#she was human. she one hundred percent knew at least deep down that everything she was doing to steve was wrong

[zombiified]

i think its funny how, despite EVERYTHING he’s done, krakrofis isnt even the worst character in stray nightmare

[snippychicke]

For the Sake of a Smile (V.2) Chapter Fifteen)

Title: For the Sake of a Smile (Revised)

Overall Rating: Mature (18+)

Chapter Rating: M for Mature. We've begun the 18+ content

Trigger warnings: Nothing beyond the child abuse hinted in the series, though we do explore the consequences a bit more.

Main Pairing: Balam Shichiro/Reader

Summary: Hell on earth was your motto for your job. Granted, you were pretty sure earth really was hell, considering the shit you had seen in your life. And the fact your coworker was a child. 

A child named Suzuki Iruma, in fact. A kid who’s life was decidedly worse than yours, but yet he smiled despite everything. It wasn’t long after meeting him that you decided you’d do a lot for his smile. Including summoning a literal demon and signing your soul away.

But as it turns out, hell (The Netherworld, actually) was a lot better than living on earth. Demons were more humane than a lot of humans you knew.

And Iruma’s smile wasn’t the only one that would change your life.

Masterlist | Ao3| Mairimashitai! Simps Discord

The next morning you were lost in your thoughts as you walked towards Furcus's prep-room that she shared with Dali, arms laden with the books that you had convinced Sullivan --Dad-- to find (which he hadn't even hesitated over, wrapping you up in a hug as he promised to do his best). The next you were literally swept from your feet and being cradled gently but firmly to a familiar chest, shoulder-length white hair tickling your nose.

"Shichiro!" You laughed as you clutched to him, careless of the books that had been unceremoniously dumped on the ground.

"Good morning," Shichiro mumbled as he buried his face in the crook of your neck.

"Good morning," You agreed, your whole body feeling warm and your heart light. "How are you this morning?" You asked, raking your fingers through his hair, careless of the looks you were garnering from the students in the hall.

"Good, you?" He asked, pulling away enough to look you meaningfully in the eye. 

And really, compared to how you had been, you could answer him honestly. "Better. Much better." You showed him the vines that were no longer barbed or black, though still looked a darker shade of green then they had been. His expression brightened, and you were sure there was a wide smile behind his mask. You gave into impulse and leaned forward to press a kiss to his forehead, and felt as well as heard his sharp intake of air. The cold metal of his mask contrasted with the warmth of his breath as he pressed his face against your neck.

You cursed the mask's existence, part of you yearning to feel his lips ghosting across your skin instead of his breath. 

"Really, Shichiro?" Kalego sighed as he added your name with the same hint of annoyance. "It's far too early in the morning for such public displays." 

"You're just jealous," You teased, clinging to Shichiro as you looked down at the dark-haired professor. You were sure your cheeks were as flushed as Shichiro's, though that hardly stopped you from grinning impishly.

"Disturbed is more-so the correct term," Kalego shot back, clearly unamused with his eyes narrowed. "You're both making a scene in front of the students."

There was a rebellious part of you that wanted to make more of a scene; but that would mean removing Shichiro's mask, and you weren't sure he would be happy with you doing that in public. Even if it was to show how much his scar didn't bother you in the least bit as you covered it in kisses. 

"Oh, right." Shichiro mumbled, sounding rather embarrassed as he carefully set you down before picking up the books you dropped. "Sorry."

"Don't be," You answered honestly as you accepted the books back, though you weren't sure if his apology was toward you or Kalego. Either way, you gave him a smile as you brushed his hands with yours. "You just made my day a hundred percent better."

He smiled behind his mask, cheeks a deep pink as his fingers brushed yours as he allowed you to take the weight of the books. "I'll see you at lunch then?"

You nodded your head, silently hoping that this time around, things would be less… emotional and allow you to actually enjoy the fact he was as interested in you as you were in him.

"I don't want to know," Kalego once more interrupted your daydreams. Your face felt as warm as Shichiro's dark-red cheeks looked, and the relatively-smaller demon tugged at his friend. "Come along, Shichiro. I don't trust you two alone at this point."

--+--

It was no secret that the entirety of Babyls faculty and students knew about you and Shichiro courting. Looks and conspiratorial giggles followed you through the halls, and you found even more students attempting to watch you nonchalantly yet failing utterly.

Though after the revelation of Iruma's classmate Purson, you wondered how many more were watching without you noticing.

But really, you couldn't care less at the moment. Your heart as well as your mind was happily drifting on cloud-nine as you went through the day, eagerly awaiting the noon hour.

"Ma'am?"

You looked up to see the half-dozen students that formed the small Library Battler; headed by Furcus and her love of knowledge, they had been a large part of helping organize the library.

Furcus had teased you were also stealing her students' affections from her. (Well, you had assumed it was one of her dry teasings.)

Yet today, instead of vibrating from excitement about some new rare book their teacher had shared with them - or fuming with righteous anger of another student disrespecting a text - the six young demons looked unsure; most of them stood behind Mneme, the fifth-year student leader of the batra.

"Who did what?" You asked with a sigh. After all, they would only pull their noses from a book if it was something important.

"We heard you've... accepted Professor Balam's offer to court." Mneme continued, clutching her book tightly. "While we are not skilled fighters like many of our peers, we wish to offer our assistance."

You blinked owlishly at them, sure you misheard or misunderstood. "Assistance...?"

"Professor Balam, while one of the more powerful of demons, and skilled with the knowledge regarding biology of both flora and fauna of the Netherworld," Alim offered as he peeked around Mneme. "He also has... questionable hobbies."

You groaned, "Devi, not that stupid rumor again. Professor Balam does not experiment and torture students. Yes, he can be a bit handsy and enthusiastic at times..." Which weren't exactly negatives in your book by any means.

"We're aware of that, Ma'am," Ji-Su interrupted as you trailed off, your mind trying vainly to clamber into a daydream of being wrapped up in Schichiro's arms, him mindlessly stroking your hair as you nestled in his lap, safe and happy. But this time, instead of platonic, you could be sure of his feelings for you. "But we mean his other hobbies."

Other...hobbies? "Huh?" You asked, mind turning to try to figure out what they were talking about that would warrant such a sneer in their voice.

"Well, the picture books," Ismene admitted with a whisper. "What kind of self-respecting demon - let alone a professor of Babyls - likes picture books?"

"His picture books? That's what's got you all up in arms?" A soft snicker escaped first, before you started laughing whole-heartedly, or maybe it was hysterically. Devi, they had issues because of that?!

"He is a teacher!" Mneme protested. "Ma'am, as powerful and intelligent as he may be, you have to admit it's disconcerting."

"I wouldn't say disconcerting," You defended with humor still coloring your tone. "I actually find it quite adorable."

"We are scholars," Wasi spoke. "Such things are beneath us! Professor Balam is one of the leading scholars when it comes to biology."

"And imaginary creatures!" You protested, for some reason feeling like you had to remind them that he was knowledgeable about both.

"Well, yes, but again that's hardly something a demon with his status should be focusing on!" Memne scoffed. "Theories that can never be proven, and books that dumb down knowledge are beneath him! Beneath Babyls!"

Ah. Now you could kinda see where they were coming from. Not that you agreed - and definitely didn't want to argue about how imaginary wasn't quite as fictional as they thought. 

Instead, you switched back to the topic of Shichiro's picture books. "But I believe it's a testament to his knowledge of subjects to be able to explain it in such simple terms. If we didn't have picture books, how hard would it be to capture the interest of small children? Also, while imaginary creatures are impossible to prove, I think it's a great mental exercise. And plus, have you ever seen his drawings? They are so cute!"

The group of young demons looked at each other, doubt and suspicion on their faces. "Perhaps she is just as mentally unstable as the professor after all," Wasi murmured non-to-quietly. 

"Hey! There is nothing wrong with enjoying picture books, let alone creating them!" You defended, your humor slowly melting away. "Creating cute pictures to entertain along with funny little stories to help explain the intricacies of complicated subjects in a way others can understand is an amazing talent. It's part of the reason that I fell in love with Shichiro! Those books helped Iruma --and myself-- so much on subjects we were struggling with!"

You realized you might have said a little too much in your passionate speech, judging by the looks the Literature Battler - as well as the other students - were giving you. How were you going to salvage this?

"Both me and Iruma... didn't have the greatest resources growing up," You explained awkwardly after a long pause. "Especially before the Chairdemon found us. So, to be honest, our knowledge of some fundamentals were... spotty at best. Professor Balam's books helped a lot to fill in the gaps, bringing both joy as well as understanding."

Silence still reigned over the library, making your pulse seem even more deafening in your ears. That dark whisper started to crawl back from the dark recess of your mind, pointing out how much you had screwed up. 

"Ma'am, did you just say you loved Professor Balam?"

Mneme's question made that whisper shut up despite the flush of your cheeks. You had said that… but it was nothing you were ashamed of, persay. You crossed your arms and jutted out your chin defiantly. "And what if I did...?"

The students looked at each other with silent nods confirming whatever they were thinking "We concede," Mneme spoke, giving a slight nod as she turned back to you. "You have always been an unorthodox teacher..."

"I'm a librarian, not a teacher."

"And as the librarian - with a love of knowledge that rivals Professor Furcus - we must admit we obviously have more to learn from you." Mneme replied. "Nor did we mean to insult your beloved."

You opened your mouth a few times to argue - or at least say something - but words escaped you until the bell screamed. "Just, uh, be more willing to think outside the box-- and apologize to Professor Balam, not me!"

The students made varying noises of agreement as they left. You wondered if admitting that you loved Shichiro was too soon, but you couldn't deny your feelings. You had been enamored by the giant demon for quite a while, and you had still had difficulty understanding why no one else had taken to him before your arrival to the Netherworld.

And he cared for you. So you were going to cling to your feelings, digging your heels in as well as your metaphorical claws. 

--+--

Shichiro was waiting for you in his prep room as the lunch bell rang, a small buffet set out on the coffee table, the smell causing your stomach to growl. 

"Hungry?" Shichiro laughed lightly at the soft noise, making you blush as you entered, touching your stomach as if to make it behave. 

"Maybe," You answered with an embarrassed chuckle, taking a seat as he closed the door. "I don't quite have Iruma's appetite, but it has been a while since breakfast." 

He sat next to you, his large body pressed against yours and his arm wrapping around your waist. As soon as you had a plate full of the offerings, you found yourself curling into his side.

It reminded you of the evening after Walter Park, the first time you saw his face without his mask. Learned how strong and powerful he was. 

Woke up to that soft smile of his. 

"I'm so relieved to see you smiling again," Shichiro admitted, casually stroking your side. It didn't tickle, but caused goosebumps to race across your body. 

"I'm sorry," You apologized, and held up a finger when he tried to argue. "Let me explain. I was talking with Iruma last night, and kind of… had a revelation. And making you guys worry while trying to pretend I was fine wasn't… the best thing to do." 

He hummed thoughtfully. "I still don't believe you need to apologize. When demons have their evil cycles, they're not held responsible. Strong emotions are impossible to control. But if there is a way for us to help you next time, I would love to learn about it." 

"Hopefully there won't be," You sighed. "I mean, I still worry that I'll mess things up, but…" A lot of it had been because you were so full of love for this giant demon, and so sure that he couldn't - or wouldn't - return your feelings.

His hot breath was suddenly ghosting across your skin as he leaned over to press a kiss on your cheek, his mask settling on the table. "I'll be here to protect you, I promise. You and Iruma. " 

Your pulse quickened, both from his words and his gentle kisses. You quickly abandoned your plate and shifted to meet his lips with your own, a new appetite growing in the pit of your stomach. Especially as Shichiro groaned lowly against your mouth as you teased his lips with your tongue, running it along his large exposed teeth before brushing his own larger tongue. A soft, almost cautious touch to assure you weren't overstepping. 

He was far less gentle as his tongue chased after yours, quickly invading your mouth as his body shifted against you. His large hands helped move you to lay back on the couch, allowing him to hover over you, one arm bracing his weight from crushing against you. 

You liked this. You really liked this. It lit a fire in your chest and loins, chasing away any self-doubt. Studying his thick hard muscles with your hands, enjoying his odd mix of rough and tender affections. His kisses were hard and desperate, as if he had been starving, yearning to taste and explore every bit of you. 

Yet his hand was soft and careful as he squeezed your breast through your shirt or studied the curve of your waist and hips. As if you were made of glass and he was afraid to break you. 

But devi, you wanted to be broken. To be laid bare and utterly fucked by him. You tried to convey that as you mimicked his kisses with your own desperation, shifting your legs open so your hips could meet his. 

He groaned as he rolled his hips against you, the prominent bulge pressing against the junction of your thighs. You didn't know which affected you more, but decided it really didn't matter. 

You just needed more. More of the noises, more of him pressing against you. More of everything that made Shichiro Shichiro. 

"Please," You whispered between kisses, breathless and needy. "Please, Shichiro. I-I need you." 

The noise he made against the sensitive flesh of your neck was a cross between a growl and a groan. His hand grasped your hip, fingers digging into your flesh as he rutted against you. "You have no idea how long I wanted you to say those words. How long I've wanted you like this. My precious sweet human." 

It probably wasn't the healthiest way to bolster your self esteem, but there was no denying how it made you feel. To feel and hear how much he wanted you, that he found you desirable in the most basic of senses made your heart soar and also stirred your own arousal even more. Your fingers pulled at his shirt, desperate to feel more of his skin. To be able to run your fingers along his abs and chest. To see if there was any difference between him and a human. Did he have hair? Feathers? Scales? 

Either way, you wanted to touch him. Discover more about the demon you loved. 

Something heavy wrapped around your wrist, making you freeze. Four sets of claws pricked your skin. And Nigyul's chirp was unmistakable in the sudden silence.

"Shichiro? Why is Nigyul holding onto my arm?" You asked after a moment, feeling the wooden dragon settle deeper, nuzzling your hand with his damp snout. 

The demon sighed as he sagged against you almost… embarrassed? "Well, you know how he feeds off my mana?" 

"Yeah?" You answered, still perplexed. What did that have to do with the dragon cuddling your hand right now? 

"Well, mana is affected by emotions and those emotions can also affect beings that feed off it." 

You hazy thoughts struggled to piece the information together and compare it to the situation. "Are you saying he's being cuddly because of your feelings for me?" 

"Well, roughly. More like he, uh, may see you as my mate?"

He pulled back enough to meet your eyes, the deep pink of his face contrasted by both his pale skin and deep black eyes. "... is he trying to mate with my hand then?" You asked, deciding not to touch the term 'mate' quite yet (especially given your current position.) You focused on Nigyul clutching to you, completely still and definitely not pressing any 'bits' against you, unlike Shichiro himself. 

Shichiro chuckled awkwardly, looking thoroughly embarrassed. "No. He just wants to be close to you… rather like myself."

Your worry faded as you touched his face with your free hand. "I like being close to you too." 

The smile that crossed his lips made your heart skip a beat. So wide and happy. You pulled him closer, your kisses soft and tender despite the way your blood was virtually boiling with lust. 

"Okay. Nigyul," You muttered after a long moment of tender kisses that were doing nothing to help your situation. "I love you but I would really like my hand back." Your arm was trying to fall asleep between the dragon clinging to it and the awkward way you had it wrapped around Shichiro's large shoulders. 

Nigyul protested with another chirp as you tried to dislodge him and only held on tighter. 

Shichiro carefully shifted, pulling away from you and sitting up. He scruffed Nigyul like one would a kitten, though grabbing his vines instead of fur. Like a kitten, the small dragon seemed to freeze and go limp, letting out a rather pitiful cry as Shichiro lifted him off your arm. 

"I know you want to be close to her," He chided softly while you begrudgingly sat up as well, shifting so you were still pressed next to Shichiro as he coddled the dragon. "But you can't cling to her like that." 

The dragon huffed but sunk into the scritches Shichiro offered in compensation. The dragon started to trill, especially as your fingers joined in on the pets. As frustrated as you were, you had to admit logically it was a good thing that the kitten-sized dragon had disrupted the moment. The clock on the wall showed the lunch hour was nearly over, and having time to unwind before returning to the library was probably a good thing. 

However, whereas your arousal was overall easy to hide, Shichiro's definitely was not. From him rutting against you, you had a good idea of his size - but seeing the actual tenting his member caused in his pants made you realize he was far bigger than your earlier assumptions.

"So… is that something in your pocket, or…"

Shichiro flushed as he shifted in his seat, as if that would hide any. "I am so sorry," He mumbled, and you grinned as you saw the tips of his ears turn bright red.

"It's nothing to apologize about." Not when you were trying your hardest to keep your mind from wading deeper into the gutter. "Though, I suppose it's going to make teaching, uh, hard."

There was another groan as he covered his face, making you laugh lightly despite his apparent discomfort.  It was just so odd to you, considering any man on earth would likely be boasting if they had anything comparable, and likely try to swindle you into helping. 

But not your sweet demon. "I can, uh, handle it," He admitted after a moment. "Before leaving. You…should probably get back to work."

Annnd your mind freed itself of its tether and jumped straight into the deepest part of the filth, happily supplying you with images of him dealing with it; legs spread wide on the couch, head tilted back as he panted for breath, hand wrapped around himself as he quickly worked...

Would… would he think of you? Call your name as…

"I can help," You blurted out, before freezing as he met your gaze. His face was a bright red, eyes wider and darker than before. You could hear him swallow thickly as his breath caught, as if struggling to process your words - or maybe struggling to accept them.

You gathered up your courage, keeping your eyes focused on him as your hand drifted downwards - trailing along his chest. You wanted to be sure you weren't crossing any boundaries; but there was no signs of that in his expression, just eyes hazed with lust as you felt him switch from being unable to breath to short shallow gasps.

Even feeling him through his pants, you could hardly believe the girth pressing against your palm. There was a kind of primal delight watching his expression shift as you rubbed your hand against him through the fabric, his eyes fluttering close and his lips parting slightly.

It gave you the courage to shift slightly, giving your hand more room to work as you asked in your best sultry voice. "Can I help you, Shichiro?"

"Please," He whined quietly, making your stomach knot even more. How in heaven and hell were you supposed to deny that? Not that you had any intention to, but fuck.

It gave you the courage to find and loosen the fastenings hidden in the folds of his pants, partially aware of Nigyul deciding he had best leave you two alone. Vines gently pulled the dragon back up into the ceiling, and truthfully, your mind was so focused on other things you didn't notice where he went after that. 

His cock met your hand, making Shichiro groan as your fingers traced along the hard shaft as you guided it free. You wanted so, so badly to take your time; both to study his member since you could feel hardened skin - reminding you of the different texture of his forearms - but also just to draw out his pleasure. There was a certain delight in watching him struggle with control as you stroked his cock with a careful touch; his eyes screwed shut, fingers digging into the couch, breath coming in harsh gasps...

The power was intoxicating as you leaned closer to him, lips marking his neck as your hand pumped along his cock.

"Is that good?"

His head nodded quickly as he swallowed thickly, a whine escaping his throat as you tightened your grip. You hummed in approval, "Good, got to make this fast though. What do you need?"

"You," He gasped out your name, "Just need you. Just like this. Please."

You smiled against his neck, peppering little kisses. You. How could that little thing make your heart race even more when you were already in this kind of position?

"Think of me then," You whispered, some part of you mortified by what you were thinking - saying. But hell, you were so far gone you didn't care. "Because I certainly am. I can just imagine what you'd feel like stretching me out, your hard cock buried deep inside me." His hip gave a harsh, barely-contained thrust as his breath became ragged, making you grin. "You're so big, Shichiro, I'm going to be so tight around you, but I want every inch of you inside me. Just the thought of you railing into me has got me all wet."

You could feel the pre-cum leaking over your fingers, making your movements easier, and allowing you to go faster over the rougher skin. Just the way he was trembling and gasping and you knew he was close, his hips rolling to every movement.

Devi, how much would he release when he came? The thought made you clench both your hand as well as your core. More than enough to probably stain his pants, but there wasn't exactly anything else to catch…

Well.

You licked your lips. He was big, but you could probably fit at least his head if not more - and it might set him over the edge.

He cried your name as you pulled away, sounding desperate as he grabbed your arm. You gave him a reassuring smile as you moved from awkwardly straddling his lap to kneeling between his legs. His eyes widened as his breath caught once more, realizing what exactly you were up to.

You were fairly sure it was the first time you heard him swear as your lips wrapped around him. You were also sure you heard the couch cushion rip again as he thrusted up into your mouth. Devi - he was huge, barely able to fit just his head in your mouth without gagging; so you continued using your hands as you sucked and swirled your tongue against his member, bobbing your head every so often to see if you could go just a little bit deeper.

He was soon chanting your name with a pleading tone, making you push even harder - forced to take him deeper as you sucked. The hand that had grabbed your arms was soon buried in your hair; though you could feel him still struggling with himself as he'd grip, release, and grip again - afraid to hurt you.

Hanging on to that edge when you just wanted to make him let go.

You grabbed his hand and encouraged him to grip tight, pulling your hair. A moan echoed from your throat as his hand soon tangled in your hair and pulled you closer - and that was all the more it took.

His hips arched off the couch as he thrusted sharply, driving deep into you. You could taste and feel him cumming inside your mouth; warm, earthy, and more than you could easily swallow no matter how hard you tried. But the small bit of cum leaking from your lips would be easier to clean than any other option.

You finally pulled away when he was spent, being careful not to make a mess as you wiped your lips and chin. Satisfied pride filled your chest as you looked up at Shichiro, who was more or less a panting mess as he slumped back into the couch; his cheeks and tips of his pointed ears flushed red, eyes closed in bliss.

You wanted to climb back in his lap; covering his face, neck, chest in little kisses, but knew that was definitely off the table. 

For now.

"You know you're already ten minutes late for class, right?" You teased instead as you climbed to your feet. He groaned as he covered his face, muttering something under his breath. You chuckled as you guided his cock back in his pants and refastened the hidden zipper and clasps before leaning to press a kiss to his cheek. "What kind of example are you setting right now, Shichiro?"

"Are you really human, or actually a succubus in disguise?" He grumbled, peeking at you between his fingers, making you laugh.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

--+--Su-Ki-Ma --+--

As it turned out, Balam's class after lunch was the Misfit Class. No one really noticed the first few minutes after the second bell when their professor didn't show, too wrapped up in discussing ideas for the music festival.

But after five minutes, they started to question his absence. After all, he wasn't one to run late - unlike a few of the other teachers. And after ten…

"You don't think something happened, do you?" Iruma posed to the rest, feeling anxiety bubble up.

"Obviously you didn't train with him," Sabnock said as he clapped a hand on his rival's shoulder. "I'm positive nothing could defeat our teacher."

"Agreed," Asmodeus stated with a frown. "So, what could be delaying him?"

Just as Asmodus finished the sentence, the door opened with a bang and Balam rushed in, looking more than a little frantic.

"Sorry for being late. I, uh, well, it, uh, doesn't exactly matter. I won't dull you with excuses. Let's see, where exactly did we leave off…"

Silence lingered as Balam ruffled through the books on his desk as the Misfit class shared confused and worried looks.

Except for Elizabetta, who tilted her head as she studied him for a moment. "Professor?" She called, raising her hand out of habit. Balam froze as he looked up at the student. She smiled sweetly as she tapped her cheek, "You have some lipstick right here."

Everyone shot the blonde demon incredulous looks; there was definitely nothing on Balam's cheek - the mask covered most of it.

But then Balam turned blood-beet red, and rubbed at his mask.

"Yes - well, um, there is a perfectly normal explanation for that." He paused as he looked at the student again, his blood-line trait ringing in his ears - barely audible over his own heartbeat. "You were lying."

Too late, however. Nearly all thirteen students of the misfit class had mischievous grins on their faces.

"You and Mom share lunches, right?" Jazz offered, crossing his arms haughtily. "Good thing she doesn't usually wear lipstick."

The flush on the professor's face only became darker making most of the class grin like the demons they were. 

[papergirllife]

Lee Jeno

'You ease Jeno's frustrations during a late night recording session."

Warnings : unprotected sex, cockwarming, generally quite fluffy.

Word count : 1.8k

You were in your pajamas at 1 a.m. in the morning, still in the company because your boyfriend is trying to record the best version of his verse in the recording booth a few feet away, his black denim jacket draped across your chest to shield you from the cold.

You were going through your own lyrics, making a few changes here and there to make sure the flow of the song suits you, working in a low volume to avoid disturbing Jeno, who was already getting antsy from this certain verse.

When you were done, you placed the pencil on the desk and got up from your seat, walking to the booth where Jeno had his handsome face in a frown.

“You okay, Jeno? Aren’t you cold in here?” you asked as you took his jacket off of you, draping it back onto his broad shoulders.

“I'm feeling fine, you should use it,” Jeno said shortly before he takes it off, putting it onto you again.

“But you're just in a tank, and you have to perform on stages very soon, you can't catch a cold,” you argued before trying to take it off once more, only to be stopped by Jeno’s hands.

“I'm fine, you're the one who's sensitive to the cold, I don't want you to get sick because of me, I didn't ask for you to be here with me, and still you showered and came back here to be with me, I'm sorry for eating up our time, I know I promised to have a night in with you,” Jeno said with a sad tinge to his usually cheerful eyes before reaching out for you, embracing you into his warmth.

“I know how important this comeback is for you, I wanted to stay here with you because I'm stubborn and that's on me, not you,” you said before turning your body to tuck yourself closer into Jeno, giving his bicep a quick peck before burying your head into his neck, the familiar scent of cologne filling your lungs.

Jeno let's out a chuckle at this odd but familiar action, you started doing this since the day Jeno had started working out on his arms more, every little thing he does you’d always be proud of it, which is why you're so different from everyone else, Jeno feels safe with you, the fact that the both of you absolutely adore each other irks his members out, but he doesn’t care, not when he only has eyes for you.

“I love you,” Jeno said without hesitation, it's always been like this for the two of you, saying these three words whenever you felt like it, communication between the two of you has always been good, though it hasn't always been like this.

There was a time at the beginning of the relationship where Jeno only knew how to show his love through actions, fearing that it may seem too pushy if he constantly speaks up about his emotions, being a guy and all, but your reassurance of loving to hear everything he has to say, as well as those doe eyes of yours that always have a hundred percent focus on him, had given him a sense of comfort, and so he now speaks whatever that comes to mind when he's with you, most often 'I love yous', it could be in the morning when you wake up, or moments like this where there are uncertainties in his head, you’re his rock.

“I love you too, Jeno,” you said it back before pulling away slightly to kiss him, pulling him closer again by looping your hands around his nape, playing with the strands of hair there as you bit on his bottom lip gently before feeling a sudden grip on your hip, a gasp falling from your lips just to give Jeno the opportunity to dominate the kiss, getting you right where he wanted you to be, under his control.

Jeno tasted like the chocolate mint balls he was having just now, a mixture of sweet chocolate and invigorating mint clouding your senses, the taste so addictive that you licked at his tongue just to taste more, but soon Jeno pulled away, noticing that you were running out of breath, your forehead lolled against his, a sign that he was all too familiar with.

“Slow down, baby, what's got you so worked up?” Jeno asked as he peppers kisses down your neck sloppily, he knows he can't mark you without your manager lecturing you, so he'll just have to manoeuvre himself to the valley of your breasts, popping open the buttons of your pajamas to reveal that you've worn a set that had no padding, the tips of your nipples would've been obvious it weren't for how loose your shirt was.

“Remember the last time we fucked in here? You had a writer’s block for stronger and 119, I want to be your muse again, Jen,” you reminded him as you trailed your hand at the hem of his tank, palming his abs that you go crazy over, you must be the luckiest girl ever, to find a guy who’s as hot as he’s talented in his career, not to mention the sinful things he does with those dancer hips.

Jeno chuckled at that fond memory, recalling Jaemin’s horrid expression when he found the two of you in such a state.

“You do know that this is ANL right?” gesturing at the lyrics on the stand.

“Which is a highly suggestive yet quite a fluffy song, we have to set the mood in order for you to actually gain some inspiration, no?” you said before you pulled off his shirt, throwing it somewhere behind you.

“Greedy aren't you?” Jeno said as he tips your chin higher to get a good look at you in the dim lights, admiring your swollen lips and the lust in your eyes, all because of him.

“Well, you can't pen my name down for these songs, the least you can do is give me a good fuck to remember it by,” you said with those seductive eyes of yours looking into his hooded ones before reaching down his pants, a jolt from his cock at your freezing hands.

“Whatever my baby wants, whatever she gets am I right?” Jeno said before manoeuvring you to your back facing his, letting your ass feel his hard on.

You placed your hands on the stool that Jeno previously sat in, arching your back for him to easily access the situation.

Jeno pulls your sweats and panties down hanging them onto the stand, you purse your lips at the sight, hoping that none of your arousal gets onto the surface, but before you could make up your mind whether to tell Jeno to place your clothing somewhere else, Jeno had spread your folds with two fingers, a hand coming up to swipe at your slit teasingly before pinching your clit lightly in between his thumb and index finger, combing a moan out of you, legs jolting at the sudden pleasure, you were always sensitive there.

“Fuck, baby, I barely touched you and you’re dripping wet, didn't know you were this worked up,” Jeno said by your ear, his voice a few octaves lower.

Jeno enters two fingers in one go, making you buckle your knees at the sudden intrusion, not expecting it so soon, the feeling of his rough finger pads reaching deep into you, searching for that one spot, and when he found it, it felt like the first taste of heaven, a whimper falling from your lips as you held onto the stool harder, preparing for what's to come.

Jeno thrusted his fingers in a moderate pace before sliding in a third, making a scissoring motion to open you up for his large cock.

When he deemed that you were wet enough, Jeno shoved his pants and boxers down to his knees, impatient for the warmth in between your legs.

Jeno positioned himself at your entrance, pushing in an inch before slamming himself into you.

“Fuck, Jeno!” you could feel how full you were now, and how he fits perfectly inside you, his tip dangerously close to your sweet spot, you just need him to move.

“Jeno, you can move now, please,” you begged, breathless as your mind is still registering the feeling of this euphoria.

Jeno clenches his jaw in concentration before pulling out of your sweet pussy slightly, before thrusting back in, starting a quick and shallow pace, the way your warm walls were clenching onto him was making him lightheaded from the immense pleasure, but he knows he has to get his shit together if he wants to actually finish up recording tonight.

