#oh hey that's a perfect place to hide something important -within streets and streets of protection and above being reasonably reachable +

[patheticrafeenjoyer]

you know i love my people so bad but this part took me out like what do you mean you didn't just assume the priceless treasure is hidden in the giant statue that is set apart from, and above, the rest of the city? like sorry but that's the FIRST place i'd be checking actually.

seven of them there and not a single braincell to rub together been the lot of them

[rainydayotomes]

Reddened Love (Tsukuyomi x Reader)

This story was requested by anon a couple days ago, and I accidentally wrote waaaay too much for this so it became it's own fic ;P

I really enjoyed writing this, so I hope it was to your liking anon! <3

The request can be found here.

Notes: This story takes place after the events of Akaza's good ending. And- you are not Olympia! There are next to no story spoilers, except for a non-important scene featuring Tsukuyomi at the end of the game. -------------

"(Y/N), are you going down to Yomi today?" "Lord Jigen! Yes, I am. I am in need of more... supplies." You fidgeted with your somewhat darkened red hair to imply what you meant. You sighed when you saw the colour come off on your fingers, and hid your hands within your long sleeves once more. Jigen gave you a kind smile, knowing what you meant. "Of course. Enjoy your walk." Every 3 months, the colour that had been painted into your (h/c) hair started to fade and come out, much to your dismay. It had already been 4 months since you last got the dye needed for your hair, so today you needed to make your annual trip to visit the lone man that lived deep underneath Yomi. (Why am I the only one who has to do this...? Jigen, Douma, and Tokisada don't have to go through the same thing....) You heaved out another sigh at your predicament. As usual, Tsukuyomi had never told you why you had to do this- why you had to hide your real identity- that you were an outsider. None of the other outsiders had to hide. So why did you? The scarf you had gently and elegantly wrapped around your deep red locks swayed in harmony with the cold autumn breeze. You shivered as the wind pierced your sweater, the cold seeping deep into your bones. "A-Ah, good afternoon Riku." "May I see your pass?" You gave a hurt smile at the blue haired soldier. "Always the perfect soldier, huh? You always act like you don't know me even though everyone knows we've been friends for a long time." "......" Riku averted his eyes. "Well, whatever. Here's the pass, soldier boy." "...Go ahead." And with those words, your feet carried you down the steps and into the depths of the underground world. You rubbed the tips of your hair to shed the old dye that clung to you, as to not appear quite as.... red, to the residents with no "good" colour. You pulled the scarf around your hair closer to you, and kept your reddened eyes cast downward. Another 'gift' from Tsukuyomi to help you blend in with the red. You hurried down the main street, thankfully blending into the crowd of various colours easily enough on your way to the spa. "Oh! (Y/N)! Here to see Tsu again?" Camellia cried out to you from the front steps. You nodded, smiling at the doll. "Yep. I know I'm a month late, but I was being invited to date after date.... so many suitors that I can't take." "I'm sure one of them wouldn't mind your colour! Hey, what colour do you even think you-" "That's enough, Camellia. Let her see him; he's worried." Yosuga's voice interrupted the doll, and it was then that you had noticed he was standing with the doors open. "Oh! That's right! (Y/N)- Tsu was worried about you!" Your brows furrowed in confusion, unable to picture the always calm and serene Tsukuyomi actually worried about you. "Really? Tsukuyomi?" Yosuga laughed at your reaction. "Yes, I know it's hard to believe so you better hurry down." "Uhh... right. Excuse me then..." You said, walking past both friends and towards the back rooms. The cold, stagnant air of the deepest part of Yomi hit you like a brick- it always did when you came to see him. But today, it seemed so much colder then usual. You never understood how the things down here could grow like they do- the grass, the trees... even the spring that sat in the center of this weird cave-like area shone like it reflected the brilliance of the moon. You walked up to the lone house that sat far from the entrance to the lonely cave, and moved the curtains to the side to enter the home. "Tsukuyomi?" You called out, placing your bag down beside the door. Whenever you came for the hair dye, Tsukuyomi asked you to stay for tea- but he had never not been present when you arrived. What was he doing? "Ah- (Y/N)!" A smile erupted on his face the moment he saw you, as he stood in the doorway to the rest of the building. "It has been a while. I am very glad to see you are alright." He held his arms out, and you already knew what he wanted. You nodded, giving him a smile as you walked up to his embrace. "It has been. Sorry I couldn't come sooner,

there was never a good time to step away from the red for a day.... everyone wants me for some reason, and apparently this month it was all of the bachelors in the district..." His arms were wrapped around you protectively, and upon finishing your sentance you swore you could feel them tighten ever so slightly around your form. The mysterious man didn't say a word in response. Instead, after a few more moments in his warm embrace he pulled away, looking down at you. His hand, hidden by his sleeve, came up to push away the scarf from your hair. He looked troubled. "I was worried about you. I feared that you had been discovered." You shook your head, pulling the scarf from your head and folding it up neatly in your hands. "No no, nothing like that. I'm sorry to make you worry." His troubled look didn't disappear, however. His white sleeve stroked your sideswept hair, seeing the colour powder leave it's traces on the bright cloth. You felt him hover my your cheek, before he lowered his hand once more. "Come. You must remove the colour immediately." "Huh?" Suddenly, he turned and vanished deeper into the building- which you could only presume was his house. You had never been inside it before- and you doubted anyone else had either. Your heartbeat quickened as you followed his fleeting figure down a hallway before watching him dart into a room. You took in a deep breath, before following him into the only room who's door was open. .......... "...Huh?" Tsukuyomi was bent over something that reflected the candles that surrounded it. A container of water? But upon hearing your shock, he stood up straight and turned to you with his usual gentle smile. You could see his sleeve was wet- where he had watched the powder stain the pristine white cloth beforehand. "The water is comfortable. I assume this will be sufficent for you to cleanse yourself?" You blinked. Once. Twice. "Huh???" "I will find you spare clothes. You may leave your current clothes next to the water." And with that, he walked right past you and left before you could say a word, shutting the door swiftly behind him. .....Did he really want you to bathe? Here??? Why so suddenly???? The container of water- a deep brown coloured circular bathtub- sat in the center of a large room lit with lanterns. Candles adorned the perimeter, giving a beautifully peaceful atmosphere to the scene. Potted plants lined the area, making it almost seem like the bath was instead a beautiful spring in the middle of a forest. Perhaps that was what it was meant to look like. You stepped up to the... bath, seeing the beautifully clear and shining water rest still within the tub. You met your reflection in the liquid, ....... (.......HE WANTS ME TO GET NAKED!?) The revelation hit you like a stray dodgeball- and your face erupted into a deep scarlet. The thin wooden door shifted to the side behind you, and you turned to see Tsukuyomi carrying neatly folded clothing, placing them on a nearby bush that stood out from the rest of the greenery- almost like it was meant to hold things. "Do not worry, my (Y/N). The water is taken from the spring on Tennyo island, and is blessed by Amatersau herself." "T-Tennyo island?! I-I really don't think I s-should be... uh..." You stared at the beautiful reflection of the room in the water, trying to figure out what this ever-mysterious man was thinking. "You must cleanse yourself, my dear. This water is safe for you. As is this place." "U-Uh...." You stiffened immediately as you felt Tsukuyomi's sleeved hands on your shoulders, slipping your sweater off your shoulders. "....." You seriously couldn't understand what was going on in his head. Why did you have to 'cleanse' yourself? Why do you need to remove the dye from your hair so urgently? Usually you just did it once you got back home and then reapplying the fresh dye he gave you.... You had let him take the sweater from your cold body, but upon feeling the soft cloth of his sleeves on your waist, you instantly pulled yourself away from him, turning to him with a

blush. "I-I can do it myself!" He looked downward, a smile on his face. "So be it." The two of you stood there for what felt like an eternity, as you waited for him to leave. Clearly, he wasn't about to let you get out of this. "U-Uh...? Tsukyomi? Aren't you going to.. uh... leave?" "Ah, that is what you are worried about." He looked upwards with a smile, and you still couldn't tell what was going on behind that deep golden eye of his. "I will not do anything you are uncomfortable with." "But I'm not comfortable taking off my clothes here....!" "That, I am afraid, is not a choice." He looked downward again, a troubled look crossing his features for a moment before he looked back up at you. "Would you prefer me to help-" "-NO!" Your voice reverberated around the room, your resounding decline of his offer coming out a bit louder then intended. "...No." You reaffirmed, but calmer this time. "I-I'm ok." You took in a deep breath, your hands going to the hem of your shirt as you turned away from his gaze. ...Was he seriously going to stay here??? Why????? You turned around again, intending to voice your questions to the man who insisted on your bath. "Why do I have to-" His sleeve suddenly came to your lips, and you narrowed your eyes on his outstretched arm before looking back up at him. All he did was give you his usual, beautiful smile.... and that's when you felt it. Gentle, but cold fingers on your hip. They curled under the hem of your shirt and lifted it up slowly, his other hand pulling away from your lips and revealing itself to meet the other side of your shirt. Your breath felt caught in your throat, as all you could do was stand there and blush as Tsukuyomi disrobed you. (....ok. There's no use fighting this. He's always been... a little weird like this. He probably... doesn't mean anything.... by this... right?) You steeled yourself, and allowed him to do as he wished. You gave in, and lifted your arms above your head. The hair on your neck raised at the feeling of his cold, pale fingers grazing the sensitive flesh of the top of your breast. Finally, your shirt was discarded, and Tsukuyomi took the fabric and folded it neatly, placing it on another bush close to the bath. As he did so, you moved to turn your back to him, swiftly taking off your pants and panties in one motion, but the man turned back to you before you could fold the denim. You could feel his gaze pierce your back, and you couldn't help but shudder. You went to move your hands to your back, standing awkwardly, but instead you felt Tsukuyomi's cold fingers graze against the top part of your back, right underneath your neck. You froze. "You haven't taken the proper precautions to prevent staining of your skin." His voice was soft, but there was a hint of something almost.... sinister, angry- in the way he said it. "I-I uh.... I tried. But it's difficult to-" Before you even realized it, your bra fell away from your chest, and you could feel the intense heat burning away at your cheeks. "Get in." Was he... angry? You assumed that you had accidentally gotten dye on your neck when you had last used it, but shouldn't it have washed out by now? And why would he be mad over that? He sounded like he always did when he spoke, but you couldn't help but feel something buried beneath the calm of his voice. You moved swiftly into the water, sinking your cold flesh deeper and deeper into the clear bath. The water was surprisingly warm and comforting. Tsukuyomi watched as you submersed yourself, his piercing gaze eyeing your every move. You sat down on the rounded protuding edge at the bottom of the bath, your body tense under Tsukuyomi's stare. (.....he's still here.) You turned to meet his gaze, finding him taking off his robe. ....WAIT WHAT!? "U-Uh- wait a second-!" You cried. What the hell was he doing!? He wasn't seriously going to get in with you was he!? Your face burned with heat, as you realized just what you got yourself into. But.... the pale man stayed quiet, and the only thing he took off were his

robes.... underneath, he wore a simple tank top. His skin was unbelievably pale. You averted your gaze quickly- realizing you were staring right at him. Your cheeks maintained their reddened state. Your thoughts raced, trying to figure out what was going on and if this was really the Tsukuyomi you knew. He... definitely wasn't acting like it. The man walked up to the edge of the bath, bending over slightly to dip his hands into the warm water. "Did you think I was going to join you?" He spoke huskily into your ear. You felt a shiver go down your spine as you felt his breath on your skin. You were sure the look on your face said it all, and you knew that your eyes were as big as saucers. "Tsu... this isn't funny..." You felt water run down your shoulders, your neck, your back.... and realized that Tsukuyomi was moving to cover the areas of your skin that had yet to touch the water. 'Tsu' remained silent, even after your objection. You tried to break the awkward silence. "I-I.... uh... can do it myself..." You said, but he made no movement to stop. He was gentle, and all you could hear was the steady pouring of water as it fell from his hands and onto your skin. You could see the water slowly turning red, no doubt from the dye that had apparently stained your skin. You felt his hands rub into the muscles of your shoulders, his fingers nimble and experienced. His hands slowly moved up your neck, and you felt your hair shift from his presence. With his other hand, he poured water over your head, and stroked your hair to pull out the remaining red powder that clung to your locks. Finally, your natural hair colour was revealed once again- something that nobody but you and him had ever seen. "This red does not suit you." "Huh?" "No colour of this island would suit you." "Uh...." He seemed to pick up the pace a little bit, working swiftly yet ever gentle to remove the dye. "I much prefer your natural appearance." Ah... that's what he was getting at. Maybe... now you could ask him why you had to dye your hair? You voiced your question to him, and for a moment he stopped. His hands remained on your head and in your hair, and suddenly he removed himself from you. But- soon after your face was covered in water that had been poured over your head. Tsukuyomi had been careful to not get water in your face before... until now, that is. "Hey!" You swiftly turned around and shot him a glare, water dripping from the hair that now covered your face. But he simply gave you a playful smile. "Your natural beauty had to be hidden." The glare that painted your expression swiftly disappeared, and was replaced with shock and a little bit of embaressment. "What?" Tsukuyomi continued to smile. "You needed to be protected from the people of this island. And in order to do so, you had to become one of them." Your brows furrowed. "Wait... why? Why did I need to be protected? The other outsiders were fine...." Your question was simply left unanswered- but Tsukuyomi's smile seemed to widen just a little bit. The water around you glimmered with a dull shade of deep pink from the dye that you had been freed from. Orange flickered on the surface from the candles that surrounded you... and infront of you, the only thing you could see in the pale man's deep golden eye was your reflection. "Recent events have made me realize that you are no longer safe from the people of this land. So I shall be taking you into my care permanently." He said with a look of concerned thought, his eye lowering to the ground for a moment. "Huh!?" Water splashed around you at your sudden movement, as you turned your entire body towards the man; making sure to keep your chest below the edge of the bath. Tsukuyomi turned his eye back to you, and it seemed to almost shine in the candlelight. "I do not wish for others to defile you. Here, I can protect you, and ensure that you are treated with love." "...love!?" That damned ever-present smile. The one that never betrayed his thoughts. That damned, beautiful smile. His hand came up to your

cheek, still wet from the water. "I do not wish for anyone else to touch you... I shall be the only one to do so. And I shall be the only one to know your true beauty." His hand was still cold, but.... it felt warmer then it did before. Your heart pounded away in your chest- it felt like it could burst out at any moment. Too soon however, Tsukuyomi pulled his hand away, and he looked down once more with a look of deep thought, his hand now on his chin. "I know I am being selfish..." He mumbled so quietly you almost didn't catch it. And you almost missed the flicker of sadness within his eye as well, but it lingered for just a moment too long. He looked back up at you, his smile returned. "Camellia informed me that I had to find something to live for." And there it was- his hand back upon your cool cheek. It didn't feel cold anymore. His hand was warm and comforting; and you could feel the gentle care behind his touch. "At first, I had resigned myself to looking after a sapling that had sprouted. But... then you appeared." Ah... that day that you had washed ashore. Tsukuyomi had found you, and brought you back to his home to nurse you back to health. You barely remembered that time- but you know it was soon after that that he decided you needed to hide your identity. "I do not wish to lose you.... I want to protect you from those who would do only harm to you." The blush returned to your cheeks, and you averted your eyes from his. You... had no idea he felt this way. Was this why you had to hide your true identity from everyone? Surely some people could be trusted, but.... Tsukuyomi didn't think so. "Tsu..." You mumbled; a start to a thought unfinished. Before you could process what was happening, Tsukuyomi leaned in and pressed his lips to yours. It was light- a true ghost of a touch. And as swiftly as he had kissed you, it ended. He pulled himself away from you, and turned away to do something. You looked down at the dull reddish-pink water around you, and your hand came up to your lips. It was as if you could still feel his cold touch. Your hand reached up into your hair, running through your wet head before bringing it back down to look at your palm. Sure enough, not a trace of the powdered dye was left. And from the looks of it, the dye was dissolving rapidly in the water around you. When you looked back up at Tsukuyomi, he had returned to wearing his robes, and was holding out the spare clothing he had brought for you earlier. Your eyes came to rest on the cloth in his hands, and.... it seemed to be similar to his. Red on white, with bits of yellow here and there. The smile he gave you felt different then before. Like.... it was filled with love. His eye was gentle as well, looking at you with affection. "Dry yourself, and I shall help you into your clothing." Again with the whole 'being naked infront of him' thing... You took a deep breath, giving in to him as you pulled your body up on shaky legs. You swiftly stepped out of the bath, and grabbed a nearby towel that the man before you had laid out for you. The white towel was quickly stained red from the remaining water and dye on your skin, but Tsukuyomi didn't seem to mind. You took a portion of the towel that hadn't been stained quite as much and ran it through your hair, trying to put it into it's usual place as much as you could. All the while Tsukuyomi watched you with that loving, affectionate smile. When you finished drying your body, you continued to hold the towel close to you, covering your naked form. Tsukuyomi moved to unfold the cloth he had prepared for you, placing it over your shoulders. It was warm, and... smelled like him. His face was suddenly next to yours, his breath hot on your ear. "I will take care of you. Whatever you desire, I will provide." His lips, warmer then they were before- pressed against your cool, damp cheek.

[writingwithacupoftea]

Dusty Black Coat

Summary: Tommy Shelby is famous for his dusty black coat - it's part of his signature look. But, really, it's not just his anymore...it's his sister's as well. 

Word Count: 2765

Trigger Warnings: References to sexual assault after the third set of asterisks (***).

A/N: Hey hey hey, how are we all doing? I’m so happy to finally share this fic with you, it’s one that I’ve worked really hard on and it was one of the first ideas I had for a Peaky Blinders fic. As usual, let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy it!!

Tommy and Y/N Shelby had a relationship that no one could quite make sense of. Some people argued that the siblings were too similar for their own good, and that was the reason behind their seemingly constant arguing.  

But in between all of that, there were moments of tenderness. These often occurred in complete silence, as they simply enjoyed the other's company. Amidst the hustle and bustle of a Friday night in the Garrison, Y/N could often be found with her head rested on her older brother's shoulder, sipping a gin as they watched Arthur and John's drunken antics with soft smiles on their faces. Or, if you happened to glimpse through the window of the Shelby residence on Watery Lane, you wouldn't be surprised to see the pair curled up in front of the fire, reading late at night.

Yes, it was a complicated relationship to say the least.

Then Tommy went to France, and the residents of Small Heath realised just how much Y/N loved her big brother.  Of course, she missed all of her brothers while they were away, yet it was the one that the 18-year-old spend the most time yelling at that she clearly missed the most. It wasn't tears or words that communicated it, however. It was the fact that Y/N Shelby was nearly always walking the streets wearing Tommy's long, black coat.

The seven-year gap in age between the siblings meant that it was very oversized on her body to begin with. But as the years passed and the war continued raging on, the coat grew to suit Y/N quite nicely as she moved into her twenties.

When Tommy returned home, no one knew that him and his brothers were coming back, so the family didn't have chance to prepare. In fact, the first time that he saw Y/N, after four years away fighting, she was fast asleep. Upon closer inspection, Tommy had noticed that she was clutching his coat close to her chest and frowned at Polly, who had followed him, in confusion.

"She's barely let go of it since you left," and with those words Tommy found himself mimicking the gentle smile that graced Polly's face.

Since that day, a newfound understanding was created between Tommy and Y/N. Yes, they still argued (a lot, as any member of the Shelby clan would testify), but there was also now an unbreakable bond between the siblings. No one, not even the two themselves, knew what was so different about it, as nothing really changed in their relationship. But there was something there.

Oh, and it was also as clear as day that Tommy's sweeping black coat was definitely now Y/N’s as well...

***

Y/N loved the glamour of race days, no matter what business was occurring alongside them. Getting dressed up, having a few drinks, catching up with friends that she hadn't seen in a while; yes, she adored going to the races.

Everyone usually stumbles straight into the Garrison upon the return to Small Heath, and continues the party there. Tonight, however, not everyone chose to go to the cosy pub.

Y/N knew that her work could wait until the morning, but the meeting today was crucial for the expansion process of the Shelby Company Limited, and she wanted to get it done now.  

No one had been into her office for hours, and when she had left earlier that day Y/N had neglected to close the window properly, so the cold October air had seeped into every nook and cranny of the room. She tried to concentrate on the papers in front of her, but her thin (but beautiful) dress did nothing to keep the cold at bay and she couldn't write properly with her fur shawl on. Sighing, Y/N put her pen down and made her way to Tommy's office to see if it was any warmer in there. She hated working in an office that wasn't her own, it was too distracting, but she had to decide which was the lesser evil: distraction through cold, or distraction through location. As she looked around Tommy's grand office, however, she found the perfect solution to her issue: Tommy's coat was hanging on a stand next to the door. With a triumphant smile on her face, Y/N marched back to her office with the heavy material sitting nicely on her body.

An hour later, she was still going with her paperwork, still wearing Tommy's coat, and completely oblivious to the time and anything else going on around her. So, naturally, Y/N didn't notice her brother appearing in the doorway to her office, having noticed the light glowing within the room.

"It's not like you to miss a night at the Garrison."

Y/N jumped what felt like a mile in the air, dropping her pen in the process, and placed her hand on her heart. "Jesus Christ, Tommy! I bloody hate it when you sneak up on me like that!"

A small chuckle fell from Tommy's lips as he sat down on the chair on the other side of her desk. "We had a good day today, Y/N," Tommy stated before lighting a cigarette, "We're moving up in the world." He paused, examining his younger sister thoughtfully. "And that, Y/N/N, means that you can afford to buy your own coat." Tommy's serious tone was, in Y/N's opinion, completely undermined but the glimmer of a smile that graced his face for a matter of seconds.

Y/N huffed dramatically, "It's called being resourceful, Thomas. My office was like an ice box, and your coat was just hanging there. Really, if you're that possessive over it you shouldn't leave it lying around." She raised her eyebrows and smirked at her big brother as she put her papers back into the drawer and locked it. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I actually came here to get that so, come on, give it here"

"You can't be serious"

"I'm always serious, sweetheart."

Reluctantly, Y/N stood up, removed the warm coat and handed it over. Tommy put it on himself, before leaning over and turning out the light on her desk. "Fine, leave me to freeze to death, then you'll regret it."

"Wear something sensible next time then."

Y/N simply responded by sticking her middle finger up as she walked past him, and onto the streets of Birmingham.

(Barely two minutes into their journey, however, Tommy gave in. Hand in his pocket, he opened his arm up and Y/N cuddled into his side, his arm and half of his coat wrapped tightly around her. Suffice to say the pair felt the warmest that they had been since the war began.)

***

The damp early morning mist hung low over the grounds of Arrow House, and the sun was slowly beginning to rise in the distance. Y/N had barely slept, tossing and turning over and over again in her bed, her mind constantly replaying her argument with Tommy the night before. A rival gang had made threats towards the Shelby clan over a week ago, and Tommy had elected not to mention it to anyone. She didn't know why she was surprised, or shocked. But still, yet another row had ensued with her older brother.

As the clock on her bedside table ticked over to hit 5am, Y/N felt a desperate need to walk and think and breathe. And so, still wearing her nightgown, she made her way over to the stables, only stopping briefly to collect Tommy's heavy coat to keep her warm, not really thinking about her actions.

Y/N didn't know how long she had been in the stables. She had run a hand over all of the horses, speaking to them in hushed tones as she did so. Memories of her childhood came flooding back to her, and she was hit with a wave of sadness as she realised that the simplicity of their old life was long gone. Instead, she only had these lone moments to cherish, away from the chaos that Tommy's ambition had brought with it. Anger towards her brother hit Y/N once again, and yet she found herself hugging his coat closer to her, seeking comfort in it that everything would be okay in the end.

Thomas Shelby, she thought, humourlessly, the king of providing people with conflicting emotions; sounds about right.

She was removed from her thoughts, however, as Y/N heard her name being called out from afar. Speaking of the devil, she mused; but she decided not to alert him to her whereabouts. As Tommy's voice got nearer, she realised that she had heard him use that tone of voice once before, panic-stricken and desperate: when Charlie was taken. Guilt coursed through Y/N's body, and yet part of her felt a small amount of satisfaction. He needed to be reminded of the importance of family, something that had escaped him in the months following Grace's death, and to experience some raw emotion for once.

Moments later, Tommy crashed through the stable doors, wild eyes searching the place frantically. When they landed on his sister's figure perched on a bale of hay, he let out a breath that he didn't even know that he had been holding. Upon finding Y/N's bed empty when he woke up, and seeing the front door slightly ajar, complete, unadulterated fear had consumed his entire being. The only thought that ran through his brain was they've taken her...they've taken her...they've taken her...

And so seeing her, safe, unharmed and swathed in his coat (as she so frequently was), broke down any remaining barriers that were still left standing.

Tommy quickly gathered her into his arms, hugging her closer than ever before. Y/N was stunned – she and Tommy never hugged properly; it just wasn't their way. But, despite her anger, she melted into it, not wanting to let this moment slip away.

As Tommy pulled away, holding Y/N at arm's length to examine her for any sign of harm and finding nothing, he suddenly found himself able to speak again, though his voice hoarse from shouting: "Even when you're mad at me, you can't leave without my fucking coat, can you?" Y/N, unable to hide a small smile, slapped his arm and started to make her way up to the house, Tommy following closely behind, not wanting her to wander off alone again.

***

It was no secret that Y/N Shelby was a fiercely independent young woman (this often clashed rather badly with Tommy's desire to control, and the combination sparked many an argument between the pair). She hated people mollycoddling her, and so when she was still having nightmares a month after being sexually assaulted in a London club, Y/N didn't mention it to anyone. All she did was try to continue her work and life as normally as she could, constantly pushing her exhaustion to one side.

Of course, what she didn't bank on was the fact that Thomas fucking Shelby could read her like a fucking book. And a children's one at that.

He'd been there the night it happened: whilst Tommy had met with the club's owner, Y/N was dancing with a friend. She'd slipped off to get another drink from the bar (on the house, obviously) when one man thought he'd try his luck. Reeking of alcohol and speech slurred, he'd been incredibly...persistent...and because they were at the end of the bar on a crowded Saturday night, no one had noticed as the drunk pulled her into a back room, tearing at her dress as she tried to fight him off.

Well, let's just say that he wasn't very lucky that night – Tommy had noticed his sister's absence and somehow managed to find her before anything went any further. To this day, Y/N still didn't know how her big brother had done it, all she knew was that she'd never been so relieved to see him. She didn't really remember the journey to Ada's house, where Tommy had taken her to be looked after  while he went and hunted down the man who had dared to do this to his little sister: he had only managed to get in a few punches before turning his attention to Y/N, and it wasn't enough. The only thing that Y/N could clearly recollect was cuddling into her brother's chest as she sobbed, knowing that she was now safe. He'd buttoned his coat around her trembling figure, and to Y/N it was like he was still hugging her as he drove, the one thing keeping her grounded.

She felt the man's hands on her body every time she began to drift off to sleep. But she wouldn't tell anyone. Carrying on like everything was normal was just her way of coping with things, and she didn't want anyone to take that away from her.

