#shout out to my friend ally for sending me the leaks when I was at work for nothing done the rest of fhe day

[lexiesdoodles]

🐰🐤

[littlemdzsdump]

in your arms, tonight

(/￣ー￣)/‥∵:*:☆*゜★。：：＊☆

tears? idk why i write sadness, i’m sorry xicheng; written for my friend who wanted a sad oneshot, here

~

Lan Xichen doesn’t feel the pain until the sword is pulled out from his side. The force of it makes him stumble back, nearly losing his balance if he weren’t for the arms that circle his waist. The tough hand that latches onto his wound and stops the bleeding with an immense amount of pressure.

The purple light of the Zidian encircles him and the owner, both protecting their vulnerable state and ready to tear apart anyone that would dare to come their way.

In this war, death was inevitable.

As the pain builds up, sending a coursing wave of agony through him, Lan Xichen loses the strength in his legs. His fall brings down the person that is holding on to him as well.

Lan Xichen has never felt so much pain.

He’s been stabbed before (that much has happened), but never had there been this much fear, anger, hurt, rapid from his side and in his veins.

“Shit, the sword was infused with demonic energy,” Jiang Cheng whispers to himself. 

Lan Xichen hears it anyways and he sighs, blinking the black spots away from his vision.

Ah, that makes sense, Lan Xichen says, feeling the heavy weight of his eyelids. A hand pressing painfully into his stab wound makes his eyes flutter open again and he looks up to see Jiang Cheng’s caramel brown eyes staring down at him, blown wide.

In the blurriness of his vision, he sees a splatter of blood on Jiang Cheng’s high cheekbones. Lan Xichen tries to focus on that amidst all the fighting around them.

“Stay awake,” Jiang Cheng commands, though his voice gives away the fear that he feels more than his face. Lan Xichen’s eyes flicker up to his face, to the sweat plastering his long hair to his face, to the tear that leaks out of his eye at the sight of Lan Xichen’s blood, blooming quickly past his fingers. 

Lan Xichen hums, though the air that leaves his lips feel more like a dry breath than the deep sound that it was supposed to be. Lan Xichen watches as Jiang Cheng looks around at the scene in front of them, eyes jumping from place to place. 

Besides the handful of purple robes that are circling them protectively, there is no other ally. 

Lan Xichen lets out a shuddering breath, feeling a sudden tightness in his chest as the dark energy swirls in him. He has half the mind to fight off its burning tract with his own qi, but the dark energy seems to have blanketed the strong golden core that he had. 

In between the fading of his vision, Lan Xichen tunes in to his surroundings when he feels Jiang Cheng move him closer to his chest. The other man holds him, letting Lan Xichen’s head lean on his shoulder as he calls on his own qi to share to Lan Xichen. 

His meridians sing with the aid; Jiang Cheng’s energy had always been warm, like sunlight on a spring morning. It’s soft but pulsing, rushing through the pain in his body like light cutting through a darkened tunnel. 

It is temporary relief.

The moment that Jiang Cheng falls back, the dark energy returns, seeming stronger than before. It’s force makes something feel like it’s bursted within his chest. Lan Xichen sits up, heaving out a mouthful of blood. It isn’t red like blood is supposed to be, but inky black. Insidious. 

Jiang Cheng is quickly pouring his qi into him again; it rushes through him wild and fast. If Lan Xichen really listens, he can feel the palpable fear that courses through him from the younger man. But the dark energy is relentless and having found an opening before, its pursuit through Lan Xichen is targeted. As much energy as Jiang Cheng gives to Lan Xichen, the dark energy takes it all first, depleting two souls instead of one. Lan Xichen realizes it before Jiang Cheng, who desperately dries his own meridians for him.

With the last of his energy, Lan Xichen pulls Jiang Cheng’s hand away from his temple, pushing his wrist away. Jiang Cheng opens his eyes, his concentration broken. Lan Xichen just stares at him, manages a smile and shakes his head.

“Let me help you, what are you doing,” Jiang Cheng says, his voice is so quiet amidst the shouts around them.  “You can’t-” his sentence is cut short by the blood that interrupts his words, nearly making him choke.  Jiang Cheng blinks rapidly, making to give him more qi but Lan Xichen just intertwines their hands. 

The tears that fall from Jiang Cheng’s eyes clears away the splatter of blood on his face, at least. 

“I’m not letting you die,” Jiang Cheng vows. 

The tears that fall from his eyes onto Lan Xichen’s face is as warm as the qi that had flowed through him before. Lan Xichen smiles quietly, squeezing their intertwined hands. 

He can’t find the strength to speak anymore. 

Lan Xichen follows Jiang Cheng’s face as he looks up and around. Even in between the thousands of people surrounding them, they are alone in this death, in this responsibility. Lan Xichen sees the way that Jiang Cheng’s shoulders hunch with helplessness, fear, worry, all for him. Lan XIchen blinks away black spots that appear in his vision, keeping them at bay for a few more precious seconds. 

Lan Xichen moves his hand up to Jiang Cheng’s face. 

The cool contact startles the younger man, drawing his attention back to him immediately.

“Are you in more pain? We’ll go now, let me take you,” Jiang Cheng says, voice drawing out to a plea. Lan Xichen shakes his head, ignores anything that may have hurt and pulls Jiang Cheng’s face to his. 

Their lips meet in the tastes of iron, metallic and strong. But Jiang Cheng leans in, deeper into Lan Xichen. It feels like the kiss that gives him life, gives him hope. But Lan Xichen knows that it will be the kiss that gives him strength to face the truth. 

And when they both pull away Lan Xichen’s hand falls from where it had once caressed his face.

He doesn’t open his eyes again.

~

[omgsquee2001]

One Piece: Various x Former Slave/Whitebeard’s Daughter Reader: Part 4

~Whitebeard’s POV~

We were all positioned in a hidden cove near the Celestial Dragon’s Auction House. The Straw-Hat Pirates were quiet. Luffy was sitting on the mast head of the Thousand Sunny, his hat covered his face. The whole atmosphere was solemn and filled with anger. I still couldn’t believe that my little girl was alive. I  felt horrible. I should have tried looking for her harder. I spent at least a year or two searching for my daughter, but gave up hope when there were no signs of her. I should have spent more time looking. He should have asked the Strawhats. Sensing my anger and sadness, Marco placed his hand on my larger one. 

“Pops, it’s not your fault. We had no idea that she was with Luffy and his friends-yoi.” Marco said, trying to comfort me. I gave my son a sad smile. 

“Thank you, my son.” I said. Zoro, being the first mate of the Strawhat Pirates, looked at Nami. 

“Nami, why don’t you explain the plan. We all know Luffy is in no condition to explain it.” He said, glancing back at his captain. Nami nodded. She looked at the Heart Pirates and my Crew. 

“First, we’re going to need someone to go and see how many guards are stationed around so we know how tough the competition will be.” She said. Marco looked up. 

“I can take care of that by transforming.” He said. Nami nodded in thanks. Law frowned. 

“We have an eavesdropper.” He said. Su-Yin gasped quietly and walked out form behind the trees on the island. We tensed, ready for a fight. Su-Yin raised her hands in surrender. 

“Please! Don’t hurt me! I’m not here to fight! I’m here to help!” The young marine shouted. Zoro narrowed his eyes. 

“How do we know that you aren’t going to hand us over to the marines?” He asked. The girl frowned. 

“My name is Su-Yin Orahime, and I want to stop all of the wrongs that are happening here. I also know where [Y/N] is being held in the Auction House.” She said. Marco looked up at me. 

“Pops?” He asked. I looked at Su-Yin with pleading eyes. 

“Please. If you know where my daughter is, help us.” I said. Su-Yin nodded. 

“Of course, Mr. Whitebeard,” she said. She looked at Nami. “May I join you in your plan?” She asked. Nami nodded. 

“We already have Marco as a scout. Once we know how many guards here are, we will send Luffy,” Luffy had taken a seat next to Nami. “And Ace in as the front lines. Once we’re in, Robin, Chopper, Usopp, Law, Su-Yin and I will set out to find [Y/N] and free the other slaves.” She said. I looked up, more determined than ever to save my daughter.

“Let me come with,” I stated. Nami looked up in surprise. “I want to be able to save my daughter and apologize for not looking hard enough for her when I lost her.” I said. Nami nodded. 

“Very well.” She said. Su-Yin looked at all of us. 

“There is a secret door that I use to go in and out when I visit [Y/N],” she said. We looked at her in surprise. “It leads straight to the cells where she is being kept. But there is the possibility that one of the Celestial Dragons will be down there, so we might have to take the long way around.” She said. Nami nodded. Usopp raised a trembling hand. 

“U-uh, Chopper and I discussed it, and we decided we wanted to stay behind and keep watch.” Usopp said. Chopper nodded. 

“Besides, Law is a doctor. He can immediately assess [Y/N]’s condition.” Chopper said. Nami rolled her eyes at the coward/sharp shooter of the Straw-Hats. 

“Fine. Let’s get going.” She said. 

_______________________________________________________________________

~Third Person POV~

Everything was going according to plan. Marco had scouted, Luffy and Ace had busted open the gates, and now Nami and the rest were following Su-Yin’s directions down to the cells where you were being held. Luffy had joined them. He also wanted to see his friend. They came to a fork. Nami glanced at the young Marine. 

“Which way?” She asked. Su-Yin looked left then right. She closed her eyes. 

“Left.” She said. The group ran down. Nami and Robin stopped. Su-Yin turned to them. 

“Nami? Robin?” The others turned as well. Nami smiled. 

“I know this wasn’t part of the plan, but you guys keep going. We’ll keep watch. You guys go,” Nami said. Su-Yin nodded. “And Luffy,” Nami said. Said rubber boy turned to his friend. “Bring [Y/N] back safe!” She shouted. Luffy smiled and raised his hand. 

“You got it!” He said. 

“Alright. Let’s go.” Su-Yin said. They raced down. Su-Yin held up her hand, signaling them to wait. They heard shouting. 

“My name is not Number 261. It’s [Y/N] Newgate. I am the daughter of Edward Newgate. He, my older brothers and my friends will come for me. And once they do, they will kill you and stop all the horrible things you are doing here!” It was [Y/N]’s voice. Whitebeard clenched his jaw as he heard the loud smack of a hand against a face. The Celestial Dragon said something that was inaudible. But the words shouted by his daughter afterwards made Whitebeard’s chest swell with pride. 

“My father is the greatest and strongest man alive, aside from Strawhat Luffy! My family WILL come for me!” [Y/N] shouted. There was a cry of pain. Su-Yin looked at the group and nodded. 

“Let’s go.” She said. They all walked down. They stayed silent as they watched her get kicked in the stomach and sides, making [Y/N] cough up blood. 

“If they really were your family, they would have started searching for you the minute you went missing! But no, it took three long years for them to look for you and here you are, back in our clutches,” he said. The Celestial Dragon gripped her throat, choking her. Whitebeard’s eyes narrowed. “I would love to actually see them here for you. So that you could prove me wrong. But they aren’t here, are they?” He said. 

“You have one second to let go of my daughter before I kill you, you filth.” Whitebeard said. His voice was low and demanding. Striking fear into the slave owner’s heart. The Celestial Dragon froze, letting go of [Y/N]’s neck. She fell, the chains catching her. She coughed, some blood leaking from her mouth. The group watched as a weak smile formed on her lips and tears of happiness trickled out of her [e/c] eyes. 

“F-Father,” she breathed out, before fainting. The Celestial Dragon backed up. 

“W-Whitebeard? Strawhat Luffy, Fire Fist Ace, Marco the Phoenix, and T-Trafalgar Law,” he stuttered. “W-what are you all doing here?” He asked. Whitebeard walked closer. 

“Why do you think we’re here,” he gestured to his allies and his sons. “We’re here to retrieve these brats’ friend and sister. She also happens to be my daughter.” He said. The Celestial Dragon’s eyes fell on Su-Yin. His eyes widened. 

“S-Su-Yin?! What are you doing here?! Have you come here to defend me?” He asked, hope in his pathetic voice. Su-Yin scoffed. 

“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m here to get my friend out of here.” She said. Luffy cracked his knuckles. He glanced at Whitebeard. 

“Old man,” he said. Whitebeard glanced at Luffy. “Can I punch him? It will allow Ace and Su-Yin to get the chains off of [Y/N].” He said. The Celestial Dragon picked up the unconscious and beat up [Y/N], the chains clinking against each other. He held a gun to her head. 

“D-don’t even think about it, Strawhat! I-I’ll kill her!” He shouted. Su-Yin took out her own gun and shot the gun out of his hand. He cried out in fear. Whitebeard nodded. 

“Go ahead, my boy.” He said. Luffy smirked and pulled back his hand. 

“Gum-Gum, Hammer!” Luffy shouted. His rubber hand struck the Celestial Dragon in the face, just like it had done all those years ago. The Celestial Dragon went flying through several brick walls. Once he was out of the way, Su-Yin and Ace ran up to the unconscious [Y/N]. Su-Yin took out the keys and unlocked the chains. The young girl collapsed into Ace’s arms. Ace held [Y/N] tentatively, brushing her hair away from her scratched up face. Law ran over and looked her over, assessing her wounds. 

“How is she, Law?” Marco asked, walking over and kneeling next to the Supernova. Law looked at the first devision commander and the captain. 

“She needs medical attention right away. We will bring her back to the Polar Tang where I can treat her. She will then be allowed to rest on the Moby Dick.” Law said. Whitebeard nodded. 

“Understood. Let’s go.” He said. Ace scooped [Y/N] gently up, holding her bridal style. Law knew it would take her a few days to recover, but she would be fine. As long as he could treat her in time. 

~Sorry for the long wait everyone. I’ve been stuck in writer’s block for some time, but I have finally completed part 4 of the One Piece: Various x Former Slave/Whitebeard’s Daughter Reader series. Part 5, the finale will be coming soon. In this, there will be different scenarios you can choose from: Staying with the Whitebeard Pirates and falling in love with Marco, Staying with the Whitebeard Pirates and falling in love with Ace, Leaving with the Heart Pirates and falling in love with Law, Leaving with the Straw-Hat Pirates and falling in love with Luffy, Leaving with the Straw-Hat Pirates and falling in love with Luffy, Leaving with the Straw-Hat Pirates and falling in love with Zoro, Leaving with the Straw-Hat Pirates and falling in love with Sanji. If you would like a scenario with any of the ladies like Robin, Nami or Su-Yin, let me know down in the comments and I will write one for them.~ 

[zer0desuu]

Dance of Flames Until Death

Note: Flamebringer x Unspecified Dokutah. My first completed work in a long time, so please be nice! I only recently got into Arknights cuz of my crazy friend @veedraws. I have yet to bring Flamebringer home, so I’m not super familiar with him, so all this is based on his files and Vee’s fangirling XD. Also, sucks that he’s terrible in the game meta, but he’s supposed to be super OP in the story :c

-------

Night has now fallen in the outskirts of Lungmen. The battle has gone on forever. The squad barely made a dent in the enemy army. Everyone was at their wits’ end.

I chew on my lip, frantically trying to come up with a strategy. The squad was exhausted and being pushed back by the enemy forces. 

“Doctor… It’s time.” Flamebringer’s low voice comes through the comms. “Send me out there. There’s no other choice. I’m the only one who can take down this many enemies.”

I hesitate, looking into Flamebringer’s eyes. Flamebringer is notorious for losing control of himself, at the cost of his health. But he was right - he was the only one capable of dealing with this many enemies and surviving.

“...Alright, prepare for deployment.” 

Flamebringer salutes me and exits the control room for the helipad. Moments later, Flamebringer drops down from the deployment copter right in the middle of the frontlines. 

“So…” Flamebringer draws his dual blades from his scabbard. He readies himself, pointing his katana at the hoard in front of him. The katana blade glows like a flame, illuminating the shadows with an orange glow. “Who will be my next opponent?”

Flamebringer lunges at the enemy front lines, blades reflecting the soft light from the full moon above. The glow from his katana and the strips of cloth hanging from his broadsword swirl in an entrancing dance of blades. Each and every swing and stab is meticulously accurate, something only a master of their art can do.

All the other operators on the field are frozen in their spot. Once Flamebringer starts, he cannot be stopped. He will cut down anyone who gets in their way, even allies. The air of the night is filled with Flamebringer’s howls, growing more and more wild with every enemy reduced to ashes. No matter how many times I see Flamebringer fight, I am always stunned by the beauty and carnage. 

Blinking to clear my head, I yell a command to everyone in the field, “Flamebringer, lead the charge. Snipers and mages continue supporting him from behind. Defenders, brace for any enemy charges that leak through!”

The squad puts their all in the fight, their morale renewed by the arrival of reinforcements. The hoard of enemies gradually dwindles. The enemy frontline begins to retreat. We were winning.

“Doctor! Flamebringer’s vitals are reaching dangerous levels! Heart rate is exceeding normal values, blood originium levels have increased sharply.” Ansel shouts from his post in front of the the medi-screens. 

As if on cue, Flamebringer collapses to the ground, one hand clutching his chest. His other grasps his blade, using it as support, struggling to keep himself upright. He gasps for breath, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Perfumer rushes to his side, hands quickly reaching for him, ready to use her healing magic.

“Flamebringer!” I shout into my comm. “Retreat now!” 

“N-No…” Flamebringer swats Perfumer’s hands away. He pushes up off the ground using his sword, his body swaying. Flamebringer brings one hand up to his face, swiping the blood away. The black crystals embedded in his skin had spread further up his neck. “Not until you…”

“There’s no way you can continue in this state. Retreat immediately! This is a command!” 

“No…” Flamebringer’s voice trails off as his knees give way. He drops to the cement, unmoving. 

“Deployment choppers, retrieve Operator Flamebringer immediately!” 

“That idiot!” I hiss, slamming my fist into the desk, seething with anger. Flamebringer always pushed himself to the brink, as if he didn’t care whether he dies. But I cared. He is one of the most valuable Operators on the team.

I try to push thoughts of Flamebringer to the back of my mind while my squad finishes off the rest of the enemies. It goes smoothly due to Flamebringer greatly thinning the numbers. 

Once the rest of my squad boarded the choppers back to Rhodes Island, I run down to the medical centre. Flamebringer lay in a medical bay, with his eyes closed, not moving. A medic-droid removes the final electrode stuck onto Flamebringer’s bare chest. Another droid stands near his bed, tapping away at his medical log displayed on a holoscreen. My heart sinks, bracing for the worst of the news. 

There is some silence as the medic-droid finishes up filling in his information. Finally, it spoke, “We managed to stabilize him. His blood originium-crystal density has increased by 0.03 u/L and his cell-originium assimilation level has increased by 0.06%. Recommended actions include rest from battle to slow further increases. This concludes Operator Flamebringer’s medical report.” 

“Thank you.” I say to the medic-droid. It flashes its eyes in acknowledgement before gliding out of the medical bay. 

I slowly sit down on the stool next to the bed. Flamebringer’s face looks peaceful as he sleeps, different from the scowl or the smirk he usually has. The crystals have grown, some new growths emerging from his skin. 

Flamebringer stirs and slowly opens his eyes. He starts to sit upright, but I place a hand on his chest to stop him. “You need to rest, you idiot.” 

He lays back down, frowning at me in protest. 

I sighed. “You did it again. You pushed yourself way too far.” 

“It’s nothing new to me.” He gives a small shrug. 

“But the more you do this, the worse your health will get. What if you lose yourself again but the infection progresses too much for your body?!” I catch myself, realizing that I had raised my voice. I took a shaky breath, my throat unable to say the next words. “You’ll die…” 

“I don’t care. I already know what will happen to me. I don’t have anything left in this world anyway, so why not go doing what I love?” 

“But what about your plants? Who will take care of them if you’re not here?”

“I guess they’ll just die with me.”

“W-What…What about me…?” My trembling voice was barely a whisper, my heart pounding in my chest. The tears in my eyes threatened to fall. I look down at my hands clenching the hem of my jacket. “I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t around, you idiot.” 

Flamebringer’s eyes instantly shot in my direction. His face was frozen in a state of shock as he processes what I just said. He slowly sits upright. “What…?”

"I can't imagine what it would be like without you!” Tears slide down my face as I look up into his eyes. I was always so irritated about how he treated life with such nonchalance. I knew it was dumb of me to feel this way for someone who was dying, but I couldn't help it. "Stop running towards death, you idiot."

Flamebringer's expressions change rapidly as he made sense of what I am saying. Finally, his face softened into a small, sad smile. He reaches for my face, brushing away a tear with his thumb. I lean into his hand, grateful that it's still warm, like a fire is still burning in him. 