Jeno grips onto your hips as he builds up his pace, pistoning his dick inside of you hard and fast as he hears your screams of pleasure, the sound echoing in this small booth, encouraging him to go faster as he gets addicted to this sweet melody.

You held onto the stool for your dear life as you felt the knot in your abdomen slowly unwinding, a sign that you’re nearing your edge.

“I'm gonna cum, Jen, cum with me, please,” you said before purposely clenching onto his dick.

“Fuck, baby, I’m not gonna last any longer if you keep doing that,” Jeno said in one breath, before focusing back onto chasing both your highs, a hand moving to your breasts to pinch your nipples with the perfect amount of pain, he knows how much of a pain slut you are for him, and that was exactly what pushed you over the edge.

You felt your body convulsing as you orgasmed, the knot snapping free as the screams of Jeno’s name tumble from your lips as you let Jeno continue.

Jeno came only a few sloppy thrusts, after you, biting onto your shoulder as he came, giving a few hard thrusts to ride out both your highs, and just so he could bury his cum inside you, letting both your juices mix.

When both of you were done, Jeno moved your limp body expertly on top of his as he took a seat onto the stool, him still inside of you, your head tucked by his left shoulder, picking up where he had left off just now.

“You're right baby, you really are my muse,” Jeno said before humming a tune, then correcting some errors on the sheet.

“Well, good to know I was helpful, now if you'll excuse me, I need to clean up,” you said before trying to get up.

Jeno's left hand grips onto your hips, restricting you from leaving.

“Stay for a bit, I'm finishing up soon, then I'll clean you up, I'm sure you’re too tired to walk now, get some rest,” Jeno said as he pats your head gently, something he does that oddly lulls you to sleep.

“Okay, just don't overwork yourself,” you said before drifting off to sleep on your boyfriend’s shoulder, your very own human pillow.

[writingtoforgetreality]

New World Order - TFATWS Rewrite Chapter One (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

[Marvel-Masterlist], [TFATWS Rewrite-Masterlist]

Next Chapter

Summary: You were an Avenger. That was how the world viewed you. Nobody else knew about your past & it was for the better. After all, you had Sam. You had Bucky. That had to be enough. At least for now.

Words: 6,214

Warnings: language, sarcasm, expect some sort of slow burn, there are hints already, this is a Bucky fic, which means that it'll focus on his scenes more, spoilers for TFATWS, (Y/E/C) = your eye color

If you like my work & wanna support me: a coffee would be highly appreciated ❤

You were no superhero. At least, you would never say you were one. Your past was filled with actions you regretted. None of it was your fault. It was not your decision to be the child of the leader of a HYDRA base. It was not your decision to grow up like a warrior. Fighting. Killing.

Your father was the bad guy. You knew that now. As a child, you did not see through his facade. How could you? He was your dad. Someone who was supposed to love you endlessly. Those years had shaped you. Into the person you were today.

Deep down, you wished there was a way to make you forget. Forget about your past. Forget about the pain. Forget about it all. Hell, you were a laboratory experiment. Those powers did not come from nowhere. No. They came from tons of needles, pumping a toxic serum into you veins. You should not even be alive anymore. Not by what now flowed through your body. Apparently, it was for your own good. That was how your dad put it. Absolute bullshit. Growing up isolated from the world, being trained to fight, to kill, daily. Your own good my ass. If it did one thing, then it ruined your damn life.

But at least you had powers, right? Blue flames you could control. Those blue flames that were hotter than anything else in this world. It took an awful lot of time to fully have control. Truthfully, you hated that part of you with every fiber of your being. It had been the cause of one too many deaths. You had been the cause. But weakness was not in your nature. If you did not show strength you would be a disappointment. Something you really did not want to be.

Bucky was the reason you got out of this life. He was the one to rescue you out of this hell hole. He was the one to show you an entirely different part of this world. And for that, you could never thank him enough. If it were not for Bucky, you would have gone insane ages ago. Who knew if you were still here today?

The Avengers were aware of your past. Of you being a part of HYDRA back in the days. Yet, you had never elaborated this any further. If there was one thing you were good at, it was keeping things to yourself. No need to burden others with your struggles. And you did struggle. Every single day. Because your mind was filled with memories. Memories you had tried to burn. Memories you wanted to erase. Memories of you being the bad guy. Just like your dad had been.

Your life changed when you were introduced to the Avengers. They did not trust you. Not right away. But during the fight with Thanos, the one after the Blip, you proved yourself to be worthy of their trust. Especially Steve. He had been there for you. When everyone else failed to believe in you. He was gone now. And it hurt like hell. Giving up was never an option. And the universe did not plan on giving you a break anytime soon. For now, you had to bury your feelings as deep as possible. Your focus should solely be on the new threats of this world. Threats, that seemed to increase daily.

“Bucky is an asshole.” you were on the phone with Sam & the fact that the super soldier had been ignoring him for a while did not leave a good feeling inside his chest.

“What a revelation.” sarcastic comments were part of your life. It was your way of coping with everything. Frankly, it worked. More or less. “Give him some time.”

“More time? No.” sighing loudly. “I have other things to focus on.” he was referring to the mission he was about to perform.

“You sure you’ll be fine on your own?” it was not like you did not believe in his abilities. Just, life had not been the same ever since billions of people came back.

“When have I ever not been?” you could think of a few times but Sam ended the call before you even had the chance to answer. Typical.

Luckily, Sam usually told you about his missions. And you were proud of him. You really were. The situation you found yourself in? With Bucky & him? Well, it was everything but good. Bucky called you. You called Sam. Sam called you. You called Bucky. A circle you kept alive. And it sucked to be their only way of communication. For now, though, both of them were too stubborn to change anything about it.

“Enjoying the Tunisian sun I hope?” whenever Sam went on a mission, you had him call you after it. Simply because he knew you worried.

“You know it.” in the far background you could hear him working on something.

“Is everyone alright? That trainee of yours? What’s his name again?”

“Torres.” he sighed, frustrated by your question. You had asked him about a million times & apparently, you still had no clue. Truth was, you just liked messing with him. “Redwing is hurt.”

“Naaaw, poor baby.” giggling slightly. That man cared more for a piece of tech than he should.

“Shut up.” okay, better not mess with Wilson if it came to Redwing. Got it.

“When are you coming back?” your voice turned serious again. Having him gone for so long did not stick right with you. Obviously, you knew he was doing it for the greater good. But still. “I swear to all the Gods, if you say when we’re done here…” mumbling quietly but loud enough for him to hear.

“When we’re finished here.” a chuckle could be heard from his side. By the way it sounded, you assumed Torres was laughing as well. Rolling your eyes at his antics. He could be such a child sometimes.

“Oh, fuck off, Wilson.”

“Hey, language!” Sam had fun. Yeah, you were the one cracking jokes all of the time but he could deliver, too.

“Okay, you know what? Bye. Text me when you’re back.” now, it was you who did not give him enough time to respond. After all, he would have clapped back with another snarky remark & you were not in the mood for it. At all.

“Steve represented the best in all of us. Courageous, righteous, hopeful. And he mastered posing stoically.” everyone chuckled at Sam’s description. Of him. Steve. Rhodey was standing right next to you. In that suit of his. The one that made him look way more approachable than you. No need for people to approach you. They did not know who you were before. And they sure as hell did not need to. It would turn things complicated. Humans did not like complicated. You did not like it. “The world has been forever changed. A few months ago, billions of people reappeared after five years away, sending the world into turmoil. We need new heroes. Ones suited for the times we’re in. Symbols are nothing without the women & men that give them meaning. And this thing…” he paused briefly, let out a short chuckle. The shield. “I don’t know if there’s ever been a greater symbol. But it���s more about the man who propped it up, & he’s gone. So, today we honor Steve’s legacy. But also, we look to the future. So, thank you, Captain America. But this belongs to you.” the crowd erupted into cheers. Applause was filling the room & you felt out of place. What was he doing? When Sam asked you to join him here today, he left out the fact that he wanted to give away the shield. The shield Steve had trusted him enough to own. And the people surrounding you? They…celebrated him for it? This entire speech was proof enough that Wilson was worthy of this job. So why the hell did he make that decision? Watching the shield being put into the showcase, you could hardly hold in the tears that formed at the corners of your (Y/E/C) eyes. Rhodey nudged you, sensing that something was wrong. Head hanging low, you ignored him, walking out of the room as fast as possible. If you stayed here any longer, Sam would have bruises for sure. Bruises caused by you. You would not risk that. Though, he kind of deserved it.

“Where’s (Y/N)?” Sam asked Rhodey when he finished with the press. You had told him you would wait here for him. There was no sign of you.

“Left a while ago.”

“What do you mean “Left a while ago.”? Did she say where she was heading?” why did you decide to leave? Had anything happened while he held his speech? All Rhodey could do was shrug. An explanation was not given by you. And he knew better than to ask.

“Take a walk?” Rhodey suggested, completely unaware to your weird behavior. The two of you were not that close. So he did not know you like Sam did. You were an adult, after all. If you wanted to go somewhere without asking someone first, then you were allowed to do that.

Disappointment was flooding through your body. Friends told each other stuff like that, right? So why did he keep it a secret that he planned on giving away the shield. With that action, he broke Steve’s trust & you were livid. If only Steve were here right now. You missed him. So much. Next time Sam met you, you could not promise anything. Because anger was all you felt. Anger & disappointment. Grief. But that one you could keep to yourself. At least for the time being. Shit. Bucky. One hundred percent did he watch Sam giving away the shield. Oh, he would be filled with hatred. Compared to that, you were only a small threat. Bucky was the one Wilson should keep an eye on. Well, he had been trying to get a hold of him. So far, without luck.

A gunshot blasting woke Bucky up from another night invaded by nightmares. His changed hair did not put his demons at bay. His look was different but there were some things he could never get rid of. His past. The past he dreaded as much as you did. Probably what you two had in common. Being part of HYDRA & all. His breathing was irregular & there was no way in hell he could go back to sleep. It was in the middle of the night & he hated himself for relying on someone else. But he would go insane if he did not call another person right now. If he did not call you. The only one who seemed to understand what he was going through. The only one who never judged him because of his nightmares. The only one who made him feel like he was a good person. Not the killer he once had been. When HYDRA controlled him. Back, when he was called “The Winter Soldier”. Would he ever move on from that? Grabbing his old phone, he did not overthink too long & dialed your number. One, he knew by heart. Because he had called you so many times. It stuck in his head.

“Buck? Is everything alright?” concern was present in your voice. Usually, when you got a call in the middle of the night, it was him. And you were fine with it. If he trusted you enough to help him with his demons, than you were more than happy to come to his aid. No matter the time.

“I-I…it’s just, ugh, I-“ still shaken up from his nightmare, you did not need him to finish his sentence. You had been in this exact situation so many times. You knew what he needed. Your presence. Your voice. Your comfort. You.

“I’ll be there in a few.” assuring him, you were already grabbing the stuff you needed & walked out of your apartment. Only one destination in mind. Him. “Do you need me to stay on the phone?” it was a simple question. A stupid one, too. Usually, he would not say a word until you were with him. But it felt right to ask him what he wanted you to do. Needed you to do. When he did not answer for a few moments, you guessed he only nodded, not realizing that you could not see his motions. Yet, he did not hang up. Neither did you. Your breathing was enough for him. At least until you were in his apartment.

Knocking softly, as to not wake his neighbors, the door opened almost immediately after. Squeaking ever so slightly. Taking in his appearance, you could tell that it had been a bad nightmare. No, not a nightmare. A memory. You knew that because it was the reason you woke up most nights as well. If it were not for him feeling miserable, you would have drooled by the sight of him. No shirt. Hair sticking around so beautifully. Eyes you could lose yourself in. But it was not the right timing. Besides, Bucky & you were just friends. That was it. Just friends. Though, you would lie if you said that you did not feel butterflies whenever he shot you one of his charming smiles. Whenever his body brushed against yours on accident. Yes, he did have that effect on you. Hell, that was not what he needed right now. Your feelings could be dealt with later on. Bucky was all who mattered now. There was no conversation. No words exchanged. It was enough for him if you were with him. A sign that he was not alone. That he still had you. Even after everything. Even after calling you, night after night, disturbing your own rest. Not that you got much to begin with but he did not need to know that. It had always been a mystery to him. Why you stuck around still. Though you had assured him thousands of times that you were in this for good. If he needed you, you were only one call away. And he appreciated you for it. More than he would ever like to admit. Friends. You were friends.

“So, Mr. Barnes, are you still having nightmares?” another session with Dr. Raynor. Another dreaded session. It was stupid to Bucky. But there was no way out of this. He had to. Seconds of silence went by before she spoke up again. “James, I asked you a question. Are you still having nightmares?” what kind of question was that? A stupid one. That was for sure.

“No.” simple, short. Sufficient. Not for his doctor, though.

“We’ve been doing this long enough that I can tell when you’re lying. Well, you seem a little off today. Did something happen recently?”

“No.” what an answer to move this session forward. Clearly, he was not in the mood to talk today. Not even you were able to get his mind off of things. Though, you definitely made his night easier.

“You’re a civilian now. With your history, the government needs to know that you’re not gonna…” her hand motioned stabbing. Awful action but who were you to judge? Bucky nodded with that look on his face that showed how completely done he was with this situation. Yet, she kept going. “It’s a condition of your pardon. So, tell me about your most recent nightmare.”

“I didn’t have a nightmare.” well, it was worth a try. After taking a deep breath, she grabbed the pencil, ready to start writing into that notebook of hers again. “Oh, come on. Really? You’re gonna do the notebook thing? Why? It’s passive aggressive.” looked like the two of them were going back to the roots.

“You don’t talk. I write.” Bucky sighed at that. He knew he would not get out of this.

“Okay. Okay. I crossed a name off the list of my amends yesterday. Don’t worry. I used all your three rules. Senator Atwood. She was a HYDRA pawn for years. Helped her get into office when I was the Winter Soldier. And after HYDRA disbanded, she continued to abuse the power I gave her.”

“So, rule number one, you can’t do anything illegal.”

“All I did was give some intel to the aide to convict her. And I wasn’t involved in anything else.”

“Rule number two?”

“What was rule number two?” his gaze drifting off, showing he thought about it deeply. How ironic.

“Nobody gets hurt. It’s a big one.”

“Then why isn’t it rule number one?” he did have a point there. No room left for arguing about that. “I didn’t hurt anybody. I promise.”

“And what about rule number three?” Bucky’s mouth opened, yet, nothing came out. “The whole point of making amends is to fulfil rule number three.”

“You know, you’re a cynic, Doc. Of course, I completed rule number three. I am James Bucky Barnes & you’re part of my efforts to make amends.” words followed by that smile of his. That smile everyone could tell was fake. Almost creepy. But efforts, right? It was all about the efforts.

“So, you did it all right, but it didn’t help with the nightmares.”

“Well, like I said, I didn’t have any.” Bucky Barnes, everyone. Still trying to fool his doctor.

“Look, one day, you’re gonna have to open up & understand that some people really do want to help you & that they can be trusted. People like (Y/N).” the mention of your name made his eyes snap up.

“I trust more people than her.” it sounded more like he tried to convince himself more than anyone else.

“Yeah? Give me your phone.” an order. Grabbing it out of his pocket to hand it over. A short look was enough. “You don’t have ten phone numbers on this thing. Oh, & you’ve been ignoring the texts from Sam. Look, you gotta nurture friendships. I am the only person you have called all week. That is so sad…Oh, that’s not right. You called (Y/N) last night. Anything you wanna tell me about that?” closing the flip phone, she threw it over to Bucky which he caught with ease.

“What? Do I need to justify calling a friend?” chuckling & shaking his head slightly, he brushed his hands over his thighs.

“If you call that friend at 3 am, then yes. Because you should sleep at that time. Except if you had a nightmare which you claimed that you didn’t.”

“We just talked. That’s all.” he thought that brushing it off as if it were nothing was enough to get her to shut up. Hell, he had brought you up during his sessions way too many times. After all, he still wanted the situation between you guys to be subtle.

“You’re alone.”

“A minute ago, you said I had (Y/N).” he tried arguing but his attempts failed.

“You’re a hundred years old. You have no history, no family…” right, pouring salt in the wounds. That usually worked.

“Are you lashing out at me, Doc? Because that’s really unprofessional, you know? When did that start? Yelling at your clients?” she seemed to have enough & again went for the little book next to her. “Oh, the notebook. That’s great.” sighing deeply, he braced himself to take her more seriously. “All right, give me a break. I’m trying, okay? This isn’t…This is new for me. I didn’t have a moment to deal with anything, you know? I had a little…calm in Wakanda. And other than that, I just went from one fight to another for 90 years.”

“So, now that you’ve stopped fighting, what do you want?” he had an answer in mind right away. Never ever would he say it out loud. It took him a second to reply. Because what he was about to say came in union with his first thought.

“Peace.”

“That is utter bullshit.” what a nice way to bad talk his answer. Maybe she was expecting something else from him. Maybe she knew the answer just as much as he did. The real answer.

“You’re a terrible shrink.”

“I was an excellent soldier, so I saw a lot of dead bodies, & I know how that can shut you down. And if you are alone…”

“Which I’m not because I have (Y/N).”

“…that is the quietest, most personal hell. And, James, it is very hard to escape. Look, I know that you have been through a lot, but you’ve got your mind back, you are being pardoned. I mean, these are good things. You’re free.”

“To do what?”

Wednesday. Bucky usually went to Izzy. Today, he asked you to join him & Yori. Why he wanted you there with them? No clue. But it was not often he asked you to go somewhere with him so you agreed on meeting them there.

“Take a look.” Yori was a cute, old man. Reading his newspaper like a good citizen. Bucky had yet to give you an explanation as to why you were here right now. But for now, you just sat next to him, quietly observing your surroundings. “Nobody made it past 90 this week.” it was funny, to see Bucky trying his hardest to sound interested. Like he understood.

“So young. Such a shame.” his words made you scoff. Apparently, once you hit the 100 mark, you turn into a sarcastic piece. If you were not one before. If you ever made it to 100? Only the Gods knew what would come after that. Most people called you a sarcastic asshole now. Could that be topped?

“You guys didn’t order the usual, huh? Feeling a little adventurous?” the woman behind the counter directed her words at the three of you.

“Um, actually, I’ve never been here before, so…” you chuckled to avoid the awkwardness that would sure as hell build if you kept quiet now.

“You should ask her out.” Yori leaned over to Bucky & you almost choked on your food at his words. Bucky asking her out? Her? Yeah, she was beautiful & all. But her? Really? Seemed like that Yori dude did not know Bucky as well as he claimed to. You, on the other hand, were aware that nothing good would come out if it. Besides, they would not even make a nice couple. Shit, were you jealous? Oh no. Glancing over at the man next to you, his face showed just how much he despised this idea. At least something.

“Mm-mmm…” shaking his head frantically, he shot you a quick look but before his eyes locked onto yours, your gaze fell down to your plate. Slightly embarrassed. Scared that, if he looked at you, he would notice something behind your look. Something more. Something, that you wanted to keep hidden. For everyone’s sake.

“He would like to take you out on a date.” oh fuck off, Yori. You had nothing against this man but he was pushing your buttons. Could he not see that Bucky was incredibly uncomfortable with the idea of going on a date? With her? “Maybe to bingo or a night of pinochle.” hiding your laugh behind one of your hands, you could not believe that he was serious. Bucky & bingo? Well, it was for old people so you guessed it fit quite well. Not with her, though. Oh no, you really were jealous.

“I’m really sorry about him.” Bucky apologized for his friend’s behavior. Yes, you were sorry for him, too.

“Why are you sorry?” of course, now the woman was flirting with him. It got better & better. Taking a deep breath, you tried to keep your emotions at bay. You could not lash out in the middle of this restaurant, after all. Even though you were this close to doing just that. Deep breaths, you got this. “I’m game.” sure she was.

“Wow.” really? Bucky was impressed? By this? Oh come on, why would he settle for less when he could have so, so much more. But it was not your decision. He was not yours. You did not own him. Neither did you make the decisions for him.

“Tomorrow night, then?” Yori leaned over the counter.

“Tomorrow night’s great.” she replied with a bright smile.

“Hey, I just remembered something.” you spoke up all of a sudden. Bucky’s eyes met yours now & he saw that you were uncomfortable. Though, he could not pinpoint why. “Um, I-I need to go. See you, Buck. Bye guys.” sprinting out of the restaurant, you hoped nobody would follow you. Not in the mood to deal with anyone right now. All you wanted was to be alone right now. Your mind the only one keeping you company. But your mind was not really the kindest to you. Not in this particular moment. So what? Bucky had a date. You knew that would happen sooner or later. He was a good looking man. More importantly, you just wanted him to be happy. Genuinely happy.

Fucking great. Who could you talk to? You still were not done being mad at Sam. And now you were mad at Bucky for something he did not even do. He sort of did. He could have said no. If he really did not want to, he could have said no. Bucky was enough of a man to speak his mind, you knew that. Maybe he did want to go on a date with her. What was her name again? Not that you cared too much. But still. Blinking away the tears that had formed at the corners of your eyes, you kept on walking. Without a real destination. You were stupid. Friends. Why could you not accept this? Usually, you would call Steve in such a situation. Or even Tony. But it was too late now. They were not here anymore. You had to deal with that sooner or later. Whether you liked it or not. Contemplating calling Sam, you eyed your phone carefully. One more button. But nope. The anger was bigger than the need to talk to someone. Stubborn you. Wilson could make you feel better. But you would most likely end up yelling at him. And you knew you would regret your words later on. So might as well stay silent for the time being. Until you calmed down enough.

It was 10 pm. Date time for Bucky. That same restaurant. Being the gentleman that we was, he even brought her flowers. Like it used to be back in the 40s.

“Well, if that’s not the most adorably old-fashioned thing anyone’s ever done.” Bucky felt lost. In her company. “Grab a seat, I’ll be done in a few.”

“Okay.” he could up & leave. It would not be too late. All he knew was that it felt wrong.

“So, have you dated much since half the fish in the sea came back?”

“Not really. I, um…tried the whole online dating thing. (Y/N), the girl who was here with me yesterday, she set up a profile for me because I didn’t understand a single thing.” laughing at the memory, he thought back to when he called you to ask you for a favor. How you laughed at him for wanting to try this whole bullshit. “It’s pretty crazy. A lot of weird pictures.”

“What kind of weird?”

“I mean, tiger photos? Half the time I don’t even know what I’m looking at. It’s…It’s a lot. When I showed (Y/N), she simply said that this was what I signed up for.”

“You sound like my dad.” definitely something a man did not want to hear while on a date. On the other hand, he did not even want this to be a date. “Wait. How old are you?

“A hundred & six.” only he could make it sound so casually. Like it was the most normal thing on this planet. Both laughed at his words. Simply because it was so absurd.

“What’s up with your big gloves?” a sensitive topic she just touched.

“I, um, have, uh…poor circulation.” sure thing.

“Hmm…Hey, what is it about this (Y/N) girl & you?” his eyes widened at her question. What was she getting at?

“She’s my friend. Why?” his dumbfounded expression made her chuckle.

“A friend, huh?”

“Um, yeah.”

“You sure about that?” an eyebrow raised. A questioning stare was sent his way.

“Why does everyone think I don’t have friends?” throwing his head back in frustration, he let out a long sigh.

“It’s not that.” she stopped briefly, thinking about her next words carefully. “Just, you guys seem pretty close.”

“Well, we’ve known each other for years.” he reasoned, gesturing with his hands to bring his point across.

“Yeah? And the looks you’re shooting each other when the other one’s not looking?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You two aren’t really subtle about this, you know?” she wiped the counter & did not even look at Bucky. He, on the other hand, started sweating.

“Subtle about what?”

“Oh, come on. Who are you kidding? I don’t even know why you’re here right now.”

“Because Yori set you & me up on a date.”

“And why did you agree?” she crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for an explanation from the man in front of her.

“I-I don’t know.” he responded truthfully. Because he thought it to be polite? Because Yori was the one who suggested it? Honestly, he was not sure.

“That’s what I thought. Look, you’re a nice guy & all but…just, listen to your heart from time to time. It’s late. You should head out. See you.” she turned around & walked further into the restaurant. Leaving Bucky alone with his thoughts. It was clear what she intended. Did not mean that it made this entire situation any easier. Bucky left without another word. Fresh air would help him think straight.

Your phone rang & you sighed when you checked who decided to annoy you. Bucky. Of course. But wait. Should he not be on his date right now? Did something go wrong? Not that you wanted it to but if you were entirely honest, you would not be mad about it either.

“Hi Buck. What’s up?”

“I need your help with something.” there was no hesitation in his voice. Just him being straight forward.

“Please don’t tell me you need help on how to get the girl.” it was your way to lighten the mood. You did that because you could tell that he was incredibly serious. Usually, this was never a good sign.

“Can I send you an address? Can you meet me there as soon as possible?” his voice was low, deep.

“Um, sure thing. But just to set things clear…I won’t join in on your fun, Buck. That’s between you & her.” again, sarcasm was your way of coping with emotions. Though, it was not the right time to use it right now. His next words were proof enough. You should not mess with him. Not in this moment.

“Can you be serious for a second?” he raised his voice a little. It was not much but it was enough to leave you confused. Bucky was not the person to yell at you. Especially not like this.

“I’m sorry…Um, yeah, tell me where & I’ll get there as fast as I can.” gulping down, you waited for him to give you more information.

Arriving at an unfamiliar building, you could make out Bucky’s form in front of it. Why would he want to meet you here? Where was his date?

“Buck?” your voice barely above a whisper. The night sky only illuminated by the moon that shone brightly. Providing just a tiny bit of light. Enough, to let you notice your surroundings.

“Thanks for coming.” you could tell that he was stressed, tough, you were not sure why.

“Is everything alright? Because I swear, if that woman did anyth-“

“No, she didn’t. Promise.” his warm smile was encouraging enough. It was clear that he was not lying to you. “Just…didn’t work out. But that’s not why you’re here.”

“Okay?”

“My last nightmare. Do you remember?” nodding for him to continue. “How I killed that innocent man?”

“It wasn’t you, Buck. You were being controlled.” touching his shoulder softly, squeezing it to reassure him.

“Whatever…That guy, it was Yori’s son. I want to, need to, apologize. Even though the apology comes way too late.” you nodded at him, your eyes meeting his briefly. Now you knew why he called you. He did not want to do this alone. No. He wanted you by his side. To support him through it. Entering the building together, Bucky led you to the apartment Yori lived in. His hand raised to knock on the door. Surprisingly, he did not waste any time. He wanted to get this over with. Understandingly so. No words were exchanged. You being here, with him, that was more than enough.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Yori opened the door, his face showed confusion by the appearance of you two. “How was the date?” you could not help but roll your eyes at the old man in front of you. Looking at Bucky, you were worried when you saw him having an internal conversation with himself. Mouth opening & closing again. No words coming out. Risking a look inside the apartment, you noticed a small picture frame with who you assumed to be his son. The one Bucky killed. No. The one the Winter Soldier killed.

“It was…It was good.” Bucky mumbled.

“Bullshit.” you followed after. None of them heard you, though. Luckily.

“Forgot I owed you for lunch.” Bucky handed him money. If you were not mistaken, this was not a form of apologizing. He had a hard time, though, that much was obvious. Afterwards, Bucky turned around & walked away without another word. Which left you alone with a confused looking Yori.

“I’m sorry for the disturbance, sir. Have a good night.” plastering on the sweetest smile you could offer, you followed Bucky outside. Jogging to keep up with the super soldier.

Back outside, you saw Bucky holding his little notebook in his hands. You knew about it. Because you were the only person he talked to when it came to his therapy sessions. A look over his shoulder could tell that his eyes were trained on the name being circled. His body was tense. That was not what he planned.

“It’s okay, Bucky.” your hand stroked over his lower back in a comforting way. Your forehead rested against his shoulder, hoping, that it would ease him a little. You could feel him calm down at your touch. “Give yourself some time.” you mumbled quietly, knowing he could hear you clearly due to the calm night. You just hoped that he would not beat himself up too much. Not more than he already did.

You were back in your own apartment. Still no words from Sam. But that was nothing new. Sometimes, he would go radio silent for a few days but after that, he would always check in with you. Maybe he figured that you were mad at him. For giving away the shield & all. And he probably was busy with work. The work he did with Torres. If he needed your help, he would call you for sure. Your TV got your attention again. Something told you to watch closely. So you did.

“Unrest, in the wake of recent events, has left us vulnerable. Every day Americans feel it. While we love heroes who put their lives on the line to defend Earth, we also need a hero to defend this country. We need a real person who embodies America’s greatest values. We need someone to inspire us again, someone who can be a symbol for all of us. So, on behalf of the Department of Defense & our Commander-in-Chief, it is with great honor that we announce here today that the United States of America has a new hero. Join me in welcoming your new Captain America.” the crowd cheered loudly & someone walked through the door. You could not believe what was happening. Please, this had to be a bad dream. When would you wake up form this hell? A man, wearing his suit, holding his shield, greeted the people. Looking at your hands, you could see small, blue sparks forming at the tips of your fingers. That only ever happened when you had no control over your emotions. Right now, you were everything but in control. Of course he had to wink at the camera like the sick person he was.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me…” breathing out lowly, you put your head into your hands, completely ignoring the sparks there. You did not feel them anyway. If you ever met this son of a bitch it would not end well for him. And the next time you would meet Wilson? Fingers crossed he could deal with your angry & disappointed self. Because you were seething.

~to be continued~

Next Chapter

Published (04/02/2021) by Cathy

Tags: @taina-eny​, @tanyaherondale​, @cool-ultra-nerd​, @toribentleyva, @buckyandlokirunmylife​, @annadier​, @howlongtillidie​, @mizz-kraziii, @theetherealbloom​, @millenniumloki​, @marvelbros-oneshots​, @ajbwasnthere, @bilesxbilinskixlahey​, @mystictimetravelcolor​, @dbrees256​, @sxpxrnxturxl, @dreamydreamerwriting​, @dolllstyles​, @angelicastiel​, @prettysbliss, @infinitelyforgotten​, @sweetserendipity65​, @lilystilinskicullen​, @partypoisonsblog, @btdsprayberry, @sarai-ibn-la-ahad​, @deamus-liv​, @simplybarnes​, @sethcohenluvr (let me know if you wanna be tagged <3)

[rome5683]

A 'Sociopath's Touch

Chapter Ten : Dearly Departed

Words: 6193

Summary: It's the storm after the fluff. You and Kai go to help Damon get his mom back, and everything goes wrong. Again.

