#pathetic that they only stopped to avoid charges not because it was the right thing to do

[news4dzhozhar]

To cover their own butts, Canada seeks to remove the appearance of complicity. A little late. The damage from their weapons of war have already been done.

Are 70+ year old bombs even going to work? Mass malfunctions would be what they deserve.

[arkus-rhapsode]

Gonna give some love to one of my favorite Radiant Dawn minor antagonists, Hetzel. And what he represents overall in Radiant Dawn.

Now when Hetzel shows up in PoR and Radiant Dawn he seems like an unassuming old man. Practically harmless compared to the other obviously evil senators. But the thing is, Hetzel is a great sign of somebody who is aware actions are wrong, but he never uses any of his own power to stop or take a stance.

He knows the Serenes Massacre plan is bad, but he doesn't really make any attempts to stop it. Because the truth is he's more ambivalent to the plight of the Herons. He bails out slaver and fellow Senator, Oliver, despite a whole point of Sanaki's campaign was to find the people still partaking in the slave trade and stamping them out. And while he makes no aggressive actions against Sanaki, he still is a part of the anti Apostle group of Senators. Yet despite all that he still frees Rafiel.

This is because Hetzel is probably one of the most mature criticism Fire Emblem has had of someone in power: Hetzel is ultimately a man who likes having power and maintaining the status quo. Unlike Lekain and other who their current position isn't just enough and need to keep aggressively expanding, Hetzel rather takes a position of doing what is best to main the power he has. Despite the fact he is aware that slavery and massacring is bad. He will still benefit if Lekain wins, but will never use any of his power to implement any significant changes. At best all he does is gestures of good faith.

Theocracy in Fire Emblem is honestly kinda shallow and very much a simplified version of it. That there is a religion that has some form of political power. And that one in charge is probably some person who pushes down on others because god tells them to. But Tellius seems to understand a theocracy isn't just about the dogma of a faith being implemented by the state and there for the only true religion and those with conflicting ideas must die, but rather those who benefit the most are the ones in the highest positions of the theocratic organization. Something that can be achieved less through actually believing but actually knowing how to rise in rank in a religious institution. All of the senators are Dukes, holding massive lands and they are the senior most members of their faith. While we know that warriors of the faith like Zelgius and others hold titles like Earl for their place in the military fighting for their faith. The theocracy of Begnion is one that isn't just about "because the Goddess" its a group of men who have grown rich and consolidated much of their riches and political position and now someone like Sanaki is going to upset this balance after they worked to avoid this happening with Apostle Misha. Delegitimizing Sanaki by revealing she's not the true Apostle would then pass over the power of the empire to Lekain and his cronies. And Hetzel was along for this ride for a long time.

And when finally confronted by Rafiel in the end, Hetzel only begs for forgiveness. He knows what he has done is wrong but pleas that he was kind to Rafiel so that means he's not all that bad. But Rafiel has nothing left to say. Hetzel did have a choice given where he was in the senate. And in the end he ultimately choose to go with Lekain's flow. And when Ike confronts Hetzel, all Hetzel refuses to surrender. He'll be disgraced. Even at the end knowing after everything and having one last chance to get out, he doesn't take it because his status is more important to him than doing the right thing.

Hetzel is a wonderfully pathetic villain and a genuinely good examination of those in power who passively allow bad acts even when they have a level of awareness. While there are a lot of people who like to dismiss many FE villains (and lets be fair) that aren't always that strong or that complex. But I always want to at least give praise to instances like Hetzel that make memorable antagonists.

[seraphicsage]

sub ben x dom reader where ben has a degradation kink and the reader brags a bunch about being better than him, he gets turned on by the reader taking charge

thank you :)

A/N omg such a polite ask! You’re welcome 😊 hope you enjoy and I hope this is what you’re after! Also, love the idea of ben have a degradation kink, we definitely got to see some more of his sexual preferences in the last season, I did get very excited

I was more teasing than anything else. I know Ben’s smart, that’s inarguable really. But I love to tease him, it usually takes him down a peg or 2 for a day. Reminds him that he’s not the only smart one in this school.

Today though, he’s acting different to usual. Normally he would fight back at least a little. Come up with some snarky remarks, something other than just staring at me the way he is.

Because he doesn’t seem to be responding, I start to spiral a bit. Getting more extreme, until I’m getting to the point where I’m practically calling him pathetic and saying that I’m better than him. Again, I’m joking really. I don’t really think he’s pathetic. I don’t really know how to stop and I wonder if I’ve gone too far.

“I-um Ben that was too far I’m sorry. I was just messing around.” I try to savour it. I don’t want him to think I’m a complete dick. He’s still staring at me with that look.

“I liked it.” He says, still staring at me, seeming a little dazed and confused.

“What?”

“Fuck.” He seems to snap out of it now and looks shocked. At me or himself I’m not sure. Probably both.

Next thing I know he’s running off without any word to me. What the fuck? He liked what?

I quickly decide to chase after him. He doesn’t seem to notice though because he quickly goes into an empty classroom, not at all subtly, and I follow him in.

“Ben what’s going on?” I ask, confused. He turns suddenly, realising I’m there. He stutters and can’t seem to get any words out. Then I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. It can’t be right? I risk it all and I just look. And sure enough, it looks like he has a boner. “D-did I do that?” I look up at him and he looks panicked now, not saying anything. “Ben answer the question.” I say firmly, needing an answer.

“Y-yes.” He answers, looking terrified.

“How?” I ask, softer now. He avoids eye contact with me but I let him off, this seems very uncomfortable.

“W-when you were calling me pathetic a-and saying you’re better than me.” Oh. Now that, that actually explains a lot. I can’t help but smirk now. Ben, the snarky, rude, rich boy, was a sub, and not just that, but he liked degradation.

Oh this is going to be fun

[dragonsdomain]

Blob Ghost Supreme chapter 3

AO3

Chapter 2

Danny wasn't going to stop trying to win the tournament, despite what Tucker had said.

Yeah, it was comforting that Tucker had said that. That this doesn't change things. But however much he actually believed him, he wasn't the only one Danny wanted to prove himself to. He wanted to prove himself to everyone. To all the ghosts. To his peers at school. To himself.

By the time the second round of fights was about to begin, Danny was ready, floating just outside the gate.

The crowds were either cheering or yelling as he and his opponent walked out into the arena.

"Phantom the Blob," announced the Observant, "versus Spectra the Counselor!"

The other ghost who stepped out into the arena wasn't what Danny had expected. She looked almost human, but her sharp smile looked sinister, and a little too wide. Something about her made Danny feel off-balance, like she could see right through him to his insecurities.

Maybe she could.

"'Phantom the Blob', hm?" she said softly, with a sympathetic tilt of her head. Her voice carried across the arena straight into Danny's soul. "You probably didn't choose that title, did you? But no one will ever call you anything else."

Danny fired an ectoblast at her, but she stepped to the side to avoid it easily. She was slowly walking towards him. "Winning a tournament won't change anything. You've heard what they say about you. They still think you're cheating, not because they have any evidence for it, but because they won't believe anything else. And nothing will change that."

Danny glared at her. What kind of fight tactic was this? Was she taunting him? He opened his mouth to throw a retort at her, but blushed when he remembered his high-pitched voice.

Spectra chuckled at that instant, and Danny had the dreadful thought that she knew what he'd been thinking. "You know I'm right, don't you? You can't say anything. You're too ashamed of yourself."

Danny charged toward her, blazing with fury. He held an ectoblast in his mouth, but Spectra slapped him away with pathetic ease, and the fire died in his mouth. "You're so small. You're adorable. Cute. Nothing you can do will ever make you frightening or imposing in any way. No one's dumb enough to respect a sentient grape."

Danny snarled, firing a ray of ice at Spectra, but she slipped out of the way like steam. "Oh, look at you trying so hard. And you haven't landed a single hit on me. It's adorable to see such effort. Keep trying! Maybe you'll be able to hit me once~"

Danny fired a barrage of blasts at her, which she dodged, and he tried to trap her within a ranged ghost shield, but she slipped out the top before he could close it around her. "Aww, you're not trying hard enough. The whole audience can see how weak you really are! Your friends are up there in the stands, aren't they? You're embarrassing them."

Danny almost wanted to try another black hole, but he flinched as he remembered how badly he'd scared the audience with it, how he'd almost killed Skulker.

"What's wrong?" Spectra held out her hands, leaving her core open. "Are you frightened of me? Or of yourself? Funny how you're the only one who seems to feel that way. You want people to respect you, but that's really just because you're scared, isn't it? You don't even respect yourself."

Could the audience hear what Spectra was saying? It all sounded so loud in Danny's head. The idea that they could be hearing all this, all so horrifyingly accurate, made him even more angry and even more embarrassed.

"You might as well just quit while you're ahead," Spectra whispered, loud and clear.

"Shut up!" Danny screamed, shooting at her with all the force of a comet. Her eyes widened in the instant before and after he blasted against her chest, launching her into the wall with such force she passed out.

And the match was over.

...

"Tucker, you can look. Tucker, nobody's bleeding."

Tucker looked up cautiously where he'd curled up under the wall. "What?"

Sam shrugged. "I dunno, he smashed into her really hard and she's knocked out, but she didn't start bleeding. I guess being a blob ghost has some benefits? He's like a cushion."

Tucker cautiously peeked over back towards the arena. There he was, Danny, floating above Spectra. He was looking downward, so Tucker couldn't really tell what his face looked like at the moment. He was a little surprised that no skin had been broken. The cracks around Spectra made it clear that Danny had hit her really hard.

"Do you think Danny would be okay if he accidentally killed someone?" Tucker whispered.

Sam shrugged. "I mean, after seeing that, I don't think he will. His powers might even be designed to protect people."

Danny was still hovering there, unmoving. The turmoil from the audience was something he was used to at this point, and he tuned it out like white noise. "I wonder if the Observants would let us down there to make sure he's okay."

Sam said. "Good idea. Let's let ourselves down there."

"Wait, that's not what I said," Tucker started, and he felt a jolt of panic when Sam moved to climb up onto the wall. "Sam, we're like two stories up!"

Sam paused and frowned at him for a minute. Then she sighed and slipped back down to the ground next to Tucker. He let out a little 'whew'.

Sam grabbed Tucker's hand and started pulling him back towards the hall again. "Then let's go this way. We'll shove past the guards if we have to."

Tucker followed without resistance. "I doubt it'll come to that. they'll probably take him out of the arena if he hasn't moved by the time we get down there."

Tucker couldn't see Sam's face ahead of him, but he could sense that she was scowling. "Ugh. Fine," she said.

"We don't wanna be pushing boundaries, Sam. We're already only here 'cause we have special permission."

Sam glanced back curiously. "They said their boss let us in 'cause we're the future ghost king's friend, right? Does that mean they think Danny's gonna win?"

Tucker shrugged. "I mean, he's made it to the finals now, hasn't he? The next round'll be the last one."

Sam whistled.

Eventually they stopped running, which Tucker was glad for. Dashing at him like the sky was falling wasn't going to be very helpful if they were trying to comfort Danny. Also, Sam had sped down the stairs with a level of insanity that Tucker had not been able to or wanted to keep up with.

They found Danny floating vacantly outside of the arena.

Tucker stepped up to him. "You okay, dude?"

Danny startled for a second, then calmed down. He came back to himself to scowl at the ground. "That was pathetic. I made a fool of myself without her even throwing a single shot."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked. "You won. You hit her so hard at the end she cracked the arena wall."

Danny cringed. "I don't know. That doesn't feel right. I just did that 'cause I got too angry, and I almost..." he trailed off.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to show people how powerful you were."

"Are you beating yourself up about almost killing her?" Tucker asked. "Pretty sure she would have done the same to you if she'd had the chance. And she wouldn't have stopped at 'almost'." Tucker moved with the intention to pat Danny's shoulder, but since Danny was a blob ghost then he ended up just patting his head and it was a little weird. He pulled his hand back awkwardly. "I mean. Um. It is a full-out brawl. I don't think you have to feel too bad about hurting people. That's kind of the risk you take when you enter one of these things." Tucker spoke from no authority except through the video game experience of getting game overs when dying to a boss, but the words felt true enough.

Danny kept boring a hole in the ground. "Do you guys... really think I didn't look pathetic? Everybody already thinks that. And what if I'm not even really that powerful anyway? Then I'll just be wrong. And this'll all be for nothing. And things'll just go back to the way they were before. Or worse."

"I mean," Sam began, "I don't think you really have to worry about people assuming you're weak again. Regardless of how graceful it was, you just won the semifinal round of the Ghost King Tournament." She shrugged. "This thing is a pretty big deal, right? So it's objective. You are powerful. Nobody can argue with it."

Danny sighed wetly. "I don't know if everyone'll be as sensible about it as you are, Sam."

Sam threw her arms out. "Oh, forget it! This is stupid! Why do you care so much about what everyone thinks anyway?! You said it yourself, they're being stupid about it. So it shouldn't matter what they think!" She stomped her foot for emphasis.

Danny glared at her. "I don't know if you've noticed, Sam, but most people aren't like you. It matters to me what people think, because I have to see it everywhere I go!"

Tucker held up his hands between the two. "Woah, hey! It's okay if we have different opinions about stuff. And it's totally legitimate to want to be respected. I mean, I sometimes wish I got more respect myself."

Sam and Danny glared at each other for a second longer before Sam sagged, looking down. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like there's something wrong with it. I just meant I wish it didn't have to hurt you so much. 'Cause you're never going to be able to completely control what people think about you."

"But I can try," Danny said. He glanced down and begrudgingly said. "I'm sorry too. There's nothing wrong with you either."

Tucker stepped back, smiling in satisfaction. "You're gonna do great, Danny. And whether or not you win, you've probably gone a long way already towards proving yourself to everyone." He hesitated, then held out his fist. Danny started at it for a second, then mustered a smile and bumped his head against it.

"We'll be rooting for you," Sam said.

"Yeah. And be careful out there. The last opponent will probably be really strong," Tucker added.

Danny gave a smirk. "Hopefully by the end of it they'll have wished they were more careful around me."

...

The Observant slammed a set of papers onto Clockwork's makeshift desk. "Did you really think we wouldn't notice?"

Clockwork tilted his head innocently as he took on the appearance of a child. "Notice what?"

The Observant held up the two top papers and pointed to them. "Ectosignature readings. The signatures of the two finalists are awfully similar, aren't they?" He looked like he was barely keeping his cool.

"Should be an exciting fight then, shouldn't it?" Clockwork grinned.

The Observant took a deep, exasperated breath. "Clockwork. We all know you have your eye on that young blob ghost. But how can you possibly consider this fair play?"

"Whatever could you possibly mean?" Clockwork asked. "This tournament is meant to showcase the most powerful ghosts throughout the infinite realms! In that sense, how could it possibly be fair to exclude one of them?"

The Observant pinched where the bridge of his nose should be and gave a long sigh. "After thousands of years of existence," he muttered, "shouldn't you be more mature?"

"Nope," Clockwork smiled. "We stay silly."

"You are the worst."

"I try."

Chapter 4

[13meigo]

A snake’s plaything | Fifth year || Sebastian Sallow

🐍 Chapter 8 | Marked

NSFW - Masturbation

It truly was a walk of shame when she entered her common room some days ago. To her luck, only a few students saw her wearing a Slytherin pullover but they were enough to spread the rumors. Violetta noticed that some girls became mean to her or ignored her completely. She especially began having trouble with girls from Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Also, Charlotte apologized for disappearing. Apparently, she saw the entity and it charged at her. So she got scared and ran away. Also, the entities got removed after a week.

So this brings us to today, a snowy Saturday in December. A random Slytherin girl told her to give the pullover back to Sebastian and that he was waiting in front of the library for her. At first, she was skeptical but later asked Ominis and he confirmed that it was real.

So now, Violetta was waiting here near the fountain. His sweater was tightly folded but Violetta did something to it. She sprayed perfume on it that she brought in the Diagon Ally. It was a sweet flowery scent with a hint of vanilla. She knew that she tested the devil with this small action but if he wanted to play dirty, she would do it too. 

'I didn't expect you to come so early.' His voice sounded behind her. Violette turned around. Sebastian didn't wear his school uniform but dark pants and a white shirt with a brown cardigan. She must admit that her heart flattered a bit. He indeed was a handsome male. Violetta wore a long skirt and a sweater in dark red.

'Here.' Violetta gave him his pullover back with one hand. 'Oh and don't send your girls to talk with me since I saw you being able to speak to me. It makes you look... pathetic.' She said with a smirk. Fucking hell, she hated him but also it drove her crazy how insanely she wanted him. Maybe he noticed it but maybe not.

Sebastian looked at her coldly and smiled.

'I would have talked with you but since you decided to avoid me I needed to take different measures.' He chuckled and tugged the pullover under his arm.

Now, Violetta could only imagine what happened. She believed that Sebastian got a whiff of her perfume. She saw his pupils dilating. Violetta smirked and turned around.

'Have fun with it.' She whistled and walked away. She felt so confident like never before. Violetta knew that she had him around her finger and hell, she loved toying with him. Since when?

Violetta was halfway through the castle back to her dorm. She avoided the courtyards because of the snow. Violetta thought to herself, since when did she lower herself on his level?

She should stop it before it escalates, but how far did they both push each other?

Violetta walked down the stairs to the Slytherin common room in hopes that she might find him there. She walked past empty rooms. Her footsteps were silent and the air around her was cold. She should have worn a thicker sweater. Maybe she could talk with Ominis since they both somehow managed to connect their wands. Ominis could notify her wand when he was close to her and wanted to talk in private and the other way around. She just needed to be close enough to the Slytherin common room.

Violetta was about to turn around a corner when she heard a weird noise. She stopped and listened. It came from one of the rooms to her right. It sounded like a hiss. Maybe there was a cat trapped somewhere since cats were able to run free in Hogwarts.

There was a faint rumbling and she figured that she was already past the room. Violetta turned around and walked back. Another noise. Violetta saw that a room was just a crack open.

She leaned against the door and listened. Nothing.

She pushed the door carefully without making a noise. She slid into the room. It was more or less a storage room full of things. Furniture was stacked like in the room of requirements.

Violetta sneaked further into the room until she saw a shadowy silhouette. Heavy breathing filled her ears. What the hell did she walk into? Horrible thoughts filled her head until it was spinning.

A male moan sounded and Violetta covered her mouth. She got brick-red. Did she just catch two students having... having sex?

But wait... that moan sounded like someone familiar. Her wand suddenly made a movement. Ominis was near. The breathing became quiet. She must have accidentally notified him while covering her mouth but how?

Something in her head connected. The person couldn't be Ominis since his wand made a little sound when she notified him. Then... who was this?

Violetta peaked around the wardrobe and her eyes must have tried to betray her.

A boy sat on a couch and he covered his face with something, a piece of clothing. His pants were pulled down and his fist clenched around his dick. A big dick around maybe 6 inches.

Violetta tried to remove her view but it was like she was hypnotized by how the boy pleasured himself so shamelessly in front of her. The boy lifted the sweater off his face and the blood froze in her veins. The boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath into the pullover.

It was Sebastian. Sebastian Sallow.

Before he opened his eyes again she jerked her head back and stared at the floor. Her head was even spinning more than before. Wait, what was this?

Violetta could feel something warm inside her. Something between her legs started to have an urge. Her desire spiraled high. This was wrong! She just caught him in one of his most intimate moments and she... she felt aroused?

Violetta pressed her thighs together and shook her head. Her wand made a movement again. Ominis was searching for her.

'Oh, fuck.' Sebastian moaned behind her loudly while climaxing and she heard something dripping on the floor. Violetta felt the heat in her body burning her. She needed to get out now!

Violetta hurried back outside as quietly as she could. Her legs were like jelly.

