#part 2 is coming i promise sniff sniff sobs

[dandylovesturtles]

alright, here it is: part 3 of the still untitled Room Fic! and boy is it long... this might be as long as parts 1 and 2 put together.

Content warnings for this part: vomit, serious discussion of food issues, internalized ableism, everyone being a little bit dumb

I am not a doctor and my meal plan for Leo is extremely lightly researched (mainly because it's hard to find information that would be helpful in Leo's situation but that isn't highly technical). in the end I went with what I like from a narrative standpoint. if someone starves as long as Leo did please get them to an actual doctor lol.

also I got tired and didn't proofread the last few sections.

just a warning that I'm going on vacation next week and will be out of the country for awhile so don't expect any more for this for quite some time. in the meantime, hope you enjoy this!

and if you're confused, start here!

-----

Leo wakes up.

The room is moving. His head is cradled in someone's lap. There's a furry hand stroking his arm, and a voice hums the notes of a lullaby he hasn't heard since he was a child.

-----

Leo wakes up.

He's lying somewhere soft and blessedly warm. There's a weight across his chest. Someone is chattering in his ear, happy and upbeat, saying something to him about Jupiter Jim on the desert planet Delta-5.

-----

Leo wakes up.

He's still somewhere soft but now it's too hot. He whines and pushes at the things on his chest. Near his ear someone tuts, and then a hand lands on his, giving it a squeeze.

"Nardo, you need to warm up. Don't-"

-----

Leo wakes up, and his eyes open.

"Leo?" comes Raph's voice. Leo blinks to clear his vision, then lets his eyes trail up, to find his big brother bending over him. "You awake for real this time?"

He isn't sure. Raph being here sure feels like a dream.

He lowers his eyes and looks around. He's not home. He doesn't recognize this place at all, actually. But the walls are beige (still unstimulating, but at least not white), the furniture is dark brown, the bed (not a cot) has a blue bedspread, the empty takeout containers on the table have a splash of red. It's not home, but it's not the room, either.

If he were going to dream, surely he'd just picture himself back home.

He blinks back up at Raph, and smiles.

"Wide awake," he says, echoing Raph from before.

Raph bursts into tears, immediately leaning down and wrapping Leo up in one of his signature hugs. For the first time in so many days (longer, longer, Leo can't remember the last time he got a Raph hug like this), Leo feels completely secure, fully enveloped in love and affection, held safe by his big brother where no one can hurt him.

The difference between this moment and the last week and a half is so stark it leaves Leo feeling dizzy. Like he hadn't even realized how scared and lonely and helpless he truly felt until all that pain was taken away. He's safe now. He's okay now. Raph is hugging him.

Leo hates crying in front of people, but even he can't be stoic for this.

"Oh Leo," says Raph softly once he realizes. "It's okay. We got'cha."

Leo sniffs, burying his face in Raph's plastron. He wishes he could hug back, but his limbs feel so heavy, like Donnie swapped them out for metal versions when he wasn't looking. So he can't hug back, but he leans in close and hopes that's enough.

They get about a minute to hug before Mikey is worming his way in between them, wriggling to push his arms past Raph's and around Leo for himself. "No fair, you got to hold him earlier!" Mikey declares, his voice thick with tears.

"You got to hug him earlier," Raph argues.

"He was asleep, it doesn't count!" Mikey hits back, and Leo laughs and shifts so Mikey can better get in the middle. Raph sighs exaggeratedly, but he gives Leo a pat and leans back to let Mikey in.

Mikey hugs even tighter than Raph, nuzzling in against Leo's shoulder. "I missed you," he says, then gives a choked sob he tries to bury.

"Missed you too," Leo promises, craning his neck so he can land a big smooch on Mikey's head. That replaces the sobs with relieved giggles that leave Leo feeling so much lighter.

After another minute, Mikey moves back and looks over at Donnie, who's been standing at the side of the bed wringing his hands. "Your turn, Donald."

Donnie makes a grumpy noise at having been perceived, but when Leo gets a look at his face he sees Donnie has tears shimmering in his eyes, too. They break free once Donnie's arms are around him, trickling onto the skin of Leo's shoulder.

"Crying over me, Don-ton?" he teases, even as his own voice is thick with emotion.

"Shut up, Nardo," Donnie snaps back, but his voice cracks at the end and he holds on even tighter.

"Alright, my turn," says April once Donnie starts to loosen his grip, and Donnie obligingly crawls off the bed, swiping at his eyes. Like he's looking for something to busy himself with, he starts throwing away the takeout containers on the table. They must be empty.

Leo tears his eyes away just as April swoops in to wrap him up in his fourth hug of the hour, giving him a kiss on his forehead as she does. "Hey, Leo. How're you feelin'?"

"Happy to see you," he says again, and she squeezes him tighter. "Kinda hot."

"That's the hypothermia talking," says Donnie. April shushes him.

"Hypothermia?" Leo asks. April pulls back so she can see his face.

"It wasn't that bad," she says quickly. "You'd started brumating, we think... Tromping around in the snow didn't help, though."

"Not to mention you used up the last of your energy portaling us out of there," Mikey chimes in. "It was really cool though!"

Leo laughs. "Thanks, little brother." Even with the containers thrown away, the smell of the takeout is thick in the room. Leo guesses they had Japanese. It can't have been that long ago. "Where are we?"

"Motel room about two hours down the road." April slides to sit next to him, keeping one arm wrapped around his shoulders. Her body heat is warm in a more pleasant way than the blankets, and he leans into it. "We wanted to go further, but we needed to get you warmed up."

"A motel...? Huh." Leo looks around again. This is his first time being in a hotel that isn't owned by Big Mama. He wonders how far it is from the Japanese place. Just, like, average delivery time. "What happened? It's... kind of a blur for me." He laughs.

They launch into the story without any more prompting. It all sounds like what Leo expected. Raph led the team. Donnie did science stuff. Mikey razzed his tazz. April used her investigative skills.

They tracked him all the way down to Colorado (that explains the snow) and broke him out. They floored it away from the EPF, got far enough they felt safe, then booked into a motel under April's name. That's where they've been since. Splinter and Draxum are out now, patrolling to make sure they weren't followed or discovered.

It's quite the story. And Leo knows he should be paying more attention than he is.

It's just, the takeout boxes. The smell coming from them is so strong, or maybe Leo is just abnormally sensitive to it. He thinks someone had steak, and someone else had fish. The fried rice had egg in it. His mouth is watering so badly he has to swallow every few seconds.

"Leo?" calls Mikey, and Leo startles, ripping his eyes from the trash can to look at Mikey's face. He's gripping the bedspread so hard his knuckles are cramping. He realizes this is not the first time Mikey said his name. Great, now they know he wasn't paying attention.

"Ah, sorry," he says quickly. "I didn't mean to zone out." He flashes them all the biggest smile he can, so they don't worry. "I was just, uh..."

He trails off, not sure of a way to say that he was completely distracted by the smell of their already eaten Japanese food without making it awkward.

"Sorry, Leo, we know you're tired," says Raph, reaching over and rubbing his head. "You can go back to sleep. We're not leaving for awhile."

Go back to sleep? Leo doubts he can, what with the hunger an empty yawning hole inside him. It had been muted while the cold and the exhaustion took over, but now that he's warmer and more rested his body is very painfully reminding him he still has another problem.

He's trying to come up with a casual way to approach the subject when his stomach does it for him, gurgling and growling loud enough that everyone hears it. Leo is very glad his blushes don't show up as easily as humans' do.

"Uh... heh heh." He scratches at his own cheek, then stops when he feels how disturbingly hollowed out it is. "Before that... are there any leftovers?"

Everyone's staring at him. Leo's too tired to puzzle out why they're all staring at him. Maybe there really aren't any leftovers? He did just watch Donnie throw everything away. Maybe there were some, but now they'd have to fish it out of the trash. Leo wants to say he'd happily eat it out of the trash, but that would be really weird and they'd stare at him even more.

(But he would eat it out of the trash. He may be too proud to say it out loud, but he can admit it to himself.)

"O-or," he says quickly, to fill the silence after his last question, "if... if it's not too much trouble, can you ask Dad and Barry to bring something with them when they come back? Even if it's just something from a gas station, or..." They're still staring, and Leo feels himself starting to ramble desperately, "Or if it's too late, I can just... I can just go back to sleep, hah, but... but can someone at least wake me up so I don't miss breakfast?"

His family stutters back to life at that. Raph gives a furious shake of his head and says, "Forget breakfast," which makes Leo's heart and stomach lurch painfully. Waiting until lunch? That feels like forever away.

But then Raph continues with, "Leo, why didn't you tell us you're hungry right now?"

Leo falters. "Uh... just... didn't want to interrupt the flow of the conversation," he says, which is true, but the way everyone is looking at him now, he's pretty sure it's the wrong answer.

"Please," says April, tone very close to exasperated, "interrupt the conversation."

"Will do," says Leo. But he's still not sure what to do, because no one has told him when food is coming.

(You want this? You beg for it.)

Before he can spin out on that thought, Mikey jumps off the bed and heads for the mini-fridge that Leo hadn't noticed until now. He yanks open the door and pulls out two takeout containers, a box and a cylindrical container.

"We weren't sure what you felt up to, so we got you steak hibachi and miso soup," Mikey says, waving each container in turn.

The thought of having to actually chew and swallow sounds exhausting, so Leo says, "Soup's fine." And then, just in case, he adds hastily, "Please."

"Okay," says Mikey, and even though he's clearly trying to sound upbeat, Leo can hear the strain in his voice. "Just give me a minute to heat it up for you!"

Leo would eat it cold. Leo would eat it frozen. But he bites that back and waits.

Mikey puts it in the microwave on top of the fridge. Every little tick down on the timer feels like it takes three eternities. The rest of his family seems to feel the tension as much as he does.

"April!" says Donnie abruptly, too loud to be natural. "You wanted to see what's on the sci-fi channel!"

"Thaaat's right!" she says, also a little too loudly. "I did. Hand me the remote."

Donnie gives her the remote. She turns on the TV just as the microwave dings.

Mikey yanks the door open as soon as it does, pulling the bowl out with no regard for how hot it is. He gives it a perfunctory blow to cool it down, then hurries over to the bed, pausing only to grab a plastic spoon off a little pile of utensils on the table.

He hands both the bowl and spoon to Leo, but Leo already knows his arms won't be able to maneuver the spoon, so he lets it fall into his lap, in favor of lifting the entire container to his lips. He hopes he doesn't look too pathetically eager as he tilts it back and takes his first sip.

It's good.

It's so good he starts crying.

It's not even the best miso soup he's ever had. In fact, it's a little too oily and nowhere near as good as the kind his dad makes, or what Mikey is capable of. But it doesn't matter. It wouldn't matter if this was the worst soup in the world, because right now it's the best thing Leo has ever tasted.

He may be crying more over this than he did over hugs from his family. Maybe he'll have it in him to feel bad for that later.

The TV is showing some old monster movie. His siblings pretend they're watching that and not watching him. He appreciates that, because it makes him feel less self-conscious as he desperately slurps down the soup, practically guzzling it, only pausing when he has to chew the greens here and there.

He eats until his stomach is full and warm. And then he keeps going. There's still soup left, and stopping feels impossible.

(Besides, no one actually promised him breakfast.)

"Hey, maybe you should slow down," says Donnie. Leo pauses, looking up at him, licking the remains of soup off his lips. The container is still about a third full.

Maybe Donnie is right. His stomach is actually starting to cramp. But... but...

He doesn't know what his face looks like right now. But something about it makes Donnie look sad.

He turns away, rubbing right between his fake eyebrows. "Okay, okay. Just... don't overdo it."

Leo sighs, grateful the soup isn't being taken away. He goes back to drinking it, feeling like the chasm inside him is finally beginning to fill.

-----

The next time Leo wakes up, it's because he has to puke. Unfortunately, he doesn't have time to communicate that before it's all over himself and the bedsheets.

"Whoa, Leo-" someone says, and then there's a flurry of activity around him. He can't keep up with who goes where and who says what. It's a lot to keep track of when he just woke up and is spewing half-digested miso soup and stomach bile.

"There we go... You're alright, Blue, you're alright," he hears once he comes back to his senses, and he blinks and looks over. His dad is standing on the bed next to him, and he leans in with a damp washcloth and wipes at Leo's face and mouth.

"Perhaps the soup was too much for your stomach," Splinter says as he finishes, tossing the washcloth into the floor. "How do you feel?"

"Mm... weird," Leo admits, leaning sleepily into his dad's shoulder. He shouldn't because he's gross, but Splinter lets him do it, stroking his cheek. "My stomach hurts..."

The loss of the food hurts; without anything in his stomach, he'll feel hungry again soon. Leo is terrified of that, of the deep empty chasm of his hunger returning, sucking him down into its depths. At the same time, the idea of eating makes him feel queasy.

He feels weird, and miserable, and scared, and he doesn't know when his dad came back, but he's so glad he's here.

"How much did you let him eat?" he hears Draxum ask. Leo finds the energy to feel offended that he's being talked about like he isn't in the room, but not enough energy to actually say anything about it.

"As much as he wanted," Mikey answers. Which, as Leo recalls, was almost all of the soup.

"And how much was that?"

"Here, look."

There's the sound of the mini-fridge being opened again. The pop of the takeout lid. Draxum hums in a way that does not sound pleased.

"Leonardo," he says, coming to stand by the bed now. "I have a very important question and I need you to answer: when was the last time you ate?"

Leo stares at him blearily. Then he raises a tired hand and indicates the mess all down his front.

"Don't get cute," says Draxum, ignoring the following grunt of warning Splinter directs his way. "You know what I'm asking you."

Of course Leo knows. But he doesn't want to answer. Not while his dad is holding him, and all his siblings are watching him expectantly. They aren't going to like what he has to tell them. He doesn't want to upset them.

But Draxum is unmoved and steely eyed. There's no way Leo is getting out of this without answering.

He sighs, shutting his eyes and leaning into Splinter so he doesn't have to be looking at the rest of them when he says it.

"Last time I ate was at Run of the Mill."

He hears a gasp, hears Mikey yell, "What!?" Feels Splinter's sharp intake of breath under his cheek, and then his dad shifts so he can hold him even closer.

"They... they didn't feed you in there at all?" asks April, like she doesn't quite believe it.

Leo nods.

"I should have leveled the whole building!" Donnie snaps, and Leo hears something get knocked to the ground.

Mikey comes closer, and puts a hand on his shoulder, drawing Leo's gaze back his way. He looks so upset, and Leo regrets looking. "Leo, why didn't you tell us? You didn't even say you were hungry!"

"Felt weird to bring it up in the middle of the happy reunion," he says. It's a weak justification, he knows. The look on Mikey's face just gets more miserable.

"Wait," Raph cuts in. "Wait, so... when Bishop said he gave you chances to cooperate for better living conditions, he meant..."

Leo swallows hard, not wanting to look at the distress on Raph's face. "Feeding me, yeah."

"What did he want out of you? What was he making you do?"

This part, at least, Leo can answer easily. "He wanted information. About the yokai and the Hidden City."

Raph sounds surprised. "He just... wanted you to answer questions?"

"Yeah." Leo nods again. "Like, how to get in, how many portals there are, what kind of defense capabilities there are, stuff about Draxum... That's what I remember."

"Why didn't you just tell them?"

Now Leo does look at Raph's face. He's staring at Leo with open horror and distress. But Leo doesn't understand the question, or the look. He did what he was supposed to, didn't he? He held out and didn't give Bishop any information. He did the right thing. So Raph has no reason to look so upset.

He smiles in a way he hopes is reassuring. "Hey, that's not what a hero would do, right?"

It's apparently not reassuring. If anything, Raph only looks more horrified.

He turns away from Leo abruptly and marches straight out of the room, slamming the door on the way out.

Leo doesn't understand that reaction. He did what he was supposed to, but Raph is mad at him, anyway. The rest of his family seems shocked, too, so at least Leo isn't alone.

"I'll talk to him," says April, the first to move. She leaves with much less noise, disappearing into the dark parking lot beyond the door.

Awkward silence envelops the room after that. Leo doesn't know what to do or say to break it. He made Raph mad, because he never does anything right, according to Raph. It's the same as always, but for some reason Leo feels even worse this time.

"...Well," says Draxum, cutting through the awkwardness when it becomes clear no one else wants to, "knowing this, we will have to be much more careful about what and how much you eat. I'll make a meal plan."

"Why you?" Leo grouses. "Let Donnie do it."

Donnie opens his mouth like he wants to agree, but Draxum cuts him off before he can.

"Me, because I have actual experience designing nutritious meal plans for children." Leo thinks of what he's heard about Draxum's lunchroom and makes a face, which Draxum ignores. "Besides, I can't trust any of the rest of you to actually tell Leo he can't have more to eat."

"I can handle myself," Leo argues.

"Clearly," says Draxum icily, indicating the mess still in Leo's lap, "you cannot."

Leo doesn't have a good response for that, and no one steps up to his defense. Back not even twenty four hours, and he already has multiple people mad at him. That has to be a new record.

"...Whatever," he says, because he doesn't know what else to say. Draxum nods like he actually gave approval.

There's another round of awkward silence. Splinter breaks it this time.

"Why doesn't someone call housekeeping to ask for some fresh sheets," he says, "while I help Blue take a bath."

"Ugh, yes, I'm calling them now," says Donnie. Leo notes for the first time that his most persnickety brother is as far from his bed as possible, having put the second bed and the table between them. "The whole room is starting to smell."

Leo cringes. "Sorry..."

"There is nothing for you to apologize for," his dad reassures him, patting his head. Leo isn't sure he'd say that, but he doesn't waste breath arguing. "Now, come with me."

It takes some maneuvering, but they get him out of bed without making a bigger mess. Mikey starts stripping the sheets, and he can hear Donnie on the phone with the staff across the room.

Leo's still not wearing any of his gear. It shouldn't matter because he's just in a room with his family, but he still walks to the bathroom as quickly as he can.

Splinter shuts the door once they're inside, then fills a little plastic cup with water. This he hands off to Leo, saying, "Drink this, and I will run you a nice warm bath."

Leo does as he says, and tries not to think too much about how Raph is mad at him.

-----

There's an old concrete barrier that stands between the motel parking lot and an open field. Raph hefts a piece of the crumbling concrete and chucks it as hard as he can, watching as it disappears into the tall grass beyond.

They starved him. They starved his little brother for over a week, because he wouldn't answer some questions. And he wouldn't answer those questions because...

That's not what a hero would do.

Raph's ninpo flares to life. Punching out another piece of the barrier is easy; he lifts the broken pieces and throws them after the first, watching them sail through the air.

"You better hope there aren't any security cameras out here," says a voice behind him, and he looks over his shoulder.

April is there, standing a few feet back, hands tucked in the pockets of her jacket. Raph's ninpo stutters out at the sight of her; he wonders if he looked scary.

"...What are they gonna do even if there are?" he asks. But he does stop his wanton destruction.

"I don't know, but just remember it's my credit card on file for damages." Her voice is teasing, though, and he knows she isn't actually mad. She comes over, turning so she can lean against part of the barrier that's still intact. "Come on, Big Red. Talk to me."

Raph doesn't turn around. He can't stand to look back at the motel, at the room where his brother is, tiny and weak and with a stomach that's been empty for days on end. He can't handle it right now. So he keeps his eyes on the field.

"Leo let those guys hurt him," he says.

"No he didn't," says April. "He can't help what they did to him."

"If he'd just answered their questions, they would have fed him."

"We can't know that." April shakes her head. "You heard what Draxum said about those guys. You saw what they were like. Maybe if Leo had answered their questions, they would have just killed him. Leo was probably thinking that, too."

"But that's not what he said," Raph points out.

"...Look." April takes a deep breath. "Leo... just went through a lot. We don't know what he was thinking while he was in there, or what he's thinking now. And you know that boy likes to say flashy things. Don't take anything he says right now too seriously."

"But what if this is the most truthful he's gonna be? What if he just hasn't thought of a good lie yet?"

"Raph-"

"No, you don't get it, April." Raph holds his head in his hands, like he can physically hold the dark thoughts at bay, but he can't, and they keep coming: horrific images of what could have happened, if they'd been too late, if the EPF had been less patient. "I told him to stop thinking of himself! Right before he disappeared, I told him he needed to be a hero! But Raph didn't mean like this!"

"Hey now, you don't know-" April tries, but Raph cuts her off.

"I just wanted him to stop doing everything himself! All the showboating, all the running in without talkin' to us... Raph just wanted him to remember that we're a team!" He lets go of his head and grips the concrete instead, so hard it cracks and crumbles under his fingers. "What if he took that to mean he should risk his life for everyone else? That he had to sacrifice himself?"

"Oookay, slow down there, big guy," says April, turning around and putting a hand on his arm. "You're taking one thing he said and blowing it way out of proportion."

"But what if I'm right?" Raph shakes his head. "How do I live with that, if I am? Knowing I almost killed him?"

"Okay, you look at me right now," she demands, in a way Raph can't refuse. He turns, and she reaches up and grabs his face by the cheeks, yanking him down until he bends to her eye level.

"You did not almost kill him. That was those EPF guys." Her voice is stern, and her grip on his face prevents him from objecting. "And even if you are right, and it's what you said to Leo that kept him from answering... well, then that's something the two of you will have to work out together."

She lets him go, putting her hands on her hips. "But what's done is done. Right now, Leo is exhausted and starved, and he's not really in a state for big emotional talks. So let's just get some space and get your head on straight. Once we get him home and everything's calmed down, the two of you can hash this out."

Raph lets out a strangled laugh, slumping down against the crumbling barrier. "Yeah, because that's so easy."

"I'm not saying it's easy." She sits down next to him, putting her hand on his arm. "But you guys love each other, so you'll do the hard things you have to do. I know you got this." She gives him a wink. "You're Raph."

Raph isn't sure he has that much faith in himself. But April isn't wrong very often, so he thinks he should probably listen to her.

-----

The water feels nice on Leo's skin, pleasantly warm and soothing. He sinks down until all but his eyes are in the water, letting it swirl around him.

He still feels a little exposed, but it's only Splinter in here, and that helps. It's like he's a little kid again, getting a bath from his dad, but he has to scrunch to cram his legs in the tub and that ruins the illusion.

"My Baby Blue always did enjoy a nice bath," says Splinter fondly, rustling up hotel soap for them to use.

He wets a washcloth and lathers it up, then cleans off the top of Leo's head and back of his neck, then down to his shoulders and the ridge of his shell. Leo would normally protest this kind of treatment, but right now he's not sure he can lift his arms above his head, so he doesn't.

Besides, it feels nice.

"Float on your front," Splinter says, adding, "Deep breath." It's what he always said when they were kids and he wanted to wash their shells. Everyone but Mikey can hold their breath for a long time, but he always says it anyway.

Leo takes a deep breath and flips onto his front, closing his eyes as his dad washes the back of his shell. It's so soothing he could almost take a nap here. The world is nicely muted under the water.

Splinter gives his shell three pats with his hand, the signal to sit back up. Leo does, rolling onto his back to rinse off. Splinter hands him the washcloth and soap, and he cleans his lower half, taking care around the bottom ridges of his shell.

"Thanks for the bath, Daddio," he says as he finishes. "I know I was starting to get pretty ripe." He pulls up the drain plug with a pop, watching the dirty water spin away.

He tries to imagine he's watching the last of that place drain away with it.

Splinter retrieves a fluffy white towel, drying off the top of Leo's head before handing it off. "I wasn't thinking of that," he says. "But I know a good bath always made you feel better when you were sick."

It was never really about the bath, but the undivided dad attention. How Splinter would wash his shell and pat his head and dry him off, just like he's doing now.

It occurs to Leo that he almost lost this forever, and its like his breath is taken away. He buries his face in the towel and tries to ride through it - he doesn't want to cry again.

Splinter must pick up on it, because suddenly he's sitting on the side of the tub, rubbing the top of Leo's shell. "It's okay, Blue. You're safe."

He's safe.

He really is safe, isn't he?

He lowers the towel and turns into his dad instead, wriggling his head into his lap. Splinter welcomes him, patting his head with one hand and the top of his shell with another. Leo's breath hitches and the tears break free.

"I know," says Splinter, and his voice is thick with emotion. Leo knows he can't look or he'll start sobbing. "I... was very scared for you, my son. I am so glad you're here, Leonardo. I love you very much."

"L-love you too," he warbles. His tears are falling fast, now, and Splinter takes the towel and dries them away every now and then.

By the time Leo sits up and rubs at his eyes, the towel is totally soaked through from being in the tub. Splinter moves away to grab him a fresh one, which Leo wraps himself up in.

"Leonardo," says Splinter hesitantly once he is out of the tub, "I know you may not want to talk about it right now. But I need to ask you this."

Leo wonders where this is going. He sits down on the toilet lid, looking at his dad. "Uh, okay."

Splinter looks him up and down before asking, "Did those men... hit you? Or touch you in any way?"

Oh. Leo shakes his head. "No. They didn't... I mean, they just put me in that room. They weren't, like... torturing me or anything."

He thought that would reassure his dad, but if anything Splinter only looks more sad.

"Not feeding you is torturing you," he says.

"Oh, well, yeah, I guess." Leo rubs the back of his head. "But I mean, they weren't... you know. Shocking me or whipping me or... putting me in that medieval stretchy thing from the movies."

"I see." His dad sighs, but nods. "Very well. I'm glad, at least, that you do not have any injuries."

Leo nods back. "Yeah, no, I'm all good." He tries to smile, but his smiles aren't really having the effect they usually do.

"Are you ready to go back?" asks Splinter, moving to the door. Leo nods again, standing up. "Are you still cold?"

Leo blinks in surprise, then realizes Splinter is referring to the towel he still has wrapped around himself. He's not really that cold anymore, but he grabs onto the convenient excuse, anyway.

"Uh, yeah." He grins sheepishly. "Actually, did you guys bring any of my clothes? I'm a little worried about the ride home."

"Ah." Splinter taps his chin. "I don't think we brought any of your things. Your brothers brought their hoodies, I believe, in case they needed to go in a store..." He reaches up and pats Leo's hand. "There is a gift shop in the motel lobby. I will send Purple and Orange in the morning - I'm sure they'd enjoy doing some shopping!"

"Thanks. I just need a sweatshirt or something. Maybe some pajama pants." He shrugs. "Gotta stay toasty, right?"

"That's right. No more turtle-cicles." Splinter reaches up and turns the doorknob, gesturing for Leo to lead the way.

Leo shuffles for the bed, keeping the towel tight around himself as he goes. He doesn't drop it until he's under the sheets again, safely tucked away.

Raph isn't back yet. The realization turns Leo's stomach. But Mikey barrels into bed next to him, cuddling up against one side, while Donnie scoots in on the other, tapping away at his phone, and Leo tries to forget about it.

He's sure that, as soon as he's better, Raph will be back to yell at him.

-----

Leo doesn't realize Draxum left until he comes back. He did doze off for a bit there, though, so it's not surprising.

Mikey was snoozing against Leo's arm, too, but when the door clicks shut he raises his head, blinking sleep out of his eyes. Donnie looks up from his phone. Splinter's asleep in the other bed, only grumbling incoherently at the noise before rolling over.

(Raph and April still haven't come back. It makes Leo's heart thud a little harder.)

"Hey Barry," says Mikey, voice still a little sleepy. He pushes himself up to sit against the pillows. "Find what you were looking for?"

"Yes." Draxum walks over to the bed, pulling a bottle out of a pharmacy bag. He twists the cap loose, then holds it out and says, "Leonardo, drink this."

Leo can't help the way his face screws up as he takes it, eyeing the label on the bottle. "Eugh. What is this?"

"Vegetable juice," Draxum informs him dryly.

"Gross." Leo does not bring the bottle any closer to his lips. "Can I have soda instead?"

"Absolutely not." Draxum's voice is stern. "No sugar or caffeine until I say otherwise."

The next several days are looking worse and worse. Leo grimaces. "Can I just drink water, then?"

"You can and should drink water. But you also need to steadily reintroduce your body to nutrients. The vegetable juice will help, until your stomach can handle more solid food at a time."

Leo groans, eyeing the bottle warily. Anything labeled "juice" should not be this color of red-orange.

"Draxum's just trying to help, Leo!" Mikey chimes in. "Besides, vegetable juice isn't that bad."

It's not the most reassuring endorsement, given that Mikey loves vegetables in a way Leo has never understood. But with his little brother cheering him on, he can't back down.

"Fine. Down the hatch," he mutters, then takes a swig. It tastes just as off-putting as he was imagining, and he shudders and smacks his lips. "Yuck."

"Sorry, Leo." Mikey pats his arm comfortingly. "As soon as Barry says it's okay, we'll get pizza!"

"Please don't remind me of pizza right now..."

"Here." Leo looks up to find Draxum is holding out a handful of crackers. "Eat these, too. Be sure you chew them thoroughly before you swallow. And keep drinking the juice."

Leo takes the crackers in his free hand, putting them in his lap on top of the sheets. There's only six, and they look boring even for crackers. but his stomach perks up with interest, reminding Leo that everything he put in it before got thrown up.

Leo thought he was going to be waiting until breakfast to eat again. The crackers ease that tension, relief he hadn't consciously realized he needed.

Still, can't let Draxum think Leo actually appreciates all his bullying, so Leo still makes a face as he holds up one of the crackers and examines it.

"And these are...?"

"Are you going to react like this to everything?" asks Draxum with a scoff. "They're whole wheat crackers. They'll settle your stomach, and you need food in you so can take these vitamins."

He pulls a bottle out of his bag and shakes it, filling the room with the sound of pills rattling around. Leo scrunches up his snout.

"You didn't get me the chewable kind? Or those fruit gummy ones?"

"Are you such a child you need your medicine in the form of candy?" Draxum rolls his eyes. "You will be just fine with the pills."

"Okay, okay!" Leo groans theatrically, leaning his head back. "I can't believe you guys are letting him take care of him. He'll be feeding me bugs and leaves next."

"Stop whining. No one wants to hear it this late."

"I actually like these crackers," says Donnie. "They're delightfully bland."

This statement is followed by a crunch.

The sound sends a shiver up Leo's shell, and he turns his head in time to see Donnie, one of Leo's crackers in his hand, a big bite taken out of it. He chews and swallows with a slight smile on his face, clearly unconcerned that he just took one of Leo's crackers.

