back. In one swift motion, he effortlessly slid both of his arms through the sleeves with a smug look on his face. It appeared that he was the leader of the gang with his contrasting colors and confident demeanor.

“He spent several years leading a faction under a yakuza clan called the Kitagawa Daiichi down south in Osaka. He made some serious money off the kinds of businesses he did, that’s how you know he was able to afford his luxurious custom Veilside RX-7.”

“Oh, so these gangs aren’t just car clubs,” you continued to stare at Oikawa, observing him prop open the hood of his car as he let one of the members of the Seijoh Brawlers inspect underneath. “The yakuza is involved.”

“With anything illegal, the yakuza will always be involved.” Leia pursed her lips, squinting her eyelids. “Even with underground street racing, you can never seem to escape them.”

“What kind of person is he?” You nodded your head and pointed your chin towards Oikawa, swinging your legs off the edge of the car. “Just by first glance, he looks like the kind of person to take up two parking spots.”

You both began to chuckle together as Leia grabbed onto your arm, leaning in to rest her head on your shoulder. With her eyes closed and a large smile on her face, she let out a loud high pitched wheeze—for which you could not resist laughing along to as well.

“You know what, I really like you. You’re pretty funny.” She took in a long deep breath before staring back towards the Seijoh Brawlers, looking back straight in the direction of Oikawa.

“But honestly, it beats me. Cypher’s pretty much your run-of-the-mill bad boy, if you also include he’s the top racer in the underground street racing scene. But unfortunately, no one—including me, knows a thing about him, only his business. No one can decipher the great Cypher.”

You noticed Iwaizumi talking to him, noting back when he mentioned having to meet with a guy named Cypher before the race. After the information Leia had disclosed about Oikawa, you couldn’t help but speculate about how Iwaizumi was able to involve himself with a guy like him. You crossed your legs on top of Leia’s S2000 while peering straight at your cousin, still hoping he was able to notice you.

“The guy talking to Cypher,” you pointed towards Iwaizumi peering underneath the hood of Oikawa’s car. “That’s my cousin.”

Leia whipped around the hood of her car and got extremely close to your face; the shocked expression in her eyes revealing it all. “Indigo is your cousin?!”

“Fucking—who?”

“Hajime Iwaizumi, he’s your cousin?” Leia reiterated, switching back to formalities.

You backed away just enough to put some distance between you and Leia. “Yeah, is he a big deal around here?”

“He’s pretty much the entire package,” Leia explained. “An amazing mechanic and a pretty fucking good racer. Girls would kill to sleep with your cousin.” She winked her left eye at you, obviously swooned by Iwaizumi’s underground street racing reputation.

“Ugh, I don’t want to hear about that.” You crinkled your nose with a scowl on your face, disgusted by Leia’s remark. All she did was shoot you another playful smile in return, tapping her fingers along the hood of her car. “I didn’t know he was pretty popular around here.”

“You should probably go see him before his race starts, let him know you’re here.” Leia stretched out her arms up in the air before placing her feet back onto the ground, grabbing your hand right after. “Here, I’ll take you to them.”

You hopped off the hood of her Honda S2000 and fixed your dress before placing your hands inside the pockets of your denim jacket again. As you walked alongside her in the direction of the Seijoh Brawlers, you held in your breath, trying your best to slow down your rapid heart rate. In a few moments, it would be the first time you and Iwaizumi had seen each other in over a decade.

As you approached their section of the parking lot, almost all of the members of the Seijoh Brawlers noticed you two immediately, eyeing you both up and down with skeptical looks on their faces. Iwaizumi and Oikawa didn’t take notice, yet one man with spiked black hair almost in the shape of a mohawk approached in your direction, shaking his arms in a crossed motion.

“Sorry ladies, we’re busy preparing for the race.” The man suddenly grabbed Leia’s arm, almost pulling her away from you.

“Fuck off, Kindaichi.” Leia swatted his arm away from her body, causing him to retract back. “Don’t ever fucking touch me again, onionhead. Anyways, this is Indigo’s cousin. She’s supposed to be here.”

Iwaizumi and Oikawa looked back at the mention of your cousin’s nickname, observing his eyes widening as his face gleamed in joy. He dropped whatever he was working on and rushed to greet you, leaving Oikawa behind.

“You made it!” Iwaizumi’s muscular figure swallowed you into a giant hug, his arms squeezing behind your back. You were so glad to see your favorite cousin again after a decade, and this moment made it seem entirely worth it. Here you were, now both adults, hugging and celebrating just like when you both were kids.

When you opened your eyes again, you noticed Leia walking away, swinging her keys along a single fingertip as her work boots clicked against the asphalt. Without looking back, she lifted up her left hand and waved goodbye.

Iwaizumi gave you one last tight hug before retracting back. You noticed how the ends of his smile lifted up his cheeks high to the point where it overshadowed his eyes, almost completely mirroring the one he used to give when you last saw him. No matter what his reputation was in the underground street racing scene, you would never see him other than his childish and loving self.

“Here, let me introduce you to Cypher. He’s pretty chill.” Iwaizumi put his hand on your shoulder as he began to walk over in the direction of Oikawa, who already turned his head to look at you both. His intimidating expression stared straight into your eyes, making you slightly uncomfortable.

“Cypher, this is my cousin. She’s the one I was telling you about.” Oikawa smirked and nodded his head, acknowledging your presence. In front of him, the hood of his Mazda RX-7 Fortune was propped up against its support strut as he prepared his car for one of the races. His hands were placed firmly against the edge of his front bumper, holding up most of his upper body by both of his arms.

“Hey.” You raised your hand to wave as you stated your name, quickly shaking your palm with a soft smile on your lips. “Nice to meet you.”

The smug look on his face transformed into an intimidating and malicious stare, assuming like he was trying to read right through your front. He looked up and down your figure with his right eyebrow raised and a pouty lip, scanning every inch of your body.

“You got a pretty cousin, Indy.” Oikawa shut the hood of his car and placed his left hand inside the pockets of his black jeans, turning his body towards the both of you. A chuckle escaped under his breath as he ran the fingers of his other hand through his bangs, pulling back the wispy strands of hair against his head. “She’s basically perfect like you said, a total fucking cutie in my eyes.”

“Bro, shut the fuck up.” Iwaizumi retorted through his teeth with an irritated tone as he attempted to slap Oikawa’s arm, causing him to slightly jolt back in order to escape. “Don’t hit on my cousin right in front of me ever again.”

You lowered your eyelids and buried your hands deeper into the pockets of your father’s oversized denim jacket, looking away from Oikawa’s gaze. The ends of his mouth curled up into his cheeks before he chuckled to himself in a playful manner, shaking off his complacent demeanor—yet, you couldn’t tell if he was being sincere.

“Relax, Indy. I was just stating the truth.” Oikawa began to walk towards your direction, sliding right next to Iwaizumi in order to teasingly slap his back hard, insinuating a reaction from the both of you.

“Uh, okay. Whatever, Cypher.” Iwaizumi spat as Oikawa laughed quietly, bringing up a fist to his lips to silence himself. In a matter of seconds, you observed him quickly sneak up behind you, placing his right hand on your shoulder.

You turned around and backed up for a minute, startled by his sudden approach. Instinctively, you swatted his hand away from the top of your shoulder without saying a word. An uncomfortable expression grew on your face as you stared at him in irritation, the corners of your mouth slightly turned down.

“Woah,” Oikawa offered you his hand to shake. “I apologize if I came off too rude, let me introduce myself properly.”

You took notice of a similar yakuza-style dragon tattoo across his right arm, the tail extending to the inside of his wrist. An ominous grin formed on his face as you fixed your eyes towards the head of the dragon placed on the right side of his neck, observing its mouth wrapped all the way around his nape. Assuming it was related to his affiliation down in Osaka, you raised one eyebrow up in curiosity.