It was eight o'clock at night when Y/N returned to the offices of Shelby Company Limited. She had been at the gin factory all day, checking on the progress being made there, and she was now more than ready for Tommy to take them back to Arrow House so that she could put her feet up. But, to her dismay, Tommy was still working away at his desk.

"Please don't tell me you're gonna be long, Tom?"

The man in question looked up at his sister, taking in her slumped posture and the darkness underneath her eyes. Instead of replying, he simply poured two whiskeys, grabbed his papers and sat down on the sofa in his office, gesturing for Y/N to do the same. Sighing, she removed her coat and hat and collapsed onto the space beside him, taking a large swig of the whiskey once she was comfortable.

"I'll be as quick as I can."

And with that, Tommy continued to read. Lulled by the warmth, whiskey and peace, Y/N's eyelids began to droop and (despite numerous attempts to stifle it) finally let out a long yawn. Not taking his eyes off the document in front of him, Tommy moved the remaining papers from his knee and placed them on the arm of the sofa.

"Go on," he said, in what was (for Tommy, at least) a lighter tone of voice.

Letting out a dry chuckle, Y/N looked over at her elder brother and replied: "I'm not 4 years-old anymore, Tommy, I will not -"

But before she could finish her sentence, she let out another yawn, causing Tommy to finally look away from his work to raise his eyebrows at her with a smirk.

"Fine," Y/N grumbled, "But if we're here much longer I'll just annoy you until we leave."

She slowly started to lay down onto the sofa, resting her head on Tommy's lap, and he subconsciously found himself stroking her hair with his free hand. When Y/N was much younger, this set-up wasn't unusual in the slightest, and the young woman now found herself feeling far more relaxed than she had been in months. So much so that she kept finding herself nodding off, but would shake herself awake every time, not wanting the nightmares to begin playing again.

He didn't show it, but Tommy was disheartened that his sister still wasn't going to sleep. He had hoped that the familiar position alone might be enough to send her off, as Tommy knew that he had quite a bit of reading left to do and wanted Y/N to get some rest. Tommy was more than aware that his sister hadn't been the same since that night in London, but didn't want to mention anything to her for fear that she'd bite his head off.  

The great Thomas Shelby was scared of his younger sister, who'd have believed it?

After a few moments of silent thought, he realised that the solution was simple. He reached around to grab his coat, which he had thrown over the back of the sofa, and placed it over Y/N's body like a blanket. When she looked up at him, silently posing a question, Tommy spoke to her softly.

"Get some rest, sweetheart. I won't leave you."

Tears welled up in the younger Shelby's eyes as she nodded slightly, grateful (for once) that Tommy knows her better than she knows herself. Y/N curled her knees up slightly and snuggled in to the warm, dark material. Feeling her brother's hand securely on her shoulder as he rubbed his thumb backwards and forwards over it, and inhaling the scent of whiskey, cigarettes and just Tommy, Y/N knew that nothing could get to her...and so she drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

[uwu-shinsou]

Stakeout

Summary: After an unexpected breakup, pro hero Ground Zero is the last person you expect to be comforting you. And also conducting a stakeout in your living room.

Warning(s): Language, themes of breakups

Pairing: Pro Hero!Bakugo Katsuki x Reader

Genre: Hurt/comfort, I guess slight angst?, light fluff, Bakugo tries to be comforting

Word Count: 2.3K

A/N: Okay first off idk about the whole legality of a hero secretly having a stakeout in your home but let’s just IGNORE that pls and thnx LOL. I was scrolling through AUs and saw one that was like “im an assassin conducting a stakeout in your house and you weren’t supposed to be home until next week” and I said okay but what if it was pro hero Bakugo and BAM HERE WE ARE!! So pls enjoy my first baku fic, I tried to make him just as fiery but also slightly more mature since he be a PRO in this 😌

You gotta be honest, the last thing you were expecting to come home to was a famous pro hero conducting a stakeout in your living room.

You hadn’t even planned to be home at all this long weekend. You and your boyfriend had planned a weekend trip together, driven all the way to the hotel, only for him to promptly break up with you and confess that he’d been seeing another girl for almost the entirety of your relationship. You’d dumped him, kicked his butt out of the car, and promptly driven two hours back home, trying your best not to cry over it.

You’d lugged your suitcase up five flights of stairs to your door, fumbling with your house key before sliding it into the lock. You tiredly stepped into the dark apartment, closing your door behind you with a sense of finality.

While locking the door, you began to mumble out the stream of consciousness that had been running through your mind since the moment you left the hotel.“If I ever see his face again I’m seriously gonna break his nose. How dare he even-” 

You walked a few steps forward into the living room, only to freeze up and let out a screech as the dark outline of a person moved from your couch. Your hand shot out behind you, and the metal baseball bat that you kept near the door flew through the air and into your hand. You took a prepared stance, ready to bash the intruder’s head in with your weapon.

“You have three seconds to tell me who you are before I start swinging!” You hiss, readying the bat.

“You aren’t supposed to be here,” The darkened figure said, taking a step towards.

“No! No, do not come any closer to me. I’ve had a very bad day and I will take my anger out on you!” You threaten, pointing that bat at the intruder to act as a barrier.

“Hey! Don’t do anything fucking rash! I’m just turning on the light, okay?” In a moment you were blinking into the soft light of the room, gaping at the man who you’d almost just clobbered with a bat.

Your arms slowly lowered, the tip of the bat resting on the floor as you blinked in disbelief. “...Ground Zero?” You asked dumbly.

“Yeah, that’s me,” He answered curtly. “Now what the hell are you doing here?”

You looked at light haired hero in disbelief before glancing around the room. “Uhhh, this is my apartment? We’re standing in my living room, and you were sitting on my couch. I think I’m the one who should be asking what you’re doing here.” You slung the bat over your shoulder and glared at him, trying to calm the butterflies in your stomach from the fact that one of Japan’s top pro heroes was standing in your living room. 

“I don’t have to tell you anything,” He grumbled, walking back to the couch and grabbing his phone. “WHAT THE HELL?” Ground Zero yelled as his phone flew out of his hand and into yours. His eyes closed and he huffed out an angry sigh. “Fucking telekisnesis. I forgot that was your quirk.”

Your mouth opened in surprise and you clutched his phone to your chest. “How do you know what my quirk is?”

Ground Zero opened his eyes and glared harshly at you. Questioning and antagonizing the most temperamental pro hero was probably not my smartest move you thought as he began stalking towards you.

“F/n L/n, early 20s, telekisnesis quirk, barista and occasional babysitter, lives alone, has been dating her boyfriend for five months, and, most importantly, isn’t supposed to be home for four days because she was on a trip with her shitty ass boyfriend!” He finished his statement with a growl, and his red eyes felt as if they were burning a hole in your face.

You averted your gaze, shuffling your feet as you mumbled, “Well you’re right that he is a shitty ass boyfriend.”

“Listen, I don’t have tme for your drama. According to our intel, you shouldn’t be here until Monday night,” He said accusingly.

“Well I didn’t want me to be back this early either!” You said, letting go of the bat and sending it back to it’s spot by the door. Your hands tightened into fists in frustration and you pushed past the intimidating hero, making your way into the kitchen.

“Hey- don’t you fucking walk away from me!” Ground Zero stomped behind you, staring in disbelief as you started rummaging through your pantry. “I asked you a question!”

You turned around to face him, holding a full package of cookies. “Guess what, Ground Zero? I don’t care!” You exclaimed, opening the package. “Honestly? I don’t even care why you’re in my apartment! Go ahead, make yourself at home! Sit on my couch, eat my food, watch my TV, it doesn’t even matter! The past five months of my life have been a fucking lie, so please just leave me alone to cry in my room and eat my feelings away.” You shoved a cookie into your mouth and tried to step past him. The hero side stepped into your path, and no matter which way you tried to go, he was in front of you. You were just about ready to take a swing at him when he started talking.

“Y/n,” He said. Hearing him use your name startled you enough to stop you in place. He huffed out a quick sigh before speaking. “We’ve been tracking down a rising villainous organization for half a year now. Eveytime that we get close to making the bust, they pick up and move operations. This time, we’re one step ahead of them.” He gently took your arm and guided you back into the living room and over to the window. “We have to take extra precautions when dealing with them, since any sign that the police are on to them causes them to run.” He points out the window to the building next door. It was a squat, rectangular warehouse of four stories. With you apartment being on the fifth floor, it had the perfect view in through a poorly covered sky light. 

The pro hero switched out the lights in the room, allowing you to see clearly out and into the other building. You crouched down to get an even better look, and Ground Zero lowered himself down next to you. He handed you a pair of binoculars and pointed to the left side of the skylight, where you could see a group of people working at a long table. Looking through the binoculars brought the figures into clearer view.

“Ground Zero, are they-”

“Bakugo,” He said, interrupting you. “Just- Bakugo is fine, okay?”

You glanced at him in surprise before looking back into the adjacent building. “Alright then, Bakugo. Are they making-” You squinted and focused harder on the objects lying on the table. “Support items?”

“Yeah that’s right,” He responded. “A black market organization for support items to supply to villains. We’ve been through hell trying to track the weapons back to them, but we had a breakthrough a few weeks ago.”

You hummed in thought, shoving a cookie in your mouth before offering one to the pro hero. Bakugo’s eyebrows raised in surprise, but he accepted it nonetheless.

“So you needed my apartment to finish getting your dirt on them, and then you planned on doing your big bust?”

“More or less, yeah. And being here,” He gestured vaguely to your apartment. “Was critical because that skylight was in the perfect place to capture incriminating photos of them doing deals earlier tonight. We’re fucking finally ready to finish this.”

“And how many heroes are on this job, exactly?”

Bakugo held up a hand, counting on his fingers as he thought through it. You hid a smile behind your hand at the gesture. “I guess a dozen or so, plus the local police force. There’s a good number of those shitty criminals in there, but we’ve faced a lot worse.”

You sighed, eating another cookie. “Well, sorry that my breakup got in the way of your important hero plans. I could leave I guess, maybe stay with a friend for the weekend-”

“Shut the hell up, I’m not gonna kick you out of your own damn apartment,” He said, rising from his spot on the floor beside you and going back to his supplies laid out on the couch. “I’m not exactly a very patient person so the bust is happening within an hour anyways. There are heroes and police stationed all around in the other buildings and streets, so I won’t be in your hair for that much longer.”

“Oh,” Was all you said, slowly putting a cookie in your mouth. 

The hero stopped fiddling with his supplies and plopped onto the couch, his furrowed eyes meeting your gaze. You raised an eyebrow in question, holding out the cookie package in a silent offering.

“No that’s not- did you say ‘breakup’?”

You huffed out a humorless laugh. “Uh huh. Bastard was cheating on me for basically our entire relationship. I guess I just wasn’t good enough or something.” You bit the inside of your lip and looked down at your lap, furiously trying not to cry. I’ve already embarrassed myself enough, I definitely do not need him to see me crying right now.

“But don’t worry about me, I should just leave you to get ready to, er- arrest some criminals and- do your hero stuff.” You quickly stood up, clutching the cookie package to your chest, and tried to make your way past him while hiding you face. “I’ll just- go sit in my room so I don’t bother you.”

You’d almost made it to the hallway when you suddenly bumped into something that was definitely not your furniture.

You let out an “oof” as you collided with Bakugo’s chest, his hands landing on your shoulders to steady you. You glanced up at him, and his face showed he was just as surprised as you were. He then realized he was still touching you, and took his hands off your shoulders like it had burned him.

“Listen- it’s shitty that he did that to you, and there’s no way you deserved it,” Bakugo said, and the absolute sincerity of it made you burst into tears.

Bakugo started to panic then. “Oh shit, what’s wrong? Did I say it wrong or-” He cut himself off as you vehemently started shaking your head, trying to rub the tears away.

“No no no no,” You said, assuring him. You sniffled, desperately trying to stop your crying. “I guess that I just-” A fresh wave of tears hit you and started rolling down your face, making Bakugo hover his hands in front of him, unsure of what to do. 

“I know that I’m not very good at this, but if you want I can go and beat the shit out of him or something,” He said, making you laugh as you wiped your face.

“I was trying to say that it just- meant a lot to me, that you said that,” you said as you started to calm down. “I didn’t really believe it before, that I didn’t deserve that to happen to me, but when your favorite pro hero says it to you…” You shrugged, giving him a wobbly smile. “Maybe it is true.”

He gave you an assuring smile that you could almost call a smirk. “Well you better believe it, honey, because it’s the truth.” He paused, smugly crossing his arms. “So, your favorite hero, huh?”

“Ahaha,” you felt your face go warm, and you gave him a sheepish smile. “Sorta kinda yeah.” The admission seemed to surprise him, like he didn’t know how to respond.

The beeping of Bakugo’s phone in the living room drew the two of you out of the moment. He bumped his shoulder playfully into yours as he passed. “Glad to hear that I’m your favorite.”

You scrambled to the kitchen to put away your cookies and splash a bit of water on your face as he answered the phone. You could just make out his conversation over the running water.

“What’s up, nerd?... Yeah, I know. I got all the pictures we needed... Good. Everything’s still quiet in there… Got it, I’ll see you in a few.” 

He hung up his phone just as you edged into the living room, watching him glance out the window into the criminal’s headquarters. He let out a huff of a sigh as he started packing up his things. 

You wandered in a little bit further. “So it’s time, then?” You asked. He looked up at you as he finished his packing.

“Yeah, time to beat some villain asses,” He said, shouldering his bag. “You gonna be alright?”

You gave him a soft smile. “I will be. I already feel a lot lighter, like the weight of a whole ass grown man has been released from my body.” Bakugo let out a snort of laughter before falling quiet. “Really, I will be.” You reassured him.

“Of course. But I was serious, if you ever need me to go and knock him around-”

You snickered at him. “Very hero-like.”

“Hell yeah it is,” He responded as you walked him towards the door, opening it for him. “Also maybe don’t go around telling people this happened, ‘cause I’ll probably get my ass kicked for sharing classified information.”

“My lips are sealed, pinky promise,” You said, holding your pinky out towards him. He scoffed but linked his pinky with yours nonetheless. “Good luck, Bakugo.” You started pulling your hand back before he grabbed it and pressed something into it.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” He said with a wink before making his way downstairs and out into the night. You slowly closed the door, leaning back against it and taking a deep breath before opening your hand.

Inside was a scrap of paper with a phone number scrawled across it, and the words “your fav hero” written below.

You may have looked out your window a little more than usual during the rest of the night.

[angelkurenai]

Draw me, like one of your French girls - Steve Rogers x Reader

Title: Draw me, like one of your French girls

Pairing: Artist!Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: None

Summary: Visiting your good friend in his small apartment every time means you get drawn to his art, amazed by whatever he has created and curious about his inspiration which he always hides that it’s you. You don’t insist, and thing remain the same. It’s only when you finally ask him to draw you that things really change; maybe in a way you could never expect. Surely drawing you naked wouldn’t be a problem, right?

“Incredible.” you breathed out, your voice filled with awe as you ran your fingers over the new papers scattered across the room “This is... truly incredible.” you couldn't contain a small laugh, which was only half a second later joined by another one, soft, sweet and so warm to your heart “And, my gosh, Steve it's so beautiful. I've- I have no words. How- How did you manage all this?”

“It's not really... much.” he mumbling, shrugging for just a second, the papers in his hands filled with sketches nearly slipping from his fingers, but the sight of that adorable smile was enough to distract you from everything happening around you.

“Are you serious? Steve I was here two days ago and these weren't here. Two days, you did all of this in only two days and it's... my dear, stunning.” you bit your lip, eyes wide an filled with wonder as you tried to keep yourself from reaching out to trace your fingers over the charcoal on the canvas “Sometimes I think this isn't humanly possible, that you've found some kind of- oh I don't know, some...” you trailed off, your smile turning into a mischievous one as you looked at him over your shoulder “Magic potion? A serum? The kind that makes supersoldiers but only in your case you're something like-”

“What, a superartist?” he asked, his smile more of a teasing smirk.

You scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest as you tried to stay mad at him but failed “Not the words I was going to use, anyway. You said it.” you shrugged “Besides, I think that with that kind of built and height a supersoldier serum would have been unnecessary. You easily steal hearts wherever you go as it is.”

A laugh, soft and almost shy but certainly able to make your heart skip another beat, followed soon afterwards “I don't think that's entirely possible or the case but thank you.” he said, gathering more papers and sketches in his hands to make room for you to finally be able to sit.

“Nonsense. Everybody knows it. With a heart of gold, so loving and caring unlike anybody else, a body that even ancient Greek sculptures wouldn't be able to capture well enough and a talent that even Da Vinci should be envious of, just face it-” you smiled, snatching the sketches before he could even react – though he did protest and tried to prevent you from having them but you both knew it was a familiar fight that you won every single time “You're a catch. It's a well-known and commonly accepted fact. Hey, are these recent too? I've never seen them before.”

“Those are not-” he tried to lie, oh how he wished he could lie about it, no matter how hard it was at first he had managed to do so real well when it came to his feelings for you. Granted, that was more hiding the truth than lying to you about them but it was up to some degree practice.

He wanted to tell you that no it wasn't all things drawn within the span of three hours, after only an hour of you leaving his place. He wanted to lie, to pretend that you weren't the embodiment of inspiration, of beauty, love, everything wonderful and important in this world for him and everything else his heart longed for too. He wanted to lie about it so much, just so that he could hide the embarrassing fact that whenever he saw you, whenever you visited him even if it was for a cup of coffee and a casual talk because you were close by or you run into him I the street, it was like a breath of fresh air after being underwater for too long, nearly dead and starving for life.

He needed to lie to hide that he looked forward to moments spent with his eyes closed, picturing the way you had been laughing and smiling and looking at him – and only him – just a couple minutes prior, before grabbing any and every piece of paper, sketchbook and canvas he could find so that he could draw you or any other part of you, from the way the sun shone over your eyes and lips to the flowers on your dress or the hands on your lap. That didn't mean that he got theprivilege everyday, though. There were times when he tried to do that with the memories he had of you of a week or two ago, and it wasn't like he didn't ave plenty to last a lifetime, but there was always something different about getting new images of you; new memories. He had resorted to using the older memories only for when it came to creating a new piece that was either meant for a customer, for the upcoming exhibition or even the new art gallery he was planning to set up in town again. All in all, paintings that drew you as inspiration but could in no way directly linked to you – not unless someone was reading Steve's mind – were the ones for display, for the world to see, while the rest were only for Steve. The ones that reflected all the ways he saw you and all the things he felt for you were still tobe kept hidden, far too personal for anybody else to see yet.

Lying or hiding the truth was one way to go about it, but not in this case. So he decided against it in the end. With a soft sigh he smiled as he watched you flip excitedly through the various drawings, taking in every expression – especially on the ones you lingered most on, as you made yourself at home. Shoes off, bag falling at the feet of a chair carelessly as you dived in the art and made yourself comfortable on the bed. Steve only held his breath as he forced himself to stay put for a second longer instead of grab a brush and start capturing as much as he could.

He cleared his throat and looked away, focusing on making you your cup of coffee “Yes, actually. I did those last night.” he said the truth, not daring too look up at you. Keeping busy was the key.

“Oh Steve.” he could still hear the smile in your voice much like the awe “These are...” a breathless laugh, he couldn't hold his own smile “You know, I don't understand how you do this, how you suddenly find such inspiration but Steve you should use it more often. These have such potential, they could end up in the biggest art galleries all around the world! Not like your work isn't already there but, you know, these could be thee most popular works of the year! If not decade.”

“That's just too much, (Y/n). Not possible again.” he said with a laugh.

You narrowed your eyes at him, taking the cup he offered you “In all the time you've known me, when have I ever been wrong, Steve? Never.”

“I must admit that's true, though I fear I will regret it later.” he said with an adorable smile “And I'm guessing that same goes for everything else?”

“Considering you're a catch?” you raised an eyebrow, taking a sip “You bet.”

He only hummed, taking a seat on his chair by his desk, close but far enough to take all of you in before he asked softly “Is that what goes around in the office too?”

“Aha so Romanoff has spoken then!” you exclaimed before laughing, earning a laugh from Steve as well even though he tried to seem as innocent as possible with his shrug “I should have known she was going to out me at some point. Gosh I'm gonna kill her, can't believe I asked her to keep quiet about it and she just-”

Steve would have gladly stayed in that moment forever, admired the look of you sprawled in his bed amongst his rumbled bedsheets, the sun casting perfect shadows and light wherever needed, the insanely adorable flush on your cheeks captivating and intriguing as ever. So intriguing that he couldn't help but speak to ask you in the end “Well, honestly, she only said a couple of things. Natasha doesn't really let things slip, so I'm guessing this is something she wanted to happen. It was just the... necessary ones and they were uhm... interesting to say the least. I didn't know I was so popular.”

He tried to hide the smile behind his cup of coffee, mostly because he hoped he could hide his lie. Of sorts at least. Natasha had barely said anything, truth was he had little to no idea, but seeing you get so flustered over it, so damn beautiful was the only thought his brain provided, he needed to know more.

“Only you would say that Steve. Which begs the question, are you going to get another apartment or what? You could afford any and every house and loft in town, you know. This place is so small you can barely move as it is but with all this art, it feels tiny. And I love cosy places, you know it, but there is a high risk of getting some work lost or ruined in here.”

This time he couldn't nor wanted to hide his smile. Pulling his cup away from his lips he gave you a look “Are you trying to change the subject (Y/n)?” he asked but you shoo your head, shrugging to innocently it wasn't innocent anymore “Anyway, to answer your question, I'd take my mother's old apartment any day. Your turn and I want a direct answer.”

You narrowed your eyes at him “That's oddly... dark of you. Serious and possibly hot. I like that.” you smile despite your nerves and shyness “Well, to answer your unspoken question: It all started when Sharon asked me and a couple other girls out for drinks, you know ladies night, but you and I had already made plans. I couldn't lie because they'd think I was avoiding them so I told them. And then of course combined with all the times you've come to pick me up from work or I've spent my lunch with you or I've accompanied you to your galleries and exhibitions, well-” you huffed, looking down at your mug before placing it away “I wasn't aware of it until recently that they've started talking about us and thinking we're a couple. I could- I've tried to clear it up but honestly nobody seems to believe me and, you know, it doesn't help that you're so famous and sought after. Plus, we act the way we do it's just- It's all just a misunderstanding, it'll clear up.”

“I didn't mean to...” his voice was sad, almost filled with regret, even though his heart was beating too fast and eagerly in his chest “(Y/n), I'm sorry for-”

“What?” you gasped “Oh no, no Steve. There's nothing to be sorry for, it's not like it's.... a problem for me. I mean I never cared what others thought or said, not unless it was my friends, and besides-” you smiled, or at least tried to through your nervousness “Am I really that bad for you, Mr Rogers?”

“No!” that came out embarrassingly fast “No, of course not. I mean, (Y/n) you are the kindest and most loving person I know. You light up the entire room when you're there and if I'm completely honest, you have been my anchor more times than I can remember. More... so much more than that actually. I don't know where I'd be without you. So, if anything... you are the catch.”

“Alright, let's stop right there before it gets out of control and I am unable to stop myself from kissing you.” your smile was playful much like the wink you sent him but oh how he wanted to believe it was all real, but he got carried away by the way you laid down on the mattress, stretching softly as you focused back on the sketches in your hands, some already laying around you “Which reminds me: Where did this all come from? I mean, last time we talked two days ago you said you were behind on schedule with the pieces for the new gallery and now two days later you have pieces and ideas for ten more galleries.”

“I suppose... that's how inspiration is. Comes and goes. I was lucky enough this time, although, they're still just random works. I guess... the flowers and the eyes could turn into something good.” he shrugged.

“And may I ask, what is the source of said inspiration? Or is her name a secret?” you asked, your voice having lost some of the lightness in it “I could feel jealous of her if I wasn't so taken by your work. Lucky her, though I'm sure she must bereally special to be your muse.”

“H-her?” he stuttered, his posture straightening. He'd been careful to hide any and every sketch or painting that clearly depicted you in any way that you could easily tell. But there was just so many that it was very likely that he had missed one or two. Butt then, why would you refer to yourself as “her”? Thinking about it and as he said the next words, he noticed a sketch of your face and subtly but hastily made sure to hide it, by placing other blank papers on top of it.

“Muse? You know I- I don't have one.” whenever he had to lie to you once or twice he did feel guilty but he always told himself it was for the best. This time however it was joined by such a great wave of regret and sorrow, the only one that could describe his belief that he was somehow betraying you.

“Really?” you sounded really curious “Then who is this?”

He tried and he hoped he did a good job of hiding his relief. It was an older one, of you curled on his bed not too long ago, face deep buried in his pillow as you had all but collapsed there after a hard day at work. It was meant to be a visit but you ended up sleeping there, only for Steve to stay awake all night drawing like there was no tomorrow.

“Nothing. It's nothing.” he smiled “I saw a sculpture the other day and it was inspiring, that's all.”

“Oh. Oh. Sorry, I-” you almost looked relieved “For a second I thought... well, nevermind.” you shook your head “It's still very beautiful too. But-” you frowned, turning your head just slightly to look at him again “I've noticed that while you do draw people on the occasion, it's never the same ones, not for long for sure and even more not ones we know. Not ones I know. What I mean is that... why not, Steve?”

“I don't...” he looked out of the window, forcing himself to tear his eyes away from you despite how captivating you were in that moment “Well, there is something about painting people I know. You know I put emotions into my paintings but when it comes to my friends, to my family, to the people I care for and have memories with then I feel like it's all on the canvas there too. And sharing that with virtual strangers feels... I don't want to expose myself so much.”

“Well, then maybe it's because you haven't tried it out yet?” you suggested softly, making him tilt his head “Maybe, you have to... learn how to put out specific feelings. I'm not saying none at all, maybe some that will make the painting stand out, not like your art already doesn't, but you know so that it is still part of you like every other painting of yours. However, you could decide to keep the things that are most important to you about it only for you. Like, certain feelings, it doesn't have to be all there for everyone to see. It could be things you only get for once.”

“That sounds good (Y/n) but sadly easier said than done.” he said, already fidgeting with a nearby brush.

“I didn't say it was but with practice everything becomes easier at some point, right?” he could practically hear the small voice in his head saying that this wouldn't end well but he couldn't help but be entranced by the small hopeful smile on your lips “I mean, it could be hard at first, but it's only because you haven't tried it yet. Or practiced that much yet, whichever. But with time you could get used to it and I, well, I think it would be really interesting to try it out. It's something new and if you find it doesn't fit your style then you could just... stop. It's up to you.”

“It is, I know, I'm just-” he paused, pressing his lips together as he studied your expression for a couple more seconds “You already have something in mind, don't you? What's going on?”

The questions were mostly rhetorical but he asked anyway. And you shrugged as innocently as you possibly could “I mean... I might.”

