#she wasn’t like a KAREN or whatever but it was so strange… | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

petertingle-yipyip · 2 years

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DEVIL ON MY SHOULDER - MATT MURDOCK

eight - i’ve had enough

tags: @ironprincessstranger @americaarse @dusstory @johnmurphys-sass @astrobees // seven // nine // masterlist

Pairing: Daredevil x Exodus (Matt Murdock x Reader)

Word Count: 11,539

Summary: The magnetism that is Matt Murdock is hard to ignore, especially in tender moments that seemed to be few and even further between. But maybe - just maybe - there’s enough spark to rekindle a flame.

“Tepper’s dead.” Karen said as you answered her call, having just sat down with dinner.

“First Reyes and now Tepper… The connections to Frank make sense but… Did you see anything?”

“No, Ellison went in.”

“You’re doing this with the Bulletin editor?”

“Yeah, that’s where I-“

“Karen, are you serious?” You scoffed. “You’re doing this - the biggest case of the century and something I’m very deeply involved in - through the goddamn paper?”

“No, Ellison isn’t- He’s not like that, okay? He’s not just some nosy reporter. I trust him.”

“Have you mentioned anything about her?”

“No… No, I promise.”

You sighed heavily.

“Alright… What did Ellison see?”

“A lot of bullets and a lot of blood..”

“If it was Frank, it would’ve been cleaner. He doesn’t need to make a mess if it's only one person unless that one person was going after him at the same time. Given the way Tepper broke in court, I doubt he had the balls to try and fight back and Frank wouldn’t risk people like you and me getting hurt either.”

“You think someone’s trying to frame him?”

“Frame him to find him. Good way to flush somebody out.. I’m gonna see if I can find Daredevil. Maybe he can help if he’s not busy with whatever else he’s doing. What are you gonna do now?”

“Uh, I’m gonna head to my place and get some of the Castle files that I have so I can look at them with Ellison.”

You sighed deeply.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” You said simply rather than arguing. “Call me if you get into trouble.”

You hung up and dumped your empty plate into your sink. You called Daredevil as you got changed. Though he wasn’t necessarily happy to hear from you, he told you where he was. You hurried out to meet with him but when you got there, you were surprised to see him without his helmet and it caused your steps to falter.

You saw the truth. You couldn’t run from it anymore and while your heart sank, you felt some strange sense of relief.

Matt was Daredevil.

And while it was completely insane, it felt right. The morality, the sense of duty to the people of the Kitchen. Fighting beside him was still a wildly foreign concept but at the end of the day, maybe some part of you always knew it. Given how comfortable it was to be with Daredevil, how easy it was to trust him and count on him.

“…incubate the substances in their systems.” Claire had

told him as you approached. She turned quickly when she heard your footsteps and sighed in relief. “Jeez, you scared the hell outta me.”

“Sorry.” You smiled sheepishly. “Why do I feel like I missed something major?”

“I’ll fill you in later.” Matt waved a hand. “I just… We could’ve stopped this, Ex. If we hadn’t been-“

“Stop that.” Claire said firmly. “You did stop it.”

“Not soon enough.”

“C’mon, Red.” You tried, moving closer. “There’s doctors and police and labs down there that are helping them, too. I don’t know what I missed but I know that you did something good here. You’ve always done something good, even if it annoys me. But you’ve got to learn the fate of this city is not completely on your shoulders.”

“Nobu’s gonna find out where we are. And I wanna be here when he does.”

“Nobu?” You brows furrowed. “I thought he burned to death. I saw it. I- I did it.”

“I thought so, too… But we were wrong.” He sighed and crossed the roof to stand in front of you. He took your hands in his and held tightly. “Ex, I’m flailing here. A guy I witnessed burned to death is somehow back. And then Frank Castle kills the DA and Fisk runs the prison we sent him to.”

“I heard about the shootings. I don’t think it was Frank… I worked with the guy a little, remember? It doesn’t make sense.” You shrugged.

“You were right.” Matt ran a hand over his face. “Everything I do just gets undone. The law feels useless.”

“And I have to patch up the same three crackheads every night.” Claire added and you smiled slightly.

“I’m done… No more law. No more friends. At best, they’re a distraction.”

“Stop that.”

“At worse, I put them in jeopardy.”

“You’re not gonna do that.” You shook your head. “You can’t, Devil Boy.”

“Why the hell not?” He snapped.

“Because of Y/N!” You shouted suddenly, surprising even yourself with the outburst. “Because you can’t let her go. And deep down, you know you shouldn’t.”

“You don’t even know her.” He scoffed slightly.

“I do… Better than you think. She needs you, same as you need her. Listen, I’ve done the whole ‘me against the world, I don’t need anybody’ type of bullshit. You wanna know what you’ll find? You’ll find that being lonely is a hell of a lot worse than having someone to worry about. Because if you end up dead in a ditch, at least you’ll know someone will remember you.”

“From now on, I need to focus.” He said simply.

“You’ll end up like me, like the one person you’re so terrified to be like.” You used the hand he still held to pull him closer. You took your hand away and gently placed your hands on either side of his face. “You’ll become exactly what you want to protect this place from. Don’t do that…”

He sighed and closed his eyes as he nodded. It was by no means an agreement to what you said, but it was an understanding. He understood your point and appreciated your concern, appreciated your willingness to talk him off the ledge he felt he was on - and you liked that you didn’t need your abilities to do it. Even when he felt like he had nothing, like no one was on his side and he was alone, he somehow had you.

The moment was interrupted when your implant pinged. You stepped away and let Claire talk to him while you answered.

“Hey.” You said simply.

“You busy?” Frank asked, clearly in a hurry.

“Little bit… What’s going on?”

“You need to get to Karen’s.”

“What? She’s grabbing some papers… What do you know?”

“You with Red or something? Why you talkin’ like that?”

“Can you answer my question first? Cause I have a whole list you need to answer so let’s start with that.”

“I didn’t shoot you, if that’s what you wanna ask.” He said, annoyance clear in his words.

“You know who did?”

“Maybe I could actually talk to you about it if you’d shut up and get your ass over here.”

“You’re a very annoying individual, you know that?”

“Yeah. You’re no cake walk to deal with either, Princess.”

“Can’t you call me Ex like everyone else?” You rolled your eyes, though you wore a small smile.

“Like your little boyfriend you mean.” He chuckled.

“Annoying.”

“Besides you got all mopey last time I called you that.”

“Cause I thought it was the last time I was gonna see your dumbass. But you’re like a zit. You just keep coming back even when you think it’s gone.”

“Yeah, yeah. You coming or not, huh? Or you wanna just talk shit all night?”

“Yeah.. Yeah, I’m on my way.”

You ended the call and went back to Matt’s side as Claire headed in. She waved to you and you smiled back. You wondered, only for a moment, if she remembered who you were.

“I have to go… Do you want to come with me?” You tried gently.

“I have to stay here. In case, Nobu-“

“In case Nobu finds them… I don’t know what I missed. But my suggestion would be to find out more about the Hand before you try to charge into a war against them on your own”.

“You mean Elektra.” He scoffed lightly.

“Or the old man.” You shrugged and put a hand on his shoulder, finding that he reached over to cover it with his own almost instantly. “Either way… If you need help, you can still call me. You may not want friends but everyone needs an ally.”

“Shouldn’t you be worried about finding Frank?”

“Everything in due time.” You said simply and, despite knowing better, stood up on your toes to put a kiss to his cheek. “Take care, Devil.”

You turned to step away but he quickly grabbed your hand. There was no hesitation in his movements as he spun you back around to face him, taking your face in both hands and kissing you quickly. The kiss was sudden but you felt so much emotion being poured into you. Something about it, you knew it was more than Daredevil kissing Exodus. It was Matt kissing Y/N, and it nearly made your knees buckle.

“Come back to me in one piece, okay?” He asked softly, taking a second to rest his forehead against yours.

“Haven’t failed you yet, have I?”

He smiled tightly before you took off, taking the quickest route you could manage to get to Karen’s. You hurried through the halls of her building, not worrying about who you ran through. You met with Frank on her floor, a few doors away from the posted officers.

“What am I doing here?” You asked quietly, dropping your accent for the conversation.

“You look like hell.” He mocked and you smacked his arm.

“I just ran from Metro-General, that’s why.” You reasoned.

“New suit?”

You were surprised he had noticed. You had changed up your boots to get rid of the reflective strips. You took off the additional thigh holsters and added a few extra slots to your belt for your knives. Getting rid of the bulky knee pads, you opted for the sleeker knee sleeves and sewed them to the pants. You took the cloak off your suit and attached it to the top from Matt. It was a subtle way of trying to combine your past with your future, your beginning to your potential. The killer with the vigilante.

“Yeah.. Kinda.” You shrugged.

“Looks good.”

“So you can be nice?” You teased and he made a noise of amusement.

“And you can be annoying.”

“You wanna tell me why I’m here?”

“To punch a cop.” He smiled slightly.

You hummed slightly and woke your Bite, only a blue glow. Together, you and Frank hurried down the hall. You took one officer while Frank took the other. It was easy enough to get your Bite against his throat and shock him hard enough to knock him out, while Frank did his the old fashioned way.

“Karen?” You called as you stepped into her apartment, only to find her pointing a gun at you. “Woah, woah. Relax.”

Before she answered, her attention focused behind you.

“Hands on your head, Frank.” She said tightly.

You glanced behind you and saw your friend coming slowly into her apartment until he stood beside you. Karen hadn’t dropped her gun.

“I mean it.”

“It wasn’t me.” Frank said instead.

“Karen.” You said firmly, trying to push her fear down but it was so intense that it refused to budge. You’d have to make it obvious if you wanted it to work. “You know as well as I do that it wasn’t him.”

“Hands on your head or I will unload this thing, I swear to Christ!” She insisted as she came closer.

“Karen!”

“Okay.” Frank agreed and lifted his hands.

“You too.” She turned to you.

“I- What? What did I do?” You said quickly.

“Just do it.” She nudged her gun towards you.

You sighed loudly and lifted your hands. You scowled at her as you did, pausing halfway as you caught a glimpse of a green light shining through her window.

“You see that?” You asked Frank quietly.

“Yeah..”

You dropped to your knees quickly and pushed yourself across the floor as Frank covered Karen. You knelt over them both, ensuring any stray bullets would hit you - preferably in the plates in your shirt. Once the bullets stopped, your focus was immediately on getting Karen out.

“C’mon.” You grumbled as you helped her up. “You gotta move. And stay low.”

“Believe me now?” Frank mumbled as he helped her.

“I believe you. I believe you.” She said quickly as she headed out.

Frank was right behind her but you hung back for a second. You peaked through the window to where the bullets came from but you saw nothing, only a blur of a silhouette taking off. You cursed silently before hurrying to catch up.

As you were running with them, your implant sounded off. You stopped immediately, having a feeling for what it was.

“Hmm?”

“They’re here.” Matt said quickly.

“How much time do we have?”

“As much as we’re gonna get.”

“I’m coming.” You ended the call and reached to stop Frank. “I have to go. Take care of her and I’ll meet with you as soon as I can. You and I have a better chance to find him together so don’t do anything without me.”

“Wait, you’re leaving?” Karen asked in a panic.

“I have to. I’m sorry.” You said honestly before turning to Frank. “Don’t let anyone hurt her.”

“I won’t.” He nodded. “Don’t get yourself killed.”

And then you were gone, running through the Kitchen yet again to get back to Metro-General. You knew the fight would likely be well underway by the time you got there, but maybe Matt called you with enough time. Maybe it wouldn’t be too late. You could see the figures scaling the building as you approached, not really sure if you were glad you were in time or not.

“You made it.” He said, clearly surprised though he smiled.

“Ran all the way across the Kitchen for this… Stay on the roof and try to slow them down.” You told Matt as you headed for the door. “I’ll get to their floor and work from there. Meet with me when you get a gap or if you hear me call for you.”

“Exodus?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” You mumbled. “FYI… I’m not pulling my punches.”

“Just do what you can to keep them away from those patients.”

You hurried into the stairwell, hopping down levels until you reached where you needed to be. You only figured it out because your mask helped you see Claire heading that way. You pulled a knife quickly and headed in the same direction she went. As you approached, you saw three Hand members across from Claire and another nurse. You tapped your implant and slid your finger over the scar to shift the connection to the microphone you gave Matt a while back. You could only hope he still had it.

You flung your knife quickly, the blade whizzing past Claire and into the first Hand soldier’s forehead. You ran forward, gently pushing Claire and her coworker out of the way. You heard the sets of feet behind you and kept a mental tally.

Six so far. One down. Five left.

You stopped only to grab the sword from the fallen ninja. You rotated the blade quickly to get a feel before glancing around, finding yourself surrounded.

“Can you hear me up there, Devil Boy?” You spoke quietly as a smirk grew on your lips. You had to admit, you were a bit excited. “I’ve got six. One down already.”

You heard three blades unsheath as your grip tightened. You stood tense, ready to move, deciding if you wanted to strike first. But the Hand made that decision.

The three swords came at you at once. You spun and knocked each blade away in turn until your back hit the opposite wall. You had to lift the blade quickly across your chest to block two incoming attacks. The third came for your stomach so you pushed the first two away and spun to your left, swinging the blade with you to slice his dominant hand off and his sword clattered to the floor.

You saw another Hand coming at you from the corner of your eye so you landed a quick side kick to the now amputee ninja and sent him landing on his teammate’s blade. The flail of his limbs resulted in the tip of his blade dragging across your shin as it went down.

“Two down. How you doing?” You asked through heavy breaths, getting no answer.

You growled in annoyance but jumped back into your fight. You attacked first this time, cutting a sharp line from the right side that the Hand stepped back from. You used the momentum to spin you into another attack, this time from above. His blade came up just in time to block but you used his focus on your blade to your advantage. You hooked your foot behind his lead ankle and yanked his foot out from under him. As he fell to his knees, his blade slipped and allowed yours to drop into the crook of his neck. With whatever strength he had left, he pulled a sai from behind his back and swung it at your face.

It caught your cheek and left two burning lines in its wake. You kicked at his chest hard and the blade sliced the base of his throat and you were splattered with a spurt of blood.

“Halfway… Be nice to hear from you!” You complained loudly while you aggressively wiped the blood from your cheek with your sleeve. You knew it would look like you were talking to no one.

The sick thought that maybe you were hit you hard.

The idea distracted you long enough for a blade to hit your stomach from the side. Thanks to the protection from Matt, it only knocked your breath out for a moment. You coughed roughly - feeling the crack in your ribs - and staggered back.

You practically dove to the wall to avoid the next hit. With a deep breath in, you attacked again. The blades collided as you two countered everything the other threw at each other until you had enough. You side-stepped a sharp thrust and tossed your blade up to switch hands. You reached across your body and caught his right wrist, using the blade in your right hand to drive it through his chest. You kicked out at his stomach, which sent him falling through the window.

The hand on his wrist loosened until you felt the grip of his blade. You tightened your hand as he fell so you took over the blade. You held it tightly in both hands and turned, driving the blade into another Hand member. You swept the legs at the same time and drove the blade down as you knelt over the fifth body.

Looking up, you saw the last one trying to guide a small, frail looking group out. You quickly realized that’s who Matt was trying to protect. You ditched the sword and ran forward, slowing only to grab your knife from the man’s forehead.

You quickly ran after them, throwing the blade at his back. It landed with a wet thud into his spine and you hesitated to admire your accuracy when an arm landed around your neck. You were yanked back, feet constantly slipping on the puddles of blood so you couldn’t get any traction. You slammed your Bite against their arm and fired, but they didn’t react. Instead, they tightened the grip on your throat and lifted a knee to hit the bottom of your back. You were yanked side to side to disorient you before you were thrown from the window.

You screamed as you fell, trying to aim your wire at anything that would support it. But you couldn’t find anything. Your brain couldn’t process any strong spots with how fast you were going down. Your eyes closed tightly as you braved to hit the ground, hoping there was some miracle left to cheat death yet again.

Before you knew it, an arm was around your waist and you were crashing through a different window. You landed with a loud groan and an echoing shatter. You felt the sharp sting of glass shards threatening to puncture your suit. And if that rib wasn’t cracked before, it definitely was after that. Your head bounced on your landing, a sick smack as your skull collided with the tile flooring. You felt a few cuts on your face and neck and you figured there’d be nice bruises to go along with it.

“Thanks for the save..” You said quietly, reaching for who you could assume was Matt.

He was quick to come to your aid and you felt his hand on your side. Gently, his hand skimmed your body and brushed the glass away. A small whimper left you when he got to your rib and he muttered an apology.

“I have to… to get back.” You mumbled after he helped you to sit up. You tried to get up but the screaming pain in your ribs made you collapse. “I told them I’d go back.”

“You can’t go anywhere like this.” He insisted.

“I gave them my word.” You tried but his hands were firmly around your arms to keep you back.

“I’m fine, just-“

“No, Exodus. You’re not leaving.” He said firmly. “Just… Stay with me. Please…”

You struggled against him, only for a moment before your whole body collapsed against him. You groaned at the pain but ultimately gave in to his request to stay.

“Why’d you pick me?” You asked honestly.

“What do you mean?”

You shifted against him so you could see his reaction.

“It was between me and those people… Heroes are supposed to save the majority but you didn’t. You picked me. Why?”

“I’m not a hero, Ex.”

“More so than I am.”

“You’re my partner.” He smiled slightly and placed his thumb and forefinger on your jaw while his other fingers brushed against your neck. “I’m always gonna pick you.”

“I need you to promise me something… Promise that if something like that happens again, you’ll pick the people. Promise me you’ll do what’s right….”

“I promise I’ll do what I think is right.”

After a bit of sitting in silence, you felt recovered enough to patch yourself up. Matt didn’t say anything as you did so, given you had to unzip the top half of your suit. You figured he wondered why you didn’t say anything about it but he decided not to speak on it if he did. Instead, he asked a different question.

“Earlier, you saw me without my mask.” He said simply. “Didn’t you?”

“Actually, no. I didn’t.” You lied smoothly as you tucked a bottle of painkillers into your belt. “I’ve been working on a filter for my lenses, identifies your suit and blurs your face if the helmet is missing. I finally got to test it and it worked great. I didn’t see a thing, other than the fact you're a brunette.”

He chuckled slightly.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’ve had worse, Red. You don’t gotta worry about me.”

“I still will.. You know that.”

“I’m a tough little cookie, alright? I’ll be fine. Another day, another scar. Right?”

“Can I ask where you went before?”

You pressed your lips together and turned to face him as you were pulling up the zipper. He was sitting in the same spot, only this time his helmet was off. You took in the injuries you could see, a busted lip and cheek along with a dark bruise blossoming on his jaw.

You could’ve sworn you felt yourself fall in love again. Was that strange?

“A friend needed help. That’s all I’m gonna say.” You answered vaguely.

“You get there in time?”

“Just barely.” You nodded.

“A running theme with you.” He teased and you grinned.

“I like to make an entrance.. And an exit.” You went back to the shattered window and snatched the rope left behind by the Hand. “You didn’t stop me from killing the Hand tonight… Why?”

“I can’t change who you are, Ex. I’ve gotta stop trying.” He shrugged slightly.

“You finally giving up on me, Red?” You tried joking to hide your disappointment.

“No, never.” His hand found yours and squeezed. “Just… trying to accept things the way they are.”

“I don’t like this pessimistic version of you. Gotta say, I kinda miss the old Devil Boy. What happened to the guy that wanted to kick my ass cause he heard a rumor that I killed Anatoly?” You frowned.

“I know I haven’t been the best partner. I’m still kinda figuring this stuff out.”

“I’m not exactly a cake walk… I'll see you around, okay?”

“Yeah, be careful.”

You nodded in quiet acknowledgement before stepping out the window and sliding down the rope.

The next morning, you hurried to the precinct to meet with Karen. You had your ribs wrapped tightly and all your major cuts were cleaned and covered again. There wasn’t time to try and heal anything other than the small collection on your face before you got her call. While you waited for her outside, you ran into Matt.

“Hey… You look like shit.” You said honestly.

“Long night.” He nodded.

“Yeah, no kidding.” One hand went to your rib. “Wonder why they went after Karen instead of us.”

“What?”

“Well, I did a lot of talking for the case.” You tilted your head in place of a shrug. “You were talking when Tepper testified. We were more the faces for the case than Karen… Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”

“Hmm.” He thought. “Are you.. okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You just sound a little different.. Like you’re hurting.”