Kai’s hands moved the hangers quickly down the rack, cursing when he couldn’t find what he was looking for. “Am I even in the right section- I mean, what is this?”

“This is Walmart. You get what you buy.” Damon scowled as he leaned against a wooden platform that had folded clothes against it, furring his brow at Kai.

“And it’s not exactly snowing here, either.” Jacob said from the other side of the rack, “So yeah, their selections for parkas aren’t exactly bussin’.”

Damon stood, looking at Jacob with annoyance, “What did you just say?”

“Uh…” Jacob hesitated, face filled with both anger and fear. The man who killed him was asking rudely what he just said.

“Bussin’.” Kai smirked at Jacob’s relieved expression, relief to be free from any type of confrontation, and looked to Damon with a raised brow. “What’s wrong, old man? Can’t get with the times?”

Damon scoffed, “Do you even know how to use anything that plugs in?”

Kai smiled sarcastically, “Do you even know how to speak to anyone younger than you?”

Damon was about to speak when Jacob interceded with a laugh, “Does he even know anyone older than him?”

Damon raised a brow towards your brother, “I will kill you, again.”

Kai smirked and chanted under his breath, causing Damon to groan and clutch his forehead before the spell went away. He glared at Kai, who smirked wider. “Do that, and I will kill you. Capisce?”

Damon frowned, walking away to look for his own parka.

-

You were indecisive at the moment- the black one looked more chic, but the white one looked so classy. You looked at Elena, who sat nearby with a bored expression. You held them both up to her, “Which one do you think I should get?”

She sighed, “I don’t know, (Y/N). Can you just hurry up?”

“God…” You rolled your eyes, deciding to go with the white parka instead of the black one. It was easier to get dirty, sure, but hell of a lot cuter. Especially with those dark jeans you would wear… and those white snow boots you spotted in the other section. You hung the black parka where it belonged, grumbling with annoyance, “You’re such a killjoy.”

“It’s not like you’re a breeze to get along with- and I don’t usually get along with people who try to threaten me, so-“

You looked at her with a raised brow as you folded the white parka over your arm, “I did what I had to do, okay? I needed a break- my family needed a break.”

She raised a brow back, crossing her arms, “So Kai’s your family now?”

You let out a soft exhale, not even thinking twice about that fact. You and Kai… you had more than just a connection. More than attraction- you had a bond. A deep and real bond. You shrugged, a hint of a smile on your lips, “Pretty much.”

Elena softened slightly, “Look, I get what you mean. At first, when I was still human- I took a break from all this for a bit.”

You nodded, remembering when she told you about the first break she had with Stefan.

“And we need it sometimes, we really do. And… I understand that you threatened me for a good reason.” She furrowed her brows in confusion, a smile on her face.

You laughed at that, causing Elena to chuckle as well. “I’m… a little sorry about that.”

Elena smiled widely, “You don’t need to be sorry. It’s all fine.”

You smiled back, until a sudden wave of nausea overcame you. You felt confused, swallowing the lump in your dry throat all of a sudden, and shoved the white parka in Elena’s hands. You ran towards the nearest restroom, running to the nearest stall. You couldn’t help it as vomit came out, and the taste of it made your face cringe.

Elena followed you, holding your back and patting your back soothingly, and looking on in confusion. “What’s happening to you?”

You flushed the toilet, gasping as you wiped your mouth with the back of your hand. You shook your head, standing and going to the sink to wash your hand and rinse out your mouth.

Elena gently grasped your shoulder when you were done, “Are you okay?”

You exhaled shakily, “Is it possible for vampires to get food poisoning?”

Elena spoke soft and low, “I’ve been a vampire for about two and half years now, and I’ve never-“

“It isn’t possible.” You murmured at first, then looked at Elena as you grasped her shoulders. “Tell me this isn’t possible.”

She pursed her lips, her eyes saying everything she couldn’t bring herself to say out loud. Then, she nodded with a sudden determination in her eyes. “Only one way to find out.”

You shrieked, throwing the fifth pregnancy test against the bathroom wall with frustration. A woman walked out of the nearby stall, barely glancing at you two with a frightened expression as she washed her hands and scurried out of the store’s restroom.

Elena grasped her forehead, stressing herself out, “There’s no way.”

“Obviously, there is!” You exasperated, grabbing the first four you took and showing them to her in a dramatic way. “They’re all positive, aren’t they?!”

“I mean, this is literally impossible.” She scoffed in disbelief, taking one of them and shaking her head at the positive results.

You scoffed with frustration, “We live in a world where witches, vampires, doppelgängers, wolves, and even hybrids between all those things exist. This is definitely up there on the list as possible…”

“Not to mention the other type of creatures you’ve left out…” She looked away, before looking back at you with a slightly confused expression.

You raised a brow, “What is it?”

“I mean… how much sex have you and Kai been having?” Elena let out a nervous laugh.

Your lips widened with a grin, and you looked away as you tried to wipe it off your face. You shook your head as your cheeks reddened, failing to come up with a good answer, or even estimate.

“I’m guessing it was a lot.” Elena smirked at your pink-tinted cheeks, “Anyhow, you cannot come with us today.”

You frowned, “The hell I can’t.”

“What happens if something goes wrong?” Elena stressed her words, raising her voice, “What happens if Kai and Bonnie fight, and you get hurt in the process? You can’t take that risk- you can’t leave Jacob alone-“

“Don’t you think I know that?!” You snapped, and slightly faltered at Elena’s hurt expression. You clasped your hands together in front of your face, sighing and trying to keep your composure. You looked back up at her as you spoke, “As much as Jacob matters to me, and as much as I am determined to make it back to him… I cannot risk Damon, or Bonnie, or even you leaving Kai there. I can’t let him be abandoned again. Not after everything we’ve built together...” You winced slightly, “Not after everything he’s been through.”

Elena sighed, coming closer and embracing you. You hugged her back, sighing with relief. Hopefully she would understand…

You pulled away, looking at Elena with slightly teary eyes, “Promise me that no matter what happens, you won’t tell him.”

She faltered slightly, “What do you mean?”

“If everything goes right today, I want to be the one to tell him.” You half-smiled, before going back to your serious expression. “But if it doesn’t, and something happens to me… I don’t want that extra weight on his mind.”

“But-“ Her voice slightly broke, but you shook your head.

“Elena.” You spoke sharply, making her stay silent with widened eyes. “You can never tell anyone. Please…” You pleaded with her, “Please do this for me.”

She swallowed, and nodded as she squeezed your hands reassuringly, and walked out of the restroom. You let out a shaky sigh, your hand subconsciously drifting to your abdomen… you couldn’t believe it. A part of you was elated, glad that this was even possible and that you two could practically have a future together. Another part of you was frightened to death. You were still in college, you still had a lot of plans and none of them had ever involved this… but here you were. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. And as much as you weren’t exactly prepared for a kid to be in your life, you knew Kai would be there a hundred percent of the way for your guys’ child, and you knew that no matter what, you wanted this.

You looked to the mirror, straightening your posture before inhaling sharply and exhaling slowly, and walking out of the store’s restroom.

Your eyes widened to see Elena at her lover’s side, looking at him with a pleading look. Damon looked over with a raised brow, and you felt cold at that knowing look in his eye.

Elena scowled, softly hitting his abdomen. “Promise me, Damon.”

“Fine.” He scoffed, his eyes glancing to your belly before looking at your uneasy expression with a slight smirk. “Your secret is safe with me.”

You nodded with relief, about to thank him before you were interrupted.

“Who’s secret is safe with who?” Kai popped up from behind Damon and Elena, a grin on his face. Jacob followed, wearing an amused expression.

“It’s a secret.” Damon winked at Kai, causing Elena to groan.

Jacob scoffed, “Can I at least know?”

Elena chuckled, “It’s not a secret if everyone knows.

Kai walked over to you with a slight pout, his hand drifting your waist absentmindedly. “Why are you keeping secrets from me?”

You laughed as he pecked your cheek, “It’s more of a surprise, really. I’ll tell you later.”

He grinned again, his eyes smiling as his blue eyes sparkled with delight. “Promise?”

You smirked up at him, “I promise.”

-

You could hear Damon scoff from the living room as you took your time getting ready in the restroom. He shouted, “Uh? Tick tock, woman! How long does it take to change?”

Elena shushed him, and Kai spoke up next. “I mean, she doesn’t take that long-“

You exited the restroom, your black skinny jeans, white boots, and white parka complimenting each other as you let your hair down. You also put on a little bit of makeup, because why not? You gave Damon a raised brow and gestured to your appearance, “You think all this magic just happens?”

Kai grinned, his winter outfit, slightly messy hair, and beard making him look scrumptious, “Looks like magic to me.”

Damon and Jacob groaned simultaneously, while Elena grinned. You blushed, smiling widely and walking into Kai’s arms as he hugged you close to him and he pecked your forehead. You looked at Jacob and sighed, “I’ll be back, okay?”

Jacob nodded, getting up and giving you a hug. “Be safe.”

“I will.” He squeezed you close, and patted your shoulder as he sat onto your guys’ couch. Damon rolled his eyes.

“Okay. Let’s get this prison world train going.” The old vampire went to open the door, letting Elena pass before he went. Kai caught the door before it closed, holding it open for you as well. You waved goodbye to Jacob through the door, and followed Damon and Elena to Damon’s car.

Elena held open the passenger seat, and you climbed in happily with Kai in tow. He grunted as he sat next to you, shifting into a comfortable position with his arm around you. You leaned into him, enjoying the feel of him against you as you closed your eyes. You woke up pretty early to go to the store for all your clothes, and Kai stayed up late to get the ascendant for the 1903 prison world which of course you waited up for him, so you were a little tired- especially considering the fact you and Kai had a little romp in the shower this morning. Again- you barely had any sleep.

You slipped into a light sleep, feeling yourself sigh as you finally slipped into the pleasing darkness that was sleep. Kai shifted a little, and you moaned with slight annoyance before getting comfortable again.

Damon grunted as he started pulling out of the parking lot, “If I hear kissing, groaning, or any other moan- I will kill you both.”

“Damon,” Elena scolded.

Kai smirked, looking down at your sleeping form. Just looking at you was enough to make him melt inside. He ran his hand through your hair, tucking it behind your ear as you sighed happily in your sleep.

“What?” Damon exasperated, clearly annoyed with your guys’ affection.

Elena shook her head with a laugh, amused at the way Damon was so bothered.

-

“Where are they…” Bonnie grumbled to herself, nervous as hell. Nervous, because she has been planning to kill Kai. And she was a little scared, but of course- who would admit that? Not only that- but she knew Jo could die… but a part of her didn’t care. She wanted Kai gone- or at least abandoned in the prison world like he had abandoned her. Stabbed, and left to die on her own.

As soon as the door opened, she stood. Her nerves were on end, watching them come through the door one by one. Finally, Kai and (Y/N) came through the door.

You barely glanced at Bonnie, clutching Kai’s hand with an intense hold which only made him squeeze back in reassurance. Elena went upstairs for a second, and you wondered briefly why. You weren’t scared of Bonnie, but still were tense around her.

Damon sighed, standing next to Bonnie. “Let’s get this show on the road. Kai, ascendant?”

Kai reluctantly let go of your hand, and went to take the ascendant out of his pocket. He approached Bonnie, conflicted whether to try to be nice or hold the grudge of hurting you again. However conflicted he was, he wasn’t exactly good with poker faces. His face was obviously annoyed and perplexed as he stood there with the ascendant in hand.

Bonnie pulled out a knife, cutting her hand and letting the blood trickle onto the ascendant. Kai huffed, “Damn. Crocodile Dundee called, he wants his knife back.”

You smirked to yourself, you’ve always loved Kai’s snarky comments.

“You know, he’s no longer a thing, and neither is that joke.” Bonnie quipped back, sheathing her hunting knife.

Kai raised a brow and let out a slight hiss, “Ouch.”

Elena huffed, coming back with a parka of her own and standing next to Bonnie. “Is this acceptable attire by 1903 standards?”

You shrugged, about to speak up when Damon interrupted, “Whoa, who said you’re coming?”

“To meet the woman who gave birth to the two epic loves of my life? Me.”

You grinned, “Plus I’m going, so it isn’t fair not to let Elena, out of all people, go.”

Damon scoffed, looking at Kai and Bonnie. “Isn’t there a limit?”

Bonnie rolled her eyes, “Right, which is why there’s two of us. So shall we?”

“Fine. Let’s go get Mom.” Damon huffed, and Elena grasped Bonnie’s shoulder while holding Damon’s. In turn, you grasped Kai’s shoulder and smiled encouragingly when he glanced at you with a somewhat worried expression.

“Sangiema meam et nos mundo carcerema.” Kai chanted, and you couldn’t help but look at him in awe with the way he spoke. He really was a powerful witch. “Sangiema meam et nos mundo carcerema.”

A bright light flashed, changing your surroundings while you were blinded- and before you knew it, you could feel the snow falling onto your hair and cheeks. You let out an amazed laugh, looking around to see you were in a snowy Mystic Falls, but in the woods. This was really amazing, and for a second- you forgot how gruesome real life magic was- and remembered how magical and awe-inspiring it was. Kai grinned at your reaction as you looked up at the snow falling.

“Well, isn’t this a picturesque slice of hell?” Damon spoke, and Bonnie let out a small sigh.

“You guys go ahead. Kai and I will start the locator spell on the ascendant.”

Elena frowned in confusion, “But Kai just has the ascendant. Why do we have to find another one?”

Kai shrugged, “The ascendant can’t travel between worlds, which means we gotta find its mirror image here in 1903.”

“Page 10 on the world-jumping rule-book. Shall we?” Damon went to walk away, not even looking back as Elena stayed behind hesitantly.

Kai wandered away, his head tilting up to stick his tongue out at the snowflakes. You smiled at his childish antics, and Elena pulled you and Bonnie aside.

“I don’t… I don’t want to leave you guys alone with him.”

You felt confused at Elena, wondering why she was so concerned when she knew how much Kai cared about you, “Elena, we’ll be fine.”

“He’s good now, remember? New leaf.” Bonnie stated, making you frown in further confusion. Bonnie wasn’t one to believe in Kai so easily.

“It’s-It’s not that.” Elena stammered, “I just…” She sighed, defeated. “Just play nice, the both of you.”

She turned, following after Damon as you and Bonnie exchanged a look of suspicion towards one another.

“New leaf.” You both turned to see Kai approaching you both, his head cocked to the side as he analyzed Bonnie. “You believe me.”

“Hell no.” Bonnie’s voice rang out with an edge, and you bristled with annoyance. “But Damon and Elena need to meet his mom alone. So shut up and help me find the ascendant.”

Bonnie held out her hand, and Kai sighed as he took off a glove and pricked his finger. As he let the blood sleep onto the other witch’s hand, he sighed somewhat awkwardly before speaking up, “You have really nice palms.”

You looked at him with a raised brow, both confused and annoyed. Kai shrugged with an awkward smile, and Bonnie scoffed under her breath.

“Phasmatos Tribum, Nas Ex Veras, Sequitas Sanguinem.”

Kai stayed quiet as she changed, before blurting words out. “I really have changed, you know?”

Bonnie ignored him, continuing to chant. You placed a hand on his arm, rubbing your thumb back and forth. Kai looked at you, and grabbed your other hand, placing it on his cheek for comfort as he closed his eyes. You placed your other hand on his other cheek, and leaned forward to rest your forehead against his. “I believe you.”

Your voice was barely above a whisper, but when he heard it- he believed it. God, he loved you. He loved the way you loved him. He leaned into your hand, softly pressing his lips against your wrist with a gentle peck.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.” You both turned to see Bonnie’s disgusted expression, and Kai rolled his eyes as Bonnie walked past you both. “The ascendant is this way.”

As Bonnie walked away, Kai quickly and discreetly gave you a peck on the lips. You smiled, kissing him back before he took your hand and started to follow Bonnie through the woods.

After a couple minutes, Bonnie spoke up. “The spell feels stronger. The ascendant must be around here somewhere.”

Kai scoffed, “Why would the ascendant be here?”

Bonnie turned and frowned at him, “I don’t know. I didn’t put it here.”

Kai rolled his eyes, letting go of your hand and looking around the snow. You did the same, walking a couple paces away to look for the ascendant.

“If you don’t think I’m capable of change, why spend an entire day with me? Why bring me out in the middle of nowhere?”

You hummed in thought, wondering about what Kai was saying as you glanced around the snow for the ascendant.

“I mean… I could gut you all over again. Your friends would never even hear you scream.”

Bonnie sighed, “Because maybe you’re right. Maybe, deep down, there’s a part of me that believes there’s a sliver of good in you.”

“And you’d be right!” Kai laughed, almost disbelievingly. “Looking, looking, and… nope, they didn’t hide the ascendant in a pile of snow over here or over-“

You groaned, feeling a sharp pain as a stake went into your throat. You keeled over, grasping for it desperately. You looked behind you, seeing Bonnie raise a brow behind Kai, and you realized she must’ve thrown it with her magic.

Kai looked over, confused before sharply gasping as he was stabbed in the back by Bonnie’s large hunting knife. He fell onto the floor, attempting to crawl away when Bonnie stabbed his thigh from behind.

“Bonnie!” You heard Kai groan, and the drive to help overpowered.

You grunted, taking the stake out of your throat. You gasped, being able to breathe once more. You looked over, seeing Bonnie’s back to you as she leaned over Kai with her knife in hand.

“What are you doing?!” You screamed, making her glare back at you.

“Gaining his trust, and then stabbing him in the back? Sound familiar?!” She turned back to Kai, and your boyfriend winced in pain.

“Please, don’t, Bonnie-”

“Don’t what? Don’t-Don’t leave you here? All alone?!” She shouted, justifiably enraged. “Don’t abandon you and make you feel hopeless?!”

“Please, Bonnie! He’s changed-” You interceded.

“I have! Bonnie, please, please believe me. I’ve changed.” Kai whimpered, desperately.

“And I have to.” Bonnie spoke, her voice unwavering as she raised the knife above Kai.

You used her focus on him to speed towards her, pushing her and yourself yards away from where Kai lay on the ground. You stood using your super-speed about a foot away from Bonnie, seeing her get up with her knife, and she was suddenly charging towards you now. You held your hands out, “Wait, Bonnie! Wait!”

Bonnie didn’t stop, gritting her teeth as she used her other to cast a spell. You were suddenly immobilized, and you had to spit it out. You had to tell her.

“Bonnie, don’t! Please, I’m pregnant!”

Silence. She stopped midway, panting and looking at you in disbelief. You let out a grunt of relief, her magic releasing you now. She shook her head, “That’s-That’s not possible.”

“Bonnie…” You started, and she suddenly placed her hand on your stomach. The words died in your throat, and you looked at her confused while she closed her eyes in concentration. She gasped, eyes widened and looked at you with an unfathomable expression.

She backed away, dropping her knife with widened eyes. “You… How… You and Kai… pregnant.”

“Bonnie, he’s the father of my child, and the man I’m in love with.” You let out, somewhat disbelieving the words that came out of your own mouth. Despite that, you continued. “I know he’s hurt you, I know he’s manipulated you. I know-”

“What do you know of what I’ve been through?! What do you know of what HE put me through?!”

“Because not too long ago, he did the same to me!” You shrieked, suddenly feeling emotional when you recalled the incident with Elena. “When we kidnapped Elena, he made me bleed… he siphoned her almost to the point of desiccation. And she was hungry- and she chased me-”

Bonnie furrowed her brows with a shake of her head, “That’s literally horrible.”

“And then I ended up being killed… by you.” You finished, scoffing with humor at the whole situation. “As horrible as all of it was, here I am. With Kai, with his baby in my stomach, and begging for your forgiveness.”

“I’m not going to forgive him, (Y/N)-”

“Not for him. For me, Bonnie.” You let out another laugh, a stray tear releasing from your left eye from all the emotions you’re going through. “I don’t want this. I don’t want these fights. I want a normal life. As normal as I can get with a siphon boyfriend and a werewolf brother…”

Bonnie bit her bottom lip, suddenly perplexed with the whole situation.

“And as much as you hate Kai… Just… Please, don’t kill him. When we leave here, we’ll move away and you’ll never have to see us ever again. If that’s what it’ll take, I genuinely don’t care… Just, please, forgive me. And if not, the very least you can do is let my child have a father.”

Bonnie shook her head, turning away from you.

“Bonnie, I’m sorry. For everything that he and I have put you through, I am genuinely so sorry. I really am. I never meant to hurt you.” You sighed heavily, “I understand if you don’t accept my apology, or don’t forgive me. I get it. But I can’t let you kill Kai. I won’t.”

Bonnie huffed, turning to face you with a guilty expression. She spoke swiftly, “I never want to see either of you again.”

You let out an exhale of relief, watching Bonnie walk in the opposite direction of where she had been leading you and Kai. Oh my god, Kai!

You sped over to where you could hear his groans, and knelt by his grunting form.

“Oh my god. Oh my god, Kai.” You gasped at the sight of the blood pooling around his thigh, and could feel yourself start to panic as Kai looked at you with a desperate and pained look. All the blood, it was… you could feel your face transform at the smell of it. Your heart was beating, but his was beating louder- and you were suddenly so hungry.

“(Y/N)-” Kai’s hand grasped your thigh, and you suddenly focused back into reality.

“It’s okay. You’re gonna be okay.” You bit your wrist roughly, barely even wincing at the pain. You grasped the back of Kai’s neck, helping him lean upwards and pressed your wrist against his mouth. He drank your blood greedily, and you breathed deeply, in and out, desperately trying to curb your appetite. It wasn’t like you were starving- you had dranken blood just this morning after the morning sickness incident with Elena. You were okay, you were okay…

Kai groaned into you, brows furrowed as he drank for only seconds more before pulling away. He gasped, sitting up and hissing in discomfort as his wounds started to heal. “Agh… God, that hurts like a bitch.”

You rubbed his back soothingly, still kneeling next to his sitting position, staying silent as he struggled to keep his breathing under control. He leaned his head onto your chest suddenly, and you were a little startled when he was silent, but you didn’t mind. You ran your hand through his hair, softly raking your nails against his scalp in the way Kai loved. Both of you stayed there for god knows how long in the snow, and you were brought out of your silence when Kai shivered. You gently grasped his head, moving him from your chest, and looked at his face.

He had a pensive expression, still silent and refraining from glancing at you. You purse your lips in slight annoyance, but merely let out a sigh as you gently grasped his face in your palms. “Kai… Are you okay? Are you cold? How can I help?”

“You…” The words died on his lips, but then his face went from pensive, to forlorn, to determined. “You need to leave.”

You stilled, and slightly shook your head with confusion. “What… What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you get it?” Kai suddenly pulled away from your grasp, standing and raising his voice as he spoke. “As long as I live, people will want to kill me.”

You stood, furrowing your eyebrows as he continued.

“We can’t just have a life together.”

You frowned, “Why… Why not?”

“Did you not just hear me?” He spoke harshly, his face angry and glaring. You tensed, your heart beating rapidly in your chest. “People will want to kill me- to hurt me.”

“And what about it?” You scoffed, “I don’t see how that should stop us from being together.”

“To hurt you, to hurt Jacob, is to hurt me, (Y/N)! Bonnie could’ve killed you!”

“Who cares?! That doesn’t mean we-”

“That’s exactly what it means! I have a whole coven of enemies! I have a whole family of them!”

“So?! That doesn’t matter as long as we’re together!” You could feel yourself start to get emotional, and you hated how you couldn’t control them. “As long as we’re together, we can protect each other! I’m not some fragile little-”

“I don’t care what you are, (Y/N)! I want you to leave!” He yelled sharply, making you still as he grit his teeth. “Now.”

You shook your head, “No.”

“Leave.” His voice spoke gravely, and you could feel your eyes start to tear up. You shook your head again.

“No.” You glared at him, huffing in annoyance when your voice broke. “No! I’m not going to leave you-”

“Leave, or so help me I will-”

“What?! What are you gonna do, Kai?” You stood closer, feeling your chest swell with unease and fear. Not of him, but at the loss of him. You… Kai was a part of you. You couldn’t… no.

“You’ll just stay if I do, won’t you?”

“Hell yeah I will.” You were more determined than him, more stubborn. Who did he think he was to be a martyr, out of all the times to be one? He chose when you were pregnant? This idiotic… little… hot bastard.

He stayed silent, looking away from you and at the floor as his breath hitched. You swallowed, clenching your jaw, and balling your hands into fists. What could he do?

“It’s over.” You looked up at him in alarm, his eyes dead serious as they stared down at you. You shook your head, feeling anger rise as he swallowed and nodded, confirming his own words. “I don’t want to be with you. I don’t want to be near you, near Jake, I…”

“Kai, don’t-”

“I’m breaking up with you.” His own voice slightly broke, and you winced involuntarily. The snow never felt colder, and you withheld a sob. “When we get back, we go our own separate ways. Do you understand?”

You nodded, letting out a shaky exhale as he walked past you and back where you guys had come from. The cold pricked your cheeks, pricked your nose… but the emptiness you felt in your chest was far worse. You followed Kai from a couple feet away, walking in awkward silence, and your eyes widened when you heard it.

“Sangiema meam et nos mundo carcerema. Sangiema meam et nos mundo carcerema.”

“Damon! No-!” Elena’s voice cut off with a small crack, and you gasped in realization.

Bonnie had just started chanting. Elena wouldn’t leave you, of course, but Damon wouldn’t let that happen. Why would he?

Kai looked at you when he noticed you stopped in your tracks with your eyes wide as you processed what you just heard. He walked closer, “What is it?”

“Bonnie… She’s leaving us.”

You two exchanged a look before breaking into a sprint through the woods, which of course you kept at his pace, and stopped when you saw them a couple yards away. You shouted, voice weak, “Bonnie, don’t!”

Bonnie raised a brow at you, continuing to chant as an unconscious Elena rested against a standing Damon, who held hands with a woman you could only assume was Lily. How could she? Why would she? She knew only you could catch up, only you could make contact before the spell was done. She wanted you to leave Kai.

There was no time. The spell would be over soon.

You grit your teeth, grabbing onto Kai. Before he could register what you were about to do, you sped with all your might towards the group about to leave. It was like slow-motion.

You pushed Kai with all your strength towards them, a bright light just shining as you did so. Kai’s expression changed as he realized what was happening, his eyes pleading, his mouth open in a gasp as he held his hand out towards you while he himself fell backwards into the group. You jumped, closing your eyes at the blinding bright light as you reached for his hand.

You fell to the floor with a grunt. Only the floor wasn’t wood like you expected; it was snow. As soon as you opened your eyes, the cold breeze of winter seemed all the much clearer especially since you had expected warmth in the Salvatore lodging house. But no, you were still here. You let out the sob you were holding since earlier, looking around the woods as it snowed, hoping and praying you had been knocked out from the world-jump. That this was only a nightmare. Your hand went to the ascendant in front of you, running your fingers across the cold metal. God, please let this be a nightmare.

That wasn’t the case, though. You were in the 1903 prison world.

And you weren’t alone. You heard something behind you, and turned around as something tackled you onto your back. You shrieked, “Ah!”

-

Kai grunted as his back crashed against Damon’s front, and was immediately pushed off. As soon as his hands met the wood floor of the Salvatore house, his eyes widened. He let out a gasp, “No. No, no, no.”

He stood, bewildered and looking at a shocked Bonnie and Lily. “Bonnie! Why would you do that- What-”

Bonnie clenched her jaw, and raised her chin defiantly. “(Y/N) made her choice.”

Kai practically snarled, “We have to go back, Bonnie!”

“When we go for my family, I’m sure you could accompany us.” Lily spoke calmly, and Kai glanced at her with incredulity. He knew that Damon lied to her, of course.

“Bonnie, give me the ascendant. Now.” Kai had never been so enraged in his life. Okay, maybe he had- but nothing ever felt like this. Nothing ever hurt him like this.

Bonnie grit her teeth, “No.”

Kai moved forward, only to have a hand on his chest hold him back. Damon. Kai glared up at the vampire, who only raised a brow.

“So you lost your baby mama- get over it.” Damon spoke as if you didn’t matter. As if you were some side-piece who- how- what did he even mean by that?!

“I. Lost. EVERYTHING!” Kai shouted, his voice full of vigor, the fire in the fireplace blazing wildly as he used his magic to throw Damon against the wall and onto the floor. Lily and Bonnie gasped, and in this moment- Bonnie was reminded of Klaus’ tantrums. Kai glared at the witch who had stabbed him earlier, his rage knowing no bounds. “GIVE ME THE ASCENDANT!”

“You want your ascendant?!” Bonnie screamed, taking the one from this world out of her pocket, “Here it is!”

Kai stepped towards her when she held it up, and threw it onto the floor with all her force. Both Kai and Lily screamed, “NO!”

The ascendant fell to the floor, smashing into a million pieces. Lily sped to it, whimpering to herself as she tried to collect all the pieces. “No, no no-”

“Incendia.” Bonnie spoke, lighting it on fire with a smirk. She looked at Kai, satisfied to see his suffering. Maybe it wasn’t justice, but it tasted just as sweet. Lily gasped away from the fire, her eyes tearing up with the loss of her family. Kai’s blue eyes darkened with fury.

Bonnie went to hold her hand out, wanting to fight against Kai, but whimpered when Kai flicked her against the wall only to immobilize her against it. Kai stomped past Lily, approaching Bonnie and grabbing the sides of her head. Bonnie’s eyes widened, realizing that he’d do something just as someone else had done once before. She shook her head, frantic, but powerless. “No, Kai!”

Kai chanted, his brows furrowed and his expression cruel. He didn’t care anymore- he couldn’t. Bonnie gasped, falling to the floor with a sob when Kai pulled away.

Kai huffed, “There. Now you can’t hurt anyone.”