He leans forward, pulling me closer to him. His lips brush against mine hesitantly, as if I would shove him away. It seemed like he had a bad relationship with me prior to my memory loss. When I don't protest, he kisses me with more strength. 

"Doctor…" Flamebringer pulls away and rests his forehead on mine. "I'm sorry for scaring you. I will always be by your side, even when I'm gone." 

"Idiot." 

[myownworldstayout]

New Friends Ch. 14

Ch.1 / Ch.13 / Ch.15

(so this chapter is where I got “Prompt #17 Akuma!felix” from, but it’ll be a little different. Also, this is the last pre-written Chapter so there won’t be anymore daily updates. I’m gonna change to updating weekly for sake of sanity lol)

Lila was ticked. All of her attempts to take down the new dynamic duo in school had been futile. She had been so close, too! The class had turned on Marinette, including Adrien. True, the class never directly turned on her, but they all believed Lila over Marinette. That was the same thing in her book, and apparently, it was the same in Marinette’s book as well. 

Lila remembered feeling such triumph when the ravenette ran out of the room in tears, especially when the class only shook their heads and turned back to comfort her. But that all changed when Felix joined their school.

Lila scowled at the thought.

Felix. 

Ever since his arrival, not only has he refused to take her side, but has also challenged nearly all of her stories shamelessly. He didn’t care about the opinions of those around him, meaning he couldn’t be swayed by the backlash of going against her. That was a problem.

It didn’t help that he stood resolutely by Marinette’s side. The class’ opinion of Marinette sunk lower after that, which was a good thing, except now Marinette didn’t seem to care. Lila assumed it was because she finally had a real ally. 

Lila wasn’t blind. She knew that Adrien had figured out she was lying. He just wasn’t saying anything. Whether he didn’t want to cause more trouble or was just a coward, Lila didn’t care. It only made her cons easier to come by. 

“Morning, girl!” Alya greeted warmly, bumping her shoulder into Lila’s.

Lila forced a sweet smile. “Hi! How was your weekend?” 

“Annoying.” Alya rolled her eyes, her expression quickly turning sour. “I tried to get another interview with Ladybug yesterday, and guess who comes out of the blue and stops me? Felix!” The journalist huffed and crossed her arms. “Why was he even there?”

Lila knew she should be pleased. She hardly needed to do anything to turn the class on Felix. He was cold and blunt, easy to dislike. But how can you feel like you’ve won when the losers aren’t affected?

The answer is you can’t.

“Maybe he wanted to get his own interview?” Lila suggested.

Anger flashed across Alya’s face at the thought, and she smiled. The poor girl was way too predictable.

After a moment, though, Alya furrowed her eyebrows. “That can’t be why, because he didn’t talk to her. He just said her miraculous was gonna time out and she needed to get going.” 

Lila hummed, cocking an eyebrow. That was weird. Even though Ladybug was a superhero, Felix didn’t usually get involved in other people’s business. 

“Maybe he just didn’t want you to get an interview.” Lila then said, hiding a sly smile. 

Alya bristled and clenched her fists, drinking up Lila’s absurd idea. 

“Tch. of course he wouldn’t.” She glared at the floor. 

Conveniently, Felix walked past them just then, not even glancing their way. 

“Oh, there he is now. Why don’t I try to go talk to him?” Lila offered innocently, pushing back her growing irritation with the stubborn boy.

Alya scoffed, crossing her arms. “Don’t even bother. He’s not worth it.” 

“Are you sure? I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings in class.” She batted her eyelashes, giving Felix a sympathetic gaze.

Alya frowned, shaking her head.

 “Alright, you can give it a shot if you think it will help, But I’m going to class.” the redhead sighed, walking off in the other direction. Perfect.

After checking for any “witnesses”, Lila slinked over towards Felix.

“Where’s Marinette? You’ve been her shadow for the past few weeks.” Lila taunted, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Felix didn’t acknowledge her, silently making his way to the library.

Lila glared at the stiff boy, thinking of what to say next.

“I heard you had a run in with Ladybug yesterday.”

Felix paused, brief but still. Lila smirked, pressing on the nerve.

“It makes me wonder what you were doing there, why you were so set on Alya not getting an interview. You didn’t even talk to Ladybug herself so I have to imagine there was some other reason for rejecting Alya’s advances.” Lila pulled a sly smile when Felix glanced in her direction. He was getting nervous. What secret was he hiding with Alya and Ladybug, she wondered.

“I bet you don’t want to see her succeed because she’s Marinette’s best friend, and you’re not, hm? Is the Ice King  jealous?”

Nothing. Felix became impassive again. If Lila didn’t know any better, she might even say he looked relieved. 

The girl clicked her tongue, trying to figure out which part she needed to backtrack onto. Unfortunately for her, the school bell rang just then, forcing her to go back to class.

Fine. She thought curtly. Guess I’ll have to settle for plan B.

~~~~~~~

Marinette practically skipped to class the next morning. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She didn’t have to hide being Ladybug anymore! 

Well, she didn’t have to hide being Ladybug from Felix anymore. Marinette would take what she could get, though.

“Glad to see you so happy, Mari.” Luka commented with a warm smile.

“Glad to be happy, Luka.” Marinette grinned in turn.

“May I ask what’s made you so cheerful this morning?” 

Marinette hummed. “Let’s just say, Lady Luck’s finally coming to pay me an overdue visit.”

Luka laughed at the metaphor, seeming satisfied with that answer.

“Think that luck is gonna leak into school?” He said lightheartedly.

“I’m hoping!” Marinette giggled.

She probably should have known better than to hope for the impossible.

 -

When Marinette entered the classroom, the screaming was already ringing through the halls outside. The entire class, aside from Felix, was huddled around a crying Lila, some attempting to comfort her while others glared and chewed out Felix. Felix himself was silently sitting in the back with book in hand, effectively ignoring the group as a whole. He only looked up when Lila called out her name.

“Marinette!” The girl blubbered. “Your friend, he- I was trying to ask him how you'd been doing since - since you've been so distant lately, but he..he..he said he didn’t want vermin like me near you! Or, or anyone for that matter! He said you were his- that he- that you only needed him.” A few more tears slipped down her cheeks, and Marinette vaguely spotted the eye drops Lila shoved into her purse.

“I tried to reason with him, but then he-” Lila choked back a sob. “He slapped me, Marinette!”

The class crowded closer, trying to provide the girl with comforting hugs and sweet words. Lila thanked them with a watery smile, hand pressed to her right cheek where Felix had supposedly slapped her.

“What did I tell you, Mari.” Alya growled, sending death glares to the indifferent blonde as she softly rubbed Lila’s back in support. “He’s nothing but trouble! A cold, heartless, obsessed monster!”

Marinette glanced up at Felix,wanting to know his opinion on this. Lila lies like she breaths, but she also over dramatizes the truth. Therefore, it wasn’t completely out of the question that Felix would call her vermin- or even slap her for that matter.

The blonde, however, simply looked her in the eyes for a moment, then shook his head. That was all Marinette needed to see. She smoothly slipped around her other classmates, heading for the stairs without a word.

“Marinette?” Nino frowned.

“What are you doing?” Alya shouted, even though Marinette was right next to her.

The ravenette coolly turned to face them, Her gaze flicking to Lila and briefly catching the triumphant, yet subtle smirk on the liar’s lips. 

“I’m going to sit with Felix. Class is about to start.” 

The class let out a few incredulous gasps and a few said “are you serious?”. Alya and Nino just stared, not really believing what they were hearing. Adrien cringed behind them all, a silent begging in his eyes for her to stop when she had the chance.

Marinette ignored him.

“How can you say that! Didn’t you hear what Lila just said?!” Alya was furious now, pulling away from Lila to clench her fists at her side.

Marinette raised an eyebrow, before turning her head slightly in Felix’s direction. 

“Felix, what happened?” Her tone was composed, almost distant, and eerily similar to Ladybug’s during an attack.

He hesitated at the sudden command, but quickly explained the situation. “Lila stopped me on the way to the library, asking about why I stopped Alya’s interview yesterday. She said I was jealous of Alya. I just ignored her until the bell rang and she left.” 

The class seemed to falter- just for a moment- looking back to Lila. Felix was brutal and harsh and cold, but he hadn’t told a single lie since he transferred there. He was a hard facts, no-nonsense person. Lying wouldn’t make any sense for Felix.

“So- what - you’re going to believe a stranger over your friends!” Alya fumed, discarding his words without a second thought. 

“Isn’t that what you did?” Marinette grumbled under her breath. Unfortunately, Alya heard her anyway.

She let out a laugh of disbelief. “Oh my gosh we are not having this conversation again.” 

“Guys, why don’t we just-” Adrien tried to defuse the situation, but it was as if Alya didn’t even hear him.

“You know what your problem is Marinette? You are so set that Lila is a terrible liar that you refuse to see the torture you’ve put her through these last two months. I’ve tried to help you, we all have, but you’re so dang stubborn and stuck up! You say Chloe is ridiculous?” 

Alya ignored the protest on Chloe’s part. 

“Well, guess what? You’re even worse than she is! You’re so selfish and self centered and if I weren’t so angry, I’d be heartbroken that you turned out to be such a cruel, pathetic bully.” She snarled, shaking with anger at this point. 

Marinette opened her mouth to snap back, but found she had nothing to say. What was the point of arguing about this? Alya obviously wasn’t listening to reason. And she had the gall to say that she was the one set in her opinions? As if. 

Marinette wasn’t angry- for which she was glad. The last thing they needed was another screaming match. -but she was extremely disappointed. In Alya. In everyone. Especially in Adrien, who claimed to be by her side despite that clearly not being the case. 

So, the ravenette simply sighed and shook her head, before walking up the steps and sitting in the back with Felix. He was the only person in her class that she could depend on at this point.

The class fell silent at the action, probably because they half-expected her to retaliate at this point. She always did. Even Alya’s anger had somewhat faded from the shock. 

Marinette didn’t pay them any attention, though, taking out her tablet and pulling up this morning’s due homework. 

“Alright, everyone, in your seats please!” Ms. Bustier suddenly ordered, causing the class to scatter to their assigned seats. Alya was the last to sit down, still staring at Marinette with a mix of confusion and frustration.

“Are you alright?” Felix whispered after a moment, leaning in so she could hear him but giving her enough space to feel comfortable. 

Marinette sighed. “I’m starting to be.” 

~~~~~~

Alya shifted in her seat to fix a glare on the infamous “Marinette group”. Luka and the others appeared to be comforting Marinette at the cafeteria table. Felix sat next to the ravenette, glowering right back at Alya.

“She’s such manipulator!” Alya huffed, wringing her hands through her hair in frustration. “Look at them! Giving her all of that undeserved sympathy while Lila’s the one that’s been suffering!” she added, gesturing to the brunette who was cheerfully chatting with Mylene and Rose. 

Adrien glanced towards Lila, not mentioning how happy she seemed despite “suffering” all this time. 

“I’ve known her since kindergarten.. How did I not see it?” Nino shook his head.

“M-maybe,” Adrien began cautiously, “Maybe this is all a big misunderstanding? You guys know Mari-”

“We thought we knew Mari.” Alya cut him off, turning her glare to him. 

“You saw what happened today, She’s a menace! Just like your cousin.” She added curtly, looking back to the group. 

Felix wasn’t glaring at her anymore, instead looking at Marinette with concern. She had her face buried in her hands with Luka and Aurore putting supportive hands on her shoulders. 

To be honest, it was odd seeing Felix show emotion for anything, let alone a person. It caused Alya to pause. To really, really study the blonde. 

Of course, she didn’t get to entertain the thought too much because a flick of purple caught her eye. Alya gasped.

It was an akuma, but it wasn’t heading for her, despite her anger. The akuma was flying towards-

“Marinette!” Wayhem gasped, standing up and pointing to the black butterfly. Students around their table began screaming and running for exits, Luka and the others tensed and took a step back, and Marinette..

Marinette just froze. She stared at the akuma in horror, yet acceptance, as if she had been expecting this for a while now.

Just before the akuma could touch Marinette’s earrings, however, Felix stepped protectively in front of her, holding up his book as a shield. To everyone’s mutual terror, the akuma merged with Felix’s book instead, creating a purple, butterfly shaped mask in front of his face. 

Alya didn’t know what happened next, all she remembered was seeing Marinette’s eyes widen and being yanked towards the exit by Nino.

~~~~~~~

Marinette tried not to think about Alya’s acidic outburst or Lila’s malicious smirk, but that was all Felix talked about during their lunch period. He was angry- understandeably so - and when the others heard what happened, they were infuriated as well. She held back the tears as they tried to comfort her. Marinette shouldn’t have needed comfort. None of this should have happened in the first place. Adrien should have stuck up for her. The class shouldn’t have believed Lila over her. After everything she’d done. After everything she’d sacrificed, they-

“Akuma!”

Marinette’s gaze snapped upwards. Sure enough, a black butterfly was heading straight for her. 

She needed to run. Ladybug wasn’t allowed to get akumatized.

Nevertheless, Marinette stayed put, watching the akuma grow closer. Maybe this was how it was supposed to be? She had already been nearly akumatized three different times now. Perhaps Marinette was meant to get akumatized. Maybe she could finally let out some of her anger and frustrations without being judged or at fault. Chat Noir would turn her back to normal, right? Felix knew she was Ladybug so he would be able to help out as well.

Yes, Maybe this was a good thing.

That thought was shattered in an instant, though, when Felix threw himself in front of her. He was protecting her. Again. Only this time as Marinette instead of Ladybug. 

Reality slapped Marinette in the face as Felix became shadowed in a purple glow, and her Ladybug instincts finally kicked in.

She shot to her feet, eyeing the boy warily. “Felix?”

At the name, Felix- or an akumatized version of Felix -looked up. He wore a blood red suit with his black, button up shirt and tie. His blonde- now turned pitch black -hair was slicked to the side, and his silver eyes had turned a dark, inky grey with flecks of bright red. 

“Marinette..” Felix breathed, immediately stepping towards her. 

Marinette took a slight step back, hesitating when Felix lightly cupped her cheeks. 

“Don’t worry. Everything’s gonna be fine now. You won’t have to deal with those idiotic classmates of yours anymore.” His voice was so soft and sweet that Marinette wasn’t entirely sure she was talking to the same, stiff classmate she knew.

“But Felix, I don’t-”

“My name isn’t Felix.” He cut her off sharply, though the gentleness never left his eyes. “It’s Karma, now. I’ll be back. Stay here.”

Before Marinette could say anything else, he was off, running in the direction of her other classmates. She stood there dumbly, bringing her hands up to touch her earrings. Felix never tried to take them. Did that mean he was still somewhat conscious in all of this?

“Marinette, let’s go!” Tikki whispered from Marinette’s purse.

Marinette startled, absently nodding her head and starting for the bathroom.

~~~~~~~

Chat Noir leaped towards the school as fast as he could from the place he transformed.

Why couldn’t Marinette just let Lila be? He warned her that someone would get hurt if she kept prying. This is exactly the reason they needed to let Lila go in the first place!

The cat heroine sighed as he landed in front of the back entrance to the school. Now he was going to have to fight Marinette when she could have avoided being akumatized at all. 

The walls around the door fell to decay and crumbled within seconds, causing Chat Noir to pause and hold his breath. Anticipation clouded the air as footsteps approached him in the wreckage. He tensed, slipping into a fighting stance as he unhooked his staff. 

“Marinette, please, I don’t want to fight you.” He pleaded.

“Well, that’s rather fitting then, isn’t it?” a cold voice responded as a man in a blood red suit stepped out of the smoke. “Because I’m not Marinette.” 

Chat Noir blinked, his stance slacking a bit. “Then who-” 

He was cut off by a sudden paralyzation that swept over his body, causing his limbs to feel rigid and stiff. 

“Chat Noir,” The akuma began, taking out a black book from his suit coat and opening it, “You constantly push your feelings onto Ladybug despite her protests and leave her to fight for herself. As punishment, you will no longer have any feelings to push onto her.” he informed with an icy glare, slamming the book shut. 

As soon as the akuma did so, a sharp coldness flooded into Chat Noir’s chest. Emptiness, numbness. He thought he would be angry towards the accusation, or scared of what the akuma meant, or even worried for Marinette, but he wasn’t.

He didn’t feel anything. He couldn’t feel anything. The thought would have terrified him had it not been for the circumstances. 

“Felix, you have to stop this!” 

Chat Noir barely registered the red blur landing in front of him. 

Felix? He was the one that was akumatized? What about Marinette?

“I’ve already told you, it’s Karma now.” The akuma said coolly, though certainly not as cold as when he spoke to Chat noir.

Why was that?

“Marinette wouldn’t want this!” Ladybug tried to reason

“No,” Karma agreed, “She wouldn’t. Marinette’s too nice to condemn those who’ve hurt her. She’s too kind to be this cruel. So I will be selfish for her.”

Ladybug looked pained towards the answer, and even Karma seemed a bit upset that they were fighting. Why were the two reluctant? Why hadn’t Karma attacked her with her own karma yet?

Chat had a hunch he would be angry if he could feel anything.

“My Lady, we need to cleanse the akuma.” He stated dryly, taking out his staff and lunging for Karma.

The akuma’s eyes never left Ladybug’s as he disappeared into thin air. 

Chat Noir stumbled, whipping around to try and find where Felix went, but Ladybug was already flinging out of her yoyo.

“What are you doing!” Chat demanded, frowning towards his partner.

Ladybug flinched, looking back at him with worry and exasperation in her gaze. “We have to find him before he hurts anyone!”

Chat Noir faltered at the urgency in her tone. Despite the hollowness aching in his bones, he knew he should be worried as well. So he listened to her as he always did and followed his lady.

~~~~~~~

Kagami wasn’t one to run away from fights. She didn’t mind getting her hands dirty as long as her mother gave her permission. When she saw that butterfly coming for Marinette, though, she genuinely felt fear.

Marinette was kind, gentle, too good for this world. If she was getting akumatized? who knew what kind of nightmare she’d become. 

Of course, Luka and the others didn’t want to leave Mari, either, but they were forced out of the school by the panicked crowds and worried teachers. Soon, they were all running from the building along with Marinette’s classmates, including Lila. 

Kagami knew full well this was Lila’s doing, and she wanted nothing more than to slice her to pieces with her sword. Unfortunately, now was the time for running, not revenge.

Or so she thought.

The group came to a screeching halt when a man in a suit appeared in front of them, black book in hand.

“Who are you?” Alya blurted out.

“Felix..” Kagami whispered, turning to look at Luka.

The blue-haired boy was equally as terrified. Of course Felix would get akumatized. He was infuriated at the class, a strong negative emotion. He was also extremely protective towards Marinette, and he would never have left her alone during the chaos.

But that begged the question, where was Mari?

“Alya Cessaire,” the akuma began, ignoring her question and opening his book, “you turned your back on your friend in need and instead believed a liar’s words over her own.”

She’s not a liar! Marinette’s the one who’s lying! That’s what Kagami expected Alya to shout, but the journalist, for once, said nothing. 

Then Kagami noticed how stiff the red head was. Not moving, not talking, almost like she was.. Paralyzed.

“Since you refused to see the truth, I, Karma, give you the punishment to not be able to see anything at all.” 

The akuma slammed the book shut, and Alya screamed. 

Nino asked her what was wrong, grabbing her flailing arms. Alya looked up, revealing her brown eyes to be clouded over.

She was blind. Felix- no, the akuma- blinded her. 

“Dude, what did you do!” Nino shouted in a fury. He had a right to be upset, Kagami reasoned. It was his girlfriend after all.

Karma calmly turned to Nino, and opened his book, causing the DJ to freeze. “Nino Lahiffe, you were told the truth and didn’t listen. Therefore, your punishment is you will not be able to hear anything.” 

The akuma slammed the book shut again, and Nino looked around.

“Alya?” he asked, slightly too loud. Then he said it again, this time louder. 

Then again. And again, each time increasing his volume.

Deaf.

Kagami stared curiously at the book, starting to understand. It was obviously the akumatized object. Anytime Karma opened it, it paralyzed the victim, most likely portrayed their actions, and, when closed, delivered their punishments.

“Please, there’s no need for this! Can’t we all just be happy?” Lila cried, burying her face in her hands. 

Karma snapped his gaze to the girl, rage exploding across his features. Kagami took an unconscious step back, not expecting him to get so upset. He’d been cool and composed until now.

The akuma flipped open the book with a new found determination, glaring daggers at Lila.

“Lila Rossi,” Acid dripped from his tone, “you’ve spread lies and deceit and filth throughout the world without remorse. As punishment, you will not be able to speak.” 

Karma slammed the book, releasing Lila from paralysis. 

The brunette immediately straightened and let out a whimper, clamping her hands over her mouth. She then doubled over, as if about to throw up, and spit something out. 

Kagami squinted, leaning closer to get a better look. When she realized what it was, her blood ran cold.

It was Lila’s tongue.