“And are you planning on ever telling me or what?” he couldn't help but chuckle “Why don't you just ask (Y/n)? All you have to do is say it and I-”

“Why don't you ever draw me?” you cut him off gently but with a clear voice.

“I- What?” he could swear his heart leapt to his throat.

“I mean-” you cleared your throat “It's not like you haven't tried it at all to begin with. I've seen the portrait you did for Sharon, though not for your galleries, it's still beautiful and-”

“Sharon asked me to do it.” he said a little too fast, but his need to justify himself to you was far too great “She was- I was working on a new drawing when she came to visit and it was of- of a random couple I had seen that she asked me if I could draw her. It was more of a quick drawing than anything else. It's not-” he let a small breath, glancing down at his hands “It wouldn't be the same.”

“Well-” you started, looking down for a few longer seconds but he did notice the smile on your lips, making him feel happy with his words despite his initial worry “Then... you could try to draw me? If only for practice. I wouldn't mind at all. You've done amazing portraits before, I think you would do great again. I mean, if you'd like to of course. You're-you're the artist. If I don't insp-”

“It's not-” he started with a soft exhale, getting up from his chair and slowly making his way to you “What would you like?” he asked instead, smile soft as he let himself brush a few stray strands of hair out of your eyes. He could swear he heard you take in a shaky breath but his own heart was hammering in his ars so he couldn't know what he heard for sure.

“To know... how much I'd inspire you.” you confessed, voice small and almost fragile in a way that made his heart clenched beautifully in his chest. Oh if only you knew. If only he could really tell you everything.

“And...” he started again in a soft voice, fixing the bedsheets only a bit around you; he wouldn't dare touch a thing nor change it, he wanted you more than anything to stay exactly the way you were “You would like me to draw you. Well then-” he didn't realize it when his fingers had found your face again, now on your cheek tracing the line of your cheekbones as the excitement made his stomach fill with excitement, he could finally get to do this “Good, I thought you were never going to ask.”

You scoffed a laugh which turned into a warm big smile that stayed on your lips for good even though you rolled your eyes at him “Isn't the artist supposed to be the one to ask those kind of things?”

“Hm” he shrugged “I'm pretty sure we've always been a bit unconventional on some things.”

“Fine then. Since we are unconventional on some things, and not all, how about we start making a few exceptions now?” a smile had started to creep up on your lips, one that he could almost swear was too playful already to look anywhere near innocent as you planned for it. And maybe, just maybe, it didn't help that the way you were looking up at him through your lashes, sprawled on his bed, as he hovered over you so close – too close for it to be so comfortable or anywhere near appropriate and his mind almost screamed at him to take a step back but the rest of his body refused to move – it was all all but innocent.

“Again...” his voice came as something barely above a hoarse whisper “Something tells me you have something in mind already. It's beginning to feel like this has been your plan all along.”

And then you smiled more as if to look like you were sorry, but the way you were biting your lip was far away from sorry and nearly too seductive it should be alarming “Well-” your voice snapped him out of his thoughts “If you put it that way, and if... you like the thought of it then, who am I to deny it? You know now. Yes, I've carefully planned everything from the beginning and you've already fallen into my little trap. Again.” you laughed, your eyes sparkling with possible mischief and yet so much joy it almost made you look innocent. He could look at you like this forever if he could.

You clearly didn't mean it but there was always a part of him that thrived in moments like this. A part of him that eagerly looked forward to seeing you relax so much around him, when it was only you and him, that you ended up becoming so playful. Some would call it downright flirty, and it no doubt looked like you were trying to seduce him and oh he wished for that to be true, but he knew that it was nothing more. And he was content with that, if only for the time being, as he enjoyed the proximity it more often than not allowed him.

“So, what am I to endure this time?” he asked, a smile tugging at him lips.

“Endure?” you frowned, almost pouting “Stevie, you say that like my plans are ever anything but fun. As if-” you stopped when you noticed the raised eyebrow he gave you and then continued “Well-” you shrugged, grinning “For me at least they are. Though you always enjoy yourself so don't act like that.”

“Are you going to tell me what it is you want to or what?” he asked instead, and despite his words his voice was soft and calm “This exception of yours.”

“Well, you know me. I'm a hopeless romantic at heart so I want a few things to be, let's say, classic.” your voice softened but your eyes still held that playfulness “I said I want you to draw me, yes, I'd love to see myself through your eyes for once and through your incredible art but-” A moment of silence that stretched on for longer than needed but that neither of you realised, not as Steve got lost in you, fingers still caressing your cheek. He almost didn't realise it until you were more than just propping yourself up on your elbow and it was already too late. Nearly in a sitting position, you'd gotten closer to him, free hand pressed on his abdomen and face close to his belly as it was tilted up to face him.

“Wh-what is it?” he took a step back, or what was a pathetic try at it.

You smiled, pulling your hand away and laying back on the bed, eyes on him the whole while “Like Rose once said...” a moment of real hesitation “I want you to draw me like one of your french girls.”

“I- Wha-what?” he blinked, this time taking an actual step back but not too fast. Of all the things he had imagined, this was not one of them and he was fairly sure it could never be.

“Well, you know what I mean.” you still smiled “I didn't- I don't suppose you'd have a problem with that? I mean, art is art, any and every form is equally important and we both believe so. I mean I've seen you-”

“(Y/n)” his mouth had gone completely dry “That's not what I mean. You-”

“What?” you tilted your head “I'll be fine. I mean, I know you, I trust you and we both know it's not like you are going to put this painting in any exhibition to begin with. It is only going to be for me to see and... for you. So, no, I don't have a problem. I'm alright with you having it. If anything, I believe I would want you to be the only to have it. That is... if you'll draw me.”

“I-” he started but all words died out in his lips. Seeing the small if not barely there smirk on your lips, he couldn't help but let his mind wander back to his previous thoughts. What if this was all part of the two of yours game, part of the teasing and joking. Only a way for you to get a reaction out of him – which in every other occasion he had had the pleasure of giving you – since you were always the only one to push the boundaries. Was it the same or was there more truth here than he could think of?

Letting a calm and soft expression rest on his face, he knelt in front of you, fingers running over the line of your jaw and looked straight into your eyes before he whispered “Alright.”

He could almost feel the electricity that shot through you, he certainly saw it in the way your body almost jolted before he pulled away, but left you no time for you to speak; instead “Take off your clothes.”

“Wh-what?” he heard the whispered question behind his back, barely audible but definitely there.

“I said, alright I'll do it.” he barely glanced at you over his shoulder as he got to his art supplies “You take off your clothes, (Y/n). I will I get everything I need ready for the painting.”

Maybe it was time for him to see your reaction this time, whatever sort of consequences it ended up having in the end. It could all be damned or it could all be worth it.

[ortizobsessed]

The Best Gift

This one was requested by @xx--day-dreamer--xx​!

Reader x Juice where you throw a surprise party for Juice with the help of the club.

Warnings: None!

Word Count: 1911

Masterlist

Today was the day! It was Juice’s birthday, and everything you’d been planning the last couple weeks was finally going to happen. Though you two weren’t “official” your relationship was definitely flirty, and you wanted to do something special for him to show how much you care.

Many ideas had been tossed around during your discussions with Gemma about just how much Juice should know. “If I pretend to forget his birthday, he’s going to know something is up,” you admitted. “He knows I’m good with dates. I’ve had to remind him to wish some of the other guys a happy birthday before.”

Gemma laughed and shook her head, “Oh that boy...why does that not surprise me?”

Smiling along with her, you two agreed that at least you should acknowledge it was his birthday. That way you would be able to keep him busy during the day while everyone else set things up at the clubhouse.

“It’s really sweet what you’re doing for him. He’s going to love it- and you.” Her words calmed you, while simultaneously making you more nervous.

“Oh gosh, I hope so.” You felt your cheeks flush, and Gemma winked at you knowingly.

When you woke up that morning, the first thing you did was call Juice. You couldn’t wait to start the day! You had planned quite a few things that you knew he would love. Dialing his number, it felt like the phone rang for ages. He answered the call, and it was impossible to miss the excitement in his voice, “Hey! How are you sweetheart?”

Your stomach was full of butterflies at this point, you loved it when he called you that. “It’ll be better once I get to see you, birthday boy!”

You could practically hear his smile through the phone. “Back at you! And thank you!”

You smiled to yourself, and suggested, “I’ll come pick you up in a half hour?”

“I’ll be ready.” You heard him pause, as if he was going to say more, but he stopped himself. You made a mental note to ask him about it later.

“Great, I’ll see you soon!”

Pulling up in front of Juice’s house, he was already waiting for you on the front step. You put your car in park, turned it off, and hopped out. Walking across the lawn, you met him halfway, and reached your arms out to him. Wrapping his arms around your shoulders, he pulled you close and you mumbled against his chest, “Happy Birthday, Juan.”

He hugged you tighter and replied, “Thank you so much, Y/N.”

“Well, we should get going! We’ve got a full day ahead of us!”

The smile on his face made your heart melt.

You two spent the day going from place to place, doing anything you could think of that Juice would love. Everything from breakfast at his favourite café, to a matinee at the movie theatre, and a trip to his favourite electronics store. You knew he had been eyeing up the newest first-person shooter game that was set to come out in a couple days. You had pre-ordered one and gift wrapped it, then convinced the store manage to keep it at the store for Juice. He was more excited than you had expected, thanking you profusely for it.

Watching the time almost religiously, it was getting close to 6:00 and Chibs would be calling any minute. Just then, Juice’s phone rang.

Back at the clubhouse, Jax whistled to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, okay, everyone quiet down! Chibs is going to call Juice now!” The room went silent. It was actually rather impressive just how quiet a room full of people, all with very large personalities, could be.

You could hear Chibs’ accent through the phone. “Hey Juicy Boy, look uh- Clay wants us all in chapel in 30. Needs to discuss something important that came up today. Has to be dealt with soon as possible.”

When Juice hung up the phone, it took everything in you not to give away the fact that you were in on it. “Chibs?” Juice nodded. “What did he want?”

“Looks like we’ll have to push our supper plans back a little bit. Clay called a meeting so I have to head to the clubhouse for a bit.”

“Aww man, I’m sorry. It has to be today?” You hoped he couldn’t hear the slight tremble in your voice.

“It sounded pretty urgent. You know how it is, the club comes first.” His words tugged at your heartstrings, but you knew it was all going to be worth it, so you stuck to your plan.

“I get it. Shouldn’t take too long right? I could just come with you, hang out there for a bit, then we can head for supper as soon as you’re done?”

“Yeah it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, and I would like that!”

Trying to play it cool you added, “Perfect! Besides, I’d like to visit with everyone for a bit. I haven’t seen them in a while!”

“Sounds like a plan,” he said as he reached his hand out to you.

You noticed the strangled smile on his face, so as you walked hand in hand towards your car, you asked gently, “Everything okay?”

Hesitating momentarily, he answered honestly, “Yeah- yeah, I’m good. Just a bit of a bummer, I think they forgot about my birthday. But hey, I’m not that great with dates either, huh?”

You laughed softly, and looked up at him, “It’s not your strong suit, no,” making him laugh along with you.

Pulling into the parking lot of the clubhouse, you were pleased to see the parking lot no more busy than usual. You knew Gemma would have made sure everyone understood that they needed to park on the street, or better yet a couple blocks away, so Juice wasn’t tipped off that something was going on.

As you walked towards the clubhouse, you found your hand in his once again. “Sorry this had to interrupt our day, I was having a good time! But thanks for tagging along, I’m glad you’re here.”

You couldn’t hide the smile on your face, but you and Juice had a playful relationship, so you replied slyly, “Actually, I’m really only here to see the other guys.” You shrugged your shoulders and tried your best to suppress a laugh.

Juice gave you a knowing look, but decided to play along. “You know, I had a feeling you were only using me to get close to Tig.”

Unable to hold it in anymore, that full laugh of yours came out. You hated your laugh, but Juice loved it, and he was always so good at bringing it out of you.

“Come on,” you sighed, “Let’s get you into that meeting so we can go for supper sooner.”

Juice held the door open for you, and once inside he looked around curiously. “Where is everyone?”

The excitement was really starting to get to you, and all you could do was hope that he didn’t look you in the eyes, cause you knew that would be the end of it.

“I don’t know-“ you paused for a second to gather yourself, “maybe they’re already at the table waiting for you?”

Juice hummed, “Yeah, maybe.”

He looked over at you, and you were convinced the look on your face had given it all away, but he continued, “Okay well I’ll head in. Be out in a bit!”

Either you were a better actor than you thought, or this boy was totally oblivious; your money was on the latter. Whatever the reason, you were glad you hadn’t spoiled the surprise this close to the payoff.

You didn’t think it was possible for so many people to pile into that tiny room, but somehow they made it work. As Juice opened the big doors, you made sure to be within a few steps. In no time at all, the lights were being flipped on and everyone yelled, “SURPRISE!!”

The look on Juice’s face took your breath away. It was a better reaction than you ever could have hoped for. All you wanted was for this loyal, self-less and caring man to know that people needed him, too. You were more than confident you had accomplished that.

Lyla and Opie’s kids were right at the front, noise makers in hand. Tig and Happy has insisted on confetti, so they were standing on either side of the door, throwing the tiny pieces of paper they hand-cut themselves, at Juice.

As Juice did his best to take it all in, you could see tears welling in his eyes. He looked over at you and asked lovingly, “Did you do all this?” Words escaped you, so you simply nodded, and tried your best to fight back tears of your own.

Juice motioned for you to come closer, so you took a few steps towards him and he reached out to you. Placing his arm around your shoulder, you leaned into his side and slid your hand around his back.

Everyone started filtering out bit by bit, each stopping to wish Juice a Happy Birthday. Jax and Tara were the last ones to leave the room, giving each of you a hug on their way out.

Juice breathed in deep and stared at the floor for a second, before looking up at you. “Wow,” was all he found himself able to say.

“So...I hope you like surprises,” you teased, making him laugh.

Moving his arm from around your shoulder, he kicked the doorstop out from under one of the doors that someone had propped open. You took the hint and stepped into the meeting room.

You two were alone once again.

“You know, I was pretty excited to go out for supper with you,” he confessed, a hint of humour in his voice. “Lying to me about food is a tough one to recover from.”

You laughed and asked, “How ever will I be able to repay you?”

Staring up at Juice, you could tell the gears in his mind were turning. As if ignoring everything inside him that said it might be a bad idea, he placed his hands on either side of your face and gazed into your eyes lovingly. “I think I have an idea.”

Your hands found their way to his waist, pulling him closer, and the soft smile you gave him was all he needed.

He leaned in, kissing you tenderly.

The kiss didn’t last long, but it was full of passion, desire, and relief; finally.

Your eyes fluttered open, and you two looked at each other for a short period of time before you broke the silence. “So- this morning- on the phone-” Juice gave you a puzzled look. “As we were saying goodbye- I don’t know- maybe it’s all in my head... I just- I thought maybe you were going to say something else. Were you?”

He hesitated, then smiled. “Honestly?” Laughing softly, he confessed, “I was- uhh- I was going to say- I love you.” Your eyes grew wide, and a huge smile spread across your face. He added, “I want you to be my Old Lady.”

You responded playfully with the somewhat cliché, “I thought you’d never ask.”

Kissing him once more, you whispered, “I love you too,” against his lips, and you felt him smile.

“I’m pretty sure this is the best birthday gift anyone has ever given me.”

[heycallmeladytypewriter]

A Call of a Siren - Chapter 2

A/N: As you guys have noticed, I tweaked a few things to fit Delia into the story but please let me know if I missed or messed up something on the storyline. Again, looking for a beta reader if anyone is interested. Chapter three should be up soon along with everyone's favorite angry boy. I don't own My Hero Academia. I only own my own characters and the story I create within Horikoshi's masterpiece of a world I'd love to live in.

Chapter One

_____________________________________________________________

“I expect you to all to still work hard on exams even though the end of the school year is in sight!” Her teacher was lecturing them on the importance of tests or something but Cordelia had other things on her mind. 

Nine months ago, she saw the world's greatest hero and a scrawny boy her age on the beach. A day she wouldn’t forget as it was a major part of why she was trying her damndest to get into UA in a month.

She went to the beach mostly everyday on a run and also practiced in her room after her family went out or was asleep. She also tried to incorporate some strength training exercises she got off the internet as she was sure you needed more than cardio to make it in. 

One thing she found herself doing, albeit shamefully, was sort of spying on All Might and Izuku Midoriya train on the beach and park. She didn’t necessarily go out of her way but it was on her training grounds too. No matter how she reasoned it, she still kept her distance and would hide at first sign of being found. It also didn’t help that she felt she had stumbled on a major invasion of privacy as she witnessed the strong and well, mighty, All Might transform to a tall but skinny weaker man. The first time she saw it she thought her eyeballs were for sure going to pop out her skull and fall to the floor with her jaw. She would never tell out of respect for the hero but still...every time he did it was like a mini heart attack especially when he would cough up blood afterwards. Like Jesus man please go see a doctor!

“Miss Bell I hope that dazed look on your face means you are thinking of your study schedule this weekend?” 

Her head turned from the window and faced the teacher, “ Oh, yes of course!” 

“Hmm..so anyways class -” Cordelia went right back to gazing out the window. 

_______________________________________________________

“ FIND SOMEWHERE ELSE TO DO YOUR STUPID STRETCHES BRAT!” Angry boy yelled at her for the 400th time.

Delia rolled her eyes again but continued her stretches where she was. She was here first anyway. Not that it mattered as she always stretched here because after Angry boy decided it was his workout spot she decided it was hers too. 

“Oi, don’t ignore me! Move your fat ass out of here!” 

“No thanks I’m good. And who are you calling fat ass, big tits?” She laughed as he bristled immediately at her response. He reminded her of a cat, all puffy and angry,  when he got like that which only made her giggle more. She wished to know his name but last time she asked he flipped her off. 

Looking at her watch, she realized she was going to be late for dinner. “Oh crap. Gotta go! Bye Big tits!” 

His water bottle flew right past her head as she ran off while he screamed expletives at her. “Hey!” She scolded. She slowed down enough to pick it up and chucked it with maximum force back at him, “don’t fucking litter!” 

She ran a little quicker when she heard the little pops of his quirk which is when she realized a few months ago that he was getting more pissed. “Goddamn brat!”

________________________________________________________

“Cordelia, you are late! Go wash up.” Her mother scolded her from the kitchen as she walked in the house. 

“Lost track of time! Sorry I’ll be quick!” She hopped up the stairs and nearly ran into her father, wearing his uniform, on the way. “Oops sorry Daddy!”

 Yes, she still called her father ‘Daddy.’

 Her ‘Daddy’ was a 6’4 man with piercing blue eyes that could intimidate anybody which probably helped with his job. Her mother always liked to point out that of course all her children had to inherit his blue eyes and not her brown ones.  

“Hey,” His hand shot out to gently grab her wrist before she could keep going, “What is all this training you doing for?” 

“Nothing in particular. Can’t I have a hobby?” She lied through her teeth before continuing on upstairs. 

“Cordelia…” 

“Dad. Teenage girl who wants to be fit - not rocket science!” 

Hopping in the hot shower, Delia relaxed finally. She was soooo lying to her family but felt it necessary as they stood on opposite ground concerning her dream of becoming a hero. 

She had a dream. She wasn’t going to give up without a fight just because she was alone in it. Deep down she was hoping if she became a good enough hero she could change their minds about the matter. 

She even took many preemptive precautions such as designating herself as the mail person of the house. She got it every day without fail and they would get used to just depending on her to get it. She managed to get a third cordless phone for the house she’d hide in her room to check the number in case of any specific calls coming through. She even created a fake parent email and perfected their signatures if needed. She was good at lying but it never felt easier on her to lie regardless of her reasons. 

“CORDELIA!” 

With a sigh, she shut off the water and stepped out of the shower. At least I dry off quickly, she thought amused as she wicked the water off her body and out of her hair. 

__________________________________________________________

It was exam day. 

Delia’s nerves were all over the place as she sat in the auditorium filled with the other hopefuls. They grouped them by class it seemed though she didn’t recognize those sitting near her. Her fault, she was sure, as she didn’t reach out to others during this past year as she just assumed or more like hoped she’d be transferring after the year was up. 

She wondered where Midoriya was as he was the reason she got her butt here in the first place. 

The Pro, Present Mic, continued to shout out to the crowd of potential students but Delia figured everyone was too wound up to join in or even focus enough. He was in the process of explaining their physical test when a loud voice rang out. A boy with cut blue hair and glasses stood suddenly and practically demanded answers of a possible inconsistency regarding the robots before the Pro could probably get to it (impatient much?) and then turned behind him to yell at the very boy she was wondering about for muttering too loudly. 

She wanted to laugh but her nerves were already fraying. As they were announcing the order of tests and people were slowly being shuffled out of the auditorium, Delia took a long breath before marching outside with the others. 

____________________________________________________________

This was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. 

She went on auto pilot as soon as the doors opened. Everyone rushed forward only to be immediately greeted by a bunch of green robots with glowing red eyes. Without thinking, she looked for the nearest water source...yes, a fire hydrant!...and reached her hand outwards to pull the water. A burst of water came rushing out that she quickly sharpened into her normal water whip and sliced out at the first two robots she saw ahead of her, breaking their heads off. 

“Wow that was amazing!” A girl with short brown hair to her left shouted at her before running further down the street. Delia blinked. Holy shit, that was amazing! For a moment, Delia felt she could really do this...until about 10 minutes later.

The robots didn’t give her a minute to think anymore, which considering her extreme anxiety over today was probably a good thing, and she used her whip to maim any robot who came within range. As soon as she was finally racking up a few points, a giant shadow loomed over the street. 

It was the zero points robot. 

Holy shitballs it was huge, Delia thought, shielding her face, as it stomped its way over causing surrounding small buildings and the street itself to explode with force everywhere. 

She was about to run but she heard someone cry out. It was the really nice girl from earlier who was caught under the debris from the zero pointer. 

Everyone was running. 

Then she ran. 

Towards the girl. 

There was water running from a broken pipe so she willed it near her as she skidded to the girl and put her hand up and the water formed a water dome around her the girl as they braced themselves for the next step from the robot but it never came. 

“SMASH!” Midoriya yelled from above them. Through the water she saw him go flying at the face of the robot and hit it so hard the zero pointer was thrown back with a broken face. 

“Oh my god” she whispered. The water fell on them in a whoosh and she snapped back to the girl and pushed the rock up far enough to wiggle her leg out. Looking up, she saw Midoriya start to fall and her heart continued to race as she tried to figure out how to catch him but the girl who was stuck ran, now with a limp, touch a rock and float upwards towards him. She meets him halfway then taps him midair and slowly brings them back to earth. Then promptly throws up off the side of the rock. 

The buzzer goes off. 

Times up. 

Delia felt her shoulder drop in disappointment. She only had 20 points from the smaller robots and barely. That was it. She was stuck at a regular school and wouldn’t be a pro hero. 

The finality of things started to weigh on her and followed her as she shuffled her way home, trying not to cry.

____________________________________________________________

The wait was killing her. 

It’s been days and she’s checked the mail repeatedly. Damn near scared the mailman a few times when she ran up to him a few houses before hers.

By the time it came, she had all but figured she failed so badly that they weren’t gonna waste time with a letter. Yeah, she was being dramatic but still. 

Finally, a small package addressed to her arrived. Delia had to wait until her parents went out to the store with Henry before she could run to her room and play it. After triple checking they left, she set it up on her small desk and internally started to scream. 

“Young Bell, it is me All Might! I am here! To give you your results on your exam to UA!” 

There goes her ability to breathe. 

She started to bite her lip nervously. 

“It says here that you scored 24 points on your practical and did well enough in your written test. BUT” 

She was now on the verge of gnawing her lip off.

“While your scores were alright enough, what really wowed us was your last few minutes of the practical!”

He started a small screen next to him of the girl who was stuck under a rock talking to someone behind the camera. 

“Is it possible to share my points?!” The girl exclaimed to someone behind the camera. 

Delia’s hand went to her chest as the girl, who didn’t know her nor should’ve bothered to do this, wanted to make sure her and Midoryia earned enough points and if not, to give them some of hers. Her lip had to have been bruised by now.

“Did you really think a Hero academy judged solely on the ability to hit a robot? We look at everything! And you, Young Bell, embody just the right person we strive to teach! You went ahead without thinking or caring about anything but the girl and acted- acted heroically! We awarded you 30 more points bringing your total to a whopping 54! So, Young Bell, I want to congratulate you on your acceptance to UA! Welcome, future hero!” 

Delia’s lip was bleeding now but she didn’t care. Tears were rushing down her face before she could stop them.

She thought it was done.

But really- it was just beginning. 

She sent a silent thank you to the boy on the beach and the hero they both looked up to

[wickedmilo]

YOU CAN STAY MILO | MILO & HARSH

PLACE: A quiet White Crest street TIMING: 4:00 AM SUMMARY: Upon discovering Milo has only been a vampire for a month, Harsh decides to help him adjust to his new situation WRITING PARTNER: @notsoharsh CONTENT WARNINGS: Heavy talk of addiction, rehab, and drug abuse

Milo’s lack of self control, and inability to say no had always been something he was painfully aware of. It didn’t bother him, for the most part. If he shifted his perspective, or found the perfect high, then he could almost, almost convince himself he had a hand on the wheel, regardless of how true that actually was. It was easy to do, because he was only ever hurting himself. He was the one at risk, he was the one using the substances, venturing to questionable areas of town. Now though, his instability was putting other people in danger. If he gave in, he wasn’t the one getting hurt. It was a sense of responsibility he had never been forced to face before, and that left him terrified.  

Creeping on the outskirts of town, venturing into the forest for his more sinister appetites, he was struggling to find a balance. He needed to avoid people, he didn’t trust himself not to. But he was also very aware of his shaking hands, the cold sweat leaving a sheen on his skin that ironically made him look like the living dead. He was barely scraping by on the hits he had been able to talk out of strangers. The withdrawal was only made worse by the thought of the stash he had waiting for him in his friend’s apartment. He would return for it if he wasn’t so sure a chance encounter could end in bloodshed. He shouldn’t be in town, he knew he shouldn’t be in town. But a quick meeting with a dealer and he could hide again, melt into the shadows. How had his life deteriorated so quickly? It was pitiful. Cuffing his nose on the sleeve of his hoodie, he continued to drag his feet down the quiet high street. His head bowed as he made an effort to go unnoticed, he was entirely unaware of being watched.  

Harsh had started to get used to this whole ‘patrolling’ thing. It was rough at first, finding ways to steer clear of actual slayer and hunter routes, but it made the lies easier whenever there was a hint of truth buried underneath. Still, he tried to avoid killing other vampires when he could help it. A few needed to be dusted here and there to keep up appearances, but better they run into him than a slayer who actually wanted them gone. Hands in his pockets, he strolled casually, keeping to the shadows. Soft footsteps caught his ears… but no heartbeat. Interesting. He moved carefully, keeping his own steps nearly silent. There. Definitely a vampire, but not one he recognized. Harsh watched, eyes narrowed. There was something off. The guy looked young. Might be easier to stake him and go, but… something stopped Harsh going for the stake in his pocket. Something about the guy’s face--he looked rough.  

