#oh how i wish i could take photos with masked lady from the beginning

[anemoyuri]

i love the npcs here… she’s particularly pretty hehe

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

In Times Past

Character: Bruce Wayne x Fem!Reader

Summary: Bruce Wayne’s life doesn’t exist beyond the fake storylines he performs for the media and citizens of Gotham. Maybe the only person that can change that is someone who knew him before Batman ever even existed. 

Word Count: 8,200+ [One Shot]

Warnings: Violence, mentions of sexual harrassment

A/N: As I teased before, this was inspired by this scene from Batman Begins. 

Bruce could sense Alfred’s tension when he walked into the kitchen that morning. The man was not one to hold back his thoughts and feelings. It was both a blessing and a curse. But Bruce sensed it was the latter today.

Before Bruce could even get a sip of coffee in, Alfred tossed the Sunday newspaper in front of him.

On the front page was a photo of Batman, far too high of a resolution for Bruce’s liking. ‘BATMAN: SAVIOR OR MENACE?’ the headline read.

“A little too close for comfort, don’t you think?” Alfred asked with a hint of sass.

However, Bruce controlled his reaction.

“Not the first time I’ve been photographed, Alfred.”

“You’re dancing with the devil, Master Wayne.”

“So, what? You want me to lay down the cape because everyone in America has the ability to take a photo on their cellphone?”

“Of course not,” Alfred retorted. Though Alfred secretly wished every day that Bruce would say goodbye to the Batman. “I just thought perhaps you should be putting a bit more effort into Bruce Wayne’s life if you really want to throw Gotham off your trail.”

Then he tossed another newspaper. This one of Bruce Wayne, the other mask he wore.

‘Bruce Wayne Lights Up the Room at Charity Ball.’

Alfred points to the date…it was 9 months ago. And it was unfortunately the last time Bruce Wayne was in the press.

“You better start creating alibis, Master Wayne, or the dark web will start to putting two and two together…”

Bruce sighed. He knew Alfred was right. But he hated all that went with what he had to do. He’d rather face off with Gotham’s deadliest criminals than go galavanting around the city as the self-absorbed and reckless playboy persona that he’d created.

“There is a birthday party for Eaton Elliot next weekend. Naturally, being old family friends, you received an invitation,” Alfred explained. “Plenty of press will be there to note your attendance. Seems rather convenient."

Bruce recognized the name. It was the older brother of Thomas Elliot, a childhood friend that he slightly lost touch with. He’d see him or his parents at various events, and things were always cordial.

But it didn’t really matter how absent or quiet Bruce was when it came to maintaining such relationships. Everyone forgave such behavior when it came to saving face with the only living member of the Wayne family. Bruce could spit in the faces of Gotham’s elite and they’d probably thank him for it.

“Black tie affair, as always,” Alfred added as he slipped the invitation to Bruce. “Perhaps you could bring a date…”

Bruce glared up at the butler. “Dates make it harder to make a quick and quiet exit, Alfred.”

“Well, maybe that’s the point, Master Wayne.”

————

Just like he was on patrol or working on an op, Bruce had prepared for every single scenario. He made a plan that would be the most effective in the shortest amount of time. He didn’t want to torture himself any longer than absolutely necessary.

When Alfred asked him again if he was planning on bringing a date, Bruce had only replied with a mischievous smirk.

Because he walked in with a girl on each arm.

It wasn’t the classy or gentlemanly thing to do. And that was exactly the point.

Conversations paused, attention was turned, and flashes went off.

Bruce Wayne made his entrance.

He carefully fell into the groove of being the spoiled brat everyone had painted him out to be. It had been awhile since he played the part, but Bruce always found it easy when he was surrounded by these kinds of people.

Bruce made sure to slightly slur his words. He would get too handsy with his dates. He would rudely interrupt people to share his own useless opinion on whatever topic was leading the conversation. He never looked waitstaff in the eye.

But now it was time for the finale.

Bruce whispered a certain suggestion into the ears of his dates.

They shared a look that proved they were both game.

The three of them stumbled into a bathroom – one out in the open that most of the guests would be steered toward.

The kissing began and clothes were quickly shifted.

There was a split moment when Bruce wondered what this would feel like for a man who actually wanted to be in this situation.

The two woman managed unbuckle his belt, the clanking metal echoing in the all-tile bathroom.

But just as they unbuttoned and then unzipped his pants, Bruce’s cellphone rang loudly.

Right on cue.

“Ladies, ladies, ladies,” Bruce whined. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” his words stumbled out. “But I just have to take this call.”

“Aww. Brucie. You’re no fun,” one of the women fussed.

But Bruce gave off enough dominate energy that they didn’t try to fight him on it.

Hair disheveled, mouth swollen and pink, lipstick stains on his skin and his pants and belt barely put back together, Bruce stumbled out of the bathroom first.

The two women didn’t bother to stay back and spread out their exits, making it very clear what had just happened – or what it looked like just happened.

It didn’t matter that Bruce didn’t actually have sex with them, every woman in Gotham wanted to say they’d shared a bed with Bruce Wayne. His two dates would lie to save face and get street cred. Bruce hated that he knew that, that it was guaranteed.

Dozens of people, who were socializing near the bathroom, stopped what they were doing and watched with judgmental looks. Some men looked jealous. Some women looked disgusted and eyed the two women up and down.

Then there was the flash of a camera.

Bingo.

Bruce wouldn’t have to linger much longer now.  

He played up being somewhat embarrassed.

But just as he put his phone to his ear to take the fake call that Alfred dialed, he saw the last person he expected.

It caused him to do a double take and freeze. 

His focus fell for a moment as they made eye contact.

Why did she have to be here?

Why did she have to be one of his witnesses?

Why did it hurt so much to see how she looked at him as if he were a stranger?

And why did she have to look so god damn beautiful?

Y/F/N Y/L/N.

The Y/L/N family were another one of Gotham’s elite – well, they used to be.

Y/N’s father was once worth billions. But being born into wealth didn’t guarantee intelligence or the skills to properly run the family business. When Bruce and Y/N were in high school, Y/N’s father filed for bankruptcy and confessed that the family was about to lose everything. With the announcement, the press also exposed Mr. Y/L/N’s many lustful affairs.

What came next was a messy and brutal divorce that the media ate up.  

Out of spite, Y/N’s mother remarried her ex-husband’s biggest competitor, maintaining her status and wealth, and making sure she still came out on top. It was the greatest revenge and even Y/N had to give her mother credit for the ingenuity of it all.

Bruce remembered how terrible it all was for Y/N, who was used as a pawn in her parents war against each other.

Having had enough of it, Y/N fled Gotham and chose to live with her eccentric great aunt in London and finished her last year of high school there.

But Y/N didn’t run away from Bruce. They emailed, texted, video chatted, called.

They had always been good friends.

The elites of Gotham always suspected the two would get married. But both Bruce and Y/N pretended to ignore such whisperings.

But when Bruce shifted his life, when he changed his life’s purpose, when he started becoming a vigilante…he stopped taking Y/N’s calls and he stopped returning them.

He told himself it was better that way. He couldn’t handle any distractions. Batman didn’t have time for personal relationships, so neither did Bruce Wayne. But more importantly, Y/N deserved someone who would prioritize her – even just as a friend.

Now Bruce needed to get actually drunk.

Putting the phone back to his ear, he broke eye contact and made a beeline for one of the bars. 

“Did you forget to tell me about the guest list, Alfred?” Bruce muttered evenly to the phone, knowing that Alfred would easily be able to hear his anger and irritation.

“How was I to know who RSVPed yes or no…” Alfred bit back. But he knew exactly who Bruce was looking at.

Bruce frowned as he ended the call abruptly and asked for a whiskey.

“I don’t know, man. She’s not my type,” a man said to his friend.

The two of them were just a foot or two away from Bruce.

“What do you mean ‘not your type’? She’s fucking hot.”

“Don’t get me wrong, she’s beautiful. But she’s so stiff and uptight. Look, she’s had a resting bitch face all night.”

Bruce’s grip on his face tightened as he easily put together who they were talking about. It was moments like these that Bruce hated being lumped together with men like this.

“You’re an idiot,” the friend said with a laugh.

“Oh, yeah? Alright. If you’re so obsessed with her, why don’t you go over and talk to her?”

Bruce saw his window. 

With a sloppy haste, Bruce turned right into the two men and just happened to spill his drink over the man who was about to make a move on Y/N.

Bruce laughed and spilled another drink on the bar as he tried to grab some nearby cocktail napkins. “Gentleman, gentleman…I so dearly apologize.”

Both of them were clearly annoyed, but then realized who he was.  

Bruce gripped them by the shoulders and made sure his eyes were struggling to stay open. “I could be wrong…but it’s possible…that I have been over served.”

He broke out into a chuckle and both men forced their own laughter.

Bruce subtle glanced over to where Y/N had been standing. She’d disappeared.

He’d spared her…for now.

“I think it’s time I go home,” Bruce told them too loudly. “Do me a favor? Wish her congratulations for me?”

The two men looked at one another. “Congratulations? To who?”

Bruce frowned in confusion and looked around. “Isn’t this an engagement party?”

They tried to hide their laughter. “Wayne, this is a birthday party. For Eaton Elliot.”

Bruce’s brows shot up. “A birthday party? Look at that!”

Then he turned around, zigzagged his walk, and threw a wave over his shoulder.

But Bruce wasn’t that lucky.

Because when he made his way to the valet, he found Y/N waiting patiently with her back to him. 

Her fancy dress and gloves seemed to do nothing to help protect her from the cold night. 

Bruce could’ve left. He could’ve left her alone, gone back into the party, and made more of a fool of himself.

But next thing he knew, he was walking forward.  

“Waiting for your car?”

Y/N didn’t turn to him, but it was clear that she heard his question and recognized who it had come from. “I didn’t drive. They’re getting me a cab.”

Bruce nodded slowly even though she wasn’t looking at him.

All charm had left his body now that he had quit the act. It wasn’t going to do any favors for him. He needed to do this on his own, as his real self.

Y/N finally turned with a slight attitude and Bruce was taken aback at how she was even more beautiful up close.

“What are you doing here, Bruce?”

He smirked. “I’m here for the party, of course.” He didn’t want to play the part anymore – not with her. But it was second nature at this point.

Her lips pursed at his response.

“Leaving so soon?” He asked.

Y/N sighed. “Between you and me, I’m only here as a favor to my mother. She wouldn’t get off my back about coming. I tried to leave sooner, but…”

One of the valets hopped up the steps. “I’m sorry, Dr. Y/L/N. It can take awhile to get cabs in the area at this time of night.”

Y/N gave him a sympathetic smile and opened her mouth to say she’d walk home.

“I’ll drive her home,” Bruce spoke before she could. Then he handed the valet his ticket.

Y/N looked at him with confusion and a bit of annoyance. “You really don’t have to do that.”

Bruce just gave her a look that said he absolutely did.

Then Y/N gestured back to the party. “You’re just gonna abandon your dates?”

The way she asked made it clear that Y/N had seen Bruce stumble out of the bathroom with the two of them. He also didn’t miss how she emphasized the plural.

“They’ll be fine,” Bruce told her.

He took a step toward her. “Let me give you a ride, Y/N.”

She took in a deep breath.

She knew she needed the ride. Only an idiot would walk home at this time of night, even if the walk to her apartment was a relatively safe one for Gotham standards.

Y/N just nodded.

A minute later, an Aston Martin drove up.

Bruce offered his arm to Y/N and helped her down the stairs before opening the passenger door for her.

He handed the valet a few bills, not even noticing they were all hundreds.

“Where to?” Bruce asked her.

“Oh, umm…” Y/N quickly gave him her address.

“I know you’ve been gone awhile, but you definitely shouldn’t be walking around the streets of Gotham at night.”

Y/N scoffed. “I’m aware. I moved back awhile ago.”

“Oh. I didn’t know…”

“Yeah. Well, why would you? It’s not like you kept in touch.”

The car filled with silence.

Y/N stared out the passenger window, looking at the skyscraper lights of Gotham

It seemed Y/N had no issue with staying silent for the whole car ride.There was nothing awkward about it for her.

But Bruce knew there were things he needed to say. “I’m sorry.”

This was the last thing Y/N expected and her head whipped to him.

But Bruce kept his eyes on the road. “For disappearing like I did.”

Y/N slowly turned back to the passenger window and said nothing.

Bruce didn’t expect to win her forgiveness. He would have to deal with that. But at least he could apologize.

“Y/N.” Bruce said it ever so quietly, like he was forbidden from speaking it. “This isn’t…I’m not…” Dammit. What was he even trying to accomplish right now? “Back there–”

“Back there?” Y/N interrupted his fumbling. “Oh, you mean the threesome you had in a bathroom at a party?”

Bruce’s jaw tightened.

Everyone bought his performance. Unfortunately, even Y/N.

Bruce pulled over and Y/N realized they were at her building already.

“You can say whatever makes you feel good, Bruce. Have at it.” Then she threw open the car door.

She put her hand on the handle to help herself out.

But she hesitated.

No. She wasn’t going down without a fight.

Y/N spun around to face Bruce, his blue eyes already waiting for her.

“You used to be kind. Strong and brave. You were better than all of them.”

And for the first time, Bruce really saw the damage he had done.

“Is that boy really gone?” She searched his eyes for the answer. “What is the act and what is the truth?” She whispered. “Huh, Bruce?”

He wanted to tell her.

Bruce had never felt the urge to expose his secret ever before.

But right now? Right now, he wanted to take Y/N back to the manor, drag her down to the cave, and show her all of his secrets – every single one.

But he couldn’t. And he knew that.

Bruce kept his face reserved.

His brow furrowed for just a second as he took Y/N in. All of her. Her eyelashes. Her lips. The styling of her hair. The dip of her neck.

“You became quite the woman, Y/N.” He told her. “And a beautiful one at that.”

Y/N blinked at the statement. Her mind desperately tried to decipher the hidden message in his words, in his actions from the night. But she came up with nothing.

She wanted to say that she knew he was using flattery to divert her attention from what she wanted to know. But it was also clear that he genuinely meant what he said as well. His eyes seeming to be taking in every moment of being in her presence.

If Y/N weren’t so irritated, she probably would’ve been more taken aback by his compliment, feeling vulnerable and almost embarrassed.

There wasn’t any point in pushing.

So Y/N took in a breath. “Thank you for the ride, Bruce.”

He just nodded. Then he watched her walk to the door of her apartment building. He probably lingered a few moments too long, but he couldn’t bring himself to once again put distance between them.

————

Alfred brought down food and an espresso to the cave.

When he looked up, Y/F/N Y/L/N’s face was on the giant screen.

“Working on a case, Master Wayne?” He asked with his usual sarcasm.

Bruce ignored the question. “She attended undergrad in Metropolis and then went to grad school in New York City.”

“Yes, I can see that…considering you have her student records exploited all over the screen,” Alfred responded with a smirk. “She’s been living in Gotham again for a few years, working as a psychiatrist. Even volunteers her services at Arkham – pro bono.”

That caught Bruce’s attention. He turned away from the screen to look at Alfred.

“I found no record of that,” he argued.

“Yes. Well, her mother is rather embarrassed by it. Thinks it gives the family a bad image. She insisted Y/N’s philanthropy was kept secret, even approved the NDAs herself.”

Bruce gave him a look, utterly confused how Alfred had access to such information.

Alfred raised an eyebrow. “Never underestimate the power of gossip, Master Wayne. Most family secrets cannot be found on the dark corners of the internet.” Then he smirked. “You would gain quite the knowledge if you didn’t turn your nose up at it.”

Bruce smiled at that and turned back to the computer.

“So, I take it that it was good seeing her?” Alfred pressed.

Bruce tensed at the question. “Not entirely. I’m certain that she hates me.”

“Hates you or hates the character you’ve so carefully created?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m just Bruce Wayne to her.”

Alfred opened his mouth to say more.

“Leave it, Alfred.” Bruce cut off before he could.

“Well, it appears I’m not the one struggling with leaving it alone, Master Wayne.”

Like many of Gotham’s elites, Alfred had humored the idea that Bruce and Y/N would make a marvelous couple. Like Bruce, Y/N didn’t let money and power sway her morals or damage her good and kind heart.

Alfred had always enjoyed having her over and listening to her and Bruce’s laughter as they caused trouble around the manor and entertained themselves.

But he also saw how her departure effected Bruce, no matter how much the teenager had tried to hide it at the time.

Maybe Alfred was an optimist or a romantic, but he still believed there was a chance for the two of them. But Bruce, quite frankly, would have to get over himself and his stubbornness.

————

Bruce was looking down at the city from yet another rooftop. It had been a quiet night. And he hated nights like that. It was always ended up being the calm before a storm.

“Batman?” Alfred spoke into his comms.

“Yes.”

“It appears there’s been a breakout at Arkham. The media hasn’t caught wind of it yet. But law enforcement has already been dispatched.”

“I’m on my way,” Bruce announced as he slid down a fire escape and made his way to the batmobile that he’d hidden in the shadows of an alley.

“Master Wayne…” Alfred knew to only use codenames on comms.

Bruce tense. “What is it?”

There was hesitation from the butler. “Y/N was scheduled to work a shift there tonight…”

Bruce said nothing. But his foot pressed the gas pedal down further than necessary.

—

Y/N was sitting with a patient when the alarm went off.

The people that worked there called them inmates, and corrected her every time she chose not to use that title.

Harleen Quinzel had been sitting across from Y/N for almost 30 minutes when they were interrupted.

“Oh, fun!” Harley clapped and giggled as the sirens filled their ears.

Harley and Y/N had formed an interesting relationship. The criminal seemed to like her and looked forward to her visits. She never threatened Y/N or tried to manipulate her.

Y/N believes she won her over by addressing her as Dr. Quinzel and often asking her professional opinions on trends and news in their industry. 

Most people there only referred to Harley as if she was property of the Joker, no matter how many times Harley clarified that she wasn’t his anything anymore.

“Does this happen a lot?” Y/N asked her, trying to remain calm.

“Not enough, if ya ask me!” She laughed.

Y/N made the mistake of opening the door and seeing that the majority of the cells had been opened and prisoners were slowly making their way into the hallway.

“Not good,” Y/N muttered.

“Don’t worry, doc. I’ll protect ya! Us gals gotta stick together.” Harley said from behind her shoulder.

Y/N whipped around and looked at her and then at the table she’d been sitting at. “Dr. Quinzel! How did you get out of your restraints?”

“Oh, I’ve always been able to. I just leave ‘em on to be polite.”

Y/N sighed. No one had explained any sort of protocol for such a situation.

“Where the fuck are all the guards?” Y/N asked.

Suddenly the lights shut off.

“Yippy!” Harley cheered.

Y/N turned to her and softly grabbed her shoulder, but gave her an insistent look. “Harley, we need to get somewhere safe.”

Her face did dip to serious for a moment. “You don’t need to worry about me. But you’re right. Not everyone in here appreciates a shrink…”

To her surprise, Harley starts pulling her through the darkness with a purpose.

Y/N had no idea where she was planning on taking her. It seemed all the doors were in lock-down mode, leaving her stranded. If she survived tonight, she’d definitely be bringing that up to the board.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Y/N yelped at the sound.

Someone had either gotten a hold of a gun or security guards were opening fire.

Either way, it caused chaos to erupt.

Suddenly the dark hallways were being filled with a stampede of prisoners. Either they wanted to take down the guard who was shooting or they were getting an adrenaline rush at the concept of their peers attacking their wardens.

The crowd ripped the two women apart. Y/N was shoved up against the wall and her head slammed against the cement.

Y/N swore under her breath from the pain.

“Is that…No, it can’t be…”

A voice called out over the madness.

A chill went up Y/N’s spine. She’d know that voice anywhere.

The Joker.

He wasn’t one of her patients. All researchers and doctors were forbidden to speak with him – especially after what happened with Harley.

But that didn’t stop the Joker from knowing who Y/N was. He whined and whined about feeling left out. “All my pals get to chat with her and all I get to do is look!”

Now, Joker was free from him isolation.

Y/N suspected he was behind the breakout.

And he was going to make a slight detour. A detour that was doing whatever the hell he wanted to with Dr. Y/L/N.

Y/N didn’t even bother hiding her fear. With a new found strength and endurance, she started shoving her way through the mob.

“I hear you and my pumpkin’ pie have gotten close.” Then his smile dropped. “Too close, if ya ask me.”

Y/N ignored him as another prisoner shoved into her shoulder.

“I don’t appreciate you putting ideas in her head!”

Y/N stopped, realizing she had miscalculated her escape and had come to a dead end.

So she slowly turned around to face him, putting her back to the wall. “And what ideas are those?”

“Independence. Self respect. A life beyond crime and incarceration,” he spat.

Y/N realized he had his goonies flanking him, only making her odds that much worse.

“Those aren’t ideas. They’re a reality, a possible future,” she defended.

Joker didn’t like that answer one bit. He threw himself against her, once again slamming Y/N into the wall.

He gripped her chin roughly and smiled with his yellow teeth. “You know…she’s not the only doctor I’d like to break in. And in more ways than one, if you catch my drift,” he giggled.

Then his eyes raked over her body, up and down. His hands slid down her hips and the side of her legs until they got to the hem of her pencil skirt.

Y/N shoved him away with all of her strength. 

But that earned her a slap across the face from him.

Joker gripped her waist tightly pressing her between the wall and his body. “I’m in charge now, doc. And I’ve got a few lessons to teach you.”

His hands grabbed at the buttons of her blouse and with one jerk, he ripped open her her blouse.

But before he could go any further, a few of his lackeys cried out in pain. 

Y/N swore she heard the sound of objects whipping through the darkness. 

She didn’t want to let herself feel any relief. But she hoped Harley had made her way back to her. She’d probably pack an even heavier punch once she realized Y/N needed protecting from her asshole ex.

But when Joker turned around and Y/N followed his gaze, Harley was nowhere to be found.

Yet three men were on the ground, unconscious.

“Well, well, well,” Joker muttered in amusement. “Has Batsy come out to play?”

Next thing Y/N saw was a shadow dropping down out of nowhere and taking out even more of Joker’s men.

Joker seemed to be prepared for such an interruption. Because he grabbed a knife from somewhere hidden on his body and ripped Y/N off the wall. He pressed Y/N’s back to his chest and put the tip of his knife to her throat.

“Come out, come out wherever you are,” Joker sang.

To Y/N’s shock, Batman stepped into what little light was in the hallway.

“Long time, no see!” Joker screamed so loudly that Y/N flinched. “Did you miss me, Batsy? And you came all this way to see little old me?! How very sweet!”

“Your attempted escape was a failure,” Batman stated. “There’s nowhere for you to go. All the exits are blocked. Arkham has been contained.”

“What a shame! I really felt this one was gonna work!” Joker laughed.

Batman took a step toward him. “It’s over, Joker.”

“You’re probably right,” Joker shrugged. “But I really wanted to have some fun with doc here. So, if you could give us some privacy.”

Batman’s eyes flickered to Y/N’s for a brief moment. “Let her go,” he warned.

“How about…no?” Joker laughed.

Just as Batman was about to make his move, Y/N grabbed the wrist of Joker’s arm that held the knife. She twisted it and dived in such a succinct motion that it was obvious Y/N had been trained.

Whipping herself out of Joker’s grip, she twisted Joker’s arm so roughly and quickly behind his back that he had no choice but to drop his knife from the pain.

Then Y/N was now facing him, and with one swift swing of her leg, she kicked him right in the groan.

Batman saw his opening and rushed forward, cuffing Joker in place.

While Batman neutralized him, Y/N stumbled for the knife that Joker had dropped, still not feeling safe and out of danger.

She looked around, realizing that the police had filtered in and apprehended all the escaped prisoners. Some were already locked back into their cells. Other’s were in handcuffs with guns being pointed at them in warning.

“Dr. Y/L/N,” his voice made her whip back around.

How the hell did Batman know her name?

She squinted wearily at him.

“You can drop the knife,” Batman told her quietly.

Y/N blinked and looked down at her hand, having forgotten that she even grabbed the knife. And she now had a vice-like grip on it.

Her hands were shaking when she dropped the knife and the clatter echoed in the hallway.

She eyed the Joker, not trusting any sort of weapon to be in his vicinity, despite being handcuffed now.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Batman noted, as if he could read her mind and hear the concerns she was thinking.

Police officers surrounded them now.

“Until next time, doc!” Joker sang loudly.

Batman stepped between him and Y/N, shielding her from even being seen by the lunatic.

Y/N eyed him, wondering if he did that on purpose.

“This way,” he directed lowly as he led her out of the hallway.

Y/N was surprised when he escorted her all the way out of the building.

Wasn’t this supposed to be Gotham’s Dark Knight? A disappearing act? An urban legend that some people still didn’t believe in?

When they got outside, there were even more officers. The night was flickering blue and red from all the patrol car’s lights still being on.

Commissioner Gordon was having a field day with Arkham’s warden, yelling at him about lack of protocol and no protection for the volunteers and workers that had gotten caught in the crossfire.

But finally, the reality of what just happened was starting to set in for Y/N. And she realized that her entire body was shaking.

All of a sudden, a blanket was wrapped around her shoulders.

She looked up to see that Batman had draped it over her. When and where he’d grabbed it, she had no clue. But the warmth was helping, so she didn’t question it.

“Thank you…for saving me back there.”

Was that a smirk on his lips? Was Batman amused by her?

Why was it so comforting when he was a mere stranger?

And his eyes, even when they were surrounded by a cowl and dark paint, they still felt familiar. Y/N had a similar feeling to deja vu.

“Looked like you had it handled,” he replied.

“Oh, I definitely didn’t. But thank god for those self-defense classes.”

They looked into each other’s eyes for a second.

“Make sure you get checked out by the paramedics,” he told her gently, but insistent.

It was far too gentle for his Batman alter ego. But she caught how it sounded like it personally mattered to him.

Y/N looked behind her, where the ambulance was.

But when she turned back around, Batman was gone.

Next thing Y/N knew, she was being surrounded by two paramedics and Commissioner Gordon who was careful not to push her by asking too many questions at once.

“Does he always do that?” She asked him in a daze.

“Do what?” Gordon asked.

“Disappear like that?”

Gordon smiled and nodded. “Annoying, isn’t it?”

———

“What’s the gossip of the privileged this week?” Bruce asked Alfred at breakfast a few days after the outbreak.

“Something specific you’re looking for, Master Wayne?” Alfred asked as he poured Bruce a big mug of coffee.

Bruce glared at him, knowing he was playing coy with him.

But he put his pride aside. “How is she doing?”

Alfred took pity on him. “She took some time off work. But seems to be handling it better than expected. Makes quite a bit of sense, doesn’t it? Her being psychiatrist and all.”

Bruce just nodded with a dazed look.

“You could always see for yourself…” Alfred added.

Bruce snapped out of his daze and looked up him questioningly.

“You could go see her,” Alfred confirmed.

“Alfred, don’t you start.”

“Start what, Master Wayne? Pushing you to form any sort of relationship?”

Bruce sighed and got up from the breakfast nook. He didn’t want to fight with him, so he’d made his exit before that happened.

“Batman has plenty of friends,” Alfred stopped him. “But what about Bruce Wayne, hmm? Who are his friends?”

“You saying we’re not friends, Alfred?”

“I’m all you’ve got, Master Wayne. And that’s my point.”

Before the discussion could go on any further, the doorbell rang.

The two men shared a look. 

No one stopped by the manor.

Alfred made his way over.

Bruce figured he’d wait where he was. But the front entrance was too far away from him to overhear any conversation.

A few minutes later, Alfred walked in with an unreadable expression.

“Dr. Y/L/N is here, Master Wayne. She is waiting for you in the drawing room.”

Bruce opened his mouth to tell him to make an excuse and get her to leave. But Alfred was already disappearing, making it clear that he would do no such thing for him.

When Bruce walked into the drawing room, he found Y/N’s back to him as she looked at the family heirlooms and trinkets that were displayed on the shelved.

She was dressed casually, which caught Bruce off guard since he’d only see her in formal wear and professional outfits since their reunion. Her hair was in a messy bun and she didn’t appear to be wearing much makeup, if any at all.

“Hi,” he greeted softly, making her quickly turn around.

“Hi,” she replied.

Bruce stepped further into the room. But neither of them moved to sit in any of the many seats that surrounded them.

“I heard what happened. How are you doing?” He asked.

She nodded and shrugged. “Alright.”

“I’m surprised to see you here,” Bruce admitted.

Y/N ignored his comment and her eyes went around the room. “I missed this place,” she thought aloud. Then her eyes fell back to his, softening. “I missed you.”

Bruce was taken aback from her confession. Seeing as the last time they were together, she was rather blunt about how disgusted and disappointed in him she was.

The energy between them felt so different than last time.

To his surprise, Y/N stepped toward him. And she didn’t stop until she was at a proximity that most would call rather intimate.

There was a voice in the back of Bruce’s mind, urging him to close the last bit of distance and place his lips on hers. But he managed to ignore it. That didn’t stop his heart from beating faster, though.

Y/N stared into his eyes for a few seconds, almost like she was searching for something.

“I have something that belongs to you…”

Bruce waited, not sure what she could possibly have to give him.

But then she pulled out one of his batarangs from her coat pocket, offering it to him.

She had found it embedded in the wall when she had gone back down to grab her personal belongings that night. 

Bruce kept his face composed. “I’m not sure I understand.” 

But he grabbed it from her anyways.

“He’s you,” she whispered. “Or I guess…you’re him.”

Bruce let out a breath, “Y/N…”

She took step away from him. “Don’t lie to me, Bruce.”

So he shut his mouth and said nothing instead.

“I’ve been doing some research. Things started lining up,” Y/N explained. “The first Batman sightings were right around when we stopped talking. The more Batman was in the press, the less Bruce Wayne was. And when he was, it was never positive – like it was meant to be a distraction.”

Her eyes went sad. “I never understood how the boy I used to love could grow into the man I’m so disappointed in. It never made sense.” She paused. “But when you wonder if the man himself is the mask, it all fits.”

“I’m sorry.” Bruce hung his head slightly. “I couldn’t tell anyone. Not even you.”

“I’d never share your secret.”

“I know,” he answered instantly.

Y/N couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer. Her eyes welled with tears. “Bruce…living like this has its consequences.”

Bruce said nothing.

She stepped forward and grabbed his hand. “You can’t change the world on your own. You don’t have to do this alone.”

Y/N wasn’t giving him advice. She was offering him something.  

Her trust.

Her secrecy.

Her love.

He shook his head, but gripped her hand tightly. “You would just end up in the shadows with me. And I…I can’t do that to you.”

“I’m stronger than you think,” Y/N defended.

“I’ve always known how strong you are, Y/N.” His jaw tightened at even the thought of being selfish. “You deserve more than what I can give. Gotham will always come first. That’s the sacrifice I made. That’s what is required. I can’t be what you need.”

Y/N studied his face, knowing that there would be no winning with him.

She nodded once, not even slightly hiding her heartbreak and disappointment.

Then she stepped closer and gave him a slow kiss on the cheek.

“It’s not a one time offer, Bruce.”

Bruce couldn’t move a muscle. He was rooted in place.

He heard Y/N have a short conversation with Alfred, then the door closed, and she was gone again.

———

Bruce Wayne was a fool.

Alfred could probably make a list, in seconds, with a hundred reasons why.

But, no, Bruce Wayne was a fool for believing Y/N would give up so easily.

Two weeks later, Y/N was at Wayne Manor again.

Bruce knew something was going on when Alfred didn’t seem surprised in the slightest.

In one of her arms was popcorn seeds, twizzlers, sour patch kids, and chocolate covered pretzels. In the other arm was a case of beer.

Y/N barely said hi to Bruce as Alfred helped her out of her coat and took the things out of her grasp so she was no longer struggling to hold it all.

“I’m here to use your theater,” she announced.

And with that, she walked right past Bruce like she owned the place.

Bruce looked at Alfred and silently asked, ‘What the hell is going on?’

“I believe you have a guest to entertain, Master Wayne.” Then he looked at the items in his hand. “And I believe I have some popcorn to make.”

Bruce still didn’t move.

“You successfully closed yet another case last night, it’s Friday night, and you have a beautiful woman who decided she wants to spend her time with you. Best you don’t keep her waiting, Master Wayne.”

Bruce narrowed his gaze as if telling Alfred they’d discuss this matter at another time.

“I presume you shouldn’t go empty handed,” Alfred added quickly and handed Bruce two beers from the case in his arms.

Bruce chuckled, but started walking away. “I’m surprised you even let this stuff in the house, Alfred.”

When Bruce reached the theater, Y/N had already started a movie.

He watched her a for a moment before she could realize he'd joined her. 

Y/N looked like she belonged there. Even after all this time apart, she just burrowed herself a cozy nook in Bruce’s life.

It was something she had been able to do even when they were kids. When Bruce had his mood swings or his depressive episodes, Y/N didn’t scare. She just found her way to stay at his side without upsetting him further.

Bruce grabbed the seat to the left of hers.

They weren’t really seats, more like small beds. A dozen were placed in the theater.

A couple could easily share one, but Bruce wasn’t planning on even approaching that fine line.

When Bruce sat down, he didn’t look at Y/N. But she gave a shy smile at his joining.

It was a long movie – almost a 3 hour run time.

And Y/N almost made it.

Without only 30 minutes left, Y/N had fallen asleep. Meaning Bruce’s attention was now taken from the movie.

He got up and grabbed one of the many blankets in the trunk hidden in the corner and placed it carefully over her, before silently leaving.

This was not a one time thing.

These type of visits continued.

Bruce knew Y/N and Alfred had to be in cahoots together. 

Y/N seemed to always come to the manor when Bruce needed her most. 

Alfred would force Bruce out of the cave and moments later, the doorbell would be ringing.

On the bad nights, she wouldn’t make him talk. She wouldn’t ask questions or try to make him magically feel better. Sometimes she would talk – mostly about mundane things. She’d tell Bruce about her day or how her neighbor always left baked goods at her door or about the new show she started watching. Sometimes she wouldn’t say anything at all, just sit there silently and make sure he wasn’t alone.

Sometimes she would bring coffee and pastries.

Sometimes Bruce would just walk into the library and find her reading.

Sometimes she would sit and chat with Alfred as if he was the reason she was visiting, and not Bruce.

Bruce couldn’t sleep one night. Nothing specific was causing his insomnia. Just the overall weight of being so many people.

It was 3AM when Y/N texted him to open the door for her because she didn’t want to wake Alfred.

When Bruce did so, Y/N was standing on the other door in sandals and a slightly transparent coverup that barely showed the outline of the bathing suit underneath.

He said nothing, but his face clearly showed that he wanted to know why the hell she was there in the middle of the night.

“Couldn’t sleep,” Y/N told him quietly. Then she shrugged a bit,“I decided I wanted to go for a swim."

Whether she was lying for his benefit, Bruce wasn’t sure. But he followed her to the indoor swimming pool like a sailor would follow a siren.

Without hesitation, Y/N kicked her sandals off and tossed her coverup on the nearest chair. And the next second, she was diving into the pool.

Bruce smirked at her nonchalance, but made sure to hide it when she breached the surface once again.

“Doesn’t your apartment building have its won pool?” He asked.

Y/N smiled and tilted her head back to get her hair wet again and out of her face. “They put too much chlorine in it.”

Bruce crossed his arms, “I see.”

“Coming in?” She asked teasingly.

He shook his head.

“At least keep me company,” she requested.

Bruce glared playfully at her, knowing the game she was playing.

But he finally sighed and nodded.

He was in cotton shorts and a t-shirt. But he decided to sit on the edge of the pool and dip his feet in.

He watched as she swam around, looking as natural in the water as a mermaid. She had always loved swimming as a kid and it appeared not much had changed.

“Why couldn’t you sleep?” He finally decided to break the silence.

Y/N swam to him and crossed her arms on the edge of the pool to rest and tilted her head to look at him.

She shrugged, “The usual: stress, nightmares, insomnia, too much caffeine.”

 Bruce’s concern spiked instantly. “Nightmares about what?”

She watched him for a moment, seeing how quickly her subtle comment triggered him.

“You’re not the only person who’s seen fucked up things, Bruce.”

An hour later, Y/N asked for a towel.

When she climbed out, she was taken aback by Bruce wrapping it around her shoulders and rubbing her down gently. It was innocent, but subtly intimate.

As their eyes locked for a prolonged time, and he seemed to realize what he’d done accidentally.

Y/N cleared her throat. “I should head home and let you try to get some sleep.”

