#pLEASE don't let me be developing ms already

[hellosweetart]

Little Employee

(chapter 1 fanfic is already here finally.)

Chapter 1: Infiltration

As Yui is enjoying her conversation with her fellow worker, a sudden commotion is happening in the club.

When the girl got curious to see what it is, she felt the same fear when she sees the very same group who tormented her.

Ayato, the third son of Sakamaki brothers, begins to threaten everyone. Bodyguards were beaten up; one is almost getting choked to death. The violent vampire is getting impatient.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" He roared.

"I'm here!" Yui rushes in. She doesn't want the vampires to cause any more harm because of her.

Remembering the sport that her boss taught her, she pulled out her handgun.

"PUT HIM DOWN, AYATO!"

In a blink of her eyes, she felt strong hands grabbed upwards by the angry vampire, causing the gun to blow up. People screamed and panicked. 

"You think you can fight me, idiot?" He laughed, and pushed her hard to the floor.

Yui looked up, all eyes of Sakamaki brothers are on her. She noticed that Subaru, the youngest one, cannot look at her further, and moves his eyes away.

How stupid of her. She should have listened to her boss.

"Remember dear, your new heart is still under developed. So make sure to avoid any sort of trouble, okay?" 

The rest of the brothers are clearly enjoying the sight of her in pain and humiliation. Though, Ayato scrunched up his nose and told her with irritated voice, "You smell weird, pancake. Did they do something to you?"

"It doesn't matter." The second son, Reiji, intervened. "We have her now. Let's leave this wretched place."

"No, all of you leave this place! I AM NOT GOING!"  Yui told the brothers off in determined tone.

This caused the vampires make various reactions, but she knows they feel insulted.

"You're ordering us now? And who said you can deny us?"

"I DO."

An ominous figure appeared behind the girl, much to the vampires' shock, disgust and awe.

"Gentlemen...Gentlemen. Please let us not cause anymore chaos into my club, shall we?" He greeted the brothers with his polite smile.

Ayato, whose eyes are fixed to the mysterious entity spoke, "W-who are you?"

"Ah, silly me! I am the owner of this nightclub. You may call me Mr. Dealer." He puffed out his smoke for a bit and added, "How about we have a nice little chat at the moment?"

The Sakamakis didn't respond.

"I'll take that as a yes, then." The Dealer made a toothy sharp grin. 

"Except for the humble guests... EVERYONE, OUT." His voice echoed around the club.

People began scrambling away, some goes through the fire exit, some jumps out of the windows, some directly runs to the employee's entrance. The female co worker of Yui took her hand, pulling her to get away from the club. The fifth son, Laito, witness them and begins to go after Yui. 

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING, LITTLE BI--"

His chase got cut off when he felt a huge hand grabbed his body, stopping him to go further. The Dealer is not harsh on him, but giving him a hint to not resist.

"I believe this is a better place to chat." The club owner gently puts down the shocked young man to the floor, and puts the hat to the guest's head in a friendly manner.

"Now then, why don't we start? Would you like me to gather seats for you? Beers? Cigars? A bite to eat?"

"No thank you. We won't be staying here for long..." Reiji said in a polite manner as possible. Shu (the eldest) noticed how the tone of his brother's voice changed a bit. For the first time, he felt worried.

"I see..." Mr. Dealer replied. "So, what exactly brings all of you he--"

"WE WANT HER!" An abrupt, straightforward response from Ayato himself. "GIVE HER BACK TO US!"

The club owner shook his floating head.

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. You see, Ms. Yui has signed a contract with me. She will be working for me for quiet sometime."

The vampires couldn't believe what they've heard. She give herself up to this ball of freak?! Most of the brothers were seething. How dare she left them over this monstrosity? Was she not grateful for living with them in the luxurious mansion? Compared to this garbage of a place, they imagine that she will be used and---

"I understand... Losing someone as important as her can be upsetting. She is a kind and compassionate girl." The Dealer said.

Subaru winced at that comment. He knows that is not the only main reason why he and his brothers are after her.

"But I can guarantee you... She will be well taken care of. And besides, she seem to develop quiet a liking towards this club---"

"THAT'S A LIE!" Another interruption from an angry Ayato. 

"How so?" Mr. Dealer asked, staring blankly at the hot headed boy.

Reiji had to step in before his stupid brother say and do something reckless.

"She is a shy and quiet girl who doesn't know what she wants. That is why we find it unbelievable that she is willing to stay here. We want to escort her back to our home."

"Really?" Reiji felt a chill down his spine when those pair of black hollowed eyes stare at him. "Strange... That is not how she reacted when she sees all of you."

Suddenly, one of the brothers moved forward. Shu cannot handle the small talk anymore.

"You want to know the truth?! We are the Sakamaki brothers, the vampire clan who lives from far from here. We need her as our bride to continue our bloodline." Much to Reiji's noticable a annoyance and anxiety, Shu continued, "Our father planned it all. She is supposedly the Eve of our family. So we beg you, to please give her back to us."

Subaru just frowned. He never seen him show any sort of care towards to anyone but himself; even Yui is just piece of blood to him. He doesn't know if he mean this, or just an act to persuade the strange creature.

"Vampires? Ah...that make sense... No wonder she suffers in constant chest pains. That's why I had to have my doctors get rid of that pesky heart of hers."

"You..did what?" 

 "Some wicked soul is attempting to take over her body, and her heart is the main cause. So in order for her to properly work for me, I've recommended her to undergo heart surgery, which she willingly participated."

The brothers were speechless.

"Oh, you all didn't know? And here I am thinking she gets better treatment back in your town." The Dealer chuckled.

"How is she still alive?" One of the brothers questioned.

"We've replaced her old heart with a new improved one."

"What?!"

Mr. Dealer showed a glass container. Inside is Yui's former heart.  The Sakamaki's sense of smell and desire heightened. So this is why they were so drawn to her blood. 

That heart... It originally belonged to Cordelia, the triplets' mother. (Ayato, Kanato, Laito)

"Here, this is all yours." The club owner handed over the heart to Ayato with care.

"I hope this concludes your chase for the girl, yes?"

Ayato and his brothers are stunned. So this explains everything. They've all been thirsting over her because of this heart. The heart of the so called mother they've despised and killed.

As the heart container is now on Ayato's hands, what will be his reaction?

Will he take it or break it?

Here is the link to the Poll

[howlingday]

The Phenomenal YANG

Adam: Something attacked us in there, and it wasn't a Grimm. If Xiao Long knows what it was, I'm going to find her and then I'm going to shove my sword down her throat, and then I'm going to ask her.

Ironwood: That was Xiao Long.

Adam: Could you explain that?

Ironwood: Xiao Long's task was a tangent of bio-tech. Your suit is our engineering solution, and Xiao Long was working on a biological one; improve the huntsman and not the weapon.

Adam: You're telling me she becomes that thing on her own?

Ironwood: I don't have to answer that, Taurus. Xiao Long is tough, definitely a fighter, but she's not a soldier. Not like us.

Adam: Then why not hand the data off to someone else?

Ironwood: Because she IS the data. And as far as I'm concerned, that woman's body is the property of the Kingdom of Atlas.

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

Cardin: What the hell was that? Whatever it is, we're ready to-

CRDL: (See Yang) OH SHI-

YANG: (Tackles CRDL off building)

Cardin: (Stands from the rubble) Ngh... Let's see which one of us is the strongest.

YANG: YANG STRONGEST THERE IS!

Cardin: Not if me and my boys have anything to say about it!

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

Blake: Yang...?

Blake: (Runs up, Hugs her)

Yang: It's alright...

Blake: When did you...? How did you...? Are you...?

Yang: I'm alright. Sorry I didn't- Look, I don't have time to explain it right now; do you still have your dad's old research?

Blake: I'm sorry, but... General Ironwood took it all already. Then he wiped every computer we had after getting it.

Yang: No...

Blake: But I was able to get in there before it got hauled off. I thought that it might help us later.

Yang: Blake, I... I don't know what to say.

Adam: Do I have permission to take the shot, sir?

Ironwood: Negative. You might hit Belladonna's daughter.

Yang: !

Adam: Damn! She spotted me!

Yang: Blake, go.

Blake: What...?

Yang: Get out of here. You need to get as far away from me as you can, right now! GO! (Runs)

Blake: YANG!

Ironwood: XIAO LONG, YOU ARE SURROUNDED!

Blake: (Charges Ironwood, Caught) Leave her alone!

Ironwood: Get her out of here now!

Blake: Ngh! H-Hey! Get your hands off me!

Blake: YANG! RUN!

Yang: Let... her... go...!

YANG: RAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!

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

Ghira: I think we've done it, but... there's still the risk that this procedure might kill you.

Yang: Trust me, Dr. B; if it doesn't work, I'm better off dead.

Soldier: I have visual on the target, General.

Adam: Let me in there, General; I can take her now.

Ironwood: Negative. You're a last resort, Taurus.

Adam: No, what I am is sick of waiting.

Soldier: Sir, wait! General Ironwood, sir, Lieutenant Taurus is on the move!

Ghira: Please, try to understand; even if this does work, and we do induce an episode, it doesn't mean that it will cure you. Best case scenario, it's an antidote to suppress a specific flare-up.

Yang: ...!

Blake: Yang, stay with me!

YANG: RAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! RGH! RGH!

Blake: DAD! NOW!

Ghira: (Types into computer)

YANG: AAARGH! RAAAAAGH! AAaaagh...

Ghira: (Walks over)

Blake: ...

Yang: Did... Did it work?

Ghira: Perhaps. It seems we permanently neutralized the cells, though it's also possible that we only suppressed the event. Honestly, I'd be willing to bet on the latter, but we don't know since no prior subjects survived.

Yang: ...What test subjects?

Ghira: Your condition, it's- It's a medical marvel, to put it lightly, and something this astounding couldn't simply just waste away! So, we concentrated the experiment to develop more.

Yang: We need to destroy all of it!

Ghira: But... this gift-

Yang: This GIFT is a lot more trouble than it's worth, Doctor B!

Ghira: Even with the antidote developed?

Yang: Atlas doesn't want an antidote, Doc; they want a weapon, and if they get it... NGH! (Collapses)

Blake: YANG!

Ironwood: (Walks in) Escort the asset and Ms. Belladonna to the bullhead and confiscate everything. Dr. Belladonna, we expect your full cooperation. Welcome to the Atlas Military. (Exits)

Ghira: ...

Adam: (Enters, Draws weapon)

Ghira: What have I done to deserve this hostility?

Adam: It's not what you did; it's what you're going to do.

Adam: Give me everything you got from Xiao Long.

Ghira: ...You look like you already got some of her in you already.

Adam: And I want more. You saw what she was like, didn't you? Make me that.

Ghira: But... given what's already in you, there's no telling what the side-effects could do! The mixture could make you... It could make you more BEAST than man.

Adam: (Presses blade)

Ghira: Er, I was just making sure... I need an informed consent, and you've clearly given it.

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

Blake: How could you do this to innocent people?

Ironwood: Be quiet. If you weren't an asset of your father's, you'd also be in hand-cuffs!

KABOOM!

Pilot: SIR, XIAO LONG IS IN THE STREET!

Yang: (Holds up hands) But... I'm right here!

Ironwood: Get me a visual! Turn this bullhead around!

ADAM: (Tanking tank fire, Tossing mechs)

Ironwood: Dammit! It's Taurus!

Yang: You can't stop it. You have to kill it!

Ironwood: SIT YOUR ASS DOWN!

Yang: (Opens hangar door) I'm the only thing that can stop it!

Blake: Yang, it's too dangerous! It's crazy!

Yang: I know, but I have to try! Sorry... (Falls out of bullhead)

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

ADAM: (Unconscious)

YANG: (Looks up)

Blake: (Flinches)

YANG: B L A K E . . .

YANG: (Bounds away)

Blake: ...Goodbye, General. I hope it was worth it. (Leaves)

Ironwood: ...

[amitiel-truth]

Ten Babies Part 2 (Vash the Stampede x Reader)

Note: This is my SECOND time writing here, please don't look too much into the details, I made some up, these ideas were prompted from my chat with Vash at Character.AI, lore dump will probably be here (doing the josei format up this bitch).

Warning: ⚠️Smut⚠️

Summary: Was it really a one night stand, Mr. Stampede?

Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

stiring awake, Vash sits up from the softest bed he ever laid on as e looked around, the room he resides in looks more luxurious than the one he was given, but it's personalized, trinkets strewn about tables and nightstands, with it's own personal desk with what seem like important documents.

Vash notices that his naked, with an 'eep' he began dressing himself up from the clothes he discarded the night before, looking around for his red coat, but concludes it to be gone, and noticed someone humming.

Walking over to the window, it turned out to be a veranda over-looking the city, and noticed (Y/N), looking at the city, wearing his coat.

"Ms.(Y/N)-" Vash abruptly stopped himself as (Y/N), she's completely naked and only wearing his red coat, making him blush.

"Good Morning, Mr. Stampede." (Y/N) greeted, smiling at the blonde before turning back to the city, Vash realizes that the Mansion isn't on a hill, but on a cliff, overlooking the city that's located on a meteor crater.

"Welcome...to Febrari."

Febrari, a hidden city in Noman's Land that not many know, it's residents are decedents of SEED Ship 14 after 'The Great Fall', the ship specializes in agriculture and has been developing plant matter after departure from Earth.

Head Scientist, Agriculture, Biochemist, and Engineer, Erich Hem Loverose, did try to make contact with the other SEED ships, but an encounter deterred him, using the geological location that SEED ship 14 fell onto, natural walls that surround the area, SEED ship 14 went zero contact for the last century.

"I haven't been completely honest with you, Mr. Stampede." (Y/N) confessed, turning to look at him.

"My name's (Y/N), (Y/N) Loverose." she reveals, smiling at him, her hands in his coat pockets.

"It's quite alright." Vash sweat drops, laughing nervously, suddenly remembering what she said before she fell asleep

"Give me Ten Babies..."

'I don't even know if PLANT DNA is compatible with Human DNA.' Vash thought, turning to the woman who's looking at her city fondly.

"About-" Before he could even start, a knock resided on the door.

"Ms.(Y/N)! Mr. George Jr. from the Water Distribution Sector wishes to speak with you." Aileen said through the door, as (Y/N) shouted that she'll get ready.

"We have only just woken up and I already have a meeting." (Y/N) mutters, a hand on her forehead as she pulled Vash through her room and onto the door.

"Let's talk again later, Mr. Stampede." (Y/N) teases as she removed his coat and placed it over her shoulder, rendering her completely naked, flustering the male before being pushed out of the room.

"There's running water in your bathroom, feel free to get ready!" (Y/N) yells over the door before fading away, Vash still blushing hard from what just happened, then shakes out of his stupor as he processes what he said.

"Running water..." Vash mutters before rushing to his room and heading to the bathroom, turning on the tap, and watching water falling through it.

"Woah..." Vash mutters as he runs his hand through it.

"Just what is this place..."

____

(Y/N) talks with a young man on her porch under the shade of her home, wearing a white sleeveless dress with an accordion piece and plain piece that shapes her figure, dangling fake pearls on her ears, and a golden stars necklace wrapped around her neck, 'laughing' along with the man.

While out of earshot, Vash peeks through a window, looking at the scene before him.

"Who's that?."

"George Shepard Jr., son of the Water Distribution Department Head of Febrari, also one of the most eligible bachelors around here." Aileen informed Vash, jumping in surprise as he turned to look at the woman.

"Water Distribution? I haven't heard of that term before? In fact, it's so scarce to get as much as a drop here in Noman's Land." Vash replies, surprise that there's such a thing as departments for it.

"We're lucky enough to have landed with our ship fully intact, in fact, we haven't had a singled deceased PLANT for the past century." Aileen reveals, surprising Vash even more.

"Not a single one?! In this place? how is that even possible?!" Vash asks, still in shock.

"Because of the Loverose's" Aileen reveals, turning to look at something, turns out they're in the living room, with a mural of the first generation of the Loverose's hung above the fireplace.

"They took care of everything for us, especially Mr. Hem, with his knowledge and guidance, he built a system and developed plants for food that would survive the harsh climate of this planet, it is still under progress but under our current condition, they still work." Aileen informs him, staring at the Mural of a family with a Man in his mid-thirties wearing glasses with (y/hc) slick-back hair with serious eyes, holding a little boy in his arms and a young woman who looks exactly like (Y/N) but with blue eyes and blonde hair(A/N: sorry if you're blonde and have blue eyes), holding an umbrella made out of metal, smiling at the camera with her arm over the man's shoulder.

"and all of that knowledge is passed down to (Y/N), a very sought-after bachelorette, coming from wealth and status." all their attention turned to the woman who continued discussing matters with the young woman.

"I understand you still think that you're a fling, but know this, I watch Ms. (Y/N) grow up from a newborn into the young woman you see today, and not once have I seen her act with this kind of behavior towards a man, if you're uncomfortable at the situation, leave if you like, it's alright to not reciprocate her feelings." Aileen advises as she turns to go to the kitchen.

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave a woman with a broken heart!"

"She's a strong woman, she can take anything you throw at her and she'll stand back up, she'll be fine...unless, your feeling something else, Mr. Stampede?." Aileen pokes as Vash blushes, turning to look back at the two on the porch as (Y/N) turns her body 'bashfully', something inside Vash stirs as he continued to watch the two.

"One night stand my ass."

____

After breakfast, (Y/N) invites Vash to see the city.

"I'm needed to see the progress of our other plants like cabbages and such." (Y/N) informs him, walking out of the mansion holding a very long umbrella.

"What's a cabbage?." Vash asks following her as they approached two Thomas Handlers.

"Your about to find out." (Y/N) chuckles as she opens the umbrella as they get under the three suns, a Handler approached her, handing her usual bird and riding it, placing the umbrella at the custom holder, protecting her from the heat.

"Let's get going." (Y/N) nods her head to the other bird, as Vash blushes and goes to the Handler who gave him the reins and rides it.

"Let's go!" (Y/N) squeals as she snapped the reins, making the Thomas, run with Vash panicking and running after her.

The two Handlers could only look at each other blankly.

"Ms. (Y/N)! Slow down!" Vash yells, matching the Lady's speed who continued laughing.

"Come on! I'll race you there!" (Y/N) challenges as she snaps the reins once again, showing a path as they race through it.

Vash hears (Y/N) laugh once again, turning to look at her he observes as she squeals, her hair gliding through the air as she looks so carefree. Vash turns away, blushing.

Reaching the town entrance, Vash won the race, and they come to a stop.

"Ah! You won! Guess I need to get you something for getting first place." (Y/N) stated, softly shaping the reins on her Thomas as they start to walk as Vash rushes to follow her.

"You don't need to get me anything, really!" Vash insisted, already heavily in debt to the woman.

"It's alright, really, Aileen already ask me to get some things from this store anyways." (Y/N) persist as they continued on their journey, noticing people calling out to her, smiling up to her as she smiles back, waving at them, making Vash pull up his hood to avoid being recognizable.

"You do know your red coat itself gives you away, right?" (Y/N) points out, smiling at the PLANT.

"Maybe they'll think I'm someone imitating me?." Vash tries to defend himself.

"Now who would be able to imitate your handsome self?." (Y/N) flirts making the man hide further into his hood, blushing.

"We're here." (Y/N) stops, and an unfamiliar smell wafts through the air, it smells homely and something fresh from the oven.

"Wait right here." (Y/N) orders as she got down with her umbrella, and walks into the store filled with bread and pastries Vash had never seen before, watching her converse with a few people around her area before walking back to him with bags on her arms.

"I bet you haven't had these for a long while." she guesses, holding up a bag of a certain baked pastry.

"Doughnuts...." He mutters, taking the bag before digging in.

