#no matter what you keep finding something to fight for

[thewritingfairy]

↪ 11. Something is wrong

PREV PART trigger warning: medical + physical + emotional neglect, 'humor' filler chapter (not my best chapter), the Penguin makes an appearance, shouting, cursing main m.list       series m.list

You feel suspicious, you can’t help it. Not only is Damian following you around like a chick would follow their mother, Duke has moved in but is acting strange towards your family. The tension between them higher then you have ever felt, however you’re also being followed (not that you told Duke, he would absolutely try to find whoever is following you and try to fight them. And you would like to keep him alive) to your work and back.

For example, you sneaked out of your room and now you’re walking to your work plus being followed. “You know,” you say as you turn around, stopping a street before you arrive at the restaurant. “if you want something, you can just ask. But I would prefer it if you didn’t stalk me to my work.”

When no one came out of the trees or make themselves clear to you you just sigh, adjusting your uniform to sit just right as you continue your walk. This time you saw your mysterious supervisor at the door and when you pass him you say; “I’m being followed, look up on your left.”

He says nothing, but you can see his eyes narrow and harden. You’re correct, you’re being followed, and it’s not a friend of your boss. Matter of fact, it’s someone he must hate. Because just 2 hours in your shift you’re called to the back by your supervisor, and there he is. Cobblepot, but he’s here as the Penguin. He has to be with that look in his eyes, he looks like he’s about to rip a head off and you just hope it isn’t yours.

“Mx. (Last name),” he greets you, his eyes heavy with contempt. But not for you, no never you. The person who had brought normal civilians into his establishment by being so open, by gushing over the working conditions, strengthening his front. You’re a great employee, beyond expectations, all without breaking the law. “you’re being followed by Nightwing.”

A groan leaves your mouth, you couldn’t help it. You had heard he was back in town, but to think he’s following you? Now that just pisses you off. “Why me,” you whine, making it clear that you are quite pissed. “if he doesn’t stop I’m calling the cops on him.”

Your supervisor laughs behind his hand, obviously trying to stay professional and he’s failing immensely. Then shouting is heard from the front, you frown as you look at the two. And when Cobblepot sighs and goes out there to check it out your supervisor and you follow him. You seriously hope the waitress subbing in for you wasn’t being shouted at, she’s too sweet to be yelled at, and you’ll absolutely fight whoever yells at her.

Turns out it’s Nightwing who was panicking about the fact he couldn’t see you.

And the moment he did he rushes towards you, checking you all over for any visible injuries until you smack in his hand away in shock. “What the fuck,” you curse, kicking him in the shins (which obviously did nothing, but hey A+ for effort). “don’t touch me you ass.”

“How can you be so reckless?!” Nightwing suddenly shouts, which makes you look at him like he’s crazy and the patrons to look over. Especially the villain ones. “You shouldn’t be here at all, especially in your condition!”

You roll your eyes, but then it hits you. You don’t know Nightwing, how can he know anything about you? “I’m sorry, do we know each other?” You ask, looking at him like you would at Bruce. Your eyes harsh and if looks could kill Nightwing would be six feet under. He freezes and shakes his head, which makes you scoff; “Then why the fuck are you stalking me? Aren’t you supposed to be a hero?”

Well that shut him up real quick, he’s looking at the ground and keeping a half-smile on his face as he tries to look for a way to bullshit his way out of this. “Go bother active criminals,” you say as you take in how he’s standing. “these folks are here to eat a nice meal. And you clearly got an issue with me, not them. So bother me when I am not on the clock.”

“But-”

“Uhuh,” you say, putting your finger up in front of you. Looking like a sassy English teacher that’s about to give him detention, if he didn’t feel so awkward he would absolutely love this interaction. It’s almost like sibling banter! “absolutely the fuck not, fuck off. Jesus, you remind me of someone-”

“Awh thank you,” he gushes, thinking it was positive. And he could hear the family groan in his ear.

“If (Name) finds out about our identity through this I am quitting,” Red Hood mumbles through the comms and Nightwing just ignores him.

“It’s not a good thing, he’s a dick.” you say, and you can see your boss back off with a grin. Bringing your supervisor back to the back. And the patrons are enjoying the show, as well as your co-workers. Great. “Now could you kindly leave if you’re not going to order food? Thank you~!”

NEXT PART this is absolutely a filler chapter for the next one, so yes, I tried to humor my way out of this chapter. Did it work? Not really- is it a great set up for the next part of this story? Yes (well I hope so).

Taglist (closed): @prettiest-thing-in-the-morgue, @bunniotomia, @devotedlyshamelessdetective, @princessbonnie-bell, @seemee3, @pix-stuff, @venomsvl, @amber-content, @stove-top96, @frank-vanderboom, @leeiasure, @1abi, @shadowytravelerlover, @chericia, @lithiumval, @lingxio, @cssammyyarts, @marsmabe, @foolishseven, @kore-of-the-underworld, @bunbunboysworld, @homeless-clown, @miashico, @alwaysholymilkshake, @1cxndy, @kittzu, @rtyuy1346, @exactlynumberonekryptonite, @hopingtoclearmedschool, @artistwithcreativeburnout, @alishii, @vanessa-boo, @holylonelyponyeatingmacaroni, @91-kya, @ryuushou, @jjsmeowthie, @justthere1956, @depressed--therapist, @xzmickeyzx, @cheappremingerfromdelululand, @plsfckmedxddy, @itsberrydreemurstuff, @trashlaternfish360, @leogf, @dirtydiavolo, @lilyalone, @welpthisisboring, @kenman00001, @nxdxsworld, @icefox8155, @ironsaladwitch, @holderoflostmemories, @asillysimp, @wisefuncherryblossom, @eyeless-kun, @marina27826, @muggleloveralways, @ironsaladwitch, @shyenemyperson, @iamaunknownsecret

[namjooningera]

If LADS were Yanderes ♡

Characters: Zayne, Caleb, Sylus

AN: I guess I’m gonna start doing LADS content? Here’s some basicslly soft yan lad boys. Request if y’all want more (^^)

Warnings: soft yandere things, mentions of stalking. Mentions of smut in Zaynes; overstim, brat tamer zayne, shower sex. Caleb is lowkey manipulative. Not proofread

Sylus:

♡ He values your independence, however that doesn’t exactly stop him from making sure your always just a step away from him- he’s right there if you need him

♡ he always just happens to be in the area when you are. Oh you’re fighting a wanderer right now? On a mission? He’s right beside you! Plus, the faster you two finish the mission tne faster he can get you on a date with him, spending tne rest of the day together!

♡ He most obviously hates things in the way of y’all’s relationship, little pests in the way. And you never really realize when they disappear, when he comes home with just a little blood on his collar, his hands a little grimier, his eyes sharper and that smirk hanging off his lips.

♡ has a certain obsession with buying you pretty things. Little trinkets here and there because he’s a dragon. And no, of course they don’t have tiny cameras in them! He already has just Mephisto watching you- right? Just Mephisto?

♡ No, he doesn’t get jealous. He gets territorial. You two are together- bound. So who does this guy think he is? Hitting on you in broad daylight? Your little coworker. It doesn’t matter though, because the very next day you find their desk cleaned out!

♡ Sylus who watches as you see other men. Your coworker, doctor, childhood friend… he just watched and laughs. Do you truly think any of them can actually be as good as he is? Sylus is confident that once you have him, you won’t need anyone else. It’s why he lets you keep your little guy friends, because at the end of the day, he’s confident that if they became a real threat, he’d barely have to lift a finger to get rid of them.

♡ Sylus who’s extremly clingy. You find him to be.. everywhere. He’s always “in the neighborhood”, in front of your work, at your favorite cafes, he’s just.. around. And when you finally do call him to you, instead of letting him pop up to you instead, it’s like he’s in a buzzer radius, showing up to you immediately.

♡ He’s so clingy that he’ll even show up to your missions! And of course you’re confused, because what kind of “business” does Sylus have four hours away from home? And all of a sudden the hotel you booked is completely full and your sharing a room with Sylus?

♡ Even with these acts that are becoming too coincidental, his act is so cool and collected you, for the most part, believe him when he says he had “business” in these parts, or he just happened to stop by your home, because you forgot something at his base. And hey thats funny, he has your necklace in his hand. You don’t ever remember taking it off in the first place.

♡ Had photos of you- everywhere. His wallet, his nightstand, on his desk. He’s just so adorned by you!

♡ Finally, after all that quality time together- he’s elated when you finally start going out together!

♡ Of course, this is when bit by bit, his obsession starts to show more and more. Except.. it’s weird. You like it? Maybe it’s because he’s grown on you, spending so much time together you like the pest that’s Sylus- attached to your hip!

♡ So when he does suspicious things, like when the waiter hits on you- and all of a sudden Sylus needs to use the restroom, and comes back with the slightest drop of blood on his collarbone- you don’t blink. When your mean supervisor humiliates you, all of a sudden they’re demoted to the worst branch and bruised- you shrug. When you see your ex- the one whos always pestering you- in Sylus’ base one day, bloodied and tortured- you look the other way. Why? Because what you don’t know won’t hurt you. And after all, your boyfriend just wants to keep you safe.

Zayne-

♡ Zayne, your sweet childhood friend, you’re sure can’t hurt a fly. After all, he’s a doctor! He took an oath.

♡ Zayne is.. interesting to say the least. As you grew up together, you saw him as this sweet but timid boy. He had his nice moments, but most of the time you mistook his actions for mean ones because of his attitude- even when he meant the nicest things.

♡ It was almost.. annoying, knowing Caleb was always there with you. When Zayne you two were young, and he noticed your shoes were untied, letting you know so that he can get on his knees and tie them for you- just for little Prince Charming Caleb to swoop in and kneel on his knees, tying bunny knots on your cute pastel shoes.

♡ He needed.. new ways to get your attention. And Zayne was smart, he was sure he could find ways to do exactly that. He’d make snow figurines for you, trying to entice young you, so that perhaps for playtime- you’d choose him, not run to Caleb. And finally, when you do, when you tell Zayne he needs to be the dad when playing house, and you’ll be the mom- and Caleb will be the dog- everything is just.. perfect. Young him is elated. Plus he notices young, you’d be the perfect partner! So adorable and sweet, with your apple cheeks and gummy smile, he’s fallen head over heels.

♡ But you’ve grown up now, and you’re still with… him. Caleb. Even the words on his tongue die out as he feels gross just thinking about him. He’s never especially had anything against the guy- Caleb isn’t a bad person. It’s just that with you- his blood sizzles. The attention Caleb gives you, is so much more then an adoptive brother or childhood friend, his arm hung around your shoulder constantly, bickering with you and you two being in each others possession for several years.

♡ He’s scared that leaving for university will just cause you two to become even closer- but Zayne needs to. He disappears- with the thought of you still in his mind as he studies viciously.

♡ And finally, he’s back in town. As your health care provider, your primary physician

♡ And then there’s the incident. Caleb’s gone. And you need a shoulder to lean on. That’s okay, Zayne has done lots of study on psychology, he’s sure he can be your personal therapist if needed too. Or he can just be your close friend, who lets you cry in his shoulder or rant away, it doesn’t matter. He just wants you to know he’s here.

♡ And no! Caleb was his friend- he’s not happy that he’s gone! He’s just relieved. And soon it’s like a bridge has been built between you two, there’s no annoying wall separating you guys, and you finally choose him first every time.

♡ He’s also the type to coincidentally show up everywhere you go. He’s always at Akso when you need him- but somehow he’s always at the missions you go to as well? Showing up just perfectly timed at the train station where you are, for your timely three hour trip up north. Though with his aloof manor, you never really do get reasoning for why he’s always around, and most of the time you don’t care to ask. It’s nice to have your best friend with you, right?

♡ Zayne who huffs and puffs with an attitude when you call him your “best friend” to some people while out on a mission- him just tagging alone of course. For the rest of the day he’s silent, stubborn, staring out the window of the train and giving you curt nods and shrugs when you poke at him and try and prod- whys he acting so weird?

♡ You decide that perhaps he’s hungry- or he’s been depraved of sweets for too long. So you drag him to some cafe and sit him down to eat. He contently eats his tiramisu, forgetting that there’s a small percentage of alcohol in it.

♡ Zayne who whines in your arms as you drag him to your hotel room. You think this is your fault, you bought him the tiramisu after all! It’s only fair you take care of him. But all of a sudden he’s confessing to things.. thoughts.

♡ He confesses how he thinks your blouse shows too much of your cleavage, that while you walked him, he was looking down it the whole time. He confesses that at this point you might be the only woman he talks to, the only one he ever needs anyways. He confesses that he holds a grudge against you- for calling him something so ridiculous- a friend. That he wants you, wants to kiss your cute lips and memorize every part of you. To beat up the little prick who stared at you the whole train ride, to replace Caleb, To be able to hold you without precautions, to kiss you and be with you, to be in your skin- in your lungs.

♡ Nonetheless, he passes out anyways. And when he wakes up, he’s mortified. He confessed? What’s wrong with him? Your disgusted surely, by his reckless behavior, how he’s thought of you so crudely since you were small- wait so why are you sleeping next to him?

♡ his eyes travel up to your sleeping face, and he feels so many emotions all at once. You stayed. You slept next to him! You’re even holding his hand! So you aren’t disgusted? Do you perhaps.. feel similarly for him? Why else would you stay? He’s elated waiting for you to awake, watching your sleepy face while a smile adorns his.

♡ You two finally date, and he thinks he might be the happiest person alive. This is also when he starts to let go of his inner worries. After all, Zayne is a smart man, self aware. So he knew his more.. dangerous thoughts, should be contained. So why were you always pushing him? Teasing him? He felt.. on edge. It’s like you knew he had another side to him, something you were curious to see. Is that why you were flirting with that guy? That tipsy man at that dingy bar? You said you were out on a girls night so how come he caught you taking to that man?