“Oh, yeah.” You nodded, reaching for his hand and placing it on your ribs. You bit down the wince as his fingers pressed against your cracked bone. “I slammed into my fire escape last night. I leaned over to see what was making noise and almost dropped my book. Saved the book but busted my ribs.”

“Oh.” He frowned, slowly taking his hand away. “But you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You waved a hand. “Nothing I can’t handle.”

He smiled slightly as Karen came out. You waved her over and she was quick to come to you and Matt. She sighed in relief and practically tackled you with a hug. You groaned slightly but embraced her back.

“You called Matt?” She asked as she pulled away.

“I thought you did.” Your brows furrowed.

“No, I just called you.”

“Brett reached out.” Matt explained. “Someone shot at you?”

“Yeah, but it’s okay. I’m fine.” She shrugged, though you could tell she was still uneasy about the whole thing.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“Would you have answered? Matt, I know you mean well but I can take care of myself.”

“No, you can’t, Karen.” He called as she turned to leave.

“Choose your next words carefully, Murdock.” You sighed as she turned back angrily.

“Not if Frank Castle wants you dead. No one can.” Matt seemed to have not heard you, but you knew otherwise.

“You’re right! Okay? You’re right! Castle’s dangerous!” She shouted. “And maybe I can’t handle this but I don’t want your help!”

“What’s going on with you? What are you holding back?“ He pushed.

“Could ask the same thing about you.” You said simply.

“Oh, give me a break.” Matt shook his head, probably rolling his eyes as well. “You want to get in on this?”

“Frank didn’t do this.” You said firmly as Karen came back. “Why is that so hard for you to understand? You won’t even consider it!”

“He didn’t.” Karen agreed. “In fact, he saved me. Him and Exodus.”

“Exodus?” His brows furrowed and you could practically see the gears turning in his head as he put the pieces together.

“You tell the cops that?” You asked carefully

“Course not.” She gave you a look that said it should’ve been obvious she wouldn’t.

“Great. Lying to cops. Smart, Karen.” Matt scolded and you elbowed him discreetly.

“It’s my problem, not yours.” She said firmly. “Frank and Exodus think they can find this guy faster than the cops. And y’know what? I believe them.”

“I would, too.” You agreed. “Frank could’ve left. He didn’t have to stay in Hell’s Kitchen but he did. Maybe not for Exodus or for Karen, but he stayed. They just need some time… You guys can’t deny that they’re good at what they do.”

“Not saying I’m going along with this.” Matt said firmly. “But if Frank’s not the shooter, who is?”

“Everything points to the Central Park sting. That’s where everything fell apart. Frank had a source in the prison and Reyes was right. The Blacksmith arranged the meet.”

“That’s what Fisk had for him… Intel on the sting.” You realized. “But that doesn’t get anyone any closer to the Blacksmith.”

“Why would the Blacksmith come after you?” Matt’s brows furrowed.

“The Bulletin.” You sighed and ran a hand over your mouth. “He went after you ‘cause your work with Ellison. He didn’t care about us-“ You gestured quickly between you and Matt. “-because we weren’t publicizing anything. We weren’t chasing him.” You stared pointedly at Karen.

“You knew about this?” He turned towards you. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“Why should I have?” You scoffed.

“How long ago did this start?”

“Since the trial. I was trying to find evidence for the Castle case… We were looking into the Central Park shootings.” Karen explained. “I guess we’re getting too close.”

“Then you need to back off.”

“No, Matt, you need to back off.”

“This is not a game, Karen! This is serious!”

“She has the two most dangerous people in the city playing bodyguard for her!” You insisted and pushed him back slightly. “If anything, she’s the safest person in the Kitchen.”

“And I’m taking the protection the cops offered so I’m… I'm fine.” She shrugged.

“I’m gonna come with you.” He tried.

“No, you’re not. I'm not yours to protect.” She said firmly and left, leaving you and Matt on the sidewalk.

You blew out a long sigh and winced slightly as you felt the jab in your rib. Your hand went to the area quickly and rubbed, not with any pressure. You turned to Matt, only his attention was still in the direction Karen left in. You patted Matt’s arm, told him you were leaving, and took off.

Only instead of going home like your body was screaming for you to do, you went to where Frank asked you to meet him. He had called your burner as you were leaving to see Karen but he didn’t stay on the line for a conversation. You were surprised to see him pull up in Karen’s car but you didn’t ask questions. Instead, you climbed into the back and laid across the seats.

“You look like shit.” He chuckled as he drove off.

“Yeah, well I got my ribs busted by a ninja last night after I took off. And you don’t look so hot either, asshole” You groaned, having to shoot both arms out against his seat as he hit a turn too fast and you were thrown to the side.

“Ублюдок!” You exclaimed when you felt the sharp pain in your shoulder from where you had been shot. Ironically, that seemed to be the injury that hurt the least when you looked at your body as a whole. (Bastard!)

You groaned and punched his seat, hearing him chuckle afterwards. You flipped onto your back and threw your arm over your eyes as you clenched your jaw and tried to draw out your pain.

You imagined your pain as a thick red liquid, almost like blood. You imagined collecting in your hand as you ran your fingers over your gunshot wound. When you could’ve sworn your hand was wet, you pressed it flat against the wound and held it until the pain stopped. You dipped your hand under your collar and found the wound was closed, a slightly raised scar in its place.

You sighed in relief and sat up, leaning over the center console.

“Karen know you have her car?” You asked.

“Not yet, so I don’t think you wanna be bleeding all over her seats.” He joked.

“So. You’re thinking the Blacksmith did that? Went after her, shot me, killed Reyes and Tepper.”

“Makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“Sure…” You shrugged.

“You got another idea?”

“No.. There’s just a lot going on with this and Matt’s being more of an ass than usual and Daredevil has his bullshit he's dragging me into. And then you screwing around with Fisk and… And now I probably need to find a new job.”

“Murdock fired you?” He turned to you at the red light.

“Not quite… He’s prioritizing his other ventures and told Foggy that we should restart without him… Light’s green.” You pointed to the light.

“Other ventures.” He snorted as he focused on driving again. “You ever tell him you know?”

“I’m pretty sure he already knows… But God, Frank, it’s insane to think about.. I don’t know, it’s like- I’ve seen him fight without the suit and it’s the same. I’ve seen him in the suit without the mask but I still can’t fully believe it.”

“Why not?”

“He’s blind for one.”

He chuckled.

“For two, Fisk tried to hire me to kill him when I first started up. And third, he’s been there when I’ve killed however many people. He doesn’t- He wouldn’t-“ You groaned in annoyance.

“You don’t think he’d want you around if he knew the truth.”

“Exactly… You think he would?”

“I think…” He paused, glancing over at you as if to make sure you were listening. “Ole Red may not admit it but he needs you. Both sides of you, yknow? You got his back, always have. He’d get over it.”

You scoffed.

“Remember what you said in the courthouse?”

“Before or after you went off the rails and bombed my case?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He rolled his eyes, though he wore a slight smile. “Your opening.”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“People aren’t always black and white. You definitely operate in this grey area. And Murdock, he likes to think he’s on one side but he’s got a little bit of both in him, too.”

“That doesn’t-“

“Just shut up for a second, alright?” He scolded as he parked the car. He shifted in the seat to face you and you raised your brows expectantly. “Just cause he doesn’t go as far as we do, that don’t mean he’s some holier than thou savior. He’s got his wrongdoings, same as us. He has his secrets and he can’t judge you for doing the same shit he does.”

“But it’s not quite the same, is it?” You frowned slightly.

“You want it to be the same?”

“Yes.. No. I don’t know.” You sighed. “It’d be easier, you think?”

“It’s a cop out.”

“Maybe you’re right…”

“Just… He’s your friend, right?”

“Yeah…”

“And Red. He’s your partner, right?”

“Sometimes.”

“Alright. You two are too mixed up with each other to just break it off like that. No matter what happened between you two, you’re gonna find a way back to each other.”

“Let’s hope you’re right.” You smiled weakly. “Because I don’t know what I’ll do if we don’t. It just means I’d be stuck hanging around with you.”

“Anyone ever tell you you’re dramatic?” He teased and you grinned, earning a smile in return.

“Little bit, yeah. I’ve also been called obnoxious, manipulative, and annoying.”

“Got you pegged.” He chuckled as Karen got into the car.

“When you said you were gonna bring a car, I didn’t think you were gonna steal mine.” She said tightly as she dropped into the front seat.

“Really?” You scowled at him and he simply shrugged.

“Hey..” He told Karen. As he talked to her, you realized something.

There was a certain tenderness that he spoke to you and Karen with. It wasn’t some showy, macho man, ego routine. But it was genuine. And even though Karen was uncertain and scared, Frank was as calm as ever. He was always calm with you two. He never really yelled or got angry with you. You didn’t understand what made you two special but it was easy to realize that Frank legitimately cared about what happened to you two.

It was nice, having someone who cared. Someone who knew your truth, saw you in action, and still wanted to make sure you were alive and well at the end of the day.

You three ended up in a diner. You sat beside Frank with Karen across from you. She was still uncertain, but you being there seemed to soften it a bit.

“Not sure stopping was a great idea.” Karen said as she glanced around nervously.

“You’re not hungry?” He answered calmly.

“You don’t think the neighborhood’s a little sketchy?”

You chuckled and sipped your tea.

“Is that really what you’re worried about?” Your brows raised teasingly. “I mean… Look who you’re here with.”

“No, she’s right.” Frank nodded, looking to you with that lazy, teasing half smile. “I’m shaking in my boots.”

“So scary.” You teased and Karen frowned at you.

“What’s the DA have on the Blacksmith?” He asked quietly.

“Only that he’s moving an unprecedented-“ She jumped hard at the sound of utensils clattering behind her.

“Relax.” You said softly, waving a hand to brush away some of her concern like dust. “He’s moving a shit ton of uncut narcotics through Manhattan. She didn’t know how.”

“There’s an unfinished highway in Long Island that used to be an illegal landing strip. It would require bribes and payoffs and…”

“No, this guy’s a ghost. He works alone or close to it.” Frank countered.

“Okay.. So that leaves railroads, shipping lines, trucks, maybe?”

“Too mainstream for a spook like that. Unmarked trucks are easy cop targets and slapping a logo could attract too much public attention. Trains maybe. One time, Red and I found a car full of straight sand so potentially.”

The conversation ceased as the waitress came to refill their coffees. She asked if you needed a fresh tea and you graciously accepted before she headed back into the kitchen. You also realized that Frank Castle was rather charming when he wanted to be.

Go figure.

“You didn’t seem surprised that I owned a gun.” Karen said, clearly having been thinking about it for a bit.

“I guess the only thing that surprised me is that you didn’t plug me.” He chuckled. “You pick it out yourself?”

“Why?”

“People who don’t know shit about guns usually got something shiny. Something with a… with a fancy grip.”

“Or the jackass who gets a big hand cannon that snaps his wrist on the recoil.“ You added. “You have a… Was it a .380?” You turned to Frank.

“Mhmm. .380 shows thought. Maybe it’s not your first rodeo.”

“Maybe it isn’t.” She answered.

You wondered if she was thinking about Wesley. You hadn’t thought much about that night since it happened, though a passing memory would come and go when you see the gun Karen fired on him when you reload your belt. You could tell there was something in her voice, almost regretful, but you couldn’t tell where it came from, what memory fueled it.

“Almost took the shot.” She smiled slightly.

“Did you?” He smiled back. “Woulda fired on her too?”

Karen looked over at you and you quirked a brow in question.

“Nah, she gets a pass.” She smiled and you grinned, the waitress putting your new cup of tea on your table.

“Don’t feel bad. I’ve almost shot him a couple times.” You nudged him with your elbow once she was out of earshot.

“Can I ask you why you didn’t?”

“Because I believe you.”

You saw it then, the light pink haze. It all made sense once that color filled the air. Karen, despite those lingering feelings for Matt, felt something for Frank. And Frank, in turn, felt something for Karen. The feelings between them were based off a mutual respect for one another.

Frank saw through a lot of Karen’s defenses and wasn’t afraid to challenge her. And Karen showed trust in Frank, trust that he would keep his word and tell her the truth. The feelings weren’t love but they were real. They could grow into something real, given different circumstances.

“People that can hurt you, the ones that can really hurt you, are the ones that are close enough to do it.” Frank finished his sentence looking at you.

“What happens when those people tear you apart from deep inside and you feel you’ll never recover?” You countered sadly. “Vulnerability like that isn’t easy to give in to.”

“I would chop my arm off, right here in this restaurant, just to feel that way one more time with my wife.” He answered, seemingly tired of your sulking and inner crisis. “My old lady, she didn’t just break my heart. She’d rip it out and tear it apart. She’d step on that shit and feed it to a dog. I mean, she was ruthless, y’know? She brought the pain.”

“But you loved her anyway? Despite the shit she could put you through?”

“I did… And I’ll never feel that again. Both of you-“ He looked back at Karen as if having forgotten that she was there. “-you sit around and you’re all confused about this thing, but you have it. You have everything, so hold on to it.”

“Frank.” You said when you noticed the same car you’ve seen multiple times. Any thoughts of the conversation fell away instantly. “Take a look. See the Buick?”

He followed your line of sight and nodded slightly.

“Get to the back.” You told Karen. “Grab the waitress and the cook and anyone else back there. Find the biggest stainless steel you can and get under it. Now.”

“Wait. What’s happening?” Karen asked as you stood, climbing over the back of the booth to get out.

“Car drove around three times before it pulled in.” He explained as you picked up the hot cup from the edge of the table and moved to the countertop.

You smiled at the waitress as you sat down. Karen came up and got her to go to the back, giving you a quick look of uncertainty. You offered the best smile you could before she disappeared, leaving only you and Frank in the diner.

“How many?” You asked, not turning around.

“Two. Mind the guns, will ya?” He said simply. “I don’t need you gettin’ shot again and bitchin’ about it all night.”

You hummed slightly and gripped your cup firmly as you heard the door open. You kept your eyes down, waiting and timing the footsteps. One man continued on to Frank while the other leaned on the counter beside you. You turned and when he opened his mouth to speak, you acted.

You flicked the hot tea in his face before grabbing the back of his head and slamming his face against the counter, shattering the ceramic mug against his temple. You sat up on a knee and spun in your seat, slamming your other leg against his spine. He cried out as you heard the gunshots.

You flinched, only slightly, before quickly glancing and seeing it was Frank who fired. You hopped off the seat as Frank came and slammed his own opponent against the counter. You reached for the nearest silverware you could find, ending up with a fork in your hand.

It would have to work.

The man you were fighting was beginning to stand, wiping the broken shards away while Frank’s fight had him diving over the counter. The gunshots echoed through the empty diner as you taunted your opponent closer.

He lifted his gun towards you and you ran at him, sliding between his legs. You twisted around to your knees and jammed your foot into the back of his knee, making him buckle and his shot hit the ceiling. You climbed to your feet and raised your fork, only to be greeted with the butt of the gun slamming into your cheek and an elbow slamming into your busted ribs.

You staggered back slightly, now only more angry. You kicked his chest hard and watched him fall into the booth behind him. You stayed on him, stepping one foot onto the table and the other knee against his chest. You refocused your anger to your hands and felt them grow hotter.

The metal of your makeshift weapon grew red with heat and you held the other hand forward, sending the red smoke you hadn’t used since Fisk towards him. It coated his face and sunk into his ears, turning him redder and reader by the second. You jammed the fork between his ribs and twisted, quickly yanking it out and closing your eyes as he coughed blood that hit you in the cheek.

He reached for you desperately, clawing for whatever grip he could get in a panic. He took messy swings at you, connecting a few hits to your face. You smiled wickedly and dug two knuckles into the deep puncture and forcing blood to ooze out across your hand.

You climbed off the table, grabbing him by his shirtfront and throwing him over the counter instead. You threw your hand to the side to clear the smoke before shoving the fork into his spine, a spot where if driven deep enough, would sever the spine and puncture the heart. After the fork broke skin, you took a step back and threw your entire body weight against it and the man fell limp.

You heard the sick snap and squelch as the fork did it’s job. You stood tall, hand covered in blood and face splattered. You found Frank on the other side of the counter, being backed into a corner. You hurried to where they would be meeting and hopped over the counter, hooking your legs around the man’s throat. He was quick to slice a long line across your thigh, causing you to scream out slightly.

You threw your upper body and flipped the man around to land on his back. You placed both knees at his shoulders and pulled your hand back, alternating blows with as much force as you could muster. Frank caught one of your hands and when you turned to glare at him, he pressed a handgun into your palm.

You pressed the barrel against the man’s forehead.

“The Blacksmith. Where is he?” Frank knelt down to ask.

“Screw you.” The man spat.

“Your friend is already dead.” You said through heavy breaths. “You wanna join him?”

“Where?” Frank pressed.

“Go to hell.”

You lifted the gun and fired into his knee cap.

“One bullet left.” You turned the gun in your hand and felt the weight to figure out what was left. One was your best guess. It could’ve been none for all you knew. “Meaning one chance.”

He spat at you instead.

You let out a sigh as your anger was sent to your free hand. You grabbed his throat and he tried to scream but with the heat and your grip, it was a strangled gurgle instead.

“Pier on… 41st.” He managed. You pressed the gun against his forehead and fired.

Another blood splatter across your face.

You stood shakily and your leg buckled. Frank was quick to catch you so you didn’t fall.

“Call the cops.” You said as you saw Karen in the back, wiping the gun clean with your shirt. You glanced at the first man and saw the fork was too deep to find easily, not that you had prints to leave behind. “Get back in protective custody.”

“Get the hell away from this.” Frank added, putting one of your arms over his shoulders. “Away from me.”

“I’m sorry you had to see this...” You told her quickly as you and Frank hurried out.

You didn’t get far before your leg gave out.

“I need to stop. I need to.. to fix this.” You told him and you two ducked down an alley, only after a quick stop at Karen’s car for a bag out the trunk.

You sat down with a thud and Frank knelt beside you. He put a hand on your shoulder as you bent your leg with a sharp intake of breath. You tried to recreate your healing earlier, drawing out the red blob of pain. You held it between your hands for a second to look at it. It seemed to move on it’s own, angry and needing attention. You pressed it back against your leg and groaned loudly, dropping your head on the wall behind you but Frank’s hand seemed to have gotten behind you so you wouldn’t hit the concrete. Healing it was ten times worse than getting it and you felt yourself near the edge of tears.

You let out a deep breath as the pain stopped. Looking down, you saw just a slightly raised scar. It varied in depth where the cut went deeper but overall, it wasn’t that noticeable.

With a quiet nod, Frank helped you back to your feet and you two headed to the pier. Frank opened the bag and handed you two guns, a smaller handgun that you tucked into the back of your waistband and a rifle. You slung it over your shoulder as you climbed to the top of one of the shipping crates. You laid flat and positioned the gun, peering through the scope as you let off quick shots to clear a path for Frank. He looked through a few things before waving for you to meet with him.

As you were climbing down, you caught a glimpse of a red silhouette racing by. You groaned quietly before hurrying over to your friend. You could smell the gas as you got closer so you made sure to come from the opposite side.

“Just a heads up.” You said as you got to him. “Pretty sure I saw Daredevil.”

“Nosy son of a bitch.” He grumbled and tossed the can.

After narrowly ducking a shot, you and Frank crept into the cabin on the boat. Both of you had your guns drawn and Frank insisted on going first. You didn’t argue it, given you were still a bit banged up.

You kept yourself flat against the wall as Frank opened the door and the man inside fired at you two. You closed your hand into a fist to collect some of the man’s fear. When the yellow fog was leaking from your fingers, you stepped into the doorway and thrust a hand forward to push the fog against him and knock him back.

“The cash. The shit. Just take it. Take it all.” He said desperately as Frank followed you into the room.

You pressed the barrel of your gun against his chest and placed a foot on his stomach to keep him pinned down. You felt the man’s panic growing as Frank got closer and it was almost enough to make you laugh. Surely, the Blacksmith couldn’t be that much of a coward. Unless…

“That what you think’s gonna happen, huh?” Frank asked from over your shoulder.

“Please..”

“You think you’re gonna talk your way outta this shit?”

A shot to his shoulder.

You hummed and shrugged, pushing off and taking a few steps away to let Frank step in. You hung the gun off your shoulder instead and twisted your hands through the air, letting the man’s emotions feed into your powers. A yellow mist of fear in one hand and a colorless haze of pain in the other.