“The name’s Tooru Oikawa. Everyone here calls me Cypher, but you can call me anytime.”

“You’re such a menace to society.” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

You crinkled your nose and hesitantly shook his hand, noticing the grip on his handshake was gentle and light. His hand was surprisingly faint and nimble, something you didn’t expect from someone who frequently worked on cars. Though, his fingers were quite long comparative to the size of your hand, watching his palm completely swallow over yours. Oikawa’s brown hair looked soft as it curled so easily at the ends, sticking up behind his head like he had just rolled out of bed.

Yet, it was his brown eyes that caught your complete attention—his pupils enlarged as he stared straight into yours, absolutely hypnotizing you into a trance. Although you wanted to deny it at the moment, you couldn’t help but admit he was extremely attractive. You weren’t sure if it was the tattoos, the upfront cocky attitude, or the hard-to-crack demeanor, but something about him intrigued your interest.

“You don’t have to be scared of me, I won’t bite.” Oikawa reassured as he dropped his hand back into the pockets of his jeans, tilting his head to the right before shooting you a wink. “Unless you want me to.”

You were all interrupted by the sound of several car engines revving, hearing someone in the distance exclaim the second race was about to begin and the racers should line up at the base of the road above the parking lot. Iwaizumi slapped Oikawa’s back, causing him to jump up.

“I gotta move, Cypher. Take her up to the spectator platform and keep her company, yeah?” Iwaizumi patted your shoulder gave you a kind smile before turning his head back to Oikawa. “Don’t try any shit, or I’ll break your neck. Got it?”

“Loud and clear, Indigo. I quite like my neck, so I won’t try anything that isn’t up to her decision.” Oikawa grinned from ear to ear as he turned his head to face you, both of his hands resting inside the front pockets of his black jeans.

Iwaizumi gave him a thumbs up before rushing inside his white Subaru WRX STI, upstarting the ignition before revving the engine, watching the car rumble beneath asphalt. Right after he rolled down both of his windows, he waved goodbye to the both of you as he joined the other four racers from the rivaling gangs at the starting lineup near the entrance of the parking lot.

“Let’s get going, the second race is about to start.” Oikawa delicately patted his right hand on your shoulder before placing it back into his pocket, weary of not making you uncomfortable anymore.

You both walked up to his Mazda RX-7, noticing a large white decal labeled Veilside above on his windshield. The car itself was positioned low to the ground to counter the effects of inertia, the bumpers and side skirts almost touching the asphalt. The entire body of the car was white, except for the black accents on the side of his car doors.

He guided you to the passenger’s side, wrapping his fingers around the handle before swinging it open, gesturing for you to enter. When you ducked your head and peered in, the interior of his car was entirely black, the crisp scent from the inside dissipating out into the fresh air of the parking lot.

Oikawa leaned his body on the side of the door with a smile on his face, patiently waiting. “You should get in.”

You gulped down a dry swallow before entering the passenger seat of his car, feeling your whole body sink to the floor with the seat positioned low. While stretching out your legs, you looked down at your shoes and noticed your legs shake from the cold outside gust of air.

Oikawa shut the door and walked to the front of his car, staring intently as he made his way over to the driver’s side. You inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh scent of the interior—as expected, it smelled pristine and well taken care of, something you expected no less from a car guy.

He opened the driver’s side door and swung his body in by holding onto the roof with his right hand, shutting it quickly before placing his keys into the ignition. The car roared underneath you, feeling the low rumble of the engine vibrate throughout the whole body. Oikawa looked over with a sly smirk, his eyelids half open before placing his left hand on the gearstick before swiftly shifting the car into reverse.

Oikawa’s Mazda RX-7 Veilside Fortune rumbled as he backed out of his parking space, the transmission moving as he shifted from first into second gear. He rolled out of the car meet, letting his headlights shine brightly through the crowd that made space for him to pass through as he drove straight up the ramp leading to the freeway above the parking lot.

A swarm of people gathered around five cars at the starting line—Iwaizumi being one of them, directly in the middle. Oikawa parked his car on the platform above the crowd where you were able to get a glimpse of all the racers. You noticed that you both were alone on the platform the minute he turned off the engine, only the silence between you two and the echoes of the cars in the distance could be heard.

He took the keys out of the ignition and stayed in place, a small exhale releasing through his nose as he leaned back in his seat. While not moving a muscle, you kept your eyes fixed on Iwaizumi’s car—intently watching the smoke trail out of his exhaust, hoping it could distract you from the awkward tension between you and Oikawa.

“Do I make you nervous?” He nonchalantly asked in a deep tone, breaking the silence.

You look over to Oikawa’s right hand on top of the steering wheel, his upper body facing entirely towards your direction. When he rested his left hand behind your seat and forced a smile, you could instantly tell it had a malicious intent behind it.

“Not really,” you choked while slightly turning your head, only for him to peer his eyes deeper into your gaze. “Just what I’ve heard about you makes me curious.”

Oikawa shifted his position and crossed his arms, noticing his interest had piqued while leaning on his car door, facing your direction. “Oh? What have you heard?”

“That no one knows who you really are,” you stared back into his eyes, noticing a slight glimmer in his brown irises. Other cars, all from the Seijoh Brawlers, drove past him and parked close alongside the RX-7. Their passing headlights shone on Oikawa’s figure, his thin gold chain brightly reflected against the illumination.

He hummed nonchalantly before pulling out an e-cigarette out of his pocket, taking in a large puff off the small black bar. When he opened his mouth, a trail of white vapor escaped his lips—only for him to inhale it back in through his nose, fully exhaling the remaining vapor clouds out through his teeth. He offered you the e-cigarette after he took another hit, placing the bar in between his fingers.

“I also heard you spent some time down south in Osaka.” You accepted his offer and took the e-cigarette in between your hands, inspecting the metal before politely changing your mind and handing it back to him. “How long were you there?”

“Hmm, about six years,” he responded before taking one final hit off the e-cigarette, twirling it in between his fingers. The whole car smelled sweet from the vapor—sharp top notes of warm vanilla and sugar, possibly like caramel. “I ran important business down there. Nothing else, really.”

You watched the smoke escape his lips as he talked, the wisps of vapor delicately brushing up against the roof of his car before he leaned back in his seat, resting his left hand behind his head. Oikawa closed his eyes and rolled down the windows, letting the dense air from inside the car escape out into the night. You took in a fresh breath of air as the roar of several engines echoed in the background, only for the smell of his rotary engine and gasoline to cloud your nose.

“You’re in university, right? Biochemistry major?” Oikawa placed the e-cigarette in between his fingers back into his pocket before peering at you from the corner of his eyes.

“Wait, how’d you know that?” You snapped, pinching your eyebrows close together while shifting your body to the right.

“Relax, I’m just trying to spark up a conversation. Iwaizumi told me a lot about you over the past several months and I just so happened to retain all that information.” Oikawa chuckled as he closed his eyes and rested his elbow on the middle console in between you two.

“Obsessed, much?” You stuck out your bottom lip and peered back at him with your right eyebrow raised. Shifting your mouth from a frown into a light-hearted smile, you let out a small chuckle from underneath your breath. “That’s a little creepy, knowing someone’s life so extensively without ever meeting them.”

He chuckled along with you, turning his head to face the front of his car. “Well, it’s not my fault. I only know so much because your cousin wouldn’t shut up about you for months. Every single day for weeks on end, something new about you and your life always had to come up during work hours at our shop.”

You snickered under your breath, remembering the thought of Iwaizumi constantly rambling on about anything he deemed exciting at the moment. The minute your father taught him how to change a tire, for weeks he couldn’t stop describing the steps over and over again every time you guys played together. “Yeah, that’s Hajime for you. He always has something to say, it’s been like that since we were kids.”

“I practically know everything about you at this point,” Oikawa turned his head to the left, staring straight into your eyes. “Even your most embarrassing moments as a kid.”