“You could stay,” he offered. “I mean, we have plenty of bedrooms here,” he quickly added and saved himself a bit.

“Is that…what you want?” Y/N asked slowly.

Bruce knew what she was trying to ask. He didn’t trust himself to answer the way he should, so he didn’t answer.

“Let me drive you home,” he asked as they left the indoor pool and started toward the front entrance.

Y/N ignored the request until they were at the door. She turned to face him with a smug look, “I’m perfectly capable of driving myself. Thank you.”

She hesitated before kissing him on the cheek. “Get some sleep, Bruce.”

————

Months after Y/N’s visits started, Bruce was doing some research for a case on his tablet as he ate dinner.

“Margaret Caulfield’s engagement party is tonight,” Alfred broke the silence of the manor as he took Bruce’s finished plate.

Bruce looked confused on why he was supposed to care.

“Y/N will be there,” Alfred added.

But Bruce still didn’t understand what he was trying to say.

“Master Wayne, when you attend all those sufferable parties, what is the first question people ask you?”

Bruce thought for a moment. “When I plan on settling down, I guess.”

“Now imagine that, but magnified by about 100…and that is what Y/N’s experience is at those same parties. That young woman is one of the brightest people in Gotham and all those people care about is who will put a silly ring on her finger.”

Bruce leaned back in his chair, now understanding what Alfred was getting at. “I’m not her boyfriend, Alfred.”

“And you’ve made damn sure of that,” Alfred said a little too harshly.

Bruce watched him carefully.

“Y/N has fought off every one of your attempts to be a miserable recluse.”

Bruce opened his mouth.

“And don’t you dare try and tell me her efforts are wasted,” Alfred cut him off. “I’ve seen a change in you. And she has asked for absolutely nothing in return. She’d never ask you to pick her over Batman. Though she bloody well should!”

He wasn’t done.

“You’re not living, Master Wayne. And I won’t apologize for wanting more for you.”

Bruce just sat there and took it.

Alfred took in a breath, calming himself down. “There’s a suit waiting for you in your bedroom. I’ve decided I’m going for a evening walk.”

——————

Y/N didn’t know how many more champagnes she’d have to shrug to start feeling the buzz she so desperately needed.

Not even an hour of being at the party and she’s already been asked 15 times if she was seeing anyone. And when she answered no, half of those ended in them trying to set her up with someone.

As Y/N was trying to think of an excuse to escape, an old family friend approached her – a friend of her grandma’s unfortunately.

“Y/N, dear, let me see those hands!”

Y/N wanted to roll her eyes and snap, but she did as requested.

“No ring yet,” the woman teased, but she was also genuinely disappointed.

“That would be my fault, actually.” A voice said behind Y/N before she felt a hand on her lower back.

“Oh, Mr. Wayne, how nice of you to come!” The woman beamed. “Now, Y/N, why wouldn’t you tell anyone that you and Bruce are an item?”

“My fault again,” Bruce chuckled, “I’ve always enjoyed a good secret.”

Before she could ask more, Bruce smiled politely. “If you could excuse us for a moment.”

He steered Y/N to a private area of the party.

“What are you doing?” Y/N hissed at him. “The press are gonna have a field day. You and I will be every headline tomorrow.”

He smiled at her frantic concern.

“Why are you looking at me like that? I’m serious!”

Bruce captured her lips, silencing any further panic from her.

Y/N was completely caught off guard, but he wasn’t letting her go so easily. And soon, her hand went to the back of his head and she kissed him back. 

Damn all the people who were probably watching them.

When Bruce finally let her pull away, he smirked at her dazed look and cupped her cheek. 

She matched his smirk.

But then reality set in like a splash of cold water and she frowned.

“Am I – Is this your new cover?” She asked shakily, so scared that the answer was ‘yes.’

She could tolerate being Bruce’s friend for the rest of her life. But she wouldn’t survive being used in such a way. She couldn’t live in a fake relationship with a man she actually loved. She’d rather watch his sloppy persona with girls hanging off of him.

“No cover-up,” he muttered to her. “Just me and you – the real me.”

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

I worked so hard on this 😩  Please let me know your thoughts. 

[tommybaholland]

I would like you to write tom holland x actress!reader, so y/n is getting ready for photoshoot but tom holland was facetiming y/n hoping how's it going, he misses her. they haven't seen each other for a month. After that they do photoshoot and Wired autocomplete interview. then the crew got surprised and y/n misses tom, she sooo surprise and he came to visit for her. i luv them!

missing you

featuring: tom holland (x actress!reader)

you thanked the hair stylist once they were done with your hair and remained in the dressing room to have a quick facetime with your boyfriend. 

“hey, love,” tom answered, his voice slightly raspy. “wow, you look really beautiful.” 

“thank you,” you smiled. you couldn’t see him too well but you could make out the grainy outline of his facial features and part of his bare shoulders and chest. he looked like he was still in bed. “why is the room so dark?” 

“i’m just laying down for a bit,” tom explained.

“how are you feeling?” 

“okay. i just wish you were here.” 

you frowned. “yeah. i wish i was there to take care of you.”

“nah. then i’d just get you sick. your company is really all i need. i’m so lonely,” he pouted playfully. “but if i get you sick then i get to take care of you so it could be a win-win for me.” 

you laughed at his very ‘tom’ logic. “i know. i miss you too. i think we have some time off soon but if you’re sick then we can always see each other when we’re done with promotion stuff.” 

tom groaned. “ugh. i don’t know if i can wait that longggg, love.” 

“i know this has been a long one but what you do you normally do when i’m away?” 

he didn’t respond, his face buried in the pillow. then after a few minutes, he started giggling. 

“what’s that one line from spongebob? where spongebob’s like, ‘what do you normally do while i’m at work?’ and patrick says--”

“‘wait for you to get back,’” you finish for him, laughing along. 

“yeah. i feel like patrick right now, babe.” 

“aww. well, just focus on getting better and maybe do some golfing and i’ll be back before you know it,” you promised.

the pout was still present on his face. “okay. i’ll try to survive until you come home.”

you smiled before you looked at harrison in the mirror, seeing that he had entered the room. 

“we’re getting ready to start-- oh, is that tom?”

“harrison?” tom spoke through the phone. 

you nodded, raising the phone up to harrison so he could see his sickly best friend.

“hey, mate,” harrison greeted. they had a quick chat about harrison’s recent debut. 

“it’s been fun to see you on the other side of things, dude. i’m so happy for you,” tom praised. “i’ve been watching your interviews and they’re hilarious.”

harrison laughed. “thanks, tom. we have to get going if we’re gonna make this next one, though,” he reminded, looking down to you. 

you nodded. “okay, babe. looks like i have to go.”

“alright, baby. i love you and miss you so much,” he blows a kiss to the camera.

“love you. miss you too,” you smile. 

“see you, harrison.”

“yeah, see you, man.” 

you end the facetime and follow harrison out to the set where you would be doing a promo shoot for the irregulars. like harrison, this was your first major role and the promotional part was just as important as the actual shooting of the show. you had been with tom through several of his press junkets but now you understand how taxing and exhausting it can be, especially when you’re away from your boyfriend for so long. 

you would’ve liked to have him with you for some of it, like you had with him. but lately your schedules haven’t been matching up so easily. once you were done filming the show, he had gone off to film for spider-man and once he was done with that, you had started the promotional period for the show. there were short periods in between when you got to see each other but it wasn’t nearly enough time. 

the heart certainly grows fonder when you’re apart from each other. 

besides all that, you found press stuff to be pretty fun for the most part. photoshoots were really easy and usually didn’t take that long. this one took a little longer because harrison was with you and you both took some individual pictures as well as some photos together. if anything, you’re glad he was your co-star. you knew this wouldn’t be the case for every job you get so you tried to enjoy it while it lasted. 

after the photoshoot, you and harrison went over to the studio where they film the wired autocomplete interviews. interviews were a bit more daunting part of press, mostly because you felt the pressure to be liked by the general public and that could put a lot of stress on you to be more performative. luckily, your actor boyfriend has been there to remind you to just be yourself and that’s really the best way to handle it. 

you had seen several of the autocomplete interviews and always thought they were funny so you were actually looking forward to this one. 

once you arrived at the studio, you got all set up with harrison beside you and then the director explained how it was going to work. it seemed like it was pretty lax, which was nice because there was no one asking questions. rather, the questions were actual google searches that people had made so you and harrison were the ones who really got to lead it. 

“you guys ready?” 

you and harrison nodded. 

“three...two... one...action!”

harrison started. “hi! i’m harrison osterfield.”

“and i’m y/n.”

“and this is our wired autocomplete interview.” 

“ladies first,” harrison insisted, prompting you to grab your board. 

“okay,” you agreed with a laugh. 

“here. i’ll hold it and you can rip the tape off,” he offered.

“good idea.”

a lot of the questions were pretty basic like where you were from, where you went to school, if you went to acting school, what your favorite food is, etc. but then you got to a certain one. 

“‘is y/n--’ okay. let’s see,” you said as you peeled off the masking tape before reading the full question. “‘is y/n dating tom holland?’” 

you laughed awkwardly before answering, as this was the first question about your relationship status in an interview. 

“yes. we are dating,” you responded. your mind suddenly wandered to your earlier conversation with him, causing your mouth to keep moving. 

“i haven’t seen him in a bit but--” you paused when you realized what you were saying. “um, i’m pretty busy these days.” 

you ended with another awkward laugh and shrug as harrison nodded. 

“okay. that’s all for me. your turn, harrison.” 

you continued on with the interview despite feeling put off by the fact that you missed tom. fortunately, harrison’s questions were more entertaining and perked you up again. 

“‘does harrison osterfield drink the juice?’ wait. what does that mean?”

you bursted out laughing at the vague question. 

“y/n, what’s so funny? i don’t get it.”  

“nothing, nothing,” you replied. “just answer what you think it means.” 

you had finished the interview on a high note. 

“you seemed to be in a better mood than earlier,” harrison remarked. 

“yeah.”

“are you okay?” 

“i just,” you started. “we’ve never been apart for this long and it’s just really hard. i didn’t think it was going to be a big deal and i thought i could handle it but i can’t.”

harrison frowned. “hey. no, no. you’re doing a great job. i promised,” he comforted before looking down to his phone. 

you stood up off your chair. “i’m going to get some water.” 

you began to walk away until harrison abruptly stopped you. “wait, y/n!” 

you looked back to him as there was some commotion at the back of the set. you ignored it, looking incredulously at harrison. 

“what?” you asked in an annoyed tone. you just wanted some water. 

suddenly, a third voice appeared. 

“aww, love. don’t be mean to harrison like that.”

you turned to see none other than your boyfriend standing there. you couldn’t react in any other way other than clapping a hand over your mouth and beginning to cry in disbelief that he was actually there.

“baby, it’s okay,” he cooed, walking over and wrapping you up in a hug. some of the crew watching the whole reunion began clapping and cheering. 

he rubbed your backed as you sobbed into his shoulder for a few moments before lifting your head up to wipe your eyes.

“how, how-- what-- i,” you stuttered, wanting to know how this could be happening right now. 

“what? are you not happy to see me?” he pouted playfully, brushing some hair out of your face. 

“no! i am but i thought you were sick.” 

“well,” he smirked. “i am an actor, darling.”  

you rolled your eyes facetiously before he continued his explanation. 

“i got in late last night and stayed in a hotel. i wasn’t sick but i gotta admit, i am pretty tired.” 

you laughed. “you’re so dumb.” 

“don’t blame this all on me! harrison was in on it too!”

you looked over to harrison who was still sitting there, watching this all go down. he held his hands up. 

“guilty. but i’d like to add that tom was freaking out that you had found out somehow and has been texting me all day.”

“no. i really had no idea but i was worried about you,” you prodded at tom’s shoulder with a finger. 

“i’d say it was worth it. wouldn’t you?”

you nodded. “i suppose.”

“can i have a kiss now, please?”

you leaned in and pressed a short kiss to his lips but of course, that wasn’t enough to satisfy him. he kept pulling you in for more before you began to get embarrassed with the other people around. 

“alright, i’ll stop. but don’t think you can escape from my sneaky kisses!” he took your hand in his and began leading you out of the studio.

“wait, we still have some promo stuff to do for today.” 

tom shook his head. “you don’t. can’t say the same for him,” he nodded over to harrison. “i’ve sorted it all out with your manager and it’ll just be me and you for the next two days. does that sound good?”

well, you couldn’t argue with that.

welcome to wild card night! requests are open and ready..

[gallickingun]

moving target

Summary: Bakugou Katsuki’s reputation needs a little work. His manager suggests he take a job as a personal bodyguard to one of the donor’s daughter to try and increase his social standing. Bakugou agrees, reminding himself that whoever he’s babysitting is nothing more than a glorified paycheck, a stepping ladder to get closer to surpassing even All Might in hero status. But, when you’re kidnapped, he has to face the truth that you might mean more to him than he planned.

Rating: T for Teen Warnings: language, a little graphic violence, a creepy scene there for a second, a semi-spicy scene, etc.

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

Word Count: 12,310 (because i have NO CHILL!)

request more from this prompt list!

“Absolutely not,” Bakugo huffs, kicking his boots up on the glass table in front of him, “I will not be some brat’s babysitter.”

His manager huffs, stepping forward, “Listen, your PR ratings are low. Helping out a big donor, being in the public eye actually helping will boost your ratings. Higher ratings mean more screen time which means more money, and eventually, a better gig.”

“...fine.”

As much as he hated to admit it, he was slipping through the ranks. Bakugo found it easy to rescue people, to punch out bad guys, but the press bit was where he severely lacked any and all prowess. 

It only took one wrong encounter with a news reporter for Bakugo’s ratings to tank, which meant he was getting fewer sponsorship agreements and even less screen time on the nightly news. He needed this. 

He hated this.

The way the suit clung to his shoulders reminded him of Ochako’s original hero costume from high school. All he had to do was send in his measurements, and the agency had five freshly pressed, perfectly tailored suits delivered to his apartment by the next morning. Still, he wished he was wearing his gauntlets and face mask instead of this silken suit.

His eyes wandered over the mansion he was currently standing in front of, the multiple stories forcing him to crane his neck to take it all in. Bakugo snorts, rolling his eyes as he steps out of the dark SUV, stepping up the flight of stairs to the large, intricate front door. He barely has time to knock before an older gentleman is opening the door, greeting him with a shrill accent.

“You must be here for the lady,” he makes way for Bakugo to walk in the door. The other two security guards are stalking around the homestead, securing the borders, so he walks in alone.

He can make out your figure sitting at the kitchen table, back to the foyer where he’s making his entrance. He read your file, studied your photos. You’re every bit as bratty as he assumed you would be when he was first offered the position. Your father was such a high contributor to the agency, and yet all of those dollars spent meant nothing. You were some version of a hedge fund baby - you went off to school with not a care in the world, money no object as you blitzed through life. 

Bakugo despises everything that you and your family stand for. He came from nothing, built himself from the dirt up. Once he got his quirk, he swore he would never let anyone look down on him again, especially not those who were born endowed.

The older man calls your name and your head bobs at the sound before you turn in your chair, “Oh, is the next one here already, Miles?”

Next one? Bakugo thinks to himself. He didn’t hear about anyone before him. There were other bodyguards?

Miles, the butler-esque man standing in between you and Bakugo, chuckles, turning his head to slyly gaze at the young man in the foyer, “Ah, yes. The next one is here, ma’am.”

You laugh and slowly make your way across the room to inspect your newest victim. He’s wearing a dark suit, in contrast to his pale hair and light eyes. You tug at his tie and he snatches you by the wrists, “It’s expensive. Don’t touch.”

Raising a brow, you circle around him, “My daddy could buy you, hero, so don’t get your panties in a twist.”

Bakugo decides he doesn’t like the way the word ‘hero’ comes out of your mouth; like acid dripping from your tongue. He feels sweat begin to gather in his palms and he has to wring his hands out so a fireworks show doesn’t start on day one. God, he’s never wanted to wear his flashy costume so much in his life. Anything to get your eyes off of him.

“More of a briefs guy myself,” he offers after a beat, looking at you over his shoulder.

You’re smirking, the start of a giggle on your lips, “Oh, I’m gonna like you.”

Something other than nitroglycerin bubbles in his belly, and Bakugo isn’t quite sure how to feel about it.

-

It didn’t take long for him to realize that you were a handful and a half. 

You never tell him where you’re going, you refuse to keep your phone on anything but silent, and he swears that you’re trying to evade him everywhere you go.

“Dammit,” he grumbles, rolling his eyes as you slip away from him in a crowd.

Bakugo flanks off to the side, barely able to make out the top of your head as you push your way through the marketplace. He memorized your outfit - a pretty sundress and a pair of sandals, purse slung over your shoulder - so he should be able to spot you amidst the others. 

He finally makes out your profile, but you’ve changed. There’s now a jacket covering your shoulders, a sun hat on your head. Bakugo narrows his eyes, but despite his rage at losing you, a small smirk works its way on his lips at the fire you have within yourself to try and escape him despite the circumstance.

You’re turning down a side street when you feel your body pressed against the brick wall. A gasp barely leaves your mouth before you lean back and jut your elbow into his solar plexus, stepping on the inside of his foot. A grunt leaves his mouth and you swivel to knee him in the groin, but your knee is caught between a pair of strong hands just as your knee cap brushes the fabric of his suit pants.

“Very funny,” he mutters, hooking his palm around your thigh to ensure you won’t wriggle free.

You push at his shoulders and he’s surprised at the fiery expression on your face, your nose scrunched and brows furrowed, “Get off me!”

Bakugo releases your knee and your foot stomps on his toe again, a bruise already forming. His nostrils flare as he glares down at you. You’re quick to straighten your spine, matching his stare with one of your own.

“So that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” Bakugo uses his thumb and index finger to tilt your chin upward, “Gonna try to play me like a little shit?”

You’re slapping him before he can process it, “I don’t need your protection. I’m fine on my own.”

Your answer surprises him, but the action of being slapped pisses him off. He growls down at you, “You ungrateful little…”

“Go ahead,” you shrug, pushing your way out of his hold, “leave, just like all the others.”

Bakugo follows behind you, muttering something into his earpiece that you can’t hear. Frustrated tears cloud the edges of your vision, but the sunshine clears your mind as you step back onto the street. 

“You forget,” he sidles up next to you, “it’s my job to keep you safe. You run off, I don’t get a paycheck.”

The laugh that parts your lips makes him look down at you, the hat hiding part of your face so he can’t quite make out exactly what you’re feeling. He's never been a bodyguard before, but something tells him that this is going to turn out much different than he expected. 

"Good to know as long as my daddy is feeding you money, you'll stalk me like an animal." You sigh, crossing your arms over your body as you walk toward the bridge overlooking the city. "You're lucky, then, all my father knows how to do is shovel money at people."

Something twinges within Bakugo's chest, like an organ begging to pop within his body. He watches as you lean forward against the bridge, your hands wafting in the wind as you wave them around.

If he had to say it, Bakugo would agree that you were pretty. Your frame was perfect, the profile of your face made for a beautiful shadow. Your eyes lit up even underneath the shade of the brim of your hat, and he wants to smack himself for noticing.

"Sorry," you break him out of his trance, "I don't mean to bore you, I know you're not here for my life story. Paycheck only."

There's a hint of hurt in your voice and he becomes curious - is this your normal? Are the only people in your life those who wish to drain your family bank account dry? He certainly can't relate; his family was never wealthy and even now, starting his pro hero journey is far from glamorous. The only reason he has a rooftop apartment is because the agency sponsored it, and Kirishima shares it with him. 

Bakugo leans against the bridge, back to the water so he can watch for any threats behind you, "I'm your new best friend, sweetheart. Your daddy pays me to be all up in your business."

You reach out to smack his arm, but this one has much less force than the prior one you landed to his face. He winces dramatically, scrunching his side as if absorbing the impact. You can't help but snicker, tucking your nose against your shoulder.

Bakugo basks in the warmth of the afternoon sun, taking in the golden hour. There are times he wishes he could be fully decked out in his explosive gear, and then there are other times, when his restless heart finds tranquility in the quiet of the mundane. 

People pass, wind blows, and yet his body remains at peace.

-

You’re drunk. 

Bakugo hates when you’re drunk.

You’re sloppy and messy and handsy, oh god are you handsy. He’s watching from the bar, paying attention as you slur your words to the bartender and giggle with your best friend beside you. Every instinct in him tells his body to drag your ass back home, but he knows you’d put him through the ringer for it. Plus, that’s not his job anyway. His job is only to keep you safe.

So, as long as you don’t kill yourself stumbling out of the club, he’ll still get paid.

You’re touching his waistline as you pass him, laughing up at him with those bright, glassy eyes you always get after vodka hits your veins. You curl your fingers into his waistband and he has to push every instinct of his deep down so he doesn’t flip you over the bar.

“‘Suki?” you drawl, leaning your body into him so the person behind you can pass.

He tilts his head, acknowledging you in silence. You tug on his belt loops, “Gonna go to the bathr’m, okay?” 

You know this means he has to follow you - he has to follow you everywhere. 

You slip your hand into his, a habit you’ve picked up when you’re on the other side of sober, and squeeze his palm before tugging him towards the bathroom. You release him before you slip in the door, allowing him to stand guard like a good dog does.

Bakugo counts the seconds in his mind, coming up on six minutes makes his heartbeat a little faster. Once he’s gotten to nine, his palms are sweating. Small fireworks echo on his fingertips, the air scenting of ash as he starts to become worried.

He calls your name, knocking on the door three times consecutively. There’s no response from the other side, save a muffled sound that doesn’t resemble your tone. He crosses his arms over his chest and stamps his foot into the ground, his palms itching to slip into his gauntlets; he’d make much better use of the nitroglycerin collecting on his skin then.

After eleven minutes and thirty-seven seconds, Bakugo pushes the door in.

There’s no sounds of wretching or of peeing, so he’s at a loss. All of the stall doors are open, and your body is nowhere to be found. Bakugo presses his thumb against the small transmitter in his ear, asking the others if they saw you leaving the building.

As he turns, he notices an employee-only door. His feet are carrying him before his mind can catch up, muttering something into the communications unit before curling his palms to fists. He kicks the door in and just barely catches the sight of your body being dragged out the other side, eyes wide as you reach for him.

Bakugo is propelling himself forward with his blasts immediately, a shockwave rippling through the small employee room, but he doesn’t care. Somehow he manages to compose himself long enough to alert the rest of the team.

All he can see is red as he busts down the door. You’re his mission, the one thing that he needed to protect, and his whole being quivers at the idea that he’s failed.

Your voice is muffled but he can still hear you as they drag you down the alleyway. He’s got to make a precise blast so he doesn’t burn you, but still manages to knock the bad guys off their feet.

“Fuckin’ suit,” he mutters, praying to whoever is listening that he’ll be able to wear his suit, or at least some version of it, when he’s on guard duty going forward. Bakugo burns through the sleeves, the cloth turning to ash as he ignites his power.

He smirks, “Hey, dipshits!”

The two holding you turn at the sound of his voice, their faces covered by masks. Bakugo continues to push forward, bright flashes of orange and yellow lighting the alley behind him. He’s laughing maniacally now, because this is what he came for. He came for the bloodlust, he came for the mission. He came for the villains.

“Got ya,” Bakugo mutters before turning his palm to face the guy on your right who's much taller. The explosion knocks all three of you backward, incapacitating the one he targeted. The other scrambles to his feet, yanking on your body to try and drag you toward a black SUV parked on the side of the road not too far away.

You’re fighting back, Bakugo notices. You’re thrashing and screaming, trying to kick him in the shins from your position on the ground. Your whole body is like one big firecracker, arms and legs wailing at the guy. The hero can’t help but feel a swell of pride.

He propels himself forward, flipping in the air to stand tall on the opposite side of the perpetrator, hand held directly in the guy’s face - a threat, not a warning.

Bakugou chuckles, “Where you goin’, shithead?”

There’s a loud crunch of his bones when Bakugo lands a perfect strike between his eyes. He shakes his fists, thinking to himself that he should probably pick boxing back up, and turns to look at you.

The sight of your face smeared with tears, body shaking as you try not to cry. Your chest heaves with emotion as you try to sit up in the alleyway, your body a mess of limbs.

“Hey,” he’s surprisingly gentle as he squats in front of you. “Let me get that thing off you.”

He’s talking about the tape on your mouth. You stop squirming for a moment and he peels the sticky substance away from your mouth. You wince as he yanks it from your hands and feet, throat tight while you wait. 

Secure the payload, Bakugo thinks, remembering All Might’s lessons from back at U.A. He let Deku get the better of him back then, but now he’s much more focused and precise. There is less collateral this time.

Bakugo helps you to your feet, holding your hands as you clamber to stand upright. Your spine straightens and he didn’t realize you’d lost your shoes sometime in the struggle, bringing your height below his.

There is a tiny thing within him that twinges at the sight of you, all in disarray.

He goes to ask you how you’re feeling, how you’re holding up, but something in him catches the words like a fish hook in his throat. It reels his concern back in, pulling it to the acid of his belly so it can die there.

Secure the payload. 

That’s all you are to him - a paycheck, a payload, a mission.

“Just get me the hell home,” you manage, shoving yourself past him. “I’m sick of this place.”

-

“The hell?!” Bakugo is shouting now, hands booming at his sides, “You didn’t think that was something you should’ve told me before we started this job?!”

His agent sighs from the other end of the receiver, “Our officers are on a tight leash, they can’t give us any information that might leak.”

“You think I'm a rat!?” Bakugo snaps, his spine erect as he wishes his quirk were warping so he could whoop someone’s ass for keeping this from him. 

“No, but if you were tortured, it was possible. These are big syndicates after their family, specifically targeting the daughter.” She takes a pause, waiting to see if the hero might retort. When he doesn’t, she breathes in audibly and continues, “Those were low level thugs at the club a couple of weeks ago. They have no connections, and they weren’t high enough on the food chain to have any information they could give us. Everything was nameless and faceless.”

“I swear to god,” Bakugo paces, ripping his hands through his hair, “I still can’t believe you didn’t think this was something you should’ve fucking told me! I thought I was just looking after some spoiled brat, and now you’re telling me this?!”

He hears his given name called out from your bedroom a few halls over and his attention spikes. The feel of sweat on his skin leads to the expelling of crackling explosions as he turns to walk towards your room.

“You better give me everything,” he seethes before hanging up.

There’s a sarcastic remark sitting on the tip of his tongue as he enters your room, but he’s shocked to find you still asleep. Bakugo steps closer, just to be sure, and something tightens in his chest at the sight of you curled in on yourself, brow tightly knit as you whimper under your breath.

Bakugo turns against any and every instinct in his body as he crouches next to your bed, his palm brushing gently over your back. He can hear Kirishima in his head, mocking him for being soft.

“The great Bakugo Katsuki, brought to his knees by a mere mortal!” Kirishima laughs, throwing his head back. He removes his face guard and boots at the table, his hands on his hips as he stares across the space at Bakugo, “You’ve changed since you started this job, man. I gotta say, I think you caring about others is really great. You’re manning up, dude!”

Bakugo accepts the high five from his friend, but not without a few miniature explosions popping off between their hands as he does so.

Kirishima is stuck clutching his palm to his chest as Bakugo swaggers away, a smirk on his face. 

“Maybe I was wrong,” Kirishima sighs, “Maybe you haven’t changed a bit.”

Your bleary eyes bring him back to reality, your hand reaching out to touch his face. You blink slowly, a sleepy grin on your face.

“‘Suki,” you mumble, your cheek pressed into the pillow.

If you were awake, he wouldn’t let you touch him like this. He would keep you at an arm’s length, crimson irises focused on your every move. However, you won’t remember this in the morning, and maybe that’s the only reason that he’s actually leaning into your palm. 

“Nightmares again?” he asks.

The phone call from earlier still rings in his head, his agent’s voice reverberating around. He looks at you a little differently now, he thinks, although he’d never admit it aloud.

You’re pouting, your hand falling from his face to tuck back under your chin. You nod and mumble something under your breath that he can’t quite make out, so he shifts closer. Bakugo sighs, “I’m here, all right? No need to have nightmares.”

You nod and pull the covers back to your chin and close your eyes, “Alright, ‘Suki.”

He stays squatted next to you until you’re snoring again, chest rising and falling consistently. He’s not sure why his body does what it does, but he reaches out and smoothes his thumb over the creases in your forehead until your face relaxes in your slumber.

“Fuckin’ dumbass,” he mutters with a grin, pushing your hair away from his face.

As he stands to his feet, he catches the sight of his dumbstruck face in your mirror, and he’s appalled. He’s not scowling, but instead there is the trace of a smile on his lips. Bakugo isn’t sure of the last time he genuinely smiled at something other than the breaking of bones.

Heat gathers in his hands and he has to force himself from blasting the mirror to shards, “Fuckin’ dumbass.”

-

“Can you find her?”

“No, have you seen her?”

“Last time I saw her, she was headed to the library.”

“And you didn’t think to.. Follow her?” 

“Well-”

“Shut up, dumbass,” Bakugo pushes past one of the other bodyguards, shoving towards the direction of the library.

He’s slipping through the doorway to check around the bookshelves for your body. He’s getting ready to call for you when he hears your voice. 

“If you wanted to get me alone, all you had to do was ask.”

“Tch,” Bakugo narrows his eyes, looking up.

You’re curled up in the loft, your body wrapped in a blanket with a book in your lap. There’s a small breakfast nook-like area looking out onto the lake in the center of the back lawn, moonlight filtering in through the etched glass.

You tuck your feet underneath yourself and pat the open space next to you, gesturing for him to take a seat. He mutters something into his ear piece before climbing the ladder to join you in the loft. He’s sitting opposite of you, his arms crossed as he looks down at the ground below.

“This whole escaping thing is getting on my damn nerves,” Bakugo snaps at you, nudging your thigh with his boot. “Would it kill you to stay in one place for more than a few seconds?”

Shrugging, you rest your arm on his leg, palm cupping his calf, “But then where would the fun be?”

“I’d love to not have to chase you around for one damn day in my life.” Bakugo licks his lips and rests his head back against the wall, eyes tracking over every square inch of the backyard as he looks out the window. His palms crackle in his lap, itching to be let loose on the world.

“Why did you take this job?”

The question comes out of nowhere, something he wasn’t prepared to have to think about. Bakugo’s voice is gruff when he speaks his answer, “My agent told me my reputation needed some work. Apparently I’m not a fuckin’ icon, or whatever.”

Your laughter doesn’t piss him off as much as it used to. You squeeze his calf and tilt your head back so you’re leaning on the wall, “Oh, you having a little image problem, Sparky?”

Bakugo narrows his eyes at you, but there’s no intent behind it. He sighs, “Your dad donates a lot to our agency. My manager told me to take it. Nothing else to it.”

“You miss the fight, though, don’t you?” Your eyes are swirling with some mixture of curiosity and something else he can’t quite make out. You curl your free hand into a fist in your lap, “I’ll bet beating guys heads in is the best feeling, isn’t it?”

If he wasn’t expecting your initial question, he really isn’t expecting those words when they tumble out of your lips. And he really wasn’t anticipating the utter excitement in your tone, either. A pristine girl like you, fantasizing about bashing villains? 

Either you were faking it, or you’re too good to be true.

You chuckle, “I’ve always loved your fighting style, at least what I could see of it. Your quirk is so cool, so useful.”

Your voice is almost wistful now, the edges of your lips upturned in a grin. You’re biting your lip in consideration and his leg feels cold when you remove your palm from it, wringing your hands together in your lap.

The hysteria on the cusp of your voice reminds him of his own mania in battle - the way he bares his teeth when he lets his gauntlets loose; the way his palms crackle as he approaches another guy from behind; the anticipation settled in his chest every time they suit up. 

Bakugo tilts his head, “What’s your quirk?”

“I-I don’t have-” 

Your voice is too nervous, too high-pitched. He wants to laugh at your obvious lie, but instead he holds up his palm and lets loose a few explosions, sparking the air between the two of you with orange and ash.

The lingering scent in the air reminds you of marshmallows over a campfire, and you realize it’s what you’ve been smelling on him for months. You never paid much attention to how his quirk works, all you’ve ever known is that he has an explosive ability that matches his hot-headed personality.

“My sweat contains nitroglycerin,” Bakugo explains when he notices your look of bewilderment. He finds his face smoothing into a smile as you reach out and grasp him by the wrist. “It’s explosive, obviously. I use my gauntlets in my hero suit to store it so I can use larger impacts to take down buildings or bad guys, or both.”

You brush your thumb over the bumps of his palm, up over his fingers. Quirks have always fascinated you, mostly because your father indulges in every aspect of them save for having one.

“Wow,” you say finally, voice faraway.

He swears your eyes are glittering with the way the moonlight refracts off of the glass of the window. His chest heaves as you push your way closer to grab his other hand out of his lap. The way you trace over the lines in his palms as if they have all the answers makes his shoulders perk with pride.

“When did you get your quirk?” you ask.

“I think I was like, five, or some shit, I don’t remember.” Bakugo can feel himself retreating, his walls shrinking in fear as you get too close. Your body heat mixes with his own and his eyes almost cross at the dizzying feeling of your proximity.

You are chewing on your lower lip and his mind slips in the fog to wonder what it might feel like if you tugged on his mouth like that.

He’s about to stand up and walk away because he can’t- no, he won’t- feel these things for you. You’re a paycheck, an objective, nothing more. Just like the weapon from his U.A. classes - all he has to do is protect you, and his ratings will rise and he’ll be able to fall back into the higher ranks of heroes. And then he’ll be able to leave.

“My parents don’t have quirks,” your laugh is dry, much unlike your giggles from earlier. You are smiling but it’s not making your eyes wrinkle at the edges like usual, “I think that’s why my dad invests so much money into them; maybe he’s projecting. Or maybe he’s living vicariously through his investments, I’m not sure.”

Bakugo hears you suck in a breath and there’s a pain in his chest at the sound, “When I got my quirk, my dad was so scared of me. As soon as it started showing, he built me my own wing in the house and brought Miles in to take care of me.”

Your hands fall away from his, tucked into your midsection so you can worry over your shirt as you speak. “I don’t think I’ve had a real conversation with my dad since I was little, not anything that mattered, anyway. When he shipped me off to college, he would call every now and then, but all we talked about were the heroes he was betting on.”

You lick your lips and laugh again, this one turning dark. Your chest is caving in as all of the memories of your father’s distance play on loop, threatening to pull you under again.

“No one knows I have a quirk,” you admit breathlessly, finally looking him in the eyes. “I think it’s his twisted way of keeping me, and everyone else, safe.”

Bakugo wants to hold you, any part of you, but there is a pin still in his body’s grenade, keeping him from you. He swallows the growing lump in his throat and tries his hardest to control the sweat in his palms at your story. He’s never heard your voice this chilling before; normally you are a sunbeam incarnate, walking around brightening everything you touch, even if you’re a bit mischievous sometimes. 

“I can manipulate organic matter,” you say. “Anything living.”

The reality of what all facets of that statement can mean makes Bakugo’s muscles ache.

You’re chuckling at the expression on his face, “Yeah, exactly. Of course you’d want to keep me hidden away.”

“No,” he shakes his head.

As if to prove to him that you’re nothing more than a liability, you raise your palm in the air and summon the flowers sitting in the vase just a few feet away from you forward. The budding floral prongs are twirling in tandem with the motions of your fingers. In a display of your power, you make the flowers walk as if their stems were legs, up Bakugo’s thigh and over his knee, all the way down to the toe of his boot.

Once they’re close enough to you, you levitate them in the air again, the pink and yellow petals beautiful even in the shadows of the night.

Bakugo’s eyes go wide as the flowers begin to lose their color, the shades of spring colors beginning to desaturate until they’re nothing but brown, wilted buds. You curl your hand into a fist and the flowers ball up accordingly, mushing together until they are no longer recognizable.

“Holy shit,” Bakugo’s eyes track the object as you release your control over it and the squashed flowers drop with a thud into your palm.

You’re waiting for him to become frightened of you, to look at you with wide eyes as he fears for his own life. That’s what your father did when you showed the beginning signs of your quirk. He shoved you in a box, frightened you’d turn out something fierce, something evil.

“Do it again.”

Your voice catches in your throat, a short gasp parting your lips, “Wh-Wha-”

“You’re a fucking badass,” Bakugo shifts closer to you, the personal space he usually keeps between the two of you forgotten. “Can you do it again? With something else?”

