#only time i’ll draw kris’s eyes fully like that

[makigorogoro]

babies

[awanderingdeal]

Hello there! Would you please consider writing a fic where maybe Leo or a fan wears a dress or paints his nails or something else feminine and gets bullied online so the entire team then starts wearing dresses out in retaliation? I think Leo is the perfect example of flipping the V to normative gender ideals

Hi! Thank you for this ask. I hope you don't mind, but I kind of took this as inspiration and ran with it. I used Finn just because it fits my own personal headcanons that he would be the one that would be a bit more adventurous fashion wise, although I definitely agree Leo is the nail painter in that relationship! I hope you like it!

Apologies for the excessive use of italics in this fic!

CW: food mentions, some swearing, implied Instagram bullying and a child with very mild illness (hay fever).

Rating: T

Let me know if you think I missed anything or need to change the rating.

All characters in this fic are from Sweater Weather universe and belong to @lumosinlove

“Are you going to take that dress off?” June asked, blowing on the undercoat she’d just applied to her nails. Finn’s eyes dropped from the TV screen to the black fabric draping over his body. He brushed his fingers over the material, enjoying the texture of the sheer polka dots that decorated the dress. From afar, they were difficult to see, but at this distance they shined. His own little secret.

“No,” Finn replied, the word slipping from his mouth felt foreign, as if he hadn’t chosen to say it. “ Is that okay?”

“It’s generally considered polite to ask before you borrow people’s clothing, but sure, why not?” A loud cheer erupted from the TV notifying Finn the score on the basketball game he had been watching had changed. He desperately wanted to check it, but he continued to hold June’s gaze. “The Knicks,” June offered and Finn breathed a sigh of relief. “Are you going to wear it out later?” She didn’t wait for his reply, proffering two bottles of polish for Finn’s perusal, a redcurrant and a mauve.

“The red,” Finn decided after a beat. “No, I think I’ll get changed before we go to the theatre.”

“Alright then,” June hummed, glancing at her cell. “Logan is trying to call you, by the way.”

“Yes, my cell, I know exactly where that is,” Finn muttered to himself, stabbing at the remote to pause the TV. It took a few minutes of searching, the device hidden between the folds of the bean bag he was lounging on, but eventually Logan’s face was filling all 6.1 inches of the screen. “Lo!”

“Hey.”

Finn loved the greeting on Logan’s tongue, one of those that he never seemed to be able to stop his accent dripping through. Finn thought perhaps the sentiment was painted on his face, Logan peering at him curiously through the lens. “Isn’t that June’s dress?”

The dress. Finn had forgotten all about it. “Yes.”

He hadn’t meant for the reply to be said with such abruptness, but it felt good, all the tension coiling in his chest being released in the word.

Logan’s expression was challenging, similar to that June had given him earlier. “I was just going to say you look better in it.”

“Oh.”

June unfurled her legs from beneath her, throwing herself into view of the screen, her left hand held awkwardly in front of her. “I’m right here, Tremblay!”

***

“Love, you need to get out of the kitchen. You’re being very distracting.”

Finn frowned at Leo’s statement. “I’m not doing anything?” And for once, he wasn’t. He wasn’t trying to guess the weight of irrelevant objects. He wasn’t playing with the stray bits of dough Leo had left aside for decoration. He wasn’t even relaying facts about his current favourite interest. Finn was just watching.

Sometimes he liked to do that. He liked seeing Leo’s long fingers curled around the handle of the knife, his movements fluid and confident, his expression soft with quiet concentration. Occasionally, he’d cock his head, humming contemplatively and Finn could take the opportunity to offer his taste buds.

“It’s not a you problem, it’s a me problem,” Leo chuckled, setting the knife down on the chopping board. “I keep looking up and you’re just -” Finn followed Leo’s gaze as it wandered down to the exposed skin between Finn’s t-shirt and his skirt. “- I’m trying to meal prep and it’s going to take all week at this rate.”

The t-shirt had belonged to Logan, an old Harvard hockey throwback that had managed to make it through several wardrobe purges, so, whilst it was wide enough for Finn, the length was awkward. He hadn’t really considered his boyfriend’s reactions as he’d cut the item to fall several inches above his belly button, the crop looking far more purposeful than it previously had.

“Oh this old thing, I just threw it on,” Finn smirked, as he pushed off the counter he'd been leaning on. He rounded the island, stealing a carrot as he passed, until he planted himself in front of Leo. "Do you want help? It'd be quicker?"

"Now we both know neither of those things are true." Leo raised a critical eyebrow, his laughter smooth and sweet. He turned to face Finn more fully, his hand reaching to pass the forest green material of Finn's skirt through his fingers. "I like this colour on you."

"It has pockets! I totally get why Lily's always shouting about them. They're very convenient." Finn shoved his hands in the well-concealed pocket, pulling his cell from its depths. "See."

"Nice," Leo said, his smile making the edges of his face crinkle. "How about you let me finish up here and then we can find Lo and get his opinion on this outfit?"

"Fine," Finn groaned, resisting the temptation to draw Leo in a hug, and perhaps something more. "I'm gonna go and look over that report the accountant sent over. Do you want me to check yours over too?"

"Please," Leo nodded, his smile growing wider. "You're the best."

"You feed me, I make sure you don't get arrested, that's what relationships are all about, right?"

"Right," Leo ran his fingers over the skirt one last time and stepped back to put some space between them. Finn turned to leave, barely getting a few paces in before Leo called him. "Wait!"

"Yeah?"

"Just one kiss now would be okay."

Finn shook his head, letting Leo draw him back in with a chuckle. Leo's hands, always warm, settled on Finn's waist and he leaned down to press their lips together.

***

Finn winced as Aveline sneezed again, the forceful burst of air covering his sweater in droplets. He felt sorry for her; she was struggling with a bout of hay fever that was making her red-nosed and irritable, but the sweater was one of Finn’s favourites. A vintage, hand knitted blue thing he’d found in a thrift store in Cambridge for an absolute steal. Back then, it had been the scene of Bambi and his friends on it that had grasped Finn’s attention, however, he’d come to love it for its perfect fit and the fact it never failed to spark a conversation.

“Harzy, thank you. You’re a lifesaver.” Finn tried not to let his relief show too much seeing Kris’ approach, his arms outstretched to gather his daughter. “I can’t even put her down to go to the bathroom at the moment without her screaming.”

Finn chuckled, holding a wriggling Aveline tighter to stop her launching herself before her father was close enough. “Papa!” she cried, the exclamation melded neatly into a large yawn.

“Come, mon chou,” Kris soothed, letting Aveline bury her face into the crook of his neck and playing a gentle pattern with his fingers over her back. “Let’s go and see if Vroom-vroom has any magic up his sleeve, ey? He always knows what to do.”

“Vroom-vroom?” Finn whispered the question.

“Sergei,” Kris explained with a gleeful smile despite the tiredness etched into his face. He shifted Aveline into a more comfortable position. “Thanks again for holding her.”

“Anytime.”

Finn had barely been alone in the Dumais’ second living room for a minute when Katie came crashing in. He wondered briefly if he should redirect her back to the other room where everybody was gathered, the thought quickly interrupted by Katie tugging on the hem of his skirt. “Can you spin again? Please?”

Unable to resist her large doe eyes, Finn twirled for her, his skirt swirling and billowing around him until he began to go dizzy.

“Encore! Encore!”

Finn didn’t need Logan around to translate that for him, he’d seen enough Broadway shows to understand the request.

“No more, Katie Belle. I’m going to puke,” Finn laughed, lifting Katie into his arms. “You’re growing too quickly! I swear you were only this big the last time I saw you,” he teased, spreading the thumb and index finger of his free hand a few inches apart.

“I’ll be as tall as you soon!” Katie giggled, patting Finn on his head.

“Then you can carry me,” Finn teased. He was just reaching to bop Katie on the nose when the unmistakable sound of a camera shutter closing grabbed his attention.

“Logan!” Katie gasped, struggling in Finn’s arms for a second like little Aveline had done. “Put me down.”

Finn obliged, watching Katie run toward Logan with a fond smile.

“Did you fix it?” she asked, her voice hopeful.

“Ouais,” Logan nodded, “I gave it back to Maja.”

“Merci, merci, merci!” Katie wrapped her arms around Logan’s hips in a hug before running off, presumably to find Maja.

Finn crossed the room, opening his arms for Logan to walk into. He rested his chin on Logan’s head, breathing in the familiar smell of his shampoo. “What were you up to?”

“Just taking a photo of two of my favourite people,” Logan mumbled into Finn’s chest.

“Can I see?”

“Oui, it’s very cute. ” Logan stepped back, pulling the photo up onto the screen. It was a nice one, both Finn and Katie’s head tipped back slightly with bright laughter. Finn tracked down the photo, Katie’s legs clinging to his waist where the faux leather skirt started. He breathed in, filling his lungs with air and then expelling it quickly.

“Post it.”

Logan looked at him, eyes wide. “Are you sure?”

“Not really, but I’m fed up with changing my clothes all the time and I’m surprised I haven’t been papped anyway. I’d rather do this on my own terms. It’s a fucking skirt, it shouldn’t be a big deal.”

“Tell me to do it again,” Logan reached out a hand, squeezing gently as Finn took it.

“Post it.”

***

“Stop reading,” Leo sighed, plucking Finn’s cell from his hand.

Finn matched his sigh, burying his head into his hands. He didn’t need to look at the screen anyway, the words burned into his eyes. How anybody had looked at a photo of two people, one of whom was a child, laughing and had churned out hatred was mystifying to him. Finn had been expecting that though, he’d been around long enough to know there were some assholes out there. When he’d replied to one of the nicer ones he hadn’t really considered how he would feel about that going viral. About becoming the face of something he hadn’t really asked for.

Roaringlion17: Harzy! This fit is spectacular, I love the skirt <3 I just wanted to ask if you are trans and what pronouns you would like us to use?

OfficialFOHara: @roaringlion17 Thank you! He/him pronouns are great! I’m not trans. I just think it’s dumb that boys can’t wear skirts. Or dresses for that matter. I like clothes, not boxes.

The reply had now been featured on every gossip column possible and was beginning to filter into more esteemed news too. One of them had even called him, the face of a revolution, which had made Finn cringe. He supposed it was better than the hateful slurs his PR team were battling to keep off the photo.

“Hey,” Logan took the seat next to Finn where he’d slumped himself at the dining table. “Look at me.” Finn lifted his head, meeting Logan’s eyes, the deep green something he wanted to get lost in right now. He thought Logan was going to ask for the thousandth time if Finn wanted him to delete it, but all he got was the fierce, determined gaze Logan sported on the ice. “This is going to pass. Tomorrow, somebody will cheat on somebody and you will be old news. Do you want to see something?”

Finn nodded. He didn’t know what he was consenting to, but he trusted Logan to make it something that would make him smile. Leo dragged another of the chairs around to sit on Finn’s left hand side, setting his confiscated cell in front of him, the Instagram app open to Thomas’ profile. Logan leaned forward, tapping on the latest photo.

Thomas’ smile was wide as he sat on a window sill, kicking out the long zebra print skirt cloaking his legs. The caption underneath read ‘You’re just jealous that I wear it better than you! #boyswearskirtstoo’

“That’s -”

“Wait a second,” Logan reached for the phone again, setting it down with a picture of James’ visible. He was wearing an ochre coloured corduroy skirt that clearly belonged to Lily, the fabric straining on thighs. I’m feeling myself in this, tbh. Please hold whilst I order one in my size #boys wearskirtstoo.

Finn snorted, the sound wet with the tears he was struggling to hold back.

The hashtags kept coming.

Cap and Loops in their respective jersey’s tucked into pleated skirts. These Lions know fashion is not gendered #boyswearskirtstoo

Ollie in a shimmering gold knee length piece. Shine bright! #boyswearskirtstoo

Nado, Kuny, Smitty and Kane, arms slung around one another's shoulders, all wearing varying shades of pink. On Wednesdays, we wear pink #boyswearskirtstoo. Finn would bet good money that Kuny was behind that caption.

Dumo, Sergei and their wives, alongside their troupe of children, each one of them wearing a different coloured tutu. Dumo had opted to just include the hashtag, or rather his social media team had, because the man himself most definitely did not know how to upload the photo.

Kasey and Natalie looked effortlessly cool dressed in white tennis skirts and floral bomber jackets. I’m not sure what all the fuss is about? #boyswearskirtstoo

Alex was wearing a very similar black skirt to Finn's in his photo. Who wore it better? #boyswearskirtstoo #thatsmylittlebrother

“He’s an idiot, but I love him,” Finn laughed wetly.

“There’s more,” Logan smirked as he tapped at the screen again, almost brimming with an excited energy. He placed the cell back down, leaving his hand to block the next photo a little longer. Finn grabbed the device as soon as Logan revealed the image.

It was perfect.

Leo and Logan lounged on the sofa, a little further apart than they would normally sit. Leo clutching his favourite mug and Logan with sketchpad in hand. They both looked easy in their outfits, as if the skirts were a part of them. Leo’s was long, hitting just above his ankle, a navy lining coated in a tulle that was embellished with celestial bodies. Logan was looking at the camera, his eyes just visible under the brim of his cap. His skirt was shorter, the denim flaring over his thick thighs. In this house we respect people’s right to wear whatever the fuck they want #boyswearskirtstoo

Finn stopped trying to fight the tears, letting the moisture well in his eyes. “Thank you,” he choked out, pushing himself from his chair. Leo and Logan had their arms around him before he could ask. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.” He couldn’t seem to make the words stop, his body shaking with sobs, his boyfriend’s arms remaining sure around him until Finn wiped at his face and muttered an apology. “Sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologise for.” Leo swept his thumb over Finn’s cheek, wiping away a stray tear. “What can we do? What do you need?”

Finn let out a heavy breath, leaning into Logan’s hold. “I think I want to send a thank you to the group chat and then snacks and cuddles? I can deal with the world tomorrow.”

“Okay then, snacks and cuddles. We deal with the world tomorrow.”

[shinymooncolor]

For my fellow Sweater Weather fans ❤️ @lumosinlove - thank you!

Kudos to @frombeauxbatons for helping me with Finnish.

@wxlfstxrx and @siriuslyqueer love youuu 💕

Sweater weather chats #10

The team goes to Vegas. Kris gets a new phone. Olli speaks Finnish. Remus and Sirius are in their honeymoon phase. The team dads ship it. Kasey gets cuddles. Logan gets lost. Leo is mad. Everyone bets on Sergei. Dumo is not a fan of Russian cheering during sex. Will we ever find out about Prague?

Wednesday 9.22 pm

Eliascookie: eyyy fucking love wifi in the air. 🤪

Dumodad: shhh someone is trying to nap and you guys are loud 🥴

Logantremblayzzz: sorry grandpa. Not all of us are old and cranky.

Sergei_81: careful I fight people for you

CarbO’Hara: and we love you dearly for that. But no denying you and dumo are old and cranky. You could literally both be Leo’s dads

Ollibear: he looks more like sunny and sergei’s baby than dumo’s

Blizzard: ohhh a love triangle 🙊😳

Sunnysideup: as much as I love sergei, I wouldn’t get between him and dumo. They’re the bromance of our gen :) also not my type

Kaneyoudigit: yeah. Where does that butt slap come from anyways? Even when one of them is out or injured they find time for that 👻

Bradygunz: I don’t think anyone understands it... where does it come from? Something about Prague - Allison was super cagey about it.

Dumodad: shhhh let us sleep. Night boys. Got another few hours and practice tomorrow is not optional. Sleep.

Nadotheman: VEGAS BABY

Krisvolley: practice and a game Nado.

RussianGod: DONT be boring krissy

——

Friday 12.33 pm

Remus created a group chat

Remus added Dumo, Sirius, Sergei, Sunny and Krissy

Remus named group chat HELP

Remus: okay boys. Sorry for this but I’m a little worried. We’re in Vegas and with a whole day of no games and only practice tomorrow once we touch down in LA, I can’t keep an eye on the entire team.

Dumo: haha dont worry go have a nice date with cap. God knows he’s cranky enough that you were away for that course for three days.

Sunny: don’t worry I sleep with ear plugs anyways 😜

Remus: hey we have separate rooms!

Krissy: wE hAvE sEpErAtE rOoMs....... it’s ok remmy 😉 cap plays better after you do whatever it is you do.

Sirius: alright stop. I wasn’t cranky. And leave Remus alone. You’re supposed to be the mature ones. Also Krissy?

Krissy: yes. I got a new iPhone and made the mistake of asking timmers and Olli to help me set it up on the plane. Now I can’t get it to change back. They set it to Finnish. Have no fucking clue and haven’t managed to get hold of Olli yet. 😳😳😳😳

Sergei: cap and re go enjoy honeymoon we take care of babies

Sunny: 😜😜😜😜😜 enjoy it while it lasts. Before you know it’s chores, babies and using alone time to catch up on sleep

Dumo: yeah. Don’t take your blissful kid free life for granted. 😈

Krissy: didn’t Logan and the other two walk in on your guys doing it in the kitchen last month?

Dumo: so?

Sergei: haha just kitchen? I’ve caught them worse. Is ok. You understand when you have babies. 😆

Krissy: I have a baby. I’m just single 😫😫😫

Sunny: want us to find a girl for you?🤓

Krissy: no thank you. Leave my sex life alone.

Sergei: u even have one?

Krissy left the group chat

Dumo added krissy to the group chat

Dumo: Sergei is sorry......... also he walked in on us maybe 5 times calm down. There’s nothing like Russian cheering to kill a mood....

Sunny: 5? That can’t be right. You were bunnies when she was pregnant last. I saw things I cannot unsee 🤯🤯🤯

Sirius left the group chat

Remus: you broke Sirius. Anyways I’ll leave the babysitting to you guys then.

Sunny: HAVE FUN REMUS 🥳🥳

——

Friday 2.54 pm

Logantremblayzzz: guys I’m lost. I’ve been walking towards that big pointy thing and the map from the hotel is crap and I got away from finn and he’s not picking up

*picture of map*

Blizzard: Logan.

Blizzard: THATS A MAP OF PITTSBURGH. WE’RE IN VEGAS. ALSO ITS UPSIDE DOWN.

Blizzard: how the fuck have you lived to see 23? 😆

Logantremblayzzz: oh. That makes more sense. 🙈🙈🙈

Newt-leo: what do you mean you lost Finn? Are you both lost somewhere in Vegas? Just use your phone and get back to the hotel...

Blizzard: Finn left his phone here in the room😂😂😂 better send out a search party

Logantremblayzzz: well I don’t know what happened. I can’t find him now. 😭

LeWilliam: There’s literally one strip of road in Vegas and you’ve gotten lost. 🐸

Dumodad: I swear to the fucking hockey gods we were never this stupid. Idiots. Get back here for 5, and we can go have a team dinner for those who want. Sergei is buying

Evanderbell: ohh @tylerthemighty and I are in!! Thanks @sergei_81!!!

Sunnysideup: he’s sleeping? Hahahah he’s gonna be unhappyyyy 😂

RussianGod: hehe thanks we’re play too...

Nadotheman: he means game. But yeah. Free dinner 😎

Prongstar: I think this one @logantremblayzzz has to go into the promo videos hahahahah 😂😂😂 I’m telling Marlene.... 😘

Ollibear: is anyone looking for Finn?

Newt-leo: yeah me and @krisvolley are going out now

——-

Friday 3.44 pm

CarbO’Hara: THANKS FOR DITCHING ME LOGAN

Logantremblayzzz: I was lost too! Not my fault you wander about

CarbO’Hara: I was talking to a puppy and when I got back up you were gone 😔 didn’t have my phone. Had to ask two Cher’s and an Elvis how to get back. 😫

Newt-leo: you’re back at the hotel now?

CarbO’Hara: yes. Forgot my phone.

Newt-leo: WELL THATS FUCKING GREAT. 😡

Walkietalkie: uhhh someone is in the dog house 😂😂😂

Nadotheman: bad fish... no goalie love for youuu

Blizzard: I can cuddle ya Finn. No worries. 😘😫😘

Logantremblayzzz: you’re not cuddling Finn. Go cuddle Nado if you need to.

RussianGod: come on blizzard. We do goalie sandwich 🥪🥪🥪🥪

Blizzard: gimme five minutes boysss 😍

Krisvolley: we’re heading back now. You’re paying for our cab Finn. Leo is really mad 😉

Friday 3.52 pm

Timmyforrealz: awww 😍

*nado and Kuny cuddling blizzard in a goalie sandwich*

Ollibear: there’s a lot of bromance in my room right now. 😂

Walkietalkie: at least they’re fully clothed. 🤞🏻

——

Friday 6.33 pm

Sergei_81: IM NOT PAYING FOR YOU All

Dumodad: yes you are. It’s your turn. 😘

Sunnysideup: u know it. It’s the deal. Shouldn’t bet if you can’t pay up.

Sergei_81: is thanks I get for fighting for you all.

