#not to mention the weird guardian dreams when they finally DO sleep

[knightingale-errant]

I just know tav/durge has eyebags for days with how much fuckery happens in the middle of the night when I take long rests

[frenziedslashers]

Baby Come Home;;

A/N: I have NOT seen GOTG Vol. 3 and probably won't until they release it on dvd unfortunately! I don't have the time to go and see it in theaters so please do not put any spoilers in the comments or tags! I am very much in love with Peter Quill though and have been since I saw gotg vol. 1 when I was like- 11 lmao. BUT ANYWAYS- here is this little thing and I hope that you guys enjoy it. I will be including a marvel character list in my master list for those who want to send in requests. I probably won't do a lot of characters for marvel though since I am still pretty hit or miss with the fandom! This was going to be solely fluff, but then I got carried away...

Pairing: Peter Quill x Trans Masc!Reader

Warnings: Blowjob, piv sex, reader uses he/him pronouns, minors dni!! If I need to add more please let me know. This is also NOT proofread, so beware lmao

Peter Jason Quill. A man of mystery, wonder, and most of all. The man of your dreams. That's at least what he tells everyone when he mentions you.

You'd dent it whenever he'd bring it up. Claiming that he wasn't that important to you. He was a want, not a need!

Yet, as the days passed on. He was beginning to become a necessity in your life. Everything from his dorky grin, to his sarcastic sense of humor. He was your boyfriend. Your Star Lord.

As the days went on, it seemed like he spent less time with you. You were venturing with him and the other guardians for so long. But things got dirty with Rowan, and Peter was scared he'd lose you. Afraid that some space villain could use you to their advantage. A hostage situation that Peter couldn't bare to even think of.

"I want to help," you told him, but he only smiled. Reaching up to brush some hair from your eyes.

"Baby, you can help by holding the fort down. You're safer here," "I can take care of myself, Quill," you spat, and he chuckled at your spitfire attitude. "I know you can, why do you think I like you?" He teased and you rolled your eyes. Crossing your arms across your chest. "I need something to look forward to when I get home," he cooed, holding your hips while swaying the both of you lightly. Pulling your body against his while his head leant closer to yours.

A giggle did happen to escape your lips. Leaning up to press a kiss to his nose. A snicker leaving his mouth at your action. His grip tightening a bit as you reached out to wrap your arms around his shoulders. "All right, but my Star Lord better be quick. I might have to find someone else to bug if he takes too long." You spoke with a small pout, and he sighed. "Well, your Star Lord doesn't like the sound of that. He'll be home as quick as I can," He cooed, leaning forward to press a loving kiss to your lips. He was mesmerizing.

He took forever to come home it seemed. The first few nights were fine. You could handle a few days by yourself, but on the fourth night? That's when it started to feel weird. To feel as if something was missing from the comfort of your bed.

Someone.

Peter wasn't the quietest sleeper, but he was a distraction from your thoughts. You were able to lay on his chest and focus on his heart beat and deep breaths. Or the sound of his faint snoring. Even the sound of him talking in his sleep here or there. He was truly a mouth even in his sleep.

You found yourself curled up on your shared bed many of the nights. Lying on your side while humming the songs that he would play or sing for you. Even going as far as listening to the CD's on the CD player that he happened to find. Falling asleep to the songs that he would often hum around your home. It was comforting and felt like maybe he was there.

Peter on the other hand felt more lost than ever. He found himself looking over his shoulder for you. Thinking of a topic of interest or question to ask you and blurting out the beginning of the sentence before he finally realized that you weren't there with him. Getting a weird glance from his crew mates.

When he was finally on his way home he couldn't move any faster.

He was racing back to your shared home faster than any man had ever raced. Rocket had even dropped a few comments about it. Something about how you had him wrapped around your finger. Or something else, he wasn't quite sure. He could care less to listen to what the talking raccoon had to say.

When Peter got to the house it was empty. The door was locked, and the lights were off. His face fell as he stepped into the dimly lit home. His key for your home in hand. Shutting the door with a click of a button. His eyes scanning for any sign of where you could be. He needed nothing more than to pull you in for a hug. To lay down with you and never let you go again.

"Baby?" He called out, dropping his coat and bag on the nearest chair. His hand holding over his blaster when he heard movement in your bedroom. "Hey, you in there?" He asked, furrowing his brows before pushing the door open with the tip of his boot.

His shoulders relaxed when he saw you standing in the center of the room. Facing the door with wide eyes. The glow of the city lights that bled through your bedroom window left a glow around you that made you look like some celestial life form to Peter.

"Hey," He repeated, the both of you staring for a moment or two again before you jumped into his arms. Peter leaning back to lift you off the floor a little. Then dropping you back to your feet. Arms wrapped tight around your waist.

"I didn't think you'd ever come back," You spoke dramatically, and Peter snorted. "Me? I always come back. How could I leave someone as hot as you waiting?" He teased, and you rolled your eyes. Pressing your hands to his chest while looking to the side. "Nevermind, maybe you could have stayed away another week," you sneered. Which of course, Peter just laughed. Leaning down to press a kiss to your cheek.

"Hm, I could have, but what can I say? I like torturing you." He sighed, leaning his forehead against the side of your head. "I see you're wearing my shirt anyways?" He spoke with slight question. Reaching down to tug at the fabric that hung off your body. It fit you nicely, in his opinion. Something about seeing you in his clothes just did something to him. It always did.

"Shut up before I regret giving you my house key," you snarled, looking you at your lover. A mistake that you'd surly make again.

He was staring at you with such a mix of adoration and mischief. Grinning while running his hands on your sides. "Quill," you warned, but he didn't listen. You knew he wouldn't, either.

His lips were pressed on yours in seconds. Holding you in place with a firm grip. You were thankful. Sure that if his hands weren't holding you up, you would have melted to the floor. Every kiss from him felt better and more intoxicating than the last.

A soft laugh escaped past his lips. The noise bleeding into your own mouth. "What?" You asked between kissed, and he only shook his head. "Just thinking about how much I fucking missed you, is all." He sighed, leading you over to the bed before peeling his uniform off. Tossing everything on the ground. If it weren't for you, your home would be a mess with how he littered all his belongings everywhere he went.

"Miss me that much?" You asked. Your eyes wandering your lovers body as he stripped down to nothing but his boxers. Climbing into bed beside you. "Oh, you don't even know. Got so bad Drax was telling me to shut up about you," He snickered, kissing the side of your face while pulling you closer.

It wasn't until he mentioned Drax that you remembered why he was away for so long. Why you had to stay back and 'hold the fort down,' as he said weeks prior.

"Is everyone okay?" You asked, and he furrowed his brows. Nodding his head while pulling you just a little closer. "Yeah, of course they are." He assured. "We're the Guardians of The Galaxy, Baby. We ain't goin' no where." You could only roll your eyes at his words. Reaching out to drape your arms around him while rolling onto his chest.

"I'm glad you're safe," you muttered against his skin. You weren't even looking at him and you could already see the giant smile on his face. "Yeah, I'm glad you are too." He hummed, reaching out to rub the side of your face. Guiding your head up in order to look at him.

He stared at you for a while. His eyes swimming in yours. Finally parting from your gaze to look over the rest of your features. His thumb swiping over your cheek, then your lips. "God, I missed you," he whined, pulling you in for another kiss. Just this one felt needier than the last. Curiosity surging through you on what spurred this on. Did something happen while he was away? Or did he just miss you that much? Then again, it was Peter. He was always pulling you in for kisses that almost always turned into more than just a kiss. The man was far from innocent, even if he liked acting that way at times.

He rolled you on to your back. His hands sprawled on your sides before they rubbed down to cup your ass. A cocksure grin pulling the corners of his lips tight. "You're such a perv," you hissed against his lips, but he only laughed. His lips trailing from yours, down to your neck. Kissing and sucking. Making sure that there were marks the both of you could see in the morning.

"How much did you miss me?" He asked you with a brow raised. Kissing down your chest. His shirt being the only thing that kept his skin from yours. "Come on, humor me," He pleaded with a grin. "I missed you," "Yeah, but how much?" He asked again, smiling a bit more when you rolled your eyes. "A lot." He snickered, hands running under the shirt to grope at your skin. "Good boy," he teased with a smirk. You wished you could melt away with all his playful remarks. Hide and never be seen again, but you knew if anyone would take care of you. It'd be Peter.

"Have I ever told you how handsome you are?" He asked, tugging the shirt up your body. You moved to help him pull it off of you. Leaving your upped half bare. Which left Peter with ample room to mark and oggle.

"All the time," you responded with a blush. It seemed like one of his favorite things to do was compliment you. Shower you with praise and remind you how loved you really were. Even if you didn't have anyone else. You always had him, and he was sure to let you know that any chance that he got.

He bit the side of your stomach. Your body jolting at the sensation of the pinch of his teeth. "Quill!" You snapped, and he giggled. "M'bad," He slurred, his fingers hooking in the hem of your pants. Dancing up through his eyelashes. "May I?" He asked, and you sighed.

You nearly said 'yes', but a smirk of your own fell on your face. Pursing your lips to stifle a laugh. "No," you spoke in a teasing tone. Curious how he would act to your attitude tonight. "Come on," He whined. Laying his chin on your stomach. "What's a guy gotta do to get in his boyfriends pants?" He pouted. His agony only making you snicker.

"How much did you miss me?" You asked this time. Quill knew what game you were playing. Truthfully, he was all for it, too.

"More than you can ever imagine. I'd like to show you, too," He hummed, staring up at you with such a dreamy gaze. He always looked at you like this. As if you hung the stars and the moons that circled the system. You were more of a God than any God he ever heard of. If he could worship you more than he already did, he would.

"What if I show you?" You quipped, his brows raising with curiosity. "I'm all ears, handsome."

You took your time. Shifting your body while motioning him to lay on his back. Peter couldn't move fast enough. It had only been about three weeks away from you, but he was so pent up already. Aching for any touch you had to offer him. He could eat you up if you'd let him. Be embraced in nothing but you.

Once he was on his back, and you were onto of him. He was more antsy than when he was in control of the situation at hand. His body squirming beneath you while his hands fought to find a place to settle. Your hips, thighs, beside him on the bed, he couldn't decide.

His hips thrusted up when you reached down to palm his erection. His face scrunching up with a mix of pain and pleasure. "Shit," You only laughed at how needy he was. Taking note of how red his face turned when you did. "Missed me a lot, huh?" You teased. "Hey, what can I say? My hand doesn't do the trick when I got you at home," He shot back with a grin. He was something else.

You slid down his body. Hands trailing down his chest, stomach, and then hooking on the waist band of his boxers. Kissing the skin that your hands trailed over. Even planting a kiss on the tip of his clothed erection. Peter let out a groan at that. His head falling back while his chest began to heave. He was already such a mess, and you had barely begun.

Peter let out a grunt when you tugged his boxers down. Lulling him to lift his hips so it would be easier to move them down. "This how much you missed me?" He asked, a moan slipping out at the end of his sentence when your hand ran over the tip of his dick. "You have told me before that I'm better with my actions over words," you half answered the question. Leaning down to lick up his shaft before he could even get another snarky word out of that damn mouth of his.

"Oh dear Lord," He sighed, his hand coming to tangle in your hair while you took him into your mouth. "You're like my own personal angel, I swear," He rambled. Something he often did when you sucked him off.

When his hands tugged a little harsher at your hair, and his hips began trying to thrust up into your throat. You knew he was close, but you didn't let him finish. Pulling off of him with a 'pop' that left Peter whining out in annoyance. "I was so close," he stammered. You already knew that, and he knew that you knew.

When you began climbing over his body he was quick to straighten up. His eyes now focused on yours. Watching you intently as your face grew closer to his. "I love you, Star Lord," he smiled, a soft gaze in his eyes that quickly grew mischievous. "And I love you, Baby," he lulled, gripping your hips before positioning you over his tip. "Shall we?" He asked, watching as you smiled while rolling your eyes. Only answering with your actions rather than your words.

You leant down to lock his lips with yours. Sinking onto him at a lenient pace. "God I missed this," you both sighed into the dark room. You both had missed this, but you also just missed each other. This just happened to be the closest way you could both get to each other.

His hands gripped at your sides. A grunt rumbling from his chest when you moved. "I'm not gonna last long," He breathed out, his eyes already growing heavy. His breath rugged and hips struggling to be still.

"All right, then make it quick and good, Peter," you complied. Rolling your hips while motioning your head to the side. Peter taking the hint to grab and flip you onto your back. The fight to be still was gone. Now he had permission to move as fast as he wanted.

His thrusts started out long and hard, but he was quick to speed up to a pace that had you both making noises. Moans, grunts, pants, cries. All of the above could be heard from your home. Echoing and bouncing through the walls while Peter bounced you on his dick.

"Pete," you called out, and he was there in an instant. Leaning down to lock his lips with your own while one hand came in between both of your bodies. Rubbing your clit while he fucked you just right.

For saying he wasn't going to last long. He wound up lasting longer than either of you thought he would. Able to bring you up to your orgasm before he pulled out and came on your stomach. A mess that he would clean up for you. Just like his trinkets and clothes that he scattered around your home. That was something he would save for later. Right now he was exhausted. Worn out from mind blowing sex, and his long journey where he hardly got any rest.

"Are you able to stay for a while?" You asked, your chest rising and falling with each deep breath that you took. "Yeah, probably a week or two before Rocket decides he wants to steal something shiny," He muttered against your shoulder. Pressing a chaste kiss to the skin. "Good. I have more planned for us than just sleeping together," you tittered, and he smiled. "I wouldn't want anything less, sugar."

[fantastic-bby]

Lia

Pairing: (F)Reader x Felix

Word count: 2.6k

Genre: Guardian Angel!Felix | Fluff | Romance 

Summary: When Felix accidentally reveals himself to you, he has no other choice but to explain what he was planning. You think through the many years spent together, reliving those moments that he’s been by your side when he suggests taking you up to Heaven to turn you into an angel. 

Warnings: Mentions of a car accident | Mentions of alcohol 

Masterlist || Chan - Maive || Minho - Kira || Changbin - Skye || Hyunjin - Nova || Jisung - Blair || Seungmin - Raisha || Jeongin - Avia

“F-Felix?” 

“I-I can explain,” he stutters. You stare at his wings in complete disbelief. You watch the way they fold behind him ever so shyly when he realises he’s too far deep in to make any excuses. “I’m your guardian angel.” You can feel your heart racing in your chest and before you know it, you’ve collapsed. Felix lets out a panicked squeak before running to catch you. “(Y/n)?” He tries shaking you to wake you up, but when it’s obvious that you’re unconscious, he’s even more panicked. “Oh god, o-okay.” 

Without any other options left, Felix resorts to carrying you to his bedroom and tucking you in before he moves to his living room. He tells himself he’ll just tell you it’s a dream when you wake up.

Oh how Felix manages to mess that up. 

“It was not a dream.” You almost choke when you see your boyfriend standing in the kitchen with a pair of wings extending from his bare back. Felix whips around and almost spits out the orange juice he was drinking when he sees you. 

“Oh my god,” he winces as he realises he was being careless around you again. Felix moves to you slowly. “I won’t hurt you, I promise.” He realises how tense you are. He can sense how scared you are. “I know how weird and freaky this seems, but I would never hurt you.” 

“T-Then, why d-d-do you have w-wings?” Your eyes are still fixated on his wings. 

“I am your guardian angel. The simplest way I can put it is that I was assigned to protect you when you turned 16,” Felix explains, “I’m basically supposed to watch over you until your time comes. I keep you safe from demon stuff and spirits and all the jazz.” 

“You say ‘all that jazz’ like it’s so normal,” you huff. He gives you a sheepish smile. 

“I wasn’t supposed to show you I was a guardian angel—damn it,” he groans. “I’m not usually this careless around my humans.” You watch the way Felix runs a frustrated hand through his hair. He’s fucked up. He’s already getting shit for dating you, now the deities are going to pound on him for revealing himself. 

“So…” you trail off as you let the new information process in your mind, “you’re my guardian angel.” Felix nods.

“Whenever a human turns 16, a guardian angel gets assigned to them. It’s up to the angel how they’d go about the protection,” he explains slowly, worried that you might get confused, “they could stay hidden or show themselves and be a close friend to watch over you. Some angels just float around secretly and others will just add themselves into your lives; like I did.” You stare at him blankly. “(Y/n)? You in there?” He waves a hand in front of your face. 

“Y-Yeah,” you quickly nod. “It’s just a bit much. I didn’t think angels existed.” You continue to just stare at him, taking in the sight of his new form. A few moments pass before you step closer, your hand reaching out towards his wings. “May I?” 

“O-Oh,” he nods. “Go ahead.” Your fingers come into contact with his feathers and you’re surprised at just how soft they are. Felix subconsciously retracts them shyly, a blush coming on his cheeks when he hears your thoughts. He relaxes a tad, letting you admire his wings.

“Your wings are so pretty,” you breathe out softly as you bring your other hand up to brush through his feathers. He turns away from you, hiding his blush the more your fingers gently graze his wings. “Wait.” The realisation strikes you and you pull away to look at Felix. “If you’re my guardian angel, then is this…” you gesture to the both of you, “okay? Shouldn’t there be rules on these kinds of things?” 

“Ahah,” Felix lets out an awkward laugh. “Yeah, they’re not that happy with me on that. They’re giving me a pass because they said you’re good.” You give him a questioning look. “Well, say you’re good enough to be an angel, they’ll make you one. That way, we’ll be angels together.” He has a shy smile on his freckled face. “That is if—you know—you would like to join me in becoming an angel.” Your heart softens. 

You’ve never loved anyone more than you’ve loved Felix; that much you’re sure of. He had been by your side throughout high school and college; even staying with you after you had both graduated and moved to working your own separate jobs. Staying by your side may have been his job, but he made you happy. 

The many times he had run over to your apartment whenever you felt unsafe finally made sense. Felix always came quick. Even when you were both in high school, Felix somehow managed to sneak his way into your family’s hearts as well. Your parents barely bat an eye whenever he slept over for weekly movie nights and they never really questioned it whenever he would show up unannounced on days you were feeling your worst. 

“Are you okay?” he questioned softly when he found you crying in the corner of your bedroom. You shook your head. Felix sat beside you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders to bring your head to his chest. “I’m here for you. I’ll always be here.” His words stuck to you. Ever since then, the first person you’d reach out to was always Felix. 

Even when you were in that car accident, all you could think about was him. 

The damage was so much that you knew you were slowly starting to lose consciousness. Everything was becoming blurrier and the dark spots in your vision were getting bigger. The moment Felix came to your mind, you swear you heard him calling out to you right before you lost consciousness. When you came to, you were in a hospital with Felix sleeping in the sofa chair beside your bed. You felt terrible. The first thing you heard other than the beeping from the machines that you were attached to was snoring from your friend. You turned and your chapped lips parted when you saw him sleeping, soft snores leaving past his own parted lips. 

You turned to look around the room, wondering just how you ended up in the hospital; the memory of Felix running up to you completely hidden in your mind. “You’re finally awake.” His voice makes you turn to see him looking at you with lazy eyes. 

“What happened?” Your voice came out raspy, causing you to cough. 

“You got into an accident,” he muttered as he sat upright, stretching his arms out above his head. “The doctor told me to get him when you wake up.” Felix stood up, scooching over to your bed. His hand brushed your matted hair gently. “I’ll be right back, okay?” Your hand quickly moved to wrap around his wrist, stopping him from moving away. 

“Don’t leave,” you said softly. Felix’s eyes immediately softened. 

“Just for a moment, (Y/n). I need to get the doctor,” he told you, his hand adjusting to hold yours; thumb gently running over your knuckles. “I promise I’ll be back.” Your grip around his hand loosened as he left your hospital room. You sat in your bed, waiting a few minutes before he returned with a nurse. Felix called your family before moving to stay by your side while the nurse called your doctor. 

Felix was there even when you were coming home drunk from a college party. 

“(Y/n), be careful!” he squeaked when you trip over your heels. “Take those off. You can wear my sneakers.” Felix slips his shoes off and slides them over to you.

“Thaaaaank you, Lixieeeee,” you giggled, slipping your feet into his shoes. “What about you?” You looked down at his socked feet. 

“Don’t worry about me. Let’s just get you home.” He continued to carefully guide you home, holding your hand gently until you reached your dorm. “Drink this,” Felix handed you a glass of water. You take it, gulping down the entire glass. “Careful! You’ll choke,” he scolded. You gave him a look before placing the glass on the counter. 

“I’m fineeeee,” you slurred. Felix shook his head before guiding you to your bedroom. “Just get some sleep, okay?” He handed you a random t-shirt, turning around to let you change before helping you into bed. 

“Don’t leave me,” you whined when he started to leave. Felix let out a soft sigh. 

“Do you want me to stay in your living room?” he questioned. You shook your head, grabbing his wrist and tugging him into bed with you. 

“Stay with me, Lixie,” you muttered against his shoulder. Felix blushed at the close contact, unsure of what he should do with his arms. “You know Lixie,” you started softly, “we’ve been friends for so long, but I think I like you more than that.” He froze at your words. “You’re so cute and you’re so nice to me.” You looked up at him, your hands moving to cup his face. “Your freckles are so pretty. They’re like stars,” your thumb ran over his freckled cheeks. Felix stared at you, unsure of what he should say. He had feelings for you. He just didn’t want to say anything because he was your guardian. 

“Get some sleep, (Y/n),” he finally said. 

“Thank you, Lixie,” you hum as you snuggle into his chest. Felix barely missed the soft ‘I love you’ that slips past your lips. He dismissed it as your drunken haze, not wanting to dwell on anything that would only make his feelings for you grow. Felix closed his eyes, making a mental note to grab some ibuprofen for you when the morning comes. 

He was even there the time you got into a fight with a classmate, resulting in many bruises to your face. 

“(Y/n), (Y/n), calm down,” Felix frantically tried to calm you down. 

“No! This bitch deserves it!” you stubbornly yap as you still tried to reach out to her. 

“She’s not worth it, (Y/n),” he grabbed onto your waist and pulled you away. 

“Pussy!” your classmate spat at you. 