Another gunshot pulled your attention back.

You pressed both hands forward, watching the haze sink into his gunshot wounds and he cried out. The yellow mist crawled down his throat and you watched it cover his eyes.

“Pain and fear… Two things that can bring any man to his knees.” You said coldly with your accent unintentionally slipping in, stepping closer. “Tell me.. Are you the Blacksmith?”

The tears began to well in the man’s eyes when Frank leaned down and pressed his gun to his forehead, demanding he admit to being the Blacksmith. You made a small noise of reluctance before pushing your hands forward again, watching the yellow shine brightly as he coughed and the faint glow of his gunshot wounds as they bled heavier.

“I’m the Blacksmith. I did it. Just finish it.. Finish it!” The man said desperately, shaking his head slowly in defeat.

“I don’t believe him.” You knelt at his other side. “I doubt a man like the Blacksmith would beg for death.”

“Don’t shoot him, Frank!” Matt called as he burst in.

“Oh, for Christ’s sake.” Frank grumbled and you shrugged with an ‘I told you so’ look. “Get out of here, Red!”

“He’s lying. We’re here for the same reasons, all right?” Matt urged. “I want the Blacksmith just as much as you but he’s not him. I know when someone’s telling the truth, Frank. He’s not.”

“Bullshit! Just get outta here!”

“He’s not the man you came for.”

You rolled your eyes and grabbed the man by his shirtfront, hauling him to sit up. Frank pressed his gun harder against his skull and grabbed him by the jaw to turn and face him.

“Are you lying to me? Huh? You lying to me?” Frank shouted and the man could only whimper in response.

You scoffed quietly and pushed him away. Frank moved to shoot him but Matt threw his club just in time. You rolled your eyes and reached for the stick as Frank kicked the man in the face before he went after Matt.

“Castle’s on board. Get back to the boat.” He said into a walkie.

You gripped the club tightly and slammed it against his temple, seeing the skin split. As he fell limp, you drove your foot onto the device and dug your heel in for good measure. Hurrying out, you found the boys locked in a fist fight.

“Прямо как собаки.” You said to yourself and moved to step in. (Just like dogs.)

You let out a sharp whistle to get their attention and gave Frank a pointed look. Matt cocked his head as he listened in and tried to figure out who you were while Frank mocked you quickly before slamming his head against Matt’s and grabbed his suit front to drag him away. You sighed loudly and got in the middle.

Using Matt’s club, you swung your arm at the back of Frank’s knees to knock him on his back. You braced your hands and kicked out at Matt’s chest to send him reeling back. Turning your attention back to Frank, he rolled so he had you pinned. You struggled beneath him as he landed sharp jabs to your ribs.

“You’re pulling your punches.” You mocked as you locked your ankles around his hips and flipped you two over so you were on top. You held Matt’s club against his throat. “We don’t have time for this. He called for backup.”

Before Frank could answer, Matt came and plowed into you. You two rolled until your back hit the side railing. You groaned and rolled to your side.

“Stay down, alright?” Matt warned and you chuckled.

“You’re gonna have to put me down.” You answered as you climbed to your feet. Your fingers itched for your gun but you quickly had to remind yourself that Daredevil was still Matt after all.

You ran at him instead, jumping off a nearby crate to hook your legs around his neck. You slammed your elbow down repeatedly as he walked you two towards one of the vents. You glanced and saw Frank incoming so you threw your upper body backwards and flung Matt into Frank.

Both men got to their feet and you made sure to stand between them. You held Matt’s club out to him, pressing the end against his throat as he got nearer. He took it hesitantly and tried to keep a hold of your hand but you didn’t let him. You tried to help Frank up but he shoved you away.

You huffed slightly and took a step back, arm wrapping around your waist as the throbbing set in. Frank looked over and saw your reaction. He frowned slightly and reached to tap your arm as an apology and you nodded as he dropped to sit down.

“Just couldn’t let me have it, could you?” He scolded Matt. “One second of peace. It was right there but you had to sweep in. You feel good about yourself?”

“Come on, Frank.” Matt scoffed, though you could tell there was still some focus on you. “It wouldn’t have been the truth and you know it. I can’t let you start a war for the wrong reasons.”

“You say that like there’s a right reason for war.” You scoffed.

“Thought that was you.” Matt smiled towards you. “Wasn’t sure without your mask.”

“War’s subjective to the ones fighting it. Whoever starts it thinks they’re right, the ones fighting back think they’re right.”

“Maybe war is what I need.” Frank cut in loudly. “These people took my children from me. They killed my kids! Don’t you get that?”

Matt knelt in front of Frank but you moved to sit beside him. You reached for his hand, and though he sighed heavily, he let you take it. You thought about dulling his pain, replacing his grief with acceptance. But it felt wrong to do it to a friend without him asking. And you respected Frank too much to do something like that, something that would end in losing your friend completely. So instead, you relayed a different message while he talked to Matt.

You’re not alone anymore.

“Maybe.. yeah. Your way is what it’s gonna take.” Matt said hesitantly.

You looked over and remembered when he was almost willing to let you kill Anatoly and Vladimir for what their men did to you. This wasn’t the same vigilante you worked with back then. This was a man of desperation, a man at the end of his rope. A noose around his neck and his feet teetering the edge.

“Are you sure?” You asked quietly. “Because that’s not how it works, Red. It’s not ‘just this once’.”

“Ex, just-“

“You cross over to our side of the line, you don’t get to come back from that.” Frank said and you sighed, knowing he was right.

You never were able to come back from the first time you crossed that line so long ago.

The conversation was cut short by the sound of screeching tires. You let out a sound of annoyance and peered over the crate.

“I told you he called for backup.” You smacked Frank’s arm when he leaned up to see what you were looking at.

“I count ten. Armed.” Matt explained. “There’s a lot of gunpowder below decks. Any of these guys start shooting, this whole ship-“

“Blown straight to hell.” You finished and sat flat. You drummed your fingers against your lips in thought.

“We gotta get off this boat before they open fire.” Matt nodded and moved the ledge.

“You’re goddamn right you do.” Frank agreed and threw Matt overboard.

You ran to the side and peered over in time to see Matt hit the water.

“Frank!” You scolded as he grabbed your arm.

“You gotta go too.” He moved to throw you but you held the railing and positioned your foot behind his. “C’mon, Princess. Don’t do this right now.”

“I’m not-“ You groaned and yanked your arm away. “I’m not leaving you here.”

“You really wanna die for this?”

“No… But I’m not leaving you to fight this alone. If we go down, then we go down together. What’s the high without the low?” You shrugged.

He smiled slightly and nodded, letting go of your arm.

“Thanks, Y/N.”

“Thank me when we’re out of this, yeah?” You glanced over and saw the men getting out of their cars. “And you’re gonna owe me.”

He grinned down at you, only for a second, before pulling you to kneel behind a crate. You lifted your discarded rifle and he picked up his. You looked over at him for a confirmation and he turned to you.

“Think we can lure them away from the boat enough to save our asses?” You tried, only half joking.

“Can still get out the same way Ole Red did.” He joked in return and you flipped him off, earning a small chuckle.

“One batch, two batch.” Frank said quietly as he looked down at his feet. “Penny and dime.”

You waited quietly, observing the genuineness of that quick moment.

“Ready?” He checked with you.

“Yeah, I’m tired of waiting for someone to kill me… Let’s light the bastards up.” You grinned.

You and Frank carefully stepped out, guns lifted but not pointing at anyone yet. You blocked out everything, focusing on your own calm. You knew they would try to taunt you, to intimidate you in hopes of a jumpy trigger finger. But they didn’t realize who they were up against.

Y/N Y/L/N and Frank Castle.

Exodus and the Punisher.

“Stay close.” He said quickly.

“Been a long time, hasn’t it, Frank?” The man on the dock yelled.

You lifted your gun and fired your shots quickly. You aimed for headshots and were able to take three down before they fired back.

You felt yourself be yanked down. Frank had grabbed your belt and pulled you to the floor. The first explosion hit not too far from you and you lifted your arms, momentarily forgetting you didn’t have the protection of your suit. You cried out as the hot debris burned your hands and arms.

Frank was quick to cover you, hauling you to your feet and bringing you to the side railing again. You began to climb but noticed his hesitation. You groaned and grabbed his jacket in both hands before dropping backwards, pulling him with you. Together, you two splashed into the water as the biggest explosion hit.

You climbed to the surface of the pier but Frank wasn’t with you. You peered into the dark water in a panic but two hands were under your arms and pulling you up. You fought against him, kicking and thrashing until you were able to turn and see it was just Matt.

“Where’s Frank?” He asked quickly.

“I don’t know… He was right behind me. I…” You shook your head, being hit in the chest with fear. “I really thought we…”

Fear your friend was dead.

“I have to go back in.”

“Ex, no.” He said, tightening his hold on you as you tried to yank yourself free.

“Let me go!”

“I’m not gonna let you get yourself killed for this!”

You fell into Matt’s chest in defeat and he wrapped his arms around you to hold you in a tight embrace. The comfort lasted only for a moment before you heard the sirens. Matt pulled you up, saying you had to move because you didn’t have your mask on. You knew he was right so you didn’t fight him as he moved you but you wanted to stay.

It didn’t feel right to leave.

Still, you went home. You brought in the package waiting by your door but didn’t care to see what it was. As soon as you stepped into your apartment, you were smacked with loneliness. You slid the package onto your table and stripped out of your bloodied clothes. You took a quick shower and put on something comfortable before you left again.

You knew Karen wouldn’t be home and you couldn’t bother Foggy with what you were feeling. So instead, you went to Matt’s. You knocked lightly and he was quick to answer.

“Hi.” You breathed.

“Hey.. You okay? What’s wrong?” He leaned on his doorframe.

“Tonight’s been really shitty and I don’t wanna be alone.” You admitted.

“Kinda thought you didn’t like me anymore.” He teased and stepped aside to let you in.

“You’re not my favorite… But the cops probably won’t let me near Karen and Foggy is probably spending another night with Marci and that isn’t a party I want to crash.”

“Yeah, I don’t blame you on that one.”

“In all seriousness, Matt. You’re still one of my best friends and even though you’ve been absolutely horrendous lately, you still feel…” You dropped on his couch with a sigh as you thought for the right word.

“Feel what?” He asked softly as he sat beside you.

“You feel… like home.”

He grinned widely and reached for your hand, holding it tightly. You took a moment to just look at him. He was in comfortable clothes, no glasses, yet seemingly worn down by a thousand worries. Daredevil took so much out of Matt. It wasn’t hard to see when you knew, but you wondered how much worse it would be if you weren’t there. But then you wondered, how much easier it could be if you were on his side more often.

“Y/N… I’m sorry.” He confessed as if he had waiting so long to tell you.

“Not to be an ass, but I need to know exactly what you’re sorry about.”

“For the way I’ve been acting towards you lately, the way I’ve been snapping at you. There’s been so much going on and I’ve.. I’ve taken it out on you. You didn’t deserve any of that.”

“No, I didn’t.“ You nodded slowly. “I won’t absolve you off what you’ve done and I can’t give you penance for any of it. Because an apology without action is just words. I believe that you’re sorry and I appreciate the apology… But with all of the hurtful things you’ve said to me lately, I can’t just sweep it under the rug.”

“I understand.. I just wanted to make sure I said it.”

“You’re such a good person.” You said quietly as you placed a gentle hand on his cheek.

“Maybe you just bring out the best in me.” He answered in the same hushed tone as he leaned into your touch.

“This… This is the Matty I missed.”

He smiled slightly and took his hand out of yours, moving it to your face instead. It was your turn to smile and his thumb slid down to trace the outline of your lips. The small action made your cheeks warm and you were almost instantly sucked back into your feelings for Matt Murdock, despite the way you tried to forget them.

But you seemed to forget everything else. You forgot how he had hurt Karen by being with Elektra. You forgot how he fawned over Elektra like you were back in college. You even forgot how Frank had disappeared- maybe even died - just hours before. The world seemed to be only you and Matt.

“You bring out the best in me.” He admitted, leaning in a bit more.

Your vision was clouded with pink, as if you were suddenly wearing literal rose colored glasses. It was magnetizing, being around Matt. You hadn’t noticed you were leaning in until you could feel his breath on your cheek. Your eyes were closing when the moment was interrupted by a sharp crash outside.

You jumped up quickly, snapping from your daze to peer outside. You saw a car crashed into one of the cars parked out front. You explained to Matt that you had to go help and he insisted on coming and there was no time to argue. Together, you two hurried and found the driver already covered in blood while the passenger was dead.

“She found him… She found him.” The driver muttered as you came around and leaned into the window to see his injuries.

“What?” You asked quickly. “Who?”

“She found Stick and she’s gonna kill him.”

“Who?” You tried again, though you already knew the answer.

“Elektra.”

“Какого черта?” You mumbled to yourself before going around and dragging Matt back inside. (What the hell?)

You paced Matt’s bedroom as your mind ran a mile a minute. You needed an excuse to leave. You needed to find Elektra. You needed your suit. And you could feel the tension in Matt as soon as he heard her name.

When the bathroom door opened, you were quick to climb into the bed. You watched for a moment to see if he would join you and he hesitated in the doorway. He turned towards you, then the couch, then the stairs that led to the roof.

“Just like old times?” You tried and patted the space beside you. He smiled and came to you, crawling into bed next to you. “Night, Matty.”

“Good night, Y/N/N.”

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thehomophobe · 2 months

Text

Gotta love an Airhead (Human! Glamrock Chica x Fem!Reader)

Written by me!

You “loved” your job at The Pizzaplex.Free food, no health insurance and below minimum wage! What more could you ask for!

Not to mention the animatronics are hot af.

Working in the plex wasn’t the worst job to have, if you ignored the various amounts of unknown substances scattered throughout the area and squinted your eyes, the place wasn’t half bad! The bright colors mixed with the darkness strained your eyes a bit but that’s fine.

You huffed and rested your hands on your hips, glancing around at the guest; unsupervised children running around, a few teenagers standing in the corners, the usual Karen complaining about something minuscule.

It wasn’t until you spotted a group of children gathering near a vending machine.“Strange” you think to yourself, “they probably saw a weird bug on the floor” you shrugged your shoulders and continued observing.

You liked your job , or maybe you were just trying to gaslight yourself through another day. Minus the high amount of children gone missing in the other parts of the pizzaplex, nothing bad has ever happened in here.

Well there was one thing that made the job bearable. Actually six things. The animatronics duh! God whoever designed them probably has a fetish for robots, which means you two have something in common!

The familiar sound of a STAFF bot jumps you out of your daydream.

You followed the annoyance machine far behind.You tried to mentally prepare yourself for whatever it could possibly be.

Weird man talking to children?

No, you already kicked that guy out today.

Vomit?

Wouldn’t require security. And a wet floor bot would accompany it.

Child missing?

Hopefully not!

The final destination of the security bot lead to a dark area of the plex.

You couldn’t wrap your mind around what you were looking at.

“Chica?”

The android looked up from the floor, embarrassment rolled in but she played it off with cute little smile, like nothing’s wrong.

“Hey bestie~. She waved at you with her free arm

“Chica, why is your arm stuck in the vending machine?” You knew the answer but you wanted more of this.

You know, that’s a great question.” She nodded her head as she chirped “Well you see! I wanted to grab you something before your night shift starts. They ran out of cookies in the kitchen so I thought the vending machine would be better.”

“Uh huh And, how did that turn out?” you bit your tongue in an attempt to hold back your laughter.

“Oh ha ha very funny, Gumdrop.”

Your phone rings as a text message appears:

One New message from: Officer Adams

-I’m not paid enough for this

-She’s your problem.

Speak of the devil.

“Alright, when I count down from three, we are going to pull your arm out”

“K!”

1…

2...

3…

“PULL”

And pull you did. It was actually working!

…Until you heard the very distinct sounds of wires snapping.

The next few seconds were a blur as you were suddenly on the floor with what felt like pounds of metal and soft silicone on top of you. The weight shifted and quickly dissipated. You open your eyes, everything’s a bit blurry but you spot a familiar face standing over you.

“You alright Cupcake?”

”Yeah…I’m fine.” You forget she’s made of metal.You sit up clutching your head. Her words are not registering in your brain. You turn to look at the ‘droid and notice something very alarming.

“Gurl, Your arm is missing!” your eyes widen as you watch, what you assume is oil, leak out of the socket.

“Yeah I know that. You’re gonna fix it right?” Yeah you are.

#fnaf #fnaf security breach #five nights at freddy's security breach #security breach #fnaf sb #human au #glamrock chica #glamrock chica x reader

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corner-stories · 1 year

Text

unexpected things

Bart Allen. Tom Bronson. Jesse Chambers. Breakfast. Internships. Blossoming Friendships. 2498 words. (ao3.)

Bart Allen’s first morning with the Justice Society of America had gone in ways that he expected and ways that he did not.

Waking up at the crack of dawn to train with the older Wildcat in the basement gym? Expected. Sleeping restlessly due to both anticipation and the sensations of being in an unfamiliar bed? Doubly expected. Having his ass utterly beat after a single session with the old, sweaty fossil? Triple-y expected.

It was a good thing that Speedsters didn’t bruise easily, or else Bart would spend the rest of the day with marks on his pretty face.

At least the unexpected things kept the morning interesting. In fact, “unexpected things” was possibly the best way to describe most of what came out of Bart’s mouth.

Because clearly, no other newbie in the history of the Justice Society had the guts to ask Ted Grant if he was a furry.

In response, Bart was anticipating the utterly perturbed look on the old cat’s face, but what he was not expecting involved the one-hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and squats suddenly forced onto his plate.

Those who decided to drop-in on the training session — which included Ted’s pretty boy son, Grant, and Jesse — were encouraged to leave Bart to his grizzly fate in a warm, sweaty gym that smelt strangely like peanuts.

After discovering the hard way that he had no upper-body strength whatsoever, Bart left the JSA’s gymnasium feeling like Sissyphus rolling the stone up the mountain for the thousandth time. Had he been back in his west coast dormitory, he would’ve gone back to bed to properly rest his aching muscles.

But alas, here he was in New York with a different schedule in mind. He wondered what the rest of the JSA would think if their new “intern” slept for most of the day.

At a normal speed Bart went to his allotted room and changed into something a little less covered in sweat. He tried to ignore the aching in his joints as he pulled on his usual university sweater.

If every day with the Justice Society was like this, then he was rather happy that his little trial-period with the team would only last two weeks.

Nonetheless, Bart made his way from his bedroom and walked down the hallway, only briefly taking in the old framed photographs mounted on the walls. It seemed that every corner of the Brownstone paid tribute to the Golden Age heroes in some way, and that wasn’t even factoring in the museum on the building’s first floor.

It was different from the Secret Sanctuary or even Titans Tower, but in a good way. Each photo of the past, whether they be candids or posed, was a glimpse into a different time. Not a time that was better in any way — in fact, it could be argued that it was quite the opposite — but a time that happened and deserved to be remembered for both the good and the bad.

With that in mind, Bart caught sight of a photograph depicting Jay Garrick with much less wrinkles and a lot more color in his hair. It only took half a second of Bart looking at the photo for the gravity of the next two weeks to get just a bit heavier.

Fortunately, Bart finally made it to the kitchen.

Breakfast with the JSA was a rather casual affair. Only a handful of members were spread around the room and partaking in whatever they fancied in the morning.

At least Bart finally knew everyone’s names.

Courtney and Jennifer were listening happily as Maxine explained how artfully bad the Phantom of the Opera sequel was. From the way she dramatically gestured as she spoke, one could assume that the show was on an entirely different level of abysmal.

Michael and Karen were discussing the absolute nightmare that was dating in New York, rocking a fashionable pair of sweatpants and a hoodie as she did so.

Jesse was holding her toddler son in her arms as Rick tried to feed Johnny little spoonfuls of oatmeal. With every bite, there was a fifty percent chance that the boy would swallow or spit out his food.

And the JSAer called Pieter was huddled in the corner of the kitchen with a mug of black coffee and an unsliced bagel in his hand. Though his eyes were covered by a pair of dark sunglasses, the way he hunched his shoulders and huddled into himself implied that he wasn’t the only JSAer who wanted to crawl back to bed.

A sense of unfamiliarity plagued Bart as he stepped further into the kitchen. Unlike the Garrick or West household, he was absolutely out of his element. He couldn’t exactly stride in like a sitcom character and say “Good morning, y’all!” before someone would comically roll their eyes.