~~~~~~~

Marinette tried to level her breathing as she ran towards the direction her classmates had gone during the akumatization. She’d convinced Chat that it was smarter to split up, to search for Fe- Karma -since they weren’t sure where he’d go.

She knew, though. She knew he’d attempt to get revenge on Lila and the others. She also knew if she was going to appeal to Felix in any way, she needed to do it as Marinette. Ladybug wouldn’t know what Marinette does, and Felix was thankfully keeping her identity a secret. That meant she had to talk to him in civilian form. It could be dangerous, but after his speech right before he ran off, she was confident he wouldn’t hurt her. 

Well, she was pretty sure.

Marinette felt the confidence slip when she saw him facing down the class, specifically Lila. 

She felt a full on chill run down her spine when the brunette spit out her tongue onto the ground. Marinette knew akumas could be a bit aggressive, but this was plain morbid. 

“F-felix?” Marinette swallowed, trying to hide the fear in her voice. It wasn’t him- it wasn’t Felix. She knew that! 

But it was still a threat. If not Felix, then Karma. 

The akuma glanced up, instantly relaxing at her presence. 

Then he tensed back up. 

“I told you to stay out of this.” he said solemnly.

“And I told you I didn’t want any of this!” Marinette retorted, gesturing vaguely to the other classmates.

Karma sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m doing this for you, Mari.” 

“No.” She responded sternly. “If you were really doing this for me, you would do what I wished! You’re only doing what you wish!” her gaze then softened, as she took a step forward. 

“M-mari?” Alya gasped, feeling around the air to try to find her. 

Marinette’s stomach sank when she saw Alya’s blindness. How many others was Felix willing to hurt?

“Felix, you have to stop this, please.” She begged, taking another step. 

Remorse reflected in Karma’s eyes. “I can’t. Not until they all get what they deserve. Lila, Hawk Moth, everyone who’s treated you unfairly.”

Marinette shook her head. “They will, Felix. I promise they’ll get what they need, just-” she sucked in a breath as she held out her hand. “Just give me the book.”

She saw him hesitate, but he inevitably pulled it out of her reach. “I can’t. You’re always in trouble and hurting because of the jerks in this class. You always try to see the good in others, putting their feelings ahead of your own.” He paused, a thoughtful expression crossing his features. “And I love you for it..” 

The declaration was soft enough that Marinette thought she might have imagined it, but the blush of embarrassment on his face proved otherwise. 

Before Marinette could respond, the akuma abruptly straightened. “That’s why I’ll do it for you.” 

It took a moment for Marinette to realize he was referring to his earlier statement about punishing the class, and her eyes widened. 

“No!” She cried, lunging for the book. 

Karma raised it higher into the air, getting ready to teleport, when a staff knocked the book out of his hand. 

“Not so fast!” Chat Noir shouted, landing a few feet behind them. 

Marinette looked on in relief, but Felix scrambled for the black book that had flown across the street. 

He can’t teleport without the book. Marinette noted as she darted after him. That was good. He had a weakness. 

Chat Noir followed the two, using his staff to trip Karma and get closer to the book. Miraculously, Marinette got to the book first, quickly tearing it in half before anything else could interrupt her. 

Karma let out a gasp, his entire form being covered in a purple glow. Then Felix reappeared, a very dazed and confused look coming to his face. 

“Felix!” Marinette sighed in relief, running over to him.

Felix blinked, looking up at her. “Marinette? What- where am I? What happened?” He clutched his head with furrowed eyebrows, clearly trying to remember how he’d gotten so far away from the school.

“It’s okay, Fe. you were akumatized, so you probably don’t remember what happened.” Marinette said softly, kneeling in front of him.

“Akumatized?” Felix frowned. “Where’s the akuma? Shouldn’t you be.. You know.” He gestured vaguely to her figure, silently referring to her Ladybug alter ego.

Marinette pulled a nervous smile. “Ah, well, probably, but you need-”

“It doesn’t matter what I need.” Felix cut her off. “If the akuma is still out there, I can wait.”

Marinette pursed her lips, knowing she couldn’t argue with the statement. Nevertheless, she tried. “But-”

“Marinette.” Felix stressed. 

Marinette huffed, standing up. 

“I’m coming back to check on you.” 

“I’ll be at the school.” Felix replied, standing up as well and brushing himself off.

With a final, weary glance, Marinette ran off to transform and capture the akuma.

Tag list: @unabashedbookworm @bluerosette23 @minightrose@kuroko26@im-here-for-the-content @angstyrastuff @clumsy-owl-4178 @fanboy7794@choaticneturcl @bigcheeseyboi @burntnugget-tae @ayuchan07@honorisfortheweak @knightrose15 @mjisntme@rhub4rb @simplythebestbug@wilhelmares@zebrabaker@dargeon-lissa @kristycocopop @alumneia @kaydenth3gayden @thornangelic727 @flirtshobi @whatamessofwords @book-r-the-best @naomi-from-paleontology

[all-the-love-harold]

Chapter 7 - Toast of the Town

We’re back to the original story line now! It’s going to be slightly different, but mostly the same, so if you liked it last time, I’m sure you’ll like it now. This chapter and in particular the scene where the song is first played wouldn’t have happened without @lovesmelikebrandnewstarlight and I can’ thank her enough for all her help with this series. 

Chapter 6 

Master Post 

Inbox ( for boosting my ego and motivating me to keep posting) 

April 7th, 2017, London.

 Poppy’s alarm rang at 5:35am, like it did every morning, but today she was already awake, sitting at the kitchen counter, drinking a green tea with Harry.

“I have to start getting ready for work H” she said, reaching over and gently rubbing circles on his back. “It’s going to be a hit”

He took a sip from his mug and nodded “Thanks Pop” he said, not so sure that she was telling the truth. Today was the first day of his solo career, come 8am, his first single would be released to the world and he’d know if his hard work over the last twelve months was worth it. It was a risk. A six minute radio single was a risk for anyone to take, let alone someone who had only ever been known as part of a boy band. He had a lot to prove, and it all relied on this song.

His day was filled with phone calls to radio stations across the globe, which is why Poppy had arranged for his radio 1 interview to be pre-recorded, although right now he was kind of wishing she hadn’t so that she’d be around when it was released.

Poppy came out of her bedroom, bringing Harry back to reality.

“Are you going home H? Or are you going to hang out here?” she said as she put her earrings in

“I’ll go home” he said after clearing his throat “Jeff and Mitch are going to meet me there just before 8”

“Could you maybe drop me to work on your way then?” she smiled sweetly, knowing perfectly well that the broadcasting house was in the complete opposite direction of his house.

“I could” he said “What time are you going in?”

“About 7, I’ll make us some breakfast first, what do you want?”

“I’m not hungry” he shook his head

“Guess I’ll just have toast then”

****

The radio one office was always quiet before 9am, and when Poppy arrived at 7, she was the only one there. Except for Grimmy, of course, because his show started at 6:30. Poppy switched on her computer and made herself another cup of green tea while she waited for it to start up properly. And when it did, her inbox was filled with messages of anticipation for Harry’s single, mostly from fans, but some from promoters who were excited for it too. That put a smile on Poppy’s face, it felt nice to know that the world appreciated Harry as much as she did.

“Poppy Thomas” Nick said, walking down the hallway while his show went to the news.

“Nicholas Grimshaw” she said back, looking up from her computer

“You going to come into the studio to listen to your boys song go live?”

“Of course I am, wouldn’t miss it for the world” she stood up from her chair and grabbed her mug to meet grimmy in the middle.

“You see him this morning?” he asked turning around and heading back to the recording studio

“Yeah, he stayed with me last night, he’s nervous”

“He doesn’t need to be, it’s going to be a hit”

“He won’t believe that until it knocks ‘Shape of You’ off the charts” Poppy said very matter-of-factly.

It was 7:58 and Grimmy pressed play on the introduction to Harry as a solo artist and as Harry’s voice echoed through Poppy’s headset shivers ran up and down her whole body. There was something special about hearing it in the studio, it made it feel real, like she was experiencing a moment of musical history being made. After the introduction played and listeners were sufficiently hyped the opening notes of “Sign of the Times” travelled through the room. Goosebumps erupted on Poppy’s skin. From the very first note of the piano, goosebumps erupted on her skin. It sounded old and otherworldly, like the vintage records they’d sing along to while making dinner some nights or when they’d move the lounge and other armchairs so they could dance when drunk or needing to blow off steam. The sudden gravelly rasp of his voice shocked her, not least for the waves of emotion she could hear underneath it. She knew then that this was the right choice. Months ago, when Harry got home from Jamaica with a completed album and different voices telling him which song should be the first single, it was Poppy that told him to go with this one because it was the one that made her feel the most and she knew it would do the same for anyone that heard it.  With every line, she felt herself reaching for the world he described, the place where they could all get away and it would be alright. She could hear the same tender steady calmness in his voice that emerged when he was comforting her or being particularly gentle. She hoped that it made his fans feel safe and like they had an ally. She was jolted from my thoughts by the notes he was hitting, unashamed to stare open mouthed at the range and power he displayed. He was singing his heart out and she was so proud of him, clear by the emotion that had leaked out her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. And just like that, the song closed and the sound of Nick’s pre-recorded voice filled her ears.

“Good Morning”  he said and Poppy took a moment to wipe her eyes before she looked up at the real nick, who was doing the same. They smiled at each other and started laughing at how ridiculous the whole thing seemed, and then they took their headphones off and wrapped each other in a hug

“The little shit” Nick laughed “Has us both in tears at 8am on a friday morning”

Poppy giggled but before she had the chance to respond, her phone started ringing She saw Harry’s face light up the screen and swiped to answer. “Hiya Solo artist Harry Styles” He chuckled in the other end “Did you hear it?” “Of course and you’ve got me and Grimmers in tears”

“Sorry” he said, not sounding sorry at all “Any texts in yet?”

“I haven’t looked, I’ll check and send you photos”

“Thanks, what time are you finishing today?”

“Benny’s not in, so I’m calling it a day after Grimmers show”

“Great, I’ll meet you at yours at 11 then, my last phone call is at 9:30”

“Bye H”

10:55 and Poppy was walking along her street towards her building, a lot of things about today felt weird. It was weird being out of the office this early, it was weird that “Sign of the Times” was now a song that everyone had heard and it was weird that One Direction now felt like Harry’s distant past. Soon after she walked in her front door, there was a knock on it followed by Harry’s barging entrance.

“I’ve got someone for you to meet tonight” he said  handing her a cup as he walked in.

“Hmmm, I’m listening.” She smiled

“His name’s Danny, and he’s ruggedly handsome, trust me, you don’t want to say no to this one Poppy” “You said that last time and look how that turned out” “Yeah, sorry about that, old Jimmy was not my finest choice” “I don’t think he’s anyone’s finest choice” “Probably not, but Danny, Danny’s a great guy, you should definitely give him a chance” “I’m interested, if he’s as ruggedly handsome as you say”

“Have I ever been wrong about that?” he smirked

“No” Poppy pouted, hating that he was right

Harry placed himself on the couch and  let out a loud groan while he  put his feet up on the coffee table. “Make yourself at home then” Poppy stared at him “Just because you’re a solo artist now, doesn’t mean you can put your feet on my coffee table.” He took his feet off the table and handed his phone to her and she furrowed her brows as she took it from him. “It keeps ringing, and I don’t know what to say when people tell me it’s a good song” “What do you want me to do with it?” she held the phone in her hand, and it started to ring again, looking at the screen, she saw that it was Des  that was calling. “It’s your Dad, you should probably answer this one” he rolled his eyes, but he took the call while she went to her room to get changed out of her work clothes. He was on the phone for a while, by the time he had finished she had curled your hair and done her makeup, nothing special for today, just a little bit of concealer to cover her dark circles

 “Well don’t you look nice” Harry said walking into the bathroom and looking at Poppy in the mirror “My best friend released his first single today, wanted to look nice to celebrate” she turned and smiled “How’s your Dad?” “Very Proud apparently” He said, picking up her can of hairspray and inspecting it “Of course, he is H, everyone is” she put her make brush back in its jar and turned to Harry “Should we go and get some lunch?” “Absolutely” he nodded, “My shout” “I hope so” she walked out of the bathroom and grabbed her handbag off her bed “Did you drive here?” “Yeah,” he took his keys out of his pocket and showed them to her “car’s parked a block away though, didn’t want anyone to know I was coming here today.” Poppy put her jacket on while Harry pulled his beanie over his head and put his hoodie up, incognito, as Poppy liked to call it. The paps would be looking for him today, and if they were looking they would find him even if his head was covered by a beanie. He wasn’t kidding when he said he’d parked a few blocks away, at this rate they might as well have just walked to get their lunch

There was one cafe that Harry and Poppy always went to, it was walking distance from Poppy’s flat and Ali worked there so they were always guaranteed the table in the back. They walked in to an empty seating area and a takeaway line that was almost out the door, but Alison was quick to spot them, carting them off to the back without making a fuss. “It’s my two favourite people” she beamed when she saw them both there.   “Ali!” Harry smiled, giving her a hug before he took his seat, “What are you doing here on a Friday?”. She worked for an accounting firm on weekdays and occasionally picked up a shift at the café to save some extra money on the weekends “Just getting my lunch to take back to the office” she pointed at the counter where one of the staff was making her fresh sandwich, “Heard you on the radio this morning, H, it’s a great song, I’ve had it on repeat in the office all morning” “Thanks Ali, means a lot” he nodded modestly Ali turned to Poppy and told her about the rumour she heard about one of their classmates getting a job in her building and Poppy told her that she was having the day off to celebrate with Harry. Ali had never understood their relationship, she was one of those people that believed that men and women couldn’t really be just friends, that there was always some ulterior motive, but that just wasn't the case with Poppy and Harry, at least that’s what they told people anyway. They were friends and that was that.  Ali had always pushed Poppy to make a move, but to her, Harry would always be the boy that she met in an airport the day she landed in London and that wouldn’t change. Ali didn’t stay long, once her order was ready she’d finished bragging about her big time job, she took the sandwich from her friend and said her goodbyes. “I’ll see you two tonight” she waved as she walked by your table. “Stop staring at her ass Harry” Poppy glared at him while she took a sip of her second coffee of the day. “Sorry” he cleared his throat “You know I’ve always had a thing for her” “You’ve never hidden it well” “She’s single right?” he asked taking a sip of his water “Yeah, you finally going to make a move?” “Maybe” he shrugged. When they both finished eating their lunch, Harry paid, and they made their way out the back door to his car, which was parked at the other end of the parking lot. As they walked, Poppy spotted a member of the paparazzi, attempting to conceal himself behind some bushes. Harry was a few feet in front of her, so she ducked her head so that they couldn’t see her face, and pulled her phone out to text him.   “Paps in the corner, behind the bushes, they’ve probably already snapped a few pics” She watched as he took his phone out of his pocket and looked towards the bushes sending her a reply “Go out the front of the cafe, I’ll pick you up from there”

She felt her phone buzz and she subtly turned around, checking her bag, so that they would think she left something inside. She went in and told the manager that the paparazzi were sitting out the back, before heading out the front door, and waiting for Harry to round the corner.  A few minutes later his car appeared and pulled up to the kerb so that she could get in. “So much for staying hidden today H” “As long as they didn’t get you in the photos, we’ll be safe, don’t want Danny to get the wrong idea” he laughed, not worried about the pictures, it was all a part of the life that he was used to by now. In an attempt  to lose any paps that might have tried to follow them back to the apartment building they went the long way round, taking sharp turns down small one way streets. When they finally pulled up and made it inside, Poppy threw her handbag on the bench and Harry shuffled into her bedroom without a word.

“What are you up to?” she yelled after him “Finding you something to wear tonight” he called back, while he opened the wardrobe. Poppy followed him and sat on her bed, watching him go through her things. “Style me Styles” she giggled He pulled a bronze lace dress out of the wardrobe “This is nice” he nodded “I’ve never seen it before” “I bought it to wear to a work Christmas party last year, but I decided not to go” “Let’s put in in the maybe pile for tonight” he turned back to the mess of a wardrobe in front of him, flicking through the rack, pulling out a similar looking pink dress and holding out to look at it properly “These are almost the same dress Pop” “They are not! This one” she held up the bronze dress “shows more cleavage, and that one” she pointed to the one Harry was holding “is all pretty and lacy and I just couldn’t stop myself from buying it” He nodded, placing the pink dress on the bed next to the other one and returning to the wardrobe. A few moments later, he pulled out another pink dress “This one matches the album cover” he handed it to her. “No one’s seen the album cover yet, so the point would be lost on everyone except you” “It would boost my ego though” he shrugged “Fine” she said standing up off the bed “I’ll try it on, and the others too” she unbuttoned her jeans and took them off as he passed you the first dress, unhooking her bra she  laid the dress down and unzipped the back. Harry was watching intently as she stepped into the dress, wriggling a little to get it past her bum. “Zip me please” she turned her back towards Harry and he zipped up the dress. “Danny’s a lucky guy” he said, looking at her in the dress

Poppy looked in the mirror, not liking how the dress fit around her chest “It would look better if I had cleavage to expose” “You’ve got great tits though, that makes up for the lack of cleavage” he said, a smirk spread across his face “Harry!” she giggled, throwing her bra right at his face “It’s true!” he laughed catching it before it hit him on the tip of the nose.

Poppy tried the rest of the dresses on, and settled on the bronze one because it was the most comfortable. “Alright” he said turning to the shoe closet “Shoes” “Black ones I think H” He waded through all the  shoes, pulling out dozens of black pairs, almost all identical, growing more frustrated the more Poppy said no. Finally, he pulled out a pair of black stilettos that laced up at the ankles. “Yes!” she said, “Those ones” “You’re going to kill yourself but fine” he said standing and flopping down onto the bed “I’m exhausted now” She laughed and laid right next to him “Me too, I woke up early to listen to some crappy song that was coming out today” “Hmm” he sighed contently “Me too” It didn’t take long for the two of them to drift off to sleep. Harry could sleep anywhere, and Poppy really was exhausted, this was her first day off work in a while and it was nice to catch up on some sleep. *** Poppy woke up an hour later when she could no longer feel Harry’s hot breathe on her neck. Rubbing her eyes, still a little hazy from her nap she stood up and walked into the kitchen, finding Harry near the doorway, putting his shoes on. “Where are you off to?” she yawned, still a little dazed from sleeping for so long “Home, I’ve got to get…” he stopped talking while he looked for his other sock “Away?” Poppy giggled “Ready” he chucked at her reference to his song. He pulled the laces tight on his shoe and stood up, making his way over to her “I hope I didn’t wake you up love” “It’s alright, I need to get ready too” He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead “See you 9, text me when you get there” he turned the door handle and gave her a stern look. She nodded “Bye H.” He walked out the door, closing it gently behind him, making sure his beanie was on enough to cover his hair, he went outside and made his way quickly to his car. London traffic was always busy on a Friday and what would normally be a ten-minute drive took forty and he was running late to meet his stylist. He speed into the driveway, pulling the handbrake and jumping out of his car. When he got inside he checked his phone, finding that his stylist was also running late. He let out a sigh of relief and sat on the couch in the sitting room resting his head on a cushion, taking a moment to breathe before the night got hectic. He couldn’t take his mind of Alison, the way she walked into that café with a sense of importance and spoke so sweetly about his song. He’d always been intrigued by her, but today he just couldn’t get her out of his head. The buzzer rang about ten minutes after Harry sat down, and pulled him out of his daze. “Heyyy, it’s stylist Harry!” he exclaimed into the intercom “Heyyy, It’s Harry Styles!” Harry Lambert countered back. Harry buzzed him into the gate and opened the front door to greet him. Lambert hopped out of his car, opening the door to the back seat, and took out Harry’s suit. “Shoes are on the other side H, can you grab them?” “Sure thing” Harry walked around to the side of the car and grabbed out Gucci box that contained a new pair of shoes for him to wear tonight. *** Harry sat in his chauffeur driven car, dressed in an all black suit, with nails painted black to match. Tonight, was his night, to celebrate his hard work and to launch his solo career with all the people that made it possible, but it was also Poppy’s night. It had been a long time since she had the chance to go out and properly enjoy herself and Harry knew how much she needed this tonight. His friend Danny, who had helped with the set design for the album artwork, was, as he had told her this morning, ruggedly handsome, but not good enough for her. In Harry’s eyes Poppy deserved the world, and someone that could give her that, but he knew she wasn’t ready for anything serious, so he settled for setting her up with guys he thought would at least treat her like an angel.    The car pulled up and Harry jumped out, thanking the driver ducking his head as he moved towards the building to avoid being seen by any paps that may have received word of the launch party. He was met at the door by his manager Jeff, who shook his hand “Congratulations mate, you’ve got a number one single” Harry’s eyes widen at the news “What? No way?” “It’s not official yet, until next Friday, but it’s looking like you might have knocked your friend Ed off the number one spot” Poppy and Alison had arrived together about ten minutes before Harry did, immediately heading for the bar and grabbing a drink each. “Bartender’s cute” Ali said taking a sip of her drink “Go for it Al” Poppy winked, “I’ve got my eye on someone else tonight” “Do you?” she asked, surprise evident in her voice “and who is this knight in shining armor and why aren’t you talking to him” She giggled, finishing off her drink “Sorry, Harry has his eyes on someone for me” she held up her empty glass “shall we get another?” The room was buzzing with excitement and Poppy quickly spotted Harry by the door talking to his manager.  She left Ali to flirt with the bartender, knowing that he would shut her down quickly and all if things went down according to  Poppy’s meticulous plan, she would then turn to Harry for comfort. “Mr Harry Styles” she said when she was close enough to him for him to hear her “Miss Poppy Thomas” he smiled as she made her way over to him “You look handsome tonight” she said wrapping her arms around him “You look quite nice yourself, who picked that dress for you?” he winked, and she nudged him playfully “Some loser” she smiled “Some loser that will probably have a number one single” She looked at him in amazement “You could have opened with that” he shrugged in response “congratulations H, I’m a very proud friend” “Let’s go and get a drink, Danny’s at the bar” he winked at Poppy and they both turned heading towards the bar. “So is Ali” Poppy winked “The usual plan then?” “Yeah, but neither of us is to leave before speeches tonight, that would look bad on your part” “It would” he agreed as they reached the bar. He introduced her to Danny and he really was as ruggedly handsome as Harry had suggested. He was tall, with messy brown hair, not unlike Harry’s, and stubble that hid his sharp jawline. His eyes were a deep brown that you could easily lose yourself in and he spoke in a welsh accent, which is the one accent that never failed to make Poppy’s heart flutter. After all the niceties had been observed between the three of them, Danny got both Poppy and himself a drink and they split away from Harry, leaving him to make his move with Ali. Poppy and Danny took a seat on the couches on the other side of the room, away from all they hype so that they could actually hear what the other had to say.

