#realizing none of the words in my head translate accurately

[starcorvid]

They are very much still in the works, but I wanna talk abt them so bad so thank u for this!! I’ll put my ramblings under the cut cause this actually got a bit long lmao

My hatchy is called basalt! (nicknamed Salt) They’re pretty friendly with most of the village but Hal is def one of those they’re closest to. They were childhood friends raised pretty much together, because they hatched only a few days apart! (Hal is older and will not let basalt forget about it, ever)

Basalt is also really close with Esker! Growing up they were an absolute menace, and Esker was their favourite prank accomplice because they would always cover for them, and the other adults never suspected a thing. Salt also loves Esker’s stories of the beginning of outer wild ventures and the stories hearthians told about space before they could explore it. They miss them a lot, esp since Esker has become more stationery on the attlerock, but they try to communicate regularly through the signal scope and visit them often to keep them company.

They were mentored mostly by Gossan, who they immediately imprinted on upon hatching. They did idolize pretty much all of the ventures as a child, and would never be found very far from any of them, but they have a special bond with Gossan. They were the only one basalt would listen to 100% as a hatchling, so Gossan would often be solicited multiple times a week to come reign in the hatchling lmao. Gossan did their best to find ways to occupy them whenever Basalt would get too restless and things would start to blow up around the village. The thing Basalt liked the most about Gossan’s brand of discipline is that they had an open approach: when other adults usually tried to put dangerous stuff out of their hands to avoid issues, Gossan would try to teach Salt how things worked and how they might be handled safely. They put a lot of importance in safety, but they always responded to Salt’s curiosity with encouragement, which is what eventually motivated Basalt to start the owv training.

Salt is currently in an intense will they won’t they (spoilers: they absolutely will) with Gabbro!! They weren’t really acquainted with each others as hatchlings, Basalt mostly knew Gabbro as the one Feldspar took care of. They would mostly interact when Basalt was trailing Feldspar or Gabbs was bringing stuff to Gossan. Basalt has a blurry memory of being comforted by Gabbro the day they learned of Feldspar’s disappearance, but so much happened that night that it’s hard to remember it in detail. Gabbro and Basalt grew a lot closer during the loops, and they’re currently in this phase where you just wanna grab them and scream ‘just kiss already!!’ (Something Hal has dreamt of doing many times already)

Basalt’s not the best at verbal affection, they’re very sarcastic and oftentimes try to communicate affection through it, but it doesn’t always work. Sometimes their jokes miss the mark and they come across as rude or hurtful, something which they feel very guilty about. When it happens, they always make an effort to give a genuine, vulnerable apology, and it’s often the most open they are with talking about their feelings. It’s something they’re working on, with the help of Gossan and Hal, but they’re not quite there yet.

Basalt prefers to show affection through touch, they usually always keep at least one point of contact with people they like. When they feel overwhelmed or very affectionate, they have an urge to bite their loved ones- not to hurt, but as a show of affection of some sorts. They also enjoy giving handmade gifts, usually bits of fabric they embroider or weave themselves (something they picked up from Gneiss to keep them occupied as a hatchling). Hal has their head scarf, Gossan has a ribbon they wrap around their wrist, slate has one wrapped around their bicep. Hornfels has theirs hung up in the observatory and Basalt keeps a handkerchief they’d made for Feldspar in their spacesuit. They’ve also embroidered gabbro’s beanie, but they’re currently trying to learn knitting with Esker and Gneiss so they can make gabbro a new scarf. They also love taking Gabbro on dates through the universe and try to find the places with the best views for Gabs to draw inspiration from for their art.

Honestly pretty much most of my hatchling art that’s up is Basalt lmao, I just hadn’t fleshed them out as much before.

I could really go on about them so so much more but sleep is calling and I feel like this has become a bit of a word salad- but omg thank u for posting these questions, this was so fun to write and helped me flesh out a bunch of things about Salt!

Tell me about your hatchlings or fish ocs *v* I wanna know all the hearthians!!!!

who's their bestie? who's their mentor? if theyre dating anyone, who? what do they normally do when they spend time with each of them? how physically affectionate are they? how verbally affectionate are they? whats their love language? do you have any art of them? any writing? show it off :3

[nightghoul381]

Ellis Twilight ~ Main Route Chapter 19

Disclaimer for route warnings | Masterlist

Additional Content Warnings: None

This a fan translation so it is definitely not 100% accurate. I do not own anything related to Ikemen Villains. Support Cybird by buying their amazing stories!

Part 1

Ellis: “That’s when I finally realized.”

Ellis: “When I saw that ‘my brother couldn’t live without me’—I was happy.”

The scene Matthew saw, and the scene Ellis saw.

Even though they were the same, the colors that painted them were so different.

Matthew’s view slowly melted away into his sadness.

But the scene in Ellis’ mind still dominated his heart with vivid colors—

Ellis: “I didn’t want my brother to suffer. I wanted him to be happy. That’s the truth.”

Ellis: “He couldn’t go anywhere, he would stay by my side forever…”

Ellis: "Using my brother’s misfortune as an excuse, I… I tried to fulfill my own selfish wishes.”

Kate: “That’s not…”

I swallowed the words I was about to say.

This is the Ellis I wanted to know about—

I’ve always wanted to hear his story told from his own mouth.

Even if it’s painful or difficult or unfair.

Ellis: “…That’s why I buried it deep, deep inside my heart and closed it properly.”

It was a little while later that I found out there was such a thing as a ‘wheelchair’.

It was a rural town, so I had to imagine it from what I had heard.

After many failures, I finally made something that could carry people.

It was a very sunny day.

I took my brother out and the two of us raced up the hill.

My brother was laughing, and we ran around together for the first time in a while…it was so much fun.

At dusk, when the sky had begun to turn a pale purple, my brother spoke.

Brother: “I’m so happy right now.”

A moment that was neither the end of day nor the beginning of night.

This moment was perfect, complete, and there was no need for the future.

I honestly thought so too.

Because happiness is like the twilight sky, which changes color quickly.

Over time it becomes a terrible poison.

Brother: “So, just end it now.”

--He said it so naturally.

It was like I he was inviting me to go somewhere.

Ellis: “Okay… I get it.”

Part 2

Brother: “So, just end it now.”

--He said it so naturally.

It was like I he was inviting me to go somewhere.

Ellis: “Okay… I get it.”

I wanted to capture the happiness of this moment forever.

We were twins who couldn’t be more different on the inside, but at that time, my brother and I were probably thinking the same thing.

Brother: “Thank you.”

It was the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen.

My brother handed me the fruit knife he was holding.

I took it and stabbed him in the heart.

(Now my brother won’t be unhappy anymore.)

(Happiness is now my brother’s forever.)

Ellis: “I was very happy.”

His gentle smile made my heart ache…

Kate: “…Ellis…”

I instinctively pulled Ellis’ head to me and held him.

Ellis continued to speak with his face buried in my shoulder.

Ellis: “But then… my father told me I was a murderous demon and told me to repent for my sins.”

Ellis: “…I don’t know anymore.”

Ellis: “Maybe I—”

Ellis: “My brother could now go out into the world again with a wheelchair.”

Ellis: “Maybe I wanted to stop him from going anywhere.”

Ellis: “The moment I doubted that… my brother’s happiness became fake.”

The smile disappeared from Ellis’ lips.

The horrifying blank expression on his face sent shivers down my spine.

Ellis: “I only found this out much later, after I joined Crown.”

Ellis: “But my ‘Thorns’ curse… “It’s a curse that binds and makes you sin.””

(“Thorns” curse…)

--Flashback—

Kate: “Ellis, Jude. Could you tell me about the curses that you two have?”

Ellis: “We haven’t talked about that yet, have we?”

Ellis: “My curse is the curse of ‘Thorns’ and Jude’s is ‘The 13th Wizard’.”

Ellis: “They’re the curses that became the motif for Sleeping Beauty (Thorn Princess).”

--End Flashback—

When I first heard about it, the image of Ellis’ curse was very vague.

But now—I could see the thorns growing from his heart.

It wrapped around his body in layers, digging into his skin and not coming off.

Ellis: “Entangles you, drags you in… binds you so you can’t go anywhere.”

Ellis: “My desires make the people I care about unhappy.”

Kate: “……”

Ellis: “So, this time I want to kill someone properly… with only my loved ones in mind.”

Ellis: “I want to make their happy moments last forever.”

Part 3

Ellis: “So, this time I want to kill someone properly… with only my loved ones in mind.”

Ellis: “I want to make their happy moments last forever.”

I was speechless.

The darkness that Ellis has always carried with him.

The darkness I felt.

Things we’ve turned a blind eye to.

It was pure, innocent— murderous intent.

Ellis: “…I want to make you happy too.”

(Huh…)

When I noticed, Ellis was staring at me.

His gaze entangling like a thorn, binding my heart and immobilizing it.

Ellis: “When you left with Jude and the others…”

Ellis: “I was trying not to think about you, Kate, so I just worked.”

Ellis: “I slept on the couch because I thought of you when I went to bed.”

Ellis: “Kate, if you want to be happy now…”

Ellis: “Holding hands, being together, falling in love, it should be with someone else, not me.”

What Ellis wants is “my happiness’.

It doesn’t have to be Ellis that makes me happy.

--He’s certainly said that before.

Ellis: “I thought that if you were away, I’d be able to calm down.”

Ellis: “And yet…”

Ellis suddenly moved toward me.

Chapter 19:

* 1. Step back +4 +4 *

2. I can't move +4 +2

3. Hug +2 +4

*****

The unconcealed madness was visible in his eyes…

I try to back away, but there’s no escape on the narrow sofa…

Ellis: “Why are you running away?”

Kate: “!...”

He grabbed my wrist, and as I lost my balance and fell onto my back, Ellis’ shadow fell over me.

Ellis: “…I can’t get you out of my head.”

Part 4

Ellis: “…I can’t get you out of my head.”

His body covered my vision, and I couldn’t see anything but Ellis’ face.

Kate: “Ellis…ngh.”

When I tried to get up, Ellis’ body blocked my escape route.

In front of me, the pendant hanging from his neck swayed back and forth.

I gazed on in awe at the way it occasionally reflected the green of the potted plants.

Ellis: “When I was pushing your wheelchair.”

Ellis: “As much as I wanted you to get better soon, I also wanted you to always stay like that.”

Ellis: “When I’m with you… I can’t see your happiness anymore.”

Ellis was clearly acting strangely.

Twilight eyes stared into me, searching for ‘my happiness’…

As if grasping for the ‘happiness’ he couldn’t find, his hands entangled my own.

If I’m pinned down, I wouldn’t be able to escape anymore—

I couldn’t even move.

Ellis: “Even though I put a lid on it—before I could get any more selfish.”

Ellis: “I hope you’ll be happy.”

Kate: “…”

Before I knew it, our lips were touching.

Kate: “Ngh, Ellis--…mmm…”

The tip of his tongue penetrated my surprised, open lips.

Kate: “Nngh…fu….”

His tongue chased mine as it was escaping from my lips and they soon became deeply entangled.

The wet sounds aroused shame, but our skin brushed softly making my head spin with dizziness so much that I couldn’t breathe.

A number of new sensations hit me—

My heart was already a mess.

(He refused last time, why now…?)

But as I gazed questioningly, Ellis also had an expression of insanity and pleasure on his face—

(…Ellis is also a mess.)

Part 5

But as I gazed questioningly, Ellis also had an expression of insanity and pleasure on his face—

(…Ellis is also a mess.)

I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what to do.

Ellis: “Haah…ng”

Kate: “Ahh… mmmnnn…gh.”

My body jumped in shock at the kiss that stirred my soul,

A leg that had been knocked off the sofa collided with a slender side table—causing it to bounce with a clatter.

(Ah…)

A jar of cranberry jam that I’d brought for breakfast had fallen over and rolled around on the table.

(The jam--)

Kate: “Nngh…Ellis…”

My lips that were about to say the jam was ‘overflowing’ were snatched away again.

A kiss that seemed to mix pain and pleasure, felt so good…

With my vision blurring, the bright red cranberry jam dripped from the table.

The red that poured out stained my head.

Kate: “Nngh, Haah…gh.”

Our lips parted and I took a deep breath,

The sweet scent of jam filled the room and made me dizzy.

(That kiss--)

(…The taste of Ellis’ desire.)

It tasted sweeter than any kindness I’d ever had.

Ellis: “…Kate.”

Ellis: “Your face, it’s so lewd.”

Kate: “….ngh.”

His long finger tips caressed my cheeks, making my flushed cheeks even hotter.

The man I like kissed me.

A passionate, deep kiss with real feelings.

I was so happy about that, my body felt like it was about to melt away like the cranberry jam spilling onto the table—

(--I’m shaking with fear just as much.)

Ellis: “Hey, Kate.”

Ellis: “How happy are you right now…?”

Premium Avatar Challenge | Ch 18 His Side Story

[pocket-vvardvark]

Ok ok so idk why, but I really want to head-canon that Meriano and Vanus knew each other bc he transported ancient relics to the guild. Anyways, idk if I ever said stuff about Angelica, but she takes an interest in translations in Lillandril after hearing about the college of sapiarchs nearby and what they do. She joins the mages guild way later, since she's too young to join the college during her family's stay in Lillandril. Anyways, this nonsense ensues during...idk Greymoor maybe??? Vanus is going to light her ass on fire guys tell her to stop 😭

The early morning sun rose steadily above the light-pink sky–a surefire sign of winter. No matter how cold it became in Skyrim, the sunrises and sunsets were at least pretty to look at. Vanus was never built for the cold, he imagines no mer is. Summerset never experienced winter, it remained cast in vibrant green and rosy pink and lavender foliage forever. Perhaps this was a welcome change, especially since the usual was beginning to become stale. That isn’t why he is here, though. An associate of his that transports relics to Solitude has happened upon a particularly interesting find. An Ayleid slate which is in dire need of translating. Fortunately, his associate’s daughter is quite the formidable translator. He has heard first hand that her skills are not to be underestimated in favor of her age. Whether that is familial pride or the truth, he supposes he’ll find out soon enough. 

Manicured fingernails scrape across his robes, and Vanus jumps at the sudden touch. The woman meets his gaze with a cat-like smile as she faces him–her overwhelming perfume surrounding him.

“Ah.” Vanus clears his throat, “You must be the translator.” 

She doesn’t respond immediately as she gives him a once-over. Her smile is becoming unnerving the longer they sit in silence. Her fingers pull away to pat his cheek, earning a grunt of disapproval from him. 

“I have a name, handsome.” She bats her long eyelashes from beneath her tear-stained smoky-eye.

“Angelica.” He answers.

She hums, “So, you do know it. You know…my father talked an awful lot about you.” Angelica takes a seat across from him, checking her nails. “So did my sister.” She adds.

“Sister?” he quirks a brow.

“Mhm.” She glances up, “Hm, let’s see…what do you call her?” She toys with a strand of dark-red hair between her fingers. “The hero of Nirn? The soulless one? Ooh, ooh, I know.” She grins, basking in his attention. “The vestige.” He perks up in realization. So, this was the vestige’s sister, Angelica. They don’t seem to have much in common. This woman is not at all like Alethia–kind and sweeter than pie. Angelica was more like a nixad, or a banekin, but perhaps twice as stubborn than both. Gregarious and a trickster, the perfect combination for a headache, he thinks. At least he could use her charming personality for social visits with clients, provided that she behaves. 

Angelica tilts her head with a thoughtful expression, and there’s a flicker of hope in his mind that she won’t be terribly rowdy. 

“So, want to have dinner with me?” Well, that squashed any hope he had. Entirely. 

Vanus sighs, massaging his temples, “No, Angelica. You’re grossly misunderstanding this visit if you think I came here for smalltalk.”

She pouts, “Aww, you didn’t? Papa said we would get along, since we’re opposites and all.”

Great, her father filled her head with stories about him. None that were accurate, it seems.

“I’m afraid it isn’t likely we will become closer than…acquaintances. At best.” He harrumphs. 

She crosses her milky thighs, smirking when they catch his attention. Her flirtations would certainly cause him to strain something with how vexing they are becoming. 

“That’s a shame.” She drawls, her eyes lidding dangerously. “I don’t mind the age gap. In fact, don’t you think it adds to the temptation? Or, maybe you prefer something mundane. I could be the perfect housewife.”

Without another word, Vanus shoves the tablet her way. “No chance, Angelica. I’m far too capable a mage to be drawn in by your poorly done act of seduction. It’ll take more than that to tempt the likes of the great mage.” His arrogance excited her, and that only irritated him further.

She rolls her eyes, smiling playfully as she grabs the slate. 

Her eyes take the small stone tablet in, observing it cautiously. Moss gathers on its corners and slightly obscures some words. Hopefully, those wouldn’t be terribly hard to ponder, but that is what her work usually details. Endless pondering upon various observations. 

“Well, well, well…” Her voice trails off, eyes stuck on some letter or worn down structure. “Interesting.”

Vanus looks on, a look of impatience passing his expression when she glances up to meet his eyes.

Gently, Angelica lies the tablet back in its case. “This little thing has spent some time in the ocean, hm?”

“Don’t tell me that’s all you've gathered.” He frowns when she giggles.

A pale hand waves him off, “Oh, please, I’ll need some more time before I dig deeper, my dear archmagister.”

“Don’t call me that.”

Cue another snort, “It’s made from marble, maybe something softer than that. The ocean won’t readily dissolve hard rock, you see? These cracks and formations came from somewhere coastal. But, you’ve gathered that already, I take it?”

Vanus huffs, “Quite so. I expect you to take this seriously. You work for the mages guild already, so I hope this attitude isn’t permanent, initiate.”

Angelica guffaws, “Ah-ah-ah.” She waves a long-nailed finger as though she were scolding a kitten. “Try Expert. I’m no child, Vanus. Even if the years between us say so, I do know my translations.”

“Fine, then at least be agreeable.”

She blows a kiss, “Anything for you, handsome.” He doesn’t have time to scold her, because she gathers the case and makes a bee-line for the mages guild.

His shoulders sag once her profile is done swaying out of the pub. This woman was going to be the bane of his existence for however long he needed to remain on this miserable rock.

[entishramblings]

The Innocence of Brutality Pt. 4 [Legolas/F!Reader]

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7

A.N: so here is the fourth part! unsure if I will make more parts because this fic hasn’t been as popular as my previous ones idkkkk? But I do wanna get a chapter of FATE up before I consider adding to this series?? lol don’t mind this ramble. EDIT: okay I will not discontinue this series I didn’t realize so many people did like it???

Request: none

Pairing: Legolas X Fem!Reader

Summary: The Reader is Rámaitë Mahtar, a warrior spirit race, and she meets the fellowship on their quest to destroy the ring.  

Disclaimer: Any mythology relating to the Rámaitë Mahtar is not canon as I made up Rámaitë Mahtar. Also, all elvish was translated from a translator site—it may not be accurate.

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: nudity (not sex), mentions of war, mentions of torture, violence, fluff

MASTERLIST | AO3 | WATTPAD

The Innocence of Brutality Masterlist

Only a couple days later, the fellowship approached a small town. It was small enough not to be very noticeable, yet large enough to have a marketplace to purchase some clothing for (Y/N) along with other supplies that they may need.

Aragorn nodded to Legolas. “Check her wing. See if it is healed.”

The elf turned to (Y/N), his eyes asking for permission. 

She dipped her head ever so slightly, granting it.

He took to unbinding it and, as the fabric fell away, his lips parted. The wound was basically gone. It was still noticeable that there had been an injury, but it was mostly healed and feathers were beginning to grow back over the thin fleshy material.

“(Y/N), how do you feel? Does it hurt?”

She frowned, snapping them open. She then flapped them slightly, sending a large gust of wind at her friends who wobbled at the pressure. “No pain. They feel…better.”

“Can they retract?” Aragorn asked.

(Y/N) nodded as she lowered them again. Slowly, they began to fold in on themselves…until there was nothing.

With parted lips, Legolas walked around her form. His eyes fell upon her exposed back and….nothing. No scar. No mark. Just skin. 

She looked human–ish. She still had that distinct ‘something different look’ but only ever so slightly. One wouldn't be able to pick up on it. At least none of the humans or simpler-minded creatures. 

“Okay,” Aragorn stated, appeased. “(Y/N) and I will go with the hobbits. Boromir will go with Gandalf. And Legolas and Gimli, you go alone. Most will see either of you as a messenger of your people stopping for the night. Boromir will seemingly be assisting an old man with his travels. And (Y/N) and I will be seen as a family with the little ones.”

At this, Legolas clenched his jaw. He didn’t know why, but heat brewed in his chest. 

“We will all stay in the same inn, but don’t make obvious contact with one another. Is everyone sure of the plan?”

Nods followed.

“Good.”

The smaller groups took turns entering the village, (Y/N), Aragorn, and the hobbits first.

They muddled by the market first, purchasing clothing and other essentials, before heading towards the inn. As they walked the streets, they passed all sorts of people—some chasing their children, and others trying to sell goods or services. One of these, services, caught (Y/N)’s attention.

A woman sat upon a man’s lap, her lips smashed against his. As their mouths moved in sync, the man’s arms wound their way across their hips. Aragorn knew that soon enough they would make their way into an ally or room for rent and do what they pleased. Of course, the others were not aware of such a lifestyle.

“What–what are they doing?” (Y/N) asked.

Pippin, rocking back on his heels, replied in a playful tone. “Kissing!”

The winged warrior frowned. “What is this…kissing?”

“It’s what people do when they love each other!” Sam replied.

“Love?” (Y/N) questioned.

“You know,” he began. “When you really like someone. When you really care bout ‘em.”

“I care about you.”

“Well of course you do.” Frodo said gently. “But love is different. It’s very special.”

Merry decided to interject at this point. “It’s like when you wanna be with them all the time!”

“You want to be with Pippin all the time,” (Y/N) said.

“Well, he’s my best friend! It’s different!” Merry defended.

Surprisingly, it was Aragorn who settled this debate. “All of those things are love, just different kinds. Romantic love is what you are asking about.” He ushered them along, still speaking in a quiet tone. ‘Romantic love is when your soul is bonded with another’s forever. It is when you would do anything for them. It is when you feel most cherished, most cared for, and most safe.” His hand drifted to the necklace that hung around his neck. “It is when you would want nothing but the best for that person, even if it breaks your heart.” He cleared his throat. “Now come along. We need to get to the inn.”

(Y/N) frowned, but followed along, her eyes lingering upon the couple.

They got a room, one as large as they could, and cleaned up, before making their way down to the bar for a meal and drink. (Y/N) sat, in her new clothes, at a nook table with the hobbits and Aragorn. It was then when Gandalf and Boromir walked in. They exchanged a quick subtle nod before drifting to a table nearby. Gimli entered about a half hour later—loud and complaining for some ale and mead. And Legolas soon followed. 

However, when the elf entered and scanned the room, his eyes froze on the Rámaite Mahtar. Her hair, clean and sparkling, framed her face nicely. Dark trousers wrapped around her waist and her feet were now clad by brown leather boots. A green tunic was covered by a simple leather armor, one that the Rangers often wore, and a matching cloak was tied under her neck. She looked put together…less homely and rugged. She looked normal…almost. Regardless, she was blending into their cover story quite well. She was smiling, talking, and eating with the hobbits. Aragorn’s arm was wrapped around her too as he held an ale. They looked sorta like a family traveling through the area. Legolas hated it.

(Y/N) caught a glimpse of the elf from the corner of her eye and flashed him a smile. 

He sent her a small one in return, trying to mask the jealousy boiling in his blood. 

With that, he disappeared into the bar.

As the night continued on, each small group began to subtle make their way into their rooms upstairs. 

Currently, Legolas sat upon the mattress in his small room. His dirty clothes were discarded and he wore only a clean pair of rousers. He was writing in a little book, a journal, that he was keeping throughout the journey. If he didn’t survive this, he wanted his father to find it. He wanted his father to know why he undertook such a journey. He hoped it would provide at least some comfort for the man.

It was then that a knock sounded upon his door. 

“Come in,” he called, for he knew it could only be a member of the fellowship. No other here would disturb an elf. His people had a reputation that led others to stay away.

A loud creaking sounded as the door slowly swung open.

“(Y/N)?” Legolas said, surprised.

She entered and closed the door behind her.

“I have your clothes,” she said simply, before placing a rumbled-up pile of green on the small table next to the bed. 

He smiled. “Thank you for returning them. I see the new ones Aragorn got you fit quite well.”

“Yes.” She walked towards him, standing right in front of him. “What are you doing?”

“Journaling,” he said. “I am writing of our adventure—taking notes, sketches. I want to keep a record of it, just in case.”

She frowned, peering at the book. “Just in case what?”

He looked up at her, sorrow in his blue eyes. “Just in case I die.” He cleared his throat, looking back down at the pages. “I want my father to have it. As an explanation. I assume by now he knows I have taken upon this quest.”

“I don't want you to die,” (Y/N) responded with a bit of a waver in her voice. 

Legolas sighed. “I don’t want you to die either–any of you.”