"I'm glad you like it" (Y/N) laughs as she walks back to her Thomas, places back her umbrella, and mounts the bird, continuing on their leisure phase, eating their own pastries.

While stuffing his face, Vash looks around, noticing how peaceful the place is, occasionally there's someone greeting (Y/N).

"You're really well known in this town."

"Well, I did grow up here and came from a very prominent family, would be pretty hard to not be known." (Y/N) replies, waving among the people.

"But how come I haven't seen your parents?." Vash pokes, as she stiffens, keeping her face facing forward

"Oh...uh, they died a few years back, peacefully, might I add." She confirms, keeping herself facing forward.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry for prying-"

"No! It's quite alright, it happened a long time ago anyway." She remarks, but still kept her composure and still faced forward.

silence enveloped the two, occasionally greeting anyone who greets (Y/N) first, before reaching their destination, the area is set up with hundreds of greenhouses.

"Ms. Loverose, welcome to the Farming Sector." a young man greets, taking (Y/N)'s hand and kissing the back of it, right in front of Vash, who glares at the action.

"Oh, Jaime, still sweet as ever." (Y/N) 'swoons'.

"And who might this be?." He asks, turning to the red-hooded man, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, I'm-"

"He's my guard for the day." (Y/N) cuts him off, unmounting the bird with her umbrella with Vash following after.

"Shall I also accompany you inside as well Ms.-"

"It's quite alright, we can look around ourselves." She cuts him off walking to the plastic tarps.

"Understood" Jaimie grumbles as he glares at the blonde who can't help but smile.

(Y/N) mentions to follow her through the tarp and walks in, with Vash cautiously approaching the plastic, before walking in.

Cold air greeted the man, looking around in wonder at the nostalgic temperature, then noticing the leafy green bulbs before him, all in line planted to the ground.

(Y/N) smiles as she looks around, wiping the back of her hand on her dress as she looks around proudly.

"Back on earth, there used to be different climate zones around the globe, and each of them has the perfect temperature for plants, but it's hard to grow anything here on Noman's Land with the three suns and all, and the best that we could do is to mimic their climate and modify the plants to adapt to the planet's soil, though they are mixed with soil back from earth, but atleast they worked" She explains as she knelt down to one cabbage, her umbrella providing shade as she stroked one of them, glistening with water.

"It's not much, but at least it's enough to sustain us." (Y/N) smiles as Vash knelt down beside her, staring in wonder.

"Can you really eat it?." Vash leans down to take a bite as (Y/N) covers his mouth, chuckling at her.

"You need to cook it first before eating it! Unless you want a weird tingling sensation in your mouth" She laughs as she hugs her umbrella handle closer to her, bringing it between her legs, giggling uncontrollably as Vash backs away flustered, embarrassed as (Y/N) remembered something.

"There was a belief about planting back on Earth, when you sing to a plant they'll grow healthy and bountiful. Do you think that'll work here?." (Y/N), asks as she leans closer to the plant and clears her throat.

"Can we just be honest?" (Y/N) starts as Vash watches in amusement.

"These are the requirements If you think you can be my one and only true love You must promise to love me" (Y/N) continues as she closes her eyes, not noticing Vash's PLANT marks are showing, as he began to panic.

"And damn it, if you fuck me over I will rip your fuckin' face apart" Vash was so distraught that his PLANT markings instantly disappeared.

(Y/N) stops, opening her eyes as she looks at Vash sheepishly.

"I don't think plants would like to grow up to that, sorry, just thought of that off the top of my head." she apologizes and stands up, walking to the middle of the field, spinning her umbrella as Vash follows after her.

"Speaking of Love, have you over been in a relationship before?." Vash asks as she looks up thinking.

"I've had a few boyfriends before, but they were never serious, It's just a way to rebel at my parents back then, besides they could never handle me being too much of a woman." (Y/N) smiles in thought.

"Is that so? then what about those guys who's been all around you lately? are they also your past boyfriends?."

"Oh no! No no no! I don't even get near them as a child for how snobbish they acted, they do their jobs perfectly but don't have the right head on their shoulders in treating the common folk." (Y/N) denies, holding up a hand her lips in a tight frown.

"Althouuuuuuugh...If it's okay for them to have 10 children, I don't see why not." (Y/N) blushes, a hand on her cheek, swooning, as Vash watches her. thoughts running through his mind, the thought of her having children with another man...stirs something inside of him.

Vash suddenly pushed (Y/N) behind some tall cabbages, her umbrella flying up in the air, her white dress getting dirty in the process.

"Vash! What are you-" (Y/N) cuts herself off when Vash suddenly pins her to the ground, stunning the girl.

Her umbrella falls beside them facing the entrance, effectively hiding the two, they continue to stare at each other, as Vash slowly leans down to the girl, initiating a kiss, as (Y/N) got out of her stupor and followed him after, holding onto the back of his coat.

Vash hiked up her dress, revealing a pair of red lace panties, biting his lip at the sight as he pushed the lower side of it to the side, slipping one of his fingers in.

(Y/N) gasps as she held onto Vash tighter, biting his neck through his turtle neck, Vash quicken his pace and slid another finger in, prompting the girl to roll her eyes in pleasure, realizing she already cum.

wordlessly, Vash lifted his finger covered in (Y/N)'s slick, making sure she was watching as he sucked on his fingers, making her moan as she bit into her thumb.

After Vash finished cleaning his fingers, he proceeded with pulling down his pants, his cock slapping onto his stomach upon release as (Y/N) watches in anticipation.

lining it up, he looks back at (Y/N) for confirmation, who wrapped her legs around his waist and pulls him in, both moaning in synch at the sudden intrusion, Vash slowly started thrusting his hips onto her, grounding himself onto her as (Y/N) pulled him to her gasp and moan directly onto his ear, egging the PLANT more as he increases his speed.

The girl went crossed-eyed as she held onto Vash tighter, and with a last few thrusts, he spurts his seed inside of her, making sure to ground himself to her as he bit her neck, forcing (Y/N) to follow after, mixing along with his.

The two pants as Vash lifted himself from her shoulder, being face to face with her, as (Y/N) wrapped her arms around Vash's neck and pull him down, pulling him into a rough and passionate kiss, her fingers running through his hair as Vash hugged her tightly.

"Ms. Loverose! Are you there?." The man from before, Jaimie, call out as they both sat up, thankfully being fully hidden by the girl's large umbrella.

"Micheal from the Waste Department wants to talk to you, about the production of fertilizer for the Farming Sector." Jaimie added as they two hurriedly fixed themselves up, brushing away dirt that had gotten onto their skin and hair but (Y/N) her ruined dress and bite mark on her neck.

"Did something happen there? do you need help?." Jaimie asks, getting closer as the umbrella shuffles and two figures burst out from behind.

"WE'RE FINE! COMPLETELY FINE!" (Y/N) confirms, laughing nervously with Vash behind her.

"I just...fell onto the dirt and Vash helped me get back up!"

"Then why are you wearing his coat?." Jaimie points out, as it's true, (Y/N) is wearing Vash's red coat which almost swallows her.

"My dress got dirty and Vash lend me his coat so I won't look like a mess." she smiles nervously, with Vash nodding alongside her, holding her umbrella, as Jaimie observes the two.

"Well, either way, Micheal does still want to talk to you..." Jaimie continues as he leads them back to the entrance.

Vash observes (Y/N) and noticed that there was a wobble on her step, she kept her legs close as much as possible and pulled the collar around her neck, Vash smiles in triumph

____

Chapter 1 basically:

video choreography by @chokem3choso and video format by @thefinalwitness from TikTok

[voiceoffenrisulfr]

Magic and Madness - Chapter Four

It is the Green-Eyed Monster Which Doth Mock the Meat it Feeds On.

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 -> Tony Stark x Stephen Strange

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 -> Tony acts like Tony, and Stephen gets caught out.

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 -> 3335

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 -> (E) CW: flirting with someone else, ED mentions (Nat), guilt, alcoholism, internalised homophobia. And smut. All the smut. All the time.

𝐀/𝐍 -> A Companion Piece to Multitudes, running relatively adjacent as of chapter thirteen (here), exploring the relationship of Tony Stark and Stephen Strange. This chapter corresponds to Multitudes chapter fifteen. Don't worry, the next chapter picks up... Oh, about two hours after this one ends. ;)

Check it out below, or on AO3 here! Dividers come from yours truly.

<- Previous Chapter (3/46) Next Chapter (5/46) ->

“Doctor Banner requests everyone’s attendance as a show of support and in order to discuss a development in Ms. Romanoff’s treatment. Please present for dinner thirty minutes earlier than usual in order to have a frank conversation regarding unacceptable permissiveness of problematic behaviour.”

Tony groaned, slinging an arm over his eyes. “Friday, I created you. I’m pretty certain I give the orders around here.”

“Yeah you do,” I muttered with a hum, nuzzling closer to his throat, and he laughed in shock, lips brushing my hair.

“Stephen Strange, how uncouth.”

I snorted tiredly, kissing the pulse thrumming beneath my mouth. “Shhh… It’s time to sleep, Stark.”

His fingers caressed my spine lightly, still bare, leaving a line of heat in his wake. “We probably shouldn’t. It sounds serious.”

“Yeah,” I sighed reluctantly, but found myself shuffling closer despite myself.

“Maybe we should cook something… It would be nice to show we care, right?”

We. We. We.

Please never stop saying that.

“I… Clint once gave me some of his goulash. Told me I’d know when to use it. I think that time is now,” I murmured against his skin, arm cinching tighter around his waist.

I’m scared to leave this paradise we have made. I know what we are outside of this bed, and I can’t do that. Not yet. Not now. Please.

“… I have already cooked this week. Think you can do your Sparkles stuff and take me to In-N-Out? Everybody loves cheeseburgers, right? … Man, I’d kill for a cheeseburger right now.”

I laughed, intrepid fingers trailing the hills and valleys of his ribcage. “You got it. …We have time, though, right?”

“What did you have in mind, sweetheart?” he purred, twitching closer.

Sweetheart.

I snorted, shaking my head fondly. “Sleep?” His face fell despite himself, and I grinned wickedly. “Though I do recall you essentially begging that I frequent the space between your legs far more often…”

“That. I choose that. Please.”

“Four hours… .015 BAC reduction per hour since imbibing… Nope. You’re sitting around… 0.14.”

“You short-changed me?” he muttered, and I winced, but he simply snorted. “Keep it .20 or over, and I don’t care. I can drink the difference.”

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. “You’re missing the key point here. I’m spending absolutely no time between your legs when you’re legally intoxicated.”

He sighed, but laced his fingers in mine, pressing them to his forehead as his hips twitched. “Get it done, Sparkles.”

As much as he found very evident relief in my ministrations – or, as he so delightfully and filthily phrased it as his back arched and he jerked desperately, the fact that I could apparently ‘suck that cock like a goddamn pro’ – his reprieve was undeniable when I carefully inched his blood alcohol back up.

Hate. Wrong. No.

"Hi, can I have... I don’t know. Some. Thirty? Let’s say thirty. Thirty cheeseburgers. To go.”

“… You’re Tony Stark. You’re Iron Man. At In-N-Out Burger. Iron Man is at In-N-Out Burger.”

I rolled my eyes with a sigh, resisting the urge to snarl at the girl barely out of teenagehood and trailing her gaze across the individual I was quickly coming to consider mine, despite how ill-advised that may be.

“If I give you an autograph, can I get the burgers faster?” he purred, leaning forward on the counter as he pushed the sunglasses up his forehead to meet her eye, and she blushed.

“I-I-I’d love that! Ohmigosh, thank you!” she giggled, twisting her hair around her finger.

…Seriously?

He paid and pulled a pen from his pocket, the cap balanced between his teeth as he scrawled his name at the bottom of the receipt, presenting it with a flourish. “For you… Lola,” he added, grinning as his eyes flicked to her name badge, and she turned a deeper crimson as I fought the temptation to kill everyone in the room and then myself.

Pacifist. I’m a pacifist. We’re not even dating, right? And he’s single. To the outside world, he’s single. And straight. And definitely not mine. Nope. Not mine.

… Damn it all, I wish he was mine.

My hands shook as I formed the portal in the alley, taking us directly to the dining room. Tony only raised an eyebrow before I started to move again, muttering about picking something up from the Sanctum.

“… I’ll be right back. I brought burgers.”

He ducked through behind me before I could close the damned thing, raising an eyebrow. “Doctor Strange, are you trying to avoid me?”

“I’m picking up goulash,” I muttered, turning away petulantly to root through my poorly stocked freezer – but his hand clamped around my wrist, pulling me back to his chest.

“No no, sweet boy. You tried to drop me off first, rather than steal a few extra minutes with me. I’m not stupid.” Really? Feels like it. “What’s going on?”

I growled as I tugged back, feeling for all the world like a dramatic child, but unable to reign in my annoyance and jealousy. “Nothing. I don’t owe you anything, and you don’t owe me anything, right? So forget it.”

He blinked in surprise, fingers releasing me, and I stepped back. “… Is… Is this about the girl?” My jaw rolled in anger, and he laughed, moving toward me. “Stephen, I-”

“No. You don’t have to explain yourself, Stark. I understand completely.”

I’m your dirty, shameful secret.

“You’re sexy when you’re jealous,” he purred, inching nearer.

“Fuck you.”

“Even sexier when you’re mad.” My back bumped the counter, and his hands found the surface either side of me as he smirked. “Stephen, I am, very publicly, not… I mean, to the world, I like girls. But outside of the public eye… Well, I like you. Is that not enough? I flirted with her to get us out of there faster. To get you here, faster. To be with you, you goddamn idiot.”

Startled, I stammered wordlessly, then scowled. “That would mean more if you weren’t intoxicated, Stark.”

“What do I get if I let you make me entirely sober?” he murmured, lips tracing the curve of my throat. “I’d say it all again without a drop in my system.”

Anything. Everything. I’d do anything to hear you tell me you care about me without that stuff inside you.

“Anything,” I whispered, head falling back, before I flushed with panic. “I-I mean, I…”

“Anything, huh?” he snorted, hands finding my backside to slide me onto the counter, positioning himself between my thighs. “Well, that is incredibly tempting.” He was only a few inches shorter than I was, and almost definitely stronger, but I was still impressed – and aroused – by how easily he lifted me.

I wonder if he could throw me. Ideally onto a bed.

“…Fine.”

“Wh- huh?” I stammered, distracted by my own train of thought. Please break me. I’ll die a happy man.

“Sober me up, and I’ll tell you how much you mean to me. Or I’ll sob like a child – one of those two things,” he snorted, shaking his head. I hesitated, and he rolled his eyes, pressing my hand to his forehead.

“I’m waiting, Strange.”

I was getting far too adept at cleansing his system, and he winced as he blinked his eyes open.

“… I regret every choice that led me to this point… E-except you,” he added, glancing at me as his face reddened. “… I… You mean a lot to me, Stephen. A real lot, and certainly more than a girl in a fast-food restaurant. Or any restaurant – any… Any girl, Stephen. Dear God, this is hard. Is it always this hard? I miss being drunk,” he muttered, shaking his head firmly. “Stephen Strange, you maddening bastard, I can definitely see myself falling in love with you, okay? Okay. Awesome. Whiskey?”

I blinked in surprise as he moved away, hands shaking as he scoured my cupboards desperately. “Uh… You know I can…”

“That’s not exactly fair of me, is it?” he quipped, jaw tight. “Do you have any alcohol? How do you not have any alcohol?”

“There’s beer in the refrigerator, but-”

He raided the fridge desperately, using the metal edge around his wrist to pop the top and taking a long drink.

… Jesus, Stark. It’s that bad?

… Did he custom-make a bracelet for opening bottles? He’s… What a devastating waste of talent.

“Tony, can you just stop for a second?” I laughed hollowly, finally sliding from the counter to tug him closer by his shirt. “Just one kiss. One sober kiss?”

He hesitated briefly, chest trembling under my fingertips before his mouth met mine with a growl and a desperate groan. “I don’t have to see myself falling in love with you, Tony,” I breathed as we drew apart, my arms wrapping tightly around him to press my chin to his hair. “I am falling in love with you. My poor, sweet boy. I just want to help you.”

He sobbed at last, fingers clenching in the back of my shirt, and I held him harder. “I can’t. I can’t do this. I’m not… I… I’m not strong enough. Please, Stephen. Please.”

“I know, honey. It’s okay. I’ve got you – we’ve got this, okay? Together, I promise. I’ll always be here, no matter how long it takes, do you hear me?”

He wept freely against my chest as his knees gave way, and I let him shift to the floor, pulling him onto my lap and humming softly as I rocked his shaking body.

“… I hate this.”

“I know, Tony.”

“I don’t want to ask.”

I sighed, closing my eyes against my own pain as I pressed my lips to his forehead, the incantation falling easily. “You don’t have to, my dearest.”

He let out a soft whimper of relief, and I expected him to immediately scamper away – but he only curled closer, sniffling pitifully. “…. I… I’m sorry.”

“I know. It’s okay,” I murmured, hands still smoothing his back lightly.

“… Did you mean it?”

“Without a doubt.”

“… How?”

I drew back in surprise, and he flinched, red, tearstained face ducking. “I don’t understand what you’re asking.”

“How can you… I mean, look at me, Stephen. I’m not exactly what you… What people grow up dreaming about,” he muttered, waving a hand at himself tiredly, and I snorted.

“You’re all I’ve dreamt about for longer than I’d care to admit, Stark,” I admitted quietly, fingers entwining with his. “I know everything you’ve ever done, and you’re still the one I want.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“No, I’m a magician with numb legs, and we’re late to dinner. Now get off me, Stark. The sooner this is over, the sooner I finally get to wake up next to you.”

He smirked as he got to his feet, offering me his hand with a courteous bow.

I didn’t realise it had gotten so bad again, I reflected, wincing, Tony’s hand tracing gentle but distracting patterns on my knee.

Bruce had given us a quick rundown – and snorted at the fact that every single person, without fail or exception, had brought food to a meeting about someone who famously struggled to eat. We sat chagrined around the table, my own thoughts recalling helping her avoid Tony’s macaroni and cheese. I couldn’t bring myself to feel guilty – her distress and terror seemed profoundly genuine – but I knew I should have encouraged her to talk to someone.

I was distracted. Again. Thinking about him. …Am I terrible person? A terrible friend?

“Essentially, if you see something, say something,” Bruce finished, glancing around to a chorus of nods and murmurs of regret.

It seems I’m not the only one who let her get away with things she perhaps shouldn’t have.

“Hey, guys.”

My gaze shot up, fixing on the red band loose on her bony wrist as she waved, and I flinched.

A heavy, awkward silence followed, and Tony picked up his glass as he cleared his throat. At least he’s taking his time with this one… It’s still only his first. That’s an improvement, right?

“Eat a goddamn cheeseburger, Nat,” he snorted, taking a sip, and I winced in horror, along with Clint and around half of the others gathered – but she only laughed.

“Actually, I’d love one, if that’s a genuine offer.”

Oh, Natasha. I’m so proud of you.

There was a flurry of movement, serving dishes uncovered, a veritable feast spread across the table, and Tony picked up an individually-wrapped burger with a relish. “This lot have been cooking a bunch of what they like to call ‘real food’, but I went to In-N-Out. I cooked yesterday; that’s me done for the next month, at least.”

Yeah, that’s the exact reason you got fast food…

My hand traced his thigh, and he swallowed dryly, jaw twitching.

Wincing, I went to move away, concerned I’d accidentally angered him – but he grasped my fingers with his, keeping me exactly where I was, and I had to bite back a smile.

She rounded the table to sit beside him with a grin, reaching for a burger of her own.