“So, how do you know Harry?” he asked, finding the common ground between the two of them “I met him in an airport four years ago, and he took me in like the lost puppy that I was and we’ve been friends ever since” “He’s a good guy” Danny nodded “One of the best” she agreed “He said you helped with the album artwork?” “I did, I’m a set designer, so I got everything organised and looking pretty for the photo shoot” “They’re lovely photos” she glanced over at Harry while they were talking, seeing him and Ali laughing together and assuming that things were going well. Poppy and Danny spent the next few hours getting to know each other, flirting back and forth and drinking more than they should be. When it was time for speeches, they made your way towards the microphone so that Harry could see Poppy. That was a thing, Harry loved being on stage, but he hated speeches and Poppy was his grounding, if he could see her everything was ok.  Ali found them and made her way over to the empty seat on the other side of Poppy while Jeff was giving his speech. “He looks good tonight, doesn’t he?” she whispered to Ali, hoping that she would agree “He’s a handsome man Pop” she whispered back “there’s a sparkle in his eyes tonight” Poppy held back a smile, she knew that sparkle was a combination of pride in himself and lust after Ali, she’d seen that look before and she knew that Ali had too. She leaned over to Poppy again, just as Jeff was finishing his speech “Poppy?” “Hmm?” “You wouldn’t be offended if I went home with H tonight would you?” “Why would that offend me Al?” “I just thought that maybe you had a thing for him?” “He’s my best friend Al, I wouldn’t dream of having anything more with him, I’ve seen too much” she laughed “So you’re ok with it?” “Go for it Al, you both need it” Poppy took a sip of her drink “Plus” you put your hand on Danny’s knee “I’ve got Danny” That drew her attention back to Danny who was starting to get annoyed with Ali’s presence. He placed a hand her thigh and looked at her intensely “Should we get out of here Poppy” She wanted to, she really wanted to, but she promised Harry that she would stay for speeches. “I told H I’d stay until after speeches” He sighed and rolled his eyes “I’ll get you another drink then” he got up and walked away just as Harry got to the microphone. Noticing that Danny was walking Harry made eye contact with her giving her a thumbs up, thumbs down motion, trying to gauge whether things were going well. She responded with a smile and a thumbs up and he nodded and started his speech, thanking everyone involved in the making of the single and the album, giving special mention to his manager and his family. She spotted Anne and Gemma in the corner crying with pride and she smiled, feeling the tears well in her own eyes. “And Lastly,” he said, looking at Poppy “I would to thank Poppy, my wonderful best friend, who has been a constant source of positive energy throughout this whole process, encouraging me to keep going when I was ready to give up and giving me a place to escape for a little while, Poppy, you’ve been incredible, and I can’t thank you enough for everything you do for me, I certainly don’t deserve a friend like you”   Poppy held her now full glass up to Harry as he finished speaking about her, tears now evident in her eyes. Danny put his arm around her and she leant into him resting her head on his shoulder. Harry wrapped his speech by thanking the venue and the staff and handed the microphone back Jeff, who lead the crowd in a toast to Harry and Sign of the Times. After that everyone went back to mingling and Poppy felt Danny push her hair behind her ear. She turned to face him and before she knew it their  lips were attached, and Danny’s hand was moving towards her inner thigh. “Now, we can get out of here” she said between kisses. Danny stood immediately, adjusting himself to hide the growing mass in his pants. She found Harry in the now thinning crowd and singled to him that you were leaving with Danny. He smiled to himself, pleased that this set up was successful. Poppy and Danny made their way outside and hailed a cab. After giving the driver, his address Danny closed the partition and unbuttoned his pants, pulling out his less than impressive hard cock. “Fix this for me will you?” he looked at Poppy and back down at his cock. She was taken aback by the gesture, but she obliged, wrapping her mouth around it and gently licking the tip before putting the whole thing in her mouth. Before long she felt the car pull up and quickly removed his cock from her mouth and watched him pull his pants back up and take his wallet out of his pocket to pay for the cab. They both stumbled up to his dingy apartment where he immediately showed her to the bedroom, once again pulling out his cock, and pushing her down onto the bed in a less than sexy way. Her lips met his and his hands made their way towards her centre, pushing her panties to the side and lining his cock up with her entrance. She let out a quiet moan as she felt him fill her, not even a minute later, she felt him coming undone above her, his orgasm spilling inside of her. He immediately rolled off her and laid down next to her, catching his breath. “Is that it then?” Poppy said, unimpressed with his selfish love making, if you could call it that. “You were incredible love” he said looking at her, in a post orgasm haze “You weren’t” she said standing up and adjusting her panties “If that’s all you’re capable of, I think I’ll be leaving” she picked up her things and made her way to the door, not hearing a single protest from Danny. Poppy left the building and ordered an Uber to pick her up and take her home, sending Harry a text while she was sat in the back. “That was a bust, dude didn’t even last a minute. I’m headed home now, hope things are going well with Ali” A reply came sooner than you expected “I’m sorry Pop, you can stay at mine tonight if you’d like? Ali’s had a few too many, I’m in the cab now taking her home, meet me there?” She told her Uber driver that she needed to go to her friend’s place, and he turned at the next street, heading towards Ali’s. “Sure thing H, we’ll tuck her in and call it a night, sorry you didn’t get yours tonight either” “Hey, it’s a sign of the times.” He replied almost instantly

[holycalum]

vex c.h. 

word count: 3.8k+

warnings: mentions of pregnancy, swearing, drugs refs, but it’s actaully not bad at all

summary: the one where calum’s the most™ annoying but it’s cus he’s in looooove (is tht enough??)

a/n: HI yeah i know i haven’t posted in years because um (: i’ve been the most busy ever. i have so many things i wanna post i have like million half written things and ideas i just don’t have the energy to finish or start i know its bad i miss writing. anyways i hope ya like it i know i suck at writing the good ending parts where the stuff happens but i’m trying. send me requests pls it might take a while but ill defo get to them! love yall the most!

“can you please shut the fuck up and stop chewing ice for like, five seconds?” “first of all, i have an iron deficiency, calum.” you sneer, “you know i’m sensitive about it.” “you know i don’t care about your blood iron content, right (y/n)?” calum glares at you, angrily sipping his drink. “maybe you’re pregnant.” you almost scream, “stop don’t say that,” you pat your stomach, “i don’t want to be pregnant.” “cal, it’s your turn to bowl,” ashton says, flopping down next to calum on the couch opposite you. “i don’t wanna fuckin’ bowl,” calum grumbles, crossing his arms and sinking back into the couch. ashton scrunches his eyebrows, “cal, it was your idea-“ “(y/n) should take my turn, maybe it’ll help her unborn child be a champion bowler.” he mused, making ashton do a double take. “honestly,” ashton squeaks, “i don’t wanna know, (y/n), are you pregnant?” “thought you didn’t wanna know?” you joked, placing two hands on your stomach. “no, i’m not, calum’s just being a bitch.” “m’ not.” he counters, “it’s just your pregnant lady hormones are rubbing off on me, i’m surprised we’re all not crying.” ashton just sits up slowly, backing away from the couch. “it’s just, fuck you calum.” you roll your eyes, leaning back into the couch. you turn your body away from calum, focusing your attention on the scoreboard. “you’re doing really badly.” “can’t show up your bowling prodigy child,” calum hardly misses a beat, as annoying as he was being, he was on fire tonight. “wonder who the dad is.” you pull at your hair, “oh my fucking god,” you want to throw a bowling ball at his head, “it’s like you want me to be pregnant, you’re insinuating i’m getting dicked down enough to be pregnant.” “big word, gotta set a good example for the baby...” calum trails off, trying not to laugh at his constant pestering. “are you?” “wouldn’t be your business if i was, or if i wasn’t.” “then who am i to believe you’re not pregnant,” calum shrugs, finishing his drink. calum’s neck looked like prime real-estate for your fists, you had never been so annoyed with him in your time knowing him. for a while you two were actually friends, but as of lately, he seemed to seize any opportunity to push your buttons. michael slid into the spot next to you, “yanno, boys are usually mean to girls when they like them.” he whispers in your ear, “doesn’t that promote an unhealthy association or something?” you roll your eyes, burning holes into the side of calum’s head. “i’m sure someone who likes you wouldn’t claim you’re pregnant every chance they got.” “calum’s not just someone,” michael sing-songed, “i honestly don’t know what sticks up his ass.” “apparently it’s not a stick, it’s my fake baby.” you crossed your arms, still glaring at calum. “ashton,” you piped up, gripping the back of the drivers seat. “can we please stop at mcdonald’s, i have to pee.” “no.” calum answered for ashton, “i recall asking ashton,” you snapped your head towards him, “but go off i guess.” “yeah.” ashton said quietly, switching lanes to get off at the next exit. “no,” calum grabbed the steering wheel, “you peed like 20 minutes ago.” “jesus fucking ch-calum please,” ashton threw his hand off the wheel, “don’t kill us please.” “wouldn’t wanna kill the baby,” calum grinned at you, sarcasm leaking from his dimples. jesus, you think, here we fucking go. “since when are you the dictator of my bladder?” you asked, face red. “peeing a lot is a sign of pregnancy, you know?” calum said, ignoring your question. “so, you’re an ob-gyn now too?” “i’ve taken up many practices since you conceived your baby,” calum insisted, eyes glued to his phone. you desperately wanted calum to turn his head towards you, to give you his full attention. this half assed argument wasn’t cutting it. “i’m honestly so uncomfortable, we’re almost at McDonald's.” ashton announces, “i am not fucking pregnant!” you shout, slinking into the back seat, “why do i even hang out with you?” “hey, (y/n), how you feeling?” luke asks, face grainy on your phone screen. “like ass,” you croak, you’d been throwing up all morning. you thought you were on the come up, and tested the waters with a piece of toast, but you were unsuccessful. “-is that (y/n)?” you hear calum ask, and your stomach lurches, you didn’t need to deal with him right now. “yeah-she’s sick,” “with what?” “i dunno, she’s throwing up-“ suddenly the phone screen shakes and calum’s face takes up the whole thing. his face holds an evil smile and you’re far too familiar with his jokes and you know what you’re in for. “you’re having morning sickness, (y/n).” he says matter-of-factly. you feel the last of your toast threatening to inch up your throat. “it’s cus’ you’re pregnant.” you empty your stomach into the toilet, “fuck you, calum.” you manage in between deep breaths. “i have food poising.” “if that’s what we’re calling pregnancy these days.” “i’m hanging up.” you throw your phone across the tile of your bathroom, leaning your head against the cool toilet bowl. you felt so gross, and calum’s comments were not helping in the slightest. you felt like crying really, he was being such a jerk to you, for no reason. a few fever naps later, you’re woken up by a knock at your front door. you drag yourself to the door, opening it to find a bag from the drug store, with a note reading ‘pregnancy kit!’ you immediately toss the pregnancy tests to the side, digging out the gatorade. you call calum, “thanks for the gatorade, but i don’t need the tests, wanna give them to your groupies?” you say as soon as he picks up. “ah,” he breathes, “of course, how could i be so silly, you don’t need to test something you’re already sure of.” “fuck off.” “i don’t need them,” he continues, “that’s not me anymore.” “ok, bye calum.” you throw your phone back onto your couch, dropping the bag next to you. if he wasn’t such an asshole, you’d think him going out of his way to bring you things would be sweet, but you’re sure it’s just an extra step he took to tease you. if he were anyone else you might smile and blush at the thought, but thinking of calum’s devilish smile while picking things out only made your skin crawl with heat. “(y/n)...” calum pushes the drink out of your hands, “you can’t drink while pregnant.” you nearly break the bottle over his skull, “are you like deprived of sex or something? is that why you’re so edgy?” “i just care about the well being of your baby,” he rests a hand on your stomach, “seeing that it-speaking if we should find out the gender soon. seeing that its father is absent.” you flick his hand off of you and ignore the way your heart speeds up when he touches you. “let’s find you someone, that sound good?” you ask, dropping his calloused hand from your grip, and scanning the bar for anyone that may peak calum’s interest. if you were being honest, the conflict between you and calum, that you dread, lit something within you. whether it was a match under your ass that kept you on your toes, or something warmer in the pit of your stomach, you found yourself red in the face and tingly every time you went back and forth with each other. calum was pissing you off and he knew it, he had wiggled his way under your skin, and you didn’t know how you felt about it. you spot a blonde girl across the room, and you set out to approach her. “no one that’ll take away from my ob-gyn practice,” he shouts as you walk away, stomping loudly. it almost hurts how ok he was with it. you return only a few minutes later, finding it very easy to convince a random chick to talk to someone in a band. “calum,” you stand in front of him, and he glares down at your smaller frame. “this is ally-allison-um, this is allison.” you introduce her, and she giggled loudly. “oh my god,” he drops his jaw, “you reincarnated michael jackson? for me? you’re too sweet, (y/n).” something inside you relaxes at his dislike for the stranger. “what?” allison cocks her head to the side, looking calum up and down. you catch yourself thinking, me too girl. “never mind,” you mutter, “allison said she likes music, you like that too!” “yeah, i go to a lot of raves.” she assures us, “have you guys ever done molly?” “no.” calum is short, “well, i have a few in my bag-“ “nice,” he responds, “we can do a couple,” “yeah for sure,” his eyes are in slits as soon as he looks at you, you shrink under his gaze. “let’s do molly, in some bar, with ally.” “allison.” she corrects, and calum already has your bicep in his hand, dragging you in the opposite direction of allison. your brain is split between wanting to punch him for being so rough, and letting him drag you along. you go with the latter. “we’ll be right back, ally, just need to converse with my colleague.” calum has no intention of ever speaking to her again, anyone named allison, he decides. soon, you’re standing outside the bar, shooting daggers out of your eyes at calum. if looks could kill, he would’ve been dead hours ago, and you’d be beating the dead horse. your feelings were all jumbled up, in a hot, flaming, pile of trash. “it’s cold,” you complain, rubbing your bare arms. “ok well, i can’t control the weather.” he snapped, making your stomach drop, he was being so mean. “what the hell is your problem?” “i don’t need you to meddle in my love life, (y/n).” he uttered, pulling out a cigarette from his back pocket. you snatch it away from him, and he’s left empty-handed. “not good for you,” you explain, “i’m not the pregnant one...” “no one is pregnant!” you shout, throwing the unlit cigarette on the ground. “sounds like something a pregnant lady would say,” calum hasn’t missed an opportunity yet. “i literally need you to stop,” you beg, shaking his shoulders. he lets out a quiet ‘woah’ but doesn’t do anything to stop you from violently shaking him around. “i don’t know what your problem is, but like, you’ve been at this since before i tried helping you out, so what gives?” calum only shrugs in response, eyes drifting to the people flowing out of the bar. his mind sails elsewhere, wondering if the guys would wonder where you two went, if they knew how he felt, if they cared at all. “cal, there’s gotta be like, someone in there for you, if you want a wingman-“ you babble, trying to push the idea of you and calum far, far, far, out of your brain. if he could just make out with someone, you could never think about him like that again, and then you could really get pregnant, and live a calum-free life. “there’s no one in there for me.” he says coldly, turning his shoulders away from you, making your arms drop down to your sides. you can feel him closing off. you roll your eyes, “how are you supposed to know that,” you soften your tone, you didn’t really know how to talk to calum like this. “cus’ i just do,” he’s slowly inching away from you now, trying to increase the space, trying to decrease the connection. “why should you care?” he turned his difficult feelings into coldness. “you’re my friend, i think, if you’re allowed to be so involved in my uterus, i should be allowed to try and get you some!” you fume, stepping closer to him. “i’m trying to be nice while you continue to be so mean.” “why try?” “i-“ you didn’t know, “i don’t know.” “well,” he barks, “if i’m being so mean and you can’t stand it, why do you hang out with me?” “why are you so mean?” you ask, both of your voices raising. “i don’t know.” he mocks you, “you have to know!” you were being far too dramatic for where you were, but you were so blinded by rage you found it difficult to care. “if you’re allowed to not know why you put up with me, i’m allowed to not know why i’m mean to you.” he turns to walk away from you, you grab the sleeve of his jacket, blood pumping rapidly. “don’t walk away from me, calum, that’s rude as shit.” “i am rude as shit.” “you’re not!” you cry, people walking out of the bar into the cool air taking a second glance at your exchange. “you’re not rude and that’s why i’m confused as to why you’re being rude to me, you weren’t like this before.” “before you started going out on dates and shit and getting pregnant,” he grumbled, shoulders slumping into himself. you gaped, “how does that have to do with why you’re being mean.” “m’ not mean.” his voice got quieter, head now lowered. if he couldn’t just box you out he could always try retreating into himself. “you just said you were,” you matched his volume. “m’ not,” he repeated, “n’ there’s no one in there for me.” “you’re all over the place,” you’re head is spinning, and you can’t connect the dots between anything calum’s saying. “cus’ the only person for me is standing outside the fuckin’ bar.” “have i ever told you, you have such a way with words,” you were trying to be so cool, because you doubted that the middle-aged businessman standing near the entrance was the one for calum, but he was making it really hard. “you’ll never guess what i do for a living.” he jokes back, but his chuckle ends too short to be real. “ok, so, why do you think i’m pregnant? like i’m still lost.” “can we please not talk about it,” he begs, finally looking at you. your stomach flips at his eye contact, and as wobbly as your knees are, you’re unmoving. you couldn’t “that’s not fair to me, cal.” “just not here then, please.” the sound of your front door closing was the first thing to break the agonizing silence between the two of you. “so...” you lean over your kitchen counter. calum rubs his face, and groans. “it’s stupid,” his words are altered by his cheeks being smooshed against his hands. a blush creeps up the back of calum’s neck and onto his face. he wasn’t getting out of this one. “yeah,” you agree, “it is stupid, but why?” there’s a long stretch of silence, “cus i like you,” finally cuts through the thick air surrounding you two. “m’ still a little drunk.” you spit out the sip of water you had just taken. “sorry,” you sputter, wiping your mouth. sure he had implied something of the sort outside the bar, but hearing him say it was sending you elsewhere. “i um,” “you don’t have to say anything back, but you wanted to know, so i told you.” he shrinks into himself, “no, cal, i just wanna know why you thought that was how you should’ve gone about it.” you weren’t saying you didn’t feel the same, but you also weren’t saying you’d let him off so easy. “i’m sorry, if it really bothered you.” he says instead, spinning himself back and forth on the bar stool. he was looking everywhere but you. “it’s not that, it was just-“ “weird?” “yeah.” “i know id be weird anyways, so i figures being mean weird would rule out yanno, me feeling things.” he explains, playing with the cuff of his jacket. “oh,” you whisper, studying how his eyebrows scrunch when he can’t button his sleeve. “you can’t just try and cancel out your feelings...like pemdas.” his eyes flicker towards you, “wrong, i did try, it just didn’t work.” “so you still like me?” you ask, “do all pregnant people ask this many questions?” he says under his breath, and you let yourself laugh because it’s kinda funny. calum smiles sheepishly as he continues looking down at his sleeves. “just me i guess,” you decide to play along. “yeah, i do.” “cool.” “that’s all i get?” he sits up straight, gripping the edge of the counter. “it’s cool!” you defend, giggles escaping your lips. “yeah well, what’s cool about it?” he tests the waters, maybe you were interested, maybe it wasn’t so crazy to think maybe you’d like him too. even just a little bit. he leans back against the chair. “i think it’s cool...” you trail off, biting your lip, “that someone so cool likes me.” “you think i’m cool?” calum’s tone is teasing, but you can tell he’s flustered by the way his usually low voice raises a bit and the blush painting his tanned cheeks. “mhm.” you nod slightly, the little bit of alcohol in your system making it hard to hold off. calum’s stature was especially enduring right now, his soft, sleepy eyes and messy hair, your heart swelled at the sight. “cool.” he said simply, eyes crinkling. you only let out another quiet ‘mhm’ in response, taking another sip of water. “so, is that it?” “is what it?” “is that all we say, and now i just have to stare at you until you kick me out?” he questions, face dropping. surely, he thought, you were only playing him. “bold of you to assume you’d even wanna stare at my face that long.” you counter, raising an eyebrow. he thinks for a moment, “bold of you to assume i wouldn’t.” “bold of you to assume...” it was getting really hard to go back and forth with calum now, his cocky smile getting under your skin instead of on your nerves for once. “bold of you to assume i’d kick you out,” “oh?” he grinned, leaning over the counter, mirroring my position. he widens his eyes at you, “better get used to it then.” “are you flirting with me, calum?” “bold of you to assume i’m not setting you up for the best pregnant joke of all time.” you roll your eyes at him, starting to move away. he grabs your hand suddenly, pulling you back over the counter. “i was only kidding, (y/n).” “figured,” you squeak out, trying not to faulted. you swallow hard, “but why do you need to be so close to me?” you were certain if anything was obvious is was the prominent blush splayed across your cheeks. you’d be surprised if he couldn’t feel the heat radiating off of your cheeks. “like seein’ you blush,” you were right, “sure, i could see it from down the street, but this is a better view.” “doubt it.” you bite your lip, “agree to disagree?” “turning down an argument?” you question, “i’m sure another opportunity will present itself.” he whispers, “you know i’d stay here, but it’s a really uncomfortable position.” you speak, after a moment of silence. “and i hate being in jeans. are you spending the night?” “what does that have to do with being in jeans?” he stays leaned over the counter after you stand straight again, and start walking towards your room. “i don’t have any clothes for you, i’d feel bad if i was comfortable and you weren’t.” “not something you’d ever cared about before, doll.” he spins around to face you, relaxed against the stool. suddenly your whole body feels hot. you gulp, “i guess you’re right,” you come back later, clad in pajama shorts and a long sleeved shirt. calum’s lounging on your couch now, feet kicked up on the coffee table. “glad you’ve made yourself comfortable.” “you weren’t going to,” he speaks, eyes not breaking away from his phone. you sit down next to him, legs folded underneath yourself. he glances over at you, a smile smile evident on his lips. it felt odd, not being genuinely angry at calum for more than an hour. “listen,” he speaks, “you don’t have to kick me out, i can leave on my own.” he looks down at his hands, twisting his rings. “you can if you want,” you say softly, covering your yawn with you hand. you hoped he didn’t want to leave, cause you’d be ok if he sat on your couch forever. “do you want me to?” he meets your eyes, you shrug, inspecting your nail polish, “don’t care,” “i mean, it’d be kinda weird if i stayed cus i like you and you don’t-“ “i like you calum,” you cut him off, darting your eyes back down to your nails. “oh,” he shook his head a bit, a grin creeping its way onto his face. “glad that’s out of the way,” you say, still not looking at calum. if you looked at him it’d be real and you’d given into him, who was bullying you for a fake pregnancy only hours before. it was stupid if you put it that way. but if you thought about it another way, it was never really that deep. “then, i guess i’ll stay?” he says carefully, nudging your thigh, eyebrows raised in anticipation. “cool.” you nod, making eye contact for a split second before turning back away. you could combust then and there. “you’d like that?” he teases, inching closer to you. you swear you feel your heart stutter. “if i stayed?” “mhm.” you laser your focus on your chipping polish instead of his body heat in attempt to calm yourself down. but you’re the furthest thing from calm. “ok,” he huffs, leaning back and throwing an arm around your shoulders. you stiffen under his touch, your entire body on fire. as of the last couple of months you’d been hot out of anger, not by whatever this was. calum’s gaze was fixed on you, his eyes fond despite his cocky manner. “you gonna relax, sweetheart?” the nickname dripped like honey from his lips. “you gonna kiss me to get it over with already?” you spit suddenly, wanting to end the awkwardness. you were sick of the jitters now, and all you wanted was calum. yet, you slap a hand over your mouth. he let out a laugh, “can’t with you so far away from me.” you roll your eyes, and lift yourself to turn yourself toward him. “much better,” he grins, moving a hand up to cup your face. fuck that, you think, grabbing the collar of his shirt and pressing your lips together. you feel the tension leave your body, as calum’s lips work against yours. it feels like heaven, his plump lips against yours, hands gripping whatever they can. calum pulls away, forehead leaning against yours, panting quietly. you take in his look, eyes closed, blissed out, beautiful. “bet your baby daddy couldn’t do that?” he jokes, smiling. “shut up.”