Surprising the elf, (Y/N) reached forward. She pulled the notebook from his hands as well as the ink and feather. She placed them carefully on the bedside table before returning in front of Legolas. 

“(Y/N),” Legolas began, confused. The sentence that was to follow, however, didn’t.

His voice faltered into nothingness as (Y/N) lifted one leg at a time to sit on his lap. As she settled upon him, she brought her hands to his cheeks.

“(Y/N),” he began again. Still, his words could not form past her name.

She leaned forward, her eyes fluttering closed, and pressed her lips to his. At first, he didn’t respond, shock filtering through his bones, but his body soon responded. His mouth began moving in pattern with hers and his arms encased her form. Her lips tasted of lavender and light, hints of ale filtering through that. She tasted different. She tasted ethereal. He liked it. He pulled her body close as they shared one breath. He let her fingers weave into his blond locks, entangling themselves deep into it, and he didn’t stop her when her hands ever so slightly brushed his elvish ears. He did, however, have to resist the sexual urge that came from such a touch. It was a slow kiss, one of hesitation and unsureness, but not unwanted. 

When the pair pulled away, Legolas looked up at her face. His next sentence was not that of accusation, but rather of question. “Why did you do that?”

She bit her lip. “Sam said that is what you do when you care about someone. It’s called kissing.”

“I know what it is called.” He chuckled lightly. “So did you kiss the hobbits too?”

She shook her head. “It is only for when you really care about someone.” 

He raised a brow, his arm wrapping tighter around her back. “Is that so?”

She nodded, not picking up on his teasing manner. “Yes. They said it is when you love someone.”

His second eyebrow lifted upwards to meet his first. “Do you even know what love is?”

(Y/N)’s expression turned to that of determination and seriousness as she spoke her next words. “I will kill for you.”

“(Y/N), you are a race that brings death. Killing for someone isn't love—”

She shook her head. “No. You don’t understand. I—I don’t like war…not really. I don’t like that people hurt. I don’t like where I went after…after the first time I was here. With–with a man named Morgoth.” Her voice turned into a whisper. “He–he tortured me. I bled because of him.” (Y/N) blinked a couple of times, trying to hold back tears. It didn’t work. “But I would do it again…for you. I  am doing it again...for you.”

That was the most words he ever heard her say consecutively. “I–I don’t understand—” he stuttered, a bit surprised by the content. 

“I ran. I escaped. I came here to…to hide.”

Legolas tilted his head with his lips parted as he reached forward to brush away the water running down her cheek. He now knew what she was trying to say. “(Y/N),” he whispered.

She inhaled deeply. “If they find me, they will send me back. But–but I dont care. I have you.”

With that, Legolas grasped her cheeks. “(Y/N), I will fight anyone, including the Valar, who tries to take you away.” He paused, just for a moment. “Anyone who tries to take you away from me. ”

The Prince then slammed his lips against the winged woman’s. He held onto her tight as his one hand weaved its way into her hair. He presented more pressure upon that hand and the one around her waist to pull her towards him, almost frantically. Every ounce of his soul held onto her as their mouths melded together—instantaneously, urgently. It was wet, it was rough, it was desperate. 

He knew she was capable of emotion. He knew she was capable of more than the basics. She could feel it, live it, experience it. So much so that she could identify love…in herself and in others.

The Rámaite Mahtar were more than just warriors.

Legolas had known it all along and (Y/N) had just proved it to him. 

He needed nothing more.

He could finally allow himself to love her…not that he hadn’t this entire time.

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7

Everything Tag: @sokkasdarling @scxundress @quilledinkpen @hufflepuffinblr @lea----b @aredhel-of-gondolin @princecami @the-fandoms-georgie @jazziwritestolkienprimary @swimming-in-stardust @elvish-sky @red-riding @brun-lieve @idiotic-canadian @hey-its-nonny @angelxnaa @bisexualdragongirl @mirclealignr @edensgarnden @elizabeth-anya-knight @sydney-120-sweetheart-blog @laneynoir @straysugzhpe @runningfeathers @awarwithinitself

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Legolas tag: @dark-angel-is-back @mylittle-escapingdreams @moriamithril @abandoncloud9 @bweakmybonez @iheartlegolas​ @aphroditesmoon

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[dazedbypark]

you're warm | kth

Pairing : Kim Taehyung × Reader

Genre : Established Relationship! au, Comfort! au, Fluff, A hint of angst

Summary : You haven't watched a movie with your boyfriend in a long time. Or maybe more accurate would be the sentence - you haven't cuddled with him in a long time.

Warnings : None, except for the fact that it's written by me.

Word Count : 1.5k (does this count as a drabble? but whatever asjkshshej)

Author's Note : This drabble is uhh...quite random, I'd say. But then again, which work of mine isn't? The idea struck me while I was attending my classes and I was like why not? After I finished writing it, I really was in a Taehyung mood🤧

Anyways, please enjoy this drabble! It will mean a lot to me if you do so. And please leave feedback if possible (doesn't matter if it's good or bad). It motivates me a lot🌻

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You peep in at Taehyung's room through the half-open door.

There is no sunlight in there. The weather is cloudy today. Yet, he has somehow managed to keep the room warm. On walls painted white and brown, hang vintage paintings high and proud. The room is messy as always, Taehyung never bothering to clean it. Clothes are piled high on a chair, just a centimetre away from making a mess on the floor. The bed is still not cleared; blankets and pillows scattered on it.

He is sitting in his chair, squinting at the screen of the desktop through his glasses. His elbow rests on the table, his fingers grazing his soft lips and the tip of his nose. His brows are furrowed in concentration, giving him that intimidating look only he possesses (and it's scary, mind you).

You slowly push the the door, making space for you to squeeze into the room, silently praying that the door doesn't squeak. And it doesn't, luckily. You raise your head to look at him once again. He's still busy, head buried deep into his work.

You quietly tip-toe towards the back of his chair. And then, suppressing a laugh, you block his view by covering his eyes with your hands. You feel his eyelashes flutter under your touch and him jump in his chair, before he relaxes completely.

"Wh---Y/n, you gave me the fright of my life," he says, his deep voice filling in your ears.

You step away from Taehyung and turn to lean on the wall, facing him. He, too, tears his gaze away from the screen and directs it towards you.

"I intended that." You poke your tongue out at him.

He only laughs at that, the sound of it music to your ears. You have always loved his laugh; the sound of it, the way his face brightens up with a glow whenever he does so. Your heart melts, not for the first time since you first heard it.

"So, what are you here for?" he questions, raising his eyebrows at you. Does he know you love how his brows raise? He definitely knows. You roll your eyes at him.

"Does your girlfriend need a reason everytime she visits you?" you reply, crossing your hands on your chest.

"She usually doesn't visit without any reason, stating it right away when she enters, never wasting a moment. And when she does enter my house without saying a word, all she needs is cuddles. There always is a reason," he answers.

"She---" you try to come up with a clever and witty response, but fail to do so.

He smiles at you then, resting his chin on his hands and tilting his head. "As I said, my girlfriend never visits me without any reason."

You only puff your cheeks at that, annoyed because you can't find even a decent defence for yourself. He's good at this kind of stuff, for some reason.

"Let's just end that conversation right there. I'll just answer your question." You hesitate for a moment before continuing, "I want to watch a movie, alright? I just realized we haven't done so in a long time. And we'll watch romance, of course."

"Okay then, Y/n. Let me just finish writing this e-mail first," he says, motioning towards his desktop.

"What do I do till then?"

"Do whatever you want. Not like I have chained you up, honey." He turns his face away from you, shielding it from your view.

You only throw a dirty look at the back of his head and proceed to walk towards his balcony situated beyond the wide and tall windows of his room. Pushing the curtains aside and sliding the windows, you walk into it.

You love your balcony, you really do. But his holds a view undeniably better (maybe because it's his balcony). He sure does have good luck.

The city isn't as buzzing with crowds at this hour of the day. It's relatively calmer, making noise with only the silence for people to hear.

The cold, humid wind blows in, grazing your skin. It calms you down. You feel all your clenched muscles relax, giving in to the simple comfort of the wind blowing. You close your eyes and lean on the railings, placing both your hands on it.

In reality, you care nothing about the movie. It just hasn't been that great a day. Not bad, but it hasn't been the best one either. And your thoughts that constantly trailed towards negativity didn't help much either. Tired of them, you had found yourself walking aimlessly within the city, just simply looking at all that it held in it; at the buildings and the trees, at the changing seasons, at the sky and at the people. Feeling yourself unwind a little after that, you unsurprisingly found out that your feet had led you to the complex Taehyung lived in. You had smiled a little then.

Suddenly, you feel two arms wrap around your waist and a body slowly pressing against your back.

You only sigh, smiling. A warm feeling swirls in your chest. It is love and so much more that you feel for him. You spin around in his hands, turning to face him.

You find him smiling at you, eyes searching yours.

"You really love my balcony, now, don't you?" He tightens his grip on you a little.

"And so what? What if I do?" You cock your eyebrows at him, swiping your tongue against the inside of your cheek.

He pulls you close, and your face finds itself pressed into his chest. Your cheeks flame a little, but it feels nice. Comforting. Like home. You feel warm inside out whenever he holds you like this.

You breathe him in. Even his smell is so warm.

"Your breath is making me ticklish, Y/n. Don't do that," he laughs, and you feel his chest vibrating with laughter against your face.

"I..." you trail off, not knowing what to say. You only press your face into his chest further and wrap your arms around his back, holding him close.

"You're really in a cuddly mood today, huh? What about the movie?" he asks, and you hear the smile in his voice as he does so. He must be looking at you with those eyes. Eyes that your friend had once claimed that he only has reserved for his loved ones. As much as you want to look at his eyes and him, you don't want to distance yourself from him even a bit. Why in the world couldn't you do both of them together?

"I still want to. Just give me a second, please." And he does.

You try to savour his warmth, his body so close to yours, his hands on your back, his comforting presence. You don't know how much time you hold on to him like that. He doesn't move either.

When you finally look up, you find him looking at you with eyes so fond, that you immediately melt under his gaze.

"Shall we go now, Tae?"

"Okay. Let's go, Y/n." His eyes flit all over your face before he finally lets go of you, and you miss the contact quite quickly.

As you walk, his hand finds yours and his fingers intertwine with yours absent-mindedly. You smile quietly at the gesture.

As soon as you reach his living room, you curl up on the couch with the blankets and the pillows you brought on your way here.

Taehyung proceeds to turn on the television and scrolls through the seemingly endless collection of movies.

"Which one this time?" he asks, turning to look at you, only to find that you are already curled up on his couch. You really are in a cuddly mood today. He smiles, knowing that you are going to sleep halfway through the movie. He isn't complaining, though.

"Any movie is fine," you mumble in reply to his question, your voice a little muffled due to the layer of blankets you have wrapped yourself in.

He only shakes his head at you, smiling, and continues his search. At last, he decides on one and then walks towards your form on the couch.

After contemplating for a moment, he sits on the opposite end of the couch, as far away from you as possible.

Realising this, you scoot over to his side of the couch. He smiles like an idiot. You hardly seem to care about his win at this point. You curl into him, putting your arms around him and resting your head against his chest, his heart beating steadily under you. He too, secures his arms around your body, holding you close to him and rests his chin on your head. You smile at that.

_

"You're warm," you're mumbling, half-asleep, when barely 10 mins of the movie have been completed.

Your words warm him up as well.

_

To his surprise, it doesn't even take half of the movie for you to fall asleep. You must have really been tired today, he thinks as you snore lightly in your peaceful slumber.

He kisses your forehead and holds you tighter.

He loves you, he realizes not for the first time.

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all rights reserved ©dazedbypark | copying, translating and/or redistributing the work is strictly not allowed.

[mikki-does-simp]

cliché & sappy romances - mha students : “I love you.”

just little blurbs of a moment that is akin to a regular romantic cliche with the star phrase “I love you”! also sort of turned into my celebration of 20 posts on this blog

characters: Izuku Midoriya, Tsuyu Asui, Denki Kaminari, Togaru Kamakiri, Reiko Yanagi

warnings: mild mentions of mutilation (not human) for Tsuyu Asui, gn!reader (tried to make it as personality/non-specific-characteristic inclusive), established relationships, other than that none, me being mad at inconsistent quality of photos and literally none for the characters that i’m looking for-

Reiko Yanagi - “If actions are worth a thousand words, then why isn’t everything communicated with just that? The meaning of... ‘I love you’ is... simple, but powerful.” :

Reiko was not sure if she believed that a single action could be worth one thousand words. After all, she was quite the expert on words, her almost lyrical musings of language being so complex and filled with her thought that not everyone could even translate or understand it. She sort of accepted this fact, and she still enjoyed what she could do with her skill and expertise. She even often went to the internet to find content she could enjoy, and shared her own ideas through these words- so, how was something like body movement that has a wildly different interpretation from person to person be ‘better’?

She was scrolling through her phone, leaning on you just as much as you were leaning on her in the little spot you both had on the couch. You were absorbed in your own little thing as well, being totally okay with that perfect, comfortable, mutual silence. Sometimes, no words can make a difference, since over-explaining can diminish meaning of words. Peace. Relaxation. Comfort. Joy. Love. These were words that could accurately describe the feeling in the room. Yet, in some way; Yanagi knew they were incomplete. Though, she could probably find more complex adjectives for show. Tranquility. Quietude. Jubilation, Intimacy. Well, those were a little cut above; I mean.

You both continued this silence, not really feeling interested in having conversation. Not in a bad way, but exhaustion of one’s brain is definitely a very real thing, and if conversation was to be truly meaningful, they needed to be working properly to do so. So, Reiko continues her scrolling on her feed to find the latest horror news, and you continue with your own little task just next to her, enjoying the physical closeness and mutual fondness of being able to stay attached to the hip like this despite not being interested in talking. Though, you were beginning to feel a little drowsier than when this interaction first started, so you lean in a little closer to Reiko’s shoulders to nestle yourself in. She finds it cute, so she adjusts herself to let you stay.

It doesn’t take more than three minutes stat to have you falling asleep, and Reiko didn’t even notice for the next five that you were actually fully unconscious on her shoulder like that- oh dear- maybe she could use her quirk to pick you up and set you to bed?- Though, that also was a little risky... After much deliberation, she decides to just leave you in that position... after all, you ought to wake up soon- fortunately, she was wrong, and after maybe around an hour, she was shocked with the realization that, you were so comfortable around her that you were one hundred percent willing to let your guard down completely with her in your presence. It actually... said a lot to her. Whoa. With that, she also took the move to move in closer, brushing her head against your forehead and lightly kissing it, just in private to herself; before eventually finding herself waking up entangled in your arms, just as you are hers; on the couch.

Togaru Kamakiri - “Despite all that... you’re TOO important to just give up on. That would be a damn tragedy. . . Love ‘ya.” :

Kamakiri thought he would be safe from falling. Now, in both senses; he has unmatched reflexes and reaction times, almost known for his quick clutches and speedy reactions. Then again, that also held significance in a figurative sense as well. He never fell behind in terms of anything in life, seizing opportunity, having a blast of a time, his training akin to his dream of becoming a pro hero and saving lives, and even his academics (he wasn’t the best per-say, but he was far from the worst of the lot) and most importantly, he never thought he would fall for someone. Ironic to his quirk, not even the sharpest blade or even cannon could take the walls he lifted up to protect himself emotionally- or, so he thought, unfortunately.

A few months ago, if he traveled to the future and saw himself in... this situation, he would have laughed. so. hard. and then probably threw up out of shock right after. Togaru in a cafe, despite hating to go out to eat because of the cost of food, despite hating the fact that he was sitting outside of the cafe on the tables there instead of inside, where it was a lot cooler and he would get stared at just a little less: and finally, despite the fact that he was going steady with you of all people for just about half a year now. You and him, on a date in the city. It almost felt it was just the two of you existing with no one else in the entire world, someone special that finally made a little puzzle piece in his brain go... click! A truly rooted connection; one that was unexpected; but with time, was welcomed with closed but still willing arms. 

Someone like you, who never ridiculed him for the way he dressed or looked or talked; someone who was considerate of everyone in their own way and kind, but was hardly a pushover or someone actively seeking constant protection. Quite the contrary, actually. One of the first traits he noticed and actively admired was your strength, in your own special way. He was snapped out of these thoughts when the bell of door did a little jingle, and the waiter finally coming out with the food you two had ordered. For you, a downsized version of a matcha pound cake, in all it’s green glory and almond glaze. For Kamakiri, a simple coffee jelly and a little bit of cream. They weren’t terribly over-expensive, but they were most definitely worth the cost. Simply delicious. He admits that, at first; he was a little cold to those he met, but he wasn’t heartless or even all that quote en quote ‘mean’. Kamakiri is a hype-man, someone who is a lot friendlier than at first glance. It wasn’t really all that much of a surprise that he was willing to go despite what it may have seemed like. 

He watches as you take a bite of the matcha cake, clearly enjoying it and savoring it; he himself taking delight in your joyed expression- (he wouldn’t admit that, not just yet) although, maybe it was a little bit of a surprise when mid sentence, you started devouring the cake just because it was so utterly tasty. Eventually you come to a pause, needing to catch your breath- but oh my, Togaru is definitely trying and failing not to laugh at you the absurdity. Not in a mean spirited way, though. He notices that there is a few crumbs stuck to some almond glaze on the corner of your mouth, and without really thinking much about it, he leans over to brush it off with his thumb. There is a long- quite awkward pause, his face starting to heat up from his neck and even a little bit of his shoulders upward, finding himself at a loss of words. Now that was rare of him. You catch the tip of his thumb in your mouth, not wanting to miss the opportunity of more- just one bit- and may the lord or whatever the hell was watching him from some place above praise Togaru’s own special strength, or he might have just passed out from sheer embarrassment. Despite all that, deep down, he knew he was sure enough to proclaim and acknowledged the love you two shared.

Tsuyu Asui - “I don’t know if anyone else would believe me but... i can say with confidence that I know I love you. There is no other way to truly word it.” : 

The more time spent with another person, the more you tend to get quite comfortable with them. You become unafraid of the unsure. The foul. The utterly disgusting, along with the beauty behind it. Just behind you, Tsuyu pops out of the water after being under for a couple minutes. You grin, pushing aside the heavy reeds of the horribly muddy marsh and waddling through to meet her in the middle. She stands up to her full height instead of crouching and walking under the water like some innocent kiddo impersonating a classic evil Disney villain, then turning her head off to a certain direction. You aren’t even surprised at all when she asks you to join her in looking at a couple carcasses of animals she spotted on the other side of the marsh while checking it out. Tsu was always quite blunt and insanely honest, something that came with the double edged sword, but to you, it just added to a plethora of traits that just made you like her even moreso.

It takes about three minutes of pushing through the public marsh until you spot them, nose wrinkling at the foul smell; but your brain piquing with curiosity. You finally reach the spot with her, and eventually identify the mass of rotting flesh. It was a crane, half eaten at it’s body and face almost torn off all the way, probably from some sort of preadator… you both stand there in silence for a minute, and you look to Asui, unsure of what to do. Then, Tsuyu unabashedly picks up the carcass (don’t worry though, she has gloves on) and starts moving to her left, being pretty sure that you would follow. She announces that she was going to have a proper burial for a crane, since even the cycle of life ashamed them for not being fully eaten.

Despite being in total shock, you still follow your girlfriend; off to somewhere a little sturdier where you two could dig a sort of grave. The work is started, the crane being put aside as at first, the dryer patch of land was dug out; then the hauling of the rock to be used for the gravestone, and for an extra touch, native flowers used to decorate the area. The actual burial is a little slower, taking more care of the carcass; and Tsu giving an impromptu speech about how life was precious and that paying respects to every creature was vital to a good life. The burial is finished a little sooner than you would have expected, though; ending with a moment of silence as the two of you sit on your knees next to the grave of the crane.

Asui throws another curveball, after you two were walking back to get on the main road. Yes, she was very blunt and honest; but she had never said “I love you” in your few happy months of dating until right now, the arguably least romantic situation (burying a dead crane carcass) ever seen. You’re tempted to ask about it, but Tsu beats you to it, explaining that she was now 100% sure that she loved you, and that of course, because of her nature; she wouldn’t just say something like that for the sake of it. She didn’t plan to regret it anytime soon, if not ever. Though, she seemed to understand whether or not you could say the same. Love had to grow from square one, but it was also boundless. No limits of all life, the good; evil, ugly, charming, whimsical parts of it.

Denki Kaminari - “Eh, there’s no need for that grandiose display, all i want is you! I love you, maybe even a lot more than you think I do!” :

It was no secret Kaminari was quite a lively guy. He was a social butterfly, aiming to be a top hero on top of that. He loved music, games, and all the other things that a guy like him would be expected to enjoy. I mean, he was absolutely as jolting and wild as electricity itself, living up to his name and persona. With you, even when you just started dating, it was no different. Always super affectionate (and trying his best not to overstep your boundaries, but not being perfect every time), showing you off to his friends; much to your pleasure/embarrassment, and displays of pride and affection that were just about borderline cringe if you squinted hard enough. Though, you never blamed him for it, just his way of showing his admiration and care for you.

Despite that, at some points; you felt sort of... uneasy just letting him do all the pulling in terms of these displays. Although you weren’t as... much as he was with this, you thought that it would at least give some justice if you tried pulling off the same feats. Eventually, you started your planning, and Kaminari; although he is a little bit of a dunce, he wasn’t stupid; and could see you had something... suspicious planned. This unfolded over the course of a couple weeks, but as much as he whined and begged you to spill at least something about it, you wouldn’t budge. The day of the surprise came quickly, and you were about to blow. his. mind. I mean, in your head; it was practically perfect! Just needed to finish that preparation and pick a perfect day to put on the show…

Though, after all is said and done, though; he almost looks... confused. Very happy, but confused. It was the first sort of attempt at something like this, but in his personal opinion, it seemed a little forced on your end. Although he was ever grateful for what you did, and knew the genuine heart behind it, damn if he didn’t imagine what strain it put on you. Kaminari confronts you about this in a lower tone than normal, and although that first; it was hard to pry out and manage the words, you confess your failed recreation of a heartfelt display of affection to a lackluster over-the-top declaration, unlike him. If the mood was any more serious, he might have laughed and tried to cheer you up, but deep down; he knew he had to try his best to keep serious, since this was something important he couldn’t let just pass by and resurface in a serious, more problematic type way. That night ended with more than a couple of hugs and kisses, and comfortable silence knowing that although actions were also pretty good, Denki intended to keep and make good use of his word. Not many things beat the gesture or uttering of such a phrase…. ‘I love you’.

Izuku Midoriya - “I love them, and there isn’t anything stopping me from doing just that! I’m not a pushover with this, either; not anymore!” :

“Love” is such a simple word, but with the changing weight of a claymore sword and ballpoint pen, the changing density of a puddle akin to an ocean. Ever since getting into his first relationship, Midoriya found himself deep in thought about the implications of said feeling from time to time. Though, it was evidently clear that no logic could amount to the bubbling and raw feelings inside of him when it came to you. Not even a hundred notebooks filled to the brim on information could even make a dent. You appreciated him for who he was, and all the subscriptions of antics that came with it. Perfectly canny match, even; strength and sensitivity, mutuality and bonding. Though, there were some that seemed to think otherwise.

You were devastated when you found out, even. Someone you trusted? with many things, someone you confide in. They wouldn’t say anything to him directly, but if they got a moments noticed, there were some quite hurtful comments they opinionated about annoyance with behavior and weakness on Midoriyas end. I mean, although you could sort of see why someone might think of that… you were torn, for fucks sake! You enjoyed both of them, but the growing guilt inside you was getting almost too much to bear. When it finally boiled down, Midoriya didn’t even seem to fight back against it… the situation ended in ice, with no one triumphant, but a heavy feeling in the entirety of the situation.

Eventually, you decided to try to just put it away, after all; you probably weren’t going to get over it otherwise, but Midoriya brings it up before he goes to bed for the night, saying that he wouldn’t be able to sleep without talking about it to you. The conversation is utterly dragged on into the depths of your soul, and it was just as much painful as it was relieving to have this talk about what had happened with the trusted friend. Near the end where you are both too tired to continue emotionally and literally, Midoriya leans in to embrace you into a warm and long hug, firmly embracing you as he mutters the little nothings about you that he enjoys so much, and about how much he loves you, by extension. Eventually, you two have to pull away before you fall asleep right while standing in the warmth, and bade each-other good night, your mind a lot clearer being reminded of a simple fact. Love was a weight worth holding, especially for him.

[oneirataxiahiraeth]

First Time Jitters

Pairings : SpencerReid x Fem!Reader

Warnings : unprotected sex, oral (fem receiving), fingering, language

Summary : At a dinner party hosted by Rossi, the girls tells stories on the first times they’ve had to fake an orgasm. They all get intrigued by the readers silence and begin digging into her new relationship with Collague Spencer Reid and find out they haven’t even had sex together... yet.