Leo only had six crackers to start. Now there's five. He doesn't know when he gets any more. No one promised him breakfast. And now he only has five crackers, and not six. And he can feel the hunger coming back.

Donnie turns his head and they lock eyes. Leo has no idea what his own expression looks like, but Donnie's turns startled and then almost frightened. He's so shocked he drops the rest of the cracker into his own lap.

Leo just barely stops himself from snatching it back.

Because that would be weird. What he's doing right now is weird. Everyone is staring at him, the room has gone silent, he's acting like Donnie just committed an unforgivable sin when all he did was take a cracker, like the two of them haven't been casually taking each other's food their entire lives.

He's being weird. He needs to stop. He needs to go back to normal right now.

Five crackers can be enough. It's enough it's enough it's-

Leo forces his brain to restart, his face and posture to relax, his fingers to unclench. He schools his mouth into an unserious grin, glancing back at Draxum. "H-hey, so... how many crackers do I need to eat? Since Thief-atello just stole one."

"I'm sorry," Donnie blurts out, an extremely rare apology. "I wasn't thinking."

Leo waves a hand. "It's cool, man," he says.

"No," Donnie insists. "I shouldn't have done that, I don't know why I did that-"

Great, first he pisses off Raph and now Donnie's freaked out. Leo's family came all the way to Colorado to save him and all he's done since then is upset them.

"Dee," says Leo, and he knocks one shoulder against Donnie's. "Seriously. It's fine."

Because it is. They take food from each other all the time. Leo's the one who made it weird, not Donnie, even if he did take one of Leo's crackers.

Donnie looks at him, uncertain. He still hasn't touched the remaining cracker in his lap. Leo wishes he would finish eating it now, so it isn't tempting him.

"...Still. I won't do it again," says Donnie finally, looking down at his lap and wringing his hands. He looks miserable, and Leo hates that he caused this.

Before he can do or say anything more, Draxum gets Leo's attention by holding out a new cracker. "Here," he says, waiting until Leo takes it, before handing a few to the still shell-shocked Donnie. "Both of you can have crackers. Now don't squabble, you'll disturb the neighbors."

Donnie puts the crackers in his lap and doesn't touch them again. The air in the room is stifling. And Leo wants to eat his own crackers, but now it feels awkward.

"I think you should steal one of his to get him back," says Mikey in an exaggerated whisper, a gallant attempt to dispel the tension. It doesn't quite work, but it breaks the silence enough for Leo to force out a chuckle and pick up a cracker.

"Everyone eat what you've been given and settle down," says Draxum, going to sit on the other bed. Splinter mumbles in his sleep again and rolls over. Everyone relaxes a little more.

Leo bites into the cracker. It tastes like all of nothing, but it has a pleasant crunch between his teeth, and he finds that he likes it.

Next to him, Donnie hesitantly finishes off his own half-finished cracker. Then he half-heartedly eats the others. Leo drinks his vegetable juice, then swallows the pill Draxum gives him.

Mikey does his best to fill the room with happy chatter, and the mood lightens, little by little.

Everything's okay. He just can't do that again.

-----

Everyone but Draxum is asleep when Raph and April come back into the room, just a little before dawn. Splinter is splayed out across the bed closest to the door, while all three of his little brothers are curled around each other in the bed by the bathroom.

Raph and April spent a long time sitting by the barrier, talking intermittently between long spells of silence. Then they moved to the tank, taking a nap together on the bench seats.

April has her travel pillow and blanket now, and she takes both and spreads out at the foot of his brothers’ bed, wisely putting her head by Donnie, who sleeps still as the dead, and not Mikey, who has already moved several times since they walked in. She yawns and then conks out almost immediately, glasses held loosely in her hand against her chest.

Raph wishes he didn’t feel quite so wide awake.

Draxum is sitting in one of the chairs by the table, phone in hand. He has a notebook open and scribbles into it with a pen. Raph comes over and takes a peek: it’s all notes about nutrition, the vitamins that are most critically needed after a long term starvation event.

Draxum’s helping Leo. That makes Raph feel better, and he sinks into the other chair, leaning his head back.

“You should try to get some sleep,” says Draxum, voice low. “We’ll be leaving in a few hours.”

“Raph’s good,” he says, staying where he is.

He feels Draxum’s eyes on him, for a moment. “I’m taking watch. Go to sleep, Raphael.”

Raph hesitates, then gets up from the chair and goes to lay down next to his dad. Splinter grumbles in his sleep, but rolls over like he knows to make room for a son crawling into his bed.

From here Raph can see Leo’s face. It’s gaunt and washed out, and even with all the sleeping he’s done there are still dark circles under his eyes. He looks so fragile, and the anger burns in his chest again, that anyone could hurt him like this.

He’s safe now, though. Mikey has an arm curled around his plastron, and Donnie flanks his other side like a guard. He’s able to rest, and eat, and get better.

Raph remembers what April said. Give Leo time to heal, then talk about what happened in there. He can do that. He can be patient.

He hadn’t thought he would be able to sleep, but lying still, with his sleeping family all around him, safe and sound, puts him under in minutes.

-----

"Morning, Leo!"

Leo blinks awake, taking in his surroundings. The walls are beige, the bed is blue, there's a TV playing the morning news on low volume, there's sunlight shining through the window.

He can smell food.

"It's breakfast time!" says Mikey. He's standing next to the bed, holding a tray. Leo wriggles until he's sitting up against the pillows, grinning as he pats his lap.

"Thanks, Mikey."

"You're welcome!" Mikey gives Leo a thousand watt smile as he sets the tray down.

Leo wishes he could feel as enthusiastic as his little brother as he gets a look at his breakfast. There's a large cup of white yogurt, and a little plate of scrambled eggs that don't even look like they have pepper on them. He's glad he has food, he just wishes it was something more exciting.

He lifts his eyes and takes a look around the room. Donnie is in one of the chairs by the table, tapping away on his phone. April is in the other chair, and she smiles and gives him a little wave when he meets her eyes. His dad is in the other bed, munching on what looks like a muffin and watching the news. He doesn't see Raph, but he hears the shower running.

Draxum is standing by the doorway, watching Leo. When their gazes meet, he sighs, rubbing the furrow on his forehead.

"Are you going to ask me what you're eating again?"

"Yes!" Leo points at the cup of yogurt. "What is this!? It's not even fruit flavored!"

"It's Greek yogurt. You can have fruit when your stomach is more settled."

"Ugh..." Leo sighs, grabbing the plastic spoon off his tray and scooping up a tiny bite of yogurt. It's not terrible, but without any fruit it's not very exciting.

"Hey, look at the bright side," says Mikey, holding out a plastic cup. "You get apple juice this morning! Since it had no sugar added, Draxum said it's okay!"

Leo musters up a smile. "Well, it's better than vegetable juice..."

"Don't get too excited," says Draxum dryly. "You'll be drinking more on the drive home."

"You're such a buzzkill, Drax," Leo huffs, taking a bite of his eggs now. They're unseasoned, but they're something. And there's the part of him that is just happy to have any food, simmering under the surface and demanding he eat faster. To keep himself from cramming the whole of the plate in his mouth at once, he turns to Mikey. "Hey, sneak me a muffin. Blueberry or chocolate chip."

Mikey grimaces. "I don't think Barry wants me to do that..."

Leo pouts, chewing his eggs slowly. "Who are you going to listen to, him or me?"

"He'll listen to me," says Draxum sternly. "If you're still hungry after that, you can have some more crackers."

Leo sighs, but part of him feels better knowing the crackers are still on the table. He crams more eggs in his mouth and chews as sulkily as possible.

There's an Old Navy ad playing on TV. Splinter sits up straighter in bed when he sees it, getting muffin crumbs everywhere. "Ah, that reminds me! Blue wanted some warm clothes to wear on the ride home." Splinter reaches out and pats Mikey on the arm. "Orange, Purple - why don't the two of you go to the gift shop and do some shopping? You can get a souvenir for yourselves as well."

"Oooh, yes!" Mikey bounces excitedly in place. "Dibs on picking out Leo's clothes!"

"Gasp!" Donnie stands up, pointing at him dramatically. "You know I'm the fashionable one in this family! Leo, tell him you want me to pick out your clothes for our return trip!"

"Mmm, I dunno..." Leo grins up at his little brother, giving him a wink. "I think Angelo's got this."

Donnie makes a noise of utter betrayal while Mikey cheers and stoops to give Leo a hug. "I won't let you down, Leon!" he promises, giving Leo a big smooch on the top of his head.

"I know you won't."

"Fine then! I'll just have to make you all jealous with my own selections." Donnie looks down. "April, do you want to join us?"

"Yeah, sure." April stands up, stretching her arms above her head. "Maybe I'll get a keychain or something."

The three of them file out of the room, Donnie and Mikey still arguing animatedly. Draxum takes one of the abandoned chairs, and Splinter goes back to watching the news.

Leo continues eating his bland breakfast, and tries not to spend too much time wondering when his next meal will be. At least he's been promised crackers.

-----

Raph comes out of the bathroom about ten minutes later, just as Leo's finishing up his breakfast with a few crackers. He nearly jumps when their eyes meet.

"Oh, hey, Leo," he says, voice a forced cheerful. "You're awake! That's great!"

"Yeah," says Leo back, trying not to sound too awkward and failing. He holds up his empty cup. "Just finished breakfast."

"O-oh, yeah. Was it... good?"

Leo grimaces. "Not really."

"Oh." Raph hovers in the doorway, practically vibrating with nervous energy. Leo wonders if he should apologize, but he still doesn't know what he's apologizing for, so he doesn't.

He'd know if Raph would just go ahead and yell at him, but Raph doesn't seem eager to start. Maybe he doesn't think Leo is healed up enough yet, or maybe he doesn't want to do it in front of Splinter. Either way, no yelling seems forthcoming.

Instead, Raph says, "Uh, where's everyone else?"

"Shopping for clothes for Blue and for souvenirs for themselves," Splinter answers.

"Oh, cool. Maybe... maybe I'll go join 'em!"

Raph pats Leo on the head as he goes by, then leaves the room like it's on fire. Leo is silent; he has no idea what to say or do.

He's out of food now, too. He's already asked Draxum for crackers once, and he's not sure if asking again will actually gain him anything. And with Mikey gone, he feels too anxious to try.

He settles back on his pillows and turns his eyes to the TV, lifting the plastic spoon in his hands. He slots the handle between his teeth and chews, relaxing at the feel of it. It's sturdier than the water bottles, so he can't flatten it down as easily, but the way he can munch on it endlessly has its own appeal.

The news drones on. His dad laughs at something the anchors say. Draxum scribbles away at a notebook. And Leo leans back on his pillows and chews on the spoon.

On the ticker at the bottom of the screen, he notices the tail end of a news item about a training accident at a military facility in Colorado Springs - one injured.

-----

The outfit Mikey has picked out is a sky blue hoodie with "PIKE'S PEAK" in big block letters and darker blue plaid sweatpants. They meet Leo's standards for softness and comfiness, if not quite his standards for style. It's fine, because he's after the former right now.

"Did I do good?" Mikey asks, bouncing on his toes.

"You did great," Leo responds, motioning him closer so he can rub his head affectionately. It lacks his usual punch, but Mikey laughs and wiggles away anyway.

"We also got," Mikey rummages around in the gift store bag, then pulls out, "matching fuzzy socks!"

The socks are in their signature colors and have snowboarders on them, and each set has a terrible pun like, "SNOW RULES!" and "COOLER THAN COOL!" Leo loves them immediately.

"I think this is the best gift you've ever gotten me," says Leo sincerely. Mikey beams and comes in for a hug that Leo gladly returns.

"Here, put 'em on!" says Mikey after he backs away, nodding at the hoodie and pants on the bed. "You don't want to be cold, right?"

"Right," says Leo, lifting the hoodie in his arms. A quick glance around the room shows that they're all looking at him now - Mikey, Donnie, and April by the bed, Splinter from the other bed, Draxum at the table, Raph hovering in the doorway. Waiting for him to put the clothes on.

He wishes they wouldn't.

It's weird. He's never felt self-conscious like this. He and his brothers have never really practiced modesty the way humans do, especially around each other. And yet the idea of standing in front of them now with no clothes, not even his mask, makes him feel strangely queasy.

He tries to tell himself it's because of how he looks now. Stick thin arms and legs, weird, unhealthy skin tone, dark circles under his eyes that a few hours of unconsciousness and one night of intermittent sleep have definitely not erased. That it's just his normal vanity.

But he can still feel it: that guard's eyes on him, any time he left the safety of his hiding spot under his cot.

He pulls the hoodie on over his head while he's still in bed. Then he crawls out of bed and pulls the pants on as fast as he can.

He looks around to see if anyone noticed, but their expressions haven't changed. Mikey gives him a thumbs up.

He relaxes. With the clothes on, the feeling of being exposed finally ebbs away. And it is warmer like this, which is a plus.

It's okay. In a day or two, he'll be over this weird self-consciousness and back to normal, and no one has to know about it.

"Well, how do I look?" he asks, grinning and turning in a circle. Mikey and April clap indulgently for him.

"Lookin' good, Leo," says April, and he gives her a wink.

"Well, even though you chose to forego my aesthetic sensibilities, I got you something, too," says Donnie, pushing his way forward. He holds out a pair of flipflops, which say "We're in" and "CO" on the toes and have cartoon giraffes on the heels. Leo can't help but grin when he sees them. "Trust me, you'll want these if we have to go into any gas station restrooms. Shudder."

Leo laughs, then reaches out an arm to pull Donnie into a hug before he can escape. To his surprise, Donnie doesn't even put up a token fight against it, hugging him back more fiercely than usual.

"Thanks, I love them," he says into Donnie's ear.

"Of course you do," says Donnie smugly, but his eyes are suspiciously shiny when he breaks the hug. Nothing feels awkward between them now, even given the cracker incident earlier, and Leo is glad.

“Okay!” says April, clapping her hands. “Checkout’s in thirty minutes - if you have anything else to do, do it now.”

“Wait,” says Leo, looking around. “Where’s my mask?” It’d be nice for hiding the dark circles.

“Oh, I think Raph grabbed it,” says April, but when she turns, Raph is gone. April presses her fingers to her forehead and sighs. “Okay, you can get it later.”

Leo’s mouth suddenly feels dry. He reaches around and grabs a bottle of vegetable juice Draxum gave him, draining the last of it.

“Checkout in twenty eight minutes,” says Donnie to cut the awkwardness. “Let’s go, people!”

Leo sits on the bed and watches his family prepare to leave, gnawing on the top of his juice bottle.

-----

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” calls a voice, and Leo blinks awake to see April standing over his cot. No, not the cot - this is the bench seat in the tank. If he’s going to be sleeping so much, he needs to stop waking up confused.

And he has been sleeping a lot. The only time they woke him up was to eat another snack of crackers with a little bit of mushed up banana, like he’s some kind of baby.

The banana did help break up the monotony, though.

Leo can’t help but hope he’s being woken up for food again.

Like she read his mind, April grins and holds out a hand to help him up. “Lunch time!” she announces.

“Oh boy,” says Leo, taking the hand and slowly getting to his feet. He’s stiff from lying in the tank for so long, and he stretches and pops his arms. “More flavorless mush.”

“Maybe we can convince Drax to give you a little salt this time,” says April with a snicker. She waits for him to slip the flipflops on, then leads him out of the tank.

It occurs to him that this is the first time he’s really been out in the sun in over a week, excluding times he’s been unconscious and the short walk from the motel room to the tank. He takes a minute to just lean his face back and feel the warmth of it on his skin. It hasn’t even been that long, and he’s used to life underground, but somehow it feels different this time, foreign and new and sweet.

When he looks back at April, she’s tearing up again. She quickly wipes at the bottoms of her eyes and pulls on a smile, linking her arm around his.

“Come on. We can grab a picnic table and sit outside.”

It's then that Leo actually takes in where they are: a big travel center, or that's what the sign on the building declare. The tank is parked at the gas pumps, and Donnie, with his hood up, is excitedly talking about it to some interested truckers who have come over. He spots Mikey over at the grassy space for dog walking, laughing while a puppy licks his face, a seemingly annoyed Draxum standing off to the side with his arms folded. He doesn't see Raph or Splinter, but April fills him in as they cross the parking lot.

"Raph and Splints are inside ordering food. They have a whole diner in there!"

"Let me guess: I'm eating soup."

"I think it's potato."

"Well, at least it's not more tomato." Leo makes a face. "If I have to drink any more vegetable juice I'm going to turn red and swell up into a ball."

"You know what pizza sauce is made out of, right?" she asks, playfully bumping into him.

"Actually, I don't," he says smoothly, bumping into her back. They fake tussle outside the door for a moment, until both of them are laughing.

Someone trying to get past clears their throat loudly, and April and Leo shoot them an apologetic look before going on inside. Leo visits the restroom and tries not to look too long at the arrays of snacks on offer. April goes to help Raph and his dad with the food.

They all end up back outside at a large picnic table. His family has a mix of foods: burgers, hot dogs, salads, chicken strips. He knows there was pizza inside, and it touches him that no one picked it.

Next to everyone else's large, full plates, his own bowl of soup feels ridiculously small and sad. But he doubts any amount of pouting will convince Draxum to let him have a burger, so he digs in. At least this has some flavor.

Lunch is nice, even if Raph is still acting weird and distant. It’s just good being in the sun and the fresh air. Leo is reluctant to leave as they finish up.

“Come with me!” says Mikey as the others go to throw their trash away and buy anything they need for the return trip. He holds out his hand, and Leo takes it and follows Mikey back toward the grassy area at the edge of the parking lot. They make sure there are no dog droppings, then lay down in the grass, looking up at the blue sky and the clouds going overhead.

“I thought it’d be nice to get a little more sun before we have to get back in the tank,” says Mikey, limbs splayed out in every direction. He’s taken off his hoodie - no one at the travel center has paid much attention to the peeks of green skin they’ve been showing off, and no one is nearby right now, anyway.

It is a little hot. But the idea of being shirtless where a stranger can see him keeps Leo fully swaddled.

He pushes that thought aside, closing his eyes and just trying to enjoy the feeling of the sun on his skin, the breeze blowing by, the grass under his fingers. He doesn’t get to touch a lot of grass in the city, but it reminds him of times they would sneak out to Central Park.

“This is really nice, Angelo,” he says. “Thanks.”

“Mmhmmm.”

They’re quiet for a few minutes, just laying there, with only the ambient sounds of the travel center keeping them company. Leo starts to feel like he might doze off again.

“…Hey Leo?”

Leo blinks his eyes open, craning his neck to see Mikey. “Yeah?”

“Are you… okay?”

Ah. Maybe he should have expected this.

“Of course I’m okay,” he says, voice nonchalant. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Uh, well…” Mikey hesitantly trails off, clearly trying to decide what he wants to say.

Leo takes care of it for him. “It’s over, Mikey. You guys saved me. I’m okay.” He turns his head and grins. “And once Draxum stops being the food police, everything will be back to normal.”

“Mmm…” Mikey doesn’t sound as convinced as he should. Man, Leo’s smiles are really failing him lately. “But… if something’s bothering you… You’ll tell us, right?”

Leo pats his head. “Of course I will.”

If it’s worth bringing up to them, anyway.

Mikey’s eyes rove his face for a moment, but in the end he must be satisfied, because he smiles and rolls to toss his arm over Leo’s chest. “Okay. But I’ll hold you to that.”

“Or what, I’ll get a visit from the doctor?”

“You know it!”

Leo laughs, which gets Mikey laughing. They stay there until Raph calls their names across the parking lot, and they go back to the tank.

-----

He manages to stay awake after they stop for lunch, curled up on the bench seat. He doesn’t have the energy to talk as much as normal, but he leans against Donnie and contributes where he can. He’s just happy to be back with them, hearing and seeing them all around him.

But there’s something always at the back of his mind keeping him from fully relaxing: he doesn’t know when he gets to eat next. And he knows it will be okay - he’s with his family, and they’d never let him go hungry. He knows that, but about two and a half hours after lunch, he keeps finding himself returning to the same thought.

He’s drinking on a sugar-free Gatorade they got him at the travel center; one of the only non-vegetable or fruit drinks Draxum approved. Mikey has just finished up a story from one of the many art vlogs he watches, and, in the lag of conversation, he tries to broach the subject casually.

“Sooo… what’s our plan for the rest of the drive? Are we stopping, or…?”

“We’re going to try to make it all the way back to New York,” says April. “We already have our shifts picked out, and the autopilot is helping.”

“We can stop in a few more hours for another bathroom break,” says Donnie, pulling up a holoscreen showing their route and the drive time remaining. “Unless someone needs us to stop sooner.” He glances at Leo, and the way he’s bouncing the rim of the bottle off his teeth.

“Oh, uh, I’m good,” he says quickly, lowering the bottle. "I'm just wondering, uh... what about stopping for dinner?"

His family does about as good a job being subtle about looking at each other as he's being subtle about his worry. "We were thinking we'd probably try to find something around seven," says Donnie.

Seven. It's a little after three now. Okay. He can wait that long. What's four hours? And at least he knows what to expect now.

His family hesitantly return to their conversation. And Leo does his best to pay attention. April is telling them about all the stuff she's been doing to prepare for college in the fall, how she's already chatting with people running the student paper. She's excited about it, and Leo is excited for her.

"Ew, Leo," says Donnie suddenly, tearing him out of his thoughts. "Why are you doing that?"

Leo looks over at him in confusion. He starts to ask, Doing what?, but when he opens his mouth to speak, something falls out of his teeth and into his lap.

It's the Gatorade bottle cap, chewed down flat. Leo can see the marks from where his molars snapped through the lip, and the dents where he's been gnawing at it with his incisors.

He didn't even know he was doing that.

Everyone saw him doing that.

Embarrassment flushes through him, and he scrambles to grab the lid and toss it into their communal trash sack. Maybe no one noticed how thoroughly he had chewed on it.

"Gross," says Donnie, his nose scrunched up. So at the very least he saw. "You don't know where that's been."

"Oh please, it's not that gross," says Leo, doing his best to keep his voice light and airy. "It's just a bottle cap."

"That other people have touched and that you put into your mouth."

"Don't knock it till you try it, bro."

"I'm good not trying it."

"Your loss," says Leo with a shrug. He leans back, cool and calm and collected and not a total weirdo who gnaws on plastic like it's candy. "Stop looking at me like that, I threw it away already."

Donnie stops looking at him, literally. Things feel tense again. Leo doesn’t know how he keeps managing that.

Mikey jumps up, walking to the front of the tank, where Draxum is asleep in one of the chairs. Mikey shakes him awake, smiling in the face of his annoyed grumbling.

“Hey, Barry, is it okay if Leo has a snack?”

“Why do you have to ask him?” calls Leo, folding his arms. “Besides, I’m fine!”

His protests go ignored. “What time is it?” asks Draxum, sitting up and smoothing down his robes.

“I’m fine!” insists Leo, louder.

“It’s three fifteen,” Mikey says.

“Mm… Yes, he can have a snack.” Draxum gets up, going over to their snack cooler. “Leonardo, do you want crackers or more banana?”

“I’m fine!” Leo tries one more time, but his stomach flips when it occurs to him that he may actually not get a snack if he insists, and he wants the snack.

He sighs, sinking back in his seat, and says, “Crackers.” He wants the crunch of eating them.

Draxum brings him his crackers. There’s only four. He’s not sure why he’s getting less this time. Maybe because he was caught chewing on the lid.

He doesn’t ask. He eats what he’s been given, and then decides the best thing for everyone would be if he took another nap.

-----

Raph would have driven them all the way to New York if he’d been allowed. But they insist on having him swap with Donnie, and he ends up sitting in the back on the benches with because the other front chairs are hard for him to fit in.

Leo is asleep. He’s been sleeping a lot, but that’s to be expected. His body barely has any energy, and going by the dark circles, Raph knows he didn’t get much sleep while he was…

When Leo is awake, his family are their lively selves, chatting and laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Once he goes to sleep, everyone quiets down, Donnie dims the lights in the cab, and a weird melancholy sets in.

Leo looks terrible. They haven’t talked about it, but they all know it. Raph is shocked Leo has even been able to walk on his own, but Draxum attributes that to their reinforced mutant biology. He’s swimming in a hoodie that is his size, his hands and feet are skeletal where they poke out of his clothes. Raph wonders how long it will take for him to start filling out again, to have muscle like he did before. He’s afraid to ask.

Splinter sits with Leo’s head in his lap, rubbing his shell any time he shifts in his sleep. Mikey curls up against Raph and sniffles, and Raph pulls him closer.

He has to keep reminding himself that Leo is here, and safe. He just ate a snack, and soon they’ll get another meal in him. Just give it a week or two, and they’ll have their brother back.

And then, he’ll make sure Leo knows he never has to sacrifice himself again.

-----

Home looks just like Leo remembered it, and feels totally foreign at the same time.

His family clap for him as he walks in, and he does a little bow, which is a poor decision because it leaves him feeling lightheaded after. Luckily Raph is there to catch him and carry him from the garage to the chair in the living room. Things are still weird between them, but at least Raph isn't totally avoiding him.

(Raph still hasn't yelled at him. He wishes they could just get it over with.)

They eat lunch, with Leo getting bland soup and crackers again. Draxum notes that he could have peanut butter if they could have it in the lair, which makes Raph look pointlessly guilty, so Leo changes the subject. After lunch, April gives him a big hug and tells him she'll see him soon, but she has to go back home before her mom gets too worried. Leo feels bad when he learns she's missed several days of class now, but she just laughs and pats his head.

"I'm a senior and it's May, Leo; that I show up at all is enough for them."

Everyone's tired from being on the road for over twenty four hours, so after April leaves they unanimously agree on a movie marathon/turtle pile in the living room. His brothers drag out their comfiest pillows and blankets and set up in the floor, while Splinter cuddles up with Leo in his recliner. Draxum actually stays, to everyone's surprise, and Mikey jumps at the opportunity to introduce him to the magic of Lou Jitsu and Jupiter Jim.

Leo drifts in and out the whole evening. He'll be awake for the whole first act of a movie, then blink and suddenly they're partway through a different film. Each time he wakes his dad is there, patting his hand and saying, "Hello, Blue," and his brothers are around him, quoting their favorite lines or jumping up to act along with their favorite parts. It's normal and it's familiar and it's warm and soft.

He eats more soup for dinner, and crackers and banana and a little pudding cup, as a treat. His family gets more sleepy as evening turns to night; his dad's snoring fills the room, and Draxum finally leaves to go to his apartment. His brothers settle in and fall asleep around the middle of Jupiter Jim's Last Trip to the Moon 17, curled up in a heap at the foot of the chair.

He's home.

He's really home.

It's over.

Leo buries his face in his dad's fur and lets that thought carry him to sleep.

-----

Leo's home and it's amazing.

Raph wishes that meant everything was back to normal.

He doesn't know how to be around Leo right now. Every time he looks at him, he sees the stick thin arms and the gaunt face and he hears Leo's voice saying, That's not what a hero would do, and he doesn't know what to say anymore. What if he accidentally says something that makes Leo feel like what happened to him was right? What if he accidentally makes Leo think he should do it again?

It's only been a day, he tries to tell himself. Leo's still spending most of his time sleeping, between his regular snacks and meals. Even when he's awake, he doesn't have much energy for conversation, seeming content to just sit and listen to everyone else. It's just not the right time. It'll get better once Leo is better.

He can wait until then.

It's the afternoon now, the day after they brought Leo home. Raph just finished his workout and is making his rounds to check on everyone, just to make sure that everyone is... well, just to make sure. Splinter is in the kitchen making tea, a kind with no caffeine or sugar, as per Draxum's instructions. Mikey and Leo are in the living room, a half-asleep Leo watching Mikey play video games on the projecter.

Donnie isn't there.

His heart lurches, no matter how much he tells himself it's okay. Donnie is fine, Donnie is home, Donnie hasn't gone missing, not right after they got Leo back.

(He'd tried to tell himself Leo was fine in the beginning, too.)

He checks their rooms first, but Donnie's is empty. Then it's up to the lab, where he finds the door closed.

He knocks, and a robotic voice asks for identification. He sighs, not wanting to play this game right now.

"Donnie, it's me. You better be in there..."

The door beeps and then slides up, revealing a dimly lit lab. At first, Raph thinks he must not be here, and he's about to turn to leave, but then he hears a noise from Donnie's big computer desk.

A sniffle.

His big brother senses shifting into hyperdrive, he speed-walks over. The door slides shut behind him with a mechanical whir.

Sure enough, Donnie is there, legs pulled up into his desk chair, face buried in his knees. His goggles are off and laying on the desk, and his computer monitor shows a video, frozen on...

A white room, almost empty, save the cot that is for some reason propped up in front of the toilet, and...

Donnie sniffles again, and Raph tears his eyes away from one little brother to the other.

"Donnie...? What is this?"

Donnie sniffs and sits up a little more, rubbing under his eyes where tear tracks are already drying. "It's the surveillance video from the EPF base."

Raph gathered that much. "Why... are you watching it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Donnie looks up at him. "I wanted to see what they did to him."

"You couldn't just ask him?"

Donnie's drawn on eyebrows go down. "I don't know, do you want to ask him?"

Raph imagines trying to ask Leo questions like that and can't help but cringe. "Okay, no. Raph doesn't want to do that."

"Exactly." Donnie gestures at the screen. "I got this footage from the base. And I erased it permanently from their systems, for the record, and destroyed the hard drives to be sure. But I kept a copy for us. I thought, if Leo wasn't in a state to... well, just in case. We might need it for medical reasons."

"But we know what's wrong with him," Raph points out.

"Do we?"

"Uh, yeah." Raph nods. "Starvation... right?"

"Well, yes." Donnie drums his fingers on the table. "But... he's different, now. He's pretending he's not, and he's doing his normal Leo thing of joking and smiling, but... he is." Donnie scowls. "And I already asked Michael to confirm my suspicions, and he said so, too, so I know this isn't me overreacting!"

"Okay, okay!" Raph holds up his hands placatingly. "So you wanted to watch the footage to see what happened. What'd you find out?"

Donnie wilts, resting his chin on his knees. "I couldn't get further than the first twenty four hours."

Raph feels a foreboding chill run over his spine. "You couldn't... or you didn't want to?"

