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elvisabutler · 2 years ago

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Caught In A Trap ( 2/10 )

Fandom: Elvis (2022)

Relationship: Elvis/Living Past 42, past Priscilla/Elvis, current Priscilla and Elvis loving each other too much always

Word Count (this chapter): 2360ish

Rating: R, honestly this isn't gonna move below that rating I don't think.

TW: Talk of drug use for pain, pain in general, mention of character death, brief implication of self injury, it's sort of a blink and miss situation, drinking. Honestly it's all in the movie for the most part.

Author's Note: This is probably gonna be 10 parts or lower, I think. I have it plotted out, it's really just how I get to all the parts. Also apologies for the wait, literally have spent like the past week ish sick as a dog between me and my family. As always ask box is open, y'all know the drill.

Elvis is sure Jerry was not prepared to have him leaning on him as much as he is both on the way to the car and inside the car. Truth be told, Elvis himself hadn't really planned to lean as much as he was on the other man but his legs couldn't quite carry him in the way he needed and his body in general felt too heavy for him to lug around or sit up any straighter than he was. Still, it makes it easier for Elvis to listen to the other man as he explains everything in the letter he received.

Goddammit his mama had been right, they couldn't trust this Colonel. He should- everyone's warnings and even his own gut telling him something was off and every damn time he fell right back in snowed in and trapped like only a true Southern boy could be by that snow.

Elvis found himself squeezing the bridge of his nose and exhaling, "we could have done this back in '68. Or 69 or 70. Could have taken 'Cilla and Lisa to see Paris."

Might have helped smooth over some of the dumb things he's done. Could have reminded her that he was her husband and she was his wife- his gorgeous spitfire birdie.

"Yeah," Jerry shakes his head, "honestly, we could have done those dates in half the time we've been here in Vegas and the States. Probably had more money too, even with the deal."

"Don't remind me, Jerry." He spits the sentence out with a little more force than he means to. He knows he's a fool when it comes to business and letting the Colonel get away with what BB's told him time and and time again is highway robbery but he hates dealing with all those details now and he always has. Maybe now he ought to try and see what's going on.

Or not if the flash of pain slicing through his head causing him to roll his head to the opposite side. He should have had Dr. Nick give him something for his head at least. Maybe once they get to the hospital they'll give him something. They always do even if he has to make new pain to get something.

"Lay back, EP." Jerry mutters while looking out the window to see if any photographers are trying to catch a photo. He spots one but with Elvis' tilted the way he is, he's pretty sure they're safe. "We'll talk about it later. Can't have you passing out again before we get you inside. Not that sure I can hold up all of your weight."

If Elvis was a little more coherent and a little less exhausted, he might have punched Jerry in the arm for that- defended his eating habits and told the man he wasn't that much of a feather either. He isn't though and all he can muster up is a light kick to the shins and a mumbled and mildly slurred, "I know ya didn't just call m' fat."

The only response he gets is a deep laugh as they start to pull into the hospital. "Wouldn't dream of it. Priscilla might though."

It's hard to get Elvis into the building without anyone noticing but they've had to play this song and dance so many times that by now it's beginning to be an old hat to everyone and Elvis finds that he's always a little more thankful everything but tonight especially. His filter is gone and his temper is barely in check that he doesn't think he could handle a question about why he's here asked by someone with a camera shoved in his face. Why else would he be here? What dumbass question is that?

The ride up to his room is slower than he's used to but maybe it's just his perception of time feeling off. After all, they have to be moving faster than this goddamn snail's pace with him. What if it was something big that's got him this tired? Having them move like this would get him killed not that it mattered right now, he thought, because he's not dying he's just- he needs a break, one that he hasn't had for such a long time. Maybe he'll just go to sleep now, just until they get him settled in.

He hears The Colonel before he sees him in any capacity. His eyes barely open up at the tap of the cane and he knows he needs to sit up, get up and get the man out of his room but the idea seems like an impossible task. Jerry's voice sounds muffled but Elvis thinks he hears him say something about him being asleep and leave him be.

"Nonsense! He's being overdramatic! The showman never stops, hm?" Elvis can feel both the Coloniel's presence in body and feel his breath far too close to his face for comfort in the moment. The shiver that escapes his body is a mixture of disgust and actual chill and he tries to will his arm to move while mumbling.

It fails miserably and Elvis curses his own body for betraying him in the moment he needs it to be with him. Any other time was fine, but right now when he needs to be in fighting form to get this leech of a man away from him the betrayal just slices a knife right through him. Thankfully he hears the door open and a voice he's never heard- a new doctor he thinks- speak before is pulling Parker away with more force than is probably necessary.

"I know you're his manager, Mr. Parker, but he's not going to respond right now. I'll call security on you if you don't leave Mr. Presley be until tomorrow morning."

He hears the Colonel grumbling something about being a Colonel and trying to put up a resistance before blissful silence. He had almost forgotten what that sounds like.

He wakes up in Graceland- or at least what Graceland was a decade and a half ago. Right when his mama had been there and- he loves decorating his home, he does but there was something to be said about how his mama made it look. He can't actually be in Graceland, he's sure he was at the hospital in Las Vegas before he opened his eyes but seeing everything around him settles something in him, lulls him into believing this is real. He wants it to be real, wants for at least a moment to pretend he's this young again and his mama is still here and he can still fly away like he should to the Rock of Eternity.

He forces himself out of bed, trying to see if the whole house is looking like it used to and he finds himself almost immediately going to his mother's closet. He knows he shouldn't, remembers how he broke down leaning against her dresses as if the feel of them would bring her back but it's been so long and he still misses her. He misses all his girls, but his mama is the only one that isn't just a plane ride away. God, he should call Priscilla, have her bring over Lisa Marie. It feels like it's been an age since he's seen them.

"Elvis, is that you?" Elvis hears his mother's voice clear as day the moment he steps out of her closet and his knees just buckle underneath him. She's not real, this can't be real and yet that's her voice.

"Mama?" His throat feels as if there isn't a single drop of water in it and he swears he feels his eyes watering his vision is getting blurry enough that he hopes he's crying. He forces himself to swallow when he looks up to see her looking older than he remembers. "It's me."

Her smile lights up almost every fiber of his being, it's almost the same feeling he gets when little Lisa grins and giggles at him but somehow just different in the most subtle of ways. "You know you're not supposed to be in my closet. If you needed to find me you know where I am."

At home, six feet under and dead for longer than he likes to admit is his first thought before he let's out a huff of a laugh, "the kitchen, I know, Mama. Just wasn't sure about it today."

"You know better than to lie to me, boobie. You know I can tell." She moves her hand out to touch his face and Elvis leans in quicker than he thought he was capable of moving. He can feel the tears on his cheeks now, knowing that this isn't real and his mama isn't this old but if this is what his exhaustion is dreaming up he'll take it. He'll be this exhausted for just a little while longer just to see her and feel her comfort. "Get up off the floor, I can't give you a hug like that."

His bones protest the movement, creaking in ways they probably shouldn't and he sways just a little too much to where he stumbles just momentarily into the wall. Gladys is there to catch him though and the look on her face brings such a rush of shame in his body that he feels like a little boy getting in trouble for something major. "You shouldn't be moving like that."

"I'm older mama, pushing 40. My body just-" He finds himself being shushed and cut off all at once.

"That's nonsense, almost 40 or not my strong boy wouldn't be stumbling like that just from getting up. You haven't been drinking have you?"

There is an irony that isn't lost on Elvis and he has to bite his tongue to not back talk at his mother but he can't stop the way his lips purse just a bit and his upper lip inches toward a bit of a snarl before he answers her. "No, mama, you know I get mean when I drink anyway. I'm just tired and I'm in some pain."

A lot of pain, but he figures he was due for something that Dr. Nick would give him so that was to be expected even with his exhaustion- can't escape parts of his own body from acting up.

He feels her arms wrap around him. "You mean that pain they've got you on all those pills for, boobie?"

In the back of his mind he can hear himself singing that he's caught in a trap as he pulls away from her embrace to touch at her face and look at his mother. This isn't right, she shouldn't know about that, shouldn't know how bad it's been getting. This isn't real but he's so tired, who's she gonna tell?

"Yeah, mama, that pain. I've got it handled though-"

"For God's sake, boobie, I wish you wouldn't take all those pills, they can't be good for you." His mother pleads looking at him straight into his eyes. Hell, into his soul for all he knew.

He remembers telling her not to drink so much, how it wasn't good for her and he can't help the bark of a laugh that exits his throat with such ferocity that it startles him. Mama didn't need the alcohol, but he's pretty sure he needs at least some of these pills.

"Mama-"

"No, boobie, you know I'm right, you're losing yourself and I don't like seeing you like this."

His eyes narrow who did she think she was saying that to him of all people after she drank herself to death leaving him with his daddy and making it so he couldn't introduce her to Priscilla and her granddaughter. "I didn't like seeing you dead, Mama."

Her face looks hurt for a moment before she exhales slowly. "I was worried. I'm still worried. Promise me you'll cut back, Elvis. You might have the strength of two men but Jesse can't save you forever."

He wants to deny it but there's a part of him, small as it is that knows she's right. That Jesse might have been saving him all these years but the full moons are getting harder and harder to catch so to speak. Still, he doesn't know if he can, because it's hard- everything is starting to bust on him and he just wants a break. If he could just rest and reset he'd be fine, but he's gotta pay for Graceland and the Mafia.

His breath leaves his body in one swoop when he looks up at his mother through his lashes and he nods his head. "I'll try. At least a little."

Will he is the real question, but what's the harm in lying to his dead mother? It's not like she could be mad at him for it or hit him for it.

"Good, now let's head to the kitchen, boobie, I made your favorite." Gladys smiles and motions for him to follow her.

It's then that Elvis feels the pull of real life yanking him back against his will. He knew this was a dream but it was so nice that he just wanted to stay for a little while, just rest for a little while. Maybe if he just shuts his eyes it'll stay put just a little while longer.

He thinks he feels his eyes shut and feels his body become weightless as a bird before-

"What the hell?!"

#elvis 2022 #elvis movie #elvis presley #elvis presley fanfiction #elvis #austin butler elvis #austin butler #ally writes #i never know what to tag everything as.

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sugarakis-p2 · 3 years ago

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Big Shiggy Daddy Ch2

50+ followers special. Yes you are special!

It's the next day and you have to face some pretty horrific realities. Your daughter insists on staying while you want to escape you're Yandere Mothman. Are you getting used to your new home?

Chapter 1 for those that want it.

Warning: Knotting, death threats, magic, Shiggy in a cute frilly pink skirt, hurts so good lemon, Moth Shigaraki is still a mean yandere and is a real dad.

I know most people use y/n for your name. But I can not bring myself to it! It interrupts the flow and harshes my mellow, I will never use it. So, its Ur (aka Uri) Name from now on, but rest assured you are the one being thoroughly used by Shigaraki.

Chapter 2

You wake up with a jolt and a sense of déjà vu.

Looking over, you are sure it's no longer a nightmare. It's grim reality.

You're in a giant bird's nest, nude and sore all over. The ache between your legs hurts most. You groan at the memories. Goddammit, you hate yourself. That monster felt good. Shigaraki didn't even stop after the first orgasm. He kept going until you were a jabbering mess begging for just one more. You felt like crying.

Chouka clearly packed your bag. No underwear and primarily shirts. You grab a pair of pants and an I'm with stupid shirt that points straight up. Oh god, how telling, you think, rolling your eyes at the lack of irony.

You follow the sound of Chouka's laughter. The butterfly man with the long hair that came to his knees lets Chouka give him a haircut in your pink frilly skirt. She created a unicorn with his hair and cut random chunks off carefully away from his dropping antennae. She lights up when she sees you, and he eyes you with distrust while he scratches his fur ruff.

"Look, I'm making Daddy look pretty," she shouts. She does a few more cuts and screams, tada! His hair falls down shoulder length. It looks very nice. "And I made pancakes!"

Chouka was never much of a talker or excitable. Now you're starting to wonder if that was just because of you. You go to check the pancake batter. You lift the wooden spoon, and it's runny with eggshells that cascade back into the bowl.

"Chouka, when did you learn to make pancakes?" you ask. She wrinkles her nose.

"How hard can it be? I made cake batter and put it in a pan. I used my leftover birthday cake and added egg with water. Tada!" she says, shrugging. Running over to take a bite of hers. "It's cruncher than I remember, though."

"I like the crunch," The winged man rasps, taking a tentative bite. Chouka is eating a massive chunk of ham like its candy while avoiding the crunchy cakes. This feels so surreal.

"Chouka, that's too much meat for the day," you scold.

"No, it's not," Shigaraki challenges while taking a sip from his mug. He picks up another mug and spits out the coffee grounds. Chouka quickly shoves more into her mouth. Not wanting to defy you but still wants the meat.

You toss most of the dirty dishes in the metal tub next to an old-time hand pump you've seen in period piece movies. There is a knife right there. You grab it and look over to see Chouka shaking her head no vehemently. The Man who called himself Shigaraki looks charmed as he watches you, his blood-red eyes following your every movement. You toss it with the rest of the dirty dishes.

"Chouka, your…Shigaraki and I need to talk," you say hesitantly. She finishes the meat and looks to Shigaraki, who raises two fingers, which signals Chouka to take off.

"Mommy, you need to see my new room. I'll clean it. I have a real English tea set. Toga got it for me. She's my new friend too and I invited Haco over. He said he will be over as soon as the 'burnt shit bag dickface’ will let him," she giggles, running off. The second she is gone, and out of earshot, you get in his face. His wings flutter, and he smiles as you rant.

"Listen here, you kidnapping rapist piece of shit. That's my daughter! I gave birth to her, and I raised her," you hiss. His face gets close to yours.

"That's not true. You can ask her. I have been in her life since she grew in her fangs and was able to walk. I would sneak in a play with my daughter every night. Do you have any idea how many times she has asked me why you hate her?"

"Fuck you! You are a fucking liar!" You scream at him.

"No!" he hisses, rising like a venous snake. "Fuck you. By the way, I'm down. You loved it so much last night. I wouldn't mind another girl." He leers at you. You raise your hand to slap him. Shigaraki is quicker. He has your hand in his grip, pressing down on several fingers with his thumb, shooting horrible pain through your arm. You fall to your knees and grit your teeth. Panting into his grinning face, you continue.

"You are doomed. Do you know what happens to rapist kidnappers in prison? What will happen when the heroes get ahold of you" You spat at him. He bursts out laughing.

"Oh no! I'm so scared. Look at me quake in fear. I already told you that you're in my world," he stops, and his antennae waver. "I understand the kidnapping. I put Chouka to bed; she needs to nap. But what does 'rapist' mean?"

"Are you serious? What are you some kind of hermit caveman? Or are you just stupid? It's hard for me to tell." He lets your hand go, and you wipe away the tears you didn't know were running down your face until now. He cocks his head at you. "A rapist is what you are. A person who forces another to have sexual intercourse without permission."

"Ahhhhh, well then that is true. I never bothered to ask permission. That is a concept that is not often used here for females. I don't understand why you are so mad. You didn't give permission beforehand, but you seemed happy during. In fact, you begged me to cum in you."

"That's not consent or the point. You abused me. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to trust anyone after that? I suffer from sleep paralysis because of what you did to me," you sniffle. He rolls his eyes at you.

"Don't be so dramatic. It sounds like buyers' remorse to me. Why? You have Chouka. You climaxed all over my cock, and soon our family will be bigger," he shrugs. Your mouth drops open; again, everything feels so surreal. If it wasn't for the throbbing pain in your hand, you would still believe you're in a nightmare.

"Oh, I get it. You are fucking insane. A delusional sociopath. Fine, keep being delusional. But the fact is Chouka is my daughter, not yours. At best, you're a sperm donor, and at worse, you're the rapist who snuck in my bed one night, that's it. A kidnapper is a person who takes another person against their will. When we get out of here, the heroes will tear your butterfly wings right off," you say. Standing, rubbing your hand, and eyeing your surroundings. He smirks at you.

"Chouka will have something to say about that. She explained to me that you will be like this. Chouka told me you're like a new puppy. You will spoil the carpet a few times, but then you will adjust and be a good girl." He pats you on the head. A patronizing act you swipe at him for. He jerks his hand back too quick and chuckles at your weak efforts of defiance.

"I have to go pick up Haco. By the way, I'm a Mothman, not a butterfly, Chouka and I are nocturnal creatures. Go ahead and try to escape without Chouka. Only once, after that, you will not find me so kind. I think you will be surprised about just how much no one will give a fuck about how I "kidnapped" you or "raped" you," He says with air quotes. "If you try to escape with Chouka …. well, I can't guarantee the outcome or even my reaction. I doubt I will be merciful if that's any kind of reassurance. Futures can branch in so many ways. I'll be back soon," He says, walking off.

With his back to you and with his new haircut, you see he has a human skull pattern between his shoulders. Underneath are boney hands with skeleton fingers branch into his wing pattern. Fuck! Does he have a death head moth quirk? Everything about him screams danger. He is so quick you have no idea where he went.

"Chouka! Chouka! Goddammit! Chouka where are you?" you start to scream. She runs out and up to you. You wrap your arms around her and start crying. She pets your head and tells you it will be ok. “No Chouka we have to go. Leave everything here. We need to run now," you snivel at her. Chouka shakes her head at you.

"No, mommy. I love it here. I love daddy," she whines. You want to shake some sense into her. You have to calm yourself and breathe as the therapist told you to.

"Chouka, that man is not your father. He is a kidnapper and rapist. He's dangerous, and we are going home," you say through tense gritted teeth. She shakes her head no again.

"No. I couldn't tell you. You were so sad and mad at me all the time. But daddy has been taking care of me when you were too sad or mad. I thought you didn't love me anymore, and daddy told me that wasn't true. That you loved me but had your own demons that made it hard to see me. When we move into our real home, you will have the time to slay them and see me. I don't want to leave daddy. He loves me. I'm not alone anymore," she burst into tears, and it's your turn to comfort her.

This is bad. You didn't think things had gotten that bad between you and Chouka. Her words felt like a gut punch. You really thought you hid your resentment and alcoholism from her. But Chouka has always been more preceptive than you like.

"Chouka, I am so sorry that I have not been the parent you needed. I will try harder because I love you very much. Mommy's stress is not on you. But that man. That man is a bad man and has hurt mommy. We need to go," you tell her firmly. She lets you drag her along to where you think the front door or cave hole or whatever it's called.

"Mommy, we can't leave," she wails.

"Oh yes, we can," you snap. Chouka is resisting and whining as you drag her to the entrance. The argument is so distracting that when you see the night stars, you turn to yell at her. And then scream when you nearly walk off the edge. Chouka yanked you back. You almost fell on top of her. She stands over you and shakes her head violently.

"You can't fly, mommy. We are in his world, and there is no place to go. I love daddy, and I'm never leaving," She says firmly and as she stomps away. That was Chouka having a tantrum.

Getting up, you look out into the night and edge towards the ledge. Looking down, you realize that you would not survive that fall. Worse, you are not confident enough in your climbing skills to risk it.

The moonlight seems off. The shadows all over the ground, and trees are casting two shadows. You look up to see the moon. It seems off too. Smaller, and its face didn't seem right. You look over and gasp. There is a second moon, smaller and was definitely not the moon you remember. Shaken, you go back in. You feel a little dazed as you watch Chouka navigate the strange primitive kitchen. She is making tea.

A thing you did not teach her. Now that you think about it, you never let her play with hot items. Yet there she is. Pumping water into a pot. Placing it on a strangely carved circle. She touches it, and it glows with heat. She moves on to put tea leaves in the ornate English porcelain teapot. Biting her tongue in concentration.

"Do you want help with that?" you ask. Chouka shakes her head no.

"I invited Haco over for tea. I can make it. It should taste better because I made it," She says, dumping half the bag into the pot. "Toga got me a real English set. Can't wait to try sipping tea with my pinky out."

You can't help but smile. Chouka can see the possible future; it makes her so sure about things like this.

"Obviously, but can you help me?" you ask. Chouka looks up and chirps at you.

"Help you?" She asks cocking her head to the side.

"Yeah. I have no idea how to work anything. And I have a craving. No, a need for cookies. Cakes and biscotti."

"What's bis-bis-cotti?" she flutters with a smile.

"It's a crunchy cookie stick made for tea parties. It is a must for any tea party. So, can you please help me," you beg.

"You never baked before," she says.

"I used to. I actually ran a successful pet treat business. But it wasn't making the kind of cash we needed. But now we have free time. Tell me about this, Haco." You say, standing and pulling down the mixing bowls.

Shigaraki considered dropping Haco. The teen still didn't talk to Shigaraki and when he went to pick him up. Dabi laughed at him, and it still rankled.

"Your narcissistic optimism is boundless. It's a quality we share and makes me very proud of you," Dabi chortles.

“Shut up Dabi,” Shigaraki hisses.

"I will. Because I'll be here waiting. Ready for the day you stop playing daddy and come back," Dabi scoffs.

"I'm not playing daddy. I am a daddy. A fucking big one. The fucking best one, you bitch," he growled.

"Of course. How are things going with the mother?" he queries, quirking an eyebrow.

"Like wedded bliss. It's going great. She's happy. Gets to spend more time with Chouka. Our nest life is the best," he says as he knocks over several of Dabi's potions.

"Can we go?" Haco asks Dabi, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.

"I'll have him back in a few hours," Shigaraki tells Dabi.

"Don't bother. It's not like he cares," was the only thing Haco has said to him so far. He had considered dropping Haco, but allies can be found in strange places. When they entered, the place was filled with laughter and the smell of baking.

Haco runs to Chouka without so mush as a thank you for not dropping me.

"Chouka, you can bake?" Haco yells, smiling, running away from Shigaraki.

"My mom just taught me." She flutters. "We have a real tea party!" Haco stops and blushes.

"Just don't tell the others, ok?" Haco whispers.

"Why not?" she whispers back.

"They will want to join, and I like talking to just you," he says shyly. Chouka laughs, and Shigaraki is suddenly there in his pink skirt.

"Can't wait to try your baking butterfly," he rasps to Chouka.

"Don't remember you being invited," Haco snits.

"I'm her father. Did you think I was going to let you play in her nest with the door closed?"

"Alright, it's party time. Hey Haco, I'm Ur Name. Everyone calls me Uri, though. Chouka has told me so much about you. Let's get this party started," you say. Cringing inside at how incredibly stupid you sound. He shakes your hand.

"Pleased to meet Chouka's mother. Ms. Name," He mumbles before he takes the hot teapot from Chouka.

Chouka was ecstatic to have her parents and her new best friend playing together. Shigaraki and Haco stared at each other in heavy silence. Shigaraki occasionally spits out leaves. Haco and Shigaraki ate most of the treats. Chouka whispers in Shigaraki's ear, and he grunts. He offers you the last of the snacks, and you thank him. He seemed a little pleased with it. When it was time for Shigaraki to drop off Haco, you lightly touched his arm.

"We need to talk in private when you get back," you tell him, and he nods in response. You go to help Chouka clean up. She goes on about her new gifts and her party. Shows you all the things from your house that was brought here. Everything in her room. You leave her to play while you wash the dishes.

Shigaraki was back and in your skirt. He plops down on your old couch. His feet on a coffee table. You know it's a coffee table because Shigaraki and Chouka put several half-drunk mugs of coffee, which Chouka insisted you leave there. He watches you with crossed arms as you sit in front of him on the table. You smile, and he narrows his eyes in suspicion.

"Well, let me start. I noticed I'm incredibly fucked. I went outside and saw two moons. I have a few questions about that and some other things. But in the meantime, I have talked to Chouka, and it turns out you are a lot of shit, just a huge pile of it, but you're not a dishonest shit. So, I really want to figure out how we are going to do this. Because I have a feeling, you're not going to let us go," your lip trembles.

His expression softens as he touches your jaw with his terrifying claws. He smiles at you like a gremlin.

"No, I'm never going to let you go. I believe we can make this work. For Chouka at least," he rasps with a lilt of joy. You nod.

"I've noticed you are very good with her. Better than I have been. I really hate to admit it, but she has been really happy. The happiest I've ever seen her. You never complained or said no once to any of the things that clearly make you uncomfortable. I was also told you were there for her all those long nights. I'm really grateful for that." You say and jerk when he pulls you to him. Pressing you tight against his chest, forcing you to straddle him. He's inhaling your hair and fear as you gasp for air.

"How grateful?" he rumbles in your ear as a hand slides to your ass. You timidly wrap your arms around him. You nuzzle into his fur, which is amazingly soft and scented like musk, pepper, and cedar. A combination of smells that reminds you of hikes in the mountains back home.

"Very grateful," you breathe. "I got to get to know my daughter today. I would never have been able to without you. You are undoubtedly her father. You are letting me spend so much time with her without the stress and worry of working for food. You are a good daddy. You've been like a big sugar daddy, providing for me," you moan. Snaking your hand under the skirt and stroking his huge length. You kiss him with a passion that makes him harder and whine in your mouth. He's hungry for you and shows you.

He lifts you and shimmers his wings, and nips your lip. His claws are trying to yank your pants open at the waistband of the zipper.

"Fucking buttons," he growls. His feelers tremble when you stop him.

"I can get them off. But only after we put Chouka to bed. Then explore. Hmmm, I've so many questions. I've never heard of, or seen, or touched a Mothman before. Strange dreams and sleep paralysis don't count. So, after we put Chouka to bed, let's get to know each other. Ok, Shiggy Daddy?" you ask. He grits his teeth and growls.

"I like the sound of that. We can play as long and as hard as you want," he answers, heaving with lust.

"Ok, daddy. Give me the grand tour. Chouka and I have been baking all night. So, show me our new home," you smile.

"Anything my darling wants," he sighs, setting you down. He uses the skirt to hide his hard-on.

"First off, you can rock a skirt, but why are you wearing it?" you ask.

"Chouka says I should be more modest around you. The skirt fit, and I like how loose it feels," he rasps. "I'll show you around. I can show you so much. I can show you magic. I can show you my world. Come, let's start here, then work our way to the nest we'll be sharing." He holds your hand tenderly as he guides you through the wide tunnels and rooms. Nothing special. He avoids the room at the end of the hall near Chouka's room.

When it was time for bed, Chouka was bouncing like a kangaroo all over the furniture. Her little wings are flapping like mad. She dodges just out of their reach.

"I want to fly!" she yells.

"That doesn't start until puberty, little butterfly. But daddy will take you for flying lessons tomorrow," he says as he tries to catch her.

"Really!" she squeals.

"Yes," he answers as she launches herself into him. "I love you, daddy!"

"I love you too. Now go to bed," Shigaraki says, giving her one last squeeze before he sets her in the nest.