Word Count : a little over 4K

“Are you kidding me? I’ve never felt anger like that in my life.” Emily laughed out, the rest of us entranced in her tales about the horrors of her sex life. “That’s was probably the first, but definitely not the last time I ever had to fake it.” She shrugged, and I felt my cheeks turn pink. We all sat around the fire pit at Rossi’s house after dinner, soaking in the warmth from the fire. Rossi and Hotch were inside, probably have a heart to heart about man troubles or something, and Reid was entertaining Henry and Jack showing them Magic’s tricks and ignoring any signs of the rest of the adults here.

“Well, sorry to you ladies but I can gladly say that none of my boo thangs ever had to worry about not finishing.” Morgan spoke proudly with a smile on his face. I could see on Garcia’s face how bad she wanted to make some inappropriate joke but she let it pass.

“Okay, I mean... Will is amazing. A totally sweetheart, but sometimes...” JJ groaned, leaving the rest up to our imaginations. If I remembered correctly she was actually the one who brought up the conversation. She mentioned something about her ‘mommy and daddy’ time last being a complete disaster that Will didn’t even know about.

I sat quietly listening to everyone tell their worst stories, laughing when they did and making some commentary from time to time. It was growing late and the only thing in the sky was a crescent moon that seemed to shine really bright. I was seconds away from passing out on Morgan’s shoulder as my attention suddenly was drawn to the fire. I should’ve know that eating so much pasta tonight would’ve led to a food induced coma.

“Awfully quiet tonight.” Morgan spoke, his shoulder moving my head up to get my attention. My eyes looked back up to the group whose eyes were all focused on me. I was fairly quiet tonight, but with the topic on hand I hadn’t needed to speak too much. I’ve had my fair shares of faking my orgasms with ex boyfriends, but it’s been a while since I last did anything sexual with anyone. Reid and I only began dating about 5 months ago, and while I was okay waiting for him, he just never seemed to be interested in doing anything like that. Besides the flirty comments, we never seemed to take it past the heated make out sessions whenever we could sneak them in.

“You’ve been staring off into space for like half the conversation.” Emily spoke, a bit of worry in her tone. “What’s up? No fun stories of boyfriends who couldn’t get you there?” She raised a brow and I gave a slow shrug. Of course I have stories, but none of them really worth mentioning.

“Oh no, I have tons.” I spoke, picking my head up off of Morgan’s shoulder. “No fun ones, though. None of my ex boyfriends have ever been able to get me close.” I spoke honestly. None of any of the guys I slept with in the past has ever been able to make me cum.

“Any stories of boy wonder over there?” Morgan teased and I shook my head.

“Not one.” I answered, hoping my answer would satisfy their need for gossip.

“Really?” Morgan looked surprised, looking back to the brown haired Doctor who was explained to the child how he did his last magic trick. “You’ve never had to fake it with him?” He scoffed. “He’s only had like one girlfriend before!” He wasn’t wrong. Spencer had expressed to me a few times about his lack of experience. Maybe that simple fact that he’s only ever had sex like maybe twice played a part in his abstinence. Maybe he just didn’t see me as someone he wanted to have sex with.

“Honestly,” I took in a deep breath as I realized that they were all staring back at me like I was the object of their affection. “We haven’t had-”

“Oh. My. God.” Garcia gasped, already knowing the end of my sentence. I rolled my eyes, as Morgan’s whole body shifted just to give me a look the read ‘are you really serious right now?’

“It’s not that big of a deal.” I shrug it off, minimizing the impact of the news. “Like you said, he’s had one girlfriend before. Maybe he’s just not ready yet.” I mention, relaxing my already tense body.

“It’s been 5 months.” Garcia adds.

"It's not that long of a time to be dating."

“You guys are around each other for almost like 24 hours a days every day of the week!” Emily scoffed. “You’re telling that you’ve never had sex with him before?” She asked and I shook my head .

“We don’t even talk about it really...”

Each of my team members remained silent, coming up with possible solutions to my ‘problem’. I could see it in there faces that they were just in shock. They all looked to each other, equally as confused and a bit uncomfortable as the next. Doubt flashed across their eyes as they all looked because me and the brown haired Doctor across the lawn.

“So...” Emily began “if you and Spencer haven’t had sex yet, when was the last time you did?” She asked, interrupting he silence.

“I don’t know like...” I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I had sex with anyone. “A few years maybe?”

“A FEW YEARS?!” Garcia gasped loudly, gaining the attention of the doctor from across the field who only paid attention for a second before returning to the two boys.

“Oh my god, could you be any louder?” I laughed at her obvious dismay over my absent sex life.

“If you said anything over ‘a few years’ then yeah, I probably could be.” She nodded, still very troubled over the news.

“Look, We’re both pretty busy people outside of work and obviously weee not going to do it on the job-”

“Literally that’s a terrible excuse.” Garcia shook her head, as disappointment began to form on her face. Maybe they were right. We’ve been dating for 5 months but we’ve known each other way longer. It’s not like we were complete stranger still digging to get to know the other person.

“What’s a terrible excuse?” Spencer’s voice spoke from over my shoulder, causing me to jolt slightly. Everyone’s eyes immediately focused on him as he stood there confused and left out. I didn’t even have to give them a dirty look to tell them to keep our conversation under wraps, considering it was him we were talking about.

“Y/n was just telling us how she never read any of the Harry Potter books before.” Garcia spoke quickly, everyone nodding to agree with what she said. I cursed him out in my head as he moved around the couch and sat down next to me. I then shifted my weight from Morgan to Spencer, leaning my head on his shoulder. I tried to ignore the eyes but I couldn’t, each other them staring completely unbothered on how awkward it totally was.

“Y/n doesn’t read anything that doesn’t have hot vampires who sparkle in the sun.” Spencer commented, making my mouth drop. That’s was so untrue, I read other things too... I can’t name them off the top of my head but I know I do!

“Thats so-”

"very accurate?" he finished my sentence causinf my eyes to narrow even though i wasnt looking at him.

“Actually Spence, y/n was just telling us about a headache she had!” JJ spoke up, putting on a concern face that confused the hell out of me. When did I mention I had a headache? “She’s said her head was pulsing and it felt like her brain was throbbing?” My eyes widened and I realized what she was doing.

“Yeah,” Emily spoke, nodding her head as she picked up on the silent plan they just agreed upon. “I think she needs to get home, she might have hit her head or something earlier.” Emily frowned, as if she was really concerned for my health. They each had a look of evil on their faces which, to the blind eye, could easily be mistaken for care.

“Really? That’s does sound kind of bad, maybe we should get you to the ER? It might be a concussion...” Reid spoke, and my eyes widened even more.

“Oh no, she was check by the medics earlier! She might just have a migraine.” Morgan came quickly to my rescue. God knows what I’d have to do to talk Spencer out of taking me to the ER if he thought I was hurt or injured.

“You guys a such-” I stopped myself, watching the amusement grow on their faces as the waited for me to finish my sentence. “... such angels...” I grumbled, “always looking out for me.” I hummed, narrowing my eyes at the women on the couch across from me.

“Come on, let’s get you home.” Spencer spoke, helping me stand from the couch even though I was perfectly fine.

Our fingers were intertwined as we bid farewell to our evil scheming friends. I let him lead the way back to the hous, solely so I could flick them off behind his back. Once we got close to the house, we were attacked with hugs and pleads not to leave by the touch gorgeous little boys who would just missed their uncle Spencer. After we said our goodbyes to Rossi and Hotch we headed back to his apartment. Only because I loved the smell of strong coffee and old books, and he was closer.

“You should go lay down, y/n/n. I can wake you up when it’s time to go?” He spoke sweetly, his hands on my hips as we entered his bed room. I smiled at his kindness, remembering how I promised I’d go to some late night movie with him this morning. It was showing in Russian and he was just itching to sit through 3 hours of it to translate it to me.

“I love you.” I hummed, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips, as my arm snaked around his neck in order to pull him into a hug. His movements stuttered just a bit before he returned the hug back to me.

“I love you.” He counter, squeezing me into him. “Now tell me, how many glasses have you had?” He teased.

“One.” I answered, laughing at the face he gave me when he pulled away. “Only one, I swear!” I defend myself with a smile. It wasn’t thag hard to get him to realize I was telling the truth, I wasn’t big on drinking and I’d be damned if I let myself get wine drunk.

“Y/N Y/L/N, showing affection to little old me?” He raised his eyebrows. “What did I ever do to deserve it?” He joked.

"Why wouldn’t I be affection towards my loving, sexy, intelligent, boyfriend?” I teased with a playfully frown.

"Have you met you?" He smiled from my response, his arms wrapping around me a bit tighter.

“You know... I like kissing you.” I spoke slowly, my eyes falling to his lips no matter how hard I tried to get them to stare into his sparkly green eyes which always seemed to stare right into my soul.

“I like kissing you too...” his cheeks turned pink from the compliment.

“Hugging you is pretty nice too...” I further my compliments, my voice turned sultry and smooth as I tried my best to be seductive. I never really pushed the idea of sex on him, I was too scared that he’d reject me and I’d ruin everything. Now I’m starting to think that maybe everyone was right? It’s been a long time since I had sex, and it’s probably been longer for him. And we’ve been dating for a while now... maybe now is the time? “Hugging you and kissing you is really nice.” I murmured as his lips pressed into mine once more.

“I enjoy hugging and kissing you too.” He smiled back, a bit confused but he didn’t seem to mind. His large hands moving up and down my back. Right now, in his mind I was probably just basking in him right now. In mine, I really wanted him to catch the hint that I needed him to fuck me.

Our lips pressed together again, this time sending tingles down my spine. We slowly moved back until I had Spencer on the bed, with me straddling him as our lips moved in sync. He smiled against my lips as his hands moved down to my thighs, gripping them a bit harder than usual. This was it. This was them position we ended up in every single time we made out, only this time I was hoping for somethingother than just a heated make out session. His tongue swiped at my bottom lips gaining instant access before his was in complete control.

Spencer William Red had me wrapped around his finger and didn’t even know it. It’s been 5 months, yet even before I had the privilege of being his girlfriend I would’ve done whatever he asked of me. I was and still am completely ready to be used at his disposal.

“Are you sure you’re not tired?” He mumbled against my lips, slowing the pace before things could get too heavy.

“Not at all.” I hummed, leaving one last peck on his lips. I debated on what to do for a few seconds as my eyes wondered over his beautiful face. “I- I uhm, I have a question.” My voice came out soft, and gentle which wasn’t usual. Whenever I spoke, usually it was with confidence, and had no problem talking about uncomfortable topics but this... this was a whole new world.

“What’s wrong?” I watched the content look on his face dropped into more of a frown.

“I-” my eyes got caught in his, sparkling from the dim light in his dark green painted room. “I don’t know...” I used my fingers to brush a piece of his hair before his ear. He was truly magnificent to look at, from his cheekbones to his perfect nose, everything about him was just... pretty.

“Talk to me.” He frowned further, his hands careful not to move further than where they already were.

“Do you not want to... like...” my eyes narrowed a bit watching his confusion take place. He was one of the brightest people I knew yet he was still so clueless. “...touch me?” I sounded like an insecure teenage right now, and I honestly didn’t care. This conversation could go a number of ways and I’d rather take everything right now that go another day or week or month thinking that sleeping with me was a repulsive idea to my own boyfriend.

“You- I- what?” His eyes widened, and I dropped my arms from around his neck. I would’ve gotten off of his lap, but his hands were gripping tightly on to my hips in a way that made me want to throw myself at him. “You mean like...?” Goddammit Spencer, how fucking clueless are you?

“Do you not want to have sex with me?” My face was just as soft as my tone. I could see the shock taking effect as his brain worked as quickly as it could to fully understand what was happening at the moment.

“I- uhm, I-“ he stumbled, and for a second I swore my heart broke into a thousand many pieces.

“You know... just forget it, it was a stupid question anyways-”

“No!” His voice came out strong and willful. “No I just- I wasn’t expecting that, I guess.” He explained and I nodded. “I-I- do want to... uhm... have a- sex with you, y/n.” His face was showing a variety of emotions and I’m sure mine was too. “ I just...”

“Don’t want to catch a disease?” I joked, which he apparently didn’t find very funny. I couldn’t help it though, it’s too awkward in here for my liking.

“I don’t want you-“ he stopped to think for a moment, “I don’t want you to be underwhelmed.” He explained, my mouth dropping at his confession. He was scared he wouldn’t be able to pleasure me? That’s was... horribly sweet of him. Not that I expected anything less from Spencer himself... that was just very unpredicted.

I wanted to tell him about all the past guys who never even got close to getting me off, but I don’t think that would make the situation any better. Honestly, right now, just the thought of him touching me could’ve got me off. Even if he couldn’t get me there, I’d fake it. I’d fake it really fucking good just for him because so am completely wrapped around his finger. Well, I wanted to be at least...

“I just want to be with you, Spence.” I spoke, watching the light smile form back to his lips. He was conflicted for a second before nodding his head. His light green sparkly eyes then turned dark, his pupils dilating as our faces grew closer until I could feel our breaths mixing together.

“I love you so fucking much.” He hummed, just before connecting our lips again. I felt the butterflies in my stomach going crazy as his hands moved to my face, pulling our lips together again.

He tasted like the white wine he enjoyed at dinner earlier. It was an odd choice but one I could definitely get behind, only if it was on his tongue. His signature scent of vanilla coffe and some expensive cologne swirled around in my nostrils driving me absolutely mad. My hips moved against the fabric of his pants, grinding against him releasing only a bit of tension from my own body. His hands working quickly to unbutton my jeans and blouse, exposing my black laced bra hiding underneath. I let out a tiny giggle as his back collided with the soft duvet, leaving me right on top of him, making it much easier to grind down on him.

His hands moved to my hips, guiding me right where he needed me. My hands traveled from his jaw all the way down his chest, unbuttoning what I could until I got to his belt. I gasped as my back suddenly hit the duvet, giggling again as I felt Spencer smile against my lips. Spencer struggles to carry a gun properly so, flipping us over was a very impressive move coming from him.

“Literally, just beautiful.” He mumbled on my lips before pulling away to look at me.

My cheeks burned a bright red, as I watched him study my own body. His body rested in between my legs, and his hands slowly traced over my skin. He sent me a sweet smile, and I thought of 100 jokes I could make right now but I figured it wasn’t the moment. I lift my hips as he tugged off my jeans and shirt tossing it somewhere across the room, ditching his own shirt. Now I was laying naked, waiting for him to touch me, well, everywhere. My eyes caught onto the faint six pack that’s always hidden under his own shirts, and I swear if I could I’d stare at it forever.

“Like what you see?” I teased, watching a smile spread to his lips as he rolled his eyes.

“Kinda, yeah.” He nodded, bringing his forehead down to rest on mine. His hands moved to my side, taking his heavy grip on them. My leg propped up on his side, giving him a bit more room to work.

“Kinda?” I raised an eyebrow at the reply and he shrugged. My breathing halted at the feeling of his hand playing at the band of me black panties.

“I’m sure I’d like it much better, if you had nothing on at all.” I felt my stomach go into full on cartwheel as his hand slipped under the band of my panties. His lips pressed a light kiss to my forehead, before he went down to my neck. The heat from his hand hovering above me sent the most explicit images to my head. Every time my hips bucked into his hands, his lips found a spot to suck and nip at earning light moans.

“Please Spence.” I whimper, feeling his lips curl into a smile against my neck. He pressed some more antagonizingly slow soft kisses as he made his way back to my lips. He hovered for a second before our lips were moving again, his lips muting the sounds of my moans from his finger circling around my clit.

“Shit.” He muttered against my lips, as he ran his finger up my soaked slit, teasing my entrance just enough to collect just juices on his fingers. My hips grind up into his hand, begging for more of him.

His fingers sped up as he massaged my clit, sending a deep tingle throughout my body. He pulled apart from our kiss, and I released a loud moan. His fingers already finding their way into me, curling to touched that right spot inside of me. My hands grip at the sheets and pillows as he begins to pump in and out of me. I felt the tension in my stomach tightening as he brought my closer to where I was so desperately needing to be. He left a trail of sweet kisses down my body until he reached the band of my panties.

“Oh fuck-” I moaned out, catching a glimpse of what he was doing to me in the body mirror across the room. I could see my panties pushed to the side as his fingers fucked into me faster by the minute. I could’ve came at the sight right there, but picked up on where I was looking. His head turned to the mirror watching as I squirm under he touched when he pushed into me a bit harder than before. He sent me a devious smirk before turning back to his current project. “Oh my fuck- right there Spence- god!” I moaned loudly as I felt his tongue lapping up my slick, playing with my clit as he sped the pace of his fingers. My back arched off the bed as the euphoric high of the orgasm I was about to reach shot through me.

“Cum for me, Angel.” He murmured against me, sending a vibration right to my clit. Without warning I spilled everything on his fingers. I let out another string of curses as he removed his fingers only to replace his digits with his tongue, sucking everything out of me.

“You taste even better than you look right now.” He hummed, as he sucked my juice from his fingers. I put on a lazy smile, as my arms wrapped right back around his neck. He brought his lips down to me, giving me a good taste of myself.

“So pretty damn good?” I joke, earning a tickle at my sides. “My turn?” I prepared myself to be flip over again but instead I was hold down in place by the brown haired man.

“Normally I wouldn’t object but I really want to be inside of you right now.” He commented, my eyes widened a big at his bluntness before nodding my head. He slipped off his boxers, pumping himself above me a few times. His tip grazed my clit twice earning a moan from the sensitive sensations. I could tell he was enjoying having me completely at his mercy. I was enjoying it too. “Are you Ready?” He asked and I nodded, eager to feel him inside of me.

Without another word he slid into me slowly until he bottomed out. I gasped at the stretch and sting I felt as he entered. I felt myself convulse around him, causing him to tense over me. He stayed buried in me, allowing me to adjust to his size. I had half the mind to make a joke about him being such a gentleman but I kept it to myself.

“You can move.” I he gave a nod, as he pulled out earning a light moan from my throat. For a split second a saw a flash of evil cross his eyes. There was no pretty Sparkles in his eyes, they were now fake and filled with lust as his eyes raked over me.

He slammed into me, hitting the exact spot where I needed him. He kept a fast pace, hiking my leg up to his side again hitting into me at a deeper angle. His lips attached to mine in a hungry manner, as if I was just there for his own comfort. My back was arched off the bed as I get the knot forming in my stomach threatening to come undone once more as I cried out multiple profanities in his kiss.

“Oh fuck, y/n.” He moaned out bringing me right to the edge, my walls clenching around him as he picked up the pace. I let out the loudest pornographic moan of his name as I came undone. He fucked me through the euphoria as his own thrust began to stutter.

Our breathing was heavy as he pulled out and released his load on my lower stomach. I gave him another lazy smile, seeing as I didn’t have the energy for much else. Once he as finish he collapsed on the bed next to me, pulling my body into his. I could hear his heart beat racing through his chest... or was that mine? I was sure to be 8 different types of soar in the morning, and right now I was on the verge of actually passing out.

“You’re incredible.” I breathed looking to my equally as fucked out boyfriend. His long strands of hair sticking to his sweaty forehead, driving me slightly crazy.

“I don’t think we’re going to make that movie.” He laughed, making my smile grow.

I looked to the alarm set by the bed. “It’s only 11:30, we totally make it in time.” I spoke, remembering his excitement about this film earlier in the day.

“Yeah, but I have much better things to do actually.” He mentioned with a light shrug, brushing a few strand of hair from my own sweaty forehead.

“Like?”

“You.”

I smiled at the group of agents all hovering in the bullpen, probably talking about their weekends off. It was rare we ever got a whole weekend to ourselves, so whenever we did we made sure to take full advantage of it. I mean... I certainly did.

“Morning guys.” I smiled as is at down at my desk which Morgan for some reason thought was a chair.

“Morning sunshine!” The muscular clad man greeted me with a smile. “How waa your weekend?”

“It was really good actually.” I shrugged, noticing the expecting looks I recieved from the group. I noticed Penelope coming out from her office in the corner of my eye. She caught a quick glimpse of all of us, and her senses caught on quickly before she changes her route and made her way down with a giddy smile.

“You seem happy.” She walked up with a grin on her red painted lips. “You’re not a morning person... you never smile this early.” She stated. “Did you have sex?!” She spoke right to the point, taking me by surprise.

“I- uhm... what?”

“Yes? No? Did you at least talk to him about it?” She pushed, my cheeks turning red at the questions.

“Yeah, we did talk about the whole sex thing.” I gave in, knowing eventually they were going to find out everything on their own, either from me or Reid.

“How’d it go?” JJ asked, her and Emily catching onto the conver as the two of them moved to the front of my desk.

“Am I invited to the party this time?” Rossi spoke, as he walked down from his office, joining our group cluster.

“They talked about it!” Garcia cheered to him, and his face lit up as if her was actually proud of me.

“You did not tell Rossi!” I gasped

“Yeah we did, Hotch knows too.” Emily spoke, “now, what happened after you talked about it?!” She dismissed it, in hopes to get more information.

I sat in disbelief for a good few seconds before shaking my head. I knew they lived for the office gossip, I was the same way. Things like office gossip made us feel regular, considering the crazy and gore that came with the job. In all honestly, I hadn’t minded it all that much.

“It went well...” I shrugged

“And...?” Rossi spoke, waiting for more of the story.

“How well?” JJ asked, a smirk taking over her lips. They all stared intently as they waited for me to reply.

“I mean... we had sex.” I mumbled, just loud enough for them to hear. “...a lot”

“Seriously?!?” Garcia squealed.

“I- was it- was it good? How’d did it happen?” Emily asked, and I felt the heat rushing to my cheeks.

“Uhm...” I tried to think of less descriptive words than the ones popping into my head. “It was really good... like amazing actually.” I scoffed, laughing at the noises each of them made.

“So did you actually-”

“Yup.”

“And he’s the first person to ever make you-” I raise a brow at Morgan, putting slip finger to stop him mid sentence. He honestly looked in disbelief that Reid, of all people, could satisfy me after all these years.

“I said non of my ex boyfriends.” I clarified. I watched as Emily’s smile grew impressed, and Morgan and JJs jaws dropped at the confession. Garcia simply just squealed again, and I can’t even describe the look on Rossi’s face.

“Morning guys!” Reid walked in, a bright smile on his face chasing the rest of us to giggle at his brightness. He was usually in a good mood on mondays, but this was just a whole different type of mood. I had my ideas on why, but I didn’t have to say them out loud.

“Morning loverboy.” Morgan smiled at the new nickname. I haven’t seen him since early early this morning. We decided to part ways, mainly because anytime we looked at each other ended up in us having sex on whatever piece of furniture or appliance was nearest. Surprisingly he didn’t even mentioned a single thing about the about of germs and bacteria we could’ve spread either. Reid gave us all a wide smile before he walked up to my desk. He leaned down to height, placing a stern yet soft kiss to my lips. He usually went for the forehead or the nose, which all of us were aware of.

“How was your weekends?” He asked, looking to his friends happily.

“How was yours?” Garcia smirked, as she rest her elbow on dereks should. I felt my cheek glow hot again.

“It was... really good.”

“Oh we know.” Rossi mumbled, earning a dirty glare from me as my jaw dropped a little bit. The old man sent me a innocent smile a shrug, before Reid caught on.

“You know...” he spoke, giving me the same right lip smile he does when he really doesn’t know what to say.

“They know we had sex.” I spoke quickly, and his eyes widen a bit as he finally realized.

“Oh.” He spoke, fixing the satchel on his shoulder. Spencer was never very public with past romances, so I don’t know how he’d react to this. “I mean... I had sex with my girlfriend, what’s the big deal.” He shrugged, not seeming to mind too much. My eyes widened a bit, as I felt his arm snake around my waist pulling me into his side.

“You know what?” Rossi spoke, standing from his seat. “He’s right. He’s an adult, as are we. So stop acting like a bunch of children!” He scolded the group of adults hanging around us like a bunch of lost puppies. I smiled and nodded agreeing with the man. Reid gave him a thankful smile, before pressing another kiss to my cheek and going to his own desk.

Rossi stood in front of me as he watched the other back off, with eye rolls and huffs.

“Did you at least use protection?” Rossi teased, but for some reason thag caught my attention. Our attention. Sudden flashes from all the events that took place over these last few days flooded our minds at the exact same time. My body stiffened for a second before I grabbed the files stacked up on my desk to work from home. We hadn’t used a single condom all weekend. Everyone’s eyes were wide and I moved quickly, scrapping everything into my arms before I looked to Reid with an equally as fesrful look on his face.

“Text if you need anything.” I mumbled before practically running out of the office with Spencer close on my heels.

We were totally screwed

[whatifxwereyou]

Firestorm Part 2: Determination

Fandom: Mortal Kombat 2021 Liu Kang x Reader

A/N: That plot getting real again tho. It's funny to me how different the plots for both sides have become just from one little decision. Thank you guys for the support.

If you would like to be tagged for Firestorm when I post, let me know. I'll start a tag list.