♡ Zayne watches from afar. He knew your friends wanted to go to some bar, and yes, he trusts you, but he doesn’t exactly trust your friends. But know that trust unravels- why are you sliding your hand agains that man’s arm? Or letting him talk that closely to you? Are you testing him? Do you know Zaynes here? Or are you actually about to.. cheat..?

♡ And then that man simply touches a strand of your hair, twisting it in his fingers- and Zayne loses it. He practically stomps over- and his fist directly aligns with the man’s face, knocking him over, ice even shedding off of Zaynes knuckles. He turns to you, and with eyes you’ve ever seen from him before- dark and terrifying, primal even. He grabs your hand and your dragged out of there.

♡ Your shaking as he basically throws you into the car, buckling you in like a child, as if you didn’t know how. The whole ride home is silent, and you think “this is him, this is Zayne”.

♡ When you get home your pushed into the bathroom where Zayne strips the two of you to get into the shower, where he demands he cleans you of any filth that has accumulated on you from those pesky men.

♡ As zaynes hands glide soap of your body, rubbing it in and his scowl is deep on his, you try to explain to him you weren’t cheating- that you knew he was there. You wanted to see if Zayne.. would do anything. It was just something stupid the girls you were friends with convinced you to do when you recognized Zayne at the bar. And yes, were. You really think Zayne will let you keep those friends?

♡ “test me? Really? Do you have no faith in me as your partner?” He spits out, his hands deeply massaging the soap into your hips. “You think because I let you get away with a brat so often, I’ll let you go now?”

♡ Washing you is long forgotten when the two of you are fucking like bunnies, and your crying into his shoulder as you cum for the third time, the water still cascading down your bodies. Finishing once when he ate you out, a second on his fingers, and now a third on his cock. You whine that your tired and you understand what you did was wrong, that your sorry, even though your not really sorry, you wanted to see that side of him, he still bullies his cock into your hole, growling into your ear and keeping you pinned to the shower wall.

♡ he watches you sleep peacefully, which makes sense- you came so many times, that by the end you were shaking and crying, overstimulation hitting your body as you enter sub space and the brat in you broken. Alas, he still loves you, tending to you and making sure your perfectly comfortable before you finally rest.

♡ He’s glad that you saw this side of him, like a weight has been lifted. Even though you’ve only seen just a small percent of it, his guilt is completely gone. It’s why it’s so easy for him to now go find that man who touched you and get rid of him for good! It wouldn’t be the first time anyway.

Caleb-

♡ Caleb, your sweet childhood best friend, you can even go as call yourselves childhood sweethearts. He’s been there for you forever, for as long as you’ve both known.

♡ The yandere Caleb whos just a bit too close to you. When you were kids it was fine. Taking baths together, playing with each other, running to find each other during recess, benign possessive over each other and always clinging to one another. But now it gets weird.

♡ After all, you want your space! You’re grown, and you have friends other than him. Plus you want a romantic life! He’s been scaring away boys and girls from you your whole life, you had to sneak away from him at one point just to have your first kiss!

♡ Caleb whos head is screwed on loose when he finds out that you in fact didn’t go on a sleepover with your girl-friends, but we’re at instead a club with them.

♡ You’re dolled up and drinking, even wearing a dress he’s never bought you! He’s furious, but more saddened than anything. If he had puppy ears they’d flatten against his head and he’d let out a little whimper. Was he not enough for you? So you had to go find entertainment somewhere else? He’s been with you forever. So are you bored now?

♡ Suddenly his sadness turns into anger, but no, he’ll wait. Calculated, he watches you. He watches as you drink, as you speak with your friends, and as a boy approaches you. He buys you a drink, a cheap one Caleb thinks, and finally the boy leads you to a hotel room.

♡ It’s devastating to watch you follow him to his room, with your naive eyes looking him up and down, the eyes that should only see Caleb.

♡ Caleb goes home however, when his job is done. When his calculated colonial strategy takes over and he’s back to his preppy self, sitting back on your sofa as if he hasn’t shed blood.

♡ You come home, disheveled. You looked like you cried, your makeup down in streaks as you rub at your eyes pathetically. You crawl into a Caleb’s arms as he lays on the sofa, whining and ranting and confessing about how you lied.

♡ How you went to a club instead of a sleepover, so you could meet someone. However, when he sits you down on his hotel bed, he got a call. Leaving the room and coming back just to yell at you to leave! He looks disheveled himself, nervous even, twitchy eyes and body shaking as he screams at you. However your too distraught to notice as you scramble to leave the room, fighting tears at being rejected.

♡ Caleb shushes you, telling you thats just how men are, that’s just how people out there are. He would never do that to you, he would never say no to you, ever.

♡ He cuddles you on the sofa, kissing your apple cheeks and wiping the tears that still decide to make its way down your face. He rubs your back as he tells you it’s not your fault, it’s really not, Caleb had his fun making death threats to the boy, He lets you however whine and rant until you fall asleep. Then he’s carrying you to your bedroom, wiping your ruined makeup with a makeup wipe and going as far at strip you and put you into some comfortable pajamas. His eyes look away as he changes you, but it doesn’t stop him from taking a peak at your cute bra.

♡ He cuddles you into bed, kissing your forehead and watching you as you sleep. You’d never know that the boy who “rejected” you, is currently in a pool of acid. Why should you know? He is wants to keep you naive of his actions for as long as possible. He wants to be your sweet Caleb, the one whos basically a puppy to you, clingy and teasing, always by your side.

♡ It doesn’t matter that this wasn’t the first time he’s done something like this. One day you’ll realize it’s for your own good, and that it’ll just be the two of you forever, just as you were born to do.

[marvelouslymarly]

Dating Bob includes (Part 3/?)

Masterlist Part 1 Part 2 Part 4

[A/n: just with the other parts, mild spoiler warning for thunderbolts* as this is set after but I'm not going into too much detail on what happened in the film]

CW: just pure fluff

You loved the thrill of sneaking around in the tower in between sparring sessions and daily tasks, looking for hidden corners or spaces in the tower that could become your guys' little getaway for a kiss or two. Most times, you'd sent Bob a cryptic text featuring the bare minimum of information to get him to find you in case he was with some of the other team members when the message popped up on his phone and then you'd wait, peeking around the corner every few seconds, your heart hammering inside your chest with anticipation. The smile on your lips would grow when you realised he was finally making his way to you - you'd grown atuned the sound of his step, assertive and quick, but still with a certain softness in the way his foot would land on the floor - and you'd play with your fingers or the hem of your shirt, barely able to contain the joy of a thousand love drunk teenagers bottled up inside you, knowing you'd get to be with him even if it was just for a short moment. Then, when he was just walking past your hiding spot, you'd grab his arm and pull him towards you quickly. It didn't matter how long you two had been dating, his eyes lighting up the second he saw you and the smile lines deepening on his face as he looked down on you, his hands coming up to your hips and pulling you closer. Most times, you'd share a few kisses, giggling in between and feeling like you were fifteen again, other times you'd just hold each other in your arms, his head buried in the crook of your neck and inhaling your signature scent. Whenever you heard footsteps coming down the corridor or approaching the broom closet you were hiding in, you pulled away from each other and started talking about literally anything or showing each other stuff on your phones, faking laughs and trying to convince whoever walked past that you definitely had not been kissing each other just seconds before. Only when you'd made sure that you were alone again would the tension break and you'd fall into each other, trying to keep from laughing for real this time.

Bob would be the first to say 'I love you'. Though he didn't so much say it as it slipped out one time after kissing you, more of a sigh than a true utterance - and then his eyes went wide as realisation hit him. He gulped, his cheeks burning and his fingers interlocking with each other, nervousness starting to bubble over. Meanwhile, butterflies came awake in your tummy, and a warm feeling spread through your body. He'd grown to be quite calm and collected around you after a while of dating, but in this instance, it wasn't hard to see that he was trying to stay suave and failing miserably - not to say that the look of him in that instant wasn't incredibly cute and heartwarming. He'd try to come up with something else to say, but his mouth would only open and close, the desperation growing with every second he couldn't find the right words. After torturing him for another moment or two, the cogs of his mind turning in an attempt to figure out if he should fight, flee or freeze, you cupped his cheek and placed a quick kiss on his lips before telling him you loved him, too. You could feel every fibre of his being relax, as his arms wrapped around your body, pulling you closer once more.

Whenever the rest of the team was out on a mission, the two of you would cook together, blasting music over the speakers in the open living room and singing along loudly. You'd made a shared playlist with him of your favourite songs and titles that reminded you of each other and would love to introduce the other person to new music while dancing in between cutting up the ingredients and stirring the pot on the stove. In moments like these, the two of you would forget that you were superheroes trying to save the world and just enjoy each other's company, the weight on your shoulders a little easier to bear. Until one time, while you were swaying in each other's arms, lost in the music and the joy of the moment, you almost didn't hear the faint 'ding' of the elevator announcing the arrival of the other Thunderbolts. Bob was just leaning in to kiss you, his eyes already shut, when you put your finger to his lips and stopped him just before anyone could walk into the kitchen and catch you. You had just enough time to tell him you'd continue where you left off later in his bedroom and put some distance between you, before someone turned off the music and Walker pushed past the two of you obliviously, heading straight for the pot on the stove and using the wooden spoon to taste the curry you had been cooking that evening, complaining about how hungry he was.

[moon-ttokki-x]

hello 😁 i hope u are good 🫶 can i req something pls? 🙏 i saw ur post abt protective skz with their maknae reader but what abt a protective reader? 😏 who is usually shy, but loses her temper when angry: doesn't take hate lightly, makes sure they eat and rest, unafraid of talking back, ready to fight off anyone, glaring at everyone (it would be cute, but it gets scary when she is mad mad), etc. 🤔

hi this is a cool request~ i bet the boys would have a lot of fun with a scary member who's also really cute >< here you go !!

₊✩‧₊˚౨ ot8!skz x protective fem!reader ৎ˚₊✩‧₊

pairing: ot8!skz x protective fem!reader

summary: how skz would be around a protective ninth member <3

genre: idol!au, 9th member!au, mentions of eating and drinking, chan shaking in his boots lmao

a/n: this aesthetic is so cute . . . div by @huraxy

skz masterlist

usually you're super chill

like kind of shy, really; not the type to shout or mess around like the guys do

most of the time, you're by felix or minho's side

because they're the least chaotic members of the group (most of the time anyway)

and it's just nice to be all quiet and observant from behind their shoulders

they know you're kind of shy, but oh man, wait til you get mad

even the maknaes shut up instantly when you raise your voice

bc you mean BUSINESS

doesn't matter how short you are you'll fight anyone within a certain distance

including chan (crazy right?)

who is also scared of your temper, even if it doesn't show up that often

which is why it's so terrifying when your voice booms through the studio or recording room, louder than thunder

everyone just keeps their head down and listens to you

hyung line is secretly so jealous of your commanding aura

after you're done shouting you just kind of go back to your normal shy demeanour, or leave the room

and everyone's just left shaking in their boots like

what the fuck??

you don't get angry often, and it's always for a valid reason, so they get it

stay knows that too; you've told interviewers and tv show hosts and even mnet staff to back off or stop being rude

you can make anyone listen; no one expects the shy little member to have the strongest voice

same with rude 'fans'

they don't always listen but most of them have a very healthy respect for your emotions

you're always making sure skz takes care of themselves too

especially the members who tend to overwork or get distressed easily

you always make sure to chase them up and give them something to eat

or tell them to go and drink water

or you just hold a fistful of their hair firmly (without hurting them) and watch them actually ingest food

they always give you pouty eyes but you never give in

you're just hardcore like that

and you don't let them go until they've swallowed the last mouthful

when you guys go out to eat, you're the person always heaping food on their plates

'eat eat you EAT'

bc i know these mfs forget to nourish themselves properly

so it's nice to have you take care of them

especially the younger ones

they do the same for you too, but they wouldn't dare touch your hair

they're too scared to in fear of messing it up and irritating you

the sassier ones like minho and seungmin are amazed at how much you talk back

like it's insane

chan schedules extra practice? "i don't want to, we already have so much to do"

hyunjin wants to have his vocal lesson before yours? "i scheduled mine earlier so you should have done the same"

you're just an absolute lion

sometimes you have to get told off because you're getting too sassy

but the boys can't help but take it easy on you

you're just so cute

even if you act like a demon from the underworld

oh well

but

even your gaze is scary

the boys often find themselves jumpscared

like they'll walk into a room and you're just sitting there like >:|

like an owl

you know how they have big wide eyes that stare into your soul?

your gaze is like that

felix jokes that you could burn lasers with how intense your stare is

it even looks intense when you're just sitting having a great time

in dead silence

the members don't mind though, whatever makes you happy makes them happy too !!

they get used to your little habits, and they all work around your demeanour

you're all one big happy group <3

a/n: okay maybe i wrote headcanons because i don't have the motivation nor the energy to write a full fic . . . oh well

ttokki's taglist: @emilywhyyy @galaxy4489 @hyuneskkami @justsomekpopstuff @wavetohannie @strayingawayy @its-stayville-forever @sillyseob @wickedbutlovely @headfirstfortoro @lov3yv4mps @possum-playground @bear8585 @astraystayyh @m-325 @gnabnahcbby @mbioooo0000 @akindaflora @tsunderelino @hhwangsmoon @crazyforthatbangchandude @bluebellsringinghereandthere @ladylexis @tillaboo @geni-627 @jsngprk-vhs @de-uns-tempos-pra-ca

send a dm, comment under the taglist post, or send an ask to be added !