“Come on, (Y/n). Let’s just head home,” he muttered as he started to drag you away from her. You only managed to calm down when Felix dragged you back to his place where he cleaned up the busted lip your classmate gave you. 

“And then she said you were not even that great of a dancer! Do you know how much of an asshole she is?!” you rambled. Felix only nodded, humming every once in a while to let you know he was listening. “She called my dog ugly! My dog! That tiny ball of fluff that’s the same exact breed as hers! She’s pretty much calling her own dog ugly.” 

“Don’t worry about it, (Y/n). She’s not worth your energy,” he hummed when he deemed your face cleaned up. “Now, how about I heat up some leftover pizza and we can watch a movie together? How does that sound?” Felix’s suggestion did little to bring your mood up, but you agree nonetheless. You watched as he moved around the kitchen, putting pizza into the microwave and grabbing a few bottles of soju from the fridge. The years you’ve spent together slowly settle in your mind and you realised just how much time he had spent with you. 

You thought through the years and you realise:

You love him. 

“(Y/n)?” Felix waved his hand in front of your face. “You in there?” You nodded. 

“Yeah, I’m here.” 

Felix only realised he was falling in love with you when you got accepted into the dean’s list together. He thought the smile on your face was the most beautiful he had ever seen. Felix liked seeing you happy. He realised that when you ran up to him with open arms. 

“Felix! We’re in the dean’s list!” you excitedly giggled as you hold up your phone to show him the email.

“Yeah,” he nodded, “we are.” Felix couldn’t hold back his smile at how happy you looked. He thought you were radiating—glowing—and he realised how much shit he was in just by falling in love with you. He tried so hard to keep his feelings at bay, but when he realised he couldn’t anymore, he started thinking of a plan. 

The thought of turning you into an angel only came to Felix’s mind when he found a fallen angel lurking around your apartment. If you joined the angels, you would be safe from their influence. Not only that, Felix would be with you forever. He kept the plan in his mind, only opting to bring it up to his deities when they finally figured out what he was doing. 

It was a normal movie night for the both of you. You had just gotten home from your part time job  and Felix was lurking around your kitchen to see what kind of snacks you had hidden from him. When he heard your door open, he peeked over your fridge door to see him dragging yourself into your home tiredly. 

“How was work?” he questioned as he finally pulled out two bottles of beer from your fridge. 

“Terrible,” you sighed. “I’m just glad I can finally relax and just watch movies with you.” Felix could feel himself lightening up when he hears just how relieved you are to be home. 

“I picked out something fun.” 

“Horror fun or funny fun?” You gave him a weird look. 

“Funny fun.” His clarification makes you feel more relieved. 

“There’s popcorn in the cupboard next to the fridge. I’m gonna go get cleaned up first.” You disappeared into your bedroom, leaving Felix to prepare the living room. When you come out, you’re pleasantly surprised when you see him surrounded by a makeshift pillow fort. “How’d you get this up so quickly?” you asked with a small smile. 

“Speed, and also,” Felix turned around to grab a cushion, “you have a lot of cushions for one person.” The smile on your face didn’t disappear even when you carefully crawled into the fort where he had set up your laptop. “It's a perfect space for cuddles.” He outstretched his arms, making grabby hands to silently ask you to crawl into his embrace. You climbed into his arms, letting Felix hold you tightly against him. 

“Let’s start.” You hit play, letting the movie start while resting your head on your best friend’s chest. Felix didn’t plan it, but when you realised he wasn’t watching the movie, you looked up at him. “You in there?” Your voice was soft, sounding genuinely concerned. He stared at you—blinking a few times—and leaned down to kiss you. You didn’t move; shocked by the sudden gesture, but you kissed him back nonetheless. When he pulled away, your face was completely red. “Felix-”

“I’m in love with you,” he confessed. Felix awaited your response, feeling his confidence slowly fading away the longer you just stared at him. Instead of rejecting him, your hand came up to cup his cheek. 

“I love you, too.” Your thumb brushed over his cheekbone gently. “I’ve been in love with you since we started college.” 

“Yeah,” he chuckles, “you told me that time you were drunk. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to embarrass you.” 

“What?!” you squeak. Your face became even more red if it was possible. 

“What? I saved you the embarrassment,” he cheekily teased. 

“(Y/n)? You in there?” Felix’s voice pulls you out of the memories you were replaying in your mind. You nod, smiling at the phrase he’s used so many times whenever you’d zone out. 

“I’m here.” You take a step closer to him and take his hands in yours. “I’ll be an angel with you.” A smile breaks onto his face. “I want to be with you forever.”

[vln-vibes]

Birds of a Feather (Sometimes Fly Together)

aka the time @anjuschiffer and I got a big brain moment and this happened.

So, we know that in canon Barbara Keynes (Knightowl) comes from money, presumably adopted or something but nonetheless a rich kid from New York. We also know that our dear ol’ broody vigilante was a playboy in his youth (still is) so whose not to say that he and Barbara didn’t hook up and boom; Jessica is born.

So our dear Jessica Martha Keynes (Wayne) may or may not have developed a bit of a crush on the scarlet hero of Paris during her stay. She hadn’t meant to! But damn those bluebell eyes...

See she and Aeon had decided to help the Marinette and Adrien get together, with prompting from the questionable Alya and complacent Nino; she had time to kill.

However, nothing was working

Aeon even used the same trick her mom used on Jess’ (The whole romantic shebang!)

It wasn’t even until after the whole Hawkmoth trying to cause nuclear warfare thing that they were made aware that Adrien had a girlfriend already (And that was because she and Marinette were friends! Marinette was facetiming her for a souvenir she wanted!!)

Also if it had been her she’s sure she would have mentioned or talked to her significant other while she was away... But that wasn’t her problem to deal with.

During her last night in New York, Uncanny Valley, Aquila and Ladybug go on patrol; a week of hanging together and they’d miss their new friend.

Aquila stayed behind for just one second, thinking about the whole rollercoaster that happened when she spotted it.

U.V and Ladybug had been bantering, a bright laugh escaping Ladybug as she soared through the New York skyline. The moon reflecting perfectly off of her midnight black hair and making her eyes brighter.

Her heart skipped a beat

She was so fucked

It did not help that somehow the internet got photos of Sparrow with Ladybug and got #Sparrowbug #Luckybird

Jess manages to contain her crush, much to Aeon’s amusement, as they (well mostly for her sake) continue to communicate with Marinette/Ladybug. She wanted to go and help in Paris but she knew her mother wouldn’t approve and she REALLY didn’t want to clue in her nosey father and brothers and sisters in on it.

They’d been concerned as with the passing of time not only did Marinette look and sound more and more tired but Hawkmoth seemed to be improving with the Akumas and Mayura seemed to be making stronger (if more sparse) Sentimonsters. Jess even questions Aeon’s programming about Ladybug and Chat Noir after numerous incidents where Noir is a no show, Ladybug on her own or having to call upon Ryuuko or Bunnix (an unknown hero they’ve been told could travel through time).

And it came crashing on night;

It was a regular night of patrol between Aquila and Uncanny Valley, she’d been training with the Guardian (seriously the man just said she’d learn his name when she was ready!) and was able to sense an active Miraculous nearby

She was surprised to see Ladybug standing on the roof she was about to land on.

“Hey guys! How have you been? I’m just here for a quick visit. Wow it’s still night here well yeah duh time zones and all that though it doesn’t feel like much but that’s probably cause I just teleported here and all that. Oh magic can be so weird but you know how things go—”

She could tell straight away that Ladybug was tense and was a bad liar, it seemed her sister had a similar idea;

“Ladybug? Is everything alright?” 

Her words seemed to have struck a cord as the girl’s bluebell eyes began to water, closing in on herself as the tears began to fall. 

Aquila practically flew over to console the crying hero, wanting to do nothing more than pass on the pain to herself than watch the girl suffer. She hasn’t seen her this down even as they believed Chat Noir had abandoned her in their mission

“C’mon LB, you can stay the night with us “

Ladybug didn’t even respond as she seemed so emotionally tired to both the sisters concerns, Uncanny gently taking the girl in her arms as Aquila wondered what had happened to cause the girl to fall like this.

Barbara and Olympia were surprised when the girls came home early from patrol only to see Ladybug with them, very much dazed and looking so so tired. They were even more surprised when her transformation dropped revealing the frazzled Marinette Dupain Cheng.

Olympia quickly got the girls some snacks, knowing the Kwamii would need it after months with Lirii, and got to taking out any spare clothes that could fit the petite girl.

Barbara just say there and listened as Marinette seemed to come to after a cup of tea, the girl recounting all the events that led her to the way they found her

Hawkmoth’s attacks seemed more centered on tiring the heroes out. Mayura seemed to create more powerful sentimonsters though however more scattered they got.

Chat Noir was becoming a no show, at least five battles in a row with no appearance. She had to get help from Ryuuko (the only hero not to be outed by Queen Wasp) and Bunnyx. She admitted to have chosen a new Fox on one occasion though she didn’t want to risk Hawkmoth finding out about them.

Her training as Guardian, her career as a designer and manning her commissions as MDC, the pulling responsibilities as class rep since their teacher couldn’t do much “in her state” and the bullying she was suffering that seemed to pick up again after arriving back in Paris

It was all too much

Then she confronted Chat Noir after finally making an appearance in the latest battle; apparently he realized that he couldn’t get over her, that they were always destined to be

That wasn’t even including the fact that he was still irresponsible, still playing around too may when he knew she could only do so much!

She felt so close to bursting that she told Kalkki to send her somewhere safe; safe was apparently in New York

By the end of her rant she felt a weight come off of her chest , she hadn’t been able to express her emotions like that for years in Paris.

“I think it’s time we get the League involved”

The small family looked surprised as Jessica dreaded what her mother’s words could mean

“The League?” “Yes, the Justice League”

The girls were sent off to rest as the mothers strategized on how to bring this up to the League without having them try to take over for the young hero; Barbara usually didn’t like cashing in favors but she knew he’d at least think before leaping into action.

Meanwhile Aeon decided to “optimize her sleep for the night” and take up her whole bed while resting the night.

Unfortunately for Jess’ heart this meant sharing a bed with Marinette; mostly because both refused to let the other sleep on the couch and because the guest rooms were being repainted for some reason (Aeon may or may not have gotten too excited one day and destroyed a wall or two)

“Thank you for everything Jess”

“No problem Birb”

“Birb?” “You know, Ladybird? Birb? Birb”

Not even half an hour later, Aeon sat up with the ominous words of; “They’re here”

Marinette didn’t even have the time to worry about who or what she was talking about when Jess groaned.

The girl quickly threw one of her Feathers (Her weapons while she was Sparrow) that was quickly grabbed by a shadow before reaching the balcony window. When was it even opened??

“Tt, thought you would have tried better sister “

“Yeah and what gives, I would have thought you would have told us about some world ending problem that happened when we were in space instead of it trending on Twitter!”

“Uhh guys I think Jessie might have a guest over”

“Oh shit I didn’t even know she had any friends other that R2-D2 over here”

“Oh fuck off! Like you have any room for talking!”

Marinette watched, thinking that she surely must be dreaming , as the masked figures continued to banter and fight amongst each other and with Jess.

“Wait you have brothers? .... Aren’t they the Gotham vigilantes??”

This was how Marinette discovered just how close Jessica’s life really intertwined with Truth, Justice and the Night.

Part Two

[annaraebananawriter]

(Part Three) I Want to Forget

FINALLY! 

WHO’S BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE???

I know I have. I’m sincerely sorry for the wait. Motivation was a damn bitch and came throughout the almost full year it’s been since I posted Part One and Part Two (which you might want to read, if you can’t remember or haven’t yet) sporadically. 

But I finally finished it. Now, there’s only one more part left and then a little bonus part from Nightmare’s POV. The bonus part is when Jake gets some well deserved Karma from the King of Fear himself! So stay tuned for that.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

Fandom: Undertale, but specifically UTMV

Characters: Nightmare, Dream (Who belong to Joku), Killer (Who belongs to  Rahafwabas), Dust (Who belongs to ???, I don’t know), Error (Who belongs to CQ), Horror (Who belongs to Sour-Apple-Studios) and, finally, mentioned Ink (Who belongs to Comyet) and Blue  (Who belongs to P0pcornPr1nce)

Warnings: Implied Rape (although, it’s toned down more, so it’s more like flashbacks), Implied Self-Harm (but just a tiny bit, barely there) Panic attacks (close enough to, at least), Implied Anxiety and I think that’s it? Let me know!

Word Count: 5254

~oOo~

"Heya," the human said, "you're Dream, right?"

"A-ah, yes! That's me!"

stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid

"Hey, do you want me to get you a refill too?"

"Oh, uh...it's fine. I was just having water, anyways."

"I'll get you some more water?"

"...alright."

Dream forced himself to breathe.

He closed his eyes and pushed those thoughts and snippets of memories down and away. Looking back on them and berating himself for not realizing, not noticing, would only do him more harm than good, he knew that. But he couldn't help it. If he had just...if he had been smarter...if he had...

There were so many 'if' this and 'if' that, it made his head spin.

They clouded his mind, becoming more jumbled as more and more came.

…

"Dream?"

Horror's voice made him start. He blinked his eyes open again and stared at the sink, which had been turned off now and was just dripping. Another call of his name gave him the incentive to tear his attention away and meet the other's concerned eyes.

Drip, drop

Nightmare hadn't told his boys much, as per the wishes of Dream. He didn't want anybody to know how weak he had been, how blindsided he had been, how...anything that happened, really, he wanted to keep as limited as possible. It was bad enough with Nightmare knowing, even if his brother still didn't know all the details. The ones that Nightmare did know made him worry, worry about Dream and Dream hated being worried about.

He was supposed to worry about others. Not the other way around.

However, he was glad that Nightmare respected his wishes. Horror and the others—as they had, naturally, been curious as to why Dream, their supposed enemy, was staying with them, the brothers did kind of owe it to them to tell them something—they knew the bare minimum: there had been an...incident...with Dream and someone that involved, on Dream's part, some non-consensual actions taking place, and that was why the guardian of positivity was staying with them for a bit.

Dream knew that Nightmare's gang was smart, though, and that they had probably read between the lines to understand the actual reason, even if they had been told the truth.

Dream...had been raped.

Admitting that to himself brought shivers and an automatic denial that said no, he wasn't, he was just stupid and naïve and pathetic and he let it happen, it was his fault, his fault, and he could've stopped it, should've stopped it, but he didn't because he was, again, stupid and pathetic and—

Drip, drop

Dream shook himself, realized he had been silent for longer than he should have and laughed nervously, the sudden sound making Horror jump a little.

"S-sorry, I...got lost, for a minute there," Dream said, shaking his head at himself, resting his gaze on the countertop where it was drawn, as if by a magnet, to the two innocent glasses of water. The ice in them had already melted quite a bit.

There was an itch in his mind that begged to come forward, promising another flashback.

Drip...drop

Dream swallowed. "I'm fine," he said softly, in answer to the unheard question. He could feel Horror's eyes on him as he stared at and through the glasses of water. He ignored them and the concern rolling off of the other.

He felt Horror start to speak and braced himself. "...do you remember why we're in the kitchen?"

Dream blinked and looked to Horror, meeting the other's guarded eyes, an unreadable expression on his face. That...wasn't the question he expected. He opened his mouth to answer what seems like an easy question, but found his mind blanking on the answer, like he had just woken up.

But he hadn't. He had been awake for a while now, he knew it.

So why didn't he remember?

His silence was answer enough for Horror, who nodded as if he had heard something. "We were in the garden, picking some fruits and berries that were ready. I was there because it's my job as the designated chef to gather everything that grows there." He paused, as if making sure he was still listening. "You were there because of two reasons: Nightmare wanted a reason to get you out of your room and you wanted some fresh air from being inside the castle for almost a month."

Dream listened quietly while Horror explained what they had been doing. As he talked, fuzzy moments came back to Dream, though the talking was muffled and the scenery was blurred, like he was both there and not there at the same time.

...has it really been a month since then?

"We didn't talk much," Horror continued, "as I could see you weren't all there. Eventually, it became really hot and you asked if we could take a break, cool down for a minute. I agreed. When we got back here," he waved his hand to say, here, in the kitchen. "I asked if you wanted something to drink, you said that you did, although now that I look back, I probably should have asked you what you wanted to drink instead of just assuming." He eyed the glasses, laughing to himself.

Dream shook his head. "It's fine."

Horror looked back to Dream. "It's not, not really, but okay. As soon as I turned on the tap," he nodded to the sink behind him, "you froze, staring at the water. I didn't notice until I had gotten our glasses. Sorry."

"It's fine," Dream repeated, shaking his head again. "you didn't do anything wrong. It's silly, anyways."

"It's not silly." Horror straightened, steel in his voice. "It's not silly. What happened to you..." he trailed off as Dream cringed. "It's not silly."

Dream said nothing.

Drip...drop

He never drank the water, either.

~oOo~

The hours passed by rather slowly until it was after midnight. Dream was sitting on his bed, fingers playing with the blankets when there was a knock and Nightmare entered without waiting for permission. Which was fine, as it happened most nights; they practically shared a room now.

Nightmare would come, Dream would be awake, they would talk and Nightmare would force Dream to sleep, being there when Dream had a nightmare, usually being gone when he woke up for good, although there was a couple of times when Nightmare had been asleep when Dream woke up. It made Dream guilty, but he didn't stop it.

"Horror told me what happened." Nightmare said, like Dream thought he would. His brother was still standing by the door, like he did every night.

Dream nodded slightly.

It was silent.

He inhaled as he realized Nightmare was expecting him to talk. "It was silly."

"It wasn't."

He clenched the blankets in a fist by his side. "Yes, it is!" Dream blinked against the sudden wetness of his eyes. "It's weak, too."

"Dream, it isn't silly." Nightmare said firmly, moving to sit beside him. Dream refused to look at him. "Nor is it weak. These are normal reactions to what happened."

"What happened was almost a month ago!" Dream sniffed, reaching up and rubbing at his eyes. He was so tired of crying. "I should be over it, but I'm not."

Nightmare was silent. "...that's not how things work, no matter how much we wish they did. Rape," —Nightmare ignored how Dream flinched at the word— "is one of the most serious things in the world. It's wrong, so, so wrong, but it still happens, and those it happens to don't just forget about it and move on suddenly. It's a process. You have to heal from being wronged and learn how to live with the effects of what happened. And that's going to take a while."

No.

No, he had to be wrong.

Dream had to be different because...

He should be different because...

Dream was shaking, trying to think of reasons as to why he should be different, why he should be over it already. He didn't know when, but his head had been moved to Nightmare's shoulder and Nightmare was hugging him as much as he could.

"I was drinking water that night," Dream started, surprising himself but finding himself unable to stop, "I was at a bar and I was drinking water and he didn't care and we talked and when we ran out, he offered to get us a refill. I tried to refuse him because I was just drinking water, but he insisted and he got me some more water, but I didn't realize he had drugged it." Dream sobbed, his emotions getting the best of him, reaching up with a shaking hand to clutch at Nightmare's shirt. "It's my fault."

"It's not." Nightmare shushed him, rubbing his back. "It's not, nor will it ever be your fault. You didn't ask for it, you didn't want it and it shouldn't have happened, but above all, it wasn't your fault."

~oOo~

Dream didn't know what to think of Error. The destroyer wasn't at the castle all of the time. He usually came, like, once a week or something and just lurked around a bit, annoying everyone but the guardian.

And he didn't know why. He wanted to know why.

But how did he ask something like that? 'Hey, I noticed you don't bother me when you're over and I know you probably know about what happened, but I still would like to know why.' No. That just sounded...weird. It was all weird, worrying about something so small like this but he couldn't help it. It was something he couldn't control and, frankly, he didn't want to. It was normal. He wanted normal things.

He was tired of things not being normal.

Admitting this didn't solve anything, though. He still worried about it. And he shook his head at himself when he caught himself drifting into the thoughts about it, the what-ifs and such. He did this a lot. It was also tiring.

It was one of the days that Error was over that something inside Dream rose.

It was like his bones were on fire, and every time something touched it, it hurt. It felt like hell and made him want to cry and cry but he couldn't because he was tired of crying and it was all so frustrating. Everyone walked around him, sneaking glances at him, because they knew something was wrong but they didn't know what. Even Nightmare was at a loss for once. And then everything was too much; the sounds too loud, the fabric too rough, everything heightened and he hated it.

HateditHateditHateditHatedit

Someone, he couldn't tell who, tried to touch him, rest their hand on his shoulder as a reassurance, but it stung. God, it stung so bad and Dream knew that he had to get away. He didn't know why, and that didn't help, but he had to get away from anything that wanted to touch him, bring back things he wanted to forget. So, he ran away from the problem.

Which was how he found himself in the bathroom, skin alight with ghost hands that he hated but couldn't get away from because they weren't real. His vision was blurry from tears he held back by force. Shivers racked his body, but they couldn't shake the memories away either.

—Hands tied to the headboard—

—Bad hands going over, down, over, down—

—Stupid, stupid, stupid—

—Over, down, over, down, down, down, hurting, hurting, hurting—

—Hatehatehatehatehatehatehatehate—

Dream shut his eyes tight, trying to drown the images in blackness, but it didn't work. Nothing worked. That was pathetic. He was supposed to be getting better, why wasn't he getting better? Why, why, why? He wanted to forget what happened. He couldn't forget what happened and that scared him.

He pressed his forehead to his knees and went in—

"Distraction usually helps me, when this happens."

—and out, eyes snapping open and head whipping up, Dream met the eyes of Error, who was sitting against the sink, shoulder relaxed. His head leaned back and up, one of his eyes closed, the other watching Dream.

He blinked. When did Error get here? Here, in the bathroom with him? He hadn't heard anything besides the images, the bad thoughts and his own breathing struggles. Was he so caught up in his head that hadn't heard anything else? How more pathetic could he...

He dug his fingers into his ankle, the pain keeping him from staying too far. No. He refused to say bad things about himself any longer. Nightmare said this was normal, this was healing, and if he said it then it must be right. If he continued to view it as unnatural and wrong, he would be disrespecting Nightmare and he never wanted to do that. Nightmare's trying to help and if says something is good then it must be good and that's good.