“Y-You want me…” Your eyes are wide, pupils dilating as you gaze up at him. He’s smiling like a madman but it makes your heart light on fire, “Sure.”

You spend the next hour or so grabbing different living things from around the room, twisting them and manipulating them. Bakugo’s eyes follow your every movement, every motion. His jaw hangs slightly open as he watches on in fascination, your quirk a new experience for him.

You turn to look over the balcony, wondering if there might be anything you can grab from down there, when you feel his chest press against your back. He’s just leaning up to scout the area, but his chin might as well rest on your shoulder with his closeness. You pinpoint a basket of fruit at the bottom of the stairs near the entryway and you concentrate to see what types of fruit there are.

“Apple or pear?” you ask, turning just enough to look him in the eyes beside you.

He tilts his head, “Pear, why the hell not?”

You tug two pears up over the railing, dropping one of them into his hand, the other in your lap. There’s a crunching sound as he digs his teeth into the fruit, some of the juice landing on your shoulder. It tickles, and you go to wipe it off, but Bakugo beats you to it, brushing his thumb over the exposed skin.

The realization that you’re practically in his lap makes your chest constrict. You swallow and reach down to pluck the pear from your lap, turning the fruit over in your hands as a distraction.

“So, your dad was scared of you?” he asks, resting his chin on his palm so he can get a better look at you.

You take a chance and lean yourself back into him, his shoulders thudding against the wall at the impact. Your head tilts upward so you can look at the ceiling, the feel of his collarbone behind the crown of your head somehow comforting.

“He thought I would go on a killing spree or something,” you shrug, your thumbs busy with the pear in your hands. The memories you have of your father are not pleasant, what little you have. 

Bakugo hikes his leg up so you can get more comfortable, giving you more space between his thighs. He tells himself that this is just part of the mission - he needs to get to know you so you’ll trust him, so you’ll stop running away. It'll make his job easier. That’s all this is.

You turn the fruit over, inspecting every speckle, “Just like with the flower, I can manipulate the life force inside of a person. I could kill them, if I were strong enough."

"Strong enough?" he echoes through his chewing. "What the hell does that mean?"

You laugh, cradling the pear in your palm like a child, "I was never trained on how to use my quirk. My father was so afraid of me that he forbade me to use it in front of others. I cared enough about him to respect his wishes; I wouldn't have forgiven myself if he lost business over my weird quirk."

"Your quirk isn't weird, dumbass," Bakugo's hand smooths down your hair from the back.

You laugh and look up at him, turning your body to lean against his thigh, "Thought I was a badass?"

He rolls his eyes, "You can be both."

You're tugging on his hands again, circling your fingers delicately around his wrists before yanking them forward. A strangled sound comes from the back of his throat at the sudden contact but you don't seem to notice.

Holding his palms outward, you rest your hands so the backs of yours are pressed to the insides of his hands, his much larger anatomy dwarfing your own. You're smiling but he's not sure why.

"I've wondered what it's like to be you," your voice is quiet now, the wonder giving way to sleep. "It must be amazing."

So Bakugo details all the stories he can remember. Eventually, after a few lines recounting the battles he's been in, your hands drift down from hovering in midair and he finds himself following suit. Your fingers are cold and for a moment he wonders if it's a side effect of your quirk.

He curls his fingers around yours when he isn't using his hands to tell you about a mission, the warmth from his palms leeching onto your own hands to keep you from freezing over. 

It isn't too long before he hears the change in your breathing; it's slower, heavier now. Your body is more slumped against him that it was before and he knows that you've fallen asleep.

"Quirk must take it outta ya, huh?" Bakugo brushes his thumb down the length of your forearm. He sighs and looks down at how your body just so perfectly lines up with his, "Fuckin' hell...what're you doing, man?"

The last bit of his resolve crumbles when a small sigh parts your mouth and you turn so your cheek is pressed into his pectoral, one hand coming to curl around the fabric of his shirt and the other keeping his palm captive in your tiny grasp.

Bakugo can tell how much smaller than him you are; he could easily overpower you to get out of this situation, he knows he could. But for some reason, he doesn't want to. 

For once in his life he really feels like he's doing something good, something wholesome. His body enraptures you like a cage and he keeps his eyes on the back yard, ready to act if there are any intruders. A fierce feeling prickles at the skin on the back of his neck and he wants to bare his teeth for some reason, but he tames the feral instinct before he can dig his hands into you to make sure you're safe.

Bakugo, for the first time since he met you, starts to wonder if maybe this could be more than just a mission. 

-

You’re sure you’re not supposed to overhear his conversation, but he told you to stay close. So, really, you’re just doing as you’re told. Which is a pretty big achievement for you.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding, right?” Bakugo is laughing sadistically into the phone receiver, tossing his head back. You’re sure his laughter is to combat the growl that’s sitting in his chest. He’s hushed as he speaks, “You can’t pull me from this assignment now. There’s two international events in the next month and she’s got public outings. You won’t be able to train anyone new-no, I said no. You can’t-listen...I swear to god…”

The slamming of his phone shut startles you, but you’re able to cover your mouth with your hand before your squeak tumbles out. You press your back into the wall so he can’t discover your sneaking. When his loud footsteps come closer, you try to shrink down the hall, pretending like you’d just started to wander this way.

Bakugo steps out of the room and really, did anyone ever consider just how attractive he was before they assigned him to your team? 

He’s tall, much taller than you, and built with dense muscle and thick sinew. His shoulders trim down to slimmer hips, but that is only misleading as his pelvis gives way to full thighs and rounded calves. You’re thankful they allowed him to stop wearing suits after his first couple of weeks - now he’s in a more relaxed outfit - black long sleeve t-shirt with a pair of jeans that lead into his signature black combat boots.

“Katsuki!” you call, stepping forward.

After that night, falling asleep against him in the loft, things have shifted. You’ve noticed that he’s more physical with you - whether it be with closeness, or with touch. He’s not afraid to brush up against you, and he doesn’t recoil when your body comes into contact with his own. Instead, it’s almost as if he’s welcoming it. 

It’s a gentle hand guiding you towards an exit, or his palm squeezed in yours when you’re on the wrong side of sober and trying to get out of a bar. In the car, on the way home, he doesn’t mind if you fall asleep against his shoulder. 

His brows perk when he hears your voice, crystalline eyes snapping up from his phone to make contact with your gaze. You swear the beginning of a smile touches the corners of his lips.

“Do you think we can go to the market before we get ready to go out of town?” you ask, pouting just enough to make him consider.

Bakugo puffs a breath out of his mouth, his jaw hanging open slightly. You reach forward and wrap your arms around his back, running your hands up his shoulders with a bright grin on your face, “C’mon! Live a little.”

He’s rolling his eyes but walking forward with his arm slung around your shoulder, “Whatever. Better buy me somethin’ real nice.”

“Of course!” You bob up on your toes to kiss his cheek, “Anything you like.”

His face is bright red, but you’re too busy thinking about the market to notice. As soon as you walk into the common area, his arm retreats from your form and his spine goes rigid. You know that things have to be more strict in front of your father’s staff and his coworkers. They have a short conversation before the others are grabbing their weapons and communications units, stepping out the front door to load up the SUVs. 

It’s not long before you’re walking the cobblestone paths of the market, very reminiscent of your first escape attempt. The breeze is blowing, clouds offering some shade but not much. You’re in another one of your brightly colored sundresses, hair flowing freely in the wind. You twirl in front of him, “Hey, ‘Suki, do you think you’d ever do this full time?”

He tilts his head in silent questioning, and you elaborate, “I-I mean, if my daddy could pay you enough, do you think you could be my bodyguard for a long time?”

The color in his face drains just enough for you to know that what you heard on the phone earlier was true - he’s leaving you.

“Listen,” his voice is gruff, “I’m working to be a pro-hero, alright? I don’t have time to fuckin’ babysit for the rest of my life.”

Your heart twists in your chest but you force a smile anyway, “Yeah, that’s what I figured. I know I can be a handful, and not nearly as much fun as blasting villains.”

The slight downturn in your tone makes his chest feel hollow. Bakugo knows that he shouldn’t phrase things the way he does, but he’s on communication devices with the others and he can’t have them knowing that he’s fallen complete hook, line, and sinker for you.

You’re walking down the side of the road when an idea comes to you - you know just what to do to cheer him up, for old time’s sake. It’s been a while since you’ve tried to evade him for real.

Throwing a teasing glance over your shoulder, you wink at him before slipping away from him, blending in with the others around you. You manage to grab a ball cap off of a vendor table, leaving them a large bill to take care of the cost. A quick stop at a food vendor leaves you in the wind as Bakugo walks past your body, eyes high as he steps through the crowds to try and find you.

Katsuki is frantic - it feels like someone has just pumped ice water into his veins. His feet can’t carry him fast enough. If it weren’t for the phone call earlier, he might not have allowed fear to clutch at him like a vice, but the words of the officer on the other line ring loudly in his head. 

“There have been talks in the underground of a possible kidnapping attempt. Soon.”

His saliva collects like a ball of tape in his throat and he can’t swallow it down. He speaks into his comms but he’s not sure he’s talking in full sentences or syllables. His body carries him down every alleyway, every side street, until he catches a glimpse of the tail of your dress curving down a street across the market.

Relief floods his body and Bakugo jogs to the dead end road, a sarcastic retort on his lips about how you almost got a rise out of him when his eyes catch onto something at the end of the alleyway.

There, pinned to the wall by a nail, is a swatch of your dress, covered in blood with the words don’t come looking written in crimson liquid.

Acid churns in his stomach. Heat settles behind his eyes. Explosions echo off of his hands.

“Wrong fuckin’ move,” he grits his teeth, narrowing his eyes as he snatches the cloth in his hands. He looks up to the roof where he’s sure some villain with a quirk has escaped with you, “Holy shit, wrong move.”

-

The past few hours have been nothing but a painful blur for you. There’s crusted blood on your head from where someone has slammed a blunt object to knock you out. Your wrists and ankles are burning from the cuffs wrapped around them, the chains echoing in the warehouse-like space. Your throat is parched from trying to scream through the gag in your mouth and the sobs that rack your body.

It was just supposed to be a game, something to cheer up his spirits, your running off. You never intended for it to turn into something that’s probably spiking his blood pressure and getting his ear chewed off. Another bout of tears sweeps through your lids when you realize that Katsuki is going to get in trouble due to your immaturity.

Someone has brought you a pale of water, but it’s so demeaning that all you can do is kick it across the warehouse. You’re surprised they’re allowing you to have your vision, given that they’ve taken everything else from you. 

“We’ll get a hefty ransom for her,” a thug off in the corner mutters to his counterpart. They stare over at you and you feel violated just by their gaze. You curl yourself inward, trying to hide as much of your body as possible.

The taller of the two slaps the original speaker on the back of the head, “You touch her, you’re dead. You heard what the boss said. No nasty shit.”

Your jaw quivers as you think of what they could do to you, all tied up like this. You’re helpless. The realization multiplies the well of tears settled in the brim of your eyelids. They laugh at your tears and you want to kick each of them between the legs until they beg for mercy at your hands. 

If Bakugo were here, he’d have already freed himself. He would have never gotten captured in the first place. Now you want to kick yourself. How could you be so careless? You were too wrapped up in your childish, foolish game to realize you were being tailed. Katsuki would be disappointed in you.

“The fuck you cryin’ about?” the taller thug asks. He cracks his knuckles before stepping to you, squatting down. He tucks his hand roughly under your chin to pull your attention up so you’re looking him in the eye. He smirks, “Gonna give you somethin’ to cry about, bitch.”

A set of slaps resounds in the empty room, both of your cheeks stinging at his harsh motion.

Your immediate reaction is to whimper, but you stamp it down in favor of being seen as strong. You grit your teeth together and snarl up at him, eyes hard as you glare. He chuckles, gripping you by the throat until your eyes bug out of your head, “Oh, you stupid bitch. Quit your whinin’.”

He slings you to the floor and your wound pounds in pain, reopening and leaving a gateway for a fresh stream of blood to trickle down your neck. You want to cradle the spot, do anything to try and dilute or soothe the pain, but your hands are stuck behind your back. 

The two thugs are arguing about something, but the last thing you see is the two of them looking down at you as your vision fades to black.

-

The next time you wake, your body is in a chair, apparatus attached to every part of your body. Your mind is foggy and you hear someone calling Katsuki’s name so you start to search for him. Tears leak from the corners of your eyes when you realize that it’s your voice. 

“Shut up or I’ll gag you again,” a brute voice hovers over your shoulder.

There are still black spots covering most of your vision, so you can’t see who's speaking to you. Your nose itches and you try to move your shoulder only to find your neck is locked into a metal casing. You swallow, your throat bobbing against the cold metal.

A man in all black, face hidden behind an intricate, colorful mask, stands in front of you. His demeanor is nothing if not calm and collected, a gun attached to his hip although you suspect he has some sort of quirk as well. He crosses his arms over his chest as he looks you over, as if he were sizing you up even though you’ve not managed to put up any sort of a fight this entire time.

“How much do you think your daddy will pay to have you safe?” he drawls, squatting down so you can look down at him.

He swivels a knife out of his pocket, turning the blade over before pressing it to his tongue, “I’m thinking a fat stack of paper will keep you alive. Don’t you agree?”

“Go to he-ah!” You’re stopped as the tip of the knife presses to the inner part of your thigh. Your nostrils flare and you glare down at him, shifting in your seat to futilely pull away from his weapon.

“I heard your bodyguard is kind of sweet on you,” he smirks, twirling the blade so the point stays connected to your skin, “and I’m sure he wants to see you safe.”

Your teeth chatter but you bare your canines anyway, “You’re going to wish you’d never been born when Katsuki gets ahold of-”

“Katsuki, huh? You’re on given names now?” The man stands to his feet, slinging the blade around before tucking it back into his belt. He chuckles, “You pregnant with his kid, too?”

You spit on him as he bends over in front of you, face mere inches from your own. It pisses him off to the point where he snatches you by the hair, pulling you forward so your esophagus is crushed by the metal chain around your throat. You can’t breathe, choking at the sudden impact. You see stars and you can’t do anything but thrash in the chair, arms and legs bruising on contact of the latches keeping your body as still as possible.

The one thing that you can make out above everything else is the coolness of metal pressed to your temple. It is not sharp, so you have to assume that there’s a gun to your temple. His voice is in your ear, low and slithering, “I’ve already taken photos of your living body, so I don’t need proof of life anymore. I’m being a gentleman by keeping you alive, you see? So don’t piss me off.”

“That’s not bein’ a fuckin’ gentleman.”

A gasp parts your lips and the thug turns to see Bakugo Katsuki standing in the doorway, a littering of unconscious bodies in his wake.

He glares with his ruby red eyes, tilting his head in a way that almost feels patronizing. You want to claw at the hand around your throat but your wrists are still tied down. Your face is damp with a mixture of tears and sweat, your voice trying to project despite the pain of your esophagus.

“S’okay,” Katsuki looks you in the eyes and you believe him.

“You take another step closer and I swear I will blow her brains all over the side of this place,” the man seethes from behind you. As the gun digs deeper into your temple, you whimper, a sob shaking your shoulders.

Bakugo lurches forward at the sound, hand outstretched, “You fucker! Let her the fuck go before I kill you right here!”

The villain smirks, “I thought you were Ground Zero, a pro hero?! You’d dare to taint your pristine record with little ole me? Wow, I’m flattered.”

You shake your head just enough to tell him to back away, and he does so by putting both of his feet on the ground, hands in the air. He’s making eye contact with you again, irises desperate, “You remember that night in the library?”

You blink a few times, taking in what he’s said. What was so significant about that night?

“Remember what you told me?” he leads you, his jaw quivering under the stress of his teeth. “About what your father was afraid of?”

“Oh please!” The man laughs maniacally but you’re not focused on him anymore. Your brain is trying to work, albeit a bit slow, to recall the words you spoke that night. Your eyes track over his face but his mouth is set into a hard line, “The flowers, baby, remember the flowers?”

The villain is mocking Bakugo again, but his voice cuts off in his throat when he feels the tips of his extremities begin to go numb.

Your lower lip is quivering, blood seeping out of your nose at the strain. Tears sit still in your eyes as you manipulate your fingers to try to find the source of the organic material you want to manipulate. You take a gasping breath, eyes straining in your sockets as you pull pressure closer towards you.

“What the-”

Your other hand twists and you hear the crushing sound of his esophagus as you manipulate the blood pumping through his veins. Your body is so unused to the stress of using your quirk that it makes your mouth hang open in hopes of getting enough oxygen to your brain, your bones grating against one another. 

In trying to turn his hand holding the gun away from you, you have to dig deep, imagining the cells in his body so you can manipulate them. The chipping of his bones resonates in your ear, but the pressure of the gun is released from your temple. In turn, you feel a new bout of blood leak from every orifice of your face - eyes, mouth, nose.

Your vision goes black and your ears ring with the sound of an explosion. There are screams in the back of the room, but a quick thud tells you that someone has been rendered helpless.

“Hey,” the voice is calm in front of you, but you can’t turn it off. Your body craves the manipulation of something else, your quirk swirling around you like a dark shadow, begging you to hurt somebody else.

A pair of hands presses to your cheeks and your jaw drops at the contact. You turn your hands and you feel a new patch of skin ghosting under your fingers. The blood pumping through this one is hotter, faster. Your jaw strains as you grind your teeth together in concentration.

You hear Bakugo cough and your vision clears enough to realize that it’s him you have in your quirk’s grasp. Your hands fall to your lap as you relent, a cough parting his mouth as he lurches forward.

Katsuki uses his fingers to wipe the blood off of your face, “Holy hell. You really are a badass.”

You barely have time to register the words before your body passes out from exhaustion.

-

This time, when you roll your head, you’re still held in someone’s arms. You lean your head back and blink blearily, “K-Ka-Suki?”

You hear his voice, but he’s not talking to you. He’s angrily whisper-shouting at someone else you can’t see. You try to raise your arm to touch his face, slap him, whatever it takes to get his attention. Your whole body aches and you just want to go back to sleep.

“I don’t care what you have to move, just fuckin’ move it!” is the last thing that you hear before the silence returns.

You try to call to him again and this time you’re able to make out his eyes as he looks down at you. He’s carrying you somewhere, that much you know, but you’re not quite sure where you’re going. The relief that floods his irises, lightening them, makes your heart flip in your chest.

“Where’re we?” you ask in a slur.

Bakugo chuckles and you hear a door shut, “We’re back home.”

“Home,” you murmur, your head lolling into his chest. What does home mean to you now? Surely it doesn’t mean that big mansion that you’ve been a prisoner in most of your adult life.

You force your hand to inch upward from your lap to his chest, your palm seeking the heat of his body. Sniffling, you breathe in the scent of a fireside and you desperately want to be on a beach, in a hammock, as he holds you tight. Your fist curls around his shirt and he looks down at you again, taking in the pallor of your skin and the way your breath comes in short bursts.

Your body shifts in his arms and you whimper at the loss of contact as he displaces you onto a bed. Your head hits a pillow but you’re trying to sit up right after, grasping in thin air for something of his that you can hold onto.

“Lay down, idiot,” Bakugo grunts in annoyance, pushing you down by the shoulders. “You’re fuckin’ spent. You need to chill.”

Your eyes finally open as you feel your shoes removed from your feet. The way your ankles try to swivel sparks pain behind your eyelids, the raw splotches of skin from struggling against the cuffs more prevalent now than before.

“I told you to fucking chill.”

You do as he says then, your body unable to fight back any longer. You are more focused on trying to keep yourself from becoming a blubbering mess in front of him. Using your quirk took a lot of strength and focus, but now all you want to do is curl into a ball and cry yourself to sleep.

Bakugo’s palm is against your cheek, “I think you need a bath.”

“Mhm,” you can feel the crusted blood on your face and neck, sweat mixed in so your dress sticks to every part of your body it touches.

He chuckles, “I’ll go get Miles.”

“No,” you snatch him by the sleeve, “p-please, don’t go.”

You wince at the exertion of your muscles but the pleading look in your eyes must do it for him because he buckles, “I’ll go run the water.”

It’s another few minutes before he emerges from the bathroom suite to help you to your feet. You sway a little as the warmth from the steam in the room hits you directly in the face. Your eyes cross and he has to steady you with his palms on your waist.

You go to step into the tub still fully clothed when he stops you, “Uh, don’t you think-”

Your eyes can’t focus on anything, so Katsuki presses his palms to both of your cheeks and forces your eyesight to zero in on him. He says something and you reach out to grip his shirt in your hands, fisting the fabric as tight as you can manage in this state.

“D-Do you want my help?” he asks, cheeks burning. You nod, turning so the ties of your dress are where he can reach. You don’t think anything of it as his fingertips hesitate at your back, his palms threatening to burst with nitroglycerin.

Eventually, your dress falls away and you’re left bare in front of him. He takes you by the hand to guide you to the huge tub in the center of the room, full to the brim with warm water and bubbles. You wince as you step into the water, the heat from the bath making your open wounds twinge with pain. Swallowing, you submerge yourself entirely, only your nose to the top of your head remaining visible.

“Shit,” Bakugo swears as the water immediately tinges red with the blood that coated your body. He picks up a rag and gently swipes over your skin.

Bakugo has never considered himself soft. He is not gentle, he is not kind. However, all of his inhibitions about himself completely fly out the window when you’re involved. He’s sure he’s never been this caring with his own body. He winces when he has to scrub particularly hard at certain spots, the mix of blood and sweat cementing patches of red to your skin.

After he’s done with your body, he starts to work on your face. He has to use a new rag, one unsaturated with grime. His fingers are timid as he brushes under your eyes and around your nose and mouth. The pad of his thumb ghosts over your lower lip, his palm flat against your neck. 

Your eyes are wide, pupils blown as you glance up at him. He shakes his head, ��I can’t believe you.”

Bakugo has to grab the shower head to work on your hair. You feel his fingers nudging through your tresses for a while before the water turns off and he unplugs the tub. The water retreats from the bath and your shoulders go cold.

“C’mon,” he murmurs, eyes on your face as he helps you stand.

He pats you dry and you fumble around your room for a new set of clothes. As he pulls the shirt over your head, his palms brush your arms and you find yourself wanting to melt into him. You have to fight the trembling of your lower lip when he takes a step back from your; your body is empty at the loss of his touch.

Katsuki grunts, shaking his head, “I-I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” you’re able to manage words, your voice hoarse from disuse and exhaustion. You swallow and reach out to him, but he backs away from you.

“I had one job, one thing to do, and I fucked it up. I failed at keeping you safe.” His fists curl up tight in front of him, but you still see the explosions muffled in his grip. He turns his head, “I’m leaving tonight.”

A single tear slips down your cheek and you cradle your arms to your chest, the bright red rings of raw skin easy to see in stark contrast to your dark sleep clothes. Bakugo gets just enough of a glimpse of them and knows that he can’t be here any longer, he can’t watch his failures play on a loop in front of him in the form of you.

“I ran away,” you whisper, looking down at your hands. “I-I did this.”

You allow a sob to break the seam of your lips, your body shuddering so hard that you fall to your knees. You cover your face with your hands, “I’m so sorry, Katsuki. I-I’m so stupid. You’re right, I’m nothing but a dumbass.”

“Hey,” he cradles you at the elbows, “no, don’t do that shit.”

“It’s the truth, and you know it!” You shove at his shoulders meagerly, falling back from the force of your own push. “I should have never run away. I should have listened.”

Katsuki tugs your head forward, cradling your body against his own, “Damn right you should’ve listened to me.”

“I’m sorry, ‘Suki,” you murmur into the skin of his neck.

He tilts your head upward with the gentle tug of your chin between his thumb and forefinger. Bakugo’s mouth is pressed into a fine line as he takes a short breath, “Me too. I shouldn’t have let you get out of my sight.”

A silent pause stretches between the two of you as you look into one another’s eyes, short breath passing through your lips. Katsuki’s hand threads into your hair and his eyes travel to each feature of your face as if he were memorizing it. You turn your face to flatten your mouth against his wrist, his pulse thudding solidly under your lips. The warm aroma that results from his quirk makes you dizzy in the best way; you could get drunk off of the sweet, fiery scent if you let yourself stay this close for too long.

Your eyelashes flutter when he slides you with a hand on your hip so you’re completely in his lap, your knees on either side of his body. He is warm and it is welcoming, your still damp hair sending chills down your spine as the cool breeze of the night sweeps in through the barely open window. 

Finally, his voice breaks, “I-I thought I lost you.”

“Katsu’...” you shake your head and tears well up in your eyes. 

You can’t take it anymore. You tilt your head further upward and press your lips to his. As soon as you arch into him, Katsuki is wrapping his arms around your body, bruising your mouth with the intensity of his kiss. His palms hold you steady - one on the back of your head and the other splayed out across the center of your back.

It is painstakingly quiet, the only sounds echoing off of your walls are the gentle smacking noises your mouths make as you part only to come back together. Your hands can’t get enough of him, searching the planes of his shoulders for somewhere to dig your fingernails into. You gasp as his tongue presses to the seam of your lips, leaving you wide open for him to invade your space.

His whole body is hot, steaming, as he palms at you to keep you close. Your cheeks heat, bright red at the proximity of him. Bakugo angles your head so he can thoroughly map out your mouth with his tongue and teeth.

You pull away just enough to breathe, “I never doubted you, not for a minute.”

Katuki’s eyes are wide, irises blown to hell when he hears those words fall from your lips. His chest constricts and the threat of an explosion curls in the palms of his hands. He has to stamp it down, because he doesn’t want to hurt you, but you do feel the increasing heat on your back.

“I knew you’d find me,” you brush a hand over his cheek, pushing his hair away from his face. You have tears streaming down your face, but he’s sure you’ve never been more beautiful to him than you are now, in this very vulnerable moment.

You chuckle, “You’re my hero.”

A growl opens his lips and you barely get a moment to suck in a breath before he’s devouring you again.

He’s been labeled a hero by his school, by the media, by a costume designer. He has an agent and a PR team and a set of sidekicks he’s training. He’s getting money, fame, and yet - in this moment, you uttering those words, releases something primal in him. The need to protect you washes over him like a wave - how did he think he could ever trust anyone else with your care? Would any of them try to keep you safe as ferociously as he would? 

“I’m not leavin’ your fuckin’ side,” he mumbles as his mouth trails over your jaw, fingers tugging on your hair gently to get you to bare your throat to him. His tongue swipes over your jugular and your eyes screw shut, “No one’s taking you from me ever again.”

Your mouth hangs open, pants of needy air puffing out of your lips. You hold him by the back of his head, fingers wound in his hair, egging him on. You whimper when he bites the curve of your shoulder, but the way your hips roll forward affirms him that he’s doing something right.

“Fuck,” Bakugo mutters, picking you up with his arms around your waist, “fuckin’ hell.”

Your eyes are trained on him as he walks you to the bed. You watch his eyes dart over the space behind you so he can be sure he’s not bumping you into anything, keeping you safe even now, even as he wants to raw up your little body with his own set of bruises. Your legs stay latched around his waist, tugging him closer to you when it feels like he may pull away. 

Kastuki shakes his head, “I’m right here.”

Tears well up in the corner of your eyes from the softness of his voice alone; you don’t know what you would have done if he hadn’t been the one to find you. Your hands palm at his face, thumbing over his cheekbones to try and memorize the layout of his face like a blueprint.

“Shh,” he hushes you, leaning down to kiss either of your eyelids, “stop cryin’, dummy.”

“You were right,” you shake your head as the realization dawns over you. “You can’t stay. You have other, better things to do. Your job isn’t to babysit me, Katsuki. You need to be a hero. You ne-”

Another kiss cuts your rambling short, his mouth harsh when he tugs on your lips. His teeth nip at your lower lip, “Don’t tell me what to do.”

Both of his palms slide under your shoulders, pushing you with the heels of his hands so your chest is pressed completely to him, his body aching to feel your own. He kisses you until your mouth is aching, your chest begging for breath. Your wrists and ankles start to burn, the reminder of your eventful night biting at your skin like an animal.

You wince and Bakugo pulls away, searching your face for the reason of your sudden movement.

“Oh shit,” he lowers you back to the mattress, tugging on your arms so he can unwrap your bandages to inspect your wounds.

Once he sees the injuries, his body begs to light on fire again, his rage bubbling like acid in his stomach. His lip curls into a snarl and he squeezes his eyes shut, your bloody body projected onto the backs of his eyelids.

“Will you stay with me?”

Your request interrupts his self-deprecating thoughts. He can see the glistening of tears on your face, feel the quivering of your body as your nerves get the better of you. Bakugo wants to protest, he wants to tell you that he needs to blow off some steam, but with the gentle pout and quiver of your lip, he’s completely forgotten his desire to blow a hole in every bad guy he can find tonight.

Katsuki wraps your wrists back in the bandages, taping them securely before leaning back, glancing over you as if it were the last time he would ever see you.

Before you can protest or start rambling again, he lowers himself down to curl around your body, holding your head to his chest. You cradle your arms between the two of you, looking down at your fingers.

“My father was right,” you swallow, curling your hands to fists. “I-I wanted to kill that guy. I...I almost hurt you.”

Bakugo nudges his knee against your thigh, “As if, I just didn’t want to blast your head off.”

You want to laugh, but the sound is stuck in your throat. He senses your hesitation and tilts your head back with his thumb under the sensitive patch of skin just beneath your chin, “Hey. You did what you had to do. Power is hard to control sometimes.”

He kisses your forehead, your skin smoothing under his warm mouth. You attempt to keep your lips from quivering with the threat of tears, “My quirk is scary, Katsuki.”

“Everything is scary if you let it scare you,” he mumbles, nudging his nose over your own. Your eyes flutter shut and you turn so you can kiss him again. He chuckles against your lips, “You scare me, sometimes. Or rather, the idea of you.”

You know that he’s just affirming what you’ve said - of course you’re scary. You have a quirk that allows you to manipulate a person’s body. You can snap someone’s neck with a simple twist of your wrist.

“Not like that, stupid,” Bakugo nips your jaw to keep you out of your own head. He takes a deep breath and slips his palm between yours, curling his fingers against your knuckles. “I mean, you hold me so high, when you look at me, I get scared. I can’t live up to this idea of what you think I can do. I’m not this perfect hero, I’m not this great guy.”

He licks his lips, “I want to burn everyone I’m with so they’ll stay away, but you’re different. And that scares the shit out of me.”

Your mouth parts at his declaration, words hanging on your tongue. You’re not sure how to respond. Bakugo loved seeing your quirk when it was being used on flowers and fruit, but now that it was used on a person - how did that not frighten him? How was it the way you looked at him that shook him to his core, and not the reality that you could snatch his blood vessels from his body, that you can control his muscles that sit under his skin?

“I told you, baby, you’re a badass. Okay? How could I ever get scared of someone who pushes me to be better?” Bakugo is smiling now, genuinely grinning, and that takes all of your nerves and pushes them away. You mimic his expression, squeezing his palm with gentle pressure so as to not aggravate your wounds. 

“Now, c’mon, you little shit, close your eyes and get some sleep.” Bakugo tucks your head under his chin as he toes off his boots, kicking them off the bed. His mouth is in your hair, muffled as he speaks, “Or else I’ll knock you out myself, got it?”

“Sir yes sir,” you say through a yawn.

His body tenses under your words and he seethes, “Careful with that.”

You smirk, nipping your teeth against the thin skin of his neck just over his jugular, “Yes sir.”

“Ah, fuckin’ hell.”

-

a/n: lol i am so mean i’m sorry! also.. if you would like a part two, lemme know and i’ll consider it :-) 

tag list (message me to be removed!): @kamehamethot @lady-bakuhoe @queensynderella @todorki-shoto @kacchanswaifu @redhawtriot @burnedbyshoto @cookies-n-chaos @katsukisprincess @rat-suki @cutesuki--bakugou @k-atsukidayo @bnhatrashh @succulent-momma @voiceofreader @multifandom-fanfic @that-one-enthusiast @bitchtrynafck @cutest-celestial-princess @blue-peach14 @pastel-prynce​ @bokunokangae​ @shoutodoki​ 

[dadsbongos]

Mommy Issues

Movie/Game/Show: Umbrella Academy Dynamic: Five Hargreeves/Reader (Platonic) Warnings: you’re a mom of two, maybe might be sad? Summary: Five has to pay a visit to the old lady. ~~~

“Come on,” she held out the can of beans, shaking it around slightly when the boy refused, “You have to eat, Five.”

He shook his head, continuing to mark up the book in his hands, “Too busy.”

“You’re never too busy to fucking eat,” (Y/n) huffed, grabbing the book from his hands and replacing it with the can of beans, “It’ll all be here when you’re done.”

Five pursed his lips but decided to not argue with the woman, “You’re lucky you’re the only person left in this hellhole.”

“How so?” (Y/n) crossed her arms, desperately attempting to hide her starvation, “I get to take care of a little boy?”

“I’m not a little boy, first of all. I’m thirteen, technically a teenager.”

The woman snickered, “What’s your second point?”

Humming through his chewing, Five quirked a brow, gesturing for her to continue.

“You said ‘first of all’,” she shrugged, reaching for the bottle of wine settled amongst the rubble of an old library, “Did you have a second point to bring up?”

When the boy didn’t respond, (Y/n) quietly laughed before looking at the book Five was so focused on since he found it. Extra Ordinary by Vanya Hargreeves, her brows furrowed as she picked it up and began flipping through it. Five nearly choked on his beans, “Careful with that.”

“I will be,” she calmly replied, tone softening at the shared surname between the two, “Was she your mom?”

Five shook his head, taking the book back, “Sister.”

“I’m sorry you have to go through this,” (Y/n) forced on a smile, reaching into her tattered pants’ pocket, “If it’s any consolation, I lost some people too.”

Just as he went to retort, a picture of two children was forced into his hand. A boy his age and a much younger girl, and suddenly he regretted every time he mockingly called her mom. Her sad smile was still painted on her lips as realization sunk its claws into Five, “Your kids?”

“Yeah,” she murmured, sitting up straight, “I took all the pictures in the house before packing up.”

“Since we’re learning about each other,” he held out Vanya’s book, “I think you should read this.”

(Y/n) nodded, opening up to the first page, “If you want, for whatever weird reason is in your genius brain, you can keep the picture. I have a lot.”

“Thanks,” he pressed the photo into his blazer pocket, “you can’t keep the book. I want that back when you’re done and don’t write in it.”

“Naturally.”

Silence broke over the pair until (Y/n) spoke again, much quieter than before.

“What?”

“Stop zoning out, creeper,” she ruffled his hair.

“Don’t baby me, (Y/n),” the thirteen-year-old boy snapped, still clutching his mannequin companion to his scrawny body.

In response, the woman rolled her eyes, “I’ll baby you all I want, Five, because in case you haven’t noticed, we’re in a wasteland and I’m the only adult alive.”

“So far,” the boy glared, “There could be some lonely Australian man across the ocean and we have no clue.”

She shook her head, “Well until we find him, I’m still going to baby you - because that’s what you are to me. A little baby in need of mothering.”

Five grumbled under his breath, “You’re more annoying than anything else at this point.”

(Y/n) didn’t verbally reply, only pulling up the scarf acting as the boy’s mask before continuing down the road. She turned when Five didn’t follow, nudging her head down the way, “Come on, I think there's a wagon we could find to carry supplies!”

A wagon there was, but only one. At least at that point. The grown woman huffed while looking around, “Put Dolores in, you’re rolling the thing with you.”

“What?” Five looked up at her, “But you’re the adult, aren’t you?”

“Which means I get to tell you to roll it around.”

The wagon would go to him then. The boy.

“What’re you thinking about?”

Five’s brows furrowed as he walked, lugging the dirtied thing behind him, “What are you talking about now, (Y/n)?”

She simply stared at him, a blank, empty stare, “What are you thinking about?”

Her eyes made him nervous now, they were devoid of any kindness and warmth they usually held when looking at him. Less like a loving mother-figure and more like the mannequin he held close at night. But even Dolores smiled every so often.

“Five!” she suddenly shouted, no longer walking. She rushed over, grabbing his shoulders, “Five!”

There were no hands on his shoulders, just the old, wrinkled one between his own hands. He blinked a few times, shaking his head before looking down to the elderly woman on the floor, “Sorry, what were you saying?”

“As spacey as ever,” (Y/n) chuckled dryly, coughing a few times between the laughter, “I asked what you were thinking about.”

“Oh, nothing much,” he lied easily enough, “Just how much I’ll enjoy you not bossing me around.”