Sirius: you keep bringing that up. But you love fighting for us. We love you for it 😜

Dumodad: haha cap’s got a point my friend. And you’re a glorious fighter. Haha your punches are feared through the league. Even the linesmen try to avoid getting between you and your victim

Nadotheman: you know there’s a bet in the league? First rookie to take you down gets a Rolex from a draw? Everyone chips in at draft? 😜

RussianGod: is true hehehe I put money in on never so I want watch

KrisVolley: was that an option? 😳 how did I not think of this

RussianGod: I’m smart just not in English. English stupid. Russian best 🥳

—-

Friday 9.33 pm

Ollibear: Mä oon niin ilonen mut mulla on ikävä kotiin. Mulla on ikävä muumeja.

Ollibear: Ja mun äitiä.

Ollibear: Tykkään myös tosi paljon pannukakuista.

Prongstar: Olli.exe stopped working…….

Sunnysideup: eh anyone’s got an eye on Olli? He’s defaulted to Finnish… 🙊🙊🙊

Dumodad: @timmyforrealzzz @nadotheman @russiangod

Dumodad: WHAT DID YOU IDIOTS DO NOW

KrisVolley: hahahaha Olli just had some shots. The waitress was making googly eyes at him and I guess he couldn’t say no 😆

Timmyforrealz: I think we should get him back to the hotel 😁😁😁

Nadotheman: not it!!!!

RussianGod: I got him. He dont walk

——-

“Kuny, he can’t even walk”

“I’m got him. He very drunk. Hehe not hold liquor well for Finn. Is embarrassing” Kuny snorted and hoisted his teammate more firmly over his shoulder.

“He owes me $100 for bribing the driver to take us”

“Sä oot hyvä venäläinen. Et ilkee venäläinen. Tunnen pahoja ja ilkeitä venäläisiä.”

“Any idea what he’s saying?”

“Not sure is even Finnish. Sound like just words”

[black-streak]

Waiting for the Worms - Hey You

Part 15

I had planned to be so much further in the plot by this chapter and yet here we are. I don't want to say this is a filler chapter, because the reunion of the team and all is important but like, nothing exciting happens here. Very tame. Don't expect anything crazy. That's next chapter.

Special thanks to @cassiopeiathequeen for reading this over for me when I second guessed if I should even post this one or not.

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

~---~

It took a moment for anyone to move, all still looking back and forth between Jason and her, as though unsure how to proceed.

While they took their sweet time figuring it out, Damian glanced at Jason, then back to her, "I see what you meant now. This will take time to adjust to."

"Oh?" She inquired, a quirk to her eyebrow.

"I keep looking to him, but that isn't correct, is it? It's annoying to think I might accidentally treat him as I treat you just because his flesh prison is the one I am accustomed to."

"Would that be so terrible?" She offered, face barely hinting at amusement.

"Yes."

Chuckling, she drew him closer into her lap where he allowed himself to huddle close, turning to watch the masses once more.

Jason, a state of content shock, kept their hands tightly bound, watching the two before him interact with such ease. Meanwhile the others only just now found the nerve to move fully into the living room, very aware of the two sets of eyes observing them. One pair, they thought they were used to, had seen almost everyday for years, but the glow to them was different. Electric green seemed to spark through the vivid blue, dangerous and wild. 

Kagami never felt fear as a civilian, especially after having been a superhero for so long. Had never felt threatened or like an easy target, but those eyes on her suddenly made her feel like prey in the sights of a killer. The dark green eyes set below only added to this.

Juleka couldn't explain how on edge the little boy put her. His hardened eyes never strayed from their little group, harsh and judging. No child should be so intimidating or coiled so tight, as though to pounce. The protective arms wrapped around him seemed less for their safety, but rather hinted at more than one opponent should things go downhill.

Marc suddenly had a new idea for a story about a lone wolf and her wolf cub, living in the wilderness, avoiding conflict but capable of taking down even the mightiest of warriors. They could wager a guess where that idea came from as they stood behind the armchair Kagami placed herself in, Chloe sitting on the arm of it, Juleka sitting on the carpet between her feet.

As for Chloe, she simply stared at who she could only assume was Jason. That tall, ridiculously muscled man, with his white streak and swimming teal eyes was who they had fought alongside so long? How in the hell did he pull off a tiny little teenage girl for so long? How old was this guy even to have such a scarred, built body? What had Mari been through in her time as him? She couldn't help it, she needed to know.

"Jason, how old are you?"

He startled in his seat, turning to look at her, "uh, well I was a year older than her, so eighteen, I guess."

"Seventeen and a half," Marinette corrected.

"But he said-"

"You don't continue aging in a dead body."

She answered so matter of fact, so flippantly, they fell silent once more. Kagami was the first to regain her bearings.

"Must you be so blunt about it?"

Those eyes swung to focus in on her, sharp with challenge, "Why not?"

Chloe rose to it first, "Because it hurts okay? Your acting like it means nothing, but it does. It hurts-!" 

"Like a crowbar to the face?" She cut in, a dark little smile twisting her face as the green seemed to flash in her eyes.

Damian snickered at the playful jab, adding on, "Such cutting words, Mari, how do they compare to the autopsy?

"Like a gentle caress, little one," her grin becoming more wicked as she nuzzled the top of his head. Right then the hand she forgot was gripping her own became nearly crushing as it shook.

"Fucking hell, Mari," his voice rattled out and as her head jerked in his direction, she saw his crumpled expression break into a broken laugh. He ran his free hand through his hair, "I only found out you were alive an hour ago, could we maybe hold off on the morbid humor?"

"Hey, that means I was alive two and a half more years than you thought though," she attempted to comfort him.

"Yeah? And how were those two years spent?" He snarked back, though she could hear the desperation in his voice, begging to know why she hadn't come back sooner. Hadn't looked for him.

"Curbing my bloodlust," she easily replied, not outwardly reacting, eyes searching his for understanding. The flash of green in his own answered. 

He shook his head and nudged Damian, the boy instinctively moving at the nudge from a familiar hand and looking pissed upon realizing his mistake as he dropped onto the other end of the couch behind where Mari had ended up. Jason heeded him no mind as he pulled Marinette closer until she moved herself into his lap, letting herself marvel at how small she now was.

"Excuse me? Do we just not exist over here?" Chloe snapped into their little bubble.

"I wish," Damian muttered.

"Watch it brat."

"Chloe," Marinette growled out the warning.

The blonde teared up, "Mari, we're friends. You remember right?"

Sighing, she clamped down on the anger, "Of course I remember. Please try to refrain from calling him names though," swiveling towards Damian, who had started smirking, she snapped him out of it, "And Damian, learn tolerance. More people will be entering our lives now and we'll have to navigate around those the other chooses to associate with." He hunched in on himself at her reprimand.

"She lashed out at you. Her feelings about your death are not your fault."

"They aren't, but I also have zero tact about the topic of my demise. Maybe I cannot be blamed for her feelings over my dying, but I could control how hurtful my words are. Then she wouldn't have felt the need to lash out, just as you wouldn't. I won't become more tactful and I'll understand if she doesn't wish to talk to me because of it, but I could have," she turned back to Chloe with that, noticing the contemplative look to some, sadness to others. Jason simply looked like he understood and sympathized.

"So how exactly did this group come to be?"

"It took less than two months for Jason to fire Chat," Juleka spoke up, gripping Kagami's calf from her spot on the floor, purposefully drawing attention to the person she held, " choose her as the new black cat."

"Fair enough, and the rest are holders as well, I presume?"

At this moment, kwamis began to reveal themselves, Longg peeking out of Chloe's bag, Trixx popping out of Marc's hoodie, Mullo showing off their spot amongst Juleka's hair. Tikki eventually floated out of Kagami's blazer, looking at her with forlorn, yet hopeful eyes.

Feeling a purr start up against her neck, she twisted to look up at Jason.

"You two switched?"

"We switch often," Kagami spoke here, cradling Tikki who sat her palm holding back tears at the lack of reaction given, "good for confusing the enemy. They never knew which of us it was until the fighting style gave it away."

"It also became necessary due to my not being a very good fit for Tikki despite my body being the proper match," Jason cut in here.

"Juleka and I switch often as well. Fits us better that way."

"I stay the same, but I have three different forms, so I suppose it's fair," Chloe added.

"And Hawkmoth?"

"Gone. We ended it about a year or so ago," Jason reassured.

Only then did a tiny, happy smile slip onto her face, lightening the atmosphere and allowing everyone in the room to relax.

"Tikki? I've missed you sweetie bug," Mari cooed, the little goddess perking up and launching herself forward into the other side of her neck to cuddle close.

"Mari? I'm so happy you're alive! I missed you so much, you don't even know!" Tikki sniffled then immediately begin to scold her, "don't you ever pull a stunt like that on me again, do you hear? I can't lose you again."

"I know, I'm sorry. I cannot promise that."

"What does that mean?!"

"I might not have known I would die in that moment, but I would do so again," she looked over to Jason now, "I would take that hit again without hesitation. And I'm sure my life being threatened isn't going to suddenly stop. I will however do everything within my abilities to prevent another unnecessary death." 

The kwami gave a little huffy sniffle and ducked back into her neck once more, as Kagami gave a cough. "Don't worry, I have no intention of taking back your miraculous. You fit Tikki quite nicely from what I can tell."

"You.. Don't want me back?" Tikki spoke up.

"It's not that I wouldn't like to have you back by my side, but tell me truthfully Tik. Looking into my soul, could you see me being able to use your miraculous?"

The kwami deflated once more at that, knowing her to be right. At that moment, she felt a small hand softly tap her back before reaching up by her neck and slowly cupping the sleepy cat resting there. Sitting perfectly still until Plagg had been completely extracted, she turned to watch Damian slowly pet the God, the surprisingly docile kwami watching the boy out of the slits of his eyes. 

"What is he?" Damian looked to her, wide eyed and curious.

Chloe spoke up, trying to amend the static from earlier, "He's a kwami. They're like pocket sized Gods, bonded to pieces of jewelry. The person who wears that jewelry is granted the ability to use the corresponding kwami's power. His name is Plagg and he's the kwami of Destruction."

Damian nodded along, eyes filled with wonder as the others took turns introducing the other kwamis in the room, Tikki joining them as Plagg floated back over to Mari. For her part, Mari relaxed further as the others became purposefully distracted so as not to overwhelm each other any further, while also keeping Damian occupied.

Turning to greet Plagg, she offered a considering look, "You were on my person in the cafe."

He nodded.

"You adjusted my aim during the attack."

"You were going to kill them," he tensed up, tone defensive.

"I know."

"Marinette-"

"I'm glad you stopped me. They were not lives that needed taken."

"You've changed so much," the cat kwami sounded remorseful and desolate, taking her in, soul and all. 

"I have. You still love me though?"

"Course I do, sweetheart," the big green eyes teared up, never good at hiding his real feelings around her, especially now that he could see his own destruction magic in her soul and consuming Jason's body.

Taking a deep breath, she spoke out to the room, informing them that she'd be in the kitchen, making lunch. They all nodded in agreement, knowing they all needed the space to figure out their thoughts.

Jason followed her, "Mind if I join you?"

Turning around, knowing they no longer had an audience, she let her tears fall freely, speaking softly to not alert the others "Jay? This is real isn't it? You're really here?"

Holding her by the shoulders, he leaned down to meet her eyes, "shouldn't I be the one asking that?" He teased, smiling at her small laugh, "This is some surreal shit, isn't it?"

"Yeah," she choked out, rubbing her eye as she pushed forward and pressed her face to his chest, wrapping herself around him, feeling his arms hover a moment before pulling her in tight.

"You're being strong for him, aren't you?"

Grabbing his hand, she led him into the bedroom, closing the door softly, "He doesn't have anyone else, Jay. I'm sure he told you about the league?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"Didn't happen to mention what he was doing there, did he?

"He slipped a bit, but I'd rather hear it from you."

"Talia is his mother. She took me in so I could get him out. Trained me to be the perfect protector, gave me the means to leave, disconnected from him completely so he wouldn't argue. And of course I agreed. He was being abused, Jay. It was so terrible, the way they were raising him. But I don't know what I'm doing."

"I don't know, you seemed to be doing a pretty amazing job out there," he brushed tears off her face, still amazed that he could, "How do you want to handle this? With me having taken my body back. I'll follow your lead here."

"About that… You and I have joint custody."

"What?"

"Legally, you're his older brother, who adopted him after your parents died, since you were of age to do so. Marinette Todd is your wife who adopted him with you."

"Wh-why would you- I mean-?" He cut himself off, confused.

"Well I mean, I didn't think the connection would ever come back, but in case it did or if I felt it safe to find you. I didn't want to take a chance. We can go back and change them?"

"It's fine, just, how old did you make us to be married and able to adopt a child?"

"Well he's your brother, so the adoption part would be easy despite age, plus we forged documentation for cps check-ins for two years, so they won't be checking now."

"And how old does that make us?"

"You're twenty one and I'm twenty. We've been his legal parents since you turned nineteen. We married the year after I graduated high school. You looked old enough to pull it off and I wasn't sure what I looked like anymore but doubted anyone would look twice."

"Well alright then," he blinked, pulling her close again and setting his head on top of hers, "It's going to take a while to get used to being this tall," he admitted.

"How do you think I feel," she rested fully against him, blown away by the ability to lean on someone for once.

A knock sounded on the door and Damian peaked in, "Mari? You need to come see this."

[silverwhiteraven]

Borne of the Stars - Chapter 3 - An MLB Kryptonian AU

Kryptonian AU Tag List:  @eve-valution @weird-pale-blonde-person @kris-pines04 @soulmate-game @abrx2002 @amayakans @vixen-uchiha @heldtogetherbysafetypins @raisuke06 @dorkus-minimus @captainartsypants @mopester-is-here @moonlightstar64 @annabellabrookes @daminett4life @toodaloo-kangaroo

[ Posted on Ao3 ] [ Chapter 1 ] [ Chapter 2 ] [ Chapter 4 ]

[A/N: I am on a roll today! Three chapters in one day! That’s right, Chapter 4 is almost done, too! ]

[ Summary: Supergirl sees something off, and she’s hella suspicious. Now she has questions. ]

There's a long pause as the hero’s stare continues and her frown only seems to deepen.

Another beat, and then a double echo of “Supergirl?” from both Marinette and Superman. Marinette’s had the faintest pitch of panic to it, because this time, she was certain that Supergirl’s grip had loosened and they had dropped in altitude, though just barely in both cases. And he may not have noticed, but it seemed Superman had been dropping with them. 

The double call seems to snap her attention back up, but she still looks… Puzzled. 

“I’m… Fine,” she sounded unsure of that, but actually shook her head as if to clear her thoughts away and pasted her big grin back where it belonged. “No, really! Geode, you are completely unharmed from this, no worries! Though you do seem to have some… Let’s say, older injuries from the past that are concerning me, just a smidgen. 

“Kal!” The older hero had been about to speak up in curiosity, his mouth already open, but it snapped shut at the overly cheerful tone of Supergirl. “How ‘bout you head out and do that sweep of the city, yeah? I can finish up here, I just have a few things to ask of Geode, about stuff. What happened here, how she’s feeling, some normal safety warnings, ya’know, that sort of stuff, you know how it is. I can handle it, no worries!”

The amount of times she’s said ‘no worries’ has Marinette a bit more than worried, gripping just a bit harder to the hero, and the squeeze gets returned, but she can't tell why it half feels protective, and half feels like she’s just been trapped to prevent an escape. 

And somehow, the same nickname twice felt off, too. 

What in the world had Supergirl seen?

Superman’s hesitation was clear, and Marinette, uncomfortable enough to wish to get everything over with, spoke up. “I’m fine, really, and I’m okay to answer any questions she has. I have nowhere to be yet,” she adds as a final reassurance, and continuously makes sure she can still feel her phone securely in her pocket. She can.

He glances between the two, then gives an approving nod to Supergirl, though still a tad hesitant. “We’ll have a meeting and debrief tonight, then.”

“Great idea!” the hero pipes up in response, still all too cheerful. “Besides, you must be feeling a little tired, aren't you? Should get going so you can rest up, you're a busy guy after all!” 

Superman raises a brow at her, but nods. “Yeah, odd, I didn't notice until you pointed it out. Good work today, Supergirl, thank you. I’ll see you later then.” 

He turns to go, and Marinette has a slightly sudden reminder of a thought, and she reaches out an arm as if to stop the hero from leaving. “Wait!” She quickly grabs right back onto Supergirl as she can bodily feel how much of a bad idea it was to reflexively let go with one hand. 

“Uh, please,” she adds in a mumble, embarrassed as he turns back to them. 

“Yes?” He asks with patience, and she greatly appreciated that he didn’t snap at her for stopping him. 

“You probably get this a lot, but my friend would probably disown me if she finds out I met you and didn't ask. You see, my friend, she's a huge superhero fan, and also an aspiring reporter, and, well, you know how fans and reporters are, you being a public hero and all. Do you think you'd be willing to do an interview with her, even just a quick hello?” She was nervous to ask, but she was determined to persevere, for Alya’s sake. 

It takes barely a breath of a moment before Superman breaks into a smile and nods. 

“Absolutely, anything to help out such a dedicated reporter and her friend. Supergirl can give you a number to one of the reporters at the Daily Planet, she knows which one. He can get up in contact. Until then,” he finishes with a salute, and finally turns and flies off, picking up pace and disappearing faster than Marinette can fully voice her thank you. 

There's no time for awkward silence as Supergirl is suddenly taking them back down, and Marinette yelps at the unexpected drop.

She looks back down towards the ground as they fall, and she points, with her chin this time, at the now dust covered bench with her messenger bag and sketchpad still sitting there unsupervised. “Over there, I left my bag on the bench. I hope everything is still safe.”

They drop to the sidewalk and Marinette takes a moment to get her feet under her before stepping away from the hero. Supergirl seems reluctant to let her go, and Marinette gets the feeling once more that she's been trapped despite having no reason to run. 

Dusting off the open sketchbook, she makes sure the sketch isn't ruined by the dust before picking up her bag and gently beats the dirt and pebbles from the fabric. As she slings it back over her shoulder, she looks up in time to once more catch the blue-green eyes of the blond teenager she had saved earlier. 

He seemed to be waiting for someone now, standing across the street on the corner. A mountain of broken concrete was between them now instead of just one chunk and a door. They blink at each other in a moment of surprise at seeing one another, before he nods in acknowledgment, and she can tell it's his way of saying thank you without actually coming to her to say so. She nods back, and he goes back to his waiting, his book once more in his hands. She notices, though, that his earbuds remained with one in and one out.

Supergirl mutters what sounded like “Luthors” before she clears her throat, and Marinette turns back to her curiously. The other girl was tense, and her eyes were boring back towards the mystery teen. 

“Do you know him?” Supergirl sounded as tense as she looked, and cautious, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Oh, no, of course not,” Marinete waved her hand as though to brush Supergirl’s worries away, before finally picking her sketchbook back up. 

“I just helped him when the planet thing was coming down,” she added, “we almost got crushed by it.” She downplayed her saving of him, for one, not wanting to seem like she was boasting, and two, she felt that trying to act like a hero was not a good idea in the moment. She didn't know Supergirl’s temperament at all, unlike the more predictable and known one of Superman, so Marinette concluded that her usual quiet would be the best play until she knew what had given the superhero’s hackles a rise.

“Uh-huh,” Supergirl sounded skeptical, but she relaxed minutely. She turned back to Marinette, and the tension in her shoulders dissipated as she uncrossed one arm and pointed to the open sketchbook in Marinette’s hands. “What is that?”

“Huh?” She looks down, and her scarlet blush returns. “Oh,” She stutters out, looking at the open page of Superman costume redesigns. The beginnings of a Supergirl-styled skirt sat in one of the corners. 

She hesitates a moment, still not used to sharing her drawings, but finally holds the sketchbook out tentatively to the superhero for her to see better. Supergirl takes it with her own amount of hesitance, but as she scans the page, her other arm uncurls and she holds the book fully and more carefully. 

Marinette fidgets a bit nervously, but relaxes as Supergirl’s expression seems to be appreciative and showing consideration for the designs. She even seemed to be eyeing a particular design with a gold and red cape with golden clasps, red boots and cloves, blue bodysuit, and a red and gold sash-like belt around the waist. The designer had a slight feeling she liked it, but not as a suggestion for her cousin. 

The phone in Marinette’s pocket buzzes before sounding out a wordless Jagged Stone tune, and she jumps back from where she had been standing close to and looking over the shoulder of the superhero. 

She quickly pulls it out and answers. “Hello? Papa? Oh yes, I’m still at the park, of course! You heard the news? Am I hurt?” She stuttered a bit on the last two questions, looking nervously at Supergirl who raised a brow back at her. She didn't want to worry her parents, but she knew the situation would still concern them nonetheless. She sighs and turns back to her phone.

“No Papa, let Maman know I’m alright, just a bit dusty; I was pretty close when it happened. Yes, I’ll meet you on the other side of the park, promise, see you soon. Oh! And, please don't freak out,” she adds to her worried father on the other end of the line. “The local superhero wanted to make sure I was okay, so she’s with me at the moment, don't be surprised if she's still with me when I get there!” 