Donnie reaches over and presses a button. The footage shifts to a different angle, so now he can see the wall Leo was curled up against. Donnie runs the footage back at a fast speed, and Raph watches as Leo gets up a few times, disappearing into the blind spot of the camera, or going to grab water from a little slot by the door, until Donnie freezes on a new scene: the wall opening up to reveal a large window.

He leans forward, putting his hands on the desk. "Raph saw that - they were watching his cell through that."

"Yes. And he would sit in that spot," Donnie runs the footage forward a bit, to where Leo is sitting against the now white wall, "because it's in a blind spot to the window."

Raph grimaces. "He didn't want them watching him."

"But it didn't matter," says Donnie, and he reaches over and taps the button to go to a new angle... and again... and again. "They have every inch of the room covered."

Raph's heart sinks. "Does he know?"

"Leo's not dumb," says Donnie, a magnanimous statement coming from him. "He knew they had to be watching him with cameras."

"But he still tried to hide..."

"He was doing whatever he had to to feel better," concludes Donnie.

Raph sighs. "I wonder if it worked."

Donnie clicks another button, and the video player closes. He swivels his chair to face Raph, his eyes shiny again.

"I don't want to watch anymore," he admits.

Raph nods. "I wouldn't want to, either."

"No, I mean... because he was trying to hide." Donnie rubs at his eyes again. "Maybe it is a little ironic for me to be saying this, but... it feels like it would be a privacy violation."

Raph turns that over. Maybe knowing what happened to Leo could help them. But what Donnie is saying feels more important.

He puts his hand on Donnie's shoulder, the part that's bare past his battleshell, and gives it a rub. "You love him and you don't want to hurt him," he concludes.

Donnie sniffles again, and then uncurls himself, putting his legs down on the ground. He doesn't have to do more than that for Raph to catch on, and Raph scoops Donnie up into a hug that is quickly returned.

"...I keep hurting him," Donnie admits, resting his head on Raph's shoulder. "I don't know how, but it keeps happening."

"...Yeah, well, join the club," says Raph sadly. He pats at Donnie's back. "Raph can't seem to say the right thing, either."

Donnie laughs miserably. "I thought getting him back would be the hard part. And then everything would go back to normal."

"Yeah..." Raph gives him a tight squeeze. "But you know what April said?"

"What?"

"That we'll do the hard part, 'cause we love him."

"Well, April is the only other smart one in this family," says Donnie, and Raph gives him a noogie with no actual pressure.

"Everything will be okay," he says. "Raph promises."

That seems to calm Donnie down. Raph just hopes he can actually keep it.

-----

It's his first night back in his room, and for the first time since escaping, Leo can't sleep.

He doesn't know why he can't. The sheets are the same as always. The dim lights from outside his subway car filter in through the windows the same as they used to. He's wearing his favorite pajamas, which have pants and long sleeves. The temperature is warm but not too hot. Conditions are perfect.

But he can't sleep.

At first he thought maybe it's because he's alone for the first time, but he doesn't think it's that. In fact, the idea of going to one of his brothers or his dad makes him feel even more exhausted. He loves them and he loves being around them, but he's had to work hard all day to not seem too weird. He caught himself chewing his spoon at lunch and had to stop. He paced the kitchen until Draxum gave the okay for him to have a snack. Mikey poked his head in while he was changing shirts earlier and he froze up, deer in the headlights. In the end, he went to the bathroom to change, because at least there aren't windows in there.

He's being weird, and trying to not be weird is taking all his energy.

So no. He's okay being alone right now. But something is still bothering him.

It's not the bed; he slept in the motel just fine. It's not the temperature, because they're making sure the lair stays nice and warm for him. And it's not the clothes, because the clothes are covering him up. And it's not the windows because it's not even like anyone is looking through them.

Right?

It's only then that Leo realizes he keeps staring out of them.

He tears his eyes away to look at the ceiling, taking deep breaths. What is he worried about? So what if the train car is full of windows? Who would even be looking at him? It's just his family outside, and if they need to talk to him they'll come in.

Besides, the windows are see-through. If someone were looking at him, he'd be able to see them.

Just to reassure himself of that, Leo looks around at all the windows again.

Yep. Still see-through. So it's fine. It's really not a big deal! No one is going to look through the windows at him here. No one is watching him. He's safe, and if he weren't, he would know, because he can see.

...Maybe he could hide under his bed.

Leo gives his head a hard shake. No. He is not going to hide under his bed, because that would be weird, and Leonardo Hamato is not weird.

Maybe he can just... put up some curtains in his room. Just, purely for aesthetic reasons. Yeah, that would look really cool. He could get some blue ones with some kind of sick design. Add some real originality to this place.

And then he could cover the windows and no one could look in unless he wanted them to.

Not that anyone is looking in, because he's home and he's safe and he's okay and he really wants to hide under his bed-

He takes deep breaths. His eyes land on the posters on the wall of the train car.

Maybe... maybe they would look better over the windows. Just... aesthetically.

He moves the posters to the windows of the train car, pressing hard to get the old tape to stick. It covers the immediate windows around his bed, but there are still others, and they're more in the dark, so Leo can't see who might be out there.

Not that anyone would be.

But if someone were, he wouldn't be able to know.

So he grabs towels next, and t-shirts, and anything he has lying around his room, and puts them on the bed. Then he sneaks to the kitchen to find a roll of masking tape.

It's not easy, but after about an hour he's managed to cover every window in the train car with something.

Just... a preview. For how sweet the curtains are going to look. And not for any weird reasons, like being scared.

Because he's not scared. He's home, and he's safe, and no one is watching him from outside the windows.

He lays down in bed and surveys his handwork. The room is even darker now, with every window covered, completely different from the stark ever-present light in that place.

It makes him feel safe and hidden.

No one can look in, and he's shielded by the dark.

(He has no idea how he's going to explain this tomorrow.)

But when he finally shuts his eyes, he sleeps like a baby.

-----

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (here) | Part 4 Part A

[holylulusworld]

Indecent Proposal (3)

Summary: Your boyfriend wants to be part of their empire. You are the pawn he’s willing to sacrifice.

Pairing: Mobster!Stucky x fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, language, shitty boyfriend, the reader doesn’t take shit from no one, tension, sexy mobsters, slow burn (kinda), talk about sex, horny mobsters, possessive mobsters

A/N: This is a shorter, interlude chapter. I wanted to go straight for the smut but decided against it because...I'm a tease :)

Indecent Proposal (2)

Indecent Proposal masterlist

In your youth, when you made a scrapbook for your future self, you never imagined ending up despising someone so much that you wished they were dead. It wasn’t in your plans that you end up between two mafia bosses who are about to kill your boyfriend.

“Do you want us to do it fast or slow?” Bucky nuzzles your cheek. He purrs your name, his intentions clear. “Name it, and we will do it.”

“I want him out of my life,” you sniff, and drop your gaze, “but…” You take a deep breath. “I don’t want to be responsible for his death. I can’t live knowing you killed him because of me.”

“Scott Lang will never come back to this town, and you’ll never hear from him,” Steve casually says as if it’s the most natural thing in the world to make people disappear. “If you don’t want us to kill him, he’ll live.”

You look away when Steve drags your now ex-boyfriend out of the room. Scott screams your name, begging you to take your words back.  You choke out a sob but don’t stop the mobster. Scott sold you to the mobsters without a second thought.

“He’ll never bug you again.”

“I don’t want him dead,” you lift your gaze to look at Bucky. “For tonight, I want to go home and…” You shake your head. “I can’t just…this is not how this will go. If you want me, you have to earn it. I’m not going to be a breeder.”

“You’re a lady after all,” you can hear the smirk in Bucky’s voice. It’s hard to ignore his piercing blue eyes, and the darkness in them. “I understand that you want to get to know us better before you go on your knees for me.”

You gasp at his crudeness. No man ever talked to you like this. “Maybe I want you to go on your knees for me first. I like me who can lick my pussy good.”

He flashes you a smirk and gives you a wink. You know better than falling for his charms and playfulness. Bucky is still one of the men holding your life in his hands.

“Aw, baby doll. Stevie and I can eat cunt for hours. If you are a good girl,” he says and cups your face with his metal hand, making you gasp, “I’ll let you ride my face one day.”

“Did you get started without me?” Steve walks back inside the room, as you try to find your voice. These men truly know how to make a woman nervous. “Just you know, my beard and face make a perfect throne for you, doll.”

“Stevie, she wants to get to know us before we go down and dirty,” Bucky whispers as runs his thumb over your cheek. The cool metal against your skin is a stark contrast to his fiery gaze. “Do we want to give her the chance to get to know us or do we want to have our way with her right here and now?”

“We are gentlemen, my love,” Steve runs his hand over Bucky’s back, making the mobster shudder. “Maybe she likes to watch.” The blonde flashes you a smile. “What do you say? Do you want to watch me taking Bucky apart? He makes the most beautiful noises for me.”

“I—”  You lick your dry lips. This must be a dream. The most beautiful men you ever saw fight for your attention and want to breed you. Even though you have to admit, that they are both scary as shit you can’t help but feel attracted to these men.

“Stevie don’t overwhelm her,” Bucky tuts. He brings you into his arms, shamelessly roaming your body with his hands. “Hmm…so soft and warm. I will love marking your body as mine.”

“Ours,” the blonde corrects. “We can’t let you go home, doll. You’ll only overthink things. How about you sleep in our guestroom? I promise nothing you don’t want will happen.”

You take a deep breath to calm your nerves. If you don’t stand up for yourself tonight, they will rule your life completely. “No,” you confidently say. “I will go home and think about everything happening tonight in the morning.”

“Doll,” Steve warns.

“You are allowed to drive me home, though,” you flash Steve a smile. “Gentlemen always make sure that their date comes home safely. Right?”

“Steve,” Bucky looks at his husband. Steve’s cheek twitches, just like his hands. He had other plans and now you want to go home. “It’s a great opportunity to have a look at her home. We can check on security and stuff.”

“Hmm…no good.” Steve pokes your window with his finger. “I could break into this death trap within two minutes or less.”

“Steve,” Bucky tries to stop his husband from throwing you over his shoulder to run away with you. For months, they have been watching you. Now that they finally got you in their clutches, Steve cannot wait to make you theirs completely. “Be nice.”

“Uh-the landlord just repaired the window, and I got a new lock,” you point out. The men are not convinced. Your small apartment cannot compare with their mansion, you know that. But watching them inspect your home makes you feel uneasy. “I know it’s not much, but it’s mine.”

“No, no, doll,” Steve turns his attention toward you, and away from the lock. “It’s a nice apartment. We know Scott didn’t help you pay for shit.”

“While you are here, we should talk about a few rules,” you try to sound confident. “No talking about Scott. Not now, not ever.”

“Noted, doll,” Bucky calls from inside your bedroom. He got bold and opened your drawer to look at your underwear. “Hmm…silk, cotton…oh…woo-hoo…”

“Hey! That’s…” You gasp as Bucky twirls an open-back lace panty around his finger. “I found the naughty stuff, Stevie. She will look so good wearing these only for us. I bet,” he licks his sinful lips as he throws the panties at his husband, “she’ll look even better wearing these while full of cock.”

“Buck, relax,” Steve laughs as he can see the prominent erection strain against Bucky’s pants. “Y/N wants to take things slow.”

“I want to know if I’m only going to be a body you can use or part of your life. If you want me to carry your child, give me more than dick…”

Tags in reblog.

[seraphimaa]

Doll for a day - Part 2

Soft(ish)!Raphael x fem!Tav x Haarlep

Raphael sets out the terms for his forgiveness. After all, it’s not nice to feel left out.

Or

Raphael makes her fuck his incubus in front of him and then tests her dedication.

Warnings: selfish idiots with feelings

PART 1

She can’t stop her face from cringing. It’s all the confirmation he needs and he falls into silence, processing. He is furious, yes, but he can’t help the faint relief that is flooding him. The board is still in play. Her mouth forms the shapes of letters but nothing seems to come out. She takes a breath, utters only the word, “leaving”, like he’s supposed to find reassurance in it, and turns to flop onto her stomach, beginning to drag herself by her arms towards the edge of the bed.

“No.” She feels his thighs clench to hold her own, the thick ropes of muscle halting her movement. Her face hits the silk and she lets herself simply collapse in defeat under the master of the house. “What the hells is wrong with you? You come into my house, look at my things, touch my things, fuck my things.” He’s spitting with rage the more he rambles and with every word she pushes her head further and further into the covers, half in an attempt to smother herself.

“Then you think you can just what? Scamper off? Tell me, Tav, is your sheer aptitude for being this insufferable nature, or nurture? Did somebody drop you on your head as an infant, or were you simply born this way?”

“Born...” Her words are barely comprehendible through the bedding. He grunts in acknowledgement and takes a break from frowning at the detailing in the wallpaper to look down at the fleshy heap. She looks pathetic and entirely resigned.

“And what, on all of the planes, were you ever hoping to achieve, pray tell?” Her shoulders shrug limply. “Hm.” He hums, unimpressed, and lets her stew in the silence until he hears her again, clearly desperate to move things along .

“No reason.”

“Oh thank goodness,” her ears perk at the happy tone, “I find so much comfort in knowing you would cause all of this chaos for no reason at all.” Never mind.

“And what did you plunder and soil?” He sniffs indignantly, “other than my sheets and incubus.”

He expects another short, mumbled response but instead he feels her begin to shake under him rhythmically. For a brief moment, he thinks she’s laughing like a maniac but then he hears her sobs.

Her head lifts just enough for her cries to ring clearly. “I’m sorry! Okay? I payed that lady to open the portal. I don’t know what I was thinking. I promise. I wasn’t going to touch anything, just look. Then I ended up here and you were here too and you were so nice but it wasn’t you but he looked so good and he felt so good and I didn’t want to stop, I couldn���t, I don’t know what I was thinking-I wasn’t thinking!” It all comes out in a jumble and her head flops down again as she shudders in another wave of sobs. Haarlep’s tail can be heard wagging against the sheets absently, only paying attention the indirect praise aimed his way.

For what feels like the hundredth time in one day, he heaves a massive sigh. It feels like an eternity that the scene drags on. Raphael ponders whether this is all a cruel, fated karma playing out. He considers what sins it were that landed him in the constant circus show that he appeared to ringlead daily. He looks at the three of them, on the bed, and thinks that they would fit perfectly on renaissance style painting. Haarlep is crouched with knees to the side, looking every part the demonic gargoyle of a creature that Raphael considers him to be, tail wagging in the air and looking very pleased with himself. His mouse is splayed dramatically on the bed like a tortured damsel, wailing and he is slumped in his own pose of enduring anguish. He considers giving her a further tongue wagging but she appears to be torturing herself just fine for now. Hells, you’d think she was the victim here.

Her sobs hiccup as she feels Raphael twist and rise from the bed. She cranes, terrified to see what kind of torture he is about to impose on her but her puffy, wet face is met with the curve of his bare spine and hips as he strides to the desk against right wall. She definitely doesn’t look at the jiggle of fat on his ass as he stomps over and throws himself back into the chair. She definitely doesn’t look anywhere in particular as he reclines back, neck craned at a sharp angle over the back of the oak. His eyes snap to hers, and he crosses his legs with a frown, and she averts her gaze to the wall beside his head for no related reason. He tears open a drawer and brings out a dusty bottle of vintage. He busies himself with uncorking the bottle, and pulls out a glass. He fills it without any grace, almost overflowing the rim then knocks it back, taking his time before he swallows it down. She’s tempted to ask him what comes next but the withering look he shoots her way as she intakes air to begin makes the words die on her tongue. She swallows with an awkward nod and settles her face back into the covers. She is good at ruminating and wallowing. This is fine. Even the incubus seems to pick up on the sudden lack of energy in the room and he flops back wriggling around, fluttering his wings and swishing his tail, as he gets into a comfortable position. His leg thumps her own and he whines until she shuffles over, half hanging over the edge. He mimics the brooding duo and lets out a sigh, his own airy and perfectly content.

Raphael is surprisingly the first to break the peace.

“Why did you sleep with it?”

There’s hesitation in his tone, almost like he couldn’t decide if he truly wants the answer. She is completely caught off guard and lifts her head after some thought, enough to respond but not enough to have to face him as as she does.

“It was just a really bad mistake.”

Haarlep seems to take offence to this, his tail whipping her leg as it beats back and fourth in protest but he stays silent, intent on listening to this play out.

“No,” his tone is wary but he speaks like this is something important to him, “you knew the risk. As much as you would like to galavant through life like a court jester, you are smart. What was it exactly that made you decide to take that miscalculated risk?”

“I don’t know! I was, I was just…” She seems to sway between deflection and truth but eventually finds her answer.

“I was just desperate.” He cocks an eyebrow as if deciding on how to perceive her words but when her face emerges pink and swollen from the sheets, intense and ugly, altogether striking, he sees the burning honestly. “Really desperate.”

“Excuse me!” Haarlep cranes to look at her, wings flaring, entirely offended. He is not reading the silent layers of communication happening amongst the rude guests of in his little sanctuary. “And just what, exactly, are you trying to imply? Don’t act like I didn’t have you mewling happy as a kitten, eyes crossed in bliss as you bounced yourself around dumb and drunk on my cock. Don’t act like you didn’t throw yourself at the chance to come undone under me, specifically. You said that you needed him, me, raw and undiluted. No rude lies on my bed, please.” It is the first time, in the short span they’d shared together, that she’d seen the fiend seem truly displeased. They both pointedly ignore his bruised ego and the implications of his words.

“And what was it, exactly, you were so desperate for?” She gives a small shake of her head in protest of what he is trying to drag out of here.

“I just wanted to be touched.”

“Then you would have gone to the brothel. Try again.”

“I wanted to be touched by someone who I knew.”

“Then you would have crawled your way into the tent of one of your willing companions long ago, I’m sure. I’m tired, little mouse.” She builds her courage enough to glance at him through damp lashes and he really is slumped in utter defeat. He’s nursing a new glass, and his face has never looked so tired. It feels violating to witness him like this, even more so than seeing him naked ever had. he takes in her face, full of fear and pain. She looks like saying it might break her, like it’s the last thing she wants to do. She looks at him like he is cruel, and she is begging him to spare her. His face hardens and he drains the last in his glass, not hesitating to empty the bottle in its place.

“I..” he trails off, before shaking his head and standing up, throwing his hand out dismissively.

“Forget I said anything. Go. Get dressed. I’ll organise a portal out.” She openly balks at him. “But what about-“ he doesn’t wait for her to finish.

“Please. You’ve done enough. Spare both our dignities any further blows for one day and just go.” He falls back into his chair, tapping his finger on the desk impatiently, staring into the liquid crimson in his hand. She swings herself up, sitting with her back to him and she is glad for the fact because once again, to her frustration, her eyes blur with tears. She feels like everything is crashing down upon her and the reality of the day is setting in, finally. This is unfixable. She’d taken a running jump over every boundary they constructed and respected until now. It was like a game. The flirting, the teasing, the goading. It was relentless, but they both played by the same unspoken rules. They were both smarter than to fall for the words the other spun. It had felt, in a way, safe. But she isn’t smart. Somewhere along the way she’d come to anticipate their next encounter. She felt a flutter in her stomach when he smiled down at her, so dashing and smug. She played their conversations over and over again when alone, trying to spy a crack in his performance, a subtle sign that he harboured his own strange fondness for her. She’d replaced the face of the imaginary companion with his when he brought herself to completion late at night. If she leaves now, there’s no going back. She decides to speak before she can change her mind. If she walks away then he’d take this as her final answer. It would mean whatever they had would be over.

“No.” She stands from the bed. She ignores the withering look she shoots her and strides around the bed. “I’m not going. You can’t make me.” He is close to reminding her that this is very much not the case but she keeps coming closer, stopping when her legs bump his knees and suddenly her hand is around the glass, brushing his, as she pulls it from his grip and tips it back. The liquid seeps around the seam and drizzles down her chin, falling and painting her nude frame. She finishes it with a gasp and sets it back into the desk, he holds his breath as she leans over him but she keeps her gaze detached from his. She plonks herself onto the bed, facing him.

“I was desperate for you. I just wanted you. I couldn’t have it so I took what I could. Im a greedy, selfish, depraved asshole and I know I really messed everything up but you can’t just send me away. You have to forgive me. I’m not leaving here until you forgive me. I’ll stay right here, as long as it takes, but you have to tell me what it is that I need to do. Please, Raphael, how do I fix it?”

She begins so doubt herself the longer he remains catatonic and brooding but at last he humours her.

“You’ve found a way to rewind time, my sweet little fool?” She shakes her head but isn’t willing to give up now that she had his attention.

“Without hindsight I’d have done it again, to be honest. Something else. Realistic, maybe.” She’s slowly gaining back that deplorable attitude and confidence.

“Watch your mouth, mouse. Remember exactly what has landed you here. If you want my forgiveness then I should know exactly what I am forgiving.” She quirks a brow at this, feeling an uneasy flutter at the way his face morphs to a determined smile, as if setting a challenge he expects her to fail.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Well,” he crosses one leg over the other and his posture is creeping back into its usual confidence, “how could I ever forgive you when you went behind my back and now, when asked to simply take responsibility and admit to everything, you wail like a bairn. One would be led to believe that it was your form that had been violated so rudely from across the planes from all this hysteria. It’s madness.” They glare at each other as he lays his condition before her.

“I need to even the playing field, Tav. Any embarrassment you have caused me will be returned tenfold. You see, I’m starting to feel rather left out. Like the only one not in on your little joke. You will show me as everything that happened after you entered this room. Your recreation must be convincing enough to make me believe the words you say and you will show me every detail of how it happened.”

He watches as she rises at once with a yelp.

“I’m sorry, you want me to do what?”

“Haarlep does love to put on a show. Quite the performer. All you need to do is read the lines as they were written. You should be familiar with them as you did write them yourself, did you not?” Haarlep lets out a happy sound behind her. She falls to her knees, reaching for his legs.

“Please. Eternal torture, death, anything but this.”

His foot kicks to smack her beggar hands away.

“Oh feeling embarrassed? Humiliated? Violated? My, my, mouse, quite a turn of a tables, is it not?”

She glares up and tries to feign dignity as she clambers back onto her feet.

“And if I do it then everything will go back to normal? Forgiven and forgotten.” He considers her phrasing.

“Forgiven? Why of course. I am a man of my word after all.” She puffs herself up and turns, making her way to behind the pool partition. She emerges from the far side, walking in an unintentionally exaggerated manner, every single movement screaming discomfort. She gasps loudly in surprise at the incubus on the bed, lounging back in character.

“Gracious, Raphael, your buxom bosom is exposed to the elements.” She raises her hand to her forehead, feigning as if to faint at the sight. It draws a giggle from Haarlep and a groan from Raphael. Can’t please everyone, she supposes.

“That’s strike one. On the third I’ll drop you into the middle of the sea with a snap of my fingers. I swear it.” She gawks at him as he sneers at her, entirely unimpressed. He was definitely not in the mood.

At his instruction, she begins the scene agin, from the top. This time she echos her words, verbatim.

“Ah, Raphael! Why…are you dressed like that?” She was not born for the stage, but it will do. Haarlep is bristling with excitement as he begins his part of the act. Ah, Roleplay! How exciting!

“My, my. Is that a little mouse skittering through my house?” His grin is as devilish as she remembers it. “How very naughty. Come to serve yourself to the cat? What a surprising course of events indeed.” She studies him as she recites his greeting to her just as he had.

“You’re not Raphael. You look different. Younger. Who are you really?” Haarlep smirks.

“I’m impressed. Very perceptive of you, indeed.” He raises onto his knees, legs spread and muscles rippling as he balances his weight. His abdomen is adorned with keratin ridges leading and pointing down to-no. She wasn’t looking there. She had, but she will safeguard the shreds remaining of her dignity where she can. He doesn’t have to know that.

“My name is Haarlep. You’d do well to remember it for you may just find me drawing it from your lips, like prayer. Very soon.” His hands are spread wide, inviting her to bask in his form. He look like he’s carved from scarlet marble. Like an angel. She instantly remembers exactly how she’d fallen to ruin to quickly. He’s so convincing that she almost forgets that she hasn’t really been taken back to that moment. She does not have to fake the way she freezes under charm of the incubus.

“The master must attend to business. I’m afraid he’s currently buried so deep into his work. You should know that he likes to finish very quickly.”

Raphael grunts, storing this for when he next wanted to berate the demon spawn. Haarlep breaks character to throw a glare over his shoulder.

“What? You said to recreate it exactly.”

“Shut up, Harlot.” He sighs, waving his hand. “Continue.”

The incubus’s gaze is instantly locked back onto hers as he resumes his act and again, he drinks her in. it’s like everything else in the room disappears.

“How lucky you are little mouse. He should not be back for quite some time. You’re all alone with me.” She holds her ground, as dangerous as he looks when he falls onto his hands and begins to prowl towards her. “I propose a little game. One I simply insist you must play before you go. If you don’t, well then I’d just have to assume we’re not friends. If were not friends then you’d be intruding and I would simply have to tell.” Haarlep, and reaches to grab her hands, giving them a light squeeze. She’d looked so scared the first time.

“Come on. I promise it’s not a mean game. I won’t make you do anything bad. I promise. Trust me. Play with me.” His smile is so sweet and gentle that she melts all over again.

“O-ok.”

“Oh goodie! Here are the rules. I ask you one question. Just one! You must tell me the truth. I will know if you lie to me. That’s all.” She frowns, not believing that it could be so easy.

“Oh come now. I won’t tell a soul. Nobody will ever know. It’ll be our little secret. I promise.” She nods and the breath leaves her as the incubus surges towards her. She doesn’t flinch this time, as his face brushes hers. Instead of going for the kiss he teases near her open mouth, he presses his lips to her ear, hissing his question.

“Do you want to fuck me?”

As she had before, she turns, locking eyes with the sultry, demonic slits. Their faces touch from proximity. True to her actions, instead of answering aloud, she closes the distance. She’d been so lost in the spell he must have cast on her when they’d met. There was no other explanation for why she’d been so overcome. But then, why was she feeling it all over again?

The incubus sighs against her mouth as their tongues dance and she’s pulled on top of him. He had undressed her as she lapped the venom straight from his mouth but they are both already naked this time. She grinds and squirms on top of him as the venom begins to seep straight to her head and loins. A heat spreads through her abdomen, hot as coals, and she can feel the trial she’s drooling onto his hard abdomen as she grinds against the rough, leathery skin. The room spins and that drunk feeling washes over her all over again.

She almost forgets that they are not alone, so focussed on the forked tip of his tongue playing with hers and the friction his scaled body is offering. He flips them around and it makes her stomach clench as he pins her below himself. She pants as he pulls away from her, desperately trying to catch her breath and ground herself in reality. Her eyes open and her stomach flops again when she sees Raphael, watching her intently, upside down. Their eyes lock and his lips part slightly as he looks down at her. wild and flushed, completely under the effects of the tainted saliva.

Haarlep fills her view again, coming back down to capture her lips. His hands brush her, his fingers curling though her hair as his thumbs dance over her cheeks. He cradles her face, joining them once more. His hands trail down, one travelling her collar bone and down her arm. It captures her hand in his. The other trails from her collar bone, fingers teasing against the fat of her breast as it tickles down and comes to caress the hardened bud. She whines into the kiss as the smouldering heat flickers to burning and another wave of slick dools from her. His fingers pinch and flick as she grinds and thrusts up at him, desperate for more. She needs to be closer. She needs him inside. He growls a laugh as his hips slam back on top of hers, pinning her to the mattress. Gods, now she understands how they ruined the sheets.

“What an enthusiastic answer, little mouse. Have you been waiting for this? To feel me on top of you?” The first time he’d asked she’d been completely taken by the fantasy that he really was Raphael but now, she was absently aware of his presence elsewhere. His hand tails down the curve of her stomach, toying at the mound of her push, not quite close enough to where she needed it. Now he was truly Haarlep in her eyes and she burned for him all the same.

“Say it. Say that you’re desperate for me. Admit now that I was the only one that you wanted when you came here, that you wouldn’t have done this for any other. I won’t touch you again until you take back your cruel words from before.” She lets out a yelp, squirming with fury and glaring daggers into his beautiful face.

“You didn’t say that!” The incubus giggles and raises his eyebrows, waiting.

“Strike two. Last warning.”

“WHAT? That was him!”

“At least he stayed in character.”

The incubus is all shades of smug, tail wagging.

“Ugh. Fine.” A finger dipping just a breath from her clit drags her back into under his spell and he hums in anticipation.

“Yes,” she chokes, “I only wanted you. I only needed you. I just want you to want me too.” The words pull a hiss from the cambion who can’t deny himself the sincerity, for once, he hears in her voice and knows that her words are for no other than himself. Haarlep hums again, pleased. His finger rewards her, brushing over her clit and her hips jump as she gasps. He giggles again, and squeezes down on her hand. His finger circles around before dipping between the soaked, swollen lips. She quakes and sings out so sweetly as the incubus works to undo her. Raphael’s hand wanders like an independent entity over his clenched thigh, until it finally comes to rest on his groin, fingers ghosting at the base of his hardening length. He watches the flashes of her pleasure revealed to him through the flapping cocoon of wings curled over her. His hand, not by his own volition wraps around himself and he hisses again. His mind is plagued by the memory of how tight and wetly she’d wrapped around him and his hand feels like a pitiful substitute. Nevertheless, he finds his it working slowly, squeezing up and down his weeping cock. His sighs are lost in the chorus of the two menaces on his bed, singing so beautifully.

“My, my. Don’t you two play nicely together. I can see that any worries I may have had that this was a one sided encounter were truly misguided. It seems you both posses no higher rational thinking than the drive of your genitals. I can see why you two get along so well now. It makes perfect sense.” He’s talking more to himself than anyone else but his cock throbs at the whimper it pulls from her anyway. She comes back to her senses enough to realise that she has not yet given Haarlep any attention, too completely lost in the endless throes of pleasure he was wracking upon her. Her hand comes down and wraps around his length, pumping it with desperation, eager to make him feel nearly as good as he did her. The incubus keens and grins into the crook of her neck. He feels the spark of ecstasy from his master as his hips jerk from the seat at the ghost of her touch. His master is already worn out tonight. His hand comes to wrap around hers, halting its motion.