What Error says suddenly springs back to him and he tenses. "What?"

Error shifts, sitting up and opening his other eye, gazing at Dream evenly. He was still calm. "When this happens, when everything is too much." He pauses. "When the touch feels like, in my case, it's probably different for you, electricity, where it zaps me if anything touches me, reminds me that it's bad."

Dream blinked again and it's out of his mouth before he can stop it: "Like the fire?"

Error nods, eyeing him thoughtfully. "Yeah. The electricity, the fire, it lies, that's what you have to keep in mind. It says something bad, that touch itself is bad, but it's not." His gaze becomes knowing. "It can be, sometimes, but it's not meant to be like that. It's meant to be a good thing. Understand?"

Dream slowly nods, saying he does, though his mind is elsewhere.

A lie. A trick of the mind.

Like when he's in a small, small, small place and it's so dark he can't see anything and he thinks that everything's closing in when it's not, that he can't move when he can.

Just like that.

That feels like suffocation and touch feels like fire, but they're both lying. They both want him to believe somethings wrong when nothing is, all they're doing is trying to protect him, keep him from getting hurt again the same way he was. And sometimes, sometimes, they get so panicked that they scream and overwhelm him, but that's okay. That's normal.

He can calm them not that he knows what they're trying to do.

Dream looks up from the floor. "You said distraction works for you. What kind of distractions?"

Error tilts his head, thinking. "Lots of things, really. Going to Outertale and staring at the stars is one. It gets a bonus for being pretty. Watching Undernovela is another one, a great one because the talking overrides everything and it makes me laugh. Uh...Oh! Knitting, too, is one because the yarn is soft and..." Error continues on, rambling about distractions for himself that eventually just turns into an infodump about the process of knitting, how to choose the right yarn, things like that.

Dream sets his chin on his knees and listens, smiling.

Listening to people is a distraction he uses anyways so he's glad he can use it with this too.

~oOo~

Later, once Error leaves and Dream finds enough courage to face the others again, he goes downstairs. Everyone pauses once he enters the living room, stares at him for a second, then returns to what they were doing before he came. The only one who doesn't is Nightmare, who continues staring at Dream.

Dream looks back and gives a small smile, a real smile, the first one he's shared since he started living here. Nightmare blinks, surprised and smiles back, relieved that he's good.

~oOo~

Dream walked into the main living room and looked around. Nightmare wasn't there, but Dust and Killer were. They had cards in their hand and had looked up when he walked in. They went back to their game upon seeing who it was, seemingly unconcerned with his presence, but he did notice a slight increase in the tension of their shoulders.

Dream hesitated, but walked over when the curiosity (and worry) over where Nightmare was won out. "Um...do you—?"

"Boss had an errand to run," Killer answered, voice clipped. He seemed to be annoyed at something. "He took Cross and Horror with him. We had to stay to watch you."

Dream flinched.

"Killer." Dust warned, looking up from his cards.

Killer snorted, shrugging a bit. "Just telling sunshine here the truth."

Dream shifted and quietly thanked the two. He retreated back to the door, but paused before leaving. The two had gone back to their game. He watched them play for a minute, watching them laugh and glare at each other playfully.

The sight brought a feeling of longing.

He hadn't realized it until now, but he really missed his friends. He missed laughing with Ink and Blue. He missed playing games with the two, just like Dust and Killer were doing. He missed just being with them, when all they had to worry about was when Nightmare and his gang would attack next.

He missed the before. Dream liked the before. He didn't realize how much until it became the before and he was in the after. It was kind of shocking, just how much he missed those times, the sense of normality and happiness. Now, here he was, watching two friends play a game together while his friends had no clue where he was. They were probably out of their mind with worry, especially Ink, who was there before everything changed.

Maybe he should...

No, no. He couldn't. That wouldn't be fair on them. This was his problem, his...trauma. He didn't need to burden his friends with the knowledge of what happened.

His friends didn't need to know, right?

He was fine with what he had now.

…right?

"Hey, sunshine!" Killer called, making Dream jump. The two had apparently finished their round, as Dust had started to reshuffle the cards. Killer had turned to Dream and had an expectant look on his face. "Are you just gonna stand there, or are you gonna join in?"

Dream blinked. "What?"

Killer rolled his eyes, which was interesting; he didn't have any eyelights. "If you're gonna stand there, you might as well join in. It'll beat just standing and doing nothing while you wait for Nightmare."

They...they wanted him to join their game?

(Why would they want his presence? He was their enemy.)

But...

But...he thought the two were uncomfortable with his presence. Weren't they? That's the message the tense shoulders had given him, along with the clipped tone Killer had talked with. Did Dream imagine all that? Surely not. But they didn't have any tension now; just the opposite, they looked like they wanted him to join.

Well...if they wanted him too, it wouldn't hurt, right? Besides, maybe all he needed to soothe the longing was to play a game with other people.

"Um, yeah! I'll join."

"Great!" Dust smiled and patted the spot across from them. Dream sat down and waited as they were all dealt out. They had been playing a game of Uno. Good. It was a game that he knew. Dust flipped over the first card, which was revealed to be a yellow seven.

Killer's turn was next. He placed down a blue seven, changing the colour.

Dream hesitated before playing a blue eight.

They played in silence for a few minutes. Killer always groaned when he got faced with a skip or a plus two. Dust just faintly smiled when it happened to him and in response to Killer. Dream watched it all happen, fighting to keep a smile off his face.

They had gotten a fair amount into the game—Dust had two cards, Killer had nine and Dream had four—when Killer shifted his legs into a different position and spoke up. "You know, sunshine, you don't have to just stick by the Boss while you're here. The rest of us don't bite."

Dream looked up from his cards, oddly feeling like a deer caught in headlights. "I...I don't know what you mean..."

Killer gave him an unimpressed look. "I think you do. The first few weeks you were here, you locked yourself up in your room. Which is fine. You weren't ready then, I understand." Dust played a card and Killer scowled, picking up a card from the draw pile. "However, you've been coming out of the room for...what has it been? Two weeks? And all you've done is hang around with the Boss."

Dream stilled. "Oh."

"Yeah." Killer looked up and met his eyes, his emotions giving nothing away to what he was thinking. "You don't have to do that, you know. We aren't gonna be mean or anything—" Dust snorted at that. Killer glared at him. "We're not...I'm not gonna be mean or anything."

Dream shifted himself, an unplaceable feeling growing.

Dust spoke up, voice soft. "We know what happened."

Dream fought hard not to flinch, instead staring hard at his cards as if he could burn them with his mind. He didn't know why this was so scary for him to hear. He knew they knew already. But still...

Down, down, down, down—

Fear, panic, guilt, confusion—

Hurting, hurting, hurting, hurting—

Sometimes he still found it hard to believe that other people cared about him, not just that their source/drug of happiness might be broken.

"I'm not saying it's necessarily wrong for you to stay beside Nightmare so much," He heard Killer continue, voice still deceivingly uncaring, apathetic. "but it might not be the healthiest. I mean, you give off the vibes of needing to talk to more than one person about your issues."

"Everyone here has their share of trauma, Dream." Dust said, voice still soft and gentle. "It might not be quite the same as yours, but we know what it's like. You can talk to us, okay?"

"When you're ready, of course," Killer reassured. They were both gazing at him when Dream finally looked up. "if you want to just talk to Nightmare, that's fine. You do you. We just want you to understand that we're also here if you need us." Killer slid into a grin, gesturing to the cards. "Or if you just want to play Uno."

Dream swallowed.

This was a lot to take in.

He appreciated it, he really did. He also was under the impression that he had already known that they were willing to help, especially after talking to Horror and Error, but the fact that tears were welling up in his eyes made him think otherwise. It was overwhelming that the people he had fought tooth and nail with not that long ago were the ones telling him this now.

Overwhelming and needed.

The smile he had been fighting won out and spread across his face. He reached up and wiped away his tears before addressing the two, soul filled with gratitude. "Thank you." He made sure his words sounded genuine, even though he knew they knew he meant them already. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

Dust nodded and looked back at his hand. "Great. Now," he grinned, placing down a plus four wild card. Killer gasped, offended. "Killer, pick up four. And it's red now."

"It was already red! You can't just change it to the colour it was!" Killer continued to fume, though he also began to pick up four cards, seemingly forgetting that he could challenge Dust. It seems Dust knew this would happen; he had a smug look in his eye and he sent Dream a wink when he caught him looking.

Dream looked down and let himself start to giggle.

~oOo~

Dream had been thinking recently.

One, he didn't know what happened to Jake. This had come to his mind during a bad day, one where he couldn't leave his room because the thought of going outside of it made his skin tingle and a feeling of utter fear run through him. When Nightmare had first found him, it was the next morning and he hadn't mentioned anything about the whereabouts of Jake since. It made him wonder. It also made him a bit fearful, not knowing what happened to his rapist.

The second thing...was that he hadn't seen nor heard from his friends Ink and Blue since the raping. For the months he's been here, he hadn't even thought about them until not that long ago. It also made him wonder. How they were feeling, if they missed him, if they were looking for him. Knowing them, they were probably scoring the multiverse for him. Not that they would find him. Nightmare's castle was hidden very well. Not that it would matter; they still thought Nightmare and him were on bad terms with each other.

Thinking about his friends made something ache in him. He really missed them. He hadn't noticed it, but he did. He missed their movie nights, where Ink would criticize the movie and Blue would defend it and Dream would just laugh at them, amused. He missed when they all baked together, almost burning down the house because they sucked at it. The game nights, the sleepovers, the laughs, the bonding...he missed them so much.

They were great friends.

And Dream needed to tell them what happened.

The need to do so filled him, made his heart pound and mind race. He wanted to see them again and they deserved to know. He trusted them. Nightmare and his gang knew, but he hadn't trusted them at first. He had always trusted Ink and Blue. Telling them was something he could control. He could decide whether he told them or not.

And he decided to tell them.

He just had to tell Nightmare that now.

~oOo~

The next morning, Dream rehearsed what he was going to say over and over. He knew that Nightmare would probably agree, say that it was a good thing he wanted to tell his friends, but he just...couldn't get himself to move, to knock on Nightmare's door and ask.

Instead, he just found himself staring at the dark wood.

Staring and staring and staring.

He sighed.

It was frustrating. He knew that wanting to tell people about Jake was good, that it meant he was recovering and healing, but somehow—somehow, his mind didn't really recognize that as a real thing that will happen. If felt too good to be true, that they'd look at him with disgust and say it was his fault and confirm everything he already thought of the incident and oh god he can't do this why was he here oh god oh god oh god—

The door opened from the inside and Dream yelped as a tentacle pulled him through, Nightmare shutting the door behind it. The appendage dragged him along as Nightmare returned to his desk, first dropping him in one of the seats in front of it and then taking his seat for himself.

Nightmare laced his fingers together and stared at Dream expectantly.

Dream stared back with wide eyes, frozen stiff.

Silence reigned.

…

…

Nightmare sighed, making Dream jump, nerves on edge from being pulled into the room so suddenly and put in the spotlight before he was ready (even though he knew everything he wanted to say and could pretty much predict the ending). His brother waved his hand, leaning back. "So?"

Dream blinked. Now was his chance. All he had to do was say 'I need to talk to you, Night'. It's not that hard. 7 words. Practically nothing! So, c'mon mouth work with him here and say it...now— "So?"

—or just repeat what was said. That works too. At least you said something.

Nightmare stared. "You were standing outside the door for some time, clearly anxious to ask me something." He paused and looked away, sheepish. "I was getting a bit annoyed with waiting." He looked back, gaze knowing again. "I decided to take the initiative for you and open the door, as you would probably think yourself into going away."

He took a breath. "So, I'll ask again. What did you want to ask me, Dream?"

Dream broke off the eye contact, instead looking at his hands as he fidgeted with the end of his shirt. He knew that Nightmare was watching him, waiting. He was always waiting for Dream, no matter if it was now or back then, when he was waiting for him to come back to the tree.

He didn't like being waited on. It made him feel awful that others had things to do and people to hang out with and instead of doing those things, they were waiting for him, as if they needed his permission or something. Dream was fine on his own, he could handle it, they should just do their own thing and the next time they met, he'd be better.

Except with...this.

Rape wasn't a thing he could handle on his own.

That's why he needed to do this, why he was here. He had to ask—no. Not ask. He had to tell Nightmare that he was going to tell Ink and Blue about what happened. He didn't tell the gang himself what happened, at the time not being able to admit what had happened to him. But he was somewhat glad they knew without him telling. It was easier that way.

But Blue and Ink were his friends, not Nightmare's.

Dream deserved to tell them what happened himself.

"I want to tell Ink and Blue."

Nightmare paused, making Dream look up. His brother was eyeing him cautiously, a faint surprise present in the air. "About what?"

A rhetorical question.

Nightmare already knew.

He just wanted Dream to say it. "About Jake. And the bar. And what happened." He took a breath. "Everything."

Nightmare watched him for a moment. And he said, so soft and gentle understanding, "Okay."

That was all.

Just "Okay."

It was all that was needed to be said.

The surprise faded and pride took its place. Not much, but it was enough for Dream to detect. It made him shy and feel weird, but in a good way, and he looked down at his hands again, this time fighting a smile. He always got this way when someone was proud of him; it didn't happen as often as people assumed, so it was always nice.

Nightmare caught his attention again. "Do you know when you want to tell them?"

Dream shifted and frowned. "No...I didn't think that far ahead." And though he knew Nightmare didn't like it when he did it, added, "Sorry."

Nightmare glared at him with no real intent. "Don't be. It's fine. How about in...a couple of weeks? Would that be enough time?"

Two weeks, more or less.

Dream mulled it over.

Having a set time for seeing his friends again already made him nervous, but he dug deeper to see if it was enough time to prepare himself mentally. No real backlash came, no fear, no what-ifs, nothing besides the normal—or at least what Nightmare says is the normal—amount of worries. He wasn't starting to overthink it yet, and he should probably make his decision now before he does start to and backs out.

Two weeks. Yes or no?

Dream looked up and met Nightmare's eyes and said, "Yes."

[hasquetzorkukudoneanythingwrong]

Interview

BB: welcome back everyone! So good to see you all here today! We're back for a 3rd time here on BB Channel! Like before we're joined by the lil cuties of Ed and Mari. But this time their parents have come to join!

Rex: hello...

Quetz: Hola!

BB: that wasn't a very strong greeting Rex!

Rex: I'm tired right now. Can't this wait?

BB: time waits for no one and neither does BB!

Mari: already this is super annoying! *sigh* so why'd you decide to bring them into this anyways?

BB: the people who follow this blog need to see how they're doing so long after Chaldea too! You two have had the spotlight for a while, so now you should share.

Ed: I mean... guess that's fair.

Mari: should anyone be dealing with this?

Rex: I'd rather not be here either.

BB: aaaww, don't be like that! This will be fun!

Quetz: that's a very hard sell BB.

BB: just humor me at least.

Rex: ...fine

Quetz: what are we even doing anyways?

BB: some of your interdimensional buds have sent in questions about how you guys are doing, and I'm here to get those answers for them!

Quetz: that actually sounds nice...

BB: what'd I tell ya!?

Rex: yeah yeah, pls get started.

BB: fine. First few are from my precious bombardier beetle! First one she asks: do you have any pets?

Mari: oof! Do we!

Rex: currently we have four dogs: 1 German Shepherd named King, a Pitbull named Sparks, a Dogo Argentino named Duke, and a Corgi named Marshmallow.

Quetz: but also we have a habit of adopting older dogs who aren't likely to get a home because of their age or rescues to give them a nice place to stay.

BB: aaawww, well ain't that wholesome?

Mari: we also have mom's bigass pterosaur!

BB: less wholesome. Next one from my dear yellowjacket: favorite foods?

Rex: PIZZA!

Mari: CAKE!

BB: whoa! Pump the brakes you two! No need to get too excited!

Quetz: ...honestly? I don't really have a favorite food. Just a bunch I like to eat and some I don't. If I had to choose, I'd say chocolate.

Ed: I'm a steak man myself.

BB: 2 sweets, and 2 savories. Next up! Who wakes up earliest?

Rex: Quetz

Ed and Mari: Mom

Quetz: ...I guess it's me... hehehe.

BB: honestly I'm not surprised. She's so damn athletic and even used to be a professional.

BB: next! Where do you all like to go for vacations and such?

Ed: mom and dad have a vacation home in Alaska.

BB: Alaska?! Why?

Mari: when warm weather is the norm for you it's nice to go to the cold to change things up.

Rex: yeah, it's actually very nice. Not too many people and beautiful nature sights.

BB: well to each their own. Another from my dear antlion: how long does it take to pick a movie or TV show to watch?

Quetz: hehehe, we're all so indecisive it takes ages to pick. It's not uncommon for us to give up after taking so long.

BB: you should work on that. This next one's interesting. My precious army ant also suggests a round of common household jobs and the like from each member.

Rex: hmmm

BB: she gave an example of like, who does the cooking?

Quetz: well it's both me and mi amor in that case. The kids aren't very creative.

Ed: hey! We're plenty creative!

Mari: no we're not, don't lie.

Rex: we only really ask that the kids clean their rooms and any messes they make. We handle most everything else.

BB: they should really show some independence tho. Can't coddle them forever.

BB: in the next one, Cadence asks about a house tour and if there's a jacuzzi.

Quetz: a house tour feels like it should be it's own thing.

Rex: yeah, but we do have a jacuzzi dude, so don't worry.

BB: next one's from Reen: she asks what would life be if you weren't in chaldea,

Rex: y'mean like now? I mean... it's a relatively normalish domestic life? With less work tho.

Quetz: si, I've made plenty from my lucha career before retirement we don't have to worry about money much. But mi amof still makes money just in case.

BB: well after that she asks: how was your life before and after meeting each other?

Rex: ...kinda sad. Aside from chaldea and saving the world, I was kinda just... stagnant. Go to work, go home and so on. Not much to my life before then.

Quetz: ...honestly, for me it was the same. After the age of Gods ended we didn't do much of anything. We mostly watched over humanity, I've been summoned in modern day before but that was rare and infrequent.

Rex: ...after I met Quetz tho... I dunno things felt... better? She kinda forced her way into my life after I summoned her and... I was more then ok to accept her... before long we had something beautiful...

Quetz: aww, mi amor! I'm so happy to hear that!

BB: ain't that sweet? Like me and my dear centipede. Final one from Reen: if you could build a dream home then where? (Can be in fantasy)

Rex: I mean... where we are now is good.

Mari: yeah, right at the border of a huge rainforest in the Yucatan sounds fine.

Ed: but what about the fantasy bit?

Quetz: hmmm... we don't really look at fantasy much. But maybe a castle of some kind?

Rex: or a Mayan temple? But with electricity and Wi-Fi.

BB: that's fair. Need those memes in your life. Now some from Kaz! First she asks: what kind of gifts do you give each other?

Rex: uuhh, well I like getting mi corazon custom things. Like some personal clothes, or even a portrait of the two of us.

Quetz: ehehehe, I like to spoil mi amor with extravagant things! Golden treasure and the like!

Mari: concerning...

BB: next, how would you spend the day if it's raining outside?

Rex: I actually enjoy rainy weather, so I like to chill near a window or even on the porch listening to the rain.

Mari: it's very soothing.

BB: how quaint. Last one from Kaz: whose good at cooking and baking?

Quetz: hehehe, that'd be me. Tho it might be considered cheating since I use my goddess power to help.

Mari: well no one else is the greatest normally so it's fine.

BB: a good 'ol better then nothing kinda attitude! Now we're back to Cadence but with more relaxed questions: what's the current house look like?

Rex: ....big.

Mari: like three stories tall with a DEEP basement.

Ed: like... 5 rooms too many.

Quetz: we also have an indoor pool.

Rex: the outside looks almost gothic, but partially taken over by nature.

BB: all this near a rainforest?

Quetz: si! Despite the size, all the nearby trees still tower over it.

BB: nature can get scary. I've seen worse and have been worse but still. Another one: how do family events function? Any specific holidays?

Quetz: ...most family events are just us... going somewhere nice to eat nice food...

Rex: do they mean bringing extended family? My family lives too far to visit often

Quetz: ...and I'd rather not speak of mine... things have gotten rocky as of late.

Mari: right, well for holidays we celebrate most standard one, like Easter and valentine's and such. For October we kinda try to combine Halloween and Day of the dead.

Ed: but Christmas is the most important for us! Mom and Dad always make the biggest celebrations for Christmas!

BB: gotta love the holidays! Especially when your mom is santa... still weird to say that. Next one! Any plans for the future?

Rex: eh... not really? I mean I want to prepare Maria to continue the family magecraft, since Ed has no interest.

Mari: someone has to continue on this lost practice.

BB: good to know it won't be lost to time like we thought. Next one! Daily life?

Rex: I wake up, eat, work on magecraft, spend family time, spend time with Quetz, go to bed.

Quetz: I wake up, workout, eat, workout, spend time with mi familia, lovely time with mi amor and then I sleep.

Ed: I wake up, take a walk, eat, practice soccer, spend family time, sleep.

Mari: sleep, sleep again, dragged to breakfast by mom, eat, eat again, mess with magecraft, eat, sit with everyone else, scroll thru my phone for hours, sleep.

Quetz: *sigh* mija, you need to change your priorities.

Mari: mmmmm... No.

BB: bad habits there Mari. Next they'd like to know if your in contact with anyone from chaldea? Other then me!

Rex: here's a real quick list: Marie, Mash, Kiara, Penth, Astraea, Martha, Ishtar, Gorgon, Jalter, The twins, your kids BB, etc etc.

Quetz: too many to list...

BB: nice you haven't lost contact! Next! About that Wedding?

Rex: well... it was eventful to say the least. Not long after completing the china LB. Most of the servants were invited, and most of Quetz's family showed up.

Quetz: si, Martha officiated it for us. Most of my family were so nice at the time... too bad that hasn't lasted.

Rex: let's not mention that...

BB: it was such a nice wedding! You two were so "nervous" you had trouble with your vows! How adorable!

Mari: why the quotes?

