#ok probably only a few times I hope?! mostly spray I hope! couldn’t they have done this with makeup 🙈

[loveandthings11]

Also this?!?!

Jeremy Strong for the LA Times, 10/7/24

[practicalsolarpunk]

Let’s talk about seed bombs

They’re pretty cool, right? Planting flowers, saving the bees, guerilla gardening, what’s not to love? But there are some things to consider before jumping in, in order to ensure that they are effective and to avoid causing any harm to the local ecosystem.

1. Native species

Many of the seed bombs available for purchase are... less than responsible about what kinds of seeds they use, even the ones that advertise as native. Read the list of species, look them up, ascertain whether or not they’re actually native to your specific region.  Take the U.S. for example. It’s a massive country, and while a particular plant may be native to the country in general, it may be native to a state on the opposite coast. Do your research, make sure the seeds are actually native to your specific area. 

Some resources to help with that*:

https://www.audubon.org/native-plants

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/

https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/Plants

https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/pollinator-friendly-plant-lists (scroll down on this page and there’s some international resources, too)

2. Where to place them

This one is a bit harder, because there are so many variables.  Is the soil bare? Why? Is the soil so poor nothing will grow there, not even the most tenacious weeds? Is it high traffic? Is it heavily compacted? Some kind of pollution leaking into the soil and making it inhospitable?

Or is the soil covered? Is it grass? Is it a native grass? Does it get mowed? Is it going to get sprayed? If it isn’t grass, what’s already growing there? Is it native species? Is it naturalized, polite, nonnative species that aren’t threatening the biodiversity of the regions? Or is it a highly invasive nonnative that will choke out anything else trying to grow?

Observe the area for a while.  What kind of sunlight does it get? Is it wet? Dry? Is there erosion? Mixing many different types of seeds together into one bomb might not be the best idea - even plants that are native to your area can have vastly different needs. The resources above should also have information about the growing conditions for the plants. Again - do your research. 

3. Saving the bees

Not to stir the pot too much, but honeybees, while facing issues due to pesticides primarily, are not really in danger of extinction, they’re supported by humans enough to survive.  Native bees, on the other hand, are, and we depend on them just as much, if not more, for pollination of our food than we do on honeybees. Pretty much globally, native bees and other pollinators and insects in general are in dire straits.  They are desperately in need of love, less poison, habitat, and food sources.  So, what kinds of bees and other pollinators do you have in your area? Which ones are most threatened? What do they eat? Where do they live? Many times, native insects have their own niche they fill, with specific plants that they depend on, and those plants depend on those specific insects in return.  It’s pretty fascinating to do a deep dive into local insect and plant species, and their interactions. Once again, research is the way to go!

Some resources*:

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/plantsanimals/pollinate/

https://saveplants.org/pollinator-search/

4. Over seeding

Ok, some of the recipes I’ve linked below call for absurd amounts of seeds per batch - don’t do it.  The seeds won’t spread out, so they’ll all be attempting to grow in maybe a few square inches of space at the most.  Each bomb should only have a few seeds, otherwise in their fight for space, sun, nutrients, and water, they’ll all die.  Putting a dozen or more seeds in a single bomb is wasteful, expensive, and counterproductive.  There is literally no benefit to it, please, for the love everything green and growing in the world, don’t do it.

Now that we’ve covered some of the things that need to be taken into consideration, let’s talk about how to actually do this, hopefully successfully!

1. Seriously consider making your own! The process of making them involves wetting all the ingredients, including the seeds, which may start the germination process.  If they then dry out again, they likely won’t grow.  It will likely work best to make them right before planting, and toss them before they have a chance to dry too much.  Also, if you make your own, you can be 100% sure that the species are well suited for the area, because you’ve done your research! Good for you, working hard to ensure those little bombs have a big impact!

Here’s some recipes, take your pick! (But, as mentioned above, ignore the parts that say to use too many seeds - you only want a few in each bomb. depending on the type of seed.)

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-make-seed-bomb

https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/make-seed-bombs-earth-day-activity/

https://seed-balls.com/basic-seed-ball-recipe

And a handy image via this site:

[photo id: a graphic titled How to make seed bombs. Below it reads: You will need: meadow flower seeds or seeds collected from the garden, peat-free compost, water, powdered clay from craft shops - use clay soil if you can’t find any, mixing bowl.  1. In a bowl, mix together 1 cup of seeds with 5 cups of compost and 2-3 cups of clay powder. 2 Slowly mix in water with your hands until everything sticks together, then roll mixture into firm balls. 3 (no words, but a drawing of seed bombs laying on grass). 4 Now for the fun bit - plant by throwing your seed bombs at bare parts of the garden!]

2. Toss them out in the spring (or whatever season they germinate best in), when you know there will be a few rainy days in row.  Seeds need wet to germinate, and good, steady moisture for the first bit of growing.  If that isn’t feasible in your region, consider going back to water them gently at least once a day for a few days or a week or more, until the seedlings are strong enough to withstand a bit of drought.  Unless, of course, the seeds are wet loving, and have been tossed somewhere that already maintains a decent moisture level for them.

3. Where to get seeds

Collect from native plants already growing in your area, that you have permission to collect from, or that are on public land.  Make sure you are 100% sure of your id - don’t want to be spreading invasive species around!

Buy them from a reputable source such as*:

https://www.prairiemoon.com/ (they have lots of awesome info about native species in north america - a great resource!)

https://www.nativeseeds.org/  (focuses on food crops mostly, but a fantastic resource all the same)

https://www.seedsource.com/

Another method if you’ve got space is to buy seeds, but plant them in your own garden and collect seeds from them. Those seeds can get really expensive, so this way you only need a few, and then with time they’ll multiply!

Try to make connections with people in your area already growing native plants - they’ll probably be happy to help you get started with some seeds!

Phew that was a lot of information! I hope it helps you all in your bombing adventures!

- Mod S

*North America focused, I’m sorry, I tried to find resources and databases for other regions and couldn’t find ones that looked reliable or comprehensive. If anyone has any, please add it on or send in an ask.

[darling-i-read-it]

Fugitives

Baron Helmut Zemo x reader

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: some spoilers for tfatws, i think thats it but if i missed anything pls let me know!

Author’s Note: I hope you like this love! Zemo <3

Requested: by @stardancerluv, Ok!😬 hope this works! So I was thinking Zemo stops f!reader from being turned into a super solider. Much later after all that time, they run into each other in Madripoor or Zemo makes it his side mission to “run into you!” Maybe they have feelings for each other which are expressed over drinks. (Let your creativity fly!) Work your magic! Thank you so much! You’re the best. 💐

Summary: the request!

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director

(not my gif)

Zemo remembered meeting you well. One of the few people that he had saved, one of the people who were in his corner. He often remembered those who held a debt to him but he couldn’t say that you did. He would say maybe that he held a debt to you.

You held one of the few super soldier serum in your hand and twirled it around between your fingers. You looked at the clear bottle, the liquid sloshing just slightly as you moved it around. A part of you was hoping that you would drop it.

If you dropped it then the choice would be out of your hands.

It seemed like a natural thing to do to take it. You should take the serum and have the power that so few people had. If you were able to do that, maybe you could save others. Maybe you could be just like Captain America or one of the other superheroes. You had a choice that so many others would never have, the choice that so many others wished they had.

Zemo was tracking that bottle. He had managed to get his hands on it only for it to slip out of his grasp but not before he put an inconspicuous tracking device on it. He just hoped that no one had taken it yet. He would rather smash a vial then kill a person. But he would do what needed to be done.

His device tracked all the way to where you were sitting but he saw the vial, he could turn off the device. It was no longer beeping and he was able to see you, sitting in the middle of a crowd on the outer edge of a water fountain. The serum danced in between your hands. You weren’t even looking at it.

You weren’t looking at anything really. Your expression was focused and distracted. The back of your shirt was damp from the water spray.

Zemo approached you. You only noticed him when he was just a couple of feet away. Your eyes met. Neither of you were confrontational about it. There was no fight that went down immediately.

“I’m Helmut Zemo.”

“Y/N Y/L/N,” you said evenly. You held up the little vial. “I suppose you’re here for this?” He shook his head, a sly smile on his face.

“I’m here to make sure that you don’t take it.” You raised an eyebrow.

“For personal reasons? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before Helmut.” He shook his head again.

“Nothing personal against you. May I sit?” You looked down at the little vial and took a deep breath before nodding. He sat down beside you. For a moment, he was silent, just watching the people as they passed by. You were silent as well, crowd watching. You didn’t feel any ill will toward Zemo. You figured someone would come eventually, you just didn’t figure so soon. Regardless, he was being less violent than you had figured someone would be.

“I haven’t taken it or anything.”

“I see.” You looked over at him and met his eyes. He had striking eyes and a guarded but soft gaze. You didn’t feel confrontational.

“Should I?”

“No. No you shouldn’t.”

“And how should I trust your judgement, Helmut Zemo?” He held your gaze and a soft smile flashed over his face. He laughed and shook his head just a bit.

“I think you shouldn't because everyone who has taken that serum has done something bad with it. It’s cursed.”

“Perhaps the people were cursed to begin with. Plus, what about big old Captain America? Is he not doing things for righteous reasons?” you asked. A darkness went over his face but he quickly suppressed it.

“That is subjective to each and every person.” He held your gaze even longer, causing you to have to look away. “Don’t take it.”

“Do you want it? To study or take or whatever?”

“I want it destroyed. Under my boot, right here and now.” You held it up to the light and looked through it. Who knew what it was made of. You barely knew what it could do.

You were silent for a long moment as you considered your options. Finally you let it fall between your fingers and land on the ground. You stood up and offered your hand. He grabbed it, standing. You gestured to the vial.

“It’s all yours Helmut Zemo.”

He looked down and with one stomp, it was nothing more than glass and spilling liquid. You were sure it would mix in with the rain that was soon to come. It would be like it was never there.

You met each other's eyes again.

“Thank you,” you whispered.

“For what?” His accent was thick but only then, like he had slipped up in a moment of happiness that the serum was gone.

“For helping me make that decision.”

You turned and started walking until you were lost in the crowd and Zemo could no longer see you.

====

When Zemo came to Madripoor he was only slightly thinking of you. You and him had met near the place but not close enough for him to have you at the front of his mind. He was much more worried about getting Bucky and Sam to pass through mostly undetected.

“So what is your big deal with super soldier serums? How long have you been trying to destroy them?” Sam asked, just to make conversation as they walked the long walk to the club.

“A long time. I met a girl not far from here who was about to take it. She let me crush it underneath my boot.” He remembered it fondly.

“She didn’t want it?” Sam asked. Zemo nodded.

“She understood the costs that would come with taking it. She wasn’t prepared to pay the price so she let me destroy it. A good choice on her part.”

As they entered the dimly lit club, the conversation died out. Loud music bumped through the air. The three of them kept their game face on and Zemo reminded them multiple times not to slip up.

They blended into the crowd. They had to get to Selby.

And they did but then they were running away, trying not to get caught in the crosshairs of someone with a gun that wanted them dead.

As they ran, narrowly dodging death, Zemo ran square into you. You stumbled over and Zemo almost ran right past you before he realized who you were. You stood up and looked around at the people chasing him.

“Helmut?”

“Y/N?”

“Quickly! Come with me!” You grabbed his hand and started to run. They didn’t have any better option. Bucky, Sam and Zemo chased you through the streets before coming to a halt in a room in a very tall building.

When everyone caught their breath you were finally able to speak.

“What are you doing in Madripoor?!” you asked him, breathing heavily.

“I was trying to see Selby who is sadly dead by now.”

“Wait, how do you know her?” Bucky asked, gesturing to you. “Is she another criminal?” Zemo sighed.

“No I-well you aren’t a criminal now are you?” You shook your head slightly.

“No, not really. Well there was...it’s not that big of a deal. I take it all of you are criminals?” Sam shook his head, stepping forward.

“We’re just trying to get some information.”

“This is Y/N. The woman I met who gave up the super soldier serum,” Zemo explained. They nodded, recalling the story he had told them earlier. “What are you doing here?”

“Who are these people?” you asked loudly.

“This is Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes,” Zemo explained. You recognize their names just faintly in the back of your mind.

“Wonderful. You all have to leave.”

“We can’t yet. Not until things settle outside. Please, you’ve helped me once more and I’m asking you to do it again,” Zemo said, approaching you. It had been years but you looked the same. A little rough around the edges but it was nice to see a familiar and kind face. You took a deep breath and cursed under your breath.

“One night.”

Zemo nodded happily.

“Thank you. Thank you.” You sighed and gestured to the bathroom.

“I have no mens clothes but I may have some sweats and hoodies that would fit. You’re all welcome to shower.” They nodded, happy to have a place to sit for the day and regroup. “There’s plenty of food in the fridge.”

====

Sam and Bucky were in your small room, trying to sleep. One of them was snoring. Probably Sam because he took the bed and Bucky was on the ground. You and Zemo sat outside on the couch, holding beers in your hands. You had large windows in your apartment with a view of the city, however run down it was.

You looked outside, watching the lights turn on and off rapidly.

“Why are you in Madripoor?” Zemo asked.

“I came here after I met you. Tried to get some work. I have things here and there, not exactly legal things but...things that pay for my rent and groceries,” you said honestly. You turned back to look at him. “I hear you’re a fugitive in America huh?” He scoffed.

“It was worth it.”

“I imagine it was.” You looked down at your drink. “I thought about you a lot. How life could have been different if I hadn’t listened to someone I met just a couple of minutes before.” He looked at you but you weren’t looking at him. He studied your features, relaxed, older than they were.

“I think you would have been dead if you hadn’t.” You looked up at him and grabbed his hand. He held yours for a moment and right then and there you were not criminals, fugitives, or strangers. You weren’t anything except together.

“I’m glad I listened,” you whispered. He kissed the back of your hand gently and there was that subtle soft smile that made you feel washed over with relief.

“Me too darling. Me too.”

You fell asleep on that couch that night without knowledge of the future and without care for it either. You drifted off in Zemo’s arms, his lips pressed against your shoulder blade.

[ask-the-riders]

War’s New Friend

War happens to stumble upon a resident of the riders’ timeline that no one knows about, and while he seems peaceful enough, he reeks of death and she can’t understand a single word he says

((I used a translator for him, since he’s Danish. The translator can be found here, hopefully it’s accurate ^^” all the translations will be underneath the blurb. Also, I’m gonna offer a warning for implied abuse in part of the beginning))

The glitch let out a deep sigh, hugging her knees close to her chest as she sat. She quietly looked out over the pond before her, her thoughts drifting from one subject to another. She'd found a total of nine different ponds in the long forgotten caves of Waterfall, one of which was large enough to be considered a lake, and she'd deemed this particular one her favorite. She wasn't sure why, but something just felt... Different, about it. Her thoughts drifted to the dream she'd had recently; She recognized the tree of feelings and the set of tiny twins that sat together beneath it, but that wasn't what the dream was mostly about. She remembered the human child she saw in it and frowned. He'd burst out of his home in tears, a large patch of reddening skin on his face. She recalled the way he isolated himself, his dark, curly hair an absolute mess atop his head as he slipped his body into a long dead and hollowed out tree. He'd curled in on himself and sobbed, his speech incoherent as he babbled to himself, and War's frown deepened. Remembering the way she used to hide from Error when she was a child, her soul ached. In watching the child, she could see herself. She pitied him, and if she could go back in time to help him, she knew she would. No child deserved to feel that way, and they certainly didn't deserve to live the way that he did.

A noise got the rider's attention, pulling her back into the current moment. Hearing what vaguely sounded like a splash, she looked around, her brow bones furrowing as she tried to locate the source of the noise. When she saw nothing, she made a face; Well that was weird. She convinced herself that it was probably nothing, but then she abruptly froze, her nonexistent stomach turning as the stench of death came from something nearby. Tugging her scarf up over her face in hopes of filtering out the smell, she grumbled under her breath. Alright, that was even weirder. What in the world could possibly be giving off such an odor?

Another sound that was similar to growling could be heard directly behind her and she whirled around, nearly slipping off of the rock she'd been sitting on. Unable to identify the face she was looking up at, she lashed out, producing her threads and quickly ensnaring the person that'd crept up on her. He was momentarily caught off guard, but then tilted his head, groaning softly and lightly tugging at the threads, as if testing their strength. Still trying to use her scarf to filter out the stench that he brought with him, she narrowed her eyes, "Ok, who the hell are you, and what are you doing, creeping around in these caves?" Shifting his attention back to her, his head remained tilted and he stared in silence. War made a sound in irritation, tightening her threads around him, "Well?! Don't you have anything to say for yourself, weirdo?" The undead man before her held his hands up in a gesture of surrender, "Hej, ikke så stram! Slap af, lille. Jeg mener ikke nogen skade!" The glitch paused at finally hearing him speak, and she arched a brow bone, "...Can you even understand what I'm saying to you?" He tugged at her threads again, his expression going blank after a moment, "Slip mig lige nu, ellers klikker jeg på alle disse strenge." War rolled her eye lights, "Whatever, dude. I'm gonna let go of you now, but if you take one more step closer to me, I'll end you. You got that? Stay. Away. From. Me."

He grumbled something under his breath and she reluctantly released her hold on him. He flexed his arms once they were freed, a sickening popping sound coming from his joints and making the rider gag. Trying to brush off the effect the sound had on her, she cleared her throat, "So... You got a name? What the hell am I supposed to call you?" He was silent for a moment, seeming to consider something before responding, "Hvorfor betyder det noget, hvis jeg har et navn? Jeg er død." War made a face, "Fine, fine. I guess I'll have to call you 'Stankass' then, huh? Until we figure something out, at least." The dead man furrowed his brows and frowned, "Tænk ikke engang på det." War stared at him for a few seconds, "...If you can understand me, hold one finger up." The man let out a deep sigh and grumbled, "Skal jeg?" War pinched the bridge of her nose, "Y'know what? Never mind. Forget I asked." Looking down at her, he arched an eyebrow, a hint of amusement crossing his expression. Catching it, the rider deadpanned, "...You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" He fell silent, allowing his amusement to become clearer than before, and in response, War let out an exaggerated groan, "Unbelievable. Before you frustrate me any more, I think I'm gonna go home. Seeya later, Stankass." Turning her back to him, she began to walk away, ignoring his confusion as he watched her. A few seconds passed before she narrowed her eyes, feeling a presence directly behind her.

Her pace came to a halt and she turned, appearing not the slightest bit surprised as she looked at him. Noticing that he'd started following her, she made a face, "You have to stay here, dude. You can't follow me." Once again tilting his head, he furrowed his brows, "Men... Du ville være alene da, og børn bør ikke rejse alene." The glitch stared up at him and hummed, "I can't understand you, deadhead. You have to stay here though, you'll freak out everyone at the house." She turned her back to him again without another word and started to walk, only to be abruptly stopped. Looking back, she spotted one of his hands grasping part of her shirt, and she narrowed her eyes, shifting her gaze to him, "...I said no, Stankass. You stay, I go. It's simple. Now, let go of my shirt." He grunted, hesitantly releasing her shirt after a moment. Realizing that he'd done as she asked, she spun around to face him, one hand balled into a fist while she raised the other and pointed, her hand directly in front of his face, "You are SUCH a little shit, oh my god! I KNEW you could understand me!" Rather than responding, he merely scooped her up into his arms, "Jeg vil også gå. Når du kommer sikkert hjem, forlader jeg og vender tilbage til min dam." War's cheekbones flushed a bright shade of midnight blue and she nearly screeched, "What do you think you're doing?! Put me down, bastard!" No sooner had she started struggling, had he narrowed his solid white eyes at her and growled lowly.

Hearing the sound, War froze, her sockets widening until they were nearly the same size as small saucers. Satisfied with her reaction, he began to walk, keeping her close to himself. Concluding that he wouldn't be letting her down anytime soon, she began to consider using a shortcut. Would that even work, though?... He'd snuck up behind her without producing even a single sound, and if it wasn't for the way he smelled, she might not have even sensed him standing there. He didn't seem at all threatened by her threads either when she caught him; If anything, he just seemed surprised. Once his surprise had passed, he was completely calm and confident, without even a trace of fear or uncertainty.

She had no idea what he was capable of. For all she knew, he might be able to teleport after her.

"Fortæl mig, hvor jeg skal hen." Being pulled from her thoughts, she sighed; She had no idea what he'd just said, but if he was really so insistent on going with her, she might as well give him directions. Caving, she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to his shirt, trying to make herself feel more secure, "Keep going. We need to exit the cave and get out onto the main pathway." He nodded, falling silent as he continued walking. The rider glanced around, her figure glitching in surprise as her phone went off, playing a text message alert sound. Shifting slightly in the dead man's arms, she dug into one of her pockets and withdrew her phone. Unlocking it and opening the message, she let out a soft breath. Ah. It was a message from Famine, asking if she'd be home in time for dinner. War took a moment to consider how she'd respond. Deciding on a good response, she typed her message out and sent it. It wasn't long before he texted back, but she chose to stuff her phone back into her pocket. At the speed they were currently moving, she desperately prayed they'd reach the house as soon as possible. Realistically, she'd probably make the undead weirdo put her down just outside the edge of the property. Then, since his scent would undoubtedly cling to her now, she'd use magic to conceal it. Famine had the best nose out of the group, so it'd be him that she'd have to try the hardest to slip by. Furrowing her brow bones, she stayed quiet, continuing to observe her surroundings. She knew her new companion likely couldn't help the way he smelled, so she didn't blame him for it. Being so close to him though... No thanks. She tugged her scarf up over the lower half of her face again. At this rate, she'd need to run a load of laundry and shower. If she could find someone's perfume or cologne, she'd also be spraying herself down with that. Whatever it took to get the stench of death and decay off of herself, she'd do it.

A moment passed in silence before her new companion spoke, his voice gruff and low, “Draug.” The glitch looked up at him curiously, arching a brow bone, “…What?” He glanced at her and continued walking, raising his voice the smallest bit. “Draug. Jeg hedder Draug.” She stared at him, dumbfounded and unsure what to say. Seeing the look on her face, he deadpanned; Was she seriously making him go through this right now? Letting out a deep sigh, he shifted her in his arms and used a hand to pat his chest, “Draug. Jeg er Draug.” War furrowed her brow bones again, “…Draug?” He gave a quick and eager nod, gesturing to himself, “Draug!” The rider tilted her head, “I’m guessing that’s your name?” Nodding again, he made a sound in confirmation, “Det er.” She blinked, momentarily seeming surprised, “…Huh. I didn’t think you’d actually tell me. If we’re finally doing introductions, my name’s War.” Her undead companion glanced at her curiously, “Krig?... Dit navn er krig?” War made a face, unsure of how she should respond, “Uhh… How do you say ‘War’ in your language?” Draug looked at her blankly, “Krig.” She blinked, “Oh. Ok then. I guess that’s pretty simple.” If he had pupils and irises, Draug would’ve made sure she could see him rolling his eyes at her. She cleared her throat, “Do you think you’d be willing to learn how to speak English?… I feel like it’d be easier to communicate if I could understand you the way that you understand me. I could even try to help you, if you wanted.”