It wasn’t smart, but Harsh had never been one to plan ahead. He moved quick and quiet, before stepping out of the shadows, not far from the stranger. “Hey man,” he called, voice even, casual, holding up an unlit cigarette. “You got a light? Must’ve left mine at home.” Closer, he could see the vampire’s face better. Yeah, definitely rough. Harsh had seen that look before, too many times. Damn it. Way too late to walk away now. He kept his own expression friendly, smile fixed into place. “It’s nice out, isn’t it? I thought we would never be done with all that snow. Are you from around here?” 

Milo found with his heightened senses that it was far easier to maintain an awareness of his surroundings than it had been before his death. It should be a useful ability, he had certainly used it a few times to avoid crossing paths with humans. But his ability to get lost in his own head, especially when he was struggling, seemed to be entirely unparalleled. He knew he should be smarter, more focused, but it wasn’t quite that simple. Which was why, when a man emerged suddenly from the shadows, he had the rather undignified response of stumbling backwards, a yelp of surprise escaping him. Something wasn’t right, he registered that almost immediately. But tired, and aching, he had far more important things to worry about than why a stranger was potentially weird.  

“Shit- what are you doing?” He demanded. If he needed to breathe, he would have been catching his breath at this point. “Who does that?” It was an instinct to place a hand over his heart as he recovered from the shock, but it only took a few seconds before the lack of a heartbeat made him uncomfortable. He hurried to shake off the sensation. “You- you want a light?” He echoed, distracting himself by fumbling in his pockets. “Fine, whatever- just don’t fucking creep up on me again.” Holding out the lighter, he realised he was shaking, and hurried to force his balled fists back into his pockets. “It’s nice out?” He glanced up at the sky, wrinkling his nose as he struggled to understand the question. “I mean- it’s night? What do you want me to say?” Turning his attention back to his company, he shrugged, playing off his response as casual, despite still feeling shaken, and now just a little suspicious. “Uh… born and raised? Why do you care?”  

Oh a jumpy one. Yeah, this kid was definitely new to the vampire thing. He seemed like he might be scared of his own shadow. If Harsh could feel bad for people, he probably would have. Maybe he did. It was sort of hard to tell. Without much hesitation, he grabbed the lighter. Smoking was more of a pain now that he had to make himself go through the motions of breathing manually, but he had learned how to make it work after a hundred years of practice. He blew out a steady stream of smoke and laughed softly. “You could’ve fooled me. You seem new… scared. I wouldn’t recommend that. This place’ll eat you up and spit you back out if you let it know you’re afraid.” 

He dug through his pockets, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and offering it to the stranger. “Here, might help with your nerves. And you should try to look like you’re still breathing, helps you blend in.” Maybe he was playing too much of his hand, but there wasn’t much point in pretending. This kid seemed shaky. If he went around like that, he was going to get himself staked in no time at all. And that was… kind of sad. Harsh kept his expression even, though there was a knowing lilt to his voice. “I’m like you, man. Just listen for a second, really listen.” It wasn’t the kind of thing new vampires usually thought about, sitting still, actually listening for breath, for a heart beat, but if any of them would slow down for a minute, they could make things so much easier for themselves. “I’m Harsh, by the way. Real name, I swear, trust me, I’ve heard all the smart comments. What’s yours?” 

“What?” Milo demanded, struggling to keep up with the vague nature of the conversation. He was almost ready to turn and leave when the stranger mentioned being chewed up and spit back out again. “Yeah, no shit. I think this place has already done that so you’re wasting your time.” He muttered. The town looked different to him now, it felt different. He had grown up in a place that would eventually be the death of him. It was a sick, and twisted thing to realise. Distracted by the packet of cigarettes, he was halfway through sliding one out of the carton when he realised what the man had said. Freezing instantaneously, his entire body grew tense. But then the comment responsible for terrifying him was followed up by another comment, by a comment he had been desperate to hear for what felt like an eternity. He had been alone for a month. He hadn’t been able to ask anybody questions, or lean on anybody for support. The one friend he could always rely on had tried to kill him, and he was just… lost. He tried to dampen the spark of hope that had managed to ignite within his chest, but it proved to be impossible. He followed his instruction, cautious, and careful, his eyes widening suddenly when he realised he didn’t hear a heartbeat. 

He wasn’t sure what to say in response, his voice stolen by an overwhelming rush of emotion. He didn’t want to assume his struggle was over, was his struggle ever going to be over? But for the first time since waking up, he didn’t feel as though he was on his own. Here was somebody who potentially understood, who knew what he was going through. “You’re- you’re not going to hurt me, are you?” His voice was small, and uncertain. In contrast to the sarcastic edge usually lacing his tone. “I don’t even know how this happened, okay? I woke up like this, you’re the first person I’ve met who’s- who’s the same way.” Abandoning the cigarettes, he shifted uncomfortably on the spot, ready to run if he needed to, despite knowing he would never be able to best this person. They were obviously stronger than him, more capable in every conceivable way. “Your name is Harsh?” He echoed. “I- I’m Milo… Or I was- I mean, I think I still am.” 

Harsh bit back a laugh. Was he going to hurt him? It was a fair question. He hadn’t quite made up his mind. It would be good for the whole slayer reputation he was trying to build. But… if this guy was new, he probably hadn’t made much of a name for himself yet. And that wouldn’t exactly make for a good story, staking some poor, newly turned kid. Honestly, that seemed… pretty lame. Friendly smile still in place, he shook his head. “Wasn’t planning on it. If you want to pick a fight, I’ll punch back, but nope. I just thought you looked… lonely.” He frowned a little as Milo went on. The guy had just been turned and abandoned? Well, that was a whole world of suck right there. “You were turned. A vampire, someone else like us, they must have drained you and forced you to drink some of their blood.” He paused there. Probably not the nicest thing to just tell Milo he was dead. But he might have already known.  

“Good to meet you, Milo. You can still be if you want, or you can change things up. Some people do that. Once they turn… they want to be someone else. It can be sort of a fresh start, if you want it to be.” Harsh had never considered changing his name, though… other things, the rest of him… that hadn’t quite stayed the same. It had been so long, he wasn’t quite sure who he had been when he was human, but he was pretty sure that person was a far cry from whoever he was now. “So… you don’t know who turned you? Or anyone else like us? Seriously? That’s rough, man. How long has it been for you? Have you had any blood recently?” 

Milo frowned, unable to decide whether Harsh was laughing at him, or at the situation. Feeling his shoulders drop when he was assured he wasn’t in any danger, maybe it was stupid to believe a stranger so easily. But he was scared of pushing the man away, of being left alone again. Even if he wasn’t entirely comfortable. “Something tells me I wouldn’t stand a chance.” He admitted, a quiet smile tugging at his lips. His sharp tongue had gotten him into trouble on more than one occasion. He knew he could take a punch, but he had never been able to successfully throw one. His smile faded as quickly as it had appeared at the mention of looking lonely. The observation was a little too accurate for his liking, it forced him to acknowledge the painful, empty feeling inside his chest. “Yeah…” He muttered, scuffing his shoes against the asphalt. He had never been the type of person to ask for help, or admit he needed it. Then again, he had never felt quite so lost. “I guess I kind of am. S’not like I can go home, y’know?” 

Keeping his head down as Harsh began to explain what he was, he chewed thoughtfully on his bottom lip. Had he really been made to drink someone’s blood? He couldn’t remember doing so, surely even high he would have questioned that. He had vague recollections of losing consciousness, feeling weak, and dizzy as he tried to push away the person responsible for attacking him. Would he have had any power to refuse? “So it- it wasn’t an accident?” He asked finally, looking back up to watch the expression on his company’s face. “Somebody did this on purpose? And then just… left me?” It was something that had been eating away at him, not knowing what had taken place. The sequence of events that had ended with him waking up in an abandoned building, missing 30 hours of his time. Was he an accident, or had somebody had planned the entire ordeal? He still wasn’t sure which was worse. He had been repressing the thoughts, struggling to focus on the present. But now his mind was racing. He was desperate for answers. 

“No- no.” He hurried to assure Harsh. “I want to be Milo- I don’t want to be anybody else.” The idea of losing his identity, his sense of self, alongside his life… his Humanity. That was as terrifying as anything he had faced over the course of the past month. He couldn’t do that, he would go insane. Averting his gaze, once again, when he was asked another question, he realised how strange it felt to be saying the words out loud. Drinking blood, dying, being turned… these were things only ever talked about in the context of fantasy. And now they had become a part of his life, a part of a serious discussion. For the first time, he was talking about it. “No, I don’t know. I was in a club, someone offered me something…” His voice was slow as he sifted through his memories, trying to pull the important information from the haze of the high. “We shot up… whatever it was. And then they attacked me, but I don’t know who they were, I don’t even think I would recognise them.” Letting out a huff of breath, a decidedly Human habit he had yet to shake, he pushed his hair back away from his face. It was damp with sweat. How was he supposed to explain to Harsh that it wasn’t just blood he was craving? “A month… maybe just over. But I- no, not today.” He was too embarrassed to admit he had been trying, and failing to hunt animals in the woods. His diet consisted entirely of animals he was, by some miracle, able to catch.  

“Aw, c’mon, I’m not as tough as I look. But you’re stronger than you think. One of the perks of the whole blood craving thing.” This kid was going to have to learn to fight whether he liked it or not. Slayers weren’t going to wait for him to figure out how to punch. Harsh had seen that for himself. He nodded. That much he could understand. When he had turned, he had never wanted to go home, he had a new one… until he didn’t. And it was only then that it really sunk in, how he could never put things back the way they were before. “Yeah that’s… one of the major downsides. People don’t really get it if they aren’t like us, they don’t understand. It sucks, losing that. I was never… all that welcome at home, but they were still a safety net… until they weren’t. I know it’s hard, man.”  

Grimacing, Harsh shook his head. “I really doubt it. Most vampires don’t just accidentally let someone drink some of their own blood. They usually stick around for the turn though. It’s this whole… sire thing. You feel sort of connected to people you turn or the one who turned you. Usually that means something to people.” Not that he was really one to talk. On occasion, during his two hundred year rampage, he had turned someone for the hell of it. But even then, at his worst, he had usually stuck around to see if they ate someone five minutes after they woke up. He couldn’t find it in him to be proud of that. It was the bare minimum. And Milo didn’t even have that much. Poor guy. Harsh let his mind drift for a moment, back to those confused, scared faces, his brood… he couldn’t make it up to any of them now. But maybe he could make up for a little of it here.  

He held up a calming hand. “Easy man, it’s okay. You can stay Milo if you want to. There’s nothing wrong with that. You don’t have to be a different person just cause you work a little differently now.” Harsh took a small, cautious step forward, hands still up, palms open, like he was approaching a frightened animal almost. Another little step. “So they might have drugged you first? Shit. That’s on them, not you, Milo.” He took another slight step forward, putting a hand lightly on Milo’s shoulder. “You want some? I work at the hospital, I swipe blood bags now and then. I’ve got some extra, if you need it. I know how hard it can be when you first start hunting. But you want to drink regularly. If you don’t… trust me, it’s not pretty.”  

Milo frowned. He didn’t want to be strong, his physical wellbeing had never been much of a concern. If this strength came with so many catches, he would much rather revert to his old self. His weak self. “There are perks?” He asked, skepticism clear in his tone. Even if he wanted to hide it, he wasn’t sure he would be able to. Everything had become so twisted. Even now that he had somebody to explain things to him, somebody to answer his questions, the sense of hopelessness he had grown so used to stubbornly refused to dissipate. “Hm,” He stifled a bitter laugh, scuffing at the asphalt with his battered Converse. “My parents have never been the understanding type.” How many arguments had he suffered through? How many times had he stormed out of the front door, or climbed out of his bedroom window, with the promise of never talking to them again? He had been in the process of cutting them off the night he was attacked. Dying had only made it easier to ignore the never ending phone calls. The texts from his mom demanding to know where he was. “They’ve been threatening me with rehab for years… hardly a safety net.”  

His frown deepening when Harsh confirmed his suspicion, he felt a surge of anger course through his veins. Somebody had done this to him intentionally. So he wasn’t a mistake, he wasn’t the result of a spontaneous accident. Sure, whoever was responsible had been high, but they would have known the consequences of their actions. They would have understood. Clearly they didn’t give a shit about him, so much for a ‘sire’ connection. “Yeah, well… apparently not.” He muttered, blinking away the tears stinging suddenly at his eyes. He didn’t want to cry, he couldn’t afford to look so pathetic. Brushing at them with the sleeve of his hoodie, he looked back up at the man so intent on helping him. Swallowing his emotion, he allowed himself to be comforted by the assurance. You can stay Milo if you want to. There’s nothing wrong with that. He was terrified of losing himself. It felt like all he had left was his identity.  

Tensing when Harsh took a step towards him, he had to fight every instinct telling him to run. Attempting to brush off his discomfort, he offered his company a hesitant shrug. Harsh wasn’t a threat, he was safe. Probably safer than he had been since first waking up. “I mean, s’not exactly like I said no.” He admitted. Maybe if he had, he would still be alive, his heart would still be beating inside his chest. His eyes widening at the unexpected offer of blood, it didn’t take long for him to realise he was being forced to choose, forced to prioritise his cravings. Did he meet his dealer, and then follow Harsh? Was it rude to ask him to wait? Then again, his mouth felt dry, he almost hurt with longing as he imagined the blood bags from the hospital. The hand on his shoulder didn’t ground him, but it allowed him to focus on his answer. “Yes.” He said, a little too quickly. “I mean- I was meeting someone- I need to-” If he stood up his dealer he would be written off, forced to find another. Given his new instability, the last thing he wanted was to be left in suspense, to not know where his next hit might be coming from. “Would you- would you maybe come with me? Make sure I don’t do anything stupid… it’ll take two minutes, I swear.”  

“Oh yeah, tons of them. Some take a little longer to work out, and I know the downsides are… pretty big, but trust me. It’s not all bad.” Though that might have been two hundred years of bias talking. Harsh could barely remember the things he missed about being human. Going out in the sun had been nice… probably. But he had spent far more time out of it than in it. “I’ll show you a couple tricks, if you want.” There were some things that would come in time, learning how to manage the strength, the new power. Maybe it wasn’t exactly a light at the end of a tunnel. Because the tunnel was all there was now. There wasn’t much choice except to learn to love it. He grimaced, nodding faintly. “That’s… shit, man. Rehab shouldn’t be a threat, no one gets to choose that except for you, and only if you even want it.” Though Harsh had dabbled with various substances over the years, he had never messed with anything that could get him hooked. Blood was already a life long addiction, he didn’t need another one. 

Harsh kept his hand gentle on Milo’s shoulder. Empathy wasn’t a thing he could do. The sucking void where his soul should be saw to that. At least, not automatically. But he could try to think back to what his first few months were like. The adjustment hadn’t been that bad, but… he hadn’t done it alone. He cocked an eyebrow. So Milo already had another appointment. Well, he looked… rough. Maybe there was something else he was after, the whole ‘rehab’ thing probably didn’t come out of nowhere. Harsh nodded, smile still easy. “Sure, lead the way. Is this, uh… something that might get a little hairy?” It was that part of town after all. Harsh didn’t come here much if he could help it, but he had heard plenty of rumors. “I’ve got your back, Milo, just need to know what I’ve gotta do to cover it.”  

Milo so desperately wanted to believe what he was hearing. Maybe it wasn’t all bad, maybe he would come to realise that over time. It was very clear Harsh had, which gave him a genuine sense of hope. He had been intentionally dismissing the idea of the future, of time passing and him staying the way that he was. But suddenly the future felt a little less scary, if only for a second. “You- you will?” He asked, surprised by the offer. Harsh was so ready to help him, it was a kindness he was no longer used to. After fending for himself, he had grown to assume nobody was going to notice him, nobody was going to make sure he was okay, or teach him how to deal with the complications of his new life. “Why are you helping me?” The question escaped him before he could contemplate how rude, or dismissive it might sound. “No- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean...” He trailed off, pushing his hair away from his face where it was clinging to his damp skin. “I just mean… you don’t have to, you know? Nobody else has… but you are.” A grim smile tugging at his lips, it was comforting to hear somebody talk about rehab in the same way he talked about rehab. His parents refused to understand he didn’t want it, he didn’t need it. They continually tried to force it upon him. It only served to strengthen his trust in the man beside him. “They never fucking listen to me.” He admitted. “It’s a choice, it’s not like I have to. Rehab is for addicts...”  

He knew a lot could be said about the fact that he was insisting they visit his dealer before they left. And a lot could be said about the fact he was so panicked by potentially having no reliable source for his substances. But he pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. Those were his mother’s words echoing inside his head. Her tone disapproving, almost, almost smug. Sometimes he wondered whether she actually enjoyed looking for loopholes in his logic. Maybe she did it just to spite him. His shoulders dropping with relief when Harsh agreed to follow him, he shook his head with a tired laugh. “No… no, not like that.” He admitted, beginning to walk in the direction he first had been. His hands were still balled in his pockets, nails digging into his palms as he considered the two hungers promised to be sated tonight. “I just- I don’t trust myself.” If he could blush, he knew his face would be glowing red. It was an embarrassing thing to admit. “I guess I’m also scared you might be some kind of hallucination, like if I turn away for a second you’ll just… be gone.” He felt a thousand times more vulnerable after being so honest, but he was smart enough to know it would be counterproductive to lie to somebody who might understand, who might be able to make him feel less ridiculous. “You are real, right? I’m not- I’m not going insane?” Jeez, how far had he fallen to need to ask that question?  

So this was gonna be a thing now. Great. Harsh had gone and volunteered himself to be a babysitter for who knew how fucking long. But that was… fine. This was the kinda shit that would’ve gotten him points for his stupid deal. A deal that was long gone now. But… hell, maybe he could get a new one. Maybe teaching Milo how not to get himself dusted would earn him some brownie points somewhere. And it wouldn’t hurt to have someone to talk to who wasn’t a fucking hunter. He gave Milo a little shrug. “If it was me, I’d want help. Like I said, I’ve been doing this for a while. I know how bad things can go if no one shows a new kid the ropes.” He nodded a little. So, this guy was definitely more than just a blood junkie. But hell, Harsh wasn’t in any spot to judge. Everyone had their vices. It didn’t sound like it was Milo’s fault that he got another one added on top of that. “Right? People get so judgey about that kind of stuff. I gamble a little too much a few times and people start handing me fliers for therapy and counseling. It’s such a drag. It’s my business, y’know? I know what I can handle.” 

This was probably one of the worse choices he had made in a while, following some new vamp he just met to probably go meet someone who was all kinds of shady. But whatever. Not like Harsh had anything better to do with his time. It was either this or pretend to patrol for another couple hours. “Ah, gotcha,” he said, nodding. “I’ll keep an eye on things. I’ll leave it to you, but if you start getting too antsy, I can bail you out.” Better to learn by doing. Harsh was going to help, he’d already agreed and he was a lot of things, but he kept his word. Mostly. When he felt like it. He cocked an eyebrow at the question. “Well, if I was a hallucination, I don’t think that saying I’m not one would help. But if I am one, I’m a pretty self aware hallucination. I can pinch you if you want.” He clapped Milo on the shoulder. Maybe the weight of his hand would at least be sort of reassuring. “Look, lets go talk to this guy, and if he can see me too, you’ll know you’re not imaging things, right?”  

Milo couldn’t argue with that. He had caught a glimpse of how bad things could become, had already taken one life in his struggle to understand what was happening. If he hadn’t been told by a passerby that he was a vampire now, he had no way of knowing how many other people could have gotten hurt. And that had been the bare minimum. Left to fend for himself, he had been longing for so many things. But scared, and confused, and Hell, lonely, somebody to help him had been at the very top of his list. A strange sense of relief washing over him, he could very nearly cry at Harsh’s words. Finally somebody who understood. What were the chances it would be another vampire? A person willing to walk him through this terrifying, disorientating change? “Exactly!” He agreed, maybe with a little too much enthusiasm. He couldn’t help himself. He felt so justified, so validated in his habits. For the first time in a long time, he didn’t feel judged, or alienated, or patronised. He was just Milo to this man, and that meant more than he could possibly put into words.  

Nodding quietly in thanks when his new friend promised to keep an eye on things, it wasn’t long before they began to near the meeting point his dealer had arranged. Offering Harsh a genuine smile when he tried to assure him he wasn’t a hallucination, the hand on his arm really did help to ground him, to remind him that this wasn’t some crazy, fucked up dream. “I’m pretty sure hallucinations can be self-aware, you know- if you hallucinate them that way.” He replied, if only to make conversation, and brush off how paranoid his previous concern had managed to make him sound. He wanted to apologise, to explain how much of a mess he was, but he had a feeling that might already be painfully clear. “Okay.” He said, figuring the suggestion was a pretty good way to make sure Harsh was definitely real. “Okay, that sounds good.”  

Rounding a corner to appear on a near empty street, he recognised the figure waiting at the end of the road almost immediately. His dealer of two years, Jay, was leaning casually against a lamppost, and he made a point of holding his breath before he could get near enough to catch his scent. No doubt his company would pick up on that, but right now he couldn’t bring himself to care. He hurried up to the familiar face, watching Jay as he cautiously eyed Harsh from where he was standing. It had been long enough for Jay to know he could be trusted as a customer, which was probably the only reason he didn’t look annoyed by the unexpected presence of a witness. “He’s cool.” He murmured quietly, overwhelmed with an emotion he couldn’t quite place at the realisation that Harsh wasn’t a figment of his imagination. Slipping his cash into Jay’s hand, it wasn’t long until he was given a small baggie in return. Shoving it into his pocket, he shot him a smile in lieu of thanks before turning on his heel to make his way back over to where Harsh was waiting for him. Not for the first time he found himself grateful that buying drugs had never been considered a social event. You got in, and you got out. Why wasn’t everything that simple? Listening to Jay’s footsteps as they faded into the distance, he suddenly realised he didn’t know what was supposed to happen next. Once again, he was being thrown into the unknown. Or maybe he was choosing to jump… Hopefully, this time, somebody would be waiting to catch him.  

Harsh had been around the block a few times. Though he had kept his addictions to blood and shifty poker games, he knew how they could get their hooks in, even long after death. And it sure as shit wasn’t going to help Milo if some asshole he just met started lecturing him on his habits. Not that Harsh was really the lecture type. He never had been. If Milo wanted to work that shit out, that was on him. But the vampire thing… that was more pressing. Newly turned vamps were always a concern. The more attention they drew, the harder things got for everyone else. Unless he turned them, Harsh tended to keep his distance. Too late for that here. But hell… it didn’t hurt to have someone around to talk to who kept the same hours and wouldn’t be grossed out by blood bags in the fridge.  

So that was definitely Milo’s dealer. Harsh hung back, expression casual, though he made sure to get a good look at the guy. Just in case. Milo was still new at this, and there was a good chance people who he ran into on a bad day could end up face down in a ditch somewhere. Or, if the guy caught on, well… he might have to end up there anyway. Better to wait to make a call there, see how things went. Maybe Harsh would never have to think about this guy again. Ha, as if things were ever that easy here. He clapped Milo on the shoulder as he made his way back over. “Everything good?” 

A stupid thought crossed Harsh’s mind. Just a really, absolute shit idea. But it didn’t go away. He gave Milo a long glance. The guy looked rough, like maybe he had been sleeping on a lot of couches lately. Probably assuming too much, but… fuck it. “So, you got a place to go, man? Y’know, it’s funny running into you, I’ve been looking for a roommate for ages. Not saying that to pressure you or anything. But… if you need a place to crash, I’ve got a new place and a couple extra blood bags in the fridge. Just saying.” 

Milo exhaled the breath he had been holding, doing nothing to hide his sense of relief. It was so much easier when he was with Harsh, he realised. Not just because he felt as though somebody was finally here to support him. But because Harsh smelled differently to other people. There was no heartbeat, no urge to drain him of blood. It was like a weight being lifted from his shoulders. He nodded quietly in response to the question, grateful for the concern. “Yeah, I think so… thank you.” It wasn’t lost on him that this man had absolutely no obligation to help. And yet he had followed him to meet his dealer, had made an active effort to ensure his safety. Why? He wasn’t gaining anything in return. As if to make the whole thing even more perplexing, he was hit by an unexpected question. One that embarrassingly had tears blurring his vision. He hurried to blink them away, hoping his company wouldn’t notice.  

“I- no.” He admitted, staring in disbelief. “No… I don’t have anywhere.” Was he really being offered a place to stay? A safe place where he could live, and learn, and ask any questions he might have about his new condition? After so long of being alone, of struggling to find food, this couldn’t be happening. It didn’t make any sense. Even humans weren’t liable to help people like him, people with bad attitudes, and questionable habits. Surely vampires were no different. “I- only if-” He broke off, so overwhelmed that he found himself unable to form a coherent sentence. “Only if you have space- I don’t want you to feel like you have to…” He swallowed, lowering his gaze to the floor. “If you mean it, like really mean it… then that would be… I’d like that.”  

“No problem, man.” It was easy to offer Milo a smile. So far, he didn’t seem like an asshole, just like some confused kid. Harsh wasn’t the best when it came to guessing ages, but he seemed young. That plus scared and nowhere to go was a rough combination. So his guess was pretty dead on. It was probably an offer he should’ve thought about more, letting some random guy he literally found on the street come back to his new slightly less shitty apartment. But hell, he had made worse calls, some of them pretty recently. He slung an arm around Milo’s shoulders. “I mean it. I’ve got room, and… y’know, people like us, we’ve gotta stick together. The world isn’t going to hand you a bunch of blood on a silver platter. I’ve been doing this for a while, got a couple tricks I can teach you.” 

He turned the both of them, the stake in his pocket long forgotten. Harsh’s fake patrols could go on hold tonight. Not like anyone was watching to make sure he stuck to his whole slayer routine. Hell, maybe he could get Milo in on that too, might make things easier for the  both of them. Lightly pulling Milo along, he started back toward his… their apartment. “C’mon, kid, let’s go home.”

[prettyinlimegreenboots]

Twelve Days of Holly, Jolly Tidings - Day 13 - SURPRISE!

Disclaimers: I watched “Dash & Lily” the other day on Netflix. This story is LOOSELY based on that book and Netflix series.  I do not own “Dash and Lily” or Newsies or anything recognizable within the series.  There are occasional curse words throughout the series, nothing too horrible but there’s some. 

Wednesday, December 25 

The morning was low-key and laid back. They had a nice breakfast and watched some Christmas movies on Hallmark before Jack and Kat escaped to head to Medda’s house. They had a bag full of gifts to exchange as they slipped and slid to the subway. Jack shook his head at Kat’s giggles as she tried to get her footing under her. 

“You’re going to fall!” He told her for the third time as she held tightly to his arm. Her response was a string of giggles as he found himself chuckling along with her. 