“What? Nah, I don’t believe you.” You crossed your legs and your arms while still peering at Oikawa with a smile, shaking your head. “You’re bluffing.”

“Quiz me then.” He shifted his body towards you and rested his cheek against the palm of his hand, his left elbow still on the middle console. When he tilted his head over to the right, he shot you a facetious grin with his eyes hooded down. “I’m sure I can get everything right.”

You accepted his challenge and began listing a few basic questions about yourself, ranging from your favorite color to your childhood nickname. Oikawa got everything correct, rapidly answering each question with ease. He brushed it off like it was nothing, purposefully wanting you to increase the intensity of the questions.

Starting to become annoyed, you decided to give him questions about yourself that Iwaizumi didn’t know, just to prove him wrong out of spite. You asked him at what age did you start a particular hobby—which only to you, was entirely false because you never started that particular hobby in the first place. Yet, to your surprise, Oikawa was able to detect it was a trick question.

Your jaw instantly dropped as you furrowed your eyebrows at him, watching his eyes looking up and down your body as he smiled without moving a muscle. “How did you know I was lying?”

“You just don’t seem like the kind of person to do that sort of thing.”

You reflected back on his assumption, questioning to yourself if you really were the kind of the person to do that particular hobby. Would you have been that kind of person if you did? Although you had previously decided you definitely weren’t, after hearing his input, you started to wonder if others perceived you the way you assumptively perceived others.

For a brief moment, there was silence between you two. As you were contemplating on his remark, Oikawa reclined back in his seat and stared down at the car meet, scanning through the parking lot. You noticed he relaxed the bold grin on his face, now alleviated into a mundane yet serene expression.

“You know, Iwaizumi also told me you were into cars. I think that’s pretty cool, a lot of girls here aren’t actually that interested in what’s underneath the hood.” Oikawa mentioned while tucking his chin close to his body, his right hand resting atop his steering wheel.

“Sorry to disappoint, but I’m really not.” You corrected, looking away from Oikawa towards the passenger window down at the parking lot. “I just used to spend a lot of time with Hajime and my dad fixing his car, but I’m pretty sure you already knew that.”

“I did.” Oikawa casually responded with a cheeky smile as he looked down at the middle console, slightly shaking the gearshift in a bored manner.

“You probably think I’m not that cool anymore now that you know the truth, huh?” You stated in a humorous yet deprecating tone, looking down at your feet as you kept your hands inside your denim jacket, balling both of them into fists to warm up your fingers.

“Nah, it’s fine. I still think you’re pretty interesting either way.” Oikawa tilted his head slightly to face you, showing off the front of his teeth as a grin formed on his lips.

Down near the front, you noticed Leia carry a red flag, waving it clear in the air to initiate the start of the second race. The minute the countdown reached to the last digit, the sound of the wheels screeching against the asphalt could be heard from miles away as all five cars sped off into the distance. From what you remembered, the racers had to circle back around the track, reaching a total of ten kilometers around Downtown Tokyo—first place receiving one million yen in cash.

“Looks like Iwaizumi’s race just started. It shouldn’t take too long.” Oikawa observed the crowd cheering down below as he placed his hands behind his neck, reclining back into his seat once again. You also looked down at the swarm of people—still lively and filled with energy, even when none of the racers were in sight.

You took your hand out from the pocket of your denim jacket and pointed in the general direction towards the car meet, grabbing the attention of Oikawa. While lazily shaking your finger, you mentioned Leia, who was talking to Kuroo in the middle of the parking lot. “That woman down there, Leia from the Nekoma Crew.”

Oikawa shifted his eyes to his windshield, staring straight down at Leia conversing with Kuroo, Kenma and a tall man with grey hair. “Yeah, what about her?”

“She was actually the one who told me that you spent some time down in Osaka.” You placed your hand back into your pocket, relaxing your body back into the passenger seat of his car. 

Lights from around the highways and streets blinded your vision and illuminated onto Oikawa’s body, the small gold chain around his neck shining brighter than ever before. “Well, that’s no secret. Everyone knows that about me.”

“But she also told me you used to be the leader of a yakuza clan, and that you’re pretty much a blank slate, stating that no one can decipher the great Cypher , or something along that line. Would you say that’s true about yourself?”

Oikawa turned his head to the left, peering at you with a dead stare. Though within seconds, the right side of his mouth curled up into his cheek before his eyes squinted until you could only see his pupils. “Well, that’s for you to find out.”

You cocked an eyebrow up before pursing your lips shut, genuinely confused on what he meant. “What do you mean?”

“Never rely on other peoples’ perception of me. Only you can determine that for yourself.”

Oikawa narrowed his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows, resting his right hand up on the top of his steering wheel. You noticed how articulated he was in his speech, something you assumed was because of his past and present leadership positions. Despite being aware of the rumors around his reputation, you were quite intrigued by Oikawa. He exuded complete confidence over himself and his abilities, and knowing yourself, you knew exactly how to play his game.

“So let me get to know you then,” you proposed, lifting your head up to face him. “You already know everything about me.”

“What would you like to know?” A familiar smirk reappeared on his lips again as he shifted his body in your direction, resting his elbow down on the middle console.

You looked up and tapped your chin with your left index finger, pretending to ponder on his question. “I wanna know everything about you.”

Oikawa chuckled and crossed his arms, leaning back in his seat as he closed his eyes. “Good luck. I don’t open up to just anybody.”

“Well, I’ll convince you that I’m not just anybody.” While you shifted your body towards him and gazed straight into his brown eyes, you watched his pupils dilate the minute you placed your right elbow onto the middle console, resting your cheek against your hand with a grin on your face. “I’m confident that I’ll get you to crack.”

Oikawa leaned in, also placing his left elbow on the armrest in between you two. His right eyebrow raised substantially as another complacent smile formed on his face, making it obvious to you that he was captivated by your bold proposition. “Oh really?”

You nodded, confident in your abilities. “Really.”

Oikawa leaned back in his seat, a soft laughter erupting from under his breath as he stepped on the clutch pedal and placed his keys into the ignition, starting the car. You felt the engine rumble underneath your feet, feeling the vibrations of the cyclic gears before Oikawa began to release his foot off the clutch.

“We should meet your cousin at the finish line. He’d be happy to see you once he wins.” Oikawa pressed down on the accelerator, moving the car forward through the spectator platform before descending down the ramp into the street where the rest of the crowd resided.

“How do you know he’ll win?” You asked while Oikawa quickly backed into a parking space rear in, several meters away from other people.

“Trust me,” Oikawa reassured before turning his head to the left, shooting a cocky grin at you. He shifted the stick into first gear before pulling up the emergency brake, parking the car in place. “He’ll win.”

He turned off the engine, placed his keys into his front pocket and unbuckled his seatbelt, swinging the car door open in the process. You followed his actions and unbuckled yours, yet Oikawa grabbed your right wrist before you could retract the seatbelt back into place.

You turned your head, only to see him give you a soft smile. “Please, stay. Let me.”

Oikawa let go of your wrist and exited out of the right side, shutting the car door behind him. With long strides, he walked over to your side and opened the door for you, allowing for your legs to swing out and touch the ground. Reaching for your hand, Oikawa helped you up and closed the door behind you, reaching back into his pocket to grab his keys in order to lock his car.

The RX-7 Fortune beeped twice before he slid his keys in his back pocket and placed his left hand inside the front. Your hands remained linked, the tips of his cold fingers gently holding onto yours, just barely touching your palm as he led you straight towards the street where the finish line was.

He began to pull you towards the crowd as you squeezed his fingers, acknowledging his presence. You thought it wasn’t necessary for him to hold your hand, yet he cradled your fingers so gently—almost like he was scared to hurt you. While placing your right hand in your jacket pocket, you trailed behind Oikawa as you both pushed through the large crowd.