Marinette smiles to herself as she notices the unproccessing look of having been blown away on Supergirl’s face. She guessed it had to do with not being called Superman’s sidekick like Marinette had heard before, or even Superman’s cousin or Superman’s partner. It was probably that she had simply called her the local superhero, as though she was the only one. Marinette could admit, from everything she knows from Alya and from today, Supergirl deserved a little shameless time in the spotlight all on her own, even if just from one person.

Realizing her father had gone silent from a moment of his own shock, Marinette quickly ended the call with a rushed “Okay-Bye!” and put the phone away. She beamed at Supergirl happily as she gestured into the park, past the bronze planet nestled into the grass. “Shall we?”

She didn’t wait for a reply before turning on her heel and almost skipping as she jogged off for the other side of the public space. Honestly, she was just happy the whole almost-dying ordeal was over.

She glanced back, confirming that Supergirl was flying after her silently, still just a tad dazed but with a fresh new grin of pride on her. 

By the time they got to the other end of the park, Supergirl seemed to be bursting at the seams with glee, but she kept it contained respectfully as Marinette went up to her already waiting parents and hugged them. 

Worries and reassurances passed between them for a couple moments before the hero was once more clearing her throat, her positive energy from a moment ago toned down into something more serious. 

“Not to be a spoilsport or anything, really,” the superhero seemed to shuffle on her feet awkwardly, though she wasn't even touching the ground. “But I have a question. Geode- I mean, uh-”

“Marinette,” she supplied, and the hero nodded.

“This may seem like an odd question, but it’s not, I assure you. Marinette, have you ever been caught up in a meteor shower?”

[scandalsavagefanfic]

I LOVE your "Jason bangs the JL, and also the World" series SO MUCH, seriously. But now I'm also thinking about an AU in which Jason sleeps his way through the JL, the Wayne Board, various Gothamite socialites, etc. just to get Bruce's attention. Bruce is seethingly jealous and VERY bad at hiding it.

Hi there! I’m so glad you like that little verse!

I wrote something for this ask but it… well, it ended up going a much darker direction than anticipated 😬  So I’m going to post up to the point where things take a turn here and maybe add something nicer later, just so we can all pretend that I didn’t ruin this happy, lighthearted verse with angst and horror. But I’ll post the link to the whole thing on Ao3 so everyone interested in the dark ending can enjoy.

We’re also going to just go ahead and call this an AU of the “Jason bangs the JL and all the villains” AU so that that one can remain untainted 🤣

So here you go.

PART 1     PART 2     PART 3

Darkest Knight - just the good stuff 

[Read the whole darker story on Ao3!]

Words: 1110

Rating: Mature

Warnings: None for the following, but check warnings and tags if you follow the link.

_____________________________________

It was already bad enough, knowing about the villains and his colleagues. But then Bruce sees a blurry picture with the unmistakable silhouette Vicki Vale and Jason’s signature jacket in a tabloid.

Still, he tries to stay calm. Tries to examine why he’s so angry about this when no one else seems bothered. 

Then he walks into Fox’s office to find Jason sitting on the edge of the desk, Lucius standing between his spread legs.

They’re not doing anything. They’re both fully clothed. But the flirty tilt to Jason’s head and the soft, affectionate smile on Lucius’s lips would have been damning even without Jason’s finger looped between buttons on the older man’s shirt, and Fox’s hand on the younger man’s thigh. Not to mention the way Lucius takes a quick but dignified step back and Jason flushes pink.

His first thought is that maybe Jason is purposefully flaunting it. Shoving Bruce’s face in his exploits just to get under his skin.

But Bruce had come to Fox’s office to let him know his “business meeting” in Norway had ended early and Bruce was back two days ahead of schedule. They couldn’t have known.

After an extremely awkward moment where they all just stare at each other, Bruce turns on his heel and leaves as quickly as he can.

This is ridiculous. He needs to get a hold of himself. Needs to find a way to let this go.

If he were smart, he’d try to encourage the obvious mutual feelings between Jason and the youngest Green Lantern. Try to nudge Jason into something more committed and… norm—healthy.

But something stops him. Something won’t allow him to entertain thoughts of Jason being serious with anyone.

Those feelings and anger boil inside him, getting hotter and hotter at every little hint of Jason’s… relationships. The way Clark can’t seem to look him in the eyes anymore. Jordan’s smug grin. Slade’s and Talia’s and Lex’s pointed jabs. 

The way Rayner seems to always just… be there now.

It’s Tim who makes him realize.

“Jesus Christ, Bruce. Stop acting like a jealous ex lover. Jason is an adult and he’s not being taken advantage of. You read the report from Ra’s. You know that.”

Bruce didn’t hear anything after “lover”.

As per his modus operandi, he spends the next couple weeks obsessing over Tim’s words. 

Then he plans.

——————————

Batman hides in the shadows, waiting for Jason’s guest to leave, and is unsurprised to find it’s the cocky Green Lantern (not that all of them aren’t cocky. Honestly, Stewart is the only one Bruce even kind of likes).

He doesn’t go in immediately. It takes another hour, give or take, to steal his nerves for what he’s about to do.

When he finally does, Jason’s security is fairly easy to bypass. Like he didn’t even bother to lock things down after Kyle left. 

Hovering over Jason’s bed watching him sleep is creepy. Bruce knows that. Especially with the smell of sex somehow still thick in the air. 

It does nothing but make that something in him go feral.

But he takes a deep breath, keeping his cool, and steps back. Just in case.

“Jason,” he growls. It’s a low, gravely rumble. Not quite Batman’s voice—he’ll only use that if he has to—but not his normal one either.

The younger man positively leaps out of bed, lights from the city beyond the windows glinting off the curves of his meticulously sharped kris. It’s wielded with obvious skill and comfort, despite being jolted from the middle of a REM cycle.

The light also casts flattering shadows across Jason’s bared form, cutting dark valleys in the dips of his muscles and glistening peaks at the swells. His ebony curls are sleep tousled and sticking up in different directions. 

“B?” Jason asks, voice thick and a little slurred with sleep. He straightens out of his fighting stance, eyes narrowed in confusion. Then he tucks the knife back under his pillow and runs his fingers through the streak of white at his forehead.

Bruce can’t stop his own gaze from flicking down or the way he licks his lips.

Even in the darkness, he can see the color bloom across Jason’s face as he realizes he’s fully exposed.

There is no conscious thought to move. Jason reaches for the sheet on the bed and suddenly the room blurs, a surprised yelp rings like sweet music in his ears. And when things clear, Bruce has Jason up against the wall, the younger man’s wrists in a steel grip.

Jason stares at him with wide, bright eyes, breath coming in short, shaky puffs that make his chest heave. Which draws his attention down to the dark metal bars pierced through Jason nipples. He hadn’t even known they were there.

It’s mesmerizing, watching them move slowly up and down.

“Bruce… wh-what are you doing?”

Jason’s voice is soft, breathless. Usually Bruce is good at reading people but he can’t tell if Jason is excited… or scared.

He steps closer, eyes traveling over the warm, scarred skin, connecting the dots from bite mark to hickey to fingerprint. 

“I want you stop,” Bruce finally demands. “I want you to call off all your arrangements and dates.”

“And when have I ever cared what you want?” Jason smirks but his body language, the tense line of his shoulders, out his continued discomfort. 

Bruce steps closer, takes both of Jason’s wrists in one hand and raises the other to lightly cup Jason’s neck, thumb caressing over the younger man’s chin and inching towards his lips. He feels it when Jason gulps.

“You used to. Once. When you were younger,” he purrs, enjoying the way Jason shivers when his breath wafts over the boy’s face.

“That was a long time ago, Bruce. I was different person. You were a different person. Things have changed. We’re not close anymore and I need—“

“I’ll provide everything you need,” Bruce rumbles. “Whatever you need. Anything you ask for; no questions, no strings. Weapons, intel, cash, Kryponite,” he slots his thigh between Jason’s legs, slides it high to feel the younger man’s cock, making Jason gasp and squirm. “Feeding the hunger the Pit left inside you.”

Jason freezes for a moment, eyes going wide again.

“You-you can’t be serious,” he grumbles and starts wriggling harder. Like he’s making a real effort to get out of Bruce’s hold.

Bruce just tightens his grip; squeezes Jason’s wrists hard enough he can feel the bones grind against his palm. “I am. Very.”

[likingletsplays]

The Nightmares (4/?)

Authors note:

TW: Physical Abuse TW: Verbal abuse

I really do recommend if you are triggered by abuse that you pass over reading this chapter.

Eric grabbed his wallet from his bedside table and rubbed his finger across the top of the picture frame. “Love you mom.” He whispered before leaving his room and walking into Anti’s. As soon as the door opened Eric couldn’t help but stare. Anti wore a sleep black button up, dark blue jeans and was wrapping a dark gray scarf around his neck. Not that Eric didn’t enjoy seeing Anti in his usual black tee-shirt and jeans, but seeing him slightly dressed up was something else.

Anti’s blue eyes caught Eric’s in the mirror, a soft smile lighting up his already handsome face, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah. Randal s-said he fir t-the b-black S-SUV w-with a-a cage in t-the b-back t-to keep t-the goats s-safe.” Eric answered unable to resist returning Anti’s smile.

“Alright let’s go then.” Anti said leading his way through the house to the front door. As they were passing the kitchen, Eric quickly scanned the room for his dad. He hadn’t seen him at breakfast and if he wasn’t here now there would most likely be something to worry about when he and Anti returned. He frowned hoping that he has just missed him in all the chaos of the morning. He pushed the thought from his mind. There was no reason to worry about something that may just turn out to be nothing.

He followed Anti out to the SUV and climbed in the passenger side. Eric looked over at Anti as he climbed into the car. There was something different about him but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. They were about half-way to the farm when he figured it out “t-turn left a-and t-then go down a-about t-three more b-blocks.”

“Alright no problem. Hey do you mind if I turn the air on and roll up the windows? It’s kinda hot.” Anti asked

“No go a-ahead.” Eric answered looking up from the paper with the directions on them. Anti reached over and turned the air on, a dark blue band on his wrist that looked like a watch if you just glanced at it. “W-what does t-that do?” he asked pointing to the band.

“its just a watch,” Anti answered shrugging, a soft teasing tone to his voice.

“No its not,” Eric insisted, “I have one myself. Mine is green. T-the Googles made it for me. W-what does yours do?”

“Why did the Googles need to make one for you? and it prevents me from glitching. I can go out, for short periods of time, without drawing too much attention to myself.” Anti said.

“T-turn right. Our destination w-will b-be on t-the left in t-two miles. And I….kinda explode. T-the Googles, mainly Green, a-are t-trying t-to figure out w-when I do w-what I do if it a-affects my b-body or life expectancy.” Eric explained pulling out his handkerchief from his pocket and rubbing it across his sweaty palms.

“You have abilities?” Anti asked a tone of awe.

“Yes a-almost a-all of t-the Ipliers have an ability in one way or another. S-some can control t-theirs a-and s-some, like me, cant. It just forces its way out in one w-way or a-another.” Eric replied and pointed to the farm, “t-there.” Anti pulled in the driveway and parked but left the car running. He looked over at Eric a very serious look on his face, “Now don’t take this the wrong way,” Anti said. Eric braced himself unsure of what he would say. “But I’m going to try to stay as far away from the animals as I can without it looking like I don’t want to be here. I’ll go into the pin with you but I’ll stay by the door. Animals don’t tend to like me. They get very skittish around me and I want you to be able to find the animals you want to take home and take care of.”

“Anti,” Eric said feeling the relief rush through his chest. He reached over and took Anti’s hand in both of his, “I w-wouldn’t w-want a-animals t-that a-are s-skittish a-around you. I w-want you t-to b-be a-able t-to come join me out in t-the paddock. A-also I’m pretty s-sure t-there a-are more t-then a-a few Egos who a-aren’t natural. S-so you’re like a-a first t-test t-to s-see if t-they could even live happily w-with us.”

Anti smiled squeezing Eric’s hand then pulling his free “then let’s go find you some goats.” Anti turned the car off and they both stepped out.

“Now which one of ya is Eric?” A man asked walking out of the barn towards their parked car.

“Me.” Eric said stepping forward and stretching out his hand to shake the other mans.

“it’s a pleasure to finally meet ya young man. Names Kris, and who is this with ya?” Kris asked looking over at Anti who was a few steps behind Eric.

“I’m Anthony.” Anti said stepping forward and shaking Kris’ hand.

“Now how much land do ya both have?” Kris asked putting his hands in his pockets.

“W-well t-there is a-about five a-acres of land b-behind t-the house. A-a paddock has a-already b-been created for them a-as w-well a-as a-a small b-barn t-to keep t-them w-warm, dry a-and fed.” Eric answered.

“I see that you are more then ready for goats,” Kris said laughing and waggling his finger at Eric, “But what about you Anthony? You both living together means you will have to help care and provide for them. I know you most likely wont be too involved because I can clearly see the interested party here. But what happens if your partner here gets sick? Will you be willing to go out in rain or heat to take care of them.”

Eric opened his mouth to clarify that he and Anti were not dating but Anti answered before he could get a word out, “oh I am fully aware of the responsibilities that come along with the goats. Eric’s happiness is more important than some slight discomforts that I may or may not have when interacting with the animals.”

Kris smiled, “That’s just what I like to hear. Follow me gentlemen.” Kris took off towards the farm softly humming to himself.

“You made it s-seem like w-we are t-together,” Eric whispered to Anti following Kris into the barn.

“Is that so bad? I wouldn’t mind it too much actually but if it bothers you,” Anti answered back in a whisper.

“No its fine, I w-was just w-wondering.” Eric said back quickly unable to stop smiling from the thought of actually dating Anti.

“So I know on the advertisement it said that I have eight goats for sale, but one is crippled so if you aren’t interested in him…”Kris started to say then his eyes slid down Eric’s legs and stopped where his prostetics were. “Never mind ya may be the ones that actually want him.” He led them into a recently cleaned pin and both Eric and Anti walked into it. They sat on the clean hay and almost all the goats immediately rushed into Eric’s lap.

“They seem really attracted to you.” Anti said smiling watching the three legged gray and black goat slowly hobbling from the wall towards him and Eric.

Eric laughed, petting the goats around him, “Most animals are very attracted to me.” Both men spent over an hour on the floor with the goats. Only four were brave enough to approach Anti and the black and gray one wouldn’t leave Anti’s lap.

“I t-think w-we found t-the ones w-we w-want.” Eric said standing up and walking to the edge of the pin where Kris stood looking at his phone.

“How many do ya want?” Kris asked

“Five. We want the brown male, the gray and white female, this black one, the brown female and the white spotted female.” Anti said standing up with the black goat that was crippled in his arms.

“Alright that will come out to five hundred and five dollars. I knocked twenty off for that one.” Kris said pointing to the black goat. With Anti’s and Kris’ help all three of them were able to get the five goats out into the car in one trip. “here is t-the payment.” Eric said holding the cash out.

“It was a real pleasure doing business with you both.” Kris tipped his head and turned away from them back to his barn. The ride back felt much shorter and Eric was bouncing in his seat with excitement.

“Do you t-think t-the Googles w-will b-be a-able t-to make her a leg?” Eric asked looking back at the goats in the backseat.

Anti laughed, “Calm down Eric. You keep jumping like that you may jump out of your skin. But yes I’m almost positive one of them will be willing to make that for you.” Eric and Anti chatted about the weather, how excited Eric was about his new animals, what it was typically like living in London and Anti’s favorite types of tea and coffee. Eric felt the day couldn’t have gone any better.

Well that was until they pulled into the driveway and Eric saw his dad standing by the door a dark look on his face. “Hey A-Anti, do you mind t-taking t-the goats b-back for me? I have t-to t-talk t-to my father.”

Anti pulled to a stop a worried frown on his face, “Are you sure? I can wait for you until you are done talking with your dad.”

Eric nodded, feeling his stomach twist into knots. He slid out of the car placing the black goat back on the seat and closing the door behind him.

“Walk with me.” Derek said walking out from the shadow of the door and forward to meet him.

“W-where a-are w-we going?” Eric asked hating the shake in his voice that gave away how scared he was.

“You know what it’s a good thing,” Derek said walking past the garage and into the back yard.

“W-what is?” Eric asked feeling the terror grow in his stomach. This was not a good place to be. This was usually where Derek would yell and say horrible things to Eric. This was also the side of the back yard that was furthest from any Ego being.

“You being a faggot.” He spat turning to look at Eric. Eric winced smelling the alcohol on his breath. This was what he was worried about; alcohol and his dad did not mix well. he glanced behind him to see the gate they had walked through had swung shut.

“W-why w-would you assume that I’m gay?” Eric asked taking a small step back from his father.

“I’m not assuming shit. I knew about it when Randal was living with us. You both used to flirt all the time but I ignored it thinking it would go away. That you would go back to normal. Then I saw you coming out of Anti’s room and there is only one reason you would be in there. He doesn’t need you for anything except to fuck you cause you’re a useless piece of shit.” Derek said his voice raising. As he took a step towards Eric, Eric took one back.

“W-well if me b-being gay is s-such a horrible t-thing in your eyes… w-why do you say it’s a-a good thing?” Eric asked his voice shaking.

“You need to learn to shut up when I’m talking to you boy,” Derek growled slapping Eric across the face, “And it’s a good thing because your useless jeans won’t be passed onto another person in this world. Yesh my family dies out with you but at least I won’t have a grandchild to be disappointed in as well.” Eric’s hand flew to his face. He blinked back the tears he could feel back in his eyes but also felt the knots in his stomach loosening and becoming something else; something dangerous. His father yanked his hand away from his face and smacked him harder. Eric could taste the blood in his mouth. “And also because of you and your fucking anxiety we lost everything. You couldn’t say five lines on a charity stream. So we lost our house the company and ended up here.” Derek threw his hands up in the air making Eric flinch. “But you’ll be happy about being here cause you have people around you who don’t see what I see.” Anger began to thump in Eric’s ears, through his veins. His dad continued to say things but he toned him out trying to gain control of his anger instead of allowing it to control him. That is why he wasn’t able to block the punch that hit him on the right side of his face. Eric sprawled on the floor the shock of it making him lose any sort of control he had just had. “I wish you had died, I wish you would have been on that bus and it was your body parts thrown across the hill, your blood I fell in. I would trade your life for any of my real sons. You are just a disgrace that I hope I outlive so I can see you die.” Derek leaned forward and spat at Eric.

Eric jumped up and ran around his father. He clung his fists close to his chest and hoped against hope that Wilford wasn’t in his shooting range. Tears that Eric had been fighting back poured down his face as he ran across the yard. He ran past Host who had pulled Anti and Randal back by their collars just as Eric ran past. Eric strained his ears to listen for gunfire and thankfully heard none. He sprinted full force into the middle of the shooting range, dropped down to his knees, and thrust his hands and fingers down into the dirt. He screamed out his frustration and hurt as he felt the thing release from him. The grass died around him in a huge spreading circle and continued to leach away from him as he screamed. Eric screamed until his voice gave out. He collapsed to the ground and used the last bit of his strength to turn his head to the side. He breathed in and out watching the black grass turn to dust as his breath hit it.

“What just happened?” Eric heard Anti ask the footsteps also stopping a few feet away.

“Green calls it exploding. See the purple aura that is around him?” Randal asked walking cautiously forward.

“Yeah what is it?” Anti asked a step behind Randal.

“That is….. Eric’s gift. Anything he touches gets either badly hurt or dies.” Randal replied kneeling down by Eric’s face/

“So you just leave him laying here?” Anti asked a disgusted tone to his voice.

“No we have a way to get him inside. Host where should we take him? Eric hates people knowing he explodes.” Randal asked looking away from Eric’s face

“Host suggests Anti’s room if Anti doesn’t mind. The host said in a low voice turning his head to look at the Septic ego,” Host said.

“My room is fine.” Anti said. Eric heard Randal run off and heard Anti walk forward.

“Are you ok Eric? I know that isn’t the best question to ask but I wanna make sure your still alive.” Anti said squatting down next to Eric’s face.

Eric forced his eyes to look up into Anti’s eyes “I’m alive.” He gasped out though a sore thought.

Randal came running back, pulling a wagon behind him. He laid the thick gray blanket over Eric and carefully wrapped it around him, “Anti can you help me lift Eric into the wagon.” Anti nodded wrapping his arms around Eric’s torso and helped Randal lay Eric into the wagon.

“Does he usually bruise like that?” Anti asked pointing to the bruise, that had been pressed to the dead grass, on Eric’s face.

“No this is the first time he has had any outward bodily harm.” Randal replied walking first into the house. “I need you to do me a favor when we get him on your bed.” Anti slid around them

“What do you need?” Anti asked holding the door open so Randal could bring Eric into the room, Host following close behind.

“Eric has a green band on his bedside table. Can you please go grab it and carefully put it on him?” Randal asked.

“Where are you going?” Anti asked.

“I’m going to get Green. His side is the left side.” Randal said running out of the room. Anti left shortly after leaving only Eric and Host in the room.

“Thank you for pulling them out of the way.” Eric croaked.