“Ah, ah, mouse. I think we might need to improvise. Wouldn’t want the show to finish before scheduled.” She tries to understand the implications of his words as he flips her over, pulling her ass high into the air. Her eyes are closed as she feels the fiend position behind her and she waves her rump through the air, drunkly whining at the lack of attention. Her eyes shoot open, mouth falling slack as for the third time that night, the shape of Raphael’s cock slides without warning inside of her. Her vision is filled with the man in question, teeth clenched as he takes the sight of them in, cock in trembling hand.

The incubus rocks his hips without urgency. She moans, long and low, with every drag his cock as it carves and stretches her walls around it. One hand is driving into her spine, bending her up and onto him while the other wraps around her hair, pulling her head up and exposing her fully to his master. she’s pulled up and back. He bounces her, leaning back to let her land onto his upturned hips with a wet smacks. She squeals his name, shrill and pitchy.

“Fu-fuck! Haarlep!” He groans in satisfaction, wings fluttering at the sound of his name on the lips of another. For all that he screams inside to just ruin her and drive her into the mattress like last time, he’s not prepared to meet Raphael’s fury if he embarrasses him now. He keeps the pace lazy and controlled, watching the other fiend intensely and reading his pleasure for the signs that he was getting too close. It is like wrestling a feral cat, trying to hold her still and stop her from throwing herself back onto his length without abandon.

Raphael seems to recognise his nearing end as he lets go of himself entirely, gripping the arms of his chair until his knuckles pale.

His voice is strained and gritty as he needles her one last time.

“You know I’m entirely unimpressed. You were so adamant that you wanted me but but it seems you’re able and willing to do little more than bounce on my incubus. It looks like maybe are just desperate, after all. Perhaps I was wrong, you will just throw yourself on any willing cock that asks nicely. how disappointing.”

She hates his stupid, condescending sneer and all at once, she has kicked and fought her way free of the now whining and complaining incubus and is clambering toward the edge. She throws herself from the bed, landing on the floor and crawls like a possessed person to his feet. Her face has an intensity to it that makes even him pause as she bares her teeth and howls in rage.

“Fuck you!”

She’s on top of him now, her hands in his hair, and his scalp burns as she yanks his head backwards.

“I wanted you! You never gave me anything!”

She spears him into her, feeling him shudder.

“You’re all I ever wanted! You’re the only person who makes me cum. You’re the only person I trust. I hate you.”

She’s riding him hard, throwing her weight into every thrust that brings her cunt to press on his pelvis.

“I fucked your incubus. You fucked me. Now I’m fucking you. Everyone can just get fucked!” He would usually be disgusted in her uncivilised language but holy shit, he’s never been so turned on. She is terrifying, and hysterical, and she looks like a queen as she rides.

“You’ve tried to humiliate me but guess what? It didn’t work. It didn’t work because I know you feel the same, don’t you? Am I the one that makes you cum too? You’re just as pathetic as me.“ He’s choking on a moan as she bring her face over his, staring down his eyes and breath venting across his neck.

“I did your fucking deal. You forgive me now. You ever want to get fucked like this, until you can’t feel your own cock, again? Then you cum for me right now and prove right now that you’re no better than me.” He wants to be angry, and hateful. To shove her off and smite her into the depths of hell but instead he flops backwards, body quaking and shuddering as he releases inside of her, her own orgasm milking his seed from him as she screams and collapses onto him.

They stare at each other, panting and trying to find their breath. She leans closer and for a terrifying second, he thinks she is going to kiss him. She doesn’t. She pushes herself up and brings herself to stand on shaking legs. The room is silent as she redresses. When she is done, she turns to look at Raphael expectantly. With a snap of his fingers a swirling portal forms before her. She pauses before disappearing through. She looks to the incubus, reclined back on the bed and gives him a small awkward wave.

“It was nice to meet you?” It’s asked like a question. He nods enthusiastically and waves back with a smile.

“Do come back! It’s been so long since I’ve had a friend! Ta ta now, little mouse.”

She looks to the cambion still flopped in the chair. He is back to his absent brooding. She opens her mouth to say goodbye, maybe apologise, maybe ask what the hells all of that means, but a pointed look tells her that she has done enough and now it is time to go. Happy to avoid the confrontation that awaits them at some point on the inevitable future, she simply gives him a nod and disappears from his home. Peace, at last.

“Well,” the incubus rises with a stretch and makes his way to the heated water of the pool, “wasn’t that just a delight. Do you think she’ll come back at some point? I really could use a play mate, you know.” Raphael again, ignores the ramblings of the lesser fiend and rises to leave. He needs his own bath and the sweet embrace of sleep. He most definitely did not have the energy to deal with the little demon right now. Before leaving the boundary of the room, he half turns to address the incubus.

“I was wondering, did you happen to-“

“Yep. I obviously wasn’t going to let her go without a little payment.” The voice of his little mouse echos from the steaming water with a laugh, like chiming bells.

“Good. Good job, Haarlep.”

He hears an excited intake of air at his praise and takes his leave.

“Get Korrilla to deal with the sheets before tomorrow. I don’t wish to be disturbed again tonight.”

He has forgiven his little mouse, as promised. That did not mean he was near ready to forget. There was no way she would keep herself from him now. Not when he was so eager to explore his new toy in the days to come.

Hello! I hope you liked it! It’s the longest thing I’ve posted and I’m terrified that it was a let down after the first part. Please lmk what you think, I welcome discussion and feedback. This was meant to be a softer, lighter take on Raphael, haarlep, and their mouse but I hope I still somewhat made them likeable and recognisable.

Also, poor Korrilla.

[sleepyconfusedpotato]

🌹Some Thoughts on Inserting Jade in MWIII 👀🌹

⚠️ MWIII Spoilers ⚠️

Because I'm so damn devastated and angst driven here's what I cranked up for Jade's role in MWIII! (aka I can't sleep because of the angst and decided to write this instead)

Version 1

Jade stayed in London throughout all the events of MWIII because she's retired (and of course, she earned this peace). When the news of the airplane crash and the attack on Arklov military base went to the news, she was wondering what happened, but chose to stay home as she promised her parents that she won't go anymore.

After the events of Trojan Horse, Ghost showed up in front of her floristry in the middle of the night, all broody and seemed... crestfallen. As Jade invited her to her house, she started.

"Simon. You're home! Why didn't you tell me? What's wro--" Her words got cut off by him suddenly hugging her. She wanted to ask what happened before he let out a sniff, close to a sob.

Jade thought it must've been a rough mission (every mission he goes to is, but to have him crying like this meant something terrible had happened), so she only rubbed his back, giving him time to collect himself. However, when his sobs only grew as time went by, Jade had to ask him.

"Simon. Tell me what happened, please."

"Johnny... Johnny's gone." Ghost voice shook as he clasped his hands harder to her back, wrinkling her shirt.

Upon hearing the news, her heart felt like it was being pierced a thousand times, leaving an empty hole. The young, brave Scot who's grown to be both her and Ghost's closest friend, gone, just like that.

"Oh... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Simon. I'm so sorry." As tears quickly ran down her cheeks, she rubbed Ghost's back firmly now, she could only wonder what happened, not wanting to pry too much from him.

***

Jade went to Scotland to let go of Soap's ashes, standing behind Price, Gaz, and Ghost to give them their time, even with tears running down her cheek. As Price and Gaz went, Jade approached Ghost near the cliff, before putting a bunch of lilies and chrysanthemums on the ground.

"Fly high, Soap."

Version 2

Ghost had told Jade that he's going on a mission with the 141. Jade hugged Ghost before he went and said, "Come back in one piece, alright?" "Count on that."

And then, when the news of Makarov finally got to Price and the boys, they turned around and immediately changed mission. Ghost opened his phone to contact Jade, but he decided against it, because if he told her that Makarov's out, Jade will absolutely ask Laswell to count her in. So Ghost didn't tell her that he's going on an entirely different mission, a dangerous one.

***

Laswell was alone with her laptop working on the intel General Shepherd gave to them regarding Milena Romanova, when Ghost approached her from behind and called her name.

"Laswell. What are you doing?"

"Ghost. I'm in the process of confirming the intel we have from Shepherd."

"And?" He pried for more.

"...I'm scrolling through my contacts to add our firepower. Makarov moves fast, so we need someone who can think and moves fast."

"Don't you dare tell her to come here."

"You know this is a matter of international emergency. She's one of the best contacts I have. You saw how perceptive she is and how helpful she was in your time in Las Almas. Makarov has stolen American missiles from ULF, caused false flag missile attacks on Russian Military base, and successfully orchestrated a false airplane hijacking, all under ULF's name - everything in the span of 36 hours. We need her, Ghost."

"She's retired. Laswell."

"And the world is on the brink of a large-scale war."

"And she has no part in this. Lottie's not coming here and that's final."

***

As the news of the airplane crash + the gas attack on Arklov Military Base went international, Jade obviously picked up on it, absolutely not believing that it was done by "an Urzikstani who got inspired by Commander Farah Karim". She did her own research with the help of her parents' contacts and connections to MI6, finally catching the news of Makarov's ousting from his prison.

After knowing this, Jade immediately contacted Laswell.

"Kate, where on earth is Ghost and the others."

***

She joined the missions with the 141 boys, particularly the ones with Ghost in it, including the Oligarch, Frozen Tundra, and Gora Dam.

And AS USUAL FUCK CANON. HERE'S THE ALTERNATE ENDING I DON'T CARE.

When Soap and Price was trying to defuse the bomb, Jade was there to cover them from the Konni's rain of bullets. When Makarov approached Soap from behind to stop him from defusing the bomb, Jade rushed to Makarov and tackled him to the ground and got shot on the shoulders, but not without Ghost and Gaz injuring Makarov in the process. The bomb is successfully defused. Mak ran away and Price and Soap wanted to chase him before the bullet train stopped them in their tracks.

Ghost cradled her as Soap and Gaz applied first aid on her bleeding shoulders. Ghost shouted,

"Lottie. Stay with me, alright. It's nothing. Just stay awake."

Price shouted to the comms asking for medic before Ghost carried Jade bridal style and hauled her ass through the tunnel and exit. The ambulance was there when they got out, and Ghost put her on the bed where the medics got to work on her.

He waited for Jade in the hospital as she came to her consciousness. The boys came to visit along with her parents who stared at them with devilish eyes, but also grateful for protecting her and giving the first aid.

EVERYONE IS ALIVE AND HAPPY OKAY

Or ---

Ghost cradled her as Soap and Gaz applied first aid on her bleeding shoulders. Ghost shouted,

"Lottie. Stay with me, alright. It's nothing. Just stay awake."

"I am, I am! I'm good, just let me take a breather for a second. Fuck it hurts."

She can walk but of course Ghost carried her bridal style UWU and EVERYONE'S FUCKING ALIVE LET'S GO.

AAAAFJJSDHJAGDHSJHDHSJJDH

---

So that was my brain vomit at midnight yesterday. Which version do you like the most? Leave some thoughts!

Thank you for reading and hope you like it...? (〒▽〒)

[ellie-24]

Just A Fan Part 2

Idk why this took so long! I have no excuse! Here's part two for those who are still interested.

You might want to catch up on Part 1, it's really been a while. Sorry again!

And, once again, just very self indulgent fluff ahead! Also, this is a response to the writing prompt "Elvis in a car"

Word count: 4.1 k

March 24th 1977, Amarillo Civic Center, TX

Cara let out a watery laugh, her cheeks already hurting from smiling so much and quickly wiped away the tear that rolled over her cheek, trying to regain her composure. Not even five minutes had passed since he got on stage and she already felt a nervous breakdown approaching, just being in the same room as him was enough for that to happen.

The zipper of the Arabian jumpsuit he wore was pulled dangerously low, offering her a wonderful view of his hairy chest and belly. She wasn't the only one having a hard time controlling her emotions though, the whole auditorium buzzed with excitement, shrill screeching filled the air and a woman behind her just straight up sobbed hysterically at the sight of him. Cara would lie if she said she didn't do the same thing when she saw him live for the first time though.

She quickly focused back on Elvis after taking a deep breath. With a heavy heart she noticed that he didn't look too well. Although the nearly blinding spotlights made it a bit hard to see his face - she wondered how he even navigated on stage with the bright light probably blurring his vision - she could tell there were heavy bags under his eyes. He also sounded rather tired when he sang, often slurring the words and carrying a piece of paper with him, explaining that he didn't know the words to every song.

His behaviour was very different from the easy-going and relaxed man she met in Hawaii. There was such a lightness and ease about him then, something she didn't see right now. The exhaustion was written all over his face and showed in his at times almost sluggish movements. Cara was convinced that the vacation would give him some well-deserved rest and some fresh energy, but apparently, she'd been wrong.

Still, he powered through it, eager to give a good performance despite the circumstances. Suddenly she felt very thankful for the over-enthusiastic fans around her. He seemed to appreciate the audience's positive reactions, his mood evidently improving with the heavy applause and cheering. His smiles got wider and more genuine as he started engaging more and more with the crowd.

Cara quickly scrambled to the front, her entire body tingling with nerves and excitement. He stood up straight again after handing out some scarves to a few crying women a few feet away from her. With anticipation written all over her face, she watched as he leisurely strolled in her general direction.

But would he remember her? It's only been about two weeks since their encounter in Hawaii and, after all, he's had it specifically arranged for her to come after promising her a scarf at one of his shows. But he was Elvis Presley, the number of people he must've already met, the number of fans, it's probably impossible to keep track of everyone.

And Cara wasn't entirely sure if she'd really stand out from that crowd. Or any crowd, for that matter. The prospect that he may have actually forgotten about her hurt, and her face fell for a moment. The uncomfortable feeling only increased when his eyes quickly flitted past her, not even acknowledging her. She forced herself to take a deep breath and told herself she wouldn't hold it against him if he didn't recognise her. Just being here was more than enough.

Elvis let out a small laugh at something Charlie said to him and accepted the cup of coke he was holding out for him with a sniff. After letting out a low whistle he took a sip and used the scarf that was wrapped around his neck to wipe away some of the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. A brunette woman next to Cara suddenly started yelling frantically, asking him to let her have the cup he still held in his hand.

He pretended to look confused for a second, raising one cocky eyebrow at her. "I'm not wearing one, honey." He then joked. More scarves and also occasional kisses were given out to lucky fans and she got more and more impatient. She called out his name a few times, hoping he'd notice her. Eventually, his eyes landed on her and he approached her with a wide grin.

"Hey there, sweetheart." He drawled as he leaned down and wrapped the scarf around her neck, using it to pull her closer to him. Cara gasped as she was suddenly pulled forward and stood on her tiptoes in an effort to make herself as tall as possible so he wouldn't have to crouch down as much. Watching him bend down the whole time made her own back hurt and she was a good twenty years younger than him. His lips felt just like she remembered them, soft and warm and she had a hard time resisting the urge to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him down, on top of her.

Elvis pulled away from her and turned around, walking away again. But then he suddenly whipped his head around with a playful smile. He cocked his eyebrow at her and jokingly narrowed his eyes at her before doing an exaggerated double take. His ring-clad finger pointed accusingly at her, looking like he was warning her. Warning her not to pass out. A wide grin spread on her face when she realised that he did remember her. He winked at her when he saw her euphoric expression and there was this mutual understanding between them once again.

His eyes found hers every now and then throughout the rest of the concert. Gauging her reaction whenever he hit a note especially well or joked around, cracking himself up or playfully bantered with members of the band. Giving her a mischievous glance before moving his hips or jiggling his leg in the way he knew made everyone lose their minds. It made her heart flutter every time.

He's just performed a few gospel numbers and now the opening notes to How Great Thou Art started playing when somebody lightly tapped her shoulder. "Miss?" A man's voice sounded next to her, making her whirl around.

She squinted at him, her eyes flashing with recognition, though she couldn't quite place him. She's definitely seen him before. He stepped a bit closer before speaking up again. "Miss, you're gonna want to come along now before the big rush."

She blinked and inclined her head, not sure if she heard him right, only half listening to him anyway, as Elvis was currently performing one of her favourites. It quite bothered her that he just started talking to her while he was singing. She also found it rather rude that he wouldn't introduce himself. "Huh?"

"Come on now." He insisted, his tone laced with an urgency she didn't quite understand.

"But-" She backed up a little and looked back up at the stage, confused and not wanting to let her idol out of her sight.

"Boss said so." He nodded towards the stage. In that moment it suddenly clicked that the man standing in front of her was Joe Esposito, she'd also seen him in Hawaii as part of Elvis' entourage. Her eyes went wide, not quite daring to think about the implications.

"What?" She asked again, the question not even necessarily directed towards him.

He sighed and once again motioned for her to get moving. "Damn girl, just come along, boss wants to see ya. He asked me to bring you to the car."

"Uh-"

Elvis wants to see her. He asked for her. How does one process this information exactly?

"But-" she weakly gestured towards the stage, wanting him to understand that she wanted to watch the show until the very end.

"It'll be easier if I bring you the car now."

"Elvis asked for me?" She asked, wanting some clarification from him again.

Joe let out an exasperated sigh and nodded, beginning to look rather annoyed.

The prospect of talking to Elvis in a few minutes prompted her to finally agree, though it also made her feel kind of lightheaded again. "Okay."

He nodded with a curt "Thanks" and turned around, indicating with a wave of his hand that she was supposed to follow him.

She started trotting behind Joe as he made his way through the crowd. At one point she was sure she heard him mutter something under his breath about not wanting to deal with Elvis' bad mood tonight, making her frown.

Joe eventually opened the back door for her, the chilly night air a stark contrast to the almost sweltering heat in the auditorium. She looked down at herself, inwardly cursing the outfit she chose. She wore the same sundress she'd worn when they first met in Hawaii. It served both a practical purpose, increasing the chance that he'd recognise her, but also a symbolic one.

That's at least what she told herself over and over when she realised March in Texas just wasn't the same as March in Hawaii. You wear something that's not weather-appropriate, you pay the price, simple as that. But the relatively simple concept of causality seemed way too complicated when her mind was utterly preoccupied with a single thing. A single man in fact.

She was grateful when Joe ushered her into the car, the plush cushion of the backseat feeling grounding against the back of her thighs. Everything seemed to happen in a blur as she was still wondering what the hell was happening right now. Elvis wants to see her.

It was eerily quiet in the car after all the screaming - her own and everyone else's - and her ears were ringing as she expectedly looked through the tinted glass towards the back door from which he'd emerge any second now. In an attempt to look a bit more presentable, she ran her fingers through her hair, trying to untangle some of the knots that got there from jumping up and down for nearly two hours.

A few more minutes passed, her heart nearly beating out of her ribcage as she waited, until the door opened and his unmistakable silhouette was rushed over to the car, the white, glittery jumpsuit standing out in the darkness of the back alley. Cara sucked in a breath when she heard his wonderful voice.

"What do we have here? The pretty little girl from the front row just sitting there, waiting for me. What a sweet surprise, I'm a lucky man." He whistled jokingly as if he really hadn't expected her to be there, even though he obviously sent someone out to get her.

He'd barely gotten fully inside the car and she already moved to clutch his arm in a tight grip, unable to stop herself. "Elvis! Oh my god, you were incredible, thank you for letting me be here. Oh my god, I don't even know-"

He chuckled and cupped her burning cheek with his big hand. "Shush, darlin' take a breath, it's okay. Thank you."

Cara nodded and did as he told her. "What am I doing here?" She then blurted out. Elvis wanted to see her. No, she still hasn't processed this information. And now he's here, just casually sitting next to her while she was a shaking mess.

He shook his head in a good-natured way and looked her up and down before gesturing towards her, ignoring her question. "Baby, whatchu even wearin'? I-I mean it looks real pretty, honey, but you'll catch your death in that."

Cara blinked and lowered her gaze, pulling her dress down in an attempt to hide the goosebumps on her legs. That still didn't help to conceal the very evident goosebumps on her arms though. "I didn't think this through, did I?" She muttered, still breathless. A small blush rose on her cheeks as she weakly hugged herself.

He let out a small laugh at her silliness and reached out to run his warm hand over her forearm, causing another shiver to go through her body. His eyes twinkled gleefully and she could see the dimples in his soft cheeks as he smiled. God, he looked so handsome. "And ya didn't even bring a jacket?"

"Forgot it at the hotel." She shrugged with a shy smile. Truth is she would've forgotten her head if it wasn't attached to her body due to her nerves going crazy all day, anticipation the only thing occupying her mind for the past few weeks.

He playfully clicked his tongue and raised his eyebrow at her before reaching next to him, pulling at a big piece of fabric. "Gonna break ya teeth will all that chattering and shaking." He muttered as he draped his coat over her shoulders. "Better, little one?"

It took her a few seconds to answer his question. The only thing on her mind was that the heavy coat smelled exactly like him. She only wished he would've worn it before, so his warmth would surround her as well. It was big enough that she could use it as a blanket and she wiggled around in her seat, pulling her legs up in an attempt to cover her whole body with the precious garment. As subtle as she could she nosed at the fabric, inhaling his scent that was both nerve-racking and comforting to her. With a small nod and a shaky exhale, she eventually turned towards him again. "Thank you."

"Can't have ya freezin' to death now can I?"

Cara bit her lip, not sure how to articulate what was going through her head. The post-concert adrenaline and euphoria still pumping through her veins made everything feel a bit disconnected and foggy. Not only did she get to see him today, but she was sitting in the back of a car with him. Because he wants to see her. And he had kissed her again. And he just gave her his coat. It was too much. "But... and don't get me wrong, but, uh, what am I doing here?"

"You're coming with me, honey." He offered like it was the most natural thing.

The simple statement gave her butterflies and she swallowed hard. "But why?" She whispered, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Because I wanna spend some time with you." He scooted closer to her and gently draped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her to his side. "Get to know you a little. You don't mind that, do ya, sweetheart?" The low murmur made her skin prickle, a very faint tremor still running through her entire body. She inhaled sharply at the contact and tried her best to hold his gaze. It was almost painfully tender.

No, she didn't mind at all.

"Are you sure? Because I'm not too sure if there's anything interesting about me." She shrugged with a small smile.

An endearing grin spread across his beautiful face and Cara felt an odd sense of pride. Making him smile had to be one of the best feelings in the world. Along with kissing him of course.

"Oh, honey, I'm sure that's not true." He drawled and played with a strand of her hair that fell over her shoulder. The gesture was so intimate, so familiar, it nearly made her cry again.

"I don't get it." She murmured, more to herself, just unable to believe that this was happening. To her, out of all the people.

"Ya certainly know how to leave a lasting impression, Cara." He continued teasingly, gently nudging her.

"Oh god, no, please don't." She almost whined as the memories of their first meeting replayed in her mind and tried to to crawl further into the coat to hide herself completely. To this day she felt utterly mortified by her reaction and cringed every time she thought about it.

Elvis pulled her even closer and cooed right into her ear. "Aw, baby, that's good, trust me. You're a charming little thing."

She still avoided his gaze, feeling utterly overwhelmed by his presence and proceeded to hide her face in her hands.

"No, no, don't gotta be so nervous, darlin'." He ran his finger over her wrists, gently prompting her to look at him.

She obliged and lowered her hands before turning her head, finding his eyes again. A single drop of sweat rolled down his forehead, over his cheek. Her fingers were itching to reach out and just wipe it away. "I'm trying. I just, just... love you so much."

A bashful smile formed on his lips and his cheeks turned slightly pink at her heartfelt confession. "That's awfully sweet of you. I love you too." He murmured and kissed her temple with a reverence that momentarily made her forget how to breathe.

The thing was, she genuinely believed him when he said this. His tone was so sincere and earnest, his eyes seemingly looked right into her soul. Never before has she encountered someone with such a big heart, so much capacity to love, such an ability to make anyone feel special. It made Joe's offhand remark from earlier sting even more. She leaned further into his touch and basked in the feeling of being at the centre of his attention right now.

His hotel room was dark, the curtains blocking out any light from the city below and rather cool with the AC whirring steadily. Cara looked around and found the room, or suite rather, to be empty, making her realise that she was now alone with him. Really alone with him. No other fans, not even his close friends who always seemed to be around. She had him all to herself now.

He sat down on the couch with a heavy sigh and ran a hand over his face, grimacing shortly before looking at her expectedly. Slowly, she let herself sink into the soft pillows and pulled off her shoes, relieving her aching ankle. She pulled up her legs and shifted her body to look at him.

"Are you okay?" Cara asked carefully.

He blinked and raised his eyebrows before giving her a smile that was probably meant to be reassuring. "Don't worry 'bout me, honey."

A small nod and silence followed. "... I think I'm gonna keep this one as well." She chuckled and gestured to the coat still hanging off her small frame.

"Looks prettier on ya anyway." He grinned, making her snort. "I-I'm real happy ya came... Been thinkin' about ya." He added slowly.

His words made her tummy flip. "Of course I came." Cara whispered with a puzzled smile. Why would he assume any different? "I've been looking forward to seeing you again so much."

He cleared his throat and brushed over her hair with a lazy lopsided grin. "What did ya think of the show? And be honest, little one."

Cara's eyes widened, taken aback for a second at the fact that he wanted her opinion. She didn't feel qualified enough to answer, she only knew that she loved every second of it. Just like she enjoyed every second of the other three concerts she's been to. With his face plastered all over her room and his voice lulling her to sleep almost every night she wasn't sure how objective she could be.

"I had the best time ever! The way you sang Hurt, it was so beautiful... and of course... the kiss." She blushed and fiddled around with the scarf he'd given her. Right now she doubted she'd ever take it off.

"Ya liked that didn't ya? Me too, baby. Best part of the show, I'll tell ya." He gave her a mischievous smile once again, making it feel as if they were sharing a secret. Something special, just between them.

She looked almost demure as she kept running her fingers over the silky scarf, feeling its smoothness on her skin. "It was all so perfect. Everything. As always."

His face softened and he slowly intertwined their fingers. "You're such a sweet thing for saying that." A surprised gasp escaped her when he brought her hand up to his lips to press a small kiss against the back of it. It took every bit of willpower not to start giggling uncontrollably and embarrass herself in front of him again. The way he'd just show affection like this, like they were lovers, made her feel all giddy inside.

"I mean it. I love watching you perform. I can't get enough of it." She insisted.

He looked away and hummed, his face neutral as he absentmindedly ran his fingers over her arms.

She frowned and dared to raise a hand to lightly scratch his coarse sideburns. "What is it?"

He momentarily leaned into her touch, nuzzling her palm and just soaking up her affections for a few seconds. Then he continued hesitantly. "I-I just, I-I feel like-" He stuttered, shaking his head with a huff.

"Like what?" She encouraged and reached out for his hand, cradling his bigger one in hers and squeezing it reassuringly.

Elvis sighed heavily, the lines on his forehead deepening. She squeezed his hand again. "Honey, I know what they're saying about my shows. About me. I-I don't wanna disappoint anyone. I really don't. Still got six shows on this damn tour." He shut his eyes tightly and started massaging his temples as if the mere thought already caused him a headache.

There was an almost unbearable sadness in his face and she knew immediately what he was talking about, of course she did. So, she did the one thing that came to mind every time she read those horrible things or heard someone make a rude comment about him in her presence.

With an eagerness that hopefully conveyed how much she meant it, she shook her head and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder smelling the sweat there, remnants from the concerts. She smiled and burrowed further into him, lightly caressing his still damp skin. His breathing quickened slightly when she soothingly trailed her fingers from the side of his neck over the thick patches of hair on his chest and the soft swell of his belly.

Her voice was muffled as she tried to make him understand how she felt about him. "No, don't. You're wonderful the way you are. I know it probably doesn't mean much coming from me, but, uh that's what I think. You are always out there, giving everything for your fans. I hate that you feel like this."

Warmth filled her when he slipped his hand beneath the coat and pulled her closer by her waist, his touch burning through the thin fabric of her dress. Being pressed up against his bulk felt like heaven.

"Baby-" He whispered, sounding rather needy all of the sudden. "-means a lot to me. Come here." His tone was soft and tender and matched his actions as he hooked a finger under her chin and let his lips hover over hers.

She felt his warm breath ghosting over her skin and decided to close the gap between them, kissing him with all the love she had for him. He grunted when she nibbled on his bottom lip and played with the hair at the back of his neck. The feeling of his hand squeezing her waist over and over again spurred her on and she hastily threw one leg over his sturdy thighs, straddling him.

"You're so special to me. You are." She emphasized as she broke the kiss and carefully rubbed her nose against his.

He cupped her jaw and brushed his soft lips against the side of her mouth and her cheek. "Nah baby, you're so special to me." His deep blue eyes bore into hers. "So pretty. Wanna love on ya some." He cooed, making her breath hitch.

"Honey, will you stay for the rest of the tour? I need you here with me. Need you real bad." He muttered against her neck.

An odd sense of calm washed over when he lowered his head and trailed little kisses along her jaw and neck. He locked his hands behind her back, holding her close to him while she pressed her face into his soft hair. His satisfied hum informed her that he must feel something similar.

It pleased her that she was able to take some of the pressure away from him, even if it was just for a moment. Their laboured breathing filled the otherwise quiet suite, a peaceful moment within the unpredictable and gruelling tour schedule he had to endure.

Cara nodded vigorously without even thinking about it, ready to do just about anything to make him happy, to keep him happy. Just the way he made her happy.

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

A million kisses and hugs to the loveliest of people. @be-my-ally @whositmcwhatsit @thatbanditqueen @vintageshanny @missmaywemeetagain @lookingforrainbows @from-memphis-with-love @peskybedtime Thank you for helping me and believing in me. You're truly the most awesome emotional support besties an Elvis fan could wish for!!

@wildhorseinkansas

[pukanavis]

Toi Shiramitsu Mayor Novel " The Day I Became an Angel" Chapter 2 | Big Brother

Part 1 | Part 2

*Before you choose to continue, please note that the novels contain major spoilers for the main story of the game, and it is recommended that you only read them once you have finished the main story!

“Toi, you’ve lost so much weight…!”

”i’m…fine…ani-sama…”

Once it became apparent that Oshisha-sama had entered my body, I was freed from my cell.

Ani-sama held me in a never-ending hug, tightly holding my starved, thin body while he wept.

At that point I had yet to realise it, but my hair had turned white in what seemed to be a mark of the possession’s success.

“Like hell you’re fine! And look at your hair! It’s supposed to be the same as mine!” 

“...”

“Now it…it’s the same as our stupid dad and that shitty old bastard’s…!”

My brother kept running his hands over my hair, stroking it as if he were mourning something precious that had been lost forever. 