Bonnie shook her head, still sobbing. She couldn’t form the words. Did she feel bad? Yes. Did she feel bad about Kai feeling bad? No. But now- her magic was gone. Kai took it, just like Dr. Martin had all those years again. She felt like a little girl all of a sudden- powerless, and human.

Damon groaned on his side, looking from Bonnie to Kai. “What did you do? Kai? What did you do?”

Kai glanced back at the ascendant, barely even noticing Lily as she glared at Bonnie, and walked towards it. Slowly, he picked up every little piece, no matter how burnt.

“Kai!” Damon stood, enraged at the sight of his best friend’s sobs. “Kai, what did you do?!”

“YOU!” Lily suddenly screamed, lunging for Bonnie.

Damon cursed, speeding to stop his mom. As Damon and his mom argued over Bonnie, Kai silently walked out of the Salvatore house with all the burnt ascendant pieces. Kai didn’t care how long it would take. Kai would fix it- and Kai would get you back.

No matter what.

----

Well, that's all folks. I will continue this series in another work of fiction, starting right from where we left off after a short break. So it's like, gonna be about ten chapters, but be a different name... basically a sequel. Truth be told, I procrastinated so hard on this chapter because the angst was killing me. Oh, what a long time it's been. Anywho- see you in a week or two to continue this angsty and loving fic!!

@fandom-strumpet @fangirlforever2412 @1-800-khaleesii @big-boobi

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

HASO, “Approaching Countdown.”

Had to write this at work today, so sorry it is short. 

The GA chairwoman stood in the oppressive muggy heart of Earth. She really hated it, it made her skin itch and her eyes sting, there wasn’t enough water in their atmosphere to actually cause her any harm, but there was definitely enough of it to make her very uncomfortable. A part of her had hoped that it might rain, forcing her to stay off world for the weather formation, but these humans knew what they were doing and had scheduled the launch for a cloudless day.

She looked up at the yellow earth sun and sighed. The humans had been very excited to invite the GA delegations out to view the launch. Humans were generally very excited to show anyone they could their dangerous past, and looking at the thing that was passing for a spaceship, she could not see how it would get more than a few inches off the ground, much less out of orbit. Supposedly they had dipped into very rare rocket fuel reserves to even do this as it required fossil fuel.

Fossil Fuel!

Let that sink in for a moment.

Liquified dead plant and animal remains mixed with liquid oxygen and some sort of oxidizer. She wasn’t sure what that last part meant, she wasn’t a rocket scientist. She sighed again, personally she wished she didn’t have to be here, for she doubted the launch was going to go as the human expected. In all reality her nerves were shot and she wished that she could just pass out for the next few hours and forget where she was. Everything was out of her hands anyway. Her orders had been given and now all she could do was wait.

She stood in the heat not too distant from her array of human bodyguards,dressed in dark suits and wearing dark glasses to cover their eyes. Somehow they managed to look more intimidating than normal humans did frowning, missing the characteristic tooty smile she had grown to associate with humans.

Shehad spent far too much time with Admiral Vir it seemed.

She sighed at the thought of him and shook her head.

Every time she tried to think about something else, it just circled back around to him. She tried not to think about it, taking a very deep breath.

There was some shuffling behind her and she turned slowly on her knuckles feeling the concrete grinding below her hands as she did. Two Tesraki and one other Rundi stood behind her having been let through by the human guards, who still eyed them with some measure of suspicion.

“Everything is in place, Chancellor.”

She nodded her head once.

“How many?”

There are at least thirty patrolling the borders of the trajectory zone. They will know as soon as he breaches orbit.

“And our engineers?”

“We are having trouble gaining access, but we are still working on it.”

“You better hope that we can.”

She lifted her head towards the sky where she could see the faint line of the moon against the blueness of the sky.

“We better hope.”

***

Captain Richard’s palms were very sweaty. He tried to wipe them discreetly on his pants or more accurately a onesie the scientists were calling a “Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment. So like a Onesie with tubes in it. He glanced sidelong over to where Admiral Vir was sitting staring at the antique space suit equipment laid out before them. 

He tried not to make it look like he was staring, but he totally was.

Admiral Vir wasn’t much older than him, maybe by a year or two, but that was part of what made being in the same room with him so strange. Every time he, or probably anyone, though of an admiral, they generally thought of some stuffy grey haired fat guy who sat behind a desk and gave orders. But…. this guy…. Well he was nothing like that at all. He was young and stupidly fit, and sure he had some white hair appearing at his temples, but his hair was blond enough you only noticed it in certain light.

And he was very personable, that was the first thing Richards had noticed.

The man knew how to work a room. He was funny, and despite being intimidated by his status, he found himself forgetting constantly that this guy wasn’t someone cool he had just met out at the bar. 

As if he could sense someone looking at him, Admiral Vir turned around theappriture of his mechanical eye adjusting slightly. He grinned in a very un-admiral way, “This is so friggin awesome.” The man looked like he was about to jump out of his boots, “Just look at this stuff-” He grinned some more dancing from one foot to the other, “Happiest damn day of my life and I’m wearing a diaper.”

That got the rest of the shuttle crew laughing which then devolved into a discussion about the pros and cons of diapers versus the new suit catheters. There was a surprising split on the discussion as the group of men talked, a conversation that was only broken as a group of scientists stepped in to help them with their suits. The process was rather tedious, the suits were bulky and cumbersome, nothing like the neat, sleek and comfortable suits used on regular ships.

Stepping into the pants of the suit they had to hold their arms up as the upper portion was lowered into place over their heads while others hurried in to pull on their arms and then help them fit into the gloves. He ducked his head as the communications cap was placed over his head. They would be wearing the full suit into orbit, though they would be allowed to take it off on the journey over. A journey which would take roughly three days or more to complete. One of them would stay in orbit while Admiral Vir and Richards himself took the lunar module down to the surface.

It was all supposed to go very smoothly from here.

Once suited up he couldn’t help but be reminded of when he was a child ready to go sledding with his siblings, in his massive snow pants and puffy jacket, waddling across the floor with his arms held out to either side.

He honestly hoped he looked cooler than he felt.

Admiral Vir might have been able to pull it off if he wasn’t nearly skipping, which seemed pretty improbable in the massive ass snowman suit.

Glancing out the long windows and into the horizon, he could see crowds of people set up in the distance. Head was a teenager when the Enterprise Launched, standing in an awed crowd as the massive behemoth hauled herself into the sky. He remembered the thrill, and he remembered the fear as he watched it go higher and higher and higher.

He remembered that day as one that led him to where he was now, and couldn’t believe it.

***

 The UN president stood at her lectern feeling a soft breeze blow through her hair. Today was a good day, or at least it was shaping up to be a good day. She had two folders sitting under the lectern like she always did during times like this. One of them was green and one of them was red.

The red one was sitting on top.

She glanced over to where the GA president stood and scowled slightly. She had always thought the little creature was kind of ugly looking like an ant. She had never liked bugs, or bug like things of any kind, which she found to be a common trait among aliens, Drev, Vrul, Gibb, Rundi, Burg.

She looked up at the sky neck stretched out sunning herself in the bright morning.

She could see the rocket in the distance held up on its platform. Admiral Vir would be moving into place now. Most people would see this only as some sort of historical recreation act, but PR analytics suggested that, if the Admiral succeeded, approval rating in the GA would go up almost 3 percent. Human and alien relations had been rockier than most people would like to admit. If Admiral Vir were to fail, the failure would likely shock the aliens senseless, and if he died. It could completely break down human/alien relations for the foreseeable future.

They were on the cusp of cooperation or war, and any single event could push them in that direction.

Relations might have already broken down if it wasn’t for Admiral Vir.

The president reached down a hand brushing the tips of her fingers over the red folder.

***

Jade examined the rocket from the inside of her decontaminated engineer’s suit. She was busy going over final checks before the craft was launched. Personally she thought it was a bad idea. There was no reason to go and do something so dumb when they had perfectly viable technologies available at their fingertips. Of course, she understood the value and importance of major historical events, but that didn’t mean they had to reenact them. I mean it's not like anyone ever wanted toreinaced the titanic or the Berlin wall, or burning down the library of Alexandria, but for some reason some yahoos wanted to strap themselves to a rocket inside a tin can and fly into space.

Using the same EXACT design from TWO THOUSAND years ago.

Might as well start using steam locomotives to get around.

She inched her way along the scaffolding catwalk  just a few hundred feet in the air. She didn’t mind heights, butcher wasn’t stupid, and would enver risk herself unecissarily. She examined the bolts holding the ship together passing a critical eye over each and every one of them. If just a single one of them got loose, it might potentially pull the whole panel off. If that happened, the launch trajectory might destabilize and they could begin to spin into the ground and explode.

Off in the distance she heard an alarm calling her down from above.

She would need to leave soon, and so tucked her clipboard under one arm and began to climb down one of the ladders towards the distant ground.

It was then that she noticed something strange. She didn’t know why she noticed it, it was so small, and she was in a hurry but…. There was something…. Strange. She glanced over and squinted towards the strange reflection.

The siren continued to blare.

She should really go.

She started to descend but then.

“You might want to check that again.”

She nearly leaped out of her skin at the voice turning on the spot and pitching ackwards with wide open eyes nearly falling over the rail as she came face to face with a porcelain white face and wide black eyes like pools of onyx. For a second she almost screamed assuming she had gone insane, but then paused as she saw the figure floating before her a gravity belt around it’s waist, and hundreds of white ribbons streaming from it’s back.

A starborn!

She had seen a documentary mentioning them, even with a few images, so she knew who it was. She also knew that they could read minds.

It wasn’t supposed to be able to speak, but this one was wearing translation gloves, and spoke sign language rather fluently.

“You might want to check again.” It repeated

“But I-”

“The Admiral is expecting an attempt on his life, and the best way to do it would be to sabotage the shuttle. You will want to help me because if the Admiral dies, my daughter will be very upset.”

She opened her mouth then closed it, not sure how to respond but eventually turned back to the shuttle and leaned forward pointing to the side of the rocket, “That, right there, can you float over and take a look. The creature floated past her, billowing like smoke as he eased over. He pointed, “This?”

“Yes.”

He touched it.

“Can you feel it/” She wondered.

“It doesn't feel like the rest of the ship though I cannot say how.”

“Keep looking around, I need to call in-”

“NO!”

She frowned hand halfway to her mic.

“Don’t tell them, we don’t want them to know that we have found anything.

She wasn’t so sure about that, but she didn’t feel like pissing this thing off, so reached to her mic, “Mission control this is Engineering, i'll need a postpone on the launch while I finish off my checklist. This is taking longer than I anticipated.”

“Roger that.” mission control responded.

The sirens stopped a moment later as she urged the Starborn forward to prod at the spot. There wasa soft peeling noise, and after a moment, she watched as the creature came away with a strip of tape.

He floated over to her and she examined it. That shouldn’t have been there, this was not the heat resistant sort of tape they used, and it certainly wasn’t something they would have bothered to put on the outside of a ship. The only thing it seemed to do was match the paint color.

She leaned forward glancing at the side of the shi. If this had gone up during exit it would have burned off, and that would reveal. 

The loose bolt underneath. Just like she feared.

She could fix it and ordered the starborn to do so following the instructions in her head. After that she ordered him to take her vest camera and fly around the outside of the rocket. She had noticed based on the way the light interacted with the tape as compared to the finish of the rocket’s exterior. 

If only she had someone who was good at distinguishing subtle color, and then she remembered.

She called the starborn back.

“Go, get a Drev and hurry back here. I’ll try to stall them.”

[skylarmoon71]

Bumblebee x Reader (Transformers)- Chapter 4

“Did I oversleep again?”

You squint, raising your head from your pillow. You almost jumped at the sight of the Autobot sitting in your room.

“B-Bee!”

You covered your mouth when you realized how loudly you said that. Running to the door, you locked it before turning back to him.

“W-What are you doing, how did you even get in with no one seeing.”

Looking out the open window, you realized it was still pretty dark. You just sighed. He was sitting with his legs pulled to a side. Because of his size, and the lack of room, there wasn’t much space for him to spread out.

“I missed you sport.” you couldn't be mad after he said that. It was only a weekend and he was already lonely.

“I’m surprised Sam never notices when you sneak away. Then again he’s probably used to it by now.”

Bumblebee was just sitting attentively, looking at you with those curious blue eyes. Now that he was just staring at you, it made you a little self conscious. You hadn’t exactly prepared for his arrival. All you had on was a tank top and a pair of shorts. You tugged at the shirt, looking down at your feet nervously.

“(Y/N).” you looked up at the sound of his call. He held out his hand for you. Stepping forward a bit hesitant, you took his hand. He guided you to the spot right between his legs, and you followed, sitting down. With your back to his chest, you tried to keep your eyes forward. Your nerves were on end.

“Bee you...when did you get your voice fixed?” you needed to make some type of conversation to keep your mind occupied, that seemed like the best topic. He sounded so different when he said your name, with no help from the radio it appeared.

“Ratchet has been helping me, do you like it?” you nod, turning slightly to look up at him.

“Mhmm, it suits you.” He sounded like a regular teenager. Yet still slightly mature.

“I’ve been learning a lot of things while you’ve been away (Y/N).” you raised a brow.

“Really, like what ?”

“Like the way humans interpret things compared to us. On cybertron we form bonds through our spark. It connects us. “ He pointed to his chest.

“Physically, we don’t have a heart, so there are still a few parts that I’m trying to understand. Like pain, pleasure..” you swallowed. Was it just you or did he say that part pretty seductively.

“O-Oh, well that’s r-really cool Bee.”

Why were you getting so worked up, you were imagining things. There’s no way that Bumblebee was trying to come unto you. That was ridiculous.

“Can I ask you a question (Y/N)?”

“Yeah sure, hit me.”

“Can I touch you?” you almost choked.

“T-T-Touch me!”

His hand came down, metal fingers resting on your knee. You were so small compared to him. The thought of him touching your body didn’t scare you, more like it excited you. That’s what sort of scared you.

“Are you afraid of me?”

“N-No of course not, it’s just that I-I...well I..” you stammered, not sure how to phrase it.

“You’ve never been touched by anyone.” your cheeks burned. You weren’t sure how to deal with your embarrassment, so you just buried your face into his chest plates, nodding slowly. A deep chuckle echoed throughout the room, and hell it was definitely the sexist thing you’d ever heard.

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I’m kind of relieved. Lately just being with you doesn't seem like enough. I can't stop thinking about you. Your eyes, hair, lips..” His tone sends you into a small stir. It's so entrancing.

“Bee..”

Where did this side of him come from?

“Yes.” you gripped at his arm. Closing your eyes.

“Y-You can.”

“I can, what?” He was obviously teasing.

“Touch me. I want you to touch me Bee..” His engine reeved slightly.

The hand that reached down and slid between your thighs had your head spinning. Your fingers were digging into the metal of his hand as you tried to remain calm. You whimpered slightly. With your already lacking clothing, you could feel everything. His fingers were cold, but the moment it touched your most sensitive area, your entire body set aflame. Bumblebee was watching, studying every little sound you made, quick breath you took. He was getting pretty heated himself. Your breathless expression was so arousing. He wanted more, needed more. His free hand groped your chest softly and you moaned out his name.

“This is incredible.” He whispers. You were shaking in pleasure with every stroke of his hand to your core. You bit down on your lip, trying to stifle your moans.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to keep it in (Y/N), I want to hear you. Does it feel good?”

It felt amazing. If only you could put that into words. You settle for a half nod.

“I love you like this (Y/N), you’re so submissive it’s adorable.”

Another helpless whimper left your lips as you bucked.

“Bee...Bee..Bee!”

You gasped, rolling unto the floor with a thud.

Looking up, your eyes were wide.

“N-No way…” you did not just do that.

“Oh shit.”

You had a wet dream, about Bumblebee.

“I’m screwed. “

That you were.

~~~~~

Waking up the next morning was a struggle. You twisted and turned in bed, and at the end, you only managed to get two hours of sleep. The blaring alarm clock on your dresser made you groan, rolling over.

“I really hate school.” This was the worst way to start Monday morning. Standing up begrudgingly, you started your morning routine, dreading what was about to await you.

~~~~

“What’s got you so cranky.” you turned to your friend, opening your eyes a bit wider and she just started laughing. “You look like you haven’t slept in weeks, what happened?”

“Had a weird dream.” There was no way you were going to tell her you had a sexual dream about your alien robot friend who you were hopelessly crushing on.

“Stop watching those crime shows before you go to sleep. I keep telling you but you never listen."

If only she knew.

With a long sigh, you gripped your bag, pulling it over your shoulder. At least school was over. You barely made it through the first period. If not for the nap you took at lunch, you would have been out the rest of the day. Walking in step with your friend, your eyes drifted to the yellow vehicle parked outside your school.

“Hey (Y/N)!”

The window rolled down, and Sam grinned at you. Mikaela was in the passenger seat, wearing a smile of her own.

“Hey guys what’s up?”

The both of you went to different high schools, so it wasn’t unusual for him to stop by every now and then.

“Bee was getting a bit impatient, so I decided to just come pick you up.” Your heart skipped. Your friend nudge your hand with a smile, in which you returned with an eye roll.

“See you later (Y/N)~” She really did remind you of your mother sometimes. You waved her off, opening the door as you slid into the seat. The door closed and Sam pulled off. The conversation was light, you added in a word every now and then just to let them know you were invested, but your mind was elsewhere. You slumped a little in the seat. Just staying awake in class was a challenge. You were exhausted.

“Can I touch you (Y/N)..”

Your eyes flew open. You couldn’t even close your eyes anymore. You folded your hands on your lap, trying to steady your breath.

“Don’t make a scene, calm down, calm down.”

“You alright back there?” Sam watched you from the rear view mirror. Mikaela turned, and you were positive she noticed the flush in your cheeks. “I...I..” you couldn’t even speak properly.

“It's a girl problem isn’t it?” Mikaela interrupted. You were confused for a second, but the look she sent you, you knew she understood what was happening somehow.

“Y-Yeah, these cramps are torture.” Sam grimaced. “Enough said. Bee, step on it.” He didn’t even question it. You smiled at Mikaela appreciatively, mouthing your thanks.

The ride went by faster, and when you stepped out of the car, Mikaela followed. “I’m gonna help (Y/N) Sam.” He nodded. “Do what you gotta do.” You could tell he just didn’t want the details. It was funny how childish he was when it came to that stuff. She kissed him goodbye.

“B-Bye Bee.” you mumbled.

“Later.” you didn’t need to be a genius to know he was disappointed. He was obviously looking forward to spending the evening with you. All that was running through your mind, there was no chance that would happen. You could barely survive a car ride, you weren’t sure you could sit through a conversation with him without those images flashing in your head. Opening your front door, you headed straight for your room, Mikaela behind you trailing silently. Inside your room felt like your own little safe space, and the moment you dropped your bag, she was watching you with a smirk.

“Okay spill, tell me everything.”

“W-What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb, you were blushing in the car, and I’m one hundred percent sure it wasn’t because of Sam. “

So she did realize. You were honestly praying she would assume you were crushing on Sam.

“Would you believe me if I said he’s kind of cute?”

She looked unimpressed. “Nice try, now spill. “

You fell backwards on the bed covering your face.

Mikaela’s face lit up. “Oh my goodness you have a thing for Bumblebee!”

“Shhh not so loudly!” you almost fell off the bed for the second time that day.

“You have to tell him, I can tell him if you want.”

“No! No one’s saying anything especially after that dream I had.”

Shit.

“Oh..my goodness.” Mikaela mouthed. You groaned.

“You had a dirty dream about him!!”

“AHHH!! Would you keep your voice down woman!!”

There was a whole lot of talking after that. The biggest reason behind your fear of anyone finding out was more because you thought they would judge you. Bumblebee was a robot, yet to you he just felt so human like that you barely paid mind to the rough exterior. He didn’t even have a beating heart, but he held the power to make yours go into overdrive with just a look. You were hopelessly in love with him.

How would you hide that?

[wannabe-fic-writer]

Natasha Romanoff x Reader : Thin Line

Summary: You’re wild and free. She’s strict and trained. You and Natasha are polar opposites and it drives her crazy. Each move you make annoys her to no end. But, there’s a thin line between annoyance and adoration.

Rating: 18+ Violence, Mentions of Death, and Smut

So these are getting longer, hope you guys don’t mind but I am having so much fun writing them. And don’t worry this is nowhere near the end.

Chapter 3

The second she wakes up, Natasha reaches for her side. She’s mildly surprised to find it bandaged, the white tainted pink in some spots.

She didn’t expect you to leave her to die or anything but she- well she isn’t sure what she expected. The last thing she expected though was to find you, asleep, on the floor beside her bed. Your chest rising and falling with each breath. 

After taking a second to breathe and collect her thoughts, she gets out of bed and goes to shower. She’s careful not to agitate her wound as she does so.

Her eyes stare back at her in the mirror, water droplets still clinging to her forehead. 

For the life of her she can’t wrap her head around you. 

One second you’re reckless: running head first into a fight, blowing things up without warning, and deciding that a mission that would’ve taken at least a week to successfully complete could be done in a day. 

Then the next second you’re being sweet: calling her ‘pretty girl’(yeah she heard that), tending to her wound in a seemingly gentle manner, tucking her into bed, and falling asleep in that uncomfortable spot to check on her if need be.

In actuality she isn’t sure that you care about her, you just fixed her up after an incident. Most likely laid there to make sure she didn’t die. That’s what any decent human would do. And she could at least admit that you’re a decent human.

Your voice followed the knock on the door,“ Natasha, uh, you okay?”

Her eyebrows pinch together. She pulls the door open and comes face to face with you. 

She watches as your y/e/c eyes scan her form, lingering on her side.

“Do you um-” you clear your throat,“ I don’t mind helping you bandage that back up.”

Natasha’s gaze zeros in on the gash on your forehead. It definitely hadn’t been attended to, if the dried blood was anything to go by. 

For the first time today, she speaks,“ seems like you’re the one who needs bandaging.”

You frown, only to instantly figure out what she means.

“Oh, no, I’m fine. Barely a scratch.”

Running her tongue across her bottom lip, she reaches out and grabs your wrist. Her gentle tug has you following her into the living room. 

She stops in front of the couch and nods for you to sit. Which you do. Briefly she disappears, only to instantly return with the first aid kit you had yesterday. 

After sitting on the coffee table, she pulls some things out of the red container, and looks at you expectantly. You lean forward, eyes never leaving her’s, even when she breaks her gaze and starts cleaning your forehead. 

“I don’t remember this happening.” She murmurs, a glance in your eyes then back to your forehead. 

You resist the urge to raise your eyebrows,“ bullet clipped me right before you got hit. But like I said,” you smile softly,“ I am okay. Now slap a band-aid on this so I can patch you up.”

Her eyes narrow at you,“ what’s with this act, huh? You’ve been reckless and brazen since we met and now all of a sudden you’re quietly sweet.”

She watches as you tense up the second she says reckless and she’s further confused as you go quiet. 

From that point on. Even as you put a clean bandage on her and proceed to make breakfast.

And you feel it. You feel her inquisitive gaze following your every move and you ignore it. Why? You feel so incredibly guilty over yesterday. 

It was your idea to retrieve the data before you were ready, you are the reason Natasha got hurt and it killed you. 

You couldn’t stop the nightmare that hit you last night. Everything had happened exactly as it did in real life. You and Natasha were fighting, you got hit, she got hit. Except in the dream you couldn’t save her. 

Those words rang in your head from the second you woke up on the floor to the moment you saw her in that bathroom. Seeing her alive and for the most part well quelled your anxiousness. 

That is until she just reminded you of your mistake. 

You are reckless and brazen. 

“Y/N.” Natasha sighs.

It instantly pulls you from your thoughts.

She’s said your last name like a hundred times, each time with a bit of disdain. But hearing her say your first name, in the soft way that she did, it spurred something in you. 

Taking a deep breath in, you lock eyes with her, and release it. 

“I’m so sorry Natasha.”

Confusion writes over her expression almost instantly,“ for what?”

“You’re right. I am reckless, and stupid, and brazen. You got hurt because of me, It was my idea to go into that building and I-”

Hesitance flickers through her before she’s stepping toward you. Her hands move slowly, reaching up to grab your forearms. She smooths her thumbs over your skin and it grabs your attention.

Eyes locking on her hands on you.

You’ve known her all of two weeks. In that span of time you’ve never seen her so gentle.

“It’s not your fault. You didn’t shoot me and as far as I remember I agreed to the plan.” She tells you.

When your eyes meet, you don’t dare to look away.

“And I never called you stupid. In fact I think you’re pretty damn smart. You just do things differently.” 

You chuckle, shaking your head,“ differently?”

“Look, I shouldn't have blown up at you after our first mission. It was a complete success and it was in big part thanks to you. Your plans work, I’m just use to a certain way of handling things.” Natasha explains.

You smile,“ I get it. One hundred percent. But I’m not use to having a team, so all I ask is that we trust each other. We’re like complete opposites, we barely know each other, and we’re in a business where trusting someone is near impossible. But I’m still asking, that you trust me, at least while we’re on missions.”

Natasha pauses. Those silvery green eyes continue to look into your y/e/c ones. She searches and searches for your sincerity, for her reason to trust you, and when she finds it, it nearly sends her to her knees.

There was no room in your eyes for any other emotion and she didn’t know she could trust someone in an instant. 

"Okay.” Her words are barely above a whisper but you hear them.

It causes you to smile and it’s then you notice that Natasha has been holding your arms this whole time.

Her skin on yours feels nice, despite the persona the redhead assassin gives off, her touch is warm and tender. It’s easy to say that her touch could make you forget the universe all together. 

You zero in on the tingling racing up your arms, the pounding in your heart, and the emotions rushing through your head. 

“If you keep staring at my lips I’m gonna get the wrong idea Y/L/N.” Her raspy voice reaches your ears.

You hadn't even realized you were staring at her lips now. Could she blame you, what with how close you two were, how the tension in the room shifted from awkward to arousing in an instant. 

Licking your lips, you make eyes with her,“ and what would that be?” 

“That you want to kiss me.” Her eyebrow quirks up in the slightest and you notice a smirk playing at the corner of her lips.

You daringly take a step closer, eyes darting from lips to eyes,“ if I didn’t know any better I’d say you want to kiss me too.”

“Maybe. But you’re not gonna find out that easily.”

“Don’t worry,” you lean down ever so slowly and speak low into her ear,“ I plan to work for it.”

*****

Your words left her on edge. For the past two days she’s watched your every move. And she noticed the shift in the way you did everything.

The way you leaned just a little closer than before when you poured her wine, the way your fingers lingered on her skin when she allowed you to change her bandage, or the way you’d cage her between your arms for those brief seconds as you helped her wash dishes. 

She waited, quite literally holding her breath at one point, for you to do something. 

By then she didn’t care how hard you worked for it, she just wanted it. 

It ate at her as she laid in bed, with you just a room over. 

For the life of her she couldn’t understand why she wanted whatever it was so bad. She couldn’t pinpoint when exactly she stopped being so annoyed at your usual tendencies and started feeling whatever she’s feeling. 

It drove her crazy.

You drove her crazy, in a completely different way than before. 

Part of her is intoxicated by it, hanging on to the feeling until you do something. The other part of her wanted it to end, but only because she just knew once you did something that feeling would amplify in the best way possible. 

It’s why she told Fury that you two didn’t get the data when he asked. Apparently he caught wind that the target base had been attacked and he assumed it was you two, she said it wasn’t.

Yeah. She lied just to capture a few extra moments with you. Had you two gone back to the compound the moment may never come and she couldn’t chance that.

Currently the two of you were reading through the mission file to ensure, one hundred percent, that you did everything. She was talking you out of reading the collected data.

You were curious and it was there. But you genuinely weren’t going to read it, going behind Fury’s back like that would ruin your credibility with him and you would never. Still it was fun getting Natasha all flustered and riled up.

“Earth to Miss Romanoff.” She snaps back to attention at the sound of your voice, closer than before.

She takes in your position as you lean over her shoulder, your lips mere centimetres away from her ear.

“Natasha,” you sing,“ get your head out of the clouds pretty girl.”

There you go again with that little name!

“If you don’t reply I may be forced to use extreme measures.” 

There’s the oh so alluring sound of your flirting. Exactly what put her in a daze in the first place.

She looks into your eyes but doesn’t reply. 

“Oh I see, you want me to take extreme measures.” 

You read her so quickly and so well that it scares her.

Is she losing her touch? She’s spent years, decades, perfecting her ability to hide her emotions. But with you it was like she hadn’t ever been trying in the first place.

You walk around the chair she’s sitting in to sit on the coffee table in front of her.

“How off would I be if I guessed that you’ve been dying to kiss me.” The instant you smirk her heart kicks into overdrive.“ In fact it’s all you’ve been thinking about isn’t it?”

Natasha runs her tongue across her lips and you watch the action intently.

It wasn’t as hard for you to realize you liked Natasha as it was for her to even think she liked you. If anything you realized you liked Natasha the moment you met her.

So of course you’ve been thinking about kissing her. And quite frankly you’ve loved every second of the teasing. It drove you crazy that plain ole you could make the Natasha Romanoff hold her breath.

“Natasha?” Her eyes darken as you purr her name.“ Do you want me to kiss you pretty girl?”

Her heart flutters and she feels like a love struck school girl. It would piss her off to no end if she ever felt the notorious butterflies because of you. 

As much as she wants to kiss you she can’t find the words. So she settles for a nod.

Leaning closer, you bring your hand up to cup her cheek. Your thumb runs across her smooth porcelain skin. The look in her eyes is one you don’t ever think you’ll forget. 

If kissing her was going to make that look even better then you just had to. And so you did.

Your lips press against her soft pink ones and, cliches be damned, you feel fireworks. They explode on your lips and send tingles across your face and down your neck. 

Natasha feels the exact same thing. She almost feels like she’s shaking. 

She can’t help but think how right she was to expect this to be incredible. But she also knows she overly underestimated. 

Not a single one of her thoughts could’ve prepared her for the feeling of your lips on hers and she reveled in it.

When you pull away your name is a whisper from her lips to yours and she’s adamant on pulling you back in by the hair.

One final tug has you straddling her lap, your hands now finding her hair and tangling into the shoulder length red locks.