[chaoticwriting]

I will find you, even in another life

*Tim's POV*

It's that weird dream again. He always has that dream. In it, he is some type of hero fighting against ghost. He never really get any full conversation between them. But he manages to piece together the dream one by one from the little information he has.

He remember he is part of family of four. One of them is a big giant guy in orange jumpsuit. The dad from what he remembers. Then there is a lady with h brown hair and teal jumpsuit. She is the mom from what he can tell. And lastly is a girl.

Yes. That's the only thing he has about her. Even though he has dreamed about many things in that life. Tucker. Sam. Ellie. But he can never see, hear or remember the girl. It's not that him in the dream don't interact with her. It's like something or someone is blocking him from remembering her.

And it is so damn frustrating. It's like a piece of himself is missing. Everytime he sees her, he will feel this weird calm feeling. Like anything will be okay as long as she is there. And that makes it more frustrating. He doesn't know why he is feeling that. But he feels like he needs to know. Like it is an essential part of why he is him.

Ugghhh. Maybe he should finish the case first. Babs has been asking him to update that report.

*Babs' POV*

Hmmm. That dream again. She wonders what is wrong with her. Why is she always dreaming about the same thing? In her dream she is a sister of sort to a kid. Her relationship with him is a little rocky at first but it becomes better later on.

Though she wonders why she never get any information about this kid. Whenever someone tries to mention him, the name becomes static like an old tv. His face either in pictures or real life is covered in irremovable fog that keeps bothering her. Even his voice sounds like an incomprehensible to her.

But no matter what, she knows one thing about the boy. It's that no matter what happened, she will always love the boy. That tender feeling she gets whenever the boy come to her for his problems or when they play together. She is familiar with that feeling. It's almost like a mother looking over their children. Not quite. More like an elder siblings looking at their younger siblings.

Whenever she thinks of him, a deep rooted sadness comes out of her heart. It's feels like a mother weeping for their children. When she talks it with Dick, he says that is what he feels like when Jason died. She really hope that the reason she feels this is not because of what she thinks.

[pixiexdusts-world]

Quiet & chaos

Civil war Bucky Barnes x girlfriend!reader

Summary: Bucky’s quiet, his girlfriend’s not. She teases; he listens.

Word count: 805

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

I never thought I’d date a guy like Bucky Barnes. Not because he’s an ex-assassin or a super soldier or because half the world wants him dead—those are just technicalities. It’s because he’s quiet. Like, really quiet.

And I? I’m not.

“You’re brooding again,” I announce, flopping onto the motel bed next to him. “Which means I have to annoy you out of it. So, let’s start with a classic: If you had to fight one Steve-sized duck or a hundred duck-sized Steves, which would you pick?”

Bucky blinks at me, expression unreadable. “Why?”

“Because I asked.”

He exhales through his nose—his version of an amused huff—and looks back down at the knife he’s been sharpening for the last ten minutes. “One big duck,” he mutters.

I gasp dramatically. “Wrong answer. Have you seen how aggressive geese are? Now imagine a duck with super soldier strength.”

“I’ve fought worse.”

“Not the point.”

His lips twitch, and aha! there it is—the ghost of a smile. It’s fleeting, but I’ll take it.

Bucky’s not much of a talker, but that’s okay. I talk enough for both of us. When I first met him, I assumed he was grumpy and brooding all the time, but really, he’s just… shy. He never knows what to do with all the words I throw at him. Sometimes I think he just lets me ramble because it’s easier than stopping me.

I roll onto my stomach, chin propped in my hands. “Okay, next question—”

“I didn’t agree to another question.”

“—if you could live in any fictional world, where would it be?”

He hesitates, turning the knife over in his hands. “Dunno.”

“Come on.”

He sighs, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “Somewhere quiet.”

I groan. “That’s so vague! That’s not how this game works, Buck.”

He shrugs. That’s it. Just a shrug.

I narrow my eyes. “Fine. I’ll answer for you. You’d want to live in the Shire because it’s peaceful, and you could just sit under a tree with a book while I steal all the good food from the hobbits.”

He’s quiet for a moment, then mutters, “Sounds nice.”

I gasp again, clutching my chest. “A real answer! I’m so proud of you.”

He rolls his eyes, but I see the corner of his mouth twitch again.

I flop onto my back, staring at the cracked ceiling. “So, hypothetically, if I went missing, would you come find me, or would you just assume I got distracted by something shiny and wandered off?”

Bucky stiffens. His grip tightens on the knife, and when he looks at me, his expression is unreadable again—but not in the funny way from before.

“Don’t joke about that,” he says quietly.

Oh.

I sit up, my usual playfulness fading. “Bucky, I didn’t mean—”

“I would find you.” His voice is firm now, serious in a way that makes my stomach flip. “Doesn’t matter where. I’d find you.”

I reach for his metal hand, running my fingers over the cool plates. He tenses for a second before relaxing, letting me trace the seams.

“I know,” I say softly. And I do.

Bucky Barnes might be quiet, might keep most of his thoughts locked up in that head of his, but when he cares about someone, he really cares. I see it in the way he always walks on the outside of the sidewalk, keeping me closest to the buildings. In the way he lets me steal half his food even though he pretends to be annoyed. In the way he never says much, but when he does speak, it’s always something that matters.

I squeeze his hand. “For the record, I’d find you, too.”

He looks down at our hands, then back at me. “Yeah?”

“Of course. Though you’d probably make it easier than me by leaving a trail of brooding and emotionally loaded sighs.”

That gets an actual huff out of him. Progress.

I grin and lean in, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before standing up. “Alright, I’m starving. I vote we find food before you get sick of me and dump me in a ditch somewhere.”

His brow furrows, lips parting like he’s about to say something. Then he shakes his head, standing up to grab his jacket.

“I wouldn’t do that,” he mutters.

I laugh. “I know, Buck. That’s what makes it funny.”

He just grunts, but when I loop my arm through his, he doesn’t pull away.

Bucky might not say much, but I hear him loud and clear.

[mikkomacko]

mob nico makes an actual list of things his parents did to him as a kid that he never wants to replicate with his own babies and frames it in his office as a little reminder in case he ever gets caught up in something with the devs

This is going to make me cry omg

He has this whole list written out that he brings to you a few days after you decided you want to try for a baby. All because he needs these things to be known, spoken out loud before anything happens.

You can tell from the weight of his gaze the moment he finds you getting ready for bed, and your instantly leaning back into the counter, waiting patiently when he says, “I have things I need to say before we have a baby.”

It doesn’t worry you, that he’s apparently put enough thought into being a parent that he’s written it all down. What does worry you is the intent behind whatever he’s written down. What’s been going on in his head that’s made him write it.

“Go ahead Neeky,” you assure, “I’m all ears.”

He takes a deep breath before reading off the first one.

“They can always sleep in our bed,” he states, no room for discussion or bargaining not that it matters. You’ve never thought of putting up a fight to that one, but you can tell from the tremor of his hand that these thoughts are more for him, promises to himself. He just needs someone to say them out loud to. So you remain quiet as he defends them to himself.

“No matter how old they are or why they want to, they get to sleep in the bed with us. Even if it means we’re up all night because there’s no room.”

He looks up at you and you keep your expression open, welcoming as you nod in agreement.

“Good. Uh next,” he clears his throat. “No nannies. I-I mean I get why people have a nanny but I don’t want one. We’ll raise our kids, we’re their parents.”

You don’t have to ask about that one. You know Nico was raised by a nanny, that he saw the woman as more of a mother than his own. That even today he wonders if she’s loved him like a son, if she loves him more Katja does. Even if he has no idea where she’s at. He’s lived with those questions all his life and it’s done damage.

Damage he won’t put on his own children.

“No nannies,” you agree, “our kids we’ll be safer with us anyway.”

A relieved breath puffs out of his chest and he nods, blinking a couple times like he’s trying to steady himself.

“I want to hold them. Even if they’ll probably only want you for a while, I want to hold them everyday.”

That one is a little concerning. If these are coming from his own childhood, what parent refused to hold him. Rino? Rino who never saw himself as a father but rather a boss.

“I’d never stop you from holding them Nico,” you assure, trying to keep your voice steady even though your heart is rattling painfully in your chest. “You can hold them every second if you want to.”

Stiffly, he nods again, eyes trained on his list.

“When they’re sick or scared or crying, I want to be woken up too. Even if I have work in the morning I want to help make them feel better.”

You bite at the inside of your cheek, throat stinging with the sudden urge to cry for the sweet man before you. The man that was never loved enough, never appreciated, never treated the way he should’ve been, who’s so determined to be better that he’s written these horrible things down.

“Of course,” you murmur and finally he seems to ease, fingers unclenching around the crinkles of the paper. He flexes his hands, stretching out the clenched muscles. Like he’s finished. Even if you can see the other lines written at the bottom of the page.

“What else baby?” You ask, pushing onto your feet to come closer to him. He swallows, shrugging as he glances down at it and you tuck under his arm.

“They’re for me. Just reminders ya know? That way I’m ready.”

He tilts the page towards you, making it easier for you to read his slanted handwriting.

Tell them you love them every day

No work talk until they’re 18. Absolutely no mob decisions for them either

Don’t get mad when they cry

Be their dad not their boss

If scared, tell y/n

“Oh Nico,” you murmur, cupping his face as you peer up at him. He looks almost embarrassed, cheeks a little pink.

“I figured that last one is my best bet.”

You smile, watery and so fucking in love with him.

“You don’t have to be scared,” you tell him “but it’s ok if you are. It’s a big deal, having kids. But I already know from the way you take care of me, of the boys, that you’re going to be the best father, Nico.”

“You think so?”

“I know it,” you promise, “we don’t even have a baby on the way yet and you’re already planning on how to take care of them because you love them that much. And that’s what being a parent is right? Loving them always.”

He leans in, pressing a tender kiss to your lips. “I already love them,” he says, proving your point. “I’ll love everything that’s a part of you baby.”

[andy-15-07]

Tommy Miller & Female Reader, maybe enemies to lovers?

Enemies To Lovers

PAIRING: Tommy Miller x reader

Word Count:1179 | requests are open (send requests, I will gladly answer them all)

The Last Of Us Masterlist

“You lost?”

Your fingers tighten around the grip of your rifle. “Do I look lost?”

Tommy Miller eyes you from beneath his weathered cap, arms crossed, stance wide like he’s expecting you to bolt or bite. “You’re standin’ in the middle of Jackson with a scowl and a trigger finger. That usually means someone’s either lost… or lookin’ for trouble.”

You exhale hard through your nose. “Guess I’m both, then.”

A muscle in his jaw ticks. “Figures. You’re the new one, huh? Maria said you’d be prickly.”

“And I said I didn’t want a babysitter.” You glance past him, to the gate. The cold air bites your cheeks, but the warmth of your irritation keeps you standing tall. “I’ll find the damn housing on my own.”

Tommy doesn’t move. “Yeah, and get yourself turned around twice and ask a teenager for help again? Don’t flatter yourself,Jackson ain’t that big, but you still managed to make it a maze.”

“Are you always this much of a pain in the ass?” you snap.

His mouth quirks up. “Only for people who earn it.”

You groan. “Lucky me.”

He walks ahead without another word, but you still follow. Because no matter how much his cocky swagger makes you want to punch a fencepost, he knows where he’s going. You’re not about to wander in circles again like some clueless stray.

You tell yourself that’s the only reason.

Three days in, and he still finds ways to get under your skin. Always there when you don’t want him to be. Always got something to say when silence would do just fine.

“You know, for someone who didn’t want a babysitter,” Tommy drawls, watching you patch a broken fence rail, “you sure seem to keep findin’ me.”

You look up. “For someone who doesn’t like me, you sure show up a lot.”

He shrugs. “Maybe I like seein’ you struggle.”

You glare at him, but he just chuckles and leans against a post, arms folded. That look in his eyes,it’s not mean, not cruel. Just amused. Testing.

You hate that part of you doesn’t mind it.

It comes to a head one night after patrol. Your horse is limping, your leg’s bruised, and your patience? Gone.

“You could’ve warned me about the ravine,” you bark, wincing as you swing off the saddle.

Tommy’s already on the ground, reaching for the reins. “You could’ve kept your damn eyes open. I said to slow down.”

“No, you smirked and suggested slowing down. There’s a difference.”

“And you ignored me anyway.”

You shove past him. “Screw this. I’m going to bed.”

“You always run off when someone calls you out?”

You whirl. “You always act like some washed-up cowboy with a hero complex?”

He closes the space between you, close enough that your breath catches. “Better that than a bitter stray lookin’ for a fight she can’t win.”

Something snaps.

You shove him. “I didn’t ask to be here!”

He doesn’t move. Just stands there, jaw tight. “No. But you’re here. And maybe it’s time you stopped punishin’ everyone else for that.”

The silence stretches like taut wire.

Your chest heaves. His eyes don’t leave yours.

You don’t know which of you moves first,but your mouths crash together like a spark and gasoline.

His hand tangles in your hair. Yours fists in his jacket. It's angry. Desperate. Fire poured over ice.

You break away first, panting. “Still think I’m just bitter?”

He breathes hard. “No. I think you’re terrified.”

You want to scream. Want to hit him. Want to kiss him again.

So you walk away.

Because if you don’t, you’ll do all three.

Avoiding Tommy in a small town like Jackson is nearly impossible. Especially when Maria pairs you up for patrol again.

He doesn’t say much that morning. Neither do you. But the air is thick with what was left unsaid.

“I shouldn’t’ve said that,” he murmurs finally, after an hour of riding through pine trees and snow.

You stare ahead. “Which part?”

“About you punishin’ people.” He pauses. “You’ve lost things. I get it.”

You glance sideways. “You don’t know what I’ve lost.”

“No. But I know the look in your eyes.”

You don’t reply.

He sighs. “I ain’t tryin’ to be your enemy.”