I returned my brother’s embrace and wished I could ease his mind with promises of “I’m okay” and “Don’t worry”.

But—

“Ah…hic…w…waaaah!” 

“Toi, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…! This is all my fault. This never would’ve happened if I hadn’t messed around…!”

“Waaaah…aaah…”

The pain of seeing him upset brought about another wave of tears. With the way my sobbing never seemed to stop, I might’ve believed that my eyes had already ceased functioning properly.

For a while I remained like that, clinging onto the warmth of Ani-sama’s body. I had thought for sure that there couldn't have been a drop of water left in me and yet the flood of tears continued to spill down my cheeks.

Again and again, my brother spurted out apologies to me.

“There’s nothing to apologise for, I survived the ritual because of you…” I told him.

Just as it seemed like he couldn't forgive himself, he also felt a deep fiery rage towards Grandfather for choosing to hold the ritual at such an unfortunate time.

“You had to go through such a screwed up thing instead of me…shit!”

“...”

“They snatched you away so suddenly…I kept trying to tell them that they took the wrong twin but it was too late! They wouldn’t even listen to me!”

“Ani-sama…”

“I kept telling them that I’m the one meant to do all that ritual stuff!”

My brother and I look identical. Our personalities may have been wildly different but physically, we were a perfect copy of one another.

Sometimes we’d take advantage of this and play a game where we swapped around who was “Ryui” and who was “Toi”. We thought it was such a fun and amusing thing to do. When we switched places, neither Mother, Father while he was still alive, nor the maids would ever catch onto the change. 

And yet, who could have guessed what that very game would lead to–

“Ani-sama, can we play that game again?”

My brother and I had switched places.

Grandfather never once realised when he decided it was time to begin the ritual. 

Ani-sama was wrecked with guilt over the mistake. I could tell how sorry he felt for me. He seemed to feel responsible for what unfolded, despite the fact that I had been the one to ask to play the game. 

But…because of something Grandfather told me just before commencing the ritual, I felt a little relieved.

“The ritual may last for up to 9 days. During that period, all forms of drinking, eating and sleeping are forbidden…it’s going to be hard, Ryui. Brace yourself.”

I Intentionally chose not to reveal the truth, sickened by the idea of making my brother go through such a horrific thing. As far as anyone was concerned, I was Ryui.

Not to mention, Oshisha-sama is an angel that helps people. To be able to have the power to help my brother, my family—everyone…I wanted it.

“I can’t take this anymore! That fucker in charge can go to hell! I’m gonna knock that old bastard to the ground!”

“Sniff…hic…”

My brother gently caressed my head before rushing out of the room.

I waited for him to come back but my body, worn out from all my crying, fell asleep before I could see his return.

During my slumber, I had a dream.

An angel’s wings.

A demon’s smile.

My brother, missing an eye.

A small window.

Darkness filling the four corners of a cell.

A full moon.

And then—

Me, smiling like a devil.

“Ah…!”

When I awoke, I was laying in my own bed.  The lights in the room had been shut off and I was tightly tucked underneath the covers to make sure I wouldn’t get cold.

A wave of dizziness rushed to my head as I stood but I was steady enough to manage to move around.

What was with that dream I had? What did it mean? As those questions floated through my head, I stumbled over to my desk.

“Raisin butter cookie sandwiches!”

Left waiting for me was a serving of my favourite food prepared in an adorable paper wrapping.

It was immediately obvious to me that Ani-sama had been the one who carried me to bed and brought me treats. As always, Ani-sama is incredibly kind.

I munched on the delectably sweet sandwich cookies while I tried to fight back the tears that began to prickle at my eyes. The thought occurred to me that I should write something about the ritual so I opened my diary and—

“Sobbing naive worm.“

A shock ran through me as I registered the words written on the page.

I’d never seen that text before…the handwriting certainly wasn’t mine.

Ani-sama says it’s important to have privacy so he never tampers with my diary…then who could have done this?

Right beside the text, I asked exactly that.

“Who are you?”

Part 1 | Part 2

[diabolik-art-blog]

The shelter of the future [ Part 02 ]

AO3: part 02

Admin: Here part 2. The information about the train movement is the result of my search on the Internet and I am not sure that it is correct for all Japanese cities. So if the information is wrong, don't take it too seriously. Anyway, this is just a fanfic. Guys don't forget to check my AO3 account and support me there too by your likes and comments.

The rain hadn't stopped and Ruki and Yui continued on their way with only one umbrella. Yui kept looking around. She was afraid they would chase them or worst of all hurt Ruki for running off with Yui. She was no longer worried about herself. Now she only cared that Ruki was not harmed.

Ruki was holding the umbrella with all his efforts to protect both of them from the rain. Ruki could feel the sadness and fear on Yui's face as she held him. Yui hugged Ruki's hand with all her strength and walked slowly with him until they finally reached the subway station.

The subway station was completely empty and no one was there. It was 3 am and they had to wait at least another 2 hours for the trains to start running again. While holding Yui's hand very gently, Ruki accompanied her to one of the chairs and helped her to sit on the chair. After making sure Yui was comfortable, he sat next to her.

Ruki: Yui, we have to wait. We arrived very early and the trains had not started moving yet.

Yui: OK.....

Ruki brought his head close to Yui's forehead and kissed her forehead gently and caressed her soft hair.

Ruki: Yui, if you are tired, you can rest your head on my shoulder. We have two hours until the train arrives.

Yui: But... but... Ruki-kun... I...

Ruki: Yui, my angel... don't worry. I am right here with you.

Ruki tried to calm Yui down with sweet words. He hugged her and caressed her gently. Ruki knew very well that Yui was hurt by Shin in his absence and now she was afraid of being alone. He blamed himself for this incident, but now he can't make up for it. He's just trying to make Yui happy so he can be forgiven. He hugged her.

Ruki: Yui, my cute angel... go to sleep. You are very tired. When the train comes, we will escape from this hell together. You don't have to be afraid. I am right here with you.

Yui: Ruki-kun.... do you promise.... that you won't leave me?

Ruki tightened his hug and kissed Yui again. He stroked Yui's soft hair knowing that it would calm Yui down.

Ruki: I will never leave you. I will stay by your side forever.

With Ruki's sweet words, Yui slowly calmed down. She rested her head gently on Ruki's shoulder and closed her eyes.

*TIMESKIP*

Yui opened her eyes with a heavy feeling on her shoulders. The subway station was still empty. Yui slowly woke up and looked around. There was no sign of Ruki. Yui only had his jacket on to protect her from the cold. Yui panicked and looked around to find Ruki.

Yui was running in the empty subway hall to find Ruki, but there was no sign of Ruki. The empty hall was like a death room and Yui was terrified. She fell on her knees and began to cry.

Yui: Ruki.... *sob*.... Ruki.... *sniff*.... where are you?

As Yui was sitting on the ground and crying, a man approached her from a distance. He had some pockets and some food in his hand. Seeing Yui crying in panic, he dropped all his belongings and ran towards her.

Ruki ran to Yui and hugged her.

Ruki: Yui Yui!!!!! Calm down. Look at me. I'm here. Don't be afraid, I'm here.

Hearing Ruki's voice, Yui lifted her head and saw him and hugged him tightly. Like a frightened chicken, she didn't want to be separated from Ruki even for a second.

Yui: Ruki... *Sob*... Ruki...

Ruki: Don't be afraid, Yui. I'm here.

Yui: You... why did you leave me?

Ruki: I would never do that. I just wanted to buy you some food.

Yui had calmed down in Ruki's arms and gradually stopped crying. Ruki kissed her and helped her stand up and sit back in the chair. In the meantime, Ruki went to the pockets of his purchases and put them back in the pockets and returned to Yui and sat next to her.

Ruki's jacket was on Yui's shoulders. Ruki's jacket was so big for Yui that Yui would get lost in it and Ruki gave her a soft smile. He knew that Yui was both tired and hungry, but he felt guilty for leaving her alone for even a few minutes. He should have been more careful so that no one could separate Yui from him.

Ruki took out a juice from the snack pack and gave it to Yui.

Ruki: Come on Yui. Drink this.

Yui:... I... don't want to.

Ruki: Yui, don't be stubborn. You haven't eaten anything for a whole day. In this way, you may become weak and sick, and I don't want to see my angel get sick.

Ruki caressed Yui's forehead and kissed her lips and Yui blushed a little.

Ruki: Drink this for now so you don't get too hungry. I also bought some food. After we board the train, I will give you a delicious meal. If you are a good girl and drink this.

Yui: ....ummm....okay....

Ruki: Hmmm... good girl...

*smooch*

Ruki kissed Yui's forehead and gave her the juice. Yui slowly drank the juice and took a deep breath.

The sound of the train could be heard in the distance and Ruki looked at the clock. It was 5 o'clock in the morning and this was the first train and now was their chance to escape from this city and go to a safe place. A place where they can build a small shelter for their future.

The train finally arrived and both Ruki and Yui got up from their seats and walked towards the train. Ruki held Yui's hand and caressed her.

Ruki: Let's go, Yui.

[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 2

Epsiode 14: Grave Danger

~The Man Cave~

(y/n) had decided that since Henry and Charlotte had been working so hard lately (and had been to an actual parallel universe and stuff) they deserved a treat. A trip to their favourite burger joint downtown on her, they could order whatever the hell they wanted and it was a blast!

The three friends were giggling and laughing with one another all the way down to the Man Cave and were so engrossed in their conversation, they only realised that something was wrong the second they stepped out of the elevator. 

For starters, Ray was sobbing and moaning and crying on the couch, looking completely miserable, probably because his underwear was stuck to the walls, everywhere. And I mean, everywhere; every wall had been target, every surface possible and Ray seemed pretty upset about it, making (y/n) drop her smile immediately and rush over to him. His sadness was her sadness and it broke her heart to see him like that.

"Ray, sweetheart, what's wrong?" She asked in her most comforting tone, as she and the kids tentatively stepped towards him. 

"Ray, why are you crying?" Henry added, but the sudden arrival of his friends made Ray sniff and dry his eyes as he didn't want anyone to see him cry, especially his sweet girl. She went and sat beside him, her hand reaching for his and it helped to stop his snuffling, even if he was still a bit teary. (y/n) studied his face as he refused to make eye contact. It was killing her to see him hold back his emotions in front of her, she wanted him to be as honest and open because she'd never judge him.

"Yeah, and why is your underwear stuck all over the place?" Charlotte asked, frowning at the sight of the new "wall ornaments". 

(y/n) gulped as she too took a quick look around, but scolded herself when her filthy mind started to drift onto something else. Give her a break, it's not like she would ever get to see his underwear, he did that part of his laundry on his own and she'd never get with him, so she might as well look while she can.

"I don't know!" He wailed, bursting into floods of tears again, causing his girl to grab a tissue from her purse and dab his soggy cheeks. 

"Oh, Ray..." She whimpered, feeling like his emotions were rubbing off on her. All she wanted to do was kiss it all better.

"Come on, buddy. I promise, we'll figure out who did this to your underpants and we'll get them." Henry said, swearing revenge on whoever pulled such a mean prank on his boss. No one deserved this kind of humiliation, especially not when they were living with and trying to impress a pretty girl.

"No, don't you see?" He sniffed as the kids sat down, his heart pulling in two different directions as (y/n) placed a tender hand on his knee and put her arm around his shoulders. He was loving her touch and was so grateful for her attempts to comfort him, but he also felt...silly. His underwear was on the walls all around and here he was blubbering in front of her and needing her to make him feel better. What kind of protector does that?

"Ray, what don't we see?" Her honeyed voice asked gently, trying to soothe him but rubbing small circles on his back and squeezing his knee.

"I did this. I did it all by myself." He told them in a shaky voice, wailing as his emotions got the best of him. 

"But why?" Charlotte question, wondering what had driven him to do such a thing in a communal living space.

"You tell me! I took a nap, right here, waiting for (y/n) to get home safely and when I woke up, this bottle was in my hand and the underwear was stuck all over the place." Ray cried, not seeing how (y/n) melted at his confession. He always waited up for her or stuck around until she got home and never failed to make her smile softly to herself. It made her feel special.

"Okay, okay, maybe you were just sleepwalking," Henry suggested, having heard loads of stories online of people doing crazy stuff whilst sleeping.

"Maybe. 'Cause, this isn't the first time something like this has happened." Ray revealed, making his best friend look at him with a confused, pointed look. Say what now?

"What? Raymond, what haven't you told me? What's happening?" She asked, shifting her body so she could look directly at his face and nothing else. He couldn't meet her eyes, he hadn't lied to her per se, but he didn't tell her about all the stuff that had been happening lately either. He just didn't want her to worry, her nerves were so fragile so he thought it best to keep it bottled up.

"The other night, I woke up at four in the morning and do you know what was in the bed with me?" He asked the kids as his stomach twisted from the intense gaze (y/n) was giving him.

"Was it Schwoz's pig?" Charlotte asked, knowing that it liked to roam around the Man Cave. Her first guess was actually (y/n), but she figured that if she said that, she'd have to watch the couple melt into goo. Yeah, they often crashed in Ray's room because of the luxurious mattress and the fact that they always slept better together, but that didn't mean anything, right?

"I wish. But no, I woke up and I found myself lying in my own spaghetti." He said in a distraught voice, but the explanation puzzled everyone.

"I'm sorry, what?" Henry asked, thoroughly confused with what he had said. He woke up in bed with spaghetti?

"Wait, are you talking about that big pot of spaghetti we made earlier that morning?" (y/n) asked as she turned around to watch him frantically pace next to the auto-snacker. 

"Yeah, and when I woke up, it was all around me in my bed...there were meatballs in my pyjamas." He confessed, putting his hand over his mouth to keep in his sobs. (y/n) reached up to him as he leaned on the back of the couch and softly stroked his head, hating how wobbly his bottom lip was. He was just thankful that she hadn't been snoozing with him or she'd have been spaghettied too and he was certain she'd never had gone in his room again. 

"All right, just calm down," Charlotte told him in a flat voice, not knowing how to handle the emotional man. Thank God they had (y/n), she was the expert, but even her knowledgeable hand couldn't keep him completely calm.

"I can't calm down! I'm losing it. I put things down and when I look for them, I can't find them. And I'm losing my balance too, I keep tripping over things that aren't there. I'm falling down for no reason. Oh, look at my underwear, it's on the walls! That's not where underwear should be." Ray rambled himself into a frenzied mental state, his panic locking him into the mindset that he was crazy, which made (y/n) whimper at how upset he was.

"All right...whoa, whoa, (y/n) get over here!" Henry called for backup as he spooked his boss as he laid a hand on his shoulder to snap him out of the trance and the boy knew Ray needed his girl at this crucial moment.

"Okay, okay. Hey, hey, yeah, you're all right, sweetheart. Now, listen to me, I want you to go to your room..." The young woman dashed over and put both hands on Ray's cheeks, making his terrified eyes look into that familiar (y/e/c) colour that was her gentle gaze. 

"Okay." He agreed, feeling much better now that his girl was with him. 

"...right now, and take a long nap." She told him, her expression getting all confused again when his face contorted in pain. What now?

"There's spaghetti in my bed." He whined sadly, dropping his head into the crook of her neck so he could try and use the scent of her perfume to calm himself down. And it gave him a good excuse to feel her soft skin against his as his arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her to her tiptoes as he hugged her tightly.

"Okay, easy, easy, now. I'll go clean your bed and you can sleep in mine, 'kay?" She told him softly, absent-mindedly brushing her fingers through his hair and his hiccuping and choked sobs slowed down.

"But that's your bed, I'll get my smell on it." He whined, thinking that whilst he loved to smell her shampoo on his pillows for days after she had fallen asleep next to him, it didn't necessarily mean she felt the same. He'd die before he made her feel uncomfortable in his home.

"Doofus, I don't care, please just take a nap in my room." The young woman insisted, hoping that she'd be able to smell his cologne on her sheets. She'd sleep so much better if he did.

"Okay, I'll sleep in (y/n)'s room." He mumbled to himself, walking off towards the sprocket, but when he tried to go up the stairs, he tripped over nothing, just like he had described. Weird. 

"Did one of you three just push me?" He pointed a shaking finger at his friends, who looked slightly offended at the accusation. Did he really think they'd do something so cruel?

"No, we were right here." Henry and Charlotte stuttered, feeling utterly confused about what was going on.

"Wahhhhh, what's happening to me? I'm a disaster!" Ray hiccuped as he crawled up the steps, only to burst into more tears when he somehow tripped up the stairs again. God, this was difficult to watch, particularly when he blew his nose on a pair of his underpants. 

"Okay, you clearly need some assistance." (y/n) sighed and jogged up to the sprocket, and knelt down on the floor next to Ray, who had once again tripped over and was now lying flat on his back. She gazed down at him softly, putting her hand into his. She didn't know what was wrong, but she wanted to help him through it, no matter what.

"What am I going to do with you, Ray Manchester?..." She trailed off at the end when she could've sworn that a puff of warm air was breathed down her neck. She shivered in fear, but when she turned around, there was nothing or no one there. Okay, that's it, the Man Cave is haunted.

"(y/n/n), what's wrong?" Ray asked her when she didn't speak for a minute and frowned when he saw her anxiously looking around the room.

"Nothing, it's nothing. Come on, let's go have a nap." She dismissed his concerns quickly, thinking that the strange phenomenon was probably her mind playing tricks on her. A very mean trick, but a trick nonetheless. The couple sloped off to her room so they hide under the safety of her blankets, leaving Henry and Charlotte alone with their boss's underwear. One thing's for certain, Charlotte wasn't going anywhere near it, so it looked like Henry was the one tasked when prising it from the walls.

~Later that day~

Well, things were still a mess at the Man Cave. Ray was a nervous wreck and it was starting to affect (y/n) too. She could swear that there were eyes on her at all times, but there was no one else around. The thought just made her shiver, she was in the Man Cave with her not-boyfriend, where she was safe. No need to panic.

"Hey, sup?" Henry greeted Schwoz, Charlotte and (y/n) at the supercomputer as he strolled in from the elevator. Charlotte had told him to get his ass to the Man Cave asap because she believed that she had found something to explain why all the weird crap was happening. Sure, Henry had to stop watching Dog Judge and leave Jasper to play with his walkie-talkies by himself, but he was too curious and too kind not to help out his boss.

"Hello, Henry." Schwoz smiled at him warmly as (y/n) nervously bit her bottom lip. She had left Ray to nap in her bed and had made sure to check the room for anything suspicious, but she couldn't see anything.

"Hurry, come on." Charlotte encouraged the young boy over to the monitor.

"Did you figure out what's wrong with Ray?" Henry asked worriedly as he patted (y/n) on the back. She looked so stressed, hopefully, if they could help Ray, they could help her too.

"I don't think anything's wrong with Ray." The young girl told them, making (y/n) frown. 

"Come again?" She asked. It wasn't like she thought her best friend was crazy, but she wanted an answer that her scientific mind could get behind.

"Check this out. You're about to see the security camera footage from two days ago, here in the Man Cave." Charlotte told them as she played a video of Ray working out. Not a bad thing for (y/n) to watch, she loved to see him work out, flexing his muscles and being all macho.

But the video wasn't particularly hot, it was sort of sad because they watched as Ray lifted the extremely heavy weights, but when he went to sit on the bench, it slid underneath him and he fell on the floor. 

"Poor Ray." (y/n) whispered to herself, feeling her heart ache as she heard him groaning in pain on the video.

"Now, watch in slow-mootion," Schwoz told her and Henry in his funny accent, making them look at him weirdly.

"Slow-motion." Henry corrected him, sounding out the "oh" in the middle, which turned into a mini-lesson as Henry tried to get him to say it properly.

"For god's sake, just play the clip in slow-mootion." (y/n) said, ignoring the boys and their silly talk. She just wanted to see what was so weird about this video.

"Now, watch when I zoom in on the bench," Charlotte told them and they all gasped when they saw the bench slide to the left as if by magic. Wait a second...

"Whoaaaa, it looked like that bench moved by itself." Henry breathed out, not seeing how (y/n) had begun to sweat and hyperventilate next to him. She had a sneaking suspicion where this was going and the thought made her sick. After all, benches don't move by themselves.

"Yeah." Schwoz agreed, as the young woman rubbed her trembling hands together and tried to take some deep breaths. Ray, she needed Ray.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Henry asked, no one hearing the superhero approaching the sprocket.

"Well, I think it might be—" Charlotte tried to tell them, but Ray interrupted as he appeared in the room. All of his friends were together, huddling in a circle and probably talking about him, this didn't feel good to him.

"Hey, I thought I heard you guys. What are you doing here so late—Argh!!!" Ray screamed as he took a nasty tumble from the sprocket opening, down the stairs and ledge and onto the floor by the supercomputer. He groaned in pain as his helper swallowed her nerves and ran to his side, helping him up with shaking hands.

"Oh my god, Ray..." She breathed out at him instinctively scanning him for injuries, even though he was the indestructible Captain Man.

"What is wrong with me?" He asked his friends sadly as Henry and Schwoz assisted in pulling him to his feet. (y/n) grabbed hold of his hand to settle her anxiety, but she was still afraid as to what Charlotte was gonna say.

"Well, I think you're problem could be...Invisible Brad." Charlotte revealed, making Henry and Schwoz gasp as (y/n) glued herself to Ray's side in terror, her hands tightly clutching his shirt as she pressed herself into his chest and his arms came to curl around her trembling form.

"No, no, no, not him, anyone but him." She whimpered into his shirt as she screwed her eyes shut and tried to forget everything that Brad had done to her and her friends in the past. 

"Pfffft, what? No way, Invisible Brad is dead! He got hit by a bus, I went to his funeral, so stop worrying, sweet girl." Ray scoffed as he cradled the terrified girl in his arms, hoping he could convince her that she was safe. He wouldn't let anything happen to her, he had promised himself that that bastard would never hurt her again.

"Well, did you see him at the funeral?" Henry asked, mocking the way he had spoken the words whilst holding his girl. She was still squishing her face into his chest so it's not like she saw anything anyway.

"Yes, it was an open casket. I walked right up and looked inside." The large man told them, thinking that this theory was whack, but (y/n) had something to say about that.

"Oh, yeah? What did you see in the casket, doofus?" She questioned in a small voice, briefly looking up at him despite her instincts telling her to run and hide. It's not like Brad could injure her anymore, but he was still the creepiest dude she'd ever met, so she would never feel safe with him around.

"Nothing," Ray said softly, stroking her back with a large, warm hand. It was his go-to technique for getting her to calm down.

"Ah-ha!" Charlotte cried at the revelation. She knew that Brad was back, she just needed her friends to believe her, then they could deal with him once and for all.

"Well, he's invisible." Ray rolled his eyes, still not convinced that Brad was who they were dealing with. He believed (y/n)'s fear was genuine, but he also thought that she had been led on by Charlotte's wild theories.

"And creepy, don't forget that bit." (y/n)'s muffled voice said against his chest, making him let out a breathy chuckle as she decided that she was safe, for now, and pulled away. She still stayed close to him though, choosing to hug his arm instead.

"Maybe, Invisible Brad is not dead." Charlotte proposed, making the woman whine again. The world just seemed a whole lot scarier with her stalker back on the streets.

"All right," Ray said, knowing that he had to see this for himself. He pressed a kiss to his girl's head and she slowly released his arm from her iron grip, even if she didn't want to see him go. He had to do what he had to do.

"What are you gonna do?" Charlotte asked as (y/n) folded her arms around herself. She wasn't sleeping tonight that's for sure.

"We're going to the Swellview cemetery," Ray said, although he pronounced cemetery wrong.

"Ce-met-ery." Henry corrected him, thinking that his way of saying the word was just plain wrong.

"Well, both pronunciations are acceptable. Ray argued, not wanting to let this one go.

"Well, I think you're wrong." The boy retorted, making Schwoz and Charlotte roll their eyes with (y/n). Children, they worked with children.

"White shadow to sweet kumquat, white shadow to sweet kumquat, over?" Henry's hand flew to his pocket as Jasper's voice came from his walkie-talkie. He really picked his moments.

"Here, Charlotte. You talk to Jasper." Henry chucked the walkie-talkie to his friend as he and Ray chewed their gum.

"Uh, hang on, Jasper." The girl spoke into the device, hoping that Jasper was listening.

"Yeah, sweet kumquat is busy." (y/n) chuckled as Henry glared at her, but let it go since he was relieved to see her laughing and joking around. If Brad was behind this, he would make sure he wouldn't scare his best friend.

"Let's go, kid." Ray nodded to Henry once they had transformed into their super suits. They ran to the tubepad and slapped their belts, but Charlotte didn't want to be stuck with Jasper on the radio all day.

"Wait...catch!" She smirked as she threw the walkie-talkie back to Henry.

"No, no, Charlotte, you keep the walkie-talkie." Henry stuttered as he tried to throw it back, but it was too late the tubes had already been lowered and they were seconds from lift-off.

"Good luck." (y/n) smiled at Ray sweetly as his face disappeared up the tube. She prayed that he was right; Brad being alive spelt only one thing: trouble.

~Swellview Cemetery~

So, Ray had decided that he didn't feel like doing any digging that evening, so he had left Henry to do all the hard work. Yep, the poor kid had to shift six feet of dirt to get to Brad's coffin and he was starting to get pissed off at how Ray was just lying next to the hole, snacking.

"Wow. Look at the stars. You ever just look up at the stars and think, hey stars, I'm better than you?" The superhero mentioned as Henry shovelled the last of the earth to the side. He couldn't give a crap about the stars, he just wanted to sit down.

"Okay, I've finished." He panted, letting his exhausted arms have a break. Man, he was beat.

"What? You're done digging?" Ray asked in surprise, his voice garbled from his mouthful of food.

"Yeah, I'm done digging. All by myself, while you laid there, looking at the stars and stuffing your face with fruit grapes!" Henry hissed at his boss, chucking the shovel to the side angrily.

"Who calls them fruit grapes?" Ray scoffed, thinking that you don't say "fruit apple" or "banana fruit".

"I do," Henry told him, not seeing anything wrong with the way he spoke.

"Well, it's weird." Ray retorted, his jibes not helping Henry's irritated mood. He wouldn't like it when the kid snitched to (y/n) that he was being a dick.

"Whatever. The deal was I dig the dirt, you lift Brad's casket out of the hole." Henry reminded him of when they shook on the deal. He was strong for a boy of his age and size but he wasn't so strong he could lift a well-built, sturdy coffin. Plus, he found the idea of touching someone's resting place a bit spooky.

"All right. Move." Ray nodded a stood up and at the same time, revealed that he had brought along a little gadget to help him lift the casket. He didn't want to do any work, he'd been having a hard time lately, he didn't want to strain himself more.

"Whoa, man. You brought the anti-grav?" Henry asked his boss as he recognised the glowing stick. Ray kneeled and locked it to the casket, switching the device on so he could easily lift the immense weight.

"Yeah." He grunted as the coffin floated up, feeling no heavier than a feather.

"Wait, I just spent two hours digging a six-foot deep hole and now, all you gotta do is lift the casket with the anti-grav, which takes no effort?" Henry frowned at the devious superhero, who had already placed the casket on the grass next to the hole.

"Yeah," Ray smirked, thinking that he had just been smart. Why work when there's an easier solution?

"I had to struggle and you just laid there and daydreamed about (y/n) and her eyes and her butt and other gross stuff..." Henry cringed and shivered as he imagined Ray's thoughts, traumatising himself into feeling a bit nauseous. 

"Shut up!" Ray blushed at his sidekick's words, feeling like he had been caught out. He couldn't help it if his filthy mind often drifted to his girl and her...finer features. He wanted her, even if he could never have her.

"Anyway, you ready?" The superhero cleared his throat and looked at the coffin. This was gonna get creepy, but then again, Brad always made things creepy.

"I guess." Henry swallowed his fear and stepped to the coffin so they could both lift the lid. They groaned from the strain, but they finally got it open, peering inside to see...nothing. Well, duh, he was invisible, looks like they'd have to reach in and check somehow.

"We should...feel inside." Henry stammered, not wanting to be the one to feel a human skull if Brad really was in there.

"You feel inside," Ray instructed his sidekick, also not wanting to stick his hand in something as unnerving as the place where a dead person was laying.

"Okay, okay, the first one to say "not it", doesn't have to feel inside, so—" Henry was cut off as Ray said the magic words, leaving it up to Henry to do the deed. Ah, geez, he didn't get paid enough for this.

"Okay, we'll both feel inside." Ray proposed, neither of them seeing how Brad had picked up Henry's shovel and was stalking towards them. So he was alive, oh god...

"Okay." Henry nodded and they both bent over to reach in, but they nearly died from shock as a sinister voice called out behind them. 

"Looking for me?" Brad asked rhetorically, his voice full of hate and revenge for Captain Man, the man who ruined his life and took away the girl he wanted.

"Ahhhhh!" Ray and Henry screamed in terror as they felt the nearby air to see if Brad was around them, but they were caught out as he whacked them from behind with the shovel. They both fell into the coffin and Brad chuckled evilly as he closed the lid. 

"Nighty-night." He quipped as the lid closed and Henry and Ray banged on the wooden walls. It was claustrophobic in there, to say the least.

"Yeah, nail, nail, nail, nail, nail...and now, I'll just lift up the casket and down you boys go. Have a nice rest of your lives, jerks. Hope you're comfy in there." Brad chuckled maniacally as he nailed the coffin shut, lifted it back into the hole and began to replace the dirt that had been dug out. Oh, shit.

"I think Charlotte was right. Invisible Brad is alive." Ray whispered to Henry as they lay next to each other in the cramped space. His heart was beating rapidly as he realised that with Brad back, (y/n) wasn't safe and that terrified him more than the situation he was in.

"What was your first clue?" Henry asked sarcastically, annoyed that he was trapped in there with Captain Genius. Ray nudged his arm in frustration as they heard Brad chuck shovelfuls of dirt onto the box they were stuck in and they both gulped. This wasn't good at all.

"Brad, Brad, this isn't funny!" Ray banged against the "ceiling", but his pleading fell on deaf ears. Brad didn't care if they were freaking out, he wanted to take his sweet revenge.

"Just a little more...one more scoop. Oh, that's pretty." Brad dropped the shovel as he admired his work. With Captain Man and Kid Danger out of the way, he could now carry out the second part of his plan.