I watched for a heartbeat, impressed, until Nick began to talk to her about her restricted duties until she was able to return to missions – level three or above – and I faded fully into the feeling of Tony’s thumb lightly caressing the back of my hand.

… Yeah. I’m definitely falling in love with him. Damn.

… I wonder how long I should wait before just giving in and letting him have his way with me. And how much I can reduce that without seeming too desperate.

Can it be yesterday?

No… I should definitely wait until he’s sober.

Though he was sober earlier, right? Maybe we can do that again.

Or should be sober-sober? Not just… Not actively inebriated?

Would it be right to sleep with him while he still harbours so much self-hatred?

... Can I stop myself?

Nat’s laugh jarred me from my thoughts, and I reluctantly tried a mouthful of the goulash I had no memory of serving myself. …I’ll be the first to admit it, this really is good. Well done, Clint.

He met my eyes with gracious nod, and I smiled softly.

Natasha snorted as I dropped my gaze one more. “You’re really selling it, Nick,” she muttered, before pausing and groaning. “Okay, I get it. I’d make a trip for this – and, as we all know… I don’t eat.”

Tony spluttered into his drink, and I moved instinctively, fingers shifting from his to the space between his shoulder blades, determinedly keeping my eyes on my bowl.

My thoughts would, without a doubt, be all over my face right now. Definitely better not to look at him. As much as I really, really want to.

Natasha and Clint were amongst the first to leave, though nobody complained, given her valiant attempt at eating. Bruce watched them with a fond smile before he adjourned shortly after, followed by Wanda and Vision, Shuri and T’Challa, Steven, Nick…

But Thor just kept eating, making it difficult – impossible – for Tony and I to leave together, and I stood with a reluctant sigh. “I… Suppose I should head back to the Sanctum,” I muttered, and the engineer nodded impassively.

“Goodnight, Doctor Strange.”

“Farewell, Stephen.”

The portal opened, and I stepped through reluctantly, sighing again as I found myself alone in my room and pulling my shirt over my head. “I was profoundly looking forward to waking up with him,” I muttered under my breath, tugging my phone from my slacks as it beeped.

I’m guessing I’ll see you shortly. On my way up now. Wear something considerably more comfortable… And easier to take off. - T x

I swallowed dryly, quickly tugging on some sweatpants I’d all but forgotten I owned, and a hoodie hanging at the back of my closet being pulled over my bare chest, hands shaking with anticipation as I made a new portal. “Why didn’t I think about the fact that I can make more than one?” I sighed, shaking my head as I stepped through to his empty bedroom. “Stark and his… His…”

“‘My’ what, Stephen? I implore you to finish that sentence.”

I whirled around to find him watching me with a smirk, eyebrow raising as he took in my appearance. “Your damn hands on me making my mind go blank,” I snapped, but he just bit his lip thoughtfully as he moved closer.

“I wondered where that had gotten to.”

I glanced down in surprise as he inclined his head, blushing furiously.

“I-I found it… In the gym. I didn’t know it was yours.”

“You didn’t know the hoodie that says Stark Industries across the chest in big letters belonged to Tony Stark?” he quipped, eyebrow arching dramatically. “And you, somehow, are a surgeon and wizard?”

Plus it smelled like you, but let’s not mention that.

“I, uh… I mean, there’s a few around here…”

“I’m pretty sure you figured it out the second you buried your face in it. Something tells me you know exactly what kind of cologne I use.”

My mouth worked wordlessly, mortified at the memory of doing exactly that, and I felt my cheeks turn crimson. “Were you spying on me?”

He snorted, shaking his head proudly. “Nope. Actually, I had no idea. I took a shot, and it paid off. You did, didn’t you? Damn, Strange. This thing went missing weeks ago. How long have you been sweet on me?”

Longer than I’m going to admit, you cocky asshole.

“Look, I… Shut up,” I floundered, making him chuckle, his fingers wrapping around the base of my neck.

“Sober me up – somewhat, at least – and then do me a favour, and take off everything except my hoodie.”

My fingertips pressed eagerly to his forehead, watching in delight as his eyes cleared and he stepped back, waving his hand pointedly.

“Sober and waiting, baby. Let’s go. Pants off.”

Baby. Baby baby baby baby baby baby I should not love that as much as I do, holy-

“Mr. Stark, anyone would think you only want me for my body,” I teased, sitting on the edge of the bed to slide off my sweatpants.

“Oh, I want every part of you, love. Body and mind.” I gulped and shivered, and he hummed thoughtfully, raising a brow. “… I don’t feel… Doctor Strange, did you take advantage of my vague request and make me far below .08?”

“You’ll be entirely sober in… Two hours,” I replied, grinning cheekily. “You know. Just in case.”

“Stephen, I’m shocked. Is this your way of telling me you’d like to go all the way?”

I felt my cheeks flame, and I shrugged softly. “It’s my way of telling you that I’m not necessarily opposed to the idea…”

He swallowed dryly, curling the light tremble of his fingers into tight fists. “… I have to be entirely sober?”

“Ideally.”

“How ‘ideally’?”

I rolled my eyes, reclining onto my elbows, shivering with delight as his gaze trailed along my legs slowly. “Yes, Tony. You have to be entirely sober if you want to… If we… That is…”

He smirked as he stalked closer, hands finding the sheets either side of my shoulders as his body weight pinned me. “You’re flailing, sweetheart. You can say fuck, you know.”

“You have to be entirely sober to fuck me,” I quipped, and he groaned as his mouth found mine.

“I guess you’ll have to find a good way to pass the next two hours then, huh? I’ll need the distraction.”

“Just think about that promise you made.”

“Promise?” he prompted, brow furrowed, and I brushed my lips against his lightly.

“Didn’t you say something about ravaging me?”

He stuttered out an indecipherable noise as his hands found my wrists, pinning my hands over my head as my legs wrapped around his waist. “Baby boy, I am going to destroy you.” Dear. God. Please.

[novankenn]

Ah, come on!?!

SIX

Ilia Amitola squeezed her hands together as was led room by room through her on-boarding process. The first room was like a scene from a bad police drama, with a rather unhinged blond-haired woman asking her about every facet of her short life. It was rather unnerving the amount of information the woman had on Ilia.

After the interrogation, she was led into what amounted to a doctor's office and went through and extensive... and invasive examination. Ilia shivered as she remembered the number of shots, vaccinations, and blood samples she was subjected to.

The third room, looked like a school room, and this is where she had been for the last four hours. Watching videos, reading manuals, and writing short multiple choice tests. All of it about policy, procedures, the Inner Circle's mission statement, and the organizations... structure of command.

Ilia: (Mumbling to herself) I might have made a mistake.

????: Ms Ilia Amitola?

Ilia: (Looking up from the seventeenth manual she was reading) Yes?

????: Hello, I'm Terra Cotta-Arc. I'm here to escort you to the department you have been assigned to. If you please.

Ilia: I'm already assigned to a department? Can I ask which one, or is it a secret?

Terra: Of course you can know to which department you have been assigned. It wouldn't make much sense to hire and on-board you and then not tell you where you'd be working.

Ilia: Sorry... just been a long day.

Terra: I've been there. You think this is bad, wait until you try dating one of the Arcs... that's a verification process.

Ilia: Sorry? Did you say dating?

Terra: Well, not dating anymore. (Lifts her left hand to show the golden band on her ring finger) I married into the family!

Ilia: Ah... um... congratulations?

Terra: Thank you, (grows serious) but don't think you can sleep your way up to the top. People are promoted by merit and talent... not who they shack up with.

Ilia: Okay? Wasn't planning on doing any of that...

Terra: Good. Now please follow me.

/==/ A 1 Hour Bus Ride Later /==/

Ilia was really starting to feel like she had made a massive mistake in signing up with the Inner Circle. The White Fang was bad enough, but this place... this organization just seemed... whacked. During the ride over Terra informed Ilia she would be assigned to the Grimm Development Department.

That shocked Ilia as she had no idea that Grimm could be... developed. Then seeing the building the supposedly secure and state of art lab was located in... a rundown warehouse. Brought that deep sense of disappointment back... hard and fast.

Terra: Let me introduce you to your co-workers!

Ilia: Okay... I guess?

Terra: Don't let the looks fool you. Jaune runs a tight ship and is VERY talented.

Ilia: Is he?

Terra: He is. (Her smile becomes sinister) I do suggest and thoughts of seducing him and then breaking his heart... better vanish from your pretty little head.

Ilia: I wasn't! I swear! I'm into women!

Terra: Be that as it may. (Terra's smile grew more malicious.) We have ways to make problems... disappear. Don't become a problem. Okay?

Ilia: Yes, I completely understand. No problem here, ever.

Terra: (Cheery smile instantly returns) Great!

Ilia fought hard to not visibly shake as Terra lead her to the door and opened it.

Terra: Jaune! I have someone you need to meet!

Jaune: (Muffled) BUSY!

Terra: Jaune! Get over here and introduce yourself to your new co-worker!

Jaune / Wolfie / Hydra: CO-WORKER! We have a CO-WORKER?

Terra: Yes, no come out and meet her!

Ilia was seriously, as in deeply seriously reconsidering her life choices as she heard the stampede of feet rushing in her direction.

(== Table of Contents ==)

[plumiechim]

Escort kth: 1 [m]

Pairing: Kim Taehyung x OC

Genre: pwp, Painter!Kth, romance?, au, officeworker!oc

Summary: want no emotional attachments? call an escort.

Note: It gets better I swear!!

chapter(s): 1, 2,3

w.c 2.5k

Warning: oc has a name, Taehyung and oc develop things a lil later, Shownu is her ex, flirty Taehyung

1: Personal card!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 missed calls from Shownu.

His name pops up. Once again.

Incoming call from Shownu.

You press on the decline button and put your phone on silent.

"Hea, Mr. Oh is calling you." Mingyu, looks up from the partition wall.

You look at him. "Did anything happen with the report we gave him?" You ask.

"No idea. He didn't look angry tho." He shrugs. "Just go, he probably just wants to assign you some work."

"Okay." Grabbing your note and pen you go to your boss's office.

"Mr. Oh." You knock on the door. Twice.

"Come in Ms. Ahn." You weren't sure if he was angry or happy. He was an intimidating man.

"Is there something wrong with the report sir? I'd double checked it before submitting it to you-."

"It's not about the report Ms. Ahn. Take a seat." He gestured you to sit.

You sit.

"Mrs. Min caught a cold. We were supposed to attend a conference and she was supposed present the report you had prepared. So, I want you to accompany me to the conference instead."

"What?" A scolding would have been better.

"I thought this was the best option. Hwasa is on leave, else I would obviously take her. I'll tell Mingyu to accompany you to buy a dress. The dress is on me. This is an important conference. Be on your best."

"Thank you, sir." You get up and leave the office.

You felt like you could finally breathe. You weren't prepared for such a responsibility.

"Mr. Oh called me." Mingyu approached you. "Heard you're presenting the report."

You whine and drop your head in your hands. "I really hate doing these types of stuffs. Why is Hwasa on leave today of all days." You tug on your hair.

"Well, you don't have any other choice. Do you? Let's get going yeah?" You slump against the wall.

"C'mon. I'll treat you. Let's go." Mingyu drags you out of the office.

-

Just a look at the shop and you could tell than you were about to wear a dress that would hardly cover your ass and tits.

"Mr. Oh told you to bring me here?" You ask Mingyu and he nods.

"Yeah. It's his sister's boutique. Mrs. Min buys all her clothes from here." Mingyu says and you sigh.

You walk inside the place and it reeked of Mrs. Min.

"Reservation under Ms. Ahn Hea." Mingyu tells the receptionist and she immediately starts working on the computer.

"Yes. I see you're from DSIER.co. Please proceed, our staff will show you around." She smiles at Mingyu and hands him a brochure.

"Thankyou." He turns to me. "Let's go."

"What do you think of this outfit?" You ask Mingyu after putting on your 13th outfit. You wore a long rose gold colored silk body con that unnecessary had a low cut and heels that were already hurting your toes.

"I think it is the best one of all the dresses you have worn."

"So this is it then" You finalize. You look at the staff. "I'll take this outfit."

-

"Atleast I got to flex Mr. Oh's black card." You and Mingyu laugh as you sit in the car.

Incoming call from Shownu.

"Is something wrong? Your phone has been ringing right from when you got in the car. Why are you not picking it up?" Mingyu asks.

"Everything's fine. I just don't wanna ruin my mood even more talking to him."

"Ex?"

"Yeah. Sort of." You chuckle.

"So what do you wanna eat?" Mingyu starts the car.

"Right. You told me you'd treat me. Let's just stop by the convenience store. I really don't wanna eat anything." You put your seat belt on.

"You know what. Just drop me off at my place. I need to get ready. You can treat me some other day."

"Fine. But don't forget about it okay?"

"I'm not gonna let slide an opportunity to let you buy me a dinner. You know how desperate other girls would be to be in my place." You say and he smiles.

"Stop exaggerating Hea."

"I'm not." And you both burst into laughter.

-

"I'm home early." You say, taking off your shoes.

"Looks like my lady did some shopping." Your roommate Seulgi says looking at those huge bags on your hand.

"Shopping my foot. My boss's assistant is sick so now I have to attend a very important conference with him and present a report in place of Mrs. Min." You flop on the couch.

"So he bought you a dress or what?" Seulgi sat beside you.

"He told me to go buy it with Mingyu. Tell me how is it." You hand her the bag.

"I have no doubt in your sense of fashion. Wait. You went shopping with Mingyu?" Seulgi took out the heels.

"Yeah." You replied.

"You know he's a nice guy right. He definitely has a thing for you. Why don't you give it a try?" Seulgi's jaw drops at the outfit you bought.

"Holy shit. This dress looks hella expensive. I love it. Your ass curves and tits will look perfect."

"Thanks. I need you to do my makeup tho." You tell her.

"You trust me in this girl. Now go get changed. I'm ready to doll you up." Seulgi pushes you to your room.

"If I wasn't dating right now, we'd be fucking." Seulgi titters as she puts make up on you.

"It's a formal event Seulgi."

"So what? Rich men are the most desperate. They have everything but nothing. They're like predators waiting for a prey to voluntarily sacrifice themselves to them. That way they'll have no blame." You stare at her through the mirror.

"What I'm trying to say is try not to get involved with them. It's only you who'll face the consequences."

"C'mon Seulgi. Believe me I know it very well."

The air started to grow thick.

"Did he call?" Seulgi asks and you nod. "For fuck's sake Hea-."

"I didn't pick up the call. He's been calling me but I haven't picked up." You explain.

"Good. Let it stay that way. Close your eyes for me love." Seulgi sprays setting spray on your face. "And you're all done. Ready to go."

You look at yourself in the mirror. "Now wear that pretty smile of yours and you'll look perfect." Seulgi puts her hands on your shoulders. "Oh, by the way, you got a mail. It's in your drawer. Check it later. And don't forget to come home late, Jackson is coming over." Seulgi winks and you can't help but laugh.

"As long as my bed and the counter is clean." You put your hands in air in defeat.

Incoming call 'Mr. Oh'

"Hang on Seulgi, my boss is calling."

"Yes sir. Yes, I'm ready. I'll be down there."

"Your boss is here?" Seulgi squealed.

"He'll be down in five minutes." Once again nervousness consumed you. "Hey where did my files go." You look for your files.

"Relax. They're on your lap. Don't be so nervous. You'll do great." Seulgi assured.

"It's just that I've never presented in a conference."

"Everything has its first. C'mon get going. Your boss will be there any moment." Seulgi ushers you up.

"Best of luck."

-

3 minutes in and your leg is already hurting.

Your boss did say he was gonna be there in five minutes but it felt like time was elongating. On top of that, the air was cold and strong. You repented not bringing a coat.

Your phone dinged.

Mrs. Min: I heard you're attending the conference.

You: Yes, I hope you're feeling well.

Mrs. Min: Better.

You: That's a relief.

Mrs. Min: I'll give you a tip Hea. Drink champagne. Best of luck.

You never really understood Mrs. Min. She was always blank. Never came to work late. Never stayed for late work. Her works were all fine and it always shocked you how she never made a single mistake in what she did.

Maybe that's why you were nervous. Because you were replacing her.

"Ms. Ahn." Mr. Oh pulls down the window. "Get in." He opens the door and you sit in.

"Thank you." You murmer. You looked at the driver. "Evening Sobeok." You greeted the newbie. "Evening ma'am. You look pretty." You smiled at his comment.

"I almost thought you were Mrs. Min's sister." Mr. Oh said and you chuckled. It was his way of complementing you.

"There'll be CEOs from high multibillionaire companies and many influential people Hea. Despite their reputation their behavior doesn't match their standard. So, I don't want you to be taken aback. I would like you to go with the flow. Do I make myself clear?" It was the first time he called you by your first name and you were quite taken aback.

"Yes, sir."

"I'm not trying to make a bad impression of everyone there. There is a fair share of good people. I've picked a table with decent people so you don't need to panic. You're in good hands." Mr. Oh smiled and looked out of the window.

You just nodded.

10 minutes later you're standing behind Mr. Oh, greeting people along with him in the conference hall.

"This is Hea, she'll be presenting the report today. Hea, he's Min Yoongi, well known for his interior designs. He's the one who designed our building." He introduced you to Yoongi. You bowed at him. "Nice to meet you sir."

"Nice to meet you too." His hand extends to yours and you gently shake it. "Let's go to our table." Yoongi says and Mr. Oh follows Yoongi and you follow your boss.

"Mr. Oh." You see a hand calling for your boss. "Mr. Kim." He says. "Hadn't expected you here." He approached Mr. Kim and shakes his hand. "Why don't we sit and talk. The others are here as well."

"Of course." Mr. Oh nods.

The table was already occupied by five men and one of them was Min Yoongi.

"Long time no see Mr. Oh." Another voice peeps out. "Same applies to you too Mr. Park, Mr. Jeon and Mr. Kim." He sits beside Yoongi and you sit beside your boss. You bowed briefly to the man seated beside you. He was busy working his pencil on the notebook he had but still gave you a slight nod as an acknowledgement.

"I heard Mrs. Min couldn't come today." The man who called Mr. Oh tells and Mr. Oh nods. "But I brought Hea with me. She's as good as Mrs. Min. Hea, He is Kim Namjoon, he owns Nakmu, the furniture company." He says, referring to the man seated beside Yoongi.

"And beside him is seated Park Jimin, he owns a gaming company, the one sitting next to him is Jeon Jungkook, he's a fashion designer and the one sitting right beside you is Kim Taehyung, he's a painter." You greeted each of them. The three of them seemed more intimidating than Namjoon and Yoongi. Probably because they have been stealing glances of you since you were seated but not showing any signs of starting a conversation.

"I'm Hea, Ahn Hea and I'm Mrs. Min's manager. Nice to meet you all." You stand up and bow.

"Mr. Oh." Someone from another table called him.

"I'll be right back. Hea, stay here." With that he's gone. There was no denying that you felt extremely uncomfortable sitting on a table with millionaires and CEO's with you barely earning 20th of their monthly salary.

"All the reports that Mrs. Min used to present. They were all prepared by you, wasn't it?" Jungkook asks and you nod.

"Yes. Well, uh another of my colleague Mingyu and I prepare them. You might be familiar with her, she's been here often. Hwasa? Do you know her?"

Jungkook's mouth turns into an 'O' with acknowledgement and the other 4 shake their head hearing the familiar name expect Namjoon who doesn't really respond to your statement in any way.

"Yoona is my older sister." Yoongi suddenly drops the bomb.

"Mrs. Min is your sister?" You ask and he nods. "Goodness. I didn't know she had a brother." You hear Jungkook scoff at your words. Your head turns to him.

"They're not that close tho." Jungkook says and you just nod.

"The drinks are here." Jimin looks at the waitress who's serving him and mumbles a 'thank you' taking his wine.