The dying woman shook her head, using what little strength she had to smack his arm, “You’ve been a rude little boy since we met.”

“Well,” he shrugged, letting a soft silence fill the heated air, rubbing his thumb over the weathered bones in this old woman’s hand, “What about you? What are you thinking about?”

“My kids,” she smiled faintly, “I’m excited to see them again.”

Little Joan and Lacy, he’d heard about them countless times. Joan was about his age when the pair first met after the Apocalypse, dark hair and light eyes with freckles spread across his cheeks. Lacy was on the younger scale with little curls sprouting from her head and brown eyes like honey pots with a birthmark right on her forehead. Adorable kids, from what few pictures survived the fall of humanity.

“I wish I could’ve met them,” he grinned down at the faint woman.

(Y/n) nodded weakly, eyes fluttering shut every now and again, “You three would’ve been so cute together. Them trying to make you smile and you just being grumpy; like something out of a sitcom.”

Five’s eyebrows rose at the sentence, “Now I’m not so sure.”

“Stop,” she wheezed, patting at her chest, “You would’ve loved them…” it was quiet for a few more moments, “I’m worried about you too, you know? Being all alone after so long, I don’t want you to go completely crazy.”

“I won’t be alone,” he attempted to reassure, nodding towards their plastic friend, “I have Dolores, don’t I?”

“God, don’t get me started on that…”

“I really will be fine,” he gripped her hand a little tighter, “Don’t be worrying about me, I can handle myself, old lady.”

“One day you’ll be an old man, and then who’ll be laughing? Me, from the afterlife.”

Five wouldn’t admit it, but the thought of (Y/n) still being somewhat around comforted him, “I’ll be counting on it.”

“Better be.”

. . .

Five rubbed at his temples, stopping the Apocalypse built up a headache worse than surviving it. He pushed the doors to Griddy’s open, not having had one of their coffees since his first night into the present. He slid onto a stool at the counter, giving Agnes a nod when she waved at him.

Agnes went into the back and after a few murmurs, he assumed a new waitress would be serving him.

Looking to the right, two familiar faces came into view. His eyes widened, hands fumbling for the photo in his blazer pocket. After (Y/n) died he made a habit of keeping it around; felt wrong to go without it. He looked between the picture to the children.

The doors from the back opened up and a painfully familiar woman stepped through. She smiled at two kids, ruffling the boy’s dark hair and pinching at the girl’s cheek before going over to Five. 

(Y/n) shot him a grin, pulling a pad of paper from her uniform, “What can I get you today?”

Five didn’t answer immediately, stare fixated on the living, breathing, not-dead woman in front of him. Unlike in their years together, her skin was less dirt-covered, hands less crusted in ash and soil, hair more well-kept. She seemed healthy, happy. After realizing he was staring for far too long, he cleared his throat, pocketing the photo, “Sorry, I’ll have a coffee. Black.” 

“No donuts?” she teased, “I know they’re not top-of-the-line, but I never miss an opportunity to snag a few for my kids,” she pointed her pen in the kids’ direction.

“Well, I suppose I could get…” he looked over the menu before continuing, “a lemon jelly donut.”

(Y/n) wrote down the order, “Funny, that’s my son’s favorite.”

“What a coincidence,” of course, he knew that. He knew it fifty times over.

Nodding, she tore off the paper before walking towards the back, stopping at the two kids. The tiny glances from both child in his direction made it obvious he had been mentioned. Giving Joan and Lacy each a kiss on the forehead, (Y/n) made her way to the back kitchen.

Lacy looked between her older brother and the strange boy before getting down from her stool and skipping over to the brunette. She gave him a broad, pearly smile, “Hi.”

Five smiled slightly, turning in his seat to look at the girl properly, “Hello.”

Joan followed after his sister, smiling apologetically to the boy about his age while taking the girl’s hand, “I’m sorry about her.”

“No, she’s fine,” he waved off the other boy’s sympathies, “She's pretty adorable.”

(Y/n) returned from the back, carefully setting down the steaming coffee followed by Five’s donut, “Hope my kids aren’t bothering you. They like making friends with the customers.”

He shook his head, “Not a problem.”

Joan slid onto the stool beside Five, holding his baby sister in his lap, “Haven’t seen you around here before.”

Five nodded slowly, wrapping both hands around his warm cup, already feeling his headache begin to dissipate, “I used to come here a lot when I was younger.”

[chemist-ana]

Day 18 of #101Smiles features a photo of Ana and Sam driving... its dark to set the tone for the ficlet that I wrote to go with the day, dark moods between these two tonight, way different than yesterday. To those of you that read these little authors notes- thank you, it means more to me than you know if you have gotten this far.

List of days here

Day 18- The Suburb Talk

Word Count: 980 but a relatively quick read.

Ana stares contemplatively out of the window, her chin resting on her fingers, the Harry Winston diamond on her finger sending rainbows of light around the cabin of the car. I know she can tell there is something wrong... I haven’t exactly said anything to her since we sat down in the Porsche together. How am I supposed to tell her that I am not ready to move? How am I supposed to tell her that the memories that penthouse holds are some of my most fond memories... memories of a past life, with another woman. I tighten my grip on the steering wheel and take the exit for Rye, New York. The suburbs. I bite my cheek to hide the cringe that wants to creep across my face.

——

I watch the constant stream of buildings eventually turn into trees, and while I should be feeling excited... there is an unfamiliar pang of jealousy sitting in my chest. Who are you kidding? That pain that you saw in his eyes isn’t gone, it’s evident by the silence for the last 30 minutes of this car ride. I fight the urge to sigh... ‘This home... there are a lot of memories here’ does he miss Eva? I know he loved her... she’s the mother of his kids for fucks sake...

“Pull over.” The crack in my voice betraying my emotion and shattering the silence. Sam’s brown eyes dart to mine, but without a word, he pulls over into an empty parking lot. The silence returns, as we both stare out of the windshield.

Finally I turn to him, my eyes tracing the curves of his profile.

“Clearly we need to talk.”

——

I clench my jaw at her words… she’s not wrong, but I have no idea how I am going to tell her what I need to tell her. I turn towards her, and I can see tears welling in the corners of her emerald eyes.

“Ana….”

“What, Sam? Why are you acting like this?”

I turn back towards the front of the car.

“It’s nothing.” I lie.

“Don’t insult me, Sam. I know you better than that.”

I sigh and turn back towards Ana, the tears that were welling in her eyes now streaming down her face… fuck.

——

I promised myself I wouldn’t cry… yet here I am. His brown eyes search my face before he finally looks down at his hands in his lap.

“I don’t know if I am ready to move away from the city.”

“Oh.” Is all I manage to get out before I bite my tongue and turn my attention to the trees that line the parking lot we’re in, something that doesn’t exist in the city.

“What about the boys? What about the office? Ana there are so many things we need to consider before making this decision.” His tone even and neutral.

“Obviously we need to discuss this with the boys before we decide, but nothing has to change for them. They can keep going to Browning. We will be 30 minutes from the office. But Sam, I know there is something else you aren’t telling me.”

——

I run my hands through my hair before my fingers begin to toy with the Patek Philipe timepiece on my wrist as I think about how I want to phrase this next part, I can feel her eyes on me.

“That penthouse, it holds a lot of memories, Ana. Memories of a past life…”

“That you aren’t ready to let go of yet?” Her voice is quiet, and sad. “Look, Sam, I know you loved Eva, and I never want to get in the way of the memories you have of her, but don’t you think it’s time we start our life together?”

“Ana, you know how complicated this is for me.”

“No, Sam, I don’t. I am your wife, you aren’t supposed to be stuck in the past.” I can hear the anger building in her words, and when I look at her, red hot color has risen onto her neck.

“It’s the memories of the boys first steps, their first birthdays, loosing their first teeth, it’s not just about Eva.”

——

“But it is partly about her? How could you do this Sam?” My heart has started beating faster as my anger rises. I twist my fingers together in my lap, desperate to calm my racing heart.

Sam gently takes my hand in his and brings it up to his lips, brushing a kiss across my knuckles.

“Ana, baby… please don’t cry. My life revolves around you and our two boys. I never want you to think that I wish I was still with Eva. You are my world now, but that doesn’t make it easier to let go of those memories. Of course I want to make new ones with you. I guess I’m… scared.”

“Scared of what?” My eyes scan his face but his mask is tightly in place.

“Scared that if we move, the boys will forget about her completely. Scared that we move, I will forget about her completely.”

My heart sinks, would that be so bad? I ask myself, but I quickly shake the thought from my mind.

“How could you forget about her when you have Mickey and Mason? A gift she gave you.”

——

My eyes scan Ana’s emerald gaze as her eyes soften. What did I do to deserve you?

My fingers are playing with the rings on her wedding finger.

“I never want you to think I am not ready to have a life with you, I married you. I want to start a family with you, let’s just look at homes today, and talk to the boys tonight.”

“That’s all I ever wanted, Sam. We aren’t moving tomorrow, okay?” She tightens her grip on my hand.

“Okay.” I take a deep breath and lean over the console to give her a kiss.

tag list: @genevievemd @txemrn @thefrenchiemama @mainstreetreader @somersetmummy @shewillreadyou @itsjustwinter @lady-calypso @lucy-268 @jennieausten @melalicious8383 @pixie88 @kat-tia801 @sfb123 @nestledontheveone @gardeningourmet

[talesofsonicasura]

Diamonds and Voodoo

You Do Voodoo

A mysterious visitor comes to Morioh. Paths diverge and intertwine with the various townfolks of this crazy, noisy bizarre town. And it all started with a good deed touched by a bit of magic.

Good deeds tend to create ripples throughout what we know as life. Sometimes an act of kindness can lead to great rewards. At rare times the road to hell is often paid with good intentions. Nevertheless, this type of charity has a habit of changing the future of one or many individuals. For sometimes, a grand adventure begins with that very act of kindness.

"Look out!" Morioh, a small town amongst the middle of nowhere quite unlike many cities found in Japan. A type of place that tends to be quiet but also hosts some oddities within its dwellings. Unlike many small towns, Morioh would become ground zero for a strand of very bizarre events and each with their own level of danger.

A car was parked awkwardly sideways between the road and crosswalk. Upon closer inspection, this was a crash as the front end was inward from the telephone pole currently wedged inside the bright red metal. To the side was an abandoned bicycle alongside a police officer and what many from this town could call a foreigner. The officer holded the visitor close to his chest almost awkwardly, the telltale of being grabbed.

The officer was an older and surprisingly buff male, darkened grey hair hidden under his cap, eyes that had a natural glint of kindness despite the concern now shining for the person in their arms. A would-be victim of the car accident was a young woman around her late teens, between 16 or 17 from the bits of remaining baby fat still left on her face.

Her skin was slightly tanned in a more climate related basis, such as sun exposure than natural skin tone, hair a short messy lime green hidden under the top jaw of a dinosaur-esque skull, a 5'8 body that was slim, lean and had moderate bust along with curves, but it was her eyes and her arms that drew the most attention.

The young woman's arms were decorated in wavy almost vine patterned tribal markings with a four toes pad on each shoulder and her eyes had a unique case of heterochromia with the right being a normal orange but the entire left eye was blue except for a single white pupil. Her outfit consisted of dark blue fingerless gloves, red sneakers, light brown cargo shorts, a black bra and opened orange vest outlined in red.

"You okay there missy? That car almost hit you if I didn't pull you away in time." The officer questioned, his voice soft and kind in a sort of grandfatherly way. She merely looked up at him with a large impish smile. Not even scared or off-put that a speeding car almost made the teen paste on the street.

"I'm good mister! Just glad no one else got hurt either. Car accidents aren't something normal folks can handle and I rather get hurt than somebody else! I'm more than capable of taking some nasty hits!" The woman's peppy, slightly loud and light chuckle paired with the slightly morbid words had thrown the officer for a loop before he strangely found himself chuckling too.

"Hahaha. Well aren't you an odd but thoughtful young lady? I wish some of my friends on the force had that kind of energy. Everyone's been down as of late and honestly needs a pep talk or two." The greenette looked at his badge for a moment as if scanning for his name. Something that was quick to find apparently as it read 'Ryohei Higashitaka'.

With that in hand, she then reached into the pocket of her cargo while silently whispering his name. The officer or Ryohei honestly looked a bit surprised when the youth produced a peculiar item. It was a small brown wooden charm carved into a smiling mask. The mask was painted with red lips, yellow with green outlined eyes, large reddish eyebrows and four small feathers ranging from yellow, orange, purple and red.

"Please take this mister as a sign of gratitude. It's a good luck charm carved into the likeness of Aku-Aku, a spirit of protection. This charm shall ward off a great disaster in your future." The older man took the odd charm with a soft smile and looked it over. He softly chuckles before patting her head.

"Why thank you! It's pretty adorable and well crafted! I'll make sure to keep it close. Good luck is something a lot of people nowadays…" His eyes widened a bit upon realization. "Whoops! Careless me! I forgot to ask for a name. I am Ryohei Higashitaka, an officer of the Morioh Police Department. What's your name missy? I need it to file a report for ya and if you want to press charges." She merely gave an impish smile with a bit of her tongue sticking out.

"It's Taki-Taki, Taki-Taki Bandicoot."

Budo-ga Oka Middle and High School, one of the few schools within Morioh. A joint school where grades between 6 and 11th are together instead of being separate. It was also a place that had a quite an amount of delinquents which make up some of the school's student body.

Walking towards this destination from the local town square was a mountain of a man in very odd clothing. Hair was jet black and well groomed, eyes a bright ocean blue, body sculpted like a Greek God from every single inch out of 6'5 and a natural scowlish look on his face. Nearly all his clothes, from his coat, pants, shoes and torn back hat with golden pins stylized to spell Jo were white except for the man's shirt which was pitch black.

The man was currently looking over a paper, a report or letter from highly detailed it was in both text and a few select photos. His brows wrinkled in aggravation before muttering a soft 'Yare Yare Daze' under his breath. "Godamnit old man. You're too old to be causing this type of bullshit." He hissed, rough, husky and slightly aggravated tone to his voice making a few people steer clear of his vicinity.

Well… not just that. Unknown to the raven in question, there was something odd looking over his shoulder. This peculiarity was a mask of sorts. It looked vaguely human but the light blue material used to craft it was spectral from how it softly glow like wisps in the night sky.

An Aztec type crown at the top with four flat points as if it was a piece from a gear, large carved ears with faint spiral at the center, pure white eyes and mouth outlined in mauve, and the same mauve color to imitate flat eyebrows. Bystanders seeing the mask either quickened their step or blamed this bizarre sight as 'too much coffee' or 'no more liquor in the morning.'

"Huh. Guess an old man in his late 60s can get laid. Oh, so that's where the gardens are!" The young man nearly bit his tongue in shock from both the raspy, light and almost nerdy sounding male voice but also the fact it came from a floating tiki mask that took a closer look at his document.

He couldn't get a word out of his mouth as the mask flew off with surprising speed. "A Stand?! That means there's a Stand User nearby! You ain't getting away from me!" A bright golden aura began to burn around the adult upon giving chase to the airborne oddity. On the sidewalk, the man's shadow grew with the addition of a more peculiar one.

A few minutes passed when the chase was called off upon the mask being too far in the air to pursue, the extra shadow vanished as the adult male let a growl in annoyance. He lowers his hat with a curse. "Damn it. If that thing's responsible for the recent incidents going on in this town…" The man then went to a payphone before dialing in a number.

"This is Jotaro Kujo. Tell the heads of the Speedwagon Foundation that there is confirmed Stand activity in Morioh. Look into the database about a Stand in shape of a glowing blue mask and the possibility if it's connected to Dio." The phone was slammed down as the white coat of the man fluttered while he left.

"Poke!" A finger poking the little snout of a box turtle that had swam up from the water of the makeshift pond seated by a small bus stop. Sitting on the curb of the pond beside was the odd Taki-Taki, currently petting the small reptilian much to its pleasure. "You're a handsome turtle, aren't you? Much nicer than the big ones back home." She cooed while the turtle rubbed itself against her hand clearly in love with the kind contact.

A little whimper had the young woman look around in utter confusion. Soft heterochromia eyes soon met bright baby blue ones tinged with a bit of fear. That fear directed to the little reptile nipping at the greenette's fingers.

A 5'11 muscular young man with blue violet hair tended neatly into a large pompadour, a dark violet gakuran pinned with a yellow heart and gold peace on each side of his chest, sunshine yellow shirt that peeked through the gap of his uniform coat, and dark boots were the owner of these baby blue orbs.

"You okay? Look like you're about to pee yourself." Taki-Taki questioned upon the fidgeting male still looking at the turtle as if it tried to eat him. He immediately calmed down a bit now noticing he wasn't exactly alone, cheeks dusting a bright red. "I'm so sorry! Reptiles just give me the willies that's all, mostly turtles." His soft and slightly rough almost if still adjusting practically rattled with nervousness.

She merely chuckled whilst waving off any concern. "It's alright! Everyone is afraid of something so no harm done. Plus this little handsome fellow is much more kinder than the ones I've seen in Turtle Woods. Those turtles were mean and one tried to steal my hat!" Her spare hand pointed at the dinosaur skull on her head since the other was still petting the shelled reptile.

The pompadour wearing young man shivered upon the two words 'Turtle Woods' but was honestly thankful that she wasn't making fun of him for his phobia. Taki-Taki then stood up whilst petting the turtle's head one more time. "I better go! Promised to get some stuff with my friend Lani-Loli and we're supposed to meet up at the gardens! Chou!" And she was gone with a pep to her step.

"My name is Josuke Higashitaka… And she's gone. Maybe I'll see her again." The sound of male cursing grew as the purple pomp prince noticed a bunch of male students coming over to him. Delinquents from their rude, downlooking and glaring faces, something that only made him sigh. Days like these tend to suck.

The Higashitaka household, home to the Higashitaka family which consisted of the older police officer Ryohei, his daughter but also single mother Tomoko and Tomoko's son Josuke. A lively place from the unique personalities of the three living inside. Well, it wasn't like this right now.

Peculiar water slipping away from the house window almost like a cobra finished with their prey. A fact so true upon the still body of the family matriarch lying lifeless on the floor. Face carved in blood coated horror slowly changes to a pristine clean outlook through a soft golden aura. Almost if the man died in his slumber and not of gruesome supernatural murder.

The golden aura belonging to a bubblegum arm coated in crystalline diamond armor soon vanishes inside the body of Josuke. Behind Josuke was Jotaro, the man clad in white being a relative, his nephew shockingly taken into consideration that his grandfather was the pomp prince's father. Who knew?

And the older man could only look at the teen that was his uncle trying to coax his dead grandfather back to life with sympathetic pity. Aquamarine eyes that always seemed stuck in a perpetual glare now softened at the scene. The look of someone who had seen a death like this before. Or to be more precise, had experienced such a grizzly sight.

Jotaro knew that this wasn't the time for grief fueled hysterics. There were more pressing matters and dangers ready to drown them from the inside. "Josuke…" Any further words from the older man, alongside any actions from the teen immediately stopped upon one thing. Subtle movement originating from the chest of the officer's corpse before them.

A sickly sweet scent reminiscent of cherries filled the air along with the soft sizzle of something burning. Thin wisps of smoke coming from the body's chest pocket spurred Josuke to go into the clothing's pouch. Baby blue eyes widened seeing a small brown tiki charm in his hands but specifically the feathers that were turning to dust.

"A voodoo charm?" The purplette's attention immediately went back to the corpse of his grandfather. His still chest slowly began to rise and fall almost as if… "He's breathing." It was the only conclusion Jotaro came to upon the subtle movements. The charm in the teenager's hands fully became ash once his previously deceased grandfather sat up looking purely confused.

"Ooh my head… I don't remember my favorite booze having that strong of a kick. Josuke? What are you doing here since I thought you were going out? Who's this guy? And why are you crying?" Ryohei didn't expect to wake up to such a scene or his own grandson to hug him so hard thinking he was about to kick the bucket.

He was quick however to notice the scent of cherry in the air alongside a missing weight in his breast pocket. "Did someone light a scented candle and where did my good luck charm go? Was I mugged or something Josuke?" The elderly man's inquiry had the two younger men share the same look. They needed answers.

/"You want to know who gave me that charm? Well, it was a young girl around my grandson's age. She had green hair, heterochromia with her eyes being orange and blue, and had what looked like a dinosaur skull on her head. Said her name Taki-Taki Bandicoot and came into town looking for ingredients. The charm was based off of a guardian of protection... Aku-Aku I believe she said."/

Information that had both Jotaro and his younger uncle running through the streets of Morioh in a hurry. Ryohei had been put into protective custody with a short call from whoever the raven had pretty high connections to. Something that man would have refused if it wasn't for the fact his son was crying. Josuke only cried when things were at the absolute worst. This made it easier to search without the man being in danger once more.

"I never thought my life would have gotten this insane. First an escaped death row inmate capable of killing his victims from the inside with water and now a Stand User capable of bringing back the dead! Things weren't like this until you came to town!" The highschooler quipped as if to ignore the harsh ache going through his legs.

"Your life was bound to become bizarre the moment you awakened your Stand, no, the moment you were born with Joestar blood. A curse everyone in this damned bloodline has. So don't blame me for the shitshow." Jotaro fired back in absolute annoyance. Their destination was the place mentioned by the woman when Josuke encountered her, Morioh's Springroll Garden.

"Maybe she can remove it? She does know voodoo and it does involve a lot of curse thingies? Do you think Taki-Taki can get rid of my fear of turtles?" The teenager's question was merely met with an eye roll from Jotaro. He was going to shout back an insult until something caught his eyes.

A lone figure standing amongst a large collection of various flora and vegetation belonging to one of Morioh's famous landmarks. More accurately a lonehuman figure and a soft blue floating oddity by them that was very damn familiar to the male clad in white. "There she is and that's the Stand I saw earlier!"

Taki-Taki was currently plucking a few mushrooms from underneath the bushes that provided their moist dark home and placed them into a small straw basket. Springroll Garden was a place where people could pick their vast garden by purchasing a special ticket and take home an entire basket full of items.

"It's kind of cool that the town has such a garden like this. Especially when it guarantees a free basket of fresh goods for first time visitors too!" The luminescent mask said with a big smile while looking at a bush full of white roses. His green haired friend merely let out a chuckle in agreement before speaking. "Same here pal. Makes it a lot easier to find the things needed to work my magic."

A loud shout had the two look up to see some familiar faces running their way. "Wouldn't you know? Hey Pompadour Prince, fancy seeing you here!" Taki-Taki's nickname immediately had the boy stop in his tracks. Face burning in anger until the words finally hitting turned that anger into pure confusion. The sudden confusion didn't stop the mask from cowering behind the greenette.

"Pompadour Prince?" He questioned while pointing to himself, clearly confused. "You kidding? That's the best pompadour I've ever seen. Also, calling you king is going a bit too far since we've barely known each other and aren't in a relationship." Her words caused the male teen to blush a bit paired with a smitten look and cheesy smile.

Jotaro merely elbowed Josuke's shoulder as the highschooler remembered what they were supposed to be doing. "Taki-Taki Bandicoot, we need you to come with us. We already know about you being a Stand User since your Stand is hiding right behind you but also that charm you gave Ryohei Higashitaka before he was attacked."

The greenette merely had a confused look before it immediately narrowed into glare after the words Ryohei Higashitaka and attacked. Her emotions were clearly being felt through the odd mask as it came out of hiding to glare at them. "I knew something bad was bound to happen upon seeing that dark aura. Tell me what you've done to that kind officer before I rip ya putzes a new one!"

Josuke was thrown off guard by the sudden aggression consuming Taki-Taki's features. It was as if a cloak of pure madness just overshadowed that sunny aura of the greenette. The change didn't deter Jotaro who refused to back down at her threat. As if proving his point, a gold aura started to radiate from his body.

"You need to calm down now. We aren't your enemies but I won't hesitate to knock you out even if you're a girl." The man spoke as something appeared from his body like an apparition. It was a humanoid spirit of sorts that appeared to be an Aztec Warrior or barbarian with similar origins.

Just as big and buff as his summoner but a bit more, soft blue skin that outlined a coral inner pink, black hair that flowed like smoke but sparkle as if it was stardust, soft ocean blue eyes and a body armed with white pauldrons painted in gold spirals, black fingerless gold studded gloves, a white scarf around their neck, black knee high boots and a long white loincloth alongside a dark tasset.

Yet, the strange being seemed to only piss off Taki-Taki even further as she went into her pant's pocket to pull out a small crystal orb. "You're going to threaten me with a giant in his skivvies? Alright jackass, hope your ready to party. For this Ooda-Booga Boogie of mine is going to send ya to the hospital!" And she crushed the crystal orb in her hand.

Both men only had seconds until a large blackish pink fist had punched Jotaro's spirit in the face, the ghost and summoner were sent flying out of the garden before kissing the street concrete. Josuke could only blink before seeing the thing responsible for sending his nephew airborne. "Holy shit!" For what stood snarling in front of Taki-Taki was an absolute monster.

A heavily built 9'6 tall slightly deformed anthropomorphic porcupine with vibrant magenta skin overshadowed by a darkish gray hide. A long singular black horn tipped with hot pink, burning crimson eyes that glared down at the man in white, a magenta muzzle overlapped with an giant overbite of fangs, multiple pink tipped black spikes across their back, their right arm covered in black armor in the form of a riot shield, and crimson hakama trousers with a black paw print on the side.

The beast snarled angrily at Jotaro while a trail of drool came down from their razor sharp maw. It then let out a loud and deep inhuman roar almost if challenging anyone foolish enough to face the beast's wrath. Jotaro had gotten back onto his feet, spitting a bit of blood on the road before wiping the remainder from his mouth. Some of it stained bits of his hat a dark crimson. His spirit staring at the beast with an analysistic glare.

"That's one hell of a sucker punch you got there. Quite an ugly bastard of a friend you have, makes me question which one it is though. Is the beast your actual stand or a byproduct of its power?" The question only seemed to aggravate the greenette and the large creature she called upon.

"That 'ugly bastard' is my friend Quill and what is with this Stand garbage anyway?! What I want to know is did you attack Mr. Ryohei?! My charm doesn't just vanish without fulfilling its purpose even if stolen. Now answer me or I'll beat the truth out of you!" Taki-Taki declared with a snarl that held inhumanely sharp teeth.

Josuke didn't have to be a genius to know if he didn't stop these two right now then things were going to get a lot worse. His nephew's Stand went in for a punch while the greenette's large beast followed suit. Neither attack landing their blow as two diamond covered pink hands caught both fists.

The culprit was a giant pink skinned warrior whose body was covered in Corinthian style diamond armor. He was huge with the same type of muscle like Jotaro's spirit, eyes were a bright baby blue that shone through the darkness of the heart top helmet with concern, wires connecting the back of his neck to his back, heart shaped diamond pauldrons with spikes, armor that over lined the side of his arms, legs and back, and diamond plating rings around the fingers.

Unlike Jotaro's Stand or Taki-Taki's giant beast, this one exuded a gentle and kind aura akin to that of a guardian or protector. Something that made sense from the soft magenta aura radiating from Josuke. "Please stop fighting! I don't want to see my nephew or the person who saved my grandpa hurt each other for something stupid!" The pomp prince's words carried strong as they were sincere.

Something the greenette easily felt upon Quill taking a step back as if backing down from the fight since there was no longer any hostility. Jotaro's Stand disappeared soon after while he muttered a soft 'Yare Yare Daze' under his breath. "Holy shit… I thought things were going to get ugly there. I don't think this garden deserves to be wrecked by a Spike." The mask's quip not being lost on anyone.

Later at the Higashitaka House, cups of tea were placed on the table. Sitting at the table on mats were Josuke, Jotaro and the odd woman known as Taki-Taki Bandicoot. To their left side strangely enough was the greenette's mask and both men's spirits that were conversing with each other or goofing off upon the playing cards between them.

"I still don't believe that Stands are basically the spiritual energy of someone given form. You sure they aren't warrior ancestors? Jotaro's Star Platinum looks like an Aztec barbarian and Josuke, your Crazy Diamond reminds of those old Greek soldiers from his armor." She said while looking at the three oddities playing Go Fish.

A Scrabble holder was being used for the mask or Lani-Loli's cards since he didn't have any hands. He would ask either Star Platinum or Crazy Diamond to put any of his matching cards down and when he needed to 'fish' a card. "Pretty sure. Couldn't I ask the same thing about Lani-Loli over there? Floating masks that can talk aren't normal either." Josuke quipped while pointing to the mask in question.

"Hey! I'm right here you know and I'm way older than all of you combined! And I would have you know that I was human before becoming a Quantum Mask! If I still had hands I would smack all three of you on the head!" The mask fired back in aggravation, some of the cards disappearing in blue wisps of smoke... alongside Josuke's clothes.

"Eeek!" He panicked immediately covering his crotch, Jotaro hiding his embarrassment under his hat while Taki-Taki turned her head away with face hot red in embarrassment. "Great Tikimon! Lani-Loli! Phase his clothes back now!" The mask quickly undoing his magic in sheer embarrassment. Josuke's clothes and the cards popping back into reality with similar blue wispy smoke.

Poor teen let out a sigh of relief knowing he wasn't nude in front of a girl anymore. "Sorry! Sometimes I accidentally poof things out of existence when I'm stressed! And nothing says stress like an escaped convict who kills people with living water!" Jotaro rolled his eyes at the smartass remark. For an all mighty ancient mask, Lani-Loli was an anxious nerd that was a scare away from passing out.

The reason why they were holed up in Josuke's house was that all of them were targets of the Stand User Angelo and his Stand Aqua Necklace.

Angelo was a psychopath with a taste of madness and penchant for violence. The man was arrested repeatedly for brutal acts like murder and even sexual assault before he was landed on Death row. Sadly his execution didn't work properly, allowing the maniac to escape the morgue and reach Morioh. He attacked Ryohei as the cop was the reason Angelo got arrested.

Due to the nature of his Stand, none of them could use water that came from anywhere but a bottle in fear of accidentally swallowing the dangerous entity. "And when do you think it's safe for us to go home? Unlike you guys, my dad will go nuts if I ain't back soon. None of us want to deal with an angry father much less my pops, Crash Bandicoot." Taki-Taki wasn't blind to the nervous look on the pompadour prince's face while he took a sip of his tea.

"Until that Stand User is caught." Jotaro didn't foresee the spray of tea hitting his face from the greenette's spit-take. The grown man was growling in his seat while the young woman tried to settle down her coughs. "You nuts?! That is the stupidest thing I ever heard and this is stemming from the fact my partner does insanely stupid stuff on a daily basis!"

Lani-Loli had flown over to the table so fast that the card pile dispersed from the sudden gust, much to both Stand's displeasure. "You said this guy's Stand is pure water right? What do we do when we run out of water? Wait, here's a better one! What happens if it rained? Shelter becomes a deathtrap in two seconds!" Both men's eyes widened upon the mask's words.

After settling down her coughing fit, Taki-Taki let out a soft whisper. "I think this is what that putz wants. Turn ourselves into sitting ducks and swoops in for the kill until it's too late. And it's going to rain in three days." Silence filled the room upon that very knowledge. The convict was planning to turn their stakeout into a trap.

Josuke could only sigh at the difficult hand. Sure, they now know the guy's plan but if they ignore it then finding Angelo would be even harder. It also meant that the psycho will find out Ryohei is still alive and won't hesitate to attack him again. "Then let's turn the tables back. Turn the hunter into the hunted." All eyes were on Taki-Taki in seconds.

She had a goofy smile on her face with her tongue sticking out in an impish manner. There was also the fact that another crystal orb was in her hands. An item that produced the monstrous Quill but unlike that one, this jewel was a shade of toxic green. Lani-Loli, upon seeing what his friend held, grew a mischievous grin of his own. The odd duo clearly had a plan that almost made Jotaro and Josuke feel an ounce of pity. Almost being the keyword.

Rain had finally fallen upon the house once three days had passed by. Taki-Taki had called her father about being home a few days late since some issues had cropped up. Neither Josuke or Jotaro heard the man's voice but what they gathered upon how the greenette talked, 'Crash' was kindly lenient. Although, both males would have to see him once she got back home.

They spent most of their time keeping themselves from getting bored. Board games, reading, or Taki-Taki crafting some… mysterious concoctions and trinkets with whatever she found in the Higashitaka household. Josuke could honestly admit that he didn't know there was a den of possums hiding in his walls but the witch doctor managed to get some possum fur and nail clippings after one landed on Jotaro.

The greenette at the moment was alone in the bathroom, various ingredients that surrounded a lone bucket. Each item was odd in their own right, rat tails, frog eyes, shiitake mushrooms, yew branches, spoiled milk and a bottle of water. Taki-Taki began pouring the ingredients into the vat starting with the rotten dairy.

She was chanting in an unknown language that eerily sounded like a mix of Arabic and Pig Latin. Bucket began to bubble from her words as the color shifted upon every ingredient dropped into the vat. Taki-Taki's water bottle was currently halfway empty through the process and the cap left abandoned to the side.

Unbeknownst to the woman, rain began to patter outside and something opaque began to build up by the window. It looked like water but it held a more bluish hue and moved too much like a living creature to be normal. Then a pair of sinister pink eyes and a grin full of sharp teeth slithered through.

"You sure this isn't a mango?" Josuke currently sat in the front room alongside Lani-Loli who floated over the teenager's shoulder. Standing on the table was a large orange fruit with a yellow bottom similar to a mango but two leaves that hung from a stem. The teenager currently poking at the fruit that had come from Taki-Taki's home.

"Nope! It's a Wumpa Fruit, a pretty common thing to find on the Wumpa Islands. They're much sweeter than mango and the juice is pretty tasty too. Especially when used for a Wumpa Smoothie, those are really good." Being curious upon the mask's words, the pompadour prince took a nicely sized bite of the fruit.

Tangy sweetness was the first thing that hit the highschooler's taste buds then a rich zesty flavor kicked in a matter of seconds. "Holy shit! This is actually pretty good. Yo Jotaro, you have to try this!" The raven poked his head out of the kitchen upon hearing his name. He let out an annoyed sigh before snatching the fruit out of the teen's hand.

"Did someone put salt in your oatmeal today?" Lani-Loli couldn't help but point out at the man's awfully sour mood added by the harsh bite he took out of the poor fruit or the vicious vice grip. "No. None of you are taking this situation seriously and last I checked didn't get an angry rodent trying to claw up your face." He hissed before taking another aggressive bite.

The sound of footsteps had gotten the two humans and mask turning their heads. Approaching them with an eerily quiet and dead stare was Taki-Taki. Her feet moving sluggishly to the point it was close to that of a sleepwalker… or if heavy weights were tied to the woman's legs.

"Taki?" Lani-Loli's voice thick with concern while he spoke his friend's nickname. Her response was to open her mouth slowly with evil pink eyes glaring back at them in the darkness. "Sorry but your little friend's life is now mine!" A vile, raspy and deep male voice coming out of the greenette's mouth, all to the horror of her friends.

"Aqua Necklace?! You bastard, get out of Taki-Taki now Angelo!" Josuke could only burn brighter in rage from the deranged laugh of the psychopathic water Stand. "And get rid of my only hostage?! Hell no! This bitch is the reason why Ryohei Higashitaka is still alive! She has the power to bring back the dead, a ticket to immortality!" The mask could only roll his eyes as if sensing a monologue.

"I've been watching you this whole time. I saw the giant beast she summoned and that mask phasing things through existence. With her as my slave, I'll be invincible! The world will be my toy box and every single person my toys that I can break for eternity! Once you're all dead, I'll break her until she's a mindless bitch who will follow my every…" The monologue was caught short upon her mouth snapping shut.

Yet, it wasn't the lips that closed the space but an eerie green substance reminiscent to goo. "The hell?!" Aqua Necklace tried to dive down the woman's throat only to run into another gooey green wall. Then he heard laughter. Pink eyes turned to see it was Lani-Loli who was responsible. He was cackling mischievously that tears looked ready to fly from how hard his laughter, much to the confusion of his friends.

"Haha! Hehehehe! You really thought it would be so easy! Taki and I faced way worse than your miserable hide. Oh, and that's not Taki-Taki you putz! Drop the charade Toxic!" Jotaro and Josuke immediately jumped back upon who they thought was Taki-Taki began to melt. All color draining away into a puddle of green slightly clear goo.

Crazy Diamond and Star Platinum were quickly summoned when that sludge started to rise up in the process of a transformation. The slime forming three toed misshapen legs, dripping fat arms with chubby fingers, a large yellow green belly that from its almost clear texture and Aqua Necklace being held inside looked more like a prison, and a roundish hippo like head paired with short pig ears, large deformed inhuman teeth and two alien yellow orbs looking back at it's observers.