"See ya, ballerinas! I'm off to see my girl. Oh yeah, that's right, Ray. With you gone, (y/n) is gonna need a new boyfriend and I'll be the one she turns to." Brad taunted the large man, who had started to furiously pound against the box with Henry.

"No, wait, Brad! Come back!" Henry yelled at the top of his voice, hoping that by some miracle, the deranged guy would let them out.

"Brad! Come back here, I mean it! Don't you dare touch her!" Ray growled as his rage began to burn at the thought of the man comforting his girl and stealing her away. Not that she'd ever go for him, he knew she hated him and the idea of him closing in on the Man Cave made his blood boil and heart hurt. Yes, she wasn't physically vulnerable, but Brad was unpredictable and wouldn't stop at any length to take away the woman he loved.

Not being able to see in the pitch black, Ray panted and strained, but managed to get a light above their heads.

"At least now, we can see." He said, struggling to get air into his body as the supply became limited. They couldn't stay in here for very long, well, Ray could because he was indestructible, but Henry would die after a few minutes.

"What are you doing?" Ray asked as he felt the boy wriggling and squirming next to him. He realised how nice it was to have your own space as he struggled to move in the tiny box.

"I'm trying to get my phone," Henry told him and Ray nodded at the good idea. 

"Oh, yeah, I'll get mine." The man reached down to his utility belt and struggled to unclimbed his phone. Even if he couldn't call for help, he at least wanted to tell (y/n) to get herself to safety before Brad could reach the Man Cave.

The two began to argue as their movements restricted one another and they complained as they grasped their phones, but couldn't find the room to pull them out. Geez, this was sucky.

"I'm first in seniority." Ray snapped, making Henry screw up his nose in annoyance. What had that got to do with anything? The superheroes managed to get their phones to their faces eventually but were disappointed with the results.

"No signal. How about you?" Henry sighed. They were too deep for the reception to reach them, and it rendered his phone practically useless unless he wanted to spend his last few minutes playing a game or taking selfies.

"Mine's dead. Forgot to charge it last night." Ray admitted, leaving out the part that he had forgotten because he had stayed up until 2 AM watching movies with (y/n). She was way more interesting than his dumb phone and he had drifted off to sleep to the thought of her and him, together on a beach, walking hand in hand as golden rings glinted in the dying light of the sunset.

"And now we're trapped in the middle of the Swellview Cemetery, six feet under the ground," Henry whined as he and Ray continued to fidget in the confined space.

"Thanks for clearing that up, 'cause I thought we were at the Taylor Swift concert in New Mexico." Ray hissed in response, his emotions getting the best of him as his panic grew. 

"Hey, it's not cool to be sarcastic whilst we're buried alive!" Henry snapped back, also feeling too frustrated to take some stick and not saying anything about it. He was in a life or death situation and all the while his friends were about to get a surprise visit from Nutjob Brad.

"White shadow to Prancing Pony, White shadow to Prancing Pony, over?" The two stopped squabbling when the last voice they had ever expected to be happy to hear sounded in the coffin. Holy shit, it was Jasper on the walkie-talkie!

"What's that?" Ray asked as he failed to recognise the voice over the warbled signal.

"It's my petite walkie-talkie!" Henry smiled happily, feeling overjoyed to have been the one Jasper had picked to be his radio buddy. Thank god he didn't leave it with Charlotte or they would've been in deep shit.

"Who's Prancing Pony?" Ray asked in confusion. Obviously, he hadn't been listening to what was happening in the Man Cave earlier. 

"I'm Prancing Pony, I'm Prancing Pony!" Henry felt dunk on happiness and he reached down to his pocket to grab their saving grace.

"Hello, hey, Jasper? Can you hear me?" He panted into the walkie-talkie as he started to feel lightheaded. The air was quickly disappearing and they need to get out sharpish.

"Can you hear me, over?" Henry growled irritatedly as he realised that Jasper always required him to say the stupid "over" bit. Geez, he was about to die, he didn't have time to fanny about.

"Yeah, I copy ya, over." The two supers breathed a sigh of relief as they made contact. These walkie-talkies were good if the signal could reach underground. 

"Okay, listen, listen. I'm trapped underground in the Swellview Cemetery. I'm in a box with Capta—my boss, Ray, from Junk-N-Stuff. Now, the headstone above us says "Here lies Bradley Belcher". Now, I need you to get a shovel, find a way to get here and dig us out!" Henry instructed him, making sure to catch himself before he revealed that he was with Captain Man. That would make headlines in the morning if word got out.

"When?" Jasper asked, not realising that time was of the essence.

"How about before we run out of air and slowly die?!" Ray hissed as he snatched the walkie-talkie from Henry's fingers. This kid really knew how to test his patience. 

"O-Okay, I'll get there as quick as I can. White Shadow out." Jasper's voice crackled out as he dashed off to get himself ready and luckily (or not so luckily) he would have Piper to help him.

~In the Man Cave~

"Oh god, oh god, where are they?" (y/n) ranted nervously as she paced around the supercomputer area. She had taken the liberty of donning her super suit just to make herself feel a little better, but without Ray or Henry back home safely, she couldn't switch off her worry.

"Come on, Henry, Ray..." Charlotte mumbled to herself and Schwoz as they anxiously tapped on the computer, looking for any signal or sign as to where the pair might be. They had lost contact ages ago and they were all starting to panic, especially (y/n). 

"I bet that invisible freak is behind this, I just know it." (y/n) hissed to them as she put her hands on her hips and chewed her lip. Her gut told her that Brad had his dirty mitts all over the situation and her adrenaline was sky-high, waiting for a fight. He scared the shit out of her, but if he had hurt one hair on Henry or Ray's head, so help her, there would be hell to pay.

"Relax, there's nothing to worry about." Schwoz tried to keep her calm, despite his own niggling sense that something wasn't right. But he could show her his concern, that would just make her tremble more.

"It's been two hours, why won't they respond?" Charlotte pondered out loud, not meaning to upset her friend by reminding her of the situation.

"Maybe something terrible happened to them. Schwoz suggested, causing (y/n) to snap her gaze to him and glare, and in her superhero getup, it was pretty intimidating.

"Schwoz, that's why we're worried." She seethed, feeling like splitting his bald head open like a coconut. He seemed to be an expert at saying the wrong things at the wrong time.

"Ohhhhh." He said and shut his mouth as the tube alarm sounded and a tube came down.

"Oh, thank god, they're here." (y/n) breathed out, but her smile fell when just one tube came and down and no one appeared to be in it. Wait a damn minute...

"Hmm, that's weird," Schwoz commented, knowing that the tubes were working perfectly. They shouldn't have come down on a false alarm.

"Shhh, listen," Charlotte told them and they fell silent. Straining their ears, they made out the sounds of footsteps echoing on the cold floor and they gulped as the noise walked over to a cabinet and pulled out one of Ray's spare gum tubes. 

"Ahhh, this place's haunted!" Schwoz screamed in terror as he watched the tube float. He climbed onto Charlotte's lap in fear, much to her disgust and irritation. That was no ghost and she knew it.

"He's here." (y/n) breathed out as they all tiptoed forward and saw the tube opening.

"Brad? We know it's you!" Charlotte yelled at him as he chuckled and popped a piece of the special gum into his mouth and began to chew. 

"Actually, it's Captain Brad." He gloated as the uniform materialised around him. To be honest, it wasn't very smart to take away your invisibility, particularly when you were in your enemy's hideout.

"Hey, babe." He purred at (y/n) in a disgustingly flirty tone, making the woman feel sick, but she kept it well hidden. She wouldn't dream of giving him the satisfaction.

"Piss off, Brad." She growled, clenching her fists as her body tensed up. She was the only one present with a superpower, meaning she was the only one who could protect her friends.

~Swellview Cemetery~

"I'm so uncomfortable." Henry moaned as he and Ray tried to elbow their way out of the casket. All they were doing was wasting their energy and what little air they had left. There was nothing but dirt around them, so any attempt to escape was futile.

"Can we switch places?" He asked his boss, hoping that a shake-up of their positions would soothe his cramped muscles.

"Yeah, all right." Ray agreed, also wanting a change, but their movements proved to be difficult and awkward as Henry roughly crawled over Ray's body, accidentally whacking him in the face as he did. This day was going swimmingly.

"This is much worse." Henry groaned as his face had ended up in Ray's armpit. He should've stayed where he was, he couldn't even see now.

"What?" The boy asked in confusion as Ray giggled at something random. Had he said something funny?

"It tickles when you talk into my armpit." Captain Man confessed, feeling a bit giddy as Henry tortured him with tickling.

"What do you mean it tickles?" Henry asked, wondering how on Earth it could affect him like that, but Ray just laughed in reply.

"Stop, stop, stop, stop!" He begged as his body shook with mirth. Thankfully for them, Jasper was nearly done digging them out, even if Piper was annoying him by not helping out. She argued that since she had driven them to the cemetery with her sent-by-mistake driver's license, she didn't have to work. 

"What was that?" Ray asked happily when Jasper's shovel hit the lid of the coffin. Salvation had come.

"Jasper's shovel!" Henry realised and they both grinned in delight at the thought of being rescued after two long hours.

"Finally!" Ray breathed out, but they had forgotten one, immensely important factor.

"Jasper! Was that your shovel?" Henry yelled to his friend, praying that's it was.

"Yeah, I'll get you out in a second!" He reassured them, making Henry realise that they had a major problem.

"Aw, geez." His laughter stopped as he caught sight of Ray's costume. Jasper couldn't see them like this.

"What?" Ray asked, wondering what had spooked his sidekick so much.

"We're in uniform. We can't let Jasper and Piper see us as Captain Man and Kid Danger!" He panicked. Jasper was opening the lid any minute and it would no doubt end in a memory wipe if either he or Piper saw them and realised the truth.

"Aw, geez. Quick! Our gumball tubes!" Ray prompted and they both scrambled for their gum, shoving a ball in their mouths and chewing it rapidly. 

"Okay, get ready to be rescued!" They heard Jasper shout, just as they returned to their civilian clothes. The curly-haired boy was rising the lid open just as their normal outfits appeared and thankfully, he was none the wiser as to their secret identities.

Coughing and spluttering, Ray and Henry crawled out of the casket and breathed in the fresh air. Ten more minutes and they probably would've been goners.

"Aw, man. Thanks, buddy." Henry said to his best friend, feeling exceedingly grateful that he had been around to save them.

"Yes, thank you, Jasper. Prancing Pony and I couldn't have done it without you." Ray said too, admitting silently that sometimes, Jasper had some good qualities. Henry sighed at the dumb nickname, it looked like it was gonna stick for a while and he'd never live it down.

"So, how did you and your boss get trapped here and buried in a casket?" Piper interrogated, feeling miffed that she'd had to drive all the way across town to save her stupid brother and his dumb boss.

"Well, uh...it's, it's, uh...weird story." "Uh, yeah." They stuttered in response. They couldn't tell them that a crazy, invisible man with a serious grudge had buried them alive so he could take over Captain Man's life and steal his girl, they'd think they were insane.

"Actually, we were watching, we were at Junk-N-Stuff, earlier..."

"Watching TV."

"Right and the news and stuff, and turtles!" "Turtles!" 

The rambling went on and on as Henry and Ray tried to blag their way through an excuse, slowly backing away as they did. Jasper and Piper stared at them in confusion as they mumbled nonsense, eventually disappearing into the trees and bushes. At least they had gotten away; sure, it would be difficult to explain later, but right now, they had to kick Brad's ass.

~In the Man Cave~

"Haven't you missed me, (y/n), or should I say, baby?" Brad cooed at (y/n) as she stood in front of Schwoz and Charlotte, shielding them from anything he could throw at them with her super-healing body.

"Like a hole in a parachute. You're supposed to be dead." She replied flatly, hating all the revolting nicknames he gave her. She only liked one and that came from Ray, no one else could call her theirs.

"We thought you got hit by a bus." Charlotte jumped in, glaring at the invisible man, who was still wearing Ray's suit. 

"You thought wrong." Brad hissed, making (y/n) protectively keep Charlotte at a safe distance. If this guy made one wrong move, she'd give him a taste of her new power combined with the sweet techniques Ray had taught her in self-defence.

"That's what Ray said." Schwoz whimpered, feeling terrified at the prospect of having a madman in the Man Cave.

"Yeah, I wanted him to think I was dead so that later I could sneak back into his life, take over as the new superhero here in Swellview and have (y/n) as my beautiful girlfriend," Brad revealed his evil plot, making (y/n) gulp silently as Charlotte's phone began to ring and vibrate.

"Wait, who's that?" Brad growled as his dark monologue was interrupted. Schwoz and (y/n) crowded around the girl and looked at her phone, although the young woman made sure to keep one eye on Captain Dickhead at all times.

"Who texted?" Schwoz asked, hoping it was their saviour.

"Henry. He says that he and Ray are getting here in just a minute!" Charlotte told them in delight, making her friends sigh in relief and Brad clenched his fists in anger.

"Aw, man!" He cursed and quickly tried to strip himself of the uniform that counteracted his invisibility.

"What are you doing, asshole?" (y/n) asked as she wrinkled her nose up at the sight of him getting undressed.

"Taking off the uniform so Ray won't be able to see me!" He replied, making the woman frown. To her relief, the tubes came down, just in time, bringing Ray and Henry with them.

"Where's Brad?" Ray demanded to know, scouring the Man Cave with his eyes.

"Not here," Brad said nervously as he removed the blue shirt of the costume. 

"No, he's right there!" Charlotte pointed to the man and Ray noticed that his trousers and boots were walking around by themselves as Brad dilly-dallied about what he should do next.

"The pants! The pants! Get the pants!" Schwoz and Henry directed him, making Ray leap over the couch as he went after Brad. 

"Ahhh! Leave me alone, Ray!" Brad whined as he was chased around the sofa, the real Captain Man desperate to grab him and tan his ass for trying to take his girl.

"Ooo, try and get me!" Brad taunted him and ran around in circles to confuse Ray. With his enemy disorientated, he tried to tiptoe away but failed to realise (y/n) was also on the warpath. 

"Come here, you dirty little freak!" She growled, stalking him with a murderous glare.

"Oh, baby, don't be mad at me. I love you..." He tried to butter her up, but it just infuriated her more and Ray, well, let's just say he wanted to rip him apart with his bare hands. (y/n) wasn't a "baby"; she was his sweet girl and he'd be damned if this asshole tried to take her away from him.

(y/n) threw a punch at Brad, but he quickly blocked it, making her switch tactics and give him a sharp liver shot as he tried to uppercut her. He howled in pain as his ribs throbbed, but he still managed to take her by surprise and land a forceful, invisible fist on her cheekbone. He smirked as she winced and doubled over as she clutched her face. A punch like that would surely knock a young lady out and he smirked as she stumbled back, causing Ray to panic as she stopped fighting.

"You're mine (y/n), just submit to your fear..." Brad told her tenderly, but it had a pernicious undertone and to the old (y/n), it would have been her breaking point. Brad raised another fist to literally beat her into submission, but to his shock, when it came down, (y/n) caught it with an iron grip and twisted it harshly behind his back.

"I'm sorry, Brad, but you can't hurt me anymore." She told him in a quiet, solemn voice, not seeing the way Brad's eyes widened as the bruise and tiny cut on her cheek healed over and faded before his eyes. He had no power over her anymore, she had found her bravery.

"Quick, Henry, the bear spray!" Ray shouted to his sidekick, who scrambled to get the formidable spray from the cabinet whilst Brad was still in (y/n)'s tight hold.

"Aw, no Ray, not the bear spray—ahhhhhh!" Brad screamed as Henry used the weapon and the fine mist made his eyes burn and weep like they were burning, melting and freezing all at the same time. 

"It burns!" He shouted on the floor as (y/n) stepped back and blinked to remove the small amount of spray that had landed in her eyes. He was right, it stung like one thousand hornets in her eyes, but for her, it only lasted a few seconds as her souped-up genetics sorted the problem out quickly.

"I'm so proud of you." The young woman heard from her right as Ray walked over to her and lovingly squeezed her body against his in a quick embrace. She had been super and he couldn't be more pleased with her courageous actions, Brad certainly knew who was boss now.

"I just did what you would have done." She replied humbly, relieved to have him with her again, safe and sound.

"Oh, it burns so bad!" The sound of Brad's complaining, groaning and flailing about as his skin seared made the couple break apart and walk to his side. Although, Ray still kept an arm around her waist; when Brad was finally able to open his eyes, he wanted him to be able to see that she was off-limits to guys like him. She deserved the best man to give her a damn good life and Brad would never reach Ray's standards. It physically ached his heart to think about letting her walk off with someone else, but he thought that she needed the perfect guy and that wasn't him.

"That's not something you see every day," Henry commented as everyone watched Brad writhing on the floor, or rather, a pair of pants and boots writhing on the floor.

"Not it's not, kinda weird," Ray said as his thumb gently stroked over (y/n)'s hipbone. She was only half concentrating on the man in pain as she much preferred to admire the way Ray's shirt perfectly accentuated his chest muscles. 

Brad was a fool for thinking she'd ever love him. She'd found her perfect guy and he would always be the one for her. If only she saw the way his eyes subtly raked over her curves in her super suit as she gave Brad a pasting, she might have kissed him like she sorely wanted to.

"How do the bears deal with this? Oh god, it's horrible!" He complained, making the Man Cave crew giggle since he totally deserved this. 

As if anyone could try to take away Captain Man's girl and not suffer his wrath.

[orions-tears]

Close to the Sun - Aesop Sharp [Final Part]

Pairing: Aesop Sharp x Fem!Reader

A/N: I'm so sorry yall. My cat was horribly ill, school was really tough, and it was one thing after another. I'm back now I promise. Also my cat is okay he's healthy again. Thank you for being patient. Let me know what you wanna see :)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 linked here :)

One Week Earlier...

He sighs and looks back at you. "Your potion works, (Y/N). It cures the uncurable. Be happy."

You shake your head. "I don't understand. You've brewed it? You drank it already?"

He frowns and walks over to the chair in front of the fireplace, sitting down. He still has the limp...

"No...No you said it worked." You walk over, staring down at him. "If it worked, why does your injury still bother you."

He rubs his hand over his eyebrows, sighing. "You would have died without it..."

You shake your head, pacing in front of the fireplace. "No...no...no you were supposed to take it, Aesop. You. Not me. Why?"

He stands and holds your arms, halting you. "(Y/N), I would live the rest of my days incapacitated if it meant you were safe. You are so much more important than me."

You stare at him, tears beginning to run down you face. "No..."

He nods, smiling softly at you. "Yes...Don't feel regret for what I did. It saved you and that isn't something I can regret." He hugs your tightly, stroking your hair. You lean your face into his shoulder, sobbing, You were supposed to heal him. You failed...

He pulls away and looks down at you. "Don't think you've failed me. You may have flown to close to the sun, but I will always catch you."

You stare up at him, feeling the tears run down your face. He gently wipes them away and you sniff, rubbing your eyes. You move to stand up, not wanting him to keep seeing you in this vulnerable state and move to your knees. You wobble and land back down, a darkness framing your vision. Aesop quickly reaches out to you, kneeling over you.

"(Y/N)? What's wrong? Are you still in pain?"

Your head suddenly feels hot and you turn to look up at him, seeing the floor come toward you instead.

Present...

"The soil should envelope the root like a warm, dirty blanket," hums the voice in the distance.

You walk into the greenhouse, head still foggy from the past week. You make your way down the stairs and enter the classroom, watching your friend from atop the stairs. She looks up and grins at you, releasing the class. You walk over and she runs up to you, hugging you tightly.

"I'm so glad to see you up and about, flower," she sighs, happily.

You laugh lightly, hugging her back and nod. "I am feeling better. More or less."

Mirabel pulls away and smiles, sadly. She walks toward the stairs, waving you to follow. You obey and you both walk together toward the potions classroom.

"We've been so worried about you. Especially Aesop."

You snort out a laugh and nudge her. "Funny."

She turns to you, stopping in the hallway just before the classroom. She furrows her brows, looking up at you. "What's funny?"

You stare at her, smiling, and shake your head. This has to be a joke. After all, you were simply ill, nothing for Aesop to worry about. You continue to walk to the classroom. Mirabel hesitates, but follows anyway. You poke your head into the classroom and see Aesop sitting at his desk. You grin and turn to Mirabel, holding a finger up and sneaking in. You hide behind the stations as you make your way toward him and pull your wand out, casting a basic spell into the corner of the room. He looks up and sighs, walking toward the corner.

"Weasley, stop whatever it is you're doing," he calls. You grin and quietly move to his desk, sitting in the chair and crossing your legs. You hear him groan and he walks back to his desk, freezing in place when he sees you. 

"Salut toi," you hum to him, resting your hands on your knees.

He frowns and walks over to you. The smile drops from your face and you stand from the chair, smoothing your coat. "Sorry..."

He grips your shoulders, looking you up and down. "How are you feeling? Are you alright? When I asked after you, you were always the same."

You tilt your head. "I'm okay. Why are you so worried?"

He sighs, dropping his hands to his sides. "I thought maybe the potion hadn't..." He shakes his head. "You look healthy enough again."

"Potion?"

He stares at your for a moment, confused. He turns to the sound of shuffling, seeing Mirabel walk in.

"I don't think she remembers..." she murmurs.

He turns back to you, frowning again. "The potion...the dragon's blood...you don't remember...?"

You gasp and grab onto his wrists. "You got some?! Did it work?!"

"Well...yes, (Y/N)...it worked..."

You frown at him, looking down at his leg. "You limped over here though..."

He nods. "I used it on you."

You feel yourself go numb and he guides you back into the chair. He couldn't have used it on you. He wouldn't have. He shouldn't have. Mirabel walks over and kneels down next to you, stroking your arm as Aesop recounts the story. You feel your head spinning as you slowly remember what happened. The poachers, the dragon, Aesop and Mirabel discussing the potion, Aesop holding your as your realized your failure. The blood drains from your face and you feel tears rolling down your cheeks again. If you couldn't kill one dragon how could you possibly kill a different one? Aesop stands, pulling you to your feet and wraps you in a tight hug.

"I told you before and I will tell you forevermore. You need not feel like a failure. You created something no one else could. You are the witch that can heal all wounds. You are the one who proved to me that my heart may not be completely broken."

One week later...

You doubt he'll show up but you have hope. You invited him to have tea with you at Hogsmede the other day and he'd promised you he would come. You smile as you imagine Aesop Sharp having tea, laughing, really just smiling is the wild part. You pace back and forth in front of the tree in the courtyard, worried you just look like an idiot. Suddenly you hear footsteps sneaking up behind you. You turn around and see Aesop crouching before he quickly stands.

"Ah...uh...hello, (Y/N)," he mumbles, scratching the back of his neck.

You giggle and tilt your head at him. Were you trying to scare me, Aesop?"

He shrugs and turns to the tea shop. "I thought I'd attempt to do what you attempted. It seems I was the only one startled on both occasions." 

You smile and wrap your arm in his. He looks down and then to you, staring for a moment, as if watching you. You smile at him and he turns his attention back to the shop, attempting to hide a smile. You grab his hand with your free hand and tug him toward the shop. He sits you down at a table outside and heads inside to order, soon coming out with two cups of tea. He sets one down in front of you.

"Three sugars with cream, correct?"

You stare at him, eyes wide. "How...How did you know that?" You lean in, squinting at him. "Have you read my mind, Aesop."

He chuckles. "I wouldn't tell you if I had." He leans back, taking a sip of his tea. "I didn't, however. Professor Garlick informed me of your preferences."

"Ah, so you cheated," you reply as you both sip on your tea.

He snorts and covers his face, setting his cup down and turning away to wipe the excess tea from his face. "I did not. I simply gained information from an outside source."

You laugh as he turns back to you. "Would you allow that on a test? Sounds like cheating to me."

He laughs and shakes his head. "Should I simply ask you directly, then, for all my necessary information?"

You nod and he takes a sip of tea, once again leaning back into the chair. "Alright then...allow me to ask you some questions."

You nod again, watching him.

"What are your favourite flowers? What was your best class when you attended Hogwarts? And...what really is your job?"

You grin and look around the courtyard, thinking. "Well...my favourite flower would have to be...Twinflowers."

He taps the table three times and nods. You notice but say nothing, thinking about the next question.

"My favourite class would have to be...Potions, ironically, but I was never very good at it. I'm not sure that's surprising to anyone," you say, causing him to laugh. "My best subject, really, was Artihmancy."

He taps the table three times again and nods. "Interesting. I've never known many students to take that class. You are quite smart, though, so I am unsurprised to hear of your success."

You laugh and shrug. "I work as a hit witch."

He leans in, suddenly much more interested. "Is that so?" he replies, tapping on table three more times.

You nod and smile. I'd been wondering why you seemed so familiar. I had seen you at the ministry. We never worked together, unfortunately." You sigh, wistfully. "I always wonder what if would have been like to see you working."

He chuckles and shakes his head. "Don't remember much about that version of myself."

"That's okay. This version of you is my favourite."

He smiles and grabs your hand, rolling his thumb over it. "Any version of you is my favourite."

You giggle and shake your head. "Cheesy, Aesop."

He laughs and pulls his chair toward you, leaning in. "Only if it pleases you."

You feel your face burn and smile. "It does."

He leans in more, pressing his lips to yours. You reach up with your free hand, caressing his face and kiss him back. Soon he leans away and smiles. 

"I ask you one thing."

You nod looking up to him.

"Take care of your wax wings. Daedalus lost his son. I cannot lose you."

Tag List!

Let me know if you want to be added or removed! Also let me know if you want a specific fic or all :)

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[cinn-crose]

Sway with me. [part 1]

As Rosa entered the ballroom, she expected her and Artem to have a great time; why would she be jealous this fast? [pairing: Artem + MC]

also psst psst a hint of sub artem + angst

When marimba rhythms start to play,

Dance with me, make me sway.

Rosa entered the ballroom, her gown swaying slowly. Hidden identities behind masquerade masks, yet she could easily recognize the people in the ball.

A man was taking photos; he wore a suit, and his hair is tinted a golden orange. "Luke, obviously," she whispered, sighing. "He still took his photography camera with him..."

Another man sipped from a glass of wine; his white, silky hair was rather messy. Rosa noticed the pair of glasses in his suit pocket. "You can't wear your glasses over your masquerade mask, obviously, Vyn." The image of Vyn wearing his glasses over a masquerade mask made her giggle softly.

Another man wearing a suit seemed to be teasing a group of people. His voice was rather loud, and he kept laughing loudly. "Marius, same as always.." she rolled her eyes, heading to the food bar.

She picked up a small plate filled with cheese of different types, paired with biscuits and chocolate. Rosa wasn't the type to crave expensive food, but this time, it was an exception.

"Madame." A deep voice spoke behind her, his warm breath against her skin. In surprise, she gasped, her eyes widening.

Like a lazy ocean hugs the shore,

Hold me close, sway me more.

"Artem!" Rosa said, her voice hinting that she is reprimanding him. "You just like surprising people, don't you." She knew how much Artem loved suddenly appearing behind her, making her jump, and sometimes even drop files she carried, or books she was reading.

"Rosa, you should.. wear this." Artem handed her a soft silk masquerade mask, a red feather sticking out of the left side. "It's a masquerade, afterall."

Artem wore an expensive retailed suit; He also wore a black masquerade mask, complimenting his dark suit. His tie clip looks polished and even more expensive. Artem adjusted his tie, looking away from her. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"Yes.." Rosa replied, getting closer to Artem's cheek.

Like a flower bending in the breeze,

Bend with me, sway with ease.

Now, Artem expected a kiss from the woman. He closed his eyes, smiling. As Rosa noticed such, she smirked. "Yes, there is something on your face." She pretended to wipe something off his face.

"Oh, ah—" Artem stuttered, a tint of pink on his cheeks; he seemed quite embarrassed. "Why, what were you expecting me to do?" Rosa spoke up, raising an eyebrow.

When we dance, you have a way with me,

Stay with me, sway with me.

"N-Nothing. Anyways," He sighed, fixing his tie. "I'd like to invite you to the wine section of this ball." Confused, Rosa looked at Artem. "But your alcohol toleration—?"

"No need to worry about that. Besides, a client is looking for us," Artem looked at his watch, holding out a hand for her.

"Shall we go, m'lady?"

MC graciously accepts his hand, allowing him to lead her to the other side of the ballroom.

"Let me introduce you to our client," Artem starts, stopping infront of a woman. She seemed young, an age or two younger than the attorney; she wore a dress that exaggerates her neck and shoulders, paired with high heels. "This is Selena, a representative from the Pax group." Rosa smiled at her, taking a wine glass from the table. "I am MC, a lawyer from the Themis Law Firm," she introduced herself, pouring a serving of wine for herself and Artem.

Other dancers may be on the floor,

Dear, but my eyes will see only you.

"I know you; you defended Marius Von Hagen on court, yes?" Selena asks, looking at Rosa, then at Artem; his attention was on the younger attorney. "..my alcohol tolerance is low," he whispered, fixing his tie. "I don-"

"MC!" Luke came running to the small group, giggling to himself. "They have a toast section! There are so many spreads and-"

"If you want to," Selena immediately said, clearing her throat; Luke and Rosa's attention diverted to the woman. "you two can go to the bread section, I have something to discuss with Artem."

"Oh?" Artem looked back at Selena, putting down the glass of wine Rosa gave him. "If so, my partner here needs to listen as well," he continued in a low, serious voice.

Selena could only sigh, crossing her arms. "It's a personal matter, Artem. Besides—"

"'Mr. Wing' would be a more appropriate way to address me," Artem cut her off, noticing something suspicious. "You're.. not even an acquaintance, Selena. If anything, you are our client." Artem forced himself to be cold, shocking both Luke and Rosa.

Only you have that magic technique;

When we sway, I go weak!

"..If you can excuse us, um-" Luke looked back at his friend, clearing his throat. "We're going to the bread section. Right, MC?" He smiled awkwardly, avoiding Artem's gaze.

The younger lawyer could only nod, looking back at Artem. "We- we have to go. Bye!" Rosa walked away fast, following Luke. "It.. seems like Artem and his client will argue, that's why I wanted to bring you away from the chaos," he whispered, heading to another section of the ballroom.

"Let's stay here for now," Luke said, fixing her masquerade mask. "Marius is busy with talking to some businessmen." To prove his statement, he pointed at Marius, who seemed bored as two men in suits spoke to him.

