#oh where’d we get them I don��t know

[iwantthedean]

Whiskey-ness: The One With the T-Shirt

Summary: A night of bad weather has Y/N and Dean stuck in the bunker together ... alone.  Pairing: Dean x Reader Word Count: 1535 Warnings: Drinking, implied smut, Winchester charm ...  Challenge: @winchesterxfamilybusiness​‘s Make Me Swoon challenge. My prompt is bolded in the fic -- I’m so sorry this is late! Thanks for the extension! Challenge: @smol-and-grumpy​‘s SuperFriends Title Challenge; my prompt is The One with the T-Shirt. Request: A while back when I did drabbles, @amanda-teaches​ requested Dean encountering a Roomba for the first time. I kept it because I love the prompt and wanted to use it, but couldn’t come up with anything on its own. So, I incorporated it into this fic! 

Happy Reading, lovelies!

“What the hell is that thing?!”

Your brow perked up when you heard Dean yelling from the other room. There generally wasn’t much in the bunker that he couldn’t identify, so his question had your interest piqued; you closed the book you had been reading and went in search of the elder Winchester brother. 

You sighed as you got closer to the kitchen, where Dean was still cursing. You rolled your eyes. 

“Did Sam make some weird green smoothie and leave the extra in the fridge again?” 

Dean shook his head and pointed. “I was eating a sandwich and made a little bit of a mess and that — that thing came rushing in here. The possessed, oversized frisbee won’t stop following me!”

You glanced around the counter and immediately laughed. “Calm down, Dean, it’s a Roomba.”

He frowned. “A what-a?”

Pressing the appropriate button, you sent the little cleaning machine back to its dock. “A Roomba. It’s a cleaning thing. Sam must have gotten one and didn’t tell you or something. Since he’s spending the weekend with Eileen, I’m not surprised he left someone to clean up after you.”

“I’m perfectly capable of cleaning up after myself.”

“Sure you are,” you snorted. “Listen, I’m gonna pack up and go — let you and your new roomie get acquainted. Thanks for letting me make a pit stop.”

Dean nodded, still watching the doorway for the Roomba to come back and attack him. “Yeah, of course, Y/N/N. Anytime.”

You put a couple books in your backpack, yelling to Dean you were taking them for research purposes but would be back through to return them before too long. After donning your jacket, you hugged Dean tight, told him to be nice to the Roomba, and made way for the door. 

Before you could open the door all the way, the wind blew it all the way open and knocked you back a couple of steps. The green sky was blurred by hard raindrops falling in thick sheets over the open Kansas land. Three steps out the door and you were turned around, pounding on the door, begging Dean to let you back in, out of the rain. 

“Dang, kid, you were gone for like thirty seconds,” Dean noted, helping you out of your jacket after you dropped your backpack by the closed door. 

Shivering already, you hugged your arms around your chest to give you some sort of warmth. “Yeah, it’s really coming down out there. We should check the radar.”

“Let’s get you in dry clothes and warmed up first.”

He led you to his room, tossed you a towel and a t-shirt, and showed you how the shower worked. He encouraged you to get warmed up and comfortable, and he would check the weather. 

The water warmed your body quickly; you made a mental note to give Dean shit about keeping the bunker so cold. You weren’t soaked through, but thanks to the temperature inside, you had felt nearly frozen. 

“Maybe if he wouldn’t wear so many layers,” you mumbled to yourself as you dried off. You slipped your mostly dry underpants over your legs, pulled Dean’s shirt over your head, then went to figure out where in the bunker he had landed. 

You found him drinking from a tumbler of whiskey while wrapping up a phone call with Sam. 

“He called to check on us because there’s a bad storm system coming in. Told him we were well aware,” Dean chuckled. “Apparently there’s a tornado warning. Sirens went off while you were in the shower.”

You leaned against the table next to him. “Thank goodness we’re in a fortress, essentially. Want me to whip up some dinner? I know you just had that sandwich.”

Dean gave you a look. “I could still eat. As long as you can do so without making a messing and bringing out the freaky little cleaning monster.”

You laughed and headed for the kitchen. In a little under an hour, you had put together a salad, cooked some chicken, and had cookies baking for after dinner. Once you were finished mashing potatoes, you’d be set. 

Dinner was mostly quiet, with the two of you eating your fill, and Dean getting into the cookies almost as soon as they were out of the oven. He was nice enough to do the dishes on his own so you could go check on your clothes in the dryer. 

“Shit,” you mumbled under your breath. “Helps to actually start the dryer, Y/N.”

Rolling your eyes at yourself, you shut the door again and pressed the button extra hard, waiting to hear the machine start rolling before you left the laundry room. 

“Where’d you go?” you called when you returned to the kitchen to find no Dean around. He had washed the dishes the two of you ate off of, but hadn’t put any of the leftovers away. Sighing, you took care of that, scrubbed the pots and pans and set them to dry before going in search of Dean. 

He was in the Dean Cave, a fresh bottle of whiskey and two tumblers on the table beside his chair. You dropped into the other recliner, snagging the throw blanket from Dean’s chair to keep your legs warm. 

“Is there anyway you could pretend to be a human who doesn’t need to be wrapped in a minimum of three layers of clothing at all times so the rest of us don’t have to freeze our asses off when we’re here?”

“Pansy.”

He got up to go change the temperature, and you used the opportunity to grab the remote and change the channel to something you could both enjoy watching. Dean gave you a little shit over it but poured you a glass of whiskey just the same. 

Watching that movie turned into a drinking game which turned into the both of you getting plastered. The bottle of whiskey was nearly empty by the time you called it a night. 

“If the weather’s clear in the morning, I’ll be out of your hair not long after I’m up,” you promised, yawning at the end of the sentence. 

Dean put his arms around your shoulders. “You don’t have to rush off, you know. Sammy’s gone till Monday, that storm system is moving through …”

“You’ve been here without Sam before, and I’ll be that storm system will be through after tonight.”

“Whatever. It’s just been, ya know, nice to have you around for more than two seconds and without all the monster guts.”

You giggled. “You could have ruined that monster guts part if you had attacked the Roomba. Thank goodness I was here to protect you.”

You went up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek, whispered a Good night, Dean, then headed to find an empty room to crash in for the night. The whiskey had nearly lulled you to sleep, and far be it from you to deny yourself a good, drunk sleep. 

“Y/N, wait!” Dean called, jogging after you down the hallway. 

You turned too fast to face him, so you backed up against the nearest wall, mentally thanking it for holding you up. You raised your brow at Dean, silently asking after his request for you to wait. He leaned against the opposite wall and smirked. 

“I mean to tell you earlier, but then there was tornadoes and food … you look real good in my t-shirt.”

You smirked, too. “Oh, this old thing? It is pretty comfortable. Can’t say I was entirely upset about my clothes not getting dried.”

“Me neither.”

He stepped away from the wall, stopping in the middle of the hallway. “Maybe, for safety, we should bunk together tonight. You know, like … like …”

“The buddy system?” you supplied.  

Dean snapped his fingers. “The buddy system, yes, exactly! Whadda ya say?”

“I say …” You licked your lips and did your best to stand up a little straighter. “If you take another step, I won’t be responsible for my actions at this point in time, with this level of whiskey-ness in my system.”

“Whiskey-ness,” Dean chuckled, indeed taking another long step and closing the gap between the two of you. He leaned against one hand on the wall behind you and caressed your jaw with the thumb of his other hand. “So, these actions you won’t be responsible for — you gonna blame them on the ‘whiskey-ness’ in the morning?”

“Maybe,” you whispered, pushing yourself up to place a soft kiss against his lips, “maybe not. One way to find out. You game?”

Dean pretended to think it over for a few seconds before taking your face in both of his hands and kissing you with an eagerness you had missed in your most recent lovers … which, honestly, hadn’t been all that recent. 

Outside the bunker, tornado sirens wailed over the plains. You tensed up, breaking the kiss and huddling into Dean’s chest. 

“It’s really bad out there,” you commented, eyes wide. 

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Dean said, sliding his hands over your ass before tugging you up so your legs were wrapped around him and he could carry you to his bed. “I’ve got you.”

The Whole Shebang: @illisea @ashleymalfoy @busybee612 @mrswhozeewhatsis @sherlock44 @ravenesque @feelmyroarrrr @atc74  @theplaidshirtmadness  @blacktithe7 @moonlessnight14 @kitchenwitchsuperwhovian @smoothdogsgirl  @melbrandes  @xtina2191 @spnbaby-67 @emoryhemsworth @goldenolaf25 @gabriels-trix @applesugar88 @rainflowermoon @deansgirl215 @thisismysecrethappyplace @calaofnoldor @jerkbitchidjitassbutt @sleepylunarwolf @chances-and-miracles @sandlee44 @foxyjwls007 @cpag7 @deanwanddamons​

Two for the Money:  @jayankles​ @akshi8278​ @jensensjaredsandmishaslover @supernatural-jackles​ @adoptdontshoppets​

[whenimgoodandready]

Who can we trust? Our friends? Our family? A random stranger we just met in the streets!? How do we know they can do the job we instructed them to do!? What if we made a mistake!? What if they screw up!? What if they betrayed us!? What if that one incident causes a ripple in the time rift that causes a chain of disasters to happen putting the whole world in jeopardy and sending us all to Hell! It’s chaos I tell you! You think I’m being paranoid!? Look who’s got it worse:

*Sentibubbler-Marinette is having dinner with the Césaires and Nino and all is well and normal. The food was great, everyone’s behaving themselves and even Alyas Kwami, Trixx, is enjoying themsel-(record scratch) WTF!? Trixx!? Out in the open!? Why!? Wait! Did Alya just call Marinette Ladybug in front of her family!? Huh!? Wha-Is that Chloe Bourgeois over there!? Who invented the mega b*tch!? What’s going on!?…….SHADOW MOTH!? In the flesh! He’s here too!? Alya, Why!? How could you do this to your own best friend!? Traitor! Oh how could this get any worse!? (sees Cat Blanc is there as well) AWE CHRIST ON A STICK!😫

AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Oh wait, it was all just a dream! A horrible horrible dream (nightmare). Phew! (chuckles) Course we all know Alya’s too big of a person to be underhanded like that right Marinette…….Marinette?…….Where’d she go? Don’t tell me she doesn’t trust her own best friend! Seriously Marinette!? After all the times Alyas helped you as yourself and as Ladybug, you don’t think she’s trustworthy enough!? Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! I’ll explain later. Any ways, Marinette goes over to the Césaires and sees every member looking for a lost “little friend”. Sh*t! Maybe she shouldn’t have given Trixx to Alya permanently. Okay Alya, hand over T-ARANTULA!🕷0o0! No wonder Nino was hiding in the bathroom.

So that was the “little friend” you lost! (laughs nervously). Doesn’t matter! Trixx is one of the most mischievous Kwamis in the miracle box and how do we know Alya can keep them in line? (Super)Girl Talk! (Nino! Stay out!). Marinettes paranoia questions her decision on letting Alya keep her miraculous, but Alya reassures her she’ll never ever betray her (phone rings). Alya now wears a fanny pack to keep Trixx with her and out of sight like Marinettes purse and Adriens coat pocket (phone rings). Trixx even promises to keep themselves hidden being “sneaky like a fox” (phone rings). WILL SOMEBODY JUST ANSWER THE F**KING PHONE ALREADY!? (phone rings) Where the Hell is everybody!? (phone rings). Alya finally answers it and guess who’s on the other line? Shadow Moth! Don! Don! Don! That’s worse than the telemarketer!

See! See! I told you Shadow Moth was gonna be targeting Alya to get to Ladybug! This is what happens when you continue giving miraculouses to people who were exposed! Consequences people! Consequences! Oh no! Bubbler is in the house too! (did Nino seriously get akumatized cuz Alya didn’t allow him in her room? Weak man, very weak!) Wait! That’s not the Bubbler! It’s Sentibubbler! He’s got Alyas family, Nino and even Marinette in bubbles! Don! Don! Don! Shadow Moth threatens to make Sentibubbler send everyone Alya loves into space unless she betrays Ladybug and gives him her (Alyas) miraculous! Oh Sh*t! All while he “sips a latte”. Oh that’s nice SM! Say, you wanna open up a foldable chair and relax with a bag of potato chips while you’re at it you sick son of a b*tch!?

How does this work!? Marinette can’t transform into Ladybug cuz she’s stuck in a bubble and there’s witnesses, Alya is conflicted about her decision and Nino is next to his biggest fear! What do we do!?…………*Ding*💡I got it! It’s the “2 Person Plan”! We know, but Shadow Moth doesn’t know that Alya permanently got a hold of the fox miraculous and what does that miraculous do? Create illusions! Alyas just gotta be “sneaky like a fox” and stall Shadow Moth long enough for Ladybug Pegabug (I like the ponytail there too. Ponytail freak!) to come into action to save the day! Yeah! Wait! What about Cat Noir? What does he do in all this? Oh yeah, he-(waves a dismissive hand) he just gets put to the sidelines for this one and that pisses him off (and boy, was he pissed off😬). This was a highly elaborate plan that needs a keen mind and a strong analysis on what the outcome will be and even I was a bit confused when watching it the first time, but it worked!

Bomb #14, Rena Rouge convinces Shadow Moth that “Ladybug” can’t give “Alya” the fox miraculous any more air go saving herself (Alya) from Shadow Moths treachery, but if that’s the case, then what’s she gonna do with the miraculous now if she can’t transform into Rena-(gets spoiled by later ep) never mind😒. Alya is awesome! She’s bold, confident, beautiful, assertive, resourceful, cunning, a go-getter, a great wingwoman, a cool babysitter and a popular blogger! How could Marinette not think she’s trustworthy!? She tried to stop a villain when they were ruining Marinettes birthday party (“Befana”), assisted Ladybug and Cat Noir flawlessly on her first day as a super (“Sapotis”), choosing to side with Ladybug over Shadow Moth and breaking out of her akumatization (“Gang of Secrets”), giving Ladybug the solution on how to make anti-akumatizing charms (“Mr.Pigeon 72”) and all the countless times she tried to make Adrienette happen with the squad and you’re telling me Marinette is that doubtful of Alya being loyal to her!? Wake up! Dupain-Cheng! (No! I’m not talking about your nightmare!). Never👏doubt👏Alya!👏Again!👏. Poor Cat Noir was ignored again for the day and we all know how much he hates being locked out of loops and secrets being kept from him (“Syren”). It’s cuz he hates feeling like he’s not useful or good enough for anything and we also know how much he also hates being alone what with him being like that for most of his life and being miserable about it with his only friend at that time being Chloe. Granted, he couldn’t really get involved as Marinette and Alya now know one another’s identities and were there at the scene of the crime and know the jist of what’s goin’ on and he would’ve just messed up the whole “2 Person Plan” if he interfered and he still doesn’t know who the girls are outside of the masks too which is why he couldn’t be clued in on the scenario. As I’ve said before, as much trust as Ladybug and Cat Noir have for one another to never ever peek when de/transforming, their trust is still at a 99.9% and that measly little 1% is just too dangerous for them to know their identities. That will come into discussion for much later.

[ssatoritendou]

Dragon Queen

Pairing: bakugou/reader

katsuki bakugou

Word count: 2.3k

+ summary: You and your siblings are orphans, you were the oldest and needed to take care of them. You didn’t think it was wrong from stealing from the Prince soon to be King would be bad. 

Genre: Medieval AU; fluff 

Warning: Cursing, suggestive content 

"Shitty Hair where is my fucking sword!?” Prince Bakugou yelled across the room. "I don't know. Check the throne room or the dungeon." Kirishima yelled back. "This like the 18th fucking thing that's gone missing." "Bakugou man your mom needs you in the throne room." "Tell the Hag I'm not interested. I just want to travel to have those Princess sluts at my feet." Bakugou argued back. "Listen to me, you tell that Brat that he will get his ass down here now!” The angry Queen yelled from the throne room.   "Hmph." The prince grabbed his cloak and walked downstairs. He was met with Kirishima at the bottom of the stairs opening his mouth to say something.”I heard, Kirishima get your shit together and wait outside. I'll be out in no time." "But Baku-" "Just do it. And be in a position so we can get out of here." He walked into the throne room, the Princesses his mother picked for him were ogling him again. "Not a chance in hell Hag. I will marry when I want to. When I do it will be someone I choose and certainly not a princess or of high standing.” He said with spite in staring directly into the Princesses eyes. Of course, He knew she wouldn't accept his terms. "Katsuki, you need to be married. You will be coronated soon to become the next King ever since your father died. Our kingdom needs-" "I'm leaving and when I come back I will come back with a bride and if not you can pick one I will marry. Shitty Hair let's go." He hopped onto Kirishima and left the island.

"So Bakugou where are we off to? Raid some pirates, tavern hopping, or-" "I need to find my sword. We are going to the trade market. It's worth a lot of money. Any sad sack that stole my sword would know that." "Weren't we just there?" "Exactly Shitty Hair. We got back yesterday drunk off our asses and someone must have stolen it off of me. When we got home we slept it off. We have been there multiple times and each time something of mine went missing. Find the robber and deal with him and then...I have to find a bride." "Bakugou how are you going to find a bride?" "I DON"T KNOW SHITTY HAIR!"

"If it isn't the Great Dragon King and his pet again. Two days in a row. What brings you in today?" "Did you see anybody hanging around me and the dragon?" "Mainly just girls. All wanting to be queen. No one out of the ordinary to me." The bartender responded. “Damnit.” He said frustrated. “Shitty hair let's go to the market." The pair was wandering around for a while before Kirishima said something. "Bakugou isn't that your knife?" "Which one dumbass? This a table full of knives and swords." "That one with the emerald stone. I remember it because you threw it at Prince Shoto when he beat you in a sword fight." "Oh yeah. Hey, where'd ya get this?" "This type of knife here is a rare silver and gold plated base with a jewel stone in crested in the handle." "I'm not looking to buy it! I want to know who gave it to you to sell so they could get some profit!" Bakugou lunged forward and had the man in his hands. "Bakugou-" "Shut it Kirishima!" "I can't tell you she kill me and her little minions too." "It's either me or her. Right now who are you more afraid of?" "She lives in the forest with other children. She steals from out of towners." "Did she give you a sword?" "No. I haven't seen her in weeks. No one here has. She sells to all of us and we give her 20% of the profit." "Thanks. Here's some cash. Alright, Shitty Hair we are going to the woods."

"_____ we are going to the stream.”Your little sisters said. "Ok bring b/n with you two. The last time you two went you nearly fell in and were taken by the current." “Ok, we promise. See you for dinner." The two little girls left with b/n. You lived in the woods with other orphans. You were the oldest and had to take care of them. Your orphanage was destroyed and you couldn't leave them behind. You also had to find a way to provide for them. You had come up with a plan to take care of everyone. Stealing from out of towners, selling it to merchants, and getting some profit back wouldn't be so bad. Some of their quirks were a little frightening and so was yours. No one dared to cross your family in fear of their lives. "_____ I found that berry plant again. I thought it would make a great side dish tonight.” Your little brother said to you. "That's perfect, g/n. You go and wash them and b/n is preparing the meat and I'm preparing the salad. g/n and g/n are baking. And I believe b/n is chopping wood." "Alright. Cool, where did you get the sword?" He gestured to the shiny sword sitting on the dinner table. "I was about to ask that question myself?" You turned to see a man on a dragon with b/n and the twins. 'GOD he is attractive.- Hold up children endanger because hot man is holding them captive. Must fight girly instants.' "Hey put them down this instant!" "Oh, I will once I get back what was stolen from me." "I didn't steal it. I permanently borrowed it. Put those kids down or suffer the consequences." "Oh, what are little children and a shitty girl going to do?" “b/n do it now." b/n put his hand in the dragon activating his quirk. The dragon turned back to a person. Then g/n opened a portal for them to hit the ground safely. She also made a portal for the men and transported them to the ground. Her sister went over to them and knocked them out. "What do we do with them now _____?" "Well, I guess they are joining us for dinner," You smirked.

"Look who joined us finally _____!" b/n cheered next to me. Bakugou awoke out of his slumber and he was being held captive by a boy with branches coming out of his neck. "Let me go! You have no clue what I'm capable of!" “b/n don't need to aggravate the little firecracker. King Bakugou right? Can't activate your quirk if I have someone that can cancel it out for you." The shitty girl was pouring everyone a drink. "What is King Aizawa here or something?" "Hehehe, no no I'm not related to him. I'm flattered though." Your younger brother laughed. "I just came to get my sword back." "No can do. Sword can catch me and my siblings a pretty penny or more. We need it to survive you are a King get another one." "It has value to me." "I'll have to think about it over dinner. Kirishima is the roast done?" You turned your head to Kirishima as he was explaining to a set of twin girls how to cook meat. "What the fuck Shitty Hair!?" "Language!" The group yelled at the angry blonde. "Hey, Bakugou man. They were very nice to me and I offered to help cook." "How the hell am I supposed to eat?" He gestured to the tree branches around him. "I'll feed you." The shitty girl smiled. "I rather starve." "You really want the sword back you should pay nice with _____. I'm b/n by the way. It's very nice to meet you King Bakugou." "Whatever." "Fine then starve." b/n said with annoyance in his tone. "You don't need to be rude, b/n. I guess he doesn't really value this sword." "Wait...Fine, you can feed me." He grumbled. "I have never seen him cave like that," Kirishima whispered to you. "I have that effect on cocky men." "EH, YOU HA-" "You shouldn't really yell at me. Kirishima has been lovely to us and but I wouldn’t hesitate to kill him and you too. I might have to teach a lesson on manners. And I'm not afraid to get violent." She smiled an evil smile that looked innocent. Bakugou felt something in his chest...thump...thump. 'Nope, not a chance in hell! I rather spend the day with Deku and listen to him talk about Knight All Might.' "Ok kids go wash your hands and then we will feast." "Um _____ can you bring me the soap and water?" "Of course. " You brought the items over to the boy that was holding Bakugou with the branches. She helped him wash his hands. "Bakugou what would you like on your plate?" "Everything." You gathered a plate for him. "We only have water. Once we had wine but someone here drank it all." You glared at your brother holding him. "I thought it was prune juice." "Sure." "Wasn't fun either with you messing with the gravity." "Hehe." She giggled. "Ok open up." She brought the fork to the stubborn male's mouth and he began to slowly eat his food.

You fed him before you fed yourself. And when everybody was finished for dinner there was almost nothing left for you. It didn’t bother you though. But it bothers Bakugou. He began thinking ‘I wished I hadn't eaten so much. I wanted her to have everything she needed.’ "You were good at dinner Bakugou. You can let him go b/n. We are going to negotiate. Bring everybody inside." The boy rolled his eyes and let Bakugou go and brought everybody inside the small cabin. "So how much are you willing to pay for the sword?" "I never asked your name?" "_____. I ask again how much?" "_____ this sword was given to me by my father as a gift. He died a couple of months ago due to old age and not taking care of his body. I couldn't put a price on it." "Do you or do you not want it back?" "You don't seem to care it's a gift from my father?" "Why should I? We live in free territory land, a trading stop for all kingdoms we are ruled by no one. He wasn't my king. And parents have little value to me. Mine gave me up, only people to ever care about me are those kids and myself." "How about a deal for the sword?" "A deal? I just want money." You stated bluntly. "I want to marry you." "What?" "You can be the queen of my land, rule with me, have everything you want. The brats can come too. I think they could grow on me." He was down on one knee holding your hand. He looked up at you to see you blushing. "Why me? I'm just some commoner and I'm sure there are Princesses that are a better candidate-" Katsuki placed his lips on you gently. "Have you ever met a Princess?" He laughed. "You think I would want to marry that type of girl?" "You would probably kill the Princess you marry." "Haha. Then let's go tell the troops we're leaving."

“b/n are you sure it's working?" His sister asked him. "Yes, I use it all the time when _____ is talking about new places to steal. Now hush." He was still connected to the plant life around the cabin and could listen to what was going on. "I want to marry you." "What?" "You can be the queen of my land, rule with me, have everything you want. The brats can come too. I think they could grow on me." "Have you ever met a Princess?" there was a slight chuckle. "You think I would want to marry that type of girl?" "You would probably kill the Princess you marry." "Haha. Then let's go tell the troops we're leaving." "We are moving to the castle!" He screamed in excitement. "Damnit! b/n I was going to tell you that. Stop listening in that is very rude." _____ scolded him again. "Sorry. Couldn't help it." "You are going to marry this hot head?" Kirishima said. "Watch it Shitty Hair." The king warned. "Thank you, Thank you so much. That means he does have a heart in there somewhere." He was on his knees sobbing to _____. "Pull yourself together Dumbass."