The beast or Toxic's appearance could be compared to a 8 ft tall ogre or even an Oni, supernatural beings that tend to punish wicked humans. "Meet the Sludge, a creature made of magic infused ooze with a love for eating utter garbage, like your ugly face! I told Toxic here about your little plan involving my best friend."

Almost on cue, the large oozing beast let a loud snarl before smoke began filling in its tummy. "Aaaaaaah! What the hell is that smell?! It's getting hot in here! Don't tell me this is acid?!" The mask only had a vicious smile on his face that solidified the fact. "People like you make me sick. I've read your entire file and I bet it would even make Uka-Uka himself furious to see your deeds!" Aqua Necklace could only shiver in horror at the mask.

It was like Lani-Loli's nervous self had been overshadowed by pure animalistic rage that his eyes were narrowed slits and teeth were now large fangs held in a snarl. A deity ready to smite a sinner with divine punishment. Even Jotaro and Josuke were taken aback by the sudden shift.

"I may be a scaredy cat but I am still a protector. My name is Lani-Loli, the Quantum Mask of Phase! For ruining the lives of many, threatening my friends and having an unsavory plan for my contractor, I mark you Angelo and his Stand Aqua Necklace, guilty of your sins! And boy do I have a nice punishment for your wicked soul."

The mask then faced the two Joestar blooded men. "Josuke. Jotaro. Taki-Taki left earlier to find this cretin's owner hence my friend Toxic here taking her place. I know where she is and I'm going to need your help with something."

On a street a few blocks from Josuke's house sat a large boulder. This rock had laid on this spot for centuries after a stray storm left it stranded on the land that would become Morioh. Tied to this very stone was an unsavory dark haired man in a milkman uniform bound by chains and gagged with a black cloth. Bruises decorating his body no doubt from the slightly bloody fists of the witch doctor.

Taki-Taki turned her head and smiled upon the sight of her friends coming into view. Aqua Necklace was still trapped within the prison that was Toxic's stomach, who seemed mighty pleased at the abomination's struggle. "Damn, you did a number on the asshole." Josuke said much to the greenette's pleasure.

"I aim to please. Now then, Angelo, since you made a living of ruining people's lives I believe your punishment should be providing good luck." Taki-Taki then pulled from behind the rock was the bucket filled with her concoction. It was a bright bubbling pink and had a smell akin to rotten lavender. She didn't resist dumping the nasty vat all over the convict much to his displeasure.

The man was struggling in disgust before his movements slowed to a crawl as if his whole body was paralyzed except for his mouth and eyes. Taki then yanked the gag from Angelo's lips allowing the man to speak. "You...crazy bitch…! What have you done?" His raspy dry voice almost sounded like a dying cat from how quiet it was.

"A simple potion made to turn you into an eternal good luck charm for all the folks in Morioh! Bet you now wished that your original execution didn't fail. Josuke, this last part is all up to you. Today you will have to make a choice on how this man goes out." Taki-Taki's eyes narrowed as they glowed inhumanly under the dark cloudy sky.

"Ryohei Higashitaka was the one who put this man in jail and stopped his rampage. In vengeance, this scum tried to rob a righteous soul of his life. As Ryohei's grandson, will you fulfill his task and put an end to the man that escaped the grim reaper's blade? If not, then I will perform the deed with Lani-Loli. What do you say?"

The pompadour prince was a bit off guard by the witch doctor's words. Why would she ask him if he wanted to be the one that dealt Angelo's punishment? "Josuke?! Are you seriously going to let her kill me? Sure I tried to kill your grandfather but if you go along with this bitch's plan then you'll be a killer just like me!"

None of them were blind to the man's false pleas knowing it was a trick to let him go. A rat that will only wreak havoc if given a shred of mercy. Angelo's rants were caught off by a fist breaking both his hand and a chunk of the rock. The shocking thing was that the stone merged and encased itself around the appendage much to the psycho's horror.

"Aaah! My hand!! What are you doing?" Josuke merely ignored the man's painful cries. "You really think that we're going to let you go after all you've done. This town used to be a peaceful place before you came and played with people's lives! So for the rest of your days, you're going to pay back every family that you destroyed! Taki-Taki." The greenette smiled knowing what the young man wanted.

"Let's do this Lani-Loli! Armor up!" The cyan mask flew around Taki-Taki with trails of aqua wispy trails that followed from behind. The mask situated himself onto her back while the ghostly ribbons wrapped themselves around her body. Each wispy streak solidified to form a black jumpsuit of sorts which was highlighted by glowing aqua blue chunks of armor reminiscent of Lani-Loli's crown.

Taki-Taki's eyes were now completely glowing blue while velvet sky blue energy followed through the tattoos on her skin and turned her hair into luminous bluish mist. The sudden change to the witch doctor had the restrained Angelo sweating in terror and nearly pissing himself when Josuke's Crazy Diamond materialized.

"Dorarararararara!!!!" The armored spirit let out a battle cry as both him and the armored greenette let loose a barrage of vicious punches. Each strike was as destructive and fast as machine gun rounds, blowing off huge chunks of the stone and merging to the man trapped in the dead center. Neither of them stopping their assault until every piece of stone had been reassembled.

With one last brutal punch, the stone fragments had fully merged Angelo turning the once human male into a deformed boulder. This new shape of the large stone was a malformed face with wide eyes held in different angles, a large flat nose at the bottom similar to a maui and stress lines just like the person it used to be.

Aqua Necklace, who was still trapped in Toxic's belly, quickly melted away in seconds. No doubt the Stand could no longer survive without the life force of its user, thus following its master into hell. Jotaro could only grimace behind the guard of his cap.

[Morioh Landmark 1: Angelo's Rock. No one knows where this mysterious stone appeared from or why. Despite its unnerving appearance, this landmark is a hotspot for couples both old and new.]

'These three are bat shit crazy and have the strength to back it up. Luckily Josuke has a good head on shoulders but…' The raven's eyes drifted to Taki-Taki, her sludge summon and most importantly Lani-Loli still hanging onto her back. She was conversing with Josuke who took the time to look at her changed form and the living sludge Toxic in rapt curiosity.

'Taki-Taki isn't a Stand User but she's just as dangerous as one. Those beasts, Quill and Toxic, whatever they are no doubt has a connection to her origins. And then there's Lani-Loli. I don't exactly know what a Quantum Mask is but I have a feeling he isn't the only one. Just who are you?'

And that is it! This ended being super long since the story revolves around two whole episodes instead of one. It does take place in the beginning of Part 4 and I wanted to stick as close to canon involving them.

Yes, Taki-Taki can call upon Titans, the enemies normally found in the Crash of the Titan series. Unlike a large chunk of people, I actually like the Titan games. They were the first Crash games I played and 100%. I did play Crash The Huge Adventure for the gameboy advance but it got destroyed in the wash sadly before I got the last crystal.

Any version of Crash of the Titans is good but I suggest playing the DS version of Mind Over Mutant considering the console version is more of an annoying chore with tons of backtracking.

My favorite Titans are Spike and Rhinoroller. I especially love the boss version of Spike from the DS Mind Over Mutant but I haven't found the concept art of it yet.

Just like a witch doctor, Taki-Taki does craft all sorts of potions and charms. The Aku-Aku charm acts like a second chance. If someone who has the charm experiences death, the charm will revive them. Deaths done through murder are a bit different.

The charm will hold onto their soul until its safe to revive the holder. Any extensive damage is done and the soul is returned back to the body once repairs are complete. After use, the charm will disintegrate or dull out depending on how much damage was caused.

The Phase Armor given by Lani-Loli is much different for Taki-Taki when she uses it. Reason for it is that she's contracted to him thus the power and magic he provides is much stronger than someone who doesn't have a contract.

Even if Lani-Loli is quite a skittish character,that doesn't mean he won't get serious when needed. Angelo did a lot of horrible stuff that I bet even Uka-Uka wouldn't do. Uka-Uka may be evil but he has standards.

I wanted to try a different writing style for this considering Part 4 is more of a murder mystery. So I wanted to introduce particular areas, new landmarks and important information in a traversing to the next scene.

Until next time folks! Tell the world that your unbreakable!

[staytheb]

Black Daytime

Genre: college!au, slice of life, slight fluff Word Count: 3,304 Summary: It’s now the Black Day Festival and Jasmine, Katherine, Melanie, and Serena find themselves performing for the Love Stage event here as well.

Day Festival masterlist.

Warning: semi-proofread

oh hello. just a little something, something. this will have a part two. hence this one being called Black Daytime while the other will be called Black Nighttime whenever it gets shared. i know there isn’t much development in terms of story plot and the love lines, but this is more for me to enjoy writing what i’ve been working on and not being able to coherently shared it further as a chaptered story. so hopefully y’all can just bear with this and see it as its own standalone story of sorts. but yeah, happy reading and kthxbai, Admin Lia~

"Whenever was there a performance stage part of the Black Day Festival?" Serena asked once she and the other three were inside the Student Council room to change into their performing outfits.

"I honestly don't remember having one last year or the year  before that."

"They actually added it this year." Katherine answered while putting on her black glittering wings. "Said it didn't feel right that the others had one, but none for Black Day."

Serena sighed.

"And how did I let y'all get me involved with this stuff again?"

"Free food." The other three chorused with a giggle following afterwards.

Serena scoffed although she knew it was the truth, but still complained.

"Why is everything so early though."

Melanie rolled her eyes.

"Everything is too early for you."

Serena nodded already agreeing with her sister's words.

"I'm pretty sure it was on the fence for a while though."

Jasmine mentioned as she put on her long black wig and adjusted it to her liking.

"Like they've been getting a lot of feedback about wanting a performance stage since both the Red Day Festival and White Day Festival got it over the years. Before it wasn't such an issue since the Black Day Festival is a whole day event whereas the other two were just until three or something. Anwyays, the Student Council decided to finally have one this year for the Black Day Festival."

"That makes sense." Melanie said with a nod while applying black lipstick to her lips. "I remember Gina talking about it this school year, but not really sure if she wanted to do it or not since they still had to get the approval from the administration."

"Well, yeah, whatever. Still here we are like always."

Serena sighed as she situated the black eye mask with green accents to her satisfaction.

"It's not a bad thing, but aren't there like other better singers and performers that could do this?"

"There are some better people to do this." Gina answered with a gleeful tone as she entered the room.

"So why not ask them?"

Serena scowled.

"I get a deal with Jasmine and Katherine who actually like doing this and get two more that'll always tag along to help."

"Haha, guilty." The twins answered. "We do."

Melanie laughed before looking at Gina.

"So what's our name this time around and what songs are we doing?"

The Black Day Festival had two parts which were for the day, Black Daytime and the night, Black Nighttime. Daytime events differed just a little bit from Nighttime. There was a jjajangmyeon eating contest that settled in the semi-final round at night. If not eating then you could make your own jjajangmyeon. The Student Council also had a booth selling solo merchandises at discounted prices created by the students and those in the artistic club, but then it was discounted even more later that night. There was also a salon-like area where you can get your nails and make-up done, once again by students studying cosmetology.

Another area where you can design shirts and a photo-booth where you can take pictures with various props. This year the Student Council announced two new segments to the festival which were much anticipated. They were the Solo Karaoke which was right after the Black Love Stage event the quartet had been roped in to doing as well like the other events before. The only difference was that at night they held a speed-dating event, a solo dining, and a designated lounge to chill or rant compare to the morning which didn't offer the three at all.

"Hello everyone!" Demian, a student council member that was in charge of the Black Day Festival event, announced excitedly.

Those in the quad that was present for the stage section cheered loudly as the others were about the campus participating in the other events.

"This year we're introducing the Solo Karaoke for the first time as well as the awesome Black Love Stage!" Demian announced with excitement.

"Before we allow the rest of you to sing to your heart's desire, we actually have our special guest coming out to perform for you guys."

Demian motioned to the other end of the makeshift stage where Serena, Melanie, Katherine, and Jasmine appeared in their get-up to stand alongside the male.

"This time around please give a warm welcome to Fallen Angels who will perform for us to acknowledged this new segment to the Black Day Festival." Demian said as he began clapping to lead the others to do the same before talking.

"Once these wonderful ladies are done then do we began the actual karaoke. So, please anticipate Fallen Angels' performance!"

Demian walked off while wishing the four good luck as Jasmine started the ment like always.

"Hello everyone. One, two..." She started while looking at the other three.

"We're Fallen Angels!"

They finished as a group with a bow before righting themselves as they introduced themselves with new stage names starting with Melanie, then Katherine, next by Serena, and ending with Jasmine.

"I'm Lady Gluttony."

"I'm Lady Sloth."

"I'm Lady Wrath."

"And I'm Lady Vanity."

There were some cheered before Jasmine continuing to speak.

"It's an absolute honored to be up here to acknowledged this new segment of the Black Love Stage to the Black Day Festival. So we hope you enjoy our performances and please watch over us kindly."

The crowd cheered and Jasmine waited until they quieted down before introducing the first song.

"So first off, the first song we'll be singing for you is It Hurts. This is dedicated to those that are still suffering from being hurt recently or in the past."

The group stood in their place as they waited for the song to start as Kyle cued them in with Katherine's voice starting off the song. Once that song came to an end did Serena introduce the next song after they took a few moments to catch their breaths and drink some water.

"This next song is One By One." Serena introduced. "And it's dedicated to those that wished for a love one to comeback to them or return to a time when love felt right."

The quatet rotated positions whenever another person sang their new line as Serena started singing first. One By One ended and Melanie spoke next after taking a break.

"The next song, What Do You Know, is dedicated to those that had broken up with their significant other without understanding why they ended up like that."

Jasmine started the song with the talking part before Melanie actually sang the first verse. They once again kept the lyrics the way they were as the song was sung by both female and male. When the song came to an end the quartet took another moment to catch their breaths and drink some water. After doing that did Katherine speak next.

"Alright, now we're actually gonna dance and sing for y'all." Katherine announced with a laugh. "This goes out to those that were placed second and wished to continued be by their special someone's side and can't leave. This is Black Tinkerbell."

The girls got into their poses before Serena sang first then started moving afterwards. Once the song ended, the quartet took a breather, drank some water, and Serena introduced the fourth song. For some reason they were using more energy than the last two festivals.

"The next song is for those that backed off from a relationship that wasn't going anywhere despite loving the person sincerely."

Melanie spoke.

"I hope you enjoy our performance of I'll Back Off So You Can Live Better."

When the song began it was Melanie who started the song and even though the twins loved doing this, the other pair of sisters didn't mind and were enjoying it just as much. The quartet momentarily forgot their worries and other things in life as they performed for others in their disguise. Anyways, when the song came to an end the four took another break before Katherine did the next talking ment.

"Hope all of you are enjoying everything so far for Black Daytime. The next song is I (Knew It). This goes out to those that don't want to deal with love again so that there's no pain. Enjoy!"

Fallen Angels got into formation and perform a new arrangement to fit their group of four compare to the original. The song came to an end and the girls once again took a moment for drinks and a breather. Jasmine spoke to announce their final stage.

"I hope you all have enjoyed our stages so far and the event itself if you got around to it. Unfortunately this will be our last performance before Solo Karaoke officially begins."

The crowd booed at the fact as Fallen Angels chuckled. Jasmine continued speaking.

"Anyways, thank you Haru for always making us look presentable, Kyle for timing us right, Demian for hosting Black Daytime by himself, and everyone else that made the first part of Black Day Festival a success."

The quartet clapped in appreciation as the crowd cheered. Jasmine spoke again when it calmed down.

"So yeah, this last song is us going back to a slow mood and this song is dedicated to those that wished it never ended or that it could've been different. So please enjoy, Goodnight Like Yesterday!"

The quartet once again got into formation as they enjoyed their last performance although they had to change the pitch to accommodate their vocal range compare to the original. When it ended the girls lined up to bow and bid the crowd goodbye as their final moment as Fallen Angels.

"One, two..." Jasmine began as they finished as a group, "This was Fallen Angels. Thank you!"

Demian came back on stage while clapping and speaking at the same time.

"Thank you so much, Fallen Angels! Please give these lovely ladies a warm round of applause!"

The crowd did just that as Demian took center stage while motioning towards the quartet.

"Thank you once again, Fallen Angels, for your wonderful performances! Please enjoy the rest of the festival."

Demian motioned to the side to indicate for them that they were free to go. The girls bowed to him in thanks before rushing off the makeshift stage as Demian began explaining how the Solo Karaoke was going to work for the remainder of the event. The pair of sisters returned to the student council room to change out of their outfits and back to their usual wear.

"So, what are we doing for Daytime?" Katherine asked the others as they wandered around the campus of Seoul University not really sure which of the events to participate in.

"Wait, don't we have to decorate the gymnasium later at four for the Nighttime part?" Serena inquired a moment later.

"Mmhmm." The trio hummed as Serena sighed deeply.

"Let's grab some jjajangmyeon. I'm hungry." Melanie suggested. "I heard that Lulu and Cheska are running the booth so they can hook us up."

"I'm down. We can even make shirts, too." Jasmine agreed. "Yeji promised me a shirt this year."

"She promised me one, too." Katherine mentioned with a slight chuckle. "She said she'll get a baggy purple shirt ready for me this year."

"Well, at least she knows you like your shirts baggy." Jasmine mused as Katherine chuckled in agreement.

"I wondered what kinda of items they're selling this year though." Melanie said. "I hope they have more designs this year."

"Not sure, but Gina said that the designs are a lot better this year as Dia and Yumi over saw the designs compare to last year's designers who came up with them last minute." Katherine answered.

"I would hope so. Last year's design was very basic and didn't sell that well that they had to marked them down." Serena said with a frown. "I remember one of them were trying to sell it for a lot more than it should've been."

"Okay. So what are we doing first or are we splitting up instead?" Jasmine asked once they quieted down from their chatter.

"This is too salty for me." Serena admitted and handed her small portioned cup to her sister.

The pair were walking around the campus after having split up from the twins. Melanie eyed her sister while taking Serena's cup.

"Then why did you lie to the girls?"

"I didn't want to hurt their feelings."

Melanie rolled her eyes, but continued to eat the dark noodles.

"Anyways, I need something to dri-"

Serena was interrupted when she and Melanie heard their name being shouted from behind them.

"Yo! Serena! Melanie! Over here."

"Oh, it's Mark. Let's go."

Melanie urged Serena to head towards their friend.

"Watermelon slush?"

Mark offered the pair each a cool and refreshing drink of said item.

"Of course you would have the watermelon flavor." Serena commented with a laugh as Mark chuckled.

"Yeah, well, Sungchan, YangYang, Shotaro, and I made it. So it's not just me."

Each one took the offered drinks.

"Wow, that's good." Serena complimented.

"And thankfully helpful."

"Thank you!"

Mark beamed happily.

"Thank you!"

He handed each of them a small package of a cake pie.

"What's this? Serena inquired while staring at it.

"Just some extra snacks. I can take it back if you don't want it."

"No. It's mine now. Thanks."

"Welcome."

"Anyways, I didn't know you guys were allowed to have a booth. I thought it was only just Student Council members." Melanie commented after drinking.

"Me either. Hansol and Taeyong just told us that we would be setting up a booth since yesterday."

"So it's just you four running it?" Serena asked with Mark shaking his head.

"No. Besides the four of us there's also Jaehyun, Hendery, Taeil, and Haechan."

Just then Jaehyun came by with two more drinks.

"Hello, ladies." He greeted them with a charming smile as he stood next to Mark.

Serena swore she saw Melanie swoon inside, but didn't comment.

"Y'all wanna try a peach and mango slush?" Jaehyun offered a moment later. "Had some extra left over."

"Sure!" Melanie happily responded as she took one of the darkish orange drink.

"Thanks."

Serena took the other. Both sisters were impressed by the taste.

"Wow, that's actually pretty good."

Melanie shot the two males an impressive look.

"This booth will definitely be a hit."

"Oh, we've made more than what we initially thought."

"Nice." Serena commented also impressed. "What are you guys raising the money for?"

"Besides giving half to the Student Council's funding, NCT's gonna use it for our end of the school year's event."

"And what is that?" Melanie inquired.

"Secret for now."

Mark grinned before directing the conversation.

"Anyways, will you guys be participating in Nighttime, too?"

"No."

Both replied at the same time.

"But we'll be helping in decorating for it though."

Melanie informed more.

"All that's too bad." 

Mark shot them a slight frown.

"We're gonna be a part of it."

"Why?" Serena questioned. "What for?"

Before Mark could answer the sisters were ushered away by the twins who both happened to at the same booth, but on the other side to head on over to the gymnasium to decorate early. Something about last minute changes that Gina had contacted the twins about since the other pair didn't answered their phones.

"Ah, well, gotta go. See ya when I see ya." Serena and Melanie bid the two goodbyes before walking off with the twins.

"Thank you girls for always helping us out." Christine, the Vice President of the Student Council, thanked the quartet.

"Especially for earlier today and now for the night event of it."

"You're welcome." The quartet chimed with smiles.

"I mean, it's nothing new." Jasmine commented with a laugh. "We're used to it."

"True. Well, everyone in Student Council knows, too, so thank you." Christine thanked them once more before giving them a playful look.

"Luckily it was just for this morning." Serena said with a relieved tone.

"Or so you think." Christine muttered with a secretive smile.

"What was that?"

"I wished I could've seen it."

Christine covered it up with something else with a sweet look.

"I'm sure Gina has a video of it like always." Katherine stated with Jasmine agreeing. "She always does and so you should be able to watch it."

"Oh, I will."

"Christine!"

Someone called out for the Vice President and the quintet turned their attention to see a male coming up to them.

"Oh, Seoljun. Hey. What's up?"

"Simon and Mint need help with the jjajangmyeon for the semi-finalists since it was labeled incorrectly when they moved it over. We don't know where Chunglim is. Selin and Daniel forgot what the final prices for the rest of the discounted merchandises were supposed to be."

"Alright. Thank you. Just make sure to hand these four their envelopes."

Christine handed Seoljun four black envelopes.

"Will do."

"Wait, what envelopes?" Serena asked suspiciously.

Christine chuckled with a indifferent shrug before walking off and waving goodbye. The quartet turned their attention onto Seoljun who cast them a reassuring smile.

"If anything is incorrect, then please let me know and I can let Liyin or Sorin fix it before the Nighttime event takes place."

He handed each one a small black envelope.

"What's this for?" Melanie asked while taking the envelope.

"Please don't tell me that Gina signed us up for something tonight, too? Please let it not be for real." Serena pleaded hopefully as she opened to see the contents.

"I'm just the messenger." Seoljun answered with a sheepish laugh. "So, does it all look right?"

The four read the content and realized they were participants in the speed dating event later tonight. Seoljun saw their expressions and held up his hands in defense.

"I'm just the messenger and I'm only in charge of the arts and crafts with Seolhwa."

"Do you know anything about the speed-dating event then?" Jasmine asked as Seoljun nodded.

"Okay, so who's in charge of it?" Katherine asked next.

"Sorin and Liyin."

"What can you tell us about it?" Melanie inquired as Seoljun relaxed.

"Well, the girls are the ones who's seated this year and the boys are the ones rotating."

"But I thought only those that didn't get any gifts from the Red and White festivals were able to participate." Serena reasoned. "Right? And those that actually wanted to sign up and join, yeah?"

"Yes, that's right, but those who are also single still can pariticpate for this." Seoljun explained. "So it fits the criteria or requirement."

"Of course it fits." Serena muttered loudly, but reluctantly accepting it. "Mine's all good."

"Mine, too." The other three informed with bigger smiles than Serena's.

"Do you need it back?" Jasmine asked as she was about to hand hers over.

"No. You guys keep it. It's supposed to be your name placard when the event starts or something like that. Sorin and Liyin will let you guys know for sure when it begins."

Seoljun informed them with a smile while looking at the other three.

"Other than that, is everything else good?"

"For now." Serena commented as the others chuckled.

"Yeah, we're good. We just need to finish setting up here first before heading on over to Liyin and Sorin for further inquires." Melanie answered.

"Okay, cool. I'll let those two know and thanks for helping us out."

"No problem."

"Oh wait." Seoljun said as he remembered something while turning to face the quartet. "One more thing."

The four looked at him unexpectedly as he handed them a piece of white paper before reminding them that he was just the messenger and quickly walked away. Serena groaned upon learning that they were also going to perform for the Nighttime's new segment, Dark Love Stage.

[stardancerluv]

Creative Fervor

New Year, Truly New Beginnings

Part 1

Summary: You are dating the king of Gotham, what does that mean for you since you are a famous furniture designed? Will it last?

Roman Sionis x Reader

Warning: Fluffy and smutty.

Disclaimer: Had to balance their rough present with lots of fluff and smut...I hope you don’t mind. 😉

There are song lyrics in italics...I chose the lyrics because I found them to be fitting for the charactes in question.

It was New Year’s Eve, you and Roman were going to one the most sought after party in Gotham. It was elegant, dream like masquerade. Anyone who was anyone would be in attendance. At the moment, nothing else was important. It was one of the few holidays in Gotham that everyone would just celebrate.

“So you would like some soft curls?”

“Yes, please.”

Roman, had a person stylist visit you. They not only were they going to help you with your make up and hair but finalize your choice on a dress. “Sometimes, you truly loved being pampered and this was one such occasion.

You watched the lady work her magic. You were tickled to the core to attend. It had been something, you had always wanted to do.

“Feeling good kitten?” Thinking of him, and he popped his head in. You smiled.

“Yes! Shoo you...no more peaking till we are ready to leave.” You tried to contain any giggles to not give this lady a hard time.

“Alright....” he gave a very dramatic, playful sigh. “See you later.”

You thought you would forever read about it in the magazines or watch clips on the news but now you were attending with the handsomest man in Gotham, your Roman! Just the thought made your heart flutter harder after just seeing him.

*****

You gasped when you saw the mask that Roman had chosen for you. The rose, the designs, wow. It delicately waited for you on a pillow. Thankful it was attached to a rod, so you held it to your face. It was so lovely.

“There’s my queen.”

“Roman!”

He held up his hands, “Don’t send me away again?” He chuckled and drew closer to you.

You smiled, rolled your eyes and shook your head happily. “Ok, come here.”

You could feel as his eyes moved over you. “Do you like what I chose Roman?” You put the mask down on the pillow.

He soon drew closer still then easily wrapped his arms around your middle. He made a very happy sound. “I will be the luckiest man there.”

You flushed. “Oh, Roman.”

He let one of his hands drift up till he cupped your cheek. “You know I speak the truth.”

You gently leaned into his hand. “I know.” Moving, you placed a soft kiss on his hand. You loved his gloves, they certainly heightened intimacy and were well down right part of who he was but when his hands were bare, you did enjoy how soft and solid they were.

“Keep kissing me like that, Y/N and we may just have to stay here.” He paused, his blue eyes were filled with mischief. “However, I do love showing you off, and that makes it worth while.”

“Well, I will just have to start kissing you like that when I want to head home.”

Smirking, he drew close. “You have my permission to do that anytime you want time for just us.” He kissed you then.” You sighed and melted into his kiss.

****

Back, in his walk-in closet, he took out the small box that held a little something special and tucked into the inside pocket of his tux, the he slipped on a pair of snow white and black gloves.

He was beyond thrilled to be taking you to this party. Your dress, your curls everything had come together so nicely for you. It pleased him greatly.

He grabbed the mask he had designed especially for this evening. Tonight he was moving forward, life was finally infolding as he wished it to bed. He ran his fingers through his hair before turning on his heel and went to meet you at the elevator.

*****

“Those flashes will be far more daunting then the ones they had for your event, I must warn you.”

You nodded. “I just hope I won’t trip.”

“You won’t,” He squeezed your hand. “Hold my hand and I won’t let you fall.”

For you, he loved sharing the spotlight the longer you were together. You supported him and never judged. If anything when he came home, he enjoyed that you didn’t mind the mess sometimes came along with keeping things in line.

“Let’s do this kitten.”

He slid out and gave the cameras one of his most radiant smiles. He turned towards you and offered his hand. He smiled wider as you took it.

You had such grace, it pleased him to no end. Together you walked the carpet, pausing for photos with and without your masks.

*****

The food was exceptionally good. There was a wide assortment. All food desires were easily there on trays here and there. Speciality plates moved around on the trays that the waiters brought weaving between the groups of people here and there. As wide of a selection the food was the array of drinks.

Mostly with your arm linked with Roman’s you smiled and made small talk with people. Some wanted to discuss your creations but you made the promise that once the new year was well on its way would you want to discuss your creations. Roman, as well did not discuss anything about his club or Janus Cosmetics.

*****

As midnight was soon, approached you sipped on your third glass of champagne. When Roman, came your way, “Y/N, I asked for a special song, dance with me?”

You put your glass down and let him sweep you away.

How sweet it is to be loved by you

How sweet it is to be loved by you

I needed the shelter of someone's arms and there you were

I needed someone to understand my ups and downs and there you were

You met his eyes, as the singer began to sing, your eyes began to fill. “Roman, I don’t know what to say.”

He shrugged. “Sometimes I can be sentimental.”

You saw his attention get distracted but then he smiled and swished you around and around till be was able to dance you out onto the balcony.

“Now, we can have a moment” Cupped your cheek he placed a quick kiss. Was his gloved hand shaking. You thought for a moment. But you barely were able to react as he slipped downed right in front of you.

“Roman..” You looked at him confused.

He smiled up you, “yes? I have to tell you something.”

Oddly, you were slight confused and but he was making you feel all tingly.

“Y/N, before I met you I was, fuck I am ruthless beast at times. I do what is necessary. Though the longer, you are around I do not want to be alone anymore. Y/N, will you be the beauty to my beast?”

Tears, came then and you nodded. “Yes...yes. I want to be.”

He got up then and slipped the ring onto your finger

“Oh Roman, you are no beast you are man, a king of this great city and you just do what is needed.”

“Oh, Y/N this is why I love you.” He kissed you then.

Fireworks rose, climbed higher and higher then exploded into colorful radiance.

“It must be new years!” You squealed as Roman, picked you up and swished you about. “Kitten, we’ve survived till midnight. Let’s go home.”

“I’d like that.”

*****

Once the door closed and the car began to pull away, he pulled you close.

“I have quite the naughty idea.”

You were intrigued. “What is it?”

He smirked, “I will tell you once we’re home and once I am done checking in with all the New Year festivities in the club. He gave you a rather chaste kiss, then he moved so he could comfortably hold you as the driver managed to get you back.

You eyed him, in the pit of your stomach excitement began to knot up. What could he possibly have in mind. A little over a year of being together and you two have done more things then you could ever imagine. Roman was insatiable and well you never knew next what he’d be up to.

You still remember how the two of you broke in your studio he had put together for you...

You were more the willing to work close to him. That kidnapping had really shaken you up, so you also were rather fond of having protection now that you knew how easy it was for things to go awry.

One particular, afternoon you were at your drafting table, sketching away. Your favorite music was blaring away, feeding into creativity. When, one of the earbuds, was gently removed from your ear.

“Kitten,” Roman’s voice, dark voice filled your world. “Continue working but you must remove your panties for me.”

You started to turn back to him.

“Nope, keep focused on your work don’t look back at me. Just do as I say. And open those sweet legs of yours more.”

Truth be told sometimes you would straddle or just have a very wide sitting stance so you could rest your elbows on your thighs...or just because hey..that is just how you sat.

You nodded. “Ok.”

“Good girl.” He remarked then placed the ear bud back into your ear.

You out your pencil down in the cradle for any tool you decided to use.

Standing almost hovering, you removed your panties. Not looking back, you dropped them beside your chair. You did as you were told and backed the seat up. Feeling like you were on displaypmay it a little harder to breath but then you started working again and easily to fell into the rhythm of the music.

Drifting in the world of your creativity when you first felt his gloved hands on your exposed thighs almost made you jump. Stressing to keep your hand steady you stared hard onto the paper in front of you. Though with each movement of his hands the more breathless you became.

You reached down and lowered the volume on the music. To remained focused, you bit your bottom lip. Though you couldn’t stop from moaning as your felt the scruffiness from his cheeks, chin as he placed nibbles on your thighs.

A smirked curled his lips before he continued. An ache began to throb between your legs hoping he’d pay you some attention to you there.

“Roman,” you pleaded, squirming a little.

You attempted to draw your newest creation from a different angle. That worked for a little while but that was when he licked you. It made you shiver. Then he licked a litter deeper. You tried desperately to do as he told you to continue working but you couldn’t. You dug your fingers into his soft brown strands and opened yourself wider if that was even possible.

“Roman,” moaned, as you finally had to look at him. His blue eyes were electric as be tilted his head up to look at you. You panted and moaned since he continued lick at you as his eyes remained locked with yours.

You were jostled out of the memory when the car came to a stop.

“We’re home.” He announced. You slid from and let him get out of the car first then holding his hand you slid out yourself. He pulled you close. “Stand with me while I wish the crowds a happy new year, then be a good girl and get upstairs. Change into something playful then I want you to go and hide. After I am done downstairs I will come upstairs and find you. And don’t you dare make it easy on me.”

With his arm tightly around your middle he brought the party crowd that was wild with drink and food to an absolute silence, “Happy New Year!” He hollored, “Are we having a good time?” There were wild cheers and whoops. “Fantastic! A round of a shots for everyone in here!” He made a twirl with his finger. “Turn it up!” He handed you his mask, patted you on the backside, “Go now like a good girl.” You then watched in relish as he went to move among the crowd, attending to business.

@spn-obession @thehybrid666 @xxxeatyourh3artoutxxx @zodiyack @ewanfuckingmcgregor @vintagemichelle91 @emyliabernstein @top-rumbelle-fan​ @rosionis​ @johallzy​

[driedletters]

The Cruel Prince • Holly Black     ★★★★★

•  Quotes

Jude ran at the man, slamming her fists against his chest, kicking at his legs. She wasn’t even scared. She wasn’t sure she felt anything at all.

•

As for dancing, once begun, you mortals will dance yourselves to death if we don’t prevent it.

•

Three is an odd configuration of sisters. There’s always one on the outside.

•

“Dirt. It’s what you came from, mortal. It’s what you’ll return to soon enough. Take a big bite.” “Make me,” I say before I can stop myself.

•

Nicasia’s wrong about me. I don’t desire to do as well in the tournament as one of the fey. I want to win. I do not yearn to be their equal. In my heart, I yearn to best them.

•

Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest, with black hair as iridescent as a raven’s wing and cheekbones sharp enough to cut out a girl’s heart. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

•

You mean because of Cardan and his Court of Jerks?

•

The pictures are taken one right after the other, the kind you have to sit in a booth for. Vivi is in the photos, her arm draped over the shoulders of a grinning, pink-haired mortal girl.

Having stepped off the edge, what I want to do is fall.

•

Liking both girls and boys is the only thing in this scenario Madoc wouldn’t be upset with Vivi about.

•

I delight in the chemicals that would doubtless sicken all the lords and ladies at the Court.

•

We’ve gone three rounds like this already. I keep thinking of the lazy blink of Cardan’s lashes over his coal-bright eyes. He looked gleeful, gloating, as though my fist tightening on his shirt was exactly what he would have wished. As though, if I struck him, it would be because he had made me do it.

•

Beg. Make it pretty. Flowery. Worthy of me.

•

You think because you can humiliate me, you can control me? Well, I think you’re an idiot. Since we started being tutored together, you’ve gone out of your way to make me feel like I’m less than you. And to coddle your ego, I have made myself less. I have made myself small, I have kept my head down. But it wasn’t enough to make you leave Taryn and me alone, so I’m not going to do that anymore.

• 

As I make my way back to the tournament and my sisters, I can’t stop thinking of Cardan’s shocked face, nor can I stop considering Locke’s smile. I am not altogether sure which is more thrilling and which more dangerous.

•

Not that I’d be the first to green gown her. Faeries

•

It feels a little bit like expecting a proposal of marriage, only to get offered the role of mistress.

•

“Now no one will be able to control you,” he says, and then pauses for a moment. “Except for me.”

•

Truly, he has come by his cruelty honestly in Balekin’s care. He has been raised up in it, instructed in its nuances, honed through its application. However horrible Cardan might be, I now see what he might become and am truly afraid.

•

Welcome,” says the Roach, “to the Court of Shadows.”

•

Not totally Cardan’s puppet like the rest of them.