Draug hummed in consideration; She had a point. Communication would definitely be easier if she could understand him. He sighed softly and nodded, “Jeg vil prøve at lære engelsk, men kun hvis du prøver at lære dansk også.” Although she wasn’t sure what exactly he said, she registered his nod as acceptance and glanced away from him, almost appearing awkward, “Cool, cool… Thanks, dude. I appreciate that.”

~~~

Translations:

"Hej, ikke så stram! Slap af, lille. Jeg mener ikke nogen skade!" = "Hey, not so tight! Calm down, small one. I don't mean any harm!"

"Slip mig lige nu, ellers klikker jeg på alle disse strenge." = "Release me right now, or else I'll snap all of these strings"

"Hvorfor betyder det noget, hvis jeg har et navn? Jeg er død." = "Why does it matter if I have a name? I'm dead."

"Tænk ikke engang på det." = "Don't even think about it."

"Skal jeg?" = "Do I have to?"

"Men... Du ville være alene da, og børn bør ikke rejse alene." = "But... You would be alone then and children should not travel alone."

"Jeg vil også gå. Når du kommer sikkert hjem, forlader jeg og vender tilbage til min dam." = "I want to go too. When you get home safely, I'll leave and return to my pond."

"Fortæl mig, hvor jeg skal hen." = "Tell me where I'm going."

“Jeg hedder Draug.” = “My name is Draug.”

“Draug. Jeg er Draug.” = “Draug. I’m Draug.”

“Det er.” = “It is.”

“Krig?... Dit navn er krig?” = “War… Your name is War?”

“Jeg vil prøve at lære engelsk, men kun hvis du prøver at lære dansk også.” = “I will try to learn English, but only if you try to learn Danish too.”

[songofsaraneth]

Ok now that I have time/space to breathe again, I wanted to do a writeup on the unusual reaction I had to the second Covid vaccine dose. I debated posting this, because I don't want to go against the "I was vaccinated and it's fine!" encouragement train. And I 1000% encourage EVERYONE to get vaccinated if possible. But I have not seen much documentation of the averse symptom I got, except in some case studies I specifically looked up so details below. Big TMI/gross warning however. 

Mostly I'm posting this because I had to do SO much self-advocating/arguing with the Dr at my urgent care clinic, and if you're not as read up on weird medical issues as I am, you might not be comfortable doing that. But IANAD, just describing my experience and what I read, which ended up being very long because it was awful and I have a lot to complain about I guess, sorry.

Basically: for me the vaccine triggered an inflammation response, which in itself is normal. The usual muscle aches/joint pain/slight fever. It also triggered an outbreak of ulcers in my soft tissues. Basically, a bunch of canker sores in my mouth/throat. I am already prone to getting these when I get sick or stressed out, so no biggie, annoying and painful but I could handle them. Canker sores are distinct from cold sores in that they form inside the mouth as crater spots, usually around the size of a pencil eraser (though can be bigger or smaller), and will develop a white film across the crater as they develop and start to heal.

An unfortunate fact I have learned: the mouth is not the only exposed “soft tissue” of the body. this group also includes genitals.

So 2 days after the vaccine I noticed a "burning sensation"/rawness downstairs, which turned into a sharp pain, especially when going to the bathroom. I obviously knew this was abnormal and because of what was happening in my mouth, had a pretty firm idea of what was happening, but was ready to brace myself through the healing process. However by day 5 I had 8 red, crater-like sores on the tissue of my vulva. Essentially they are open wounds, and urine is an acid, so you can imagine the hell that using the bathroom had become. Even just sitting hurt.

As someone healthcare-averse, even I knew this was untenable, and went to Urgent Care for the first time in my adult life. I told the NP what was going on, how they matched the canker sores (NOT cold sores) in my mouth in onset/form--and she immediately, without even looking, diagnosed me with herpes.

Lots of people have herpes or other STIs, and that's fine. I know I do not have any, and wanted to pursue treatment for what I was sure they were--Non-sexually acquired genital ulceration (NSGU). I had even found three case studies of COVID patients who had developed them. I had spent several harrowing hours on google images making sure that the sores I had did not match any STI I may have magically acquired during a year of social distancing. I even brought up multiple case studies, including a woman who had them as a Covid reaction in a neighboring state. Didn’t matter. She looked at them and went “Yikes! Herpes!” and prescribed me: 

1) an antiviral, which I said I did not think would do anything because the trigger for this was a vaccine not an illness. She said it was probably a herpes flare up already in my system. I reiterated that I have had similar sores in my mouth since childhood and that all my past doctors and dentists agreed it was not viral but something related to an immune response. She said the antivirals should clear them up in a few days.

2) a topical 5% lidocaine ointment, aka an oral grade numbing gel, which was essentially what I was after anyway.

I would have preferred a steroid course to the antiviral, but agreed to start taking them until she got the results of the bloodwork I needed to come in the next day for. I asked how many days after taking them I would expect to see a difference/if she would reevaluate treatment if they didn’t have an effect in a certain amount of time, and she said if they hadn’t cleared up by Monday then she’d look into other causes (spoiler, they did nothing in that 4 day span). to her credit, when she saw me pick up my bike helmet (because my car had been at the mechanic for a month by then), she was properly horrified that i was having to bike everywhere with this situation and printed off some coupons/called all the prescriptions into the grocery store pharmacy next door instead of the CVS my insurance likes a mile away.

So eventually I got home and took my pill & went to put on the ointment so I could use the bathroom for the first time in 8 hours. I’ll spare you the details but suffice to say I had an extremely, overwhelmingly painful 10 minutes of application. Like absolutely awful burning feeling. However once that faded, I was indeed actually numb, and so I figured it was worth it. Got my bloodwork done on Friday (biking there & home again). On Saturday, I thought that you know, maybe a prescription anesthetic shouldn’t be doing that or at least have some sort of warning? And read the details on the jar.

Good things about lidocaine: it is a powerful numbing agent and lasts pretty well for an hour or two.

Bad things about lidocaine: you cannot get oral grade lidocaine without added mint flavoring.

I happen to be EXTREMELY sensitive to mint. Like I still can’t handle breath mints or mouthwash, and used bubblegum flavored toothpaste until I was 14 and found a brand with half as much mint flavoring as is typical. Even if you’re not, mint has no business being anywhere near genital tissue. Even on an average person that could cause awful burning. to make a long saga shorter I had a very frustrating back-and-forth with urgent care involving many rerouted phone trees, visit in person, unhelpful receptionists, and attempts to find over-the-counter alternatives. All were fruitless so I just  suffered all weekend until the urgent care Nurse Practitioner called me back on Monday and was suitably apologetic/outraged about the mint thing, and looked up every OTC product that might work as a substitute, since she couldn’t find any prescription level without mint. On Tuesday she called back again having found this:

It’s 4%, so just below prescription strength, while not oral grade, it’s actually fine for soft tissues as long as not fully ingested/internally applied. And most importantly, ABSOLUTELY NO ADDED FLAVORINGS. there is also a spray version that comes in a bottle, which under no circumstances should you try because it uses alcohol as a propellant and I had a very bad 5 minutes after testing that one. But the cream one is fine and brings blessed numbness in around 5 minutes with only minimal contact pain--they are still open wounds after all. 

I use this for the next 7 days. By this point the sores have gotten worse and larger, and then started to heal and shrink again. Mouth canker sores go through a similar ~2 week process, so this is about what I expected.

Finally the results of my bloodwork came back, and I was negative for all STIs. The NP was dumbfounded and apologized, and agreed to look up more information/treatment options for cases like this in the future. I’m not surprised her reaction was to assume herpes as it IS very common, but I’m sure other women experience NSGU’s and receive improper treatment. If you look them up, they’re even mentioned as being predominantly a problem for “young or prepubescent women” which, reading between the lines--it’s not that these become less likely if you’re older or sexually active. Doctors just make assumptions and don’t always look past the easy answers.

So if you or someone you know ends up with these--from the Covid vaccine or as a complication of upper respiratory infections in general (as they ARE an immune response and can just Happen to you)--here is what works as treatment. If you can see a doctor you trust, still do that. But if they don’t listen or if for some reason you can’t seek treatment, here is the course of action I recommend: 

Pick up that over-the-counter Pain Relief+Lidocaine NON MINTY numbing cream ASAP. Sores go from “annoying” to “excruciating” in only 3 days, so it’s best to get in person or with rush shipping. Sit in front of a mirror and gently apply with a q-tip, and wait 5 minutes for the medicine to take effect.

Pat gently dry with toilet paper, don’t make wiping motions. If you don’t feel clean enough, pat more with a wet washcloth and rinse it out, or hope in the shoer for 5 min just to rinse.

There may be pus or reside from the ointment that doesn’t go away with just rinsing. Every 2 days I made a half-strength bath of epsom salts, NUMBED FULLY, and then took a 10 minute bath to fully cleanse the area. the salt will sting terribly if you wait any longer, so I recommend standing and rinsing after this time.

The vulva is more exposed to air than the mouth. this may cause the sores to crack/bleed as they dry out. to avoid this, after using the restroom and cleaning yourself, you can apply a thick coating of Aquaphor on top of the sores. It will need to be rinsed off before you apply more numbing cream however, so if that is too many steps I recommend just using the Aquaphor overnight.

You may think its ok to get up in the middle of the night to pee without the numbing cream bc you have to go really bad and just once will be fine but it is NOT you will REGRET IT.

Unfortunately if you have sores on both sides you may develop what is known as “kissing sores”, aka sores directly opposite each other that touch when the area is not spread open. this means that after an extended period of time (overnight), the sores will try to heal into each other and opening the area back up painfully rips the tissue apart. INStEAD of ripping them apart, take a washclosh, run it under warm water, and do a hot/warm compress on the area. this will loosen the sores back up and separate them painlessly.

This is not exclusive to people with a vulva, they can also happen on scrotal/anal tissue. However it does seem to much more frequently affect people with typical XX sex organs. 

If you develop these, PLEASE fill out an averse reaction form or your country’s equivalent. Also, I’m so sorry and if you need emotional support or have questions please feel free to get in touch.

Most likely, these will not happen to you--the vast majority of vaccinated people have not had this as a side effect. But it IS popping up more and more, and it is good to know about it in advance so you can be prepared to deal with and treat it without as much anxiety and all the hoops I had to jump through to get good care. Overall I’m still glad to be vaccinated, but if I had known this was a side effect, as someone already prone to canker sores I would have waited to vaccinate until my car was fixed a week later a the very least :|

[forever-rogue]

Ok so, from the prompt list, ‘there’s no exit wound, the bullets still in you’ and ‘you’re going to need stitches’ with mando and possibly reader being the one hurt?

So I changed this slightly since there’s mostly only blasters in the SW universe, but I think it works. Enjoy!

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Really? Idiots!” you let out a loud drawn out hiss as you clutched at your bleeding arm. You’d just narrowly missed a blaster shot, but it had still managed to graze your upper arm, cutting through the fabric of your shirt and slicing open the skin. It had hurt like no other, but it was still nothing compared to the blaster shot you had taken on your hip.

Maybe Din was right, you thought to yourself as you peeked out behind the wall you were utilizing as cover, finding yourself left with only one guard left, maybe I should have stayed on the ship and waited for him to get back.

Deciding that nothing mattered at that point, you pulled out your blaster and shot blindly at your opponent, hoping it would somehow work. You listened intently for any cry of pain or indication that your efforts had paid off, but nothing reached your ears. Sighing, you realized you were going to have to go and face him, most likely in close proximity. Luckily, the pain from the bleeding wound in your side and arm hadn’t fully reached you yet, the adrenaline still pumping hard and fast through your veins. You felt invincible in that moment, and deciding to just channel that energy and go out and just take him down.

Mentally going over all the things the Mandalorian had taught you, you figured it would be quick work to take him out. If you were fast enough, you’d even be able to make it back to the ship in time and get cleaned up before Din was even back. Maybe he never even had to know about the little mess you’d gotten yourself into. But of course, that was wishful thinking.

“Come on you coward, face me like a man!” you shouted as you jumped out and started bolting towards him, opting for a rush attack. But you quickly stopped dead in your tracks, almost falling over as your watched the Mandalorian come up behind the man and easily blast him in the back the head, the man’s body crumpling lifelessly to the ground.

Even behind the helmet, you could tell he was furious, as he slowly turned his head to look at you, a heavy, modulated sigh escaping his lips. You held up your blaster in a showing of surrender as you slowly started to walk backwards, almost tripping over a body as he made swift strides over to you.

“Y/N,” while his deep voice was annoyed and angry, there was a soft lilt to the way your name spilled from his lips. Eventually you were backed up between two buildings, unable to go anywhere else, trapped between them as the large man stood in front of his chest rising and falling rapidly as he watched you. You gave him a small smile followed by a nervous chuckle, “what the hell was that?”

“Di-Mando,” you said as you remembered not to use his real name out in public, “fancy meeting you here...”

“What the hell were you doing!?” he asked again, and while he was clearly angry, there was concern laced in his tone. Was he more upset than angry?

“I-I just...I was getting the bounty,” you explained meekly, reaching into the pockets of your pants, hissing when you accidentally brushed your wound, but fishing out the small necklace, “I got it.”

“At what cost?” he asked as he gave you the once over, pausing as he looked at the wounds on your side and arm, “you could have gotten yourself killed! This was stupid and rash, and completely against my orders-”

“Your orders?” you almost shouted back at him, taking the necklace and shoving it his hand as you started to storm past him. He didn’t waste any time in trailing after you, “we’re partners - equals! I don’t take orders from you, Mando.”

“Y/N,” he grabbed your arm, momentarily forgetting about the graze, causing you to cry out in pain at he contact. He pulled back, his eyes wide with concern under the helmet as you stopped and gave him a pathetic look, almost in tears between the pain and frustration. He held up his gloved hand and examined the blood, his stomach churning at it; it was never supposed to be your blood on his hands. Never, “Y/N-”

“Don’t,” your voice crack as you stopped him by holding up your hand. You’d just wanted to do something on your own for once, to show him that you were just as capable as he was. You wanted to prove yourself to him, you wanted to do this for him. Instead all you had done was get hurt and disappoint him. The fact that you had let him down was enough to break your heart, “let’s just go home. The baby probably needs us anyway.”

He nodded silently, following behind you softly as you led the way back to the Razor Crest. He watched as your walk became slower and more labored, the pain clearly kicking in. He could have kicked him because in his mind he had let this happen to you, he was the cause for your pain.

»»————-　♡　————-««

You all but collapsed as you returned to your small room aboard the ship and made your way to the bed, every move required seemed like a ton of effort. Looking as best as you could at the graze on your arm, you were happy to see that at least this injury could be cured with some bacta spray. You slowly peeled off your shirt, leaving you only in your undergarment, already feeling the soreness setting into your muscles and bones. This was going to hurt for a few days, but it still wouldn’t compare to the feeling of the disappointment you thought you were experiencing from Din. Discarding the bloody shirt, you stopped for a moment and let out a shaky breath as you realized you just how bloody it was.

Standing up and walking to the mirror, you pulled down your pants over your hip and let out a small gasp when you realized just how bad it was. In the heat of the moment and your little argument afterwards you hadn’t taken the time to look at it.

“That looks pretty nasty,” the voice behind you startled you, causing you to jump back as Din watched you from the doorway. You made a small noncommittal sound as he stepped in and gingerly took your arm and looked at it, “this one will be fine. I’ll get you some spray. But this...it needs attention.”

“It’s fine,” you insisted as you felt your whole body warming up under his touch. His gloves were off and his bare fingers were on your skin, a sensation you rarely experienced. Normally it would take your breath away, but right now you were in too much pain to worry about that, “it’s my own fault, I’ll take care of it.”

“It can get infected and then you’ll be a lot worse off,” he explained, all of which you already knew, “let me take a look at it.”

“It’s fine-”

“It’s not fine!” he insisted firmly, his voice taking a rough edge. He seemed to catch himself and he sighed lightly, “Y/N, please lie down and let me look at it. It’s a deep wound and I need to make sure there’s no debris in it. You’re going to need it cauterized.”

“Okay,” you finally gave in and climbed back in the bed, lying on your face as he got down on his knees next to you. He touched around the wound, coming to the conclusion that your pants were in the way.

“I...ugh,” he started and realized what he was saying. He seemed shy suddenly, and if you weren’t your current state you would have laughed and teased him.

“It’s okay,” you reassured him, reaching for the waistband of the pants and started to push them down. He grabbed your hands and stopped you, replacing yours with his own as he ever so gently rolled them down your hips and out of the way. You shivered slightly as the coolness of the room tickled your skin; you’d never been this bare in front of him before, only in your undergarments, not purposefully anyway. He’s caught glimpses of you here and there, every time taking his breath away as he’d blush like a shy boy. But now wasn’t the time for him to get caught up in his feelings for you.

“I’m going to get a few supplies,” he said quietly and you nodded, “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”

“There’s nowhere I could even go,” you joked lightly, bringing a smile to your face and his, even if you couldn’t see it. You listened to him silently leave, starting the ceiling, cursing yourself for being rash. Even if you agreed with Din’s earlier words, you weren’t going to give in and admit that to him. He would never let you live it down, relentlessly teasing you as he always did. You’d never actually had seen him get angry before, not at you anyway, and you wondered what had suddenly brought it on.

“Are you still with me?” he asked gently as he returned, finding you with your eyes closed. You opened one eye and nodded slowly as he set down the supplies and returned to your side, “how’re you holding up?”

“It hurts,” you admitted, groaning lightly as he started cleaning the wound as gently as he could, “everything starting to hurt now.”

“That’s how these things usually work,” he explained as he worked on your side. You just nodded before bringing your arm up and covering your eyes as you gritted your teeth in pain. Din continued to work, eventually getting so lost in what he was doing that he didn’t even realize he had started to hum softly under his breath. It was a tune he didn’t know the name of, but he remembered it from his childhood; his mother always used to hum while he would put him to bed.

Instead of focusing on anything else, you decided to focus on that, to focus on him and how much you loved him, even if you never admitted it to him. You respected him and his creed too much to ever put him in a position to make such a choice; you or his way of life. Even if it hurt sometimes, thinking that you’d never get to call him yours, you knew it was the way. Besides, getting to be his partner was enough, he was enough for you. He was always enough.

»»————-　♡　————-««

“Hey,” you felt a soft hand on your cheek, as you slowly opened your eyes and found Din looking at you closely. He seemed to let out a sigh of relief as he brushed your hair off of your face, “it’s all done.”

“Thank you,” you whispered back you shifted slightly and realized your side was completely bandaged up, as well as your upper arm. He’d thrown a blanket over you at some point, and you realized you’d fallen asleep, whether it was from the pain or sheer exhaustion.

“I’ll have to the change the dressings later, but everything looks good,” he said as he let his hand linger on your face, his calloused fingertips tracing over the contours of it, “you’re going to be sore, so you’ll need to take it easy. And I mean it this time, Y/N, order or not, please tell me you’ll listen.”

“I promise,” you gave him a weak smile as you slowly tried to sit up, and he swiftly came to your aid. You thanked him before trying your best at shooting him a cheeky wink “even if it means listening to you.”

“I don’t say these things to just to say them,” he said as he sat down on a chair he’d brought next to your bed, “I say them because I want to you stay safe...because I care about you.”

“I care about you too, you silly tin can,” you smirked at him as he paused, shifting awkwardly in his chair. There was something on his mind, you could tell that much almost immediately, it wasn’t hard for you to read him anymore. You reached over and touched his leg, giving his thigh a light squeeze to get attention, “what’s on your mind, Din? Credit for your thoughts?”

“I...” he paused as he watched your hand, noticing that you didn’t pull away, just leaving it there. There was a sudden lump in his throat, and he felt nervous, more nervous than he had in ages as he looked at you. Even covered in sweat and grim and some remnants of blood, you looked more lovely than he could ever describe, “when I saw that you were hurt...I didn’t even know what to do, or what to think. All I know is that I would have personally killed every single person there that had done anything to you.”

“You did technically,” you laughed weakly, trying to quiet the thumping of your heart, “I’m pretty sure the guy you took out did this to me.”

“It’s not funny,” he insisted and you realized he was being serious, “all I could feel was rage when I saw what happened to you, and then you took it so lightly. You didn’t take it seriously, but Y/N, do you know what could have happened if I hadn’t shown up when I did? Or if there were more of them?”

“I’ve learned from you-”

“But you can’t go out and take risks like that on your own,” he insisted, taking your hand in his without even thinking about it, squeezing it firmly in his own, “it’s not safe.”

“But you do it all the time,” you reminded him, trying not just to focus on how his hand felt in yours, “you don’t think I worry?”

“It’s different-”

“No, Din, no it’s not,” you stated firmly, “you’ve come back bleeding so many times, and it breaks my heart every time. If anything ever happened to you, I would not hesitate to track down and kill every single person who ever hurt you. I don’t know what I would do you without you, and I’m not ever going to have to know, if I have it my way.”

“How do you think I felt today?” were you saying what he thought you were? Was this finally a confession of feelings you’d both been suppressing for some time? He watched as you processed what he was saying, a sudden look of realization crossing your features, “why do you think I go out without you sometimes? It’s not just to watch the Child. It’s to keep you safe.”

“That’s...that’s what I was trying to do today,” you admitted, feeling a stinging at the back of your eyes. He responded silently as he laced his fingers through yours, rubbing his thumb over the back of your hand, “I just...I’ve been trying to figure out how to say this for a long time and I didn’t know if I ever could. I never wanted to between you and the creed, but it’s been inside me for so long, these feelings I can just never rid myself of. I thought I was just going to keep it to myself, I never thought I’d get the chance to say it, but - “

“I’m in love with you.”

[chipsfics]

Part 1 - Introduction/Invitation

Part one of my currently-unnamed Inanimate Insanity fanfiction :)! Feat. Tissues and Yinyang. Some shipping but not a whole lot ;)

Rated: PG (A few heavy themes)

Hope you enjoy and much more to come !! :D

~~~~

Unlike Tissues, Yinyang knew he was going to be eliminated. Yin did, at least. He figured after a certain amount of time, the viewers just saw him as... Annoying. He had used up his entertainment value- Inanimate Insanity had packaged and squeezed dry his "quirks" of any and all comedy until they were just problems again. He was sure his other half knew elimination was at least a possibility- He was probably too preoccupied with his own thoughts, which sometimes blended together with Yin's. A lot of... "Everyone here hates me," and "I hate everyone here." Seemed like the situation was stressing them both out.

Weeks later, After they were all freed from the closet, Yinyang watched the episode where he was eliminated. Yinyang cried, not because he lost, but something kind of got tangled in his brain watching the way he acted. He was grinding his teeth watching the playback, Yang holding back tears and Yin letting them flow freely. If only, if only, if only. Needless to say, he didn't really remember a lot about what happened cooped up in that tiny closet. He mostly hid in the corner and tried not to grind his teeth down to his gums. Tissues, on the other hand, barely knew what was going on. One place to another, off a plane, rushing from iceberg to dodgeball court, grass field to bleachers- Next thing he knew he sneezed himself through a portal and ended up cooped up in a closet. Once the dizzy feeling cleared and he ended up face down, alone, in an empty closet with a locked door- One thing was abundantly clear: He lost. As usual. When another contestant stepped through the portal, the relief he felt was overwhelming- and as the closet filled up with eliminated contestants, the sense of relief he felt was replaced by self loathing and shame- Everyone else pretty much all hated him. As usual.

When they finally got a breath of fresh air, space to move around, personal rooms and even a breakfast juice bar- After everyone who came in contact with him was thoroughly sprayed down by Soap, nobody hated him anymore. They just didn't talk to him. Although, when he walked in the hallway, Soap would follow a safe distance behind him and clean where he last stepped with disinfectant. That didn't really help his self-esteem.

One quiet afternoon, everyone was still trying to settle into their new (but much nicer) living situations, Tissues got paired with the roommate who hated him the most. One Trophy horseplay, who was the one who stomped his face in more than a couple times while stuck in the closet. Of course, due to the technological advancements of melife, Mephone brought him back immediately after he got the death notification- bzz-ding, Tissues died again, to Trophy's frustration. Living with Trophy, he tried to keep all of his stuff in one corner- And he was kind of being shoved over by Trophy's ever-growing collection of sports equipment. Apparently he had nowhere to put it except for cluttering up their shared bedroom. He didn't have much things anyway- and he spent most of his time in the front game room. Tissues, Yinyang, and a few wanderers in and out every day in that same room, that same dinky game system, the same 4 outdated platforming games. He didn't remember the names of those old things, and he wasn't great at them anyway- It'd surprise you, but he didn't have the best hand-eye-coordination. 

Yinyang was also bad at them. He'd argue and curse and throw the controller and tug at the wires, Tissues would follow slowly behind him in co-op play. It was fun to play with someone who had the same skill level as he did, and it seemed like Yinyang had mellowed out a little from his appearance on the show- Having a bit more freedom and alone time seemed to make Yang calm down and Yin become cheerier and more friendly. If Tissues could say one Inanimate Insanity contestant was his friend- It was Yinyang. They had something big and terrifying in common- They were both freaks. The unlovable tend to find a way to love each other.

~~~~

Yaaaawn. Tissues stretched and looked at the clock- 11:30, about 3 hours earlier than when he usually woke up. He wiped the drool off his face, got up and feverishly brushed his teeth. He realized the breakfast bar was still open for another 30 minutes- More like 25 now that he'd dragged himself out of bed. OJ wasn't the world's most attentive hotel owner, but the breakfast bar seemed like something he was passionate about. There were rumors that he refilled the cereal dispensers by himself and doesn't let anyone else do it. Soap always threw a fit when someone else did the chores for her, although she seemed to have a quiet respect for OJ's breakfast bar. Tissues took the elevator down- He didn't trust himself to go down the stairs because of his vertigo. Lo and behold, someone else bumped into his hand reaching for the down arrow. It was Yinyang! 

"O-oh, go ahead, you first," Tissues said bashfully. 

"No, you first!" Yin chirped. "I assume we're both going down?" 

"Yeah, I'm gonna try and catch the last wave of breakfast, guyse. I'm not usually up this... SNIFF. Early," Tissues said, and jammed his finger into the down button, which started to glow a faint yellow.

"Wait, is the free breakfast thing still open?" Yinyang said, "The one where you can make waffles with the little do-it-yourself waffle iron?" 

"Is that what that is? I thought it was just a weird smoothie dispenser. I thought the stuff that came out of it tasted like waffle batter," He sniffed.

Yinyang laughed. Tissues would have been peeved, but it didn't seem like Yinyang was laughing AT him. That, or just the fact that his laugh was crisp and clear as a ringing bell. Tissues didn't think he heard him genuinely laugh a whole ton of times. It was nice. 

As they waited for the elevator to come up, Tissues noticed one of Yinyang's eyes blinking and drooping. Yang's side seemed to be sleepier than Yin's- His body lagging to one side until he had to jerk back into a standing position. Was it possible for one half to fall asleep and the other half to stay awake? DING. Tissues' train of thoughts was interrupted by the elevator door sliding open. They stepped in, and for the entire ride down Tissues fought as hard as he could not to sneeze- In a closed place like an elevator, that could be very annoying. More annoying than usual. The elevator ride was mostly silent and awkward- It seemed that Yang almost tried to fight on what button to press, but he was too tired and hungry to cause any trouble this early. It was a Saturday after all, the slowest days in the hotel, and once they made it downstairs to the breakfast bar, there didn't seem to be many contestants looking for something to eat so late. Tissues grabbed a paper plate and put a blueberry muffin on it, and got a small paper cup of orange juice. He noticed Yin and Yang were having some sort of quiet argument about what to get for a drink. Tissues couldn't help but overhear-

"Coffee." Yang spoke in a harsh whisper. "Not today, Water." Yin replied. "Coffee." "Juice, then." "Ok, Fine." "Apple juice." "I want orange." "Not today. Apple Juice feels more..." "Pure?" "Yeah." "Bull." "Let's just get our food, I'm too tired to argue." "..." "..." "Me too." 

Tissues seemed distracted, until Yinyang moved down the line and bumped him further down. He looked away, face flushed, and moved to the couch, flicking on the TV- He felt like he had just intruded on Yinyang's privacy, but Yinyang didn't seem to care. He'd grabbed apple juice and a pastry of some kind, filled with cream cheese. Yinyang and Tissues ate together, Tissues sitting on the carpet and Yinyang on the couch close by, both staring at the gameshow program that was playing on TV- something that aired often, it was starting to get old. That and the fact that the episodes are hard to tell apart. Same host every time, same backdrop, same formula. Because of this, Tissues' mind couldn't help but wander, and so did his eyes. Yinyang was focused intently on the tv, one hand, Yin's, tapping the sides of the paper cup and the other, Yang's, lifting the pastry to his mouth and taking a bite. They seemed to have figured out a good way to eat without arguing. 

"So," Tissues said, breaking the silence.

"Yes?" Yin said politely. 

"Can i sit next to you guyse?" Tissues asked. Yinyang looked a bit puzzled.

"Sure. Why not?" Yinyang said, "Just try not to get any of your germs on me." Yang grumbled. Yin pinched his arm. "Don't be rude," Yang growled, but once Tissues got up and hopped up onto the couch cushion next to him, Yang seemed to have forgotten about it. Tissues was so short he had to put in a lot of effort to get onto the couch- It was almost comical. Because of that, he preferred to sit on the ground. People seemed to prefer him down there anyway. It was kind of nice, up there, though, and honestly the only thing he felt different was... More comfortable, and taller. It was nice. He hadn't even noticed the TV program changing from the game show to an ad break- some kind of infomercial on chairs. 

"Sooo.... Do you want to go and check out the pool today? I've heard that there's like, complimentary towels. I haven't actually been there yet," Tissues said.

"Are you... asking us to hang out with you?" Yinyang said curiously. 

"Well sure," Tissues smiled. "We're friends, right?"

"Umm..." Yinyang's face flushed a bright red. "Of course!" Yin chimed. 

"Whatever." Yang added, clenching his jaw and slightly baring his sharp teeth.

"I just didn't wanna show up alone. Can you swim?" He asked. Yinyang looked away.

"Not really," He said, embarrassed. "It takes a lot of coordination, and Yin hates listening." Yang said aggresively. Yin glared at his other half. 

"Ohhh thats cool. I can't either," Tissues replied. "I was just planning on sitting by the side. Maybe putting my feet in- Its just nice to have like... uhh. SNIFF. Change of scenery... I like the chlorine smell." 

"Well that sounds nice!" Yinyang said. "But we need to go back to our room first, Right?" Yang sounded like he was directing the question less towards Tissues and more towards Yin. 

"Oh. Well that's ok. I'm here all day," Tissues said, pulling his mouth into a goofy half-smile. Yinyang finished off his apple juice and got up, silently turned and smiled towards Tissues, and walked away. Tissues wondered what he was thinking about. 