Weeks ago you were sure Natasha hated you but now, as you bite her lip and she moans, you know that feeling is gone. 

The moment, however, is abruptly ruined as Natasha’s mission issued communicator goes off.  

Your lips part and both your chests heave with ragged breaths. 

A breath or two later and Natasha brings the communicator to her ear,“ Agent Romanoff.”

You make to climb out of her lap but her hand grips your hip. She levels you with a look that stills you.

“Actually we’ve collected the data as instructed.”

Her words intrigue you. You knew she had spoken to Fury about the mission before and you assumed she already told him you collected the data.

The conversation continues and as much as you would love to stay in her lap, you make the decision to get up. 

Natasha rolls her eyes and glares at you and you stick your tongue out at her. 

Chuckling, you collect her now empty wine glass and retreat into the kitchen. 

With a moment to breathe, you let your thoughts race:

You just kissed Natasha Romanoff.

Natasha Romanoff let you kiss her.

It was the best kiss you’ve ever had, yes ever.

Nothing you’ve done before has felt so right.

But that doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t happen again.

Does Natasha even want to kiss you again?

Cause you definitely want to kiss her again. Hell since you aren’t lying to yourself you could admit that a part of you needed to kiss her again. How could you live a life without those lips after having had them?

You don’t have time to figure it out as the angelic devil herself enters the kitchen. 

A smirk rests on her lips and her eyes immediately connect with yours. 

“So?” You start,“ why’re you just now telling Fury we collected the data?” 

Her eyes widen, it’s barely noticeable but as always you catch it,“ what?”

You step closer, bending down in the slightest to catch her now averted gaze,“ I asked, why are you just now telling Fury we collected the data? Because you and I both know that happened days ago. And you and I both know you talked to Fury the night after we collected it so, answers Romanoff.”

She looks away for the briefest second and you catch the slip up in the confidence she exudes.

“Miss Romanoff,” you gasp,“ did you lie to Fury just to spend time with little old me?”

For the first time ever, you see Natasha’s face flush. The pink tint on her pale skin is the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.

“Oh my god, you’re blushing. You did lie to Fury for me.”

“Shut up Y/L/N.” Natasha grumbles and turns around. 

You laugh as her form retreats from the kitchen.

“Awe don’t walk away pretty girl, I think it’s sweet you wanted to spend more time with me,” you wrap your arms around her waist from behind. 

She starts to relax into you hold.

“And I think your blush is adorable. The bad ass assassin going all red over me.” You continue to gush.

She rolls her eyes and pushes you away, retreating to her room with a groan of annoyance, and a small smile.

*****

Tag List: @uglipotata72829​ 

And since it exists now(lol) feel free to ask to be added to the taglist.

[supernatural-jackles]

The Man on the Side of the Road - Part 6

Title: The Man on the Side of the Road - Part 6

Pairing: Dean x Reader

Word Count: 5,106

Warnings:  Angst, Mentions of Periods, Pregnancy, Tears, Mentions of Abuse, Cheating, Depression, Toxic Relationships, Fluff. 

Summary:  Driving down the road, going well over the speed limit. You come across a man walking in the opposite direction with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. His head cast down as he walked. Your gut instinct is telling you to check on this man, no matter what your parents told you growing up. Little did you know just how much this would change your life.

The Man on the Side of the Road - Masterlist

A/N: I hope y’all enjoy this part! As always feedback is greatly appreciated!! Happy Reading!!!!

You loved Friday’s. They were your absolute favourite day of the week. It was the end of the school week. Your classes finished at noon. You had the entire weekend to look forward to and you couldn’t wait to sleep in as late as you wanted to. It was the first weekend since school started that you had off. No working at the hospital. No interruptions. Just a weekend of you time.

 You had a lot planned this weekend, in a good sense anyways. There was so much that needed done in the short amount of time you had. You knew you couldn’t put it off any longer. It was all necessary things. Dean had given you the car for the day, and you dropped him off at work this time around. He was going to continue working on baby on Sunday, and you agreed to come with him. He wanted to teach you a few things about cars, as he put it anyways. You had to get some laundry done. It was your turn to do the groceries.

 You walked off campus, heading towards your car to leave for the day. It was a cooler day than most had been. You were having a really off day, and you couldn’t take your mind off of everything. You didn’t know if there was something going on, or if it was just the day itself. Something just felt off. You needed to get some air and take some time for yourself.

 “Y/N, wait up!” a voice called out from behind you. The person was too far away for you to recognize their voice, but by the sounds of it, it was a girl. You turned around to find Ruby running towards you with her bag. A slightly panicked look on her face.

 “Hey!” you smiled at her.

 “I have an emergency,” she called out, almost completely out of breath. Her brown hair clinging to her face just a little. “I just got my period, and I don’t have anything. Do you?”

 “Of course I do,” you nodded. You opened up your bag, reaching in the side pocket to grab her a tampon out of it. You were always prepared for those days. Having an accident once changes everything. “Here.”

 “You are a lifesaver! Thank god we’re on the same cycle,” she breathed out. “I gotta go, I’ll see you Monday morning. Have a good weekend with Dean.”

 “Thanks,” you smiled. Ruby took off towards the campus a little slower than she was before. You knew her next class didn’t start for another half hour. She had time to get ready before then.

 You opened up your car door, slipping inside. You put your bag in the passenger’s seat, and pulled your phone out to plug in your music. Something Dean helped you set up. You were pretty sure he used it when he dropped you off but he would likely never admit it. Your heart completely dropped in your chest. Ruby said that she was happy you were on the same cycle, and she was more than right. You had been for the longest time. You opened up your tracking app instantly, searching to see if she was right.

 You were late. Your last period was the day before your wedding day, and it didn’t last more than a few days. Oh god no. No!

 You peeled out of the parking lot, heading straight for the drug store. Just when you thought that you were finally done with Ketch. When you were finally free of him and could move on. This had to happen. You knew you should have stayed on the pill. You knew you should have taken more care of yourself. You knew you should have kept your word about not sleeping with him until after your wedding day like you both wanted to, to make it special. This was never the plan. This was never supposed to happen. Not this soon. You weren’t ready for something like this.

 The last month and a bit had been crazy. Between leaving Ketch, finding Dean. Living with Dean, school and homework. Your mental health and his. You remember getting your last period but it was much lighter than what it was usually like. It was better to be safe than sorry. You wanted to be one hundred percent sure that you were okay. You needed to move past that time of your life and start the new beginning. You had no idea why parts of him kept coming back to you, dragging you down.

 You headed straight for the women’s health section, going straight to the end of the aisle. All the brands were there. You had no idea what test was the best. You had never been in this position before. You were always cautious up until this point. You went with the clear blue test because it was advertised the most. It had to be one of the best.

 You knew you had to get some grocery shopping done and that would help ease your mind. It was your week to do it after all, and you didn’t want to make Dean wait for his stuff. You didn’t want him to have to run out later and pick up a few things. You were already out and you had the car. The test could wait until after. The results weren’t going to change. You were going to go crazy if you went home this early.

 Dean gave you a list of a few things he needed. Shaving cream, shampoo, and razors. You figured you’d pick him up one of those pies you heat up in the oven for twenty minutes. It wasn’t homemade persay, but it would satisfy him no matter what. You had no idea what the plan was for dinner tonight so you picked up taco shells, and some other supplies to make for a good night. Then you grabbed the usual things you needed. Granola bars, fruits and vegetables, bread, chips. Before you knew it, you were one hundred and fifty dollars poorer and had groceries. The joys of being a responsible adult.

 You threw your test in one of the grocery bags before chucking them all in the trunk of the car. Dean wasn’t going to be home to help you put them away. He didn’t finish until after six. By then you’d know and you could go about your usual Friday night. Today marked six weeks since you met Dean. You wanted to celebrate a little, and that was what the pie was for. You wanted to show him you were happy he was there with you. He was the best roommate you could ever ask for.

 You pulled into your driveway, taking up half of it. You couldn’t wait to get the rest of the garage cleaned up so you could park in there, or Dean could when he got his car all fixed up. You popped the trunk. You knew you weren’t going to get all the groceries in the house in one go. It was going to be at least another two trips.

 “Need some help?” a deep voice filled your ears.

 “Dean!” you grinned, seeing him in his dirty jeans and fitted t-shirt from work. “It’s three in the afternoon. Did you get off early?”

 “Yeah. Finished everything early. Bobby has something he needs to do. He dropped me off,” he told you. He had the last two remaining bags in his hands. “I see you went grocery shopping.”

 “I picked up your stuff. It’s in one of these bags,” you chuckled.

 “We’ll find it when we put it away,” he half smiled.

 “I bought taco shells, and stuff to go with it if you want to do that for dinner,” you suggested.

 “Yeah, that sounds awesome,” he nodded. “I see you bought pie.”

 “For you,” you winked.

 “Bestest friend in the world,” he let out a laugh. “We’re having this tonight.”

 “That we are,” you agreed.

 You stuck with putting away the fruit and vegetables while Dean put away the other stuff. It was quite the team effort. It was nice to have someone help you put it away. It made it much quicker.  You were really looking forward to the dinner you had planned. Even if it was messy.

 “Uh Y/N,” Dean called out.

 “What’s up?” you questioned, turning around to look at him. Your body went rigid. He held the pregnancy test in his hand. You completely forgot you put it in one of the grocery bags, thinking he wouldn’t see it. He wasn’t supposed to be home after all.

 “Are - is this yours?” he asked calmly.

“Uh,” you sighed in defeat. “I - yeah.” Your eyes cast downwards. You were hit with it all again. The potential reality of your situation. The rest of your life was going to be determined by that test. Now Dean knew too. This wasn’t what you had planned.

 “I can sit with you if you’d like. You know, while you wait,” he offered. You glanced up, meeting his eyes, seeing the concern in them.

 “Yeah?” you breathed out nervously.

 “Of course,” he nodded.

 “Thank you,” you mouthed.

 You lead Dean to your room. He had the test in his hand. You couldn’t deny just how scared you were. The mere thought of something growing inside you was enough to make your stomach uneasy. That something was going to turn into a human one day. Something that was a part of you and a part of Ketch. You weren’t ready for that. You weren’t nearly prepared for that.

 “I’m just going to go do this,” you whispered. “I’ll let you know when you can come in.”

 “Okay,” he nodded.

 You headed in your bathroom, shutting the door behind you. You could do this. Dean was right out there with you. You weren’t doing this alone. No matter what that test said, you had Dean tonight. He was your friend. He was your best friend. He was the bestest friend you could ever ask for. He was the one here for you when no one else was.

 You pushed your jeans and panties down your legs, taking a seat on the toilet. You took the box, reading over the instructions quickly before taking the test out. You positioned it between your legs, your hand shaking profusely as you did so. You took a deep breath, trying to relax as you peed on the tiny, life changing stick.

 You grabbed some toilet paper, placing the stick on top of it on the counter before you cleaned up. You had to wait three minutes until the test would be finished. That was a fucking lifetime. You flushed the toilet and washed your hands. You didn’t want to leave the bathroom. You couldn’t. You wanted to leave knowing what was happening with your life. You took a seat on the floor, your back resting against the wall.

 “You can come in now, “ you called out to Dean. Seconds later, the bathroom door opened and Dean’s eyes scanned the room, soon falling on your figure on the floor. Dean’s lip curled up as he made his way to the floor next to you. His arm brushed against yours as he sat.

 “How long do we have to wait?”

 “Three minutes or so,” you answered.

 “I know this is probably a stupid question. I’m going to ask it anyways,” he breathed out, “are you okay?”

 “I’m trying my hardest to be, Dean,” you told him. Your lip quivered just a little.

 “I want you to know that whatever that test says; I’ll stick by you. I know that the little peanut isn’t mine, but I’ll be there,” he stated, reaching his hand over to yours, taking it in his own.

 “Dean-”

 “I mean it. You’re not going through this alone,” he declared.

 “I honestly thought I had seen the last of Ketch. I thought he was out of my life now and then this. I’m hoping that I’m not,” you told him.

 “Well, I’ve been here for a little over a month now. How late are you?” he asked you. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

 “Well, I’m pretty sure I got my period last month. I started the day before my wedding was supposed to be, but it didn’t feel like a full period,” you shared. “So it either could be a lighter period or spotting. Either way, I gotta check.”

 “Yeah, definitely,” he nodded. “I hope you’re not so you won’t have to talk to Ketch anymore. You seemed to be doing better.”

 “Me too,” you nodded.

 “Did you love him?” he asked you. If you were being honest, you were waiting for him to ask you something along those lines. Especially after he found out it was Ketch.

 “I want to be able to say yes,” you started, taking a deep breath. “I really do. At one point, my answer would have been yes. But I think I loved the idea of him more and what he came with. Our relationship wasn’t always arguments. Not in the beginning anyway.”

 “What do you mean?” he cocked his eyebrow.

 “When he asked me out the night we met, I was excited. It was the first time a guy had asked me out. It was the first time a guy had shown interest in me first, and it was strange. It was exciting. This older, good looking guy wants to take me out to dinner. Little did I know what I was in for back then. When I told my mom who I was going out with, she was ecstatic. It was the first time I felt like I had done something to make her proud of me. Everyone knew who Ketch and his family were. Ketch had connections. His parents were friends with my mom and had been for a long time according to them. Although, my dad says differently when I asked him.  All I’ve ever wanted my entire life was for my mom to love me unconditionally like my dad did. I want her to be proud of me, and care about me and I felt like Ketch made ther care. Because I was with someone who was classy, and their family was great and would take care of me. I didn’t care about any of that. I just wanted to feel like I was loved. Like I meant something to someone. That’s one of the reasons why I said yes when he asked me to marry him. I would finally do something to make my mom love me like my dad always has. I just said yes without thinking about it.  I wanted to make her happy. I wanted to make her love me. But I’ll never be the perfect daughter that she always dreamed about. I’ll never be Mrs Ketch, and the perfect housewife. Our relationship was good before everyone else got involved, that's how I know that there was a part of me that did love him. But I know that the love I had for him hasn’t been there for a lot longer than I’d like to admit.”

 “You shouldn’t have to fight for your mom’s love, Y/N,” Dean reminded you. “That’s not how it works.”

 “I know,” you nodded. “I really hope that I’m not pregnant. Not now. Not yet.”

 “You want kids?” he questioned, squeezing your hand.

 “Yeah,” you shrugged. “I’d love one or two at some point. But not like this. I want my kid to have two parents that love each other to raise them. I never pictured having one with Ketch. It would have been just like my parents when I was growing up. I don’t want to put them through a divorce at twelve and weekends at dads. I want to raise mine completely different. My kid is never going to doubt my love for them. They are never going to feel the regret and disappointment I felt when my mom looked at me. They are never going to doubt whether they are beautiful or smart. They are going to know that I’m proud of them everyday.”

 “If you are, whatever you decide, I’m not going anywhere,” he reassured you. “You’re going to make an amazing mother. I don’t doubt that for a second.”

 “Thank you,” you breathed out.

 “And for the record, your mother doesn't know what she is missing out on. It really sucks to be her, because you are amazing. I’m proud of you. I’m proud to be your friend, hell I’m proud to know you. You are going to have a family someday. You’re going to marry someone and he’s going to be the luckiest guy in the world.”

 “I really hope you’re right,” you breathed out. “And for the record, I’m proud of you too, Dean. I’m proud of you everyday. I don’t tell you that enough. You’re doing so good. I wish you could see it from where I am.”

 “Me too,” he nodded. “I’m only doing so good ‘cause I’ve got a badass on my side.”

 “Oh stop,” you giggled. “Can you check the test for me? I’m too scared.”

 “Yeah,” he breathed out, releasing your hand. He pushed off the wall, standing up tall before heading over to the counter. He picked the test up, carefully reading whatever was on it. “Negative. Not pregnant.”

 “Thank fucking god,” you breathed out, burying your head in your hands. You let out a sob of relief. That was the final straw. You were completely free from Ketch. It was all over. You had no ties left.

 “Hey,” Dean muttered, taking his seat next to you once more “It’s okay, sweetheart.”

 “I know,” you sniffled. “Just scary.”

 “You’re tough,” he told you. “You can handle anything life throws at you.”

 “I’m so happy to have someone like you in my life,” you confessed. You lifted your head up, turning to look at him. He gave you a soft smile. “I wish I would have met you sooner.”

 “Me too,” he agreed. “But we’re here now.”

 “Yeah. And there is no one I’d rather spend my Friday nights with than you,” you stated. A small smile spread across your cheeks. You watched his lips curl upwards at your words. It meant the world to you that he sat with you and waited. Even more that he said he’d stick around if that test turned out to be positive. Your eyes focused on his gorgeous green eyes as you leaned over, not even thinking about it, you brushed your lips against his stubbly cheek.

 “What was that for?” he asked, cocking his head to the side.

 “For saying you’d stick around if I was. No one would have done that. Not for me,” you shrugged. “And because I wanted to.”

 “C’mon,” he stood up once more. He held his hand out to you, offering to help you up. “Let’s go make some tacos. You haven’t had them Winchester style. And I’m starving.”

 It took you and Dean an hour to get everything for the tacos ready. Dean explained to you that Winchester style meant adding a lot of cheese to whatever it was. In this case, he added cheese to the taco shells before he put them in the oven. Then added it into the taco meat along with a little extra spice that he wouldn’t tell you about. You didn’t care. It was just making dinner with him that you loved the most.

 Sitting down and eating it together was even better. Watching him try and eat the taco without making a mess made you laugh more than anything. There was a part of you that thought he was trying to make you laugh, but even he couldn’t do some of it on purpose. It was nice of you to relieve the tension from the day. It was really nice to have someone to laugh with. Someone who understood you.

 “Let’s just put these in the dishwasher. I don’t feel like doing the dishes tonight,” you suggested.

 “Me either,” he chuckled. “What do you want to do tonight?”

 “You wanna have a campfire out back? I picked up marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate when I went grocery shopping.”

 “Yeah lets do that,” he said with excitement. “I haven’t had a s’more in a long time.”

 You had to grab a sweater from your room before you headed outside. It was getting colder at night now that fall was on its way. Sure the campfire would keep you both warm, you just needed something a little extra, just in case. Dean had grabbed an oversized hoodie from his room. It was far too big, even for him. He looked comfortable in it. It made you smile to see it hang off his body.

 You were able to get the fire started with just a few logs you had. Dean had brought over the table so you could put the box of graham crackers on and the marshmallows. You took a seat on the swing right by the fire pit. It had been years since you had a campfire in the backyard. You always planned to have one, and every time it either rained or something came up.

 “Every fourth of July, my dad would have a campfire out back,” Dean began. “We’d roast hotdogs over the fire, and my little brother would always complain that his was too burnt to eat. My dad would have to cook him another one that wasn’t burnt for him to eat it.”

 “Let me guess, you had to eat the burnt one?” you giggled.

 “Yeah,” he chuckled. “I didn’t mind.”

 “You miss your brother?” you asked him.

 “Sometimes,” he shrugged. “He doesn’t want to hear from me, so I don’t really try. I got tired of the unanswered calls, and the ignored voicemails. It’s clear he doesn’t want me to be a part of his life.”

 “You said it’s been awhile since you last saw him.”

 “Seven years,” he breathed out. “He never came back when dad died.”

 “That’s rough,” you frowned. “Have you tried visiting? It’s kind of hard to avoid someone if they are right there.”

 “Yeah I’ve thought about it. But what’s the point?”

 “Just to see him. He may not care, but it’s very clear to me that you do,” you pointed out. “I have a week off coming up in the middle of October. Why don’t you take some time off work and we can take a road trip to see him? And if he doesn’t, then we can explore. Road Trips are fun. Maybe you’ll have baby done by then too.”

 “You’d really go on a road trip with me? It’s like a thirty hour drive,” he reminded you.

 “So? We can stop along the way. I’ve only been outside Kansas like twice. We’d have the week. We could take turns driving.”

 “I’ll think about it,” he nodded with a soft smile. “Thanks for the offer.”

 You started roasting your first marshmallow, trying to get it as perfect as you could. You wanted a nice golden brown before you could eat it. You knew that somehow, someway, you were going to burn it. The odd time, you glanced over at Dean, taking him in the best you could when you did. He really was doing much better. He was getting better and better everyday that went by. That’s all you wanted.

 Your phone buzzed in your front pocket, catching you completely off guard. You reached in, pulling it out. Ruby’s name spread across the top of your screen, along with her picture. You had no idea why she was calling. As far as you know, she had plans for the night. She usually did on Friday nights. You slid your thumb across the bottom of the screen.

 “Hey Ruby,” you greeted her, “everything okay?”

 “What? Yeah,” she asked confused. “Are you sitting down?”

 “Uh yeah. Why?”

 “I’m about to tell you something and I don’t know how well you’re going to take this,” she said nervously. “You didn’t hear this from me okay? I’m sure you’re going to hear it from more than just me but I had to be the first one.”

 “Ruby, you’re making me really nervous here. Can you just spill it? How bad can it be?” you asked her.

 “Jo’s four months pregnant,” she revealed. You swore your heart sank in your chest. You felt a lump forming in your throat.

 “Is - is it-”

 “Yeah. It’s Ketch’s,” she breathed out. “She told us all earlier tonight. Ketch is the only one she’s been with for a while now.”

 “Did she tell you how long they had been - been together?”

 “Two years. Y/N, I’m really sorry,” she said sadly. “You know I would have told you if I knew sooner than I did. I just found out tonight. Suzy knew the whole time. Anna didn’t know, and she’s pissed for you. I’m not going to talk to her anymore, I promise. I’m really sorry.”

 “It’s fine,” you breathed out, tears welling up in your eyes. “I’m fine. I’m okay. Look, I’m going to go.”

 “Y/N, don’t bury this underneath everything like you’ve been doing,” she warned you.

 “Ruby. I’m okay,” you reassured her. “I’m okay. I’m happy that everyone is going to find out about this.”

 “A lot of people already know,” she shared. “That’s why I had to tell you before you found out from someone else.”

 “Thanks for telling me,” you muttered.

 “You’re sure you’re okay?”

 “Yeah I’m fine. I’m just going to continue my night with Dean. Nothing has changed,” you stated. “See you when I see you.”

 “What was that about?” Dean furrowed his brows.

 “Uh, that was Ruby,” you took a deep breath. “Jo is four months pregnant. It’s his.”

 “W-what?” his jaw dropped.

 “They’ve apparently been together for two years. Behind my back,” you whispered. “Thank god that test was negative.”

 “I know you said you’re fine on the phone, but are you really?” he questioned.

 “No. I’m not,” you shook your head. “I feel like I wasted the last three years of my life with someone who literally lied, cheated, and abused me. God knows what else to me.”

 “Don’t blame yourself for this, Y/N,” he frowned.

 “It’s hard not to, Dean,” you sniffled. “I spent so much time trying to fix everything when he didn’t care nearly as much as I did. I feel like a fucking idiot. Two years he was with my best friend. Two years! I - I don’t even know what to think right now.”

 “You’re not an idiot,” he stated, reaching his hand over to you. “It says a lot about him. Not you. You were faithful the entire time. You did nothing wrong in this. You have a right to feel absolutely everything you’re feeling.”

 “I should have trusted my gut when it told me that Ketch and I weren’t going to last. I should have trusted myself more and not him,” you whispered. “I should have gotten out sooner.”

 “It’s going to be okay, Y/N. You’re going to be okay,” he reminded you.

 “I’m totally selling my wedding dress tomorrow,” you sniffled. “Could make a couple grand off it. Not my money anyways. I don’t want a single reminder of him in her. Not a single thing.”

 “Sounds like a good idea,” he nodded. “C’mere. Let’s just enjoy the evening by the fire.” Dean opened his arm for you to move into. For a second, you were hesitant, but eventually, gave into his embrace. You didn’t want to admit just how much you needed it. You felt this ache in your chest from the damage that Ketch has caused. Sure he was going to look like an asshole, and that made you feel pretty good. But Ketch was the first guy who told you he loved you. He was the first guy who showed interest in you. Who’s to say what happened with him won’t happen with the next person you were with. You weren’t the kind of girl that guys drooled over. You were simple, and you had a shit ton of issues with you. No one was going to want to be with someone like you. Someone that needed fixed.

 You weren’t fucking good enough.

 “You feel better?” he asked you.

 “I wish I could say yes,” you swallowed hard. “But I don’t.”

 “That’s okay. I’d be concerned if you did,” he let out a dry chuckle. “For the record, Ketch is a dick.”

 “Oh I know,” you let out a laugh. “I should probably tell you that I have emergency money stashed in my room. In case I see him, punch him in the face and get arrested.”

 “Good to know,” he smiled. “I meant what I said earlier. Anyone would be lucky to be with you.”

 “How is a guy like you single?” you inquired. “You’re cute, funny, smart. You’re one of the best cooks I know. You’re sweet. I don’t know how you don’t have girls lining up to date you.”

 “No girl wants a guy with severe depression,” he shrugged. “I’m not really a long term kind of guy.”

 “That’s fair. You’re right. No girl wants to date a guy they have to take care of,” you agreed. “You need a woman. They can handle anything.”

 “Exactly,” he laughed. “Eh, maybe I’ll put myself out there again.”

 “Yeah?”

 “Yeah, why not?” he licked his lips. “I haven’t been doing so bad lately. Maybe I’m up for a date or two.”

 “I’m proud of you,” you smiled. “You’ve come so far in such little time.”

 “I have you to thank for that. Bestest friend I could ask for. I know that it’s not going to be easy all the time, and I know there are going to be days where I feel horrible, but I know I’ve got you on those days. I know I’m going to be okay.”

 “Yeah you are,” you smiled. His words really sank in. In a way, you were jealous. He was getting better and you were slowly getting worse. Things weren’t getting easier for you, and you just couldn’t bear to put it all on Dean. He was doing good, and you didn’t want to ruin his improvement by telling him that you weren’t. It was hard enough the day you had a panic attack. It wasn’t fair to hurt someone else. You’d be okay over time. You’d survive.

 You had so far.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 7 Coming Tuesday!

Did you like it? What was your favourite part? Share your thoughts with me via reblog, reply or send me an ask! Your response is what keeps me going!

[obeymefictionwriting]

The Master of Spells

The streets of the Devildom were busy as always: lessons have finished and students finally got time for themselves. Demons of all sorts were passing by; I noticed a few openly glaring at me but they were of no interest - in about ten minutes or so I was about to meet the best among them so why bother about the others and their unwanted attention?

I agreed to meet Satan near our bookstore (“our bookstore” - how cool does it sound?). I arrived a few minutes earlier but I was sure he’d be there too - and he was indeed. But not alone.

I froze as I looked at a beautiful woman placing her delicate hand on his shoulder. She was wearing an amazing dark-blue dress and her black hair was flowing on her open back. She had bright blue eyes, full red lips, and a smile that could charm the coldest heart. And there he was, looking in her eyes and smiling back!

Satan finally caught my eye and immediately shook her hand off his shoulder. She didn’t seem disappointed though; instead, she just blew him a kiss and vanished in the crowd.

He quickly walked to me and tried to hug me but I stepped back. By the faded smile on his face, I knew he understood what was wrong.

“Are you upset because of this girl?” He asked with a worried look on his face.

I bit my lip. I was ashamed of admitting I felt immensely jealous when I saw them together - when I saw how beautiful she was and what a great couple they made…

Of course, I spent a lot of time with Satan and I could swear he knew he meant more to me than a friend. But we never talked about it and he never officially asked me to date him. So maybe this whole relationship thing was just in my head and he saw me as a friend only? It was painful even to think about it but yet, seemed like it was true.

Satan was still looking into my eyes as if trying to find a hidden message under all my worries and sadness. I saw that he was genuinely worried about me and I felt it wasn’t right to make him feel this way. If he is happy, I am happy - that’s what friends are for, right?

“Everything is fine,” I smiled and he immediately smiled back. “Shall we come in? It’s a bit windy outside”.

“Better now?” He asked as he put his jacket on my shoulders. I immediately blushed. His jacket still kept the warmth of his body and its scent was a wonderful mix of coffee, cinnamon, and lime. Caring yet bold. Destructive yet so tender. This is what I loved about him so much - Satan successfully combined completely different personalities. He could be the most sarcastic and cold-hearted person in the room but then, within mere seconds, he smiles with such a warm smile it could melt me.

I sighed silently. As he was putting the jacket on, he put his hands on my shoulders and kept them there as if he wanted to protect me from any negative thoughts. More than anything did I want to stay like that but then I remembered the girl and the way he looked at her. So I gently stepped forward, releasing myself from his spell.

“Shall we go?”

When we got inside the bookstore, all my worries faded away. I have always loved reading and here, in Devildom, there were so many new and exciting books to discover! As I was wandering across the bookshelves, picking books one by one, I saw Satan looking at me in a sneaky manner and smiling with just the edges of his lips. But I was too excited with all my new books to think about that. I will give it a thought later when I go to bed. For now, I let myself loose and decided to just enjoy the moment.

We spent a few hours in the shop though it seemed like seconds. While standing at the counter, Satan asked “Mind if I pay for your books? I want to make you a present.”

He blushed a bit and I gazed in admiration at this sight. He got embarrassed for a second but immediately pulled himself together. After all, Satan was one of the most reserved and confident creatures I knew, apart from Lucifer of course. And Satan was a tough nut to crack: I never knew a hundred percent what was going on through his mind. I wanted to hope he liked me but I was never sure whether his words and actions were just friendship or something more than that.

Something that connected him and that girl?...

I shook my head, making the thoughts go away. Satan already bought the books and was waiting patiently at the doorway. His green eyes were piercing me as if he wanted to tell me something, but not a word left his lips. Silent and patient as always, he gently took my arm and we got out of the store, back to the busy Devildom streets, full of chattering students of all kinds.

“Want to eat something before we get home?”

“I don’t feel hungry yet,” I admitted. “Maybe we should head back. Oh and I promised Asmo I’d help him pick an outfit for the party - he must be waiting for me”

Satan seemed disappointed with my answer but did not object. When we got to the House of Lamentation, he helped me carry the books to my room and said he’d see me later. I saw that his thoughts were already elsewhere; in his mind, he was opening the book he just bought and immersing deep down it.