You blink, surprised. “Then what are you tryin’ to be?”

He shifts in the saddle. “Don’t know yet. But I reckon it’s more than just the guy you hate.”

You chew on that. Because the truth is,you don’t hate him. Not really. Not anymore.

And maybe that’s worse.

Winter thaws slowly. So does your relationship.

He doesn’t push. Just keeps showing up. With coffee. With quiet company. With the occasional teasing smirk that still makes you bristle,but doesn’t burn like it used to.

You find yourself looking for him in crowds. Listening for his voice at dinner hall tables. It’s stupid. You tell yourself that a lot.

But it’s also real.

One night, you sit on the porch outside your housing unit, boots kicked off, watching the stars blur with your tired eyes.

Tommy walks up with two mugs. “Figured you’d be out here.”

You nod. He sits beside you. No words for a while. Just the clink of ceramic and the sound of the night.

Then you murmur, “I was in Boston.”

He says nothing. Just waits.

“I had a little brother. He got sick. FEDRA wouldn’t give us meds unless we signed up for militia duty.” Your throat tightens. “He didn’t make it.”

Tommy’s fingers brush yours, slow and careful. “I’m sorry.”

You look down. “He was the last thing I had.”

“You’ve got more now,” he says. “Even if it don’t feel that way yet.”

His hand lingers. You don’t move.

You don’t want him to.

The first time you end up in his bed, it’s not planned.

You show up after a fight with a runner,nothing serious, just blood and adrenaline. He bandages your arm, and you end up staying too long, sitting too close, your knees touching.

Then you kiss him again.

This time, it’s slower. Less fire, more ache.

After, he holds you like he means it. Like you’re not a problem he’s trying to fix.

“Still think I’m bitter?” you murmur against his chest.

He chuckles. “Nah. You’re sharp, stubborn, and half-wild.”

You raise a brow. “That supposed to be a compliment?”

He kisses your hair. “Damn right it is.”

People notice. Of course they do.

Maria gives you a look one morning over coffee, but says nothing. Ellie asks once, smirking,“So you and Tommy, huh?”,and you toss a snowball at her in response.

You think it’d scare you, caring again. It used to.

But Tommy’s steadiness is its own kind of courage. And you find strength in that. In him.

One night, as you watch the fire burn low, you whisper, “I still don’t know how to do this.”

Tommy takes your hand. “You don’t have to. We’ll figure it out.”

You nod, heart full and aching. Because maybe you were lost when you first arrived. But not anymore. Not with him.

[burningcheese-merchant]

What potential dynamic do you imagine with Eternal Sugar and Hollyberry, and Whity Lily and Silent Salt?

One final ask before I play the update lol. I'm holding off just for you, Anon. You're welcome

I see Eternal Sugar being attached to Hollyberry, because... of course I do lol. I'm the Beast x Ancient spokesperson at this point (and they actually are canon, they are soulmates, it is true). Beyond that soul bond, though, perhaps Sugar both resents and is fond of Holly's outgoing attitude. The way Holly is always smiling and laughing, the way she always champions friendship and unity. The way she's always happy. Sugar was probably like her once, and perhaps some part of her genuinely likes that she finally found a like-minded person after an eternity alone. But she's frustrated, too, because to some degree, Holly's happiness (Holly jolly lol) isn't real. It's a mask. It's Holly making herself strong for everyone else's sake. Being everyone else's shield, like she always has been. Why does she do this to herself? Why does she waste time and effort pretending? If she let go of her burdens, if she gave into sloth completely like Sugar did, then she really would be happy.

And I say "completely" because... well, that's the other thing Sugar likes about Holly: Holly already is slothful. All she does anymore is drink and be merry. She surrendered her shield and her crown ages ago (she may have taken the former back, but the latter is forever lost). She ran away from her kingdom, she ran away from her friends, she ran away from her family, she ran away from herself. In her despair over having failed so many people so many times, from Pure Vanilla to her own missing granddaughter, Holly threw her life away and instead turned to "happiness": the sweet but fleeting kind found at the bottom of a beer stein, the foregoing of all responsibility and reality in favor of believing everything is fine. Their "in the end, you will become me" moment will be Sugar pointing out that Holly already IS her. She's been her for a long time now. So why keep pretending she's not? Just give up and be happy. Be happy for real, for once in your life. They can be happy together once she does. Wouldn't that be nice?

As for Silent Salt and White Lily... Personally, I would really, really enjoy if Salt was exactly like Lily in that he is "the odd one out". I always imagined Salt being some sort of outcast, both in general society and among his own friends. Just like White Lily is. Two people that are just too different from everyone else. Who think too differently from everyone else. Who just don't fit in anywhere, no matter how anyone tries to pretend that they do.

I want their relationship to be a deviation from the norm. I don't want Salt to want to fight her (if he does, then he does so only because he feels he has no choice. He finds no joy or satisfaction in it), I want him to want to commiserate with her. Because in the end, she already is him. She became him a long time ago. Before Holly became Sugar. Before any of the Ancients "became" their Beasts. Lily has already fallen to darkness and turned her back on the world, just like Salt did. And there was always something missing from her life, even before; just like him. Salt does not see an enemy, he does not see a thief. He just sees another person who the world couldn't help but disappoint. It would be nice if their battle was primarily a philosophical one, as opposed to a physical duel. I want Salt to be the one Beast who has always been 100% self-aware of his flaws and mistakes (no verbal dressing down necessary, like all the other Beasts got), and is not afraid to acknowledge them publicly, but sticks to them anyway because he chooses to. He CHOSE evil. He CHOSE to become a Beast. And he will gladly tell Lily why, because now, there's someone who could finally understand. Because the exact same thing happened to her.

If there is just one scene, one single scene, of Salt and Lily just sitting somewhere, watching the dark horizon in melancholic silence, then I'll feel complete

[toxicrelief]

Crawling Back to You

Chapter eleven

Synopsis: You’re awake, Invincible is back from a two-month space excursion and tensions are high in the Guardian’s Headquarters.

Pairing: Rex x F!Reader

Word Count: 5.3k

Chapter: 11/?

Masterlist of all Chapters

TW: PTSD-like Symptoms

Note: Here we are!!

You couldn’t hear the fluorescent lights this time, it was too busy around you. Your eyes felt heavy, and you were exhausted, more than usual. Multiple voices talked over each other from all around you, one you recognized instantly as Cecil’s. After a short struggle, you managed to open your eyes, there must have been over ten people crammed into that little room.

“She’s awake.” One of the people next to your bedside stated, they were wearing a mask, must have been a doctor or a nurse. You looked down at your arms to find several tubes trailing off from you, something you had not seen in a long time.

As if they were all working from the same neural connection every single one of the doctors and nurses exited the room almost in single file. Leaving only Cecil. If you were more awake it would have unnerved you.

“Shouldn’t you be doing something more important?” Your voice came out softer than you expected, crackly.

“You don’t think this is important kid?”

“I’m not sure what this is.” You admit, pushing your hands against the bed in an attempt to sit up. A sharp pain appeared in your side just to immediately disappear. A pain that did not immediately disappear came more strongly from your arms. Your body seemingly having realized the foreign objects was attempting to heal around them. “Shit.” You muttered, immediately going to pull the various tubes from your individual arms.

“Wait-!” It was too late, you had already grabbed them in a single handful, pulling them out. You rubbed your arms separately as your skin almost instantly mended the needle entry points.

“Sorry, that started to hurt like a bitch.” You croaked, and as if on cue your head started pounding. You held the heels of your palms against your forehead for a few seconds, fighting to stay quiet while the pain rippled through your body, and then: it stopped. Your head was still aching but there was nothing left to heal.

“Those were slowing down your healing process. Your body was overcompensating and keeping you in a state of limbo, we had to place those so it would stop trying so hard.” Cecil held to fingers to his temple, closing his eyes in frustration.

“Well, I’m awake now, so I must be fine.” You shrugged slowly dropping your hands from your head and giving him a guilty smile.

“This is the third time you’ve woken up.” Cecil muttered, exhaustion clear in his voice.

“Oh.” You looked down and rubbed your sore arm a little. It wasn’t a pretty picture, the idea of you having woken up just to convulse in a bloody mess not once but twice. You waited a few moments to see if your headache was about to progress further, but it continued to just ache timidly. “Guess I’m okay?”

Cecil sighed, taking a few steps away from your bedside.

“How long have I been out?” Usually, it was only a few hours you were out, and then you were back on your feet without any help at all. What was different this time?

“Three days.”

Three days? You jerked up into a completely upright position, panic immediately starting to rise in you, and not for the reason you expected. You were afraid yes, but not that you were losing control, you were afraid Cecil was going to let you go. That he was going to fire you.

“What kind of backlash are the Guardians giving you?” You asked cautiously, your fingertips gripping the course, thin hospital blanket.

“They haven’t said anything. I am sure there are tensions, but I honestly have had much more important matters to deal with.”

You were afraid to ask, was he talking about you? This problem? You squeezed the blanket tighter and considered just pushing through it, offering your resignation.

“Invincible is back.”

“He’s back?” You state dumbly, your mind immediately goes blank.

“Just arrived, has a kid with him, we believe it to be Omniman’s.”

“Omniman’s?”

“Appears so.”

“Appears so…” You echo. God stop repeating him. However, you didn’t have anything to say about this, it felt like too much information. Usually, Cecil was very guarded, you weren’t sure why he was being this open with you about this situation, something told you that you’d find out soon though.

“He’s going to check in with me sometime later today, I would like you to be there, see what you can feel, if anything.”

“Today?” STOP REPEATING-

“Do you not feel up to it?”

“No, I do- or I think I do-”

“Great. Then meet me in the training room once you are dressed. You have some clothes on the counter there.” You look over and sure enough, there is an outfit, it looks business profession rather than your supersuit.

“Did you know I was going to wake up today?” You quickly turned your head to look at him again, examining his expression.

“No, but I hoped.” He seemed genuine, sincere. He placed a pat on the guard rail of the hospital bed, probably the closest thing to physical reassurance you would ever get from him.

__

Your nails made a clicking noise as you tapped them on the metal gurney. You haven’t been in this room in at least a week now. In the field training was proving much more fruitful than working only with ReAnimen. The chill of the room you never seemed to get used to though, no matter how much time you had spent in there. You figured it was that way to keep the body fresher, sure they were usually drained of blood, but this one wasn’t. Specifically for your benefit.

For your benefit. You frowned down at it, the bright red eye dully looking back. Who was this person before they became this? Cecil had told you they were soldiers, “serving their country one last time”. Was the first time not enough?

Your fingers continued to tap on the cool steel, your gaze staring off past the corpse. Three days you were out, three whole days. And the whole time it felt like you were having that nightmare over and over again. You didn’t remember ever waking up, it was probably better that way. A defense mechanism, so you don’t remember the trauma of it. You could hardly remember going out the first time, it was still coming back in pieces, but mostly you remembered Rex’s voice. You weren’t sure why. He had sounded so panicked; an inflection you had never heard from him. He was cocky, arrogant, whiney even at times. But never panicked. Anyone would respond like that if they saw someone in front of them begin hemorrhaging to that degree. Did you really expect him to have no reaction?

Your gaze settled in the corner, and for a moment you could swear you saw someone, just in the corner of your eye. Out of reach, just in the distance. Wearing a dark uniform, a gun in his outstretched hands. You jerked your head to look and there was nothing.

You were starting to hate this room.

“Ready?” Cecil is standing near the door, you hadn’t heard him arrive, either by teleport or by walking in.

“As I’ll ever be.” You give him a nod, absentmindedly straightening out your dress shirt. “Why am I dressed like this by the way?”

“Where we’re going it would be better to be discrete.” Cecil walks towards you, he’s holding a wristband of some sort. He holds his hand out in a gesture for you to do the same and once you do, he clasps it around your wrist.

“You think it’s my color?” You turn your wrist over a few times before looking at him again.

He doesn’t respond, no scoff, no nothing. Tough crowd. “Try not to needlessly speak, I am not sure how this will go.”

You nod, opening your mouth to verbally affirm him and then in a blink your surroundings have completely changed. You had expected to feel sick or jarred, but it almost felt natural, it didn’t even feel like the terrain changed underneath the soles of your shoes.

You were in a building, you knew that much. Great deduction Sherlock. The walls were painted a tan color while the carpets were blue. The kind of carpet you see in office spaces, so any type of mess or spill isn’t as obvious. And- yeah no you had no clue where you were. There weren’t any windows around either, just rows of wooden doors. Maybe an apartment complex?

“All of them!” A voice sounded from around the corner seconds before the owner of the voice appeared too. A man with dark black hair nearly collided with Cecil before jumping back with a started noise.

“And when exactly were you planning to tell me you were back?” Cecil’s expression was surprisingly soft. You looked back and forth between the two of them trying to catch every micro expression, anxiety instantly rising in you. Why couldn’t Cecil ever seem to properly brief you? How hard would it be to say, ‘hey yeah were going to see Invincible immediately, no prep no nothing’, or ‘there is a security guard who HAS A GUN’? You were getting better at improv though, maybe a good back up if Cecil decided to fire you.

Mark’s gaze settled on you for a moment before jumping back to Cecil. “I mean, it’s not like you didn’t know.” This was going horribly already; you felt extremely out of place. Mark was practically bristling in the exceedingly short exchange the two were engaging in so far.

Cecil furrowed his brow before talking. “I ordered you not to go. You were gone two months. Now you don’t even check in?”

“I needed to see my mom and my girlfriend first.”

“We had a deal, Mark. You promised if I put you in the field, you’d follow orders. You don’t get to pick and choose when that applies.”

Mind you, less than a few hours ago you were peacefully knocked out in a hospital bed. Well, suffering a constant repetitive nightmare but still. If you were in control of the teleportation involved with your wristband you would be out of there. You weren’t sure why the high tensions were getting to you so much right now, but you really felt like you weren’t meant to be there. And it was only a matter of time until Mark actually took notice of you.