~~~~

[boltwrites]

I Vote Makeovers!

Fandom: The Legend of Korra Pairing: Bolin / Reader (feminine) Rating: K Tags: Makeovers, Very Tender Makeup Application

fakelavish requested:  hello again! 🥰 i know you’ve got a long list but i’ve another SFW request for a female reader when you can manage! ik Bolin would be open to a makeover! the reader would be straddling him applying his makeup like in that ✨one meme✨ and he’d be really confused by all the different products and would probably be scared of the mascara wand poking out his eye 🥺 prob’s wouldn’t stop looking at himself in the mirror feeling all empowered 😌 we love a man who’s comfortable w/ his masculinity ❤️❤️❤️

A/N: as a he/him that does makeup... you go, Bo, you go. also this took fucking forever and i struggled with it a LOT but i finally finished it and i don’t think it’s half bad! title is inspired by that one line Bolin says in “The Aftermath” when Korra and Asami are talking about bonding... you know that boy wanted to get in on the makeover action.

You leaned close to the mirror, holding the pencil steady as you meticulously filled in your eyebrows. You were just going to the store with Bolin, but you still liked to wear makeup. It was like a little piece of art you could wear every day, and you loved collecting new products and trying them out.

As you finished applying your mascara, you heard a knock on your door. That was probably him!

“Come in!” You yelled, and you heard the door open, the creak distinctive to your ears at this point. “I’m in the bedroom,” you called, in a softer voice, now that you knew he could hear you.

Bolin made his way to your bedroom, and when he peeked in, you could see his shocked expression reflected in the mirror. You weren’t surprised – there were a lot of different products currently played over your vanity at the moment. He probably thought you were being a bit excessive, since you two were just running errands.

“Oh, hi Bolin! Don’t worry, I’m almost done,” you promised him, capping your eyebrow pencil and grabbing a nude lipstick.

“Oh, it’s OK, I don’t mind,” Bolin assured you, taking a few steps into your room, his eyes never leaving your face as you applied your lipstick. You smiled at him, turning and lowering the product from your lips.

“What?” you chuckled, and Bolin blushed, scratching the back of his head. He had been staring at you pretty intently, and you thought it was so cute when he blushed.

“Nothing! I mean, not nothing – I’ve never seen you put on your makeup before. I – it sounds kinda stupid, but I never really thought about how you do everything… I thought it was just like, maybe some kind of big puff, and then lipstick,” he shrugged, gesturing to the collection of products scattered around you. You smiled at him, picking up your setting spray to finish your look.

“No, it’s a little bit more complicated than that,” you giggled, spritzing your face. Bolin watched you curiously, leaning against one of your bedposts as you fanned your face.

“What was that?” he asked. You smiled, setting the spray down.

“It’s setting spray,” you replied, not wanting to bore him with the details. You were used to people only asking about your makeup as a formality, to be polite. Your friends weren’t interested in the slightest, besides Asami, who only knew the basics and didn’t stray far outside her signature dark lip. Your previous boyfriends had ranged from complete apathy to downright dismissive of your hobby, so you didn’t want to bore Bolin with the details.

But he pressed.

“What’s it for?” he asked, drawing nearer, his eyes raking over the products scattered across the vanity. You watched him in the mirror, as he actually looked at your products with interest, his eyebrows scrunched quizzically as he tilted his head to the side, rubbing his chin with a thumb. Usually, you would just move on, to the next topic, not wanting to ramble, but Bolin actually looked interested.

“It helps your makeup stay on, here-“ you passed the bottle to him, and he took it, examining it closely. You grinned, thinking that he looked to cute. “It can also help it blend together. Sometimes when you put on your blush on top of your foundation, it won’t look quite right, and-“

“What are those?” he asked, then backtracked. “Well, I know blush, it’s the – the blushy one! For your cheeks!” he pinched his own cheek in demonstration, gesturing with the other that still held the setting spray, and you giggled at his exaggerated movements. “But what’s foundation?”

“It’s this one,” you handed him the container, and he examined it curiously. “It’s the foundation of your face, so it’s used to even out your skin tone. It also helps other products stick better to your face.”

“Oooh,” Bolin nodded, understanding. You leaned back in your chair, watching him as he looked over your products with enthusiasm you hadn’t really expected from him.

“I could do your makeup sometime, if you like,” you offered with a chuckle, thinking that your comment would be taken as a joke. You would like to do Bolin’s makeup – he had such long, pretty lashes, and you knew that with the right products your could bring out all his best features – his strong jawline, his cute button nose, his wide green eyes. But you also knew that the last time you put makeup on a man, he had immediately washed it off, as if it had been a chore to have you put it on him in the first place. That was back when you were training to be a makeup artist – you had since moved past that profession, partly because of that experience.

But Bolin, instead of laughing, looked at you with wide eyes, his reaction sincere. He looked… excited? Hopeful? But then he caught your eyes and blushed, looking down, setting the products back on your vanity.

“No, you don’t have to,” he chuckled, but it was awkward, and then your own eyes lit up. Would he let you? Did he want to?

“No, I want to! You would look so good, with some contour, and mascara-“ you were almost completely turned around in your chair, looking like an eager kid in a candy store as you watched Bolin. He blinked at you, shocked.

“Really? You – you wouldn’t think it was weird or anything?”

You shook your head, vigorously. “No – not at all! I mean, I’m surprised you don’t know more about it, actually. I would think that back when you were a mover star, that you would have worn some.”

“Really?” he asked, taken aback by the assumption. You nodded, getting up from your chair.

“Yeah! I mean, I know you were filming back when movers were brand new, but when I was thinking about working as a makeup artist-“

“You were going to be a makeup artist?” Bolin asked, his eyes wide, almost glittering as he stared at you in awe. You blushed, flustered that he would consider that something worthy of the awe it seemed to inspire in him.

“Well, yes, I considered it a while ago. A lot of the other artists I talked to worked mostly with mover stars – and all of them wear makeup on set. Of course, mover makeup is a lot different than what you would wear for a night out…”

“Then really, it’s weird that I’ve never done my makeup!” Bolin connected the dots. Or, he attempted to. You grinned at him.

“It’s weird that you’ve never had your makeup done. Actors don’t do their own makeup. They have people like me do it for them. Or, I would have…” you trailed off, looking down.

“Well, it makes perfect sense, right? I’m an ex-mover star, and you’re a not-quite-professional makeup artist, so it works out!”

You snorted, shaking your head as you took a step towards him, leaning up for a quick peck on his lips.

“Of course it does,” you agreed, because he was very sweet, and you really did want to do his makeup for him. “But first, before we do that – errands!”

“Oh, right!” Bolin stood up straight, as if he had only just remembered that he had come over to your apartment for a reason. You grinned wide as you both gathered your things and headed out for your errands.

You didn’t have too much to pick up – just some thing for dinner. You and Bolin were having a nice night in at your place. He was going to teach you how to cook some of his favorite food, and as you shopped, he remarked that since he was teaching you how to cook, it only made sense that you should teach him how to do his makeup. You had laughed, but you did think he was right, in a way. It did make the exchange more equal.

So, you gathered your food, and cooked your dinner. It was wonderful – and afterwards, you two sat around the fireplace in your apartment, sipping on an additional glass of wine each as you just enjoyed each other’s company. The food had been amazing, and the wine was surprisingly sweet. As you sipped yours, Bolin arm wrapped his arm around you as you both watched the flames dance.

“You know,” Bolin remarked, his cheeks already a little pink from the wine, even though he hadn’t had that much of it. “We should do my makeup tonight.”

“I was planning on it,” you giggled, snuggling in. “But now I’m too comfortable. It’s nice and warm by the fire, and it’s always so cold in my room this time of year.”

“Aw,” Bolin pouted, whining at you. “But what if we just did it out here!”

“Hm,” you considered it for a moment, setting your glass down. “That could actually work. You’ll have to promise to stay still for me, though.”

“I promise not to move an inch! Stock still!” Bolin sat bolt upright, his back straighter than you thought you had ever seen it. You snorted, ruffling his hair with your hand as you stood up.

“Thank you, sweetie,” you smiled, patting his shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

You returned in only a few minutes, but your arms were laden with makeup when you did. It spilled out of your arms and onto the coffee table when you returned, and you had to make a frantic grab at a few lipsticks as they threatened to fall off the table and roll under the couch.

“Alright, we’ve got everything,” you said, reaching for the moisturizer first. Bolin looked so excited, his eyes bright as he smiled at you, and you couldn’t help but return it.

“Turn so you’re facing me – yeah, that’s perfect,” You mumbled. You brushed your hand through his hair, trying to press his curls into place, but one stubborn piece of hair kept popping out, onto his forehead. You frowned, biting your lip.

“Actually, wait right here,” you added, zipping into the other room for a headband. You used it to push Bolin’s hair back, and it effectively held the curl in place. You smirked in triumph – and also, because Bolin looked absolutely adorable with a headband.

“Now, you gotta tell me what you’re doing when you’re putting all this stuff on me!” Bolin demanded, pouting a little at you. “I don’t want to sound stupid if I ever get my makeup done again and I don’t even know what’s going on!”

You shook your head, squeezing some moisturizer out of the bottle and rubbing it against his cheeks, working it over the rest of his face. “Of course. This is moisturizer, by the way,” you added, your voice low as you worked.

“And what does it do?” Bolin asked as you pressed it into his forehead. This was intimate in a way you hadn’t realized it would be. Unlike when you had worked on clients, Bolin’s knees were almost knocking into you, and you could use your hands to press the moisturizer into his skin, warm and soft under your fingers. Like this, you could spend as much time as you wanted looking at his face – his pretty green eyes, his button nose, his bushy eyebrows, his full lips – you wondered what they would look like with lip gloss on them.

“Uh,” you stuttered, distracted. “It puts moisture back into your skin. It’ll help the foundation go on smoother.”

“Oh, cool,” Bolin mumbled, his knees knocking into yours. It wasn’t the most comfortable position in the world, you had to admit, you twisted so far to the side.

“Next is foundation,” you told him, as you placed a small dollop on the back of your hand. You had broken out some samples in different colors to match his skin tone. “I have to find the one that matches your skin tone the best so that it looks seamless and it blends in well.”

You swatched a few different shades against his cheek, cradling his jaw with your other hand to keep him from moving. Even though he had promised to stay still, you always felt like this made your work better, when you could hold his head in place as you worked. And the fact that you could feel his pulse under your fingers, brushing against the soft hairs at the base of his neck, just made it better.

“I think this one is the best,” you mumbled, brushing the other samples away with a towel. You gathered your foundation brush and dipped it into more of the same color, brushing it over Bolin’s face gently – but Bolin kept flinching, trying not to laugh.

“Y/n – it – why does it tickle?” he tried, between giggles, to stop moving against your hand. You frowned, trying to hold him still and failing.

“I don’t think it tickles!” you countered, pouting at him. Bolin shrugged sadly.

“But you’re doing it to yourself! Everybody knows you can’t tickle yourself!”

You bit your lip. You couldn’t work like this – not with Bolin giggling and twitching while you were trying to work – and not with your knees constantly knocking together, which was pretty annoying on its own.

“Alright, we’re gonna try something different,” you declared. Bolin stared at you, his face only half covered in foundation. “Lay down on the sofa, and I’ll climb on top of you.”

“I have a feeling they don’t do that when they’re applying your makeup on a mover set,” Bolin commented, just joking as you stood up so he could move. He was right – it was unconventional, for sure, but it wouldn’t matter how professional you were. You were only doing your boyfriend’s makeup for fun.

Once he laid down, you threw a leg over him, and his eyes went wide. You grinned as you sat on his lap.

“Ah, much better,” you sighed, making a show of how nice it was to sit on top of him, leaning down to pat more foundation onto his skin. It really was easier to control his head this way – there was no way for him to rear back, and he was so shocked that he hardly flinched at all while you patted on the rest of his foundation.

“Next is concealer,” you said, leaning over him to apply it. His body was warm and firm under you, and you could feel his breath as you applied the cream under his eyes. “It had a bunch of uses – for more prevalent skin imperfections, it can be blended into foundation to give you an even canvas. Like if you have a pimple, for instance, you use concealer to cover it,” you taught him, applying it under his eyes. “But for you, I’m just using it to conceal the dark circles under your eyes, and brighten them up a little. It helps give depth to the face.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Bolin breathed, and you could tell that instead of paying attention to your words, that he was transfixed by how close you were to him, how easy it would be for him to kiss you.

You applied the rest of his makeup – his blush, contour, and highlight, letting him know exactly how to make his face even more chiseled and lovely. After you were done, you leaned back.

“Now, Bo.”

“Hmm?” he asked. He blinked up at you, as his eyes had been closed as you powdered his face. He was so content there, you thought he might fall asleep.

“What kind of a look do you want? I can go more natural, and just do your eyebrows,” you offered, although you doubted that your eyebrow pomade would add much to your boyfriend’s already thick brows. “Or, we could go all out, and I could put on eyeshadow and mascara – “

“I wanna go all out,” Bolin replied, a little more alert now as he smiled up at you. “I wanna see what you come up with.”

You blushed, smiling at his encouragement. It made your heart flip, how much he seemed to enjoy this. Maybe you two could do this more often, and maybe if Bolin wanted, one day he could do your makeup too.

“Alright. I’ll do your eyebrows, and then we’ll move on to the fun stuff,” you giggled, and he returned your enthusiasm with a chuckle.

You smoothed his brows with some pomade, but didn’t move in with any plucking or trimming tools for him. Although a lot of your former colleagues would have scoffed at how bushy, and somewhat unruly Bolin’s brows were, you thought they were very handsome, and with a bit of tinted pomade, you were able to control them a little more.  

Then, you moved on to eyeshadow. You pressed even closer to Bolin for this part.

“Now, I’m going to do some eyeshadow on you. Traditionally, eyeshadow was used to make your eyes look more deep set, but eyeshadow can also be used to enhance your natural eye color. Now, close your eyes for me.”

Bolin did, and you pressed the pigment onto his lids, trying to be as gentle as possible.

“For example, you have green eyes. And the complimentary color to green is red. So, if I use red-toned eyeshadows on you, it’ll make your eye color look even more vibrant,” you spoke softly as you worked.

“That’s so cool,” Bolin mumbled, careful to keep his eyes closed. “It’s like you’re painting or something.”

“I think it’s a form of art, yeah,” you replied, blending the shadow up further, then picking a highlight color for his brow bone. You had chosen a palette of reds and browns for his eye look – something that would make his eye color pop, but would also add some depth.

“And that makes me your canvas,” Bolin replied, smiling a little. You couldn’t help yourself, and you leaned down to kiss him soft and gentle, cradling his jaw in your hand.

“The most handsome canvas I’ve ever seen,” you replied with a giggle, and Bolin opened his eyes to grin at you. He looked so stunning already, he would be drop dead gorgeous by the time you were done with him.

Mascara was… difficult. You had to cradle his head very gentle as you told him to blink, wiggling the wand up as he did so. Surprisingly, he took it like a champ, unlike many of the other individuals you had practiced on over the years. You applied a nude lip to him, and a healthy coat of gloss, and then, with a spritz of setting spray, he was done.

“You’re all set,” you said, not wanting to move from your spot on top of him. He was warm, and solid under you, and you just wanted to cuddle close to him – but also, you didn’t want to mess up his makeup.

Because now, as you looked at him, sitting up straight on his lap? He was beautiful. The mascara made his already long eyelashes pop even more than before, and the red eyeshadow practically made his eyes glow. His cheekbones and jawline were accentuated, and you had contoured his nose just right. The best part were his lips though – the gloss made them look slick, and somehow even fuller than usual.

“How do I look?” he asked, with a little shy smile. He sat up and flexed, as if that would do something to his makeup look. You chuckled, covering your mouth with your hand.

“You look… you look stunning,” you admitted. “Do you want to see?”

“Do I want to see – of course I want to see! My wonderful girlfriend spent too much time on it for me to not look!”

His praise made you blush, but you offered him the hand mirror you had brought out with you, leaning over the top of it so you could see his reaction.

As soon as he caught sight of himself, Bolin’s jaw dropped. He turned to the right, then the left, gasping at the look.

“That-that’s me?”

“That’s you,” you replied, with a broad smile. He looked at you in wonder.

“I look so different!”

“Do you like it?” you asked, a twinge of guilt tugging at you. What if he didn’t like it – what if he thought he looked dumb?

Instead, Bolin looked at you as if you had asked him the most obvious question in the world.

“I love it! No wonder you do this every day – I look so cool! My eyes are like… whoa!” He gestured wildly, almost knocking you off of his lap, and you laughed loud and happy, pressing yourself to the back of the sofa to keep upright and on top of him. You smiled so wide, so in love with him.

“You’re beautiful,” you said, and you meant it. You leaned down, and even though you knew it would mess up his lip gloss, you kissed him soft and gentle, cradling his jaw in your hands. He moaned against you, and when you pulled back, the flutter of his lashes made your breathe catch in your throat.

He really was beautiful – so pretty it made your heart ache. Maybe you would have to do his makeup more often – if only just so you could look at him all night.

-----------

TAGLIST

@karichan-13 @fakelavish @offlineloveline @tenyacakebby @bombardia @burrshottfirstt @appa-gaangnam-style @shell-bells-ringding @sweetbabybolin

@williebyers @callmecopper @unionjackrebel @dragonlover-xoxo

[ramblinganthropologist]

Fictober 21 - 4 “Fine I give up”

Fanfiction

Fandom: Mass Effect (Actor AU)

Summary: Yep. They fucked - so much for his self control, huh? Now Macen has to deal with the fallout, and more importantly, his feelings. Maybe it wasn’t just sex after all. Did he mention he was bad at ad-lib?

(Don’t worry folks, the confession will come another day... I’m tired, lol.)

---

…

You know that part where he said he was going to break things off? Yeah… the opposite of that had happened.

Macen was careful to sit up as he glanced across the darkened room. Next to him, fast asleep and burrowed under the covers, was his costar. Alex’s face was peaceful as he wandered through his dreams, like he hadn’t just fucked the turian within an inch of his life. Baby faces were damn deceptive that way, and he was proving to be a fine example.

His body was sore in that way he enjoyed oh so much as he slid out of bed, distributing his weight so he didn’t wake the human up. Naked as the day he was born, he padded to Alex’s shower and got in. Human showers were always too damn cold for him, but it didn’t matter as he let the water pour down his carapace as he stood there, standing at the drain.

“You said you weren’t going to do it again…”

And that promise had crumbled like a sandcastle on the beach the moment Alex had looked at him with that expression. After that, it was a blur of tossed clothing, roving hands, and tongues that were still learning how to play nicely with each other. Part of him was glad he had clipped his talons the day before… but that was like admitting defeat in itself.

Fuck… he had fucked up.

He sighed as he rested his head against the shower wall, praying for the freezing water to snap some sense into him. Macen knew he should leave the moment he was dry and had found his pants, but a large part of him just wanted to go back to bed. They had to be on set early tomorrow. He’d be wasting valuable sleep time if he went back to his place. Besides, Alex was closer…

And they’d risk showing up together.

“No, you’re going home after this. It’ll just mean more coffee tomorrow.”

Yet his voice wavered as he washed the soap disappear down the drain. Even then, he was doubting himself. Right then, it felt like he was fighting a war against an unholy combination of his sex drive and… well he didn’t want to mention the other organ. It shouldn’t have had a say in this in all. Really, if anything, his situation was his brain’s fault. Damn thing had gotten used to the human…

Yeah… he had totally meant his brain.

“Alright, get in there and say goodbye.”

The water shut off and Macen dried off in silence. Still naked, he padded back to the bed. Unsurprisingly, Alex was still fast asleep, hugging a bit of the blanket as he dreamed. He looked so peaceful, that it almost seemed cruel to wake him up.

But… he couldn’t just go without saying anything. They had moved past the fuck and leave point months ago.

“Shit…” Macen’s expletive hissed out from between his teeth as he looked around for his pants. At least those he could find – halfway across the room. What could he say, Alex was an enthusiastic partner. Add in the training, and he had reach. No wonder people kept trying to get him to sign up for friendly biotiball matches. “Just… get them and say goodbye.”

Yet when he reached down, he could see the human’s face better. Something about how soft and quiet he looked did terrible things to his stomach, and his pants dropped to the floor with a soft thump. Unfortunately for him, his belt buckle hit first – the metal clang rang out like a shotgun blast.

Shit…

“Mmm…” Alex rolled onto his stomach and burrowed under the blanket. “S’cold… come back to bed, Macen.”

Now, at the moment the turian was definitely not in a sub headspace. If he had been, that could have explained his compulsion to stay. Yet, there was nothing like that in the moment. Something else was leading him back to the bed he had been trying so hard to avoid. It was a powerful urge, and he had no ability to resist.

“I’m coming…” He slid back in, pulling the cover back over his naked body. As soon as he had settled back in, Alex’s arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him close. He could feel the human’s heart on his back, and it made his beat faster as his mouth went dry. “Alex?”

“Too cold…” Then there was a sleepy yawn as he nuzzled into his back. “Night…”

Macen’s stomach bubbled as he felt himself leaning into the touch. Logic was screaming at him to do anything, but he was ignoring it then. Instead, he felt his eyes slowly close as the warmth of Alex’s body and his off-beat heart lured him back to sleep. In the morning he would regret this, but at the moment he didn’t care. Right then, there was just the bed and the warm embrace of the man he had come to…

He could deal with that thought later. Much later.

---

“They totally came to the set together.”

“Do you think those rumors were true after all?”

Nothing like crew rumors to make Macen regret being born.

It was finally time for some food after a long morning of filming. Just like he had feared, he and Alex had wound up heading to work together. To say people were talking was putting it mildly. He wouldn’t be surprised if it had already wound up on social media, though he had no ability to check. After the last two disasters he called relationships, he had gotten rid of the entire thing.

Honestly, he didn’t miss the memes. Plus, it gave him a mysterious edge. It was good PR.

Still, his carapace itched as he shot the two humans a glare as he passed. He still had enough bad boy reputation that they scattered like ants, but it didn’t do much more than soothe his prickled ego. In that moment, he had probably confirmed everything they had been whispering about.

What… no one had ever claimed he was smart.

“Fuck…” Macen sighed as he found a quiet place to settle in and eat. Doing so with the mandible implants was a little difficult, but he had figured it out with trial and error. It was good he had too – makeup had been getting annoyed with him. Now at least he was back in their good graces, which was what anyone should want in his line of work.

“Yeah, I’d be saying that too if I was you.”

A shadow had fallen over the turian, and he didn’t even need to look up to know who it was. There were only two people on set who went around in all black armor on the regular, and one of them definitely didn’t set him in shade like that. Just the sound of her voice made his stomach drop.

Talk about going from the frying pan to the fire…

Beau took a seat nearby, her eyes laser focused on him. It made it hard for Macen to swallow his lunch, but he did his best. Honestly, it wasn’t the best idea – it felt like he was swallowing concrete. At least it didn’t actually get stuck, but maybe that death would’ve been preferable to whatever she had planned for him. He’d had a good life… mostly…

“Afternoon, Beau…” Even he knew that was a faulty opening, but Macen had committed to the bit. “Can I help you?”

Another glance as she sipped from a can of soda. “Just wondering when you’re going to ask Alex out and get it over with. You two have been dancing around this for way too long.”

Macen was glad he hadn’t been eating at that point – if he had, he would’ve sprayed levo crumbs everywhere, and as far as he knew she was allergic. Instead, he just choked on his own spit and wound up coughing. To say it wasn’t his finest moment was putting it mildly at best, but at the moment it was all he could do.

At least she had enough heart to thump him on the carapace a few times. It wasn’t going to do anything – he wasn’t human – but it was the thought that counted.

“Don’t die on me, Virius. Garrus was a nightmare to find someone for, or at least that’s what I heard.”