"Wait. Let's brush and braid your hair," You say. Combing your fingers through her dark silken locks, avoiding her sensitive antennae.

"There you go. I love you. Goodnight," you say, giving her a kiss.

In the hall, Shigaraki doesn't give you enough time to say anything. His tongue is in your mouth. His body pressed you against the wall. Pushing your legs open. His knee rides up to your hot center. Again, he struggles with the front of your jeans.

"Get these off," he grimaces. Red eyes are burning with lust.

"No, not in front of Chouka's room. Let's go to ours. Or that room. What's in that room?"

"Our nest it is," He growls, lifting you and carrying you to the nest. Laying you down smoothly in the nest. He watches closely as you undo the top button before he roughly yanks the pants from your body. Leaving the stupid, I'm with stupid shirt on.

"Want. I want. Give me. Let me taste all of you," he demands. His mouth and tongue are everywhere. Crawling under your shirt to play with your chest. He doesn't let you take it off. It bunches around your neck. You cry out as he nips and sucks your tits, your neck, your tongue. Rough fingers with sharp tips invade the space between your legs to spread them wide for his eager mouth.

"Wait! Remember exploring?" you shrill as his tongue plunges into your pussy, making you writhe and moan. Holding you steady as his tongue twists like a tentacle in your core. Pleasure is quickly building as he eats and licks you like a starved man. He's keening while his wings flap; your inner walls are tightening, and your flavor is becoming sweeter. He is ruthless and demanding when you cum on his tongue. Trapping him with your legs and yanking his soft hair.

"Stop! Too much! I'm sensitive," you moan. He growls when you grab his feelers and tug. It adds more sensation. You let go and writhe from him.

Licking the last of you off his lips, he grabs your legs and pulls you to him, laughing.

"Wait, I need a minute," you pant.

"No. It's my turn now," he snickers.

"Come on, I have never even seen what you are screwing me with," you pout. He cocks his head and vibrates his antennae and wings.

"It's just a cock. It's my cock, and it's not that unique," he says. You sulk some more, and he lifts his skirt to show you. You cringe inwardly at yourself because the sight of a whole of him is beautiful.

"Oh," you gasp. This large insect-like man lifting your frilly pink skirt to show you his perfect and massive cock was making your pulse beat faster. Warmth spreads over your cheeks and between your legs. Under the scratches, Shigaraki has a masculine angelic face. His dry lips crack into a smirk when he sees you blush. His chin is still wet with you.

His neck ruff puffs in pride, and his wings flutter in a rhythmic dance. You thought it was big. But your imagination was all over the place of what the internal dick would look like. Would it be scarred and chapped like his face? Moth's genitals are a wide variety. A part of you wondered if it was insect-like.

No. It is large and pale as the rest of him. Human-like, with a longer head and a vein traveling up one side. There are two bumps, a large one at the base the balls normally would be and a smaller one above it. He flexes, causing all the lean muscle to pop out. The red tip leaks and jerks towards your hand when you move to touch it. You yelp and jump as if it tried to bite you. Shigaraki chuckles.

"You like it. I can also purr similar to a cat. You relished it the first time," he leers at you. You feel like you're ready to explode with embarrassment.

"Don't you feel shame?" you shoot back.

"Not generally. It only gets in the way of what I want. Right now, what I want is for you to get on your hands and knees. Take all of me like a good girl," he hisses, letting the skirt drop to crawl to you.

"Wait, I thought we were going to fool around. You promised to answer some of my questions," you say, backing up. "Like what those bumps are."

"Those are my gonads, and that little one is my knot. It gets a lot bigger, trust me," He grabs your ankle. "Speaking of which, if you want to talk, we can after you take my knot. I think you call it pillow talk?"

You didn't imagine seeing his cock would be intimidating. But the mention of knots and remembering the pain you had to go through prior to pleasure has you running from him. You back up to the lip of the nest and try to stand to climb over it when he grabs you roughly.

Flipping you on your hands and knees on the lip of the nest, gripping your hips, forcing your ass up to him. He has you pinned. It happened so quick you were stunned. You slam your knees shut and squeal when you can still feel his cock at your entrance. The head of his heavy cock slicking with the mix of his precum and your essence. He can't hold back any longer. He is already past his limits with patience.

He grips your waist and sinks into your waiting folds. Shigaraki continues to engulf himself in your tight pussy. Growling and grunting, when he bottoms out, the tip of his cock pressed firmly against your cervix, causing a twinge of pain. You squirm and cry. He stops to let you adjust.

"Finally. You are being so nice for me. With your legs closed, you feel a little tighter. Such a good kinky girl. I would never have thought of this position. I love it. I love you," he coos in your ear. All you can do is moan and hold onto the nest. His thrusts start slow and gentle. Stroking over the sensitive spots of your walls. Pulling out halfway to work himself back in.

Even while it's slow, it still hurts, and you whine about it.

"Well, if you're going to complain and be ungrateful anyway, I might as well let loose," he growls. You are clinging to nest and beg forgiveness as he pounds himself violently into your tightness. Your teeth and nails are digging into wood and breaking. All of you feels like your breaking, making you dizzy. Your cunt tightening and getting wetter around him is making him feral.

"Fuck, so good. I can feel you are about to climax on me. Shame I can't look in the eyes in this position, but you can gain my favor by calling me 'daddy.' Call me Shiggy daddy like before. I enjoy the way you say it. Say it, or I'll get aggressive," he threatens. This isn't aggressive? Your mind screams.

Bracing yourself while he thrusts, humping you like a dirty bitch. You scream daddy repeatedly, pushing back into him as your pussy grips at him. Your entire body is tightening around him as you have the most intense orgasm of your life. He is grinding you into the nest and flapping his wings so hard he's leaving you breathless. Still pulsating and spasming, he thrusts into you, chasing his own orgasm.

Finally, he lifts off and lets you breathe. You try to wriggle away from him, holds you in place when you feel his teeth on your neck. With a bruising grip, he shoves you back into his hips hard, roars, searing pain as his knot fills you.

Growling while spilling his seed into your womb, his cock and knot throbbing as he pumps his cum deeper in you. You weep. It really does hurt so good, but it hurts more. You shouldn't have complained. You are starting to wonder if you can do this. If you can keep up this act. He releases his bite and replaces it with a hand.

Yanking you back into the nest. Embracing you in a spooning position while his hot knot keeps you tied. You gulp for air and start to sweat, making you cold. He adjusts a wing to fold over the both of you. It's surprisingly warm. The hand is suddenly wrapped around your throat again.

"I know you want to ask about that room again. That room is not for you. If I catch you trying to get in it or have gotten in it without me present. I will remove a limb. Hmmm, maybe bite each one of these delicate fingers off." He lets go of your throat.

You pant in fear as he grips your wrist and brings your fingers to his mouth. He sucks each one, one by one, making a lewd popping sound when he pulls them out of his mouth. He giggles while you watch him, his eyes heavy with satisfaction and adoration for you. He lets you jerk your spit-covered hand back.

"Oh, the look on your face. You must think I need that shirt if you thought I had really fallen for your sweet little act after only being here two nights. Although I do appreciate the fucking. I want to keep my promise and make Chouka a big sister." He kisses you and runs his claws through your hair. Petting you like his favorite bitch.

"You dirty fucking dog. You knew this whole time, and you let me debase myself. You said you could show me magic. Well, I want to see it," you yell at him.

"I keep my word. I'll show you magic. Nothing useful for escaping. It's truly for your safety. The forest has many things that will eat you the second you set foot on the ground," he snickers. "When I soften, we can go again. I'll be gentle this time," He says, running a hand under your shirt to lightly caress your breast and rub his thumb over your nipple.

"Yeah, ok, we can go again. As long as you are kind. Fucking asshole. Do that purr thing," you hiss at him. You gasp as he rumbles, purrs that you can feel in your core while he's still in you. You pray he doesn't know about the symbol you painted with your own blood under the nest. You remember the note Haco passed to you when he shook your hand.

Sex magic. Only magic u can use. Draw this symbol under ur luv nest. Get n2 library. Burn after reading. Luv-D <3

Chapter 3

#monster shigaraki #motharaki #mothman shigaraki #moth shigaraki #yandere shigaraki #yandere shigaraki tomura #bnha shigaraki #tomura shiragaki #tomura smut #yandere tomura #tomura x you #mha tomura #tomura shigaraki #shigaraki x you #shigaraki x y/n #shigaraki x reader #alternate universe fantasy #mothura

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storiumemporium · 2 years ago

Note

omg today i wore heeled boots for the first time to go to work and now i can't stand my feet, i could do an imagine where reader is in a similar situation and viktor suggests a massage, but she doesn't want to bother him, she knows how her research and work are tiring please.Thank you

Hey!!! Sorry this is so late! Life got simultaneously hectic and a little depressing the last week, and I've been giving myself a break from the internet while I recoup. Hopefully however this lives up to expectations!

Feel free to leave more requests! 💗

Shoes were a mistake.

Shoes were a mistake and you were going to personally find out whoever invented the heel, so you could kill them.

Your feet are a blistered, reddened mess. The boutique girl who had dragged you around rack to rack for hours had insisted; "These are the most fashionable shoes in Piltover at the moment, and they're in your exact size! Everyone will envy you."

Okay, maybe you shouldn't have fallen for that- but who can blame you? Sometimes you want to be the impressive one.

And... maybe you were tired of feeling like you were so plain next to Viktor, dragging him down every time he was subjected to mingling with the highlife around here.

Regardless, all your endeavors earned you were scabs, calves and ankles so sore you could hardly bear to stand, and a decent heap of embarrassment. You were sure you'd injured something.

And the cherry on top? Viktor would be here soon.

You didn't know what to say to him- to describe the stupid predicament you'd put yourself in, you knew he'd be disappointed, or frustrated.

You were about halfway to the kitchen, attempting to start dinner and pretend you didn't want to chew your own legs off when the familiar click of the lock unlatching gently pinged through the apartment.

It was hard to not whip around looking like a moth tranced by flame, offering Viktor your best attempt at a smile, knowing it came out as the nervous contortion of a dog who'd been caught doing something it shouldn't. "Hey there! How was work!?"

Why did you say that- you never ask that, shut up, shut up.

You knew he'd immediately caught on, Viktor was all too perceptive a man for your blundering to go unnoticed. Those pretty golden eyes had narrowed to scrutinizing slits, and as he let the door swing gently shut behind him, he began to take you apart with his mind.

"Love..?" He's not accusatory- yet- his voice soft and imploring, as if talking to a frightened animal.

Fuck, play this cool.

"What?" Your voice comes out squeaky and defensive.

Goddammit.

It's a subtle shift. He pulls himself upright, the comfortable slouch he bore when he feflt safe in your company replaced by the regal mass of his entire height, leg straightening out as he put to work his full authority.

"What happened?"

For a short time you fumble your words, trying futilely to feed him some nonsense about how coworkers had made your life hell today again- but there was no point, the moment you'd gone to take a step your whole body telegraphed the pain you were in like a shining beacon of misery.

He's over in a startling flash- always so much faster than people gave him credit for- than he himself let other people see. Likely something he kept coyly hidden in the event of danger, a trait carried over from his early life.

His free hand is pulling you, steadying you, as he corrals you to the plush couch you share your evenings together on, and as soon as you're planted he's tugging at the plain shoes you'd changed into to see the handiwork of the cursed evil heels.

"Love..." His voice is soft in a way that instills a great deal of shame, those long expert fingers trace over the evidence of your struggle. "What- what happened? What did this?"

The guilty-dog look returns. "...Heels..?"

Were this any other situation, the look on Viktor's face would've been enough to send you into giggle fits. But as it stood, it just made you embarrassed.

"L-Look- I know it's stupid- don't worry about it, I'll be fine-"

"Would a massage help?"

What?

"They are sore, no?" It occurs to you that your thought was uttered out loud, caught off guard by his lack of ire.

"I-I mean, yeah, but-"

"Then let me help."

"Vik- you've been working all day, you're tired-" you deal with more pain than this on a daily basis and never ask for help, let alone something like this.

The prerequisite thought stirred up a new pool of cold shame within your belly. Here you were, crying and moping as if unable to walk over sore ankles and bruised feet, while the man you loved had bolts put into his spine to correct him- wielded a cane to even support his weight on one leg, and he took it all with silence.

Your face turned an unflattering hue.

But Viktor wasn't having any of it, brows furrowed and piercing gaze cutting like glass. "I can afford to spare minutes of my day to make sure you do not feel miserable, my little tinker."

"Vik..."

He did not wait for your approval now, pulling your feet into his lap as he fully discarded his cane against the armrest, nimble and calloused hands dug into the knots of your feet, avoiding areas that were rubbed raw or blistering.

It was conflicting, bouncing between sharp, stabbing pain and the immense relief that followed as he unworked the aches within your legs.

His voice began again, soft and lulling as he worked his masseur magic upon you. "It is okay to need help, tinker.

I want to help you, it makes me feel good to be able to do this for you." He wavers with amusement and something else you can't quite name. "Sometimes it feels as if I am the only one with problems, it's a relief when I can be the one with the solution."

His smile at you is wry and sardonic, layered with that wit you love. But his words ache. "I know you hide things from me, my dear. I will not pester you for them- but I want you to know, no matter what it is..."

His thumb digs, the aching sharp split of a muscle under duress begins to wane.

"Foot aches or anything else- anything more. It would be my pleasure to help you."

#viktor lol #viktor #arcane #viktor x reader #viktor arcane #viktor league of legends #arcane x reader

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shooks-stupid-stuff · 3 years ago

Text

AHAHA IT'S FINALLY DONE-

so hi yes @m-chromatic made a template for what if your oc was a secret boss and ofc i had to do it with The Funny One (aka sakomi)

and uh

piracy :]

full design/doodles/me rambling about this concept bc i really like it beneath the cut-

fuck i just realized i forgot her collar on the 'how they met the knight' drawing goddammit-

it's FINE that one's shitposty anyways-

ok so anyways. yeah so what's going on here huh? piracy. piracy is going on.

now to be CLEAR: sakomi is a lightner so like. she's not supposed to be a PIRACY WEBSITE or anything, no. she's a pirate, she DOES the pirating herself. don't ask how that works just accept it it makes sense i swear-

so like, i dunno i kinda just was thinking of designs and went 'yeah i should give her an eyepatch' and then i remembered piracy existed and it just worked (especially bc sakomi is based off of me and i pirate stuff all the time-)

oh yeah before i forget, initial design doodles + explanations on that-

god man i thought that citra joke was so funny when i thought of it.

it's really not.

uhhh anyways, so! design process woooo-

so, sakomi's og design takes a lot of inspiration in the outfit department from rudolf fire emblem (my beloved), so like. ofc i took more inspiration from fire emblem civbchjvb-

specifically with the scarf-bow-cape thing, which is inspired by generic adventurer class outfit from fire emblem fates (because that design slaps so fucking hard) as well as the hat and boots (the boots to a much lesser degree). other than that just y'know, a slightly torn up pirate coat and eyepatch for the pirate aesthetic, and gloves with colored fingertips bc they're c o o l (yes they aren't fingerless gloves).

and the in-universe explanation for why/how she has video game clothes is: she pirated them.

this is ADVANCED PIRACY (but more on that in a sec)

already explained the dumb joke one, so uh other doodle. so like, remember those anti-piracy psas that would play before movies? like, the one's that were edited to say you wouldn't download a car. so like. what if that but more fucked up-

like the eyepatch is not just for show (she accidentally poked her eye out with a ds cartridge, what a dumbass) but what if she tried to pirate a new eye

yeah it didn't work- (it did for her leg though so no more perpetual leg wound but still that's Fucked Up)

again, don't ask how this works it's just a cool idea and i like it (also she can threaten to pirate people's organs and that's just funny)

but yeah she probably participates in whatever black market cyber world has (it probably has one let's be real)

ok so now: i will uhh actually explain the stuff on the template one by one

before:

so sakomi's whole deal is that she's a lightner who's been trapped in the dark world for like 2 years and as such just basically lives there now. she has a small shop that is also her house (the curtain separates the two) and uh. yeah she doesn't get many customers, and being fucking TERRIBLE socially if she doesn't already know someone doesn't help. but she gets by (somehow). she's incredibly lonely, essentially being the odd man out in every way possible, but she gets by. i'll go into more detail on this in a later section though, so for now i'll stop.

after:

man oh man she's a criminal now-

jokes aside, she's still a shopkeeper, just for less than legal things now. some stuff is even free (but it's download only, physical media is still way cheaper than official releases though) but some of the pirated items are a bit lesser quality than the originals. you get what you pay for, i suppose lol.

obvious melee joke is obvious

additional sprites:

well (shitty) overworld sprite aside, w e a p o n s

she has a fucking gun oh god oh fu-

and a cool sword (also stolen from fire emblem, will elaborate in a bit). yeah she fights with them idk what else to say, no way in hell i'm coming up with like actual bullet patterns (yet)

item drops:

YES OK THIS I HAVE STUFF TO SAY ABOUT AHAHA

ok so first the scarf:

i kinda already explained the design, but the effect. not only is it a touhou reference (kinda) but also it reflects sakomi's feelings of loneliness and isolation. when you're all alone and feeling own in a sea of people who are all talking with others, it often can feel like your invisible (same when the few friends you do have ignore you in favor of other friends they like better; and yes, i'm speaking from experience). and since in dr certain attacks will target certain party members, it would make sense to translate this into an in battle effect that makes the character with it equipped less likely to get targeted. other than that it's inspired by the koishi card from touhou 18, except instead of making it impossible to die by touching an enemy it just makes your hitbox smaller cjvhcbj-

and next, the sword:

SO WHO HERE LIKES FIRE EMBLEM-

ok this one is simple. in fe there's a sword called the killing edge (yes i looked up synonyms for both words lmao) and it increases crit rate. so i made a bootleg (pirated) version of that, and since crits don't exist in dr it just makes the sweet spot for attacks a bit bigger (the little bar you hit for max damage). it's design is based off of the fire emblem awakening version of the killing edge (since it's my fave character of that game's signature weapon). not much else to it i just like my dumb anime tactical rpg lol-

how'd she meet the knight:

ok i know i made this one shitposty but i do have a legit thing for it lol

also no, i don't think the knight is gaster. fucking sue me.

aaaaaanyways. so imagine being sakomi in this situation.

-you've been missing for 2 years so your family/few friends think you're dead and you doubt you'll see them again because your stuck in some computer dimension

-you have terrible social anxiety and can't even bring yourself to talk to people unless it's strictly business

-you feel like you're annoying and no one actually likes you because you tend to ramble about interests a whole lot

-you hate that you snap at people when your irritated, regardless of if they actually irritated you or not

-you feel isolated and cripplingly lonely

-you have no friends or life to speak of as of now

-you have no customers and barely can scrounge up enough money to afford to live

-half the time you struggle to find the motivation to even do anything anymore

and really, there's more but i think you get the picture. she ain't doing to great.

now she suddenly gets a regular customer, one that engages her in conversation and actually seems interested in her incessant rambling. one that feels like a friend. and she latches onto that, HARD. that momentary escape from feeling like a lonely, pathetic piece of garbage. it gets to the point where she only has the motivation to do stuff in hope that they'll return to her shop and talk to her; the point where she starts to think of this person as her best friend (borderline idolizing them subconsciously), and feeling like their attention is what makes it worth doing anything, getting depressed when they don't show up for a day.

but one day, they just stop showing up. gone with no explanation. she sees them talking to someone else one day, but they don't acknowledge that she's there.

it's devastating, being tossed aside by someone you thought of as a good friend. and she kinda just.... snaps. one things leads to another, and yeah.

well that was depressing, anyways, moving on to-

angst square:

-goddammit.

ok well this is less angsty, just kinda more depressing. at this point, the idea of friends kinda... makes sakomi irate. what, so she can be tossed aside again? yeah, no. never gonna happen. she doesn't feel joy from relationships with others anymore, and she doesn't feel sorrow about her past struggles with it. she just feels rage about the whole subject. she feels she doesn't need anyone, when really she needs someone now more than ever. but y'know. she's a bit too far gone to realize that, i guess.

ok, god i have written a fucking lot, but god this was fun to do. if i do any more with it i will 100% ignore the depressing shit, but i did want to address it here because it really reflects a lot of shit that i've been going through lately friendship-wise. it's hard, it really is, and there is no feeling worse than the feeling of crippling loneliness your left with when a friend fucking ignores you in favor of talking to someone they like more (especially when you're sitting with them and REALLY just being ignored). but ah, i'll just leave it as that. honestly working on this has helped me feel a whole lot better about all that stuff, and also gave me my art mojo back so hey! win-win.

if you actually read all of this, then thanks :]

#sakomi [oc]#gasterfyuroc #deltarune oc #WOOOO IT'S DONE #warning: there is a like college-essay length ramble beneath the cut chjvcjv be w a r n e d #not gonna say much here bc i said most of it under the cut but #man this was fun and man did it make me feel better about some things lol #hope you enjoy my 4(?) days of labor lmao

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t0th3-ark · 3 years ago

Text

Foreign Shadows

Karl Heisenberg x Reader: Part 1

Warnings: weapons, blood, gore, kidnapping, torture, cursing, sexual content.

"Ethan, you can't be serious?" (Y/N) calls after her friend. "I am serious. She's missing and I'm going to find her." Ethan shouts, over his shoulder, continuing into the woods. "Its getting late, you can't go out there alone." She says, stomping after him. Ethan turns suddenly. (Y/N) bumps into her chest, inhaling sharply. He looks down at her with desperation.

"Then come with me."

(Y/N) walks beside Ethan, arms crossed. They hadn't spoken to each other for at least twenty minutes. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Ethan sighs, breaking the silence. "I know this is hard for you." (Y/N) starts, feeling an uncomfortable shiver run down her spine. Someone was watching. "But this wasn't a good idea. We're out here alone, in that dark, with a only a flashlight. I mean this is classic horror story shit." (Y/N) says. "I know, I know." Ethan mumbles. What sounds like a small branch snapping under someone's foot his heard. They both fall quiet. Ethan looks at (Y/N). Shs looks back wide eyed. He glances around, suddenlt noticing lights in the distance. He pulls (Y/N) to him, whispering in her ear. "There are light down the hill. When I tap your arm, we run, got it." He explains, having a feeling of dread in his gut. (Y/N) lets out a shaky breath feeling him tap her arm. She boots.

Ethan is hot on her tail, as they both sprint down the hill. The lights get closer and closer to reveal a small village. "What the hell?" (Y/N) whispers. Ethan doesn't see her stop running and bumps into her, knocking them both to the ground. "Shit!" Ethan says, grabbing the attention of some people walking the street. (Y/N) groans, sitting up, feeling eyes on her. "Ethan." (Y/N) says, patting the ground beside her. He was gone. She stares at the spot of the ground he once was sitting on. Did he leave her? (Y/N) stands, brushing her hands on her jeans. "Ethan!" She whispers harshly. "Dammit." She mumbles, looking entirely out of place in the village. "Are you lost?" Someone asks, from behind her. She turns, quickly. "I don't- I'm not from here." (Y/N) stutters watching the woman's face light up. "A foreigner! How lovely." She starts. (Y/N) doesn't let her finish. "Have you seen a guy, about this tall," She gestures with her hands, "Blonde hair? He was wearing a green jack-" The woman stops her. "I've seen no man. Please come, inside!" She says ushering (Y/N) inside her home. "Wait, but-" The woman sushes her. "I insist! We never get foreigners nowadays." The woman laughs, eerily. (Y/N) swallows, thickly. "Let me go find my husband, and I'll be right back." The woman says, giving her a creepy grin. (Y/N) shutters as the woman leaves. She rushes to the door, opening it. It slams on the wall as she bolts out of the woman's house and into the square. Where the hell was she? What was going on? Where did Ethan go? What was in the wood? Her breath quickens and she glances frantically around the village for an escape. Villagers stop in their tracks, staring at her as if she were a digusting creature. A dull pain, resonates on the back of her skull. She grunts, falling to the ground from the impact. She turns, seeing villager with some heavy object in hand. (Y/N)'s head pounds. Her adrenaline begins to kick in. The man raises his weapon to strike again and she rolls to the side hearing it clank on the brick below her. She kicks the man in the shin, pulling herself up. "Oh no you don't!" The man yells, aiming a shotgun at her. Where did her get that from? "What do you want? What's going on?" (Y/N) roars, anger filling her. "Where is my friend? What did you do to him-" The gun goes off, the bullets piercing her thigh. (Y/N) falls on her back, crying out in pain. Her hands shoot to her injured leg, holding it. Blood seeps onto her hands. She sobs, looking up through her tears at the man. "Mother Miranda will be very pleased to see you." The man says, confusing the hell out of (Y/N). "Please-" The barrel of the gun comes down the hit (Y/N)'s head.

Darkness.

"Oh, please, that is utter nonsense!" A female's voice booms. (Y/N) winces, feeling cold metal around her wrists. Her thigh is numb and pulsates with her heart. Her head hurts. It's throbbing, aching. She turns to lie on her back. "(Y/N)!" Someone hisses, from beside her. "Ethan?" (Y/N) croaks, quietly. "Thank God. I thought you wouldn't wake up." Ethan says. He's bloody and dirty. "What's going on? Ethan, please tell me this isn't real." (Y/N) whispers. "Ah!" The same female voice says. "They're awake." She chuckles. (Y/N) props herself up against a wall. Oh god. A woman looms above her. She's enormous. She towers over (Y/N) like a tree. She has to crane her neck to see the woman's face. She glances around the room seeing several other figures. Her eyes widen. What the fuck was happening? "Oh, don't be alarmed, darling." The woman, grins. "The worst is yet to come." She says. Someone snorts and (Y/N)'s head turns to see a gruff looking man, smoking a cigar. "What the fuck is going on?" (Y/N) projects, taking all of the strange people by surprise. Ethan feels anxiety bubble in him. "Who are you? What are we doing here?" (Y/N) drills. No one answers. "Answer me, goddammit!" (Y/N) shouts. Cigar man let's out a laugh. It sounded like it came from deep within her gut.