The Oncoming Storm Part 1 Part 3 Chapter Index

“What else can you remember?” Feng tapped his fingers against the charcoal. He’d done several sketches of the demon-looking creature that you’d seen in your visions but none of them had come out quite right. It was like the image that had once been clear had become jumbled up when you tried to describe it. It was deeply upsetting honestly. To think that someone’s power over you could be so strong that they could literally twist images in your brain. You felt betrayed by your brain.

Feng had the patience of a saint for dealing with your confusion. You were no artist either, so describing the creature had been exceptionally difficult. You had five portraits to work from and each of them was startlingly different. You hoped that at least one of them was accurate enough for Raiden to recognize.

“The horns were different.” You struggled to remember and rotated your pained shoulder. It had been heavier that day for whatever reason.

“Are you okay, Y/N? Do we need to stop for today?” Feng set the sketchpad down in his lap with concerned eyes.

“What?” You hadn’t realized that you’d been cradling your arm to your chest. Oops. You let it go but it ached in objection. “No, I’m fine. We can keep going.”

“Okay…” He drifted off nervously and began to alter the horns on the sketch. Then he stopped again with a heavy sigh. “Maybe you should go get that looked at,” he whispered as though others could overhear even though you were very much alone. You stole a glance at the mark that spread from your shoulder to your chest. It was red, enflamed, and swollen.

“It’s probably just all this rain.”

“I’d feel more comfortable if you got it looked at.” Feng bowed his head politely. You sighed heavily again. He was worried about you, yes, but you knew your limits. You were tired of being treated like you didn’t, but you also understood his concern. It wasn’t just that he was worried about you, either. The latest ‘tea’ was that you were dangerous and unpredictable. “You seem distracted. We can pick it back up after you’re less pained.”

“If that’s what would make you comfortable, then fine.” You wouldn’t argue with him anymore. It wasn’t worth it. Feng went about gathering his art supplies and you focused on your shoulder. The crack ached deeply, like someone had run a hot knife through it while you’d been sleeping. “Thank you for the help, Feng.” You yelled after him when he practically ran from the room.

People had taken to treating you like a ticking timebomb. You’d played into it a few times because it had been ridiculous. You tried not to let it bother you but on and off it had. Your shoulder was bad today so maybe Feng was right. You should stop by the infirmary. Plus, you hadn’t seen Chen yet today and it would be nice to chat with someone who wasn’t afraid of you. As much as you wanted to sit around and enjoy the storm, when left alone with your thoughts, you couldn’t stop thinking about your conversation with Liu Kang from the night before.

The infirmary it was.

“Oh, good!” Chen stomped angrily toward you as you approached the infirmary. You looked behind you to make sure that there wasn’t someone there that deserved this much of Chen’s wrath. You’d never seen Chen that aggressive before. In fact, you had been certain that nothing bothered Chen enough to make you stomp around. Oh, how wrong you were. “I need to talk to you about those boys.”

“Could you be any louder about it?” You didn’t turn red this time. You’d grown tougher skin since the last time Chen had teased you. “And can you look at my shoulder first? Or during? I don’t care when as long as you look at it.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Uh… it’s swollen and it hurts.” You couldn’t believe Chen’s attitude. Chen grabbed your wrist and pulled you into the infirmary. With a twist of your wrist, you were forced to sit down. You held your hand then protectively away from Chen who wasn’t being at all gentle. “If you aren’t going to be nice to me then I will ask one of the other monks to help.” Your shoulder was now throbbing after Chen’s pulling. Your stomach churned like you’d eaten something bad.

Chen seemed to consider then and then sighed. “You are kind of gray, I suppose. What did you do to upset it? Did you overwork it like I told you not to?”

“Why do you assume that I did something wrong?”

“You have a track record, Y/N.”

“I think it’s the weather. Feng practically fled from me because of it.” You held your arm protectively against your chest as Chen reached for it. “Are you going to be nice? It hurts. I don’t need you tugging on it unnecessarily.”

“Yes, I promise. I’m sorry.” Chen took a breath and finally smiled. “After we took a look, we are discussing those boys though.”

“Quieter, please.”

“Oh hush, Y/N, everyone here knows what’s going on and I have a lot to say. I can’t be blamed for my tone right now.” Chen tugged your arm free, and you yelped and saw stars. You fanned your face with your other hand when it became way too hot very suddenly. Your lips were tingling.

“Chen, you’ve got to…”

“I overheard those two sneaks talking and…”

“Chen?” You scooted to the edge of the bench and spoke with urgency. Your head was spinning. You might vomit. Oh no. It was too hot in there. Had it been that hot in there when you’d arrived? Were you just now noticing?

“Don’t avoid the topic, Y/N.”

“Chen, I think she’s being serious.” One of the other monks came over to you and clasped Chen’s shoulder. Your ears were ringing. You saw the two of them arguing. The monk was pointing at you while he argued with Chen. Then you fell forward, and everything went black before you hit the floor.

***

Stone was hot beneath your body. Burning. You sat up, rubbing the sore spot on your head from hitting the ground but every movement was like you were stuck in molasses. The wind was whipping at you, and your hair flew wildly around you. The air was red hot and instead of rain fell embers.

You were atop a mountain. How had you gotten outside? Lightning struck all around you and the stone beneath you began to crumble. You could see it falling on top of the buildings below. People were screaming. A thousand voices overlapped, crying in pain, and calling for help. You managed to crawl to the edge of the crumbling mountain but was thrown back as lightning struck too close to you. Flames raged from below.

The temple was on fire. You tried to make your way over the edge, but your shoulder felt as though hooks had been driven into it, hooks that were attached to weights.

The storm! You realized, deafened by the roar of fire and the grumble of thunder what this was.

It was going to damage the temple.

People were going to die.

You had to do something, but the weight was too much. It dragged you down. You could barely move. People were screaming over the thunder, over the fire. You could smell burnt flesh. There was no escape from it, and you sat in agony, helpless amongst the fire and the death.

***

You sat up with a start and a gasp. The infirmary spun. You were on the floor and spotted Chen about ten times as the world spun. You were coated in a thin sheen of sweat and your body was trembling.

“Oh, oh no… no lay down, Y/N. Lay down.” Chen carefully urged you to lay back, but you fought her. Then you stopped and gulped, feeling the burning of nausea in the back of your throat. “Please! Lay down, Y/N.” The other monks were gathered nearby but had left a wide berth around you just in case. There was no ink that you could see, so there was that.

“I need to talk to Raiden, it’s urgent.” You muttered, pushing Chen’s hand away from you. Chen grasped your pained shoulder and you hissed in objection. “Chen!”

“You had a fit, Y/N. You need to lay down. Take it easy. Did you have a vision? There wasn’t any ink, you just collapsed and smacked your head on the floor.” Chen was checking your pupils and you were trying very much to escape the death grip Chen had on your shoulder.

“I had a vision, I need to…”

“Lord Raiden?” One of the monks spoke in surprise. Then they were all bowing as the god entered the room. Chen relaxed her grip on your shoulder in surprise and then stepped back and bowed low to the floor. Raiden had known that you needed to speak with him.

“What is it, Y/N?” He crouched low by your side. His presence was more imposing than ever, but you felt so afraid by what you’d seen that you weren’t intimidated.

“I saw something. There’s going to be… an accident.” You held your head in frustration as you struggled with words. There was a knot right on the side of your head above your ear from where you’d fallen. Why couldn’t you just say it? There was going to be a collapse! A fire! Lightning would strike the mountain and there would be devastation. The words were there but by the time they reached your mouth they were gone. You couldn’t seem to translate the images into words, and you had never been more frustrated. “Ugh.” You held your head in your hands and grasped your hair in annoyance. “It’s important but I… I can’t…”

“Can you show me?”

“I…” You hesitated. The infirmary was filled with people, and you were terrified of putting them in danger. Nothing good had ever happened while you were sharing visions with Raiden. What if they got hurt? It was one thing to hurt Liu Kang, a trained warrior who had put himself in harm’s way. This was another thing entirely. You suddenly realized just how dangerous you truly were.

“I will take you somewhere isolated.” Raiden seemed to read your mind. Either that or your expression had said is quite plainly. Before you could add that it was urgent, Raiden grasped your arm. Lightning crackled and you had returned to the chamber you’d referred to mentally as his. Raiden helped you get to your feet and then urged you to take a seat on a bench near the wall. “You’re pale.”

“I don’t… that’s not important. What I saw, Raiden. It’s urgent.” You didn’t care that you were sick or dizzy or pale. Whatever. If what you saw was going to happen during the storm, then it would be happening soon. You needed Raiden to see what you saw and interpret it for you. It occurred to you that not all visions would be accurate. Some of them could have been that creature screwing with you, taunting you.

“Yes, of course.” Raiden looked hesitant though you couldn’t say why. This was urgent.

“Please.”

Raiden placed his hand atop your head. Then with a crushing pressure you were gone. Like a light had been turned off inside of you. There was nothing. No pain. No struggling. No visions.

Just darkness.

Then you woke up.

The room that spun around you was one you didn’t recognize. Location didn’t matter anymore. At least you were awake. Your heart was racing like it was going to take flight, as though you had spent hours running beyond exhaustion. You sat up with a grunt but then Chen was pushing you to lay back down again.

Ugh.

“Relax, Y/N. You’re safe.” Chen reassured you but her expression betrayed her. She looked exhausted and worried. She was stuck on Y/N-duty again. Poor Chen. You bet that she regretted getting close to you now with all the extra work she had to do. “Please listen to me for once. I need you to lay and relax. You have a fever but you’re okay.”

“My heart.” You patted your chest nervously to mimic the beating of your heart.

“It’s stress but you’re okay. It’ll calm down.” Chen assured you but picked up your wrist and took your pulse anyway.

“What happened? Is everything okay? Did…” You drifted off as you forced yourself up on your elbows. Your whole left side was tingling and numb. Chen frowned at you disapprovingly.

“Raiden saw. It’s okay, Y/N. Lightning struck the mountain on the other side of the ravine but…” Chen then held her finger up to silence you so she could count. You held your breath, hoping that Chen would tell you more. Then Chen swatted you for holding your breath and you pouted.

Raiden’s presence made you both turn your heads toward the doorway. “Leave us.” He ordered in a stern tone but then bowed his head as if realizing he’d spoken too harshly. Chen sighed, frustrated, and then gently squeezed your hand.

“I’ll find you later.”

“Thank you, Chen.” You carefully pushed yourself so that you were sitting upright. Your shoulder throbbed and your left arm felt numb and useless. You cradled it to your body with your other hand. Raiden sat down on the edge of the bed, hands on his knees.

“You saved a great many people today.”

“I didn’t do anything, I don’t…”

“You did.” Raiden looked to you from the corner of his eye. “I was able to see your vision and minimize the damage. Lives were saved.” He then bowed his head. “The devastation you foresaw was tremendous. Because you were able to communicate your vision to me, we caught it before it happened.”

“I didn’t do anything. I don’t- I don’t want that credit.” You frowned. You really hadn’t done anything worthy of praise.

“You saw.” Raiden’s expression was serious. You felt again like a little girl who had disobeyed her father, so you didn’t object. “That creature told you that you would not see, and you saw anyway. You were meant to see, Y/N.”

You hadn’t thought of it that way.

You hadn’t thought about the fact that you were terrible at this was because of that creature. He stifled your ability to see. Duh. But you’d seen anyway. Raiden had said it with such pride that you felt a little proud. Even though seeing had kicked your ass, it had been worth it.

“We will find a way to separate you from this curse. You will see clearly. You will see and you will fight.”

You teared up.

You stuttered, wanting to thank him for his help, for his belief in you but no words came out. You wiped your eyes. Much to your surprise, Raiden hugged you. It was a fatherly hug, something that you hadn’t felt in so long that you weren’t sure how to emotionally respond to it. You had never been close with your father. In fact, he’d frightened you. He’d never hurt you but he’d been imposing.

“I’m sorry that I hurt you.” He let you go and you pulled back, adjusting to sit against the wall behind you. You were exhausted but at least the feeling was returning to your arm.

“Oh no, no Raiden. I’m not. You had to. I was… out of control.” You hadn’t blamed him. You had hurt Liu and the ink had been filling the room. You’d needed to be stopped and he’d done what he thought was right.

“I hurt you more than I intended. I’m still sorry.”

“It’s okay. I have more than forgiven you.”

“I’ve moved the artifacts somewhere safe. I’m hoping that the distance will offer you some relief.” Raiden got up and was back to his usual composed and intimidating self. You tried not to smile. It had been exceedingly kind of him to reassure you. Sweet, even. “If we can get control of your visions and your arcana so that they are at least less destructive then it is a step in the right direction. I want you to work on that when you’re feeling a little better. You must survive long enough to discover who has done this and why. Why you? What motives could they have other than to stifle your visions? And why is it that you have these visions? They are unrelated to your arcana.”

“I’ve thought about that more than you know. I’ll do my best to get some control over it. I’m going to fight, Lord Raiden.” His belief in you had given you strength. You’d been teetering on having faith in yourself for so long that it was nice to feel determined. You had needed that push. Even though you felt like absolute garbage after having your vision and sharing it with Raiden only moments after, you still felt better than you’d felt in a long time.

“Good.” He turned to face you again. “Thank you, Y/N. You saved many lives today and I am grateful. Get some rest.” He bowed to you and then left the room. Chen returned through the same doorway only seconds later in a huff. She seemed overwhelmed and you couldn’t blame her.

“What did he say to you? I tried to listen in but I think he knew I was listening. I couldn’t hear a single word!” She pouted in frustration, as if she had failed at being a gossip.

“Good. It wasn’t your business, Chen.” You teased but then rested your head on Chen’s shoulder with a sigh. Chen slipped her arm around you in a hug.

“You doing okay, sweet pea?”

“I don’t like that.” You laughed, sitting upright, and holding your sore shoulder. “I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about me.”

“When you stop collapsing all over the temple then I’ll stop worrying.” Chen scolded. “I can’t keep reassuring you when you keep doing things to worry me.”

“I know, I really do. I’m working on it. I’m sorry to have worried you.”

“Don’t be sorry. I just want you to be okay.” Chen furrowed her brow. You felt lucky to have her. “Why don’t I help you back to your room so that you can get some rest?”

“That’s probably for the best.” You tried to roll your shoulder but your body wasn’t having it. “Wait, you were up in arms about something earlier. Weren’t you? Or was I imagining you being mean to me?”

“For another day, Y/N. Right now I want you to rest.”

“Are you worried about stressing me out because of the heart thing?”

“I absolutely am.” Chen giggled and then helped you to your feet. Your legs were wobbly but once you were on them, you were fine. Chen insisted upon helping you back to your room regardless. You didn’t want to sit and listen to the storm for the rest of the afternoon. Earlier you would have been happy to but after talking to Raiden, you were motivated.

For the first time in your life your visions had been more than a burden that deteriorated your health and made people call you names. You’d seen the potential destruction of parts of the temple and it had saved lives. Raiden had been the one to save those lives but without you he never would have known it was coming.

You didn’t want credit for it but it did feel good to have done something other than destroy and maim.

[p1nkymilk]

a short sarawatine fanfic about the moment that Sarawat plays Tine the song “closer” by Scrubb to record for the music club!!

The translation of the song Closer used in the fic is by Tas Tayapongsak. The source is: lyricstranslate.com/en/close-klai-close.html

The title is also called: Closer

—

Tine always holds his body in a very specific way, those close to him know. He seems like he’s carefree and exuberant, and all over the place, but the truth is he’s quiet, he’s deliberate and he never moves without one hundred percent intending to.

Tine is a tightly wound string, a well oiled gate hinge, that closes and opens without making any noise and only when it wants to.

Despite his needling and whining about Tine’s lifestyle habits or college caprices, Type knows this. Phuak and Ohm have an idea of it, but Fong’s the one who truly knows it for sure in their friend group.

More than anyone else, the one person who is the most aware of it is none other than Sarawat Guntithanon. And that’s because this deliberate hesitancy of Tine’s annoys him. It makes him sad. It makes him exasperated. It makes him feel like he doesn’t have hope with the beautiful boy.

Every single time Sarawat genuinely tries to flirt with Tine, Tine doesn’t hesitate to laugh it off and pretend Sarawat’s kidding. When Sarawat claps a hand on Time’s shoulder, the shoulder goes completely still, like there are a million gears inside that turn for the specific purpose of making sure that shoulder doesn’t move. When Sarawat leans in close to Tine’s face, it’s like the very air itself around Tine freezes— and Tine’s face doesn’t get any closer. Even his smile is a shield, his chatter a diversion. People thought Sarawat was hard to get to know? Have they met TINE? Or more accurately, talked to him for more than twenty minutes?

Tine was relaxing on Sarawat’s bed when they were supposed to record the video. He was completely relaxed, but that was only, Sarawat realized exasperatedly and mournfully, because he was seated all the way on the other side, far away from Sarawat.

Sarawat rolled his eyes, pressed the record button, and started to play the opening chords to “Closer”.

“Hey, you’re actually playing it!” Tine exclaimed happily, clambering over the bed to sit nearer to Sarawat with joyful eyes.

Seriously? Sarawat thought, frowning. It took forever for him to get Tine to even crack a genuine grin right at him, but even just the opening chords of Scrubb made Tine grin like that?

It’s not fair, he thought, and continued to play the opening chords. Then the verse came, and he started singing, feeling the residual warmth in the air from the adorable annoying boy sitting close to him.

“So close that I can't say a word

It's so close that I can't see anyone else

When we're so close that I want to hold my breath

It's so close that there's only you and me today”

In between the music, Sarawat heard some rustling, and he glanced to his right to see that to his surprise, Tine had parked himself right next to him and was now staring at Sarawat play with bright eyes and rapt attention. Sarawat just looked back at his guitar and kept singing, or else he’d be overwhelmed by the object of his affection looking at him like he hung the stars in the sky.

“Maybe it's because we met by accident

Maybe it's because we're together by accident

Because you have never known how it will be

and I have never understood if it were to be like that”

While singing, Sarawat heard a soft “thump” and he now saw that Tine had laid down on the bed with his chin touching the cover and his face cupped by his hands, still staring up at Sarawat with full attention, but his eyes were half-lidded now.

“If we never talked a word, today no one will understand

That day you have never, and I also have never, known how it will be

then why would we stop?”

Tine had been quietly singing along, but the words slowly reduced in volume as Sarawat kept singing. He wanted to see what was happening, but he forced himself to keep his eyes on his guitar.

“There's two path to walk, and we shall decide

which way we shall go, to stay or to leave”

After he sang these lines, Sarawat felt a movement near his leg, and then something brushing against his thigh— he glanced down and saw it was the top of Tine’s head that was barely touching his thigh. Tine was lying down curled all the way around Sarawat playing the guitar, like in his sleepiness he wanted to get as close to the music as possible. Which is exactly what it is, mused Sarawat. It’s not Sarawat himself, it’s just the Scrubb music. Ouch, he thought. That hurts. He continued on to finish the song, with the last few lines:

If we never talked a word, today no one will understand

That day you have never, and I also have never, known how it will be

then shall we walk onward?

The last chord finished and all that was heard after was Tine’s slow, even breathing. He was fast asleep, and his head went from brushing Sarawat’s leg to fully being pressed against it. The warmth was comforting, but still frustrating, as Sarawat knew that was all he was going to get.

After subconsciously hearing no music, Tine started stirring out of sleep. He opened his eyes, blinking slowly. He raised his head a little, and grabbed Sarawat’s hand— Sarawat’s heart skipped a beat— but he only moved Sarawat’s hand back to his guitar.

“Can you play more Scrubb, Wat? Please?” Tine asked softly, sweetly and sleepily.

Usually Sarawat would bend over backward to do anything for Tine, and especially when he asked in that soft and quiet voice, but his annoyance and sadness over the guardedness the other had finally came to a boil.

“It took playing an entire Scrubb song for you to be so comfortable with me, and sit next to me for a long time and to trust me. I have done so much to try to make you comfortable, but apparently there’s nothing I can do, only Scrubb can!” Sarawat finished, trying to sound annoyed but failing, and just sounding heartbroken.

“...I know now.” Tine said quietly, so quiet Sarawat almost didn’t hear it.

“What?” Sarawat said, utterly confused, furrowing his brows.

“I don’t want to walk onward. I want to stay,” Tine whispered quietly.

“Are you just quoting the song back at me?” Sarawat asked, even more confused.

Tine looked at Sarawat and this was the first time his eyes were completely honest. Then, Tine reached for the guitar on Sarawat’s lap.

“I’m not going to play you any more Scr-“Sarawat’s sentence was cut off as Tine carefully lifted the guitar and laid it on the far side of the bed, away from both of them.

Then Tine slowly clambered back to Sarawat, whose lap was now empty without the guitar in it, and laid his head right on Sarawat’s thigh, extending the rest of his body such that he was using Wat’s thigh as a pillow for his head.

Sarawat just looked down at Tine’s face, his face frozen in shock.

Tine reacted by calmly reaching for and taking one of Sarawat’s hands, holding it high while looking up at Sarawat with dark brown eyes.

“The Scrubb was just an excuse,” Tine said softly. His sleep-clouded eyes cleared instantly when he said that. Tine then took Sarawat’s hand and then pressed it against the side of his own face. Sarawat, still frozen, managed to keep it there as Tine let go. Who was this brave, daring, beguiling stranger and what random music storage closet had he shoved Tine into and then stole his identity?

Minutes passed, and Tine’s head became heavier and heavier on Sarawat’s thigh. Tine curled inward, so that his face was pressed into Sarawat’s shirt on one side, and cupped by Sarawat’s hand on the other, and then instantly fell asleep, the guitar, the whole time, all the way on the other side of the bed. It wasn’t the guitar, it was Sarawat, Sarawat grinned, eyes alight in silent joy, careful not to shake awake the beautiful, oblivious, but unexpectedly brave boy that was currently sleeping on his lap. It was Sarawat, not Scrubb, not that damn guitar, not the fake dating plot— it was Sarawat, that Tine looked at, and finally decided, to get closer to.

[hooniee]

 — ꒰‧⁺paris run away  *ೃ༄

↷ heeseung x reader ⋯ ♡ᵎ

↷genre: fluff | comdey ⋯ ♡ᵎ

↷ warnings: not proofread | none! ⋯ ♡ᵎ

↷ synopsis: (y/n) just graduates from high school and feel incomplete but doesn’t know what’s missing. a trip to paris might be able to fix that ⋯ ♡ᵎ 

↷ author note: this is @enhypenwriters​ event of the month! strangers to lovers <3 i think this was my favorite to write out of the three pieces but i feel like it’s lacking some flare :( i think it still turned out okay though. i hope you enjoy <3 ⋯ ♡ᵎ

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*

you should have listened to sunoo when he said that it wasn't a good plan to travel to a foreign country on impulse.

you wouldn’t say you’ve ever been the most courageous person in your life. determined to break that trend, you planned this super out of the blue trip without much thought.

yeah. maybe this was a bit TOO courageous.

you didn't comprehend what compelled you yet here you were, arriving at paris charles de gaulle airport.

you stared at the large windows of the airport, viewing the plane that you had just left.

the gate for the concluding passengers had been locked by the flight stewardesses.

one of the stewardesses obtained eye contact with you, before shooting a smile and lightly bowing her head.

you absentmindedly returned the gesture, mind elsewhere.

bustling throughout the airport were people hurrying to their connecting flight or slumping into their lover's arms

people carried two or more suitcases with various bags strapped on their bodies, nothing on you besides a petite sling purse and one small carry on suitcase.

as weaved your way through the mass of stressed travelers, you briefly thought to yourself

how the hell did you get here?

2 days earlier

clusters of kids outfitted in blue gowns and caps could be recognized a mile away.

the graduation from high school to university.

your friend minji encloses her arm around your shoulder, your arm resting on her waist.

minji’s mom was stood in front of the both of you, gesturing wildly as she tried to take the ‘perfect graduation photo’ as she had put it

"okay pose! get a little closer, perfect. 1, 2, 3"  your friend's mom counts.

the camera shudders which creates a beaming light to flash, eyes faintly twitching.

shrieks could be heard throughout the campus as girls queued up to take their final photographs with the popular guys.

minji's mom draws back the camera and we check the picture.

"it's cute," minji exclaims, peering at it a bit more closer. you nod your head in approval.

you would miss minji, one of the friends you could constantly count on in math class when you neglected to do your homework from binging korean dramas.

"i'll send you the picture later (y/n)! don't forget about me alright? you have my socials and you can always talk to me," minji grasps your hands

you smile, feeling sad at the departure of your best friend, "of course minji, don't forget me either"

"i could never," she brings you into a secure hug.

"sweet pea perfume," you say and she chuckles. sweat pea was minji's preferred perfume and you would miss that aroma.

"i have to go now, but i'll see you around okay?" minji says.

you could notice tears well up in her eyes and she fans her eyes to prevent the tears.

"don't cry ji, i'll start crying," you joked. "i live near here and you can always visit me! my door will always be open."

she smiled, "the same goes for you." her mother shouts her name before she has to go.