[oneyanderegirl]

The Disease of Unrequited Love Chapter 8

This is for Sasuhina Renaissance Week 2018! Not sure how long this story is going to be, so hope you all enjoy the ride like I will be. I haven’t written in a while, so apologies for any mistakes. I’ll probably end up rewriting this someday because I didn’t like how I wrote in some parts, but for now please enjoy the story~

A/N: Slowly moving this story forward. By slowly, I mean SUPER SLOW....Anyways, thank you for taking the time to read this story, hopefully I’ll be able to finish writing this before the end of the year so I can start writing some other stuff xD If you ever have any questions about my stories, don’t hesitate to send me an ask! 

“ You’ve gotten worse.”

Sasuke had woken up not too long ago while laying in one of the beds at the Konoha hospital. The familiar scent of chemicals and death that he hated seemed to linger everywhere. When he finally sat up, he was met with an angry Tsunade.

“ Do not ignore me, brat.”

He glared at Tsunade, but did not say anything. Instead, he tried to remember what had happened before he had passed out.

He had been assigned a mission with Hinata and her teammates. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino were supposed to track a missing shinobi and bring them back. There had been rumors of an organization that had been recruiting rogue shinobi in an attempt to overthrow the current allied powers that had formed between the hidden villages as a means of peace. Tsunade had assigned a Konoha shinobi to try to find their whereabouts, but within a week they had disappeared. When a week had gone by with no leads, she had decided to assign Team 8 with the task since they were known as the best trackers in the village.

When Hinata had told him, he had demanded to come with them.

“ Why does this bastard have to come with us?” asked an angry Kiba.

“ Sasuke will be going with you three to act as a bodyguard.” Tsunade answered.

“ Forgive me, Hokage, if I sound out of line, but are you suggesting that we can not take care of ourselves?” Shino questioned.

Hinata did not seem to mind, but the expression she wore seemed to be in agreement with Shino.

“ You all may be trackers, but I’m a much better fighter than all of you.” He said.

Shino had to restrain Kiba from punching him. Or rather, restrain him from getting hurt by Sasuke.

Tsunade let out a frustrated sigh.

“ Settle down. I have decided to assign Sasuke to this because I believe his powers and abilities will come in handy. While I do believe you three are more than capable of taking care of yourselves, it is true that Sasuke is a better fighter as evidenced by the past. This mission is no joke, and I want to take extra precautions. I do not want to lose my best trackers, so I made the decision that I saw would ensure the best outcome. I have already discussed this with Kakashi, Shikamaru, and a few others and they are all in agreement as well.”

“ Then assign us someone else! Why does it have to be him?” Kiba growled.

“ I understand, Hokage-sama. Thank you for the clarification.” Hinata bowed.

“ Yes, I understand as well. While I do not fully agree with this decision, I understand the need for this.” Shino responded.

The man stared at his teammates in disbelief.

Sasuke remained silent.

“ Kiba, whether or not you agree with this, I have already made my final decision on this matter. Sasuke was the only one available at the moment, and he had volunteered to assist with this mission as well. If you still disagree with this, you are more than welcome to drop the mission and I will assign you something else. Do I make myself clear?”

Not wanting to anger the woman any further, Kiba had annoyingly agreed and bowed his head in submission.

“ Uchiha! Are you even listening to me?!”

Unaware that he had become lost within his own thoughts, Sasuke glared at Tsunade again.

“ I heard you.” He said.

He could hear the woman sigh.

“ You haven’t taken my advice at all. Your chakra systems are worse than I thought. I’m taking you off missions for the time being.”

This made Sasuke furious.

“ You will not.” He angrily replied.

“ Excuse me? Do you realize what sort of situation your body is in?” She shouted.

“ It’s my body! I have the right, as a patient, to decide what I do with it. You can not force me off missions!”

“ I am not just ordering you as your doctor, but also as your Hokage. You are not fit for missions, so I am ordering you off of them!”

Sasuke sent the woman an icy glare that would have scared most people.

“ If you won’t let me go on missions, then I will go on them myself. You cannot stop me. You may be the Hokage for this village, but you do not have the authority to order me. I chose to stay here, I chose to follow your orders only because it benefits me. If I wanted to I could send this entire village into a frenzy within mere seconds. You would not want that would you, Tsunade?” He threatened.

They continued to exchange glares. Eventually, Tsunade closed her eyes and let out another frustrated sigh.

He knew this meant that she understood the validity of his threat. Taking the clipboard that had been lying at the desk nearby, she grabbed it before sitting at the chair next to his bed. Looking over what he assumed was his records, he noticed the blonde woman scribbling something before looking at him again.

“ What color are your petals now?” She asked.

“ Dark pink, almost red.” He answered, remembering the last time he had threw up.

“ Do you know what that means?” She asked again.

This time Sasuke did not say anything.

“ I did a scan on you earlier. Your chakra system has been damaged badly, to the point where it is irreversible. This damage has caused your chakra to leak throughout various parts of your body. I assume you have been feeling more tired lately and taking more breaks during training, yes?”

He nodded.

“ The reason why is because the chakra that has been leaking into your body has slowly been destroying your organs. Your lungs, heart, and muscles have been damaged, resulting in internal bleeding. When this happens, the tissues in your body automatically tries to heal itself. That is why the disease hasn’t killed you yet. But it takes time to fully heal, and even when it is healed, it leaves scars and doesn’t work the same anymore.”  

Tsunade flipped through a few more pages of his records and wrote something else down before continuing again.

“ However, when you continuously wear your body down like this, when you continuously let the disease take over, and when you continuously go on these kinds of missions and get injured from it, your body will eventually be unable to keep up with healing your organs. That is the stage where you’re at right now, Sasuke.”

“ What does this mean then?” He asked.

“ The color of your petals indicate how much internal bleeding has been done and how much damage your body has taken. You may not feel much of the damage now, but you will when those petals turn red. You are already experiencing the symptoms, and they will only become more prominent as time goes on, unless you follow the advice I gave you. But once they turn red, the damage will exceed the amount of healing your body can do. You will feel a lot of pain and be significantly weakened. At that point, the damage to your body will be almost impossible to reverse. That’s why you should rest and let your body recover.”  She answered.

Sasuke looked at his hands, remembering what had happened during the mission.

For the most part, Hinata and Sasuke were able to get along fine. Even Shino had eventually accepted that their friendship was genuine and had started to converse with him as well. Although there was still a distance between the two, to everyone’s surprise, Shino and him were able to get along as well. They would not consider each other friends, but they had formed a mutual respect and understanding that was enough to be of comrades.

However, Kiba was not so accepting.

It did not bother Sasuke because he didn’t expect anything from them, but the man’s stubbornness had made their mission difficult to complete. He would completely ignore Sasuke’s suggestion or pretend he wasn’t there in the first place. When no one else would follow his attitude, the man would start unnecessary arguments with Sasuke or his other teammates. At that point, everyone had become fed up with his attitude. Even Akamaru, the large dog who was always loyal to his master and friend, became fed up with him.

That did not stop Kiba though. He continued to treat Sasuke that way for most of the mission. It wasn’t until they had found a lead to the missing shinobi, did Hinata had finally snapped at him for his lack of professionalism. However, it was only when Hinata threatened to fight him and send him back to Konoha alone, did Kiba finally shut up.

Once they had located the missing nin, the team was able to retrieve him and were on their way back to Konoha. The journey back had been fine, and they only needed to travel one more day before reaching the village.

However, when night came, that was when they had been attacked.

“ And what happens if I don’t?” He asked.

“ Sasuke-kun!”

There had been five of them waiting deep within the forest. They were surrounded from all sides and were taken by surprised. Shino had been the first to get hurt. A poison-laced kunai had hit his arm causing the man to collapse in pain, while the missing nin was unconscious. It seemed the poison was specifically meant for Shino; the beetles in his body were unable to get rid of it. Akamaru was guarding the two, so that meant only three of them were able to fight.

Under normal circumstances, Sasuke would have been able to sense them and taken them all out before they would have arrived. But he hadn’t been able to notice anything astray. Neither had the others, but only because the enemies had seemed to know how to deal with them. It seemed his senses had been dulled from the disease. Not only that, but after just taking out two, Sasuke was already low on stamina.

“ We need to leave.”

Hinata nodded in agreement, but Kiba disagreed.

“ We can just take them all out! You already took two.” He growled.

“ No. We need to leave now.” Sasuke said as he continued looking around, waiting for them to strike.

“ Sasuke-kun’s right. We don’t know how many more there are. Our mission is to bring the nin back, not to fight. This isn’t the time to argue, Kiba-kun!” Hinata answered.

It seemed Hinata knew what Sasuke was thinking.

When two more kunais were thrown at them, Kiba finally agreed. The mission was more important.

“ Fine!” The man groaned.

“ Hyuga, Inuzuka, take those two and put them on the dog and leave.” He said.

When Hinata was about to protest against his instructions, Sasuke cut her off.

“ I’ll be following closely behind. I need you two to protect the others and get back to the village in one piece. Do not lose the nin. I’ll make sure to keep them off of you all. Now go!”  Sasuke shouted.  

Kiba nodded and started to gather the nin and Shino onto Akamaru, while Hinata and Sasuke continued to ward off the weapons thrown at them. When Kiba was finally done, he called for Hinata to get ready to leave. Right as they were ready to go, Sasuke had cleared an opening for them to go.

As Kiba and the others began running, Hinata gave him one last look. Her large, worried eyes stared at him as if she was trying to find something. When Kiba shouted again, it seemed to startle Hinata out of her thoughts.

“ Be careful.” she whispered before going to Kiba.

That was the last time Sasuke had seen Hinata before his eyes turned red.

“ If you don’t, then your body will continue to damage itself until it completely breaks down. When your petals turn as red as wine, then there will be no going back.” She said.

Sasuke looked at Tsunade again, this time with a blank expression.

“ Once that happens, it means you will die.”

A sudden crash by the door startled the two of them. When they both turned to see what had caused the noise, all they could see was a girl with short pink hair and green eyes standing by the door with a fallen tray and pieces of cut fruits on the floor. The girl looked terrified as she looked at them.

It was Sakura.

[i-write-shakespeare-not-disney]

The New Romantics ch. 8

(If you have songs I can add play to a playlist for this fic please let me know!!)

Formerly known as Frenemies

Part 1 Here

Part 2 Here

Part 3 Here

Part 4 Here

Part 5 Here

Part 6 Here

Part 7 Here

click the OP if the read more link doesn’t show.

A HUGE GINORMOUS GREAT BIG FUCKING THANK YOU TO @klancedup for commissioning me for a part 8!!!!! You were my first commission, and I really hope this chapter meets your expectations <3

Remember, you can commission me for continuation of stories or a new story by transferring money through my Facebook (Ally Phoenix Lopez) !!

Reaching the castle again that night was emotionally draining for everyone. No one wanted to leave their family, but they knew they had a job to do. It was easier now that their families knew they were alive at least. Shiro and Allura helped Keith lug his new books to his room, and Keith couldn’t help but read as he walked with a stack of books under his arms.

He had randomly grabbed a book called We Are the Ants, and he was enraptured. He’d already read the poetry book he’d first grabbed which left him with chills. And he was still listening to the music from his iPod.

While the others had gone to bed, Keith stayed in his room, reading his book until he heard a knock at the door. “Come in!” he shouted.

The door slid open and he looked over to see Lance coming into his room. His eyes skimmed the room and his eyebrows went up in shock. “Whoa.”

“Pidge let me borrow some books.”

Lance nodded and walked over to the bed. “May I?” Keith nodded and pulled his legs in to give him space. “Um, Becca forgot to give you this. For when the iPod runs out.” He handed over a charger and then held up a plastic bag Keith hadn’t noticed. “Also, Maria and my mom wanted to give you this. I told them you like drawing and….” He handed the bag over.

Frowning, Keith looked in and gasped. He began pulling out the items one by one. Erasers, charcoal pencils, regular pencils, colored pencils, pastels, two sketchbooks, and a pack of brush pens. “How did they…? Why?”

Lance smiled and shrugged. “We have our ways. My mom really liked you. She wanted you to have a way to calm down. You said you feel better when you draw.” Keith nodded and smiled as he looked at his new supplies. He was already itching to start with the pastels. He was ready to see the smear of colors on his fingers until a page came alive with bursts of blues and reds and purples. Before he could get them out of their packaging though, Lance nudged his leg lightly to get his attention. Keith looked at him, finding a solemn expression on his face. “Keith, I-I’m sorry if that girl being there made you upset. I didn’t know-”

“That girl? You mean Rosa?” Lance blinked in surprise and Keith rolled his eyes. “Maria told me who she was.”

Lance sighed and nodded. “Yeah. The only one who ever liked her was Papa. I don’t even know why I ever liked her. She’s so shallow.” Keith snorted and Lance looked at him. “What?”

Keith shook his head and crossed his arms. “A girl finally refuses to leave your side and you don’t like her? You know that kiss suggested otherwise.” He shrugged. “But I guess you can kiss someone without liking them. We used to do that all the time.” He couldn’t help the blush that filled his cheeks, so he busied himself with unwrapping his art supplies.

It was quiet for a while, and Keith realized he was desperately hoping Lance would just lean forward and kiss him again. He wanted to hear him say that he didn’t like Rosa, but he did like him and that kissing him was different. He wanted Lance to take him by surprise and just kiss him like he’d read about in his book, wanted to feel what the poems described.

But Lance didn’t move. Because Lance didn’t like him. And they were just friends, and that was supposed to be enough.

“Can I stay with you?” he heard Lance whisper. He looked up to see his eyes pooling with tears. “I just… really miss my mom and I know the deal was coming back, but… I wish I’d stayed. I won’t bother you. I’ll just watch you draw. I could really use a friend right now.”

Keith fought back the urge to caress his cheek and nodded. He scooted over for Lance and set down his new things under the bed, keeping a sketchbook and the pastels with him as he scooted against the wall.

As he placed a pastel against the page, he felt a slight pressure against his shoulder and felt Lance’s hair tickle his face. “Is this okay?” Lance asked with a sniff. Keith hummed in affirmation and Lance settled against him more comfortably. Keith took a breath and ignored the speed of his heart and the rush coursing through his veins.

Who knew a crush could be so similar to the adrenaline he felt during a battle?

Keith leaned his head against the crown of Lance’s head and began to bring his page to life.

By the time he’d smeared, blended, and accented everything he needed, his hands were coated in different colors. He’d simply created the view of space with blues and purples and black, sprinkled it with stars, and smeared ion beams and purple canon blasters across the page. It was soothing and disturbing at the same time.

A tan hand turned his own over and Keith caught his breath as slender fingers trace his. “You have art hands,” Lance whispered sleepily. “It suits you.”

Keith managed a chuckle and curled his fingers, only barely holding Lance’s where they rested on his palm. “Go to sleep. You sound tired.” He pulled the blanket up on him, a sign to tell him he was welcome to stay the night. Lance shuffled down and turned onto his side, eyes shut. “Goodnight,” Keith whispered.