"What's so funny, cigar man?" (Y/N) growls, making Ethan kick her uninjured leg. "Dont provoke them." He mumbles. "Cigar man." The scruffy man repeats. "Don't provoke them?" (Y/N) says lowly. The strange people watch the two humans interact. "Don't fucking provoke them?" She shouts at Ethan, making him flinch. "Some dumbass shot me in the leg and all I was trying to do was get some answers." (Y/N) rants. "You're the one who dragged me out here to find you're precious daughter!" She says raising her hands mockingly. Ethan's face contorts. "Oh so it's my fault?" He says, laughing bitterly. "Obviously! We're in this situation because of you!" She argues, shoving her index finger into his chest. "Me? I'm not the one who-" The tall woman becomes tired of their bickering. "Enough!" She booms, shutting them both up. "Mother Miranda is on her way and she will decide what to do with both of you." She says, obviously annoyed. "I like her." The man says, pointing his cigar at (Y/N). "She's got spunk. Now him," He pauses, pointing to Ethan, "He seems like a pain in the ass, if I'm being blunt with you." He says, ignoring that the two humans were even there, talking to the tall lady. The large woman, sighs heavily. "It isn't your decision, Heisenberg." She says, sitting down. "Now hang on just a minute," (Y/N) says squinting. "Since when am I property?" She glares at all of them. Ethan swallows. "Since you set foot here." A new voice says. It's filled with power. It was quite intimidating. A female figure covered in feathers enters the room. "What the fuck." (Y/N) whispers, eyes trailing her as she walks. The Heisenberg man snorts. Ethan cowers to the wall behind him. Idiot.

Miranda stops at the center of the room. "We will decide your fate, from now, forward." She says, speaking with a kind of grace. "So we don't get a fucking say in this?" (Y/N) fumes. "(Y/N)." Ethan says, weakly. "Don't '(Y/N)' me. I don't want anything to do with this! This is insane. It this a joke? Did my mom set this shit up? She's been after me for years. I knew-" (Y/N) is silenced. "Shut your fucking hole and let the woman speak. Damn." Heisenberg snaps. "I thought you liked me, cigar boy." (Y/N) sneers. Heisenberg rises from his seat, suddenly, making her jump. Mother Miranda sighs. "Now you listen to me, princess." Heisenberg growls, stalking over to her. (Y/N) stands her ground, rolling her shoulders back. Ethan starts to shake in fear. He grabs her jaw, roughly.

"You ain't making the fucking decisions around here." He says. (Y/N) tries to pull her head out of his grasp, but he simply tightens it. "Your fate is already layed out for you. So I suggest to cooperate or you will face the consequences." Heisenberg grins. "Get your hands off me you pig!" (Y/N) says, lowly. A loud crack echos inside the room. (Y/N) falls back against the wall, hand to her face. He just hit her. "Learn your place or you won't survive." Heisenberg whimpers. (Y/N)'s eyes sting with tears. Everything hurt and nothing made sense. "Go to hell." She mumbles. "What did I just say-" heisenberg starts raising his voice. "That's a great show you put on for us, dear, but I think that's enough." The tall woman says, boredom in her tone. (Y/N) slumps back against the wall, defeated. It was no use.

"Ethan Winters." Mother Miranda says. "Your fate has been decided." She speaks with authority. There's a pause. "Lady Dimitrescu will have you." She states. The tall woman grins wildly. Ethan shrinks back against the wall. (Y/N) sits there, a cut on her cheek from something Heisenberg hand on his hand. Possibly a ring. She didn't care. Ethan is carried away by the tall lady she had learned to be Alcina Dimitrescu. "Good fucking ridens." (Y/N) mumbles to herself, watching Ethan struggle. "(Y/N) (L/N). Your fate has been decided." Mother Miranda repeats. "Oh, great." (Y/N) says, voice dripping in hate. "Lord Heisenberg will take you." She says. (Y/N) feels anger filling her. "I'm not going with that idiot." She says, looking at Miranda while referring to him. She hears him stand. Goosebumps rise on her skin, seeing his shadow on the ground as he looms above her. "Get up." He orders. "Fuck off." (Y/N) retorts, still looking at Miranda. "Get the fuck up!" Heisenberg booms. (Y/N) glares up at him. "I said, fuck off!" She yells back. Heisenberg smiles, adjusting his hat. "You're in for a ride, pretty girl." He growls, grabbing her forearm, forcing her to stand on her bad leg. (Y/N) yelps, numbing pain shooting through her ankle to her hip. She pants, pulling at the chains surrounding her wrist. She would glady, for no money at all, kick him in the balls, if her leg was healed.

"Well? C'mon walk." Heisenberg says, in a teasing manner. "I got shot, dumbass! I can't walk." (Y/N) spits. "Guess I'll either have to drag you or throw you over my shoulder. What'll it be?" He says, a glint in his eyes. (Y/N) remains silent. He grabs her by the middle, hosting her over his shoulder. "Put me down!" (Y/N) shouts as he begins to walk. "Oh! I see. You'd rather be dragged on the ground, huh?" Heisenberg says, stopping. "No." (Y/N) says, quickly. "That's what I fuckin' thought." He says, hand resting on the bad of her thighs. It didn't seem like he really cared about the wound on her thigh.(Y/N) starts to feel blood rush to her head. The man was carrying her at an uncomfortable angle. She grunts, wiggling to adjust herself. "Quit movin'." Heisenberg barks, slapping the back of her injured thigh. (Y/N) flinches letting out a pained sound. She dangles from his shoulder like a ragdoll. This was embarrassing to say the least. He was treating her like a sack of potatoes.

After what felt like a month, they reached some sort of plant. A factory maybe? This was all surreal. A whirring sound is heard and (Y/N) is walked through a door. "Welcome to your new home." Heisenberg chuckles. "This isn't my home." She snaps, hitting his back with her chained wrists. "Now you've done it." He says, before throwing her down on the floor. (Y/N) hisses, her leg aching. "Look, this us how it's gonna be." He starts, kneeling down to an eye level stance. "You ain't gonna cause trouble and your gonna do what I say. You hear?" He says. "You may need some trainin'," He pauses, eyes hinting some darkness,

"But you'll fuckin' learn."

#karl heisenburg x reader #karl heisenberg #resident evil #x reader

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aneenasevla · 2 years ago

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Heavy Bakery - Chapter 7

MasterList / Kanami’s Profile / Previous Chapter

Chapter 7- Those bastards are persistent!

Sidenote: The Chapters are getting longer, so I think It'll take a little longer to post, because I need to translate to english, but don't worry, the story is already finished in my archives, so you don't have to worry about if the fanfiction is going to end of not. So you have all the rights to charge me for updates if I take too long (just wait at least 3 days, I need to draw the illustration too LOL).

After that eventual day with Tokita Ohma and the psychopath (who was eventually introduced as “Rayan Kure”) Other weeks passed smoothly for Kanami and the team. Paikon was a little disappointed to have missed the commotion, and Tomoyo was relieved not to have to run into brutes. Apparently, the girl had a healthy fear of them, which made her the most sane girl around…

…Because Kanami sure didn't have much, desensitized as she was.

She came home at night, stretching a little. She hadn't done that in a long time, since she'd been injured. Now, more healed, she could go back to the academy without any problems. She opened the door of her own house, a typical two-story house in the suburbs of Tokyo, and was greeted with a meow and two yellow eyes in the darkness. She turns on the light and the darkness takes the form of a black cat, tail raised.

“Heey Medey, hello boy” she lets the cat greet her, rubbing his face between her legs “Yes, yes, I'll give you dinner, patience.” and she enters the house, closing the door and hanging the key in a safe place.

All she needed was a hot bath, something relaxing like something mindless on TV, and a good night's sleep. Oh, of course, Medeyami's food too, because he needed it.

…

“Hey bro” the man calls on his cell phone, looking through binoculars, outside the house “the bitch is in her den. Yeah, the one that knocked Kisame down. Nice.”

“Are we going to bring the whole gang to take down one whore, seriously?”

“Man, all I know is that she took down eight of us in one day. She is not normal.”

“Holy Fuck.”

“Yeaaah. And the other day I saw one of those Kure coming out of her bakery. I knew the guy was one of them, those dark eyes never fails”

“Damn, she's got them all watching her back.”

“I'm telling you, asshole. Better get rid of her right before she passes our location to them, if she hasn't already…”

“All right, let's go” and the two go down the stairs.

…

Steam comes out of the bathroom, where Kanami exits, towels tied around her torso and hair. She walked carefree around the house, the cat sleeping peacefully with a full belly, in its typical little spot inside a basket in the corner of the room. The wound didn't look like it was going to open anymore, so after getting dressed, he stretched out in the bedroom, before practically throwing herself on the bed and lying down.

She ended up turning her mind back to the incident, wondering if she would ever stop receiving these annoying visitors. Not that she couldn't handle it, just that she didn't want to have to deal with things worse than knives and baseball bats… in fact, she didn't want to have to deal with any of that. She wanted… she just wanted to work in peace as an ignorant civilian and save enough money to open a better restaurant, somewhere else in town, maybe with more space and more structure, more workers… god knows how much in her plate she already had.

But in just one month, a total of two bodybuilders appeared (albeit one at least “peaceful”) and nine crooked gangsters. And if that wasn’t enough, one of the brutes was a blond psychopath straight out of a Terminator movie, and the other was a bottomless himbo with eyes that said that he wanted a hug under the mass of seaweed on his head.

Damn it. She thought of the forbidden word.

Himbo.

She grabbed a pillow and buried her face in it, screaming and feeling like a teenager with hormones in her head.

Goddammit! Since when does a creature like that have so much sex appeal? That same appeal peaked when he looked at her with that hint of surprised joy with those piercing brown-gray eyes, framed by two perfect eyebrows… her face was red, her breathing, heavy.

“Calm down, idiot. Calm. Down.” she muttered to herself, “I'm sure the moment you remove the pillow from your face, take a deep breath, count to three, relax and sleep, you'll forget about him in an instant…” She took a deep breath, “one... two..."

She removes the pillow and all she sees is a face.

Their eyes locked for an instant, what the…

“Hello.” the burglar said.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIEEEEE” and her leg hits the man’s stomach, making him scream in pain.

“Ooomph!” He falls to the ground, hands over his belly, squealing.

Stunned by shock, she looked around to get a better look at the threat.

That's when Kanami knew that she was surrounded.

…

Look, indeed, credit be given, Kanami managed to take down two, but that was before they showed up en masse and stormed into the house, smashing one of the windows and tossing the furniture aside. The poor cat ran away, confused by what was happening, it was good he was a coward, after all, she didn’t want him to be a hostage or something.

After a chase through the house, in which two brooms, a frying pan and a knife were used (by her), they managed to corner her and drag her into the living room, immobilizing her with a climbing rope. She was screaming and squirming and kicking and thrashing around on her stomach like a fish, but one of them, a little more heavy than the others, sat on her back and left her breathless. Then they gagged her because she threatened to bite.

“Holy shit, dude, this wench is a piece of work, isn’t she?” one of them said. It was what had been slapped with a frying pan.

“But there's no fish that doesn't fall into the net at least once”, said another, the one who took a broom into his head, walking toward the kitchen near the living room and taking a water bottle in the fridge, drinking straight from the hole “Oh wow, I really liked your fridge, girl . I want this”

Kanami couldn't answer, of course, but on his face there was a face of pure hatred… which was actually disguising fear.

How did things get to this point? What did she do wrong? What were they going to do with her? She wanted and didn't want to know at the same time. All she knew was the horrible things she heard about women in this situation, and despite knowing a thing or two about that since childhood, she didn't want to get anywhere near half of them. Then she decided to conserve energy for the time being, thinking about what to do.

“Hey Guiche, I think the beast is already tamed” said the one on top of her, playing a little with the chef's knife she had been trying to use.

The one called Guiche laughed, “Oh, you see? Women are all the same, just give her a chokehold and they stay soft like a kitten. Then we give a more potent dose, of course. For now I think we agree we want her alive and in one piece, peacefully binded in our QG.”

They all laughed. Disgusting bastards. Kanami tried to ignore the speech as much as possible, counting the amount. Ten…fifteen…counting a few more out there…

Damn, there were too many for her to deal with alone. She wasn't any superhuman or hero of nowhere, she was just a girl that happened to be strong… how did she get into this mess, again…?

She shook his head, this was not the time to cry, think!

Maybe she could, I don't know, find a way out… she had a ladder that went upstairs… no, too risky, she could fall and break something.

Maybe the broken window upstairs…? … And play Die Hard and get her feet full of glass, barefoot as she were? No, something else, please…

When she finally made up her mind, she took a deep breath and… let it out, leaving her body completely inert, adding the touch of leaving a trail of saliva in her opened mouth. The man on top of her widened his eyes, alarmed.

“Uhhh..Guiche…”

“Spit it, fatass”

“I think the bitch passed out…”

“Great, easier to carry”, he smiled, as the others repeated the gesture, some of them laughing “Get off her, if she is out, she won’t cause us more trouble”

And finally the man came out of the top. Great!

She only waited two seconds before moving, rolling over to the opposite side of the guy and using her legs to propel her up.

“What the hell!” one of them exclaimed, but she quickly silenced him with a high kick to the vein in the neck. Another tried to approach but this one went straight to his balls, the man fell squeacking. The fat one, with the knife, threatened to pierce her, but she dodged and put her foot down for him to trip.

For her luck and his misfortune, he never listened to his mother that he shouldn't run with a knife. Blood stained the rug when he stabbed himself.

God… how disgusting… She would have nightmares about it. But he tried to ignore it as much as he could. Focus, focus.

“The bitch is loose! Grab’er!” - two more went up, and while she kicked, she took the opportunity to try to free herself from the ropes.

“Fuck, she's just a woman! What's up with you, huh?” The man called Guiche pointed a pistol at her. That's when she stopped. In fact, everyone stopped at that moment.

Kanami's eyes widened, frozen like a deer in the spotlight. She was fucked. He had a pistol. That was it, she was going to die there, send her mother her goodbye and blessings.

Until the man... turned his head at an angle he shouldn't have... and fell to the ground, as simple as that.

"Hey hey… don’t be a chicken trying to cheat with fireguns. We're all having fun here, aren't we?" The familiar voice made her eyes widen even more, especially when she saw two baby-blue spheres glowing in the darkness and a devilish smile accompaining that.

…

Oh… about that thing…”, he leaned over to speak, entering the "business mode", “I think you already know that the big ones are getting together to end the Worms, right?”

“Yep, I do…”

“Straight to the point: there's a crowd gathering right here, in this neighborhood.”

Ohma raises her eyebrows.

“This close to Yamashitakazuo?”

“Yeah, the old man might be in danger. In fact, the neighborhood itself, down in the sewers, could be swindling right under our noses. Fusui sent me a message, saying there's a few people gathering about three blocks from here. They call themselves “the carp”...”, He shows a patch, an embroidered design that you put on coats, torn from some - “this is the symbol of the crew.”

Ohma looked at the drawing, and his eyes widened.

“I've seen this before.”

“You saw it? Where?”

“That's exactly the group that was last week here at the bakery…the guys had it in their coat.”

Rayan understands “Ohhh… and she was attacked by those fucks, right? She's probably being watched and we, or rather, my presence here, is just adding fuel to the fire” he gives his usual devilish smile “Fuck yea… more people to dominate.”

“It was taking a while for you to show that psychopath face of yours, to be honest. I was about to mistake you for a clone”, Ohma even lets out a snort of derision, amused.

“If you’re willing to bet with me, soon the bakery's aunt will have a visit… I wonder.. will there be cake?”

…

“Fuck it, Raian! I said “No Killing”!!”, A deep voice echoed in the room, “What part did you not understand?!”

“The “Nothing” part, I think” Rayan jokes, “But I don't give a damn, you know.”

“Hmm?!” She widens her eyes when she sees the pair.

She never thought that the vision of the Terminator and a Sea-Monster-Head themselves, both weighing about two hundred kilos in front of her, could give her so much relief.

“Hang on, Kanami,” Ohma said, as she watched…

In fact, she didn't know what was happening anymore, she just saw shapes and bodies flying at odd angles. She could only take steps backwards until she hit the wall, slipping to the floor, tears welling up in her eyes. He closed them as she crouched, listening to the sounds of intense beating. This was all a dream, wasn’t it? Could it be she actually was sleeping at home, in the tranquility of her bed, still lying in the mattress after thinking about her favorite type of man.

The noise ceased, as if made by order. She was almost sighing in relief when she heard a maniacal laugh echoing from somewhere. She cried almost immediately.

“Raian, that's enough.” she hears Ohma's voice, “Do you have to embarrass me every time?”

“Said the idiot who demands an Assassin not to kill.”

“It’s different!”, he sighs, “Go get the runaways, then, if you’re so eager.”

“Hehehehe, see ya”, and the heavy footsteps disappeared where the entrance door would be.

She was about to sigh in relief again when she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her cringe even further, the stubborn tears not stopping to flow.

“Hey. Are you hurt?” was the deep, low voice, next to her. Another hand took the gag from her mouth.

She had to control the tremors in her jaw before she started to look: the man was squatting down next to her, looking at her with clear but calm eyes, under his thick wavy hair. He was looking at her curiously, even though she couldn't quite see his expression.

“Y-yes…, she then corrects herself, trying to be cool “I mean, no, I'm not injured… just… traumatized and trapped in this ropes, fearing for my life… but… other than that, I'm fine.”, but ending kinda sarcastic.

He scoffs a little, “Here, I’ll free you” he then lifts her up, for a moment she didn't understand how she got to her feet so fast, as if she had no weight. A slight cut with a knife and it was loose.

“T-thanks” she's breathing hard - they... me... what's going on? What was there? Why did they attack me?

“First, calm down…” he looks at the place and finds a chair, straightening it, pointing to it ”sit down, you’re shaking.”

“In the middle of a bunch of bodies that… OH MY GOD IS THAT BLOOD?!”

“Hm?” He blinks, looking at the bodies on the floor, “Oh, I forgot you're not used to it.”

“Of course not! And what the hell are you eh?!… Uugh… holy shit, there are dead people in my house”, she burps, her dinner wanting to come back, “get me out of here please… before It get even more dirty…”

She didn't have to say it twice, she was pulled by the arm out of the living room and into the kitchen, where at least the body count was at zero, just inside the counter, next to the fridge. She had to contain the anxiety attack, trying to control her breathing, in a fetal position, sitting on the floor, curled up. Ohma just looked at her trying to calm down.

Kanami almost got another fright when she heard a meow, but she calmed down, it was just Medeyami. She brought the animal along and hugged it. That calmed her down a little more.

“Who is this?”, Ohma tries to bring up the subject.

“Ah… it's my cat, Medeyami…” She caresses the cat, which also looked a bit urchined up.

“Nice.” he gives a half smile. Then he looked to the side and sighed, not knowing how to start. Kanami interpreted it as him giving her space, and she internally thanked him for it.

“Okay... I'm calmer…” she finally said, after a while, “now... please don't lie to me saying you're a “backstage professional league fighter”, which I know you're not. You're a secret agent, aren't you? Some kind of killer, like the other?”

“No. I told the truth” Ohma scratches his head, “Everything I told you was true. Raian who is the real Assassin here, I'm really just a ring fighter of sorts.”

“My God…” - She spends time stroking the cat, to calm him down, but also trying to calm herself.

“… You… had questions, didn't you?” He sits in front of her.

She nods, but it takes her a while to breathe and get back to normal before her mind clears and she finally organizes her thoughts.

“You… came from “Inside”, right…”

The question made Ohma turn his head back to her.

“How do you know that?”

“Heh, so it's true”, she smiled a little, “That was just a hunch… based on instincts, I think? I came from there. Well, eh.. almost. From a neighboring area right between Rikuko and Kumo wards…”

“Hmhh”, he nods, “so you didn't come from there, not properly…”

“Yea… well, but where I stayed there were some bad elements. I think I ended up picking up a few things. I'm not comparing myself to you, though, as you confirmed to me that it did indeed come from inside “the Inside”…”

“Yeah… but I left that place years ago…”

“Well, uh… I don’t mean offense, Mister Ohma…but-”

“I’m not mister”, he frowns, “Mister is Yamashitakazuo.”

“Hnm, and by what honorific should I call you?”

“It is not necessary. Ohma alone is enough”, He waved his hand.

“Right… Ohma. No offense, but that place stinks…”

“Well yes… there isn’t even running water right…”

“Not only literally… they have a strange and unique smell, metaphorical, impregnating… and everyone who lived there smells the same. Only those who spent time there, like me, can recognize that… And, well… when I saw you, I smelled that on you.”

Ohma looks at her, a little confused, and then, as sort of hiding from her, puts his nose to his shirt sleeve to sniff. Kana took a deep breath, between wanting to laugh and being angry.

“It's not a real smell! Did you not listen to me?”

“Ah… right”, he huffs, sort of like a light laugh, “so you have this keen sense of smell…”

“Yeah… in a way. And no, stop trying to smell you, you don't stink right now… well, except for sweat and a little blood, but other than that it's fine.”

“Hmm…”

“Anyway… I found out you're from there. And well, that explains a few things.”

“Does it?”, He raises an eyebrow.

“Your bearing, almost never relaxed when in an open place. That curious way of someone who is only really living now. The fact of thinking only of the present. Annoyance at trivial things like… pulling me out of the middle of the room so I can calm down… when… you're clearly used to… this…”, she points with her thumb at the blacked out guys in the room, not really wanting to look there, “and also the fact of being so happy because of a damn cake-”

He narrows his eyes, clearly scolding, and Kanami rolls hers.

“Okay, it’s not every day someone gets a thank-you-cake…

“It took you two days to make that. All that effort, just for me. You're not even giving yourself credit, woman.”

She looks at him, surprised.

“Oh… so… was that why?”

“Even now I'm still pissed they ate the first one.”

After a moment of trying to hold on, she lets out a snort and finally bursts out laughing. The cat got off her lap, annoyed. Ohma was also annoyed. Or rather, confused.

“What's funny?”

“Oh, no big deal… it's just that…” she holds back another burst of laughter, “I've never received a compliment like that. Or rather saying: I've never seen anyone like what I made to the point of being so possessive.”

He grunted, crossing his arms, not knowing how to react.

“Thank you”, she continues, “it made me feel a lot better.”

He nods, still in the same position but more relaxed. “Welcome.”

A moment passed, without them saying anything, she just didn't know what to ask.

“Hey, Ohma…”

“What”

“Why are you still here? I mean, at my house?”

“Isn’t it obvious? There may be more Worms coming this way, looking for you. Someone has to stay in the area to get them. The others are actively hunting as we speak.”

“Worms?” She looked confused, but assumed it might be what he called criminal people - And… did you say “others”?

“Yea. Some people I know”, he gets up a little, to look around, “but I don't think they'll show up anymore, though. We can get out of here.”

She partly couldn't believe it. This all… because of her? Okay, not quite a typical situation, but that's exactly why she felt something bubbling in her chest. She was no teenager, she knew what that was. She tried to erase it right away. It wouldn't get her anywhere.

“Hey… Kanami… you turned pale and then red all of a sudden” he puts his hand on her forehead, “hnm… you don't look like you're sick.”

Her eyes widen when he touches her forehead, dodging a little. “I-I'm fine, I just… it was a busy day, okay? Not everyone comes out of this unscathed, especially those who are definitely not used to it.”

“I see” he gets up, “I suggest you pack up.”

“Wha- pack up?”

“Uh… would you rather stay here, then?”

“Oh… right… “, she gets up, “yeah, actually… I'd really rather spend the night in a hotel or something…”, she brushes the dust and the cat's fur off her clothes…

Until she realizes that the outfit she was wearing was a sleep dress that was almost see-through because the fabric was so thin. It sinks in and her face couldn't get any redder.

“I think changing clothes is good, too” she almost muttered, holding her voice, it was no use screaming, anyway. If he saw something, he'd already had plenty of time for it.

“It's cold outside, so yes.” he says, without any change in his voice.

She nods, and tries to walk to her room, not wanting to embarrass herself anymore. She opened the door and came face to face with one of the thugs she had knocked out waking up.

That's when she screamed, kicking him in the face in fright.

“Hey, what happened?” was Ohma's voice from behind, until she looks at the fallen guy “Oh…”

“G-get him out of here please…” she asks in a pained voice.

He doesn't say anything, just drags the guy out of the room, holding him by the armpits. She closes the door and leans against it, falling to the floor as well, shaking like a green stick. The tears came back, and she let them out.

Outside of her room, after taking care of getting the guy out and throwing him in the living room with the others, Ohma heard the sobs in the bedroom. Not wanting to get close and disturbs, he sat at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for her to be done.

He sighed, suddenly a little tired, also feeling responsible for all this mess.

Next Chapter Here

#kengan ashura #kengan omega #kenganverse #heavybakery #ohma tokita #tokita ohma #kengan oc #kure raian #raian kure #fanfiction #canon x oc #oc x canon

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drethanramslay · 5 years ago

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Late nights, Date nights

Pairing: Ethan x MC (Leah Garcia)

Word count: 4.1 K words

Warning: There is fluff and humour in the beginning and smut towards the end. If you are not comfortable reading it, I have distinguished is with asterisks (*)

Taglist: @miyakokurono @trappedinfandoms @openheart12 @sekizincimektup @junggoku @ethandaddyramsey @edith-eggs1 @ethanramseysgirl (let me know if you want to be added or removed from the tag list 😊)

Songs: Eyes off you by Prettymuch and Unbelievable by Why Don't We

Forgive me if there are any mistakes.

Ethan was pacing around in his office, marching so hard, that it left tracks in the carpet of his office.

C'mon Ethan, Leah is your fucking girlfriend. You can eat her out but, can't ask her out on a simple fucking date??!!

It was their six month anniversary, after months and months of pining over each other. When he thought about it now, he wondered why was he so against the concept? He thought that he was doing the right thing by not giving in, but in the end, he just ended up hurting himself and his Leah.

Leah... His sunshine.

The concept of nicknames never really appeased him. It was such a ‘teenager’ thing to do. When he was with Harper, the word 'babe' made him cringe so hard that it made him want to throw himself off the railing of the mezzanine floor of the hospital.

But with Leah, it was different. She breathed back life into the parts of his soul, which he thought were long dead. She constantly challenged him, pushed him to be a better doctor, a better friend and a better partner. She brought light, to the valleys of abyss and grief. Just like nothing can escape light, Ethan could not escape Leah's affection.

And he didn't want to run anymore..

He had never felt these intense emotions in a very long time. His mother leaving him at a tender age of eleven, made him grow up way to soon. It fucked him up. It made him close up and build walls to protect his heart from such earth shattering pain. It made him distant and cold.

But now he laughed more. Smiled more. And he knew that Leah was the one who saved him.

His salvation. His saving grace. His sunshine.

He decided enough was enough. He spoke to HR and Naveen and they gave them the green light. Leah had already made a great reputation in the hospital for her work ethic, her passion and her compassion. So why waste anymore time?

Ethan was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice Leah come in. "Woah woah Ethan. Are you trying to wear the carpet thin? You just got this office?!" Ethan looked up and saw Leah leaning against the door, with a smile. She was wearing a green blouse with a black pencil skirt. Ethan approved mentally.

"Hey sunshine."