Maybe you were embarrassed. Invincible was one of your major inspirations. Reading his file had given you the confidence you had needed when you first started on with Cecil. And now that person was real to you. Standing a few feet away in a dark blue sweatshirt. Maybe you felt bad, felt like you were betraying this person you had never even met in person. You weren’t stupid, you had pieced together why it was so important to Cecil that you learn how to manipulate Viltrumite blood. And in theory, it made complete sense, Omniman turned bad, what is to stop that from happening with Mark?

But you also worried that in setting up these fail-safes Cecil might be pushing Mark towards it. In a way, it was a threat. If any of the Guardians knew what you could be capable of you were honestly nervous that they might try to kill you. Or at the very least never trust you again. Could you blame them?

“I saved millions of lives out there, Cecil. And it looks like everything here was just fine.” Mark responds defensively.

“Yeah. Things were just peachy.” Cecil turned his attention to you as if expecting you to step forward. Oh great.

You stepped forward trying not to immediately mess up whatever point he was trying to make. “There have been a few minor everyday issues, but just a few days ago an unidentified entity by the name of Omnipotus made an attempt at conquering the world. Several major injuries were sustained by different supers.” Professional, like an official report. Crap it might have been straight from the report you gave to Cecil on the ordeal now that you thought about it. Who cares, you weren’t making a fool of yourself yet. “You know… basic Tuesday stuff.” And there it is. Very nice. You wanted to blow your brains out.

“The Guardians almost died saving the planet while you were off gallivanting with space bugs.” Cecil turned his attention directly back to Grayson. If he was unhappy with your input, he in no way showed it in his demeanor.

“What I did out there, what I found was important.” There was a pause and Mark looked between the two of you. He blinked a few times before scowling slightly. “You already know, don’t you?”

There is another pause, and you are completely lost. Once again, your mind wanders to the fact you were completely unconscious not that long ago. And now you were standing here in a pantsuit that made you look much more mature than you felt.

Cecil sighed, drawing your attention back. “We keep an eye on Debbie for her protection. Passive monitoring, mostly. Certain keywords trigger a closer listen.”

“Unbelievable.” Mark scoffs before resting his hands on his hips. “You’re angry about me not reporting in? I don’t need to. You’ve got cameras in my mom’s house.”

“It’s not cameras. We would never do that.” This made you give Cecil a sideways glance. You were almost certain he had some way of monitoring your apartment with cameras. Or had it just been auditory devices? How else had he left that note on your nightstand that night all those weeks ago? Had he just heard you and known that you were going through something? He must have seen it. You were almost sure of it. Would he lie?

“All right, since you already know everything, I’ll go see my girlfriend like I planned.” Mark went to pass you both, brushing slightly past you. The side of your hand leading up to your pinkie finger made the briefest contact with his arm. And for a moment you could swear you felt it. The blood flowing through his veins. Your eyebrows raised slightly at the revelation, an expression that Cecil did not miss. He looked at you for a moment before looking up at Mark as he was walking away.

“Fine by me. I’ll send a team to pick up Nolan’s kid.”

You felt your expression change immediately as your eyebrows knitted together in a wince.

Mark immediately turned around with a soft gasp. “You can’t.” His voice was soft, disbelief clear in his tone.

“What are you gonna do? Leave him with your mom? He’s an alien. We’re more qualified to take care of him.”

“He’s my brother, not a science experiment.” Mark stepped towards Cecil again, moving forward in front of you.

Their arguing fades as you turn your mind towards the life source of the person standing in front of you. His shoulder is directed towards you, his entire attention on Cecil. Thrumming, like rain on a tin roof. Thrumming, thrumming. His heartbeat. It’s a promising sign; you didn’t even notice it anymore when you used your powers on normal humans. You didn’t have to use the same amount of concentration with them now that you were so experienced. Or more experienced at least.

You could almost feel it, just beyond your reach. Like trying to grip water in your hands, the droplets escaping over the sides and the cracks of your fingers. Grabbing at smoke.

“I’m sure your mom will love looking after her ex-husband’s new kid.” Your concentration returns to the conversation at this. Mark had a scowl on his face, and Cecil was not looking too happy either. Should you say something-?

And in an instant, you were standing back in that room. The cool of the area raised goosebumps on your skin.  

“And?” Cecil was looking at you expectantly, his head tilted slightly.

“I felt something.” You admitted softly. “I think I can make the link.”

Cecil nodded and you could almost swear he could smile. If anything, he at least looked relieved. “Good, I’ll have someone bring the blood bag back in. I want you to give it a few tries again.”

“Should I be jumping right back into all of this after the last time putting me under for three days?” You ran a hand over your adjacent arm, trying to create a semblance of friction to chase away the chill. “Donald said my brain waves were becoming unpredictable. Last time there were almost no signs besides my headache. I almost feel like it’s becoming easier to enter an episode with each time.”

“How do you feel?” Cecil said simply, crossing his arms.

“What?”

“Do you have a headache right now?”

“Uh- no?”

“When was the last time you remember being completely without a headache?”

You thought for a moment, when was the last time? It must have been before the museum job. You had gotten so used to it over the past weeks that it almost felt like you had never been without one. “A while ago.” You admitted softly.

“I had your brainwaves monitored the entire time you were out. I believe that because we were able to artificially slow down the process, your body was able to properly heal. Everything that it has been doing a bang-up job over while you had your energies focused on other things should now be up to optimum capacities.”

You glanced at the gurney while he was talking, subconsciously nodding along. “What if you’re wrong?” One of the things you were most nervous to admit. Something you thought that voicing might get you let go. But you were scared. What if you never overcame this?

“Kid,” Cecil starts, “Killdeer.” He squints slightly as if carefully putting together what he is going to say. “I don’t have a doubt in my mind about your place here and at the Guardians. You are a valuable asset and a loyal member.” He crossed his arms while speaking. “I have placed a great deal of trust in you on sensitive matters. But I am also aware that with knowledge comes a lot of pressure. Keeping secrets isn’t fun, it’s not exciting. It is a duty, and one that I do not entrust to just anyone. And it is our duty-” He gestures between the two of you, “to do what must be done. To be the ones who ensure the world is safe. No matter what.”

You bite the inside of your cheek, still not completely sure. If you just worked in tandem with Cecil every day for the rest of your working life, you were sure you could manage. But the problem was you had to work with others. With Immortal, Kate, Shapesmith, Rex. You couldn’t stay at his right hand, feeling sure that you were making all the right moves and doing what was best. You had to be independent, and that was just not something you were sure you could do one hundred percent of the time. At least for now, you didn’t have to.

“You sent a team to pick up Mark’s brother?” Your eyebrows lifted in concern as you returned your eye contact back to Cecil.

“No.”

“Really?”

“Do you really think I was just oh so ready to have a pissing contest with a Viltrumite?” Cecil scrunched his face at you. “I wanted to give you more time to assess him.”

“Oh.” You felt a little silly at this. “A little high risk don’t you think?”

“Why don’t you leave it to me to calculate the risks.”

__

A ripple, you had been able to cause a single ripple before you decided to give it a rest. It felt insignificant at first since you were so far past the ripple stage with human blood. But as you were cleaning up to leave it dawned on you how much this meant. You were truly improving. You were going on missions and holding your ground, you were making progress with your relationships on the team.

Well, some of them.

Well…maybe two of them.

Maybe.

Crap, Rae. You just remembered the concussion she had received during the last fight and how you told her you were going to check on her the next day. You should probably stop by the R&D floor inside the Guardians too, as they most likely have your suit.

The sound of a single click reverberated off the walls behind you, small, almost unnoticeable. You practically snapped your neck to look back, but there was nothing there. Just the same blank walls, and steel gurney. You could feel your breathing pick up; did Cecil have invisible agents stationed here with you? No, you couldn’t feel anything living within the area of the room. You would know.

You would know, you would know- You took a few deep breaths trying to calm down. You knew it wasn’t real. You knew exactly what the clicking sound was. The sound of a bullet entering the chamber of a gun. The sound you had barely registered before the sharp crack of it being fired assaulted your eardrums.  

Maybe you should talk to Cecil about having a few days off.

__

Almost instantaneously as the elevator doors slid open you could feel the atmosphere shift. Most of the members of the Guardians are standing in the common area. The wall display has video playing as well as several diagrams loaded up to the side. As you take a few steps out of the elevator you realize each of them are of you. The video is security cam footage from your training room. How did they even get that? There was no way it would slip through that easily with how guarded Cecil was. And the secrecy that revolved around her private training sessions.

The others were diagrams of your face, different muscles outlined, with individual pointers leading away from them.

Another part of the screen is playing footage of your episode from the other day. Your body is limp in a pool of your own blood, and Rex is still holding your hair, his other hand trying to hold your head up out of the growing overspill. Maybe he had been nervous that you would drown in your own blood. What a way to go.

Another step closer seemed to alert them all to your presence, Rudy’s voice stopping as several of them looked over at you. You have got to be kidding me. What are the chances you decide to go in while this is all happening. It had to of been low, you were out for three whole days and now is when they decide to discuss…whatever this is. “They haven’t said anything” Thank you Cecil. Constantly monitoring every little thing until it comes to this somehow.

“Ah, Killdeer.” Rudy said with an unreadable tone, and his expression didn’t give away much else either.

“What’s going on?” You tried to give them a confused smile, anything, but your tone came out sour. You were too tired for whatever this was.

“Why didn’t you feel it was necessary to make known that you are prone to- whatever this is?” It was Immortal who spoke, his hand gesturing to the screen displaying you completely passed out.

Your eyes rested on it for a moment, the display was on loop, portraying a constant purgatory of Rex frantically yelling something while you lay motionless. “It doesn’t concern the team.”

“Something that doesn’t concern the team would be what you had for breakfast this morning, not this.” Black Samson interjected; his voice didn’t seem near as accusatory as Immortal’s, but you still could feel your defenses rising.

“I’m getting it under control, it doesn’t affect my work.” You state shortly. Not necessarily the truth, but you had no intention of explaining it much further. But maybe you should. You could tell them the limitations of your abilities and the side effects. You don’t have to mention anything besides healing. It would be the truth.

A glance over the group of them reveals something that stops you though. You’re met with furrowed brows and concerned glances. You stand alone in front of a mass of people. And none of these individuals have any intentions of listening, they are already forming opinions about your competency before you can explain anything. Your eyes land on Rex for a moment, who is standing near the front, his arms crossed in his usual judgmental stance. But his face does not reflect this same sentiment, he looks almost shocked to see you. His eyes run over you time and time again as if seeing a ghost. As soon as he meets your gaze though his expression hardens. Typical.

“You don’t get to decide if it affects your work or not.” Immortal declares, his lip twinging slightly upwards in a grimace.

“You all have seen me in the field, I have been nothing but competent and I have even saved a few of you.” Your eyes land on Bulletproof, the edges of his mouth are down turned, but he runs a hand over his arm as if checking to make sure it is still healed.

“Competency is not the only thing in question. There has also been a lack of honesty.” Rudy doesn’t say this to you but to the rest of the team. It’s starting to feel like you are in court, with no lawyer to work on your behalf. “We cannot work cohesively as a team if we are not able to trust each other. You for some reason have read our files, which means you know a lot about us.” He’s holding his hands together with the tips of his fingers. “Why did you purposely hide this?”

You grit your teeth, trying to not let your tone reflect your growing unease. “I did not purposely hide it; I did not think that it was something I needed to make fully known. I can usually monitor when an episode is coming. This one…snuck up on me.”

“How often does this happen?” Rae was asking this time, genuine concern on her face as she stepped forward.

“Not often.” You felt bad not being able to be completely honest with her, out of all of them you wanted to tell her the truth the most. “It’s really not a huge deal-”

“I watched your fucking head explode asshole!” Your gaze snapped to Rex, he had let his arms fall, his fists clenched at his sides. “What about that isn’t a huge deal?”

You opened your mouth to try shooting back a response, say something snarky about him finally learning to care about someone other than himself for five seconds. But the argument died at your tongue, he looked upset. Not just angry but upset. You hadn’t considered how it might affect someone to witness what to you had become a common occurrence.

“I motion that Killdeer should be put on suspension for the time being. All current headquarters’ access revoked until we have the time to consider all the information and consult with Cecil.” Rudy proposed this to the group in front of you, but his focus was on Immortal.

“Wait, what?” Your expression softened in surprise. There are some murmurs from the small gathering and a few people look unhappy with this. Rae and you exchange glances, she does not seem at all enthused with the prospect of your absence even if she was caught off guard by this whole situation.

“I mean, shouldn’t we put it to a vote or something? Is it really the best choice to just toss her out?” Amanda spoke up, with her eyes on Rudy.

“This is not a democracy.” Immortal responded concisely.

“It is too much of a risk to have her in the base, we don’t know enough.” Duplikate cut in.

“We’re meant to be a team, what happened to loyalty to our teammates?” Bulletproof finally spoke up.

“Loyalty implies trust. I haven’t seen her doing a whole lot of that.” Duplikate’s stare bore into you at this. At least now you knew she didn’t like you rather than having to wonder.

“What do you have to say, Rex?” Rudy asked, his monotonous voice was beginning to get to you. He could at least sound angry while screwing you over. “You had the most invested interest in this. Without you, I might not have looked into it further.”

“What?” Your gaze lands on Rex, he almost looks guilty, his left hand reaching over his torso and clasping his other arm. You weren’t sure why you were surprised. He had been consistently the most vocal about wanting you gone. But for some reason it still felt like you were being punched in the gut, the air forced out of your lungs.

“I don’t…” Rex didn’t finish, his jaw was set tightly, and his creased brow was directed back at Rudy.