Placing the drinks on the table, the waitress went.

Everyone took their own drinks and the last two people left were you and Taehyung.

"Mr. Kim, please take your drink." You ask but he looks at you. "You want champagne or wine?" Taehyung asks.

"I'll settle with champagne." You say and grab the glass but you don't drink it the entire time but just fiddle with the glass.

It was your boss's turn for the speech. He gave some congratulatory message and then called your name to present the report on the stage.

Walking up to the stage was very nerve wracking. With everyone's eyes on you, you almost felt like tapping out. Yet you felt yourself proceeding.

"Good evening everyone, I am Ahn Hea, the assistant manager of DESIR. I will be presenting the report today." It was then that Taehyung, who had his eye pasted on his notebook all time along, looked up at your introduction and a small curve formed at his lips.

Thankfully nothing went wrong with the presentation but you definitely freaked out at one point. With all the questions bombarding all the cameras flashing, all the eyes staring at you, you felt like you'd give up in the middle but everything went smoothly. The moment you stepped out of the stage, you felt like though you were finally set free.

You needed some fresh air. You just wanted to go out of the place, away from the crowd, from all those cameras, somewhere secluded. Upstairs. The vip floor.

You didn't bother to look at the people around you and went straight to the balcony and slumped against the corner.

"Fuck." You muttered to yourself.

"I could hardly tell you were nervous." You hear someone say from the other corner.

Kim Taehyung. Smoking a cigarette.

"But you knew I was nervous didn't you Mr. Kim."

"Just call me Taehyung. Mr. Kim is too formal."

"Well, Taehyung?" You say and he finally looks at you.

"I didn't know you were nervous Hea."

"You knew."

"I didn't."

"You looked at me and laughed after I introduced myself." Hearing you, Taehyung scoffed and breathed out the smoke he'd inhaled.

"Hey that's me." You point at the note he'd been clutching all the time.

It was a sketch of you looking sideways, lips parted and eyes concentrated on the person talking on the stage and your hand wrapped around the champagne glass and your bloodied thumb.

"You sure have a bad habit of picking your skin." He looked at your thumb. "I laughed because you were trying to cover that thumb the entire time during the presentation." You look at your thumb.

"What type of paintings do you draw?" You lean against the railing and ask him.

"Why don't you check them out yourself, make time I'll explain them myself to you there." With that, he takes out a card and hands it to you. His personal business card.

"Are you inviting me to your gallery?" You smile at him. He smiles back. "Partially. The worse thing an artist can do is explain their picture without showing the pictures."

"You gave me your personal business card."

"I did." He smiles and nods and you chuckle at his bluntness. "Give me a call when you decide to visit."

Your phone started ringing once again.

Incoming call Shownu.

"16 missed calls, better take that call."

And with that, he left.

-

[winters8child]

It´s been a long, long time

Chapter 38

"Happy and his team are already sweeping every corner, but there's no trace of him on the camera footage," Tony said, his voice edged with frustration. I sat slumped on one of the many plush leather couches, my head buried in my hands. Beside me, Steve gently rubbed my back in a soothing, rhythmic motion. The party had mostly cleared out, with only Bruce and Thor remaining. Their eyes burned with a fierce determination, the latter vowing to tear the intruder limb from limb for daring to attack a lady.

Natasha handed me a glass of water, her expression a blend of concern and resolve. "I think you two should stay here for the night. It's safer than your apartment." Her words cut through the fog of fear clouding my mind. She was right. If he had the audacity to attack me amidst a crowd of superheroes, he wouldn't hesitate to come after me again in the privacy of my apartment. His menacing voice echoed in my head, replaying his chilling question: "Who are you?" Shouldn't he know the person he was attacking? My hand trembled as I took a sip of water, the glass shaking violently.

"He might have slipped into the garden, but there's no way he's getting into my tower. Stay here, and I'll let you know as soon as Happy finds anything," Tony assured, his tone unyielding. Steve gently lifted my chin, forcing me to meet his concerned gaze. "They're right. We should stay here," he said softly, his eyes searching mine for agreement.

I glanced around the room at the assembled heroes—figures of immense power and strength, armed with incredible gadgets and abilities. Yet, despite their presence, the intruder had targeted me, the weakest among them. A wave of inadequacy and vulnerability washed over me, emotions I hadn't felt in a long time.

With a shaky breath, I gave Steve a curt nod, my lower lip quivering as I fought to hold back tears. "The living quarters are on the 10th floor. You can have the room next to mine. If you need anything, just call 'Jarvis,'" Natasha said with a warm smile. My confusion must have been obvious, as I had no idea who or what "Jarvis" was. Noticing my puzzled expression, Tony chuckled. "Jarvis is the A.I. I developed. And don't worry, you don't have to yell; he’s not hard of hearing," he said with a grin.

"JARVIS," Tony called out, "please show our new guest the way to their room." A calm, robotic voice responded, "Certainly, just make yourselves at home, Mr. Rogers and Ms. Barnes." Instantly, lights shaped like arrows illuminated the floor, leading the way to the elevator. I glanced around, trying to locate the source of the voice, still bewildered by how it knew the new name I had chosen for myself.

Steve gently took my hand, offering a reassuring squeeze. He thanked Tony and the others before guiding me along the illuminated path. The arrows pulsed softly under our feet, creating an almost magical trail to follow. Steve didn't let go of my hand until we stepped into our temporary room. I had no intention of hiding here forever.

Kicking off my heels, I rubbed my sore feet. For all the advancements in technology, no one had yet figured out how to make high heels comfortable. I could feel Steve's gaze on my back as if he were expecting me to break down at any moment. I walked over to the large windows, looking out at the glittering Manhattan nightlife. Steve came up beside me and put his arm around my shoulders. "At least the room is nice," he said softly.

He was right. The room was spacious and well-appointed. A huge bed dominated the right wall, with a door next to it, likely leading to the bathroom. Two sleek sofas faced the window, with a cozy reading chair opposite them. The decor was modern and chic, though it lacked the familiar coziness of our apartment. I closed my eyes and sighed, turning to wrap my arms around Steve's waist.

"We will find him, don't worry", he promised while he kissed my forehead as I looked up at him. I believed him, he was the only person I had left on this planet, that I could trust with all my heart. "But in the meantime, we should get some sleep...I mean that bed looks like it's made out of clouds", he said with a smile. He looked down at me, his eyes filled with concern and something deeper, something more. I felt the warmth of his breath as he leaned in closer.

My heart raced as I lifted my chin, closing the distance between us. Our lips met in a slow, tender kiss that quickly deepened with passion. I could feel the strength and safety in his embrace, and for a moment, all the fear and anxiety melted away. His hands caressed my back, pulling me closer as if he could shield me from all the dangers outside.

We finally broke apart, breathless and flushed. Steve rested his forehead against mine, his eyes locked onto mine. "We'll get through this," he whispered, his voice full of determination. "Together." I nodded, feeling a renewed sense of hope and resolve. "Together," I echoed, squeezing his hand. We stood there for a few moments longer, wrapped in each other's arms, drawing strength from our connection.

His face was at the crook of my neck, his breath fanning my skin as he slowly kissed me from my jaw to my collarbone. I shivered at the sensation, the warmth of his lips sending a wave of electric pleasure through me. The gentle, deliberate kisses were soft but full of unspoken emotion, a tender reassurance that spoke louder than words.

I tilted my head to give him better access, my fingers instinctively weaving into his hair. “Steve,” I breathed, my voice trembling with a mix of anticipation and vulnerability.

He pulled back slightly, his eyes meeting mine with a soft intensity. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice a husky whisper. There was a flicker of concern in his eyes, though his touch remained gentle.

I nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of my lips. “Yes, I’m okay. I just… I need you.”

His expression softened at my words. Without another word, he closed the distance between us again, his lips finding mine in a kiss that was both passionate and tender. The kiss deepened as his hands roamed over my back, pulling me closer, his touch firm yet affectionate.

I let myself melt into the kiss, savoring the warmth of his embrace and the way his hands caressed my skin. The weight of the night’s events seemed to drift away, replaced by the intense connection we were sharing. His fingers slid beneath the hem of my sweater, tracing gentle patterns on my bare skin, and I let out a soft sigh at the sensation.

“Steve,” I murmured against his lips, my voice barely audible. “I want you.”

His eyes darkened with desire, and he kissed me again, deeper and more fervently. His hands moved to the hem of my sweater, hesitating for a moment as if seeking permission. I nodded the need in my eyes answering his unspoken question.

Slowly, he lifted the sweater over my head and tossed it aside. He took a moment to appreciate the sight of me, his eyes filled with adoration. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, his hands gently exploring the curves of my body.

I blushed under his gaze but couldn’t help the way my body responded to his touch. I reached for the waistband of his pants, pulling him closer until our bodies were pressed together. The heat between us was undeniable, and every touch seemed to ignite a new spark of longing.

Steve’s hands roamed over my back, his touch sending shivers down my spine. He moved his lips to my collarbone, his kisses growing more fervent as he explored the delicate skin there. I let out a soft moan, arching into him, lost in the sensation of his lips and hands.

He pulled back slightly to look into my eyes, his gaze filled with a mix of desire and tenderness. “Are you sure?” he asked, his voice a low rumble. I nodded, my breath coming in short, eager bursts. “Yes, I’m sure.”

His lips met mine again in a kiss that was filled with urgency and passion. He guided me gently onto the bed, his hands and lips exploring every inch of my skin with a loving reverence. We lost ourselves in the moment, finding solace and connection in each other’s embrace.

As we kissed, we let go of all the fears and uncertainties of the day, finding comfort and passion in each other’s presence. The world outside faded into the background as we focused on the intense, tender connection we shared in that intimate space.

When we finally broke apart, our breaths mingling in the cool night air, Steve’s hands cupped my face, his eyes searching mine. “I’m here for you,” he said softly. “I always will be.”

I smiled, feeling a profound sense of relief and love. “I know,” I whispered, leaning into his touch. “And I’m here for you, too.”

We kissed again, slowly and deeply, savoring the closeness we had found. The night was ours, filled with the promise of comfort and connection.

Next Chapter

[ssa-sapphic]

Pairing: Emily Prentiss × (POC)fem!oc

Previous Chapter: part one

Summary: When the bodies of several women show up all around LA, it's Garcia who aids the team in making the shocking connection that all of the victims look exactly like one of her favorite actresses, Sloan Hudson. Upon making this discovery, the team soon realizes that this famous celebrity might just be the unsub's final target, meaning that she is now in grave danger and needs to be protected. Unfortunately for Emily, her days of being a profiler are soon put on hold when Hotch assigns her to be Sloan's personal bodyguard.

Warnings: Basically all that an episode of Criminal Minds consists of. I don't really know what to specifically list, but if you have any additions or specific triggers, please let me know

Word Count: 4.6k

“Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.” - Marilyn Monroe

“Good morning, everyone!" The talk show host introduced, directing his words to the huge camera lens a few feet away and the small audience sitting behind it. "We’re here with America’s Sweetheart, Sloan Hudson, daughter of the late world-renowned director and Academy Award-winning actor Omar Hudson, and she’s here to catch us up on how life has been treating her over the past year since her father’s passing.”

On the sofa next to him, Sloan sat with her legs crossed and a dazzling smile plastered on her face as she looked out into the crowd filled with many of her adoring fans and supporters.

“So, Ms. Hudson, first and foremost how are you doing?” He asked, politely.

With a glance at her manager, who stood backstage with a pointed look, Sloan swallowed the lump in her throat and addressed the man next to her.

“Well, Jimmy, I’ll admit things were rough the last several months after my father’s accident. Loss isn’t ever an easy thing to experience, and it was difficult picking myself up from such a dark place in my life. However, I knew the impact he left on this world would never be forgotten and in a way, it’s like he’s still a part of me. Of course, I know firsthand that life and the industry itself won’t ever be the same without him, but it’s that idea alone that has motivated me to continue in his footsteps and keep his legacy alive. He helped shape me into the woman and actress I am today and I will always be grateful and honored to share the same passion he had for acting.”

Once again, she looked over to her manager behind the scenes, who was now sending her a nod of approval, almost as if she had doubted Sloan’s capability to remember the simple words written for her on yellow note cards that morning. Did she honestly forget that reading pages and pages of scripts was part of her job?

“Yes, his death certainly shocked all of us who watched his career develop over the years but we’re glad to hear that the Hudson talent won’t be ending so soon,” Jimmy noted solemnly, allowing the audience to clap in encouragement before he moved on to his next question. “I think we’re all looking forward to seeing your career flourish just as much. Speaking of which, I hear you’ve already begun a new project that’s set to hit theaters as early as next summer. Can you tell us a bit about the film and what we can expect to see from you this time around?”

"Unfortunately, I can’t say much,” Sloan smiled apologetically, knowing she’d get in heaps of trouble for disclosing any details while production was still underway. “But I’m excited to introduce my fans to this new character I’m portraying. She’s nothing like the roles I’ve had in the past and I hope she touches their hearts just as much as she has mine. I know you’re all used to seeing me in romantic indie films and the like, but this one is going to be a real emotional and dramatic performance for me and I’m honored to be part of such a brilliant storyline. I can’t wait to see it come to life.”

“That’s amazing!" He exclaimed. "It sounds like maybe this could be your year to take home an award, what do you think?”

With a small chuckle, Sloan suddenly grew bashful as she hid her face behind her hands, while the crowd cooed and awaited her answer. Truth be told, her anxiety crept up on her like a shadow in the night from his question, but within a second, she managed to ground herself and slip her mask back on before addressing his words.

“Well, it’s like the famous painter Van Gogh once stated: I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream. In that same aspect, I don’t know what the future holds for me or if I’ll ever take home an Oscar. All I can say is that I’ve been dreaming of it ever since I was a little girl sitting in my father's director chair, and that drives me to be the best that I can be. We’ll see if that’s good enough.”

“Ah, Miss Hudson, just as humble as ever, huh?” Jimmy smiled at her. He then turned to face the camera. “When we come back we’ll talk more with Sloan and even play a few games with her that are favorites on the show! I’m sure all of you watching at home don’t want to miss it. So, stay tuned and we’ll be back after a quick commercial break.”

On the way out of the studio, lights flashed and shouts erupted as Sloan and her security team rushed through the crowd of paparazzi, journalists, and fans. Quickly they made their way over to the limousine waiting for her in front of the building, but not before being stopped by a woman with a microphone blocking their path.

“Sloan! Is it true you’re dating your costar, Colton Davis!? Are you engaged to him?? Where is he, and why isn’t he here with you!?”

“Who said he’s not here?” A male’s voice cut in, as the dirty-blond himself emerged from the limo and threw an arm around Sloan’s waist. She had to force herself not to cringe away from his touch as his hand lingered far more downward than she’d liked. “I’m always supporting my girl from the sidelines. Isn’t that right, babe?” He turned to her, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips knowing the press would have a field day with it.

But just as his chapped lips neared her freshly glossed ones, she moved her head so that they met her cheek instead. It was an act of nonchalance executed so perfectly and ritualistically, that no one seemed to notice. They never did, and it was one of the few reasons that made having a PR boyfriend manageable. As long as they were seen out and about together, that was all that mattered. The nonexistent kisses and intimacy could happen behind closed doors and away from the public’s knowledge.

Sloan ignored the rest of the questions thrown at her and blew a kiss to her fans before entering the vehicle, where she finally let out the breath she had been holding in since pulling up to the studio just hours ago. Moments like these were when she was thankful for whoever invented tinted windows, or in her case, the acting shields that allowed her to remove her mask completely without the worry of being seen. It was there that she could let her guard down and wipe away the thick layers of makeup caked on her face consisting of nothing but fake smiles and faux happiness.

She looked over to her manager, Vera, who was currently having what looked to be a serious conversation on the phone. The older woman spared a couple of glances her way, a mixture of worry and skepticism clouding her features, but Sloan couldn’t seem to find enough energy in herself to care. It was probably a modeling gig or another interview that fell through.

Cancellations and rain checks were like the end of the world to Vera, but to her, they were the calm between each passing storm. Moments where she could finally rest and step away from the limelight to have a day or week to herself.

Outside the car, she watched Colton wrap up his goodbyes. His proud demeanor and love for himself amused her to the point where she let out a dry laugh. The people out there didn’t care about him at all, and she knew that. They were all there for her and the only reason they gave him the time of day was so they could find out more information about her life. However, he was too blinded by his new rise in fame to see that.

Deep down, she couldn’t blame him though. When her career first set off, she too enjoyed the love and attention, but over the years she soon recognized it all for what it truly was:

Misconception.

With a roll of her eyes, she sat back in the leather seat and pulled her iPod out of her bag. Within seconds, “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” by The Smiths flowed through the earbuds she had placed in her ears. Listening to music was her usual way of grounding herself before getting into character, and knowing she was due on set within the hour, she figured the car ride there would be her only time to do so.

The song choice was deliberate, not only because The Smiths were one of her favorite bands, but also because the lyrics resonated with her in more ways than she knew how to explain. As a celebrity, you’d think she had access to everything she ever wanted. Truthfully, however, that was far from the case. There were many things she wasn’t allowed to have, and those specific things just happened to be what her heart desired most in the world.

“Sloan,” Vera called for her attention, having hung up the phone. “Don’t think I didn’t see that kiss with Cole. If you could even call it that.” She muttered the last part. “Remember what we talked about? You need to sell this relationship to get more publicity, and that won’t happen when you’re giving him the cold shoulder right in front of the cameras.”

“I still don’t see why I need a fake relationship.” She muttered. “I mean, I’m literally in the middle of filming a new movie. Isn’t that enough to warrant publicity?”

“That’s what showbiz is all about, you can’t rely on one single project to keep you trending, you know that. Besides, your fans don’t know anything about this movie aside from the cast. There’s not much keeping their attention. This relationship, however, is the key.” Vera exclaimed. “Haven’t you checked your socials? You and Colton are the hottest new couple, everyone and their mom is shipping you two.”

“I just don’t understand why it had to be him.” She mumbled in reply, looking out the window and watching him take a few photos with fans.

“Look,” Her manager sighed. “I know you’re still upset about our talk last week, but this is for the best. What you were asking me could’ve put you at risk for so much backlash and negativity. You’d lose hundreds if not thousands of supporters and that’s not what’s going to skyrocket your career, Sloan. What the people want from you is to see your face plastered on skincare ads telling them the secret to beauty, or on movie posters for upcoming blockbuster hits. I mean, you’re America’s Sweetheart for a reason. The public loves you, just as you are now. Why change that?”

“Seriously?” Sloan asked in disbelief. “Vera, this is just the kind of thing that could tell me who my true supporters are! I don’t care about the fake fans or what people think of me. People constantly come into my life just to end up taking advantage of me or using me for their own gain anyway and I’m so tired of it. For once, I just want someone to love me for who I am, not some false image that you or anybody else is forcing me to be. Why don’t you get that?”

“Because it’s ridiculous,” Vera answered simply. “We’ve worked too hard to get you where you are in this industry, and I won’t have you throwing it all to waste over some happily ever after fantasy that isn’t necessary when people literally throw themselves at you every day.”

With a scoff, Sloan put her earbuds back in. “You know, contrary to what you may believe, having people constantly throw themselves at you or want something from you doesn’t feel as good as you think it does. It makes trusting people impossible.”

“Sloan, come on–”

“No, Vera.” She cut her off. “I’m done with this conversation. If you want me to keep acting like someone I’m not then I’ll do just that. Luckily, for you, I know how to put on a good show.”