"Hey yourself." She said as she closed the door and stepped into Ethan's embrace. He buried his face into her hair, and inhaled the lavender scent, which immediately soothed him. To him, she smelled like spring. She was perfect.

God, could you be any more sappier Ethan? Be a man.

But he knew, that if Leah even looked his way, he would be down on his knees.

"How was your day?" Ethan asked as he kissed her crown.

"It was so productive. I saved a nine year old girl today. Seeing her parents happy... It was beautiful."

"Well, I never doubted you once." He said with a tender smile, cupping her cheeks. "Also, do you have plans for tonight?"

"Yeahhhh, today is just an ordinary day, with no anniversary whatsoever. I was planning on going home and binging on greys-"

"Sunshine, don't talk shit."

"Hey, but you still love me."

"That I do... Anyways I have made a reservation in 'Osteria' tonight to celebrate our anniversary."

"E, you know that I wouldn't mind staying in bed and drinking cheap wine right?"

"I know, but I want to spoil my baby!! Be ready, I will pick you up by seven."

"I will be ready."

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Ethan rolled up to Leah's penthouse and send her a message. He had donned his black tux but had skipped the tie. He unbuttoned the top buttons of his crisp white shirt. He was going to call her again, when he heard a tap on the window. He looked up and the phone almost fell out of his hands.

Leah stood in front of him, wearing a black evening gown. It was an off shoulder, which showed her collarbones. She was also wearing the ruby stone necklace, her birthstone, which Ethan had gifted her on her birthday. Her jet black hair had been tied up to a messy side bun, a few rebellious strands blowing in the night wind. He steeped out to open the door for her when he almost tripped at the sight.

The dress had a slit which almost went up to her thighs, putting those glorious bronze legs on display.

God, she was gonna be the death of me.

"Wow. You look gorgeous Dr. Garcia."

She blushed red. "You don't look so bad yourself Dr. Ramsey." He pecked her on her lips.

"Shall we?" He opened the door for Leah, like a true gentleman.

"Yes, we shall." Leah giggled and stepped in. Ethan walked around and sat in the driver's seat, and they pulled out of the curb.

The entire ride was filled with jokes, heated gazes and silent promises. Ethan had placed his hand on her bare thigh, slowly caressing it. Leah knew that it was risky to wear such a gown, but she took the chance anyway. And now here she was, slowly going crazy with Ethan's hand on her thigh.

She wanted to devour him. He looked delectable and so very handsome in a tux. The open buttons, gave her a peak of his collarbones and she literally salivated. Collarbones have always been her weakness.

Soon, they showed up at the restaurant. After handing of the keys to the valet, and borderline threatening him that if there was even one scratch, he would have a nice chat with the manager, they headed towards the restaurant.

"God Ethan, you are such a Karen." Leah giggled.

"I maybe old, but I got that reference!! And no, I am not. I am particular."

"Whatever floats your boat babe." She linked her hands in his and they headed towards the hostess.

"Welcome sir and ma'am. Do you have a reservation?" The hostess asked.

"Yeah... Please check under the name Ramsey."

The hostess checked the log book for a long time. Ethan started sweating. What was taking her so long?

"I am afraid but, there is no reservation under that name sir." The hostess replied timidly, after Ethan's cool eyes landed on her.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Hundred percent sir."

"But it does not make sense...I called two months before to get a reservation... Do you have any empty tables?" Ethan said, pinched the bridge of his nose, slowly getting frustrated.

"Sorry sir but... All the tables are occupied."

Goddammit Ethan!! You had one fucking job.

He led Leah back to the valet and ran a hand through his hair. "I am so sorry sunshine. I just wanted this evening to go perfect and I had to go fu-"

Leah put a finger on his lips. "No. You haven't fucked anything up. It's the gestures that counts. Also, the night is young."

"But you heard the hostess-"

"Well, I have some ideas on how we can spend our anniversary." Ethan just gave her a quizzical look. She took the car keys from the valet and turned towards Ethan and winked. "Get in the car Ramsey. Get ready for the best night of your life."

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"So your 'best night' includes shopping at Target??" Ethan asked amusement sparkling in his ocean blue eyes.

"Shut up. Where we are going, we need a little more casual clothing."

"But I like your gown. It helps me slip my hand-"

"Shh Ethan!! We are in public. Keep it PG 13 for now." Leah said, as she blushed red. Ethan just laughed, enjoying teasing her.

Leah proceeded to pay for the clothes and pushed Ethan into the changing room with his set of clothes. Ethan simply obliged because by the look of the determined glint in her eyes, he didn't want to be trampled by a woman on a mission.

The dark jeans fit him perfectly and the grey V-neck fit him snugly. He was wearing his slip ons when Leah came out of the dressing room, smoothening her outfit.

She was wearing a black tank top which she tucked into a baby pink skater skirt. On top of the tank top, she had slipped on a denim jacket. "How do I look babe?" She asked as she observed herself in the mirror.

"You know that even if you wore a potato sack, you would still be the prettiest woman I have ever laid my eyes on, right?" Ethan said earnestly.

She gave a soft smile and kissed his bearded cheek. She plopped down next to him and slipped on her white converse hightops.

"Seriously sunshine? Converse again? You literally have so many at home."

"Well I don't have this style. And you know what they say, 'once a converse girls, always a converse girl'." She said as she brushed him off.

"Sunshine.... literally no one says that."

"It's all in the details, E. C'mon let's go."

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After a half an hour drive, Leah pulled into the make shift parking lot near the docks. They got out and Ethan let out an appreciative whistle. "Wow."

Leah had brought them to the annual fair, where there were tonnes of food stalls and gaming places. The entire place had been decorated with LED lights that were illuminating the Boston night sky. The Ferris wheel stood tall and proud, moving at a gentle pace. The place was littered with a number of game stalls like 'shoot the bottle' and 'ring toss' where people competed to get a prize. Fairy lights hung from the trees around there and a number of people were sitting under them, laughing, eating and drinking cheap beer.

On the other end there were a number of food stalls open, which were being catered by the numerous food joints in the city. The crowd near the ice cream vendors and the cotton candy vendors were unreal.

"Oh. My. God. Ethan they have go karting as well!!" Leah exclaimed grabbing Ethan's arm and pointing towards the make shift track. The karts had designs in various neon colors and the entire track had been painted with glow in the dark paint.

Leah continued to point at the different places and stalls, talking excitedly, but Ethan's eyes stayed glued to Leah's face with a small smile. The child like wonder in her brown eyes made Ethan melt. Her voluminous dark hair blew with the wind, caressing Ethan's face. The way the neon lights reflected on her caramel skin, the way there was an pearly smile on her face and the way she clutched Ethan's arm made his heart do somersaults.

"Are you even paying attention?" Leah asked, breaking Ethan from his reverie.

"Sorry, I didn't get the last part. Was blow away by how beautiful the view is."

Leah rolled her eyes and smacked Ethan's arm. But there was a small smile on her face.

"Let's go to the go karting place."

"Oh yes. Can't wait to see you behind in the dust." Ethan said with a teasing smile.

"Oh honey. I can't wait to see your face after I defeat you. If you think I am going to go easy on you just because I love you, you are very very wrong." Leah said with a coy smile.

"Oh you are so on. Winner can ask the loser anything and buys snacks."

"Let's do this." Leah said as she cracked her knuckles.

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"So...what do I ask you?" Leah questioned herself, with her fingers tapping against her chin. She had won hands down. She got a tacky medal which she decided to wear for the rest of the evening. She just continued to wear a smug smile on her face, so that she could annoy Ethan.

"Please, just get it over with." Ethan groaned as he munched on the caramel popcorn.

"Hmmm.... Which is your favourite place to kiss me?"

"Hmmm..that's a tough question.. see, my favourite place is your pussy but I think your neck would be my favourite place to kiss." Ethan mused.

"Why?" Leah asked as she took a bite of bite of the cotton candy, letting it dissolve on her tongue.

"There are three reasons- One, the moment I kiss your neck, you have that wanton and 'fuck me' expression which drives me crazy. Secondly, the moans you let out are....oh Lord. Just thinking about them gives me a bad case of blue balls. And lastly, you become so wet and ready for me... It makes the experience much more memorable." He said nonchalantly as he continued to munch on the popcorn, seeing Leah's reaction from the corner of his eyes.

Leah was blushing wildly. Ethan may come across as a gentleman but his dirty talk made her knees weak like jello. He could speak things that would make a priest blush. "That's not true." Leah weakly objected as she stuffed her face with cotton candy.

"Oh really? So if I do this.." Ethan reached to place a hot, wet kiss on the spot below her ear. Leah's mouth opened slightly at the intense feeling. Her body flushed wildly. Her toes curled as Ethan continued to lick and suck. She felt herself getting wetter and wetter when his teeth sank into the tender spot on her neck. After what seemed like eternity, he pecked it and moved back to admire his handiwork. "....it won't do anything?" He asked in a husky voice.

Leah didn't dare to look at him because she knew that if she would, her face would betray everything. Also she didn't want to see the shit eating grin on his face.

"Shut up." Leah grumbled as she tore and ate her cotton candy more aggressively.

"But I didn't say anything!"

"I know what you are thinking so shush."

Ethan laughed a deep laugh, his dimples on display as he wrapped his hand around her waist. "It's okay sunshine. You can tie me up and have your way later." He said as he kissed her crown.

"Oh look, there is a shooting booth." Leah said, changing the topic before her mind could go into full fantasy mood of Ethan being below her, moaning her name as she rode him six ways to Sunday.

They reached the stall which was decorated in a western country style. "Howdy! Wanna shoot somethings?"

"I'm a healer but.." Leah picked up the shotgun and loaded it while Ethan rolled his eyes. He will never understand her obsession with anime.

"Shoot all the balloons on that board and then you can choose what prize you want." The guy with the handlebar moustache said.

With quick precision, she shot all the balloons in a matter of seconds. She then twirled the gun around her finger and blew the smoke away. "And that's, how you do it in the wild wild west." She said in a smoldering voice.

Ethan and the gamekeeper had their jaws on the floor.

Could she get any more attractive? Ethan asked himself.

"Damn girl.." the old guy with the funny moustache spoke.

Leah gave out a short laugh. "If you don't mind, can I get those rose tinted glasses?" She pointed to a pair of cat eye sunglasses.

"Sure girlie."

After wearing them she grabbed Ethan and walked hand in hand towards the next booth. "Sunshine, what is the point of these glasses if they can't even cover your eyes?"

"These are stylish and I can wear them when I am going out."

"I don't think I can ever understand your sense of fashion."

"Uh duh!! You guys can't even distinguish between 'peacock blue' and 'turquoise' colour."

"Is there even a difference between them?" Ethan asked incredulously.

"A fine example right here."

Ethan lightly shoved her but Leah just held onto their intertwined fingers. She pulled him to her, went on the tip of her toes and kissed him. Ethan cupped her cheek and kissed her slowly and tenderly. The sounds of people talking, the mainstream pop music playing through speakers, everything disappeared as they kissed each other under the neon lights.

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"Oh god...I am so full!" Leah groaned she leaned back on her hands. They were sitting under a secluded tree, with golden fairy lights hanging off them.

"Sunshine, I think you will have to roll me out of here." Ethan groaned as his hands caressed her bare thighs, which she had thrown over his lap. He picked up their popsicle sticks, and threw them in a perfect arc, into the nearby dustbin.

"I can't roll out a 6 feet something skyscraper on my own. I would die."

"Sucks to be short." Ethan stuck his tongue out.

"Hey your tongue is blue!!" Leah exclaimed.

"And your is red from the strawberry flavour." He observed.

"Wanna make purple?" Leah asked slyly, waggling her eyebrows.

Ethan guffawed at the expression and soon she also joined in his laughter. She clutched her stomach. "Oww....shouldn't try to laugh too much. Gosh, I shouldn't have taken that second helping of Quesadillas."

"C'mon let's take you home." Ethan stood up and grabbed Leah's hand so that he could pull her up to stand. She dusted her skirt and then intertwined their fingers. She leaned against him, as they headed towards the exit.

"Sunshine?"

"Hmm?"

"I had a lot of fun today. Thank you."

"You can thank me in different ways later." Leah said, as her brown eyes darked with desire.

Ethan just smirked and squeezed her to his side.

"That's a promise baby."

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The moment they entered Ethan's penthouse, Ethan pressed Leah against the door. Leah's let out a sharp breath and she looked up at the stormy blue eyes. She could see the desire and the lust swimming in those blues of his and she could also feel the desire in her, ignite like a slow fire.

Ethan cupped her cheek and pulled her in for a heated kiss. She went on her tiptoes to meet him half way. With their lips locked in a passionate embrace, she still felt that he was too far away. So, she hooked her fingers on the belt loops and tugged him closer to her.

Getting the memo, he moved closer until they was no space between them except their clothes. Ethan reached to take her jacket off, which he threw across the room. The need to get her naked, writhing and moaning under him, was becoming overwhelming.

She took out Ethan's shirt and moaned when she felt his warm skin on hers. She wrapped her arm around his neck while she laid her other hand on his bare chest. Her dainty fingers seemed to have a mind of their own. They caressed his chest, his back, his abs and were about to go lower, to his happy trail when he growled and caught them.

He grabbed her thighs and lifted her so that her legs were around his waist. He took her hands and pinned them against the door. The kiss was a fight for dominance, where nobody seemed to be a clear winner. Leah slipped her tongue into his mouth and he groaned appreciatively.

He tastes like ambrosia, sweet nectar and all the good things in life. Leah knew that she could never ever get over the way he tasted.

Ethan lifted her with ease and led her to the first surface he found, the dining table. He moved his hands under her tank top and groaned when he found out she wasn't wearing a bra.

"God Leah, you know how much control it takes to be around you? That when you pull such stunts on me, I just want to bend you over and fuck you on the first surface I find?"

"So what's stopping you?" Leah asked. She pulled him in for another searing kiss.

"After I am done with you...you won't be able to walk for a week." He spoke in a husky voice, filled with need. He took of her tank top and growled appreciatively at the sight of her breasts.

Leah smiled coyly. "Don't make promises you can't keep Ramsey." Ethan just narrowed his eyes and kissed her with so much force, that it made her gasp. His hands reached for her ass and squeezed it.

He then descended on her neck kissing and licking the small droplets of sweat accumulated on her neck. He slowly grinding against her heat, making her aware of how badly he needed her. His hands went from her ass to her breasts. He massaged it before pinching the nipples. Leah yelped. Ethan did not once show her mercy, as he stimulated each sensitive spot on her body. Leah felt as if her nerves were on fire.

He slowly made his way down south, leaving fiery hot kisses on her body. Not having any patience left, he just lifted her skirt up and quickly slid her panties out. Seeing her exposed pussy just made his jeans tighter around his growing erection. He blew air on her wet cunt, leaving goosebumps on their wake. "What are you doing?" Leah asked breathlessly. She was finding it hard to keep her eyes open due to the desire coursing through her veins.

"What we do on a table Sunshine.... Eat." His dark blue eyes met her brown ones and he licked her dripping slit, slowly. Leah thought she was going to loose it at that very instant.

He gripped her thighs and threw them over his broad shoulders and proceeded to eat her out, properly . He swirled his tongue on the sensitive bud of nerves and then went on to stick his tongue into her wet pussy.

He let out a moan, which resonated deep in her core.

He never once slowed his pace. He continued to lap up all the moisture. He alternated between her clit and her cunt. As he pushed his fingers in her, and fucked her, Leah climbed higher and higher. Her stomach started to tighten, with the need to release.

"Oh god...I am gonna come..."

Ethan stopped his hand movements and rose to his full height. Leah's eyes snapped open and she glared at him.

"Fuck you Ethan!! Who the hell gave you the fucking righ- ohhhh."

He shoved his dick slowly into her, enjoying the way her walls clenched around him. They fit each other perfectly. Like two jigsaw puzzles. You couldn't differentiate, where he ended and where she started.

This..this was heaven.

He slowly moved, in and out. But Leah wasn't having it.

"Ethan, I want you to fuck me."

"Are you sure you can handle it sunshine?"

"I ain't no weak bit-" Leah couldn't complete her sentence because at that moment he snapped his hips and started fuking her. He held her hips with one hand for leverage and his other hand gently squeezed her throat, feeling her rapid pulse under his hand.

He did not let go of the punishing rhythm he had set. He moved his hips in such a way that he hit her on that spot which made Leah see stars. It was quite a view for Ethan. The moonlight streaming through the glass facade and illuminating her sheen skin. Her eyes half closed, her breasts moving with every stroke and her legs wound around his hips.

"Please, please, please let me come." Leah choked.

Ethan also felt a tingle in his lower back and his abs constructing. He was close too. His strokes became faster and shorter.

"Okay sunshine. Come."

Just that one word and Leah obeyed. She felt a burst of pleasure rush through her body, setting every part of her alight. She saw fireworks behind her eyelids. She hadn't even come down when, Ethan's release caused her to have another mini orgasm.

It was too much. Way too much. Aftershocks racked her body and tears streamed down her face as she soared through cloud nine.

Without pulling himself out, he gathered Leah in his arms and took her to the bedroom. He gently laid her down on the bed and pulled out and headed to the bathroom to get a washcloth. Leah winced and felt empty like a crater.

Ooooh boy, gonna feel that tomorrow.

Her eyes were closed as she tried to catch her breath and get her head straight. Ethan slowly wiped her neck, her stomach and her sore centre, instantly cooling her body down. He threw the washcloth into the laundry basket and slid into his bed. He wrapped his strong arms around Leah and pulled her close to him. He bent down to kiss her lips tenderly.

"I love you sunshine."

"Happy six months, babe. I love you." She gave a tired smile and they both slipped into a dreamless sleep.

Wow that was the longest I have written. *wipes brow*

Like, reblog and let me know how you liked it :))

#choices #choices stories you play #choices stories we play #pixelberry #playchoices #open heart #open heart mc #ethan ramsey #dr ethan ramsey #Ethan jonah ramsey #ethan x mc #open heart fanfiction #oh Ethan #ohsy #open heart 2 #oh mc #ns*w

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memesiders · 5 years ago

Text

Part 1

Death x OC Office AU

(I'm still obsessed with the Office AU created by @notesz-b so I started writing a little something. It's not the best but I'm proud of it so yeah... Any suggestions for a title or critiques are welcome. Just please be gentle lol)

My eyes flicked to the clock on the wall for what felt like the hundredth time in the past forty five minutes. How much longer would I have to wait? It wasn't like there were a bunch of people here; when I'd arrived there had only been three people in the waiting area. Now, only I remained. Well, me and the woman sitting behind her desk, tapping away at her keyboard. Amber, I think her name was. I flicked my eyes down to her, admiring her long platinum hair that was pulled into a tight ponytail.

Very Ariana Grande of her. Did she get migraines often from the strain on her scalp?

She looked up at me suddenly, cool eyes studying me while one of her perfect brows arched curiously. I smiled awkwardly, embarrassed by being caught for looking too long. She let out a long breath and picked up the phone on the desk, putting it to her ear and hitting a button. My smile dropped and I looked away quickly, nervously tugging at the few loose strands of hair that fell into my face.

"Hello, sir," Amber said, breaking the silence. "Yes, still here..." I cut my eyes back to her. "Yes... Okay. Do you want me to tell her to leave?" My heart dropped into my stomach. Oh no, I was not going to leave here without getting my interview. I shot up and adjusted my bag, walking over to her desk. She hung up as I reached it and turned to me. "I'm sorry, but we have to reschedule your interview. Something's come up and-"

"I need this interview," I cut in, feeling slight guilt at interrupting her. "Please, I really, really need this interview. I've been waiting for almost an hour and-"

"I apologize." Her voice was louder and less kind than it had been. "But the boss is not up to interviewing any potential-"

"Oh, fuck that," I muttered under my breath, walking to the two large office doors. Amber yelled at me to stop but I ignored her, grabbing one of the sleek handles and twisting it. Something hard hit my back and I fell forward, the door swinging open. All I could do was yelp before my face hit the ground and I was being subdued by Office Barbie. I grunted and struggled against her, kicking my legs and swinging back to try and hit her. She grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back. I hissed at the action and tried to pull my arm free to no avail; how could someone so tiny be so strong?

"Amber, enough," a deep voice ordered. The weight on top of me disappeared seconds after the command and I pushed myself onto my knees, hugging my throbbing arm to my chest. I glared up at the woman who wasn't even looking at me.

"Should I remove her from the premises, sir?" she asked, the expression on her face clearly saying she wanted the speaker to say yes.

"That won't be necessary," the man sighed. He sounded tired, exhausted even. I turned my head to look at the speaker, my breath escaping me. There was something about him that was almost ethereal. I couldn't tell if it was the pale skin, the long raven hair, or the eyes that seemed to burn like hot embers. Maybe it was none of that and was, instead, the muscles that flexed under the dark suit he wore. One thing was for certain though; he wasn't human.

He wasn't an angel either, nor a demon, the lack of wings proved that. I could practically hear my older sister yelling at me what he was. I should've paid attention to what she told me. Something about ancient beings and being the last of their kind or something like that. Fuck, why hadn't I paid attention?

He cleared his throat and I jumped, shaking off the cloud that had formed around me. I shakily got to my feet and brushed off my skirt and tights, combing a quick hand through my hair. He lazily waved his hand and Amber moved from my side, leaving the room and closing the door behind her. Goosebumps rose on my arms as I realized I was now alone with him, and that my first impression was probably the worst that could've happened. "Well?" I jumped again, noting the irritation in his voice. I stared at him with wide eyes, afraid to move for some reason.

He rolled his eyes and sat up straight in his chair, clasping his hands together. "You barge into my office for an interview I canceled and now you have nothing to say?" I made a strangled sound and squeezed the strap of my bag tightly.

"I- I'm, uh, I'm sorry," I managed to choke out, wishing I'd just left instead of bulldozing my way forward. Death scoffed and rubbed his temples, a vein in his neck popping out as he clenched his jaw. I had to do this right before he changed his mind and had Amber throw me out on my ass. I took a deep breath and squared my shoulders, walking over to his desk with confidence I could only fake at the moment.

"My name is Aziza Banks," I said, offering him my hand. He stared at it for a good minute before finally taking it. We shook and I couldn't help but notice how large his hand was compared to mine, and how cold his skin felt against my palm. I nearly yanked my hand away from the icy touch. He gestured for me to take a seat and I nodded in appreciation, sitting down in one of the nice leather chairs and setting my bag in the other. I pulled out my resumé and placed it in the dark desk, sliding it across to him. "I'm here about the part time receptionist opening."

He nodded but made no move to pick up my resumé. I shifted nervously and took a deep breath, fighting the urge to bounce my leg. I did that whenever I was anxious, and it was taking everything in my to not give in. "What are your qualifications? Experience?"

"If you look inside you'll find-"

"I want to hear them from you." I bit my tongue, holding back the string of curses I wanted to throw his way. He had made me wait an hour, tried to cancel the interview, and now he wanted me to tell him what was so easily accessible to him? God, what a prick.

"It's in my resumé, which I thought you read," I said calmly, adding a bite to my words. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly and he grabbed the folder, flipping through it without looking at it. Instead, he stared at a small bird statue on his desk. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he looked through the file.

"Twenty Four, graduated with a bachelor's in art & design." He snorted quietly and continued down, one of his brows arching. "What is this?" He held up a photograph and I knew my face was redder than a tomato. It was a photo of my younger sister and I wearing fedoras and flipping off the camera. I had my tongue sticking out. Oh God.

"Goddammit, Neema," I muttered under my breath, covering my face with a hand. "I'm so sorry; I think my little sister slipped it in. She's always playing jokes and trying to embarrass me." I dropped my hand and sighed. "I am so, so sorry." He gave me what seemed like a sympathetic look and tucked the picture back into the folder.

"Siblings can be... irritating," he replied, squinting his eyes slightly as he continued to look through my file.

"That's putting it mildly." The corner of his mouth twitched slightly and I fought back a small smile of my own. Silence fell over us after that. I turned my attention to the room we were in, studying everything. There was a couch and a few chairs in one of the corners of the large office, a coffee table in the center of the circle of furniture. Two plants rested in different corners and two large ornate scythes were displayed on a wall, one crossing over the other. Shelves hung on a different wall with books stacked neatly on them and a picture frame with four people in it.

I couldn't make them all out from where I was sitting but I was almost certain the one on the inner left was Death. Underneath The shelves was a bar with a mini fridge and crystal glasses neatly displayed on the countertop. The office, for how large it was, was mostly bare; the man was definitely a minimalist.

I finished looking around and finally turned my attention back to Death, who had been watching me. For how long, I didn't know, but I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw those amber eyes staring at me. I straightened up and gave him a small smile, nodding at my resumé. "There anything else you'd like to know that isn't in there?" I asked politely. He closed the folder and slid it back to me, shaking his head.

"No, thank you." He cleared his throat and clasped his hands together. "I'm sorry, Miss Banks, but I don't think you'd be a right fit." My heart sank and I completely deflated, shoulders dropping.

"What? Why not?" I asked, sounding more pathetic than I'd meant to. Death shrugged.

"I don't see anything in your resumé that suggest that you'd be right for the job. Your degree is in arts & design, not business, communications, or anything that could be useful to my office." I opened my mouth to speak but he continued. "I'm interested in people who can contribute something valuable to me and the company; you have nothing to offer. I'm sorry for wasting your time, have a nice day." With that, he turned his attention to his computer screen. Something started to bubble inside of me, something hot and anxious. I was mad- no, pissed. How could I not be a good fit? How could I not have something valuable to contribute? I could definitely contribute patience; that was evident by the hour I waited outside his fucking office. I slammed my hands down on his desk and stood, scoffing loudly. He looked back at me.

"Are you serious right now?" I laughed, but it wasn't because I was amused. "I spent a chunk of my time in your waiting room while you were in here doing God knows what, only getting a meeting with you after running past and being taken down by your attack dog, only so you can turn me down because you think I can't contribute anything to the office? That I'm not a valuable asset or have something worthy for you?" The bubbling had turned into a fire in the pit of my stomach and I could feel tears pricking the corners of my eyes. Fuck, why did I always cry when I was pissed off? "That's absolute bullshit!" Death regarded me coolly and stood, now towering over me. He was well over 6'0, that was for sure, because I was about that height and I seemed tiny now in comparison. His height didn't discourage me though; I was too angry for that.

"Honestly, you're not making the situation any better for yourself," he replied calmly, as if we were both having a normal conversation. "Do you think you deserve a job here because I made you wait? Or maybe because you got past my 'attack dog'?" I blinked, taken aback.

"Wha- No, of course not!" He was really pissing me off now. He leaned down to me, his face nearly touching mine. I could smell a hint of alcohol on his breath, and something else I couldn't quite place.