The group arrived back at the castle with _____ and all of ‘her brats’ as Katsuki put it. "Mother I found a bride!" "Yeah right what wench did you pay to set this thing off for a year before you actually marry her?" "_____ my love please come in." You walked into the throne room and your siblings trailing behind you with Kirishima. "Katsuki she is beautiful...Wait what's with the brats?" "They are my siblings, your majesty. We were orphans and I took them in and provided for them myself." "How so?" "Permanently borrowing things and selling them for a profit." "You don't need to make it sound fancy _____. She stole and threaten merchants to give her a profit after they sold it." Bakugou said bluntly. "Ha, yeah that's what I did. It was easy with cocky men like Katsuki over here." "I'm not cocky!" "Yes, you are." You and his mother said at the same time. You two looked at each other and laughed. "Don't you dare laugh at my expanse you Hag!" "Katsuki don't raise your voice at your mother that is very rude." "She is your wife. Quick Kirishima get the priest." "Hag, I want her to have a grand wedding and everybody to be invited. In every kingdom. Even dumbass Icy-Hot's kingdom.” He held you close to my waist and dipped her down and this time he planted a forceful kiss upon you. You went weak in the knees and fell right into Bakugou. He picked you up and rushed you out of the throne room. "Kirishima, show the brats the castle. We will be back down tomorrow morning." He smiled seductively at you. "Katsuki! Not in front of the kids and isn't against royal rules to be with your betrothed before your wedding day?" "You are looking at the royal rule-breaker here, my little thief. Besides you have to be punished for stealing my property. You have to please your King."

[tlou2holland]

Joel x reader ( Pt 8 )

Summary: Dina and Ellie come over for a movie night

warnings: none, slight cursing 

You can read the previous parts here 

To say the following weeks have been stressful, is an understatement. You packed all your stuff, realizing its more than originally calculated. Joel pulled a muscle in his back while helping you and couldn’t move properly for at least a week. Dina and Ellie messed with your stuff and laughed at your secret stuffed animal collection that now wasn’t so secret anymore. Maria and Tommy came over for dinner as soon as Joels home became your home too, and you had to cook for someone else for the first time in your life. You burnt your finger and poured way too much salt onto the meat, making it almost uneatable. Nevertheless, you loved every minute of your new life. Not that everything drastically changed, but you found yourself getting used to sleeping next to someone that snores and almost crushes you in their sleep. You came to like the lazy mornings in bed, and late evenings on the porch. You don´t mind sharing your private space with someone else, and miss Joel terribly when he’s not around. You never thought you’d be able to say this, growing up in a literal apocalypse, but you settled down. Found a place to feel safe and comfortable and a person to call your home. Is this how people used to live before everything went to shit? You wonder. 

Tonight would be another night were you’d experience what a normal life used to be like. Ellie and Dina are coming over for a movie night, and you watch Joel as he excitedly prepares some snacks. It’s been months since Ellie actually talked to Joel more than she’s been forced to, but she slowly starts to come around again. You think it’s because of Dina, she has a positive impact on Ellie. Now that the two are officially together as well, life in Jackson almost seems cliché like. So much happiness feels too good to be true. “What got you smiling like that?“ Joel nudges you with your hip and you turn to look at him, dropping the knife in your hand. “Nothing in particular.“ You hand him a piece of the carrot you’ve been cutting and eat one yourself. “It´s the first time you’re hanging out with Dina, right?“ You ask, swinging your carrot in front of Joels face. He chuckles and eats the piece you gave him, sliding a bowl over to you. “Yeah, I mean she’s not my friend. A bit too young for that.“ Joel gives you a funny look and you scratch the carrots from your cutting board into the bowl. “It´s like a double date.“ You giggle and clean the knife with some water. “A weird double date, but still.“ Joel rolls his eyes at you and carries the snacks into the living room, his boots clinging against the hardwood floor. “Don´t remind me.“ He grumbles but you barely hear him. After you finish cleaning up, you join him in the living room and adjust some pictures on the shelves. Joel found an old polaroid a couple of weeks ago and it was still working, so you took pictures with your loved ones and framed them to decorate your home. The one with Ellie, Dina and Jesse you like the most. You are all sitting on the bench, Jesse´s arm around your shoulder while Dina gives Ellie and you bunny ears with her fingers. You smile into the camera and even Ellie laughs, showing off her white teeth. You have more pictures upstairs, private ones, and bite your lip as you think about them. Joel made you pose in your prettiest underwear, sprawled out on your bed, hands reaching towards the camera with a big grin on your face. You were embarrassed at first, but Joel loves the picture and keeps it with him at all times. He said it’s his little reminder of you for when he’s gone on patrol, and you couldn’t help it but laugh at that. You took pictures of him as well, tho. You like the one where he sits on the porch, guitar on his lap and a steaming mug next to him. He was so lost in his playing that he didn’t even realize you took a picture until he saw the bright flash. Another one was taken when you and Joel where cooking together. Tommy visited you two and secretly snapped the picture when Joel was hugging you from behind, a huge smile on both of your faces. “You´re not moving them around again, are you?“ Joels gruff voice pulls you out of your thoughts and you look at him confused. “Huh?“ Your hands fall next to your sides and Joel nods his head towards the frames. “You moved them around at least fife times. You still don’t like the way they look?“ He leans himself against the staircase railing, arms crossed. “Oh no, I was just looking at them.“ You step away from the shelves and push past him to go upstairs. “You should change as well.“ You say over your shoulder as you feel Joels eyes on you. “What´s wrong with what I’m wearing?“ He follows you and swats your bum, making you climb the steps faster. “Your shirt smells, old man.“ You jokingly pull a face and Joel grabs you from behind, trapping you in his arms. “Joel!“ You grab onto the railing and try to break free but Joel simply turns you around and holds your face against his chest. “mmh you smell that?“ He asks, chest vibrating with every word. You scream with laughter and wiggle in his grip, hair getting static from all the friction. “Eww you’re disgusting!“  You tickle his sides to make him let go of you, and dodge out of his arms when he goes to hold his sides. “I just wanted to give you some love, baby.“ He opens his arms for you but you quickly walk into your shared bedroom, shaking your head. “Nah-ah. You can give me love after you put a clean shirt on.“ You pull your own sweater over your head and change into a new one that still smells strongly of soap. “I´ll take you by your word.“ Joel picks your old sweater up from the floor and puts it into the bathtub along with his shirt. A small pile has collected and you groan when you think about having to wash it tomorrow. “Is this smelling alright for you?“ Joel throws his green shirt at you and you fist the material in your hands. “this will do.“ You walk up to him and rest your hands against his chest, briefly playing with the hairs there before leaning up on your toes and kissing him. “and now get ready, we don’t want Ellie and Dina walking in on that, do we?“ Your hand wanders down Joels stomach and he exhales at your touch. “Yes ma´am.“ He quickly pecks your lips and you walk down again, lazily playing with the strings of your hoodie. You look outside and see a thick layer of snow covering the ground, new flakes falling down at a rapid speed. Thinking about all the winters you had to spend outside without a proper roof under your head, you shiver and wrap your arms around yourself. “You don´t hear them knocking?“ Joel skips past you and you break out of your haze, following him to the door. Dina and Ellie come inside, stomping their shoes against the threshold to keep the snow outside. You quickly shut the door behind them to keep the cold air out, and take their jackets to hang them onto your wardrobe. “Next time you’re coming to one of us, outside its fucking cold.“ Dina shakes her arms and Ellie rubs her hands together, blowing into them. “Don´t worry, we have some blankets for you.“ You wave your hand and guide them to the living room, Joel following closely behind. You point to the couch and hold your hands in front of you. “Sit, I’ll get you something to drink.“ You gesture to the empty seats and are about to turn around when Joel kisses your temple. “Sit with them, I’ll get the drinks.“ Ellie awkwardly watches the interaction and loudly plumps down onto the cushions. Dina giggles and sits down next to her, quickly covering the both of them with a blanket and looking at you. “Thank you.“ You smile at Joel and take a seat at the other couch, feet moving to rest on the coffee table in front of you. “help yourselves.“ You gesture to the snacks and Dina sequels when she spots the cookies you made. “God it’s been ages since I last had cookies!“ She reaches into the bowl and gets two, handing one to Ellie. You laugh at your friends eagerness and take one yourself, liking how sweet they taste. “You still like hot cocoa?“ Joel returns from the kitchen and holds four steaming mugs in his hands, talking to Ellie. Her eyes widen and she takes one from Joel. “Shit Joel, where’d you get that?“ She sniffs at the liquid and watches Joel as he gives another mug to Dina and you. “Well, there’s this store on our new patrol route. They still had the powder. It’s long expired, but powder can’t get bad right?“ He takes a sip and curses slightly when he burns the tip of his tongue. You stifle a laugh and blow on it before drinking from your mug, licking your lips afterwards. “You know when I last had this?“ Ellie raises her mug and shakes her head. “It´s been years, I don’t care if its expired or not.“ Ellie shyly looks at Joel and he clears his throat. “I´m glad that you like it.“ Joel presses his lips together and you happily cuddle into his side, throwing a blanket over the two of you. “What movie are we watching?“ Dina rests her head against Ellies shoulder and Joel stares at Ellie and her blushed cheeks, so you elbow him. “Curtis and Viper 4.“ You push yourself away from Joel to grab the remote and turn the TV on. “Sounds old.“ Dina laughs and Ellie lowers her mug from her lips. “It´s Joels favorite.“ She looks at him and gives him a crooked smile. “I like it, too.“ She shrugs her shoulders and you feel Joel tense next to you, trying to hide a smile. “You have no other choice, given how many times I made you watch that.“ Joel wraps his arm around your shoulder and you gently pat his leg under the blanket, happy for him that he can talk to Ellie without it being tensed. “You read savage starlight, I’d say we’re quit.“ Ellie mumbles, quickly eating another cookie to end the conversation. Joel nods and takes the remote from your hands, starting the movie and holding you tight against his side. It feels weird to cuddle Joel in front of others, but on the other side it also feels normal, just a bit foreign. Dina can´t stop staring at you two, and you have to throw some carrots at her to stop her from eying you the whole time. Even Ellie casts a look at you two from time to time, but looks away every time Joels eyes meet hers. „I quite like this.“ You mumble against Joels chest as he starts playing with your hair. “Me too.“ He keeps his eyes directed to the screen and silently mouthes the lines from time to time, thinking you won’t notice. 

The movie goes on for what feels like forever, and when its over, Dina and Ellie are softly snoring on the sofa next to you. You nudge Joel and turn off the Tv, lazily stretching yourself. “Should we let them sleep?“ You whisper. Joel looks at Ellie and collects another blanket, standing up and softly laying it over her. You never heard him walk this quiet before and hold onto your chest, a smile evident on your face. “They had patrol this morning, let them rest.“ Joel grabs the mugs and winces when they bump into each other and make noise. Dina simply scratches her nose and mumbles something inaudible, leaning more against Ellie. You grab the bowls from the table and put the contents into a container to keep them fresh before walking up the stairs with Joel. “When was the last time you slept under the same roof with three women?“ You joke, stifling a yawn with your hand. “It´s the first time I will be sleeping while three women are under my roof.“ Joel teases back, and you look at him with wide eyes. “I´m joking baby.“ Joel laughs at your shocked impression and lays an arm around you. You quiet down his laughing by kissing him, tasting chocolate and cookies on his tongue. “You better be.“ You peel yourself away from him and get ready for bed, sighing heavily when your body connects with the mattress. Joel grunts and lays down next to you, bed squeaking under his weight. You lay on your side and open your arm, inviting Joel to snuggle closer. He rests his head on your pillow and hugs you close, your own arms wrapping around his neck. “Maybe they’ll come around more often.“ You mumble as you stroke Joels thick hair. He closes his eyes and draws small patterns on your back. “I ain´t complaining, house is big enough.“ His hot breath fans your chest and you scratch his neck, nails grazing over the skin. “You´re not going to ask them to move in as well, are you?“ You close your eyes and hear Joel chuckle beneath you. “Don´t worry, you won’t have to share me with anyone else.“ He pinches your side and you swat his hand away with a giggle. “Good, you don’t want to see me jealous.“ “Oh I think I’d might like that.“ Joel bites the exposed flesh of your collarbone and you gasp, hands moving to push him away. “Stop it.“ You give him a warning look but he can’t see your face in the dark, continuing to roam his hands over your body. A shiver erupts along your spine as his hands move under your shirt and towards your breasts, brushing over the sensitive flesh. “you really want me to stop?“ His breath hits your ear and he attacks your jaw with kisses, moving down to your sweet spot. “We have Ellie and Dina downstairs.“ You say weakly, hands stopping to push him away and resting on his shoulders instead. “You have to stay quiet, then.“ “Joel.“ Your voice is raspy and you finally find the self-control to grab his hands and keep them trapped in yours. “No funny business tonight.“ You say in a stern voice, although your smile says otherwise. “Fine.“ Joel sighs and pulls his hands out of your hold, dramatically turning around, his back facing you. “Oh come on.“ You giggle and snuggle closer, hugging him from behind. Joel reaches for your hand and pulls your arm under his, keeping your hand close to his chest. You lean your face against his strong shoulder and kiss his shirtless form, feeling how warm his skin is against your lips. “Good night, baby.“ He kisses your hand in return and you tangle your legs with his, warming your cold feet on his warm ones. “Good night.“  

 Your sleep doesn’t last long. A gentle kiss to your forehead wakes you up, and you open your eyes. Outside its still dark and the only lightning is coming from downstairs, together with hushed voices. “Tommy and I have to clean some infected areas, Maria wants us to do it before you guys go on patrol.“ Joels voice is still groggy from the lack of using it overnight, and you sit up, covers sliding to your hip. “You have to leave now?“ You ask tiredly, rubbing sleep from your eyes. Joel nods and you realize he’s already dressed, jacket and backpack laying by the end of the bed. “Be careful, okay?“ You cup his cheek and pull him down for a kiss, lips lazily moving against his. He pulls away and gets up to strip on his jacket. “Always.“ He pulls the covers back over your sleeping form and you watch him leave, before dozing off for some more minutes. Sleep won’t come back, you’re too worried for that. So you get up after some tossing and turning, and decide to start your day. Dina and Ellie have already left, probably awoken by Tommy or Joel. You eat breakfast in silence and clean a bit afterwards, washing the dreaded laundry and hanging it all around the house to dry. After you got ready yourself, you prepare your backpack and make your way over to the butcher where you’d meet Jesse. You’re assigned for patrol this late morning, and he’s your partner. You already see his slender form leaning against a wooden pole, chatting away with Marcus. You sigh and approach the two, boots sinking into the snow. “Morning guys.“ You awkwardly wave at them and dodge Marcus gaze. “You´re early for once.“ Jesse teases and salutes at you, while Marcus looks anywhere but to you. “Well, eh-“He scratches his neck and slowly backs away, fingers pointing over his shoulder. “I´ll get going, I´m needed somewhere else.“ He quickly bits goodbye to Jesse and stumbles down the few stairs, hurrying along the streets towards god knows where. Jesse looks at you and raises an eyebrow. “Did he ever apologize to you?“ Jesse asks. You nod and slip your gloves on, breath thick like a cloud in front of your face. “Once, but he couldn’t even look me in the eye. I don´t mind tho, I know it was an accident. It’s Joel he needs to apologize to.“ “Yeah that’s never going to happen.“ Jesse shakes his head and you chuckle, following him towards the gate. “I know, Joel won’t apologize for pushing him either. He´s one hell of a stubborn man.“ You kick some snow from your feet and Jesse shrugs his shoulders. “He´s not the only stubborn person here.“ Jesse gives you a look and you roll your eyes. “Oh cause you’re so much better.“ You laugh and shove Jesse further away from you, his chuckle ringing in your eyes. “I´m just saying, you’re almost as stubborn as Dina. And that means something.“ He points his finger at you and you ignore his comment, changing the topic. “Why did Maria sent Tommy and Joel on an early patrol? Isn´t it way more dangerous?“ You frown and Jesse rests his hands on his hips, stopping at the east gate. “There´s been a lot of infected sightings lately, Maria simply wants them to clear the path for us. They’re experienced and can take a look at how bad the situation really is. Don´t worry, they’ll be fine.“ He briefly looks at you as you guys wait for your horses. “You better be right, I don’t want to become a widow.“ You mumble gloomily. “Don´t you guys need to be married for that, first?“ Jesse jokes and you shoot him a glare. “Not funny.“ You gladly take the reins from the stables boy and greet your horse with a quick pet when they approach. Your legs feel stiff as you swing yourself on top and get seated into the saddle. Jesse does the same and gestures for the security people to open the gate. “We´ll be fine, the same goes for Tommy and Joel.“ With that his horse picks up speed and runs over the snowy fields, you following close behind. You cringe at the cold wind clapping against your face and pull the hood of your sweater over your head to keep your ears from freezing off. “You know where we’re going?“ You shout over the loud whistling of wind. “Yeah, just follow me!“ Jesse guides you through some abandoned villages and to the next lookout, hidden inside an old tower. You breathe out relieved, happy that no infected crossed your path so far. You bind your horses onto a pole and climb up the rusty ladder to get inside. “Here, look around for any infected while I write our names into the book.“ Jesse hands you field glasses and you position yourself in front of the big window, overlooking the small town. “I see nothing.“ You state as you scan the area, spotting nothing of danger or matter. “You checked the woods too?“ Jesse asks as he scribbles something into the book, probably that your lookout was still safe and nothing ordinary happened. “Yeah, no lights, no infected. Nothing.“ You lower the glasses and hand them to Jesse when he walks over to you. “Hmm, we should keep looking for a bit. Maria said a horde was spotted here some days ago.“ “A horde?“ You shiver at the thought of having dozens of infected roaming through the woods. “Yeah, they’re inside some buildings. We need to clean them on the next group patrol.“ “Jeeze.“ You cross your arms in front of your chest and step back, watching Jesse from behind. “Yeah, it’s going to be interesting for sure.“ Jesse stops looking around and puts the glasses back onto the old tray he got them from. “The weather is changing for the worst, let´s head back, Joel and Tommy should also be on their way. We can prepare everything for the next patrol and pick our team.“ Jesse slides the backpack onto his shoulders and you grab yours, blowing a last puff of hot air into your palms before following him. “I can´t wait.“ You say sarcastically, climbing back onto your horse and making your way back to Jackson. Today’s patrol was unspectacular and quick, and you are grateful for it. Next patrol will be hard enough… 

[the-starless-sky]

cozmez x Akan Yatsura / “FAMILY” voice drama track 1

Zen: Sorry for suddenly asking you to do a job even though you’re busy preparing for the live, Kanata-kun.

Kanata: No... I need money too, after all.

Iori: Aight, here ya go, payment for the job. Added in a bonus, too.

Kanata: Thanks.

Iori: Ah, yeah, I saw yer stage the other day. The one against BAE.

Zen: It was brilliant! I was moved. The track that felt like it’s swooping down on you, the profound lyrics... You two’s desire turned into fierce vibes, and pressed into my heart!!

Kanata: Yeah.

Zen: You guys weren’t bad during the Opening Show, but now you were like different people altogether! It’s like, you were giving your all... and you looked like you’re really having fun!

Kanata: Having fun...?

Zen: Yeah! You had a good expression, Kanata-kun!

Kanata: Oh, really.

Iori: ‘Sup with that thin reaction~?

Kanata: It doesn’t matter how good if we lose, after all.

Zen: There’s no such thingーー

Kanata: We get no money if we lose, we ain’t doing it for fun.

Iori: ‘s good to have ambitions, I like that kinda dazzle.

Kanata: Thanks.

Iori: Yer next opponent is us, Akan Yatsura. Haha, seem like it’d be an interestin’ match!

Kanata: Suiseki-san, I have one thing I want to ask you...

Iori: What’s it? Say it.

Kanata: Your team... Akan Yatsura’s other members, do they know about this?

Iori: Whatcha mean by “this”?

Kanata: That you’re collecting metals behind the scenes. Using people like me, doing business you can’t talk about to others. [1]

Zen: You...!

Iori: Ooh, how unusual.

Kanata: Huh?

Iori: Askin’ stuff about other people... I thought ya ain’t interested in anyone but yer lil’ bro.

Kanata: I didn’t meanーー

Iori: No reason to tell ‘em stuff they don’t ‘ave to know.

Kanata: ...!

Iori: Rest assured, they know nothin’.

Kanata: Is that so.

Zen: That’s why, you don’t have to worry during our match, too! Let’s ignore our standings and collide with all of our strength!

Kanata: “Stuff they don’t ‘ave to know”, you said... well yeah, of course you won’t tell them a thing.

Zen: Huh?

Kanata: The end for people who keeps using phantometals, that is.

Zen: That’s...!

Kanata: “Team is family”... saying stuff like “family”, but not telling them the important things... only showing the good stuff, you’re just deceiving and using them idiots, huh?

Zen: You’re wrong! They’re fully aware of the metal’s risks andーー

Kanata: Nobody can stop the erosion once it’s started. You’ll melt, and get swallowed by the metal - do they know this too?

Zen: ...!

Kanata: Suiseki-san... that name of yours, it’s the name of the ex-boss who were killed in the attack incident, right?

Iori: What’s that? Yanno it well, don’tcha?

Kanata: I looked it up, you know? ‘Cause I don’t like getting used one-sidedly.

Iori: Ooh~? The lil’ rat in my control’s be playin’ detective and tryna threaten the Suiseki Iori, that it?

Kanata: Stop screwin’ around...

Iori: Ha?

Kanata: Suiseki-san... you inherited a name and now you feel like you’re family? If you’re a family... if you guys think you’re a real family, then why do you let them do stuff that’ll whittle their own life? Families share everything, however dirty or painful it is. There ain’t a need for secrets! No need for secrecy! If it’s to protect another’s life, then your own life don’t matter! That’s what a “family” is, ain’t it!?

Iori: Are ya... tellin’ yerself that?

Kanata: Ha?

Iori: Both ‘a us keep secrets from our family, don’t we? Did ya tell yer lil’ bro about this business? About the metal...

Kanata: ...!

Iori:  “No reason to tell ‘em stuff they don’t ‘ave to know”, ain’t we the same?

Kanata: Don’t lump me with you! I do it to protect Nayuta!! Unlike you guys who do it to conveniently use them!

Zen: You...!! You’re crossing the line!!

Kanata: The next match!

Iori & Zen: ?

Kanata: We’ll absolutely win. There’s no way we’ll lose to a mock family like you!

Iori & Zen: ...

Kanata: Nayuta and I... we’ll hammer into you all that cozmez’s the most terrific.

(Kanata walks away.)

Iori: Haha, “mock family”, huh. He said something clever. Sounds extreme delicious if you put it an oden! [2]

Zen: Waka!

Iori: Hey. You’re s’posed to laugh just now!

Zen: ...! I’m sorry, but...! There will come a time one day that Kanata-kun will have to see the reality... the truth. For that reason, Waka purposefully collected metals...

Iori: It’s fine. ’s a child who’ve been hurt terribly by dirty adults up ‘til now. Well, that ‘stray cat’ kinda part of him made me can’t ignore him, though.

Zen: Sigh. We’re not a charity, you know? 

Iori: I know that~! ‘s why, we’ll win the live. We’ll seize the 10 billion without fail. Rest assured! Plus, on that case too... I’ll settle it without fail. [3]

Zen: Yes.

Iori: Well then, I’ll be goin’ out for a while.

Zen: To where?

Iori: A secret, s-e-c-r-e-t!

Zen: ...

Iori: What’s with tha’ face? Haha, don’tcha worry. ‘S minor business, minor business.

(Iori walks away.)

Iori: See ya!

Zen: ...Minor business, he said... Sigh. Waka, if it’s for you, I intend to do any job, whatever it is.   Even so, why are you always, by yourself... Sigh. “Family”, huh...

_

(Sound of train passing through.)