I sighed and headed to Asmo. I was not in the mood of picking outfits but I made a promise and therefore I have to stick to it.

I approached the door to Asmo’s room and knocked gently.

“Come in!”

The second I stepped in, I got caught in a bright and fragrant carnival of Asmo’s dwelling. Flowers of all sorts were everywhere, creating a unique and captivating aroma - as unique as their owner. Bottles, fragrances, jewelry, bags, and fabric - colors and textures of all sorts were all around, and this colorful chaotic composition made me smile.

“Ah dear, FINALLY!” Only Asmo could stress the words so much. “I’ve been waiting FOREVER. Now, come on, there is no time to waste! How about this one… Hey? Is everything all right?”

I did not realize at first that Asmo was addressing me but when I did, I gazed at him in surprise. He noticed my expression and laughed; his laugh sounding like melodic silver bells.

“Dear, I love you and I want you to be happy when helping me become even more gorgeous than I am. But how can you put your mind to it if something bothers you? I can sense such things, you know. And I can’t let you style me in a bad mood. So, what happened?”

“Well…” I didn’t know how to start. “I was meeting Satan in the bookstore… And there was this girl.”

“Ohhhh!” Asmodeus got excited. “Describe her!”

“She was… she was really beautiful. Long black hair, wonderful eyes, a really charming smile. And I think, she is close to Satan. She stood so close to him and he… he seemed to enjoy it.”

I blushed and my face got extremely red. Surprisingly, Asmo seemed really serious while listening to me. He thought for a moment and then said “Must be Tarissa”.

“Who is she?”

Asmo hesitated for a bit.

“Well, our Satan is known for being known to all sorts of people. And all these people are really fond of him. Tarissa is a witch that works in an art exposition. I think they met there, there was some sort of gala or something. I was there too actually, as a model. So I saw her approaching Satan and trying to charm him. He seemed really uninterested, to be honest. I think she tried to chase him and she even tried putting a spell on him but that’s Satan we are talking about, right?”

“But he smiled at her so kindly…”

“He is a gentleman, dear. And all his smiles - well, almost all! - are just a deceit. An illusion to get what he wants from people”.

“So he used Tarissa?”

“Who knows? Maybe it was a flick or maybe he really went on a couple of dates. I frankly do not know and I cannot say I care much. She is not that pretty after all. You are way more gorgeous and don’t use manticora serum to keep your skin so fresh and lovely. Now, what’s with the outfits?”

Asmo’s words brought relief but I still felt like something was not right. There is no way anyone could ignore such girl, especially if she is a witch… And there is no way I can seem more interesting - at least, not in my own eyes.

The rest of the evening was quiet and I almost calmed down when my D.D.D. rang, right before I was going to bed. I opened the message box, curious, and the D.D.D. almost fell from my hand.

“Meet me tomorrow@bookstore, 9PM. T.”

She was texting me?!

Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night. In fact, I looked so tired that Mammon, who always woke me up, actually got worried:

“Hey, you okay? Ya need some medicine? Aren’t ya ill?” He bombarded me with questions.

“Just a nightmare” I smiled in an attempt to calm the Avatar of Greed. “I’ll be in a minute. Will you walk with me to school?”

Mammon gave me the brightest and biggest smile and nodded in enthusiasm.

“Of course I allow you to walk with the Great Mammon! That would be an honor for such a mere human like you so cherish the opportunity and enjoy every second of it!

As we were walking out of the House of Lamentation, I saw Satan looking at me but he quickly averted his gaze. I wondered what was wrong but soon forgot about it as Mammon distracted me with chatting and jokes.

By the end of the day, I was growing more and more anxious. The text from Tarissa was bothering me and I had no idea what she wanted. Was it something about Satan? Maybe she wanted to ask me not to mess with their relationship? Uhhh no idea.

Once the last class was over, I stood up, ready to go but all of a sudden, Satan appeared in front of me.

“Hey,” He called and gently pulled me closer. “May I ask you for a favor?”

Honestly, if he asked me to jump off the cliff, I’d gladly do it. He had his hypnotic power over me because only Satan could be so demanding and caring at the same time. Lucifer was too dominant, Mammon was too needy… Satan was perfect. I felt a burning sensation in my chest. If only I was brave enough to simply admit that more than anything I wanted to kiss him and look in his green eyes first thing in the morning...

I swallowed and mumbled, “What’s that?"

He suddenly stepped closer as if he was about to embrace me. I felt a wave of heat coming from his body, along with the scent of coffee and lime. I saw his muscles moving under a thin blazer and thought what it was like to be held by his arms.

He didn’t embrace me though - instead, he placed a necklace around my neck. A wonderful emerald stone in a delicate setting on a thin silver chain - elegant and stylish at the same time.

“I want you to hide it under your sweater - just like that”.

Satan’s fingers touched my bare skin and I took a deep breath. I was already too excited and nervous before meeting Tarissa and couldn’t afford to faint in front of Satan because of his touch.

“Please promise me”, He stared deep into my eyes. “Do not take it down and do not show it to anyone. Please. It’s important.”

“Okay”, I nodded. “Will you tell me why?”

“Later. I have to go now so I will see you at dinner.”

He gave me a smile and left. I sighed silently and touched the gem. It seemed warm and comforting. It gave me… hope? But what kind of hope? Too many secrets for one day!

Finally, I arrived at a place. I immediately spotted her, standing right in the doorway of the store. Tarissa was way too gorgeous and everybody was looking at her in admiration but she ignored their looks completely. She was greedily staring at the crows and spotted me.

I approached and she just nodded coldly.

“So that’s the famous exchange student,” She said. “They could have made a better choice”.

“I’m glad you were not the one choosing,” I replied. “You seem to lack the sense of beauty”.

She gasped and hissed at my words; I got petrified with shock. I did not mean to say rude things but it just… happened! I didn’t know why but deep down, I guessed why I blurted these words: I did not want Satan to be with her! I want him to be mine.

“You think Satan really fell for you? He is just bored and you are a shiny new toy from the human world!” She snapped. “I’ve known him for centuries and I am the one he comes to when he needs comfort! What do you know about that, you pathetic human?”

She got silent and eyed me keenly. I got scared but only for a second - then something happened to her! All of a sudden, Tarissa’s skin got wrinkled, she kind of shrank in her size and her hair lost its beauty and strength. In front of me now was some sort of a gremlin, who was screaming curses in an unknown language.

I stood in amazement, looking at the creature. Suddenly, it shrieked towards me, in an attempt to attack but a flash of green color appeared in front of my eyes.

Satan was there, holding me. He pressed his forehead against mine and his lips were so close I could feel his breath. He whispered “Stay still” and put his left arm behind his back.

Everything went silent behind us. As he stepped back, still holding me, I saw that the creature disappeared. At the same time, I felt a warm sensation on my chest. I took the gem out and gasped: it felt as hot as if it was under the sun for hours!

“What’s happening?” I was lost for words. “Satan, what’s happening here?”

“Sorry, I should have warned you - but the spell won’t work then. Tarissa wanted to hex you and I came up with a way not only to prevent that but to backfire. As you see, it worked.”

He seemed really delighted with his plan but I couldn’t help asking:

“Why would she want to hex me? I did not do anything to her!”

“Well, you put me under your spell” He replied, smiling. “Isn’t that enough?”

He saw the expression on my face and laughed:

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know! I love you - from the first time I saw you, back there at the University! More than anything do I love being with you and I thought I made myself quite obvious - but apparently not enough! Come here”.

He kissed me; a thousand fireworks exploded in front of my eyes as he pressed his lips against mine. Satan was demanding and controlling but I felt his love and passion and gladly gave in to him. His arms squeezed me, never letting go, and I felt like I was out of breath as he was kissing me more and more.

Finally, he allowed me to catch my breath, watching me with a smile. And I had one more question left for him.

“She said you come to her when you need comfort… Is that true?”

Satan laughed loudly.

“I used to come to the gallery, that’s true. Unfortunately, it’s the only decent gallery here. And notice how I said “I used to”. Because from now on, I intend to come to your room only. Did I make myself clear?”

I nodded and smiled as he leaned to kiss me again. And maybe I should decorate my room with some paintings - if we ever get time to look at them.

[mollymauk-teafleak]

Benzaiten Steel and the Case of Mistaken Identity

Ben has a very awkward morning on the Carte Blanche...

Just a fun little scene from a happier, better universe where Ben is alive and happy and committing intergalactic crimes with his brother and their new family.

Please consider reblogging or leaving a comment over on Ao3!

---

Contrary to popular belief, there were a lot of differences between the Steel Twins.

Sure, there was the obvious stuff like the hairstyle and the general disposition, how you could tell which one you’d bumped into on any given day by whether they were smiling or scowling. There was the dress sense and the scars and the tattoos that didn’t match, except for the one. And, of course, the different number of eyes.

But Benten had always thought it was the smaller differences, the ones nobody noticed, that mattered. That made them Juno and Benzaiten, not just the Steel Twins. Not that he resented being seen as one of a matched set, of course not. It was wonderful to work with Juno on the Carte Blanche, to live in the same space as him again and see him every day, tired in the mornings and working furiously into the evenings, to sit with him and have meals as a family with the rest of their crew. To always have him in arms reach, to show him a funny video on his comms or hang off his shoulders as they stood together. To use their nearly but not identical faces in their work, making people believe there was only one of them and seeing their faces when it all fell into place.

Benten knew how it felt to lose his brother and he never wanted to go back to that.

Still, it was nice to have their own individual quirks even if they went unnoticed. Like this, like how Benten was always the early riser while Juno would stay in bed as long as decent society allowed him. He’d gotten used to it as a kid; the three buses he had to take to his dance class had meant getting up just before sunrise six days out of seven. Juno’s hobbies, which were what Ben charitably called his obsessions, his research or his work meant he stayed up late buried in files and data, seeing patterns in it that no one else would, with one eye or two. Often when they were teenagers, he’d be up and about to head out just as Juno was dragging his carcass to bed.

That had led to an intimate familiarity with another difference, how each twin took his coffee.

Benten had the kitchen of the Carte Blanche to himself, the SimSun lights just kicking into gear. Soon the ship would come to life, the noises of some mechanical fix going on from the cargo bay as Jet began his first task of the day, Buddy humming to herself as she sat in her cabin and made the impossible possible, the clatter of Vespa sharpening tools in the med bay either to hurt or to heal, the hammering of fingers on keys as Rita worked at her comms, over the too loud chatter of her stream. And Ransom...well, Ransom doing whatever he did on a morning with his usual eerie silence. All that would come but for now it was quiet, just the sound of his bare feet sticking to the tiles as he moved around and the song he was whistling.

Today was going to be a good day, Benten told himself triumphantly. They were back in charted space which meant he could video call Mick, hearing his boyfriend’s voice and seeing his beautiful, ridiculous grin for the first time in weeks. The thousands of miles between them would shrink to the width of a comms screen and everything would feel better.

And it would start with coffee. He did feel a little pang of guilt at only making two cups, one for him and one for Juno, but it was hard to break traditions that were decades old. He’d always left one waiting for his brother in their crappy little Oldtown kitchen, for when he’d reluctantly follow him into consciousness. He’d always wanted the first thing Juno knew when he woke up was that someone was looking out for him. And to drink some coffee because he probably looked like shit.

Juno liked to pretend he was the toughest, meanest lady around, making Benten wonder if anyone else knew he took his coffee with three sugars and enough cream to make it barely a few shades above white. He mixed in each spoonful of freeze dried coffee and powdered, stasis milk carefully, though it would never taste like the real stuff you got planetside. There was a lot about long haul space travel that sucked. The food was ninety percent of it.

Still, it was hot and sweet and prickling with caffeine, in the mug Rita had painted herself with ‘world’s best boss’ printed on the side, and Benten knew his brother would really appreciate it. It would make him smile in that rough, crooked way he did, the smile that didn’t come out very often but Ben wished it would. People deserved to see it.

He stopped whistling as he balanced the mugs in his hands, trying really hard not to slop any over the sides. Sure the cleaning bots would take care of any spills but Benten had always felt mean about giving them any work to do. The kitchen door slid shut behind him, the mechanism not quite what it had been when the ship was new and making more noise than it should. Juno’s room wasn’t far, none of them had spread out much from the others even with all the rooms to choose from. He should only be a few doors down.  

But as Ben moved past the bathroom door, he heard the sound of running water and his brother’s unmistakable rough voice, singing as he showered. Ben grinned to himself, pausing a moment to listen while Juno butchered a peppy, upbeat dance number that had come on the radio the other day. He had a good voice, though he’d never admit it, this just wasn’t his vibe. Still, he sang it cheerily and Ben could imagine him bouncing on the balls of his feet and swaying his hips in time to the beat as he soaped his hair.

Why was he up so early? What had him in such a good mood? Ben wondered briefly before realising he didn’t care all that much. What mattered was Juno smiling, singing, dancing, it didn’t matter why. Clearly, life on the Carte Blanche was doing him good, shaking him out of the dark place he’d been in ever since he’d lost the eye, regained it and lost it again. Just as Ben had hoped when he’d agreed to come with his brother and live as an interplanetary thief.

He had to take a few deep breaths so he didn’t cry then and there, just hearing his brother doing something as simply alive as singing in the shower.

Benten kept walking, thinking he would just leave Juno’s coffee in his room for him to come back to. And then maybe he’d ask him to play video games or watch a stream or ask if he could work on the stuff for their next job in his room. Anything just to be near him and see the light back on in his eye, to know for sure that he’d really got his brother back.

Benzaiten was still lost in his own thoughts as he approached the bunk Juno had claimed as his own, the one with the glitter covered sign that read ‘Mister Steel’s Room’ in Rita’s handwriting, the same as the ones she’d made for all of them on their first day aboard. He was so distracted, he couldn’t even be startled when the door opened before he was anywhere near it.

Or when Ransom stepped through, wearing nothing but a tiny pair of boxer shorts that covered very little and suggested very heavily what they did cover. That and a shirt of Juno’s that Ben recognised immediately, oversized so the neck draped to leave one shoulder bare. A shoulder covered in dark, mouth shaped shadows.

Ben stopped dead, eyes snapping wide. Every time he’d seen Ransom before now, he’d been perfectly made up and poised to the point of near absurdity, in his sleek, expensive outfits and coiffed hair and sharp smile. He’d been practically scared of the guy, not least because of how Juno reacted to him and wouldn’t say why, no matter how many times Benten tried to steer the conversation that way to find out more.

Now he wished he knew less.

Ben opened his mouth but couldn’t get any sound out, he was too stunned at the realisation that Ransom was actually human and not a perfectly styled doll of some kind. So Ransom just yawned, exactly like a cat would right down to the way he smacked his tongue after, and blinked, eyes useless with sleep and without his glasses.

“I thought you were showering, dear heart,” he mumbled, his slick accent muddied and rougher than it ever seemed.

And then, before Ben could make any kind of protest, Ransom closed the distance between them and kissed him languidly, hand slipping around his waist to grab a handful of...something that erased any doubt Ben had been clinging to as to what this man was doing in his brother’s bedroom.

Instantly, Ben froze solid, eyes wide with the kind of panic only rabbits facing down the headlights of oncoming cars and people in this exact situation could experience. A heartbeat later, Ransom did the exact same, unfortunately leaving him in that position for a handful of agonsing, painful seconds. When he finally jumped back, he looked very, very awake. In fact, he looked like he might never sleep again.

“So…” Ben cleared his throat, grimacing, “You’re sleeping with my brother, huh?”

Ransom’s blush was fearsome, more than a master thief’s really should be, “I...my sincerest apologies, Benzaiten, I was only...um, your brother...I…of you have any concerns about his...um, his virtue-”

Ben could have screamed cutting across him quickly, “I really do not want to hear the slightest thing about my brother’s virtue. Just...give him this,” he thrust the coffee at Ransom, “And never speak of this again. To him but especially to me. Agreed?”

Ransom took a deep breath, taking the coffee and hiking the shirt up to his neck, like that would erase the hickeys from existence, “Agreed.”

Eventually Benzaiten would realise he was happy about this. He would recontextualise a hundred glances between him and Ransom, he would learn to read the emotion in Juno’s voice whenever he talked about him, what was masked in the intensity of it. He would realise that finally someone loved Juno exactly how he deserved to be loved.

But for now, he was going to lock his door, call his boyfriend and scream into a pillow and wish with all his heart that more people would learn to see the differences between him and Juno.

[simsadventures]

Baby Fever II

Summary: You’re 9 months pregnant with your first child, and you and Bucky are both excited and nervous about the arrival of the little one.

Warnings: fluff, mentions of smut (nothing explicit this time around), daddy! Bucky, Deer Woman appearance

Word Count: 1932

A/N: Some of you liked the first part so much, you actually requested a second one, and I was honestly very happy to do it. This is pretty much just a fluff with a fluff on top, so I’ll hope you’ll enjoy it. Let me know what you thought :) xx

Bucky Barnes Masterlist __ Masterlist

Baby Fever I

The dull pain in your lower back woke you up. You groaned in frustration when you looked at the alarm sitting on your nightstand. It was 6.29, and even though that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, to wake up in half past 6, it was the fact that it has only been 2 hours since you last woke up. And you were tired. And in pain. And frustrated.

You looked at the other side of the bed seeing Bucky still soundly asleep, and although you were happy for him and his sleeping routine, you were also jealous of him.

You loved the fact you were pregnant, you really did. But your little bundle of joy had no care in the world for a time in the real world outside your womb, and he or she would regularly have a party in there around 4 AM.

And because nature had to make it so that the women would carry to babies, your husband would wake up rested and stress-free every morning, while you looked like a little dwarves dances on top of you the whole night.

You sighed, and rolled over to your other side, dangling your feet off the bed and you tried to get up. Not only were you tired, but your bladder was killing you as well. You were sure the baby thought your bladder was some kind of a ball and would kick it out of spite every twenty minutes, causing you to run to the bathroom.

There were times when you even wanted to have twins. That thought made you cringe now because just the thought of two babies being in there, playing with your organs made you shiver. One at a time was just enough for you.

You rushed to the bathroom, and when you were done, you looked at yourself in the mirror. There were dark circles under your eyes from the lack of sleep, and very probably from the strength of the baby, which, as Bruce said, has inherited parts of the serum from his father. Bucky was alarmed at first, at the thought of his baby being enhanced and all of that, but Bruce assured both of you that rather than being enhanced in the usual sense of the word, your baby would simply be less prone to be sick, its wounds would heal slightly quicker, and that was probably it.

He couldn’t be a hundred percent sure until it was born, but you trusted Bruce, and you were at ease with the whole serum thing.

Your eyes travelled south to your 9-month belly, swollen and hard with stretch marks at the sides. At first, you were horrified to see those lines on your body that use to be lean and without a mark, except the few scars you carried from your fights. But then, mostly thanks to Bucky, you realised that it was a miracle you even had this baby in you, and that your body was just accommodating for the little one to be as comfortable as you could make it.

You touched the right side of your belly, right next to your navel, and massaged it lightly. You knew the baby liked it when you touched the belly, or when you or Bucky spoke to it, and you wanted to enjoy this morning ritual until it decided to finally come out.

You could feel pressure under your palm, and when you lifted it, you could see a little hand protruding through your skin.

Despite your tiredness and all those frustrations you felt when you got up, a smile appeared on your mouth and tears welled up in your eyes. This was all you ever dreamed of, at least since you met Bucky, and you couldn’t believe that it was a reality. Your very own reality.

You didn’t even notice the movement behind you until there was a hand splayed on your stomach. You looked into the mirror and was welcomed by the sight that melted your heart.

Bucky’s hair was still messy from the pillow, his eyes looked like he hasn’t truly woken up just yet, but he had a delirious smile on his face, watching your belly with a newfound adoration.

Ever since you found out you were pregnant, Bucky was over the moon. He would make sure you had everything you needed, even if it meant he had to get up from the comfort of his bed at 2 AM just to bring you a sack of oranges, or a pack of ice cream. He would pamper you with kisses and hugs, give you massages whenever your body hurt too much, and he would be there all the time.

He even misses a few missions just because he didn’t feel like leaving you alone, despite your protests and Tony’s explanations that nothing could happen to you in the safest place on this planet. That wasn’t an argument for Bucky. You were his wife carrying his child, and he would be damned if he didn’t make sure you were both ok.

As the baby made its presence known, Bucky kept massaging your belly, marvelling at the sight of the tiny feet and hands showing through the thin skin of your stomach.

You leaned into his chest, loving the attention he was giving both of you, and you kissed the underside of his jaw. His eyes shot to yours, and he gave you the loveliest smile, pecking your lips in the process.

You were nearing your due date, well, according to Bruce, it could happen any day now. You were anxious, to say the least. You were an Avenger, that was true, but you couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would feel like to give birth to a tiny human being. And if it the little one inside you was anything like Bucky, it would come out kicking and screaming.

But the truth was, you weren’t even scared of the pain, you knew you could take it. Billions of women were able to do it before you, and you knew you could do it. You were more afraid for the little one. What if something happens to it? What if you can’t even do the one thing, right? What if you are a bad mother?

All these thoughts were playing in your mind as the due date neared, and they were now all you could think of. Bucky had no idea, or at least you thought so because you didn’t want to stress him out or let him know about all your doubts when it came to your child.

But Bucky being Bucky could read you like an open book, and so when you got lost in your head again, contemplating whether you are able to take on this new role, in this crazy world, Bucky put a finger under your chin and turned your to face him.

“Stop,” he whispered and touched your forehead with his, letting you take a deep breath, releasing the stress out of your body.

“We’re gonna be good, you’re gonna be a great mother, and I will never let anything happen to the little one, I promise. You are my family, my everything, and there isn’t a possibility of it not ending up ok. We’re gonna struggle at times, just like every other new parents, but we will get the hang of it. I saw you taking care of Morgan, and you’re natural, baby! So stop stressing about unnecessary things, and just enjoy the last few moments of being pregnant,” he said calmly, and just like always, you felt yourself letting go of all your fears, just because Bucky was with you.

“I know you’re right, it’s just the illogical part of my brain that comes up with all these worst-case scenarios. But you’re right, when it comes-“

You couldn’t finish the sentence, because you suddenly felt something wet between your thighs. And because you were pretty sure you just didn’t pee yourself, there was only one other possibility.

Bucky was watching in confusion, as you looked from him to your stomach and further down, and then back at him. It took him a good minute before he realised what was happening, and from the calm and collected Bucky, you had this fretting boy in front of you.

He was freaking out, to say the least, while you were overcome with peace. Sure, you were curious about the contractions, and all, but you suddenly knew you could do this. Your body was made for this. Which you couldn’t say about Bucky’s body, which was now shaking as he tried to remember what it was that you wanted to do first if something like this happened.

“Bucky!” You raised your voice to ensure the message actually got to his stressed brain.

“Call my doctor, Dr Young, and tell her that we are on our way. I’ll call Bruce and tell him what is happening. You’ll then grab my bag, it’s there, on the table, and you’ll calmly drive me to the hospital, just like we planned. Will you be able to do it, or should I call somebody else to drive us?”

“NO! I’ll drive us! I’ve got this! I promise, now let’s go,” Bucky said, obviously still a little shaken, but much better than moments ago.

You nodded at him, and while you were both calling the doctors, and heading towards the car, you looked outside, and for a brief moment, you could have sworn you saw a beautiful woman standing outside the window.

Her hair was flowing around her hips, the flower crown on her head accentuating her beauty just like her plain white dress. She looked like she was smiling at you and nodding, but when you blinked and looked again, she was nowhere to be found.

You thought you were hallucinating, from the pain that started to creep to your belly and forgot all about the image of a few moments ago.

But the Deer Woman has never forgotten. She came in to check on you, and to give you and the baby the strength to go through the labour as painlessly and quickly as possible.

She was also there, just outside the hospital where you were giving birth to your baby boy to oversee the whole process, and when she heard the sharp cries of your baby, and when she heard you saying the little boy’s name, she nodded again and vanished into thin air.

“Micheal Steven,” you said with a smile. “I think we should call him after Steve, because you and Steve have always been so close, and I would like to honour that. Also, we both agreed that sieve should be his godfather, so why not calling him after him?”

Bucky was already on the verge of crying from all the joy he was feeling, but when you asked him if you could name your baby boy after his best friend, the dam broke. He sobbed yes, and hugged you tightly, still careful of the babe in your arms.

He couldn’t believe his luck to have such a beautiful family, and he knew that it wouldn’t end with just this baby. Bucky wanted a whole litter of babies now that you two knew you made such cute ones. And he couldn’t wait to start trying with you again. Well, after little Micheal Steven was safe and sound in his crib and you were all healed up, of course. He could wait that long. But the baby fever in him could never be truly satisfied.

Bucky Taglist

@this-kitten-is-smitten​ @paradisiacalsparks​ @crazybutconfidentaf​ @owlyannah​ @lassini​ @s-trawberryv-eins​ @reniescarlett​ @bxrnsfeyson​ @the-soulofdevil​

Marvel Taglist

@voltage-my2dlove​ @kneel-begyourpardon​ @lumar014​ @ptrs-prkrs​

Forever Tag:

@eileenalone​ @sasbb23​ @p8tn0lish​ @coffeebooksandfandom​ @waiting4inspiration​ @caswinchester2000​ @mogaruke​ @justthatfangirloverthere​ @mushyjellybeans​ @livsheph​ @sebbbystaaan​ @notyourtypicalrose​ @itsunclebucky​

If your name is crossed out, tumblr won’t let me tag you for some reason, I’m sorry.

If you’d like to be tagged comment/message/send an ask. If you like the story, please reblog :) any comments are appreciated, even the critical ones. Always a space to get better, so let me know what you guys think.

[novannna]

I Dare You

based on a pin I saw on pinterest where i use a song and write a story sing every single word. I used I Dare You by Bea Miller to write this fic. 

here's the song (:

It takes place mid supernova, when Nova has Danna caught in a jar. She struggles with her guilt for trapping Danna, and questions her loyalties to the Anarchists. This was a bitch to write bc trying to fit lyrics in order is a pain, so please leave likes and reblog!

Wc: 3440

Nova rubbed her eyes, collapsing onto the bed in her and Honey’s room.  She groaned, kicked off her shoes and fell backward.  

She was so fucking tired of the anarchists.  She knew that they had done so much for her, but they expected too much.  And she was exhausted.  They wanted her to keep the charade up with the Renegades.  

And she hated it.  She hated having to pretend to love Adrian.  She hated having to spend every single second of her day with Adrian, Oscar, and Ruby, getting as close as she could when, in the end she knew she would betray them.  

And that was going to make her feel miserable.  Even more miserable then she already was.  

A flutter of black and orange caught her eye, and Nova pulled herself up.  

In her moment of self pitying, she had completely forgotten about her butterfly friend.  

That was another thing weighing heavy on her consciousness.   

She walked over to the vanity, and picked up the small jar.  

“I can remember a time when I was so afraid,” she said to Danna, “maybe the first time I ever felt real, true fear.  A man entered my apartment.  He killed my mom and dad right in front of me.  He killed my sister,” she said with a small sob.  “I couldn’t save her.  But maybe… maybe if I had tried harder I could have.  That was the first time I felt fear.  When I went to a place even my shadow wouldn’t follow me.” 

Nova slumped down to the floor, and cradled the jar to her chest.  “I don’t know why I’m even telling you this.”  Nova groaned.  “I’m a fucking mess.  But I feel like I can talk to you.  Is that weird?”  She laughed, and shook her head.  “I don’t even know if you can hear me.”    She looked at the butterfly.  It was still for the first time in days.  It seemed as if it was looking straight at Nova.  She groaned again.  “I’m sick of being a tool.  I’m sick of being just another step in my uncle’s plan.  But they are my family, and I have to help.  Don’t I?”

Danna barreled into the wall, then flapped her wings adamantly.  

Nova breathed in deeply.  “I’m so sorry Danna.  I can’t imagine what it must be like in there for you. I- I would hate it.  I’m sorry for being an anarchist.  I know you wanted to believe in me.”  

“Nova!”  Honey’s shrill voice yelled.  “Get your ass down here!  We need you!”

Nova grimaced.  “I guess I’m picking up my sword.  Thanks for listening, Danna.  You actually helped me a lot.”  She set the jar back on the vanity, and scattered a few pins over it, making it look like nothing had been disturbed. 

And she was struck by an urge to shatter the jar.  Let all the pieces scatter, and let Danna free.  Then Danna could go tell the Renegades.  

And Nova could stop pretending.  

She could go back to the person she was before.  Before she met Adrian, and Oscar, and Ruby.  Before she met Danna.

---

“Nova sweetie, what took so long?”  Honey asked.  She dipped her finger into a jar of honey, and lazily stirred it around.  

Nova ignored her, and sat down around the table.  “I thought we were done.  What else do you need?”  She was in a bad mood.  A very bad mood.  She couldn’t handle Honey and the others right now.  

“So snappy,” Honey sniffed.  “I thought you wanted to get back at the renegades for killing your family.  

“I- of course I do!”  Nova said, annoyed.  

“Well you're certainly not acting like it.  I’m beginning to think you’d rather be with that Everhart boy than us.”

Nova sighed.  “Honey, I would never choose Adrian over my family.  His parents basically killed them.  I am one hundred percent committed.”

“Good.”  

Leroy cleared his throat.  “The window of time to rescue Ace is closing.  We have to act soon.  So, we need you to figure out whatever you possibly can about Cragmoor.”

Nova sighed.  “You want me to go talk to Adrian.”

They both nodded.  “Sorry Nova, I know you just got home.”

“Listen, I want to rescue Ace as much as you guys do, believe me.  But give me a break.  ‘Cause I… I- .”  Nova took a deep breath in, and out.  “I’m worth fighting for too.”  Honey started, and stared at her in complete shock.  “Just for… for..”  nova sighed and stared them straight in the eyes.  “For once in my life, give me a break.  Yes, I know what the Renegades did.  But don’t play innocent.  I know you’ve manipulated me my entire life.  And I let it happen.  So just… leave me alone tonight.  I have a lot to think about.  We can overthrow the Renegades tomorrow, alright?”  

Before Honey could respond, Nova stormed upstairs.  She threw the window open, and was half-way out before a thought crossed her mind.  She ducked back in and put the small jar with the golden butterfly into her pocket.  