For once, Bart said nothing as he walked to the center island and grabbed a chocolate chip muffin off a platter. As he took a bite he couldn’t help but overhear some of the conversations taking place. Considering how many people were in the space, there was no way he couldn’t.

Karen seemed rather lively as she spoke of a rather unlively subject.

“I’m just saying — if I get matched with another guy who thinks liking lacrosse counts as a personality trait, then I shall succumb to my fate as a sad spinster maid and move to the attic,” she said with a casual voice,then poured a healthy serving of coffee into her mug.

“And get another cat,” Jesse added. As she spoke, she didn’t even look away from her son. “Can’t forget the cats.”

Michael let out a chuckle and Bart discovered that Mister Terrific did have a sense of humor afterall.

“Pro-tip, Karen,” Rick chimed in. “Maybe stop swiping right on basic white boys from Greenwich, Connecticut.”

In the corner of his eye, Bart caught sight of Michael visibly pondering something for a few seconds.

“Rick, isn’t that where you-”

Michael was cut off when Karen let out a hum. After pouring a glug of oat milk into her coffee, she stepped away from the counter and towards the silent physician in the corner.

“Hey, Doc,” she said, nudging him. “It’s your turn today.”

Pieter’s facial expression did not change as he nodded his head. “Right.”

Despite looking like a very sleep-deprived owl, the Good Doctor trudged to a counter near the kitchen’s doorway. On said counter was a stereo system. Without saying anything else, Pieter plugged his smartphone into the machine.

Bart then felt a tap on his shoulder, then turned to his right to come face-to-face with Jesse

“Every breakfast one of us gets to choose the music,” she quickly explained. “Don’t worry, I’ve made sure that you’ll get some time on Friday.”

Amused, Bart smirked. “Do you guys schedule everything?”

“Only when it’s important,” Jesse replied coolly, and Bart wasn’t entirely sure if she picked up on the joking nature of his words.

As Bart watched Pieter file through songs on a music app, he wondered just what kind of tunes the Good Doctor gravitated towards. Bart had only interacted with the man a handful of times, but judging by Pieter’s quiet nature and the constant cheerless expression on his face, he figured it would either be utterly boring or utterly angst-filled.

But to Bart’s surprise, the sound of music that played from the smartphone of Doctor Pieter Cross turned out to be — of all things — sappy 80s love songs.

Looking at the man now, it was almost surreal to watch one of the world’s most esteemed physicians stuff an unsliced bagel into his mouth as glassy synthesizers played in the background.

As Bart took a bite of his muffin, another JSAer entered the room.

Tom Bronson looked a lot more relaxed than he was when witnessing the morning’s session. Although, Bart could recall seeing a smirk on the guy’s face after the furry comment.

Like his father, Tom had dark hair, blue eyes, and an affinity for cat-based motifs. But unlike his father, Tom was in his mid-twenties, smelled like cigarette smoke, and utterly radiated a sense of youthfulness in the finer features of his face, something absolutely unseen in the older Wildcat.

Once the younger Wildcat stepped into the room, he let out a dramatic sigh of relief.

“Oh, thank the good lord, there’s finally some decent music in here!” Tom let out as he went straight to the coffee machine on the counter.

Some of the JSAers let out a laugh or chuckle, while others were less amused.

“Tommy, if you’re gonna say that every week, you might wanna start changing your inflection,” Courtney brought up, annoyed.

“And what exactly is your definition of ‘decent’ music?” Maxine chimed in. She appeared to be slightly less bothered by her teammate’s antics.

“And please explain without dissecting the entire genre,” Jennifer added on.

Tom smirked like he had finally been given a challenge.

“Good music is anything but fuckin’ country, that’s for sure,” he replied as he poured himself a healthy serving of coffee. The Pretty Boy Wildcat turned around and leaned on the counter to face his teammates. “Don’t tell Nate though.”

Once more, some of the JSAers chuckled along while others did not. Rick in particular covered little Johnny’s ears while Jesse looked amused. Considering how many f-bombs Bart would drop during every babysitting session, it was possibly pointless. At this rate, little Johnny’s first words would probably be “holy fuck nuggets.”

As Bart finished off his muffin, Tom immediately zipped towards the vacant seat next to the speedster and sat his ass down.

“Hey, you!” Tommy said, happily patting the Speedster’s shoulder. “You are my idol.”

Bart was bemused, yet the slightest bit confused. “What’d I do?”

“You asked my Dad if he was a furry, I’ve been daring Grant to do that for years and he chickens out every time,” Tommy explained. He took a quick sip of his coffee and looked at Bart with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

“We gotta hang out while you’re here,” Tommy continued. “Listen, my buddy’s playing this gig tonight at this bar down in Williamsburg, he does this whole thing where he mixes jazz and punk, he calls it junk. It’s sick. You’d love it. You should come.”

Bart didn’t need to think twice to know what his answer was. But before he could say anything, Jesse was quick to chime in.

“Hey, Tom,” said the blonde Speedster. She pointed to Bart to emphasize her point. “Not to a complete buzzkill, but he’s not twenty one.”

Annoyed, Bart shot her a glare. It seemed that being in the middle of college did not stop the one Jessica Belle Chambers from treating him like a surprisingly tall baby brother.

“Well, thanks, Jess,” Bart said in a tone that was equal parts sarcastic and annoyed.

Fortunately, Tommy was quite understanding.

“No no, it’s all good, I get it. Wouldn’t wanna get you in trouble,” he assured, bowing his head and putting one of his hands up. He gave Bart a quick nudge. “We could still do something though — me and Grant sneak into shit at Tisch all the time. You should tag along.”

Willing to accept any sort of strange adventure in New York, whether it be out of costume or in it, Bart managed a smile and nodded along.

“Hey, it wouldn’t be my first time,” he said, and just like that it felt like the plan was set. “Last month me and my roommates crashed this thing at Stanford. It was sick, they didn’t even ask if we actually went there!”

Tommy let out a laugh, clearly happy to find another partner-in-crime in addition to Grant.

As Bart reveled in the fortune of making a new friend, Jesse rolled her eyes and looked back to the toddler in her arms. At least all the tuition she was paying for Bart to go to university was going to an authentic college appearance — warts and all. Frankly, as long as Bart was getting the most out of his classes, what he did in his spare time as a young, doe-eyed twenty-year-old was none of her business.

“Well, whatever Jay doesn’t know won’t kill him,” she muttered. “Hopefully.”

A few moments passed as various JSAers sipped coffee, munched on unsliced bagels, or quietly jammed to the sappy 80s pop ballad playing through the stereo. While Bart reached for another muffin, he heard the beeping of a smartphone and looked to the corner of the kitchen.

Karen grabbed her phone from the counter and only spent a moment glancing at the screen. Whatever the notification was, it caused her to hum and walk to the doorway.

“Shoot, gotta run,” Karen said, keeping a firm grasp on both her phone and coffee mug. “Starrware stuff.”

However, Karen only took a few steps towards the exit before stopping in her place. She turned around just slightly and eyed Bart at the table.

“Hey, you,” said the team’s Chairwoman. She took a few steps towards him. “Jesse told me you’re studying electrical engineering.”

“And comp sci,” Bart added, nodding. “It’s one of those double major things.”

“When do you graduate?”

“In about a year.”

Karen let out another hum, then reached into the pocket of her sweatpants. After fishing around for a bit, she pulled out a business card and handed it to the baby-faced Speedster.

“When you do, be sure to give us a call,” she explained in a straightforward, professional tone. “We got some internship programs at Starrware and I think you’d fit in. And of course, it’s paid.”

Bart only looked at the card for half a second. Fittingly, the contact info for Starrware’s hiring offices were framed in a star shape.

“Aw shit, thanks,” he soon said, speaking as if his two-year-old nephew was not sitting next to him.

“No problem,” said Karen. She reached over and gave Bart a pat on the shoulder. “Glad to be working with you, Kid.”

As Bart slipped the card into his pocket, he couldn’t help but smile. Anything that implied that his college degree was not going to be a waste of time was fine by him.

By now, Bart Allen was getting quite used to unexpected things being thrown at him. In fact, he wanted them to keep coming, whether they be a punishment via push-ups or a new networking opportunity.

As Karen turned to leave the room for real, Jesse took a break from shielding her son’s ears from the profanity to give the chairwoman a quizzical eye.

“Karen, do you always keep business cards on you?” asked Jesse. “Even out of costume?”

“You don’t know my life, Jesse,” Karen replied in a dry tone, yet a smile remained on her face.

Letting out a chuckle, Bart soon realized that his time with the Justice Society of America was going to be something special after all.

#Bart Allen #Jesse Chambers #Tom Bronson #Karen Starr #Michael Holt #Pieter Cross #Courtney Whitmore #Jennifer Pierce #Grant Emerson #Rick Tyler #Ted Grant #DC #JSA #Justice Society #Flashfam #Wildcat #Kid Flash #Jesse Quick

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luchicm04 · 6 months

Text

lost in the forest - part 19

Masterlist

Summary: The aftermath of last night's events results in Karen struggling with many emotions to process.

Pairing: Senju Tobirama/Original Female Character

Tag: #lost in the forest fic

posted on ao3

Word Count: 4.3k

Overall warnings: canon-typical violence, adult content, time skips, angst, kidnapping, implied rape

The ground is hard when she falls flat with her ideas moving abruptly from the handling. Her cheek burns from a blow that she should not have received so hard, but considering the difference in skills, a simple slap stings as if she were hit with a closed fist.

Spitting blood, Karen is slow to react with everything else happening.

How did she end up there? Well, it’s easy to know when you see your friend in the bushes with a man on top of her and not exactly in the best condition. Mikami is unconscious... she assumes it at first glance when she sees that she doesn’t react to the wickedness of her supposed suitor.

Ryu, with heartbreak and too many drinks, is not a recommended friend.

The rejection of a marriage proposal did not make him fall into her good graces, transforming the bitter shopkeeper from a small store into another abrupt thing that makes him end harshly.

“You’re a stupid civilian... I don’t know why the leaders still treat you like you’re important,” the grumpy man growls as he tugs on her ankle with a strange look.

She doesn’t scream, she makes sure to kick ready to defend herself with tooth and nail. She curses her situation... where is everyone right now? Oh, right, there is an event that is supposed to be still happening in the distance.

The moon is the only witness of what he wants to do. “Let me go!” Orders the woman when she feels herself being dragged.

“Oh no... I enjoyed it once, I can do it again.”

She frowns at the man’s clouded logic. Her pride makes her take whatever she can find to try to hit the man, but he is skilled at giving her another slap with an amused air.

Is this man that sadistic?

“Now if you would shut up,” he insists on wanting to give her another blow that doesn’t arrive just when a shadow rises imposingly above them. She doesn’t know how this man has done so much damage with the absence of an arm... she can tell that being retired is not a symbol of weakness.

Bitter and ready to divert her attention from her humiliated situation, Karen is willing to think about other meaningless things.

Everything will hurt tomorrow... she can even feel her face swollen.

“What do you think you are doing?” Someone whose voice she recognizes rises with coldness that almost makes her fear for her life in a different way than she has felt before, almost like that day when she was sold or other similar situations.

She had never seen Tobirama with those glowing red eyes.

A slight hiccup came from the man who quickly removed himself. “Tobirama-sama... I was just teaching some valuable lessons,” he stated smug and confident.

Karen frowns... fear is struck when she gets up with insecurity beginning to want to make her run. She limps... she can’t help but feel that her ankle is not alright, heading towards where the girl is. “Mikami.” She doesn’t cry, but her heart breaks when she sees her friend so battered.

She was sure it wasn’t long before she lost sight of them... how can someone do this in seconds? She shallows a curse... she begins to want to cover up, conceal as best as she can what is a suspicious stain on her yukata.

“This shouldn’t happen here... right? The clan is family... a safe place,” she doesn’t avoid saying as she almost jumps when a presence appears far from the optimistic one she knows. Hashirama is at her side. He looks at her and tries to say something and touch her face. She walks away and frowns. “Heal her... she’s much worse,” she speaks again with deep regret in her chest.

She wants to say more, but only her tears come out like those days of disastrous feeling. Again, it reminds her what kind of place this is. “This should not happen,” is the only thing the clan leader says when he takes her friend in his arms. He looks hesitant for a few seconds when he sees where his brother is.

There are more people... when did the others arrive?

“Tobirama.”

The albino frowns nodding when he disappears in their typical technique. She prays... Karen doesn’t avoid doing so with her heart in her chest, worried about her friend. She wants to walk... however, her body does not react with the emotion washing away any extra energy.

“This shouldn’t happen here.” Karen no longer sees the culprit of this. Her skin is starting to swell with her cheeks inflated and not out of her own volition. Her eye closes, her feet are wobbly... “It’s a safe place, right?”

“Shut up...”

“She’ll be fine, won’t she?”

Tobirama does not say anything when he catches her trying to follow what she believes is the route where said leader went. He stops her. “Let me see your wounds.”

“I’m fine... I’m fine,” she tries even though it hurts... even though it doesn’t look good.

“Karen,” the man barks harshly when he notices her stubbornness. She is anxious... she has a panic attack when he takes her by the shoulders... Ryu was not kind, he was forceful and hard, and it is notable when everything Kaori and Mikami fixed up is missing.

The night does not become kinder.

“I... tried to help, he... he was on top of her,” she begins to ramble with an intermittent cough of words that seem to be fighting to come out at the same time. When she is nervous... when she is not well, she usually speaks quickly. Her sister complained about this.

Her mother and father did the same.

Tobirama tightens his grip silencing her. She feels a blow squarely on the back of her head that makes her stagger to the hard chest... yes, she remembers this man is not the most empathetic in life.

Making her sleep carelessly like he has done other times.

She’s a foolish civilian, one who thought she was in a safe place... she’s not.

Why does she have to remember it like that?

──

She wakes up startled and looks around when her face is affected... she can’t open one eye, which hurts along with the injured jaw that almost makes her scream.

Too bad she can’t.

“Do not move... you are fine. Just rest.” Kind as she usually is, the elderly Kaori is at her side.

“...?” She wants to say a lot.

“Your jaw is bad, it is being treated at the moment and your eye... well, it is swollen but they were able to save it somehow,” the old woman says with cryptic information. “Among other injuries... you are alright.”

“Mi...?” She tries to ask, but her mouth doesn’t finish speaking. It hurts like hell, so she gets frustrated looking at the ceiling.

Not even did she end up like that when she was at the mercy of those treatments... that is what she gets for intervening instead of asking for help.

Great!

“It is alright, just sleep.”

“Uh...”

“You will be fine, girl... so you better sleep,” the old woman insists with an audible sigh, which makes her frown because of all the things that she wants to question, to know... How is her friend? What happened to bastard Ryu? Did the Uzumaki notice? The latter, she hopes not.

They were kind people, even though she had a strange conversation with Mito and a curious proposal with her brother.

She snorts... when her only open eye closes, so tired of thinking, of getting angry without being able to express how disappointed she is in this place, of the bitter reminder of how fragile she is before those people with magic.

She laughs internally at the irony.

She is tired of this... of pretending that she had a job in a place that frankly has a lot of things to work on. Karen no longer wants to dwell on the matter.

She has fatigue, frustration and too much in her chest to continue longing for a freedom that she knows she will never have.

Since when did she stop thinking about this? Settling for the sad security that is as fragile as a sheet of paper drifting in water? She growls... she closes her eyes and lets herself go.

Darkness is her best friend.

──

A week passes for the swelling on her face to go down due to the old woman’s austere treatments without questioning why they didn’t use their magic on her... Karen never asked about her friend again.

It’s not because she wasn’t worried... but because they didn’t answer and her jaw hurt too much.

It took two weeks before she was able to open her eye even though it was burning. She stayed in bed all that time with night terrors that were so common and painful when she woke up as she injured some of the parts of her body that took the longest to heal.

Three weeks passed when her eye no longer bothered her, having a slight blurring vision that she hopes will disappear with the passage of time. She fears that she will have to use something else modern to help her vision.

At least she had no other lasting damage.

Four weeks were completed when she was able to say a word with her voice and jaw still making strange sounds when opening and closing her mouth. At least, she left the secretions that they had commonly given her... she is sure she lost weight again.

She doesn’t want to look at herself in a mirror.

It is depressing.

Five weeks passed when she finally decided to go out. Her ankles no longer hurt but she’s sure her sides are still uncomfortable. However, she’s tired of lying down. Her back hurts so much that it’s better to start overcoming the fear of going out.

Ryu won’t come, Kaori convinced her of that... “Mikami?” She dares to question now sitting in the almost autumn sun in the fresh air of the trees.

Kaori doesn’t look at her... but she tightens her yukata. “She is... improving,” she brings herself to say.

“She is?”

“Karen-san... it is better if you do not ask.”

“She wasn’t to blame,” she frowns, offended by the woman’s tone, almost as if it were a sin to talk about her friend when she knows she is alone in this.

“I know.”

“Does she have a family?” She decides to ask, watching the birds begin to migrate elsewhere.

“No, her parents died when she was young. Her grandparents and uncles, the same.”

“Uh... oh.” She is not surprised by such a short family. Now she understands why she was always by her side... it is lonely not having when she got used to her presence. “Will she come back?”

“I do not know.”

“Kaori... she isn’t in trouble, right?”

“No.”

“I... tried to help her,” she awkwardly adds with her chest heavy with this feeling.

“We know.”

“Uh?”

“Despite being a civilian... you received a lot of damage...”

“I see,” she manages to say so little expressed. “I hope she is well... and if she needs something from me, will you tell me?”

“I will send you the message.”

“I hope so... because she shouldn’t have to go through this alone, no one should.”

“Do you think so?”

“Yes,” she sighs because she remembers that special police series of this type of crime. The victims, despite what others say, have it difficult to get out of the depression that comes and insecurity after such events. If she still has nightmares... She feels those strong hands hitting her... hurting her.

She gulps, wiping her cheek from those tears of helplessness that run carelessly. Her friend is going to have a difficult time and she doesn’t know if this will be for the best.

She doesn’t know the justice system of this clan.

She hopes he pays... she hopes he does.

Karen, deep down, believes that they can’t disappoint her anymore, right? She prays for that.

──

Hashirama appears after two months of silence. Autumn begins to do its thing, refreshing the mornings again with a thick yukata... Karen has not returned to the village of her own free will.

And they have respected this by not sending her extra work. “I didn’t think I would see you,” says the woman, still sitting with a parchment in hand. She has worked on her own things.

Practicing the language... making a series of recommendations regarding women’s rights.

“You have worked on something...” The leader doesn’t look excited, much less bright as he usually is. The tiredness is noticeable when sitting next to her... she almost has the nerve to move away from that extra warmth.

Karen is bitter because this is a quick reaction to something that will be difficult to get over.

She almost sees him wanting to do something else... like that man.

“I am,” she assures, swallowing the bile of such anxiety. She endures... she doesn’t say anything else when she leaves the brush in her hand. “I worked on something...”

“Mmm...”

“Tell me the truth... how is she?” She takes from her chest as Kaori hasn’t said much about the matter. Karen sighs looking into the face of whom is still focused on her features.

Disturbing but silent... Hashirama sighs audibly. “It worries you a lot, doesn’t it?”

“It’s stupid to ask.”

“I know.” The man does not laugh but he leans on his knees, sitting on the floor that faces the door. She is still at his height in that desk that they have changed for another one on the floor.

Traditional...

“Are you going to answer? Or, as always, will you keep quiet about anything that you don’t think is prudent to share with someone who is not from your clan?”

“Karen... it is complicated.”

“I know it is, but it affected me... it affected my friend.”

“I’m sorry you have been involved in this.”

Karen frowns dignifiedly from her point... the distance of her short space dedicated to work is centimeters, the bed in the back of that small room that has been her place since they began to give her freedom.

Not as much as a prisoner. “She is fine,” the leader assures after a while.

“Are you sure?”

The man sighs, looking into her eyes, so firm... “If the decision of what to do with him, guilty of such actions, were in your hands... what would you do?” He throws out of nowhere, surprising her with such a bitter comment.

“Why do you ask me?”

“Just tell me.”

“I don’t know,” she says, looking at her parchment again, moved by such a question. “I think I wasn’t the more damaged one to ask.”

“Do not minimize what he did to you, ” the man harshly admonishes without losing an ounce of seriousness. It’s scary... she doesn’t avoid feeling uneasy about such an essence.

Which even on her worst days of arguments with Tobirama she feels.