He coughed a few more times, eyes watering. Words were hard, but doable. “I’m not… we’re not…”

Yet there was the feelings in his stomach squirming about in the mere mention of the man he more often than not found himself in bed with. He was adult enough to admit they had moved past simple sex, but… this was something else entirely.

And it was a dark, nasty road, one he knew way too well to be comfortable with anymore.

“I see the way you look at each other. Besides, you’re over each other’s places so much you might as well just fucking move in.” When he gaped, Beau added, “We text each other. I can tell when he’s getting laid, his messages stop and then he’s all relaxed after.”

Damn Alex for being so obvious in his tells…

Macen managed to straighten up, but his heart was still pounding. “It’s… complicated, ok?”

“Because you’re making it that way. You were an ass, get over it and get with it before you regret it.” Beau took another sip from her can. “Unless you’re still thinking this is just a sex thing.”

No… even he knew that one. And even thinking of that made him sigh as he hung his head. It was impossible to ignore the feelings that had been plaguing him for quite some time. To admit it was, in a way, admitting defeat in a war against himself. It was one he had tried to win for so long, yet he was seeing the last of his defenses crumble with every touch, every smile, every time Alex so much as looked at him.

He may have been a turian… but he knew he was beaten.

“Alright, fine … I give up.” His mandibles twitched. “I like the guy, ok?”

Part of him had expected the words to taste bitter on his tongue. Defeat was supposed to be something like that, and yet it was the complete opposite. Macen was surprised to find he felt lighter with just a few words. Of course, that didn’t last long – as soon as there was room, worry filled the place denial had once been.

He never got a fucking moment’s rest.

Beau shook her head as she put her can down. “I hope your delivery’s better when you tell him, Virius. How the hell did you get an award for acting?”

“I never said I was good at ad lib.” Despite everything, he snorted. It was a little bitter and self-depreciating, but it was still a laugh. “That’s going to take more work. I have no idea what to say to him.”

Something about this made him feel like a stupid teenager again, crushing on the cute boy in his class before either of them wound up in basic. He was far too old for something like this, and yet the feelings were so familiar he couldn’t deny it. Despite how hard he had tried, he had damn well caught feelings for Alex.

Well… at least his taste had improved. The guy in his math class had turned out to be a real dickhead.

“That I can’t help you with, Virius.” Beau stood, once again enveloping him in shadow. “But, lucky for you he’s coming this way. Time to work on those ad-lib skills.”

In that moment, Macen could have sworn she smirked as she left him behind to go fuck with someone else’s day. Even worse, she was right – he could see Alex in the distance and judging by the speed he had been spotted by the human and was now being targeted.

Shit… he hadn’t been kidding. He had always been terrible at ad-lib. But… there was no way out of this except through it. All he could do was brace himself for impact and hope he didn’t get tossed like a biotiball during a champion match.

For all he knew, Alex was capable of that now. Wouldn’t that be a way to go… death by being yeet’d by his crush into a wall. Well, there were worse ways he supposed…

Fuck, he so wasn’t ready for this. Fuck…

[imagine-loki]

Taking turns

TITLE: Taking turns

CHAPTER NO./ONE-SHOT: One-shot

AUTHOR: fanfictrashdump

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki getting a touch of heatstroke while in Jotun form, and climbing into a bathtub full of ice cubes to cool down.

One slight hitch – his low Jotun body temperature makes the ice cubes stick and freeze together, trapping him in a block of ice

RATING: T

NOTES/WARNINGS: Started out as a comedy idea and ended something entirely different. Some language, suggestions of sex, and soft Loki. 

Forty minutes. Loki was forty minutes late. Loki was forty minutes late and they were all starving.

“Becks, you want to go check on the drama queen? Tell him he’s either here in five or we’re leaving without him!” Tony grumbled, looking a little worse for wear with his black eye.

The team had gotten back from a mission in South America. They were all sporting various colored bruises, cuts, and casts. They were all exhausted. Still, they had decided, as a group, that they would go and grab dinner to celebrate a successful expedition before they all crashed for a week. However, while everyone had showered, patched up, and returned to the common room within a half hour, Loki was still nowhere in sight forty minutes after their accorded meet time. While Loki was known to prod at Tony’s buttons just for the hell of it, he had never gone as far as dragging the full team down. And he was a stickler for a schedule.

Becca sighed, abandoning her spot on the couch with a groan. The angry cut on her side that Bruce had finished patching a few minutes prior screamed in protest. “He’s probably moving slow. He was kinda fading there, at the end of the mission. I hope nothing’s wrong.”

“There better be! If not, why the hell is he not here?”

“Jesus, Tony! Your pockets are filled with blueberries. Have a snack. Settle down.” She skirted around Wanda and Vision on the loveseat before taking off down the hall.

Loki’s rooms were at the end of the furthermost east wing. It was a nice enough area, but there wasn’t much more around. That was on purpose, both on Tony and Loki’s part. Though there was some semblance of mutual respect between them, they generally tried to be as far apart from each other as was physically possible. And Loki liked the silence. No one interrupted his odd sleeping patterns or quiet contemplation. It made it a little hard to make sure he was alive, though.

“FRIDAY, is Loki OK?” Becca asked when she reached his door, finding it locked.

“Er… define OK.”

A million thoughts raced through her mind. The mission had been intense, but it was mostly due to being in unfamiliar terrain and climate. It had been a full week of unbearable heat and dastardly humidity. Her own Caribbean countenance, well-versed in matters of heat, had swayed dangerously under the oppressive temperatures. Ever since Loki revealed the truth about his parentage to the team, Becca always made it a point to check in with him if they were under blistering sun or steamy foxholes. She clearly had not paid him enough mind this time around.

“Open the door.”

“Loki asked–”

“NOW.”

FRIDAY was not about to argue with her, it seemed. The lock clicked under her fingers and the door swung open easily.

The living room and kitchen were empty, as was the bedroom. She could see the door to the en suite slightly ajar and light spilling out into the shadowed bedroom. Her feet moved on their own accord towards the brightness.

“Loki?”

A handful of Asgardian curses accented the air. “Don’t!” He hissed, just as her hand met the wood of his bathroom door. “Just leave.”

He was promptly ignored. “Are you alright?” The door creaked open, but she did not enter.

“Please, just leave.” His voice sounded shaky. It didn’t give her much incentive to turn around.

“Tell me what’s wrong or I’m coming in.”

“Rebecca…” Without waiting for the rest of his excuse, she slipped through the doorway.

Loki’s bathroom was lovely. A large sunken bath took up most of the space that was paneled in dark woods and golden accents. There was the faint smell of sandalwood in the air, which seemed to hover at a perfect 75 degrees. The Asgardian was in the bath, covered in what Becca now noticed was ice. It disappointed her to know that she truly hadn’t paid enough mind to his propensity to heatstroke. Her concern was great enough that she had not even spared an extra thought to the fact that he was blue and his eyes were red orbs that ominously followed her around the room.

“Are you OK? What can I get you? Fuck.” Her right hand reached for her ear, activating her comms. “Tony–”

“No, don’t!” Loki’s instinct was to lunge in an effort to stop her, but succeeded only in moving the awkward lump of ice around his form to leave him slumped forward.

Various expressions flashed through Becca’ face–concern, alarm, confusion, amusement. Her comms buzzed in hear ear, prompting a follow-up. “Er, you guys are going to have to go on without us. Bring us something back, OK?” The hand in her ear lowered to cover her mouth. Loki didn’t need to see her mouth to know she was grinning or that the noise was trying to conceal was a snort of laughter and not a cough. “You, er–”

“Don’t you fucking dare!”

A giggle overcame her. “You OK there, buddy?”

The snarl from his curled mouth gave her a clear view of sharpened teeth and plum-colored gums. Her hand dropped, knowing it was no use to hide her amusement any longer. Bending at the waist, she pulled the laces off of her combat boots, toeing them off, before pulling her socks off after them. Her bare feet pounded tile until she was at the edge of the tub and was able to sink to her knees.

“Go. Away.” The growl that punctuated his words was lost in the shiver of his voice. Maybe Jotuns could get cold.

Becca tutted under her breath, holding her warm hand onto his cheek. Her thumb trailed distractedly over a raised line before sweeping inky black hair away from his eyes. “Loki, you’re stuck in an ice cube. I’m not leaving you here.” The whispered words held no jest or mockery and the warmth emanating from her digits seemed to be well-received, if the way he pressed lightly on them was any indication.

She carefully clambered over his form to reach for the extendable shower-head mounted in the wall behind him. “It’s going to have to be warm, OK?” Her hands fiddled at the taps and experimentally sprayed at her hands to gauge the temperature. “If you start not feeling well, tell me.” Her warm brown eyes maintained contact with his until he was forced to nod.

A hiss leaked through his clenched teeth as water trickled between the ice cubes and found its way onto his skin. By the time that happened, it would cool considerably, but it was still an uncomfortable sensation, nonetheless. Becca mumbled apologies as her hands turned pale, and then a chilled pink from shifting cubes away as they melted.

“This is taking forever,” Loki muttered, resting his head back against the wall, eyes clenched closed.

“I’m afraid of going any warmer when you’re like this, Lo. I don’t want to hurt you.” His brow pulled tightly in a frown before moving back to concern. It was as if he had forgotten he was in his other form, but the tight clench of his jaw told Becca that the detail was sure not to escape his notice ever again.

“I don’t care.”

“Yeah, but I do.”

Getting the bulk of the ice not stuck to his body to melt away was the biggest endeavor, but it was happening quickly enough. Once the bath was only about half-full, it was easier to start freeing Loki’s limbs. The problem was that steam was starting to fog up the room and his head lolled to the side every now and again as he became weaker. There was still a layer of ice, a few inches thick, preventing him from moving.

“Hey. How about you talk to me? To keep awake,” Becca urged, carding her fingers through his hair to clear his face. “Tell me a story.”

Loki groaned, eyes barely blinking open to look up at her. The noise of complaint only deepened at the genuine smile that greeted him on the other end. “Once upon a time, I was an idiot and got stuck in ice and a mortal too stubborn for her own good had to get me out of it. The end.”

Becca giggled. “I think you forgot to mention how cute the mortal was or how handy she was with a shower-head.”

“Oh, forget it. Just leave me here to die.”

“You should have just called me.”

“Why on Earth, would I willingly call you to free me of this embarrassment?” His scarlet eyes bore straight into her soul with annoyance and irritation, but couldn’t help but soften at her playful expression. “I don’t want to furnish you with anecdotes to tell Stark and the others.”

“I’m not telling them about this.” At his questioning stare, she continued. “I only need to tell them that you weren’t feeling well and I chose to stay behind. They don’t need details.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I wouldn’t want them to know if it had happened to me.” Most of the loose ice was now gone. Becca put the shower-head down and moved to the other side of the bath to activate the stopper and open the larger tap. “I’m going to fill the tub with warm water and that will probably melt the rest away without much issue.”

“I… I don’t think I can go much warmer without passing out.” Loki admitted, softly, eyes rounded and pleading.

She turned her face to him and smiled. “I’ll be here. I have you. I promise.”

The tub filled and the faint crackle of shifting ice could be heard over the sound of their breathing. Becca fished her cell phone out of her pocket and tossed it a few ways away from the tub, before slipping into the water, jeans, t-shirt and all. Loki was lolling again, so Becca thought the best course of action was to put a little force on the already fissured sheets and easing them off.

Her hands started at his legs, squeezing lightly at places where the ice seemed to give and breaking apart the pieces, watching absently as they bobbed up the surface before melting away completely. It wasn’t until she reached his thighs that it occurred to her that maybe feeling Loki up was not the of ideas. Still, he was drifting in an out and fading fast. She would risk a little awkward groping for the sake of getting him free before he drifted any further. She paused near mid thigh, her cheeks turning a deep pink before she pivoted and worked on his arms. His hands and wrists were already free, and it took little effort to slide off the ice off the rest of his arms. His back was mostly thawed and she could remove a large piece covering his chest. There was only the awkward bit to get through now. Biting the inside of her cheek, she prodded for any loose ice and broke the sheets as gently as she could while not wasting time.

Pulling the stopper, she gathered Loki into her chest, putting her arms under his and pulling him to the edge. He was deceptively heavy, Becca realized; a dense creature like a collapsing star. She struggled with the settings on the shower-head and gradually turned the water spray from warm to cool to frigid cold. She shivered heavily behind him, Loki only stirred, slowly coming back into himself.

Becca clambered out, clumsily. Her extremities were cold and numb and she was shivering heavily. Knowing she wasn’t going to clear walking for another moment, she pulled her knees up to her chest and folded into herself for warmth. Her eyes fell onto Loki who, now alert, was taking the steps out the tub with her zeroed in his sights. Despite the fact that she had just run her hands over every line, dot, and hash of his body, seeing it in plain display felt more intimate. He made no effort to cover himself or change back into his Asgardian form, though she suspected that was more so the fact that he was still weak. Not that she minded. In this form he was terrifying. He oozed brute strength and savagery–very different from his Asgardian counterpart–but she found that she liked it. It was akin to finding money in an old coat–you weren’t expecting it, but you’re glad you did.

“You need to get out of those wet clothes.” He sunk to his knees before her with a guarded look.

“I would, but my hands decided to stop working.” She forced a laugh. “It’s OK. Just let me warm a degree or two and I’ll get out of your hair.” He pressed a hand to her back, making wide circles to create friction. His touch made her shudder gratefully. “At least I’m not warm enough to make you uncomfortable.”

“I like you warm,” he offered after a long pause. His black talon-tipped hands slid under the back of her t-shirt and pulled the material away from her skin, easing it off gently. It took little prodding to make her unwind her arms from around her knees. He discarded the garment beside her before working on the clasp of her bra, which joined it a moment later. Pulling her jeans off her hips was a bit harder, as the denim adhered to her skin like it was another living layer, but he managed to tug them off and down her legs along with her underwear. Reaching behind her, he pulled a towel from the shelf, putting it around her shoulders and proceeding to rub her down. “Thank you, Rebecca.” She got the distinct feeling he didn’t just mean for freeing him of his ice prison.

“Not a problem. Just… maybe don’t do it again without supervision.” The words had left her mouth out of their own volition and the heat she could feel rising in her cheeks was all but impossible to hide. “That came out weird. I didn’t mean it like–not that I don’t find you stupidly attractive–I just–”

He slanted his lips against hers, cutting off whatever rambling rabbit hole she was fixing to throw herself down. “Let me warm you up in my bed,” he mumbled against her lips, his fingertips making sinful shapes against her naked skin.

“But–”

“You can cool me after. We’ll take turns.” With a half-suppressed moan, she threw her arms around his neck and allowed him to carry her off into the bedroom. She would worry about him overheating later.

[ss-wingman]

The Intruder

I have been writing this thing on and off for the last year and a half. Formaggio x Reader Fic that has been on the backburner for a long time, that I had mentioned wanting to write once.

Summary: Mistaking your apartment for another, an unwanted guest somehow gets into your apartment, ruining your plans for the night.

---

You let out a heavy sigh as you pushed the door to your apartment open. Finally. The day was almost over. Work had been tiring, traffic was a nightmare... even the two little grocery bags were starting to feel heavy. But, you were finally home. As soon as you put the groceries a way, you'd intended to wash off the stress of the day, slip into something comfortable and enjoy some dinner and a movie with your beloved cat curled in her usual spot on the arm of your couch.

The thought alone was enough to put a smile on your face, but the sound of clattering coming from your kitchen followed by a muffled voice quickly wiped it away. In a quick moment of panic, you'd accidentally dropped your groceries in a vain attempt to stop the door behind you from slamming shut, alerting the intruder to your presence.

An unfamiliar red head peered out from behind the kitchen, a confused and slightly out-of-it look on his face.

On instinct, you reached for the mace you'd kept on your person and aimed it straight for the intruder. “Who are you and how the hell did you get in my house?” You demanded in as stern a voice as you could muster while your free handed searched for your phone. “I'm calling the police if you don't answer me!”

“What- Melone didn't tell me he moved.”

Your question seemed to go right over this stranger's head, but the name he spoke rang a bell; Melone, your neighbor from the floor just about yours. Less panicked now, you could faintly make out the quickly fading hint of alcohol in the area and the slightest tint of pink on his cheeks. The dots connected quickly. You relaxed just a bit, but didn't lower the spray.

“I- think you have the wrong apartment, sir.”

“I do?”

“You do.”

He moved to get a little closer, but you stopped him. “Don't make any sudden movements! I'm going to make a quick call and you are going to stay right there.”

The man nodded and muttered out an OK, before doing the exact opposite of what you'd ordered as he began to follow around your cat, who'd come to investigate all of the commotion. You were tempted to stop him, but if that was the worse he was going to do for now, you could handle it.

You dialed in the number Melone had given you just in case you ever needed his “company”. You hadn't taken him up on the offer – he wasn't exactly your type – but you did keep it for... well, you guessed emergencies like this.

“Pronto, you got Melone.”

“Hey there, Melone, it's [Y/N]. From downstairs.”

“[Y/N]? Now, isn't this a pleasant surprise. I was getting worried you'd never call. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I think one of your friends is here looking for you.” You didn't miss the disappointed huff from his end, but you chose to ignore it. “Shaved, red hair? Probably piss drunk, right now?”

“That's him.”

“Formaggio. So that's where he snuck off to.”

“Do I want to know the story behind this?”

“I was supposed to go pick him up from the bar. But I guess he went over to my place, instead. Or tried to. At least he made it to the right building.”

“Yes, good for him. Can you come get him? I don't exactly want a drunk stranger in my house.”

“Don't worry, he's harmless and I'm not too far away. Just keep an eye on him so he doesn't wander off and I'll be right there.”

You glanced over at Formaggio, once again in the kitchen, this time trying to coax your cat down from her spot on top of the fridge. “Come here, sweetie, just one pat.”

You knew you had no reason to say yes and you could probably just leave him to wait outside Melone's door, but that would be cruel.

“Half an hour, got it?”

“Ah, grazie, [Y/N]. I promise I won't be long.”

“You know you owe me for this, right?”

“Don't worry that, I'm sure we can work something out.”

And with that, you hung up on him, leaving you with a choice: either kick this intruder, Formaggio, out despite your promise and enjoy the rest of your night or spend the next half hour or so essentially babysitting. Against any and all better judgment you gave in, resigning yourself to your fate.

'Always have to be the nice one, don't you?'

You bent down to pick up the remnants of your groceries. Luckily only a few things had spilled but the bags themselves were still somewhat in tact. You walked to the kitchen and set them down onto the counter.

“Hey... um, Formaggio, right?”

He turned over to you at the call of his name. In his distraction, your cat managed to escape. He tried to give chase, again but you blocked him, finally getting his full attention.

“Leave her, please. You're lucky I had her claws filed.” You let out an annoyed huff. “All right, listen. Melone is going to be here in a little while to pick you up. So, for now, you're going to be here, ok?”

Formaggio thought over the situation for only a moment before smiling and leaning a little closer to you. “No problem with me. Who would I be to complain about getting to spend the night with a cutie like you?”

You stopped his arm before he could sling it around your shoulder. “I will mace you, don't temp me.”

With your grip on his arm still firm, you dragged Formaggio into your living room. “Ah, be gentle.”

You didn't respond. You simply sat him down on the end of the couch and took a seat for yourself at the other end. You had no intentions of even trying to relax, now, with your night pretty much ruined. You would rather just wait it out, quietly, until this intruder was gone and you can get back to the night you had planned. You flipped on the TV so there was something on in the background, at least, and let yourself sink into the couch, arms folded.

“Hey now, beautiful, what's with the sour face?” Formaggio asked, scooting closer to you. You didn't even turn to look at him when you responded. “Well, you kind of ruined my whole night.”

Formaggio closed the gap between you, leaning over just slightly. “What if I promise to make it up to you? Tomorrow night if you're free.”

You glared over in his direction, but he only smiled and winked at you.

“Come on, angel, I'm good company.”

You pushed Formaggio away from you. “Arms length or you're out of here.”

The next few minutes were mostly quiet after that, with the two of you on opposite ends of the couch. You kept glancing over at your guest through the corner of your eye, just to make sure he didn't make any sudden movements, but Formaggio was mostly still, sulking in his corner. He seemed to be thinking of something, but what you couldn't tell. Now that you'd had a moment to calm down, you'd took a second to look him over. He was, all things considered, kind of handsome. The kind of guy you could give a second look if you passed him by.

A few more quiet minutes and he turned to you with a curious look on his face.

“Oi, cutie, what's your name?” He spoke up. You turned to him.

“You ask that only now?”

Formaggio shrugged in response, “I mean, if you don't wanna give it, I'm sure I can think of plenty more ways to call you beautiful.”

You fought the blush creeping on your face and turned away from him. You gave him your name under your breath, earning a light chuckle from him.

“Don't act cute; you still, somehow, broke into my house. How did you even do that?”

“What can I say? I'm a man of many talents.”

You rolled your eyes at him in response. “Apparently being humble isn't one of them.”

“Ooh, got me there.” Here laughed. You must've been getting tired because it almost sounded kind of cute when he did.

“Are you always this obnoxious?”

“I'm just being friendly.”

You almost jumped up when you heard a knock at your door.

“All right, where is he?” Melone asked.

“Over there.” You moved from the door way to turn to Formaggio. “Hey, your friend's here. Come on so you can go.”

“Aw. I thought we were bonding.” Formaggio got up from his spot and walked over to you to. You made way to let him out. He was pouting as he walked you by but turned just slightly to wink to you once more before joining Melone's side.

“He wasn't too much trouble, was he?”

You shook your head. “No, it's fine, just... you two go already, all right?” You motioned your hands to shoo them away. “Have fun doing whatever, boys, I have a night to enjoy.”

They both bid you farewell and you retreated back into your home. Well, that certainly was... something.

The following morning, you woke up late to the sound of knocking on your door. Formaggio stood in front of you, a slightly bashful look on his face. “Hey, uh... {y/N], right?”

You leaned against the frame of your door, still tired, but you nod and waited for him to respond.

“I, uh, just came by to say sorry about last night.” He gave you a nervous smile. “Hope I wasn't too much trouble.”

You thought for a second then shook your head. “Don't worry about it. It's... fine.” You yawned. You stretched a bit, eyes closed so you missed the quick glance up and down your body.

“I see you're still tired, so I won't stay long, but I do kinda of remember promising to make up for dinner if you want.”

You looked at the time on your phone then back at Formaggio. A moment of silence before you gave in and answered. “Give me a few minutes to get ready and we can make it breakfast. There's a bar right across the street you can take me to.”

Formaggio instantly perked up. “Take your time; I got all day.”

You motioned for him to follow you in and pointed out his previous spot from the previous night. “Sit there. I'll be right out, OK?” You said before disappearing to the back of your house.

“Can do.” You heard from the living room.

You weren't sure why you agreed; maybe you were just tired or maybe he grew on you. Whatever it was, you felt a bit of excitement start to bubble in your chest. It was probably nothing, you though, but that didn't stop you from smiling or the butterflies in your stomach from fluttering.

“Keep it together. It's not even a date.” You murmured to yourself.

But would you really mind if it was?

[sassyduckqueen]

Miraculous: Rise of Anatis 38

One more til Heroes Day! So I'm really happy with how this turned out. I think adapted it well. Though this didn't need as much changing as a few of the others. Also the nickname Luth that Anatis gives Leatherback. It is actually another name for the Leatherback turtle as it is sometimes known as either the Lute Turtle or just the Luth. Yep, I did my research. Anyway, hope you peeps like this chapter :D Keep an eye out because I'm able to start work on Ikari Gozen so that should be out by the weekend if I keep going on this little roll I have :D

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Chapter Thirty-Eight: Anansi

"Look at them go," Adrien grinned as Nino and Alya danced around the living room. He had managed to sneak out of the house with Kagami again, who nodded as she watched them. Ivan and Mylene were sat next to them on the sofa and Rose and Juleka were curled up next to each other. Marinette was sat at the kitchen island, next to Luka, who was writing a song. He would occasionally glance up to see what was happen but was mostly focused on his song. Not that anyone minded. They all knew that's how Luka was. Sadly, Nathaniel and Marc couldn't make it, due to having to finish the next comic of the Adventures of Anatis and Lady Noir and neither could Chloe or Alix but that was ok. They would hang out with them on the weekend. Alya and Nino slid across the ground before finishing the dance with Nino posing like a ballerina, causing everyone to laugh. The screen on the TV told them that they had beat their high score.

 "Nice!" Nino grinned, happily. "Ok, who's next?! Adrien, Kagami... you up for it?"

 "Oh, you guys know I have two left feet," Adrien laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "What about... Marinette and Luka?"

 "Adrien, I'm more clumsy then you," Marinette pointed out, making everyone laugh. "Besides, he's writing,"

 "I'll say. Poor Luka will end up with a flying Marinette as a dance partner," Alya grinned cheekily, causing Marinette to gasp before they both began to laugh. "How about you and Mylene, Ivan?"

 "Sure, we can give it a try," Mylene smiled, getting up as Ivan nodded. The two of them began to dance as the door to the apartment opened as Alya's older sister, Nora, came in and glanced around.

 "I didn't know we were having a gathering of fly weights today," She mumbled before dumping her gym bag on the floor as she looked around.

 "Nora!" Alya gasped as she looked at her. "Is your match over already?"

  "First round! Totally knock out!!" She grinned, holding her arms up before lowering them and pulling Alya over to her, hissing something at her before straightening up and glancing at everyone. "I recognize Cappy and Baguette but who's the rest of the gang?"

 "Oh, I'm Adrien," Adrien smiled before gesturing to Kagami. "And this is Kagami,"

 "It's a pleasure to meet you," She replied in her calm voice, making Nora rise an eyebrow.

 "Uh huh," Nora nodded before glancing at the rest of the gang. "And who's the emos and the pink one?"

 "I'm Mylene and this is my boyfriend, Ivan," Mylene smiled as Ivan waved. However, Nora didn't look impressed as she glanced at them. Rose grinned at her.