•

Hard enough to dig through the page, maybe to scar the desk beneath. If that’s what he did to the paper, I shudder to think what he wants to do to me.

•

I have been trying to feel nothing about what happened. I am afraid that if I begin to feel, I won’t be able to bear it. I am afraid that the emotion will be like a wave sucking me under.

It’s not the first awful thing I have endured and pushed into the back of my brain. That’s how I’ve been coping, and if there’s another, better way, I do not know it.

•

He’s kind of a weird kid, maybe because he’s a faerie or maybe because all kids, human or inhuman, are equally weird.

•

Why don’t you ever trust me with him?” I shout, and Oriana wheels around, shocked that I said a thing we don’t say.

•

Mithridatism, it’s called. Isn’t that a funny name? The process of eating poison to build up immunity. So long as I don’t die from it, I’ll be harder to kill.

•

I do not understand why he likes me, but it is exciting to be liked.

•

We are children of tragedy.” He shakes his head and then smiles. “This is not how I meant to begin. I meant to give you wine and fruit and cheese. I meant to tell you how your hair is as beautiful as curling woodsmoke, your eyes the exact color of walnuts. I thought I could compose an ode about it, but I am not very good at odes.”

•

He watches me as the girl kisses his mouth, watches me as she slides her hand beneath the hem of his silly, ruffly shirt.

•

Do not reveal your skill with a blade. Do not reveal your mastery over glamour. Do not reveal all that you can do. Little did Prince Dain know that my real skill lies in pissing people off.

•

I think of Cardan’s mouth, flaked with gold

•

I love my parents’ murderer; I suppose I could love anyone. I’d like to love him.

•

Time to change partners,” a voice says, and I look to see that it’s the worst person possible: Cardan. “Oh,” he says to Locke. “Did I steal your line?”

•

Dark silver paint streaks over his cheekbones, and black lines run along his lashes. The left one is smeared, as though he forgot about it and wiped his eye.

•

With a sigh, I take down my braids, rubbing my hands through my hair until it hangs wild in my face. “You look…” he says, and then trails off, blinking a few times, not seeming able to finish. I am guessing the hair thing worked better than he had expected.

•

Jude?” he asks, up against the wall, pronouncing my name carefully, as though to avoid slurring. I am not sure I have ever heard him use my actual name before. “Surprised?” I ask, a fierce grin starting on my face. The most important boy in Faerie and my enemy, finally in my power. It feels even better than I thought it would. “You shouldn’t be.”

•

The High King Balekin is a friend to my lady’s Court,” Cardan says, silver-tongued in his silver fox mask.

•

Tell me anyway,” he says, and yawns. I really want to slap him.

•

I hate how I feel around him, the irrational panic when I touch his skin.

•

Cardan’s clothes are disarranged, from crawling under tables or being captured and tied, and his infamous tail is showing under the white lawn of his shirt. It is slim, nearly hairless, with a tuft of black fur at the tip. As I watch, the tail forms one wavering curve after another, snaking back and forth, betraying his cool face, telling its own story of uncertainty and fear.

•

Only in my dreams has Cardan ever been like this. Begging. Miserable. Powerless

•

...a love mark on my brow so all who looked upon me would be sick with desire, ...

•

Let’s talk about your behavior tonight,” says Madoc, leaning forward. “Let’s talk about your behavior tonight,” I return.

•

So he proposed to you,” I say. “While the royal family got butchered. That’s so romantic.

•

I think of Cardan tied to a chair to cheer myself.

•

Then I think of the way he looked up at me through the curtain of his crow-black hair, of the curling edges of his drunken smile, and I don’t feel in the least bit comforted.

•

... ‘mortal feelings are so volatile that it’s impossible to help toying with them a little’.

•

He smiles down at me, as if the reason I’m on my knees is because I am curtsying.

•

I’m nervous,” he says. “I smile a lot when I’m nervous. I can’t help it

•

Very well.” He fixes me with a spiteful look. “I hate you because your father loves you even though you’re a human brat born to his unfaithful wife, while mine never cared for me, though I am a prince of Faerie. I hate you because you don’t have a brother who beats you. And I hate you because Locke used you and your sister to make Nicasia cry after he stole her from me. Besides which, after the tournament, Balekin never failed to throw you in my face as the mortal who could best me.

•

Most of all, I hate you because I think of you. Often. It’s disgusting, and I can’t stop.”

•

Just looking at him makes me feel hot with shame. “You sure you brought me here just to talk.

•

Jude Duarte, daughter of clay, I swear myself into your service. I will act as your hand. I will act as your shield. I will act in accordance with your will. Let it be so for one year and one day…and not for one minute more.

•

I fix him with a look. “I can be charming. I charmed you, didn’t I?” He rolls his eyes. “Do not expect others to share my depraved tastes.”

•

Oh, really?” The human surprises me by speaking first. “Yes, mortal,” I say, like the hypocrite I am. 

•

We go over the plans again, and Cardan helps us map out Hollow Hall. I try not to be too conscious of his long fingers tracing over the paper, of the sick thrill I get when he looks at me.

•

By this point, I have told this story enough that it’s easy to hit only the necessary parts, to run through the information quickly and convincingly

•

With Vivi, I feel forever doomed to be the little sister, foolish and about to topple over onto my face.

•

I do not have endless patience,” Balekin growls. “Cultivate it,” Cardan says, and with a small bow, he navigates us away from Balekin and Madoc.

•

Jude?” I may never be used to the sound of my name on his lips.

•

The Ghost tosses the crown to my identical twin. It falls at Taryn’s feet.

•

Of Nicasia giving Cardan a lingering kiss on his royal cheek.

•

He rises from the throne. “Come, have a seat.” His voice is replete with danger, lush with menace. The flowering branches have sprouted thorns so thickly that petals are barely visible. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” he asks. “What you sacrificed everything for. Go on. It’s all yours.”

•  Black, Holly. “The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air Book 1)”. 2018.

[quaalussy]

Dreamboy Episode 7: The Rally

Hi I’m back with another Dreamboy transcript, this is a great episode! Sorry for any mistakes I might have made.  Also: if you’re looking to hire a transcriptionist for your podcast or anything else please feel free to shoot me a message, I’m always looking for work!

LITTLE KIDS [sung]

She won’t be able to run in the grass

She won’t be able to lay in the sun 

She won’t say hi to the people who pass

She won’t see hi to anyone

She won’t be able to love or dream or anything else that we said 

Cause zebras can’t do anything after they are dead

[CROWD CHEERING AND CLAPPING]

DIANA

Thank you! Thank you! Keep it going for Ms. Hernandez’s second-grade class from Pepper Heights Elementary, with the shockingly accurate little ditty that they wrote! Wow! Thank you, kiddies. Now don’t let your energies flag, kids. Everyone, I know it’s getting late, I know we’re tired and scared and wondering whether this is all gonna lead up to anything useful, but it is. We’re gonna stay here and we’re gonna.. we’re gonna keep our feet planted on the ground until our demands are met. I, Diana Greasefire, am determined to have our voices heard. I will stay here with my zebra striped sleeping bag and my zebra striped mask, and I will sleep here until I get answers. Alright come on how’re we, how’re we doing out there?

[CROWD CHEERING AND CLAPPING]

DIANA Good? 

[CROWD CHEERING AND CLAPPING]

DIANA Oh, I can’t hear you.

[CROWD CHEERING AND CLAPPING LOUDER]

DIANA Yeah? What do we say?

CROWD

SAVE ZOE!

DIANA What do we say?

CROWD SAVE ZOE!

DIANA WHAT DO WE SAY?

CROWD 

SAVE ZOE!

[CROWD CHEERING AND CLAPPING]

DIANA That’s right. Now, we have a long night of rallying ahead so have some coffee. It’s free over at that table, donated by the lovely folks down at Settler’s Coffee. 

[SMALL GROUP CHEERS]

DIANA

I tell you this little sexy zebra print number has served me well the last few weeks down at The Hussy, but if I’m honest, now that I'm outside in this cooler October night air, I just wish there were a little bit more of it. But then again, how else am I gonna get Mr. Kritch to come out and talk to us?

[CROWD BOOS]

DIANA We know you’re in there, Kritchy! We know you ain’t leaving anytime soon, cause your car is currently surrounded by morbid second-graders. 

DIANA [to child]

Go on sweetie, yeah you can stand on the car, jump up and down.

DIANA [to crowd]

Okay. so, I'm gonna bring up my co-host, you may know her from other animal activism activities. She is currently working to educate uhhh people about uhh, hang on I have to read this part. “The effect of deforestation on the delicate symbiotic evolutionary relationship between the Madagascar Honey Orchid and the Madagascar Honey Wasp, its only known pollinator.” Well, that’s a mouthful. Anyway, please welcome to the stage Carol Buxtrom!

[CROWD CHEERS AND CLAPS]

CAROL

Thanks, Diana. Uh, you look really good. [clears throat] Whoa, okay. All of you out there you all are really rad to show up for a cause like this. When I think about this issue, I just get so worked up and angry, and I didn't trust myself to not get all emotional up here, so I wrote it down. So I’m just gonna read this and try to, you know, stay calm and Carol on. Okay, here goes. [clears throat] Last summer on August 29th, just after one A.M., a scared and defenseless wild animal had its space violated by an intruder, and in a split second reaction of fear, defended itself to the best of its ability. The intruder was a boy named Ian Harris, and he was killed. Our hearts go out to his family, but that wild animal is a zebra named Zoe that has spent nearly sixteen years interacting with the publics here at Pepper Heights with no incidents. Tomorrow morning, Judge Elizabeth Gardner [sobs] is set to. Sorry. [sobs]

[CROWD CHEERS]

CAROL

Is set to announce her decision about the euthanization of Zoe the zebra. She could very well decide to end Zoe’s life based on incidents that were not at all her fault, but we still have tonight to let her know how Pepper Heights really feels, so let’s be a loud voice in her ear. Everybody: 

[CROWD CHEERS]

CAROL

Get out your phones and tweet: #SaveZoe at Judge Elizabeth Gardner. Go ahead, everybody, do it now. Or you could email too, judgeegardner@hotmail.com. 

DIANA

Hotmail? Oh my god. Can I hear some of her songs on Myspace? [laughs]

CAROL

While you guys do that, I wanted to read some uhh zebra facts to you that you might not know. Uhhh, okay. Zoe the zebra’s latin name is Equus quagga. 

[CROWD CHEERS]

CAROL When zebras stay in groups, their stripes confuse the eyes of would-be predators, making it hard to single out an individual. The stripes of each zebra are unique, like...

DANE [to listener]

The all-night rally. I totally forgot it was tonight. It’s fucking going strong now too in the parking lot. Jesus, like everybody from Pepper Heights is here. I’m just wandering through the crowd, everybody all around me in their zebra shirts with their “SAVE ZOE” signs, and my head is killing me because I haven’t eaten like anything all day, and I just got escorted out of my work place by Sheila fucking Panzarelli and then told to wait here by a fucking twelve year old. Which, I was so out of it that I actually did for a minute before I was like “what the fuck am I doing?” Also, why the fuck is Sheila doing security sweeps? [sighs]. I should probably just go home. Hey, I know that guy from the coffee shop. Wait, maybe they have free food here. The crowd is starting to get very bored of the wasp lady’s zebra facts. 

CAROL Zebras are not horses, people.

DANE I see Luke looking down at his phone on the side of the crowd. He looks up, and for some reason I do that thing where I act like I don’t see him, and I think I’ll just look back in a couple of seconds and casually see him, but when I look back he’s walking away, like maybe he didn’t see me the first time? So I start to thread through the crowd to follow him, but I keep losing sight of him, and the boring science channel stuff on stage apparently signaled bathroom and coffee break to everyone, so they’re all moving around. And all of them are wearing zebra stripes so they all blend together, like, my eyes hurt. Where the fuck did he go? I think- there, there. No. there! No. I literally feel like a starving lion trying to pick a meal out of the black and white swirl. Jesus, this really works, good job nature. So I start moving quicker through the crowd, and I think I'm turned around, I'm going to the middle again? People are really starting to jostle me now. The murmurs have turned into full on talking, like no one’s even pretending to pay attention to the stage, which is somewhere behind me at this point. There! I see him again. He’s just fifteen feet from me, facing the other way.

DANE [to crowd]

Excuse me, excuse me, sorry, sorry.

DANE [to listener]

I bump into some teenage boys, I pass a  family, almost tripping over a stroller. Finally I get up to him, and I reach up and tap his shoulder.

DANE [to boy]

Luke. 

DANE [to listener]

He turns around, but it’s not Luke. it’s just another boy. 

DANE [to boy]

Oh, s-sorry. No I just… I thought you were someone else. 

DANE [to listener]

I turn back towards the stage. It’s just a sea of writhing zebra stripes. Then someone taps my arm. I turn around quick, but I don't see anyone. Wait, it’s a kid. Like, seven years old maybe? Standing there and looking up at me. 

DANE [to kid]

Hey. Do you need help?

DANE [to listener]

He hands me a flier. I take it and look at it, but it’s not a “SAVE ZOE” flier. It just says “#WHATABOUTIAN” in big, bold type. I look back up at him, but he’s already running back out of the crowd. And then he disappears into a smaller crowd at the side of the rally that I hadn't noticed before. They’re counter-protestors. Some of them have signs that say the same thing: “#WHATABOUTIAN”, and others have signs that have two pictures side by side on them. The first picture is Ian as a little kid, smiling and playing in the grass, but the second picture is the police photo of when they found his dead body. Wow, it’s intense.

CAROL 

A group of zebras is referred to as a herd, dazzle, or a zeal. Ha! which is totally neat. Of course, Zoe is a single zebra which is, you know, just called a zebra. Umm-

DIANA

Ok, Carol, thank you. 

[LIGHT APPLAUSE]

DIANA

Let’s do more facts later.

CAROL Oh, Okay. Anyone who has questions can talk to me later.

DIANA Okay! [sighs] Okay Kritchy, you coward! I am standing here in my zebra striped dress with my zebra striped sleeping bag, in case this goes long, and my thermos of hot toddies and my zebra slippers, and I am waiting for you to get up the courage to come out here and look me in my face. What do we say, everyone?

CROWD SAVE ZOE!

DIANA What do we say?

CROWD SAVE ZOE!

DIANA

That’s right!

[CROWD CHEERS AND CLAPS]

DIANA

I think we should try to enchant Mr. Kritch out to talk to us with a little song. 

[ACOUSTIC GUITAR CHORD]

DIANA What do you say, everybody? You wanna sing together with me? Come on, you ready? Here. 

[BEGINS TO PLAY GUITAR]

DIANA I’ll start us off.

[GUITAR INTRO]

DIANA [sung]

We shall overcome

We shall overcome

We shall overcome someday 

PERSON IN CROWD I love you Diana!!

[CROWD CHEERS AND CLAPS]

DIANA [sung]

Deep in my heart

I do believe

We shall overcome someday

DIANA

We’ll walk hand in hand!

CROWD [sung]

We’ll walk hand in hand 

We’ll walk hand in hand

We’ll walk hand in hand someday

[SONG CONTINUES UNDER THE FOLLOWING]

DANE [to listener] I swear I just heard Luke’s voice. Like, close by. I look around, but I don't see him. Then, a huge zebra striped balloon floats by, and I look. I watch it pass, and then Luke is right there, just ten feet from me. He sees me too. He doesn’t seem surprised, though. I walk up to him slowly, and he puts his phone in his pocket and straightens up. As I get closer I can see his face. It’s sort of a mix of shy and embarrassed and glad and pouty all at the same time. 

LUKE Hey. 

DANE Hey.

LUKE

What’s up?

DANE Nothing, what’s up with you?

LUKE Nothing. 

DANE AND LUKE

[unintelligible]

[BOTH LAUGH]

LUKE Yeah, so look, I just um, you know-

JENNIFER

There you are, jesus! Why didn’t you stay over there?

DANE

Fuck, Jennifer! Because I'm not your poodle. Like, for being an anti-fascist you really are-

JENNIFER We don’t have time for this.

DANE [to listener]

The twins, Merryl and Sherryl, walk up behind her. Jennifer looks anxious. She looks down at her watch and then scans the crowd. Luke looks at all of us with a wrinkled expression.

LUKE 

What are you guys doing?

DANE We are doing nothing. I don’t know what she’s doing

DANE [to listener]

For once, Jennifer doesn’t look angry or mean or smug, she almost looks like a kid. She gets closer to me, looks right at me.

JENNIFER

They are keeping an animal I love in the dark alone in there, and it’s killing her. Tonight, I’m gonna go get her out of that dark. 

DANE That’s, like, literally what happens at any zoo.

JENNIFER Exactly! They’re all animal jails. 

LUKE So you wanna jailbreak Zoe? You’re a little badass. 

JENNIFER Yes, but...

DANE [to listener]

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, then lets it out and opens them and looks at me JENNIFER

I need your help.

DANE [to Jennifer] What are you talking about, you’re crazy. Like, you’re twelve years old, what the fuck are you planning on doing?

JENNIFER First, I’m almost thirteen. Second, growing up is a myth. And third-

DANE [to listener]

She looks back at the twins, standing on either side of her, and then back to me with a weird smile

JENNIFER We have a plan. 

DANE [to listener]

Then she sees something to her left behind me, and her eyes go wide and her face gets serious

JENNIFER Oh no. He’s early. 

DANE [to listener]

I turn around and follow her stare. On the back edge of the parking lot, far from the crowd, there’s a utility truck parked under a light pole, and a man in a bucket on a crane coming up from the truck, and the bucket is rising. It gets to the top and then stops. 

JENNIFER Okay, okay, it’s go time. Merryl, Sherryl, stay on the time markers no matter what? Got it?

TWIN 1

Got it.

TWIN 2

Uh, okay.

DANE [to JENNIFER]

What is going on?

JENNIFER No more time.

DANE [to listener]

She looks at me and Luke.

JENNIFER

You in or out?

DANE I don’t… I don’t even know what you’re talking about, like in what? 

DANE [to listener]

Her face looks strange.

JENNIFER Please.

DANE [to Jennifer]

Please what?!

DANE [to listener]

The power goes out, the lights on the stage and everything. The crowd stops singing and everyone starts shuffling and murmuring, slowly starting to panic. People start yelling for their kids. The only light is from the billboard for the exhibit way at the other end of the parking lot. Luke steps forward and looks at Jennifer. 

LUKE We’re in. 

DANE [to listener]

I look at Luke. he won’t even look back at me.

JENNIFER Great. Follow us. 

DANE [to listener]

She takes off through the crowd, the twins just behind her. I keep looking at Luke, but he just takes off after them. 

[SILENCE]

Jennifer, the twins, and Luke are all standing in front of a hole dug under the fence in front of the zoo. Right as I walk up, Jennifer kneels down and starts to go under the fence. I look around, but nobody sees her, everyone's just scrambling in the dark and paying no attention. The power going out was a classic diversion. Did she plan all this? Like, what organization are they a part of, the CIA for kids? Jennifer goes through the hole, then the twins, and then Luke. [sighs] I look around one more time. Fuck. [sighs] I follow them through. [panting] I get up and brush myself off, and then I go over to where they’re at, in the shadows against the souvenir stands and ticket booths. 

[DREAMBOY SONG PLAYS IN BACKGROUND]

DANE [to group]

Guys! Am I the only one worried about getting caught? Like, what about the security guards? Or Kritch, Sheila.

JENNIFER Kritch is watching the livestream of the rally in his office, I bet you fifty bucks, and the security guards follow the same routine every single night. Three guards, three booths, they rotate between the three booths every thirty minutes.

DANE [to listener]

She looks down at her watch. 

JENNIFER We have another twenty-five minutes before the next rotation.

DANE [to Jennifer] What about Sheila? Like, she’s the scariest one.

DANE [to listener]

Jennifer considers the question. 

JENNIFER

She is sort of a wild card. But it’s a risk we will have to take. The good news is, she’s not exactly good at being covert. Everybody just look out for a wheezy, cussing thing with a lightsaber flashlight.

DANE [to Jennifer]

Look, this isn’t just about getting banned from the zoo or me getting fired, like we could all get arrested. On serious charges! Which is a big deal if you’re not a little kid. 

DANE [to listener]

Luke still isn’t looking at me. 

LUKE

It’s weird they leave the music on all night. 

TWIN 

It’s for the animals. 

JENNIFER

Okay, let’s go. 

DANE [to listener]

Jennifer runs off into the shadows, weaving between food stands, pausing whenever she can, looking at her watch. God, it’s like she was made for this. Her legs flick in and out of the dim light, and the twins are in lock step right behind her, and Luke is right behind them, his legs almost as quick, and I'm following with legs… legs of a person that doesn’t wanna get arrested. 

[CICADA NOISES]

DANE [to listener]

[sighs] The twins are whispering things to us like little tour guides

TWIN 1 Over there’s the rides.

TWIN 2

And the Candy Clown

LUKE

[sighs] I used to hate the Candy Clown. 

JENNIFER

Come on!

DANE [to listener] Jennifer’s moving like a little Navy SEAL, doing that thing where she points at her eyes then points ahead. 

TWIN 1

There’s the swan. 

DANE [to listener]

The other twin points to a single white swan next to the pond. It looks blue in the night, its head is hidden in its wings. I stop. There’s an information kiosk in front of us, but there’s a movement inside. 

DANE [to group]

Guys, wait. There’s someone inside that booth.

DANE [to listener]

The twins both look back and smile.

TWIN 1 Lost and found.

TWIN 2

All the phones. 

DANE [to twins] Oh, jesus. Okay. 

DANE [to listener]

I look in the window as we pass it. There’s a cardboard box full of phones. A lot of them are dead, but some are flickering with messages. “Where are you?” “Are you mad at me?” “Hey.” 

JENNIFER Come on!

DANE [to listener]

We round another food stand, walk along this low wall for a few seconds, and then I see it. 

TWIN

The animal gate.

DANE [to listener]

There’s this tall, decorative iron gate set into a high stone wall that separates the animal exhibits from the rides and food and stuff. It’s this overwhelming, intricate scene of animals all sculpted with wrought iron, their bodies all twisting around each other and their faces all looking up. It’s like a gothic mural but with metal animals, but I’ve never actually really looked at it cause it’s swung open when the zoo is open. Now that I see it, it’s really beautiful. Luke slowly walks forward and looks up at the gate.

LUKE Oh my god. I remember when I was a kid, getting here early enough to see them open the animal gate was like the most magical thing, and then once we got inside my mom and I would always do the same exact thing every time: chocolate ice cream cone with a hard dipped shell and then visit Zoe. I remember her being almost close enough to touch, it’s like so weird to think that-

[JENNIFER GRUNTING]

DANE [to listener]

I look over off to the side of the gate. Jennifer’s trying to unlatch the huge metal bar attached to the stone wall. 

[JENNIFER GRUNTING LOUDER]

DANE [to Jennifer]

Mmm, need help? DANE [to listener]

Then the latch comes loose and the gate swings free with a loud deep groan.

[GATE CREAKING, JENNIFER PANTING]

DANE [to group]

Wow, lotta good that does keeping people out.

DANE [to listener] Jennifer steps back onto the path and brushes her clothes off, a little out of breath.

JENNIFER

It’s not meant to keep us out, it’s meant to keep them in. 

DANE [to listener]

Then she walks through the gate; the twins follow. Luke goes through behind them but stops when he sees I'm not following. He turns around and looks at me, for the first time since the parking lot. 

LUKE You coming?

DANE

[sighs] I don’t know. What if I say no?

DANE [to listener]

He walks up to me. His face is really soft and sweet, and he doesn’t look mad at all, like does he not know he didn’t text me all day long and like left me hanging? Like, what the fuck is he thinking?

LUKE

Are you really gonna say no?

DANE [to listener]

He reaches out and grabs my hand. My body twitches like an electromagnet.

[TWINKLY MUSIC]

DANE [to listener]

The animal section of the zoo is dark except for a few random bluish-white lights that make everything look dead and icy. Luke is still holding my hand. 

LUKE These lights are weird. Also, isn’t the power out? Like- 

JENNIFER Those are emergency lights. Backup generator, only essential systems.

DANE [to listener] She keeps her eyes ahead as she talks. And all three of them, the not girl scouts, are walking in front of me and Luke at that specific speed of children that want you to know that they know where they’re going and that they’re not afraid. And Jennifer starts whispering things too and pointing. It’s like all three of them have the whole history of this place memorized, but I can’t quite pay attention because all I can think about is Luke’s hand. 

JENNIFER

That’s the creepy-crawlies building. My dad says that it’s just an old shed they like infested with bugs, and it’s a crime that they make people pay to see it. TWIN

That’s the parrot William something. He’s old. He talks but he just says numbers.

JENNIFER

There’s the lion and tigers and bears exhibit. A lion, a tiger, and bear that used to be movie animals. The tiger’s been dead for years, though.

TWIN 

So now it’s just a lion and a bear. 

DANE [to listener]

I’m trying not to look at Luke, but there’s this feeling between our arms. It’s like a buzzing. 

TWIN There’s the new exhibit. They’ve been digging holes over there for months now.

DANE [to listener]

There’s a low wooden barricade in front of the new exhibit with a sign that says “coming soon” on it and another sign that’s half ripped down that says “Forgotten Sea”. The buzzing feeling surges. We both yank our hands away. 

TWIN That’s a bathroom. 

DANE [to listener]

I hear a tarp snapping in the wind somewhere over in the dark of the new exhibit. Something in my body turns over. Then I hear music. Opera. 

[OPERA PLAYING FAINTLY]

JENNIFER That’s Madam Beauregard’s radio. She has to listen to music when she sleeps or she has nightmares. She used to be a NASA flight test chimp, and she went to space once, but she came back crazy. Then she lived in the swampy part of Florida where some man made her do this sideshow act on the side of the road.

TWIN

Made her wear a nightgown and read a paper and drink coffee

JENNIFER Yeah, but he actually gave her real coffee, so she got addicted. Now she has to have coffee right when she wakes up or she goes insane. 

LUKE Wow. How did I not know any of this stuff? 

DANE [to listener]

We come around a curve where the main path sort of narrows and then ends at this long iron fence. Just darkness beyond. Jennifer walks up to the fence and stops. 

JENNIFER Zoe’s exhibit. Or, used to be. 

DANE [to Jennifer]

I mean they still let her outside a little bit, way far back there so people at least can still see her.

DANE [to listener]

Jennifer looks at me with a pathetic look. Then she hops up and starts to climb the fence.

DANE [to Jennifer]

What the fuck are you doing?

DANE [to listener] In no time she’s over and standing in the artificial savannah, looking back at us. 

JENNIFER Come on.

DANE [to listener]

The twins go over. Then Luke. I'm starting to sense a pattern here, so I put my foot on the fence, but it immediately slips, and I hit my knee hard, and I fall a little bit, and I do that thing where it hurts so bad that you just hold it and rock back and forth while everyone waits. [grunts, breathes deeply, sighs] I try again. I really don’t know if I can do this. Jennifer’s trying to coach me, but it’s just annoying. 

JENNIFER

Ughh, just put your foot on the wall.

DANE [to Jennifer]

Yeah. JENNIFER Put your other foot on the fence. Now grab the- No no no.

DANE [to Jennifer[

What?

JENNIFER

Hold on with both hands and kind of swing your hip, yeah. Swing your hips. Okay, no, like that but do it better.

DANE [to Jennifer]

I’m trying.

JENNIFER

Just swing your hips, yeah, now pull- pull yourself, now pull yourself, okay.

[DANE GRUNTING]

JENNIFER

Okay, there it is.

DANE

Goddamn.

DANE [to listener]

I finally make it over and land with a grunt in the dirt. [groans]

TWIN 

This is the spot where the Harris boy climbed in.

DANE [to listener]

The twin is looking right at me, then she points to a spot on the ground by the wall.

TWIN 

And that’s where he died.

DANE

Whoa. 

DANE [to listener]

I look at the spot. I think about the picture I saw on those signs in the parking lot.

JENNIFER

He wouldn’t have died if it weren’t for toxic masculine peer pressure. 

DANE

What? TWIN

It’s a tradition for high school boys to break in here at night and touch Zoe. 

DANE

But he was like eleven.

JENNIFER

Exactly. He heard about his older brothers doing it and wanted to be cool like them. Stupid boy stuff. 

DANE Exactly. Stupid. And here we are doing the exact same thing, like-

JENNIFER Trust me, I have a plan. 

DANE [to listener]

I look down at the spot on the ground again. I think I can still see blood stains, but it’s so dark I can't be sure.

JENNIFER

Now, let's go!

DANE [to listener]

We tip-toe through Zoe’s artificial environment. It’s made to resemble a rocky outcrop in an African savannah, so what look like rocks from the front are actually just plastic and hollow in the back. But, I mean, I guess this savannah wasn’t made for Zoe anyway. 

JENNIFER

[breathes deeply] Okay. This is it. Where’s your keys?

DANE [to listener]

There’s a door. It’s made to look like stone. 

DANE [to Jennifer]

That’s the help you needed? My keys? I told you I only have keys to the ride building and the broom closet, that’s it, those two. So looks like we’re all just gonna go home, good plan. 

LUKE

Wait, we’re not actually gonna go inside-inside are we?

DANE 

No we’re not, not without keys. 

DANE [to listener]

Jennifer walks up and looks at me and slams her brow down over her eyes.

JENNIFER

Listen: come in or not, I don’t care, but I’ve been planning tonight for months, and all I need is to get through that door, and then you can go. After that door is open, I don't care where you go. 

DANE [to Jennifer]

Yeah right, and let you just get killed by a murderous zebra? They’d put me in jail for letting you in, stupid. 

JENNIFER

I told you already, Zoe died months ago. Give me the keys and I'll show you. 

LUKE Wait, what?

DANE

These keys? 

DANE [to listener]

I take my keys from my pocket, and I throw them at her feet. 

DANE [to Jennifer]

Go ahead, try them. I told you they don’t fucking go to these doors, so have at it.

DANE [to listener]

Jennifer grabs the keys from the ground, walks over to the door, and sticks them in. The broom closet one immediately works. The door swings open. She yanks my keys from the knob and throws them back at my feet. Then she snears at me and disappears into the dark. The twins follow. [sighs] I don’t understand. Like… I don’t understand. 

LUKE

Zoe’s dead?

DANE [to listener] 

I’m still looking at the dark of the doorway where Jennifer and the twins disappeared. Almost talking to myself. 

DANE [to Luke]

I... who knows? I don’t know. She could be, I guess.

LUKE

Zoe’s dead.

DANE [to listener] I hear something edging in Luke’s voice. I look over at him. He’s looking down. His eyes are distant. 

DANE Well, we don’t know that yet.

DANE

He kneels down quickly and starts to pick up pieces of gravel just to have something to do with his hands, it looks like. The whole time, he’s looking off in the distance. I walk up to him slowly and kneel down beside him. His lip is trembling. He can’t look at me. I wait a few seconds, unsure of what to do, and then I reach out and put my hand on his shoulder.

DANE [to Luke]

Hey…

DANE [to listener]

But as soon as I touch him, he just start sobbing like he can’t hold it back anymore 

[LUKE SOBBING]

DANE

And he falls into me, and he wraps his arms around my torso and cries onto my neck. I feel the wetness on my skin. It feels weirdly good that he’s crying on me, and then I feel weird that it feels good. 

DANE [to Luke]

Hey buddy, you’re okay, you’re okay.

[LUKE BREATHING DEEPLY]

DANE [to listener]

After a bit, his rhythm slowly evens out, and his fingers unclench from my shirt in the back, and he buries his face in my neck and just breathes. I breathe too. Our breathing is lining up. 

[DANE AND LUKE BREATHE]

DANE

We both pull away, and get to our feet. We don’t really look at each other. Instead, our eyes fall on the open doorway. 

LUKE

We have to go in there. We have to make sure they don’t get hurt.

DANE 

[groans]

LUKE [sighs] Yeah, I know.

DANE 

The darkness in the doorway seems to be looking back at us like a giant eye socket. I don’t wanna go in there. But I know whatever’s going on with this zoo and this zebra is weird. I mean, everything about this place is weird, but I just feel like the answer’s... the answer’s through that door. 

[DISTANT SCREAM]

[DREAMBOY THEME PLAYS]

ELLIE HAYMEN

Dreamboy is co-created by Dane Terry and Ellie Haymen. Developed and directed by Ellie Haymen. Written, composed, and performed by Dane Terry, featuring Michael Cavadias, Dito Van Reigersberg, Renata Friedman, Morgan Meadows, Avery Draut, Gianna Masi, Alice Tolan-Mee, Somerset Thompson, and Jake Sellers Sound Designed, Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by Chris Weingarten at Bananappeal Studio. Edited by Alexander Charles Adams. Creative Producer and Assistant Director: Ashlin Hatch. Associate producer: Adam Cecil. Executive Producer: Christy Gressman. A very special thanks to Night Vale Presents. You can find us on Twitter and Instagram @dreamboypodcast. For more info and for merch check out dreamboypodcast.com.

[kasienda]

An Open Secret - Chapter Two

My ML Secret Santa Story for @ladybuginettes continues!! Please enjoy more post-reveal/pre-relationship fluffiness! Goodness! I love these two soooo much!! (Though I hate writing puns... I may never do it again...) 

...

Chapter 1

Chapter 2: The New Normal After coffee, Marinette had invited him over for some Mecha Strike and pastries, and since, by some miracle, his calendar was clear, he leapt at the invitation. Then he turned off his phone for good measure so that Nathalie couldn’t notify him of changes because nothing was going to interrupt time spent with his lady. So, here he was in Marinette’s room. Ladybug’s room. Of course, he had been here before, but now it felt more personal. For one, he was actually paying attention this time. Every design sketch and photo of her and her friends on the wall was a gift of insight into her world. Even the rice paper lanterns and fairy lights hanging from the ceiling felt magical. And of course, the mannequin with the beginnings of a red skirt pinned to its waist that he was confident would look amazing on her within the next week or two.  And he was hanging out with Ladybug just for fun - no responsibilities or akumas to deal with - he felt positively giddy with excitement. Like it was difficult to sit still. And, he was finally getting to know Marinette better in light of her newfound ability to string whole sentences together. This was something he had been trying to do as Adrien for years with little to show for it and no clues for how to break through the invisible obstacles between them. He still wasn’t sure why those barriers had existed in the first place, but he was delighted that Chat Noir was able to make them evaporate.

Ao3 Link FF.net Link

He tried to stay focused on the game at hand. He knew from prior experience that he could beat her in maybe one out of three matches on a good day. But today, as distracted as he was, he’d be lucky if he made it to one in five. In the current round, Marinette was winning, but by a slim enough margin, that he still had a chance. Well, until he glanced at her profile next to him. She was entirely focused on the screen, her tongue poking out from the side of her mouth, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. He stared for half a second too long. Then she slammed him with her super he hadn’t even realized she had accumulated enough combo points to earn. He might have been able to dodge it had he been paying attention. As it was, the large KO was already blinking in red over his avatar’s prone form. She dropped her controller and threw her hands up in victory. “Eat it, Agreste!” He couldn’t help the smile that bloomed across his face at her mini victory celebration. She was so competitive. He had known that about Ladybug after challenging her to a few races across the city, but he had never known that about Marinette. She turned to him and frowned. “Are you letting me win?” She accused, her eyes slitted half closed in suspicion. “I know I’m good, but I don’t usually best you five times in a row!” “Not on purpose?” He offered sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I may have gotten distracted.” “Distracted by what?” How cute she was. “Your dedication to your craft,” he deflected, but he felt the heat in his cheeks. “Now, you’re just being ridiculous.” He shrugged. She stared at him flatly. “As long as that’s what it was.” Her eyes turned fierce. He felt trapped in her gaze. “You’re not allowed to give up on me.” “It’s just a game, Mari.” “You’re not allowed to give up on me ever.” She repeated fiercely. “I can’t stand it when you give up even if it’s to let me win.” This wasn’t about their game. She was talking to Chat Noir about his willingness to take hits and dive off platforms and buildings. But he couldn’t promise to stop doing those things. He would do whatever he needed to do to keep her safe or see her victorious. “I swear to keep fighting as the lady wishes,” he promised stoically before pressing the button to start another match. “You had better!” “Maybe someday, I’ll even be able to give you some competition,” he added after he managed to land the first blow. Adrien groaned as she ate up his lead in two beautifully executed combos, and went on to knock out his character for the sixth time that afternoon. He really needed to get his head in the game because this was getting embarrassing! The trapdoor opened interrupting their seventh match. Tom’s head poked up followed by a whole array of baked sweets. Could this day get any better? “Who brought their appetite?” “Papa!” Marinette objected, her face blooming in pink. “I said we’d come down! We’re…” Adrien leapt from his seat and took the offered platter. “Wheat definitely love to partake in your treats Monsieur Dupain! Thank you!” Tom winked at him and he departed quickly, closing the trapdoor behind him. He held out the tray to her. “Your dad is so nice. We should grainciously accept his offer.” “I’m not hungry,” she declared. “Stupid puns destroy my appetite.” Her stomach growled in that exact moment. Adrien laughed. “Don’t berry your hunger, Mari just because I’m hissterical.” She threw a pillow at him. He managed to whirl the tray out of the line of fire with ease. “Hey! Watch the food!” He objected. “Stop being ridiculous!” she countered. “You loave that I’m ridiculous.” He was floored when she actually blushed and looked away. “Maybe,” she admitted, her eyes had fallen to the controller in her hands. “Let’s take a break!” he begged with an exaggerated pout. “These smell delicious. We both know that I was going to win that round anyway. Wouldn’t want to ruin your perfect streak.” “What?” she disagreed hotly. “That is not something we both know!” He laughed. “Well, I concede then. Croissant?” he offered, holding the tray out to her again. She put down her controller, and poured over the selection, pulling out a red macaron daintily. Soon they were settled on her chaise, tearing through croissants, cookies, and tarts, their controllers forgotten with the Mecha Strike opening sequence playing on repeat in the background. “You know what I hate?” Marinette said, as she twisted another bite off her croissant.