"alright, see you around," you wave to her as she leaves.

on the opposite side of the garden, your mom signals to you with your bouquet of red roses in hand.

"are you ready honey?" she asks you and you smile, nodding your head.

the car ride was in pleasant quietness, light radio music fluttering in. you had taken off your cap and laid it in the car seat next to you accompanying with your bouquet. 

you had glimpsed outside to see your campus still arranged with your classmates, beaming and posing for additional pictures.

you bitterly smiled. 

for the first time, graduation didn't appear like one of those liberating scenes of a movie,

1 day ago

you sprawled on his bed, staring straight up. a fan in your hand, fanning the perspiration that threatened to come.

your eyes match the fan's speed directly above your neighbor and best friend, sunoo's, bed.

his air conditioner was broken. with the avail of those elementary paper fans and the only fan stationed in the house, you were able to find comfort

you questioned if he ever got frightened of it dropping on him when he slept.

sunoo occupies the bathroom that's joined to his room, applying some light powder.

your mind strays, more thoughts simmering in the back of your brain. you sigh for the 10th time and sunoo being exasperated, allows out a loud groan. 

it draws you out of your daze and you snap your head towards him."

"what is with you? what is on your mind sunshine?" he shuts his cushion, flinging himself on the bed.

"are you ever scared of the fan falling on you?" you felt the bed dip

"no, it's been like that for years, and don't change the subject. what's wrong?" sunoo retorted 

"what makes you say that? i'm fine, " you answer

"uh-huh," sunoo rolls his eyes

it's the blatant eye-roll rather than the hushed one, he implied business

"you've been sighing for the past ten minutes, spill," sunoo says

of course, sunoo could recognize your distress. what sort of best friend would he be if he couldn't distinguish your emotions?

you huff, " okay then"

"i don't know why but i just feel stuck? i just graduated high school and nothing feels different, i mean it doesn't have to, but what do i do now? maybe i just watched too many movies"

sunoo tsked, " (y/n). sweetie, i graduated last year and i'm still stuck here. i do nothing besides go out or stay in my room. no in-between."

"but you have something sunoo. you have a bunch of your friends, you're an instagram star and i don't know, it's just different, "

it was accurate, sunoo was extremely popular. he had a bunch of friends and acquaintances from being the vice president. 

sunoo inflated up on social media for his content from makeup to dance practices, a versatile instagram star.

you conceal your face with your hands before emitting a loud groan.

sunoo remarks, "i don't know how i can help you (y/n)? maybe you should try to rest a bit"

"easy for you to say, you, who isn’t dealing with a mid-life crisis, " you whine.

"this isn't a mid-life crisis, this is a post-graduation crisis which is totally normal. how about going out of town? obviously not to paris or whatever but maybe, what was her name again? minjoo's town!" sunoo suggested.

"obviously not to paris"

"not to paris"

"to paris"

"paris"

what about paris? paris was considerably away from your town and had a ring on the tip of your tongue. 

you had sprung up, grasping sunoo by the shoulder and shaking him, "you're a genius sunoo! paris is a genius idea."

sunoo's eyes widen and he shakes his head while attempting to pry your hands off of him.

"no, you have to think rationally-"

you released sunoo from your hold which let him stabilize his spinning head.

"and i am! i need something new. being in this town for my whole life makes me realize, maybe i just need a spontaneous trip. "

your words scarcely blur together, adrenaline rushing through your blood as you understood this could jolt you out of your post-graduation slump.

"but-"

"no buts! pass me my laptop,"

present-day

you are currently disliking your choice, anxiety rushing through your veins, but it's too overdue to have other opinions.

you had landed in france and this was a life-altering moment; a chance of a lifetime.

peering nearby, you squint at the tiny english translations of the signs. you pull out your phone.

you open up the camera to see if zooming in would improve it for your eyes. as if on cue, your stomach rumbles vaguely making you startled.

you panicked as the pocket that was previously supplied with snacks became loaded with empty wrappers.

maybe if you would be lost in this wonderful city, you might as well try some of their famous pastries.

your muscles had retracted, the result of finally getting some movement after being restrained in a metal machine that was adjacent to the fiery sun.

you stumbled across this petite bakery and enter, sparingly bowing your head. 

the owner was an older lady with her greying hair that designed it to resemble ashy highlights, pulled into a loose bun.

"que puis-je vous offrir?" she smiles.

"i'm sorry, i don't speak french?" you admit, embarrassed

as much as you assumed duolingo and rosetta stone could benefit you on a flight to paris, the only thing you could accomplish to say without messing up is "bonjour"

"that's fine mademoiselle! what can i offer you?" the lady shifts to englsih

you let out a sigh of relief, appreciative for blundering into this bakery.

"may i have your most popular pastry to go and a water bottle?" you smile, fishing out some euros.

you had looked down to the currency that you had exchanged before embarking on the plane.

"of course mademoiselle!" she says, reaching behind the counter and with her gloved hand, seizing a chocolate croissant.

"that will be 4.12 euros!" she rings you up in the cashier.

"is this the right amount? i'm not very good at counting euros," you revealed your hand where the money was.

she nodded her head and took the money, printing your receipt out. before giving you your receipt, she interviews you with a question that you weren't confident in answering"

"if you don't mind me asking, why are you here in france? not to sound rude! but i'm just curious"

you softly smile, sensing the kindness illuminating from her tone of voice. she wasn't rude at all and she was asking a simple question, but your brain struggled to obtain an answer.

"well, i would say i'm here to explore?  i just finished high school and life felt incomplete. my best friend jokingly said "go to paris" and so I booked a ticket."

you look back up at her to see her delicate gaze. the rustling of the paper bag stopped the moment of silence

"that's amazing mademoiselle! france is the city for that. you must visit the notre-dam cathedral while you're here, it's beautiful. and maybe even find some love?"

she winks at you and you engage with a small giggle.

just like the show "emily in paris," you could merely fantasize about living a life like hers but it was an altered universe. she was an employed woman and you; a fresh graduate from high school.

"maybe! but i'm not looking forward to dating right now"

it wasn't a lie nor the truth. you would love to date someone right now but dating someone from a foreign country with a language barrier? not the most desirable idea. the owner laughs, handing you your pastry and water bottle.

"thank you for dropping by here mademoiselle! please enjoy your time in france,"

"merci beaucoup" you stumbled out, providing a small wave out.

the airport seemed to be more crowded than before. slowly opening the wrapping, you take a bite of the chocolate croissant and let out an audible gasp.

unquestionably, one of the greatest pastries you have tried in your life.

you promptly pull out your phone, snapping a picture for your instagram story. it was an adorable picture with the bakery in the background with the chocolate croissant in hand.

with "just landed" as your caption, you posted it to your close friends story. almost a second later, sunoo request to video call you.

you were welcomed by a piercing shriek into the phone.

"YAH I WAS JUST GREETED BY YOUR PARENTS WHO SAID YOU WERE AT A SLEEPOVER FOR A COUPLE DAYS? SLEEPOVER MY FOOT? YOU'RE IN PARIS-" 

sunoo screeches over the phone and you timidly grimace, turning down the volume as people begin to stare.

"sunoo, i'm currently in a public airport with no earbuds plugged in, can you please STOP screaming?" you whispered audibly to him.

"OH, I FORG- sorry," sunoo sheepishly responds.

"my parents would never let me go this far so i just had to lie that i was going to a sleepover at minji's house which is out of town. plus i'm only going to be here for two days," you consult him.

"you saw me buy the tickets sunoo. why are you scolding me now? shouldn't you have tried to stop me while i was in the middle of buying the tickets?" you added.

"well now i want you to come back, who am i supposed to hang out with for the next 2 days?" 

though it was dark in the setting sunoo was in, you could practically see his pouting face.

"you could hang out with jake? or sunghoon? aren't they both your friends?"

jake and sunghoon went to the same school as sunoo and you're buddies with them. you've known each other since middle school but jake and sunghoon were always closer to each other just like you and sunoo.

"jake and sunghoon hyung are busy on a vacation together in the bahamas"

you stifled a laugh in, "good luck being alone for the next two days."

"not funny (y/n)! besides that point, what if you get caught?"

"don't worry, i won't get caught because you're the only one who knows about this .as long as you don't rat me out sunoo," you scowl at him.

"i won't, i won't, i promise but you have to buy me something? deal?”

you roll your eyes, "deal mr. sunoo-shi, i have to go now. i need to try to find my hotel"

"be safe, love you!"

"i will! love you too"

you sulk after the call ends. without your best friend on your side, you felt a little feeble and lost but it's not time to be pondering like that. 

paris awaits and you couldn't linger at the airport the whole day.

first challenge 

getting to your hotel was a struggling. wandering around a city with no basis of the language besides "hello" and "thank you so much", didn't do enough for you.

first, you had to find a taxi that could converse in english. most people had turned you down as you couldn't speak french.

thankfully, it was a fortunate day and you met this kind lady who had coffee-colored curly locks, gentle chocolate eyes, and light freckles scattered around her face.

"do you speak english?" you crisscrossed your fingers, your legs close to giving out after scrambling for taxi drivers

"yeah, i do mademoiselle! would you like to hop in?" she extended a friendly smile and you had never felt bricks lift off your chest faster.

she opened the back of the taxi and you scouted in, permitting your purse to lay on your lap.

the women examined both directions of the road, looking out for passing cars and entered the driver's seat.

"where are you heading mademoiselle?"

you swiftly pull out your phone to your notes, "hotel le walt paris?"

you corked your eyebrow, making sure it was the right name before she nodded her head. 

"a very famous hotel huh? right near the eiffel tower. i recommend that you wait till it gets dark and sit on the balcony to see the eiffel tower with lights. it's beautiful"

you smiled at the kind words of the lady, "i will surely try that! thank you miss..?"

"elena! elena is fine and you mademoiselle?"

"i'm (y/n)"

"it's nice to meet you"

"likewise"

the entire ride, you felt at some peace finally conversing with someone who understood english,

 after a 30 minute drive, you had arrived at your destination.

feeling a sad departure from this mellow woman, who turned out to be 19 seeking to make some pocket money in the summer, she was one of the first people that you had grown connected with throughout this ride.

"elena, though it was a short time, thank you for keeping company"

you present her with a warm smile as she unlocks the door for you. you exit the taxi, clasping at your phone.

"here, give me your phone."

you softly planted it in elena's hand. you were perplexed about why she showed you your home screen until you realized you had a password.

you enter your password, giving it back to her. she did a bit of clicking and you could see her hands typing something in before returning the phone back to you.

"that's my instagram, stay in contact with me alright?"

you felt the sides of your lips curve into a slight smile. you dragged her into a soft hug.

"thank you elena"

she visibly hesitant before easing into the hug. she softly rubbed your back.

"i have to go, i might get fired if i stay here too long"

you bided her a fare-well. thirty minutes was an extended time to get a know a person.

and that was the first friend you met in france.

second challenge

checking into your hotel wasn't as difficult. most people could speak english and besides the uncanny looks that you received from the clerk, check-in was pretty smooth.

"here you are mademoiselle" the bellman lowers your suitcase in front of your hotel door.

"merci beaucoup,"  you smile and he returns the gesture before leaving you.

you look down in your hand where you are grasping the card tightly. you scan the card against the door meter and it flickers twice. 

red, green

the door clicks before you push on it and reveal your hotel room.

at first glance, your mouth dropped.

the hotel room seemed better than it did on the online photographs which was a rare possibility.

though it was a small room, it was renovated beautifully.

overhead the king-sized bed, there was an extensive painting of the eiffel tower. a blue chair that held a place directly by the bed along with a little wooden table.

the hotel was fine but you definitely weren't

"(y/n) shut down in,"

"3"

"2"

"1"

before thinking, you throw yourself on the bed having the jet-lag kicking in. the bag offers a 'thump' sound as it connects with the ground.

'ouch that hurt'

you fish through your pocket, pulling out your phone. it was hardly twelve pm and you were already fatigued.

what was your strategy? you were in france for two days and you don't have a plan to do anything.

first things first, you needed to sort out this jet-lag.

 1) taking a shower

showers are always a great way to awaken and could shake you from this daze. you endured a scream as your water turned to be ice cold. someone must be utilizing the hot water. that shower unmistakably woke you up

2) skincare

after getting out of the shower, skincare was the secondary way to wake up. cleansing with toner, dropping essence into the skin, and implementing a nice coat of moisturizer to lock-in.

3) fueling with food

food can beat anybody out of slumber if they're fueled with enthusiasm but you didn't have any food on you? that indicates it's time to go out and explore france.

unfastening up your suitcase, you drabble on what you can wear.

reconciling with a simple pair of denim shorts and a light pink tank top, you catch a fast mirror selfie.

being content with the ultimate product, you smile to yourself.

"phone, key, wallet," you whispered, securing the thoughts of having everything. 

everything was arranged to go and it was time to tour paris.

third challenge 

cruising through paris would be by notably the toughest challenge while you were here.

you had your phone to navigate solely with wifi and you couldn't be that favorable to be able to meet people who could speak english all the time. 

you had entered a small restaurant, where you worked to communicate with people in defective french but they moderately understood what you wanted.

after that fiasco trying to order a chicken frricassee, you were able to appreciate your time there along with sending a picture to sunoo who reacted with,

"can that be the souvenir you bring back to me TT?"

you chuckled at the message, knowing typical sunoo, and finished up eating.

eating wasn't the one exclusive thing available in france. there were various activities but you were too afraid to venture any future for the hotel. getting lost too was easy.

that being said, eating after eating all you could do was roam around the city. it was around 2pm and you could spot a diverse crowd of people.

you could see kids. in uniforms that just got out of school or a cute couple that was experiencing their date.

you slightly squint and cover your eyes as the sun is at its highest point.

yes, paris was lovely and you would prefer to travel more but but you didn’ toriginally have a plan

for a couple of hours, you completed wandering around the area where your hotel is. you wished at moments like this that you would have jungwon, sunoo's friend, with you to help navigate you.

 jungwon was also a friend you guys met in middle school but he went to your school. very mature for his age and great at preparation.

before you knew it, the sun had died down and it was time to retreat to the hotel.

'ah right! elena told me to look out at the eiffel tower as it gets darker'

you softly tread back to your hotel, observing the blisters at the back of your foot.

you could clearly sense the entire day of walking take a toll on your body.

you scan your key card and fling your bag to the floor as soon as you get inside. you open up your suitcase to change into suitable sleeping clothes.

you briskly cleansed your face and tied your hair back.

you had approached the balcony, guessing how to cautiously open the glass door.

you gradually shift the handle to the right and the door made a scanty creek. you gingerly put more stress on it, opening the balcony wide.

a distinct gasp could be heard from you.

subsequently taking a step onto your balcony, the frail breeze made you quiver in the long black tee that adorned your top half and the sweatpants that settled on your waist.

the balcony was small, barely able to move besides staying still.

you had peered to your right, glancing at the eiffel tower.

elena was correct. the eiffel tower was breath-taking at night. for the first time when landing in france, you could feel in harmony. below you was a crowded street.

it was only 8 pm yet you could feel your eyes droop as opposed to the bouncy pair of kids that ran through the moobs of people.

the radiant yellowish glow of the eiffel tower was able to save you from dozing off. you softly hum 'fly me to the moon,'

'fly me to the moon,' didn't have significance, it felt appropriate in the second.

you hadn't regarded it but a figure had gently peeked out of the other balcony, attentively listening to the silky melody that you were humming.

"nice song"

a voice interrupts and your humming had come to a halt, eyes widened.

you had turned to the origin of the voice and discovered the culprit

the balcony alongside you.

"thank you"

you glanced over, granting him a slight smile before he returns it.

"new to paris?"

he questioned, now you guys facing each other.

"yeah, just arrived this morning, and you?"

you asked before he softly smiles.

"not really, i've been here multiple times but the feeling is something i'll get used too."

you hum as a response

"how did you know to speak english to me? do i really act like a foriegner?"

you were growing more drowsy but this stranger was fascinating. who else could say they met someone and talked to them from a balcony romance?

"english song, random guess"

you nodded your head, not certain if he could see you but that was all you could muster up.

there grows stillness beside the bustling street below until the stranger breaks it.

"i know this sounds weird but since you're new here, would you like to go out with me tomorrow to travel the city?"

that question felt like ice water was just splashed onto your face. the proposal startled you. 

the stranger didn't appear like a bad person. been to paris varied times, can acknowledge good music and good at conversation.

as much as this stranger flatter you, how could you trust him?

"as much as i would love to, how do i know that you're not trying to kidnap me, even worse, kill me?"

he stifles a laugh.

"hey knock it off, this is a very serious question, balcony boy"

you snicker, desiring to know the answer than anticipated.

"i promise you that i won't try to kidnap OR kill you. i'm just offering and you can even pat me down before we go out together."

this was by far one of the most peculiar offers you had received but this was THE stranger offer you came to france seeking.

you know sunoo would not advocate for numerous reasons and you can hear his voice already 

"number one, dangerous"

"number two, dangerous!"

"number three, DANGEROUS!"

but sunoo isn't here right now. you chose to grab the opportunity. france had provided you luck today.

"alright then"

a moment of silence goes by before you hear him clearing his throat.

"you're serious right?"

he glances at you and your eyes lock. though you can't see that well due to the absence of light, you nod.

the eiffel tower gave you enough light that you could make our curious eyes, tall nose, fair skin that radiated in the soft lighting, and full lips that were curved into a smile

"i'll see you at the lobby at eight,"

next morning

to say you were nervous was an understatement, you were terrified. you agreed to a stranger who claimed to know paris like the back of his palm. you met him off your balcony and now you were agreeing to go a date with him? 

"you must be out of your mind!" sunoo exclaimed through the phone.

"well yes i must have been at 8 pm last night when fatigue was hitting the hardest but how can i say no now?"

"i don't know maybe, I DON'T KNOW YOU STRANGER DANGER?" sunoo shouts

and like you foretold last night, sunoo was not a big supporter of this idea. over the course of fifteen minutes, you had been continuously scolded by him.

you cringe, " sunoo, i promise that i'll be fine. i just need you to help me pick out an outfit"

sunoo rolls his eyes, "what are your options?"

though sunoo wasn't supportive of this, he couldn't let you go on a date without style.

you held up two choices; a blue floral dress that settled to your mid-thigh and a pink tennis skirt with a white cami shirt.

"well do we like this guy or do we like LIKE this guy?" sunoo questioned.

"what- well i literally met him last night? so i don't even like him, we're just going out for this one day since he offered"

"uh-huh, then the blue floral dress, it's hot there right?" sunoo says

"super hot," you groan.

you glance at the time, 7:00 am.

"i have to start getting ready sunoo, i'll update you later alright?" you smile

"alright, try not to get killed but have fun too! love you"

"love you too," you say back before hanging up.

you quickly hop in the shower and make sure to not take too long.

doing skincare, putting on the outfit, and spraying a little bit of perfume, you are ready to head out the door.

one last check to make sure you have all the things.

7:58 am

you quickly head down to see several people in the lobby.

a bellman, a pair of teenage girls who seemed like they were dragged here, a couple around the mid-40s trying to check-in, and a teenage boy that rested on one of the lobby seats.

it was evident who the balcony boy was but you just called out to be safe.

"balcony boy," you say.

the teenage boy that was seated turns around before flashing you a smile. 

"miss singer,"

you airly chuckle at the nickname.

observing him in person was a lot different. you could see his long body proportion, bright eyes, sharp jawline, with fair skin that complimented his rich brown hair.

a distinct experience from seeing him on the balcony.

"i'm (y/n)! and you?" you ask

"i'm lee heeseung"

[mischiefandspirits]

Oldest and Newest

Damian tugged down his face mask as he looked out over Gotham city. He was finally here.

After two decades of anticipation, after nearly a decade of work, it should have been a happy occasion.

He tugged the mask back up as he heard a scream nearby.

He stopped three muggings, saved a woman from assault, and stopped a robbery by the time a flicker of purple started following him.

He scared off some men that were following a woman then pretended to take off northward before ducking around a water tower and sneaking up on his pursuer as they tried to follow. He took them in before approaching.

They looked about five foot six. The dark body armor and cloak hid their build some, but the way they carried themself proved they were muscular even if not overly broad. As he grew closer, he could see that the armor was primarily black with dark purple detailing that matched the cloak’s color. They also wore a full face mask like his friend Vesper’s, though theirs had white lenses that stood out against the black fabric instead of being completely black like the older vigilante. They were cautious, yet sure-footed as they raced over the rooftops which showed a familiarity with the territory and an understanding of its dangers.

Similarly, their growing annoyance showed they’d realized they’d lost him so Damian swooped in to pin them against an air conditioning unit. They tried to throw him off, but his larger size and superior skills kept them pinned long enough to bind their hands and tie them to the unit.

“Who are you and why are you following me?” he growled, crossing his arms and looming over them.

They stared at him for a moment, head tilting to the side, then snorted. “No wonder he got mistaken for B a few times. Are you seeing this guy?” the young woman -- judging by her voice -- muttered to herself before saying, “I’m Spoiler and I’m following you because you randomly showed up in Gotham and started playing vigilante. Don’t you know Batman doesn’t like that?”

“And yet, here you are doing the same.”

“Excuse you, I’m Batman’s partner. I earned my place on these rooftops.”

“Right.”

She tilted up her chin and crossed her arms. “I am!”

Damian frowned, but didn’t move to redo the ties she’d slipped. Vesper had told him that his father was a solo hero. Batman worked with the Justice League and the Birds of Prey as necessary, but he’d never had a permanent confidant or taken on an apprentice like some of the other heroes. The closest thing he had to partners were the Batgirls. According to Vesper, though, neither ever developed a close bond with the man. The two might be called in as backup or would team up with his father when their paths crossed, but they never depended on one another. His father was more of an inspiration, patron, and occasional teammate than a partner to either woman.

Spoiler didn’t seem to be lying, however, and appeared too forward to be capable of deceiving him. Had something changed in the four years since he’d talked to Vesper? Perhaps he should have gone with his original plan of waiting to go out until after he’d spoken with her the next day after all.

Hindsight and such were not going to change the present, however.

He looked over the woman again. Girl, he realized. Given her proportions, she was likely in her mid-teens though he could be wrong as the armor was rather concealing. An apprentice, then, which explained why she had not fallen beside her supposed partner. The mission his father perished on must have been deemed too dangerous for her to accompany him.

He carefully thought over his next words. He was not ready to announce his presence yet as clearly he had some research to do and he needed to speak with Vesper. He also didn’t know how trustworthy Spoiler was. Even if she was telling the truth about being his father’s partner, that did not tell him just how far his father’s trust in her went and therefore how far he should trust her in turn.

He stepped back from the girl, dropping his arms and attempting to take on a less antagonistic posture. “Then I am sorry for your loss.”

“Loss?” Spoiler questioned.

“Batman’s death,” he answered slowly. Had no one told her?

“What? Batman’s not dead.”

Oh, no, she was simply trying to hide the truth. “My contacts within the Justice League say otherwise.”

Batman's death had left Flamebird uncharacteristically despondent of late, understandably given how close his father and Damian’s were and the fact Flamebird had been on the mission where Batman perished.

“Someone’s going to get an ass beating,” she muttered, storming to her feet. She poked him in the chest. “So what, you find out Batman’s gone and decide that means you have a free pass to just do whatever you want in my city.”

Damian pushed her hand away, fighting down the urge to stab it. “As I think we’ve established, I had no idea you existed. I simply had business in Gotham and thought I’d do some good for a recently undefended city.”

“Yeah, well, now you know the city is being defended.”

“By a child, yes,” Damian scoffed before he could stop himself and the girl bristled.

“Who the fickle frack are you to judge me?”

After being momentarily stunned by her euphemism, he answered, “I am Ẓill.”

She stared at him and slowly shook her head. “Yeah, no offense, it’s def a me problem, but if I try to say that I will totally beat it to hell and back with a tire iron then set it on fire and spit on it just for good measure. Is that an alien language?”

“Arabic.”

“Shit. Yeah, okay, that’s why I’m sticking to the Romance languages for now.” She glanced to the side. “Do you know Arabic?”

“I-” he started, but she waved him quiet.

“I thought you were going to learn after the last run-in with… Okay, yeah, that’s fair. So… Well of course he can, the little polyglot.” She turned back to Damian as he started to wonder if the girl was insane. “So your name translates to Shadow. Mind if I just call you that because, again, I will not be responsible for the atrocity that leaves my mouth if I try to pronounce Arabic without time to practice.”

“Shadow is fine.” She wouldn’t be the first, as it had taken both Flamebird and Beacon awhile to learn how to pronounce his name properly, and the Ismoian still called him that on occasion as a nickname. More accurately she called him Shadow the Hedgehog, but that was a reference he refused to investigate given Flamebird’s reaction to it. “Who are you talking to?”

She gestured to the side of her head. “Augur. He’s our eye-in-the-sky computer guy. Hacking, running comms, information gathering, strategy, all that fun stuff.”

“I thought Oracle worked with Batman when he needed assistance with that.”