Finally getting onto the subway, they made their way uptown towards Medda’s. Kat snuggled into Jack’s side as she looked around the quiet car. Laying her head on Jack’s shoulder, she sighed happily. “If I haven’t said it to you already, Merry Christmas, Kat. Have you heard from your family?” 

“Merry Christmas Jack.” She smiled. “And no. I sent them a text but it’s still pretty early in California, though Archie should have them up by now.” 

Archie was her 2 year old nephew whom she hadn’t seen him since the summer when they were back in the city visiting. 

Bumping his shoulder against hers, Jack pulled her out of whatever thought she was lost in. “Well, I’m glad you’re here and your adoptive family is really excited to see you.” 

“How much sugar do you think they’ve already consumed?” Kat’s eyes danced in excitement as a grin tugged against her lips. “They’re going to be bouncing off the walls and Medda’s gonna kill us all.” 

Jack laughed, standing up, pulling her to her feet as the train entered the station. “She loves it and she’ll probably love us all to death.” 

With a laugh, Kat nodded as they made their way through the station and onto street level. They hurried along quickly, wanting to get out of the cold as soon as possible.  Skipping up the stairs of the brownstone, Kat eagerly rang the doorbell just as Jack joined her on the stoop. The big door swung open, revealing a grinning Medda who immediately pulled Kat into a hug. “About time you guys got here. I was just about to hide the sugar.” 

With a laugh, Kat enthusiastically returned the hug before stepping inside so Jack could receive one of Medda’s famous hugs.  Sipping off her shoes, she walked deeper into the house, hearing various voices in the kitchen. Waiting for Jack and Medda, the three of them walked into the kitchen to see several people standing around. 

“Well, lookie what the cat drug in.” Spot drawled, taking a sip from his mug before pulling Kat into a hug. “Merry Christmas.” 

Hugs were exchanged between Spot, Race, Finch, Albert, and Smalls, Medda’s adoptive daughter, who was 16.  Merry Christmas were exchanged as Medda fixed Jack and Kat a cup of hot cocoa. Looking at all the food around the table, Kat’s eyes went wide. “Medda you out did yourself; there’s so much food.” 

“She’s been cooking up a storm for the last few days.” Smalls rolled her eyes, giving her mom a look. “She wanted to make a little of this and a little of that so y’all wouldn’t starve.” 

Medda swatted her with a spoon, giving her a look. “Gotta make sure all my babies are well fed.” 

“Don’t mind if I do!” Race said grabbing a plate and loading it up. Kat laughed, shaking her head at her friends. 

Medda gave her a look, picking up on something but not sure what. “How was the last few weeks? Jack told me you were swamped with work.” 

“Things have been crazy but I’m done with work until the 6th.” She grinned. “Jack put together an adventure journey for me for the last 12 days.” 

Medda’s eyes went wide. “Oh he did? What did you do?” 

“He wrote in this journal and sent me all over the city, favorite places of his, places that have been important to the both of us, and everywhere in between.” Kat smiled, looking over at Jack. “He was trying to show me the magic of Christmas.” 

Medda grinned, looking between the two. “And did it work?” 

“It did.” She thought back on the last few days. “It was perfect and the perfect present leading up to Christmas. Even got Albert to dance in a gingerbread costume.” 

Medda’s eyes went wide as a blush crept up Albert’s cheeks. “Hey it was good money.” 

“Where’s the video?” Race asked, as Kat pulled her phone out of her pocket. 

Albert’s eyes went wide. “You said there was no video, Kat.” 

“I didn’t say anything. You merely assumed I didn’t have any video. I have a Ring.” She grinned, pulling up the video, allowing everyone to watch Albert’s dance. 

Jack, Race, Spot, and Finch all dissolved into boisterous laughs, hastily wiping away any tears that had formed from laughing so hard.  Albert glared at her, as she smiled innocently. “I’ll get you back for this Kat.”

“Uh huh . . . empty promises.” She chuckled. 

Race looked at Kat. “What did Jack do for yesterday? He told us almost every day what the plan was but he was oddly quiet about yesterday.” 

Her eyes went wide, looking over at Jack. He grinned, coming to stand by her. He hip checked her, motioning her to tell the story. 

“We went through the Christmas Market in Bryant Park.” She grinned. “We spent the morning there before going over to the Bethesda Terrace.” 

Pausing, she looked up at Jack, who grinned, lacing her hand with his, giving it a squeeze. “We walked through the Terrace, where I asked her to marry me and she said yes.” 

Chaos erupted in the kitchen as everyone congregated around them clamoring to see the ring and give them hugs.  Stepping back, she wiped away stray tears that had formed as everyone gave them their congratulations. “So was that the plan all along, asking her to marry you?” 

“I had the ring in my pocket for all 12 days. Since I was usually at each of the locations, I was waiting for the perfect time to ask her, and it never came, until yesterday. I didn’t really have anything planned, just spoke from the heart and thankfully she said yes.” Jack looked over at her, grinning.

“That’s a stunning ring.” Spot smiled, looking between the two of them. “Amazing that Jackie picked that out all on his own.” 

Medda gave them a look, shaking her head. “He might have had some help.” 

Kat’s eyes went wide at Medda’s words. “You got Medda to help you pick this out?” 

“Thanks Medda.” He squeezed her hand, smiling at her. “Medda and Maggie came with me to pick out the ring. Both of them have some very loud opinions when it comes to your ring and what style. Maggie suggested out the emerald but Medda suggested the style.” 

Kat looked at her ring before flashing Medda a grin. “I love it. Thank you for helping him.” 

“Anything for you two.” She grinned, looking between the other five in the room. “Now you all, not so much.” 

Sounds of protests erupted as Jack pulled Kat closer, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.  Spot raised his glass, looking over at Jack and Kat. “To these two, for showing the rest of us that true love and magic really does exist. To Jack and Katherine.” 

Everyone echoed him before they all took a sip of their drinks before catching up with one another. It was the perfect Christmas morning, filled with love and great friends. 

Surprise! I always planned for 13 parts of this! I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Feedback would be wonderful!!

[blackcloverdatabase]

English Translation of Novel 3: Chapter 3 – The Sun Doesn’t Set For Troubled Women (Part 2 of 2)

Here’s the second half of the rom-com chapter! This one goes deeper into Bell’s feelings than I ever thought we would. It also gives a little reminder of how cool these girls can be before reminding us that they are still, in fact, walking disasters.

--- The Sun Doesn’t Set For Troubled Women: Part 2 ---

“Okay, that’s three separate purchases, right? Please wait for a moment while I wrap these.”

After explaining their circumstances to the shopkeeper and nearly a full hour of discussing things with her, they each peacefully decided on a book pouch to give as a gift.

‘We did it……,’ Charlotte and Noelle thought as they placed their hands over their chests in relief. However, for some reason, Bell sat on Noelle’s shoulder with a dissatisfied expression on her face.

“…….What’s wrong, Bell? Is there still something worrying you?”

“……I wouldn’t say I’m ‘worried’ about it, but…… how should I put this? I was thinking…… is it really alright to settle on a gift for someone important to you so easily?”

“……Isn’t this fine? You may say this was easy, but we spent quite a lot of time on this, and each of us chose a gift with earnestness…... I-I wouldn’t be embarrassed to give a person i…important to me a gift like that.”

Charlotte sat down on the bench as she said this. She was self-conscious of the fact she stuttered at the end, but, completely unaware of that fact, Bell responded with downcast eyes,

“It’s not that I’m embarrassed, but, for a present like this…… I feel like we should try our very hardest to look around at all kinds of stores before we choose a gift.”

“I don’t think you need to fuss over this to that degree, though?”

“I have to fuss over this. I mean, I’m with Yuno because I love him. That’s why I feel like I shouldn’t cut corners when I’m trying to convey how much love I feel for him.”

“I-is that so……?”

A bit surprised by the serious side Bell was showing her, Charlotte couldn’t help but nod in agreement…… she also felt a little envious of how honestly Bell could convey her feelings. Then, Bell continued,

“Also, I might be digressing a little, but…… I chose to be with Yuno because I love him, but…... it’s not like Yuno chose to be with me, you know?”

For just a moment, a glimpse of fear could be seen within her determined, unyielding eyes.

“That’s why…… sometimes, I can’t help but wonder…… what Yuno thinks of me……”

“……….”

Bell’s words caused Noelle and Charlotte to fall silent.

“Of course, I’m pretty sure he needs me in battle, but…… every once and a while…… I worry about what he thinks about me outside of that. ‘Needing someone’ and ‘loving someone’ are pretty different.”

Charlotte and Noelle couldn’t find a response to these words either, but they sort of understood where Bell was coming from. There could a mismatch in feelings between the person who did the choosing and the person who was chosen…… it seems that Bell felt anxious about this at times. At first glance, it might seem like a strange thing to be worried about.  Being chosen by one of the great spirits is one of the highest honors a mage could receive, and lending her power to Yuno has helped him accomplish many great things.

However, that wasn’t the point. Bell was not worried about whether Yuno accepted her as a “Great Spirit”, but as a “person”. That’s why Noelle and Charlotte didn’t know how to respond. They felt that it would be too irresponsible for the two of them, who knew very little about what Yuno is actually like, to say anything. Realizing that she just made the atmosphere incredibly gloomy, Bell waved her hands in a panic.

“Ah, but it’s not like I’m all that worried about it or anything! I mean…… I’m just saying that I feel like I should choose a gift for him with extra enthusiasm to convey my thanks to him, since I chose to be with him on my own convenience!”

She said with her usual tone of voice before looking at the clock in the store. After confirming that it was just past noon, she looked at Noelle and Charlotte once more,

“And so, we still have plenty of time, so I’m going to look at the other shops for a bit longer.”

Then, while sounding a little bit embarrassed but also somehow happy, she added,

“Today was exhausting for all sorts of reasons, but I’ve never gone shopping with someone else before, so…… um, that was… kind of fun…… thanks for coming with me.”

“………”

In response to those words, Noelle and Charlotte exchanged glances, smiled, and then nodded. As they thought earlier, they didn’t know how Yuno and Bell usually were around each other, so they couldn’t offer any advice on their relationship. However……

“…….Sigh~ You leave me no choice. If that’s how it is, then I guess I can stay with you for a little while longer.”

It was Noelle who responded first. Charlotte then followed with a tone of voice that would make one think this was all a bother for her,

“Agreed. However, before that, let’s take a lunch break. You won’t be able to come up with any good ideas on an empty stomach.”

“Huh……?”

Noelle and Charlotte laughed when they saw how surprised Bell looked.

“It’s good that you’re being so considerate about him, but you might be trying a bit too hard. Why not try relying on someone else every once and a while? …… W-well, not that I can give you very good advice.”

“Even so, we can do it if we all think about this together. We’ve come this far, so let’s see this through to the end!”

That’s right, they may not be able to give Bell any relationship advice, but they can all choose a gift together. They can, at least, stand from her point of view and share her worries. Bell had said that she wasn’t too worried about it, but, at the very least, they could tell that she looked sad as she was talking. That’s why they couldn’t leave her to worry about this alone. Noelle and Charlotte knew all too well how painful it is to worry alone.  

“……You guys.”

Bell said with a dumbfounded expression on her face, which only remained there for a second before she turned downward to hide it. When she looked back up, her usual determined smile was back as she fluttered in front of Noelle’s and Charlotte’s faces.

“Just so you know in advance, I’m going to have you two follow behind me until your legs fall off, so prepare yourselves!”

“Hey! We get it, so stop flying in front of our faces! The scales from your wings are getting into my eyes!”

“O-ow, my eyes! They sting! What is this!? Is this also part of your powers as a great spirit!?”

While the three continued with such antics, the clerk approached them with a paper bag and a wry smile.

“Thank you for waiting. Here are your things.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“Also…”

When Charlotte took the bag, the clerk also handed them a sheet of paper.

“…...Please use this as well, if you’d like.”

“……Oh!”

All three of them exclaimed when they saw it. What the clerk handed to them was a map of the local area used for sightseeing. Moreover, it was practically a guidebook, filled with all the information they could want, such as which stores sold what, recommended items for each store, and more.  

“I don’t mean to be nosy, but I overheard your conversation earlier, and……”

“No, no, no! You’re not being nosy at all! This helps us out a lot! Thank you!”

Bell flew around the clerk’s face as she said this.

“I’m glad to be of hel-ow, OW! Your scales got in my…… come to think of it, what are you anyway!? Some sort of magical tool!?”

The clerk sputtered in alarm while Noelle and Charlotte stood beside them, their gazes affixed to the map. If they have this, then even they, with their terrible sense of taste, might be able to find a good gift. They saw hope, but then,

“KYAAAAAAAAH!”

“Woah!? W-what’s with you! That’s dangerous!!”

They heard two screams in quick succession from outside the store, and they could hear the main street gradually becoming noisier. All three of them knew that there must be trouble.

“……Let’s go.”

Charlotte headed toward the exit with Noelle and Bell following behind her as they prepared themselves for battle. At the same time, in the corner of her heart, Charlotte thought to herself,

‘Has it come for its revenge after all……?’

“Ah, Big Sis! Perfect timing!”

The moment the three of them arrived at the scene, Sol, who was riding a broom, stopped in front of them with a halt. Looking toward where Sol was headed, the three of them could see a man escaping away on a broom above the crowd of people, pursued by several members of the Blue Roses. Charlotte asked Sol,

“What’s our current status?”

“Well…… he’s some thug named Carlo who holds a copy of the Original Sin. He managed to get away before we could restrain him…… which is why me and the rest of the squad are chasing after him!”

Sol said awkwardly, causing Bell to respond in a panic.

“You shouldn’t do that! If you make an owner of the Original Sin feel cornered, then you could cause it to go wild! You need to take him to a place without a lot of people and fast…… It’ll be really bad if it goes off in town!”

“Yeah, we know that, but……”

Sol’s voice became more and more quiet as she said with frustration,

“……We don’t know this area too well, so we couldn’t find a place like that.”

Certainly, this area was filled with couples and families. There’s no doubt that the members of the Blue Roses tried to find an unpopulated area, but this area was a business district, and today was a holiday, so there probably was no such place to be found. As Charlotte was agonizing over what to do, Noelle handed her something.

“Captain Charlotte! Look at this!”

What Noelle handed her was the map they received from the clerk earlier. Charlotte looked at her with a troubled expression. What could that map possibly have to do with a situation like this…… Wait.

“I see……”

Understanding what Noelle wanted to say, Charlotte asked Sol,

“Sol, how many transmitters did you bring with you today?”

“Uhh, I thought we’d mostly be asking people questions today, so I brought six or seven of them.”

“Excellent. Give one of them to us. Also, please lend us a broom.”

“Sure, but…… Big Sis, what’re you planning to do?”

In response, Charlotte pointed at the center of the map and said,

“Everyone should drive the culprit to the center plaza. We’ll guide everyone there as we look at the map. Please have someone go to the plaza before everyone else and evacuate the people there.”

“……I see! That’s Big Sis for ya! With a wide space like that, even if a fight breaks out…… hm?”

She inched her face closer to the map as if she had just noticed something.

“This shop’s sweets have become super popular with high school girls! Perfect for a gift!”

“The manager of this shop is the best beauty consultant you can find! You might be able to schedule a consultation with him……”

Looking at the annotations scattered throughout the map, Sol looked at Charlotte with a strange-looking face.

“Hey, Big Sis, what’s this? What’s up with this weird map……?”

Charlotte’s face steadily became more and more red and, in an attempt to distract Sol, shouted,

“This is a state of emergency! Let’s mobilize at once!”

“Teams 1 and 2 should surround and barricade the main road to the East! Teams 3 and 4 should remain on standby in the sky!”

While Charlotte navigated on her broom, Noelle sat behind her and relayed her orders to the others using a magic tool used for transmission. While she did this, Bell clung to her shoulder, commenting on their next action.

“That’ll be fine as long as the culprit continues to go straight, but it’ll be trouble if he tries to escape through the alleyway a bit further ahead! I think you should have that area blocked off as well!”

“I see…… tell teams 3 and 4 to block that alleyway!”

The three of them rode on a broom they borrowed from Sol as they chased after Carlo, giving orders to the other members of the Blue Roses in order to guide the culprit and steadily drive him toward the central plaza. Charlotte turned back a bit toward Noelle, who was currently carrying on such a leader-like role.

“You’re amazing, Noelle. To be able to give out such exact instructions…… even with a map, most people wouldn’t be able to guide others as well as you are doing right now.”

“Huh? T-this is nothing…… nothing special about this.”

It was because she had been wandering about this area since early in the morning…… she couldn’t admit to that, so she simply gave a vague reply instead. Bell smiled as she pushed Noelle’s cheeks, unaware of Noelle’s attempts to hide her embarrassment.

“You’re being so modest~ Ah, that store we just passed is famous for its fashionable accessories!”

“I-I’m not trying to be modest! …….By the way, I’ve heard that store will throw in a cute handbag for free if you spend more than 1000 yuls.”

With a small smile on her face, Charlotte turned her head forward as she listened to their conversation.

“That sounds like a good deal…… Let’s go there after we’ve made our arrest.”

In their moment of levity, Sol’s voice came through the transmitter.

“This is Sol! We just finished evacuating the plaza! You can come whenever you’re ready!!”

“Good work. We will be arriving shortly. Prepare for battle and remain on standby for now.”

After that, Noelle’s skillful guidance led Carlo to flee toward the plaza, just as they wanted.

“W-what’s with this place!? There’s nobody here…..!?”

He felt suspicious the moment he realized that there was nobody there, but, by then, it was already too late for him. Noelle’s wand was already pointed toward the plaza as she cast her spell.

“Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Nest!”

WOOSH

A hemispherical dome of water covered the entire plaza in an instant, forcing Carlo to suddenly hit the brakes on his broom.

“Give up! You’re completely surrounded!

Noelle declared as she and the others descended to the ground. “Sea Dragon’s Nest” protects those inside from outside attacks. It doesn’t prevent people on the inside from getting out. In other words, she was bluffing, but that was more than enough to keep Carlo in place. It was an illusion that kept him “trapped”, both visually and psychologically.

Large roses bloomed from the hilt of Charlotte’s sword as she said coldly,

“Hand over the Original Sin this instant. Otherwise, we will take it from you by force. Choose whichever option you prefer.”

Sol, who had joined up with them at the plaza, yelled with a provocative smile as she clenched her hand into a fist,

“Well, there’s nothing you can do when faced with the power of Big Sis’s and my love!”

Charlotte was about to deny that they had such a power, but then Carlo gnashed his teeth in frustration.

“Damn it……. Why was your response time so quick…….Guh! Aah, GWAAAAH!”

His whole body began to convulse unnaturally in anguish. The four of them quickly raised their guard as Charlotte asked Bell,

“…….Is that an omen that the Original Sin is about to go on a rampage?”

“It does feel that way, but…… somehow, this feels a little different from the other times……”

Immediately following Bell’s reply, Carlo’s body swung forward dramatically, his upper body becoming slack as if all force had left it. However, then……

“Kishi~ As I thought, this person is no good. To think he’d get cornered so easily.”

He lifted his upper body back up slowly and whispered with a mischievous smile,

“Hey, won’t one of you girls become my new host? I was able to manifest myself like this because this person’s wavelength matches mine quite well, but it’s troublesome how weak and stupid he is~”

His expression, tone, and even the air around him was different than before. It was eerie, as if someone else was speaking through Carlo’s body. Charlotte tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword.

“What the……. You bastard, what are you talking about?”

“Yeah, that’s right! You’re talking like some parasitic host, some sort of manifestation, or like you just experienced puberty! Either way, you’re gonna be embarrassed about this five-years down the road!”  

In response to Bell’s heckling, Carlo lightly tilted his neck and said,

“You’re spot on…... well, aside from the puberty. Right now, I’m talking to you because I’ve taken over this person’s body. “

He pulled out a pure white grimoire, the Original Sin, from his chest as he informed them,

“I’m the incarnation of this grimoire…... what you call the Original Sin.”

“…….Huh?”

Noelle said with a frown, but at that moment,

“…… Get down!!”

Charlotte shouted, grabbing Noelle’s and Sol’s heads and pressing them toward the ground. Right afterward,

WOOSH!!

Something invisible but very, very large flew over their heads. A moment later, the broom that they left behind and the surrounding stone pavement shattered into pieces.

‘What the heck is going on……!?’ Noelle thought with a shudder as Charlotte stood up and pointed her sword at the enemy.

“Everyone, activate your mana skin to protect yourselves! Most likely…… this guy is using invisible tentacles to attack us! Focus on your mana perception!”

Everyone froze when they heard her instructions. Even if she tells them to focus on their mana perception and detect his attacks, if his attacks are that fast, their bodies won’t be able to react in time. If his attacks continue like this, they won’t be able to protect themselves.

“Kishi~ I’m impressed that you were able to sense that attack…… I like you. You seem like you’ll be able to resonate on my wavelength, too.”

Just as everyone had become cognizant of the danger they were in, Carlo…… no, the Original Sin said this in admiration, but then,

“Well, whatever. I’ll make you all half-dead and then take my time choosing a new host~”

He struck the stone pavement with his invisible tentacles and then launched his attack.

“……Briar Creation Magic: Limb-cleaving Briar Lance”

“Earth Creation Magic: Rampaging Mother Earth”

Charlotte conjured her thorns while Sol conjured a giant clay doll as they launched their attacks on the Original Sin. However, Charlotte’s thorns were repelled by the invisible tentacles, and the clay doll was showered with blows. As they expected, it was difficult to deal with a target whose attacks you cannot see. Feeling that she couldn’t simply stand back and do nothing, Noelle pointed the tip of her wand at the Original Sin.

“Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Roar!!”

However, her spell crashed into an invisible wall of tentacles that had stretched around her foe, turning her spell into a mere splash of water in the blink of an eye.

“Oh, you’re impressive, too. Moreover, that wasn’t your full power, was it?”

Hearing him speak in such a carefree tone made Noelle click her tongue. The tentacles served as both a means of attack and a shield to protect him. If you can’t see his shield, then there’s no way to know where to attack.

‘How are we supposed to capture an enemy like this…….!?’

“……Huh!?”

While Charlotte was feeling anxious, she noticed some unexpected movement in the water which had scattered about from that last attack. Though the tentacles were invisible, they repel the water, making their movements and shape visible.

‘With this, we could…!’

To give more substance to the glimmer of hope she spotted, Charlotte instructed Noelle,

“Noelle! Keep firing your water magic at him! There is nothing to fear if we can see his attacks!”

“Ki shi shi~ I wonder about that. I don’t think that’ll do much for you unless you can halt my movements.”

The incarnation said to provoke them, but then Charlotte replied as if she already had taken that into consideration,

“……Then, we’ll just keep you from moving.”

At some point during the battle, Bell flew overhead, right above the incarnation. With a smirk, she took a deep breath.

“Sylph’s Breath!!”

Bell exhaled, creating a prodigious torrent of wind which headed toward the incarnation with tremendous speed.

“……Hmmmmm. The wind spirit is here, too? Just who are you people?”

Perhaps he had determined that this wasn’t an attack he could take on, but he used his tentacles to leap to the side to avoid it. Because he took the time to evade, his onslaught of attacks ceased. Taking advantage of that momentary interlude, Charlotte moved between the gaps of his tentacles.

“We’re nobody in particular. Just some girls who were in the middle of shopping.”

Charlotte fired thorny briars from the hilt of her sword, shooting straight through the true form of the Original Sin, the white grimoire, before the grimoire was finally torn into pieces by the briars which spread radially from where it was struck. The grimoire turned into particles of light, dispersing into the air. At the same time, its invisible tentacles also disappeared.

“……I see. That was…… rude of me. Please continue enjoying your little shopping trip.”

The incarnation didn’t seem particularly bothered by what just happened, and said in an uninterested tone,

“……To make up for getting in your way, I’ll tell you this. I’m simply a ‘manuscript’, one that was born from the first Original Sin. The first is much stronger than me, and is capable of much more than I am.”

“…...What, are you making excuses because you lost?”

“……. Maybe. I might be feeling a little frustrated after losing so easily after all that talk. I shouldn’t even have such a “function”…… jeez. Maybe my consciousness remains imperfect, or perhaps this is just his residual thoughts.”

After hearing him speak so mysteriously for the second time that day, Charlotte couldn’t help but ask him,

“Just what are you……?”

“……I’m nobody. Just like what you were saying earlier.”

The incarnation responded as if in revenge for the answer Charlotte gave him earlier before looking straight at her. She could see a mixture of black emotions in his eyes - deeply held resentment, vengefulness, but also fear.

“We are the “Original Sin”. We were born from the first sin that you, the human race, had committed.”

“………”

With those parting words filled with hidden meaning, the man’s body fell limp like a puppet whose strings were cut, and the Original Sin completely disappeared. Despite the many mysteries that remained, the current situation was resolved, so everyone began cleaning up the aftermath. Shortly after the battle, many other Magic Knights rushed in to help clean up, so everyone was able to finish in no time at all. What did take a lot of time was their report to the magic tool researchers. This was the first time anyone had heard of the Original Sin hijacking a person’s body, so they needed to explain what happened very thoroughly. They also had to relay the apparent danger that the first Original Sin poses, as well as the fact it was looking for strong mages as its host. By the time they finished conveying all this and more, the sun had begun to set. That fact by itself was normally not a problem, but……

“………”

After changing out of their soaked clothes, they stood in the plaza illuminated by the red of the setting sun. With a sorrowful expression on their faces they stared…… at the book pouches they all bought as a present, which became completely soaked and tattered after their battle with the Original Sin’s incarnation. Charlotte didn’t even know how many times she sighed already before saying,

“I’m sorry. This is all because I fastened these onto the broom. I should have just left these at the store.”

That’s right. The bag the book pouches were in was fluttering in the wind as they were chasing after Carlo, so she ended up tying the bag onto such a dangerous place. She thought that was better than holding onto it herself, but her decision backfired. To think it would be demolished in one shot……

Noelle shook her head slowly and said,

“There was nothing else you could do in a situation like that. Besides, by that point, that book pouch store was already closed……

While they were running around town dealing with the aftermath of this incident, they saw that the store had turned off its lights and closed for the day. They also noticed that many of the other stores were closed, probably as a precaution after an incident like that.

Bell spoke with an apologetic expression on her face,

“No, I should’ve taken them and hidden them somewhere safe. I’m sorry……”

“There’s no way you would have found time to do that in a hectic situation like that. If you’re going to go there, then I’m the one who should’ve hidden them in my clothes. I could’ve done that since I wasn’t the one driving the broom……”

Noelle responded without a moment’s delay, but Charlotte furrowed her beautiful brows as she objected,

“No, that wouldn’t have been possible since I tied them to the broom from that start! It’s my fault!”

“No, this is my fault!”

“That’s not true at all! It’s my fault!”

For a short while, the three glared straight into each other’s eyes, but then……

“……Pfft, fu fu, ku fu fu fu”

Suddenly, Bell started to laugh, and, as if they were pulled in by her laughter, Noelle and Charlotte began to laugh as well. This exchange was just too weird, and they were happy to hear such sympathy from the other two…… with their hearts filled with such emotions and more, they couldn’t help but burst out laughing. The three of them continued to laugh for some time before Bell stretched her back and said,

“Okay! Then, let’s choose a new present for everyone with all our might!”