“Host appreciates the thanks and reminds Eric that Host is always there to protect him.” Host said leaning against the wall by the window.

Anti walked back in the room, the green band in one hand and a confused look on his face. “Host which wrist does this need to go on?”

“The band needs to go on Eric’s left wrist. But Eric also needs to be stripped down to his boxers. Host recommends Anti use his Marionette.” Host said. Eric focused his eyes on Anti as he took his blue band off. It looked like a bunch of black confetti exploded away from Anti and his form became unstable once again. Anti took a deep breath, closed his eyes and then opened them again. His eyes were now a swirling black and a green outline of the wood that holds the marionette up appeared above Eric. With a few waves of his hand green string appeared and slunk down to wrap themselves around Eric’s torso, neck wrists and knees. Anti smiled his pointed teeth sparking, and wiggled his fingers in the air. The green strings disappeared into Eric’s flesh and after a few seconds he could feel something else in his limbs. Eric also knew this would be very uncomfortable to painful. He could feel Anti in him. As Anti moved his own body Eric’s own body followed close behind. Eric clumsily unbuttoned and took off his shirt and removed his shorts. Anti had Eric carefully take the green band from him and slide it onto his left wrist.

“I’m really glad you have no energy right now.” Anti said his teeth clenched, “Cause this would hurt you like its hurting me right now. And I never want to hurt you.”

“Me t-too.” Eric said falling back against his pillows as Anti released him.

Anti gasped for breath falling to his knees as the black disappeared from his eyes. “That’s the first time I’ve had to supply my own energy.” He stood shakily and sunk down onto the edge of the bed.

A few seconds later Randal and Green came running into the room, “Well it’s good to know I won’t have to order replacement parts for my hands this time. Green said walking forward. He leaned over and switched the green band on then leaned down and pressed a few buttons on Eric’s prosthetics. “You said there was external bruising?”

“On his right cheek.” Anti said as Host left the room, “What did you just do?”

“The band and the prosthetics help us keep an eye on his internal organs as well as his life force. The first two times this happened, his temperature spiked to dangerous levels and he almost died. These are connected to my internal programs and I get regular updates,” Green explained raising his hand to hover over Eric’s cheek. He scanned his face twice, a look of anger on his face, “this damage was not caused by the explosion. It’s from a hand.” Eric could see the glowing of the outline of the fingers from the corner of his eye.

“Who did it?” Randal asked half-heatedly. Eric turned his face away from his friend clenching his jaw shut. “See I told you Green he will never rat his father out. He has some sick thing in his head to save his father and he thinks he is protecting him and somehow going to save him by not allowing him to be thrown out of the house.”

“If you know who did it, why aren’t you doing anything about it?” Anti snapped turning to face the others, “You are meant to protect this man as best as you fucking can.”

Randal threw his hands up in the air, “if I could get him to admit it I would do something in a heartbeat! But without his collaboration Derek can say whatever he wants and Dark won’t force him out of the house.”

“His face isn’t enough?” Anti snapped back.

“No,” Green said folding his arms across his chest, “plenty of us Egos get in fights all the time, we fall out of trees, we fall off of skateboards, and we catch Wilford at the wrong time. There are more than enough excuses to keep himself in the clear. Randal I need you to join me in the clinic, do you mind keeping an eye on him Anti? When Eric finally falls asleep he is safe to touch again.”

“Randal don’t you want to stay with him?” Anti asked quietly standing up.

“I don’t really need to if you’re willing to do it.” Randal answered shrugging.

“Your relationship makes no since to me.” Anti scoffed crossing his arms.

“Well we are only friends so I’m not sure why you’re confused.” Randal replied leaving the room with Green. Eric slowly turned his head to look at Anti who was staring with his mouth open at the closed door.

“I thought…” Anti said turning to look at Eric a confused yet hopeful look on his face.

“You know,” Eric said quietly, “you have no right t-to judge a-anyone’s relationship even t-though I’m not in one. Yours is confusing enough a-as it is.”

Anti laughed out loud, “I’m not in a relationship Eric.” “A-Alright w-well w-whatever you call it w-with Dark.” Eric replied turning his face away from Anti, feeling his cheeks color.

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Chapter: one, two, three

@huffle-puff-ego @trashy-mctrashface @brazilianbabyygirl

[lloydskywalkers]

terrorize y’all’s neighborhood

I can’t write short fics, you guys. I tried. 

Anyways, I know DOTD is the canon Ninjago-Halloween-equivalent thing, but I wanted to write about the ninja having a normal holiday, because in what world would Lloyd not love an opportunity to dress up and eat all the candy he wants?

(And the title is completely stolen from Thriller. Completely.)

Hope you guys are having a great holiday!

"Kai."

"Kai, look."

Kai rolls his eyes, glancing skyward briefly before turning.

Sure enough, Lloyd is holding a bloodied, rubber eyeball up to his own tightly closed one, his face screwed up in a grotesque expression. "Agh, my eye fell out!"

Kai leans one arm against the shopping cart, the other on his hip. "What did I tell you about picking stuff up we aren't gonna buy?" he says, even as he suppresses a snort.

Lloyd's expression falls, and he sticks his tongue out at him. "You're not fun," he grouses.

"I'm lots of fun," Kai says. "I'm just trying not to raise the Green Ninja to be a corrupt child criminal who steals bloody eyeballs from Walmart."

"I'm not stealing," Lloyd protests. "Look, I got it from the Halloween section, it's right there!"

Kai looks up and realizes that he has, indeed, made the crucial error of wandering into the Halloween section with Lloyd in tow, when they're only supposed to be getting a few groceries.

"Oops," he mutters.

"Oooh, look at all the fake blood they have…"

Kai quickly makes to drag Lloyd away before he's forever swallowed by aisles of plastic skeletons and cheap ghoul masks. "C'mon, bud, we've still gotta get stuff for meals," he says, as he tugs a reluctant Lloyd toward the food aisles. "We can't all eat rubber eyeballs for dinner."

"Aw, but they have so much cool stuff," Lloyd pouts, watching the Halloween aisle disappear forlornly. "What's the point of Halloween if you guys aren't even gonna let me celebrate it?"

Kai is only half-listening what Lloyd is saying, too intent on the scrawled shopping list he's got in his hand. He brings it closer to his face, squinting. Why do they keep letting Nya write the shopping lists? Her hand-writing is terrible, they should just appoint Zane as secretary from now on.

"-and that's why Halloween is clearly the best holiday in the entire world," Lloyd is still rattling on. "It's way better than those other dumb holidays, kris-ness, or whatever-"

"You mean Christmas?" Kai gapes at him. He shakes his head. "Boy, we're gonna have to change your mind on that one…"

Lloyd shakes his head. "Halloween is definitely the best, because you get to dress up and scare people, but most importantly you get-" He stops abruptly, eyes going wide as Kai desperately tries to drag them to the next aisle.

"Candy, Kai, can we stop, please, please please-"

"Lloyd, I told you, we're only here for groceries."

Lloyd groans, hanging off the shopping cart as Kai struggles to push it forward, kicking at Lloyd with his leg. "Just some of the mini snickers bars? The ones with little ghosts on them?"

"Lloyd-"

"I'll die without them."

"You've been hanging out with Jay too much," Kai huffs, dragging Lloyd up by his arm. "Look, if you're good, maybe I'll buy you a candy bar at the check-out."

Lloyd brightens immediately at that. "Okay!" He says. "What's next? Do we need cereal? 'Cause the cereal's right here. Can we get Froot Loops?"

Kai rolls his eyes, but he can't help but grin at Lloyd's enthusiasm as he practically tears down the aisle, the sleeves of Jay's old hoodie (that's still way too large for him) flopping over his hands again as he does.

The grin slides off his face as Kai glances back down at the shopping list, highly conscious of the tiny numbers Nya's scrawled at the bottom of the page. Those are painfully legible. He drags a hand over his face. They're not scrapped for money, per say, but after everything - the loss of basically all their belongings on the Bounty to the Devourer, the cost of keeping up with rent - they really do need to be keeping an eye on things, financially. They aren't terrible, but it reminds Kai uncannily of the days he spent struggling to support himself and Nya on the blacksmith shop.

It also means he can't buy Lloyd anything he wants - not even cheap little bloody eyeballs.

Kai glances over the list again, chewing on the inside of his cheek. They can't not get ibuprofen, that's a big no-go. Basic medical supplies are a must, obviously, and he can't skimp on the milk or Zane'll kill him. They could maybe skip the anxiety meds this time, but then Kai would feel awful if anyone had trouble-

"What's wrong?" Lloyd says, craning his head over Kai's arm. "Do we not have enough money? Do you owe some to somebody? Are we in trouble with the mob?"

"Are we - what?" Kai blinks. "The mob - no, Lloyd, geez. How do you even know about that?"

"Gene had an uncle in it! He said they would go yank people off the street, then they would like, steal their kidneys an' stuff if they couldn't pay you back," Lloyd says, gleefully.

Kai stares at him, mentally despairing. He finally decides to let this particular one go. "No, Lloyd," he sighs, wearily. "We're not in trouble with the mob. We're just…a little tight on stuff, right now."

Kai winces. How is he supposed to explain their financial woes to a kid? "Sorry kiddo, we probably won't be able to get those snickers today."

"It's okay," Lloyd says, with surprising nonchalance. "I know we're not super rich or anything. Stuff cost a lot. Before I was with you guys, back when I was on my own, I would try to buy food and stuff, sometimes? But it cost so much. Who even has that much money, anyways?"

Kai winces even harder, feeling the same frustrating mix of pained anger he does whenever Lloyd brings up his childhood thus far.

"-anyways, the point is, I totally get why people become bank robbers, because imagine if you had that much money, you could buy, like, so much candy-!"

"And that's our cue to check out," Kai says, a hand on Lloyd's back as he ushers him past the employee eyeing them suspiciously. "Didn't I say we were trying not to turn you into a corrupt child criminal?" he hisses.

"It was just a joke! You're never fun, geez-"

They get through the check-out line mercifully quick, and Kai's total ends up being slightly under budget, so he caves and buys them a snickers bar to split. Lloyd is seemingly pacified, so Kai decides it's a good time to bring something back up.

"Anyways, back to the whole 'we're tyrants who won't let you celebrate Halloween' thing," Kai says, as they pile the now-bagged groceries back into the shopping cart. "Where'd you get that idea? We're obviously going to celebrate. You can even go trick-or-treating with the other kids in Ninjago City, if you want. Or we can hit up Jamanaki, or Cole's hometown, I guess."

Whatever place is safest at the moment, Kai decides, as they head out of the store.

Lloyd, to his surprise, doesn't exactly look thrilled with that idea. "I dunno," he says, dully. "I don't really wanna hang out with the other kids. Can we just watch scary movies at the apartment?"

"What's wrong with the other kids?" Kai says, frowning. Lloyd isn't usually shy - maybe a little quiet around new people, but he's definitely not one to shy away from any opportunity to get candy, regardless of who's around.

Lloyd shrugs, looking down as he toes a scuff on the linoleum floor. "There's nothing wrong with them," he mutters. "It's more kinda...me."

Kai blinks, coming to a halt. "What?"

Lloyd gives a jerky little shrug. He grins up at him, a toothy one that shows his slightly too-sharp teeth, his red eyes flashing. "'Cause I'm the spawn of evil, duh, they all fear me!"

He says it brightly, still grinning fiercely, but Kai catches the slight waver in his voice, the fake edge in his smile.

Oh. Kai's heart twists.

He opens his mouth to give a rebuttal, fully prepared to insist to Lloyd that nobody even notices those things - and stops. Kai hesitates, thinking back to their trip in the store so far. You'd think, living in a place where literal snake people ran around constantly, red eyes wouldn't draw much attention. But living in a place where Garmadon is relatively well-known…

There'd been that shopper passing by who had done a double-take at Lloyd, her eyes quickly skirting away from his. Kai had shot her a death glare, and Lloyd thankfully hadn't noticed, but…still.

Kai's jaw tightens, and he feels about ready to bare his own teeth.

"You just…you just gotta show 'em it's nothing," he opts instead, trying to sound encouraging. Cole is usually much better at this positivity stuff. Or Zane. Or Jay, really, just anyone other than Kai. "Just be yourself," he finally says. "Once they actually meet you, they'll like you, no sweat."

"Just be yourself? What kind of stupid advice is that?" Lloyd glares. "You didn't even like me when you met me."

"Wha- that's not true," Kai says, frowning. "I-"

"You guys hung me from a roof!"

Kai cringes. "Ah, yeah…um….look, in hindsight, that was super uncool-"

"And then you all hated me for like, a month, until you found out I was the Green Ninja-"

"Hey, woah, now that's not true," Kai says, grabbing Lloyd's shoulders firmly, forcing him to look at him. "We definitely liked you before then, and you know it. But c'mon, Lloyd - you acted like a total brat, you know that, right?"

Lloyd huffs, but he nods, looking sour. "Yeah, yeah," he mutters. His expression falls a bit. "But…you guys are different. No one else has ever liked me. All the kids at Darkley's hated my guts."

Kai is dying, just a bit, on the inside. Like the I-Need-To-Light-Someone-On-Fire-For-This kind of dying, the kind where he goes out and does something stupid-

"Except for maybe Brad," Lloyd mutters, hand on his chin. "I think he sorta liked me, a little bit…"

Kai finally cuts in, his voice only mildly venomous. "Well, the kids at Darkley's were all little assholes-"

"Nya says you're not supposed to use that word," Lloyd says, suddenly very serious. He'd taken his "language learned at Darkley's is not acceptable language if you want dessert tonight" lecture very seriously, it appears.

Kai huffs. "Okay, those little jerks - they don't know what they're talking about. They're a bunch of brainless rock heads."

Lloyd gives a slightly happier giggle at that. "Like Cole?"

Kai gives him a side eye. "Be nice."

"Cole is way cooler than anyone at Darkley's, anyways," Lloyd amends.

"How about this," Kai says. "We all go trick-or-treating together, so if anyone decides to mess with you, I light them on fire."

Lloyd lights up brighter than the flashing electronic pumpkins next to them, and Kai mentally congratulates himself.

"For real?" Lloyd says. "You'll dress up and everything?"

"Cross my heart," Kai draws an x across his chest. "Now hop on," he says, patting the shopping cart handle. "I'll run and push us across the parking lot."

Lloyd whoops, hopping up on the cart.

"Okay," he says, as Kai puts one foot up. "I lied. You're sometimes fun."

"Oh, just sometimes, huh," Kai grins.

"On weekends, and holidays, and-"

Kai never does learn when else he's fun, because Lloyd is too busy laughing as they careen down the parking lot, shopping cart rattling loudly in their wake.

******

Nya thinks them all trick-or-treating a great idea, and she claims that she can make fake blood all on her own - so by the time Zane agrees with her, nobody stands a snowball's chance in hell of saying no to that particular team-up of puppy eyes.

Cole tries arguing that they don't have costumes, until Jay wickedly reminds him that they've still got the pirate outfits from the whole thing with Captain Soto and his men - but by that point, Cole isn't resisting much anyways. Lloyd's excitement is infectious, and it's fun to celebrate holidays with a family this big.

It's something none of them are quite used to, but it's welcome nonetheless.

"We're only sticking to this neighborhood, okay?" Cole tells them, for the hundredth time. "It'll gonna be crowded enough that I doubt anyone will notice it's us, and they're running a haunted house in the middle, so-"

"A haunted house?" Lloyd says, looking up from where he's finishing off the blood splatters on his own costume. "Can I take back what I said about Ninjago City being lame? This is awesome."

Lloyd, economically, has decided to as a ghost, which only requires Nya's old bedsheet, eyeholes, and a good deal of homemade fake blood splattered over it.

"I've gotta be a scary ghost," Lloyd tells Jay, seriously. "The more blood, the better."

"You got it, kid," Jay says, who's getting pretty liberal with the blood himself.

"You're a pirate, Jay, not a zombie," Zane says, ducking the drops of red paint that go flying.

"A zombie pirate," Kai offers.

"A zirate," Jay grins. Cole groans.

Nya's the last to dress up, and she's ended up going as a vampire, to Lloyd's eternal delight.

"You look like me!" he says excitedly, as Nya gives him a sharp-toothed grin.

"Yup," she says, running her tongue over the plastic fangs and making a face. "They feel kinda weird, because they're just lame fakes, but they look super cool, right?"

Lloyd's own fangs (which is a generous term) are tiny in comparison, of course, so they really look absolutely nothing like each other, but the megawatt grin he's got on - Nya's playing the long game here, and Kai has to respect her for that.

This means he's gotta get those snickers bars with the little ghosts on them later, though.

******

Trick-or-treating ends up being a lot more fun than Kai had been expecting - then again, he's never really been himself that he can remember, so maybe it's a new experience for all of them.

Well, except Jay and Cole. They're both far too invested in making sure they hit every single house possible.

Kai grins as he watches them head back from their latest house - Lloyd makes the cutest little terror of a ghost he's ever seen, swamped in the sheet as he is. Albeit a very bloody ghost, fake blood dripped gruesomely all over him. But he seems happy enough, flapping his sheet-covered arms around at anyone who dares get near them.

Well, he had been. Lloyd had discovered, much to his dismay, that it's almost impossible to eat candy with a sheet draped over his face - though there were an amusing few minutes where he had tried vainly to shove several Starbursts through the eyeholes at once. He's finally given up and shoved the sheet back over his head, where it drapes over him like a very bloody cape as he surveys his bag of candy. He's beaten them all by a ridiculously large margin, but that's just because they're all suckers who are slipping half their own candy into his bag the entire night.

"Hey, you got any chocolate you wanna share?" Cole says, reaching his hand toward Lloyd's bag.

Lloyd opens his mouth and snaps his teeth together. "I'll bite you," he threatens. "Like a shark."

"Ooh, Lloyd the Fangfish," Cole pretends to shudder. "Watch out, he's got rabies."

"I do not," Lloyd huffs, but he grudgingly hands Cole one of his Kit-Kats.

"Don't eat too much in one go," Zane reminds him. "You don't want to make yourself sick."

"Aw, c'mon Zane, it's Halloween," Jay says, through a mouthful of his own candy. "Lighten up."

"Hey, Zane can't help being such a mom," Kai says, slinging his arm around him. Zane shrugs at him good-naturedly, not hard enough to actually shake him off. "One of us has to be."

Zane rolls his eyes long-sufferingly. The moon dips behind a cluster of clouds, darkening the streets a bit, and Kai's about to suggest they head home - when a voice echoes across the street.

"Lloyd - hey, Lloyd!"

Lloyd's head snaps up. "Brad?" he says, almost incredulously, as the boy runs up to them, tugging on the hood of his own costume.

Kai stiffens, and he's distinctly aware of Nya giving the kid the stink-eye where she stands off to the side. Sure, Lloyd kind-of made-up with his friends after they lured them all to Darkley's and tried to re-evil-brainwash him, but years of being demon brats don't just go away (look at Lloyd). That, and Lloyd's words from earlier are still pretty fresh in his mind.

Kai narrows his own eyes. Lloyd can handle himself against one little tyke, but just in case…Kai isn't too opposed to shoving some kids in a trash can tonight.

Lloyd and Brad have gone quiet, carefully eyeing each other. Kai holds his breath as they size each other up. Brad was the one Lloyd said might have liked him, right? Maybe this can work in his favor, then. If Lloyd can just be chill for five seconds, then maybe-

"Your fake blood is lame," Lloyd finally says. Nya smacks a hand against her head.

Apparently, it's the right thing to say when you're an ex-evil hellion of a kid, though, because Brad immediately relaxes, jutting his lip out in a half-pouting scowl.

"Is not. Where'd you get yours, anyways?" He gives the ninja a wide-eyed glance. "Did you get it from somebody they killed?" he whispers.

Zane sputters as Cole claps a hand over his mouth, holding back snickers. Lloyd rolls his eyes.

"Nah, they'd never actually kill somebody. They're good guys, remember? Nya - that's Nya, by the way! - she made it."

"Cool," Brad says, looking a little less nervous. "Hey, Gene's over at the playground - wanna help scare him? We still owe him for the fake spider thing, right?"

"Oh - uh, yeah, obviously," Lloyd says, and Kai almost snorts at the gleam in his eye. Gee, you spend all this time trying to reform a kid.

The two fall into easy conversation - mostly plotting an unfortunate Gene's demise - as if they'd never been strained at all, and Kai watches as Lloyd runs off with him to the other kids, feeling a little abandoned and a lot protective.

"Just one little hair," he says to Nya. "I'll just singe one off."

"Kai, he's his friend, look," Nya sighs, gesturing at Lloyd and Brad where they're now tearing around the playground with several other kids (who are, no doubt, equal hellions). "They're just having fun."

"Yeah, well, I don't trust 'em."

"Well, Lloyd can always blast them across town with an energy burst, if they give him any trouble," Jay says, tossing a chocolate bar at Cole.

Zane frowns at him. "That's…not exactly the use of power we should be teaching him."

"What, you don't want Lloyd to protect himself from bullies?"

Zane considers the point. "Perhaps, if the situation called for it…"

"Great!" Jay stands up, linking his arm with Zane. "Then who's up for the haunted house with me?"