With that, she turned the volume on her iPod up to drown out any other remarks Vera threw at her. That, and also to distract herself from the overwhelming thoughts constantly plaguing her about life and adulation. It was all becoming too much, and Sloan just wanted to remember the passion she once felt for acting again. Lately, it felt like she was putting on this never-ending show for the world and she hated it. She felt used, empty, and hopeless. If she knew pursuing her dreams would end up making her sign her life away, she would have chosen a different route. At least then she would know who she was, because nowadays she felt her true self slipping away from her with each passing day, and it was starting to take its toll.

“Agent Hotchner,” The lead detective, Owen Kim, shook his hand. “I can’t thank you and your team enough for coming all this way to help us out.”

“Of course,” Hotch replied, before turning and introducing his team. “These are Agents Rossi, Morgan, Prentiss, Jareau, and Dr. Reid. Our technical analyst Penelope Garica will also be here this evening to help assist. Where are we so far in finding Kayla Shafer?”

“Well she’s now classified as a missing person, so we have her face plastered on the news and her family has orchestrated a search party of their own.” He answered, solemnly. “We’re doing everything we can but I’m afraid we don’t have much to work on. My officers are heading down to the bus stop area in a few minutes though to see if we can find any working surveillance cameras along the route we think she would normally walk.”

“Great. I’ll have my team set up in the conference room and we’ll go from there.” Hotch spoke formally, watching Detective Kim nod and walk off before JJ slipped into his sight next.

“So, how are we going to approach this?” She asked, quietly, knowing they had to be careful with letting more details about the case reach the media with a celebrity possibly being involved.

Hotch sighed as he looked around the precinct, discreetly. “If Garcia was able to connect the pieces from being a fan of Miss Hudson, sooner or later other fans will too. Our priority right now is to work the case like normal until we hear back from her management team. Until then, I want you to call Garcia and work on putting together a list of all of Sloan’s past roles in chronological order so we have a map to base off of. Hopefully, we’ll learn who the unsub’s next targets might be.”

“Got it.” She gave him a quick nod, before stepping aside to make the call.

Once the rest of the team finished setting up, they equally dispersed in pairs to take care of the respective tasks given to them on the jet. Rossi and Reid headed over to the morgue to examine the other bodies while Prentiss and Morgan followed the LAPD officers to the diner where Kayla worked.

Immediately after walking in, they were hit with the fresh smell of burgers and fries wafting through the air as the bustling breakfast hours quickly turned into lunchtime for many customers. Waiters and waitresses scurried about, taking orders and wiping down counters left and right. Derek just managed to move away from a serving tray filled with plates of food coming his way as the family in the booth next to them got served their meals.

“Looks like we came at the worst possible time’,” He commented, removing his sunglasses and trying to look for someone in charge. Or at least, someone who wasn’t too busy enough to talk with them.

“There’s something so nostalgic about vintage diners.” Emily looked around in awe. “During my college years, I worked at one just like this so I could pay for my apartment. There was a jukebox and everything.”

Derek smirked, “And how’d that work out for you?”

“It sucked.” She dry-panned. “But it did give me a whole new level of respect for waitresses.” She added, just as a woman with ginger hair walked up to them.

“Table for two?” She asked, already picking up menus.

“Oh, no ma'am.” Emily politely declined, as she and Derek held up their badges. “We’re actually with the FBI, here to talk about Kayla Schafer. Did you happen to be working with her the night she went missing?”

“Yeah, we were on the same shift.” The girl answered, whose name tag was revealed to be Julie. “But it's like I told those other cops when they came asking this morning, I clocked out early for my hair appointment so I wasn’t here during closing hours. I don’t know if she left with anyone or not.”

“That’s okay,” Emily assured her. “We’re more interested in the hours you two worked together. Do you remember if there was anyone suspicious hanging around either without ordering anything or maybe even after paying?”

“Perhaps all they ordered was coffee, but they still stuck around for hours anyhow,” Derek added.

“I’m sorry, I don’t.” She shook her head. “As you can see, it gets pretty busy in here. Most days I’m so occupied with running back and forth between tables and the kitchen that my mind is elsewhere. I don’t focus too much on who’s ordering what, you know?”

“I understand.” Emily nodded.

“I really wish I could help, but I have to get back to work,” Julie explained, before reaching into the pocket of her apron. “Here, this was Kayla’s notepad she used to take orders. It might not be much help either but if you’re looking for odd customers maybe there’s something in it you can find. Kayla hasn’t been working here for too long and after an incident that occurred her first day, she’d often make notes about customer appearances to help her remember who ordered what.”

“Thank you.” Derek accepted the small notebook. “Can you tell us more about this incident?”

“Oh, it wasn’t anything major.” She dismissed it with a wave of her hand. “Some woman complained that her food wasn’t right and made a big fuss. Just the normal slip-up with orders. Even the most seasoned of us workers still have those days. I don’t remember it much but if she came back after that day, Kayla’s got it jotted down somewhere in that book.”

“Alright, thank you. We’ll let you get back to work.” Emily replied, nodding before she and Derek walked out into the parking lot.

“You think this has something in it?” Derek asked, flipping quickly through the pages to see quick scribbles of dates, food orders, and vague customer descriptions.

“I’m not sure,” Emily answered honestly. “We’ll let Reid take a look at it though. He’ll be able to read it faster than any of us and point out specific characteristics in the handwriting.”

After Derek agreed, the two of them entered the SUV and drove back to the precinct. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Rossi and Reid were in the middle of examining the bodies of Jessica Dunnings, Rina Mendes, and Sofia Lombardi.

“The toxicology reports indicated that various traces of poison were found in each of the victims,” Spencer recalled, his hands gloved up as he leaned closer to Rina’s body. “Have you found out what they are yet?”

The M.E. in charge nodded, picking up his clipboard and reading the report. “We found white powdery residue in each of their nasal passageways which the lab identified as cyanide salt, so we believe they inhaled some sort of potassium cyanide prior to their deaths.”

“Most likely how our unsub abducts them,” Rossi noted, standing over the body as well. “They become dizzy, confused, and end up unconscious right there at the scene. Blitz attack.”

“Initially that was all we had discovered,” The examiner continued. “But after closer inspection, we found neurotoxins in the flesh of their hands consistent with aconite and mesaconitine as well.”

“Aconite and mesaconitine,” Spencer repeated, deep in thought as he lifted Rina’s lifeless hands to observe her palms. “The flowers each victim was holding when they were found were purple. I couldn’t get a decent look at the shape of the petals in the files but now after learning that I’m almost certain that it was Aconitum. Also known as wolfsbane.”

“You’d be correct.” He replied, handing Rossi the full report. “Each of them had signs of respiratory distress, which can happen when the neurotoxins of the plant absorb through the skin. It’s why in the crime scene photos there was no blood around the stab wounds. Cardiac arrest is what caused their deaths, the stabbing was inflicted post-mortem.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Rossi frowned. “How did the unsub have time to do all this at the disposal site? And what reason did they keep each girl for when there are no signs of torture or assault?”

“That’s another thing,” He went on. “When I checked for defensive wounds, I noticed that all three bodies had their nails neatly trimmed, and their hair was freshly washed. Not only that but their torsos had markings embedded in the skin from around their waist and up towards the chest region. Most likely from a corset or restraint of some sort.”

That piece of news instantly made the two agents look at each other knowingly. Perhaps their original theory of the case relating to Snow White might not be as far off as they thought.

Once the team regrouped at the station and exchanged all of the new information they discovered, by that time Garcia was able to get in contact with Sloan’s management team. Unfortunately, they only had a small window to meet with Vera, but hopefully, it would give them enough time to convince her that Sloan needed to up her security and answer some questions that they had.

To keep things hush, only Hotch, Prentiss, and Morgan went to meet with her, while JJ drove to LAX to pick up Garcia (who was bummed out she wouldn’t be meeting Sloan herself). Spencer, on the other hand, stayed back to look through Kayla’s notebook with Rossi assisting him.

“Always a first for everything,” Emily spoke up, as the three of them pulled into the Hollywood lot location where filming was currently underway. Trailers were set up in rows all around, and crew members roamed about with several large pieces of equipment and props, making it hard for them to find a parking space.

Hotch furrowed his eyebrows as he scanned the lot, “Vera said to meet her in trailer seven, does anyone see it?”

“Over there,” Derek pointed out, motioning to the right.

Hotch nodded and maneuvered the car over in that direction. Finally, after finding an open spot, the three agents stepped out into the blazing heat of Los Angeles and walked over to the trailer.

“I want you two to scope out the trailer as I talk to Vera.” Hotch directed them as they neared the entryway. “Look for any signs of fanmail lying about or over-the-top gifts. If our unsub truly is obsessed with Ms. Hudson they no doubt attempted to contact her more than once.”

“How do we know for sure it isn’t Sloan herself committing these murders?” Derek wondered aloud. “I mean, we agreed that the crime scene photos depicted to be the clean work of a female. It wouldn’t be our first celebrity unsub case like that either. Remember Jonny McHale, the comic-book artist?”

“Let me stop you right there.” A new voice cut into their conversation, making each of them turn their heads.

An older blonde woman stood behind them with her arms crossed, looking at them with a mixture of impatience and skepticism laced in her features.

“Sloan has been working endlessly on this new movie, and in between set hours and resting she has had other bookings to attend to where she’s constantly followed by fans and paparazzi. That girl wouldn’t have time to kill anybody even if she wanted to.” Vera argued, defensively. “Now, I took the time out of my busy day to talk with you agents but I will not stand here and allow you to accuse her of murder. I’m sure you’d run right to the press with it and have it be the headliner for tomorrow’s paper.”

“My apologies, Ma’am,” Derek replied. “I’m just trying to make sure all possibilities are covered.”

The woman scoffed but said nothing as she quickly opened the trailer door and ushered them in before they were seen. After closing the door, she led them to the small living space at the end of the trailer and sat down on one of the cushioned chairs motioning for Hotch to sit on the adjacent one.

“You guys have 20 minutes before the cast is dismissed for the day,” Vera sighed, as she texted away on her cell phone. “What’s this about a bunch of killings related to Sloan?”

Emily fought the urge to roll her eyes at her blatant nonchalance, as Hotch introduced everyone and started diving into the case findings with her. She and Derek, however, took that as their cue to wander around the place looking for clues.

There wasn’t much to the eye besides the luxurious furniture and interior design elements. Still, Emily’s eyes landed on what looked to be a black notebook or journal sitting on the small table in the dinette. It was bound in leather and had gold letters imprinted on the cover that spelled out “HUDSON” in cursive. Inside the journal, she saw a white envelope poking out and wondered if it was fanmail or something more personal.

Though curiosity tempted her to read it, she ultimately decided to leave it be and ask questions later, not wanting to leave a bad impression if Vera had caught her snooping. However, when she averted her gaze over to the counter across the way, what she saw next certainly piqued her interest even more. A fresh bouquet of purple flowers rested in a vase by the sink, with the gifting tag still attached to it.

At the sight, Emily walked over and picked up the tag with her glove, but unfortunately, no name was listed. It was completely blank. She was about to call out to Vera and ask if she knew who delivered them but before she could, the trailer door creaked open, and Sloan herself emerged from outside with a look of surprise.

Emily’s breath nearly caught in her throat when she locked eyes with the young actress standing just a few feet away. Instantly, she was hit with flashbacks from the night before when she was watching one of Sloan’s movies with JJ and Garcia. Yet, Emily couldn’t remember a single scene that did the girl justice in terms of her beauty and physical essence. For one thing, her eyes seemed much more warm and vibrant in person. Whatever filters and color editing were added in the film completely dimmed the natural glow radiating behind her false lashes. She could only describe them as golden pools of honey hypnotizing her in the very spot she stood. Unable to look away, all she could do was stare in a trance as Sloan studied her back with furrowed eyebrows.

Though her presence was quite alluring, Emily was soon brought back to reality by the repellent attitude in Sloan’s voice as she slammed the trailer door closed behind her.

“Who the hell are you?”

A/N: hope you liked this chapter! drop a comment and let me know your thoughts if you enjoyed :) also let me know if you want to be tagged whenever a new chapter is posted! thanks for reading <3

[my-silly-rabbit]

general blog stuff:

💜 hello! names gems! I'm 26 and have brain rot for this man. I'm sorry I'm like this. I have no excuse. it's the British accent and Mathew Lillard for me.

💜 please be nice. ik people aren't fond of Afton fans, I've had my good share of stinkers. he is a comfort character on top of a f/o so please just. if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. 💜 i do regularly get high and post, if that makes you uncomfortable then please stay safe and don't interact with me. 💜 both me and my s/i, bonbon are non binary so please some assume shes cis despite being very fem presenting. her gender is my gender. (though i do go by he/him. but on this blog, idc if you call me bonbon and she/her. )

Strawpage: SEND ME DOODLES! PROSHIPPERS AND MINORS DNI details and other stuff bellow

tags:

💜🐇 = William

💛 🎈 = Bonbon

🍰 💃 = Ms. Afton

🧰🐻 = Henry (i might end up forgetting to even use these lol)

self-insert:

💜 name: Bonbon Benson

💜 age: 30+ (it changes around but always early to mid 30's)

gender/pronouns: nonbinary any but mainly she/her

Bio: as a child, bonbon wasn't very well cared for. her parents were poor and always fought. this caused Bonbon to hide away in themselves and try to not be a burden. they eventually developed a love for robotics and wanted to further that career but their homelife and mid to high-functioning autism made that difficult. her parents eventually divorced after the birth of her sibling, Molly, and stuff started to look a bit better. but that didn't last long.

bonbon couldn't manage to finish high school due to her anti-social behavior, lack of friends, poor home life, and poor grades in most classes outside of math and science.

She is 25+ now and still needs to get her GED but living with her distant dad and no friends, it's very hard to think. its not the best environment to do schoolwork. never was.

after the divorce, her mother gained a large sum of money and this caused her sibling to be rather spoiled, which their mother isn't fond of so to help her branch out, she let her have visits with Bonbon and their dad.....aka just bonbon.

(pic of molly. picrew link: here)

there are not many places a kid would enjoy in Hurricane, Utah. molly only wanted to go to the library but Bonbon felt like their little sister deserved someplace better. then she saw an ad for Freddy's. idk which Freddy's, they change with the timelines, vers of William etc but it's usually between Fred Bears and Freddy's JUST opening. early enough for Bonbon to still see William use the Springbonnie suit at least a few times before showcasing the band.

once they got there, bonbon fell in love. the lights, the games, the animatronics....everything. they never had anything like it as a child. they felt so happy just being able to see something so lively.....and yet it brought Molly no joy. She found it loud, crowded, and annoying.

bonbon couldn't understand. She was a kid??? why did she like it so much??? it infuriated Bonbon...but at least she wasn't alone.

after a few visits, the founders took notice of the hyper adult adoring their pizzeria with no child in sight (Molly stayed cooped in one of the booths the whole time). and William eventually started striking up conversations.

bonbon is a....hyper sort. easy to read and William found it refreshing. As much as she adores what he does, she isn't afraid to say how she feels. just barely a filter on this little lady.

idk what more to say lol. they become silly murder partners, bonding over how much kids take that adults also enjoy and their lost youths

either ms afton is a few years already dead or in their silly polycule.

[ladytauria]

tauria!! 9, 14, 21, 74, 80, 84, 104, 122 from the book rec ask game please <33

ahhh thank you maya!

9. your favourite book of 2020

ahh, i'm actually going to answer this for---last year, because i remember it and also bc i hit my reading goal last year!!

so my actual answer would be nona the ninth, but as i have already rec'd gideon to bean and mentioned harrow in this list, i shan't count it.

s o.

i think i'm gonna go with The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski, which is part one of a duology. the first is a retelling of cinderella, the second of sleeping beauty.

the first, to me, was much more enjoyable than the second, although i deeply enjoyed both. the first is singular pov, the second is split (i liked the LI's more!)

the book takes place on an island which is segregated into three classes / rings, each of which enjoys a vastly different quality of life than the other. the protagonist lives in the lowest class, where, if you're charged with a crime, no matter the severity, the guards can take any tribute they ask---from a few strands of hair to some blood to an eye, etc. she works with her guardian to help sneak people out of the lower ring and into the upper rings, and has always yearned for a taste of them hersellf. after spending a night in prison, she meets an outsider--the first on the island in many years--who helps her achieve just that.

also the plot twist in this book is. amazing.

14. a book that made you trip on literary acid

like. in the most positive way possible.

Harrow the Ninth.

look. i wasn't going to rec sequels. i wasn't.

but oh my god.

i walked away from this book with a headache and i said thank you ms. muir <3

(runner up answer would be the stars are legion, bc. oof. that book was a mind-fuck. again? best way possible. but also. damn.)

21. a book with a red cover

literally the first book that came to mind was Eldest, of the Inheritance Cycle.

(i was going to answer with "witches of ash & ruin by e. latimer" but my kindle cover is now blue -.- and uglier, imo. whatever.)

but, uh. The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett!! i started the discworld series with the tiffany aching series, and i highly recommend <3 the nac mac feegles make me giggle so much <3

also i deeply love tiffany and all of the things that pterry conveys through her <3

74. your favourite love triangle

i didn’t forget to answer this before i clicked post wdym

this is hard!!! ngl i actively avoid love triangles in books after being so inundated with them during some of my peak reading years lmao

ahhh but

i actually didn’t mind how the love triangle was handled in the early throne of glass books!

i don’t necessarily recommend those but i was. obsessed with them for a time xD

80. a book that reminds you of a loved one

i technically answered this on bean's! that would be "a girl of the limberlost" or "the secret garden" bc they both remind me of my mom.

also almost any murder mystery will remind me of her, as those were her favorite genre.

u h m. but to name a different book; i think of my brother every time i see a riordanverse book, particularly the Percy Jackson <3 i let him borrow my copies (i've. mostly forgiven him for their now beat up / falling apart state) and watching him develop his first otp / devour them was so sweet <3

104. a fluffy, sweet read

so i didn't technically rec it on bean's list, i just mentioned it.

Legends And Lattes - Travis Baldree! cozy, slice of life fantasy with a sapphic romance. an orc retires from adventuring to open a coffee shop in a city that's never heard of coffee. (its a gnomish thing.) has a lot of dnd-like setting things and so much found family <3

also it made me hungry, so like. have ur favorite warm drink & pastries on hand when you read it bc you may also end up wanting them <3

122. your favourite winter read

hmmm.

okay so first! um. when i think winter / autumn / summer / spring read i don't necessarily think about season in the book itself, but rather like... how i feel during those seasons. so! autumnal reads i prefer spookier vibes; summer i want lighter books i don't have to focus too much on bc the heat has melted my brain; and for winter i want books that are good for spending a long time under blankets, so. chunkier the better. (i don't know what a spring read is to me.)

i am going to answer this one with two books!

the first i have not actually read -- The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon, which is a fucking beast of a book. i am... about 20%? through it? i think? but i had to put it down bc i couldn't give it the full attention it deserved. however, i think, due to its size, it would be a lovely book to devour over a handful of snowy days, curled up in blankets <33

the second i have read, and i actually wouldn't call this one chunky, but. i dunno. it's made for a nice evening read, i think. anyway! The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A McKilip.

[ book rec ask game ]

[tammulberry]

Polaris: Izuocha Reincarnation AU by T.A.M. Mulberry

I miss these two interacting so much so that's why I created a full blown AU where they interact more than once and perhaps more than a thousand times too...

SYNOPSIS: Ochako Uraraka had a dream. To see the smiles of her parents and let them live an easy life. If it meant going to a far off university to become an engineer, she would do it. But when she fell asleep, all she had were nightmares of a different reality that continued on after the summer it started. Soon, she met Izuku Midoriya, an awkward but ambitious boy that lived just across her apartment. While most would only look his way when he did something outrageous, there was a warmth to his eyes that drew her in. In time, she developed feelings for him. It terrified her. The idea that a boy might get in the way of her goals. However, as her friendship with him deepens, she realizes that there’s an underlying reason to her hesitance. 