Finally the door. Violetta opened it and just rushed out, followed by her colliding with a yelp into someone. Ominis. She nearly knocked that poor man to the floor. Luckily, he couldn't see her blushed face.

'What the hell?' He said and touched her shoulders, then her face. 'You? Where the hell were you? Why did you call me?' Violetta began stuttering but just couldn't bring out a word. Her thoughts were mashed. Noises behind her alerted her that Sebastian was coming. Violetta started panicking. She needed to run now! But Ominis didn't let her go.

'Violetta, what the hell?' Ominis said when she finally freed herself but too late. Sebastian came to the door, looking at it. It wasn't open before.

Violetta's eyes met his. Her face gave her away. Sebastian realized and stared at her in horror.  Violetta turned around and ran away as fast as she could.

'Oh fuck, Violetta stop!' He yelled after her and sprinted after her. His footsteps echoed in the dungeons. Violetta knew that the Ravenclaw common room was her only way out of this.

Their chase came to an end when Violetta yelled the riddle's answer at the raven from the door and threw herself in before Sebastian reached the last step.

The door closed in his face. Angrily he punched the door.

'Violetta get out! I just want to talk!' He yelled through the door. But Violetta already left for her bed.

'Is a Ravenclaw girl breaking your heart?' The raven on the door asked and Sebastian looked up.

'Let me in!' He shouted furiously. The raven laughed.

'Slytherin boy, solve me a riddle.' The metal raven asked. 'What do you prefer to follow, your mind or your heart?' Sebastian looked at him and thought for a short while.

'Fucking bird.' He hissed and walked the stairs back down. Violetta would not escape him that quickly and they both knew that very well.

If you enjoy the content please leave a heart and follow to not miss any updates! xx Meigo

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 32: The Tricore

''Let's go! With a positive attitude, brain engine at full operation. Let's try out various things (and challenge them with all our might). Those things will become property and a neighbor will stop by. Even if you take a break, you'll fly forever. Improve yourself (don't mind the others). Let's go to our non-experienced future!''

– T.O.P. by Sonic X

xXxXxXx

Sonic dodged a punch from Knuckles, gasping as he avoided another one just barely. He felt the wall behind him, startling him, only to duck when Knuckles punched him again, hitting the wall that was covered with gymnastics mats. Sonic attempted to punch Knuckles, but his hand was caught in Knuckles' fist, with Knuckles punching him in the gut, causing him to stagger back.

''That punch was pathetic,'' Knuckles chided him. ''I saw you do better.''

Sonic frowned, charging at Knuckles, but the echidna warrior caught him by his arm and threw the hedgehog over his shoulder and onto the floor. Sonic felt a sharp pain in his back, his eye-lids lowered as he stared at Knuckles, who was upside down from his perspective as he stood behind him.

''You're unfocused, undisciplined and you lack the usual sharpness. I agreed to train you in close combat because I though you'd pick it up easily, but somehow, you're doing worse,'' Knuckles told him.

''Thanks for the pep talk, Knux,'' Sonic replied in a deadpan tone, stretching out his hand so Knuckles could help him up.

''What is going on?'' Knuckles asked. ''Your fighting spirit has diminished.''

''I'm… fine…'' Sonic replied, sound a bit hesitant, with Knuckles giving him a questioning look. Sonic just flashed a sheepish smile. ''Don't worry, Knux, I was just getting warmed up.''

''We've been training for two hours,'' Knuckles said in a deadpan tone. Sonic opened his mouth, but then closed it, realizing he couldn't respond to that one.

''How about you two take a break?'' Lily suggested. Sonic and Knuckles glanced at each other, both nodding in agreement. The three were at the gym at the Crystle Mansion, with Knuckles having agreed to train Sonic in close combat at the latter's request. Lily was overseeing their training, mainly because Knuckles asked her for another opinion in forming an assessment in regards to Sonic's skills. He was taking this whole training ordeal very seriously.

''Here you go!'' Lily brought over a tray with glass cups and grape juice as refreshments. Knuckles grinned, drinking the grape juice happily, while Sonic was just staring at his glass. ''Honestly, this was a weak fight.''

''What's up with all the criticism?'' Sonic responded, giving Lily an annoyed look.

''I'm just giving you feedback as promised,'' Lily said. ''If you're not going to fight properly, why would you even train?''

''I'm just trying to figure out how to deal with a situation where I can't move much around,'' Sonic replied. ''If the answer is going to be 'pathetic' and 'weak', then I need to work harder on improving myself.''

''You're still sour because Metal Sonic beat you up,'' Knuckles commented, a small smirk forming on his lips.

''I'm not sour,'' Sonic pouted, his cheek puffed up. ''I won't let Metal beat me again.''

''You can describe it however you want, but we're reading you like a book,'' Lily said, with Knuckles nodding in agreement. Sonic placed the glass back on the tray and then confronted Knuckles with a rather serious look.

''Okay, let's go for another round,'' he said. Knuckles grinned, punching his knuckles together. Lily just sighed.

''Wait a second, you two, I wasn't done yet,'' she said. ''I've noticed that you've been using your fists a lot more during this fight, Sonic.''

''Hm, you're right,'' Knuckles said, turning to Sonic. ''That's not how you usually fight. No wonder you were so bad.''

''I had figured that, if I'm going to practice close combat moves, I might imitate you, Knucklehead,'' Sonic responded, arms folded across his chest, with Knuckles glaring at him.

''That was a bad imitation,'' Knuckles grumbled. ''Besides, isn't speed your thing?''

''Not when I'm at a place where I can't move at all,'' Sonic replied. Lily hummed.

''What about your legs?'' she asked.

''My legs?'' Sonic looked down at his feet.

''Don't you usually also lean into a fighting style that uses a lot of leg movement? I think you'll benefit way more from learning about martial arts that focus on that rather than outright punching,'' Lily said. ''I could send you a few links so you can look it up online. I bet it's going to help you.''

''Thank you. That sounds right up my alley,'' Sonic replied.

''Right, leave the punching to me and you take care of the the speed stuff,'' Knuckles added, with Sonic nodding. ''You might not be good with confined spaces, but we got you covered.''

''Something to add, since you're usually fighting Metal Sonic, maybe you should seek a training partner who fights similar to him. Someone who is powerful and fast,'' Lily said.

''I'll keep that in mind,'' Sonic replied, grinning back at them. He already had someone on mind.

xXx

Sonic rung the bell, rocking back and forth on the balls of his toes, hoping that the person he was searching for was at home. He could hear steps on the other side, and then saw Shadow opening the door. The dark hedgehog's gaze was that of disinterest when he opened it first, only for him to frown when he saw that it was Sonic.

''What are you doing here, Sonic?'' Shadow asked, wavering between whether he wanted to know the answer or just close the door into Sonic's face.

''Hey, Shads! I was wondering, well…'' Sonic rubbed the back of his head, while Shadow just closed the door behind him and leaned against it, arms folded as he rose an eyebrow at Sonic. ''Uh, remember how we talked about how next time you feel like venting your frustrations through a battle to just ask me for a sparring match?''

''Yes, I do,'' Shadow replied, already having an idea where this was going.

''That's great, because I wanted to ask you whether you'd like to have a sparring match with me. You know, the two of hanging out together, beating each other up, but instead of you doing it because you have been traumatized again, we're just having fun. What do you say?'' Sonic asked, smiling widely. Shadow lowered his eye-lids.

''What if I don't want to fight you?'' he asked. Sonic gasped dramatically.

''Okay, who are you and what have you done to Shadow?'' he demanded, glaring at Shadow, who remained unperturbed. Sonic then snorted, unable to stay serious for too long. ''So, what do you say?''

Shadow was silent as he stared at Sonic, mulling over the proposal, but then nodded. ''Fine, but I want to know why you suddenly want to have a sparring match with me.''

''Hey, can't I just have a sparring match with you because I feel like it?'' Sonic asked, with Shadow giving him a doubtful look. Sonic groaned, rolling his eyes and wondering how was it possible that people saw through him so easily. But then, a sneaky thought crawled into his mind. ''Okay, I'll explain it to you if you manage to catch up to me.''

The moment he said that, Sonic ran off, startling Shadow, if only for a moment. The dark hedgehog immediately followed Sonic, both of them speeding through Eas. Sonic was grinning the whole time, only to get startled when Shadow appeared right next to him.

''Don't underestimate me!'' Shadow told him as he skated beside Sonic. Sonic flashed him a grin.

''Yeah, I had figured you'd catch up anyway,'' he replied.

''Where we you going to?'' Shadow asked him.

''Eh… I'm not really sure, I haven't thought about it,'' Sonic replied, trying to figure out a what would be a good place for a sparring match. ''How about Heizeru Park?''

Shadow nodded. ''Try keeping up, Faker!''

Much to Sonic's surprise, Shadow then sped up. Sonic chuckled, figuring that Shadow was getting a bit competitive and rest assured, he wasn't going to let his rival win. They ended up in Sentoraru, weaving through the crowds of humans and ARNavs, both being neck-to-neck. However, Sonic still had an ace up his glove and the moment the street cleared up and they got closer to Heizeru Park, he sped up again, using his Boost to gain an edge. Shadow was stunned to suddenly see Sonic turn into a blue blur, zooming past him and towards the park. Once Shadow arrived there, Sonic was already leaning with his hand against a tree, his other hand on his hip.

''What took you so long, Faker?'' Sonic asked in a teasing tone, a smirk on his expression and his eye-lids lowered.

''What was that?'' Shadow asked as he approached Sonic.

''I'm calling it 'Boost'. Impressive, huh?'' Sonic replied.

''I suppose it is a good asset to your current skillset,'' Shadow said, with Sonic grinning at him proudly. Shadow tilted his head. ''Is this why you asked me for a sparring match? To show off?''

''Well, to some extent,'' Sonic admitted.

''What is the other reason?'' Shadow asked.

''Do I really need one?'' Sonic asked, acting as if he didn't know what Shadow was asking about.

Shadow, in turn, just rolled his eyes, figuring that Sonic wasn't going to talk. He sighed and took a battle stance. ''Fine. Make your move.''

Sonic blinked in surprise, but then smirked. He charged at Shadow, attempting to punch him, but Shadow quickly side-stepped. Sonic turned back, now attempting to kick him, but Shadow side-stepped again, easily dodging the attack, a smug smirk on his lips.

''I thought you'd be more of a challenge,'' Shadow taunted Sonic, who gave him an annoyed look. Sonic charged once again at him, but Shadow managed to dodge it and kick him in the back. Sonic rolled back, but caught himself, curling up into a ball and launching at Shadow. Shadow did the same, with both clashing several times and flying back, grinding to a halt as they faced each other.

''How's that for a challenge?'' Sonic replied.

''Not bad,'' Shadow responded, adding in a taunting tone. ''Are you trying to prove something?''

''What are you talking about?'' Sonic asked.

''You wouldn't just challenge me to a sparring match for no reason,'' Shadow responded, then rose an eyebrow. ''Is this because you lost to Metal Sonic?''

Sonic groaned. ''Why is everyone assuming that?''

''Everyone?'' Shadow gave him a pointed look, with Sonic realizing that there's no way for him to come up with more excuses or avoid the topic. He sighed.

''Okay, I had realized that I'm not that good at close combat, especially in a confined space, and I asked Knux for some help. He and Lily gave me some pointers and I had figured that I could ask you about a sparring match,'' Sonic explained.

''You could've told me that earlier,'' Shadow told him, arms folded across his chest. Sonic rubbed the back of his head.

''I don't want people to worry about me,'' he said. ''Lucas is still blaming himself for not helping me when Metal Sonic attacked, even though I could handle the situation and there was a crisis that needed to be dealt with. I had told him I'm fine, but he he still feels guilty for not doing more.''

''Why don't you just talk to Lucas about it instead of acting like everything is fine?'' Shadow asked.

''I'm not acting like everything's…'' Sonic saw Shadow's doubtful look, then sighed, his ears drooping. ''Okay, I know I'm not good at expressing emotions, just like you,'' Sonic said, with Shadow glaring at him, torn between telling Sonic that he was quite open with Touka and the urge to smack him upside the head. The latter option was more appealing. ''But, I'm not going to let this hold me back. I want to be ready next time I fight Metal.''

Shadow observed him for a moment, then nodded. ''I can respect that.''

Sonic smiled back in response, then elbowed Shadow as he kept giving him a smug look. ''Aww, it's nice to see that you care.''

''Don't push it, Sonic,'' Shadow told him, frowning. However, Sonic kept smiling, leaving Shadow wondering what was going through his head. ''What?''

''Nothing, I'm just happy that we've managed to grow this close, especially with how things were in the beginning,'' Sonic said. Shadow hummed, having to admit that things really have changed over time, and while he wasn't to keen on being part of a team or just being around other people in general, he was content with his new life here. Shadow then suddenly felt an arm around his shoulder, noting Sonic smiling at him. ''I'm sure you feel the same.''

''How about we focus on the sparring match?'' Shadow responded, glaring at him. Sonic quickly stepped back, well aware what that glare meant and to respect Shadow's space. However, Shadow appeared just to be mildly annoyed, which Sonic took as a good sign.

''Alright, let's continue with the sparring match!'' Sonic said enthusiastically.

xXx

Lucas sighed, observing Warren and Tails working on the data they got from The Starfall. While the rest of Team Neos moved on quite easily from what had happened the previous night, he was still worried. As for what happened the day before, they had quickly left after the fight, but not before informing the authorities anonymously. There was still a broken window and a whole broken wall, and all of them agreed that neither wanted to explain the collateral damage aside from the obvious ''Dr. Eggman is responsible for this''. Luckily, it seems that everyone bought that. Midorikawa and Kero did a news report covering it, but they all blamed Dr. Eggman for it.

''I just hope this will blow over sooner than later,'' Lucas muttered.

''I'm sure people will talk about it for a day and forget what happened,'' Sonic said, with Lucas craning his neck to glance at him. Due to Sonic still being fried from his battle with Metal Sonic, Lucas insisted on carrying him piggyback back to their home. Sonic at first refused, telling him that he was fine, but after almost falling over after the group split apart, he conceded. However, he still continued telling Lucas that he was completely fine aside from being tired.

''You're the one to talk. You've already moved to the next thing,'' Lucas said, narrowing his eyes. Sonic just flashed him a cheeky smile. ''Although, if I was with you, I don't think you'd even get injured.''

''Lucas, I already told you that I'm fine. You worry too much,'' Sonic responded.

''Maybe I do, but someone has to. One wrong move, and you would've been a goner,'' Lucas said, with Sonic falling silent as he mulled over it. As for Lucas, he felt a sting of guilt for not being able to do more, to do better. He was the leader of Team Neos; he should be the one to make sure all of his teammates are safe.

What should I do?

''Hey, Lucas, are you okay?'' Lucas looked up when he saw Warren looking at him. He was lying on the couch in the Taylor Workshop, lost deep in his thought.

''No, not really,'' Lucas responded as he sat up, crossing his legs. ''I feel like I let Sonic down by leaving him alone with Metal.''

''Knowing Sonic, he doesn't care,'' Tails said in a blunt tone, a smile appearing on his muzzle. Lucas snorted in response, well aware that Tails was right.

''I know, and he told me not to worry and that he was fine, but I can't help it but worry,'' Lucas told them.

''Speaking of which, where is Sonic?'' Warren asked.

''He said he went to meet up with Knuckles, but he didn't tell me why,'' Lucas replied. ''I suppose he wanted to just hang out with him.''

''Do you feel jealous?'' Warren asked, giving Lucas a smug look. Lucas chuckled at the absurdity of the question.

''What are you talking about?'' he asked.

''You guys don't seem to really be spending much time together,'' Warren pointed out. Tails' ears perked up and he gave Lucas a curious look.

''We both like to do our own thing,'' Lucas responded. ''Sonic is someone who likes to go on adventures, I prefer to stay at home. That's how our dynamic works.''

''Maybe you both could go on an adventure on your own,'' Tails suggested, getting up from the computer and grabbing the portable AR Field generator. ''Warren and I had one a few days ago and it was a nice experience.''

''I suppose we could do that,'' Lucas muttered, following Warren and Tails outside the workshop. He knew that what they wanted was to create The Starfall through the AR Field via the data they had gathered. However, they forgot to add another data file and Tails went back inside the workshop to get it.

However, the moment he stepped inside, he suddenly found himself hovering in the air above water, forcing himself to use his twin-tails to fly. His eyes widened in shock as he observed the rings surrounding him.

''Wh-What happened?'' Tails tried to make sense of his situation, only to see a huge wave crashing down at him, and the only way for him to escape it was to fly through the floating rings as fast as possible.

xXx

''Do you think Sonic will figure things out?'' Lily asked Knuckles as they cleaned things up at the gym. Knuckles, who was carrying a bunch of sports mats over his head, hummed.

''He lacks discipline, but he is smart. I do have faith in him,'' Knuckles said, with Lily giving him a knowing look, smirking. Knuckles frowned. ''Don't tell Sonic I said that.''

''I promise I won't,'' Lily responded, picking up the tray with the grape juice and walking out of the gym. Knuckles placed the sports mats in the corner and was about to follow her, only for his surroundings to suddenly change. Now alert, Knuckles looked around, realizing that he wasn't anymore inside the gym, but what appeared to be an obstacle course, with rocks rolling down a mountain and Knuckles smashing through one that almost flattened him.

''What is this?'' he grumbled, continuing to fight back.

xXx

''My plan is absolutely impeccable,'' Dr. Starline said, observing the holographic screen before him that informed him about the portable AR Field generators being activated. He had planted them at the Taylor Workshop and Crystle Mansion, rigging them to activate only when Tails and Knuckles were close to them and alone. It was quite difficult to find a proper place for them, especially at the Crystle Mansion, but he managed it thanks to his own wit and intelligence. However, Starline did run into one issue. ''Unfortunately, Sonic is not at the Kinomoto residence. I'd have to search the whole city for that hedgehog and make sure he actually enters my trap.'' Starline sighed, removing his spectacles and pinching the bridge of his beak. ''I did plan for this setback, but it appears that the execution is going to be more difficult than I thought.'' He placed his spectacles back on his beak, trying to figure out what to do. ''If I only had his exact location, it would make things way easier.''

Starline closed the holographic screen and grabbed what looked like a rectangle metal plate, pressing the button in the middle and allowing it to turn into a personalized hovercraft. Having not much resources, he had to personally scout the whole city. It took a while, but eventually he spotted a blue blur dashing around and fighting an orange and black blur at Heizeru Park. He smirked, reaching for the portable AR Field generator and dropping it in the middle of their battle, with it landing in a nearby bush. The moment Sonic stepped close to it, he vanished, much to Shadow's shock and Starline's glee.

xXx

Sonic had no clue what had happened. One moment, he was exchanging blows with Shadow, and the next, he was racing across a green track with an invisible wall closing in on him. ''As if that thing could ever get me… huh?''

Sonic's eyes widened as he realized that the invisible wall was indeed getting closer, being able to sense it just behind him, almost touching his quills. He sped up, trying to escape it, but it seemed that, the faster he got, the faster the invisible wall was. ''That's not good!''

xXx

''Sonic?''

Shadow stepped back, having been caught off guard by Sonic's disappearance. He looked around, wondering if it was some kind of trick, waiting for Sonic to attack him, but nothing had happened. Suspicious, he walked over to where he saw Sonic vanishing, his eyes narrowing as he saw something translucent glimmering next to a bush. An AR Field? He walked over to it, placing his hand over it and realizing that he couldn't enter it, as it seemed as if there was a barrier. He looked down, noticing a device on the ground resembling the portable AR Field generator he had seen Warren and Tails carrying around. However, this one also had a strange marking on it, a wave in a white and black colour with five stars across it. He had no clue what it was doing here, but he had a bad feeling about this.