BB: no reason... now we're at the home stretch! Good 'ol Ash has some for stuff that technically hasn't happened yet, but you should still be able to answer! What responsibilities will Rex take on when he joins the pantheon?

Quetz: ...well he'll be largely a guardian of life on earth. Authority over things like the jungle itself, volcanos, and even snow... for some reason.

Rex: well it still snows in mexico... occasionally.

Quetz: and we'll be sharing authority over Venus! I wanted to share it with mi amor!

BB: cute! Hmmm, not sure if you cananswer this one just yet? Adjusting to God hood?

Rex: well I got to try it out a bit. Summoning lava and snow is... interesting. But also... my mind felt... odd... but also clearer? Not sure how to put it...

BB: I'm sure when you get there you'll get it... took me a bit after servant fest. And how did the other divinities react?

BB: actually I have some recordings of that to answer, so play the clip!

A screen appears showing recordings of some servants, one at a time.

Ishtar: eh! She's turning you into a god!? ...I guess you've earned it master...

Eresh: what!? Can you do that?! ...guess I won't see you in Kur... then again I don't think you have any link to Kur anyways.

Kama: do you really think your cut out for it? I mean... if it's just for you two to be together then I guess it's fine.

Astraea: godhood is a very big responsibility master. Are you certain you're up to it? Saving humanity is also a big task but at least that has an end point. This is... eternal.

Qin: oh! So you have decided to go for immortality after all?! Tho not the same as my methods, it is still good to see you two will be happy together!

Scathach: immortality? I've strived for death for so long... to see you go for immortality... Hopefully you'll find happiness, where I couldn't...

The screen turns off.

BB: very interesting! Most seem hesitant of it all... I for one think it's cute! Imagine in a thousand years you guys have a double date with me and my dear stag beetle!

Rex: ...a thousand years...

Quetz: still having trouble processing it all?

Rex: yeah... maybe when I get there... it'll be easier.

BB: now for today's final one! A scenario! One of you two goes berserk! What does the other do to calm them down?

Rex: well that has happened before... usually a nice hug is more then good enough.

Quetz: si! I've almost destroyed a few servants a few times until mi amor caught me in a hug! I can't bring myself to harm him... so I stop!

BB: sounds too easy... but I've seen that before so... I'll let it slide.

BB: well that's all the time we have for now! Hopefully you all are satisfied by the answers! We'll be doing this again, seeya!

Screen cuts out, the show's over.

Questions provided by: @hasbbdoneanythingwrong @havetheavengersdoneanythingwrong @has-gilgamesh-doneanythingwrong @renmeo @kazmetic @grievouslyxorvia

Other tags

@haspaulbunyandoneanythingwrong @hasishtardoneanythingwrong @hasereshdoneanythingwrong @hasabbydoneanythingwrong @haskamadoneanythingwrong

[writing-in-april]

Jinxed

A/n- this is the first time I’ve ever posted anything I’ve written! I finally worked up the courage!🤭 this is edited but not heavily just started writing once the idea popped into my head. also my other blog is April-14-blog where I do reposts. And sorry if the format is weird.

I think this is gender neutral but correct me if I’m wrong.

Warnings- pretty graphic (gunshot wounds, a really disturbing unsub, rape is mentioned) and some swearing. Fluff and angst. That’s all I can think of but let me know if I should add some more. Also the case is made up by me so the profiling bits are complete BS.

Masterlist

The team just bordered the jet onto our next case in Seattle. I was looking forward to the rainy weather it always made me feel cozy, which would probably help drive away the pit in my stomach that this case was already causing.

We see gruesome things every day, I had been working with the team since the aftermath of the Adrain bale case which caused the Bureau to lose six agents. It’s been 7 years now and I had never felt this way about a case before, the sense of disgust and dread infected my whole body.

I snapped out of my thoughts when Spencer came to quietly sit next to me on the couch, our normal routine cemented at this point. He paused opening the case files for review and looked at me curiously.

“Are you ok?” He barely whispers. He knows I almost never open up to anyone, himself included even though he was my best friend.

I turned my head abruptly away from him not wanting to make eye contact. Not wanting to admit that the guy who was eviscerating mothers and daughters was making bile rise up in my throat, making my heart sink into the floor, and sweating in anticipation of opening the case files again.

“I’m fine Spencie” I whispered back with a smile that definitely did not reach my eyes, using my cute nickname for him to hopefully quell any of the worry inside him. Still despite my efforts I could see he was not convinced.

“Ok Ace, just let me know. This case is getting to everyone already as well” He said smiling meekly and shooting back his own quirky nickname for me that I had achieved after I beat him in poker.

I shakily nodded at him opening the file with clammy hands, preparing myself for the team discussion.

Hotch finally boarded the plane and got right down to a heated discussion on this vile unsub’s violent hatred for women.

“Ok this is what I don’t get why does he take both mothers and daughters together? It’s an odd combination- he’s not a family annihilator otherwise he’d target whole families. He misses the dads, sons, and younger daughters” Derek chimes in quickly.

“Maybe it’s based off of some specific fantasy? Like his mother and sister or his wife and daughter? It’s more like a specific hatred towards a certain type of women and not just women in general” prentiss commented somberly , though I was part way listening. Reid then started rambling off statistics about female abusers and retaliation but it soared right over my head as my face paled looking at the crime scene photos.

They say Jack the Ripper was gruesome but this was on another playing field. After cutting the women up as precisely as possible to keep them alive he made the daughter shoot the mother (evidence from the gunshot residue on each set of daughters hands). Then he proceeded to rape the daughter repeatedly then shoot her as well, dumping them in the trash afterwards as a final insult to women’s bodies. The photo of the last set of 2 stared at me mockingly the daughters cold dead eyes and her entrails pierced into my very soul. I stood up abruptly shaking with a sheen of sweat over my forehead.

“Bella you ok?” Rossi asked in his concerned father tone. The whole team looked at me in concern ready to catch me if I suddenly fainted. I instead ran off as fast as I could in my heels to the airport bathroom ignoring the teams calls to me.

I emptied my guts into the toilet and suddenly started sobbing, I couldn’t banish the photos from my mind. The pictures of the 8 women dead never to see the light of day again.

I cleaned myself up but still didn’t leave the bathroom, planning on sitting out the rest of the 6 hour flight huddled in the corner.

I could hear the soft rap of Spencer’s fist on the door and even though he was the only one I’d ever consider talking to about this I ignored him instead bottling up my feelings like I’m used to.

At some point they decided to leave me alone until the plane landed, and as soon as it touched the ground I bolted out of their to avoid the questioning gazes. I found the nearest bureau SUV and shoved myself inside.

Luckily Spencer and jj were the ones to join me in the car, the ones who won’t push me to divulge why I was so affected by this case. It wasn’t some personal thing, just the brutality broke my mind into a bunch of little pieces.

Hotch thankfully let me stay with Spencer to do the geographical profile which gladly let me avoid the cork boards filled with photos as I stared at a map trying to pretend like I knew what I was doing.

The day dragged on slowly trying to pin the assailant down and thankfully tomorrow morning we were going to see a probable suspect. The team had all sat at the generous conference table at the Seattle field office as rain poured down while we ate some Chinese food. They mostly respected that I didn’t want to talk besides Derek who quickly learned his lesson when I chewed him out. I just wanted to talk about stupid shit with them not about the maniac with a knife and gun.

Somehow it became a competition of who had the most battle scars, Derek and Prentiss being the winners. I said nothing and only chuckled as they tried to count the amount of stitches in their head that they had gotten.

“What about you Y/N? You haven’t mentioned any of yours?” Prentiss chimed in teasingly trying to get me to join in as Hotch rolled his eyes not indulging in this dick measuring contest.

“Well I’ve never gotten stitches on a case or been shot not even in the vest to be honest. The worst I’ve gotten is a pistol whip which resulted in a bad concussion and like one broken rib” I quickly said.

“Oh you lucky duck, you must have a guardian angel” Derek slyly commented back. I shrugged my shoulders and quietly went back to picking at my food still feeling the eyes of the dead corpses on me.

As we headed back to our hotel for the night I started to feel the dread well back up again. We were probably going to apprehend this guy tomorrow, and even if this guy made me anxious without knowing him I was determined to be the one to cuff the sick fuck.

I felt a hand on my shoulder as I bounced down the hallway to my hotel room. I knew those hands, the long delicate fingers of Dr. Reid. I grabbed onto his soft palms and squeezed tightly, his calming presence always seemed to make me feel better. He finally spoke up softly almost inaudible.

“You don’t have to talk about what’s going on, I just want to be there for you.”

I nodded shyly and led him back to my hotel room. I sat on the bed with him and engulfed him in a hug needing to be close with someone. We sat there for what seemed like hours the clock seemingly stopped as time stood still.

I laid back, sighing as he spooned me, I always love spencer cuddles they made me feel so much warmer and happier even when it seems impossible. He slowly leaned forward and pressed a kiss into my hair, his comfort blurring the lines on what our relationship actually was. He then pressed a kiss on my shoulder but quickly pulled away as tensed up.

“No it’s ok I liked it you make me feel safe”

I said firmly, I then sighed feeling ready to open up to someone no matter how difficult it was for me.

“ it’s the eyes Spence, I can’t get them out of my head. I felt like I failed them and I didn’t even know them.” I started to sob quietly as Spencer pressed kisses into my collar bone and neck trying to get me to calm down.

“ I understand, I get the same way about some cases as well. Like every time I close my eyes they’re mocking me.” He commented softly into my ear, I sighed in relief, he understood my feelings. I reached up and stroked his cheek feeling the supple tan skin beneath my small fingers. He pressed another kiss, this time to my palm and my breath hitched. I never wanted him to stop kissing me everywhere, he made me feel safe a deep love one could only gain from years of trust. He looked at me with glossy eyes he had started crying as well at some point, I wiped away a tear from his eye and made a bold decision to pull his lips closer to mine.

I could tell he was shocked , I delicately placed my lips on his. I pulled back fearing he would grow uncomfortable, but he softly pushed his lips onto mine again slipping his tongue lightly. I didn’t fight the intrusion as it made me feel more enveloped and safe in his arms. We pulled away from each other though our lips were still so close that our hot breath was mingling with each others

“I-I don’t know what to-I say” he stuttered out softly palming my cheek.

“We can talk later about it right now I just want you to hold me and stay the night. Hopefully you’ll keep the nightmares away.” He nodded softly and returned to spooning me as I drifted off into sleep his presence making my dreams just a little better.

In the morning we both woke up softly next to one another, Spencer surprisingly kissed me one last time before quietly sneaking out of my room not wanting to hear the relentless teasing of our coworkers. I felt so much better about the case after the comfort from Spencer last night, I just wanted to catch the son of a bitch and make out with Spencer for the rest of my life.

I walked into the conference room this morning with an air of calm. the whole team could tell that something had changed my mood but they didn’t know what so they kept their mouths shut.

Hotch pulled me aside right as everyone left to find the suspect getting their Kevlar vests on just in case it went south.

“Will you be ok?” He questioned in his dad voice mirroring Rossi’s in a perfect rendition.

“I will be if you promise one thing.”

“What?” He asked curiously

“I get to take down the fucker and cuff him” Hotch nodded at my words understanding that something about this case affected me and that this would offer some comfort.

We all pulled up to the dingy warehouse that the suspect owned as it just started to pour again. The roof was so damaged that it seeped through in every room that we cleared. I rounded a corner with jj right next to me, we were down in the basement and the way my hair was standing on end I knew we were close.

We both suddenly heard a scream mixed with a sob of a women and bounded down faster to the source of the noise. I held my gun steady as I braced myself for the sight.

There was a girl around 16 holding a gun shakily in her hands as a tall brute of a man stood behind her with a glock at her temple. The mom was bleeding out cuts on every visible appendage, she looked as if she was about to pass out.

“Keith Portland, drop the weapon” I menacingly growled out as I approached him. Jj made her way over to the mom as I put myself between her and the guns.

“I guess you found me, took you guys long enough. I had to get more brutal so you would notice me.” My weapon faltered in my hands as the photos flashed before my eyes again, on top of this bastard mutilating women he was also an attention whore as well.

“Jj get her out of here!” I shouted as she got the women who was in critical condition untied. The man growled as I took away the object of his rage away from him.

“At least I still have the girl” he smirked out. I glanced towards the shaking teen trying to inspire confidence in my gaze towards her I would get her out of there.

“Drop the weapon or I’ll shoot you”

“Do you really think your quick enough to shoot me before the bullet gets lodged in her brain?” He mocked at me, Derek and Spencer suddenly creeped behind him being sent down by jj.

“No but three of us can take you down faster” Spencer boldly proclaimed

He tightened his grip on the girl trying to regain power. “I won’t go down without a fight!” He shouted almost choking her out, I could see his finger move towards the trigger and I prepared to fire. I wasn’t expecting him to pull the gun away from the girl’s temple as he fired off two rounds towards me.

“No!!” Spencer and Derek screamed as they both shot at the disgusting man known as Keith Portland.

At first I was confused why they were yelling I thought the bullets had missed me, but I suddenly felt a pain in my thigh and shoulder as I fell to the ground along with the unsub.

I slowly started to panic as blood started to pool into my mouth, I must’ve punctured a lung. I felt someone lift up my body into a lap.

“MORGAN-give me something to make a tourniquet with she has a punctured fem-femoral artery-y” Spencer quickly stuttered and shouted at Morgan. Derek shucked his jacked off and gave it to Spencer as they both put pressure on the wounds.

“We have an agent down, repeat we have an agent down I need medics in here right now!” Derek barked into the comms.

I wasn’t really sure what was going on- I couldn’t see anything everything was a blur. All I could focus was on the endless blood that seemed to be flowing out of my mouth and the intense pain that was ripping though me.

I screamed as Spencer tied the tourniquet around my thigh and he came up to cradle my head.

“Your going to be ok Ace, I promise.” He whimpered quietly as he wiped the blood from around my mouth.

I could only gasp as more pressure was placed on my shoulder by the medics that suddenly arrived. I faintly heard the team yelling and arguing in the background as I was loaded onto a stretcher with an oxygen mask over my mouth.

“Spencer stay with me please?” I rasped our at him.

He took my hand gently as we were both lead into the ambulance. “Spencer I love you” I coughed out as I thought this might be the only chance I could get to telling him.

I started to violently cough up blood and the medics started to intubate me, all I could hear was Spencer screaming back that he loved me as my world snapped black.

Pain. That’s all that I could feel, it felt like my whole body was on fire and I couldn’t breathe. I started choking at the intrusion that was in my mouth as I tried to blink open my eyes. The doctors finally took the tube out of my throat, and I gasped for breathe panicking.

“Y/N it’s me it’s Spencer you’re in a hospital you were shot!” He said trying to get me to understand.

I stopped thrashing and slowed my breathing as my eyes finally adjusted to the crisp whiteness of the hospital I was in.

“Hi I’m Dr. Grey” the doctor said gently “ you sustained a GSW to the upper right chest and right leg. Your right lung collapsed and you nicked your femoral artery. You’ve been on morphine and I can give you some more now that your up?” I nodded at her still a little delirious from waking up.

“How-how long was I asleep Spencer?” I said shifting my focus back to him. I got a good look at his short hair that looked as if he had been yanking on it, the purple bags under his eyes that were starting to water again in relief.

“God Y/N it’s been 2 1/2 weeks” he shakily said through blinking tears. “Had me so fucking worried” I snorted at his uncharacteristic swear.

“I have to almost die to get you to swear?” I chuckled out referencing an earlier ongoing argument. He laughed though you could tell his heart wasn’t in it.

“Did you mean what you said?” He questioned gently his hands in a fist together leaning on the bed.

I looked up at him with glossy eyes it all coming back to me, my deathbed confession to Spencer. “Of course I did Spencer” I reached up to stroke his cheek “I’ve loved you for a long time, though lately it has a deeper meaning” I looked at him through my glistening eyes.

We both didn’t need words as he leaned in to softly press his lips against mine.

“I love you” he quietly whispered against my lips

“I love you too” I answered in sincerity, I motioned first him to get up on the bed to cuddle with me. At first he objected but finally relented and spooned me in a similar way to the first night he kissed me. He pressed a soft lingering kiss to my head as I started to giggle.

“What?” He asked incredulously

“I just realized that I jinxed myself with that conversation with Morgan about not getting hurt” I giggled to myself quietly

“That’s not funny” he tried to say seriously staring at me “ok... maybe just a bit” he finally relented.

I started to close my eyes again feeling once again safe in Spencer’s arms. The enveloped warm feeling that I would never get over, even after we got married and had way too many kids all little geniuses of course. Though that was kind of far off. As they both fell into a deep sleep both relieved to be in each others arms again the team rounded the corner after hearing the news that you woke up. They stopped and smiled at the wholesome sight glad that something good came out of the shitty situation.

The End

🙌🏻 I actually did it 🤭

[jennawritesstories]

The Shipwreck Sleep Clinic // Novella Update #1

Hello! Okay! I’ve mentioned this project multiple times but now I’m here to actually introduce it! This novella began life as a short story idea until I quickly realise it was far to big to be a short story. It didn’t feel like a novel either, so here I am, writing a novella (or what I think will be a novella). 

The Shipwreck Sleep Clinic follows four siblings, 15-year-old twins called Devlin and Evella, Winnie (11) and Kipp (5), who live on a small touristy island where everyone has an unusual quirk or power. For example there is a significant side character who owns a bakery, and she’ll bake you a special cake on your birthday that grants you good luck for the day. Kipp’s stomach spontaneously grows birds that he has to cough up, Winnie can manipulate sand and Devlin has the ability to see through the eyes of anybody related to him. Evella’s power is the most explored in terms of plot. She can enter and view people’s dreams if they fall asleep in her arms.

The book has a soft, vaguely apocalyptic feel. We see shops and schools closing down, tourists stop coming to the island, public transport grinds to a halt, bins stop being collected etc. The kids’ mother dies just before the book begins and their father is away at war, so the fifteen year old twins have to look after the family. Thugs take their home so they move to this shipwreck where they used to play (it’s not a real shipwreck, but an old, highly themed beach restaurant). Evella goes above and beyond, and opens a sleep clinic on the shipwreck to help the mental health of the islanders.

Let’s meet the siblings!

Evella

15 - Devlin’s twin

Can enter dreams with a person and help them through nightmares

soft, dream-like, wispy - struggles with dissociation, and separating dreams from reality

selfless, but to the point of self-destruction

has to be reminded to eat, sleep etc

feels much older than she is

Devlin

15 - Evella’s twin

Can see through the eyes of anybody he is related to

So his siblings distrust him and believe he is always spying on them 

Hates that he gets reprimanded for using his abilities when Evella is praised for using hers

Immature but doesn’t want to be

Suddenly basically a parent but has no idea how to be a parent

Wants to join trade places in the army with his dad so his siblings can have a real guardian and he’ll finally be doing something useful (oh my baby, noo)

Winnie

11

Sand powers - like telekinesis but only with sand and only on the beach

Cool Kid

Will never be see without her rainbow sunglasses. They belong together, okay. 

Always has bubblegum, weirdly proud of her bubble-blowing skills

Trains with her powers constantly and pushes her body to extreme physical training every night because she believes something bad is coming to the island

Her dad is her hero and she can’t accept that he is a terrible person

My fave (shhh don’t tell the others)

Kipp

5

His stomach (or lungs, I haven’t quite figured it out yet) spontaneously grow baby birds that he has to cough up

Very anxious - constantly worries about the wellbeing of all his birds

Very perceptive to the state of the island - obsessively tracks which shops are closing down, which families are leaving etc.

My baby

In summary, all four deserve the biggest of hugs! I adore these kids so much and the more I write them, the more broken I see they are. I’m loving exploring them and the complicated relationships they have with each other and their weird island.

How’s the writing going?

F U N  &  C H A O T I C.

I haven’t introduced this until now because 1) laziness and 2) I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing with it. I usually write linearly except for the very beginning of a story, where I write whatever scenes come to mind while I’m figuring out what the story is, but after that I’ll write it from beginning to end. With Shipwreck, I’m still at the “write random scenes and figure out where they slot in later” stage and I’m 10K in. Not only that, but I’ve written this thing in every POV and tense imaginable so I now have 10K words of scenes in different POVs and tenses and no order whatsoever. Originally, it was just going to be told from Devlin’s POV. Now that I want all four of them, I’d rather write it in 3rd person since I’m not a big fan of multi-POV 1st person, but most of the stuff I wrote for Devlin, and some stuff I wrote for Evella, are in 1st person and now need changed. 

ALSO, I don’t have a clue if I’m alternating POVs every chapter/scene, or if they’ll tell a quarter of the book each. If I choose the latter, will the story be chronological and they all narrate a different point in time, or will each sibling tell their version of the full story, allowing the reader to piece the entire story together by the end?

^ You’d think these would be questions I’d know the answer to at 10,000 words into a novella but Here! We! Are!

Anyway, I’m having a lot of fun with my four imaginary children and it was a pleasure to introduce them to you today!!

Taglist below the cut (ask to be added or removed!) 

@ahowlinwolf​ @alicewestwater​ @coffeeandcalligraphy​ @chloeswords​ @sophiewritingstuff​ @laughtracksonata​ @sienna-writes​ @august-iswriting​ @yanittawrites​ @mjmnorwood​

[queenof-literature]

I know that you just posted your Rito story and I loved. I can't wait for more! I noticed it mentioned Wild blushing when asked to sing one of Kass's song. I am pretty sure it's Kass's final song, and thought it would be cute if one of the other Links hears Wild singing under his breath (maybe while cooking) and the story and song get dragged out of him.

Hi! Thank you so much! I wasn't quite sure what you meant by song and story, but I used Kass' final song with the story of Wild's death and the story with Kass' teacher, so it got a little angsty. I hope that all is okay. If not, please let me know and I wil l write a different one! Thank you for the request!

It had been a rough day. The group had landed in Hyrule’s land, and had instantly been attacked by groups of monsters with insane amounts of bloodlust. Luckily, there weren’t any injuries that couldn’t be fixed with a potion or two. Some scrapes here, some sprained ankles there, physically they were fine. But they were absolutely exhausted.