She said this cheerfully, but the store where they had bought their original book pouches was closed, and many of the other stores were closed as well. Moreover, the ink on the map was now too blurred to read. On top of all that, they were all exhausted after today’s incident. Faced with such unfavorable conditions, choosing another present was sure to be an arduous task. However……

“……Right. Let’s hurry up and go buy a gift!”

“Yes. First, let’s go to that store that sells small accessories that we were talking about earlier.”

Noelle and Charlotte responded with a smile and a nod, as if going out to choose another gift was only natural. Certainly, choosing another gift will be tough. However, they won’t be doing this alone. After overcoming a day full of turbulence and adversity, they will be shopping with their reliable comrades. Maybe all of them have terrible taste, but after overcoming as many challenges as they have, such a problem was trivial at worst.

The sun was still setting, not quite fading into twilight. If they unite their powers one more time, then they’ll surely find a way. These troubled women were bad at giving up. Filled with such emotions, the three began to walk with a spring in their step. However, at that moment,

“……Huh? Prickly Queen, is that you?”

Suddenly, they heard a man call out to them from behind.

“!!”

Charlotte timidly turned her head around. There, she saw……

“Oh, I was right. What the? Why’re you dressed so girly today?”

The man she was planning to buy a gift for, Yami, was loitering around with a cigarette in his mouth. To make matters worse, to his left and right were…...

“Oh, Noelle! I didn’t know you were here! I was looking for ya!”

Asta waved at Noelle while the mysterious bird Nero sat on his head with an unpleasant look in its eyes.

“Bell, where were you? I know you said you were going out, but you were gone for way too long.”

Yuno said with his usual expressionless face.

‘………..You’ve gotta be kidding.’

Faced with the day’s biggest adversity just as the day was about to end, all three of them turned as white as a ghost. To think they would run into the very people they were planning to buy gifts for…… It would have been fine if they had already bought gifts for them. However, since they were here before their gifts were bought, they were going to have to explain why they were here. In other words, they’ll have to explain that they came here to buy a gift for them…….

As the three’s heads were spinning with such chaotic thoughts, Yami opened his mouth and let out a puff of smoke as he asked,

“So, what are you girls doin’ here…..?”

“I-I could ask the same of you! What are you doing in a place like this!?”

Charlotte bitterly answered his question with a question of her own. Though he felt a little out of place by how frantic Charlotte seemed to be, Yami pointed to Charlotte as he answered,

“What do you mean? Today’s Three-Leaf Day, isn’t it? That’s why I was lookin’ for a gift for ya.”

“!!”

In an instant, Charlotte’s face turned completely red, and she felt her consciousness suddenly begin to fade. However, this time, she managed to stop herself before falling down, and she calmed down just enough to say,

“A-a-a-a a g-gi-gi-gi gif…… gift…… f-for me?”

She didn’t calm down completely, but it was enough for Yami to nod and say,

“For once, I won big when I was gambling, so I got some gifts for my squad, but then Vanessa said, “It doesn’t feel right for you to buy a gift for me, but not for my rival…… Captain Charlotte!”. I really don’t get it. Anyway, she told me to buy a gift for you.”

“H-how meddlesome…… Plus, I have no idea what she could be talking about.”

She somehow managed to regain her composure and cleared her throat as she responded. She was a little bothered by the fact he was told to do so by someone else, but still, this was more than enough.

‘A gift from Yami…… I-I’m so happy…… I’m so, so…… HAPPY!!’

Actually, this was perfect. Rather than being told to, if he had said he bought a gift for her on his own accord, she would have, without a doubt, collapsed on the spot. As she was thinking this, Yami added casually,

“Well, frankly, I was plannin’ to buy a gift for you anyway. I sorta feel like you’ve helped me out a lot, especially this year…… Hey, wait, are you okay? Your eyes just rolled to the back of your head.”

“S-shut up…… SHUT UUUUUUUUUUP!”

“Wait, what’s with you all of sudden……. Hey, HEY! Why are you attacking me!? What do you want from me!?”

“I want you to disappear from my sight! Please!”

While Charlotte was launching her briars at Yami, who was uncharacteristically frazzled by what was happening, Noelle asked Asta as she fidgeted,

“……W-why did you come here, Asta?”

“Me? I’m here to buy a gift for everyone in the Black Bulls!”

“……I see.”

‘Everyone’…… As that word echoed in her mind, Noelle fell silent.

“Ah, that’s right!”

For some reason, Asta started to complain,

“Where have you been since this morning!? I was looking everywhere for ya!”

“I-it’s not like it matters……”

“Yeah it does! I was planning to go shopping with you today so that I could buy something you liked!”

In an instant, Noelle’s face turned completely red. He was basically saying that he was planning to buy a gift just for her. Moreover……

“I-in other words…… y-y-y-you wanted to g-go on a…… date with me?”

Immediately after she let that slip out,

‘Oh no!’

She thought immediately after. By letting those words slip out, it’s going to seem like she thinks of Asta as a man. Before she could attempt to retract her words, Asta blinked and said,

“Date? I’m not sure what that is, but I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I figured we could stroll through town, and then I could buy anything you wanted. I was also thinking, while we were at it, we could stop to eat somewhere and look for gifts for everyone else.”

‘That’s literally a date!’

While Noelle was thinking this, she shouted without thinking,

“Stupid Asta! Why didn’t you search for me harder!”

“Why are you being so unreasonable!? There’s no way I could have!”

“……Y-you’re lying. You’ve got to be lying! It doesn’t matter anyway! I wouldn’t have wanted to go with you, anyway!”

“You’re scaring me! What’s with that attitude!? For now, just calm down!”

Next to Asta and Noelle, who were engaged in a lively but puzzling conversation, Bell asked Yuno awkwardly,

“……Did you come here, um…… to buy a gift for someone, too?”

“No, while I was walking through town searching for you, I ran into these two.”

“……I see…… That makes sense.”

Bell muttered as she subconsciously lowered her head. She was a little disappointed, but, on the other hand, it’s not like she was expecting anything different. Bell is a spirit, so the idea of giving a gift to her might not even occur to Yuno.

……It’s just, Bell planned on buying a gift for Yuno, and yet Yuno didn’t plan to do the same. That was a major misunderstanding. It turned out that she didn’t understand Yuno’s feelings at all. She thought that he needed her, but only as a spirit. She had no idea how much he thought of her as a person. He may not even think of her as one, as a person he likes, or even as a person he hates.

Exhausted by the day’s events, such uncharacteristically negative thoughts began to invade her, but……

“Besides, there wasn’t any need for me to buy any gifts today…… I already bought them.”

“……Huh?”

Bell raised her head. Yuno reached into his book pouch and pulled out a small paper bag. From that, he pulled out small clothes, no larger than the palm of a human hand, and held them up to Bell’s body.

“……Good. I had these done as a special order from a clothing store, so I’m glad these are the right size.”

“Yuno, this is……?”  

Bell asked, dumbfounded. Yuno put the clothes back into the paper bag as he replied,

“You must be sick of wearing the same clothes every day. With this, whenever you want to change your look, you’ll be able to.”

He presented the bag to Bell as he continued,

“Thank you for everything, Bell. Because you’re here, every day is lively and fun.”

“………!”

Before she could even take another breath, tears began to pool in her eyes.

“……R-really?”

“Well……because I grew up in a pretty noisy environment, I feel calmer when I’m next to someone as lively as you.”

As Yuno said this, he pushed the paper bag toward Bell…... he sounded a little shy as he said this, but he spoke clearly as he continued,

“That’s why, I hope you continue to support me in the future. Thank you for choosing me.”

“………!!”

Her tears began to spill out, and she found herself unable to respond to his words. His delivery may have been blunt, and not all of her anxieties have been expelled, but the unsociable and taciturn Yuno conveyed his feelings clearly to her. He said the words she most wanted to hear, and that made her extremely, extraordinarily happy. Hearing him tell her his feelings, she couldn’t help but cry.

“…….Bell, why are you crying?”

Unusually for him, Yuno looked concerned as he said this. Not seeming to notice this, Bell hugged his face, her own face a tear-covered mess.

“Sniff……sniffle…… I’m the one who should be thanking youuuuuuuuu!”

Bell pushed even her wings into his face as she hugged him. He struggled to peeled her off. In the end, this turned into one of their typical exchanges, but Bell was content. Does Yuno accept her? That was the anxiety she held in heart, but Yuno’s words from earlier blew those anxieties away. He essentially told her that he was fine with her doing what she has always done.  That’s why, for sure, staying like this will be fine…… no, not just fine, but best.

While Bell was playing around with Yuno, her thoughts filled with satisfaction, Yami was finally set free from Charlotte’s mystery attack.

“Damn, what the hell was that…...?”

He cursed, before finally returning to the original subject.

“Come to think of it, you’re dressed in those fancy clothes because you were out shoppin’, too, right?”

He let out another puff of smoke from his cigarette before suggesting,

“Then, how ‘bout we all go shop together? That eliminates the step of giving it to you later.”

“!!”

Internally, Charlotte and Noelle were grinning from ear to ear, but they strained not to show that on their faces. Since the guys are being so insistent, they should do them a “favor” and go shopping with them.

‘If we take a position like that, then it’s not so bad……!’

The two of them came to that idea instantly, but it was Noelle who responded first.

“Sigh…… I guess there’s no helping it~ If you’re that desperate, then we’ll go with you.”

“When you say it like that, it’s difficult to refuse…… Good grief, what a bother.”

Charlotte agreed with a disinterested tone of voice. These troubled women sure were troublesome.

“Nice! It’s more fun to go shopping with everyone! Well, I don’t know much about stores and such, though.”

“That why we’re askin’ these girls in the first place. Do you know any shops you can recommend?”

In response to Asta and Yami, the three women secretly exchanged glances with each other and, with a small smile on each of their faces, made their replies. First, it was Charlotte who responded, who brushed her fingers through her smooth hair as she said,

“I know of a general store that sells small, fashionable accessories. Let’s start there. I’ll guide you.”

Noelle followed by puffing out her chest, a smug expression floating to her face.

“When you buy their products, you get a cute handbag for free!

Finally, Bell added information that she remembered from earlier today.

“Also, there’s a sweets shop that’s super popular with high school girls! Let’s go there next!”

Today may have had its ups and downs, but this was the way the girls of the Magic Knights chose their gifts from the boys of the Magic Knights. Incidentally……

“No, I already bought a gift, so I’m good. Plus, I want to start training for the Royal Knights Selection Exam.”

“What are you talking about!? You’re already here, so let’s go shopping together!”

Asta solidly clamped his arm on Yuno’s shoulder and forcibly took him along.

 That night, at Vangeance’s office.

“The Original Sin can take over the body of any human who matches its wavelength. Moreover, it’s looking for a stronger host…… I see, that truly is troublesome.”

Vangeance said quietly as he read the report that had just come to his office. At the opposite side of his desk stood a member of the Golden Dawn who was fiercely loyal to him, a man named Sandler.

“Speaking of troublesome, this incident at the royal capital has caused its citizens’ anxieties to rise.”

“I see. That might be just what we need……”

“……Huh?”

Unable to think of why Vangeance would say this, Sandler couldn’t help but falter. With a thin smile on his face, Vangeance waved his hand lightly as he elaborated,

“Sorry. I was thinking about what we could do about the poor atmosphere spreading throughout the country because of today’s event and the attacks from the Eye of the Midnight Sun. I just thought of a countermeasure that should work. I’m sorry that it came out so weird.”

“……No need to apologize.”

While replying so, doubt continued to smolder in Sandler’s heart. He couldn’t help but feel that Vangeance starts acting strangely whenever there is an incident involving the Original Sin. There were many moments where he seemed to understand much about the Original Sin when presented with only a little information.

……He talks as if he has known about the Original Sin since long ago.

‘What am I thinking…...?’

He shook his head lightly to disperse such ridiculous thoughts. If he had known about it that long ago, he would have made his move a long time ago, before the Original Sin ever became a public menace. The captain Sandler admired was that kind of man.

“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”

Sandler said, turning around to leave, but…...

“Ah, could you wait just a moment?”

Vangeance opened the drawer of his desk and pulled out a small box. He went out of his way to walk to where Sandler was standing, and said as he held the box.

“Thank you for everything, Alecdora. Will you please accept this?”

“………V-Vangeance-sama, this is……?”

Sandler stammered, overcome with surprise. Vangeance informed him with a smile behind his mask,

“Today is Three-Leaf Day, isn’t it? You’re always trying your best, so I wanted to thank you for that. Well, this isn’t all that valuable, but…...”

“N-no…… that’s no problem at all. I gratefully accept.”

Sandler took his gift, said goodbye, and left the office. Then, after finishing his work for the day, he flew into the middle of an unpopulated forest. He carefully checked to make sure that nobody else was around, took a deep breath, and,

“YYYYYYEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

While holding his present up to the sky with both hands, he shouted with great joy, but then……

Well, that’s a different story.

--- The Sun Doesn’t Set For Troubled Women: The End ---

Glad everyone gets a happy ending. Noelle, Charlotte, Bell, and even Alecdora (?). I kinda wonder what he got from William, and what happened to him at the end there…

But the boys got their gifts, too, right!? The story ends with them going to the stores the girls discovered throughout the chapter to buy them what they like, but Asta, Yuno, and Yami get their gifts in the end, too, right!?

What did they get!? How did they react!? Don’t tell me Charlotte fainted again! (　ﾟДﾟ)＜!!

[recipeforme]

C7: Somehow I’ll Be Strong

Book: A Good Kid

It was a tradition in our friend group that once a month we would gather at Patton’s house to have a movie night. I’m sure that if it was up to Patton it would be at least every two weeks. But Patton’s Dad, Mr. Thomas, said that we could only do it once a month during the school year.

If it had been up to me we would do a movie marathon of some kind every month. But once again, Mr. Thomas said we could only watch one movie and that it couldn’t be longer than ninety minutes. The last rule was made after I tried to get everyone to watch ‘The Sound of Music’ which is two hours and fifty-five minutes.

The way our movie nights worked was that we rotated each month on who got to pick the movie. Last month it had been Logan’s turn which meant that we watched some boring space documentary. But this month it was my turn!

-----

I walked up to the front door of the Sanders’ household with five different DVD cases in my hand. I know that we were only allowed to watch one film but I still like to get Patton and Logan’s opinion on which to watch.

Standing on the front porch I rang the bell. I could hear Patton’s joyful yell and the sound of running footsteps, I smiled as he threw open the door and flung his arms around me.

“Roman! You're here!” He yelled “I missed you.”

“You just saw me at school.” I laughed, hugging him back.

I chuckled lightly as I pulled away from the hug and Patton led me inside and to the kitchen where Logan was. “Hey Nerd,” I said.

Logan rolled his eyes, keeping them in the book he was reading.

“So I see that Roman’s here.” I looked over to see Patton’s dad standing in the entryway that led into the kitchen.

“Hello Mr. Thomas,” I said with a smile.

The man laughed “Roman, how many times do I have to tell you? It’s just Thomas.”

“Sure thing Mr. Thomas,” I replied with a cheeky grin.

Thomas playfully rolled his eyes at me and moved to the kitchen table where he opened his laptop. Most likely to get some work done, not like that’s any of my business. I started chatting with Patton before his foster brother came downstairs.

“Well, if it isn’t the Emo Nightmare!” I said with a smirk. Virgil looked over at me with a scoff of annoyance before moving to the fridge and pulling out a water bottle.

“So,” Patton said, returning to our conversation. “What are we watching tonight Roman?”

“I haven’t decided yet but I do know that it will be one of these movies,” I said pulling out the DVD cases I had brought.

Logan set his book aside and looked at the cases “why do you always choose Disney movies?”

“I don’t always choose Disney!” I protested “sometimes I chose a musical.” I heard Virgil snort and I turned to him “what? You have a problem with Disney?!”

“No,” He said. “I, too, am a Disney fan.”

“You?” I laughed.

“What? Why is that so hard to believe?”

“Disney movies are the embodiment of goodness and purity, something you would know nothing about!” I said, still laughing.

“Be nice kiddo” Patton scolded.

“Disney movies have such wonderful and empowering messages!” I said to Virgil.  

Virgil gave me a dark smirk and leaned up against the kitchen counter, still holding his water bottle.“You must not be watching the same movies then.” He said, “because the movies I know have much more sinister undertones.”

He looked over at Logan and Patton “Come on, you must sense it. I'm just making sure you're alert to all of the messages in those films, whether they were intentional or not.”

“Actually, this is kind of intriguing,“ Logan said.

“What?” I cried.

“So you think every movie has a darker meaning or a misleading message?” Logan clarified.

“Oh yeah.”

“This is ridiculous!” I yelled “you besmirch the name of Disney. This time, you have gone too far!”

“Really?” Virgil raised an eyebrow, setting aside his water. “This is where you cross the line?”

“Well, how 'bout this?” Patton cut in “Logan and I will throw out some Disney movies and you two tell us what we’re supposed to learn from each movie.”

The two of us agreed and Patton got started. I’m sure I’ll win. There was no way that evil villain will be able to find anything wrong with such perfect movies.

------

“Okay, movie one. Cinderella.” Patton said.

“Ha! Easy.” I said, “believe in your dreams and one day, they will come true.”

“Sure, just literally wait around your entire life, subjecting yourself to the cruelty of your ungrateful, ignorant family members, until some magical fairy comes along to save you.” Virgil said sarcastically “don't take action yourself.”

“She had mice, too!” I protested.

“Not to mention, men can't memorize the face of a woman they've been dancing around with for hours, they have to rely on the shoe.” The darker teen added, “ergo... men are idiots.”

“He was a very busy prince! He had a lot on his mind!”

“Let's just move to another.” Patton said, “um, Snow White!”

“Okay, so this time the message is to not do what the princess did.” I said, “don't accept random fruit from strangers.”

“Or, don't eat fruit...?” Patton said.

“No,” Thomas called from the kitchen table.

“No?”

“The bigger message is to just run away from your problems and become the housekeeper for seven men,” Virgil said.

“Sometimes the best solution is to get out of a bad situation!”

“Not to mention, a prince comes out of nowhere and plants a kiss on a seemingly sleeping girl?” He adds “I guess consent isn't really that important.”

“I never did understand that,” Logan said to himself.

“He thought she was dead! It was a farewell kiss!” I yelled, “what's with all the prince hate?”

“I wonder,” Virgil said in a sarcastic tone that I’ve grown to hate.

“Well, how about something a little bit more recent: Frozen,” Patton suggested.

“A sister's love triumphs overall!” I said.

“And don't trust random princes. I can get behind that” Virgil added.

“I swear…”

“Also, when Elsa passes away, Olaf's gonna die too, 'cause the magic will be gone. So just prolong the inevitable?” Immediately Patton and I cried out about how dark that was. Virgil just shrugged saying that he’d warned us.

“How about we lighten it up with Peter Pan?” Patton suggested.

“Don't let your childhood spirit ever die” I said.

“Also, it's totally fine to believe a random stranger when they tell you to jump out the window after they've broken into your house.” Virgil said “but I would guess that's how your whole being would die.”

I groaned “urgh…”

“Okay, how about Aladdin? My favorite!” Thomas said, moving to lean up against the table. Watching us with interest.

“The value of a person is not determined by wealth.” I told them “a diamond in the rough can be found anywhere, even someone who may be considered a street rat.”

“And they can get what they want by lying and deceiving their way right into the castle and getting the princess.” Virgil smirked.

“Oh, come on!” I cried “he came clean in the end! He even freed the Genie!”

“Yeah, he did.” Virgil agreed “but not before his way lying and deceiving right into the castle and getting the princess.”

“How about Fox and the Hound?” Patton asked.

“True friendship overcomes any boundaries set by society.” I said, folding my arms and glaring at Virgil.

“But then that friendship will be immediately be terminated by that society, and the two must learn their place in the world.” He added.

“Beauty and the Beast” Logan suggested.

“Okay, I know what you're gonna say, you're gonna say--”

“Stockholm Syndrome.” Virgil and I said in unison.

“But,” I said “it is more than just a prisoner falling in love with her kidnapper! It is about a love that transcends outward appearance. Even a beastly, hairy, animal-- you're right, that doesn't sound much better.” Hums of agreement floated around the room “But come on, can you really look down so harshly on these movies?”

“I still like them,” Virgil said “there's just some darker messages that we don't first see.”

“Bambi?” I asked.

“Man is dangerous.”

“Pocahontas!”

“White man is dangerous.”

“Sleeping Beauty!”

“Well, now we're back to the lack of consent with sleeping women.” He responded with a smirk.

“It was to lift a curse!” I yelled.

“The Little Mermaid?” Thomas asked.

“Don't just sign a contract without having your mer-lawyer look over all the fine print and stipulations. That one's just common sense.” Virgil said.

“Or learn to write, or use sign language.” Logan added “there's more than one way to tell the prince you're the girl that saved him.” I couldn’t help but silently agree with both Virgil and Logan.

“Well then, how about we just concede that Disney movies have a lot of different, interesting messages within them” Patton said.

“Duh, that's what I've been saying.” Virgil said “I never said Princey was wrong.”

I was surprised “you didn't?”

“No.”

“Well,” I said slowly “then I suppose I shall concede a few points to you.”

“Great.” Virgil began to leave the kitchen, water bottle in hand, when I called out to him.

“Wait,” he stopped and slowly turned around “there’s one movie you forgot” I said.

“Which one?”

“Tangled.”

Virgil stiffened “there are those in your life who are supposed love and care for you but sometimes all they do is hurt you.” He answered quietly.

Everyone in the room went silent. Virgil ducked his head and flipped up his hood, hiding his face from view. And he quickly disappeared down the hall.

[sellyoursoulforagoodfic]

The Montgomery Files: Chapter 7

Dredd x reader

By @adventuresintooblivion​

Word Count: 2194

Summary: A gala. With embezzlement. And Wolfe’s family. Oh joyous day!

Note: Takes place after my series that you can find in the Masterlist.

Montgomery sighed softly, picking idly at her Lo Mein. Tonight was a weird night. Dredd and Y/LN were on a mission together for fucking once but it was guard duty of all things. It was for a fundraiser for kids or something like that. But not only were they undercover, the event was hosted by the Wolfes of all people. 

After Chief had told the couple about their assignment, Montgomery had been called into Control for a special favor. While the Chief didn’t cash in her special favors very often, this one seemed to be particularly important. And illegal. Hence, why it had been given to Montgomery. 

Her skills with a computer were somewhat infamous amongst her peers. However, they all were aware that what she did wasn’t always within the confines of the law. Most people tended to turn a blind eye since it kept street Judges alive. This was different though.

This assignment wasn’t dangerous and it was almost impossible for either Dredd or Y/LN to get injured let alone killed. It was a fundraiser for crying out loud. What were they doing, hiding guns in the punch? But with the Wolfe’ involved, Montgomery couldn’t help but wonder if this was a bit personal.

Despite the fact that she usually thrived on this underground night life, Montgomery couldn’t help but wish she was at home watching some stupid mystery show. Over the past couple years, she’d practically begged Operators and Handlers alike for a chance like this. To be working with the two best Judges to walk the planet and be allowed to do as much shady shit as she wanted? It was a dream.

And five minutes in it became obvious that Dredd had a stick up his ass the size of the empire state building. His tux was bare minimum. He refused to drink or even grab Y/LN anything. Something about not being intoxicated while on duty. Then to top it off, he wouldn’t dance.

Again Montgomery was staring into the live feed, the gaudy decorations making her go a little cross eyed. For some relief she happened to glance over at a separate screen which displayed, in live time, the charity funds and where they were going. A list next to the sum of money in the account caught her attention. It was all of the guests credit card information, security number and all. Even the bogus cards that had been given the Dredd and Y/LN were listed. If Montgomery wanted to, she could get herself a nice pair of boots.

She pushed the thought aside as she began tracking the funds. Money began to pour in as the bidding started. The website said the money was supposed to fund a research program for children affected by pollution. It was called KIDS2BCURED. While the name was cheesy enough to make it sound real, it didn’t mean anything.

Montgomery flipped through the half dozen windows she had open for this project before finally settling on the bank accounts. It was supposed to arrive in a joint bank account for employees and supervisors to use in order to fund their research. However, no matter how much bidding was done at the fundraiser, no money showed up. 

Montgomery frowned. Maybe there was some weirdly high tech security on this.

But then she got curious and began tracking down the paper trail from KIDS2BCURED. It existed on a couple pieces of paper but besides registering for the name the actual company didn’t exist.

Suddenly one of her windows pinged as it begam active. As she pulled it up she glanced at the headline. This was a list of all the bank accounts owned by the Wolfe’s respective business ventures. The one labeled as DuoCare Pharmaceuticals was suddenly filling up with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Montgomery followed the paper trail on this as well, wondering how real this company was compared to KIDS2BCURED. Soon she found a copyright license for the name and a deed to a warehouse. The nice a reputable kind that’s surrounded by the shittiest part of town and other empty warehouses. And the bank account itself was owned directly by Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe.

“Welp, that’s illegal.” Montgomery couldn’t stop the chuckle as it came unbidden to her lips.

Rodrigez peeked around the wall of the cubical, “Oh? Illegal? Now you wouldn’t be snooping around unauthorized locations again?” His sing-song voice barely penetrated the drone of the party coming through her headphones.

This time Montgomery rolled her eyes, “No, I’m authorized to go where I want this time. But you know the friendly neighborhood fuck-up?”

He nodded eagerly, slowly making his way over to peer at her computer screen.

“Her parents are totally embezzling money from the richest and most powerful families in the Megacity.”

“Aren’t half of those Mafia?”

Montgomery nodded and continued typing.

Rodrigez continued, “No fucking way. That’s too ballsy to be someone related to her. Wait, do you think she knows?”

Before she could answer Rodriez hopped back on his computer and began typing furiously. His face lit up with an intense focus. Montgomery glanced over curious. All she could see was Wolfe’ picture on the screen.

“Oh Montgomery, this is poetic. She’s there.” he exclaimed. 

Montgomery felt her mouth fall open, “She’s at the fundraiser?”

He nodded, “She requested off just for it.”

Montgomery squealed happily, “Oh this is gonna be great. Wait, am I a bad person for wanting this to happen?”

Rodrigez shrugged as Montgomery switched the comms on, “Y/LN, Dredd?”

It was Y/LN who replied, “Yes?”

The Handler grinned, “So how’s babysitting?”

“Dear God, Montgomery, don't get me started. Is there something you need?” She groaned into the microphone. 

“Hmm? Oh nothing except a possible arrest warrant for  Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe.”

There was a long moment of silence on the other side of the comms, “Hello?”

Y/LN cleared her throat, “Yeah, I’m here. I just...What for?”

“Embezzlement. Turns out that little fundraiser they host eventually works around to line their own pockets.”