“I don’t minimize it... I’m just saying that it would be better to ask Mikami, she was the one...” She presses her lips with the memory on the surface. “It’s difficult... to tell give an answer... what will you do it I tell you something about it?”

“I do not know.”

She would laugh at the irony, but she just looks seriously at the parchment on her desk. “Do they want to do something else?”

Hashirama does not answer.

“In my world, they would do an investigation... if he is guilty, they would lock him away from the victim, in addition to helping her overcome this through certain victim aid programs.” She clenched her yukata firmly and pursed her lips, because if this society is the same as the old Feudal one...

She knows it will have another unfriendly resolution for her friend. They are family... a clan, and everything stays between them.

Could it be?

“...”

“He was above her, you know? For a moment, I didn’t react... I should have asked for help, right? Run to one of you to tell you what was happening, but she was bleeding... he had his pants down,” she points out. With her gaze now firmly on the wall, she raises her chin remembering every moment... what happened and has haunted her ever since.

“It is not your fault.”

“That’s not what I feel... if I had been a shinobi, would the result change?”

“...”

“I am a civilian... a simple person who was about to be murdered by one of your own. I wanted to protect my friend... I didn’t arrive in time,” she sighs, controlling the bitter feeling in her chest. “Tell me that at least the solution is favorable... that you didn't come to me asking for a result that is frankly not in my hands.”

“...I guess you are right.”

“You are an idealistic man... a person who seeks peace. I know you know what the best outcome of this is... at the end of it all, you are a capable leader... I trust your resolve, it is unnecessary to ask me,” Karen says frankly, remembering what she said to Mito that night, what she remembers seeing in their interaction and dragged her to her business to start working on a future.

Furthermore, she is still a foreigner. She does not feel she has the right to decide, even if it were for her... it is difficult to reach a sensible conclusion where justice is done or feels done.

Hashirama doesn’t smile... but nods drily. “Do you trust me despite everything?” He comments out of nowhere.

She doesn’t know what he means. “It’s been a while... but I think I’ve gotten there at some point.” She’s honest because she unconsciously thought about them when she was in trouble.

She sighs at the pain in her jaw. She has spoken too much.

Hashirama is at her side. “I think this has been enough for now, no?”

“Mmmm...” Karen doesn’t move away from the touch, letting out a slight snort at such an accurate comment. The closeness doesn’t bother her, but for a moment the air became strange.

“Rest, and try not to force yourself to speak,” he reminds with a gentle touch to walk away, leaving her alone without any type of response according to what has arrived.

She squeezes her hands, looking at all the work done. The pain is persistent, so she does not hesitate to take some of the herbs brought to better sleep for a while. Waking up with a headache is not unusual when her whole face remembers the weight of the damage.

Something that will take time to heal.

──

Almost three months have passed when she hears about what has happened outside her place of confinement. The pain in her jaw and each wound is replaced by distant sensations.

“Karen-san!” The young Masarato catches up with her, which makes her tense, forcing herself to relax for such a show of affection. “I am sorry,” he screams guiltily.

“Don’t worry,” the woman says with a blink. She brings some parchments under her arm, ready to catch up with the numbers.

She still feels that it is too early to leave, but she will not waste more than a year oblivious to everything again... she feels the gazes of others, the whispers or women don't wait.

“I have not seen you for a long time,” he looks confused and worried.

“I’m fine,” she assures with a severe pat on that soft hair tied in a ponytail. “I’m glad to see you’re better, by the way.”

“Uh... yes.” The boy looks embarrassed. Besides, the last time she saw him, she was still in bed and working hard with her typical anxieties about what she experienced. As shinobi, they work on it differently. She has noticed it and not mentioned it.

“You are strong.” The woman looks less sour than how she arrived. That makes Karen happy in a different way for leaving that black cloud that continues to crave answers for the solution that Hashirama presented.

“I am not that much.”

“But you have aims. Don’t run, kid... there is time and I know you will get there,” she winks, amused, happy about this encounter.

“Yes!” He looks sure of himself. “And I will make sure that what that man did does not happen again.” Hies eyes shine differently than the ones the child normally shows.

She blinks twice and purses her lips because of course, in a small town, hell is big... she was too optimistic to think that they wouldn’t notice, to hope that the Uzumaki might have remained oblivious to the scandal.

Even though they have been gone for a while... and even though she didn’t say goodbye because she was in bed... it was sad not to see them.

“Uh... it would be better if you didn’t find out.”

The child does not understand her shame, her own weakness, but she assumes it is normal when he is oblivious to her growing anxiety of the regrettable memory that will continue to haunt her like other demons that have grown up in this forced stay.

Karen has bad luck... but she believes it could have been worse.

“I am sorry to remind you of it,” Masarato breaks her train of thoughts, which makes her shake her head.

“Don't worry,” she says again. “By the way, what have you been doing during this time?”

“Oh, well, I resumed my training,” he states proudly. “Sensei says I am being very good. Plus, I started seeing my other teammates.”

“Good. I hope you can keep coming back... I wouldn’t like it if one day you didn’t.” She feels sad because even though she has remained oblivious to their work, she cannot deny that the possibility of him not coming back, now that she has had a lot of time to think... is painful.

“Y-yes!” He looks firm, but Karen stops dead, almost dropping the parchments in her hand, just when she recognizes someone passing with a sad air next to an old woman that she does not recognize.

There is silence... she almost feels tense and curious by those who see the scene from an external point of view, the morbidity is palpable when blinking harshly. “Mikami?” She doesn’t avoid saying when she notices a certain woman.

She stops... she blinks with an odd gesture that doesn’t avoid being read. For a kunoichi, it’s careless when she just stands there like a statue.

“ What are you doing, girl? ” The old woman looks and then focuses on her. “ Tch... you are seriously annoying, ” she complains impudently with the intention of dragging her away, bitter and quite tired of this situation.

As if she were forced to carry the weight she didn’t want... Could she be her grandmother? She doesn’t think so, Kaori assured her she didn’t have a family... so who is she?

“Mikami,” she can’t help but say. She wants to get closer but it’s the girl who takes a step back... completely embarrassed, as if something was burning her.

Masarato stays at her side. He takes the scrolls are almost ready to fall into place. “Karen-san,” he calls carefully.

“This civilian is seriously not tired of causing problems,” the bitter old woman complains with a severe glare. “Come on, girl. I do not have time.”

“I apologize, ma’am.” Mikami does not avoid pressing the basket she was carrying against her belly, as if wanting to hide something that Karen sadly noticed from the beginning... her stomach twists, and she can’t help but turn to a nearby bush to throw away the bile of this situation.

She coughs. Her eyes fill with tears for this cruel five-months result after what happened... Mikami is pregnant, and she doesn’t know how to overcome what must be difficult.

“Karen-san.” Said kunoichi throws the basket to go to her side. She feels so bad that even now she is being comforted by someone with a terrible fate.

Oh, she doesn’t know what to think... Before, she didn’t think about how unfair the result was for two lives if she counts the infant in the womb of the one rubbing her back. The words get stuck when she throws back the little she ate.

This has surpassed her.

“I’m fine,” she manages to say when she has already sculpted so much. People continue standing where they are, no one willing to help her... Masarato is the only one who awkwardly hands her some water.

Where were those people who were already being nice to her? What broke during that time? No matter the rest, feeling Mikami so worried, Karen does the only thing she can do by wrapping her neck. She feels the tension ... her anxiety to get away from her.

But she clumsily clings to returning the hug. “I’m so sorry,” is the only thing she can think of to say with regret in her chest. It hurts more than she thought despite having prepared herself for some kind of unpleasant development.

Seeing it in person is heavy.

“It is not your fault.”

“What do you think you are doing, girl?!” The old woman looks upset, almost ready to go where the women are if it weren’t for someone getting in the way.

But Karen doesn’t care, not when she feels she has failed... not even all her experience has been of much value in preparing her for this occasion. Nevertheless, she hopes that with thiss she can do something to make the burden her friend carries less heavy.

Finding out that the lady is Ryu’s mother caused another upset in her stomach. Also, the fact that the council has forced her to be with her attacker’s family was another blow to her mental state, however... the positive side is that the aggressor has been punished.

She feels it is not enough... but it is the only thing she could achieve.

Now, what will come next?

A/N: As you can see, the situation in which our protagonist has become entangled is complicated. A delicate topic that is simply difficult to debate even now, but I will not get into that... I just threw it into what I believe is possible considering the concept in which the story is based.

Still... Karen feels more could have been done or with worse results, yet the leader was firm in his punishment in a way that no one expected, but it was accepted by the council and supported by his brother, not only because he hurt one of their own kunoichi, but also because he hurt a civilian, this creating a new law among the clan.

Not to involve civilians or harm them as it is unfair. The council did not appeal but more rumors were created... around the relationship with Karen since they keep minimizing her situation and damage. What happened to Mikami having more weight compared to the importance of the civilian.

This has caused an unexpected twist in what Karen has been working on this time. However, she... unintentionally trusts Hashirama and his brother.

What will happen with this? Will our civilian survive this harsh world with ugly solutions? I don't know... it’s an answer that will continue to arise in the course of history.

I hope so.

Author-chan out!

#lost in the forest fic #warring states period #angst #senju tobirama #tobirama x reader #tobirama x oc #ocs #hashirama senju #naruto #naruto shippuden #naruto fanfiction #luchipuchi's writing

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khalixascorner · 2 years

Text

Foundations Pt 3

Summary: After agreeing to let Tony take care of him, they have to establish the foundations of this strange new dynamic. Peter stumbles a bit along the way, but Tony's there to catch him. Part 2 of the Priorities Series.

Tags: Slow Burn, Like so slow it's glacial, Still technically pre slash here, Platonic BDSM, for now, Dom Tony Stark, Sub Peter Parker, Friday and Karen gossip

Read on AO3 Part 1 Part 2

The first week in Tony’s care passed quickly as his classes piled more and more on as finals got closer. His morning texts to Tony were often short and done as he literally ran out the door with whatever he had grabbed for breakfast in his mouth. Their night time calls had been casual so far, with Tony just asking how his day went and letting Peter ramble about his classes.

When Friday afternoon finally came around, he stumbled out of his last class ready to collapse. If he were honest with himself, he wasn’t even sure how he got back to his apartment, but once he did, he stumbled to the couch and collapsed across it. Peter knew he should get some food but a mental review of his kitchen left him disheartened. Everything he had left would need to be cooked and he just… couldn’t.

May had always joked about him needing life skills so that he wouldn’t starve at college, but it really felt like he needed two of himself. How was he supposed to find the time to cook and clean while drowning in homework? He hadn’t been out as Spider-man in over a week and he still felt like he’d gone four rounds with the rhino.

He groaned and buried his face in the pillow, ignoring the familiar gnawing in his gut to sleep instead.

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

His phone woke him, and he groaned, wanting to ignore it but also knowing that only a few people used it and none of them were people he could ignore.

“-lo?” Peter mumbled, yawning again.

“Hey kid, didn’t realize you were going to sleep early,” Tony said with a chuckle. “Though your bed may be more comfortable.”

Peter looked confused until he realized his phone was still on 3-d video mode, and Tony was getting a stream courtesy of Friday.

“Wa-wasn’t going to bed,” Peter said with a yawn. “Just needed a nap.”

“Did you eat dinner yet?” Tony asked and Peter flushed.

“Not yet, sir, but that’s next on the list,” Peter said, and even as he did, he knew he’d have to get something because he didn’t want to lie to Tony. The guilt would eat away at him even more than it already did.

“Alright, well just eat and then text me when you’re heading to bed,” Tony said, and Peter nodded, his head already dropping back to the couch. “Food first, Spiderling.”

With that, Tony closed the stream and Peter groaned but stood. He managed to find a large chocolate chip muffin and a string cheese and decided that was good enough. He was so hungry but so tired too that it was hard to choke it down before brushing his teeth and heading to bed properly.

Hey just letting you know I ate, and I’m going back to sleep. Have a good night sir.

He was asleep before he could even read Tony’s reply.

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

Tony had been mildly concerned when his nightly chat with Peter had started with the younger man collapsed on the couch. It had multiplied when Peter said he hadn’t eaten and Tony could easily read the evasive look he got after that. He wasn’t sure why the kid was lying but his gut told him something was wrong. Of course, Pepper always said that was just his anxiety and PTSD talking, but what did that one shrink know anyway?

“Fri, be a dear and check in with Karen,” Tony said without hesitation. “How’s our little spiderling doing?”

There was a moment of delay and then screens began popping up around him. As he took them in, he frowned.

“Karen states that while Peter is sleeping more, he is still not consistently getting the 6 hours you requested of him,” Friday said. “She also noted that he is definitely still not getting enough calories.”

Tony frowned, his mind already jumping to a million solutions though without knowing the cause, he couldn’t be sure which solution would work. The one thing he could do was gather data.

“Fri, run me up a Stark fit but let’s figure out how to get Karen on it,” Tony said with a sigh.

“Anything else you’d like on it?” Friday asked and Tony thought about it before programming a ton of specific variables to track Peter’s vitals as well as key statistics.

It took most of the night, but Tony was pleased with the final result.

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

Peter woke to the smell of bacon cooking and eggs sizzling. It was a little concerning that he hadn’t woken to any of the other noises that must have preceded the smell, but he was too hungry to care as he followed his nose to the kitchen.

It felt a little like deja vu to see Tony in his apartment again but he just shook his head and took a seat at the table. The man would tell him why he was there soon enough, and in the meantime, it was too early to be worrying about anything else.

“Good morning to you too, kid,” Tony teased as he dropped a full plate of food in front of Peter.

“Sorry, sir, still not quite awake yet,” Peter mumbled as he started eating.

“Don’t worry, I remember Finals week,” Tony said, waving it off with a chuckle. “Don’t think I managed more than a few words before my third cup of coffee.”

Peter wasn’t listening at that point though. He had tasted the first few bites, then couldn’t help it as he practically inhaled the rest.

“Easy there, kid, don’t want you to choke,” Tony said as he refilled Peter’s plate before sitting down with one of his own.

Peter grunted in response as he kept eating, only sitting back to look at the older man when he was finally done.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” Peter said with a flush. “Thank you for cooking breakfast for me, Mr. Stark.”

“Not a problem, kid,” Tony said, waving it off. Then the older man sat back and just looked at Peter.

“I didn’t know you’d be stopping by this weekend,” Peter said after the silence became too much.

“Thought I would surprise you,” Tony replied dryly. “Because despite your assurances that things have been going okay, Karen expressed some concerns to Friday about whether you were sticking to the rules.”

“What? But I’ve been eating and sleeping,” Peter said, hurrying to defend himself. “I swear it, Mr. Stark, I didn’t lie to you, sir.”

“The way you attacked breakfast says otherwise,” Tony said pointedly and Peter flushed. “How much did you actually eat yesterday?”

Peter couldn’t bring himself to answer, because he knew Tony wouldn’t think it was enough.

“Kid, you have to eat,” Tony said patiently. “You’re going to get sick or worse if you keep not taking care of yourself.”

Peter flushed, guilt making his stomach clench and his eyes water even as Tony himself offered no judgment for his mistake. He’d only been given three things to do and he couldn’t even do that right.

“Why aren’t you eating more, Pete?” Tony pressed when Peter didn’t-couldn’t- respond. “Did you not like what I had delivered?”

“I- no, I’m not picky, sir, I promise, I just-” Peter went an even brighter shade of red as the embarrassment built. He didn’t want to tell Tony the real reason he hadn’t been eating more, because it wasn’t a reason at all but an excuse and he knew it. Before he could spiral too far, he felt a hand land on his thigh and squeeze firmly.

“Come back to me, kid,” Tony said softly. “Deep breaths. You’re not in trouble, whatever the reason is ok. I just need to know what went wrong so I can fix it. This isn’t working, you’re not eating enough still clearly. Just- Let. Me. Fix. It.”

The words were firm, and rule #1 floated through Peter’s head now. He let out a shuddery breath then steeled himself for Tony’s disapproval.

“I don’t- I haven’t been making time to cook it,” Peter said. “I grabbed all the things that didn’t need cooking at the beginning of the week but after that ran out-”

Peter waited silently as Tony said nothing. His stomach clenched and the food he had been so quick to eat now sat heavily in his gut.

“Ok kid, I’m not happy that you didn’t tell me that it was an issue, but that’s an easy fix,” Tony finally said, and Peter’s head shot up as he looked at the man. The older man gave him a gentle smile, and the tension slid right off of him. “You know, I do remember what it’s like, being a crazy busy college student. I wouldn’t have given you crap about saying that you needed easier to grab food in the next grocery order or something.”

“I just-everyone keeps saying how I have to be an adult now and I just, I feel like I’m failing,” Peter replied softly. “I can barely keep up with my classes and Spider-Man.”

“Look, some people are just good at having their shit together,” Tony said with a sigh. “And some of us have better things to spend our brain power on. Do you think that I cook all of my meals? Cooking for you is literally the only time I’ve cooked in months.”

“Some of us aren’t genius billionaires though,” Peter pointed out. He meant it to be light, a joke to ease the tension, but it came out exhausted. Because it was true, he wasn’t Tony, and he doubted his ability to be like Tony.

“Peter, I need you to listen very closely right now. Engrave it on your soul even,” Tony said, grabbing both of Peter’s shoulders as Peter looked at him wide eyed. “You are brilliant, but you don’t owe anyone that brilliance. Even if the only thing you ever do with your life is what you’ve already done, you helped save the damn world. Retire if you want. Never be Spider-Man again, quit college, and let me take care of you until you’re old and grey, for all I care. You don’t have to be anyone but Peter Parker, and whoever that ends up being is good enough.”

Peter felt like his foundations had been completely shattered and the warm firm weight of Tony’s hands were the only anchors he had.

For all of his life, it had been expectation after expectation. Be smart, be good, you have a responsibility to do something. Those mantras had been carved into who he was for so long that the idea that he would be anything but was anathema, so much so that even when he threatened to crumble beneath their weight, the idea of just discarding those words never even crossed his mind.

The more he thought about it, though, the more it bothered him too.

“I don’t want to just be good enough,” he finally mumbled. “I want to do more and help people.”

“That’s good too, and I’ll support you the whole way, however I can,” Tony promised. “But you can’t compare yourself to me or anyone else while you do it. Don’t be the next Tony Stark, be the first Peter Parker. Because Peter Parker is an amazing person.”

“You’re the only one that thinks so,” Peter whispered, his mind immediately going to all of the people that had left him behind. If he was so amazing, they would have cared, would have stayed.

“Then that’s their loss,” Tony said firmly. Peter couldn’t help but snort a bit.

“Aren’t you supposed to tell me that they do care or something?” Peter asked.

“Kid, I don’t pretend to know everything that goes on in everyone’s lives, so I honestly don’t know,” Tony said, his voice steady and calm. “That happens, you know. The people you thought had your back no matter what only have your back sometimes, and you just gotta accept the limitation of the relationship. But I’m telling you right now that the people who matter? The ones who stand by your side? They’ll have your back no matter what and time will make it clear where everyone falls.”

“Do you?” Peter asked, his voice wavered despite his efforts to keep it steady. “Do you have my back no matter what?”

“Yeah, kid,” Tony said with a heavy sigh. “For better or for worse, I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark,” Peter whispered, leaning forward so that his forehead rested on the man’s shoulders. Tony wasted no time drawing him in for a proper hug, the older man’s hands running up and down his back gently.

“I got you, Pete,” Tony murmured. “It’s going to be ok now.”

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

Tony didn’t know how long they stood there, but eventually, he led them over to the couch so he could hold Peter more comfortably. The kid made no move to pull away, only confirming Tony’s concerns about the touch starvation. Even the slightest bit of touch seemed to affect the younger man, and there wasn’t an easy way to fix that when Tony lived hours away.

Eventually, Tony pushed Peter gently upright, giving the Bambi eyed college student an encouraging smile.

“As much as I love a good cuddle, there’s something else I came here for,” Tony said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the box with the custom StarkFit. “This is for you, to help Karen keep an eye on you and also remind you to eat and do all of those things.”

Peter took the box and opened it, his eyes going wide at the plain silver band with a discreet screen.

“What- what is it?” the kid asked.

“This is a modified StarkFit,” Tony said, lifting it out and showing Peter how to get it on and off. “Karen is linked in, there’s a microphone and speaker in case she needs to get your attention, as well as a miniature scanner to ensure she can keep track of your vitals. I want you to wear it anytime you’re not in the apartment, and preferably while you’re here too but I understand if you want to take it off.”