He tapped on his AR Visor, with a holographic screen appearing before him and calling Lucas. The teenager was quite surprised to see who had called him. ''Shadow?''

''Sonic has gone missing. I believe that this has something to do with his disappearance,'' Shadow showed Lucas the device. Lucas, in turn, was stunned, trying to process the sudden information dump.

''That looks like the device I had found when Tails had vanished,'' Warren said, suddenly appearing on the screen and holding up the same device. ''It seems to be a portable AR Field generator, but one that doesn't allow for anyone else to enter it.''

''I had figured that one out by myself,'' Shadow responded in a deadpan tone. ''I don't believe it was placed here or at the workshop by chance.''

''That's what we also assumed,'' Lucas said, glancing at the device Warren was holding, frowning at the familiarity of the markings on it. ''Someone placed it here deliberately, and I have a bad feeling in regards to who it is. Shadow, where are you now?''

''I'm at Heizeru Park,'' Shadow responded.

''Okay, stay there, I'll be there soon,'' Lucas said, grabbing his hoverboard and running off, the holographic screen closing. Shadow stepped back, glancing at the device in his hands, wondering where exactly Sonic was and what happened to him.

xXx

''Splendid! I will reach my goal in no time,'' Dr. Starline gloated, sitting in his hideout. He stared at the holographic screen, which showed him video footage of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles struggling in their respective AR Fields. Below the video footage were a blue, yellow and red gauge, slowly filling up.

The way he had designed the AR Fields was for them to constantly use their specific power – speed, flight, power – and then the data that manifested within that AR Field would be directly transferred to his private server. He could then transform the data into pure energy for his personal use. Dr. Starline also made sure that no one would interfere with the AR Fields until the data transfer was done. Afterwards, the portable AR Field generators would self-destruct, releasing Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. Dr. Starline smirked.

''The more they use their power, the faster the process of creating the Power Cores will be,'' he said, noting how the speed gauge was filling up much faster than he expected. It took a bit longer, but eventually, all three gauges filled up, with Dr. Starline then turning towards another AR Field generator that was currently active, showing him three glowing orbs: one blue, one yellow and one red. A cloud of data appeared, turning into a pedestal, where Dr. Starline placed his glove. The Power Cores then floated towards his glove, merging with it in a flash of light.

''Success!'' Dr. Starline lifted his glove, observing the black polished orb with a swirl on top of it, which was made up of the three Power Cores. ''Not only am I able to contend with Team Neos, but I'm certain that Dr. Eggman will recognize my genius and my ability to deal with his nemesis. The power of the Tricore will lead me to the top!''

xXx

''Hey, Shadow!'' Shadow turned to Lucas as he arrived, looking quite in distress. He gave Lucas the portable AR Field generator, with Lucas immediately examining it. ''Where did you find it?''

''In the nearby bushes. Unfortunately, I don't know who had placed it there,'' Shadow explained, giving Lucas a questioning look. ''You seem to know.''

''If the marking on the device is what I suspect to be, then yeah, I do know,'' Lucas responded, narrowing his eyes. ''Warren is currently trying to find a way to contact Tails, but using the usual way doesn't work.''

Before they could do anything, the portable AR Field generator suddenly short-circuited, resulting in a small explosion and causing Lucas to drop it, waving his hand as it had gotten burned. The AR Field then disappeared, with Sonic appearing on the ground before the two, breathing heavily and lying on his knees.

''Sonic, are you okay?'' Lucas asked, kneeling down next to the blue hedgehog.

''Y-Yeah… I'm f-fine…'' Sonic tried to get up, only to feel a sudden wave of dizziness and nausea, almost falling over. Luckily, Lucas caught him, with Shadow shooting him a glare. Sonic noticed it, rolling his eyes. ''Okay, maybe I'm not fine.''

''Good to see that you're finally being honest,'' Shadow snarked at him. Lucas gave the two a confused look, before turning to Sonic.

''Sonic, what happened? Shadow told me that you just vanished into an AR Field?'' he asked.

''So, that's what it was…'' Sonic muttered as he tried to sit up, placing his hand against his forehead. ''I just found myself on this field where I was forced to run as fast as possible. I had no idea what it was… what happened to your hand?''

Lucas looked down at the burn on his palm. It did hurt him, but it wasn't that bad. ''Don't worry, I'm fine.''

Shadow rose an eyebrow as he looked at Lucas, folding his arms across his chest. ''I suppose Sonic isn't the only one with a habit of downplaying his injuries.''

''Not now, Shadow,'' Sonic growled, now feeling annoyed on top of feeling nauseous, while Lucas was just confused. Sonic tried to get up, but his knees buckled and he almost fell over if it weren't for Lucas supporting him. However, he was determined to power through it, managing to eventually stand on his own. Lucas, who was still worried about Sonic's condition, took out a handkerchief of his pocket and wrapped it around his injured hand, trying to figure out what their next move should be. A moment later, he got a call not only from Warren, but also Lily.

''Lucas, how is Sonic doing?'' Warren asked the moment Lucas answered. Sonic was about to answer, but one glare from Shadow made him shut up.

''Not too peachy,'' Lucas replied. ''How's Tails?''

''He's not doing good either,'' Warren said, glancing at Tails who was lying on the couch, breathing heavily. Sonic stared at it, worried about his little buddy.

''Same goes for Knuckles!'' Lily added, cradling her exhausted partner in her lap. ''What the hell is going on?''

''We've found portable AR Field generators and it seems that Sonic and Tails ended up trapped in an AR Field which drained their energy,'' Warren explained. ''Tails was forced to flying through a bunch of rings.''

''I had boulders being thrown at me,'' Knuckles said, taking a deep breath. ''I was forced to punch through them.''

''Sonic had to run through some kind of track,'' Lucas said, looking worriedly at his partner as he tried to steady himself. ''You guys look as if you had your own BioEnergy drained.''

''Except, that shouldn't be possible,'' Sonic said, despite the exhaustion he felt. Still, he narrowed his eyes, deciding to test his energy reserves out, but the moment he attempted to run, he realized that not only was his super speed gone, he also tripped and fell over right on his face in a moment of weakness. He lifted his head with a look of horror on his expression. ''Wh-What happened to my speed?!''

''Sonic!'' Lucas helped him up, now seriously alarmed. ''Sonic, what- what was that?''

''I don't know! My speed suddenly vanished!'' Sonic responded in complete shock, freaking out. He was breathing heavily, as if on the verge of a panic attack, his reaction being something Shadow took note of. His speed was what defined him and losing it felt like he lost a vital part of himself. He couldn't be Sonic the Hedgehog without his super speed.

''You're not the only one, Sonic…'' Sonic turned to the holographic screen, now seeing Tails on it, flicking his twin-tails. ''I can't fly anymore.''

''I feel like I had been drained of all my strength,'' Knuckles said, gritting his teeth and balling his hands into fists.

''Speed, flight, power…'' Lucas muttered, having a very bad feeling about this. He shook his head, deciding to first deal with the matter at hand. ''Okay, so the AR Field caused all of three of you to be de-powered. Maybe we could fix this with a Chaos Surge.''

''Are you sure we should go with that? I could do some tests first to see what exactly happened,'' Warren said. Lucas and Sonic exchanged glances.

''I think we should take the risk,'' Lucas responded, extending his hand towards his partner, with Sonic nodding and grabbing his hand.

''Chaos Surge!''

Both were surrounded with an electric blue aura, both opening their eyes a moment later. Lucas looked a little drained, both of his and Sonic's eyes glowing neon blue, with the glow then vanishing. Sonic looked down at his hands and took a deep breath, then ran off, zipping around Heizeru Park at super speed before grinding to a halt next to Lucas and Shadow, kicking up dirt and dust.

''It's not permanent,'' Sonic said, turning to the holographic screen.

''That's good to know,'' Tails said. ''I'd still like to know what those AR Fields were. It appears they were designed to drain all of our core powers and energy.''

''Is it possible that Dr. Eggman is behind this?'' Knuckles asked.

''No, I don't think so,'' Lucas replied. ''We'll gather up everyone to discuss this.''

xXx

''Hello, sir! How may I help you?'' the receptionist at the Tamago Corporation entrance greeted the visitor as he sauntered into the building. Dr. Starline was looking around the lobby, before turning his attention to the receptionist.

''I'm here to see Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Or, Dr. Eggman, if he prefers that name,'' Starline replied. The receptionist's eyes turned red and she typed something into her computer, either calling someone or sending a message.

''Please, go down the hallway,'' she responded, with Starline smirking smugly.

''Thank you,'' he said as he confidently walked down the hallway leading to a hidden corridor towards where he Dr. Eggman's office was. Orbot and Cubot were in the hallway, both surprised to see Starline walking up to them. They were about to address the platypus Irregular, when Dr. Eggman suddenly walked up to them, followed by Ferra and Metal Sonic.

''Who are you and what are you doing here?!'' Eggman demanded, not looking too happy about seeing an intruder in this area. Starline, on the other hand, was awetruck to see his idol and bowed deeply.

''Please, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Dr. Starline, a kindred spirit and deep admirer of your work,'' Starline said.

''Hmph, I suppose this explains why you're here.'' Eggman didn't look impressed. ''At least you know your place.''

Starline then looked past Eggman at Ferra and Metal Sonic, who both gave him a suspicious look, and just scoffed at him. He then turned back to Eggman, looking at him with that same awestruck and adoring expression. ''I had been hoping to apply to work as your assistant, sir.''

''I'm currently not looking for any assistants…'' Eggman muttered, mulling over this offer. He preferred to scout out people and make them work for him rather than have someone ask him to work for him, but he was curious.

''Consider this my apprenticeship application.'' Starline showed him his glove, with Eggman taking a look at his Tricore.

''What is this?'' he asked.

''This is my own creation – the Tricore. I created it by draining the core data of Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles Prower and Knuckles the Echidna and turning it into the Speed, Flight and Power Power Cores,'' Starline replied, snapping his fingers and presenting three holographic screens that had footage of Sonic, Tails and Knuckles struggling inside the AR Fields to Eggman.

''Oh-ho-ho!'' Eggman was quite amused to see his enemies going through the seemingly neverending obstacles, realizing that Starline might actually be useful. ''Welcome aboard, Starline! I suppose I could give you a position in my Eggman Empire.''

''I will make sure I don't disappoint you, sir,'' Starline replied, looking quite excited. Eggman narrowed his eyes.

''You better don't,'' he said, turning towards Ferra and Metal Sonic. ''These are Ferra Ahearn and Metal Sonic, my Enforcers. You'll be working with them from now on.''

''I'm looking forward to it,'' Starline said, but it was clear to Ferra and Metal Sonic that he was looking down on them from the snarky tone he addressed them with. ''I suppose brute force will be necessary for certain tasks. You can leave the tasks that require a more delicate approach to me.''

''We've been doing well without you,'' Ferra replied in a deadpan tone, feeling that Starline thought of her and Metal Sonic as the dumb muscle. Eggman, on the other hand, was a bit amused by their bickering.

''You have joined us just in time Starline. I was about to walk through Ferra and Metal Sonic through my latest scheme,'' Eggman said, leading Starline towards the main control room.

''I'm honored that you will be including me in your plans, sir,'' Starline said, clasping his hands together as they walked, both being followed by Orbot and Cubot. Ferra and Metal Sonic stayed behind.

'I do not approve of Dr. Starline,' Metal Sonic said.

''Neither do I, but we'll have to deal with him now,'' Ferra said, with both following Eggman and Starline.

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[comfortbucky]

hey hey! can u do some fluffy bucky about having to share a hotel room w u and there’s only one bed!!!! and he’s trying to be respectful n stuff but man does he have the fattest crush on u! thank u <333

HEY HEY YES OMFGGG THE ONE BED TROPE (ur mind😌🤝)

i’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE I DIDN’T EXPECT IT TO COME SO SOON

𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗱, 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗼𝘁𝘀 ⋆｡˚ ☁︎ ˚｡⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆ ｡˚

pairing: bucky x fem!avenger!reader

tags: enemies(?) to lovers BABYYYY, angst, fluff

A/N: i almost always write about tfatws!bucky in mind but let me try and branch out by writing about avenger!bucky hehe

i hope u enjoy🥺💗i absolutely loved this prompt and loved writing this!!!! (it is almost 4am for me as i am posting this :) i’m insane :))

this oneshot will not be following the canon timeline!

word count: 2k

my masterlist!

completed requests!

“Stick to the plan, Y/N.” Steve’s voice came through over the intercom. She rolled her eyes at his warning. He always seemed to be extra cautious with her, making her feel like an unimportant member of the team, and this mission was no different.

“I got this,” she said, completely ignoring his request and charging headfirst at the enemy. Her brash decision resulted in her receiving a heavy beat down, ending up with a split lip and fractured ribs.

Needless to say, Steve was pissed. He and Y/N developed a close friendship over the years, during his search for Bucky. She was oftentimes the one who would stay up all night with him, looking for any trace of Bucky’s existence online. She’d become one of the closest people in his life, which is exactly why he was upset with her, endangering her own life.

After the mission, he confronted her at the base camp.

“You could’ve gotten killed!”

“But I didn’t,” she snapped back. “And the mission was a success anyways, so I don’t get why you’re so mad right now.”

Steve closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing.

“It’s reckless behavior like this that’s eventually going to get you killed, Y/N.”

Bucky walked into the room and immediately regretted his decision as soon as he laid his eyes on Y/N. He’d come to foster an animosity towards her, after seeing her close friendship with Steve. After Bucky joined the Avengers, he noticed how much time they spent together, and jealousy started to fester within him. Steve was the only person he felt comfortable being around in the tower and she constantly took him away from Bucky. Everyone else seemed to have an aversion to him, or so he assumed. He never gave anyone the chance to get to know him, locking himself up in his room most hours of the day. Bucky didn’t think anyone would want to get to know an ex-assassin, especially one that killed the Tony Stark’s parents. She was the one thing that kept Steve away from him and he despised it. So Bucky did what he did best and avoided any sort of interaction with her.

Steve looked at Bucky and suddenly, an idea popped in his head. He had noticed how closed-off Bucky had been since joining the Avengers and refused to let Y/N be alone, worried that she might make another brazen decision. He hatched a plan to kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

“Bucky,” Steve said, making his way over to him. “You and Y/N will be assigned to the same room tonight.”

Bucky choked on his own spit in response and Y/N began to protest.

“You’re not serious, right?” Steve turned to face her with a stern expression.

“You’re not giving me any reason to trust you to be alone.” She let out a defeated sigh and crossed her arms across her chest.

“Why me?” Bucky asked, trying to figure out how he ended up in this situation.

Steve placed a hand on Bucky’s shoulder and looked into his eyes. “Because I trust you, Buck. I need you to do this for me.”

Bucky could see the desperation in Steve’s eyes and reluctantly nodded.

Steve was able to obtain another key card to the hotel room that Y/N was assigned to for the mission. He forgot to take into account the logistics of the sleeping arrangements, leaving Bucky to find a single bed as he entered Y/N’s room.

Bucky froze, his right hand on the door handle, keeping it open, his left hand by his side, holding his duffel bag. He racked his brain, trying to figure out what to do, when Y/N’s voice pulled him from his thoughts.

“Relax,” she started, motioning for him to come inside. “I’ll sleep on the floor, alright?”

Y/N knew that Bucky didn’t like her, despite Steve trying to convince her otherwise. It hurt her feelings a bit, especially after she’d learned so much about him through both Steve’s stories and the time she spent tracking him down. He was such an important person to Steve, her close friend, and Bucky hated her. At first, she figured he was shy and wasn’t ready to open up to anyone else, especially after all the trauma he endured. But she realized he actively disliked her over time, with Bucky always leaving the room when she entered or ignoring her offers to hang out with her and Steve. Eventually, she gave up on reaching out to Bucky, as she only seemed to upset him further, no matter what she did. She figured it was for the best.

Bucky stepped into the room and shook his head.

“Bed’s too soft for me anyways, I’ll take the floor,” he grumbled.

Y/N shrugged in response, knowing that Bucky would be too stubborn to try and argue against. She turned around and picked up the phone, calling the front desk to ask for extra blankets and pillows. When she hung up the phone, she turned back to Bucky to see him nod in thanks.

The rest of the night was silent, as they both prepared for bed, taking turns going into the bathroom to wash up and change. While Y/N was in the bathroom, Bucky arranged the extra blankets and pillows into a makeshift bed on the ground, something that he’d done countless times before. Y/N exited the bathroom in an oversized t-shirt that covered her shorts, and placed her toiletries bag in one of the hotel dresser drawers.

“Bathroom’s all yours.” Bucky grunted in response, grabbing some clothes and a bag headed for the bathroom.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” he stated, just before shutting the door behind him. Y/N scoffed at his comment, gently climbing into bed, in an attempt to not further injure her ribs. She winced as she tried to get into a comfortable position before settling to sleep on the side of her unaffected ribs.

Bucky emerged from the bathroom to see Y/N lying on her left side, her back towards him. He assumed that she had already fallen asleep and quietly crawled into his makeshift bed.

Approximately 10 minutes had passed, when he heard her sniffling. At first, he thought the noise was coming from outside the window, but he traced it back to her. He remained lying on his back for a moment, deciding whether or not to say something. Bucky sighed before speaking.

“You okay?” Y/N immediately stiffened upon hearing Bucky’s voice. She was hoping that he wouldn’t hear her crying, despite his super soldier hearing abilities.

“Yeah, ‘m fine,” she replied back, her voice wavering as she spoke. Y/N hated how weak and pathetic she sounded in that moment. Her fractured ribs made it hard for her to breathe and the adrenaline, that was previously shielding her from the pain, had faded, leaving her to lie there in agony. On top of that, she also felt that this mission solidified her belief that Steve had little faith in her ability to be an Avenger. The last thing she wanted to do right now, was to confess her insecurities to Bucky.

Bucky’s attitude softened, hearing Y/N’s voice crack when she spoke. He knew she’d gotten hurt due to her own, dumb, decision during the mission. Bucky quietly pulled his blankets off and stood up, leaving the room without saying another word. As soon as the door shut, Y/N burst into tears. Bucky did exactly as he’d done in the past many times before, leave. She wasn’t sure why this time upset her more than the rest. Probably because she knew that he was aware of her crying and he’d still chosen to abandon her completely.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening, causing her to stop crying. Y/N listened to Bucky’s footsteps growing closer, and felt the bed dip under his weight as he sat on the edge she was facing towards. She peered over the blanket she was covering her face with, to see Bucky facing her, holding a bag of ice, wrapped in a towel. Bucky’s heart sank at the sight of her glossy eyes and tear stained cheeks in the moonlight.

“For your ribs,” he spoke softly, gesturing to the ice bag in his hands.

“Oh. Thank you.”

Y/N took the bag from him, attempting to slowly sit up. She closed her eyes as she grimaced, and suddenly felt a hand on her back, helping her up. Her eyes opened to reveal Bucky, with a soft smile on his lips. She silently thanked him again, placing the ice bag on the right side of her ribcage.

“Thought you hated me,” she mumbled, keeping her gaze down on her lap. He furrowed his brows, keeping his eyes on her.

“I don’t hate you.”

“Well, you definitely don’t like me.”

Bucky paused at her comment, thinking about his next words, before responding.

“I don’t like that you take up all of Steve’s free time,” he grumbled, causing Y/N to quickly look up at Bucky, his eyes averting her gaze. Her face fell, immediately realizing why Bucky had treated her so coldly all this time. He just missed his friend.

“I’m so sorry, Bucky.” She placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked up at her in response. “I didn’t realize, I’m sorry.”

Bucky didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t expecting her to be so kind and understanding, even coming up with multiple points to argue back at her. He realized then that he didn’t know her at all, but that he wanted to now. In an instant, she became an entirely different person. He studied her eyes and wondered if they had always sparkled like that, if her cheeks were naturally rosy, or if her lips had always been so pink and plump.