He froze mid-bite. Had he taken the puns too far?

“Huh?” He prompted when she didn’t automatically keep going.

“No one trusts me to show up to things,” she confided. “My parents rarely let me do deliveries anymore and even Alya tells me to show up an hour before she tells everyone else ‘to make sure I arrive on time’ with everyone else! Like, who has time for that?”

“Yeah,” Adrien agreed readily. “I’ve had to flake on so many things, that now, I don’t get very many invites to stuff from anyone besides Nino because everyone assumes I won’t be able to go.”

Which wasn’t necessarily a bad assumption really, but he did exaggerate how filled his schedule was whenever he needed an excuse to disappear so Chat Noir could show up. He had made up so many impromptu photoshoots. People probably assumed his father was an actual slave driver.

“Oh! I hadn’t thought about that,” she agreed. “I guess I’m guilty of that too. I’m sorry, Adrien.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he assured her. “It’s nice that you understand now.”

She smiled back, but then her expression dropped again.

“I just hate that they’re not wrong, you know?” She paused in eating to stare blankly towards the wall. “That I get so easily sidetracked and I know I can’t be relied upon by my friends and family.”

Because Paris had to be able to rely on Ladybug. Because Ladybug had to be reliable even at the cost of Marinette’s reputation.  

“I used to be so responsible,” she concluded in a whisper.

“Hey,” he whispered, pulling her head back up with a finger on her chin. “You are responsible! The most responsible person I know,” he told her. “I mean, maybe your parents and friends don’t know why you’re not following through, but when you don’t, it’s because you are responsible.”

She smiled, the warmth returning to her eyes. “I’m glad that you can see it at least. It’s nice to not feel so alone.”

“I always have your back, Mari.”

It’s you and me against the world. Her grin grew tenfold. She scooted backwards on the chaise, folding a foot under leg as she turned to him more casually. “Do you feel like anyone truly knows you?” she asked. “Not Adrien Agreste, teenage supermodel registered trademark, but the real you underneath all the make-up and photo-shop touch ups?” “It’s not like I’m pretending to be a different person if that’s what you’re asking,” he told her seriously. “It’s more like I give different people in my life different pieces of me. But all those pieces are real. What about you?” She grinned. “What about me? I’m not famous.” Like hell, she wasn’t. “I can’t imagine it’s that different for you,” he insisted. “We all play different roles or wear different masks with different people. Until a week ago, you behaved very differently around me than say, Alya.”   He did not anticipate the deep red that bloomed across her face. “Th-that’s different!” she stammered. Adrien didn’t know what to make of it. He wanted to ask. But he was so afraid of her answer. Why had she been so different around him? Did she think he would hurt her or make fun of her? “Does anyone know the real Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” he asked instead. She looked at him for a moment, then her gaze shifted away to the designs on her wall. “Besides my parents, I have two best friends,” she told him. “Alya at school, and one in another part of my life.” Chat Noir. “I think they both have seen me at my best - seen what I can do when I get really into a project or stand up for some of my classmates. They’ve both also been there when I freak out about silly things or fall into an anxious spiral of hopelessness. They’re both really good at building me up in those moments.” She reached out and squeezed his hand. Thank you. He squeezed back. He really didn’t think there was any reason to thank him. She was amazing. It wasn’t hard to help her remember that when she forgot. He was suddenly very aware of their joined hands. His skin was touching hers. There were no suits or masks between them. He felt the red rise to his face again. He was so glad they had figured each other out so they could have this. And again, he found himself wanting to ask what it was about pre-reveal Adrien that triggered her anxiety. And what was it about Chat Noir that allowed her to overcome those nerves. Why didn’t she trust pre-reveal Adrien to support her in the same way that Chat always had even when he didn’t know Marinette was Ladybug. “Is something wrong?” she asked, her eyes turned to him in concern. “Not at all,” he soothed. He couldn’t ask yet. He was still afraid of her answer, afraid of shattering this fragile new connection between them. He made himself smile brightly. “So, what do you enjoy?” “Besides fashion design and video games?” she answered in confusion. He looked away for a second, trying to figure out how to rephrase the question. “You said earlier that you hated being flakey,” he said. “What do you enjoy? What motivates the amazing righteous Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” “Getting to help people,” she said immediately, her eyes shining with unrestrained light. “Especially in situations where I’m uniquely qualified to do so.” “Like the time when you arranged for us to retake the class photo for Juleka,” he threw in. “Yes! Exactly! That, and I love the views of the city!”

Plagg shifted in his pocket and Adrien tensed. Her own eyes widened, as she clamped her hands over her own mouth.

Somehow her panic centered him. He took her hand again, and squeezed gently.

“It’s okay,” he mouthed to her as he tilted his head sideways toward her balcony. She followed his movement and immediately sighed, her whole body loosening in relief.

“You should come see it some time,” she managed after the three second delay. “It’s inspiring.”

“See what?” He said, still holding her hand.

“The view from my balcony,” she filled in as if it was the obvious and what she had meant the whole time. “W-What did you think I meant, Adrien? The top of the Eiffel Tower?”

He smiled.

The view from the Eiffel Tower was certainly amazing. But he always found it more magical when she was with him.

“I think the view right here is lovely too,” he said, his gaze locked onto her crystal blue eyes.  

“Stop it!” she hissed, even as warmth flooded her cheeks.

“Never.” Especially not now that he could get such a reaction out of her. She had always met his flirtations with eye-rolls before. He wondered what had changed.

Whatever it was, he loved it.

… Adrien flopped onto his bed with a love-sick sigh. Plagg ignored him as he gobbled happily through half a wheel of camembert. The kid thought he was subtle. He was not. But Plagg wasn’t going to call him out on it. The kwami of destruction had always hated the secret identity dance, but even he had to admit this latest development was beyond hilarious. It was clear they both knew. They were trying to pretend they didn’t and their attempts at subterfuge were as adorable as a litter of eight-week-old mewling kittens. He could have put Adrien out of his misery by admitting he had no intention of telling Fu. Plagg liked his kid and had no desire to start over with a fresh face. Adrien needed him. Plus, who else would be able to provide such high quality cheese day in and day out? But that wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining as putting his chosen needlessly on edge. “Do you know?” “Do I know what, Plagg?” Adrien repeated absently. The kid didn’t even look up from his phone. The dratted devices were the worst invention humans had ever come up with. “Don’t play dumb!” Plagg pushed. “It’s obvious that you know.” Adrien looked straight up at him then, eyebrows furrowed in a puzzled frown. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Plagg had to admit that his kid was a better actor than Tikki’s, but he wasn’t fooled. Not remotely. “You know what? Nevermind.” Plagg knew Adrien wasn’t going to admit it. Nor should he. In a weird way, the kwami was proud of him. Because his chosen wasn’t always good at going after what he wanted, especially when doing so required him to break the rules or expectations placed on him even when those rules or expectations were unrealistic or unfair. And if anyone deserved a little more happiness and a little more freedom, it was Adrien. Feeling pleasantly stuffed, Plagg curled up into a tiny ball on Adrien’s pillow fully intending on taking a four-hour nap. But his attempts at sleep were constantly interrupted by the soft love sick sighs Adrien released whenever he was going through his Ladybug album. “Would you cut it out?” Plagg demanded. “I’m trying to sleep!”

“Cut what out, Plagg?” Adrien repeated absently. “I wasn’t saying anything.”

“No, you weren’t. You saying something would have been easier to ignore,” the cat god groused.

“I have to tell her how I feel,” Adrien thought out loud, his attention still solely focused on that blasted electronic rectangle. “Do you think she likes me?”

“Aren’t you tired of letting Ladybug break your heart?” Plagg said, his voice flat with a total lack of enthusiasm.

“Not Ladybug. Marinette!” Adrien corrected rapidly.

Plagg whipped around to Adrien’s shoulders. Sure enough, Adrien was pouring through Marinette’s Instagram feed, and not his Ladybug album.

“Marinette? Since when? I thought Marinette was ‘just a friend.’”

“I did too, Plagg! But she’s been so different this week! She’s not nervous, and she’s so creative and quick on her feet. She’s amazing and I think I love her.”

“What about Ladybug?” Plagg couldn’t help but tease even though he knew exactly what had happened to Adrien’s crush on Ladybug.

“I’ll always love Ladybug, but she’s made it clear that she’s interested in someone else. Oh my god!” Adrien whirled around from his stupid screen and finally looked at him. “She likes someone else! Plagg, who do you think that is?”

Plagg was proud of himself for not laughing. “What does it matter? I thought you liked Marinette now,” he mocked.

“R-right. Do you think Marinette likes someone? Me, maybe?” Adrien’s eyes trembled with sudden vulnerability.

“I can’t believe you have to ask.”

“She doesn’t like me, does she? I mean, why would she? Why was she always so nervous around me before? Did she hate me?”

“You don’t give me enough cheese for this,” the kwami grumbled.

Plagg was way too old to deal with this nonsense. Teenagers drove him absolutely bonkers. All humans were too short lived to understand that the things they stressed about did not matter! Even Fu, who had lived almost two hundred years at this point, was subject to making mountains out of molehills. Hence, all this secret identity nonsense.

But teenagers were by far the worst! Their brains were fully developed, but they didn’t have the benefit of enough mistakes under their belts to appreciate how ridiculous their so-called problems were. Plagg loved his kid. He really did. He could admit this to himself if no one else, but he wasn’t Tikki. He didn’t have her love of mentoring or never ending sweet patience. He was the God of Destruction for Pete’s sake.

In that moment, Adrien’s phone buzzed.

“Akuma,” the boy reported.

“Thank God!” Plagg muttered.   ...

Chat Noir landed in a dramatic crouch on the familiar school rooftop next to Ladybug. The akuma was terrorizing the school courtyard below, destroying all the decorations they had spent the previous day putting up.

“What have we got today, Milady?” he asked.

“Pretty standard stuff!” I guess someone was upset that their class didn’t win the decorating contest. “Follow my lead?”

“Always,” he said with a grin.

Somehow, watching Ladybug in action today was more impressive than ever. He admired the precision of every acrobatic flip. She moved just as much as needed to dodge the Christmas ornament projectiles, and not a centimeter more. With her lucky charm in hand (a red wreath dotted in black), her eyes rapidly shifted taking in every detail in the courtyard. He could almost see the wheels in her head turning as she formulated a bizarre plan. He didn’t know how she did it!

He grinned. He was so lost on this girl, now more than ever. His old feelings for Ladybug now felt insignificant to what he was feeling now. He had been a teenager with a crush!

Which wasn’t to say his feelings hadn’t been real. He definitely had a crush on her, but he hadn’t really known the full context of who she was. Not before this morning.

Marinette was so much more human than Ladybug. She had insecurities and struggles, depth and dimension. All of which made her more inspiring, not less. She was more real now and he was more in love than ever!

“Chat! Focus!” She called to him.

“Right!” he shouted back, pulling himself together.

“I need you to lure her into the open.”

“On it!” He dove into action. The akuma was hunkered down behind one of the staircases. A quick cataclysm turned the akuma’s makeshift barricade into dust, and suddenly she had nowhere to hide.

Ladybug had the festive akuma lassoed into her wreath another fifteen seconds later. It took even less time for her to identify the akumatized object, and purify the corrupted butterfly.

When she offered her fist in their usual victory celebration, he found himself disappointed that the encounter had wrapped up so quickly. He wasn’t ready to part. He would have to wait until tomorrow to see her again.

“Recharge and meet up at the normal spot?” She invited when he met her fist with his own, as if reading his mind.

He grinned. “Race you there!”

He watched her duck out of sight before he followed suit. He handed Plagg his slice of cheese, wishing they didn’t have to hold up this pretense of needing to separate to recharge or transform. He wondered what it would be like to see Ladybug transform.

She beat him there. No wonder, with how lost he got in his own head.

“What’s up Bugaboo?” He asked, as he took a seat beside her. He wasn’t sure how much Plagg was privy to while transformed, but he figured it was better to err on the side of caution.

“Oh! I… ummm… it’s just been awhile since we got to just hang out.” A slight breeze sent the red ribbons in her hair fluttering in the brisk winter air.

He grinned. A whole three hours, in fact. But he wasn’t one to complain about getting to spend more time with his lady.

“I love the view up here!” She exclaimed, gesturing to the monolithic evenly spaced buildings that met the clearest blue sky. Sprinkles of green foliage between the structures and moving people that looked like colorful dots breathed in life to the landscape. It was a view he probably never would have seen outside a photograph had he never been gifted with a miraculous.

And that he got to share it with her...

“I’ve always felt so free up here,” Adrien agreed. “My civilian life has a lot of structure and restrictions. I’m always expected to uphold appearances.”

“That’s why you’ve always loved being Chat Noir,” Ladybug observed, her blue eyes looking right at him.

“You have no idea!” Adrien laughed. “When I found the miraculous that first day, I was so excited I transformed before Plagg had explained anything.”

She giggled. “I remember you wasting that first cataclysm on a goal post.”

“Yeah,” he mumbled, trying to smother his rising embarrassment.

“I had to be coaxed into it,” she admitted. “I screamed and tried to squash Tikki thinking she was an actual bug.”

He laughed. He could picture it so clearly now in her pink room lit up with paper lanterns and fairy lights.

“I didn’t want it. I tried to say no,” Ladybug confided, turning her suddenly solemn gaze back towards the city.

Chat froze. She had never told him this. And he felt cold at the thought that he might never have met her or never seen her again after that first day.

“What changed your mind?” he asked, watching her as she fidgeted under his curious gaze.  

“You.”

He couldn’t breathe. Didn’t she know she already had his heart? She couldn’t just say things like that.

“Do you ever regret it?” He asked a moment later. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know if the answer was yes.

“It’s definitely hard sometimes. But how can I regret it when it brought us to this moment?” she smiled at him as she shoulder bumped him.

He fell sideways a little at the unexpected contact, heat blazing once again across his face. His brain had long since stopped functioning.

“Who knows, maybe we would have met anyway and had a different moment,” he said with a huge grin.

“But it wouldn’t have been the same,” she said, looking into the distance. “We wouldn’t have shared this totally unique bizarre thing together. We wouldn’t have realized how much we trust one another.”

Her head fell gently onto his shoulder, and nervous energy buzzed along his skin. This day just kept getting better, and he didn’t want to screw this up.

“You’re right. It wouldn’t have been the same,” he agreed, and let his head lean onto hers.

He couldn’t have said how long they stayed that way in comfortable silence. But when they finally decided it was time to go home, the sun had long since set.

...

[sea-side-scribbles]

Fanfiction: Sympathy For A Downer

Pairing: Arthur Hastings/Nick Lightbearer

Rating: M

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22737214/chapters/54456913#workskin

Chapter 2:

Thanks to the tea, Nick Lightbearer felt much more frisky than before when made his way to the church St. Genesis. The tea had been mixed up with a whole bunch of other herbs but he didn’t mind it that much. It seemed to be normal these days. Maybe some new fashion he had missed. 

What he really wondered about was that downer, Arthur Hastings. He wasn’t at all what he imagined a downer to be. Sure, he acted crazy, even suicidal. Nick still hoped that most of their odd adventure was only the result of his dizzy brain producing nightmares. Without all that, Arthur sort of was just a normal human being who wished to fit back in, what made his fate both touching and unsettling. If all downers felt like this, why did nobody help them? 

The thought gave Nick such an uneasy feeling in his stomach that he popped another Joy, just in case. He had to greet his fellow men with a happy face after all, as a mere act of courtesy. Soon, the substance washed away his stupid sorrows and he started to see it all differently. It wasn’t the first time he got something wrong after all, it didn’t have to be so bad. Why would it be? He even laughed at his ridiculous thoughts. But the downer…he could help him. There was nothing bad about that.

When he reached the church St. Genesis he solemnly knocked at the door. 

„Open up, I’m the bringer of the light!“

The old lady behind the door squeaked with pleasure. 

„Oh dear, Mr. Lightbearer in person! We’re so happy to have you here!“ She opened the door and Nick strode in, watching the players cheer and wave.

He didn’t expect anything less. Bathing in their excitement, he walked through the rows of players who all wore black rubber suits. 

As if that helped to ease the pain, Nick thought gloatingly. 

He loved this game, at least as a caller. He loved how everyone hung on his every word, how they jumped when he demanded it. And how they got zapped, when they didn’t obey. And still, everyone was having a lot of fun. Why couldn’t it always be so easy?

„Are you ready to play?“, he shouted at the cheering crowd, noticing that his voice sounded smashing today.

„Oh my god, it’s really him!“ 

„Nick, I love you! You’re my hero!“

Nick let his gaze wander around the crowd until he found a rather cute kitten in the corner to the right. He winked at her and she almost blacked out at that.

„Alright, 

Music on! 

Zapper on! 

Simon says the game begins!“

Nick started the game with his favorite call, because using it at the beginning meant that everyone would follow it. 

„Simon says, slap your face!“ 

It looked hilarious.

He was even more overwhelmed when the first loser went down under a massive flash of lighting that was accompanied by a fulminating thunder. This church was much better equipped than the little clubs he used to play in back in the day. 

After a few rounds he noticed that the players were real professionals, so this was going to be a long session. Usually it meant to be even more fun for him, but this time it could be that the winner was too worn out after this. He had to fasten things up.

„You’re fantastic, guys! I love this game! I love you! Do you love me?“

The players screamed across each other to display their affection.

„Bow down to me“, he demanded and indeed some people bowed, eager to show how much they loved their idol.

„I’m sorry my babies, I didn’t say Simon Says“, he apologizes with false compassion and enjoyed the great thunderbolt that almost blinded him.

Later a woman didn’t step on her own foot in time. Nick made a little dance when she got zapped and gained applause for it. If only someone made photos right now. He hadn’t felt so great in a long time and he wanted his fans to remember this day.

„Do you have fun, guys? No tricks this time!“, he shouted and held up his hands to prove that he wasn’t pressing any buttons to zap someone. The players jumped even higher, cheering and screaming louder. They should be really exhausted soon. Nick saw that their concentration faded and it didn’t take long until the next one went down dramatically. The smell of burned rubber filled the air and more and more zapped losers tossed about on the ground, moaning in pain.

The end of the game was near. 

Only three players were left and the kitten from the right corner was still there, even if she was already staggering. Nick guessed she couldn’t make it for long anymore. 

For his last rounds, he chose a row of harmless calls to make the players feel save again, until he sprang the trap. 

Two fell for it.

It was the girl and someone on the other side of the room who were running to nowhere fast.

„I didn’t say Simon Says“, he chanted, pointing at the two losers and letting the last bolt of lightning strike through the church. When the smoke faded away the kitten was still standing upright, looking around in surprise while everyone else was on the ground.

„And we have a winner! Yeah baby, it’s you! You’ve been fabulous!“

She could hardly believe her luck, screamed of joy and clapped her hands together while the organist played a cheery tune and the old lady announced her, Melissa Dupree, as the winner. No one questioned it as long as everyone was jolly.

She radiated with happiness when Nick presented her with the big shiny medal in the following ceremony, for that she had replaced the rubber suit with a colorful close-fitting dress.

„It was a pleasure to play with you guys! See you next time! Bye, bye“, Nick bowed out, drowning the noise of the loud moaning losers on the ground, a quite satisfying sight after such a great game. The winner was staring at him with wide eyes when he offered her his arm to lead her out of the church. She beamed brighter than her medal when they promenaded along the plastered rainbow but she also had a lot of questions.

„You did that for me, didn’t you?“, she said in a tone that told Nick she was melting away. „How did you do this?“

„Well…I just have a way with light, or lightning, if needed“, he answered mysteriously, making her giggle and wagger her finger at him.

„You’re a naughty boy, Nicky.“

He took the hand she held up, feeling her raging pulse.

„Forgive me luv, but I just couldn’t do this to you.“

To reinforce this he gently kissed her shivering hand, what made her moan with pleasure.

„Believe me, you deserve it anyway. You’ve been amazing until the end.“

„You really mean it, don’t you?“, she whispered, looking at him with her dark blue eyes that looked even bigger with the shiny white mask framing them. Their eyes met.

„I swear, I never cheated at Simon Says before. It’s a sacrilege!“, he pretended, slapping his hand on his forehead like he was really upset. Then he came closer and whispered: „You won’t tell anyone, won’t you?“

She giggled again.

„Huh…I can be a real chatterbox sometimes“, she said playfully and eyed him up. „Not sure if I can keep this a secret without any help.“

Nick liked her more and more.

„Let me help you, kitten. Come with me and we’ll have a lovely day.“ 

With that, he put his arm around her and she rested her head on his chest. 

He led her right to the Avalon Hotel, where the Wonderland Suite was waiting for them. 

He didn’t bring anyone into his house anymore because it kept being overrun by unannounced visitors. The suite at least had a secret exit he could use without almost killing himself. In addition, it made quite an impression to the fans when he brought them into the most expensive hotel in Wellington Wells that had everything: the red and golden carpets and furnishings, reverently bowing service staff that saluted him whenever he passed and finally his well-spaced ultramodern lounge in the suite.

Also Melissa stood there with a gaping mouth. „It’s so pretty.“

„It’s all for the two of us, baby,“ he purred and pulled her closer, what caused her to moan again with relish. „Oh Nicky…“

He silenced her with a lustful kiss and she leaned into it, wrapping her arms around him, made him feel how much she wanted him. Needed him. And he needed her. 

Long before they reached his bed her onetime perfect beehive hairdo was completely messed up, and his hair was probably too. Nick laid her down on the mattress and kneeled down at the edge of the bed, feeling her greedy stare on him. He raised himself up, clasping his hands behind his head.

„Do you love me, baby?“, he asked dramatically, presenting himself like an exhibition piece, ready to be judged.

„Yes, Nick…“ she sighted and came closer, her fingers touched his chest, making the cloth of his suit rustle promisingly. „You’re my hero…“ 

Now he shivered.

„Do you want me?“, he whispered in her ear and the started pulling at his jacket.

„Shag me, Nick Lightbearer! I’m all yours!“

That was what he wanted to hear. He grabbed her, pressed her into the mattress and 

everything the staff ever witnessed from this day were their screams that longed until the day passed into the night.

Nick woke up with a massive headache the next morning. He found himself lying on the sofa in the lounge in a rather uncomfortable position that made his muscles ache. The blonde girl lied next to him, still half undressed and snoring so loudly that he wondered how he had managed to fall asleep with her around. He clumsily crouched out of the lounge, not without tripping over empty bottles and spilled out pills. He missed the edge of the sofa and tumbled on the floor, now remembering why he liked the fluffy carpets so much.

Cold water..he needed cold water right now.

When he proceeded to stumble into the bathroom he felt his stomach turn badly and because he couldn’t run anywhere he let it all out right were he stood, before he moved on. He managed to get into the bathroom by clutching the doorframe and shoving himself in. When he was finally inside, he reached the tap at the third try, achieving that the ice cold water pattered right on his head. He jumped backwards, spluttering and cussing and dashed against the sink.

Now he was somewhat awake, he decided. And he was done with cold water for today. He somehow succeeded to turn off the tap without drowning himself and then he started to search the cabinet above the sink for his supply of Strawberry Joy. 

He couldn’t start the day without it. 

A lot of trash fell out and startled him before he finally found his pills. He greedily swallowed one and closed his eyes, waiting for the stimulating effect. He knew that after such a long night the substance needed more time to spread in his system, but eventually all the pain and anger vanished behind a cloud of pleasure. When he opened his eyes again the room glowed in the most beautiful colors. He could even look at his own face in the mirror again.

„Lovely day for it“, he greeted himself with a smashing smile.

His legs were still a bit wobbly when he walked back into the lounge. 

The girl in his bed…there was something about her…something important. 

Shit…why didn’t he make any notes? Or did he?

Nick searched his crumpled pieces of paper wich were filled with confusing words that were supposed to become lyrics someday. He could hardly read them because a big metal plate on the table was glowing in the sunshine and blinding him. He was about to throw the weird thing out of the window when he suddenly remembered something. 

The medal! Simon Says! 

He wanted it, but why? To pay his bills? No, who would take this as payment? 

Shit. Maybe he’d remember when he passed by the church again.

So Nick took the shiny medal and left his suite, wondering about what could’ve been his plan yesterday…if it had been yesterday. 

How did he even walk all the way to the church without being spotted by half the town? The moment he stepped out of the Avalon he was free to be assaulted. He was lucky that it was still early in the morning and not many people were already out there.

Nick sneaked along the side roads or hid behind newspapers, knowing how ridiculous he looked. He wouldn’t do that again soon. 

It was unavoidable that a constable caught him creeping around.

„Holy moly, Nick Lightbearer in person, in the middle of the street, unguarded!“, he shouted out before Nick could stop him.

„For heaven’s sake Constable, you wanna drum up the whole town?“

The bobby silenced and eyed him suspiciously.

„What are you doing out here anyway? It’s not save to leave your house without your personal guard“, he asked lifting an eyebrow.

„You know…just…taking a walk…it’s a wonderful morning“, Nick answered and faked a smile. He didn’t fool the bobby.

„You seem to be a bit nervous, Mr. Lightbearer. Did you take your Joy?“

Nick tensed. One pill probably wasn’t enough in his condition. Still, he decided to do something he usually never did. He pretended that everything was alright and thereby refused to pop another Joy. How was he supposed to remember the last day after all, if he took more? Could’ve stayed in bed just as well. But of course he looked even more suspicious now.

„Are you sure? I know better, but some people could mistake you for a downer“, the Constable said half jokingly and half warningly.

Nick affected a laugh.

„A downer, me! Ridiculous!“ He was serious about this. He didn’t want to be a downer at all. The word alone felt like a whiplash. But this time something was different.

„Downer…downer…“, he muttered to himself, as if the word wanted to tell him something.

„Are you alright Mr. Lightbearer?“, the bobby sounded concerned.

Suddenly Nick jumped up.

„Yeah, that’s it!“

The downer he met yesterday in the tunnels! He wanted the medal!

Excited about his discovery he stared into the eyes of the bobby until he realized what he was doing.

„I mean..uh…I better pop another Joy. You can never have to much Joy, right? Lovely day for it!“

He abandoned the confused constable to go for the next mood booth and get another pill. Now he was certain that he won’t forget again. This day became better and better. 

Now he also remembered how he had walked to the church without being seen. Some time later he entered the underground tunnels, thinking that this was actually not a bad place to hide. Sure, it was a bit dirty and not very homey but he could do something about that. This downer was quiet smart. What was his name again? Albert? Andrew? It was something with „A“ at least. 

Nick kept entertaining himself with his dizzy thoughts until he came to the spot where he wanted to meet the downer again.

[badchoicesposts]

Don’t Dream It’s Over Chapter 9

Series Summary: Liam and Ali thought that their relationship was perfect, but their whole world came crashing down when Constantine called him back to Cordonia. Four years later they meet again at Liam’s bachelor party, determined to make things between them work even if it isn’t always easy.

In this AU, Liam and MC (Ali Moonessar) dated for a year in New York while Leo was still crown prince. They broke up when Constantine asked Liam to come back to Cordonia, but they meet again at Liam’s bachelor party before the social season. The story will contain flashbacks, which will be italicized, of their relationship and follow them as they try to navigate the season with Ali as a suitor. I’ve messed around with the timeline a bit so that it fits the story better. I’ve also added in a few OCs of my own.

Pairing: Liam x MC (Ali Moonessar)

Word Count: 4,401

DISCLAIMER: I’ve changed up the timeline of the social season a bit to fit my story better. I’ve based it off of some research I did on the British Social Season. Some of the dialogue, especially Olivia’s, was taken directly from Book 1 Chapter 3 with a few changes made to fit my story. Olivia is one of my favorite characters, but for the sake of the story I’ve written her the way she was at the beginning of the game so that we can see her open up to MC later.

Taglist: @flowerpowell​, @kingliam2019, @ao719, @emceesynonymroll, @hopefulmoonobject, @dcbbw, @qammh-blog, @liamxs-world, @drakesensworld, @i-only-signed-up-for-fanfiction, @timmagickfrog-deactivated201908, @lauradowning29

A/N: This is my first time ever posting a fic. Please let me know if you enjoyed it and would like to read more. I thrive on validation, lol. Thanks for reading!

Catch Up: Masterlist

Ali could feel the eyes on her as she made her way down the large staircase. One of her hands held her mask over her face, and the other held the side of her dress up away from her feet. She was focusing on not tripping harder than she should have had to and tried her best to keep her breathing even as she met Maxwell at the bottom of the stairs. 

“That was great!” Maxwell said, holding his arm out to her.

He began to lead her around the room, stopping every few minutes to introduce her to some noble or another. Ali greeted everyone she met with polite smiles and tried her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. She could tell that they all recognized her from the bachelor party photos, but they at least managed to hold back their questions, if not their judgmental stares. Maxwell disentangled their arms and pulled out his phone as they began to walk away from the countess of a place Ali couldn’t remember the name of.

“I have to go talk to Bertrand for a second, so just mingle,” he said, looking down at the text message he had just received from his brother.

“Mingle! I don’t know how to mingle!” she said back. 

“You’ll be fine. I know it, now go!” he said, pushing her forward. 

She scanned the room, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she tried to figure out what to do. There were a few people that Maxwell had already introduced her too, but she didn’t feel comfortable enough talking to any of them on her own. She spotted Hana across the room standing with a few other ladies and made her way over to them. 

“Hello again!” 

“Hey,” Ali said, mentally scolding herself for being so socially awkward. 

“So what do you think of the masquerade?” Hana asked.

“I’ve never been to an event like this so it’s a bit intimidating, but also wonderful at the same time,” she admitted.

“I’m glad you think so. I think you’ll fit in well here.”

“I’m sure galas like this are probably second nature to you at this point,” Ali said conversationally.

“When you’ve been to as many as I have they can lose their charm, unless you find the right companions!” she said, a kind smile on her face. 

Hana caught someone’s eye across the room and excused herself, once again leaving Ali alone. She had just spotted Drake and was about to walk over when a young woman in a black dress approached her. 

“Lady Alison?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s me,” Ali said, lowering her mask so that she could properly have a conversation with her. 

“It’s so nice to meet you! I’m Elizabeth but you can call me Lizzie.” 

“It’s nice to meet you too, Lizzie,” she said politely. 

“Oh, right, sorry. You’re probably wondering who I am,” she said with a laugh.

“I’m Ben’s twin sister. I’m one of Liam’s suitors, too. They’ve both told me all about you!” 

“Oh! I didn’t know he had a twin. But, I’ve also only met him once, so we haven’t had much time to talk.”

Elizabeth had a genuinely nice energy about her, and Ali found herself immediately comfortable around her. It was the same way she had felt with Maxwell. 

“Of course he wouldn’t mention his twin sister. It’s not like we shared a womb or anything,” she joked, causing the two of them to laugh, “So how are you feeling?”

“A little nervous. This is a lot to take in. But, I am excited,” Ali responded, feeling as if she could speak honestly.

“That’s good. I’m sure you’re excited to see Liam.”

“Oh-um. Yeah, I am,” Ali fumbled with her words awkwardly and fought back a smile. 

Even though Lizzie seemed nice, she wasn’t sure if it would be weird or not to talk about Liam to another one of the suitors. 

“Oh, don’t worry, Liam and I have an arrangement,” she said, when she noticed Ali’s discomfort.

“Arrangement?” 

“As you know, each of the noble houses are supposed to put forth a suitor, so being an unmarried woman in my twenties means that I’m expected to join the season,” she began with a roll of her eyes, “But, I have no interest in Liam. Growing up he was always like a brother to me, and even if I did see him romantically, I could never be with a man who was in love with someone else.”

A bush crept onto Ali’s face at the suggestive smirk the other woman gave her. 

“So, Liam and I spoke, and we agreed to show as little interest in each other as possible. Enough so that everyone will recognize that our house put forth a suitor, but too little for me to be anything remarkable or outstanding in the competition.”

“I know that it is a competition, but it still seems so strange to think of it that way,” Ali said. 

Lizzie furrowed her brows, and a sympathetic smile graced her elegant features. She had very expressive eyebrows.

“I know it must seem strange. Liam being a prince probably complicates things for you, but he seems to think that you’re indestructible and can handle anything, and I’ve learned the hard way that he’s almost always right,” she said. 

“I know! I hate that about him,” Ali said with a playful roll of her eyes. 

The two women laughed and continued speaking for a few minutes before being interrupted by Maxwell. 

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you,” he said, walking over to the two of them. 

He gave Lizzie a quick smile, and she shot him finger guns in return. Ali quickly realized that they would be extremely fun to hang out with at the same time. 

“The Prince is here. I hope you’re ready to greet him,” Maxwell said. 

He led the two of them over to the line of women waiting to see Liam, and Ali closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath in attempts to calm her nerves. As they waited in line, Ali was once again taken aback by the whole situation. There so many women here. She wasn’t sure how many of them were actually suitors, but that didn’t make the situation any less intimidating. They were all tall, slim, and beautiful. Ali definitely stuck out when she was grouped in with them. Liam could truly have anyone he wanted to be his wife, but for some reason he still wanted her here, and she couldn’t figure out why.

Liam’s thoughts, however, were the complete opposite to hers. He greeted the people who approached him with a smile, but he only had eyes for her. He had caught a glimpse of her from across the room, and that alone had been enough to get his pulse racing. His breath caught in his throat as she stepped toward him.

“Prince Liam,” she said with a playful smile. 

“Ali, you look…” he trailed off, trying to find the right words.

“Wow, that bad, huh?” she teased. 

Liam smiled and brought her hand up to his lips to press a kiss to her knuckles. He lowered their hands, but did not loosen his grip.

“You look beautiful. How are you?” 

Ali sighed. 

“I’m not going to lie to you. I’m kind of tired of people asking me that question. That’s the third time tonight,” she said. 

Although there was a playful edge to her voice, Liam could tell that a part of her was serious.  

“How are you? I know none of this is new to you, but it’s probably still a lot to take in. I mean, everyone is here for you tonight,” she asked, genuinely concerned. 

A soft smile grace Liam’s features, and he squeezed her hand tighter in his. Ali had been the only person tonight to ask him about his feelings. He probably would have been surprised by the question if he didn’t know her so well. Before he could answer, however, someone cleared their throat loudly behind him. Bastien, who had been standing a few feet behind Liam, subtly nodded at their connected hands and Liam was forced to let go. 

“We really aren’t in New York anymore,” Ali said sadly. 

“No, we’re not.”

“I hope you enjoy your night, Liam,” she said, bowing her head in respect and stepping back.

He gave her one last smile and turned to meet the next person in line. 

“He looked so happy,” Maxwell beamed when she had returned to his side. 

“Yeah, he did. So what now?” she asked. 

“I know you’ve already met Lizzie, and I saw you talking to Hana earlier, but what you really need to do is spend time with some of the other suitors. They’re your competition, but you may be able to make some of them your allies,” he said.

This was the second time tonight that she was reminded that this was actually a competition. Something about the fact that they were competing for Liam’s affections didn’t completely sit right with her. 

“Right, I guess I can do that. Wish me luck,” she said. 