“You said it has a scanner?” Peter asked, eyeing the band. “Who monitors it?”

“Karen will watch the day to day and send summaries to Friday, though I’ll check in from time to time too, or if the girls alert me to anything off,” Tony said matter of factly.

Peter once again wondered if something wasn’t wrong with him. Normal people would balk at such scrutiny, and maybe Peter should too but the only thing he felt was a warm feeling in his chest. Tony was willing to devote his time and resources to ensuring that Peter was well. He was the only one willing to do so it seemed, and Peter put the tracker on reverently.

“Thank you,” Peter whispered, hoping Tony would understand because he didn’t think he could explain with words everything the tracker made him feel. It was a weird mix of safe, cared for, special, and the beginnings of something else. Something that was more and scary and something Peter wasn’t ready to face yet.

“You don’t have to thank me, Pete,” Tony said, giving Peter a gentle smile. “I’ve got you now.”

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

Later that night as he lay in bed, Peter couldn’t stop running his fingers over the Starkfit. It was odd feeling the small sensors as they took continuous readings when not wearing the spider suit, but Peter had no intention of saying anything to Tony. The gentle vibrations reminded him that Tony was there on the other end. Not even a phone call away now, just a single voice command.

“Karen, text Mr. Stark, please,” Peter said. “Let him know I’m heading to bed, and thank you again for today. Then tell him good night.”

“Message sent,” the AI informed him. Peter nearly jumped when his wrist vibrated a second later. “We’ve received a response. Would you like me to read it for you?”

“Yeah, sure,” Peter said with a snort. Of course Tony would link all of his devices.

“Mr. Stark says ‘Goodnight, kid. Stay out of trouble and expect a food delivery from the chef sometime tomorrow afternoon.’ Would you like to respond?” Karen asked.

“Yeah, tell him will do and thank you again,” Peter said, curling up under his blanket. He was asleep before Mr. Stark could respond again.

#khalixa writes #starker #tony stark x peter parker #tony stark #peter parker

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the1simp · 2 years

Text

new pawssibilities

another day in your routine. going home from your new job, but this time you take a small “gift” home. you are working in a toy store, like any other day of the week it is common for karens and confused old ladies to visit who, want to offer a gift to their grandchildren or in the case of karens , try to use out of date coupons or discounts or even trying to trick shop workers into not having to pay ,or making a scene in general if there is something they think there is demon sent in the shop .

and when you get home and get dressed comfortably, you take your backpack and take out your little gift. As already mentioned an elderly lady rudely entered the store pushing everything and everyone in line to the cash register where you were working. Coincidentally, she threw the small toy on top of the cash register and demanded a refund…

clearly your last two hours of work were spent trying to make the lady understand that, 1 she had to bring proof of purchase, 2 the store had not had this item in stock for 25 years and the remaining products of the same company were completely different, and 3 she was rude and that's why you delayed to do anything on purpose because she was being rude, luckily your colleague was in the other register and rung up the other customers who were already in your line .

The lady unfortunately had to be taken out of the store by the security , and when you asked if she wanted the returned item, she shouted that you could stick it in a place she knew well … great. and since no one else wanted it you kept it, not only because you still had a whole collection of them and you only lacked the one color that this one had, but also because it was a very cute object with a special aura.

The toy was a digital pet, it could be identified by its shape and the little research you did in the system of your work, the plastic was blue with yellow buttons and had a chain to be able to put it in a backpack or maybe make a necklace or even put it on in a belt. when you picked up the toy again it vibrated softly and started to turn on. and you hear a male voice

you could quickly see that he was a bit of a mix of boy and dog, he was blond and had a blue collar with a heart shaped accessory with an on/off symbol he was very cute, or would he be very cute if the first thing that you heard him say was the following

-Oh shoot. Sorry,I didn't see you there . warn a guy next time, hm? I'd hate for you to catch me in an unseemly state .

holy sponge cake with marmalade ... you almost dropped him because of the fright, you quickly grab him, again looking closer at him trying to understand what kind of toy is made with this kind of lines ... and that's when he sees you again and very excitedly began to say

-I'm so glad you found me, my last master was honestly terrible,you don't even want to know how lonely I felt...

Well ... even so he was very cute and so you decided that he would be the best gift that the universe will have given you, because what is more loyal than the unconditional love of man's best friend, the loyal dog.

-oh ... hello honey, my name is (y/n) and I'm glad you think that way, sorry for what happened to you. What's your name honey ?

smiling upon hearing the affectionate nickname you gave him he with an excited and happy tone of voice says

-my name is dachabo but you can call it whatever you want pup

The nickname pup wasn't very normal, but considering that he was literally the dog boy you didn't care to correct him, putting your hand on your chin you started to think of a name to give him, because the current one was a little strange and not very personal .after a few seconds of thinking, feeling his gaze on you, saying without fear-

your name will be bo , so it's short but it's still a part of you,is that okay?

-yes I love my new name pup , you are really so handsome and kind, I couldn't ask to have a better master than you !!!!

After you ate dinner and talked to Bo to get to know him better, you decided for once in your life, to go to bed early and hate yourself less in the morning. placing the bo on the pillow next to yours (as his request) you closed your eyes and finally decided to sleep.

-good night bo

-good night pup

🐶t̳o̳ ̳b̳e̳ ̳c̳o̳n̳t̳i̳n̳u̳e̳d̳ 🐶

#dachabo #x reader #pet names

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safic4-m · 2 years

Text

🚬💔Take off your clothes

Pairing: Karen x Fem Lector

Author’s note: Request made by @AquariusMarine1 who requested a one shot where Karen is a drifter, who falls in love with the person who helps her (with forbidden romance, smut and mostly jealousy). I had problems to complete this request and now that I did it, I read the request and I realized that I missed the jealousy part; so I understand if you don’t like AquariusMarine and if so, tell me and I’ll do another one.

Sorry for the delay and the spelling mistakes.

Number of words:3210

~Master list~

One-shot

Wattpad

It was supposed to help you solve your problems, but in reality it didn’t, on the contrary, it made them worse. You had come home from work completely exhausted and what was the point, if it was always the same, coming home from work to find an empty house, but you were no longer surprised, in fact you had taken it as your new normal.

As you go about your nightly routine hundreds of thoughts run through your head, you must accept it once and for all, this had gone to shit a long time ago. Shouts for help bring you out of your thoughts, you run to the window and manage to visualise a woman at your door being surrounded by those things that live in the village, along with a man walking away.

You run down the stairs and as you get closer you hear her call out to a “Mickey”, as you open the door you pull the mystery woman into your house and close the gate listening as they try to enter. Your attention goes to the sobbing woman in your flat, you approach cautiously examining her to see if she is unhurt.

-Did they hurt you?- you ask getting her attention and you feel your breath catch at the sight of her beautiful brown eyes covered in a veil of tears.

-I’m fine- she replies wiping away the tears that fall -I just need to find Mickey.

-You mean the man you asked for his help and he didn’t even deign to do anything- offering her your hand.

-He’s not like that, it’s that damn pill that’s making him act like that- refusing your help.

-Whatever, I’m not going to let you go out now- your gaze roaming over her body -You’re spending the night here- you say as you lead her into the kitchen.

-No, I can’t do that- hugging herself.

-It’s not open for discussion- handing her a glass of water which she hesitates a little to accept.

-I’m sorry I don’t have anything freshly prepared- offering her one of your pre-prepared lunches from work.

-It’s perfect, thank you- taking it happily.

-I’ll go and get the room ready- is the last thing you say before leaving the kitchen.

Karen stands in your kitchen not quite understanding what is going on, a few seconds ago she was screaming for help and now she will have a place to stay for the night. As you walk down the stairs you find her looking around, something inside your chest shudders at the sight of her, you clear your throat to get her attention.

-I’m sorry- you cut her off before she can speak any further.

-Don’t worry about it, by the way, I realised I don’t even know your name.

-Right, I’m Karen but everyone calls me Tuberculosis Karen.

You wanted to ask her if she really has TB but for now her name will have to suffice.

-T/n…- you barely managed to say your name before yawning -sorry, follow me, I’ll show you to your room- moving towards the stairs.

The tour is short, you show him the room and the clothes you left for him to change into.

-Rest, if you need anything my room is at the end of the corridor my dear- you say before leaving.

Your hospitality seems very strange to the pink haired woman, but who was she to judge the person who offers her clean clothes and a decent place to sleep.

The next morning Karen woke up to the sound of noise downstairs, she wasn’t sure what time it was, sleeping outside didn’t let her get much rest and the bed was very comfortable.

The smell of pancakes flooded her senses, the closer she got to the kitchen the stronger the smell became, being distracted by the sound she accidentally bumped into a piece of furniture.

-I imagined you would wake up later-said a male voice from the kitchen -but lucky for you I’m done now.

Karen had stayed still in her place, she didn’t know what to do, she had only met you the night before and you didn’t know you were living with someone, at least she could run away, right?

The man came out of the kitchen to meet the pink haired woman, one of the plates he was carrying slipped and broke, but that was the least of his concern.

-How the hell did you get in, do you think you can just walk into anyone’s house!…how many times have I told you to lock your front door? ….

All the noise woke you up causing you to come downstairs quickly when you heard the screams.

-Get the hell out of my house, or I’ll call the police!

As soon as you made it down the last step you found Karen apologizing and heading for the exit, you grabbed her arm and made her stop.

-What the hell is going on?- with your voice hoarse from not having occupied her for hours.

-This tramp broke into the house- as if she wasn’t even here.

-She has a name and she didn’t break into the house, I let her spend the night here- with a stern tone.

-Why didn’t you tell me, demanding an explanation?

-You’re never here and I can bring whoever I want into my house.

-Some of us work a lot- as usual with his excuse of work.

-Then leave, I don’t want you to be late- you say with venom.

He leaves the house and you turn to look at the woman he’s holding, his eyes are bathed in pain.

-I’m very sorry for my husband’s reaction- letting her go.

-I’d better get my things and leave, I don’t want to cause you any trouble.

-I don’t think you can cause any more trouble than we already have, honey- placing your hand on her forearm -Please stay- giving her a smile.

With all the fuss Karen hadn’t had a chance to get a good look at you, you’re wearing your most comfortable pyjamas with your hair down and your face clean of make-up.

-I don’t want to impose on your hospitality.

-No you don’t, come on let’s have breakfast- pulling her into the dining room.

After cleaning up the mess they had pancakes for breakfast, somehow you managed to convince her to stay at your place for a while, in your room you were looking for some clothes to lend her to go shopping.

-I don’t know what you think of this- showing her an outfit.

-That’s fine thank you- taking the clothes from your hands.

-Ok, then I’ll take a bath and we’ll go- dismissing her as she leaves the room.

Karen was waiting for you downstairs not knowing quite what to do, in such a short time and you were offering a whole world to the pink haired woman, all this made her feel strange and everything she had done for Belle she felt she was not worthy of your kindness.

As you went downstairs you heard a loud cough, finding Karen having a small fit, when she recovered you offered her a glass of water and some syrup.

-Thank you

-You don’t have to be thanking me for what I do for you- you say taking the empty glass -I can tell what caused it.

-Well this time of the year and all the cigarettes I smoke- that little voice inside wanted to scold her for the damage she does to her body by smoking but it wasn’t the time.

-After shopping we’ll go to the doctor- handing her a coat and taking your things to leave.

-Doctors are sons of bitches- she says getting into your car while you hold the door for her.

-Well I know some of them, but not all of us are sons of bitches- he says before closing the door and going around the car to get in.

You can help but laugh at the look on her face, technically she had insulted your profession, but you imagine that maybe she had bad experiences with them before.

This is going to be fun

*****

The months had flown by, Karen’s presence in your home had become your new normal, the process was quite long, getting her off drugs and cigarettes, providing her with medical care, getting her a job; from the beginning you had no problem with her not working, every day when you came home from work she would be waiting for you with hot food and you felt that what she was doing for you was more than enough.

On the days when you had a double shift at the hospital and you were out very late, Karen was always there waiting up late at night for you, but then she started to insist on the idea that she should get her own money saying that you had given her a second chance and that this time she would do it right; yes it wasn’t easy, no one wanted to accept a former vagrant and when you found out about her great painting skills you got all the materials so she could sell her paintings.

As you park your car in the driveway you snort as you see the lights come on, grab your stuff and walk into the house listening to Karen singing the song playing on the speakers, you pause the music.

-Aren’t you supposed to be out later?- she asks when she sees you.

-Karen, it’s 4am- turning to the clock.

-Really, I shouldn’t have noticed- wiping his hands on a rag.

-Well, I haven’t slept for 24 hours- finishing with a yawn -I’m going to sleep- coming closer to give her a hug -rest- placing a kiss on her cheek.

With your lips you manage to feel an abnormal increase in his temperature, you place your hand on his forehead and you realise that your suspicions are correct.

-You have a fever- you say, looking at her features for something else.

-I feel fine- she says without moving from her place.

-Take this off- you barely notice that it is wrapped with heavy luck.

You take off the garment and realise that she has another one underneath, you remove the other one leaving her with only a bra on top.

-T/n!- she says, covering herself with her arms.

-I need to get your temperature down- thinking about your options.

You take her arm and lead her to your room, in the bathroom you turn on the faucet and let the tub fill with cold water.

-Take off your clothes- you order, turning off the faucet and turning to look at her.

-Of course not- becoming defensive.

-Would you rather I take them off?- you ask with an authoritative tone.

-All right, but jump in first- she says with a blush tingeing her cheeks.

You come out of the bathroom and go downstairs to turn everything off, as well as secure the door, you find the painting Karen was working on. Your breath catches as you realise what

she was doing, it’s you and her on the bed naked having sex.

You quickly return to your room as if nothing had happened, ready to see how far she plans to take her lie, while she is in the bathroom you change into a somewhat revealing outfit, putting on a lucky change of clothes, you also take out a change of clothes for her and leave it in the bathroom.

Just as you had suspected when you leave the bathroom her temperature is normal, you take off your sweater with the excuse that it’s hot and suddenly she has a “fever” again seeing how revealing it is.

You climb into bed with her back to you as your breath hits her neck.

It’s going to be a long night for Karen.

You awake to hear soft moans, it takes you a few seconds to realise it is Karen, one of your legs is trapped between hers, your hand resting on her hip, you gently pull away so you can look at her.

Her face completely serene with a slightly red nose, before you can touch her cheek, her bottom lip is captured in her teeth and a soft moan escapes her.

You’ve never heard a sound as beautiful as that before and now all you wanted was to hear it for the rest of your life, moving your leg a little you manage to capture that beautiful sound again, burying her face in your neck grinding her hips against your leg.

Pressing your thigh against her centre holding back a moan as you feel the heat, Karen moans again, louder this time, her hips making awkward movements blinded by sleep. So you hold her hips with your hands to guide her, firmer, more precise, her breath beating against your neck tickling you.

-T/n?- she asks barely in a whisper, still with her eyes closed.

-I’m here baby- you whisper very close to her lips, before closing the space.

Fuck your marriage, fuck your husband and fuck your fucking life, you have her in your bed grinding against your thighs as her lips have a battle for dominance. How the hell did you waste so much time with your husband, refusing these carnal desires.

You tilt your thigh pressing her clit to perfection, making her moan into the kiss, you run your nails down her leg making her sob into your mouth, as she pulls away from you for lack of air, you study her face, her eyes are closed, small beads of sweat on her brow.

Karen’s breath hitches, as her body stiffens, her hips quiver before she grips them, making smooth movements to make her pleasure last, her teeth sink into her lower lip moaning with satisfaction.

You fill her with gentle caresses as she recovers from her orgasm, their bodies intertwined with each other.

-Hello- you say as you see her beautiful brown eyes being illuminated by the light that manages to penetrate the curtains.

A smile spreads across Karen’s face as you place your palm against the curve of her cheek.

-How did you sleep?- you ask, noticing how a blush creeps up her cheeks and she bites her lip.

-Well…- interrupting herself as she hears a knock on the front door.

Quickly they part and you slip on your dressing gown and rush out of the room to find your husband looking at you with a strange look on his face as he takes off his coat.

-Is everything all right?- he asks, looking you up and down.

-Yes, it’s just that I’ve missed you so much- forcing a smile.

He comes closer to kiss you and you kiss him back, but he doesn’t feel anything; a few seconds ago he was in bed with a woman and now you find yourself with your husband as if nothing had happened.

Karen felt so stupid, to believe that she ever had a chance with you, what happened was just a moment of horniness, she hated seeing you with your husband opting to leave the house for long periods of time, she spent her time on the beach enjoying the view, she didn’t even feel inspired to paint, she just stood there doing nothing.

When you took out the rubbish you found Karen’s painting in the bin, you had wanted to talk to her after what happened but every time you tried she either got out of the situation or just avoided you; but that was enough, you had called the hospital saying you were ill and couldn’t go to work.

Just as you had imagined, 15 minutes after your shift started you heard the front door open, what you didn’t expect was to see your husband and a woman kissing passionately.

-I want you to get your things and get out of here right now- you say making them quickly separate.

-T/n, what are you doing here?- he asks trying to get away from her.

-This is my house- you reply in your emotionless tone of voice.

-I mean…you shouldn’t…be working?

-Yes, I should, but I stayed because I was feeling sick, only to find my husband bringing a prostitute into my house….

-I am not a prostitute!

-No, I’m talking to you- interrupting me before I speak again -Shut up or you want too….

-I’m sorry, my love, I swear this is nothing- she says to the idiot you have for a husband.

-I told you to take your things and get out- with a stern tone.

After forcing him to leave your house you are left with a bottle keeping you company. You must have fallen asleep because when you wake up it’s already dark, it doesn’t take long for the lights to come on making you close your eyes from the shock. As soon as you see Karen you throw yourself on top of her and trap her between your body and the wall, before claiming her lips; in the end she pushes you away from her and you stare at her quizzically.

-No, T/n, you’re drunk, plus your husband could be here any minute- she says with a stern tone, but her eyes tell a different story.

A bitter laugh comes out of you at what he said.

-I ran that asshole out of my house- seeing the mess you’re in.

-What do you mean?- turning away from the heavy broken glass.

-I didn’t go to work so I could talk to you, but I found my husband making out with a woman- stumbling over your own feet, being caught by Karen.

-Please stop- she asks for you to stop kissing her neck.

-And what are you going to do about it?- you ask before being pushed down onto the sofa with the blonde straddling you.

-I said no, I’m not going to be a toy that you can play with whenever you feel like it- her voice loses strength as her eyes fill with tears.

You feel all the alcohol disappearing from your system when you hear her words, the last thing you wanted was to make her feel bad, it had been hard for you to accept your feelings for Karen, but you realized that you were in love with her and there was nothing you could do, besides loving her.

-I…I didn’t mean for you to feel that way- holding her face wiping away the lone falling tear with his thumb.

-Well…it doesn’t matter anymore- pulling away from you, -You don’t even know what you want.

-Of course I know what I want- trying to get closer to her, -but I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to realise it,- she said.

-And I don’t mean in a purely sexual sense, I mean that I… I really love you,- for a second you almost blurted out those words.

-I don’t believe you,- shaking my head without looking you in the eye.

-Karen, please give me a chance and let me show you how much you mean to me,- before she can speak you cut her off, ready to give her your heart.

-My life was monotonous, wake up, go to work, come home and spend the nights alone, but since I met you you have completely changed my life, I have never had someone who would worry about me coming home, prepare something to eat and force me to rest,- thought your next words, -I have never felt so happy as when I met you and I am sorry I was so stupid, I didn’t realise it before,- taking her in your arms.

Karen sits and hugs you tightly, enjoying the moment, fearing that she might wake up at any moment, only to realise that it was all a dream.

-I love you Karen- you say above a whisper.

Causing a smile to form on the blonde’s features as she sinks her face into your neck.

-I love you too T/n

#american horror story #ahs #ahs double feature #double feature #tb karen #karen #tb karen x reader #karen x reader #sarah paulson #sarah paulson x reader

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mellowsadistic · 2 years

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Karen smirked as she scrubbed the bathroom walls. She’d been furious when she’d found her husband in bed with another woman, but now that things had settled down, it was clear she’d come out on top.

Her husband had sat her down (and hadn’t there been some strange music playing in the background?) and explained all about how their relationship would have to change – that he would have to make up for cheating on her by ensuring that she was well and truly pampered.