His expression softened and he cleared his throat. “It’s fine,” he muttered, tearing himself away from her gaze to look down at his lap. After a moment of silence, Bucky stood up to return back to the floor.

“Stay.” The words left Y/N’s mouth before she had time to process them. Bucky froze and turned to face her. “I mean, if you want to, of course. Just figured the floor must be super uncomfortable for you.” Y/N felt a blush creep up onto her cheeks and kicked herself mentally. She looked down at her hands, regretting the words she spoke, before feeling the bed dip again. She looked up to see Bucky. He smiled and she almost melted at the sight.

She shifted over, putting the ice bag on the nightstand, as Bucky crawled into bed next to her. The two rested on their backs, both staring at the ceiling in silence. Bucky remained at a respectful distance away, not wanting to overstep any boundaries. Y/N turned on her left side, her good side, to face him.

“I’m glad you don’t hate me.”

Bucky turned on his side to face her before responding.

“I don’t think I could ever hate you.”

A strand of her hair had fallen in front of her face and Bucky, instinctively, reached out a hand to tuck it behind her ear. Immediately, he regretted it, about to pull his hand back when Y/N took her hand and placed it on top of his, guiding it to rest on her cheek. He cupped her face in his hand and she leaned into his embrace. Bucky felt his heart rate increase as she moved her body closer to his, wrapping the arm she used to hold his hand on her face, across his side. He shifted towards her as well, wrapping his arm around her body, bringing her closer to him.

“Is this okay?” He whispered, nervous that he might have somehow misinterpreted the situation. He hadn’t been with a woman in such an intimate way in years and had no idea what he was doing. Y/N looked up at him and nodded, before snuggling her face into his chest and Bucky felt a wave of calm wash over him.

“Can you stay here tonight?” Y/N mumbled, her face pressed into his chest. He chuckled at the vibrations from her voice and kissed her temple, smoothing her hair back.

“I’ll stay as long as you want me to, honey.”

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Veritaserum Prompt Fic (Part 10)

(Okay- I'm not going to lie, I took a little bit of sadistic joy at everyone's outrage and devastation over the previous chapter. But only because I know what's coming. I promise we'll have a happy ending. Anyway. Start with part 1 on tumblr or jump over to AO3 to read the whole thing, if you like.)

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

Harry woke up smiling.

This was not something that had ever happened to him prior to the last week, but now the bed smelled like Draco, and the sun was slipping in through the curtains and warming his face, and Harry was free.

He'd never been this happy in his life.

Rolling over, he reached out, patting the bed and trying to find his lover's body so he could drag him over and kiss him awake.

When his searching turned up empty, Harry opened one eye to look at the empty space next to him. He frowned and cast a wandless tempus: 10:37. Harry blinked and summoned his wand and recast: 10:37.

That was strange, he never slept that late. Although, he supposed it explained why Draco was already up and out of bed, probably already out in his workshop working on whatever potion he'd been brewing the past week or so.

After a good stretch and pulling his hair up into a messy bun on top of his head, Harry made his way to the kitchen and over to the coffee pot. He frowned again when he found it empty and turned to head outside and make sure Draco was alright.

Before he'd gotten more than a few steps, his eyes caught on a piece of parchment and a familiar hawthorn wand laying on top of the island. "No," he whispered, heart freezing in his chest.

(Read more below the cut)

He picked up the letter off the island with a trembling hand and read

Dearest Harry, How can I even begin to tell you all that you mean to me? A less cowardly man than I would have found a way to say it to your face, but we both know that bravery is more your department. You've given me so much, Harry. I could never have imagined falling in love, never imagined that someone might love me in return. But that's why I had to do this, you see that don't you? Not because I don't love you but because I do. I love you with every fiber of my being, with all that I am, and you are mine, Harry. And I couldn't let you pay the price for my sins. I couldn't let you give up everything for me. Granger helped me draw up a contract with the Minister himself, you three certainly have a lot of friends in high places. In exchange for me, they're clearing you of all charges. Don't be angry with her; she just wants what is best for you, as well you must know by this point in your friendship. I know you're hurting right now, love. I know that this is breaking your big, perfect, beautiful heart; it's breaking the pathetic, shriveled excuse of a heart that I have, too. But it will pass, my darling, if you let it. So please, for me, let it go. Let me go. Be happy, be in love, live whatever life you want. Travel. Go to the States and do whatever muggle thing you wanted to do. You deserve the best life. Please know that I will spend the rest of my life grateful for you. And I will never forget the time when you were mine. You are, without exception, the best thing that has ever happened to me. Forever yours, Draco

Harry stared at the parchment in his hand, trailing trembling fingers over Draco's elegant script as his eyes blurred and his breathing came too fast. He clenched the letter to his chest, gasping against the ache of his heart expanding to accommodate the sadness and the sense of loss.

Without another thought he apparated straight into Ron and Hermione's kitchen.

"We thought you might show up at some point," Ron's voice said behind him.

Harry whipped around to see them both sitting at the table, "What the fuck did you do?" he asked, voice low and dangerous.

Hermione sighed, "What he asked us to."

"Why?" he asked before the enormity of this situation hit him all over, the realization that he'd never see Draco again stealing the air from his lungs. He bent forward, putting his hands on his knees, "I can't breathe," he managed, trying to suck breath into his lungs and failing.

Ron was at his side in an instant, easing him onto the floor as Hermione appeared in front of him, "let your head drop between your knees. Focus on a slow inhale, slow exhale," she said and Harry tried to sync up his breathing with hers until his heart stopped racing.

He leaned his head back against the wall and scrubbed his hands over his face. "He's gone," he whispered. Then he opened his eyes and looked at them, "How could you let this happen?"

Hermione looked down at her hands, "Draco reached out to me the day after the trial. He said he couldn't trap you, couldn't force you to live a life on the run again."

"And that he couldn't bear the thought of you getting caught," Ron added.

"We wouldn't have gotten caught," he said derisively.

Hermione shook her head, "Maybe not but what about every other person in your life, Harry? You would have spent the rest of your life separated from them."

"We miss you, mate," Ron added.

He shook his head and swiped angrily at the tears in his eyes, "Then we could have figured something out. It had only been a week!" he protested. "Just one week, we could have-" he broke off and covered his mouth. After a heart beat, he stood up, "I can't be here right now. I can't-" he shook his head, "I can't do this."

"Harry-" Hermione started.

"He asked me not to be mad at you," he said, "but I'm-" he broke off, his hands trembling as he tried to open the door. "I need-" he tried again before simply giving up and walking out the door. He needed Draco.

"Harry!" Ron called behind him but he just kept walking.

He'd come back. He'd forgive them. He knew he would, he just needed a little time.

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

However, leaving was actually a seemingly bad idea.

In the 30 minutes after he left the house, he learned that part of the "deal" that Draco had struck with Kingsley involved the Ministry being able to tell whatever lies they wanted to about Draco. Some papers claimed that it had been a love potion, some claimed it was a cursed object, some claimed he'd been imperiused.

Harry stood in front of a newsstand, seething as he read the headlines. How could they have let this happen? How could Draco have signed a contract that allowed for this?

And then he saw it: The Quibbler. Draco and Harry were on the front page, just like every other newspaper, but the article was titled, "From the Wrinkspurts: They're in Love". The world tilted, righting itself slightly as a plan started to form in the back of his mind.

He looked up at the man running the stand who'd been just staring at him, "I need one of everything," he said. "I don't have any money but I'll bring-"

"They're yours," the man interrupted, grabbing papers from all the different piles. He even tossed on one for gardening and one for cooking.

"Err," Harry, "Not those ones," he said, nudging the two irrelevant ones away. "Just the ones about me," he added, "At the risk of sounding self centered."

"Whatever you want, mate," the man said. "They're yours."

"Thanks," Harry said, grabbing the stack of them and concentrating so he could apparate through the Ministry's wards because he simply didn't give a fuck anymore.

There was a sound vaguely like glass shattering as Harry popped up in front of the secretary's desk outside of Kingsley's office. She shrieked and a coffee cup went flying, breaking when it hit the ground.

"I'm here to see Kingsley," he said simply.

A hand fluttered up to cover her heart, "I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Potter, but he's in a meeting."

"Interrupt it," he said. "I guarantee what I have to say is more important."

"I can't just-"

"Look," Harry interrupted. "Just go and ask him. If he tells you to send me away, that's fine, I'll go."

She appeared to consider this for a moment, then she stood up and made her way to the door, knocking and slipping in.

A moment later she reappeared, "Would you mind waiting for just one moment?" she asked, gesturing to the chairs across from her desk. "He'll be right with you."

It was barely two minutes before three people came hurrying out of the room, avoiding Harry's gaze.

Kingsley followed, "Harry," he greeted, "Please come in."

Harry stood up and followed Kingsley in, not allowing himself to feel inferior because of the sweatpants and t-shirt he was still wearing.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Let Draco Malfoy go," he replied.

Kingsley raised an eyebrow, "You know as well as I do that we're not going to do that. It's not possible."

"I thought you might say that," he replied as he started tossing magazines one by one onto the man's desk. "But you really ought to have told them all the same story."

"What?" the man asked with a laugh, "Why? Why should that matter?"

"Because it's going to make the Ministry look even more incompetent when I tell all of them the truth."

He shrugged, "It's of little concern, it won't matter."

"See, that's where you're wrong," Harry replied. "Because I'm not just going to tell them the truth about Draco Malfoy and his heinous treatment by Ministry officials prior to his trial. I am going to tell them everything and I'm going to watch the Ministry burn."

"Harry, be reasonable," he said. "So you tell everyone your story about finding Malfoy in the Department of Mysteries, garner a little sympathy because he was a teenager and now you're in love," he continued. "But it doesn't take much to drag his name through the mud again. To remind people that he tried to kill Dumbledore, to remind them of the cabinet that let death eaters into Hogwarts, to remind people of the lives that were lost because of him."

Harry's veins burned with rage and it was all he could do to keep himself from lashing out.

Kingsley shook his head, "Do what you must, but your story will never be enough."

He let out a humorless chuckle and leaned forward, bracing his fist on the desk, "I got into the Department of Mysteries within a matter of months. Do you really believe that the only information I got was about Draco Malfoy?"

"You'll be prosecuted, if you disclose any information you obtained illegally" he replied steadily.

"I am Harry fucking Potter," he said with a growl. "If you try to prosecute me, you will have an uprising on your hands. Especially after everything I'm going to expose. So good luck with that, I'll enjoy watching this burn even faster," he said, gesturing to the space around them.

"Harry," he said, "You must know that what you're asking of me simply isn't possible," a hint of desperation creeping into his voice.

The corner of Harry's mouth ticked up, "I'm going to win," he said. "And we both know it." He turned, leaving the magazines spread across his desk. "The only question is how much do you want to see burn before it happens." When he reached the door he called over his shoulder, "I'm holding a press conference tomorrow at six." He looked back at the other man, "You have until then to get him released."

On his way out he cast a patronus that he was sending to Azkaban with a simple message. I'm getting you out.

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

Okay, friends. There will be at least one more part of this fic (maybe two) but this is getting too long. <3

Part 9 | Part 11

[loving-all-for-loki]

Can you write one where the Rogers is assigning a new recruit to each avenger for training? Loki gets the new girl and he’s irritated thinking she’s just some normal human that hasn’t a clue how to fight properly because of her petite size. When it comes time for them to spar, she gives him hell. She fights with swords and is very skilled in the art. He says something to piss her off and she ends up blasting him away with powers she never told anyone about. Loki realizes what she is since he knows the magic she used. She’s part light elf but being half human she was abandoned and left to die just like Loki was. They end up bonding and work together on the team.

A/N: I hope you like it! I didn't focus a whole ton of them working together, but I feel like you get the point. It's a bit longer than my other one shots.

The Moon And Her Darkness

Summary: Y/N, the newest avenger, starts her first day of training. An unimpressed Loki’s doubts are proved to be wrong when she reveals herself to be stronger than he knew.

Word count: 2744

Warnings: angst, dick Loki

Forever Tags: @mm2305

-

Your blood pumps fast through your body as you stare at the raven haired god. Ever since you joined the team, he’s been giving you dirty looks and eye rolls. You tried to not pay attention to it since you know of his past (and have been warned by Tony), but as the newest Avenger trying to prove herself, you find yourself longing for his approval.

It has been a week since Nicky Fury showed up at your home, extracting you from it, and throwing you into the lion's den you called the Avengers. You never signed up for it, but given that you were on the government’s radar for a long time, you’re not surprised. A couple mishaps here and there made them take you on their own terms. They’ve decided that having super powers is not something to be normalized and that you couldn’t live like a normal civilian.

Although you want to be home, the Avengers have already shown to be a great family. Nat and Wanda have already taken you shopping while Steve gave you a tour of the tower. As far as the others, they have been out of sight. Bucky avoids everyone, Sam with him because they’re glued to the hip, and Tony is somewhere else working on new technology with Bruce. Clint? Thor? Who even knows. You’ve been thankful for the attention they have given you.

Except for Loki.

You remember the attack in New York and you won’t lie when saying that approaching the god is intimidating. He stands with great pride and power, it’s hard not to feel small, but when he stares at you the way he does, it’s harder. He doesn’t stop looking at you as if you were a rat he found in a sandwich. Disposable. Replaceable. Disgusting. You don’t expect much from the God being that he’s only staying here out of punishment for the attacks, but you had hoped for a little something more. Even a prank or two.

When Steve told you that you were going to start training, you expected hand to hand combat like the rest, not whatever involves Loki being in the gym at the same time as the two of you. He hasn’t said a word, but just stared at you as Steve goes over some basic disabling techniques and defense. Most of it is already burned in your brain from your childhood, being a warrior and all, but you still manage to learn some new things.

But learning as to why Loki is there, that still remains unclear. Everytime you throw a punch or try to block one of Steve’s, Loki scoffs at you and rolls his eyes. He looks completely relaxed on a bench in the room, yet he could not be looking at you with a more tense gaze. He looks worried, as if you’re going to get beaten to a pulp.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” You yell at him.

Panting, you block Steve’s last hit and turn to the younger Odinson.

“Sorry?”

“Oh, don’t sorry me. Cut the crap, Loki. What’s up?”

“I believe the sky is.”

You grab a knife off the wall and aim it in his direction, startling him slightly but not even shocking Steve.

“You stare at me with daggers in your eyes and judge my every move. You have yet to even talk to me since I joined the team. What do you have against me, you ass?”

“Y/N-”

“Shut it, Steve!” You yell, quickly aiming the dagger at him before returning to Loki, “You. Talk.”

“It’s just pathetic, that’s all.”

“Pathetic? You’re calling me pathetic?”

You start to charge at Loki, but Steve quickly wraps his arm around your waist, holding you back from gutting the god.

“Y/N, I wanted you to spar with him after me,” he cuts in.

“And why would I do that?”

“Because he's a skilled fighter who matches your level.”

“Oh, so I spar with the tricker who decides I’m too pathetic to fight. He’s going to teleport or some shit and stab me like he does with Thor.” Loki’s eyebrows raise at the mention of Thor getting stabbed. “Yes, I’ve heard the stories. I’m not that naive, Steve.”

“I won’t leave you alone with him. I’ll be here to watch and guide.”

“What do you know about fighting with me? I have magic beyond belief” Loki asks the both of you.

“I know more than you think,” I spit, turning back to Steve, “Can we do something else?”

“Well, you coud-”

“I am not sparing with Loki.”

“Okay, then how about weapons? Whatever one you want to start with?”

Loki scoffs again at the mention of you fighting any other way than hand to hand combat. He’s lucky you’re on the same team as him or else you would have decapitated him by now just because of annoyance. How can a man so attractive be so obnoxious?

You walk over to the wall of weapons were Steve and quietly discuss which ones you’ll practice with. He recommends knives so you can spar with Natasha when he’s gone, but the swords are more up your alley. They remind you of your childhood, the weapon of your people. Some days, you miss them, but you know they are fighting their own battle that is too dangerous for you.

Picking up the swords, Steve warns you he is not good which makes Loki laugh again. He has the right to this time because how do you practice with a man who doesn’t know what he’s doing. You can’t last ten minutes with Cap before you’re tired of his flailing. He’s really not good.

“Loki, you wouldn’t happen to know how to use swords would you?”

“I have some experience. Asgard knights and Valkyrie used them, we were forced to learn.”

He stands and takes Steve’s sword from him. Turning to you, he smirks, taking you in. Your frame looks so small compared to his, nothing but a mortal. He’s never admit it, but he finds you slightly adorable, in a helpless baby sort of way. You take proper stance and stare at Loki dead in the eye, determined to prove him wrong.

The two of you run at each other, swinging at any unblocked area you can, yet never hitting. He blocks your swing, pushing you back but not down. Looking up at him, you scream and run, thrusting your sword towards his neck and legs. He blocks you again, but not without stumbling. Before he’s able to get up, you land a blow right to his chest, knocking the air out of him. He hooks his foot around your leg and flips the two of you over so he hovers above you, sword to throat.

“I’ll admit it, you are good, but not great,” he laughs.

He stands up and walks off, setting the swords back on their holder on the wall. You gradually stand up, fury in your bones for the way he speaks to you.

“You… are irritable!” You yell.

Right before Loki gets to the door, he turns to face you. Steve rushes to your side.

“Y/N, stop. He’s not worth it.”

“Oh, he’s not worth it, alright,” you mutter to Steve, “He’s not worth the pride. The praise. Whatever the ‘glorious purpose’ he thinks he has. He’s just an insecure little boy who needs to prove himself over others, make them feel small so he feels superior. Just a bully.”

“I’d watch your tongue,” Loki warns.

“Or else what? You’ll challenge me to a words competition? See who has the best insults or can sound like the biggest douche because I think we all know who would win! Another check mark for your book of things you’re better at than ‘midgardians’ or ‘mortals’ or whatever degrading nickname you think of next.”

Loki’s chest heaves in anger. You’ve never seen someone so angry or heard anyone yelling at you with concern like Steve. Nothing he says registers in your head as Loki’s daring looks fill your mind. You’d almost be scared if you didn’t know he’s full of empty threats. Just a scared little god boy.

“You imbecile, think you can scare me?”

“Actually, I think anything can.”

“I can take words from someone who does not know me, but to be called a coward is not something I take lightly.”

“So what are you going to do about it? Huh?”

“Nothing, I don’t waste my time on people like you.”

“Oh, people like me? Because the great Frost Giant Asgardian is sooo superior.”

“Don’t you ever say that.”

Loki rushes to your side, grabbing you by the throat and lifting you up against the wall.

“Loki, stop it!” Steve yells.

“This is not about you, Rodgers. I suggest you leave before getting in the crossfire.”

“I can’t do that. The safety of this team-”

“Is your priority. I know you are honorable, but I highly suggest you leave.”

Steve hesitates at the sound of you gasping for air. You cling onto Loki’s hand, tightly wound around your throat. His veins pop out of his hand like a dehydrated man. Steve looks back at you, eyes now closed to focus on your breathing.

“Put her down first,” Steve orders.

“Fine, always have to be the hero.”

Loki sets you down and your body goes numb. Everything hurts, your throat swelling. You gasp for all the air you can, feeling it go down your throat and enter your lungs. It’s fresh, comforting, healing. Leaning your head back against the wall, you barely open your eyes to see Steve by your side.

“Are you okay?”

Not energized enough to speak yet, you nod your head and place your hand on his shoulder. Steve looks over at you with worry before turning back to Loki.

“Leave, now.”

“Gladly.”

Loki turns to walk away, but doesn’t. He stands there to listen to you and Steve. At this point, neither of you care. You’re too focused on not dying.

“Can you breathe?” Steve asks.

You nod your head.

“I can get you help. We have a hospital room.”