A deep chuckle came over the comms, “Oh that is too perfect. Has the warrant been made official yet?”

Montgomery rolled her eyes, “Come on, Dredd, what do you take me for?”

Montgomery quickly sent the information to the Chief as a soft groan emanated over the speaker.

“I think you’re a Handler that straddles the line of the law and who frequently dips their toe into questionably legal activities. You’re also really fucking loud,” he replied. The screen finally flickered to life as he finished.

“So why haven’t you arrested me yet?”

Dredd didn’t dignify her with an answer as the scanners began to identify party goers. People dressed in the most expensive of fabrics this city could create. Montgomery chuckled dryly as she noticed the copious amounts of potpourri. So this is what the rich did to hide the stench of the squalor that surrounded them.

A soft ping pulled her from her thoughts as a notification appeared on Dredd’s screen.

His deep voice soon followed, “Arrest order received. We will commence with caution.”

Y/LN grumbled, “You know if it was anyone else besides the Wolfe’ the we wouldn’t be waiting for a warrant. We’re Judges.”

Dredd sighed softly and turned to look at his wife, “They donated thousands of dollars to the Academy since Wolfe joined. Not to mention they have a monopoly on the materials used to make our uniforms bullet proof. Understandably, the Chief is a bit nervous about this whole thing.”

Montgomery interrupted, “Hey guys, maybe we should talk about this later when we aren’t being recorded.”

Y/LN pressed her lips together before standing and making her way towards the Wolfe’. Dredd followed close behind. His hand rested on his firearm gently as they got within speaking distance. Judge Wolfe was standing beside them.

In Montgomery’s opinion, her dress was hideous. It was a silver strapless monstrosity. The color plus the copious amounts of ruffles left her looking like a pale scrawny chicken with no breasts. Her badly dyed hair didn’t help matters in the slightest. And she was about to get the shock of her life.

“Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe you are under arrest for fraud, embezzlement and forgery. You’re coming with us.” Y/LN pulled out her cuffs and began restraining the suspects.

Mr. Wolfe stammered, “E...Excuse me? We’ve done no such thing! Where is the proof?”

Dred spoke over Mr. Wolfe’ rambling, “Sir, you know how this goes. We are waiting to sentence you away from your daughter. Don’t make this any harder on yourself.”

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? These are my parents, they can’t do anything illegal.” Judge Wolfe’ shrill voice pierced through the clamour of the crowd.

“Stand down Judge. This isn’t your case.” Y/LN shot her down. She wasn’t about to deal with her tonight.

“No I will not stand down! I mean seriously, this can’t be happening. They wouldn’t steal. They donate to a bunch of charities-.”

Y/LN finished for her, “While lining their pockets. We’re not going to discuss this further.”

Wolfe whipped out her badge, “I am a Judge too and I order you not to take them.”

Dredd began pulling the Wolfe’s away, “You don’t have that authority. Stop making a fuss.”

“Also, I’m your partner. I know you’re a Judge. You’re supposed to know how this process works,” Y/L/N grumbled.

Wolfe stomped her foot, “If you take another step I’ll arrest you for...uh...kidnapping.”

Y/LN growled, “Wolfe this is your last chance, get out of the way.” Wolfe folded her arms in defiance, “Alright, you’re charged with obstruction of justice. One night in a holding cell.”

Wolfe’ mouth fell open. She didn’t move in time to escape the cuffs and before long all three Wolfe’ were escorted out.

Y/LN let out a large sigh of relief as she smiled at her husband, “That was so satisfying.”

“DAMN FUCKING RIGHT IT WAS!” Both Y/LN and Dredd flinched, grunting at the pain that lanced through their ears.

Dredd growled, “What the fuck, Montgomery?”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry. That was so cool. I had to put the comms on mute so I didn’t yell your ears off.”

“Don’t worry; I recorded it,” Rodrigez chimed in.

The heavy door on the transport closed with a heavy thunk. The Wolfes all hung their heads in shame. Y/N was about to leave but before she could get very far, something tugged on her hand.

She turned to see Dredd giving her only what she could call a sheepish grin. She couldn’t stop her answering smile from spreading across her lips.

“What?”

“Well.” He pulled her closer until their bodies were pressed together. “I can’t help but notice that you’re all nice and dressed up.”

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her body molding against his, “You look rather handsome yourself.”

Dredd chuckled, “Why thank you. Now, we have a rare opportunity presented to us. We are both dressed up, out on the town and have the rest of the night free. Fuck the Wolfe. They’ll still be there in the morning.”

Y/N blinked in surprise, “Judge Dredd, putting off the law?”

He pressed his lips against hers, silencing her before pulling her away from the gathering crowd. They quickly disappeared into a nearby hotel. Y/N laughed nervously as she looked around.

The place was decorated lavishly. Even though they’d never been here before it was obvious it’d been decorated for some event. The chandeliers glinted like thousands of stars against a marble ceiling. Plush chairs were set around a large fireplace. Tables and desks shone with an intense red that Dredd didn’t know could belong to wood.

A clerk dressed in a tux glanced up from the front desk, “Hello, are you two here for the Midnight Gala?”

Dredd pressed his lips together, “ Yes?”

The clerk nodded before typing quickly on his computer, “Names please?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Y/LN,” Y/N answered.

After a few clicks he smiled, “Welcome Mr. and Mrs. Y/LN I’m so glad you could make it. I have your reservations right here. Would you like me to print out your invitations?”

Dredd shared a look with his wife before replying, “That’d be great.”

As they were being escorted through the hotel, Y/N leaned over to her husband, “What the fuck?”

The comms buzzed to life, “You’re welcome.”

“Montgomery? You’ve got to stop this, you’re being creepy.”

“Then turn off your cameras.”

Y/N grumbled before finally asking, “You did this?”

Montgomery chuckled, “You two looked so adorable such busy busy Judges. I figured you could use the break.”

Y/LN smiled despite the fact that the Handler couldn’t see her, “That’s awfully sweet of you. So, what’re you planning?”

“Nothing.” She replied. “But after you’re done I”ll be rooting for you to fuck him sideways.”

Y/N suppressed the urge to admonish her but instead turned off her camera and squeezed Dredd’s elbow, urging him to do the same.

[always-and-forever-a-killjoy]

Building Home Chapter 5

Hey guys and welcome to another cool fucking chapter by yours truly /j. In all seriousness I am SO excited for this one because hell yeah newsie! Anyways the last chapter title was from S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W, kudos to @wishiwasthemoon-tonight for guessing that one!

Title: Building Home

Chapter Title: We lit the fire

Chapter Wordcount: 4188

Chapter Summary:

The mysterious new crew member arrives, swears a lot, and befriends Cherri Cola.

POV: NewsAGoGo

Warnings: violence, death mentions. (If you want to know what parts to skip, go to the end notes on AO3- I also put a brief summary of any important info in those parts. Stay safe!)

Taglist: @wishiwasthemoon-tonight @sleevesareforlosers@stressed-depressed-emo-mess @tasteofamnesia @dagger-queen​ @no-braincells-here @piratecherricola (message me, send an ask, or reblog/reply to one of my posts if you want to be added or removed)

AO3 Link

Chapter 1 AO3 Link

Chapter 1 Tumblr Post

Chapter 2 Tumblr Post

Chapter 3 Tumblr Post

Chapter 4 Tumblr Post

(Actual fic under the cut)

NewsAGoGo was hot. And tired. Who would have guessed that the desert was this fucking hot? Well, probably everyone, but it was even hotter than you would reasonably expect from a desert. It was all well and good to say that the desert could reach a hundred degrees or more, something entirely different to actually experience it. It was fucking broiling. NewsAGoGo was cooking in her skin, even in the white clothes she had taken from Battery City. Why in the name of fuck had she decided to do this again? Oh, right, because the other option was to be taken away and trained as an exterminator. Which, if Newsie was going to end up in this goddamn war, they were sure as hell not fighting for the corporation which seemed out to ruin everyone’s fucking lives.

So Newsie was tromping into the desert, tired and hot and did they mention tired? Their feet hurt from walking, and they were starting to think hitchhiking would have been a better idea. The Juvie hall rebels within the city had gotten them out, sure, but actually getting to other killjoys was a whole different story, and so far it was more of a horror story than a fairy tale. 

It was about to be even more of a horror story, as Newsie discovered when a car of draculoids started bearing down on her.

“Fuck. Fucking fuck!” Newsie looked around quickly and spotted a handily placed tumbleweed not too far off the road. It probably wouldn’t hide her for long, but it was also sheltered by dunes, and it was by far her best bet. Maybe they could even take out some of the dracs from behind there. So Newsie hurried behind it, waiting for the car to pass by.

It appeared the car wasn’t actually here for them, as it passed by without incident, slowing slightly as it went by. Curious, Newsie hurried over to find that there was a supply truck stopped in the center of the road not a hundred feet off from where she had been, and a killjoy in a distinctive pink mask was standing by it, seemingly unafraid of the car bearing down on them. 

Newsie almost shouted a warning before realizing that was one of the most damn stupid ideas they had ever had. It didn’t seem like the killjoy needed one either, as they let the car bear down on them until the last possible second, throwing themselves aside as the car sped past. It took a few minutes for the draculoid driving to be able to turn around, and by then, the killjoy had a ray gun out and pointed at the car. Newsie watched as they shot the draculoid driving, seemingly perfectly unafraid. The car screeched to a halt as another few shots hit the engine of the car, the other dracs hurrying to stop it and get out. 

Now that they were outside the shelter of the car, the killjoy’s true skill was revealed. It hardly seemed like a fair fight at first, four dracs on one killjoy, but Newsie realized it was more than fair- it was unfair to the dracs. Two of them were dead within a second, and the third almost cowered in terror as they tried to duel with the killjoy. But whoever the joy was, they had forgotten to account for the fourth drac. 

Newsie could hardly believe they were doing this, but they raised the ray gun a few juvie halls had given them and took aim, steadying their hand with their other one as they pulled the trigger.

Her shot didn’t kill the drac outright, but it hit the drac in the arm and made them scream. That was enough to alert the killjoy, who had just finished disarming and knocking out the third drac, and they turned and shot the forth point-blank. Newsie breathed a silent sigh of relief, although she didn’t exactly know why.

Meanwhile, the pink-masked killjoy was looking around. “Whoever fired the first shot on this, I’m not going to hurt you. In fact, you just saved my ass, so thank you!”

Newsie hurried down the slope, hoping this guy could bring them back to some form of civilization or at least somewhere with shade. They were sweltering. “Hey!”

“Hey there!” The killjoy nodded to her. “Thanks for having my back there, I was careless to let that fourth one slip by me.”

“Uh, no problem.”

“I’m Cherri Cola, he/him. Do you have a Zone name yet?”

Newsie thought about it for a second and gave him the name she had considered and debated many times over on the endless walk here. “NewsAGoGo. She/her, uh, and they/them.”

“Nice to meet you. You’re an undergrad, yeah?”

“I would literally be a freshman in high school.”

Cherri Cola stared at them for a second and then cracked up. “Sorry, Zone slang. You’re fresh out of Batt City is what I mean.”

“Oh. Yeah, I’m fresh out of Battery City, what’s it to you?” She eyed him suspiciously.

“I was wondering if you needed a place to stay, I didn’t have one when I got out here either.” 

That was...kinder than they expected. They still didn’t trust this strange killjoy with fire in his eyes, but he was their best option for getting somewhere other than the side of a road in Zone whatever. “Yeah, I don’t have anywhere to go.”

“Well then I’ll bring you back to Autumn. They’ll take anyone.”

Newsie tried not to be insulted by that as Cherri Cola led her back to his motorcycle. “Fancy ride.”

“D helped me fix it up,” he said, as if she knew who ‘D’ was. “The sidecar’s all full, I hope you don’t mind riding on the back.”

They did mind a little, but it was better than being crammed in a sidecar even if the sidecar hadn’t been full. So they shook their head. “I don’t mind.”

“Great!” Cherri Cola climbed on and gestured her after. “Let’s go before the crows get here.”

Newsie hopped on the motorcycle reluctantly, cautiously hanging on to him. “You better not turn out to be a murderer or something.”

“Oh, I am.” Cherri’s voice was surprisingly calm. “But only of dracs and crows, not miscellaneous teenagers who saved my life.”

“Like you’re not a teenager.”

“I’m almost eighteen!”

“Old person,” Newsie snorted.

“And how old are you, then?”

“Fourteen.” 

“Not the youngest ‘joy I’ve known.”

Cherri was a frankly terrible driver, by any sane person’s standard. He went far too fast and took curves at frankly irresponsible speeds, forcing Newsie to hang on tightly. The only good thing that could be said was that he did keep his eyes focused on the road, driving with a fierce intensity, like he was running from something she couldn’t see. So yes, by any sane judgement, Cherri Cola was a fucking terrible driver. 

Newsie rather enjoyed his driving. Sure, they had to wrap their arms around his waist so they didn’t fall off the fucking bike, but the speed was exciting. Freeing. Of all the times Newsie had talked to random strangers over the course of her life, this had to be one of the best outcomes.

And so down the desert roads they went, kicking up dust behind them as Cherri Cola took them back to what appeared to be a small settlement. It had the look of a pre-Helium Wars era town, but as they got closer, Newsie could see that all the buildings were in varying states of destruction, and graffiti was everywhere. Color was the resounding theme of the area, and killjoys hollered back and forth to each other across the broken down streets. It was noisy and chaotic and eye-scorching, and Newsie loved it already. 

“Welcome to our town.” Cherri’s voice had a hint of pride in it as he honked the horn at a few killjoys in their way.

“It’s fucking loud.” It was fucking perfect.

“The noise comes with having a bunch of kids in a town.” He pulled to a stop in front of a tall house with ‘House of Soup’ spray painted over the door.

Newise snorted and Cherri shot her a glare. “Care to help me unload?”

“Fine.”

She helped him carry in several large boxes of varying things, batteries and power pup mainly, and got quite a few stares.

“Hey, Cher!” That was a killjoy with bleached white streaks through their hair, bearing a wide smile as they leaned in to hug Cherri. “Who’s this?”

“NewsAGoGo, she’s new to the desert. She/they.” Cherri turned to Newsie. “This is White Lily, she/her and leader of the current rebellion, as much as we have any one leader.” 

“Pleased to meet you.” White Lily’s smile seemed genuine, although her eyes blazed with a similar fire to Cherri’s. 

Newsie shook her offered hand carefully. “Nice to meet you.” 

“So you’re staying with us?” White Lily didn’t wait for a reply before turning back to Cherri. “Cher, you can take off your mask, you know.”

He sighed and pushed his pink mask up onto his forehead, revealing the dark circles under his eyes and the child-like softness of his face, a sharp contrast to his angular cheekbones.

“A literal child, that’s what you look like,” Newsie declared.

Cherri glared at her. “I know I look like I’m twelve, fuck off.” His face might have been young, but his eyes were old and frankly the only even vaguely intimidating thing about him. If Newsie hadn’t watched him face down a car full of dracs on his own, they would have thought he was nothing to be afraid of. 

“You look younger than me.” It wasn’t quite the truth, but it was entertaining to watch Cherri’s face at that.

“Alright, I’m off to talk to D,” White Lily declared. “You can talk to Autumn Assassin about finding a room for them.” Her words were casual, but the tone made it clear it was an order.

“I will, tell D he needs to come in pretty soon if he doesn’t want to miss dinner.” 

Newsie was starting to wonder if she was going to meet this mysterious D. “So...Autumn Assassin?”

“The person who runs this house. They should be out back.” Cherri led them through the house and out to the backyard area, where a short, red-haired killjoy appeared to be teaching a much taller one how to hold a ray gun. “Hey, Autumn!” 

“Oh, hey, Cola.” They didn’t turn, busy adjusting the other killjoy’s grip.

“Do we have a spare room?”

“Not right now, we’re at capacity with that new crew of joys.”

“Fuck.”

“Why?”

Cherri gestured at Newsie. 

“Oh, newbie.” Autumn Assassin looked Newsie up and down. “We’ve got an extra mattress, but not another room, do you think you and your crew can let them stay with you? Assuming you’re okay with that, kid.”

Cherri huffed a sigh. “D and Lil probably won’t mind. NewsAGoGo?”

“Guess I’ll stay with you.” They didn’t know what possessed them to do so, but after a second they add a small “Fucker.”

To their surprise, Cherri laughed. “You won’t be a bad roommate, I think.”

Newsie started her career as Cherri’s roommate by sticking to his side like a limpet, unwilling to leave the one person she actually knew. Cherri tolerated this with a surprising amount of grace, giving them a patient smile as he led them upstairs to put the spare mattress in the room they would now be sharing with Cherri, Lily, and whoever D was. He didn’t protest it, not even as they followed him outside. 

“Where are we going?”

“You need killjoy clothes.” 

Newsie frowned in annoyance that he just assumed they’d follow, but to be fair, they had followed him everywhere so far. “So where are we going?”

“Tommy Chow Mein’s.”

Cherri Cola took them to the store across the way, what looked to have once been a general store. Now it was still one, but a killjoy one, filled with everything from bubblegum to ray guns to miscellaneous bits of clothing, which were what Cherri headed for. “Here we go.”

“I have literally ten carbons.”

“Tommy knows me, I’ll get you a discount. Plus, D, Lil and I have some to spare.” 

Newsie stared at the floor. “You better not be helping me because I’m pitiful and just ran away from home because fucking Better Living was going to turn me into one of their fucking soldiers so I ran and ran and walked so fucking far in that heat and now I look like a fucking mess.”

She didn’t have to look up to know his face was sympathetic, she could feel it in his gaze. “I’m not helping you because your life has been shit or I feel bad for you, I’m helping you because it’s a decent thing to do. Plus, I’ve been there,” he added after a second. “I came out to the desert with no one to help me or a single fucking person who cared.” 

Newsie glanced up at that. “So now you just help random killjoys?”

Cherri shrugged. “Mostly I kill dracs. But sometimes, yeah.” 

She was still somewhat reluctant, but she picked out a shiny-looking peach jacket, ripped black jeans, an utterly hideous purple, green and gold shirt, and sturdy boots with purple laces. 

Cherri gave them a thumbs up of approval, grinning at the outfit. “You have style.”

“You don’t.” He was wearing a turquoise t-shirt, jeans that approximately resembled the ground in how dusty they were, and a black leather jacket which was clearly too small for him. 

Cherri flipped them off and dropped a couple of carbons on the counter along with the clothes Newsie had grabbed.

“Swindler,” Tommy Chow Mein snorted. “Are you trying to cheat me out of all these clothes?”

“Who got you out of that clap the other week? And besides, a swindler is someone who sells overpriced goods.”

Tommy gave him a small glare but took the money. “You’re impudent.”

“And you’re a capitalist, your point?” 

That earned them a sigh. “Say hi to D for me.” 

“Will do.” Cherri gave Newsie a glance that said ‘follow me’ and hurried out of the store. They followed him back across the street and over to Autumn Assassin’s house, heading inside to find the living room just as chaotic as before and the short killjoy from earlier stirring a pot of...something in the kitchen. 

"That'll be dinner," Cherri told her with a grin.

At dinner that night, Newsie finally got to meet the mysterious D, who turned out to be a rather tired looking killjoy in a deep brown leather jacket.

“D, this is NewsAGoGo, she/they. They’ll be staying with us because Autumn doesn’t have a spare room,” Cherri introduced. “NewsAGoGo- can I call you Newsie? Or is that not a good nickname- this is Dr. Death Defying, he/they. We all call him D.”

“You can call me Newsie, I guess. Fucker.” She shook D’s offered hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too, NewsAGoGo.” His smile was tired but friendly. 

Newsie’s first night there was a little bit strange, trying to sleep in a strange room with three strangers asleep just across from her. Or, well, not asleep, in the case of the stranger who had brought her here. By virtue of not being able to sleep, they were the only one awake to see Cherri roll off the mattress with a muffled curse, climbing to his feet and rubbing his eyes as he wandered over to the window.

“Hey. Fucker,” Newsie hissed.

He turned, looking a little startled. “Yeah?”

“Whacha doing?”

“Can’t sleep. You?”

“Me too.” She climbed off her own mattress, coming over to join him by the window. “What do you do when that happens out here?”

“Look at the stars, mostly. There aren’t any stars in Battery City.”

“Smart.” Newsie looked out the window, staring up at what looked like hundreds, no, thousands of stars. “Holy shit.”

“There are a lot, yeah.”

“No shit.” It might have been the most beautiful thing they had ever seen, with the possible exception of the killjoy town by daytime. But that was beautiful in a different way, colors and noise and life that made you feel brave. The stars were beautiful in a quiet way that made you feel small and like everything was going to be okay. Newsie understood why Cherri liked to watch them at night. There was a strange sort of comfort in being reminded how truly tiny your place in the universe was.

They glanced over at him. “So…Cherri Cola, huh? You really like soda?”

“My sister did.”

Newsie didn’t know what to say to that. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Thankfully Cherri continued the conversation, keeping the silence from being crushing. “Why did you pick NewsAGoGo?”

“GoGo because I’m always going, I guess. News because of the old reporter droids who took care of me. So NewsAGoGo.”

“That makes sense.”

The silence that followed was a little awkward, but not crushingly so. Eventually, Newsie started yawning.

“You should sleep.”

“You should too, but I didn’t say anything,” Newsie shot back quietly.

“I’ll sleep if you will,” Cherri said dryly.

“Fine.” This time, she could actually fall asleep, Newsie found. The silence wasn’t so harsh, and it felt safer to sleep in a room with three others now that one wasn’t so much a stranger. 

Conversations like that became common as Newsie settled into living with the other three. Neither they nor Cherri could sleep through the night, most nights. So when their nightmares overlapped, the two of them would stand by the window and talk about the past and Battery City and all the things you didn’t discuss when the sun was shining bright overhead. 

Her bond with D and White Lily was nowhere near the same, even if it also tentatively grew stronger. D and Lily didn’t join them at night, even if it wasn’t uncommon for one of them to be awake either. Lily left the room, every time. Newsie suspected she didn’t want the others to hear her cry. D did…something. Newsie didn’t know. Maybe they just laid awake. Either way, it was only her and Cherri who stood by the window.

It was her and Cherri who tended to go out on missions, too. Cherri took her with him more often and more as the days went on. Newsie had continued her policy of sticking to him like a limpet, and he didn’t seem to mind that. So he took them on raids, bringing them to fight exterminators and on all sorts of dangerous things fourteen year olds were absolutely not supposed to do and Newsie rather enjoyed. 

He also brought her to Autumn Assassin, who declared that it was absolutely their responsibility to teach Newsie how to shoot a ray gun properly, as well as a variety of other weapons and American Sign Language (useful for communicating silently in claps and with nonverbal or hard of hearing killjoys, Cherri explained). Newsie didn’t exactly object to that, although they did wish a little someone else could teach them. Autumn Assassin was a bit harsh, not exactly sharp but definitely straightforward. Cherri promised it would be okay, though, and Newsie trusted him more than the rest, at least. 

Cherri was almost always there when they were doing lessons as well, taking his own shots at the target. Whether that was for his sake or Newsie’s was debatable, but they didn’t mind his presence. Autumn Assassin corrected him almost as much, and they also made him practice a variety of other weapons. Cherri turned out to be terrifyingly good at shooting, but not bad with the rest either. And Newsie wasn’t as good a shot- almost no one was, except maybe Autumn Assassin- but they enjoyed the other forms of combat

“Thank you,” D told her one day. He was standing next to Newsie and watching Cherri spar with Autumn Assassin, circling each other and fighting like their lives depended on it- they very well might, some day.

“For what?” 

D gestured vaguely around. “Being here.”

They eyed the other somewhat suspiciously. “I haven’t done shit for you.”

“You have for Cherri.” D glanced over at where Autumn Assassin was tackling Cherri into the dust. “He really likes talking to you, and he’s a lot less resistant to taking you on missions than others.” 

“Oh.”

“I’d rather he let me come along,” they continued, “but being willing to take you is a step in the right direction. No offense to you, but you’re inexperienced, and I would feel safer if he would let me help him.”

“He’s a stubborn bastard.”

“Yes, he is.”

“Fuck! Good one!” Autumn Assassin’s nose was bleeding as they and Cherri tromped over, both grinning.

“Got them,” Cherri said proudly. “D, you want to get your ass kicked by Autumn?”

“I’ll kick their ass,” D threatened, but he was smiling too. 

“Try me, bitch boy,” Autumn Assassin deadpanned.

“I will and you know I will.”

“Shooting competition?”

“Don’t pick something you know you can beat me at, coward.” 

“Then draw swords,” Autumn challenged.

Cherri laughed and came to stand next to Newsie as they watched the two older killjoys fight. “Those two have some sort of rivalry going on, I think.” “A friendly one or a ‘they want to stab each other’ one like you and Tommy Chow Mein?”

“Tommy doesn’t want to stab me, I’m his best customer,” Cherri said indigently. “And a friendly one, they’re friends but also enjoy fighting. Although that’s nothing compared to some others, you should see Lily and Autumn really get going, though.”

“Really? Do they hate each other?” Newsie hadn’t seen much of their dynamic, but it seemed more friendly than anything.

“Oh, no, they’re great friends, but they do enjoy trying to beat the shit out of each other.”

They nodded. She was still learning about the dynamics of the household, between the chaotic crews that called themselves the Brit Boys and the Tumbleweed Chasers and Autumn Assassin, between Autumn Assassin and each member of Cherri’s crew, which thus far had no name. Autumn Assassin was head of the household in a fairly clear way, but beyond that, the relationships were hard to pin down.

The dynamics between Cherri’s crew she thought she had down a little bit better. Cherri was very much the baby of the crew- at least he had been until she arrived- and D and Lily had a shared sort of solidarity of having fought in the wars. Both were ridiculously protective of Cherri, and Cherri was protective of them in turn. How intensely he fought was for many reasons, Newsie thought, but protecting his friends had to rank high on there. They hadn’t gone on many missions with more than one of the crew, but the one they had, they had watched Cherri jump between D and a scarecrow despite the older ‘joy’s protests.

So Cherri became more and more of her best friend, and D and Lily almost equally close. They learned things like that Cherri’s favorite color was pink and D liked old music and listened to Metallica and Lily had been a comic book nerd as a kid. And in return, they told their own stories, if quietly and for few ears. How they liked technology (D was very happy with that one, immediately asking if they would help with the radio station) and didn’t have the patience for chess but had learned how to play checkers better than anyone they knew.

While it might have been easy for other people to see only the personas the three (and now four) of them put on, Dr. Death Defying as the confident radio announcer and White Lily the inspiring rebellion leader, while Cherri Cola was a brave sharpshooter, Newsie was never not able to look past that. She hadn’t met Cherri as Cherri Cola, best sharpshooter of the killjoy’s forces, who would later go head to head with exterminators, she had met him as a dorky seventeen year old who drove too fast. Lily had never been White Lily, invincible leader of a rebellion doomed to fail, she had always been Cherri’s friendly roommate, while D had been that tired guy in a brown jacket. Utterly and completely human.