"Then why?" Death asked, voice low. He was trying to intimidate me, I knew it. He wasn't going to get that satisfaction; no one ever had and no one ever would. I rocked forward onto my toes, pushing myself up so that our noses brushed. The loose strands of his hair brushed against my cheek, tickling my skin and catching my eyelashes.

"Because I'm qualified and I'm pretty sure I'm the only applicant who hasn't bailed on you because of how long you avoided them," I answered, my voice unable to stay calm. "I can take anything you throw at me and get it done perfectly. I busted my ass getting here and if you give me a chance, I'll show you that I deserve to be here. That I have something of value to bring to the table." Silence fell back over us, our eyes locked in a silent battle. I wasn't about to back down, and I knew he definitely wouldn't; he didn't seem like the type of man to back down from a fight.

I heard a light knock on the door, followed by the sound of it being opened, but my gaze never wavered. "Sir," I heard Amber say. "You brother is waiting for you." Death's eyes burned holes into me but I didn't dare look away. Angels and demons had had their fair share of trying to intimidate me and had failed, this guy wouldn't be the first to break me.

"Which one?" he growled, refusing to drop eye contact. There was a loud bang and I couldn't help but jump and subsequently look over my shoulder. Standing next to Amber was a man about the same height as Death, with dark skin and disheveled hair that fell back over his head and ended in little spikes. It reminded me of a character in some anime Neema tried getting me to watch.

"Brother," he exclaimed, a shit eating grin on his face. "Good to see you!" Death groaned and fell back into his seat.

"Strife," he muttered. Strife sauntered in, holding his arms out.

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by just to say hi, maybe catch up."

"You live on the other side of town!" I looked between them, suddenly feeling awkward. Death dragged a hand down his face and stared at his brother, the bags under his eyes seeming to deepen. "What do you really want?" Strife clutched his heart and frowned.

"Why, big brother, what do you mean? Can't I just be here for a nice visit with my sibling?"

"No," he replied before Strife could even finish.

"Should I remove him from the premises, sir?" Amber asked, cracking her knuckles. Death and Strife stared at each other, Strife's eyes hidden behind a pair of dark sunglasses. The building tension in the room made me want to shiver, but instead I fell back into my seat just as Death answered,

"No, thank you, Amber. It'll be fine." She nodded and left, closing the door behind her, but not before casting me a curious glance. Strife continued over and pulled back a chair, sweeping my bag off of the seat without a care to ask me to move it. My purse hit the floor, contents spilling out all over. I sucked in a sharp breath and glared at the man as he plopped down, ignoring me completely.

"Nice manners, asshole," I muttered, scooting out of my seat to pick up my things. I grabbed the dumped items- gum, a pen, my wallet, and an empty candy bar wrapper- and tossed the items back into my bag. As I went to pick it up, a boot came down on the purse strap. I snapped my head up, scowling at him. He smirked and reached for his sunglasses, tipping them up slightly to reveal two intense yellow eyes. My breath hitched in my throat at the sight of them; absolutely beautiful.

"Do you know who I am, little girl?" he asked, his tone vaguely threatening. I frowned, yanking the purse strap out from under his boot.

"Yeah," I said, settling back into my seat. "You're the biggest asshole in the city; nice to finally meet you." He stared at me for a few seconds and I wondered if, perhaps, I should have kept my mouth shut. After all, this was the brother of the man I was trying to get to hire me, and he was pretty important himself. He let his glasses fall back over his eyes and, to my surprise, started to laugh. He tipped his head back as he snickered, his body shaking from the laughter. My frown deepened as I watched him; this was definitely not what I'd expected.

"Oh, Creator, that was good," he wheezed out after a few more moments of giggling. He looked to his brother. "Death, where did you find this one? Can I have her?"

"She's not mine," Death hissed, sitting back and rubbing his temples.

"Yes I am," I snapped. I wasn't about to leave here after waiting for an hour without a job.

"Really," Strife sang, turning his attention to me. He leaned on the arm of his chair, resting his chin on his fist as he regarded me. "So how long have you been banging my brother?" My eyes widened at his question. What? I wasn't- how did he think- "He never told me he had a lovely little human on his arm."

"Strife," Death growled, getting no reaction from his sibling other than a smirk.

"I'm not his like that!" I finally sputtered out. My face was warm and I could only imagine how red my cheeks were. "I just meant-"

"You're not mine in any way, shape, or form!" I shot a glare at Death, ready to enter another round of arguing with him, when Strife cut in.

"If he's not gonna give you a job, I'll happily take you in," he purred, a mischievous grin on his face. I rolled my eyes at his offer and sighed, shaking my head.

"You'll do no such thing," Death stated, narrowing his eyes at the other man. Strife's grin only grew and he turned to his brother.

"You're not the boss of either of us, big brother. I'd be more than welcome to take the little human in." The two stared at each other silently, the tension in the air only growing. I was sure one of them was going to throw the first punch at any minute. Suddenly, Death spoke.

"Amber!" In less than five seconds the blonde was at the door, her eyes trained on Strife like a guard dog waiting for her owner to give the command. "Please, escort Miss Banks out of my office. I need to speak to my brother, alone." I frowned, my hands curling into fists.

"What?" I spat, glaring at him. "No, we're not finished here!" He met my gaze and the air around me seemed to chill. I wanted to recoil, but I couldn't back down.

"Yes, I believe we are. I am sorry, Miss Banks, but you do not have the job." I stood quickly, nearly knocking back the chair, and slammed my hands down on the desk.

"No, I'm not leaving. You can't just-"

"Please come with me or else I'll have to use force," Amber said, appearing next to me. I disregarded her.

"I came here for a job and I'm not leaving until I get one, you pompous, stuck up ba-" Before I could finish tearing him a new one, Amber had my arm twisted behind my back and was pushing me to the exit, my bag in her hand. "Wait!"

"Have a nice day, Miss Banks," Death called as I was shoved out. I tossed a glance over my shoulder and I could've sworn I saw a smirk on his face. Son of a bitch. Amber didn't let go of me until I was in the elevator.

"I'm sorry the interview didn't go your way," she said, sounding and looking sincere. "Don't take what he said personally; he's is in a mood today. Something to do with his siblings, I'd assume." The anger seemes to drain out of me as she talked, not because I felt bad for the guy, but because the reality of what had just happened was settling in. I suddenly felt ashamed of myself; my actions weren't something I was entirely proud of. I'd never been so upset by an interview before. I'd had plenty of them, and had been turned down more times than I cared to admit, so why had I lost it at this one? Maybe it was the looming reminder of failure hanging over me. Whatever it was, it was inexcusable of me to behave like that. I almost felt like I owed Death an apology.

Almost.

"It's alright," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. I took my bag from her hand, my frown deepening. "I shouldn't have behaved like a crazy bitch. That probably didn't help my case." Amber cracked a small smile and nodded, stepping back. I hit the lobby button and leaned against the elevator wall. "It was nice meeting you, Amber."

"Same to you, Aziza," she replied as the elevator doors came to a close. I let my head fall back and sighed, closing my eyes as tears started to build.

What a fucking failure.

#darksiders #office au #death x oc

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arthurmango · 6 years ago

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told u i'd write this >:)

i love it so much. i already love this kid. Arthur? Being a dad? Sign me the fuck up.

based off this post by @reddeaddenial ty for letting me write it!!

"Alright, kid," Arthur Morgan sighs, leading the 9-year-old with one hand and his horse with the other. He was muddy and tired, having saved this child from some of the locals after he had been caught stealing from the general store. Never did he anticipate beating a man over a loaf of bread.

"You get yourself in there and stay warm, alright? Make sure to wait for your Mama." The child is quiet. He gently removes his hand from Arthur's cautious grip and stands on the porch of the Valentine Sherriff's Office. His wavy blonde hair partly shielding his sad blue eyes.

Great. Now Arthur felt like an asshole. More than usual this time.

"You'll be alright, I promise." Arthur ensures as he climbs atop his saddle, adjusting his weight for comfort. "See you later, kid."

His ride back to the camp is quiet. He takes in the scenery; the birds chirping, the deer prancing about, the god-rays through the pinetrees. He was mentally locking this image in his mind for later, to draw when he was bored, or when he couldn't sleep, or both.

As he approached the camp, he spotted Bill, taking his shift for guard duty.

"Who's there?" Bill shouts.

"It's Arthur, dumbass."

"Welcome ba-....who's that you got behind you?"

Arthur freezes and doesn't dare turn. His first instinct is to reach for his sawed-off shotgun. He exchanged a glance with Bill, who was just as suprised...until-

"This your home, Mister? You live out in the woods?"

Goddammit.

"Kid-?! Didn't I-"

"Yeah, Mister, but it got real lonely and I didn't wanna wait!"

Arthur narrowed his eyes, then rolled them promptly as he slid off his saddle. He gave his horse a pat on it's rear in thanks, then turned his attention to the boy in front of him who fiddled with the sleeves of his shirt. He glances back at Bill who watches with a grin, enjoying every minute of this dilemma.

"Follow me." Arthur takes his horse's reins again, leading it to pasture with the others. Upon turning around, the boy had remained where he stood.

"C'mere, kid!"

The kid didn't respond.

Arthur put his hands on his hips, then sighs once again. He walks over, picking up the child with one arm. The kid is horizontal through his arm, holding him against his hip. "Abigail!"

"What is it-" Abigail pauses, looking at Arthur. "My," she smiles as the boy is put to his feet, huddling close to Arthur's legs shyly. Abigail bends to his level with a gentle smile, "what's your name, darlin'?"

His puppy-dog eyes look up to Arthur as if to ask permission to speak, then to Abigail. "James," he whispers.

"James?" Abigail reiterates. "That's a nice name. I'm Abigail, and this here is Jack," she gestures to her son, and he waves. "Where did you come from? Don't you have parents?"

James shakes his head, inching closer to Arthur.

Abigail stands, giving Arthur a look. She begins to speak, until Hosea greets the two.

"Well, what do we have here?" The huckster chuckles, kneeling to the boy. "Where'd you find him, Arthur?"

"He found me, more or less," Arthur grumbles. "He was caught takin' bread from the stands in the general store in Valentine. Some feller tried to give him a hard time, so I defended him and I thought I dropped him off at the Sheriff's Office. I guess he followed me here. Didn't even notice."

"Quiet thing he is, isn't he?" Hosea gives James a warm smile. "Have you eaten, son?"

"No sir," James replies meekly, "I haven't."

"Arthur, would you show him to Mr. Pearson for a nice supper? Mrs. Grimshaw-"

"I'm already working on it!" Susan replies hastily, adding an extra blanket to Arthur's tent.

"Hosea, I don't-"

"You can't just take him back, Arthur." Hosea replies quietly, "he followed you here, almost like a lost puppy, and like a puppy, he's gonna be your responsibility, lest the ladies get to him first. He's a handsome young man."

Arthur mumbles under his breath, knowing Hosea was right. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he left James alone. In a few ways, James reminded him of his own son, Issac. Maybe, he felt, maybe this could make things right. Maybe this could fill that aching, emptiness and loneliness he's felt for so long. The only downside is that he has another thing to worry about, another, innocent child to shield from the horrors of his life. It's almost, in a way, cruel to keep him around. He deserves better. He doesn't need this life, but what was Arthur to do? Parent the boy, he guesses. Not that he's much of a father in the first place.

Over the next few minutes, the gang meets and greets the new kid. He sits at the card table, eating sheepishly as everyone takes their turns asking him questions, not that he had many answers.

"Give the boy some space!" Dutch commands, tapping the ashes off of his cigar. "Arthur, may I speak with you for a moment? Just a moment."

"Sure," Arthur complies, "I'll be right back, okay?"

He follows Dutch to his tent, where Dutch promptly turns to him, taking a drag off his cigar. "You didn't kidnap nobody's son, didya?"

Arthur squints. "Wh-no! What kinda question is that, Dutch?"

Dutch chuckles, patting Arthur's shoulder, then wiping his hand on Arthur's jacket once he realized that his hand had touched mud, "just makin' sure." He begins to lead Arthur, walking with him. "You couldn't find his folks nowhere?"

"The boy was stealin' bread, Dutch. I think it's safe to say that he has no folks," Arthur replies, thumbing his belt.

"He reminds me a lot of you when you were a boy," Dutch smiles, "he was quiet like you were, too. That is until I broke you outta your shell. I think it'll be good for you take after Hosea and I and teach the boy what he needs to know to survive."

Arthur shrugs. "I was plannin' on it. I'm just worried that....I don't know....maybe I'm not cut out for this."

"Sure ya are!" Dutch turns to Arthur, halting their walk. "It'll be good for you to have somethin' to do other than draw in that journal all day."

Arthur shakes his head, and Dutch winks, putting his cigar back between his lips.

Arthur meets back with the boy, where Charles had taken his spot. Beside Charles was Javier and Sean.

"You sure this lad ain't yours, Arthur?" Sean laughs. "Looks a helluva lot like ya!"

Arthur doesn't bother, and sits down across from Charles beside James. He seemed a little more open. He assumed it was from Charles' calming demeanor....or Sean's hyperactive one.

"He's a smart kid, Arthur. Very headstrong." Charles adds in. "He says he wants to be a hunter when he grows up. You and I should take him hunting sometime to start him off."

"You ever hunted before, James?" Arthur asks, not sure how to level his voice to keep from starling the child.

"Once, with my Pa." James moves his spoon throughout his stew absentmindedly. "Pa left when Mama got sick, and one day she went to sleep and wouldn't wake up. After she went to heaven, I've been alone, kinda."

Arthur, Sean, Javier and Charles exchange glances, feeling a variation of that pain.

"Well, you've got all the Aunts and Uncles you could ever want!" Javier grins, "you've got food, a place to sleep, and all the protection you'll ever need."

"And maybe tomorrow mornin' I could take you to Saint Denis and get ya somethin' real nice to wear, to getcha outta those old clothes."

James finally begins to smile. It adds so much to his fair complexion. "Is it pretty, Saint Denis? Just like on the postcards?"

"Just like on the postcards! Maybe even prettier." Arthur smiles, too. A rare smile hardly shown to the world. It was genuine.

"You've got a real hardworkin' Pa now, lad!" Sean smirks as Arthur eyes him. "This man is as stubborn as a bull, but make no mistake, he'll getcha anything ye ask for as long as ya can get passed that rough outer layer a'his."

"I think he's really nice," James looks down to his food, then back up to Arthur. "Scary at first, but he saved me! So that makes him my Guardian Angel, just like Mama used to say."

Arthur felt a sort of relief. This responsibility was immense, but he couldn't help himself. He was already starting to get attached to the child.

"Why don't you go with Uncle Charles and meet everyone else, huh? I should probably get cleaned up. I'm still covered in mud." Arthur remains in his seat as James follows his new Uncles, sightseeing throughout the camp. Maybe this is his second chance to actually be a father. Sure, he was afraid. He was afraid for what was to come. He was afraid that he might not be the father he hopes he is. He sure as hell won't turn out like John, that's for sure.

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zeldadeservesbetter · 6 years ago

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Coffee With The Gals (And Some Shooty Shoots)

((So this is another one that happened in my gameplay. Tbh it's a really good plot and i need some fluff because last night i was vv sad with Arthur's Breaking Point. So here's the concept picture(s), enjoy!))

((Sorry if some of them are blurry, i use my phone camera because im at my dads house rn))

For the past few weeks, Arthur had been working hard. Instead of stealing and robbing, he'd found a new hobby that he enjoyed. He would go out and pick herbs and make poultices with them, along with elixirs that kept people in generally good health. Half went to camp, and the other half he'd sell. He didn't make a lot of money doing it, mainly because he always found himself giving the mixtures to those who were poor or homeless and couldn't afford it.

For the first time in what felt like forever, Arthur actually felt good about himself. Everyone in Valentine and Rhodes adored him, and he found himself being flustered by local women a lot often than he used to. A caring generous man seemed to be what everyone wanted.

He knew everyone in camp could tell the difference in his attitude, he was almost always helping with chores and smiling constantly, and that in general helped the Van Der Linde gang get their hopes up and be happy again.

Dutch had pulled Arthur aside one day, telling him he needed to take a break and just relax for a day, and that they would do all the hard work and bring in some money for camp.

Eventually, Arthur agreed and trudged off to bed, finally realizing how tired he actually was. It was amazing, he was so happy and full of joy for the first time that he hadn't really noticed he had been working himself too hard.

Collapsing on his bed, Arthur almost instantly fell asleep, hat draped over his head and his arm dangling off the side of his cot as he snored rather loudly.

The next morning, Arthur woke up with a loud yawn, stretching his arms. Almost immediately he was ready to go out and pick herbs, but quickly remember today was his "day off".

Smiling as he grabbed his coffee cup, Arthur walked over to the stew pot where the coffee was, mumbling a brief "good mornin' " to Tilly, Abigail, and Sadie, who were all sipping their hot cups of coffee, their faces bright for the first time since they got a new camp. In fact, he never really saw Sadie happy until just now.

"Morning Arthur." Abigail said with a smile, sipping her coffee.

"Morning Abigail. You always did like a nice cup of coffee." Arthur commented as he poured himself a cup, sipping on it quickly as he stood up.

"Nothin' like it." Abigail replied, taking a sip herself.

After a moment of silence and quiet sipping, Tilly had cleared her throat to speak.

"So Arthur, what's your secret to being so happy? I ain't ever seen someone smile as much as you do." She had asked, smile ever present on her face as she spoke.

"Ah, just pickin' herbs and makin' miracles, that's all." Arthur said, half-joking but at the same time it wasn't completely false. He had plenty of people come up to him saying that his stuff really worked and saved their lives. Huh, maybe he could become a doctor.

"That's all? You are one mysterious man Arthur Morgan." Sadie said with a chuckle, setting her cup down. "Well folks, I hate to be the first to leave but Dutch needs me on a mission. See y'all later!" She said, patting Arthur's shoulder as she walked away, waving goodbye.

"You know I watched that woman take down an entire flock of raiders without getting a scratch on her?" Arthur said, looking back to Abigail and Tilly, who were giggling softly at Arthur's remark.

"Yeah, she's definitely a brute, but she's smart too. I can't tell you how many times I've seen her threaten Pearson." Abigail piped in, causing all three of them to laugh once more.

These were the times that Arthur truly cherished, the times he wanted to hold onto and never let go. Unfortunately, the world doesn't work like that.

After a few moments of casually talking about their lives and what was happening, Arthur had decided he really needed to go somewhere to rest his weary bones and have a good nights sleep.

Saint-Denis really seemed like the only viable option, he wasn't wanted there, and maybe he could sell some of his "magic serum" there, and make a lot of money too. After explaining to the girls what he was going to do, they had already filled in some requests for him. He was very close with the women in camp, so he was sure he was going to get them all something along with Jack.

Packing up some things and changing his outfit, Arthur said goodbye to everyone in camp and headed off, taking only a rifle and his cattleman revolver since he didn't plan on killing anyone this time around.

Not even an hour into riding to Saint-Denis was he stopped at a bridge, by none other than the Lemoyne Raiders, who were armed with a small militia, and Arthur only had his two flimsy guns.

"Well lookie here, its that Van Der Linde boy, all alone with nothing to protect himself." One of the raiders said with a smirk, hopping down off of his horse to walk up to Arthur's, whistling with furrowed eyebrows as he checked the contents of his bag.

"Damn, it looks like he's carrying enough meds to heal the army! Haha, we'll be taking your trusty steed from you, but don't worry- we don't kill horses. Just men." The raider said, cocking his gun, ready to shoot Arthur if needed.

"Goddamn you monsters! You ain't taking jack shit!" Arthur cursed, his breath hitching as a gun was placed under his chin.

"Watch your mouth or I'll blow it to shreds." The raider said, causing Arthur to nod slightly as a man came over and took his horse away, walking it out of view.

"Well then, i think we're done here." The raider had said, smirk still present as he pulled the gun away and put it back in the holster.

Within the blink of an eye, Arthur had pulled his revolver up, firing five different shots, each killing a raider, including the one that was just threatening him, so only three remained.

"Holy shit! He killed Danny! Take his horse and run!" One of the raiders said, and before Arthur could reload his revolver a few separate shots were fired at him, one hitting him in the leg, causing him to scream out in pain and fall to the ground, hyperventilating as pain shot throughout his entire body.

"Goddammit! Why do I ever decide to leave camp?!?!" He cursed, shakily taking a bottle of his cure out of his satchel, dumping half of it on his wound, and downing the rest in hopes it would at least dull the pain.

Gasping, Arthur sat up and pulled himself out of the main trail, his wounded leg completely limp.

"well... Nothing to do now except wait for some poor soul to come by." He grumbled, propping his hand on his knee and resting his head.

".... Goddamn raiders...."

((So this legit happened to my poor Arthur right after i left camp drinking coffee with Tilly and the gals. Some godamn raiders stopped me at a bridge and they nearly got me, then i shot the guy robbing me and threw a stick of dynamite at them, and low and behold in the shootout they killed my horse. I killed them all, but i was rlly low on health and didn't have jack shit to cure it but this potent health cure which didn't even replenish my cores just upped them for a bit... Lmao so then i just sat there and waited for someone to pass by while slowly walking [my stamina was out to. Worst goddamn luck] and eventually after 30 minutes some guy passed by and i called him out then stole his horse and rode all the way to Saint-Denis, sold it, bought a new horse, and stocked up on supplies. You're welcome 😂😂😂))

#dutch van der linde arthur morgan #arthur morgan #lemoyne raiders #reddead2 #rd2 #red dead redemption 2

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satans-my-spirit-animal · 2 years ago

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Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3 of a Grim in Devildom

The next day after class, Cassandra finally went out on the town. Lucifer had been giving her a small allowance for lunch in the cafeteria since she had no money when she arrived.

She didn't usually eat three times a day so she'd been saving the money for supplies. She definitely needed more clothes, having to do the laundry every day was getting old fast.

She bought some sleepwear, a couple of pairs of pants and shirts along with more underwear. She also bought some rose-scented shampoo and body wash.

She was very fond of red roses and rose-scented things since they reminded her of her mother. Both her mother and grandfather had tended to rose gardens on the family property.

She hurried back to the house of Lamentation. She wasn't really all that comfortable being out alone but she also didn't want to drag along Mammon who would most likely give her the slip to go on a shopping spree of his own.

When she got back to her room she put away everything she bought and started on her homework. However, she struggled to focus, her mind drifting to the voice she heard from the attic.

She got up and opened the window and saw that there was a ledge leading up to the roof. She swung her leg out of the window and cautiously tested her weight on the ledge.

"Goddammit, woman! What are you doing now?!" Kieran hissed as she stepped out fully on the ledge.

"I'm going to see if I can see into the attic from the roof." She said balancing with ease on the narrow ledge.

"Well be careful. If you fall, none of those demons are going to help you and you know it." He said looking concerned.

"Pfft, you worry too much. I used to hang out on the roof all the time back at home." She said as she pulled herself up fully on the roof.

She stood up and looked down at the surrounding town. The bright lights lit the streets as far as she could see, nothing like the forest back at home. She truly felt like she was in a different world.

She climbed higher on the roof, and a gentle breeze blew through her hair. She got on her hands and knees and looked down over the eves of the roof, hoping there was a small attic window she could peek into.

She sighed, there was only a vent and she couldn't see into it. She sat down with her back against the chimney and looked up at the stars. Even the constellations were different here.

She wasn't sure how long she was up there but eventually decided she'd been away for long enough. She went down and jumped back into her room through the window.

"What were you doing up there? You took forever! We even missed dinner!" Kieran started to complain as soon as she landed.

"Sorry, I just wanted to be alone for a while. And no, I couldn't see into the attic." She said as she flopped onto the bed.

"I guess we'll have to wait until Lucifer falls asleep before we try again." Kieran said, settling in.

She took this opportunity to finish all her school work. By the time she had finished, it was around 1:00 A.M.

She headed out into the hall towards the staircase. Just as she was about to start up the stairs, she once again heard Lucifer's voice behind her.

"What's going on, Cassandra? Out for a stroll?" She turned to see Lucifer standing behind her. She hadn't noticed last night but he wasn't wearing his uniform. Instead, he wore a black dress shirt with a red vest. He had a long coat draped over his shoulders like a cloak.

Doesn't this man ever sleep?! She thought in frustration, stopping in her tracks.

"I keep running into you here, don't I? It seems you're really curious about what's at the top of this staircase. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe I told you that it's not a place a human has any business going." He frowned at her with his arms crossed.

"Oh, um, I've been having a hard time sleeping." She gave a feeble excuse, not meeting his gaze.

"If you can't sleep perhaps I should make you a cup of tea? Something that will help you have a good night's sleep. However, it's a bit too effective on humans. The point that you may never wake up again. You get what I'm saying right? Go back to your room." She glared back at him when he gave her his thinly veiled threat. It was obvious now that he was hiding something from her. She was going to have to find a way past him to investigate. She stalked past him back to her room.

"Goodnight, Cassandra." He said as she walked away.

She was back in her childhood bedroom, trying to block out the sound of her parents arguing downstairs.

"The kid's a freak! She talks to things that aren't there!" Her father spat.

"She's just a child!" Her mother cried.

"No! This is because of you! You and your whole damn creepy family! You're the reason my kid's a freak! I can't fucking take it anymore!" He shrieked at the top of his lungs. The was suddenly a loud bang, a horrible choking, gasping sound, then a thud.

Cassandra threw off her blanket and raced down the stairs. She let out a wail at the scene that greeted her.

Her mother was lying limply on the floor, a dark pool of blood forming around her. Her father stood over her, still holding the gun in his hand.

"MOM!" She knelt down next to her mother, her long blonde hair falling over her eyes.

"Freak. You're all freaks." Her father growled. She looked up with tears in her eyes and saw her father pointing the gun at her.

She suddenly felt burning hot, a mixture of grief, rage, and fear boiling inside her. She looked at her father and suddenly he was enveloped in flames.

He screamed dropping the gun, reaching for his face, desperately trying to put out the flames. There was another bang as her grandfather kicked down the front door and ran inside with Kieran on his heels.

Cassandra's eyes flew open and she sat up gasping with tears in her eyes.

"It's okay! Calm down, I'm right here! Breathe!" Kieran said moving into her lap to look her in the eyes.

She took a deep breath, realizing where she was. She flopped back down on her bed, running her hands through her dark honey-colored hair.

She closed her eyes trying to push the memory out of her head. The memory of the night she'd killed her father with her magic. The reason why her magic was sealed.

Later that morning when she and Kieran arrived at the dining room she found that Mammon was the only one in there. She pulled up the chair across from him and sat down. Mammon sighed when she started eating.