“No,” you choke, “I’m fine. I just need a moment.”

Steve nods, but doesn’t listen. He gets up and leaves the room, rushing down the hallways to get a nurse, leaving you alone with Loki.

“Why haven’t you left?”

“No reason.”

“Please, just go. I’m tired of fighting. You’ve done enough.”

Loki turns to look at you. You look weak, but actually weak this time. The purple tint to your skin is fading as your lungs self regenerate as you keep breathing. Gripping onto the wall behind you, you stand up. Your knees are weak, making you wobble as you do. You’re not lying. You’re tired of Loki. You’ve barely spoken to the man and he’s made two attempts on your life in ten minutes. Sure, you teased him, but doesn’t he deserve it for being an ass.

“Weak.” He mutters.

That was the last straw. You look up at him. He stares at you as if the devil himself has entered you and your eyes glow bright red, but you know what is wrong. Holding out your hand towards Loki. A glow erupts from behind you, bright yet dark. It’s dark blue like the night sky and Loki watches it in awe. In seconds, Loki’s body is flung through the training room doors, blasting him into the wall of the hallways. He feels his rib breaking, his head hitting the wall. He yells out in pain as you slowly approach him, the anger seeping through.

“Never call me weak.”

Loki flips his head up to look at you, shock running through his body. At the sound of his body collapsing, the other Avengers come running forward. They look upon the sight of you towering over the trickster god with a look they’ve never seen before. Ethereal. Godly. You look as if you’re a queen staring at her peasant handmaid. Anger. Controlling. Power.

“What the-” Bucky mutters.

“You,” Loki gasps.

He struggles to stand as the team tries to help but he refuses. You two locked eyes but nothing was said. “You’re an elf.”

Everyone looks back at you with confused faces, but you don’t say anything. Your body goes hot at the mention of the word ‘elf’. The fire inside you fades out as anxiety places it, waiting for Loki to continue.

“I knew if someone was here to figure it out it’d be you,” you whisper.

“Light elf yes?”

“Yes, moon elf to be exact.”

“How are you here? Aren’t the-”

“Yes, they’re away. I was left to die. Our town got ransacked, everyone fled. No one stopped for me.”

“Then how are you here?”

“The Air elves. They got word of what happened and came. Found me. Took me back, but-”

“You weren’t suited. They found out.”

“Yes.”

There’s a moment of silence between you and the god. His eyes shine with sadness, tears coming to the corners. He looks at you with great pity as the wall inside you breaks.

“Can someone explain what’s happening?” Steve asks.

“Can you tell?” You ask Loki.

He nods, “Yes. Y/N is a moon elf, a tribe of light elves. They’re as high up as Asgard in the nine realms, powerful warriors. They’ve been at the center of every creature out there. People have been after them for their weapons, gems, and wealth. A landmark for every thief and warrior in the universe.”

“My town was destroyed when I was a little girl. Nobody wanted me because I was a child. I was a burden to them.”

“She was left for dead to be found by the Air Elves. Another tribe. Not as powerful. But they didn’t want her and there’s only one reason why they wouldn’t want a moon elf. She’s a half-breed.”

“Moon elves are the only ones who tolerate them. Half human, half elf. Considering many of them come from moon elves, they’re not despised, but Air Elves.”

“They dropped you off on Midgard to be picked up by someone else. I assume you hid your powers?” “I had to. I acted out once when I was little and my parents freaked out. They sent me away. I lived in a orphanage before some group took me, trained me, helped me hone in my powers. They saved me.”

“Until you got to old and left.”

“Didn’t know where to go. I became a waitress at some back alley bar, lived above it in an apartment with my manager. Lived paycheck to paycheck.”

“Then?”

“Nicky Fury came to me. I was on SHIELD’s radar and they wanted me on the Avengers.”

The room goes silent. Throughout your talking you missed the way Loki got considerably closer to you. You practically stand right under his nose. Loki raises his hands and places them on your shoulders, getting your attention. You two look each other in the eye for a long moment.

“I am… so sorry.”

You feel the tears forming in your eyes as Loki pulls you into his chest, holding you by your waist. The team watches in awe as the closed off god embraces you. Slowly, everyone leaves you two in the hallway. An hour goes by as you cry in Loki’s eyes.

Eventually, Loki picks you up bridal style and brings you to your bedroom. He helps you get dressed for the night and settled in bed before you grab his hand, making him turn back to face you. His eyes are no longer riddled with anger or hatred, but kindness and pity. He looks at you like you’re a little lamb to be protected.

“Yes, darling?”

“Stay with me?”

He nods before undressing and getting in bed with you. He pulls you close, your head leaning on his chest, and places an arm around your waist.

Every night goes on like this. No matter what happened in the day, even if you two got into an argument, Loki always found his way back by your side in your bed. You would have never expect it from how he treated you at first, but after the last few months since you met him, you find yourself growing closer to the god.

Loki slips into your bed for what feels like the 1482nd time. Resting your head on his chest, Loki pulls you close to his body.

“Goodnight, darling.”

[levicanpunchme]

Levi X Y/N

Genre: Romance/Fluff/Modern AU

Warning: sexual references

Summary: You attend a business party with your boyfriend, Levi in hopes of introducing yourself but things turn hazy when a blonde idiot keeps staring at you. Levi’s burning anguish strikes.

Mine

The large dining hall was illuminated with yellow candles, creating a sophisticated atmosphere for the various honourable guests. The darkness of the hall suffocated you, making you clench onto your purse tighter. These high society parties were not your cup of tea; they made you uncomfortable. If you could, you’d never again breathe next to these oblivious, high nosed women who flaunted their lavished lifestyle which their husbands had earned after dirty business work. What was there to be so proud of-? You wondered. When they spoke to you, you heard the discreet arrogance in their tone and it made you want to scream.

You desperately avoided these events; however, this time, you wanted to formerly introduce yourself-after all your boyfriend was a well established businessman. He was required to attend such parties and ever since he told you about the women throwing themselves at him, you couldn’t help jump into an elegant dress and rush to join his side.

Your lips touching the rim of your glass paused when you caught sight of your raven haired boyfriend in a black suit, wearing a blank expression on his face as a domineering aura surrounded him. This was the first time you had asked to join him in such an event and you were kind-of-glad you did. He looked awfully attractive, his eyes forecasting a shadowy glow in the darkness of the hall. He was the centre of attention; not just because of his godly appearance but also his reputable character.

Levi Ackerman was the sole owner of X company, a name in the higher ups of the world’s largest food industry. His work ethics were widely praised all over the country and every businessman was desperate to earn an opportunity to work with him. His work ethics were a reflection of his character. He had started at the bottom of the chain and earned his way up, struggle after struggle.

You were so proud to call him yours.

“My husband wanted to donate to the local NGO and I was personally against it because we already do so much. We take part in various charitable events after all.” - for publicity, a voice completed in your head. You smiled to yourself at the hypocrisy of the rich brats.

You rolled your eyes, looking back at your boyfriend on the other table and you noticed he was already staring at you. His eyes carefully read your expression. He immediately realised your discomfort and rose from his seat, taking wide strides towards you. Your eyes widened when he grabbed your hand and tugged at you to stand up with him. The five ladies on the table quickly shut up as they softly greeted Levi, their voices growing coy and shy. They sounded so sweet as if they weren’t already married; it made you want to puke.

As Levi clasped his arm around your waist, he silently nodded at the ladies not even sparing them a glance as he walked away with you back to his table. You almost smirked back at the women but restrained yourself, knowing you couldn’t afford to trample over Levi’s reputation by falling into a childish girly scuffle.

“You have to pay me when we get home for saving your ass back there,” he softly whispered against your frame, causing goosebumps to awaken on your skin. You glanced at him and laughed at the dark glaze in his eyes.

“I didn’t need any saving,” you replied back, your challenging gaze daring him to say otherwise. He pinched the bridge of his nose with a soft smile on his lips and then whispered back. “We’ll see about that at home.”

Your stomach flipped.

Levi casually pulled you with him to his table and sat you down next to him. You stared, wide eyed. He was currently sitting around huge business tycoons, discussing future arrangements. You noticed the blonde man sitting opposite to Levi and froze up. He was the man Levi was bidding on for future collaborations as he was the second largest producer in food industry in the world.

“This is my girlfriend, Y/n L/n.” You didn’t realise when he introduced you and quickly sat up, smiling at the men as you greeted them.

“Oh, how wonderful! They say behind every successful man stands a woman,” one of the older men stated and Levi nodded firmly. “Indeed.” And you looked at Levi explicitly.

You felt a wave of emotions course through you and suddenly you wanted to kiss him. Levi was so hardworking. He had struggled for every opportunity in his career and deserved every ounce of the success he currently had. You wanted to throw away everything to make him happy.

“How beautiful,” you gazed away from your boyfriend to the origins of the voice and sat frigid. The blonde, thin-lipped man was staring at you with a strange glint in his eyes, a smirk uplifting his lips as he eyed you up and down.

“Are you currently studying?” the blonde man slurred, his British accent becoming more apparent now. You felt chills run down your spine as you noticed his eyes wander to your cleavage and it made you feel icky. You knew his intentions were dirty but it didn’t matter. You wouldn’t see him ever again after today. You never wanted anyone to stare at you like that. It made your insides crawl. It made you feel insignificant, demoralised and inferior.

You gulped and smiled indifferently. “Journalism,” you answered and looked away quickly. You noticed Levi’s hand clench tightly under the table and panic rippled in your chest. You quickly grabbed his hand, fear racking your head. Levi would singlehandedly destroy anyone who looked at you with nasty intentions and you knew that. You were a witness to it once when you were drunk after a university gathering and a man tried to take you home. Levi had stalked down the street and knocked the man’s front tooth out before safely taking you back to his place.

He was so full of anguish that he almost got the man kicked out of uni. Fortunately, you managed to stop him before things escalated.

“Levi,” you muttered, your mind going blank as you noticed the awakening demon in his eyes; his darkening predatory stare trained at the man, his mouth tightly shut and jaw clenched. You suddenly wanted to evaporate. You tried to appease him as you stroked his large hand, your soft skin gliding against his callous one. He reacted by gripping your hand tightly, holding it. He still didn’t spare you a glance and kept his drilling gaze trained at the man in front.

“Journalism? So you’re one of the smart ones.” His eyes were hazy and tone lousy due to heavy alcohol consumption. His eyes again feasted at your exposed skin and you shrunk into your chair, your heart clashing against your chest. You noticed the dead silence pinning the table as everyone felt the thick tension from Levi’s disgusted stare. Your hold on Levi’s hand grew tighter, forcing him to look at you.

“I’m fine, don’t do anything rash,” you whispered but it seemed like your plea went through him, unheard.

You realised that if the man said anything more, Levi would definitely charge at him. You had to get out of here before it was too late.

“Excuse me, I’m heading to the washroom,” you muttered and gave Levi’s hand another comforting squeeze before standing to leave. You didn’t look back as you hurried to the washrooms. You planned on spending the rest of the night in the lavatory since the party was just awfully disappointing.

You wanted to stand beside Levi but not under the current circumstances. The blonde smug idiot was the most influential in the field and you wanted to do nothing to sabotage your boyfriend’s future goals.

You locked yourself in one of the stalls and sat down annoyedly. It was supposed to be a fun night out with your boyfriend. You didn’t know a rich party full of influential businessmen was just a pathetic havoc wreaking battlefield. You mentally promised to never ask Levi to take you to another event. You annoyedly massaged your forehead in slow circles, hoping to ease the ache.

“Excuse me,” you heard a shrill voice call out as someone knocked from outside. You sat up alarmed.

“Yes?” You replied unsurely.

“I think your boyfriend is outside the washroom waiting for you.” You stood up, your eyes zeroing as you whipped the door open. A brunette haired woman stood before you. “You’re Levi Ackerman’s girlfriend, right? He asked me to check inside for you,” she told you, giggling and then stepped to the sink, resuming back to washing her hands.

You rushed for the door and abruptly pulled it open, stepping outside. As expected, Levi was stationed against the wall, his eyes already tracing yours, needy and impatient. He stepped towards you and pulled you close to him, his fingers grazing your exposed neckline and you heard him breath you in.

“We’re going home,” he whispered into your neck. You nodded hesitantly as he held your hand tightly and marched out to the hall. You almost gasped- as everyone was staring at you both, thick tension brewing in the air. It seemed like you were under spotlight. Levi’s gaze was unaffectedly cold as he stayed upright. Standing beside him was a privilege since Levi had a significant presence to mobilise the crowd to stop and stare.

But this was different. Everyone was whispering and murmuring among themselves as they stared at you horrified. You wondered what had happened for everyone to be so silent and meek around him. Your gaze fearfully swayed to the table where the blonde man had been and you were shell shocked when you noticed a heavy purple bruise under his eye. Your body grew cold as you looked at Levi shocked. He noticed your questioning gaze but only responded by pulling you closer to him.

When you both were out the premises, inside the car park, you pulled at his hold. “Levi, how could you attack a powerful businessman! Have you gone mad?” You gasped, finding it hard to comprehend. He didn’t answer you and kept his moderate pace towards the car.

“Levi, I’m talking to you!” You shrieked, your eyes growing large with anger. He finally halted in his tracks and turned towards you, his eyes burning with seething anger, his fists still clenched, a bluish bruise starting to form on his right fist.

“We need to get out of here before I do something worse,” he spat, his aggressive voice making your throat dry. You felt the frustration building in your chest and your eyes burned with tears.

“You’ve ruined a great opportunity! Do you think he’ll let this go? He won’t-!” You yelled, your head pounding as you felt desperate enough to cry out. “Levi, you’ve worked so hard for this,” you cried, your heart aching.

He was adamant on establishing himself. Never losing sight of his goals, he spent a year working on his startup. He earned investments after tirelessly sacrificing sleep and lunch, date nights and family dinners. You loved him so much, so much that you were always supportive. His absence made you so lonely yet you never complained; there were nights you wanted him to hold you, days you wanted him to listen to your grieving heart, but it was best to not bother him. You internally ached and slowly the ache started to disappear when he came back. After successfully earning a huge investment, everything changed. It was like his pot of love for you flooded and spilled everywhere, unable to be contained. He stopped working excessively. He became so clingy, so needy for your presence, it drove you insane- in a good way.

“Y/n, why’re you crying?” His stern voice caused your body to shrink, goosebumps awakening on your skin. His eyes were so thunderously dark, waves of anger rippling in his frame.

“Because!” You croaked, you sounded awfully hurt. “How could you ruin chances of growing this? After you’ve worked so hard for it!” You shouted, your face angry red with tears spilling out. You were so angry and frustrated that you wanted to physically beat someone.

Levi’s chest was heaving as he stared at you, his face pinning you down, holding you captive. “You care about my fucking business right now?” He sounded hurt as well, his raspy voice so quiet, you could tell he was boiling.

“Yes!” You cried. “You’ve wanted this so bad. After this deal, you would’ve been unbeatable Levi!” You threw your hands in despair, the frown on your face deepening. Levi’s body shook as he stepped closer and before you could register it, he had grabbed your wrist and slammed you to the car, his arms immediately protecting your anterior from pain. A loud clash was heard as he pinned you beneath him, his breathing heavy, his eyes glazed.

“I’ve worked so hard, day after day so you can stand next to me without shame. You deserve someone strong and I was so pathetic back then,” he stated, his eyes trained on yours as he truthfully uttered. Each word pained you more than you could imagine. Your heart began to break, tears rolling down your cheeks like a stream.

“How could I be with you, such a gorgeous, strong woman? I was unworthy and it made my blood boil.” His confession left you utterly speechless. “Hange said I should give you up. It’s an easy way out but the thought of that kept me up at night.” Hange was Levi’s best friend from college and now a dear friend of yours. You were completely unaware of these conversations.

“The fact that Hange even mentioned that made me sick. That night, I decided to be worthy of you. Because you’re mine. I can give up this whole world but never you,” he whispered and his mouth found your neck.

“W-why didn’t you ever tell me?” You contained your moans, crying out in pain and awe as Levi’s teeth dug in your collarbone. His tongue slickly traced the bite mark across the neckline as he tasted you to his fulfilment.

“Because you don’t need to care about it,” he rasped, his heavy pants taking over your head making you twitch and turn in his hold.

“I’ve achieved enough to protect you,” he whispered against your skin and dropped wet kisses down to your cleavage.

“I want to rip his filthy fucking eyes out for looking at you like that, y/n,” he roared, the bitterness returning; his eyes remained on yours, watching you throw your head back as he satiated his hunger. His kisses grew desperate, needy- his hand against your waist tightening as he pulled you into him.

Your body reacted on its own, curling into his hot frame. Everything felt hot: from the heavy breaths exhaled against your neck to the hand gripping your waist. Your face was probably on fire and you felt so dirty for letting him submit to his desires outside in a car-park where anyone could walk in and watch a show. But it also felt so euphoric, to have him desperately feasting on you that you couldn’t reject him.

Jealous Levi made your stomach pool.

“You’re only mine-how dare that fucking crook stare at you like that,” his words were cut off as he painfully dug his teeth into your breast, a gasp escaping from your mouth.

“Levi,” you breathed, your body aching like you had caught a fever. He heard you clear and your airy words turned him on more than ever because he started to push himself into you, kisses trailing into your chest.

You felt him. You almost screamed because he was so brutally turned on, you shook against his frame, your legs falling weak. He supported you as he held you tightly, digging his nose into your hair, inhaling your sweet scent.

You were so heated when you heard footsteps, a heel clicking against a marble floor. Even though, your ears heard the sounds loud and clear, your mind was elsewhere and refused to comprehend or react appropriately by pulling away. You knew you should-this is so embarrassing but you couldn’t get yourself to push Levi away.

You were pulled out of your trance when Levi jerked back, his gaze so pained and hazy. You swear you saw his limbs shake as his chest heaved, his body so rigid, afraid to move or he would fall to the ground. He clenched his fist determinedly and swore under his breath.

“Get in the car-no one sees you like this,” he commanded. You didn’t know what he meant but you obediently ran to the passenger seat and rushed inside, your heart clashing against your chest. In the rear view mirror, you saw yourself and immediately realised what your boyfriend meant. He didn’t want anyone to see you-your hair messy, eyes hooded with intense desperation, your face flushed and breathing heavy; you looked lustrous, so turned on and oozing of desire.

The next second, you heard Levi pull the door and get inside. His forehead was covered in a cast of sweat and his hair was now a mess as if he had run his fingers through the black strands.

“I can’t drive. I literally can’t feel my legs.”

You threw your head back, your frame wreaking with laughter. He glared at you, his eyes still brewing with desire.

“Shut up before I take you here,” he threatened and you quickly shut up. You knew him too well to know that he would actually comply. You gazed at him as he sat inhaling and exhaling, an exercise he sometimes used to recover.

After sitting for ten more painful minutes, he finally drove home and you had never seen him drive so fast. It was going to be a long, long, long night and you were going to enjoy every second of it with Levi.

[tenskittens]

Not Enough - part 1.

Smut <3 Fluff <3 Angst (lots of angst) <3 sex, foreplay, ass, outdoor reader x Johnny pairing. Mentions of johnten pairing.

Not Enough - part 1 - the first part of the JohnTenReader saga.

Wordcount - 2.5k.

You chose to study at NCIT because you had heard that there were great opportunities in technology, and you knew coding was your strongest skill when you were younger. A few years into your time there, you realised that, whilst you were alright at computers and tech - especially for a girl, as some of the younger guys would frequently point out - you were nothing on the natural talent that seemed to have been bestowed upon most of the guys here. In fact, you’re pretty sure you only got a place on your course for some sort of diversity purpose, and the fraternity lifestyle you had ended up being dragged into certainly wasn’t helping your case. Going into your final year, it’s your last summer - you’ve been contemplating leaving the frat house - and the chaos that came with it - once the new semester started.