(Kanata opens the door.)

Kanata: I’m home.

Nayuta: Oh, welcome home, Kanata.

Kanata: How are you feeling, Nayuta? Your fever?

Nayuta: Mm, I’m fine already. Anyways, where’d you go? When I woke up, you’re gone.

Kanata: Sorry, just doing a minor business. In return, here.

(Kanata opens a plastic bag.)

Nayuta: Huh? It’s Raimen-tei!

Kanata: You’re hungry, aren’t you? Let’s eat before it gets cold. Chuuka-don and gomoku yakisoba [4]. Which one you want?

Nayuta: You choose, Kanata.

Kanata: I’m fine with whichever. Get what you want, Nayuta.

Nayuta: ...No.

Kanata: Huh?

Nayuta: Kanata is always like that. You always put me first.

Kanata: What’s up, suddenly?

Nayuta: I don’t like stuff like that. Kanata, you have to take care of yourself more. Kanata, you always think of me first. But even I want to put Kanata first, too.

Kanata: Huh?

Nayuta: That’s why, today, you choose, Kanata.

Kanata: Sigh. Fine. Then, I’ll get the yakisobaーno, let’s share it half and half. Then we can eat both, right?

Nayuta: You’re right, but...

Kanata: “Sharing everything is what a family is”, right?

_

Kanata: Aah, it was good! We’re full now, so, let’s sleep.

Nayuta: Kanata.

Kanata: Huh?

Nayuta: There’s something that’s always been on my mind...

Kanata: What?

Nayuta: I don’t think we can continue being like this.

Kanata: Ha?

Nayuta: Um... I think it’s better for Kanata to go out more. It’s better for you to widen your world.

Kanata: You... what are you saying, suddenly?

Nayuta: I understood from our battle with BAE the other day... because Kanata was different. 

Kanata: Me? Ha, which part? I’m just as usualーー

Nayuta: No, you were different. You were... you were way, way better than the usual Kanata.

Kanata: ...!

Nayuta: I think... it’s probably because of the thing with BAE. After that, Kanata started making the track with amazing vigor, right?

Kanata: That’s... I just didn’t want to lose against those naive guys, that’s all.

Nayuta: That day’s stage... I felt it. That our music have a way amazing future. That meeting changed Kanata. I felt it, you do too, don’t you?

Kanata: ...!

Nayuta: You can’t keep being closed off like this. If we stay only in our world... one day, we’ll reach our limits.

Kanata: Don’t say stupid things! Weren’t we always the best!? Nayuta and I - what else do we need!?

Nayuta: Other people.

Kanata: ...!

Nayuta: Other people’s music. Other people’s passion. Hope. Desire. That’s what will make you stronger, Kanata.

Kanata: ...

Nayuta: That’s why, Kanata. Go out more. Meet other people. If you do, cozmez can go to greater heights.

Kanata: Then, Nayuta, you too. With meーー

Nayuta: I’m not going.

Kanata: Why!?

Nayuta: You understand, don’t you? I can’t go.

Kanata: What are youーー

Nayuta: You have to go by yourself, Kanata.

Kanata: Ha?

Nayuta: Kanata, for yourself.

Kanata: ...!

(Sound of train passing through.)

Kanata: Stop screwing around... STOP SCREWING AROUND!!

(Kanata kicks some stuff.)

Kanata: What the hell are you on about!? “Go by yourself”!? Don’t screw with me!!

Nayuta: ...

Kanata: We were always together... we did everything with only the two of us, didn’t we!? When we got hit by shitty adults, when we ran away from the orphanage...!! Hungry, frozen, when we live by drinking muddy water...!!

Nayuta: Yeah... Kanata always protected me.

Kanata: I’m fine if I only have you, Nayuta!! Other people’s music, passion, who the hell cares about that!? I don’t ー we don’t need it! I always told you, don’t I!? If we’re together, we’re the strongest...!!

Nayuta: Kanata...

Kanata: Don’t... leave me alone... I... it’s enough if I only have Nayuta...

Nayuta: Kanata... I’m the same. I want to make Kanata happy. Because you’re my number one... I want to make you happy even if it costs me my life.

(Kanata cries.)

Nayuta: Don’t cry, Kanata... I’m sorry... There’s nothing else I can do...

(Sound of train passing.)

_

(Reo bangs on the door.)

Reo: Satsuki-chan!! Hey, get a grip!! Until when are you going to be in the toilet!? Make it fast, Satsuki-chan!! Are you pooping!? Hey, are you pooping!!?

(Satsuki opens the door.)

Satsuki: I’m not pooping, you shitty brat!!

Reo: Waahhh, stinky!!! You really were pooping!!

Satsuki: Shut up!! You just have to pinch your nose and get in!!

Zen: Hey! Be good and use the toilet in order! Jeez, even though we’re about to eat.

(Hokusai puts plates and chopsticks on the table.)

Hokusai: I’m done putting the plates and chopsticks on the table... What should I do next...?

Zen: Thank you, Hokusai! Then, please get the usual out.

Hokusai: Okay.

Iori: Yawn... Oh, smells good. 

Zen: Today’s miso-shiru is Waka’s favorite, potato miso-shiru!

Iori: Ooh, ‘s merry! Ooh... dried horse mackerel, spinach ohitashi, hijiki, and tamagoyaki, huh... [5] Good work as usual.

Zen: Not at all. A healthy mind dwell in a healthy body! Eating is important, after all!

Iori: Haha, yer right, but..

Hokusai: Zen. Strawberry, banana, and yoghurt... which one?

Iori: Eatin’ protein as dessert’s kindaーー

Zen: Ah! Waka, in place of closing tea, would you like the matcha flavor?

Iori: No... yeah.

_

Iori: Alright!

Satsuki & Reo: Let’s dig in!!

Hokusai: Let’s eat.

(Sound of door bell ringing.)

Iori: Huh? Who is it at this time?

Zen: Is it some kind of a salesperson?

(Door bell keeps ringing.)

Satsuki: So noisy!

(Satsuki stands up.)

Satsuki: Zen-nii, I’ll drive them away quick!

(Door bell keeps ringing.)

Satsuki: Oi, you’re bein’ noisy so early in the morning!! Get aーー

(Satsuki opens the door.)

Satsuki: ...!? Eh!?

Reo: Hey, did you reject them properly?

Hokusai: Satsuki.

Satsuki: Ah, no... when I opened the door, he’s standing in the foyer...

Reo: Huh? You, have I seen you somewhere...?

Hokusai: cozmez’s... Kanata...?

Iori: Huh? What’s upーー Ha...?

Zen: Kanata-kun... why are you here?

Kanata: I told you that I’ve investigated the Suiseki group, didn’t I? I know, at least, that this is the only house left after the group collapsed.

Satsuki: Oi, how dare you speak informally to Zen-nii!? Rather, Zen-nii, do you know him?

Zen: No, uh...

Iori: And? What business d’ya have, suddenly bargin’ in to other people’s house?

Kanata: Suiseki-san... I want to speak one-on-one with you.

Reo: Whaーdid you come to pick a fight!?

Satsuki: Aight, I’ll fight you, get out!

Hokusai: Fighting is not good...

Iori: Haha. That’s how it is. Everyone here’s my family. Don’t hold back, say anything ya want. Or... are ya scared in front of everyone ya can’t talk?

Kanata: Such a thing...

Zen: Judging from your state... something serious happened, didn’t it? If there’s anything we can do for you, then please.

Kanata: Um, yesterday... I’m sorry.

Iori: Huh.

Kanata: I’ll apologize for yesterday. That’s why, Nayuta... please, look for Nayuta...!

Notes

[1] As in illegal, dark dealings.

[2] It’s a play on words. “Modoki” means “mock” or “-pseudo”. I think he’s punning it with “ganmodoki”, a type of dish. From Wikipedia: “Ganmodoki is a fried tofu fritter made with vegetables, such as carrots, lotus roots and burdock. It may also contain egg. Ganmodoki means pseudo-goose This is because ganmodoki is said to taste like goose”. You can also put it in an oden.

[3] He’s not talking in his fake accent...

[4]  From Wikipedia: Chuuka-don is a bowl of rice with stir-fried vegetables, onions, mushrooms, and thin slices of meat on top. From japanfoodaddict.com: Gomoku Yakisoba is crispy, grilled noodles with vegetables, pork, and seafood, in a hearty, thick sauce.

[5] Ohitashi:  boiled greens in bonito-flavored soy sauce; hijiki:  dark edible seaweed usually sold in dried black strips; tamagoyaki: fried egg.

[justmickeyfornow]

(damn limited words) Well, I just wanted to let you know that you are really good at it, writing I mean, I hope you never give out on it. Like I said, it's like a whole season and I don´t want to read another fic just yet haha (no pressure here). I'm a law student so I don't have too much time to read something for fun and I always find myself searching a little time to read PI and to think what might come next.

I kinda agree with you, it IS like a whole season. When I think of Supergirl, I immediately think of the events that happened in PI after season 2. That after rhea and the Daxamites and that whole thing, Lena was left to pick up the pieces of her mistake. She was left with another broken part of herself and the city's destruction was all her fault.

I felt that in the show they never really gave any focus towards that. One minute, it was the Daxamites army had their ships flying into National City like it was just another Sunday and terrorizing everyone and destroying buildings and whatnot and then the next thing you know Lena was... Buying CatCo. What happened with all the wreckage, the destruction. No one mentioned it. No one mentioned how Lena lost Rhea as a friend and a mentor and had yet another person blatantly deceive her like that. And I guess I didn't really like it. It's something that a lot of superhero movies/TV shows tend to miss (besides Agents of shield I think) . A hero and a villain fight it out in the middle of the city where one throws the other through a building and the other punches the first one and have them land onto a house or something. And like? Weren't people living there? Where'd they go. Yeah, I get the hero saved the day, but... Did they help putting everything back? Lol. It always makes me wonder! I know it's such a silly detail but I'm a bit picky like that.

And yeah, PI is almost 50 chapters long and can fit a whole season in there! I'm still surprised I reached the number of chapters I've reached (I say that because I honest to God am not sure what chapter are we on. 42?44? Somewhere in the 40s I'm sure)

And oh! You're a law student! That's amazing! Listen, if I ever need to write some legal stuff for either PI or another fic, can I bug you about specifics? I'm always a sucker for detail and tend to bother a few people in the medical or engineering field to help out with writing things that I know close to nothing of! I don't know but I feel it gives the story a bit more authenticity. And it gives me a chance to learn some new things!

[evitcani-writes]

Don’t Believe the TV: Chapter 2 Draft

Okay, so as it happens, I found an ABSOLUTE jam, so I managed to get through chapter 2. 

[Part 1]

Tentatively calling it, "Pretend Like Way Back When". Check out the last post for the playlist. ;p 

Hope you enjoy it!

--

Taako glared at Kravitz’s reflection in the mirror. “You swear on your life this is temporary, right?”

“Yes,” Kravitz laughed and began brushing bright turquoise into Taako’s wet hair. “It’ll wash out when you take a shower tonight. I’ll wash it out for you if you want.”

“Mm,” Taako hummed, starting on his makeup while Kravitz worked. “Let's call it a date.”

Kravitz snorted and shook his head, smiling genuinely. “I took care of the social media side of things,” he said, finishing with the color. “You’re sick so we’re going to cuddle by the fire with orange juice as far as anyone is concerned.”

That sounds nice, Taako thought as he did his eyes. “Damn it,” he swore, missing the swipe.

“Here,” Kravitz said and took the pencil from him. He smudged at the misplaced swipe and did it perfectly on his first try.

Taako blinked at his reflection. “I thought you had a whole team to do your face. When did they teach you to do makeup?”

“They didn’t,” Kravitz said and did not extrapolate.

Rolling his eyes, Taako finished with his lipstick. He thought it was too heavy a look for a backyard wedding, but Kravitz had insisted it would be fine. Kravitz leaned in to do his own makeup. It was only then that he realized Kravitz’s hair had changed. “Hey, what’s—? Where’d you get long hair from?”

Kravitz huffed a laugh and tied it back in a messy bun. The sides were shaved. “This is my natural hair, Taako,” he told him and then started to unscrew his left hand. He set the prosthetic aside and took another one from his bag.

Taako prodded the one on the hotel vanity, strangely fascinated at how realistic it was. “I wondered this the last time, but you—Why don’t you wear this one all the time? It looks real.”

“It’s stiff,” Kravitz grunted and adjusted the robotic fingers of the prosthetic from his bag. “I only wear it for work.” Taako could hear the joints clicking as they moved, not as quiet as newer models were. He added an upgrade to his mental list of Candlenights presents.

After another flex of his fingers, Kravitz seemed satisfied with it. He stepped back and offered his hand to Taako. Taako took a moment to appreciate how different Kravitz was in beaten dark jeans, a black button up. His prosthetic hand glowed through the seams at the joints and the end of his hair was dyed to match. Even his duffel bag matched his phone case more than the person Taako had come to know.

This was going to be an entirely new experience.

Taako took Kravitz’s hand and slung his purse over his shoulder. He peeked out and made sure the hallway was clear before they made their escape. They hurried away to the elevators. Even with sunglasses and a style unlike the one he normally wore, Taako still feared recognition.

Once they were in the lobby, they easily disappeared to the taxis waiting outside. Kravitz gave the address and then turned to fuss with Taako’s hair as it dried. Taako sighed and let Kravitz do whatever he was doing. “How long’s the drive?” He asked.

“Maybe fifteen minutes,” Kravitz nodded, gesturing to the open fields. “Mama lives in the country. Not far, like I said.” He paused and presented Taako with a pair of fake glasses from his bag.

Taako donned them with a flourish and tilted his head this way and that at Kravitz. “How do I look?”

“Like a wannabe groupie for a boy band,” Kravitz laughed and sat back. “It’s not a bad style,” he added at Taako’s reproachful look. He smiled as he looked Taako over. “Kind of cute.”

At least he didn’t look like Taako, which was the important part. “Well,” he said, gesturing to himself. “Greg here has an image to maintain.”

“You’re going by Greg?” Kravitz scoffed and covered his mouth. Taako recognized this as something only Kravitz did, to bite back his laughter when something delighted him. Keats was not given to laughter.

“Gregory C. Toff,” he said primly, now with the goal of making Kravitz laugh again. He’d been so free with it today. “You gotta problem with my name, handsome?”

“No, no,” Kravitz grinned, mouth still hidden behind his palm. “What, pray tell, is your occupation, Mr. Toff?”

Taako thought for a moment, finger dancing in the air as if he was about to tell Kravitz off. “Chef,” he finally said, poking Kravitz in the chest. “A chef on local access television. ‘Oh, don’t you know who I am? Gregory, you know, from TV?’” Kravitz laughed despite himself and Taako felt satisfied. He wished things could be like this all the time; like it had been when they were kids. He missed everyone they could have been back then. “Hey,” he said, not really sure what he was doing. “Remember when I asked you what your name was? In Mr. Davenport’s class right before lunch?”

“I told you that you already knew it,” Kravitz said, his expression dimming, but only from laughter to something Taako wanted to pretend was affection. “I pretended to be offended you’d forgotten.”

“It was the first time I realized you and him weren’t the same person,” Taako laughed and took out his phone. “You do such a good job at it, pretending,” he said while flipping through old pictures. “Better than the other boys.” There it was, the old picture he’d made Mr. Merle and Mr. Davenport promise to tell no one about. The two old teachers stood in the background, incriminating themselves as much as the others. Lup, Barry, Lucretia, Magnus, Julia, and on either of Taako’s arms, Keats and Kravitz. Keats—cool and collected with his perfect princely smile—and Kravitz—his face half-hidden in laughter in Taako’s hair—both an almost-perfect imitation of the other.

He shoved his phone at Kravitz. “You know, I’ve always wondered—Did you have a name before I asked?” He zoomed in on the collection of albums behind them on Mr. Davenport’s shelf. ‘Greatest Hits of Lenny Kravitz’ stood out among them.

Kravitz tapped the photo so it showed the whole picture again, all of them together and happy. “Does it matter?”

“It matters to me,” Taako said and smiled down at all of those people they could have been. The screen dimmed to black and he looked up at Kravitz. “Doesn’t it matter to you?”

For one, tense moment, he thought Kravitz would pull away again, go cold and disappear under his mask. Instead, he lay his hand over Taako’s. “I’m Kravitz,” he said softly, “and you’re Greg, a chef, my plus-one. Are you a friend or—?” He met Taako’s eyes.

“Lover,” Taako laughed, letting go of the question Kravitz wasn’t ready to answer. “I don’t want anyone trying to play matchmaker with me tonight, my guy.”

“Got it,” Kravitz said and let go of Taako’s hand. His warmth lingered on Taako’s knuckles. “If anyone asks, I’m a musician.”

“You’re a, a what now?” Taako stared at him, too surprised to do more than laugh. “I’ve heard you sing, you’re—”

Terrible, awful, will crack all the champagne glasses, he thought to himself and wondered how Kravitz ever passed off that lie.

Kravitz grinned, putting one finger under Taako’s chin to close his mouth. “Just go with it,” he winked as the taxi rolled to a stop. He opened the door and pulled Taako through, his prosthetic hand cold and inviting. Once they were out, Kravitz turned to pay the driver. They stood at the end of a long, long dirt road on cracked pavement that hadn’t seen repair in at least a decade. He was glad, now, that Kravitz had insisted he wear sneakers and not heels.

Ahead of them was a little house in the middle of rolling fields of wildflowers in colors Taako had never seen. White balloons clung to the old, rusted mailbox and a thousand cars had parked in the field before the driveway. Clouds threatened to douse them all, but it was otherwise more breathtaking than he’d expected.

A little backyard wedding, Taako thought, watching the distant people milling around the front. He’d never been to something so quaint.

He was looking forward to Kravitz guiding him through it.

“Come on, we’ll be late if we don’t get moving,” Kravitz said and took his hand. “You’ll have to meet my uncle. He’d love to talk to you about magic.” Taako held out his hand and let the tips of wheat and flower brush the of his hand. He wondered how they knew not to grow where they wouldn’t hurt them. “Don’t drink the moonshine. It’ll knock you flat on your ass, T—Greg.” He looked up, watching a stray balloon escape into the only tree. It had a tire attached to its most sturdy branch. A tractor rusted against a broken shell of a barn. “Watch what you say around Angus. He’ll see straight through you. Too smart for his own good.”

Had this been where Kravitz went on vacations, on holiday? Was this what Kravitz meant when he said home?

Before he could get too distracted, a crowd of children ran at them, pulling Kravitz away in a cacophony of delighted shrieks. Taako followed along, refusing to help free Kravitz even when Kravitz cast a backwards glance of put-upon misery at him. He grinned the rest of the way down the drive. From there, he was introduced to who Taako thought might be the entire McDonald family and never caught one name.

He’s Kravitz McDonald, he thought to himself. He’d never known Kravitz’s last name.

He managed to find a spot to sit with a gaggle of aunts who asked all the questions that Taako had come to believe aunts would ask. Taako didn’t see Kravitz again until the music started. Mama Kravitz on a piano, under a tent and Kravitz with a violin beside her, playing with his left-hand.

He’s left-handed, he thought to himself.

His new friends in the aunts said, “He’s so talented, that Kravitz.”

“Luckiest man in the world,” Taako dared to say, “Like a dream.” He did not know why he said it except that it was all make-believe; like the proposal the day before.

All went quiet and their eyes turned to the backdoor of the house, to the ivy clinging to its brick and the screen door held aloft by a boy in a bowtie no older than ten.

Sloane McDonald was beautiful. She looked nothing like Kravitz and too much like him all the same. She lifted her dress as the promised rain began to pour. Under the white ruffles were tattered boots and she stepped fearlessly into the beginnings of mud. Her dress soaked the rain to blue, but the sun still shone above her in a halo. Her pin straight hair fell from its delicate bun and she laughed, shaking it and turning to two little girls trying to run under the eaves to hide from the rain. They ran out again and picked up her heavy dress, using it like an umbrella. Together, they bustled down the aisle to Sloane’s soon-to-be-wife.

Taako hadn’t caught the name of the other bride, but liked her just by the way she watched Sloane.

And all through the rain and ceremony, Kravitz and his mother played melodies so sweet that Taako’s heart ached. He remembered that Kravitz had almost missed this, almost missed playing a duet for his sister and all the people who did not need to wipe their eyes for the rain. He, too, had almost Kravitz and not needing to wipe his eyes for the rain.

When the vows had been exchanged, each guest picked up their chair and set it aside. Cousins, aunts, uncles all took out cheap plastic tables and helped rearrange the seating. The rain stopped and Taako took off his shoes like the other guests. Music was changed to a little speaker with a phone nearby.

Kravitz found him at his table of aunts.

“You should have brought him earlier,” they scolded Kravitz, “He could have helped with dinner!”

“If I would have brought him earlier, you all would have kept him busy answering your nosy questions instead of cooking,” he laughed and took Taako’s hand. Taako noticed he was barefoot, too. “I hope they weren’t too much for you to handle, love.”

“They are perfect ladies,” Taako grinned and let himself be taken to wine, to the dance floor. Both of them had been trained to dance, but they didn’t need to. Kravitz put one hand on his shoulder and Taako one arm around Kravitz. They swayed with their wine, watching the other guests. Kravitz told him from their vantage point who everyone was, pointing them out with subtle tips of his glass.

When they ran out of wine and the children had been put to bed in a big room of mattresses, they put their glasses aside and stopped letting everyone tease them about boring. Kravitz twirled him, both of them a little drunk. It started raining again and their feet were covered in mud and grass. He sang along with the song, a soft baritone Taako had never heard before, “We could pretend, like Romeo and Juliet.” His breath smelled like the wine, warm under his ear where his lips kissed Taako’s neck on each word. “We could make some noise, bother the neighbors with the headboard.”

And it was good, the best song Taako had ever heard.

Keats couldn’t sing, but Kravitz could.

It was sure doing some things to Taako he knew it shouldn’t have. “You could take my time, like I’ve been hopin’,” Taako sang, soft and unsure of himself, whispered just for Kravitz.

Kravitz led him off to the barn between knowing looks. He pressed Taako against the side and kissed him senseless, hands down the back of Taako’s jeans. It was no more than kissing, lips and mood buzzing pleasantly. Taako ran his hands through Kravitz’s soft, soft hair. “I’m not fuckin’ you in a barn,” he warned Kravitz with a laugh before going in for another greedy kiss.

“But you want to,” Kravitz said between little kisses.

“Mhm,” Taako said, no hint of shame. Singing wasn’t the only wonderful thing Kravitz could do with his tongue.

Somehow, they ended up in Kravitz’s old room. The taxis refused to come out so far, so late. They’d have to stay until morning. They were both too drunk and tired to do more than messily fit themselves into the single bed, muddy feet staining the sheets.

Taako woke up in the middle of the night, Kravitz’s hot breath against his collarbone and whispered, “Shit,” to the ceiling.

This Kravitz McDonald who could sing and still had a room in his mama’s house and a beautiful sister with a beautiful wife and a family who liked Taako because Kravitz did would be the death of him. He may have, just a little bit, have fallen in love with the heart he could feel in a steady rhythm against his side. Maybe, maybe a little, he’d always loved the arms wrapped around him. Possibly, probably, he was only just realizing he’d been waiting for Kravitz to fall in love with him first.

And he hadn’t.

Taako squeezed his eyes shut. “Idiot,” he told himself.