“Killdeer should be required to fully explain herself. Tell us why she thinks she should stay.”

You finally ripped your eyes from Rex to return them to Immortal after his statement. Looking at them all was beginning to put a bitter taste in your mouth. “You want me to beg.” You scowled at Immortal, only further annoyed by the righteous look he was giving you.

“If you wish to remain as apart of this team then you might want to lose the indignant attitude.”

“You know what, I am not even technically under you Immortal. No more than Invincible is.” You clenched your fists tightly at your sides. “And it doesn’t matter anyways. Because I quit. You are all incompetent, sorry, jerks-” Oh wow you really got them there. “And I couldn’t imagine hating myself enough to continue working with any of you.” You throw your hands up and turn to storm straight for the elevator.

“If you leave now, you are never entering this building ever again.” Another power trip from Immortal. You knew he did not actually have the power to say that. If Cecil made you come back then you would be back, regardless of what he wants. You weren’t about to stand here as if you were on trial to these people, and definitely not to The Immortal.

“If I never came back, it would be too soon!” You retort, pushing the button for the elevator. Taking in the looks on their faces for, what at the time, you hoped would be the last time. As the elevator closed multiple people started talking at the same time, directed at Rudy and Immortal, loud and disorganized. The only person not immediately turning their attention to the dispute was Rex, the one who started all of this months ago without you knowing. His expression was unreadable, but you knew yours wasn’t. You had spent months trying to mostly play nice, but now you were giving him the most resentful glare you could muster. As the elevator doors closed there was a sudden silence, it immediately blocked out the commotion. Just the soft mechanical whirring of the elevator traveling down.

Quiet. Actual quiet. You couldn’t even conjure a thought. This was the first time you had real silence in a long time. No anxious ramblings, no fear that your head was about to explode, no Rex. Just quiet.

Once you were in your car you just sat for a bit. It had been so long since you just took in the moment. There were some new indents in your steering wheel. Or if they weren’t new, you had never noticed them before. Pulling out onto the road you opened the windows. The wind was cool against your skin, welcoming. Not like the cool of the training room. You looked in the rearview mirror and watched Headquarters grow smaller behind you. The air smelt damp but fresh. Like the morning dew on fresh green grass.

It looks like it’s going to rain later.

Author's Note: You might want to refresh on chapter one if you want, but next chapter will be a Rex POV, so there will be a bit of recap there as well :) Thank you all for reading this far! I have a lot more I want to do with this.

divider credit: @/ saradika

taglist: @kittymeowmrow @sketchlove @jewelwayne101

[callme-holly]

𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

warning: contains nsfw contents. minors dni !! a/n: this has been a long time coming. my inbox is open for requests !!

★・・・★・・・★・・・★

Sfw:

Benny won't ever say it out loud, but he’s always watching out for you no matter what you’re doing. If you’re near a rougher crowd, he’s got his eyes on you at all times, keeping track of not only your movements but also the people around you. He’ll casually step up beside you, keeping a hand on you at all times, just to make a point. 

He takes you on long rides with no destination, just to get out and blow off some steam. He’ll occasionally glance over his shoulder to check on you, giving you a soft smirk. 

He might act tough, but when it’s just the two of you alone, he’ll relax a lot more. If he’s had a particularly rough day, he’ll rest his head on your legs and will let you run your fingers through his hair while he traces soft patterns into your thighs. 

Whether you're cold or not, he’ll drape his jacket around you. Something about seeing you wearing his colours really gets him going, but when it comes to you being in danger because of it, he isn’t going to put you through that. If anyone ever brings it up, he’ll grumble and brush it off, but deep down, he’s proud. 

Once you’re his, you’re his. He doesn’t play games and is extremely loyal to you and expects the same in return. If someone ever messes with you, he will handle it, whether you know it or not. If he suspects you’re cheating, he gets pretty fired up and will push until he gets an answer. 

He’s not a huge talker when it comes down to feelings, but he shows his affection in simpler, softer ways. Like pushing your hair back, brushing a kiss to your knuckles or gently squeezing your hip. 

If you’re apart for a while, he might become a little distant and broody. He won’t admit it, but he misses you when you’re not around, and when you’re back with him, he holds you slightly tighter than before. 

You’re one of the only people who can make Benny Cross genuinely smile. Not the smirk he usually gives the guys—the real, soft kind that makes your heart flutter and your breath hitch. 

When he’s overwhelmed or angry, he finds peace by simply sitting beside you. Sometimes, you don’t even have to talk. He just leans into you while you trace patterns on his arm, letting him breathe. 

He handles you like you’re breakable—careful, reverent, as if he’s afraid any sudden movement will scare you off. He’ll call you “sweetheart” in the softest voice, one that barely carries past a whisper. 

You two have a way of communicating without ever using words. All it takes is a single look and you know exactly what the other is thinking. It freaks the other Vandals out, but Benny takes pride in it and loves that he never has to explain himself with you.

He doesn’t think he’s good for you and will sometimes push you away, turning cold and distant. He is convinced you deserve someone better, but the second you walk out, he’s regretting everything. Deep down, he worries the club, the violence, the life he’s tied to will ruin you, and it eats at him constantly. 

He might act like he doesn’t care, but he’s terrified of losing you. If you go quiet for too long, he immediately assumes you’re pulling away and will always leave before you ever get the chance to. All it takes is a simple “I love you, Benny” to pull him out of it. 

In an argument, Bennt doesn’t yell. He simply shuts jaw clenched, eyes hard, and voice clipped. He storms off, too scared of saying something he can’t ever take back. 

If the argument ever touches a nerve, he’ll say something equally as cold just to push you first. Something like “If you don’t like it, just go.” He never means it. Deep down, every single fight feels like the beginning of an end and when things get heated, he just expects you to walk away. 

The second he sees tears in your eyes, he cracks, all the anger dissipating in favour of taking you in his arms. He’ll whisper to you softly, shoulders sagging, walls broken. “Shit… I didn’t mean that…” 

Saying sorry doesn’t come naturally for him, but he’ll show it in ways that are just as clear as words. He’ll fix things for you, bring you things, and linger in the doorway until you’re forced to acknowledge him and talk to him. 

Make-ups are rough and desperate, full of gripping hands and harsh kisses. But by the end, he always turns soft, his forehead pressed to yours, words a small whisper against your skin. 

He won’t ever let it linger as long as he can help it. Even if you both need time to cool off, he’ll come back eventually He’ll sit beside you, eyes fixed anywhere but on you, mumbling some poor excuse and a half-hearted apology. 

He’s not the top on PDA, but he’s always touching you in some way. Whether it’s a hand of your arm, hands in the pack pocket of your jeans, he’s always there. If you’re in a crowded place and you’re getting swept away from him, he’ll gently tug you back by the belt loops. If you’re distracted, he’ll tilt your chin up, murmuring something low. “Eyes on me, sweetheart.” 

If someone looks at you too long, Benny’s whole body shifts. He’ll tug you closer, pressing kisses anywhere he can reach, all while glaring at the other person. He doesn’t stand for anyone looking at what's his and makes it very clear any attention is unwanted. 

Nsfw:

Benny never rushes things. Every single touch makes it seem like he’s memorising you, mapping out your body, finding what makes you react in the way he loves most. He’s slow, deliberate, rough palms pressing into your skin as he watches your face.

He can be rough—biting kisses, nipping skin, hands gripping your hips and thighs hard enough to bruise. But he’s also all about making you feel safe and wanted.

He’s big on praise and very vocal in bed. His voice is low and gravelly, words murmured against your skin. “That’s it, sweetheart."//"You feel so good.” However, when things get a little more heated and rough, those words turn dirty very fast. He keeps your eyes locked on his, mumbling stuff like, “Look at you—all spread out for me like that.” 

He loves leaving marks: hickeys on your thighs, bites on your shoulders, and handprints on your waist. He won’t ever admit it, but he loves when people notice them. 

You making noises drives him absolutely insane, and he wont let you muffle them at all. It makes him weak: soft whines, breathy whispers of his name. He’ll curse under his breath and bury his face in your neck to keep himself together. 

Benny lives for the build-up and the teasing, dragging everything out until you’re desperate and pleading. He makes you wait, all cocky and smug, but deep down he’s just as desperate as you. 

If he’s had a bad day, he doesn’t talk. He just pulls you into his lap, equal parts rough and needy, using you to let out all his stress and tension.

He’s big on hair pulling and neck kisses. Tugging your head back to whisper in your ear? Yes. Kissing down your neck just to hear you whine? All the time. He loves it even more if you’re the one pulling his hair and it drives him wild. 

He’ll hold back sometimes, afraid of being too much. He’s not used to having someone he cares about in moments so raw, and so you have to encourage him to let go and coax it out of him. 

Mornings after are filled with messy hair, lazy kisses and wandering hands. In the morning, he’s drowsy and clingy, not wanting to let go just yet. He’ll bury his face in your neck, mumbling praise and pressing soft kisses to your skin. 

There are some nights where he’s too tired to go all the way, but he still craves something. He’ll sit back, watching you touch yourself while he works himself slow, matching your pace. 

Jealousy tends to bleed into sex quite a bit, especially if he’s seen someone else staring at you too long. And, oh, you’ll feel it later. The moment you're in private, he’s got you pressed to the wall, kissing you like he owns every inch of you, growling under his breath. “Mine. You got that?”

Aftercare is done in his own way. He won’t ever ask if you’re okay verbally, but he’ll clean you up and pull you close, sharing a drink with you and showing you tender touches. 

[bundoesnotcompete]

Aventurine's old friend happens to be a newly born Lord Ravager....

Tw for mentions of slavery, dehumanization of other people. I think that's it. Not proof read. roughly 2300 words.

"An avgin, ey? Quite the rarity yer auctioning off, sure ye want to?" It was dark in this cage and the metal was cold. There were more voices outside the curtain that covered your auction cage.

"Of course! This one is worth quite a bit! I've done well to keep it in pristine condition."

They would pay, everyone would pay. You would find a way out and annihilate everything that was involved in this scheme. Burning. The burning came next and then the gold.

"Arriving at-" You jerked awake from your place on the cramped ship. Thick cloak and the veil that covered your face shifted as you moved. The people huddled around eachother closely from the sheer cold of the refugee ship. Or you assumed it was cold, the faint feeling of burning inside kept you warm. You weaved your way through the crowd, making sure to leave small scratches on the rich folk sorrounding you. They assumed you a priest of some sort.

The planet these disgusting maggots had been on was destroyed, bent to your will and to the might of the legion and your hoarde.

"Ow! Something scratched me!"

You ignored the voices of the worthless and continued deftly weaving through the crowd to the exit. This planet was next in the chain and these maggots would rot it from the inside out. They would all pay with their lives. You would make sure they would pay their debts.

The planet's surface was lively, the concrete hellhole that these worms loved dearly revolted you. How dare they live in luxury and hoard the wealth that could help others? Most of those on the ship were so rich they hardly knew what to do with all the money. They abandoned all their servants and slaves in order to leave. They valued the lives of the poor no more then dirt, and thought themselves above all, even aeons. The forsaken had a new home with you, and it was there that they would find love.

This planet was a vital part of the southeastern trade routes for the IPC, and such a loss would cripple this sector of trading. It would also bleed into the other sectors with the loss of raw minerals needed for technology. A blow that would surely bring some joy to the other emanators. Well, the ones that were active, at least. Phantylia would at least have amusement as the maggots began to go insane and turn against eachother.

You paused from your planning and spreading of your power at the sound of a billboard playing the news. You were curious and you approached to watch with the crowd.

"Following what is believed to be a series of attacks by a possible eighth Lord Ravager, the Southeastern Sectors are to be on high alert and on full lockdown." The crowd around you began to murmur.

"Is there really an eighth? Does the IPC think us next?"

"You should've seen those creatures. They were people at one point and then they were turned into those things."

"Ugh, I bet this week cause the markets to fall."

"Who cares, it's not like it'll get us here."

You moved out of the crowd, allowing your power to linger and soak into the flesh of your next plan. It would take time, but you were patient.

In the next few months, fights and riots began to break out in the city. After a few irrational moves made by those in high power, the people began to grow angry. With anger and misery, your virus spread faster. It would only be a matter of time before phase two would begin.

"This marks the third major loss of trade routes in that sector. If this keeps up it will very well cripple the galatic economy." Sugilite scoffed, annoyed at the loss of such important lines in such a short span of time.

"We know nothing of this emanator and what little we do know paints an ill picture." Opal began. "An ugly mix of paths, turning people into abominations and then destroying worlds, such a mess."

"Propagation and Destruction, who'd had thought those two could have mixed."

"Prevention and quarantine is all we can do at this point." Jade turned to Aventurine as she spoke. "Tell me, which one are you willing to bet they'll target next?" The man in front her studied the planets keenly. Then he pointed to the odd colored one.

"Tertric-7, its a major trade planet and it connects to every other one." And it was a major hub of slave trade. Not that many knew that, of course. Of the eighty or so planets that have been destroyed, nearly all of them were notorious for slave trading and breeding. If he had to bet, that would be the next target. It would be within the boundries, hidden as it may be. Ah, might as well say the quiet part out loud.

"It would make sense. It is a major route on the slave trade, and if this emanator is targetting those routes like it has previously, it would go for that one." He shrugged at the look Sugilite gave him. It was true, and since he's a gambling man, his money was there. He was probably right anyway.

"He does hold a point. If I were that emanator with a grudge like that, I'd hit were it hurts too." Obsidian giggled. Then it was decided, the set of planets sorrounding Tertric would be quarantined.

"Two stonehearts are to go the chokepoints and make sure things run smoothly. These planets will be qurantined and it will be decided later what will happen to the remains." Diamond's words were final. Cut the infected limb off before it spreads.