“Hyung, we’re leaving!” yelled Ten down to the rest of the house, dragging Yangyang out of the door with him. You knew he was yelling goodbye to his closest “friend” in the house, John Suh, and didn’t actually care about the rest of the frat boys hearing him. Ten just wanted to make John jealous because he was taking Yangyang out to one of the more inclusive bars in Itaewon. He initially planned on going out with Johnny tonight, just the two of them. But Johnny wasn’t really down for it today - he had thought he was supposed to be going out to a restaurant with just him and Ten, and when Ten suggested Itaewon John just presumed that it meant everybody else was invited out, too. These two were always getting into these complicated misunderstandings in their entangled feelings, and you’re pretty used to dealing with it by now. But actually, Ten was just as annoyed that Johnny wasn’t out with him tonight. He loves Yangyang, his closest Dongsaeng, but he wanted to spend tonight with Johnny. This whole situation was just a misunderstanding, but neither Johnny nor Ten realised this. “Bye guys!!” yelled Yangyang, excited for this rare occasion that he got to spend with Ten, now that Ten and Johnny were both all-but-dropped out of NCIT.

Once Yangyang and Ten had left, the house was quiet. The others were mostly working on assignments and projects, as they tend to do in the late evenings. Doyoung and Taeyong were probably upstairs bickering about the most efficient way of writing a code, Yuta almost certainly glued to his screen typing out a written assignment - the only one of the group also studying a language alongside computer science. Haechan, Jaemin and Mark were probably out at the student union Dream bar. That left just the two of you - you and John Suh - alone in the frat house.

“What’s up, Johnny?” you ask, putting on a slightly dramatic pout to try to invoke some sort of response from your most-likely-stoned-over best friend and boyfriend. “Nothing, y/n, just don’t ask” replied Johnny, sort of bluntly which took you by surprise. You wait in silence for a moment. “Except, look, I did my hair and makeup to go out with Ten and he just goes and turns our date into a party night and then I don’t even end up going and -” Johnny is interrupted.

“Date??”.

You both shoot your heads around, and sat in the corner of the living room, slumped against a beanbag in a hoodie that disguised any level of his presence, was Jae.

“Yeah bro, you know, was supposed to just be us guys tonight nothing out of the ordinary I jus-”. Jae interrupted again.

“John, you know how often i’m lurking in here and nobody notices me? You don’t need to cover this shit up with me”.

You and Johnny look at each other, and back at Jae. You wonder how much he knows. To the others, you and Johnny were basically a married couple, and Ten was your best friend. What they didn’t know was that, of everybody in the house, the most involved pair was certainly Johnny and Ten, and you didn’t mind that. You were best friends with both of them, and romantically involved with Johnny, but nothing made you happier than knowing how happy Ten and John - the two polar-opposite NCIT dropouts - were when they were together.

“Y/n, come outside with me a second?” asked Johnny, seeming genuinely stressed and upset.

Stood on the roof of the frat house, lined with bottles and scattered with cigarette ashes and joint ends, Johnny opens up to you.

“Y/n, Ten was so mad that I’m staying with you tonight, but I was so mad that he went out with Yangyang. There’s some shit going on here and I don’t feel comfortable and, you know, I really like you y/n but it seems - agh, whatever, that’s not true” - Johnny rests his hand against your cheek and looks down at you. “Y/n, I like you both, but its so hard keeping this shit with Ten a secret and shit like this always happens and y/n I’m so sick of coming to you being stressed and -”.

You raise your hand to Johnny’s cheek too, and brush his hair behind his ear.

“John, you’re so beautiful, you’re so fun. You’re the best friend - and boyfriend - that I could ask for”. He places a kiss on your forehead, and you look at him with wondering eyes, gazing into his dark irises and losing yourself for just a second, stood there under the night sky feeling safe in the arms of Johnny Suh.

What Johnny wanted to tell you, you know, is that he can’t really handle dating both of you anymore. But the thing is - you know that, and you understand that. Right now, though, you don’t want to accept that. You just want your best friends. Johnny seems anxious, and he mutters something you don’t quite hear, although you know for sure you heard an “I love you” slip from his soft, gentle lips. But Johnny isn’t one for romance - not for more than a few minutes. His vulnerable side is only ever present for you and Ten, and it’s always suddenly replaced with his intense energy and both caring, yet intimidating, control.

You didn’t realise John’s hand had moved to the band of your panties, and he had been playing with the lace for a while now. You tune in as you feel his passionate and dominating lips crash down on yours, pulling you in tightly and resting his palm across the small of your back. He drags his sharp, manicured nails across the line of your underwear, shocking you compared to the softness of the hands that were holding you close and tight. You’re feeling vulnerable and lost, knowing that you’re so close to having to let go of the man you love the most, and all you want to do is feel close to him. To submit yourself to him, and to be under his control and to feel his passion and his love, is all that can comfort you right now. Johnny feels the same - you both need eachother.

“Y/n, are you okay with this here?” Johnny asks you. The rooftop is pretty secluded - nobody was around and it was very unlikely anybody would appear up here at this time. It’s not necessarily the most comfortable of places, but the slight risk of being outside, practically in public, sort of turns you on even more, and you can tell Johnny is desperate. “Mhm, please Johnny, just have me” you whisper breathlessly, looking at the ground and avoiding eye contact with Johnny out of shame for how desperate you are for his touch. “Look at me, y/n,” Johnny commands. You look up at him, and he crashes back onto you, moving his hand back under your pants and roughly taking hold of your thigh as he holds the back of your neck with his other hand. You can feel how much he needs you, and you need him.

“So wet, y/n. So needy and yet so patient for me. Such a good kitten”. You shift under him as he finds your clit, gently feeling for where he knows he will get the strongest reaction from you. He’s right - you’re dripping for him. You’re just imagining him taking you against this wall, pressed up against the cold, rough bricks as you support yourself with the pipes running alongside the building. You already need him inside you, but he’s just playing with you - teasing your folds carefully and attentively, occasionally pausing to place kisses on your neck, breathing deeply onto your neck, his breath against your ear making you shudder. Each delicate kiss is followed by the movement of his fingers as he edges closer towards being inside of you, teasing you strongly enough to encourage you to play games with him in return.

You shift your stance to allow Johnny to grind himself against you, and you ensure your thighs place a decent pressure against the bulge in Johnny’s joggers. Johnny moans in pleasure and annoyance as you move against him, and - possibly to stop you from edging him closer to his own orgasm - he pushes his fingers deep inside you, causing you to draw in a sharp breath. He stays there, and looks at you with deep and wanting eyes. You return the action by grinding up against his bulge, which also moves his fingers deeper into you. Johnny takes this opportunity to curl them up, hitting your spot and letting out a mischievous “mhmm” as he does.

“Y/n, are you playing with me? You can’t win, you know that” Johnny announces playfully, with a tone of seriousness that reminds you who is in charge. Johnny rhythmically curls his fingers towards your spot, his thumb playing carefully with your clit, driving the little moans to slip out from between your lips, the sound landing in between the two of you and filling the atmosphere with a sense of vulnerable pleasure.

“Johnny, please, just fuck me here” you beg, the words tumbling from your mouth. Johnny’s eyes darken and he takes on his dominant tone once again. “Y/n, you’re so pathetic, look at you falling apart under my fingers”. He continues to edge you closer, grabbing your ass hard with his other hand, pressing your face into his chest and leaving you in blackness, lost in the pleasure and your quickening breaths as he curls his fingers over and over. You can feel how his other hand keeps you steady but, at the same time, he is ensuring that your leg continues to slightly ride against his bulge. Johnny needs you - his y/n, who wants him more than anybody else has ever wanted him. But he still feels hurt, and Ten crosses his mind again for a split second, frustrating him enough to pull out of you and flip you around, pushing you against the walls so he has full access to your ass. You take a moment to orientate yourself, looking over your shoulder to see Johnny stood there, his hair now sweaty and the veins in his arms pulsing. He looks so naturally beautiful, looking down at you with lustful eyes. You can tell from his expression that he’s feeling distracted and frustrated, and you don’t care. You just want him to take out his feelings on you. You want to feel vulnerable for him. Johnny feels your ass, pressing his thumb against your entrance. He bends over you and wraps his arms around your stomach, stroking your nipple for just a second before stopping, and simply holding you. With his head resting on your shoulder, he tells you “I do love you, y/n. I do”. You both stop there for a moment, heartbeats pounding in unison. Johnny is still holding himself, preparing to take you. “Do I get to come then, Mr Suh?” you ask playfully. And with that question, Johnny snaps back into his dominant position, guiding himself carefully into your pussy whilst still gently teasing your ass. He’s always gentle with you to ease you in, but you’re quite used to his size now so you push yourself back onto him. This catches him by surprise, clearly, as he lets out a tense moan and mutters “fuck you, y/n”. That was all he needed to know that he could take you harder, so he grabs your hips and fucks you, and you both moan together each time he pushes all the way into you.

You gasp for air, feeling johnny is now also moving his hand hard against your clit and driving you further and deeper into a blissful, well-deserved orgasm. You can feel the warmth of his precum, the extra lubrication heightening your senses as he doesn’t stop fucking you. “Fuck, y/n, I’m going to c- fuck, y/n, fuck” Johnny loses control of his words as he comes inside you, the feeling driving you to do the same, as your knees shake and you grasp onto the metal pipe that is stabilising your position. Johnny pulls out of you, and for a second stops to once again hold himself against you, feeling your hearts once again. But Johnny knows he doesn’t want to let you down, and he knows you haven’t finished yet. Within moments of his own orgasm, Johnny’s own lips hit your throbbing and sensitive clit, lapping up the sweet honey that you’re creating, and passionately licking and kissing around your clit. Your breath once again quickens as you feel yourself about to come - and John teases your ass again, just enough to send you over the edge. “Fuck, Johnny, there - yes, please Johnny”. “Sweet kitten, come for me” Johnny commands, and you come undone over his face, knees collapsing as your eyes roll back in bliss. He places steady kisses on your clit, your thighs, and up towards your nipples. He kisses your neck, past your ears, and finally places a kiss on your forehead. Right back where you started, you stand in the comfort of Johnny’s arms, under the stars.

You both stand there for a minute, breathless and warm, Johnny keeping you steady as your orgasm continues to pulsate gently through you. A tear rolls down your cheek as you think about how this can’t last for much longer - you know things are going to end one day. But you don’t want to lose a single part of Johnny, not as your boyfriend and especially not as your friend. You love him, and he loves you too.

“Y/n, shall we head back inside?” Johnny asks you, feeling you shivering from the cold nighttime air. His breath is warm, and his voice gentle and steady. “We should probably get some sleep”, he tells you. You shrug and hold him closer, but Johnny turns you around to head back inside. And when he does, standing there, right behind you and looking at the floor with a tear trailing down his cheek, is Ten.

Ah, fuck.

Read Part II here.

[oneshot-wxnderland]

Prince’s Kiss | Jason Grace

Summary: While on a mission, Y/n gets hurt and there’s only one way for Jason to save her.

Category: fluff

_____________________

          You and Jason had found yourselves in many situations like this before: back to back, weapons drawn, and fighting off a hoard of monsters. The rhythm and coordination you two had crafted over the course of hundreds of hours in battle and in training together proved to be a formidable force against opponents. You covered each other’s blind spots and moved as one. Which was necessary in the cramped alleyway.

          Soon enough your attackers had diminished in number until just a few were left and one big ugly came charging at you. You swung at it but your sword got stuck half-way through its wood club and wouldn’t come when you pulled.

          “Jay-.” Ducking under the monster’s swing, you continued to try and pry your sword free.

          “On it.” Jason replied and finished off his opponent with a quick and calculated strike before he spun around to help. You ducked beneath his arm as it arched over you and cut into the monster, turning it to dust before he reached around you and wrapped his hands around your own on the hilt of your sword. It came free with a strong pull from your combined strength and you both let out a heavy breath now that it was over.

          “Thanks,” you huffed, out of breath.

          “Don’t mention it,” he nodded, equally fatigued.

          “You know,” you kicked the wood club out of your way as you started to leave. “You’d think that with how often this happens, we’d be less winded.”

          “I’m fine, I think it’s just you,” he nudged your shoulder with his and you laughed.

          “Oh really? Bet I could beat you back to the motel.” 

          “You sure you wanna do this?” 

          “I think you’re scared, Jay-.” 

          A sharp sting to your side cut off your words. You looked down to see a scorpion-looking monster crouching behind the dumpster next to you and it reared its tail for another attack. Your limbs were sluggish as you tried pathetically to raise your sword and fight.

          “You’re on, Y/n.” Jason looked back at you, a challenging smile on his face that fell immediately when he saw the blood coming from your side and the monster about to swing. “Y/n!”

          His sword found its mark and the monster was finished before it could strike again and he spun to face you, worry creasing his brow.

          “Are you alright?” He reached out his hand towards your wound and caught you in his arms as you collapsed. “Hold on, Y/n.”

          The motel room you had rented for your mission wasn’t far and Jason made record time carrying you back to it. He laid you on one of the beds and gently lifted your shirt up over your stomach so that he could see the wound. It didn’t look too deep once he cleaned it up but you still hadn’t woken up. That’s when he knew something was wrong. You were one of the toughest people Jason knew and he had seen you walk off wounds far worse than this. 

          Deciding he needed some professional help, Jason scrambled to get a golden drachma from his backpack and ran to the bathroom to turn on the shower.

          When the misty picture of Will Solace lit up the tiles, Jason called out to him frantically.

          “Jason!” Will jumped and spun around to see the Iris message. He took in the usually composed leader’s worry and then past the open bathroom door to where he could see Y/n unmoving on the bed and immediately snapped into business mode. “What’s wrong.”

          “I don’t know she got hit and passed out but the wound isn’t that bad and she can’t eat any ambrosia like this. What do I do?”

          “You said the wound isn’t bad?” Will asked and Jason held his hand up in an approximation of how big it is, not wanting to move you from the bed. “And she’s passed out? It must be something else then. Did you see what hit her?”

          “Yeah it was some kind of scorpion looking thing, I don’t know.” Jason ran his hand through his hair and walked back over to you, inspecting the wound and holding your hand that Will couldn’t see. 

          “Does she have a fever? It could be some kind of poison,” Will offered and Jason felt your forehead. 

          “She’s burning up.”

          “I don’t get it,” Will tore through his books looking for an answer. “There isn’t a kind of monster like that who’s sting produces these kinds of symptoms.”

          Jason walked back over to the bathroom and looked at Will’s surroundings.

          “Is Annabeth there? She would probably know.” 

          “She’s in New York City with Percy.” Jason’s budding hope shrank again and he looked at your reflection in the mirror. Your skin looked drained of color but at least the wound had stopped bleeding. “I’ll keep looking. Did the wound look discolored at all-?”

         Jason jumped from a cry of pain and rushed back to your side where you were thrashing around in your sleep. He grabbed your wrists and tried to hold you down so you wouldn’t hurt yourself, your eyes screwed shut and agonized noises like a  twisting knife in his gut. “Will!”

          “I’m looking! Try to keep her still!”

          Even unconscious, you were putting up a hell of a fight for Jason who was struggling to hold you down, especially since he was trying not to hurt you. 

          “Jason, you gotta hold her down.” 

          He jumped up and straddled your hips to keep your legs down and leaned the rest of his weight into keeping your wrists to the pillow. 

          “Wait, you guys were looking for monsters who stole stuff from Aphrodite, right?”

          “Yeah?” The entire point of the mission had left Jason’s mind since he saw you collapse and he was too anxious to follow Will’s thinking.

          “Then what if it was one of Aphrodite’s potions that the stinger was dipped in?” Will grabbed a new book and wildly searched through it. “This one must be it! Fainting, fever, convulsions… yeah it’s this one.”

          “What do I do?” The fight was being drained from you but Jason was hesitant to do more than ease on his grip a little in case you started up again.

          “It says that the only cure is a… wow, that is so like Aphrodite.”

          “Will.”

          “Okay it says that the only cure is a kiss from royalty, like a prince or something.”

          Jason’s hope was crushed once again seeing as how even if they weren’t in America, a prince would be exceptionally hard to acquire. 

          “Well I don’t think I’ll be able to find a prince in the middle of Wisconsin. Is there another option?” There had to be another way. No way in hell was Jason going to lose you. Especially not before you knew how he felt.

          You had completely stopped fighting against him and Jason wished you would keep doing so even if he was tired. He much preferred it to you lying there limp and lifeless. 

          “Wait, wait, wait. Zeus is the king of the gods,” Will started and expected Jason to catch on to his idea. “And you’re his son.”

          “Well, technically I’m the son of Jupiter, but what does that have to do with anything?” Jason removed himself from on top of you and walked over to Will.

         “I mean that technically makes you a prince, Jason.” 

          Jason frowned in concentration, weighing the legitimacy of that claim. Then he struggled to fight off a blush when he realized what Will was insinuating he has to do now.

          “Are you sure that counts? Like there’s not another way?” Jason looked back at you, now dealing with new emotions adding to his turmoil. 

          “Jason, you have to try it. And like now, she doesn’t have long. It says here that once the convulsions stop they don’t have much time left.” Will’s face was getting blurry as the Iris message was running out. 

          “What if it doesn’t work, what do I do?” Jason pleaded to the fading form of his friend. “Will, Will!” 

          The Iris message cut off and Jason hit the wall in frustration before he returned to your side.

          “This better work.” He didn’t know what he would do if it didn’t. As Jason knelt down and brushed some hair out of your face he couldn’t imagine having to live without you by his side. Even if you didn’t return his feelings, your friendship was too important to him. The thought of losing you made him forget any nerves he had and he leaned down and gingerly pressed his lips to yours. 

          The change was immediate as you breathed in life. Your eyes opened and the first thing they saw was Jason’s. 

          “Jay?” He broke out into the biggest smile you had ever seen on him and he pulled you into a hug. “What happened?”

          “You got kinda poisoned and almost died.” At this point you registered the dull pain emitting from your side and leaned back to look at your injury. “But you didn’t because I saved you. You’re welcome.”

          “Oh, so you’re my Prince Charming?” You asked him and he shrugged.

          “I mean, technically.” His voice sounded less confident than it had and you looked at him quizzically, which made him avoid your gaze by walking over to his backpack. “How do you feel?”

          “Fine…” you answered, still thinking about his sudden mood shift. “Except for whatever happened here.”

          “Giant scorpion thing,” he answered and walked back over, handing you a square of ambrosia. 

          “Cool.” The ambrosia soothed your side and you leaned against the headboard in relief.

          “Hardly,” Jason scoffed, sitting next to you but looking down at his lap. “You collapsed and went pale and I thought I was going to lose you.”

          He got quiet and you saw the stress and worry in his slumped shoulders.

          “The thought of you just… being gone. Before I could say goodbye or, or tell you how I feel. You were so pale…” His jaw clenched and he turned his face away from you.

          “Jason,” you placed your hand on his shoulder and made him look at you. His blue eyes teared up and you felt a physical tug on your heart. Your hands cradled his face and gently wiped away the tear that fell to his cheek. “I’m okay. I’m not going anywhere.”

          His head hung and landed on your shoulder, your hand combed through his hair.

          “And Jason?” You asked as you remembered a sensation from when you woke up.

          “Mm-hm?” He responded from your shoulder, his voice steadier now.

          “Did you… kiss me?” 

          At that he burst upright and a blush was raging on his face. 

          “Okay, I had to do it or you would die. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to- I mean I did want to kiss you. For a while now, actually, but not like this and especially when I couldn’t tell if you wanted me to or not. Will just said that there was no other way so-.”

          “Shut up.” His eyes snapped to you failing to suppress your grin. “Don’t apologize. Just… do it again.”