"Why do I gotta be stuck here with you first thing in the morning having to look at your face while I'm tryin' to eat my breakfast." He started complaining but she wasn't really listening.

She needed to find a way to distract Lucifer. He was obviously guarding something at the top of the stairs. She needed to distract the guard dog with a juicy bone.

Mammon had been talking for a while now but she hadn't heard him while she was lost in her thoughts.

"Where is everyone?" She asked absentmindedly as she slipped Kieran his food.

"Hey, pay attention when I'm talkin' to ya! Do your ears not work? Anyway, I'm sure the others have already scurried off to class and left me to look after ya on my own, the punks." He grumbled, annoyed.

She realized that perhaps without Lucifer there she could try and get some information from Mammon.

"What's at the top of the stairs?" She asked outright, she didn't really expect him to tell her so easily but it was worth a shot.

"HEY, I TOLD you to LISTEN to me when I'm TALKIN to you! I was tryin' to tell you about Lucifer's fe-" he started annoyed that she'd been ignoring him, but then looked at her with surprise.

"...wait, what stairs? Are you talking about the stairs that lead up to the attic? Oh man, there you go again, sticking your nose where it doesn't belong." He said with a sigh and shook his head.

She couldn't just ignore the fact that she'd heard someone calling for help. Investigating things like this was in her nature as a Grimm.

"Now listen, do you know the secret of getting people to tell you stuff? Go ahead, tell me." Mammon said putting down his fork.

She did, of course, she often used psychology against people in her work, however, she doubted that was what he was getting at.

"Let me guess, money." Cassandra said, giving him a slightly annoyed look.

"EXACTLY! Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! If ya wanna pry valuable information outta someone, you've got to offer 'em proper compensation!" He said, his blue eyes sparkling. Then he frowned.

"Wait a second... Uh-oh, I know what this is about! You tried climbing those stairs but Lucifer stopped you, right? That's totally it isn't it?" He shook his head.

"Well, then if you think you can just offer Mammon here a little bit of money and he'll spill the beans, you're dead wrong. I mean, pretend I told you somethin' I shouldn't, Lucifer would beat me half to death. Actually, I'd be lucky if that's all he did." Mammon shuddered at the thought.

"Still, if you're bound and determined to buy this information off me... How about the monetary equivalent of the world's total oil production? Two hundred million years worth. That might do it. In other words, I ain't gonna tell ya. Is that clear enough for ya, blockhead?" He gave her a triumphant grin.

Cassandra grinned back at him, he'd already told her all she needed to know to get him to talk.

"Huh, sounds like your afraid of Lucifer to me." She said, shrugging her shoulders.

"WHAT?! Whoa, what'd you just say? You think I'M actually afraid of Lucifer? Me, the avatar of greed? You've gotta be kidding! I'm not the least bit afraid of him. Not even a little!" He immediately grew defensive, throwing his hands on the table.

"But you are though, aren't you?" She gave him a teasing smile.

"I told you I'm not! Listen now, most of the time, I don't let people see the full extent of my power! What I'm sayin' is that even if I did have a face-off against Lucifer, I wouldn't even have to use my full strength to win! Understand?!" He insisted, jumping to his feet.

"Oh really? Then tell me what's up those stairs." Cassandra crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow at him.

"Alright, fine! I will! You can't get up those stairs cause Lucifer's blocking the way, right?! You need somethin' to get rid of him, right?! Well, guess what? Distracting Lucifer is as easy as pie! Listen up, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once, so pay attention for a change!" He stopped to glance around before continuing.

"You know that series Levi likes? What was it called... Um, The Tale of the Seven... Seven..." Mammon scratched his head trying to remember.

"The Tale of the Seven Lords?" Cassandra finished for him. She'd listened to Levi go on about it long enough for it to be burned into her mind.

"Right, yeah. That's the one. You need to get your hands on a vinyl edition copy of the soundtrack for that tale of the seven whatsawhosit. If you have that you can distract Lucifer no problem!" Mammon smiled and put his hands on his hips, puffing out his chest.

She stood up from her seat and placed her hand on her chin contemplating a strategy. Since she suspected that Levi wouldn't simply give her the soundtrack, she decided to put her pact with Mammon to use.

"Help me do it." She said looking up at him with a serious expression.

"Wha? Why should I help you? Find Levi and work it out yourself." He sneered as he turned to leave.

"Welp, time for me to go. As much as I hate going to class, I don't have much of a-" Mammon started for the door but she cut him off.

"Mammon! Come!" Cassandra said sharply, causing him to spin around.

"HEY! Wh-what's goin' on?!" He yelled in surprise as he walked back to her.

"Grr... F-fine, alright! I'll go with you ok?!" He said as she turned and walked out into the hall towards Levi's room.

"It feels like you've got some kinda invisible cord around my neck... Aaah, stop pullin' on it!... I said stooooooop!" He whined as they went up the stairs.

She approached Levi's door stopping in front of it with Mammon in tow.

"D'AAAH! Quit pullin'! Dammit, lemme go! Let... me... go... this... instaAAAH!" He let out a yell as she released him suddenly, causing him to bash his head into the wall.

"OW! Hey, what the hell?! Ya coulda at least given me a little warning before lettin' go! I hit my head!" He complained rubbing his head.

"I was only doing what you asked." She looked at him innocently with wide blue eyes.

"Grrr! That's not what I meant!" He glared at her before continuing.

"I can't believe you went straight to Levi's room to ask him for the soundtrack... Ya really don't have any patience do ya?!" He said putting his hands on his hips.

Cassandra shrugged, both Kieran and her grandfather had often scolded her for her lack of patience as well.

"There's no way Levi's just gonna lend you his soundtrack. He ain't even gonna let you inside his room. I'm sure of it! Don't go thinkin' that everything is gonna go your way cause ya want it to! Ya know what your problem is? I'll tell you-" he was cut off by Levi's voice on the other side of the door.

"Mammon, you jackass..." Levi grumbled from inside his room.

"What?! I'm not a jackass!" Mammon shot back, glaring at the door.

"You're making way too much noise. Would you do me a favor, and NOT stand outside my door being loud? I'm in the middle of watching the best scene of The Magical Ruri Hana: Demon Girl." Levi complained.

"Levi, we need to talk to you. Get off your ass and come to the door!" Mammon demanded staring at the door.

"No." Levi flatly refused.

Mammon turned to her waving his hand at the door, "See? See? What'd I tell ya? He won't even open the damn door for us."

Cassandra looked at the door, trying to think of a way to coax him out.

"Ooh, I love The Magical Ruri Hano!" She said enthusiastically, struggling to remember the name of the show he'd just mentioned.

"You're going to have to do better than that. It's not Ruri HANO it's Ruri HANA, get it right. Do you even know how lame it sounds when you fake being into otaku culture? So lame." Levi said sounding annoyed.

She cursed under her breath. Why do anime titles have to be so goddamn long, anyway?! She thought clenching her fists.

Mammon sighed, "Well that didn't work. Now it's gonna be even harder to get him to let us in."

"Hey, I was wondering who that was out here in the hall. So, it was the pair everyone's talking about..." Cassandra looked to see Solomon walking down the hall towards them.

She immediately felt self-conscious. She reached up and fiddled with her short wavy hair nervously and glanced down, wondering exactly where Kieran was.

It was very likely that Solomon had heard of her family, possibly Kieran as well. He could reveal to the brothers that their 'average' human wasn't so average after all, which could put her in a sticky situation. God forbid he might even be able to detect Kieran's magic as well.

"...Wha? Oh, Solomon, it's you. What do ya mean by that?" Mammon's defensive response brought her back to reality.

"I'm referring to the rumor regarding a certain human by the name Cassandra Grimm. A woman who looks rather ordinary at first glance, but has already managed to make a pact with a demon, despite only just gotten here." Solomon looked at her intensely. He knew he had to. She swallowed, feeling her body go into a cold sweat.

Solomon smiled, perhaps to ease her nervousness, "Apparently this demon must be a real idiot because he let a human discover and exploit his weakness, and was then tricked into forming a pact." He looked at Mammon.

Mammon didn't catch on right away, "AHAHA! What demon is that? He must be a total numbskull! Ha, what an idiot!" He laughed. Cassandra shook her head and sighed. Asmo had been right, he was so dumb it was sad.

"...Wait, you're talkin' about ME!" He blushed with embarrassment when he finally caught on.

"Anyway, what're you even doin' here, Solomon?" Mammon snapped, annoyed.

"I'm here because Levi invited me." Solomon said simply.

"Wha? Levi invited YOU? To his room? No way I don't buy it." Mammon said in disbelief.

"I'm afraid it's the truth." Solomon smiled and stepped up to Levi's door.

"Levi? It's me." He called out, knocking politely.

"What's the secret phrase?" Levi asked from the other side.

"The second Lord..." Solomon said a ridiculously long passcode and Levi opened the door.

Solomon turned to look at them before he went inside, "We'll, I guess I'll see you all later, bye." He glanced down at her feet just before walking inside and closing the door. Her suspicions had been correct, he had been able to sense Kieran.

"Hey, they gave away the secret phrase just now! Try sayin' what Solomon just said." Mammon said hopefully.

Cassandra sighed and knocked on the door, already knowing this wasn't going to work. When Levi asked for the passcode she repeated what Solomon had just said.

Levi made a buzzing noise behind the door, "Secret phrase authentication failure. Access denied."

"Wha? Wait that was totally right! It's exactly what Solomon said!" Mammon said annoyed.

"The secret phrase is periodically reset. Maybe you should come back after you've at least watched TSL on DVD." Levi replied without opening the door.

"Ugh, come on! What the hell Levi?!" Mammon groaned before turning to her.

"... I don't exactly understand what's going on here but from what I can gather... Basically, Solomon just proved to Levi that he's a total TSL nerd too, so now their buddies. So if you want that soundtrack you're going to have to do what Solomon did and become a TSL nerd too!"

That afternoon after class, she was back in her room talking with Kieran, who was not happy with her plans for the night.

"12 hours?! You want me to stay under the bed for 12 hours?!" He cried, outraged.

She'd gotten ahold of TSL on DVD and was planning to spend the whole night watching it. However, she was insisting on Mammon watching with her, mainly to keep her awake through the whole thing. Both Kieran and Mammon had expressed their objections to her idea.

"Well, you're already burnt out from following me around all day. So I figured you could stay under the bed. I'll put some pillows under there for you, you'll be nice and snug." She said tossing some cushions under her bed.

"Besides we've already had one close call today." She said thinking back to that morning with Solomon.

"Ah, Solomon. He's a sly one. Lucifer was right to warn you about him. He's been around longer than I have you know. Probably ran into a couple of your ancestors too." Kieran said, looking up at her.

"What?! You mean he's immortal too?!" She gasped, her eyes going wide.

"Yes. You know the stories about the wise king Solomon? Well, he's the one and only." Kieran said, pushing the cushions into place.

"He's that Solomon?! How do you know?" She asked in astonishment.

"I... May have run into him a couple of hundred years back... When I was human." He said hesitantly, his tail twitching.

"Anyways, look out for him. He'll do anything to gain more knowledge. Don't fall for his charms." He said slipping under her bed.

"Pfft, as if." She snorted and left for the kitchen. She was planning on making some popcorn for her and Mammon. She actually felt kinda bad for making him do this but she would feel even worse not doing anything for whoever was trapped in the attic.

She went to the kitchen and made a big bowl of popcorn. As she was turning to leave she almost ran smack into Beel.

"Mmm, I smelled popcorn." He said rubbing his stomach. He gazed hungrily at the popcorn she was carrying.

"Oh, Mammon and I are going to watch TSL. So I thought I'd make us popcorn." She said taking a step back to look up at him. She was average height but Beel was an absolute giant.

"Oh, well I'll join you if you've got food." He said looking excited.

"A-are you sure? I mean it's 12 hours." She stammered caught off guard.

"Yep. As long as there's food." He nodded enthusiastically.

She walked back over to the counter and set the bowl down. "Ok, hang on. I'm going to make some more." She said.

Once she had gotten enough popcorn ready they headed back to her room. Mammon was already there waiting for her when she got back, apparently letting himself in.

"You must have a lot of free time, Mammon." Beel remarked, noticing he was already there.

"No, I DON'T!... Anyway, you're one to talk! What about you Beel?! You're here too!" Mammon said glaring at him.

"A movie Marathon means there's gonna be popcorn." Beel said as Cassandra set the bowls of popcorn on the coffee table. She glanced under the bed and saw Kieran's golden eyes gleaming among the cushions.

"You're tellin' me you're just here for the food, beggin' the human for treats like some kind of dog?!" Mammon said in disbelief.

"All I know is once we start watching, I get to start eating. So, hurry up!" Beel glared at him as he took his spot on the couch.

Mammon grumbled and sat down next to her, crossing his arms. Cassandra tucked her legs underneath her and leaned away from him, trying to keep a good distance between them.

"By the way, why is it like 10 degrees colder in here than the rest of the house?" Mammon complained, looking at her.

"I get hot easy so I keep it chilly in here." She said defensively as she started the show.

Truth be told she'd overheated dangerously several times in the past, an apparent side effect of having her magic sealed. As a precaution, she kept her living quarters cold to help her recover in case of an emergency.

By the time they'd gotten to the part where the Lord of Fools found his dead lover Geldie frozen to death, Mammon was hooked.

"Wh... Seriously?! No... That can't be! Can't he, like, use some magic or something to bring her back to life?! Don't you dare die, Geldie! It can't end like this it just can't! He's gonna find a way to save Geldie, right?! What do you think?! Please... Please say he saves her!" He cried looking at her and Beelzebub for answers.

Cassandra was a bit shocked at his reaction. She definitely hadn't pegged him as a hopeless romantic. She wondered briefly at how he'd react to her own rather tragic life story. She shook her head That can't happen. She thought as Beel answered Mammon's plea.

"If you want to know what happens, you'll have to keep watching." He said shoveling more popcorn in his mouth.

Several hours later, Mammon was in tears after seeing the part where the Lord of fools had tried to help his brother, the lord of flies, by sending him food supplies. However, all the supplies were spoiled by rain leaving the lord of flies to starve.

"He was worried about the lord of flies and wanted to help... That's all! I can't believe the food ended up spoiling... It's not fair. He was being so helpful and he meant well... So, why... WHY?!" Mammon sobbed sniffling.

"Mammon, stop crying. Your nose is running you know." Beel said looking over at him. It seemed like this wasn't out of the ordinary for Mammon to act like this. Still, seeing someone cry made Cassandra's heart hurt.

"Come on, how can I NOT cry watching this, huh?!" Mammon continued to sob and snort.

"Here Mammon." Cassandra said gently, in a tone she'd never used around them before, as she handed him some tissues.

Mammon gave her a surprised look as he awkwardly took the tissues from her.

"Th-thanks, that's real nice of ya." He said glancing at her from the corner of his eye, catching her soft expression. He quickly looked away, a faint blush coloring his tanned cheeks.

A few more hours later, they were at the part where the lord of corruption had imprisoned the lord of emptiness for leading a rebellion. Mammon let out an outraged cry. While Beel seemed to find his outbursts annoying, Cassandra found them amusing. She was getting to see a different side of him and she felt herself relaxing more in his presence.

"Seriously, what's wrong with them? They're brothers, aren't they? Couldn't one of them have done something to stop it from coming to this? I mean sure maybe the lord of emptiness deserves some of the blame too... But even so, I can't believe they'd abandon their brother like that..." Mammon glared at the screen. She felt her stomach twist at his last remark, thinking of her dark family history.

What would he think if he knew? She thought anxiously but stopped herself. What did his opinion matter to her anyway?

She looked over at Beel who was also watching the screen intently. She was surprised he had stayed this long since the popcorn had run out hours ago. He had a solemn expression on his face as he watched the characters flickering on the screen.

The next day, Cassandra and Mammon were just getting back after class. He had been quizzing her on TSL, and she'd gotten all his questions right.

"You may seem like an airhead, but I've gotta admit you did pretty well." Mammon said smiling, satisfied with her answers. She shot him an icy look for the airhead remark.

"...Hey, human." Levi's voice sounded from the top of the stairs. She and Mammon looked up to see him walking down the stairs toward them.

"I heard what you're up to, human. Seems that you're trying to suck up to me so I'll like you." He gave her a sulky look.

Cassandra grimaced, that's not it at all. She thought, annoyed, but held her tongue.

"Whaddya mean? Who told you that?" Mammon asked, surprised Levi found out their plan.

"It's no use playing dumb. I heard it from Lucifer." Levi said and Cassandra and Mammon exchanged looks.

"Lucifer? How the hell does he end up hearing every single thing that gets said around here?" Mammon exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"That's not important. You're lucky to have so much time on your hands that you can sit around thinking up schemes like this... As much as I wish I could watch a marathon of every TSL DVD, I don't have the time. So, why do YOU get to have so much free time? It's so not fair." Levi whined as he glared at them.

"I don't know what it is your plotting, but I'm not about to get all buddy-buddy with some human normie. Understand? I'm not like Mammon." Levi gave Mammon a look of disdain.

"Hey! It's not like I'm buddy-buddy with this human either! My body obeys the orders on its own, whether I like it or not. Like when I'm told 'stay' or 'go home' and stuff. It's not my fault!" Mammon protested glaring at Levi.

Levi ignored him, keeping his gaze on Cassandra. "Don't go getting any ideas in your head, human."

Cassandra thought wildly, if he was going to be difficult she was going to have to get crafty. She needed to offer him something he couldn't resist. He seemed competitive, maybe a competition he thought he couldn't lose.

"How about we compete to see who's the biggest TSL fan?" She said trying to sound confident.

"...What? Where did that come from?" He looked shocked at first but then he grinned.

"Do you seriously think you could beat me in a competition involving TSL? As if I'd accept a challenge like that. I mean, I already know what the outcome would be." Levi laughed shaking his head.

"If you already know the outcome then why not accept the challenge? I mean easy win right? Unless you're scared I might actually beat you." Cassandra grinned, crossing her arms.

"Excuse me? Did you process anything I just said? Where are you getting this idea that I might actually lose to you?" Levi said getting annoyed.

"It's really starting to sound like you're afraid I'm gonna take your TSL throne." She smirked at him, knowing she was getting under his skin.

"Excuse me? EXCUSE ME?! Are you processing ANYTHING I'm saying here?!" He repeated himself flabbergasted.

"What are ya wussing out?" She put a hand on her hip and stared him down.

"Hey! Watch what you say, human!" Levi spat fuming.

"Well, Levi I guess you're too-" Cassandra started but was cut off.

"Fine. If that's what you want, I'll do it. Just one thing, though. If you lose you might never make it back to the human world, alive. But you still want to do this, right?" He gave her a cold look.

Cassandra nodded unfazed though she felt Kieran pressing against her leg.

The next day on her way to class, Cassandra ran into Satan and Beelzebub.

"Hello there, Cassandra. I heard about what's happening. It seems you and Levi are having a little competition." Satan said, wearing his usual charming smile.

"... Are you hoping to find out what's in the attic room? Is that it?" Beel asked. Mammon must have told him, so much for keeping secrets.

"Yes, I am." Cassandra didn't see any point in lying to him about it so she answered honestly.

"Huh, you don't say... I'll let you in on a nice piece of information. Levi is the demon of envy. If you can work him into a jealous frenzy he'll lose control of himself. Then he'll be guaranteed to slip up somehow, giving you an opening you can exploit." Beel smiled as if he found this funny, but frowned as he continued.

"Just one thing, though. If Levi does lose control of himself, your life will also be in danger." He looked at her intently.

She placed her hand to her chin in thought. Beel didn't seem to be lying or trying to scare her, he seemed to be genuinely trying to help.

"Thank you, Beel." She said with a smile.

"If you want to thank me, give me food." He said rubbing his stomach.

"I'll give you a piece of advice, too." Satan said and Cassandra raised an eyebrow at him.

"The DVD version of TSL is up to season 7 now. Meanwhile, the original book version is up to volume 8 at this point. Volume 9 of the book isn't out yet. But if you want to know what's going to happen in it, you should ask Simeon." His emerald eyes twinkled with amusement.

Cassandra was more guarded that he'd given her advice. He was a lot more cunning than Beel was, he wouldn't do something if it didn't benefit him in some way.

"What's up with the free advice?" Cassandra said narrowing her eyes.

"No reason. Don't read too much into it. I enjoy making things difficult for Lucifer that's all." He laughed as he and Beel headed for class.

Later at the end of class, Cassandra told Mammon about his brother's advice.

"So, let me get this straight. You're tellin' me that Beel and Satan both gave you hints at how to defeat Levi? Ya don't say... How VERY interesting..." He pondered this for a bit then a huge grin spread across his face.

"Well, Ya know why they did that though, right? It's all because I'm looking after ya. You've got Mammon to thank for this! Those two are giving you special treatment because they know I'm in charge of ya. They want me to be pleased with them ya see!" He puffed out his chest and pointed to himself.

"So, whaddya think about that? NOW you get it doncha! It's clear how important I am, and how much my brothers respect me!" He boasted looking at her for a reaction.

"Hmm, I don't that's why, but if you want to believe that, go right ahead." Cassandra said with a shrug.

"Hey! No! It's true! I mean, why else would they help a human! They obviously respect me!... You REALLY need to learn to show some respect towards demons, got it?" Mammon protested glaring at her. Cassandra looked away, not interested.

"Ugh, forget it. Let's get down to business. You and me need to figure out what our strategy gonna be with this Levi thing." He pulled up a chair next to her.

"First off, what Beel told you is right. If you can make Levi jealous he's bound to lose his cool. Though there's no guarantee that he won't kill you if that happens. But that's how it's gotta be. There's no way you'll beat Levi if you fight fair... So we've gotta figure out how you're going to make him jealous. Hmm... Maybe we oughta ask someone for advice." He stopped to think.

Cassandra thought about the advice Satan had given her. Simeon seemed nice however Satan could be leading her on a wild goose chase. She didn't know him all that well after all. Solomon was obviously a fan of TSL and knew Levi. Solomon was the safest bet but she was a bit worried that he'd press her for information in exchange for his help.

Cassandra sighed making up her mind. "Let's ask Solomon."

"Hmph, figures you'd choose him since you're both human and all. All right then, let's get moving!" They both stood up and headed out to look for Solomon.

They caught up to him right as he was about to leave for his dorm.

"Hey, Solomon, can we talk to you for a minute?" Cassandra called out to him as they walked over.

"Oh well if it isn't Miss Grimm and company. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Solomon turned and smiled at them. She and Mammon explained the situation with Levi.

"Now that you mention it, I think I have just the thing." Solomon gave her a sly smile and reached under his uniform. He pulled out a silver wing pendant on a chain.

"What that thing? Is it worth somethin'? Looks pretty normal to me." Mammon asked, eyeing the shiny object.

"Oh, Levi will know what it is." Solomon grinned and stepped forward, placing the necklace around Cassandra's neck. She tensed at his sudden closeness.

"I'll lend it to you, however, in exchange, I want Miss Grimm to answer some of my questions." Solomon gave her a triumphant look, knowing he'd won. Cassandra grimaced, of course, there was a catch.

"Whaddya mean? What questions?!" Mammon looked very confused.

Solomon ignored him and looked at Cassandra, "You know, a couple of centuries ago, your family was quite well known. Though it seems more recently, that the Grimms have gone into hiding. Why?"

Cassandra bit her lip, this was exactly what she was trying to avoid. "We haven't gone into hiding... There just aren't that many of us left." She said very carefully.

Solomon looked taken aback, "What happened? How many are there left?" He asked leaning in.

She glanced at Mammon who was also looking at her curiously, "I'm the last one." She sighed looking away.

Solomon raised an eyebrow, "Really? You're the last one?" He glanced down at her feet.

Cassandra gave him a hard stare, "Yes, I'm the last Grimm." She crossed her arms.

Solomon blinked, "I see... Well, I wish you the best of luck tomorrow. Goodbye Cassandra." He gave her a nod and left.

"What was that about?! Why was he asking all those questions about your family? Were they super-rich? Did they leave ya a fortune?" Mammon asked his eyes gleaming.

Cassandra shot him a scathing look, "No, Mammon. That's not why we were well known." She snapped as they headed back home.

#obey me #obey me fan fiction #fanfiction #obey me fan fic #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #beelzebub obey me #obey me beel #obey me satan #obey me solomon #obey me Levi #obey me oc #obey me female oc

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wonderlandmind4 · 6 years ago

Text

Delicate Stages Ch 48

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x OFC Ana Rios

Summary: Bucky Barnes agrees to participate in Deprogramming Sessions. What he gets is not anything like he expected.

Warnings: Language. Violence. Blood. Fighting. Choking.

Words: 6k+ @justreadingfics @nerdyandproud9 @buffy-morgendorffer-01

One hour before Stage Ten:

Impatient fingers taps against a wooden surface, waiting for Ana’s confirmation. Max sighs, checking the time on his phone once again, a notification buzzing as he does. The message he was waiting for comes through, though it's not what he was expecting. He rereads the text to double check; Ana has moved the time of the last stage an hour out, and to take his lunch if he pleases. Slight suspicion registers in his gut, but when another text come through with nothing but pizza and coffee emoji, the feeling settles. Locking his phone, Max stands up from his desk in the Security department, deciding to take his lunch.

Half hour before Stage Ten:

Max is just about finished with his food, crushing the wrapper of the sandwich between his hands, when Jared Sharp walks in. He halts the second he sees him sitting at the table, a confused expression crosses his face. He points behind him.

"Weren’t you just in the Lab with Rios?" Sharp questions.

Max nearly bites his tongue to hold back a snippy retort, until he picks up on the confused curiosity in his tone. "She moved it to three. It's only half past two."

Sharp frowns. "No. I just left there. She's there now with Barnes."

Max shakes his head, tossing his wrapper into the trash. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Rolling his eyes, he marches over to Max. "I mean. You are standing guard during the Session right fucking now. Yet somehow you are in two places at once."

Max snatches his phone up, rereading the text. He shows it to Jared, already standing up and pulling his gun from his belt.

"Rios didn't have her phone with-"

"Fuck. Let's go!" Max tucks his phone into his pocket, running out of the café.

Jared follows quickly behind him, also pulling out his gun. "How the hell did you let this happen?" He sounds irritated.

"I don't think you have the right to show concern for Ana right about now. Or ever." Max snips, bypassing the elevator. He presses the COM in his ear, turning it on. "I need eyes on Rios and Barnes in the Lab. possible compromise in the session. Possible Hydra personal again."

"She's still Alex's baby sister." Jared says. "I'm not that heartless."

"Could've surprised me." Max mutters.