“Oracle? I mean, she helped train Augur and helps out when he needs a hand, but she’s got the Birds of Prey and Vesper, not to mention helping out the Justice League sometimes. I think she used to do a lot more for Batman back before Augur, but she’s got her own shit to do now. Augur’s our main man.”

He really should have waited to speak to Vesper. Clearly his information was more out of date than he thought.

“So, Shadow Weaver, what brings you to Gotham then?”

“Shadow Weaver?” He growled when she nodded, radiating amusement. That was clearly another reference he didn’t want to know anything about. “My being here is none of your concern.”

“Random unknown vigilantes being in my city are, like, the definition of my concern,” she said, cocking a hip.

“Your city?”

“Yeah, my city. So either tell me why you’re here or get lost.”

“And if I don’t?”

She shifted into a fighting stance. “I’ll make you.”

Damian snorted at the threat, then was yanked backward by his hood. He brought his hand up to defend, which was knocked aside.

He froze when he recognized the featureless mask staring down at him.

“I told you to keep your head down,” Vesper reprimanded, poking him in the forehead.

“If you had warned me that Batman had picked up a disciple this wouldn’t have happened,” he huffed and Spoiler pretended to gag.

“Ew, gross, don’t call me that. Makes it sound like I worship B or something, which, yeah, no.”

“Stop picking fights with Spoiler,” Vesper said and poked his forehead again. “Batman is already going to be mad enough.”

Damian’s eyes darted away from his friend and, behind Vesper, he saw Spoiler flinch.

Vesper let him back up and shoved him away. She turned to Spoiler. “I’ll deal with him. He’s a friend. Sorry.”

The girl nodded and left.

“Come on.”

The older vigilante led him to the rooftop of a clock tower. She used a biometric scanner to unlock a hidden hatch and they slipped inside, dropping down ropes into a workspace.

There was an elaborate computer setup in one corner, oddly lacking a chair, and a workout space in the other. Mirroring that was a modest medical area in one corner and a kitchenette in the other with seating at the island. Elevator doors stood between the computers and medical area while a couch and some chairs sat at the center of the room.

Pulling off her hood and mask, Cassandra led him to the couch. He removed his own hood and mask then pulled his katana off his back to lean against his leg as he sat next to her on the couch.

“You look good,” she said, glancing over him.

“You too. It’s good to see you again.”

She nodded, then lightly slapped his arm. “What were you thinking, Damian? I know I told you how protective Batman is of his territory.”

Damian’s left hand came up to trace the phoenix engraved onto his right bracer. “When was the last time you spoke to someone in the Justice League?”

She frowned, studying him. “I have been on an Outsiders mission for the past month, and was busy with a show the month before that. If Oracle has worked with them in that time, she hasn’t said anything. Why?”

“A little under a month ago, a JL team went on a mission. I don’t know the full details, but it had something to do with Darkseid and… Batman did not make it back.”

She didn’t react visibly, but her voice was soft when she asked, “You are sure?”

“Jon was on the mission. He said Batman was vaporized right before their eyes. I’m sorry.”

She bowed her head and closed her eyes. After her moment of silence, she looked up at him, face blank. “Why?”

“Why?”

“Why are you here? Why do you care? You’ve always been interested in Batman, but this is… more.”

He sat up straight, hands fisting on his thighs. “I told you my name was Damian Naji, but that was a lie. My name is actually Damian al Ghul. My mother is Talia al Ghul… and my father was Batman.”

She studied him. “Batman… did not know?”

“Not as far as I am aware. Mother told me she told him she miscarried because I would be a distraction to him and the cause. After everything you’ve told me about him, I think she and Grandfather were just worried he’d take me from them. If she told him after I left, I don’t know.”

“Why didn’t you tell him? You could have come to him for help when you ran away from the League.”

“Tt. You know how I was back then. I was everything Father stood against. He wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with me. Not until I could prove I was worthy of him.”

She reached out to take his hand. “That’s not true. He knew my past and he accepted me.”

“You killed one person, instantly regretted it, and never killed again. I spent almost ten years as an assassin. It’s not the same. Besides, you were just an occasional teammate. I’m…”

“His son. Which is exactly why I know he would have loved you. Batman cares deeply for those who he considers his own. Even Oracle and I. He keeps -” She frowned and looked down. “He kept his distance from us, but only because he felt he didn’t have a right to us. Oracle had a parent and was independent, only needing help getting her feet under her. I was an adult, legally, when we met and Oracle took on my training since she was the one who found me and had practice working with younger heroes due to assisting Black Canary with the Justice League’s minor division. Had he found you, though, he wouldn’t have hesitated. You would have been his.

“He would not have been happy about how you were raised, but he still would have loved you. He would not have turned you away, even if you had wanted to continue down the path of an assassin. He would have seen that wasn’t what you wanted, though, and taught you a new way. You would not have had to do it on your own.”

Damian shook his head. “No, I had to prove that I wasn’t what my mother made me. I had to prove I could follow his rules, only then could I present myself as his heir.”

“You wouldn’t have had to prove anything to him.”

He pulled his hand away to trail it against his bracer again. “Perhaps you are right. You knew him better than I. But I did have to prove it to myself.”

She shook her head and wrapped an arm around his shoulders despite him being a head taller and twice as wide. “How?”

“My first kill was on my sixth birthday. I was fifteen when we met and I decided to leave behind the League’s ways in favor of Father’s. It… took me longer than I liked to push through the instincts to kill so on my sixteenth birthday I made an oath. Ten years of saving lives to atone for ten years of taking them. Only if I reached my twenty-sixth birthday without taking another life would I come to Gotham.”

“That is why you’ve come.”

“No, my birthday is still a few months away, but… Jon told me what happened. I realized I was too late so I am here to… I thought if I could never present myself to Father absolved of guilt, I could at least protect the city he devoted himself to since I believed it was now undefended.”

“You did not know about the others,” she chuckled.

“You told me he worked alone,” he growled.

“He did when we last spoke.” She pulled away, tilting her head. “Am I your only source for information?”

“Yes. I did not know if I could trust any other source given his reclusiveness.”

“But I only told you about Batman. What about behind the man under the cowl?”

He slumped back against the couch.

“You do not know who he is,” she said, amusement in her voice.

“Mother always told me I would learn who he was when I’d earned it. The only things I know are that I am his only family and heir. That’s why I asked you to meet me. I wanted to do this properly and cover his responsibilities in and out of the mask, but I can’t do that without knowing who he is. I’d hoped that either you would know or you could help me figure it out.”

She hummed and glanced to the side.

He followed her gaze to see a clock on the wall. It was nearing two in the morning.

Suddenly she hopped to her feet and dragged him up. “You said you are staying at Hotel Belle Monico?”

“Yes, room 3215.”

“Go straight back there and get changed.”

He nodded, figuring she wanted to get some rest. “Alright. I’ll see you later then.”

After getting her confirmation, he climbed up the ropes and did as told. It only took him fifteen minutes to get back to his room and another twenty to change out of his vigilante attire, lock all his gear away, shower, and put on his sleeping clothes. Once that was done he started to debate whether or not to get some sleep or do a bit of research first.

A knock came at his door.

He grabbed the small dagger he kept on him at all times and palmed one of the knives he’d hidden around the room as he approached the door. He peeked through the peephole, then tucked both weapons into his waistband and opened the door.

Cassandra had lost her own suit in favor of a casual teal dress and gold-brown leggings. She frowned as she took him in and started shoving him further into the room before he could say anything. “Get dressed.”

“What’s going on?”

“Clothes.”

Well aware he wasn’t going to get anything out of her, he slipped into the suite's bedroom and changed into some slacks and a polo.

“Good,” she said when he came out, then turned on her heel and left.

He quickly followed after grabbing his wallet and one of the room’s keycards.

“Where are we going?” he asked once they were in the elevator, but she just smiled at him.

The silence continued as they climbed into her car and she drove them through the city. He tried to ask again when they crossed a bridge out of the main city and into a neighborhood filled with mansions and old manors, but she remained tight-lipped until they pulled up to the gate of a larger manor.

She rolled down the window and hit the call button, which was soon answered over the video screen by an older gentleman in a butler’s uniform.

“Ah, hello, Ms. Cain,” the man said in a warm, British accent. “I was told you might make an appearance, but I didn’t think it would be so soon.”

“Hello, Alfred. Should this wait?”

“No, you might as well come in now. They’re all still awake after tonight’s events,” he sighed and the gates began to creak open.

“Sorry,” she said and he waved her off before the screen went dark.

Curiosity itched at Damian, but he stayed quiet as Cassandra drove up to the front door and they climbed out.

Alfred met them at the door. He gave Cassandra a kind smile then turned it to Damian. “Always a pleasure, Ms. Cain. And who is this?”

She looped her arm around one of Damian’s. “An old friend. Alfred, this is Damian Wayne. Damian, this is Alfred Pennyworth.”

He didn’t react to the name, assuming she’d just given him an alias, but the calculating expression on Alfred’s face as he stared at Damian’s had him second-guessing the assumption.

The expression was quickly replaced by a sad smile, however, as the man stepped back to allow them into the manor. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Master Damian.”

“You as well, Mr. Pennyworth.”

“Just Alfred, my boy. Please come in. The others are winding down in the family room.”

“Thank you, Alfred,” Cassandra said, then led Damian into the house by his arm. They went up the main staircase in the entrance hall and into the first door on the left where they found a room inhabited by a group of children.

The oldest were a pair of teenagers sitting on the couch.

The girl was white, but tanned with long blonde hair pulled into a messy braid and dark green eyes. She was thin but muscular and he could see her arms were covered in small scars thanks to her Gotham Sirens tank top. She was cradling a sleeping infant who was wrapped in a Wonder Woman blanket and clutching a stuffed Batman.

The other teen was more androgynous, body hidden under an overly large White Arrow hoodie and Supergirl sweat pants. They were Latine with their skin a pale brown and their eyes a silvery blue. Their hair was black and chin-length. They had a video game controller on their lap and a tablet in their hands.

The next oldest was a preteen boy with a book sitting sideways in an armchair, back against one arm and legs draped over the other. He was fair with freckles speckling his face around his navy eyes. His hair was short and a dark red, almost black color. He was thin and muscular like the girl, but there was a touch of broadness to his shoulders that spoke of a bulkiness to come with puberty. A German Shepherd was squeezed onto the chair with him, half-tucked under the boy's legs with his head on the boy's stomach for pets.

The last child was a few years younger than the preteen. He both had the most conditioned and the least combative build of the children, having more of a gymnast's figure. His skin was of a similar olive tone to Damian’s, though a few shades lighter, and his curly hair was brown-black. Damian couldn’t see his eyes as he was dozing on a rug in front of the tv with a three-legged pitbull puppy, both curled around a large stuffed elephant. A video game controller was abandoned behind the boy.

The three awake children turned to Damian and Cassandra when they entered. They all greeted her warmly, but the girl and boy eyed him warily while the androgynous teen studied him with sharp curiosity.

“Who’s your friend, Cassie?” the boy asked.

Cassandra shoved Damian further into the room. “Your brother.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So last month I made a post asking if anyone had written a story where the Robins' ages were reversed as is the trope, but they still got taken in by Bruce in the same order as well as giving some ideas for how that could work. No one ever got back to me on if that was already a thing so I figured I might as well write out one of the scenes that really caught my interest when brainstorming.

[nightghoul381]

Ellis Twilight~ Main Route Chapter 12

Disclaimer for route warnings | Masterlist

Additional Content Warnings: None

This a fan translation so it is definitely not 100% accurate. I do not own anything related to Ikemen Villains. Support Cybird by buying their amazing stories!

After a while of gazing at the scenery in a daze, the sun, burning like a lump of fire, sets over the shadowy cityscape.

(The twilight is beautiful…)

I want us to stay and look at this scenery forever, but every time I blink, the sky shifts further to the color of night.

Kate: “…Well, I guess we should get going soon.”

(The day went by so quickly.)

It’s like the peaceful, calm, and happy times began to melt away into the night.

(I feel a bit lonely…)

Ellis: “If you don’t want to go home, it’s okay.”

Kate: “Huh…?”

I was startled, thinking he had read my mind.

Ellis: “I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

Ellis: “As far as you want. Until you’re the happiest you can be.”

(As far… until I’m the happiest I can be.)

His words sounded sweeter and more seductive than usual.

Ellis: “Hey, Kate. How happy are you right now?”

Kate: “…Very happy.”

Kate: “I’ve never been happier.”

(Because you’re so kind, Ellis.)

I can’t find any other worries to describe it other than ‘happiness’.

Hearing my answer, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

Ellis: “…I see.”

Ellis: “So, shall we end it here?”

(End it…?)

(Is he meaning today’s schedule…end that?)

While I was still trying to figure out what he meant, Ellis’ arms slipped around me from behind and he embraced me along with the wheelchair.

(Ellis?)

I’m excited, but for some reason I’m also anxious…

Feeling a sense of impatience as the darkness drew closer, I put my hands on the arm that was around me.

Kate: “Yeah… Let’s end it for today.”

Ellis: “…For today?”

I stare back at his twilight-colored eyes, a puzzled look in them.

Kate: “It’s thanks to you that I’m able to keep my cool even with injuries like this, Ellis.”

Kate: “So… Please bring me back here tomorrow.”

After a short silence, Ellis gently nods.

Ellis: “…tomorrow… again.”

Kate: “Yeah. Today’s walk was the happiest day, so… I’d like to do it again.”

Ellis: “…”

Part 2

Kate: “Yeah. Today’s walk was the happiest day, so… I’d like to do it again.”

Ellis: “…”

I didn’t understand why Ellis had such a strange look on his face.

Yes—The moment when the gears got stuck, and there were countless times… you only realize it when it’s all over.

At that time, all I felt was a slight sense of unease—

Kate: “Today’s ride was nice, but it would be fun to go up that hill slowly and then back down slowly.”

Kate: “Once I’ve mastered using the wheelchair, I’d like to see how far I can get up here on my own.”

Ellis: “….Kate, you want to climb this hill by yourself?”

Kate: “Yeah. Is that not possible?”

Ellis: “…I don’t know.”

A soft puff of air escapes from his lips.

Ellis: “At that time…”

Ellis: “I think I’ll watch over you from behind so I can catch you if you run out of strength and slip and fall.”

Kate: “Hehe, thank you very much.”

Ellis: “So, are we going home now?”

(Earlier you asked ‘shall we end it here’ and you’re asking the same question again?)

While wondering what was going on, I rested my cheek against Ellis’ arm, what was still wrapped around me from behind.

Kate: “…Yeah. Happy times melt away in the blink of an eye, though.”

Kate: “I’m looking forward to spending tomorrow with you, Ellis, so I’m sure tomorrow will be even happier.”

Kate: “So, this is enough for today.”

Ellis: “…Got it.”

As I sat in my wheelchair, I heard Ellis’ voice coming from a short distance behind my head--.

His voice sounded just a little relieved, and happy.

--Flashback—

--That was a very sunny day.

You laughed innocently and we ran around the fields together for the first time in a long time.

As dusk began to turn the sky a pale purple, you said it.

--“Right now is the happiest time.”

A moment that is neither the end of day nor the beginning of night.

Right now, this moment is perfect and complete, there’s no need for the future.

I honestly thought the same thing.

Because happiness is like the twilight sky, it changes color so quickly.

--“So just end it now.”

Suddenly my eyelids opened.

The morning sun shining through the window sparkled in my eyes.

Ellis: “….”

(I feel like I was having a nostalgic dream.)

However, it was washed away by the white morning light.

A few days had passed since Kate was injured.

Ellis: “Ngh…”

I stretched out in bed and placed my bare feet on the floor.

After getting ready, I went to Kate’s room to see if she was awake.

From then on, discussing breakfast became a daily routine for me.

Ellis: “…Ah.”

When I put on my necklace, I suddenly remembered that the bracelet I gave to Kate was shaped like this.

I remembered someone telling me it looked similar to something I was wearing.

(I hadn’t noticed it at all, so it kind of shocked me.)

(But… Since then, she wears the bracelet whenever she goes out with me.)

(I wonder if she liked it.)

(…I’d be happy if that were the case)

If Kate is happy, then I’m happy too.

Up until now, when someone in front of me smiled, I was happy, no matter who it was.

But… this ‘happiness’ feels different from anything else.

I want to make you happy.

I want you to laugh more.

Show me more of your happiness.

(That is…)

(--for whom?)

Part 3

(That is…)

(--for whom?)

I felt as if the heavy, black box I had deep inside my chest began to move.

--“In the end, your own desires are the most important thing to you.”

(…No, that’s not it.)

Ellis: “It’s for your sake, Kate.”

Ellis: “I want you to be happy. You’re a wonderful person.”

(I have to go. Kate is waiting for me.)

--

Kate: “Oh, Ellis! Good morning.”

Ellis: “…Kate?”

Maria, the room maid, was holding the door for me.

Just as I was steering the wheelchair outside, Ellis came over to me.

Maria gave me a wink and quickly left the area.

(Maria… I think you’re mistaken about my relationship with Ellis.)

(I’ll tell you properly next time.)

Ellis: “Good morning… Is something wrong today?”

Kate: “I’ve been practicing steering inside my room, but I’ve improved a lot so I thought I’d try going outside… Look.”

When I began to turn the wheelchair by leaning my weight onto one wheel, Ellis’ eyes widened.

Ellis: “Really? You’ve gotten so good at it.”

Kate: “Right?”

(I wonder if I was able to reassure Ellis a little bit.)

Kate: “But… when Roger examined me yesterday, he said that I was fine to start rehabilitation now.”

Kate: “I’ve improved so much, but I don’t think I’ll have many opportunities to show it off.”

It seems a shame to throw away the wheelchair that Ellis had made for me, so I gently stroke the armrest.

Ellis: “Hmm… I see.”

Kate: “Well it looks like I can get to the dining room for breakfast myself… so it’s okay if you don’t come to get me every morning anymore.”

Ellis: “…”

(I was happy that Ellis came every morning.)

(Hearing his gentle “good morning” in the morning, and seeing him smiling when I opened the door.)

(And he offered exciting breakfast plans every morning.)

(But… If I depend on you anymore, I’ll be useless without you, Ellis.)

Kate: “My vacation is almost over.”

Kate: “It’s time to become independent.”

Ellis: “…I see.”

(What happened?)

I thought he would be happy, so I felt strange seeing his gloomy expression.

I peered at his face somehow through the gap in his bangs, which were covering his eyes.

Kate: “Is something bothering you…?”

Ellis: “Well, okay, if that’s what you want. I’ll do it.”

His trembling eyes seem to be pleading for something—

However, that faint emotion faded away into the depths of his dusk-colored eyes.

Ellis: “…But, is it okay if we start tomorrow? Since I’ve come all this way, I want to eat with you today.”

Part 4

Ellis: “…But, is it okay if we start tomorrow? Since I’ve come all this way, I want to eat with you today.”

His voice was sweet and pleading, and my heartbeat sounded like popping bubbles.

Kate: “Of course! Do you want to spend the day together?”

Ellis: “…yeah.”

Kate: “So, where shall eat this morning?”

(Yesterday it was the gardens of Crown Castle, and the day before yesterday it was the newly opened cafeteria.)

(Before that… he took me to a restaurant near the theater.)

Kate: “I’ve been taken to a lot of great places, so I’d like to take you somewhere that you can relax, Ellis.”

Ellis: “A place where I can relax?”

Kate: “Yeah.”

The places he’d suggested were always ones that I would be happy to visit.

(Come to think of it, he’s never mentioned it.)

Looking at his face, Ellis also looked worried, as if he had never even thought about it before.

(Maybe I can see a new side of Ellis.)

(…But even thinking something like that shows that my feelings are quite serious.)

I felt like our vacation together had slowly changed the way I felt about Ellis.

Kate: “Can you think of somewhere? A relaxing place?”

Ellis: “… room?”

Kate: “Room…?”

Ellis muttered to himself, question clear in his words, and I tilted my head to the side.

Kate: “Yours?”

Ellis: “…Yeah.”

It’s certainly a place I’d never been before.

(Honestly, I’m really curious about what kind of room he has…)

(But, if we ate in the room it would be just the two of us…)

***Choices:***

***1. I feel like I can't +4 +4 ***

2. Isn't it a little... early? +2 +4

3. This would be my first time going to your room, right?  +4 +2

--

(I somehow feel like I can’t do this.)

The proof of that was how hard my heart was pounding.

When I fell quiet, Ellis looked into my eyes.

Ellis: “…Kate?”

(I was the one who suggested he think of a place that would be good…)

(Above all, Ellis gave me an answer, which is unusual for him.)

Unsure what to do, I glanced up and saw Ellis staring down at me in confusion.

(…Please don’t look at me like you’re taking me in…)

I suddenly became flustered and lowered my eyes.

(Until now, whenever I was in trouble, you always came to my rescue.)

You can’t do anything about it today.

Ellis: “…is that a no?”

Kate: “N-no!”

The voice that I answered quickly with was high-pitched.

Ellis: “…You sure?”

Kate: “Huh?”

As I was further cornered, my voice became even higher pitched.

(Oh, come on…)

I felt embarrassed about being so conscious of it, and my face grew hot.

Ellis: “…Is that okay?”

Ellis bent down a little and looked at me with a mischievous smile on his lips—

Part 5

Ellis: “…Is that okay?”

Ellis bent down a little and looked at me with a mischievous smile on his lips—

(Ellis seems… kind of mean today?)

Kate: “Come on… Were you kidding?”

Ellis: “Umm.”

Ellis: “…no… I was wondering what it would be like.”

(What…??)

Ellis was staring at me in deep thought.

It’s as if he’s holding my current feelings in his hands, observing them and trying to find a name for them.

Ellis: “I actually thought my room would be nice.”

Ellis: “I didn’t mean to pick on you, but…”

Ellis: “Seeing you looking so conflicted made me want to tease you even more.”

Ellis: “…Or perhaps, you were teasing me?”

(Ngh…)

Ellis let go of the wheelchair and moved around to the front.

Ellis: “If you don’t like it, I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

He crouched down in front of me and looked up at me, as if asking for my forgiveness.

My face turned bright red and I was unable to move.

I thought that Ellis’ actions were based on his honest feelings.

I didn’t even feel upset that I had been teased.

Kate: “No…. I don’t mind it.”

Ellis: “…”

I’m sure what I saw now was just a small part of what was inside Ellis’ secret box.

(Ellis’ true feelings, it’s not just about what’s convenient for me.)

(I was afraid to look, but I was happy when he showed me.)

Kate: “Rather than holding back what you want to say and do for my sake.”

Kate: “…I’d be happier if you’d do what you wanted to do, or told me what you wanted to do, Ellis.”

Ellis: “…”

Ellis blinked for a moment, then laughed with a baffled look on his face.

Ellis: “…Got it. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Ellis moved backward again and the wheelchair began to move.

The sound of the wheels turning.

The sound of Ellis’ footsteps walking behind me.

The silky metallic sound produced by his accessories.

During this vacation, filled with sweet happiness,

Even the tiniest sounds like those made my heart beat faster involuntarily.

(…This is a problem…)

(--I really am in love with Ellis.)

Next Chapter

[calwrites]

The Illusion (part 1)

Summary: Reader has tried her hardest to keep the rest of the BAU from learning about her past. When her father dies and she has to go home, her secrets might come out.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Umbrella Academy!Reader

Warnings: none

Word Count: 4.8k

This is kind of a crazy, stupid idea, but I’ve read a couple fics where the reader is like an Avenger or a vampire and the team finds out and I think they’re really fun, so I decided to give it a try. Part 2 will come out in a few days probably. I’m trying to decide how far into the show to go.

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

“Well I don’t know about you guys, but I am so ready to go home,” Derek groaned. The rest of the team echoed his sentiment as you all followed him into the small town police station that you had been in way too much this past week. You were more than ready to get back to your apartment and not talk to anyone until Monday.

In the back of your mind, you knew that Allison’s new movie had just come out. She had probably been getting ready for the premiere as you were tackling the unsub. Still, you should probably see the movie this weekend, while you had some free time without a case. Even though the premise didn’t exactly entice you, you should at least see it so you could text her about how good she was in it. It had been too long since you had talked to your sister. A few texts after the news of her divorce broke and some empty promises to hang out soon, but you hadn’t had a real conversation with her in over a year. It had been a lot longer since you had talked to the rest of your siblings, with the exception of Diego, who would appear occasionally to ask for your help in whatever “case” he was working. You had learned that it was easier to help him find whatever information he was looking for and then send him on his way. He was less likely to break into your apartment or try to hack your work computer that way.

Still, it would be nice to see Allison again, even if it was just on a screen. Your eyes flicked to Spencer before you could stop them. He invited you to so many niche events that maybe he wouldn’t question why you wanted to see the new Allison Hargreeves movie so badly or why you invited him. 

You weren’t really sure if you two had been on any actual dates or if you were just two friends hanging out. He always had some reason why he was inviting you specifically. You knew Russian, so he wouldn’t have to translate the movie for you. You knew Roman comedy, so the two of you could discuss whether the performance was historically accurate. You knew Japanese art history, so you could carry out a conversation about the new exhibit. None of those reasons stopped the crush that you had on Spencer Reid.