          His lips parted in shock and then one side lifted up as he leaned into you. Your hands held his face as his mouth pressed into yours and your bodies sighed into each other. So many years of longing and second-guessing and finally getting an answer, you couldn’t believe this was really happening.

          Jason tilted his head further and deepened the kiss, his hand moving to your leg that was propped up on the bed, sliding from your knee down to your hip and squeezing.

          “Holy shit,” you mumbled against his lips before you could stop yourself and you felt his smirk.

          “Just wait.”

          His lips moved down to your neck and you could breathe again but your head didn’t get any clearer, until you looked into the bathroom.

          “Jason?” 

          “Hm?” His voice tickled the sensitive skin of your throat .

          “Why is the shower on?”

[liquid-luck-00]

My Life is One Complication After Another

Inspired by this post by @dolphin-ghost

Happy New Year everyone

Some cursing 🤬

Ao3 ~~~ Part 1 ~~~ Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette has always been willing to give everyone a second chance. That may have been why she still had people to consider them as her friends. That is why when Lila started yet another lie about some celebrity she, Adrien, Chloe, and Juleka were holding their laughter and rolled their eyes.

"Honest Alya I'm like this" Lila crossed her fingers "with Bruce's kids." Alya must not have recognized the name as the liar gave a small laugh "oh, right Bruce Wayne, he prefers to only go by Bruce."

"Oh my God, Girl you have got to give me an interview for my blog!" Alya lapped up the story.

"Of course" Lila smiled, then looked over at Marinette "Anything for my best friend."

At this point, Marinette wasn't paying attention to the liar. Instead Mari was talking in low voices with her actual best friend, Adrien. They sat on the very back bench and Juleka and Chloe on the bench in front of them.

That was their normal, it had been since their eighth year. Now two years later it was routine, her classmates shunned her only talking with her for class assignments. Otherwise they ignored her and that may just have been the best outcome.

She, Chloe, Juleka, Luka, and Adrien were in the park working on a photoshoot. Adrien was behind the camera while Juleka and Luka were modeling. Marinette and Chloe were changing for the next set. When they came out Mari noticed several reporters around the perimeter. Security had them handled and she focused on modeling her creation.

However this wasn't the last she saw of the reporters. They were always at the school questioning the students. What they were asking she didn't know as she was never questioned.

Three weeks of spotting and avoiding reporters, with them swarming the school she needed to get creative in order to transform. Lila was of course bathing in the limelight and attention.

Mari was the last person out of the school as she was getting the homework for her three friends who didn't come today. The first thing she noticed coming out of the courtyard was the purple limo. Her honorary uncle came to pick her up. As soon as the door closed said uncle was crushing her in a hug.

"It's Rock' n to see ya Nettie" Jagged spoke, the hug muffling his voice slightly.

"Same here Jagged," wiggling out of Jagged's hug she reached over to hug Penny. "so what's with the escort?"

"A close friend of ours wanted to meet you and He and his son's are waiting at our room," Penny explained.

"Okay..." she hesitated exiting the car to head inside "but why? Is this a commission or what?"

After a silent elevator ride, Penny hesitated at the door before speaking. "We are hoping you could clear something up actually," as she opened the door.

Mari stepped in and noticed them. The eldest looked to be around mid to late thirties, black hair and bluebell eyes, dressed in a dark charcoal suit.

The youngest of the boys seemed to be a couple years younger than her, shorter than her by a head, tanned skin, short black hair, and jade eyes. A scowl on his face partially hidden by the collar of a black peacoat and slacks as he sat on the arm chair.

A boy around her age with chin length black hair and azure eyes, a red hoodie under a grey bomber jacket and black pants. He looked like he hadn't slept in at least a week, and if how he was holding the travel mug in his hands it was probably true.

Next to him was another boy who looked a couple of years older, black messy hair about 5 cm at the longest and a white tuff in front, cerulean eyes, a brown leather jacket and distressed jeans. He seemed familiar but couldn't place it.

The last boy also had long black hair but seemed to be layered and shorter in the front, sky blue eyes, a blue varsity jacket and jeans. He would either be the eldest or second, he had a bright smile but kept shooting a glance at Fang.

Speaking of which once she was in the room and she saw him, he charged at her, knocking her over. Mari was giggling as Fang rolled over and she was lost to the world as she doted on the crocodile.

"Nettie" Penny finally managed to get her attention.

"Sorry," she stood "but if it wasn't done we wouldn't be able to talk. Hello I am Marinette Dupain-Cheng it is nice to meet you." again she smiled.

"Bruce Wayne" the man introduced himself, "and my sons. My youngest Damian." he gestured to the boy with green eyes. "Next is Tim" gesturing to the boy with the mug who rose it in acknowledgment. "Jason is the second oldest" the boy with the white tuff gave a lop sided smile. "And my eldest Dick" whose smile seemed to become brighter.

She smiled nodding at everyone before realization hit. A quick snap of her fingers before pulling out her phone, opened up her texts and started typing, ending with a quick picture of Jason.

I think I just met your idiot friend

She put away her phone. Not even a minute later another went off.

The ringing stopped once, twice, thrice, and on the fourth Jason, spoke up. "Sorry I should take this."

"Go ahead this can wait a moment." Mari smiled.

As soon as Jason answered the phone "What the hell are you doing in Paris!?" everyone heard the caller as Jason was holding the phone an arm length away.

"How did you know... you?!" it dawned on Jason.

"Guilty," she smiled. "I guess you're not as big of an idiot as Roy made you out to be."

"Hey!" Jason called before turning to the phone. "What the hell did you tell her Harper!" By now Roy was on speaker.

"You can't prove what I said, ya know," she could practically see Roy's smirk.

"Video's however," she was now smirking.

"What!!" Jason seemed to freeze.

"Bug! No!" Roy was sounding like he was going to start panicking.

"I think I have a few saved," she tapped her chin.

That was when Bruce cleared his throat. "As amusing as this is we have business to discuss."

"Talk to ya later Mari." Roy bid her farewell. "Oh and Jason don't underestimate her." the call ended.

"Okay so how do you know Roy?" Dick finally asked.

"Oh. It was at a charity ball hosted by Oliver Queen," she replied nonchalantly.

"Was it the same one where a baby elephant ended up at the event. Following you the whole time." Penny asked exasperated.

"I still don't get how you think we had anything to do with that." Marinette finally sat down. She ended up sitting on the ground leaning against the couch next to Jagged, Fang resting his head on her out stretched legs.

"I have so many questions,” Tim finally added to the conversation.

"Tt. can we stop beating around the bush already," Damian was irritated and it showed. "Are you or are you not my biological sister."

He seemed ready to pounce, unfortunately that was dangerous in Paris. Especially as she saw an akuma right outside the window. The question asked now forgotten as she focused on the corrupted butterfly.

"Nope, Nope. I am not dealing with an akuma today." she stood up. Took a deep breath and let her anger and frustrations to the surface. The smile fell from her face. "If you want a puppet have a marionette" Kwamii Adrien is rubbing off on me.

The butterfly changed targets and was heading towards her, finally gaining the other's attention. She vaulted over the couch and made a beeline to her backpack. By then the akuma was close so she tossed the backpack over to everyone and rolled out of the way.

"Glass jar, unscrew it" she called out.

"How pathetic running from a bug." Damian moved quickly to catch the butterfly but it moved and found something in his pocket. He was engulfed in purple and then he stood there in evergreen armor with golden accents. A red and yellow cape and a pitch black sword in his hand. Pocket knife, the sword is where the akuma is.

"Screw it" she turned and with two quick jabs his two arms went limp. A third knocked him to the ground.

She picked up the sword and went to Dick who was holding the jar. She took the jar, broke the sword, and went to catch the butterfly. As soon as she screwed the lid on the butterfly began to turn white.

She let out the breath she was holding as she compartmentalized her emotions yet again.

"What the fuck was that!" Jason screamed and so did Dick, minus the curse.

"Where and why do you have one of those," Jagged asked.

Finally Damian shouted "Why can I not move? What did you do?" he accused.

"Okay so the butterfly was an akuma used by Hawkmoth, Paris’ villain, to manipulate anyone with strong negative emotions. These champions or Akuma are used to attempt to retrieve magical jewels from our heroes. The jar was given to me and a few others in my class, because our class is a hot bed for akuma, by Ladybug, one of the heroes." she gave a short and simple run down. "As for Damian, those were a series of pressure points,” infused with magic to-take down people easily, "it should wear off in a few minutes."

"Teach me please!" Tim begged.

"I dunno." she started to chew her lip and shift her weight.

"Roy's warning now makes a lot more sense," Jason hummed.

"Tt. adequate," Damian muttered softly, Marinette is sure she is the only one who heard.

"Okay so where were we?" she smiled turning and sitting back down with Fang.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist: @dolphin-ghost @unabashedbookworm @bookgirl14 @laurcad123 @mochegato @vixen-uchiha

[carelesswispe]

Yo! Could I get an angst fic with Hubert, where the reader has lost an eye in battle?

Losing an eye in battle 

Uwaa~ this was more fun than I thought it would be! Thank you so much for requesting! I had to rewrite this a couple times because I think I misread your ask or smth at first haha idk whats up with me--anyway,, I hope you enjoy it ><

>genre: mostly angst

>pairings: hubert x reader (gn)

>warnings: mentions of blood, injury, fighting, the reader losing an EYE and implications of death (tell me if i missed any !)

‘You can do this, (name), after all, you’ve made it to the final stretch’ you hyped yourself up as you marched into the battlefield beside Hubert. The both of you were stationed at the back of the battalion to focus on supporting the front liners. Were you scared? Most definitely. Although this wasn’t your first battle, there was something nerve wracking about this battle being a huge step towards an end to this bloody war. But no matter how much you try to convince yourself, you couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in your gut that told you that something was going to go wrong. 

Hubert, your ever reliable classmate and the man you adored, noticed the tense expression on your face. He clears his throat, loud enough to catch your attention. “As we approach this big hurdle in achieving Lady Edelgard’s goals, let’s keep up the good work” although it was awkward, you could tell that the man was trying to encourage you and it definitely helped to clear your noisy mind, even just a little. 

You flashed the man a small smile, a determined look shining upon your eyes. This gesture made a rare smile play on his lips as well, the corners of his eyes softening slightly. As you watch the brunet’s broad back move farther into the battlefield, you realise that he too, was feeling anxious about this battle. And as strange as it sounded, you were comforted by this fact, hastening your steps to join him in the battlefield.

The first few battles were pretty tame, supporting Professor Byleth from behind, covering the professor whenever there was the slightest bit of an opening in the professor’s movements. But after a while, maybe it was because you weren’t paying attention but you found yourself separated from the professor. 

Mumbling a curse under your breath, you survey your surroundings to find yourself in a torrent of dust and smoke. You feel dread pool the bottom of your stomach as you see a large silhouette approaching you. 

You assume a defensive stance as the figure becomes clearer and clearer as the ring of dust and smoke settles, a chill creeping up your spine as you see a head of blond hair coming into view. 

Dimitri’s gaze upon you hardens as you retain your defensive stance. Although the two of you certainly weren’t close, the thought of having to kill a person he used to be schoolmates with left a bitter feeling in his mouth. “...I have to do this...to stop this senseless killing. I will stop you from taking away another life here and now!” and with this, his resolve hardens and the air around him shifts. You steel yourself as you prepare yourself for the man’s next course of action, taking a deep breath.

His slow strides quickly sped up and he began charging towards you at full speed, his weapon raised up in the air. You were slightly taken aback by the man’s speed and you scrambled to avoid him and made a pathetic attempt to injure him before he reached you but whatever you tried seemed to have no effect on him as he continued to charge towards you.

As a last resort you used up whatever energy you had left in you in an effort to widen the distance between the two of you and it worked, so you thought. Although you managed to put some distance between you and your assailant, it was futile as the prince flung his javelin in the air with surprising speed, aiming for your head. 

You didn’t register the javelin flying towards your right eye quickly enough, only noticing it when it was too late. Almost immediately, you feel a blazing hot pain blooming from the right side of your face, spreading all the way down to your neck. A shout rips through your throat as you fight to clutch the right side of your face in favour of clutching onto your weapon as you continue to attack. 

You felt dizzy from the amount of blood you were losing and you could feel your consciousness slip away with every movement you willed your body to take. You honestly had no idea how you had the strength to continue swinging your sword and you didn’t know how long you could keep it up. 

In a last ditch attempt, you mustered all the strength you had left to shout at the top of your lungs in hopes of attracting the attention of others. As the battle went on, so did the throbbing of your head, screaming at you to lay down and stop moving. Gritting your teeth, you desperately latched onto whatever consciousness you had left.

Just as you were about to take another blow from the prince, you felt a strong wave of magic strike down from where Dimitri was standing. And with this, you felt hope surge through your veins as you looked around the battlefield with urgency. A growl leaves Dimitri’s grit teeth as his eyes land on Hubert. 

Hubert, however, didn’t relent in his attacks, not giving the blond a chance to recover from each of his spells. Eventually everyone else gathered to fight against Dimitri and at that point, any resistance the prince put up was futile against the whole army. But still, he continued to fight until the very end. And before you knew it, it was over. The battle has been won and all there's left to do is to put a stop to Rhea and the remaining soldiers of the church. 

All the adrenaline from the battle had faded and you had become more faint with each step you took. This did not go unnoticed by Hubert. He hurriedly excused himself from Edelgard’s side, something the ever loyal servant would never do under normal circumstances and walked towards your weakening figure. 

“(name)!” Hubert called out to you, worry evident in his panicked voice. The sound of Hubert’s shout brought you out of your daze, making you snap your head towards the source of the voice. You wince at the dizziness your sudden movement brought you and suddenly, your body couldn’t take anymore and your knees buckled from underneath you. The only thing you could hear as your consciousness faded was the sound of hurried footsteps towards your person accompanied by someone’s worried shouts.

When you came to, you were laid on a soft bed with a killer headache, unable to see out of the right side of your eye. In a panic, you sat up from the bed and assessed your surroundings the best you can as your blurry vision slowly clears up. You felt a sharp pain in your head, particularly at the right side as a result of your sudden motion. A pained groan escapes your lips as your hands instinctively shoot up to clutch your head. You feel for your right eye only to feel bandages wrapped around the right side of your head.

You remember now. The javelin, heading straight towards your right eye as you failed to do anything about it. It’s gone now. Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door creaking open slowly, a black shape emerging from it. “You’re awake.” a certain classmate’s voice of yours came out of the blurry figure which you came to recognise as Hubert’s as your vision focused on it and you could properly make out its features. He was carrying a tray which contained a bowl of soup and a glass of water which he placed on the table at the side of the bed.

“...How was your rest?” Hubert asks with a tone you’ve rarely heard from him. Turning your body to face him, you could see that he wore an expression of worry, his brows furrowed and his normally sharp eyes were soft.

You opened your mouth only to close it again. You didn’t know what to say. On one hand, you wanted to lie and say everything was fine but you knew there was no way in hell you could say that. Especially not with how you no longer had two eyes to look through. Hubert knew that and yet he couldn’t do anything but watch as you sat on the bed with a bitter expression. 

“I prepared some soup for you. I feel regretful for having to keep it light since you are still in the midst of recovery but rest assured, I will prepare something better once you recover.” Hubert spoke, breaking the tense atmosphere. Gently moving a tray table over your lap, he places the tray of soup on it. 

Watching as you simply stared at the food in front of you, Hubert felt a pang of guilt hit his heart seeing your dejected state. He knew all too well of the consequences of war but all this time he thought that it was okay, as long as it was for her lady Edelgard but now, all he wanted to do was end this war as fast as possible, as naive as that sounded. If only he had gotten there more quickly, and then maybe you wouldn’t have to lose an eye. Then maybe you needn’t have suffered. 

Clenching his fist tightly, Hubert drops into a curtsey “Get some rest” he couldn’t do anything for you right now but offer you his silent support. And right now, you need time to yourself. As he left the room, Hubert threw you one last glance, his heart tightening at the way you aimlessly played with your food, a blank expression on your face

okay i know this was a bit short but i might make a part 2 on my own time. im not too experienced in writing fight scenes so i feel that the fight scene was a little wonky >< i will try my best to improve so please tell me some of your opinions on it ! any sort of feedback is very much appreciated and i will try my best to take them to heart in order to improve my writing

[dinogoofy]

Scorpion/GN!Reader.

Might kiss you, might rip out your guts.- part one

If you think you've read this before, you've read the earlier version! I've edited and changed enough of the story to need a new post about it, so here it is!

A short summary would be that this is a enemies to friends to lovers fic between a winged reader and Hanzo Hasashi. It will be split in 2 or 3 parts!

I also feel like I should clarify that Hanzo is only referred to as Scorpion because the reader does not know his name until the next part.

MAJOR TW FOR DESCRIPTIONS OF GORE

You could still remember it.

The arena. The smell of the blood, the stench of death. The bodies you saw wheeled out in masses of champions. Blood spattered weapons and walls. A picture was clear in your mind of the horror you felt. Of the anxiety and fear you had to push down every moment you remained in that coliseum. After all the training you had been through, nothing could've prepared you for this.

Being a renowned half breed, one of earthrelm and outworld, you and all your feathered glory was never under the radar of the Gods. After spending your life in earthrelm with your mother, Raiden believed that he could trust you. He had tracked you down and informed you of the details months earlier. Asked you to ready yourself the best you could, earthrealm couldn't lose this. And there you were, stalking the hallways before your battle.

You were nervous. Who wouldn't be? You were a hunter, not a fighter. You tracked your targets from the sky, taking them down before they had a chance to truly fight back. Your fighting style had never been meant for a closed in fight like this. You had almost told Raiden no for that reason, but with the fate of Earthrealm in as the prize, you couldn't do so with a clean conscience.

You remember the little girl, the servant who was being harassed by a separate contestant. One that was sure to die, if you got your hands on him at least. You had separated him from her, roughing him up just a bit so that he'd run off. Keeping at least one person out of harm's way. You had no idea of the powerful ally you had just made. 

When the arena was ready for you, it was safe to say that it was more than a bit overwhelming. The cheers deafened you, the bright white outside blinding your first steps out of the dark corridors. You had splayed your wings wide, trying to make yourself look bigger than you were. You kept your head high as your enemy entered the arena.

When scorpion's form stalked into the arena, your stomach had dropped. He was confident. He knew he was going to win. You hoped you didn't look as afraid as you were. He was a renowned powerhouse. Strength, agility, he had it all. You were at a disadvantage, the huge wings that sprouted from your back becoming a curse. It was nothing you couldn't handle however, you had been in tighter spaces than this. 

Hadn't you?

The fight started quickly. You weaved out of his range and dodged his attacks. It was wearing you down. After narrowly missing a particularly nasty kick, you knew you couldn't keep this up for forever. Lifting yourself into the air to try and get an upper hand was easy. You circled the arena around him, preparing to swoop down on him from a nose-dive when-

"GET OVER HERE!" The blade pierced though your right wing, through the muscle and into the bone. A scream of pain ripped through your throat as you were yanked back onto the ground.

 A string of explicit words left your mouth as the blade was yanked out. You got your feet just in time for Scorpion to charge at you again. You couldn't dodge this time. He managed to land a punch, but when you blocked the second you had a horrific realization that you were too close to him. There was no chance to evade the attacks easily now, he could just yank you back to where you were. You blocked his blows as best you could, landing a few hits of your own, when he reached a hand out and grabbed your wing.

The excruciating pain had burned itself into your memory. His hand lit up in flames in a split second, charring your wings. You cried out in pain, trying to push him off of you, but he remained unmoveable. Your wing caught fire, and the flames tickled and singed the feathers of the other one. 

The pain was all you could think about as your lifeline burned and faded, and you hardly noticed when his blade ripped through your throat. He dropped you to the floor, the fire starting to burn out all the while you gasped and gurgled for air.