The roars of the engines could be heard from a distance as Iwaizumi’s white Subaru WRX showed up first, followed by a black Toyota Supra and an orange Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Iwaizumi’s car drifted in a half moon revolution, his tires squealing against the road before rolling up to the finish line. As a large mob of people gathered around, he instantly hopped out with a victorious smile on his face—greetings with handshakes and congratulatory high-fives surrounded him as the announcer boomed across the crowd.

“Winner of the second race—in the WRX, Hajime Iwaizumi, Indigo of the Seijoh Brawlers! Second place in the Supra—Rintarou Suna, Engima of the Inarizaki Bois! Third place, in the Evo—Ryunosuke Tanaka, Cueball of the Karasuno Killers!”

The cash handler walked up to him and slapped one million yen in Iwaizumi’s hands, congratulating him with a firm handshake. In an instant, he spotted you and Oikawa from afar, ignoring all the congratulatory greetings from several people in the crowd before jogging up. His face instantly brightened the minute he saw you behind Oikawa, waving excitedly as he approached you both.

“You could work a little more on your exit spin,” Oikawa scolded, folding his arms across his chest with a pout on his face. Iwaizumi frowned for a second before Oikawa laughed and leaned in, clasping Iwaizumi’s right hand before slapping his back with the other. “Otherwise, great job honoring the Seijoh name.”

After their hug, Iwaizumi reached into his pocket and pulled out the wad of cash containing ten million yen before handing it to Oikawa. He began to count the prize money, swiping his thumb against the tip of his tongue before portioning out his cut. Twenty percent went to the Seijoh Tune Shop while the other eighty went straight into Iwaizumi’s pockets. Though, it didn’t seem he was too stingy about it as he kept the same confident smile on his face the entire time.

When he placed the wad of cash back into his pocket and Oikawa shoved the twenty percent portion into his, you glanced at Iwaizumi, opening up your arms to give him the biggest hug. Once again, his arms swallowed you into a giant embrace, tucking your head into the crook of his shoulder.

“I knew you could do it!” You exclaimed while you both started to jump up and down in excitement, swinging each other back and forth as energetic laughter filled up the lively atmosphere. “You did so well, congratulations!”

“I’m so glad you came to support me,” Iwaizumi mumbled over your shoulder as you both began to calm down from celebrating, the tight hug between you both now subsiding. “I really missed you.”

Once you both retracted from the hug, he put his hands in his pockets and faced Oikawa with a grin on his face from ear to ear, his teeth peeking out from his lips. He tilted his head to the side, letting out a light chuckle.

“Thanks for keeping her company. I owe you a big one.” Iwaizumi reached out and shook Oikawa’s hand again, staring straight into his pupils before placing his arm back at his side.

“Well, there is one thing I had in mind.” Oikawa took his left hand out of his pocket, cradling his chin between his pointer finger and thumb. From what you could see, a tattoo of a small dagger rested on his index with a matching cross on his middle—on his ring finger, a small crescent moon.

Iwaizumi raised his eyebrows in curiosity. “What is it?”

“I’d like her to be the passenger in my race.” Oikawa requested with an eyebrow raised and the left corner of his mouth curled up, exposing a little bit of his teeth.

Your eyes widened as you crossed your arms, dropping your jaw in shock, unable to speak your opinion. A million thoughts ruminated throughout your mind, not sure where to start as you hesitantly looked towards Iwaizumi for his answer.

“Yeah sure, fine by me.” He agreed, shrugging his shoulders before placing both of his hands on his hips.

“Wait, wait. Hold on,” you slid your body in between the both of them, interfering with their conversation. While giving Iwaizumi a glare and visibly expressing your disturbance, you shook your head in disappointment. “Nah, you can’t be fucking serious, really?”

“What’s wrong with it?” Iwaizumi placed his right hand on your shoulder, trying to calm you down. “You’ll get to see a street race up close. Plus, it’s fun to be in the RX-7 when Cypher drifts.”

“Isn’t that kind of dangerous?” You questioned, crossing your arms over your chest. “I don’t want to distract him, also I barely even know the guy.”

“If she doesn’t want to, that’s fine.” Oikawa interrupted, placing both of his hands back into the pockets of his jeans. He shrugged his shoulders up, a sly smile plastered on his face. “I don’t want to force you to do anything, but I thought you wanted to get to know me more.”

The announcer boomed again, reminding the participants for the final race to line up soon. You remembered Iwaizumi mentioning that the third race was designed for the best of the best to compete with each other—usually having the gangs nominate their fastest racers. A few moments ago, Leia pointed out the best in the top five gangs, for whom you supposed were going to be the ones to race, including Oikawa.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. You should totally do it.” Iwaizumi encouraged while patting your shoulder, staring straight into your eyes. “Don’t worry, I trust Cypher a lot. I would never recommend it if I thought he’d put you in danger.”

While reflecting on his words, you always remembered how fun it was to be in the passenger seat of your dad’s car whenever he raced down a mountain with Iwaizumi in the backseat. It brought back a sense of comfort as you recalled him always speeding down a long stretch of road whenever he could, a moment where all three of you could bond. For a second, the memory eased up your tension and you wondered if being the passenger for Oikawa would bring back that same nostalgic feeling again.

“Well if you say it like that, sure, I’ll be his passenger. I trust your judgement.” You turned around to face Oikawa with your arms still folded over your chest, a smile resting on your lips before releasing a soft and playful chuckle. “Just don’t kill me, would’ya?”

A tender smile rested upon his lips, reassuring that whenever you were with him, you would be safe. “I would never.”

In the distance, one last call boomed throughout the crowd, reminding the everyone that the final race would begin in a couple of minutes. Oikawa looked down and gently grabbed your hand, slightly squeezing your palm with a soothing look on his face.

“Well then, let’s get going. I got a race to win.”

He began to pull you through the crowd and back to his car, speeding up the long strides he took as he maneuvered through several bodies. You looked back over your shoulder, quickly glancing at Iwaizumi—recognizing the same wide grin he always gave back then, waving his arm goodbye as he disappeared into the sea of people.

Oikawa reached into his back pocket and pulled out his keys, quickly unlocking the RX-7 while opening the passenger side door for you. His chivalrous actions didn’t go unnoticed as you whispered a quick ‘thank you’ before hopping into his vehicle. You buckled your seatbelt as he shut the door and made his way over onto the other side, nonchalantly hopping into the driver’s seat.

Oikawa quickly pressed down on the clutch before placing his keys into the engine, turning on the car as he rolled down the windows on both sides. You could smell the gasoline and exhaust smoke again as the cold air seeped into the vehicle—the sound of engines roaring and the crowd cheering vibrantly filling up your ears while the entire car rumbled beneath your feet.

As he released the emergency brake down, Oikawa  took his foot off the clutch, letting the car slowly move forward. His headlights flashed onto the crowd that made space for him to enter the street, people on both sides of his car staring at the two of you in awe. As you looked up into the rearview mirror, he instantly relaxed his eyes, a small smirk slowly creeping upon his lips.

The crowd for the third race became twice as large as the second, noticing the sudden increase in attendance for the best racers. Oikawa rolled up to the starting line and revved his engine loudly, provoking the red Nissan 350Z to his right. You leaned your head forward to see no other than DK himself in it, taking off his black sunglasses and resting his arm on top of the steering wheel, showing off his elaborate dragon tattoo.

A familiar face popped out right next to him, immediately recognizing it was Leia in the passenger seat. She waved her left hand out the window, yelling in excitement.

“Hey bitch! Fancy seeing you here!” She screamed over the loudness of the engines.

“Hey!” You yelled as you waved back at her, shoving your right hand in front of Oikawa’s face.

“What are you doing in Cypher’s ride?!” Leia screamed again, leaning out of the car as she cupped her mouth with her hands, amplifying her voice.

You leaned closer to Oikawa’s window, also cupping your mouth. “It’s a long story, I’ll tell you later!”