"Well, seems like he's bored," Rosa commented. "Marius isn't the type to talk about business matters, especially at balls like this."

As time went on, Luke and her danced together, ate snacks together, and participated in card games, yet they were careful on how much they would bet. This whole time, Rosa wished to have done all these activities with Artem; she watched the whole time as Artem and Selena talked, and Artem kept looking flushed, his cheeks constantly tinted with pink.

I can hear the sounds of violins,

Long before it begins.

Now, Rosa was getting jealous. She wanted to know what the two were talking about; afterall, that's her task as Artem's partner, to know any business consults Artem deals with.

She waited until Luke was distracted by Marius, listening to them as they debated on the best spread for toast. MC carefully walked over to Artem and Selena, trying not to make it seem obvious.

Make me thrill as only you know how,

Sway me smooth, sway me now.

"A- And, well, I deal with missing person cases," Artem stuttered, looking down. "Good boy. And your partner, what does she deal with?"

She realized that Artem was too focused on Selena and her little remarks, making him accidentally spill information related to the Themis Law Firm; she noticed how drawn he was to her compliments, as well as the little touches Selena would do.

He's drunk again, isn't he.. Rosa thought to herself, noticing how Artem acted sweet and dazed all of a sudden, resulting in him not collecting his thoughts properly.

Rosa cleared her voice, the two people looking back at her. Artem put his wine glass down, his cheeks quite red, now. "Oh- MC!" Selena laughed nervously, looking back at Artem. "I.. have to go, now-" Quickly, Selena walked away, walking towards a small group of men wearing black clothes.

"Artem, you're intoxicated," his partner says, sighing. "I heard your conversation with this.. 'client' of yours. Did you give out information?"

"I- I didn't!" Artem said in a hurry, frowning. Rosa could only raise her eyebrow in doubt. "Oh, really? Then why did Luke overhear Selena talking to a bunch of men who are apparently interested in milking out information from the Themis law firm?"

".." Artem could not respond; he fixed his tie, clearing his throat.

[time skip alleluia]

The ball is finally over. Marius agreed to take Luke home, while Vyn stayed longer, for he had to investigate a small matter.

"Why don't you stay at my apartment for tonight?" Artem approached Rosa who was sitting on a couch by herself. "Alright; but let's.. discuss certain matters."

The two attorneys finally reached Artem's home. Their voices were quite strained after hours of arguing; it was surprising, really, how Artem didn't crash the car.

"You didn't know she was flirting with you?!" She said loudly, yet she minded the tone of her voice. "Artem, you gave out information from the Stellis Law Firm!"

"Shut!" Artem yelled back, opening the door to his home, grumbling. "Besides, it's.. very late at night. There is no use to arguing."

Rosa changed to the clothes she had packed earlier before arriving at the ball; she asked Artem to keep the packed clothes in his car. In the meantime, Artem removed his vest and coat, still wearing the white long-sleeved polo, paired with a tie.

She sat down on Artem's bed, waiting for his arrival. The woman had to share the bed with Artem; afterall, he lived alone. She ran downstairs, heading to the kitchen. Rosa planned to wash her face first before heading to bed.

"Artem, do you have spare towels?" Rosa asked, peeking through the kitchen. She watched as Artem cut an apple and put it on a ceramic bowl. "On the very bottom drawer, Rosa," Artem replied, adjusting the heat of the stove.

She ran back upstairs, walking over to the bottom drawer of Artem's nightstand.

MC gasped— she realized she opened the wrong drawer. She should've opened the drawer of the bathroom, or perhaps the storage room. When she opened the bottom drawer of Artem's nightstand, Rosa found rather.. questionable items Artem owns.

part 2 here!

[mashed-potato101]

Hellfire (Part 3)

❧ Post Scoop! Michael Afton x reader

Part 1 | Part 2 | [Part 3] | Part 4

Key Words: (Y/N) = Your Name

TW! Angst... Just angst

He stood in the office as the fire started to spread around him. He could hear his father pleading for his help on the other side. The damaged animatronics have stopped pounding the metal door and accepted their fate. Michael sighed, Finally, it’s over.

A door behind him opened, he turned his head and glanced at a bright light at the corner of his eyes. There he saw his mother, his little sister, and his little brother holding a yellow Fredbear plush, along with another child. He recognizes her as Henry’s deceased daughter, Charlie. They all faced him with a smile, his mother held her hand towards him.

Michael slowly moved forward. He smiled, seeing his mother and his siblings for the first time in years. He was ready, ready to finally rest. He fought for so long to free everyone’s spirits and stop his father. He held his hand up, about to hold onto his mother’s hand. All of the sudden, he froze on his track.

A voice- A sweet, familiar voice ran through his head. It was calling out for him...

Mi-... Michael... Michael, please...

Michael then realized who the owner of that voice was. It was you, his partner, the love of his life, his happiness, his whole world...

Promise me you’ll come back to me, please…

He took a step back and look down. Dear god, how could he ever forget about you? You are probably waiting, waiting for him to return home. He could hear you crying in his mind. He couldn’t stop imagining you sobbing in the bed you both sleep in, grieving over his death. The thought of it broke his heart deeply.

No… He can’t die yet; he can’t die NOW. He can’t rest peacefully knowing his partner waiting for him. He can’t rest knowing they’ll be saddened over his disappearance. He can’t rest knowing he broke a promise he swore to keep. Tears have started to form in his eyes, feeling guilty. He has to go back home, he has to! He wants to go home and return to your arms; he wants to feel your kisses and warm hugs again. He couldn’t bear to imagine yourself losing it when you found out you lost him. You need him, and he needs you.

He looks up and saw a concerned face from his mother and two confused faces from the girls. “Michael?” his mother called.

“I… I can’t- I can’t go yet…” Michael stuttered, “I have to go back… I have to go back home! (y/n) … they’re- they’re waiting for me!” He couldn’t stop stuttering as he tried to explain.

His mother smiled at him softly and put her hand down. “We understand… Go.” Michael looked at her in shock. He smiled at them, “Thank you...” he whispered loudly. He wants to hug them but knew he couldn’t. "Hurry and go!” Elizabeth exclaimed, “The whole building is going to be burned to the ground.”

Michael nodded and remembered the photo he taped on the wall. He turned around and grabbed it to see it having tiny burnt corners, he was luckily the fire haven’t fully damaged the picture yet. He didn’t notice Helpy wasn’t on the monitor. He shoves the photo inside his pocket and heard a voice behind him.

I forgive you...

Michael’s eyes widened, letting a soft gasp. He quickly turned to see the door empty; the light is gone and so were the others.

He recognizes that voice to be his little brother. After all of these years, he couldn’t forgive himself for what he did to him. (y/n) kept telling Michael many times before that his younger brother had already forgiven him, but he didn’t want to believe it. And now hearing his brother saying those words broke him. Tears started falling and he let out a sniff.

(y/n) ... (y/n) …. (Y/N)! Right, he can’t forget about (y/n) again. He needs to go now!

He rubbed his eyes with his sleeves and ran out of the room. He saw the whole area burning, the fire is growing and he is running out of time. He ran towards the exit door, dodging the fire and the burning objects. He stopped, the exit door in front of him was a locked metal door. Michael pounds at the door, kicking it. “HENRY!” he yelled. “OPEN UP! PLEASE!!!” There was no response. The blockade is secured tight and impossible to break. He was losing hope, but the thought of (y/n) kept him going. There’s gotta be another way out.

He quickly scanned around the room and saw a large vent on the wall. He ran towards it and kneel. He tried pulling it out but it’s screwed in. Even kicking it wouldn’t budge. It was getting hard to breathe; the smoke was filling through his lungs. Michael coughed, he coughed violently. He kept punching the vent though his hands were red from his blood. He stopped, yelled out in frustration. He sat on the floor with his back on the wall.

He gave up, there’s no other way out. He began to cry, letting out his tears. Small debris coming down from the ceiling, the only things that can be heard were the sound of the flame and Michael’s loud sobs. Everything around him began to blur. The fire is getting close to him. I guess this is it. he sighed one last time, I’m sorry, (y/n). It appears I’m going to break my promise...

The last thing Michael heard was thumping inside of the vent, but he was too miserable to move, stuck in the room of Hellfire.

[stealforreal]

Future kids - Todoroki Shoto I

Todoroki meets his children from the future. Part 2 is up now you can find it on my tumblr masters list. Or click [here]

Todoroki Shoto x F! Reader

Warnings: none

Todoroki was understandably confused. One moment he was eating his cold soba in peace and quiet, the next a little girl came barreling into him. Clinging onto his pant leg for dear life, tears streaming down her chubby cheeks. Todoroki tensed, even if he was coming out of his shell, dealing with a little child while not having complete control over his flames terrified him. What if he ended up hurting her, when he wanted to help? He refused to be like his father. hurting small children.

A small tug on his leg brought him out of his thoughts, and back to the reality that a young girl probably no older than 6 was clinging to him. He could feel his pants getting wetter by the minute, drenched in the redheaded little princess’ tears. Kneeling down to her height, he put a hand on her head and pattet it gently. It was the only form of comfort he could think of would be appropriate. “ Hey snowflake, where's your parents?” Todoroki asked the little girl, making her look up at the stranger whom she was clinging to. A small gasp escaped her lips, as she began to sob harder and cling to him even more if that was even possible. “ I-Im so so sorry daddy *sniff* I can’t find Ren” Todoroki stiffened. Daddy? He wasn’t a dad, not yet anyways. But that didn’t matter when he was comforting a young girl, so he would play along for the time being. Besides he felt drawn to the little snowflake, maybe it was the fact that she was comfortable enough to seek comfort from him. Maybe it was the fact that she looked like him, with beautiful heterochromia eyes, one classic Todoroki cerulean blue and one e/c.

“ Take a deep breath, little snowflake. Can you tell me what year it is?” His usual monotone tone, took on a softer note talking to the girl. He was kneeling at her height, rubbing small circles on her small back, while she clung to his shirt, sobbing in his chest. She looked up at him with her big mismatched doe eyes brimming with tears “ Its 20xx” okay weird that is 15 years in the future, Shoto wasn’t stupid this was probably the work of a quirk. He then proceeded to ask her if she was indeed hit by a quirk.

She told him that apparently her and her twin brother Ren, were playing with some of their friends at a park. But when they were playing tag one of their friends got their quirk, and the twins got separated. When Reina, as she told him her name was, woke up and couldn’t find her twin brother Ren she began to panic. Then she began looking for him, but then she recognized the dual colored hair and ran to him.

In between her telling the story and sniffling quitely, Shoto had picked her up. While she was calming down in his arms, he began making his way back to the campus grounds. Mr.Aizawa would hopefully know what to do, and maybe they would find Ren on the way. It broke his heart to hear her sniffle, his little snowflake crying was heart wrenching. Even if she technically wasn’t born yet, she was still his little snowflake and he would protect her no matter the cost. He was so possessive of his little girl already and he had only met her 1 hour ago, he promised himself then and there that he would be a better father than Endeavor ever was.

Her sniffles and sobs stopped, and her trembling figure relaxed in his hold. He could feel the little one's gaze on him, and he turned his head to her tilting his head a bit to ask what was wrong. “ Why do you look so young, daddy? '' She asked with the little innocent voice of an angel, he couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at her question. “ Well my little snowflake, right now I’m 16 and you haven’t exactly been born yet. I’m guessing your friend's quirk is something along the lines of time travel” he patiently explained to her, she nodded her head along as if she understood him. And if she inherited his intelligence, she just might have understood what he just told her completely.

The walk back to the dorms were filled with idle chatter, Shoto asking Reina about his future and how he was as a father. To which she exclaimed with a bright toothless smile ‘Daddys the best daddy in the whole world’ and he was so relieved that he wasn’t a horrible father like his own was to him. He ended up stopping for a minute so Shoto could pepper her with small soft kisses all over her cute slightly chubby cheeks. Her squeals of excitement warmed his heart, and a soft smile made its way on his face.

To onlookers they looked like a cute set of siblings, and small aw’s and so cute were heard in the background. But inside their little bubble, nothing could burst Shoto’s happiness at knowing he wouldn’t repeat his fathers mistakes. The long walk back to the dorms felt a lot shorter with his little snowflake talking his ear off. It was adorable really, she stumbled over a few words every once and awhile. She told him all about her and Ren’s adventures, how they accidentally froze their teacher when Ren got his quirk, and how he had to come and free the teacher.

Shoto was inexplicably happy that Ren got his quirk from his mothers side. But one thing caught his attention was the mention of their mother. He realized that Reina not once had mentioned her name, and as much as Shoto would hate to admit it he was beyond curious as to who he would ultimately spend his life with. A big part of him hoped that it was you, since he had finally found out what the fuzzy feeling he had around you was. Yep Todoroki Shoto was utterly and completely enamored by you, your personality was sweet and you would do anything for family and friends. Alongside Midoriya you were his best friend, and he was in love with you.

The closer to the dorms the two Todorokis came, the more his curiosity nagged him to ask his daughter who her mother was. When he could see the height alliance building a little longer down the road, his curiosity won. “ Snowflake, you never told me your mom's name. '' Reina brightened when he asked about his future wife, a big tell that his little girl adored her mother as much as she adored her father. '' Silly daddy, mom's name is Todoroki y/n of course, ``she said giggling. A bright smile adorned his handsome features as Todoroki stepped into the dorm's living room with Reina still in his arms with her head on his shoulder.

Class 1-A consecutively looked towards the door when it opened. They were trying to calm down the child that was crying on their sofa, who also happened to look suspiciously like their dual haired classmate. The young boy had dual colored hair and cerulean blue eyes, his hair was half white and half y/h/c. The child was obviously confused and scared, and had only stopped wailing when Kaminari short circuited. But alas he was still sobbing and the class was almost out of ideas. He had been asking about his parents, and calling for a person named Reina.

There in the door stood a smiling Todoroki, holy damn was the world ending. But what also caught their attention was the little redhead in his arms hugging him, the little girl's voice reached them and their jaws dropped. “ Daddy, is this the place you and mommy met?” It was such an innocent question, but 1-A was in a frenzy, so much so that they didn’t notice the little boy springing up from the couch and dashing toward Todoroki and the girl. They only came back to earth when a small happy “Daddy” was heard.

Todoroki was about to answer Reina’s question, when he heard the little cry “Daddy”. He turned his head towards the sound and so did Reina, she began bouncing in Shoto’s arms. “ Ren '' She shouted, making Shoto bend down and extend his arm that wasn’t holding Reina. Ren launched himself into Shoto’s chest, and Reina began hugging her twin brother as much as she could in their fathers embrace. “ Don’t worry my little snowflake, daddy’s got you” He whispered softly, calming Ren immediately. The rest of the class stood gobsmacked, daddy?

“Now my little snowflakes, let's go find Mr. Aizawa, so you can go home” Shoto’s arms were full, his little boy on one arm and his little girl on his other arm. How is he supposed to open the door? “ Midoriya, would you come with me to open the door?” Shoto’s tone was monotone as always, but slightly softer in the presence of his children. Midoriya simply nodded dumbfounded, nobody said a word. What were they supposed to say, with all the daddy claims, and seeing the children in the arms of their classmate confirmed it. They looked like the spitting image of the dreamy heterochromia boy, but with some tweaks. There were the y/h/c and the girls one e/c eye, that obviously must’ve come from their mothers side.

On the way to the teacher dormitories, the twins talked excitedly with each other, while Shoto explained the situation to Midoriya. Midoriya felt like he had seen the features on the twins that certainly didn’t come from Todoroki’s side, but with how much they looked like their father it was nearly mission impossible.

Coincidentally on her way to Mr. Aizawa as well, you spotted the tuft of green hair and tufts of red and white hair. Hm, must be on their way to Mr.Aizawa as well you thought. Jogging up to them, you poked Midoriya’s shoulder. Even if you were in class 1-B, you had a pretty good friendship with the cute green haired cinnamon roll. Your quirks were similar in a sense, since yours was a boost of strength as well. Not nearly as strong as Midoriya’s, but still. That is why you were training partners, and through him you had met his friend circle. It wasn’t an unusual sight to see Midoriya and Todoroki together.

But when they turned to you, you were left flabbergasted by the two cuties in Todoroki’s arms. Before the boys could react, Ren began squirming chanting ‘mommy’. Shoto sat him and Reina down, because she too began squirming once they caught sight of you. The two children that were previously in Todoroki’s arms, now tackled you in a hug. “Daddy look, we found mommy” they said in unison. Two children around 6 years old launching at you, could make even the best of them fall on their butts. Which was exactly what happened, they were squeezing you as tight as their small forms would allow.

Choosing to ignore the small ‘mommy and daddy’ comment, you carefully scooped them up in your arms. The look that Shoto gave you was enough to go along with this little charade, he looked at the three of you like you were his entire world. His eyes were shining with happiness, and his lips quirked up in a small smile. Lightly bouncing the ecstatic but sleepy children in your arms, you turned your attention to the two males before you. “ You wouldn’t happen to need Mr.Aizawa as well, would you?” You raised a knowing eyebrow. The two boys nodded, and you began walking again towards the teachers dormitory. You sent Todoroki a small pointed glare, silently commanding him to explain the situation.

The walk to the teachers lounge felt shorter than usual, since your attention was occupied. Todoroki explained his theory that a quirk sent the twins to the past, and that the two of you were their parents. As crazy as that sounded it made so much sense, and looking at the children you would lie if you said you didn’t see the resemblance. Midoriya explained how Ren was crying before Todoroki arrived, and how confused they were when they heard the little boy yelling ‘daddy’. Ren was probably the most scared, since he didn’t recognize anyone in his panicked state. Besides, most of the students probably look a lot different in the future, so it's kind of a miracle that the twins recognized you. Shoto will always be pretty easy to recognize, with his distinct hair, eyes and the showstopping scar. It complimented the handsome teen next to you so well, no wonder he was one of UAs top heartthrobs. Stopping for a second, you just realize something. If the twins in your arms are you and Todoroki's, then that means that you ended up scoring the half-n-half quirk user. Nothing could wipe the shiteating grin that made its way on your face, eliciting concerned and curious glances from the males beside you.

Mr.Aizawa had his fair share of strange situations. He had been teaching at UA for some time, and student’s quirks weren’t always a walk in the park. Never had he ended up in a situation quite like this though, he had to rub his eyes twice to make sure it was real. In front of him were 2 out of Class-1A’s trouble makers and one of his favorite students from Class-1B, they had two small children with them. Easily recognized as twins, and they looked like the half - n- half troublemakers children.

This was going to be a long night.

[gukguktae]

Any chance you’d be interested in writing a follow up to the rejections? Like what happens after the original obstacle is no longer an obstacle? At the very least I’d love to see where joon and yoongis go. (Romantic) Justice for professor min!

AN: Holy sh---- thank you for requesting namjoon’s!! I couldn’t sleep at night thinking about that poor guy. Since you only mention yoongi and najoom (thanks btw), here you go. I hope the justice you want is in there somewhere. Enj.

Did I choose to write this over my due paper? Yes.

Did I regret it? No.

Am I failing? Probably

WC: 2.0k

Genre: Fluff

Title: The one where they got the girl (NamGi Part 2)

(part 1)

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Namjoon (College AU) Part 2

You watch every person walk inside the theater, titling up a little higher because the person you’re looking for is a walking tower. You fidget on your phone checking if he texted you already, it’s been a week since you talked to him via text and call. Namjoon went to a trip, but he promised he’ll be there in time for your graduation, you tried calling him last night, but his phone still off.

Namjoon continued to help you, but he became busy with his career for the past years, so you see him less. There were times that he was stuck at work, or exhausted from working and barely getting any sleep that he forgot that he has to meet you, but you always understand.

“YN!” You turn around, disappointed that it was only your friend waving you down, “They’re calling the students!”

Nodding to her, “I’ll be there.” You glance at the door way one last time before sighing and biting your lip. You didn’t bother to text him again, and just head inside.

The ceremony started, you should feel happy, well you are, but there’s still this slight disappointment in you. Trying to brush it off and focus on the speaker, you’re giving your very own speech as the class valedictorian after all. “Are you nervous?” One of your classmate asked, “You’ve been sighing.”

“Oh, uhm. I’m fine, don’t worry.”

She smiled and squeezes your arm, “You got this.”

Moments passed and they finally called out your name to give your speech, you shake the nervousness off as you exhale. Namjoon helped you with this speech so you’re pretty much confident about it. With wide smile you said, “Thank you, Professor Park. And thank you to the students, teachers, parents, and staff who made these four years everything that they were. It is an honor to be here today…”

He watches you walk to the podium and he could tell that you’re nervous; Namjoon sat properly as you greet every one. It could be because of the light or his eyes welling up, but his eyes glistens as he stare at you. As always, you keep on taking his breath, making his stomach flutter with those smiles.

A tear slip from his eyes as you finishes your speech, he chuckled as he feels silly for crying, but he’s really proud of you. “Ah, you’re really something else, bubs.” He smiles while clapping.

You walked out of the event’s place with your head down, “Cheer up, baby girl we just graduated!” Your friend place her hand on your waist, you hugged her as you congratulate each other. “Wait, my Mom’s calling.” She pulls out her phone and left.

“Yeah, bubs. Cheer up will you?” As you register the deep voice, you turn around. He’s holding a bouquet of flowers with a grin on his face. “Wait, don’t cry!”

Your chin trembles as tears wells up, “You missed my graduation!”

“I did not.” Namjoon laugh that turns into nervous chuckled, your glare at him made him scratch his nape. “Come here.” He said as he pulls you into a hug.

“You did! Where were you?!” You sob on his chest.

“I was here the whole time. I wouldn’t miss this for the world, YN.” He soothes, placing a kiss on the top of your head. “You know that, I told you before I will always be here for you.”

You sniff, “I called and texted, you never answered.”

“I drop my phone, the ocean has it now.” His chest vibrates as he giggles. “I’m sorry, bubs.”

Looking up to meet his soft eyes, “I love you.” You felt how he held his breath and slowly grin forms on his face, just until his eyes forms a thin line.

“Jesus, YN! You’re going to be the death of me.” He cupped your cheeks, while wiping your tears with his thumbs. “Say it again.”

“I love you, Namjoon.” You said with a smile. Namjoon lets go of you and clutches his chest, “You’re being dramatic, Joonie!”

He sighs before pulling you again, cupping your neck as he leans down to place a soft kiss on your lips. You were the first to move your lips and Namjoon follows, the kiss lingers as he pulls away with a smile on his face.

“I love you, YN.”

Yoongi (Professor AU) Part 2

A week passed since Mr. Min’s confession to you, it wasn’t awkward at all because you avoid him and his gaze inside the class. You’re always thirty minutes early than everyone else and you sat at the very far back sinking in your seat, your friend find it weird that you’re doing all these, but she never questioned you again.

Today wasn’t your day at all, you woke up late and your car decided to have a flat tire when it was perfect last night. You’re just in time for your class, students are settled in their seats and your friend decided to sit in front. “Why are you in here?”

“The back was full when I got in. It’s fine here.” She pulls you to sit.

An older guy walked in confusing everyone, “Good Morning. I will be your professor for today.”

“A sub? Where’s Professor Min?” Your friend whispers

He must have heard her, “Starting today, I will be handling all Professor Min’s classes.”

“What?!” You stood up and slam your hand, “I mean, what– what a nice surprise… that we have you. Sorry.”

Your friend blinks at you, “What was that?” You just shrugged.

All throughout the class, you were only thinking about Mr. Min. Did he quit? Got transferred? Where is he? Is it because of you? You didn’t even notice that the class ended, just when your friend call out your name when she’s half way out the door.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

“Yeah, but I’ll skip the next class, I’m kind of hungry.” You said and waved good-bye.

You went to the cafeteria to get some meal, but for some reason you don’t feel like eating even though you’re hungry, wondering what is wrong with you today? Maybe the universe is playing some joke. You pushed the tray away and just sip on your drink, over hearing the conversation on the next table.

“Mr. Min, resigned? Really, why?” You lean in more because you’re asking the same question.

“I think he got a job offer at HYBE? I don’t know the whole story, but that’s what I heard. He was in his office, clearing his stuff.”

Pushing your chair to sprint your way to the faculty. He’s here, you don’t really know what you’ll say or what you’ll do, but you want to see him. Say good bye maybe or ask him why is he resigning? Your legs feels like they’re about to fall off, but you didn’t care and just keep running and bumping into people.

Yoongi made way for you as you ran past him, he watches you stumble on people. He’s disappointed that he didn’t even said good bye to his class- especially to you. His new job will be on the other side of the city, which means he’ll see you less. Well, he’s been seeing you less this couple of days, when you thought he can’t see you sinking in your seat, you’re wrong. You were always the first person he sees when he walks in his classroom, but he knew you were avoiding him.

To give you space and peace, he finally accepted the job offer that’s been dangling in front of him for the past year. It was his dream job, to create music and producing them, but he put it off and promised that he’ll accept after you graduated. Don’t get him wrong he likes teaching, but when the reason for it started to avoid him it kind of starting to suck.

He unlocks his trunk to place his last box. “Mr. Min!” You were running towards him.

“YN, what–“

You held your hand up, trying to catch your breath. Your chest started to hurt together with your lungs, actually everything hurts. “Give me a… minute… Oh, God! I can’t- can’t breathe.” Clutching your knees as you try to keep yourself alive. “I’m seeing spots.”

“Are you okay? Why are you running?” The look of concern painted Yoongi’s face, but he’s giggling a little.

Once you regain a little of yourself you look up to him, “I… uhmm, just want to say good-bye.”

He smile half-heartedly and look down, nodding his head. He didn’t expect anything else, but he was disappointed still. “Thank you, Ms. YN. You didn’t have to run all over the place like that.”

“This might be the last time I’ll see you, so can’t pass up the opportunity.” You mumbled and focused on your shoes. “Good luck in your new career.”

Yoongi nodded. “Thank you.”

You were about to walk away, but then turning your heels. “And uh… I’ll miss you… sir” shifting your back on him. Did you just run all over the building to say that? You mentally shank yourself for not being able to say your feelings to him. Sure, it started with a crush, but that feeling grew and it blows up in your face, and his confession didn’t help with that at all.

“I’m not your professor anymore, YN.” He waited for you to turn back around, “Just saying, you didn’t actually say no to me, but why are you sorry?”

Balling your hand into a fist before looking back to him, he’s clutching the strap of his bag while the other hand is on his pocket; you also noticed that he’s wearing a pair of glasses today. Why does he always have to look this good? What for, seriously?

“I was sorry because, I felt bad.” Ignoring the pound in your chest. “Because you like me and I like you, but it’s never going to happen.”

“Never?”

You bit the inside of your cheek and look to the side, “I don’t know, you tell me!” You huffed at him. “You can’t just confess to me and then leave! That’s a jerk move, do you know how many nights I’ve spent thinking about it? Thinking about you? I can’t focus, and now that you’re leaving I can’t even eat! I hate that!”

“Are you mad?”

“Yes! I am mad!” Clenching your jaw while your chest huff and puff from frustration. “You can’t leave me, not when you know I like you too!”

Yoongi tried to fight a smile that’s trying to form on his face, “But I didn’t know that you like me too.”

Your body relaxes, fist unfolds and chest drops, “Yeah? Well… I like you, Mr. Min– I mean Professor Min– Yoongi– Ah, whatever!” You turn to walk away again. That’s gotta be the most embarrassing confession there is in history, but Yoongi thinks otherwise, he think it was the cutest thing he ever seen. It was painful to watch, but in a good way- great even.

His gummy smile spread across his face, giggling with his shoulder on what he just witnessed. The girl that he fell in love with is frustratingly like him too, he’s over the moon. He drops his bag to run to you, hugging you from behind.

“You can’t just confess, and then leave. That’s a jerk move.” He whispers.

Turning around to face him, “You think you’re funny huh?”

“Wow, you were a lot nicer when I was your professor.” Your smile is making him smile too, placing his forehead on yours. “Do you want to grab coffee?”

“I have classes.” You pouted, making his heart race again. “How about dinner?”

“How about a kiss?”

You giggle as you push him lightly, “I like this side of you Professor Min.”

“I–” You pull him by his neck and smashes your lips on him, his wide eyes remains, but only for a second. He closes his eyes before reaches on your lower back to perch you, enabling him to deepen the kiss. He bit your lower lip lightly before letting go with a grin on his face.

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BTS masterlist

[fandom-monium]

I JUST READ KITCHEN CATASTROPHES OMG ITS SOOO CUTE UGH MY HEART SO SOFT CAN YOU PLSSS DO A PART 2? THANK YOU KEEP DOING WHAT YOU DO

AN: thank you, anon! i dont plan to make a sequel to KC. But if i did:

For Valentine’s Day

Summary: In which you throw a wrench in Spencer’s plans: you don’t like Valentine’s Day. “If it’s with you, I guess it’s not so bad.”

WC: 2.9k (whoops)

Tags/Warnings: Spencer Reid x GN!Reader, fluff, cussing, semi anti-valentines day, Spencer tears up but dont worry were there to fix that, established relationships (blegh), Garvez if you squint, post-For the Holidays

Fuck cooking, Spencer thinks one day.

It's an irrational thought. The kind that strikes through his mind in a flash of irritation like a scrape of the knee as he is perusing the internet. Yes, he is using a computer willingly. He has to because he's desperate.

Cooking is stupid. Who really needs it, right?

…

He needs it. God, he needs it so bad.

His need to learn cooking wasn't as incessant until recently. Until you came along.

Spencer is a meticulous person and a romantic if you'd ever met one. Makes sense considering how he grew up, reading the classics and all that. He's read all the gooey literary shit old people write and while he never understood those meanings it all dawned on him one day. Quotes written like 'the stars in their eyes' and 'sunshine glowing off them like a halo', suddenly makes sense once he meets you. Or at least, after coming to know you, months into your newfound friendship.

It's because of this he plans accordingly the weeks leading up to Valentine's day! Because again he's meticulous and a romantic and a genius so he plans every step and makes a back up plan in case A, B, and C fall through.

Is he going overboard? 

… Nah. No way. Not when it comes to you.

But fuck with a capital F, man.

It's your third date. Or what is supposed to be your third date if you would just stop being you for a second.

Then again, he loves you a lot and he wouldn't love you if you weren't, well, you.

Although—pardon his french—what the fuck. 