Cole takes a step back. "Nuh-uh, you know how I am with creepy houses. I don't do that kind of stuff-"

"You do with us!" Nya says cheerfully, grabbing one arm while Kai wrestles the other. Cole sputters indignantly as they drag him along. "Come on, let's see if Lloyd and his little demon gang wanna join."

******

"Welp!" Jay throws the door open with unnecessary dramatics as they pile back into the apartment. "We're banned for life. I hope you guys are happy."

"Hey, I wasn't the one who drop-kicked the chainsaw actor," Kai mutters.

Cole flushes. "I'm a ninja, I can't help it - it was reflex!""

"Was the high-pitched screaming reflex?" Jay says. Cole elbows him in the gut, and Jay snatches the candy bar from his hand in retaliation. Cole gives an indignant yelp.

"Hey! That was my last chocolate bar!"

Nya roll her eyes as she squeezes past Jay, who's loudly chewing Cole's candy bar in his face. Lloyd totters in behind her, half-buried in the pile of candy he's amassed in his bag. He's giggling manically, and the look in his eyes is genuinely more terrifying than anything Kai's ever seen.

"Pace yourself on that candy, alright?" Kai says, eyeing him. "I don't wanna wake up to you puking your guts out tonight."

"Nuh-uh," Lloyd says, through a mouthful of taffy. "I don' ge' sick from candy. S'impossible."

"That's what you said the last time," Cole says, snatching the bag from Lloyd's hand and ignoring his cry of displeasure. "That's enough for tonight. You can eat yourself sick again in the morning."

Nya strides by them, falling onto the couch next to Kai with a a thwump. Kai watches in amusement as she rubs a hand across her eye, smearing mascara and eyeliner across her cheek in a raccoon-like smudge. Nya notices his stare, glancing at her hand and huffing.

"Remind me not to wear costume makeup again," she mutters, as Kai snorts. "At least I didn't ruin it for the picture."

She digs into her bag, pulling out a slightly-rumpled but still glossy photograph.

"Not that it matters," Nya continues. "This is the worst picture of us I've ever seen." She makes a face, staring at the picture the workers at the haunted house had snapped of them before they went in.

Kai shifts on the couch so he's looking over Nya's shoulder, squinting at the photo. "Is that supposed to be Zane?" he says, pointing at the blurry figure on the right.

"May…be?" Nya says. "At least you turned out alright."

Kai grins at where he's taking up half the picture, Lloyd wrapped in a chokehold around his neck that could be considered a hug if generous, both of them grinning wildly.

"Someone's gotta bring the beautiful," Kai says. He looks up to where Lloyd is being accosted by Cole, having somehow gotten his hands on yet another chocolate bar.

"Lloyd, I said that's enough. Lloyd, don't - no! Stop!"

Lloyd's hand stills, the chocolate bar hovering inches from his mouth.

"Put it down," Cole hisses. The chocolate bar moves half an inch closer. "Lloyd! No!"

Lloyd shoves the chocolate in his mouth before Cole can blink. "Lloyd!"

Lloyd springs from the chair, cackling wildly as he runs. Cole tears after him, seething. "I'll use you as a toothbrush for the Ultradragon, you pint-sized punk-"

"I'm surprised Sensei Wu hasn't come in and killed us yet," Jay says, flopping down on the rug below Kai and Nya, fumbling with the remote.

"He went out for the evening," Zane says. "Which means you can scream as loudly as you want over the movie."

Jay chucks a wrapper at Zane's head. He snatches it easily, tossing it back at Jay. Their worn TV finally flickers to life just as Cole and Lloyd finally wind down, Lloyd looking a lot less gleeful with his decision.

"O-oh, too much candy," Lloyd moans, clambering onto the couch next to Kai.

"You puke on me, I'm tossing you off the roof," Kai says, but he wraps an arm around him nonetheless, pulling Lloyd against his side.

"No you won't," Lloyd yawns, eyelids already fluttering as the movie starts. "You'd miss me too much. Wouldn't ever have any fun without me."

"Oh, I wouldn't?"

"Nope. I gotta…keep you from getting boring."

"No worries on that one," Kai says, grinning. He bites back his own yawn, settling further into the couch as Lloyd nods off, curling up against his side. "No worries at all."

Lloyd is soundly asleep against his side in seconds, snoring softly. Kai's getting all sorts of looks from Jay and Cole, but he masterfully ignores them - for now. Nya's taken to nodding off on his other side, so he's kinda sibling-sandwiched at the moment. Upsetting them isn't worth putting Jay in a headlock tonight.

"Here," Nya suddenly whispers over the movie, waving the picture up at him from where she's using his shoulder as a pillow. "Wanna put it in your modeling portfolio?"

Kai maturely sticks his tongue out at her, but he still snatches the picture. "Nah, but I'll keep it as a reminder of what massive dorks you all are."

They settle back to watching the movie, and he glances at the picture again. It's a pretty cute one - not that he's gonna admit that. It's a keeper, at least. They really don't have a lot of pictures of their team, and hardly any at all with Lloyd and his disaster-haired self.

Ah well. He can take more later. They've got plenty of time.

[badgersgarbage]

Kris(py kreme lol)

eyy nice

This one’s gonna be a long one though, just to let you know.

Physical attributes:

In terms of height, I’d say they’d be 5'4 at the time of the game but probably grows up to be 5'9 or so.

They’re pretty thin in general, but not without a hint of muscle, mostly from school activities.

I, personally, envision Kris as being biologically male, but that’s just me. Not something I hold onto as a hard-and-fast rule, mind you, and not something I’ll chastise people over not following.

Not so much biological in this case, but I can see Kris identifying as agender.  Or is just apathetic to the whole gender thing entirely and doesn’t really care how people refer to them as.  I tend to write them with they/them pronouns but I can see them not caring if people use he/him or she/her when talking about them.

Abilities and skills:

Despite their generally reserved nature, Kris is remarkably good at negotiating and, in some cases, outright manipulation of others.  But they often choose not to do the latter, mainly because that usually just means more trouble than it’s worth.

Very good at being quiet and slinking around, given their propensity for pranking others.

On a similar note, they’re very good at planning things in advance and working out all manner of schemes well beforehand.

In terms of combat prowess, however, they’ve only learned stuff from the various books, video games and anime they’ve consumed.  They’re not a trained swordsman or anything, and tend towards flashy moves, but it’s not like they’re expecting to stab anybody for realsies.

Has a fair bit of determination they can call upon, but not nearly as much as, say, Frisk or Chara would in their own world.  Generally this only comes out when they feel invested in something (such as the Dark World), but otherwise it’s kind of just the same sort of background levels a human like them would have.  More on that below.

His life and personality:

Honestly, we already know a lot about Kris’ home-life:  grew up in a loving family, then the parents split none-too-happily, then their brother Asriel left for college and they’ve been kind of alone ever since.

Spent a lot of time with Asriel in school and, particularly during and after the divorce, relied on him the most for emotional support.  So when Asriel left, they felt like their only friend had left, and they withdrew quite significantly.

Adopted at a very young age, since they seemed unaware that humans don’t normally grow horns.  So probably barely knew their biological parents, if at all.

Likely has some form of depression, as well as some mild sociopathic and/or psychopathic tendencies.  Not enough to be a major worry, but enough for them to be seen as the ‘creepy kid’.

Almost everything they have is a hand-me-down from Asriel - given that Asriel was probably generally bigger than them, their clothes are often quite big on them.  And unfortunately remind them almost always of their brother.

On the neglected end of child favouritism, with Asriel being shown a lot of love by Toriel and… well, no shortage of love given to Kris, but perhaps not as many displays of it.  Generally grew up expecting not to have much stuff so doesn’t often ask for things from others.  Which is why they found the stuff from the Dark World so important to them, and they loathe the Player for dropping it.

When they were younger and less emotionally withdrawn they were, in short, a little shit.  Pulling pranks, tormenting Noelle, and generally having very little impulse control.  All relatively harmless, but still with almost no way to stop it unless someone basically took them by the hand and said ‘hey no don’t do that’.

Now, a good way to describe them would be ‘apathetic’.  They no longer have any real motivation, no desire to do much except sleep, and generally don’t care about anything, wandering through life as it happens around them.

Ironically, that’s what makes them perfect for a vessel for the Player’s SOUL - they feel pretty much empty and devoid of purpose.  However, the issue with that is that after some time, Kris reacted poorly to it, which is a theory/thoughtdump for later on.

Actually really enjoys playing the piano, particularly fairly slow and soulful tunes.

Now again, this might be my bias showing, but I can almost imagine them getting on better with Asgore than Toriel.  Difference in hugs aside, it’s pretty clear Kris cares about them (putting the danny devit-egg in the fridge without player input being the strongest of the possible evidence I can think of at this point).  I can at least see them being deeply embarrassed by how Toriel seems to treat them like a young child still, and perhaps even resents her for it in a pretty typical teenage way.

Really, really, really likes dragons.  Probably quite liked drawing them too.  might also be a strong point as to why I ship them with susie but shhhhh we can talk about ships later

Generally doesn’t like talking to people.  Not much of a conversationalist, or likes interacting with others in general.  Probably was like that even before Asriel left.

Doesn’t express themselves much.  Like, at all.  Their face is almost perpetually tired-looking and they only give small gestures for reaction.  This is slightly different in the Dark World, where they actually do move their face - their mouth remains fairly steady, but their eyes carry most of the emotion.

Has no interest in the whole religion that Toriel and Asriel (latter is a probability as opposed to a guarantee) subscribe to, which probably puts them at odds with their mother.

As a friend/romantic interest:

Being the withdrawn, socially-awkward mess they are, I can see them being particularly apprehensive about getting close to anyone in all respects; mentally, physically and emotionally.

Will let the other person take the ‘lead’ in their friendship, and will generally follow along with whatever they do.

After a while they might get comfortable enough to really, fully unload all manner of heartache and personal stuff onto you, more as a way to get it off their chest.  Then, they’d probably finally start to be expressive around you.

If romance becomes involved, it’d be pretty much the same, except then they’d also feel more comfortable with physical contact.  Almost to the point of never letting go, but almost.

Probably wouldn’t take any form of abandonment too well either, and might frequently try to seek attention just so they can feel some kind of validation.  After a while they’d probably chill in the latter regard, but the first would still be something they always fear.

Really though just give them lots of affection and love (platonic or otherwise), be prepared to have an emotional wreck on your hands, and you’ll end up with a steadfast friend/partner who might do the occasional bad thing but genuinely means well.

Oh yeah, and get ready to deal with weird stuff with SOULs.

And them getting up in the middle of the night for snacks

[1979semifinalist]

20 Best Rogue & Gambit Covers (Part II)

Here’s the same stuff I said before: 

For the hottest couple in the Marvel universe, there are surprisingly few truly great (and truly hot!) Rogue & Gambit covers to be published since the characters began flirting literal decades ago.

In the run up to our BIG RELEASE of Rogue & Gambit #1 on 1/3/18…and with a all of us aching for the lettered preview to drop, I thought I’d count down the 20 best Gambit & Rogue covers.

I AM including Kris Anka’s publicly released covers for our series in the running, even though they are not yet published…because…well, because this is the FIRST EVER ROGUE & GAMBIT COMIC AND HOW COULD I NOT???

If you think I missed something…it’s possible. But it’s also possible I’m just not a fan of that cover. To each their own as they say.

Most importantly…can anything we’ve seen yet beat the most iconic Rogue & Gambit cover of all time? (C’mon, you know the one!)

Anyway, here’s to A LOT MORE Gambit & Rogue hotness in our future and onto the list! :D

And HERE’S Covers #1 - #10!

10. X-MEN LEGACY #259 - CLAY MANN. Absolutely gorgeous. Again, BIG points off for Rogue bringing another dude to the party, but this is gorgeously illustrated, has a ton of tension and heat. What Mann manages to do with just Magneto’s hand on Rogue’s shoulder and Gambit’s on Rogue’s thigh and her hands on both of theirs is...sorta awe inspiring? And the fact that she’s got her eyes locked on the reader just puts it over the top intensity wise. It’s ironic, because this loses points for including Magneto...and yet the things that make it work like gangbusters demand that Magneto be there...conundrum. I think what it really highlights is what a shame it is that we never got a hot canon Rogue & Gambit cover from Mann.

09. GAMBIT #16 - YANICK PAQUETTE. Finally THEY. ARE. KISSING. Omg. I can’t believe we had to get to #9 before we’ve got them actually kissing! AHHHH. So. This is a great illustration. Beautiful treatment of both Gambit and Rogue...I love the body language especially. And I don’t mind the minimalist red background - and it might even be intended as a call back to the red background on that iconic Rogue & Gambit cover (you know the one). The big problem with this has nothing to do with Paquette’s lovely work at all...it’s that hideous absolutely massive “storyline banner” that takes up more than a fifth of the entire cover. It honestly wrecks EVERYTHING and makes me furious tbh. 

08. ROGUE & GAMBIT #1 - KRIS ANKA. Amazing energy and movement, love the confident use of white space, and the sassy attitude they both have in body language and expression. I am also a really big fan of the title block text as it is here...BUT that’s not how the final is going to look as it will have the “Marvel Legacy” trade dress...which is fine, but not as good as this. So slight points off there. I still like the actual “Rogue & Gambit” title block itself a lot. And the “Ring of Fire” part 1 text banner is small/high/unassuming, so it’s pretty good overall! You’ll see. And yes, I’m very biased here. Fully admit that. I’m a huge fan of Kris Anka’s work, he’s my friend, and this is my book. I come with ALL THE BIAS AND AM HAPPY TO ADMIT IT. ;D

07. X-MEN LEGACY #224 - LEE BERMEJO. This is a little dark compared to what we’re used to seeing for these two in covers and a little more realistic than I tend to prefer...but I totally dig it. It’s got a ton of intensity, and the body language and expression work is awesome. They really feel almost about to kiss, which, if you’re not going to get the actual kiss, is quintessential Gambit and Rogue, right? The title block stuff is really simple and unassuming as well.

06. UNCANNY AVENGERS #5 - CARLOS PACHECO. A really nice homage to the accepted most iconic Rogue & Gambit image of all time...it doesn’t beat it, but it’s totally lovely. A gorgeous illustration that feels like that old cover, but nicely updated and its own thing. It loses points for a little bit too much text nonsense going on...and the expressions don’t QUITE work for me, plus I’ll never love Rogue with short hair ;D but all in all, a beautiful piece.

05. ULTIMATE X-MEN #53 - ANDY KUBERT. If you can believe it...this is the only other cover on the list (ever?) with an actual lip lock! Crazy. But at least it’s GORGEOUS. I really do love this one - the blue tones, the rain, the intensity, the simplicity, I just love it. It loses a few points for really dumb stuff though. I hate the blue borders with the X symbols (so dumb) and some slightly obnoxious title block/giant numbers stuff, but mostly...I just...really hate Remy’s hair? Yeah, it just doesn’t look like Gambit with that weird wavy hair. That’s honestly my biggest beef with this otherwise gorgeous piece.

04. ROGUE & GAMBIT #2 - KRIS ANKA. Admittedly this is getting a bit of a pass for not having the title block on it, but since I know about what that will look like, I think I know enough to be okay with it. And I think people will love this cover even more when they see what’s inside the issue. But based on what we have here - it gets so many points for pure fun, plus it has great energy and movement. PLUS the obvious connection/chemistry between our leads. Bonus points for Rogue’s glorious thighs. Bonus points for Gambit’s conveniently torn uniform (and hairy chest). And Bonus points for Gambit’s perfect smirk! Again, noted that I’m highly biased...and I don’t care!

*runs away, fingers in ears*

03. X-MEN 92 #2 - PEPE LARRAZ. So here’s how much I love this cover...I don’t buy print comics any more (no room!) just digital and then trades for some stuff for my shelves. But for this I went out and bought a print copy. Had to have this in my hands. I love everything about it. Well, okay, in a PERFECT world Cassandra isn’t in the background, but everything else is perfection. The swooning, the love, the drama, even the little raven with the “heart” word balloon. LOVE IT. And no surprise really because Pepe Larraz is a hell of an artist who went on to draw a spectacular Rogue (and sometimes Gambit) in Uncanny Avengers!

02. ROGUE & GAMBIT #3 - KRIS ANKA. So...there are great, beautifully illustrated covers...and then there are great, beautifully illustrated covers that are also PERFECTLY CLEVER and instantly become iconic. That’s this one for me. As if a dozen versions of Gambit and Rogue weren’t fun enough, the heart shape they make... *kisses fingers* ...it’s perfection. I wish nothing more than us not having to put ANY text on this. I wish we could just send it out as is. Alas, no. And that is gonna knock it down JUST ENOUGH to NOT unseat the iconic classic. (But maybe issue #4 or #5 will??? We still have time!) :D

01. X-MEN #24 - ANDY KUBERT. It all comes down to this, as you knew it would. The classic cover that launched a thousand ships...or rather... CEMENTED them. It’s just gorgeous. It’s perfectly 90′s. It just BATHES in the nostalgia of classic Gambit and Rogue. it’s not afraid to cover up more than half the title block (YOU KNOW WHO THEY ARE, YOU DON’T NEED NO PESKY TITLE BLOCK!). That it rocks the most classic, well-known, and beloved looks for both of them only cements things further. And because they were still doing the “no touching dance” in these early days...their state of almost touching is just...PALPABLE. I’ll also say that though Rogue’s face gets the focus, Gambit is just really lovingly rendered too.

HOTT.

So. There you have it. My picks for the 20 Best Rogue & Gambit covers of all time.

Don’t forget to hit up your LCS on Wednesday 1/3/18 (or Comixology) for Rogue & Gambit #1 and keep reading to see if we (ahem, KRIS ANKA) can unseat the 20+ year title holder of “Best Rogue & Gambit Cover of All Time”

No pressure, Kris! :D

[julpux]

Supposed To Be (Nygmobblepot)

For a moment, Ed just wants to ignore it, wants to let that warmth grip him fully and give in, allowing himself to be pulled towards Oswald and kiss him, continuing to hold him.

 But this isn’t how it’s supposed to be. 

 Read on AO3

Characters, Pairings: Oswald Cobblepot/Edward Nygma

Oneshot: 3023 words

Warnings: rated NC-17, mature content

Thank you to Kris for beta reading!

“Well then, old friend, it was a pleasure discussing these matters with you,” Oswald says, putting down the now-empty glass and shooting an almost-warm smile at Ed.

Ed takes in a sharp breath, jaw growing more tense. For a second he considers grabbing the glass and shattering it on the other man’s head.

Instead, his face twists into an even more disdainful look and he closes his eyes for a moment, taking in another breath before he sits up from the chair opposite Oswald’s ridiculously big desk.

“You know if I could, I would kill you,” he growls, balling his hands into fists to keep him from giving in to another violent impulse - that to lunge forward and strangle the smaller man.

Oswald just smiles at the threat, eyes twinkling in amusement.

“Oh, I’m sure, you would, Edward,” he replies, voice soft and irritating in a way that feels like an itch in Ed’s ears.

“I can’t imagine just how frustrating that must be, my poor old friend,” Oswald continues, feigning pity. He chuckles, the skin around his eyes crinkling as his smile widens, “But at least, you are no longer imprisoned inside a block of ice - that must be worth something, right?”

Something short-circuits in Ed’s brain at that.

Everything is red for a moment, his blood boiling hot as it rushes through his veins, Oswald’s loud cry muffled before he’s able to focus again.

His arms are straining from how hard he’s gripping Oswald’s wrists, pinning them above his head. They’re close - almost unbearably so.

But Ed doesn’t even think about stepping back. Not now, when he has a hold on the oh-so-prideful Penguin like this.

Ed’s lips curl into a menacing smile.

“Now, would you look at that,” he says, pressing in closer so that their chests are flush against each other.

Ed can feel the quick pulse of Oswald’s heart - can feel the heat radiating off the smaller man’s body and seeping right into his.

“I’ll have you killed,” Oswald sneers, a feral look blazing up in his eyes. “I’ll have Victor freeze your legs, leaving you unable to run away from me. And then,” he flashes his teeth in a mad-looking grin,  “I’ll cut you open. I’ll have you bleed out like a pig!”

The threat only evokes a small chuckle from Ed. “Oh, you wouldn’t. And you know why?”

Oswald swallows, jaw visibly trembling as he presses his lips to a thin line.

“I know why,” Ed growls, rocking his hips forward and emitting a startled groan from Oswald. “You could scream for help. I know you have bodyguards waiting outside this room. But you won’t, will you, Oswald?”

Oswald squeezes his eyes shut, and Ed can clearly see the dark pink blush on his freckled cheeks now.

“You still want me, so badly. Secretly, you crave moments like this,” Ed whispers, leaning in close so that their faces are mere inches apart. “Moments where I lose my temper with you and pin you up against a wall. You get off on it, don’t you.”

Squeezing his eyes shut, Oswald leans his head to the side, his breath coming quicker now.