“Well, you’re totally gonna owe me ramen later when DK wins!” She taunted as Kuroo revved his engine twice, provoking Oikawa in the process.

“We’ll see about that!” You gave Leia a wink, for which she returned one back before ducking her head back into Kuroo’s car. Oikawa revved his engine multiple times as he grabbed the wad of cash from his pocket and flashed it out the window, teasing Kuroo.

“You see this, DK? That prize money’s gonna be all mine, you hear me? All mine!” He shouted out the window as he stuck out his tongue, showing off the bright silver piercing situated near the apex. While shaking the money in his hands violently at Kuroo, Oikawa signaled a playful taunt towards his pride. His intimidating assertion frightened you slightly because before, he kept a calm and collected demeanor throughout the entire time you were talking with him.

You looked over your left shoulder only to see the Tyrant himself, Karasuno Killers’ Tobio Kageyama. He stared at you with his dark blueberry eyes and a scowl on his face, revving his engine twice in order to taunt Oikawa. Further left past him was Shinsuke Kita from the Inarizaki Bois and Kotarou Bokuto from the Fukurodani Squad.

Turning your head back to the right, you noticed Oikawa glaring malevolently at Kageyama, a sense of rage deep within his pupils. He pointed at him with an infuriated expression on his face, his left hand directly in front of your eyes. “Watch out, Tyrant—I’m gonna fucking smoke you.”

Oikawa slapped both of his hands on the wheel and curled his fingers around the top, revving the engine as loudly as he could. You looked up into the rearview mirror and saw the back window completely covered in white exhaust smoke before quickly glancing at Oikawa’s face flushed with determination and confidence. For the first time, you felt frightened to be next to him.

A new flagger appeared in front—a woman wearing orange with black hair and glasses, slowly counting down the numbers from five. As soon as she said ‘three’, Oikawa revved his engine so loudly that you couldn’t hear her count down to the last digit anymore. You glanced at Leia who was already wearing her own pair of black sunglasses, resting her left arm on the side of the 350Z while showing off her koi fish tattoo. While quickly holding onto the grab-handle above the ceiling, you rested your arm on the edge of the window, gulping down a dry swallow.

The woman waved the orange flag down, screaming “GO!” at the top of her lungs. Within the speed of a second, Oikawa stomped on the accelerator causing the car to jerk forward, speeding down the road as the tires squealed against the asphalt. The gust of wind shrieked loud in your ears while the engines from every car overwhelmed the noise of the busy highways nearby.

Every car was neck and neck—you couldn’t tell who was leading as the rankings fluctuated between all the racers. Oikawa shifted the car into fifth gear and stepped on the accelerator, the sound of his engine growing louder in your ears as he increased his speed. On the right side, Kuroo did the same thing; rev-matching to the same gear as you could hear his car pushing forward.

Within a second, Kageyama’s black Lexus LFA zoomed to your left with sparks flying out of his exhaust, passing all of the cars behind him. He glanced over at you and Oikawa with a scowl on his face and his nose crinkled up, tightening his grip on the wheel. You immediately turned your head right to look at Oikawa who kept his eyes on the road, clicking his tongue with a slight shake of his head.

“Too soon to use nitrous, Tyrant.” Oikawa patronized, smiling to himself as Kageyama pushed forward, leading the race. He clicked his tongue against his teeth again and swerved the entire car to the left, drifting on the corner between two streets. You scrambled to grab onto something, accidentally gripping onto Oikawa’s forearm on the gearshift. He didn’t flinch and continued to drift the corner, acting as he didn’t feel you grab his arm.

Kageyama led first in the race, followed by Oikawa right on his tail. You looked back and saw Kuroo and Leia directly behind, the entire back window blocked by the headlights of his Nissan 350Z. With your hand still gripped onto his forearm, you felt Oikawa shift the gear stick back down to fourth before he blipped his foot on the throttle.

Everything was happening so fast as it was hard for you to comprehend anything that was going on, your head spinning in multiple directions every time you felt the inertia hit your body. Sooner or later, Kuroo’s vehicle zoomed up right next to your side, the sound of the engine echoing into the tunnel all the racers entered. Oikawa growled and stepped on the accelerator, swerving to the right and turning a sharp corner in order to drift away from the 350Z.

The drift was heavy when you felt the entire car shift to the left,  hearing the tires squeal loudly in your ears while your body ricocheted in the same direction. You clutched onto the seat belt around the front of your body as Kuroo’s 350Z sped past Oikawa, hearing a maniacal laughter echo from their window with sparks flying out of his exhaust.

“Son of a bitch,” Oikawa cursed to himself, hitting the top of his steering wheel as he grunted, his rank now dropping down to third place.

He shifted up to fifth gear and pulled the emergency brake, swerving the car all the way to the left again as he maneuvered through other cars on the road, finally exiting out of the tunnel. The rear of his RX-7 drifted to the right, feeling every organ in your body shift with it. You clutched the grab-handle as tightly as you could with your left hand when Oikawa stepped on the accelerator and focused his attention to the road ahead—it stretched a far distance without any turns, which was a huge advantage at the given moment of the race.

“If you’re gonna hit it, hit it until it breaks.”

Oikawa revved his engine and sped up to 150km/h, flipping a small switch underneath his thumb on the wheel. You felt your stomach drop as the car pushed forward, the rumble of his engine vibrating beneath your feet. Sparks flew in the rearview mirror while Oikawa’s speedometer read 195km/h, finally passing both Kuroo and Kageyama, leaving them both behind in the dust.

“Suck my dick, bitch!” Oikawa shouted as he looked back at them while sticking his arm out the window, pumping his fist victoriously into the air.

You looked over your right shoulder and saw the four other racers in the distance, the headlights of their cars diminishing until you could no longer see the glisten in the night. Oikawa glanced in your direction with a smug expression on his face, chuckling to himself as he sped down the road.

“Holy shit,” you exclaimed in shock, unable to say anything else. You peered out the window and saw the bright Tokyo skyline, all the colorful neon lights flashing on the hood of his car as Oikawa quickly swerved in between cars and trucks traveling on the road. The air breezed through his brown locks pulling back along his head, the edges of his white button up shirt fluttering with the wind.

For a while, his car cruised at a steady 130km/h, no worries of the other racers catching up. You placed your hand on the window, the cold touch of the glass forming a fog around the silhouette of your fingers. The Tokyo rainbow bridge lit up in the distance, the colors reflecting on the calm waters down below. Hearing the sputter of his engine once again, Oikawa pressed his foot on the accelerator and increased his speed.

“Watch this.” He pulled the emergency brake up and turned the steering wheel all the way to the right, pushing down on the gas pedal with a staggered motion. He shifted the gear stick up to fifth again as the car drifted across a tight round turn on the road. At that moment, you glanced at Oikawa—a smile from one ear to the other grew on his face, showing his teeth as a cheer erupted from his mouth. Only pure happiness resided in his eyes, a shine in his teeth reflecting from the street lights.

Within the moment, it almost felt like your heart stopped beating when he glanced back, giving you a soft and genuine smile. You didn’t necessarily believe in love at first sight, but if you could describe how it might have felt, this exact moment would have been your answer. The term ‘butterflies in your stomach’ couldn’t come close to describing the way you were somehow feeling about Oikawa.

An epiphany came to your mind; as you watched him enjoy the one thing he loved doing while catching a glimpse of what kind of person he was in the moment—that was when you realized you were attracted to him, both physically and mentally. The first time you saw Oikawa, you wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone, but you thought he was a beautiful man with a beautiful face—though, you didn’t expect him to have a beautiful soul as well.

You weren’t sure how, but just by observing the way he talked to you, the way he treated you and the way Iwaizumi entrusted him to watch over you—it was obvious he was much more than the kind of person people perceived him out to be. There was no way to describe your attraction to him other than there seemed to be a glass wall Oikawa had purposefully surrounded himself with in order for you to peer in and observe, to seek out what truly remained inside.