But you couldn’t say anything. Besides the fact that he was your coworker, you couldn’t risk him getting dragged into any family drama. None of your coworkers knew about your family. As far as anyone was aware, you didn’t have a good relationship with your family, and you certainly didn’t like to talk about them. They probably had their own theories about why. What had your family done that made you not flinch when cases took a turn like this last one did? Why weren’t you surprised that a father could kill his child and then pretend to be the picture of grief? Because as far as you were concerned, your father had killed two of his children and had killed everything good about the other six.

These thoughts ran silently through your head as you helped the team pack everything up. Soon, you would be on the jet, heading back to DC. And tomorrow, you would see your sister’s new movie. Hopefully, with Spencer.

A noise from the TV in the corner of the station shook you out of your thoughts. Breaking news, apparently. You turned back to the papers you were organizing, prepared to ignore whatever celebrity cheating scandal they were about to break.

“...the death of the world’s most eccentric and reclusive billionaire…”

The words made your breath catch. There was only one person they could be talking about. You made yourself look at the TV. Staring back at you was your father’s face. Or a picture of it, at least. Though really, you saw pictures of your father more than you had ever actually seen your father in person.

“Wow.” JJ’s voice beside you startled you a bit. “Reginald Hargreeves. I haven’t thought about him in forever.”

“I can’t believe he died. I kind of assumed he would live forever,” Emily said from your other side. It seemed the TV had caught everyone’s attention. “I mean, he was a crazy billionaire. Aren’t they supposed to find the secret to eternal life?”

“Y/N, are you okay?” You met Spencer’s kind eyes, but couldn’t find any words for a few seconds. Finally, you managed a smile.

“Of course. It’s just kind of shocking, I guess. Why?”

“You’re rubbing your arm. You do that when you’re upset.” You hadn’t even realized that you were doing it again. Had you always done it? You must have, if Spencer had noticed.

You could still remember the first time. It was a few days after you had gotten the stupid tattoo. Your skin was still sore, but you had scrubbed and scrubbed, trying to get the tattoo to wash off, until your skin was red and raw. You knew it wouldn’t wash off. You knew, yet you tried constantly. Even now, apparently. Now your father was dead and you would still have that stupid tattoo that marked you as one of his. As one of the Umbrella Academy kids. A freak. A soldier. A pawn.

Shaking your head a bit to clear your thoughts, you looked at Spencer. “I think I’m just ready to be home. It’s been a long case, and this is weird news to get at the end of it. I���m just tired.”

You weren’t sure if Spencer believed you, but he nodded and didn’t question it. The team continued packing up in silence. It wasn’t until you were back on the jet that anyone brought it up again.

“So who was your favorite Umbrella Academy kid?” Derek asked, breaking the silence of the jet.

“Let me guess, yours was Spaceboy. You wanted to be super strong like him,” Emily teased lightly.

“For your information, my favorite was The Kraken. If he was that good with knives, imagine how good he would be throwing a football,” Derek corrected her, an easy smile on his face. How strange that everyone else could talk so casually about them. Of course, as far your team was concerned, they were just names and faces from TV or trading cards. They weren’t real people.

“Well I wanted to be The Rumor. Imagine how much easier sneaking out would be if you could just tell your parents to let you go.” Emily laughed as she said it. She didn’t understand how easy it was to get caught up in that power. You had seen it happen, though.

“I always liked The Illusion. I mean, making people see whatever you wanted them to would be so cool. Plus, reading minds would be helpful. It would make interrogations go a lot quicker.” It was only because of years of practice that you didn’t react to JJ’s words. The rest of the team began discussing how helpful it would be to be able to read an unsub’s mind. Not that you would know. You refused to do it.

“Project your consciousness into their brain. Know their thoughts. See what they see.”

Those words were some of your earliest memories. You would stand across from one of your siblings, reading their thoughts, seeing through their eyes, hearing through their ears, feeling what they felt, while your father kept repeating those words. That was before you had realized the true extent of your powers.

“Y/N, who was your favorite?” You blinked in surprise at Derek’s question. Everyone’s eyes were on you.

“It changed, I guess.” It was a lame answer, but they accepted it and continued to argue amongst themselves about who was the best. It was the truth, though. You had always been close with Allison. That had never changed. The girls had to stick together. You guessed that you were probably close to Vanya when you were younger, but you saw her less and less as you got older and training began to occupy more of your time. You certainly weren’t close to her now. Not after what she had written about you.

You and Five had been close for a time. Both of you were desperate to prove to your father that you were more powerful than he thought. That you weren’t worthless just because you were on the lower half of the rankings. But then Five had disappeared, and you discovered a new aspect of your powers. 

It was because of Luther. A few weeks had passed since Five’s disappearance, and Luther, in a horrible attempt to “be a leader” and “boost morale” had said that Five brought the disappearance on himself because he hadn’t listened when Dad told him not to try time travelling. Something in you had snapped. You wanted Luther to experience what you had imagined Five did. Lost in darkness, unsure of where or when you were. Just an expanse of nothingness. 

You didn’t even know you were doing it at first, but Luther started to scream. It was over as quick as it began, thanks to the shock of Luther’s yell. He shivered as he explained that suddenly he couldn’t see, hear, or feel anything. It was like nothingness. Luther never quite forgave you for that, but you would never forget the joyful look in your father’s eyes as he realized that it was your doing. That not only could you tap into another person’s brain. You could manipulate it.

But it was harder to control. And after you accidentally left one criminal permanently blind, you were scared of your powers. Klaus and Ben understood how you felt, and the three of you became inseparable. Even after Ben died, that didn’t change. None of your siblings knew that Ben was still around, but you did. Klaus would let you use his eyes and ears so that you could talk to Ben. You missed them. Klaus would show up at your apartment sometimes, looking for money. You would get him to stay for a few days and take some time off work so you could watch him. The three of you would hang out like old times. But eventually you would have to go back to work, and you would come back to find an empty apartment and missing cash.

Despite the fact that Diego was the one you talked to most often now, you two hadn’t gotten along as children. There were rare times when you would click, but for the most part it was constant bickering. You two were too much alike. Quick to anger and slow to forgive.

You were stuck in these memories for the rest of the flight. No one said anything about your silence, but you did feel Spencer’s gaze on you often. You continued to rub your arm, like you would be able to rub off the tattoo that was always covered by your sleeve.

Most of the team left the office pretty quickly once you arrived back in DC. They dropped off whatever needed to be dropped off, then headed home. You lingered, wanting to catch Hotch alone. It would be easier if there was no one around to question what you needed to talk to him about.

“Do you want me to wait up, Y/N? We can take the metro back together.” You smiled genuinely at Spencer’s question. The two of you lived close to each other, so you often left together, either carpooling or taking the metro together.

“No, it’s fine. I need to talk to Hotch before I leave. I’ll see you soon.” Spencer gave you a small wave as he left. You watched him go, feeling strangely sad. How you wished you could walk out with him and ask if he wanted to go see a movie tomorrow night. It seemed so long ago when that had been your plan.

“Hotch.” You knocked on his door, waiting for his answer before opening the door. He was looking over paperwork, as usual, and barely looked up when you came in. “I was wondering if I could have a few days off.”

That made him look up, his eyes drilling into yours. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” No. “I just need a few days. I don’t want to be gone long. It’s my brother.” It was the same thing you said whenever Klaus or Diego showed up. You waited for Hotch’s answer, a carefully blank look on your face. There were always a few seconds where you would worry that he had somehow figured out who you were. That the fake last name and fake childhood records weren’t enough. But they always were.

“Of course, Y/L/N. Take as much time as you need. And we’re here if you need anything.”

“Thank you, sir.” You smiled at him as you walked out of his office, though smiling was the last thing you wanted to do. Now you had no reason not to go back home. You would have to try to mourn your father. You would have to see your siblings.

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

The house looked exactly like you remembered. Big and empty. The sound of the door echoed as it closed behind you. You wondered if anyone else was here yet. You heard the steps of someone walking towards the entryway. Allison, if you had to guess, based on the footsteps.

“Y/N!” You were right. The smile that lit up your face was mirrored on Allison’s as you two rushed to hug each other. “I’ve missed you.”

“You too. I hope you don’t mind if I don’t make it to your movie this weekend.” The two of you laughed for a few seconds before remembering why you were there. “How are you doing?”

Allison shrugged and shook her head slightly. “I already lost my husband and I’m not allowed to talk to my daughter. Now my father is dead. It’s been a rough year. How are you? How’s the genius you’re almost dating?”

“I’m good. We just finished a rough case yesterday, so I’m a little bummed that I don’t get to relax this weekend. Spencer is also good. The other week we went to a shadow puppet theater festival. He said that he was glad he had a friend who was willing to go to stuff like that with him, so I don’t think he’s interested in me.”

Allison linked her arm through yours. You walked slowly through the halls, not talking. It was comforting enough just being with someone who understood what you were going through. With Allison, actions spoke louder than words.

“Is anyone else here yet?”

“Diego and Luther. I haven’t seen Klaus or Vanya. Who knows if they’ll show up.”

“Klaus will show up if he knows about it and isn’t in rehab. I wouldn’t be surprised if Vanya doesn’t show. She’s already said a lot about Dad. I don’t know if she has anything more to add.”

“You’re still mad.” It wasn’t a question, but you nodded anyway. “You know how excluded Vanya was growing up. Can you blame her?”

“That wasn’t our fault. If she wanted to tell her story, that’s fine. If she wanted to drag Dad’s name through the mud, that’s fine. He more than deserved it. She didn’t need to write about the rest of us though. I mean, my coworkers read that book. One detail that’s too specific and they could have figured out who I am. ‘So desperate to prove that she’s worthy of being called a hero that even now she devotes her life to fighting crime.’ She might as well have told everyone that I’m an FBI agent. I’ve tried so hard to build a normal life, and she could have ruined it all.”

A car pulled up outside the house as we passed by a window. You paused, watching as Vanya got out of the back. “Speak of the devil.”

Allison gave you a disapproving look. “I’m going to go see her. Coming?”

“Definitely not. I’ll see you later.” You could hear the door open and Vanya’s voice come floating up. You continued walking until you found myself outside of your father’s room. You could hear the floor creaking inside. Too heavy to be Diego. Must be Luther.

“What are you doing?” You asked as you walked into the room. Luther was standing by your dad’s bed, inspecting it. He was a lot bigger than the last time you had seen him. And his mind seemed to be screaming about why. You tried not to read his thoughts, but Luther’s head had always been a bit of an open book.

“This is where he died. Where Pogo found him.” Didn’t really explain what he was doing, but you could guess.

“No sign of a struggle.” You walked over to a window. It was locked. All of the windows were locked. “No sign of forced entry. No way someone could sneak in without Pogo or Mom knowing.”

“She’s right.” Diego entered. His eyes widened when he saw Luther. “Oh, you got big, Luther. What’s the secret, huh? Protein shakes? Low carbs?”

“What do you want?”

Diego pulled some paper from his pocket, holding it out to Luther. “The autopsy report.” Of course, being Diego, he pulled it back when Luther reached for it. Anything to rile up Luther.

“And you have this why?”

“Well, that’s because I broke into the coroner’s office. And surprise, surprise, Dad’s death was normal.”

“Y/N, he’s not allowed to do that,” Luther said, pointing an accusing finger at Diego as he looked at you. “You’re an FBI agent. Arrest him.”

“I’m not arresting my brother at Dad’s funeral. And I’m not on the clock. Grow up, Luther.” You took the report from Luther, glancing over it quickly. Heart failure. Normal. No reason to question it. But Luther would, and you didn’t want to be there when he and Diego started to fight. “I’ll leave you boys to it. I’m going to see if I can find Klaus.”

You left quickly. Where would Klaus go if he was here? You rolled your eyes when you realized the obvious answer. Dad’s office. Not only would there be valuables there, it would also be like giving the old man a giant middle finger. Typical Klaus.

Sure enough, you could hear him rummaging around the desk before you could see him. “Looking for something?” His head popped up, a grin splitting his face when he saw you. You wouldn’t stop him from taking anything, and he knew it. You didn’t need to enter his mind to know that he was high. You could see it in his eyes just as clearly as you could see the fresh rehab bracelet on his wrist. “Fresh out of rehab and already high? I don’t know how you manage it.”

“I guess I’m just incredible.” You rolled your eyes at him, but still accepted his hug with a smile.

“I know that this is hard for you, but Ben should be here. Even if the others can’t see him. He should get a chance to say goodbye.”

Klaus’s eyes were glued to the floor as he spoke. “I know.”

You didn’t get a chance to say anything else before Allison came in. It was nice, just the three of you. You three never fought. Mostly, you and Allison used to just laugh at whatever bit Klaus was doing.

“Number Three,” he was saying in a bad impression of your father’s voice when he was interrupted by Luther.

“Get out of his chair.” Of course. Perfect Number One was still so worried about following your father’s orders. Even now, he made Klaus empty his pockets as the two of you tried to leave so Luther and Allison could talk in private. But once you two were out of the room, you grinned and handed Klaus some things that you had snuck in your pockets before Luther came in. Nothing important or too valuable. It was really just a gesture to tell Klaus that you were on his side.

“And whatever is in your pants, make sure it’s nothing important before you sell it.” Being Klaus, he pretended to have no idea what you were talking about, but he shot you a wink before he wandered away.

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

You stood at the bar next to Klaus, wondering who was going to speak first. Your money was on Luther. You accepted the drink that Klaus handed you without bothering to ask what it was. Any alcohol would help you get through this.

“I guess we should get this started.” You were right. You took a seat as Luther stood up. You mostly tuned Luther out, as you always had. He was talking about scattering your father’s ashes.

“Dad had a favorite spot?” Allison asked.

“You know under the oak tree.” Everyone looked blankly at Luther. You remembered watching your father and Luther talking there when you were younger. It used to make you jealous. Now, it just made you mad. “We used to sit out there all the time. None of you ever did that?”

“No, Luther. We didn’t. He didn’t like any of us.” You gestured to the rest of your siblings as you spoke. You shouldn’t be doing this. You shouldn’t be lashing out. You were an FBI agent. Surely you were better than that. But there was something about being in this house with your siblings with the focus on your father that turned you into a child again.

And it didn’t matter whether you added fuel to the fire or not. Someone was bound to set everything off. 

“Listen up. There’s still some important things we need to discuss.”

“Like what?” Diego asked. You knew what Luther was going to say before he said anything.

“Like the way he died.”

“And here we go,” Diego muttered.

“I don’t understand. I thought they said it was a heart attack,” Vanya said, confusion evident in her voice.

“Yeah according to the coroner.”

“Well wouldn’t they know?” You hated to agree with Vanya, but you had to.

“Luther thinks that there was foul play,” you explained. “However, there was no sign of forced entry and no sign of a struggle.”

“Well, Y/N is an FBI agent. Why don’t you trust her?” Allison asked Luther.

“Look, I’m just saying something happened. The last time I talked to Dad, he sounded strange.”

“Oh, quelle surprise,” Klaus interjected as he gurgled his drink. That wouldn’t help Luther’s anger.

“Strange how?” Allison asked.

“He sounded on edge,” Luther explained. “Told me I should be careful who to trust.”

“Luther, he was a paranoid, bitter old man, who was starting to lose what was left of his marbles.” Of course, Luther defended your father before turning to Klaus.

“Look, I know you don’t like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad.”

Klaus laughed. “No I can’t. I’m not in the right frame of mind.”

“You’re high?” You didn’t know how Allison was surprised. It was obvious.

“Then there’s the issue of the missing monocle.”

“Who cares about a stupid monocle, Luther?” you groaned. You noticed the way Diego’s face shifted for a second. So he had the monocle. Or he at least knew what happened to it. “No one is going to break in without alerting Mom or Pogo, kill Dad and make it look an accident, then take the stupid monocle. No one that smart would be that dumb.”

“Exactly! It’s worthless. Whoever took it, I think it was personal. Someone with a grudge.”

“Where are you going with this?”

You shook your head as Diego said what you were thinking. “Isn’t it obvious, Klaus? He thinks one of us killed Dad.” The stunned faces of your siblings looked at Luther. You shook your head in disgust.

“Way to lead, Luther,” you said sarcastically. Allison and Vanya both got up and left the room.

“Can you blame me? I mean, you’ve never tried to hide how much you hate Dad. And Diego’s some sort of vigilante now. Both of you could easily sneak in and kill him.”

“You’re crazy, man. You’re crazy.” Klaus shook his head as he got up and headed back to the bar.

“I can’t believe you, Luther.”

“Do us all a favor and go back to the moon, monkey boy.” Luther’s eyes widened at my words before his face turned red with anger.

“Get out of my head,” he growled.

“I don’t need to be in your head to figure it out. Besides, your brain is so empty that your thoughts come floating out begging to be heard.”

“Neither of you are denying it,” Luther said finally. You threw your hands up and Diego stood up suddenly.

“Why would either of us decide to kill Dad now. What’s the trigger? It doesn't make sense. Unlike you, Luther, we moved on with our lives,” you explained slowly, like he was a child.

“Don’t talk down to me just because you’re an FBI agent.”

“You think there’s a murder. I catch serial killers. You should be begging for my help.”

“Unless he thinks the two of us teamed up to kill Dad,” Diego said. The two of you turned to look at Luther. He at least had the decency to look a little ashamed that he was thinking that exact thing. At that point, everyone’s voices had risen so much that you barely noticed the knock at the door.

“I’m out of here,” Diego said softly when Luther didn’t respond.

“No you’re not. Not until we figure out what happened.” Luther grabbed Diego’s arm, so Diego, of course, punched Luther in the face. Within a few seconds, they were fighting in earnest. Diego had his knives out and everything.

“Oh, you guys, don’t do this now,” Klaus whined from the bar. “Y/N, will you do something? Take away their sight or something. I’m too sober for this.”

You hadn’t used your powers in years. Ideally, Allison would come in and rumor them to stop, but you didn’t know where she had gone. Taking a deep breath, you focused your consciousness like your father had taught you. You were careful to only enter Diego’s and Luther’s minds, leaving Klaus out of it.

Darkness.

You focused on darkness, blocking out everything that your brothers were seeing. You could do this. You could control it, at least until Allison was back. Of course, being unable to see didn’t stop your brothers from blundering around.

“Y/N, stop!” Luther’s words were accompanied by a sharp blow to the back of your head. “Oh no, Y/N, I didn’t know you were right there. I can’t see anything. Just stop this, Y/N.”

“I’m just trying to stop you two from destroying the house. Besides, isn’t this a great way to honor Dad’s memory? Fighting with each other is what he always made us do.” You tried to stand back up, but your head was spinning from the blow and from the strain. There was once a time when you could hold ten people in the darkness with ease, but you weren’t used to using your powers anymore. You no longer had to spend hours each day inside other people’s minds. You could feel your control slipping, but you couldn’t stop. Your head hurt.

“Y/N!” Klaus yelled in terror. “I can’t see, Y/N.”

You had to stop. You had to stop. You couldn’t. Your head hurt and you couldn’t seem to find a way out of their minds. You were aware of other minds in the house. More than there should be. But why? And why did your head hurt so bad?

“Y/N, what are you doing? Ahhh my head!” Diego yelled. He sounded like he was in pain. You were making him feel your pain. Since when could you do that? Your Dad would have been so happy.

“I heard a rumor that you stopped.” Allison’s voice rang out. Suddenly, you were back in your own head and the splitting headache was just yours. Diego and Luther both collapsed on the floor with you. Klaus was by your side almost instantly, a new glass in hand for you, which you gulped down quickly before handing it back to him for a refill.

“Remind me not to mess with Y/N again,” Diego sighed. You met his eyes with an apologetic smile. It felt so much like you were kids who got a little carried away during training.

“I guess I got a little carried away.” The two of you laughed, and even Luther joined in eventually. The laughter stopped abruptly when a new voice spoke.

“Y/N?”

[generalfoolish]

Pel’tigaan

pel'tigaan: tenderness

Rating: 18+ (minors take a hike)

Warnings: canon-compliant violence, mentions of blood and gore(brief), Bo-Katan hate gang!, implications, swerving around canon promises, general stomping on canon

Word count: ~1K

Pairing:Din Djarin x F!reader

Summary: Mandalorians have a standoff on Concordia

A/N: Hey babes! This is part of the #mandomay2021 prompt list. So, I've been driving this bus towards a cliff for awhile now. Fic meet cliff edge. Enjoy 💕

Masterlist | Mirshmure’cya | Verd

Let me know if you want to be tagged!

It had only taken two days to track down the Imps, Leia’s intel had been fresh and accurate. A rarity, but gladly accepted. Din had taken point, and he had made short work of the unit. The way he moved through the troopers was a new level of violence. His blaster took men down with one shot, but the beskar spear brutalized the armor. You popped shots off, and managed to down a good number, but Din swiped through the Imperials like they didn’t exist. Like they were training dummies.

In the aftermath, the ground soaked burgundy, Din had rested his helmet to yours again. The keldabe kiss an affirmation, a promise. He cradled your helmet in his hands, and pulled away so that his visor could lock with yours.

“Are you hurt?” You shook your head and he made a low noise. “Good.” His helmet pushed against yours again. “I want to kiss you.” He murmured, his helmet tipped down. You chuckled.

“Back to the ship?” He nodded, and sighed before pulling away.

“I’ve been thinking,” You started to say, as you began the trek back to the ship. “What if we took a break from hunting Imps? For a little while.” You didn’t need to look to know that Din’s helmet was trained on yours.

“Are you sure? You didn’t want to stay on Dagobah anymore.” His voice was low, serious.

“We can visit Dagobah, but I don’t want to live there. I think I still want to move around. Like you did, before the kid.” You tried to be careful, when in the open, to not give many details about Grogu. You knew that they’d been on the run for so long, and you didn’t want to add anything to that fear.

“Mmm. I was a bounty hunter.”

“Probably the best, right?” You asked, teasing him.

“Yes.” He told you dryly. You laughed, knowing he was deadly serious.

“Okay, then. Bounty hunting?” He tipped his helmet down, and studied you for a moment. He finally nodded, and you felt a small smile pulling at the corners of your mouth. You knew that Din could handle himself, and the credits wouldn’t hurt. You thought you might send some along to Jelucan, and then you remembered your promise to Zek, that you’d return for Echi. Though, you felt that the beast had likely grown to love the attention of the covert. You wondered if Din would like to visit them. Jelucan wasn’t that far from Concordia.

You opened your mouth to ask, but the opportunity was lost as blasters whirred to life around you.

A trap.

Blue beskar stepped into the clearing out from the dense vegetation. Din raised his hands, and you followed his lead. You had an idea, but from the tension in his shoulders, Din knew. This was Bo-Katan Kryze, and she had come to collect on Din’s promise.

One of the figures stepped forward, and pulled their helmet off. Her short hair was kept back with a beskar crown. Her face was drawn, and her lips pursed.

“Din Djarin, gar hut’unn.” Her voice was sharp, and cut through Din. You felt him flinch from the harsh words, and clenched your raised hand into a fist. You’d kill her for that.

“I never expected you to run. Not after we saved your kid.” Her voice was steady, calculated, and harsh.

“You should have taken the darksaber when I offered it.” He answered evenly. His own tone was cold, deadly.

“That’s not ‘The Way,’ Djarin.” She hissed.

“I yielded.”

“You took down the Moff, knowing that I needed to do it.” She had taken another step forward, and was uncomfortably close.

“He had the kid.” Din reminded her, but her eyes were lit with a fury unshaken by reason.

“I never cared about that. Only the dark saber. Help me reclaim Mandalore, or I will kill you now.” She raised her blaster to be even with his chest. Everyone knew that the blaster wouldn’t cut through the beskar, but the ensuing fight would change everything.

“We’ll do it. Both of us. Help you reclaim Mandalore.” You told her, causing every eye to turn to you. The circle of mandalorians around you tightened, and you felt a blaster against your back. You didn’t acknowledge it, and you didn’t dare turn to Din, you just stared at Bo-Katan, willing her to agree.

“So be it. You will both reclaim Mandalore with me. I will take you on my ship.”

“More guns with two ships.” You reasoned. Her blaster was pointed at your helmet in an instant.

“So that Din can jump through space again? I think not. Walk.” She motioned with her gun, and you followed her path. How quickly things had gone sideways.

You walked in silence, Din beside you. You tried to not look for the dark saber. He had hidden it on his person, in preparation for a confrontation with Bo-Katan. It wasn’t likely she could best him, but it would be nearly impossible for her to do so if he was wielding the sword. His beskar spear, tinged with dried blood, was more obvious. Bo-Katan hadn’t wanted to kill him, not without uncovering the saber first.

You flinched as something gripped your hand, your adrenaline and anxiety soaring, it took you seconds before you realized the pressure was Din’s hand covering yours. He was attempting to soothe you, you realized. He was holding your hand.