“You are lucky we have an agreement. Otherwise, these moments would cost you your life,” Ed continues before leaning in to drag his lips against the hot skin of Oswald’s exposed neck. His tongue darts out and he licks up a long wet stripe all the way up to Oswald’s ear.

It’s then that Ed feels heat beginning to coil in his stomach as he’s gripped with the delicious sensation of being in complete control.

Whilst he’d never admit it to Oswald, Ed does enjoy these moments just as much. He does get angry when Oswald riles him up like this, sure. But in the end, the outcome isn’t anything but satisfying for him.

Taking Oswald’s earlobe in between his teeth, Ed feels more of his blood rush down to his groin as a stream of soft breathy moans reaches his ears.

“You’re insufferable,” he growls right into Oswald’s ear,  another soft noise emitting from the man, before he lets go of Oswald’s wrists and forcefully grabs his face, tilting his head to he can press his lips down for a kiss.

Ed is always surprised by how much Oswald lets himself go in these moments, every ounce of rationality seemingly disappearing as he reaches around and wraps his arms around Ed’s neck, pulling him closer.

For a moment, Ed considers pulling away, just so he can taunt the man with how pathetic he is, throwing himself like this at Ed.

But it’s not as if Ed is immune to his body’s reaction.

It’s only after his jaw already aches and his lips are sore from kissing that Ed can find the willpower to pull himself away.

Oswald is looking at him with a slightly dazed look, face red all over and lips swollen pink and glistening wet.

It makes the fabric around Ed’s hard cock strain even more, his gut squeezing tightly at the sheer need pulsing through his veins.

He’s given into the temptation before  and fucked his arch enemy.

So it’s not that he completely denies himself the pleasure of it, but Ed knows it’s dangerous, that it makes one throw every ounce of self-control overboard, making oneself vulnerable - making himself vulnerable.

“Ed, please,” Oswald pants then, reaching out to tug on Ed’s tie. “I- I need you.”

Heat flushes him, and Ed can barely keep himself under control at this point, nearly trembling as he’s caught by a hot thick wave rolling up in him. One that that seems to push him over the edge, where it’ll end with him taking Oswald hard against the wall, buried balls deep and drowning in the other man’s loud cries.

Ed wants to bark out a firm ‘No ; wants to turn around and just leave, something he’s often done before, leaving both of them with no other option than to take care of themselves - as frustrating it might be.

But then, Oswald is tugging on his tie again, this time more forcefully. “Ed, come on,” he whines.  “We’ve done it before - you enjoyed it. Just- just let us try again, please?”

It’s true. Ed had enjoyed it. It’s not something he could ever deny even if he wanted to.

“Turn around,” he growls, yanking his tie out of Oswald’s grasp and pushing the smaller man roughly back against the wall.

Ed spots a small twitch at the corners of Oswald’s mouth and something flashing up in his eyes before he obeys, turning around and placing his palm flat against the wall, his shoulders slightly slumped and legs kept apart.

It’s not the most comfortable position for him to be him due to his leg, Ed knows that. Maybe that’s why it’s his preferred position.

As Ed reaches around the smaller man’s front to undo his pants, his chin resting on Oswald’s shoulder, there’s something like doubt creeping up in him.

Only a few layers and a spot of preparation was keeping him from sinking into Oswald’s tight heat - his cock achingly hard now and craving nothing more than exactly this.

But still, Ed is reminded of that twitch in Oswald’s lip - was it the beginning of a smile?

Is Oswald gloating? Does he consider it a victory to have gotten Ed to this point?

Jaw tensing firmly as he grits his teeth, Ed walks over to Oswald’s desk, pulling open the bottom drawer to retrieve the bottle of lube he knows is always hidden in there.

After quickly coating his fingers with lube, Ed presses his fingertip against the puckered opening, circling it for a moment - and relishing the soft little noises coming from Oswald - before pushing inside and immediately feeling the overbearingly hot suction of the other man’s body as he slides his finger further inside.

“Please, more,” Oswald breathes, pushing slightly back as Ed presses a second finger inside.

“That’s it, yes,” Oswald sighs. And it’s then that Ed realizes just how much it sounds like praise.

Ed remembers the twitch of Oswald’s mouth earlier. Was it the beginning of a grin? One of triumph? Over having gotten Ed to give in - to give him this?

Was this some sort of game to Oswald? One where he’d actually won so many times in the past without Ed knowing it?

Something sharp claws at his insides. He pulls his fingers out, barely noticing the soft whine coming from Oswald.

“Now, fuck me. Come on, you want to. I know you.”

I know you.

And just like that, with one single statement, everything around and inside Ed turns red.

“Aah!” Oswald yelps as Ed grabs a fistful of his hair, forcefully yanking his head back. He presses himself flush against Oswald’s smaller frame, mouth right next to the shell of Oswald’s ear.

“You think you can manipulate me into giving you this?” he growls, rubbing his still clothed hard crotch against Oswald’s bare behind. “You think you can control me?”

Oswald gasps, followed by a whimper as Ed tightens his grip in his hair. “F-fuck, Ed. I- please.”

The sound of Oswald’s slightly breathless plea shoots right down to his cock, twisting heat inside him that has him unable to suppress a groan.

The round mounds of Oswald’s ass are right there. Pale and soft and nothing but inviting, making Ed’s cock throb in agony - aching to be buried deep inside that tight slick heat.

Ed draws in a sharp breath, eyeing the lube in his hand.

Maybe he could resist. Maybe he could just turn around and leave. He’s done that before, after all.

But never after already getting this close. Never after already having felt that delicious tight-hot grip around his fingers.

“God, Ed,” Oswald pulls him out of his thoughts, voice hinged with sheer desperation. “What are you waiting for, dammit?!”

And then Ed can feel him starting to turn around.

Before he can seize control of the situation again, Ed loses his balance, caused by Oswald shoving him backwards.

His back connects with something soft - the cushioned backrest of Oswald’s majestic leather armchair. Unable to keep his stance, Ed slumps down onto the chair with a slight grunt. He’s glaring up at Oswald, heat beginning to flush his face as a fresh wave of anger begins to rise in him.

“I don’t know what theme you were going for today, but I’m not having it,” Oswald says as he steps out of his pants, now mindlessly kicking the bundle of fabric to the side before hobbling towards Ed who hasn’t moved an inch.

Ed is stunned. Every joint and bone in his bone wants to move. And god, does he want to throw his fist into Oswald’s face right now, slamming him to the ground and leaving him there with his ass still stretched and wet from Ed’s fingers.

But he’s unable to do anything but sit in that damned chair, legs slightly spread and cock painfully straining against his clothes.

Because at this point, there’s nothing he can do but give his body what it wants.

Oswald.

Now leaning down, Oswald quickly fumbles with Ed’s zipper and belt, every touch - even the slightest brush of his fingers - has Ed losing a little bit more self-control until it feels as if he’s on the verge of slipping into a stream of steaming hot water.

And yet, despite his rapid loss of self-control, Ed’s mind is screaming - this isn’t how it’s supposed to be. Oswald should either be pressed against the wall or bent over. He shouldn’t be able to move. He shouldn’t be in control.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to be between them.

However, Ed’s mind goes blank as Oswald wraps a hand around his cock and slicks it up with lube.

With his pulse quickening and prickling heat flushing him, Ed can do nothing but keep his eyes fixed on Oswald as he turns around, getting in position and steadying himself on the chair as he lowers his body slightly.

“Put it in,” he breathes, and Ed’s brain almost short-circuits then, his hands feeling almost numb as he grips the base of his cock with one and digs the fingers of his others in Oswald’s ass, slightly spreading the cheeks apart.

“Fuck,” Ed whispers, unable to comprehend anything else at this point. Slowly, Oswald sinks down, and slowly Ed meets him, positioning the head of his cock against the dusty pink crinkle of Oswald’s hole.

“Oh god,” Ed groans, lids fluttering shut as Oswald impales himself on his thick length, the man’s soft and high-pitched whine making Ed’s cock throb inside the delicious warmth of Oswald’s body.

It’s not something he’s ever wanted to experience - being out of control like this. Yet, at the same time, Ed can’t help but throw his head back and groan, his body in sheer ecstasy about being taken like this - floating in what feels like a languorous stream as Oswald engulfs him in his clenching heat again and again.

The pale round globes of Oswald’s ass are jiggling as they move up and down, smacking loudly every time they connect with Ed’s bare thighs. Ed feels almost hypnotized by them, his fingers tingly as he finally dares to reach out and grab at the soft flesh, emitting a surprised little moan from Oswald.

“Fuck,” he hisses as he presses his palm flat against Oswald’s back, the fabric of his shirt slightly damp against his skin. He pushes Oswald slightly forward to get a better view of his thick length disappearing inside the other man.

“Ride me faster,” Ed grunts, a smirk spreading on his lips as he realizes he can still seize control in this situation after all.

And of course, Oswald obliges. He begins to bounce on Ed’s cock in earnest, the sound of their skin smacking together echoing loudly in the room along with Oswald’s loud and absolutely shameless cries.

“Oh god, yes,” Ed moans, giving the lush flesh of Oswald’s ass a couple of encouraging smacks that only seem to fuel the intensity of Oswald’s movements.

It doesn’t take long until the tightness that has begun to spread in Ed’s balls unloads itself, making Ed choke back a cry as a prickling wave of warmth grips his whole body.

Panting, Ed pushes Oswald off him, causing his spent cock to slip out and flop onto his thigh.

“Fuck,” he huffs out, squeezing his eyes shut as he tries to regain his breathing - and his control.

But Oswald is back on his lap again within seconds and as Ed quickly opens his eyes back up, he finds himself staring right into these familiar green and blue-speckled eyes he’s once found himself quite fond of.

He’s quite the sight - face flushed all over, hair sticking to his forehead and his lips are curved into a small grin.

Ed wants to push him away, but then Oswald is reaching for his hands, and Ed can’t get himself to pull it away.

“Make me come, Ed, please?” he breathes and presses a tender kiss against Ed’s forehead.

Ed feels overcome by something - something he can’t put a name to.

He wraps his hand around Oswald’s cock, something he’s never done before. He’s never made Oswald come like this.

He’s made Oswald suck him off, has plunged his fingers in the other man and fucked him hard against a wall or his desk.

But this is new: Oswald on his lap, so close that he can feel his heartbeat against his chest.

Oswald arches into his touch, burying his face into the crook of Ed’s neck to muffle his soft cries as Ed strokes him to orgasm. Finally, when Oswald comes with a loud cry, his smaller body going stiff in Ed’s arms and his cock pulsing against Ed’s palm, he feels an almost unbearable warmth gripping him.

He holds onto Oswald tight, not minding the man’s release dripping down his hand and onto his thighs.

Eventually, after Oswald’s breathing and the cries have calmed down noticeably, Ed allows himself to loosen his hold, giving Oswald enough room to shift in his lap, facing him again.

Oswald’s eyes are wet, the corners framed with smudged mascara and obvious tear-streaks leading down his still pink-flushed cheeks.

“You…” he begins, but Ed stops him by pressing a finger against his lips.

“Don’t,” he says and despite everything - the warmth, that almost overbearing pull towards Oswald - Ed’s face hardens, his chest growing tight.

For a moment, Ed just wants to ignore it, wants to let that warmth grip him fully and give in, allowing himself to be pulled towards Oswald and kiss him, continuing to hold him.

But this isn’t how it’s supposed to be.

Clearing his throat, Ed pushes Oswald off him - though not without a little bit of gentleness, helping him stand properly to not put too much pressure on his bad leg.

“I should- I should go,” Ed murmurs, quickly putting his pants back on and trying to smooth the wrinkles of his sweated-through shirt.

Oswald just stands in silence, not bothering to cover himself up nor fix his hair, a complete mess at this point.

Nor does he try to wipe away the traces of his crying, which only reminds Ed that this has gone too far.

He fixes his tie and puts his hat back on, nodding to Oswald in a silent goodbye before stepping out of his office, feigning a confident smirk as he passes the gorillas guarding Oswald’s office and keeping that look plastered on his face as he walks through the lounge, the loud music barely reaching his ears tho.

All he can hear is Oswald’s voice, that soft plea, the crying - and what it has done to him, what it has made him feel.

The faux-smile vanishes as he steps out of the club.

If there should be a next time at all, Ed would make sure to not let get things out of hand like this again. He’d stay in control.

Because that’s how it’s supposed to be.

[rawcatlawnchair]

Chapter 1 - Trixi

Sprawling would be an understatement for the Chalice.  The great city of the mages had been founded centuries ago, when the gods were young and the people even younger.  A group of magical prodigies had scoured the world for a suitable location for their new academy, one to teach people from all races the gifts of magic. Where others saw an old port by the lake, the mages saw a great city, with four great towers for the four schools of magic, strong and independent of the newly founded kingdoms.  And so they had toiled, building and growing, turning the port into a small city at the center of their continent, Sagure.

As the years passed, the prodigies had long become old men and women, and realised that they would never live to see their dreams come to fruition. So they named their successors, tasked them with completing the construction and expansion of the city, and passed into the afterlife. It would take nearly four hundred years from the day the prodigies arrived to the completion of the city, its walls proud and tall, its towers painted in the four great colours of magic: Blue for energy, Grey for the elements, Green for nature and White for essence.

These successors came to be known as the Masters, dedicated to preserving and protecting the city. While the rest of the world pursued wealth or power, they would pursue knowledge. And there was no better place to store the found knowledge than in a book.

So it was of no surprise when Trixi awoke in the halls of the Great Library, slumped over a tome he had been reading late into the night. After all, he had spent the better part of six years here, poring over every book he could find, on his unquenchable thirst for knowledge.  At the tender age of fifteen, his journey as an acolyte was nearly over, with only his graduation quest to complete before he gained his geomancer’s bracelet.

At this hour, the halls were still empty, with most of his fellow students still soundly asleep in the cool summer morning. The lack of a single soul in sight made the library seem arcane and ancient, yet as the sun rose, it would be filled with the pitter-patter of feet and the flipping of pages, the hushed whisperings of curious students, filling their young minds with the knowledge of the world.

As he stirred, the young gnome rubbed his eyes and hopped off his stool, rising to his full height. He was tall for a gnome, well over a meter in height. He brushed frizzy brown hair from his forehead as he got to work, cleaning up his books and sorting out his notes. He had a strange fondness towards his books full of writings, with scrawlings in the margins and doodles for contraptions all over. As much as he was a mage, he was also a scholar and engineer. Back home, in the gnomish stronghold of Yarulan, the workshops were overclocked, pumping out the latest rune-powered gadget or magic device. The Grey Tower was a shrine to the material magics, but Yarulan would always be home, and he yearned for it.

His nostalgia trip was interrupted by a young dwarven girl, coughing to get his attention.

“Acolyte Trixi? You have been summoned to the Prismatic Hall.”

“Acolyte Darin, it is good to see you. But you must be mistaken, the Prismatic Hall is reserved for the Masters exclusively,” Trixi gave Darin a quizzical look.

Darin shrugged and responded, “Archgeomancer Kris herself asked for you, something about a quest. She wants you there before the council convenes at ten bells.”

Trixi’s eyes lit up at the name of the greatest living geomancer. Even amongst gnomes and dwarves alike the human was revered, with her greatest discovery being the formula for brightpowder, a highly flammable and explosive material. And a quest? He had barely begun his seventh year in his studies, yet few were called for their quest until the end of their seventh year.

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Trixi promised, scrambling to gather his notebooks into his satchel.

He bade his goodbyes and scampered off into the castle of the Chalice. High above him, the Prismatic Hall awaited him.

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

The Chalice might be beautiful, and its castle even more brilliant, but the Prismatic Hall was the crown jewel of them all. Located at the exact center between the four towers, the four quadrants, and the four gates, perfection was an understatement. It was adorned in brilliant greens, in radiant reds, in shining whites and striking greys.  In any other castle, grey would have been boring and dull. Yet here grey stood, strong and solemn, like the very mages the colour represented.

As the ten bells struck, Trixi sprinted into the room, struck by awe by its beauty. In the center sat a hexagonal table, and at one seat sat a gray-robed woman. Trixi knelt and announced his arrival.

“Acolyte Trixi, at your service, Archgeomancer.”

The woman chuckled at the title and removed her hood. Her robe may have been gray, but she was anything but it. A head of auburn hair tumbled out and she gave the young geomancer a warm smile. Kris was young enough to remember the first time she had stepped into the Prismatic Hall, after having been named the personal aide to the Archgeomancer at the tender age of twenty four. She took on the mantle not half a decade later, becoming the youngest Master in the history of the Chalice.

“Rise, Acolyte. The grand Prismatic Hall cannot be appreciated while on one’s knees, especially for one as tall as you,” She joked as she gestured for Trixi to take a seat behind her.

“I have brought you here today under extraordinary circumstances. Normally, your professor would hand you a graduation quest at the end of your seventh year, but time will not permit us to wait that long.”

“Whatever could be so urgent? Has a natural disaster struck?”

Kris sighed and shook her head. “This threat comes from within our own walls. The Arcane Vault was broken into last night. The city gates have been sealed already, but our suspect has shown great talent in disregarding all sorts of security measures. I fear it will not be long before they disappear without a trace.”

“But why an acolyte? Surely if this thief is so elusive, a proper geomancer should be tasked with finding him.” Trixi was stumped by this odd decision.

“You assume too much, young one. Firstly, the thief is a young girl, a former student of the White Tower.”

Right on cue, the other masters began to enter the hall. First came Loremaster Mervyn, the historian that tracked the historical activities of the Chalice as a whole, but mostly focused on the deeds of the Masters that resided within the Prismatic Hall. Behind him strode a short, yet imposing goblin in blue robes, with fiery red eyes and a devious grin. The Archmage was joined by his fellow masters, Archmonk Celice in white and the Archdruid Yujin in green.

At the side of the Archdruid, walked a young elven girl, whispering into his ear, dressed in similar green garbs, a plain staff bound to her back. He heard a sharp whisper from the Archdruid, far too loud for secrecy.

“...no more of this nonsense! I will hear none of it.”

For a moment, the young elf slumped her shoulders, but quickly recovered her formal posture. She walked with the grace of a lady and exuded wisdom far beyond her years. He swore he saw a faint green glow from her light brown skin, but the glow faded as fast as it had come. She glanced over at her fellow acolyte, and quickly shied away, taking a seat behind the Archdruid.

“And secondly, you won’t be alone. Say hello to your new teammate, Acolyte Jirei of the Green Tower.”

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

The last to enter was First Guardian Korixa, the troll who led the city guards in defense of the city in times of crisis. The Masters took their seats and the meeting began in proper.

Kris was the first to speak. “Archmage Roko, where is the third acolyte you mentioned? We requested her presence at this meeting.”

Roko snorted, “My star pupil goes where she pleases, when she pleases. Dragonlings are a notoriously hardheaded bunch, and that blue skin of hers makes it even worse.” He shared a short laugh with himself and continued. “A stubborn streak exceeded only by her raw talent. That’s Ruzuli for you.”

The First Guardian rose to his feet and interrupted the conversation. “We have an agenda and a thief loose in our city. Let’s get to the point.” The Masters nodded as one as the troll continued the briefing. “This morning we found a missing artifact from the vaults. We suspect the thief used some form of spirit spell to daze the guards into ignoring her presence, and then disarmed the traps using some sort of energy tendril. She stole a rare divining needle, and although its powers are unknown, she should be approached with caution.”

“As for why we are employing acolytes to hunt her down, the fact remains simple. As acolytes, you are able to effectively move around the city without drawing attention to yourself. A guard fully armed will draw every pair of eyes towards him. A student racing around in a coloured robe will be ignored, allowing you to be invisible in the eyes of the public.”

Jirei spoke for the first time, her high voice piercing the tense air in the hall. “So, what does this spellthief look like? And how strong is she? I don’t fancy bleeding out in an alleyway because I underestimated her.”

Archmonk Celice spoke in a solemn voice, “This girl goes by Octavia. Fair skinned, athletic build. Dirty blond hair and medium height.  Excellent in hand to hand combat as well as her essence powers.

“Then she shall make a worthy challenge for me.”

Eight heads turned to the main door as a dragonling strode into the hall, skin matching her mage’s robes.  While many of her dragonflight would have shied away from their unique features, her gills proudly displayed to the world and a dark blue spiky crest upon her head. Ruzuli stood proud and powerful as she respectfully bowed to the masters gathered. A sword hung by her side, a rare choice of weaponry for a mage like herself.

“The prodigal daughter returns!” Roko exclaimed, as he let out a shrill laugh. “Come, Ruzuli, introduce yourself.”

Ruzuli nodded, speaking to the room. “I am Ruzuli Sherazan of the Fang Plateau, daughter of the blue dragonflight.” She paused for dramatic effect, and then unsheathed her sword slowly, drawing the attention of all as it crackled menacingly with electricity. The crackle died down to a soft hum as sparks danced about on the black metal. Roko stared with mock awe as Ruzuli finished, “Lightning mage of the Blue Tower.”

“Impressive,” said Jirei, rising to her feet. “I am a humble druid of the Green Tower.” She drew her staff and planted it firmly on the ground, as the green jewel at its head began to glow, and vines twisted and curled up the staff. “I serve the Wild God Rath, and he gives me power to protect the natural order of the world.”