Wild was making a hearty stew for his friends before they turned in early that night. Four was leaning against a tree, book in hand. Warriors and Legend were playing a weird card game that involved slapping each other’s hands as hard as possible while Wind and Hyrule watched and made fun of them both. Time and Twilight were chatting and laughing softly, while Sky was already dozing off on a tree near Four’s. Overall, it was a tired peace that made Wild’s heart swell.

He never really got this peace before he met the other heroes. It was always sleeping in trees away from monsters, or riding through the night to discover new shrines, or pushing forward to save Zelda and other villages infected by the Calamity. This was peaceful, something that Wild wasn’t used to, but didn’t really hate like he thought he would when he first met them.

“For fierce and deadly trials await. To regain his strength. Fulfill his fate.” Wild didn’t really notice when he began to sing softly as he was stirring his stew. He also didn’t notice the rest of camp slowly getting quiet, or Four elbowing Sky in the ribs. His eyes had grown distant as he continued to sing softly. “To become a hero once again. To wrest the princess from her den.” The rest of the Links looked at each other silently. Wild had a pretty voice from what they could hear. Pretty in a way that it was unique, and rough from lack of use, but also soft and comforting. He almost looks like he doesn’t notice what he’s doing. Should they tell him? 

“The hero, the princess-hand in hand-Must bring the light back to this land.” Wild finished just as soft as he began, like he had sung the song millions of times before. But he realized he felt eyes on him. He looked up to see the entire camp staring at him, even Sky, all with confusion and a bit of awe. Oh dear Hylia. Wild yanked his hood up to find his bright red face as he realized what he had done. ‘I am so sorry.’ Wild signed ‘Sometimes I do that without noticing. I didn’t mean to interrupt you all I promise. I’ll stop. Just let me know when I do it in the future, sorry I just didn’t notice-’ Twilight and the rest of the boys had gathered around Wild, but still gave him space. Twilight gently put his hands over Wild’s. He didn’t like doing that if he didn’t have to, Wild sometimes expressed himself only through sign and he never wanted to get in the way of that. But if he let Wild continue too far, he would spiral into a dark place where it was harder to pull him from. All of the Heroes of Courage had that issue. Sometimes it was better to stop the train of loathing and questioning before it got too far off the track. 

“Don’t apologize about what you do while you make us dinner, Cub” Twilight teased gently, taking his hands off of Wild’s. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, we all got our habits. Besides, ya got a pretty singin’ voice.” Twilight smiled, while Wild simply flushed further into his hood, at this point his face was the most red thing Twilight had ever seen.

“Yeah Wild! I knew you would have a pretty voice!” Wind exclaimed. The group couldn’t see Wild’s eyes at all, but they could see his lips twitch upwards slightly at the younger’s enthusiasm. 

“Ummm… thank you.” Wild said softly, still not coming out of his hood. 

“Can you sing us the whole song? If you’re comfortable of course.” Wind asked hesitantly. He wanted to hear the rest of Wild’s song, but he didn’t want Wild to feel forced into anything. The group looked at Wind in slight shock. They hadn’t expected anyone to ask the blatant question no one else wanted to ask, but Wind was good at that. The shy boy somehow managed to get even more flustered, his face so red he looked like he was about to explode. 

“W-well.” Wild was slightly stuttering again, not that the group minded. It wasn’t just nerves, Wild couldn’t talk very well when the group first found him, so he mostly signed like he did to others in his Hyrule that needed help. Through sign, they discovered that he was actually very witty and fun, but it turns out not using your voice for more than a hundred years and having rough scars around your neck made it a little hard to talk.

“My voice isn’t very good, maybe Kass could sing it to you? It’s better with the accordion anyway.” Wild said nervously.

“Your voice is very good Wild!” Sky urged. 

“If you’re okay with singing it we don’t need the music Wild.” Time stated. “But no one's forcing ya. We would love to hear it, but only if ya want to sing it.” Wild pondered these words. Ever since he started talking verbally again, he tried to push himself out of his silent shell with help from the other heroes. Maybe singing was the next step? 

Once again, Wild felt weak. He could take down entire camps of monsters, defeat Calamity, and kill Guardians with a single ancient arrow to the eye, but he couldn’t talk to people properly. He had relayed those thoughts to Twilight before, how useless he felt sometimes that he could be strong except in the face of normal, everyday people. Twilight had told him that it was perfectly okay, and that everyone had their struggles and fears, but Wild still felt stupid sometimes. 

“I guess… If you really wanna hear it…” Wild emerged from his hood slightly. Maybe it would prove he wasn't as weak as he thought? Wind cheered and put his head in his hands, waiting. The rest of the group smiled, and Twilight patted his arm for encouragement. 

“An ancient hero. A calamity appears. Now resurrected after 10,000 years”

The other heroes are surprised when Wild starts singing. It’s still soft, and it’s still rough, but Wind is right. Wild’s voice has a nice comfort in it.

“Her appointed knight, gives his life. Shields her figure and pays the price.”

Wait, what? Wild’s death is part of the song? And the words, shielding her figure, did Wild take every Guardian laser for Zelda? How did he make it to the Shrine of Resurrection? Oh Wild…

“The princess’ love for her fallen knight, awakens her power and calamity cowers. But the knight survives in the Shrine of Resurrection. He sleeps. Until from his healing dream he leaps.”

Anger fills the group at this. It was known that Wild was in the Shrine? Why did no one check on him? Why did no one keep guard so he wouldn’t be alone and scared when he woke up? Sure it was 100 years, but did no one get suspicious? Especially with elders who saw the fall of Hyrule!

“For fierce and deadly trials await, to regain his strength, fulfill his fate. To become a hero once again. To wrest the princess from Evil's den.” Wild finishes his song while looking around the camp with nervous eyes. Some of the boys looked troubled. Was he really that bad? At Wild’s nervous look, most of the boys snapped out of their stupur and began applauding, Warriors whistling at an ear piercing volume while the others whooped and hollered. Wild, who had kept his hood on to feel a small amount of security at revealing his voice in such a vulnerable way, hid within it once again, except it was a different embarrassment this time, he was relieved he had done it and gotten through it. But the group could see a smile threatening to break out. It was a sweet sight. 

‘Thank you’ Wild signed with fingers trembling from the adrenaline of singing in front of all eight heroes. 

“No problem, Buddy.” Twilight clapped his back.

“Yeah Wild! Thanks for trusting us enough to sing that song!” Hyrule smiled across the campfire. A smile that Wild returned instantly. Hyrule and Wild related to each other in this way. They spent so much time away from civilization and traveling the woods, it was sometimes scary to go back. All of the boys were smiling at him, except for Time. He looked solemn and serious. 

“You okay, Old Man?” Four questioned. Time turned to Wild, look serious. Wild hadn’t been this intimidated by Time since he had first met the man.

“Wild… how many times did those things’ lasers hit you?” Time said the word ‘things’ with such malice the entire group got chills.

“Time.” Twilight whispered urgently. Wild didn’t like to talk about his death one hundred years ago. 

“It says you shielded the princess. How. Many. Times?” Time asked coolly. On the inside he was livid. He was trying so hard not to take it out on Twilight’s protege, because it wasn’t his fault. None of it was, no matter how much he blamed himself, Wild was sent into the situation to die. He took blast after blast with his own body, and he still didn’t make it to Ganon. His friends all died except Zelda who he shielded with his own body.    

“U-um. I don’t remember. I-I guess. Maybe five? Six? I-I’m sorry Time. I-I don’t remember.” Twilight put a hand on Wild’s shoulder when the boy’s breath hitched slightly, jolting Time out of his external anger. The rest of the camp were looking at him in confusion, or in some cases, (Legend), anger.

“I’m sorry Wild I didn't mean to spring that upon you. I was just mad. Not at you.” Time rished the last part in when he saw Wild open his mouth to apologize again. “I was mad at your situation. Wild… you didn’t deserve that. No one would ever deserve that but Hylia, not you kid.” Wild tilted his head in confusion. It would have been slightly cute if the next words hadn’t come out of his mouth. 

“But I failed.” Wild said like it was the most natural thing on the planet. There was an uncomfortable silence in the group, then a descent into chaos. 

“Failed?”

"Wild, no!”

“How the fuck was Calamity’s shit actions your fault? He’s the fucking monster that fucked up Hyrule!”

“Dear Hylia, Wind. Language. He’s right though Wild, it was Ganon’s fault.”

“Wild it wasn’t your fault, it was Ganon’s.”

Wild appreciated the support, but all their voices began blurring together. Tears pricked at his eyes, Twilight’s hand on his shoulder burned hotter than a Guardians laser. It all became too much too fast. 

“It was my fault!” Wild yelled. That halted the group in their tracks. Wild yelled sure. When he was in his environment he would yell while shield surfing, or talking about a crazy plan he had, but this was in anger and despair. Wild harshly brushed Twilight’s hand off, trying to ignore the slight hurt in his eyes. 

“I doomed Hyrule! By the time Zelda unlocked her power I had collapsed. My body quit on me! I quit on all of Hyrule! The other champions died! Why am I the only one left? Kass told me the story of his teacher! He was Zelda’s age and he fell in love with her, but she loved me! I don’t even know if I loved her back! She doesn’t deserve what she was put through! No one does! I did that to them, that was all me! I failed! I got hit with laser after laser after laser but I had to keep going! But I couldn’t, I didn’t even make it the castle! Kass’ teacher was mad I wasn’t a noble or royalty, and he was right! Zelda deserved better! She and I are the only ones left! All the other champions died because of me! Why am I the only one? Why am I still here? Why am I-” Wild choked on his last words on a sob. His entire rant, tears began to cascade down his face as the group looked on in horror.

Wild couldn’t hold it in anymore. He cried and he grieved and he yelled. Wild didn’t feel the white and burning rage anymore, he just felt the despair and sorrow he had been keeping in for years, only releasing a couple of times in small doses. When Twilight reached out to gently touch his hand, it didn’t feel like lava from Death Mountain anymore, it felt warm and loving and Wild simply leaned into it, silently telling Twilight it was okay.

“Oh, Cub.” Twilight murmured before pulling Wild to his chest. Wild curled up in his mentor's arms and allowed himself to sob over all the losses he had felt. His sobs grew harder and he felt like a child, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t breath, his sobs overlapping and clogging his lungs. One of his hands was pulled away from where it was curled into Twilight’s tunic and he whined. 

“Just me kiddo. You gotta breathe with me.” His hand was led to a different chest. Legend, Wild recognized in the back of his mind. Legend exaggerated his breaths for Wild to copy. The first time he tried, he simply choked more and shook his head. “That’s alright, you can do it. Another try.” Legend said gently. Wild would be laughing in a different situation. The word gentle and Legend wouldn’t be put together when he had first met the snarky hero. Wild tried again with a little more success. Legend kept helping him as another hand went through his hair. Four.

“I’m so sorry, Wild.” Wind said from across camp. The younger felt guilty that he had started this when asking if Wild could sing. Wild wanted to reassure that this wasn’t his fault at all, that this had just been building, but he couldn’t talk. Luckily, Warriors and Hyrule were there to cover for him, talking quietly to Wind on the other side of camp. Wind shook it off though, Wild needed them more.

Wild had calmed down slightly. Still crying, and still curled up in Twilight's arms and getting help from Four and Legend. But once he was sure he could hear him, Time spoke up. 

“Wild, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to grill you that hard. That was my mistake.” Wild opened his mouth to tell him that it was okay, he knew Time had no malintent, but Time continued on. “Wild. I need you to understand something. What happened wasn’t your fault.” Wild opened his mouth to correct Time, but Time was having none of it. “No, it wasn’t your fault Wild. I’m not saying that to comfort you or baby you. What you were sent into was an execution Wild.” Twilight's wolf instincts got loud in his head and he almost snapped at Time for being so harsh but stopped himself. He remembered Time told him once after he took Wild under his wing, that mentoring wasn’t just about kind words and support. It was also about knowing when to state hard facts. Sometimes that’s all people understood. 

“No one knew what Ganon had planned, and you had no time to prepare because of the mistakes of those before you. You had nothing to do with their ignorance, Wild.” Time’s face was set in stone, but his eyes showed a fiery passion for every word he was saying. “Wild. Look at me please, bud.” Wild peeked out from Twilight’s shoulder and looked into Time’s eyes, which softened as he met the younger hero’s sky blue eyes. “It wasn’t your fault, because you couldn’t control anything around you. You are not a God. You have the limitations of a Hylian that you already find ways to exceed. Wild, you were so brave. You took hit after hit to protect Zelda. And her powers awakened right before you collapsed. Do you blame her for not unlocking them sooner.” Instantly Wild’s eyes became hard, and he opened his mouth to bite into Time, who could see where this was leading just by the expression on Wild’s face. He held up a hand. “I’m not saying you should. I’m saying that she also had limitations that were out of her control, just like you. If you don’t blame Zelda, why do you blame yourself?” That one stumped Wild a bit. He wanted to say because Zelda was born into a family she never asked to be in, and worked hard everyday to fulfill their expectations… but he was in the same situation. Did Zelda feel the same way he did when he sorrowfully watched her blame herself? Time saw he struck a chord.

“I understand feeling like a failure. I lost battles too. But you did what you could do with what very little of the situation you could control. You said it yourself, you took laser after laser for her, and you only collapsed after you were sure she was safe. The safety of others is the only thing that kept you going, Wild. I’m not saying I approve of you taking lasers for others, but do you realize how much of a hero you are?” Tears flowed from Wild’s eyes once again, but for another reason entirely. Time really cared. He really thought Wild was a hero, even after he heard the song, the stories, the death. He heard it all, and the Hero of Time still thought Wild belonged with them. Wild whispered a quick thank you, and the rest of the group sighed in relief. Wild’s sobs had turned to hiccups as the rest of the group told him similar things to Time. It didn’t feel suffocating this time, it just felt like his eight brothers were trying to comfort him. Wild felt a weight lifted off his shoulders he had felt for so long. Time knew Wild would still struggle with his feelings of failure, one night wouldn’t change that, but he hoped he got through to Wild for the long run, at least a little. 

Wild realized how absolutely exhausted he was before this whole ordeal even started, which only increased tenfold now that he had cried. He was embarrassed that he had lost his shit that much in front of all eight heroes, and realized with a jolt how exhausted they had been too. 

“Um. I’m sorry, I know you all were really tired. I didn’t mean to have this happen-” He was cut off with a flick to his unscarred ear by Legend and a small yank on his ear by Four while Wild yelped.

“What did we just talk about you idiot?” Legend hissed, but it lacked the usual bite he had. 

“Yeah Wild! Don’t be sorry. Everyone needs a good cry once in a while! It’s healthy! I’m a medical professional, you have to listen to me.” Hyrule added with a joking glare. Some snickers rang through the group at Hyrule’s proclamation. Time looked over and smiled in pride at Wild, which Wild returned with red dusting on his cheeks. Hearing all his brothers laughing and fighting, and feeling the comforting arms around him, Wild slowly dozed off into a deep sleep, feeling lighter than he had in years.  

[angstyaches]

Charlie’s Hoodie

Alright, so here’s the first fic where Shayne is living in the Aldridge townhouse with Elliott and Felix (and Nancy and Ryan), which is in a city about three hours away from where Charlie is still living (Mulberry). This is about two days into his stay. It’s a slow-burner and very Angsty. I hope you guys enjoy!

CW; stomach ache from stress, emeto, anxiety, food mention, refusal of food, parental death mention, abusive guardian mention

Swallow the World: Three Boys in a Townhouse

He was supposed to be studying at his brand-new desk in the corner of his brand-new room in the Aldridge townhouse, but Shayne couldn’t recall how long he’d just been sitting there, hands in his lap, nails digging into his palms. It would have been a great time to get some thinking done, if thinking didn’t make his stomach ache.

He’d had a dream that morning, after falling asleep for about twenty minutes between nine and nine-thirty – probably the most sleep he’d had since arriving at the townhouse – and had woken up thinking he was with Charlie, in Charlie’s bed, in the Mulberry house. 

Remembering where he was, how far away he was, felt like a hand reaching down his throat and squeezing everything it could grab. The room had felt cold after that, not that he could do anything about it; it had a radiator, but he’d never learned how to use one. 

He’d pulled on the hoodie Charlie had given him; reluctantly, as the more he wore it, the more it smelled like him and not Charlie.

Thinking about Charlie came with its own stages. The first one was easiest to deal with because it crept in like a warm memory, or a dream. 

A second later would come the rug-pulling moment, as horrible words and disinterested looks would wash through the memory, turning it grey and making the Charlie in his head turn coldly away from him. 

The bargaining stage would come next, and Shayne would wonder if he could fix this still; and then he would remember that Charlie needed Charlie Two more than he needed him, and Shayne was a danger to Charlie Two. Plus, Charlie and his parents would be moving soon anyway.

And he would tell himself this was good, this was the best thing, for him to be here with the Aldridges, but at that point he’d be overwhelmed by the gurgling in his belly and he’d have to stop himself from thinking altogether.

A knock at the door made him jump, and the sound of a particular voice made him wince.

“Hello?”

More time must have passed than Shayne realised though, otherwise Felix wouldn’t be coming into his room to look for him. Shayne gulped and turned his desk chair to the side to see him tiptoe inside.

“Nancy and Ryan are all settled in,” Felix said gently, hanging back, halfway hidden behind the door. “They should be ready for dinner in about ten minutes, if you want to come wait downstairs with us.”

Shayne gulped again. He’d known he’d be meeting with Ryan and Nancy – who were technically his new guardians now – that evening, but he hadn’t thought about the fact that there would be food, and blood, involved. 

He’d managed to fight his nausea until now, but the thought of having to perform and force food down made his stomach feel like it wanted out of him, right there and then.

“Hey.” Felix stepped further into the room and closed the door behind him, leaning back on it with his hands. “You look a bit washed out. Are you feeling okay?”

Shayne frowned, a painful kind of relief flooding his chest as Felix visibly stiffened.

“You know, it’s – it’s normal to not feel like yourself after leaving home,” Felix said, clearing his throat. “It was a long time ago, but I remember my first few days here, when it was all new and I started realising it was my new life.”

Shayne lowered his gaze again, and heard Felix sigh lightly. The mint-haired boy shifted his feet, like he’d been about to come closer, but hesitated. Like he was nervous. Scared. Good, Shayne thought, turning his chair gently. He’d be happier knowing Felix was scared of him; anything was better than being felt sorry for.

Felix gave a low hum. “I felt sick to my stomach all the time, too.”

Shayne hadn’t even realised he’d put a hand on his stomach until he saw Felix’s eyes dart downward. His instinct was to move it away, and he did for a few seconds before he realised it was pointless. He let the hand rest on his belly again, keeping his eyes pinned on the pale wooden floorboards.

“Though for me, it was because of the blood,” Felix chuckled. His voice seemed to get higher in pitch, the more he talked. “It took me a long time to get used to it. Eventually they just had to start slipping it into my tea… Though, I – I guess this isn’t about that.”

Shayne’s stomach took a harsh dive towards the floor, and he had to tense his fingers even more just to keep control of the nausea. If the colour had drained from his face, Felix might not have noticed, or at least didn’t comment on it.

“I was already half-blooded when I got here,” Felix went on, “so I felt like I was bonded to Ryan before I even met her. Not – not that you have to worry about that. You’re practically family already, right?”

Shayne frowned and bit his lip against arguing; Felix was just trying to be nice, and possibly didn’t know anything about the Devines. But paperwork didn’t mean family. Hours clocked under someone’s roof didn’t mean family. Leaving someone in a bad situation didn’t mean family.

“I understand it’s not the same though,” Felix said. “I also had Elli when I came here, so it - it must feel weird, being here without your friend.”

The fact that he’d said ‘friend’ singular, and not ‘friends’ in general, meant that he was talking specifically about Charlie. The name hit as hard as though it had actually been said. Shayne breathed deeply as he felt his stomach churn against his hand.

“You want to talk about it?”

The natural thing for Shayne would have been to make some defensive remark, but he didn’t even want to open his mouth just then. He swallowed thickly and gave a sharp shake of his head. No, he absolutely did not want to talk about anything. How long did he have to sit here in silence before Felix fucked off?

“Buddy, you’re feeling really sick, huh?” Felix’s eyes softened when Shayne looked up at them again. “Hey, I’m positive Nancy and Ryan won’t mind if you take one more evening to rest. They’re reasonable ladies. Most of the time.”

Shayne was suddenly reminded of the heart-lifting relief of being told, as a kid and before his real parents had died, that he could stay home from school if he was feeling too sick. After that, Madelyn and Watson had always decided, on their terms, whether or not he could stay in bed. He felt the admission of weakness burning hot behind his eyes, but decided it would be worth it if he could just go to bed and try to forget the sick feeling in his stomach.

“I’ll say something to them, if you like.”

“You don’t have to,” Shayne mumbled. He cringed at hearing himself automatically try to reject the help that Felix was offering.

But Felix just flashed his little fangs again. “That doesn’t usually stop me. Look – I don’t know. If you’re up for it later, I can come back. We can talk, or – or we can move to my and Elli’s room and just watch T.V. Whatever you feel like.”

Shayne faintly shook his head, barely considering the offer. Guilt clung in the back of his throat, like his words were echoing inside him before he’d even said them. “Just leave me alone, Felix.”

Felix turned his head to stare at the floor too, so silent that he might have stopped breathing altogether. “Sure,” he chirped after a few seconds. “If – if that’s what you want.”

Shayne waited for Felix to leave before lying down on top of the blankets. He spent a few minutes like that, muscles clenched but not quite shivering from the cold, before finally getting into the bed.

He lay on his front and closed his eyes, trying not to let his thoughts wander any further from the four walls surrounding him. It worked, in a way, but then he just found himself wishing Charlie was inside those walls with him, and that was beside the point.

He tried listing the history topics he’d been supposed to revise that afternoon, imagining bullet points in his head until it all spun together and made him feel nauseous again. He told himself thank god he hadn’t had to go to that dinner, told himself to remember to thank Felix later, and apologise for being short with him. He had to be careful, now that he knew how badly it hurt when he messed up his relationships.