It went black quicker than you expected. You had died. What a pitiful ending. Slaughtered in the arena, killed while fighting a pathetic fight. All your years of training, and still you weren't good enough.

The first breath that came back to you felt awful.

The room was quiet. Muffled cheers and screaming was heard from outside the dark brick walls. You brought a hand up to your throat, wincing from the pain that erupted from the charred wing as you stretched. The wound was closed. It was healed. Small, delicate hands steadied you as you sat up. Kind brown eyes watched you with concern. It was the servant girl from earlier. You tried to speak, but let out a horrendous series of coughs. You took a deep breath when they finally stopped.

"I… I thought I was… What happened?" She gave you a tight-lipped smile, showing you her blood covered hands. Runes were carved into her skin. The child had revived you with a magic you couldn't recognize. Your intreage turned to concern as you reached out for her. Holding her hands gently. 

You never learned how she knew such powerful magic, and you didn't press her about it. In fact, she never spoke. The servant girl beckoned you to follow her, and led you through tunnels underneath the raging battlefield. Twist after turn, corridor after another, she stopped at a small, empty room. 

Three, dead end entryways sat in the circular surroundings. The small girl sat down, giving you a smile, before plucking a sharp, glass dip pen out of her pockets. Out of all the horrors you had seen, your stomach churned and wanted to revolt at the sight of the kind girl cutting along her hands.

Stroke after stroke, she created runes on the backs of her hands, connected them to the ones on her palms and intertwined their meanings. When she had finished, she pocketed the pen again. You went to call out to her, to ask if she was alright, but the words died in your throat as she slammed her hands onto the floor.

With a bright flash, blood ran from her hands, trailing across the floor in dripping, intricate lines. The streams of blood ran straight up the corners of the doorways, lining all three. She sighed deeply and the center doorway lit up. 

It was a portal. To home. To earthrealm. 

It was beautiful. The chance to leave it all behind. To go home. To rest and recover and… and live. 

You couldn't leave her like this. Not without a thank you. Not without something of worth. The girl looks up at you as you move to stand in front of her, hands glued to the floor. She smiles, and in a raspy, broken, almost intelligible string of noises, she speaks.

"F… feather…?" You teared up at the sorry sound of the sweet girl's voice. And knelt down to her, careful of the lines of blood. With a wince, you plucked a feather from your one, good wing, one the size of her forearm. You gently set it in her lap, but she shook her head. 

You understood what she meant. With a shaky breath, you finally look over at your charred, destroyed wing. The pain was easy to ignore as long as you avoided the sight. But know there was no ignorance, no pretending it never happened. Your bad wing twitched in a motion that had you crying out in pain, but amongst the remaining, once soft down that fell, a single, black, ashy, sooty, burnt feather fell to your knees. You gingerly pick it up, and give her a skeptical look before setting it in her lap with the other. She smiles again, softly. And bows her head to you. 

You turned to look back at her after you stepped through the portal. She finally stands, and bows to you again as the portal closes. 

You never saw her again. In fact, you never saw Outworld again. But even though you didn't believe that a feather offering would ever be enough to thank her, you did not forsake her gift to you. It took years for your wing to heal, for the feathers to grow back. A patch of scarred skin still remained where Scorpion's hand had touched you, but with the addition of many different salves and medicines gifted to you by kind strangers, the fluffy, beautiful feathers returned to you. Flight, However. Was harder to take back.

You read almost every book you could find- created every exercise, every lesson you would need. But the burns left behind nerve damage along with the scars. It hurt to move the places that weren't numb. But you couldn't lose this. You couldn't lose your flight. It was the one thing you would refuse to give up. Eventually, and you did mean eventually, you had it back. You were a little wobbly, sure, but once you got up there… once you got in the sky, floating along the wind currents, relaxing in the cool air… It was almost like you have never lost the ability in the first place.

You never fought again. Nor did Raiden ever ask you too. You imagined he still believed that you were dead, but it was none of your concern anymore. You left that life behind. It took years to heal both emotionally and physically from what happened, and in the meantime you realized that the life you had before… it really wasn't for you. You didn't want that pain again. Didn't want the chance to have everything taken from you again.

You sighed, flipping onto your back to glide along with the wind, wingspan on full display. You had taken up traveling after you had learned to fly again. Hopping country to country, island to island, exploring the beauty of your own realm. But all this traveling had started to wear away at you. You longed for home. For your old friends. For family. But you refused to settle back down, traveling despite your homesickness. You'd find a place eventually, but only once you had seen the world. You didn't want to die a second time without experiencing all the lands had to offer. 

This time, you didn't actually know where you were traveling to. You had just been cruising along the wind current, relaxing in the sky. The lands below were lush and beautiful, the sky a cloudy grey. A nice, cloudy day had always been your favorite to fly in. Days like these being a kind reminder of the days you were young, and energetic, and still learning the sky. You close your eyes, breathing in the fresh air, the tenseness in your back completely disappearing as you glide. For a moment, all you felt was peace.

Your heart rate spiked as a scream sounded off in the distance. Your wings faltered, and you bobbed in the air. Regaining your steady glide after a moment. You frantically searched the ground, shaky hands flexing into fists.  You spotted a Cliffside, eyes immediately focusing in on the small form hanging onto the edge.

It became harder to focus. You started to panic at the sight of a small boy holding on for dear life. One of his hands slipped away, and you flinched, almost dropping into a dive by reflex, but you had to stop and think as his final hand remained.

You debated with yourself on if you could carry him, or if trying would kill you both. He would die from that kind of fall. You could die from that kind of fall. Could your bad wing take it? You didn't know, but you were running out of time. You dropped into a nosedive as his strength gave out.

The adrenaline almost put you into autopilot, the wind against your face becoming your only sensation. You hadn't gone this speed in years. The base of your bad wing started to tingle at the thought, reminding you of just how numb the rest of it was. 

Stop. Calm down. You can do this.

Your panic cooled into a still determination as you grew closer. The boy faced up towards you, eyes wide and panicked and scared. You fought the wind with your arms, finally looping around his waist.

You caught the little boy just 20 feet from the ground. He clung onto your shirt tightly as you started to slow, wings struggling to lift you up after how fast you were falling, after a few, difficult, sore, flaps of your powerful wings, your weight slowly carried you into the gravelly ground below the cliff in a heavy thump. Your knees buckled at the landing, and you cradled the boy underneath you as you collapsed onto your elbows, panting for breath. Your wings surrounded the two of you like a limp cage.

Your bad wing twitched as you struggled to relax it again, and the soreness started to set in. Shit. You really should've practiced that dive in your self-taught physical therapy. Then again, you never thought you'd have to do that ever again.

"Are you ok?" A little voice asked. You opened your eyes to peer at the scared, worried face underneath you. You tried your best to muster a tired, pained smile, and sat up, letting him go. He didn't move far, crouching beside you. You realized that he couldn't have been much older than a six year old. 

"I'm fine. I just need a moment…" You mumbled. "Where are your parents, kiddo?" He frowned for a moment, sitting down beside you with his knees underneath him. 

"My grandmaster is somewhere in the forest, " He gestured towards the lush greenery of the field around him. "-but I think I might have to search for him." He said, glancing up at the cliff. You nodded in response. Grandmaster huh? You analyzed his clothes. A ninja in training maybe, you didn't know how you hadn't seen it before. 

"Don't worry. I'll help you." You smiled up at him while splaying and retracting the bad wing back and forth. After a tense moment, you collected yourself. Making sure that your bag was still secure on you after the fall, and standing. The bad wing drooping limply while the other folded behind you. The boy stood with you, gazing at your wings with wide eyes. You chuckled at his curiosity, holding out a hand for him to take. He stared at it for a moment, and then back up at you.

"Well? Let's go find him." You nudged your hand forward again, and he smiled, taking your hand. You smiled back at him, trying hard not to grimace at the painful soreness of your wing. 

Glancing around, you managed to pick out landmarks you had noticed while flying. Creating a path in your mind of how you could make it back up to that shady, tree covered cliff, you tugged the boys hand lightly. He quietly followed beside you as you walked.

You wandered away from the gravely clearing and into the forest around. Helping the child pick his way through the bushes. The short journey took only about twenty minutes. Mostly consisting of following the edges of the cliff until you could find a slope, and a path that he recognized.

He only let go of your hand when the two of you had to climb a steep side of the path. He quickly scaled it, turning towards you. You smiled up at him, stretching your wings to boost yourself up there out of reflex, but you stopped. Wincing at the soreness once again. The boy looked at you quizzically, and you shook your head at him. You slowly climbed the slope, and continued on. Soon enough, you were moving through the flat patch of shady, woody, land just before the Cliffside clearing. The boy took your hand again.

"Thank you." He said softly. You smiled at him again, squeezing his hand, but not speaking. "...I'm Takeda." You were taken aback for a second, and determined whether or nor you should be giving the child your name. It couldn't hurt, could it? Your voice cut clear through the silent woods as you spoke.

"My name is..."

You started to trail off as a man silently emerged from the brush on Takeda's side, knives at the ready for just a moment. His eyes locked with yours, and then widened. Shocked at the sight of you, his defense faltered a bit, but still remained. You, on the other hand, bristled. Huge wings defensively folding around you and the boy.

You wished it was rage that invoked such a reaction, but it was fear. Your eyes stinged with watery tears that you desperately tried to keep under control.

"Takeda, get back." You commanded, pulling him closer to you by his hand. Takeda tried to speak, but you couldn't hear what he was saying. The awful flashes of memory, the smell, the pain, all of it was running through your mind. Your bad wing twitched and almost retracted back into your body, but you painfully forced it still, desperate to protect Takeda.

"I'm not here to fight you, and I'm certainly not here to hurt Takeda." Scorpion spoke, gaze soft. He hesitated for a moment, but sheathed his weapons. He held his hands out to show you that there were no tricks.  Bullshit. You didn't back down, keeping an angry stare set squarely on him. You could see it in his eyes that he knew that you weren't convinced. Takeda quickly put himself between you two, and you almost reached out to yank him back.

"This is my grandmaster," He spoke in a loud voice. Your eyes widened, flickering back and forth between him and Scorpion. It didn't seem like he was lying, he didn't seem like the kind of kid who would lie- but a child being trained by the deadliest member of the Shirai Ryu? You looked squarely at Scorpion with suspicion, looking him up and down. Your defensive demeanor never let down for a moment. You scowled at him, but when Takeda came back over to you, and reached up for your hands again…

You gave Scorpion a warning look, and relaxed your wings. Feathers smoothing out and wings folding behind your back. You squeezed Takeda's hands gently.

"I thought you were dead?" Scorpion's voice was clear and unwavering, but the question portrayed more than his voice would give away.

"I wonder why." You spit the words like venom. Your bad wing twitched again, this time it felt a little more painful than the twitches normally did. You hissed as you held it still. Takeda frowned, looking like he was about to tear up himself. Scorpion's face fell in a guilty look. This supposed new persona of his had to be a trick. Takeda turned to face his grandmaster. Speaking a few quiet words to him in Japanese that you didn't understand. You were to focused on the pain in your wing to care anyway.

You gazed fondly at the little boy, and sighed. It was clear to see that he was indeed Scorpion's student. You were no longer needed. You inwardly scolded yourself for becoming so attached to the boy so quickly. Sure, you had been longing for a connection… for a family… but this, this was not the place, nor the time.

You looked around, the clearing and cliffside edge was close enough that you could see it through the trees. In an almost dejected manner, you started to make your way over to it. The cliff would provide a great spot to make returning to the sky much easier.

"Will you be able to fly?" Takeda's voice called out to you. You stop in your tracks, turning just slightly so that you could see him, and stretched your wings. You winced as you did, the movement bringing back the soreness and pain you had glimpsed while climbing the slope earlier. You pressed your lips together, only glancing at Takeda before looking back at the sky that shone between the leaves.

If you couldn't leave, where would you go? You certainly couldn't stay here. Not with that Man. Not with Scorpion.

"The Shirai Ryu will extend our kindness to you, if you will accept it." You side-eyed Scorpion as he spoke. Fully prepared to decline before you saw the worried look on Takeda's face. You fully turned towards the two, wings low behind you.

"What does that 'kindness' entail exactly?" Your voice came out just above a whisper, but the malice behind it remained. Scorpion's serious face was a contrast to his student's.

"I am offering you shelter at the fire gardens until you have re-gained your strength." You looked at the boy, and then back at the man who killed you, and then at the sky. Who should you trust? Takeda? Or your own broken body? If you took a fall- 

You took a deep breath, bit your fear back, and approached Scorpion and Takeda.

[teamxdark]

The sun beat down from overhead, and the scent of salt carried over as the breeze guided the waves to the shore. Below his feet, the captain felt the soft rocking of the ship sway him from side to side, back and forth, a sensation so familiar that he had to concentrate if he ever wanted to notice it.

And, well... He wanted to notice it right then. Anything to keep his troubled thoughts at bay.

Shadow was no captain. He had never considered himself good for the role. He could govern himself just fine, but when it came to a group, the weight of responsibility for others pushed him to his worst.

The problem was that no one noticed it.

The hedgehog lifted his head, keeping a hand on his hat to prevent it from flying away, and looked up at the clear skies, dotted by a few seagulls gliding on the currents up above. A perfect day to set sail, as the navigator had told him; Knuckles had an exceptional sense of direction and the strength of body to carry out duties as the helmsman or at the rudder, even when weathering a storm.

Even though he still sometimes drank himself to sleep to handle the guilt of refusing to accompany her.

A flash of yellow swooped by his periphery, and the captain turned to see Tails hard at work, checking the rigging and assessing the sails. The lad was young but brave, and had exceptional knowledge about the structural integrity of the ship. He could spot issues that most would gloss over, even with years of experience. A prodigy, an asset, an invaluable member of the crew.

Shadow still saw the boy's hands shake as he retied the knots, and he knew he still slept in the same hammock as his brother, worried that he might meet the same fate as her.

"Here you go, Captain!"

Amy's cheerful voice interrupted Shadow's brooding, and she pressed a large sandwich into his hand. "It's the last day we can have bread, unsalted meat and fresh vegetables, so I decided to make everyone something special."

The cook was her own force of nature, with a bright and friendly disposition that made those around her feel calmer and happier, and she made meals so good, even with a limited pantry, that the crew swore she was capable of magic. Yet, Shadow had seen her at the cannons, firing mercilessly at those who threatened them. She never missed a shot.

She still cried into their stew, sometimes.

Amy carried on, bringing the next sandwich to Silver, who thanked her with a kind smile. The cabin boy was the newest addition, a stowaway-turned-crewmate that they couldn't manage to turn away. He was an odd one, optimistic and thoughtful, yet impulsive and filled with a rage that brought the worst storms to shame. His telekinetic abilities helped him keep the ship spick and span all over, and when obstacles couldn't be avoided, it was often he who held the ship together... quite literally.

Shadow knew she would have found him to be priceless.

"Ready to set sail, Captain?"

Shadow held back a sigh and looked over to his first mate. Sonic was leaning over the side of the ship, feeling the breeze hit his face, his eyes serenely closed as he noticeably avoided looking at the water. For someone who didn't know how to swim, Sonic still fit in the crew like a hand in a glove tailor made for it. A jack of all trades, he was quick, decisive, courageous, fearless...

She should have picked him.

Shadow's hand rose to his chest, feeling the bumps and indents of the necklace hidden underneath his shirt, until it stopped over his heart, where the jewel lied.

Pink. Heart-shaped. Not worth much by a jeweller's appraisal, but absolutely priceless to any and everyone on that ship. The true symbol of the captain.

"Sometimes you have to make the value yourself," she had told him as she slipped the stone back under her shirt, safe from view.

"Just about," he finally responded to Sonic, noticing how the other hedgehog's ear dropped a tad before lifting back up.

"Sorry Cap, but it doesn't really sound like it."

Shadow hated that he was right. He hated that he still didn't feel ready. He hated that he had such a fantastic crew that he didn't feel worthy of inheriting.

When he was only responsible for himself, it was one story, but he didn't know if he could stand being responsible for anything that could happen to the rest of them. Shadow knew himself; after so many years of following her orders, so many instances of breaking away from her plans because he needed to figure out something for himself, he had come to a conclusion:

He was selfish, self-centred, and unfit to be the one calling the shots for people who needed someone with a strong mind and a constant focus on the big picture.

Why did you give this to me, Rouge?

Any of them could do a better job. Sonic, though he seemed carefree, commanded attention and loyalty and inspired trust and morale. Amy was a natural leader, responsible and resourceful. Even Knuckles, who still fell for Sonic's dumb pranks, had shown that he could step up to the plate and lead when he needed to.

Shadow had been the wildcard, a mix of a lone wolf and a follower, a gun to be aimed and fired by someone with enough clarity of mind to know what she needed to shoot for in the long run.

Rouge had been the perfect captain, except for one thing.

For some reason, she had named Shadow as her second in command.

"Still comparing yourself to her?"

Shadow's hand fell from his chest. He refused to respond.

Sonic leaned back from the railing, opening his eyes to the sky. "I guess I get it. Big shoes to fill and all that. But no one's a perfect captain, you know. Captain Rouge might have been one of the best there was, but the instant she saw a pretty gem..."

"... we'd get sidetracked," Shadow finished, pressing his lips together. It was true; as great as Rouge had been, she had a weakness, and that weakness was why she wasn't with them now.

"I just wish she had told us where she was going..."

It was a question the crew often asked themselves. Why had their captain run off to find a treasure reputed to have a curse so terrible that the map was torn apart and scattered. Why they had spent the better part of a year sailing around to find the pieces. Why Rouge had put together the map in secret and left to find it alone, leaving Shadow her necklace with the announcement that he was in charge. Why she hadn't taken anyone with her, save for the joking offer to Knuckles to accompany her, which the echidna still managed to convince himself was a true offer as a way to find something concrete to blame for the guilt and fear that he felt. That they all felt.

Shadow had nothing like that. He envied Knuckles in a way for it.

"Think of it this way," Sonic said, once again pulling Shadow from his thoughts. "It's an adventure of our own, and the prize is finding her again."

Shadow clenched his fists, crushing his sandwich in the process. "If she's still alive," he muttered, saying what so many of them were afraid to even think about.

"Hey now, come on--"

"Six months!" Shadow snapped. "It's been half a year and there's been no sign of her at any of the rendezvous points!"

You left us. You left me here, with your crew, and now I have to do what I could never do.

"And that's why we're looking for her, right?" Sonic asked, remaining calm even as Shadow felt his world split apart, yet again, as it did far too frequently when he was left with his thoughts. "That's why you ordered this search. Because you know that giving up on her when there's still a chance is the worst thing you could do for her."

Shadow breathed in heavily through his nose, forcing his hands to unclench. Sonic was right. There was a stupid, dumb, idiotic, pathetic part of him that couldn't accept what he knew should be the truth.

Rouge, if we find you and you're still alive, I'm throwing you overboard myself.

"We set off in two minutes," he ordered, stuffing what was left of his sandwich into his mouth. Next to him, Sonic grinned and gave him a salute.

"Aye aye, Captain."

With that, he was off, no doubt relaying Shadow's order to the rest of them. Shadow, meanwhile, walked to the bow of the ship, looking out to the horizon as he drew the necklace out from under his shirt.

They had no leads. They had a great many countries and vessels after them thanks to their history of heists. The odds of finding anything helpful were so astronomically slim that they might as well be sailing to their deaths.

But if any crew could do it, it was this one.

And Shadow, no matter how little he believed in himself, no matter how much fear he held, had to lead them.

"Sit tight, Captain," he whispered to the necklace's heart-shaped gem. Behind him, he heard the sound of Silver raising the anchor and Knuckles calling out directions to Tails at the helm while he pushed the rudder.

It was time to begin their adventure.