She walked outside to where Hana and the other ladies were getting drinks from an ornate table display. She shot a quick smile at Charlie, who had been standing nearby with another member of the guard, and he winked as she walked by. 

“So, you’re the one that everyone’s talking about.” 

“Here we go,” Ali mumbled to herself, as she approached the red-haired woman who had just spoken. 

She faked a smile and tried to keep an even voice. 

“Yeah, I guess that’s me. I’m Ali,” she said, smiling at her and the other ladies.

She could feel everyone’s eyes on her, taking her in curiously and in disbelief.

“I’m Lady Olivia Vanderwall Nevrakis, Duchess of Lythikos,” she said, looking her up and down. 

“It’s nice to meet you Lady Olivia.”

Ali didn’t know very much about Olivia. The only thing she was sure about was that she and Liam were close childhood friends. 

“Yes, it’s very nice to meet you as well. You know, I remember the first time Liam left you in New York. He was so heartbroken when he returned home, but I made sure to keep him distracted,” she said with a smirk, “What I can’t figure out is why he didn’t leave you there this time.”

Ali was completely taken aback by how nasty her words were.

“Excuse me?” she said, still shocked. 

“I mean, you should know by now that regardless of what happened between you two in the past, you don’t really have a chance with him. You may have been able to keep his attention when it was just the two of you, but you can’t keep up with all of the ladies here,” Olivia said. 

“I’m sure that all of the ladies here are amazing and talented, but I’m also confident in my own abilities,” Ali said calmly and in what she hoped was a convincing voice. 

Her self-confidence had been diminishing all afternoon, and she may not have much at the moment, but she knew how to fake it. She had been able to do so believably as well because Olivia seemed to be further irritated by her words.

“We’re from the finest families in Europe, and we’ve been preparing our whole lives to marry a prince. You can’t just waltz in here at the last minute and steal him from us. Kiara here is the daughter of a diplomat and fluent in ten languages,” she said, gesturing to a woman with brown skin and shiny black hair.

“Penelope can track her lineage back through six hundred years of royalty,” she said, gesturing to another woman with dark hair in a navy blue dress.

“It’s an honor to represent my people here,” Penelope said. 

“Even Hana’s been training to learn the courtly graces of conversation and seduction,” Olivia finished.

A mixture of confusion and gratitude crossed Hana’s face as if she were surprised to hear Olivia’s praise and not sure if it was actually a compliment. 

“If anyone’s got the inside track with Prince Liam, it’s you, Olivia. You’ve known him his entire life,” Penelope spoke up. 

A satisfied smile crossed Olivia’s face as if she had been waiting for someone to mention this since the beginning of the conversation. 

“It’s true. We grew up together, and before his older brother abdicated, it was just assumed that Liam and I would be married one day. I have no intention of losing him to you,” she said, still smiling. 

Ali knew that Olivia was trying her best to get under her skin, and so far she was succeeding. But, there was no way in hell that she was about to show her that. She knew that Liam had never had romantic feelings for Olivia while they were growing up, so her comment about them getting married before Leo abdicated was completely false. Or at least that was what Liam had told her back then. After her earlier comment about keeping him distracted when he came home, Ali had been wondering if their relationship had changed. 

“Although, if we’re being honest, those pictures did make it seem that Ali and the prince are very close, Olivia. Maybe even closer than the two of you,” Kiara said.

Ali clenched her jaw at the mention of the pictures, and Olivia tensed at Kiara’s implication that her relationship with Liam wasn’t serious. 

“Liam and I have been close since we were children. I doubt the short-lived fling he had with some American commoner could ever compare to that,” she said, straightening her spine and holding her head high. 

Ali wanted to comment that a year long relationship and four years of pining after each other wasn’t considered a short-lived fling, but she didn’t think it was appropriate to reveal that much of their relationship. It was obvious that everyone here had some idea of their relationship, but they didn’t need any details.

“I don’t doubt the closeness of your relationship, Olivia. Liam always spoke so fondly of you,” she said. 

“He has?” Olivia seemed shocked for a second, but she quickly recovered and plastered a smirk on her face, “I mean- of course he has.”

“Oh, yeah! He always said you were like a sister to him,” Ali said, an exaggeratingly sweet smile on her face. 

Olivia sputtered for a second, her entire face going red. She took a deep breath and smiled once again. However, this time it was easy to see the malice behind it. 

“You may be confident now, but I’m sure you’ll learn your place here eventually,” she said.

“And where do you think my place here is exactly?” Ali asked, her left hand was clenched into a fist at her side, but she made sure not to raise her voice. 

“Oh, somewhere below Penelope and Kiara, but you know what? Probably above Hana. Though I’m surprised Hana’s here at all after what I heard about her last attempt at an engagement,” Olivia said, happily. 

Hana’s jaw dropped, and Ali felt terrible at the turn of events. She didn’t think that provoking Olivia would turn her against someone else.

“Olivia!” Hana exclaimed angrily.

“We all know that your family will throw you at any available bachelor if it means you can climb another rung on the social ladder. But, honestly, it’s a bit much to expect Prince Liam to accept ‘damaged goods’,” Olivia said vindictively. 

Ali watched as Hana’s face turned red and her eyes filled with tears. 

“Excuse me,” she said, turning her head and making to walk away. 

“Olivia, you’re acting like a child, not a queen. If that’s the way you carry yourself I wouldn’t trust you with child proof scissors, let alone a kingdom,” Ali said. 

Hana, who had stopped a few paces away when she began talking, shot her a grateful smile and continued on. Olivia’s face had dropped completely as she frantically searched for something to say. 

“Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m going after Hana.” 

Ali caught Charlie’s eye as she approached the door leading into the palace and stopped briefly as she walked by him. 

“How bad do you think I messed that up,” she mumbled under her breath so only he could hear.

“Messed it up? Babe, that was brilliant,” he whispered back, a large smile on his face as he nodded her along.

Ali smiled, glad that Liam’s friends were both kind and supportive of her. She quickly followed after Hana, knocking softly on the door she had disappeared behind. 

“Hey, I thought you could use a friend, and maybe a hug,” she said, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind her.

Hana smiled sadly as a few tears fell down her cheeks. She leaned into Ali’s arms for a moment before pulling away and wiping at her eyes. The two took a seat next to each other on the bed, and Ali’s shoulders slumped as she hung her head. She was completely ashamed of her actions. 

“I also wanted to apologize,” she began, “I never thought that provoking Olivia would cause her to lash out at you. She just got under my skin, and I didn’t think before I spoke. You never should have gotten hurt because of that.” 

“I don’t blame you. Olivia has a way of doing that. She was probably going to bring it up eventually anyway. The problem is that she’s right,” Hana said, still sniffling slightly.

Hana proceeded to tell her about the groom pulling out of her previous engagement and her parents’ attempts to find her another husband.

“I thought I was far away enough that I could escape my past, but it looks like the rumors have followed me here. I guess you know a thing or two about rumors, too,” she said. 

“Yeah, and I was worried about that coming into this. I was worried about a lot of things coming into this, but earlier today I realized that I’m already here, you are too. So, we should just make the best of it,” Ali said.

“You’re right. I still just wish that Olivia hadn’t said that in front of everyone,” she replied. 

“I’m sorry that she did. But, I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to open up to me personally. Besides, Olivia saying something vindictive doesn’t take away from what a great person you are,” she said truthfully. 

“You haven’t known me for very long. What makes you think that I’m a good person,” Hana asked, wiping away a few more tears. 

“Let’s just call it a feeling. You saw me in the boutique and realized who I was, but you didn’t judge me or say anything impolite. You didn’t ask any inappropriate questions or make assumptions. You were nice and offered to help me. Then, earlier I told you I was nervous, and instead of tearing me down further, you encouraged me. You’re a good person, Hana, and no one can take that away from you.”

“Thank you for saying that and for listening,” Hana said, smiling genuinely for the first time since they separated from the other ladies. 

The two shared one last hug, and Hana retouched her makeup quickly before they returned back to the ballroom together. Maxwell greeted Hana with a polite smile before pulling Ali away.

“Liam’s been looking for you. He’s speaking to Lady Penelope right now, but you should try to get a dance in with him,” he said quietly. 

Ali walked over to where the two of them stood and caught the end of their conversation. 

“Excuse me, may I cut in?” she asked politely.

“If you must.”

“Did she say fifth golden poodle statue?” she whispered incredulously as the other woman walked away.

“Yes, she did,” he said, repressing a laugh as he led her to the middle of the dancefloor. “Penelope has a bit of an affinity for poodles.”

Ali decided against commenting, not wanting to judge the other woman without knowing her. She got into the waltzing position and smiled at him nervously.

“Liam, I’m not going to lie to you. I’m not the best at waltzing. I think I drove Bertrand crazy while he was trying to teach me. You’re also a lot taller than Maxwell,” she said as they got into position and she realized how high she had to lift her arm to rest her hand on his shoulder. 

“Just follow my lead,” he said, reassuringly. 

As the orchestra began to play she could feel eyes on her back and stiffened her body. 

“Just relax,” he said again.

Liam began to seamlessly guide her across the ballroom, and she matched all of his steps easily. 

“I guess I was just dancing with the wrong partner,” she said, surprised at how well everything was going.

“Yes. In my experience, the person you’re dancing with can make all the difference in the world.”

He continued to lead her across the room, and before she knew it, he was waltzing her out of a set of french doors that led to an unoccupied balcony. 

“Smooth moves, Your Highness,” she said with a laugh.

He pulled her into his arms, and she rested her head on his chest as they stared out at the palace grounds in front of them. 

“It’s so beautiful here,” she mumbled.

“Yes, it is. The gardens… they were my mother’s vision,” he trailed off, a melancholy smile gracing his features.. 

Ali squeezed him tighter and smiled up at him. 

“I never stopped to think about how I would feel being here today without her.” 

“And how do you feel?” she asked, moving away so that she could properly look at his face but still staying close enough for his arms to remain around her. 

“It makes me want this for us all that much more. My father has had three chances at love. Once with Leo’s mother, then with mine, and now with Regina. All I want is one,” he said looking down at her with love in his eyes. 

Liam leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. 

“These gardens do bring back good memories as well,” he said, now smiling cheerfully again. 

“Oh, yeah?”

“One summer when I was eight, my father decided to throw me into the rigors of governing. He made me sit through hours of meetings for three weeks straight until I finally couldn’t take another minute. So, I decided to liberate myself. Drake and I stole a monster supply of chocolate from the kitchens, and we hid out in the gardens. We spent the evening making up games in the garden. Our best one was maze-tag,” he said. 

“Let me guess. You played tag in the maze?” she laughed. 

“It wasn’t the most cleverly named, but it could be quite fun. You lost if you were ‘it’ by the time the other person got to the center of the maze. We played until we were exhausted and finally used the last of our energy to climb up a tree. A tree that we promptly fell asleep in.”

“Oh, no!” she said, already figuring out how this story would end. 

“I only woke up when I fell off of a branch and landed flat on my back, swearing up a storm,” he said, laughing. 

“I bet little Liam and little Drake were adorable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any pictures of you as a child.”

“I’m sure Leo would be thrilled to remedy that,” he groaned.

Ali looked up at him with a smile. It felt nice to be with him again, but she knew that they couldn’t stay away from the ball for too long.

“We should get back,” she said softly. 

“I wish I could stay with you longer.” 

A wicked smile crossed her features, and he furrowed his brows in response. 

“The ball’s almost over. Meet me at the entry to the maze in twenty minutes?” she asked. 

“Why do I feel like Bastien’s job is about to become much harder?” he said, smiling just as widely. 

He waltzed her back into the ballroom and curtsied to him as the music ended. He smiled at her mischievously as they parted, and Ali was going to walk off of the dancefloor when Constantine approached her. 

“Lady Alison, may I have this dance,” he asked, as the chords to the last song of the night began to play. 

“Of course, Your Majesty,” she said in shock, taking his hand and allowing him to lead her back onto the middle of the dancefloor. 

Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and she saw Liam shoot them a questioning look. People were muttering excitedly around them, but she tried to tune them out as she and Constantine fell into an easy waltz. 

Constantine had a relaxed smile on his face and did not speak for a few moments. He simply led her around the room, and she tried her best to match his movements without letting her nerves get the best of her. 

“You are a very good dancer,” he finally complimented. 

“Thank you, sir. I’m sure the Duke of Ramsford would be elated to hear you say that,” she said with a smile. 

Constantine laughed good-naturedly. 

“I am pleasantly surprised at how well you carried yourself tonight. Anyone would assume that you came from noble blood. I’m also impressed that you didn’t let Madeleine fluster you at dinner last night,” he continued conversationally. 

“Thank you, sir. Being a leader is about handling the unexpected without being thrown off balance. It shows weakness if you can’t do that, and I have no intention of doing so. Especially when that was what the both of you were expecting from me,” she said, with a smirk. 

She had only met Constantine once, but she already felt as if she could read him to some degree. He smiled at her genuinely this time.

“Am I that easy to figure out?” he asked, amused.

“I know a thing or two about intimidation tactics,” she responded. 

The music came to an end, and she curtsied to the king before straightening up again. 

“I look forward to seeing more of you,” he said, as they parted ways.

[alj4890]

And Then I Met You

Part 20

What happens when the one you thought you were meant for turns out to be meant for someone else?

A\N Choices Fan Fiction with characters from The Royal Romance, Red Carpet Diaries, and Perfect Match.

@lxaah11 @alleksa16 @penguininapinktuxedo @blackcoffee85 @stopforamoment @cocomaxley @darley1101 @hopefulmoonobject   @krsnlove @littleblossom357   @annekebbphotography @gibbles82  @cora-nova @bella-ca  @hopelessromantic1352 . @sunflowergirl05 @desiree-0816 @greywitchyshots @lilyofchoices @emceesynonymroll @dr-nancy-house @lolablackwrites 

Masterlist

Part 20

St. Orella, Cordonia

"Timing is key." Holly whispered to Ryan.

"I know." He whispered back. He straightened his shoulders and fixed the cravat tied intricately.

Lauren walked carefully downstairs in the gown she would wear for the duel scene. She carried a heavy fur lined velvet cloak over her arm. Her golden brown hair was piled high on her head with silk ribbons and pins. 

"Well?" She performed a slow twirl before them once she was downstairs.

"It will do." Holly answered, causing Lauren to glare at her.

"If Thomas were here, he would have replied differently." Lauren informed her.

"You're right. He would have said, hurry up and take your mark!" Holly smiled up at Addison coming down with Chris. "The costumes are perfect!"

"Thank you! I am so happy at how they turned out." She reached over and brushed lint off of Chis's arm.

Holly's critical eye swept the three. As much as she loathed to admit it, Lauren did look perfect for the part. Her natural, stunning beauty seemed to be created for regency romances. Holly posed them before the large fireplace, snapping some pictures for Thomas's approval.

"I can't wait to hear his comments." Lauren said. "Though I do wonder if he will even get the photos."

"Why do you say that?" Chris asked.

"He hasn't answered his calls nor responded to text messages. It is either his phone has no signal wherever he is or someone is keeping him from answering."

Holly bit her tongue to keep from snapping at her. Addison on the other hand casually shrugged. "He answered me."

"What? When?!" Lauren narrowed her eyes.

"Hmm. First time was yesterday after the interview. Then after dinner when I needed approval for a color change for one of Ryan's jackets." She turned big, innocent blue eyes to the starlet. "Why Lauren, you look like you don't feel well."

Lauren's face was nearly magenta. "He answered your calls?"

"Of course." Addison responded in a chipper tone.

Holly kept her head down as she sent the photos, trying not to laugh. She smiled when Thomas text immediately back. All of his comments were directed toward Addison's creations rather than the actors themselves. He even added Amanda's approval and praise. Holly showed them to the group, smirking when Lauren demanded that Addison come upstairs to help take everything off.

Chris and Ryan moved closer to Holly when the other two left. "When is Olivia expected with the distraction?" Chris whispered.

"Sometime today. Drake sent a text, letting me know that the earl had arrived." Holly whispered back.

Ryan's features hardened. "Drake texts you?"

"Yep." Holly was oblivious to the handsome actor. Her attention rose to the window when she heard a car door shut. "They're here! Remember what we practiced." She whispered, grabbing their arms on the way out of the room.

Olivia walked in flanked by two men. One had a disgusted look on his face while the other looked around curiously. Holly hoped the more pleasant one was Neville.

"Holly," Olivia greeted. "I believe I found two gentlemen to assist in your little project. Neither wants Cordonia to come out looking like some backwards, ridiculous country on the screen."

"Indeed." Muttered the disgusted man. "If Lady Amanda's story is anything like her, then I am more than willing to correct it."

"Watch yourself, Neville." Olivia hissed.

A snirl of derision formed on his lip before looking up at the stairs. Addison nearly bounced down the steps in excitment with Lauren following. "Olivia!" The bubbly costume designer called out.

"Oh good lord." Olivia muttered. "Yes, I'm here."

Lauren smiled warmly at the two men. "Good afternoon."

Olivia waved her hands toward them. "Everyone allow me to present Lord Neville Vancoeur, future Earl of Cormery Isle, and this is Lord Tariq Bisset, Viscount of Aurelis."

Lauren's eyes flashed with interest. She dipped into a perfect curtsy before them. "Lord Vancoeur, Lord Bisset it is a pleasure."

Neville took her hand and pressed a kiss. Tariq followed suit.

"I must say, I did not expect to find a true lady here." Neville said with approval of her correct manners.

Lauren lowered her lashes in mock modesty. "You do me a great honor, my lord."

"I know I do." He offered his arm to her. "Shall we find somewhere to sit and see what questions I can answer?"

"Thank you, Lord Vancoeur." She slipped her arm in his. Tariq followed behind with Chris and Ryan. Olivia paused beside Holly. "Stage one has commenced. I brought two to look less obvious and in case she didn't care for one, there is always the other." She walked in and sat down.

Addison surreptitiously squeezed Holly's hand and walked in to retrieve Chris and Ryan's jackets to finish adding a few more embellishments.

Holly took a deep breath and sent a text to Drake. It's begun.

__________________

A few hours later in Northern Cordonia

Amanda stretched and rolled over into Thomas's arms. "I didn't expect you to come up with an idea so quickly of what we should do while it stormed."

He smiled at her teasing before kissing her. "I wouldn't mind if this became our chosen activity whenever it rains."

She laughed and snuggled closer. "I love your ideas."

"I love that you indulge them." He closed his eyes, hugging her closer against his body. "Should we stay here another night or try and reach Olivia's early?"

"Hmm." She pressed her lips to his neck. "I don't know if you should ask me that while we are in this position."

He rolled her quickly onto her back smiling at her laughter. "I think that settles it." His lips met hers in a steamy exchange. "We wait until tomorrow as originally planned."

He looked up and growled in frustration when he heard a phone vibrating. He snatched his phone to turn it off when he realized it wasn't his. "Amanda, I think it's yours this time."

She sat up and reached over, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "It's Olivia. She wants to confirm that we are definitely coming tomorrow." Amanda quickly typed out that they were still planning to and were spending the night in a town about six hours from Lythikos.

She set it down and giggled when Thomas moved her back where she had been before they had been disturbed. Her arms slipped around his neck when his lips softly moved over hers.

_________________

A few more hours later in St Orella, Cordonia

"Lady Amanda never explained all that you have, my lord." Lauren gushed. "You have such a vast understanding of what we should demonstrate while playing these lords and lady." She shyly offered her hand to him when he rose to leave. "I wish we had more time together so I could learn from you."

Neville smiled with a hint of condescension. "It shows how intelligent you are to recognize my superior knowledge and mannerisms." His eyes traveled down her body. "I suppose I could indulge you and stay for a few days."

Lauren placed her hand over her heart. "Oh! Thank you, my lord! You have no idea how happy you have made me." Her smile was a touch flirtatious. "Perhaps, if you have the time, we could have dinner together."

Tariq spoke up next to them. "Of course we will, right Neville?"

Neville and Lauren looked at him in surprise, having forgotten he was there. "Er, of course."

Olivia rolled her eyes and turned to Ryan and Chris. "Come on boys. I will work with you and show you a few tricks with fencing that will stun your fans."

Lauren fought her smile and playfully pouted. "You won't join us?"

Olivia mimicked her pout. "Aww, how precious. No. We won't join you." With a flick of her hand she waved goodbye.

Holly's eyes widened when the groups separated. Once Lauren had left with Neville and Tariq, she rushed into the ballroom where Olivia was fencing with Ryan.

"Shouldn't you have gone with them?" She asked, worried their plan might fall apart.

Olivia lowered her rapier and raised the protective mask. "No. It would have been more suspicious if I had spent anymore time around that snake Neville. Trust me. Tariq and Neville will never let a lady escape if she remotely gives them a compliment."

Holly relaxed hearing that. "Okay. When does stage two begin?"

Olivia checked the time and smiled. "Less than twelve hours."

_________________

Lythikos, Cordonia the next afternoon

"This is beautiful." Thomas took in Olivia's large manor nestled in a snowy valley.

Amanda breathed in the cold air and smiled. "Over there is the way to an ice pond where we would all gather as children and skate. Maxwell broke his leg skiing down that mountain. Drake broke his arm hurrying over to help him. I received my first kiss on that ski lift."

Thomas chuckled. "Who was your first kiss?"

"He was a visiting diplomat's son. He was fifteen and I was fourteen and Olivia purposely stopped the ski lift to give us time alone. She knew I had developed a crush on him." Amanda laughed at the memory and shook her head. "Olivia has been known to go to the extremes to get me and whatever man I like alone."

Thomas wrapped his arm around her as they trudged toward the manor. "Good to know in case I ever find myself trapped with you."

Amanda squeezed his waist in a side hug. "I don't think you have to worry about that happening. She only did it if I had not admitted to liking him." She sighed in contentment when he kissed her forehead.

Olivia greeted the couple and ushered them into a small sitting room she preferred using when those she was closest to visited. "I prepared a hot toddy to warm you up."

She handed Thomas and Amanda the steamy drink. Both thanked her and sat down at her urging while they sipped the hot alcoholic drink.

Olivia listened to them describe the places they had stopped at and were considering for the movie. She asked questions and watched as Amanda's eyes drooped closed after setting her empty mug down. Thomas's words began to slur. Olivia snagged his empty glass when he slumped back on the couch.

"Harris!" She yelled out to her butler. He walked in and bowed.

"Get Williams and the others. We have to work fast." She smiled down at Amanda's unconscious form. "I'm not sure how long they will be out, but I believe we have a good four hours."

_________________

Olivia walked into her home, shook the snow from her clothes, and sent a group text. Stage two complete.

_________________

Six hours later, A lone cabin ???

Thomas sat up and held his head as the room spun. He tried to stand up and grabbed the bedpost. Once he knew he wouldn't fall, he looked around. When had he and Amanda gone to a cabin? He looked down at the bed where Amanda lay. Her clothes and jacket were still on. He stumbled over to her and tried to wake her.

"Amanda!" He felt panic set in when she was unresponsive. He leaned close to her mouth and nose and felt her slow deep breaths. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried to call Holly. The call failed. He searched Amanda for hers and tried to make a call. Nothing.

"Dammit!" He shook Amanda. "Wake up! Please be alright." He swallowed nervously, tasting the bitter aftertaste of the drink Olivia had given them. He let go of Amanda and clutched his head when it spun suddenly. Had Amanda’s friend done this to them?

Amanda let out a groan when Thomas tried a third time to wake her up. Her eyelashes fluttered open and she clutched her head. "Stop shaking me!"

He sat down beside her. "Thank God. I--" he swallowed again.

She sat up slowly and pressed her head to his shoulder. "What did we do?"

"I don't know. The only thing I can remember is talking to Olivia."

Amanda looked up and her eyes widened at their surroundings. "Oh no." She scrambled off the bed and tripped on the braided rug, hitting the closed door.

Thomas tried to catch up with her when she ripped the door open and hurried out. She lost her footing a couple of times going downstairs but stopped when she saw the letter on an end table.

She picked it up and read Olivia's elegant script. "No. No. NO!"

"What is it?" Thomas asked once reaching her side.

"Olivia decided to give us a wedding present." Amanda answered.

"Why does this sound like I am not going to want to hear what it is?" Thomas asked.

"This is our gift." Amanda held her hands out.

"The cabin?" Thomas looked around. It was sparse with furniture yet the pieces appeared to be comfortable and luxurious.

"Yes. Time here with each other." Amanda muttered, glaring at the place.

"A night or two here won't be so bad." Thomas said, walking to the kitchen.

Amanda's slightly hysterical laugh stopped him. "It isn't for a day or two."

"How long?" Thomas could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise when he looked out the window and saw nothing but snow covered wilderness lit by moonlight.

"She said two weeks to a month." Amanda crumpled the letter and tossed it into the fire burning in the fireplace. "We're trapped here until she thinks it is time to pick us up."

[crazyrandomfucker]

Adrien Augreste: Fairy tale

Adrien didn't know how much had he messed up this time, until he saw himself (or rather as his Chat Noir self) in a full princess dress while he held an imaginary cup of tea on his hand. He could have gone to visit Mari later, after patrol, when he'd be tired of running and his princess would be robably staying late again, working on a project or doing homework. But no, he had to go before patrol, while Mari was taking care of the two little "precious angels" of Nadja Chamak, the reporter.

Chat had been fool enough to knock at her trapdoor without checking first through the small window if Mari was there or if she had company at the moment. De "angels" had to, and of course they had had to, open the trapdoor and grab him by his poor tail. In the next minutes, the two little demons had gone all over Mari's designs wardrobe, picked up a very Disney-like lime green dress and put it on a very confused, even astonished, Chat Noir.

While all that happened, Marinette had been downstairs, discussing with Nadja about what would Mari do that day with the little girls. Mari had prepared in advance a few dresses and outfits with a medieval style to had a little play with the girls, obviously focusing on a fairy tale theme to attract their attention. But when she went upstairs to play with the girls expecting to see them playing with her stuff, she was surprised to find a magnificiently dressed princess Chat Noir with a desesperation look on his face having tea party with the little girls. There he was, the brave, loyal and quick-witted Chat Noir, dressed as Tiana and drinking nonexistant tea from a flowery cup. She couldn't help it but to laugh heartily and make a few photos.

Upon seeing that, Chat let out an indignated groan and tried to snatch the phone from Mari to delete the photos without succes. To everyone's surprise, Manon and Mina grabbed Marinette and pushed her to the closet, Mina entered with her and there were a few screams from Mari that made Chat wonder what in the world was happening on that closet. Luckily for him, he didn't have to wait to much before Marinette came out in a Prince Charming outfit. The little girls high-fived and made Mari sat down with them to take a cup of tea.

"You look charming Princess, or should I say Prince now?" joked Chat.

"Ha ha. Very funny. If you keep saying that, there won't be any more croissants for you" said Marinette in a serious tone.

"You wouldn't dare! Not the croissants! Anything but those delicious croissants!" begged Chat.

"Perhaps I'll think about it if you help me today taming this precious angels" said Mari with a smile.

"Anything for those delicious treats. I'm at your service Princess" said Chat Noir, doing a bow holding his dress like a princess.

"Pffffft, you're such a pretty princess Chat" laughed Mari.

"What can I say, I'm a cat with meowltiple talents after all. Acting is one of them" said Chat.

"Yeah, but puns are definetly not. That last one was horrible" said Mari.

"You know you love them as much as you love me Purrincess" joked Chat.

"Then kiss him!" said Manon and Mina at unison.

"Say what?" said Chat.

"If she loves you, she has to kiss you!" said Mina.

"The prince has to kiss the princess!" exclaimed Manon.

"Manon, Mina, Chat was joking about that. And none of us is a prince nor a princess" said Mari with a faint blush as she remembered the Dark Cupid incident.

"That's right, it was just a joke. Thought, you're a real princess for me Mari" said Chat nervously with a clear blushunder the mask.

"Why am I getting so fussed about kissing Mari?" thought Chat. "It's not that I hate her or anything, but I'm a loyal cat to my lady. I can't like her too, right?"

"But we want to see a kiss!" said the little demons.

"Oh yes? Then watch this!" said Mari, grabbing Chat and kissing his hand like a real prince, making the boy turn into a tomato. "There, a kiss. Are you happy now?"

"That wasn't a kiss!" complained the girls.

"I kissed his hand, so it's a kiss. You never said where you wanted the kiss so you'll have to settle with that. At least, if you want to play again with the dollies" said Marinette.

"Boooooh!" chanted the girls, but stoped inmediately when Mari raised her brow nd lppked at them. "We'll behave..."

"I must say that I'm quite impurressed princess. I didn't knew you could handle kids so well" said Chat as he was beginning to calm down.

"Well, I've got practice thanks to your usual visits, mon Chatveliére" teased him Mari.

"Gasp. You hurt this poor cat's honor" said Chat dramatically.

"Sure thing, oh brave knight in shining leather" said Mari sarcastically.

"You've been rather sassy lately Princess, may I ask what has happened?" asked Chat.

"Later. Now I need you to get out of that costume and wear the one I have, we have two little girls to entertain after all" said Mari.

" Are we having a story?" asked Mina.

"Are we going to act?" asked Manon.

"Yes, we'll be having a story and you will act if you want to" said Mari with a big smile on her face. "But you'll have to get dressed for that, so go on and choose any dress or outfit you want to try while me and Chat get changed"

Chat got himself out of the dress and passed it to Mari, since he didn't need to hide because he already had his superhero suit under the dress. He adjusted the prince charming outfit, being careful to avoid ruining anything with his claws, and looked into the mirror. With the mask and the ears, instead of being like the prince from a girl's dream, he looked like a charismatic rogue prince. He liked that look better than those he had to pull on photoshoots or fashion shows. Then, Mari came out in the green dress, with her hair tied on a bun and wearing a flower ornament on her head very similar to the one Adrienne used to wear a lot lately.. Oh, of course, it was Marinette who had crafted the hairpin, why wouldn't the creator have also one? He mentally scolded himself for forgetting that.

He went back to look at the designer outfit and he had to admit that his heart had just skipped a few beats. The pale skin she had was brought to life by the soft green of the dress, creating a great contrast of colours. Then, the palid purple of her hairpin softened the dark blue of his hair, also matching with her sky blue eyes. In three words, she was stunning, and the model had to recognise that he had missed this whole time the beauty of his friend. Then, he shook his head and thought of Ladybug, she was the only one for him, no matter how attractive could this bakers daughter be..

From the closet, the little girls interrumped the moment by shouting them soemthing along the lines of 'start without us'. Both teenagers were startled by the unexpected orders of the twins and looked to each other with a faint blush, as if they had been caught doing something they shouldn't, but theyburtsed in laughs instantly.

Chat decided to begin with the play, kneeling in front of Mari, with a serious look in his eyes as he said "Oh, my dear Princess, who are thou planning to go to the ball with? May this modest cat be your companion to such event?"

Mari couldn't contain her laughand let a few giggles. "Oh my dear Chat, you are the knight of thee black cats, thou are the most desired by both pleasant girls and nobles girls. Wouldn't I be a nuisance to you? Why invite me amd not your beloved knightress of ladybugs?" said Mari trying to keep her composture.

"My beloved Lady of bugs doesn't correspond my feelings, she is in love with a star. But thou, my princess, thou are gentle and loving towards this poor alley cat. For that reason, I shall move on and compormise to this incredible damsel who shows nothing but affection for me" said Chat with half of a grin on his lips.

"Then, my beloved knight, I shall be your partner to the dance" said Mari doing a little bow with the dress as she rolled her eyes.

"I feel honored to have such an amazing partner" replied Chat with a bow.

"Oh kitty, thi words you say flatter me, but you should stop them if my company you want" said Mari, making Chat experience a sense of deja vú.

 "As you wish, Ma Princesse~ I suggest we better go to thi ball now,you know how angry mademoiselle Burgeoise gets when someone interrumps her parties" said Chat brushing off that feeling.

"But my friends aren't here yet. They will be worried when they don't find me" said Mari.

"Worry not, princess, I shall leave a note so they know where are we" said Chat.

"Okay then kitty, we shall part to the ball now" said Mari and they began to walk around the room to simulate that they are travelling.

"Good thing we arrived on time. Now princess, shall I have this dance?" said Chat offering his hand with a bow.

"You shall kitty" said Mari giggling as she took her hand. "But I shall warn you, I have two left feet and dancing is a mistery to me".

"Fear not princess, this mangy cat will teach you as we dance" said Chat as he played some music on his staff.

Chat told Mari wher she had to put her hands and they began to spin around,slowly dancing at the pace of the music, Mari ocasionally stepping on Chat but he brushed it off as if she didn't weight a thing. There was a sudden moment where the music changed into a more lively one and they changed their pace, adjusting to the rythm of the song. Mari giggled as she was enjoying this and Chat couldn't help but to smile whole heartedly, which distracted Mari and remind her of someone.

Then, the closet opened and the two little girls came out dressed as ninjas (why did they had to dress as ninjas?), charging to Chat and attqcking him with a rubber knife. Chat let them stab him with the knife and faked as if he was dying, obviously overexageratin the whole thing as if it was a drama from the ancient Greece. Mari held her laugh succesfully this time and kneeled to hold Chat on her hands.

"Oh cruel fate" said Mari, "why must thou take my brave knighy away from me? Why?"

"There is one way to save him" said Mina.

"A true love kiss can heal any wounds" said Manon with a big Chesire smile.

"Is that so?" said Mari galring at the amused girls. "But Chat is in love with someone else, and so am I. A true love kiss is impossible to happen".

"Come on!" chanted the little girls.

"Would you like it if we told you to kiss someone who is just your friend?" said Chat.

"No..." said the twins at unison, lowering their heads.

"Then it's the same for us" said Mari. "Chat loves Ladybug, everybody knows that".

"Except her apparently" said Chat bitterly.

"Oh Chat, how wrong you are" said Mari petting him. "She knows your feelings for her, I know it. She constantly says that she doesn't want to hurt your feelings, but she's in love with someone else. She's really sorry because if she didn't love him so much, she'd give you an oportunity".

"How do you... Oh, right, you're her friend" said Chat. "Does she really says that? Or are you just trying to cheer me up?" said he with his ears down.

"Kitty, I thought you knew me better than that. I'd never lie about something like that" said Mari.

"I know... Hey, do you know who's this misterious boy she loves so much? I'd like to know to whom I have lost" asked Chat.

"Chat, I can't tell you that..." said Mari, instantly regretting it as she saw Chat looking down. "But I can tell you something..." said while she looked Chat's mood improve. "She and I are more than friends, we're also rivals in love. We like the same boy, but she has better chances to win his heart. She's the awesome Ladybug, everybody admires her. That boy doesn't even notices me, how can I even compete with her?" said at the berge of tears. "I- I'm sorry, I'm rambling again".

"Princess" said Chat, grabbing her face and lokking at her seriously. "Whoever that boy is, he is a fool for not seeing such an amazing, talented and breath-taking girl. You are a wonderful girl and any guy that has the amazing luck to be your crush, love or whatever, will be the luckiest guy alive. Anybody who doesn't like you is just the biggest idiot in this world".

"He's right Marinette! You're the best babysitter we've ever had! And your designs are amazing! And you look so pretty in that dress! That model is stupid if he doesn't see you!" say the girls to cheer her up.

"Awww thanks girls... And you too Chat, I really apreciate those words" said Mari with her voice trembling.

"Wait... Model? You like a model? I mean, since you want to be a designer it makes a bit of sense that you fell in love with one of them after seeing them daily, sorry, I said nothing" said Chat.

"Ughh... Now you have a clue to discover his identity" said Mari.

"Is it really that bad if I knew? I mean, I swear I won't get jealous or anything like that, I want that Ladybug and you to be happy, so I wouldn't interfere with your love conquest either" said Chat.

"Chat, that's really sweet, but that's notthe reason why. It's not because of Ladybug either. It's just that it's really embarrasing. It's not a celebrity crush, we both know him in real lifeand he's just so sweet and nice and selfless and he doesn't really mind that I stutter around him like crazy and... And I'm rambling again" said Mari.

"Don't worry, I don't really mind. It's lovely to hear you rambling just as it is hearing Ladybug mumbling when she thinks of a plan" said Chat without thinking, making Mari blush and blushing when he realizes what he had just said.

"Thanks Chat..." said Mari awkardly.

"You're welcome princess. Now, I shall go before Nadja comes to pick her little girls, or I'll be forced to go through an interview and I won't make it to patrol. Farewell princess and deathly ninjas" said Chat with a wink and leaped of the balcony.