Restlessness and queasiness drove him out of bed again, and he dragged himself to the small ensuite bathroom attached to his room. The mirror showed him exactly how awful he looked, and it was no wonder Felix had offered to get him out of going to dinner. 

The dark circles under his eyes were deeper than usual, probably since he’d barely slept since the night at Mulberry, the night with Charlie, the night before the kiss, the night before he’d said those awful things –

No, no, no. 

He ran cold water over his hands at the sink, ignoring how they shook, and took a few sips from his palm. Small sips, barely enough to wet his lips, for fear of how the cold liquid would feel on the way down. 

Oh, but Charlie would make him drink, wouldn’t he? Charlie would be upset if he knew Shayne had barely had anything to eat or drink in so many days, he’d look so sad – if he even cared at all anymore, after hearing what Shayne had said to Elliott about him.

No...

Shayne clutched the edge of the sink in shock as he gagged, keeping his mouth clamped shut and closing his eyes. His legs had turned to mush all of a sudden, and he felt like he might sink through the floor. He shakily eased himself closer to the toilet, only letting go of the sink when he could put his hands on the cistern instead. 

He retched over and over again, until he managed to choke up a pitiful spatter of bile and acid. He lowered himself gradually so that he was kneeling down on the tiles, shaking and quietly sobbing and wishing for his friend.

___

Felix once again knocked before coming in. Shayne was still retching emptily when he found him. His stomach had emptied, and his throat had dried so quickly that it now just felt like fists clamping around his insides.

“Hey,” Felix said with an air of urgency. “Oh, gosh, is – is it alright for me to be here, Shayne? Do you need to be by yourself?”

Shayne’s chin trembled as he gasped to catch his breath. He wanted to speak, but his tongue was too heavy in his mouth, and all he could manage was a low whimper. He laid a hand on the floor next to him, fingers reaching weakly in Felix’s direction.

“Alright, I’m here.”

He felt Felix’s hand rest lightly on his shoulder, almost like he had feathers instead of bones. Shayne shivered at being touched, though he couldn’t tell for sure if it repulsed him or not because his body was too busy fighting the nausea.

“Relax, bud, I don’t think there’s anything for you to bring up,” Felix said softly. “Try to catch your breath, okay?”

When he finally got his breathing under control and the retching slowed, Shayne turned towards Felix, eyes glassy and pinned to the ground. The smaller boy helped him up from the floor and guided him back through to the bed, pulling back the blankets for him with one hand.

“Doing okay?” Felix asked softly as Shayne sat down.

“Mmhmm,” he replied. He didn’t feel overwhelmed with nausea anymore, but his belly was aching horribly, muscles tense from the dry heaving.

Felix slid onto the end of the bed and pulled his legs underneath himself. He sat and watched Shayne carefully from there. Like a puppy. Shayne slowly eased himself under the blankets, careful not to jostle Felix or himself too much. His voice was hoarse from coughing up acid, and he couldn’t bring himself to clear his throat. He leaned his back against the headrest.

“How was – how was the dinner thing?”

“Aw, bud, you probably don’t want to hear me going on about food right now,” Felix said. His eyes brightened. “But Nancy and Ryan weren’t mad, if that’s what you were worried about. They said to tell you not to worry, and they’ll see you sometime tomorrow.”

Shayne pulled at the sleeves of Charlie’s hoodie, covering his wrists and the palms of his hands. He felt Felix follow his gaze towards the thick red fabric.

“I was thinking, and – when I mentioned Charlie earlier, I hope I wasn’t overstepping or anything.” Felix was starting to sound nervous again. “I have a tendency to do that, and it can be a tad overwhelming for some people.”

Shayne bit the inside of his lip. He felt a gurgle begin in his stomach before it sounded off, and he let out a little whine alongside it.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, realising Felix must have heard it too.

“Aw, buddy, it’s fine. Look; see if you can drink some of that.”

Shayne spotted the steaming teacup next to the bed. He had a vision of Charlie bringing him tea in bed, and had to suddenly blink back tears as he looked at Felix.

“It’s just ginger tea.” Felix’s eyes widened. He frowned and played with his own hands. “I know I said earlier they used to hide blood in my tea, but it’s not – it’s not spiked or anything.”

“No, I – thank you.” Shayne reached carefully for the tea and hoping his stupid shaky hands weren’t about to spill it all over the sheets. He gulped hard, willing his breath to become steady, his eyes to become dry. “F-for coming back, too. Um, seriously.”

“Hey, it’s nothing,” Felix muttered, averting his gaze as he blushed.

Shayne let the mug rest in one hand for a few seconds, while he pressed the cuff of Charlie’s hoodie against his eyes. The sleeve brushed across his cheeks, and his head spun for a second with that familiar scent. Fuck. He screwed his eyes shut for a second before lifting his face and trying to focus on the tea, on Felix, on things that were warm.

“If you still don’t feel like talking,” Felix said slowly, “I – I thought, maybe, I’d tell you how I became an Aldridge, if Elliott hasn’t already told you.”

“He hasn’t,” Shayne admitted shakily. “I, uh, didn’t, um, didn’t even know your name until you told me yourself.”

“Are you serious?” Felix pressed a hand to his head. “Gosh, I would have made a much grander introduction for myself if I had known that.”

Shayne shook his head; with the state he’d been in when they’d first met, he was relieved Felix hadn’t tried anything more extravagant. He tentatively wrapped both hands around the mug, ignoring the handle, grateful for the warmth.

“I could have had five hot guys jump out and unzip their jackets to reveal t-shirts that spelled out F-E-L-I-X.” Felix bounced a fist against his knee. “Gosh, wasted opportunity is like – is like sashimi without soy sauce, you know what I mean?”

Shayne gave Felix a look over the rim of his mug, a look that hopefully conveyed that he had absolutely no idea what he meant. He took a slow sip, and although it was a little too hot for his tongue, his whole body seemed to thaw a bit as the heat curled down through him.

“Never mind,” Felix laughed. “Okay, well, let’s see – I guess the first thing you should know is that my name wasn’t always Felix. Only Elliott knows my real name, and it’s important that it stays that way. I’m not even sure Ryan and Nancy know I ever changed it.”

“What?” Shayne muttered as he blew gently on his tea. His stomach gave a low growl, though this time it wasn’t voicing nausea, but its anticipation of more of the warm, comforting drink. “Were you running from the law?”

“Not at the start,” Felix said, leaning back a little as he got comfortable. “I was a bit like you, actually. I was running away from home.”

[black-streak]

Waiting for the Worms - Bring the Boys Back Home

Part 11

Jason's time up until the blackout. Very few warnings for this bit... Umm, mention of guns and a touch of violence later? This part is a bit shorter than usual, especially in comparison to the last part.

CLOSED LIST. Tickets for the angst express are sold out!!! : @northernbluetongue @thethirdwheelfriend @shizukiryuu @theatreandcomicfreak @michellemagic @karategirl119 @moonlightstar64 @my-name-is-michell @mystery-5-5 @zalladane @queen-of-the-trash-planet-tm @miraculousdisapointment @dorkus-minimus @jardimazul @allthebooksandcrannies @g-arya @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @persephonescat @mycupisbroken @luciferge @18-fandoms-unite-08 @dawnwave16 @alwaysreblogneverpost @kris-pines04 @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @weird-pale-blonde-person @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @kokotaru @naclychilli @slytherinhquinn @clumsy-owl-4178 @ladybug-182 @darkthunder1589 @evil-elf16 @dast218 @lysslovsanime @emilytopaz @naoryllis @iloontjeboontje @thepeacetea @danielslilangel @finallyaniguana @i-like-fairytail-and-stuff @vixen-uchiha @yuulxd @bleeding-heart-romantic @magic-inthe-stars @st0rmy-w1th1n

~---~

Explaining why 'Marinette' had a newfound interest in guns and weaponry had been difficult to say the least. Sure, she already took martial arts and Jason added kickboxing and trained with the team regularly, but her parents weren't aware of the latter and quite frankly, the team showed some confusion as well. Sure, Kagami already new fencing and regularly used a bow staff as she saw fit, but guns? That was something else. Jason always had an interest and refused to give up, especially with Bruce no longer able to restrict his training. Tikki, surprisingly enough, fully supported the decision while Plagg actually showed more caution. 

Nevertheless, with the excuse of wanting to know how to disarm and be able to disassemble a weapon in case someone were to attack him, Sabine reluctantly agreed to allow him to attend lessons and visit a shooting range. After figuring out the basics and quickly dropping the lessons as to not raise suspicion for the real reason he wanted to learn, Jason took Kaalki and borrowed Plagg so he could transport to isolated locations and use Tikki's creation magic to summon different models and learn them inside and out along with explosives that he took apart and put back together under the careful guidance of Plagg. When he was done, he let Tikki remove it from the world once more, undoing any damage he might've caused. 

With graduation in two weeks and Marinette's seventeenth birthday right after, Jason knew he had a few decisions ahead of him. 

Honestly, he just felt grateful Marinette skipped a grade when they were younger. He's not sure if he could take another year of living like this. The fight to stay normal, to stay under the radar and appear okay itched at his skin, reminding him at all times that it wasn't his. Back before the nightmares began, he almost settled into the routine, almost adjusted to the too smooth skin, the brush of hair between shoulder blades, the small stature and feminine voice he spoke in. Living as her almost came naturally. Sometimes he forgot Tom and Sabine weren't actually his parents and that his teammates didn't know the truth of who he was. Then the dreams started and horrific imagery flooded his mind every few nights and everything felt wrong again. Suddenly he couldn't forget where he was, who this body truly belonged to, the fact that he was meant to be dead, not finishing schooling. 

The methodical rhythm of disassembling and cleaning weapons eased the tension and grounded him in his worst moments. Maybe if he knew how every weapon worked and how to counter them, the constant attacks in his dreams wouldn't terrify him so much. While his dream self seemed to have no issue fighting back and taking out his unseen enemies, his brain couldn't keep up in his sleeping state and threw him into a breathless fit, shaking and panicking as he startled into wakefulness. The panic lessened since starting to learn, so he figured he just needed to learn more and adjust. Really he just wished the dreams would end.

His phone buzzed, startling him out of his contemplative state. Raising it up, he checked the caller ID before answering, the video chat opening up to show Marc.

"Hey, Marc, what's up?"

"Kagami said she needs you to transport back now, something about disappearing too much for your own good?" 

"She's one to talk. Alright, heading back now. Have somewhere in mind?"

"Chloe's suite. We're all gathered here," Marc said, shifting in place, more comfortable than they once were, but still shy by nature and unable to hide the edging nerves.

"Oh really? Maybe I should just head home then. Sounds like an intervention."

He watched as his friend jumped a bit, surprised eyes widening rapidly. Before they could even begin to speak, Jason chuckled, cutting them off.

"I'm opening the portal now. See you in a moment." 

Hanging up, he opened his bag and woke the sleeping kwami to transport them back to Paris. Upon arriving in Chloe's suite, said blonde launched herself at him, wrapping him up in a hug and swinging them about with the momentum.l, before immediately backing off before he could get annoyed, Kagami coming up from the side and gripping his sleeve in her own form of affectionate greeting. Marc and Juleka looked up from the couch and offered excited smiles.

"You're all entirely too happy. What's happening?"

"Your birthday is in three weeks," Juleka stated softly.

"You're finally hitting our age, oh fearless leader," Chloe drawled out.

"You say that as if you aren't already eighteen," he deadpanned back.

"Semantics."

"There are some highlights to graduating and be surrounded by legal adults," came from his side.

"Like?"

"Your parents agreeing to let you go on a trip with us, no real adults present. Happy Birthday, Marinette."

"What did you guys do?"

Marc spoke up here, "well, we were trying to think of what to give you and I remembered how much you use to talk about leaving Paris all the time and with how much you've been using Kaalki to escape, we figured you wanted out, especially now that Hawkmoth isn't necessarily holding us back anymore and your guardian training is complete. So then we had to think of where to go and what to do and maybe Chloe and I remembered back years ago, no matter how your list of places to go changed, one always stayed the same and-," they rambled in a spiral until Juleka landed a hand on their shoulder, cutting them off gently.

"We're going to Gotham," she offered.

He felt his pulse pick up and eyes widen, thoughts and emotions tearing through him too fast to hold on to.

"Mari? This is an excited reaction right? We can change plans if you no longer want to go," someone spoke. He had to stamp down his anger and tears, to reassure his teammates they hadn't done anything wrong.

"No no, I'm thrilled, I just never thought I'd be going there as an adult is all."

"Oh," Chloe flinched, putting two and two together first, having been the most present back when the connection broke and knowing something bad happened to Marinette's soulmate, "Mari, if it hurts to go there, we won't. I didn't realize," she trailed off.

"I want to."

"Are you sure? This trip is supposed to be a celebration for you."

"It'll give me closure. I want to go. Thank you or this," he forced a watery smile which ended with another hug from Chloe and soft smiles from the rest. They couldn't have realized what type of closure he sought out. Bruce, explaining why he thought it okay to let his soulmate pass on without a proper funeral, without any retribution or justice for their death. The Joker dead. Some people should not be allowed to live, he'd always believed that and the clown was one of those people. Sure, this would look like petty revenge, but how many others lost their soulmate to his hands? This was necessary. And his team had just given him the means to do so without raising suspicion. He felt a type of peace settle over him as he thanked them again for their thoughtful gift.

…

Two weeks came and went and suddenly they were graduates. Suddenly, her birthday was upon them and her parents presented a beautiful cake and invited all of their friends and family over to celebrate. Tom cried over his baby girl growing up and Jason teared up, knowing she never did. He hugged them twice as tight in apology, giving watery smiles mistaken for his realizing his own new status as an adult, if a young one. Gifts were given and promises were made and at the end of the day, it all hit like a whirlwind. She'd been dead for one week short of three years. On the anniversary of her death, he'd arrive in the place where it all began. That godforsaken hellhole of a city. It felt like poetic justice. He struggled to fall asleep that night.

…

His nightmare was more vivid that night. Throwing a blade at a barely seen threat, pinned beneath another, the streak of silver above him and downpour of blood. Moving out and up on instinct, and meeting terrified green eyes.

Moving down a path, a glance at the bodies in another. The woman from before, the other one with the jade eyes, among them. Twisting the kid out of sight and away from there. A dark tunnel. An abandoned building.

He woke then, bright blue and acidic green eyes watching him wearily from the other side of the room. Shoving it down, he shifted over and fell back asleep, use to these restless nights by now.

…

The airport was too bright and loud for this time in the morning. Their flight was at eight in the morning from Paris, meaning they would arrive in Gotham around ten in the morning. Time zones were annoying that way. All of them had stayed up the entirety of the night before and planned on sleeping for the duration of the flight as though that would help. Eight hours in a plane with only two hours difference in time was sure to throw them off no matter what.

Either way, they all boarded, tucked into their first class seats, courtesy of the rich kids, with blankets and reclined positions and went to sleep.

… 

Landing, going through customs, and retrieving their bags went smoothly enough, making it to their hotel rooms by ten thirty. Now they were regrouping, having dropped off their things and changed out of their airport clothing. The urge to pass out for another eight hours was tempting, but none of them had anything in their stomachs and food took president for now.

Picking their way into a coffee shop down the road, Jason ordered a latte and a slice of pumpkin bread and settled in a corner table, blocked off from most of the place. 

As the others slowly trickled over with their own findings, a tension slowly grew amongst the group. Amongst the entirety of the cafe actually. Looking around he couldn't catch sight of anything out of the normal. Surely none of the rogues would attack here. It was just a cafe, nothing worth holding up. Until he remembered where they were. On the very edge of where the penguin's territory usually landed. Right on the edge of where Scarecrow's usual haunts began. Glancing about more frantically to see why everything had fallen silent, the privacy of his corner table also blocking too much of the view, a scream picked up right as a cloud of smoke spread from the last table to their own. 

Stiffening up in preparation for what was to come, the breath knocked right out of him as a sharp yank came from the back of his head. No, his mind. Right as the cloud reached his face, he blacked out.

…

Coming to, he jumped up, dizzy and disoriented. The room spun and he immediately fell back into his seat when a movement in his peripheral caught his attention. His hand instinctively yanked a knife off the counter (counter?) and launched it towards the figure while he twisted to face them.

When the room stopped spinning, he caught sight of the boy standing in the doorway to what appeared to be a bedroom, jade green eyes trained on him as he carefully pried the knife out of the wall beside his head. Once it was freed and lowered in his grasp, he turned fully towards Jason, eyes hardened with a wary glint. Everything went still.

"Marinette?"

[theidiotwhowritesthings]

Premonition

The prompt from anonymous was this:

Can I get #18 from the angst list with Cayde x female Reader???? can the reader be a titan awoken guardian tho

Cayde-6 x (Titan+Awoken)Female!Reader

Warnings: brief mention of past trauma, panic attack symptoms, angst/comfort

1,445 words

The cold metal of the railing was pressed against your abdomen. You could feel it through your flimsy sleep shirt, and your hands were clenched around the railing in tight fists. The air around you held a chill that seemed to settle over your bare arms and legs. It felt odd to be out here in such a public place of the tower wearing only a shirt and sleep shorts. You didn’t even have on shoes or socks at the moment. Luckily, it was so early that only a few straggling Guardians or night shift Tower employees had passed through to give you a curious glance.

Any of the ones who stared at you as they passed, hesitated in their steps, angered you. You wanted to snap at them. Shoo them away so you could enjoy this quiet moment out in the cold alone, but you couldn’t bring yourself to even turn toward them. Really, you didn’t even blame them for their curiosity. A shaking Awoken standing out by the Tower’s railing dressed in her sleep clothes was probably a sight to behold.

You loosened your grip on the railing only for your hands to start shaking all over again. Quickly, you regripped it and shut your eyes tightly. Was this ever going to pass? You’ve had nightmares before. Hell, it seemed like most of your nights were plagued with past horrors. Sometimes it was facing Oryx. Sometimes it was Ghaul, glaring down at you as he pushed you off the edge of his ship again. Other times it wasn’t even anything you could pin down. It’d just be gunshots and fire and blood.

You had gotten very, very good at ignoring the nightmares.

This time had been different though. This time is wasn’t some awful memory from the recesses of your mind. It wasn’t an enemy you had destroyed or a vague battle you had faced. It had been vivid and clear. It had been Cayde.

Flashes of the nightmare came back to you. Cayde-6 lying broken in a pool of his own Exo blood. Hearing him scream as a shadow covered hand clawed his chest apart. Your eyes snapped open as nausea washed over you again.

“Guardian?” Ghost hummed in concern as he hovered by the side of your head. You couldn’t speak, not with your teeth gritted together like they were, but you leaned your head against him. A silent nod that you were ok, and he didn’t need to worry.

Even though you weren’t ok. Not in the slightest.

A few more moments passed, and you could feel the nausea and pain slipping away. You kept your eyes trained on the Traveler. Watching the orbiting debris circle around the Traveler again and again somehow calmed you. Your heart didn’t ache as much now, and even though the images of this nightmare seemed to be seared into the back of your mind, it was easier to ignore them with your gaze focused on that white orb in the sky. It almost felt as if the Traveler itself was trying to comfort you, your light felt different in this moment. Was it trying to tell you something? If only the Speaker were still here to offer you his thoughts.

“You’re up early.” Cayde-6 set his arms on either side of you as he spoke. The hunter had snuck up on you, but that wasn’t out of the ordinary. Even when you weren’t shaken or distracted, he could do so. It was one of his many skills. “I didn’t even hear you get up. Just woke up to a cold bed. That’s rude, you know? Leaving me all by my lonesome.”

You wanted to speak. You wanted to say something, anything, in an attempt to move on from this moment, but hearing the smooth velvet tones of his voice. The drawl of his words as he spoke with his mouth right by your ear. It only brought back the nightmare of him screaming in agony.

“Hey.” He murmured and set his hands on top of your tense ones. You glanced down at them and saw he had on his gloves. Cayde must have gotten dressed before coming out to find you. Unlike you, he apparently had the decency to make himself presentable before running around the Tower. It still seemed weird to see him dressed in his usual gear this early on his day off.

Slowly, he pried your hands away from the railing and spun you around. The warm metal of his hands were a stark contrast to the cold metal of the railing. “[Name], you’re shaking. What’s goin’ on?”

You steadied yourself, swallowed the lump in your throat, and forced yourself to lift your gaze to meet his eyes. There was concern painted all over his face, worry and fear, and his glowing light blue eyes seemed to bore into you. That’s what broke you. His eyes, which you loved so much, was the final straw of your already fragile sanity. A flash of his broken face filled your view, cracked glass eyes with no glow or life behind them.

A broken sob left you as warm tears began to roll down your cheeks. It felt like you couldn’t breathe, like Ghaul himself had his foot pressing down on your chest.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Cayde said quickly in a panicked tone. His hands released your hands to cup your face. The smooth leather of his gloves swiped the tears from your cheeks, but they were only replaced by more. “Hey, hey, talk to me, baby. What’s got you so worked up?”

You lifted your own hands to rest against his and tried to steady yourself again. It was easier this time than last. Cayde was an anchor. He kept you tethered to reality. He was why ignoring other bad dreams came so easy to you now because all you had to do was wake up, roll over, and he was there.

He was always there.

The Tower and your Vanguard, Zavala, needed you to be strong, to be the unbreakable Titan that protected the light, but these days you didn’t feel unbreakable. You felt like you were on the edge of cracking, the edge of spiraling into something darker, but Cayde would never let that happen. Cayde kept you centered in who you were.

“I-I can’t lose you.” The words came from your lips as a desperate, pleading whisper. You were begging him. You were begging the Traveler, the universe. You were begging any force or being that could hear you and would take pity. “Cayde, I don’t know what I would do without you. I can’t—I’m not strong enough to-”

“Hey now, I’m not going anywhere, ok?” Cayde replied quickly. He leaned forward and pressed his mouth against yours before pulling you tight into his chest. His arms took away the crushing sensation of not being able to breathe. “You ain’t gonna lose me. What brought this on?”

“I had a dream—a nightmare. It was awful. You died in my arms and it felt so real. It felt so real, Cayde.”