 "I'm Rose! It's really nice to meet you!!" She gasped as Juleka played with her hair.

 "Juleka... um... I'm Rose's girlfriend..." She mumbled, quietly as she twirled Rose's hair in her fingers. Nora nodded and turned to Luka, who was scribbling down some notes. Noticing Nora in front of him, he glanced up as Juleka cleared her throat. "That's my older brother Luka,"

 "Hmm, don't seem like much to me," She replied, making him frown before gesturing to herself. "The name is Anansi! Like a spider,"

"I prefer Ladybugs over spiders," Luka muttered quietly, making her frown but everyone else giggle. She narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "Just saying,"

 "Well, no one asked for your opinion on it, Tips," She stated before walking over to the fridge. "Anyway, what are you all still doing here this late? Shouldn't you be heading back home? Don't you have school tomorrow?"

 "We're waiting for it to get dark," Alya stated as Nora took out a carton of milk and began to drink it. "It's the world cup fireworks display tonight and we're going to watch it from the Place de la Concorde Ferris wheel!"

 Nora spat out the milk and turned to face Alya, causing everyone to glance at them.

 "Oh no! Baguette and Cappy can go with the rest of your little gang if they want but you are staying here!" She declared, pointing at Alya before crushing the cartoon and crossing her arms as she gave her best stern look. "It's far too dangerous!"

 "But Nora... I mean Anansi... you can't do that!" Marinette gasped, causing everyone to agree.

 "Yeah, no way, dude," Nino gasped. "Alya has to come with us,"

 "Yeah, we're not going without her," Ivan added, making Nora frowned deeply. 

 "Look, Sis, I appreciate you worrying about me and all but I'm not a little girl anymore," Alya gasped, causing Nora to face her. "Besides, Mum and Dad are cool with it and we've been planning it for a while,"

 "I don't care. You're not going," Nora declared before shaking her head. "There's been way too many akumatized peeps in Paris recently. Literally just a few days ago, you were captured by that weird musical one. Desperate or something,"

 "Desperada," Luka pointed out, making her glare at him. "Again, just saying,"

 Nora rolled her eyes and ignored him, turning back to Alya.

 "Just look at how many times you've been in direct danger," She pointed out, making Alya frown as she remembered. It had been quite a bit. "So you're staying home safe and sound period!"

 "That's ridiculous! The twins were akumatized right here, at home!"

 "Well, that never would have happened on my watch!" Nora growled back, slamming her fist on the table. Luka flinched a little and grabbed his notepad, putting it in his bag before moving over to where the rest of the group were. Marinette moved over to him and asked him if he was ok, getting a nod of him. Not that Nora noticed. "I won't let anyone mess with my family!"

 "You mean like the other day in the square?" Alya pointed out, making everyone look at her as Nora looked nervously. Luka frowned a little before turning to Marinette.

 "I'm a little afraid to ask what happened," He mumbled, getting a nod of agreement from Mylene and Rose. Alya sighed and pinched her nose as Marinette glanced around nervously.

 "What happened?" Adrien asked, causing Marinette to look over at him.

 "Well, we came across a man handing out flyers..."

 "And Anansi here thought the man was akumatized and wanted to turn me into a banana zombie," Alya stated, glaring at Nora.

 "Uh... well, how was I suppose to know that it was a stupid costume?!" She pointed out before turning around and holding out her hand. "Anyway, what if the ferris wheel stopped working because some akumatized dude decided not to pay?"

 "Uh... that's not how akumatizations work..." Luka mumbled, causing Nora to spin and glare at him.

 "Oh and I suppose you're the authority on akumas, Tips?!" She growled, making him frown but he bit his tongue. He would love to turn round and say 'well, I should know since I'm Anatis' but he couldn't reveal his identity plus that would be petty. Funny but still petty so he remained quiet, making her smirk before crossing her arms. "Once you flyweights can actually defend yourself, like me, we'll talk about it,"

 She then proceeded to show off by kicking and punching the air.

 "Well, it doesn't matter because Anatis and Lady Noir will save us if there's any problems," Marinette pointed out, causing everyone to agree. Nora rolled her eyes and glanced over at her.

 "And what if Miss Whiskers is chasing a mouse and that beetle's been sprayed with bug spray," She pointed out, causing Luka to frown and take a quiet breathe. It took all of his strength not to point out that they weren't really those animals but he could imagine Lady Noir trying to catch a mouse. Knowing her, she would probably keep as a pet instead of trying to eat it... unless she got hit by Malediktator again. Then she would probably try and eat it. "What you gonna do then? Rely on Cappy to protect you?"

 "Well, I'll try," Nino gasped, causing Nora to laugh.

 "That's sweet but who's gonna protect you when you fail?" She grinned, pressing her finger in his chest. He frowned and glanced down but to everyone's surprise, Ivan stepped up.

 "Hey, leave him alone," He gasped, making Nora look at him. She ran her eyes over him, clearly not impressed. "If it came to it, I'll protect my friends!"

 "Uh huh," She grinned. "The only thing you've got going for you in your build but build isn't enough. You need strength and speed. Think you got that, Big Guy?"

 Nora laughed, causing Ivan to growl a little.

 "I do anything to protect my friends!" He declared, making her nod.

 "Alright, Alya can go out with you guys..." She stated before walking over to the table and placing her elbow down on the table. "If you or Cappy can beat me in an arm wrestle.. you know since you two are so determined to protect everyone,"

 "Please, don't arm wrestle on my account," Alya sighed, clearly embarrassed by Nora's actions before she looked at her. "Nora, I don't need to be protected,"

 "No offence, Nino but you're not strong enough to go against Anansi," Adrien pointed out, making Nino frown.

 "But neither is Ivan!" He pointed out, making Ivan also frown.

 "But if we don't go soon, we'll miss it," Marinette gasped, looking at her friends. "We have to do something,"

 "Forget it," Alya sighed, looking down as her shoulders slumped. "You guys go without me,"

 "Huh?" Juleka gasped as Rose gulped like someone had destroyed the color pink.

 "No way!" She gasped, causing everyone to stare at her. "We're not leaving you behind!"

 "Yeah, you're our friend so you should come with us," Mylene nodded, causing Nora to snort as she laughed.

 "That's all cute and all but Alya ain't going unless one of you flyweights beat me in an arm wrestle," She grinned, causing Marinette to grin as she got an idea. She caught Luka's eye, who gave her a knowing smile. 

 "You'll honor that if you're beaten no matter what right?" He asked, making her glance at him.

 "Yeah, I'll honor it, Tips," She grinned, clicking her neck. "Not that I'll need to though. None of you have a chance,"

 "Ok, Nino? You wanna go? Or should Ivan?" Luka asked, causing Nino to rub his neck nervously but Ivan stepped up and sat down. He wasn't sure what the two bluenettes had plan but he trusted them. He took Nora's hand and nodded. She grinned as Adrien stood by them and held out his hand. 

 "Alright! In position!" He called, causing everyone to gather around. He lifted his hand as the two looked at each other. "Ready... set.... go!"

 He swiped his hand down, causing Ivan to try and move her hand. Nora yawned but then her eyes widen as he managed to move it, causing her to push against him. His arm returned to it's position before Luka glanced at Marinette, who grinned in a mischievous way.

 "Oh no! An akuma!" She gasped, pointing at the window and causing Nora to look that way. Seeing a chance, Luka grabbed Ivan's hand and pulled it downwards.

 "And the winner is Ivan!" Adrien called out, making Nora look back.

 "Huh?!" She gasped, making Marinette gasp.

 "Oops, it was just a fly... my bad," She grinned, causing Ivan to grin and get up. He gave Marinette and Luka a knowing look but didn't say a thing as everyone grinned. "Come on, guys, let's go. If we leave now, we can get there on time,"

 "You're a bunch of cheaters!" Nora growled, slamming her fist on the table and causing everyone to flinch before she pointed at them. "There's no way I could have been beaten! If I hadn't been distracted, I wo-"

 "You said you would honor the agreement if he won regardless of what happened and he won," Luka pointed out, causing her to glare at him.

 "Stay out of this, Tips! Or I'll crush you!" She growled, causing Alya to pinch her nose.

 "That is it, Nora!" She shouted, making everyone look at her. "You lost the challenge so deal with it! I've had it with your overprotective, big sister smothering! I'm going out with my BFFs and I don't care what you think! Alya out!"

 "Uh... we should all go too...." Luka pointed out, causing everyone to nod and begin to leave but not before Nora hissed at them. The gang left outside and began to head to Place de la Concorde before Nora decided to intervene again. Alya turned to them and gave them a smile.

 "Thanks guys for sticking up for me," She smiled as they walked over. It didn't take them long to get there but as soon as they did, Rose grabbed Juleka's hand and rushed over to the wheel, causing most of them to follow but Luka, who decided to go over and listen to a street musician who was playing. Alya gently nudged Marinette and gestured towards Luka before heading up into the wheel. Marinette walked over to him, causing him to look down at her.

 "Aren't you gonna join the others?"

 "Nah, I've been on the Ferris wheel before plus it was Alya's idea. She wants to film them for one of her blogs," She replied, making him nod. "What about you?"

 "Fireworks aren't really my thing," He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "I kind of just came along because I get to hang out with you... and everyone else too... you know it's not very often we get to hang out with Kagami or Adrien so yeah... plus Juleka and Rose insisted I come by,"

 "Yeah," Marinette nodded, smiling a little at his comment. "Well, I'm glad you came along. I like hanging out with you,"

 "Really?" He asked, looking at her with a little surprise. She smiled and nodded, making him smile back before she gently nudged his arm.

 "You're my friend, Luka and I like spending time with my friends," She smiled, causing him to smile back as the fireworks went off. She looked up and waved at Alya and the rest of their friends who were currently riding the Ferris wheel. However, she stopped and frowned, making him frown as he looked at her. She looked confused and a little pale.

 "Marinette, are you ok?" He asked, making her glance at him before she frowned.

 "I thought I just saw-" Before she could finish her sentence, people began to scream and run away from the Ferris wheel. Both teenagers glanced over and gasped as they saw a super villain crawling on the wheel and covering it in webs like a spider would before it glanced up at them and hissed. "Um... Luka, I think we should run...."

 "Agreed..." Luka stated back in a way before jumping out of the way as the spider spat webs at them. She turned towards Marinette, stalking towards her. Luka frowned and glanced around. He noticed a store selling hula hoops and ran over. He grabbed one and looked around. His luck vision lit up another store and the hula hoop. He smirked and threw it at the tent, causing it to bounce off the material and fly over to the villain. It landed around her arms and distracted her enough for him to run over and pull Marinette to her feet. The two of them ran off as the akuma tried to break free from the hoop. They went down into the metro before stopping as they let out a breath. Luka straightened up and glanced at her. "Are you ok?"

 "Yeah," She nodded before gently kissing his cheek. He blushed a little before clearing his throat.

 "Uh... I need to g-go find Juleka and the rest... they might be in danger..." He mumbled, making her frown. He thought she would argue with him but to her surprise, she nodded. Both of them knew that arguing would be pointless anyway. Marinette played with her hands a little.

 "Just... be careful ok?" She asked, making him nod.

 "I will," He replied before he ran off. As soon as he was out of sight, Marinette rushed over to the steps of the platform and headed down them, away from prying eyes. She opened her purse and Plagg flew out, stretching a little before he glanced at her.

 "Did you have to wake me from my nap, Dollface?" He asked, causing her to nod.

 "Sorry, Plagg but Paris is in trouble again," She replied, holding up her hand. "Plagg, Claws Out,"

 Plagg yelled out a little as he was sucked into the ring before a green light engulfed Marinette, transforming her into Lady Noir. She jumped out and ran up the stairs, just in time to see the Ferris Wheel roll away and Anatis chase it. She ran over and caught up with him, causing him to glance at her before pointing ahead to the two lion statues. She nodded and took out her baton before extending it and throwing it at them. It landed perfectly in their mouths and stopped the Ferris Wheel. The two of them rushed over and helped everyone get off it.

 "Thank you, Anatis and Lady Noir," A woman gasped as they got off, causing Anatis to turn to his partner.

 "I'm glad you turned up when you did," He smiled before throwing his yoyo around a car and dragging it over to the wheel. He placed it so the wheel was leaning on it and grabbed Lady Noir's baton before jumping back over to her and handing her the baton. "Not sure how I would have stopped it if you hadn't turned up,"

 "I'm sure you would have worked something out," She grinned, taking it before glancing up at the wheel. "But there's one booth missing from the wheel?"

 "Yeah, the spider took it just before I got there," He replied before taking out his yoyo and throwing it. It wrapped around one of the flag poles on a building. "It was this way,"

 He swung off, causing Lady Noir to jump up and follow him before they jumped down and landed near the booth. Juleka was stood shaking, jumping as Anatis and Lady Noir landed near them. Luckily, Kagami and Adrien were stood with her but Rose and the others weren't there. 

 "Anatis," She gasped, rushing over. He frowned at her panicked expression. "It's Alya's big sister. She took Rose!"

 "Who's Alya's big sister?" Lady Noir asked, frowning as Kagami walked over.

 "It appears that Nora has been akumatized," She explained, making both heroes frown. "She took three victims. Alya, Mylene and Rose. I imagine she took them because they are the 'weakest' in her eyes. While we know Alya can defend herself, Nora considers her weak as she is her little sister. As for the other two, I'd say that's pretty obvious,"

 "Nino and Ivan went after them," Adrien gasped. "Juleka was going to join them but we told her to stay here and wait for you two,"

 "A good suggestion," Anatis nodded. "Stay here. We'll rescue your friends,"

 "My brother, Luka, is also missing... I don't think Anansi got him but I haven't seen him," Juleka gasped, causing Adrien and Kagami to nod.

 "And our friend Marinette," Kagami added in, making Anatis frown.

 "Luka is fine. I ran into Luka on my way here and told him to hide in Tuileries Gardens," He mumbled before frowning. "But I haven't seen Marinette..."

 "She's ok!" Lady Noir gasped, making everyone look at her. "I also bumped into her on my way here. She was hiding by the metro station but I advised her to hide in the platform. Anyway, we should try and capture us a spider. Stay here and be safe, kay? Annie, let's go,"

 "Right," He nodded before the two heroes jumped away and followed the trail of webbing. The two of them heard a yell and frowned as they saw Ivan flying across the sky. Anatis threw his yoyo to create a web and caught him in it before letting him down. He jumped over and landed next to him as Ivan got up. "Are you ok?"

 "I'm fine, Anatis but my friends are in real trouble," He frowned, glancing over to the Arc de Triomphe. Anatis glanced over and frowned as he saw a huge web between it's arc. He took out his yoyo and zoomed in. Alya, Rose and Mylene were trapped in the middle with Nino next to them, making him frown. He put it away and turned to Ivan.

 "Stay here and leave this to me and Lady Noir," He ordered, making Ivan frown. "I promise we'll get your friends back,"

 "But Mylene... she's so special to me, Anatis," He muttered, looking a little love stuck before he shook his head. "I won't let anything happen to her,"

 "And I admire that but I wouldn't forgive myself if you got caught so please stay back," He ordered again before swinging towards the spider's web with Lady Noir. Ivan frowned and chased after them. The two heroes landed in front of the spider and took out their weapons as Anansi glanced at them and smirked.

 "So it's two vs one now?" She asked before holding up her six arms and bouncing side to side. "Fine by me! Round two!! Fight!"

 She threw a punch at Anatis, who dodged and ducked. Lady Noir jumped up to hit her with her baton, causing her to punch her into a car before she swung at Anatis. He dodged and backflipped over to Lady Noir, who was rubbing her jaw as Anansi laughed.

 "On the floor already? We just started," She laughed, punching the air a few times. Anatis landed by Lady Noir and offered her his hand, helping her to her feet before he lifted her chin to check for an injury. He was honestly worried that her jaw had been broken.

 "Are you ok, kitten?" He asked, concern covering his features as he gently touched her jaw. She blushed a little and gently pushed his hand away, making him frown a little.

 "I'm fine, Annie," She grinned, making him look relieved before they turned round. Anansi was bouncing around, punching the air as she waited for their next attack, causing Anatis to frown. "Where do you think the akuma is?"

 "I'm thinking it's in her head gear," He mumbled, causing Lady Noir to frown a little.

 "I agree but she's so strong that I don't think I can get close enough to destroy it," Lady Noir admitted, making Anatis frown but he nodded never the less. "Got any ideas?"

 "How about a change of plan?" He suggested, making her to look at him. "I'll distract Anansi and you rescue the prisoners,"

 "Of course, that might distract her enough for her to drop her guard and for you to restrain her,"

 "Exactly, then you use your cataclysm to destroy her head gear," He grinned but he suddenly pushed Lady Noir out of the way as Anansi threw a car at them before picking up another one.

 "Ding, ding, ding. Bell's ringing!" She declared, holding it above her head before she threw it at them. "Round three! Fight!"

 They jumped out of the way, causing Anatis to dive at her and try to kick her. She blocked and tried to get a hit on him before he blocked her attack and moved under her arms before wrapping his yoyo around her legs and pulling her down. She caught herself and threw her fists at him but he grabbed them and used them as leverage to land a kick to her face before backflipping down and dodging another one of her attacks. Seeing Anansi busy fighting Anatis, Lady Noir to the chance to jump and begin to climb up the web but her hands got stuck on it. She frowned and tried put her hand free, only for her other hand to get stuck once she had free the first.

 "Seriously," She gasped, pulling that one free and trying to climb up but her feet had gotten stuck too. She tried to pull free but she ended up rolling on her back and getting completely stuck. She tried to pull away but was completely stuck. "Uh... Annie! I think I've gotten myself into a sticky situation,"

 "Looks like I've already got a catch," Anansi laughed evilly as both her and Anatis looked up at Lady Noir before she turned her attention back to Anatis, who was spinning his yoyo. "You'll be next, Beetle,"

 "I don't think so!" He declared, blocking her hits with the yoyo before throwing it at her. She moved her head to the side and grabbed it before spinning him around and throwing him away from the web. He hit a car and bounced off it, rolling on the floor. He groaned and looked up, trying to get up but found his foot stuck on some of the webbing. Anansi smirked before jumping up onto the web and stalking up to Lady Noir. Anatis frowned and tried to pull his foot free as Lady Noir to tried to hit her with her baton but Anansi grabbed it and threw it aside. It landed by Anatis just as he got his foot free. He grabbed it and looked up as Ivan rushed over.

 "Anatis, are you ok?" He asked, helping the hero up. 

 "Yeah but I'm gonna need some help," He declared, glaring up at Anansi. He hooked Lady Noir's baton to his belt and threw up his yoyo. "Lucky charm!"

 He caught the candle and rose an eyebrow as Ivan watched him.

 "A candle? What are you gonna do with that?" He asked as Anatis glanced around. Nothing lit up so he glanced back at it before his eyes widen in realization. "Anatis?"

 "Of course... but I don't have time to do that," He muttered, glancing up at Lady Noir.

 "Well, maybe I could help," Ivan suggested, causing him to look at him. "Uh... I mean... Nevermind... I'm not exactly a hero... I tried to save Mylene and my friends but I'm not strong enough..."

 "Ivan right?" Anatis asked, making him look at him and nod. "Been a hero isn't about how strong you are. It's about determination and courage,"

 He took out Lady Noir's baton and held it out to him. 

 "We can't let Anansi get Lady Noir's miraculous," He declared, placing it in Ivan's hands. "Use this to defend yourself and distract her from getting the ring. I won't be long,"

 "Alright, Anatis!" Ivan grinned before turning to face Anansi as Anatis threw his yoyo and swung onto a rooftop. He ran across it as fast as he could then jumped off the edge and swung through the city. He landed in the ally near Master Fu's and detranformed, catching Tikki before rushing Master Fu's shop. He ran up the stairs as fast as he could and burst through the door, causing Master Fu to look up startled.

 "Luka?"

 "Master, Ivan won't hold off Anansi for long," He gasped, holding his knees as she sucked in a breathe. He looked up as Master Fu gasped. "She has Lady Noir caught in her web and she's able to get her miraculous,"

 "We can not allow that to happen," He gasped, getting up as Luka gave Tikki a macaroon. He moved over to the phonograph and put in the combination as Tikki began to eat the macaroon before taking out the miracle box and placing it in front of Luka. "Luka Couffaine, pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you this mission,"

 He opened the box, allowing the draws to pop open as Luka glanced at them.

 "Choose wisely. Such powers are meant to serve the greater good," Master Fu stated, causing Luka to nod and reach out for one of them. "Once the mission is over, you must retrieve the miraculous from them and return it back to me. Do you have one in mind?"

 "I need a protective miraculous..." Luka mumbled, glancing at all of them yet none of them called out to him. He glanced to the side and noticed Master Fu's bracelet before pointing to it. "That's the one I need, Master... uh... that's if it's ok with you and Wayzz?"

 "I'm fine with it as long as you are," Wayzz nodded, causing Master Fu to smile and take it off.

 "Do you have someone in mind, Luka?" He asked as he held to Wayzz, who disappeared back into it before handing it to Luka. Luka picked it up and walked over to the draws before taking out one of the small boxes and placed it inside.

 "I think I've found just the right person," He grinned before placing the box in his pocket and bowing to Master Fu. "Thank you, Master,"

 "Good luck, Luka," He replied as Luka rushed out. Once back in the allyway, he re-transformed and jumped up onto the rooftop before heading back to Arc de Triomphe. He got there just as Anansi threw Ivan across the sky again. He swung by and caught Ivan, landing on the roof with him. Ivan let out a sigh of relief.

 "Thank you, Anatis," He smiled, leaning against his legs. "I thought I was gonna be toast then,"

 "No problem, Ivan," Anatis nodded as Ivan straighten up.

 "Did you get what you needed?" He asked, causing Anatis to nod.

 "CATACLYSM!" Lady Noir shouted, making both boys look over as she glared at Anansi, who growled and flipped back. She placed her hands behind her and closed her eyes, making Ivan frown.

 "What's she waiting for?" He asked as Anatis frowned.

 "For Lady Noir's transformation to drop," He replied before turning to Ivan and gesturing for him to move. They jumped down to a slightly lower roof but it was one that took them out of the sight of everyone. Once they were on it, Anatis turned to Ivan. "I'm gonna need help to defeat Anansi so are you still willing to do anything to help save your friends?"

 "Of course," Ivan nodded before glancing at him as he reached into his yoyo. "Why?"

 "Because I need you to be a hero," He replied, taking out the box and holding it out to Ivan, who blinked in surprise. "Ivan Bruel, this is the miraculous of the turtle that grants the power of protection. You will use it for the greater good,"

 "Me?" Ivan asked, pointing to himself. Anatis smiled and nodded, causing Ivan to smile back and take it. He opened it and jumped a little at the bright green light that circled around him. "Whoa,"

 Anatis smiled as Wayzz formed and looked at Ivan, who blinked in surprise.

 "Hello. My name is Wayzz,"

 "Uh... I'm Ivan...." Ivan muttered in a shy manner before looking at Wayzz. "Are you like a genie or something?"

 "Oh, no. I'm a kwami," Wayzz explained as Ivan listened. "I can't grant wishes but I can give you super powers,"

 "Once the mission is done, you must return the miraculous to me," Anatis stated, causing Ivan to look at him while he put on the bracelet. "Can I trust you?"

 "Of course, Anatis," Ivan nodded, making both Anatis and Wayzz smile.

 "Then all you have to say is Wayzz, Shell on," Wayzz explained, causing Ivan to nod before he took a deep breathe and held up his arm.

 "Wayzz, shell on," He declared, causing Wayzz to be sucked into the bracelet, charging it up. Feeling the energy build up, he stomped on the roof and pushed his arms out, causing a green energy to creating his outfit. His main suit was a forest green with brown sides and he had armor across his chest that resembled a turtle's stomach. His gloves were brown and matched his boots but his transformation wasn't done yet. The green energy burst from the center off his chest, creating an emblem that resembled a turtle's shell attached to a harness that was green and brown in color. On his back was a shield that also resembled a turtle's shell. The energy traveled down his arms, leaving a gray strip in it's place before causing green spikes to burst from his gloves before he pulled down a pair of goggles over his eyes. At the same time, the blonde tuff of his hair turned a forest green, completing his transformation. He glanced down at his hands and turned around as he checked out his new look. "Whoa... this is so cool..."

 "Don't get carried away," Anatis stated, making Ivan face him. "Normally, I'd give you a whole brief but time is of the essence today. We need to save Lady Noir and the others before her transformation drops. To that, we'll need your power and mine,"

 "How do I use mine?" Ivan asked, following Anatis as he climbed back on to the higher roof. 

 "You'll need to lift your shell and use the magic word, Shell-ter," Anatis explained, glancing around. "It will create a force field around you for roughly six feet and is basically indestructible but before you use your power, I need to use mine. Lucky charm!"

 He threw his yoyo up in the air and caught the boxing gloves that were created, causing Ivan to frown as he looked at them.

 "You're not going to try and fight her, are you?" He asked, worried as Anatis looked around in his luck vision. Ivan lit up, followed by the Arc de Triomphe then finally Lady Noir.

 "Why not? It's a simple plan after all," He grinned, hooking the gloves onto his belt. "I need you distract her while I make us a boxing ring and then when the time is right, you'll need to protect all of us. Can you do that?"

 "Uh... I'll try my best, Anatis," Ivan nodded, causing Anatis to smile at him as they dived off the building and ran towards the web. "So are your plans always this crazy?"

 "Well, this one is pretty simple compared to some of my other ones," Anatis replied as he took out his yoyo. Ivan nodded and threw the shield at Anansi, causing her to jump down and land in front of them before holding up her arms.

 "Change of pet? You replaced your kitty with a turtle?" She asked as Anatis grinned at him and Ivan caught his shield.

 "What can I say? I love animals but I'm not overly keen on spiders!" He replied, throwing his yoyo. Once again, Anansi moved her head to the side and grinned at him. 