[betsyandmaxwellandduchessohmy]

concepts: dadsona is one of the dads that joseph did away with in the cult ending. imagine the absolute FREAKOUT when he opens the door to find dadsona beaming at him with a plate of brownies, laughing. (Good thing we had good medical insurance, right?) But dadsona's hands are so cold. They talk at length, but never seem to stop for breath. no blinking, either. (1/2)

(2/2) and every goddamn night, joseph can see them, standing out in the street and watching his bedroom window. just watching, ever-polite. he visits their grave the next day, and it's still there. dead, but not gone. very very angry at you, joseph. So Very, Very Angry. (SORRY IF YOU DONT LIKE HORROR JUST THOUGHT IT WAS NEATO)

((ARE YOU KIDDING THIS IS NEATO BURRITO! I don’t know how good my response will be since, for all my interest in horror, I actually don’t write horror a lot. I kinda rushed through the end of this so I could post something this week, so sorry if that's a little obvious

I’m kinda on the fence about the cult ending as a whole, because the developers already messed with Joseph’s character enough by not allowing him a truly happy ending, and it just feels like the icing on the cake of that whole shitshow. But, part of me also kinda likes it? I can’t explain why. I think any story with a More Than Meets The Eye element, I kinda like a little. And I like horror! I understand that this wasn’t the most appropriate place for it, but I like it! So! CULT ENDING WARNING FOR PEOPLE WHO DON”T LIKE/DON”T WANT TO SEE CULT ENDING STUFF