His eyes fluttered open, bright blue meeting Keith’s and sending a shock through him. “Night, Mullet.”

As soon as Lance’s breathing evened out, Keith turned to a new page and cleared his hands as best he could on his shirt. Then he picked out light blues, soft pinks, white, and soft yellows before beginning to fill the page.

As he drew, he thought of Lance’s eyes. Of how bright and full of life they could be when he was happy. How cold and determined they were when he was fighting. How icy and chilling and distant they could be when he was angry. How welcoming they were when he smiled, while being intimidating the second he scowled.

He had never thought of how ambiguous blue could be before.

Keith was nodding off in his sitting position as he blended his colors, so he managed to set his art aside before plopping down and pressing himself against the wall and succumbing to sleep.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep when he was awoken by the soft touch of warm fingers against his face. He opened his eyes and made out Lance’s shadow, his eyes bright in the darkness of the room. He scooted closer and Keith shivered as his thigh pressed between his legs and up against his crotch.

“Why are you so far away from me?” Lance whispered into his ears.

“What are you doing?” Keith stammered.

He didn’t get a response as Lance’s lips pressed against his throat, sucking softly. Keith let himself relax and sighed as he exposed his neck a little more. Lance’s hand trailed down to his jeans and slipped his under after unbuttoning them. Keith gasped as Lance’s hand ghosted over his growing hard-on over his boxers and he gripped Lance’s shoulder.

“What happened to being just friends?” he gasped.

Lance smiled and pulled his hand back enough to stop touching him. “You want me to stop?” Keith jerked his hips forward, which was all the answer Lance needed. He slipped under his boxers and cupped him, making Keith whimper. “I want you to fuck me. Can you do that for me?” Keith nodded and gripped his face, kissing him almost ferally.

As he did, Keith was slipped out of his jeans and boxers, and Lance clambering onto him, hands roaming under his shirt. He felt the curve of Lance’s ass against the tip of his cock, and he gripped his hips stop him. “What are you doing? Don’t hurt yourself. I can-”

“I already spread myself for you,” Lance murmured against his lips. “Come on, Keith, I need you.” Keith nodded and Lance began seating himself down against him. He was leaking precome and it was smearing his shirt, but neither of them wanted to take the time to remove their shirts. He was warm and his entrance enveloped Keith so perfectly, Keith could hardly take it.

Lance began to rock himself, letting out little pants as he let his head fall back. Keith watched him and thrust his hips up to settle himself deep inside, moaning aloud with each sound of skin against skin. Lance had one hand on one of Keith’s thighs, fingernails digging deep into the flesh. His other was gripping the hem of Keith’s shirt as he bounced on him, face scrunched up in desperate need.

Keith pulled himself into a sitting position, pulling Lance along with him as he pressed against the wall. “You’re beautiful,” he breathed as Lance continued to fuck himself at his preferred pace. “So beautiful, Lance. Look at me.” His eyes opened to meet Keith’s and Keith couldn’t help himself from gripping his hipbones and fucking up into him mercilessly as Lance turned to mush against him.

He was so close, but it wasn’t enough. Lance was gasping and letting out mewls of pleasure as Keith thrust up and pulled him down. “H-harder,” he begged. “Fuck, Keith.” He wrapped his arms around Keith’s shoulders and kissed him. “Don’t let me go. Don’t let me go.” Keith shook his head and flipped him over, pushing his legs up as he slowed his pace. “Wanna be yours. All yours, Keith please.”

“Mine,” he growled. “You’re mine.” He pounded into him, making the bed springs creak and snap, the mattress thudded against the wall almost comically, but Keith didn’t care. Lance was screaming under him, begging for more, and Keith could only think that Lance was his and only his.

He pulled away and shuffled down to wrap his mouth around Lance’s cock. Before he could even push himself all the way down, Lance was releasing into him, catching him by surprise.

Keith sat up in bed, coughing almost violently. Beside him, Lance sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Keith? You okay?”

Keith waved away the question, trying to catch his breath, still reeling from the vividness of his dream and the things that had been said, and the fact that it was just a fucking dream. Lance touched his shoulder, and Keith gasped, curling into himself. He could feel his boner pressing against his leg in his jeans and groaned because not only could he do nothing to fix it, but even if he could it would be nothing compared to what his dream was like.

“Keith?”

“I’m fine,” he grumbled, voice hoarse. “Sorry I woke you.”

Lance was wincing at the light. Keith hadn’t turned them off when he fell asleep. “Do you want some water or something?”

“No, Lance, I’m okay,” he snapped. He sighed and rubbed his face. “I actually need to use the bathroom.” He slid to the edge of the bed and walked to the door so Lance couldn’t see the front of his jeans before he bolted.

He slammed the door shut in the bathroom stall and risked an inquisitive hello. It was the middle of the night, so he was certain no one was in here. He shimmied his jeans down, hating himself but needing a form of release, of satisfaction.

With memories of his dream, he managed to stifle his groans until he was panting into his hand, shivering slightly. He cleaned himself up and left the stall, splashing his face with water and staring at himself in the mirror. He took a breath and went back to his room.

Lance was gone.

His sketchbook was open and on the back of the cover page was a small note in Lance’s writing.

Thanks for letting me sleep here for a while. I’ll leave your bed to you for the rest of the night. ~Lance

Keith couldn’t help the disappointment he felt. He sat on the bed and gripped his hair. He didn’t know why he had to have fallen for Lance McClain, of all people. How was it that the same boy who had driven him nuts and pushed every button on him by being irritating was now the one giving Keith wet dreams, jitters, and making him blush?

Then suddenly it clicked.

Keith didn’t like him. He just thought he did. Because Lance kissed him, touched him, had sex with him, said the right things. But if he hadn’t? If they hadn’t simply become friends with benefits, would they be where they were? Would Keith still feel the things he felt?

His feelings were superficial. They had been concocted out of the misinterpretation of their actions. Just because Lance was a good kisser and had been the only one to touch him in such intimate ways didn’t mean he really cared for him. It didn’t mean they were compatible. It didn’t mean Keith really liked him. He just thought he did.

And if Lance had gone to Hunk? Or Shiro? Or… Allura? Lance would’ve been messing around with them, and Keith wouldn’t feel any of this. For crying out loud, Lance didn’t even like boys before his sexual frustration began, and Keith had never really liked anybody before he decided to experiment with Lance.

There was nothing solid. And there was no way that Keith would ever be able to bring himself to believe Lance if he miraculously liked him. Because none of it was real.

His feelings were just a stupid illusion. He had been so starved of touch and affection and Lance offered it, said the right things at the right time, and now….

Keith covered his eyes and jerked back when his hands came away wet. He’d been crying…. And now there was no stopping the sobs that began to rack his body.

***

The following day, Keith spent his time training. He was too angry to keep reading, to stressed to calm down enough to draw something unrelated to Lance, and he just wanted to let out his anger.

He returned the next day, and the next, and the next. Before he knew it, he had returned to the same spot he’d isolated himself in for the past week with as little interaction with the others as possible.

Lance had stopped by to see him, and Keith had to remind himself not to feel anything because it was all just a stupid trick of his mind.

“Are you gonna eat? Lunch is ready.”

“In a bit,” he answered, tying his hair back as he prepared for the next level.

“Well, do you wanna train together maybe? I’ve been working on-”

“It’s fine. I kind of need to work on individual combat.” He turned away and started the next sequence. Lance’s presence emphasized his frustration and bitterness, making it easier to get through the level and to the next. He turned back to see Lance waiting, looking uncomfortable. “You can go eat. I’ll be a while.”

“Are you mad at me?” Keith shook his head. No, this wasn’t Lance’s fault. This was his own. His mind got ahead of him. He had made his mistake. “Then what gives?”

Keith turned and crossed his arms. “What, now I can’t take a day for myself? Can’t train alone or be more than five feet away from you for longer than-”

“Don’t you go there with me, you know that’s not what I mean,” Lance growled, stepping forward. Keith stepped back, immediately scowling. “Ever since Rosa got to my party back home you’ve been acting weird. Angry or something, and I just want you to tell me why. I won’t get upset, just-”

“Lance, do you really think that much of yourself? What, you think seeing some girl kiss you bothered me enough to be angry with you?” Keith stepped forward, closing the space, keeping his hands clenched at his sides. “I’ve fucked you and had you begging for more, Lance. I’m sure that’s way more than Rosa ever did for you.” Lance’s lips parted, and his cheeks reddened. “Don’t flatter yourself and think I’m desperate for your attention. I’ve got more important things on my mind.” He turned away, and started the next level.

Then Lance turned him back around and shoved him. “Don’t tell me you’re not mad at me then start insulting me. I just wanted to know what was bothering you.”

“Right now, you,” Keith scowled. “Just leave me alone!”

“Why are you avoiding me? You think we haven’t noticed that you keep holing yourself up in here like a 13 year old going through a scene phase?” Keith scoffed and turned away again. Lance pulled him back and Keith gripped his wrist tightly.

“Let. Me. Go.”

But Lance wasn’t backing down. His eyes were icy, piercing. “Okay, if it’s not about Rosa, then what? We were doing fine until that day.”

Keith snatched himself free and glared at him. “Did you ever think that maybe this isn’t about you? Not everything is, Loverboy.” Lance winced, but kept his jaw set.

“You said you wouldn’t push me away anymore-”

“Oh my God, shut up!” Keith shouted, shoving him back. He was overwhelmed with memories and emotions and the fact that Lance wouldn’t go away wasn’t helping. “This isn’t about you! This has nothing to fucking do with you!”

“Okay, fine! Whatever the hell it is, just talk to me!”

Keith felt his limbs shaking and a wave of dizziness. “Stop acting like you’re my friend,” he growled. Lance stared at him in shock and anger. “You only needed me to get you off and that’s the only reason you gave a shit about me, and I don’t need you pretending to give a shit about me right now.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Lance shouted in exasperation. “You’re always doing this, we’re always going back and forth. It’s like you want to isolate yourself, like you want to play a victimized loner-”

Keith reacted without fully processing what he was doing until he’d done it. Lance curled into himself, holding his jaw. He looked back at Keith with so much anger, and Keith knew he should apologize, but he didn’t want to. He was angry. He was angry at Lance for doing this to him.

Lance looked like he was holding himself back using every bit of will he had, but Keith didn’t want that. He wanted Lance to hit him back, to make Keith hate him so these stupid made up feelings would go away.

“Keith. Don’t.” Keith glared at him, lip curled and jaw set. Lance looked at him with those piercing eyes and took a breath. “I’m sorry for what I said. Okay? But let’s…. Please, just tell me how I can help you.”

He stepped forward, looking him in the eyes, and smirked, giving him a scoff. “Why would I want your help? Better yet, why are you bothering trying to help? Do you really have such a sad need for everyone to like you that-”

All of a sudden, Lance lunged forward, gripping his shirt and slamming him against the wall. Keith felt his head hit the wall and bounce off, but he only clenched his teeth. “You don’t know anything!” he shouted, and Keith swore he heard his voice break.

Still, he didn’t want to stop. He had where he wanted him. Just needed Lance to hurt him a little more so Keith could convince himself he hated him. So Keith could forget the pillow talk, the smiles, the touches. He shoved him off. “You sure about that? I know that you were so fucking lonely that you resorted to making me fuck you so you could feel like someone gave a shit for once. I know that no one back home likes your little girlfriend but you’re so desperate for someone to want you, you keep her around.”

Lance pulled back and swung, hitting Keith square in the eye, screaming for him to shut up. “You’re the one who came up to me offering to help like some fucking prostitute! You’re the one that came to my room because you couldn’t sleep without me. At least I’m not so touch starved I can’t even handle-” Keith shut him up by tackling him down to the floor, trying to hit where he could despite the pain in his eye. He felt Lance knee his stomach, felt himself get slammed onto the ground as Lance clambered onto him trying to block his hits. His face felt numb. Lance’s nose was bleeding.

No more words were spoken as they struggled on the ground, fueled by anger and hurt and insecurities.

Suddenly Pidge was screaming at them. “What the hell are you two doing! Stop it! Keith! Lance, get off!”

“Stay out of this!” Keith growled.

They continued their fight like primitive creatures, calling out ruthless insults, not even caring about who was seeing or who heard what. Keith kicked out and tossed Lance back, Keith’s leg and Lance’s elbow hitting Pidge in the process.

The green paladin turned red and snarled. “That’s it.” She barged out and the next thing Keith knew she was back, and there was a blinding pain in his side as the two split apart and Pidge was holding her glowing green bayard. “What. The fuck. Is happening?”

“Nothing,” Lance muttered, wiping his nose. His eyes were red. Keith pressed a finger to his cheekbone and winced when a spark of pain spread. Pidge stared at them and frowned.

“Guys, seriously. I thought-”

“Jesus, just drop it, Pidge,” Keith snapped.

“Don’t talk to her like that!” Lance hissed back.

Pidge looked at them worriedly and shook her head. “You guys have never gotten this bad before. Even before you… became friends.”

Keith stood up and scowled at the ground. “We were never friends.”

He left without a glance back, but he heard Lance shout, “Fuck you, Keith!” in the most hateful, raspy voice he’d ever heard out of him.

Keith kept walking, shoving past Hunk and avoiding Shiro as he walked the halls until he got to his room. He shoved all his art under the bed and wrapped himself in covers. Only… the covers smelled like Lance. They had the scent of some exotic fruit detergent and the sweet smell of his cologne. It smelled like Earth too.

Keith held back stupid tears and gripped the covers between his hands. He swore he wasn’t trying to smell them. It was just the necessary gasps of breath as he tried to control the painful knot in his throat. Because Lance didn’t want him. Didn’t really like him. Because Lance would never lay in this bed with him again. Because Keith would never have someone’s arms wrapped around him in the middle of the night, or wake up with the weight of someone’s legs tangled with his own. Because there was no one to keep him warm at night anymore.

He wouldn’t cry. Not over Lance. Not over a feeling that wasn’t even real. But maybe a little self-indulgence would be okay. Nobody would know.

So he laid down, pulling the covers up to his face. He didn’t care that it was hot. He didn’t care that his face hurt and that his hands felt bruised and swollen. He just wanted to hold on to this scent. This scent that was so welcoming and comforting, so Lance. At least while he could.

He faded in and out of sleep for a while until there was a small knock at his door. Keith didn’t answer. He wasn’t sure if he was hoping it was or wasn’t Lance. The knock came again, more insistently.

“Look, I know you’re awake, Keith. Let me in.”

Pidge. Keith frowned, walking over to let the door slide open. Pidge stood looking up at him with a plate of cookies, a first aid kit, and a bag of frozen something. “What are you doing?”

“I brought you comfort food and stuff to fix your face, duh,” she said. “Can I come in?” Keith sighed and shrugged, shuffling back to the bed. “What’s all the stuff under your bed?”

“Some art stuff Mrs. McClain sent me.” Pidge’s eyebrows went up and she walked over to sit on the bed with Keith. “Here, have a cookie. Hunk got some ingredients from home, so they should taste even better than usual.” Keith realized he hadn’t eaten in a long time, and the smell of the cookies was mouth-watering.

He grabbed one and stuffed it in his mouth, stifling a moan. He decided cookies were his favorite food. Pidge opened her first-aid kit and as she tore a pack open, the smell of disinfecting alcohol hit him. She dabbed it lightly along his eye, cheek, lip, and the bridge of his nose. He hissed but she remained focused.

“So…. You want to tell me what happened?”

He sighed and munched on another cookie. “Just an argument that got out of hand.”

She rolled her eyes and pulled away. The wipe was covered in specks of dried, brown blood. “I thought I already told you that you can’t bullshit me, Keith. I know Lance. He’s not violent. He’s a lot of talk, but….” She placed the bag of frozen something which was actually just an ice pack and placed it on eyes. “I thought you guys settled on being friends.”

He scoffed and said, “Yeah, just because we slept together. He never wanted to be my friend before. Now just because… all of that happened….” He shook his head. “And I don’t like him. I just think I do- or I thought I did. I don’t know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.

“If we hadn’t done what we did, I never would’ve started feeling these things. So these feelings can’t be real.”

She raised an eyebrow and bit her lip, trying to figure out how to phrase her next statement. “The thing is… you did do it. And the feelings did start. It’s like alternate dimensions. In one dimension, you guys didn’t and remained teammates that bicker and protect each other. In this one, you guys hooked up and ended up having feelings. That doesn’t make them fake.”

He pushed the ice pack away from his face and threw his arms up. “Yes, it does, Pidge! If he’d gone to Hunk or Shiro, then he would be acting all sweet and romantic with them, and I’d still be that annoying guy he wants to one-up.” Pidge winced and shook her head. “I should have never started feeling these things. And they’re just… influenced by him, they’re not even… natural!” He groaned and let his head fall, gripping his hair between his fingers.

Pidge tilted his head up and moved his hands. “Lemme see,” she said gently. She coated his wounds in anti-inflammatory ointment and placed a stitch band-aid on his nose and two on his cheek. “You know, he was crying when I went to see him,” she murmured.

Keith hated that his heart clenched at that. He leaned his head against the wall and felt the slight swell of his lip. “I want to hate him, Pidge. But even after beating the crap out of each other….”

“Feelings suck,” she said with a sigh. She ate a cookie and sat with her back against the wall. “I can tell you from experience that trying to ignore an emotion doesn’t make a difference. You gotta accept it. It’s easier to deal with life if you acknowledge it.”

“Experience?”

She shrugged. “It may be hard to believe, but I get crushes too, man.”

Granted, Keith had never considered Pidge having a love life. Maybe she had a boyfriend back home. Or girlfriend. Keith had never considered her sexuality either. Though, he supposed that was because she was so focused on finding Matt and getting things done. A love life seemed like the last thing on her mind.

“That makes sense,” he said. “Although, I’m not sure I can picture your type.”

Pidge laughed and shook her head. “Oh, like I could’ve ever pictured yours!” Keith stuck his tongue out at her. She smiled and blushed slightly. “I like guys that are smart and funny and honest and brave. Someone who can be your friend before wanting to be more. Trustworthy. Who gives great hugs and can nerd out with me and stay up with me when I’m hyper-focused on something. Then carries me to bed so I don’t get cricks in my neck.”

Keith furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Pidge’s face. She wasn’t looking at him, but she seemed lost in thought, her cheeks bright red. “That’s… specific.” She took a breath and turned away with a shrug. “Pidge, do you like Hunk?” She groaned and buried her face in her hands. “Look, I trusted you with my shitty feelings, it’s your turn.”

She looked at him and made a face before hiding it again. Then she nodded. “It just sucks, because I know him and Lance and Shiro all see me as the little sister, you know? I’m fifteen, I’m still a kid to all of you. It’s just two years! But I’m…. Well, me.”

“Is this what the makeup thing was about?” he asked.

“No. Not really. It wasn’t because of Hunk specifically, I just… wanted to look older. Not like… a twelve-year old boy.”

Keith smiled and felt a wave of sympathy towards her. “So… since when did you start liking him?”

She turned redder and bit her lip. “I don’t really know…. I guess countless nights sent together over equipment and graphs can do a number. And anytime I’m stressed he can make me laugh. I mean Lance does too, but I get more frustrated with him. They have different humor, and Hunk’s fits me more. I don’t know. Then he started lending me shirts to sleep in and… I was a goner.”

Keith smiled and nodded. “Feelings suck.”

She smiled and nodded. “Feelings suck.”

***

The following day, Keith was woken up to the sound of the castle alarm. He hurried out of bed and ran to the hangar, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Still, as he climbed into Red, he caught a glimpse of Lance before he put on his helmet.

His nose had a band-aid, his lip was cut and slightly swollen, and there was a square gauze taped to his temple. Keith felt his stomach flip as he got into the cockpit and started Red up.

“Alright team, we got a Galra attack on planet Arus again. There’s only one fleet, so we should be able to take them down quick,” Shiro said certainly.

“Uh, Shiro?” Pidge said as they reached the planet. “That looks like more than one fleet.”

“Oh no,” Hunk groaned. “Lance, on your right!” The blue lion dipped down and Hunk turned to blast away a Galra ship. “We’re spotted, we’ve been spotted guys.”

“It’s all right, nothing we can’t handle,” Shiro assured. “Let’s form Voltron and take these guys out. We have to keep the Arusians safe.”

“Let’s do it,” Pidge agreed. “Keith? Lance? You guys still with us?”

“Yep.”

“Yeah.”

There was a slight silence before Shiro said, “Alright then. Form Voltron.” The lions began their typical formation, but nothing happened. The lions weren’t coming together. “Why isn’t it working?”

“I think we all know why it’s not working,” Hunk muttered.

“Hunk, come on,” Pidge said.