Karen’s soaking wet nappy squelched between her legs as she moved around the tub squirting and scrubbing all the surfaces to make them sparkly clean.

Sure, she had to do lots of chores now, like doing all the cooking and cleaning for Daddy and his mistress, but she didn’t have to go to her stupid job anymore. Her husband had rung up and told them she’d quit! She’d actually been angry at first because for some reason she’d thought she wanted to keep doing her dumb high-powered career, but then her husband had explained to her how much better it would be to be a happy little housewife instead. Doing the laundry was so much easier than… than whatever it was she’d been doing before. Law? Medicine? She wasn’t sure.

Karen shook her head, making her hair flap about her face. It didn’t matter. Her head was nice and empty now. Free from responsibilities and stress. Her smirk grew into a satisfied grin. Yes, that stupid homewrecker had really got the worse deal.

Karen had her own room now, and she even got to sleep in a really comfy bed that had bars on the sides to stop her falling out. Meanwhile that dumb bitch her husband had been fucking had to share a bed with him, and she didn’t get a special high-chair to eat her din-dins in like Karen did. Nothing made Karen feel more superior than when she was looking down at her husband’s mistress at the dinner table, watching the woman eat with a knife and fork while Daddy spoon-fed her baby food (she didn’t even have to chew!) and wiped her messy face for her. After all, what did being pampered mean if not having all her needs taken care of for her?

Well, there was one other thing. Karen glanced over at the toilet with a sneer. She didn’t have to use the stupid potty anymore. Being pampered meant she got to wear her thick, adult-sized Pampers instead! No more sitting on cold, icky potties for her. She just went in her pants and left the rest up to Daddy!

At that moment, she heard footsteps approaching, and she turned around to see her husband appear at the bathroom door.

“Hi, Daddy!” she blurted, blushing a little and feeling butterflies flutter in her stomach at the sight of him.

“Hi, sweetheart,” he cooed, his eyes glittering. His eyes darted down to the drooping diaper between her thighs, and he smirked. Then he looked around the bathroom. “Aren’t you finished in here yet?” he asked.

“Not yet, Daddy,” Karen said.

“Well make sure it’s done soon or you’ll get a red bottom,” said her husband sternly. “Elanor will be back from work soon and I want the house spotless when she arrives.”

Karen nodded earnestly and performed a curtsey – although she had to pretend to hold the edges of her skirt since she never wore anything but her nappy below the waist.

“Good girl,” Daddy said, and Karen felt her pussy pulse in her sodden diaper.

Once he’d left, she went back to her scrubbing straight away, determined to finish the bathroom as quickly as she could. She was so lucky Daddy cared about her enough to spank her. His mistress never got spanked.

Just then, Karen felt a slight pressure in her bladder, and she immediately let go, flooding her already drenched diaper with a strong gush of pee-pee. It was yucky and squishy and stinky, but that was okay. It was a small price to pay to get pampered. Karen smirked once more as she got down on her knees and started cleaning the toilet that she would never use again. Yes, she’d definitely come out on top.

#mellowsadistic

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dreamertrilogys · 3 years

Text

my mom and i just had a conversation with our neighbour and i’m literally in shock rn i didn’t know those white suburban moms they show on tv actually existed bro…

#.txt #she wasn’t like a KAREN or whatever but it was so strange…#she’s like a hashtag girlboss possibly a white feminist tho #also she made me so dysphoric help 😭 it was like omg!! we’re so glad to have more girls in the neighbourhood the other kids are all boys!#and then later she mentioned that this other school had a good ib program and she told me that the girls there were sooo sweet like i want #to make friends with ‘’sweet’’ white cishet catholic school girlies…#NOT TO SAY SHE ISNT NICE BTW she is and i think i like her it’s just yknow #also i’m just. tired what with my cousin being transphobic yesterday and the old lady who worked at the store who was trying her best to sto #stop me from getting men’s jeans and now this yk

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stclenstarlight · 3 years

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Well Actually...

Matt Murdock/Reader

WC: 1.1k

Summary: The one where you finally figure out that you are the most oblivious person to exist

Warnings: Fem!Reader, Mentions of blush (doesn’t mention it’s visible though)

A/N: Hi! This is my first fic and I kinda inspired formatting from other writers I follow but I hope you enjoy and feedback, likes, and reblogs are greatly appreciated :))

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

Your heels clicked rapidly against the sidewalk as you approached the building that looked as if it was on its last leg. You weren’t really in a hurry to arrive, but you wanted to be able to see her before her lunch break ended.

Walking into the building, you looked around hoping to see someone walking about and when you saw no one you stopped to listen to your surroundings. The place was so quiet you were almost sure you had walked into the wrong place, but you continued down the hall until you came upon a door with a sign on it that said ‘Open’.

You stepped through the door hoping you’d finally see a person who could at least help you find your best friend but was once again met with silence. If you strained your ears enough, you might’ve even heard a pin-drop with the silence stretching throughout the room.

You looked toward the door to see ‘Nelson and Murdock Law Office’ and you looked down at your phone to see if you had gotten the right place, sighing in relief when you saw that you had.

Suddenly a thought came to your head, what if the place wasn’t open and you just waltzed right in and what if someone caught you in there and called the police on you. You really didn’t want to deal with the authorities at the moment.

Hearing something in the room to your right snapped you out of your thoughts immediately though because maybe someone was in the building with you. When you didn’t hear any more noise though you approached the door, pressing your ear against it and hoping that you weren’t going crazy.

You listened for a moment, waiting a moment longer and straining your ears a bit. Starting to think that maybe you were going crazy you were about to get off the door when it suddenly opened on you, and you almost plummeted straight to the ground.

To be honest, Matt had known you were in there since you stood right outside the building. At first, he thought you were Karen but quickly noticed the change in the click of your heels and the scent of your perfume.

He honestly didn’t mean to scare you, but you were standing outside of his office for quite some time, and he wanted to make sure you were alright and not lost. It happened more often than he would hope for, excited to have more customers but only coming to find lost tourists.

“Were you planning on coming in, ma’am?” He asked with a raised eyebrow amusedly. Sunglasses covered his eyes which you found slightly strange but ignored. You were even more confused at the fact that you didn’t even hear him approach the door with your ear pressed against it.

“I am so sorry, but I’m actually looking for a Ms. Karen Page? I heard she was working in this office now and I was hoping to speak with her.” Maybe the man—who was admittedly very attractive, although you’d never admit it out loud—could help you. He hummed and spaced off for a bit, you honestly thought he was ignoring you for a minute, so you spoke again.

“Sir?” You inquired, hoping to catch his attention once again. Your lips puckered in confusion, and he seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in only a few moments later.

“Sorry,” He muttered something to himself, you didn’t catch most of it, but he mentioned a heartbeat? You couldn’t be completely sure. “I’m afraid Ms. Page just went on her lunch break, if you'd like to leave a message and name though I could tell her you dropped by?”

“Oh right, my name! I’m (Y/n) (L/n), but there’s no need, thank you, I just figured I would stop by and check on Karen since it’s been a while, but I can always just stop by later if that's alright with you?”

“That is more than ok ma’am, also the name is Murdock, Matt Murdock,” He went in for a handshake and you shook it in return not ignoring the warmth of his hand before he let go far sooner than you’d like.

You spun on your heel, turning toward the exit but decided against it and around just as he was entering into his office. Before letting him enter though you cleared your throat to catch his attention and he stopped, although he didn’t turn himself, you knew he was listening.

“I, uh, wanted to apologize for earlier, by the way, there were no bad intentions unless you can count curiosity but I’m just really sorry you had to see that,” Wincing, you waited for his reaction not expecting him to pause.

His shoulders shook slightly and if you weren’t so focused on his reaction you probably wouldn’t have seen it but now you only wanted to know what he seemed to find funny about your apology.

Before being able to say anything he turned to face you once again and you nervously laughed with him, still confused by his reaction. He finally sobered up enough to where only light chuckles spilled past his lips which you wished to admire more.

“Ms. (L/n) was it?” You made a noise of agreement before letting him continue, hearing what he had to say, “I really don’t mean to embarrass you further, but I probably wouldn’t have been able to see anything that happened just now considering I’m blind.”

He still had a flashing smile on his face from his earlier amusement, but your eyes widened, and a blush rose to your face once again wondering how you could be so stupid. Curse you and your obliviousness that just couldn’t give you a damn hint.

Although Matt couldn’t see the blush, he could hear your heartbeat speed up and feel a slight rise in temperature from all the blood rising to your face.

“Oh my goodness, sir, Matt, I- I apologize for my obliviousness and if it brings you further amusement, I honestly thought that those glasses on your face were just a fashion statement or something of the sort, this is so embarrassing.”

You didn’t want to say anything to embarrass yourself further so in haste you quickly said goodbye to the man that you found way too good-looking and that you would probably never be able to face again. Unbeknownst to you though Matt wasn’t able to stop smiling even if it was long after you left and hoping that the girl who knew Karen Page would stop again soon.

#matt murdock x reader #daredevil x reader #matt murdock #daredevil #daredevil imagine #matt murdock imagine #defenders x reader #matt murdock x you #matt murdock x y/n #matt murdock x fem!reader #matt murdock x female reader

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kookieswan · 2 years

Note

Could I request a back rooms au (bc those videos are so fucking well made and the concept is amazing!!) maybe with Yoongi or Hoseok ?? 👀 Lots of horror and suspense and a plot twist ending because you write the best plot twists 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌 thanks darling 💕

Beyond Decaying Walls

-Level 0 -

Yoongi x Reader (f)

Word Count: 1.3k

Genre: Backrooms!AU, Horror AU, Strangers to forced acquaintances lmao. Angsty kind of.

Warnings: Horror themes, mind fuckery, allusions to going insane, lack of eating/drinking. Strange creatures…

Summary: A normal day at work quickly turned upside down upon finding a hole in the wall. Now you’re in hell on earth… You think.

Notes: I can always rely on you to indulge me Mindy ❤️❤️❤️ I’ve missed writing horror, and I hope everyone likes this. A part two is definitely up for debate lol.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Tch, whatever Karen.” Grabbing your coffee, you whisk out of the break room before the grouchy old woman can retort. She’s always got some line of bullshit to try and feed to you. Glancing up at the clock as you come back to your desk, you decide that now probably the best time to use your bathroom break. The idea of your boss yelling at you later for having to pee like an asshole is enough to make you start walking that way.

Your heels click against the floor as you walk in, the lights flickering to life at the sign of movement. Stopping at the mirror, you check your makeup quickly, making sure that none of your lipstick had managed to smear during you verbal brawl with Karen the asshole. Going to turn away, you double take as you notice through the mirror that the far wall of the bathroom looks unusual. Dark almost? You walk over to it curiously, wondering if maybe someone had drawn a picture od a dick that needed to be painted over.