This one really got away from me, and it came out way more Amanda-centric than I think Nonny intended, but I love the idea of Amanda practicing any kind of witchcraft. I just wish dadsona had been alive to have a talk with her about practicing dark magic responsibly.))

~~~

Amanda didn’t question it much, when the book showed up on the doorstep while she was cleaning up the house. She almost tossed it out - It was an ancient thing, the edges of the pages in tatters, the title on the leather spine almost completely lost to age. But out of curiosity, after glancing around briefly and finding no one in sight to have left it, she brought it inside.

She sat in the half-packed living room, intending to look through the fragile pages for some note to give her an explanation, and then set it aside and leave it be. She wasn’t in the mood for pranks and if this was Emma R.’s idea of a funny joke now, she was going to kill her.

A page near the back of the book was marked with a lump of dried root, and Amanda felt her throat close up a little when she read the title at the top of the page.

Returning The Wrongfully Taken

She inhaled sharply, resisting the urge to toss the book as though it had burned her, the way her instincts told her to.

Instead, she tentatively picked up the root, setting it aside as she read through the ingredients. And the ritual. And the incantation. The root, she figured, was probably the mentioned aconite. It was the only ingredient she didn’t at least have a vague idea about. It was all very complicated, but at the same time, she couldn’t bring herself to care. She’d played witches with Emma when she was little, and had started taking an interest in wicca a few years ago without really pursuing it, but this seemed like the kind of book the Wicked Witch might’ve had on her shelf. And that actually made her hopeful, in a tentative, scary kind of way, that it was real.

She didn’t know what the book meant by Wrongfully Taken. A quick glance through the table of contents said there were other necromancy spells for people who died before their time - even one specifically for people lost to the sea. But whoever had left this on her doorstep had marked “Wrongfully Taken”, and given her one of the ingredients that wasn’t found in any of the other dead-raising spells. Were they mistaken, or was she missing something?

In any case, she decided she had to try. What did she have to lose, anyway? A few bucks on ingredients and one night of her summer.

She would give up a lot more, if there was even a scrap of a chance that she could see her dad again.

~

Almost every family in the Cul-De-Sac had offered to let her come stay with them until she went off to college. Robert offered condolences, and Joseph told her to come by the church any time when he brought a plate of cookies by a few days after the funeral, but she understood neither of them were really in a position to take her in, even just briefly. She didn’t want to impose on anyone, but she just… couldn’t live in that house by herself, even if she could afford it. And none of her old friends seemed interested in offering.

In the end, she’d accepted Lucien and mister Bloodmarch’s offer. Damien knew a lot about plants, which was useful, and she felt a little less awkward about the whole thing since she was living with someone closer to her age who didn’t currently hate her.

And missus Christiansen came to visit quite often, which surprised her a little. She hadn’t known Mary and Damien were friends. Good friends, too, considering the way she just let herself in. It was always a little unsettling when Amanda came downstairs after all day in her (Temporary, Still-Packed) room and found her in the sitting room.

Much like today.

Lucien had called her from the door on his way in, saying she'd gotten a package (more of her ingredients, she was sure,) and she came down to find Mary sitting in the red room, drinking tea like she lived there.

“Hey there, Amanda,” she greeted casually, taking a sip out of Damien’s delicate teacups. Amanda had used them a few times, but she tried not to because she was terrified of breaking them.

“Hey, missus Christiansen,” she replied, giving her a friendly smile before turning toward the kitchen. “Lucien? Where’d you put that-” the package dropped into her hands. “Thank you.”

Lucien gave her a nod and a smile, passing her on his way up the stairs and left her awkwardly standing on the landing.

“What’d you get, kiddo?”

Amanda felt a lump in her throat as she turned from the stairs to Mary. Damien and Lucien mostly left her to herself. Offered themselves up if it seemed like she needed an ear, but letting her grieve alone when she needed. So they hadn’t really asked about her packages, or why she asked the questions she did. Maybe that was why, after a beat, she decided to share.

“Oh, you know. Dittany, copal incense, myrrh oil,” she hummed casually, giving a shrug as she pulled the tape off the box. It looked like this one also contained the death’s head hawkmoth she’d gotten from an online specialty store that worked with a butterfly sanctuary. She figured she could give it to Damien once she was done with it. Mary gave a hum of interest and Amanda paused, catching a whiff from her cup.

“What’re you drinking?"

“Elderflower tea. With a little chervil and mugwort. Little something a friend of mine cooked up, thought I’d bring some over for Dames. You wanna try?” she asked, lifting the pot. Pausing a moment, Amanda gave a small nod, taking a seat across from her and setting her package aside as Mary poured her a cup and held it out. There were still flecks of ingredients floating in her cup - she knew people did that, but it struck her as odd for some reason.

“Never took you for a tea drinker, missus Christiansen,” Amanda hummed thoughtfully taking the cup as carefully as humanly possible.

“I’m not really. But I’ve been told it’s in bad form to have wine before noon,” she returned, leaning back and taking a sip through her smile. “And call me Mary, kiddo. I’m not the stickler for formality that Damien is.”

Amanda managed a chuckle at that, taking a sip and feeling… strangely comfortable, for the first time in a while. She hummed in satisfaction, leaning back a bit herself.

“This is really good,” she hummed without really realizing she’d spoken. Mary smiled, and suddenly looked very tired.

“I’ll pass along the compliment,” she stated, setting her cup aside. “My friend’s a real hippie type. Apparently this stuff is supposed to heighten your connection to the spiritual plane,” she added, her tone a little intentionally dramatic. Amanda nearly spit out her tea, but she managed to maintain composure and swallow like a normal person.

“Oh. Really?” she asked carefully,

“Oh, yeah, she’s really into all that stuff. Tarot and lunar cycles and all. Not really my thing, but hey, tea’s good,” she hummed. Amanda paused a moment, taking another long sip from her cup, almost forgetting how delicate the porcelain in her hands was. This all seemed… a bit too convenient. Mary had a friend who was into what sounded an awful lot like witchcraft. Mary brought over tea that was supposed to help someone connect to the spirit world. Mary lived right next to her old house and would certainly not look out of place leaving something on her grieving neighbor’s doorstep. Amanda swallowed hard.

“Mis- Mary, I-”

“I’m home!” Damien called from the door, moving through the house with a dramatic flourish that made his cloak whirl.

“Welcome back, Sweetpea,” Mary called. Amanda swallowed her words, forcing a smile when she felt Damien place a hand on her shoulder, clearly glad to see her out of her room. Mary stood to hug him and Amanda finished her tea, standing carefully to go rinse out her cup.

On her way toward the kitchen, she glanced back, and managed to catch the meaningful look Mary shot her. She gave her a nod, and the older woman seemed to relax just a touch further into Damien’s arms. Swallowing hard, Amanda turned and retreated. She had work to do.

~

Amanda felt drained, but satisfied. She’d followed the instructions to the letter. She’d performed the ritual exactly as the book had said, and now she knelt before her father’s grave, quietly counting the weeds that had started growing on the turned earth. The book said the spirit might take a few minutes to manifest, so she wasn’t going to get nervous about whether or not it had worked yet.

She hadn’t gotten another chance to talk to Mary, which was regrettable, but otherwise didn’t bother her much. She couldn’t tell if it was just bad luck or if Mary was actively avoiding her, but she chose to believe it was the former. Still, she could’ve used some help with all this. Even if Mary actually didn’t know, she would’ve liked to meet this mysterious ‘friend’.

She shook off the thought and crossed her legs, picking up a thermos full of the tea Mary had given her - Well, given Damien. Semantics. It wasn’t bad, just weird. The moon was full and bright, casting white light on her as she turned to lean on the headstone and took a swig of the earthy, almost bitter mix.

“You gonna share?”

Amanda gasped, nearly dropping the thermos as she looked up at the voice.

“Dad!”

She threw herself at you, and you grunted when she pushed you to the ground, landing firmly on top of you, arms around your shoulders. Groaning, you hugged back, smiling as you looked down and ruffled her hair.

“Alright. Let me up, sweet pea. Dead or not, being crushed isn’t great for the old man bones,” you hummed, coughing for emphasis. Amanda laughed through her tears, kissing your cheek and sitting up.

“God, I’m sorry, I just..” She leaned in as you sat up, wrapping her arms around you and burying her face in your chest. Your clothes felt wet and salty, but she chalked it up to her tears and didn’t question it. “I’ve missed you.”

Your smile softened and you tucked your daughter close, resting your chin on her hair.

“I missed you too, Panda,” you murmured, kissing her hair. Clearing her throat, she sat back again, wiping her eyes with the sleeves of her jacket.

“Okay, first things first. I need to know. The spell I used, it implies that you were taken, not that you just died. What- did something happen? Before the boat sank? After? I just. I need to understand.”

You paused a moment, expression going cold as you remembered. Flashes of ropes. Of warm water getting quickly colder as you sank. A dark cave rank with the stink of rotten earth.

“Joseph,” you murmured, though it came out more like a growl.

“Mister Christiansen got out alright. The coast guard picked him up and-”

“Of course he got out. He’s the one that sank the boat,” you murmur, something dark coming over your look. Amanda froze up a little at it, zombies and vengeful spirits catching in her head for a moment. She shook them out and reached up, placing a hand on your face.

“Dad?”

You sigh, placing your hand over hers. The darkness faded and she let out a tiny sigh of relief.

“It’s… A long story, Manda Panda. I don’t think I understand most of it myself, but…"

“Dad. Tell me.”

So you did.

~

Joseph blinked in surprise at the knock on the door, setting aside his book and pushing to his feet. He wasn’t expecting anyone. Maybe someone from the church? It was fundraiser season, too, he recalled, the mere thought of cheap-tasting chocolate bars making his expression sour briefly.

Clearing his throat, he straightened his clothes and put on a charming grin before reaching for the door knob.

“Hey there! How can I.. help…”

“Hey there, Joe! Been a hot minute, huh? It’s good to see you!” you greeted jovially, quietly relishing the way the color drained from his face.

“Oh. Um. Yeah! It. It sure has,” he nodded, eyes flickering from your smiling face to the plate of brownies you held, to the clothes you wore - just slightly damp, the same ones you were wearing-

“These are for you, by the way. Make sure you get one before the kids get to ‘em, kay? Made ‘em with hot fudge,” you grinned. Even with the cheerful curl of your mouth, Joseph could see something in your eyes. Something not quite right. They were the same shape, same color, but… brighter. Too bright. Just on the near side of glowing. You were still talking, something about his kids and the recipe you used and health insurance. You went on and on, and never took pause long enough to breathe, nevermind get a word in. So he feigned listening until you finally stopped. It took him awhile to realize that you were waiting for an answer to a question.

“Oh, I, uh,”

“Joseph? You alright, man?”

Joseph looked past you, spotting Mat out on the sidewalk, giving him a smile that betrayed concern.

“Oh, I’m alright, Mat. Just enjoying the morning air,” he assured, cheerful as ever. You raised an arm to wave, but Mat was already moving on, not even acknowledging your presence. Turning back to Joseph, you kept smiling, still unblinking, placing the plate of brownies in his hands before he had time to realize he was taking them.

“He’s a real sweetheart, that Mat,” you hummed thoughtfully, cocking your head slightly at Joseph in a way that made a shiver shoot down his back. “But most of the people around here are good folks. If anyone did anything to hurt any of them- why, I might just have to kill them over it!”

You laughed, even as Joseph suddenly felt very cold. Words like that should not make someone like him shrivel and retreat, but under normal circumstances, you were mortal, which you clearly weren’t anymore because he’d felt the life drain from you and how was it you were even standing here?

“Heh, sorry if I spooked you with that one. Amanda’s been getting me on the “Fatalistic Humor” game her generation’s got going on. Figure it’ll give me an edge with her friends,” you added with a shrug. “Anyway, I gotta get going, but I’ll see you around, yeah?”

You started away from the house, still smiling over your shoulder, waving at him. He paused a moment before the feeling came back into his legs and he stepped inside, closing the door with a sour expression and dumping the plate into the trash.

“Like home you will.”

~

The thing was, he didn’t stop seeing you.

You were in the window at the Coffee Spoon. Crossing the street downtown. Ducking into shops to escape the rain or the heat. And no matter where he saw you, you always met his gaze. Always with that same cheerful grin and those dead, cold eyes. He’d thought himself impervious to intimidation up until this point, when he started panicking in front of his neighbors. They didn’t suspect anything though - save Robert, perhaps - just thought he was a man wracked with guilt over the death of another neighbor. He actually said your name once, when he saw you over the fence during a barbecue, and Brian had reassured him that it was just his eyes playing tricks on him.

No one else had seen you.

He could go into a shop you had just left, describe you to everyone in there, and none of them would have seen you.

Not that he did that. That would make him look like a crazy person.

But it was unsettling. You shouldn’t be here. Even with the level of ability humans had, necromancy alone shouldn’t have been able to bring your soul back from where he’d stuck it. But here you were. Everywhere. He couldn’t go more than a few hours without seeing you, unless he stayed inside all day with the curtains drawn.

Even when he did just that, the nights were worse.

His dreams were plagued with you. They could start innocent, even sweet, before devolving into a horror show, his own tactics and methods turned against him in a way that made him sick. And when he woke, he automatically looked to the window - the only dim source of light from the streetlamps outside. And there you stood, still smiling with cold, dead eyes.

He had guided evil this far. This should not be enough to turn the tables on him. But here he was, more and more scared of a dead man.

How the mighty fall.

[emerhys-beril]

Em’s Interview

► Name? ➔   "Eme-" he pauses for a moment, "Em. Jus' call me Em."

► Are you single? ➔ Scratches the tip of his nose, and raises his left eyebrow with a small smirk playing on his lips, "Aye, I am. Why ya askin' tha'?"

► Are you happy? ➔ "Most days,"

► Are you angry? ➔  "Oh now, tha' depends. Did the dogs get inta the pantry again?"  A couple of loud thuds sound and skittering paws scratch behind him. He sighs heavily. "OK, maybe more disappointed than angry."

► Are your parents still married? ➔  He shrugs, "Technically, they aren't."

NINE FACTS

► Birthplace ➔  "On a ship near Kul Tiras. 'r so I was told."

► Hair Color ➔ He picks up a lock of his long hair, and looks at it inquisitively; " I guess y' can say it's strawberry blonde?" he then tucks it behind his ear with a small smile.

► Eye Color ➔ "This weird shade of pale greenish blue? My mum said it's like seafoam."

► Birthday ➔ "October 19th."

► Mood ➔ "Tired. Tired all the time."

► Gender ➔ "I'm anything y' want me to be... sorry, old habits die hard. Male... 100%. Don't look't me like tha'. I'm not lyin'... ok maybe like 80%" A snicker is heard from behind him. He grumbles. "60/40? Let's decide on a number later."

► Tattoos/Scars ➔ "Got this scar here... and this one here... where'd 'at one come from? Hm..." he trails off and then realized one more thing; " I got a tattoo, but I'd rather not show it."

► Summer or winter? ➔  "Neither. But if I 'ad t' choose... Winter. People don' look at y' as weird when yer making dessert at midnight."

► Morning or afternoon? ➔ "Morning...and any time the dogs are asleep."

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE

► Are you in love? ➔  "Nope. Too much of a 'assle."

► Do you believe in love at first sight? ➔  "No." 

► Who ended your last relationship? ➔  "Myself. When I started my most recent job."

► Have you ever broken someone's heart? ➔  "Aye, n' my face got scarred for it too."

► Are you afraid of commitments? ➔  "No. Aye? No? No, th' answer's no."

► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔  "I've 'ad my arms wrapped aroun' people, but not huggin', no... n' I just realized that sounded a bit off now din'it?"

► Have you ever had a secret admirer? ➔  Em smirks, "Oh, I've 'ad admirers. None of them secret really."

► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔  Em furrows his brow and thinks. "Aye? I guess I' ave."

SIX CHOICES

► Love or lust? ➔ "Why not both?" he shrugs and runs a hand through his hair. "I mean y' can love someone n' lust after another." He sighs heavily "I've seen it many times before."

► Cats or Dogs? ➔ Glances around and then states adamantly, "Cats, like 85%. Dogs are too dependent," A human male looks down from the Crowsnest scowling at the half-elf "Oi! Wot was 'at?" Em looks up at him and shouts, "Ya 'eard me!" before turning back. "Corgis are cute, though."

► A few best friends or many regular friends? ➔ "Don't 'ave many 'friends,' t' be honest. I work t' much."

► Wild night out or romantic night in?➔ "Uhm... romantic night in sounds nice, I guess? Depends on who I'm with n' wot not."

► Giving or receiving? ➔ "Both!" Em smiles widely and just leaves it at that. A cackle is heard from the Crowsnest. "Now tha's rich, mate."  Em frowns.

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS

► Been caught sneaking out? ➔ "Not really 'out.'  More like 'away.' Can't really 'sneak out' when you don't 'ave a curfew." 

► Fallen down/up the stairs? ➔  "Loads of times! Normally pushed down stairs, fell up n' smacked my chin against the deck at one point. Tha' 'urt."

► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔  "Aye..."

► Wanted to disappear? ➔ "Don't we all at one point?" he looks down at his hands and fiddles with his fingers.

► Been married? ➔  Em looks up from his hands, realizing he was spacing out and clears his throat. His voice cracks a few octaves higher. "Sorry?  Wot was the question?" upon hearing the question again he smiles and gestures. "Does't look like I 'ave time t' be married?" A scoff is heard from the Crowsnest. "Like anyone'd want t' marry y'." Em gave the Worgen the middle finger salute and snaps back with; "Same could be said 'bout yer snarky arse."

FOUR PREFERENCES

► Smile or eyes? ➔  A small smile graces his lips, thinking of someone. " Smile? I wonder 'ow they'd look with a real smile."

► Shorter or Taller? ➔ He chuckles softly, "Doesn't matter, but it's tough to find someone shorter than me... n' I do enjoy climbing."

► Intelligence or Attraction? ➔ "Intelligence."

► Hook-up or Relationship? ➔ "Both!" Em finger guns and clicks his tongue.

FAMILY

► Do you and your family get along? ➔ "My siblin's n' I get along well, I think. I hope?"

► Would you say you have a "messed up life"? ➔  "Not really? It's been a life though, tha's fersure."

► Have you ever ran away from home? ➔ Em pauses for a moment and frowns, "In a way, I ‘ave."

► Have you ever gotten kicked out? ➔ "Out of other people's homes." Em grinned.

FRIENDS

► Do you secretly hate one of your friends? ➔  "Aye? Though it's not really a secret. E'eryone knows I 'ate him. E'en 'e knows I 'ate him. Th' feelin's mutual." A sneeze is heard from the Crowsnest. 

► Do you consider all of your friends good friends? ➔ He shrugs, "For the most part, but as I've said, I don't 'ave many friends."

► Who is your best friend? ➔ Em glances around, making sure the one in question isn't around to hear him, he then whispers, "Don' tell 'im, but it's the First Mate. 'e's a bit of a dingus, n' if 'e knew, 'e wouldn' leave me alone."

► Who knows everything about you? ➔ "This one guy. No one 'ere knows 'im, but 'e knows close enough to e'erythin' abou' me. Hopefully, not E'ERYTHIN'.  Because that would be an awkward conversation t' 'ave."

[the-digimon-tamer]

Chapter 25 - Nightmare Motorcycle is out now on FanFiction.Net and ArchiveOfOurOwn! Check them out with the links or find it after the break!

Title: The Tamer v2.0 - In HIs Name

Fandom: Digimon

Rating: T

Synopsis: In the next adventure of the Digimon Tamer, the lives of Juri, Rika, and Henry change forever when digimon begin crossing over into the human world. But it’s all just a story, right? Just a book series by an author no one has seen in a long time. Why are they here and can they save their world before something worse follows the digimon?

The Tamer v2.0: In His Name

Chapter 25: Nightmare Motorcycle

Henry ran up and down the sand where their friends has been a moment before, “Crap! Where’d they go? We have to find them!”

He was about to chase after the beam of light when Leomon grabbed a hold of his shoulder, “No dice! Do you have any idea what’ll happen if you just jump in that? There’s no guarantee that you’ll go where they did. You could end up anywhere! And what good will you do them then?”

“We can’t just leave them!” Henry argued back, amazed that the lion was barely breaking a sweat as he tried to get free. In fact, the lion lifted him up into the air casually, dangling in front of his face, “Don’t worry. They have Renamon and Andromon with them. I can’t think of anyone better to have at your side. Those two can take care of them. What’s important now is that we keep a level head.”

“Moumantai, Henry!” Terriermon patted his partner. Juri looked to Takato, who was still staring off into space silently and tapped on his shoulder to snap him out of it. He didn’t react. It took Guilmon nuzzling him with his snout to finally snap him out of it, “Huh? Oh, hi boy.”

“Are you out of your funk, now?” Terriermon asked gesturing at the beam of light as it moved along the desert sand, “Because we’ve already run into a serious problem and I’m pretty sure you didn’t even notice.”

“Sorry, what’s going on?” Takato looked between them in confusion, finally noticing half of their group were not present, “Where’d everyone go?”

Terriermon chuckled at being proven right while Leomon groaned in frustration. He really hadn’t noticed their friends getting sucked up into the pillar of light! Juri pointed him towards the ever growing distant beam of light and explained, “They got sucked up into this beam of light that went past us!”

Takato raised an eyebrow in surprise, tracing the beam of light skyward, “Beam of light? From what? It’s not connected to anything! It just…sort of goes up forever.”

He traced its path with its finger up the sky until he was pointing straight up, “Well, crap that is a problem. They could be anywhere. They could even be in a completely different world!”

“Yes, we know! How do we find them?” Henry demanded, “Because we’re not going to find them just sitting here doing nothing! Who knows what trouble they’ll get in by themselves? Especially Kazu and Kenta. And you know Rika’s probably going to try and pick a fight.”

“She hasn’t been that bad lately,” Guilmon offered in her defense.

“I think they’ll be fine. They have Andromon and Renamon too. Really, the only one I’m worried about is Kazu,” Takato answered sheepishly, “But if we’re going to find them, we can always go to the Hallowed Bastion. I can track them from there. Come on!”

He turned on his heels and started walking off in a random direction, stopping to check his digivice, and then continued on in a slightly different direction. Guilmon raced after his partner while the rest of them swapped nervous glances. There were so many questions now and Henry asked first, “What’s the Hallowed Bastion?”

“Home City of the Ancients,” Leomon answered quietly, lifting Juri up on to his shoulder, “We should keep up. We don’t want to fall too far behind.”

“How far is it?” Terriermon asked, climbing up onto Henry’s head to sit without asking. He was heavy on Henry’s head, until the digimon spread out his ears to offer some make shift shade. Takato pointed ahead, “That way! Maybe a few days? Actually, we’re going to stop by an old house if that’s okay. I want to get something first.”

“I see time has done nothing to modify your concern for others,” Leomon commented quietly, something Takato chose to ignore. Juri was less sure of that statement. As far as she could think, Takato had always been trying to help others. He’d even been trying to stop fighting between other digimon! She poked Leomon’s head and asked, “What does that mean, Leomon?” 

The lion grimaced, “The last time I saw The Tamer, he was less concerned with the well being of others and more concerned with ensuring they fulfilled their destiny. Whatever that would be. Even if it meant forcing them to watch the people they cared for die.”

None of that sounded like the Takato she knew. Then again, she realized that this wasn’t even the Takato she knew. This Takato was just someone wearing his face and running around with his name. The real Takato was lost…possibly in this world. Thinking about all of this made her heart feel heavy.

And why did Leomon feel the need to bring up destiny? Did he know something she didn’t? She looked back at Leomon, “How do you know all this?”

“I don’t know all the details because I wasn’t there, but supposedly he allowed someone’s mother to die to ensure that certain events happened the way they were supposed to,” Leomon answered. He looked her way and offered a small smile, “It’s alarming but I’ve learned it’s better not to worry about it. It’ll make you paranoid. Make you do things that you normally wouldn’t. I think another one of the digidestined said it best: destiny will work itself out either way, so why worry about it?”

That hardly made her feel better. She felt a lump forming in her throat and tried to swallow it, but couldn’t it. Maybe it was just too hot and dry to do it? Yeah, that had to be it.

…

Impmon followed Makuramon and the hostage Calumon through the endless desert and complained, “Hey! How much farther is this place yous was talkin’ ‘bout?”

“Not much farther, dear Impmon,” the monkey answered playfully, poking the cage he was using to hold Calumon hostage, “Isn’t that right my dear little pet? Oh, what fun we’ll have when I return you to Lord Zhuqiaomon!”

“I don’t think I’ll like your idea of fun,” Calumon’s voice quivered in fear. Makuramon answered by shaking the cage as violently as he could, “Oh, come now Catalyst. I’m sure you’ll enjoy all the little games we’ll play when we finally meet our Lord!”

“I hope you ain’t expecting me to bow coz’ I don’ got no lords,” Impmon folded his arms, growing irate the longer he followed this monkey. It was the smart decision at the time - the monkey had him in a death grip and he’d be dead if he didn’t agree. But now he was wondering if death would’ve been the smarter choice. It would’ve saved him from having to listen to this monkey chatter on and on about crap he didn’t care about. 

A small bright light appeared in the distance, one he hadn’t seen before. Impmon’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Makuramon with a raised eyebrow, “What’s that?”

“That is my destination. I do have a gift to present. But don’t worry, Caturamon will take care of you,” Makuramon cackled. Impmon didn’t like the sound of that laughter and turned to see a snarling dog just inches from his face. He leapt back, preparing two balls of fire in his hands, “How’d you do that?”

“Why is that the first thing everyone asks me?” the dog asked, noticing the cage in Makuramon’s hand, “Is that it?”

Makuramon held out the cage with a big old grin on his face, “Indeed it is! The catalyst given digimon form by the Sovereigns themselves! And do help this poor little fellow. His services were useful in the acquisition of our goal.”

“Alright,” the dog nodded, getting so close to Impmon that his breath made him gag, “Listen well, little one. I am Caturamon, servant of the Sovereigns and guardian of this area. Tell me what you seek and I will help you acquire it.”

Impmon rolled his eyes, skeptical of the wish granting and keeping the fireballs close, “Hey, I ain’t da wishin’ type.”

Caturamon grunted his disapproval, snarling at the imp before blowing out the flames in his hands. Impmon panicked and reignited another set of flames quickly only to have them blown out again. Caturamon then added, “I can do this all day idiot. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Anything you want, you can have at our lord’s grace. But this offer will only come once and won’t be given again. What do you want, child?”

Impmon continued staring skeptically before finally answering, “I want the same thing I’ve always wanted: to survive. If that means bein’ strong or smart, I don’t care. I want to not need anybody’ or anythin’!”

Caturamon stared at the imp in surprise, and that annoyed him, “WHAT?”

“Who hurt you?” was all he asked. Impmon was taken aback by that question because of how close it hit to home, “Who says anyone hurt me?”

“No ‘mon is an island,” Caturamon explained, “To want no one or anything...who hurt you?”

“NOBODY!” Impmon snapped angrily. Caturamon closed his eyes, taking a long and deep breath as if to indicate his frustration. Then he sighed, “Very well. I will grant your heart’s desire: but what that means is power. Power unlike any other. And only one can grant that power. The sovereign himself! Lord Zhuqiaomon.”

“I told you, I ain’t got no lords!” Impmon protested, suddenly finding Caturamon taller than he was a second ago. That couldn’t be right. He was eye level a moment ago. Unfortunately, it took Impmon just a second too long to realize he was sinking into the ground like he were stuck in quicksand. He tried to step out of it, but the struggle only made him sink faster, “HEY! WHAT GIVES!? What kinda trick is this? Get met outta here!”

“Do not resist. All will be well,” Caturamon said, failing to be any more reassuring than that stupid monkey. Impmon growled, trying to grab at Caturamon in vain to keep himself above the ever rising sand. But it was too late now. His arms were now submerged in the dirt, leaving only his flailing hands reaching desperately for something. As it made its way up to his face, he tilted his head up to keep it above the rising earth. With his last breath, he cursed the damned dog and the monkey. He cursed himself for being so careless. Darkness took him, followed by a vision of large bird wreathed in flame. Then a flash of fire swallowed him.

…

They walked for the rest of the day, stopping only at the end of the day to eat bread from Takato’s bag and sleep out in the open. As the night grew colder, they tried to get a fire going but had nothing but the bread wrappers to burn - something that only lasted a couple of seconds before the flames burned out. So they spent that night mostly going cold - something Guilmon vocally complained about despite being in a large desert. 

Juri slept by Leomon’s side, since his fur and his large size made him nice and warm. Sleeping beside him reminded her of when she was younger and her dad had been more open with her. It reminded her of all the times he’d let her fall asleep on his lap while he was working or watching TV, before carrying her to bed and tucking her in for the night. It was probably her best night’s sleep in a long time. When she awoke the next morning, she found that the others had also moved in to be beside Leomon at some point in the night. Maybe he was just too warm to resist in this frigid cold desert. And she was well aware how insane that sounded when she thought it out loud. 

They headed out again after a quick breakfast of some more bread and hurried on in the direction Takato led them. It was another day of endless trekking through arid heat under a baking sun until they saw what looked like several small mounds in the desert. From afar, it looked like a mass of hills. But the closer they got, the more it began to resemble igloos of mud with their doors sealed shut with scrap metal.

“What is this place?” Juri asked, looking around curiously at the many huts. The place was almost like a ghost town, except ghost towns had signs people used to live there. But there were clothes hanging off clothes lines and smoke coming from the chimneys. So someone had to be living here now, right? Takato took one look around, “A village by the looks of it. Let’s see if anyone’s home! HELLO! Anybody here? Were friendly! I promise! Don’t mind the lion! Or the dinosaur. They’re the nicest. The bunny dog thing is more dangerous than they are.”