“Well, we need to form Voltron if we want to take those fleets down, and obviously Keith is messing up the bonding!”

“Oh, what so it’s just my fault?” Keith snapped.

“Don’t yell at Hunk!” Lance shouted.

“You don’t talk to me.”

“Guys!” Shiro snapped. “Crap, watch out!” The lions fled in different directions as one of the fleets fired at them.

Keith heard Shiro shout in pain and panicked. “Shiro?”

“Keep them at bay. I’ll try to contact Allura and Coran,” he groaned. “Go! And stop fighting!”

“I hope you boys heard that,” Pidge said with annoyance. “Now let’s go.” Despite being the youngest, Keith couldn’t help but feel like she was the one keeping them in line at the moment.

Throughout the fight, Pidge was the one shouting orders, and the one who quickly shut down any attempts at a new argument. Shiro had gotten hurt with the blast his lion took since he took the blow of nearly the entire fleet while trying to get the others out of the way. Coran and Allura had brought up the castle ship and managed to fend off a few more fleets.

As much as Keith wanted to ignore and avoid Lance, he couldn’t help the instinct that came over when he saw a fleet get to close to the blue lion’s turned back. He immediately shot a fire beam then turned to throw another ship against two that were flying in with the lion’s jaw. He would be lying if he said he didn’t keep one eye on Lance for the rest of the fight.

Finally they were able to get back to the castle ship, each tired and jostled since the fight took much longer without Voltron. Once they were out of their suits, they met in the lounge. Shiro stood beside Allura with his arm in a sling. He’d dislocated his shoulder. Keith thought he could fix that in a healing pod, but simply chose not to for a guilt effect.

“What happened?” Allura demanded, looking each paladin in the eye. Keith and Lance were on opposite ends, with Pidge beside Keith and Hunk beside Lance. Pidge didn’t even seem fazed by the fact that she was next to Hunk. Keith had to ask her how she managed that.

“We struggled a bit,” Pidge finally said. “We were just distracted. Tired.”

“Pidge, don’t cover for h- them,” Hunk said.

“Oh, don’t think I don’t know something happened between these two,” she snapped, pointing a finger between Keith and Lance. “It’s all over your bruised faces. Call me crazy, but I thought your stupid little feud was past us. Now, why in the world did you two decide to rearrange each other’s faces?”

Shiro put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down. Coran was speechless, leaning against the wall. “I know you’ve all had your differences. But none of you have ever gone so far as to hurt each other,” he said. Keith clenched his jaw and risked a glance at Lance who was looking down at his hands. “What’s happening?”

“Keith’s the one who threw the first punch, ask him!” Hunk said. “We all know you’re the temperamental one, but this is too far even for you, Keith.”

“Don’t talk to me like you know me,” Keith answered, curling his lip. “You don’t know anything!”

“You need to stop talking to him like that,” Lance said, standing up. Keith stood up if only to minimize the amount he had to crane his neck.

“Oh, what don’t tell me he’s next?” Keith spat.

“Whoa! Okay,” Pidge said standing up.

“Stay out of it, Pidge,” they said at the same time.

Hunk stood up and shoved them each opposite ways. “We don’t need a reenactment, and you definitely need to leave Pidge alone unless you want her to taze you again.”

“What?” Shiro asked.

“Enough!” Allura shouted so loudly, all of them fell back into a seat. Shiro took a step away from her and Coran’s eyes widened. “You’re paladins! You’re not supposed to be acting like this! I understand you’re all young, but with this war going on, I’d expect much better out of all of you. All those bonding and training exercises-”

“You don’t understand, Allura,” Lance said tiredly. His voice shook, making Keith’s chest constrict. “You don’t have to get involved-”

“No, Lance, I think we do,” Shiro interrupted. “We’re not stupid. All of us know what’s been going on between you and Keith.” Keith stared at Shiro wide-eyed and with a deep blush on his cheeks. He glanced at Lance. For that moment their arguing and fighting was forgotten. They were just both embarrassed and panicked that their secret had obviously not been a secret.

“Welp, the cat’s out of the bag. I’m off to take a shower,” Pidge said awkwardly.

“Oh, no you don’t, Katie. Sit down. This is a team problem,” Shiro said. She huffed and plopped down.

Hunk shifted and crossed his arms. “Since when are their love lives a team problem? Sorry, buddy.”

“Whoa, love?”

“No one said anything about love.”

“It’s really not a team thing.”

“It wasn’t serious.”

Keith and Lance protested over each other, refusing to look at the other. Shiro sighed and rubbed his head with his Galra hand. “Guys, enough. No your romantic endeavors aren’t our business. Until they interfere with our jobs as defenders of the universe. And being unable to form Voltron because you two are angry with each other is not good.”

“Why don’t we start from the cause of the problem?” Coran said calmly. “What happened in the breakup?”

Keith hid his face and groaned as Lance huffed. “We were never dating!” A few confused looks between the Alteans and Shiro were exchanged. “There was no breakup!”

“Then why the hostility?” Allura asked in confusion, taking a seat at the other side of Lance. Keith felt a hot spark of anger but he snuffed it out. He peeked at Pidge and tried to mimic her tired expression.

“That, I don’t know.”

“Like I said, Keith threw the first punch. If you interrogate anyone, interrogate him,” Hunk said.

“Hunk, would you please stay out of it,” Pidge hissed, nudging him.

“Don’t tell me you’re taking his side. You’ve known Lance way longer than Keith and-”

“That’s not the point! Keith has a side too, and you’re just-”

“Oh, do tell me what the fuck his side is,” Lance said, leaning forward.

Keith sat straighter and touched Pidge’s arm. “Don’t you talk to her like that, you asshole,” he snapped.

“I’m the asshole?” he shouted, standing up again.

Keith stood, but before he could respond, Pidge was between them, facing Lance. “Aren’t you the one who kept telling everyone to cut Keith some slack because communication isn’t his thing? What now just because he’s not communicating with you it pisses you off?” Hunk stood up and put himself between Pidge and Lance. Keith noticed her tense. “Hunk. Please. You have to at least admit that I have a point! I’m not taking sides, but Lance-”

“Pidge, you don’t get it. It’s more complicated than that. You’re too young to get it, but-”

“Excuse me?” she breathed. Keith bit his lip and looked between them. Pidge scoffed and nodded, turning away and rushing out of the lounge. Keith glared at Hunk and followed after Pidge.

He heard her sniffling, and called out for her. But he wasn’t able to reach her until he’d reached the hangar where she was trying to get the green lion to open for her. She was crying, which was a sight Keith definitely never wanted to see. He hated seeing her so upset, especially knowing that the two people she was closest to were the two people she couldn’t be with.

He walked over to her, touched her shoulder, and suddenly she had her face buried in his shirt and her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Keith sighed and wrapped his arms around her gently, feeling her shake.

“I told you. I’m just a kid.”

“He was just defending Lance,” Keith assured. “He doesn’t….” But he couldn’t finish what he was saying because he didn’t know Hunk. So instead, he hugged her a little tighter. “We’ll be okay.”

She sniffed and he heard a muffled, “Feelings suck,” in his shirt.

Keith chuckled and leaned down to rest his cheek on the crown of her head. “Feelings suck.” 

Click Here for the next chapter

[reality-warp]

Point That Thing Somewhere Else: Part 1

Part 1 | Part 2 | Bonus

A/N: In answer to the very popular AU question in my inbox: what would it have been like if Eleanor had woken 65-ish years earlier in The Hobbit timeline, and joined the Company of Thorin Oakenshield instead of the Fellowship? Well...

“Point that thing somewhere else!”

Those had been my first words to the elven man who’d just saved my life. I’d meant them to come out with at least some dignity, maybe even a glimmer of polite gratitude. He had, after all, just rescued me from an economy sized arachnid trying to sink toxic fangs the size of kitchen knives into my neck.

But no.

Instead, they’d sprung from me in a full blown, slightly hysterical shout right into his startlingly handsome face. Not the best response to being saved by a tall, handsome blond stranger armed with a bow and a small battalion of lethal looking wood elves. But considering that he was now pointing a nocked arrow directly at my face, I felt just a little bit justified in my rudeness.

The impossibly good looking elf just stared at me as if I’d just slapped him across his pronounced cheekbones.

“What?” he whispered, a dangerous look leaking into his eyes.

Adrenaline wasn’t my friend in this situation. I was still weak at the knees, my hunting knife clenched so tight in my hand I could feel my arms shaking like leaves. I had to take a deep steadying breath before I was sure my voice would shake to.

“I said, point that thing somewhere else, please,” I repeated, adding the belated touch of politeness, but still refusing to break eye contact with him. He had the iciest pair of grey-blue eyes I’d ever seen, sharper even than Aragorn’s. Though I guessed—at barely sixteen—Aragorn hadn’t yet seen enough of life’s cruel beauty outside Imladris to develop that frozen expression.

This elf—whoever he was—had.

Mildly stunned as he was by my verbal slap in the face, there was still a cold intensity to those eyes that left me with the feeling that I’d just poked an angry wolf with a stick.

“Lass!” Balin’s panicked voice suddenly boomed through the trees, breaking my unsettlingly intense staring contest with the blond man. I barely resisted a sigh of relief.

“I’m fine! I’m not hurt,” I called back over my shoulder, not taking my eyes off my saviour-come-captor and the arrow still only a hand span from my nose. “Not yet anyway,” I added in a whisper.

The blond elf obviously heard me, because I saw his shoulders tense. I flinched on instinct, my eyes instantly going to the arrow, but the second he saw my alarm he quickly lowered his bow. I was about to let out a breath of relief, but that reflex was immediately arrested in favour of alarm when he reached out to me with a gloved hand.

I froze.

From the dark expression on his face (and maybe the residual adrenaline) I honestly thought he was going to wrap his long fingers about my neck. But instead, he reached past my face, and brusquely pushed back my tangled brown hair in a gesture that—while not exactly gentlemanly—was surprisingly gentle.

His hard expression went slack. I wasn’t sure anyone else, Elves or Dwarves would have noticed the minute change in expression, even if they were in eyeshot. But I was close enough to see my captor’s intense blue eyes widen slightly, and his lips part in surprise.

It took me an embarrassingly long moment to realise what he was looking at.

My ears. My pointed ears.

Ears that marked me very clearly as a she-elf. An unusually short she-elf who was apparently allied with a troupe of dwarves, and had also just openly insulted a member of her own race who had saved her life from giant spiders.

Oh, boy. Thorin and this guy were going to get along like a goblin nest on fire.

“She’s one of us?” One of the dark-haired male archers blurted in Sindarin, sounding just as startled as my blond captor still looked.

The sound of his subordinate seemed to shake him out of his daze though, and a second later he’d fixed his hardened expression back into place. His gloved hand dropped from the side of my head to my shoulder, and pushed me rather roughly towards the trees.

“Put her with the others,” he ordered, still looking at me as if I’d just insulted his mother. Suppressing the urge to glare back, I reluctantly complied, and a couple of the elven archers began nudging me back through the trees towards the clearing where I’d been chased from my allies.

The Dwarven company of Thorin Oakenshield looked surprisingly well, considering they’d just been assaulted by a horde of giant arachnid, and then subsequently a horde of  elven supermodels wielding bows. Dwalin looked pissed off, or at least more so than usual. Balin was attempting to look placating, and poor Ori still looked a little shaken and white around the eyes, but he and a few of the others graced me with smiles of relief at the sight of me in one piece. All of them were in the same position I’d just been in; an array of arrows aimed carefully at them by the surrounding Elves.

“Ellie!” Fili gave me a wicked grin around the sneering elf who was guarding him. “We thought you’d got done in for a minute there.”

“So did I. Next time I’ll run faster,” I tried to grin, but it felt brittle on my face. I was uncomfortably aware of the fact that a lot of eyes, both Dwarven and elven had locked onto me in particular. The archer behind me gave me a non-too gentle shove into the group, just as a slightly dazed looking Kili was being pushed towards the others by a female elf with gorgeous hip length red hair.

He looked a bit like he’d been hit over the head with a mallet and dropped off a cliff, and even after he’d been pushed into the midst next to a stone-faced Thorin, he couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from the retreating form of the fire-haired she elf.

Double damn.

Thorin was really going to love this now.

He’d been pissed enough about being coerced (read: blackmailed) by a wizard into taking on an elven healers apprentice as the company’s resident surgeon (read: myself). He hadn’t noticed yet, being too busy exchanging death glared with our captors. But if he cottoned on to the fact that his Dwarven company’s integrity had been further corrupted by his nephew apparently developing an insta-crush on a tall, pretty elf woman; I think his head might actually explode.

Which was when another sinking realisation struck me: a Dwarven companions only.

Thirteen Dwarves, and no Hobbits in sight…

Where in hell was Bilbo?

I glanced around as subtly as I could manage but couldn't see any trace of our burglar anywhere. I didn’t dare ask any of the others if they’d seen him in the fight. There was no guarantee if I let slip we had a missing party member aloud, our captors wouldn’t immediately send a very attractive lynch mob into the woods after him.

“Search them,” my blond Disney assailant commanded as he strode back into the clearing, handing his bow off to another archer. The same one who had spoken when he’d displayed my ears looked uneasily between us.

“But, my prince, she is—” He said quietly, and was met with a hard look.

“I know what she is, Orelion. Search her as well.”

My eyes widened at him.

Prince? Prince?! This was the prince of the Woodland Realm? King Thranduil’s son?

I almost sputtered, but just about managed to hold in my shock and indignation when said prince strode straight over to me, stopping barely half a step from our toes touching. I had to tilt my head up to meet his stony glare with my own.

“Your weapons, now.”

I felt my hand tighten unconsciously around the hilt of my hunting knife that I was still gripping, and his gaze sharped as he noticed. Forcing myself to relax, I stubbornly told myself that it was only temporary, and one way or another, I’d get it back.

“Fine,” I hissed finally, making a show of sheathing it and removing it from my belt. “But only since you asked so politely.”

Illogical as it was, the more I was exposed to this guy, the more he seemed to rile me up. I may or may not have slapped the hilt a little harder than necessary into his palm when he held a hand out to take it; and wavered a little as his eyes flickered over the names engraved on the hilt then up to me again.

My eight most important words.

I looked deliberately away as he took my throwing knives, and the needles from my medical satchel; some of which were so huge they could have easily doubles as weapons, or even lock picks. Instead I tried to focus on what was going on around us, trying to pick up as much information on who our apparent captors were, and how in hell we were going to get away.

Just looking round at them I couldn’t really tell much beyond the fact that they must be members of King Thranduil’s guard, and that none of them seemed particularly fond of Dwarves.

Another thing I noted was that none of them seemed to be making any particular effort to keep their voices down as they divested Thorin’s crew of their weapons too. Most of them were conversing in rapid but clearly insulting Sindarin with little to no concern for the fact that they might be understood, and it took me a long moment to realise why. It was obvious none of the dwarves were versed in the language, but so far the only words I’d spoken had been in the Common Tongue too. It seemed that they had taken that as evidence that—along with my apparently un-elf like appearance—I could neither speak nor understand their particular dialect either.

They were in fact wrong in that assumption.

“Goodness! She’s so tiny!” One of the lovelier female archers with rich brown curls tittered.

“Are you sure she is one of the Eldar?”

“More like an oversized halfling than a true elleth,” another added with a pitying, almost mocking little smile at me.

I sighed. Languages had never really been my forte, but Lord Elrond had found my early efforts at Sindarin so offensive he’d made damned sure that I learned to speak it to within an inch of perfection in the past two years. It probably would have been the smarter thing to keep pretending I couldn’t understand every word they were saying in the hopes that they’d let something slip, but I’d already used up patients quota for the day.

And life is too short to put up with simpering, aesthetically perfect immortals with more pompous pride than manners.

I gave the three twittering archers a withering look.

“You do know I can hear everything you’re saying, right? I’m small, not deaf,” I said in a deliberately loud voice so everyone heard.

To my satisfaction, the she-elves each had the grace to look embarrassed as well as shocked, and I actually saw a couple of the male archers—and surprisingly, Kili’s red haired saviour—fighting to hold back grins.

But out of the corner of my eye, I could see the blond elf who’d taken my weapons away continuing to stare hard at me. If I was honest, frustratingly handsome as he was, the surly expression and death staring was starting to really border on irritating now. It was like being stared at by a pissed off Disney prince who’s been spurned one too many times by his would-be princess.

I stared back, not bothering to hide my disdain, and I was mildly surprised when his expression shifted very slightly from annoyed to… curious?

But I blinked, and it was gone, and less than a minute later we were being frogmarched through the forest towards the gates of the Halls of the Woodland realm.

We weren’t exactly told to stay silent during the walk, but every time one of us opened our mouthes to speak we were glared down until we stopped whispering. I didn’t even bother trying to whisper. I was too busy focusing on what was going on around me, and inside me.

Tink had gone unnervingly silent since we’d entered the wood, and whenever she had spoken, it had been in a voice that had sounded strained, almost painful; like someone trying to force down memories. I knew all too well what that was like, so I hadn’t pushed her for answers or advice. She deserved a break from saving my ass.

And anyway, what was the worst a gaggle of prissy wood elves could do to us anyway?

Turns out the answer to that question was: lock us all up in a dungeon.

The second we passed through the massive gates to the (ironically) underground Hall of the Woodland realm, Thorin was ushered up towards the king’s hall for questioning, and we were marched down a series of coiling, winding stairs to a series of ledges lined with elaborate jail doors that overlooked an underground stream.

Rather pretty for a jail house.

“You would truly lock up one of your own?” Balin asked my tall, blond, Prince Charming with a raised eyebrow as I was pushed past him towards a separate cell at the end of the row. Legolas turned his cold stare to me and came perilously close to scowling.

“She is not one of my own,” he answered flatly in common speech, so they could all understand. I smiled angelically up at him, and made point of stepping on his foot as I passed.

“Whoops! So sorry, your highness,” I said sweetly. His scowl turned dark, and my smirk turned vulpine as I was shoved inside.

Petty? Maybe a little. But I’d be damned if I was going to let this arrogant, simpering ass of a prince get the last word in before he locked me in a cage like a damned hunting dog.

The cell door slammed behind me, and the sound of the retreating wood elves boots and chatter was met with catcalls and jeers from almost all my Dwarves friends.

I didn’t join them, fun as it might have been.

The second I was sure Mr. Blond & Broody was out of sight I let my shoulders slump, the exhaustion and adrenaline I’d been holding in for hours finally catching up with me. I stalked over to the oddly smooth prison wall and slid down onto my butt on the cool stone floor, sighing.

“Hells bells, Eleanor,” I muttered, just quiet enough so no one outside my cell could hear, especially over the sound of Fili, Bofur and Nori swearing up a storm in fluent Khuzdul. “What kind of mess have you landed yourself in now?”

Part 1 | Part 2 | Bonus

[ethompson928]

We are Bulletproof (BTS GANG AU) Chapter 32

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

"So, there you have it princess, you wanted the truth...you got it"

Allie still couldn't see or hear past her own thoughts. Her head was swimming and all she could do was look at Hoseok. Her heart felt like it had ripped into two and that the solid rock on which she was able to stand on was crumbling beneath her feet and she was tumbling down into an empty pit of despair. The look on his face confirmed everything, all he was worried about now was the fact that he got caught and there was no sorry or pleading with her to make her believe that it was all a lie.

He allowed her to believe that he might have felt something for her even though she was falling deeper and deeper in love with him. The world stood still and silence engulfed the already awkward situation.

Namjoon smirked knowing full well that he had won; game over, checkmate. If there was one thing Namjoon could pride himself on it was that he won. Fair and simple. He didn't care who got hurt as long as he was the victor standing at the top. He still had his chance to finish the deal and to walk away victorious.

"So...you've all been lying to me?" Allie asked, there was no emotion in her voice. She couldn't even bring herself to look the boys in the eyes to see if they were lying or telling the truth, she just knew. Silence welcomed her once again as she took it as a confirmation, a confirmation that Jimin and Taehyung were just pretending to be her friend to draw her in. Hoseok had just pretended to fall in love with her to get her to put her guard down and Jin pretended to be that figure of sweetness that made her relax into the situation she had found herself in. Suga and Jungkook only seemed to be the two genuine ones, they both hated her guts and whether Jungkook wanted to admit it or not, he couldn't be nice to her. He was just doing his job. The job that Namjoon told him to do.

"This way." Namjoon told her gripping her arm and leading her from the room past the quiet boys and towards the door that led to the stairs. In all of the built up anger, frustration and emotions that were swarming in her head she ripped her arm out of Namjoon's grip and shoved Hoseok against the wall behind him, her arm holding him up against it but he didn't even try to fight back.