Years of the Yapping™ started in 2023 finished in ?

RATING: PG-13 WORD COUNT: 5.6k+

Copyright © 2024 by T.A.M. Mulberry

CHAPTER 1. The Building Blocks

It was Ochako’s last year in high school and to say it was the most difficult one yet was an understatement. With cram school, academics and part time jobs that never stuck — she had to triple her efforts just to balance everything before college. 

Graduation was fast approaching. Luckily, she passed third year even if it meant skipping meals and burning the midnight oil to pass every project, every test. 

Every test. The thought resounded in her head. It’s been a few weeks since she took the entrance exam for Yuuei. Impatiently, she waited for the results. She was sure of most of the answers and she had dedicated sleepless nights to making sure she aced it but what if she didn’t? It was one of the best schools in the country and the acceptance rate was so low. 

“Announcement!” The speaker sounded. “I will be listing a few names and whoever is called must proceed to the principal’s office.” 

“Ooh, do you think this is about Yuuei, Ochako?” Her seatmate whispered to her. 

“I hope so…” Ochako smiled hopefully. 

As the names were called, Ochako couldn’t help but let out a wobbly smile in anticipation. 

“Ochako Uraraka.” 

She stood up a little too quickly and tripped on her bag but that didn’t matter. “That’s me!” 

"Good luck, Ocha!" Her friend whispered to her and gave an encouraging wave. 

As she speed walked to the principal’s office, she could feel her heart beating out of her chest. Ochako wasn’t usually nervous or antsy about anything but this is her future and if she failed, what would happen then? 

She took a deep breath and opened the sliding door to the principal’s office.

The rest of the students called from her year were already there. 

“Good afternoon, sir!” Ochako greeted him with a bow. “Why’d you call me in?” 

"Please line up with the others first, Ms. Uraraka," said her principal and she nodded, a little flustered by her own eagerness. 

"Alright. So…" he flipped over a few documents. She didn't know how much longer she could wait. 

“Congratulations, everyone,” said the principal. “You are the students from our school with the privilege of passing Shizuoka University’s Yuuei.” The principal then continued to explain all the reminders and announcements to keep in mind before the next school year started. 

Ochako’s mind just blacked out for a second.

“What?!” She yelled in disbelief and scurried to the balding man like a crab desperate for confirmation, her voice dropped an octave. “Do you really mean it?!”

“Yes. I wouldn’t have called you in here if you didn’t get accepted,” he said simply, a little frightened by her eagerness.

The rest of the students were too busy congratulating themselves and each other to notice Ochako's determined face at first, but it wasn't hard to miss. 

"Hey, look at the Uraraka girl," a blond boy whispered to one of his friends. "You don't see her looking like that everyday. I thought she was kinda airheaded." 

"You should see her in math class," one of her classmates whispered back. “She’s way more focused than she looks.” 

Ochako couldn’t control her giddiness. She vigorously shook the principal’s hand and was about to make a beeline for the door before she was stopped in her tracks. 

"Wait, Ms. Uraraka. There’s one more thing." The principal called out from the end of the office. 

"Oh, sure thing, sir," she replied, a little flustered after her emotional high had died down. 

"I must say, it’s very impressive that you managed to land a scholarship for UA. That is no easy feat. You are the only one in our school that managed to.” 

“Thank you, sir,” she bowed and noticed that the other students around her were murmuring. 

“Told you,” said one of the girls. 

The principal stood up and clapped his hands for everyone to pay attention. “Graduation is fast approaching, everyone. I’m sure that everyone must be tired from all the rehearsals. You all have bright futures ahead with this new opportunity. You are all dismissed now.” 

As they headed out of the principal’s office, she heard the students talking among themselves again. 

“Hey, why don’t we go to karaoke after this?”

“Let’s get some yakiniku?”

“Uraraka, do you want to come with us?” 

Ochako was caught off guard by the invitation.  It has been awhile since she has gone out. She loved being around people. It’s not like she didn’t have friends. She realized just how much she neglected her social life in order to juggle her goals for passing the entrance exam. 

Nevertheless, she wanted to celebrate this achievement with her parents first. Everything she has been doing, every sacrifice she has made was for them after all. 

“I’m sorry guys, but I want to spend the night with my parents. I mean I passed UA and got a scholarship! I’ve gotta let them know about it,” she said with a small smile. 

“Okay, suit yourself. See ya around,” one of the girls waved at her. 

When it seemed like she was the only person in the hallway, she took a deep breath. Inhaled and exhaled, as she walked the path with no other people. 

***

Ochako opened the door to the tiny apartment flat she lived in with her parents to find that she was the first one there. As she waited for them to come home, she opened the door to her room to look at her dioramas. Her parents weren't able to afford the materials so she made do with whatever was lying around and learned how to create her own mini buildings. 

There was a small dome-like structure that was created from using a worn out metal bowl that she dinked and drew metallic markings on. It was an imitation of the planetarium that Ochako’s parents took her to just once when she was a little girl. Sure, it wasn’t perfect but soon, she’d be able to make models she’d be proud of. To see stars and planets moving like that for the first time wowed her. 

It was like a real life dreamscape. 

Dreaming was one of Ochako’s favorite things about life. When life was too hectic and heavy to bear, all she had to do was fall asleep and imagine a paradise. Some nights, she could blast off into space and land on the stars. Other nights, she was able to see the most beautiful parts of Japan. On some nights, she'd be in Mochi Land eating all the flavors she wanted but couldn't find.

Yet as cheesy as it sounded, her favorite dream was to see her parents without bags under their eyes or a fake smile to reassure her that they were okay. She could vividly imagine it when she closed her eyes. A stress free life in old age as they laid on a sandy beach somewhere in Hawaii. To see others live a happy life. To see others smiling. That’s all Ochako wanted. 

Ochako liked to think of herself as a lot more grounded than she let on though. Those were all fantasies at the end of the day. But now — now she has a new path. 

Embarrassingly enough, she still had second thoughts on whether she wanted to go or not even after she was accepted. It was far away too, a 4 hour train ride from her hometown to Shizuoka. 

Going meant that she'd be alone. It meant that she would have to spend extra money on an apartment and meals. It meant she had to leave her parents behind without anyone to help them out. If something happened, she’d be helpless. 

Click!

Snapped out of her reverie, she heard the keys twist on the doorknob and she quickly skipped out of her room to greet them. 

"Mom! Dad!" She exclaimed and went in for a hug for both of them. “I got into UA!” 

“Congratulations, Ochako!” said her dad but she noticed that his voice sounded tired.

“I knew you could do it, Ocha…” her mom sounded the same too, and she let go. 

"Um," she hesitated and thought, maybe something happened. "How has work been?" 

"It's nothing, really, Ochako. Really.” 

“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong, dad?” Ochako paused as she made the realization. It wasn’t the first time it happened and it really did take a toll on the company.  “Did one of the clients cancel again?”

Her mom nodded at her and her heart sank. 

“It’s nothing that we can’t fix.” Both of them smiled at her silently but she noticed that it didn't seem to reach their eyes. It made her own voice falter. 

“Is there anything that I can do to help though? If there's anything that needs to be done, I can do it," she said earnestly as she enumerated with her fingers. "The laundry, the dishes, dinner, grocery. Anything.” 

"Ochako. You don’t have to do that," her mom replied with a small smile. It was then that Ochako noticed that her eye bags were darker than before. 

"I know you mean well, sweetheart," her dad sighed, as he ruffled her hair. "But like I said before, you're spreading yourself too thin. You don’t have to burden yourself with our problems on top of yours." 

Ochako pursed her lips and chose not to say anything. Was she spreading herself too thin? Was everything that she was doing too much? She sure didn’t see it that way but under the rare warning gaze of her dad, she didn’t want to protest anymore about it. 

“Okay, dad…” She said quietly. Her eyes lost their glimmer and he bent down to hold her by the shoulders. 

“Hey, hey. It’s okay, Ochako. After all, you’re not the only one who has a surprise.” 

“Huh?” Ochako lifted her head and looked at him curiously. 

“We get to go to the planetarium again after a street food fest!” Her dad held up three tickets and her face brightened. 

Did Ochako hear that right? Not only will she be able to eat street food again after so long but she’ll also be able to see the planetarium again. It felt like a dream come true and she rushed to hug the two of them once again. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” You guys are the best…” All you care about is money. 

The gratitude in her was genuine but there was a feeling of uneasiness in her stomach. She shook it off. 

***

“Actually, Ochako—we already received a phone call from the principal to talk about how you got accepted to UA under a scholarship,” her dad explained, as they rode the bus to the city town square. “Even before he announced it to the students.” 

“He really did that?” Ochako exclaimed with amusement.

“Yeah, that’s why we were able to secure tickets for the planetarium event happening tonight.” 

“Can I at least use my own money from my part time job?” Ochako asked hopefully. 

“Don’t worry, Ochako. We have it covered.” her dad said as he patted her head. 

“If you say so…” She shrugged light-heartedly yet Ochako couldn’t shake off the guilt. Her parents had more important things to deal with yet they made more sacrifices for this trip to the town square. She was grateful, she always will be—but she didn’t understand why her parents didn’t allow her to help them. 

She snapped out of her thoughts when they made their stop. The family got off the crowded train. The smell of city air and the blinding lights were sensations that she felt so rarely but they brought back some of her fondest memories. 

“It’s been a while since we’ve been to the city,” said her dad. “Do you want to roam around on your own?”

“Let’s walk around together first,” Ochako replied. She remembered being invited to a yakiniku place just a few hours ago and thought … meat. Meat sounded really good to eat right now. If there was one thing she rarely got to eat, it was yakiniku. All-you-can-eat restaurants were all the rage these days but it was almost impossible to get a reservation for her family. 

She skipped around the town square, eyes bright. There was the hustle and bustle of cityfolk as she surveyed the area, looking for something that would fill her stomach. Ochako then spotted the next best thing. 

“Hey, it’s yakitori!” Ochako exclaimed. 

Ochako lined up with her mom at the yakitori stand for the savory delights. Her dad was elsewhere, looking for takoyaki and dango. As they made it to the front of the line, Ochako fished out her wallet before her mom lowered her hand. 

“Remember, Ochako. It’s on us! Use your money for something you really want,” said her mom. All Ochako could do was laugh sheepishly. She didn’t know how to tell them that she wanted extra but her mom saw through it almost immediately. 

“I see, so you want a little extra, huh?” Her mom teased and Ochako nodded shyly and the former slung her arm around her shoulder. 

“Just listen to your father, alright? I know you care about us and how we shouldn’t be spending it on you—but you’re our daughter. And you got into UA! So I say it’s appropriate that we celebrate, right?” 

 It was really difficult to protest against her parents. Deep down, she knew that they meant well. 

“Right...” Her mom ended up buying her extra skewers. Her dad just came back with a huge box of takoyaki and dango sticks. In retrospect, maybe she shouldn’t have asked her parents how their day was. Ignorance was bliss, right? 

For a while, everything seemed normal. Ochako was able to shake off the guilt and she managed to enjoy the good food she had always wanted. They also had huge chocolate crepes, and mochi ice cream for dessert. Yes, maybe she wished they didn’t spend so much but she could let go of that feeling for one night. 

“Hey, dad, what if I try finding a mochi maker?” she asked. “I’ll just go to one of the stores nearby and see if there’s one on sale.” 

“Well, you’re a big girl, Ochako. You can go off and find something you’d like. Just make sure to call me, alright?” Her dad reminded her as he held his phone.

Ochako clutched her flip phone to her chest and nodded earnestly. 

“Don’t worry, I will!” 

She walked around the place and saw a store that caught her eye. A big sign that implied they sold desserts and appliances.

“Mochi…” Ochako sprinted to the shop before it got crowded.

“Must … get … mochi … machine!” She declared, as determined as she’ll ever be only to come to an abrupt stop to open the door gently. The bell jingled and it looked exactly as it did from the outside. It looked quite old but its wooden frames were well-maintained. It was lined with vintage paintings and it looked very warm and cozy. 

Ochako looked around the place to find baking essentials and different appliances. 

“Hello, dear! What would you like to buy?” said an old lady from over the counter. She was short and stout but had a warm smile on her face. Ochako returned the smile. “We don’t normally get customers past this time.” 

“Hmm…” Ochako hesitated as her finger tapped her chin. “I’m looking for a mochi maker that’s affordable, and in pink if you have it.” 

She almost fainted from joy when she saw the perfect mochi maker in front of her. It was pink and had rabbit ears on the sides. However, Ochako hesitated when she saw the price. It was quite expensive. She looked at her phone pensively. Should she lie about the price and buy it with her own money? Will they find out? 

“What’s wrong?” The old lady suddenly showed up beside her. 

“Whoa! How did you get there?” Ochako exclaimed and the old lady simply chuckled. 

“I’m still quite light on my feet, eh!” 

“Yeah, I can see that,” Ochako laughed along. 

“I don’t mean to pry but … what is the matter, dear?” the old lady continued and Ochako hesitated again. “Are the desserts not to your liking?” 

“It’s uh, nothing, really,” she started. “This mochi maker looks perfect and it’s big enough for me to share . But I am … on a budget…” 

The lady looked at her and urged Ochako to continue as the latter hesitated to expound.  

“You see, I’m not from the city, so I don’t get to go to places like this often. My parents told me to call if I ever find something interesting but … I can’t help but feel a little guilty, is all. I don't want to waste their money.” 

“Hm, I know what you mean,” the old lady replied. “When I was about your age, I experienced the same thing too.” 

“Really?” Ochako asked curiously. She figured that it would be impolite to leave so soon. And without buying anything!  

“Yes,” said the old lady. “It was difficult to live in a society where I had to beg to stay alive.” 

Oh… 

“I was shunned just for existing and people would tell me it was my fault for being born.” 

“That must have been awful…” Ochako said sympathetically. 

“I don’t understand why people think it is so wrong to be free. The way I see it, they must be bitter about being chained. But I chose to open this shop—whether they liked it or not.” 

There was an awkward silence in the air. Ochako didn’t expect the old lady to spill specific details about her life. She started to feel uncomfortable about the idea that she believed Ochako was just like her in a way even though their lives couldn’t have been more different. 

“Surely, you must know what it’s like to feel so trapped?” the old lady asked her hopefully. 

Ochako genuinely pondered on that question. Did she feel trapped? In some ways, maybe. But did she love her parents? Without a doubt. 

“All I want is to give back to my parents with my own merit. With all due respect, ma’am, we’ve only just met. My life is completely different from yours and I … don't think it's a fair comparison.” 

“Well, is that so? Perhaps I could tell you more about my story over some coffee at the back of the store. I could really use a friend.” 

Ochako smiled awkwardly. Maybe she would have taken up the offer if the conversation didn't start to go off in a different direction. She glanced at her phone and looked at it skeptically. 

That’s weird, there’s no signal in this store, she thought to herself and backed away slightly when she noticed that the old lady stared at her. 

“That's very kind of you, ma'am, but I’ll have to decline. You see, I need to go somewhere. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be … going out now. My parents are probably wondering where I've gone.” 

“But what about your mochi maker? Don't you want to buy it?” The old lady asked her, the warm tone in her voice slowly disappearing. 

Actually, forget the mochi maker, Ochako, maybe you should run.

And run, she did. Ochako sprinted to the exit of the store as quickly as she could and once she opened the door, the bell jingled and everything went silent. 

Ochako slowly closed her eyes and opened them to see a location that she didn't recognize on the way in. The streets were darker. There were lesser people around. She checked her phone to find out that it read 9:30 pm. 

“Huh?!” 

It made no sense. It was 7:30 when she got there! She was only in the store for a few minutes at best. At least—it felt that way…

Ochako gasped with the realization that she missed the planetarium show and her parents might have been looking for her this entire time. She took a deep breath and tried to think of ways for the situation to make sense but she grasped at straws. The guilt ate her up and the tears slowly fell. 

She surveyed her surroundings to see if the old lady could have possibly followed her on the way out but she wasn't there anymore.

Feeling slightly relieved, Ochako tried to call her parents. All she wanted was to let them know she was safe. 

“Ochako?!” Her dad’s frantic voice yelled from the other end. “Ochako, can you hear me?!”

“Y-yes, dad I can hear you…” she said, her voice cracked and started to ramble. “I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry that I wasted your time and missed the planetarium show. I don't know where I am anymore, I—” 

“Ochako.” Her dad's voice said calmly. “Ochako. It doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is that you are safe. Where are you? What signs can you see?”

Ochako looked around, still disoriented, but luckily, thankfully she saw a sign that led to the street food area. 

She frantically rushed towards the sound of the familiar bustling city lights and she tried to suck in the tears the moment she saw her parents talking to the police. Ochako tackled and circled her arms around both of them. 

Perhaps it was the familiar warmth or the unfamiliarity of the situation.

Ochako broke down. 

“I’m so sorry!” she cried. “I’m so sorry I wandered off! I'm so sorry I wasn't able to text you guys or do anything to make sure I wasn’t hurt or worse—” 

“Shh…” Her mom calmed her down as she stroked her hair. “It’s okay, Ochako. It’s gonna be okay. 

That night, Ochako was taken to the police station to be interrogated over what she saw. She told them everything, no matter how crazy it sounded. 

“Hmm,” the interrogator hummed. “Surprisingly enough, Ms. Uraraka. This is not the first case of your kind. We have been getting reports of incidents similar to this for years.” 

“So you don’t think I’m crazy?” Ochako asked. 

“I don’t. But they’re very rare and yours is … the third case in the past 20 years. All I can tell you now is to keep your guard up. Perhaps it’s time to continue investigating this case once again…”

***

After they made it back, Ochako was so relieved. What happened a few hours back was unsettling. Unnerving. A strange store that made her lose track of time. An old lady that started to ask personal questions just to keep her in. If her parents weren't able to find her in time, she could have been kidnapped or worse… 

To think that she will be moving to Tokyo in a few months saddened her.  There were many things that she saw for the first time. Some after a long time. Some she thought she'd never see again. Even with the experience in the appliance store, she was grateful. She always will be grateful for her parents going the extra mile to make her happy. 

She entered her room after her nightly routine and plopped down on the futon. 

I wonder what I'll dream about, she thought to herself. Maybe her dreams will be kinder to her than reality this time. It was how she always coped with the weight of it after all. 

Ochako thought back to the old lady that compared herself to her. They couldn't have been more different. Ochako was blessed. Reminding herself of that was enough for her to drift off to sleep. 

While it was kind to her, Dreamland seemed to have a different plan tonight.

There was always a soft pink haze that surrounded her dreams but this time, things felt a little more vivid. She looked around and noticed that she was in a car in the backseat. Ochako couldn’t see the face of her vessel for the night but she could see the ankle length dress and ring on her … wrinkly fingers? Okay, that was a little weird.

“Gramma, we’re already here,” said someone from the passenger seat as she turned around. The woman was beautiful. In a way, she looked like her own mother but without the tired look. She had a warm smile but Ochako saw a shift in her face before she turned away. 

Not being able to control her actions, all Ochako could do was mutter out a weak thank you in return. The car came to a stop and she stepped out awkwardly. Why were her legs so wobbly? The driver seemed to notice and took her by the arm to help her sit on a wheelchair. 

As she rubbed her eyes from the mist, she could see where they were. 

It was a cemetery. The smell of rain and the thick fog as it cloaked the weathered gravestones was unmistakable. She looked up to the woman, who gripped the handles of the wheelchair tightly as Ochako was guided to the entrance. 

It was strange, really. Ochako could see things vividly, she could think about what she saw but she couldn't control her actions. Most of her dreams were happy so why was she walking alongside a woman to a misty cemetery on a gloomy day? 