She pulled herself to the roof, and leapt off.  She bounded across the rooftops, until she had reached an old office.  She scaled to the roof, and pulled the jar out of her pocket.  

“So they can put me in a cage,” she muttered to herself.  “Lock me in a room and throw away the key.  But they get mad at me when I try to stand up for myself.”  She flipped onto her back, and looked at the setting sun.  The sky was alight with colors.  

“I know you hate me,” she said to the butterfly.  “I’ve done terrible things.  I hurt you.  But I’m not sorry for what I did.”  Nove realized she had started to cry.  “I dare you to do something else if you had been in my place.”  

She sniffed, and wiped her tears away.  “I’ll break down the walls trying to keep me down.  I’ll be a higher wrecking ball then the Renegades.  I’m gonna hurt them the way they hurt me.  And I won’t let them tear me down.”  No.  Oh, Nova would never let them win. Oh, she would never let that happen.  They could lock her away at Cragmoor, and throw away the key, but Nova would never stop fighting.

“Danna, I dare you to spend a day in my shoes.  Oh, someone like you?  So used to freedom and choices?  Oh, you wouldn’t last a day.  And I won't let you tear me down.  No, the Renegades will never best me.”  Nova wiped her face again.  

She looked at the small insect.  

“At least I know the Renegades are bad. The anarchists…”  Nova sighed.  “They pretend they're so much better, but I know they’re just using me.  They don’t actually care about me, just what I can do. I had an opinion, but I never spoke my mind, and I wouldn’t argue, even when I knew I was right.  I was too fucking scared of what would happen.  What Honey might do.  But I’m not that girl anymore.  I can stand up for myself.  I can say what I want now.”  The sun had now fully set, and a speckling of stars covered the sky.  

Yeah, Nova had lost almost every battle against Honey and the other Anarchists.  She never won an argument so she had stopped trying.  But she was determined to win the war.

“I’m worth fighting for, Danna.  For- for years of my life, I watched the Renegades abuse me and the Anarchists.  And I know that you and Adrian, and the others want me to be good and do the right thing, but that's not gonna happen.  I’m not changing who I am because it’ll get me farther in life.  So if the Renegades do end up winning, you can put me in a cage, you can lock me in a room and throw away the keys.”  She leapt to her feet, and strode around, her mind too crowded to enjoy the starry sky.  

“In fact I dare you.  I dare you to lock me away, because I’ll break down the walls.  I will be a higher wrecking ball.  And I won’t let you tear me down, no.”  She breathed out heavily.  “But I am sick of this guilt I have.  Sick of convincing myself I’m doing what needs to be done.  I’m fucking sick of having to see you every day, just to be struck by another wave of guilt at seeing you trapped because of me.  I’m so sick of being confused and torn between everything.”  Nova scooped the jar up, off the ground and held it to her chest.  

“I want to throw away the key to my heart,  make it so I can never open it.  So no one can ever open it.  I don’t ever want to give anyone power over me again.  Look at what it’s fucking doing to me!”  She sobbed, to the butterfly.  “I dare you to go to the Renegades.  Bring them here, let them catch me.”  Nova turned to the edge and screamed, “I am done being the double agent!  I am fucking done!”  But no one responded.  No one cared.  Who would?  

“I won’t let you tear me down?  No what a fucking joke.  Danna, you’ve already torn me apart.  With guilt.  With your hate.  With the knowledge that when you’re human again, you'll hate me!”  Nova collapsed back onto the hard roof.  

“I just keep running, running, running.  Trying to find my place in the world, and it always ends back at good vs. evil.  Villain vs. hero. Just like you and me.  Monarch vs. Nightmare,” Nova spat, still crying.  “I’m still fucking trying to find who I was.  Am.  I don’t know.  I would go the distance to find out, but it’s never far enough.”

She held the jar up to eye level, and looked at the delicate golden insect.  

Nova knew exactly what she wanted, but she knew that would never happen.  She knew what she wanted for once.  Yes, she wanted to destroy the Renegades for what they did to her and her family.  Yes, she wanted to tell the Anarchists that she was done being their tool.  Yes, she wanted to save Ace from his fast approaching death.  Yes, she wanted to have it all be over.  

But in that moment, the one thing she wanted, wanted more than anything was to see Danna right in front of her.  To stop that constant guilt from devouring her.  It might mean the end of her freedom, but it was worth it.  To see Danna one more time.  

“But now, Danna, I'm standing straight and I think I know exactly who I am.”  Nova breathed in.  She smiled a little and laughed amid her tears.  

“My name is Nova Jean Artino.  I’m not a Renegade or an Anarchist.  I’m just Nova.  Yeah, I was raised as an Anarchist.  Yeah, I pretended to be a Renegade.  But that’s not important.  Because I’m Nova, and that’s all that matters.”  She carefully unscrewed the top and let the gold insect fly out.  

As it disappeared, Nova whispered to herself, “I can remember a time when I was so afraid.  I trapped a golden girl in a jar so she wouldn’t hurt me, and by doing that, I hurt her.  So now, now I’m terrified she’ll hate me forever.”  

Nova sat down on the rooftop, and waited.  For what though, she wasn’t quite sure.  Common sense told her to run.  Run far, and hide.  Danna would tell everyone, and she would spend the rest of her life behind bars.  

A flicker of orange caught Nova’s eye.  A swarm of brilliant monarchs were flying across the night, heading straight for Nova.  She sprang to her feet as they cycloned in front of her.  

They consolidated into a form still in a Renegades uniform, blonde dreadlocks wild and crazy, brushing against warm brown skin.  Danna.  

“Nova,” she whispered, before pitching forwards.  Right into Nova’s arms.  

Nova hugged her tight against her body, and inhaled the scent of flowers.  She gently lowered the unconscious girl to the ground, using her leg as a pillow for Danna’s head.  

Danna’s eyes flickered open.  “Nova…” she croaked.  

“Hey Danna,” she replied through a blur of tears.  “I’m sorry…”

Danna cut her off by reaching up and cradling Nova’s head.  She kissed her firmly, stopping anymore words from leaving Nova’s mouth.  

“I wanted to do that from the moment I saw you,” Danna breathed.  

Nova sprang to her feet, Danna right behind her.  

“Danna, I’m a bad person.  You should turn me in.  Find a better person to be with,”  Nova said softly through tears.  “I’m tired of living a lie.  Please… just do it already.”  She screwed her eyes shut and held out her hands, expecting Danna to handcuff her, or call Adrian and the others.  

Instead, warm arms enveloped her.  

Nova broke down sobbing, crying into Danna’s shoulder.  It wasn’t pretty or cute, it was an ugly cry.  Tears and snot ran down her face.  

“I’m so so sorry,” she sobbed.  “I trapped you.  I betrayed you.  How are you not mad?”

Danna sighed, and rubbed Nova’s back soothingly.  “In the beginning I was.  I was so mad that you had been spying on us, using us.  I was pissed that I was stuck in swarm mode.  But then… I saw how you lived.  The way the other anarchists used you, and the way you were manipulated.  I know that the Renegades messed up your life a lot, and I understand Nova.  I don’t agree with what you did, but I do understand.”

Nova sobs gradually ceased.  “You should go.  I don’t want to get you in trouble for helping me.  Thank you for everything Danna.”  She pulled herself away from the warm hug.  

“Nova,” Danna said sharply.  “You can put me in a cage, or lock me in a room, however much you want.”  She inhaled sharply.  “You can do whatever you want to try and convince me you're a bad person, but I know the truth.”

Nova turned to look at Danna’s wide brown eyes.  

“You can throw away the key to your heart, but you can bet that won’t stop me.”  Danna smiled at Nova.  “I dare you to let me into your life.  Because I'm in love with you.  And if you think that we can’t be together because you think you're a villain, then I’ll break down the walls guarding you.”  Danna smirked, her soft lips curving into a smile.  “I’m a higher wrecking ball, and you can’t stop me.  Nova Jean Artino, you are going to have to accept the fact that I love you, and I don’t want you to turn me away because you think you’re a villain.  I understand if you don’t want me, but I need you to realize that I want you as who you are, villain or not.”  

Nova shook her head.  “But what about my uncle?  I can’t just let him die, he’s done so much for me.  I won’t let you tear me down, away from my goal, and my family.  No, oh no.  He’s all I have left.  ”  

“Nova, it's too late for him, but it's not too late for you.  Throw away this pointless hope that he can survive this.  I agree the renegades need to change, and you are key to that, not him.”  Danna reached out to grab Nova’s hand, and pulled them together.

Nova pressed her forehead against Danna’s, their warm skin touching together.  

“Nova, I dare you to forget everything.  Forget the Anarchists and the Renegades.  Forget everything, and just think about me.”  Danna smiled at Nova.  “Do you want me the way I want you?”

“Yes,” Nova breathed.  “Oh, more than anything.”

“Then what are you waiting for?  We can leave.  Start a new life, just us.   Forget renegades and anarchists.  There would be no Nightmare and Monarch.  Just Nova and Danna.”

“We can’t…”

“Why not?  What’s stopping you?   Is there anything for you in Gatlon?”

Nova shook her head.  “But Ace…”

“He’s already dead.  We can’t do anything for him.  But we can do something for you.  I know how huge this is- asking you to leave everything and start a new life, but I love you Nova Jean Artino, and I never want to see you caught by the Renegades, or used by the Anarchists ever again.”  Danna looked straight at Nova.  “Will you leave with me?”

“Okay,” Nova said, surprising herself.  “Okay,” she repeated with a small laugh.  “You’ve been thinking about this for a while.”

Danna’s face darkened.  “Everyday when I was in the jar.  When I saw the way you were treated, I knew I had to get you out of there.”

“That must have been terrible for you to be stuck in there,” Nova murmured.  

“You helped me.  Whenever I saw your face, or heard your voice it made me feel better because I knew nothing had happened.”

“You helped me too.  I’ve never had anyone I could talk to, but for you it felt like you were listening.  And understanding.”  Nova shrugged.  

“I was. Well not listening exactly, but I did understand.  And I wanted to form so I could wrap my arms around you, and kiss you until you were better.”  

“You can do that now if you want,” Nova said lightly.  “I hear it’s good to practice.”

Danna raised her eyebrow.  “Well, we’d better make up for years of missing out then.”

Nova’s face flushed a brilliant shade of red.  “You’re not the first person I kissed,” she mumbled.  

Danna laughed brightly.  “Really?  Who else?”

“Narcissa Cronin.  The Librarian’s daughter.  I don't think you've met her.”  

“Interesting.  But I still think you need more practice,”  Danna grinned, and cupped Nova’s face in her strong hands.  

Danna pulled them together, and they kissed.  

It was like nothing Nova had ever experienced before.  Small fireworks shot through her mind as she wrapped her legs up around Danna’s waist, and they tumbled down to the hard ground.  

They didn’t care.  

Danna ran her hands through Nova’s choppy hair.  

“We should go,” Nova said, breathless.  “If we really want to leave.”

“Yeah,” Danna said, equally out of breath.  She tucked a loose piece of hair behind Nova’s ear.  “We should.” 

She reached up and pulled Nova back down, Nova straddling her hips and leaned down over Danna again, her hair a thick curtain.  

“You’re beautiful Star,” Danna said thickly.  

“You too, lepidoptera,” Nova chuckled.  She leaned back up.  

“Oh stop it.”  Danna pretended to glare at Nova, and leaned back up.  

“Never.”  Nova smirked.  “So you really want to leave?  We can’t come back.  This is a forever decision,” Nova said, her expression souring.  

“Nova, I want you to be my forever,” Danna said, rubbing Nova’s hand.  “I love you, and I’d give up the world for you.”  She stood, and offered a hand to Nova, which Nova accepted.  

“I love you too, but I don’t want you to throw your life away.”

“I’m not throwing it away if it's with you.  I’m just making it better.”

Nova went up on her tiptoes, and brushed a kiss against Danna’s chin.  “I want to leave Gatlon forever and never look back.”

“Me too.”

“Ready then?”  

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”  

Danna burst into her swarm, and followed Nova closely as she made her way down the old building.  

She solidified, and together the two of them walked through the city, hand in hand.  

Nova thought back to the Anarchists, the way she was just leaving them.  They would not last long without her.  But Leroy was smart, and they knew how to survive.  

“Thinking about the others?”  Danna asked.  “I know I don’t like the idea of leaving our team by themselves, but I’d rather you be safe.” Danna squeezed her hand reassuringly.  “They’ll be okay.”

“I hope so,” Nova responded, thinking about the Anarchists not the Renegades.  

As they walked past the cathedral ruins, Nova whispered, “I won’t let you tear me down, Uncle.  You did what you could to mold me to become your perfect soldier, but now I'm becoming my own person.  And I say no more heroes and villains.  Just me and Danna forever.”  She looked back at the tall girl and smiled.  “She feels better than revenge will ever feel.  And I want her to be my forever.”

Together, hand in hand the couple left the city, and never returned.  

tag list: @honey-harper-official @quinterickson @thepurpledragon4444 @nova-artino @lesbianariescalante @prudence-barnett @plain-jane-mclain

(this is my first tag list so please let me know if you want to be added or taken off)

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Humans are Space Orcs, “Stowaway.”

A couple of you guys wanted to see this go down, and I thought it wasn’t a bad idea, so why not :)

“Certainly not, they cannot be trusted.”

“We don’t know that.”

“Even if their story is true, I have no doubt that they have other motives. No one offers peace accords if there are not ulterior motives.”

“But they already said! They want to trade with us, and they want the precious mineral compounds found in our ice.”

“They want to enslave our planet more like.”

“You saw the creature, it had no fur, and it was freezing as soon as it took its layers off. I have no doubt that it has no interest in enslaving our planet. The environment is to inhospitable for it to consider spending so much time here.”

“Your logic is backward for a scientist…. But I suppose that should be expected of someone with your pedigree.”

“....You are wrong, and your hesitation will cost us. They saved our lives, the least we can do is hear them out.”

“And at the end of the day that is my decision and not yours. You overstep your bounds, and now you will return to your place, scientist.”

Yeb stood ears plastered back against her skull, the fur on her back puffing outward to strain against the inside of her jacket, but she didn’t protest. He may have been wrong about many things,but he was right about this one, she had no power here, and to assume as much would be too presumptuous.

She did know her place.

Had known it since she was a pup.

She raised her chin stiffly at the chancellor and turned on her heels, claws digging against the ice as she trudged from the council chambers and out into the blinding sunlight of early morning. The council had debated for many hours, until unanimously making a decision that she thought would be a great mistake. They had decided not to engage with the GA, and therefore cut off any chances they would have at learning from the more advanced race.

She brushed a dusting of snow from a rock just to her right and sat down staring up at the sky. Over her head the atmosphere was a light bluish purple. The sun blazed down with white blue intensity.

She could have learned so much from them. Perhaps a way to develop better vaccines as they had clearly found the cure to the plague faster than any of them could. If it had been up to her expertise, the entire world would be dead by now. 

Yeb sighed deeply.

There were so many things she could have learned from them, so many things, but now that knowledge would be lost, and they would be left to trundle along in a dark age ad never know what glorious things they could have learned.This GA governmental body has offered them transport into the stars! Who would refuse such an offer.

It was a monumental mistake.

She sat there for a long moment, contemplating her next move. The future seemed bleak in comparison to the one they had been offered. How could she just go back to her normal life knowing what was out there? Could she just sit idly by in her ice cave, eating the same bland fish and listening to the same bland propaganda of a government that “couldn’t or wouldn’t” see what a tragedy it was to lose fifty percent of their lower class? It made her sick as she pictured the beautiful images she had seen in scientific journals of the vast cold darkness of space.

She stood.

That was it, if nothing she wanted to at least see the creatures off, tell them good luck, and thank them for what they had done. Maybe they would be more likely to return one day if ‘someone’ deigned to go and say goodby to them and actually thank them for what they had done.

With her mind made up, she stood, and with renewed vigor made her way over the icy tundra and towards the alien landing sight. Government officials were crawling all over the area, keeping the curious, prying eyes of the civilians well back where they couldn’t cause trouble or get any ideas. They tried to keep her back too, but she flashed a badge at the first two and managed to dodge two more before three burly agents stepped into her path.

All three of them had deep onyx fur and glowered at her with intense black eyes.

“This area is restricted.”

“I just want to talk to them. They know me.”

“This area is restricted.” They repeated.

“I am the scientist who first came in contact with them, please, I would really just like to speak with them.” She tried moving around, but it was no good, and they continued to block her path. Behind him, she could see the shuttle that had brought the aliens down. It was of trange construction, cold silver steel in sharp angular lines. The creatures swarmed around the ship carrying boxes, a few of them collected ice and snow in small clear tubes.

The commotion must have alerted them, and she saw their leader raise his head as the agents began to push her back.

She waved a desperate hand in the creature’s direction, and it broke into a trot over the icy ground its boots cringing over the snow.

“Hold on!” It called, and its booming voice was enough to make the agents stop and back away nervously.

The only thing she could see under its mask and hood was that sharp green eye.

“Everything alright?” he wondered 

She sighed but nodded, “Well…. No…. not really. I just wanted to let you know that…. Well Not all of us agree with the chancellor. Don’t…. Well just don’t forget about us.”

She watched the creature’s face wrinkle about the eyes, and the feeling she got from the expression was… one of surprising pleasure.

“Don’t worry, we won’t forget about you. We are a bit harder to ignore than all that…. In a strictly annoying sort of way and less of the tyrannical, we are going to take over your world sort of way.”

The creature made a strange repeated whirring noise deep in his chest, and she yipped her own amusement.

He held out a hand to her and she stared at it, “It's a human greeting and farewell.”

Gingerly she reached forward and took his hand feeling as he wrapped his fingers around hers in a firm grip and shook once.

It was a strange gesture, yet one that simultaneously made her feel connected to him, in a way, not altogether unpleasant.

Then he let her go, turning back to his ship and striding over the ground with the confidence of a creature that had done this sort of thing many times, that was until he slipped on the ice and staggered awkwardly, arms flailing. She yipped again in amusement and he waved a hand turning around to see if anyone had seen.

She turned and made her way back up towards the plateau watching as the ice and tundra spread out before her, white on blue purple, and just as she was reaching the top, she stopped. She could go no further.

She glanced back to where the strange creatures were beginning to load their equipment back onto their ship, and then forward to where the government agents were busy pushing back a line of curious onlookers.

No one saw her.

Yeb sat in thought for a long moment, and before she really knew what she was doing, she turned around and raced back down the hill skidding and sliding on the ice with barely controlled speed. She wasn’t sure what she was doing, or what she was going to do, but as she reached the bottom of the hill, and saw an open box resting on the ground; she made a decision.

It wasn’t a good decision, nor was it a well thought out decision, and honestly later, she would come to realize that there were easier ways to do what she was about to do, the number one being to simply ask politely, but none of that crossed her mind as she dove into the box and pulled the lid over her head.

As far as she knew, no one had seen her, and before long she felt the crate lurch upwards and wobble its way towards the shuttle, while the creatures outside grunted at its unusually heavy weight.

She was set down inside, and, she thought, strapped down.

It didn’t occur to her again, until the engines ignited, just what she had done to herself.

Her stomach lurched into her feet and she screamed in fear and shock as the ground fell out from beneath her. All she could hear was the roaring of engines and feel the battering of the atmosphere around her as they cut through the atmosphere.

And then, after just a few minutes, the rattling died away, and she found herself floating inside the box like a free droplet of water in freefall.

With her tail tucked around her she hugged herself tight, screaming internally about what she had just done.

At some point, she felt the ship lurch, and aftera moment, she dropped back to the bottomotom of the box as gravity reinstated itselfreinstateditself. 

Inside her box, the air grew stiflingly hot, and she began to pant vigorously as the heat seeped into her body. She hadn’t expected it to be so hot.

She felt her crate lurch again, and her ears were filled with the echo of a large space, and strange alien voices calling out to each other. She shrunk back into her box, there must have been hundreds of them…. And now she was a stowaway.

She really hadn’t thought this through. What was she going to eat? What was she going to drink? What would happen if they found her skulking on board the ship without invitation. The creatures had seemed hospitable originally, but that didn’t really mean anything if they thought she was some kind of spy.

Her insides churned a bit as the crate was set down and the voices retreated.

The box continued to gro hotter and hotter.

She tried to wait it out as best she could, but soon, it became to much, and with a gasp of air she threw off the lid of her crate and gasped for fresh air.It was, somewhat fresher than it had been inside the crate, but the heat was still unbearable.

Panting fit to burst, she tripped off her jacket,undershirt, gloves and any other layer she could think of, tossing them into the box.

It was marginally more bearable, but still,she felt as if she could barely breathe.

This was a worse idea she had ever had.

How could she have been so stupid. The creatures were clearly very cold on her planet, what made her think that she would be comfortable in their environment. 

She heard footsteps,and quietly dropped to one knee, still panting.

“You see that place. Frozen hellhole for sure.”

“I wouldn't mind the cold so much, but the place looked like a prison with ice.”

“Hmm if their government leaders knew what they were missing maybe they wouldn’t be so hasty to tell us to shove off.”

A familiar voice broke in with them, “I don’t know, i thought it was kinda cool, like Hoth from star wars.”

“Admiral, haven't we established that you are like…. The only person on this ship who knows what that means.”

“You know what it means.”

“Thats because you forced us into a star wars marathon.”

“You can thank me later.”

There was some grumbling from the group of humans as they passed by, and Yeb finally got a good look at the creatures without all their layers on. They were, surprisingly, a lot thinner than she had first thought, long and lanky in their limbs and really rather bony. The right skin of their faces extended into their arms and necks. From here she could see the small little hairs on their ams though they would be pointless for keeping anyone warm.

But they were powerfully built.

As a biologist, she would have guessed that these creatures were built for a hot desert environment rather than the cold. The thought made her rather uncomfortable. Her home planet had no deserts at all, an the environment was only theoretical based on their observation of other worlds similar in size to their own.

The humans passed by her, leaving her alone.

And, quietly, she moved forward, sneaking through the ship and the warrens of tunnels.

The tunnels were very angular, all of their construction was very angular, ninety degrees or close to ninety degrees.

It was all… odd, and alien, and she found herself lost in the corridors not sure where she was going.

Hot metal was close to burning her feet, sweltering around her.

She felt fent.

Following voice, she peered around the corner and into a large room, where many of the creatures sat together huddled in groups consuming unknown alien food. Behind them, a large viewing window stared out into blackness. She closed her eyes tight and took a deep breath. She felt sick.

It was just so hot.

When no one was looking, she slipped inside and back behind a long countertop and snuck along the side unil….. Until she felt a waft of cold air. She paused and turned her head towards a large silver door. She inched forward and pressed up against it. It was like ice, so cold. In desperation she reached up to the door and popped it open to a waft of freezing air.

In relief, she scampered inside and closed the door behind her sliding to the ground in relief as the biting air rushed through her fur.

She was feeling a little better now, and looking around her, she could see stacks and stacks of crates full of…. strange …. Food?”

She would assume it was food. WIth everything so hot here, they must need a palace to preserve their organic materials from decomposition.

She inched forward across the floor and stuck her head around through some of the crates sniffing at its contents. She would…. Probably be able to eat something here if she was careful about it. She was an omnivore like the creatures, and assumed that they were both based on the same principles of food consumption.

Either way, she was going to figure it out soon to her detriment or not.

This strange frozen storage was going to become her main base of operations, though she did find another location near the medical bay. That one was a little less pleasant though since, from the scientific equipment lying around, she made the correct assumption that they used it to store bodies when someone died aboard the ship.

A morbid thought, but it made sense.

She would stick with hiding in the freezer for the time being.

There Was food there, and no dead people.

From her vantage point sneaking in and out of her hiding space, she was able to watch the creatures from a distance, sure they weren’t putting on a show for her and knowing that their behavior was genuine. As far as she could tell they were social and relatively tame.

They sat in groups, conversed and talked like any one of her people, except maybe a bit more enthusiastically.

They ate together and played games.

And even had the same sort of reactions with other species.

There were a few fuzzy looking aliens that weren’t far off from her species, though they seemed more used to the heat.

Then there were the small scaly creatures, who were just as social, and the large beasts with six arms, towering over even their human counterparts.

From the shadows she watched them as they fought each other with sharpened sticks made from metal their ferocity scaring her as she pressed back into the shadows. 

It was a strange an eclectic place of many different peoples.

She saw religion, and culture and tradition as she watched from the shadows.

But she also saw ferocity, anger, and bitterness on quiet occasions, listening in on moments she knew to be private but could not help but listen in on.

And there was something, strange, about the humans.

She wouldn’t have been able to put into words if asked but…. It seemed as if they were disconnected from themselves, like a driver pilots a machine, one with it but no in the same. It was so strange, the sudden blankness that would come over their faces as if nothing was behind the eyes, especially in quiet moments when they were alone with themselves.

She spent days like this, hours on end watching them from a distance hiding in the freezer when it was dark and spending occasion out in the heat.

She used bags of ice shoved into bags to keep herself cool on these forays as the ship always remained rather hot.

She hoped that, in this way she could survive, worried she would be punished if they found her out.

That was until one day.

One day sitting in the air ducts watching the humans pass by that she heard a sound.

A soft scraping.

She turned her head towards the end of the small maintenance tunnel, just as a figure cme around the corner.

It was small, and furry, and brightly colored, and as soon as it came around the corner it froze and locked eyes with her.

Its ears trembled.

She went to run.

“Run and die.” it said eyes narrowing, and despite how small and fluffy it was, shefroze.

She didn’t know what this thing could do, and it didn’t seem concerned with her.

So, Yeb believed it.

She believed she was going to die.  

[gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights]