“Hey!” Terriermon grumbled, sticking out his tongue at Takato and turning his head in disapproval. Takato ignored him and knocked on one of the doors. When no answer came from inside the abode, he banged harder, “Anybody? Somebody? Hello! I swear we’re friendly!”

“Takato!” Henry pulled him back, “What are you doing?” 

“Knocking,” he answered quietly, “What does it look like I’m doing?”

“No, I mean why are you banging on the door? We don’t know who lives in there!” Henry corrected him anxiously, “For all we know, it’s some crazy dangerous digimon who’ll eat our face.”

Despite his concerns, Takato shrugged it off and patted his head, “Don’t be ridiculous Henry. Only Kuwagamon do that and they tend to live under the sand, not in huts this small.”

“Okay, so what if it’s something else? Something that wouldn’t mind eating us!?” Henry pointed out. He and Takato stared at each other for the longest time before he knocked on the door again, throwing all of Henry’s concerns out the window with it. Henry groaned in frustration, just as the metallic door slid open for a little brown bear made of dirt to peek out, “Hello?”

Takato put on his cheeriest face, “Hi! We’ve lost some friends and are looking for them. Then again, we’re also a little lost ourselves. Do you have any water or some food?”

“You’re not with that demon, are you? The crazy demon motorcycle,” the little brown bear asked. Takato looked back at the rest of them with a raised eyebrow, skeptically remarking, “Demon motorcycle? Don’t be ridiculous! We’re not with a demon motorcycle! I’ve seen a crazy puppet, statues comes to life, and even world ending monsters from outside reality and not once have I ever seen a demon motorcycle!”

“What kinda digimon is that?” Juri pointed at the brown bear, “I’ve never seen one before like this.”

“Chuchidarumon. They’re a subtype or Frigimon only made with mud instead of ice and snow,” Takato answered knowledgeably, “They’re a really docile digimon too. Normally friendly. This motorcycle must have you guys really spooked if you’re locking all your doors!”

“Get away from the door! If the motorcycle sees you, it’ll come back!” a voice rang out from inside the hut. The door slammed shut after that, followed by the unmistakable sound of the click of several locks. Terriermon frowned, “Well that was rude.”

“What do you suppose they mean by demon motorcycle?” Leomon asked. Henry shrugged and pointed out, “More importantly, why do they keep talking about the motorcycle and not the rider? I’d think the rider is more dangerous.”

“Does anyone else hear that?” Takato asked, holding up a finger for complete silence. Juri closed her and cupped a hand to her ears, hearing only the distant sound of the wind blowing past. She opened her eyes and answered, “I don’t hear anything.”

Terriermon’s ears perked up and he added, “I do! It’s like a...a rumble.”

“Something’s coming,” Guilmon added, lifting up his nose to sniff the air. Juri closed her eyes again and tried to listen carefully. Nothing. No wait, there was something. A soft hum or rumble. Like an engine. A motorcycle engine! And it was getting closer and louder. Turning her head towards the noise, she saw the unmistakable shape of an unridden motorcycle roaring their way with no one riding upon it. And the headlight of this motorcycle flashed a grim blood red as it raced towards them, like a singular eye pierced into their very being to judge them. She gasped and Leomon groaned, “You’ve gotta be kidding me! They were serious!? A demon motorcycle!?”

“Oh, that is new,” Takato said almost too gleefully, “A self driving motorcycle!”

“Uh...it’s coming right at us,” Henry pointed out.

“We should run,” Terriermon added, pulling on Henry so that he would turn and start moving. Everyone did just that, hurrying towards one of the huts and climbing on top of the mounds to avoid the rampaging vehicle. At first, it seemed they would be safe but that did nothing to slow the machine down or hinder it as it rammed at full speed into the side of the hut. It shook violently, Juri grasping on to her partner for dear life while he dug his sword into its side to anchor them. The others were hardly fairing any better, trying to keep from getting knocked off and hanging on only by digging their hands straight into the mud. The hut shook one more time and motorcycle emerged from the other side, throwing a Chuchidarumon forward onto the ground and running it over. The digimon let out a single pained cry before disappearing into data. During that brief moment the motorcycle passed under them, Juri swore she saw what looked like a small metallic rabbit riding on its seat - so small that it was hardly noticeable. In fact, it was smaller than Calumon of all things. And it didn’t look to have any arms or legs! How was it driving the motorcycle? 

The motorcycle turned on its spot and revved its engine at them, producing a loud roar as it charged again. This time, it raised up its front wheel to transfer its momentum and raced up the side of the hut.

“JUMP!” Takato shouted, as they all leapt off the hut in time for the motorcycle to fly past them and land on the other side. Leomon kept Juri on his shoulder, “Hang tight, Juri. This motorcycle really is a demon!”

“No, there’s someone riding it!” Juri pointed out, “A little rabbit thing!”

“A rabbit?” Takato repeated, eyeing the motorcycle carefully. It had already regained its footing and was readying itself again, rushing their way. Takato ran in front of them and shouted, “HEY! LOOK AT ME! COME AND GET ME!”

“TAMER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Leomon roared out, rushing forward to stop the boy. The motorcycle had already turned though and was rushing right at him. Takato continued onward though, flailing his arms above his head, “That’s right! Over here! Come and get me!”

“What is he doing!?” Juri gasped, closing her eyes to avoid seeing what she thought she was going to see. There was a loud thump and soft crash. Her heart stopped. The only person who had any idea how to get them back had just thrown himself in front of a motorcycle! They were doomed! Royally doomed. She peeked her eyes open a little to see Takato on the sand, cradling something in his arms as he looked over his shoulder at the motorcycle continuing into the distance. Now with Guilmon riding upon it. As he stood up, Juri could make out the metallic rabbit in Takato’s arms and it weakly apologized, “I’m sorry! I saw everything. As soon as I was on the seat, I lost all control. It was like the motorcycle was making me do those things!”

“It’s alright, MetalKoromon,” Takato assured the little bunny and stroking its head. He handed the digimon over to Leomon and announced, “Do you mind holding this? I need to go save Guilmon!”

“HERE I COME TAKATOMON!” Guilmon roared at the top of his lungs, turning the motorcycle to face him. There was something off now about the red dinosaur, something different about him. Almost like he was possessed. MetalKoromon urged Takato, “Don’t do it! If that motorcycle gets you, it’s all over! All it wants is to find stronger riders! As soon as it does, it kicks off whoever is on it and kills everything else. Please! Don’t do it!”

“I’m not letting anything happen to Guilmon,” Takato said, adjusting his goggles over his head to cover his eyes. He looked back at Leomon and declared, “Be ready to knock me off as soon as you can!”

“What are you going to do?” Henry asked. Takato shrugged, “Get on the motorcycle, see what happens, maybe take it for a ride afterwards.”

He ran forward again and Henry groaned, “What’s with the throwing himself in danger act? Is he crazy or stupid?”

“We all know it’s both,” Terriermon remarked.

The motorcycle revved again, and Guilmon shouted, “YOU’RE ALL MINE NOW!”

“Then come get me!” Takato shouted back, standing in front of the motorcycle with his arms wide open. The motorcycle roared its engine and charged in again, going faster than it had before. Still, Takato didn’t move. Just as she was sure he’d get run over this time, the motorcycle’s brakes shrieked as it slid to a stop in front of him. It idled there with Guilmon staring Takato down, “YOU KNOW WHAT I WANT!”

“Yeah, I’m right in front of you. No need to shout. Or be rude,” Takato rubbed his ear. He stepped onto the side of the motorcycle and took hold of the handle bars. Immediately, Guilmon fell off in a daze so that Takato could get on the seat. He was hilariously small on its large frame, scooting as far forward as he could to grab both the handle bars and the foot rests, “So how does this work? Is it immediate or - CONTROL ACHIEVED! NOW WE RIDE! FIND STRONGER! KILL ALL ELSE! Yeah, I don’t think so. Also, why do you sound like Rika? IMPOSSIBLE! CONTROL HAS BEEN OVERRIDDEN! SURRENDER TO MY WILL! I AM THE BEAST! With all that shouting, I don’t doubt it. YOU WILL RESPECT MY WILL! Don’t tell me how to live my life. It’s my body and it’s my choice!”

It was weird. One second, Takato was screaming at the top of his voice and the next he spoke with the calm he’d shown before. And he was arguing with himself using the two voices. 

“Tamer, what’s happening?” Leomon shouted at him. Takato answered, “The demon motorcycle is trying to take over my brain, I think. It’s not very good at it. I HEARD THAT! That’s because I said it as loud as I could. YOU WILL BREAK BEFORE ME BOY! Boy? I’m older than you, I think. Also you look really familiar, have we seen each other before? HOW DO YOU RESIST!? BREAK! BREAK! BREAK! Not with that attitude, I won’t. Maybe you ought to try asking nicely? It’s not going to hurt. AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! I WILL RUN YOU DOWN!”

“Is it safe to get close?” Henry asked aloud. Takato shot him a dirty look and roared, “TRY IF YOU CAN MEAT BAG! TOUCH MY TREADS! I DARE YOU! It’s probably safe. I still have control over the finer motor functions so it’s not like it can make me rev the handle bar. WHY WON’T YOU SUBMIT? You didn’t say please. SO YOU WILL IF I DO? I didn’t say that. I HATE YOU SO MUCH! GET OFF! But I just got comfortable.”

Henry stared at him quietly before asking the obvious question, “Okay, so what happens now that you’re on there? If we knock you off, does the motorcycle just topple over or does it start moving on its own?”

“WHY DON’T YOU COME CLOSER AND FIND OUT MEAT SACK! LET ME RUN YOU OVER! KILL! KILL! KILL! Don’t be rude. Those are my friends and you should treat them with respect. THEY CAN RESPECT MY TREADS! KILL THEM ALL! YES! KILL THEM ALL! Okay, that’s totally uncalled for. And I don’t know, Henry. It’s not going anywhere so I think I’m in control of it but who knows what’ll happen,” Takato replied with a shrug. Leomon readied his sword and marched over to Takato, quietly answering, “There’s only one way to find out. Hah!”

He swung it as hard as he could so that the flat end of the blade struck Takato in the chest. The boy grunted, thrown off the bike and landing beside it with a frown, “Wow! What a trip! I’d do it again if I didn’t have to fight a killer bike for control of my own body. Now where did you come from? I mean...you weren’t here last time I was in the Digital World. Another world? Another version of the Digital World? What’s your story?”

“Not knowing things seems to be a theme for you, doesn’t it?” Terriermon observed. All eyes were on the motorcycle now as it sat there unmoving. Its engine was still running despite having no rider, but it had lost all ability to propel itself forward without a rider to steer or keep it balanced. Then it toppled over into the sand. Guilmon sniffed the motorcycle and Takato dusted himself off, “Well, that’s that. We should not do that again.”

“We? That was all you, Takato,” Henry slapped his back, then looked back down at the motorcycle. They were all thinking the same thing, even though they weren’t saying it. They should probably destroy it. Leomon raised his sword above his head, “Well, let’s finish this!”

“Wait!” Takato interrupted, “If we destroy this, someone’s going to need to absorb its data. The last thing we need is for its data to get loose into the Digital world! Who knows what kind of damage that could do if all that...killing intent ended up scattered. It might drive us all crazy. Or, worse, it could just mean the motorcycle reformats somewhere else. And then we’ll be right back where we started.”

“Are you sure about any of that?” Leomon asked, poking the motorcycle with the pointy end of his sword. The motorcycle revved its engine in protest but that just made Leomon jab it harder. Everyone else leapt back in surprise, covering their ears as it roared even louder. Terriermon commented, “I guess it’s still kicking.”

“But it doesn’t look like it can do anything without a rider so who cares?” Henry pointed out. The motorcycle continued to rev its engine in protest, trying in vain to do something other than just lay on the ground. The noise started to draw attention though as the mud bear digimon started to emerge from their huts en masse to see the motorcycle for themselves. One of them looked at it, “Is it…is it beaten?”

“Looks like it,” Leomon said, continuing to poke it with his sword, “As long as no one else climbs on it, it’ll just lay there and gather dust.”

That announcement drove the motorcycle into a rage as it started roaring its engine as loud as it could, making its rear wheel spin so fast that it began to spin in place on the ground. The Chuchidarumon retreated away in terror until Leomon jabbed his sword between the spikes of the rear wheel to stop it from spinning. The sword made a sickening grinding noise as the wheel became stuck on the sword and the engine finally died. Takato pointed at the motorcycle, “Are you done throwing a tantrum? Because it’s not going to help you get out of your situation. And it’s not going to make us help you get up. So why not stop with this and-”

As Takato continued to lecture the motorcycle, another soft rumble caught their attention. Juri clung on to Leomon, “Earthquake!”

“Not an earthquake! A sink hole!” Takato said, moving back from the motorcycle as the ground opened up just ahead of them. As they retreated away, the hole widened large enough to swallow the motorcycle into it. About a meter down into the hole was a layer of boiling hot magma that consumed the motorcycle. The motorcycle revved its in engine, creating a horrible grinding noise as it sank into the molten crag and burst into flame. One of the Chuchidarumon threw a rock at it as it sank in, “Good riddance!”

“That stupid thing has been terrorizing us for weeks! We could only leave our homes for a few moments at a time before it came to attack us!” another added, “Thank goodness it’s all over.”

Juri shared that sentiment - watching Takato go half insane like that was terrifying. What would possess the motorcycle to even behave like that? Why was it so driven to destroy everything? What had the Digital World ever done to it to make it like that?

The earth began to rumble again, and the surface of the lava began to ripple outwards until the motorcycle emerged. It flew out of the pit that had opened in the ground, driven by a new rider - a tall man wearing all leather under black armor. It wore a violet mask over its face, concealing everything but three glaring eyes full of blood thirsty glee. The rider cheered, “OH YEAH! THIS IS POWER, RIGHT HERE! REAL POWER! OH, I CAN FEEL IT! ALL OF IT! LISTEN UP! I AM BEELZEMON, RIDER OF THE BEHEMOTH, KING OF THE DIGITAL WORLD, DESTROYER OF WORLDS, AND WRECKER OF YOUR SHIT!”

“Well now I’ve seen everything and I hate it,” Takato threw up his hands in frustration, “I mean what did I miss? The Digital World is a lot more surreal than I remember.”

“He smells familiar,” Guilmon sniffed in the Beelzemon’s direction, “He smells like…Impmon.”

Juri squinted her eyes at Beelzemon, unsure there was a resemblance between the digimon. She had only seen Impmon once, and this was definitely not him. But Guilmon seemed to recognize him. Takato blinked and pointed at the digimon in disbelief, “That’s Impmon? He’s a lot taller than I remember.”

“Wait, Impmon is the one who kidnapped Calumon, right?” Henry pointed out. Beelzemon grunted, “Hmph.”

“Where is he!?” Terriermon shouted, “Don’t you know what you did by giving him over to the Devas!”

“So what? That ain’t my problem,” Beelzemon growled, revving the engine of the motorcycle. Takato snapped his fingers, “I got it! You’re infected by the motorcycle! It’s in your head and making you exceptionally violent! We just got to fix that and knock you off.”

“Knock me off? What? Are you mockin’ me!?” Beelzemon roared. He cracked his knuckles and reached for a strap on the side of the motorcycle, producing a double barreled shotgun which he cocked by spinning it in his hand. He pointed it straight at them, “I’ll show you! TAKE THIS!”

“DUCK!” Takato shouted, diving onto Guilmon and pushing him to the ground. Henry followed suit, holding Terriermon close as he dove for the dirt. Leomon followed suit, removing her from his shoulder and hugging her tight as he leapt for safety behind one of the buildings. All of the Chuchidarumon ran away in a panic, running into their homes for safety while Beelzemon roared, “THAT’S RIGHT YOU LITTLE SHITS! RUN! RUN AWAY! AH-HA-HA-HA!”

“So did he always swear this much or is that just the motorcycle?” Terriermon asked, watching Beelzemon rev the engine again as he turned the motorcycle towards them. He grinned ear to ear and revved his engine one more time before turning away from them. He raised his middle finger at them and rode off into the distance, taking one last chance to shout, “I DIDN’T NEED HUMANS’ THEN AND I DIDN’T NEED ‘EM NOW! SCREW YOU DWEEBS!”

“Well, at least we know Impmon’s safe,” Takato said dryly, taking a moment to dust the sand off himself before helping his partner up. Guilmon frowned, “He seemed really mad. I hope he’s not mad at us.”

“I doubt it,” Takato frowned, “We got two choices: go after him to find Calumon or keep going to the Bastion to find the others.”

Juri didn’t like the fact that they had two equally difficult choices to make in front of them and frowned at Henry’s answer, “That shouldn’t even be a question. We find Rika and the others, then we go after Beelzemon. Besides, without Calumon, none of our digimon can digivolve. We’ll need as many of us together as we can to stand a chance. Rika’s our best fighter and Juri’s still new to all this. No offense, Juri.”

“None taken,” Juri waved it off, putting on her biggest smile while feeling more useless than she had a in a while. Leomon was probably the strongest digimon on their team right now, and she hadn’t done anything with him. Rather, he’d taken initiative on everything. She felt like a horrible partner right now.

[marauder--harder]

Mission: What If- A Sirius Black Imagine (Part 5 of Mission: Improbable)

A/N: This is a lil filler, fluff type chapter till we can get to the good bits. Someone remind me to stop making slow burn fics, yeah? lmao, I hope y’all enjoy. Much love, xoxo. :)

Word Count: 3,050.

The incessant sound of your muggle alarm clock ringing woke you that morning. You groaned, burying your head back into pillow, determined to get at least another few minutes of rest before you had to start your day. Blindly reaching out in the direction of the snooze button, you stopped as you heard it quiet suddenly. Your tired mind did little at the confused thought as to how it turned off, instead snuggling deeper into your covers.

“As cute as you look bundled up in your sheets, I didn’t sign up for my partner to be a flobberworm in disguise.”

Your eyes snapped open at the sound of the deep voice coming from your right and you quickly peeked out from your hut of warmth to have a look at who was bothering you this early. A set of twinkling gray eyes met yours, causing them to roll on their own volition. Of course it was Sirius.

“You know,” you drawled lowly, voice still laced with sleep. “Keep sneaking into my room, Sirius, and I’m going to think that you are a pervert.”

The sound of his barking laugh, while much too happy for such an ungodly hour, brought the faintest of smiles to your face.

“I’d hardly call this sneaking, love.”

“Yeah? Then what do you call it?”

Sirius palmed your alarm clock, shoving it in your general direction. “A service to all mankind. This bloody thing was going off for nearly five minutes before I shut it off.”

“I was getting to it,” you huffed, a slight flush rising on your cheeks at your obvious ignoring of the annoying contraption.

“Well, now that you’re up,” Sirius smiled suddenly and plopped onto the foot of your bed. “Shall we discuss our plan for the mission today? We need some sort of cover; this is a rather small town and I wouldn’t imagine that they get many visitors.”

“Lily and James are already stopping through on their trip to Italy,” you surmised with a yawn. “Can’t we just be two patrons again?”

Sirius shook his head, giving you his ‘I’ve got a plan’ look. “Three groups of random people passing through all at the same time? Not likely, love.”

“What were you thinking then?”

“You and I head in today, get settled and scope the place out then Lily and James head through in two days time. We don’t exactly know when they are planning on striking this week, so we need to be prepared for them. Establishing a spot in the community is a smart move.”

“You act like we’re setting up for a month long stakeout, Pads. This shouldn’t take more than a few days.”

“Unless they alter their plans because they realized someone from the Order was spying on their meeting.”

A cold pit formed in your stomach at the thought. You knew that they hadn’t actually gotten a good look of your face, but they had seen you. This meant that they could change their plan, attack at any time. Worse yet, they could have already set the village to burn. Sitting up in your bed, you threw the covers back and quickly moved to your armoire.

“Has Dumbledore secured that the town was safe as of this morning?” you asked, beginning to pilfer through your clothes, pulling everything you thought you might have needed for the mission.

Sirius furrowed his brows at your sudden haste, yet nodded all the same. “Yeah, his contact said that there’s been one Death Eater that’s infiltrated the city so far; we’re being sent to draw him and his slimey mates out.”

“Alright, good. Go tell Lily and James the plan, I’ll be ready in fifteen,” you added quickly before walking into your washroom and shutting the door with a hurried slam.

Sirius stared at the door for a few seconds, trying to comprehend what just had happened. You had jumped to accept his plan without even fully hearing it through. Yet, his mind was more preoccupied with the sight of your baggy ABBA t-shirt hanging off your shoulder, dipping just past your bum. The long expanse of your legs drew Sirius’ eyes and he took in a deep breath, trying to rid himself of his thoughts. This wasn’t the time; you all had a mission to do.

Twelve minutes later, not that Sirius was counting, you emerged from your room looking all the part muggle-ready-for-winter-holiday. Sirius stared for a moment, looking at just how adorable you seemed all bundled up in your favorite sweater and scarf. You tended to wear muggle clothes often, thinking that they were much more comfortable than your robes. Sirius agreed with you, for the most part; but the selfish part of him agreed just so he could see you donning more muggle fashion trends.

“Did Dumbledore tell you the apparition site, Pads?” you asked, shaking Sirius from his thoughts.

He nodded before clearing his throat. “Uh, yeah.”

“Ready then?” Another nod in affirmation had you smiling softly, walking over to Lily and James. You wrapped them both in a quick hug. “We’ll see you both in a few days, yeah?”

“Of course; send along a patronus if you need backup. James and I will be waiting at the apparition site just one town over. We’ll be right behind you both.”

“Excellent,” you muttered before pulling away to stand next to Sirius again. “Ready?”

Sirius extended his arm, looking at you with such a fond expression that you couldn’t help the slight acceleration of your heartbeat. That was odd. “Let’s blow up this joint.”

“It’s ‘let’s blow this joint,’ you ponce.” You slowly linked your arm with his, readying your knees for the blow you knew was to come. Being a side along wasn’t always preferable, but Sirius tried to make the experience as easy as possible for you. You winced at the lurch in your stomach, before the tightening of your body made you stiff and tried to relax. Apparition always was made more difficult if your body went rigid. That was asking for a splinching to happen.

When you opened your eyes, you looked around to see a quaint little alley in what you assumed was the neighboring town. It was a rural town, not many people in it, so you figured it was the perfect place to set up as your apparition point in order to stay under the radar of the Death Eaters you knew were in the neighboring village.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to being your side-along,” you muttered, waiting for your stomach to settle before letting go of Sirius’ arm.

He merely chuckled lowly beside you, offering a comforting pat on your arm. “You always say that. It can’t be that bad.”

“Yeah, well, I never see you being a side-along here,” you grumbled as you pulled away.

“That’s because neither of us want to get splinched and you know it,” he joked with a wink. “Now come on, we’ve got a bit of a hike to trek and I want to get in before lunch.”

“Is food the only thing ever on your mind, Sirius?”

Another bark of laughter could be heard coming from the man in front of you, before he smirked devilishly. “I can think of a few other things,” he winked again.

Rolling your eyes, you sighed and grabbed your duffel. “I shouldn't have asked, you perv. Let’s just get a move on.”

“So you expect me to just ignore the way your legs looked this morning?”

A gasp escaped your lips before you could stop it as you stared at him, wide eyes, “Sirius Orion Black! You right cheeky bastard!”

He dodged your swats with another round of peeling laughter, and hurried along in front of you. “Can’t say it wasn’t worth it, love!”

The two of you walked in relatively amicable silence for a while, falling into a comfortable pace. Sirius had suggested you take a muggle taxi to the next town but you didn’t want to raise any suspicion or have any connection to the town you apparated to. The less muggles you came in contact with along the way, the better.

After a while, however, you couldn’t help but think about just how much the war has affected each of your friends. It touched everyone in the wizarding world, you knew; but it really changed the entire course of your life. You wondered what your life would be like if you weren’t in the war.

“You alright?” Sirius asked, after trying to get your attention nearly three times. You had spaced out so far that you hadn’t even heard him.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Sirius nodded and continued to walk in silence before asking softly, “where’d you just go?”

“Just thinking a bit, tha’s all,” you responded, voice equally soft and careful.

“‘Bout anything in particular? You seem… a bit upset.”

As soon as you turned to look up at Sirius, you noticed the gentle concern he held in his gaze. Staring down at you with an intensity that probably should have made you self-conscious, you simply smiled. His stare was piercing, yet soft and gentle. You could tell how curious he was, yet how easily he would drop it if you only said the words. Strangely enough, you didn’t mind the thought of telling him. He had never been one not to understand your plights before.

“You ever think about where you would have ended up if not for the war?”

A sad smile lifted Sirius’ frown for a moment. “Not really, no.” Oh. There were a few beats of silence, and then, “I’ve learned to stop asking ‘what if’s a long time ago, actually.”

“Why?”

“Dunno—just seemed easier. Less disappointment. As a kid I used to ask a lot of ‘what if’s. What if I had been put into Slytherin? What if my parents weren’t part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight? What if Walburga were more like James’ mum?”

Suddenly, you felt awful. “I’m sorry, I had no idea.”

“It’s not your fault,” he said with a wave of dismissal. “You wouldn’t have known. The Potters have been my family since sixth year—hell, before that if I really thought about it.”

“You’re a good fit with them,” you responded quietly. You thought back to the smile on Sirius’ face when James’ mum would give him a big, sloppy kiss on both of his cheeks at King’s Cross his sixth year. He looked happier than you had ever seen him. You now realized that it was probably because Sirius had been rid of his old family, and living permanently with the Potters.

“They are the closest thing I have to family.”

“You’re lucky to have them,” you smiled, thinking of your own family and how much you would have loved to see them recently. Yet, with the war on the rise you had told them that your new job required you to be travelling a lot and that you wouldn’t see them often. They were muggles themselves, so it wasn’t difficult to convince them. They knew little about the world you lived in and you would keep it that way until it was safe enough for them.

Sirius and you didn’t say much after that, both pondering the lives you lived without your parents. Sirius knew you were a muggleborn and had wondered if you were missing your own family right now. He had the luxury of writing the Potters on the off days he and James weren’t working for the Order. He had just talked with them last month, ensuring that they were both well and safe. Yet, you were forbidden from contacting your family in fear that it may be intercepted and they become targets. A deep pang stabbed at his heart and Sirius glanced over at you sadly.

“So, what about you?” he asked. At your confused look, he continued, “What would you be doing if not in the Order?”

A small smile grew on your face at his obvious attempt of changing the subject. Sirius’ heartbeat stuttered again in his chest and he didn’t even fight the feeling this time. “It’s silly, really.”

“Try me.”

“You’ll laugh.”

“Well, only if it is stupid,” he joked.

“Sirius! Now I’m definitely not going to tell you.”

“Oh come off it,” he whined. “You’re a brilliant witch; I’m sure whatever you wanted to dedicate your life to will be just as amazing.”

Glancing up at him with narrowed eyes, you only saw sincerity shining back at you. His face was the same gentle concern that was held earlier, letting you know that you had an out as long as you said so. Maybe that was your curse, you realized. You could never say no to such genuine curiosity. Sirius’ gaze was piercing and beautiful and you knew right then and there that you were in for danger because you’d never be able to deny him any part of yourself if he looked at you like that.

“I always wanted to be an astronomer,” you spoke softly, so softly that Sirius had to strain just to hear you.

Yet, he did. The smile that lit up his face, then, was blinding. Your heart leapt in your chest and you had to stop yourself from mirroring his borderline stupid grin as you stood your ground. You would not give into him this easily. Still, Sirius looked so genuinely pleased with this information and you couldn’t place why.

“Yeah?” he asked, grin still wide and happy. “Is that why you were always sneaking out in the middle of the night at Hogwarts?”

“It doesn’t count as sneaking out if you are going to class, Sirius,” you laughed. Then, you stopped. “Wait, how did you know that I was leaving my common room at night?”

Sirius’ smile turned sheepish as his hand came up to rub at the back of his neck. “Uh, the marauders and I, uh, kind of had a map that kept track of everyone on school grounds.”

“You spied on people!” you screeched, both shocked, embarrassed, and quite amazed at the idea of a map of everyone, everywhere, at all times. “Is that how you lot got away with so many of your pranks over the years?”

Wide eyes soon turned to barks of laughter pulled deep from Sirius’ throat. He couldn’t believe your first thought was its use in all of his pranks throughout his schooling. “Yeah, just about. Our skill with charms was also part of it; and Pete’s ability to weasel out of just about anything, really.”

“That’s…” you trailed off, trying to find the word for it. “Well, bloody brilliant is the only thing that really comes to mind. Did you boys come up with it on your own?” At his nod, your eyebrows rose high. “Mighty impressive, then, Black. It must have taken ages to figure out every place in the castle though.”

“The secret passageways too, no doubt,” he added with a fond nod, remembering the months of preparation and surveillance their map had taken.

“Hogwarts had secret passageways??” Sirius’ laughter was now almost uncontrollable at the look of absolute shock on your features. “You arsehole! Never telling me any of this! I could have taken shortcuts along the castle this whole time!! It would have saved me hours of getting lost over the years.”

“Hey, you said it yourself, love: we weren’t close.”

Your mouth snapped shut at that for a moment, before nodding. “Remind me to hex Moony when we get back; he’s got a lot of explaining to do.”

“Merlin, what did I just set up for the poor bloke,” Sirius moaned. “It was a marauder’s secret; it was no wonder he didn’t tell you.”

“Oh, pish posh, like everyone didn’t break at least one of those secrets over the years.”

“I didn’t,” Sirius said confidently.

“Well, you’re… very noble then, Sirius.”

“Nah, they’re my mates. I’d trust them with anything and they’d do the same for me.”

You smiled, then. It was a soft, sort of fond smile that similarly mirrored Sirius’ own nostalgic grin. “Sorta like your family, yeah?”