“No second name?”

“The elves believe one name is plenty. That tradition died with elven royalty.”

“Of course, Koe Cherrystone, the queen without a tomb.”

Loremaster Mervyn cleared his throat loudly, motioning to the young gnome opposite him.

“And you are?”

Trixi stood up on his chair so all the room could see him. Ruzuli let out a short snicker, before Kris glared daggers into her, cutting the laughter short.

“And I am Trixi of the Grey Tower, geomancer and scholar. I hail from the great Valley of Gears, from the city of Yarulan. My magic is yours, and I pray we make an excellent team.”

First Guardian Korixa let out a grunt, pulling out a map of the city and rolling it out upon the table. “Then let’s get to the plan.”

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

The plan was outstandingly simple for the high-value elusive target they looked for. Her last known location was in the White Quadrant, where a girl matching her features had been turned away from the city gates. They assumed she was hiding in a tavern or inn somewhere, waiting for a merchant to leave the city. She’d slip into his entourage when the gates opened, and would disappear into the vast continent beyond.

“I cannot reiterate this enough. Her capture, alive, is of utmost importance. We begin the mission at the sunset bell.” Korixa wrapped up the briefing, rolling up the map and placing it back into his bag. “This meeting is adjourned.”

As the masters went their separate ways, the three acolytes stood outside the ornate door, sizing each other up.

Ruzuli was the first to break the silence. “I’ve seen the two of you around the towers before, haven’t I?”

Trixi looked up at the dragonling that towered over him. Her face seemed to be stuck in a perpetual smirk, brimming with confidence and energy unlike anyone he had ever met. Reckless. Aggressive. Probably brave beyond a fault too. All bundled up into a mage that was likely more sword than sorcery, more think never than think later. “As have I,” he responded after a brief moment. “As have I.”

The elf, just half a head taller than Ruzuli, spoke. “I trust the masters have chosen well, mixing our schools of magic to form a team. Our talents should mix excellently.”

Ruzuli snorted. Another quirk to the already bizarre girl. She seemed to enjoy snorting more than she enjoyed breathing. “Team? Not quite yet.” Her hand never left the hilt of her blade, either perpetually ready for a fight or perpetually looking forward to one. “Team implies teamwork, and while I look forward to working with you, I doubt we’ve got synergy of any kind.” She shrugged, keeping an aloof face. “Whatever the case, this should be fun. After all, I’ve never fought alongside a midget.”

Gnomes hated being insulted, but the worst ones were the ones that were personal. “Nor I an oaf, but there is a first for everything.” A weak comeback, but it would have to do.

Jirei snickered as the two traded insults back and forth, the group slowly walking down the hall together. Some team they would have to become.

Next Chapter｜Start from the beginning

[black-streak]

Waiting for the Worms - Goodbye Blue Sky

Part 10

Extra long, late Christmas gift. Warnings are always in effect. I'll leave it at that.

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

~---~

The moment the door creaked open, Marinette woke up, shifting towards the source upon recognizing its pattern. Damian stopped misstep as their eyes met, then proceeded to edge closer until he could sit upon the edge. They sat silently watching one another, Marinette's tired mind not fully functioning in her sleepy state now that the intruder was blatantly not a threat to keep track of. 

The boy faced away from her, muscles tense and trembling ever so slightly. He twitched as though he wanted to turn around but aborted the attempt before it could even begin. His fists twisted up in the sheets at his side and he seemed to brace himself for something. Haze lifting a touch, she realizes she needs to bridge the gap herself this time. Normally he came to her in his own time, but just showing up in her room in the middle of the night told her how much he was already meeting her halfway; even if he needed something from her and not the other way round.

Reaching out, shuffling the sheets in warning, she rested a calloused hand on his wrist. His attention snapped over to her, head whipping over his shoulder and eyes locking once more. Only this time, he stayed close enough for her to see the shine to his eyes, fear hiddened in the depths. 

"Damian?"

He huffed a breath through his nose, staying silent otherwise, not moving closer nor creating distance between them. Deciding he probably wouldn't speak on the issue in this mental state, she tugged softly at his wrist, shifting to the other side of the bed and lifting the bedding on the now opened side, keeping her grip on his wrist gentle enough to ensure he knew he could escape at a moment's notice with no resistance.

"Come here, little one. Sleep."

His face pinched up as though to protest only to soften into a confused little pout, "No questions?"

"None."

He eased up, padding further onto the bed and settling beside her, relaxing as time passes. Marinette maintained a foot and a half of distance between them, refusing to crowd the boy or make him uncomfortable after he came to her. She knew he craved attention and affection, likely touch starved throughout the last seven years, but knew Damian needed to decide for himself if that was something he wanted from her. Despite calling her family, Marinette knew she would need to tread carefully to not break that fragile trust, letting him decide if he wanted her as an older sibling, parental figure, or distant cousin. So instead of cuddling the distressed boy as her instincts screamed for, she turned away and listened until his breathing settled before slipping back to sleep herself.

...

Their plans started to take a new depth, Talia starting to speak more in places and times instead of abstracts, referring to several upcoming missions or events in which opportunities might present themselves and how to take full advantage and slip away.

She stressed the importance of not informing her when they decide to leave and where they'll end up. 

The decisions laid out before her, Marinette mapped out every instance and possible outcome, taking the easiest routes and simplest plans and immediately scrapping them. Too easy to track. She also scraped any idea that seemed overly complex. Overactive imaginations such as Ras' would immediately think of the most intricate and convoluted plans and follow their leads. The distraction or escape itself mattered less than the journey afterwards, when the league would attempt to hunt them down to reclaim their heir. She wanted a middle ground. Something complex enough to throw them off of any path, but easy enough to not hit their radar. 

The thought hit her in the middle of the night, Damian snug on the other half, having entered some time ago. Looking down at the child, she knew where they would go and how. 

The next day, she waited for Talia in her rooms. When the woman entered, she waited until the door locked to speak.

"I've figured it out."

"Jason, what did I-"

"I'm not here to tell you any details. I'm just informing you that our departure is prepared for. And to say goodbye. You can't know when we'll disappear, meaning the loss of your son will blindside you as well. So I'm telling you now. His ties are broken, he won't come back, he will never feel the need to return. I'll keep him safe though. I'll remember your love and sacrifice. It's going to be okay Talia. You're doing what's best for him."

"I know," she gave a small smile, broken in the corner. With that, Marinette left her alone, knowing there was nothing left for them to say. The woman knew how grateful she was for this second chance at life. For the training and education. The trust and care. The connection to the world through her child.

The next morning she found a bag hidden in her rooms, filled with supplies and multiple currencies of cash, along with access keys to multiple unattached drop boxes across the world. Child support, she thought to herself with a huff of laughter.

…

The two had just returned from a particularly terrible mission, where Damian had made his second kill and she had taken some gruelling measures to protect the kid and prevent his needing to step in further.

When Damian entered her room that night, it seemed less for his own comfort and more for hers. As though he sensed how distraught his killing made her. He was too young and raised too harshly to understand why, but knew that it upset her and wished to soothe the gloom looming over them. If she had to guess, that probably contributed to why he avoided the act when out on the field. She took matters into her own hands, killed when the situation called for it and sometimes when the madness echoed a touch too loud, but she couldn't stand the thought of the little one becoming a killer.

Huddling amongst the sheets and feeling his tiny hand press between her shoulder blades, she decided the time to inform Damian had come at last.

"If I said we could escape this. The trainers who hurt and demean you, the woman who disowned you, the man who cares only about an heir and not the boy behind the title, would you want that?"

His breathing pattern threw itself off just a touch, a sign of his surprise, "What do you mean?"

"The League. Talia, Ras, everything. Would you want to escape. See the outside world, decide for yourself who you ought to be, instead of just becoming what they want. Stop being used."

"That's not an option though," he countered, tone cautious.

"Why not?"

"Where would I go? How? Nobody escapes."

"We could. I've spent enough time as Talia's pet to know how to evade anyone here. Watched and listened in to enough to know how Ras thinks. And you? You grew up here, you must have this place memorized like the back of your hand. Know the patterns and inner workings of its people. We could escape, together."

He stayed silent, hand wrapping into the back of her shirt subconsciously where it lay.

"And once we're out?"

"I grew up in the outside world, I know where to go, how to survive."

"You're saying I'd have to trust you with my life."

"I'd be trusting you as well. I'm trusting you now to even ask this," she mentioned, drawing attention to how risky bring up an escape plan to the heir of the Demon's Head truly was. Showing her trust in him to ease the fear of putting his life in her hands.

"And if we were to escape successfully, I'd be free then? To make my own decisions like you said?"

"With some moderate supervision," her voice betrayed her amusement at his prodding, "I'm not going to distance myself from your upbringing like they did, but I'm also not planning to micromanage your life. Just enough to keep you safe and guide you through the outside world. Does that sound agreeable?"

"I could live with that," he surprisingly sounded pleased by the notion instead of putoff as she had originally expected. She hummed in contemplation and fell silent for some time before feeling a tug from the hand still at her back.

"Jason?"

"Have a bag ready at all times. We'll need to leave at a moment's notice."

Damian fell silent, but she felt the way his hand relaxed it's grip at her, his quiet sigh all she needed. He would be ready.

…

Only a week after their conversation, an opportunity presented itself. Whether Talia played a hand in it, she didn't know, but either way, Marinette was not about to look this gift horse in the mouth. 

The two woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of chaos. Screaming came from outside, the crackling of fire and clang of metal hitting metal in the distance. The city was under attack.

Marinette pushed Damian to the edge of the bed, urging him up and grabbing their bags from hidden compartments around the room, throwing a change of clothes to the boy and grabbing her own, shoving armor and her mission clothes on, knowing the boy was doing the same somewhere out of sight. Soon, they were back in front of each other, Marinette adjusting his one small bag onto his back and carefully strapping the rest to her own before handing his katana over, bending down to look him in the eye.

"If it comes to it, don't hesitate. Your life is way more important to me than theirs. They will aim to kill you. I won't let them. But if someone gets past me, protect yourself."

"I know."

"Promise me. I don't care how much you think it upsets me. Promise me you'll do whatever it takes to make it out of here."

He looked down, lips twisting and brow furrowing before he met her eyes and nodded, "Promise."

Nodding, she led the way out, bladed staff at her back, knives in hand. By some stroke of luck, most of the fighting stayed some distance away. Happening upon a small crisped body, unrecognizable, she pushed Damian forward, grabbing a small blade off him as he passed and pushing it into the crumpled hand of the dead, pushing back fear at her own lack of respect for the dead. Now was not the time for a crisis. Looking up, she met his confused eyes, gesturing to the body size and pointedly looking him up and down. Realization struck and he nodded back. She wanted them to assume he died in the attack. As she headed towards a tunnel up ahead, he tugged on her wrist, leading her another direction. She gave a questioning look, but followed upon his insistence. As they turned another sharp corner, a body hit hers. She rolled with it, seeing another approach Damian and throwing a knife with perfect precision into the would be attackers neck as she hit the floor, her own now straddling her stomach. Before she could even start to fight back, a flash of silver crossed above her and blood rained down, covering her as the body dropped heavy on top of her. Shoving it off, she rolled onto her stomach and into a crouch, dragging her arm across her face and looking up into Damian's wide eyes, katana dripping blood in his hands. Clearing what she could from her face, she stood up and put a hand on his shoulder, turning him away from the scene and internalizing the moment to panic on later. She yanked her knife from the neck of the other and picked up their pace down the hall once more, urging him to take over directions again, not knowing his escape path and glad for the distraction it offered him. Turning down another path, Marinette caught sight of the carnage down a separate hallway and rushed them along faster. Damian pulled off the path into an alcove and shoved at the wall until it gave way to another blocked off path. They took the time to reset the wall to cover the path once more. At this point, she took out a glowstick, snapping it and allowing the acid green to light the way. 

At some point the path turned upwards and continued winding for another mile before letting out into a basement. Deciding not to tempt fate, they changed into civilian clothes and made their way out of the abandoned building. From there, they set off for the next city over before taking one of many sets of airline tickets shoved into the cash bag courtesy of Talia and flying out. Arriving in a new city, they rented a hotel room and burnt the remaining tickets. 

The next week followed the same pattern. Buying bus tickets and airline tickets under different IDs, some stolen from other league members, some falsified and placed in the bag weeks before with no one the wiser. 

By the end of the week, they reached their final destination. Gotham City. The last place anyone would expect Jason to run back to. Renting an apartment was easy enough, Talia and the league having been very thorough in teaching how to falsify documents, the former having taught her personally, the latter having taught Damian.

Around this time, in a dingy, inconspicuous hotel, Marinette broached a rather difficult topic.

"Damian, you need to decide who I am to you before we move forward."

"Put me down as-"

"Hold up, I'm not finished."

He huffed at her interruption, but gestured for her to continue.

"Do you know how Talia came across me?"

"You were a dead boy who came back to life and dropped into a coma. She took you in and healed you in the pit. You were connected to someone she cared about once."

"Have you heard of Batman and Robin?"

"Yes? I don't see what this has to do with anything."

"Jason was Robin. I was killed by the Joker, sat in a grave for something like six months in a dead body. It came back to life and I clawed out of that grave and to a hospital where I was indeed in a coma for a year before coming back and being found by Talia."

A contemplative pinch in his forehead showed up as he thought on her words, "You said Jason was Robin. But you died. What does that mean?"

"This is Jason's body, but I'm not Jason. I'm his soulmate. I died for him and the connection was lost. I've never been Jason, in all the time you've known me."

"Why are you telling me now?"

"You deserve to know exactly who I am before you decide anything. Especially anything pertaining to my guardianship over you."

"But I know who you are. What body you inhabit means nothing."

Marinette felt a tiny smile tilt the corner of her lip, "All the same."

"But… Out of curiosity, what's your real name?"

"Marinette," the name fell heavy off her tongue, foreign and harsh after nearly three years without use.

"On paper, you'll be my older brother, Jason, who gained full custody over me upon the death of our parents."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. In reality, you're my big sister though. Alright?"

"Alright. Mind if I take some liberties with the paperwork?"

Narrowed green eyes seemed to assess her for only a moment before he nodded and moved on to the next piece of legal work. The fact he could understand the jarbel on the sheet still caught her off guard at times. Shaking her head, she made a few adjustments on the electronic documentation, saving the work and erasing any trace of proof of her having hacked the system. Having her own laptop was coming in handy.

With their identities secured, she rented their new place and had them moved in within three days. 

While their cash wasn't even near dwindling, she began her hunt for work. Her first instinct was to return to design, but after so many years, the idea of designing clothing with no real purpose no longer held its appeal. Hopefully something would come her way soon.

…

Their first night in their new home, Damian crawled into her bed with nightmares from the night of their escape. She certainly felt the terror of that night in the back of her mind as well. 

"I'm sorry," the seven year old murmured, hunched up as though expecting anger.

"What for?" She whispered, rubbing the sleep from her eyes while turning towards the small voice.

"I didn't listen. When we escaped. You told me only to protect myself."

"You did protect yourself."

"I also protected you. You probably didn't even need my help, yet I killed that man before you could."

"I told you to do what you deemed necessary. Could you think of an alternative option?"

"No… they wouldn't have stopped until one of you were dead. He had to die for us to escape."

"Correct. While I wish that blood wasn't on your hands, his death in that moment was inevitable."

"You are still upset though."

"I would be upset either way. You shouldn't have to witness such things. But I'm glad we're both safe and that's what's important. That you're okay and neither of us will be put into such a position again."

"Do you resent your soulmate? For putting you through all of this?"

"No. Never. I chose to die for him. I chose to take every hit the Joker intended for him. I chose to take his place in the horrific life fate planned for him. He fought me in those last moments, you know? Tried to force his way back into his body. He didn't want this for me either. But I got a second chance. I've learned so much. I got you. And he's safer, wherever he is."

"You love him," he stated.

"I love him," she agreed easily.

Silence fell over the room and Damian shifted closer until he could snuggle right up into her side, holding a tense position until she wrapped an arm around him and whispered a soft goodnight. With that gentle acceptance, he immediately softened in her hold and fell into a restful sleep.

… 

Around eleven in the morning, she woke abruptly to a yanking sensation in the back of her mind. Stumbling out of the room, she pushed over to a bar stool in the open kitchen, collapsing onto it and leaning on the table before promptly blacking out.

[a-true-deviant-explored]

Texas two step or the making of true sex goddess

She was my younger cousins best friend, to young to be looking at when I first met her. Nine out of ten men would have notice her boobs first. They were big round soft and really didnt fit her frame yet. I noticed her eyes, and the different things they emoted. She was 16 and loved being the center of attention,her and my cousin both. The diva twins I called them. My cousin would only grow out of that slightly, Katie on the other hand would cling for positive attention while mostly generating negative.

My time is texas was difficult. After a long battle with my family and me withdrawing as to lessen the drama, an opportunity presented itself I couldn't resist and let me reconnect with both sides of my family, the ones who questioned how I went from the golden child to citizen zero. As I reconnected with them and the adults my age and older got to hear my side of what happened,I was accepted again, granted the were Leary but gave me a wide berth.

Until my cousin Fred's wedding. It was held out of the area and for much of the time, to keep appearances I lived well below what I could in a self punishment guilt. But when I heard of the full family reunion I tried unsuccessfully to bow out. My aunt, my secret keeper who knew more then even me about what happened warned me. For once let them see that they couldn't hold you down. So I went big. Even though I rode with my aunt and two family members I hadn't seen in almost a decade I knew it would be a hard weekend,lucky for me I got a distraction that allowed me to later on help someone who was mirroring in her own way.

I was the youngest of my generation of cousins and quietly asked to make sure the young ones didnt cause drama. Which being teens they did. My female cousin not only demanded her best friend Katie be invited but her boyfriend as well. It was suggested to me I let the boy stay with me. I quickly shot that down for one reason, I didnt want to know shit, already stressed not really taking time off from my job and working remotely as best as I could I didnt need the headache.

That lasted 39 minutes after I got their. My fav cousin in the world kristen was at my door warning me, the diva is pissed they wont let her and her bf be in a hotel room by themselves. I straight looked at her, btw she lived in New York and said does any think that bitch is still a virgin? Dam she has them all fooled. Kris came in as did her brother, and an easy atmosphere developed. Kris goes she is going to take it out on Katie, who is great but I think is off her meds. If anyone would know it would be her. But it was the first I heard about it. I thought she had a decent life but I was wrong. Mental abuse physical abuse. Shit parents who barely let her eat. Keep an eye and let me know

The first night we all went out for dinner and it was nice. Except for the children being children. And Katie's dress really not fitting, like way short,she is tall, and not form fitting. It was a long affair and people would drift from tables to the patio vice versa. Katie had been upset the whole time but the lighting concealed it. But I hadn't seen her in a bit and when I went looking for her found her and one of the groomsmen by the bar. I quickly walked over looked at the groomsmen and said you dont know me, but go ask my cousin what an absolute motherfucking nightmare I will make your life if you do not go back to the hotel and only come out of your room for events . He squared up and was about to say something when my father, who I was seeing for the first time in forever and realized his shit was flowing with what happened, told the douche bag let me save you the trip. People say they know where the bodies are buried, he buried them. The boy took off, a simple you got this and a nod and he walked away.

Katie. She was pissed, and drunk and stoned and couldn't walk straight and a mess. I guided her outside and she was like I just didnt want to be made to feel unwanted. I whispered look Rachel is a bitch. Hang out with us tonight and tomorrow and it will be ok. And what the fuck were u doing with that ass fuck he is like my age. Not really but closer to mine. He said he would make me have an orgasm.

I stared at her in disbelief, umm one dont rush it, trust me you will have plenty and some better then others, and not my business but really him? All these boys your age her and you pick him. On the verge of passing out she mumbled well you didnt show any interest. The New York cousins raced her back to the hotel, a good hour away. And I went to talk to my aunt. Look u need to tell Rachel her shit almost led her bff to a bad mistake. I'm going back to catch up with the kids. Bring me her pajamas she can sleep in my spare room but I have work in the morning so come collect her

Taking a cab,no uber's yet lol, I got back and the kids were at the bar. Shes ok up in your suite. Embarrassed pretty sober. Might be in the tub. I gave them a hug and told kris text me when everyone gets here and distract the young ones. Tell romeo and slut to go make out

I opened my door and called out. Katie. U ok. The bathroom door opened and she meant to stick her head out to say hi but tripped , 10 yrs later she still trips on air daily, and her towel fell below her tits. I'm not usually a fan of big tits, the areolas and nipples get distorted. But hers were perfect and rising as we stared at each other. Damn girl your built for speed, one day someone is going to be lucky. I pulled her towel up looking her in the eyes.. she babble I swear I didnt mean to flash u. I laughed well next time let me see everything and we will call it a draw. Silly me thought she would understand a joke, but her towel hit the floor, katie I'm not a moral person, reaching down tracing her hips, I dont give a rat's ass about your age, but time and place, and this isn't it, tears forming but I'll give you a tease and slide a finger in her. Eyes fluttering and slightly surprised her response was a simple oh my. My lips found hers and mouths open and I picked her leg and wrapped it around my hip. She was grinding and grasping and apologizing. I asked why she goes I cant keep my hips still so u can well. I whispered baby your supposed to move. Makes it funnier. She came pretty fast and I told to get dressed and if this is something she wanted to come see me on her 17th. She giggled u know that's like a week from now, I do but be ready I don't advertise who I'm with and and I'm very different from anyone else you will ever have

Her 17th birthday fell on a sat. She asked if I was free. I will be about eleven. Dont u have plans with family? Nope mom left money and is headed to Houston for the weekend.