Cayde shushed you softly, smothering your worried hiccups and sobs with tender loving words mumbled in your ear. His voice soothed your soul and slowly the sobs began to subside again. He gently rubbed your back until your breathing was steady and soft.

“Feeling better?” He asked.

You nodded once and pulled away to rub the weariness from your face. As you focused back on Cayde you saw his own worry hadn’t faded. You offered him the best smile you could, firm and strong, and cupped his face with your hands, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He leaned forward to kiss you again, “Despite you leaving me in a cold bed.”

You chuckled and shook your head, “Why are you all dressed up already? We’re off today.”

“Oh, I got a mission. Wanted to check on you first.” Cayde tangled his hand in yours and began to drag you back towards your shared space. It’s where most of your gear was these days.

“You need a partner?”

Cayde shook his head and squeezed your hand tightly, “Don’t sweat it. I’ll grab one of my hunters. You should go back to bed, get some good sleep.”

“I’m fine, Cayde. I feel better now with you.” You lifted his hand with yours and kissed the back of his glove. He grinned at you, his eyes glowing with the same softness he would get anytime the two of you were alone. “Tell me about the mission.”

“Well, Petra called. Apparently, we got some sort of prison riot goin’ on…”

[prettywordsyouleft]

Too Early

Summary: with your sister staying over at a friend’s house, you had expected silence for a change in the morning. However, you woke up to music much like you always did. Except, it wasn’t hers.

Pairing: Park Sungjin x reader

Genre: neighbours to lovers au / fluff

Warnings: none

A/N: I wrote this the night my sister stayed over at a friend’s house. I was so relieved for a night’s break after how difficult she and her autism has been lately. I wasn’t going to share this but she was so delighted that I wrote this about her mannerisms that she has begged me to share it. Because I wrote this with her specific behaviour in mind, it may seem a little ridiculous to someone who’s not aware of how a child with autism can be.

Word count: 3759

“Okay, have a good time, sweetie!” you called as your autistic sister Hayley ran off with her best friend into her house, and after sharing a knowing smile with her mother, you said your goodbyes, heading back out to your car and climbed inside.

As soon as the door was closed, you let out a big sigh of relief.

You loved your sister, of course, it was a given that you would do anything for her. Especially since it was just you and her now. Life had changed over the last year a great deal and you were still finding your feet. It wasn’t that you couldn’t handle the challenge of raising the thirteen year old or that you hadn’t played a huge part in Hayley’s life before she came to live with you permanently, but you definitely couldn’t dismiss the changes you had made to become her guardian either.

And tonight you would have the entire house to yourself. You felt a little reckless as you pulled out into the traffic, chewing on your bottom lip in anticipation. What would you have for dinner? You didn’t have to concern yourself over her finicky eating habits so could cook whatever you felt compelled to eat. And you could even pull out the tub of ice-cream you had buried deep in the back of the freezer for a guilt-free treat, knowing that she would be none-the-wiser of its existence and eat it all on you like usual.

You didn’t feel selfish about being happy for a night of freedom since you missed the simple pleasures of how peaceful life had been before the tweenager moved in. Once in a blue moon, you allowed yourself to feel deserving of such a night alone like this. Of course, you’d miss Hayley, you always did because it felt weird when she wasn’t holed up in her room on her devices or complaining at you about something you did or didn’t do. You had become too accustomed to the life filled with typical teenage entitlements and not having to hear about them for one night would be really refreshing.

You fist-pumped the air when you realised that tomorrow you could sleep in until you woke up on your own accord, embarrassment licking at your face as you darted your gaze to the neighbouring vehicle at the set of lights you were stopped at who was watching you curiously. Calming yourself some, you smiled all the way home, grateful that sleepovers still interested your sister.

You hoped she would love spending time with her friends for the rest of her teenage years as well.

Once inside your home, you turned on some music and enjoyed preparing your dinner. And just as planned, you dug into the back of the freezer an hour after dinner, taking the tub of ice-cream over to the sofa where you spent the rest of your evening until you were ready for bed.

Smoothing down your blankets after you were nestled deep inside your happy bubble, you smiled to yourself about tomorrow morning. You wouldn’t be woken by music at the crack of dawn. No, there would be no thumping, no giggling, no endless chatter that you were used to from the high energy of your sister each morning. Six am would come and go in silence.

This reassuring thought was the last thing you basked in before slipping into your dreams, where you remained until you heard thumping.

Music.

Muffled voices.

Were you dreaming?

Rolling over with a groan, you blearily opened your eyes just enough to see the time on your phone you had grabbed off your nightstand. Another disgruntled noise left you when realised it wasn’t even seven-thirty in the morning yet.

You would murder whoever it was.

Turning on your wifi access, you scrolled through your phone for the app that controlled the television. You frowned when it didn’t connect like usual, realising it wasn’t your TV playing the bass at all.

No, that sounded like an actual bass drum thumping in tune. What on earth was happening? Getting up, you put your dressing robe on over your oversized tee, padding through your home to ensure your sister wasn’t playing some wicked prank on you somehow. Now alert, you knew she wasn’t home, and yet you checked every room, soon realising the music was coming from outside of your home.

Who the hell would be playing music this early in the morning if it weren’t for your sister?!

Pushing your feet into your slippers, you opened the front door, looking towards the only other townhouse in this corner of the property. You knew someone lived there, though admittedly you hadn’t met them yet. The other residents in the complex were on the opposite side of the grassy courtyard, and you had been grateful there was some distance between you and your neighbours with how loud it could be in your home at times.

You hadn’t once thought your neighbour could be the cause of such ruckus as well.

Taking a deep breath, you marched over to their front door, climbing the small three steps to it before knocking. Of course, over the music, you doubted they would hear you, so you thumped on it harder, cursing under your breath when there was still no answer. You spun around to leave, and then the music stopped, the door opening behind you.

When you turned around again, you could only gape at what you saw.

And your expression was mirrored by the man who stood there. With ears turning red, he then diverted his eyes to the morning skies, giving you enough time to gather up your robe more firmly around yourself.

Trust you to meet your hot neighbour in your bedclothes.

Well, you hoped he was your neighbour at least.

“Uh hi,” you managed, cringing all the same. “What’s with the music? It’s Saturday morning and everyone’s trying to sleep.”

“Oh, are you from next door? Hayley’s sister?” the man asked, now recovered from your appearance. You merely stared at him, stunned he knew of your sister but you had no idea who he was.

Then again, that was expected. Your sister seemed to know everyone and they knew her. It was an intrinsic trait of hers that you would never comprehend.

Finally, you nodded swiftly and he grinned at you, sticking his hand out. “I’m Sungjin.”

“Right, and you’re also making a lot of noise,” you stated, slipping your hand into his. You tried to not be obvious when you were surprised by how warm his palm was against yours. “Uh, I’m Y/N, by the way.”

“I didn’t think noise was a big issue at this time of the morning for you. Sorry, did we wake you? It’s just we have an important gig today at one so we thought we’d start practice now since it’s normally not a problem.”

“What do you mean it’s not normally a problem?”

Sungjin chuckled awkwardly before leaning forward. “Your house is usually loud by now.”

On the one morning where you had hoped for silence, your reputation, or your sister’s reputation would lead you into this situation. You clasped your forehead within your hand, trying to keep it together.

And then a second guy arrived in the threshold, his eyes widening at your clothing choice. You groaned inwardly, he was just as handsome as Sungjin. He looked between you and his friend. “Hayley’s sister?”

“Oh my God,” you breathed, shaking your head a little. “Does everyone know my sister in this area? Why don’t I know a thing about you guys?”

“Well, it’s just that she answered the door one morning when I moved in. She told us it’s totally cool to make noise in the mornings as she’s an early riser.”

“She’s thirteen,” you explained, clamping your eyes shut. “Maybe you should have asked for an adult?”

“Oh, she said you’re a heavy sleeper and wouldn’t get up even for the dead, right Brian?”

“Clearly she’s not though,” the other guy, now known as Brian mentioned, nudging his friend before smiling graciously at you. “Hey, we’re really sorry if we woke you, we didn’t mean to. We just have a-”

“Gig, I know,” you cut in, nodding. You went to say something else and then thought better of it, smiling weakly before dashing off down their pathway and back up your own. You could feel eyes on you the whole way until you were back inside your home and you let out a small scream, stomping into your room.

It was reasonable to be this frustrated right? After all, who had band practice before eight in the morning – important performance or not! And although she wasn’t present right now, you were ready to sit down and have a chat with your sister. How had you as a light sleeper not heard her open the front door and talk to strangers? You panicked over the idea of what else you were inadvertently letting her do and doubted your parenting skills. You had honestly believed all the noise each morning was her, and since she was so good at talking to herself or replying to the people in the Youtube shows she watched, you had missed the potential risk of her opening the front door more than once.

You were too wound up for sleep now.

Yet it was quiet next door until an hour later, where you heard the music start up again.

At least the sun was fully in the skies this time around.

“I’m coming to pick you up,” you told the girl over the phone and Hayley didn’t answer you right away, her friend’s voice in the background barely heard over some music. “Hayley, did you hear me?”

“Can you come into town instead? I’m with Mikayla and her older sister and it would be nice to have some time with you outside of the house for once.”

You almost scoffed. You could barely encourage the child away from the confines of her bedroom some days. All the same, you collected your keys from the stand in the hallway and slung your bag over your shoulder. “I’ll text you when I’m nearby so you can direct me to you.”

You didn’t need much help finding whereabouts in town your sister would be when you arrived. There was music thumping around the town’s square, a makeshift stage now in the middle of the area. A lot of people, both intentionally there for the performance and those who were passing by and curiously stopped to see what was happening, filled the square and you moved through them, looking for the teenager and her friend.

Instead, you saw someone familiar climb up onto the stage, guitar in hand. Stopping, you watched as Brian followed Sungjin and three others took to their positions, your mouth falling ajar at the fact that they were really performing. Sure, you had heard their music in the background of your morning routine, but you hadn’t been prepared to actually see them perform today. Without much thought, you moved through the crowd to get a better view, vaguely aware of your name being called out when your sister excitedly latched herself onto your arm.

“You made it just in time to watch Day-Six!”

“Who?” you breathed, staring back up at Sungjin and his other band members when the music you had heard muffled through the walls was amplified around the square.

You much preferred it this way. Their music was really good and before you realised it, you were smiling, moving along to the beat of the song. Day6 played three other songs before their set was up, and your sister clapped loudly beside you.

It brought you out of your stupor. “You should have told me about the guys next door.”

“Why? You’d just tell them to turn down their music in the morning too and I like listening when they do play. It’s not very often I hear their music.”

“No, because your own is loud enough,” you retorted with a smile and Hayley giggled.

“They’re really nice. Sungjin said I can call him my brother.”

“You need to have better stranger danger skills,” you chided, though you looked to the guy in question, Brian now pointing you and Hayley out in the crowd. Sungjin smiled and waved, in which your sister began to bounce up and down at your side flailing her arms back in greeting. And then before you could stop her, she was propelling you over to the band now at the side of the stage packing up their equipment.

Hayley leapt into Brian’s arms and you rubbed the back of your neck nervously.

“So uh, she’s that close with you all, huh?”

“I’m sorry about this morning, truly. I honestly should have done what you suggested as an adult. But she’s pretty friendly.”

“Yeah, she’s been that way her whole life. We’ve never been able to quite keep her under control. She probably knows more people in this world than I will ever get to know.”

“She seems like a good kid. You’re doing really well by her.”

“Even though I didn’t know about her spending time with my neighbour?” you offered and Sungjin chuckled, nodding softly.

“If it eases you any, most of her interactions are when she is in the backyard. She likes to hang-”

“Over the fence,” you finished for him and Sungjin grinned.

“You have a bad habit of finishing sentences for others.”

“It’s not the first time I’ve heard about it. If she’s any trouble-”

“None, honestly.” You shared a smile with Sungjin when your sister reappeared, hugging the man comfortably before coming to your side. “Sis, who do you like the most? I think that Sungjin or Brian might be a good fit for your next boyfriend.”

“Time to go!” you breathed, yanking on her arm as your cheeks flared up.

“What, why?! You need to date and find a nice guy who will help look after both of us!” Hayley whined, allowing you to drag her off back to where her friend and older sister waited. It still wasn’t enough space between you and Sungjin, trying not to let your mortification truly show.

Your sister didn’t know any better.

Three months passed by and you definitely knew your neighbours now. You found out that only Brian and Sungjin lived there, Jae, Wonpil and Dowoon commuting from another apartment to the townhouse whenever they had to practice.

Which, they hadn’t done so early in the morning since.

Somehow, you had convinced your sister into wearing noise-cancelling headphones in the morning to enjoy her music, and whilst she still giggled and chatted, it definitely wasn’t as bad as before. You could comfortably sleep until seven before you got up to help her with her daily routine.

Everything seemed to be going well for you both.

Until you turned up on Sungjin’s front doorstep, arms across what was a very soaked through top. Like he had the first time you met him, he took you in and then darted his eyes to the heavens, no doubt asking why he was being tested so early in the day again.

“I need help.”

“You need to stop turning up on my doorstep like this,” he murmured and you shook your head, gaining his attention. “Is Hayley okay?”

“She’s fine, she stayed at her friend’s house again,” you quickly explained, pulling a hand away from your chest long enough to reach for his wrist. “I need you to come help me.”

Once back in your house, you took Sungjin to the sink that was spluttering water everywhere. He glanced at you and then back at the sink, diving in to fix it. Nothing was really working and you watched as more water soaked through the towels on the floor and Sungjin’s clothes as well.

“The water main is outside, do you know where it is?” he yelled over the increasing water level and you nodded, dashing outside and pulling the lever you found in the box. When you returned to the house, you found a sodden Sungjin standing above the now quiet sink.

And you began to laugh.

“I’m sorry!” you managed in between your giggles, the man wiping the water away from his face slowly. “It’s just that you’re soaked through.”

“So are you,” he pointed out, glancing at you and smirking. “You have a lot more to lose out on right now than me.”

“I don’t know about that,” you mentioned, eyes now on his silhouette shaping through his sodden clothes. Had he really housed all that under his clothing? You took in a shallow breath, feeling reckless as you moved closer to him, Sungjin not hesitating to take you in his arms, lips crashing down on yours.

The sensation of burning skin against the cold as your lips meshed with his was overwhelming and you let out a moan, deepening the embrace. Now entrapped against the sink and Sungjin’s body, you couldn’t help but gasp into the kiss when you felt the water from the overflowing sink run down your back.

Sungjin pulled away to see why you had arched into him so quickly, an apologetic smile crossing his swollen lips. “Cold?”

“Hot,” you admitted as the flush of colour reached your cheeks and he nodded in answer, letting you know he felt the same way.

“What do we do about the water?”

“Which body of water?” you wondered, trying to shake off the heady stupor from the moment. You then saw where he was looking and nodded. “Right, the water covering my entire kitchen.”

Sungjin grinned, his hands that were on your waist tightened a little. “Well, which problem do you want to face first?”

“This was a problem?”

“Only with the fact that we’re wet,” he told you, looking down at your chest momentarily. “I want to be decent with you at least in the beginning.”

“Isn’t it a little too late now? I think I’ve seen more than enough,” you responded though Sungjin’s expression left you wondering what more would be waiting underneath those clothes. You couldn’t believe how sinful your thoughts were being at eight in the morning.

Especially with someone you had been rather cautious with ever since your sister had tried to hook you both up. Still, you had never ignored the fact that he was handsome, with his sturdy build and gentle smiles.

“Let’s clear the water up first,” Sungjin announced and you nodded, welcoming some clarity into the situation.

It was quick work and with the help of a few towels, a mop and bucket, and Sungjin, the kitchen was as dry as it would be for now. Though you were definitely cold from your damp clothing. And with the way Sungjin held himself when he placed the mop into the bucket a final time, you could tell he was as well.

“You need to change,” you instructed, Sungjin chewing on his bottom lip. He nodded slowly, allowing you to take him to your front door before spinning around to face you.

“The water is turned off here, what will you do until the repairman comes? You need to shower to warm up too.”

“I���ll just dry off with-”

“A towel? We used your entire dry stash.” It amused you that he finished off your sentence and Sungjin chuckled. “I guess I learned it from you.”

“Maybe we think the same?”

“I hope we do,” he agreed and you smiled, reaching around for the keys on the stand beside him.

“So, your shower?”

“Grab a change of clothing and then come over.”

“Is Brian at home?” you wondered, suddenly turning shy. It was one thing to let Sungjin see you in a vulnerable state; it was another entirely for his housemate to also be privy.

He shook his head with a smile. “Just me.”

“I’ll be there in five.”

Once showered, you shyly exited the bathroom, smelling just like Sungjin’s body wash. It seemed to have an affect on him, and the man all but dashed by you, making you giggle at the idea of him struggling with some internal desire.

You didn’t want to admit you liked the idea that you unravelled some of his modesty. Since he was definitely doing the same to you, it only seemed fair. His shower didn’t seem to take long at all, the man reappearing with fresh clothes and a towel rubbing through his hair. You smiled at the sight and Sungjin sighed, shaking his head at you.

“If you don’t dry your hair off, you’ll catch a cold with how long we were wet for. Come here,” he said, pulling the towel from his hair to yours. You smiled up at him as he towel-dried your hair, the soft moment soon morphing back into another passionate embrace.

You couldn’t get enough now that this had started.

But then you were interrupted again, this time by a knock at the door.

Sungjin went to answer it, a familiar voice ringing through the house. You went to find your sister on the doorstep. “What are you doing home?! I was going to pick you up later.”

“Didn’t you get my text? Mikayla’s Mum needed to go out so she dropped me home early. How come you’re over here? And did you both have a shower?”

You waited for your sister to jump to bigger conclusions than what you were actually up to, eyes wide with panic as you looked at Sungjin.

And then Hayley shrugged. “Can we go home now? I need to check Roblox.”

“Sure… we can,” you answered jarringly, fare-welling Sungjin before taking the girl next door.

And just like that, she disappeared from your sight into her bedroom, the hum of her music starting up like usual.

Going back to the front door, you looked over to where Sungjin still stood. He grinned. “Nothing?”

“Nope!”

“Kids,” he called back and you nodded.

It was all because of your sister that you had been introduced to the next-door neighbour. Although your first meeting hadn’t been the best way to meet someone new, you didn’t mind where it was heading now. Sure, you didn’t know how Hayley would react when she found out; she was always a mystery with big changes.

But she had wanted you to find someone who would look out for you both.

And you were certain that Sungjin would continue to do just that.

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Smaugust 19 - Demon

A MLP/Persona 4 crossover. Spike has fallen into a deep sleep, and Luna and Twilight venture into his mind to find out what's wrong. (2238 words)

cw: MLP, Persona 4, kidnapping mention

Twilight and Luna ran through the castle. Twilight had called on the alicorn of night when Spike had fallen into a deep sleep, and Zecora had been unable to help. With Luna's help, the two alicorns cast themselves into his subconscious. However, Twilight wasn't prepared for the twisted, creepy landscape within.

<These ponies don't know the greatness amidst them!>

Spike's voice, distorted, sharp, pained and painful, echoed all around them as they navigated the halls. Exaggerated, clingy caricatures of Rarity flung themselves at them, assaulting the mares with magically-created gemstones. They spoke in unison, "you will not harm our precious Spikey-Wikey! He who commands the respect of all!" Wherever the gemstones fell, crystal ponies rose from the ground, each wearing "Spike The Brave And Glorious" shirts. Twilight kept a shield around herself and Luna as the night mare navigated through the hallways.

<A creature that eats their kind for breakfast, they treat like a pet!>

"As weird as this is to say," Twilight shouted over the din of crashing crystals and shrieking mares with white coats and flowing, purple manes, "thank you for not telling me we have to kill Rarity."

<Unloved, disrespected... They don't deserve the noble deeds I do every day.>

"Your gratitude is appreciated but misguided," Luna called back, using her own telekinesis to guide Twilight quickly through a sharp corner, "would we not be immediately overrun, I would welcome the chance to train you in dream fighting." A gem struck the carpet before them. The pair leapt over it as it formed a crystal pony. Luna cast a spell as a Parthian shot; it struck the newly-made mare, causing her to continue to develop into a thick, crystal wall as they fled, sporting numerous eyes, limbs, and semitransparent cutie marks.

<A Brave and Glorious knight, or a ferocious dragon from all those scare-mongering storybooks... they both have the right idea!>

The purple alicorn looked back and shuddered, pure muscle memory forcing her to keep galloping on. "What kind of spell was that?!"

<Something as strong as a dragon deserves a princess!>

This time, it was followed by a soft, pleading "no... don't..." in Spike's normal voice.

"Dreams need not make sense, Twilight Sparkle," Luna replied as they came to a door. There was a rough-cut, heart-shaped hole in it, where a lock would be, and the alchemical symbol for fire printed above it. "As often as I disagree with the draconequus, adapting chaos magic from Discord can be helpful in a pinch." She squinted at the door. "A fire-attuned heart? Twilight, you are Spike's guardian. Do you know what would fit here? Something deeply related to his sense of identity."

<If I can keep her, clearly I'm the Prince Charming of legend. And if she is stolen from me...>

"this isn't right... i would never..."

Twilight racked her brain, running back through her memories of Spike, growing up with him, watching him figure himself out. Not the Crystal Heart, it was too big. Not a Power Ponies book. Not that bowtie from the incident with Owlowicious. The mare gasped. Rarity! "It's a fire ruby! He was going to give it to himself for his hatchday, but gave it to Rarity instead. When he went into Greed Growth, she refused to give it over to the rampaging... Spike, and that helped bring him back!"

<Then it is not just my duty, but my desire, my destiny! to bring her back. No matter how much she screams.>

"if she's screaming, that's not..."

A piercing shriek jolted Luna's attention to another caricature of Rarity. The alicorn's eyes gleamed as she challenged the dream monster, "you're no true Rarity! Spike would never give you that fire ruby!" The white mare grinned a manic grin full of sharp teeth a dragon would be envious of, then held up a fire ruby in her magic. Luna's horn glowed, and a powerful beam of magic drove the creature through a wall, making its own magical field flicker and break. "Twilight! The gem!"