 "You missed,"

 "Did I?" He replied, grinning before Ivan dived at her, getting her attention. Anatis ran around them, wrapping his yoyo's string around the pillars of the Arc de Triomphe as Ivan fought against Anansi, giving her as good as he got. He used his shield to block her attack and protect himself before landing hits as well. Anatis jumped over the string and put on the gloves once he had finished making the ring. "Anansi!"

 "Huh?" She called out, causing Ivan to jump back as Anatis grinned at her before he pointed one of his hands at her.

 "I challenge you to a fight," He grinned, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him. "One match. You win, I'll surrender my miraculous but if I win, you free your prisoners,"

 She remained quiet for a second, causing Anatis to continue.

 "Come on, what have you got to lose?" He asked, making her look at him. "Lady Noir's only got a few minutes until she transforms back anyway,"

 A purple butterfly mask appeared around her eyes, causing her to shake her head.

 "Don't worry, Butterfly man," She stated to Hawkmoth before clicking her neck. "This nasty bug is no match for Anansi... alright, bug boy, you're on,"

 She walked over to the middle and held out her arm. Anatis walked over and tapped his fist against it. Anansi smirked at him as Ivan took out Lady Noir's baton.

 "I'll devour you, little nasty bug," She declared as Ivan hit his shield, signaling the beginning of the fight. Anansi charged at him, pulling her arms back. "One hit will be enough,"

 "You can't punch the wind," Anatis replied back, dodging her hit before jumping over the other side of the ring. She growled and ran back at him, punching him. He ducked and slid over before backflipping out the way as she tried to punch him again. He jumped over to another side and grinned as she cornered him.

 "It's over!" She shouted, throwing her fist at him. Only for him to duck and roll out the way before flipping back to his feet as her fists hit the pillar, cracking it. 

 "Not by the looks of it," Anatis replied, holding up his arms, causing her to growl and face him. "So much for that one punch huh? Course it would be nice for you if you could actually land one,"

 "Why you?!" She growled, trying to punching him again but he moved around, dodging her hits as he continued to back chat her. "Shut up!"

 "Why? Having trouble doing two things at once?" He asked, jumping back and landing by another pillar. She growled and charged at him, throwing her fist but he jumped out of the way again, causing her to growl as the pillar cracked. "Missed me,"

 "Uh! Stay still!" She growled, throwing fists at him again but once again, he dodged and she hit another pillar cracking it. She turned around and dived at him again but he flipped out of the way. She growled again as he did. She threw her weight into the next punch but he ducked and stepped out the way, causing her to crack another pillar.

 "Wow. All those hits and you didn't hit me once," He grinned, bouncing on his toes. She yelled out and threw more hits at him but none of them hit. "Missed me! Missed me again! Wow, Anansi, you're really bad at this!"

 "Why you?!" She growled, kicking him and grabbing him. She threw him onto the other side of the ring and landed before stalking over to him as he leaned on the rope. Ivan looked extremely worried as he did. "You can't win this, Nasty Bug so just give up and give me your miraculous,"

 He laughed a little as he glanced up at him.

 "You wish," He grinned, pulling back on the rope and causing it to cut into the pillars. It was enough to causing it to collapse. A piece of brick fell and caused Anansi to dive out of the way as Anatis took off his gloves and fixed them back on his belt. He then grabbed his yoyo and pulled back the string, freeing the Arc de Triomphe. Ivan rushed over as Anatis placed his hands to get. He jumped onto it and Anatis pushed him up, causing him to land onto the web. He climbed over to the girls and Nino as Anatis threw his yoyo and pulled himself up onto the web, moving over to Lady Noir. "This is where we need your power. Everyone, get ready,"

 "Shell-ter!" Ivan called out, throwing his arm up while holding the shield. A green light burst from it, creating a ball of force field around them and cutting them free from the web as they fell to the ground. Nino grabbed Alya and Ivan held Mylene. Anatis caught Rose and Lady Noir, making sure no one was hurt as the Arc de Triomphe fell around them.

 "Everyone ok?" Anatis asked, getting nods of everyone. "Excellent,"

 Ivan lowered the forcefield as Lady Noir dusted down her ears before grinning at Anatis.

 "Are you creating a zoo?" She asked before a fearful expression appeared on her face. "Wait! You're not placing to replace me, are you?"

 Anatis opened his mouth to answer but before he could, Anansi broke through the rumble and growled, running towards Anatis.

 "You cheater!" She screamed, going to throw her fist at him but Lady Noir kicked out her feet, causing her to fall on the ground and before she slammed her hand onto her helmet, destroying it and releasing the akuma. She stood up straight and flicked her braid with pride as Anatis smiled.

 "Thanks, Kitten," He grinned before taking out his yoyo and capturing the akuma. He released the now purified butterfly before throwing up the boxing gloves. "Miraculous Ladybugs!"

 The gloves burst into the magic ladybugs before swarming over Paris, fixing everything their path. Anatis smiled as Anansi turned back into Nora and looked around confused. 

 "The beetle and Miss Whiskers?" She asked, looking around. "What's going on here?"

 "You were akumatized but everything is ok now," Anatis stated, making her look at him in surprise before he knelt down. "Look I know you were just trying to look out for your sister but she's not a little girl anymore, Nora..."

 "I... I know..." She mumbled, looking to the side. "I just worry about her you know,"

 "I get it," He smiled, standing up and offering her his hand. She took it and he helped her onto her feet as Lady Noir's ring beeped. She gasped and nervous waved before running off, causing him to look at her. "Lady Noir!"

 She stopped and looked at him.

 "You know you're irreplaceable," He smiled, making her blush before she ran off. Ivan was stood with Mylene but before he could say anything, Alya squealed and held up her phone.

 "This is a first for the ladyblog! A brand new hero!!" She gasped, moving around him and causing him to blush a little from the attention. "So what's your name?!"

 "Uh... I'm...." He looked towards Anatis, who was smirking with his arms crossed. He gave him a nod of approval before Mylene cleared her throat, making everyone look at her.

 "Um... you call call yourself Leatherback... as in a Leatherback turtle... they're a vulnerable species you know and your suit looks like one... so maybe you call name yourself after one..." She mumbled, making him smile.

 "Leatherback... I like it..." He grinned, making Anatis smirk. 

 "Come on, Luth. We need to get going," Anatis grinned before saluting Alya and the video. "See ya, bugheads,"

 The two heroes ran off and jumped onto the building before disappearing into the city. The two of them dropped down into an ally and Ivan called off the transformation before taking off the miraculous and handing it back to Anatis.

 "Thank you for choosing me, Anatis," He smiled as Anatis put away the miraculous. "If you need help again, just let me know,"

 "Thank you, Ivan. It means a lot," He smiled before throwing his yoyo and disappearing into the rooftops. Ivan smiled and ran off to find everyone else. Anatis grinned as he looked down before swinging off into the city to return the miraculous.

 ~Later That Night~

 Luka gasped as he heard the sound of something been knocked down, causing him to frown as he got up. Tikki was still asleep as was everyone else in the boat so he carefully moved through the living area. He moved up the stairs and carefully sneaked onto the deck as he heard the person move by. He frowned as he saw their silhouette before grabbing one of the guitar cables and throwing it at them. They hissed and caught it as he turned one of the stage lights, causing the person to gasp and fall over covering their eyes. He quickly moved over and blinked as he saw Lady Noir.

 "Lady Noir?!" He gasped, rushing to turn off the light as she got up and dusted herself down. "What are you doing here?"

 "I came to see if everyone was ok. I've already checked on the others but I was worried... about... you..." She mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck. He blinked in surprise. "I know Anatis said you were safe and it's not that I don't trust him cause I do. I trust him with my life and I don't think he was lying... I was just worried..."

 "About me?" He asked, generally surprise. Part of him was afraid that she had worked out his identity. "Well... not that I'm not grateful cause I am but Lady Noir... it's 3 am..."

 "Yeah... I couldn't sleep..." She grinned, cheekily. He chuckled and shook his head.

 "You know my friend, Marinette, is exactly the same," He replied, failing to notice her panicked expression. "Do you want me to get you a dish of milk or would you prefer some tuna?"

 "Ha, ha. Very funny," She stated before tapping her finger against her chin. "Though some cream sounds really nice,"

 "Only cream we have in is Irish cream and that belongs to Ma," He replied, making her shake her head. "Are you ok though? I know you said you were worried about me but you've never turned up here before,"

 "I guess... I guess today's akuma kind of hit close to home in a way..." She replied before letting out a sigh. "Not that I should be bothering you with this. God, Anatis would probably tell me off if he knew I came here today,"

 "Hey, I don't think he would and isn't it better to talk to someone then bottle it up?" He asked, making her smile at him before sitting down on some of the boxes. He sat next to her. "So what's on your mind, kitty-cat? Did you know the akuma?"

 "Yeah... I can't tell you how but yeah, I do..." She replied, nodding. "And it's not like I'm emotionally invested in her you know but if she got akumatized then anyone can and I worry that maybe one day, Hawkmoth will claim someone really close to me and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my cool like Annie does. You know he's so strong and brave. If I had been the one choose to take down an akuma like Princess Justice, I don't know if I could do it,"

 "I think you're stronger then you give yourself credit for," He smiled, making her look at him and blush a little. "And Anatis is lucky to have a partner like you,"

 "You think?" She asked, looking over at him. Her ears twitched a little as she played with her braid before she looked to the side. "I think it's the other way round. I'm the lucky one to have Annie as a partner, which is kind of ironic since I'm never been that lucky..."

 She let out a little sigh, causing Luka to frown a bit.

 "You sure you're ok?"

 "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," She grinned, nervously. "Just having self doubt again. Honestly, I don't think I could do this whole hero gig without Annie,"

 "Really? Cause I think you do a great job," He smiled, making her blush. "You're both really good heroes and I think you'll could do this 'gig' as you put it solo but the point is you don't have to. You have Anatis's back and he has yours,"

 "You understand this quite well," She grinned before tapping her chin as she made a thinking face. "Say you're not one of the other heroes, are you?"

 "Me? Oh no... I'm not..." He gasped, a little surprised as she cackled. "It's just... well, it's like been in a band right? Like Kitty Section... you've got me on guitar, Juleka on bass, Ivan's our drummer and Rose sings... each one of us can play on our own easily. Probably do good as well but we work better together. It's like our individual songs come together and work in sync with each other. The drums help keep the timing of the song going but the bass keeps the rhythm. The guitar brings it together and acts like a glue and the lyrics breathe life into it... on their own, these things are good but together they create something amazing. I guess that's how I see it with you heroes. Alone, you both are good and can save people but together, you become a powerful melody that gives people hope and save the whole city. However, for that melody to be heard, it requires both of you so you say you couldn't do this hero gig without Anatis but I think you're wrong. I think you would be a hero even if you didn't have the miraculous,"

 "Really?"

 "Yeah... the miraculous is like an amplifier and you're the melody that is played. In your every day life, you play your melody on an acoustic guitar. It's loud enough to be heard but sometimes people miss it but when you become Lady Noir, your melody is been played at full volume on an electric guitar but it's the same melody that's been played. The only different is that it's been amplified and played a full volume. It's still you but just played in a different way,"

 "Wow..." Lady Noir gasped, looking at him with amazement. He gasped and rubbed his neck as his neck. "That actually makes a lot of sense. You're really wise you know,"

 "I dunno," He mumbled, looking to the side shyly. "Music just makes sense to me,"

 "Yeah? So I'm guessing you're a musician then?" She asked, making him smile and nod before he yawned. 

 "Sorry," He mumbled, rubbing his eyes a little. 

 "Oh no! Don't be! I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm gonna get going so you can get some sleep," She stated, jumping up. She went to walk away before she stopped, causing Luka to look at her. "Thanks for listening and talking to me..."

 "Anytime, Lady Noir," He smiled, making her smile back before she jumped off and headed into the city. He smiled and shook his head as he went back inside. "Silly kitty, you're my best friend. I couldn't do this without you,"

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

Next Chapter: https://ultra-sassyduck.tumblr.com/post/637262678330589184/miralcous-rise-of-anatis-39

[artgirllullaby]

Strangers Now, Friends Before

Ok, so... this was @jantomweek Day 5 “Childhood friends”...

Which apparently I finished AND NEVER POSTED????

If this was posted someone send me the link and I’ll delete this one.

I found it while organizing Tumblr and my own files to see if something got lost on the rambles of writing (and yes, there are a few) but i didn’t expect to have a whole thing in my files and never had posted????

Anyways, here it is, later as ever but oh well. I hope you guys like!

.................................................

Strangers Now, Friends Before

Tom didn’t need much to be happy. A good sleep, his comforter, a cozy place to relax and just do nothing. It wasn’t asking much and it wasn’t that all complicated.

So right then and there he was wondering how such thing seemed so freaking impossible as he stared at his best friend on the bars across the police district in a separate prison than his.

“This is your fault.”

“Oh excuse me, if I cared enough to get in a fight while trying to help you.”

“I told you I was fine.”

“Yeah, sure.” He sighed resting his back on the bars refusing to look at her, “Whatever.”

There was a few minutes of silence, both refusing to look at the other or talk about the fight. On his side he knew why he was avoiding, it wasn’t his fight in first place. He wasn’t even supposed to get into it or knock the guy unconscious, it was Janna thing and she was the one who should solve, but what anyone expected him to do when the guy grabbed her arm  and tried to force her inside the car to do whatever?!

At same time he knew it was none of his business. Not when they haven’t talked to each other in five years. It wasn’t intentional, but as they grew they began to hang out with different people and have different interests. And then when they least expected they had nothing to talk about. He often stared at her contact over social media and  thought on talking to her again, but awkwardness always had got the best of him and he gave up.

A few hours later a police officer came and opened the gates for his and her cell right after, “Ok, you two are clean. The witnesses around proved that you were only defending your friend and that he was indeed trying something on her.” The officer guided them through corridors out the cells and to the police department “The exams gave out the high level of alcohol in his blood, and he is filed by violence against women in the past. Some time in jail for trying to abuse a minor will give him a little reminder after he wake up.” The officer pointed out two seats for them “But next time, please don’t try dating a guy much older than you. For your safety, girl.”

“I didn’t know he was that old,” Janna finally spoke “I actually went to break up with him in my friend place since she was scared of his reaction. I thought he was a jerk on our age, I didn’t know he was over his twenties. I had a spray and a taser I thought it would be enough to make him leave me alone in worst scenario” She hugged herself and shivered “I didn’t think he would follow me on my way home after recovering.”

Tom put a hand on her shoulder to show support, but as she tensed he realized it might not been the best opinion and recoiled.

“Well, since you’re older you can leave. She will have to wait for her parents.”

“I will wait with her, if that’s not a problem.”

“If she doesn’t bother either, it’s up to you”

Janna didn’t said anything as he sat beside her, not even when her parents arrived and decided to file the case. Or when they asked Tom to deliver her to their home since there were still some documents to sign and would take time for those and for their lawyer to get there. Not even when he put his jacket on her since she was shivering from late night cold air. The walk back home was just as silent.

“Why did you care even?” Janna suddenly spoke a few quarters away from their home.

“Because you are my friend and he was hurting you.”

“Are we friends even?”

Tom frowned, “Of course… We are distant, but I never considered you less than a friend.”

“Doesn’t feel like.” She replied quietly.

Tom sighed looking at her “What is this about?”

“This is about you getting into my life. I appreciate, but I don’t understand.”

“What part of ‘I saw you in danger and reacted’ is hard for you to get?”

“The part in which I had got in worse and you didn’t care.”

He tried to defend himself “If I knew…”

“You should, it were your friends who got me on it.” Tom stopped walking to look at her back, hoping she would say it was a lie, but Janna kept walking without looking back “I thought you gave the order. I guess I was wrong about that at least.”

“I never… I would never…” He returned to walk until he was in front of her and held her shoulders so she stopped walking, “Janna, believe me, I had no idea… I’m sorry.”

Janna took a step back to be away from his touch and then continued to walk avoiding him, “Having them being jerks wasn’t worse than having your best friend turning his back on me and being just as cold.”

“That’s not how-”

“Then tell me why,” Janna said suddenly turning around and stopped walking to stare at his eyes “What’s your excuse for being distant?”

Tom gulped and tried to find the words to express himself “I… didn’t know how to deal with it.”

“With what?”

“With you, ok? I just… Couldn’t find a way to talk to you again without being weird.”

Janna frowned and gave him back his jacket, “Keep it, I can go home from here.”

“Janna!” Tom called when she started to walk and had to once again hold her so she wouldn’t escape, “Look, I swear I-”

“Save it.” Janna said taking his hands away from her. “You didn’t know who to deal with me after knowing about my crush on you? You could have said you needed time or whatever. But what I won’t forget is how you walked away from my life without ever looking back right after you ex girlfriend had exposed me to the whole school out of pure jealousy.”

“Why do you think I broke up in first place?!”

“Well, why didn’t come talk to me then?” Janna replied annoyed “I could have take my time away and give you space and whatever more you need… You just ignored me for years and suddenly come as a hero and… What now?!”

“I… We’ll figure out, ok?”

Janna turned around and walked back to her home, just a few more houses ahead. This time without complaining of his company. Tom kept close to her, a bit afraid she would try running away any minute. He put his jacket above her shoulders again, holding it in there.

When they got in her house, Janna put her keys on the door and unlocked, but instead of walking inside, she decided to turn to him and play with the key chains. Tom knew a signal of unwanted departure, so he took a step and stood closer, caressing her arms above his jacket.

“Did he hurt you?”

She shook her head, “Mostly when he grabbed my arm, it stings a bit and probably will be a bit purple tomorrow but that’s it.”

He hesitated for a moment, “Are you ok?”

“Yeah,” she shrugged “just a bit shaken.”

“Do you want me to stay until your parents arrive? Would make you feel safe?”

“I don’t know… You got your stuff to do too.”

“Don’t worry about it, just tell me what you want.”

Janna sighed and rested her forehead on his chest whispering, “I want to know why you walked away in first place, and why you’re back.”

Tom looked beyond her head, to the little white flowers in her garden “It was stupid of me… I’m sorry. I don’t even… I guess I didn’t know how to deal with your feelings” he replied finally, “I didn’t know how to bring it up or how to come close after the whole fiasco my ex did… I was afraid I would hurt you even more or people would mess with you. It was wrong of me to leave you like that… I’m sorry.”

Janna shivered a bit and moved her hand, was she crying? “Why you’re back then? Why now?”

“Because I didn’t want to walk away in first place.” He confessed, “But I did, and you moved on and looked happy with your girlfriend and I thought… It was too late, that I had no right in stepping in your life and messing with your happiness. And I wish I didn’t stepped back like this but… it’s how things happened.”

He was caressing her back in circles when she sniffed and stood back, cleaning her face with her hand of the remaining tears and took a deep breath. “What made you so scared that I had a crush on you?”

“Because I didn’t know how to treat you right.” Tom laughed a bit at that “I always treated you like a stupid jerk and said stupid stuff. I didn’t know how to be other way with you… I still don’t. I couldn’t risk hurting you because I’m a idiot.”

“And ended up hurting a lot more.”

“Yeah… I’m really sorry about that.”

Janna touched his shirt, caressing the fabric gently and his chest as consequence “You know why I liked you in first place?”

“Why?” He asked curious.

“Because you were real.” She replied suddenly very interested in the stamp of his shirt “You didn’t look like a fairy tale or too good to be true. You were just what you’re to everyone else, there’s no difference. You weren’t like a dream or enchanted, but that’s what made you so great and special for me since we were kids. You didn’t mind if I was a girl or a boy who wanted to play pirates, and you didn’t care when I took interest in both boys and girls… You were real and that’s all I wanted.”

“I didn’t know.”

“You couldn’t. We never talked about it” she replied recoiling her hand.

They stood in silent for a minute, letting the night air hung on them and the sounds of night bring the calm around them for finally solving everything after so many years of yearning and longing a solution that none tried to take the step to actually solve.

The red haired boy hugged her and she let her face rest against his chest, taking profit of his warmth by pulling his jacket closer and nuzzling her face gently against his body. He didn’t mind, since he took profit by holding her close to rest his chin on her head (wow, he could actually do that now that he was taller), his arms resting around her gently, so she could pull away whenever she felt like.

“Tom?” Janna suddenly said.

“Yeah?” He replied nuzzling her hair gently without even noticing his own actions.

“As much as I hated myself for this along the years… It hasn’t changed.”

She stepped back just enough to look at his face, and Tom looked at her eyes a bit confused “What?”

“The only difference is that I’m no longer 11 having a silly crush on a older boy who’s 14… I’m older, so are you. And I despised I didn’t move on completely, there were always the thought of you in the back of my mind no matter how much I tried to fool myself.” Janna took a breath before confessing for once, “Things are still the same. I still like you just as much I liked you then…” She gulped looking down before looking at his face again “What do we do now?”

Tom looked at her shocked for a moment, then looked right at her lips and her face. He could feel her trusting his actions right then and there. To either turn  her down or take the chance, she wanted to have a conclusion, to turn the page over or write it together.

He decided to write with her.

It was immediate reaction once he made the decision. His hands left her hips to cup her face and bring her closer, smashing his lips on hers eagerly. Eyes closing just mere seconds after hers. Janna lifted her arms to wrap around his neck, dropping his jacket in the process and kissed him back with hunger, her fingers passing on his hair caressing his scalp, her lips continued glued to his moving a bit tipsy like a first kiss and with too much longing for them to control or think on slowing down to adjust. His hands rested on her hips holding her close to him as before.

It took a few minutes for them to let the years of distance and unnoticed longing to vanish, even after slowing down and separating, both continued to share little kisses, hesitating to separate and stop the moment. Her hand rested on his chest as the other cupped his cheek.

“It’s late” she said between kisses, “I should get in.”

“And it’s cold… you should.”

And still none of them found the will to move out the embrace or stop the kisses for another five minutes.

“I can stay if you want.” He said finally, now tracing his kisses along her face, as apologies for being away for so long when he wanted that just as much as she did.

She nodded slightly to his suggestion, “Ok… I do like that…” she sighed when he kissed her forehead.

Sharing one more kiss, a bit longer than the others, Janna finally opened the door to her house and let him in as she closed the door again behind her. She went to turn the lights on and Tom found himself in a familiar place with few differences of walls and decorations.

“Just… to be sure,” She said resting her back against the wooden door “where do we stand?”

Tom looked back at the door, feeling the hesitation in her voice. It was comprehensive, he was a jerk in those years of distance and leaving her hanging without a “yes” or “no” during five years didn’t do well. He closed the distance between them and held her hand.

“We are together. I’m not leaving this time, Janna.”

He rested his forehead on hers looking into her eyes for a moment. She took her time to let the statement settle in her and smiled at him mischievously as he remembered she always did.

“You better not. I’m not going to give you chances to.”

He smirked, “There’s the Janna I know.”

“Shut up” she rolled her eyes still smiling before wrapping her arms on his neck again pulling him down to her for more kisses.

When her parents got home, they smiled at the two of them cuddling together with blankets and pillows like they used to do when they were younger. Her father turned the lights off and let them sleep, relieved they finally had solved things out. As the lights turned down, Tom held Janna closer, cradling her head against his chest and she nuzzled his chest adjusting to hold him close as they continued to dream.

[scavengerbird]

A Conversation in a Car

“I know it’s cold out, but I like driving with all the windows down now. I get claustrophobic. And I kind of like the cold, actually, and I know it won’t bother you. It gets a little loud on the highway, but I think we’re mostly sticking to backroads anyway. Would this feel less weird if I had a new car, instead of the same sad scrap pile I’ve been making work since I got my license? If something about this made it feel less familiar, less like going back in time?

Oh god, am I rambling? Wow. Let’s start over.

Hey. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Almost five years. I’m sorry about that. I never really meant to leave for good, when I moved out of town. Or, well I guess I did, actually. But I never meant to leave you.

I was serious, you know, when I invited you to come stay with me. I think you thought I was just saying it, but I swear I meant it. My apartment’s small, and it’s got something wrong with the bathroom light that makes the bulb blow out at least once a month, and two of the burners on the stove don’t work, but I mean. Mi shitbox es tu shitbox. We’d lived out of each other’s pockets for so long, before. I really did feel like we could’ve done it again. 

But you said no. And that’s okay! You … wanted to stay here. God only knows why. I mean, I can guess, but I really hope I’m wrong, you know? It’s just, I’ve been thinking about it for so long and every time I asked you to come out and visit and you said you were sorry but you couldn’t, you always sounded like you really did regret it. You said there was shit here you had to take care of. And I always thought to myself – what shit? – like, seriously. We both know I was missing you more from the city than anyone in this stupid town would have. And I think Jan could’ve found another waitress for the diner. So, what was here that was so important? I think I never asked because I was afraid of the answer.

It’s him, isn’t it? You stayed for him.

Anyway. I could’ve gotten you a job at the coffee place I worked at when I first moved. Their coffee’s awful, but they have really good muffins. I still go in there all the time for them, so I’m still on good terms with the manager, and they’re always hiring. You could’ve done that until you figured out what you really wanted to do. Or you could’ve done that forever. I wouldn’t have judged you for it.

I think you’d like Tony. My roommate. Ok, actually you guys would probably kind of hate each other, but I think you’d have fun hating each other. You’re both kind of petty like that. And he’s gay, so there wouldn’t have been any of that pressure I know you feel around literally everyone who’s attracted to women, where you’re constantly wondering how bad they want you. 

He actually offered to come with me for this, Tony. For emotional support. I turned him down, but it was still nice of him to offer. It was kind of obvious, how anxious I was about coming home. And of course, he knew why I was coming out here. Tony knows all about you, how much you mean to me. I talk about you all the time.

I forgot how empty the roads are, out here. You’d never see a street this quiet in the city, no matter the time of night. I think it should be comforting, but it’s not. It’s unsettling. I feel like there could be a ghost around every corner.

Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.