Ok, listen carefully trim dont shave. There will be a present for you in my foyer. Put it on. I'll be outside. Three hours later I hear her arrive. Fuck I thought something slinky but she walked outside, really. Jewelry? Are these real. I nodded, she climbed into the jacuzzi fully clothed, for the next four months that would be the most clothing she wore in my house. She found a teacher and mentor. I found a lifelong friend. Today she called me out of the blue, bad yr keeps getting worse, hello my friend. I didnt say anything till today. I'm six months along and it's going to be a boy. And I'm naming him after you. Thank you for everything my life, my schooling and degree and a wonderful career.

[wispyrainbow]

One Sweet Kiss and A Whole Lot of Chocolate

Contains: Some Stuffing and Fluff OTP: Dylan and Kris Occasion: Valentine’s Day❤💝

Hope you guys enjoy it!! ‘Ring!! Ring!!! Get Up, It’s Your Birthday! Get Up, It’s Your Birthday!! Get U… ‘Smack!!“

Dylan groaned, removing his hand away from the alarm button as he slowly raised his head from his pillow and lifted up the alarm clock to check the time. Reading 9:15 A.M, Dylan groaned and raised his body up slowly from the covers and getting out of bed, yawning all the way before heading downstairs to where he knew Kris would be. And sure enough, she was on the couch, blanket raised up to her chest as she gently snoozed, her hair all clumped and messed together with a small smile on her face. Dylan rolled his eyes and smirked, bending down to where Kris’ face was and in an attempt to try and wake her up, brushing away her surrounding bangs where her eyes and lips are.

“Hey… Pstt… Kris, Kris wake up…” “Nmmm…” “Kris… Come on Kris, it’s time to wake up..” “Nya… no…” “But Kris… Isn’t today… Valentines Day?” “…Valentines Day?… I love… Valen… tines Day…” “Yea I know… That’s why you got to get up… So we can celebrate it…” “Oh yea… Yea we need to!!”

Kris soon got up lifting the blanket up, just barely missing Dylan’s face as he went back to avoid getting hit.

“Yeesh Kris.. Any closer and we both would have had brain damage.” “I don’t think that’s possible Dylan, but… Ooh that’s not of the matter, it’s VALENTINES DAY!!!”

Kris jumped off the couch and headed into the closet, furiously looking for the requirements needed for this wondrous day. All stuff that was unimportant was castes off as Kris happily found and took out a box filled with heart laces and streamers before running back out with them, leaving Dylan with a blank expression as he attempted to head back upstairs, hopefully before…

“Oh yea!! I almost forgot, Happy Birthday Dylan!!”

…Before that. Dylan sighed and headed back upstairs to get ready for whatever he was going to encounter today, no doubt nothing but some grief after Kris was finished telling everyone that today, just so happened to be his birthday.

A Few Minutes Later…

Dylan headed back downstairs, now fully dressed and ready to head to his job, drop off the stuff that Eddy asked for and head back to avoid his coworkers, he just needed to sneak out before…

“Hey Dylan! Where are you? You didn’t even come in to see your birthday surprise!!” “…Crap. Uh well, um Kris, I-I can’t see it just yet..” “Huh? Wait, I can’t hear you! What did you say?” “I said, I DON’T THINK I HAVE TIME FOR THAT SURPRISE.” “What WHY?” “Uhhhh… well… I can’t see it… Cause I got to go to work…” “Ohhhh… well, then you can see it after? :)” “Ummmmm… s-s-sure…” “Great!! :)”

Dylan cussed at himself for keeping that promise. It wasn’t like he didn’t like her surprises, it’s just they often went… well, a bit over. Often times, they were a little too… bright/flashy, and while he couldn’t bare them, he only took them because it made Kris happy. Hopefully, once he left work, he can get the surprise over with and just wait out this entire day to be over.

“Alright… time to go, give these drawings in, and come back here immediately… no stops. Alright, Bye Kris!!” “Bye Dylan and remember, I got a surprise waiting;)” “Oh I can hardly wait… Hopefully, it will be small…”

Dylan soon headed out and began making his way to work in his jeep. Once he arrived there he casually went in and just headed straight to where Eddy was while avoiding his coworkers, who may have been told by his Orange-head friend that it was his birthday. Standing outside the door where Eddy sat, Dylan snuck in and exhaled as he turned to face Eddy, only…

“Hey Reese, sorry I came in like this, I had to Mrphf!”

Dylan went back as he felt something inside his mouth that was sweet, had some filling inside, and seemly melted on his tongue. It also had the mix taste of… caramel and… Chocolate? Dylan chewed it up and swallowed as he wiped away his mouth before noticing Reese, looking at him like he knew something.

“Well?” “Well…what?” “What flavor?” “…Huh?” “What flavor did it taste like Dylan?” “Umm, caramel?” “I see… and she knows I despise caramel.. Alright, now try this piece.” “Wait Reese what ar… Mrphf!”

Dylan was silenced once again by the sweet taste of another piece of chocolate being placed in his mouth as Reese went all over his office. While chewing, Dylan was able to look around and spotted more cases of hearts presumably filled with chocolates, all marked with the signature of some unknown female. Swallowing his piece, Dylan soon went after Reese who was still holding his box filled with chocolates as he kept mumbling something about hating caramel or all fillings.

“Um Reese?” “Huh? Yea, what is it?” “Ummm, why did you give me two pieces of chocolate to eat?”“Oh that… I needed you to try them and see if there were any fillings in those pieces..” “Oh… Why though?” “Because I hate fillings and unfortunately the person who sent me those seemed to have forgotten that! Thus, I need someone to taste them for me and see what fillings they have in there or not and just my luck, you came in!! :D” “….So you want me to taste all these chocolates? Just to check for if they have filling?” “Yep!” “Aw jeez Reese, I don’t know, I mean, this is a lot and…” “Yes, I know it’s a lot, but just trust me when I say that this will beneficial… to my health once the ones that have filling are gone! Please Dylan, won’t you help out a friend, for a favor at least? It won’t even take long..” “Uhhh… I guess… I guess I’ll help…” “Excellent!! Let’s not waste any time and keep on moving, we have at least 8 more boxes to get through!!” “Oh… great…”

Dylan sighed and went to work. And only a few minutes after that exchange they were down to the last box for him to try out. As such, Reese wasted no time in getting things started as he took out the first piece to a sickened Dylan who was looking green in the face.

“Alright Dylan, tell me what this one taste like..” “Ok… ‘Burp!’ Excuse me…”

Dylan took the piece and chewed slowly and swallowed, the feeling in his stomach heavy and soft.

“Chocolate and… nothing, just chocolate.” “FINALLY!! THANK YOU DYLAN!!” “Urph… no problem… Can I leave now?” “Sure go ahead… Finally I can eat some chocolates:D”

Dylan groaned and burped as he made his way outside and leaned against the door, a hand on his slightly distended belly. Those boxes really made work on him, feeling his belt straining and cutting into the bottom. Dylan felt like throwing up but he had to get back home, due to his promise with Kris and thus he slowly made his way to where the elevators were, hopefully avoiding his coworkers….

“Oh Dylan, there you are!!” “….Ah you got to be kidding me… Hi Ani.”

Dylan turned to face his more bright eye coworker who had a wide grin on her face and hands behind her back.

“H-hey Ani… H-‘Burp!’ How are you doing? Excuse me…” “I’m doing great!! In fact, I was just looking for you because I have something sweet to give to you!!” “Oh r-really? What kind?” “Well, I know you love chocolate so I went in and made the BIGGEST PIECES OF CHOCOLATE I could ever find!!”

Ani took out a large bag filled with broken medium to large size pieces of chocolate and handed them all to Dylan, who immediately turned a bright shade of green.

“O-oh, and it’s all broken up and in big quantities I see… that’s great…” “Well aren’t going to eat them?” “R-right now?” “Yes ya silly! Come on, I want to see the expression on your face when you bite into it!!”

Dylan nervously smiled, gulped and opened the bag, a low moan escaping his stomach upon the realization that there were indeed 9 pieces total in the bag that needed to be eaten quickly and thus the only way to leave, so Dylan stopped hesitating and got into digging in. Immediatly, the pieces began stacking on top of the small currentky being digested candies as Dylan’s belly began to growl and expand from underneath his normalky loose fitting shirt, exposing just silver linings of flesh underneath. Dylan swallowed hard before continuing on, reaching the next 8 pieces, each swallow causing more strain on his belt and pants and more uprising of his shirt, exposing some of his navel. Soon, Dylan was done as he just placed the bag in his pocket and let out another, this time longer burp as his stomach jiggled a bit before settling down.

“So, did you like them Dylan?” “Y-y-yea… They we…‘BURRRRP!!’ were delicious… Ugh…” “GREAT!! I’m glad you enjoyed them, enjoy the rest of your Valentine’s Day!!!”

Ani soon ran off, leaving Dylan to waddle like a penguin and make it back to his jeep, where he was able to relax. Once finally in, Dylan just sat and leaned back, his stomach poking out as he gurgled and churned with all the digested sweets he had taken. Dylan let out another burp as he attempted to unbuckle his belt and his pants button and zipper just to give his stomach some breathing room. Once that was completed, Dylan moaned quietly underneath as his stomach growled more intensely to try and get his attention. Hearing those noises Dylan couldn’t help but bring his attention to it, placing a hand on it and rubbing in hopes that it could sooth and calm it down.

“Aw geez… I don’t blame you for getting mad… serves me right… Probably shouldn’t have left the house and called in sick…”

Dylan let out another burp as his stomach made quiet moans in an effort to calm down, the feeling of melted chocolate sloshing all around in his stomach. In all honestly, Dylan just wanted to go back home and sleep of this much food, but he knew he had to see Kris’s surprise as well… Dylan again cussed as he straightened himself up and pushed his stomach right against the bottom of the steering wheel and began the long ride(for him at least) back home. As he drove, he kept at least one other hand on his belly to keep it from rumbling or rubbing against as it felt like it was making more noises than before. Finally, he arrived back home and immediately headed back inside and attempted to make his way back upstairs, only for…

“Dylan? Dylan is that you?” “‘Burp!!’ Y-yea…” “Hey, aren’t you going to come down here and see your surprise?!” “…Um s-s-sure….”

Dylan headed back and attempted to hide his gut from her as he made his way towards the living room and noticed that the area had been decorated with a few red and pink things as Kris hummed patiently, obviously waiting for Dylan. She opened her eyes and spotted Dylan just making his way to the line chair near the table. Dylan settled in and let out a bit of air to relive himself from the pain that was coursing through his gut.

"H-hey Kris... So uh, what's the surprise?" "Well first, I want you to close your eyes and keep them close."

[black-streak]

Waiting for the Worms - Don't Leave Me Now

Part 20

So funny thing, I had this chapter 90% finished at the beginning of last weekend and planned on having it out by then. Instead I got horrifically sick AGAIN. I hate January through February. I either stay consistently sick or contract acute bronchitis. There are no exceptions.

Anyways, there's probably only four chapters left of this story, if that. So hopefully I'll get those out faster without so many pauses between. As always, thank you for your patience and support.

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

~---~

Barbara knocked on their door at eleven on the dot, rolling in and immediately greeting Tim, who laid across the couch where he'd spent the night until they could find a more permanent sleeping situation. Jason stood frozen in the doorway to the bedroom, barely registering as Mari came up behind him from the bathroom only to stop dead as well.

"Hey Jay. Been a while, hasn't it?" Babs spoke with a strained smile, tears glittering in the corners of her eyes.

He saw Tim dart his eyes back and forth between the two before a startled expression stretched across his features, turning back towards him and Mari, the latter gripping tightly to the back of his shirt, "You were gone before the incident."

"What incident?" Mari growled out behind him, hands clawing at his back in agitation until his hand reached back for her own, in which she immediately adjusted to hold on.

"The Joker. He captured me not long after you died. I hear someone took care of that though?" She rolled closer from her wheelchair, and wasn't Jason just so grateful his soulmate chose an accessible complex. Exhaling a shaky breath, he moved forward to give her a hug.

"Yeah. Yeah, he's gone now."

…

The four of them sat together for an hour, discussing what had happened to them all, Tim staying mostly quiet about his own past, but cutting in to help Barbara along with her story at times. Damian stayed away in his room, tuckered out socially from the last few days and deciding today would be dedicated to drawing in his room away from prying eyes. Occasionally he ventured out to get a drink or check on them, but otherwise kept away.

As time seemed to pass and Babs reacquainted herself to the two, finally understanding why Alfred use to treat Jason like two seperate people at times, the boy to Jason's left slowly seem to slouch in his seat. Apparently the ease in which they interacted with someone he trusted helped them into the teen's better graces. When the teen came to rest on folded arms and fell into a doze, he considered this an appropriate time to ask, "How often does he get sleep? I know for a fact he didn't get any last night."

"He's a work in progress on the sleep front. Never had anyone to force a sleep schedule on him so he's been awake most nights."

"You mean?" Mari asked.

"Absentee parents. Gone now, but just not present when he was growing up. Between the neglect and lack of praise, he's got a bit of a complex. Stays up even more since he's been with Bruce."

"I wonder how much he'd hate being kept to a more rigorous schedule," Mari wondered.

"Well, it couldn't hurt to try. You seem pretty good at using logic to force him into seeing your way and with how he's been acting since we found him, that's likely what he'll respond to," he stood up and made his way closer to the sleeping figure, "I'm going to lay him up in our bed, hopefully he'll take a while to wake up."

With that, he wrapped tucked an arm under legs and tilted Tim carefully into his chest in a bridal carry. The second he lifted, the teen jerked awake, attempting to escape his hold that had tightened to keep him steady. 

"Yo, Tim, knock it off," he half growled as he avoided another flailed limb only to relax when the smaller one went still, eyes training on him.

"What… Why are you carrying me?"

"You fell asleep on the table. Just getting you somewhere more comfy. Relax birdy, I'll set you down in a second," Jason relayed, continuing into the main bedroom, ignoring the watchful look from behind as he sat Tim down into the bed, "Just go back to sleep, we'll wake you up to say goodbye to Babs before she leaves," he called over his shoulder, leaving the door open behind him so that the cautious Robin could keep track of them and listen in enough to calm once more.

"You're taking this a lot better than I would expect," Barbara commented as he rejoined them around the counter.

"Which part?"

"Being replaced."

"I wouldn't say we took it well, per say. We did go after Bruce a little and launch him across the sky," Mari cut in quietly, sipping from her mug.

"Well yeah, there's that," she chuckled, "but I was speaking more towards your reaction towards Tim specifically."

"It's not like it's his fault Bruce doesn't know when enough is enough. I get that Tim sought the position himself, but that doesn't take the responsibility off of Bruce's shoulders. I'm not going to hold that over his head, especially considering he was, what, twelve? Thirteen when he became Robin? Just a kid. I doubt his intentions were so dark as to want to replace a dead boy."

"Thirteen, yeah. He's fifteen now, but he seems so much older and yet so much younger at times. It's strange," Babs responded, looking towards where she knew Tim lay awake, listening.

"We were all forced to grow up too fast. It's insane to think we're only two years older than him. I feel ancient and yet he looks so young."

"You still look young yourself."

"Oh shut up, you know what I meant."

"What do you plan to do with him?" Babs asked carefully, looking towards Mari more than himself.

"Nothing," he responded for her.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing," he offered a small grimace, "If he'd like to stay with us, we'll take him in, but that's up to him. We're not going to push him to do something just because we deem it the right thing to do."

"Hmm, I'm sure he'll appreciate that."

Out of his peripheral, he took satisfaction at seeing Tim finally settle fully into the bed, slowly drifting back to sleep.

…

Three nights passed when Tim overstepped an unknown boundary. In hindsight, it should have been obvious, if not expected to happen. The innocence in the act only made it all the worse for those involved. 

Everyone knew Tim never slept proper hours. The other occupants, however, tried to keep relatively normal hours if only for the sake of the youngest, who needed a consistent schedule. Tim assumed the others to sleep lightly if at all, considering all of their pasts. In a way, they proved him right.

Marinette heard a whisper in the night, pulling her from her slumber and into full, rigid consciousness. That was not Damian.

It ghosted softly across the floor, picking its way over to her side where she could almost feel the soft breath it released near to her face. Had it not been for her training, the sounds and air pressure change would never even occur to her. As it was, she felt her muscles coil tight as a spring, keeping everything still so as not to give herself away. When the hand descended towards her shoulder, she grabbed the thin wrist and twisted it down, forcing the body to kneel bedside with the captured arm atop the bed as she launched herself behind him and yanked a dagger from under her pillow tight across his throat, not enough to cut, but enough to get the warning across. 

Move and you die.

The person cleared their throat a few times and called up tentatively to her bedmate, who sat up the moment they moved, "Jason?"

Jason jumped up immediately and gripped large, callused hands about her shoulders, ducking his lips near her ear, "Mari? Bit of a hostile hold you got on Tim there. Mind loosening it up?"

Snapping into focus once more, she took in her captive, seeing the thin frame and silky black locks, the slight fearful tinge to icy blues. Marinette couldn't help but scramble back into Jason's arms, dropping the dagger and kicking it across the room. Tim turned slowly, eyes meeting her own in a wary stare.

"I'm so sorry, Tim, I didn't even recognize you and I- that's. That's no excuse. I'm so very sorry I hurt you, you don't deserve to deal with that," she felt her body shake, eyes watering in the corners as she felt arms tighten around her.

"Are you okay? Did you need something?" Jason inquired in a deep soothing voice, eyes trained on the teen before them.

"I'm fine. It was nothing, I'll leave you be. Sorry I came in without permission," he stated calmly, ice blues not betraying anything.

"It's alright. If you need something at night, approach me, yeah? Less jumpy."

His eyes flashed before her with something, maybe surprise, before shutting off again, "of course. I'm going to move now," Tim directed at her, making her flinch, but nod slightly.

He picked his way around the edge of the room, closing the door behind him. Marinette slumped into Jason's chest, "I fucked up, didn't I?"

"Not your fault, buttercup. It'll probably be a set back, but there's not a thing you could do bout your gut instincts."

The next morning, Tim was gone.

…

A week passed before he reappeared.

They heard from Barbara that he stayed at her place for a few of the days, traveling on others, but never returned to the Manor. When he showed up, his lips gave a sheepish little smile, eyes squinting ever so slightly and shoulders tense as Damian answered the door for him.

"Ugh, the stray is back," Damian stared up at him, narrow eyed at the boy who upset his Mari. When Tim didn't move, the kid's lip curled up, "Well get in already," he prompted, watching Tim enter and closing the door behind him.

Marinette kept quiet as Jason and her prepared dinner, exchanging glances and coming to a decision wirelessly as they placed down a fourth plate. When they all sat about the table, Tim hesitated by his chair, a confused twist to his lips.

"You don't have to eat if you're not hungry, but I would like if you sat with us," Marinette addressed him, with enough reassurance on her voice and apology in her eyes to convince him to sit down and tuck in to the meal they set before him. As the other three talked, listening whenever he decided to speak up or moving on when he seemed uncomfortable with a topic, they watched as Tim's shoulders slowly relaxed, forearms no longer pressing into the table, fists delicately cradling his fork instead of in fists around the metal. Marinette couldn't be sure what changed his mind and made him come back, but Jason had a hunch.

Dinner ended with Tim asking to stay the night. One night turned into many.

…

On his fourth night, Marinette and Jason woke to the sounds of hushed voices outside their door.

"Don't go in, she won't recognize you in sleep. It's dangerous."

"Of course she is dangerous in her sleep. She was trained to assume any approaching unknown is set to attack and kill. She will not attack me. Let go."

"She didn't even recognize me, you're going to get yourself killed."

"Did you go to her before in her room? Make yourself familiar at a time she wasn't sleeping?"

There was silence for a long while, until finally a hushed response, "Her subconscious mind sees me as an unknown. I haven't really leaned one way or the other to them while awake either. Of course neither of them would take well to me coming into their sanctuary while they're vulnerable. You're their kid, I'm just a flighty presence until I tell them otherwise." 

At this point, Damian opened the door, casting a look back at Tim as he walked up to her and climbed up between the two and snuggling into her waiting arms.

She met eyes with Tim over Damian's head, sure that Jason was doing the same. The teen had a contemplative look, before pained understanding dawned upon his features. He nodded to them and closed the door. They could hear him shuffle back over to the couch, settling down into it. 

Soon. 

Whether anyone was ready for it or not, Tim would make his decision soon, and they all knew it.