They're dashing down the second flight of stairs when a loud explosion sounds from somewhere above them, shaking the building. They pause to stare at each other, then glance up at the ceiling. Max makes the split decision to find Ana, rather than investigate what just happened.

"Fuck." He hisses, running down the steps again.

"That's probably a diversion. Pull everyone's attention to the bomb. Get the Avengers to focus on a false breech instead of the Lab."

Goddammit, Max knows Jared’s suspicious are possible. They finally reach the floor, and the theory is proven correct. The floor is empty, as is the Lab when they enter. Max sprints towards the room, aiming his gun at the handle, shooting once and blowing off the knob.

They arrive too late. Ana is slung over someone's back, her body limp. Max's heart clenches in fear, then drops to his stomach when he sees Bucky across the shoulders of another person. The man is massive, easily able to carry the super soldier’s weight.

Next to him, Jared aims his weapon and fires. The bullet lodges in the thigh of the second man, who stumbles for a moment, the weight of Bucky making him lurch forward. The man sneers, points his gun and fires three rounds. Max dives out of the way, and the moment he springs back up, they're gone.

"Fuck!" Max shouts, tapping his COM again. No one has responded. "Rios and Barnes has been kidnapped. They're heading towards the second level of the Lab. Block all exists! Find Captain Rogers now! I repeat, find Captain Rogers!”

He turns to Jared. "I don't fucking understand, how did Bucky allow-"

Max halts. Jared is slumped against the wall, putting pressure over his chest, blood seeping between his fingers. Another wound deep in his stomach; Max presses his hand over it. He drops his gun and taps his COM once more.

"I need immediate medical attention. Deprogramming room, first level of the Lab." He requests gravely. "Two gun shot wounds to the chest and abdomen."

“Did-did I save her?” Jared gasps, trying to catch his breath. His green eyes are fading.

Apparently, he was knocked down before he could see what happened. Max is conflicted, wants to tell him the truth, but he ends up lying instead; in the end, Jared tried to protect Ana. “Yeah. You did.”

“Good, that’s good. Alex will be happy.” His eyes flutter. His breath hitches and chest stutters.

Then Jared closes his eyes. Max waits for the team to arrive, keeping his hand over the wound.

Two minutes before the Capture:

Ana stares down at the unconscious man next to her, the widow's bite taser stopping it's currents. Her knife is still embedded into his arm, and she leaves it there out of spite. She lifts her eyes to Bucky, a quip on her tongue about not knocking all the man's teeth in, except that the guy is already bleeding from the mouth. Seems like Bucky had a little more fun then she did. She pouts, sticking out her lip, then he turns to look at her.

He chuckles, a soft little sound that never fails to make her stomach flutter. "What's that look for, darlin’?"

"That was too easy." She sighs. "No fun." She holds up her right wrist. "Bracelet's handy though."

She scrunches her nose at him as he rolls his eyes, a small smile on his lips. Then he turns back to the imposter. Ana briefly wonders where Max is, and how they were able to delay him. He would have caught onto the fake guard in a second.

“I’m going to call Steve.” Ana informs. She taps her bracelet twice until it lights up. “FRIDAY.”

“Ms. Rios.” The soft lilt of the AI voice responds.

“Call St-“ She freezes. Something sharp and cold is pressing against the vein in her neck. There’s only one person next to her, can see him from the corner of her eye.

“Motherfucker.” She hisses in disgust. “It’s been you this whole fucking time.”

The needle pierces her skin, sharp and pinching hard because he doesn't give one damn about it. The foreign sensation of the drugs seep and spread throughout her veins like ice. It works fast, efficient, the effects of it already shutting down her body functions. Ana’s limbs quickly become heavy, her right arm dropping to her side, and she blinks to fight off the blurry vision.

“Call out to your Soldier, Rios.” Erik Woods whispers in her ear. “I want him to see this.”

“Fuck you.” Ana sneers, her tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth.

Through the cotton in her ears, she registers the soft click of his gun. Then she sees him pointing the barrel at Bucky, his back is still turned to them, questioning the agent, too busy to realize what’s happening.

“He’s a super soldier, but I’m pretty sure even he can’t survive a bullet to the head. Call him.” Erik threatens.

Ana squeezes her eyes shut, terror spiking up her spine. She’s helpless. She’s got drugs pumping into her system and a gun pointed at the man she loves. Her heart rate is slowing, her stomach churning with bile rising up to her throat. She feels a quick stinging session from the bracelet, like the sting of a bee. Dropping her eyes to her wrist, her skin glows red for a moment then returns to normal. Her bracelet just embedded a tracker into her arm, courtesy of FRIDAY, who is probably recording this exchange. She would feel hopeful, if Ana wasn’t struggling to keep herself upright.

“Do it.”

“Bucky,” Ana breathes out.

Through the blackened spots of her vision, Bucky turns. He drops the guard, a feral snarl on his face. The last thing she sees is the utter rage in his eyes, laced with fear. She think words are spoken, but it sounds like she's under water, the pressure pressing down on her body, dragging her, drowning her in darkness.

***

Silence. Darkness. Heavy.

A pounding ache brings gradual awareness. Another throb of pain pulls Ana from the fuzzy black of her mind; her head feels like its splitting open. She attempts to open her eyes, but they feel glued shut. She tries to lift her head, but it feels like it weighs 100 pounds. She tries to move her arms, but realizes she’s tied down to a chair, arms pinned with leather straps. She tries moving her legs; they’re heavy, along with every muscle in her body.

Ana

A noise breaks through the silence in her ears, muffled as if it’s submerged in water. Her head moves towards the sound, trying to find it's source. Her fingers twitch, and she suddenly begins to feel every other ache in her body coming to the surface.

Two tender spots throb in sensitive places; one on the left side of her neck, as if something stabbed her with a pencil. One on the crook of her right elbow, and a new phantom sting on her right wrist. A tracker. A miniature tracker was injected into her wrist by her bracelet, that she can feel is no longer there.

Annie doll.

Through her dark, lethargic mind, images of the previous events flash by. The two agents, the small fight, the needle puncturing her skin. Erik Wood sneering in her ear, and the terrified look in eyes so incredibly blue.

Bucky.

Ana's head shoots up. She groans and winces, clamping her teeth shut as a wave of nausea rises from her stomach. She inhales deeply through her nose, shutting her eyes, willing for it to subside. She breathes out her mouth once it passes and slowly opens her eyes. What she sees in front of her makes her close them again, because this can't be happening.

She reluctantly opens her eyes again, her worse nightmare set up right in front of her. Bucky is there, a relieved expression washing over his face, shoulders slumping. He’s sat several feet away from her, locked down to the electro-shock chair. The one that has starred in her nightmares. The one that tortures, that suppresses memories, erases the mind; Bucky's mind.

"Annie, thank God." Bucky sighs, his voice slightly shaky, smiling despite their current predicament.

"No." She whispers horrified.

Breathing hard through her nose, her chest expanding up and down, she swallows back the bile burning in her throat. Her chin trembles and she grind her teeth together to stop from screaming. Devastating defeat shines in Bucky’s eyes, his grin now self-deprecating, tugging at his mouth. As if he’s saying that he failed her. If anyone has failed anyone, it's Ana. She couldn't keep him out of Hydra’s hands.

She vehemently shakes her head, ignoring the pounding ache. "No, no, no!"

The last word breaks, tears stinging and welling up in her eyes. Fear prickles throughout her body, she doesn't know how to get him out of this. She doesn't know how to save him. She’s helpless. She begins to tremble.

"Hey," Bucky coos softly. "Sweetheart, it's going to be alright. I'll keep you safe, I promise."

God, of fucking course his only goal here is to protect her. He is held prisoner it that chair once again, and all he can think about is saving her. Ana can't blame him though, since her only goal is to protect him too, free him from the never ending tentacles of Hydra.

"This is my fault." He continues ruefully. There's a split second of fear crossing his face before he schools it again. It lingers in the air.

"No, no. Don't!" Ana nearly gasps, trying to control her breathing. "I'm so sorry, Bucky. I-"

"Ana." His voice is so gentle, it tugs at her heart. "Don't you dare blame yourself."

She watches as Bucky glances around the room before he flexes his arms, biceps bulging beneath his shirt. Something snaps on his restraints, and in a few seconds Bucky will be free. It's then Ana notices two machines dawning automatic guns on either side of him. She lifts her eyes, the same machines are on her too, whirring to life as if-

“Ah ah, Sergeant." Erik Woods suddenly tisks from behind Ana. "You break free, those guns will shoot her. She breaks free, they shoot you. Wouldn’t want her blood on your hands now would we?”

Ana's heart sinks to her feet. He can't know that. There's no way he could know Bucky's deepest and worse fear. Bucky stops moving, an absolutely feral look on his face, his jaw clenching. Abruptly his expression turns stoic, but Ana sees the flash of terror reflecting in his eyes, feels it taint his energy. A harsh hand grabs her, gripping her hair and yanking her head backwards.

"Don't fucking touch her!" Bucky shouts, struggling against the bonds again. The guns next to Ana move, whirring to life once more. He halts.

"Took you long enough to wake up." Erik teases, then shoves her head forward. He walks around so he's standing between them, smirking pridefully at her, mocking her. Ana wishes a slow painful death on him.

"If you escape, Rios, if you use your nifty little ability to shut down the power, I’ll put a bullet in that damaged brain of his. Let’s test that shall we?”

Erik’s hand jerks towards her throat, wrapping his fingers around her neck in a bruising, vice grip. All air is cut from Ana.

She hears thrashing, hears Bucky screaming “Get your fucking hands off her!”

Ana’s eyes fall to him, watching as he jerks in the chair, rage coloring his face, horror in his eyes. She clenches her fists, trying uselessly to gasp for air. Her windpipe feels seconds away from being crushed. Her vision is beginning to blacken around the edges and her face is burning, blood pounding in her ears. Her body begins to jerk involuntary, desperate to break free, desperate for air. Bucky’s screams of fury fade out in her ears. Her heart pumping slower.

Woods finally releases her. Her head drops forward, Ana heaving air to fill her lungs. She gasps, and sputters, coughing as she regains her breath, her cheeks wet from unwilling tears. She inhales mouthfuls of air, trying to get the oxygen back to her brain, refill her lungs.

“His life is worth more than yours? How pitiful.” He rolls his eyes, glancing over his shoulder. "He's nothing but our weapon. Our perfect asset."

"I will murder you, and I will take my sweet ass time doing so." Bucky growls, a snarl on his lips.

Ana wills her body to calm down, holding her ability back as much as she can. "You-you were in charge of everything." She pants, voice strained and ragged. "You realize once we-we get out of here, that we're all coming for you, right?"

"You think so? As you said, I have been in charge of everything." Erik smiles menacingly back at her, pulling out a gun from his belt. He scratches his chin with the barrel. Insane fucker.

"Those Avengers have no fucking idea either of you are here. I had to distract them, I had to distract everyone including you during your little session. I hacked into your phone, sent a text to Max. I planted a harmless bomb on the west side of the building, drawing almost every agent, every guard, every Avenger's attention away from the Lab."

Ana frowns briefly, shifting her eyes to meet Buckys own confused gaze. They come to the same conclusion simultaneously. That's what Ana had felt, the energy from the bomb, the energy from people buzzing around it.

"You'd think I'd just waltz in there without a plan?" He continues, "I've been planning this for years."

Bucky shakes his head, mouthing, Years? Ana shrugs the best she can with her arms held down. She refocuses her eyes on the crazy man in front of her.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" She demands. Might as well keep him talking, since he's wrong about no one knowing they're here.

He spins, a manic grin on his face. "I convinced Simon Mills to speed up the triggers, and to over take the fifth stage. I delayed you on purpose, Rios. I sent one of our agents to compromise the ninth stage. I have been undercover since the fall of SHIELD and Hydra in DC during 2014. I stayed undercover because I had a bigger mission than Alexander Pierce."

Ana's heart is racing. Erik steps closer to her, dragging a condescending finger down her cheek. She jerks away from his touch, and she can feel how tangible Bucky's rage is.

"It was meant to be you all along, AnaRosa Rios." Erik admits. "You heard of Dr. Zola's Algorithm? A program that targets anyone who's a threat, now or in the future, to Hydra. We knew of someone from your family to be special...your mother."

Ana's blood begins to boil at the mention of her mother. The shift in the air goes unnoticed by Erik.

"She was an Empathetic Healer just like you, though no where near your caliber. Which is probably why she never mentioned it to you, huh." Erik shrugs and continues.

"Your mother was rather sick during her first pregnancy, did you know that? Your father decided to take her to a Doctor named Murphy Woods. He told her she was a high risk pregnancy, kept her coming back for vitamin injections, or so he said. He gradually injected her with a serum, one designed to make our own special group of soldiers from birth."

"Fuck." Bucky breathes from behind Woods.

Ana can hardly react right now, keeping her eyes locked on Erik. She had no idea about any of this.

"The super soldier serum is a beautiful thing." He goes on. "Though we could never fully recreate it. However, if we could take that concept, and design it to activate the X gene in DNA, why not? We could easily monitor newborns, children, figure out if they were enhanced. The only problem was, the drug was too new, it took too long.

“Until your family came along. Dr. Woods, or dad, as I like to call him, convinced your mother that her second pregnancy was high risk as well. It was perfect, there was only a three year difference between the babies. We could watch the eldest child, while keeping an eye on the infant."

"You sick fuckers." Ana whispers horrified, wanting to throw up. They've been watching her and Alex their entire lives. They lied to her parents. They lied to her mother, made her put her trust in a soulless person for the sake of experiments.

Erik ignores her. "We thought it was moot. Nothing had happened. Until your parents had a helping hand being run off the road and died 14 years later. The power at the funeral knocked out, along with ten other blocks. We knew it was one of her children. So, we followed closely, Alex always seemed to be around when it happened. Then he enlisted in the army. He beat out everyone else in training. He was tall, fit, fast, strong. Everything we knew the super soldiers to be.

"We thought it was him, and we took him. Needed to whip him into compliance." He turns to look at Bucky. "You know how that is, Soldier."

"I will rip your dick straight off your body you piece of shit." Ana threatens lowly, clenching her hands.

It’s hard to breathe, her lungs hurt, her stomach rolls, her chest is tight. Hydra took her entire family from her. This whole time, Hydra was also responsible for her parents death. The air grows thicker, hotter; energy sizzles at her fingertips.

Erik tisks, walking around until he’s behind her again, pressing his cheek against hers. "Ah, ah, Rios. That tongue will get you both in trouble. We wasted time on your pathetic brother. Could've spent all this effort shutting that bitchy, stubborn mouth of yours up." He harshly grabs a fist full of her hair at the roots, yanking her head back. Ana yelps. His lips graze her ear.

"I will make you watch him suffer before I break you." Erik jerks her head forward, releasing her hair.

The lights in the room glow bright and the machines the guns are attached to shake. Erik is in front of her again, one eyebrow quirked up, as if challenging Ana to do more. She inhales slowly, thinks of keeping Bucky safe and bullet free, and controls her rage. The lights return to normal and the machines stop.

“Good girl." Erik smiles patronizingly. “Obviously, we figured out it wasn't your brother, but since we already started the memory wiping with him, we sent him to kill you, just for fun. It nearly worked, until we realized how powerful you really were. Without even knowing it!"

He laughs haughtily, the noise echoing through her bones. He comes closer to her, bending over. "You probably would have made a great addition to Hydra, the both of you. The Life Drainer. The Soldier. Too bad we convinced Alexander to kill himself. Just shot himself in the head, crying to protect his baby sister.”

Ana feels fire in her veins. She spits in Erik's face. A sharp, stinging pain shoots across her left cheek as her face is jerked to the side. She hears Bucky bellow, struggling against the chair. Ana blinks the shock away, stretching her jaw to combat the pain. She turns her back to glare at Erik, seething. The lights flicker again, and she forms a plan.

When she spits in his face a second time, Erik’s hand shoots to her throat, squeezing his fingers around her neck once more. This is what she was counting on. Bucky is screaming, but Ana begins pulling Erik’s energy out from his body. It takes him several long moments to realize what she’s doing. Then he abruptly releases her, backhanding her hard across the mouth with the butt of his gun.

“Clever fucking bitch!” He gasps, taking a step back.

Warm blood gathers quickly in her mouth from her busted lip, Ana spits blood and saliva at his feet. Erik grabs her hair again, feeling several strand ripping from her scalp, yanking her head back roughly.

“Just for that..."

He tucks his gun away, then pulls a device out of his back pocket. He shows it off to Ana with a manic grin. A small five prong disk that looks like the widow's bite, each point long, a half inch in width and as sharp as needles. He presses the middle, then stabs the device against her inner right knee.

A searing pain pierces though her leg. Feeling like the rods in her knee are being yanked from her bones. Ana screams in agony, throwing her head back. It’s nothing but blinding pain, building and building until something pops inside her knee. Tears sting behind her closed eyes, falling down her cheeks, her hands gripping the edges of the chair.

She can barely hear Bucky calling out for her, but it's his voice that has her trying to rein in her own screams, to control her own breathing. She's had worse pain, she tells herself, and begins to breathe through her mouth.

“There. Stark's pieces of shit technology disabled.” Erik says gleefully. "Probably shouldn't list a knee injury in your file, sweetheart."

Ana hears Buck threatening him again, so she focuses on his voice, no matter how menacing he sounds. She has to be strong for him, she has to be able to grit her teeth, suck it up and get him out of that chair. She has to save him; she will be damned if Bucky falls right back into the abusive, heartless hands of Hydra once more.

Inhaling a deep, calming- shaky- breath, Ana drops her head back down, finding Bucky's eyes through her own watery ones. She offers him a weak grin and the look on his face breaks her heart.

"I'll get you out of here, Annie, I swear it." Bucky whispers, his voice cracking as a few tears escape his own blue eyes.

Ana nods, biting her lip but winces at the cut. The pain in her knee is subsiding into a throbbing ache. She slowly kicks her legs out to test it, but the white-hot pain shoots back up her thigh. If she escapes this, it's going to be difficult to fight, hell, to even walk. Erik suddenly pats her thigh, causing Ana to grit her teeth; a wave of sick curling dangerously in her stomach.

“We could see it, you know." Erik sighs in a dreamily sick tone. "Imagine it. Having an asset with your powers would make Hydra unstoppable. The Winter Soldier and an Energy Alchemist. Someone who could literally drain the life from people with just a simple touch. They were meant to take you, not your brother. They were meant to brainwash you, Rios."

"But, things happen and get in the way, so I waited, biding my time. Then the Winter Soldier ends up in the same place I am. Under cover for years, which was amazing fucking luck! The best part? You went ahead and fell in love with each other.”

He snickers maniacally. “That’s where you failed. Love is weakness.”

Ana is in an immense amount of pain, her right leg beginning to go numb from her shin down, with a radiating sharp pain shoots up her thigh. Her neck is sore, bruised and hot with her vocal chords possibly damaged. Blood is still seeping into her mouth, so she spits it out once again. She can't take this anymore, she cracks. She shakes her head, chuckling under her breath, before her laughter becomes louder.

“Um. Ana, baby? You still with me?” Bucky questions confused and concerned, his voice raw from screaming.

“Something funny, Rios?” Erik demands.

“Fucking hilarious.” Ana sneers at him. “Every villain, which is you by the way, dickless, believes that. That love has no place in a world of violence and control, world domination. Love isn’t weakness, you fucking tit bag. It’s strength. Just because your sick as fuck father was fixated on other children rather than his own son doesn't mean it's weak."

Erik grabs her face, his grip pressing into the cut on her lip. She hit a nerve for sure, given the glint of rage in his eyes.

"I'm going to shut that nasty mouth of yours up, by making you watch your beloved Soldier’s mind be blended again. He won't recognize you, won’t remember you. He will shoot you on my command and you will be powerless to stop it."

He releases her face, looks at her blood on his thumb, then wipes it on his jeans. "What I neglected to inform you, Rios, is like the Captain and the Asset here, we can recreate the serum injected into your mother. We can take your blood, and recreate your powers."

Erik jeers. "So, if I wanted to kill you. If I really wanted to, I would have no regrets in losing your source. I just need your blood, and you don't have to be alive for that."

Ana knew he fucking took blood from her already. The tiny needle mark in the crook of her elbow is evidence. She glares at Erik, wishing he could burn in hell at this very moment.

"The greatest thing about this," He chuckles like he was granted the best thing he could wish for. "Is that you nearly fixed him. You almost deprogrammed him to, what? Just end up back in his favorite little chair."

He leers at Bucky. "I see the fear in your eyes, Barnes. You won't be able to work your way through this one."

Ana's skin prickles with terror, with failure, and she wants to focus her energy, use it to pull Erik's out, to stop this process from happening. But the guns are still poised at Bucky, following every minuscule move she makes. If she does that, the guns will fire. She doesn't know what to do at this point, but she can not just sit here and watch him go through torture once again.

"Bucky." Her voice cracks, raspy. Copper heavy on her tongue, bile dangerously threatening to escape.

Bucky inhales slowly, closing his eyes. He takes a moment, before breathing out and reopens them. The smile he gives her is soft, loving, as if they're back in his bed wrapped around each other. The fondness in his eyes is there, it's the same one he gives her when she's rambling on about something.

"It's going to be fine, Annie. I swear." Bucky tells her firmly. "Don't worry, darling."

"I love you." She nearly whimpers, she has to tell him, to remind him. "I'm so sorry. I love you."

"I love you so much." He replies, his voice soft.

Erik moves behind her, pressing something on the wall; the buzz of the chair come to life. He apparently pulled his gun out again, pressing the barrel to Ana's jaw from behind her. Bucky falls silent, a murderous look overtaking his expression.

Ana's heart stutters in her chest at the sight of it all. She forces air out of her nose, and flexes her arms against the restraints. He leans down to her level, his lips grazing over her ear.

"The most satisfying part of this," Erik whispers menacingly. "Is having you watch all your hard work come undone. You failed, Ana. Did you think that your silly little tactics were going to work? Deprogram decades of Hydra's most successful project with some meaningless, pathetic exercises. You’re delusional.”

Ana closes her eyes against the prickling she feels in them. Clenching and unclenching her fist. She's made her decision, can feel energy buzzing at her fingertips. She has to prevent that chair from hurting Bucky.

"Did you honestly think," He pauses, pressing his mouth closer. "That falling in love with him would just erase everything?"

Ana jerks her head away from Erik. He straightens up and removes the gun. A tear escapes from her left eye, rolling down her cheek. Slowly, Ana locks gazes with Bucky, his expression broken, blue eyes wide and desperate.

I'm so sorry, she mouths at him as another tear falls. He shakes his head, still offering her a calm smile, those fond crinkles by his eyes.

"No matter what happens, you are the realest thing in my life," Bucky reminds her gently.

"This will be fun." Erik chirps gleefully from behind her. He smacks his hand against something once more.

Suddenly, the machine whizzes to life, and the chair leans back. Bucky's chest is heaving with every anticipating breath, his hands squeezing into fists. The head pieces move to press firmly against his face, the zapping of electricity echoes throughout the room. A clenched scream rips from Bucky's throat; pierces straight through Ana's heart, shattering in her chest.

She can't take her eyes off him, watching horrified as the machine begins to wipe his brain once more. Ana can't let that happen to him again. Can't let the pain, the torture, continue. There's so much energy whizzing throughout the room, growing with the sound of Bucky's screams filling her ear; her body, her soul.

The buildup of energy is quick, can feel it surging around her, prickles her skin like needles. Ana feels it, holds that feeling in her chest until it's about to burst. She inhales slowly, then releases it. A bright light explodes through the room, the lighting simultaneously shutting off.

The room is thrown into darkness, the chair ceases noise along with Bucky's screams. There's a thud behind her, like a body hitting the floor. The only source of light is coming from a red emergency bulb. It only took three seconds.

With the power temporarily down, Ana pulls as hard as she can against her bonds until they snap free, burning away from the hot energy emitting from her skin. She launches out of her chair, stumbling towards Bucky, adrenaline masking any pain. She yanks the arms of the machine, putting her foot on the chair for leverage. It gives way, Ana nearly falls back with momentum. She climbs onto the chair, straddling Bucky's thighs, placing her hands on his face, the same spots where the paddles were.

"Bucky, Bucky. Look at me!" Ana pleads frantically. His eyes are unfocused, head lulling against the chair. "I'm here, Bucky, come back to me. Please…James. Come back to me.”

"Annie." He murmurs, slowly picking his head up. She smiles at him, beginning to use her ability to heal what she can.

"Zhelaniye! Rzhavyy! Semnadtsat!" The words are shouted behind her, one right after the other.

Bucky's eyes flicker.

"No, no, Bucky, focus on me." Ana coaches shakily. "Focus on the good memories."

"Rassvet! Furnace! Pech!"

Bucky shakes his head, then yanks his arms free of the restraints. The movement shifts Ana, but she locks her thighs to stay on. His hands grip her hips tightly, making her wince.

"Bucky-"

"Go!" Bucky abruptly snaps.

"No. I am not leaving you!" Ana tells him fiercely. "Keep fighting it."

"Devyat! Dobroserdechnyy!"

"Can't." He mutters, his body shaking with the effort to hold back.

"Yes you can! Remember what's real in here. You can fight this!"

"Vozvrashcheniye na rodinu! Odin!"

Ana presses her forehead against his, moves her hand to the center of his chest. Bucky grits his teeth, his grip tightening on her hips enough to bruise.

"Run." He murmurs.

"Gruzovoy vagon!!"

Ana is thrown backwards, crashing hard onto the floor, pain radiating throughout her body, but she ignores it all. She rights herself quickly, staring up at Bucky who's looming over her, peering down at her with a thousand-yard stare, eyes void of any emotion. The flashing red light illuminates his stone cold face; it's the first time he truly looks terrifying. He tilts his head to the side as he looks at her. Ana and Erik speak at the same time.

"Bucky?"

"Soldat?"

She hopes the theory of the last triggering phrase isn’t true. For several long moments, Bucky just continues to stare at Ana. Then, he lifts his eyes to look behind her.

"Gotovy soblyudat." He responds flatly, emotionless. The Winter Soldier replacing her Bucky.

"No." Ana sobs. She slowly stands up, Bucky's eyes snapping back to hers. She limps closer, firmly pressing both hands against his chest again.

"Ona vrag. Ubey' yeye." She is the enemy, kill her.

Bucky suddenly grabs her left wrist, twisting her arm away as he swings his metal fist towards her face. Ana ducks, nearly avoiding his punch, and brings her left knee up to nail him in the gut. His hand loosens enough for her to pull her arm away, turning to find a weapon of some sort. The only weapon she can reach is in Erik's hands, who seems content to watch Bucky kill her. That is not going to happen.