Soon, the woman came to a stop and there they were as they looked down at a gravestone. Ochako couldn't make out the name but the cracks on its surface and the engravings have faded over time. 

“You told me you wanted to come here again. It’s been over 70 years now, but …” she looked down at Ochako sympathetically. “I know it still hurts.” 

"It feels like yesterday. We wanted to go on so many adventures together," she spoke without any control of herself. "My most beloved. I hope he's happy in heaven.” 

“It must be wonderful to love someone so deeply and so freely.” 

Ochako woke up with tears in her eyes that night. She was back in her room. It was completely dark out. 

“Oh, that was terrible,” she mumbled to herself as she rubbed her eyes to stop the crying. 

The dream felt so real. Like nothing she ever felt before. It was like she was living through the eyes of another person. Another distant reality. But that’s not how dreams worked, right? Dreams are the wishes of the heart and Ochako knew she didn’t want to be an old lady visiting a grave. 

Stop overthinking it, Ochako. She told herself. It was just a dream, it wasn’t real. You can dream about better things soon. 

Ochako tried her best to fall asleep again. She twisted and turned on the old worn out futon that she had since she was a kid but it was no use. The moment she closed her eyes, she could only see the dream she woke up from. 

Unable to sleep, Ochako left her bed to go out and sit on the balcony of her room. 

She loved starry nights like this. They lived in a part of the prefecture full of lights so she could only see the stars twinkling when the rest of the town was asleep. She craned her head up to look for her favorite star. 

Polaris. It’s always there. In the same position as it was. She liked to think that even if the rest of the world kept moving and even though she’d have to keep moving too, the north star will be where it’s always been. 

She sighed and the tears from her dream slowly dried. Ochako's mind was at peace once again.  

Until she checked the time and the realization that she was sleep deprived hit her. 

***

“Ochako,” her mom called out as she was washing the dishes. “Did you sleep well?” 

Crap, she noticed! Ochako laughed nervously and dismissed the comment as smoothly as she could. “Oh, I — uh,  I just stayed up late watching movies!” 

Her mom looked at her, unconvinced and she gulped. She never even tried to hint about having a nightmare. 

“Hmm, you must be tired from what happened last night then.” 

“Yeah! Yeah that's true…” Ochako had her hands behind her back. To tell the truth, she was still shaken by the dreams. And that old lady. It felt like there were eyes that loomed over her wherever she went—the eyes of that old lady. 

Ochako reasoned with herself that her guard was up and that in time, the feeling would fade away. 

She couldn’t have been more wrong as she experienced the same dream when night fell. 

And the night after that. 

…And the night after that. 

It was always the same scenario. She was living through the eyes of an old lady that would visit someone’s grave. The name engraved on the tombstone was never shown but Ochako could feel a difference in each dream with what she could see from the waist down. The time of day and the silence of whoever led her there. 

Dreams were once one of Ochako’s favorite things about life but soon enough, she was scared of falling asleep. She wouldn't call it nightmarish, but it elicited emotions that Ochako didn’t want to feel. The thing is, Ochako didn’t like to feel things deeply to begin with. There wasn't a reason for her to feel negative emotions because she was already so blessed. 

So why did the tears keep falling? 

*** 

This was the worst one yet. The worst nightmare she has ever had. 

No other vivid dream could compare to the suffocating feeling this one came with. Except … this didn't feel like a dream at all. This pain felt oh so real. Ochako was in a dark room. She could hear the sound of a heart monitor with a beat that was slowing down. She frantically tried to look around but she could no longer move her head. All she could see was a ceiling fan. That was when she noticed that there was something that supported her breathing as several machines were strapped to her body.

What is this? She panicked. Where am I? Am I dying?

It’s like she was drowning with no way of coming up to the surface. Her body slowly stiffened and her eyes started to blur. 

Just then, someone held her hand. 

She looked up to see a silhouette of someone that she didn’t recognize. 

"Hey," he started and Ochako looked at them with beady eyes. "It's me." 

Ochako couldn't speak. She could only let out a weak nod of acknowledgement. 

“It’s going to be alright. Breathe out, Ochako. We’ll see each other again. Don’t you worry.” 

The impact from the train’s sudden stop woke Ochako up. They left in the morning but the sky was already dark. How long has it been since they’ve traveled and made stops? She sat up straighter and rubbed her eyes, only to feel an overwhelming amount of tears. Ochako gasped and wiped them away in a panic. She really hoped her parents wouldn’t notice. 

She turned around to see that her parents just woke up too. Her dad rubbed her eyes and greeted her good morning. 

“Ochako, it’s time to grab your bags,” said her mom. “Today is the day!”

The Uraraka family made their way off the cramped and crowded train.

Ochako rubbed her eyes to get rid of any excess tears and she feigned that it was because of how in awe she was of Tokyo. 

“There’s so many people!” She looked up and saw a huge building with two divisions. Blue windows covering every inch as far as she could see. 

So that must be UA.

“C’mon, Ochako, the apartment isn’t very far away from here. It’s only walking distance from UA University.”

And true enough, it really wasn’t. It was a humble place with at least four stories. They made her way up to the third floor of the building and stopped at A-401. 

"So this is the room you will be staying in, Ochako,” her dad said as she opened the door. 

The auburn haired girl glanced around at the place. It was quite small with a couch for three, a kitchenette, a tiny bathroom, all the things that a seventeen year old girl like herself would be terrified to use on her own. 

But hey, this was what she wanted after all.

It wasn’t as nice as the one at home but it sure felt that way. Her parents weren't able to afford stationery so something she would do is daydream of all the cute designs to customize her space with. She even brought some of the smaller dioramas she made at home to decorate the place with. 

“Hey, Ochako,” her mom started. “Were you able to check the balcony?”

“The balcony…?” Ochako walked into the room she will be sleeping in and was shocked to see a balcony just like the one she had at home. Better yet, it overlooked UA University and the rest of the city. 

"I know it's not much, Ochako but I hope that it will be good enough for you to live in while you go to school—" 

"Thank you..." she hugged her parents tightly. They may not be vocal about it but Ochako already knew that her parents didn’t want her to go. 

"I promise, Ochako. One day we will have enough money to buy you all the things that you deserve to have." 

"No, dad," she replied. "You've got it all wrong. I’ll make the most of my stay in UA so I can be the best engineer the company will have!" She punched the air enthusiastically. 

After that, the look in her eyes changed as she smiled at them sentimentally. 

"One day, you two will rest easy knowing that your daughter is there to give back to you. And I won't ever let anything get in the way of my dream."  

She gave the two of them one last tight hug as she squeezed her eyes shut, afraid of what would happen if she didn’t. “See you in July!”  

To Be Continued in CHAPTER 2....

[joytraveler]

#36: Planet Of Pisces

"Okay, Pisces Playhouse, let's go- ooh look my character's a COOL DUDE! And I'm a firm believer that having cool sunglasses can help you save the universe, which is why I'm going to wear them this episode"

This game-- unlike any other so far-- has an intro! A blue spaceship soars through a sky full of stars, and inside, a boy with a red fauxhawk peers through the window unsurely as his burly, silver-haired father drives with a smile of confidence.

Syrupentine: Santa And Son!

[My father founded the Pisces project.]

[He created the machines that would convert this barren planet into a new Earth, and left them here.]

The screen switches back to the exterior of their ship, which is now skimming over the surface of a lush, green planet.

CRACK! Suddenly, a silver tentacle grabs the ship right out of the air!

aroseahorseboy: AAH FUCK JUMP SCARE

[They have been waiting for us to come back.]

The Planet Of Pisces logo, a pair of splashing blue fish, appears over the scene, as smoke from the crashed spaceship rises into the sky.

aroseahorseboy: Told you the last one was always the best, Bea

"I can't see anything- OH!" She removes her sunglasses just in time. "Daaang, ok I dunno if anyone ever played Xardion but this is what this makes me think of"

Bee52: cool I hope you get to play a robot cat!

When Bea starts the game, sprites of the father and son are standing outside the wrecked spaceship. The father is speaking.

[I'm going to the CPU to find out what went wrong. I'll be back by nightfall. Glem, you stay here and don't go anywhere!]

He walks off screen and the boy sits down next to the ship-- and the sun sets, the moon comes out, the sun rises again. The boy stands up and puts on those cool sunglasses from the title screen.

[I gotta find Dad!]

aroseahorseboy: it's like the Odyssey, gotta find your father Klickitat_Street: "Glem"???

"Glem! From the game over thing?" Bea tries moving around. "I think I've heard of you and uh, it's nice to meet you in person! I dunno, should I tell him?"

DueyDecimal: i thought that was just a glitch! Maybe it comes from this game?

The game begins-- Glem can run and jump, and he's armed with a blue frisbee(?). But this frisbee returns to him like a yo-yo, bounces off walls and ricochets, and if Bea times it right, he can fly on it like a hover board!

"You can't tell but the control is tight, but you can see the sprite animations in this look better, some of these games have been good but I'm already feeling like this one's gonna be special"

This game is DEEP, with every stage introducing a new mechanic that becomes part of your repertoire of moves-- soon Glem is sledding down spikes with his Discus (as it turns out to be called) serving as a sled, pulling off amazing ricochet shots that bring hovering bad guys down to use as stepping stones, and more!

When Bea pauses for a snack, even the pause screen shows a map of the world, and an enemy encyclopedia! The most common enemy in this game is a bat-winged frog creature called a Hopteran, which can fly, swim, or (true to its name) hop; the most frustrating one is the Angul, which appears to be a winged angel made of glowing neon, and always appears to hunt Glem down at seemingly the worst times!

HNV: God, this game reminds me of the first time I ever played Super Mario 3. aroseahorseboy: its more like dkc but yeah! Max_Force: I'm going to be a dad in eight weeks, you guys... I hope there are still games like this when my daughter gets old enough to play.

Bea has been quiet, as she gets when she gets really into a game. "If you're out there, Mr. Or Ms. Joy Traveler development person, please just let me know who you are so I can credit you somehow because this is a gem hidden in a pile of.. Uh well its the best looking game so far lets keep it at that!"

By the time she gets to the last boss-- four and a half hours later-- the adventure has taken her from rolling green hills, to a parched desert, to dripping, foggy cliffs, and finally into this wild technological slime mold explosion, where the machines sprout up from the ground and attack, monitors spontaneously grow out of the walls and blare warnings, and her old friend Angul could be waiting around any corner. She's fought robots, biological hazards, and even what looked like a giant blob of blood gelatin-- but the end of Planet of Pisces is near.

"Okay so this has gone way, WAY overtime but I think I'm near the end here folks, at least I hope so. I would almost say that if you ever find one of these systems, it's almost worth getting just for this one"

aroseahorseboy: hands up if you ordered one while you were watching those! Bee52: me berd_snurglar: you can order these??? Syrupentine: I hope Glem's dad is OK. :( aroseahorseboy: I hope he's not the final boss Bee52: bite your tongue!!!

"Look, I'm not proud of the way I got this, okay? I had to pry it out of the cold dead hands of a little orphan girl and then I had to suck a whole lot of di- I got it off eBay for like 30 bucks. He said he played a few games and decided it sucked. So if you're out there, hit me up for uh, a free t-shirt"

Syrupentine: I'm a Little dead orphan girl, where's my free T-shirt HNV: Dead T-shirt contest, wooooo

"I dunno guys I feel like the dad usually dies in things like these but we'll see, hang on time, gonna farm these spidery things for health real quick and then it's on to the boss..."

She stands before the boss door, readying herself for anything.

Behind the final door is... what looks like a garage, filled with those robots that were attacking, except now they're building a spaceship identical to the one that you came here in. Directing them is – Glem's dad!

"Sure, sure, just do this to me, thats fine. You called it, AroSeahorseBoy. This is gonna be like a Wily fight but really sad isn't it!"

aroseahorseboy: aw, I didn't have to bite my tongue Syrupentine: Aro is so smart, S-M-R-T

Dad sees him and jumps down from the balcony he's on. ["Glem! I told you to stay where you were!"] He takes one step forward and freezes. All the robots stop and look at him. ["YOU CAN NEVER JUST DO AS YOU'RE TOLD."] Dad suddenly rises into the air-- and begins to glow as he changes. He's a Angul! And from the looks of things, the king of them all!

"OK THIS IS WORSE THAN I THOUGHT" shouts Bea while frantically dodging attacks. Of course this is the kind of boss you have to learn the attack patterns of, no matter how much you've powered up. In the end it's come down to raw skill.

"Dad why?? Were you one of them all along? Or not? Or am I, Glem, also an Angul?? Should I try to focus on not dying instead of theorizing right now, OW there goes a third of my health"

The worst part is, no matter what you throw at him, Dad isn't taking ANY damage! In fact, the only thing that makes him pause, as far as you can tell-- is when you accidentally destroy one of the robot drones that's busily building the ship in the background. That makes Dad MAD.

aroseahorseboy: it's a meta boss, great THAT means he has another form berd_snurglar: Aro stop trying to be smart, we already believe you

"Hey daaad, I'm messing up all your cool expensive robots! MMph, yeah, I'm gonna spray paint bad words all over your cool space ship, too!" She takes out another worker bot. "You spat all over my dream of being a world champion CD thrower and now you're gonna pay for it!"

The robots do rebuild themselves after a short time, but when she knocks them all out at once, the fight changes. Dad lands-- and seems to deflate, all the neon and metal flying away and entering the ship!

Dad stands up, looking weak. ["Glem... It's the CPU. It--he--wants to get back to Earth!"]

The ship shudders and begins to collapse-- no, it's changing. The worker robots are reabsorbed as it changes and expands, becoming... What exactly? Ah, of course-- a giant mechanical dragon.

HNV: DUDE TaichoSenseiKun: I want one!

"ME TOO!" Bea's so impressed with the design she barely jumps over the huge, electrified fireball headed her way, the first of many! "Aaaaaah jeez welcome to BULLET HELL, I see! Fuckfuckfuck, string of obscenities!!!"

This takes all her skills and she has to invent some new ones! She can use the snowboard technique to surf over those electric balls, but it's still a bear getting him down, because only one of his heads is vulnerable at any time, and he may have as many as five!

"Aright if you do the ricochet throw it's a little easier to hit him, but you have to get it pixel perfect! And so Herculass (that's me) vanquishes the mighty hydra, at the expense of her damn thumbs but I do if for you guys!" She slips between a rain of laser fire, every move counts and she's gotta think fast, but as the boss starts to flash red, it seems the end may be nigh.

NormalNancy: YOU GOT THIS BEA YOU GOT IT Syrupentine: Iwata-san, lend Bea your power from heaven

"Dude too soon. Ugh doesn't matter its ALWAYS gonna be too soon"

Syrupentine: I was sincere. :(

Whether through her own skill or divine intervention... It works! BOOOM, down goes the dragon in a shower of bubbly explosions, all three heads twisting and screaming!

NormalNancy: YOU DID IT MaxForce: Planet of FUCK YEAH! berd_snurglar: how you gonna get home now, there went your ship

"Am I done? I'm just.. I can't.." Suddenly it all catches up with Bea, she hasn't been this into a game in a while! "I'd give a big victory scream but I don't think I have in meOOOOOOOOOOH IN YOUR FACES, ALL FIVE OF THEM ASSHOLE!"

Glem's father comes up-- it's strange, how strong and burly he looked at the beginning of the game, and how Glem seems to tower over him now.

["You've actually beaten 6R316-UE... Son, I don't know what to say!"] The wreckage of the dragon rumbles. ["CALL ME BY MY NAME... DAD."]

Suddenly the same neon and metal cloud rises from the dragon's heap-- and flies right into Glem!

"Aww.. Maybe his dad really just wanted to- OH NO!"

["Glem! No!"]

As Glem falls to the ground, his father grabs the Discus and tosses it into the air-- where it becomes another cloud and pursues the first into Glem!

"I... I don't know whats happening? Did I do something wrong? Is there more??" She tries tapping the buttons lightly, bracing herself for another boss fight

A new stage starts-- and it's not like any other stage in the game. It's sort of like Tron and sort of like Bomberman; a high-speed chase through Glem's own brain, where you have to use the blue bombs to block off the silver dragon-headed tapeworms and force them to destroy themselves!

DueyDecimal: TAPEWORMS! In this game?? berd_snurglar: it's more likely than you think

"WHAT IS HAPPENING WHERE ARE WE WHY ARE WE WHAT ARE WE DOING?!" Bea says, desperately trying to adapt to the new play style! Suddenly the old rules don't apply! "I'm developing an abusive relationship with this device, in that I think its amazing and wonderful and wants to make me suffer"

Every time she lands a hit on one of the dragons, a text box appears, and some of the dialogue seems a bit familiar.

[MY NAME IS NOT 6R316-UE.] [MY NAME IS GREIGUE.] [BUT IT COULD JUST AS WELL BE GLEM.] [OUR FATHER NEVER NEED KNOW WHO WON THIS BATTLE.][ONE SON IS AS GOOD AS ANOTHER TO HIM...]

"Bomb, bomb, evade, EVADE- ffff!! Wait, no, good, I think I got two at once that time?!" Bea's weary but not beaten. She can't be beaten now, she's come too far! "Get out of my HEAD, Greeg! I'm so pissed I'm not even gonna try getting your name right"

Syrupentine: Greigue? Someone's been playing Earthbound Zero... berd_snurglar: wait seriously the terrible monster we've been working our way toward is called 'greg'? aroseahorseboy: it's either that or "Greg-Ooh" DueyDecimal: Gregory the Terrible Eater! aroseahorseboy: if I didn't know that was a book about cartoon goats, that would sound like eldritch horror

Bea is visibly dozing off as she battle rages on, somehow just barely mashing buttons well enough to stay alive, even if she wanders aimlessly into a corner now and then. "s'gonna be over soon. I can feel it, I will persist, and so on, die already"

NormalNancy: BEA WAKE UP YOUR WINNING MaxForce: This is really creepy! aroseahorseboy: one more one more don't choke

"You guys are gonna have better luck piecing together what's happening than I am, I am- I'm almost dead now" she's down to one health pip!

Finally, there's only one dragon head left, chasing Bea's glowing avatar (Glem's soul?) through the maze faster than ever. All it takes is one well-placed bomb, that spins the walls around and captures the dragon in a cube, making it spin faster and faster and finally swallow its own tail!

[NO! NO! I WAS FINALLY! SO! CLOOOSE!]

[JOYRIDERRRRRR!]

The whole screen erupts in digital explosions, and fades back to the workshop, where Glem's father is holding his son, head in his lap.

NormalNancy: YESSS NormalNancy: Way to go Bea! Bee52: wait, joyrider? Wtf?

Bea actually slumps out of her chair for comic effect, but then falls on the floor for real. (THUD)

"OW! Shhh... I'm fine, just.. Not gonna do that again" (at least she's awake!)

The story plays out on the screen as Glem's eyes flicker open, his father hugging him tightly.

[I should have trusted you. You haven't just saved me-- you saved this world I built for us.]

[I've recovered control from 6R316-UE. The machines can rebuild the ship for me in just a few hours. What do you want to do?]

Now the game presents Bea with a final choice:

<I want to go home to Earth.> <I want to live here.>

HNV: it's a trap Klickitat_Street: I don't feel like we got enough input which would be the correct choice. aroseahorseboy: don't give up on earth! Syrupentine: No, stay, you put so much of yourself in this planet NormalNancy: KILL ME NOWWWW

"We know they were going away from the earth, we don't know why though! Is it bad? Do we really want to stay here and chance it with the crazy machines? Uugh.. I dunno."

"Whatever, doesn't matter what I choose, I can always come back and see the other one, can't I?"