Spencer knows he needs to learn to cook. You've tried plenty of times to teach him and he loves learning and he especially loves it when you are the teacher (wait, does he have a teacher/student fantasy? Maybe. That’s something he'll look into later. Preferably with you). 

Unfortunately, he's terrible at it.

He's made progress and he knows it's true because you said so but the miniscule progress he's made is. Not. Enough. And it's all your fault! Because he gets so distracted by you during your lessons, like when you put your hands over his to show him proper slicing techniques—holy fuck, he wanted to combust right there—or just watching your deft hands at work, lips and brow scrunched in concentration in that adorable way. And you smell like cooking oil or whatever you're making and you're hot.

He's so into you it physically hurts. Ugh. How is he so lucky? 

You're also the first person he's been this into since Maeve. And everyone knows how well that turned out.

So he tries to dial it down for Valentine’s Day. Morgan told him once he tends to throw himself into everything he does, including love. And when you two got together, he promised the universe he will not fuck this up. He ends up combining Morgan’s advice with Luke’s, trying to be casual like Luke says because apparently you're just as into him as he is of you. 

The thought makes him grin uncontrollably. Luke says it makes him look like a clown but a lovesick clown. A lovefool, Luke hehs.

Spencer doesn’t get the joke, but it does nothing to deter him.

As Luke advised, Spencer does “not” make a dozen back up plans and does “not" plan weeks in advance. Because that wouldn't be casual, would it?

But now the day’s come and as Valentine’s Day turns to Valentine’s Night, Spencer wants to pull his hair, rub his frustratedly stinging eyes but he can't because he's in the middle of work, in the middle of the bullpen, in the middle of his desk and he refuses to be that guy. Not again.

Why does he feel like sobbing? Like a loser? 

Because you don't like Valentine’s Day. No, you abhor it.

It happens in the middle of the work day. It's like he tried to open a door only for a bucket of ice water to be dumped on him and now he looks like a drowned rat. He definitely feels like one.

You're talking with Garcia about her Valentine’s Day plans as you multitask, switching between putting together packets and stacking them aside. Then taking them under the hole-puncher and stapling them together because the BAU isn't all kicking down doors and catching freaks. 

It makes sense that you’re chatting with Garcia during your break. The two of you have become two peas in a pod after you came out of your shell. Now you're inseparable. Only you make Garcia leave her batcave as much as she does now.

Out of sight, he catches tidbits of your conversation when he hears distinctively: Fuck Valentine’s Day.

Okay, you didn't say that verbatim but you might as well have, grimacing as you three hole-punch a packet and his heart. Then a nail on his coffin only it’s with a stapler. 

Thump. Chick.

Spencer winces; there goes your his Valentine’s Day plans. 

It shouldn't sting as much as it does. You've been dating for over a month and Valentine’s Day is definitely not his favorite holiday either. It's not even top 3. And as you rant he can’t help but silently nod in agreement, all the facts straight: yes, it's an eyesore. Yes, it's a capitalistic holiday. Yes, people should do nice things for their significant others no matter the time and not because it's expected on a specific day. Yes, it doesn't compare to Halloween—

The thing is, you two aren't that “couple-y”, at least in a traditional sense. Not like Will and JJ who got a babysitter so they could go out or like Luke and Garcia as they plan to go to a special Valentine’s Day event she wants to check out (she vehemently denies anything going on between them but he doesn't need to be a genius to see the affection they have for one another. Just kiss already, damn).

So yeah, Spencer hoped to spend the romantic holiday with you. For once, he'd have Valentine’s Day plans, aside from exchanging cards with the team and his mother.

But apparently you hate Valentine’s Day! So there goes plan A, B, C, and D!

Spencer feels the tears spring at the corner of his eyes. He sniffs as subtly as he can, raising an open case file to his face. Of all the plans he hadn't thought through this was not one of them. IQ 187, his ass.

He should've known. Or at least ask your thoughts on Valentine’s Day. That was inconsiderate on his part. He blinks back tears, withdrawing into himself despite his hurt because he is a lovefool and only for you. He just wants to impress you, make you happy even if that means canceling your first Valentine’s Day together.

Now if you'll excuse him, he has to call off a few reservations and make some returns. Several actually.

Can you return a dozen donuts in the shape of hearts?

… Yeah, he better ask Emily for the rest of the day off.

—

"Hey Newb, have you seen Spencer? I haven't seen him since his break," You ask, resting your chin in your hand as you squint at another form. Your eyes are beginning to tire. 

Spencer asked you several times over the course of the last week, checking to see if you were free today. You are, so you planned to hang with him after work, but he hasn't returned from his break and he wasn't answering your calls or texts. Not unusual but still odd for your boyfriend (you still can’t believe you get to say that).

Luke sighs, his smooth voice reaching over your shared divider, "You know at some point I'm just not going to respond. You guys can’t call me Newbie forever."

"Keep telling yourself that," You snort without looking up.

Another sigh and you smirk: you win.

"For your information," Luke grumbles, words punctuated with sass, "Doc went home."

You pause. "Home?" He didn't tell you.

"Yeah, probably to get ready for your date."

"Our date?" You frown and stand up, leaning over the divider to see if Luke’s fucking with you.

He isn't. Luke shrugs, humming wistfully as he rests his cheek in his hand, "You should've seen how excited he was, being it your first Valentine's Day and all. I told him to chill out because you'll love whatever it is no matter what but I'm sure he ignored that and planned something spectacular for you guys." Sitting back, he twirls around in his chair.

You grimace, recalling your earlier conversation with Garcia. 

Shit.

"Meanwhile, I have to spend Galentine's Day with Garcia because all the ladies of the BAU are taken and I have nothing better to do—" Luke comes to a full 720, catching the tail end of your coat as you whip it on and make for the door. "—um, excuse you?"

"If Emily asks, I had an emergency!" You manage to call back, throwing open the glass door.

"Okay?"

"Thanks, Newb!"

As the elevator door dings shut with you inside, leg jumping because you have a sneaking suspicion you fucked up, Luke slouches in his chair and grumbles.

He's not a newb. Or a newbie.

—

You rush over to Spencer's, catching your breath as you stumble to his front door. There's shuffling from inside, the faint sound of clanking and crashing and your heart swells because this is the man you’ve fallen for, the first one you've ever felt this way for. Here he is, being all considerate and romantic. And here you are, fucking it up when your relationship’s barely even started.

God, you're an asshole, you berate yourself as you turn the doorknob and push open the door. You're an asshole you're an asshole you’re an asshole—

Then your eyes widen and your jaw goes slack. 

Immediately, you slap a hand over your mouth and nose as your favorite scented candles hit you like someone shoved a bouquet in your face. The description isn't too far off considering there's a lovely bouquet of your favorite flowers still in its wrapping, haphazardly set next to a dozen donuts on the coffee table like no one's business. Its petals are strewn across the floor, a few in tiny piles like they were hastily swept to the side. Red and pink and dark green fill your vision.

Who gutted Cupid and tossed his organs around, holy fu-

"(Your name)?"

Startled, you crane your head to find Spencer, beautiful hair askew and his tie hanging loosely around his neck. His sleeves are pushed up to his elbows as he clutches flowers to his chest. In his other hand, he grips the colored strings of several shiny red and pink balloons in the shape of hearts and—fuck—your heart might actually float up from your chest and into your eyes.

This is your man. Your partner. Your boyfriend.

Your boyfriend panics, fumbling for a second before stuffing the balloons and trimmed flowers back into the room behind him and slamming the door shut. He turns back to you, eyes wide.

"What-what are you doing here?" Spencer stammers, wringing his hands together.

You blink at him, dumbly holding up your phone. "You-uh-you left early and didn't return my calls."

"I'm sorry. I think I left my phone at work," Probably because he left in such a rush, Spencer groans, looking anywhere but you. The petals scattered over his floor are quite pretty in this light. "And I was a bit busy."

"I'm sure you were," You gawk openly at the strings of fairy lights hung around his living room. It's a clash of aesthetics. Spencer always rocked dark academia, but despite how ugly the combination of red and pink decorations with his nature green walls and dark wood is, it leaves his apartment a little brighter, a little cozier, and you love it.

You love everything about this.

But as you take in the ugly beauty of it all, Spencer fidgets at the doorway, mistaking your awe as shock and disgust. Wiping sweaty palms on his trousers, his eyes dart around, trying to focus on something, but every place he lays his eyes on makes him cringe. He catches all the things he couldn't clean up or put away in time. No doubt you do too. All the leftover flower petals, the donuts he can’t return, candles that haven’t blown out because he has the lungs of an 8-year old asthmatic. 

Spencer can't imagine how appalled you are.

And the longer your silence stretches on, the more nervous he gets so he blurts out, "I'm so sorry, (Your Name)!"

Your brow shoots up as he begins to ramble.

"You must hate this. I'll put everything away."

"You really don't have to—" You stop him, and your heart nearly crumbles as Spencer's does when he finally meets your worried gaze. 

His eyes gleam with unshed tears. He swallows, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"Doc—"

"At least not without asking you—"

"Doctor—"

"I understand if you want to break up—" His voice cracks, as if the idea itself will destroy him (it definitely will). 

"Spencer—" His voice, wobbly and dripping with unnecessary guilt, draws you to him.

"But I want you to know that I—"

With an exasperated sigh, you grab his hand as yours finds the nape of his neck, pulling him into a soft kiss. 

For a second, Spencer doesn't respond because who kisses the person they're about to break up with? Strange, really. But then he kisses you back. His hands remain frozen, unsure of where he stands, but he tilts his head to deepen the kiss. He figures this is a new social cue he has yet to learn. And if this is the last time you kiss him, he'll treasure every second of it, take whatever you'll give him because again he's a lovefool for you. 

And when you pull back, he's too dazed he nearly misses the look you give him. Suddenly, he can’t breathe.

You look at him like he hung the stars instead of cheap fairy lights around his apartment. 

Spencer’s confused. "I-I... Wha—"

"I'm not breaking up with you," You chuckle, and you nearly burst out laughing as genuine puzzlement takes over his face. You tug him behind you, plopping yourselves on his couch. You smile, appreciating the way he organized the cushions and throw-pillows; there's now space for two people to lay down.

You take a breath. "You wanna know why I don't like Valentine’s Day?"

Spencer slouches, though his body is angled towards you so you suppose that's good. He sighs, "Because it's a capitalistic holiday that reinforces the idea of doing the bare minimum…"

He begins listing your reasons, and your eyes soften. Of course he listened and remembered even if you mentioned it offhandedly.

You nod once he finishes. "Yes but before that—and I can't believe I'm telling you this—back when I was a little kid, I didn’t get any Valentines."

Spencer's brow furrows at the newfound information. You continue, "I'd get some from my friends and stuff but that's not what Valentine's Day is about. At least not when you're a kid. When you’re a dumb kid, it’s about couples and romantic shit, and I didn't really have any of that growing up." You purse your lips and glance away, face flushed with embarrassment. It's really not that big a deal, but putting it into words makes the idea seem more intimate and personal.

It takes a moment for your words to sink in as Spencer can't believe his ears. How could you not have been showered with love and affection and presents on Valentines Day? It's like water doesn't make things wet or fire doesn't produce heat; it just doesn't make sense. Because you deserve that much and more.

"So every Valentine's Day, I lowered my expectations and eventually I stopped caring. I'd tell myself those things and I started to believe them," You bite your lip, eyes crinkling as you give Spencer a sheepish smile. "But now I have you."

At that, Spencer returns your smile, letting you take his hand. Any tears he had seem to evaporate instantly.

“So, I'm sorry that I hurt you. I stand by what I said before, Valentine’s Day sucks. But if it’s with you,” Blushing deeply, you play with Spencer's hand, large and veins defined compared to yours, shrugging, “I guess it’s not so bad.”

Spencer’s smile broadens, and he intertwines your fingers together. "So what you’re saying is, you don’t hate this?” He looks around his living room.

You shake your head, unable to stop the grin crossing your lips. “No. In fact, very much the opposite. Honestly, thank you for this, it’s beautiful. I have no words.” You breathe it all in; the candles, the flowers, the— Your nose wrinkles and you snort, “Did you burn something?”

Bashfully looking down, he scratches his chin. “I-uh-tried to make your favorite dishes. Though, I was hoping the candles and flowers would mask it.”

You giggle and pull him into you, snuggling into his side. “That’s okay. I’d much rather have you anyway.”

With Spencer a blushing, stuttering mess in your arms, head resting on your chest, you press a kiss to his hair and conclude; yeah, you don’t like Valentine’s Day. 

But you sure as hell love Spencer more.

—

AN:  FtH status: finished - 7/5. yes 7.

I realize this was not what anon requested but oh well i wrote this at 2 am 

I’m not that anti v day but i stand by the capitalistic aspect.

yes this takes place after For the Holidays.

also included luke bc hes my bro and i honestly think he deserves so much more than what the show gave also garvez ftw

happy post valentine’s day!!

Song: Lovefool by The Cardigans

[holylulusworld]

White wolf & his omega

Summary: On an endless mission to take out people for Hydra the assets scent’s you, the one thing he never thought he’ll be able to find – his true mate.

Pairing: Alpha!Bucky x Omega!Reader

Characters: Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Sam Wilson, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton

Warnings: ABO, ABO dynamics, angst, scenting, comforting, protective alpha, fighting, violence, blood, bad use of Russian language, true mates, mentions of claiming, kidnapping

A/N: Final sequel to: White Wolf - Part 1 & Her White Wolf - Part 2

Wrapped in your alpha’s arms, sleeping peacefully you mumble his name in your sleep. Bucky is still wide awake, not due to nightmares or the guilt he still feels but to look at you. He’s calmer close to you, especially when he can look at the claiming mark he left during your first heat together.

He was still afraid the asset, the dark man inside his head, will show when he gives in to his primal instinct, but you had faith in him, your alpha.

Bucky nuzzles your neck, purring low when you whimper his name, moving closer to his warm body. Winter came fast and you are not used to cold, ice, and snow. You only lived in warm places so far which means experiencing a winter with frost and snow is new to you.

“Cold,” you scoot closer to Bucky, hiding your face in his chest whilst you press your body as close as possible to your mates.

“It’s warm, doll. You’re such a cute little frostbite,” Bucky smirks, watching you narrow your eyes at your mate. “Let me warm you up, Y/N.”

“You should sleep too, alpha. I know you got up to add more wood to the fire and that you cut more wood in the middle of the night,” you wrap your arms around Bucky, nuzzling your cheek into his chest. “I love you for caring about me, but I care about you too.”

“I promise to sleep when you hold me like this a bit longer,” you inhale the warm and calming scent of your mate before you close your eyes, holding the alpha in your arms. “Love you too, Y/N.”

“No, it’s cold outside, Bucky,” you whine, not wanting to leave the cozy house you call your home for almost eight months. “Let’s stay inside and forget about food, please.”

“Doll, we need to get more supplies and boots for you, my cute omega. You can stay here, and I’ll drive to town to get all we will need,” Bucky watches you scrunch up your nose before you shake your head. Since your alpha claimed you six months ago you are glued to his side.

“I don’t want you to go alone. Last time you needed three hours and I was so worried,” you grasp your boots and coat. “I’ll come with you, alpha. Just a minute, I need to get my scarf and hand gloves.”

“I’ll wait at the truck for you, doll. Do not worry, Y/N. I will not leave without you,” Bucky laughs when you run upstairs to get your scarf and hand gloves.

“We’ve got ladies toiletries for my doll, new razor blades for me to shave,” Bucky crosses all the things he found off his list. “Shampoo, toilet paper, shower gel, and a new loofah for my girl.”

You nod, leaning into Bucky’s embrace when he wraps one arm around your waist. “Got you a new base cap too, alpha. One in black and a blue one.”

“That makes two, Y/N,” you nod, pointing toward the shelf with sweets. “Sweets, got it, Y/N.”

“We got canned food, potatoes, and my magazines too. You said something about beer and water.” Bucky smirks, pointing toward the shopping cart. “My alpha already got it.”

“I did, doll. Now let’s check the list before we pay,” looking at the list you hum with every article Bucky crosses out. “We forgot your body lotion and socks. My girl needs warm socks.”

“I’ll get the body lotion, you will grab the socks,” pecking your lips Bucky hums, not wanting to admit he hates to let you out of sight.

“Body lotion, uh-after shave lotion for my alpha, cherry lipgloss and a soft flannel for Bucky and me,” looking at the things in your arms you hear a snarl behind you. A younger alpha looks at you, a dirty grin on his lips.

“What brings you out here, sweetie?” He purrs but you take a step backward, not caring he wants to talk to you. “Don’t be shy.”

“I’m claimed and my alpha is with me,” you try to spare the young alpha’s life, knowing Bucky could kill him if he tries anything. “If you excuse me now, I got to go back to my boyfriend.”

“You did not answer my question, bitch.” The slap the man gives you hits you by surprise, causing you to stumble and fall onto your butt. A grin on his lips the alpha steps closer, towering over your shaking form and you do what your instinct tells you – screaming for your alpha.

“Omega,” it’s a matter of seconds before Bucky is by your side to help you up. He’s shoving you behind his back, giving the smaller boy a warning snarl. “Get out of my sight and away from my omega, boy.”

The soldier would’ve just killed the boy but Bucky, he tries to spare an inexperienced alpha’s life. The problem is – that boy ain’t smart.

“Why don’t you go for tea, gramps. I bet,” the alpha dips his head to look at you behind Bucky’s back, “your omega prefers a younger alpha.”

“Stupid,” the clerk shakes his head, offering to bring you away from your alpha but a deep growl leaves Bucky’s lips, and the kind beta steps away, nodding at your alpha.

The boy still doesn’t get he’s in trouble, even dares to step toward you until he finds himself pressed against the wall, Bucky’s metal fist around his throat.

“I warned you. That’s my omega, my girlfriend. Did your parents do not teach you manners?” Now the boy sniffs, choking on the word ‘sorry’. “I should kill you; rip you apart limb by limb.”

“Alpha,” your soft voice calms Bucky, holds back the anger threatening to let your alpha lash out. “Let’s pay for our things and drive home. It’s getting late and cold,” you place one hand onto Bucky’s arm, hoping he will let go of the boy.

“You’re right, doll,” Bucky drops the now whining alpha to the ground, turning his attention back toward you. “We should head out before it’s too dark to drive back.”

“So much snow,” you watch the snowflakes fall outside the window, looking at every flake with curiosity. “I never thought snow would be that pretty…”

“…and cold,” pecking your neck Bucky snickers when you punch his chest playfully. “I mean it, Y/N. Snow is cold, wet, and will let your tiny toes fall off.”

“You’re awful, Bucky,” you grin when he hands you a pair of fuzzy socks, the ones he bought for you. “I’m sorry that I screamed for you. That guy, he scared me. I…I saw a flashbacks of the men at the room you brought me to that day.”

“Never apologize for seeking my protection, ‘mega,” Bucky nuzzles his face into your neck, smiling as you wrap your arms around him. “I will always protect you.

“I know, I just don’t want…” a loud knock disturbs your intimate moment with your alpha. “Who could come here at that time of the day? No one knows we live up here.”

“Stay in the living room, take the phone from my jacket and if anything happens, call Steve. Simply press the buttons I showed you,” your heart starts to race at Bucky’s words. “Don’t be scared.”

Bucky turns to walk toward the door while you do as he said. Hiding in the living room, you press the phone to your heart.

Scared something could happen to your alpha you glance out of the window to see four cops surround your alpha.

You can hear his gruff voice, he seems to argue with the eldest cop before he shoots Bucky thrice. Gasping you dial Steve’s number, praying he will come in time to help his friend.

“Steve, we need your help. Here are�� cops, but they do not act like cops. I’m scared. Bucky told me to call you if anything happens, please…” You sniffle when Steve tells you to hide somewhere safe. “I can’t, Steve. I need to see who they are.”

“Y/N?” Steve storms into the cabin, gasping as the whole house looks like a battleground. “Sam, Nat, look upstairs. Tony, Clint, I need your help downstairs.”

“Does your friend still wear his arm?” Tony smirks, getting his phone out. “If he does we can trace him. Let’s say I let someone put a nice little transponder at his shiny shoulder.”

“I don’t know if I shall punch or kiss you, Tony,” laughing Sam looks at Tony who seems to consider Steve’s offer. “We need to find Y/N first. The last thing she said was that they dragged Bucky away after one of them shoot him.”

“Is there a chance she’s still around? Maybe Y/N hides somewhere?” Natasha looks around the house, shaking her head. “We shouldn’t have left them on their own, Steve.”

“Do you think I don’t know that? I wanted normal for him and her. I had hoped we can keep Bucky and his omega out of this world for a while,” Steve sighs, listening to an odd noise coming from the kitchen.

“Kitchen, Capsicle. Go left, I’ll take the right side,” Tony silently walks into the kitchen, nodding at Steve who tries to find the source of the noise. “Sound like a wail or sob, Steve.”

“Shit,” Steve nods before he opens the supply cabinet to find you curled inside the cramped space. “Y/N, it’s good to see you.”

Whilst Steve helps you out of the cabinet, running one hand soothingly down your back Tony nods at his friend, pointing toward his phone.

“A house in town, Steve?” Confused Steve looks at you not understanding why the police should bring Bucky to a house in town. “Don’t get me wrong, I am glad it’s not Hydra, Rumlow, or the big bad guy hiding in the dark but, I would like to know what’s going on.”

“Y/N, did something happen? Is there a reason for them to take Bucky?” You nod, recalling what happened at the store. “Tell me everything.”

“We drove to town for supplies. Bucky was busy getting warm socks and I wanted to get the rest from the list. There was a young alpha, he scared me. I fell and Bucky wanted that guy to leave me alone, but the boy wasn’t smart. Bucky had his metal hand around his throat, but I calmed him, and we left,” you are shaking now, looking up at Steve. “Do you think that’s the reason they shot Bucky?”

“That’s fishy, Steve. If the fight was the reason to come here, why the destruction and violence. You said Bucky only talked to the men, right?” Nodding you look at Sam, feeling fresh tears well up to your eyes.

“We will find out soon enough. I suggest Steve, Tony and you go to town. Y/N and I will pack the most important things. Clint can check the surroundings and make sure no one sneaks toward the cabin to attack us unprepared,” Natasha holds out her hand, giving you a warm smile. “Steve got this, Y/N. He will bring your alpha back, promised.”

“Tell me where the money is, bastard,” the man barks, punching Bucky’s face but the alpha remains stoic, unmoving. “The money!”

“I know they have a lot of it. Look at the car that bastard drives and the girl he has. No one would live out here in such an expensive house, driving such a car without money.” The boy from the store grins, lying through his teeth.

“Money?” Bucky spats blood onto the floor. He’s twisting his metal fist in the handcuffs, hearing the familiar crack of breaking metal. “Or is it the fact you tried to touch my omega and I had to push you a little,” the boy turns pale, looking scared at the men kidnapping your alpha.

“Omega? This is about some pussy, boy?” The eldest man barks, slapping the back of his sons head. “You said we can make fast money. Hell, I stole a police car and their uniforms from my laundry.”

“They have money, the omega is just a bonus, for me,” before the men can react Bucky rips the handcuffs apart, using the chair he was handcuffed to moments ago to knock the eldest man out.

“No…this can’t…” Bucky smirks when the boy finally realizes whose omega he dared to threaten. “The…the winter soldier?”

“James Buchanan Barnes, to be correct. But my friend prefers Bucky,” Steve bursts through the door, followed by Sam and Tony. “I guess you have this under control, Buck?”

“Is Y/N safe?” Worried Bucky looks at his friend, praying you were able to hide until Steve arrived.

“She’s safe with Natasha and Clint,” Tony answers your alpha’s question. “How about we give you ten and wait outside?” Bucky dips his head, glancing at the three remaining men.

“Give me five…”

“Alpha!” Wrapping your arms around Bucky you sniffle into his chest. “I was so worried about you. I thought it’s Hydra,” you cry now, looking up at your alpha.

“I guess the cat is out,” Tony looks around the cabin, sighing deeply. “That boy, he recognized the winter soldier. We got to get the hell out of here.”

“We have to leave,” Bucky whispers, lifting your chin with his index finger. “It’s not safe here any longer, doll. I promise to protect you.”

“They shoot you,” carefully touching Bucky’s chest you sniffle. “Are you hurt?”

“It was a sedative dart. I think they used three until I felt dizzy. I’m sorry, I got careless, omega. This will never happen again,” Steve clears his throat, pointing at Clint who carries your bags toward one of the cars.

“We will bring you to the headquarters and see where we go from here,” Bucky nods, thankful his friend kept you safe.

“I don’t care where we live as long as I can stay by your side, white wolf,” you peck Bucky’s lips, sighing when he returns the kiss.

“Guys, I’m glad the white wolf found his omega, but we need to get out of here, like yesterday,” Tony insists, smirking when Bucky growls at him.

“We should go, alpha,” holding out your hand you lead Bucky toward one of the cars. “I packed all our things, including the fuzzy socks…”

“My girl needs her fuzzy socks,” you nod, letting your alpha wrap one arm around your shoulder. “I only need my omega, doll.”

“…and I only need you, Bucky…”

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@neii3n​​

[plenaurum]

I saw a screenshot of Antoine talking about flying to Nepal and got pissed. I’m not that far into his story yet but I’m frustrated with his obvious commitment issues and wanted to vent them. Part 2 here. I’ve made some edits. Enjoy! Feedback appreciated but not required.

What Love Is: Pt 1/2

The silence is deafening.

She stares blankly at the screen in front of her, trying to control her rapidly beating heart. He’s leaving again? After all the promises he’s made? After everything? She forces herself to take a deep breath and lets it out. She looks at the ceiling in disbelief.

“Y/N?” His eyes are imploring her to understand.

She shifts her eyes back to her laptop. “Antoine…” She lets her voice trail off. What does she say?

“I won’t take it if you don’t want me to.” He forces out, on his way to panicking. “I am committed—“

“Stop.” Her mouth opens of its own accord, the word flying out before she could stop it. But why should she? She’s tired of hearing those empty words, the same old bullshit that got her hooked in the first place.

It’s probably all over her face what she’s thinking, and he can see that. His face crumbles in on itself. His eyes are shining, as if he’s the one that’s hurt by all of this.

Please.

She starts. “Listen.” He’s already frantically shaking his head. “I think we should—“

“No. Please—“

“Antoine!” She can barely stop herself from shouting. She’s just so angry, so much so that his flinch does little to move her. “I don’t know what you expect from me. I’m not gonna be your stay at home lay while you’re out traveling the world and having these amazing adventures while I’m here waiting on you!”

His face pales. “Sweetheart, you’re more than that—“

She cuts him off. “And you know what Antoine? You have a weird way of showing it. When have you ever proven to me that I’m important to you? To your life?!” Her voice is strong.

He opens his mouth again, more than likely to say that that isn’t true. But she’s tired of it. “Stop! Just stop. I don’t wanna hear that commitment bullshit, because that’s what it is. I don’t wanna hear how I’ll always come first, when it’s obvious that it isn’t true. And I ESPECIALLY don’t wanna hear that you love me.” Her face feels hot. Her bottom lip quivers and tears stream down her face. “I don’t even think you know what the fuck that means.”

His blue eyes are glistening, pleading with her to understand. “Please let me explain Y/N,” he chokes out, a tear escaping his eye. “I love you.”

Her heart shatters. “Let’s just stop wasting our time.”

She can see his jaw grind. “So that’s what this is?” He bites out. “A waste of time?” It’s obvious that he’s hurt by her words.

Too bad she doesn’t give a fuck anymore.

“It certainly was for me.”

“This isn’t fair!” He blurts, acting out. “You can’t—can’t make me choose between you and my career.” He stutters. “You have to understand that this is my life! You can’t be selfish now!” He looks like he regretted the words the second they came out.

What the fuck?

Ice cold fury rushes through her chest.

“You told me that you’re ready for a committed relationship.” He pales. “That you want to settle down with me. Hell, you asked me to pack up and move to fucking Alaska so we could be together. Then you said all this other shit about family and imagining us together—“

“I do! I do want all of those things!”

“Then why the fuck hasn’t it happened yet?!” Her voice thickens. She’s so tired of this. “Excuse me for being confused! You say you want nothing more than to be with me, then you’re on the next flight to Columbia in the blink of an eye and I’m selfish?!”

He shakes his head. “It came out wrong—it’s not like that!” He protests. “GOD—“ He runs his hand through his hair, obviously struggling to justify himself and his actions. “—It’s just—It’s my life! I told you this!” He has a little scowl, eyebrows deeply furrowed, frustration clear on his face.

But she doesn’t want to fight. Not any more. She just wants to move on. So she takes a shaky breath, and calmly says, “I never asked you to choose between me and your career. I know that this is your life.” She pauses to wipe the tears off her face. His face screws up at that.

“I just wanted to know that you’re in this as much as I am. I can’t keep being put on the back burner. You can’t keep making decisions about our relationship without me.” She sniffs, feeling lighter now that everything is on the table. “It’s like I’m an afterthought to you sometimes.”

“Please listen.” He begs, his voice thickened by the tears he’s trying to hold back. “You’re not an afterthought to me.”

“And I don’t want that.” She continues as if he hasn’t said anything, unwilling to listen to anymore of what he has to say. “I know that being adventurous is part of who you are. But I want someone that wants to be with me as badly as I want to be with them. I want someone that loves me like I love them. That listens to me. That understands me.” She bravely trains her eyes on the camera in front of her so that he doesn’t miss a thing. “That puts me first every once in a damn while and doesn’t call me selfish for wanting reciprocation in a relationship, Antoine.”

“Y/N…” he says weakly. He’s stricken. She can almost see the responses running through his head and his struggle to get a grasp on even just one of them.

“I don’t think you want a relationship, at least not with someone like me. You need someone that can keep up with you and what you want. And I’m not that person, Antoine.”

He’s shaking his head again full on crying now, trying to choke out his next words, but she keeps going.

“Good luck with your future endeavors. I hope you find what you’re looking for. Please don’t try to contact me, at least not for a while.”

She gives him a weak smile, one that he doesn’t return as he’s trying to stop himself from sobbing. “Goodbye.”

“NO—“ She slams her laptop shut. She knows that he’ll be trying to contact her, so she’ll start the process of removing him from her life soon.

But not now though. Now, she curls up on her bed, staring outside the window through blurred eyes. And cries until she can’t anymore.