Oikawa revved the engine again and increased his speed back up to 160km/h reaching the end of the race, seeing the finish line in the distance. While looking up in the rearview mirror, you noticed Oikawa smile to himself as he pressed down on the throttle, the engine roaring once again.

Within a second, one of the racers instantly approached right behind Oikawa, their headlights dimmed low in the rearview mirror. You couldn’t tell who it was at first, but the minute they swerved right up next to Oikawa’s drivers side, you instantly recognized it was Shinsuke Kita from the Inarizaki Bois in his Nissan Silvia S15. He glanced at Oikawa with his eyebrows raised, taking the lit cigarette out of his mouth and placing it in between his two fingers, waving his hand slightly while he sped up and took first place.

“Fucking bitch,” Oikawa growled as he pushed down on the clutch and shifted the gear back up to fifth again to increase his speed, earning a little bit of room above Kita.

You looked to your left and saw Kuroo’s 350Z pulling up on the passenger side, noticing the black sunglasses on Kuroo’s face slide down his nose, enough for his eyes to peer up at you. He gave a smug look, resting his right arm on the top of the steering wheel. In the passenger seat, Leia could be seen dancing along to the loud song booming on their stereo, swinging her hips side to side with her arms up in the air as Kuroo gained leverage above both Oikawa and Kita.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me.” Oikawa gritted his teeth while tightening his grip around the steering wheel, stomping down on the accelerator once again to gain speed. In an instant, he leveled with both Kuroo and Kita, now making it impossible to tell who was in first place.

The finish line approached quickly as you saw a large crowd of people gathered around the end of the street, their loud cheers mixing in with the echoes of the busy traffic in the distance. Oikawa pushed past over 180km/h again, determined to win the race as he stepped on the accelerator harder, causing the transmission to vibrate loudly again. Another roar came from his engine as he gained leverage, pulling himself ahead of the others.

You saw Kuroo and Kita drag behind as Oikawa pushed through the finish line, placing first in the race. He pulled up in the middle of the crowd and drifted around in a circle—his special exit spin. He made a perfect donut with tread marks on the asphalt, connecting the lines in a 360 degree motion. The rear wheels drifted for three more revolutions before Oikawa finally stopped in place, feeling the jolt of the brake.

Grabbing your seatbelt, you felt quite dizzy when your vision began to blur, just barely making out the large crowd gathering around Oikawa’s car. You breathed in the smoke from his exhaust as it clouded around his car, seeping inside past the open windows. Voices from all around filled your hearing, the sound of congratulatory greetings and squeals of excitement ringing through your ears.

Kuroo and Leia rushed in next as they placed second, Kita coming in right after, placed third—all finishing within a second of each other. You saw Kageyama arrive a few seconds later, pulling up slowly in his Lexus LFA with an irritated expression on his face and a tight grip on his wheel.

Bokuto rolled up in last place with the side of his car wrecked, smoke coming out of the hood and the front bumper holding on by a screw. You winced at the condition of his car, knowing it would cost a fortune to get that all fixed.

Oikawa parked his car and jumped out of the vehicle only to be greeted by the people of the crowd, congratulating him for winning the final race. Women tried to surround him, but he ultimately ignored their advances and rushed to the other side, swinging your car door open. Even in the midst of winning the largest race in Tokyo surrounded by beautiful women, Oikawa still fulfilled his chivalrous duties to you.

As you stepped out of the vehicle, Oikawa held your hand gently and pulled you up from the seat, closing the door behind you. He stared into your eyes with a smile on his face before impulsively embracing you into a hug, wrapping his arms around your waist as his hands brushed up against the top of your back. Instinctively, you hugged back, wrapping your own arms around his body as you felt his face bury in the crook of your neck.

“I’m sorry,” Oikawa immediately tried to pull away, realizing he might have crossed a boundary—yet you pulled him back in, not wanting him to let go of your warm embrace. You lifted your head up to look at him, noticing his pupils dilate when he stared down at your lips, his right hand placed just at the crook of your back.

He looked straight into your eyes as he placed his left hand on your face, gently stroking your cheek as he breathed out a soft sigh. With a tender smile on your lips, you placed your left hand on his jaw, pulling his face in for a kiss.

Oikawa was startled by your sudden movements, but soon found himself wrapping his arms around your body, bringing you closer to him than ever before. You flung your right arm around his neck and ran your hand through the back of his hair, feeling each strand of his locks brush against your fingertips.

Your entire body shifted closer as he pulled you in to deepen the kiss, slightly opening his mouth to take a quick breath. With your left hand still on the side of his face, you trailed the fingers on your right hand down his back, slightly turning your head to the side in order to let his tongue swipe alongside the bottom of your lip.

You weren’t the type to kiss strangers within an hour of meeting them, but with Oikawa—you hated to admit it, but it felt absolutely different with him. Somehow, his kiss felt like medicine, healing a growing ache within your body as you began to kiss him passionately, moving your lips in sync with his.

Oikawa pulled away and broke the kiss, slightly gasping for air before cupping your face with both of his hands, all while staring into your eyes. He connected the tip of his forehead with yours, fluttering his eyes shut before whispering against your lips.

“My prize.”

He completely removed both his hands off of your body, diligently placing them into the front pocket of his black jeans. A bit embarrassed, you turned around to see Leia and Kuroo stepping out of the Nissan 350Z, waving their hands in your direction. She walked up to you quickly with her arms out, not insinuating an embrace.

“Okay, now I see why you were in Cypher’s car,” Leia smirked as she placed her left hand inside DK’s Nekoma Crew bomber jacket around her body. “Ya know, you’re kinda bad. He doesn’t let just any girl ride with him during a race. In fact, I don’t think he’s ever done that before.”

You looked over your shoulder back at Oikawa as he nodded, confirming Leia’s statement. He looked down at you with a smug look on his face and his eyebrows raised while he took his right hand out of his pocket to touch your denim jacket, slightly pulling your back against his chest. You weren’t sure what had happened in the last minute, but all you knew was that the tension between you two grew rapidly, the kiss confirming that you both were into each other.

In the distance you saw the same guy with a man-bun talking to Kuroo earlier, Kenma Kozume, pushing through the large crowd. He had his hands in the front pockets of his red cargo pants and a black skin tight tank top, presuming it was the signature uniform of the Nekoma Crew. His yellow toolbelt hung loosely around his hips as he walked up to you and Oikawa with a bundle of cash rolled up in his hand.

“Snake Eyes,” Oikawa greeted with a slight nod as he approached the both of you.

“Fair and square, Cypher.” Kenma slapped the large wad of cash rolled up by a rubber band onto Oikawa’s hand. “Two million yen.”

Just as Oikawa placed the cash in his pocket, Kuroo’s walkie talkie went off. As everyone around the parking lot paused, you looked towards Leia as her eyes widened with a worried expression on her face. For a second there was a beep on the machine, then a stressed eerie-sounding noise wailed through the static.

“Cops, cops, cops!” A deep voice on Kuroo’s walkie talkie went off. “COPS HEADED OUR WAY!”

There wasn’t any hesitation when it came to law enforcement as the crowd panicked and rushed to their vehicles, making it hard for any driver to get out of the parking lot safely. Kuroo grabbed Leia’s hand as they both rushed inside his 350Z, Kenma closely following behind as he shoved himself into the backseat of the two-seater car.

“Looks like I’ll have to buy you ramen another time!” Leia yelled back at you before she hopped into the 350Z, shutting the passenger side door behind her. Kuroo sped off into the night right after, straight into the highway as his engine echoed throughout the air.

Oikawa grabbed your hand and quickly opened the passenger door of his car, motioning for you to get in. Once your body sank low into the seat again, he shut the door, jumping onto the front of his car while swiftly gliding across the hood, opening the driver’s side all in one fluid motion. The second he hopped in, Oikawa quickly stomped on the clutch and started the engine, switching on the headlights while revving the car, speeding off into the same direction as Kuroo.