The planet's populace was crumbling and mad. The deranged animals and insects that the people were turning into was rapidly destroying any hopes of escape. The city was collapsing and burning and you felt nothing but joy. A new home for your children and soon to be children. Freed from the pain of the gold cage of humanity.

"Not how I would have done it, but it was amusing watching them fight eachother." Phantylia's voice echoed nearby. You gazed up, face bare for the world to see. "Mmm, pity you ended it so soon, I had hoped to join in on the fun. I suppose we can't win them all." Her glowing fire of a form floated above you. Of all Lord Ravagers, you and Phantylia had an understanding and respect for one another. It was rare, among the group.

"There are two planets I intend of bringing salvation to next. Do you wish to take one route for your own joy?"

"Depends."

"There is one of the western side which I've heard has major ties to the Xianzhou Alliance. I had planned in looking into that next, but if you wish to have it...." You trailed off.

"Oh, no need to butter me up. I have been lacking a challange lately so, I will take your offer." She let out a laugh. "I'll be seeing you, Little Ravager." She dissappeared with a small puff.

A gurgling mess of limbs and chitin came crawling towards you, seeking comfort admist the agony. You cooed at the ugly gooey mess.

"Rest now little one, this one cares for you like no other has. You are freed from them."

The next year was filled with dull planning and spending time with your recently aquired children.

After arriving on the planet a month earlier, you finally had the comfort of knowing your friend's fate. You had seen him out of the corner of your eye and chased after him after looking again. You had to know if it was him, if he was free or still a slave.

"Kakashava?" Your voice echoed above the crowd. You saw him pause. The blonde paused as the crowd passed him, uncaring of his high status. He turned to your voice, unsure if he was hearing things or not. There you were, face bare for the world to see, one he thought long since lost admist the endless sea of slaves. How were you here?

You stood in front of him dressed in dark garbs that seemed to absorb any light and color. It was rare for Aventurine to be at a loss of words. Hands cupped his face a bit agressively. You scanned his face trying to memorize it. This was real, but why was he dressed like a maggot? It was too showey. Yet some buried part of you was unsurprised at his style. How very him. You let go of his face.

"Your part of the freed now, aren't you?" You asked. "Its obvious." You touched the top of his coat, feeling the plush fur against your fingertips. Expensive. "You make lots of money, you wear the coats the maggots do."

"And are you one of the freed?" He asked, ignoring your maggot comment. You gave a nod. "Then perhaps you wouldn't mind dining with me? We have quite a bit to catch up on. Too much to be standing on the street, anyway." Well, you weren't going to say no to free food.

"Do you have somewhere in mind?" He ended up taking you to some high end restrurant that made your skin crawl. The food was nice though. As you ate, the fresh wound on your wrist reopened. It wasn't an deep scratch, but one that was more than just small. One of your recent family members got too excited and, well, accidents happened. You hummed in annoyance as Kakashava seemed to continue on with his tale. You grabbed a napkin and covered the wound that gently weeped molten, gold blood. Kakashava took notice.

"Are you alright? Did you spill something gold?" He reached for your wrist but you jerked away from him. He seemed unbothered by your reaction, but pulled his hand back in understanding. Some things didn't need to be said.

"One of my family members got excited, and sometimes accidents happen. The gold is a gift from the one who freed me." The atmosphere seemed to tense, only one being had that ability. "A sign of my worthiness." The people around you continue to chatter amongst themselves, unaware of the dangerous beast they were near. Any wrong move and they would be doomed to die, Kakashava needed to play this right.

"So," He seemed to mull on your words and leaned back in his seat. "You must be the eighth Lord Ravager?" He questioned.

"If that is what you want to call me, then yes. But it is not ravaging, it is freeing. All join my family and this world will soon join. You can too, if you wanted. I would gladly have you by my side again." Time seemed to crawl. This planet was doomed before he even set foot on it. Damage control was his best option now.

"I am going to have to pass on that." You deflated and a small part of him still felt bad. "I want to make a bet with you."

"Oh?"

"If you can take the planet within 24 system hours, I will join your family." This was a gamble that made him uncomfortable. Throwing away lives like they nothing but toys was wrong, but they were doomed anyway. "But you must do it with minimal damage to the infrastructure. I've seen the damage you can cause, but can you do it without leveling a planet?"

You swirled your drink in comtemplation. He could rat you out to IPC he works for, but would they take his word seriously? A high rank he may be, only one of the ten stonehearts could really be an issue to your plan. You wanted him by your side, and surely it couldn't be that hard to keep the city in tact? But how much time did you have to prepare?

"And when does our timer start?" You set the drink down. His smile was borderline smug, as if he knew you would lose this bet. It was the same one that he wore when you played board games as children.

"Midnight." It was just enough time to get everything situated on his side. If he could keep the planet standing and worth something if the IPC could reclaim it, then he would win. It could be a frontline for this coming war.

"That is eight system hours to prepare. It would be enough time. Then you have a deal, Kakashava."

The game was set and the pieces were moving. All things considered, the reunion went well. A meal was shared and joy was shared amongst old friends.

The planet fell in less than 24 hours, but you could not keep your newly born children from rampaging and destroying major infrastructure. The bet was lost on your end, and you knew the smug smile your friend was wearing was going to make you smolder for days.

On Aventurine's end, things were going well. His influence established a frontline and did save some of the planet's important resources. It seemed you did try your best to keep things in tact. He ignored the bitter taste he had grown used to. Your fate and actions were something he did not like, but there was no use in crying over it now. He only hoped that you would come to your senses and allow the relationship bloom anew.

LOSS OF SOUTHEASTERN TRADING SECTORS TO AFFECT TRADE MARKETS

4 hrs ago

In the aftermath of the loss of the sectors, prices of technology and....

However, the planet of Tertric-7 has been considered salvagable from scans. While the loss of infastructure is great, the raw resources remained untouched. Unlike the planet....

CAN PATH CROSS?

2 hrs ago

As an eighth Lord Ravager is revealed to have been born, many in the scientific community have been left wondering if paths can cross fully. While research has remained....

Does this emanantor have combined paths of Propagation and Destruction?

[sasheneskywalker]

star wars fic recs

happy may the 4th! in honor of star wars day, i’m sharing a rec list of some of my favorite star wars fanfics. star wars was my first fandom, and after more than 10 years, it still holds a special place in my heart. hope you find something you enjoy! <3

Queen's Gambit by bedlamsbard Civil war threatens the galaxy. Hundreds of star systems have declared their intentions to leave the Republic and form a Confederacy of Independent Systems.

In the hopes of securing a quick peace, the Jedi Council has dispatched two Jedi to capture or kill the leaders of the separatist movement, Queen Amidala of Naboo and her lover, the former Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Into this period of conflict have come four refugees from another universe, fleeing a devastating massacre triggered by the death of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, secretly the Sith lord Darth Sidious, at the hands of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker…

T | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Padmé Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker | 354k words

Walk a Different Path by alexjanna91 Initiate Obi-Wan Kenobi did not take Master Jinn's last rejection lying down. With the Force whispering gleefully in his ear he decided to make his own way through the wide unknown galaxy. He wasn't afraid, though. No, in fact he was a little bit excited. After all, if he didn’t want to be a farmer and couldn’t be a Jedi, maybe being a pirate was his path in life. Either way he knew he was heading for an adventure.

T | No Archives Warnings Apply | Obi-Wan Kenobi & Jaster Mereel, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Darth Maul, Jango Fett & Obi-Wan Kenobi | 139k words

walk by faith/tell no one what you've seen by Killbothtwins After the end of the war with the Empire, Obi-Wan wakes up in his twelve-year old body. Now all he needs to do is convince everyone he's psychic, trick his Master into taking him on before he's sent to Bandomeer, redeem a few bad guys, and try not to have a nervous breakdown. Pretty easy. It's not like the Sith are lurking on the horizon, waiting to devour the Jedi Order.

T | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi | 39k words

What Lurks in the Dark by DragonflyonBreak A simple mission to check out an abandoned weapons factory turns into a dangerous fight for survival. Trust is broken, loyalties will be tested, and dark secrets are brought to light. Because sooner or later, the truth always comes out.

T | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker & Wedge Antilles | 155k words

Like Fire in Our Bones by acuteneurosis With all of the most important things in the galaxy literally exploding around her, Leia is given the chance to go back and help keep a promise she never personally made.

But then, for Skywalkers, saving the galaxy was always a family matter.

T | Major Character Death | Leia Organa & Shmi Skywalker, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker, Padmé Amidala & Leia Organa, Leia Organa & Darth Vader, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Leia Organa & Anakin Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker & Shmi Skywalker | 153k words

Ad Utrumque Paratus by obeyingthemuse It's hard to bring balance to the Force when the only method you've seen is your black-cloaked psychic cyborg sorcerer dad with a severe breathing problem throwing an old man down the Death Star reactor shaft. As much as Luke would like to see the not-yet-Emperor dead, he doesn't want to be arrested by his unusually attractive(?) war-hero dad and spend the rest of his indeterminate time in the past dropping Ewok beats in a jail cell. Also Leia would probably kill him. But not before breaking him out of jail.

So when the twins wake up on Tatooine decades in the past, they play it safe. They take over a planet, reconnect with their adoptive and real parents without weirding them out (too much), and accidentally cause the Chancellor perpetual near-death experiences.

Nailed it.

G | No Archive Warnings Apply | No Relationships | 44k words

War Drums by intermundia In 4 ABY, Darth Vader lies dying, overwhelmed with regret at the impossibility of atoning for all that he’d done—it was impossible to fix, to undo; no apology would ever be sufficient. But nothing was impossible for him, merely difficult.

In 32 BBY, ten-year-old Anakin Skywalker wakes up as Darth Vader, his mind overwritten by the consciousness of his future self. In one day, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi loses his Master, gains the confusing and concerning friendship of a 46-year-old (ex-)Sith Lord temporarily trapped in a child’s body, and is pulled along on his desperate mission to save the galaxy.

E | No Archive Warnings Apply | Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker | 91k words

Blackbird by ThereAndGone Hera and crew are sent on mission to recruit Kanan and Ezra, who operate as vigilante assassins fighting the Empire, into the rebellion. But Kanan’s dark past and darker tendencies make the chances of the mission’s success slim.

It’s a good thing Hera, Ezra, and the crew don’t give up easy.

M | No Archive Warnings Apply | Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla | 249k words

i loved rome more by nymja “What’s your name again?” He asks, after she’s suited up, after they’re running.

“Sola,” she says.

She is so very good at lying.

-- AU where Revan knows she's Revan the Whole Time.

M | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Alek | Darth Malak/Female Revan, Canderous Ordo/Revan (one-sided), Carth Onasi/Female Revan (one-sided), Alek | Darth Malak/Revan, Jolee Bindo & Female Revan (bffs 5ever) | 61k words

Divergence by mylordshesacactus In another world, another life, the moment of hesitation goes no further. Bastila Shan, consumed by fear, raised from birth to place utter faith in the Council’s judgement, keeps her silence.

Lie feeds upon half-truth upon lie and each careful sidestep only adds fuel to the smoldering, bitter contempt. Shown no honesty, Revan offers none. Secrets and fears are entrusted to a woman with no reason to treat them as anything but weapons, twisted to pierce the hearts of those who pressed them into her hands. The last hope of the Jedi, used and discarded one too many times, kneels on bloodstained marble at her feet. The once breaker of chains, turned in rage to bind the galaxy, returns. The Dark Lord rises from fury and flame and it is as inevitable as the death of stars.

In another world, another life, the Republic falls.

This is not that story.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Bastila Shan/Female Revan (Star Wars) | 12k words

Under the Cover of Darkness by randomlyimagine Being pulled back through in time, getting to see the Old Jedi Order, Ben, even Anakin Skywalker, before he Fell…it was an opportunity Luke had never dreamed he’d have.

If only he and Mara hadn’t been pulled back in the middle of a mission where they were undercover as Sith.

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker | 57k words

Will Save the Galaxy for Better Credit Ratings by zuzeca In which Darth Maul applies for a loan, discovers a forgotten heirloom, experiments with space drugs, complains about his nemesis to a captive audience, and learns the value of bank fraud. Also love and friendship, but mostly bank fraud.

M | No Archive Warnings Apply | Darth Maul & Darth Plagueis, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Darth Maul | 19k words

Sticky Fingers by phoenixyfriend In which Hondo Ohnaka (accidentally) saves the galaxy far, far away.

M | No Archive Warnings Apply | Obi-Wan Kenobi & Hondo Ohnaka, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Quinlan Vos, Past Quinlan Vos/Asajj Ventress | 8k words

the kenobi conundrum by tennessoui Acting as Anakin Skywalker's confidante is probably the most painful aspect of pretending to be kind and sympathetic Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine. It seems that every other week, Skywalker is in love with another paramour who will leave him heartbroken within months. And as Skywalker's mentor and father figure, it is Darth Sidious' job to pick up those pieces and lend a compassionate ear to Skywalker's suffering. Every. Single. Time.

It's only after several years of this routine that Sidious realizes that he can solve two of his problems in one fell swoop: if he can convince Skywalker that he is in love with his old Jedi master, Kenobi, then Skywalker will inevitably have his heart broken by the man when their relationship fizzles into nothing. Then his strongest tether to the Light will be severed, and Sidious can claim Skywalker as his apprentice.

Because surely Skywalker's feelings for Kenobi are not returned. Surely Kenobi has more sense than to be enamored beyond reason with his former padawan. Surely all Sidious has to do is push Skywalker in Kenobi's direction and then watch the fallout.

Surely. Surely?

T | No Archive Warnings Apply | Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker | 11k words

[badboydevotee]

Is This The End?