I don’t understand the point of you staying here for him. It’s not like it was gonna make a difference to him. Nothing makes a difference to him anymore. Like, do you remember when you asked me if I believed in an afterlife? It was only a few days after… well, After. And I said my whole thing about reincarnation and the law of conservation of energy and how I think it makes sense, and you said you thought that if anything happens to us after we die, it’s got nothing to do with what happened to us in this life. You said you thought if death wasn’t just a final ending, then it was, at most, a slate wiped totally clean.

So, it’s not like you thought he was looking down on – or up at? – you. It’s not like you believed there was anything you could do to get him to forgive you. And I know you didn’t believe in any god so it’s not like you were waiting on their forgiveness either. So, whose forgiveness were you looking for? Why did you think you could find it here? Why not just put me out of my misery and come with me?

Sorry. That was a poor choice of words.

You know every single person I’ve met since moving out there has heard all about you. I don’t know how to not talk about you. You are a story I can’t stop telling, a part of every memory I have. You’re the thing I built myself around. A version of my life where I don’t meet you, or you don’t exist, is not a version of my life. It’s version of someone else’s life, because I am not me without you. The shape of myself is the shape of the hole inside you, I am just the thing filling your edges, and without those edges I have no form.

I think I’m losing the plot a little, here. I’m running out of ways to say that I need you.

And maybe I have no right to say any of that shit, when we haven’t actually seen each other in five years. I know the way your face has gotten thinner and the color you dyed your hair from pictures. I don’t know if you still wear the sweet pea spray from Bath & Body Works. You haven’t been a body I could touch in years. You’ve barely even been a voice on the other end of the phone line. I know that for the most part all we’ve had these last few years were words on a tiny screen, sent and read only in the darkest hours of night. And those messages, meaningful as they were, were sporadic. It doesn’t sound like much, like enough of a thing to be a necessity. But there’s a difference between surviving on scraps and starving to death.

            Our lives have been clinging to each other by the very tips of their fingers. I know that. But it never felt like a permanent state, to me. I always thought we’d find our ways back to each other. I didn’t call you, but I always knew I could. And now…

           Did you stay here to punish yourself? I don’t think you deserved to be punished. I mean, obviously I didn’t think that, or I would have let you turn yourself in when you wanted to.

           I can’t figure out whether or not I owe you an apology for stopping you from doing that. I thought I was saving you from yourself, but maybe I wasn’t. But what was I supposed to do? You couldn’t see yourself that night. They’d have locked you up for sure. I mean you were covered in his blood. You were still holding the knife, for God’s sake, just standing in the hall with it in one hand and my phone in the other, absolutely hysterical. Even if I hadn’t wrestled the phone away from you, what would you have said to the operator when you dialed 911? You were completely incoherent.

           I can admit now that it might have been a little dramatic of me to smash my own cell phone against the wall when you tried to get it back from me, but all things considered, I think I was holding it together pretty damn well.

           I was always good at holding it together. You were the one who was always going off the rails. But I loved that about you, most of the time. Everything was such a huge deal to you. It made life feel bigger than it was.

You made everything exciting, back then. Every petty feud with someone was an all-out war. God, remember when we egged Jenna’s car because she said that dumb thing about how you should try harder in class and stop messing around with guys? What was it? Right, that’s it, she told you if you spent half as much time studying as you did sucking dick then you’d probably get valedictorian. It was stupid, and you knew she only said it because she was jealous about Drew asking you out, and you basically told her that and I don’t even remember exactly what you said but I remember her crying. And then we still had to egg her car, and that still wasn’t enough, because you wanted to slash all her tires but I wouldn’t let you. You always wanted to take things one step too far. I always forgave you though. Every single time.

You know I can’t really remember what happened that night. It’s just kind of a blur. I remember him coming over. My parents were out of town. You weren’t supposed to be there. I mean, we hadn’t planned on it, but you wouldn’t leave when I told you he was coming over and I just let it go. I could tell he was kind of annoyed about it but he wouldn’t say anything. We’d been planning on ‘watching a movie’, but you being there meant we actually had to watch the movie. And then it’s all just flashes: a bottle of vodka, the glow of the TV in the dark room, your head on my shoulder, his hand on my arm, the room spinning – or no, shaking, because I was shaking, or being shaken, my head snapping back and forth, fast.

I know the two of you got into it. Or he and I got into it. Or we all three got into it. But I don’t know what it was about, all the words we said are gone from my memory, totally irretrievable. It’s just those flashes, and then you standing there with the blood and the knife, and him on the floor, so still.

Tony says I need a therapist. I haven’t told him about that night, obviously, but sometimes I say something I think is normal and he gives me this funny-sad look, or little things I don’t mean to talk about slip out. Like that memory gap. I didn’t tell him anything about what I can’t remember, just that there’s something, and sometimes I dream about it. I mean, I kind of had to tell him something, because I still talk in my sleep sometimes and I fell asleep on the couch one day and he heard me saying the word stop over and over. He said that it was creepy as hell, and I have repressed trauma, and gave me the name of some website where you can find shrinks online.

I have not looked for a therapist. Tony brought it up again, before I left to come back here. He said I should consider it for the sake of grief counseling, if nothing else. I told him I had a grief counselor already and his name was Jim Beam and – don’t even say anything, I know that’s terrible, I cringed at myself while I was saying it to him. Tony just shook his head and texted me the link to the stupid website.

I know it’s kind of fucked up that I don’t even fully understand why you killed him, even though I helped you bury his body. I wanted to ask you about it. I almost did, so many times. But I didn’t know how to without making it sound like I was trying to judge you. I didn’t want to bring it up again after the fact, when I knew we were both trying to bury it. There wasn’t any time to ask you anything or try to make sense of it the night it happened.

Do you even remember it that well? After I got you in the shower and turned it on cold you finally stopped crying, but you basically went catatonic. I never told you this, but that honestly freaked me out more than the corpse on my floor. You just sat on the steps, shivering in one of my sweatshirts and watching me try to clean it all up. I had to clap my hands in front of your face to get you to listen when I was asking you to help me get him up off the floor, but I couldn’t have carried him myself. Do you remember that the bedsheet I’d gotten him rolled up in was already soaked through with blood. I didn’t have anything else to wrap him in though.

You didn’t say anything until we were in the garage, and we’d gotten him in the trunk, and I was telling you that we should take him to the marshes, where the ground’s all mud and nothing that sinks down into it is ever coming back up and it’s too wet for anyone to go trekking through for fun, and you cut me off in the middle and just said I’m sorry and God, you sounded so quiet and broken and for the first time in our lives you couldn’t even look me in the eye and I –

I just… I told you to get in the car. I didn’t tell you it would be okay, or that we’d figure it out, or that I forgave you.

I do, by the way. Forgive you, I mean. For all of it, like I said a few minutes ago. I’m sorry I didn’t say it before today. I need you to know that’s the biggest regret I’ll ever have in my life, not telling you I forgave you sooner.

I really did love him, you know. I loved him and you kind of tolerated him for my sake until you didn’t, and then you killed him. You were sorry about it, and I forgave you because the way I loved him has nothing on the way I love you. He was a boy who I would’ve gone to prom with and probably broken up with two months after moving out of here and not seen again until our 10 year high school reunion, if I even bothered to show up for it. It was a moment-in-time kind of love. But you? You’re my forever bitch. I don’t care that every eight-year-old girl in the history of time has pricked her finger and stuck it to some other girl’s pricked finger and sworn to be bestest friends forever ‘til death does them part, when we did that, I fucking meant it, and now I-

I’m gonna need to stop for gas on the way back to my parents’ house. I forgot how far out the marshes are, but we’re almost there, now.

I don’t really know why I thought it would be a good idea to come out here. When I first got in the car, I thought I was gonna head out to the overpass, the one they told me you crashed under. But then I turned left instead of right. I don’t know, I guess I felt like, if any part of you was still around, it wouldn’t be hanging out on the edge of some lonely stretch of highway. I felt like you’d be out here, haunting the thing that never stopped haunting you.

Don’t worry. I’m not crazy enough to go traipsing through the marshes in the dark to hunt down a ghost. I just want to see them, park my car where I parked it that night, at the edge. The last time I really and truly had you all the way with me.

I don’t know now, if I was right about where to find you. I’ve been talking to you this whole time we’ve been driving, and I swear I can feel you here listening. I swear I can hear your voice. Maybe you’re just haunting me.

Oh. There they are. We can’t stay long. I’ve got your funeral in the morning.”

[sapphirestarxx]

Through the Night

Chapter 5

Also posted to my AO3

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Mildly NSFW dream at the beginning of the chapter FYI~

“Mmmm.” Sango moaned.

Lips trailed across her collarbone as a hand cupped one of her aching breasts. She arched up into the touch. 

“You’re so beautiful.” Miroku whispered. "I want you so bad."

“Please.” She begged and he rewarded her breast with a squeeze.

Slowly his mouth made its way from her collarbone down to her chest and she held her breath in anticipation. Gently nuzzling her skin, he kneaded her breast, rubbing a calloused thumb over her nipple and teasing it into a hardened pebble. She gave a gasp at the sensation, burying a hand in his hair while her other hand clutched at the sheets.

While his hand worked on her right breast his mouth began to press kisses over her left one, nipping and licking the skin but being careful to avoid the one place she hungered for it the most. Finally his hot wet mouth closed over the aching peak and she cried out as he suckled at it, grazing it lightly with his teeth. The feel of his tongue alternately laving circles around it and flicking it with the tip sent heat straight to her core and she cried out again. He gave a self-satisfied chuckle, pinching her nipple with the hand still caressing her right breast.

“Please, I need…” She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, she was so delirious with pleasure.

“What is it you need, Sango?” Miroku murmured, lifting his head to look into her eyes. She watched as he slowly licked at her nipple then captured it between his teeth again, sucking. The sight was so erotic and she moaned, her head falling back against the pillow. Squirming, she tugged at his hair, desperate for him to touch her where she was aching the most with want. All this teasing was driving her out of her mind and her hips began to move in a silent plea.

Continuing his ministrations he ran his free hand over her belly, inching lower. His hand skimmed over her pelvis, stopping right before the spot she needed him to touch. He grazed the skin there with his fingertips. Pressure coiled within her.  A little lower...she just needed his hand to dip a little lower. She was so wet. 

Her patience gone, she pulled urgently at his hair and lifted his face to hers for a searing kiss while her hips rolled against his hand, demanding. Finally, finally his hand moved to cup her sopping wet sex and she shuddered, gasping and moaning as his fingers began to explore her folds.

“Mirokuuu…”

“Sango?”

She opened her eyes and saw Miroku’s face looking down at her and for a moment she was still immersed in her dream. Reaching an arm out for him she cupped a hand behind his neck, pulling him down towards where she lay. Halfway through the motion reality set in and she gasped, releasing him and scooting backwards, her eyes wide.

“Oh my God!!!!”

“Oh no, by all means continue.” Miroku said and without thinking she slapped him. He sighed, rubbing his cheek. “That’s hardly fair. You were the one grabbing me.”

Sango didn’t respond and just sat there, trying to get the beating of her heart under control. And her arousal. She was still so turned on. It was embarrassing but she could literally feel the wetness between her legs. Dammit.

“Have a nice dream?” Miroku asked with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

“Shut up.”

“You were saying my name so I can only assume it was a...satisfying one.”

“I can’t control what I dream about!” She burst out, blushing and ready to slap him again.

“So you admit you were dreaming of me?”

“I’m dreaming of killing you, right now.”

She glared. Damn the man. He consumed so many of her waking moments and even in sleep he was there in her dreams. He didn't reply, just stood there with a knowing smirk. Giving him a suspicious look, she asked, "Why are you in here, anyways? Were you watching me sleep?"

"No, of course not. I heard you making noises and thought maybe you were having a nightmare." He paused. Grinned. "I'm so glad to have been mistaken."

Sango lunged to slap him again and he danced out of her reach with a laugh.

"Get out!" She yelled, throwing a pillow at him. He easily dodged it.

"You know this is my bedroom, right?"

"I said get out!!"

Mercifully he left, but not before throwing her a suggestive wink.

Sango groaned and flopped back down onto the bed. This was just perfect. Now he knew she was having erotic dreams about him. The wall she was trying so hard to keep up between them was quickly crumbling.

Briefly she considered touching herself to ease her arousal because right now it was so hard to concentrate on anything else. But the thought of doing that in his bed with him in the other room was...truthfully the more aroused part of her found it exciting, but it was also kind of mortifying. She was embarrassed for even thinking about it.

Idly, she wondered what time it was. Glancing at the window she saw the faint light of early morning peeking through the blinds. She decided to lay there for a little while longer, at least until her libido decided to calm down. In the meantime she found herself wishing the floor would open up and swallow her whole. This was going to be so awkward.

Miroku set about cleaning the blood from his apartment, grabbing towels, buckets, and bleach. Anything to keep his mind off of what had just happened. He had teased her about it but the truth is he was far from unaffected. 

He hadn’t been lying; at first he had thought she was perhaps having a nightmare. After grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen he had heard noises coming from where she slept in his bedroom. Nothing had prepared him for hearing the sound of his name cross her lips as she moaned in her sleep. And the way she had reached for him upon awakening, the look of heat and desire in her eyes...if she hadn’t come to her senses when she did he may have ended up taking her right there. There were limits to his self control.

And just like that he was thinking about it again. He sighed. It was going to be an impossible image to get out of his mind. And to be honest it wasn’t one he was eager to forget. He wanted to savor that intimate glimpse into Sango’s unguarded thoughts of him. It only confirmed what he had been half hoping and half suspecting-- that she was developing feelings for him too. ‘Including sexual feelings.’ he thought to himself, unable to keep from smirking in self satisfaction.

He wondered how she’d react if he told her he’d been having dreams of her too. They would probably make whatever she had been dreaming about look downright innocent.

Eventually Sango emerged from his bedroom and he wasn't sure how much time had passed in between him interrupting her dream and now. Enough that he had his own urges under control again and was basically done with the cleanup. There would be some faint lingering stains but he could glamour those away.

"Oh, you shouldn't be cleaning that up by yourself. It was my mess." Sango said and he looked up at her from his position on the floor with the buckets of bloody water and bleach. Her expression was hard to read but it looked like she felt bad.

"It's fine." He told her and gave her a quick smile.

"It's not. I'm the one who killed them and sprayed that blood everywhere."

"And this is my apartment. Plus, more importantly, you saved me." He countered.

She didn't reply but the look on her face told him she disagreed. Carefully she sat on the couch, looking slightly uncomfortable. He imagined she was probably still feeling awkward about their encounter that morning. He also knew he should be setting her at ease but he couldn't resist making one last comment.

"You know, if you ever want to reenact that dream of yours I'd be more than happy-- Ow!"

Sango had thrown the nearest object, an empty glass, at his head. 

“We’re not talking about it.”

“As you wish, my dear Sango.”

~☆~

It had been four days since the failed location ritual and things had been relatively quiet. Kagome didn't know if Tsubaki was perhaps planning something even worse and biding her time or was just licking her wounds. Or maybe preying on some other poor unfortunate soul. Literally.

She hadn't sensed any other runes nearby but that didn't necessarily mean anything. After seeing how the dark priestess had basically branded the mark directly onto the spirit and demons that had attacked them four nights ago...it was possible she was continuing to do so. If that was the case they would be extremely difficult to sense mostly because they were so fleeting. When that evil spirit had attacked Miroku and Sango she had vaguely sensed something but it had been so faint she would have almost thought she imagined it if she hadn't just been attacked herself. 

Thinking of Sango brought her mind back to the phone conversation they had had the other day.

~☆~

Kagome waited for Sango to pick up on the other line. After a few rings she heard the click.

"Kagome?"

"Sango, hey! Just wanted to check up on my favorite person. How has everything been?"

"You're so sweet. But we haven't encountered anything out of the ordinary. Things have been quiet on that front."

Kagome gave a little laugh. “That’s good to hear, nothing has happened on our end either...but I also meant how is it going with Miroku? Have you two fallen into each other's arms yet?"

Sango groaned in reply.

"That good?" Kagome teased.

"That bad!" Sango practically wailed, her voice rising just a little.

"What happened?"

Sango told her about how Miroku had walked in on her having a wet dream about him and Kagome couldn't keep herself from laughing.

"Kagome, this isn't funny!"

"I'm sorry, but it really is." Kagome said in between giggles. It took another minute before she had herself under control again.

"You know, if you weren't my best friend I would kill you." Sango said darkly.

"I love you, too." Kagome replied cheekily. "Ok, so what's the problem with Miroku? He's got it bad for you, you know."

"You think so? I don't know about that. I'm probably just the first woman who hasn't instantly melted into a puddle at his feet." Sango said uncertainly. "I'm just a challenge to him. Everywhere we've gone for the past two days girls have been trying to hit on him or give him their numbers and he just smiles at them, eating it up."

Kagome didn't miss the irritation in Sango's voice. In fact, it almost sounded like jealousy.

"Hmm. That does sound annoying. But has Miroku taken any of their numbers or flirted back with any of them?" She asked. If he had, she was going to personally kill him for Sango.

Sango was quiet for a moment. "No. I...I guess he hasn't really. He'll sometimes reply to them but nothing like…" She trailed off, and Kagome smiled.

"Nothing like how he talks to you."

"That man has a line for everything. It's so annoying."

"Sango, why don't you give him a chance?"

"I...It's not that easy for me. And I've only known him for two weeks!"

"Sometimes two weeks is all you need. When you know you know."

"Are you speaking from experience?" Sango shot back.

"W-what's that supposed to mean?" Kagome stuttered out, taken off guard by this sudden shift.

"What about you and Inuyasha?"

"W-what about it? You already know he isn't really my boyfriend."

"But you want him to be."

Kagome was suddenly glad Inuyasha wasn't close by. No doubt he would have heard every word through the phone with his inu-youkai hearing and that was an embarrassment she would have never lived down.

"We're not talking about me and Inuyasha!" Kagome said defensively, blushing.

It was Sango's turn to laugh. "We are now. You can't poke and prod me about Miroku and not expect me to do the same with you about Inuyasha. It's only fair."

"There's nothing to talk about." Kagome returned, not intending for her tone to sound as morose as it did.

"You have feelings for him, don't you." Sango made it a statement.

"Sometimes I wish you didn't know me so well." Kagome sighed.

"What's stopping you from telling him?"

"So many reasons."

"Like?"

"I don't know if you've noticed but he's a half demon. I'm human. Even if somehow he had feelings for me too...he would outlive me. We don't share the same lifespan."

"You would if you were mated to him." Sango told her.

Kagome froze in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I guess as a priestess it’s not something you’re really taught, but for demon slayers it’s common knowledge. When a demon takes a mate, it's for life. And in the rare instances a demon has chosen a human for a mate the marking given links their lifespans together." Sango explained.

For a moment Kagome could scarcely breathe, and she dared to allow herself to hope if only for a moment. Then reality, unwelcome as it was, sank back in. "Even if that's the case, there's no way he feels the same."

"What makes you so sure of that?"

"Come on, you've met him. He's abrasive, short-tempered, and even shorter on patience...and I'm just an assignment to him, a duty. He tolerates me because of the agreement between my family and the inu-youkai. Once this is all over he'll probably go back off into his forest, grateful to be rid of me."

"Something tells me you're wrong about that." Sango said. "Maybe that's how it started, but I think there's something there now. He's just good at hiding it."

"I think you're imagining things, but thanks for trying to give me hope." Kagome laughed.

"I'll tell you what, Kagome. You tell Inuyasha how you feel and I'll give Miroku a chance."

"So in other words, never."

"You said it, not me." 

~☆~

Kagome's thoughts returned back to the present, her heart feeling a little heavy. There was no point in denying it to herself-- she had feelings for the half demon. It wasn't love, at least not yet...but it was only a matter of time until it was.

He was currently walking beside her and she chanced a glance at him. His human glamour was back on but she saw through it to the real him. Truthfully she preferred his half demon form to his human one. Not that his human one wasn't just as attractive...this one just suited him more.

She had been running some errands in town and they were on their way back to the shrine now. Inuyasha had accompanied her without complaint but she got the impression he felt like a glorified babysitter. Or maybe that was just because he had made a similar comment two weeks ago.

"Hey, why do ya look so down?"

Inuyasha's voice broke through her thoughts and she inwardly cringed that she had let her feelings show so obviously on her face.

"O-oh nothing! Just thinking about Tsubaki and all the awful things she's done." She lied.

"I think you forget I can smell lies. Look, if you don't wanna tell me all you gotta do is say so." Inuyasha replied, and his ears flattened a little in irritation.

“You can smell what I’m feeling??” Kagome asked, slightly alarmed. If that was the case she was so screwed.

“What? No, stupid. Don’t be ridiculous.” He scoffed. “But I can smell ya. Your scent gets a little bitter and your heart rate speeds up. So again you don’t have to fucking lie, just say you don’t wanna talk about it.”

Kagome immediately felt bad but there was no way she could tell him the truth. Yeah I was just thinking about how I'm slowly falling in love with you and there's no way you'll ever feel the same. No big deal. 

"S-sorry...I shouldn't have lied. It's just, uhm...personal." She amended. And then before she could lose her courage, she grabbed his hand and gave it a quick squeeze. As she started to release her hold on him he kept her hand gripped firmly in his. She looked at him in surprise. He was staring back at her with those perfect amber orbs.

"Do you feel that?" He asked her.

For a moment she thought he was being romantic and her heart skipped a beat. Then the logical part of her brain caught up and she felt what he had sensed. She was careful this time not to let her disappointment show on her face.

There was a strong demonic aura nearby along with that of a rune. She was glad she had brought her own weapon with her, disguised as it was with the bracelet containing her glamour. Her clothes on the other hand, a skirt and a fashionable sweater, were hardly fit for a fight but she would manage somehow. 

"I do." She replied, looking from him to the direction the presence was coming from. "I also sense a rune."

“Looks like that bitch has decided to make her next move, finally.” Inuyasha said, releasing her hand.

“We should call Sango and Miroku.”

“What are we gonna tell them? We don’t even know exactly where it’s coming from yet. Let’s find it then give them the address.”

Kagome was hesitant to agree but figured he knew best, having had more experience with fighting and battles. This was all still fairly new to her. Even so, a feeling of apprehension was creeping up on her. It was late afternoon, verging on evening and the sense of evil was only growing stronger. After a bit of walking they rounded a corner, coming upon an alleyway that looked like it led into an even bigger lot located behind all the buildings on that street. There wasn’t a human soul around them; not alive anyways. She hoped they weren’t about to come upon more dead bodies but steeled herself for the possibility.

“I’m going to call Sango now.” Kagome said, keeping a wary eye on the scene before them. Nothing looked out of place but this was unmistakably the area it was all coming from. Maybe it was her imagination but she thought she saw something stir around the corner to the back lot.

“Hurry it up.” Inuyasha said gruffly and Kagome spared a quick glare his way. She dialed the number and Sango answered.

“Kagome? What is it?” Her voice came through the other line.

“Inuyasha and I have sensed a strong demonic presence and I can feel another rune. We’re already here.” She quickly rattled off the address. Of course, it was on the complete opposite side of town that Sango and Miroku currently were at. It would take them twenty minutes to get there, and that was if they rushed.

Kagome didn’t bother to inform Inuyasha; he would have heard the entire exchange with his acute demon hearing. As she moved to put her phone away something else moved in front of them.

“Kagome, watch out!”

Inuyasha grabbed her arm and yanked her to his side and out of the trajectory of the object that had just come shooting out at her. She swallowed, looking to see what had nearly hit her.

A knife-like claw was embedded into the side of the brick building across the street behind them and she looked from it to where it had come from. A figure was striding towards them and it was clearly the main source of the demonic aura they had sensed. Behind it a host of demons was becoming visible.

“So you’ve arrived. You took your time.” The figure said, and as it came more into view Kagome could see it was a male demon. He had a human appearance with the exception of the pointed ears denoting his demon heritage and red eyes glowing at them balefully, his clawed hands flexing at his sides. Smirking, he revealed a mouthful of sharp fangs, and as he stopped they could see scales with a greenish sheen to them covering his arms and chest. They disappeared beneath his clothes, which were of a more traditional cut, and Kagome imagined the pattern of scales across his skin continued where eyes could not see. 

“I'd say sorry, but I don’t fucking answer to you.” Inuyasha shot back, unsheathing his sword and falling into a battle stance.

The demon laughed. “Maybe not. I’ve heard of that sword of yours, by the way. It’s useless here. You can’t use its full demonic power to defeat me. Not without causing some major collateral damage.”

Inuyasha growled in annoyance. Kagome readied her own weapon while scanning the area trying to figure out where the rune actually was. The sensation seemed to be coming from beyond where all the demons had gathered, just around the corner to the back lot. With all those demons standing guard she couldn’t simply run to it like she had before during their first showdown. This was going to be more difficult.

“How did Tsubaki talk you into doing her dirty work?” Inuyasha was asking snarkily.

“A steady stream of human flesh and blood...and she understands that demons are not meant to be kept on a leash. We should not have to hide in fear of discovery from humans. They should fear us, as it used to be.” He responded. He extended his arm and another claw-shaped dagger formed in the palm of his hand. “I, Ryumaru, have no problem assisting someone I can use to further my own goals.”

He flung the claw their way again and Inuyasha swung his sword, deflecting it. He then leapt towards Ryumaru, going for the kill with his sword. Ryumaru merely lifted an arm and the sword bounced off of him harmlessly.

“That won’t work. These scales that cover my body are impossible to cut through.” Ryumaru smirked, throwing out another dagger as Inuyasha flipped backwards and regained his bearings while easily dodging the blow.

Meanwhile Kagome was keeping an eye on the low level demons lurking in the shadows behind Ryumaru, waiting for them to try and make a move. It seemed for the time being they were content to lie back and wait for the word to attack. The way they just hovered there was unsettling.

“Inuyasha! The rune is beyond all those demons. I'm going to have to go through them to purify it!” Kagome called out.