With people still running in multiple directions throughout the parking lot, it was difficult for anyone to get out safely onto the main road. The highway near the car meet became flooded with vehicles packed end to end, bumper to bumper—causing Oikawa to take a shortcut between two factory buildings, speeding down a tight alleyway. He quickly pressed down on the clutch again, rapidly switching from third to fourth gear with his left hand, accelerating the speed of his car as the engine boomed.

You looked over to your right and saw a tensed expression on his face with his eyebrows furrowed and his bottom lip pouted, focusing on the road ahead of him. He kept his left hand on the gear stick and his right hand on the steering wheel, quickly downshifting from fourth to third gear, blipping the throttle with the tip of his foot before slowing down.

Once he placed the emergency brake up, he drifted a tight corner between the two buildings, entering a small street perpendicular to the main highway packed with most of the people from the car meet. You held onto the grab handle above your head, clutching it tightly while you felt your entire body swerve to the left, noticing Oikawa’s body ricocheted in his seat as well with the turn of the drift.

Once he was able to steady the direction of the car, he stepped on the clutch and shifted the car back up to fourth and then fifth gear sequentially—hitting the gas pedal hard as he sped down the small road, catching the attention of the pedestrians walking on the side. In the rearview mirror, you saw police lights flash brightly coming in your direction, not noticing them on your tails before as the roar of his engine drowned out the sound of the sirens.

Oikawa’s eyes shifted up to look at the rearview mirror, pinching the edges of his eyebrows closer together as he became more infuriated. Another scowl plastered on his face, tensing his entire body up while stepping on the gas pedal harder. On his speedometer, you saw him pushing past 150km/h—not as fast as in the race, but fast enough to escape the police trailing behind you. Focusing on the road ahead of him while turning corners and speeding down adjacent roads, Oikawa remained silent the whole time the police chased after you two.

Your mind felt dizzy; unable to comprehend how he was able to stay so focused and calm with the sirens blaring in his ears. Thinking to yourself if you were in his place, you would have immediately panicked, not knowing what to do in the moment. While racing through different theories and conclusions, you remembered that Oikawa was a criminal—this probably wasn’t the first time he had been hunted by law enforcement.

Despite being in a chase, you looked outside of the window to see the city skyline shine brightly in the night, the neon colors scattered throughout the horizon. You reflected back on your actions during the past hour, wondering how you were able to end up in the passenger seat of a car during a street race, now chased by law enforcement on the streets of Tokyo. Yet, in the back of your mind you would not have wanted to do anything else—or even with anyone else.

You gripped the grab handle on the roof of the car with your left hand and grasped the middle of your seatbelt with the other, your body trembling as the red lights from the police flashed in the side mirrors. Oikawa chucked the steering wheel to the left and instantly pulled the emergency brake up, only to release it down when the car drifted to the corner of the street. As your body rocked from side to side in your seat, you inhaled sharply through your nose while feeling the adrenaline rush straight to your head.

Despite the intensity of the predicament you both were in, you felt Oikawa gently place his hand on your leg, benevolently caressing the exposed skin on your inner right thigh. He turned to look at you, smiling with confidence in his abilities. The sound of his sultry voice made your heart beat faster despite his attempt to calm you down.

“Hey,” Oikawa reassured. “Don’t worry, I’ll get us out of here.”

The minute his car exited the main street, Oikawa immediately turned left into another, revving his engine quietly at the apex of the corner. Oikawa began to slow down his speed the further he drove down the road, completely stopping the car while shifting the gear into reverse. Tucked between two buildings, Oikawa backed the car into a smaller alleyway, tucking his arm behind your seat as he positioned his upper body to face you, turning his head to look back.

With his right hand on the steering wheel, Oikawa effortlessly backed up into the alleyway, securing a large space tucked into the alley. He quickly turned off the engine and dimmed his headlights, making sure to cautiously hide his entire vehicle from the police as you both waited in silence, not a single peep coming from your mouth.

You swore you could hear the police sirens approaching in the distance, feeling your heart beating straight out of your chest like it was ready to burst any second. Oikawa on the other hand, placed his right hand on the steering wheel and watched the exit closely, his body calm and relaxed in his seat. Two police vehicles sped past the alleyway, completely unaware of the RX-7 hiding in the darkness.

You let out a heavy sigh of relief and closed your eyes, feeling the rush of  blood to your head subside with the sound of your heart pumping throughout your body filling your ears. Leaning your head back into the headrest, you inhaled deeply in order to calm down the nerves creeping underneath your skin.

“They’re gone now.” Oikawa stated as he placed his keys back into the ignition to start the engine again. The car rumbled beneath your feet as he released the clutch, letting the car slowly roll out of the alleyway.

“Where are we going?” You asked as Oikawa turned the car in the opposite direction from the police.

“I can take you back to your place if you want.” Oikawa’s voice became monotonous, not a single expression resting on his face. “Or we can go back to my condo, whichever one. I can stay with you for the night if you’d like.”

While turning your head to the left, you brought your face close to the window as your breath condensed on the glass, spotting the Rainbow Bridge in the distance from earlier. You somehow recognized the place you were in as the Minato ward, just a little south from Downtown Tokyo. “Where’s your condo?”

“It’s in the Shibuya district, not too far from here. I just took the other way in order to lead the police in the wrong direction, you know, to avoid any suspicion.” Oikawa peered his head to the left and then to the right, checking to see if there was any traffic before advancing forward, shifting the transmission from third to fourth gear.

You looked back out to the left, observing the street you both were driving on—in the distance, several highways stretched far into downtown, multiple buildings standing tall into the sky. The night was calm, just barely seeing the stars up in the violet atmosphere.

Turning your head back to the right, you looked at Oikawa with your answer. “Well, we can go back to your place then. Mine’s a little far from where we are.”

“You sure? I don’t mind the drive.” With his left hand, he signaled to turn right, his indicators blinking against the road signs.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

You knew exactly what you were doing, asking for him to drive you both back to his condo—it was painfully obvious to him, yet it seemed like your advances didn’t stop Oikawa from entering the expressway that led back up to Shibuya. He relaxed his eyelids a bit, accelerating his speed through the bridge with the Tokyo skyline spanning throughout the view.

You placed your hand into your denim jacket pocket and pulled out your phone, glancing up to check the clock as it read 1:37 AM. Time seemed to pass by quickly, remembering that you were just doing your chemistry homework in your apartment yesterday evening. Now, as you were on your way to Oikawa’s condo—you couldn’t help but notice everything was happening way too fast and way too easily, knowing exactly what was to come in a matter of a few hours.

You suddenly remembered about Iwaizumi, questioning to yourself if he might have been worried of your whereabouts. Just to give him a peace of mind, you scrolled through your contacts and tapped on his name before placing your phone up to your ear. As you heard the dial-tone ring three times, within a second he picked up, the roar of an engine greeting you through the speaker.

“Hello?” Iwaizumi croaked before clearing his throat, hearing him shuffle something on the other side. He called your name out, making sure you were still there. “Where are you? Are you safe?”

“Yeah, I’m safe. I’m actually still with Cypher,” you lowered the volume of your voice slightly as you stared out the window. “We’re going back to his condo.”

“His condo?! I didn’t say he could bring you back to his place.” Iwaizumi scolded, his voice growing a bit annoyed. You could sense the same protectiveness he’s always had for you, even when you both were young.

“Hajime, relax, it was my decision.” You turned your head to face Oikawa, watching the corner of his mouth slightly turn up.

“Nah, I still want to talk to him. Give him the phone.” Iwaizumi commanded, reluctant to accept the fact you were an adult, able to make decisions for yourself.

“He’s driving. I can’t just—” Oikawa brought out his left hand, insinuating for you to give him your phone while he curled his fingers in a come-hither motion. You placed it face up onto his palm before he cleared his throat, bringing it up close to his ear.