Summary: You walk the line between what must be forgotten and what your heart refuses to let go. As time slips away, choices must be made — even if they come at the cost of everything you have come to cherish.

The sunset bled like a quiet wound across the horizon.

You stood by the tall window of the old building, your silhouette swallowed by the glow that pressed in through the glass. The streaks of purple, light blue hues and amber looked like brush strokes painted by a world that had never known sorrow.

Your fingers tightened against the fabric of your coat. The building was quiet. No missions today. No blood. No cries. Just silence.

A silence you didn’t trust.

“Is this the end?”

The question returned again—like the bloom on your nape, slow, invasive, inevitable.

The Kyklos curse had grown, the purple flower now blooming at your nape. They said time was running out.

Edward’s mist couldn’t hold you—not completely. You had wondered then, what if I give in? What if the pain, the slow decay of your humanity, the constant dread of becoming something monstrous… What if all of it stopped?

And yet… you didn’t.

Because of Kaito, who once told you that you helped him survive a mission he never thought of making out of. Because of Jin, whose icy sarcasm gave way to a rare smile when you took care of him when he was sick. Because of the girl you’d saved from the Barometz—her hand trembling in yours, her eyes whispering thank you through tears.

Because of the ghouls who once said they didn’t need you, and then nearly tore the school apart when you disappeared.

Because… even if you couldn’t fight the monsters with weapons and blood, you’d fought the ones in the silence.

“You’re not useless,” Jiro had once said.

You remembered that moment clearly. His voice was hoarse, broken from the pain, his body barely held together in the bed. You got angry at the Mortkranken students for not helping you and Yuri to transport a capsule to help Jiro. You’d screamed at them. Begged. Lost your temper.

You hated losing your temper. But you hated watching people die more.

That was the paradox of you. Shy. Insecure. Weak, you said. But when it mattered, when lives were bleeding out before you—you moved. You didn’t think. You didn’t hesitate.

Even now, standing there alone, you wanted to scream.

Because you were so close to finding a cure.

So many leads, all gone.

The candle Taiga offered—an eternity in a world where nothing hurt. The bite Edward offered—an unlife where your flower would wither away but so would your soul. And the help of the Sage’s Ring, and its soft, strange warmth when it resonated with another’s stigma.

“What if… what if being cured means forgetting?” “Would I lose… them?”

The memory of Sho’s laugh. Haku’s grin as he healed your skinned knees after you slipped on frost. Luca teaching you how to hold a dagger even though you’d never use it. Yuri making you tea and acting like he didn’t care.

These weren’t just memories.

They were pieces of you.

And yet, you knew. Darkwick was a place for the cursed. The ghouls. If your curse was lifted, you'd no longer belong here. You’d be sent back—to your old world. Your old life. You’d forget all of this.

Forget them.

The sky darkened further, the clouds swallowing the last light.

You placed a hand against the glass, cold meeting cold. Your breath fogged faintly on the windowpane. Somewhere below, voices laughed—a few students chasing shadows across the courtyard, pretending for a moment that the world wasn’t ending around them.

You envied them.

No. That wasn’t quite right.

You loved them.

And if it meant fading from their world so they could keep living in it... would that be enough?

You pulled out the letter from your coat pocket—the one you hadn’t dared to open.

It was sealed in wax, bearing the sigil of the Headmaster.

You’d been told that once your choice was made—whether to try the final test, to risk the change, or to accept a fabricated peace—the letter would guide the way.

One path would purge your curse. One path would turn you into something else. One path would trap you here forever.

You traced the seal with trembling fingers. Your eyes, still hidden beneath your bangs, stung.

And yet… you smiled.

Because no matter what you chose—no matter what the letter said, or how many days you had left—you weren’t that frightened person anymore.

You were still scared. Still unsure. Still wondering if you mattered.

But you fought. You loved. You saved people.

And you were going to keep doing that, to your very last breath.

Even if you had to forget them…

“I hope they don’t forget me.”

You slipped the letter back into your coat.

Tomorrow, you’d decide.

You stand here just a little longer… watching the sky burn softly, like it knew how many stories had been written beneath its fading light.

Ao3 vers.

[starwovenkiss]

(minor smut / suggestive content)

Frat boys, Soap and Gaz, who take an interest in the pretty TA for their econ 101 class.

The one that shows up with sweaters and jeans and glasses while marking through their tests with red pens and frustrated sighs.

Showing up to you after one class one day with mischevious grins in their matching fraternity t-shirts.

“Bonnie, y’gotta convince the professor to bump me up to an A,” Johnny pauses at this. “Or at least a C.”

You roll your eyes. “Johnny, you spelled your own name wrong on your last test.” He at least has the decency to look ashamed at this.

“What Soap is tryna say,” Kyle cuts in, smooth as ever. He really shouldn’t be here, making A's on every exam this semester, except that he’s been caught cheating and has been placed on academic probation. “is that we really think we could benefit from some tutoring. We do so much better with 1-on-1 attention.”

Both he and Johnny tilt their faces into something pouting and begging, and you want to laugh. Throw the scantrons you're grading at their muscled chests and storm out of here for wasting your time.

“Yeah, 1-on-1 would be great,” Johnny echoes, and you nearly scream.

Dealing with late nights in the library where they're more interested in getting you to go out with them then learning the diffrence between macro and microeconomics.

"So the difference between absolute advantage and -" You tense as Kyle tugs lightly on your ponytail.

"Darling, why don't you ever come to one of our parties?"

“We’re having one this Friday.” Johnny suggests, and you wonder if a part of their stupid initiation is to learn how to complete each other’s sentences like some sort of greek Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum. "It’s not really my vibe,” you say, hoping that will be enough to get back to learning what GDP stands for (and not ‘great dick’n’pussy’ like Johnny suggested.)

“Aw, that’s because you’ve never been, bonnie.” Johnny fights back, and Kyle nods eagerly. “Tau Mu is everyone’s vibe.”

And to your horror, they break out into song, singing about the fraternity’s history and legacy. Your eye twitches, and you grip onto your pencil tighter to keep from sticking it in their throats.

”How about this,” you say loudly enough to cut over their caterwauling, and they smile. “if you both get an A on this next test, I will go to your party.”

They both have cheshire grins.

“Deal.” Kyle winks.

Them coming up to you on Thursday looking proud as ever when they have Canvas pulled up on their phones to show off their matching 100s.

“You guys must have cheated,” you say, dumbfounded.

“We would never.” Kyle proclaims, affronted and mocking. “’Sides, even if we did, you have no way to prove it.”

“This whole conversation incriminates you.” you say.

“Incriminates? We’re not under trial here.” Kyle laughs.

"No cheating.” Johnny promises. “It must’ve been thanks to your impressive tutelage.”

“Johnny, spell tutelage.” You deadpan.

There’s a pause. “… That doesn’t matter. We’ll see you tomorrow.” He smiles brightly.

“Make sure to wear red.” Kyle adds on before they both walk out of the classroom.

You showing up to their party, looking like you don’t want to be there and definitely not in red, only to find out it’s a stoplight party, and red screams that you’re taken.

Both of them in their element, shirtless and streaked in red black light paint, as they jump around and body surf in neon sunglasses before seeing you disappointed.

“Bonnie, why aren’t you wearing red?” Johnny asks.

"Johnny, I’m not seeing anyone.”

“So, what do you call all of those late nights in the library?” Kyle asks, putting an arm around you as he leads you to get jungle juice.

“Tutoring. To help get both your GPAs above a 2.5,” You reply.

“Sounds like foreplay to me.” Johnny smiles down at you while wrapping an arm around your waist, and suddenly you feel flustered by the two attractive men who seem enamored with you.

You pick up a solo cup as a distraction and notice that it has “You’re Hell” written on it. “Who wrote this? There’s a typo.”

They both groan, “We were trying to be clever.” Johnny replies.

“You need to relax, darling. Can’t be good for you to be so uptight all the time.” Kyle responds moving to rub your shoulders.

“Yeah, Gaz.” Johnny smiles at him, and suddenly you feel like you’ve walked into some trap. “Relaxing would be good for the lass.”

Finding yourself upstairs in a private bedroom, naked, sprawled out in Kyle’s lap as he holds your legs open for Johnny to examine you.

“Think it’s time we teach her a thing or two, right, Soap?” Kyle whispers, voice low like honey in your ear and you shiver.

“See how well we can make the teacher’s pet behave.” Johnny responds as he grins like the devil, breath tickling your fluttering cunt.

“Bet she’s never had this pretty pussy licked before.” Kyle snickers, and you finally feel the need to speak up.

“Yes, I have. I’m not a prude.” You whine, and you feel like the pastel pink underwear with a tiny bow that Johnny has stuffed in his pocket isn’t doing you any favors.

“Aye, well. Not like this.” Johnny replies before licking into you like a man starved.

[somanyideassolittletime]

you're gonna live forever in me

Pairing: Jack Abbot x fem!reader (3rd pov)

summary: John Mayer makes great sad song.

Warnings: angst, angst, angst.

He doesn’t even remember having this song in his phone, she must’ve added this a long time ago, he thinks. 

The great big bang and dinosaurs 

fiery rain and meteors 

It all ends unfortunately. 

But you're gonna live forever in me

I guarantee, just wait and see

Jack's hands grasped the steering wheel hard when the familiar music played in his car. He knows the song by heart – listening to an artist's discography repeatedly does that to someone, he supposed. His mind tells him to change the song and to throw away every memory he has associated with this song, but his heart tells him to listen; to reminisce about all the good times he’s had the privilege to experience. Ironic really, he’s pulling up in the driveway and this song decides to play.

“Why do you like sad songs so much, I never understand,” he once asked her, driving around the city at night, no destination on mind. “It’s not sad, J. It’s beautiful.-” She looked at him like he hung the moon, she always does. “Imagine loving someone to the point that they live forever in you,” he chuckled, “I don’t have to, you already are.” And she had cried that night, hearing him mutter those words. 

J, a nickname he once hated – how hard it is to just say Jack? He once thought – but hearing her call him J for the first time, he couldn’t help but erase his forethought on how much he hated that nickname. Hearing her call him J makes him feel young again; her tone always holds no malice every time she calls him that, for him, hearing her mutter those one letter is like a prayer, a beacon of how close she held him in her heart. 

Parts of me were made by you

And planets keep their distance too

The moon's got a grip on the sea

And you're gonna live forever in me

I guarantee, it's your destiny

His mind wandered to the one time they went to The Museum, looking around hand in hand, talking about everything all at once. 

“J, did you know that in some interpretations of the Greek mythology, human beings are made with four arms, four legs, and a head with two faces. But fearing what they could do, Zeus split them into halves, and they spend the rest of their lives finding the other half.” she had said to him, he laughed, bringing their intertwining hand to his lips, kissing it, “what a weird fact to tell me when we’re looking at a sabretooth, hon.” She had laughed too. “yeah, the timing was off, sorry” he turned to her, looking in her eyes, leaning in, “never be sorry, I love it.-” he whispers to her “also I would love to kiss you, but we’re kinda in the museum.” he leaned back, both smiling at each other like nothing else in the world mattered, both silently agreeing that they have found the other half. 

Life is full of sweet mistakes

And love's an honest one to make

Time leaves no fruit on the tree

But you're gonna live forever in me

I guarantee, it's just meant to be

The car is parked, but he can’t will himself to turn it off, not when his mind is currently preoccupied by the thoughts that kept him up most nights. He never stopped loving her, he still finds her in every day small things; a book he thinks she will love, a song he knows she’ll play in their home repeatedly until he can recite the entire lyrics. She still occupies his thoughts a lot, even after all these years. 

His mind kept repeating the night he called it off before he went to bed every night – he kept reciting all the hurtful words he had said over and over again, wishing he had said something different, something that could make her stay. And on one of those nights, when he’s been too deep in his own thoughts, he would twist the memory to the point that he can picture her in bed beside him, holding him, telling him to go to sleep, and that all that has happened was just some twisted nightmare he conjured up. 

How he wished that he would give in to the fight when he called it off instead of doing what he had always been doing, retract himself. I don’t like it when you don’t argue back, it’s like what we had is not worth fighting, J. had once said to him in one of their first fight. 

And when the pastor asks the pews

For reasons he can't marry you

I'll keep my word and my seat

But you're gonna live forever in me

I guarantee, just wait and see

He wonders if she’s moved on, if she’s found someone worthy of her love, if she’s found her a husband. If she is married, in a way, he’s glad; glad that he doesn’t have to bear seeing her walking down the aisle, glad that she’s happy, that she found herself her other half. 

She’s gonna live forever in him, that’s her destiny for him, he supposed. No matter where she is, no matter what she’s doing, what she’s thinking, part of him will still always live for her as part of her will always live forever in him. No matter what he’s doing, the memory of the time he spent with her will always live in the back of his mind, like a reminder of what he has lost. 

The song has changed now, he wills himself to turn the ignition off, walking into his home, bag slung on one shoulder.  Putting the key in the slot, he can’t help to think that maybe, just maybe, she’ll greet him on the other side of the door, hug him, and kiss his cheek like she always does. But he knows better than to hope. 

He emptied his pockets on the table, looking around the house – now feels too big, too empty, too cold – and sighed. His phone lit up with a notification, one he knew not from her. He picked up his phone, with a recent game score notification on the front screen. Not knowing what to do. 

It's like his hand has a mind of its own, his thumb now hovering over her number, and suddenly his phone felt hot in his hand. He contemplates longer than he usually does. 

So he did the best thing he should’ve done all those years – he listened to his heart – and pressed the call button. With his heart hammering in his chest. 

She picked up in the third ring. She had, after all, promised him that she was just one call away, but that was when they were together. She hadn’t backed up from her promise, it seems. 

“Jack?” 

Not J, not anymore, not to her. But maybe he wanted to be reckless and let himself hope.