“You won’t get that far.” Ryumaru threatened, going on the offensive and vaulting towards where she stood. She stumbled backwards, trying to notch an arrow but knew she wouldn’t be fast enough. Just as she got the arrow on the string of her bow Inuyasha jumped between them, intercepting his charge.

“Don’t you fucking touch her!” He snarled, pushing him back.

Ryumaru laughed. “How precious. It’s almost like you care for her. Don't worry, though. I won't kill her-- Tsubaki has made it clear she is to be taken alive. But that doesn't mean I can't break off a few pieces." He snapped his fingers and the demons that had been lying in wait in the background surged forward with a vengeance. “Let’s see how well you can protect her while fighting me and these demons.”

“Kagome!” Inuyasha yelled, and narrowly missed getting skewered with another volley of daggers.

“Pay attention, half breed!” Ryumaru mocked, a short sword forming in his palm and he spun, arcing it towards Inuyasha. “I’m your opponent right now.”

“Inuyasha, it’s fine!” Kagome called to him, firing sacred arrows and disintegrating the demons into ash. “I’m good here! I can hold my own so kick his ass!”

Inuyasha fought Ryumaru but every time his sword landed a hit it was blocked by one of the demon’s arms. The one time he scored a blow to his chest the scales there rendered his attack useless. How the fuck was he supposed to kill something he couldn’t even fucking cut?

His eyes landed on Ryumaru’s neck as he ducked another strike before bringing his sword up to parry the next one. There were no scales on his neck...and it was only the scaled parts of his body that seemed impervious to attack. ‘The neck must be where he was vulnerable to injury,’ Inuyasha reasoned. The problem was Ryumaru was careful not to allow Inuyasha’s blade to come anywhere near his throat.

Inuyasha bided his time, trying to wait for an opportunity but nothing presented itself. The other demon was a skilled fighter and no matter how unpredictable he tried to make his moves Inuyasha never found an opening.

Suddenly Kagome cried out wordlessly and he glanced her way, fearful of what he would find. 

“Kagome!”

She had reached for another arrow and fumbled her grip on it, stumbling backwards and falling down onto her elbows. Quickly dropping the arrow she reached her now-free hand up, sending a blast of purifying light at the demon heading towards her. It died, disappearing into dust. Keeping her hand full of power outstretched she regained her feet and then set up a barrier around herself.

“I thought I said pay attention!” Ryumaru growled, taking advantage of the half demon’s momentary distraction and burying his short sword into Inuyasha’s abdomen. 

Inuyasha grunted, twisting to the side to try to lessen the blow but the damage was done. Ryumaru laughed, withdrawing his blade, and it was an ugly sound. With effort, Inuyasha brought his sword up to block the next strike, trying to catch his breath. Shit it hurt.

“Inuyasha!!” Kagome screamed.

“I’m fine! Worry about yourself, stupid!” He called back. The pain was fading to a dull throb and he pushed it away, focusing on the fight. This was nothing; he had suffered worse.

“Are you, though?” Ryumaru questioned and with another snap of his fingers the demons assaulting Kagome turned their attentions towards him.

Fuck. Shit. Ryumaru was right, he couldn’t use the full demonic power of his sword and he was cursing that very fact right now. In a rush of bodies they were on him a second later and without the power of the Wind Scar he couldn’t keep them all at bay. 

The other demon had paused in his onslaught to revel in Inuyasha's struggles, his expression full of gloating. His fucking face pissed Inuyasha off. Cursing, he gripped his wound, slathering his hand with his blood then flung it out at the demons.

"Blades of Blood!"

Crescents of red streaked through the horde, slicing them apart and they screamed. Ryumaru clapped sarcastically.

"Very impressive. But do you have enough blood to do that all evening?"

“Hey! Maybe you’re the one who needs to pay attention!!” Kagome shouted while firing an arrow. It shot through the demons attacking Inuyasha in a flash of pink light to strike at Ryumaru and he barely avoided the attack, blocking it with an arm. Despite his scales the holy power of her arrow burned and he gave a pained shout.

Enraged, Ryumaru shot a blade Kagome’s way and she blocked it with her bow. It splintered in her hands and she yelped, turning her face away. The remaining pieces fell from her hands and she focused on maintaining her barrier.

Inuyasha, finally finding the opening he was seeking, surged forward and swung his sword towards Ryumaru’s neck. Just as he had suspected it cut clean through, beheading the other demon. The severed stump of his neck spurted blood and his lifeless body fell to the ground, the head rolling away with sightless eyes.

With their main adversary defeated it should have gotten easier but the tide of demons didn’t slow down. They swarmed Inuyasha and he sliced and hacked at them but there were just so many and he was injured. She had seen Ryumaru stab him straight through the middle. 

Kagome reflexively reached back for another arrow with slightly numb fingertips and ice ran through her veins as she realized that not only was her quiver empty, her bow was in pieces on the ground. That was fine. She would just have to improvise.

Calling forth all her spiritual power she focused on shaping it into the form of a bow and arrow in her hands. As she did so she continued to maintain her barrier. She had never done something like this before and she hadn’t realized exactly how daunting a task it was. For a split second her knees buckled at the strain but Kagome held fast. Finally her weapon coalesced into being, a bow and arrow made entirely of glowing pink spiritual power. Drawing back the string of her bow she took aim and fired an arrow of pure energy at the demons overwhelming Inuyasha. It completely obliterated them and Inuyasha looked at her in shock in the aftermath of her attack.

Slowly the bow faded from existence and it was as if a bubble had burst. Kagome released her barrier and she collapsed to her hands and knees, utterly depleted. Her breath came in pants, her vision turning slightly fuzzy. She had miscalculated and put far too much of herself into that move. Until recently she had never really used her powers offensively and it was still a learning process. Her attack had definitely been overkill.

“No wonder they say to stick to imbuing objects with spiritual power to fight. Making them from pure energy is too much.” She said weakly. She looked up and Inuyasha was kneeling in front of her. When had he moved? She blinked.

“Stupid! Why the fuck did you do that?! It’s my job to protect you, not the other way around!” Inuyasha yelled at her, sounding distressed. He gathered her close and she slumped against him.

“Because I wanted to. You’re important to me.” She said simply, too tired to argue. She thought he might have sputtered at that but her eyes were closing. She was totally spent.

As Inuyasha stood with her in his arms, more of the demons that had been biding their time in the shadows behind the building surged forward. Fuck. He shifted her weight to one side to free up his sword arm and just as he reached for his weapon--

“Hiraikotsu!”

Sango’s voice rang out down the alley as her weapon cut through the monsters. Inuyasha turned around and saw Miroku and Sango standing at the entrance of the alley just as the boomerang returned to the slayer’s waiting grip. 

“Looks like we made it just in time.” Miroku commented, taking in the sight of Kagome’s form in Inuyasha’s arms. “I’d ask what happened but you can fill us in later. Whatever it was clearly took a lot out of Kagome and you don’t look that great yourself. Go ahead and take her home. Sango and I will handle the rest.”

“Inuyasha, I’m fine. The rune still needs to be purified. I can do it.” Kagome protested, the whisper of her voice muffled by his shoulder, where her head was currently resting.

“Shut up. You’re not doing anything else until you recover. That move took everything out of you. Idiot.” Inuyasha retorted. “You guys got this, right?”

“Miroku’s right.” Sango agreed. “Leave the rest to us.”

“Don’t worry about it. Kagome may be stronger than me in terms of spiritual power but I’m no lightweight myself. I can handle this. Go.” Miroku assured him. Inuyasha needed no further encouragement and took off with Kagome. 

Miroku walked to the end of the alley with Sango by his side and rounded the corner, searching for the rune in question. It was there on the wall and beneath it were the bodies of two unfortunate humans, freshly killed, likely as a blood sacrifice. He let out a sigh of regret that they had lost their lives so tragically. Sango didn’t comment but she made a pained expression at the sight. 

Settling into a battle-ready stance she stood guard as he went to work. He laid his palm over the mark and he instantly felt the full weight of evil within it. Concentrating, he poured his power into it and felt it fighting him for every inch of ground gained. Several minutes stretched by and his focus narrowed to that of the malice before him. Sweat beaded at his temple and trickled down the side of his face at the effort. Finally with one last push the purification was complete and his awareness of his surroundings came back to him in a rush.

‘You and that bitch of a priestess will pay for your interference.’ The threat was whispered across the surface of his mind just as he broke the connection. Tsubaki. Charming.

He turned around and saw that while his attention had been occupied by purifying the rune, Sango had been hard at work protecting him. Several more demon carcasses lay at her feet and she had a small scratch on her left cheek and her right arm was bleeding a little. She didn’t seem to be bothered by either injury, just simply looked at him.

“Is it done? Every demon in the vicinity has been exterminated.”

Every time he thought he couldn’t become more impressed by her, couldn’t possibly fall for her even more he was proven wrong. There was nothing about her that didn’t amaze him or take his breath away. He gave her a smile.

“Yes. Thank you for watching my back. I couldn’t have asked for a hotter bodyguard.” He winked.

Predictably, she rolled her eyes. “Come on, let’s go then. I need to take a shower.”

“Mind if I join you?”

“Keep talking and I’ll exterminate you, pervert.”

~☆~

Sango exhaled in relief as she removed her slayer gear. Her body ached from the various bruises and scrapes she had obtained from her skirmish with the demons while Miroku had purified the rune. She had demon guts and blood in her hair and felt filthy. The cut on her arm stung a little bit but it was shallow and had already stopped bleeding so it was hardly worth worrying about.

They had opted to head back to her place since it was not only closer than Miroku’s, it had all of her stuff. She had taken to carrying around extra clothes and keeping some spares at Miroku’s place due to their new...arrangement but right now she craved her space with all her stuff. He had been understanding and readily agreed.

Things weren’t as awkward as she had been anticipating since he had caught her dreaming of him that one morning. He hadn’t mentioned it again thankfully but she had caught him giving her knowing looks when he thought she wasn’t looking. It drove her mad. The worst part was that he wasn’t entirely wrong...she did have those thoughts and those feelings about him. She just didn’t want him to know. She also knew it was a little ridiculous but she couldn’t help it. Keeping up walls and protecting her heart was as natural to her as breathing. Letting her guard down enough to open herself up in that way was easier said than done.

Turning the water on she waited for it to warm up and brushed her hair out with her fingers. Once the mirror started to fog up she deemed it hot enough and slipped into the water. Halfway through washing her body of the blood, dirt, and sweat that covered her she sensed something. Wiping the water from her eyes she began to turn her head to glance about when something gripped her upper arm.

“Mistress Tsubaki did not mention how lovely you were.” A male voice crooned from behind her and there was a hollow quality to it, as if whoever was speaking was doing so from deep within a cave. 

Sango’s eyes went to the hold on her arm and saw the hand holding her in place was translucent, almost like...water. When she cast her senses about the aura didn’t register as demonic which meant this had to be an evil spirit. This wasn’t good.

“Do you enjoy spying on naked women when they’re bathing? Get your creepy hands off of me!” She yelled, twisting and opening the shower curtain with the movement. The evil water spirit chuckled and spun her around to face him before pushing her back against the wall of the shower. She frantically blinked water out of her eyes trying to see. His watery form had the featureless shape of a male and he was bringing his free hand up towards her face.

With a sudden clarity she realized what was about to happen and let out the loudest scream she could manage before that watery hand was over her mouth, cutting off her cries and filling her mouth with water. She choked, she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even really fight this thing. She had no spiritual power to fight it with, and even if it had been a demon...while she would stand more of a chance she still had no weapons. She was naked, vulnerable, and defenseless against this thing.

“It will be over soon, beautiful. I’m afraid you’ve been a thorn in Mistress Tsubaki’s side.” The evil spirit said and Sango struggled uselessly against him.

Even though it hurt her pride to admit, this wasn’t something she could do anything about. She chafed at having to rely on someone else for help...but right now she hoped Miroku would come and kick this thing’s ass before it drowned her to death.

~☆~

Miroku relaxed on Sango’s couch, waiting patiently while she cleaned the filth of battle from her gorgeous body. He sighed. Ever since that morning he had walked in on her having that erotic dream of him...well his own dreams of her had only gotten even more intense. Sango had maintained her usual attitude towards him and while it frustrated him he understood why after hearing from Kagome what her previous experience with guys had been. Denial of her feelings was easier than risking the possibility of getting hurt again. He would just have to keep being equal parts persistent and patient with her. 

He had never been as serious about a girl as he was about her, despite having only known her for two weeks. It surprised him, how quickly he went from casual interest to seriously falling for her, but unlike a certain demon slayer he wasn’t the type to deny his feelings. However he would keep the extent of them a secret from her until she was ready to hear them. He didn’t want to run the risk of scaring her away.

He closed his eyes, feeling exhausted and sinking into the cushions of the couch. That purification had taken quite a bit out of him. There was some serious black magic in those runes and he was looking forward to taking a shower himself once Sango was done.

A sudden piercing scream had him opening his eyes and shooting to his feet, reaching for his shakujo. Sango! His feet were already moving towards the bathroom before he had even fully registered it. That scream…Sango did not strike him as the sort of woman to scream without good reason. She was a warrior, afterall.

His hand on the door knob, he hesitated for a split second. She was in the shower, naked, weaponless, vulnerable and...naked. Whatever had caused her to scream so loud and desperately...it was worth risking her wrath at him seeing her naked, he decided.

Bursting in through the door he saw Sango-- her naked body, glistening and wet, and oh those sweet, full breasts, those shapely legs-- pushed up against the shower wall by an evil spirit that took on the vague shape of a man whose form was clear and constantly shifting like...water. An evil water spirit, one that had one of his hands over her mouth, effectively drowning her. Sango was struggling weakly and her eyes shifted to look at him desperately at his entrance.

“While Mistress Tsubaki wants you dead, she didn’t say I couldn’t have my own fun.” The evil spirit was saying. “You’re so beautiful, I think I’ll take you as mine into the afterlife...as a mistress.” As he spoke the hand on her arm moved to her hip, squeezing while one of his legs pushed between her legs to keep her pinned to the wall.

That pissed Miroku off. Completely infuriated, his sutras already out, he went on the offensive. The sheer nerve of this spirit galled him. How dare he not only try to harm his precious Sango but then threaten to make her his mistress?? And touching Sango like that so provocatively without her permission. Oh hell no. Over his dead body.

“Not with my woman, you aren’t!” He snapped, flinging his arm out and his sutras hit the mark. The evil spirit gave a cry of outrage at the painful interruption, turning its featureless face to look Miroku’s way.

“She’s mine now.” He hissed.

Sango pushed against the wall and managed to stumble a couple of steps. Her eyes began to flutter as she started to lose consciousness from the lack of air, black dots swimming in her vision, and her legs buckled, causing her to trip over the edge of the tub. She pitched backward, falling onto her back on the floor of the bathroom, the evil spirit still clinging to her and refusing to let her go.

“Get off of her!” Miroku growled, and muttering a quick incantation he threw more sutras at the evil spirit, only these didn’t merely shock him; they were a temporary paralytic spell. Reciting another spell, Miroku wrapped his power around the evil spirit like a rope and pulled. The evil spirit screamed in agony, finally releasing his hold over Sango’s mouth and she coughed up water, rolling onto her side. Her hands clutched at the tiles of the bathroom floor as she gasped for breath.

With one last vicious burst of energy Miroku swung his staff and struck the evil spirit in the sternum, channeling his power into the exorcism. The staff crackled with the blue lightning of his power as the evil spirit screamed, writhing and twitching while the holy power coursed through him.

Sango had regained her senses and was looking at Miroku with wide eyes. She had never seen him so...furious. Hadn't even really known he was capable of it; he was always so easy going and charming. Even accounting for the time he had saved her from that other evil spirit. He had been a bit angry, sure, but nothing like this, not to this degree. The look on his face was terrible and Sango secretly admitted to herself she found it kind of hot. Especially since that fury was all on her account. It was flattering in a way she wasn't used to.

"Don't ever mess with my girl!" Miroku said savagely before destroying the evil spirit with one last push of his power. It wailed as it disappeared in a flash, its screams abruptly cutting off.

Breathing hard from equal parts exertion, fear for Sango, and anger at the evil spirit, Miroku turned his attention to Sango. She had curled somewhat into herself, trying her best to cover her nakedness from him. A part of his brain spared a thought to wonder why she didn't simply turn her back to him. Every other part of his brain was trying very very hard to be respectful of Sango and not look his fill of her body.

Her very naked, very wet body. And God how he wanted to look, the temptation was almost too much to bear. Ever since his first sight of her in her demon slayer getup-- hell since his first sight of her bent over in that cafe-- it had been impossible not to fantasize. And now here she was literally laid out before him.

Grabbing a towel from the towel rack he shook it out and laid it over her. She clutched at it and he turned away while she wrapped it around herself.

"I'm not your girl." She said, standing up and he turned back around to face her. She would never admit it but her heart had fluttered a bit when he had said that to the evil spirit.

"Not yet." He replied confidently, shooting her a half smile.

'Not ever.' She wanted to say but the words stuck in her throat, refusing to come out.

"Thank you for saving me." She said instead.

"Of course. I could hardly let that evil water spirit take my girl." He winked. She didn't bother protesting him calling her his again. Truthfully, while it was a bit presumptuous of him it also made her feel kind of special.

"It's embarrassing how you keep saving me like this." She said, walking to the shower and turning it off finally.

"Tsubaki must know what a formidable opponent you are. As long as I have you with me she knows she stands no chance of getting to me so she wants to eliminate you first." He replied, as if it was obvious.

"I guess." She didn't sound convinced.

"Besides I think it's fair to say we're pretty even on the amount of times we've saved each other." Miroku continued. They were both silent for a couple minutes as if neither was sure what to say. Finally Miroku started to turn away, saying, “Well now that you’re safe I’ll leave you to it.”

“So you probably saw everything.” Sango burst out, and she cringed. Why had she said that? She stared at her toes as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world.

Miroku stopped but didn’t look at her; the sight of her in nothing but a towel that barely covered her was far too enticing. Especially now that he had had a glimpse of what was beneath it. He was mildly surprised she had chosen to address the elephant in the room. He had expected her to just pretend it hadn’t happened.

"I won't lie and say I didn't see anything. That would have been impossible. But I did try not to look too closely-- as much as I wanted to-- out of respect for your privacy. "

That surprised Sango and she looked up at him. He still wasn’t looking at her but his voice was sincere.

"Uhm. Thank you for your honesty." She said and she meant it.

He started to leave.

“Wait!” She said.

He stopped, turning to look at her curiously and on pure impulse she walked up to him and hugged him. He stiffened momentarily in shock then slowly relaxed, bringing an arm up to wrap around her waist.

“S-sango?”

“I-I’m sorry. Is this weird?”

“More like unexpected.” He replied and his voice was slightly strained. She wondered at that when a thought occurred to her. She had her breasts pressed up against him while she was wearing nothing but a towel. She hadn’t thought something like that would fluster him. Emboldened by the thought she experimentally pressed herself against him harder and she heard his breath catch. 

Swallowing a giggle she released him, pulling away to look into his face. It was very faint but he was definitely blushing. It was oddly endearing and she smiled. Maybe it was okay to lower her walls just a little bit. Just for him. Just for a moment.

Before she could think better of it she quickly grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him down to her, kissing his cheek. When she let him go, backing away, she saw confusion and elation warring for dominance on his face.

“Not that I’m complaining in the slightest, but what was that for?” He asked.

The audacity of her actions caught up with her and she flushed as she met his eyes. The towel around her began to slip and she curled an arm around her chest so she didn’t give him a show for the second time tonight.

“Consider it a reward. You earned it.” She told him. 

“Exactly which of my actions earned this so I know what to do for a repeat performance?” Miroku asked, grinning.

“Yeah ok, you can leave now.”

“So you’re not going to tell me?”

“Go!” She said, pushing him towards the door. He laughed but obeyed.

Shutting the door behind him, Miroku walked back to his place on the couch with a bounce in his step. Not only had she hugged him, she had given him a kiss on the cheek! They were small things but for Sango he was sure it had been no easy thing. It seemed like he was finally making progress with her, however slight and that was a huge boost to his mood. He knew he was probably grinning like an idiot but he didn’t care.

The fact that an evil spirit had attacked Sango and nearly killed her was a bit sobering but it couldn’t completely erase his smile. He had saved her, she was safe, he had gotten a glimpse of her in the nude, and best of all she had hugged and kissed him (even if it had only been on the cheek). He was on cloud nine.

In the morning he was going to take steps to set up wards around her apartment so something like this wouldn’t happen again. After the attack at his place he had made sure to strengthen his own wards which had been admittedly lax. Considering the opponent they were dealing with they couldn’t afford to take any chances. 

But that was a problem for tomorrow. Tonight though...tonight he would allow himself to bask in this happiness and satisfaction. Like Sango had said, he earned it.

[missbasicxxx]

Is it too late to send an ask? You're secretly a mutant with, of course, personal issues, like family and school, so you're a turd. Adapting your abilities, you get into minor gangs and teenage rebellion. You've heard of vigilante "spiderman" in Queens, and to challenge yourself you go over into his territory once a week and cause mayhem, mainly vandalism. Your mask is a horrendous clown mask, layered with a ski mask and maybe another mask!

IT

Peter let out a deep sigh as he closed his laptop. Spider-man was having a hard time with a specific troublemaker these days, which was not usual, especially in the quiet streets of Queens. Mostly his job consisted of helping lost civilians, stopping pickpockets, setting misguided teens straight, topped up with an occasional gangster clean up. Nothing serious. Just plain ol’ neighbourhood crimes. But recently, there was a new delinquent in town and it was starting to get into his nerves. You never did anything really bad, like, murder…or something. It was just that he couldn’t seem to get his hands on you. No criminal had ever escaped Spider-man’s webs. When he had his eyes on the prey, he caught it. But you, he was never able to catch. He still remembered the first night he met you.

-

“Mommy’s gonna be disappointed if she finds out that you still draw on the wall.”

He made a comment as he jumped down from a nearby apartment behind the dark silhouette of a figure. You didn’t seem surprised at all at his voice. If anything, you acted as if he didn’t exist. You just finished drawing the graffiti and threw the empty spray paint can on the ground. 

“Oh, littering too, are we? Clean up after yourself like a good girl.”

He was going to web you up, the police would probably just let you go with a warning. But when he shoot his webs, the didn’t stick to your body. It just fell straight down as if they were just strings.

“Wha-?”

You finally turned around and that’s when he saw the mask. It was white, with a big, mouth ripping smile plastered on it alongside red lips, red eyebrows, two giant black holes beneath big blue triangles for eyes. What had caught his breath was not the mask itself, but the luminous eyes underneath it. They seemed as if they were looking through his soul. Before Peter could do anything, the being had ran off to the shadows. He looked for you all night across the city, but failed miserably. It was as if you had disappeared.

-

The next time he saw you, exactly a week had past from the first encounter. You were with someone else, and even though he couldn’t see anything clearly in the dark, he could smell out a drug deal with his eyes closed. He didn’t recognise you at first. The other guy was facing his way and from the back, you looked like any other teenager looking for trouble. 

“Sup guys? I’m pretty sure marijuana is still illegal in New York.”

It was when you turned to face him that he finally recognised the familiar mask. 

“Hey, I know you! Scary face guy!”

The other guy, afraid of getting turned over to the police, started to make a run for it but he was more keen on getting his hands on you. Not like, in that way. Like, to remove a threat from the streets of his home ground, of course. But as he shot his webs, once again, they fell helplessly to your touch.

“Ok, that was embarrassing. I’m sure they worked a minute ago.”

Peter cocked his head then saw you starting to make a run for it and shrugged.

“Never mind. I’ll just catch with my own hands then.”

Soon enough, he was right on your heels and could have sworn that he almost caught you the second before he suddenly lost you. 

“Ugh, again?!”

It was weird because he never lost track of anyone. Even when he couldn’t see them, he could still hear or smell them and his spidey sense would occasionally help out when all else failed. This time, there was nothing. The wave of stimulations that were taking over his body just a second ago had just disappeared.

Frustrated, Peter back tracked his footsteps to go after the other guy instead. Unlike you, he wasn’t so lucky.

“Enjoying yourselves, gentleman?”

When Spider-man flipped into their hideaway, all of him and his friends scrambled to their escape but Spider-man was much faster. He spotted out the guy who were with you and had him webbed up to the wall in a blink of an eye.

“Sticky little bastard! Let me go!”

“Woah, chill dude. I just want to ask some questions.”

“Well, good luck cause you ain’t getting any answers.”

“I’m not gonna ask any about you, ok? You can do that with the police. Do you know who that other guy was? The one you were with back at the alley.”

The guy spat towards Peter in disgust.

“Snitches get stitches, dickhead. I don’t know anything.”

“Alright. Then I’ll just tell the cops that you’re the dealer and I’ll be on my way.”

“I’m not a dealer!”

“So the other guy’s the dealer then?”

Peter raised one eyebrow as his captive let out a sigh.

“I don’t know, man. I really don’t. I just got sent to pick it up.”

“And who sent you exactly?”

When the guy shut his mouth, protesting to give an answer, Peter sighed and jumped up, leaving him. He was no use. It was time to bring matters into his own hands.

-

And there Peter was, a few weeks later, digging up every last bit of information he could find about the mystery mask. So far, he found out that the graffiti he saw on the first encounter was a symbol of a criminal gang. He still wasn’t quite sure about what their purpose was, but he knew one for sure. Drug dealing. The guy he kept bumping into must be a part of them. But none of his searches showed any data about the mask. At first he thought is must be a uniform of the gang but other criminals suspected to be a member did not portray the same look. Spider-man’s own nuisance was the only one.

Frustrated by the series of dead ends, Peter turned off his laptop and threw himself onto the bed. Whoever it was, he was going to catch them. Nothing escapes the webs of Spider-man.

-

Part 2

-

AN: It’s never too late honey! Thanks for the ask! Sorry I haven’t been keeping up with the writing! But here it is! I’ve just been a bit busy lately. I am hoping that I still have time to write.