“Iwaizumi.” Oikawa greeted with a smirk forming in the corner of his mouth. You could hear the sound of Iwaizumi’s voice booming through your phone, yelling in all sorts of directions out of the speaker. All Oikawa did was chuckle to himself, taking in all the insults and threats from your cousin with a grain of salt.

“You know it was her decision, right? I didn’t force her to do anything,” he responded into the phone, restating what you had already told Iwaizumi. “Okay, fine. I’ll take her back.”

“What? No.” You reached out for your phone again, asking for it back. “What did he say?”

“He said he wants me to take you back to your apartment or else he’s going to break my neck, or something.” Oikawa scoffed and chuckled to himself before placing his left hand back on the gearstick, downshifting to third gear in order to slow down with the traffic.

You both still heard Iwaizumi scold Oikawa through the phone, his voice now growing deep and exasperated, noticing he started to sound like a broken record with the constant insults. “Shittykawa, I will personally drive over to your fucking condo and beat the living hell out of you and your shitty ass car!”

“Shut up Hajime, you’re being rude now.” You rolled your eyes and leaned back into your seat, letting out a large sigh. He continued to yell into the speaker as you cupped your hand over the microphone, turning your head to whisper. “Let’s just lie and say you’re taking me back to my place.”

Oikawa let out a loud chuckle to himself as he rested his left elbow on the middle console, turning his head over to shoot you a cheeky grin. “I like the way you think.”

You smiled back before placing your phone up to your ear again, hearing Iwaizumi continue to lecture you on why you shouldn’t go back to Oikawa’s condo for completely irrational and absurd reasons. “Okay Hajime. He’s taking me back to my apartment right now.”

“About damn time. Look, I’m about to arrive at this one girl’s place, so I’ll talk to you later. Love you.” Iwaizumi’s tone quickly shifted, confusing you on what he had just mentioned.

“What the fuck—?”

“Love you!” He quickly exclaimed before hanging up, your phone now displaying your background screensaver. With your eyebrows pinched and your lips pouted, a bewildered look formed on your face as you squinted down at your phone again.

“…Love you too, Hajime.”

You reclined back into your seat, slumping your shoulders slightly as you placed your phone back into your pocket, tucking both of your hands inside as well. Oikawa continued to drive down the expressway, acting as if the call with Iwaizumi didn’t happen.

During most of the car ride, you both sat in silence—listening to the rumble of the engine and the rotation of the tires, other traffic filling up your ears as you leaned your elbow on the open window. Staring straight up at the tall buildings with the wind in your face, you felt the cool breeze through your cheeks while resting your head on your palm.

You still didn’t know much about Oikawa, only what Leia had told you about him. Though, by what you had directly experienced, it didn’t seem like he lived up to his reputation at all—the way Leia had described his past, his façade and his notoriety, it didn’t fit his character. Yet, this was just your first impression of him; he could have been a completely different person underneath what he was showing you now.

He still intrigued your interest, making it a challenge for yourself to know what was really underneath the mask he was hiding behind. You turned your head to face him again, looking directly at the prominent dragon tattoo on his right forearm, only seeing what could be shown with his sleeves rolled. Oikawa quickly noticed you and glanced over to your side, cocking his eyebrow up.

“Got something to say?” He broke the silence, turning his attention back to the road.

You removed your head from your palm, shoving both of your hands inside the pockets of your oversized denim jacket. The wind from outside seeped into the car, brushing through your skin once again. You clicked your tongue against the roof of your mouth, proceeding to ask him a blunt question. “Yeah, I do. How’d you convince Hajime to join your gang?”

You raised an eyebrow again, turning your head to face him. In the back of your mind, you still wondered how Iwaizumi was able to involve himself with someone who had previously been associated with the yakuza—you’ve known him to always be the kind of person to “follow the rules” ever since he was younger. It seemed out of place for him, presuming he might have been persuaded in terms of money or future promises in exchange to be initiated in.

“He came into my shop looking for parts.” Oikawa responded hesitantly, his eyes still focused on the road. “And I didn’t convince your cousin at all. He wanted to join all on his own.”

There was a long pause in between your question and his answer, raising your suspicion on the reliability of his statement. Iwaizumi was never the type of person to willingly join a group of people as he was more of a person to do things on his own, at least when it was anything related to cars. You remembered that the only other person he would willingly let fix his car alongside your help was no other than your father. “Hmm… okay, but I don’t really believe you.”

“Well look at it this way—your cousin, all throughout his life, has been into cars. Fixing them, racing them. He probably mentioned before that he’d want a career out of it too. Sound familiar?” There was a brief moment of silence between you two as you didn’t respond to his rhetoric. Oikawa looked towards your direction one last time, raising an eyebrow in the process. “Now wouldn’t it make sense he would want to join a gang that does all those things, while also being guaranteed a job at my shop?”

Although all of his reasons were logically sound, you still weren’t fully convinced; you wanted to know the details, you wanted to fully understand. Perhaps that was your problem—you always wanted to know exactly the reason why. “Yeah, I guess that does sound believable or whatever.”

“Well, baby you can believe whatever you want to believe.” You turned your head and looked out the window again, fixing your vision to stare at yourself through the mirror. The clouds began to creep in, blocking out the moon up in the sky. “So, if what you’re telling me is true, that’s exactly how Hajime got into street racing?”

“Correct.”

Turning your neck to face him, you asked him another question, watching him turn the wheel to the right with one hand. “Can I ask how did you get into street racing?”

Oikawa quickly whipped his head to the left, leaning his body over to check the traffic coming in from the opposite direction. His pupils quickly glanced at you, his eyelids relaxed without an expression on his face. Before turning his wheel completely over, he cleared his throat and mumbled softly. “Through DK. You met him, right?”

You recalled the man you had bumped into earlier, remembering if you hadn’t, Leia would not have told you about Oikawa’s reputation. “Yeah, I did. Have you always known him?”

“I actually met DK when I first moved back to Tokyo two years ago.” He turned the steering wheel to the left and signaled to change lanes, slowing down the car. “He was already established as Drift King of the underground street racing scene—in fact, he was the one who got me into cars and racing as a sport up here.”

He exited down the highway ramp and into a busy district on the outskirts of Downtown Tokyo. The neon lights of several businesses reflected on the hood of his car as you passed through a road filled with lively people walking on the side. Despite the time almost reaching 2 AM, the streets of the urban Tokyo neighborhood still boomed with vibrant energy.

“You weren’t already a racer back in Osaka? You’re pretty much a natural at drifting.” You peered your head out the window, looking up into the tall buildings with purple, blue and red neon lights as it reflected back on Oikawa’s car.

He smiled in the corner of his mouth, letting out a sharp exhale. “Thanks, but no I wasn’t. I did other things.”

“What, like selling drugs?” You joked, slightly chuckling to yourself as you placed your hands back into your pockets, gripping your right hand around your phone. 

“Yeah, exactly.”

The yakuza was notorious for doing those kinds of businesses, yet you thought he could have done something else in place of it, like running gambling rings or clubs—that was what you remembered most yakuza members did nowadays when the largest yakuza clan in all of Japan banned their men from dealing in drug trafficking.

Your eyes widened as you fixed your posture, turning your head back to face him. Silence filled the car once again, your mouth slightly parted open as you stared at Oikawa. The tattoos on his arm stood out against the lights as your eyes fixed on his left hand—remembering the dagger on his index, the cross on his middle. The small crescent moon situated on his ring finger, the ink completely filled in. 

“Oh, you were being serious.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Oikawa responded in a monotonous voice, barely turning his head to look at you as he rev-matched down to second gear, slowly turning into an underground parking garage situated beneath a tall building.

“So you’re basically a criminal.” You assumed as the car descended down a series of ramps, the rumble of his engine echoing louder than before. He looked at you with an alluring gaze, one you could not describe how it made you feel.

“Always have been, baby.”

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