“Yeah, a bit like that,” he responded lightly, thinking of just how lucky he was to have three friends as good as the marauders. He really did think of them as family.

“Seems to me like you’ve got family in all sorts of places, Sirius. I guess you’ve no need for what if’s. ‘Been dealt a bit of a shite start, but you’ve managed to right things for yourself. I think all we can really ask for is a group of people to care ‘bout us.”

Sirius was silent as he thought about all the people that he could now call family. James, the Potters, Peter, Remus, even Lily—they were all family to Sirius now and he couldn’t be more grateful. “I’m a lucky bloke, aren’t I?”

“Not lucky if you deserve it,” you smiled, bumping his shoulder with yours as you walked. “Hope you're not fishing for compliments here but you’re a good man, Pads; I’ve told you this before. You deserve happiness and I’m glad you’ve found it in the boys.”

“They make me good,” he said quietly but you were quick with your response.

“You do that all on your own. They just give you more opportunities to show it,” you smiled. “Now, come on; we’re almost here.”

Sirius watched as you sped along to the front doors of the small bed and breakfast the two of you were staying at. His eyes watched you open the doors, knocking softly and putting on the most charming smile he had seen. Your absolute sincerity in your conversation had his stomach a churning, fumbling mess and yet, he couldn’t seem to care. The way you were affecting him hadn’t happened as such since he was a young boy. Yet, a beautiful and kind, grown woman had him nearly blushing and grinning like an idiot over a few teasing quips. Merlin, the more he got to know you, the more he couldn’t rationalize why he should try to take things slowly. He realized, now, that he wanted you and he wanted to know as much about you as possible.

This was going to be a very long mission.

Tag List: (please let me know if you’d like to be tagged!)

@obscurilicious // @mgc-its-easy-as-123 // @whompingwillowy // @mischief-siriusly-managed //  @marauderskeeper // @emi-loser // @bxckybxrnxs // @amelya5567 // @thisismysecrethappyplace // @dude-whatawave // @the-apple-princess // @fantasticchaoticwho // @i-padfootblack-things // @cutie-bug // @sly-vixen-up2nogood // @hufflepeople // @marveliskindacool // @clockworkherondale // @dreamgirl8704 

[oumiyuki]

If you're still the prompt request, could you do no.35 for ChiKananYou?

YOU HEARD ME. TAKE. IT. OFF.

Heyllos, Parana! Yes, I am taking prompt requests~ (I know I still have some others from you to answer too but I write on inspiration. Gomen!) 

And well. Here it is~ 

May you enjoy~ XD

Summary: It’s Winter. It’s below 5 degrees Celsius. Kanan, You and Chika are cuddling on the sofa when the power trips and You does what a “normal” person would do – rush for more clothes. Chika and Kanan had a different opinion.

Pairing: Chika x You x Kanan (Chikanayou)

Genre: Romance, Fluff, Comedy (maybe)

Words: 1076

A loud switch tripping sound echoed in the house followed by a short shriek and the ash-brunette who’s panicking was quick to leave the spot on the sofa where she was cuddling with her two girlfriends to go to their room for all that she needs.

“Mou, You-chan! Where’d you go off to~?” Chika whines as she gets up reluctantly, following her older girlfriend to check on the switches.

Kanan chuckles before shaking her head at both the state of the power supply and her missing girlfriend, sure to be donning on a whole lot more fabric than necessary right now.

“No good?” Chika frowns.

Kanan shakes her head again. “We just gotta wait awhile and it’ll be back on. No biggies.”

Chika smiles at that. “As expected of Kanan-chan! Super knowledgeable!”

The bluenette chuckles as she heads towards the room too; she’s internally thankful that the power tripped in the middle of the day and not in the night, else she’d be rushing off to elsewhere like You is – except for her case, it’s not clothes but light source.

You breathes out a sigh of relief just as Kanan and Chika enter their shared room, that breath barely heard as she had a mask over her face for that extra warmth.

Chika gestured at You in disbelief while Kanan raises her eyebrows as she looked the ash-brunette from up and down twice.

“What the heck, You-chan! It’s not that cold!” Chika moves to grab You’s arms but You knew what her best friend was trying to do, and she certainly wasn’t going to let the orangehead strip her so easily.

“It is cold! Don’t you try to remove my defences.” You waves her hand back and forth and side to side to make Chika step back, though the orangehead was as adamant as ever, not letting go.

Kanan blinks a few times before having to comment too. “You… Even I think that’s overdoing it.”

You had a scarf wrapped around her neck, a thick brown coat thrown on, the face mask still there to muffle her voice and supposedly protect her face from the cold air, a turtle neck above another tee-shirt and thick wool socks for her toes.

“Noooo…Kanan-chan help me. Stop pulling off my scarf and coat, Chika-chan! It’s cold!” You protests as she wrestled with the upset orangehead.

“Y-o-u-cha-n..! Mou! We were cuddling just fine earlier. Just because the power went down, it doesn’t mean the temperature plummets right away, you know!” Chika didn’t like You wearing so many things, so many layers, so… Chika glares at each article on You. She especially didn’t like it since she was happily touching You’s thighs and about to put her hand under You’s shirt to hug her directly before the power went out. Now how is she supposed to get to You’s skin with all those clothes on!? “Take it off, You-chan!”

“I can’t help you here, You. I’m on Chika’s side this time.” Kanan strides over to pull You’s mask off.

“Wah! Hey!”

“Yay! Kanan-chan’s on my side. You’re going down, You-chan!” Chika cheers as she tugs the scarf off You.

“Ah!” You tries to reach for her scarf but Chika threw behind her, out of You’s reach.

Kanan leans close to You’s face, then smiling when You’s eyes were on her. “You shouldn’t hide your face, You. It’s illegal to hide away such a pretty face.” Kanan winks as she throws the mask behind her too.

This time You couldn’t react in protest as her cheeks burned a strong red at Kanan’s out of the blue sweet nothings. “Meanie…”

You mumbles. Chika and Kanan exchanged a brief knowing glance before going on the attack. Kanan easily tips You off balance from the shoulders, making You fall backwards onto the bed her coat off her shoulders; Kanan grins at the vulnerable position she has You in. “Eh- Kanan-chan-”

Chika was quick to follow, lifting both the turtle-neck and the t-shirt up at the same time, licking her lips at the sight of You’s skin, fingers pressing on You’s smooth stomach. “C-Chika-chan!”

You didn’t even notice Kanan moving away and plucking her comfy socks off. “I had then on earlier!” You flails but Chika had her hands at the waistband of You’s pants, an evil smirk on, wagging her eyebrows at You when the ash-brunette looked over. “Y-You won’t!”

Chika laughs loudly. “Oh, I will~”

Kanan waves the socks at You before throwing it over her shoulders and steps closer to You again, sitting on the bed to help tug the coat off. “Don’t even bother, You. The lesser you struggle, the less pain you have to be put through.”

You bites her bottom lip, accessing her situation – pushed onto the bed, Chika cornering her and Kanan hovering right beside and above her…She had no way of getting out of this clothed in the right amount of fabric she desired.

“You heard me, You-chan.” Chika shifts, her fingers ghosting over You’s skin instead of tugging at You’s pants. “Take. It. Off.”

Chika’s red eyes with a glint in them meant business, her half-smile told You she wasn’t going to go easy on her at all (and You already experienced it), and now she even lowered her voice in such a seductive and demanding purr…You could only gulp, feel a shudder go through her spine which she likes to think it’s because it is cold but knows it’s because of the orangehead. It didn’t help her case that her older girlfriend was removing her coat in the evilest way possible – pulling it down in a slow and sensual manner, all while smiling at her.

“Ahhh, alright, alright. I’ll take it off. Mou. Stop stripping me forcefully. Mou!” You’s face was a good enough substitute heater for the one that went off with the power as the ash-brunette scrambled inwards to build some distance between her and her girlfriends on the assault.

Chika was back to her usual carefree grin while Kanan leans backwards with a hearty laugh. “Told you, you can’t win us, You-chan.”

“As planned. You’re warm now and we get you naked. All’s well that ends well.”

“I’m not removing all my clothes, Kanan-chan!” You throws the coat at Kanan. Noticing Chika’s smile morphing into a perverted one, You throws her turtle-neck blouse at the orangehead.

“What kind of girlfriends do I have…Mou…” You grumbles, red-faced but certainly not feeling the winter’s cold.

Author Notes

It’s like I don’t know what a drabble is. –chuckles- But hey, it’s normal for the story to be longer when there are more than two people~ XD

I need to write more for them to get a good groove and flow though. :) I think? Did I portray them well~? Hehe~ ^w^

Leave me comments if you like! I wanna know how it was for y’all. *O* 

[elasianstar]

Becoming Human part 2

Authors Note: HEY GUYS! I know ive been gone a while, college has been hell, ive actually been working on my next several postings since August, bit by bit as inspiration hits. it may not be written the best, just give me a chance to get back into the swing of things. Thanks for reading -Jazz

“Hey Alex, yeah its Elasia. Yeah i need a little help if you're up to it? Yeah i finished a masking serum for the guys and we’re going out tonight. Even if it's just for Mikey i could use another chaperone. I can pay your way, i just need help making sure they don't get into any massive trouble. You can? Great, meet us at the lair in 10 minutes. Yeah you can bring your camera. Awesome see you then.”

“Boom!! Who’s ready to PAR-TAY!!”

To say Mikey looked interesting was an understatement, he was wearing orange striped basketball shorts, and a too big t-shirt that looked like a crazy bowling alley carpet. Finally his reddish blonde curls were pulled into a faux hawk and decorated with rainbow shutter shades.

“I personally don't think we’re ready for this, what happens if there's an attack on the city while we’re like this and we can't fight?”

“Well at least this could prove an adequate test of balance and focus under extreme motion.”

“And you look totally awesome Bro!”

Fitted dark blue jeans and a dusty grey and blue plaid shirt cuffed at the elbows gave leo a classy East meets West look when paired with his high ponytail and thin pencil bangs. All he needed was a nice belt buckle and some boots, but some sneakers borrowed from Raph’s collection would do.

Don had gone simple, his usual cargo pants tied with some cordage from the lab, fitted black tee, (where and why he had a shirt that small I don't know it didn't come from my stash of my brother’s clothes) and his usual seashell necklace.

“Now where’d Raph go?”

CRASH CLANG CHSSSSSSHHHH TUNK THUNK THOMP.

“Dude! You better not have messed up those heads! You know how long it takes to scrap a fully functioning drum kit??? And don't even get me started if you scratched my sick paint job!”

“Get off my back Mikey! I was tryin to do a back-flip off the landing and mis-judged the strength it would take to get over there. These tiny muscles won't work right.”

“You're human Raph, that means your muscles will only work at human capacity. You're still pretty damn strong but don't go trying to throw any shipping containers or jumping off high rises any time soon.”

“Yeah figured that one out already, now come get me out of this thing will ya?”

“Man not my Base!!! I almost had that tuned perfectly bro!!!”

Raph was stuck legs first into the bass drum from the front, apparently having slid into Mikey’s drum set. The New York skyline painted on the decorative head ruined, much to Mikey's horror.

“I spent a week painting that!!”

“Sorry Mike, I'll help you find a new one.”

“Knock Knock! Is anyone here?”

Mikey’s eyes went as wide as saucers as his precious drum set was forgotten and he took off toward his room for me to snag his collar.

“Oh no you aren't going anywhere.”

“Let go i can't let Alex see me like this!”

“Mikey they’re a shifter, i doubt they care what you look like.”

“Doubt i care what who looks like? This adorable redhead you’ve got hanging by his collar?”

“Alleycat!! Don't look...wait, adorable?”

Gosh the blush on their cheeks was so cute.

“Yeah. can I?”

That camera never left their neck and they  were quick to get a shot before Mikey had the chance to start hamming it up.

“Too late, gotcha. Want to see Mickey?

“Come on let's give the lovebirds a minute, letem get all the sickly sweet outta their systems.”

The sound of the whining Polaroid and giggles faded to Leo and Don’s nervous chattering as Leo tried to talk Don out of this.

“Seriously D, we can't be this reckless already, i mean an amusement park? That many adrenaline fueled people in a close packed environment is just asking for trouble. We don't even know if this potion is even stable, what happens if we revert mid ride and can't escape, or if it causes a technical issue and people get hurt?”

“Leo you forget the world of mythics is a lot larger than what you're used to, there are safeguards and protocols in place in case of a critical failure. If the masking serum fails there’s a 20 minute window before the mist gives way and humans actually notice the change. That’d be more than enough time to escape. And if by some miraculous circumstance we can't manage escape there are teams that can be dispatched to tamper with the social consciousness to erase our presence to no more than urban legend. We’ll be fine, live a little.”

“Plus we will be in an entirely different state thanks to the port stones so there’s even less possibility that anything could happen if we were seen. If my calculations are correct that leaves a 10% chance of serum failure and a 0.001% chance of catastrophic circumstance, given i fully understand all the variables at play.”

Raph grabbed his elder brother’s shoulder and looked him straight in the eye, the only parts of them that were physically unchanged. He still towered over the elder, but the gap between the two had closed significantly under human restriction.

“We’ve wanted this our whole lives Leo, Don't go letting Mominardo go and fuck it up. We’re human for a night, i don't really feel like wasting that opportunity.”

…

“Welcome Back to The Midwest Boys!! The home of the most unobservant humans in America, and the central hub of mystic life. Next stop Worlds of Fun!!”

Mikey and Raph were hooping and hollering from the bed of the truck as it sped down the highway toward the tops of the roller-coasters in the distance. Hell even Leo looked like he was enjoying the feeling of the wind in his new hair as he almost stuck his head out the back passenger window, bobbing along with Donnie's techno music over the speakers. When the old dodge settled to a stop in the parking lot it was like an explosion as the four burst from the truck, taking off for the front gate with the excitement of children. People were giving them odd looks, brushed off moments later as the antics of young men.

“Guys...GUYS!! LEO, RAPH, DONNIE, MIKE! GET YOUR SCALY ASSES BACK HERE!”

Leo was the first to freeze, Don and Raph tripping over him to land flat on their faces as Mikey vaulted deftly over the pile.

“Michael…”

Oh that did it, Alex's voice was ice and it stopped Mikey in his tracks, peeking over his shoulder with a meek grin as he gave us time to catch up.

“I know you're excited, but part of appearing human is acting correctly, while running and jumping is more accepted at an amusement park you have to be courteous to the other patrons. No running or flipping over people, and no climbing any of the trees or structures unless you want to get us kicked out…”

“Now tell mom you're sorry…”

I gave Alex a dirty look, but I couldn't hold it, the 6 of us bursting into a fit of laughter. Mikey threw his arm over Alex's shoulder, playing with her matching ruddy blonde hair, and Raph grabbed my hand to pull me toward the ticket booth.

“Go on lead the way ma.”

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!!!

Well great, what now.

The security guards were waving their wand metal detectors over Leo when they started going off near his belt. Reaching in to the waistband of his jeans out came a stack of three shuriken.

“You can't bring weapons into the park son…”

When they tried to take the intricately designed weapons Leo went to reach for where his katana would usually be on his shell. Luckily Don was close enough to stop him before he got too far.

“Sorry officer, we'll take them back to the truck. Hey E, get our tickets for us k?”

He knocked Leo upside the head as they turned back for the parking lot.

“What the SHELL is wrong with you?”

While i was buying the tickets i noticed Leo and Donnie re-approaching the gate, only to get a full pat-down before they were allowed to enter, oh i love my idiots, i love my idiots…. Now people were staring…

“Lets get out of here, COME ON GUYS!”

Raph knocked leo upside the head as well when they re-joined the group, grabbing him by the hair as a low grumble rolled through his chest, both their eyes widening.

“The hell…”

“We can't churr Raph, we no longer have the equipment to create or interpret such subsonic sounds.”

“Yeah i figured that out Don, just stop being a dumb-ass Leo. Bringin weapons to a park, what the hell were you thinking?”

Leo just shouldered his way past, nose in the air.

“I don't have to explain myself to you.”

Raph moved to start a fight but i grabbed his shoulder, pulling him down to whisper in his ear.

“He's just feeling a little exposed, too many people, a strange place, you guys don't even have the protection of your shells, cut him a break.”

“COME ON, I THOUGHT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AN AMUSEMENT PARK!! LETS GO!”

Mikey took off running, jumping into a flip to snag Leo by the shoulders like he had hundreds of time before, flinging him into a flip, only to land on his ass, mikey bouncing along on his rump a few meters ahead.

“I think your center of balance is a little off Mike!”

That got the big blue grump laughing again, thanks Mikey.

Alex ran past laughing, snagging Mikey by the collar.

“Come on Mickey! Lets try the Fjord Fjarlane!! I call outer seat!!!”

Alex drug Mikey to his feet, towing the poor boy toward the first ride still limping from his less than stellar landing, Raph and Donnie taking off soon after leaving me behind with Leo.

“Hey i told Red to back off, i get that your feeling off, but it'll be fine.”

“How do you know.”

“Because i do, now you just have to trust me, do we have a deal Brother?”

I held out my hand with the spirit spiral mark on it and after a second of deliberation he met my gesture with his own.

“Come on let's go have some fun, Sis.”

By the time we had ridden the Fjord Fjarlane, the  Finnish Fling, The Scandi Scrambler, and the Viking voyager spirits were high again. Even Leo was smiling like a goof and we still had 4 sections of the park left to get through, it was going to be a good night and we were all buzzing with excitement.

“Hey hot-stuff, wanna go find a nice dark corner with me?”

The feeling of a hand gripping my hind end had me spinning, grabbing some greasy asshole’s wrist and twisting it until he was buckling under the strain before the guys could even react.

“There anything wrong babe?”

At the sight of Raphs towering form glaring down at him from over my shoulder the creep paled. Jerking to get out of my grip on his arm as i squeezed just enough to threaten breaking it.

“No i think i've got this Raphie Bear, go have fun with your brothers… I’ll take care of the trash.”

When i looked back down at the guy my eyes were golden, fangs bared, and crest raised. “You touch any woman against her will again and you'll be seeing me, and i promise they won’t find you.”

I threw him down on the ground, watching as he scrambled away backwards, knocking over a couple little kids before taking off. God damn doing that felt good.  

DING DING DING DING DING….!

When i made it back to the guys Mikey was sinking basket after basket on one of those trick carnival games. his enhanced strength and aim, though lesser in this form, were plenty to crush the hopes of the carnie running the booth’s hopes for a quick buck. Destroying the high score soon Mikey was holding a giant sea turtle plushie, using it as a puppet to tease Alex. I felt Raph’s hand on my lower back, his extra fingers held together to make it feel more like his natural form’s hands. Probably so i wouldn't freak out and break his wrist.

“Pick a prize Tweeter.”

“Raph you don't have to do that….”

“How many days can i win my girl a carnival prize without being carted off to a freak show? Now pick something E.”

I scanned over the disgustingly pastel prizes until my eyes landed on the perfect little stuffie. It was a black dragon made of faux leather with a fluffy red belly and gold wing membranes, horns, and spikes.

“That one, in the dart booth. The Dragon.” “That tiny thing, come on, give me a challenge girl.”

“You told me to pick Red.”

“Fine, let me show you how it's done.”

Handing over a dollar bill the carnie passed over 3 red darts.

“Pop three gold balloons for the dragon.”

Raph’s face scrunched up as he searched for the targets the carnie indicated.

“What’s the ploy here, those balloons are barely inflated at all! The dragon is one of the smallest prizes here, you trying to cheat me carnie?”

“You wanted a challenge big guy.”

He just gave the carnie a dirty look, weighing the dart in his hand before pinching the tip between his first two fingers, the other two tucked tightly to his palm as he stared down his target.

“Damn darts aren't even sharp.”

I ran my hands over his free arm, focusing on the balloons almost as hard as Raph was.

THUNK

One gold balloon started lazily dripping paint down the board. The carnie gave Raph a look at utter disbelief, only to be met with a smirk as Raph readied one dart in each hand.

THUNK, THUNK!

Three spots of gold paint stained the board where balloons had once hung and Raph was preening, head and shoulders thrown back, chest puffed out as he pulled me tight to his side.

“I think you owe my girl here a stuffed dragon.”

...

“I'm going to name him Lucius. He’s so cute!!”

The tiny stuffed dragon was barely 4 inches tall, just big enough to tuck in a pocket, but the stitch work on him was absolutely exquisite, gold embroidery outlining glittering scales along the tiny little body.

“Glad you like him babe.”

I was a lot more ecstatic than i thought i would be, jumping up to throw my arms around Raph’s neck and making lots of happy chirping noises as he supported my weight in his arms and pressed his forehead to my own. Our laughter mixed in a bubbly fountain mixed with chirps and low growling pseudo-churrs as he spun me around in his arms before i let go and just let myself hang upside down limply from his grip.

“Ok i'm dead, you killed me with cute fluffy romantic crud. You've gone and done it, speak of my greatness in my eulogy….”

“Get a room you two.”

Raph flipped Leo off, a self satisfied smirk at actually being able to do so pulling at his lips as i popped back upright. I stuck my own tongue out at Leo before grabbing Raph’s slightly stubbled jaw and pulling him in for a kiss. It was different but it was still completely Raphael, teeth scraping at my bottom lip before i pulled back, only for him to follow until i put a hand against his throat.

“We’re still in public babe, later i promise.”

He rolled his eyes as he let me back down, another low growl rumbling through him as he whispered in my ear.

“Fine, but don't expect me to play nice.”

His hand traveled down my back to cup my rear as we moved to catch up with the guys as they ran off toward the fury of the Nile. he started chuckling when i removed it, slipping it back a few times before i swatted him.

“Behave.”

“Make me.”

Raph, Mikey, Alex, and I squeezed together in one boat as Donnie and leo hopped in the next one only to be joined by two college girls in swimsuits cut off from their own parties. I couldn't help but grin like a proud mother as the two fumbled through trying to talk to the two bombshell beauties that had been practically dropped in their laps. It wasn't long though before i heard laughter coming from the boat behind us as we were shoved off down the artificial white water rapids.  I quickly forgot about that however as we crashed into the first bouncer and a wave of green dyed water sloshed over us and into the boat.

“EEEEEEEEE! Oh god it smells!” Mikey couldn't help but laugh, throwing an arm around Alex.

“Smells better than the waterslides back home, you don't seem to mind those babe.”

Another wave crashed over the boat, this time on Mikey’s side, plastering his poofy curls to his face and washing those god awful shutter shades into the river. The shape of the wave however… a nearly transparent water dragon leapt over the edge of the boat and slipped back below the surface. Back in the boat behind us Mizu was perched on leo’s forearm like a hawk, the two girls in the boat sporting glittering fey’s wings barely visible in the shadowy tunnel. Mikey screwed up his face and a gust of wind blew over his form before cutting a deep trough in the surface of the water, shaking the boat and making Leo fall back into the blue fairy’s lap. My eyes went gold and i could see both elemental beasts play fighting at the surface of the water. A raven’s caw stilled them both, sending them back to their masters before we exited the tunnel.

“Good going bonehead.”

A spark of flame jumped from Raph’s fingertips to bite at Mikey’s face before being extinguished in a puff of air.

“What about incognito don't you understand?”

“Have a little fun babe, no one saw us.”

I tugged on Raph’s soul and made him slap himself in the face.

“You're right, this is fun.”

“Point made, now stop that shit, its creepy.”

“Yeah, and? I'm creepy.”

“And that’s why we love you jazzy cakes.”

By sundown we had ridden every ride at the park at least 3 times. Mikey’s favorite was the Patriot roller coaster, Leo loved the detonator, and Donnie rode the cyclone sam an extra 5 times on his own after the rest of us couldn't handle it anymore.

“What did you say your favorite ride was Red?”

The lights had come on in the park with the setting sun, illuminating the one ride we hadn't tried yet, a tall spire that took swinging seats up to its top for a scenic view of the west Missouri countryside and nearby Kansas City. The pulsing lights flickered in his eyes as he watched the pairs of seats spin lazily 300 feet above our heads.

“I didn't say Tweeter. But how about we try that one out.”

Mikey had just shown up at the bench with armloads of food so Raph was able to drag me off without the others noticing. He hadn't seemed this excited all day and i couldn't help but wonder exactly what was going on in that head of his as he hoisted me up into one of the swinging seats of the steel hawk. The ride wasn't one of the most exciting yet his hand was practically vibrating as we slowly rose up into the air.

“Hey Elasia?”

“Yeah Raph?”

He turned in his seat to face me, scanning over the burning horizon as the moon peeked up over the lights of the distant city.

“Remember that dream you told me about?”

“Huh? You mean the one where peeps were taking over the world?”

He looked at me like i was the greatest treasure in the world and i found myself unable to look away as he spoke.

“No, the other one. With the raven and the phoenix doing the hawk thing you told me about.”

Before i could bring the specific dream to mind he leaned across the gap between our seats, fire burning in his eyes as he kissed me. I could see it now, two birds, talons clasped as they spun, falling from high in the air. I barely felt something stir between us before i was overtaken by the melding of our souls suspended 300 ft in the air. Fire licked across my skin, biting crackling heat that dared not burn, as molten gold peeled back the haze of mist hiding my beloved from me. God why couldn't i get any closer, i needed to get closer, to find more of this delicious adrenaline fueled heat, to have more of him.

We were jarred out of it by the jolt of the ride locking in at ground level, eyes opening in a drugged haze.

“Um Red?”

Three fingers carded through my hair before freezing in shock. Yeah we should run. “LEO CODE GREEN, CODE GREEN, MOVE MOVE MOVE!”

Who knew how long we had until the last of the mist wore off, the guys already looked like turtles to me again, luckily no one else was noticing the four giant mutants as they tore through the park toward the gates. I couldn't help but think we got back to the truck just in time, heart thundering with a new type of adrenaline as i put the pedal to the floor and we sped back to the portstone to NYC.

“WHOOOOO THAT WAS SICK!!! We gotta do that again E, tell me we’re doing that again.”

“Sure Mikey, at least we know how long the masking serum lasts now.”

“It does feel good to be a turtle again.’

“It's strange that the reverse transformation didn't hurt as badly as the initial one, just a few muscle aches.”

“That’s because its easier for structures to retain their native form than to be molded into a new one Don. Don't worry though, the transformation into human form gets easier with practice.”

It did feel good to have my boys back to normal, Mikey and Alex took off down the tunnel to do god knows what, and Leo drug Donnie off to the dojo.

“Come on Donnie, lets spar, i need to feel like myself again.”

“Sounds like a good idea Leo. You guys coming?”

It was hard to keep a straight face when i felt a familiar three-fingered hand weave through the bases of my wings along my spine, i could practically feel the evil little smirk on Raph’s face.

“N-no Donnie, We’ll catch up later.”

They both gave Raph a strange look before disappearing toward the dojo. As soon as they were gone however i turned on the red clad brute, eyes narrowing in scorn as i grabbed his mask tails to yank him down to my level.

“You are in so much trouble mister.”

“What are you going to do about it.”

By god i loved the feeling of his fire along my skin.

[themanicgalaxy]

SPN 7X5 Shut Up, Dr. Phil

I will say, monsters of the week is nice

oh FUCKING HELL COME ON

K A R E N

ok hair bleaching

there's NO way this can go wrong

I'll say horror of the mundane is INCREDIBLY effective

the birds eye view(pov view?) makes it worse oh my god

aww he's dreaming of Cas

and then Sam and him

what is the end plan here

"your search results for 'freaky accidents'" LMAO DEAN

SAM WENT ON A JOG

PrOspErity, InDIAna

where'd Sam get apple headphones

LANCE ARMSTRONG T W I C E

Dean bs'ing his way out of it sir EVERYONE CAN SEE THROUGH IT

"yeah, ok" "no don't say yeah ok like that" "yeah, ok" LAMAOOO

SIBLING BEHAVIOR

ooo mans has two lobe piercings

ah her sister

ok so golden girl fine ok

"it couldn't have happened" interesting

ah they found something they missed

very sibling written this episode

LIQUOR? AGAIN??

oH SHIT NOT THE PORTAPOTTY

ha he got nailed

there's literally no way for that to happen what the fuck

HIS EYES? JESUS

it's all real estate, huh?

oh wow they really do know a lot

"Close-knit community"

and a pillar, again

coin, again

oh WOW he dOES LOOK NICE IN SEASON 7

"hot and heavy emails" lmao

Don stark, in everything

ROMANIAN CYRILLIC

ROMANIAN COINSSSS

ah the bus bench

it's the girl isn't it

Exploring

welcome to "no I'm totally FBI"

that does kinda look like slavic papers tbh

like the historical ones

DONALD TRUMP wow that didn't age well

"y e p that is totally what we heard, yes" dean lmaooo

ah he cheated on her

ahaha DeaNN

they're like quietly double teaming him it's HILARIOUS

"grovel...wouldn't hurt" oh my god monogamy has changed him it's so fun

"bewitched reference" DEAN

heh the dried plants being unintentional is nice

AHAH SAM

SKSK THE CAR ALARM

not bad dude

man these guys are rich, this house is BIG

I think...she noticed

Man Jenny's just making her cupcakes

oh boy

SPELL'S IN ROMANIAN!

like horrible pronunciation but that's not her fault!!

ahhfsdaf that is horrifying

she's just..vomiting up blood

did she...bite her own heart?? WHAT?

"should I slug her" "give it a minute" lmaooo

AND IT WASN'T EVEN A THING SHE WAS DOING

oh god please don't be her best friend

well at least she's a good friend? I think?

she's protective at least

"not my fault" sir this is not gonna fly

boy he really does suck

Hunters...she knows what hunters are

please give me more backstory, her husband knows, tell me tell meeee

LMAOO THAT WAS A MESSAGE

NO NO TE LL M E THE CONTEXT PLEASE

"no don't need to write it down" *needs to write it down*

ASIAPFSIH

she's a bit of a control freak

she just fucking shot out the power

LMAO THEY'RE HANDLING THIS GREAT

eyeball in the martini?

the paintings are...running? melting?

oh boy

HE

FUCKING KILLED SUE

oh DEAR LORD

so they're both witches great

War of the witches with the town as collateral damn

and of COURSE the leviathans

LMAOOO AND THE THING DOESN'T WORK

that camera pan was FUCKING HILARIOUS

EY IT'S ROMANIAN AGAIN

THIS IS SO FUNNY THEY'RE JUST SAYING EVIL SHIT AGAIN

DEAN GO BE THE MARRIAGE COUNSELOR LMAOOO

"it's kinky, go do ur thing" DeAN

THEY'RE BOTH TAKING ONE AND GETTING FUCKED OVER BY THE OTHER ONE THIS IS HILARIOUS

....800 years of cheating on each other

SAM MARRIAGE COUNSELED THE IMMORTALS

hey it worked

ah shoot, it's leviathan

hehe I'm funny

THE WITCH KILLED THEM?

Hell yeah Don

ah Don helped Maggie not kill her

"gotta love her, right....no never mind"

"dean you gotta open up" "no fuck off"