But no, that can’t be it. It almost looks like its sinking into itself, or like its liquified. Curiosity taking over you, you push on it with a manicured finger. It nearly tipples like water, and with some sort of fucked up mental pull, you go to place your palm on it- and then you’re falling.

~~~~~~~

Waking up isn’t pleasant in the slightest, not when it feels like your back is drenched. Groaning quietly, you wiggle around and sit up, having absolutely no idea as to where the fuck you are. Had you actually fallen through a creepy wall sinkhole of all things? Glancing up, it’s an instantaneous reaction to squint your eyes because holy shit its bright.

Your eyes hurt almost immediately; the fluorescent lights flicker every now and then, the hum of them annoying to listen to. Its almost like your office but not quite. Something is… Off. Its void of any sound, no workers or bosses to yell at you, no commotion, just you with your thoughts. Taking a step forward, it occurs to you that the walls don’t make a whole lot of sense. In the distance, one room leads to another, and then breaks suddenly.

“Hello…?” You call out loudly as you start to step forward, but no one calls out in return. You’re alone in this dank smelling place, your footsteps squishing with every new step you take. The floor is soaked for some reason, the gross carpet likely covered in some sort of mold. It makes you want to gag, but you refrain, continuing on your path forward through the opening. Its another hallway, and the lights flicker even worse here as if that were possible.

Turning to go back, you gasp loudly as you’re met with a solid wall. How…? You bring a hand up to it, feeling for any sort of give, but there’s nothing. It’s somehow solid and covering where you just came from, like that pathway wasn’t even there in the first place... And so, it seems the only way you can go is forward. Turning back isn’t going to be an option for you.

So, you do. You walk and walk and walk and nothing changes. It’s still the same old office, the same feeling of disgust that every turn gives you. Every once in a while, there’s maybe a table or a chair somewhere, but that’s it. Not a single sign of life. The worst thing though is that you can’t even tell how much time has passed, how long you’ve been in this hellscape. Is this your punishment for telling Karen to kiss your ass?

Just as the hunger and thirst start to set in, the ringing of the gross lights becoming unbearable, you notice him. A person standing directly across from you in a doorway. He looks just as surprised, eyes widening before he turns like he’s going to run away. You call out though, not willing to let this chance go.

“Wait! Please wait!” Your voice comes out ragged from the lack of use, your throat screaming at you to shut up. The man pauses, stopping long enough for you to get a good look at him. He looks pale, bags under his tired eyes, long hair askew. If you had to guess, he’s definitely been in whatever hell this is for longer than you. On the bright side of things, it means that you’re not alone here. You mutter out a small hi, unsure of what else to say to the man.

“Hello.” His voice is deep, scratchier than yours but comforting all the same. You watch him as he watches you, and it finally makes sense as to why he wanted to walk away. There’s no way to know his intention, not really, but based on the face that he was trying to run away from you means that he likely isn’t looking to harm you.

“My name is _____, and I have no fucking clue how I got here or where we are.” The man nods his head before throwing his head one way, signaling for you to follow him. You do, sad to hear the sound of the floor squishing again, but the ringing of the lights seemed to have quieted down a little bit at least.

“I’m Yoongi. I do not know where we are either. We should move.” He has an accent, it’s not particularly thick but evident when he speaks. Yoongi leads you along the hall you’re in, and just as you ask him why you should keep moving, because damn you’re so done with this shit and want to rest even if it’s on the nasty floor, he goes rigid. Following his line of sight, you stop too because what. The. Fuck.

The creature looks almost like a dog, but a super fucked up dog. Hunched oddly on all fours, it walks forward a few steps as Yoongi stares directly at it, pausing when it notices his gaze. It snarls loudly as Yoongi slowly grabs for you, hand wrapping tightly around your writs before tugging at it. He steps back, and you follow him, and then all hell breaks loose.

“Run!” The man holds onto you tightly, rushing backward and practically dragging you with him. You keep up to the best of your ability, losing your heels in the process, tripping over your own feet but unwilling to stop. Whatever the fuck is behind you isn’t just going to let you go. It wants you, snarling as its feet slam against the ground, chasing you through the hell you now exist in.

Yoongi turns another corner with you, and it almost makes you smile. At the end of the hallway, you’re in, there’s a dim light there. An escape? The both of you dash for it, not looking back at the horrors that chase you. He holds on tightly still, tugging you into the light, and through it, and a feeling of unease washes over you as the feeling of falling comes out again. You don’t let go though, you hold tight to him, unwilling to lose the one person you have now.

The next time you open your eyes, you’re still standing with Yoongi, practically hugging the poor guy to you as you look around. Its not the nasty office anymore but… It doesn’t look like home either. You glance at each other, both grimacing at whatever is coming next.

“Shit.”

#late night thoughts #a really long one lmao #yoongi x you #yoongi x reader #yoongi x y/n #yoongi imagine #yoongi angst #bts x you #bts x reader #bts x y/n #bts imagine #bts angst

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i-lovethatforme · 3 years

Note

Theory !!!!! Peter met MJ’s dad on the time between homecoming and far from home , that period where he fell in love with her !

Sad that we are not getting even a deleted scene about that kind of moments where they (and Ned) where bonding and Peter was pining way to hard .😭😭😭😔

listen... i am crying. how i imagine a scene like that... (also when we get peter and mj and ned talking about how uncool and unsubtle peter was over mj t and y!)

“Where are we going?” she shouts, her hands scrambling over his face and she’s pretty sure he can’t see but he’s not complaining.

“Er, I dunno,” he screams, his arm tight around her waist as she feels every muscle in his body tighten to swing them around a corner. “Your house?”

Her first thought is at least she’ll be able to put on some fluffy socks and a sweater and have one to six cups of tea but then she thinks about her dad sitting in his wingback armchair sharpening a knife as they speak.

“No! My dad will kill you!”

“I thought you said your dad really likes me?!” he replies, and the hurt in his voice is evident, as though his identity wasn’t just out for all to see.

She thinks her dad would get over the leaked video of Peter being accused of murder because he never liked Jameson anyway and he thinks the Daily Bugle is trash but he’s still not going to enjoy MJ dating a vigilante. The main reason she hasn’t told him yet.

Wait.

“When did I tell you he really likes - watch out! pigeons! - you?” she asks, really wishing they were having this conversation on the ground. She attempts to reposition and he slows down as she climbs onto his back, wrapping her legs around his waist.

“You must remember, MJ,” he wheezes, narrowly avoiding another helicopter. MJ decides she doesn’t really care where they’re going and Peter’s much faster now he has two arms and she trusts him anyway so if she closes her eyes and buries her face in the crook of his neck that’s just good sense.

“You told me at decathlon that he - hold on,” he says, and she feels her body fly away from him but he catches her with a hand against her waist. She feels the temperature change but keeps her eyes closed anyway.

“He thought it was really sweet that I stayed with you when he was late to the bus station.”

“After Washington?!” she asks, her eyes flying open in time to see the train hurtling towards them.

“Train! Train! Holy fu -”

“I’ve got you, Em. I’ve got you,” he says, his thumb rubbing across her thigh and it’s strange how much his voice soothes her. Despite running from the city and Peter swinging her towards trains, even though his track record with avoiding them isn’t great seeing as he was hit by one like a week ago, she still trusts him with everything.

“I think I said he said it was nice or whatever!”

“You never took it back!” he says, now crawling through the tunnel upside down as opposed to swinging which doesn’t make her feel any better at all.

“We need to get out of here,” she says.

“I’ve got a plan…”

“I trust you,” she says, a quick kiss to the back of his neck. She said it too soon because he drops without warning, his hand coming out to keep her from crashing onto the top of the B train.

“So, how mad do you think he’ll be?” he asks casually, as though he’s not laying on top of her on top of a high speed train.

“Are you kidding me right now, Peter?” she shouts, her voice shaky.

“I won’t drop you,” he replies, the mechanical eyes practically watering at the sincerity of his tone.

“I know,” she sighs, letting him rest his forehead against hers. It’s oddly calm up here, the sounds of the train and Peter’s heartbeat against her chest and the fact no one knows they’re here.

“So, do you want to text him or -”

“Peter.”

“Right. Not the time… I can ask Karen to do it?”

“You’re so - wait, why do you have his number?”

“Emergencies,” he stutters out. “Oh look, it’s our stop.”

And before she can scream at him again he’s swinging them past pedestrians and her voice is drowned out by the annoyance of New Yorkers who just want to get on the subway and must there be someone in a weird outfit ruining things all the time?

#spideychelle #nwh spoilers #petermj #spiderman no way home

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gaaavin · 3 years

Text

Edmund Lowry Jr.

Hiya! I've had another idea and wanted to write something for it, too. It’s inspired by / based on that serial killer in RDR2. Feel free to give me feedback or whatever you'd like. Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it!

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x gn!reader

Words: 4.9 k

Summary: You thought it'd be an easy job with a nice prey at the end of the evening, until everything took the wrong turn.

Warnings: angst, mentions of torture but nothing too graphic, kidnapping, thoughts about death but with a happy ending

Finally, some green around you. That was your first thought, after you and the whole Van der Linde gang had arrived in Horseshoe Overlook. It was a lovely camp with a beautiful view. You sure could stay here for a longer period this time, hopefully. The constant moving took a toll on everyone just as much as the running from the law. Before finally settling into your current camp, all of you had to flee from Blackwater. A job there had gone terribly wrong and there was talk about Dutch losing control and shooting a woman. You hadn’t been there at that moment but you just couldn’t imagine that something like this would ever occur. The Dutch you knew would never harm any innocent folks. This escape resulted in an overhasty departure for the mountains – Colter had been the place of refuge up there. It was cold and you almost had no supplies. You generally liked the cold weather and snow but the storm up there you all had to endure was way too much to enjoy it at all. For now, though, you tried to push the negative thoughts away, instead concentrating on your new surroundings.

About a week after all things had been unpacked, you decided to go into the nearest town – Valentine. Dutch was right about all of you needing money urgently and you of course wanted to contribute, too. You saddled your mount up and rode out, but not before telling Karen where you wanted to go. “I’ll check, if I can find anything interesting in Valentine. Do you need something from the store while I’m in town?” you asked her. Her response coming promptly. “Some candies would be nice, would make these days here a lot more enjoyable.” As she concluded her answer, she winked at you earning her a small laugh on your part. After nodding, you spurred your horse and went into town.

The first thing you noticed was the smell, even before you entered the city at all. The second thing was the auction yard. Well, that explains it. No wonder it smells like horseshit everywhere around here, you thought as you entered the city. The people seemed friendly towards you, greeting you here and there. Although, you knew that you shouldn’t get on the town’s bad side. Some of the guys from your camp had caused trouble in the saloon some days ago and let’s just say that they aren’t as welcome in there anymore.

One of the boys was Arthur, your- well, you didn’t know what exactly the two of you were. Back in Blackwater your friendship slowly turned into something more intimidate, even romantic, with it peaking one drunken night around the campfire when you shared your first ever kiss. The sparks flew through the air and you felt like you were on cloud nine, being the happiest you had been in months. Since then, though, it felt like Arthur was avoiding you. Or maybe you were just imagining things. After all, you two hadn’t had much time after all the fighting, shed blood and the running after that. You had a special bond with Arthur like you’ve never had with anyone before – even before your relationship went to some sort of next level. You could communicate without words, understanding the other in more than one precarious situation. Currently, Arthur was away to get Sean back from those bounty hunters – that’s at least what John had told you earlier. You tried to push the thoughts of Arthur to the back of your head, trying to focus on the task at hand – find a lead or somebody to rob.

As you finally arrived at the saloon across the gunsmith, you hitched your horse and entered the facility. You were greeted with warm, liquor-filled air as you headed towards the bar, letting your eyes wander around. Drunk men were an easy prey. Before leaving camp, you had put on nice clothes, that were quite revealing. For you, that was the best way to gather information about anything or to rob someone. You mostly played either the damsel in distress or someone looking for some night company and most of the men fell for it every time, letting you close enough for you to relieve them of their valuables or information. Either was welcome.

After some time, your eyes landed on a stranger, that was looking directly at you. Bingo! You tried to approach him with your best smile. “Hey stranger.” You said, earning you a small smile from him. He had something odd to him. You couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but something about him put you off and gave you goosebumps all over. For now though, you tried to ignore your gut feeling. You were experienced in the things you did on an almost daily basis. Even if he could possibly be some sort of danger for you, you would definitely be able to defend yourself. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time some drunk feller had inappropriate thoughts about you.

“Hey there.” He grinned at you. As you took a real first look at him, the thing you noticed right away were his eyes. You were a firm believer that the eyes displayed the door to the soul and his were just so… dark. Not just the color but also their aura. They had a strange glint to them and there was something deeper hiding behind them. Something bad maybe? Nonetheless, you offered him a drink and ignored your gut feeling again. After all, you wanted your camp members to have something to eat or rob in the future. “You seem lonely tonight. May I offer you a drink and maybe my company?” you asked him while fluttering your lashes. He seemed to think about his response for a moment, before finally saying. “Sure, that would be very kind of you. Thank you. Name’s Edmund Lowry Jr. May I ask yours?” You smiled innocently at him, before telling him a fake name.

Unfortunately, Mr. Lowry declined every further offer of you to buy him another drink. It would make things definitely more complicated if he didn’t want to get drunk. Quickly thinking of a plan B, you ultimately decided that you could just knock him out with the revolver hidden under your clothes if you’d be able to lead him to a more secluded area somewhere outside. He had told you earlier that he was a rich man and owned some land outside of Valentine, so the prey was too rewarding to not at least try to rob him. Although your plan was pretty dangerous, you put it into action by asking him if he’d mind joining you for a small walk outside. “The air in here is really getting to me and I think I need some fresh, new air.” He grinned almost devilish at you, before offering you his arm to lead you outside.

Taking a stroll in the streets, you tried to steer him towards the stables. This terrain was secluded enough for you to hit him and flee without causing much of a scene or getting caught. He guided you towards the fields in the back of the stables, let go of your arm and took a step forward, facing the wide area behind Valentine. This was your moment. With his back to you, you reached under your clothes to grab the revolver but just in that moment he turned rapidly around and pointed towards the theatre. Out of sheer shock your revolver slipped from your hand. Damnit! You tried to drown out the clattering of your weapon with an awkward cough. “My dear” he started and you turned around to follow the direction of his finger. You now stood one step ahead of him and couldn’t see him. “Would you like to visit a show with me?” In that moment you heard him shuffle behind you. Bewildered, you turned around and everything went black.

Arthur came back to camp after successfully rescuing Sean from those bounty hunters in Blackwater with Charles, Javier and Trelawny. He was dead tired and just wanted to eat something and go straight to bed. As he dismounted his horse, he went directly to get some stew and grab a bottle. Along his way, he was greeted with a well done here and there. Arthurs eyes wandered around camp, searching for you but you were nowhere to be found. It wasn’t strange for you to be absent; you often went to look for jobs and therefore were away for some days. Nevertheless, he was a bit disappointed to not be able to talk to you. The both of you hadn’t really had the chance to properly speak, especially not about your situation. He was so goddamn afraid of what was to come, of what you had done to him – he had opened his heart for you unwillingly and wasn’t sure if he could handle another proper relationship. What if you left him? What if one day you woke up and decided that he wasn’t what you wanted anymore. He couldn’t deal with another heart break.

After Arthur finished his stew, he went directly to bed. This night a welcome party for Sean was set to be celebrated and he just wanted to close his eyes a little bit before that. After some hours of more or less peaceful sleep – after all the party was being prepared and people were rummaging everywhere in camp – Arthur finally got up and let his eyes wander around camp in search for you again. “They aren’t here. Karen told me earlier.” Arthur looked to his left from where that characteristic voice came from. “Marston.” Arthur greeted him before John continued. “They went to scout for any leads in Valentine.” Arthur furrowed his eyebrows. Was it really that obvious to others? He decided to play dumb in hopes that he’d eventually be left alone. “I don’t know what you mean. Am not looking for anyone.” John smirked knowingly as he countered. “You know damn well what I’m talking about. Don’t you dare to think I’m stupid. I have eyes, Morgan and I know you pretty well.” Arthur sighed, slightly nodding. “Yeah, whatever.”

The celebration was pretty fun. Almost the whole gang was gathered around the campfire, singing songs away happily. These were the times in which Arthur almost forgot that they were actually running from the law. Of course, they had done that before but it never seemed as bad as it was now. Blackwater left a stain on everyone in one way or another, Colter wasn’t much better for regaining strength. His rock, though, has always been you. Since he’s gotten to know you, you always were able to calm him down, ease his nerves and see right through him no matter how inaccessible he tried to appear. You weaseled your way right into his heart. Although your way of life was a dangerous one, he knew deep down that you two were somehow meant for each other – understanding each other on a level he’s never had with anyone before.

As the night went on, Arthur’s mind always wandered back to you. He just wasn’t able to get you out of his head for even one goddamn night. Soon, he said his goodbyes and went to his tent, writing down his thoughts first before finally retiring to bed. By midday the following day you still weren’t in camp and Arthur started to worry, a bad feeling creeping up on him. Should he go search for you? No one knew how long you’d be gone. But even if you were just at the saloon or wherever it wouldn’t hurt to check in on you. Maybe you two would even be able to spend some quality time together after everything that has happened.

Soon after, Arthur mounted his horse and rode off, shortly after arriving in Valentine. Where should he start to search for you? Maybe the saloon? After all, it was so to say the heart of the town. If here was going on anything, he’d find his answers in there. After arriving at the facility, he immediately recognized your horse. So, they’re here, he thought to himself. Relieved, he finally swung the doors open and headed towards the bar. His eyes roamed the room, but found you nowhere. That struck him odd. You wouldn’t ever leave your horse behind somewhere. Just as Arthur sat down at the bar, the bartender spoke up. “Oh no, not you again mister. I don’t want any more trouble in here.” Arthur sighed, before replying. “I’m not here to cause trouble mister. I’m actually looking for a friend of mine. Have you seen them?” Arthur gave the man behind the bar a brief description of you and looked at him expectantly after he finished. The bartender seemed to think about it for a moment, before saying “Oh my memory isn’t the best, Mister. Maybe a little tip of yours could help it.” Arthur groaned and rolled his eyes while reaching in his bag to throw some coins towards the man behind the bar, adding “Now spit it” with gritted teeth. “Thank you. Well, I have indeed seen them in here. Yesterday they spoke to a man, seemed pretty cozied up, flirting the whole night. They left together, too. Seemed to go towards the hotel.” “Anything else?” Arthur asked. “No, not really. It’s just… That man that was with them yesterday seemed fairly strange. I didn’t have a good feeling with him. I can’t explain it really, but he was rather sinister.” Arthur thanked the man, before heading outside to try and track your footprints. He knew that you wouldn’t go with a man into his hotel room just like that, at least not to actually engage with him. You just weren’t the type for something like this. Hopefully, Arthur could track you down quickly. He didn’t have a good feeling in this.

As you slowly came back to your senses, your head practically screamed at you. It hurt like hell. What happened? You forced your eyes open and although the room was dimly lit, you tried to take in your environment. Where am I? So many questions came crushing down on you all at once as you tried to comprehend what you were seeing around you. While examining your surroundings, your eyes landed on the wall. There were many reports of missing persons. Where the hell am I? Letting your eyes travel further, the next thing they saw was blood. A whole lot of blood. Everywhere. And was that… a corpse in the corner? I need to get out of here immediately. You thought terrified and tried to move, but didn’t get away. You were tied up. God damn it! Your movements seemed to attract the attention of something or someone else in there. So, I’m not alone in here. You didn’t know whether that soothed your nerves or made everything worse. Just in that moment a voice from somewhere near sounded. “Oh good, you’re finally awake.”

Arthur finally arrived near the stables where your tracks ended, your horse in tow as well. Hmm, seems like someone was dragged from here to a horse. He examined the surrounding ground as he suddenly saw something shiny near one of the barrels. As he got closer to the object, his mouth fell slightly agape while his brows furrowed simultaneously. It was your revolver, he recognized it immediately. It had a special engraving he bought you while out in Blackwater. You two had to grab some ammunition for a job beforehand and as you saw the engraving you were thrilled. It looked so pretty. Seeing you all excited, Arthur wanted you to have something nice reminding you of him that you always took with you – no matter where you went. So, it was even more concerning finding it laying here with you nowhere in sight. What happened to you?

You knew that voice. This couldn’t be… Or could it be the man from the saloon? Just as you tried to recall the events from the night before, the man came into sight. You turned your head to look at him, letting your eyes wander from his face further down to his hands. They held something shiny in them. Finally recognizing that it was a huge knife, your eyes widened in shock and you gulped audibly, starring at him blankly. “Lowry.” You managed to get out between gritted teeth, your voice sounding too hoarse to really sound mad. “Welcome to my most favorite place in the world. Save yourself thinking what is about to happen. Now, I’m not going to lie. It’s not going to be nice… and fun. I mean, it will be fun for me, but it won’t be nice for you. At least, no one’s found it nice so far. Maybe you’ll be the first.” Lowry laughed maniacally, before he continued. “Do you like pain? Is it your friend? It’s about to become your very close friend. Very close. But when it’s over…release. Glorious release. Now, there’s no point fighting. You might as well try and relax a little bit.” Lowry approached you slowly, looking almost peaceful while you wanted to scream, scratch his eyes out, just do anythingto escape the upcoming hell awaiting you. As Lowry moved the huge knife slowly closer and closer towards your torso, a thought came to your mind. It was one single thought that hadn’t occurred to you up until now; you weren’t going to make it out alive of here and you wouldn’t ever see your family or Arthur ever again. You were tied up too strong to escape. As the realization hit you, you let your desperate tears fall freely – hopefully he wouldn’t stretch it out too long and you didn’t have to suffer too much.

Arthur had a bad feeling, a really bad feeling about this. Something just wasn’t right. Things weren’t adding up. You’d never leave your two most precious things somewhere voluntarily. Something had happened to you and Arthur was determined to find out what that was, to find you above all. Hopefully alive. He thought to himself but pushed that thought away quickly. He couldn’t stand to think something like this. After all, you could handle yourself pretty well, right? Arthur had seen you many times shoot yourself out of a dicey situation. You were smart, not taking too many risks. But no matter what he knew about you, he knew just as certainly that this time something went the wrong way. He tried to track the hoofbeats up to a door on the ground. Maybe an entrance to a cellar? He thought to himself with his stomach dropping to the floor.

Arthur examined the door closely, eventually discovering the locket on it. He took a steadying breath, before attempting to crack it. His hands were shaking, he was so afraid of what he’d find behind that damn door. Just as he leaned closer towards the door and the lock to start cracking it, he heard a bloodcurdling scream from inside the cellar. Was that your voice? Oh damn, yes, that sounded definitely like you. His first thought was that he’d kill that bastard causing these sounds to escape from your lips. His second thought, though, was Thank God, you’re alive. As he finally was able to enter the room, he could hear heavy panting. He didn’t waste any time looking around, heading straight towards the source of the sounds. As you saw him, your eyes widened, shaking your head frantically. Your mouth was stuffed with some sort of white cloth, so you couldn’t speak to him. This is a trap! You wanted to scream at him. Arthur looked at you with a deep sadness in his eyes – and adoration. You looked like a complete mess. Everywhere on you was blood. Lowry cut along your torso and beat you, resulting in a black eye and a burst open lip. But nonetheless, Arthur had that look on him that he just gave you – a special soft one. It let the tears well up in you even more than before, now crying desperately.

Arthur couldn’t believe it. You were alive, but only barely. You looked like you went through hell and you probably been there for the last hours. How long have you been down here? At that thought, guilt overcame him completely. While he was in camp sleeping, partying with his family, you were being tortured and bearing unspeakable torment. How could he have been so dumb? He should’ve listened to his gut feeling, searching for you earlier. He sprinted towards you and wanted to free you from your bonds, beginning with your mouth. “Are you alright?” He asked you concerned, before looking you up and down for any deep wounds. “It’s- It’s a-“ you tried to answer him, but your throat was sore from all the screaming and the lack of fluids.

Arthur heard something behind him, a slight movement, but enough to cause him to turn around pretty quickly. Too quickly for Lowry, who hadn’t expected that. Lowry stumbled slightly back, hitting the wall with his back. Arthur took advantage of the confusion of his opposer and hit him hard, once, twice. Arthur was so furious. How dare that man to do something like this to you? How dare he touch you at all? All these thoughts were crushing down on him, altogether with his guilt about not being able to protect you. He beat him up, again and again and again. It was almost as if his fists moved alone by now. “Arthur, stop!” He heard your raspy voice, breaking with every syllable and it brought him back to reality. Lowry was knocked out and didn’t move anymore. Arthur shook his head as if shaking all those thoughts off for now. He tied Lowry up quickly, before rushing to you to finally free you for good. As you were finally free, you basically fell in Arthurs arms and just started to cry. It was a mixture of everything – pain, fear, but also relief and gratitude. Arthur helped you up the stairs and lifted you up on his horse. After that he sprinted back to get Lowry and loaded him on your horse and finally mounted behind you in his horse.

The way to the Sherriff’s office was quiet. No one said a word. You were sniffling and resting against Arthurs body with your eyes closed, while he soothingly rubbed circles and held you close so that you wouldn’t slip off his mount. “I’m gonna bring him in and tell the Sheriff where to find that damn cellar and after that, I’ll finally bring you home. Just wait here a second. I’ll be back in a moment.” You nodded slightly, hoping it wouldn’t take too much time. You just wanted to head back to camp and sleep it all off.

After a short time, you heard a shot from the office. Your eyes widened in shock and your heart started to thump heavy in your chest. What was happening in there? After a few moments, Arthur finally came out again. “That bastard tried to kill the Sheriff. I had to shoot him.” You just nodded, sighing relieved, while looking him up and down for any injuries. “I’m fine. Now, let’s get you back home.”

The last few days have gone by in a blur. After you arrived back in camp, Ms. Grimshaw tended to your wounds and you were on a good way. Arthur hadn’t left your side all this time – bringing you stew, a coffee or just keeping you company. He wouldn’t even sleep in his own tent, always staying with you on a chair next to your kot. Today was the first time in days that you felt like you could walk around a bit – and you desperately needed it. Being trapped all those days in camp was making you go crazy. “Arthur, would you mind taking a walk with me?” you asked him. He seemed to contemplate for a moment. Shouldn’t you go easy a few more days and rest? “Arthur, please. I’m gonna go mad if I have to stay here for another day. Just a small walk along the shore. You’re with me, so what could possibly happen to me?” That question stung a bit. He couldn’t protect you before, why were you still feeling so safe with him? Nonetheless, Arthur finally agreed, offering you his arm to support you just in case you felt weaker again.

As the two of you arrived at the little beach, you held tightly onto his arm. You never wanted to let go. Coming to a halt, you two turned to watch the water. So peaceful. “You know...” you started, breathing in and out. “When I was trapped back there in that cellar, I really thought I wouldn’t make it. I thought that the last things I’d ever see would be blood on the walls and that bastards face with that devilish grin. I was so mad at myself for not listening to my gut feeling, for being so goddamn stupid, that I kinda felt like I deserved it. I thought that the last thing I’d hear would be that maniac’s laugh or my own screams. I thought that I’d never see daylight again, flowers, my family or you. Before that happened, I thought you were avoiding me or that you maybe thought that this kiss back in Blackwater was a mistake.” At that his head snapped towards you, watching you intently before you continued. “And I had regrets. Not about the kiss, of course, but about not telling you how I truly felt about you Arthur. I love you; I really do. I couldn’t bear not seeing you again. It broke my heart.”

Tears welled up in your eyes as you thought back to your personal hell, Lowry’s most favorite place as he called it. This thought struck a nerve inside you, his voice echoing those exact words. Your tears started to fall freely by now and a chocked sound escaped your mouth. “I really thought I lost you, Arthur. I thought I lost against him. After all this time running, it would be a failed lead that had the power to end me.” You cried and just couldn’t stop. Arthur embraced you, pulling you tightly against him as if he never wanted to let you go again. While holding you like this, he said. “When I came back from rescuing Sean, I was disappointed you weren’t in camp. When you weren’t there for the welcome party I started to worry. But when I saw your horse outside of the saloon and you weren’t nowhere in sight, I panicked and freaked out. I knew you’d never leave him behind. I was so desperate to find you and just so goddamn afraid. Afraid, I’d never see you again. That I’d lost you while I was back at camp relaxing. I wasn’t able to protect you, eating and sleeping while you were being tortured. That image of you tied up, covered in blood just won’t leave my mind. Maybe if I went to look for you earlier, you didn’t have to endure all this. I couldn’t protect you and I’ll never forgive myself for that and I don’t expect you to forgive me.”

You slightly leaned back to look him in the eyes that were filled with so much sorrow and guilt, it made your heart ache. “Arthur” you began, while cupping his cheek with your hand, the other still holding tightly onto him. “This wasn’t your fault, do you hear me? There isn’t any chance in the world you could’ve prevented this. You know I normally can handle myself; it was a job gone terribly wrong. If anything, you saved me. You saved my life – I owe you my life, Arthur. Don’t you dare put this burden on your shoulders. I never asked you to come along with me, I went alone and I knew that something could happen. Believe me, this wasn’t your fault, not at all. Lowry did kidnap me, not you. He mistreated me, not you. He used his knife to hurt me, not you. Even if you had been there earlier, he still would’ve had more than enough time with me alone. Please believe me when I say, that there is nothing I have to forgive you. And there isn’t anything you have to forgive yourself. You couldn’t have changed this in any way. I should’ve listened to my sentiment. He had something strange about him from the beginning. But he told me that he was rich so I went for it nonetheless. “

Arthur still wasn’t fully convinced, but seemed more at peace – at least for the moment. “I really thought I lost you and I never want to lose you again. Back in Blackwater, I was so damn afraid of what we had but now I can’t get into my head how foolish that was of me. I love you, too, so damn much. And if you’ll still have me, would you want to be mine?” You were smiling through your tears, as you nodded and finally kissed Arthur the second time in your life. This time, though, with more certainty than ever before.

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