The tenderness of the moment, the pel’tigaan of the action, made your heart stutter. You squeezed it back, trying to pour every ounce of love into the small move. This was by far the most danger you’d been in since joining the mandalorian, and that’s including when you nearly died. With Bo-Katan at your backs, an army of mandalorians behind you, and an Empire waiting ahead, you weren’t sure if either of you would make it out alive.

You wished you had given Grogu a bigger kiss, a tighter hug. You wished you had apologized to Luke for being so reckless. You wished you had loved Din harder. You wished that you had been stronger, and suggested stopping before you ever set foot on this cursed moon. But as you boarded Bo-Katan’s small ship, you knew that none of that mattered now. Din couldn’t protect you now.

translation: hu'tuun: coward (worst insult)

tagged: @charlispersonallyhell @magikfanatic

[starksvixen]

Shattered - Part 2

Summary: A Jedi and a Mandalorian. Impossible right? Not for Satine and Obi - Wan. Hell, he even said he would leave the Jedi Order for her. But you wished it was you... 

A/N - I have only watched a few episodes of Clone Wars so I am not overall familar with Satine and Obi - Wan’s romance. I just thought it would be a spicy fanfiction hehe. This story is also not based on any specific Clone Wars episode, but rather an imaginary situation.

There is a reason the quote “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger” is around. Despite the deep cuts left in your chest due to your shattered heart, you used the pain as fuel, a purpose. To become hardened, to never let another man into your heart like that again. You were a Mandalorian and much to Satine’s dislike, you were a warrior at heart, meant to protect others and your people. 

You repeated these words to yourself over and over during your stay on the planet. Keeping your conversations short with the Jedi while you trained by yourself. Only talking to Satine if she promised to not bring up the heartbreak. 

With every other attack that came against the Duchess, you became more accurate, more deadly. You were liking the person you were turning into, a true Mandalorian. A warrior in your armor that people feared. It felt good to no longer be the weak girl the General had left you as. 

Until today. 

You watched the ships being loaded up closely, ensuring that none of those droids could stowaway. Every time you saw one crawl into the luggage, your blaster was up by your eyes and the droid would be dead on the ground. 

This time, Obi Wan was shoving something into one of the luggage carts as you watched one crawl it’s way onto the bag. Without a second thought, you quickly shoot it off, not minding the shot’s close proximity to the Jedi’s head. 

Apparently, that was Obi Wan’s last straw, storming over to you. You let a soft sigh release, one soft enough your modulator couldn’t translate. Still gentle as ever, he grabs your arm and takes you inside, to a secluded corner away from prying arms of workers.

“What the bloody hell has gotten into you, (Y/N)?” he exclaims into a whisper.

“I’ve been doing my job,” you reply in a flat tone.

“No, you haven’t. You’ve been avoiding me, shutting out Satine, taking more risks. All you ever do is go from training by yourself to sitting in your room doing Gods knows what. It’s not healthy!” 

“It doesn’t matter...”

“Yes, it do-”

All you hear is Satine’s scream, sending your entire body into flight or fight. Pushing past Obi - Wan, you run out to the tarmac to see the place littered with dead clones and Satine in the hands of a pirate.

Quickly, you lift your gun to take out the threat, but an invisible Force pushes the tip to the ground. You look at Obi - Wan, your eyes wide underneath your mask as his hand stays subtly lifted. 

“Put the Duchess down, or you will regret it,” 

“And how would I regret it? The Duchess is worth more then the two of you combined!” the pirate laughs. 

That’s when the Force on your blaster was released. With a smirk beneath your mask, you quickly shoot the leader, sending his lackies into a blood induced rage. 

Out of the corner of your eye, Obi - Wan wordlessly takes his place behind your back, hearing the loud buzz of a lightsaber being enacted. All of them were coming at you both too fast for you to shoot. So as the first one came, you used your blaster to smack them straight across the face. 

Given the small space in time, you grab your staff from your pocket, clicking a button to expand it. Then, as each pirate came running towards you, you could easily smack them out of the way. Reaching into the slot on your armor, your pulled the blade seated there and stabbed each of them in the thigh as they landed. The bastards weren’t going to get away with this. 

Once all of the pirates were either dead or groaning on the ground, Satine runs towards you. Quickly looking away, you return your weapons to their proper place as you think she is running towards Obi - Wan. But she runs straight into your arms and without hesitation you hold your oldest friend close to you. 

“You shouldn’t have fell for the trick,” she whispers. 

“(Y/N), no!” you hear the real Satine from behind you. 

Just as the changeling uses her hidden blade to try and slit your throat, she freezes with the blade pressed slightly into your skin. The changeling fell to the ground, a lightsaber shaped hole in her chest. 

Obi - Wan looks at you with wide eyes as you breathe heavily. Without him, you most likely would have met your doom. The pure adrenaline coursing through your veins helps you to ignore the steady stream of blood pouring all over your armor from the wound on your neck. You bend and quickly grab your blaster, your eyes scanning what was left of the luggage carts for any more threats.

“Anakin, get the Duchess on board and get us out of here. I’ll take care of (Y/N),” 

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Anakin quickly escort your friend on board and the ship roaring to life. As your body realizes she’s safe, your knees give out under the pressure of your sight spinning. Before you fully collapse to the ground, a pair of strong arms keeps you up, throwing an arm around his shoulders and helping you onto the ship. 

Once in a secluded room, Obi - Wan quickly closes the door, your heart picking up at his presence. He quickly collects what he needs from nearby storage carts, obviously waiting for you to take your helmet off.

“Thank you for your help, but I can take care of myself,” you hoarsely say, the pain from your neck intensifying. 

“She’s safe with Anakin, you need me more,”

You sigh hard once he collects everything and sets it beside where you now sit. As he goes to take your helmet off, you quickly snatch his wrists to stop him. 

“(Y/N)...what did I do to break your trust?” Obi - Wan whispers, picking up on the subtle que. 

“You didn’t...” 

Slowly, you release his wrists, your helmet clad head pointing towards the ground as you felt the weakness you always felt around him set in. Tears spring into your eyes from the pain in your neck and the one in your chest.

“What did I do to lose you?” 

“I made you, so you would be happy,” you softly say, the pain escalating at an alarming rate. 

“But my dear, I have been quite the opposite,” 

“What are you talking about? You’re with Satine, I see how you look at her.”

“How I look at her pales in comparison to how I look at you,” 

You stay silent, trying to process his words and suppress the butterflies to threaten to tear your gut in two. The vulnerability sets in, making you tense up, making the pain even worse all over. You can’t help but a small, audible sob echo from you as it all becomes to overwhelming.

“My love,” you hear him whisper. “I’ve never been interested in Satine.” 

Slowly, you feel his hands rest against either side of your helmet. This time, you don’t stop him. You opt to keep your head tilted to the ground, the stickiness from the blood against your neck adding to the overwhelming feelings that blur your mind. You feel the metal slip away from your hair, a fresh wave of cool air hitting your face and neck as Obi - Wan slowly removes your chest plate next. He lays them like Satine does, in a certain order, always showing respect. 

“(Y/N), it’s you.”

You feel two fingers slip between your chin, lifting your face to meet his as your tears begin to slow. 

“It’s always been you,” 

He leans in without pause, you meeting him halfway through until your lips collide. 

All of the emotions pent up, the same things that had overwhelmed you moments before, were gone. Your mind was clear for the first time in months, the only thing running through your thoughts was him. The way your lips danced together, like they were somehow training together in your minds, it sent goosebumps up your spine and down your arms. 

There was something in the way his hands slipped from your face to your hips, like if he let go you would disappear again. Your seated position changes as you stand together, his frame pressed so tightly against you despite your remaining armor you could feel every muscle. As if it was engrained, your arms slip up his chest, around his neck, into his hair. Gently, you pull at the roots, not to force the kiss away, but as a silent message of longing. How much you had waited for this moment. 

Eventually, you come up for air, both of you sharing a soft pant at the tension broken between the two of you. A smile unlike any other graces your face, happiness replacing the adrenaline that was once in your veins. 

“I love you, (Y/N) (Y/L/N).” he whispers, his swollen lips pressing against yours softly with his words. 

“And I love you, Obi - Wan Kenobi,” you whisper in return. 

After some time, he sat you down again, cleaning and stiching up the wound on your neck. Not without a chaste kiss here and there however. As he threads the needle through the last point it was needed, a thought comes to mind.

“What about the Order?” 

A soft silence settles between you as the Jedi ponders your words. But only for a moment. 

“When Satine first caught onto my feelings, I told her I would leave the Jedi Order if you told me too,” 

As he threads and ties off the last stitch, your eyes connect again as you ponder his words now too. 

“I couldn’t possibly ask that of you,”

“But then we can’t be together, (Y/N),” 

You ponder once more. 

“What they don’t know can’t kill them,” you mumble softly, running a hand through his tangled locks that still somehow remained soft. 

“You want to keep it a secret?” 

“Until you’re ready to leave, not for me, but for yourself.”

“How did I get so lucky to have a gorgeous and smart woman?” he says with a cheeky smirk.

“Shut up and kiss me already, Obi,” 

Once again, he doesn’t hesitate, your lips joining in a hungrier matrimony then before. Slowly, you lay down on the bench you had been sat upon, coaxing your Jedi to hover over you. Without his lips leaving yours for a second, he braces himself above you. Just as his lips leave yours to travel elsewhere, a jolt in the ship alerts you both to your arrival back on Mandoa. Obi - Wan groans softly at the lost chance of having some fun, but the same smirk you had fallen for etches his face as he whispers to you:

“Another happy landing,” 

Tag List: (leave a comment to be added)

powerpuff-bucky

Would anyone want a Part 3? Maybe like an Epilogue?

[veliseraptor]

Hey just wondering, do you have any draft or work in process or any plan for your next Loki fic? If so can you give us a little sneak peek. Or if you don’t, do you think you’ll write more about him in the future? I know you probably get this a lot and I’m sorry if it’s annoying or if it sounds rude or anything. I’m just wondering and also I’ve been binge reading your stories about him and got addicted so there’s that. But seriously I’m sorry if my message comes off as rude or annoying, that’s not my intention. Anyway hope you’re having an amazing day

I genuinely hate to sound like a broken record, anon, since you are being very polite about this! Which I very much appreciate! But the answer remains more or less the same: I don’t know. I have (counts) 38 different Loki-related WIPs in various stages of completion sitting on my hard drive. I haven’t been working on them actively lately because, to the dismay I’m sure of many of my followers, another fandom has devoured me whole. I’m really enjoying the experience, but it has left me with relatively little brainspace for things that aren’t that thing (or, I guess, other danmei novels and adaptations thereof?? idk okay). 

At some point I would like to finish at least some of those stories, because I do not like leaving things unfinished. But I just don’t know when - or if! - I will. It just depends on if I get that emotional investment back. At the moment it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen imminently, but who knows. And maybe I’ll go back and reread what I have written of some of these, go “where’s the rest, op” and feel encouraged to write more.

All that being said - since you were so nice about this, I will give you a (3000 word) excerpt from one of the WIPs - Dead Superheroes Walking, which is the one about the characters who died/were dusted in Infinity War on a road trip through the Soul Stone.

---

“Anyone for a game of twenty questions?” Sam asked, after they’d been walking for maybe ten minutes.

“Really?” Bucky said. “Twenty questions?”

“I don’t think ‘I Spy’ would work too well. Not a lot of interesting landmarks. Or hadn’t you noticed that the landscape keeps repeating?”

“I am Groot,” said Groot.

“And I have no idea what that means,” Sam said.

Sam was right, Wanda realized. The landscape was repeating. It wasn’t obvious, at first, but there was only one tree, over and over; only one rock placed near to it. The sky was a flat and even orange.

A faint shiver ran down Wanda’s spine. Bucky stopped, though, visibly disconcerted.

“What the hell is this place,” he said.

“Does it matter?” Sam asked. “We’re not exactly going anywhere else. All right, I’ve got it. Twenty questions, yes or no answers only.”

“I am Groot?” said Groot. Sam eyed him.

“I’m not going to take that off the count,” he said.

“Is it alive?” T’Challa asked.

“Yep,” Sam said.

“Guess that rules us out,” Bucky said. Sam snorted, and T’Challa cracked a small smile. Wanda stared down at a small, triangular rock in front of her feet.

“All right,” Bucky said. “Is it an animal?”

“Yes. Two questions down. Wanda?”

She bent down and picked up the rock. It left red dust on her fingers, and when she pressed her fingers together it crumbled like chalk. She half expected the dust to vanish, but the red stain on her fingertips stayed.

“Wanda?” Sam said, more gently.

“Sorry,” she said. “Is it a person?”

“Nope,” Sam said. “That’s three.”

She wiped her hand off on her clothes. This place wasn’t right - she could feel it in her bones, deep down where her magic ought to be. But nothing had been right in the last few days. Very few things in Wanda’s life had been right. Why should her death be any different?

It only seemed unfair that the others should be here, too.

They sky did not change, but they stopped walking eventually - less because any of them were actually tired than because it seemed like they should. Or maybe because they were tired of walking and wanted some change, even if there was very little change to be had. The road went on. The landscape didn’t alter.

And no one else appeared.

“It can’t just be us,” Sam said. “Other people died. Where are they?”

Nobody had an answer for him, unless the tree’s “I am Groot” was an answer none of them could understand. Wanda thought it might be something to do with the fact that they’d all died when Thanos had snapped his fingers, but she stayed quiet, staring off at the horizon and only half listening to Bucky and Sam going back and forth at each other.

“I see something,” T’Challa said abruptly. They all turned and followed the line of his arm.

“I can’t see anything,” Sam said.

“Give it a sec,” Bucky said. “He’s probably got a hundred extra yards visibility on me. Maybe 150 on you–”

“I am Groot,” Groot said. Wanda strained her eyes, some part of her wishing - hoping–

“Is that a dog?” Sam said.

A moment later Wanda saw it too, and slumped. It did look like a dog padding towards them - or at least, it certainly wasn’t a person.

“That’s not a dog,” T’Challa said.

“Fox, I think,” Bucky said. “What the fuck is a fox doing here?”

“I don’t think it’s a fox, either,” T’Challa said. He shifted, like he was thinking about getting into a fighting stance. Wanda stepped forward, reaching for her powers, but nothing was there.

What would be the point, anyway? You can only die once.

The fox - and it was a fox, Wanda could see that now, though black instead of red - slowed as it began to draw closer. It sat down, still a ways away, and cocked its head, looking at them.

“This is weird,” Sam said. T’Challa was still frowning.

“What is it?” Bucky asked him. T’Challa shook his head.

“I’m not certain.”

The fox stood, stretched, and changed, unfolding into a person. Wanda sucked in a breath, staring at the man now walking toward them: dark-haired, pale, lean and taller than Bucky or T’Challa. A vague sense of familiarity nagged at her, but she couldn’t say from where.

The man stopped, still several paces from them, and cocked his head just as the fox had. “Well,” he said, a faint rasp in his voice. “This is new.”

Wanda stared at him, trying to remember where she recognized him from. “New?”

“Yes,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting anyone else. But then, this time is different.”

“Wait,” Sam said abruptly. “Shit. Are you-”

“Mm,” he said, still looking at Wanda. T’Challa’s eyes were narrowed, too, and Sam’s. Bucky looked blankly at them both.

“What?”

“It’s always nice to be recognized,” the stranger said dryly.

“Loki,” Sam said. “That’s fucking Loki. Right?” Wanda’s eyes widened, but he - Loki - just shrugged one shoulder.

“So I am. Or was. I’m not certain of the appropriate tense.” His gaze swept across them, indifferent, disinterested.

“You’re dead, too,” Wanda said. Loki glanced at her, eyes focusing briefly before they slid back into dullness. No, exhaustion.

“Or something,” he said.

“‘Or something?’” Sam said. Loki’s eyes flicked in his direction.

“This doesn’t feel like death,” he said, “but I remember the feeling of my neck breaking in Thanos’s hand fairly clearly, so…” Wanda flinched, and she thought she saw Sam’s eye twitch. She remembered Thor coming roaring down from the sky, thunder and lightning in his voice, and understood. She looked down.

“What do you mean that this doesn’t feel like death,” T’Challa said into the silence.

���I know a little of what death tastes like,” Loki said after a moment. “This isn’t it.”

“What does that mean,” Bucky said, looking agitated and uncertain.

“I am Groot,” said Groot, and Loki glanced at him, something briefly flashing across his expression before it was gone. Pain, Wanda thought.

“Not entirely accurate,” he said, “but not entirely inaccurate, either.” There was a brief pause.

“You can understand him?” Bucky said. Loki shrugged again. “What did he say?”

“It’s irrelevant.” Loki’s eyes moved back to Wanda. “I suppose it’s too much to hope that you were simply the high cost of victory?” Wanda looked down, somehow feeling ashamed of her failure. Loki let out a quiet huff. “Pity.”

Bucky, oddly, snorted.

“Thanos gained all of the Infinity Stones,” T’Challa said. “Then…” He trailed off. “I am not entirely certain what happened then.”

Loki made a sort of hm noise, glancing at T’Challa sidelong. “So you didn’t die in battle,” he said.

“If so, I do not remember it,” T’Challa said.

“I am Groot,” Groot said to Loki, whose head swiveled violently toward him, eyes sharpening.

“Gamora,” he said, and there was a wealth of hatred and fear in that word. “You are a companion of hers?”

“I am Groot,” Groot said emphatically, and Loki blinked, then pressed his lips together and exhaled in a short burst.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter now.”

“Can you maybe translate what he’s saying,” Bucky said irritably. “Since all the rest of us can hear is the same three words over and over.”

“He says that Gamora claimed Thanos meant to use the completed Gauntlet to halve all life in the universe,” Loki said. “If you know that he achieved his goal, then presumably you were part of the unlucky half. Though that does not explain why you are here. Or else does not explain why I am.”

“And who’s Gamora,” Sam said, with such exaggerated patience that it demonstrated anything but.

“An old acquaintance,” Loki said. He sounded distracted.

“I am Groot,” Groot said, and this time Wanda could hear the near pride in his voice. Loki didn’t respond. He was scanning their number again, Wanda realized, more closely.

She bit her lip, then raised her voice and said, “Thor’s alive.” His gaze snapped to her, and she made herself hold it though her instinct was to look down. “At least, he was when I...he drove an axe into Thanos’s chest. It didn’t work, it was too late, but…” She trailed off.

Loki glanced down, his eyes half closing, and Wanda thought she caught a brief flicker at the corner of his mouth, not quite a smile, and a barely audible, “ah, Thor.” Then his eyes were back on hers and he said simply, “thank you for informing me,” with a lack of feeling that made Wanda frown.

“You haven’t asked who any of us are,” Bucky said.

“So I have not,” Loki said. “I am not certain it is precisely relevant.”

“Excuse you,” Sam said. Loki glanced at him, that tired indifference returning.

“I approached because I was curious. I wasn’t intending to stay, nor would I think you were inclined to encourage it.”

T’Challa was studying Loki with curious intensity. “Were you going somewhere?”

“No,” Loki said, and then paused and adjusted, “perhaps.”

“I am Groot?” Groot said, and Loki’s lips pressed briefly together.

“It means perhaps. And don’t be crude.”

“I’m with him,” Sam said. “What does perhaps mean?” Loki looked briefly annoyed, and Sam said, “come on. We’re all dead here. Or - not. Which still begs the question as far as I’m concerned of what we are.”

Loki’s eyes went back to her, and Wanda shifted. “What?” She asked. “Why do you keep looking at me?”

“You haven’t noticed anything strange, then?” He asked. “Felt anything?”

Too many things, Wanda thought, but she didn’t think that was what he meant, and now they were all looking at her. Wanda hesitated.

“I don’t have my powers,” she said slowly. Loki made a derisive noise.

“Of course you don’t,” he said. “Do you need them to sense what’s around you? Midgardian magicians. Norns.”

Wanda glared at him, but took a breath and tried to turn inward, like she was going to use her power. It still wasn’t there, but this time, without distractions…

She jerked and saw a satisfied glint in Loki’s eyes, just for an instant. “There,” he said.

“Wanda, what is it?” Sam asked, looking suspiciously at Loki.

“I don’t know,” she said. “But it feels like…” She searched for the right words. “Like a heartbeat,” she said finally, even if that wasn’t quite right.

Bucky’s expression was a mixture of horror and alarm. “A heartbeat?”

“So that’s what it feels like to you,” Loki said thoughtfully. He seemed more engaged now than he had been at first, and somehow even though it shouldn’t matter that felt like a good thing. Maybe because nothing else was.

“It’s not actually,” Wanda said quickly. “That’s just sort of what it feels like - to me, anyway. It’s...different for you?”

Loki shrugged. T’Challa shifted.

“I know what she means,” he said. “Though I wouldn’t have described it like that. But there is...something.”

“Interesting,” Loki said, glancing at T’Challa and looking him over with slightly more interest. “To answer your implied question, I would call it a...resonance.”

“A resonance with what,” Sam asked.

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be bothering to talk to you,” Loki said. “But partly it is that which makes me think this is something other than simple death.”

“What is there other than ‘simple death,’” Bucky said tightly.

“That is the question, isn’t it,” Loki said. “Maybe nothing. Maybe I am wrong. But if I am not…”

“If you’re not, what,” Bucky said, even tighter.

“Then it begs the question of why, doesn’t it?” Loki rolled his neck in a slow circle, and Wanda could have sworn she heard something crack. “At least, such was my thought. But maybe it is just desperation.”

He didn’t sound desperate. He didn’t sound much of anything.

“Why not stay with us,” Wanda said abruptly. Everyone else turned to stare at her, Loki included, and she straightened, turning toward her friends. “I mean it,” she said. “Why not? We’re all here together. And if he’s right and there’s a why, a reason...wouldn’t it suggest that’s true for all of us, including him?” She paused, and added, “and besides - what can he do to us, anyway?”

Loki barked a laugh. “That is a fair point,” he murmured.

“How do we know this isn’t some kind of trick?” T’Challa asked, his eyes narrowed.

“You don’t,” Loki said. “But I will say that you vastly overestimate my interest in you. Well, the majority of you. And your witch has a point: what is it you think I will do?”

“I don’t know,” T’Challa said. “That’s what worries me.”

“And ‘our witch’ has a name,” Sam said a little sourly.

Loki shrugged. “As you will. It makes little difference to me.” He moved around them and started to walk away.

“I am Groot,” Groot muttered, and strode after him, long tree-legs catching up in a few strides. “I am Groot?” He said to Loki, who checked himself and looked at him, his face tightening.

“Was, yes,” he said. “Why?”

“I am Groot,” Groot said definitively, and Loki shook his head.

“Call back your child,” he said, with a sharp gesture at Groot.

“Child?” Sam said, eyebrows shooting up.

“He’s an adolescent Flora Colossus,” Loki said, as though it were obvious. “And he is not following me. I don’t care who you were friends with.”

Thor, Wanda thought. Groot didn’t know any of them, but he’d known Thor, at least a little, and Loki was Thor’s brother, and Groot was, apparently, a teenager, among strangers who couldn’t understand him, who had just died.

Wanda’s chest ached. “If he wants to,” she said, “I don’t see why he shouldn’t.”

“I’m not interested in playing nursemaid–”

“I am Groot,” Groot said, and Loki gave him a hard look.

“No, you are not,” he said. “I’ve met grown Flora Colossi and you aren’t it. You’re barely more than a sapling. Maybe - what, four years old?”

“You know what,” Bucky said, “I’m with Wanda, actually. And the, uh...Groot. This place is weird. I think we should stick together, and it seems like he knows more about this place than any of the rest of us do.” His eyes settled on Loki. “And it’s not like we have a whole lot to lose, right now.”

Sam gave Bucky a long, skeptical look and then glanced at T’Challa, who shrugged.

“You assume I am interested in putting up with the lot of you,” Loki said flatly. He looked tense, Wanda thought. Like he was expecting some kind of trap. Wanda tried to summon a smile.

“You said you came over because you were curious,” she said. “And if you’re right, and there is some reason we’re all here...isn’t that something else to be curious about?”

“I am Groot,” said Groot, and Loki glanced at him, jaw twitching.

“I’m dead, you twig,” he said. “If not now, then probably soon. And if I did need protecting, you wouldn’t be much help.”

Bucky snorted, poorly muffled. Wanda bit her lip so she didn’t smile. Groot’s expression was hard for her to read, but it looked to her eyes like a glare.

Loki exhaled loudly and looked away. “Fine,” he said. “If you are inclined...I suppose there’s no harm in traveling adjacently.”

“Traveling where?” Sam asked. “You make it sound like you have an actual destination.”

“I have a...feeling,” Loki said, though something about the brief pause before he spoke made Wanda think there was something he wasn’t saying. The question was if it was important or not. “No more than that.”

“Well,” T’Challa said after a few moments of hesitation, “that is more than I have, at the moment. And so far as I know we weren’t going anywhere in particular, so…”

“I guess that settles it,” Wanda said. Loki eyed her like he suspected her of having some ulterior motive. She decided to pretend not to notice. “So which way are we going?”