<She will be the crown jewel of my hoard. She will respect me. They will all respect me. I will be the strongest, bravest, most glorious dragon of all!>

"it's... a lie..."

A purple hue shimmered to life around the fire ruby, stopping it just inches before it hit the ground and sprouted a crystal pony, or shattered. Twilight quickly maneuvered it into place in the lock, which clicked. The huge door opened into what looked like a corrupted version of the Canterlot throne room. The stained glass windows showed images of Spike saving the Crystal Heart, Spike dressed as his Ogres and Oubliettes character, Spike as Humbug beating up the Maneiac, Spike saving Applejack from timberwolves, and many more. The dual thrones of the two sisters had been cast aside near the doorway, and in their place was a massive pile of gold, ice cream, gems, comics, the Elements of Harmony, sets of dice, and even the Crystal Heart.

<A lie? Of course not; lying is such an ignoble behavior. I would never lie about wanting to sit above it all while mares, stallions, and all others alike worship me for the majestic dragon I am.>

"I don't want that!"

On the ornate, gold-and-purple carpet leading to the treasure pile, Twilight saw Spike. She flew towards him, only to stop short when she realized who was on TOP of the treasure pile: Spike, being fawned over by Thorax, Ember, and a much more accurate-looking Rarity... with wings.

<Lying to your own shadow? And you call yourself a knight? Disgusting. I am what lies beneath, the truth you so shamefully cover up. I am truly Spike the Brave and Glorious, and I deserve to be praised for my great deeds! You cower behind ponies, asking politely for, "oh, Twilight, may I not be dragged into your drama for one day? No? Well that's fine." I'm the REAL Spike!>

Twilight looked between the two of them; behind her, Luna barricaded the door against more Rarities and crystal ponies. "Spike? Who is... what's going on?"

The Spike on the floor turned and ran towards her. "Twilight! Don't listen to a word that guy is saying. None of it is true! I'm Spike. **He's not me!"**

Luna whipped her head around and galloped towards them, flapping her wings for speed. However, before she could get there, a blast of green flame shot from the strange Spike's mouth, striking the other Spike too fast for Twilight to even put up a shield.

<WHAT?! I AM you! Just because you constantly lie to yourself because you think it makes PONIES happy, doesn't make it true!> The room darkened; both alicorns could feel an immense power gathering from the dragon's fury. <In fact, I think you're due for a replacement. I will finally command the respect and adulation I deserve.> He glared at the intruding ponies, eyes glowing gold. <And you two will be the first brought to heel as my worshippers!>

There was a crash of thunder, and everything changed. The weather outside the hall grew dark and stormy. The scenes in the stained-glass windows altered, now with red backgrounds: changelings prostrated before Spike, crystal ponies prostrated before Spike, Applejack prostrated before Spike, the Power Ponies prostrated before Spike, the Princesses prostrated before Spike, and more of the same. Thorax and Ember hovered in front of where the hoard had been, huge, unnatural grins plastered on their faces with hearts in their eyes. And as for Spike...

A huge dragon loomed at the far end of the hallway. Every inch of what Twilight was sure were purple scales and a green crest was covered in layers of gold and gems. The creature held a long and broad sword in his mouth, his wings were enormous kite shields with Spike's face emblazoned on them as a crest, and dangling from his tail was the Rarity alicorn, trapped in a golden and diamond-encrusted cage but staring adoringly at the adorned dragon. Twilight felt a weight against her side, and turned to see that the Spike by her had fallen unconscious. She ignited her horn and blinked the two of them away from the amalgamation and the corruptions of the leaders of the dragons and of the changelings.

Luna stepped up, a look of pure determination on her muzzle. "Nightmare," she commanded, "and Tantabus." From her mane and her horn, Nightmare Moon materialized on her left, and the purple, starry dream construct flowed into existence on her right. The alicorn of dreams turned her head to address Twilight, and said, "keep him safe, Twilight Sparkle. I am counting on you. And more importantly, so is he." She crouched, spread her wings, and lit her horn; the two monsters of her own creation followed suit. Spike's shadow roared, and as one, he, Thorax, and Ember rushed forward to meet their opposition.

As magic and gems flew, Twilight concentrated on keeping a solid, purple shield up between the fight, and herself and Spike. This paid off a few times, when a diamond Luna chipped off of Spike's shadow skidded off its surface, or when a solid hit from the changeling-turned-bugbear sent Nightmare Moon careening back and using the shield to spring off of. When she felt she had the time, Twilight funneled some extra magic into Spike's body; it was a rudimentary healing spell, but Twilight hoped it would be enough.

At last, the final blow was struck: the Tantabus severed the shadow's tail with a blade of dreamstuff, cutting the fake Rarity off from the dragon, Luna struck a weak spot with a stunning spell, and Nightmare Moon used the opening to shove what is scientifically called "a boatload" of dark, destructive magic down the dragon's throat. In a flash of light, the scene had returned to where it was before. Spike stirred against Twilight's side as his shadow remained on top of the assorted hoard, the phony alicorn, changeling king, and dragon lord watching him in adulation. Twilight helped the purple dragon next to her to his feet, and they approached once more.

<I will not be denied. I am amazing, and heroic, and I WILL be treated as such!> Spike's distorted voice echoed through the room. <I have more than earned the right to be way more than a scientist's pet lizard!>

Spike sighed and walked up to the pile. "Look... you're... you're not right, but I wasn't fair saying that I don't think that way sometimes. Living with and near a group of mares who save Equestria on, what, a weekly basis? would make anyone feel unappreciated." One dragon climbed the pile, while the other slid down it, sending gold coins and small rubies clinking down the slope. "A month or so ago, I finally realized how much being blinded by my fame and ego hurt other ponies, so I tried to make up for it by pretending not to have any. Just pushing down the thoughts of a reward for everything I do to help.

"It was making me miserable, I suppose, but I did such a good job of hiding it, even I didn't realize what I was doing. I'm sorry, I didn't accept you of first because I was terrified of what I might become - what I HAD become in the past - if I acknowledged your existence. I was so scared of another 'acting on behalf of Princess Twilight' or Greed Growth fiasco that I stopped letting myself feel deserving of anything not offered unprompted." Spike stuck out his hand. "I am Spike the Brave and Glorious; no matter how much I pretend in Ponyville that I don't have a statue in my name, that's just not the case. I saved the Crystal Heart, I delivered all those friendship reports to Twilight when Discord corrupted her, hay, I even DM for Discord. Nopony deserves EVERYTHING, not me, not Twilight, not even the Two Sisters, but I have to stop pretending that, every so often, I kind of like to picture it."

The other Spike took his hand and began to glow. There was a flash of gold, and the other Spike disappeared, leaving only the young dragon who had fainted through the battle. The hoard vanished, too, leaving Ember, Rarity (still an alicorn), and Thorax sitting at a round table with paper and dice in front of them, as well as an unoccupied DM screen. He turned to the two non-Rarity alicorns and smiled. "Thanks, Twilight, Luna. I don't know what would've happened if you two hadn't showed up."

Twilight gave him a bittersweet smile, tears threatening to leak from her eyes. "You're welcome, Spike. I'm sorry I didn't notice you felt this way. We'll have to talk more when you've woken up." She turned to Luna. "And, uh, Luna? Is this a common dream thing, or a special case for him being comatose?"

Luna nodded in acknowledgement of Spike's thanks, then replied to Twilight, "it is... uncommon. Most are not so dangerous or powerful, but I've learned my way around them, as you can see. Now come, we should leave Spike to his dream. If I trust what I glimpsed of those character sheets and campaign notes, you will not want to stick around and watch, either." With a spell, she summoned a door out of Spike's subconscious, and dragged a chronically-curious Twilight away from the table and back into wakefulness.

[iamoncewas]

The Master of Masters

The Re:Mind trailer convinced me that there IS an alternate scenario after Riku's sacrifice that went differently than the one we saw. Props to Sleeping Realm for calling that one right on the friggin dot, btw. Bravo. (Update: Nomura said the scenes from the trailer are in fact part of the main story)

I believe it'll end with Riku's true death, and that ties in with my Master of Masters theory.

The Master watches Master Xehanort with the Gazing Eye at the tip of No Name. Of all the keyblades that hold Gazing Eyes, Vanitas's Void Gear is the only one that contains two located in the shaft.

If one eye sees, the Master would still need the other eye to see what it was seeing. Even though he implies that it's literally his eye when he gives No Name to Luxu, it's not really, it's just one of the eyes from his keyblade.

Also on that topic, there is a shot of Sora in the KH3 intro I find super duper weird.

The pupil in Soras left eye is a slit for a moment, like the Gazing Eye. It's just an illusion as a result of reflected light in his eye, but you can bet its intentional.

The Master's study is also full of gears, which seems like it might be too obvious but hey, there it is.

The Unversed symbol is similar to that of the Dream Eaters, and I think ties into my belief that Riku made Sora's heart. He saw it, and it then "became real", so therefore Vanitas's heart contains Sora's darkness and Riku's darkness also. Which is why it's divided in three. The Master created the Chirithy. Sora and Riku created Spirits in DDD. Riku became a Dream Eater himself through his sheer desire to protect Sora.

Interesting side note: Unversed - not experienced, skilled in, or knowledgeable about.

The only Keyblade Sora has ever been able to wield that holds a Gazing Eye is End of Pain. Both he and Riku can wield it in DDD.

You can bet your butthole End of Pain represents Vanitas. All he wants, his sole driving purpose, is to end his existence of pain. This keyblade is a clue to Vanitas's redemption, and it lies with Sora and Riku. But Sora has to accept Vanitas for what he is. Darkness. It's shown in the Keyblade Graveyard that Sora doesnt understand this yet, since he tries to convince Vanitas to stand with the light. And while Ventus accepts Vanitas's choice, Sora does not. This is something Riku understands though, he figured it out in DDD before he fought Ansem (the personification of Riku's heart's darkness, just as Vanitas is the personification of Sora's): "I know the way. Consume the darkness, return it to light." This is the purpose Sora was born for, to take the darkness within himself, and accept it into his compassionate heart. This is how he will stop darkness from consuming the worlds, and is really the only way, for darkness will always exist in the hearts of people. Riku is now immune to darkness from accepting Ansem's darkness as a part of his heart, and it's his destiny to be Sora's guardian. This is the origin of his instinctive desire to protect Sora, that has been with him since he was a child, his desire "to protect what matters." He made Sora after all. And if Kairi's precious heart of pure light is safe within Sora's heart in the ending like I think it is, Riku is protecting her also. How strange it would just work out that way.

It's not like Vanitas died here. His replica body was destroyed, yes. But his heart, I assume, went back to the darkness. And if Sora was dragged down to the darkest abyss, like YMX warned him, and that's where he is in the secret ending, Vanitas will be there, right beside him.

In Kairi's grandmothers story, its stated that one day, a door to the innermost darkness will open, and the true light will return. Mickey tells Sora in his first dive to the heart that he is the one that will open the door. As he gets closer to Riku, he gets closer to Vanitas, but this is how it must be, its Sora's destiny to reunite with him. This is what the last passage of Destati is referring to.

Eh? What? You do not want it!?

Still it belongs to you

What you have lost

Will become one!

The story also states the the return of the true light will connect all the worlds once again.

When Ansem the Wise talks to Riku about the many hearts connected to Sora's in DDD, he says:

"They can be saved." But only if Sora follows his heart.

I think Anti Black Coat was a Nightmare of Vanitas before his face changed, and could even have been the Master himself, pushing Riku to become stronger. The Armored Ventus Nightmare was Ventus's keyblade armor possessed not just by any darkness, but by Vanitas.

So after Riku's true death, Sora's grief and rage allow darkness to enter his heart, and he and Vanitas become one. Sora becomes the being he was meant to be, his heart finally complete, having regained its darkness that had entered Vanitas before Sora was born. The light in his heart however, dies with Riku, since it was his light. This is the origin of Rage Form, and the meaning behind the segment of the final battle when Xehanort steals Sora's light, forcing him into Rage Form, and he must attack him to regain it.

Uniting with Sora does not end Vanitas's pain, because he can feel Sora's immense pain from losing Riku. His heart is still pure darkness. Sora-Vanitas realizes he screwed up royally, and hatches a crazy elaborate plan to fix it. He travels back in time to the Age of Fairy Tales. He's able to do so because a past version of himself exists there: Ventus. He then sets his plan in motion and vanishes, I think, to the Realm of Darkness, for a century (or however long the timeframe is between Union X and when Xehanort was given No Name). When the Master told his apprentices he would "vanish" from the world, it's the same thing that happened to Sora at the end of KH3. He just vanished.

I assume this is where the Coda becomes relevant, jumping through the timeline through dreams and darkness, sleep and death, like how the Coda tells one to skip ahead to the ending of a piece of music, and can be very complex. The time travel rules of KH state that once you arrive in the past, you have to wait for time to pass naturally, so this shouldn't be possible. Time doesn't seem to work the same way in dreams however, and it definitely doesn't work the same way in the Realm of Darkness. Scala Ad Caelum is also most likely a huge part of this, since Xehanort said it was the nexus of all worlds, a place where all of his selves through time could be one. It's name translates to Stairway to Heaven, and Sora's name means not only 'sky', but also 'heaven'. Differing from Ventus, which means 'wind'.

"There is one sky, one destiny."

"They say all the worlds are connected by one great big sky."

He writes the Book of Prophecies based on what he already experienced in his past, but tells Luxu it was because he succeeded in his role. He does this to give Luxu confidence in himself for a seemingly impossible task, and apparently it worked. Luxu passing the No Name to Xehanort was still vital however, because it allows the Master to see what he wasnt previously aware of. He can now see Xehanort's moves, and make counter moves. Like a game of chess. "The game's not over until it's over."

Also, when he wrote the final passage, when he said that the light would expire, he was literally talking about Riku. "All for one and one for all."

By the time the Epilogue happens, when Luxu is talking with the Foretellers, he definitely knows that Sora is their Master as a teenager. And he's seen the results of Sora and Riku's bond for himself. They changed the future through their love for each other, which should be impossible. You cannot change events that have already happened. But they did. He's figured out his Master's mysterious intentions. When they are revived after Riku's sacrifice Xigbar even says "Gotta make sure you're not blundering your way toward a second failure." He's not talking about the failure we had just witnessed. It's disguised as a taunt, but it's really a playful jab directed at Sora, his silly, beloved Master.

So it's hilarious that Sora tells Xigbar he's not worthy to wield a keyblade, when Sora himself was the one who bequeathed him.

This is what Xigbar was talking about in Olympus in 2.9. "Accept the power you're given. Find the hearts joined to yours.""At the end you'll finally realize what destiny has in store for you. In fact, your reward might be right around the corner" he's referring to Vanitas, who holds the missing piece of Sora's heart, and Riku (his reward), and their destiny to protect the worlds, side by side. Together, not even death stops them anymore now that Sora has "awakened" to the truth. Their hearts are fundamentally connected and they are the KH equivalent of "Soul Mates". This is the origin of and meaning behind the combined keyblade (I believe the CK's name is Dearly Beloved, since I think this entire series has been about Sora and Riku from the get go, and dearly beloved really just means "very important person", just how Riku referred to Sora in 2.9 in the original dialogue.)

The Master's favourite phrase, "May your heart be your guiding key", comes from Sora hearing Yen Sid say it, and he adopted it as his motto, his Ninja Way lol.

When Ventus finally sees Sora's face and realizes he's Vanitas's twin, he says "I get it. You were my second chance." Ventus also gave Sora a second chance, a chance to fix his mistake by allowing him to go back in time that far in the first place. And Sora will end up being Vanitas's second chance as well.

The traitor mentioned in the Lost Page is the Master himself. Xemnas tells Sora in DDD "As your flesh bears the sigil, so your name shall be known as that... of a recusant." He oddly says Soras FLESH bears the sigil, even though it's merely emblazoned on his shirt. Gula deduced in Back Cover that whomever strays from their role must be the traitor. Sora is the traitor. He strayed from his role, because he failed to protect Riku like Aqua told him to. "You make sure to stay with him, and keep him safe. That's your job Sora."

He let the light die.

Originally, Sora lost Riku. After Kairi is "killed", Sora asks "Why her!? WHY!?" Because it HAD to be her. It's the only way Riku, and therefore everyone else, including Kairi, could live.

This is the meaning of the name Re:Mind. Sora remembering how important Riku is to him, and to everyone else through Sora's many connections. (Update: Nomura said in the interview the meanings are reminder, reconfirmation, and heart’s regeneration)

The Black Box contains the Master's heart, Sora's completed heart, but its light has been killed. In one of the Secret Reports, Ienzo writes that the hearts within Sora's are each contained within their own "boxes", and this is mentioned intentionally.

He intends to give the Black Box to Riku, so his light can heal his heart. He's been waiting for countless years to save Riku's life, and literally give him his heart. This is the end of pain.

So romantic I'm gonna die.

You are the key that connects -- everything --

[lindzem]

MY HUNTER DIVINE

Jack could barely sleep as he saw the glittering sunlight dance across the dark ship floorboards. His pulse heightened when another member of the fifth fleet came bounding down the stairs from the upper deck.

"WE MADE IT GUYS! Wake up!!!"

Jack grinned, jumping up with excitement. He rushed to collect his bags and sprinted to the top deck.

The sunrise made Astera look heavenly. Jack smelled the salty breeze with a deep inhale. His new home. A new adventure. His first beginnings as a true Monster Hunter.

As the ship docked and unloaded, he strode out into the central area of Astera. He had a childish gaze of wonder as he looked all around at people transporting and organizing all sorts of food and equipment.

He wasn't looking where he was going and accidentally bumped right into someone.

"A-Ah-?! I'm sorry!"

The larger burly white haired man turned to face him, blue eyes like Jack's own glimmering with joy. The bearded fellow let out a jolly laugh and patted Jack on the shoulder.

"Ah, is fine! Welcome new little one, to our beautiful Astera! How do you like so far?"

Jack beamed.

"It's amazing! There is so much to see and so many people."

The larger man brimmed with pride.

"Yes! Wonderful indeed! Ah, forgive my rudeness. I am Nicholas St. North, commander in charge and leader of the noble Guardians."

Jack's eyes widened and he immediately stood at attention with a salute.

"Sir, Sorry, sir! My name is Jack Frost, of the fifth fleet from the old world."

North nodded and stroked his beard with a sly grin. He slapped Jack on the back playfully.

"A new monster hunter in training, eh? Excellent! We need plenty more to help out around here. Monsters never stop multiplying! No need to be so formal, just call me North."

Jack smiled, really enjoying North's company and joyful nature. The man walked off and motioned for Jack to follow.

"Come, Jack. Let me introduce you to my trusted team!"

Jack quickly trotted along with him.

"Alright! Thank you!"

After a bit of walking and stairs, they enter a stately meeting room with several other people bickering over all sorts of maps and charts on the tables and walls. They paused when they witnessed North enter. A tall silvery-blue haired man with a large boomerang on his back and long bunny ears was the first to huff.

"Bloody took you long enough, North. We've been waiting!"

Another woman in a green feathery outfit with fairy-like wings smiled charmingly.

"Don't mind Bunny, he's just hungry."

A third short and plump man with golden blonde hair and robe sat on a stool nearby playing with some pushpins on a map nodded towards them with a bright smile.

Jack recognized them all as the commanding group of Astera, the legendary Guardians, and saluted them again hastily. Bunny scoffed.

"Who's this skinny runt?"

Jack looked at all of them in awe.

"It's truly an honor to meet you all! I'm Jack Frost, new monster hunter from the fifth fleet."

Bunnt sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"You brought a total greenhorn to our meeting, North? Jesus..."

North patted Bunny on the back and chuckled.

"Is alright! I have good feeling about him! I feel it in my belly~"

Jack followed North and then frowned a little, not seeing the person he was hoping to.

"If I may ask, where's Mr. Black?"

All of them got wide eyed and eeriely quiet for a few seconds before North broke the tension with a laugh.

"Not to worry, he is out on his own business! Now, let's get back to task at hand!"

Jack wasn't blind, he saw the weirdness when he mentioned their fifth member, but since he wasn't even suppossed to be here it was best he stay silent.

The fairy-like woman went over to Jack as North discussed things with Bunny.

"Hello, Jack! I'm Toothiana and this is Sandman, or just Sandy. So you want to be a monster hunter too? You're so young!"

Jack nodded and grinned, crossing his arms confidently.

"Yeah! Ever since I could remember I heard all sorts of tales about the legendary Guardians! You five are the best hunter team ever! In fact, Pitch Black is the exact kind of amazing monster hunter I want to become!"

He could again see Toothiana and Sandman's nervous glances when Jack spoke of Pitch. It was even more obvious when she quickly changed the subject.

"That's...great! We're very flattered! Are you hungry? We should all go to the canteen and get some yummy food! Can't hunt on an empty stomach!"

She laughed a little and Jack nodded, feeling he would try to figure this out later. He was very hungry and suddenly realized he didn't have any money.

"I er, uhm...I don't have any zenny..."

North chuckled and waved his hand.

"Nonsense! Will be my treat! Let us go eat, drink, and be merry! Then we will focus on mission."

All in agreement, they walk off together to the canteen where many people and their palicoes were gathered to have a fun time. Jack didn't have a palico, but it didnt bother him. They all sat down at a table as many large plates of food were brought out piping hot and fragrant.

Jack more than happily ate the wyvern skirt steak he was treated to and it melted n his mouth. The honey ale washed it all down perfectly amd he was only ever allowed it on his birthday as a treat by his mother. Jack laughed and joked with the Guardians almost as if he were part of them. He finally felt truly happy. He finally felt like this was a place he could call home.

When they finished, all of them departed back to their duties except North. He downed another mug of ale like it was nothing. Looking at Jack, he smiled.

"Well, there are many things that need doing. You really want to be great hunter, Jack?"

Jack nodded rapidly, meeting the other's eyes with intense determination.

"I'll do anything to be as great as the Guardians!"

North grinned and chuckled heartily.

"That's what we like to hear! I have a mission for you!"

Jack felt his pulse race with a delight he'd only dreamed of. This was his chance to prove himself.

"Yes, sir!"