Although Newsie was nowhere as famous as those three yet, they had started to attract notice of their own. NewsAGoGo, radio assistant, that kid who rode with the Trio. Fighting shit with Cherri didn’t help that impression. Because as it turned out, there were consequences for being friends with the three most influential figures of a rebellion, and those consequences included a reputation and dracs constantly trying to get you ghosted. Newsie was getting very good at fighting them off and brushing off the occasional stare or whispered comment. Maybe it wasn’t right that she had to learn, maybe it wasn’t just that a fourteen-year-old had been put in this situation, but this was war. And Newsie learned quickly.

[willddheartt]

Babylon: Neon Lights | C.H. Chapter Six: Midnight

It had been a love-hate relationship between them the entire time they’ve known one another. Nobody could explain, or pinpoint, the anger and hostility between Calum and Cherry every time they were together. At this point, their friends get concerned when there isn’t a passive-aggressive comment made or some type of glare exchanged. They met through mutual friends, who tried to set them up, saying they’re perfect for each other, leaving everyone astonished that something so perfect went so wrong.

DISCLAIMER: SOME PARTS MIGHT BE R RATED !!

Series warnings: Substances (alcohol & cigarettes), Anger (snappy comments), Smutty content

Series Masterlist

August 16th 9:00 AM Saturday morning. It should be illegal to be up this early on the weekend. This was supposed to be my weekend but I promised a coworker I could cover her shift this week, something that I was regretting now. The only thing that was getting me through today was what I’d be getting paid in overtime.  Most of the morning sorting clothes from the fitting rooms, hiding away in the men’s fitting rooms. Since it was the weekend and neither the manager or assistant manager were in today, I kept my phone in my back pocket sneaking it out each time I took a small break from folding all the clothes that piled up over the week. It was almost 5:00 PM, with each passing minute I was feeling more and more relieved that I would get to go home. 

The slow day had been exhausting. I questioned why we were even open on Sundays since there are very few people who come in. I was almost asleep at my perch in the male dressing rooms as a voice tore through my quiet corner, jolting me awake. “Can I get a room?”  I sat up straight quickly, thinking the person was an actual customer, but I was met with a coffee being handed to me and a smiling Calum.  “Hey,” I said, taking the coffee from him, “How’d you know I was working?”  “Violet told me, she also told me your coffee order because I figured you’d like a little pick me up,” Calum said  “What did you put a shot of whiskey or dissolve some cocaine in it?” I laughed, “It's about the only thing that can get me through the next hour,”  “That bad, huh?”  I nodded, “It’s been so dead, I just want to go home so I can take the best nap of my life,”  Calum frowned slightly, “I actually came to ask you if you wanted to do something tonight but it looks like you need some rest,”  “What did you have in mind?” I asked  Calum shrugged, “It's not important,”  “You sure? Cause I wasn’t joking about the coke, I'll do a line and be good for tonight,” I smirked making him laugh  “Nah, you should take that nap.”  “C’mon, now that you say that I want to do something,” I pouted 

“Alright,” He finally cracked, “The boys were coming over with their girls tonight for drinks and to just hang, so I’m not massively third wheeling I was hoping you’d come over,” Calum asked nervously  I nodded, “I'll be over after work. Do you have a dress code or anything?”  Calum looked me up and down, from head to toe, for a split second as his eyes scanned my body I felt self conscious. “I think what you have on it fine,” as soon as Calum nodded at my outfit I felt relieved, it was something I wouldn't normally wear outside of the house, my shirt was rather low cut with a strappy bra that was definitely visible from the top of my shirt and my shorts were shorter than usual with my normal fishnet look to keep me in my comfort zone slightly.  “Although I think it would be better with this,” He said, taking off his forest green bomber and placing it over my shoulders. His small action sent a shiver down my spine as he took in my new look.  “I guess I’ll see you in an hour then,” I smiled  Calum nodded, “I guess so, but I do expect this one back.” He said taking slipping his hands into his pockets  “Does that mean I can keep the shirt?” “I didn’t count on getting it back,” Calum chuckled 

-

Calum placed his hand on my thigh as I sank into his side while we laughed at a joke one of the guys cracked. The entire night so far it's felt like every movement Calum made was only to fluster me. If that was the case he was doing a swell job at it. His hand sliding up my leg, resting just below where it would be deemed no longer appropriate, I tried nudging him off, not wanting to have everyone questioning us about anything, I still haven't recovered from Wednesday's dinner. 

“You know it's getting pretty late, if I have anymore I’ll be out,” Michael said, setting his empty glass on the coffee table. Luke and Ashton nodded following suit, their girlfriends had stopped an hour ago.  “Yeah, We’re gonna head out, thanks for having us over, Cal.” Luke said as he and Sierra got up from the love seat  “Anytime man, I’ll see ya later,” Calum said to Luke as he and Sierra made their way out the door.  Within the next 15 minutes Michael and Ashton followed Luke’s lead leaving Calum and I alone in his apartment. 

Finally I was able to push Calum's hand off my thigh, “What was that,” I asked.  “What, this?” He asked, bring his hand back  “Yes,” I nodded  Calum shrugged.  “C’mon,” I laughed, “You know what you were doing.”  “Maybe I do,” Calum smirked, “What are you going to do about it?” His voice was taunting and laced with nympholepsy.  “I’m gonna go for a smoke to sober up,” I said, getting up from the couch quickly. 

I watched Calum through the glass doors on the balcony. I could almost hear his groan as he threw his head back, resting on the back of the couch. Sleeping with him once, I could handle, but a second time might screw me over for good. Even though there was no bad blood between us anymore, he was still the best fuck I had, and a second hit might get me hooked. 

“You smoke a lot,” Calum said, slipping out onto the balcony with me. I nodded, leaning against the railing, looking down onto the bright street below “Its a bad habit, and I can’t quite,” I shrugged  “Stressed?”  I shrugged, “Maybe, donno.”  “You know there's a lot of other ways to destress,” Calum smirked, I looked over my shoulder at him.  “Oh yeah?” I raised an eyebrow at him  “Yeah,” He nodded, “Matter of fact, I think I know one we might both enjoy,”  “You do?” I asked innocently, “Enlighten me,” 

Calum moved behind me, pulling my shoulders up to press his chest into my back as he moved my hair to one side, leaving my neck exposed for him to place a wet kiss at the base of my shoulder. I ignored him slightly and continued to smoke, letting him litter my neck with open mouthed kisses. He moved slowly, letting each kiss linger as he began leaving more open mouthed kisses with each one. It wasn’t until he started sucking a purple spot into my neck that I caved, throwing my smoke over the side of the balcony, lacing my hand through his hair as I turned around and placed a hard kiss to his lips. 

“You’re such a tease,” I breathed, after pulling away “You love it,” He smirked 

As the kisses got harder Calum began stumbling his way backward, back inside his apartment. I took the lead and pushed us into his bedroom. 

-

Panting, Calum fell onto his bed, a slight glaze of sweat coating our bodies and making our skin stick together as he laid next to me.  “What do you think, destressed?” Calum asked, looking at me with a cocky smirk  “I could still go for a cigarette,” I said, rolling my eyes playfully 

[sevenringsblingbling]

Sienna and Colson part 6

Word Count: 2,372

@creatureofthen1ght-v3 <3

When I walked through the door I was so nervous. I had no idea what to expect. It was dimly lit and there were only a few people at the bar, a couple sitting down at one of the tables. I was greeted by one of the waiters. “Hello ma'am. He’s been waiting on you. Please come this way.” I followed behind him. My body was filled with so much excitement and I was just a hot mess on the inside. I still managed to hold it all together doing my catwalk not sure if he could see me or not but I wasn't going to fold in front of him. If he wanted me back he would have to prove himself. The further we walked back the dimmer the lights got. This was so romantic. Then I finally laid eyes on him. I could've passed out right there! He stood up and by this time I was sure my body was in a small puddle. 

“Hi.” Colson bit his lip not sure what to say to break the ice after all they had not spoken in weeks. There Sienna was looking like a goddess in an all black dress and the jewelry he bought for her. “Wow she's absolutely stunning.” He thought to himself. “Hello Colson.” She sat down and he pushed her chair in. Sienna had to play tough but on the inside she just wanted to push all this shit off the table and ride him into the sunset. “Damnn he’s fucking hot.” She thought. “Thanks for coming through. I've been missing you.” He explained pouring her some wine into a glass. He cleared his throat. “You look beautiful by the way. You like the necklace? I picked it out myself.” Sie looked down at it. “Thank you, it's beautiful. You're looking pretty handsome yourself.” Who was she kidding he was fucking beautiful like some type of European model all tall and handsome. Sie wanted him bad but had to hold it together. 

“So how’ve you been holding up?” I picked up the wine glass taking a sip. I wanted to down the whole thing but had to play it cool. “Just been stressing honestly. It’s been rough without you.” I let out a “mhm.” “So rough that you couldn't pick up the phone and call me or at least text?” His eyes got wide almost as if he wasn't expecting that. “I didn’t think you would want anything to do with me after I blew up on you and honestly I couldn't blame you.” Just then a waiter came with our food. “The chicken enchiladas for you ma'am and the steak fajitas for you sir.” The food smelled so good. Colson thanked the waiter. “So like I was saying I didn't blame you for checking out.” “So what changed? I mean why now all of a sudden?” I bite into my food waiting for his response. “Well I realized that I need you. I mean no matter what we go through I want you by my side. Things just haven't been the same without you.”

“I've been trying to get myself together ya know.” I looked over at him. Trying to find my words. “I've been clean since the day we had that fight. I knew I couldn't live that life much longer. It hasn't been easy but here I am clean and sober. Well except for this wine.” I downed the rest of it. “I’m so fucking proud of you and you look amazing by the way.” I nodded in agreement. “Look Sien I want to ask you something important and I hope your answer is yes because this means a lot to me and I want you with me.” He took a shot of what I think was vodka. “Well things have been so crazy and I think a fresh start would help me out of this funk. So I've been thinking and this has been on my mind for awhile now and seeing you here with me just confirmed that I need to do this for my sake and yours.” 

He took a deep breath. “Move to Phoenix with me.” There were a few seconds of awkward silence. I could’ve died right then and there. Phoenix was a big decision to make. So many thoughts ran through my head. “Wow, what? Phoenix? I..why Phoenix out of all the places?” I was stammered. “I need to get away from the bullshit and this way I'm still somewhat close to work but not that close and I can just get a fresh start. Look I’m not moving right away or anything there’s still a lot to take care of but by next year I just want to be the fuck out of L.A. Please say yes.” I shook my head in disbelief. He couldn't expect me to just uproot my whole life to a place I've never been. “I’m glad that you've made a decision to better yourself but Colson I don’t know anybody in Phoenix. I don’t know the first thing about Phoenix,,,well except for it’s hot but other than that.” I shrugged my shoulders. “You don’t know anybody here either. I took a trip to Phoenix just to have a look around and it's not bad at all. You wouldn’t miss this place trust me.” “Well.” I downed more wine until the glass was empty. “This is a big decision..I don't know.” 

“Okay I see you're going to need a little more convincing. Boom let's take a trip out there together after the new year. If you still don't like it then I won’t bring it up again. Will you at least do that?” I nodded. There's no harm in at least taking a trip. “Yeah we can go. Colson I don't mean to rain on your parade but are you sure this is what you want? What about your brothers?  What about work? This all just seems like so much to deal with.” He reassured me. “Yes this a big step but I need this. Everything will work itself out.” I honestly wasn't convinced of this whole Phoenix situation. I really wanted everything to work out but damn Phoenix seemed so far away. 

Other than the talk of moving dinner was good. Desert was a chocolate volcano cake with raspberries inside. “Wow Mr. Baker you sure picked out one hell of a menu for us.” I licked the rest of the chocolate off my spoon. He just licked his lips. “Well a little lady’s gotta eat but for real..” He got in closer whispering. “I want to eat you.” I blushed, having sex was really not in the plan for tonight but I did wax so perhaps subconsciously I did want to fuck him. I hadn't had sex with anyone other than him and my two fingers wernt cutting it. “Let’s go to that hotel down the street and see what happens. We could watch a movie order room service and relax.” “Wait who says I’m fucking you?” “Who said anything about sex? Just sit on my face and let me do all the work.” He brought up my hand and kissed it looking deep into my eyes. I couldn't turn down an offer like that.

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There we were in a hotel suite. I took off that dress and put on a fluffy bathrobe. Even though the dress was beautiful it was cutting off my circulation. We laid on the bed my head on his chest listening to his heartbeat. He hadn’t tried anything so far, neither had I but I wanted to see where his mind was. I kept my bra and panties on as a lil peek a boo show so whenever I’d reach for something the robe would slip open ever so slightly. “Sie your so fucking perfect. I want you baby.” He kissed me and a makeout session ensued. I remember his breath tasting like chocolate, I just loved that. His hand reached down into the waistband of my undies and started playing with my clit. I was so turned on I didn't want him to stop. “Fuck, baby you’re so wet.” Then he started fingering me. His rings were cold inside of me. He had me like puddy in his hand literally. I closed my eyes just enjoying the feeling moaning and whimpering underneath him.

Then I felt him kissing down my stomach, removing my panties and getting to work. Within the first five or so minutes I was already cumming. I was just a hot mess all thanks to this tall ass daddy. I gripped the back of his head, massaging his scalp. “Oh baby now I see why you've got that long ass tongue.” He laughed. “Mm I’m glad you like it. You taste like strawberries too. I haven't tasted you in so long.” He licked my slit working his tongue up to my sensitive clit. “God damn I’m gonna cum again.” He put two fingers inside at the same time. “Yes baby cum all over my face.” Just then I exploded. I must've lost consciousness because when I came to he was tongue kissing me. “Mm little sleeping beauty is up now. That was sexy as a motherfucker baby. We need to try that again.” “What happened? How long have I been out?” “Well you squirted on my face, which I loved by the way and passed out for a good ten seconds.” Oh my, I was so embarrassed. I wanted to hide my face. “Hey don’t be embarrassed it was fucking sexy and I know you haven't had a good orgasm in a while so it was perfect.” 

“Now I need to give you a little something.” I kissed his stomach stopping a few times to kiss his tattoos. “Wait I want you on your hands and knees.” “Um okay baby whatever you want.” I dropped down to my knees waiting for further instructions. “Sien you look so fucking sexy like that I just want to shove my dick down your throat.” I put my hand on the waistband of his boxers. “Well do it then.” “Walk over to the couch and crawl over to me nice and slow like a sexy cat and put those heels back on.”

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I crawled over to him doing my best impersonation of a sexy cat. “Purr like a kitten.” He wasn't asking this was more a demand. I wasn't exactly sure how to purr like a kitten so it just came out sounding like a motorboat. Hey, I tried my best. When I got near his feet and looked up at him all 6’4 inches I just wanted him in every hole pounding away at my mouth and cunt. He patted my head as I unbuckled his pants. “Stick your tongue out and close your eyes.” Then I felt his dickhead tap on the tip of my tongue a few times. He was so warm and that precum tasted amazing. Fuck, I want him now. “Meow like a kitten for me.” This was something new. Okay roleplay. “Meowww.” “This is so fucking hot, Say your a dirty little slut.” “I’m a dirty little slut daddy.” I looked up at him and licked his shaft. “Mm very good.” His eyes rolled around caressing my head. “Fuck I’m close already.” He let out a laugh. “I want some milk down my throat daddy.” I spit on the head and put his beautiful dick in my mouth. “Oh fuck. Sien...wait..geez god damn girl.” I stopped and smirked up at him. Yes, I am the blowjob queen. Pops collar. He was panting through his words. 

He practically threw me on the bed too impatient to do anything else and stuck all eight inches in at once. I let out a gasp. Not giving me time to adjust. Hello sir! I haven't had sex in weeks give my pussy time to get ready! “You feel so fucking good Sien. You’re fucking wet hmm.” His dick felt so good pounding me like a little whore. I was a whore, his whore. “Deeper daddy. Fuck me like one of your little sluts please.” I moaned lost in ecstasy not sure where the fuck that came from but I was so in the moment. “Alright baby lay down on your stomach.” It took a mere seconds for me to change positions. He ran his dick over my asshole which scared me. He must've felt me tense up because he laughed and moved it down over my slit and rammed himself inside of me and fucked me harder and faster. By this time I had already lost count of how many times I had cum. Perhaps four or five? “Ow oh fuck ow ow Col.” His dick was so deep it was starting to hit my cervix which was sweet pain. He ignored my pleas and kept pounding. 

“Fuck Sien you've got the sweetest pussy, god damn.” He moaned in my right ear. “You know what would make daddy happy? He grabbed my neck gently and whispered “I want another woman to taste your pussy while I fuck your throat.” I nodded. That does sound hot as fuck but actually doing something like that I couldn't be sober. He pulled out and nudged his dick on my asshole. I started to protest “No,,” “Shh shh all my sluts take it in the ass like a good girl.” Love drunk, I agreed. Once he got the head in it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. He kept it slow which helped tremendously. I didn't feel either way about it but I wanted to make him happy “You like that ass?” I looked back at him. He slapped my ass and yanked it. “Fuck yes. Baby I'm gonna cum soon. Can I cum in your ass?” I shook my head no. Now that's where I draw the line. He pulled out and came all over my asscheeks. “Fuck! Fuck! Yesss.” It was hot and sticky. Just how like like it. Damn I wanted to swallow all those yummy babies. Oh well next time. Here I was his lil toaster struddle.

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A/N: Its a double feature!! omg im so excited to see what new adventures await Sien and Col (TWO FREAKS LOL). do yall think she’ll like Phoenix? Also shes sober now (thank goodness) i just hope she doesnt relaspe anywhooooo i truly hope that you all enjoy both chapters. love love love love love love love lol so much love

[exobyharu]

PCY - One Shot

Image source to follow. I just Googled it like this

“Yeah, look, listen, are you uh…”

Summary: A flustered PCY? It was a close call. He was definitely going to tell Baekhyun about his minor fuck up. He may need more than “just make sure you smell good” from him. He got what he came for, though. You can’t say it was a bad idea either.

⏰ 2:10 PM 🌏 7-11, near Chanyeol’s imaginary radio station ☁️ Just immediately after a heavy thunderstorm 👥 YN, Park Chanyeol, Byun Baekhyun

Notes: Another one shot because I’m busy for the holidays. :( First person: It’s my first time! Next update will be on the series. Happy Holidays!

Words: ~1,700

💙💙💙

I just want to be in a proper relationship and stay in it. Instead, the only eligible guy within my social circle is my childhood’s worst nightmare, Byun Baekhyun. I know that I seem way too ungrateful, seeing that countless women would kill to be in my place, but if they had only grown up with the guy, they would know that it would be almost impossible to see him more than a pesky little brother.

Trust me. I tried.

I could barely get the facts straight in my head: He’s actually older than me – even though he behaves way too much like a stubbornly mental teenager and five hyperactive puppies, all combined in one body.

My life was set. Until last night, my life is going to be with this guy I’ve been in a relationship with for the past five years. At least until I discover that he had been cheating for at least half of it, because I turn out to be too boring (his words) for his fun-loving, go-getting ways.

I was told and it explains why I suddenly –  and oh so desperately – want to try something crazy to change that. By my albeit too boring standards, a slow drive down the outskirts of the city in the middle of an afternoon thunderstorm seems like the perfect kind of reckless to me.

There isn’t even alcohol in the picture. Just me, my father’s hand-me-down-SUV-slash-motherwagon, and a bag of chips and soda on the passenger’s seat. The plan is to get moving, reach the shore in a couple of hours and make it back before it gets dark. I will bring my journal with me, binge on junk, and stare out into the sea with the liftgate as the roof over my head and hopefully a stray dog for company.

So yeah.

I am boring.

I leave three text messages anyway, for those in my Top Three Most Important People In My Life list, who have recently ascended up the ranks by default, simply because the Love Of My Life TM, is no longer in it. 

I’ll be out. Be back my midnight, I tell my sister. 

Borrowing the car. I’ll be safe. Driving over to Baekhyun’s, I tell my dad. 

And of course, for my one and only best friend: Let’s go SuperM! Dear leader, told dad I’m driving to your place. Please don’t kill me. I just need to be at my usual spot. I’ll be safe. I promise. Enjoy your tour!

And after a couple of hours preparing and getting my shit together, my eyes are finally dry enough from all the crying. I have my favourite rain jacket on, just in case, and my journal. With my last ritual stop being the nearby convenience store, I know that I will be well on my way to the beach in a few minutes.

It’s a little funny how the thunderstorm has cleared, right when I finally decide to leave the house and head out of the driveway. So much for being reckless. Still, the skies are adequately grey, perfectly sympathising with my sentiments.  

Also, why do they play sappy love songs on the radio at this hour?

I leave the radio on anyway, telling myself that I have to get used to this whole self-partnered concept. Well, for the record, it’s been about six hours into this and all I can say is that it sucks. I miss my stupid, good for nothing, ex. That’s normal, right?

Biting my lower lip, I pull up at the parking space, making sure that my brokenness and frustrations do not reach my eyes once again. Thinking of nothing but the tantalising image of the bag of Lays that I am to devour in a couple of hours, I head straight into the store, the comforting sound of door chimes signalling my entrance. I grab an extra bottle of Mountain Dew just in case, as well as a Snickers bar. And a bag of m&m’s. And a can of Dr. Pepper. And another bag of cookies.

What?

Nobody will see, save for the kind lady by the counter. What’s there to be ashamed about? I am a brokenhearted girl. That means I deserve it. That, and I’m unstoppable.

In about ten minutes, the chimes sound once again, and I am out, running back to the car even before I grab more than what I can actually eat.

“Ya ya ya, slow down!”

The startled voice is too easily recognised. I whirl around, a giant bag of salt and carbohydrates in hand, and am faced by Park Chanyeol, frozen in place with an outstretched hand.

First of all, why am I not surprised? Second of all, I already know too well, what this conversation is going to be all about.

“What a weather to be up and about. Always a busy one, our YN.”

Right. The weather. What a perfect conversation starter. And did he just say our YN? A pout grows on my lips when he comes closer. This can’t be good. 

“I could say the same and have you explaining to me, you know.”

“If it gets rid of this,” he says, and presses a light finger on the wrinkled skin between my brows, “then I will tell you that our radio show got cancelled because of the storm. The station’s just couple of blocks down this street.”

Too bad for him, I’m not easily convinced. “So you’re down here, actually buying something for yourself?”

“And I can’t?”

I close my eyes, unsure if engaging in our usual banter will help nurse my broken spirit. “Don’t you have personal assistants to get you stuff when you need them?”

His shrug makes me even more suspicious. “It’s rare to have the streets empty. You know we don’t get this chance whenever we want.”

Celebrities. Right. Sometimes, I forget. My mind travels back to the time when I went with Baekhyun and his brother to catch a movie on a Sunday night. That will never happen again.

“Look, I don’t want to be blunt or anything, but…” Chanyeol comes even closer – close enough for me to smell his perfume. He must have emptied a bottle over his head.

“But …what?” I watch him take a deep breath and pause. The movement of his lips is subtle, but I don’t miss it. It’s like he’s carefully choosing his words but he eventually gives up after a few tries. Now that’s a sigh.

“Were you crying,” he says instead.

Is this guy serious? It does not even sound like a question. “Are you asking because you’re not sure?”

“It’s just your eyes. The skin around it, actually. It’s bugging out, kind of. You cried a lot, didn’t you?”

Bugging out, huh? When I don’t answer, he gets it. I hope he does.

“Shit. I’m sorry. I’m stupid. Call me stupid.” Now he’s frantically raising both hands in front of me as if to defend himself. The heck. I’m not going to punch him or anything.

“Damn it. Forget I asked,” he says, when I stay quiet more out of confusion than anything else. It makes him look up into the sky, muttering something that sounds very much like goddammit said over and over. He does this while he rakes at his hair with both hands and it lasts too long to be a simple show of frustration.

What now? It makes me look up too.

Just clouds. Just nothing, really.

When I glance back at him, his eyes are now screwed shut. It takes a few seconds before he finishes his deep breaths and slowly stuffs both of his hands inside the front pockets of his jeans.

Jesus, Chanyeol, quit weirding me out.

“Um, hey?”

It’s like summoning his consciousness back to earth. “Yeah, look, listen, are you uh…” He purses his lips to the side, looking thoughtful and possibly, forcing that crooked smile. “You going somewhere?”

“Yeah, Look, listen, I am going somewhere.” I almost laugh when I answer. Look? Listen? What’s he being so nervous about? He doesn’t need to hide anything – they would not stand a chance. I know that Baekhyun sent him. Cut the shit. I’ll be fine. You can enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you very much.

I wave him off. “Stop pretending, Chanyeol. You know already.”

“Yah! You don’t understand, YN. I just want to know…” He looks at me sheepishly, if not stuttering. “Is there beer in that bag?”

The drink did not even make it to my Reckless Afternoon shopping list. It makes me shake my head and sigh. “What can I say? I’m a terminal case of boring.”

What I said makes Chanyeol’s eyes grow wide. “That’s loaded. Wanna talk about it?”

Nope. So I cross my arms, fake indifference, and change the topic. “Did Baekhyun send you? Cause if you’re here to stop me, that’s his job. Not yours.”

One side of his lips rise – a sign that a smile is starting to ease in. He gets it. That topic’s off limits and he goes along with it. “Baekhyun…” he starts, tilting his head in thought. “He said that you would be here, yes. But as for coming here, that’s on my own volition.”

I’m sure. I snort. “Obviously, you wouldn’t let him force you.”

“Obviously,” he says back. And then nothing else.

He just flashes a perfect smile and stares meaningfully into my eyes making my brain short circuit. I don’t know what he means. My eyes refuse to process such sensory input.

Stop this, Chanyeol. Stop this now.

“What I’m saying is that this is Baekhyun’s job,” I explain, avoiding his gaze. “It’s not your responsibility. So why don’t you go and do your musician stuff?”

“Hmm… YN, it’s like this…”

I just know that I’m fucked whenever Chanyeol switches gears and transforms into the argumentative version of himself. “If your best friend feels responsible for you, then I feel responsible for my best friend. The line of responsibility can extend as far as it can go. I can even send my mom over here to watch over you, if you won’t let me.”

By experience, I know that I could argue for an entire afternoon. However, also by experience, I know Chanyeol to be the type to argue until much later in the morning. Long conversation short, I’m stuck in a hopeless situation. “Baekhyun’s right. There’s no reasoning with you, sometimes.”

And it’s clear to him that he’s won. That grin is him, claiming his prize. “That’s because I’m bright, people say.”

“You can’t stop me though. My mind’s set.” It’s a promise.

“Don’t worry. I won’t do that.”

I blink. Then what’s this all about?

“Leave your car here”, he says. “I’m just here to take you there.”

And my best friend’s best friend never takes never for an answer. I’m not even surprised that Chanyeol knows the way to my favourite place. That is how I end up falling asleep, smelling his strong perfume, with the sound of the road flying beneath the wheels of his car.

💙💙💙 - end -