"Did you lie to me?" She shouted in his face. There was no answer. He couldn't even look her in the eye. He knew he betrayed her and the guilt was just too much. He gambled with the girls heart and now it had all fell apart.

"Answer me!" She hit the wall by his head with her free hand. Hoseok finally let his eyes meeting her shaking ones. "Why did you lie to me, you played me like a violin...allowed me to feel something for you when I had nothing or no one around me...you wormed your way in...and I actually thought I found myself falling in love with you!" Hoseok's eyes were telling the story his face couldn't. "And you never felt anything for me? Did you? I was just a piece in this big game just so you could come out the best. You never loved me, hell did you ever even like me? You let Namjoon rule your life and you can't even make your decisions. I never want to see you again! Don't talk to me ever again." She backed away from him and Namjoon once again grabbed her arm, as he moved to take her out of the room he swiftly turned to his sub-ordinates and demanded; "This ends now...call him and tell him to meet us at the rendezvous point."

Before Allie was even allowed to contemplate what he said, her arm was roughly pulled and she was moving quickly being herded like a lamb to the slaughter.  She was brought back to the stairs and prodded to begin climbing.  Namjoon was being quiet, but Allie could feel the tension and anger radiating from his body and if his grip on her throbbing wrist was anything to go by, he officially had enough.  As they emerged back into the main area of the house he planted her on a nearby chair and knelt in front of her, his grip still firm.  She could hardly look him in the eye he was that angry.  His hand shot out and grabbed her chin, forcing her head up to look at him instead of the salmon coloured carpet at her feet.  She winced lightly at her sensation that shot across her face.  He silently watched her, his dark, intense eyes searching her scared but gentle eyes.  She could feel her breath coming out slightly shaky, she didn't even realise that her hands were shaking as Namjoon never released his strong hold.  

"Now, you're going to listen to me for once in your goddamn life."  He spoke slowly and lowly, sending a spark of fear down the back of Allie's spine.  She felt like she couldn't really breath in the intense moment.  All those days trying to put up a strong front and trying to put on this mask, becoming someone she wasn't, living a lifestyle that would never be for her and it was all crumbling down around her to reveal what she truly was.  A young, scared girl who had gotten herself in way too deep and was struggling to stay above the waves to get a breathe of air before being forced back into the depths where she felt like she couldn't breath.  It was hell.  

"Don't speak."  Namjoon demanded.  She had no plan to, her fear was physically locking her in the seat.  "Now.  I tried to give you a chance and you ruined it.  You are going to listen to every little thing I say and you are going to follow orders without complaints.  You will wait here until I come back.  If you disobey me once...I am going to put a bullet through Jung Hoseok's head before you can even blink...and then once you've seen the light leave his eyes, I'll finally shoot you too and be rid of you.  Got it?"

Allie nodded, fear evident in her eyes.  Yes Hoseok may not have been entirely true about his feelings but she had come to care for the man, flaws and all.  That was something she wouldn't be able to throw away at the drop of a hat.  He was her saving grace and while he may have used her, she was inwardly grateful for everything he had done, whether the returned emotions were real or faked.

"He said that he will be here in one hour."  A voice interrupted the fragile atmosphere as Taehyung stepped into view of Allie's line of vision.  He seemed hesitant and nervous to speak to his superior.  Namjoon's jaw clenched and his head turned to face his subordinate.  "Tell him he has 20 minutes, he needs to stop trying my patience and if he brings back up then tell him that the girls brains will be decorating the living room wall and her head will be sent 1st class."

Taehyung disappeared as quick as he had came and silence filled the room once again.  It was clear the rest of the members of the group were avoiding Namjoon like the plague and he didn't seem to care.

"Stay here."  He ordered before finally giving up the metaphorical staring contest that they had between each other.  As soon as he stepped out of her personal space and walked off adjusting his cuffs of his shirt only then could Allie let out the breath that had been caught in her throat.  Tears daring to leak over the edge and her head was spinning.  The room was now deadly silent and she was the only one here.  She could hear voices in the distance and a door slamming somewhere down the hallway.  But she kept her eyes forward looking at the wall opposite her.  

All she had to do was follow his orders.  That's what she had been doing right?  This whole time Allie had been nothing but complacent, she knew she was way in over her head and she messed up so many opportunities to escape but she ruined it when she got emotionally compromised.  "I just want to go home..." She whispered to herself for company as she felt slightly alone and vulnerable.  Looking back over the conversation, or rather dramatic monologue that Namjoon delivered she recalled her 'best friend' Ayami stabbing her in the back and letting her loose to the wolves.  Why would she do it?  Over the years Ayami had been nothing but a faithful best friend and Allie had never known about her knowing any of these boys or that she had another group of friends outside of their small friendship circle.  

Another slammed door moments later brought Allie out of her sorrows as she perked her head up slightly so most of the room could be kept in her peripheral vision.  Jimin was walking towards her, with an expression she couldn't place.  "Namjoon sent me to get you"  was all he said as he took her arm and lifted her from the chair.  She noted how gentle his touch was and he didn't pull her, he allowed her to walk next to him and just guided her.  It was worlds different from the strength that Namjoon displayed when he held her arm, the redness was still there.

Jimin led her to the front door, as he pulled it open Allie sworn she thought she heard him mutter a sorry as he took her outside.  His grip tightening only just whenever Namjoon came into view.  The rest of the members of Bangtan were present and silent as their leader walked confidently over to her.  His hand raised and Allie winced moving her face away from him as he advanced.  A low chuckled emitted from his lips and he simply brushed the tatted hair that clung to her face.  "You know, I was really starting to like you, but I knew there was something off.  Guess that little fire in you just didn't want to go out...you know, you could have avoided all of this if you just submitted to us."

"Now why do I feel like you're lying?  You were never going to keep me around."  She said, summoning up the last of her courage.  Namjoon twitched in annoyance.  He licked the inside of the mouth and let out a 'tsk' before taking her from Jimin.

"Remember what I told you."  His eyes flicked from her to Hoseok and back, a small smirk gracing his face when he saw her eyes flit to the ground and her teeth grazed her bottom lip.  

Pulling her further out into the outdoor space the sound of tires could be heard faintly rolling along the stones that covered the ground.  A black car finally rolled into view and stopped across from the gang.  The door opened and a foot hit the ground.  Finally the figure emerged and Allie laid eyes on the man she had not seen since she was young.

It was her father.

It was Park JinYoung.

[askdemtekkens]

SPEED AND.....?

Posts an actual story because @dragunsqueen made me feel good on the inside. XD

“I NEED A CATCHPHRASE!”    “CAN WE THINK OF THIS LATER?!”    “THIS IS IMPORTANT!!”    If it wasn’t for Bob, I wouldn’t be in this situation. Granted, it was a good situation, if you considered the good we were doing, yet it was all thanks to meh boi, Bob.

** ** ** FLASHBACK SEQUENCE

   A very harsh rain had overcome the sky, taking over and drenching me from head to toe. It wasn’t smart to be this far from home without an umbrella, or a jacket at least; yet I had no idea this would happen! I thought I could trust the weather forecast!    I stumbled through the streets, easily getting lost in the busy labyrinth of a city. Everywhere you looked, buildings with bright lights and the incessant number of refugees inside had taken over. Not very many people were on the streets (at least THEY had common sense), and the ones that were had some sort of protection against this merciless rain.    “Yo’, girl!” A man’s voice shouted from an ally, catching my attention. “Can you please help me? I need your help with something.” His voice didn’t sound very urgent, but I felt obliged to help.    “Yeah,” I started, carefully walking to the shadowed man, “what is it?”    Big mistake.    It was a trap.    “Heh, glad we can rely on you.”    We?    Before I knew it, I was surrounded by gang members. There was no where to run. I was in a predicament.    “You have a wallet on you, girl?” One asked. He had tattoos everywhere, and a huge scar running across his face from his eye to his ear, making him look more intimidating than he was.    “What’s it to ‘ya?”    A harsh shove was administered, sending me staggering backwards into the arms of another punk. He restrained my arms, and due to my smaller legs, there wasn’t much I could do with them.    Why is this happening to me?    “Let me ask you one more time; do you have a wallet on you?”    Beat me down if you like, but I’m not going down without a fight.    So I spit on him.    Blinded by rage (and my saliva), the punk growled audibly and drew his fist back. “YOU LITTLE BI—–”    “SPEED AAAAAAND WEIGHT!!!”    A thud was heard several feet away, and a voice distracted everyone: “Not on my watch!”    “Look at this fatso. You think you can play hero?”    “Maybe if he ran like his mouth he’d be in good shape.”    “Who does he think he is to stop us?”    In no time at all, the figure who had called out before beat the shit out of every gang member in sight. When I was released, he grinned and gave me a thumbs up. “Are you hurt?”    “No,” I blushed slightly out of embarrassment from having to be saved, “thank you for saving me.” I politely bowed and tried to hide my face as I thought about all that happened. Me? Saved? This is ridiculous!    “No problem!”    A sudden shriek robbed the both of us from our thoughts, and the man before me turned away. He looked back at me once before waving, leaving me alone once more.    “Wait! At least tell me who you are!”    Gone.

** ** **

   It was late at night. The stars were shining beautifully and the moon was illuminating the world as we know it. I made my way towards Bob’s house, carrying a grocery bag of leftovers that I had made, knowing how much he liked my potato soup. I stopped in front of his place, knocking lightly on his door. This must have triggered some sort of reaction within the home, as a thud was heard inside, followed by cursing. After several moments of patiently waiting on the front porch, the door creaked open ever so slightly before being swung open.    “F-Faith! What are you doing here?!”    I raised the bag up in front of his face as an indicator. “I brought my potato soup!”    “…………………….Faith………”    “Is now a bad time…..?”    He hesitated before answering, thinking of an answer. “No……. Come on in……” He sidestepped out of the way, allowing me entrance into his home. “Why did you choose tonight of all nights………?”    “Huh?”    “Nothing.”    “Okay……..” I went straight for the kitchen, setting the bag down on the table. I took the bowl out of said bag, and opened the lid, only to look up and see that Bob was gone. “Bob…….?”    No answer.    “Bob?”    Nothing.    Curiosity got the best of me, so I started roaming the house for a sign of my missing friend. “Bob?” My voice rang out in the dimly lit hallway, echoing off of the walls and sending uneasiness my way. “Robert, please answer me…….”    Still, nothing.     I reached his bedroom door and saw that the door was cracked open ever so slightly, allowing a small stream of light to leak out into the hallway. It was the only light that had been provided for me, so I reached out and grabbed the handle frantically, swinging the door open.    “Bob?”    The room was empty; the window was open and the curtains blew gently in the breeze making them look alive; the room was ransacked, as if someone was hastily searching for something, and a shadowed figure was making its way towards the window.    “Crap, I forgot…………” The figure’s foot entered the house, and slowly the person was granted entrance. Once they saw me, they stopped in their place and stared long and hard.    …………..    ………………..    ……………………..    “……………..my mask……….”    “Bob?! It was YOU?!?!”    “I uh……. No! What’re you talking about?!”    “It was you who saved me!”    “I don’t know what you mean…….!”    “That costume!!”    “……..This is…….Cosplay!”    “ROBERT, YOU’RE LYING!”    “A-AM NOT!”    “ARE TOO!”    He frantically looked around the room, finally stopping when he saw the dresser beside me. He was staring intently at something on it, and when I turned to catch a glimpse, I saw it for myself.    His mask.    I snatched it before he could take a step forward and inspected it for myself. It was the same mask that was on his face when he saved me! There’s no doubt about it!    “Why won’t you just admit it? You saved my life! There’s no need to be ashamed!”    “I-I’m not ashamed!” He grabbed the mask from my hands with care and refused to make eye contact with me. “You know my identity now! You could…….. You could tell everyone!”    “Why the hell would I do that?”    “Well……..”    He stumped himself, and he seemed to be searching for his lost words. Eventually, he realized that it was a lost cause and gave in.    “Exactly.”    “You have to promise not to tell anyone. And I mean ANYONE. Alright?”    “Agreed.”    Bob took his mask and placed it on himself, making his way back over to his window. He began to step out of the window and leave, but just before he got away:    “We should work together sometime.”    He hesitated for a moment as he let the idea sink in, and when he thought it through, he let out a chuckle.    “I’ll consider it.”

** ** **

   There was currently a gang that had been causing trouble in the area, and Bob and I had decided to check it out. He was in his yellow costume, and I followed close behind in my own. Mine was a more feminine version, with a skirt instead of pants, and the front of the jacket was a little more unzipped ((fucking cleavage XD)) just because I wanted it. Although Bob’s costume is yellow with streaks of black, mine was the exact opposite: black with yellow streaks.    “I NEED A CATCHPHRASE!”    “CAN WE THINK OF THIS LATER?!”    “THIS IS IMPORTANT!!”    We fought off the gang members, punching and kicking every bad guy in sight. I wasn’t paying much attention to the fight, as the thought of a catchphrase really worked me up and distracted me.    “WE CAN THINK THIS THROUGH LATER!”    “BUT I WANNA HAVE ONE NOW!!”    Soon, the gang members were defeated and left to learn their place. Already, there was another call for help. Two, in fact, and both of which were in separate directions for this one.    “If you want a catchphrase,” Bob started as he went to go left, “you need to think of something from the heart! Something catchy!” He began to dash off, leaving me behind. “I’m sure you’ll find something!”    Like hell I will….

** ** **

   I managed to save a girl from being shot in the face, and Bob had helped a man who was trapped in a fountain (don’t ask). We met up once more to complete what was hopefully the last crime.    Here we go!    My catchphrase!    “SPEED AND WEIGHT!”    I drew in a breath, landing beside Bob, ready to show him what I came up with.    And…….?    “I HAVE CRIPPLING DEPRESSION!”

Posts this one because it’s shorter and more relateable. XD

[mynotsoawesomescenarios]

Compos Mentis: Prologue I

A/N: Baekhyun isn’t in this part but he is the main character so he will be in the official parts of the story as well as his own prologue that will be posted tomorrow.

TW: Suicide and gore

~Admin Allie

Her Story

She was never anything more than a decoration. A woman that looked like the prize most men strive to have. But, one day she met the man that made her feel important, made her feel loved. His love was like a drug to her and she felt like if she were to ever lose that high, she would die.

“Let’s leave Honey, even if its for a few hours.”

But her and her lover were trapped in a hell that disguised as a sanctuary for the criminally insane, Steel Heart Asylum. 

“J,” she whispered closely to her tray filled with food, “You know we can’t get out of here..”

He smirked at her, “I can get whatever I want, darling.” He broke the eye contact he held with her and nodded to a few guards. They moved away from the exit toward the front of the cafeteria. She followed his gaze and saw the men and women were no longer paying attention to the two of them or the door. He stood from the table and pulled her with him.

“J-”

“Shh.” He continued to drag her as he took a key card from one of the guards and started to power walk toward the exit. He pushed open the doors to the the cafeteria and urged her to walk faster. She obeyed and sped up but her movements were still hesitant. She looked over her shoulder and kept peaking down every hall they passed by.

No one.

The couple got to the front entrance and he let go of her. He pushed his body into the counter at the front desk and searched the baskets that sat on either side of the computer on the desk. When he found what he was looking for, he laid a kiss on them before flagging Honey down and heading for the main exit. He had taken the keys to one of the transportation vans and quickly jumped in. She followed him and slid into the passenger seat.

She smiled at him and held on to the roof handle as he speedily pulled off. The wheels squeaked against the gravel and the feeling of freedom swelled in her heart.

“Where do you wanna go, baby?”

“Ice cream!” He rolled his eyes but complied to her wants. The ride was fast and dangerous but that made her love it even more. She loved the feeling of being in trouble with him, being on edge made her feel alive, more than she had felt for months now.

Honey wanted so badly to question how he managed to get everyone to look the other way but she also didn’t care. She knew her man was persuasive and like he said, he can get anything he wanted.

He pulled up to the ice cream parlor and ran out of the car to get to her side. He pulled open her door and greeted her with his right hand. “My lady.” He bowed to her and took her hand as her bare feet touched the slightly wet pavement. 

They both pranced and skipped into the shop, earning stares from the people inside. They obviously didn’t care because the smiles on their faces were wide and proud.

“What do you want?” He held on to her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. She wiggled excitedly before nearly shouting, “Pistachio!”

“Two Pistachio cones, my fine sir,” he said in a sing song tone of voice. The cashier was hesitant but scooped up the ice cream with a forced smile. He handed the cones to the couple and said the total.

“Put it on my tab.” J raised his cone to him before escorting her out of the shop with his hand down low on her back. The man shouted after the two, hellbent on getting the payment. They both laughed at the man as he ran after them. He left the store and grabbed on to Honey as she got in the car. She fought against him and he made her drop her ice cream. Her eyebrows were screwed together in disappointment when she saw her soft serve treat land on the ground.

“Ah, come on, I thought we were friends buddy. But you touched my girl and made her drop her ice cream.” He pushed his hair back and approached the worker. “So, not only did you touch my property, you emotionally damaged it as well.” He handed his cone to her. “Knock yourself out, darling.” She took the ice cream, giddy to finally have a taste of what she wanted to badly.

“Knock him out baby!” She shouted as she closed the door and watched her man come to her rescue. J landed a few punches and turned to her for approval.

“Like this?” He landed a punch to the dead center of the mans face as he laid on the ground. His nose was now leaking with blood and he whaled out a painful cry.

Honey looked up from the beating as she licked on her ice cream and saw people recording the fight and making phone calls.

“Shit, J, we gotta go!” she shouted as she rolled down her window. 

“Aww, why, the fun has just started.”

“They’re gonna rat us out.” She gestured to the windows of the ice cream parlor.

“Shit.” He rushed off to the driver seat and pulled off before he even closed the door. The car hadn’t gone a block before the sirens could be heard. She looked in the rear view mirror and the cop cars were just out of her view. 

“Shit, what are we gonna do J? I don’t wanna go back. I’ve been having so much fun.”

“We aren’t going back.” His voice was unconvincing.

The further out they went, the more cop cars built up behind them. Eventually, police vans started to appear in front of them and block their way. J looked around, desperate to find a plan. He spotted an ally to the right of the car and blocked the entrance of it with the car.

“Get out!” She pushed open the door and and he climbed over the counsel and hopped out of the same door. When he caught up with her, he saw that the ally only lead to a dead end.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” He looked around frantically and looked for anyway out. But when his eyes landed on the pile of empty bottles that once held cheap vodka, he came up with what seemed to be their only way out. He rushed to the pile, picked one up and smashed it against a wall. He picked up the biggest and sharpest piece.

“We aren’t going back there baby.” He ran the glass across both of his wrists effortlessly, making multiple slashes on both. His blood ran out of him quickly as he handed Honey the same weapon. She took it but all she could do was stare at him as he bled out. She wanted so badly to follow him but she was struck with fear because of the sight of her lover dying right in from of her. As soon as she lifted the glass to her own wrist, she was being pushed to the ground. She watched as the police and special agents went through and over the car that was meant to be an obstacle for them.

“Honey, I thought we were over this.” her therapist spoke to her from above. She squatted down to the woman and made her look at her. “And now he’e dying.” The therapist clicked her tongue as she looked at J. “I thought he still had some fight in him… Get him on a stretcher. And for god sake, move that goddamned van!” Her words were careless and did not sit well with Honey.

She was shaking with anger until her eyes found those of the man who meant everything to her.

“You didn’t do it.”

-

She was taken back to the asylum and for days, she stayed silent. They asked her countless times how they managed to escape, a question she still didn’t have an answer to.

“Send her to my office, I’m sure she’ll speak to me.”

Honey was sent to Dr. Maine’s office. She was sat in a chair and was uncuffed as the woman requested in her sessions. 

“How are you?” Honey was silent and unresponsive as she still pondered on her words from days before.

I thought he still had some fight in him

The words played in her head on repeat and prompted Honey to do something she’d been wanting to do for days. She lunged over the table and landed in the doctors lap. Before the woman could react, Honey’s thumbs drove into the woman’s eye sockets. She felt a satisfying pop on her right thumb and a smile broke through her stone like expression. The woman clawed at Honey’s face and neck, her actions showing her desperation to be revealed from the pain she was experiencing. 

Guards ran into the room and ripped Honey off of her. Honey did’t fight against them though. She let them restrain her with no problem and walked with them with a wide smile plastered on her face.

They took her to the lowest sub-level, level five, that held the worst of the worst. She was thrown into a cell that was no bigger than three feet wide and three feet deep.

“You’re gonna be here for a long time, Honey,” one of the guards said to her as he locked up the door. She didn’t say anything, she just laughed. Her laugh sent chills down everyone’s spines. She had broke, she had driven straight into the wall she had stayed so far from. The wall of insanity.