Summary:  Marinette had replayed the video enough times. She'd know Adrien's voice saying those three words anywhere. (Set the same day as the episode Felix.  Reveal Fic.  Rated T for kissing, ignores Chat Blanc mostly because my heart can’t take the angst right now.)

~~~

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

“I lo—”

Tikki’s tiny butt sat on the video’s pause button, freezing Adrien’s lips in a perfect o.  

“Marinette, you need to get ahold of yourself.”

Marinette was sure her complexion matched her kwami’s as she dropped her face onto her desk.  “I knoooooow.”

She was being ridiculous.  More ridiculous than usual, anyway.  But something about those words did more than just make her stomach flutter—it felt familiar, though it was probably just from her daydreams.  If he’d told her he loved her before, there was no way she’d forget it.

Her thumb instinctively moved to replay the last five seconds again.  Tikki flew into the small space between her and the phone screen, catching the digit between her arms.

“This is an intervention,” she said in her most authoritative voice.  Considering it was still two octaves higher than the average humans, it shouldn’t have had much effect, but Marinette hated disappointing Tikki.  She was her friend, the only one she could be completely honest with.

And Tikki was pretty good about being honest with her, too.  If the kwami thought Marinette needed an intervention, she was probably right.

“Fine.” Marinette spun in her desk chair, intending to pull out some butcher paper and start drafting a pattern in the few hours before patrol tonight.  It wasn’t likely that Hawkmoth would akumatize two people in one day—or four, considering it had been three for the price of one thanks to Felix’s stunt—but Chat had sounded a little desperate when he asked if they could still meet up.  She hoped he hadn’t planned another impromptu date.  She didn’t know if she could handle that after finding out that yet another one of her plans to confess to Adrien had fallen through, this time through no fault of her own.

Would he have said I love you back to her if it weren’t for his cousin’s interference?  They’d gotten so much closer lately, but…

“I’m not good with jokes.  The girl I’m in love with doesn’t like them, either.”

That she didn’t need a recording to replay.  It was embedded in her memory, like a deep splinter she couldn’t dig out.

He might say he loved her, as a friend.  But beyond that?  She was just setting herself up for disaster.

“Marinette?” Tikki asked.  “Do you need some help with the paper?”

She shook her head, almost whacking it on the desk leg as she scrambled for her supply box beneath.  “No, I got it. You can grab the measuring tape, though.”

She was finally going to mock up the pattern for an airy sundress she’d spent the last week sketching out. Nothing would take her mind off of her troubling love life like the single-minded focus of a personal project.

It worked a little too well, though.  Between drafting each piece, cutting the paper, pinning it to the cheap test fabric, cutting the fabric, pinning the pieces to each other—she barely managed to stop herself from starting the actual sewing when Tikki held up her phone.

On top of a group selfie of her, Adrien, Alya, and Nino, the clock showed 9:29.  Patrol started at 9:30

“Ack!  I’m going to be late!”  She jabbed herself at least ten times getting her pins all back in the pincushion.  Everything else could wait, but she didn’t want to swing in and catch one in her foot later.

“Tikki, spots on!”

By the time she swung across town to the Eiffel Tower, her bugphone read 9:35.  Record time, but still late. So where was…?

“Little kitty on a roof, all alone without his lady…”

The familiar tune was more downcast than Marinette was used to.  Sure enough, when she swung up a few crossbars to Chat Noir’s perch, she caught a flash of his forlorn expression before his usual grin took over.

“Hey there, Bugaboo,” his voice chirped as chipper as ever.  Had she been imagining his earlier mood?  Or maybe he’d just been worried she wouldn’t make it.  Silly kitty.  Regardless of whether or not she returned his feelings, she’d vowed to never stand him up again if she could help it.

“Any trouble on the way over?”  He asked.

“Only with myself,” she admitted, rubbing the still-stinging pads of her fingers.  She probably should’ve put some ointment on them before transforming; the suit irritated the little pricks further.  “Civilian me is still as much of a mess as ever.”

She’d hoped that by dropping non-identifying clues on how much she struggled in her daily life, Chat Noir would see through the perfect illusion he had of her and come to his senses.  Honestly, she should’ve known better.  It hadn’t worked the first ten times she’d tried, and now it only brought a wider smile to his face.

(That wasn’t why she did it, of course.  Even if it warmed her more than she wanted to admit, she only had feelings for one green-eyed blond.)

“The only mess you make is a mess of my heart, my lady,” he said with a wink that had her rolling her eyes.

“How do you even come up with those lines?” She asked with a stifled laugh—at how bad it was, not because he was actually funny. “The internet?”

“I’m paw-fended,” he gasped, claws spread in front of his mouth dramatically.  “I’ll have you know that everything I say is a one-hundred-percent Chat Noir original.”

“Of course.  I should’ve known.  Who else could drop that kind of cheese so seriously?”

“Only because I am serious, Bugaboo,” he reminded her.  As if she could forget.  Bantering back and forth with him was so easy; she hoped she wasn’t accidentally leading him on.  He deserved better than that.

He smiled as he bumped his shoulder against hers.  His voice bared his sincerity as he said, “Hate on my puns all you want.  It won’t change the fact that I love you.”

I love you.

Electricity shot up Marinette’s spine.  No.  No, it couldn’t be— 

I love you.

She’d replayed those words at least a hundred times (two hundred and fifty-three, but who was counting?) in the past day.  She’d memorized his exact inflection, the way he spoke from his heart, even if it was about all their friends and not her alone.  She would recognize his voice saying those three words anywhere.

Anywhere.  Including coming from her ridiculous, pun-loving partner.

“Ladybug?”  Chat scooted away from her, his fingertips digging into the backs of his hands.  “I’m sorry, I—I know you don’t feel the same way, you don’t have to—”

“Adrien?”

He nearly toppled off of the tower. Marinette caught him by the shoulder, holding him in place before he could lose his balance again, or run away, or—she didn’t know what he’d do.  She really should’ve thought this through.  They were supposed to keep their identities secret!  It wasn’t his fault, of course; she imagined if he’d called her Marinette while she was in the suit she would’ve had a much worse heart attack— 

“Who—who’s Adrien?”  Chat forced a grin.

“Oh, no.  You’re not getting out of this that easy.”  She fell deeper into Ladybug mode, still not letting her brain process that—that holy crap this was ADRIEN, Adrien who had just confessed his love to her—to her—!

“Ladybug, please, please don’t freak out, I’m sorry.” It was his turn to grip her shoulders as she tried to breathe.  His acidic green eyes were blown wide, the miraculous transformation hiding his normal soft chartreuse irises.  Still, how could she not have noticed?  It was him it was him it was him and she couldn’t unhear it, couldn’t separate his apologetic voice now from their time at the wax museum when she had almost kissed him and no, now that was even doubly embarrassing because it was CHAT, she’d almost kissed CHAT NOIR— 

“I’m not freaking out!  Why would you think I’m freaking out?”

Her eye twitched.  Her heart just about escaped her ribcage at the soft look of concern her partner was giving her.  Oh, this was bad.  This was very, very bad.

“I know you didn’t want to find out, and I… how did you find out?”  He asked hesitantly.  His hand left her shoulder to rub the back of his neck, and she barely restrained herself from tugging it back.  Or better yet, climbing into his lap and hoping he’d enfold her in his arms.

Bad.  Very, very bad.

“I… well, you see—haha look at the time!”  She sprang up and glanced at her obviously-watchless wrist.  “Looks like we’re too late to patrol tonight.  Oops!  Sorry Ad—Chat!  I’ll have to love you—SEE you later!  Bug out!”

“Ladybug!”  He scrambled to his feet, reaching for her arm before she could grab her yo-yo.  He was Chat and he was Adrien and he was touching her and even through both their suits she felt herself burning.  No, no, she could not be weird with her partner.  Not after she’d turned him down over and over and— 

Part of her wanted to cry.  But Chat—Adrien—had already beaten her to it.

“Please, LB.  Please, don’t go. if you have something against Adrien you can tell me, o-or you can not, but please just… don’t leave me.”  He swallowed hard, his voice thick with the tears already pooling around the lip of his mask.  “Not tonight.”

Tonight.  Today.  The anniversary of Adrien’s mother’s disappearance.

The anniversary of Chat’s mother’s disappearance.

“Oh,” she breathed, feeling like the worst partner—the worst friend in the whole world. She pulled him close, shoving all other traitorous feelings and desires aside, and focused on comforting him.  “I’m so sorry, kitty.  I’m not going anywhere, I just—panicked, that’s all.”

He laughed hollowly.  The sound curdled in her stomach, a sick parody of the cheery sound that usually rang from him.  But he had every right to sound that way, after what he’d been through. His mom was gone and she knew his home life was a wreck and he had so many of his father’s expectations dragging on him, and moonlighting as a superhero on top of that— 

How had he ended up being the carefree one out of their duo?

“You panicked because I broke the number one rule.  I gave myself away somehow.”

“No, chaton.  It’s not your fault.”  She rubbed soothing circles into the small of his back, trying to ignore how she could feel the toned muscles through the leather.  (His suit was much worse for her sanity knowing it was Adrien in it.)  “It’s my fault.  One hundred percent definitely my fault.”

He pulled back enough to stare at her, his head tilted sideways like he really was just an overgrown curious kitty, and her transformation from Ladybug into a puddle-bug seemed all too likely.

“I still don’t know how you did it.  Is this one of those ‘lucky charm’ connections only your brilliant mind can make?”

Marinette giggled into his shoulder, because maintaining eye contact was beyond her physical limit right now.  “Chat, the only brilliant thing about me is how brilliantly stupid I’ve been.”

“I’m still not following, my lady.”  His voice was still a little rough, but no longer dripping with desperation.

She kept up the soothing pattern on his back, just in case.

“I… er…”  There was no good way to say, oh, I recognized your voice because I’ve been listening to you tell me you love me all afternoon, only you weren’t even saying it to me and actually I’m a massive creep and you probably don’t want to be friends with me anymore, let alone be my partner and— 

“Shh, shh, breathe.”

—And now he was comforting her again.  It took her back to the first time they’d met—well, the first time Ladybug met Chat Noir.  She’d been so useless, and he’d been so ready to assure her that she could handle it.  From then on she’d somehow begun to take charge, but without that first push—without him—she’d never have gotten here.

And maybe… maybe leaning on him again wouldn’t be so bad.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her forehead resting against his chest.  He held her tight but refrained from any other soothing motions.  Of course he wouldn’t.  She’d brushed off too many of his physically affectionate gestures before.

“You have nothing to apologize for.”  It was a testament to how serious he was that he didn’t slip in a paw-pun there.  Honestly, she wished he had; she could’ve used the laugh right now.  “I trust you.  I always wanted you to be the first to know my identity, anyway.”

“Chat, I have everything to apologize for.”

She could hardly explain why without giving away her own identity, but she knew it was only a matter of time.  She’d rather have this conversation now than after she’d made a fool of herself—scratch that, she was already making a fool of herself, but it could be worse.  She could accidentally call him Chat in class.  She could boop his nose like she sometimes did as Ladybug.  Or someone could catch her doodling their wedding outfits in her notebook. She was really going to have to stop that, or Alya would wonder why she’d suddenly decided she wanted a “ladynoir” themed ensemble.

Great.  Five minutes into finding out Chat was Adrien, and she was still daydreaming about marrying him!  Get a grip, Marinette!  She hadn’t been this bad around Adrien in months, but connecting him with Chat had short-circuited her brain.  

“I’m not… I’m not like this, as myself.”  She pulled back and gestured down to all of her.  “And I don’t know that you’d still like me if you knew.  You never seemed to before.”

“Are you saying I know you?  Civilian you?”

He didn’t sound surprised.  Had she given herself away, too?  Her spastic reaction earlier did scream “Marinette.”  It wasn’t how she’d dreamed of revealing herself to her partner, but since when did her dreams regarding Adrien ever pan out?

“Yes.  You do.”  She hoped her voice sounded more confident than she felt.  Sure, she was thrilled (and confused and mortified) that Adrien was Chat Noir, but would he feel the same about her identity?

“Can I… can I guess who you are?”  Adrien-Noir asked, his voice fragile as glass.  His hands shook against her back. “If you don’t want me to, I get it, really.  But I… I think I know.  There’s no one else you could be.”

She pulled back, her eyebrows drawn in confusion beneath her mask.  “You’re that certain?  I was so—nevermind. I want to hear it.” Explaining how careful she was to mislead him would only confirm his suspicions, if he was even right.  For all she knew, he thought she was some stranger he knew from fencing or one of his other extracurricular activities.

One of his sly Chat-grins spread across his face.  Normally that would have her worried, but it was a relief to fall back into a familiar pattern.  

(Though how close he leaned in to her ear was new.  And was likely to make her burst like fireworks if she so much as breathed.)

“I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Fire spread through every inch of her.  She jolted in Adrien’s arms, cracking her head against his jaw and making him yelp.

“Sorry!  Oh my—are you kayo—okay?”  She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming.  Adrien said he loved her!  Marinette her!  And then she probably broke his jaw or something—!

“I’m fine—a-at least I think I am, if I was right?  About you being Marinette?”  He rubbed his jaw and smiled hopefully at her.  Yep, she was definitely going to be a puddle-bug.  He’d be scooping her off the side of the Eiffel Tower in a bucket.

She swallowed the giddy laugh bubbling up in her.  “I bet it would be really embarrassing if you weren’t.”

He laughed and scooped her up in a hug that lifted her feet from the metal beam.  “Marinette!  I knew it!”

Pressed close to him, she barely resisted the urge to wrap her legs around his waist and kiss his lips.  He was Adrien and Chat and him, and he was holding her and he loved her!  

The laugh finally escaped, breathless and smitten, as she laced her fingers behind his neck.

“You did.  Somehow.  I was so careful too—you have no idea how hard it is to split yourself and use that many miraculouses at once.  The illusion was perfect though.”  She frowned as she thought back on their fight with Kwamibuster.  “How did you find out?”

“I asked you first.”  He smirked. It was a face he made all the time, it had no right to be so cute now.  It was a just a curve of his lips, of Adrien’s lips—

“If I kissed you, do you think you’d forget about it?”

She slapped her hands over her mouth.  Had she—had she really said that?  To Adrien!?  

“Actually if you could just forget I said that too—”

“Not a chance, Buginette.”

She hadn’t thought his grin could get any wider, but she’d been wrong.  He held her tight, her toes barely brushing the ground. Still, she could escape if she wanted to.   

(She didn’t want to.)

“Chaaaat…”

“Thanks to Oblivio, I forgot the last time you kissed me.  There’s no way I’m forgetting again.”

She flushed as she remembered the picture Alya had taken of them.  Of course, it made sense now—she must have somehow learned Chat’s identity while they were under Oblivio’s influence.  How long had that fight taken?  Did she have a shorter or longer reveal-to-kiss timeframe this time? 

And then the full force of it hit her.  He wanted to kiss her.

Adrien.  Wanted to kiss.  Her.

She lost what little coherent thought she had left as she dug her fingers into his hair and pulled him to her.  Their lips collided roughly, and she felt him gasp before he melted into her.  

From there, it was all a blur.  Some distant part of her mind might have registered how she ended up with her legs wrapped around his hips, how he stumbled back into a crossbeam, how he held her so tightly she might’ve been crushed outside of the suit.  But all of that was faded against the single-minded desire to drown him in the love and desire and everything that she’d kept bottled tight for the past year.

She had no idea how long it was before he pulled back and breathlessly said her name.  “Marinette.”  Those three syllables in that voice had her losing her mind.  She was about to claim his lips again when he turned his head, making her miss and kiss his cheek.  Well.  That wasn’t so bad, either.  She peppered the side of his face, up to the edge of his mask, and he laughed.

“Marinette.  LB.  You can’t hide behind kisses forever.”

“Watch me.”

A kiss to the shell of his ear.  His nose. The sliver of his neck that wasn’t covered by his suit— she felt his legs wobble a little at that one.

“...I stand corrected.”

She giggled at the completely smitten look on his face.  She’d put that there.  Of course, Chat had looked at Ladybug that way before, but the fact that it was also Adrien beaming at her, knowing she was Marinette… All the puzzle pieces finally fit together, grooves sliding into place just as perfectly as she fit in his arms.

“Two can play at that game, Bugaboo.”

Oh.  Oh.  Sure, they’d practically been making out seconds ago, but the soft kisses he now littered across her jaw somehow felt even more intimate.  Their first kiss had been desperate.  These were slower, like he had all the time in the world—and they did.

He wasn’t going anywhere.  He loved her.

She practically groaned in disappointment when he finally lowered her back to the ground.  

Adrien just laughed.  “I had no idea you were so clingy, Princess.”

“I’m not clingy,” she pouted, stepping back from him to prove it.  “But if you think I am, fine.  See if you get any more kisses.”

Three whole coherent sentences.  Wow. After kissing Adrien, she expected to be a stuttering mess, but she was actually finding it easier to channel her Ladybug confidence.  Maybe it was the fact that for the first time, she knew he was as crazy about her too.

“Hey, hey, I never said that was a bad thing.”  He squeezed her tight again, a slight purr rumbling in his chest before he coughed.  

“I think we all know who’s the clingy one, anyway.”  She said, scratching the spot behind his ear until she coaxed another purr from him.  Bad idea.  She couldn’t spend all her time with her lips locked to his.

“Whatever you say, Marinette.”  His tail curled around her.  “So… as mind-meltingly amazing as kissing you was, I think I still remember a certain question I had.”

How she found out his identity.  Right. This had to be the biggest whiplash for him—her literally turning him down last week just to turn around and practically jump him. (Not that he was complaining, obviously.)

She bit her lip.  Lying to him would be impossible, even if she wanted to.  She’d promised a long time ago that she would never lie to him… except for when she had to hide her identity, but that was because Master Fu would want to reclaim their miraculouses if they revealed themselves.

...Which they just had.  Her gut twisted at that realization, which had been lost in her earlier excitement.  But Fu couldn’t just take their miraculouses, right? He was training her to be the Guardian.  Plus, after their fight with Feast, Marinette hoped he would know better.  

She was Ladybug.  Adrien was Chat Noir.  No one else could replace them—not to Paris, and not each other.  

She could deal with Fu.  But dealing with Adrien knowing just how obsessed she was?  That was a different terror entirely.

“Fine,” she sighed.  “It’s really, really embarrassing though.  You’re… probably going to think I’m a creep, honestly.”

Adrien blinked when she glanced up at him through her eyelashes, not daring to watch him directly.  “I won’t judge you, I paw-mise.”

She dropped her head in her hands and stifled a giggle.  At least they were back to puns.  She never thought she’d be grateful for that, but it eased her nervousness.

“You know how you, uh, sent a video to our class today?  To reply to the videos you never saw?”

“Yeah?  What about it?”

“Well… err…”  She was sure her face was challenging the shade of her suit, but he just blinked innocently.  “I may have… singled out the part… where you said, um…”

He was still waiting patiently.

“I took the part where you said ‘I love you’ and replayed it two hundred and fifty-three times.”

She wanted to shove her fist in her mouth.  She wasn’t going to lie, but she didn’t have to be that honest!

Chat stared.  Blinked.

...And doubled over laughing.

Well, this was it.  At least she’d gotten to kiss him once, right?  Hopefully he could forget this enough for them to still work together, because she’d never forgive herself if she ruined their partnership and Hawkmoth got their miraculouses because of it— 

“You—I can’t believe it.”  His arms had fallen while he laughed, but now he pulled her in again, practically crushing her to his chest.  “And here I thought I was the crazy one.”

“Please kill me,” she groaned.

“Never.”  He said with a kiss to her temple that shot lightning across her skin.  “I’m keeping you forever, Bugaboo.  No takebacks.”

“That doesn’t even make any sense.” She paused, searched his eyes for any trace of hesitance.  If anything, he looked giddier than ever.  “You’re not mad?  Or… weirded out?”

“Marinette, I play with action figures of us.  Sometimes they kiss.  I really have no room to talk.”

She gaped up at him.  The image of Adrien making toy versions of themselves kiss—okay, she had to cackle too, because it was too insane to process otherwise. They really were made for each other.

“You do have to promise me one thing, though,” he said, his voice sobering.

“What?” She asked before her brain could start catastrophizing again.

“You have to let me say I love you at least two hundred fifty-four times.  I can’t be beat out by a video of myself.”

He—he was serious.  Right when she was thinking it was impossible to love him any more, he said things like that.

“That’s a lot of times.”

“I guess I’d better get started then, huh?”

She punched his arm lightly and ignored how much she really really wanted to let him do just that. (Maybe with a few more kisses sprinkled between.) 

“Not yet, chaton.  You still have to tell me how you recognized me.”

“Technically I don’t think you finished,” he pointed out, to which she rolled her eyes.

“I’d heard you say ‘I love you’ so many times, I recognized your voice.  That’s all.”

“I would’ve told you I loved you as Adrien a long time ago if it would’ve made you see it.”  He chuckled.  “I wish I had a story like that.  I didn’t know for sure, I just thought… well, Marinette and Ladybug are the two most amazing girls I know, and… I think I hoped it was you more than anything.”

The soft grin on his face threatened to send her melting again.  He’d wanted her to be the girl he loved.  Of course his epiphany had come over something so sweet, rather than her completely embarrassing story.  

“That still doesn’t explain how you saw through me being Multimouse and Ladybug,” she said.  “You really do think with your heart more than your head, don’t you?”

“One of us has to.”  He winked, and she hid a lovestruck smile.  She couldn’t give him the satisfaction of melting at everything he did.  He was still her silly kitty, after all.  “I know it looked impossible, but if anyone could pull off the impossible, it’s you.”

She could pull off the impossible, which right now included resisting the urge to kiss him senseless again.

“You’re the one who’s impossible,” she said with a flick to his bell.  

“And you can pull me off anytime,” he blurted before covering his mouth.  “Uh.”

“Adrien, that doesn’t even make sense,” she said for the second time in the past five minutes.

His face flushed.  “I can’t be at the top of my flirting game all the time.  I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything, to be honest.  The cheesy pick up lines are kind of a coping mechanism.  Not that I’m upset, I’m not!  I’m so, so happy—It’s just—it’s a lot.”

“It is a lot,” she agreed, slipping out of his embrace to sit on the cold metal of the tower.  “Come on, sit with me.  Paris can take care of itself for one night.”

He grinned and plopped down beside her, hesitating only a moment before enfolding her in his arms.

“Thank you.  This means the world to me.”  He kissed the top of her head.  “Today was… well, you know. A year ago today my mom disappeared. I’m doing alright, much better than Father is, but still...”  He slumped against her, his chin resting on her shoulder, their cheeks brushing.  “It’s why I wanted to be with you tonight.  And then everything else—well, it’s better than I could’ve imagined.”

She was afraid it had been too much for him, dealing with their identities at such a sensitive time, but he did look much more relaxed now.  Despite his cousin’s earlier interference, she had managed to help him anyway.  That was the most important thing.

“I’m glad I could help.  I actually tried to tell you in the video Felix deleted… but I love you, Adrien.  And I’ll always be here if you need me.” 

He turned his face so their foreheads rested against each other, filling her vision with his bright green eyes.  The hopeful glow in them could’ve put all of Paris’s lights to shame.

“You love me?”

His breath ghosted over her lips, mingled with her laugh.  She’d said it.  She’d finally said it.

“Of course, minou.  What, did you think I kissed you because we’re just friends?”

“That happened?”  He blinked in fake innocence.  “I don’t know, I think Oblivio might have hit me while you weren’t looking.  You might have to kiss me again.”

She rolled her eyes, but she could only do the impossible for so long.  Their noses bumped as she kissed him long and soft and slow.  Could she ever get used to this?  Each kiss left her soaring higher than the last.

They broke apart giggling and flushed before Chat shyly asked a question.

“Did you mean it when you said you’ll always be here if I need you?  I can be a very needy kitty.”  His voice was all Chat Noir, but his face was the soft, open expression she was used to seeing from Adrien.  

He was worried about that?  But then, there were so few other people in his life who were just there, she realized.  No wonder he had coveted attention from Ladybug for so long.

“Always, Adrien,” she said softly.  “I know I can’t fix everything. Especially about your mom.”  She cupped his face in her hands.  “But being here?  That’s easy.  Never feel bad about needing that.”

“That’s all I want,” he breathed.  “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

He wrapped her in his arms again, and she hugged him back just as tightly.

“Me too, kitty.  Me too.”

[imanativeofswlondondahling]

Becoming A Stark (19)- Peter Parker x Stark!femReader

Word Count: 2352

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of horrible parenting

Author’s Note: Y/M/I= Your Middle Initial

Chapter One || Previous Chapter || Master List

Walking back through the front door, you’re hoping you can get back up the stairs without your dad spying you, but apparently your luck has run out. “Y/N Y/M/I Stark, living room now.” Your dad’s voice is stern, but not as harsh as you expect it to be. You take a breath before walking into the living room. Both Tony and Pepper are waiting for you, which shouldn’t really surprise you since it’s almost six on a Wednesday night, but still, a disappointed or angry talk from both of them is going to be worse than if only from one of them. Your dad is pacing the living room, while Pepper is just sitting on the couch. “Sit.” He points towards the couch. Pepper rolls her eyes at your dad’s mood, but pats the seat next to her. 

“Hello to you too.” You tease only slightly as you sit down next to her. 

“Hi sweetheart.” She says having not seen you since this morning.

“We can do niceties later. Right now we’re dealing with the bullshit that is her running off and telling FRIDAY not to tell me where she went, not telling Happy where she went, and oh right not telling her parents where she went.” 

“But we aren’t going to talk about how you were in a shit mood and decided to take it out on me? I’m the only one in the wrong here? That’s some real bullshit Tony.” You call him by his real name, not feeling like he’s acting much like a father right now. “You keep acting like it’s a huge threat being your kid, but honestly, I think you just like being controlling more than anything else. You lock me up in a tower like a Disney Princess, choose what I’m allowed to eat, where I’m allowed to go, and who I’m allowed to be friends with. I don’t think you ever wanted a kid. You wanted a robot you could control. Well guess what? I’m not a fucking robot. I’m a human being, with feelings and emotions. And what I’m feeling right now is that I’m done with your bullshit.” You scream at him before storming out of the room.

“Couldn’t have kept your cool for two minutes Tony?” Pepper asks, looking off in the direction you ran away.

“Me? Did you not hear her monologue attacking my entire personality? Apparently I’m no better than Howard so…” Tony shouts before storming off towards the garage. Pepper knows that there are two hotheads in her life, but seeing as Tony is most likely going for a drive, she’ll tackle you first. 

Pepper knocks on your door, waiting to hear the reply that never comes. So she opens the door to see you curled up under your blankets, headphones plugged in, staring at the ceiling. Pepper sees the same stubbornness she’s seen from Tony time and time again. Making her way across the room, she sits on the edge of your bed. You try to not make eye contact with her for a few moments, but eventually pull your headphones out and look her in the eyes.

“I’m not coming down to apologize.”

“He’s not even down there right now.” Your eyebrows pull together as you take in what she said. “Like father, like daughter. He stormed out of the room a few moments after you did.”

“Was that when he was yelling? Something about Howard?” You ask. Pepper doesn’t know how much you know about your grandparents, but it’s clear you heard at least some of what your dad yelled, so she nods her head. “When he’s talking about Howard, he means my grandfather, right? His father?” Pepper nods slowly. It’s not really her story to tell you. “Was my grandfather a bad person?” You ask before adding, “No one will tell me about him.”

“Your dad and him didn’t see eye to eye. It really should be your dad to tell you the story.”

“That’s what Aunt Nat told me too.”

“But, what I can tell you, is your dad loves you very much. Is he overprotective at times? Very. But does he love you? Very much. However the two of you are more similar than you are different. And that comes out in your tempers more than anything.” Pepper runs a hand over your leg. 

After cooling off, you decide to get your homework over with. You don’t have that much for a Wednesday anyway. It takes you barely an hour and you end up on your bed, scrolling through social media and texting Peter and friends, when a noise interrupts your music. 

Tony knocks on the door, opening it slightly. “Can I come in kiddo?”

“Are you coming in to yell at me again?” You ask, not looking up from your phone, not wanting to look at your dad yet.

“No.” He opens the door more, walking towards you. He notes the sweatshirt you’ve put on- a black shirt with white writing that reads ‘I Suck At Apologies So Unfuck You Or Whatever’. “Pepper was right that I should have kept my cool earlier instead of yelling at you when you got home.” Tony wants to sit on your bed, like he’s done a thousand times, but decides to sit on your desk chair instead, so that he doesn’t invade your space entirely. 

“Yeah, well according to Pepper, we’re both hotheads.” You say, not disagreeing with him, but not agreeing either.

“Sounds like something we both got from our pops.” He says, not letting anything else out. You want to ask more about the grandfather you don’t know, but you know it’s not the time for it. “Can we try having a civil conversation about everything now? Or we can have Pep come be a mediator if we need it?”

“I think we can be calm if we try?” You suggest.

“I’m not trying to make your life a living hell.” Tony says after a moment of thinking. You set your phone down and turn to look at him, sitting cross legged. “I promise you that. And I’m sorry. I know it feels like I have a bunch of rules but I’m trying to do the best for you and by you. Part of it is about your safety. That’s the parts that may not seem like a ton of fun and we had a conversation about it when you first moved in. If I could change it to be less strict and more fun I would. But I’m literally being the least strict I can be while still ensuring your safety.”

“Really?”

“Really. The food stuff, maybe,” he grimaces, “we can try and be a little more lenient. But I’m also trying to ensure that you have stuff that’s going to make your blood sugar good. So can we try to come up with a compromise on everything?” You nod. “And on the friends, the only people I keep away are the ones who could be safety issues. Normal humans, that’s on you to decide who you want to be friends with. And I shouldn’t have taken my frustrations about Peter out on you. But, the biggest thing, I one hundred percent want you, just the way you are. I don’t want a robot. If I did, I’d make another one. I have plenty as is. But you? I love having you. And I wouldn’t change who you are.” You stare at him for a moment, not sure what to say. “Did I miss any part of what you were mad about?” 

You try and think back to what all you yelled at him, and what he yelled at Pepper before leaving. “You didn’t miss anything, but I’m sorry too.” Tony looks at you in confusion. “I wasn’t trying to attack who you are-”

“Ah, you heard me yelling at Pep.”

“Maybe I did, but I did honestly attack who you were which wasn’t fair to you either.”

“Maybe not. But also I was still pissed off when I was yelling at her. Which gives me another person I need to apologize to, because let’s be honest, I don’t deserve her.”

“She’s the best you’ll ever get.” You say honestly.

“Very true.” Tony agrees. “But, I should have just removed myself from the situation instead of saying anything.”

“We both should have.” You can’t help but admit.

“True.” Tony walks over to you to give you a hug. “Even though we’re apologizing, I do have to tell you, you are grounded. One month.”

“Yeah, you told me on the phone.” You lean into his hug, but bite the bullet and ask the question that no one is willing to answer. “Dad?”

“Yeah kiddo?”

“Why will no one talk about your dad?” You feel your dad stiffen, but then he takes a deep breath as he pulls away from the hug. 

“Well I should have expected this to come up eventually. Who all mentioned him?”

“Well you mentioned him earlier, but Pepper did because I asked and Aunt Natasha did a while ago.”

“Well, it’s kind of a long story. You sure you want it?” You nod. “Ok, then scootch over.” You slide to the left of your bed and your dad sits down, wrapping an arm around you. “My dad was older when he had me. He was uh... fifty two when I was born. And he was of an older generation. So when I was growing up, he tended to be somewhat harsher. He didn’t believe in praise and tended to live by the motto that ‘Stark men have iron in their veins’. Made for harder times trying to impress him or just having him show affection. Growing up it was easy to feel like my father never wanted me, or that I was nothing more than a name to carry on the Stark legacy. As time went on, nothing I did was ever good enough. How could it be, when he helped create Captain America? All I heard growing up was Captain America this and Captain America that and it was easy to believe that Captain America was the one that could have been a better son for my dad, even though they were only a year apart.”

“So did your mom not step in?”

“Mom believed that Dad was showing his love in the ways that he knew how to. She showed her love in the ways she could. Which was better than Dad. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t have her faults either.”

“So did you just disown him as a father or something? Is that why I haven’t met them?”

“They’re, uh, dead. They were killed when I was seventeen.” You look up at your dad’s face, looking for hurt or something but seeing not much of anything. “Mom would have loved you. Would have told me I was getting all the karma for all the years of partying by having a daughter that I now need to protect from all the boys and girls out there.”

“And your dad?”

“I can’t say. I’d want to say he’d see you and hopefully see past his past mistakes, but I can’t promise you that. But I know your grandmother would have loved you- just the way you are.”

“Can I ask you something else?”

“You can ask me anything, always.”

“When Aunt Nat was telling me about him, it was because she was telling me about your reaction about finding out about me. I wanted to know back when I first moved in. And she said you didn’t want to be like Howard.”

“I’m waiting for the question kiddo.”

“Well and then earlier you yelled at Pepper that you were no better than Howard.”

“Again, still no question.”

“What did I say that made you feel like you were no better than him?”

“Kiddo, we both already said that we said things we probably shouldn’t have-”

“You said you’d answer anything-”

“I said you could ask anything. Never said I’d answer it.” Tony says jokingly, trying to let humor cover the stuff he doesn’t usually talk about.

“Dad, please?”

“Fine. Um, Howard was always really controlling growing up. He made decisions about whether I was allowed to go places, who were the right kind of friends, and other things along the same lines. Honestly if I hadn’t gone off to college at 15, I don’t know if I would have gotten out from being under his thumb so early.  That’s not to say that others didn’t try to take his place after his death but still. When you said I was treating you like you were supposed to be a robot I could control instead of a human, it reminded me of too many fights I had with him and Mom.” You can’t help but wrap your arms around him and hug your dad tightly. 

“I really didn’t mean those ones. You’re honestly a really good dad. And you and Pepper show me all the time that I’m loved. Far from a robotic situation.” You try to eat the words you spat out earlier, knowing you can’t take back words once they’re said. 

“You might not say that once I take Homecoming away.”

“I honestly wasn’t even sure if I was going to go. I haven’t been asked to go. Plus it’s the same weekend of all the moving stuff so Happy will probably be dealing with all of that so,” you shrug, “just seems like a busy enough weekend already.”

“Then I guess taking it away is pointless. However, if you go anywhere without Happy again, the forehead of security will be a 24/7 thing, not just a to and from school thing, got it?”

“Ok, ok. I get it.” He pulls you in close for another hug.

“Did you two kiss and make up?” Pepper asks from the doorway.

“We’re all better.” You say, still leaning into your dad’s arms.

“Good, because dinner is ready, and I wasn’t going to let the two of you continue your fight at the table.”

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