Sam is so desperately trying to get Dean to talk about his feelings LMAOOO

SAM LOOKS SO TIRED

AHAHA

He's trying to be normal sorry bud

1. Sam trying to get Dean to open up is HILARIOUS

2. the sibling ness in the relationship was great

3. I can't believe therapy saved the day for once that's hilarious

4. I'll be honest, I just like two witches that have been married for 800 years, traveled everywhere together and have marital problems. ALSO, they're romanian witches. That was never explained, but it made me happy

5. no this is just Don came and helped them at the end, that was nice

6. I COULD UNDERSTAND THE ROMANIAN!!!!

7. and they were too powerful to kill

8. They totally changed their names tho, fucking Don and Maggie Stark, absolutely bs

[gedachtenextracten]

the Wonders of Autocorrect (part 1)

(other parts - read on AO3)

It looked fantastic, even if she said so herself. It was almost soothing, the way the colourful paper moved every time the cool night breeze picked up again. It was in nice contrast with the slowly darkening evening sky. She was just about to put on the finishing touch, when a car stopped right behind her. The door opened and an upset looking man stepped outside.

“Hey, you!” He raised his hands in question. “What on earth do you think you’re doing? That’s my house!”

“I am decorating it. Donning it in appropriate gear for the piece of shit that lives inside.” She was mad at Nick, and she didn’t care who could hear them.

“Excuse me?” He nervously pushed his glasses back on his nose.

“You heard me.” She gave him her best glare. “That kid of yours decided to cheat on me with Girl Scout from PE. They’re both ass-wipes. Toilet-papering your house seemed appropriate.”

“My kid did what?” He looked shocked. Then he sighed. “So you threw toilet paper all over my house? In all this years, I have never had anything like this happen before. With any of my kids. “ He shook his head. “And I honestly never expected this from any of them,” he added softly.

Kids? Plural? Oh, great. So Nick even kept having siblings a secret from her? That jerk.

“Look, young lady. I honestly don’t know what to do with this. I think you two should just talk this out, yeah? I bet you’re mature enough.” He eyed her.

She didn’t know about that. Even he seemed to question his own statement right as he said it. But at least Nick’s dad didn’t seem to be as upset as before.

“I’ll get her and then you can talk to her.”

Wait- what? Her? What was he talking about?

He opened the door and shouted upstairs. “Holly!”

Oh, fuck.

______________

Maybe, if Gail hadn’t been so angry, she would have done a better job of double checking Nick’s address before angrily jamming her phone’s keyboard when typing it in on Google maps. She had never been to his house before, so she hadn’t even considered this could be the wrong house. In fact, that should have given it away. She should have known something was up. Nick always found excuses not to invite her over at his place, claiming his parents didn’t like him having a girlfriend or that they were having people over. They couldn’t go to her place either, since her parents didn’t like him very much. They’d always found other places to hang out. She couldn’t have known this house wasn’t his, could she? She hoped she’d be long gone when they opened their mailbox to see the ‘present’ she’d posted. She groaned at the thought.

______________

Someone’s footsteps padded down the stairs. Then a brown-haired girl appeared, laptop in one hand and one earbud of her earphones still in. She was clad in only shorts and a white t-shirt that was a little to big on her. She’d obviously planned on spending her evening relaxing. “What’s wrong dad?” Then she saw Gail, and a questioning look crossed her face.

“This young lady claims you cheated on her, and I quote, “with that Girl Scout from PE”. Your mother is not here and I don’t know how to handle this. So I suggest the two of you remove all this toilet paper from our house and our yard and talk it out in the meantime, yeah?”

Holly looked at their front yard and her eyes widened. She had been watching a movie on her laptop and hadn’t heard her house being, erm, decorated by the other girl.

“Um, sure…” She adjusted her glasses, not sure how to handle this situation either.  Guess the glasses thing runs in the family.

Holly’s dad took her laptop from her hands, went inside and closed the front door behind him. Holly turned to look at Gail and raised her eyebrows in question.

“Erm… Hi?” Gail hunched her shoulders and looked at her sheepishly.

“What is this?” whispered Holly. “Who are you? How did I cheat on you?” And why would I ever cheat on you?, she added as an afterthought.

Gail flushed bright red. She was internally cursing her pale skin tone and the fact that it wasn’t nearly dark enough outside to hide her blush. “I, um. I think I’ve got the wrong address.”

And then Holly did something Gail had not expected. She started to laugh. It started as a giggle that she tried to hide behind her sleeve but then rapidly turned into an actual full-on laugh. She threw her head backwards and took off her glasses to wipe the tears from her eyes. “Oh, god.”

Gail glared at her. “This is not funny.”

“Oh, but it is.” Holly started giggling again. She put her glasses back on. “Poor dad. I’m just glad this is happening today and not last month. I only came out, like, two weeks ago, and now there’s a girl on my doorstep claiming I cheated on her. Good timing.” Holly took a few steps forward and looked around. “And the variety of colours was a nice touch, too.”

Gail couldn’t help herself but smile through her glare.  “Yeah, well. Glad I could be of service.”

Holly grinned at her. She was quite relieved that Gail hadn’t even batted an eye after her revelation. “Speaking of being of service. Come on, stranger, let’s clean up this mess.”

______________

“So, Gaiiiil,” Holly drawled out while bending down to pick up some pieces of bright blue toilet paper. “Do enlighten me. What made you come here and add some colour to my day?”

Gail snorted. “Go easy on the puns, nerd.”

Holly gave her a crooked smile. Gail liked the way it brought out the dimples in her cheeks. “You’re not getting away with changing the topic.”

Gail was toying with a piece of toilet paper and rolled it into a ball. “I found out that Nick cheated on me.”

“Nick’s your boyfriend then?”

Gail huffed. “Not anymore, no.”

“So, how come you’ve ended up at my house and not his?”

“I, uh. Google must have autocorrected the address I typed in.”

“Oh.” Holly looked thoughtful. “Well, at least you got your revenge, yeah? You’ve thrown enough toilet paper around. Do you think you’ve got rid of the shitty feelings?”

Gail threw the ball of paper at her. “Shove it, nerd.”

Holly laughed. “You’re a bit rude sometimes, aren’t you?” It was said without any menace, something Gail wasn’t used to.

“Am not.” Her protest was weak though.

“Are too.” Holly went back to picking up pieces of paper. She tossed them in the garbage bag her dad had brought over earlier and contemplated her next question. “So, this Girl Scout, do I know her? I feel like I should, if I cheated on you with her, but I don’t know anyone by that name. Who is she?” As soon as she’d said it, she regretted doing so. She could almost see Gail’s defence walls rise up.

“No one.”

“Alright,” said Holly. If Gail didn’t want to talk about it, she wouldn’t press.

Gail was internally cursing herself. Half an hour ago, she’d been shouting accusations at the top of her lungs, for the whole street to hear, and now she couldn’t bring herself to tell Holly about Andy and Nick. Her anger had dissipated and now she felt too vulnerable to talk about it.

Something hit her in the face and there was Holly again, bringing her out of her reveries, giggling like a fool and running away from her backwards.

“Yeah, you run, nerd! I’m coming after you.”

“A girl chasing after me? That’s my dream come true.” Holly stuck out her tongue at her. She had the goofiest grin and slalomed through the trees to try and escape Gail’s revenge. Gail had picked up the garage bag of paper and took out piece after piece to throw at Holly.

As she was running after Holly, through trees thoroughly covered in toilet paper in all colours, Gail realised that she hadn’t felt this happy in a long time.

She felt free.

______________

Hours of talking and playing went by before they’d finally managed cleaning up the garden and started on the house itself. Holly had brought out a ladder to get access to the roof and the gutter. They’d carefully hauled themselves up on the roof and cleaned it up, even though Gail repeatedly stated they could just wait for the rain to ‘wash it down the drain’. Holly had just laughed and shaken her head before ushering Gail up the ladder and following right after her.

______________

It felt safer to talk when Holly was too busy watching her steps to be looking at her.

“She was my friend.”

“Oh.” Then silence. Holly carefully balanced herself so she could bend forward and grab some toilet paper that was stuck behind a roof tile. Gail looked at the other girl and then down at her feet. She was seated on the edge of the roof, with her legs dangling over it.

“Yeah.”

“And they really…”

“Yeah.” They fucked each other and fucked me over at the same time. “I’m just glad we hadn’t gotten to that point yet.”

“So you and Nick didn’t ever, like-”

“Gross! No!” Gail exclaimed.

“Well, at least that’s good, I think.”

Gail hummed in agreement. Holly carefully walked over to where Gail was seated and sat down next to her. She watched as Gail’s feet kicked at the air.

“So that’s why you decided to cover my house in toilet paper, huh?” She playfully bumped Gail’s shoulder with hers. “Where’d you even buy all these colours?”

“I don’t know,” Gail shrugged.  A tiny smile appeared. “I bought them at this crappy one dollar shop. I wanted to eggs the house at first but then I remembered that is illegal and my parents would have me arrested.”

“Good thinking,” Holly smiled and patted her on her leg, before standing up again and moving towards the ladder. She looked over her shoulder and nudged her head.  “You coming? I still have to finish that movie.”

Gail hopped off too and followed her into the house.

______________

Holly’s dad hadn’t asked any questions. Holly had just told her dad that her cheating on Gail was a misunderstanding. She would try and tell him that Gail being her girlfriend was a misunderstanding too, but for now she’d just leave it be. This was the strangest way to make a new friend. It’d make for a good laugh when her mom and sister came back from their holiday. She’d asked if Gail could stay over to watch the movie with her now that things were cleared up between them. Her dad had just nodded in agreement and handed her the bowl of popcorn he’d made earlier before heading off to bed with a ‘Good night, kiddo. Don’t stay up too late.’

As soon as he’d left, Gail had grabbed hold of the bowl and made herself comfortable on the couch. Holly shook her head to herself and joined her. They sat together, watching the movie with the volume turned down, a blanket spread out over both their legs. And Gail had felt… Well, she felt welcome in this house. She felt at ease. It had never felt this way with Nick.

“Hey, nerd?”

“Hm?”

“Maybe keep your dad from opening your mailbox in the morning.”

[unsettlingshortstories]

Poison

Roald Dahl (1950)

It must have been around midnight when I drove home, and as I approached the gates of the bungalow. I switched off the headlamps of the car so the beam wouldn’t swing in through the window of the side bedroom and wake Harry Pope. But I needn’t have bothered. Coming up the drive I noticed his light was still on, so he was awake anyway – unless perhaps he’d dropped off while reading.

I parked the car and went up the five steps to the balcony, counting each step carefully in the dark so I wouldn’t take an extra one which wasn’t there when I got to the top. I crossed the balcony, pushed through the screen doors into the house itself and switched on the light in the hall. I went across to the door of Harry’s room, opened it quietly, and looked in.

He was lying on the bed and I could see he was awake. But he didn’t move. He didn’t even turn his head towards me, but I heard him say, ‘Timber, Timber, come here.’ He spoke slowly, whispering each word carefully, separately, and I pushed the door right open and started to go quickly across the room.

‘Stop. Wait a moment, Timber.’ I could hardly hear what he was saying. He seemed to be straining enormously to get the words out.

‘What’s the matter, Harry?’

‘Sshhh!’ he whispered. ‘Sshhh! For God’s sake don’t make a noise. Take your shoes off before you come nearer, Please do as I say, Timber.’ The way he was speaking reminded me of George Barling after he got shot in the stomach when he stood leaning against a crate containing a spare aeroplane engine, holding both hands on his stomach and saying things about the German pilot in just the same hoarse straining half whisper Harry was using now.

‘Quickly, Timber, but take your shoes off first.’ I couldn’t understand about taking off the shoes but I figured that if he was as ill as he sounded I’d better humour him, so I bent down and removed the shoes and left them in the middle of the floor. Then I went over to his bed.

‘Don’t touch the bed! For God’s sake don’t touch the bed!’ He was still speaking like he’d been shot in the stomach and I could see him lying there on his back with a single sheet covering three-quarters of his body. He was wearing a pair of pajamas with blue, brown, and white stripes, and he was sweating terribly. It was a hot night and I was sweating a little myself, but not like Harry. His whole face was wet and the pillow around his head was sodden with moisture. It looked like a bad go of malaria to me.

‘What is it, Harry?’  ‘A krait,’ he said.

A krait! Oh, my God! Where’d it bite you? How long ago?’ Shut up,’ he whispered. ‘Listen, Harry,’ I said, and I leaned forward and touched his shoulder. ‘We’ve got to be quick. Come on now, quickly, tell me where it bit you.’ He was lying there very still and tense as though he was holding on to himself hard because of sharp pain.

‘I haven’t been bitten,’ he whispered, ‘Not yet. It’s on my stomach. Lying there asleep.’ I took a quick pace backwards. I couldn’t help it, and I stared at his stomach or rather at the sheet that covered it. The sheet was rumpled in several places and it was impossible to tell if there was anything underneath. ‘You don’t really mean there’s a krait lying on your stomach now?’ ‘I swear it.’ ‘How did it get there?’ I shouldn’t have asked the question because it was easy to see he wasn’t fooling. I should have told him to keep quiet.

‘I was reading,’ Harry said, and he spoke very slowly, taking each word in turn and speaking it carefully so as not to move the muscles of his stomach. ‘Lying on my back reading and I felt something on my chest, behind the book. Soft of tickling.

Then out of the corner of my eye saw this little krait sliding over my pyjamas. Small, about ten inches. Knew I mustn’t move. Couldn’t have anyway. Lay there watching it. Thought it would go over top of the sheet.’ Harry paused and was silent for a few moments. His eyes looked down along his body towards the place where the sheet covered his stomach, and I could see he was watching to make sure his whispering wasn’t disturbing the thing that lay there.

‘There was a fold in the sheet,’ he said, speaking more slowly than ever now and so softly I had to lean close to hear him.

‘See it, it’s still there. It went under that. I could feel it through my pyjamas, moving on my stomach. Then it stopped moving and now it’s lying there in the warmth. Probably asleep. I’ve been waiting for you.’ Re raised his eyes and looked at me.

‘How long ago?’

‘Hours,’ he whispered. ‘Hours and bloody hours and hours, I can ‘t keep still much longer. I’ve been wanting to cough.’ There was not much doubt about the truth of Harry’s story.

As a matter of fact it wasn’t a surprising thing for a krait to do. They hang around people’s houses and they go for the warm places. The surprising thing was that Harry hadn’t been bitten. The bite is quite deadly except sometimes when you catch it at once and they kill a fair number of people each year in Bengal, mostly in the villages. ‘All right, Harry’ I said, and now I was whispering too.

‘Don’t move and don’t talk any more unless you have to, you know it won’t bite unless it’s frightened. We’ll fix it in no time.’ I went softly out of the room in my stocking feet and fetched a small sharp knife from the kitchen. I put it in my trouser pocket ready to use instantly in case something went wrong while we were still thinking out a plan. If Harry coughed or moved or did something to frighten the krait and got bitten, I was going to be ready to cut the bitten place and try to suck the venom out. I came back to the bedroom and Harry was still lying there very quiet and sweating all over his face. His eyes followed me as I moved across the room to his bed and I could see he was wondering what I’d been up to. I stood beside him, trying to think of the best thing to do.

‘Harry,’ I said, and now when I spoke I put my mouth almost on his ear so I wouldn’t have to raise my voice above the softest whisper, ‘I think the best thing to do is for me to draw the sheet back very, very gently. Then we could have a look first. I think I could do that without disturbing it.’ ‘Don’t be a damn fool.’ There was no expression in his voice. He spoke each word too slowly, too carefully, and too softly for that. The expression was in the eyes and around the corners of the mouth.

Why not?’

‘The light would frighten him. It’s dark under there now.’ ‘Then how about whipping the sheet back quick and brushing it of! before it has time to strike?’ ‘Why don’t you get a doctor?’ Harry said. The way he looked at me told me I should have thought of that myself in the first place.

‘A doctor. Of course. That’s it. I’ll get Ganderbai.’ I tiptoed out to the hall, looked up Ganderbai’s number in the book, lifted the phone and told the operator to hurry .

‘Dr Ganderbai,’ I said. ‘This is Timber Woods.’ ‘Hello, Mr Woods. You not in bed yet?’ ‘Look, could you come round at once? And bring serum for a krait bite.’ ‘Who’s been bitten?’ The question came so sharply it was like a small explosion in my ear.

‘No one. No one yet. But Harry Pope’s in bed and he’s got one lying on his stomach – asleep under the sheet on his stomach.’ For about three seconds there was silence on the line. Then speaking slowly, not like an explosion now but slowly, precisely, Ganderbai said, ‘Tell him to keep quite still. He is not to move or to talk. Do you understand?’ ‘Of course.’ ‘I’ll come at once!’ He rang off and I went back to the bedroom. Harry’s eyes watched me as I walked across to his bed.

‘Ganderbai’s coming. He said for you to lie still.’ ‘What in God’s name does he think I’m doing!’ ‘Look, Harry , he said no talking. Absolutely no talking. Either of us.’ ‘Why don’t you shut up then?’ When he said this, one side of his mouth started twitching with rapid little downward movements that continued for a while after he finished speaking. I took out my handkerchief and very gently I wiped the sweat off his face and neck, and I could feel the slight twitching of the muscle – the one be used for smiling – as my fingers passed over it with the handkerchief. I slipped out to the kitchen, got some ice from the ice-box, rolled it up in a napkin, and began to crush it small. That business of the mouth, I didn’t like that. or the way he talked either. I carried the ice pack back to the bedroom and laid it across Harry’s forehead.

‘Keep you cool.’ He screwed up his eyes and drew breath sharply through his teeth. ‘Take it away: he whispered, ‘Make me cough,’ His smiling-muscle began to twitch again.

The beam of a headlamp shone through the window as Ganderbai’s car swung around to the front of the bungalow I went out to meet him, holding the ice pack with both hands.

‘How is it?’ Ganderbai asked. but he didn’t stop to talk; he walked on past me across the balcony and through the screen doors into the hall. ‘Where is he? Which room?’ He put his bag down on a chair in the hall and followed me into Harry’s room. He was wearing soft-soled bedroom slippers and be walked across the floor noiselessly, delicately, like a careful cat. Harry watched him out of the sides of his eyes. When Ganderbai reached the bed be looked down at Harry and smiled, confident and reassuring, nodding his head to tell Harry it was a simple matter and he was not to worry but just to leave it to Dr Ganderbai, Then he turned and went back to the hall and I followed him.

‘First thing is to try to get some serum into him’, he said and he opened his bag and started to make preparations.

‘Intravenously. But I must do it neatly. Don ‘t want to make him flinch.’ We went into the kitchen and he sterilised a needle. He had a hypodermic syringe in one hand and a small bottle in the other and he stuck the needle through the rubber top of the bottle and began drawing a pale yellow liquid up into the syringe by pulling out the plunger, Then he handed the syringe to me.

‘Hold that till I ask for it.’ He picked up the bag and together we returned to the room.

Harry’s eyes were bright now and wide open. Ganderbai bent over Harry and very cautiously, like a man handling sixteenth century lace, he rolled up the pyjama sleeve to the elbow without moving the arm. I noticed he stood well away from the bed.

He whispered, ‘I’m going to give you an injection. Serum. Just a prick but try not to move. Don’t tighten your stomach muscles. Let them go limp.’ Harry looked at the syringe. Ganderbai took a piece of red rubber tubing from his bag and slid one end under and up and around Harry’s biceps, then he tied the tubing tight with a knot. He sponged a small area of the bare forearm with alcohol, handed the swab to me and took the syringe from my hand. He held it up to the light, squinting at the calibrations, squirting out some of the yellow fluid. I stood still beside him, watching. Harry was watching too and sweating all over his face so it shone like it was smeared thick with face cream melting on his skin and running down on to the pillow.

I could see the blue vein on the inside of Harry’s forearm, swollen now because of the tourniquet, and then I saw the needle above the vein, Ganderbai holding the syringe almost flat against the arm, sliding the needle in sideways through the skin into the blue vein, sliding it slowly but so firmly it went in smooth as into cheese. Harry looked at the ceiling and closed his eyes and opened them again, but he didn’t move. When it was finished Ganderbai leaned forward putting his mouth close to Harry’s ear. ‘Now you’ll be all right even if you are bitten. But don’t move. Please don’t move. I’ll be back in a moment.’ He picked up his bag and went out to the hall and I followed, ‘Is he safe now?’ I asked.

‘No.’ ‘How safe is he?’ The little Indian doctor stood there in the hall rubbing his lower lip.

‘It must give some protection, mustn’t it?’ I asked.

He turned away and walked to the screen doors that led on to the veranda. I thought he was going through them, but he stopped this side of the doors and stood looking out into the night.

‘Isn’t the serum very good?’ I asked.

‘Unfortunately not,’ he answered without turning round. ‘It might save him. It might not. I am trying to think of something else to do.’ ‘Shall we draw the sheet back quick and brush it off before it has time to strike?. ‘Never! We are not entitled to take a risk.’ He spoke sharply and his voice was pitched a little higher than usual.

‘We can’t very well leave him lying there,’ I said. ‘He’s getting nervous.’ ‘Please! Please!’ he said, turning round, holding both hands up in the air. ‘Not so fast, please. This is not a matter to rush into bald-headed.’ He wiped his forehead with his handkerchief and stood there, frowning, nibbling his lip.

‘You see’, he said at last. ‘There is a way to do this. You know what we must do – we must administer an anaesthetic to the creature where it lies.’ It was a splendid idea.

‘It is not safe; he continued, ‘because a snake is cold-blooded and anaesthetic does not work so well or so quick with such animals, but it is better than any other thing to do. We could use ether… chloroform…’He was speaking slowly and trying to think the thing out while he talked.

‘Which shall we use?’

‘Chloroform,’ he said suddenly ‘Ordinary chloroform. That is best. ‘Now quick!’ He took my arm and pulled me towards the balcony. ‘Drive to my house! By the time you get there I will have waked up my boy on the telephone and he will show you my poisons cupboard. Here is the key of the cupboard. Take a bottle of chloroform. It has an orange label and the name is printed on it. I stay here in case anything happens. Be quick now, hurry! No, no, you don’t need your shoes!’ I drove fast and in about fifteen minutes I was back with the bottle of chloroform. Ganderbai came out of Harry’s room and met me in the hall. ‘You got it?’ he said. ‘Good, good. I just been telling him what we are going to do. But now we must hurry. It is not easy for him in there like that all this time. I am afraid he might move.’ He went back to the bedroom and I followed, carrying the bottle carefully with both hands. Harry was lying on the bed in precisely the same position as before with the sweat pouring down his cheeks. His face was white and wet. He turned his eyes towards me and I smiled at him and nodded confidently.

He continued to look at me. I raised my thumb, giving him the okay signal. He closed his eyes. Ganderbai was squatting down by the bed, and on the floor beside him was the hollow rubber tube that he had previously used as a tourniquet, and he’d got a small paper funnel fitted into one end of the tube.

He began to pull a little piece of the sheet out from under the mattress. He was working directly in line with Harry’s stomach, about eighteen inches from it, and I watched his fingers as they tugged gently at the edge of the sheet. He worked so slowly it was almost impossible to discern any movement either in his fingers or in the sheet that was being pulled. Finally he succeeded in making an opening under the sheet and he took the rubber tube and inserted one end of it in the opening so that it would slide under the sheet along the mattress towards Harry’s body. I do not know how long it took him to slide that tube in a few inches. It may have been twenty minutes, it may have been forty. I never once saw the tube move. I knew it was going in because the visible part of it grew gradually shorter, but I doubted that the krait could have felt even the faintest vibration. Ganderbai himself was sweating now, large pearls of sweat standing out ail over his forehead and along his upper lip. But his hands were steady and I noticed that his eyes were watching, not the tube in his hands, but the area of crumpled sheet above Harry’s stomach.

Without looking up, he held out a hand to me for the chloroform. I twisted out the ground-glass stopper and put the bottle right into his hand, not letting go till I was sure he had a good hold on it. Then he jerked his head for me to come closer and he whispered, ‘Tell him I’m going to soak the mattress and that it will be very cold under his body. He must be ready for that and he must not move. Tell him now.’ I bent over Harry and passed on the message.

‘Why doesn’t he get on with it?’ Harry said.

‘He’s going to now, Harry. But it’ll feel very cold, so be ready for it.’ ‘Oh, God Almighty, get on, get on!’ For the first time he raised his voice, and Ganderbai glanced up sharply, watched him for a few seconds, then went back to his business.

Ganderbai poured a few drops of chloroform into the paper funnel and waited while it ran down the tube. Then he poured some more. Then he waited again, and the heavy sickening smell of chloroform spread out over the room bringing with it faint unpleasant memories of white-coated nurses and white surgeons standing in a white room around a long white table. Ganderbai was pouring steadily now and I could see the heavy vapour of the chloroform swirling slowly like smoke above the paper funnel. He paused, held the bottle up to the light, poured one more funnelful and handed the bottle back to me. Slowly he drew out the rubber tube from under the sheet; then he stood up.

The strain of inserting the tube and pouring the chloroform must have been great, and I recollect that when Ganderbai turned and whispered to me, his voice was small and tired, ‘We’ll give it fifteen minutes just to be safe.’ leaned over to tell Harry. ‘We’re going to give it fifteen minutes, just to be safe. But it’s probably done for already.’

‘Then why for God’s sake don’t you look and see!’ Again he spoke loudly and Ganderbai sprang round, his small brown face suddenly very angry. He had almost pure black eyes and he stared at Harry and Harry’s smiling-muscle started to twitch. I took my handkerchief and wiped his wet face, trying to stroke his forehead a little for comfort as I did so.

Then we stood and waited beside the bed, Ganderbai watching Harry’s face all the time in a curious intense manner. The little Indian was concentrating all his will power on keeping Harry quiet. He never once took his eyes from the patient and although he made no sound, he seemed somehow to be shouting at him all the time, saying: Now listen, you’ve got to listen, you’re not going to go spoiling this now, d’you hear me; and Harry lay there twitching his mouth, sweating, closing his eyes, opening them, looking at me, at the sheet, at the ceiling, at me again, but never at Ganderbai. Yet somehow Ganderbai was holding him. The smell of chloroform was oppressive and it made me feel sick, but I couldn’t leave the room now. I had the feeling someone was blowing up a huge balloon and I could see it was going to burst, but I couldn’t look away.

At length Ganderbai turned and nodded and I knew he was ready to proceed. ‘You go over to the other side of the bed,’ he said. ‘We will each take one side of the sheet and draw it back together, but very slowly, please, and very quietly.’ ‘Keep still now, Harry,’ I said and I went around to the other side of the bed and took hold of the sheet. Ganderbai stood opposite me, and together we began to draw back the sheet, lifting it up clear of Harry’s body, taking it back very slowly, both of us standing well away but at the same time bending forward, trying to peer underneath it. The smell of chloroform was awful. I remember trying to hold my breath and when I couldn’t do that any longer I tried to breathe shallow so the stuff wouldn’t get into my lungs.

The whole of Harry’s chest was visible now, or rather the striped pyjama top which covered it, and then I saw the white cord of his pyjama trousers, neatly tied in a bow. A little farther and I saw a button, a mother-of-pearl button, and that was something I had never had on my pyjamas, a fly button, let alone a mother-of-pearl one. This Harry, I thought, he is very refined. It is odd how one sometimes has frivolous thoughts at exciting moments, and I distinctly remember thinking about Harry being very refined when I saw that button.

Apart from the button there was nothing on his stomach.

We pulled the sheet back faster then, and when we had uncovered his legs and feet we let the sheet drop over the end of the bed on to the floor.

‘Don’t move,’ Ganderbai said, ‘don’t move, Mr Pope’; and he began to peer around along the side of Harry’s body and under his legs.

‘We must be careful,’ he said. ‘It may be anywhere. It could be up the leg of his pyjamas.’ When Ganderbai said this, Harry quickly raised his head from the pillow and looked down at his legs. It was the first time he had moved. Then suddenly he jumped up, stood on his bed and shook his legs one after the other violently in the air. At that moment we both thought he had been bitten and Ganderbai was already reaching down into his bag for a scalpel and a tourniquet when Harry ceased his caperings and stood still and looked at the mattress he was standing on and shouted, ‘It’s not there!’ Ganderbai straightened up and for a moment he too looked at the mattress; then he looked up at Harry. Harry was all right. He hadn’t been bitten and now he wasn’t going to get bitten and he wasn’t going to be killed and everything was fine, but that didn’t seem to make anyone feel any better.

‘Mr Pope, you are of course quite sure you saw it in the first place?’ There was a note of sarcasm in Ganderbai’s voice that he would never have employed in ordinary circumstances, ‘You don’t think you might possibly have been dreaming, do you, Mr Pope?’ The way Ganderbai was looking at Harry, I realised that the sarcasm was not seriously intended. He was only easing up a bit after the strain.

Harry stood on his bed in his striped pyjamas, glaring at Ganderbai, and the colour began to spread out over his cheeks.

‘Are you telling me I’m a liar?’ he shouted.

Ganderbai remained absolutely still, watching Harry. Harry took a pace forward on the bed and there was a shining look in his eyes.

‘Why, you dirty little Hindu sewer rat!, ‘Shut up, Harry!’ I said’. ‘You dirty black-‘ ‘Harry!’ I called. ‘Shut up, Harry!’ It was terrible, the things he was saying.

Ganderbai went out of the room as though neither of us was there and I followed him and put my arm around his shoulder as he walked across the hall and out on to the balcony.

‘Don ‘t you listen to Harry,’ I said. ‘This thing’s made him so he doesn’t know what he’s saying.’ We went down the steps from the balcony to the drive and across the drive in the darkness to where his old Morris car was parked. He opened the door and got in.

‘You did a wonderful job,’ I said. ‘Thank you so very much for coming.’ ‘All he needs is a good holiday,’ he said quietly, without looking at me, then he started the engine and drove off.