A metal arm wraps around her neck, locking her a choke hold. Flashes of that first time run through her mind. She tires the same move, but Bucky lifts her, cutting of air supply, her toes barely touching the floor. Instead, Ana performs the same trick she had done while he was training her. She quickly finds his knee with her foot, uses the leverage to twist and push herself up, swinging her right leg around and twisting in the air.

Her move breaks Bucky’s hold enough, his arms slipping down her body. She kicks off his shoulder harder than she did during training. The force of it knocks him backwards, falling to the ground. Ana lands on her feet.

She's abruptly reminded of the device still lodged in her knee and she crumples. Ana clenches her teeth, yelping as she grabs the device and slowly pulls it out of her knee; blood dripping to the floor. She takes too much time doing it, and when she steadies herself, Bucky is standing. He halts, head tilted slightly. He seems...confused, eyebrows knitted together slightly.

"You know who I am, Bucky." Ana states, keeping her strained voice calm. "You know me, Sergeant Snowflake."

His head twitches, eyes flashing. Ana lifts the device, then throws it at Erik. She takes advantages of the Bucky’s conflicted stare, moving past him and advancing towards Erik. He lifts his gun, aiming and firing at her chest. The bullet is blocked by a metal arm in front of her. Ana blinks in surprised, before she's shoved backwards, out of the line of fire.

"You fucking moron! I said kill her!" Erik shouts.

Bucky's head twitches again, and he widens his stance. It gives Ana the opportunity she needs. She takes several, painful, steps backwards, grits her teeth, then sprints. She drops down at the last moment, sliding between Bucky's legs and pops up directly in front of Erik.

His look of appalled shock is amusing.

"You forget who you fucked with." She sneers, then promptly thrusts the heel of her palm up into his nose.

She hears a satisfying crunch but doesn't waste time, kneeing him in the gut. Erik doubles over grunting, blood streaming from his nose. Ana steals the gun from his slackened grip, but he suddenly grabs her arm, yanking her to the side. Her knee twinges sharply in pain and she stumbles, gritting her teeth.

He slams her against the wall, knocking the gun out of her hand. Ana kicks his knee cap with her left foot, Erik shouting out in pain. She breaks away from his hold, taking the chance to go for the gun.

She stops short. The metal of the gun gleams against the crimson light, barrel pointing straight at her held by Bucky. There's a split moment where time stands still as they stare at each other.

Then, the Winter Soldier pulls the trigger.

*******************************************************************

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#bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes x ofc #bucky barnes fanfiction #Bucky Barnes #delicate stages

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sethmurfie-blog · 6 years ago

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SHOWDOWN - [Feb. 14, 2:14 a.m.]

I WAS RUNNING. IT WAS STILL THE THIRTEENTH AND NEARING MIDNIGHT, AND I DON'T KNOW WHERE CALEB WOULD'VE GONE BUT THE FIRST THING I'D CHECK WOULD BE OUR HOME. AS I DASH PASSED THE ICE-COVERED HILL AND SEE FOOTSTEPS THAT MUST'VE BEEN THERE EARLIER TONIGHT, I SPRINT AND SPRINT UNTIL I'M PANTING AND STORMING THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOOD, COMING CLOSE TO OUR HOUSEHOLD. MY FISTS WERE CLENCHED BY MY SIDE.

“YOU CAN ONLY LAUGH HORRIBLY AT PEOPLE’S PLIGHTS IF YOU’VE NEVER EVEN YOURSELF FELT THE TERRIBLE PAIN,” I MUTTERED IN A FETID RAGE.

BUT THEN I SUDDENLY STOPPED WHEN I SAW SOME KIND OF LAMP, SHINING, UP ON OUR ROOF. “HEY, WAIT. PLEASE, SOMEONE, ELABORATE ON THAT PETULANT LIGHT BREAKING OUT THROUGH OUR HORRENDOUS WINDOW PANE.”

AND I SAW PORRIDGE. THE PORRIDGE I KNOW. SHE WAS SITTING, ON THE ROOF, WITH HER ONE GLOVED HAND COVERING UP HER FACE, AND THE COINS REFLECTING LAMPLIGHT PERFECTLY. “Oh...” SHE SAID, “me.” SHE MUTTERED IT ENTIRELY TO HERSELF. SHE LOOKED EXHAUSTED.

“I THINK IT’S CLEAR THAT THE TIME HAS COME WHEN SHE HAS NOW JUST SPOKEN,” I FOUND MYSELF SAYING, EVEN THOUGH I DON’T KNOW WHY, AND NOT VERY LOUDLY.

PORRIDGE STILL COULDN’T HEAR ME. “Oh...” SHE SIGHED. THEN SHE SAID SOMETHING: “Seth.”

I JERKED UPRIGHT. HAD SHE JUST SAID MY NAME?

“Why are...” HER VOICE WAS IN AN UNDERBELLIED CROAK AND NOT EVEN AUDIBLE NOW. SHE SAID SOMETHING I COULDN’T QUITE HEAR AT FIRST, BUT THEN SHE SAID IT AGAIN. “Why are you Seth,” SHE SAID VERY LOWLY AND VERY SLOWLY.

“ALRIGHT SHOULD I CONTINUE TO LISTEN OR IS IT TIME THAT I CAME IN AND MADE MY FATAL APPEARANCE,” I ASKED WITH A LARGE FLOURISH OF PRACTICAL-JOKE CANS.

AS THE SILLY SNAKES SPRANG FROM THE FAUX PEANUT CONTAINERS ON MY HIP, PORRIDGE JERKED UPRIGHT. I HAD ESSENTIALLY SAID WHAT I’D SAID IN AN OPERATIC BELT, WHICH IS DIFFICULT TO NOT INTER.

“Seth?” SHE SAID, AWARE OF ME FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. “What are you doing down there?”

“WHY DON’T YOU TELL ME WHAT IT IS YOU’RE DOING UP THERE.”

"Um—" SHE LOOKED DOWN. "Caleb. Told me to meet him here—"

"ALRIGHT REALLY THAT'S WONDERFUL, GREAT, GOOD NEWS IN FACT WHY DON'T WE SUBSCRIBE TO CNN AND MAKE IT INTO A WORLD- MURFIE-WIDE-NEWS FLASH."

SHE STARED. THEN, SHE SLOWLY, WITH SHAKING LEGS, STOOD, UP ON THE ROOF. CALEB HAD STRUNG THE MULTI-COLORED CHRISTMAS LIGHTS FROM THAT TERRIBLE PARTY ALONG THE GUTTER AND THE EAVES, SO THOSE LIGHTS SHINED OFF OF HER TOO. "Seth," SAID PORRIDGE. "I'm—I'm sorry—"

"WHY DID YOU EVEN COME HERE?" I SAID. I WAS FACING AWAY FROM HER, ARMS SLACK AT MY SIDES. "THIS WAS A QUESTION YOU NEVER EVEN BOTHERED TO ANSWER, REALLY."

PORRIDGE, HOLDING HER RIGHT HAND IN FRONT OF HER FACE AND HER GLOVE TREMBLING AS SHE GAZED. THEN SHE SAID, "Well, I-I don't know. It's..."

"HOW DID YOU EVEN ARRANGE TO TRAVEL HERE THEN, WITH CART AND HORSE?"

"No," SHE SAID. "Actually," SHE ADDED, OBVIOUSLY HOPEFUL FOR A CHANGE IN TOPIC, "I used this app to get my luggage over here ahead of time. I had put my old mask on the suitcase so it would be marked from the others. I'd love to meet the person who developed that app, it was great—"

"ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH" I SAID. CALEB. THE FABRIC AT THE DETROIT AIRPORT. OF FUCKING COURSE.

PORRIDGE HESITATED. "Seth—?"

"WHATEVER, FORGET IT!" I LOOKED UP AT HER, ON THE SECOND-STORY ROOF OF MY HOME. I WONDER HOW SHE GOT UP THERE ANYHOW. CALEB WOULD ALWAYS GET DOWN OFF THE ROOF BY WAY OF LEAPING ONTO THE HOOD OF HIS CAR, BUT THAT WAS PARKED IN THE GARAGE NOW. AND—

"hey, buddy!"

I LOOKED UP.

"wanna give us a little privacy?" SAID CALEB, WHO WAS STRIDING OVER, COATTAILS FLOWING BEHIND HIM ANGRILY.

"Wait, Caleb—" STARTED PORRIDGE, BUT I CUT IN.

"CALEB IS THERE ANY REASON THAT YOU NEED TO BE SO FUCKING POSSESIVE ALL THE TIME?" UNRECOGNIZABLE. FINE. IF I WAS, HE WAS TOO.

"alright buddy, you know what?" CALEB CAME FORWARD, NEARLY PUSHING ME. "you need to know the truth, okay? porridge has chosen me. don't disrespect the king."

"I—I didn't—"

"CALEB IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE PORRIDGE HAS REALLY CHOSEN ANYBODY."

"That's not true," SHE SAID, THE BAGS UNDER HER EYES LOOKING HEAVIER THAN EVER BEFORE.

"WHAT—?" BUT SUDDENLY CALEB TOOK THE BOTTLE, THE BOTTLE, OUT FROM HIS COAT AND FLUNG IT UP AND IN THE AIR. "sever your fucking ties."

"FUCK, CALEB, NO!"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" SHOUTED PORRIDGE.

"CALEB WHAT THE—"

"Here—" SAID PORRIDGE AND SUDDENLY HER FEET SKIDDED DOWN THE ROOF AS SHE PUSHED HERSELF FORWARD TO REACH OUT AND JUST BARELY SNATCH THE BOTTLE BEFORE IT COULD SHATTER ONTO THE GROUND—BUT, AT THE SAME TIME, PORRIDGE'S RIGHT SHOE LOST FOOTING AND SHE SUDDENLY FOUND HER LEGS DANGLING FROM THE GUTTER; SHE GASPED.

"PORRIDGE!!" "porridge!!"

"Fuck," SHE MANAGED, AND SHE WAS HANGING ON BY THAT ONE GLOVED HAND, THE OTHER HAND SWINGING AND STILL CLUTCHING AT THE INIMITABLE BOTTLE.

"OH GODDAMMIT CALEB." THE DROP WAS ENOUGH THAT YEAH SHE WOULDN'T FUCKING DIE BUT SHE WOULND'T NOT GET BADLY FUCKING DAMAGED EITHER. "PORRIDGE HERE" AND I HELD MY ARMS OUT.

"alright stop you're gonna fuck it up" AND CALEB PUSHED ME OUT OF THE WAY AND HELD HIS ARMS OUT. "alright porridge drop the bottle!"

"Wait, if I can just—"

"DROP IT!" I SHOUTED.

SHE DROPPED IT, AND CALEB CAUGHT THE BOTTLE THEN SET IT ONTO THE GROUND, BEFORE HE SAID "okay porridge", SPREADING HIS ARMS AGAIN BUT SHAKING WILDLY. "fuck" HE MUTTERED, SUDDENLY USURPING HIS CATCH-POSE TO RUN A SHAKING HAND OVER HIS HAIRLINE, HIS BACK HUNCHED OVER. "t-too much coke."

"CALEB YOU NEED HELP" I TOLD HIM.

"f-fuck you!" HE SCREAMED, REELING BACK.

"Uh, guys—" PORRIDGE WAS STARTING TO SLIP.

"CALEB YOU HAVE TO GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF, ALRIGHT? PORRIDGE IS GONNA FALL—"

"i'm fine! and i'll catch her" SAID CALEB. HE HELD HIS ARMS OUT.

"CALEB JUST LET ME FUCKING HELP—"

"you're not going to help."

"Guys," SAID PORRIDGE, "I-I'm, ohhh fuck—"

"CALEB—"

"seth—"

"IF YOU WOULD'VE JUST LOOKED AT THE BOTTLE THEN MAYBE YOU WOULD'VE—"

"enough about the fucking bottle!!" CALEB HOWLED. "it's just a bottle, dude, okay?! curses aren't real, the fucking ‘eenie gang’ isn’t real, none of that's shit's real, alright? you're living in a delusion and you have been since you were little, seth, and maybe it's me and mom's fault, fine, but—"

"I-I'm gonna fall—"

"CALEB—"

"and porridge is going to be with me, not you, not anyone, not some strange man coming into our home and into our mom's bedroom and who doesn't even pay respect to the grave for my dog—"

"CALEB SHE'S—"

"and—”

AND SHE FELL.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

CLUNK.

IT WAS THE SOUND OF HER FALLING AS SHE GASPED AND WAS CAUGHT TIGHTLY IN THE GRASP OF CALEB'S ARMS. AS WELL AS MY ARMS. THEY WERE BOTH AROUND HER WAIST. I'M NOT TOTALLY SURE EITHER OF US COULD'VE PROPERLY DONE IT ALONE. AND I NEARLY SHRIEKED, BECAUSE FOR AN AWFUL SECOND I THOUGHT SHE HAD LOST HER LEFT HAND BECAUSE I SAW THAT THE COIN-TIPPED GLOVE WAS STILL HANGING ONTO THE ROOF'S EDGE. BUT SUDDENLY I FELT CALEB SHIFT. AND I FELT HIM SUDDENLY DROP HIS ARMS AND LOOK AT SOMETHING, SOMETHING IN FRONT OF HIM. HIS BREATHING SLOWED. HIS AVIATORS POINTED AT PORRIDGE'S LEFT HAND, WHICH SHE WAS HOLDING UP TO HER FACE AND RUBBING GINGERLY. HER HEAD WAS DOWN, STARING AT THE BOTTLE'S TEXT, AND I SAW THAT THERE WAS SOME KIND OF METAL CIRCLE AROUND ONE OF HER FINGERS? YOU KNOW, THE FINGER BETWEEN THE MIDDLE AND THE PINKIE, I FORGET WHAT THAT ONE'S CALLED EXACTLY—BUT THAT THE METAL CIRCLE AROUND THAT FINGER HAD LIKE A JEWEL IN IT. HUH.

WE STOOD THERE FOR AWHILE. WHAT WAS THIS? WHAT EXACTLY WAS THE BIG DEAL ABOUT A METAL CIRCLE AND A JEWEL? I, I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE, EXCEPT ON MOM YEARS AGO AND UPON ASKING HER ABOUT IT, SHE SAID IT DOESN'T REALLY MEAN ANYTHING ANYMORE. AND WHY WAS CALEB POINTING AT THE FINGER PLUS STARTING TO CRY?

"Um... " BOTH CALEB AND ME LOOKED UP AT HER WHEN WE REALIZED PORRIDGE WAS SPEAKING. "I thought... " HER VOICE DIDN'T SOUND NORMAL. "I thought that if I kept it on, it would somehow be... " SHE SIGHED AND ROLLED HER HEAD ALONG HER SHOULDERS, AND I SAW THAT HER EYES WERE REFLECTING LIGHT MORE POTENTLY THAN NORMAL. WHAT? "I don't know... more—honest—" AND SHE WAS CUT OFF BY HER BREATH SUCKING INWARD AND HER BACK ARCHING—I LET GO OF HER MIDRIFF. WHAT WAS GOING ON?

"someone you met in japan?" SAID CALEB.

PORRIDGE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING, BUT NODDED. WHAT?

CALEB HAD BEEN STANDING THERE FOR SOME TIME NOW. HE HAD WIPED THE MOISTURE OFF OF HIS FACE, AND FINALLY SOME ALARM ON HIS CELL PHONE WENT OFF, AND HE LOOKED AT IT. "happy fourteenth. twenty-three hours till our flight leaves." HE WAS REALLY QUIET, AND KIND OF MONOTONE. AND CALEB PUT AWAY THE PHONE, STILL LETTING HIS ALARM RING. FINALLY HE LOOKED AT PORRIDGE BEHIND HIS AVIATORS AND SAID: "go."

"C—Caleb—" SAID PORRIDGE—

"go" HE SAID LOUDER THIS TIME, STARTING TO WALK TOWARD HER.

"Caleb Caleb, I'm—"

"will you just fucking go!!" HE SHRIEKED, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN I CAME THERE BETWEEN CALEB AND HER, HOLDING HIM BACK AND MY ARM SHIELDING PORRIDGE'S SHAKING FRAME WHILE THE INNOCENT LITTLE ALARM CONTINUED TO GO OFF AND OFF.

RING-RING-RINGGGG!

PORRIDGE SOBBED. "Will you—will you, um, read the bottle that Seth wrote on—?"

"YOU READ IT?" I TURNED TO HER.

RINGGGG!

SHE NODDED.

"go!" CALEB YELLED, AND SUDDENLY PORRIDGE TURNED AND RAN, DISAPPEARING INTO THE DARK. I STARED.

RING-RING-RINGGGGG!

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

IN THE NIGHT AIR THE ALARM CONTINUED RINGING, AND CALEB FINALLY TOOK THE PHONE OUT OF HIS POCKET AND SWITCHED IT OFF.

I WAS STILL SO CONFUSED. SO WHY DID CALEB FREAK OUT ABOUT A FINGER-DECORATION? IS THAT HE WISHES HE COULD HAVE HIS OWN FINGER-BEJEWLMENT? AND HONESTLY I'M STARTING TO REGRET WHAT I SUGGESTED VIA WRITING ON THE BOTTLE—I'M REGRETTING IT BECAUSE OF THIS BIZARRE FUCKING BEHAVIOR TOWARDS PORRIDGE AND SOME OF THE THINGS HE'S SAID HAVE JUST SET ME TO THE LIMIT. CURSES HAVE TO BE REAL. HOW ELSE CAN YOU EXPLAIN—

"seth." I LOOKED OVER. CALEB HAD PICKED UP THE BOTTLE AND WAS READING IT NOW. HIS GLASSES HAD COME OFF, AND HE WAS STARING. HE READ THE MESSAGE I'D WRITTEN, WITH I lift the curse REFLECTING BEHIND IT, BACKWARDS, AND HE SAW THAT ON THE OTHER SIDE IT SAID

CALEB,

I HAVE A SUGGESTED NAME FOR YOUR SILLY LITTLE BUSINESS. CALL YOUR COMPANY "KNIGHT BROTHERS INCORPORATED".

I'LL EVEN ASSIST YOU IN THE ADMINISTRATION ONCE I GRADUATE COLLEGE, OF COURSE. I KNOW YOU'LL WANT ME, AND MY UNCEASING CANDOR.

SINCERELY,

-SETH YOUR BROTHER.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" I SAID. CALEB HAD MADE ME ANGRY AGAIN AND AGAIN. IT WAS TIME FOR IT TO END. I DON'T KNOW WHY I WROTE WHAT I DID.

CALEB LOOKED LIKE HE WAS UNDERGOING SOMETHING THAT HE'D BEEN STRUGGLING WITH FOR A LONG TIME. FINALLY, EYE STILL ON THAT BOTTLE, FINGER RUBBING MY SUGGESTED NAME FOR THE COMPANY, HE SAID "not after college."

"WHAT?"

"not after college" HE SAID AGAIN, LOUDER THIS TIME. HE LOOKED UP. "now. come with me for the flight tomorrow night. i'll have an extra seat now, you can take time off from school and help me."

I STOOD BACK. "CALEB NO." I WAS STARING IN THE DIRECTION WHERE PORRIDGE HAD RUN OFF TO. "CALEB, WHY EXACTLY DID PORRIDGE RUN AWAY? WHAT IN THE PRUMP IS REALLY GOING ON—?"

"seth." CALEB STEPPED TOWARD ME, GRABBING ME BY THE SHOULDERS. "dude." HE WAS LOOKING AT ME, LOOKING SOMEHOW DESPARATE. "none of that matters now. just trust me. i love your idea of you helping me run my business, and flying off with me, i-i think i actually need y—"

"CALEB!" AND I SHOOK HIM OFF ME, EVEN AS HIS EYES WENT HUGE AND WORN. "NO! NO, OKAY? I, I, I NEED TO STAY HERE, I HAVE OBLIGATIONS, ALRIGHT? PORRIDGE MIGHT STILL BE HERE, AND-AND MOM—WELL, MOM P-P-PROBABLY WANTS ME TO STAY HERE, TO STAY IN SCHOOL AND—"

"seth mom doesn't care about y—" HE STOPPED.

I STARED. MY TEETH WERE CLENCHED. "WHAT?"

"mom doesn't care about us." CALEB SWUNG THE BOTTLE IN HIS HAND. "not, anymore really. she has a man to take care of her now."

"I—I—I NEVER THOUGHT MOM WAS MY GREATEST FAN, BUT I KNOW I'LL PROVE MYSELF TO HER, JUST GIVE ME A CHANCE, I KNOW I'LL—"

"seth, this is your curse. this is why—"

"NO!!!" I SCREAMED, AND I PUSHED CALEB AND RAN. I RAN AND RAN AND I RAN UNTIL COMING TO THE ICE-COVERED HILL, AND I SAT DOWN THERE, IN THE SNOW. THE WIND WENT BY GENTLY, AND I COULD HEAR A COYOTE HOWLING IN THE DISTANCE, BEFORE EVENTUALLY, I LAID BACK, LETTING THE ICE NUMB MY ARMS AND LEGS AND FEET. I STARED UP AT THE MOON, WONDERING WHEN IT WOULD BE FULL AGAIN. AND—

BUT THEN MY PHONE RINGS.

I PICK IT UP, BRUSHING OFF THE ICE-COVERED CRYSTALS. CALL FROM HOME. HM. I ANSWER IT.

"CALEB JUST LISTEN, I CAN'T—"

I STOP, HEARING THE VOICE ON THE OTHER END OF THE LINE. MY CHIN DROPS.

"MOM?"

I SIT UP.

THE VOICE JUST KEEPS ON SPEAKING.

"Y-YES" I SAY EVENTUALLY, "OKAY SO YES I UNDERSTAND, CALEB TOLD YOU TO CALL ME, AND YES I REMEMBER YOU SENDING ME TO THE BACKYARD ALL THOSE YEARS AGO—BUT W-WHATEVER, IT DOESN'T MATTER! IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT WAS HAPPENING WITH YOU AND CALEB WHILE—"

THE VOICE CUTS ME OFF, TELLING ME SOMETHING ELSE.

I PAUSE. "OH. YOU TWO WOULD DO A GAME WHERE—YOU'D—WHAT? I NEVER SAW YOU DO THAT."

THE VOICE TELLS ME ANOTHER THING.

"OH. WELL I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WE OWNED ONE OF THOSE. I WOULD ALWAYS JUST GET SOAKED ON THE RAINY DAYS."

THE VOICE SAYS SOMETHING ELSE.

"OH. WELL, EVEN IF YOU WERE, WHATEVER, PRANCING AROUND WITH AN UMBRELLA WHILE INDOORS OR WHATEVER YOU SAID YOU WERE DOING TO ENTERTAIN SIX-YEAR-OLD CALEB, I-I STILL DON'T CARE THAT I WAS JUST EXCLUDED—"

THE VOICE CUTS ME OFF AGAIN, THIS TIME SAYING SOMETHING LOUDER AND WITH MORE FORCE THAN EVEN BEFORE. I WAIT TILL IT FINISHES.

"OH." AND I SIT THERE, HAND GETTING NUMBER AND NUMBER IN FROST. FINALLY I SAY "I DIDN'T THINK YOU WOULD SUPPORT ME DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT, MOM. GOING ALL THE WAY TO ANTARCTICA—"

THE VOICE SAYS ANOTHER THING. MY HEAD FALLS BACK AS MY SCALP TOUCHES SNOW AGAIN.

"YOU REALLY THINK CALEB DEPENDS ON ME THAT MUCH? THAT I'VE BENEFITTED HIM AND-AND THAT I ACTUALLY MATTER, AND THAT I AM A GOOD PERSON AND I'LL FIND LOVE SOMEDAY AND I'VE BEEN THE BEST OLDER BROTHER CALEB COULD EVER HAVE AND-AND-AND ALL THESE THINGS YOU'VE JUST TOLD ME BUT THAT YOU'VE NEVER, EVER SAID BEFORE NOW—"

THE VOICE QUIETLY SAYS SOMETHING THAT IT HASN'T TOLD ME SINCE THE DAY CALEB WAS BORN.

I SIT IN THE SNOW AND WIND. THE WHITE NOISE ON THE END OF THE LINE HUMS BRILLIANTLY, AND AFTER A WHILE I OPEN MY MOUTH NEAR THE PHONE AND SAY "LOVE YOU TOO" BEFORE I HANG UP. PERFECT STRIKE.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

WHEN I ARRIVE AT THE HOUSE TEN MINUTES LATER, I SEE CALEB, SITTING IN A CHAIR AT THE FRONT ROOM. THE BOTTLE IS ON A TABLE BESIDE HIM, WHERE CAN I SEE UNDER MY PROPOSITION HE'S WRITTEN sure.

"CALEB."

HE LOOKS UP AT ME.

I TELL HIM THAT I'VE CHANGED MY MIND. I'LL GO WITH HIM TO ANTARCTICA. TOMORROW NIGHT.

CALEB LOOKS SURPRISED, AND HE SMILES. AND THEN, HE WALKS UP AND HUGS ME. I STIFFEN, NOT REALLY KNOWING WHAT EXACTLY TO DO AT FIRST, BUT THEN I JUST PUT MY ARMS AROUND HIM, AND WE BREAK.

"okay, dude" SAYS CALEB QUICKLY. HIS VOICE SOUNDS REALLY TIRED. "get packing."

"ALRIGHT."

AND I WAS IN MY ROOM SUDDENLY PACKING MY THINGS, ROLLING UP CLOTHES AND TOSSING IN ORANGE PEELS AND COFFEE CHUNKS, AND I THOUGHT ABOUT SOMETHING I SAW, SOMETHING STICKING SLIGHTLY OUT OF CALEB'S FRONT POCKET.

"you almost ready dude?" HE CALLS AS I START TO ZIP UP MY SUITCASE.

"A MOMENT SIR" I CALL DOWN.

I PREPARE TO WALK DOWN THE STAIRCASE, THINKING ABOUT HOW IN HIS FRONT POCKET I SAW A BOX, WITH THE WORDS—

"alright" SAYS CALEB, STOPPING MY THOUGHT-TRAIN. HE STANDS IN FRONT OF THE DOOR AND LOOKS AT OUR HOUSE FOR A FINAL TIME. "off we go dude."

"OFF WE GO."

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

BEFORE WE LEFT, THERE WAS ONE OTHER STOP.

AT THE ICE-COVERED HILL, NEAR THE MOUND, YOU'LL SEE SOMETHING, STUCK IN THE SNOW AND UPSIDE-DOWN. IF IT RESEMBLES A TOTALLY EMPTY CIDER BOTTLE, WITH WORDS IN DIFFERENT HANDWRITINGS WRITTEN ALL OVER, YOU'VE COME TO THE RIGHT GRAVE.

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