"She said, tempting fate"

"Know what? somebody's gotta keep an eye on this place or things just go cray cray so.. all right, dad. We'll stay here, together. And have a cool robot family! I hope. Do you think we could rebuild Greg and make him nice? I feel kind of bad for him"

[I want to stay here.] [After all I've put you through here, you want to stay?] His dad hugs him tight. [The ship launches in three hours... But we won't be on it.]

The scene cuts to Glem and his dad watching the ship sail into the sky... And fades to black.

The torn and tarnished landscape reappears, and the cast roll begins-- all the monsters and meanies Glem fought pass by and are named, from Hopteran to Angul and even some Bea missed (what in the world was Wuggykins?). As the cast rolls by, the landscape slowly heals, going from brown and parched to green and welcoming, and crops and buildings start to appear. Even the sky goes from yellow to blue.

Syrupentine: Awww aroseahorseboy: Bea you totally made the right choice

"I sure hope so. I have a lot of questions but, all's well that ends well, I guess!" She leans back in her chair as she watches, a smile creeping over her face. "This is the kind of game I didn't WANT to end, in a way. This deserves a sequel!"

Finally the five faces of 6R316-UE appear, and cackle cruelly as the characters in its name change one by one to GREIGUE.

The faces disappear one by one, as do the letters... And when the word says GRE_G__, the dragon face looks sad as it disappears.

Llord_Kuruku: nickname Greg confirmed Bee52: Poor mecha dragon

"Thanks, rub it in, game" says Bea with a frown

Then a speck appears in the sky. The ship has returned! We fade back in on Glem and his dad as they watch it land...and out comes the whole family.

Names appear over everyone as they run out and hug Glem and his dad: RIKEL, a tiny little girl who falls flat on her face as she runs for Daddy's arms. ZORK and MARG, twin boys who grab each other and start wrestling before they can even join the family group. RENK, a boy who looks close to Glem's age who runs out to hug him first. And finally out comes...

Syrupentine: REDMOM!!! Klickitat_Street: I knew we were calling her Mom for a reason!

Bea screams! "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Sorry it's just, there she is! And the kids! So, everything was leading up to this game?? And the kids, too! Even if she named them weird!"

"I mean we shouldn't assume but she always did look like the mom type. Mom type Pokémon"

Redmom runs up to her husband and they embrace as their names appear: JOYRIDER and JAYWALKER.

Baconnaise: apparently weird-ass names are a family tradition??? aroseahorseboy: the computer knew Glem's mom??????

She sees the names. "Nnnnnnnng, 'Jaywalker'" she massages her temples.

HNV: Luke Jaywalker

"Ok, so, at least some of these are our mascot characters? I know two are, some of the kids have appeared in game, I know the twins from Beware! Kitchen, I don't think I've seen the others? This is adorable though, you don't usually get a game starring a whole family.. Or a series of games I s'pose"

DueyDecimal: A whole family of mascots reminds me of Doki Doki Panic! And Legacy of the Wizard if anyone remembers that!

The words The End appear in the sky as the family embraces in their new home, and the screen fades to black... But before it restarts, the sad dragon face appears once more with a message:

[IF ONLY ANY STORY COULD TRULY END SO HAPPILY.]

NormalNancy: whaaat DueyDecimal: Oh God this had better not have all been a dream!

But it doesn't seem to be-- Bea is returned to the title screen after a few tense moments.

"Man here it comes! I knew there was gonna be some bullsh- oh"

Bea looks into the camera. "SEQUEL HOOK!"

Bee_52: is there a Joy Traveler 168, please say yes Llord_Kuruku: just skip ahead to Planet of Pisces 2! aroseahorseboy: does ANYONE have a ROM for this???

"Wait, there IS a sequel? I musta just glossed over it, I couldn't have known! And I don't think there's a rom, I don't even know if there's another Joy Traveler of THIS model in existence!"

MaxForce: the one I bought was just Joy Traveler 67, it has 100 less games. :( aroseahorseboy: does it have POP though?? MaxForce: dunno, I ordered it an hour ago!

"You did whatnow??" "I mean cool but, I didn't know you could!"

MaxForce: yeah Bea! If it's got different games I might do my own LP of it and if not, AWESOME

"It could have totally different stuff but I hope you get to play this, the world must know! Now I need to recover a little so, gonna end the stream now, it's been a hell of a ride. Thanks for joining, my bees! Til next time, your queen bids you adieu!"

She doesn't turn it off right away, though. She lingers, thinking over some of the things she's seen. Is it more than just a bunch of recurring characters that show up through these games? There has to be more to their story, but maybe for another time.

[oru-tree]

Well.. time to read this weeks chapter

A good sign to me because I actually like Tim and Ms. Grundy has been fine so far as well

I didn't know this.... Also cute shirt for Tim

Oh it was for school

They mentioned Seth so now Ethel is like this

This conflict is so dumb, but thats how this comic is, so should be used to it already

So mad about how they pushed Trula and JH to have been a thing at some point because I think otherwise I'd love her but no!!!! They had to make a writting desicion that makes me go :/ when she's involved now

Also a part of me feels like they wanted to use Cheryl but couldn't for some reason, so they settled for her, and since she and jh have history did the relationship thing, but its so dumb!! soo dumb, I hate it aaaa, I think what annoys me the most about it is that it sounds interesting to say like, oh lets touch on the relationship between an ace (but not aro) person and someone who is aro but not ace, but the people they picked up for that were, guy who is ace and girl that thought there was something psychologicaly wrong with him because he didnt want to date girls in canon (I know their dynamic does get better later on but still !) guh

Yeah

Me reading this comic

Unrelated but it would be nice if Noelle developed a personality this arc, please, give her something

I complain about what they did to Dilton but with each chapter I feel worse for Betty fans, I'm sorry they are writting her like this, like, omg betty of course ethel says nice things about you she is your friend !!!!!! aaaa

Thanks seth, you don't know how much turmoil you bring to betty and ethel just for existing, I hope you never find out

Chapter was fine, not as bad as I expected??

[ferretly]

**

[comfortbucky]

I asked for the doctor!bucky andd you don't have to write but I forgot to ask... He is like a really busy doctor and it surprises the female reader that he is going to do her stitches... Wanda is his assistant. He has to give you a pain numbing shot in your cut and he comforts you when you scream and writh in pain... Thanks xxx

𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯 ⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆ ｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚ ⋆ ⋆｡˚

pairing: doctor!bucky x fem!reader

warnings: descriptions of bloody injuries, medical settings, stitches, needles

A/N: omg i’ve never written for doctor!bucky before so i’m excited hehe :) thank u for ur request! // i changed around who was administering the numbing agent and doing the stitches btw i hope u don't mind, just made more sense in my head for bucky to be able to comfort her if his hands are free!

hope u enjoy! <3 sorry if this isn't that good asjdfhaldf

Y/L/N = your last name

also let me just indulge myself and sprinkle some of my own experiences in this bc a couple months ago i literally slammed my head into a wall and cut my eyelid😃nothing bad enough to get stitches but i do have a scar💗

word count: 2k

my masterlist!

completed requests!

“Y/N! Come quick!”

Y/N was digging through her dresser for a sweater when her roommate, Darcy, called out for her. She lifted her head up and spun it without thinking, completely forgetting that her dresser was situated in the corner of her room, slamming her head into the wall.

Her ears started to ring and she bent over in laughter, her natural response to pain, as tears threatened to fall down her face.

“Y/N?” Darcy was met by silence, Y/N struggling to respond, her body overcome with laughter so hard she was inaudible. Concerned that Y/N had knocked herself out cold, Darcy peeked her head around the corner of Y/N’s doorway, to find her hurled over, a hand over her left eye, drops of crimson blood on the ground.

“Holy shit, are you okay?” Y/N lifted her head, calming down from her fit of laughter, and nodded.

“Yeah, of course, this would happen to me,” she replied chuckling, taking a tissue from Darcy to put pressure on her cut.

Carefully making her way to a mirror, Y/N grabbed her phone on the way. She stared at her reflection and slowly removed the tissue from her face to examine the extent of her injury. It was steadily bleeding, most likely a bad sign. Y/N placed her tissue back over her cut and reached for her phone and Facetimed her friend Matt, an EMT.

“Hello- What the fuck happened to you?”

“Hi Matt,” she replied, shooting him a grin through the screen. “Slammed my head against the wall, by accident.”

“I would hope so,” he sighed. “Let me guess, you’re wondering whether you should go to the ER or not?”

“You know me so well, Matty.”

“Has it stopped bleeding?” Y/N removed the tissue and felt a warm liquid trail down the side of her face.

“No.”

“Go to the ER, please.” She groaned.

If there was one place in the world she despised, it was a hospital. But Y/N knew she wouldn’t be able to convince either of her friends otherwise, and dragged her feet as she reluctantly followed Darcy to her car.

It was a normal night in the ER, which meant a fury of organized chaos. Bucky found himself needed in 6 places, all at the same time. But this was an environment that he had become accustomed to, almost finding comfort in the madness of it all. Although the ER was bustling with patients, there weren’t any injuries that were very severe, mostly just broken bones and lacerations. Simple enough to the point where Bucky felt like he was operating on autopilot mode. Going through the motions of whatever task he needed to do, but not anything more than that. He felt numb. For the last several years of his life, the hospital was all that he knew. Bucky kept himself busy with work, leaving him with only a small social circle and his cat, Alpine. It was enough for him, but he never really felt complete. Which is why he threw himself into his work, drowning out his inner thoughts about a missing piece he never thought he’d find.

“Dr. Barnes, paging Dr. Barnes to bed 25.”

Bucky took a quick sip of his coffee and sighed before heading off to see his next patient. Wanda appeared from around the corner and started walking with him.

“This one’s a simple laceration, just might need stitches.” Bucky nodded in response to her, keeping his eyes straight ahead.

She was one of the select few who he considered a friend. Which was a little odd considering he was an attending and she was only a resident. But she was a good student, a fast learner, and one of the only residents he was ever willing to work with. He took her under his wing, fostering a friendship by spending time together in his office, reviewing various medical cases and files.

“Alright, you up to do them?”

Wanda came to a halt, Bucky taking a couple steps before looking back at her, tilting his head, waiting for a response.

“Y-Yeah, yes!” She stammered. “T-thank you, Dr. Barnes.” He nodded his head and turned back around to continue walking, Wanda close behind.

Y/N was sat on the edge of the bed, one hand holding a blood-soaked tissue over her left eye. Her leg was bouncing, a nervous tic she had developed from a young age. The adrenaline had worn off, forcing her to feel a throbbing pain, her eyes brimming with tears. She avoided crying in front of people whenever possible, so as soon as Darcy left to grab some coffee and snacks from the cafeteria, she let the floodgates open. The sound of footsteps approaching made her freeze and she used her sleeves to sloppily wipe away the tears that were streaming down her face.

“Ms. Y/L/N?”

A firm, but somehow also gentle, voice called out to her before the curtain was pulled open to reveal a tall man with dark brown hair, a stubbly beard, and stunningly blue eyes standing next to a woman with blazing red hair and contrasting green eyes. Y/N’s gaze was immediately fixated on the man’s eyes, unable to look away for a moment, before she realized she was staring. She quickly looked down and cleared her throat.

“Y/N, you can just call me Y/N.”

The man nodded and set down his clipboard at the end of the bed before speaking.

“I’m Dr. Barnes and this is Dr. Maximoff.” The woman gave a slight wave as she began charting on a computer. “Can I take a look at your eye?”

Y/N nodded, feeling her anxiety rise as the doctor pulled some gloves on and approached her.

He pulled over a stool to sit on and carefully removed the tissue that Y/N had been holding in place to assess the injury. While Bucky looked at her cut, he stole a glance to study the rest of her face. He couldn't help but take note of the pained look on her face, her eyes still watery and her button nose red from crying. It was the first time in a long time that he felt a twinge of pain while looking at someone's injury, that he felt practically anything at all during a shift. She felt his warm breaths on her face for a moment before he pulled away and replaced her bloody tissue with some gauze.

“Do you mind if she takes a look as well?” Y/N nodded again. Bucky got up from the stool, allowing Wanda to take his spot and assess her eye.

“So it looks like you just need 2 or 3 stitches, very simple procedure.”

Y/N felt her entire body tense up at Wanda's conclusion. She could barely stand sitting in a hospital bed alone and now she was about to get poked and prodded with needles. Bucky noticed and attempted to ease her worries.

"We'll administer a numbing agent, so you won't feel any pain, just pressure at the site."

She looked up at Bucky, who had a kind, tired expression on his face. It looked like he was having a long night and she didn't want to make his job any more difficult than it probably already was. Y/N gave him a small nod and Wanda started to gather the necessary supplies.

She laid back in bed with Wanda and Bucky sitting next to each other on her left. Her hands were folded on her stomach, eyes shut.

"You're gonna feel a slight pinch, okay?" She nodded and bit her lip to try and distract herself.

Wanda proceeded to administer the numbing shot and Y/N squeezed her hands tight, whimpering in pain. Bucky observed the pained expression on her face and placed a hand on her forearm, reflexively rubbing his thumb in small circles. When Wanda pulled the needle out, Y/N slowly fluttered her eyes open and was greeted by Bucky's warm smile. A blush crept to her cheeks and she turned her attention to the ceiling. Immediately, Bucky realized how unprofessional his action was and removed his hand. He had no idea what had come over him, but he'd never felt so drawn to someone like this before.

"Now I'm going to do the stitches, okay? You should just feel a slight pressure." Just as before, Y/N shut her eyes after Wanda spoke and gripped her hands tight. She felt the pressure that Wanda was talking about and couldn't help but squirm at the feeling. Another wave of anxiety rushed over her and she felt herself start to hyperventilate.

Wanda removed the needle and quickly turned to Bucky, a panicked look on her face. He gave her a reassuring look before speaking softly.

"Y/N? Do you think you could hold still for just a little longer?" She opened her eyes, brimming with tears.

"Sorry, I just, I hate needles." Y/N fiddled with her hands as she kept her gaze up, trying to avoid the tears from escaping. Bucky felt his heart sink in his chest at the sight.

"What do you think would help you relax?"

Thoughts ran through her head as she tried to find a solution to relieve her anxiety. Y/N thought back to when she was young and chuckled, remembering a stuffed whale that she got at an aquarium, that went everywhere with her.

"This is stupid but, when I was a kid, I would carry around this stuffed animal around and it helped to hold it whenever I had to get shots."

Bucky thought for a moment and ran a hand through his hair, wondering if he was going to regret the words about to leave his mouth.

"You could hold my hand."

Y/N and Wanda both looked at him with surprised expressions, regret instantly hitting him.

"If you're comfortable with it," he quickly clarified. Y/N felt the corner of her mouth curve into a smile as she nodded.

She laid back down and Bucky took her hand in his. The instant transfer of heat soothed Y/N and she shut her eyes to allow Wanda to get to work.

When she felt the pressure on her eye again, her hand automatically gripped Bucky's tighter, and he squeezed it back to help calm her. Y/N focused on the callousness of his hands, how his hand seemed to fit into hers perfectly. Suddenly, she was thinking about his eyes again, those glimmering blue eyes. Blue was always a calming color for her, reminiscent of her trip to the aquarium where she got her beloved stuffed whale. As she felt Bucky's thumb gently rub the top of her hand, she realized that her whale could never provide as much comfort as he did.

Bucky felt a sense of pride as he watched the tension in Y/N's face disappear. Suddenly, he found his eyes wandering, looking at the loose strands of hair on the right side of her face, the rosiness of her cheeks, how she glowed. His heart started to palpate and Bucky realized a flame had kindled inside him. He was feeling again.

"All done!" Wanda chirped, stepping aside to let Bucky check her work. He smiled at her patted her on the back with his free hand.

"You did good." Wanda beamed and thanked him, walking away to complete her charting.

Y/N's eyes fluttered open, still feeling the warmth of Bucky's hand in hers. He greeted her with a tender smile and slowly helped her up, placing his other hand on the small of her back.

"See? Wasn't that bad after all," he grinned, releasing her hand. Y/N's smile faltered, missing his touch, and nodded.

"Thank you, Dr. Barnes."

"Bucky," he stated. She raised an eyebrow. "Call me Bucky."

The pair stared at each other in silence, enjoying each other's presence before the PA system snapped them both out of their trance.

"Dr. Barnes, paging Dr. Barnes to bed 16."

Bucky sighed, slowly getting up from his seat.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Y/N."

"You too, Bucky."

He turned around and was about to pull the curtain open when he paused, turning back around to face Y/N, scratching the back of his head. It took one look at her face and Bucky knew he didn't want to let her go just yet.

"Would you like to get coffee sometime?" She beamed up at him and Bucky felt his knees go weak.

"I would like that very much." He chuckled in disbelief and smiled.

Bucky had finally found his missing piece.

[ota-division]

Taria's Thoughts on Shinagawa Division

Ritsuko Okada

"Bleh, and the government wonders why nobody likes them. I mean, what the hell do you expect when you have this woman working for them? And she's a scientist too. $100 says she's into some mad-scientist shit. I'll tell you what, she comes within an inch of me with a syringe, a saw, or anything that looks intimidating, and she's dead!"

Miho Kobayashi

"Ugh, I see this woman on the news all the time. Apparently, she's some big, important CEO. Would it surprise you to know that I actually broke into her building once? One of my clients needed some info on a new drug they were developing and wanted some notes, blueprints, anything I could get my hands on."

"I'll admit, it was a pretty challenging job! But, the most challenging jobs are usually the most pleasing! Needless to say, I got the guy what he wanted and I had a nice, hefty sum in my bank account the next day. I'm sure they'll be trouble for that guy down the line when this woman's company finds out that he has their stuff. But, that's not my problem!"

Sumire Shinomiya

"Sumire! Or should I say 'Venefica?'" Taria laughs. "I tell you, I've met a lot of crazy people in my life, but Sumire and her group really take the cake! How do I know her and them, you ask? You have her friend, Trickster, to thank for that! I was hired to steal some priceless artifact from a museum. No big deal, and barely worthy to be called a job. But I'll get to that part in a bit. Anyway, when I got to the museum, I saw someone getting away with my prize! Naturally, I wasn't about to let that happen."

"I chased the guy down, got a few hits in, and took back my prize. That was how Trickster and I first met. I didn't think much of it until I got an email a couple of hours later asking me to meet someone at an undisclosed location. I was obviously suspicious. Anyone with a brain could tell this was a trap. But still, I've never run away from a challenge or a fight, and I wasn't about to start then! I went to the place and waited for a good five minutes until I started getting bored. Just as I was about to leave, he arrived, along with some other masked weirdos."

"I thought they were here for a fight, but he just put his hands up in a peace offering. He started fumbling over his words until some kid pushed him aside and asked if she wanted to join us. I was a little skeptical, but after she showed me evidence that my client had been two-timing me and Trickster, I decided to hang with them for a bit." Taria ends her story, and chuckles, shaking her head.

"Who would have thought my first few days there would have me joining up with Scorpion Den? They're a cool bunch of people! ...And not half bad-looking either. Dove and I have been hitting it off. I've been trying to get her to bed with me, but she always refuses, which is a mystery. Oh well, I'll still keep trying! She's too cute to not lay with a least once!"

CodeX

"Yeah, I don't really have much to say about this team. I have to wonder why Sumire is even a part of it. I mean, I already know she hates Chuohku, which Ms. Science over there is a part of. And from what I hear, she doesn't exactly have a good relationship with her aunt (That was a major shocker, by the way!). She claims she joined as a favor to Ms. Science, though she isn't exactly invested in this tournament. That makes two of us, really. If it weren't for the fact that my sisters are involved, I wouldn't be in this tournament either. But we both agreed that if our teams faced each other, we'd give it our all and there would be no hard feelings. ...Truthfully, I'm kinda looking forward to seeing what raps she can come up with. It should be an awesome show!"